Exhibitors Herald (Jan-Mar 1920)

EXHIBITORS HERALD Film Directors Are Hosts to Their New Officers at Banquet NEW YORK, January 20.— The first meeting since the current officers of the Motion Picture Directors' Association have been installed will take place here this evening. Instead of being held in their lodge rooms in Fifty-fifth Street, as usual, this time the directors will feast at a dinner tendered the newly elected men, as well as those retiring from office. It will be given at the monastery of the Friars' Club. Brother Sidney Olcott, who will be the principal speaker, will deliver a message to the members gathered regarding the conditions of the motion picture industry now existing in Europe. On the Pacific Coast, M. P. D. A. headquarters, Los Angeles, Brother Paul Scardon will also deliver a message. This will be from the New York lodge and it will enlighten the coast members regarding ambitions of the eastern brothers, as well as of achievements during the past year. Mr. Scardon left for the coast immediately after the meeting January 6th, at which election of officers for the year 1920 took place. Acceptances from nearly all New York members have already been received and the spirit of co-operation that is being shown James Vincent, the new director, is indicated by the following: "Telegram via Western Union — M .P. D. A. Sorry cannot attend meeting; am on my way to Florida. Will be with you in thought. (Signed) "George Fitzmaurice." ^Miiiuuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinininiiiiiiiiiiuii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiinniiiimni M. P. D. A. CHIEF J If I Were An Exhibitor — | By FR. BERNARD VAUGHAN | (An excerpt from a recent statement I on social problems by one of the | best known clerics in the world) 1 I'd love to run a motion picture | theatre myself — but I'd take care | | to elevate my people so that they | | would rise from sphere to sphere, | | not spiritually but humanly, to the I highest character. I I saw a film the other day called | | "Damaged Goods." It is a great | film. I hope it will teach every j | boy and girl to keep clear of vice. | | But I would go further and say | | that the motion picture ought to | have God in it. I don't mean that ■ | there should be no brightness or | | merriment and fun in the pic | | tures — we want plenty of that al I | ways — but that, where it can be j | done, they should put Him in. | Another thing about the cinema | | and its power for good. It keeps = 1 men and women out of saloons, | | and that is a lot in its favor. My | | pet aversion is the typical saloon | | or public house as we see it in | 1 England today. Men and women | | are, I suppose, driven to it in seek | | ing relief from the sordid slums in | | which they are forced to live. God | | knows, they have little enough | | happiness. inHnoNnunmuuMMW i Mircnrainiiwnnimmmw 4Kf J m JAMES \ I M I \ i Who WWW clciltil chh-f c\i<ii(I\ <■ of the * ork l.odKi of Motion I'l. turi 1)1 ri'i'liim A HMlfl t ion, < rrcllim (.i iirnc Irvlni;. Selznick Enterprises To Film "Who Am I?" Selznick Enterprises believes that the fact that "Who Am I?" a story originally published in the All-Story Magazine, is to be adapted to the screen, should be of interest to the reading public, especially. "Who Am I?" is a story purchased by Myron Selznick and was written by Max Brand, writer of fiction. The screen version of the story is to be made by the National Picture Theatres, Inc., and is the third of that company's productions for distribution through Select. In making the announcement Mr. Selznick said: "I have been watching the works of this author for some time. He has displayed much ingenuity in evolving interesting plots and I thought this especially true in the story that I have purchased. Good plots make the best pictures of course. I am sure the public will like this one." Shut Off Heat From Theatre at Neenah, Wis. NEENAH, WIS. — Through its action of shutting off the heat from the Neenah theatre building and preventing Miss Clara Neubauer, manager, from running regular motion picture shows there, the Neenah club has been made defendant in injunction proceedings. Award Theatre Contract TRENTON, N. J.— The Matthews Construction Company has been awarded the contract for the building of a $50,000 theatre at Princeton. The Princeton Theatre Company is the owner. 44 U nitedTriangle Deal Is Promise of Better Pictures and Service That the recently concluded negotiations as a result of which the exchanges and reissues of the Triangle Distributing Corp. passed into possession of the United Picture Productions Corp. will result in better motion pictures and better service to exhibitors is the gist of a statement by J. A. Berst, president of United. "I am very much gratified with the arrangement we have just made," stated Mr. Berst. "Assuming control of the Triangle exchanges will enable us to deal directly with the 3,200 theatres that we serve. Not only will it enable us to give, better service than was possible under our former method of operation, but we will be able to effect considerable saving which will go into more and better production. "Under the terms of our arrangement, we will control the distributing rights to all of the famous Triangle pictures, including the Griffith and lnce productions with such stars as William S. Hart, Douglas Fairbanks, Frank Keenan, Norma and Constance Talmadge, the Gish sisters, Dorothy Dalton, Louise Glaum, Charles Ray, Olive Thomas and the famous Mack Sennctt Keystone comedies. "This arrangement will be a direct benefit to every exhibitor member of the United Picture Theatres. The present revenue from Triangle pictures, with the additional revenue that will be made possible through greatly increased bookings, will enable us to operate economically and efficiently." Malcolm S. Boylan To Leave Universal LOS ANGELES, Jan. 20— Malcolm S. Boylan, assistant publicity director at Universal City, has resigned to go with G. B. Samuelson, Ltd., of London, an English corporation making pictures at Universal City. Boylan becomes chief exploitation director, and his contract is said to call for one of the highest salaries ever paid a publicity writer. Garrett Graham, a well known Los Angeles newspaper man, goes to Universal to succeed Boylan. C. J. Law Theatres Are Owned by Corporation SHELBY VILLE, ILL. — Incorporation papers have been filed by the Law theatre and Amusement company of Pana. The papers show a total value of $100,000 in preferred stock of which C. J. Law has i,960 shares valued at $25 each. Mr. Law conducts four theatres in Pana and Nokomis. The other stockholders live in Pana, Nokomis and St. Louis. To Build New Theatre At Ironwood in Spring IRONWOOD, MICH.— The Ironwood Amusement Company corporation has closed a deal for the Kearney building, where a $125,000 theatre will be built in the spring. In March one of the theatres operated by the corporation is to be taken over by O'Connell Lehnenn company, owners of the property.