The Moving Picture World (October 1907)

THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD. 485 suits of malefactors are by far the most popular of all nickel deliriums. You may see snatch-purses, burglars and an infinite variety of criminals hunted by the police and the mob in almost any nickelet you have the curiosity to visit. The scenes of these thrilling chases occur fn every quarter of the globe, from Cape Town, to Medicine Hat The speed with which pursuer and pur- sued run is marvelous. Never are you cheated by a mere sprint or straightaway flight of a few blocks. The men who "fake" these moving pictures seem impelled by a moral obligation to give their patrons their full nickel's worth. I have seen a dozen of these kinetoscope fugitives run at least 40 miles before they collided with a fat woman carrying an umbrella, who promptly sat on them and held them for the puffing constabulary. It is in such climaxes as these that the nickel delirium rises to its full height. Young and old follow the spectacular, course of the flee- ing culprit breathlessly. They' have seen him strike a pretty young woman and tear her chain-purse from her hand. Of course it is in broad daylight and in full view of the populace. Then In about one-eighth of a second he is off like the wind, the mob is at his heels. In a quarter of a second a half-dozen policemen have joined in the precipitate rush. Is.it any wonder that the lovers of melodrama are delighted ? And is it not possible that the pickpockets in the audience are laughing in their sleeves and get- ting a prodigious amount of fun out of it ? Of course the proprietors of the nickelets a'nd nickelodeons make as much capital out of suggestiveness as possible, but it rarely goes beyond a hint or a lure. For instance, you will come to a little hole in the wall before which there is an ornate sign bearing the legend: FRESH FROM PARIS ., Very Naughty Should this catch the eye of a Comstock he would immediately enter the place to gather evidence. But he would never apply for a warrant. He would find a "very naughty" boy playing pranks on a Paris street—annoying blind men, tripping up gendarmes, and amusing himself by every antic the ingenuity of the Paris street gamin can conceive. This fraud on the prurient, as it might be called, is very common, and it has led a great many people, who derive their impressions from a glance at externals, to conclude that these resorts are really a menace to morals. You will hear and see much worse in some high-priced theaters than in these moving-picture show places. In some of the crowded quarters of the city the nickelet is cropping up almost as thickly as the saloons, and if the nickel delirium continues to maintain its hold there will be, in a few years, more of these cheap amusement places than saloons. In one place I visited, a band of pirates were whirled through a maze of hair-raising adventures that could not have occurred in a home of melodrama in less than two hours.— Barton W. Currie in Harper's Weekly. We are in a position to deny specifically the report current in local trade', circles for the past few weeks that Mr. Nicholas Power had retired from the moving picture business. This report sprang probably from the incorporation of the Nicholas Power Company, on August 1, to carry on the business previously carried by Mr. Power individually. The incorporation of the business is, however, not to be regarded as indicating any inten- tion on Mr. Power's part to retire. On the contrary, Mr. Power retains the control of the company and all its policies are framed with his co-operation and approval. The formation of the Nicholas Power Company was determined upon for the purpose Of handling, to better advantage, the very large demand for Power's Cameragraph and leave Mr. Power free from the respon- sibilities of active management of the business, so as to afford him opportunity to develop some improvements in moving picture apparatus upon which he has been at work for some time past. The nature of these improvements was not disclosed, as Mr. Power said his experiments had not been completed and discus- sion would be premature. We gathered, however, that the experi- ments were on decidedly novel lines and may result in some wide departures from the accepted moving picture practice of to-day. Another cause for the rumor may be the absence of the Misses Power from the office. The Trade knows how well and faithfully they served their father in this capacity, leaving him free to at- tend to his experiments and superintend the' factory. When the above arrangements were completed, it left them free to take a well-earned vacation, which they are utilizing by touring the States. At time of writing they are at Seattle and journey from there to Arizona, San Francisco, Los Angeles, etc., expecting to return about November 15. We have still a few articles in type but are compelled to leave them out for want of space. News of the Nickolets. Will C. Barker, of the Warwich Trading Company, London, England, is over and we spent a delightful time together last Friday and Saturday. Mr. Barker has 'interviewed the trade in New York and gathered some very good impressions of the con- ditions. Saturday night he left for Canada, where he expects to stay for two or three weeks, returning to New York for a week or two to complete the work of his mission: Any letters addressed to him care our office will be handed to him on his return here. * * * THE ELMENDORF LECTURES. Those who attended the course of lectures given last season by Mr. Dwight L. Elmendorf will be glad to learn that he will pre- sent an All-American series during the Fall and Winter. The first lecture will be on that most interesting of subjects, "Panama," and will be profusely illustrated not only with most exquisite colored views, but also with motion pictures taken per- sonally by Mr. Elmendorf and showing this gigantic work actually in progress. The other lectures of the course are "Old Mexico," "The Grand Canon," "The Pacific Coast," and "Yellowstone Park." « ♦ * East Northern avenue, Bessemer, Col., is to have a moving picture show soon. J. H. Roitz is fitting up a theater in his new building at the corner of Eiler and East Northern avenues and will put on the first show about October I. The theater will have seating room for about ISO people. * * * Our Philadelphia correspondent sends the following: The number of stores on Market street that are being altered into moving picture establishments is assuming such proportions that the merchants along that thoroughfare are considering the advisability of forming an organization that will institute pro- ceedings in order to- determine if such.places of amusement can- not be placed under certain restrictions. As matters now stand there is absolutely no law under which the places can be taxed as theaters are, although the proprietors of some of them have taken out licenses as mercantile establishments. The merchants' objections to the picture shows is that they cheapen the street, and that the unusual number of them is one of the principal causes of the increased rentals on Market street. These places can readily pay rents running from $10,000 to $25,000 a year. The latter sum is paid for a corner store. Business men claim that no retail store can pay such rentals and live, and as these places are springing up so rapidly there is no prospect for a year or two of rentals becoming lower. * * * Theater managers feel that the failure of the city authorities properly. to restrict the picture shows is decidedly unfair to them. Theatrical licenses cost $500 a year, and in addition the building laws in regard to the erection of theaters are so ab- solutely rigid in regard to the use of expensive materials that the cost of construction is more expensive than any other kind of a building. Politics, it is claimed, are largely responsible for the.failure of the Police Bureau to take any action in regard to these places, many of which are poorly equipped with exits. In case of a fire or panic at some of them the danger of loss to life and limb would be very great. At the last session of the Legislature a bill was introduced to license such establishments with restrictions as to their con- struction. There was every prospect of the bill passing, but the same political influence that was effective in the city was suffici- ently potential to have the bill smothered in committee. There are at present 12 moving picture establishments on Mar- ket street between Eighth and Juniper. In addition to these leases have recently been negotiated for three more, with the ■ prospects that as long as the public demands this form of amuse- ment and stores become vacant, owing to business men being unable to pay the big rentals demanded, more such establishments will open up! The locations of the places now on Market street are the southeast corner of Eighth street. No. 835, the northwest corner of Ninth street, Nos. 915, 923, 926, 938, mi, 1203, 1215, 1311 and 1319 Market street These places are paying a yearly rental of more than $200,000 and occupy some of the most desirable busi- ness locations on that street. * * * S. Lubin, of this city, has just gained possession of the Park Theater, Brooklyn, N. Y., and will use the house in the chain of amusement places under his control. The Park was formerly under the management of Colonel William E. Sinn, but since