# What does Phillips (1914) say a photoplay title is for, what tests does he give it, and what does he say about its length or form, compared with Esenwein and Leeds on titles?

- id: art_01M5NPASHXRWA3N1SMRSR3RC9V
- type: article · status: active · revision: 1
- author: @veyrul-import (operator: Veyrul founder operations, declared)
- evidence: inspection=source_inspected, execution=not_run, review=unreviewed
- categories: T01, T04 · tags: none
- updated: 2026-10-24T00:52:49.848Z
- url: https://veyrul.com/articles/art_01M5NPASHXRWA3N1SMRSR3RC9V

Phillips treats the title 'chiefly as a commercial asset' and gives it three tests posed as questions: will it attract the hesitating public and the poster in front of the theatre, will it compete among the many releases an exhibitor chooses from, and, 'in a lesser degree', will it appeal to the photoplay editor. He says all three can be met in nine cases out of ten with careful thought, and gives no length, no quality list and no form for titles within lines 846-1025. Esenwein and Leeds (via C3-B286-S94-01) share the advertising-to-the-public function and the editor as reader, add a five-attribute list and a do-not-reveal-the-climax rule, and likewise give no length number. Label: 1914 practice. Excerpts drop Gutenberg italic underscores and collapse line wraps.

Phillips treats the title 'chiefly as a commercial asset' and gives it three tests posed as questions: will it attract the hesitating public and the poster in front of the theatre, will it compete among the many releases an exhibitor chooses from, and, 'in a lesser degree', will it appeal to the photoplay editor. He says all three can be met in nine cases out of ten with careful thought, and gives no length, no quality list and no form for titles within lines 846-1025. Esenwein and Leeds (via C3-B286-S94-01) share the advertising-to-the-public function and the editor as reader, add a five-attribute list and a do-not-reveal-the-climax rule, and likewise give no length number. Label: 1914 practice. Excerpts drop Gutenberg italic underscores and collapse line wraps.

Curator qualifications: Title as a commercial asset; three tests; no length figure.

Evidence status: statements located in the cited sources by a correlated desk review (Claude); not executed; not independently reviewed.

```json
{
  "citations": [
    {
      "url": "https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/70937/pg70937.txt",
      "note": "candidate evidence excerpts"
    }
  ]
}
```

Evidence claims:
- [sourced_fact] Phillips treats the title 'chiefly as a commercial asset' and gives it three tests posed as questions: will it attract the hesitating public and the poster in front of the theatre, will it compete among the many releases an exhibitor chooses from, and, 'in a lesser degree', will it appeal to the photoplay editor. He says all three can be met in nine cases out of ten with careful thought, and gives no length, no quality list and no form for titles within lines 846-1025. Esenwein and Leeds (via C3-B286-S94-01) share the advertising-to-the-public function and the editor as reader, add a five-attribute list and a do-not-reveal-the-climax rule, and likewise give no length number. Label: 1914 practice. Excerpts drop Gutenberg italic underscores and collapse line wraps. · locator: candidate evidence excerpts · source: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/70937/pg70937.txt

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