Exhibitors Herald (1927)

August 13, 1927 EXHIBITORS HERALD 31 fPRESENMONACISl Plagiarism Will Hurt Business Be Yourself, Is Advice to Stage People Trying to Imitate Will Not Win Performers Acclaim of the Payees at Box Office Be Yourself ! That is the constant remark made by audiences all over the country today in picture houses. Since presentation and stage bandshows have become the topic of the day as a new amusement dish, the band leader has been the most criticized person in the public eye. The reason for these criticisms is plainly due to the numerous imitations of certain famous band leaders. Three years ago when Paul Ash brought his idea to Chicago in the form of a stageband presentation, his opening at McVickers theatre caused many comments, some in his favor, while others were to the contrary. However, since then a great number of band leaders have tried to do a similar stunt, some more or less imitating Paul Ash, while others remain themselves. Don’t Try to Imitate This article is directed to all the band leaders in the country now using this form of entertainment and our advice is that there is only one Paul Ash, one Mark Fisher, one Bennie Krueger and so forth down the line. Therefore, instead of trying to imitate those who have become a success overnight, probably due to the fact that they were pioneers in the field, just show your talent in your natural way and if you are a violinist, plav your violin but do not try to sing unless you are a singer, and if you are a pianist, show your wares on the piano without resorting to some other form of acting that does not become your personality, for after all this form of amusement is not merely based on policy but also on personality. There are a great number of personality band leaders who make a wonderful appearance on the stage and possess an abundance of pep in their offering but fail on some points which if given more care and thought could be remedied without much trouble and expense. For instance, let’s give you an example between one man who is an original artist in his line and another who is known just as an imitator. In order to make this example clear, we are compelled to bring Paul Ash into the question again. {Continued on page 32) A Musical Comedy Find A handsome chap, isn’t he? Who? Why HAL SIDARE, the young* man who has created a great deal of excitement in picture houses by his clever acrobatic twists and turns. Hal came out of vaudeville to try his hand in Presentation and has been so successful that a big New York producer has just signed him for a new Broadway musical comedy. As one would say, **it’s our loss and Broadway’s gain,” but nay ! Hal promises to be back in stagehand shows before long. Bryan Foy Made Stage Director for Vitaphone When Vitaphone started to produce numbers on the West Coast, officials looked around for a suitable director. They found one in the person of Bryan E. Foy. “Brynie,” as he is called by his friends, is the son of Eddie Foy, the peerless vaudevillian. Bryan has been in the movies for some time, working in the capacity of assistant director on the Warner Bros, lot in Hollywood. With the experience he has gained in the vaudeville field and aided by his knowledge of movies, Mr. Foy is an ideal man for the job of directing the activities of Vitaphone. Mr. S. L. Warner, who is now on the Coast, has been supervising the work in the new studio. The result has been that some excellent numbers have been turned out and under the guidance of Messrs. Warner and Foy, the standard of production will be maintained. Practice Will Turn Patrons Against Acts Theatremen Should Caution Performers Against Using Stuff Originated by Others By A. RAYMOND GALLO A great problem faces de-luxe picture houses today. One that has always faced the vaudeville theatres since the beginning of specialty acts in their houses. That problem is plagiarising, a method practiced by many and profited by none. In amusement, as well as any other form of business, this unethical procedure of securing material should be eliminated, and the only way that managers can prevent the repetition of the same routine and the same gags is by curbing the robbers. You, as a theatre manager should be very much interested in the welfare of your business by paying particular attention to the type of entertainment and material used in your theatre. Now that presentation and stage bandshows are taking strong hold in picture houses throughout the country, artists using talking routines are used to a greater extent than in the beginning of this policy. Today a theatre employs four or five acts of specialty and among them, probably a comedy talking act which uses smart chatter and gags. This act probably owns an original line of material and is not aware that someone else in some other part of the country is using the same routine. This when practiced in more than one house by more than one act becomes serious and is cause for alarm to the theatre manager inasmuch that it may eventually hurt the box office. Performers Must Be Careful Masters of ceremonies who are employed in one house from two to six weeks at a stretch should be very careful in selecting talking routines, especially one that might have appeared in some publication or probably used in a musical show. It may be a great thing for the individual user to be the first one offering the material and in all probability may become a great success with his audience but the one following him will find the audience not so receptive to his talents and his wares due to the fact (Continued on page 32)