The Moving picture world (November 1925-December 1925)

640 MOVING PICTURE WORLD December 19, 1925 OF the Screen BY the Screen and FOR the Screen (Continued from page 631) form possible, and affixed to scene or sequence to which they apply. The Master Scenario is a concention of the production values of the picture, COMPLETELY ORGANIZED from EVERY picture angle. The man who says today, "You cannot blue print PICTURES or production values in pictures" is the man who tomorrow very definitely CHARTS the mother love theme or the Western theme or the society theme. Wisby goes farther than that— much farther. Under his Plan, for instance, the main sequences are blocked out, studied from the dramatic angle, the photography angle, the scenic angle and VISUALIZED a series of panels, preliminary to actual production. These panels, in turn, are studied, checked over, revised as tangible production GUIDES. Here is production INSURANCE. Here is production ECONOMY. Here is SCREEN IMAGINATION going to work— actually going to work— BEFORE the camera starts to run. Give Wisby a picture to make. He would put more time in preliminary effort than is being done today. But we are certain that for every D.'\Y he worked in advance of actual "shooting," he would cut ofT TWO days in the studio. He would save money, too, in settings. And at the same time give to the screen something different in SCENIC INVESTITURE. Accompanying this story is a reproduction of a cathedral interior, done by Wisby along lines of creative interpretation. It is a stylistic cathedral. No particular church. Yet the ecclesiastic note is definitely and lastingly sounded. A cathedral has been shown by NOT showing it. And at a production cost far lower the building of a replica of any particular monument to prayer. We asked Mr. Wisby how he would "interpret" a common object, like a farm house. "By NOT showing it," Wisby replied. We would interpret it CINEMATICALLY— by deleting the things about the house that do not mean anything and assembling the things that mean something around a central motif. That motif will express a MOVING PICTUE ideal and at the same time interpret the meaning of that house to the scene as played. The meaning may be purely decorative or it may serve as a background for emphasizing the mood of a sequence — sinister or pleasing, dramatic or droll, as the script may direct. Whatever is done or not done, the motif chosen, and the interpretation of it, must be original on MOVING PICTURE lines." Is Wisby qualified to put his Plan to work? Look over this brief record of his career and see if he is not amply qualified, in a personal way to amplify what has already been done in the way of organized screen technique : A Danish nobleman by birth, Wisby gave up his title of Baron Dewitz, and Grand Ducal Chamberlain to become an American citizen ; He has spent some sixteen years in exploration and travel, studying as he went; An officer in the Royal Danish Navy, ha circumnavigated the globe with Prince Valdemar, nephew of the late Queen Mother of England ; He was the boyhood chum of Prince Karl of Denmark, now King Haakon VII of Norway ; Inventor, with R. E. Scott, United S-.ates Army captain, of the aerial torpedo and the battle-aeroplane ; Author of "War's New Weapons," prefaced by Hudson Maxim, and considered by him the most valuable technical book of the war. The New York Tribune said this of Wisby's book : "He possesses the rare gift of 'popularization.' He writes and explains remarkably well ;" Headed a Regie in Denmark and another in Belgium; Made, in record time, "Diana," a three-reel picture with amateurs. His first film effort, and a box office success; Supervised Olga Petrova's "Daughter of Destiny ;" Toured the United States in 1904, introducing efficiency systems into a number of organizations ; During the past seven years has re-studied the arts and sciences to find what they can contribute to the screen, in a screen manner. Yes, Mr. Wisby is qualified. Prepared to properly rear this PICTURE child on which he has spent a lot of time, money and brains. (The third chapter of "OF the Screen, BY the Screen, and FOR the Screen" will appear in Moving Picture World next week.) MONTGOMERY, MO., TURNING BLUE Montgomery, Mo., is threatened with Blue Sundays. The religious intolerants of that community have been bringing pressure to bear on Prosecuting Attorney Glover E. Dowell to enforce the dead Sunday closing laws. He has stated that he has about decided to do so. CAN'T PLAY "HOOKEY" A drastic city ordinance proposed for Tulsa, Okla., forbids children from 8 to 10 years of age from attending any place of amusement in Tulsa from 9 a. m. to 4 p. m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. The offending theatre will be penalized in the sum of $100 for allowing such attendance of children. ^iiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiininiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiH I Wyroheck Killed | LEO WYROBECK, 23 years old, f ^ Southern Illinois salesman for f 1 Universal Pictures and a bride-groom 1 i of less than a week, was killed on i I Wednesday night, December 2, when | 1 his automobile plunged into a stalled g i auto truck on the hard road near 1 I Windsor, III. I 1 Wyrobcck was alone in his sedan at = 1 the time and he was never able to g 1 explain the mishap. The presumption 1 1 is that he was blinded by the bright | 1 head lights of another machine and i I saw the truck too late to prevent a | 1 collision. s 1 The tragic end of the popular sales ] 1 man was a shock to the St. Louis film i 1 colony, which had not finished extend | g ing its congratulations to Wyrobeck = S and his bride, who was Miss Selma 1 1 Hess. Their wedding took place in i 1 Brooklyn, N. Y., on Thanksgiving Day. g 1 They returned to St. Louis on Sunday, | 1 November 29, and Wyrobeck departed 1 1 the next day on a business trip through 1 I his territory. g lllllllllllllllll IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIUIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIH Many Protests When Exhibitors Seek to Join Hays (Continued from page 633) if you are playing fair, all the opposition in the world will do you no permanent harm. "There is one way for exhibitor and distributor to get together and strive shoulder to shoulder for the common good. Each must play fair with the other. "A satisfied exhibitor is a friend of the producer. An exhibitor who is buying pictures at fair prices, who is receiving product that makes his theatre an honorable and substantial institution in his community has no just complaint against the man upon whom he is dependent for his product. "A distributor who is receiving fair treatment from exhibitors, who has a satisfactory outlet for his product, who is not suffering from unfair practices, has no quarrel with exhibitors. "The motion picture business in all its branches prospers when there is fair play between buyer and seller. In this it is no different from any other business. "It is just as much to the advantage of the distributor as it is to the advantage of the exhibitor to work for general satisfaction between buyer and seller. The only contract worth while is one that gives profit to both parties. Contracts must be equitable. Both sides have been offenders. Attaining Co-operation "Never, however, has there been such general friendliness in the industry between distributor and exhibitor as there is at this time. Distributors and exhibitors are natural friends. Influences which would make them otherwise are bad influences. We have not yet reached the maximum co-operation, but we will. We can bring 100 per cent, confidence and co-operation between exhibitor and distributor by practicing continually the policy of 'Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.' "That's all there is to our business — that is all there is to any successful business. The Golden Rule should be written in red at the top of every contract, and it would be the most valuable clause in it. It's a clause that must be obeyed. It is non-cancellable. It is the law of justice and humanity as well as the greatest of all economic laws. You can't evade it. You can't appeal it. You obey it, or you suffer. To live and let live is not enough — we must live and help live. "You may say for me as you did in Michigan that the determination on our part to do everything possible for exhibitors and to promote to the fullest extent the plan of co-operation, goes to the extent of assuring them that if any exhibitor in Ohio or anywhere in the country has a real grievance against any of the producers or distributors who are members of this asociation and will call my attention to such grievance, that the good offices of the association will be immediately and sympathetically used to bring about such conferences and consideration of such real grievance by the parties interested, that a fair solution may be quickly sought. It is our purpose to do everything possible to bring about an adjustment of every real grievance wherever and whenever any such exists. I know that the exhibitors of Ohio will appreciate the value both to exhibitors and distributors of this possibility."