THE FILM AS ART

In years to come, if the movie has not been extinguished by television, critics of the fine arts may wonder at what point the motion picture ceased to be mere superficial entertainment and became recognized, in addition, as the new art form. If they concede that it is art, they can easily be deceived into believing that Hollywood producers first regarded it as such when they billed a film at reserved prices. Today that practice is being abused regularly, so that every fifth production is dressed out as great and sold to the public at $2.20 a seat. But in the past, in the dim beginnings of the movie technic (this is a safer term than art), a picture did not have to be seen at enormous prices to be great. Of course, one like "The Big Parade" drew multitudes to the old Astor Theatre at a price dear even to the pocket of a retired banker. In recent years "The Informer," "All Quiet on the Western Front," and "Little Women" were three examples of films that toured the nation's theatres at regular prices and were considered as worthy of greatness.

Morcover, many great movies have never been viewed by a majority of the people. American audiences, especially, miss the French masterpieces--films which have been created more out of ingenuity and persistence than by cataclysmic expenditure of money and words; they miss, too, the fine German psychological and impressionistic attempts. With considerate farsightedness the New York Museum of Modern Art has gathered together into what is perhaps the first film library all the old jewels from Sarah Bernhardt's "Queen Elizabeth" to Mickey Mouse. Here last year was formed the Harvard Film Society, which presented a survey of the development of the American cinema and contributed, incidentally, to the up-keep of the dusty reels in the Modern Art Muscum's library. So well supported and enjoyed was this presentation that the Society is offering a second program, entitled "The Film in Germany and France, 1896-1927." When its second performance is given today, when "Caligari" is seen--one of the three most famous pictures, the picture that showed the untouched possibilities of the cinema, the picture acclaimed for its settings, then the audience will realize the value of such an active organization as the Harvard Film Society, which believes the movie has been, can be, and sometimes is, art.