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

32 EXHIBITORS HERALD and MOVING PICTURE WORLD March 17. 1928 2 New Members for "Our Exhibitors Club" This week's issue brings two more members to "Our Exhibitors Club." William K. Tragsdorf of Trags theatre, Neillsville, Wis., joins as Member No. 2. Mr. Tragsdorf says : "My scrap book shows that I have reported four changes a week for the last five years. That's that!" Member No. 3 is Frank E. Sabin of the Majestic theatre, Eureka, Mont. Mr. Sabm writes in the following: "Good old Phil Rand. He always was a hundred per center and always will be. I'd like to be a member of 'Our Exhibitors Club' and shall endeavor to report on every picture from now on. (If the hardware biz don't get me down)." Members of "Our Exhibitors Club" Phil Rand, Rex theatre No. 1 William Tragsdorf, Trags theatre No. 2 Frank Sabin, Majestic theatre No. 3 Like Rand, Tragsdorf, and Sabin we join in and say: Who's Next? ducers 6eem to be trying to make some real pictures out of these Maynards and he is there to help put them across. Ken, we would like your photo to put in our lobby as we have several more of your pictures to run and if we get the photo we might be induced to buy the next group, thanks. Seven reels. — Crosby & Schwiereke, Rex theatre, Colby, Wis. — Small town patronage. VENUS OF VENICE: Constance Talmadge— February 28-29. Very good program picture. But on account of basketball, church entertainments and lodge meetings did not make film rental in two days run. Seven reels. — Mrs. C. Knox, Star theatre, Villa Grove, 111. — General patronage. THE PRINCE OF HEAD WAITERS: Lewis Stone — January 2-3. It is above the average. Splendid plot and it pleased most all who saw it. Used Paramount picture January 30 "Service for Ladies" which was very much on the same line but it couldn't be compared with the former for entertainment. — W. E. Field, Liberty theatre, Greenwood, S. C. — General patronage. KIM : Norma Talmadge — An antique, but a great show. Slightly reminiscent of Colleen Moore, but a great comedy nevertheless. Drew only fair, but this is our first Norma. — Mrs. Wood L. Burns, Texline, theatre, Texline, Tex. — General patronage. TWINKLETOES: Colleen Moore— Very cute picture to average box office returns. Bad weather. — L. M. Threet, Augus theatre, San Augustine, Tex. — Small town patronage. Fox THE BRANDED SOMBRERO: Buck Jones— 75%. February 7-8. As I have not played very many of Jones' pictures will say Jones is a good bet for the small town exhibitors. If his pictures are as good as the ones that I have played I think he is a better bet than Tom Mix, Fox's headliner. Five reels. — B. A. Butler, Elite theatre, Arlington, S. D. — General patronage. SILK LEGS: Madge Bellamy— 39%. February 14. Fair comedy. Nothing new. Pleased about 50 per cent. Six reels.— L. W. Bagwell, Jr., Crystal theatre, Oakman, Ala. — General patronage. THE RETURN OF PETER GRIMM: Special cast — 50%. January 28. Put on a family night. Fifty cente paid for the whole family. We had a full house, but did not make any money. Still believe that it is a good way to advertise. This drama went over good with the parents, but the kids did not care for the show. Seven reels. — J. A. D. Engesather, Movies theatre. Brocket, N. D. — Small town patronage. THE RETURN OF PETER GRIMM: Special cast — Very good. Six reels. — A. J. Smith, Texan theatre. Roaring Springs, Tex. — General patronage. THE CIRCUS ACE: Tom Mix— 60%. January 25-26. No comments. Not so good. Five reels. — C. P. Washman, Roxy theatre, Skellytown, Tex. — General patronage. COME TO MY HOUSE: Special cast— February 22. This combination of stars very good draw in this community, especially Miss Borden. Consider the picture average, without anything to cash in on except the title. — L. M. Threet, Augus theatre, San Augustine, Tex. — Small town patronage. SEVENTH HEAVEN: Special cast— February 20-22. A winner. Will appeal to every class of patron. Action, comedy, pathos, humor, climax, acting superb. Sends them all out feeling better. Beautiful story of hope, courage and faith that triumphs over all obstacles. The perfection of screen entertainment. Come again, Mr. Borzage. Twelve reels. — G. G. Baiss, Capitol theatre, Duncan, B. C, Canada.— General patronage. LOVES OF CARMEN: Dolores Del Rio— 25%. February 8-9. This was a fair program picture that we paid a special price for. We consider that we did well to come out even. — L. M. Threet, Augus theatre, San Augustine, Tex. — Small town patronage. PAID TO LOVE: O'Brien-Valli— February 20-21. Splendid picture and many people seem to like George O'Brien. — W. E. Field, Liberty theatre. Greenwood, S. C. — General patronage. CHAIN LIGHTNING: Buck Jones— March 2. A fair Western. Six reels. — E. L. Wood, Coliseum theatre, Edmore, Mich. — General patronage. THE LAST TRAIL: Tom Mix— Tom and Tony go through their act good and bring the house down. Well liked, well received and a good house. Six reels. — George Khattar, Khattar's theatre, Sydney, N. S., Canada. — General patronage. SUMMER BACHELORS: Madge Bellamy— March 1-2. Just a program picture, sold to me as a special.— Mrs. C. Knox, Star theatre, Villa Grove, 111. — General patronage. THE FLYING HORSEMAN: Buck Jones— February 20. A real good Western picture. Buck Jones is a better actor than most Western stars. It would be a real treat to see him again in pictures like "The Eleventh Hour." Five reels. — E. C. Bays, Globe theatre, Buena Vista, Va. — General patronage. THE FLYING HORSEMAN: Buck Jones— Good.— A. J. Smith, Texan theatre, Roaring Springs, Texas. ■ — General patronage. WINGS OF THE STORM: Thunder— Not as good as some dog pictures. Not much at the box office. Six reels. — A. J. Smith, Texan theatre, Roaring Springs, Tex.— General patronage. WHISPERING SAGE: Buck Jones— Fast riding, plenty of fights and a good story makes this another hit for the cowboy ace. Jones is a big favorite and always brings the house down. Five reels. — George Khattar, Khattar's theatre, Sydney, N. S. — Canada. — General patronage. THE WIZARD: Special cast— March 2. A picture similar to the picture First National made several years ago, "Go Get It." Will class it as a very good picture of the thrill mystery type. Seven reels. — E. L. Wood, Coliseum theatre, Edmore, Mich. — General patronage. HILLS OF PERIL: Buck Jones— Another crackerjack from Buck that made many new friends for himself and the theatre. Five reels. — George Khattar, Khattar's theatre, Sydney, N. S., Canada. — General patronage. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT: Lon Chaney— 60%. February 6. Lon Chaney's best for sometime. Chaney is much better in this type than in a picture like "Mockery." The story is by Tod Browning and is also directed by Mr. Browning. Business was very ordinary in spite of the fact that we used heavy exploitation. However, the picture is not at fault. Seven reels. — J. E. Gillenwaters, Rialto theatre, Knoxville, Tenn. — General patronage. LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT: Lon Chaney— 60%. February 25. They came right in. Though not the largest receipts, it was four times the previous week's receipts. This is a dandy picture and wish there were more of them that would draw like this one. Seven reels.— J. A. D. Engesather, Movies theatre, Brocket, N. D. — Small town patronage. LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT: Lon Chaney— January 22-23. This is at least one of the best pictures Chaney ever made. Perhaps "The Unholy Three" was better. It wasn't so gruesome but that it could be enjoyed by all. We find the MetroGoldwyn product is very good and really getting better all the time. — H. M. Face & Sons, Star theatre, Nashville, Mich. — Small town patronage. SPRING FEVER: William Haines— 90%. February 11. Biggest one night 10-35 cent show receipts in two years. Everybody laughed and told us what a good show it was. Seven reels. — J. A. D. Engesather, Movies theatre, Brocket, N. D. — Small town patronage. SPRING FEVER: William Haines— Mighty clever little comedy. Pleased all. — R. V. Fletcher, Lyric theatre, Hartington, Neb.— General patronage. MAN, WOMAN AND SIN: John Gilbert— 10%. February 8. John plays a newspaper reporter in this one and murders the owner of the paper. The story isn't suited to John at all it seems, as the patrons express their dislike at John in this type of story. It isn't worth more than a program picture. However, worth playing as it has a good moral and shows a mother's love for her son to the very end. Seven reels. — J. E. Gillenwaters, Rialto theatre, Knoxville, Tenn. — General patronage. MAN, WOMAN AND SIN: John Gilbert— 40%. February 5-6-7. An excellent argument against block booking. Bigr crowd first night but Oh ! the two following. Everyone must have told their friends to stay away. Why waste Gilbert in such trash? Better hide if you are forced to play this. Wish I had. Had nothing but kicks and I don't blame them. Seven reels. — S. B. Kennedy, Central theatre, Selkirk, Man., Canada. — -Small town patronage. MAN, WOMAN AND SIN: John Gilbert — I did not hear a single person say a good word for this picture, but I did have several tell me that it was poor. I would not have run the picture had I seen it before showing it. I saw "Resurrection" in the city and immediately went down to the exchange and set a picture in place of it which I could have bought for less than one-third the price that I was to pay for "Resurrection." I would have done the same with this picture had I seen it. I had 50 children less at my Sunday matinee on the Sunday following the showing of this picture. Radio, bridge parties, basket ball, bowling and pictures like "Man, Woman and Sin" are making it awfully tough during the winter for small exhibitors. Still next fall the Metro salesman will come along and tell you that he has to have a 25 per cent increase on John Gilbert pictures. My advice is do not book this picture at any price. Seven reels. — O. G. Blakeslee, Cozy theatre, Medford, Wis. — General patronage. MAN, WOMAN AND SIN: John Gilbert— February 29-31. It pleased all that came to see it but such a poor title for a small town scared them away. Seven reels. — John L. Damm, Strand theatre, Wadsworth, Ohio. — General patronage. MAN, WOMAN AND SIN: Special cast— Another poor one of Metros. I had several walk out on this picture and not a single comment on it. It is some punishment to stand and see the people go out after seeing a picture like this one. I would much pay for a picture like this and not play it at all, for I think we damage our business much more than the picture costs, if you have it bought and haven't played it I would advise you to pay for it and not play it. — Guy Loudermilk, The Fairy theatre, Nappanee, Ind. — General patronage. VALLEY OF HELL: Francis McDonald— 20%. February 18. Good Western. Just so short that I don't think it was more than four reels as the reels were only about one half full and being it was so good and full of action, it still seemed shorter. Well the crowd was satisfied with everything, only there wasn't enough of it to give them their 25 cents worth. Four reels. — Rudolf Duba, Royal theatre, Kimball, S. D.— General patronage. ADAM AND EVIL: Cody-Pringle— 25%. Kept our crowd laughing and very favorable comments. Only a program picture here. — G. Carey, Strand theatre, Paris, Ark. — General patronage. ADAM AND EVIL: Cody-Pringle— 20%. This is very good of the comedy-drama type and will please. Isn't a drawing card at all but worth program price. We hit a cold spell and for that reason can't say just what it is worth at box office. Paper fair, except six sheet. Seven reels.— J. E. Gillenwaters, Rialto theatre, Knoxville. Tenn. — General patronage. CALIFORNIA: Tim McCoy— 30%. This is good but McCoy doesn't pull, being a comparatively new star. He's a likeable fellow and we hope he will succeed in making the Western fans like him. Tim, why not make some real high class Westerns instead of historial stuff? People get tired of this, they get enough when they are kids in school. Six reels. — J. E. Gillenwaters, Rialto theatre, Knoxville, Tenn. — General patronage. THE GARDEN OF ALLAH: Alice Terry— 20%. Why oh why did I let 'em fool me again? I let 'em fool me on "The Magician" and said I would leave anything Alice Terry or Petrovitch made alone. This team wouldn't pull a greased toothpick half an inch if a ten ton truck helped them. Boys, this is a lemon and mark you they want to call it a spe