 Front cover of the first issue of The Motion Picture Story Magazine (February 1911) featuring Edison | |
| Categories | Fan magazine |
|---|---|
| Frequency | Monthly |
| Publisher | M. P. Publishing Company, Inc. |
| Founded | 1911 |
| Final issue | 1977 |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Motion Picture was an American monthly fan magazine about film, published from 1911 to 1977. [1] It was lastly published by Macfadden Publications. [2]
The magazine was established by Vitagraph Studios co-founder J. Stuart Blackton and partner Eugene V. Brewster under the title The Motion Picture Story Magazine. [2] In contrast to earlier film magazines such as The Moving Picture World , which were aimed at film exhibitors, The Motion Picture Story Magazine was aimed at regular film goers. It has been regarded as the first fan magazine. [3]
The magazine was very successful from its inception, with an initial run of 50,000 copies and a circulation of 200,000 by 1914. Writers were amazed at the outset to receive their checks for contributions almost immediately on acceptance, a policy on the part of Brewster that was effective in quickly inducing the highest grade fiction authors to become affiliated with the publication. Contributors included Rex Beach, Will Carleton and Horatio C. King. [4]
The magazine's most successful column was entitled "The Answer Man" (written by a woman) that answered readers' questions about the film world. This was an innovation, the first of its kind in journalism. [4]
In 1914, it was renamed Motion Picture Magazine. Early editions included fiction and information on how to get involved in film production. The magazine shifted to a focus on celebrities and attracted a larger female readership. In 1919, the circulation jumped from 248,845 to 400,000. [5]
Its sister publication Motion Picture Classic, which was started as its supplement, [6] was published monthly from September 1915 to March 1931. In 1941, Motion Picture Magazine merged with Hollywood [7] ("Motion Picture combined with Hollywood Magazine"), [8] and Screen Life and continued to be published for almost four more decades, ending its run in 1977.
The Motion Picture Hall of Fame was a contest held by Motion Picture Magazine. [9]
The Hollywood Motion Picture Hall of Fame exhibit , [11] [12] at the California Pacific International Exposition, in 1935-36, had a stock company of actors that signed with the Screen Actors Guild and The Dominos Club of Hollywood (social organization for actresses, including: Carole Lombard, Thelma Todd, and ZaSu Pitts). [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19]
"Wax Mannequins of Film Stars" were housed in a "Motion Picture Hall of Fame" in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Allan Dwan was a pioneering Canadian-born American motion picture director, producer, and screenwriter.
William Clark Gable was an American film actor. Often referred to as The King of Hollywood, he had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in a variety of genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades of which was as a leading man. He was named the seventh greatest male movie star of classic American cinema by the American Film Institute.
Carole Lombard was an American actress. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Lombard 23rd on its list of the greatest female stars of Classic Hollywood Cinema.
Twentieth Century is a 1934 American pre-Code screwball comedy film directed by Howard Hawks and starring John Barrymore and Carole Lombard. Much of the film is set on the 20th Century Limited train as it travels from Chicago to New York City. Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur adapted their 1932 Broadway play of the same name – itself based on the unproduced play Napoleon of Broadway by Charles Bruce Millholland – with uncredited contributions from Gene Fowler and Preston Sturges.
William Surrey Hart was an American silent film actor, screenwriter, director and producer. He is remembered as a foremost Western star of the silent era who "imbued all of his characters with honor and integrity." During the late 1910s and early 1920s, he was one of the most consistently popular movie stars, frequently ranking high among male actors in popularity contests held by movie fan magazines.
Jesse Louis Lasky was an American pioneer motion picture producer who was a key founder of what was to become Paramount Pictures, and father of screenwriter Jesse L. Lasky Jr.
Patsy Kelly was an American actress. She is known for her role as the brash, wisecracking sidekick to Thelma Todd in a series of short comedy films produced by Hal Roach in the 1930s. Kelly's career continued in similar roles after Todd's death in 1935.
Lester Louis Adler is an American record and film producer and the co-owner of the Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood, California. Adler has produced and developed a number of iconic musical artists, including The Grass Roots, Jan & Dean, The Mamas & the Papas, and Carole King. King's album Tapestry, produced by Adler, won the 1972 Grammy Award for Album of the Year and has been called one of the greatest pop albums of all time.
The California Pacific International Exposition was an exposition held in San Diego, California during May 29, 1935–November 11, 1935 and February 12, 1936–September 9, 1936. The exposition was held in Balboa Park, San Diego's large central urban park, which had also been the site of the earlier Panama-California Exposition in 1915.
Bobby Vernon was an American comedic actor in silent films. He later became a writer and comedy supervisor at Paramount for W. C. Fields and Bing Crosby, when the sound era arrived. Blue-eyed with medium brown hair, he stood five feet and two-and-a-half inches, making him perfect for juvenile comedy roles. His comedies were popular with children.
The Princess Comes Across is a 1936 American mystery comedy film directed by William K. Howard and starring Carole Lombard and Fred MacMurray, the second of the four times they were paired together. Lombard, playing an actress from Brooklyn pretending to be a Swedish princess, does a "film-length takeoff" on MGM's Swedish star Greta Garbo. The film was based on the 1935 novel A Halálkabin by Louis Lucien Rogger, the pseudonym of Laszlo Aigner and Louis Acze.
Rumba is a 1935 American musical drama film starring George Raft as a Cuban dancer and Carole Lombard as a Manhattan socialite. The movie was directed by Marion Gering and is considered an unsuccessful follow-up to Raft and Lombard's smash hit Bolero the previous year.
William Horatio Powell was an American actor, known primarily for his film career. Under contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he was paired with Myrna Loy in 14 films, including the Thin Man series based on the Nick and Nora Charles characters created by Dashiell Hammett. Powell was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor three times: for The Thin Man (1934), My Man Godfrey (1936), and Life with Father (1947).
The Thirteenth Chair is a 1929 American mystery film directed by Tod Browning. The picture is based on a 1916 play of the same name by Bayard Veiller. It stars Conrad Nagel, Leila Hyams and Margaret Wycherly.
Manuel Granada was an Argentine actor who appeared in American, Spanish, Argentine and Mexican films. For the first half of his career, he worked under the names Paul Ellis and Manuel Granado.
Showmen's Trade Review was a weekly trade magazine for exhibitors and distributors of motion pictures published by Charles E. "Chick" Lewis out of offices in New York City.
Beyond Victory is a 1931 American pre-Code war film starring Bill Boyd, James Gleason, Lew Cody, and ZaSu Pitts. While John Robertson received directing credit, Edward H. Griffith supposedly took extensive re-takes after production ended and the film was deemed not audience ready. Two actresses with major roles in the original version were completely cut from the final release, Helen Twelvetrees and June Collyer. The original screenplay was written by Horace Jackson and James Gleason. While the film might not have made a profit at the box office, it was well received by critics.
Me, Gangster is a 1928 American silent crime film directed by Raoul Walsh. It stars June Collyer, Don Terry, Anders Randolf and a young Carole Lombard.
He's a Honey is a 1932 short musical comedy film directed by Walter Graham. It stars Harry Barris and features Helen Mann, Eleanor Hunt, and Edgar Kennedy. Its working title was Wedding Night.
Corliss Palmer was an American silent film actress and model. She first came to public attention after winning Motion Picture Magazine's Fame and Fortune Contest in 1920, upon which she was deemed the "most beautiful girl in America." She would go on to appear in a total of sixteen films between 1922 and 1931.
1933, Margarita occupied herself by becoming involved with the Dominos Club, a social organization for actresses that put out a breezy monthly bulletin of gossip and news about acting jobs.
The Dominos Club, an acting organisation with actresses such as Thelma Todd and ZaSu Pitts as members, put on a play called Ladies of the Masque, while others recited nursery rhymes and Shakespeare sonnets.
...presented at the Dominos Club, 1248 North Crescent Heights Boulevard, Hollywood
Pat Collins, left, Edward G. Robinson and Julian Eltinge for a performance by the Dominos Club, Nov. 25, 1935.
