The Washington times., 1914-12-17
PHOTOPLAYS AND
PHOTOPLAYERS
What Patrons Would
Do If They Tried
Their Hands AT
Exhibiting.
BY GARDNER MACK.

The doctrine Of the divine right OF
the photoplay exhibitor and producer
which Tor many months was strenu-
ously defended by the gentlemen
who refused 10 progress, is now en-
Jireiy out OF style among the real
active heads OF the motion picture
industry. They are realizing that
the public has the only divine right
about the whole buSiness-the right
20 stay away from poor shows. And
fH" public Is exercising this right
,u such a degree that il does not
lay any more 10 have Il poor show.
On" progressive exhibitor isn't
enough 10 make d community en-
tifciy happy. however-no matter
nov unhappy his work may make
his nonprogressiyc competitors. Be
cause there are SO many people in
each neiShborhOod who have been
educated TO make the photoplay a
part OF Their daIly mental diet that
one theater will not hold them all
The discomforts of such Z situation
were brought home TO me one even
ING last week when a wait of three
quarters of an hour was necessary
TO obtain entrance TO a progressive
exhibitor thcatCr where a much
sought film was being shown. To
diSreSs just a little here, it might
be stated that this particular ex-
hibitor showed his progreSsiveness
With relation TO this particular tilm,
Hy obtaining it for two extra days
when ne found how many people
wanted to- see il that first night. 1t
Is perhaps because of this that the
article In the handsome Christmas
number of the Motion Picture News
hich appealed to me most was a
page affair which VIC are partly re-
printing and which purports to be
The statement of a pnotoplay en-
lhusiaSt as 10 just what he would do
Il he was an exhibitor. HIS Senti-
'nentS are so like what has often
been expressed here. but are summed
ID SO much better that we give most
of them:
If / were an exhibitor:
L would demonstrate that ] had
gray matter enough to pick a sensi-
Ole. appropriate name for my thea
ter, instead of behaving as foolishIy
about il as the llght-headed woman
who lives on paper-coVercd novels
and names her daughters after their
H.rcines. L would think twice before
) plastered the front of nv theater
with posters until it looked like a
and subway excavation. German
students glory in faces SCARED and
scanned With sabre cuts, swathed in
handaScs and stuck with court plas-
tiers. but that is no reason why an
exhibitor should apply the same prin-
gIple TO the front of his Iheater. 1
would beat everybody TO il on the
censorship proposition, and prove to
them all, from manufacturers in the
TTlln a Officials Of 81
could do my own censoring better
nan anyone could do it for me. L
"a OUld show them that / could give a
clean show, no matter how humble
my theatcr, ana the people to whom
II catered. And | would start a new
kind Of censorship that would be as
merCiless against the cheap, badly
produced picture as against the
''auntIngly immoral and suggestive
ono.
i would decide in my own mind,
once and for all, just what kind of a
show l wanted to give my patrons,
and then charge them a price that
would yield me a profit and be justi-
led b. the pictures. II might be a
nickel. 1t might be a quarter. But
q / made up my mind that 1 couldn't
charge more than cents, / wouldn't
lay myself open to the charge Of in
sanity by loading myself with the
eostliest features / could find, know
uE / could never break even on
hem, in mad endeavor TO beat my
competitor down the street I would
give my patrons the best 5-cent pic
lures 10 be had for a nickel, and
Is hen ] couldn't resist the temptation
20 rent 4 film that ought to bring
l". y. or . cents, I would have the
sound horse sense TO charge the
right price for it
II a phOtoplayWright were TO ask
me 10 show a picture that had been
made from his scenario, 1 would run
slide annouHc ng the fact that
Ar. Ferdinand Umph, of 115 Neigh
surhoOd avenue, VIII have film
30 my thcater on a given night
and 1 would pretty near pack the
house that night. because nine out
1l every ten people who come TO
tue theatcT are trying 10 write plays,
and they ali want TO see what the
other fellows stuff looks like; and
B wuuiu make an everlasting friend
H.' '. III" writer and all his friends
ypsIu study my audience. l would
la 'ai hat kind OF pictures they
want and To 90 that I would use
a." method that 7 viii use 10 count
the words in this article when II Is
finished. I win not count each word.
pace writers time rs too valuable
.' maj / VII INSt 'O1hL every
ISuth line and average the rest up
HF that standard. and ] would use
he -alne method IN measuring up
r- audience. 1 would stop every
NTH patron some night and ask
his or her opinion or the show. and
rnr1 7 had talked 20 about SIX or
-r-'u ] would have a pretty fair
notion Of what the people in the
ghO0rhood wanted, and then
would give IL TO them.
And, finally. II I were an eX-
Ibtor and a patron were 70 tell
me that there were pictures shown
ia my thcateT that he did not like,
J would not 20 into a lonE-winded
plantation Of how / was tied up
nh an exchange and did not know
nat my program was 10 he till !
n. ft. i such were the case,
nEl4 be ashamed TO admit it."