Reel and Slide (Jan-Sep 1919)

16 REEL and SLIDE Motion Picture's Influence on Child (Continued from page 13) paign of educating the parents with reference to the possible sources of danger in the promiscuous moving picture program, thus creating ultimately a strong public demand for special performances for the children. Meantime, and in a narrower sense, every home ought to act as a self-appointed and self-constituted board of censors whose duty it is to assure itself as to the qualities of the program of any given theater before it places upon its stamp of approval, thus permitting its own children to witness a performance. In concluding this paper, a few points ought to be repeated and emphasized : 1. The National Board of Review has adopted most admirable standards by which to judge films suitable for juvenile entertainment. 2. Obviously the promiscuous program offered by moving picture houses does not comprise pictures which the Committee on Juvenile Films has necessarily approved, but is rather made up of pictures designed and approved for adult consumption. 3. It is, therefore, evident that discriminating and careful parents, who still have time and inclination to oversee their children's amusements, should be very skeptical about allowing their boys and girls to frequent public moving picture houses with any degree of regularity. Only after they have assured themselves that a given theater or a given program possesses nothing that may be turned by the keenly active imagination of the young people to their own detriment should parents permit them to attend. Every fireside its own board of censorship ! 4. It appears that no central censorship of films will ever quite solve the problem of juvenile entertainment. It is a matter at once of such vast and such personal import that every parent should deem it his duty to become personally interested. 5. Since organized activity is superior to individual activity, it follows that some club, some union, some society, some committee of patriotic citizens, ought to devote itself in every city and town to the matter of special performances for juveniles and the actual weekly listing through the local press of such theaters and programs as are to be recommended to parents. As stated above, under the leadership and encouragement of the National Board and its affiliated bodies, considerable has already been accomplished in this direction. There remains," however, a great and important work in thousands of cities and towns throughout the land. It is a work which will be constructive, positive, progressive just in proportion to the energy and the sincerity behind the effort. Children Are Not Philosophers These special juvenile performances may be arranged for weekly or semi-weekly entertainments, or they may be offered more frequently still. They may be given in private halls or clubs as the facilities will permit, or, by putting the matter up to the managers as a strictly business proposition, societies may be enabled to arrange special Friday afternoon and Saturday morning performances in the regular moving picture houses. In every city there is at least one stock or vaudeville theater whose performances do not begin until two o'clock or later in the afternoon. It would seem an excellent proposition, both from a business and civic viewpoint, to endeavor to encourage managers of these orthodox theaters to throw open their doors on Saturday mornings to a juvenile patronage. Then, too, in many cities the churches have excellent halls which are often unopened for weeks at a time. What more worthy activity could they foster than the promotion of strictly clean juvenile film for the children of the parish, the neighborhood, the community — perhaps once a week or oftener? 6. In the selection of film suitable for children it should be always borne in mind that children are not young philosophers nor young historians, nor young scientists, nor yet young geographers — as much so as they are young, active, brimmingover boys and girls who find perhaps their greatest theatrical delights in simple, harmless adventure, in rapid action, in bewitcning fairyland, in the delightful realm of fancy, in amusing scenes and situations tending toward the boisterous — and in such like. This does not in any sense minimize the importance of strictly educational film in their place — -it rather stresses the pure humanness of the child. 7. Finally, there is no more important factor in the development of the mental life of the school child than the type of amusement which he habitually seeks. The hygiene of mind is every whit as important to a healthy, normal life as is that of the body; hence society can not be too solicitous regarding those factors which most obviously condition the mental hygiene of the child. Discussing a Scene Moving Pictures to Promote Sales in Foreign Countries By W. L. Stranker Moving pictures to promote the sale of American-made products in foreign countries are keeping the commercial studios busy these days. An undertaking of interest is the campaign handled by the Camel Film Company of Chicago for one of the leading tire manufacturers of the United States. This picture is a thousand-foot unit, made with live models and containing material specially calculated to attract and hold the interest of the foreigner. This picture was directed by Mr. L. P. Bowman, Production Manager of the Camel Studios, formerly of the Essanay staff. The tire campaign will not only be conducted as a national one in the United States, but the Camel Company has likewise made special prints for foreign circulation, Sweden being the first country in which the tire pictures will be shown. Thirty prints are now in circulation here and en route to Sweden, where showings will be begun at once in the principal theaters of Stockholm. The tire maker has dealers in all parts of the world and films are considered the most effective method of advertising the product under after-war conditions. In this picture the aim is to demonstrate visually a special tread which prevents skidding even under the most unfavorable conditions. To demonstrate this idea effectively, the director shows a woman driving a machine along the edge of a cliff. By means of the closeup and distant scene, a narrow escape from destruction and possible death is depicted graphically. The worst possible conditions are used to show the effectiveness of the tread being advertised. The balance of the reel shows the various features of the tire which are calculated to increase its sale and the whole reel is a logical sales argument for the brand advertised. The Camel Company is interested in the filming of productions for foreign consumption and have their studios so organized that they can handle this business effectively, either in the animated drawing style in which they are pioneers or in the straight industrial style. The Camel Company produced the famous animated cartoons on Perfection Oil Heaters which were nationally distributed for the Standard Oil Company. Concerning the possibilities of films in securing foreign trade, Mr. Bowman of the Camel Company said : "While our new campaign being tried out in Sweden is somewhat in the class of an experiment, our clients are fully sold on the idea of visualizing the values of their products on the moving picture screen. Having a strong dealer organization, they have brought pressure to bear in order to secure the greatest number of bookings possible in Stockholm. It is the intention to extend this campaign to other countries after the experience gained in Sweden has been tabulated. The Camel Company believes a big field is open to the whole advertising motion picture trade in boosting this use of films in export business. A knowledge of conditions in Europe is desirable, as the conditions facing the exhibitor and the tastes of the pubic will make a campaign more effective. Automobile tires are in great demand in Europe and the tire men of America must fill present and future heeds. "It is up to the moving picture to do its part. Not only are tires in demand, but pictures as well. Production abroad ceased even in many neutral countries during the war and the result is a big shortage. This tends to make the demand for good industrial pictures great and assures to a greater degree the exhibitions which the advertiser wishes to get abroad." A Near Accident American Social Movies for Foreign -Born Women A comprehensive plan has been accepted by The National Council of Women, proposed by their Better Films Committee. This involves the presentation of American motion pictures for the benefit of the women of France, Italy, Russia, Norway and other countries. Mrs. Myra Kingman Miller, chairman of the committee, is satisfied that American projects can be presented to the women of Europe so they will gather inspiration and practical suggestions from American accomplishments. The idea has the indorsement of many leading people of European countries. The practical methods are being submitted to analysis.