Exhibitor's Trade Review (Aug-Nov 1925)

Page 16 Exhibitors Trade Review Mrs. Sessions Off For Europe ANNA H. SESSIONS has left these shores to join J. A. Koerpel, European director general of First National Pictures. She will act as his assistant and will have charge of the general sales and promotion work of foreign bookings. Mrs. Sessions has been for a number of years actively engaged in film work, but this is her first venture _into the foreign field and one of the first few such assignments for a woman in the film industry. She was for several years manager and finally district manager for the Producers Distributing Company in their New Orleans and Atlanta offices, and prior to that, in the same capacity for the World Film Company. Mrs. Sessions carries a passport which is intended to take her into ten different countries covered by the Central European division. "Freshman" Shatters Nation-Wide Records PRE-RELEASE runs on "The Freshman," Harold Lloyd's latest Pathe feature, in large, small and medium size cities where all previous box-office records have been shattered establish this film as one of the world's greatest boxoffice attractions. At Grauman's Million Dollar Theatre the picture has exceeded the most optimistic anticipations. In a wire to the home-office of Pathe, Manager Wessling of the Los Angeles Branch stated: "Yesterday Labor Day Freshman broke all records in history of Grauman Million Dollar Theatre. At times crowd lined up five abreast for one solid block. Management astounded at results. Whole town talking Freshman. Looks like second week will exceed first." Proof that Branch Manager Wessling was correct in his estimate, is presented in the following wire : "Second week's gross Freshman Grauman's Million Dollar exceeded first week, Picture still going over big. Whole town talking about Freshman which is positively without fear of contradiction Lloyd's greatest achievement." At the Eastman Theatre in Rochester, N. Y., the Harold Lloyd feature comedy topped all previous business in the history of the house, where it opened on Sunday. An enthusiastic wire from Manager Eric T. Clarke of the Eastman tells the story. " 'The Freshman' opened yesterday to the biggest business in our history and established a still higher record today. You are to be congratulated on this production which is the finest feature comedy we have ever seen." The above are typical of the instances where "The Freshman" is shattering boxoffice records. It will be recalled that after crowding the immense Ocean Grove, N. J., Auditorium, with its 9,000 seating capacity for an entire week, popular demand brought "The Freshman'' back to this territory for another week's engagement at the Ocean Theatre in Asbury Park. "The Freshman" has just completed a twoday engagement at a little summer town called Oak Bluffs, Mass., and the gross was greater than all the five previous Lloyds combined. Another two-day engagement in a little town called Wolfboro, N. H., again resulted in gross receipts surpassing those on the five previous Lloyd comedies combined. September 20th is the national release date for "The Freshman" and on that day it will have its New York premiere at B. S. Moss' new Colony Theatre on Broadway and in hundreds of other theatres throughout the country. "Shore Leave" Too First National's new Richard Barthelmess picture, "Shore Leave," made by Inspiration Pictures from Hubert Osborne's play in which David Belasco presented Frances Starr, is proving another box-office hit of the season. It is passing some of the big records made by the star in "Classmates." At Loew's Warfield Theatre in San Francisco, it broke all records established by any picture in any San Francisco picture house for a seven day showing. The previous record for receipts at Loew's Warfield was held by "Classmates," a record which all subsequent photoplays shown in San Francisco have been trying in vain to surpass. At the Leland Theatre in Albany, N. Y., "Shore Leave" broke the previous high record of the house, held by "The Sea Hawk." All San Diego motion picture records were shattered by it. And "Graustark" Major Edward Bowes, Managing Director of the Capitol Theatre, announces that the Norma Talmadge production of George Barr McCutcheon's famous novel, "Graustark" broke all previous box office records at the close of its first week's run. It brought in $72,075.30 ; for the first week's receipts which established a new high record for the Capitol. EUROPE WELCOMES INDEPENDENT FILMS Leeper of Richmount Finds Foreign Doors Open to Product Dwight C. Leeper, Vice President of Richmount Pictures and associated with Harry J. Brown in the production of Reed Howes and Billy Sullivan Pictures for Rayart Pictures, has returned from a tour of the principal cities of Continental Europe. Mr Leeper was especially enthusiastic over the outlook in the countries visited, which includes England, France, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland. "Every place I went,'" stated Mr. Leeper, "I found the American picture the popular entertainment of the country. I was elated to find our product playing in Paris, London Berlin and other principal cities that I visited and Reed Howes seems to be gaining popular favor in these foreign countries the same as here." "In England I find that the American picture is especially strong and the independent picture is getting an even better break in that country than here. In. France I find the Independent picture rapidly finding its place in that market, while Germany, which has been backward due to financial and war conditions, is now coming to the front and the Independent picture is being sought by the representative buyers." . "Summing up my opinion as gamed from the different sources, I believe that in the coming season the Independent distributors agoing to find a more ready market abroad than at any time in years past ti Mr. Leeper spent a couple of vacation weeks at Deauville and Monte Carlo. He will leave early in October for the Coast to eo over with Mr. Brown and Mr. Johnston, Present of Rayart, plans for forthcoming PtnU1a°rTy production to be started by Messrs. Brown and Leeper will be Th ^ Beloved Pawn," from the novel of that name by Harold Titus. * * * PATHE'S "WILD WEST" IN FEATURE FORM To meet the demand for good Western features and in view of their success with feature versions of such serials as 'Into .the Net" "The Way of a Man" and 'The ^Fortieth Door!" PaAe will offer "Wikl West" the latest serial, as a different kind of Western feature in six reels. . "Wild West," feature version, is said to offer one of the most thrilling and spectacular Westerns on the market The story combines all the elements of a Western with the additional appeal of the circus big-top and the honest-to-goodness Wild West Show. Clara Kimball Young A Bit Peeved Kansas City, Mo., Sept. 17.— "And they think it incongruous if a woman who has been in pictures tor ten or twelve years plays anything else but 'mother' parts in a white wig and a fichu!" That was the outburst ot Clara Kimball Young in Kansas City this week. Miss Young, who celebrated her thirty-fifth birthday Monday, said there no longer remained any doubt about her statement that she was "through" -with the screen.