The Washington times., 1914-07-17
THE BEST
Photoplay Department in
WASHINGTON
film Wants Are But
Reflection Of
The Peoples
. Minds

The spirit of uplift has taken de-
terr1fned root in the photoplay bust
ness,
The fight for good plays and better
films is beginning to have its results.
The men who are engaged in the
business of advising the captains of
moving picture industry are all en-
thusiastic advocates of better, clean
er. and more wholesome plays.
where they simply thought so.
months ago. they are now writing
about it. Where they merely sug-
ges;ed. they are now demanding. To
q large extent the change of attitude
Of these people may be traced to the
hard work that has been done in
the trade press by such men as
Eppes Winthrop Sargent, Louis
Reeves Harrison, ". Stephen Bush.
and one or two others These men
have been continually and persistent
ly advocating Improvement. practi-.
cal improvement. And they have
continually and persistenly written
and argued for IL. There has scarce
ly been a time when their voices
were not raised in the fight
OF all that has been written in
favor of clean pictures and better
plays. however, the following ex-
tracts from an article by Mr.. Harri-
son in late number of the Moving
<Icture World probably presents the
strongest and clearest arguments
he states:
rs ii not true that we arc begin
ming to be repealed by false inter
pretations of life. even rh1se that
-. Ii
the past but which are Of no i'm
portsnce to US now? 1t is not true
that whatever is false to present
ideals operates to wear the intel'i-
gent portion OF an audience and to
poison the minds of the ignorant
and crcdulous? Let rs he honest
with ourselves. We naturally desire
20 achieve fortune, TO love happily,
70 Judge fairly and be fairly judged
and to enjoy sound health. both
physical and mental
Summing up what we want in
actual existence, some idea may be
reached of what we want to have
revealed to US on the screen. We
Certainly do not care 10 have re-
peated over and over again what
has been shown to Us once on the
screen or in some other form. There
fore, original plays that stimulate
our emotions or quicken our minds
must take precedence over PLAYS that
merely serve as vehicles 70 exploit
this or that actor, after tn. theatri-
cal fashion, regardless Of intrinsic
value and significance. Stars are all
right-thcy are shining examples Of
those who know how to interpret
thought and feelins-but what they
are TO interpret is the question Of
the day. Who shall decide that
question:
The playwright may attempt to
decide it, and he may be capable Of
reaching a correct solution through
dramatic instinct and training nut
he is up against the stubborn cnnvIc-
tons Of msn who believe nothing
can succeed with the general public
but sensational drama. L takes a
lot q time and persistent effort 70
weaken cid faiths and the idea that
pecTle like raw meat in stage or
screen performances has prevailed
for many years. Ask a theatrical
man what he likes and he will not
find e comprehensive reply. but he
will answer readily when asked what
the average mixed audience likes.
He has seen new ideas fail where
old ones succeeded. and Yields slow
" to any common-sense arguments
on what people prefer 10 watch on
the stage or on the screen.
Melodrama has It's merits. and il
may always be accorded 2 place
on varied program, but after
watching number of burning
houses and sinking ships. or other
similar incidente. in which some one
or ether vs. '7aved." one cannot
help feeling that such releases are
apt to run aloni: rnonotonous lines.
nearly all the thrill is on the red
poster outside the theater. There
r. another form Of visualized story.
which NAV be called ''intenr"
drama" which can be made to ho'd
universal attention and arouse
strong interest. especially when II
dssects and laws bare some mvs-
FERROUS working of the human mind.
Sense deception, faulty observation.
distraction. sXIEeeration Illusion,
Eplit personally lest mental facul-
ties. mental restoration. disssEoci-
ated individuality and the awaken
ing Of entirely new characters are
not abstract fercies ~ the ps|cho-
loEist. hut stern realities whose ex-
istence needs the entertaining de
termination Of truth. and thew may
eli furnish material for intense
drama
We are far from being what we
think We are and there arc many
exciting adventures yet TO De made
into the dark realms Of mental
change, adventures which can ne
u.eA 20 awaken high suspense and.