Exhibitors Herald and Moving Picture World (Jan-Mar 1928)

March 10, 1928 EXHIBITORS HERALD and MOVING PICTURE WORLD 63 Six reels. — Mayer Shayer. M. W. A. Opera House. Soldier, Kan. — Small town patronage. THE TEXAS STREAK: Special cast— 50%. One of Hoot's poorer ones due to type of story. Hoot, an extra in the movies, finally becomes a star. It's a mistake to make burlesque of the profession or show inside workings of the business of making profits. People want live Western stories and live them. — Philip Rand, Rex theatre, Salmon, Idaho. — General patronage. THE CAT AND THE CANARY: Special cast— 75%. Good. — Frank G. Kresler, Palace theatre, Rensselaer, Ind. — General patronage. THE CAT AND CANARY: Special cast— To my surprise this did not pay film rental. Fine weather and no competition, but it did not pull. — Geo. E. Fuller, Playhouse theatre, Fairhope, Ala. — General patronage. THE CAT AND CANARY: Special cast— Very good picture. Business poor, due, I think, to very cold weather. Eight reels. — A. L. Lighter, Orpheum theatre, Mellen, Wis. — General patronage. THE AIR PATROL: Al Wilson— 25%. February 1". A good entertaining aeroplane picture. — Bert Silver, Silver Family theatre, Greenville, Mich. — General patronage. DOWN THE STRETCH: Special cast— 27%. February 19. Good. Racing melodrama. Otis Harlan furnishes the comedy. Seven reels. — Mrs. Hulda J. Green, Gem theatre, Greenriver, Utah. — General patronage. THE ICE FLOOD: Special cast— 26%. February 16. Action story in lumber camps. Fair. Six reels. — Mrs. Hulda J. Green, Gem theatre, Greenriver, Utah. — General patronage. HANDS OFF: Fred Humes — 40%. One of those cheaper class pictures. Title poor, paper poor. No draw. I didn't see it. Children said okay, however. Don't know what adults thought. New stars springing up in Westerns don't help the 6how game a little bit. — Philip Rand, Rex theatre, Salmon, Idaho. — General patronage. POKER FACES: Laura LaPlante— 85%. February 18. Somewhat better, I think, than "Painting the Town." It will produce the laughs and that is what we all want. Eight reels. — J. R. Troxell, Lyric theatre, Rhome. Tex. — Rural patronage. DOWN THE STRETCH: Special cast— 50%. A good Jewel racing melodrama. Marion Nixon mighty appealing in this. Otis Harlan makes a fine colored character. Story a little far fetched. That of starving a jockey to death to make him get down to weight. This will generally please. Well produced. — Philip Rand, Rex theatre, Salmon, Idaho. — General patronage. THE WHOLE TOWN'S TALKING: Special cast— 45%. Well, well, well! If Uncle Carl isn't getting right up with the best of 'em. Paramount and First National before long will have to take a back seat if Carl keeps this up. Here we have a beautifully produced picture with 6tars by the trainload. The play too is good, perhaps not with as much audience appeal as in "Painting the Town" but it's a good comedy-farce. Horton is good, Virginia Lee Corbin. okay, Otis Harlan and Trixie Friganza fine, as are all the others. I thought the chasing around all over the house was overdone but patron6 howled their heads off and children went generally loco. Would like to 6ee Horton again. He has a peculiar style of quiet humor all his own. Keep up the good work, Carl ! — Philip Rand, Rex theatre, 9almon, Idaho. — General patronage. ALIAS THE DEACON: Jean Hersholt — A mighty clever picture. Hersholt steals the show throughout but the support is good. We call it far above the average program picture. Promise them plenty of entertainment on this one. Six reels. — C. A. Spainhour, Twilight theatre, Greensburg, Kan. — General patronage. THE FIGHTING THREE: Jack Hoxie— February 18. Would have made a fair two-reeler. Five reels. — Wm. E. Tragsdorf. Trags theatre, Neillsville, Wis. — Small town patronage. THE LONE EAGLE: Special cast— Hey, J. C. break away from them old vampires and take a look at Barbara Kent. She sure won a home here with the fans. A dandy picture. Play it ; print and photography good. Rain and bad roads hurt business. 10 and 25 cents. Six reels. — Dr. F. M. Childs. Cozy theatre, Villisca, la. — General patronage. THE LOVE THRILL: Laura La Plante— January 29. Thrill sure enough when you see and watch dainty dimpled Laura in this breezy comedy, and one of her best. Comedy of a girl whose wild adventures in an insurance deal ended in a love affair. A real heart-laugh comedy, with a cast that defies comparison. Tom Moore, Bryant Washburn and Jocelyn Lee. It is seldom that your patrons have the opportunity of seeing a farce comedy that can approach this one for 6heer brilliance and originality. Tom getting dressed for dinner, Laura in the bathtub The Big Parade "The Big Parade," "The Big Parade," The grandest picture ever made; It makes you laugh, it makes you weep, It makes you cheer, your pulses leap; The battle scenes — with what a stveep! "The Big Parade." "The Big Parade," "The Big Parade," The doughboys come from hill and glade ; They sing their way through sunny France They "Parleyvoo" with Rose and Nance, And how they make the Heines dance! "The Big Parade." "The Big Parade," "The Big Parade," The awful Price our Soldiers paid! The havoc wrought, no pen can Tell; Heroic deeds make bosoms swell, But the one great thought is, War Is Hell "The Big Parade." PHILIP RAND, Rex theatre Salmon, Idaho. trying to get thinner. Washburn waiting for the widow in her flat, when in comes her husband, what do you think of that. Think, you won't have time to think, you'll be so busy laughing at this merriest of farces that you won't stop to figure it all out. — J. S. Landry. Columbia theatre, Morganza, La. — Small town patronage. MEN OF DARING: Jack Hoxie— February 15. A picture of the pioneer days, and good. Six reels. — Mayer Shayer, M. W. A. Opera House, Soldier, Kan. — Small town patronage. OUT ALL NIGHT: Reginald Denny— Just an ordinary program picture and not worth any more. Six reels. — A. L. Lighter, Orpheum theatre, Mellen, Wis. — General patronage. SENSATION SEEKERS: Special cast— A good punishment if your crowd likes such. Mine don't. — G. Carey, Strand theatre, Paris, Ark. — General patronage. LES MISERABLES: Special cast— Very good production. Splendid acting. Business only fair. Eight reels. — J. L. Seiter, Selma theatre, Selma, Cal. — General patronage. SILK STOCKINGS: Laura LaPlante— Best pantomime seen in pictures in many a day. Laura is not one of our favorites but this Wesley Ruggles direction put her over in this picture and made new friends for her. Seven reels.— Geo. E. Fuller, Playhouse theatre, Fairhope, Ala. — General patronage. THE THIRTEENTH JUROR: Special cast— The courtroom scene of the first reel was too farcical for any court in any man's land. Judge and jury acted like a bunch of boobs. The defense made pleas that would have made the defunct dodo laugh, but after this bit of slapstick, action and story started to grip, and though a little far fetched in spots, held strongly to the happy end. The "13th" juror must have been left behind at the post ; at any rate, he failed to put in an appearance in our copy. Maybe he just dropped off across the border and lingered to rest his feet on a brass rail once again. Second night gained 105 per cent on first. Six reels. — Charles Storch, Casino theatre, Republic, Wash. — General patronage. RAMBLING RANGER: Jack Hoxie — Gets away from the usual Western bunk. Does good work, and the baby was great. Dorothy Gulliver easy to look at. Not a rambling shoot-'em-up, but it pleased the kids and the hard boiled fans. 10 and 25 cents. Five reels.— Dr. F. M. Childs, Cozy theatre, Villisca, la. — General patronage. A MAN'S PAST: Special cast— Here is a real picture. Pulled and pleased. — Geo. E. Fuller, Playhouse theatre, Fairhope, Ala. — General patronage. Warner Bros. THE COLLEGE WIDOW: Special cast— 75%. Fair. — Frank G. Kresler, Palace theatre, Rensselaer, Ind. — General patronage. TRACKED BY THE POLICE: Rin Tin Tin— 51%. November 24-25. A good Rin Tin Tin that drew well and pleased. Six reels. — E. J. Williams, Tivoli theatre, Knoxville, 111. — General patronage. HEART OF MARYLAND: Dolores Costello— 20%. Good picture of the kind, but didn't draw. Young people said it was awful. No more like it for me. — G. Carey, Strand theatre, Paris, Ark. — General patronage. THE BLACK DIAMOND EXPRESS: Monte Blue — 17%. December 7-8. Just the type of story for Monte Blue. Should please any audience. Seven reels. — E. J. Williams, Tivoli theatre. Knoxville, HI. — General patronage. SO THIS IS PARIS: Special oast— 34%. February 18. Very good comedy. Late in running it. but it's good even now. Seven reels. — Mrs. Hulda J. Green. Gem theatre, Greenriver, Utah. — General patronage. SAILOR IZZY MURPHY; George Jessel— Pay for this and leave it at the exchange ; hate to say this as it cost quite a bit to produce this picture. — Winton W. Lowery, Strand theatre, Atmore, Ala. — Small town pat ronage. DEARIE: Special cast — Rain, sleet and snow, you know. Good print and photography. Very pleasing picture. Seven reels. — Dr. F. M. Childs, Cozy theatre. Villisca, la. — General patronage. THE CLIMBERS: Irene Rich— February 15-16. A good interesting picture with an historical background during the days when Spain was at its height. — R. Pfeiffer, Princess theatre. Chilton, Wis.— Small town patronage. BELOW THE LINE: Rin Tin Tin— February 21-22. Another good meller from Rin Tin Tin. Plenty action and suspense. Seven reels. — Wm. E. Tragsdorf. Trags theatre, Neillsville. Wis. — Small town pati-onage. THE NIGHT CRY: Special cast— One of the best dog pictures we have ever played, and did good business for two days.— W. L. Grouse, Ideal theatre. Bloomer, Wis. — General patronage. WHAT HAPPENED TO FATHER: Warner Orland — Just a program picture. — J. L. Seiter, Selma theatre, Selma, Cal. — General patronage. State Rights SWEET ADELINE: Charles Ray— 41%. February 15-16. I tried my best to put this one across by putting another feature with it. "The High School Hero" from Fox exchange, but while both features were fair they did not stand up and consequently I lost plenty of jack. I don't know whether to blame conditions, opposition or the weather. Perhaps all factors enter into the result achieved. Six reels. — A. E. Andrews, Opera House, Emporium, Pa. — General patronage. BLACK TO YELLOW JACKET: Special cast— 18%. December 14-15. Of all the poor pictures I have seen this takes the berries. The Progress Pictures Company of Chicago and their salesmen are to be congratulated on selling this kind of 6tuff. The film was so bad we could hardly get it through the machine. Six reels. — E. J. Williams, Tivoli theatre. Knoxville, 111. — General patronage. MAN AND WIFE: Norma Shearer— 16%. Nov. 23. A terrible picture and a terrible film. I wish the arbitration board could see some of the stuff they are sending me. Where is the justice in this business? Five reels. — E. J. Williams, Tivoli theatre, Knoxville, 111. — General patronage. THAT GIRL OKLAHOMA: Ruth Mix— A fair Western. Will draw if advertised right. Pleased the Western fans. Seven reels. — E. C. Bays, Globe theatre, Buena Vista, Va. — General patronage. STRANDED: Shirley Mason— January 31. This is a picture of life on the rough side of Hollywood. It was well acted but did not draw enough to pay for lights the second night, so I at least can't boost it. Six reels. — H. W. Batchelder, Gait theatre, Gait, Cal. — Small town patronage. CLOSED GATES: Johnnie Harron— Well handled and a credible story. Much better than it sounds in the press book. — Geo. E. Fuller, Playhouse theatre, Fairhope, Ala. — General patronage. WHISPERING CANYON: Jane Novak— February 8. This was very good. In fact some of these Independent productions are better than the productions of the large companies, and their service is good. Six reels. — Mayer Shayer, M. W. A. Opera House, Soldier, Kan. — Small town patronage. THE MILLION DOLLAR MYSTERY: Special cast —I was surprised the way this pulled on a Friday night, and gave satisfaction, too. — Geo. E. Fuller, Playhouse theatre, Fairhope, Ala. — General patronage. Serials PERILS OF THE JUNGLE (State Rights) : Special cast — I am now on the seventh episode of thi3 serial and advise everyone who can use serials to advantage to grab it. I simply have had a wonderful following on it and the people tell me the reason they are here is to see this wonderful serial. Don't overlook this one. Twenty reels. — A. E. Andrews, Opera House, Emporium, Pa. — General patronage. THE SILENT FLYER (Universal) : Special castSixth chapter. We are on the 6ixth chapter and going nicely. Have had adverse weather all winter