Evening star., 1928-04-01
L. S. FILM INDUSTRY
CENTER OF WORLD WAR
All of Europe Combines in Spirited
Competition With Hollywood for
Control of Market.

the nation which holds the balance OF
| trade. This is a day of organization,
combinations. rs there three-power
European motion picture combination
now under way to dethrone American
| domination?
| Or again. Is there not determined
| effort to force reciprocity? British and
| French producers have complained bit
| terly of late years that their countries
| buy literally of American films, but that
! America buys little or nothing in re-
| turnl
"Unspoken Objection" Cited.
Then there is an unspoken objection
| which, We fancy. plays no small part III
barrier of out-and-out prejudice that
| is being raised, 1t is the tendereSt spot
| in the whole European consciousness to-
| day. which unfortunately too MANY
visiting Americans tread over rough
! shod-the growing sphere of American
influence!
Finally. the war has taught Europe
the menace that lies concealed in mass
psychology.
The most powerful mass agent in the
world today is the motion picture-~the
American motion picture, one may say
with more or less assurance. Propa-
ganda? There never was such mighty
arm of propaganda as this world
girdlng motion picturel Ask almost
any one you meet in Europe today TO
name one man whom the whole contl-
nent knows-intimately! 1t is not
Stresemann. or Foch. or MuSsolini. OF
Seipel or Horthy. or Lloyd-George. 1t
is Charlie Chaplin! There are a
dozen other American film stars who
would readily be identified in darkest
Europe The youth of the world would
become a Doug Fairbanks, or Torn
Mix, Harold Lloyd's glasses are beina
ridiculed-and worn!-in every country
Children are playing American cowh'y.
and Indian down the side eilevs II
Budapest. America has bobbed the
heads of more than half of female
Europe. Men and women are laughing
over our prohibition as they see it on
the screen. in half the cafes of Europe.
Object Lesson for Miners.
Other phases OF American life arc
seeping into European consciousness
too. II is very dispiriting. for instance,
for a cinema hail full OF British Goa!
mining folk to spend an evening watch
ing the poor and honest American hero
and heroine riding to work in their
motor cars. The censors cannot cut out
the motor car because 1t is part OF the
life-and that is the point!
Ferenc Molnar the famous Hunga-
rian PLAYWRIGHT, recently told us: our
people love the American film play
above ANYTHING else in their lives. Your
people laugh so much in your films
we had forgotten how 10 laugh. Your
films have taught us how 10 laugn
again."
And so. these benighted people think
and think about America and wish and
wish that they were there, or that theif
own countries could be Ike America
Revolutions have bern fostered by less
moving agents than this.
From these angles one may see eS-
tenuating circumstances In EuroDes ae.
sires to limit Americas movie" social
propaganda.
Are not European governments ffing
SIGH. of another equally important phase
Of mass psychology and launching
new and perhaps more vexing problem
when they begin at his late date 70
limit or suppress the American MOVE
In this new dilemma they viii n.'t have
foreign competition to contend WIN,
but native dissatisfaction and disccn-
tent. In other words. let them .ust try
taking away the common peoples emo
tional gruel--which happens TO be me
American brand Of motion pictures -
and see what happensi For an cxam-
pie We commend them to the spectacle
of a prohibition America. For, next 10
liquor. the movies" have the strongest
hold on and sway owe. the coiiStitu-
tional habits OF the greaS pleasure
seeking public,
Points Given in Illustration.
We can illustrate this, for we nave
made 1t a point to poke into every
cubbvhole OF cinema we could find In
the backways OF Europe. We nave
studied all kinds OF audiences, every
nationality and their reactions to dif-
ferent types OF pictures. The excellent
plays always absorbed their emotions
gripped them, moved them, influenced
them.
On Christmas eve, for example, we
happened TO be showed In In the little
town Of Oberammergau, where The Ia
nous Passion Play" Is given by he
peasants once every ten years. We
found them 10 be very simple folk.
who wore their native Bavarjan CO.'S
TUNES and enjoyed drinking beer. We
went 10 the movies" With them. where
we sat at small tables and had beer
served during the show. the place was
crowded To the doors, win score or
more standing In the audience. Most
Of the village was there and iaost OF
them had come on skis, which they
piled up in the yeatibule. An American
picture was being shown. The audience
knew the stars who appeared in II E1Ich
better than we did. They were their
old friends and companions Of long
standing
Then I remember one glorious moon
lit night in early Sprfngtimr down IN
the picturesque little town OF Tarascon
in Provence. TarascOn, You will le-
member, was the home town Of Dau-
det's comic and gentle hero, Tartarin.
found the whole town full of Tar
taring and their Wiyes-~Swaggerin
b0astipg. good-humored fellows
Audience Captured by u. y. Picture.
We all went 70 the movies" together
on the upper floor OF an ancient build
ing just around the corner from the
towering white walls Of the Castle Rene
tIFe was Mary I'ickf0Td IN La Petite
Annie" Little Annie Rooney. never
saw such weeping as We all did tOgetherl
Here was point for y0u~~aii over the
world those who had seen that sfne
picture were deeply touched by It's SEN
tinlent, by something that had been
acttd IN front of mechanical camera
months before by some one none III EIs
| had ever seen or heard In the ffesn,
way on In remote California;
In Venice there WAS little hole In
| the wall of cinema theater about a
stones throw behind the Doge's Palace
| H. was Joint" packed ~ the doors
| with sweating, excited audience of the
| sort you might have expected tn see
| among the rabbIe st the chariot races
/ IN the Colosseum IN ancient Rome,
| There were few seats and much stand
| Ing roam ann frequent brawis among
/ the Italian sailors present The a.
| Ilosphefe Was reminiscent of neglected
| cheese
!, Then the lights went out. | half
| wondered II ! were going ~ be mIIs-
aRYRG ia fine daFkueek Rfu when tha