The Moving picture world (January 1922)

288 MOVING PICTURE WORLD January 21, 1922 Keeping in Personal Touch 2?j7 FRITZ TIDDEN NOWADAYS the easiest—hence the most common—exploita- tion of one's critical faculty is found in slanging the movies," says Robert E. MacAlarney in The Forum. To enforce how easy it is to get an arraignment of the movies pub- lished we will recite a little talc that actually took place just long ago enough so that it may be called up to date and still far enough away that it will be difficult to trace. It seems that a young gentleman of our intimate acquantance made a wager .with a friend that he could get anything he said against movies published in a magazine of wide national circulation, stipulating that he would write the article on a false premise and proceed along abso- lutely untruthful lines. He stated that editors of magazines did not care how truthful the arraignment might be as long as it took a re- sounding wallop at moving pictures, and that practically any editor would accept for publication such an article providing it was bitter in condemna- tion. The friend said he was wrong and took the wager, but not until it was agreed upon that the article must be accepted by one of a certain group of magazines, all of which, for con- venience sake, are called nationally famous and important. Then the young fellow who was to write the article, who he will call Z, sat him- self down to his Remington and dashed off the most bitter arraign- ment of moving pictures that has ever been written, even by the screen's most prejudiced enemies. Z was a movie man himself and knew all the real shortcomings of the industry, but he went to his task with all the venum, unfairness and bias that is customarily evident in the usual slams at the movies. And he took great pains to base his attack upon the most preposterously untrue premise and went after pic- tures with false statement after false statement about their worth, cultural significance and art, not neglecting to make the usual cracks about the low brows engaged in the promotion of pictures. The whole thing was a monument of lies built upon a lie, but it was hot stuff. It was so preposterous on the face of it that any man, woman or child would have staked their lives that it would not be accepted by any magazine editor. It was accepted by the first editor to whom it was sent 1 And it appeared in print in an unusually short time, considering that the par- ticular magazine buys its stuff, and frequently gets it set, on a distant future schedule. But you don't know the half of it. Z, of course, wrote the article imder an assumed name and was well paid for it, regardless of the fact that the editor did not know whether his opinions were of any value. And then the following month he wrote on assignment from the same magazine a denial of the facts in the first article under his own name. Easy? It's a cinch. But the public is wise to the procedure of slanging movies. It knows that nine-tenths of the arraignments pub- lished in the magazines arc the billious outpourings of men who do not know a thing of what they are writing. It takes these articles for their full worth^—the easy manner in which anybody that can hold a pen or do general housework on a typewriter may grab a few easy dollars. would like to state that our home address will be supplied on applica- tion, and that a brace will suffice. * * « J. Charles Davis, who was stricken with a serious case of the grippe during the Christmas holidays, is back on the job at Arrow. * * * Max Linder, who suffered the loss of his ejesight for three weeks from the burning rays of powerful lights, is back at work making scenes for his travesty on "The Three Mus- keteers," which will be released this spring by Goldwyn. Coming! The Old-Timers Dinner! How long have you been in, on, or of, the inovinf» picture business? Has it been ten years? If it has, you are an old timer, a young old timer, and you are eligible to attend the OLD TIMERS' DINNER which will be held in the month of March and in a place, at a time, and price decided by the commit- tee. Joseph Miles has consented to act as chair- man of the credentials committee. Harry L. Reichenbach has agreed to serve as master of cere- monies. The sentiment has been sounded and it's for the dinner and all that it will mean to those who are eligible to attend. The committee will pass on your status promptly. If you have put in ten years in this, the greatest of all businesses, the finest of all hiniian endeavors, send word to the undersigned in care of Moving Pic- ture World, 516 Fifth Avenue, and send word today. You will want to be a part of it. FRITZ TIDDEN. Just prior to the recent marriage of Haskell H. Master, sales man- ager of United Artists' Corporation branch office, Winnipeg, Can., to Miss Lillian Isman, friends of Mr. Master gave him a farewell dinner at the Fort Garry. On the front of the menu card was the announce- ment that the banquet was "given in honor of Haskell H. Master on the eve of his departure from un- attached misery." * * * The balmy climate of North Car- olina in addition to a rvtn of good luck with his shot gun have induced Arthur S. Kane to postpone his re- turn to New York, according to word received from the executive who is spending a short vacation at Currituck Sound, Waterlily, North Carolina. A post-script in a letter from Kane elicits the information that two crates of ducks are in tran- sit and should arrive in the-North within a few days. It is not stated to whom the ducks are consigned. If the crates are re- ceived by anyone interested, we Out at Universal on Herb Raiv- linson's set theyre telling this one on an extra girl who was about to be operated upon for appendicitis: "Oh Doctor," exclaimed the miss, "do you think the scar will show?" "It ought not to," replied the doc- tor modestly! * * * Harvey Gates, well-known scen- ario writer, is in the hospital con- valescing from an operation. He had to have his New Year's cele- bration cut out along with his appen- dix. He does not know which he regrened losing most! * * * No little birdies whispered in our ear that three prominent leading ladies are to be married in a short time, because the young women themselves have solemnly pledged their word to give us the "exclusive news" just before the joyous events happen. And j'ou'U be supprised, too! * « * The industry has been requested to aid in the campaign for the sup- pressing of all jokes ridiculing pro- hibition enforcement. Miss Adella Potter, chairman of the Committee on Patriotism and Law Enforcement of the New York City Federation of Women's Clubs, has written to the National Asso- ciation of the Motion Picture Indus- try enclosing a resolution recently adopted by the committee and re- questing that the picture interests co-operate in endeavoring to pre- vent the ridiculing of a national law. The resolution was a follows: "RESOLVED: That every the- atrical manager, movie manager and editor, whether of a daily, weekly, or monthly publication, be requested to see that all jokes ridiculing pro- hibition and its enforcement, are eliminated from any production, film or article coming under his jurisdic- tion, and that the matter be treated with the seriousness that the sub- ject merits; and that this resolution be thrown on the screen and printed in the different papers and maga- zines throughout the countr>-." Which reminds us of the story of the man who went up to a prohibi- tion enforcement agent and asked him if he had any kangaroo whiskey to sell. Whereupon the agent replied that he never heard of kangaroo hootch, but he had a little Old Crow he would dispose of. "I don't want to fly, I only want to hop around a little," retaliated the potential customer. * * * Two members of the Goldwyn organization were invited to lecture at Columbia University on phases of motion picture production. Rupert Hughes, who has recently become a full-fledged director, as well as writer of scenarios for Goldwyn, addressed the classes in motion picture production and com- position on Tuesday evening, Jan- uary 10. Paul Bern, editor-incharge of the Goldwyn studios, who has just ar- rived from the West Coast, also accepted the invitation of Mrs. Frances Taylor Patterson to address her classes in photoplay composition. He will speak on Monday, January 16, at 8.00 o'clock, in room 206, Journalism. Goldwyn has recently made it possible for Mrs. Patterson to add a unique and valuable feature to her photoplay instruction by open- ing its library of continuities and synopses to students of the advanced class. The library has one of the most complete and extensive collec- tions of scripts of photoplays pro- duced to be found in the film in- dustry. » ♦ » Speaking of Paul Bern, it is our personal opinion, which is offered even considering the little it may be worth, that he is the kind of man the picture industry needs most. We have been taking an interest in watching the young scenario editor, not with the idea of being patroniz- ing about it as the foregoing phrase may sound, but for the reason that we have had occasion to note that