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Motion Picture Magazine

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Motion Picture Magazine
Front cover of the first issue of The Motion Picture Story Magazine (February 1911) featuring Edison
CategoriesFan magazine
FrequencyMonthly
PublisherM. P. Publishing Company, Inc.
Founded1911
Final issue1977
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Motion Picture was an American monthly fan magazine about film, published from 1911 to 1977.[1] It was lastly published by Macfadden Publications.[2]

History and profile

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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]

In 1941, Motion Picture Magazine merged with Hollywood[6] ("Motion Picture combined with Hollywood Magazine"),[7] and Screen Life and continued to be published for almost four more decades, ending its run in 1977.

Motion Picture Classic

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Its sister publication Motion Picture Classic, started as its supplement,[8] was published monthly from September 1915 to March 1931.

The Motion Picture Hall of Fame

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The Motion Picture Hall of Fame was a contest held by Motion Picture Magazine.[9]

"The Motion Picture Hall of Fame." Motion Picture Magazine. Dec, 1918: 10.[10]

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

References

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  1. ^ Fuller, Kathryn H. “Motion Picture Story Magazine and the Gendered Construction of the Movie Fan.” At the Picture Show: Small-Town Audiences and the Creation of Movie Fan Culture. Smithsonian Institution: Washington, 1996. pp. 133–149.
  2. ^ a b "Motion Picture Magazine". The Online Books Page. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
  3. ^ Pamela Hutchinson (January 26, 2016). "Photoplay magazine: the birth of celebrity culture". The Guardian. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  4. ^ a b Robert Grau (1914) The Theatre of Science: A Volume of Progress and Achievement in the Motion Picture Industry, Broadway Publishing Company, New York
  5. ^ Bordwell, David (1985). The Classic Hollywood Cinema: Film Style and Mode of Production to 1960, p. 99. Columbia University Press ISBN 978-0-231-06055-4
  6. ^ "HOLLYWOOD magazine June 1941". auctions.emovieposter.com. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
  7. ^
  8. ^ Heather Addison (2003). Hollywood and the Rise of Physical Culture. Psychology Press. p. 42. ISBN 978-0-415-94676-6.
  9. ^ "SCREEN; THE GREATEST". The New York Times. December 31, 1922. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  10. ^ Zdriluk, Beth (April 10, 2005). "Mary Pickford and Questions of National Identity During WWI". Kinema: A Journal for Film and Audiovisual Media. University of Waterloo. doi:10.15353/kinema.vi.1107. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  11. ^ "Hollywood Motion Picture Hall of Fame, Exposition, 1935". SDSUnbound. sdsu.edu. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  12. ^ "The Enchanted Cottage, a 1924 Miracle Romance". Classic Film Aficionados. August 20, 2016. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  13. ^ Romain, Theresa St (2008). Margarita Fischer: A Biography of the Silent Film Star. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-3552-4. 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.
  14. ^ Morgan, Michelle (October 5, 2016). Carole Lombard: Twentieth-Century Star. The History Press. ISBN 978-0-7509-6939-0. 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.
  15. ^ Arts & Architecture, Volumes 41-42. San Francisco: American Institute of Architects. San Francisco Chapter. 1932. ...presented at the Dominos Club, 1248 North Crescent Heights Boulevard, Hollywood
  16. ^ Harnisch, Larry (January 9, 2008). "Ebay mystery". The Daily Mirror. LA Times. Retrieved March 9, 2022. Pat Collins, left, Edward G. Robinson and Julian Eltinge for a performance by the Dominos Club, Nov. 25, 1935.
  17. ^ American Cinematographer. Los Angeles: American Society of Cinematographers. 1935. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  18. ^ The Hollywood Low Down (1934-1936). Hollywood: The Hollywood Low Down. 1936. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  19. ^ "Hollywood Filmograph (Jan-Dec 1932)". archive.org. Hollywood Filmograph, inc. January 1932. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
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