Exhibitors Herald (Dec 1924-Mar 1925)

52 EXHIBITORS HERALD March 7, 1925 Prologue to "The Devil’s Cargo,’’ Paramount, at Howard, Atlanta. False piano, 15 feet long, masks real piano played. Produced by Howard Price Kingsmore. The enclosed ad shows how we use Exhibitors Herald reports to sell the picture to the public. VVe are facing a, rather difficult situation with “North of 36.” Ran “Sundown” just a week ago and it was an awful flop after opening big. A week later is a bad place for, “North of 36” to be dated. The town is well papered and bannered, but they still have “Sundown” on their minds. So we picked a number of reports from the Herald and are shooting them, on the screen, just as written, one report to a slide. The reports are the “meat” of our ad and are used again in the column. In short, we’re leaving it to the Herald to sell this picture to the public and, from general comment, I think you’re going to do it. The ad, by the way, appears in the upper left hand corner of the front page of the paper, but that’s where it’s set every week. The column, which is headed “Movie Murmurs,” reads as follows: Well, "Miss Bluebeard" had it's world premiers in New York, Chicago and Cresco last week. Des Moines, Minneapolis, St. Paul and other less important points will get it in due time. Some comedy, by the way — wasn’t it? Also well — First National’s answer to Paramounts’ "The Covered Wagon,’’ namely "Sundown,” wasn’t so much of a response. We bought it long before its release to run at fifty cents. There were only two reports on it previous to our run, but they decided us to reduce to thirty-five and, if we’d seen it ourselves, we’d have shot it at two bits. Cost us plenty. Ours is gone — "but not forgotten” — but you get your dime next Monday or Tuesday. We’re running "North of 36” for forty cents — fifty everywhere else. And if there ever was a picture that’s it. Speaking of "North of 36,” fourteen managers’ reports are in this week. Thirteen of them say ; "It’s better than ‘The Wagon’ ”. The other one says; “The greatest Western ever made.” Guess Paramount is the only concern that can make them right. They made "The Covered Wagon,” you know, as well as “North of 36.” We’re surely anxious to see that picture — they’re raving so much about it. Leon DeNoyelles saw it in Rochester the other day and says it’s so good he’s going to see it again. He agrees with the thirteen managers — says he liked it better than the "Covered Wagon.” We like to see them come like that ! Folks, we don’t know what we are going to do with you. You flock into the theatre on Mondays and Tuesdays and on the other days of the week you stay away as if the place were poison. We’re running twice the number of specials now that any other similarly situated theatre is using, not to mention the fact that we’re shooting most of them hot out of the laboratories; but you don’t seem to realize that we have a lot of good shows for the lowly two bits. Well, there’s only one solution. We’ve been doing our buying on the basis of one special a week and two so-called program pictures. The situation of the box-ofiice convinces us that you want all of the best pictures — not just one a week — and we’ve gone into the market for our Spring and Summer pictures with the firm determination to get every extra good picture we can lay our hands on, regardless of how many there are or who makes them. We can get more than one a week but we cannot get three a week because they don’t make that many. There will also be a few good ones we cannot get, due to exorbitant rental or the refusal of the company to sell us one without making us take six punk ones, but we’ll tell the world you’re going to have more good pictures than you’ve ever had before — and you can use your own judgment about what has gone before, you know, running a theatre is like an election — you have to do as the majority vote. You’ve voted for all the specials we can get — and you’re going to get them. Welcome Eveland to Contributor Circle EARLE EVELAND, Twin City Opera House, McConnelsville, O., writes: I have never reported on any pictures, but want to join the “Herald Only” Club. I also wish to affiliate with the House Organ Exchange. Enclosed find a few copies of the program I have used quite extensively, but hope to get some ideas from the other members that will enable me to produce a house organ on a larger scale. I will have a letter soon to contribute to the “Letters From Readers” column. I find this very interesting and get quite a bit of information from these letters. Reports accompanying Mr. Eveland’s letter are printed in “What the Picture Did For Me” this week. His house organ is reproduced on another page. His name is added to both the House Organ Exchange and the “Herald Only” Club rosters. Lawrence Forwards ** So Big** Puzzle SID LAWRENCE, Modjeska theatre, Milwaukee, writes: Attached herewith you will find the House Organ Exchange E. E. BAIR, State theatre, Ulriehsville, O. A. R. BENDER, Olymple theatre, Clereland. Okla. EARLE EVELAND, Twin City Opera House, McConnelsville, O. HARRY BROWNING, Olympia theatre. New Haven, Conn. FRANK H. BURNS, Orlando Enterprlsoe, Inc., Orlando, Fla. • M. T. CRAIG, Majestic theatre, Dresden, Ont., Canada. THOMAS S. DALEY, Schine Amnsement Co., Gloversville, N, Y. E. L. FAWKS, Photo Phone theatre, Graford, Tex. F. M. HAMBURGER, Circle theatre, Portland, Ore. M. KOBLEN, Scout theatre, Oakdale, La. T. L. LITTLE, Majestic theatre, Camden, S. C. M. MacLEOD, Wolverine theatre, Saginaw, Mich. EARL D. MASSEY, Texas theatre, Killeen, Tex. E. E. MERIDITH, Virginia theatre. Box 1190, Fairmont, W. Va. CARL F. MOCK, 56 Street theatre. Pine to Delancey Sts., Philadelphia, Pa. EDGAR A. MOSS, Moss Advertising Ageney, Marion, Ind. W. H. OSTENBERC, JR., Orphenm theatre, Scottsbiuff, Neb. EARLE HALL PAYNE, Kentucky theatre. Lexington, Ky. CLEM POPE, T & D theatre, Oakland, Cal. E. H. RANDALL, Liberty theatre, Condon, Ore. F. F. SCHWIE, Duluth theatre, Dolnth, Minn. E. A. SNYDER, Rialto, Virginia theatres. Champaign, III. S. STIEFEL, Roxboro theatre, Philadelphia, Pa. J. H. STILES, The Dalles Amusement Co., The Dalles, Ore. F. C. WESKIL, Rose theatre, Colfax, Wash. FRANK WHITBECK, West Coast Theatres, lnc«, 134 Leavenworth St., San Francisco, Cal. T. S. WILSON, Seelye theatre, Abilene, Kan. EDWIN B. WINTERS, HeiUg theatre, Seattle, Wash. KENNETH V. WOODWARD, Penn-State Amusement Co., Uniontown, Pa. Entry of name in above list signifies willingness to exchange theatre house organs with other publishers. (Theatre) — (State) — — — new Modjeska Theatre Crossword Puzzle, exploiting “So Big.” The puzzle that the writer got out on “The Sea Hawk” proved very successful, over 5,000 returns coming in on the 20,000 distributed. Am also enclosing our weekly program, an outskirt theatre program by the way, which, through the advertising, is entirely self-supporting. Two thousand of these are mailed out weekly on a bona fide mailing list and approximately 4,000 are given out in the theatre. This gives us a great deal of excellent publicity for comparatively no expense at all. Mr. Lawrence’s crossword puzzle and house organ are reproduced on another page. Shimon Submits Poster Exhibit LOUIS C. SHIMON, Milwaukee theatre, Milwaukee, writes: You will find herewith a front page copy of a recent Milwaukee Theatre Program which I authored — also “Thoughts,” written for the staff and posted in the ushers’ room. The pictures of Harold Lloyd used on the 22x28 I clipped from trade journals. The Herald always eives me a {Concluded on page SS)