Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-04-24
LAST Meeting OF SEASON
Report Submitted From Committee
on Moving Picture Shows-Little
Found to Criticise.

! THE Art Of Andrea Mantegna, by
Royal Cortissoz, literary and art critic OF
| the New York Tribune. In the work OF
Mantegna, Mr.. Cortssoz showed the
| transition from the formal art of the
| primitive painters to the more naturalis-
| tic art of the modern artists. He en-
| phasized especially the "humanness" of
| this ''old MASTER, and laid special stress
| upon the value Of beauty in all works of
art. Though speaking Of a painter who
! lived many centuries ago, Mr.: Cortissoz
! related his remarks to present production
! and enlivened his illuminating criticism
with significant anecdotes.
President Taft an Honorary Member
Announcement was made that President
Taft. Maj. ". V. Judson and Sena tor
Gallinger had been elected honorary
| members OF the Washington Society of
| the Fine Arts and that they had accepted
with expressions Of appreciation and
pleasure. These are the first honorary
members elected.
A report of a special committee ap-
pointed early in the winter to investigate
the moving picture shows was presented
and was in part as follows:
The committee appointed to report on
the moving-picture situation in WASH
fngton made its investigation in March
and visited about fifty houses-that is.
all but two or three Of those intended
for white patrons. The open-air places
had not then procured their licenses for
the season, and no account was taken Of
them.
"The average capacity of the picture
houses is between 80 and 300 persons.
All of them give at least four perform
ances. and some give ten, day. At
convenient hours they are usually filled.
about 80 per cent are children. The per-
Torrance, or exhibition, usually lasts
| about one hour and includes three or four
films. to which are added In many houses
songs illustrated by colored lantern
slides. and, in few. vaudeville acts.
Fears Not Realized.
1.-THE committee expected to find the
moving pictures Objectionable to the last
degree, but Its fears were not realized.
The change from a very different condi-
| ton which existed a short time ago is
| due chiefly to the national board Of CEN
| sorshtp in New York. which passes upon
all Aims that are exhibited in that city
and upon practically all that are exhibit
ed here. The film manufacturers now CO.
operate with this board and reject pieces
| to which serious objection could be made
| on the ground that they show demoraliz-
| ing violence or are immoral or sugges-
tive IN story or acting.
1T is by no means true that even now
all the pictures are entirely unobjection-
able. There are occasionally films con-
tanning scenes which are likely to do
| more harm than good to the young peo-
pie who see thenl-such things. for exam,
wife, Juvenile lovers outwittng their par
ents and clipping, impish tricks of chill
dren, suffering and crime. But these
! things are no worse. and their presenta-
L too e. ~ Il 4hAS~ Giv to-.
things that are commonly portrayed IN
| the regular theaters, in all newspapers
| and In accepted fiction. Indeed, such
| scenes are now less likely to be harmful
melodramatic stage, because under the
| influence Of the board Of censorship when
| they are permitted at all they are usual
ly slurred.
Absence Of Skill Noted.
'"The playlets or pantomimes presented
are rarely constructed with adequate
skill. The result is that to make their
plots Ineligible they have to rely upon
written explanations sandwiched In be-
| tween the pictures.
Some Of the pieces are acted excellent
to that Of a second-rate stock company.
and things are obvious and overdone.
There IL some excuse for this in the
fact that words and voices do not count.
and theactor has to make his point by
action alone.
''The strongest grounds for Directing
to moving picture shows, as they are at
present conducted. are hygienic. and
| these are the strain to which they sub
ject tho eyes, and the poor ventilation
Of the buildings in which they are given.
The unsteadiness Of the pictures Is ex-
| ceedingly trying to eyes that are at all
weak; but It IL said that this unSteadiness
Is much less noticeable now than it was
originally. and that. with perfected ma
chinery, it was be overcome altogether.
Reasons for Bad Ventilation.
TT Is not surprising that the ventila-
ton Of the buildings in which the shows
are given Is inadequate, because most of
them are converted dwellings or stores,
which were not intended to house one
tenth as many people as now crowd
them. There is, however, q marked
! tendency for numerous small houses to
be supplanted by q smaller number of
large ones, designed for the purpose,
and In the large houses the needs as to
ventilation are more satisfactorily met.
"As drama. the moving picture show is
not an Improvement over what 1t re-
places, but q greatly inferior substitute,
whose virtues is its cheapness. Its means
Of expression are even less than those
of pantomime, for color Is denied 1t.
Function Of the Picture.
But the proper function Of the moving
picture is not dramatic, but pictorial, and
| in it's special sphere it is unapproached
by any other agency. The committee saw
pictures Of life in the jungle wild things
| moving about in their native haunts,
| flights OF birds. hunting scenes, pictures
Of moving clouds seen below from noun