The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-05-12
BETWEEN REELS
Glimpses of the Big Inside Workings of
the Moving Picture Game.
BY RAYMOND WELLS.

straight-from hezshoulder talks about
the moving picture world, and the
things therein, by Raymond Wells. Mr.
Wells is a Topekan- He is under con-
tract with Universal City as a director
of feature pictures and for more than
a year was a director in the making
of Intolerance" David Wark Crit
fith's premier production. This sum-
mer, under a leave of absence from
Universal City, he will direct a stock
company at the Novelty.-Motion Pic
ture Editor.)
Motion picture conditions are uncer-
tain. The almost certain coming OF
the open market has something to DO
with it. Some of our manufacturers
are becoming panic-stricken- one
month they will have a plant manu-
featuring only one and two reel pic
lures; the next thirty days they Will
change and manufacture five reel pic
lures, give them a certain brand, put
them on the market, start them go
ing: within sixty days they will quit
that and begin making All states
Rights pictures, only to change the
whole program again and go back 10
the original method.
Either the making or the breaking
of a moving picture concern rests
largely on the scenario editors. If they
become stereotype, the program is la
BILE to lose its prestige Same thing
If one manufacturer sees another
one make a success out of a certain
style of story, he believes that is what
the public wants and Immediately
turns his entire producing plant into
nanufa curing the same Sort of stories
that, perhaps, his competitor started.
Result-an oversupply of class or
pictures. The public certainly has had
enough sex problem and crook plays
given them. Another illustration OF
cSfsH ~
proposition. A certain moving picture
concern conceived an idea of promot-
ing a dramatic star in picture calling
it the superfeature. This picture went
over and Immediately all the dramatic
stars in America were overrun with
offers from. moving picture concerns
offering them fabulous sums to ap-
pear under their particula- brand.
Sometimes the star was not adapted
to pictures. The result: a great many
failures.
Personality Demanded?
The actor may have tremendous
lot of personality when he comes IN
close proximity with the audience, but
it is hard to believe that personality
can be pushed out of a piece of eel
luloid ten thousand miles away from
the original, and yet great many
manufacturers, directors and moving
picture actors believe that it is per-
sonality. I may be wrong. If one has
good carriage, good physique, good
teeth, dark eyes and curly head of
hair. they certainly have a great
chance in moving pictures.
Pictures are mechanical and physical.
1t takes a pretty bad director to spoil
a good story and work of a good
camera man. 1t takes a pretty bad
actor who can keep himself from being
a star, if he has the part and the
looks Mr.. Griffith is continually on
the lookout for the physical and when
he finds one that suits they can de-
mand their own price. I have known
cases where he has put people on
regular salary with a years contract,
that he had not known twenty min
utes. He did not care anything about
experience, who they were, or where
they came from. Mr.. Griffith, also;
seems to think there is a great deal in
a name. AS for example, Bessie Love