Moving Picture World (Apr-Jun 1917)

1110 THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD May 19, 1917 Conducted by EPES WINTHROP SARGENT Steve an Educator. STEVE FARRAR, of the Casino, Eldorado, 111., sends in a press clip along with his latest throwaway. He adds that he slips something of the sort to the daily paper now and then and thinks it is doing some good. It assuredly does do a lot of good, and incidentally it shows Steve up as a writer of colloquial style. If he wrote the story himself, he has been hiding his talents. There is nothing about the Casino, or about Steve, in the story. It deals with temperance and the screen in a chatty way. One paragraph runs : "Ten Nights in a Bar Room" was once considered a wonderful play because It taught such a temperance lecture, and whenever the play hits town every white ribbon woman turned out with her entire brood of boys, so they could witness the awful effects of liquor, but the picture show reels of today have 'Ten Nights In a Bar Room" backed into the corner and yelling for help. An old blear-eyed souse who would rotten-egg a temperance talker will sit all evening In a picture show and watch his old pal John Barleycorn being whipped to a fare-you-well, and he will pay ten cents for the privilege of seeing the hooks thrown into his old friend, and that ten cents represents a drink that his friend the bartender didn't sell him. There are thousands of picture shows filled to overflowing every night and in all of them you will see men with their wives and children spending an entire evening enjoying themselves instead of spending their evening and their money In a saloon and when they return home from the show, after seeing one of the "horrible example" plays, where Old John Barleycorn ruins the girl, makes a thief of the father, a murderer of the son and a suicide of the mother, they go home wondering down deep in their minds if it isn't about time to vote against booze ! This is not a model of classical English, but it is written to reach home folks, and there is a lot of philosophy in the article, of which this is about a quarter. Sometimes it pays better to get stuff like this in the paper than it does to run items that starts off with "John Smirk, our popular and enterprising manager" Steve is coming strong. Mr. Decker's Latest. Charles Decker, of the Majestic, Grand Junction, Colorado, has a couple of new stunts. One of them is shown by this clipping : If there are any boys under 12 years of age that cannot afford to spend 5c. to see Enid Bennett In "The Little Brother" next Tuesday, March 20, Manager Decker will allow them to see this show absolutely free at the matinee after school. It Is no disgrace to be poor, but it is awfully unhandy. Therefore any boy that cannot afford 5c. to see this play, will, If they will come and give us their name and tell us mama or papa did not have the nickel for them, we are going to pass them in free, but, remember, only at the matinee, after school. This is a play that every boy should see, and by seeing It the amount of good it will do for every boy is of untold value. Now, remember, when we speak of the value of this picture for boys, we don't mean that it Is a kid's picture — not by any means — this picture will interest all classes and ages and especially the middle or society class of adults should see it. So don't pass it up — it is one of the best pictures on the Triangle program. Frank Montgomery used to work this scheme, though he made it more general. Instead of getting out free tickets for a new house he would announce that he had a story so good he wanted everyone in town to see it, and a wink to the doorkeeper was as good as a ticket. We have not seen it used for some years, and yet it is a good scheme for making talk. Mr. Decker is still using the pupil's pass idea because it works so well. Any public school pupil who reaches a weekly average of 85 per cent, is admitted free to specified performances. It helps a lot to keep up the average of scholarship in the town and so the parents approve the scheme — and the house. Got in Quick. J. E. Gulnn, of the New Majestic, Alto, Texas, sends In a postcard he recently sent out, with this explanation : Ten minutes after the flash came over the wires, the afternoon of the nineteenth Instance, that the United States had declared war against Germany, and before the details of the situation had become known, I had my copy of the following ml on the press. (See enclosure.) I bought 500 of the enclosed government postal cards, and as you can see I had them printed in typewritten type, thereby making it more personal, addressed them In ink and mailed them. The first line In capitals is what they fell for, thinking It was an official notice from the government. The card itself is reproduced here, not because it can be used in the same form again, but because It gives a hint which may be adapted to some other occasion. The use of the greeting, "Dear Friend," Is apt to hurt the suggestion of an official communication, and to gain this effect the greeting should have been omitted entirely. In the same way the subscription should have been dropped, were the official aid sought, but in general the card was well handled. Alto, Texas, March the Nineteenth, Nineteen Hundred Seventeen. Dear Friend : — YOU MAY BE CALLED TO ARMS ANY MOMENT ! ! This Is rather startling news, isn't it? A flash came over the wires this afternoon to the effect that the U. S. had DECLARED WAR on Germany ! In a week or month many of us may' not be alive, so let us enjoy life while we HAVE life. Meet me at the New Majestic tomorrow night at 8 :00 and enjoy one of the greatest extravaganzas ever presented to the American public, 'THE BLACK CROOK," and forget war and strife, that awful Incarnation of souls across the sea, which Is threateningly near to us. Hoping that you will join the army of theatergoers with me tomorrow night, I am Your friend, Jerry. But in handling any war stuff from now on, be careful. Don't be flippant or jesting, for it is too serious a matter. Do not make statements too extravagant or too Incendiary. Mr. Gulnn Is startling without giving offense. Follow his example. For the Mailing List. The Fenray, Martin's Ferry, Ohio, sends in a new wrinkle on keeping the mailing list alive. The first issue of each month carries a free ticket for one on the second page. The Fenray Index Is mailed out under a permit, without envelope, the addresses being printed on the cover, as shown in the cut. The free ticket is on the back of the postoffice permit and is so planned that it takes In the address slip. Nq|p Wlen cutting tie free ticket from this program be sore to cut low enough ontbefronlpjgel.iiH'Epeo winthorp Sargent, The Moving Pioture TTorlo, Hew York City. 1c Paid Martins Ferry, Ohio Permit Nc This slip serves as a check on the mailing list and it also serves another purpose in that it brings the program recipient to the theater and gets him started right. The ticket Is merely a box reading : Exchange at the Box Office for Regular Admission Ticket. Not good after April 30, 1917, Nor on De Luxe Days. This is set right into the editorial page, the head for which Is moved down to make room for it. It is run only tbo first week of each month and the ticket Is held good for that month only, barring special days. The house has started the Quotation Quest, originated by the Rowland and Clark houses. A new wrinkle is the rayed F, shown in the cut. One of these is set Into each box of the program to set It apart from the foreign advertising ; an idea worthy of being copied. It might be noted that the Fenray uses strip addresses. These are typewritten on strips of paper 2% inches wide, cut apart and pasted onto the front page. This Is not as good a scheme as the stencil, but until the list grows large enough to demand such a mechanical device this Is about the best substitute, as the lists can be prepared in advance and two or more written at the same time with the aid of carbon paper. Another Organ. A. L. Mlddleton, of the Queen, De Queen, Ark., is getting out a four-page house organ, the first issue dating from the first of the year. He had a capital idea in the second Issue — a column to be given to the public in which to tell of plays coming to the Queen and seen elsewhere, but after a single issue the idea was dropped. The sheet would look better if a smaller body type were used, even though the size of the page were cut down In proportion. Twelve point in a thirteen im column looks too large. It works better on the front page, where