Exhibitors Herald (Jul-Sep 1922)

uly 22, 1922 EXHIBITORS HERALD 53 Great Line of Aids Are Offered With a view of giving the exhibitor the best possible aid for exploitation purposes, Fox Film Corporation has prepared for the j season of 1922-23 a great line of posters and newspaper aids. Bearing in mind that the fourteen specials to be published during the coming season are among the greatest ever produced by the Fox company, Mr. Fox has made the most elaborate arrangements for ! their presentation. For "Nero," which has played to capacity audiences, a number of excellent lithographs are offered to the exhibitor. There are two styles of striking 24-sheet stands. Two six-sheets, three three-sheets, three | one-sheets and two half-sheet cards have been designed along the same artistic lines. The lavish scale upon which "A Fool There Was," another Fox special, has been produced, lends itself admirably to a striking, impressive line of lithographs and pictorial display. Throughout the series of posters used for this pic| tore the vampire theme has been emphasized. In all the posters for "The Fast Mail" the speed theme has been judiciously exploited. The slogan, "Speed Counts," has been used in an eye-catching 24-sheet, and is carried extensively through the advertising. "Silver Wings" will have the same careful preparation of advertising aids. The 24-sheet stand for this picture is especially attractive. An elaborate lobby and pictorial display has been prepared in connection with the presentation of "Monte Cristo." On a striking 24sheet stand a picture of Edmund Dantes, with his arms outstretched, and the immortal words, "The World Is Mine," for caption, is the picture idea. I ; Special books have been prepared for the exhibitors to be used in connection with the presentation of William Farnum and Tom Mix. These books contain live newspaper stories, striking ads and elaborate scene cuts. Buys Best Sellers For Fox Features FROM the indications of last year and the announcements for the immediate future it is apparent that William Fox looms as one of the heaviest buyers of motion picture fiction in the market. This is considered sound policy. The expenses of production in these days are so heavy that to purchase a story or play that has already met with popular approval means greater success to the motion picture exhibitor. Upon this theory the Fox Film Corporation has been one of the most extensive buyers of best sellers and popular stories during the past year. The Fox preliminary announcements of the forthcoming year emphasize this fact. * * * During the last few months of the past season Fox Film Corporation purchased such best sellers as "West" by Charles Alden Seltzer, "The Roof Tree" by Charles Neville Buck, and "Lynch Lawyers," "The Buster" and "Heart of the Range" by William Patterson White. Another fine purchase was "In Calvert's Valley" by Margaret Prescott Montague. Among the purchased material for 1922 may be mentioned "Free Range Lanning" by George Owan Baxter. This western story instantly placed him among the biggest royalty-earning authors of the country. "Alcatraz," by Max Brand, is unique in that it is about a wild horse of the Western plains. The exclusive picture rights were bought for this by Mr. Fox for Tom Mix, and his famous horse Tony. "Shadow of the East" by E. M. Hull, author of the "Sheik." The enormous popularity of "The Sheik" a book that broke all records for book selling is so recent that the shrewd business instinct of Mr. Fox in buying this book from her pen is obvious. * * * "Truxton King" by George Barr McCutcheon. The novels of George Barr McCutcheon for years have steadily maintained a prominent position among the best sellers of each year. "The Splendid Outcast" by George Gibbs. George Gibbs has the unique distinction of being a very successful artist and illustrator as well as a writer of best selling fiction. "Mixed Faces" by Roy Norton, a story of adventure and love. "The Fanner" by Kenneth Perkins, a delightful story that was instantly assigned to Tom Mix. "One Way Trail" by Ridgwell Cullum, a thrilling Western story that has proven its success with heavy revenue for the book publishers. "Trooper O'Neill" by George Goodschild, a thrilling story of the lands adjoining the Arctic Circle. "Dr. Rameau," the famous French novel by George Ohmet. It will appear on the screen under the title of "My Friend the Devil." "A Self-Made Man" by George Horace Lorimer. And to crown all of these heavy purchases in the market of best sellers, Mr. Fox acquired the exclusive motion picture rights to "If Winter Comes" by A. S. M. Hutchinson. * * * In the dramatic field Mr. Fox has purchased "The Fast Mail" by Lincoln J. Carter. This play has been and is the most successful melodrama that has ever been produced either in the United States or Great Britian. Forecasts Record Year for News Fox News starts off on what promises to be another highly successful season, which will, according to Don Hancock, director-inchief, break all past records. For many years the story of the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius was as a page of Greek mythology. Everyone knows that Vesuvius breaks out sporadically, but Americans who have never been abroad can hardly imagine what a marvelous spectacle it presents. It was up to Fox News to let the people of the United States see a real volcano hard at work. Last March, Russell Muth, star stunt cameraman of the Fox forces, was sent to Italy to get pictures of Vesuvius in action. Muth, on his arrival in Italy, leased an airplane and waited for the volcano to "shoot." When it did let loose, the plane, with Muth on board operating his camera, dipped and swirled about the mouth of the crater with the result that the cameraman was rewarded with scenes of the great volcano such as have seldom been seen before. Fox News, in addition to showing these spectacular scenes, displayed enterprise in its fast work on the wedding of Princess Mary and burial of the Unknown Soldier. Another beat scored by the managers of the Fox News during the year was the picture taken of that wonderful painting of the war, the "Pantheon de la Guerre." This great allegorical picture, which was painted in Paris by fifty of the world's greatest artists, is on exhi | bition in the French capital. A remarkable news reel scoop was scored when pictures of the race up Mt. Wilson, Calif., were made by eight Fox cameramen. In this race a young man, with iron nerves, drove a racing automobile up the steep mountain side for a distance of nine miles. Along the steep incline are 144 jackknife turns and on the outside of the road drops of from two to three thou j sand feet. Despite these hazards the drive was made in twenty-seven minutes. Eight operators were stationed at various points of vantage along the road in order that a complete photographic record of the feat could be made. During the year the Fox news staff was greatly enlarged and now numbers over 1,000 operators throughout the world. Twelve of these are stationed in the New York office. As a stimulus, cameramen are offered yearly prizes for the best child picture, the best stunt picture and the best animal picture. Additional prizes are offered the man sending in the greatest number of exclusive news events.