The Moving Picture Weekly (1919-1922)

— THE MOVING PICTURE WEEKLY ■5 "_ The MIDNIGHT IS HERE LATEST UNIVERSAL SERIAL, FEATURING THE GREAT JAMES J. CORBETT, STARTS ON SEPTEMBER 1. Cut No. 22 of Corbett. Order from Campaign Book. I7AGERLY awaited and heavily advei-tised for many months, James J. Corbett in "The Midnight Man" is at last knocking at the door of every theatre in the world. On September 1, the official release date of this latest and greatest of all Universal serials, "The Midnight Man," will open in thousands of first run houses. Elaborate preparations have been made to introduce the world-wide celebrity, James J. Corbett, affectionately known as "Gentleman Jim" to his myriad of friends, in a new medium of expression. No figure in the prize ring ever excited more genuine admiration than Corbett. His following on the vaudeville stage was remarkable, and his artistic success there was a constant and gratifying surprise. His appearance in moving pictures, the greatest opportunity in a career such as few men ever enjoy, marks the advent of a new star, the blazing of a new trail to glory and a new sure-fire drawing card for thousands of exhibitors. In preparing "The Midnight Man" for the exhibitor, the Universal has been to unusual pains not only to provide a serial which would be a fitting vehicle to display to the best advantage the talents and prowess of the great Corbett, but to make a serial which of itself would merit the opinion that has been expressed by exhibitors wherever it has been shown, "the greatest serial ever." And in addition to that, the fullest opportunity has been given to the exhibitor to "get WHAT YOU WANT TO KNOW. STAR — James J. Corbett (Gentleman Jim). DIRECTOR— J. W. Home. AUTHORS— J. W. Home and Kenneth B. Clarke. SCENARIO by Harvey Gates. LENGTH— 18 episodes THE CAST. BOB GILMORE (or Jim Stevens, "The Midnight Man") Jas. J. Corbett Nell Morgan Kathleen O'Connor Henry Morgan Joseph W. Girard Martha Gilmorc.Georgie Woodthorpe John Gilmore Frank Jonasson Hargreaves William Sauter Spike Noble Johnson John Zafara Orral Humphreys Steve Arnold Joseph Singleton the money" with this serial. For it has been pi-ovided with a wonderful poster accompaniment, an extremely elaborate campaign of publicity and advertising stories, cuts, mats, teasers, striking ads of all dimensions and sizes, banners, life-size cut-outs, bronze busts and throwaways. All this, in addition to the universally admitted popularity of the star, assure any exhibitor a wonderful opportunity to book a winner. All of these aids to exploitation are in the exchanges now and have been for some time, and the first three episodes may be seen at any of the Universal Exchanges. This is a serial that just plays itself and all that need be left to chance is the exact size of the profit that exhibitors make. That depends solely on the cleverness with which exhibitors use the aids that have been provided for exploitation. Many a serial has been manufactured for the sole purpose of produc(Continued on page 7.) THUMB-NAIL THEME— A romantic story of the efforts of a young man to trace the secret of his parentage. Brought up by foster parents he reaches manhood without knowing who his real father and mother were. He has a jade signet ring with the letters "MOR." Assuming that these represent the first letters of his name he forms the idea of entering at night the home of everyone whose name begins with "Mor," and leaving the imprint of his signet ring. By staging a fake burglary in each house he expects to gain notoriety that will bring to light someone having knowledge of his past. He adopts the name of Jim Stevens and leads a dual life through 18 episodes of terrific action and breathless interest. Corbett Serial Cut No. 25. Order from Campaign Book.