El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1919-08-09

groups on their way to their several
homes And each group was insist
ent that that little projecting ma
chine and that little ribbon pictures
could have had nothing to do with II
1T is some. trick. doubtless" the
city editor Of the local paper as
serted, "and the machine and its pic
lures are just blind"
What Jenkins had done was never
seriously departed from until day
some dozen years later Dancers gave
way to acrobats and performing dogs
then to street scenes, then to swim
ming parties and other simple mel
dents from daily life. Gradually these
were expanded to include episodes
which at the time were seriously
thought to be stories and which many
persons later have claimed were such,
but they were in reality merely incl
dents such as two men plotting to
hold I'd a bank. followed BY the rob
berry OF the bank and concluding with
the chase in which the robbers were
captured or man running after a
train, falling over baggage trucks
baby carriages and things OF that
sort.
The germ OF the story idea was
being developed and during the latter
part OF the dozen year period between
Jenkins's exhibition OF the first mo-
ton picture and the creation OF the
first true story picture. some OF the
motion picture stories began TO tell
quite a little more than the mere
episode but were still not OF type
such as we comprehend motion pic
ture stories to be today.
1t remained for one man TO make
real production with characters which
throbbed with life and human charac-
teristics and a story which developed
just as a good short story does, lead
ing up to a climax. pointing its
moral OF turning its point and then
tapering off with the delineauOn OF
the characters as regards their future
sphere That man was ID. W Griffin,
and the place where the first true mo-
ton picture story, in a modern sense
was produced, was the Biograph
studio on East 14th street In New
York city.
There were from half dozen to
a dozen motion picture companies at
that time in the United States, each
operating Independently and each
generally engaged in competing the
Edison claim TO control OF the basic
motion picture patents A comDina-
ton had Just been formed under the
banner Of the Edison people BY which
all the American producers were Il
censed on q business basis. but the
Biograph people felt sincerely that
their cameras and projecting ma
chimes were entirely different and did
not infringe on the Edison patents
They therefore declined to 20 into
the Edison combination and give up
percentage OF their profits or foot
age tax, whatever it was. for their
license.
Accordingly. they stayed out, the
only independent producing company
in the United States at that time It
was a more or less serious situation
for the Biograph, however, because
in order to make their future secure
and obtain a foothold in the theaters,
from which it seemed they were in
fair way OF being barred out they
must bring about a radical change
in the kind OF pictures that were be-
ing made
L was Il. n. Marvin. vice-president
and general manager Of the COM
pany. who conceived the idea that the
Improvement must consist in the kind
Of stories they told.
But the Biograph was not making
any particular progress in the way
that Mr.. Marvin had planned, ana one
day he decided to try out an actor
in his company as director. This
man Immediately plunged into the
stories that had been collected ana
picked out several for production
The one he finally selected was
called THE Adventures OF Dolly
simple enough story as we would
view such things today. but 1t had
a fully rounded and developed plot
and presented opportunity for char
acterization and human touches. A
week after he had taken this story,
the new director returned with q new
type OF nscture. The characters were
no longer mere shadoWs-they had
been endowed with flesh and blood.
For the first time little touches were
implanted which breathed the warmth
OF life into a story.
The new picture created a sensa-
ton in the Biograph offices and the
new director was Immediately placed
IN charge OF productions and the Bio
graph product began to be in demand.
That actor with whom Mr.. Marvin
took chance at the time when his
projects seemed IN danger OF never
heing accomplished was David Wark
Griffith.
So great was the success Of the
newer type OF pictures that within
three months the demand frcm thea
ters out Of which the BiOgraph at
the time was barred. became so great
for their productions that an arrange
ment was effected by the Edison com
bination under which the Biograph
was welcomed to the fold. and within
less than a year the Biograph was
the leading American company-its
sales outdistancing its nearest com
petitor by over 100 percent.
Everything that has happened since
then in the business is a matter OF
uDrrnueOua 1r0oE1a6oa IN Drar-