H. H. Van Loan Leaves Universal (1917) 🇺🇸

Herbert H. Van Loan, for the past two and a half years publicity manager for the Universal Film Manufacturing Company, has resigned from that organization to become identified with the staff of the Motion Picture Magazine as feature writer. The announcement of Van Loan’s resignation comes as no surprise to his wide circle of friends in the film and newspaper game, as it has been known for some time that various magazines have been seeking his services. His departure from the Universal’s publicity desk will be in the nature of a distinct loss to that concern, as Van, as he is popularly known, long has had the reputation of being one of Broadway’s most proficient press agents.

Van Loan made his film debut with the Universal company, and during the two and a half years that he has held down the berth of publicity manager has been responsible for some of the biggest “stories” of the industry. Before entering the film world he had wide experience as a newspaper man. Some of the special publicity “stunts” which he promoted and engineered were the Universal’s famous beauty contest, the handsome man contest, and the Universal film trophy automobile contest. Van Loan handled all of the Universal publicity for the screen debut of Anna Pavlova in the photoplay, The Dumb Girl of Portici; also for Where Are My Children, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Liberty, the serial which he novelized, and other Universal features too numerous to mention.

It was H. H. Van Loan who first introduced semi-fiction publicity stories, which he syndicated to all leading magazines. He has had stories in every film magazine every month, and has managed to grab off many columns of valuable space in the daily and trade papers through the versatility of his pen.

Van Loan’s last appearance for Universal was on Easter Sunday night, when, with Violet Mersereau, the Universal star, he led the grand march at the ball of the Motion Picture Employes’ Mutual Aid Society at Labor Lyceum, Brooklyn.

In addition to his fiction duties, Mr. Van Loan will handle the publicity for L–KO films and for Hiller & Wilk [L. L. Hiller].

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Fred Rath Apollo Scenario Editor.

Fred Rath, well known as a motion picture writer and journalist, has just been appointed scenario editor of Apollo Pictures, Inc., releasing on Art Dramas program, according to announcement made by Harry Raver, president of the company. Mr. Rath has just completed the adaptation of The Mystic Hour, written by Agnes Fletcher Bain, which is to be released in May.

The new scenario editor has had a wide experience in motion pictures. He was formerly associate editor of the Motion Picture Mail, before which he ran a signed column of verse and humor in the Brooklyn Eagle. He was also the originator of the Kearney–Rath motion picture syndicate, which was promoted by Harold Ives, Inc.

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Scores Scenario Schools

Edison Studio Manager L. W. McChesney says 99 per cent are fakes — promises to get after them.

A campaign on the part of the large motion picture producing concerns, to be directed against the scores of fake scenario writing schools that are operating throughout the country, and that are making victims of thousands of people of little means, is advocated by L. W. McChesney, manager of the studios of Thomas A. Edison, Inc., who asserts that the concern with which he is connected will be glad to take a prominent part in any movement of this kind that may be organized. Unless such a campaign is set under way, an active effort to secure the conviction of some of these swindlers who are mulcting large numbers of poor and comparatively ignorant people out of their hard earned savings is going to be made directly by the Edison company through the United States Post Office Department. “Some shameful instances of the manner in which these fake organizations operate recently have come to my attention,” said Mr. McChesney, “and we are resolved to take some action to discourage this plain form of swindling. We receive a constantly increasing number of letters from people who state that they are the graduates of such and such correspondence courses and, because of this, consider themselves proficient script writers. I can say without hesitation that 100 per cent of the matter received from such people is absolutely worthless, which shows just how little benefit they derive from the alleged “courses” in scenario writing schools. Ninety-nine per cent, of these institutions were formed solely for the purpose of getting the money of people who believe, or who are persuaded to believe, that they can make fortunes writing scenarios.

“I would suggest that all other large producing companies assist, as far as possible, in this movement to bring to an end this vicious and widespread form of swindling. The best interests of the industry demand that abuses of this kind be stamped out, and we, for one, always will be ready to cooperate with others or lend our individual strength to abolishing the evils that are revealed from time to time in the business in which we are engaged.”

Collection: Moving Picture World, April 1917