Costly Stories

Southland Times, Issue 22767, 18 December 1935, Page 9

Costly Stories

The film industry has paid £675,000 for 679 stories in the past 12 months. A large number of the stories has been written specially for the screen. The film rights of some very successful plays have brought as much as £25,000, but on the whole the prices paid for film rights have tended to be moderate, the average being slightly less than £lOOO. Perhaps the most remarkable feature has been the great number of original stories acquired by leading studios. Twenty-five out of 41 stories purchased by Columbia Pictures have been originals. Of the 679 total 337 have been originals, while 254 have been published books and 88 plays. This is of great importance since it marks the first year in which the film industry has given striking encouragement to those who write direct for films. Producers have decided to encourage original stories since they have discovered that published books or plays have popular value only when they have been exceptionally successful. They have also discovered that in many cases the owners of book or play rights have asked fantastic prices which can be paid only in respect of the most outstanding works. Another interesting tendency is that many producers are making new versions of formerly successful films. It is felt that filmgoers wish from time to time to see in new form films which were formerly outstanding just as playgoers desire to see revivals of famous stage successes. At present about 30 such films are being produced. Three of the most famous of the silent films made by D. W. Griffith are being produced as talking pictures. They are “The Birth of a Nation,” “Broken Blossoms,” and “Way Down East.” “Oliver Twist,” “A Tale of Two Cities,” “Rose Marie,” “The Prisoner of Zenda,” “Show Boat,” “Ramona,” “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.” “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” “Silas Marner and “Quality Street” are some of the famous films to be re-made. With the reproduction of these films another important tendency of 1936 will be for pictures to run to greater length. When “The Birth of a Nation was presented about 20 years ago it lasted three hours. Recently Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer has received many complaints from filmgoers that “David Copperfield” which ran for two hours and 15 minutes, was too short.

The screen’s best business woman is Grace Moore. Keeping her head among her London furore, and her St. Moritz entertaining, Miss Moore found time to hear and buy a very piquant little Viennese operetta. “Cissy” is such a “natural” for the star that her producer, Harry Cohn, will make it her next screen vehicle—and Grace will make a profit.