Exhibitors Herald (1927)

54 EXHIBITORS HERALD November 12, 1927 EVERYBODY’S ACTING: Betty Bronson— 6%. September 27. Very good offering for a program but no one came so what is the use to stick out Paramount photos when they don’t care to come to see the show? Well we just have to get out and hustle some other magnet to bring them to the theatres. Seven reels. — Rudolph Duba, Royal theatre, Kimball, S. D. — General patronage. THE WORLD AT HER FEET: Florence Vidor — 58%. October 22. This failed to draw as it should have due to poor service on advertising. The picture is not good for Saturday nights but is a very good program picture. Six reels. — Paul B. Hoffman, Legion theatre, Holyrood, Kan. — Small town patronage. THE KID BROTHER: Harold Lloyd— 100%. October 21-22. With regular programs at 10 and 25 cents, we ran this two nights at 25 and 40 cents and had the first real crowds we have had in many, many months. As the Lloyd pictures always do here, this pleased our crowd immensely. Eight reels. — Clarence E. Hopkins, The Hopkins theatre. Cotter, Ark. — Small town patronage. NEW YORK: Special cast— 42%. October 6. Good. Seven reels. — Mrs. Hulda J. Green, Gem theatre, Greenriver, Utah. — General patronage. THAT’S MY BABY: Douglas MacLean— 18%. Not nearly as good -as “Let It Rain.” Seven reels. — O. M. Rolo, High School theatre. Sun City, Kan. — Small town patronage. VARIETY : Emil Jannings — 55%. Advertised “No Children under 15 allowed unless accompanied by parents” and it packed the house and had them standing up. The picture is there, too. Fine acting. Wonderful acrobatic stuff. Six reels. — J. H. MacDonald, Wiley theatre, Wiley Col. — Small town patronage. THE CANADIAN: Thomas Meighan — 40%. October 9. A very good title and a very good star wasted around one shack on the Canadian desert. No cast. Tom and a girl and her grandpa do it all, and the big howl is eight reels. Goodby somebody. Eight reels. — Rudolph Duba, Royal theatre, Kimball, S. D. — General patronage. THE ENCHANTED HILL: Jack Holt— 45%. September 21. Eight reels. — 0. M. Rolo, High School theatre. Sun City, Kan. — Small town patronage. SWIM GIRL SWIM: Bebe Daniels— Bebe looks like Harold Lloyd in this and she sure caused as many laughs as he does. Seven reels. — Mrs. Richard A. Preuss, Arvada theatre, Arvada, Col. — Small town patronage. BEAU GESTE : Special cast — Very good production, but they didn’t come to see it. Flopped. Nine reels. — Mrs. Richard A. Preuss, Arvada theatre, Arvada, Col. — Small town patronage. THE ROUGH RIDERS: Special cast— Very good, indeed, but in view of it being another war picture our patrons steered clear. The market is so flooded with war pictures that the public is apparently bored. Ten reels. — B. V. McDougald, Amuse-U theatre, Montieello, Ark. — General patronage. THE ROUGH RIDERS: Special cast — Drew a mixed patronage, but it was slim lot too. Ralph Forbes very good. Nine reels. — Mrs. Richard A. Preuss, Arvada theatre, Arvada, Col. — Small town patronage. THE ROUGH RIDERS: Special cast— Good, but not so big as to command the price of a super special. An admission of 35 cents should be top and not 50 cents. Ten reels. — R. C. Metzger, Cozy theatre, Wagner, S. D. — General patronage. THE ROUGH RIDERS: Special cast — Seems to me that some eminent critic — perhaps 'twas P. S. Harrison — remarked that this picture should prove a great box office attraction. For us it was anthing but. We couldn’t even stir up any enthusiasm. Lots of them never even heard of the Spanish-Ameriean War. — Harry M. Palmer, Riviera theatre, Anderson, Ind. — -General patronage. UNDERWORLD: George Bancrofts— Here is a title that didn’t appeal to our patrons. Lost us money, but this is a wonderful heart throb crook picture with excellent acting. Eight reels. — Mrs. Richard A. Preuss, Arvada theatre, Arvada, Col. — Small town patronage. THE TELEPHONE GIRL: Special cast— October 28. Not a strong picture but will pass. About one good thrill in it. Six reels. — Wade H. Kerr, Community theatre, Spiceland, Ind. — -General patronage. MANPOWER: Richard Dix — October 21. Can’t beat this kind. Dix a sure fire hit. All smiles after this one. Six reels. — Wade H. Kerr, Community theatre, Spiceland, Ind. — -General patronage. DRUMS OF THE DESERT: Warner Baxter — September 30. Very good. Patrons liked this one fine. Six reels. — Wade H. Kerr, Community theatre, Spiceland, Ind. — General patronage. SENORITA: Bebe Daniels — October 7. Excellent. Bebe does the impossible but this pleases. Seven reels. — Wade H. Kerr, Community theatre, Spiceland, Ind. — General patronage. PARADISE FOR TWO: Richard Dix— They all liked this. Dix is nearly always seen in a good picture. Six reels. — Giacoma Brothers, Crystal theatre. Tombstone, Ariz. — General patronage. RUBBER HEELS: Ed. Wynn— October 21. Had I marked a percentage figure on this “opus” it would undoubtedly have been 100. But this would only mean that 100 per cent or more, the “more” meaning that nearly doubly disapproved of it. But I can’t agree with a certain brother exhibitor who classed this as “a piece of cheese.” I like cheese too well to make any such comparison. While the star’s name is Wynn, he didn’t Wynn any additional fame as a comedian in this misfit and from the expression on the faces of the supporting cast, it was easy to see that they realized they were being foolish and silly without in the least being funny. If there is a community anywhere in America that can furnish an audience giving this picture 10 percent approval, I would like to visit that particular community for a few days, just to broaden my horizon and enlarge my vision. However, I can’t believe there is such a community. Neither can I believe that Paramount did not know that this was a half ripe lemon. Still, the rental on same would seem to indicate that they regarded it above the ordinary. Six reels. — Peter Bylsma, Victory theatre, Napoleonville, La. — Small town patronage. IT: Clara Bow — September 23. Expected too much of this picture. Was good but we did not get the crowd. Seven reels. — Wade H. Kerr, Community theatre, Spiceland, Ind. — General patronage. IT: Clara Bow — October 23-24. A clever little program picture, but I would like to know what there is in it to justify anyone to rate it as a special, except the price. I found that it drew all the flappers who were apparently drawn in the hope that they would learn some new tricks, whereas most of the Old Hens kept their Roosters at home in fear that the Old Meal Tickets might discover that they lacked "It.” Seven reels. — Wm. E. Tragsdorf, Trags theatre, Neillsville, Wis. — Small town patronage. IT: Clara Bow — A dandy entertainment. Pleased all the folks. — W. H. Hardman, Royal theatre, Frankfort, Kan. — Small town patronage. THE CAMPUS FLIRT: Bebe Daniels— Very good, lots of good clean comedy. Seven reels. — G. E. Widger, lone theatre, lone. Wash. — General patronage. THE CAMPUS FLIRT: Bebe Daniels— very good. The women call it cute, which settles all argumens as to its merit. Seven reels. — R. C. Metzger, Cozy theatre, Wagner, S. D. — General patronage. THE CAMPUS FLIRT: Bebe Daniels— A very good college picture. Business not up to expectations.— Ernest Vetter, Majestic theatre, Homer, Mich. — Small town patronage. FORLORN RIVER: Jack Holt — A very good Western feature picture. It dissappointed the readers of the book as it did not follow the story very closely. — Ernest Vetter, Majestic theatre, Homer, Mich. — Small town patronage. Pathe-PDC HARP IN HOCK: Special cast — 15%. October 25. This is a splendid picture. The stars great. A good story comes nearer being a special than a lot we have paid special rental for. Satisfied about 50 percent. — Bert Silver, Silver Family theatre, Greenville, Mich. — General patronage. NO CONTROL: Phyllis Haver— 77%. October 22. Very good comedy. They all left with a smile. Six reels. — H. S. Boyd, Community theatre, Woodbury, Conn. — Small town patronage. PALS IN PARADISE: Special cast— 40%. Very pleasing here. Clean drama of West with plenty of comedy. Seven reels. — G. Carey, Strand theatre, Paris, Ark.— General patronage. PALS IN PARADISE: Special cast — October 19-20. Here is a nice program picture that should go over o.k. in the smaller towns. Six reels. — B. F. Wingeler, Liberty theatre, Tremonton, Utah. — General patronage. THE BONZANA BUCKAROO: Buffalo Bill, Jr. — 55%. This picture was certainly a surprise. Didn’t look for either much of a picture or a crowd and got both. Lots of comedy in this that will appeal to small town patronage and will please majority of Western fans. Five reels. — J. H. MacDonald, Wiley theatre, Wiley, Col. — Small town patronage. THE COUNTRY DOCTOR: Rudolph Schildkraut — An excellent small town picture. Try to get the older people out, they will enjoy it most. A tribute to the pioneer doctor. Seven reels. — L. L. Bascom, Liberty theatre, Dayton, Wash. THE COUNTRY DOCTOR: Rudolph Schildkraut — A real classic and a very good one. Did not draw good. Poor photography in print we had. Eight reels. — Mrs. Richard A. Preuss, Arvada theatre, Arvada, Col. — Small town patronage. CORPORAL KATE: Vera Reynolds — This picture pleased. It is a war story gotten up in good shape. — W. H. Hardman, Royal theatre, Frankfort, Kan. — Small town patronage. CORPORAL KATE: Vera Reynolds — October 23-24. A real good little entertainer, having the novel twist of featuring the women in the World War. Comedy, pathos and romance were there in just about the right quantities to make it a well balanced picture. Seemed to meet with the approval of all of my patrons', which should give it 100 percent rating. Eight reels. — -Peter Bylsma, Victory theatre, Napoleonville, La. — Small town patronage. THE REJUVENATION OF AUNT MARY: Special cast — Pleased mildly. Will get by — that’s all. — L. L. Bascom, Liberty theatre, Dayton, Wash. WHITE GOLD: Jetta Goudal — Did not please 10 per cent of the crowd. — W. H. Hardman, Royal theatre, Frankfort, Kan. — Small town patronage. FIGHTING LOVE: Jetta Goudal — -Did not get over well — certainly not a kid picture. Seven reels. — Giacoma Brothers, Crystal theatre, Tombstone, Ariz. — General patronage. NO MAN’S LAW : Rbx — Not up to Rex’s usual standard. It failed to get the business. — Ernest Vetter, Majestic theatre, Homer, Mich. — Small town patronage. ALASKAN ADVENTURES: Art Young — A good educational picture. Pleased those who came out for it, but not many were interested enough to come. Six reels. — G. E. Widger, lone theatre, lone. Wash. — General patronage. United Artists TOPSY AND EVA: Duncan Sisters— 60%. October 7-8. Clever titles, good work by Topsy but just comedy. All those people who saw the play didn’t like the picture. Sure to please the kids. Eight reels. — E. A. Rhoades, Grand theatre. Story City, la. — Small town patronage. A NIGHT OF LOVE: Banky-Colman— 50%. October 30. This is a big special. Both stars great. Fine cast. An entertaining picture. Gave satisfaction here to about a 50 per cent business. — Bert Silver, Silver Family theatre, Greenville, Mich. — General patronage. THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH: Special cast — 100%. Consider this the best picture run in our theatre this year. The picture was good and as everyone had read the book it helped the box office score. I have just finished reading a report on this picture from N. M. Emmons, Eagle theatre. Eagle River, Wis., and it makes me sore. He said it was absolutely the poorest thing shown in many a day. If it was he must show some mighty fine pictures, but I’ll bet he slips in a bum one once in a while that he can’t help. Either he paid too much for this and is panning the picture to get even with the company, or he wrote his reports after he had had a long night out and woke up sore at the world. A report like this is unfair to the company and the other exhibitors. We use the HERALD reports in our buying and look for several on a picture before we pass judgment, so if you have not run this picture look up some other reports before you turn it down. I ruined our house records and had a world of favorable comment and was not ashamed to stand in the door when the crowd left. I have not been reporting on pictures lately as I am on the old block yet and when it comes to buying 100 per cent from any one company will not until I am clear out of pictures. I think the block booking is unfair all the way through. In the middle size towns one producer’s would not be enough and what could you do with two different producers’ entire product. They all make pictures we want to use and they all make some which will not fit your particular town. But above all let’s be fair in our reports and not cuss a good picture unless it deserves it. We all want to see reports on the new pictures so when you run one tell us how it treated you and the rest of us will be benefited accordingly. — John Cosner, Sun theatre, Sargent, Neb. — Small town patronage.