Exhibitors Herald (1927)

December 24, 1927 EXHIBITORS HERALD 49 Year 1927 Passes in Review ( Continued from page 47) agers of initiative and is a detriment to the motion picture business. 4= =R * Negotiations closed giving B & K ownership of the entire Lubliner & Trinz circuit in Chicago. * * * M-G-M, following opposition on the part of societies throughout the country, cut “The Callahans and Murphys” to comply with demands. * * -4 Dog races in larger theatres cut-in on theatre attendance. * ifc Roxy theatre, New York, in 21 weeks grosses $2,216,858.39. * * * Herald conducts presentation survey among small towns. Finds that trashy acts ruin the stageshow policy in these communities. * * * September Union and theatre disagreement in Chicago closes 370 theatres for six days. Strike costs box office $1,200,000. * * * Overseating closes several outlying Milwaukee houses. * * * Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont unite in the Motion Picture Theatre Owners of New England. *■ * t First anniversary of the death of Rudolph Valentino is observed in Hollywood. * * * Marcus Loew, one of industry’s pioneers and leaders, dies. Passing of noted producer, distributor and exhibitor is shock to industry. * * * Butterfield circuit in Michigan takes over 16 Fitzpatrick & McElroy houses in that state. * * * John W. Toone, treasurer of Educational, dies. * * * University of Southern California inaugurates motion picture school. * * * Paramount is given 60 days in which to comply with the Federad Trade Commission decision. * * * Nicholas M. Schenck is elected president of Loew’s, Inc., succeeding the late Marcus Loew. * * * Clifford B. Hawley is elected president of First National, succeeding John J. McGuirk, who will devote all his time to the Stanley Company. * * * Alliance is formed between Finkelstein & Ruben and Publix Theatres. =K * * Jacob B. Kalver of Leo Feist Company, and prominent in theatrical and presentation fields, dies. ijj ifc October Walter Hays, one of the original First National franchise holders, dies. George K. Spoor discards third dimension picture negative, taking a loss of $150,000. Motion pictues to teach surgery and medicine are now a reality, Will H. Hays announces. * * H= St. Louis box offices losses heavy as tornedo hits nine theatres. * * * Exchange is bombed in Twin City strike. A1 Steffes Theatre also bombed. * * * Showings of Dempsey-Tunney fight films shows that federal law against inter-state shipment of fight films is dead letter. * * * Canon William Sheafe Chase, W. W. Hodkinson and the American-Irish Vigilance Committee attack Will H. Hays, with complaints being filed before the Federal Trade Commission. * * * S. Z. Poli’s 19 theatres in New England are bought by Max Schoolman. * * * Famous six points are adopted by the Trade Practice Conference sponsored by the Federal Trade Commission. Distributors grant exhibitors redress in rental agreement, but fail to abolish block booking. New unifom contract to be drawn. ^ ^ ^ Mark Fisher to take up Paul Ash’s baton during the latter’s sojourn in Europe. * * * The Stanley Company of America shows a net income of $3,700,000 for the first nine months of 1927. ^ ^ ^ Sam Warner, one of the four Warner Brothers, dies in I. os Angeles. * * * Federal Judge in New York rules that exhibitors may show fight films, providing the pictures are not received from a common carrier. * 4= * Harlan T. Hall is elected president of the Motion Picture Theatre Owners of Michigan. * * * Robert E. Welsh is appointed personal representative of Carl Laemmle. Nat Rothstein takes charge of Universal’s advertising department. * * * November Paramount and M-G-M divorce short feature selling from feature product. This is the first reaction to the decisions reached at the Trade Practice Conference. * * * Pathe product plays 11 theatres in the Broadway area at one time. * * 4= John M. Stahl joins Tiffany as vicepresident and supervisor of production. * * t Bandshow circuit for small towns is launched by Edgar A. Benson, Chicago. * * * Eastern floods close scores of theatres in New England. * * * State theatre at Hammond, Ind., a million-dollar house, is wrecked by bomb. Bomb wrecks theatre, kills man in Detroit. * * * Paramount, First National and M-G-M to dissolve Fanamet. * * * Sydney S. Cohen forms the Board of Trade of the Motion Picture Industry. 4= * * J. J. Harwood is re-elected president of the Cleveland exhibitors’ association. * * * Exhibitors of Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey and Delaware protest against producers entering the non-theatrical field. * * * Dan Michalove resigns as general manager of Universal Theatrical Enterprises. % * Jji Sol Lesser forms Principal Theatres Corporation, with plans for a nationwide chain of houses. * * * W. Z. Spearman is elected president of exhibitors’ association of Oklahoma. * * * TecArt Studios, Inspiration Pictures and Edwin Carewe form new combination. >|i sjc “Beau Geste” wins Pnotoplay Magazine medal for 1926. * * * United Artists separates all selling from physical distribution. % sfc jjj Financiers set $150,000 as the maximum cost of progam pictures. 5fC Sji jjj William M. James is re-elected president of the Ohio exhibitors’ association. * * * UFA, German producing organization, will invade the American field with exchanges and key theatres. * * * Charles E. Williams is re-elected president of the M. P. T. O. of Nebraska. * t * December Buster Keaton rejoins M-G-M. h= * * Blue law, censorship, and anti-block booking are included in the epidemic of hostile bills to be presented to congress. N® 41 Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Western Iowa, Oklahoma and Arkansas pledgo cooperation with the Hays organization. * 4 * Sale of six Saxe theatres to West Coast is authorized by the company’s stockholders. * * * Congressional committee votes to raise the tax free admission to $1. * ❖ * Negotiations are now pending for a deal between Wesco and Stanley which will unite control over nearly 1,000 theatres. * * * P. A. Powers sells minority interest in F B O to President Joseph P. Kennedy. * * * Thomas Meighan will make two pictures for Caddo Productions for distribution by Paramount. * * * Hugo Riesenfeld leaves Universal to join United Artists as director of theatres. * * * A1 Litchman is elected president of the Motion Picture Club of New York. * * * Jerome Beatty leaves Hay organization to join First National as director of publicity, advertising and exploitation. * * * Stanley Company, First National and British interests combine. * * * Keith-Albee and Orpheum circuit combine. * * * William P. Gray, prominent New England exhibitor, dies.