Variety (March 1921)

ih^^h rriday, March 4, 1921 PICTURES YEAR ON B'WAY SET NR -WAY DOWN EAST" Third Extension Carries to Sept. 3 at 44th St. y©r the fourth time the book in* for "Way Down East" at the 44th Btreet theatre has been extended, which will give the D. W. Griffith picture a solid year on Broadway. This will break the continuous run record of any film. Last week it W aa arranged that the picture should continue up until Sept. 3. It opened on that date last year. Originally "Way Down East" took the 44th Street under a guarantee arrangement to the end of October. ]ast season. The booking was ex- tended until Christmas, Dong prior to the holidays a third extension was made to April 2, and from that date the latest booking will con tinue. There are sixteen prints of "Way £own East" now being toured by Griffith as special companies, the itineraries taking In all of the U. 8. and Canada. The original "showing" at the 44th Street, however, is still mak- ing money and figures to net a profit even through the summer. It has not fallen below $14,000 weekly, and it was only within the last two Weeks that the pace fell to that level. The scale of admission is still $2 lor the orchestra floor, with the boxes (located in the rear of the house), selling at $3. There were S dozen box seats for which $5 each was charged up until several weeks ago. The balcony is virtually a sell-out nightly. The new arrangement of Griffith with the Shuberts for the 44th Street provides that If in the summer the gross shall fall below the profit mar- gin for the house, notice of two weeks by either side may be made. WALSH ASKS $245,000 Su«« for 94 Weeks' Pay Under May fllower Contract. BRADY SUGGESTS BUSTING" ALL ORGANIZATIONS AND UNIFYING California Theatre Owners Walk Out of Meeting, but Return When It's Ex- plained President Is Not Urging Affiliation with National Association— Purpose Explained as Fight on Censorship. SLAIN OUTLAW ONCE TRIED PICTURE GAME Henry Starr Attempted to Rival W. S. Hart. Los Angeles, March 2. A clash between William A. Brady and Glenn Harper, local head of the Theatre Owners of America, was the outstanding feature of the meeting of 15 local organizations of the picture industry called Monday night by William D. Taylor, Dasky director, for the purpose of forming an organization for a general fight on censorship. The meeting started out with a purpose that was very high sound- ing and finally ended by the forma- tion of an organization to be known as the Affiliated Picture Interests, which is to be a State body to com- bat any legislative measures that are harmful to the industry. Brady appeared as a guest at the meeting at the request of Taylor. The theatre owners present saw in his presence a menace directed at their organization and after some heated words withdrew from the meeting. Later when they were as- sured that Brady was not there to speak for the National Association or to urge an affiliation of the body in the process of formation with the National Association they returned during the discussion. Brady offered to "bust" both as- sociations and make one. The fifteen organizations repre- sented in the new body are the Screen Writers' Guild, Los Angeles Actors' Association, Society of Cinematrographers, Art Directors, Assistant Directors, Motion Picture Operators, Los Angeles Exchanges' Board of Trade, Directors' Associa- tion, Producers' Association, Photo- playwrights League, Theatre Own- era' Association, Western Motion Picture Advertisers, Ethical Motion Picture Corporation, and Palmer Photoplay Corporation. Mr. Brady left for the East today and will confer with East nan in Rochester before returning to New York. POLA NEGRI MAKING "MACBETH" FOR UFA R. A. Walsh, through his attor- ney, Nathan Burkan, has brought suit against the Mayflower Film Corp. for $245,000. Walsh waa engaged as a director for Mayflower at a salary of $2,600 a week and a percentage of profits He claims there is due him $10,000 . for four weeks' work and $225,000 for 94 weeks of the unexpired term of the agreement at $2,500 a week. Attorney Burkan has filed at- tachments against First National and Famous Players tying up all monies due Mayflower from the two distributing companies handling Mayflower releases. back to ONE-REELERs | TOLLYANNA" PILES UP GROSS OF $900,000 Los Angeles Houses Put on Biograph Griffiths. THEY'LL ALL BE THERE San Francisco, Mar. 2. The Allied Amusement Industries of California, has completed ar rangements for the first annual motion picture bail to be held at the Exposition Auditorium March 6 The following picture stars have sent letters stating they will be present. Clara Kimball Young, will lead the grand march; Bebe Daniels, Mary Miles Minter, •'Fatty Arbucklc" and Charles Murray will act as masters of ceremonies; Phyllis H-^er, Deatrlce Joy, Irene Rich, Bessie Barri scale, Ho bar t Bosworth, Priscilla Dean, Edith Roberts, Wil- liam Carleton, Beatriz Micholena, *nd Mary Thurman. Star of "Passion" at Work on New Special. Berlin, Feb. 15. Several new Pola Negri films are soon to be begun. The first will be a massive spectacular production of "Macbeth," with Pola, star of "Pas- sion," as Lady Macbeth and Emil Jannings as Macbeth. Ernest Lu- bitsch will direct from a scenario by Norbert Falk and Hans Kraly. Ernst Stern will design special scenery' In sight also is "The Mountain People" (Die Bergkopfe), by Lubitsch and Kraly, in which she will be supported by Paul HeMe- mann. The new Ufa super-special, "The Steer of Olivera," Jan. 24 at the [Ufa Palats am Zoo, did not fulfill all expectations. The scenery was adequate, but one noted now ani again sets that had done service previously in "Sumurun" and "Anne Boleyrf." Moreover, the print was hastily assembled and showed it. The story moves with speed and is consistent in characterization. Period, Napoleonic. A French gen- eral, a one-eyed, woman-hating monster, sent by Napoleon to "Vain as commander of an expeditionary force, falls under the spell of a beautiful Spanish girl and sacrifices his honor for her, only to be be- trayed by her to the rebel Spaniards. The real feature of this film is the acting of Jannings (the Henry of Anne Boleyn) as the general. He gives a performance grotesque'y powerful, grotesquely humorous, grotesquely pathetic even; in short, a masterpiece of film technique. Jannings was born In America a d is still a United States citizen. Los Angeles, March 2. Last week there was a tunning back of the hands of time at two of the picture houses here and the two Biograph short reclers made in the days when the infant industry was still a squawling babe were revived and screened. At Grauman's a D. W. Griffith photoplay of about 14 years ago, entitled "Stolen Jewels," was shown.. At the Hip, Nat Holt started on Wednesday to show Mary Plckford in "The Mender of Nets," directed by Griffith, also a Biograph single reeler that was made about the same time. "Stolen Jewels" has about three sub-titles and much exaggerated action when Judged from the stand- point of film productions of today. The picture is shown In a reproduc- tion of the old nickelodeon of other Los Angeles, Man h 2. Henry Starr, the outlaw, who died on Fob. 21, at Harrison, Oklu., of gunshot wounds received while trying to hold up a bunk with a couple of companions, at one time tried to shine as a picture star. Starr felt that if the public were willing to pay to see W. S. Hart and a number of others in giving expo- sitions on the screen of two-gun work and stick-up jobs, they might pay to see some one who was the real thing. He managed to finance a com- pany and shot a picture of some of his exploits and traveled with it. He delivered a lecture with the pic- ture and advised his audiences that the "straight and narrow" wa; the only path. However, he couldn't stick to the path himself, for the at dlences would not come fast enough and he stranded in Kansas City about three years ago after which he went back to Tulsa and tried the real estate game, but that also proved too slow to" him, so he returned to th e stick- up game and met his death. Mary Pickford's Other Feat- ure "Suds" Gets $400,000 The distributing end of the United Artists ("Big •Four") is understood to have made a profit of $18,000 last month, some of its pic- tures chalking up large returns "Pollyanna," for Instance, has grossed, to date, something like $900,000. while "Suds." with the same star (Miss Plckford), has taken $400,000. Douglas Fairbanks' next release will be shown at the Strand for two weeks at a rental of $5,000, with a days and it caused something of a{ 6 °-60 spljt on all over $18,000 a sensation locally. 'week. NEWS OF FILM WORLD LIST 20,000 FILM HOUSES. Cahn Hill Guide Makes New Count for U. S. Bob Doman. press agent for Lois Weber, gives 61 reasons why Claire Windsor is unique among screen stars for the things she does or does not do. In the list is the admission that Miss Windsor stands ready to admit that her camera tears are Pure .glycerine. "Bride's Play" is the title of Marion Davies* newest starring pic- ture, which has been completed and cut at the International Studios. George Terwilliger is the director. It will probably be Cosmopolitan- Famous Players' release about June. MISSOURI CENSOR LIKELY Kansas City, March 2. In spite of an adverse report made hy the committee on criminal juris- prudence the bill providing for a board of moving picture, censors for Missouri will probably be adopted without much more opposition. The bill now provides for a $2 fee for each 1,200 feet of original film and $l for eaqjfl duplicate reel. The board will bo composed of three Persons, one of whom shall be a Woman. A bill was also engrossed making it a felony to accept a bribe or throw a baseball game FAMOUS SIGNS STANLAWS Penrhyn Stanlaws, the artist, who has been studying the production of . motion pictures at the eastern and g^Jf^ » west coast Paramount studios, has signed a five year contract to direct Paramount pictures. He will be in charge of the first Betty Compson production, entitled "At the End of the World," an adaptation of a European stage suc- cess of the same name by Ernest Klein. BOOMING "LYING LIPS." A special advertising campaign is heing conducted by ihc Capitol for "Lying Lips," next week's attrac- tion. The feature is put out as a special hy Thomas H. Ince with an all-star JJJt, including House Peters, Florence Vidor and Joseph Kilgour. Hj ** Rothafel is preparing an Elaborate presentation. $50,000 STUDIO FIRE. Los Angeles, March 2. An explosion and fire at the Chester studios Saturday morning caused damage amounting to $f>0,- 000. The blaze started in the cut- ting room and spread to the film vault Thomas McOoverfl, one of the cut- ters, was severely burned. A num- ber of comedies and travel pictures were destroyed. Simultaneous with the completion and occupation of the Hobertson- Cole home office building, 723 Sev- enth avenue. New York city, comes word from Los Angeles of the com- pletion of the Robertson-Cole Stu- dios, which were begun in the spring and part of which was first used several months ago. The en- now virtually com- use. John E. Storey, assistant to Elmer Pearson, director of Pathe ex- changes, has been appointed sales manager for the reorganized Asso- ciated Exhibitors, Inc., assuming his new duties March 1. E. A. Eschmann, feature sales manager of Pathe, succeeded Storey as as- sistant to the director of exchanges. Katherine Hillflter, who made the American titling for "Passion," is at work on another special produc- tion which was made principally in Europe, although some of the for- eign actors employed were brought to America for the concluding scenes of the story. First National will handle the special feature, "Peck's Bad Boy," starring little Jackie Coogan, who played the orphan child in Chap- lin's "The Kid " FIGHT STATE rpTr XATRE TAX. Los JL.ii clcs, March 3. A state tax on theatre tickets is proposed by the administration in thj event that the King tax bill is defeated. The press has been put- ting up a fight against the King tax measure. Metro Pictures Corp. will remove its executive offices to Loew's State theatre building, having sublet its present offices in the Longacre building to the National Drug Stores Co. the Palace, London, early next month. Sir James will be present in person. Dorothy Da Hon has been selected to play the leading feminine role in Cecil DeMille's next all-star production. There are 19,966 picture houses hi U. S. and Canada, according to a new census by the publishers of the Julius Cahn-Ous Hill guide. They are listed by States as follows: Alabama, 191; Arizona, 97; Ar- kansas, 263; California, 679; Colo- rado. 273; Connecticut, 239; Dela- ware. 85; District of Columbia, 60; Florida, 110; Georgia, 220; Idaho, 169; Illinois, 917; Indisna, 626; Iowa, 278; Kansas, 439; Kentucky, 262; Louisiana, 240; Maine, 277; Maryland, 192; Massachusetts, 570; Michigan, 646; Minnesota, 646; Mississippi, 102; Missouri, 844; Montana, 163; Nebraska, 498; Ne- vada, 80; New Hampshire, 128; New Jersey, 468; New Mexico, 82; New York, 1,716; North Carolina, 107; North Dakota, 311; Ohio. 1,772; Oklahoma, 849; Oregon, 243; Penn- sylvania, 1,749; Rhode Inland, 49; South Carolina, 115; South Dakota, 242; Tennessee. 198; Texas, 826; Utah, 161; Vermont, 48; Virginia, 283; Washington, 353; West Vir- ginia, 189; Wisconsin, 524; Wyom- ing, 67; Territory of Alaska, 28; Territory of Hawaii, 44; Canada, 679; total, 19,966. TERRISS QUITS VITAGRAPH. W. A. Brady addressed Los An-|n;«,*^ ♦« Ul« »-^ ---'■*« ' "■ ■ «-»-« eles theatre owners on censorship I D,r#ctor *° Jo,n International 8tsff. gt this week. W. K. Ziegfeld Is seeking a Broad- way theatre for 'The Black Pan- ther's Cub," starring Florence Beed. A two-reel Bebe Daniels subject, "The Savage," is to be offered to state righters. The Pathe Exchange, heretofore at Little Rock, Ark., has boon trans- ferred to Memphla Fred Niblo Is to direct a special production for J* Parker Read, Jr., the name of which has not been divulged. The secret marriage of Carmel Myers to I. O. Kornblum, which took place July 16, 1919, was revealed this week. Jack Plckford, who wns forced by illness to halt work. Is better. In Trenton, N. J, .Sunday films are putting up a hard fight for free- dom, but up to now have mado no progress. In Albany, however, there seems to be a friendly attitude tow- ard pictures on the part of Governor Miller. Tom Terriss, for the last three years the principal director for Vltagraph, has severed his connec- tion with that organization and has becomo affiliated with The Inter- national Film Co., for whom he will at once commence work upon a special production, the title of which will be announced later. Mr. Terriss' last two specials foi Vita were "Trumpet Island" and "Dead Men Tell No Tales." His next release will be David Belasco'a "The Heart of Maryland." "Dream Street," the new Griffith production, will open at the Central theatre, New York, April 3. HARING BLUMENTHAL HOUSE Harlng A Blumenthal, who re- cently purchased a piece of prop- erty at 138th street and Brook ave- nue, Bronx, from the estate of Ed- ward Sarroll, of which John P. O'Brien is executor, plan the erec- tion of a new theatre on the land, with a sealing capacity of 2,6*6 at an estimated cost of $400,000. The price of the property was $100,000. The new owners are comph ting a similar house at Belmont and Tre- mont avenues, Bronx. William DeMille's Paramount production of Sir James H. Barrie's play "What Every Woman Knows" will have its ttugUsh fieiniejt * l William All^n White, author of "In the Heart of a Fool," Joins a woman critic in her assertion the picture was had. He says, under the court ruling, ht> sold all author- ity over the story when he sold the film rights, and that the producers made "a nasty sex thing" of it. "Playthings of Destiny," Is tho title of Anita Stewart's latest film, Instead of "The Tornado." Herbert Bawlinson ploys lead to Miss Stew- art. JAPAN FOR COAST MARKET Dos Angeles. March 2. K. Mukaeda, representing the Oriental Film Co. of T<»kio, is fostering a movement to mnke Dos Angeles the center of the market for pictures for the Orient. The Japanese film man, who Is now here, states that the trip to New York Is too great a hardship after the trip across the Pacific. He has closed with J. Parker Beed, Jr„ for a number of Louise Glaum specials for his company. .