The world film encyclopedia (1933)

Interesting Facts About Films 477 m the lilm was completely covered Dummies are used to overcome the with <^old paint. copyright difficulties that would other Television The first demonstration in a cinema was carried out in this country by the Baird Television Company, in conjunction with the ]Metropole Cinema, Victoria, London. The Derby was transmitted on June I, 1932, and was seen by a thrilled audience on a special screen 10 ft. wide and 8 ft. high. Wide Screen It is probably only reticence on the part of producers that is responsible for the slow progress made by the wide screen. Doubtless it is felt that the cost of new equipment coming so soon after the talkie revolution would impose a burden on exhibitors which they are not at present prepared to shoulder. The Bat Whispers, shown at the Regal Cinema recently, was photographed on a film 65mm. wide, then reduced to standard size, thus achieving the wide film effect with sharper definitions. The screen on which this was shown was 31 ft. wide and 16 ft. high. Some General Facts About Films A PHOTOGRAPH copyright lasts fifty years after the mal-iing of the negative. The cost of a motion picture camera sometimes amounts to £1,000. "Max Factor is Hollywood's most celebrated make-up expert. He has amassed a fortune by the manufacture of grease paint. Hollywood Boulevard is officially called Santa Claus Lane every Christmas. Founder members of Holh^vood's first cricket team were : Ronald Co'man, P. G. Wodehouse, Anthony Bushell, Murray Kinnell, Boris Karloff, and C. Aubrey Smith (elected President). Karloff had the distinction of scoring the first century. Screen newspapers are never real. wise be entailed. A PROCESS has been devised by which film scrap can be converted into imitation leather, used sometimes to upholster cars. Grease paint sticks have largely been replaced by coloured creams. Permanent investm.ents in the American film industries amount to ;^3oo, 000,000. Cartoons and their creators : Mickey Mouse, Walt Disney ; Felix, Pat Sullivan ; Flip the Frog, Ub Iwerks. Martial law compelled all residents of San Francisco (among them many film stars) to clear up the debris after an earthquake. This they had to do for a certain number of hours over two days. Hollywood Bowl, a large open-air amphitheatre, seats 20,000 people, and has such perfect natural acoustics that it is possible to hear a person talking in natural tones at a distance of 500 ft. Three-quarters of American film stories are chosen specially to suit certain stars. Hollywood has ten schools of equitation, and riding is more popular in that city than in any other of America with an equal population. Unless taken from a book, the original story of a film seldom consists of more than 500 words, and is known as the synopsis. All employees at Paramount Studios are covered by life insurance. In the silent days music was always provided on the set to inspire artistes. Th?: film industry ranks fourth in importance in U.S.A. In March, 1927, a course of lectures on the Motion Picture industry was inaugurated at Harvard University. Simultaneously, it was announced that the Fine Arts Department would in future select the best pictures of the previous twelve months and preserve them in a special library. The usual arrangement made between exhibitors and renters is a percentage of the takings.