The Moving picture world (September 1920-October 1920)

September 11, 1920 THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD 195 European Exhibitors Bound to Producers by Inequitable Contracts, Says Brinch PJ. BRINCH, who has been abroad for some months combining business with •a much needed rest, returned to America on August 25. He visited Scandanavia, England, France and Belgium in the interests of the W. W. Hodkinson Corporation, and expresses himself as being pleasantly surprised at the conditions existing. "In the first place," he say, "I found but little trace of the so-called ravages of war. The battle fields of France are green with corn. The railroads and highways are brought to at least pre-war efficiency and the towns are being rebuilt as rapidly as possible, except where ruins are preserved as being of historical interest. The people seem prosperous and contented and above all they want to forget that there ever was a war. Our Films Dominate Market. . . "Even in Belgium I found conditions flourishing. There was very little sign of devastation there because the Germans in their own interests left the country practically intact. I did not see one ruin in the parts of Belgium that I visited and one gets the impression that the people, so long under the domination of the Hun, have acquired the habit of hard work. "As regards the conditions which exist in the film industries of the countries I visited, there is much that can be said. First of all, there is no denying the fact that American-produced pictures dominate the field. The reasons for this are as simple as they are obvious. Neither the French nor the English nor the Italian films are in any way worthy to compete with those which are produced in this country. Producers Miss Opportunities. "They have a wealth of material from which to draw from over there, not only from the age-old traditions of the difTerent countries, but from the infinitely greater number of stories, some of which, due to local atmosphere, would not be good material for the American market; but somehow they do not seem to get the best out of these stories. Undoubtedly the day will come when by the Americanization of their methods they will produce better pictures than those that they now obtain, but I believe that day is far ofl. "The theatres are doing a wonderful business and are crowded night after nighv, but the general run of pictures as well as their presentation in no way approaches the standard set in America. The average admission charges, in France, for example, run from 3 francs to 12 francs, and even at the present exchange rate this must be reckoned a considerable sum for the people over there, and I say that they do not get their money's worth. Exhibitors "Bound Hand and Foot." "A condition prevails abroad somewhat similar to that which certain factions are striving to introduce in America. In some of the foreign markets two or three groups hold complete domination of the motion picture industry and sometimes a veritable monopoly exists, under which the exhibitors are bound hand and foot by contracts with producers or exchanges for their film service. "The selection of pictures is practically removed from the exhibitor's hands and I have seen cases where the exchange forwarded to an exhibitor a list of pictures which had been assigned to his theatre, regardless of what his personal preferences might -be. It is obvidus that, this can -have nothing but a demoralizing effect on the trade. How long this condition will exist there is no telling, but as things stand now the exhibitors seem absolutely helpless. They lack organization as well as ripreciation of the seriousness of the situation. Other Business Handicaps. "To make matters worse for the exhibitor he is greatly restricted by the fact that theatre licenses are very had to obtain and new building practically prohibited by the government, which wants all available man power and material applied to the rebuilding of homes and industries, rather than to the erection of additional theatres. "What is tr'je in every other field of merchandise selling is true here as well. The market is controlled, in the ultimate analysis, by the public demand and what the public wants it invariably gets. In this case, due to the infinite superiority of the product, it wants American-made pictures, and until such time as foreign-made pictures are worthy to compete with ours they are going to have them." Levey Forms Company to Make Dramatic Productions; to Produce Eight a Year HARRY LEVEY, having launched well on the road to success the Harry Levey Service Corporation, for the exclusive production of industrial-educational motion pictures, is widening the field of his activities, and will head a second corporation, known as Harry Levey Productions, which is to produce feature dramatic films for theatrical distribution. The producing center is to be located at 230 West Thirty-eighth street. New York. It is Mr. Levey's plan to produce each year eight feature pictures which shall represent in production and direction details the high water mark of perfection in the feature field. In keeping with this ideal, the first release of the new company is to be a motion picture version of "Uncle Sam of Freedom Ridge," the story by Margaret Prescott Montague, which appiared in the June issue of the Atlantic Monthly, and which President Wilson characterized as "the greatest piece of literature that came out of the war." The story was brought out in book form immediately following its publication in the magazine, and four editions have already come from the press rooms. A strong cast has been selected. George McQuarrie, William S. Corbett, Paul Kelly, Helen Flint, Leslie Hunt, Sheridan Tansey and Eugene Keith play leading roles. George Beranger, long a member of D. W. Griffith's direction staff, is in charge of direction. Irving B. Rubenstein is chief cinematographer. Earnest Maas wrote the continuity. Work Night and Day. Work on this feature is going forward night and day. Miss Montague is lending her personal supervision to the filming, and has expressed herself delighted at the authenticity with which her story is being transferred to the films. "It gave me quite a thrill to see it appear in print," she said. "That thrill is something that no author ever outlives. But this thrill has been doubled and trebled by the joy I am getting in seeing 'Uncle Sam' come to life on the screen. It ma'<es one feel that she has done something really worth while to have created something that can live and breathe and do good things in the shadow-land of the films before our eyes." "Sh-h-h! Don't Make Any Noise, Estelle, New York's Sleeping!" Says Harry Sothern to Estelle Taylor, A fiiiU-t scene from the Pox special "While New York .bleeps."