Exhibitors Herald (1927)

ffltvxp Cfjrtetmas; to tf)e $rofes&ton Stage Presentation Helps B. O. Mr. Manager Watch Your Organ Solos Type of Music Played Puts Your Theatre in Same Class Are you getting justice out of your organ? And are you really getting the value from the investment of the instrument in your theatre? These seem to be two very important questions asked time and time again by many managers and other members of the theatrical profession. In this article, we may be a little too stern about the situation and although we are merely interested in the matter from the standpoint of exhibitor service and public education we feel that no personal offense and exception should be taken in this statement. Several years ago motion picture theatres depended on their music mostly from a piano player or a mechanical organ but today with all the beautiful deluxe theatres costing millions of dollars all over the country they are being equipped with the best organs manufactured ranging from a cost of $10,000 to over $100,000. Now with this much investment in your theatre a great deal of responsibility for the success of your business and the education of your audiences lies solely in the hands of your organist. By this we mean, that by the type of organ music and solo stunts offered in your theatre you can judge the class of people attending your house. Think Before Choosing In those days a player did not necessarily mean a finished musician but in this day and age with all the modern mechanical devices from which music is procured into the homes, it is very necessary for you to be more than careful in selecting a man or woman to preside at your organ. Again we say that by the type of music offered in your theatre, be it either organ or orchestra you create that sort of atmosphere which may be classed either as rough-necks or people of intelligence who can and will appreciate good entertainment when it is presented to them. It is true that to a certain extent community singing is a .(Continued, on page. 54) Above is a likeness of AL SHORT, otherwise known as Albert E. Short, one of the most popular and famous musical directors in the country — A1 made his first big hit in Chicago while conducting at the Tivoli, Capitol and other deluxe picture houses — now he is leading bandshows for Publix. — After the holidays A1 has some “good news” to spread, so watch this sheet. McDermott Is Daddy Louie L. McDermott, producer of the Paul Ash stage presentations at the Oriental, Chicago, is the proud daddy of a daughter who made her debut December 13th. A year ago McDermott married Maurene Marsilles, a presentation artist, who met McDermott on the stage of the Oriental during one of her engagements there. McDermott has been producer of the Paul Ash shows for the last two and a half years. Paul Returns at Oriental Dec. 23 ram uic and origi nator of the bandshow policy, returns to America and to his favorite city, Chicago, December 23rd. Mr. Ash has been enjoying a seven weeks’ trip throughout Europe, where he has been scouting for new talent and ideas to present at the Oriental Chicago, in his future stage-shows. On the eve of his arrival, Balaban & Katz are giving a midnight performance at the Oriental for the benefit of the Herald and Examiner Christmas Basket fund, for which tickets are being sold at $3 and $3 a seat. The $5 seats have been reserved by music publishers and their representatives to show their respect and esteem to the man who has made stagehand presentation a national institution. Rocco Voeca, in charge of the Leo Feist Chicago offices, heads the committee of music publishers who will greet Paul back to Chicago. Deluxe Houses Find Policy Pays Well Presentation Employs Over 5,000 People Costing a Million Weekly By A. RAYMOND GALLO In spite of the continued rumors that presentation and stage bandshow costs are going to be trimmed and that the deluxe motion picture theatre offering this policy is a dertiment to show business, we wish to state that in the last three years this new form of entertainment has practically revolutionized the picture theatres. By this we mean, that only the very few highclass theatres who offered first-run films with some sort of added attraction be it musical accompaniment or otherwise, were really doing business worthy of the overhead incurred for booking first-run pictures. With the .constant flow of mediocre program pictures and not enough of the superspecial features, super in this respect that they will draw a crowd on its own merit, it was necessary for the brains of show business and picture house entertainment is show business, to develop and present to the public some other form of entertainment that was novel and yet interesting enough to meet everybody’s pocketbook. We do not claim to place the glory for the origination of presentation on any particular individual or firm but we do know and it is our business in this field to find out that Chicago is really responsible for the launching of the present day stage bandshow which in another sense of the word might be called presentation. Vaudeville Is Similar Although stage presentation for picture houses is not a new thing, up to about three years ago, it was more or less looked upon as merely a stage prologue to a certain motion picture. However, today presentation means that regardless of what picture may be playing at your theatre you can have some form of entertainment take place on the stage either in front of a band if you have one on the stage, or in the form of vaudeville, and the only difference is