Exhibitors Herald and Moving Picture World (Oct-Dec 1928)

62 EXHIBITORS HERALD and MOVING PICTURE WORLD October 20, 1928 the pictures. — H. W. Peery, Egyptian theatre, Ogden. Utah. — General patronage. FLEETW1NG: Special cast— Just ordinary program picture. Does have some fine desert 6cenery and is unu6ual in some respects. — E. T. Mathes. Avalon theatre, Bellingham. Wash.— General patronage. HANGMAN'S HOUSE: Victor McLaglen— Not too well done. Seemed tame for McLaglen. He can do bigger stuff. — E. T. Mathes, Avalon theatre, Bellingham, Wash. — General patronage. WHY SAILORS GO WRONG: Sammy Cohen— A real good comedy drama. Much better than the average. Brought more laughs than the Beeiy-Hatton pictures. Seven reels. — Marion Bodwell, Paramount theatre, Wyoming, 111. — General patronage. HORSEMAN OF THE PLAINS: Tom Mix — A fairly good Mix picture. Have had many better ones with Tom and Tony. Mix is still a favorite with the kids. Six reels. — Marion Bodwell. Paramount theatre. Wyoming. 111. — General patronage. WOLF FANGS: Thunder— Good Saturday picture with the dog taking leading part.— Marion Bodwell, Paramount theatre, Wyoming. 111.— General patronage. BLOOD WILL TELL: Buck Jones— Buck Jones always a good box office bet for me. Pleases children and adults as well. Five reels. — Marion Bodwell, Paramount theatre, Wyoming, 111. — General patronage. LOVES OF CARMEN: Dolores Del Rio— This might have been okay if we had had a decent print. All we had was 9000 feet of patches every six inches. Patrons disgusted. Many walkouts. Always get poor prints from Fox. Nine reels.— Marion Bodwell, Paramount theatre, Wyoming, 111. — General patronage. VERY CONFIDENTIAL: Madge Bellamy— A splendid six reel picture. No drags in this one. They are full of pep, William Fox pictures. And I am 6ure they will never see any kicks from any exhibitor on this one. Six reels. — Walter Odom & Sons, Dixie theatre, Durant. Miss. — General patronage. THE BRANDED SOMBRERO: Buck Jones— And still they come and we can't help ourselves. They just turn 'em out at Hollywood like they turn out money in the United States mint, the difference being that the stuff that comes from the mint talks — the other stuff "shrieks!" Five reels. — Giacoma Bros., Crystal theatre. Tombstone, Ariz.— General patronage. PAJAMAS: Olive Borden— Here is one we took our brother exhibitors' word for and it was a flop, silly beyond measure. Good acting, especially by the puppy. But the most absurd points were two. Of all the days in the camp those white clothes of both Olive and her camp mate did not become torn or the least bit soiled and around a camp at that, and Olive did tear her pants leg but she must have borne the charmed ( ?) life of Aimee McPherson for she sure stood the trials of camp life admirably. But the most absurd thing of all in the picture wa6 the manner in which they withstood the cold from off the mountain snows when the nightfall came and chilled atmosphere struck the two campers it did not bother them any more than the ozone did at midday. This impossibility caused one of the gallery gods to yell out "boloney." Six reels.— Giacoma Bros.. Crystal theatre. Tombstone, Ariz. — General patronage. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer SHADOWS OF THE NIGHT: Flash— 35%. October 2-3. Positively no kidding, this dog is great! Draws for us and sends our patrons away singing praises. Good little picture, new print, lighter than usual from Metro. Of course, the story is no strain on an adult intellect and the cast is immaterial with such a dog. Lawrence Gray is the boy. Louise Lorraine is the girl. Warner Richmond makes a darn good chief villain. Polly Moran is something Ziegfeld overlooked. All good. Seven reels. — Wolfe & Williams, Screenland theatre, Nevada, O. — Small town patronage. OUR DANCING DAUGHTERS: Joan Crawford— 43%. September 30-Octobcr 1. A good picture for the younger set. Drew them in swarms, although most of our old fashioned regulars stayed home or went to church for a change. For the hundredth time wc say that Metro features are too dark for us, even though we have just installed the latest Mazda equipment : nnd much of the effectiveness of their pictured is lost on that account. Wo do not have that trouble with other product. Print had seen tough times before It got to us. Suppose that was Metro's little joke, as they had been particular to tell us to be careful as this would be nil new film. Well, we're laughing — ha! ha! Naturally, we would draw a slovenly inspected print for a night when we had a houseful of particular and critical people. Outside of these little things we were very well satisfied with the picture, which did over twice the business for us that we had with "Beau Broadway" a week ago. Cast includes Nils Asther, Johnny Mack Brown, Dorothy Sebastian and Anita Page, who were all guilty of good acting. Good directing by Harry Beaumont. For our use we rate this picture about 50 per cent. Nine reels. — Wolfe & Williams, Screenland theatre, Nevada, O. — Small town patronage. EXCESS BAGGAGE: William Haines— 75%. October 5. This is one of Haines' best. If he puts them all out as good as thi6 one I will book them all. Eight reels. — J. D. Howard. Jr., Institute theatre, Oak Ridge. N. C. — Small town patronage. FOUR WALLS: John Gilbert— 55%. September 29. Little disappointed on this one. Balance of Gilbert did well for me. Metro Goldwyn have 6ome good pictures but this one drew less than any I have played. A good picture of its kind but that kind didn't suit my patronage excepting a few oi the Gilbert fans. Boys, don't pay too much. 1 bought it right. Didn't do much though. Eiglic reels. — T. T. Mitchell, Central theatre, Madison, Va. — General patronage. THE CAMERAMAN: Buster Keaton— October 1-2. Keaton and Day have one good comedy feature in this one and if one does not laugh, he hasn't a laugh in him. The baseball 6hot is worth the price of admission. Book it and then advertise that you have a good comedy, for it is there. Eight reels. — W. T. Biggs, Adair theatre, Adair, la. — General patronage. THE PATSY: Marion Davies— September 22. The best little picture we have run in a long time. Entertaining, clean and good acting. Marion Davies is fine and good to look at. Hope "Quality Street" is as good. Eight reels.— Robert K. Yancey, Bonny theatre, Mansfield, Mo. — General patronage. THE PATSY: Marion Davies — A good enough picture but the title did not mean much at the box office. Seven reels. — Marion Bodwell, Paramount theatre, Wyoming, 111. — General patronage. FOREIGN DEVILS: Tim McCoy— Another picture and the country 6till lives. Six reels. — Giacoma Bros., Crystal theatre. Tombstone, Ariz. — General patronage. CIRCUS ROOKIES: Dane-Arthur— A good midweek picture, at regular admission and that is all. Six reels. — Marion Bodwell, Paramount theatre, Wyoming, 111. — General patronage. LAUGH. CLOWN, LAUGH: Lon Chaney— I was out of town at the time this was shown but several patrons told me when I returned that they liked this one very much. Eight reels. — Marion Bodwell, Paramount theatre, Wyoming, 111. — General patronage. LAUGH, CLOWN, LAUGH: Lon Chaney— July 31August 1. A really good picture, but they would come to see Chaney anyway. Eight reels. — C. P. Washman, Roxy theatre, Skellytown, Tex. — General patronage. LAUGH, CLOWN, LAUGH: Lon Chaney— Did not take as well as "London After Midnight." A good picture with a sad ending which leaves a bad taste in your mouth. — John Cosner, Sun theatre, Sargent, Neb. — General patronage. THE STUDENT PRINCE: Ramon Novarro— July 29-30. A flop for a small town. And what a price we paid. We thought the star of "Ben Hur" would shine again. Ten reels. — C. P. Washman, Roxy theatre, Skellytown, Tex. — General patronage. IN OLD KENTUCKY: James Murray— September 29. This is a dandy. It has everything to make a picture interesting and entertaining. Fine acting, good comedy. Good print and photography. Seven reels. — Robert K. Yancey, Bonny theatre, Mansfield, Mo. — General patronage. IN OLD KENTUCKY: Helene Costello— This went over very well and was a different story than the old picture of the same name. Eight reels. — Giacoma Bros., Crystal theatre, Tombstone, Ariz. — General patronage. IN OLD KENTUCKY: Special cast— August 12-13. Wc had favorable comments on this picture. Seven reels. — C. P. Washman. Roxy theatre, Skellytown, Tex. — General patronage. Mo Losses in the Box Office Tw,;h Sum, ICKET REGISTER^ /S/iJ#k Automatic Ticket w^hlpfl Register Corp. ■^rVSjlr 7*1 SlvEnth Avt Ntw York TlCWna fir Every Purpose o/t0WlST Market Prices 1 LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT: Lon Chaney— The best Chaney has made for 6ome time. Comments very good from our patrons. — W. L. Crouse, Ideal theatre, Bloomer, Wis. — General patronage. LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT: Lon Chaney— Patrons seemed to like Chaney in this one. Much different from the general run of pictures. Seven reels. — Marion Bodwell. Paramount theatre, Wyoming, 111. — General patronage. BEN HUR: Ramon Novarro — A wonderful picture. Of course you all know what it has done. Don't fail to buy it. Twelve reels. — F. E. Sabin, Majestic theatre. Eureka, Mont. — Small town patronage. Paramount LADIES OF THE MOB: Clara Bow— 50%. October 1-2. Look, what Paramount has done to Clara. They have dragged their best star into an underworld drama knowing, too, that the public is fed up on underworld stuff. Watch your 6tep, Clara, and don't slip for the box office's sake. Business fair. Seven reels. — G. O. Tunstall, Midway theatre, Martinsville, Va. — Small town patronage. FIGURES DON'T LIE: Esther Ralston— 50%. September 28-29. A most excellent little picture ; light, humorous and interesting to the last foot. Our compliments to Mr. Sutherland and the entire cast. Ford Sterling, Richard Arlen and the rest fit their parts and acted them to a "t." An old picture but the print wa6 fair and we have nothing to express but satisfaction. Six reels. — Wolfe & Williams, Screenland theatre, Nevada, O. — Small town patronage. HALF A BRIDE : Esther Ralston— 20%. September 21-25. Only fair entertainment. Went over very poorly and had a few walkouts. Print fair. Seven reels. — G. O. Tunstall, Midway theatre, Martinsville, Va. — Small town patronage. OLD IRONSIDES: Special cast— 55%. September 7-8. A little disappointed in this picture at the box office. A good picture though. Paramount have some good pictures and a good company to deal with but this one isn't a good draw for Saturday night for a small town. It takes a knockdown, drag-'em-out to get them in. — T. T. Mitchell, Central theatre, Madison, Va. — General patronage. THE FIRST KISS: Cooper-Wray— October 3-4. A dandy picture ruined with a bum title. I just got a trifle over expense but if it had been called "The Dream Ship" which would have been a natural title, I am sure I would have done fine on it. When you run this production you will 6ee why it should have been called "The Dream Ship." The picture is there if you can get them in. Six reels. — O. A. Halstead, Cozy theatre, Duchesne, Utah. — General patronage. HOT NEWS: Bebe Daniels — Well, this one came along with Bebe and got by in fair shape. Much of it overdone and some underdone, not exactly raw but medium, we should say. Lots of good hokum if there is such a thing as "good hokum." Had a lot of laughs and taken with the three new6reels we might say for the evening that a "good time was had by all." Seven reels. — Giacoma Bros., Crystal theatre, Tombstone, Ariz. — General patronage. THE SHOWDOWN: George Bancroft— Fair picture, but poor drawing card. Six reels. — Marion Bodwell, Paramount theatre, Wyoming. 111. — General patronage. FOOLS FOR LUCK: . Chester Conklin— Just fair. Very poor Saturday offering. Not enough action for the Western lovers. Six reels. — Marion Bodwell, Paramount theatre, Wyoming, 111. — General patronage. UNDER THE TONTO RIM : Mary Brian— Many favorable comments received from patrons. Receipts a little above average at the box office. A fairly good Zane Grey Western. Six reels. — Marion Bodwell, Paramount theatre, Wyoming, 111. — General patronage. EASY COME, EASY GO: Richard Dix^Just a good program picture. Have had a good deal better from this star. Only average patronage. Six reels. — Marion Bodwell, Paramount theatre, Wyoming, 111. — General patronage. LET IT RAIN: Douglas MacLean— This one is just right. Laughs galore. Will please 100 per cent. Who could ask for more? — F. E. Sabin, Majestic theatre. Eureka. Mont. — Small town patronage. FEEL MY PULSE: Bebe Daniels— September 25. Too many bootleggers in this one and the bedroom scene is about as dirty as they get to be. Bebe usually has clean pictures, but this is sure rank. Good print and photography. Six reels. — Robert K. Yuncey. Bonny theatre, Mansfield. Mo. — General patronage. KEU HAIR: Clara Bow— September 17-18. Good picture, well acted. We played it just after our Fair and everyone wus broke, I suppose. Anyway