Evening star., 1924-02-19
HAYS SEEKING FILMS
TO EDUCATE WORLD
Wants to Give Foreign Lands
Healthy View of Life in
United States.
HAS TRADE MONOPOLY
Alien Competitions Failing to Put
Pictures Across.
HAS TRADE MONOPOLY
BY ROBERT r. SMALL.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK. February 19.-Will
II. Hays. director of the ways in
which the movies should go, has haL
q new and great responsibility
placed upon him. 1t Is one of the
greatest responsibilities. as a matter
OF fact. ever placed on any one.
American moving pictures are
'Americanizing" the world. These
pictures are carrying to the far
peoples of the earth their impression
Of American life. American chivalry.
American justice. American maj riage
. laws, American divorces, Anne -ican
wild west"-the whole cole vful
fabric of America as 1t is today
The United States is producing 81
per cent of all the moving pictures
made in the world.
The nearest rival to the United
States. England. has shown dur 'ng
the past year a rapidly diminishing
number of productions and the in
dustry in the United Kingdom is said
TO be headed for the rocks. One of
the biggest concerns, working under
a subsidy from wealthy men who
had become interested in the project
just abandoned the fight for eX-
istence. 1t Is admitted that the Brit
ish producing companies cannot
meet the competition of American
films.
Foreign Trade Velvet.
American films pay for themselves
in America What the producers can
pick up in England and other for
eign countries is just so much velvet;
The British producers have cried
out often for government help
against the American invasion
They have called for an embargo
upon American films. or a prohibitive
import duty. So far, however. their
efforts have failed to avail anything
to the dying industry in the British
Isles. The 'cinemas" must have
films and the American ones are
those from which the biggest profits
can be made.
1t is the present task of Will Hays
20 impress upon the producers or TINS
country, and especially upon the ac-
tors, the responsibilities which rest
upon them as a result of the vide
spread distribution of their films;
Americas reputation before the world
at large is at stake. Great britain
is regretting the fact that her colo
MES and dominions are getting viz
tually- all of their films from the
United States. Great Britain does
not like the "Americanizing" effect
of this situation.
Eject on Minds.
Mr. Hays feels there is a great deal
more than mere financial recompenSe
in sending American films abroad.
Producers should study the effect
their plays will have upon foreign
minds. Many things easily under
stood to an American audience may
be misinterpreted abroad to the det-
riment of this country. Public opin-
ion is tickle thing, always to be
handled with gloves. The influence
Of the United States in world affairs
by the character of the films sent
from this country for the entertain
ment and enlightenment Of foreign
peoples.
Instead of dumping" inferior and
loosely censored films on the foreign
market, 1t is felt the producers of
this country should use the extreme
Of care to see that.-n9thing goes
abroad which in any way rehects
upon this country or takes unfair ad-
vantage of other countries.
1t is admitted that sometimes the
problem is a difficult one. Complaint
comes from abroad that in the Ameri-
can films the American man always
Is the hero, while the villain gener-
ally is a foreigner. Mexico more or
less formally protested some time ago
the bad man" "greaser" from be-
low the Rio Grande. Japan, too, has
felt treated badly by some of the
films. Englishmen are said to be cast
in such a way as to bring something
of contempt upon them. The bill Of
particulars is a long one. Yet Ameri-
can producers do not want to make
all of their villains Americans, foI
then the world would get tSe impress
sion that this country is f@r too full
of villains.
The statistics as to American domi-
nance of the moving picture field are
more impressive, and Mr.. Hays is try
ing TO teach the producers just what
the psychological meaning Of it ali is.