Exhibitors Herald (1927)

October 8, 1927 EXHIBITORS HERALD 51 J. C. Jenkins — His Colyum DEAR HERALD: GRANGEVILLE, IDAHO, September 20, 1927. Now listen here, Jay, you and Bill and Eagle Eye Joe, and you exhibitors, if I ever get out of these mountains alive you will never catch me driving them again with a wild Irishman at the wheel. I haven’t been able to get my hat on for 10 days and it will be two weeks before I can get my hair to lay down. We have driven mountains that would make the Alps look like a tennis court. When we left Salmon, “Fishy” Phil told us if we wanted to see some real scenery we should drive up the Salmon river. We did, and if I ever get my eyes on that boy again there’s going to he a reckoning. We drove mountain trails that a prospector couldn’t coax a pack mule over, and Frank wouldn’t let me take the wheel. We drove around a place called “Five Points” and if there is any spookier place in the United States, it hasn’t been discovered yet. I was on the point of bidding Frank goodby three or four times and asking him to look after the widow and children and he was just as badly scared as I. “Five Points” is so called because there are five points of the mountain that stick out over the Salmon river 3,000 feet above the water and there is just barely room for a car to turn around these points. I was riding on the outside and every time we would round one of these points I could look out of the window and see the river directly under me and it didn’t look larger than half an inch rope. Frank hugged the inside wall with the wheels and the outer wheels would sometimes push the loose rocks over the cliff and they would go thundering down into the river below. Oh, you just wait until I get my eyes on that Phil Rand again. Salmon will be wanting an exhibitor. I wouldn’t take a thousand dollars for the experience we have had hut I wouldn't go over that trail again except under the influence of very strong drink. A man needs some kind of a bracer going over those mountains and we didn’t have a thing to pull us through hut Frank’s confidence, and he had all of that. The scenery along the Salmon river has got the scenery in the Yellowstone National Park beaten four ways for Sunday, and no one knows it hut a few prospectors and Frank and I, for the average mountain climber would flag before he got started. We had about 300 miles of this scenery' and still have some of it left, and I would give the last button on my pants if we could find a level place big enough for us to turn the car around on. We have had a lot of fun, notwithstanding the thrills we have had, but I have had to watch this Rabbi every minute. He would see a mountain off in the distance that was a little higher than the one we were on and if I didn’t watch him he would start for it. We were so darned high that we drove through snow and still he wasn’t satisfied. I believe if someone didn’t watch him he would try to drive up the Bunker Hill monument. We were driving down one of the mountains and came to a sign which read. “Robbers Gulch,” and Frank remarked, “There must be a filling station up there.” One could appreciate this remark if he had just had his gas tank filled with 45 cent gas as we had done. Later on when we had gotten down in a little valley we saw another sign by the road which read, “Watermelons 300 feet,” and Frank said, “B’gorra I don’t belave it, there niver was a watermelon that long in the whole United States.” We have been visiting with the family of Peter Byrn, and I want to pause here to remark that a more cordial welcome was never given anyone than was given to us. Mr. Byrn is an uncle of Frank’s whom he had not seen for 40 years. Uncle Pete, as he is called, is a very conscientious gentleman and has a very acute memory and he gave me the low down on Frank's early history, something I had been hankering for for a number of years. Frank tried to keep him quiet on past events but Uncle Pete felt that I should know the truth. He called to mind an instance when Frank was elected assessor of the village in which they lived in Wisconsin. Frank started out to assess the village and the first one he called on was Casey. Casey had a goat and Frank assessed it at $8. Casey protested and said that was entirely too high, and Frank insisted he was right and said, “Well, here’s what the law says,” and he pulled out the book of instructions and read, “All property a buttin’ on the street shall be assessed at $2 a foot,” and then he added, “and you are gettin’ off mighty aisy at that, Casey, for that damn goat o’yourn has been buttin' all over the town.” Last night after supper Uncle Pete said to Frank, “Do youse mind, Frank, the time when I gave youse that little spotted cow when youse was a boy?” and Frank replied, “That I do, Uncle Pete, and a mighty fine cow she was too, but peculiar,” and Uncle Pete inquired, “How peculiar?” and Frank replied, “Well, I sit up with her once ivery night for three wakes and then she had a calf very unexpictidly.” I have heard these two Irishmen talk so much that b’gorry I'm beginnin’ to spake the brogue like a veteran from the auld sod mesilf. We are leaving for home in the morning and we will leave Uncle Pete and his delightful family with a great deal of regrets, and here’s hoping that a goodly number of years will he added to Uncle Pete’s span of life and that his children will continue to be a source of joy and comfort to him in his declining days as they have been in the years agone. The Herald Fills a Want None Others Do A whole volume could be written around our visit with “Fishy” Phil at Salmon, but I want to wait and see what Phil has to say in a threatening letter he will ( Continued on follozvi,ng page ) Fox THE MIDNIGHT KISS: Janet Gaynor— 100%. September 17. Grandpa Jenkins, you’re nuts to knock a good picture like this. Clean good entertainment and all my patrons told me so. Five reels. — Rob’t K. Yancey, Bonny theatre, Mansfield, Mo. — General patronage. THREE BAD MEN: Special cast— 100%. July 30. If there is any exhibitor in a small town who hasn’t played this picture, he should do so for it is a great picture for a small town, and will not hurt the highbrows of the city either. For that matter, of course, it’s a Western, and a big one. The acting and directing are very good. Ten reels. — G. M. Lounsbery, I. O. O. F. Hall, Grand Gorge, N. Y. — Small town patronage. THE GREAT K & A TRAIN ROBBERY: Tom Mix — 95%. Best Tom Mix picture I ever played, wonderful scenery. Five reels. — Thos. G. Norton, Town Hall theatre, Allegany, N. Y. — Small town patronage. TUMBLING RIVER: Tom Mix — 93%. September 17. Just a fair Western. Five reels. — Carlos F. Halscher, Indiana theatre, Washington, Ind. — General patronage. THE LAST TRAIL: Tom Mix— 80%. September 13-14. The first Fox as well as Tom Mix picture we ever ran at a profit. Took well with our audience. Six reels. — J. A. Engesather, M. W. A. Movies, Brocket, N. D. — General patronage. MY OWN PAL: Tom Mix — 75%. September 19-20. Same old story they always turn out for Tom whether the picture is good, bad or indifferent, and this was a good one. Six reels. — E. M. Biddle, Strand theatre, Paoli, Ind. — Small town patronage. THE BLUE EAGLE: George O’Brien — 70%. Very good action picture which just falls short of being a special. Seven reels. — Thos. G. Norton, Town Hall theatre, Allegany, N. Y. — Small town patronage. LOVES OF CARMEN : Special cast — 53%. September 20-21-22. Very good. Pleased most. Censor must have missed this one. Nine reels. — Carlos F. Halscher, Indiana theatre, Washington, Ind. — General patronage. THE GREAT K & A TRAIN ROBBERY: Tom Mix — 52%. September 6. Another good one from Fox, with Mix doing the things the fans like to see him do. Six reels. — Caress Brothers, Palace theatre, Elnora, Ind. — Small town patronage. THE MIDNIGHT KISS: Special cast— 40%. September 20-21. Nice clean comedy that pleased the ladies. Did not draw for us. Five reels. — J. A. Engesather, M. W. A. Movies, Brocket, N. D. — General patronage. CIRCUS ACE: Tom Mix — 75%. September 24. Better than average. Six reels. — Carlos F. Halscher, Indiana theatre, Washington, Ind. — General patronage. THE RETURN OF PETER GRIMM: Alec B. Francis — 20%. August 14. Very good show of its kind and we know it must have pleased our patrons because we think it a good offering. Alec B. Francis is very very good. Eight reels. — Rudolf Duba, Royal theatre, Kimball, S. D. — General patronage. NO MAN’S GOLD: Tom Mix — 20%. August 12-13. Tom’s best 60 far, not so much hokum stuff in it and the patrons told me about it. Local conditions still very bad so it did not register as high as we expected. It’s a good show and I wish Tom would give us more like this as it seems so real when you watch the show. And fighting one man seems possible for Tom, but a dozen is suspicious as his usual run of picture are. — Rudolf Duba, Royal theatre, Kimball, S. D. — General patronage. WHISPERING SAGE: Buck Jones — 16%. September 16-17. Nice program for the 6mall towns. Five reels. — R. Duba, Royal theatre, Kimball, S. D. — General patronage. IS ZAT SO: George O’Brien — 11%. September 20. Fox turned out a good show in this poor title, but it brought out a few more than our regulars and I hope everyone was pleased. Seven reels. — R. Duba, Royal theatre, Kimball, S. D. — • General patronage. THIRTY BELOW ZERO: Buck Jones— 8%. August 23. This show is very good and has plenty of action, and plenty of cold air to make you feel it blow. Six reels. — Rudolf Duba, Royal theatre, Kimball, S. D. — General patronage. MONKEY TALKS: Special cast — 8%. September 13. Good program all the way through. Seven reels. — R. Duba, Royal theatre, Kimball, S. D. — General patronage. THE AUCTIONEER: Special cast — 5%. September 6. Good show played to poorest business in my time of show operating. Six reels. — R. Duba, Royal theatre, Kimball, S. D. — General patronage. THIRTY BELOW ZERO: Buck Jones— Here was the supreme pinnacle of hokum, bunkum and piffle — we really felt ashamed to take the money and were not visible when the show was over. The Fox people might apologize to the world for this. If 30 below zero on the ther mometer is cold then “Thirty Below Zero’’ was a frost sure enough. Six reels. — Giacoma Brothers, Crystal theatre. Tombstone, Ariz. — General patronage. THE IRON HORSE : Special cast — September 14. My reporting on this will do lots of good. This picture came as near pleasing 100 per cent as any I have ever used. Eleven reels. — Lester