The Moving picture world (May 1923-June 1923)

IN The Independent Field EDITED BY ROGER FERRI TIMELY EDITORIALS By ROGER FERRI Italians Fighting American Pictures A WEEK of notable achievements ! And very notable ones at that. *■ What the week just closing has brought to light merely emphaizes the determination of independent producers and distributors to urnish the market in 1923-24 with truly great names, stories and roductions. The acquisition of Ernest Lubitsch by Warner Brothers is a master roke. It places that progressive organization in among the leaders f the industry. From the very outset Warner Brothers have been original; they ave set a winning pace. Some have followed successfully, others ot so successfully — but, on the whole, the Warner Brothers' leteoric plunge forward, their endless string of achievements and old and original enterprises have constituted an inspiration that has lorified the independent market. What sort of a production Mr. Lubitsch will give us in "Deburau" me alone will tell, but he will have every facility at his command. e will have a free hand. He will have a distinguished star and ipable studio experts to co-operate with him. It is Mr. Lubitsch's ig chance. _J YDNEY S. COHEN, head of the M. P. T. O. A., and even his * bitterest opponents agree on at least one issue — the so-called speals of the current season have been too long. This writer has viewed many pictures that could have very easily een shortened. But the director or producer extravagantly inulged in superfluous introductions, flash-backs, closeups, and what ot. None helped the stories. But these uncalled for, altogether too lengthy features did put a imp into the box office receipts. The producer out in Los Angeles is an ambitious fellow as directs come. But he should give more consideration, more thought to ,s market. He should study his audiences more intelligently, loughtfully and considerately. And he cannot study his audiences by remaining closeted in his udio 52 weeks a year. A director should be as close to the picture ublic as possible. Good pictures are not always the lengthy ones, /e have seen quite a few short subjects that we liked much more lan the average feature production. We hope, too, that this exhibitor movement against long, drawnUt pictures materializes. ^AMBLING WIVES." There's a real title for you. We can think J of a hundred and one things such a clever title can be hooked } with. And it's the title of an Arrow special for next season. If le production is as good as the title sounds and leads one to be;ve it is, Arrow should set a stiff pace for next season, for that cture is the first of its 1923-24 series. Arrow Plans Big Advertising Drive W. E. Shallenberger, President of the Arrow Film Corporation, lis week announced the inauguration of a nation-wide publicity and ivertising campaign, starting effective with the July 1st issue of Mothers' Home Life Magazine," a publication with a circulation of yer seven hundred thousand. This publicity campaign, which was arranged through the adversing agency of Aldrich & Montgomery, will take the form of a mtest, to be conducted by the magazine, for new personalities for e screen, and, according to the terms of the contract, ten people ill be selected from among the contestants and will be sent to Cali)rnia. all their expenses to the Coast and return being paid. Arrow Film Corporation will give these ten people a test and from riong them select one or more who will be given a part in the big >ecial, "Gambling Wives," to be produced in the Fall. This picture ill be given an elaborate production and it is planned to make it one f t)he biggest specials Arrow has ever released. Arrangements have een made for the production of the story with one of the best known roducers on the Coast. It will in all probability be directed by Dell lenderson, who has scored so many box office triumphs for Arrow. Gambling Wives," in addition to the contest winner or winners, will ave an all-star cast in the fullest meaning of the word. The agitation in Italy against the increasing importation of foreign, especially of American films, has found a champion in Senator Mazziotti, who has put down the following questions for the Italian Minister of Commerce to answer: 1 THE industry of cinematographic film production, formerly so flourishing in Italy, is at present, according to universal testimony, in an evidently decadent condition. O WHETHER this is the conse" quence of intense foreign competition, notably on the part of America and Germany. O WHETHER the Minister of Com" uierce is not of opinion that it is time to study, in the interest ot national economy, and with the object of decreasing unemployment, how the present condition of the film industry could be ameliorated? Independent Films Lead at Box Office Late box office reports telegraphed to this department from various parts of the country indicate that the bigger independent specials led at the box offices at the larger and more representative houses. Al Lichtman s Preferred Pictures, which have led the independent market for consistently profitable box office showings, chalked up good amounts, as did the Warner, Arrow and C. C. Burr's pictures, the latter's Johnny Hines' special, "Luck" and "Main Street" doing partieularly good business Warner Brothers' "Main Street" did an unusually splendid business at the SI rand Theatre in New York and in comparison to the seating capacity and money expended in exploitation, the house led on the money, for the week's gross was estimated around $29,700. This figure prompted Joe Plunkett to hold the picture over a second week. LOS ANGELES — "Brass" got its first peek at Movieland last week at Loew'S State, where the theatregoers came in large numbers. The crowd liked the picture immensely, for it did about $18,900. KANSAS CITY— Al Lichtman's Preferred Pictures, "The Girl Who Came Back," proved the best attraction brought to this cily in several months -and Kansas City has had some good pic-lures. The picture drew very well, about $11,000, which was great. France claims to be the country where the film and the cinema were invented. The fathers of the "movies," so it is claimed, were Mery and Demeny at Paris and Auguste and Louis Lumiere at Lyons. At Lyons a tablet has just been placed on a house in the Rue Bat d'Argent, signifying that it was there that a film was shown to the public for the first time. The well-known French actress, Marthe Ferrare, has been engaged for "The Other Wing," the film which Dal Film are to produce from Canudo's work, and which will be issued by Aubert. In the film the actress has to pilot an aeroplane. Immediately on signing the contract she started taking lessons at Le Bourget, and quickly learnt looping and the tail spin. After a tiring day in the air, she appeared the other evening at the Edward VII. Theatre in a prominent role. Pearl White has founded a producing company in Paris, and proposes to produce three films in which she will appear. These films will be of a kind entirely different from those in which she has made her name in America. This time she will not specialize in acrobatic stunts. Great concern is expressed by the Sulgrave Institution, which exists primarily to further good relations between Great Britain and the United States, in its annual report just published over the present state of those relations. A number of reasons are assigned for this ill feeling, but the report seems to be especially severe on the American cinema films shown in England. The character of the bulk of them, it says, is un-American, and lend to belittle American life which, as it exists generally, is as wholesome as the home lite of the people Of any other country. The French Under-Secretary of Slate for Technical Instruction has just set up a committee, of which himself is the chairman, to make a complete study of the possible uppliCation of the cinematograph to professional instruction, including the art education necessarily involved, and all scientific and technical researches in connection therewith. CHICAGO— Warner Brothers' "Main Sln-rt" continues at the Roosevelt, billed to stay there until July 2. when "The Spoilers" takes possession. Did about $14,000 on the week. Soviet Russia's first film, "Pollkuschka," from a Tolstoy novel, has been received with acclamation In Bexlln< According to reports, it is quite an outstanding production from every point of view. LOS ANGELES— The West Coast Theatres, the Lesser-Rainish-Schcnck outfit, is making a drive to lassoo all the big independent pictures available. Through its exchange interests the syndicalists are meeting with ex e el lent success in their plans. li is staled that Max Linder has been engaged by Abel Gance, of "J1 Accuse1' and "The Wheel" fame, to appear in a film which will be entitled, "An Adventure of Cyrano de Bergarac," which will be started Upon I lie beginning of next month. Arrow Film Corporation's product is in big demand with the Independent and syndicate bookers in the metropolitan territory, the KeithLoew Proctor interests having booked all that firm's specials through the A rrow-Merit Exchange. Of 240,000 feet of film shown in France during April, 34,000 feet only were French. The rest were principally American. Paramount being represented by nearly 50,000 feet. PROVIDENCE, 11. I. — (Special)— Word reached a local exhibitor who had sought to book "What's Your Daughter Doing?" from Charles Seelye. that that production has been taken over by Ritz-Carolton Pictures at whi<h J. D. Williams, formerly of First National, Is the head A combination of opera and film has been launched in Canada under 1 he business management of W. heonard Howe. It has been titled "Operafilm," and Is said to be very successful. Apparently films are far more popular In Germany at the moment than either dramatic stage spectacles or musical comedies. Screen plays have popularized individual players so much that they, at the moment, prove more attractive than the plnvs.