The Washington times., 1914-04-09
THE BEST
Photoplay Department in
WASHINGTON
Children'S ThedterS
Seem to Solve
The Vexed
Question

censorship agitation through
out the country is the propo-
sition to establish children's
theaters where photoplays adapted to
the child mind exclusively are to be
shown.
This idea is not entirely new, be-
cause there have been attempts made
10 establish children's theaters in
large cities, where dramatic produC-
tions calculated to please the chill
dren have been put on. The cost of
such productions made 1t almost i'm
possible for the idea to succeed,
however. Not that the actual playing
cost more than any other play. but
the losses resulting from small at
tendance and the limited time the
house could be open were SO great
that the hackers of the proposition
withdrew their support.
Now that the photoplay has be-
come so popular and that children
have become SO great a factor in the
showing Of such plays, It is believed
that the idea would have a very
great success. The greatest criti-
cism that has been directed against
photoplays. the one which has the
most substantial grounds, is the bad
effect of the plays on children and
youths of immature years. There is
undoubtedly a tremendous influence
Of an improper nature brought to
bear on the child mind by the films.
As was discovered by the school
teacher who Investigated the sub
ject. pictures make a much deeper
Impression on the susceptible mind
of the child than the lessons in the
text books. 1t has been proposed in
Pennsylvania to utilize them as text
books in the schools. Their use would
be limited to a certain extent, how
ever. and would hardly involve the
showing of plays except of an his
torical nature.
The child's craving for amuse-
ment must be satisfied and the pho
toplay seems to satisfy 1t better
than anything that has yet been
brought out 1t seems therefore,
that the time is ripe for the es-
tabltshment of a number of chill
dren's theaters throughout the coun-
try where plays that are proper for
children to see can be shown. II
such theaters are established, 1t will
mean a great impI ovemenc in the
quality of films. The excuse some of
the manufacturers make for q great
deal Of the slap-stick comedy now
so common is that this sort of stuff
pleases the children and does not
bore the grown folks SO much as
purely children's plays would do.
They contend rhAt they must rec
ognize the children in some way
and this is the way they take to 90
IL.
The establishment OF children's
theaters would permit the production
of a kind of film that has not vet
been attempted on very large
scale. The dramatizatIon of Hans
Christian Andersen's tales or some
Of the old children's stories like
Gulllver's Travels. etc, world be
possible. The production of stories
from children's books would also
pay the producers. If children could
be compelled to go to these thea
ters-tkat is, IL they we're barred out
OF the other places and permitted
only in the theutcrs where films
suited to them are shown-the great
est objection TO the production Of
the modern problem play on screen
would be removed.
SO Tar the proposition for a chill
oren's theate- has gone little beyond
the experimental stage. 1t is to be
hoped that it will be taken up seri-
ously by the proper sort of people
and pushed through to success. And
~ the proper people We mean ruen
and women who are actuated from
business viewpoint rather than
from the point OF view Of the re-
FORMER. but who have a clear under
standing of what is proper to show
IN such a place of amusement. With
all due respect to the organizations
interested in child saving, Il Is more
than likely that a much closer
approximation of the real needs Of
the children could be reached bv
some one who was interested in the
business from a business poinS of
view. The reforner would be too an,
to utilize the propaganda STYLE Of
hlms than the purely story type and
thus fail TO really bring the children
into the theater The cowboy and
The detective are not demoraIizing
70 the child because they are the
cowboy and detective, but hccause OF
the way they have been shown. And
~ would serve no useful purpose II
the Wild eyed reformer took hold Of
the films and legislated out OF bust
ness those subjects that hurt by the
way they are handled and not az
subjects. We would like 10 see the
experiment OF children's theater