. . 'Iuesiay, J?lprif 12~' 1999 Section of'Ilie Sa[em 9\&ws · • • n 1 t r • t r it is ou might say motion pic­ "Bullitt" and "The French tures got started with a Connection." Y sneeze. - · Anyone who has lived in the Audiences chorused "God 20th century carries a portable · bless you" when they saw library of film images~ unreali~ Thomas Edison's grainy, black­ ties so real they sometimes and-white film of his employee, crowd out-actual memories. Fred Ott, sneezing. A grapefruit in the face. A top - Or was it a kiss that really got hat and a ducklike walk. A movies going? dance around a rainy lamppost. A film short, "The Kiss A rider silhouetted as the sunset Between May Irvin and JohnC. fades to black. Rice," intrigued many, but one Let's roll the credits for this writer found the first celluloid art form that is called the great­ smooch loathsome, "magnified est of the century. Who pro- · to gargantuan proportions and duced and directed this specta­ repeated thrice." cle? How did we all hire on as Some credit New York's extras? Latham brothers and their films In 1908, the same year that of boxing matches. Others point Edison and other major East to the basement screening room _ Coast producers fonried the in Paris where the Lumiere · Motion Picture Patents Co. to brothers first showed that mov­ protect their inventions, the ing images, even silly ones of _ Selig company filmed "The This is a 1944, photo of Thomas Edison's Black Maria, the fust motion picture studio in the United States, lo- people falling off horses, could Count of Monte Cristo" in Santa cated in West Orange, N.J. ' be projected on a screen to draw Monica, the first major produc­ . Valentino were filling theater13 thousands curious enough to tion away from New Jersey and · and earning huge salaries. pay a franc. - New York. Everyone, from the ordinary to These i:>ioneers. worked their Attracted by the nearly year­ the exalted, succumbed to the magic in the decade before the round sunshine, other producers movies' spell. 20th century began. Their early flooded into Los Angeles, many "It is like writing-history with efforts were mostly novelties, settling in a sl~epy citrus-grow­ lightning," President Woodrow proofs of laboratory hypotheses, ing suburb called Hollywood. Wilson commented after seeing technological tricks. During the early silent films, _D.W. Griffith's 1915 epic, "The In 1903, Edwin S. Porter, proc actors were not listed by name. Birth of a Nation." duction head for Edison's Black "The Biograph Girl," known A keen storyteller, Griffith Maria studio, showed what onlyi:>y her studio, became so virtually invented the motion · movies could be. popular that the public demand- picture form with his use of Porter's 12-minute "The edner name,-Florence , closeups, longshots, changed Great Train Robbery" carried a Lawrence. Thus the star system camera angles and intercutting. story from beginning to end, was born. While "Birth of a Nation," a and filled it with exciting action What was a star? Royalty, Civil War spectacle, became the · and clever stunts. The most star­ statesmen and great authors most successful movie of its tling came when an outlaw achieved fame, but they were time, the Kentucky-born director pointed his six-shooter straight known only as distant figures. was assailed as a bigot for his at the audience and fired. People saw movie stars as portrayal of blacks and his The screen went red, and endearing, comic and daring benign depiction of the_ Ku Klux women swooned. - characters on the screen, and the Klan. Black activists and white If that scene was the progeni-" desire to know more about them racists clashed in Boston and tor of what the movies would became ihsatiable. The studios other cities. become, we all know its descen­ were more than pleased to The movies' power-to stir 'dants, all the places we've never respond. ·- deep feelings was harnessed been and people we've never Toronto-born Gladys Smith, a during World War I as studios met but swear we can remem- child actress who became produced propaganda films ber: . known as , started such as "The Beast of Berlin" Atlanta as a wall of flames in at Biograph in 1909 at$40 a and other flagwavers. "Gone With the Wind." A show­ week. By 1916, Business was booming in er curtain slowly ripping down was paying her $10,000 a week, -Hollywood - now freed from · • in "Psycho." The cliilling men­ plus a $300,000 bonus. Edison's monopoly by the ace of "Jaws" that still keeps Adjusting for inflation, Justice Department. The Roaring _ some out of the surf. Pickford was possibly the high­ '20s brougbt the consolidation of · Smoke that choked us during est paid actress ever, and she the business into all-powerful Normandy beach assaults, from became an important force in major studios, most of them "The Longest Day" to '~Saving Hollywood when she helped controlling chains of theaters. Private Ryan." The slow-motion found . The leaders: Adolph Zukor of . bullet hail that finally stopped Soon such stars as Charlie ; William "Bonnie and Clyde." The nails­ Chaplin, , Fox, 20th Century Fox; Louis B. and Jackie Coogan are seen in this photo from Chap­ in-the-dashboard car chases.of and Rudolph Mayer, MGM; Harry, Albert, lin's 1921 , ''The Kid." Chaplin became one of the 20th centu­ - See Pictures, page 4 _ ry's first movie stars. ·· esteryears · 'luesaay, Jl.priU2, 1999 ,..,_.F;;,_...._;~~ ~· were for silent films. But there starting with Mickey 1\tlouse . Many consider a P.eriod. of Together they created the _..-'..,~ Pictures · ~z, was a special award that ye~r, who made his talkie debut in about two decades starting in hugely successful Indiana Jones ''i'.~ Cont'd from page 1 r~;"t . too --:--- to Warner J?ros. for. p10- 1928's "Steamboat Willie," creat­ the early 1960s to be a golden trilogy. As Hollywood's century .,.;:.'.~. . . - - . ../I~:;.)" neerillg th. e µse o:l: sound ill "The ed a geme along with an enter~ age for American and British wound down, industry econom- "'·! ~ '7 Jazz Singer." tainment empire. From classic moviemaking. Among high­ ics shifted again. Sam and Jack Warne,r, Warner Audie!lce,~ ch~ered _when Al . features such as "Snow White" lights: Some major studios strug~ · Bros.· Carl Laemmle Universal Jolson said, Wait a mmute, wait. and "Bambi," with their lush "Lawrence of Arabia," "The gled. MGM, which once boasted Pictu.'res; Harry and Jack Cohn; '.3- minu~;· Y~m .ain't.heard no!h- depictions of golden good and Manchurian Candidate," "Tom "more stars than there are in the Columbia Pictures. mg yet. W1thm a year, the silent fiery evil, to modern fables like Jones," "Mary Poppins," "A heavens," sold its historic In the midst of the boom · film was dead. Dialogue . "The Lion King," often carried Raisin in the Sun," "The Culver City lot as it tried to sur­ scandals taught the sad con'se- brought a new sophistica~on to by Oscar-winning songs, Disney Pawnbroker," ."Who's Afraid of vive. quences of making actors seem the s~reen and made musicals introduced children by the mil­ Virginia Woolf," "The Nearly defunct, United more than human. possible. · lions to the magic of movies. Graduate," "A Man for All Artists folded into the newly , The wholeson:l:e young star· Theater at:tend~ce skyrocket- That wasn't all, folks. If Seasons," "The Sting," "Two for diminjshed MGM. Other studios Wallace Reid fell victim to drugs ed, and studios thm:-ed. Disney's carfoons could be the Road," "In the Heat of the were snapped up by internation­ · and alcohol and died at 32. . Even the i:;epress10n. of the strait-laced, Warner Bros. offered Night," "2001: A Space al corporations. Japan's Director William Desmond · 1930s couldn t halt the illdus- saucier and often more sophisti~ Odyssey," "-The Lion in Winter," Matsushita bought Taylor was :nurd~red in ~s ·· try' s pro.sperity. 1~\tfovies with cated fare from that "qwazy "Planet of the Apes," "They __ MCA/Umversal and later sold it home, and illvestigators dis- urbeat tit!,e~ - Th~ Gay wabbit" Bugs Bunny and his Shoot Horses, Don't They?" "M­ to the Seagram Co. Sony closed two famous actresses Divorcee,. Gold Diggers of pals, many given voice by Mel A-S-H" "Patton" "The Last acquired Columbia and Tri-Star were his lovers. Cdmedian 1933" (and '35 and '37), Blanc. Later animators didn't Pictur~ Show," ,:The Godfather," Pictures. Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle was ."Pennies Fro1? Heaven" - .dis- even aim first at young children: "Sounder," "Deliverance," Viacom absorbed Paramount, tried three times before being ·tra~ted Americans from their Witness features like "Who "American Graffiti," and Warner Bros. merged with acquitted in the party death of a daily woes. Framed Roger Rabbit?" and TV "Nashville," "Taxi Driver," "Star Time Inc. Publisher Rupert starlet. During World War IT, .· series like "The Simpsons." Wa:i;s," "Alien," "Raging Bull," Murdoch took over 20th · The nation's puritans raged Hollywood ~obilized all its Mid-century brought a darker "The Deer Hunter" and Century Fox. against Hollywood as a modem forces. Stars like Clark Gable, time, too, as a Cold War chill "Apocalypse Now." Expenses keep climbing. The Sodom and Gomorrah and James Stewart, Tyrone Power swept through 1950s In 1969, as teen-age Baby average production cost of a alarmed film bosses ~ed · donned uniforms, and still other Hollywood. Boomers experimented with movie today is $52 million. On Republi~an politician Will Hays actors went on tour to entertain "Are you now or have you drugs and sexual liberation and the revenue side, videocassette to clean up the industry. ~roops and sell war bonds. The ever been a member of the staged campus protests against ·sales now add millions, along Actors were required to sign m~u~try ~ade propaganda and Communist Party?" Those the war in Vietnam, "Easy with ticket sales abroad. morality clauses tli.at would trnrnrng films. words uttered by Red-hunting . Rider" portrayed the counter­ · "Titanic" alone earned $1 bil­ cause their firing if their behav- Troops and war workers hun- congressmen still haunt culture - through a pair of hip­ lion, though that box office ior brought public obloquy. The gered for entertainment,. and American filmmaking. rie bikers on the road ~ and reflected some adolescent girls' . Hays Office enforced a censor- Hollywood produced glitzy . Dozens of writers, directors showed i~ coi.:ld be profitable: dozen or more trips to see ship code over film content. For musicals ~d rm.~coi:~ comedies, and actors had joined the The movie, directedby Denrus Leonardo DiCaprio.. more than 40 years, filmmakers as wel!, as fil~s hke Wake Communist Party, some briefly, Hopper and produced by Peter Whether in a love story like worked· withill rules that prohib- Island "and . 3~ Second~ Ove; in the radical 1930s. Fonda, cost less than $400,000 "Titanic" or an adventure like ited anything that couldn't be Tokyo, depicting Amencans Some refused to testify and and grossed $40 million world­ the latest installment of the "Star seen by the whole family.· va~?r 1:1 ~attle. , . . went to prison. Others acknowl­ wide. Wars" epic, a "prequel" that In 19:2.7, MGM's Mayer invit- Thisi.s the peopl~ s war. ,~tis edged tneir membership and Studio bosses decided there uses cutting-edge technology to ed 36 industry leaders to a ban- our war. '(Ve are the fi~h~;rs, named names. Anti-communist was a youth market out there, recast the cliffhangers of early quet at which he proposed H~Il!Y VY,i~coxon s~y~ ill .Mrs. film leaders, such as Screen and a new generation of actors, filmmaking, Hollywood still forming an academy to enhance rv:rwv.er !111942. F~g~t it, then. Actors Guild President Ronald writers and directors emerged. relies on its time-tested alchemy: movies' prestige. The Academy Fight it with all that is.mu~, and Reagan, helped supply the FBI Steven Spielberg and George turning bright flickers of light of Motion Picture Arts and may God defend the nght. witn names of suspected party Lucas stood out. With "Jaws" and and imagination into gold. Sciences was born. · · War's end brought vast members. (1975), Spielberg began his Two years later, 270 movie change in Holl}'.'Wood, as in so The studio& blacklisted sus­ string ofblockbusters. ''Star notables attended a dinner map.y areas of life. Tne year 1948 pects, denying them work. The Wars" (1977) established Lucas' where the Academy bestowed . marked the .beginning of the end blacklist lasted for 15 years, genius for applying .special awards. Today's broadcast of the for the studio sy.stem. . . ruining many lives, and bitter­ effects to adventure. Oscars;__ said to have been In that year, film exhibitors ness remains today. Many named by two-time winner began to notice that their the- protested when a special Os.car Arbaugh-Pearce Bette Davis because the stat- aters were empty on Tuesday was given this year to director uette's behind resembled that of ·nights. Why? People were stay­ Elia Kazan; ("On the . eefli~efl her then-husband producer ing home to watch Milton Berle Waterfront," "A Streetcar r Funeral Citizens Harmon Oscar N~lson - draws on tel_evision. Over time, as TV Named Desire") who had long · G · Home . an international audience esti- assumed its dominant place in . been shunned by the Hollywood mated by the academy to be entertainment! movie theaters establishment for naming 332-4401 RAYJO~~EE~ISEN Banking near 1 billion. across the nation closed, espe- names. The first Academy Awards cially the downtown palaces Postwar American filmmak­ PERSONAL RECORDS Co. erected during the luSh years. ers began to feel creative compe­ Helping to speed this trend tition from abroad. The neoreal­ & PLANNING BOOK 193 S. Lincoln was the government's decision ism of Rossellini, Antonioni, De · Because your last wishes that the film giants constituted a Sica, Fellini and other Italians · ·are so important 332-9906 monopoly, controlling produc­ electrified audiences and critics tion, distribution and eXhibition with their raw studies of the This FREE 2525 S.E. Blvd. of movies ..They were ordered to human condition. get rid of one of those functions, · Truffaut, Vadim, Godard, Record 337-8776 1r . . and chose to sell off their theater Chabrol and other French direc­ . Book Allows ·~ chains. - tors in the fate 1950s brought You To: Now taking reservations for i:1este~ears j The resulting leaner times forth the New Wave. Their films Fall and Winter Celebrations saw studios auction off real were intensely personal, dealing •Fill In Vital Information estate, costumes and props. Film with nudity and sex.. . S- A journal • Pre~Plan Your Funeral hist~rical ~ libraries were sold to TV. . In 1968, Jack Valenti, new Shangri~La ~i.; Published every ~~~ • Select The Funeral You Wish .:;, Tuesday ,~Yi: Striving to innovate, compa­ head of the producers associa­ • Relieve Your Family of Worry ·~'.~~. by the Salem News 'J-11: nies introduced wide-screen tion, persuaded the company B~nquet Center I~;· ~~ teehniques such as Cinerama, heads to dump the Hays Do This For The Ones You Love /J. Founded June 8, 1991 ;'.~1 CillemaScope, even 3~D movies Production Code -'- which had Please------send us: Maximum Seating for 500 ~~: 161 N. Lincoln Ave. ~~~ (One movie poster gushed: · frowned ori. Mae West's wiggle, 0 The Family Personal Record Book. Perfect for Wedding & Anniversaries ~Y: Salem, Ohio 44460 '11° "Jane Russell in 3-D - this film outlawed words like "virgin"· 0 Information on Inflation-Picot will knock BOTH your eyes and initially held up "Gone Funeral Pre-Plan. ~· ~ out!") But audiences complained With the Wind" because of · O Information about funeral costs, Jones Hall ~§~ John Dennis Cr~er ;'.~ . the glasses required to achieve procedures Seating For 50 People ·"?.. Salem News editor ·:·· ,, Gable's line, "Frankly, my dear, I three dimensions gave them don't give a damn." Name ______· Family banquets and receptions, .,. Lois A. Firestone L-~ headaches, and the fad passed. Instead, the producers adopt­ bachelor and bachelorette parties. Yesteryears Editor .., Another HollyW"ood innova­ ed a rating system. A flood of Address ______, . tion - anirriation - flowered in sexy movies ensued. The X­ City______7203 CALLA RD. Kitchen Facilities Available the century's middle years. rated "Midnight Cowboy" even State______.... ip ____ ;i;;I~~~~'.~:::=~~;~ Walt Disney's characters, won an Academy Award. Phone 533-5594