The Film Daily (1926)

THE -pif^. DAILY Friday, September 24, 1926 Business as Usual at "U" Florida Houses {.Continued from Page 1) The Capitol, Miami, opened yesterday, the only house in Miami or Miami suburbs which is operating. The others will not reopen for several days. Business is going on as usual, the houses now open grossing the same receipts as they did prior to the storm Film shipments are being made promptly by various companies and very few missouts are occuring. It is not believed the storm will effect business in Florida towns. A big Winter is looked for. Universal's Arcade theater, Fort Meyers, was pumped out and dried yesterday and will open today if the electric power is turned on, says a report received at the company's home office. The Airdome is unable to obtain equipment, as its entire projecting apparatus was destroyed by the hurricane. Damage in Sarasota to the Sarasota and Edwards, is too great to permit opening this week. The Edwards may not open for four week as its pipe organ seems to be badly damaged. Damage to the Capitol, Plant City; Palace, Bradentown, Orpheum, Riaito, Brachem and Phillips, Orlando; and Star and Opera House, Arcadia, is very slight. These theaters expect to open tomorrow. Reports Exaggerated (Continued from Page 1) the building which houses it, were practically unharmed, proving conclusively that good, sound construction proves the most economical and safest. The Fairfax will be ready to open within a few days. The Fotoshow, new house now building, is not damaged at all. The Coral Gables, Coral Gables, will be reopened within seven days and the Miami Beach house m ten days. At Little River, the theater lost part of its roof which will be replaced within the next few weeks. The Pa.ramount and Hippodrome here also require new roofs. A show could be run tonight if the electric company could supply the power. This probably will be forthcoming in a few days. Miami will come out of this storm greater and stronger than before. It is amazing how all interests here are pulling together for a greater and bigger Miami. In the future, a! buildings will be constructed as sohd and strong as the Olympia, so no storm need be feared at any time. Miami has no report from Fort Lauderdale, but the impression is that the situation there is more severe, as that is a mushroom-growth town and its buildings are rather flimsy. Publix has a crew investigating the situation there. The Queen and Sunset, Fort Lauderdale, were badly damaged, it was reported yesterday. New Jersey Theater Opens Nutley, N. J. -The Franklin on Franklin Ave. has been opened by Morris Broskie. 21 Cities Hit By ANNA AIKEN PATTERSON Publisher, "Weekly Film Review," Atlanta Atlanta — Theaters in 21 Florida cities were put out of commission by the West Indian hurricane which swept Florida. Included in the list are houses in Miami, Coral Gables, Dania, La Belle, Boynton, Salerno, Okeechobee, Little River, Hialeah, Allapatah, Ojus, Lemon City, Moorehaven, Fort Myers, Sarasota, Venice and Fort Lauderdale. The Publix house, the Olympia, at Miami was undamaged, although it is standing in tvyo feet of water. Universal's Capitol, at Miami, also was badly damaged. The tower of the Dream, nearing completion at Cora! Gables, was destroyed. Even where theaters were not destroyed or badly damaged, the lack of electric current precluded operation. Operation will be resumed at Universal's New Edwards at Sarasota, whose roof was torn off, and the Omar and Arcade, Fort Myers, soon will be in operation. Practically all towns south of Delray are included in the devastated area. Reports from Pensacola and Mobile, both of which were in the path of the storm, are not yet available, although indications are that the damage was not so severe at those points. At Montgomery, the Plaza, a Class C Publix house, was destroyed by fire when high winds fanned the flames. Restoration work is to be started immediately. No other theater damage is reported from Montgomery, where only the edge of the hurricane touched. At a special meeting, the Atlanta Film Board of Trade took steps to aid theaters in the stricken area. The city has guaranteed $50,000 to the Red Cross fund, which may reach $100,000 here. All Publix Class A houses in this territory will give benefit performances to aid the sufferers. Most performances will be given at midnight, Friday or Saturday, or on Sunday afternoon. George Allison, president of the Atlanta Film Board of Trade, informed "■ilm Board headquarters in New York yesterday that a special meeting had been called at which exchange managers in that city voted their complete cooperation for exhibitors in the Florida storm area. Allison said in his wire it will be some time before the situation straightens out. Goldryer Adds Another Charles Goldryer has added another theater to his chain through a 21 year lease on the 1,800-seat stadium-type house imder construction at Ford and Webster Ave., the Bronx. Seldman Construction Co. is building the $500,000 structure, financed through Eugene Elmore. Bern Busy on Originals Hollywood — After having finished an original story for Norma Talmadge, Paul Bern has been engaged to write another story for Corinne Griffith. "Les Miserabies" Innovation Encouraged by the success of the innovation in England, UniverscJ will release "Les Miserabies" in two separate instalments of nine or ten reels each to be booked for showing in successive weeks. At the Regent, Portsmouth, England, the company says, the picture played to 18,000 admsisions the first week and 19,000 the second. More Artistry Needed More artistic pictures are needed, Lothar Mendes, who is directing for Robert T. Kane, told the A. M. P. A. at its luncheon yesterday. He expressed the opinion that audiences are becoming educated to better films. It is by the mixture of the accepted standards of entertainment with those of a higher plane that production can be bettered, Mendes believes. A resolution was received from Walter K. Hill urging newspaper to refuse to print advertisements containing statements which abuse press agents, citing the instance of an ad published hi a New Yord daily a few days ago. Announcement was made of the appointment of the following committees for 1926-27: Advisory — Glendon Allvine, A. M. Botsford, Howard Dietz, John C. Flinn, Paul Gulick, Arthur James, P. A. Parsons, Victor Shapiro, C. L. Yearsley, Lon Young. Membership — Paul Gulick, Chairman; C. L. Yearsley, Julian Solomon, Finances — President, treasurer, secretary and Charles Barrell, A. L. Selig. Publicity — W. E. Mulligan, Chairman; James Zabin. '1 rustees — Victor Shapiro, 1926-27: Paul Gulick, 1926-28; A. M. Botsford, l<,)26-29. Entertainment — Bert Adicr, Hariv Cohen, H. W. Fisher, Russell Holman, Hal Howe, Torn Wiley, board of directors, advisory council. Auditing — H. C. Bate, Chairman; Jacques Kopstein, George Harvey. Art — Vincent Trotta, Chairman; J P. Gourlay, Karoly Grosz, Hal Phyfe! A. M. P. A. Quarterly — Morton Blunienstock, editor. Counsellor Chairman of Commerce — Jerome Beatty. Donlin to Captain Film Team Los Angeles — Mike Donlin, former captain of the New York Giants, has signed a contract with M-G-M to coach and manage the film ball team in the production of "Slide, Kelly, Slide" which Edward Sedgwick will direct with William Haines in the title role. Anderson in "Valencia" Cast Los Angeles — Robert Anderson has been added to the cast of Mae Murray's M-G-M production "Valencia." Diniitri Buchowetzki is directing. House at Ann Arbor Planned Ann Arbor, Mich. — Angelo Poulos is sponsoring a |7S,000 theater. Sills Heads Guild To Preside Over Little Theater Movement for Motion Pictures In Hollywood ' Hollywood — Milton Sills has beeij elected president of the newly or* ganized Hollyjvood Film Guild. This makes a full quota of officers for the Little Theater movement of the films. The vice-presidents iO( dude Carey Wilson, scenarist an<j production manager for "Men of thi Dawn," Sills' recently completed pi ture for First National and B. Schulberg. Madeline Brandeis ecretary; M. S. Palmer, of the Holl; wood First National Bank is trea] surer, and chairman of committe are: Harold Bucquet, Henry Her; brun and James F. J. Archibald. Sills presided at the first showing of a Guild subject, "The Jack Knife Man," presented at the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce auditorium yesterday. The purpose of the Guild is tOl bring to those who will appreciate them, examples of screen entertain-] ment that may not be generally pre^ sented and also to foster and encourage new ideas in production. i Tourney A Success Philadelphia — The Fall tournament held at the Green Valley Club under the auspices of "The Exhibitor" was a success. Over 100 attended the dinner while about 40 played during the day. It is this event which the exchange managers and many exhibitors in Eastern Pennsylvania attend regularly. The trophies and prize winners foI-| low: Jules E. Mastbaum Trophy for the! low net — ^Jack Greenberg, secretary ofj the Film Board of Trade, with a score of 69. Len Berman Permanent Trophy for low gross — Snellenberg, representative of the Stanley Co. of America in Atlantic City, with a score of 89. Al Boyd Trophy for low net runner-up— W. B. Milner, Eastern representative of the Kimball Organ Co., with a score of 70. W. E. Smith Trophy for low gross runner-up — George Gravenstein, Car-|j man Theater, with a score of 95. jj Adolph Zukor Trophy — Milton Ro-j' gasner, exhibitor of Vineland, N. J.,il with a score of 76. | Sablotsky and McGuirk Silver flask) — William Doyle of Universal with a score of 75. Wilmer and Vincent Trophy — Ear!;' Forte, of the Stanley Co. with a score 1; of 75. Richard A. Rowland Trophy — Joen Schaffer of the Germantown theater) with a score of 79. George Dillon Prize — H. C. Hod ' gens, local theater architect with aj, score of 83. j Frank Buhler Trophy — Sam Lefkoji of Masterpiece Film Attractions with] a score of 75. j Elmer Pearson Trophy — Dwight C. I Leeper of Rayart, New York, with a!' score of 75. I Irving Rossheim Trophy — George^ Dillon, district manager of Prod. Dist; Corp., with a score of 98. De Luxe Film Trophy — W. G. Humphries with a score of 103. All