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Show American Theatre Said to Be in Death Grapple With Picture Industry BY H. P. BURTON. N. E. A. Staff Correspondent. NEW YORK, May 1 The American Ameri-can 'theatre is in a death-grapple with the American motion picture Industry, and certain authoritative observers declare that the United States may soon awake to find itself without a single new play of real merit on the boards. This, they further predict, will be only the beginning of the strangula tion of our native spoken drama by the enveloping movies, which will soon dictate the character of every stage entertainment produced in this country. Newly-made movie magnates richer by countless millions than the old-time old-time producers of ouV theatrical fame, have suddenly become the masters of Broadway. Movie Control Spreads. Within the week the Famous Play-ers-Lasky Co., already in control of the major portion of the picture product pro-duct of the country, has become the holder of ihe purse-strings of the famous Frohman Co., the John D. Williams Wil-liams Co., and George Broadhurst and Oliver Morosco. It has also pro-nosed pro-nosed to buv out. too. Arthur Honkins. the manager of John Barrymore, as well as the Selwyns, Sam Harris, Wm. Harris, Jr., and probably every other Broadway manager of any Standing. Furthermore, .the movies have now turjied from the producers to the booking hduses, and, with what approaches ap-proaches a half-interest in the old "syndicate" of Klaw and Erlanger, are said to be making arrangements to control the choicest bookings of the Shubert organization. ' Statement Made. In a statement made, after a conference con-ference of the independents, Edgar Selwyn said: "Of the 50 theatres in New York, not more than 10 are owned by the independents in-dependents and only five of theso are in the hands of men who dqn't need movie money and can afford lo fight the movie producer for the artistic good of the American stage". "For, if we take orders from tho movie magnates, and accept plays on their moilon picture merits, then it is all over with the American drama. "Just one thing publicity can stop this. The drama cannot bid against the great movie wealth. It can't pay as big rentals because its cost of production pro-duction is so high. Tho only way out is for the rich people in all tho cities of America to build theatres in their respective towns to house tho spoken drama of America because they believe be-lieve this drama, in Its best estate, is essential to the artistic life of our country." Millions will be pitted against thousands thou-sands in this new war of the theatre, but those holding tho latter plan to carry their fight all across America and mobilize the drama-loving public in every great city. Only the first gun is fired; the real sensation of this na-tionl na-tionl battles for the theatre aro just beginning to come. Jesse L. Lasky, first. vlco president of the Famous Players-Lasky Corporation, Corpor-ation, says in defense of the movie invasion: "The action of Famous Players In helping finance plaj's and In securing control of various theaters is not going to hurt the stage, but is going to help it. The fact that a play Is artistic lh no way bars It as film material; on tho contrary, if any Broadway producer pro-ducer puts on a production that Is artistic, ar-tistic, no matter what its commercial success may be, he will find us first to bid for its picture rights. Instead of seeking to lower standards of tho legitimate drama, we seek to raise them. "Dramatic critics have assailed theatrical" managers for years as having hav-ing an "eye only to the box office. These are the managers who have raised the American drama to the dizzy heights of tho bedroom farce, the crook melodrama and tho sox play! And they are the manngers who now loudly protest that our concern Is seeking to drag the drama down from this high state! "I believe that, whoever their producers pro-ducers may be, good plays wilL continue con-tinue to succeed and poor plays to fail In exactly the same proportion as they have succeedod or failed herotofore," |