Newest Progress Toward Fulfilling Mr. Edison’s Prediction
That School Children Will Soon
- Be Getting ,f All Their >
Learning From Films Jk
The dramatic landing of Columbus as it will be shown in the first of a series
of films designed to teach the history of America from its discovery
right down to the present time
Educator* think few children will find their history lessens dull when they consist
of such realistic pictures as this of the marriage of Pocahontas, the Indian
__princess, to John Rolfe
A faithful film reproduction of the Pilgrim* kneeling
in the snow and ice to offer prayers
of thanksgiving after their landing * ■■v
on Plymouth Rock v
Queen Isabella saying goodby to Columbus—a scene from
the movie history which scholars pronounce accurate in
every detail, even to the curious fold in the royal gown
CHOMAS A. EDISON is only one
of many thoughtful men and
women who predict that the
school houses of the future will be, at
least for the greater part of every day,
motion picture theaters.
The boys and girls of to-morrow or
the day after will learn most of their
lessons by watching the most absorbing
kind of movies instead of by poring over
"dry” textbooks or listening to often
tiresome lectures.
It will be a great change for the bat
ter, Mr. Edison and the others think,
in teaching the young idea to shoot—
and hit the mark.
Through pictures flashed on the silver
screen children will grasp the principles
of chemistry, physics and biology far
better than they could by reading about
them or even by watching endless lab
oratory experiments.
On the movies' "magic carpet” they
will travel to the jungles and other wild
places of the earth and get a compre
hensive grasp of natural history and so
ciology almost at first hand. In the
same way they will have etched upon
their young brainB most unforgettably
the famous events that make up the his
tory of this earth.
"I have made numerous Investiga
tions,” says Mr. Edison, "along the lines
of teaching children by other methods
than books.
“I recently made an experiment with
a lot of motion pictures to teach chil
dren chemistry. I got twelve children
to write down what they had learned
from the pictures they had seen. It was
amazing to me that such a complicated
subject as chemistry was readily grasped
by them to a large extent through pic
tures.
"It is my opinion that in twenty years
children will be taught through pictures
and not through books.”
Already educational motion pictures
are being used wit4» great success in
many schools and colleges and, when
they come into general use, it is pre
dicted that boys and girls will never
want to play truant, but will find their
schoolrooms just as fascinating as the
movie theater*.
We have films covering almost every
bianch of science, films reverently and
accurately portraying the life of the
Saviour, films that record the memo
rable events of Old Testament days. But
there has long been u crying need for
something that is of the utmost impor
tance to American boy* anil girls—a
complete anil authoritative film history
of their own land.
At last this need is to be supplied.
The Yale University^ Press is making a
series of films called "Chronicles of
America” under the direction of the
Councils Committee on Publications of
Yale University, with the technical ad
vice of eminent historians at Yale and
other colleges. The series begins with
the discovery of the continent by Colum
bus, and eventually will, it is hoped, be
brought right down to the present day.
Four of these films have been com
pleted and twenty-nine more are in
preparation. They represent the last
word in historical knowledge of the
times and events they portray. Their
every detail has been the subject of the
most scholarly scrutiny—even to the way
the court dressmakers cut Queen Isa
bella's robes of state and the kind of.
wigs George Washington thought looked
best on him.
For instance, after finding a suitable
actor to play the difficult role of Wash
ington, the film producers started search
ing for a house to represent his family
homestead.
On first thought it seemed that an old
Colonial house, with tall pillars in front,
could he found near the center of opera
tions, perhaps a little way up in New
Kngland. But after one was picked out
an architectural expert objected that
it. was a type of house built after the
Revolution.
This wouldn’t do, of course, in a film
that aims at such historical accuracy hs
each one of this series. So they halted
the "shooting” of the picture until they
found the right hi use away down in
Virginia. Then they packed up and
moved the whole east down there.
In “Columbus," the very first picture
in the series, much stress is laid on the
strong character of the discoverer. Mis
hopes and fears and struggles are
brought home as they never could he in
history books, Hnd children will under
stand as never before the sort of cour
age anil persistence that brought him
success.
The ship scenes were made in Chicago,
where there is a line replica of Colum
bus's ship, the Santa Maria, which car
ried him across the ocean. This ship
was made for the World's Fair of ISfi'l
and is considered a perfect example of
the sailing vessels of the fifteenth een
tury.
Nothing rould be moro thrilling than
a true and reverent picture of the land
ing of Columbus. Ftobert E. MacAlar
ney, the production manager, tells how
thrilled with
the importance
of the scene
all the actor*
were. Between
scene* they
were forever
studing his
tory books and
pictures, to be
sure that they
did full jus
tice to the at
mosphere of
the great
• vent.
In this film
Columbus, a
handsome stal
wart man, is
shown stand
ing on the
deck of the
Santa Maria
previous to
the landing.
Historical ex
pert* think it as accurate h picture of
the hero and this great event as it ii
humanly possible to make Kven the cap
on Columbus's head is actually Jthe kind
that would have been worn by a man
of his standing on an ocean voyage
from 1’ortugal in the year 14!':’. It is
black velvet'on top, with lhi" aides of
the brim turned up to show u red satin
lining, and is held In place with a red
satin ribbon.
Me wear* a tunic of blue-gray cloth,
with red bauds at the bottom of the
skirt and full satin alarves of light blue.
This I* covered b> n red cloth rohe, with
collar and lining of dark, long haired
fur, to protect him against wind mid
weather on the long, dreary voyage Red
cilk tight* and light-colored ru-set shoes
complete the costume.
Just a* carefully the film producers <
selected the banner of Spain which he
plants on the shore There were »pjiyin
her of official banners at tha time, hut it
was decided tha* Columbus probably
carried to the New World the "Flag of
the Green Cross," hearing the cross and
the letters F and I, standing for Ferdi
nand and Isabella.
The opening episodes in the story of
Columbus give an excellent opportunity
for showing the splendors of the Spanish
Court. In the scene where lovely Queen
Isabella offers to sell her jewels to help
Columbus she is shown in a gorgeous
costume copied in the minutest detail
from a painting by Bequer which hangs
in the Gallery of San Telmon. in Seville.
The pains taken to give authentic
"atmosphere" to the picture is very well
illustrated in the copying of this court
costume.
The actress playing the part of Queen
Isabella did not like a certain fold in
the silk dress. The result of her objec
tion was a conference of artists and his
torians. some of whom thought the skirt
might just us well lie allowed to hang
straight and others that it should re
semble Bequer's picture us closely as
possible.
In the ejiU the actress hau to wear
the dress it wa« the painting, al
though there was ‘considerable doubt
about the artistic effect of that curious
cross fold.
The costume worn by Queen Isabella
is shown in puintings of the time and
by contemporaneous chronicler* as mode
of yellow velvet with parti-colored
sleeves, having light blue aatin elbow
and shoulder puffs. Over the yellow vel
vet was an overdress of thin silk ti*»ue
held with n gold cord girdle.
Isabella's crown was of geld and
jewels surmounting a thin transparent
veil of silk tissue. Her velvet slippers
matched the yellow gown. Ovei the
gown she wore n state robe of blue vel
vet, rfnfl on top of this n short cape of
ermine. Hands of ermine were used to
border her gown, and she was further
adorned by a heavy gold collar and with
some of the most precious court jewels,
including a large square cross on a mm
chain.
In making another of these films,
• The Pilgrims,” the climatic conditions
had to be duplicated for the landing oti
the “bleak and rockbound coast,” and
this meant that the actors had to spend
a large part of the bitter winter out of
doors just as the Pilgrim fathers did.
The actual Plymouth Rock could not
Lh> used, of course, as it has been re
moved some distance inland and made
into a sort of memorial monument. An
exact duplicate of it was constructed and
placed on the shores of Flushing Bay,
Long Island, which furnished a good
counterpart of the bleak dreariness of
the New England coast in winter.
“Jamestown" is one of the most inter
esting of the four “movie history les
sons” thus far completed.
Since the original site of the Virginia
settlement bears no resemblance now to
the colony that played so important a
part in the making of America, the set
tlement, with its protecting stockade,
was reconstructed op Long Island.
In this picture the children will see
the romance of the Indian princess. Po
cahontas, and John Rolfe. Their mar
riage is shown in the picturesque little
Jamestown church, with the red-skinned
princess wearing a highly “civilized”
gown.
.Since the English in Jamestown had
done everything possible to anglicize the
Indian girl, even to having her baptized
n member of the Church of England, it
seems very probable that they tried to
make her look as much like an English
girl as possible for the wedding. The
wedding dress in the picture is such a
one as the Englishwomen in the colony
would have helped Pocahontas to make,
using materials imported from the home
country.
Although she wears the slashed sleeves
and wide skirt of the time, it is inter
esting to note that the historians have
allowed Pocahontas to keep her Indian
headdress. This was because most of
the pictures of her by well known artists
agree that she retained this mark of her
rank even after she had left her tribe.
The next picture to be finished was
"Vincennes.” This gives another chap
ter in the life of Washington. Also it
includes the thrilling capture of the fort
at Vincennes during the Revolution by
that other gallant young Virginian,
George Rogers Clark, who marched
through the sunken forest at night to
surprise the British.
It is said that ('lark and his men
were up to their waists in mud and
water all night long and that the quick
sands sucked off their high boots. Bring
ing the horses through this treacherous
bit of country was a task.
So the moving picture soldiers '
marched through real sunken forest, the
slimy depths of which they had not in
vestigated before. And aa Clark took
horses with him, so did they.
