Motography was an American film journal that was first published in 1909 and ran until mid-1918. The magazine was published in 1909 and was originally named The Nickelodeon, [1] but then changed its name to Motography in 1911. The trade journal was published monthly by Electricity Magazine Corporation [2] in Chicago and had a bureau office in New York City. Motography was one of the most popular American Film trade papers, and was read primarily by individuals in the film industry, such as movie directors and movie theater owners. In 1918, Martin Quigley bought Motography merging it with what eventually became the Motion Picture Herald .
Motography had a variety of content that catered towards members of the film industry. The magazine often published articles on newly released movies, synopses of movies, current movie trends, and industry news. Similar to many modern film publications, Motography highlighted specific actors and their performances in their section called “Motography’s Gallery of Picture Players.” This gallery often showed four actors, alongside their photographs, featured a short biography of the actor as well as films they had recently starred in. Motography writers wrote about the lives of people in the film industry, reporting on events such as recent birthdays, anniversaries, accidents, deaths, and other major life events. Additionally, the magazine had a latest news of Chicago or New York page which they deemed “Of interest to all the trade”, which featured news about movie theater exhibitors, owners, managers, film organization coordinators, and so on. “WhatTheater Men are doing; news of exhibitors succeeding are you one?” which highlighted key leaders in the industry, what they had been doing, and how they had become successful. Additionally, they had a reoccurring section called “Brief Theater News for the Entire Country”, which was a summary of all relevant, film industry, current events occurring across the country.
The trade journal was also considered a guide to business trends and news in the industry. Motography would often report on recent mergers and acquisitions, industry trends, growing companies, or companies that may be declining. For instance, in their 1918 April issue in their "Publicity That Makes Profits", Motography writers wrote about new ways to advertise to people, to come to particular theaters, watch movies, etc. Moreover, in their 1918 May issue, they published an article called the “New 100,000,000 Corporation Formed?”, which discussed large production and distribution companies that had merged, in order to make one, large, centralized conglomerate. [2] This new company was called the Associated Booking Company. The merge allowed all exchanges to be combined, reducing overhead costs, while still retaining the identity of each individual exchange. Additionally, in their April 1918 issue, they published an article called "Co-operative field Getting Too Crowded", [2] which reported that there were too many co-operatives forming in the industry, which would result in enhanced competition between organizations, and possible fall of current co-operatives.
Not only did the magazine review movies, but they also reviewed movie studios and theaters, and would make recommendations to their readers as well as reviews on film equipment and new technological advancements in the industry. For instance, in the 1918 April issue, Writer Wesley Smith wrote about new projection equipment by Mazda, titling the article “Solution of Projection Problems.” [2] They featured a complete record of current films, updating them on a weekly basis. This guide showed all of the current films genres, categorized as Drama, Comedy, Topical, Scenic or Educational. They would also illustrate in this section the distributor's booking number, actors featured in the film, number of reels, and so on.
Motography, the monthly trade journal was published for a total of 9 and a half years. [3] In 1918, Martin Quigley bought Motography merging it with another well known trade journal, [4] Exhibitors Herald (later Motion Picture Herald).
William Harrison Hays Sr. was an American politician, and member of the Republican Party. As chairman of the Republican National Committee from 1918 to 1921, Hays managed the successful 1920 presidential campaign of Warren G. Harding. Harding then appointed Hays to his cabinet as his first Postmaster General. He resigned from the cabinet in 1922 to become the first chairman of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America. As chairman, Hays oversaw the promulgation of the Motion Picture Production Code, which spelled out a set of moral guidelines for the self-censorship of content in American cinema.
The Top Ten Money Making Stars Poll were polls on determining the bankability of movie stars. They began quite early in the movie history. At first, they were popular polls and contests conducted in film magazines, where the readers would vote for their favorite stars, like the poll published in New York Morning Telegraph on 17 December 1911. Magazines appeared and disappeared often and among the most consistent in those early days were the polls in the Motion Picture Magazine.
Thomas Hayes Hunter was an American film director and producer of the silent era. He directed a total of 34 films between 1912 and 1934.
Agnes Vernon was an American film actress of the silent era. While still in her teens, she experienced a meteoric ascent from obscurity to box-office sensation. After turning twenty-three and a movie career fading away, she abandoned the silver screen forever. Vernon performed in over 90 films between 1913 and 1922. She completed most of her roles under contract with Universal Pictures.
Powers That Prey is a 1918 silent comedy-drama film directed by Henry King and starring Mary Miles Minter, with whom King stated that he enjoyed working. The film is based on a story called Extra! Extra! by Will M. Ritchey, which was also the working title of the film. As with many of Minter's features, it is thought to be a lost film.
In the Name of the Law is a 1922 American silent melodrama directed by Emory Johnson. FBO released the film in August 1922. The film's "All-Star" cast included Ralph Lewis, Johnnie Walker, and Claire McDowell. The cast also included Johnson and his wife, Ella Hall. Emilie Johnson, Johnson's mother, wrote both the story and screenplay. In The Name of the Law was the first picture in Johnson's eight-picture contract with FBO.
The Motion Picture Herald (MPH) was an American film industry trade paper first published as the Exhibitors Herald in 1915, and MPH from 1931 to December 1972. It was replaced by the QP Herald, which only lasted until May 1973.
Arthur Rolette Berthelet was an American actor, stage and film director, dialogue director, and scriptwriter. With regard to screen productions, he is best remembered for directing the 1916 crime drama Sherlock Holmes starring William Gillette, an actor who since 1899 had distinguished himself on the Broadway stage and at other prominent theatrical venues with his numerous, "definitive" portrayals of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's great fictional detective. In 1918, Berthelet also directed the controversial author and feminist Mary MacLane in Men Who Have Made Love to Me, a production notable for being among the first cinematic dramas to break the "fourth wall" and among the earliest American film projects to bring together on screen a woman's work as a published author, "scenarist", actor, and narrator through the use of intertitles.
Who's Your Neighbor? is a 1917 silent American propaganda and drama film directed by S. Rankin Drew. The film's plot focuses around reformers who pass a law to force prostitutes, including Hattie Fenshaw, out of the red light district. Fenshaw becomes Bryant Harding's mistress and lives in an apartment next door to a reformer, and continues to ply her trade. After Fenshaw becomes familiar with Harding, his son, daughter and the daughter's fiancé, the climax of the film occurs as the cast assembles at Fenshaw's apartment. Harding returns and a fight breaks out that results in the reformers' arrival and concludes with the presumption that Fenshaw returns to a place of "legalized vice". The drama was written by Willard Mack and was his first foray into screen dramas. The film proved controversial, but is noted as a great success. The film originally debuted on June 15, 1917, but it was rejected by the National Board of Review and was later approved after a revision, but the film continued to be labeled as an immoral production. The film is presumed to be lost.
The Moving Picture World was an influential early trade journal for the American film industry, from 1907 to 1927. An industry powerhouse at its height, Moving Picture World frequently reiterated its independence from the film studios.
The Motion Picture News was an American film industry trade paper published from 1913 to 1930.
Madame Jealousy is a 1918 American silent allegorical drama film directed by Robert G. Vignola and written by George V. Hobart and Eve Unsell. The film stars Pauline Frederick, Thomas Meighan, Frank Losee, Charles Wellesley, Isabel O'Madigan, and Elsie MacLeod. The film was released on February 4, 1918, by Paramount Pictures.
Skinner's Baby is a 1917 American silent comedy film starring Bryant Washburn, Hazel Daly, James C. Carroll, and U.K. Haupt. This film projected Washburn out of obscurity; it was quite a success. It was Jackie Coogan's first film role, as the baby, though uncredited. The film is believed to be lost.
Martin Joseph Quigley Sr. was an American publisher, editor and film magazine journalist. He founded Exhibitors Herald, which became an important national trade paper for the film industry. He was also the founder of Quigley Publishing.
Motion Picture Daily was an American daily magazine focusing on the film industry. It was published by Quigley Publishing Company, which also published the Motion Picture Herald. The magazine was formed by the merging of three existing Quigley publications: Exhibitors Trade Review, Exhibitors Daily Review, and Motion Pictures Today. The first issue was published in April 1931. The magazine was in circulation until 1972.
Wray Bartlett Physioc was an American film director, producer and artist. His film The Gulf Between (1917) was the first Technicolor film ever produced.
The Mailman is a 1923 American silent melodrama directed by Emory Johnson. FBO released the film in December 1923. The film's "All-Star" cast included Ralph Lewis, Johnnie Walker, and Virginia True Boardman. Emilie Johnson, Johnson's mother, wrote both the story and screenplay. The Mailman was the fourth film in Johnson's eight-picture contract with FBO.
The Spirit of the USA is a 1924 American silent melodrama directed by Emory Johnson. FBO released the film in May 1924. The film's "All-Star" cast included Johnnie Walker and Mary Carr. Emilie Johnson, Johnson's mother, wrote both the story and screenplay. The Spirit of the USA was the fifth film in Johnson's eight-picture contract with FBO.
Her Husband's Faith is a 1916 American silent short film directed by Lloyd B. Carleton. The film is based on a story by Paul Machette. Eugene De Rue developed the screenplay. This domestic society drama's features Dorothy Davenport, T. D. Crittenden and Emory Johnson.
Universal City Zoo was a private animal collection in southern California that provided animals for silent-era Universal Pictures adventure films, circus pictures, and animal comedies, and to "serve as a point of interest" for tourists visiting Universal City. The animals were also leased to other studios. The zoo was closed in 1930, after cinema's transition to synchronized sound complicated the existing systems for using trained animals onscreen.