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

October 27, 1928 EXHIBITORS HERALD and MOVING PICTURE WORLD 57 HI NEW PICTURES In "New Pictures" the EXHIBITORS HERALD AND MOVING PICTURE WORLD presents in concise form information on current and forthcoming attractions. The facts as presented will serve exhibitors in booking and in the preparation of their advertising campaign. DIVINE LADY, THE: First National drama, with Corinne Griffith, Victor Varconi, H. B. Warner, Ian Keith, William Conklin, Marie Dressier, Michael Vavitch, Dorothy Cumming and Montagu Love. Directed by Frank Lloyd. Released . Length 10.101. TYPE AND THEME: This one, baaed on a highly successful biography of the same title, is a romance built about one of the most famous love stories of history, that of Lady Hamilton and Admiral Nelson. Corinne Griffith is cast as Lady Hamilton and the picture shows her first as the mistress of Sir Charles Greville, whom he passes on to his uncle. Lord Hamilton, ambassador at the Court of Naples, when he wishes to get her out of the way to make a rich marriage (for Emma had fallen in love with him). She becomes Hamilton's mistress, but has so improved herself, is so beautiful, and has made herself so useful to him that he proposes marriage to her and after quite some time gets his king's consent to marry her. She becomes an adept in the game of politics, wins the friendship of the queen of Naples, persuading her to let Lord Nelson provision his fleet there, against the order of the king, extorted by the French ambassador. This starts the friendship between Lady Hamilton and Lord Nelson. After his defeat of the French fleet, bottling Napoleon up in the Nile, Nelson returns to Naples and he is soon inviilved in the love affair irith Lad\i Hamilton, which ended only with his death at the Battle of Trafalgar, in which he again defeated the French fleet. The battles of the Nile and of Trafalgar with scores of old-fashioned fighting ships engaged on each side, form spectacular elements of the film. HAUNTED HOUSE, THE: First National melodrama, with Chester Conklin, Larry Kent. Thelma Todd, Montagu Love, Flora Finch, William V. Mong, Barbara Bedford, Eve Southern and Edmund Breese. Directed by Benjamin Christiansen. Released Length 5,793. TYPE AND THEME: A mystery thriller. James Herbert is given poison and upon recovering from the effects, devises a means of testing the relatives who stood to profit by kis death. He gives each a letter to be given, after his death, to a certain veiled woman who will call for it, witk the injunction never to no near a certain house of his on Long Island. The letters are opened by all the relatives save a youth, and they at once repair to the old house where, according to the letter, $500,000 is concealed. There all sorts of mysterious and unaccountable, sounds, cries and events take place, with Chester Conklin and Flora Finch furnishing comedy that brings a laugh along with the shudder of fear at their predicaments. Thelma Todd and Larry Kent carry the love interest. NAPOLEON: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer drama, with Waldimir Roudenko, Albert Dieudonne, Alexandre Johnny Burke, looking for all the world like a buzzard and perhaps feeling the same way. If he doesn't die like, he'll be lucky . . . And it's all a part of First National's new production, "The Goodbye Kiss," from which this scene is taken. Koubitzky, Harry Krimer, Edmond Van Daele, Antonin Artaud, Gina Manes and Nicholas Koline. Directed by Abel Gance. Released Length. / TYPE AND THEME: A fierce fight takes place in the yard of a boy's military school, several fellows pitted against one. Though their missiles are only snowballs, they employ tactics of war and fight to win. The school is Brienne and the boy who stands against all his companions and conquerors is the young Napoleon. . . . Grown to manhood Napoleon casts his lot with the French Revolutionists and as sub-lieutenant in the army is sent to quell a Corsican uprising. He fails; is imprisoned; but escapes at night in a small boat, using the French flag as a sail. . . . That night in the Convention Hall in Paris, where the Revolution gains momentum, the Parisians hear the "Marseillaise" for the first time. They adopt it as the hymn of the Revolution. Danton harangues the populace. The citizens rise against the Royalists. There is bloodshed: the Reign of Terror. And as tin spirit of freedom spreads, Napoleon's star ascends. . . . Then his rise to power. He meets Josephine. He visits her home, ask3 her to marry him and the marriage day is set. Then Napoleon, though eager to wed her, forgets his love in deep study of military plans. Reminded of the date by a messenger, he hastens to the ceremony and leaves immediately after to direct his army in the Italian campaign. He returns to Paris the Man of Destiny, recognized by the world. » • « OUTCAST: First National drama, with Corinne Griffith. James Ford, Edmund Lowe. Huntly Gordon, Kathryn Carver, Louise Fazenda. Sam Hardy, Patsy O'Byrne and Lee Moran. Directed by William Seiter. Released . Length . TYPE AND THEME: The story of a San Francisco "lady of the evening" who is regenerated through love, and wins first the liking and respect and finally the love of the man who came unceremoniously into her life by squirting seltzer water on the new hat she had just bought with her last three dollars. The man's old flame, who had jilted him for a millionaire, seeks him out and tries to have an "affair" with him while keeping her millionaire. When the girl of the streets, now unable to go back to that life, at the urgent request of the man's friends, proves that his old sweetheart does not mean to divorce her husband and marry him, the man turns again to Miriam for comfort. He has learned her true worth, and that he loves her. • * • SINGAPORE MUTINY, THE: FBO melodrama with Ralph Ince, Estelle Taylor, James Mason, Gardner James, Will Irving, Harry Allen. Carl Axzelle. Martha Mattox, Robert Gaillard and Frank Newberg. Directed by Ralph Ince. Released — Length . TYPE AND THEME: Estelle Taylor as Daisy, passenger aboard the Valhalla with three others, infatuates the crew except Kelsey (Ince), chief of the black gang. James, a derelict, is discovered and Daisy saves him from jail, but he's placed in the black gang. Daisy blames Kelsey and later when he rescues her from the chief engineer she frames him. The Valhalla strikes a derelict ship and the crew mutinies, and escapes, leaving the captain, Kelsey, the engineer and the four passengers alone on the vessel. Kelsey fights like a superman to keep the fires going and bossing his strange crew. Kelsey proves there's more to him than beef and Daisy agrees. WEDDING MARCH, THE: Paramount drama, with George Fawcett. Maude George. Erich von Stroheim, George Nichols, ZaSu Pitts. Hughie Mack, Mathew Betz. Cesare Gravina, Dale Fuller. Fay Wray, Syd Bracey. Directed by von Stroheim. Released . Length TYPE AND THEH.E: Von Stroheim as the aristocratic prince and ideal of all the ladies of Vienna, meets Fay, the little harpist, and they fall in love. Fay gives all her love to the glorious lover. His poverty-stricken family informs him he must marry the daughter of a wealthy plebian. He refuses, then finally consents. Fay reads of the betrothal but protests her faith in him. Her butcher-lover vows to kill the prince on his wedding day. Fay saves him by promising to wed the butcher, and as the wedding procession passes, the butcher cruelly lifts Fay and shouts to her to take a last look at her unfaithful lover. This Week's Press Sheet AIR CIRCUS, THE (Fox comedy): For "The Air Circus" large box kites may be used to float banners in the air. The cost is moderate. The number and size of the kites depends on the size of the banner to be used. You will have to consult your sign company to get a cloth that is both light and strong. If you can get a man who is experienced in handling this style of advertising, it is naturally simplest to leave all details to him. A small box ad should bring you the right man. If not, this description will help. It is necessary to get two box kites aloft. After you have let out enough kite string (it must be strong), knot the string to the upper grommet, previously fixed in the banner, and then to a lower one on the same side. Repeat this at the other side of the banner. Care must be taken to keep the kites sufficiently apart to hold the banner fairly stretched, so that it is readable. The less copy you have and the bolder the letters, the more effective the stuff will be. If you can get about twelve men at little expense, umbrellas can be purchased at moderate cost. All the lettering can be done in white or black letters. Then the twelve men can be sent down the main thoroughfares carrying, alternately, black and white umbrellas. This stunt works even better in dry weather than it does in wet weather, because the crowd will stop to laugh at the idea of people carrying open umbrellas when it is not raining. You can also, rig up an umbrella or parachute for the front of your theatre, making it of fairly transparent cloth and lighting it from the inside with a flasher. Tie up with an airplane company or pilot to distribute cards announcing the coming of "The Air Circus" to your theatre. You can also arrange to have toy balloons with copy advertising the picture at your theatre.