The Film Daily (1923)

IHE tie BRADSTREET t< FILMDOM 2fcRECOCMZE* Authority ol. XXV No. 32 Tuesday, August 7, 1923 Price 5 Cents Shut Down Friday ustry, Particularly in New York, > Honor Harding's Memory — rheaters Closed Until 6 P. M. s a token of respect to the mem of the late President Harding, deville and picture houses in ater New York will be closed on lay until six o'clock. This was ided upon yesterday at a meeting 1 in the office of Augustus Thomas vhich Will H. Hays of the M. P. D. A. and Charles L. O'Reilly of T. O. C. C. were present. Lost businesses will be suspended that day, which while not declared oliday will witness a general ceson of commercial activities in or of the dead President. All of important film companies will ie down. Famous Players will ;e down all of its branches, not / in this country but in Canada in other foreign lands as well. : Paramount theaters everywhere be closed from one to five o'clock the afternoon. There is <* possi;y that the exchanges of some of companies will be open to take > of shipments but it is certain that f the most urgent kind of business be handled. fo action, so far as can be learned, been decided upon so far as the s in general are concerned. It us an assured fact that a good ly exhibitors, acting as individu will keep closed all or at least t of the funeral day. Sydney S. len of the M. P. T. O. is now in antic City conferring with his cutive committee. THE FILM ILY telegraphed him to learn (Continued on Page 2) Lichtman Visiting Exchanges .1 Lichtman is on a tour of the irnas exchanges, accompanied by rry L. Charnas. Lesser Going Abroad ol Lesser is due in New York on ». 21 for a two weeks' conference ii Irving Lesser after which the ner will sail for a two months' to Europe. Lesser is booked on Leviathan leaving New York on t. 8. The main purpose will be dispose of the Principal Pictures' put on Continental Europe. Meeting in Atlantic City (Special to THE FILM DAILY) itlantic City, N. J. — The executive imittee of the M. P. T. O.; the rd of directors of the Northern sey M. P. T. O. and the members he M. P. T. O. of Southern Jersey, stern Pennsylvania and Delaware vened here yesterday. The meets will continue today and tomor Zittel Producing Has One Two Reeler Completed and May Make Series for Educational Release C. F. Zittel ("Zit"), publisher of Zit's Weekly is making a series of two reel comedies which may be released through Educational. The first is "Yes, We Have No Bananas" and has Don Barclay of "Go Go," Gilda Grey, Belle Baker and others in the cast. Earl W. Hammons of Educational stated yesterday that while it was true no deal had been closed for the distribution of the first picture, one is now under way. If the first picture proves satisfactory, others may be expected to follow. Zittell could not be reached yesterday for information relative to his production plans. Talmadge Picture Opens "Ashes of Vengeance," the new Norma Talmadge picture opened at the Apollo last night. Sprinkled through the audience were many notables in theatricals and motion pictures. Southern Enterprises Under Fire By Exhibitors in the Southwest Tactics Assailed at Dallas Hearing — Alleged Operations of "Wrecking Crew" Described — Showmen Declare They Had No Choice in Booking "Super 39" Series (Special to THE FILM DAILY) Dallas, Tex. — Testimony by exhibitors in the Southwest against Southern Enterprises, Inc., as developed at the hearing of the Federal Trade Commission here was in the main damaging to the Paramount subsidiary. The celebrated, alleged "wrecking crew" of Southern Enterprises was injected into the record at frequent intervals despite the protest of Robert Swaine, of counsel for Famous Players, who called the existence of such a body mere gossip and the term one of opprobrium. C. J. Musselman of Paris, Tex.; H. S. Cole of Ranger, Tex., and F. R. Newman, of Greenville, Tex., all testified that they knew of the activities of such a group of men and several of them named its personnel as follows: W. R. Lynch, Louis L. Dent, Al Russel and Charles G. Branham. Its functions were described as efforts to destroy the morale of theater = owners and its policy one of rule or FILM DAILY'S INQUIRING REPORTER QUESTION Should the length of the average feature be confined to five reels? ANSWERS Joe Brandt, C. B. C. Film Sales Corp.— Five, in the main, but never more than six. If pictures are longer, there won't be a sufficient turnover at the box-office. Earl W. Hammons, Educational Films Exchanges, Inc.— "It depends on the subject. It is true, however, that probably one time out of a hundred does it warrant greater footage." Irving M. Lesser, Principal Pictures Corp. — "Certainly. So that the exhibitor can diversify his program. The absolute limit should be six reels, for in that footage any story can be told and told well." Gerritt J. Lloyd, D. W. Griffith, Inc.— "Impossible. The characters cannot be delineated properly. At the risk of some boredom to the public, the feature should be longer. When the climax arises, the characters will then mean something." Dr. Hugo Riesenfeld— Rialto, Rivoli and Criterion Theaters —"No. A good story with sufficient plot complications cannot be told in five reels. While I admit that many features are padded, it is wrong to set an absolute limit of five reels." J. D. Williams, Ritz-Carlton Pictures, Inc.— "Yes. The public is getting tired of five reels of the same personality in the same kind of story. There should be room for a weekly and a scenic so that if the feature isn't liked, something else is. ruin. . ! The testimony revealed the fact that efforts were made to buy Musselman, Cole and Newman on threats that Southern Enterprises, Inc., would build opposition nouses and take Paramount service away from these exhibitors in their various towns. It was testified that in Ranger and in Greenville, this threat was actually carried out and that Cole's unfinished contract was cancelled. After advanced prices had been agreed to and Newman could not renew, the testimony showed, Musselman in Sherman, Cole in Ranger and Newman in Greenville then waged an admission price war. Newman claimed that he was prosperous until Southern Enterprises entered Greenville and when they retired, he said he was ready to quit. Ed Foy, owner of neighborhood theaters in Dallas, testified that he cut his admission prices and was refused a new Paramount contract unless he restored prices to the former scale. The evidence shows that the Queen, a downtown theater maintained by the Enterprises is showing Paramount pictures second run for a dime. Theodore Polmanakos testified that he had leased the opera house in Greenville on the promise of Harry Owens, branch manager that he (Continued on Page 4)