The Balanced Program

The burst of picture-palace construction that followed the opening of the Strand in 1914 may have heralded the primacy of the feature, but one should not assume that short films conveniently left the scene at the same time. The palaces demanded a continuing stream of shorts to fill out their programs and supply the variety they felt necessary to attract audiences.

Initially, those established industry forces that were doing well with short films tried to hold the line against features; the result was a "generation gap" among producers so strong that it even forced old enemies to make common cause. Universal's Carl Laemmle, one of the leading independents, carried on a vehement campaign on behalf of shorts well into 1917. ¹ Over at the Motion Picture Patents Company, Edison's production manager, Horace Plimpton, declared to the New York Dramatic Mirror:

Almost every one of my friends...