What Would You (jive.... 
• If you could always see in advance an accurate estimate of the 
entertainment value of every movie you were about to attend? 
• If you could always know the moral quality of pictures your 
children asked to go to? 
• If you could get all the above information and much more 
about all movies now playing in America in a single alpha¬ 
betical list always kept up to date? 
W HETHER you attend movies rarely or frequently, you have probably suffered the occasional boredom 
of an intellectually stupid or morally cheap picture. Such boredom may have become acute annoy¬ 
ance if you had taken guests or friends to the theatre. Other times you have probably regretted your 
failure to see an unusually fine picture because you didn’t hear about it in time. 
With small town and city neighborhood theatres often running pictures three to eight months old, you 
have probably tried in vain to find a review of such pictures in a current magazine and have refused to 
leaf through a dozen old periodicals to find the desired review. 
During the past six months the proprietor of the Colonial Gardens (formerly an instructor in litera¬ 
ture) has headed a committee which, working in conjunction with several national educational and religious 
organizations, has prepared an analysis of all the motion pictures now being shown anywhere in America. 
By seeing previews in the larger cities the committee keeps about two weeks in advance of actual releases 
of new pictures. There are approximately 400 pictures analyzed in this list. Every fortnight about twenty 
of the oldest pictures are thrown out of the list and the same number of new pictures about to be exhibited 
are added. Thus the list is always kept up to date. Also unlike religious lists, which neglect entertainment 
values, despite the fact that 90 per cent of the reason people go to the movies is for entertainment, and 
unlike secular lists like that in Liberty magazine, which base their estimates almost entirely on entertain¬ 
ment values, neglecting the desire of parents to select good pictures for their children, this list gives both 
estimates about every picture. In fact, it gives six items of information about every one of 400 pictures: 
1. Entertainment value for adolescents and adults. 
2. Educational value for adolescents and adults. 
3. Moral value for adolescents and adults. 
4. Value of each picture for younger children. 
5. Type of picture (a brief description of each). 
6. Leading actors in each picture. 
Furthermore all this material is in one alphabetical list for the greatest ease in consultation. At 
present this material is available in chart form for use in schools, churches, libraries, Y.M.C.A.s, and private 
homes. 
Over $1,000.00 has been spent in the preparation and typesetting of this chart. This national film 
estimate service is now available at $2.00 per year (with new, revised charts twice a month). We do not 
ask our friends and patrons to subscribe to this service before seeing this chart. What we should like you 
to do is to write us for a copy of the latest chart to examine as a sample. We can supply such sample 
charts (analyzing 400 pictures) for 30 cents each postpaid. Then if you wish to subscribe for your school, 
church, or home, a remittance of $1.70 will bring you the service for a full twelve months. In sending for 
sample charts please send wrapped coin, not stamps. Please send to this address: 
Stars and Zeros National Movie Guide, 
3301 E. Minnehaha Parkway, 
Minneapolis, Minnesota 
While the writer finds his chief enjoyment in life in his work with flowers, he feels that the establish¬ 
ment of an accurate, comprehensive, convenient, and inexpensive film estimate service is one of the most 
important educational and moral needs of our country at the present time. Any interest or support which 
friends and patrons of the Colonial Gardens (many of whom are doubtless interested in the problem of 
better movies) can give this new service will be warmly appreciated. 
OULAxaj^cxa^j^ 
