The Washington times., 1914-04-03
THE BEST
Photopldy Department i,1
WASHINGTON
Ten Thousand People
Prove Den1dndfor
Cleaner Kinds
of Films

The lesson The Times has been
trying to teach is being learned!
Read this:
Owing 10 the unprecedented attendance
AZ the Virginia Theater for the Famous
players Performance. the record showing
oe0 paid admissions. with estimation
n over 2,ooo turned away, during the two
@ays' run of the Bishops CarriaGe,
with Mary Picldord as star, the manage
rnert has decided to extend the run OF
zach play to four days instead of two as
heretofore announced, in order 10 give 20
all an opportunity of attending this epoch
making series OF Photoplays."
That paragraph formed part of an
advertisement that appeared in every
Washington newspaper yesterday.
We take a certain amount of pride
in printing it here because the only
way the ten thousand people VINO
went TO the Virginia knew what was
being produced there was through
the announcement in The Times and
the posters on the outside of the the
ater. 1t is foolish TO even think that
ten thousand people were drawn to
tho thester by the posters in two
days. The fact that nearly fifty
thousand people read The Times
every day is significant OF where
that mass of humanity got its infor-
Iratien, though. We are glad SO many
people went there. We are particu-
lsrly proud to feel that We had a
vtole lot to do with their going there
N such numbers.
But that is not the reas son We are
reprinting that paragraph in tins
column today. 1t is not the con-
nercial aspect of the thing that We
are looking at all. We are glad
TO have been a party to Manager
Noonan's prosperity, but We are
more proud of the fact that it came
TO Manager Noonan through fol-
lowing our advice 20 produce a first
saw the light we have been trying
TO hold up to the exhibitors of the
city. The advertisement of the film
had something to do with il, the
appearance Of Mary Pickford had
something to do with it-but the
fact that II was a great show, that
Il Was a clean film, that 1t was not
a slap-stick. murder and sudden
death affair-this had the most to
do with il.
We can hear some one who is read
ing this chuckle to himself, as he
remeTRbers that the strong part in
In the Bishops Carriage" is the
part of the girl thief. And we an
ucipate the question that instantly
suggests itself-that In the Bishops
Carriage" is crime film, and that
Ne have been protesting loudly
against crime films AS matter of
fact, the play is not q crime film
such as we have referred TO in these
columns as being unfit for perform
ance- 1t is clean film. We referred
TO the fact the other day that a GEN.
sorship that followed a lot Of hard
and fast rules would eliminate a host
OF good plays where crimes were
"ommitted-such az Julius Caesar"
Macbeth" Hamlet" and others
And we don't want the kind of a
"ensorship that would do this. In
the Bishops Carriage is one of the
fluls in which crime forms part of
the plot, and il is essential to the
working out OF the plot that some
details of the crime should be shown
I is shown in an artistic manner. 1t
does not come out and slap one in
The face as the same sort of thing
does in the kind of films that nave
10 " pIcltSl- Tor
hat phase of it.
Is there any sensible person in
" aShington who will offer any other
explanation for the unexaInpled
Prosperity of the Virginia Theater
tn9n those We have recited? Is there
any better demonstration wanted of
Le drawing power of good photo
plays: And can any of the films OF
Tr-YPly- daQradfnO ha Ia.
shown simply to cause a thrill bring
more substantial gain TO the ex-
hihttor: Those are the things that
stick out rather boldly in this in
stance. IL seems to US. And those are
he things that more than justly the
anpaiSn that has been started in
'3is column for better plays by bet
= actors at all OF the photoDlay
heaters in Washington.
There is vet another phase that
wight interest some OF the people
no have followed our reasoning
There are exhibitors in Washington
VINO complain that they cannot show
'hese big films because they cost too
much. The Famous Players pro-
%Har1 which Manager Noonan has
"ngSged for his theater during the
coming two months cost him almost
three thousand dollars for the use
q: the films alone. That seems like
verv heavy expense for a photo
lay house 10 assume fo- one set Of
p;ctures. Managers OF other houses
throughout the city will tell you that
they VII tell you they cannot afford
Sich things. And they Will also tell
YOU that they cannot afford to give
YOU frst-run programs.
The success Of the Virginia Theater
= refutation of every one Of these
presentations. In the first place
here isn't a single film in the entire
lr"grsm that has been engaged by
the Nirrinia that hasn't been shown
Washington befOre-not once but
efvcTal times. And in the second
place the Virginia is a scent the
tter-rot I0-cent house. II the Viz
Fllia can show such films profit
ably. there isn't single photoplay
house in the District but that can
duplicate the feat The thing is to
ret the proRrams-get the decent
clean plays. Give the public what it
wants. And you can't keep the
crowds away. G. NJ