Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-11-10
N. c. A. Is BIGGEST
MOVIE EXHIBITOR
lts Weekly Display of Films for
Enlisted Men Breaks
All Records

Movies tonight?" cautiously queries the
American counterpart Of Files on Parade"
to the high private at his elbow.
Movies tonlght?" three times day the
question runs down the long mess lines In
every camp and cantonment in this coun-
~.
Movies toight?" Is the stock inquiry in
every Y. NJ. C. A. building and tent at the
2o0-odd places where soldiers and sailors
are encamped In this country
Movies tonight" affirms hundreds OF
Army and Navy Y. NJ. c. A. secretaries
from Portland, Maine. to San Diego. Call
ifornia. and from Vancouver. Washington,
to Key West. Florida.
Y "Hurrah!" is tho shout, or Good :" the
oatisfed comment of tens of thousands of
regulars and guardsmen. Sammios and
5ackies and marines all over the length and
breadth Of the land
The moving picture entertainment in
camp has come to be one OF the great ease
ments Of the soldiers and sailors life. The
'Jackies" throng to the "Y" movie shows
at every naval base and station. The SOL
diers look for-and get--them wherever
they are, from the Atlantic to the Pacific,
In barracks, cantonments, temporary en-
campments or in remote outposts on the
Mexican border.
1t costs the national war council Of the
Young Mems Christian Association many
thousand dollars month to rent the pic
0.roq that furnish this welcome amusement
% I've boys in khaki and navy blue. At
e1of& than 200 different places in tho
sounfry In excess of 400 projecting ma
ehitss are in operation from one to six
nikhtS week. running Off the four TO five
milich feet of film now shown weekly.
Whfn the full quota of buildings and tents
sailed for are In operation, 100000 feet
OF MIN will be required weekly. That Is,
eacA week the Y. NJ. c. A. will show in
It's hundreds of stations the equivalent of
nlp 1920 miles long, a picture capable.
IN other words, of spanning the distance
from Omaha to New York. The Y. NJ. c.
A. Is low showing more film at moro places
every night than any other one agency; il
Is the biggest moving-plcture exhibitor in
the world. At one station alone, for in
stance. more than $50 programs have al
ready been given, more than n million feer
of flm used.
What kind of pictures do the enlisted men
like and how are they procured? That
question Is best answered by visit to the
New York office of the Community Motion
Picture Bureau. This bureau Is the select
Ing and distributing agent for virtually all
the hlns shown to soldiers and sailors by
the Y. NJ. c. A. in this country. Through
its eight offices which conform largely 10
the area of established army departments
(tn one or two instances to subdivisions OF
cepartmenO. it distributes film to every
camp. cantonment and post where the Y.
III. c. A. exhibits. The pictures made by
every producer are watched closely for de-
sirable features, and the bureau bears wit
ness to- the hearty cooperation OF virtually
every one OF the several score of producers
and distributing agencies In the country in
making their productions available for the
amusement OF the men under arms and in
training.
Tho ideal film is difficult, but not impos-
sibie to get. On an average Il is necessar ry
TO soc from twenty to- thirty pictures to find
ono that Will do. Tho films must be whole-
some high-class and entertaining-red-
blooded is perhaps the best descriptive ad-
5ective. Most Of the programs appearing
in the army and navy are the so-caIled
Feature" films of five or more reels: rhe
remaining are "composite" programs of Diff
ferent shorter nlns Roughly, one-thlrd Of
the pictures shown are comedy, one-third
outdoor pictures of all kinds and one-third
drama. The Individual programs from night
to night are varied as may be- II is inter-
est1nR that a small but definite per cent Of
the pictures are designedly chosen to send
the men away more or less gloomy-whjch
Is to say to put them in thoughtful frame
of mind High comedies are striven for
those wherein inheres an underlying seri-
BUSINESS.
The outdoor pictures are OF many and
various kinds. They may be straight "scen-
ic." They may show "the beasts OF the
field and the fowls Of the air. at work and
at play or more often than not they are
military pictures of one kind or another
Ohicial European war pictures are always
In great demand. This is probably because
the majority Of men now in our army and
navy are newcomers; they have as ver
seen little OF army and navy life, The
regular who has served his one or two or
three periods of enlistment wants much
less war "stuff' than the newer recruits
TN general" said Warren Durham
Foster. president CT the Community Motion
Picture Bureau. "the thing that gets across
with the men in the ranks is the human
thing. the thing that is fundamentally true.
Contrary to much popular belief. the com
mon run OF folks like the sort of thing they
ought to like the interesting. the instructive.
the constructive and the wholesome thing.
They want something with substance. IT
Is the same with soldiers.
A brand-new attraction In the military
and naval movies Is soon to make its APP
pearance In the form OF "A soldiers and
sailors own weekly motion picture. This
nlm will be similar to the commercial
Aims of the same type, but will feature
matters Of particular interest TO enlisted
men. Doings In other camps. outstanding
military and civil events. interesting hap
< penings in affairs OF state, both In and out
Of washington; as many European wal
pictures as can be obtained and incidents
back home" are some OF the subjects Ia
< be included The aim will be TO as great
an extent and in as many ways as possible
ITO keep the home fires burning and the
homo times from breaking. as well as tc
furnish information and entertainment,
through the medium of animated current
y events. This weeks picture. furnished by
y the Community Bureau, will be shown as
z part OF regular "Y" programs Throughout
Y ne country.