Motion Picture Story - Special Departments

Anything and everything silent photoplay!
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Kitty
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Motion Picture Story - Special Departments

Post by Kitty »

At the back of Motion Pictures Story Magazine there were pages and pages of answers to the questions that readers sent in about the motion picture industry. The questions were not printed, just the answers. They are fascinating to read.

I kind of found this one interesting! What did they say before Wheaties was invented? Why, there was a cereal called Force! This is the equivalent of one of us saying "He didn't eat his Wheaties this morning." This is from the April 1913 edition. Force predated Wheaties by a little more than 20 years.
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Kitty
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Re: Motion Picture Story - Special Departments.

Post by Kitty »

This one is from the Green Room Jottings department. It's subtitled "Little Whisperings from Everywhere in Playerdom". Here's a very interesting one from the April 1913 issue.
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You trying to tell me you didn't hear that shriek? That was something trying to get out of its premature grave, and I don't want to be here when it does. - Phantom of the Paradise (1974)

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Kitty
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Re: Motion Picture Story - Special Departments.

Post by Kitty »

A silly one from the Answer's Man in Motion Picture Story, March edition 1913, I believe.
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You trying to tell me you didn't hear that shriek? That was something trying to get out of its premature grave, and I don't want to be here when it does. - Phantom of the Paradise (1974)

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donnie
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Re: Motion Picture Story - Special Departments.

Post by donnie »

Those are interesting. I like seeing the snippets from those mags. :D

Force—what an odd name for a cereal. Edit: Guess what? They apparently still make it. Google "Force Cereal".

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Kitty
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Re: Motion Picture Story - Special Departments

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This is from the May 1913 Motion Picture Story. Musings from the Photoplay Philosopher was full of all kinds of things to this effect.
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This next one, I am unsure which month it is from, but it is certainly from 1913. Curious! Their complaints were the same as ours today. I would even go so far as to say that the coming attractions are not as exciting as they used to be. Just show the movie, for goodness' sake!
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You trying to tell me you didn't hear that shriek? That was something trying to get out of its premature grave, and I don't want to be here when it does. - Phantom of the Paradise (1974)

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donnie
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Re: Motion Picture Story - Special Departments

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Re the first one, I always liked the term "photoplay." It's a shame that it fell out of use. Of course, if it were still in use, I probably wouldn't like it as much. :-)

Re the second, as best I remember (going to movies in a theater so rarely), there is an annoying lot of stuff in advance of the movie. It's kind of surprising, when you think about it, that advertisements never got into the movies more than they did. Look at what happened to television. Maybe the kinds of reactions the writer talked about are what stemmed a flood of general commercials.

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Kitty
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Re: Motion Picture Story - Special Departments

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It's possible. Remember, tv was an extension of radio which also was very commercialized. Today the average OTR listener doesn't know that, for the commercials have been taken out. Granted, there are SO many more commercials now than there were back then (there was only one sponsor of a show back in the day). It's just yuck. Just play the movie...... I'd much rather watch a pack of short films than the ads for stage play ads that show before the film previews nowadays.
You trying to tell me you didn't hear that shriek? That was something trying to get out of its premature grave, and I don't want to be here when it does. - Phantom of the Paradise (1974)

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Kitty
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Re: Motion Picture Story - Special Departments

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I thought this comment in the Answers section in Motion Picture Story was quite interesting. I feel quite the same way! This is in the May 1913 issue.
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Kitty
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Re: Motion Picture Story - Special Departments

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Another interesting suggestion from the Answers Man. I am a little confused. If they did not use advertisements in the theater, how did they stay open. In other words, my understanding of the purpose of advertisements was to pay for the programs shown. Were they not needed? I guess they weren't necessary, or the Answers Man wouldn't have suggested it.
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donnie
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Re: Motion Picture Story - Special Departments

Post by donnie »

I guess a lot of theatres stayed in business solely from the ticket sales?

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