The Film Daily (1930)

THE fUE NEWSPAPER OF FILM DON ALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME VOL. LIII No. 44 Thursday, August 21, 1930 Price 5 Cents Conversion of Dark Houses Proposed By Kherson STOCKSSPURT ON REPORT OF BIZUPTURN Theater Construction 60 Per Cent Below Last Year Imagination — do you have it? =By JACK ALICOATE^ We have the What's Needed darndest habit to Break In? of asking people questions and then answering them ourselves. For instance. What attribute is the most desirable for one breaking into the picture game? Imagination, chirps us, without even further encouragement from the sidelines. The actor must possess it or his performance is ordinary. The director cannot get beyond first Ibase without gobs of it. The writer, of course, must live on it. The film salesman must never be without it. The exhibitor is but an ordinary success who does not possess it. The executive in pictures without it in large quantities is doomed to failure before he starts. Imagination. A wistful sort of thing but as necessary to film folk as sunshine to the universe. * * * After sitting through a couple of performances of summer stock we are commencing to think the talkies are a little bit of all right after all. * * • At least one big "Soonaored line comPany s°ins zponsorea jn for this new meth_ Pictures od of bringing that which is obviously advertising to the amusement screen. This "sponsored pictures" idea is rather radio-like in application. As the idea goes — one-reel subjects, designed first and foremost for entertainment, but carrying the name of the company sponsoring the film and advertising the product of the company, and produced for exhibition in theaters all over the United States and Canada. Regardless of the fact that it is done abroad, it is our opin(Continued on Page 2) Survey Shows Less Building Contracted So Far This Year Theater construction up to the present time this year is approximately 60 per cent less than 1929, according to information gathered by THE FILM DAILY from every section of the country. FOUR arsSTdeals ARE CLOSED BY SONO ART Four deals for first-run showing of Sono Art-World product have just been closed by Budd Rogers, director of sales. One is with the Cooperative Booking Organization, Toronto, on seven pictures in 10 territories; the second with Famous Players Canadian for all Sono Art product at St. John and for "Once A Gentleman" in a group of houses; the third with Publix in Duluth for "Once a Gentleman," "The Big Fight" and "What A Man," and the last with Consolidated Amusement Co., Honolulu, for all product. Exhib Group Convenes Sept. 15-16 in St. Louis St. Louis— M.P.T.O. of St. Louis, Eastern Missouri and Southern Illinois will hold its ninth annual convention here Sept. 15-16, it is an(Continued on Page 12) Double S. R. O. An unusual and unprecedented record has been chalked up by the Howard Hughes air epic, "Hell's Angels," in playing simultaneously in two Broadway houses at $2 to S.R.O capacity. Due to the size of the crowds trying to jam both theaters, police are now regulating the amount of standing room that may be sold. Cool Weather, New Films Stimulate Upturn in Attendance Amusement stocks led the list yesterday with a strong advance on the circulation of news in Wall St. that the low ebb of theater attendance had been reached and that cool weather plus release of outstanding attractions on the new season's schedule were hastening the upturn in patronage. It was pointed out {Continued on Page 12) Fourth Week for "Clay'at Roxy "Common Clay" is being held at the Roxy for a fourth week, making it the second picture, both Fox productions, to achieve this distinction. The other was "The Cock-Eyed World." Another unusual feature of the "Clay" run is that business in each successive week has exceeded the previous week. Publix Names Immerman Chicago-Detroit Div. Mgr. Chicago — Walter Immerman, in charge of Publix operations in Detroit for more than a year, has been appointed division manager for the Chicago-Detroit district. Headquarters will be located here. Would Turn Closed Theaters Into Combination Arcades Tough Censor Dublin (By Cable)— Something of a record for hardboiled censoring has been set up in the Irish Free State, where the one-man authority last month rejected 16 out of 22 films. Of the rejected number, 13 were American pictures. Plans for the conversion of dark houses into combination miniature golf courses, amusement and business arcades have been prepared by John Eberson. The plan is particularly designed to aid situations in which overseating is a costly evil from the standpoint of the operator. In order to convert a closed house into a paying venture, more revenue than that derived exclusively from (Continued on Page 12) 5 BALTIMORE THEATERS WILL REOPEN IN WEEK Baltimore — Five local houses will reopen within the next week or so. The theaters include the Auditorium, Palace, Rivoli, Hippodrome and Little. Stage Shows in Canada Will Return on Sept. 5 Toronto — Return of stage shows and orchestras to certain Famous Players houses has been scheduled for Sept. 5 with the introduction of Publix units here at the Imperial, formerly the Pantages, and at the Capitol, Montreal. Jack Arthur will supervise the stage features. Ottawa, Hamilton and London will get units a month later. New Queen Talkies San Francisco — In a cartoon published by "San Francisco Examiner" as its contribution to Greater Talkie Season, a fair lady representing Talkies is shown being crowned by the theater as the new queen of entertainment. Mayor Rolph issued a proclamation for the opening of Greater Talkie Season. i