The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-02-28
Large Exportation of
 Motion Picture Films

ture films, or enough to stretch twice around the globe at the equator, pass ed through the Custom Houses of the United States in the calendar year 19t6; 42,000 miles of this was Amer | ican films heing exported, the re- 1raindcr European films being import 1 ed.
 A compilation by the Foreign Trade | Department of the National City Bank of New York shows that nearly $10,- 1 900, ,0O0 W orth of motion picture films made in the United States were sent to foreign countries, and our own col onies. and ever s1,000,000 worth of foreign films were imported during the calendar year 1916. The exports of the year are the largest in the history of this comparatively new, feature of our international trade. They total led ill the calendar year 1916 224,- 51S.Ss0 feet, equivalent to over 42,000 miles, and the imports, 43,372,214 feet aggresatirg about 5000 miles, thus justifying the statement that the length Of the films passing through the Customs House of the country in the full calendar year, was sufficient to stretch twice around the globe at the
 
 enormous total was American films ex- ported.
 The exportation of motion picture flnls from, the United States has grown very rapidly. It was only Yin 1912 that the expo-tation of this class of merchandise was considered of suff1- cient importance to justify a mention in tho statistics of our international co mmerce. In that fiscal year the to- tai exports Of films amounted to 80,- 000,000 feet. By 1914 it was 185,- 100000 feet. Tn the calendar year 1915 199 ,000.G G00 feet, and in 1916, as above indicated, 224,518,880 feet exclusive of approximately 500O.000 feet sent to Porto Rico and Hawaii. The value of the expectations of 1916 was $9,261,- 075 against $6,713,174 in 1915 and $4,742, 62O. in 1914.
 : Nearly three-fourths of the films ex- ported in 1916 are exposed" films ready for use. The exact figures are, exposed films 164,214,434 feet, and unexposed 6O,304,446 feet. The av- craze price of the exposed film is 45 cents per foot, and of the unex- posed 3.5 cents per foot. The valua-i tion per foot of the imported film is but about half that of the films ex77 ported the stated value of the 42, 900, ,OO0 feet of films imported being about 1.5 cents per foot, for the un- exposed, and over cents per foot for the exposed, of which the quantity, however, is extremley small.
 Most of the films exported go to Great Britain, thel total to that coun- try alone in 1916 amounting to 121,- 533, 900 feet, to France, 16,286,0OO, and to Canada, 13,359,O00 and Ill., 354,551, to "other countries"
 There has been marked change in the last year in the proportion which .sexposed'' films ready for use form of the total exports of this class of mer- chandise ssIn 1915 the exposed film was but 73,0O0,000 feet and the unex- posed 6,OOO,0O0 while conditions were reversed in 1916, the unexposed film being, of course, that intended for use in making motion pictures in oth- CT parts of the world.
 The United States is by far the worlds largest manufacturer of mo- tion picture film. While no exact figures are available on the quantity of film now produced in the United States, an estimate based upon the known quantity exported suggests that the entire domestic production considerably exceeds 1,00o,00O,0OO feet, with a value of approximately $40. 100000.
 The character of the views present. ed on the 30,000,000 miles of expos ed" raedy-to-use film exported is quite similar to that of the films in use in the United States, probably three fourths being photo plays, and the re- mainder chiefly travelogues, news service" and comedies.