AMERICAN FILMS

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17739, 28 March 1932, Page 10

AMERICAN FILMS

A NOVEL VIEWPOINT CINEMA MAGNATES ATTACKED A. remarkable attack on the attitude of New York cinema magnates towards English films, and their general ignorance of foreign film sentiment coupled with a warm defence of the English viewpoint in film production, has been published in one of the most distinguished American newspapers, the Philadelphia Public Ledger, says the London Era. The article, written by Eric M. Knight, fills more than two long, closelyprinted columns, under the general headline : “Why the British Lion Roars at American Film Men.” The following excerpts arc typical : “These Broadwayites are set in their belief that they are the wits of the continent, the court jesters extraordinary of the English-speaking world. In their sinall circle they naively think that ‘lxnay, baby—am-scray!” is just too colossal for anything—-the dernier cri of humor. They forget that it sounds like pitiful schoolboy nonsense to the people of Texas, Virginia, Maine, and Ohio, not to mention the film audiences of Saskatchewan, Alberta, Yorkshire, Forfarshire, Hants, Queensland, and the Kenya Colony. “That the English customer is liable to have his quite sensitive sensitivities ploughed, furrowed, and drilled by some American films is pretty sure. That we need to study those offended sensitivities if we don’t want to drive England to the extreme of building up its own producing industry seems equally plain. ‘‘•The average film man seems set in his belief that the Englishman is a sissy sort of creature who is quite willing to have us poke fun at him in a blustering and superior way. “I remembev a short film on cricket issued recently, in which the gabbing announcer seemed to find the whole gsuno just an effeminate sort of affair that was entirely beneath the dignity of sensible explanation by a salty he-Ameiieaii. “As any sporting Briton will tell you, the bat in cricket is heavy, the ball used is more like a lead ball than our own baseball. Further, even in our own baseball there is no fielder who is forced to stand so close to the batter as do some of the fielding players in cricket. on top of this the fact that English cricketers scorn to use a glove, they go barehanded after savage drives quite equal to the sizzlers in our own game. “On the other band, the, Englishman has reason for feeling our baseball a game for softies. He sees movies in which all the fielders wear gloves—lie sees the great mitt the first baseman uses—he sees shots of the catcher protected from head to foot with pads, guards, masks, ploves, and wlvatuot. He thinks it quite effete after his own hardy barehandedness. “It is the same with our football. “Again, the' Englishman lias good excuse for calling us softies ill our sport. He sees our football thriller, h" sees men wearing sliinguards, kneeguards, hip pads, shoulder guards, rubber noseguards, haxd leather helmets, and all the rest of the armor. He sees the coach van-king out a man as soon as lie t ires. The Englishman thinks that a* sissy idea. Lady-like, those English? Try getti.no in a pick-up Rugger game with a hunch of Lancashire lads and you’ll- find to the contrary, as some of our doughboys who took a chance behind the lines during the World War can tell you. “I notice, for instance, a blurb in a trade magazine from New Y ork which shows the general trend. It goes:— “ ‘ln Lunnon they have changed the name of “The Spirit of Notre Dame to “Vigor of Youth”. . . and can’t you inst picture Knute Rockne if lie wee alive to-day. coaching lijs bunch of Irish-■Czech-Russians with a roar from the sidelines: ‘CV>me on, lands, wont you please get a little vigorous?’ . “I should say that the British distributors were wise in changing lb* l title, ‘Notre Dame,’ in England, means the cathedral in Paris and nothing more. “The American industry must begin to understand British viewpoint, if we want to sell the British our films. England is'no more interested in New York wisecracking silliness than the rural districts of America arc interested in the esoteric argot of 42nd street and Broadway." ,