New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1921-07-10
BY Homer Croy

wv THILE the crowd in and around
XA/ Boyle's Thirty Acres week ago
yesterday had their eyes glued on
the eigfneen-foot ring there was
another fight going just behind them that
had its big moments as we'll as the one below.
IL was the fight to get motion pictures Of the
Dempsey Carpenter alteration.
1t all goes back to this: Anybody can make
motion pictures of prizehght or public ex-
hibitlon--if he has the nerve. There are no
ethics In motion picture circles they have
turned to clay long ago. Get 'em, but watch
out for your head. That is the law of cellu-
loid.
Anybody can "steal'' all the pictures he
wants to. But be careful-those nightsticks
are mean customers. There is no law in the
world to tell you that you can't take motion
picture of prizefght-n YOU can get a To-
cation-so the promoters make their own laws
And that was where the fun started
But, first, did you ever stop to think why
the fight was held in New Jersey? That is
question No. l.
Question No. is, Did you stop to think that
you did not any motion pictures of any
actual smuggling? That is, unless you happen
to live IN New Jersey In that case question
No. z dies natural death.
The fight could have been held in Chicago
or Cleveland or San Francisco just as we'll as
on Boyle's choice building lots. The 81 900
would have turned out just the same. 1t
wasn't the matter of crowd. All they would
have had to do was to hang out sign Fight
Monday, and got out the traffic squad. There
was the matter of the motion pictures. Each
year the movies are getting to be a bit husk-
Ter. and this year they put up quite scrap of
their own. The law is, however, that motion
pictures of prizefght cannot be transported
from one state to another. They can be
shown in the state where they are taken. but
If you try to bootleg 'em across then you are
getting tangled up in the fourth round. That
explains why all week New Jersey has been
watching the fight, while New Workers. have
begun to read the real estate ads with re-
newed interest. Leonia has begun to look
jusG mighty good.
State against state, Illinois would have been
better place for the fight, as there are MANY
more movie fans in Illinois than there are in
our most prominent, latterly, state. The in
come from the Official pictures owned by the
fight promoters would have been worth a lot
more in Illinois than in New Jersey, but there
are the English, French, Mexicans, South
Americans, the Somalilanders and the Pata-
gonians to think of. Even the South Sea ISL
anders will want to see the pictures The few
remaining natives and the great swarm of
writers and artists in Tahiti will be positively
wild to get glimpse of the old familiar Jer
sey shore.
But, unfortunately, the "oficial" fight films
could not be shipped out of Illinois. Illinois
does not border on the ocean. They cannot
bundle the films onto ship and head them
straight for Dreamland, Tahiti
When the official pictures go abroad thew
will show the training quarters, the men at
work. life around the camp, Marcot having a
hand-to-hand with an obstinate haricot vert.
and then on the day of the big fight the
pictures will show the arena, the crowds ar
irving, notabilities, entering the ring, the hand
shaking, and finally they will get down to
business, all because the actual fight occupies
only 600 feet-and feature has to have
5000. All the padding isn't done in a mat
tress factory.
Legally, anybody could go in and make
motion pictures of the fight, but the manage