Leaders All — Arthur H. Sawyer, Supervising Producer (1924) 🇺🇸

Leaders All — Arthur H. Sawyer

Because his background throughout the larger part of his business career has been such as to give him increasing knowledge as to what the public wants in motion picture entertainment; because he has been an actor on the stage, motion picture theatre manager, distribution executive, owner of exchange chain and producer; and because of his keen insight into story values and dramatic technique.

Add another to the list of those who have entered the ranks of production through the gateway of the motion picture theatre: Arthur H. Sawyer, of Sawyer & Lubin, who is supervising the subjects of Sawyer-Lubin Productions starring Barbara La Marr for First National distribution.

It was around 1906 when Mr. Sawyer became interested in a number of motion picture houses in Western Massachusetts, in Springfield and Worcester among other cities.

It was the day of the nickel admission and of the subject that was short in fact as well as in name — when single reels were composed of a number of items.

His active interest in the motion picture was a perfectly natural thing on the part of Mr. Sawyer, as for several years he had been connected with the stage as player and writer.

Mr. Sawyer was born in Boston in 1877. His first business experience was with the Burdett Business College in the Massachusetts capital. Here he remained ten years, attaining the position of treasurer.

The stage attracted him and he succumbed to the lure. For a long time he was in the company of Nance O’Neill, being leading man in Magda and Hedda Gabler among other plays.

In 1911 a man with whom Mr. Sawyer had been associated on the stage was responsible for bringing Kinemacolor to the United States. A company was organized to operate in this country and Mr. Sawyer was made general manager.

Color on the screen was comparatively new, and Kinemacolor created much attention. One of the handicaps attached to the showing of it was the separate equipment required, but so strong a hold did it attain on the public fancy that at one time over a thousand of the special projection machines were in active use.

The Herald Square Theatre was leased for the showing of Kinemacolor, whereThe Coronation of King George was shown. Mendelssohn Hall was converted to the Kinemacolor Theatre. At these two houses in conjunction with a third The Coronation and The Durbar were shown in New York for nine months, the latter being the first picture ever shown in New York at $2.50 price.

One of the striking incidents in the life of Kinemacolor was the rejection of a contract with Mary Pickford that would have secured the services of that young woman for $250 a week. The papers were all drawn and ready for signature, but the over-cautious business men could not see the wisdom of contracting to pay a young girl that amount of money.

It is worth recalling that it hardly could have been three years later, following the history-making contract between John Freuler of Mutual and Charles Chaplin whereby the latter was paid $10,000 a week, that Famous Players made an agreement with Miss Pickford under which her compensation also mounted to five figures a week.

Kinemacolor had prepared a contract that would have brought to the company the services of D. W. Griffith. The figure was substantial, but the point of disagreement was as to the length of service.

Kinemacolor was one of the pioneers in motion picture road showing. Six companies were sent out with The Coronation and as many or more with The Durbar.

It may have been forgotten that Kinemacolor made a version of The Clansman. The picture was produced in Texas under the direction of William Haddock, but it was never released and was withdrawn from the market prior to the making of the Griffith version of the same story.

Mr. Sawyer following his retirement from Kinemacolor inaugurated the Sawyer Zones, for the distribution nationally of independent pictures. Headquarters were opened at 1600 Broadway, where productions were bought outright or were sold to state rights buyers on a commission basis.

The company was one of the first to employ colored inserts in advertising in the business publications.

Following the temporary eclipse of the independent market Mr. Sawyer, as general manager, joined Herbert Lubin, who had taken the Canadian franchise for Metro Pictures.

Then came the formation of S.-L. Pictures, which is recent history. The latest move of the company is the acquisition of a First National release, the first subject to be made under it being Sandra, starring Barbara La Marr, to be directed by George Melford.

So it will be conceded it is an unusual background Mr. Sawyer brings to his work of supervising productions for S.-L., among which have been Quincy Adams Sawyer and The Shooting of Dan McGrew.

There were ten years on the inside of a business college followed by a period on the stage as a player. Then in order came the management of motion picture theatres, the direction of a producing and distributing company — for Kinemacolor produced its own pictures — the distribution of independent pictures, and the operation of a chain of exchanges

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Collection: Exhibitors Trade Review, 28 June 1924

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