The Washington herald., 1921-05-09
DEVELOP
CINEMA INDUSTRY
WITH BLOCKADE
German Firms Now Ex-
port Films to Producers
In the United States.
Cspsoaai c.sls 10 m wssAingtsa Herald
and Chicago Tnbsns.)
By sreRID SCHULTZ.

bErhLANs may 80 NO W. --
makers ought to be very grateful
to the allies for the blockade. II
was the blockade which kept Amer
lean nlms and American competition
away from Germany, and since no
twentieth century nation can live
without movies, the German film in
dustry had to get busy and try TO
develop.
we haven't as many pretty girls
as America says Professor DR.. Max
Glass. director of one company, but
We try to make I'D with the beauty
or the historical value Of the sur
roundings. Castles and homes Of
all styles are at our choice, renais-
sance. baroque. empire, and SO on,
and what our stars are lacking in
personal beauty they replace with
dramatic art We are not aiming at
q beautiful show display: we are
trying to ind the key to the heart
through feelings"
Tries All Styles.
The German flm industry Is try
ing all styles and all lines; they
even tried futurism in the film cal
igari." which was their first big
success. 1t was followed closely by
Nine. Dubarry." who was the first
to sneak over to America. You
would not believe II. but Nine. Du-
barry was very shy and afraid of
the American public, and so she
made her first appearance in a small
place in New Jersey under the name
OF Passion" There she proved
successful and then she walked
boldly into New York. In a week
this hlm, Passion" earned more
money than the whole film had cost.
The movie companies are working
hard and they are trying to bring
out films which wo6ld particularly
suit American taste. American trick
films will always be better than
ours, since the highest jump a man
can take is six stories in Germany.
"a mere nothing compared to Amer
lean heights" says one producer.
We want to bring out things with
much soul and feeling
There are numerous details we'll
have to learn-for instance. the in
ternational film kissing rules and
etiquette rules. But we are hopeful.
Up to row the Ufa has sold twenty
films to America. We have orders
from South America, Spain. Italy
Japan: we have even sent films to
France, which sent US films in re-
turn"
Movies in Berlin.
Statistics show that Berlin. a city
with over 1000. 900 inhabitants. has
264 movies. with 11T.000 seats while
il has 81 thea-rfs with $4,000 seats.
We have one great enemy" said
a film director. the unions. They
kill US when we try to break away
from them. There is a special big
coffee house in Berlin where the
film artists meet. You Just walk
through this exchange and choose
the persons YOU need. But IL you
fail to find the pretty girls you are
looking for in this coffee house. and
IL you go out ana find them some
where else. the unions march up and
fine you. We needed real good
horsemen, so We asked the reichs-
wehr to lend US some men with
Eorses. They came and We got fine
pictures, but the unions came too.
ana nearly killed US for not finding
the equestrian art of their members
quite up to date"
The day OF marvellous incomes
seems to be over for the German
staIs. too. A decision Of the unions
says that no star is to receive more
than 1000 marks per day. The
screen fans are nervous. As good
social republicans. they think that
everybody must obey the unions
orGers-but on the other hand they
do admit tha: a star who used to get
10000 or 10000 marks a day will
find 1000 rather shabby and might
feel induced to follow the fashion
OF the day and go out on a strike.
(CopxYh1ht 1921