The Film Daily (1920)

CHICAGO SPECIAL CONVENTION ISSUE BRADSTREET FILHDOM 7/cRECOCHIZED Authority XII No. 30A Friday, April 30, 1920 Price 5 Cents SESSION OVER r.t National Meeting Over— Sub-Franchise Plan Ready— Many Leave For Home oilbye Chicago! hi' either said it last night or i^lvill today. "They" are the njirs of First National who have ; pmpleted the most successful meeting in the history of the organization. The subfranchise plan worked out in detail over a period of months has practically been perfected. There are still innumerable details to be ironed -jut as rapidly as possible — and 1 je sub-franchise plan will be on aijblast all over this country, .lady several sub-franchises ■e een disposed of, one of these, Wly the first, to Chas. E. Whitesjof Baltimore, as part of the iliigton Franchise District. Sig"1-. of Atlanta, will in all likecure the subfranchise in his he are only two of the many ■ ave been practically closed. fSJof the branch managers are in their statement that within thirty days they will have their complete quota sold. Their enthusiasm and optimism are contagious. First National elected officers as follows: President — Robert Lieber, Indian '*■ Pi-esident— Sam Katz, Chi specials and it would not be surprising to find First National releasing Carter de Haven in "Twin Beds," as well as several other specials which will probaby be announced later. What Happened Here They have been going at a whirl H. scHWAT.BE ^ind rate. "The Philadelphia Windy City" has lived up to its name. Between the P exhibitors in convention and the First National gathering there was more real action to the minute than at any convention in the history of the industry. And never at any convention hitherto held has there been so many important exhibitors gathered as assembled here. The usual diversions which in the past have monopolized time at exhibitors' gatherings were practically dispensed with. The boys who expected to while many hours away with the galloping dominoes and the hope for an ace in the hole found little time for such diversions. And as for the First National executives, they were closeted in their special suite, not only all day, but in several instances all night. -scary and Treasurer— H. 0. "'j^e, Philadelphia. Oil of Directors— J. B. Clark, D ce Johnson. J. G. Von Herein Katz, Robert Lieber, H. ilbe and Nathan Gordon. '■: National announced the se"'■of Mayflower productions, as two Mack Sennet five reel PI ^m I^IB^ "V IM 'v 4 Bk J H 1 1 1 S^I^^^^V 1^ C ^ -<*« k _ Lionel Barrymore's Initial First National Release Will Be "The Master Mind." Mr. Whitman Bennett Vouches for the Story. They had their meals served right in the suite and sandwiches and coffee were the chief items of their menu. But they all seemed to enjoy this. They didn't kick. Last night they worked practically all night, to be able to leave at noon for New York. And this should prove a worthy example of being followed at future TOM MOORE gatherings of film Washington, D. c. ^gn. There has been entirely too much time wasted in previous conventions when film folk gathered. This may have been well enough in the past, but today the film industry is important and big enough to demand business attention and to receive it. And this convention here proved that real business could be transacted without difficulty even under the stress and pressure such as has been in evidence since last Monday at the Congress Hotel. See what happened. In the neighborhood of 200 of the most important exhibitors in the country met in response to a call issued by the manager of a theatre in Atlanta, Ga. Why they answered the call would be difficult to explain, but they did. When Willard C. Patterson issued his first clarion call, few believed that many would answer it. But in response to the campaign he waged and in response to the arguments he advanced, almost 600 theatre owners, representing between 4,000 and 5.000 theatres communicated with Patterson, and of these 600 about one third actually arrived in Chicago to take up with him what he considered and what they agreed was one of the most important problems facing the industry: Whether or not picture producers owning theatres should be encouraged in (Continued on page 3) Film men — Join the VOTAGERS Ask TOM WILEY, he's Captain. — Advt. E. M FISHER Seattle