Exhibitors Herald (Mar-Jun 1919)

CTIN^DLTINWTILM NEWS Building Campaign Gains Momentum Throughout Canada New $200,000 Theatre for Toronto — Williams and Morley to Build Messrs. Jule and J. J. Allen of Toronto, had barely finished their beautiful Bloor Street theatre in Toronto when they announced that another large theatre would be erected by them on St. Clair avenue, near Dufferin street, Toronto, to cost $200,000 and to seat 2,000 people. This house will have a frontage of 135 feet on St. Clair ave. Unlike several houses which the Aliens have recently opened, the new theatre will have a bancony and which will hold 500 persons. The Aliens will carry out a big building campaign throughout Canada during the year. Before next January more than fifteen new theatres will be under construction in Canada under their direction. The statement is made that each of these new theatres will cost from $125,000 to $300,000 each. The Aliens are not alone in the theatre building boom in Canada, however. The Paramount Theatres Limited, which is a subsidiary of Regal Films, Limited, is fast extending its chain of theatres in Eastern Canada. Alexander Pantages, the Western theatre man, is extending the scope of his operations to Eastern Canada. Announcement is made of the reorganization of Griffin theatre interests in Canada under the name of Griffin Enterprises, Limited, for the purpose of acquiring further houses and of constructing several lew theatres. Harvey Williams and Rex W. Morley, two Toronto exhibitors, have arranged to build an 1,800 seat theatre in the Beach District of Toronto. This house, which will be started on April 1, will take in the Peter Pan Theatre at Queen street East and Waverly road but the new structure will be easily three times the size of the old house. R. Kershaw has rebuilt and reopened the Osborne theatre in Winnipeg and the Loew theatre enterprises have started to build new theatres at London and Ottawa. The Monarch and Avenue theatres at Winnipeg are to be reconstructed and improved and many other theatres throughout the Dominion are to be rebuilt, replaced or changed. Manager Laurie Uses Clever Advertising Manager Archie Laurie of the Strand Theatre, Ottawa, Ontario, used clever advertising copy in the Ottawa Journal to announce the presentation of the first episode of "The Master Mystery." the serial in which Houdini is starred. The first big line in the advertisement was "The Day" and this was followed by the statement that "In the History of Motion Pictures the Day of Days has Come — Motion Picture Fans who see the Houdini Serial will have their day. The Day of Days is Monday, March 10. The Serial is entitled "The Master Mystery." etc. The name Houdini was printed in large type on a line by itself whenever it was used throughout the large advertisement. The arrangement was not confusing and the text was attractive. Regal Gets Weekly Following closely the announcement that Regal Films, Limited, of Toronto, would distribute Select Pictures throughout Canada conies the announcement that the Regal company will handle the Ford Educational monthly throughout the Dominion. This arrangement started on March 1. It has been stated that the Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited, had arranged for the services of cameramen in various parts of the Dominion to take scenic and topical views for the Canadian edition of the Ford Educational. The picture will be handled through all six offices of the company and a nominal fee of only $1 per booking is made. Specialty Makes Record The Specialty Film Import, Limited, Canadian Pathe Distributors, Montreal, created a record in the matter of prints of a picture for Canadian usage when twenty-two prints of the 1,000 foot reel showing the burial of the late Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the great Canadian statesman, were made and rushed to a dozen different cities of the country within a few hours after the funeral was held. This number of prints was exceeded on only one other occasion in Canada when thirty-three prints of the Victory Loan pictures were made for Canadian consumption. That was for a patriotic purpose, however. ADROIT HANDLING OF PATRONS COMPLAINTS DRAWS LARGE CROWDS Will M. Elliott, manager of the Regent Theatre Toronto's magnificent do,wntown film house, apparently has the courage of his convictions. After receiving a rather scorching letter from a patron regarding the newspaper advertisement for "The Common Cause" in which exception was taken to the statement that it was a picture that would appeal to Canadians, Manager Elliott exhibited the letter in the lobby of the Regent along with several local reviews of the picture. . .'. One statement in. the letter was as follows:—"This is not the kind of advertisement that appeals to decent intelligent people." Mr. Elliott therefore put the heading "What Intelligent People Say" over the reviews in two of the local newspapers while "What Some Silly Ass Says" was the heading over the complaint. The Regent played to capacity business all during the week when "The Common Cause" was ,the attraction and the theatre also was filled to the limit three times daily during the week of the presentation of "Virtuous Wives." During the first week in March ..the' big attraction was Bert Lytell, the Toronto actor, in "The Spender." Plaster Causes Scare Nearly a i panic was caused at the Dominion Theatre, Ottawa, Ontario, on Saturday, March 1, when the falling of a small piece of plaster caused an excitable person to raise the cry of "fire". There was an immediate rush to the exits and an alarm was turned in to fire headquarters. The theatre was crowded with man}' children and they began a sudden rush to the exits until halted by attendants and guardians. Not the slightest trace of fire was found by the firemen. Several patrons sustained minor bruises during the confusion. When Manager Lavoie of the National Theatre, Ottawa, Ontario, secured a second run of "The Common Cause" the war picture made under the auspices of the British-Canadian Recruiting Mission in the U. S., immediately after the feature had had its first local run at the Imperial Theatre, arrangements were made for a special presentation of the feature at the National Theatre on Sunday, March !). for the benefit of returned soldiers. The latter were admitted without charge for the performance. Drnmntlc moment from the thirteenth episode of the FrnnclH Ford aerial, "The Silent Mystery" Midland Theatre Burns The motion picture theatre at Midland, Ontario, was totally destroyed by fire on Saturday, March 1, from an unknown cause. The theatre had recently been remodeled. It was operated by A. Bugg. A portion of the building was occupied by a drug store which was also destroyed by the flames. The loss is estimated at $25, 000. 47