The Film Daily (1924)

:s& bbAdstreet of FILMDOH ^recocmizei Authority Vol. XXIX No. 77 Tuesday, September 30, 1924 Price 5 Cents TRAGEDY Bxj DANNY Do the great army of theater goers want it? On the screen? I doubt it. And doubt it very much. It is true there are some exceptions. Outstanding ones. Like "The White Sister." But generally speaking the vast army of fans don't. And there is a reason for this. The mass of picture goers represent the middle class. And to an extent the lower class. Of citizenship. (Not only here but all over.) The moving picture — despite the splendid productions constantly being made — has not yet reached a point of appeal. Or contact. With what is known as the "limousine trade." Some, yes. Not enough. And it will take years to educate and brint' them in. The vast army of picture goers have tragedy enough. Sorrow enottgh. Unhappiness enough. In their own homes. In their own lives. Not to wish to see more of it. For what they consider their entertainment. That is one reason why the sloppy, sentimental, hokum love stories get by. A woman who has been cooking, cleaning up, washing children and dishes, gets away from ^all of this. In the atmosphere of such stories. They live — for the hour — the romance which has been denied them. And they go home happier, more content— sighing a little perhaps because their Prince Charming isn't a Conway Tearle. Or a Milton Sills. Or i. Tommy Meighan. Or any one of a number. (No, we haven't forgotten Valentino.) And in reverse ratio when they see the tragedies, the sorrows, their own come back to them a hundred fold. The fact that a play with a sad ending has been "a riot" isn't a reason for its production in pictures. The value of such a play is to thousands — perhaps a hundred or at best several hundred thousand. But that is a trifling figure. Compared to the attendance which sees— and enjoys — pictures day after day. All of which means. Keep away (Continued on Page 2) Famous to Build Six St. Regis Plans Theaters Designed for Atlanta, Miami, Tampa", St. Petersburg and Two in Greenville, S. C. (Special to THE FILM DAILY) A 1 1 a n t a — Southern Enterprises, Inc., the Southeastern theater subsidiary of Famous Players, has made plans for six new theaters. Probably the most important of all, the one designed for Atlanta, has already been announced. In addition, there will be two in Greenville, S. C, a third in Miami, one in Tampa, and a fifth in St. Petersburg, Fla. The Miami project will consist of a combination office and theater building. The office portion of the structure will be ten stories in height. No definite plans for the Tampa house have been made, but the company holds a site, ready for actual construction. Work on the first Greenville house has been started. Arthur Lucas In New Company? (Special to THE FILM DAILY) Atlanta — The new lease on the Casino. Greenville, S. C, has been signed and will be operated for ten years by the International Amusement Co., in which, it is reported, Arthur Lucas is prominently identified. The company intends operating theaters in Miami and other cities. Southern Enterprises formerly held the lease on the Casino, but, as noted, will build two theaters of its own. P. D. G. To Start Circulars announcing the sale of stock of the Producers' Distributing Guild — the Arthur Smallwood organization— were issued yesterday. The prospectus announces that the Guild plans to produce a minimum of 12 pictures a year; that it will have exchanges in key cities and to back up releases with an extensive advertising campaign. New Concern Anticipates Releasing 16 Pictures A Year Through Associated Exhibitors Plans announced yesterday of the St. Regis Pictures Corp., call for 16 features a year. The officers are: T. Carlyle Atkins, president; Joseph Klotz, treasurer, and Arthur Hoerl, secretary. In addition to these, Edwin Silton, president of Becton Pictures, will take an active part. George V. Hobart will be a member of the editorial staff. Atkins spent four years as assistant to Ralph Ince, and supervised production for Garsson Enterprises. Klotz was formerly with the Knickerbocker Laboratories. Hoerl will direct advertising and editorial, while Edwin Silton, who is head of the foremost casting agency in the East, will be in charge of the casting. The intial productions of St. Regis will be made under contracts for tv>'o units for productions to be supplied to Associated Exhibitors, one, the Becton unit, and the other a St. Regis unit. These contracts call for eight pictures each. The first, "The Ultimate Good," by John C. Brownell, is ready to go into the making. The second will be an adaptation of Mrs. W. N. Williamson's latest novel, "The Million Dollar Doll." In addition to the contracts, under which its first pictures will be made, St. Regis has two other contracts with national distributors in the process of negotiations. Sudekum Expanding (Special to THE FILM DAILY) Nashville, Tenn. — Tony Sudekum has purchased the theaters of the North Alabama Enterprises at public auction. The sale was held at Florence, Ala. The houses are located at Florence, Sheffield and Tuscumbia. Sawyer Recuperating .Arthur T. Sawyer, who has been seriously ill with pneumonia, is on the road to recovery. Although he is still unable to leave the house, it is expected he will have completely recovered in a few days. Sues Exhibitor Metro-Gold. Wants $2,000 Claiming Exhibitor Gave Free Showing and Injured Other Showman (Special to THE FILM DAILY) Minneapolis — According to "Greater Amusement," Metro-Goldwyn is suing O. A. Otteson, an exhibitor at Hannaford. North Dakota, and demands $2,000 damages because Otteson gave a free presentation of "Scaramouche," in direct violation of a clause in their contract. The case will come before the Minneapolis arbitration board. It is reported that because of the free showing that the distributing company is facing an action to be brought by C. L. Tang, another exhibitor located at Coopertown, which is 10 miles from Hannaford. Tang Claims the free showing injured his business at least SO per cent. Big Deal Set M. & S. Dominate East Side Booking Situation While Small-Straseberg Retain Brooklyn Hold An important realignment of the booking situation in the East Side and in the Williamsburgh section of Brooklyn, is about to be made as a direct result of a highly important theater deal, closed over the weekend between the Small-Straseberg Circuit, Inc., and the Alayer & Schneider Circuit. Small-Straseberg are understood to have purchased the Commodore, Roebling and the Gem, in the Williamsburgh section of Brooklyn, from M. and S., while the latter have secured two plots on the East Side, in which the former company was ready to build two 2,500 seat theaters. The deal is said to provide for Small-Straseberg to remain out of the East Side, while M. and S. will hereafter keep out of Brooklyn. (Continued on Page 2) M. P. Engineers Meet (Special to THE FILM DAILY) Chicago — The Society of Motion Picture Engineers opened their fall meeting at the Edgewater Hotel yesterday. The convention will last until Thursday. Matters of importance are scheduled to come up, some of them pertaining to standards, the various phrases of engineering relative to production, lighting problems, the latest developments in projection and cinematography, and the like. Walturdaw To Continue (Special to THE FILM DAILY) London — Walturdaw, Ltd., for which a receiver was appointed last April has announced definite plans as to its future. Although no films have been forthcoming for several months, the company has been keeping up its machine and accessories department. An elaborate release schedule will not be planned for a start, but, it is stated, pictures will come along at regular intervals. Roussell Completes "Terra Promise" (Special to THE FILM DAILY) Paris — Harry Roussell has completed "La Terre Promise," featuring Raquel Mellcr, a study of the Polish Ghetto, produced on a lavish scale. It is reported Famous Players w-ill handle the picture in France and in the United States. Savini Buys "Lure of the Yukon" (Special to THE FILM DAILY) Atlanta — Savini Films have purchased "The Lure of the Yukon" from Lee-Bradford.