TItc Evening Ledger Amusement Section, 'Saturdau, December 18, 1915
THE PASSING SHOW
lEueratig Hg HeJrger
AMUSEMENT SECTION
9& 'A&drcse all communications to Dramatic Editor Evening Ledger,
Independence Square, Philadelphia.
THE AVERAGE NET PAID DAILY CIRCULATION OF THE EVENING
LEDGER FOR NOVEMBER WAS 94.80L
PHILADELPHIA, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1915
T What's Wrong With the Movies?
HIS department has had so much to say in praise of the photoplay art that
W,r,T. cr,ticism' f very vigorous criticism, can hardly be construed as
sl T,a VfttaCk "hiCh the movies navc had t0 withstand ever since their
h, .1 W a back"flrc asainst that raging hate which is constantly
SB V. AiC1US r ElIIy plots of so """V Photoplajs as witnesses
w?- Zl , arU At the Drama Lcae-s d.scuss.on of the Drama is. the
1T . y' at P0lnt was instantly emphasized by the photoplaj -S
tZ Z f maUer f faCt- ll doesn,t take their PPsiUon to demonstrate
St or thTSovLT PreSCnt thC mSt neSleClCd " " M lhC m0it imPortant
, "Successor to the Knickel Shocker"
Torir,llr,frJChard Eatn' WhSe wwtlonally acute criUcism of the New
Lrrar? 1 I T appearms "sularty the Amusement SecUon of the Evening
SZtW ma; ca" hlra thc "" Winter of the Movies." if we l.Ue.
art. Xa, , TS " t0 th OUth that now Person'fies itself in the screen
ss IT" hC 1S "oU,,ne of the Kind He is P- one of the manv per
son or s.lliIL m c'ther,unSatabfici or nauseated from the sex. shock, sensa
AmenLn MaiL makCS the P'0tS f the movles toda'- In the current
Sex, Shock and Sensation
storv Lmf!ntCly n t61'"15 the dep,oraW ty of the average mov.c
aLd outworn onlvhv6 frm th6 commonplaoe. the trivial, the sentimental
tte rauU ol !l! P Tf'nE ,nt S6X and Eensation. The tm.al.ty appears
Lp v I? v P y and laCk 0I on. But the sensationalism
w"os coTLd isr.srr1 pandenns-No one bw t,,c man
w , ,. Sensation Built on Censorship
way L rmauerf " f Uas- And ce""'P - the wisest
way as a matter of fact, sensationalism thrives on censorship Without it
Wd rproLTnlTfT WiShCS f the P,ay- -J2S hS
fact SaPt this sortf Sn-d " ?" T bUt he mUSt fece the "nden.able
toh7Hml ! ?S dlSKUSts and " the long run. The public, ether
espelfv the tn:;el ? thC hort-Bt0 never supported it or on"
eMJfc the convention-bound average citizen who spends his time at the
the n"' hWe'Cr- you "t up a tchdog of official moral.ty you cap.talize
22? m 22m is r "s Sttii -t2
in the censorship tt-,;, . "ow uiej nave an advertisine bureau
Sensation Built on Stupidity
new. They cant take the.r place bes.d the tLZLl
Expert Testimony
Lest this indictment of the atcrase scenar.o wr.ter sound l.ke mere abuse
S?S SIT n' ed,tr 0f thC ,eadmE tde Journa1' te
lastisate'VronrU5 yo01'? ta
name-as. apparentlj. beins worth menul'mnc 7 "le auUlors
apoiomyTouioorr-fr ana t1131 fainti-
of the -eternal triangle.' w dlsmissel br.en as trite versions
Plot'X'S'KnTCe0 Cf'C'SmS " 'A
, -the plot is not ne.- "the storj- Is n cTacth SS? nhW ncR,islb,c
place etc exaciij ncw y,,. pot a common.
Up to the Producer
The producer must stop squandering mnn,. .
Honolu.u. He must realise wha'DatrLrXhrreSdhrw IT
ot the producer in the future must be -better storied No .'...T atclni
a company, or what perfect facihties a producer has ih ? X??"
elements in the production of the KOod pictures of tl tl't,,in& The
relative importance, a.e: the story, correct citing oL.f "J" f thC'r
photography." casting, competent d.rectins and
Where Are the Amateur Critics'
This week a book department lakes the place of letters to the cd.tor This
Is simply because there are no letters. Where am ihn , , lor' rl"s
own ideas about the plaS and Photopla,. iher SerHS, r t!'C'r
tial critic. The profess.onal reviewer on a newspaper X Z t S S a PtCn"
cxpence of the theatre, and perhaps Z? 5 ZZ
shouldn't the average man or woman try his hand nf tii lypTyrilcr- ""
about the amusement he pays for The EWS.,hat C thInks
to make itself the medium of sound amateu 0X11
IHi 1 1 BOARD of H
l CENSORSHIP
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CUT-BACKS
Stage Technique Advances
Tes, indeed. Actors used to stand three
in a row racing the audience. Now thev
stand three in a row with their back-?
to it.
Perhaps It's Economy
The ultimate unrealitj of the theatre
ma be accounted for by the fact that
stage-people never finish their me. But,
then, it's probably stage-wine.
British Recipe for a Revue
Some Greco-Freako dances.
Some sere and jellow jokes.
Some girls, some saucy glances.
Some Uakst and Poiret cloaks;
Some blonde and auburn tresses.
Some imitation pearls.
Some fleecj. film dresses,
Another lot or girls.
Some blotted orchestration.
For horn and drum and gong.
Some Chaplin imitation.
A man, no voice, some song.
A star, attendant beauticf.
Some poster", perfect shocks,
A skit on M p 's duties.
More girls, more smiles, more rrocks.
A minimum of reasons,
A maximum or rot,
A rcw more girls to season,
A tin pinch of plot.
A gag about the weather.
Another girl or two
Just mix them all together.
And there ou hate Retue
London Opinion.
Prize Press Pearl
The cnod old book tells a tale about what
narDencd to i man who kpp his talrnt burled
under a nankin The boy has the rieht idea
There 1TO t a rrcat artist alUe ho dldn t
hale lilgMiesimilnc and who didn't feel that
he was lust full of talent From the Mutual.
So Says the Press Agent
A pun can bate the day for many a
press agent The gentleman who
"tratels anead or virtue" traveling
chiefly into the censor's onice and from
there to the courts supplies the following-
The censor did not say that the pro
duiers were making a virtue or neSEXity.
Beau Broadwa. or ln. -rew York
Morning Telegraph, wrote that "Virtue
would get its own award in the Philadel
phia courts " An admirer of the star of
the film said it should Imc read, "Virtue
Has Its Own Jlay Ward "
Shakespeare was called to testiry be
fore the courts because he wrote. "Dost
thou think that because thou art irtuous,
there shall be no more cakes and ale'"
The cakes and ale were deleted by the
cen&or.
No reward, by the wav, has been of
fered for the identity of the oerpctrator
Questions and Answers
Actress Kdna Ma, foiniei comic opera
sinsci. left the stage in 15u" to murj a
New York multi-millionaire. She will ap
pear in motion pictures through the
Vitagraph Company but the monej which
she will rrctive will go to the Bed Cross
ami other rhanlits This is the lust time
since h r marriage that she wilt be in the
glare ot the limelight
J. 1. i: -Joseph Ujron Totten is a
leading man of the Essanay Company
Jennie Sunday moving pictures are to
he shown in Birmingham, Ala. The Cit
Commission announced that they would
not interfere If they were offered during
certain hours.
THE BOOKSHELF
Hair a dozen jcars ago the stage it
scir was scantilj represented on the pub
lisher's lists. Now printed plajs and
books or histrionic biographj are not
only plentiful, the boom has reached the
mowes Sucli prominent publishers as
the Macmillan Compam and Heaist's In
ternational Library Companj are bring
ing out tolid, authorit.ithe books on tho
writing and producing ot photoplays.
Such tolumes will he reviewed Trom time
to time in this column
The Hearst people supply us with
"Photoplaj Scenarios. How to Write and
Sell Them," b Eusticc Hale Ball, author
not only of an earlier volume on the
technique or thc photoplaj, but or such
successrul films as "The Tramc in Souls."
Mr. Ball draws his information from ex
perience as staff pla w right, scenario edi
tor and producing director with the Re
liance. Eclair, Majestic and other com
panies. " Photopliy Scenarios" is thoroughly
readable and gies eerj indication of
trustworthiness Simplj atr3 dearly Mr.
Ball explains the proper Torm that a
scenario should nke. its divisions into
the various sheet describing plot, scenes
and actions He gives two sample sce
narios, a comedv and a drami, written
by himself, submitted to lilm companies
and ultimately produced
Other portions of the book take up
more abstract matters, such as the liws
of drama," "vitalizing the cast," "moral
foundations," "the use or close-ups "
There is plentiful advice for the begin
ner as to record keeping ot scenarios
sent out, methods of sale, the companies
which ate buving scripts, technical terms
and their uses, editorial rules and ten
sorsh'p conditions
Gro-e & Dunlap are publishing a pop-ular-rrice
photoplay edition of vv II
known booki which have been made into
film plavs with manv or the illustra
tions taken from the film These books
make vc lient gifts for the photoplaj
fan and ate on sale at all book stores
The Hearst International I.ibrarj has
recently pubh-hed in book form "The
Goddess" bj Gouvcrncur Morris and
Charles Goddard While it does not ad
here stnctlv to the lilm version in vjlilch
Anita Stewart and Earle Willi mis appear,
it makes a readable addition to -he Isige
number of books which have bttn baeil
upon the photoplaj s
THE ART OF
SCREEN ACTING
By ETHEL BARRYMORE
1 found that I nmt-t Irnrn a nctr ntoilc
of riprrt.slort, nrqutrr n nr ft of tool.
Mud & new art. On the Mace the to Ire
In ncrompanieI by the proper Returrs
iml fariil cxpreM-ions; one is often Inef
fectlve without the other; each mtit
unit Its complement. The movement
and the Rrture thnt would be( nere it
aided Ij the oIce, the perfect mean of
cilircinn on the tagr, utll not do here.
The,) must he different, thej hair to Iwar
thc whole burden, inre the Toite is
.tilled. It Is a err at (est of the actor.
It compels a call upon resources that hare
heretofore been In ubejance or but Mlght
ljr drawn upon. One mumbles some linen
to keep the lips moling, but the whole
effect miifct come from the facial ex
pression, the pose and the ceMures.
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