Exhibitors Herald (Dec 1922 - Mar 1923)

24 EXHIBITORS HERALD January 20, VJ2? EXHIBITORS H E RAID MARTIN J. Q.U IGLEY Publisher £r Editor Published every Wednesday by Martin J. Qulgl-ey. Editorial and Executive Offices: 417 South Dearborn street. Chicago, Illinois. (Telephone: Harrison 9248-9249.) New York Office: 1476 Broadway. (Telephone: Bryant 1368 and Bryant 5111.) Los Angeles Office: 333 West Second St. (Telephone 660-10.) All Editorial and Business Correspondence should be addressed to the Chicago Offices. Subscription Price: United States and Its Possessions, Mexico and Cuba. $3.00 a year; Canada, J4.50 a year: Foregln Countries (Postpaid), 15.00 a year. Single copy, 26 cents. Copyright 1922. All Rights Reserved. Copyright throughout Great Britain and Colonies under the provision of the copyright act of 1911. Vol. XVI. January 20, 1923. No. 4 Gov. Smith s Address Every person identified with the motion picture industry and particularly the exhibitors, who are the industry's first line of defense, should have nt hand for ready reference a copy of the inaugural address of Gov. Alfred E. Smith of New York which was pronounced last week in Albany. Gov. Smith with uncompromising sincerity and keen logic dealt all censorship and particularly motion picture censorship a blow from which it is not likely to rise again in the Empire state, at least during the present generation. The declaration of New York's chief executive will have a nation-wide effect on the question of censorship. It cannot be passed over lightly by even the most zealous advocate of legalized censorship. Gov. Smith knew what he was talking about. In his state, under his own observation, censorship after having been put to a practical test proved a failure. And added to this eloquent fact he recites many unanswerable arguments proving the un justness and inequality of this infringement of personal liberty. Keep the address of Gov. Smith in your files for future reference. ♦ * * Five Reels The average feature production should be forced back within the limit of five reels. Despite the suggestions, pleadings and demands of exhibitors, whom the producers profess to serve, feature pictures have been getting longer and longer. An outstanding motive of directors seems to be to elaborate rather than condense. Brevity, conciseness and the elimina tion of extraneous matter never has hurt any picture But, on the other hand, examples are numerous of pictures that missed being satisfying entertainments simply because of excess footage. The artistic aspect, however, is not the only one that is entitled to Consideration. The exhibitor's revenue, regardless of the merit of his program, is to a great extent dependent upon the length of his show. Chaplin's "The Kid" was a great attraction from every standpoint but it was a phenomenal money-maker for the theatres because of its comparative brevity. The public's interest in short subjects, in various kinds and varieties of novelties compressed within limits of five hundred feet, one thousand and two thousand foot lengths is great and it is constantly increasing. The exhibitor must meet the demand that this interest creates. In order to do this he must have feature pictures that do not run to extraordinary lengths. It is only the unusually big subject that cannot be most effectively done in five reels. To try to put an ordinary subject in the big picture class bj stretching it out is jeopardizing its fitness to be shown at all. Eive reel lengths make many pictures better entertainment, save the producer thousands of dollars and give the exhibitor a better chance of profitable operation on ordinary subjects. * * * Crooked Exchanges The film business, nor any other business, cannot aspire to commercial perfection, but its resignation to this fact should not permit it to be content to carry certain piratical independent or state right distributors that now infest various of the territories. Several of these state right exchanges have been going on for years with a code of business practice that unquestionably would have had them in jail in any industry where stricter methods prevail. Thousands, and perhaps millions of dollars, have simply been stolen by these exchanges by a system no more subtle than merely refusing to render an accounting to producers on funds collected. When the producer who is a partner of the exchange under this arrangement is deliberately and consistently robbed, it is easy to see what treatment the exhibitor gets. Re -Takes J. R. M. I low many times didja write it 1922 instead of 1U23? Yes, we made the satin mistake. * * » The usual flock of new calendars ar rived just as we were figuring out hotf to make the old one do for another year * * * No Kick in It Somehow or other wc don't get tin thrill we used to when an actor an uounces he is about to form his owi company. And neither do the big producers, wc dare say. * * * Most Extraordinary If those French actors who work ioi a dollar and a half a day ever get'winr of what Famous Players-Lasky is pay ing Charles dcRoche, the new "Sheik,' they'll all take passage for Hollywood. * * » Moving Theatre Chicago's film row has a new customer It is none other than the Chicago & Al ton railroad, which is showing "Grand ma's Boy" and other features to its cus tomers while en route to St. Louis ever\ day. * * * What's He Goin' to Do? Here's a brave man. Ed Montagu* says he'll write no more stories calling for ballrooms and society swimmitn pools. * * » It'll Rain Shoes Walter Hicrs is going to have the sur prise of his life in Syracuse this week when he gets married, if that packini case of old shoes from Chicago eve reaches there. * * » That's Quite Some Number Willie Collier saw the film version o "The Hottentot," in Chicago the othe day, and says it has more laughs tha: there are bootleggers in New York City * * * Fellows We Like to Meet Frank Losee. A splendid actor and fine fellow, who has deserted pictures appear with William Hodge in "For Al of Us," which is doing nicely at th Studebaker, Chicago. * * * Always Have It See the Chinese are going to pull new war. Well, those boys never hav to wait for their cue. * * * Getting Cranky If Valentino isn't any better camera man than he is a business man, that fib he made this week at the automobil style congress in New York won't b worth developing. * * * Missed One Point Didja read Valentino's radio talk th other day. He said a lot about "machine made" pictures, but forgot to mentio the stuffed-shirts that make a lot of thei machine-made.