The Moving picture world (February 1920-March 1920)

2014 THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD March 20, 1920 Silver Horde ' and "Dangerous Days," New Specials, To Be Heavily Exploited BECAUSE of qualities so strong and dominant that they demand particular recognition, two Goldwyn Pictures, recently announced among forthcoming releases, have been elevated to the class of specials, which will be backed by the greatest exploitation campaign ever placed behind a Goldwyn production. The pictures that have won this distinction are Rex Beach's "The Silver Horde" and Mary Roberts Rinehart's "Dangerous Days." Both will reach exhibitors in seven reels, not because that length had been decided upon before the productions were started, but because the stories, sweeping forward in a rush of dramatic conflicts, demanded seven reels for their full expression. The policy of the Goldwyn Company in handling the great works now at its disposal is to allow the stories, whatever footage they require for an interpretation, doing justice to the soul-stirring themes on which they are based. "The Silver Horde" and "Dangerous Days" were subjected to the most exacting criticism before it was decided to give them special prominence among the coming Goldwyn releases. When they were shown in New York to the executives of the company, the only alternative to allowing them to remain in seven reels was a condensation certain to prove detrimental to their dramatic effect. It was decided to let them stand as they were rather than discount the appeal of pictures that had naturally assumed feature proportions. Preparations are now being made for country-wide exploitation campaigns that will assist exhibitors in realizing to the full on the money-making possibilities of productions that promise to rank among the greatest of the year. The, details of the plan being arranged for the publicizing of "Dangerous Days" and "The Silver Horde" will be announced soon. Bosworth Completing "Mister McNeir." Hobart Bosworth is completing his first J. Parker Read, Jr., special, "Mister McNeir," on the Coast with Jean Calhoun, James Gordon, Roland Lee and other prominent players in the supporting cast. liiiiiliiiiiiiiiiiMJiliililiiMiiiirriitiiiiiiiiiiiilKiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiitlrMiiiiillilMiiiiiiiiMiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiriiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiilliitl Larry Semon, Himself — By Himself. The Vitagraph comedian goes back to his old love, cartooning, and gives us a Larryesque view of himself. J. O. Taylor, who filmed "Behind the Door," is chief of camera staflf. According to telegraphic advice from the Coast, Bosworth is taking the final scenes in Truckee in the Big Bear country of California. "A Woman's Business" Is Second Olive Tell Feature OLIVE TELL'S second production for Jans Pictures will be released under the title, "A Woman's Business." In substituting this for the title of the book, "Nothing a Year," by Charles Belmont Davis, on which the picture is founded, the officials of the company feel that it will have a deeper appeal, and arouse greater interest, which will be reflected in the box office returns. "The selling value of the picture from the exhibitor's standpoint, is our first thought," says Mr. Jans. "We are carrying out this plan with 'Love Without Question,' and intend to do it with every production. We feel that the title of the second production, 'A Woman's Business,' will prove a financial benefit to the exhibitor." Code Comes Down from Nome to "Rest"; So Builds Seattle Theatre WF. CODE, owner of the Code Theatre in Nome, Alaska, * spends his winters in Seattle, and in order to have something to occupy his time during the winter months he is building a neighborhood theatre at Forty-fifth avenue and Meridian street. It is to be called the Lincoln Theatre because of its proximity to the Lincoln High School. It will have a seating capacity of 450. The plans now call for the opening about May Day. Paramount-Artcraft, Goldwyn and Select pictures will be shown. Mr. Code is also opening a theatre in Siberia this year, just across Bering Strait from Nome. He will leave for the North about June 1, leaving a resilient manager in charge of his Seattle house. It is likely that he will build other neighborhood houses in Seattle next year. iiiimiiiiHiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiHiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit Chiefs of Police Unanimously Opposed Massachusetts Screen Censorship Bill PENDING the decision of the Massachusetts Legislative Committee on Mercantile Affairs on the motion picture censorship bill, discussion of the proposed measure has continued unabated. The committee's report to the legislature is expected within the next two weeks. The decision is awaited with keen interest on all sides. No bill before the legislature this year has received the attention that the censorship bill has received. Action of the steering committee of the United States Senate in agreeing to favorably report a bill amending the penal code of the nation prohibiting by common carrier the shipment of objectionable films, is felt to double-safeguard the interests of the people of Massachusetts and to make a state censorship bill entirely unnecessary. Massachusetts already has four safeguards against immoral pictures. A law already on the statute books makes it a prison offense to show lewd, immoral or impure shows or entertainments. Then mayors and selectmen have the power under the state law to withhold licenses to shows they deem improper. Police Chiefs Fought Bill. In addition, a number of communities have local censorship boards. Finally, the Boston City censor, in removing objectionable parts to films, looks after the interest of the whole state because films are shown in Boston first and are then distributed to the rest of the state, or all New England for that matter, from the Boston exchanges. Another outstanding development in the censorship battle was the action of the Massachusetts chiefs of police in unanimously adopting a resolution declaring that muncipal censorship has proved satisfactory and that the state censorship bill is not needed. Action by the chiefs followed a discussion of the proposed measure by Judge J. Albert Brackett, in opposition to the bill, and C. C. Carstens, general secretary of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, in favor of the bill. Several of the chiefs declared they could not see how a board of nine persons could set a standard. Former Congressman William H. Carter, of Needham, issued this statement: "Creation of a motion picture censorship board would only be justified in the state when the administration of the criminal law had broken down and when the courts were unable to cope with any evil that may be involved. I am very strongly in favor of anything that would tend to give us clean, wholesome American pictures but I am confident that a censorship board as proposed would not bring us the desired results." Empey Busy on Novel, "Oil" and Several Scripts WITH the evident intention of hanging up a new record for the activities of a motion picture star, Guy Empey has turned himself into a hydraheaded working machine which crowds into each twenty-four hours activities usually strung over more than that many days by the ordinary mortal. As a starter Empey has personally written all of the titles for his forthcoming seven-reel production, "Oil." He is also giving close personal attention to the cutting and assembling of the film and is present at every running of the roughly collated scenes in order to direct further progress. These matters, however, are only a side diver-ion. Empey is concentrating his chief attention at the present time upon the completion of a one hundred thousand word novel which is scheduled for early publication, and three-quarters of which he has already written. This novel embodies a story of New York life and is distinctly different from any of the author's former book publications. The story is a highly dramatic one and undoubtedly will find its way to the screen later on as the theme of one of Empey's own productions. The author-actor-producer is also busily engaged on the perfection of scenarios of two photoplays, both of which will be given production by his own companies. As is the case with "Oil," all of these stories are tales of modern life and none of them in any way deals with the war or any of its after effects, or seeks to propound propaganda.