The Monmouth inquirer. [volume] (Freehold, N.J.) 1865-1933, 1926-07-01

"a stops IN the progress Of his letter and bestows
kiss on the not unwilling girl AS he does his wife
enters. She is enraged. Taking her husband py
the ear she compels him to get on his knees The
pretty stenographer bursts into tears
They Use the 'sCutback"
"The Life of an American Fireman" produced
in 1902 Of the first pictures to utilize that
very effective device, the cutback It showed
child in burning house, with the brave fireman
his way
In 1908 Adoph Zukor, Chicago furrier, arrived
In New York to collect $4,000 which friend had
borrowed to start a penny arcade. 1t was not
prospecting and Zukors efforts to save his money
put the furrier into the penny arcade business,
and later led to his meeting with Marcus Loew.
another penny arcader BY 1908 Zukor was full
fedged theater proprietor. Famous Players-Lasky
corporation, the worlds biggest movie concern, re-
suited, while Loew is head of the Metro Goodwin
Mayer company, a close rival
Carl Laemmle, clothing store clerk of Oshkosh,
Wis, in the winter of 1905 confded to a Chicago
advertising agent that he was tired of the clothing
business. They talked over the possibilities Of the
movies. Finally he opened a theater in 1905.
few months later he started film exchange and
sold prints to other showmen. Out of his subse-
quent efforts to organize the Independent interests
in their fight against Edison came the Universal
Pictures. Both Laemmle and Cochrane the adver-
Using man, made fortunes
In 1907, the censorship pot, long simmerng,
DOued over. RamSayo recalls Tor us tno Cnlcago
Tribune editorial, "The Five Cent Theater" which
damned the nickelodeon up and down hill. At
that time Chicago had 119 such shows They
were blamed for juvenile crime, and list OF
pictures to which objection TAKEN was
printed The same year New York officials became
aroused and closed every 5-cent show in the city.
Exhibitors protested, there was a compromise, and
as result the National Board of Censorship was
formed. The first state to pass censorship law
was Pennsylvania in 1912
Appealed to "Rough Element"
The cinema it seems had been in bad odor
more or less from the start. It's appeal, It's
critics asserted, mainly to the trough ele-
ment.' Then too, followed the theater disasters
in which many persons lost their lives. Films
often caught fire in the crude projection machines
and many persons feared to enter such theaters
because of the reported danger to their lives.
Everyone had heard of the Charity Bazaar fire in
1897 at Paris. Nearly $50 persons, among them
many French mobiles, had lost their lives when
a protector lamp exploded. Prejudicial feeling
Immediately to impair seriously the status
of the screen in the minds of the upper classes.
With the establishment throughout the country
of many theaters there was created demand for
more and better films People were firing of the
old run-and-hop variety of subjects. Exhibitors
wanted story pictures and the producers prob
lens began anew. The motion picture had no
responsibility then, and actors scornful. 1t
tactfully suggest work in "the pictures
Actors who met on the movie stages of Edison,
Vitagraph and Biegraph in those days kept their
film shame" a secret 1t was the accepted prac-
tice of the time to impress the actors into service
as carpenters scene painters and the like. Flor
ence Turner, an early favorite, when not acting
was mistress of the wardrobe. But when Maurice
Costello went over to Vitagraph from Edison
precedent was set up. 81 am actor and will
act-but will not build sets and paint scenery
He on his dignity
Enter Charlie and His Pants
Charles Chapman made his screen debut in
1913 His big pants and curious gait caught the
eye of Adam Kesse of the New York Motion Pic
ture company who strolled into theater just
in time to see the act go on. Kessel offered him
SIS a week to appear In the films. Charlie re-
fused it. as he did subsequent offer of 500
week. Finally the ante was raised to $3.50 and he
accepted. His first picture was made at Los
Angeles for Keystone. 1t was called the Kids
Auto Races" and made a hit Other Chapman
pictures followed and the little Engishman be-
came famous before his name was known. Later
his name was changed to Chaplin.
OF the later developments in the industry, the
most significant the effort to avoid censor
ship and regulation that might seriously interfere
with progress In 1917 wild party for Fatty
Arbuckle in Boston drew unfavorable attention
both to the players and film officials who attended
it, In 1921, Arbuckle with other movie people
smashed into a screen scandal. The divorce of
Mary Pickford from Owen Moore in Nevada was
another cause Of scandal because Of her early
marriage to Douglas Fairbanks. actor just
winning public favor The producers felt that
something had to be DONE They formed an
association of motion picture producers, and
placed at the head of it VIII Hays, onetlme chair
man of the Republican national committee, and
postmaster general.
Hays tackled his job seriously, and is now the
screens most powerful figure when 1t comes to
deciding on what may be shown. He kill any
story and can exile any actor from the screen.
And he has used this power.
Mr. Ramsaye has brought his fascinating history
down to the separation of the producing depart
ment from the exhibiting department Of the Fa-
nous Players organization Balaban Katz Of
Chicago took over the theaters. On June 5, 1926,
Famous Players bought them back.
This present article mentions only scattered
gleanings from the eighty-one chapters Of Ram