Exhibitors Herald (Dec 1924-Mar 1925)

38 EXHIBITORS HERALD February 7, 1925 “Wampas” Annual Frolic Will Have Many Unique Features Several Changes in Line-up of Officers — J. D. Williams Arrives on Coast — Charles Ray to Make His Own Productions By HARRY HAMMOND BEALL Hollywood, January 26. — With an election in the offing and the annual frolic scheduled for February 5, Hollywood publicists who wear the “Wampas” emblem in their lapel, or would wear a Wampas emblem if their was a Wampas emblem, are in a fever of excitement. Norman Manning, Ray Leek and Pete Smith are the big three at the helm. Manning as director general. Leek as general manager, and Pete Smith as grand manpulator of the purse strings. George Landy has supplanted Garrett Graham as publicity director, Roy Miller has replaced Landy in charge of exploitation, while Jeff Lazarus goes serenely on in charge of outdoor advertising. T^NOCH VAN PELT is assembling a -L.' “wow” of a program, Mark Larkin will be in charge of the floor, Sam Cohn is the business genius on the “Midnight Wampas,” the official souvenir. Si Snyder heads the ticket committee, Joe Jackson is acting as official ambassador in inviting stars to participate, and all in all everybody is “doing their stuff.” So far as the election is concerned Mark Larkin and Harry Brand are lining up their fences for the presidential tussle; Tom Engler appears to have a slight edge over Garrett Graham for vice president; Bert Dorris and Arthur Hagerman will battle for the secretarial fountain pen ; and Ray Coffin and Phil Gersdor, are to fight it out at the polls for treasurer. * * Plenty of Hollywood folks were at the depot last Monday morning to welcome J. D. Williams and William pRASitR, two figures of film prominence, who arrived on the same Sante Fe limited. Jay-dee came west to check up on Valentino production activities for Ritz-Carlton of which he is president, and Fraser was returning to Hollywood after a European journey, spent investigating conditions in the interests of Harold Lloyd, his nephew and for whom he is business manager. * * * Tom Mix is rushing on his latest production at Fox with all possible speed. The reason is that he wants to hop a rattler from Hollywood in time to reach DeBois, Pa., by February 6, when Dad and IMother Mix celebrate their golden wedding anniversary. Whether Tom will have a drawing room large enough to accommodate “Tony,” his trusty steed, is as yet unannounced. * * * B. A. Holway, formerly advertising head of the Palmer Photoplay Corporation who has been in Seattle for the past few months, is back in Hollywood once again, and has opened free lance publicity headquarters in one of the newer skyscrapers of the boulevard. “B. A.” acted as managing editor of the Midnight Wampas, the official souvenir of each Wampas Frolic, last year at San Francisco and held down the editorial sanctum so well that he was chosen again this year for the same post. * * * Harry Beaumont, Warner Brothers’ stellar director, is already booking passage for a European journey next summer. He has had the travel bug for a long time, but continuous work with picture after picture for, Warner’s has delayed his sailings. He is now making “Rose of the World,” his latest feature under his present contract, and then it’s Harry, the Missus, and the famous Beaumont twins for the transAtlantic junket. Theatres have had stars make personal appearances in connection with their films, and sometimes directors, but it remained for George Landy, the fair haired boy p. a. of Hollywood to persuade Julius K. Johnson of the Forum theatre that he should stage a night in honor of Sada Cowan and Howard Higgin, who wrote the script for “Smouldering Fires,” the attraction of the week at the West Pico street playhouse. * * Sol Lesser is back in Hollywood once more, and announces “The Winning of Barbara Worth” as his next feature for Principal. Sol, with Harry Arthur, Jr., general manager of West Coast theatres, Inc., doesn’t seem to be at all “high hatted” over the fact that he and Harry were presented to President Coolidge. He’s always just the same old Sol as when he sold cornucopias as a kid in a nickelodeon in San Francisco in the early days. s|c * Hollywood has it that Marshall Neilan is definitely out as the director for Marj' Pickford’s next picture. He is back at work on the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer lot and it looks as if he intended to stay there. It is said that he and Mary could not agree on the story situation, and there you are. He was to have been loaned by M-G-M to the Pickford-Fairbanks outfit for this one picture. “Mickey” made two of Mary’s greatest successes, by the way, you remember “Stella Maris” and “Daddy Long Legs.” ^ ^ Can you imagine how tickled Charles Ray is to be back at his own studio on Fleming street once more? He will make his own productions there, where “The Courtship of Miles Standish” sort of put him on the rocks, as it were. Jerome Storm, who handled Charlie in sixteen of his most successful pictures, will direct again, and Joe de Grasse will supervise all production activities. Simpler, homelier, pictures, not to cost in excess of a hundred thousand will have sway under the new policy. * jN >|t “Don Q,” which is Douglas Fairbanks’ next vehicle, is to be a sequel to “The Mark of Zorro,” built up from the novel, “Don Q’s Love Story,” by Hasketh Pritchard. The scenario was prepared by Jack Cunningham. The story carries the adventures of Zorro from California back to Spain in the middle nineteenth century. Doug will play the dual role of Zorro, the father, and Don Q, the son, even as he did in “The Mark of Zorro.” ♦ * * M. Cohen, publisher of Filmland, Batavia, and of Motion Picture Operator, Semarang, Java, was a guest this week of Julius Bernheim, general manager at Universal City. ALBANY, N. Y. — Lezv Fisher, of Tricon■^deroga, was in town during the week, and welcome as usual. . . . And so was Harry Berinstein, head of the Berinstein chain of houses, who came up from Elmira to look over his theatres in this section .... Bob Wagner, of the Gateway in Little Falls, personally announces his vaudeville acts on amateur night, and, according to all accounts, he delivers the goods. . . Sam Goldstein, of Springfield, Mass., was along Film Row during the week, on his way to the State theatre in Utica George Roberts took a nice long train ride during the week, going up to Buffalo to sit on the arbitration board, and then coming back to Albany to look after affairs at the Colonial. He drew the trip on account of being associated with the Berinstein houses in Elmira Charles IValder, the new manager for Associated Exhibitors here, is planning to take his first trip to northern New York in a week or so Walter Roberts, of the Troy theatre, was along the Great White Way last week Meyer Schine, of Gloversville, was in Troy last week, doing a little more negotiating for the American theatre, which has been closed for the last three weeks .... Mike Friedman, of Schenectady, went to New York last week, but was no sooner there than he received a telephone message calling him back home Joe Saperstein, of the Griswold, in Troy, doesn’t overlook a bet these days. His latest is a “Johnny Evers Night” in connection with a baseball picture. Evers comes from Troy Noma Suckno is now signing the contracts for pictures at both the Albany and the Regent theatres . ... L. L. Connors, with theatres in Granville, Salem and Cambridge, was in town during the week for a meeting of the Film Board Wil liam Shirley, of the Strand theatre in Schenectady, had his troubles with the cold last week, when a teakettle, being used in exploiting ‘Hot Water” froze up Honors came to T. Roy Kieffer, of the Troy theatre last Sunday, when he accompanied a well known organist on the violin, the selections being broadcast through Schenectady E. J. Wolfe, of Low ville, plans to enlarge the Bijou theatre there and double its seating capacity. . . . There are not many exhibitors who indulge in horseback riding. In Massena, N. Y., however, Victor A. Warren, owner of a theatre there, keeps several racing and saddle horses. The other morning a barn sheltering the animals caught fire, but the horses were removed by Mr. Warren’s caretaker shortly after he had discovered the fire in the loft of the ham. The building was completely destroyed. Pathe Adds Nine Radio Stations to System (.special to Exhibitors Herald) NEW YORK, Jan. 27. — Much comment has resulted from the movement made by Pathe to use a larger system of radio broadcasting stations which now numbers nineteen. Talks from each of these each week concerning the releases and adventures of cameramen have been received with approval, it is said. The nine stations added during the past week are; WFI of Philadelphia, WGR of Buffalo, WGPA at Baltimore, WFAA of Dallas, WBT at Charlotte, KAJ of Los Angeles KOA at Denver, KFPT at Salt Lake City, and KFEC of Portland, Ore.