Show World (May 1909)

THE SHOW WORLD 7 Aha! And the Villain Still Pursued Him!” shipping rooms. In these cases we found that the exhibitor had taken service from so-called Independent exchanges who were either furnish¬ ing them with duped goods or some of the shoddy, dead film which was purchased and shipped into this coun¬ try during the interim following the consummation of the Trust and prior to the first release of International product. These goods were pur¬ chased at from one to three cents a foot, from which fact the exhibitor may know of the unreasonable profit his patronage has been affording such exchanges. Exhibitors Enlightened. Slowly, but surely, the great army of American exhibitors i s becoming enlightened. It is no longer willing to be driven like so many sheep, willy, nilly, at the beck and call of a grasping shepherd. Since the tocsin of independence was sounded the rank and file has felt the throbbing of the pulse of its own independent Every man of affairs, and particu¬ larly those who have occupied an ex¬ ecutive position in the amusement business, is acquainted with the tac¬ tics of the self appointed tale-bearer, who, to ingratiate himself into the favor of the man higher up, will in¬ variably bring him the kind of news which he thinks will be most pleas¬ ing to his ear and not the kind from which a proper estimate of conditions > can be gained. I think 1 may say, without living accused of egotism, that probably no single individual in the show business has a better opportunity of keeping in touch with current events in the profession of entertainment than my¬ self. Through my various connec- i tion^located as they are in every city and town in the United States, I can, i( necessary, within a single hour, by means of the long distance tele¬ phone and the telegraph, be placed in possession of instant information cov- j cring every channel of the amuse- | ment business in which I am inter¬ ested. [Years of experience have taught me the value of reliable infor- i mation. [ Lying henchmen have been the cause of the downfall of many a noble .institution and history is re- t plete with • generalship outdone by a I weakness in the ranks. The Trust may not yet have found time to strengthen its various de- ! ten jMF t0 roc k f° r each founda¬ tion of Sts structure; it may be handi- ■j ca pped, as too many an enterprise has been in the past, with incompetent servants—men of too little experi¬ ence to know a film from a silken I nbbon.lCertain I am that its scouts ■ have been poorly chosen and that they have given me an advantage un¬ sought by their employers. Did I not feel impregnable in my position I ■ would not thus dare to show my hand to my [opponents, or rather, expose the weakness of their own. Rumors are Rampant. It is really amusing to me to learn the rumors which have been circu- 1 atet ! °ver the land, finding their in- ception in the minds of designing in¬ dividuals, not only the underlings of •he trust, but those much higher up who ought to know better. oo long has the exhibitor been a Pawn for the chess playing magnate, f not sur P risin g if a number 01 them have been deceived into be- much for me, and show what their losses are compared to our weekly gains. No Price Cutting. It is a very gratifying reflection to know that it has not been necessary for us to do any price cutting to get our business to its present healthy condition and maintain it there. Are the Trust manufacturers as clear of conscience upon this point as I am? Since the inception of our company we have insisted upon the exhibitor paying the exchange a fair price for service and we also made the state¬ ment that the best films would win and get the price; a fact which has been proved by our experience. We also asked the film exchange man to tote fair with the exhibitor and furnish him with the Internation¬ al product for which he contracted. We also asked the exhibitor to cor¬ respond with us in person, if, in his mind, there was a doubt that he was not getting our goods. We have found this suggestion a good means of locating exhibitors who were not playing fair, for we have had letters from moving picture showmen giving us the titles of supposedly Interna¬ tional product which never saw our blood. Imposition upon exhibitors is done for and a sympathv and co-op¬ eration with their wants and needs has lifted a great weight from their shoulders. The time when profits can be made in the sale of shoddy stuff is nearing its final chapter in the an¬ nals of motography. From the chaos of slavery the In¬ ternational company has led the way to the cosmos of good service, clean conditions and a higher quality of film subjects than the country has ever known. Film Exchange License Cancelled. Pittsburg, Pa., April 27. The license of the American Film Exchange of this city was cancelled today by the Motion Picture Patents Company, for alleged violation of agreements. Poor Business for Clansman. Urbana, Ill., April 27. The Clansman company jumped from Kansas City, Mo., to Urbana on Monday and from Urbana to Ander¬ son, Ind., on Tuesday. Business has been poor for four weeks past.— BROWN. A TIMELY TALK ON PROGRESS By J. J MURDOCK. THE LAEMMLE FILM SERVICE Headquarters: 196-198 Lake Street, Chicago MINNEAPOLIS PORTLAND EVANSVILLE OMAHA SALT L ■ ; WINNIPEG TWO HU8TLJNO C.KAM.N OFPICS. MONTREAL AND A BRAND NEW BRANCH IN DENVER,'"cOLORADO lieving some of the wild tales that are afloat, and for the benefit of those ex¬ hibitors who have been mis-informed regarding the status of the Interna¬ tional company, I wish to state that the safest place to come for depend¬ able information is to headquarters. A visit to our shipping rooms would quickly dispel any doubts in this di- To those members of the trust who beiieved that we would not get one- third of the trade of this country, I extend a cordial invitation, to visit, not only our shipping room, but, if they are still in doubt after an inves¬ tigation there, they are welcome to examine our books. But I will wager a - hundred dollars for any charity, that they would not agree to do as Th« opinion which prevails in the east that the Independent movement had its inception in the west, through the I nternational Projectin g and Produc¬ ing company, would be of short dura- MARVIN ALMOST GETS A REAL LOOP HOUSE (Continued from Page 3.) Just how this plan will work is enig¬ matical, but I’m willing to make the experiment. I have not signed any¬ body for any of the companies, thus far, and will probably not consider that for several weeks yet. Quite a number of my players became strong favorites and may be signed again. I “It was suggested to me that I might find it profitable to keep open during the summer with a series of light comedy bills. It has been my experience that a ‘series’ of any kind of bills does not pay. The repertoire people have the right idea—that is the wise ones; they hold their comedy until the closing night. There is a pe¬ culiar psychological fact about come¬ dies; take the repertoire show, for example; if it plays its comedy early in the week, the following bills will not draw; if it holds its comedy un¬ til the end of the week, the public will say: ‘Why didn’t you play that piece Monday; we could have seen it two or three times.’ The truth of the matter is that the comedy leaves nothing to talk about; it leaves no problem to be discussed; it is com¬ plete in itself; it leaves the audience mentally satisfied.” Regarding the Association. Mr. Marvin was asked how the new Stock Managers’ Association would work in a situation such as presented in this city, where Marvin controls three houses and is a member of the association and Sam P. Gerson has another and is also a member of the association. “There will be no difficulty on that score whatsoever,” said Mr. Marvin, "While it was agreed that members of the association should have a vote for each house they control, it would practically disrupt the combination, so far as this city is concerned, if I were to claim that right. I believe that for the good of the business, lo¬ cally, as well as elsewhere, I am do¬ ing no more than my duty in waiving my right and entering into an equita¬ ble arrangement with the one opposi¬ tion house here.” New Film Device. One of the nicest improvements for the moving picture operators is the Wonderful Film Steadier. This little device makes a perfect picture, re¬ gardless of how old the film may be or how badly a machine is worn. The acre or condition of either has little effect on the working of the device and will prevent it from flickering and jumping. In time the feed holes in a film are worn large or the sprockets on your machine are worn small, causing the picture to jump up and down on the screen. It is stated from good auth¬ ority that this will relieve people’s eyes when looking at the screen and be a fine asset to the industry in gen- This film steadier is put on the market by the Chicago Film Ex change. Rorick’s To Open. Elmira, N. Y., April 29. Rorick’s theater will open May 24 with the Rorick’s opera company in Robin Hood, the season continuing until September 11, with a weekly change of bill. Manager Herbert Salinger has established temporary headquarters in New York City where the strongest company in the history of Rorick’s is being signed. A record- breaking season is anticipated.— BEERS. Laid Off Two Days. The Lyman Twins played to such bad business on the opening night of their recent engagement at the Virginia the¬ ater in Wheeling that the company laid off for the other two days on which it was booked to appear at that house.