The New York herald., 1921-04-03
Urges Clean Films
for Poor Children
Mrs. Fiske Gives Her Views of
Education for Tenement
Districts.

Mrs. Minnie Maddern Fiske. star OF
the spoken stage though she is. is a
strong advocate Of motion pictures for
children. The success OF the benefit for
wounded veterans OF the late war, at
Aeolian Hall last Wednesday, when
big audience of children laughed and
marvelled at the fairy tale movie The
Wizard of o." was to her one more
proof OF the great need of more special
entertainments for children. Especially
DIES she want more movies for children.
believing that the appeal to the eye is
about the most elemental appeal there is.
She was a patroness of the benent be-
cause of her interest in the thousands OF
one time service men who have been
brought TO sore straits through lack OF
employment and the tendency OF the pub
lie to forget. But the nature OF the per-
formance pleased her quite as much as
did it's object
I'm sometimes asked II don't think
there ought to be a children's theatre"
she said the other night. 1t was after
the curtain went down on the last act OF
Wake Up. Jonathan T. and she was sit
ting on the stage where a few minutes
DeIOTe SHS ndu Dten suFTOunueu Dy lne
children Of whom as she says, "the play
is full"
II dare say it would be n very good
tning TO have building in the centre of
town dedicated solely to presenting pan
tomlmes and plays and so on for the
Young. But that would benefit mainly
the fortunate children OF people of some
means. or course. they need II, too.
Yes, children's theatre probably would
be very nice, but l haven't thought
enough about 1t to be very definite on
that point. What l have thought about
is the great number of children in the
tenement districts who would have small
chance Of seeing the inside of a chill
drens theatre in Forty-second street
Consider the boys and girls who hang
about the movie places In Rivington
Ireet and the Bowery with a penny or
wo in their hands, waiting q chance to
be slipped in without the adult COM
panion the law requires.
I'VE all know the sort OF things they
see inside those houses. 1t only takes
a glance at the lurid posters on the
buildings to tell us Murders and hair
breadth escapes and worse things, un-
questionably bad for young imaginations
to feed on. The sociologists have told
us about the effect of II all. Well, then.
the thing we have to do next is to see
that these hectic reels are dfSplaceu, at
least in some places-we can't hope for
! too much--by pictures that are fasci-
mating. but also innocent and good for
children TO see
And not merely innocent, but def
mite force for the right. In short, edu-
ational reels. though educational is
cold, gray sort Of word. We must have
pictures that will-well. not preach to
children. because they oughtnt to be
preached to. and certainly not when
they're out to have fun. But there are
any number Of stories for boys and girls
see the children's room in the Public
Library-stories capable of being
screened, and which show In interesting
ways by the events of the plot that truth
and fair play. and square dealing, and
cleanliness, and kindness to smaller
children and to animals are not at all
incompatible with having a good time.
or course, boys crave adv slture, and so
do girls, too, in these days-ln fact, they
always did. So let US give them pictures
with plenty OF clean adventure and cour-
age Of the right sort"