The sun., 1919-06-30
CHANGE TO DEVELOP
EXPORT OF FILMS.
South American Market Open,
but Europeans Will Seek
Old Trade.
FOOTHOLD THROUGH WAR
French and Italians Now Are
Eager to Recover Business
Which Lapsed.
ny LESLEY MASON,


ny LESLEY MASON.
Editor Of the Exhibitors Trade Revieto.
Specially Written for che Lafin Amer-
CON Section OF The SUN.
American motion pictures are entitled,
on their merits, to a splendid future In
South America. The future lies before
them, guaranteed by the favor they have
found with the South American theatre
going public during the past four years.
But the American motion picture will
not realize that future without q severe
competitive struggle. Whether 1t Is VIC
torious in that struggle or not will de-
pend entirely upon the enterprise and
commercial adaptability Of the American
motion picture executives.
These statement undoubtedly demand
a detailed explanation for the general
reader.
When the war broke out in 1914 South
America. which had been entertained In
Its cinemas very largely by French,
Spanish and italian productions, was alb
ruptly cut OF from its source of supply.
Up to that time American photoplays
had been an incident in the South Amer
lean market. This was true notwith-
standing the hamboyant claims made by
several American concerns as to the
popularity OF their productions in the
southern continent
Such American pictures as had found
their way to Argentine, Brazilian and
Chilean screens. at irregular intervass,
had received a hearty welcome from the
Latin American devotees of the silent
drama This was perfectly true. But
these productions had no regular inlet
into the South American market; various
circumstances initiated against them !;
the European firms controlled the main
avenues of approach and the American
refused to make commercial concessions
which would have. in many instances.
alienated the South American buyer from
the Old World producers to the North
American makers of q better product.
The outbreak of the war paralyzed the
producing energies of the French, Brit
ish and Italian motion picture industries
and left America the supreme II not the
sole purveyor Of motion pictures to the
world. Spain was a lame and inconse-
Quential competitor. The Scandinavians
had merely their pro-German connections
upon which to rely.
American Films q Necessity.
1t was only natural that before many
months had elapsed the South American
buyers should have turned to the United
States for productions with which to
keep the cinemas in operation. II is not
to be supposed that they did this i'm
mediately. They took American pic
lures In most cases as they needed them
and only because they needed them. This
statement is made with the full realiza-
ton that there were in every South
American capital progressive and dis
eliminating distributors of film who saw
the market value of American pictures
and went in for them with a whole heart
| and on n generous scale.
1t must also be said that most of the
North American producers were as short
sightedly Indifferent as the South Amer
lean buyers were Rntagonistic. Even
tually the more alert companies in the
United States undertook aggressive cam
paigns south of the equator, and several
OF them went so far as to open branch
offices in Rio. Buenos Ayres and other
! contres, with the object of marketing
their productions directly TO the South
American exhibitors.
These enterprises were justified by the
| results they produced. Famous Players,
| Fox and Universal-to mention three OF
! the concerns that proceeded along these
lines-are probably the brands enjoying
the widest popularity among South
| American theatregoers at the present
| moment.
| The leading brands of American mo-
! ton pictures are now available to South
| Americans, either through branch offices
! or because exporters whose headquartert
are in New York control them for South
| America For the most part they are en-
joyed by South American audiences. who
have their own tastes in drama but ap
preciate quality as keenly as theatre pa
yhnr alc to rn fNtRd 40
mental reason why the photoplays of tn,
United States should not continue to en-
Joy the vogue they have attained.
But the war is over--until furthe
notice.
American pictures are-or soon viii
be-no longer a necessity. Production
is reviviing rapidly in most OF the Euro
pean countries which we're producing be
fore the war. The French. italian ant
Spanish producers must have foreigl
markets for their productions if the!
are to recover the money they must pu
into them to keep them up to the stand
ard OF qualify.
They remember wildly the profits O
the South American and other foreigl
markets before the war, when theil
pictures were in the ascendancy anC
the American dim was just crossing tn.
equator.
They are keenly aware OF what hai
transpired during the last four and /,
half or five years they realize that tn,
South American trade has largel!
slipped away from them, that Americi
has been the bountiful provider OF
line OF motion pictures that has &C
quired a distinct and formidable popu
larity.
Nevertheless the European producer
are preparing TO recapture the market
undismayed and confident that they car
win back their former position. Som,
are sanguine enough TO believe they caI
put the Americans 10 rout. Others
probably the majority-expect NOTHING
better than an even division of the mar
ket with the United States.
In some OF the important centres-no
tably Buenos Ayres-the battle has al
ready begun land the dealers in Ameri
can pictures are beginning to feel tn,
effect of the onslaught
Do the American makers of motion
pictures realize tho situation as It now &
and as II is developing?
What Americans Overlook.
There are many reasons to believ
they do not. The principal one IL tina
the American is not as closely in toucl
with the foreign market as is his Euro
pean competitor. He has never tal0el
the foreign market as seriously as tn
~.