Show i I p f pa I r a n I I I 1 I 1 I p 1 I I ti 1 Il I I If n y II I r I 1 i L 1 emu emus s. s I I l l vi 1 III I I II I l 1 1 I II it 1 1 1 J i 1 1 1 1 1 ia T ATTRACTION i i I 1 1 1 I l L. L 1 I r r ff 1 it I 1 1 v a I II 11 I I I I 9 I ti n I Ili I I 1 I vi I I 1 a u I I l I I I I II I 1 11 I n p I 11 1 I I II t Il y 1 1 II I I I 1 i 1 i ll 1 1111 I 11 Ir I I I dl l I I 1 I I 1 IJ J I I fl k h d rr lP I 1 r- r 1 rl 1 1 11 1 Iry Q I 1 I I I l f 11 I roll J 11 I 1 I Iq t 1 I I L 1 1 L I 1 I fr I II I 1 I I I I I h I I M 1 1 1 1 I 1 1 1 1 1 I l I Ill d 1 1 ll r I I I I I II I 11 1 n 11 III l 1 I 1 III I 1 i 1 1 II I I 11 I 1 1 1 1 w 1 l I I I I 1 1 1 Il r l 1 1 1 1 il 1 I I w 1 I f I p 1 l I I I Iw L l a r r 1 r I vl ll I I 1 1 11 I 1 I 1 1 I rl l I G I I 1 I I n 1 I I IIII III 1 1 1 I l lie I I 1 I e all 1 11 1 II I II LT Y R rh H. H 1 I I j 9 WILL H. H HYS W l ls s Sex Plays I IN N the language of the Great White WhiteWay WhiteWay Way and Hollywood Will H. H Hays dictator of the picture mowing industry is S Sitting ting tang Pretty Three years ago he was coaxed out of the office of of Postmaster General of S the United States to attempt what many experts experts' asserted was an impossible task the the cleaning up of the movies Under the storm of protest aroused by the Arbuckle case the picture moving-picture men formed the Picture Motion-Picture Producers and Distributors of America Inc Into I 1 their articles articles articles' of incorporation Mr Hays Hay 1 rote rote the following as the primary purpose purpose purpose pur pur- pose Establishing and maintaining the highest pos possible ible moral and artistic 4 Standards tan ards in picture motion-picture production Developing the educational as as' as aswell well as the entertainment eI value and general usefulness of motion pictures At that time Will H. H Hays told his employers certain things that had cometo come cometo to h his s observation as one of the most brilliant and successful of politicians Admitting that what he didn't know about the movies would fill an encyclopedia encyclopedia encyclopedia he said substantially this thin But I do know the American public I know that its manhood and womanhood Is sound and of co course course it will support the cleanest pictures And nd the American public is the the real censor for us Ultimately Ultimately Ulti Ulti- salacious pictures will bring pring bringa a about a a loss that the industry will have to suffer I IT TT has as taken nearly three years but today Mr 1 Hays is in position to say 1 1 you you so to the owners and backer backers back back- er ers ot ol films ls' ls described in the lingo of the tra trade e as full of sexy stuff Of course he will vilI do it than Lr I 90 more diplomatically that But there is no doubt that he is getting the message across Iw By the time this appears in print every picture motion maker in the United States will have received from the office of Mr Hays a series of compilations nl made de up of definite specific box office reports on sexy plays which have f failed t to turn in the profits that were r expected ted from them The moving picture picture pic- pic f ture tune men already know about these I i. i results as as- asto to certain ertain pictures t j j But even ven the experts have been amazed t y at the revelation obtained fro from a study of the results of more than fifty out- out out and-out se sex plays m ma made de by the Booking f j. j Guide and the Box Office Record These n r f are are annu annual l volumes put out by trade trad a paper publishers which show what th the S theatre men call grosses otherwise grosses otherwise t r S f the gross return in cash from the showing show- show f r Ing of a given picture for a certain M r i period Mr Hays is Row OW sending out specific pr proof of to his employers that the he grand grandt t average of five fifty sex picture motion-picture i plays as shown by the actual reports is r. r just under the deadline deadline per cent l to be ex exact ct He is advising the motion- motion L I picture men that out of these five fifty-five features two forty-two fell farbelow far below the theIr rt Ir mark and the the- grand av average rage wast was t brought t up near the 75 per cent mark only because of twelve plays which had real dramatic i interest terest and which drew large audiences He l has been been recalling I J. J to them the following statement made by b him shortly after his appointment a as ashead c head of the association 4 uI It has been said repeatedly that cern certain certain n tain tarn objectionable pictures which have been made ere re the class of pictures which 1 the public wanted and that such r have been a meeting of the demands of the public based on n the box office reports If this is so then the public has a duty in the si situation One of th the ther r j largest of the producers producers- has told me however that in his opinion the outstanding outstanding outstanding out out- standing financial successes in the last 1 eighteen months have been clean pic pic- pic- pic tures At his office in New York the other ray day the dynamic dictator of the movie t If industry pointed out that he has not c been limited to the n negative results of cert certain n sex plays lays to prove this i. i k t J The positive proof now available is is' even more overwhelming he sai said l. l A up check-up published by one of the le leading ding trade journals of the picture motion motion in industry industry in- in y based on the reports of more more than exhibitors on current productions productions productions pro pro- shows that twenty-five twenty leaders are all aIr good clean pictures The Covered Covered Cov Cov- ered Wagon led with 99 39 per cent Conductor Conductor Con ductor doctor 1492 1432 had 86 per cent In between these with varying high percentages were such shows as Girl Shy Hunchback Hunchback Hunchback Hunch back of Notre Dame Beau Brummel The Humming Bird The White Sister Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall Little Old New York When a aMan's aMans aMans aMan's Mans Man's a Man A Woman of Paris 1 Manhandled Monsieur Beaucaire and similar productions Undoubtedly the most remarkable feature fea fea- feature ture of this showing is that Mr Hays predicted it jt early in 1924 1324 Shortly after his appointment to his picture motion-picture job he discovered and announced in a public speech that salacious moving pictures like books of the same character come comein comein comein in cycles After the Arbuckle exposures there was a general housecleaning that reached its climax max in 1923 During that year the movies seem to have been freer of sex pictures than at any time in years But Buts they were not wholly free Many objections were yere raised by civic c and moral forces to certain plays lays so that February 12 1924 Mr Hays wrote a letter to all the producers and distributors inclosing copies of complaints complaints' he he had received and issuing certain warnings turnings gs and predictions To make the prevalent type of f book and story the prevalent type of picture he wrote would be an absolute violation o of th the members' members pledge to each other set out in our articles of association and reiterated in the resolution passed at the fi first st annual meeting which w was s signed as you know by the members members members mem mem- bers of the association it would be a ac c complete violation of the pledge involved in Resolution No 1 passed at the first m meeting eting of the local California Californi Asso- Asso i What at the Jury Says H f T THAT kind of motion i pictures does the public pub pub- public Ii lic like best bests A ch check up up ck-up just dust made of more nore than 86 O exhibitors on productions shows that the tw twenty five five nty-five I leaders ers are ate all good clean pictures I In n this class are The liThe 1 Cov Coy Covered Covered ered W IV a ago g o n Scara mouche Little Old NewYork NewYork New NewYork York Monsieur Beaucaire Beau Beau- caire uT The he IF White While hite Sister B Be e a u ti Brummel and a n d others 1 Among popular sex plays play's were were The liT ke H II u m in m rib i ing t t g 9 Bird Bird II Flirting T F I i r r t tin i n g 9 With Love Loven liB Black lack 0 Oxen Oxe x en n Shadows Shadow I o of f Paris Paris ParisSo SocietY So Society I Scandal and The liThe IV White Moth z last month and approved at our Board meeting on last Thursday it would be arr absolute breach of our pledge t to the th public and to all the societies cooperating co operate ing with us in the Committee on Public Relations it would bring obviously all the practical unfortunate results bound to follow from such violations All of this applies applies not only to wrong pictures but also to bad adver advertising of either right or wrong pictures pictures' and of course to bad titles v vWe We must succeed in the i f f 1 f i o I i t tt i i t th h. h Sad Z jj GO in the Ike 1 j MO S y z f r 11 H i A J o x o oX X n A N 4 kr ti J Three years ago film producers decided that their busi boil business ness Hess needed a supreme court in which would be c combined business acumen and artistic sense s so Will ViII ill Hays was lured from fro his place as Postmaster General The re result mIt I of his three years' years labor is herein crystallized into con concrete con n- n I I crete figures vi shO showing g the trend trend of public taste t tion on not only because because it itis is not not right ight but because e the failure to square ze our performances performances performances per per- per per- w with th our our promises in in this regard will bring most serious results It tIlt is imperative ve that we preserve and maintain the sympathetic tic operation co-operation of citizens of this type if we are to develop I the industry in a successful substantial pl and unhampered growth to its full use use use- Let us make no mistake about the situation The fact that of 6 O pictures made last year poss possibly sixty t could be criticized at all allarid and that V Very ry few were subject to just criticism does not change the situation Tire The great accomplishments accomplishments accomplishments ac ac- ac- ac of the last year are forgotten forgotten forgotten for for- gotten in the universal condemnation which comes from om the type type of advertising that is allowed in many mariy man cases cases from the few actually evil pictures and from pictures pictures pictures pic pic- tures attempted to be made possible from impossible books book I a arn b not ot unmindful of the pressure from certain exhibitors for this type of advertising for bad titles and for the objectionable type of pictures nor are we unmindful of the fact that there is a definite public demand in this direction But these facts do not relieve us of the responsibility at the source nor will they rel relieve eve us from the ultimate loss which h will be involved T T THAT HAT ultimate loss is now beginning to make itself felt according to the reports from the box offices in two forty-two out of the five fifty-five sex pictures now ow going the rounds of the theatres And Mr Hays Hays and and the outside critics who are acclaiming these results all results all point out that the picture with an overplayed sex interest is always heavily and unusually unusually unusually un un- un- un usually advertised In fact the advertising advertising advertising adver adver- is often more more suggestive than the picture itself as Mr Hays indicated in 1 I his his' letter Let Let rrie me I quote from the record of a up check made in Sep September said Mr Hays Itys Of course the report of the tha September September- ch check up up ck-up is not conclusive It Itis Itis is not a final or r definite sorting of the good and the bad fi films ms But Bt it can be betaken betaken e tak taken n for what it r really ally is the voluntary report made to one one trade journal on current productions by more than f exhibitors It i is sufficiently COmprehensive comprehensive comprehensive com COm- and enough like previous monthly ups check-ups to justify the conclusion conclusion conclusion con con- that a large portion of the screen audience does and will patronize good films But it it should not be assumed that all of this is news to the producers and distributors TF The a percentage of those who know that Rood plays clean plays pay best i is growing all the time Let me quote from Nati National nal Catholic Council Welfare Bulletin Mr Joseph Brandt president of one film film sales company has thus expressed himself If the same amount amount manship was put behind titles which do dog donot donot not have the salacious aspect to them t tie e public would patronize the theatres and d business would be a just as good as when they cater caer to that element that want because it knows no bett better better bet bet- t ter r salacious us titles and salacious situations situations situations situa situa- in pictures That is what I I. I have been preaching for three years Condemning the bad plays is negative but it does positive har harm It calls calls' specific attention to these plays It gives giveR them ilem the very publicity they seek The unfortunate part of this J I is that as a r result sult the good plays which are not criticized are cheated out of their fair share of publicity publicity- Here and there all over the country 1 1 Czar of the Cinema Submits Box pJ Office Figures to to Prove Prone American Public Wants W Clean Screen S reen Stories 1 U and Exhibitors No Longer Will Take Tale 1 p. p I II Chances on Vulgar Sex Stuff f of Lurid Title a and d Risque Theme minded fair-minded m men n and women are beginning beginning beginning be be- ginning to r recognize c. c this fact and to todo todo todo do their utmost to correct it In other words they are taking upon themselves the duty of exploiting the good shows snows while at the same time avoiding anything anything anything any any- thing that that would give undue publicity to the bad ones Recently I sent ou out letters to newspapers and other publications publications through the country which had ad shown shown a disposition to demand better pictures You have be been n a kindly critic of have from ours I wrote and given us time to time constructive and helpful criticism I feel justi justified ed therefore in bringing another side of the pic motion-pic- ture business to your attention Certain motion pictures are severely criticized although often these very pictures pictures pictures pic pic- tures have the widest popular support On the other hand the ery people that criticize these thes pictures res' res f fail l utterly to support support support sup sup- port the r really ally b better pictures such as asAme Ame America ica or Abraham Lincoln Frankly what I want from you is your thought on this problem How can we secure prop proper r support from the public pub pub- lic and lie and particularly from irom that part part of the public that occasionally nally raise their voices in protest protes protest for for foz these fine pictures that unfortunately so often fail to return the cost of production 1 THE THE response to that has been aStounding astounding astounding as as- Mr Ir Hays continued Allover All Allover Allover over th the country today ministers mothers mothers mothers' mothers mothers' moth moth- ers ers' associations and others are are start starting ng in to boost the good plays the plays with educational and patriotic value There is l less ss and less free publicity publicity publicity pub pub- for the Dad oad ones The publicity men attached to the industry realize what can be done with this idea One man manin manin manin in Los os' os Angeles Angeles' succeeded in getting hundreds hundreds hundreds hun hun- of ministers to speak from their pulpits of th the good plays in town urging the members of their congregations to see them Now it it stands to reason that if the Amer American can public |