Exhibitors Herald (Dec 1924-Mar 1925)

February 21, 1925 EXHIBITORS HERALD 33 ■jiJ'7 fjjbm /3«HfeiyW^ '^’VV' (ojd^ ^ 4£ U/^Ajh*i^/n, Iw/nmxZt^ ^ ^h. ^ (» etc 3 AAffuysX’ <1. 4jUne(M.MT9‘*-‘^^ 'iTtMjt^*^-^ XZ. You/^ /M i^lTe "To ©e Df^iE / iw<^ 6f €»6 ^ -fiaA <*^^z: /ux^ieji^ , fic4^vtf*ttt At JA4/n4L’ /Vrtt# rf£A« '''?^ <A a '€Jl sttyjlfunt Qyrt ~^tA e. t/^ <Xe.4>^ H©(ti <rt 1 o’eMo au. 'i?tidba^ ^ AaX^ Col A JtUL^^ytA Jey.'ur«^rtt, ^ -^eOM^ ^ti/mJt'. -^uiJt <r*v .-y^tiA. RaJyy 4^tfjc ^ a<M^ ^ d<iC <.yy ^ y^ 'fc/*' , O/*. ,«^ 't-* X/>^ ^ CxJ-^ii-fc, <4«9 /t*»< -CqX» Ov%^ ■^^*■'■***6 k ^ f2tojt£e;(/Lt,^ A typical invitation issued to guests at the Bowery Dance given by F. B. O. for the press, F, B. O, Bowery Party Proves Wow for Press (Special to Exhibitors Herald) NEW YORK, Feb. 10. — F. B. O. gave an unique party, in the form of a Bowery Dance, last Friday at the Whitman Bennett Studio'S, in Yonkers, where F. B. O.’s underworld melodrama, “Lilies of the Streets,” is being shot. The guests were representatives of the New York newspapers, trade journals and fan magazines. Invitations, written in typical underworld language, were sent out. The guests were taken to the studios in cars, and invited to participate in the huge Dance Hall scene, which Director Joseph Levering shot. Johnnie Walker, Virginia Lee Corbin, and Mrs. Mary E. Hamilton, the woman police chief, who is personally supervising the production. Col. H. C. S. Thompson, Nat Rothstein and Harry Osborne acted as hosts, and good ones. Refreshments and dancing followed the shooting of the big scene. Abolishes P. R, Office (Special to Exhibitors Herald) ATLANTA, GA., Feb. 10.— The position of Public Relations Representative, held for the past two years by DeSales Harrison, was abolished last week as a result of instructions issued some time ago from the headquarters of the Hays organization. Since the time that the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America absorbed the Atlanta office the work has been under the supervision of Colonel Jason S. Joy, secretary of the Committee on Public Relations. All records, data and Other properties have been transferred to his office in New York. Fresno House Begun (Special to Exhibitors Herald) SAN FRANCISCO, CAL., Feb. 10.— Ackerman & Harris will soon start construction on a new theatre in Fresno, at a cost of $250,000. The house, which will have a seating capacity of 2,000, has been completed so far as the designing is concerned, and the plans have already been placed in the hands of the contractors. Matre Attends Film Conference NEW YORK. — Frank J. Matre, vice-president of Associated Arts Corporation, is in New York to attend the annual meeting of the board of directors. He is accompanied by Mrs. Matre. Mr. Matre makes his headquarters in Chicago. Organized Exhibitor Figures in Fewer Arbitration Cases Official Says Members of Wisconsin League Are Learning How to Avoid Difficulty with Exchanges — “’Don’ts” Issued by Albany Film Board of Trade (Special to Exhibitors Herald) MILWAUKEE, WIS., February 10. — Members of the M. P. T. O. in Wisconsin are rapidly learning how to avoid difficulty with exchanges and accordingly are effecting a saving to themselves. This is the statement of Henry Staab, executive secretary of the M. P. T. O., who, to illustrate his statement, points to the fact that of ten cases confronting the Wisconsin arbitration board at its next meeting, only one is a member of the theatre owners organization and his case involves a minor point which is likely to be settled before the session is called. The other nine are non-members whose ranks have produced the greatest number of defendants in controversies with exchanges. “The secret of the situation is this,” said Mr. Staab. “Through our organization members are being warned of the pitfalls that they must guard against, while nonmembers, having had no warning, fall into them. We constantly seek to impress upon our membership the need of buying wisely and of contracting only for such film as they are reasonably certain to use. We warn against overbuying, one of the evils which most frequently leads to the arbitration board. “It is interesting to note that with an unprecedented increase in our membership, the number of arbitration cases is falling off. On January 1, 1924, we boasted only 190 members, while a year later we had 240 on our roll. The fact that disputes between exhibitor and exchange man became less frequent during the year illustrates my point that our organization is doing effective work in the education of theatre men regarding their rights and limits.” Here’s What to Do and What Not to Do (Special to Exhibitors Herald) ALBANY, N. Y., Feb. 19.— With the idea of rendering further assistance to motion picture exhibitors in central and northern New York, the Albany Film Board of Trade sent out the past week the following “dont’s” to exhibitors : “Don’t fail to report any film received with parts removed. The members of the Albany Film Board of Trade desire to give exhibitors complete subjects. “Don’t fail to report to the exchange any film received in poor condition. It will prevent some other exhibitors from receiving) the same sort of service. Do this by wire before you show, and not after. “Don’t hesitate to call the attention of the exchange to any way that your service can be improved. We are working to give you better service and welcome suggestions. “Don’t let a representative of any company promise you anything that is not a part of the written contract. If he can promise it, he can put it in the contract. Protect yourself. Your contract is the only thing that will hold in court or with the arbitration board. “Don’t believe any manager or salesman who tells you otherwise. All contracts specifically state ‘no verbal agreements,’ or words which mean the same thing. “Don’t hold over film without the consent of the exchange. You may cause some other exhibitor to miss out as well as to cause yourself considerable expense. “Don’t fail to have a separate contract for every run in every theatre, provided you have more than one house. You will very often save yourself trouble by so doing. “Don’t fail to study the terms of the uniform contract. Ignorance of its terms is no excuse for violation.” Fire Loss Is $7,000 (Special to Exhibitors Herald) SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH., Feb. 10.— A fire of unknown origin practically destroyed the Star theatre building at Ephraim, Utah, early Saturday morning, causing a damage of $7,000. The blaze was discovered at 7 :30 o’clock in the morning. The interior of the theatre indicated that it had been burning all night. Fire departments fought stubbornly for two hours before the blaze was under control. The building is owned by a company in which D. W. Anderson and Peter Lund own the controlling interest. The building was insured for $9,000. Bill for Abolition of New York Censorship Offered Legislature (Special to Exhibitors Herald) ALBANY, N. Y., Feb. 10.— Which censorship repeal bill is to be regarded by the New York State legislature as the one having the backing of the Hays national organization and the New York State M. P. T. O.? This question arose during the past week at the capitol, through the introduction of a bill by Assemblyman Frederick L. Hackenburg, of Brooklyn, calling for the abolishment of the present censorship commission on July 1, next. Some declare that its introduction was premature and without the sponsoring of the two organizations. The claim is further made that Mr. Hackenburg went ahead with the bill in order to secure certain publicity. Slump Shows But Five New Film Companies (Special to Exhibitors Herald) ALBANY, N. Y., Feb. 10. — For some unknown reason, comparatively few motion picture companies were incorporated in New York state during the past week. There were but five and such of these as stated their capitalization revealed figures far below the usual mark, the heaviest capitalization amounting to but $30,000. The following gives the. names of the companies and the amount of capitalization where stated : R. B. R. Amusement Corporation, $30,000; Cai'ona Slide and Picture Corporation, $20,000; Francan Co., Inc.; S. Cole, Inc.; Mark-Strand Theatre Corporation, of Buffalo. Steiner Reveals Cast for Thornton Film (Special to Exhibitors Herald) NEW YORK, Feb. 10. — The cast for the fourth Edith Thornton production, as announced by William Steiner, so far in eludes Lou Tellegen, Rockcliff Fellows, Gaston Glass, and Betty Francisco. It will be called “Fair Play.”