The Washington times., 1921-08-07

ITO know that I have provoked one
kindly feeling, or moved one jaded
reviewer to honest tears, is something
Of an inspiration"
That one sentence epitomizes the
aims and ambitions of Charles Ray,
motion picture star.
Pictures of the people and for the
people-that is the principle on which
Ray is proceeding, and succeeding.
Not for him the 'machine-made'
film; not for him the story of Illicit
love in the realms of a mythical
high society" : Every Ray produc-
ton is plausible and intensely inter-
esting to the movie public because II
depicts the life Of the great majority
Of Americans-the decent, home
loving citizens.
1t is to this class that Ray tries TO
appeal, not because of belief that
1t Is good business alone, but mainly
because he wants to produce clean
pictures-pictures of real life and OF
real persons.
Official censors put away their pen
ellis and notebooks when a Ray pic
ture is flashed on the screen, for they
know in advance that there will be
nothing salacious or Objectionable In
1t. "A Midnight Bell" his latest pic
ture, which will be shown as a First
National attraction at Crandalls
Metropolitan and knickerbocker
theaters, beginning this afternoon, is
q demonstration of HIS theory that a
picture can be clean and still be thor
oughly enjoyable and gripping. And
because he wanted to make sure that
all Of his pictures in the future would
be of the same type, he established
a company of his own.
e. ,Nf tau L. 20 IND Do
to talk about himself, for he hates
personal publicity and avoids 1t
wherever possible. But he is not so
averse about talking on the subject
Of his ideals.
1T is no child's play to establish
a thoroughly equipped motion picture
studio and put out within a short
time several big feature productions
upon which ones future activities as
an independent are to be based and
Judged" he declared recently during
the course Of one of those rare inter
views. ''It was the greatest respon-
sibility of my life, and waited with
interest and concern for the opinion OF
the public and the press on my first
independent production, 'Forty-five
Minutes From Broadway But when
we read the first metropolitan reviews
we were happy out here, believe me.
1t was a spur to greater work, to even
more serious endeavors. Then came
Peaceful Valley and / must confess
that / have never had such notices
in all my previous screen career as
for that photoplay. They were great,
and they certainly moved me. We
have worked hard and faithfully here.
but we are touched by appreciation,
and to know that 1 have provoked
L. a. a..
thing of an inspiration.
That's what it's coming to in the
last analysis-careful. conscientious
work by individual producing units,
housed in their own studios and with
their own individual producing re-
sources to give rein to ideas away
from the common run.
ut is natural to find better photo
plays coming from studio In which
all hands, all brains, all hearts are
concentrated on the one task at hand.
When that picture goes out of the
studio completed thing, IL represents
the common efforts of every member
of the staff. 1t has been subjected to
the critical test of a variety of intel
lects and so IL is a thing which will
appeal to any, to all audiences.
Independence is as beautiful
thing to me in my smaller sphere as
1t was to our forefathers OF rs. I
like 1t, in spite Of it's always-present
responsibility--or maybe because of
it. When 40 man has represented
something, has meant something to
a good many people for a long time
he feels that he owes those folks q
definite duty. And when started
out on my own, l determined to mako
more pictures OF the khd that have
been praised and loved, only to make
them better. I decided that no mat.
ter what lot OF box-office experts