[Illustration:
Frontispiece
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That Marvel—The Movie
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That Marvel—The Movie
A Glance at Its Reckless Past, Its Promising
Present, and Its Significant Future
By
Edward S. Van Zile, Litt.D.
With an Introduction by
Will H. Hays
G. P. Putnam’s Sons
New York & London
The Knickerbocker Press
1923
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Copyright, 1923
by
Edward S Van Zile
[Illustration]
Made in the United States of America
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INTRODUCTION
TO grasp the past progress, the present significance and the future
possibilities of the motion picture; to express them with restraint and
yet with clarity; and to impress the mind of any reader with the logic,
as well as with the sincerity, of his viewpoint: these are a few of the
qualities in this book which make it interesting and important. Mr. Van
Zile visualizes the motion picture as more than an entertainment
feature; and if his prophecies of its future seem over-optimistic to
some, they need only to recall the flickering, crude apparitions of
twenty years ago and the total cinematic blankness before that.
If, in twenty years, the motion picture has advanced from an awkward toy
in a laboratory to the marvelous screen art and drama of to-day, who
shall say what are the limits of its progress and its power?
The other arts are old. Music was born with speech and architecture came
soon thereafter. Literature and sculpture were created when the first
primitive man hacked an image on a bit of rock or bone. Misty ages have
cradled their growth. The art of the screen is new, and yet in its
quarter of a century of life it has produced achievements as valuable in
affecting human thought, as notable as those many great plays and operas
and pictures have produced.
To the extent that it has grown so rapidly its importance is
intensified. It is better that we should learn to crawl before we walk,
and run before we fly.
As the representative of leading producers and distributors of American
films, I can say that in no industry or art will be found men and women
more earnest to progress in the right way. With a full sense of our
responsibilities, and an ardor toward perfection, we are at work to do
the best possible things for the motion picture and its world-wide
audience. Mr. Van Zile not only gives us a word of cheer, but he puts
into the public mind some thoughts about pictures which will pay for
their lodging.
WILL H. HAYS.
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CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
INTRODUCTION. BY WILL H. HAYS v
I. —THE MOVIE’S NEW SIGNIFICANCE 1
II. —THE MOVIE AT ITS BIRTH 19
III. —THE MOVIE’S FIRST STEPS 33
IV. —THE MOVIE GOES TO THE BAD 45
V. —THE MOVIE DEVELOPS A CONSCIENCE 59
VI. —THE MOVIE AND THE LIBRARY 69
VII. —THE MOVIE’S APPETITE FOR PLOTS 81
VIII. —THE MOVIE AND THE CONTINUITY 93
WRITER
IX. —THE MOVIE IMPROVES ITS MORALS 103
X. —THE MOVIE MAKETH—WHAT KIND OF A 115
MAN?
XI. —THE MOVIE AND THE COMMITTEE ON 125
PUBLIC RELATIONS
XII. —THE MOVIE AS A PEDAGOGUE 135
XIII. —THE MOVIE INTERPRETING THE PAST 145
XIV. —THE MOVIE TAKES ON NEW FUNCTIONS 155
XV. —THE MOVIE AS A WORLD POWER 165
XVI. —THE MOVIE AND THE CENSOR 177
XVII. —THE MOVIE AS A WORLD-LANGUAGE 189
XVIII. —THE MOVIE AS THE HOPE OF 201
CIVILIZATION
APPENDIX A—STATISTICS SHOWING THE 215
SCOPE OF THE MOTION PICTURE
INDUSTRY
APPENDIX B—THE SCREEN AS A NEW LIFE 218
GIVER TO LITERARY CLASSICS
APPENDIX C—WHAT MASSACHUSETTS 221
THINKS OF MOTION PICTURE
CENSORSHIP
APPENDIX D—SIGNIFICANT DATES IN THE 222
EVOLUTION OF THE MOTION PICTURE
APPENDIX E—WHAT THE MOVIE HAS DONE 224
FOR A GREAT RAILROAD
APPENDIX F—FACTS AND FIGURES 225
SHOWING THAT THE SCREEN HAS
BECOME THE FIRST WORLD CONQUEROR
APPENDIX G—MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE 227
ON PUBLIC RELATIONS CO-OPERATING
WITH MOTION PICTURE PRODUCERS AND
DISTRIBUTORS OF AMERICA, INC.
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That Marvel—The Movie
CHAPTER I
THE MOVIE’S NEW SIGNIFICANCE
_Civilization in Peril—Leaders of Thought give Warning—Mankind Repeats
Old Errors—Needs a Universal Language—The Motion Picture the Only
Esperanto—Can the Screen Save the Race?—Why a History of the Movies is
of Crucial Importance._
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