Exhibitors Herald (1926)

62 EXHIBITORS HERALD LETTERS From Readers A forum at which the exhibitor is invited to express his opinion on matters of current interest. Brevity adds forcefulness to any statement. Unsigned letters will not be printed. Agrees With Roy W. Adams’ Editorial RAINY RIVER, ONT.. CANADA, -To Editor: Special to Roy W. Adams: Having read your editorial in the Exhibitors Herald, I want to verify your assertion that children do not form a majority of our audience to any picture. Of course, they like Westerns but when we are showing heavy drama they are conspicuous by their absence. I guess people are the same, the world over. I find conditions here very similar to those described by you, but I sure hit the reformers a hard wallop here a short hmc ago when I ran Mrs. Wallace Reid’s Broken Laws.” I let all the mothers in town come free and they came aplenty, and I got boosted in our local paper by the editor and by the mothers. If you haven't run “Broken Laws” run It and dp as I did, and if you don’t make much money you will make a lot of friends. Our parish priest here described the whole show to his audience and said it was the best picture he had ever seen in this thea— ^J. S. Roche, Empire theatre, Rainy River, Ont., Canada. Special to Carl Laemmie TUCICERMAN, ARK. — To the Editor* I must praise_ Universal's Complete Service Contract again. Let me tell you this is a savior for the little guy. It has had a lot to do with keeping my house open this winter. This favor from Universal I will never forget. Uncle Carl, I believe you are sincere when you say you are trying to help the little man. I will always be one of your personal boosters.— Chas. E. Lawrence, Star theatre, Tuckerman, Ark. O’Hara to the Romans ELGIN, NEBR. — To the Editor’ I am enclosing a few reports and will try to get them out to you a little more regular after this, but 1 have been very busy this winter, owing to the fact that I have added two more changes to mv weekly showings I am running every night now and have been since Christmas, making five changes a week, and it keeps me busy most of the time. I don’t even have the time to go play my old friend Jenkins a game of golf. And by the way, a party told me that Dad Jenkins was playing golf every day now }vith his feet cocked up on the stove. That is one place where the Colonel has got them all handicapped, but believe me I shall make him step some when the weather gets npe for golf. * .'^nd say, what about the M. P. T. 0 A convention at Los Angeles this June? How many of the boys are figuring on going out there. I, for one, am planning to take mat in. I think that it will be a great treat to make that trip ancl we will have a great chance to learn something about our business, and meet our old side-kicks. 1 would like to hear from more of the Iwys m regard to the convention and learn It there are very many intending to go. 1 have just had the pleasure of reading an article from the Exhib, Walter Bradley, of Nehgh, Nebr. He goes to some length to explain about my wine bees which was but ain’t now. as the frequent trips of said Bradley down here for the Jack Hoxie in the Universal Western purpose of, as he said, "to view the workings of the bees,” but in reality to quaff the wine. And believe me he is some quaffer when there is vnne made by those said bees to be quaffed, for he kept the bees working over-time until they become discouraged and died from overwork, and I have nobody but Bradley to blame for their death. not satisfied to come alone but would bring his relations and friends, also. He goes to some length to tell you how sandy it is in this town, but he don’t tell you how the sand came to get here. You see in this country the wind blows from the north. Well, Neligh is situated twelve miles north of this town and the sand is so deep around Neligh that they had to cover the roads around there with clay, which they hauled from here, so that they could get through it with any kind of conveyance. So you can imagine how the sand gets down here in our beautiful city, the best town in the state. Neligh is really a suburb of Elgin and has for several years been trying to attach itself to our city, but on account of the sand hills around the little burg of Neligh our worthy city fathers figured that It would be a liability instead of an asset to our town. As for passing judgment on the historical value of pictures, I would prefer to take the judgment of Mr. Bradle/s father-in-law, the Honorable J. C. Jenkins, who has resigned his office as state game warden, and is now in Neligh, and we all hope that he wll conclude to remain there or, better, move to a real 'town, Elgin, Nebr. A short time ago I drove up to Neligh and when I met Walt he must ha:ve felt that in some way he ought to do something to repay me for all the bee wine he had consumed. He invited me up to his resi April 10, 1926 dence to sample what he called his beer and of course, I went. He tapped an old long neck and filled a glass and after I had drank it things began to get hazy before my eyes, and I told him that I guessed that I had better be moving; but when I went to get my car I could not figure out for the life of me which car was mine They were both alike. Well, anyway, I took one of them and came home and I never saw so many pairs of cars on the road before in my life. No I am not going up to Neligh again for some time, and when I do go, I shall assure myself that Walt is not at home the dav that I do. And I just want to say that Sand Hill Crane business is not so bad, for I am running five changes a week in a town of 856 population, showing every night.— F. J. O’Hara, Community theatre, Elgin Nebr. ’ _ SONORA, TEX.— To the Editor: I just simply have to butt in or bust in. I have had the Exhibitors Herald now for the last three years and believe me, I cannot see how an exhibitor who wants to be up-to-date can afford to be without tins valuable book. Naturally a fellow cannot take every report for granted, as one star may be more popular in one section of the country than in another; but then that’s where we have to use what little brain we are supposed to have. I have found out by studying the reports in every issue that certain towns and states have the same taste for pictures as my town and I very seldom go wrong in following this manner. Now allow me to say a few words in regard to pictures. What presses my heart most at present is about “The Covered Wagon” and “The Iron Horse.” All I can say is just this — I have played a whole lot of big productions, and have seen a few more somewhere else. It takes a very good interesting picture to hold my attention, but boy, "The Iron Horse” started off with a bang and finished that way, and that was eleven reels, and I could have enjoyed it had the picture been five reels longer. The only picture that I have to say was better than “The Iron Horse" is ‘"The Ten Commandments,” and that is wholly due to the fact that it was a religious picture and without the Bible prologue it would have been just a good melodrama, that’s all. Just one more thing that’s pressing me. I cannot see what the Sam Hill there is supposed Jo be wrong with a picture like "Lovers in Quarantine” or "Sinners in Heaven” and a whole lot more on that order. It’s all right for the public to kick, that’s Jheir privilege, and shows a healthy disposition. The time to become alarmed is when they are unusually quiet; but for an exhibitor to kick about that, I think he had better get out from under, for no matter who and how much the public kicks, secretly the most of them like it. It takes an evil mind to find evil in the first place. God made pretty women and pretty things to be admired, not to be hidden, so let Nature take its course. Naturally, there is a limit to everything, but to kick about a little bit like in the above pictures, why man, they just simply take the spice out of the picture when they cut that out. I hope Bebe sees this. I am for her, out and_ out, and hope she lets me know by sending a nice large photo of herself. I’ll frame it and give her the honor place in my poor little show. So, now that I am started, I’ll let you hear from me at times. Yours for good luck 'til you have to send out a special little book of "What the Picture Did For Me” with every Exhibitors Herald. — Fred K. JuNGH, Sonora theatre, Sonora, Tex.