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

00 EXHIBITORS HERALD and MOVING PICTURE WORLD October 20, 1928 w CHICAGO PERSONALITIES By Whit RATHER significant is the statement made by Jack Miller Saturday that his organization would not be drawn into the Allied States organization which was reorganized last week in Kalamazoo. "I certainly will not be drawn into that group, nor will the Exhibitors Association," declared Miller. "The men who are reorganizing the Allied States are personal friends, but I do not care to become allied with them in business." It will be remembered that Illinois was a member of the Allied group when it was functioning, more or less, several years ago. Full details of the reorganization at Kalamazoo may be found in the news section of this issue. A baby girl, weighing eight pounds, eleven and a half ounces, arrived last Tuesday in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Brown. The very nice name of Mary Frances has been given her. * * * Cupid again has found his way to the film row and this time his dart scored a hit in the heart of Miss Ruth Linn who is employed in the office of Jerry Abrams. She will marry Herbert Abrams, no relation to Jerry, on the day before Armistice Day. * * * An interesting development in sound pictures will take place when the Castle theatre in the near future shows "Tempest," the United Artists picture, with musical sound accompaniment. United Artists has sold Beck the picture with the regular disc records produced for the picture, but the discs will be played on Dramaphone non-synchronous equipment. The showing at the Castle is expected to set a precedent by some. If it does a new era in sound pictures will have been reached. * * * William Weinshenker, Columbia manager at Milwaukee, will move his family there soon. For the last few months he has been commuting from Chicago. * * * Irving Mack is making a business trip through Wisconsin this week. * * * A trade synchronized showing of Universal's "Uncle Tom's Cabin" was held in Decatur last Wednesday. About 45 exhibitors from the surrounding territory were present. Babe Ruth and his heavy hitting playmate, Lou Gehrig, have been signed by Marks Brothers for appearances at the Granada and Marbro, opening at the Granada on November 10. In two or three months these two theatres have had or will have such personages as Miss Patricola, Francis X. Bushman, John Steele, Eddie Cantor, Trixic Friganza, Julian Kltinge, Raymond Hitchcock and others. Quite an imposing list, isn't it? * * * Mrs. Tom Gilliam was taken to the Westlake hospital in Maywood last Tuesday but Your Screen Comes to Life with PHOTOTONE Sound Reproduction L. V. KUTTNAUER 845 S. Wabash Av.-., Chicago Har. 0737 she has now sufficiently recovered from her illness to return home. * * * Clyde Eckhardt left for New York Sunday. First National exchange has cleared space on the fifth floor of the building for a record room for sound pictures. * * * Stanley Hatch and Ned E. Depinet of First National were in town Wednesday. * * * Barbara Kent, Universal star, was in town Thursday. She had just completed her personal appearances in Kenosha and Milwaukee theatres. * * * James R. Grainger of Fox Films was in Fox exchange Friday. * * * Herman Bland's young son was run over by an automobile last week. He died soon after the accident. * * * Among the 120,000 who saw the Navy-Irish game last Saturday were many film men. We were sitting just this side of Evanston, but at least we could hear 'em shout. And at least ten fights in the bleachers proved more interesting than the game. * * * Lew Cochovetz, who operates the Strand and Blackstone in South Bend, came to Chicago Saturday to see the big game. * * * We have often wondered how men whose names are so often associated with gangsters in the daily press regard gang pictures. We now have first hand information. Since a certain incident some weeks ago, a certain young man, whom the papers refer to as gang leader has been in confinement in his commodious quarters on the Southside. Time hangs heavy even on him so he whiles away his time with pictures. A film row operator is his chief operator and exhibits current pictures to him and his coterie three times a week. He says that gang pictures were all right with the boys for awhile, but they soon became tiresome. It seems the boys like the pollyanna pictures better. It's so easy to find flaws in the gang pictures, you see. Give them a gang picture now. and the boys are apt to forget the picture and indudgc in innocent play, a mild form of this friendly play being breaking chairs over each others' heads. But give 'cm a picture of an innocent and unsophisticated lassie and the boys are all attention. Even tears have been known to fall. * * * Steve Bennis, pioneer exhibitor at Lincoln, is to have sound equipment in his Lincoln theatre about the first of December. Your BOX OFFICE RECORD ivill be delivered to you in the issue of NOVEMBER 3 as a department of Exhibitors Herald and Moving Picture World Exhibitors Warned of Free Lance Promoters Taking Merchants' Cash (Special to the Herald-World) MILWAUKEE, Oct. 16. — Exhibitors in the Middlewest are warned to look out for free lance promotion and exploitation men who are traveling through this territory and wreaking havoc with exhibitors. The free lance men are part of a reputed national publicity system which comes into a city and contracts with a local theatre to put over some big exploitation scheme on a certain picture or during a certain period. After the publicity organization gets a little money in its coffers the men slip out of town, leaving the theatre flatfooted, with a contest on its hands and many angry merchants to please. As the money is obtained from the merchants, it is usually easy for the publicity organization to get the theatre's sanction. Theatres Aid in Fire Prevention Campaign Waged in Louisville (Special to the Herald-World) LOUISVILLE, Oct. 16.— Fire prevention week in Louisville brought about fair cooperation between the exhibitors, fire prevention interests, newspapers, insurance men and city officials. Many of the theatres ran slides calling attention to the event and to annual losses, prevention methods, etc. Proclamations were issued by the mayor and the governor. There were talks before the schools and questionnaires for children of the younger grades to fill out. The theatres called public attention to the need of fire prevention. Barhydt Division Chief For Schine Ohio Circuit (Special to the Herald-World) COLUMBUS. Oct. 16— L. R. Barhydt has been appointed division manager of the Schine theatres in Ohio. He formerly was with the G-B Theatres Circuit and the Poli chain. The Schine syndicate has taken a lease on five theatres in Lima, giving it control of the city. It already had one theatre in the city. At Portsmouth it has leased three houses. 31 Pictures Are Sent to Lepers on Lonely Isles (Special to the Herald-World) NEW YORK, Oct. 16— A shipment of 31 motion pictures is on the way to 327 lepers on the islands of Makogai and Makodraga in Fiji, at the instance of the M P P D A.