Evening Star Newspaper, May 26, 1929, Page 104

ASHINGTON, D. C, MAY 2, 1929.—PART 7. Uncle Sam “Goes Talkie™ By C. MORAN. NCLE SAM, the world's leading producer of educational motion pitcures, is going to produce “talkies.” Government farm and industrial screen dramas will bz produced “synchronized” and *“100 per cent pll-talkie.” Motion picture directors at the Department of Agriculture have announced that one or more “all-talkie” features are being planned for presentation at the big live stock shows mnext Winter. Meanwhile short specials will pe turned out experimentally and for exhibi- gion at dairy shows and other agricultural ex- positions. Department of Commerce motion picture of- ficials also are investigating the possibility of producing “talkies.” These pictures deal with mining and manufacturing subjects, in which emphasis is laid on the use of safety equipment and practices, They are exhibited chiefly in mining and factory communities. The Navy Department, too, has the “talkie” complex in connection with the wiring of bat- tleships for sound reproduction. Ninety per cent of all commercial films are leased by the Navy for use in its recreational activities aboard ships, and the gradual monopolization of the *talkies” requires that some system of wiring the ships for reproduction must be developed. CIALS of the Government departments . declare that talking films present the greatest opportunity yet offered for extending to the general public the educational phases of vesearch work. In agriculture, for example, the researches dealing with production and mar- keting technique may be much more effectively described by means of audible films. For some phases of its work the Agriculture Depart- ment has never found a satisfactory substitute for the old-fashioned illustrated slide lectures, mlthough instead of the former bulky glass slides an entire lecture is now printed on a small roll of movie film. The exhibition of educational talkies in ining and factory districts is expected to Impress more effectively on workers in these mreas the advantages of approved practices. It will also assist greatly, the Commerce Depart- ment officials believe, in the assimilation of the Yoreign element in mine and factory occupa- ‘tions. Silent films produced to date by the Bu- yeau of Mines include practically the entire yange of industrial activity from coal mining %o automobile manufacturing. The big problem in the Government “talkie” program is the installation of reproduction equipment in agricultural and industrial com- Jmunities. The cost of such equipment is, at ‘present, obviously out of reach of schoolhouses, ‘assembly halls, small rural movie houses and ‘community centers. The Government officials, ‘therefore, are investigating the use of portable ‘reproduction equipment, such as portable pro- Jeotors with sound attachments. It is believed ‘to be only a question of time before portable ‘apparatus at a reasonable cost will be available, fand that event will mark the passing of the isilent pictures entirely so far as the Govern- ‘ment departments are concerned. ~ The Department of Agriculture has in Wash- ‘Ington what is said to be the largest motion ‘picture studio south of New York. From one ‘to two feature films a month are turned out »here and copies distributed among agricultural ‘colleges and other extension agencies, and in ‘some cases shipped to foreign countries for exhibition in farming areas. Practically all interior *“shots” in the farm films are made, developed and printed in this studio, the out- @ide scenes being made by a staff of experienced The American League’s two “funny men,” :Altrock and Schachs, performing for a Government movie. Keeping Pace With Modern Affairs, the Government Is Making Synchronized Motion Picture -=-Several Departments Interested in Venture-==Finished Films Sent Far and Wide. camera men who have traveled virtually every farming region in the United States. ‘The Department of Commerce films, on the other hand, are usually made by commercial motion picture organizations and financed by industrial concerns. A world-wide tour was made recently by a Bureau of Mines camera party making motion pictures of ‘world-famous oil wells, Secretary Mellon at that time sug- gested that a petroleum film be made in “talkie” style, but the sound pictures then were in an experimental stage and satisfactory arrange- ments for the picture could not be made. TH! Navy Department recently has gone in . for its own production of a so-called “Navy News Reel.” This may ultimately be produced with sound. Motion picture cameras and films are distributed among the fleet-to depict marine happenings in various parts of the world. The films are developed commercially and then shipped to Washington, where they are cut and titled. The finished product is dispatched to the various battleships so that the enlisted men and officers may see, and soon hear, what the fleet is doing in other waters. A survey recently made by the Navy Departe ment has developed the fact that motion pic- tures are the most popular recreation on board ship, approximately 45 per cent of the recrea- tion period being spent at the movies, as com- pared with 17 per cent of this time occupied with and 7 to 10 per cent with reading. Each | p receives 27 movies a month from nt screen productions, the movie screen being spread on shipboard about 6 o’clock each evening and remaining up until 9. ‘The Department of Agriculture in the last 16 years has produced films on more than 400 subjects, of which 250 are now in active cir- culation. The Government movie directors and photographers making these pictures have ex« many thrills. in airplanes and balloons, climbing mountain peaks and risking life and limb in photographing the fight- ing of forest fires and the blasting of mountain sides for road building have been their portion. Tom, Dick and Harry, the last three horses used by the fire department of the District of Columbia, photographed for a photoplay, “The Horse and the Man,” produced by the De- partment of Agriculture, - Not all the thrills have been theirs, however. Dangers quite as great have sometimes been experienced by those who have sought to over- come hostile public opinion by the use of mo- tion pictures in the department’s campaigns for the eradication of plant and animal diseases and insect pests. Vigorous opposition has often been met in some sections in the campaign for the eradi- cation of the tick which acts as a carrier of southern cattle fever. Some of the depart- ment’s agents, provided with trucks equipped with motion picture projectors, have gone into these communities with films showing the bene- fits of tick eradication. Threats have often been made to “blow up the tick wagon” and “beat up” the operator. In one such community, long known to be hostile to the project, the de- partment’s film, “Molly of Pine Grove Vat,” was shown, despite such threats. This three-act pictiire shows how plucky peo- ple in one community eradicated ticks in spite of serious obstacles and opposition by a lawe less element. The show began before an audi- ence which included a crowd of bullies and the local bad man. With the unweaving of the story, ‘however, which showed clearly that only selfishness and prejudice oppose the wuseful work of tick eradication, oppesition melted, ‘The leader, instead of whipping the .depars- ment’s agent, as he had sald he would do, sHook hu:cnd.s w;th him before he left. In other dis- ts where opposition has been so. stroug ag-~* to make the efforts of tick mm's— ous, the power of the screen drama has made friends of former opponents and is preparing the way for better live stock and more pros- perous citizens. County agricultural agents were asked their opinion recently of the usefulness of motion pictures in their work. Of 982 replies, 820 agents favored using films, 149 were noncom- mittal and 13 did not favor them at all. The opinions of many agents are well summed up in the following extract from the annual report of the county agricultural agent of Lyon Coun- ty, Kans. He said: “This was the first farm bureau in Kansas to purchase its own complete motion picture out- fit. Motion pictures have been exhibited at 53 meetings, to a total attendance of 6,608 peo- ple. The advantages of using motion pictures in education extension work are that they hold the attention of audiences, increase attendance at meetings, bring out more forcefully and mora intelligently the points desired; a balanced and varied program can be put on to interest farmers; the agricultural agent can carry more specialized work to the farmers and be inde- pendent of outside specialized assistance, and the cost of maintaining extension work is ma- terially reduced.” TH:ERE has been a large foreign demand for the agricultural films in addition to their exhibition by farm and community organiza- tions, schools and colleges, women's clubs, gare den clubs, sportsmen’'s and breeders’ associa- tions, churches, Boy Scout troops, business men’s organizations, museums, theaters, fairs and expositions, conventions, hospitals, peni- tentiaries, hotels and Summer resorts in the United States. Since 1920 approximately 600,» 000 feet of the films have been sold to foreign - countries. Asia, Scuth America and Canada have bought over 100,000 feet each, while Europe and Africa have each purchased more than 50,000 feet. Although urgent requests are constantly re- ceived, film is not generally loaned outside the continental United States, because the domestic demand is larger than can be met with the