Motion Picture News (Jan - Mar 1914)

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THE MOTION PICTURE NEWS 33 QUESTIONABLE PICTURES INEXCUSABLE No Reason for Productions which Bring Criticism of Censor Boards and Press, Says D. W. Griffith, Mutual Head Producer — His Ideas on Avoiding the Dangerous THERE is no excuse for photoplays that call forth the criticism of censor boards and the press, according to General Director D. W. Griffith, of Reliance. The most delicate subjects can be presented upon the screen without the least danger of offense to the most fastidious if they are staged artistically, and with the careful avoidance of sensational treatment. A large part of the lamentable condition of the theatrical business proper can be traced directly to the producing of plays in which the most daring subjects were presented with a view to sensational results. After the opening of the first half dozen of these unworthy offerings, all theatrical performances had to be immediately classed under two heads; those to which a man could take his wife and daughter and those to which he couldn't. Since it is a most difficult matter to produce a successful drama even without such a handicap, and since wives and daughters make up the largest part of a theatre's audience, poor business necessarily was the general result. It behooves the motion picture producers to profit by the mistakes of the New York theatrical managers and steer clear of the dangerous sensational treatment of vital subjects, which although they call forth a large amount of cheap advertising and do a tremendous busi ness for a short time, do so at a terrific sacrifice in the long run. The price of their financial successes must be paid many times over by the picture producers and picture theatres as a whole. It has already been necessary for parents in thousands of the homes of motion picture theatre patrons, who have been carefully educated to believe that their children are safe from immoral influences while looking at ''the pictures," to give the alarm against their families seeing certain loudly heralded films of doubtful moral influence. Director Griffith, of the Mutual, claims that one does not have to be very farsighted in order to see that a few of these questionable pictures will soon reduce to a perceptible degree all picture loving audiences. But he also adds that their existence is all the more lamentable because it is so unnecessary to treat the subjects presented in a manner that makes them all objectionable. The art of the picture play has been developed to such a high degree that there is very small excuse for the production of any drama with the absence of sufficiently artistic treatment to make it call forth even the slightest criticism from the censor's standpoint. Mr. Griffith is working at present on "The Escape," by Paul Armstrong, a eugenic drama requiring the most delicate treatment. Several negatives are made of every scene that threatens to be at all questionable, the action being changed in each case, so that the one chosen for final use will be above the criticism of the strictest censor. "An artistic motion picture is to a sensational film as the oil painting of a master is to a questionable postal card," says Director Griffith. "It is to the greatest interest of all concerned that the artistic be consistently encouraged at the expense of the sensational." RELIANCE RELEASES BY ABLE WRITERS Scenarios for coming Reliance releases are from the pens of several authors well known in the world of photoplaywrights. "Slim Hogan's Getaway"' is by George Hennessy, as are also "The Two Slaves" and "The Hidden Clue." "Pat Flannigan's Family," by A. H. Giebler, will soon be produced under Eddie Dillon's direction, while "The Idler," which will shortly make its appearance in one reel, is by Russell E. Smith, as is also "Tricked by a Photo," now being staged by Edgar Lewis. "The Janitor's Family" is from the pen of Frank E. Woods, while "A Man and His Mate" is by H. R. Durant, and "Imar the Servitor" is the work of Daniel Carson Goodman. ARTHUR JOHNSON — MISSIONARY Norbert Lusk, as Arthur Johnson's secretary, has done it again. On behalf of the Lubin leading man he accepted the invitation of the Eclectic Club in a Philadelphia suburb to deliver an informal talk on "The Mission of .the Motion Picture." When Johnson arrived at the club he found himself the guest of 300 staid housewives. As each speaker addressed the audience Johnson's courage oozed, for all the speeches were rabid attacks against the photoplay. With "evil," "harmful," "pernicious" and "immoral" assailing his ears. Johnson realized that his "informal chat" would seem very spineless indeed. When he was called to talk, the Lubin star determined to seize his opportunity. He made a spirited defense, calling into play his remarkable powers of oratory, and ended by inviting the entire club to visit the Lubin studio the following afternoon. The staid housewives, now that they have seen for themselves, have changed their adjectives and also their views. SCENE FROM "THE FIRST NUGGET" (Eclair— 2 Reels)