Leaders All — Jack Cohn, Graduate Film Man (1924) 🇺🇸

Leaders All — Jack Cohn

Because he had the advantage of working with the crudest tools in the early days and acquiring first hand an intimate knowledge of the making of motion pictures under difficulties; because in his own contact with exhibitors and the trade he has learned much as to what the public likes not only in serious entertainment but especially in comedies and novelties; and because he knows making and selling of motion pictures from the ground up.

It is almost sixteen years since Jack Cohn, the initial “C” of C. B. C. Film Sales Corporation, entered the new works of Carl Laemmle’s Independent Motion Picture Company, which organization later was to become famous as the Imp.

There were four employees at the little plant in Fourteenth street, New York, in the fall of 1908 when young Cohn, after a half dozen years in the magazine offices of the Hamptons, decided to cast his lot with the extremely young motion picture business.

Hardships were the usual rule in those days, what with trying to make pictures with crude cameras and at the same time keep these archaic instruments out of the clutches of the Patents Company.

It is difficult to realize the handicaps under which independents’ laboratory work was done in those days. The developing and printing machinery practically were all foreign and very crude.

The raw stock was almost impossible, and could be obtained only in limited quantities and as a rule in extremely short lengths. Following the arrival in port of a foreign steamer representatives of the few independent companies would be camped on the doorsteps of Jules Brulatour, the American agent at that time of Lumière Film, in an effort to get the first break.

The lengths were from 50 to 195 feet generally, but sometimes even less than the minimum stated. In cases of this sort it was necessary to patch the film in order to obtain the desired length.

Laboratory troubles reached their climax when the Imp companies departed suddenly for Cuba in order to protect their cameras. When the negative began coming in to New York it was discovered there were no cameras for photographing titles.

In this emergency an evening visit would be made to Long Island, where a camera would be borrowed from a studio, the titles made, and the instrument returned before daylight.

In the small developing room in the Fourteenth street quarters frequently it was necessary to stop work in order to permit the film to dry. On damp days no work was done.

The drying room also was the projection room. When it was necessary to show what had been printed a sheet would be suspended on a wall, the laboratory work stopped, and the picture shown to the assembled players.

In those days the developing was in charge of Tony Gaudio, now one of the world’s foremost cameramen.

The titles were made from individual letters, such as were and are employed to print on a bulletin the names of occupants of buildings.

Mr. Cohn quickly and naturally developed into a cutter and editor of films. The earlier pictures were of but a half reel in length. Two of these, one a “dramatic” or comedy subject and the other a “scenic,” would be joined.

One of the earliest of the two-reelers was “From the Bottom of the Sea.” When Mr. Cohn had finished cutting the subject, which was made with the aid of a submarine vessel he decided it was good entertainment at 2,000 feet. Mr. Laemmle agreed with him.

Then came the question of selling it. The head of the Imp took it for his own exchanges. Mr. Cohn put the film in a suitcase and went to Philadelphia. Buyers laughed at him; they refused even to look at the film. Exhibitors would buy four single reels, he was told, but they would insist on four subjects and would not take three.

It was perhaps the first picture on which a three-sheet was employed to exploit it. It may be said that eventually the subject went over and made money.

One of Mr. Cohn’s notable successes was his work on Traffic in Souls, on the story of which he collaborated with George Loane Tucker, who directed it. The subject was one of the early melodramas.

One of the most effective bits of realism in the stirring tale was the raid of the police. Mr. Cohn, raised on the east side of New York, was able to outline this to Mr. Tucker with absolute fidelity to the life.

During a large part of the dozen years Mr. Cohn was with Universal he was actively in charge of Universal Weekly and brought it to a high state of efficiency.

One of his “scoops” was the arrival of Pershing in France. The film went over the U. B. O. as a vaudeville sketch.

Another of Mr. Cohn’s achievements was “Crashing Through to Berlin.” It was a collection of material that had been gathered all during the progress of the war to that time, and the knowledge of which was stowed away in the back of the weekly editor’s head. The picture did a big business right up to the signing of the armistice.

During the war Mr. Cohn was a dollar a year man and contributed substantial service in the organization of the photographic division.

When he resigned from Universal Mr. Cohn took up the making of comedies and novelty releases, and not long after, in July, 1920, took part in the organization of C. B. C.

Mr. Cohn is one of the prominent members of the new Independent Association.

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Collection: Exhibitors Trade Review, 14 June 1924

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