The Washington herald., 1914-06-10
Fleeing Views.

yesterday 1 met a man VINO had
crouch. His case is comical, II is al
most ludicrous-but II is, nevertheless, SO
truly applicable to many people that It
deserves serious and special mention. He
is not connected in any way with the
film business-but he likes motion pic
tures-and goes to see them frequently.
Say" he began, II saw that Sea Wolf
picture at the Casino-and believe me, II
was some picture. I took my wife and
we both had a solid evenings enter
tainment. from about $50 o'clock to 1880
o'clock. Those scenes showing the ferry
boat wreck and the wrecked vessel on the
enjoyed every minute of 1.-THE acting
was so fine it almost made me forget
1t was a moving picture"
/ agreed with him that The Sea Wolf"
was remarkably good picture and call
ed his attention to the number of big
features of real merit
We'll" he said with an aggrieved air,
II don't think I'll go to that Casino any
more. Just think of it-they charged %
cents apiece for seats"
Just think of II, The man and his wife
had a solid evenings entertainment"
they enjoyed every minute of it." they
saw a pictorial production that must
have cost thousands of dollars to pro-
duce-they saw 1t in a big, clean, splen-
didIy ventilated theater. they sat in
comfortable seats anG listened to the
music Of an orchestra-and just think
OF it-they actually charged him as much
as 20 cents apiece for seats. Shameful,
isn't it? That a two-hour production,
shown under the circumstances and in
the theater that The Sea Wolf was
shown. should be charged for at the rate
Of 20 cents per seat!
1t is something to think about. I've
often wondered how they could show
those big pictures for as small a sum as
ten and twenty cents. / know that in
New York and other big and progressive
cities the prices for features like the Sea
Wolf range from twenty-five cents to
two dollars. Washington, it seems. is
unwilling to pay a fair price for its
amusement. i don't believe that it Is.
While there are many people like my
friend who thought a twenty-cent charge
excessive, they only need a certain meas
ure Of education in the moving picture
game to realize that they will receive
the full value for their money when they
will have to pay many times twenty
cents to witness a big feature produc-
ton.
As for the houses that show a regular
program, in no case should their charges
be less than ten cents. And where fea-
ture films are shown in addition to a
regular program & higher charge than
ten cents should be made. This claim
Of The Herald's, that moving picture
exhibitors should obtain at least a ten
cent fee, is made primarily in the public
interest. The prosperous merchant sells
the best class of goods, and sell them
under the best surroundings. His SHOP
is clean and neat and his statesmen atten-
tive. The moving picture exhibitor who
10 will sbnp- he hact
and show them in cool, clean, comfort
able theaters-under the most desirable
circumstances-which is all in the in
terest Of his patrons.
Twenty cents to see a seven-reel
picture like the Sea Wolf" In a few
years-very few years-the patrons of
the moving pictures, who reserve their
seats at the big theaters DAYS in ad-
vance to see the feature fIms-and see
them at certain specified performance
with special orchestral accompani- |
ments, and all the frills accompanying
a present day presentation of a dramatic |
performance-they will smile pityingly |
at the thought of any one objecting to |
paying twenty cents to see such a per-
formance. Like the quality of the NOV
ing pictures, prices are going up, xot |
down. |
fellow named Ben, who thinks the world |
was made for his benefit He says they |
named the Big Ben clock after him, |
because 1t was so openfaced."
A real goat butted into a rehearsal at |
the Majestic studio the other day and |
spoiled picture. II was THE Sheriff |
of Contention" on which John O'Brien |
IS so hard at work. Mr. O'Brien had |
been rehearsing the most critical scene
of all, many times over, and only that |
moment had put the cameraman on the
'ob-when. enter Mr.. Goat He ran
across the foreground of the picture. |
and, clambering upon a table, let out 8
olaintive bleat at George Siegmann. The
dramatic situation was instantly turned
% burlesque When the intruder hai
been driven back to the studio corral,
he long-sufferins director was Obliged /
% put the members Of the cast through |
heir parts a dozen times before they
,ould sufficiently recover their gravity |
% recreate the dramatic afrno~nber~