Record #110

Date:
24/11/1923
Record Type:
Record of meeting
From/By:
Col. Jason S. Joy
To:
MPPDA (Committee on Public Relations)
Reel:
Reel 1
Frame Start:
1-0307
Frame End:
1-3018
Legacy ID:
110
Legacy Year:
1923
Legacy Index:
MPPDA - Public Relations Committee
Comments:
Additional text in Transcription.

Distinctive Pictures: Friend to Joy "a surprising thing. The people, represented in our membership, although theoretically in favor of this type of production, seem to patronize them to no greater extent than the do the run-of-mill producers" - e.g. GREEN GODDESS played in Atlanta to a 50-57% house while "a mildly objectionable, distinctly mediocre film played to standing room only a few weeks later. The current extent of the Better Films movement. Most local committees seem to lack the requisite staying power.9 film synopses.

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Long Description:

Better film movement - "pretty well dotted over the country. The strong points are the seven southeastern states; Indiana; Missouri (St. Louis and Kansas City); California and Oregon. There is a movement on foot to promote an extension of the idea in Iowa and Minnesota. The history of this movement seems to indicate that it has lacked sustained effort. Committees spring up and die out. It seems extremely difficult to get a group in a locality, strong enough to be effective and sufficiently interested to plug week after week and month after month in those places where the motion picture industry itself has been most active in its co-operation.Includes minutes of meeting of November 20. Extremely snobbish speech by Mr Friend of Distinctive Pictures Corporation, characterizing movie pioneers as very much the same kind of men who went to California in 1849, who had no job, who could not earn a living, who had been spending their time hanging around the saloons, cigar stores, etc. Joy reports that [Mr Friend] has told me in conversation ... a surprising thing. The people, represented in our membership, although theoretically in favor of this type of production, seem to patronize them to no greater extent than they do the run-of-mine [sic] productions. For instance, I learned in Atlanta, a few weeks ago, that The Green Goddess played there to a 50 or 75% capacity house. A few weeks later a mildly objectionable, distinctly mediocre film playing up the triangle theme, played to standing room only. It is something worth thinking about.

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