Motography (Jul 1918)

80 MOTOGRAPHY Vol. XX, No. 2. "After Supper Matinees" Are Proposed Vitagraph Campaign Book for New Serial Points Out Way to Popularize Theatres with Mothers TN THE CAMPAIGN BOOK issued 1 for exhibitors by Vitagraph in connection with its forthcoming serial, "A Fight for Millions," there are numerous worth-while suggestions for putting the serial over, but one in particular, which will interest every exhibitor in the country, is presented in the form of an advance press story under the heading of "After Supper Matinees." The idea is to have exhibitors start their evening show somewhere around 6:45, so that housewives who take their Jittle ones to the theatre with them may go to the show in daylight and through the daylight saving plan, come out of it in daylight or twilight at least, because during these long summer days 'it does not really get dark until after 9. Being able to go to the show early, the children will be less likely to go to sleep or to become restless in the theatre. This plan, of course, is designed only for theatres and is not for airdomes. The latter will necessarily have to delay starting their shows until darkness sets in, unless they can find a way to darken their places, and the only way that suggests itself now would be to use a black tent covering similar to the arrangement Sarah Bernhardt used in a tour of this country several years ago. The initial cost would be considerable, but this cost probably could be wiped out in a few weeks by the additional revenue which would accrue through early starting. The tent covering could be arranged in sections on rings as are the light curtains in a photographer's gallery and could be rolled back as darkness sets in. An additional advantage would be protection on rainy nights, enabling airdome proprietors to continue their performance regardless of the weather. "The Kaiser" Packs Houses In a recent story it was told how the Crystal Theatre at La Salle, Colorado, played to a gross of $301 in a one-night showing of "The Kaiser, the Beast of Berlin," with a population of only three hundred from which to draw upon. At the time this was thought to be a record in point of box office dr'awing qualities. Two exhibitors have come forward to dispute the Crystal's right to this distinction, however. The first is S. Le Rouge of Battleground, Washington, and the second H. L. Wright of Fort Lapwai, Idaho. In a letter written to Jewel Productions, Inc., by Le Rouge, who owns the Wonder Theatre, is contained the following: "I just got tired of reading about those fellows in towns of 3,000 showing to only 1,500 or 2,000. Getting right down to cases, I think the record belongs to me. "Here we have a little town of only 250 population and showed to 750. Where did they come from? You know that they would come from all over the world if they knew they could see some one smash the kaiser. If those fellows would advertise right they would double their showing." Mr. Wright, who owns the Liberty Theatre, stated that while the population of Fort Lapwai is only five hundred, "The Kaiser" drew seven hundred paid admissions. "Weather was all-fired hot, too," he wrote. Gets Out House Organ Manager Charles H. Eastwood of the Star Theatre, Kimberly, Idaho, has started to publish a four-page monthly house organ, called "Star News," which contains advance information about the film offerings with interesting notes about the stars. Mr. Eastwood uses the ParamountArtcraft service and decorates his program with the trade-mark cuts. A liberal advertising patronage more than pays for the publication. Seek "Over the Top" for July 4 "Over the Top," Vitagraph's big patriotic special, featuring Sergeant Arthur Guy Empey, has led to great competition among exhibitors all over the country who seek it for their Fourth of July attraction, according to a statement by Walter W. Irwin, general manager of the Vitagraph distributing organization. To this endorsement of the picture as a patriotic subject, there has been added that of the American Defense Society, which last week completed arrangements with Vitagraph for showing the picture for patriotic benefits throughout the United States. At the present time Chicago is one of the centers of "Over the Top" enthusiasm. A half-page combination advertisement from the Chicago Daily Journal of recent date shows that "Over the Top" was booked in 47 Windy City theatres for a total of 81 days, to be played in a period of 12 days. These bookings in^ cluded the twelve houses in the Ascher Brothers circuit, the Vitagraph Theatre and seven others in the Lubliner-Trinz circuit, and virtually every other motion picture theatre of importance in the city. Architect's drawing of the interior of the new Iowa Theatre, Des Moines. Parker Directs for Triangle A new director, Albert Parker, has been added to the force at the Triangle's big Culver City studios, making a total of eight. Parker makes the third new director since President Harry E. Aitken took over active management of the Triangle plant, with O. L. Sellers as his assistant. The other new men are Christy Cabanne, who is filming the screen adaptation of Charles F. Stocking's novel, "The Mayor of Filbert," and William Dowlan, who until recently directed Mary Miles Minter. Dowlan is directing Pauline Starke and Casson Fergusson in "Alias Mary Brown," a crook story by E. Magnus Ingleton. Parker arrived at the Triangle's western studio from New York this week. He is comparatively a newcomer in the film industry, having received his early education under Allan Dwan at the Triangle's Yonkers studio, and later directing for Pathe in the east.