Screenland (Sept 1922–Feb 1923)

°yke Editors' PAGE Myron Zobel Editor Syl MacDowell, Managing Editor Hiss the Bad Ones T IHE good old custom of hissing seems to be dying out, In the old days one had live actors at which to throw ripe eggs and tomatoes and the rest of the garden truck that was too far gone to send East for hotel consumption. Nowadays the silver screen has largely removed the pleasure of vegetable ovations. But the cause of them still holds good. It is not right to leave the theater dissatisfied until that dissatisfaction has been given voice. The least thing you can do is to tell the manager when a picture you have seen displeases you. If he is a good manager he will appreciate this courtesy, for it really is a courtesy. You will help him to make money by giving him an idea of the kind of pictures for which you are willing to spend your money. If you are unwilling to step right up to the box office and register a kick, the next best thing is to start a low hum and a stamping of feet ; or a gentle hissing through closed teeth will serve as well. Try to get as many of your friends as possible who are sitting about you to join you in this public demonstration of disgust. The film actors will not be distracted and the manager may derive profit from the demonstration. It may even come back eventually to the actors themselves, the directors and the producers that gave birth to the photoplay that caused you pain. We will thank you and so will those who really love the motion picture art. Help to make the pictures better by telling them when they are bad. Don't let the good old custom of hissing die an unnatural death. Their Pasts c APTAINS of finance like to boast of their humble beginnings. But movie celebrities never try to interest others in their pasts. It is taken for granted that everyone has at least one of his own. A group of calloused press agents were trying to summon from memory's storehouse the oldest "publicity gag" in existence. "The star who has her jewels stolen," one began. "The gateman who fails to recognize the star in her make-up," offered another. "The ingenue who adores reading," was the hoary fable recalled by the third. But the fourth one, in a brilliant flash of reminiscence, said : "The movies have never used the oldest hokum. It is the one we hear every time a business man makes a success : that he was raised on a farm and sold papers for a living. I know its hokum, because nobody could, make a living selling papers on a farm." Modes in Morality A: •GOOD CONDUCT CLAUSE," the name of a short story that appeared recently in this magazine, is now being written and observed in the employment of players in the largest motion picture stock company in America. Rigid rules and regulations governing their public and private lives have been issued to the players, by the company, "to protect the good name of their profession." Some interesting paragraphs appear in the published code : "Be careful in your choice of associates. Remember, 'a man is known by the company he keeps.' A woman is known by the company she avoids." "Avoid alcoholic stimulants and late hours. If you are a woman, nothing can destroy your good looks so quickly ; if you are a man, nothing can incapacitate you so much for the arduous work of the studio." "Ability to portray emotions is your stock in trade, but the place for portrayal of emotion is on the screen, not in the studio. * * * Burst of socalled temperament in the studio will not be tolerated. * * * We are all grown men and women." "Any member failing to * * * avoid places, circumstances and conduct which might in any way bring themselves and the industry into disrepute * * * is liable to instant dismissal." Players are advised to read good books to broaden their outlook on life ; to read a good newspaper and to keep abreast of developments in politics, literature, economics, art. "Remember that your mentality and tastes shine through your eyes on the screen," it is asserted. We are happy to recognize that the time has come when notoriety of a player will be regarded by their associates as an injurv to them all.