The Film Daily (1918)

DAILY Defending Funkhouser Catholic Alumnae Protests Against Amend ed Maypole Bill CHICAGO. — Th e International Federation of Catholic Alumnae, in an open letter to the city council, objects to the proposed amended Maypole censorship measure. The letter, made public yesterday by Mrs. Danl. V. Gallery third vice-president of the Federation, describes Major M. L. C. Funkhouser, Chicago's suspended censor czar, as having been made the "scapegoat" before the civil service commission. The letter reads in part: "The office of censor was created by the city council and eleven censors put under him, the whole making a board of censors. Some time later the whole board was put under the department of police. If there has been one man censorship in Chicago it has not been Major Funkhouser. "An able, conscientious official has tried to do his duty, harassed continually and now at a critical moment he is suspended. A goat is not an enviable animal. But a suspended goat is a little more helpless. We were startled at the manner of his suspension, but we await the issue of the case with patience." "We object to the proposed ordinance because, first of all it demands an impossibility of the censorship board in ordering them all to see the films. We object to it also because it takes away the power of veto from the chief censor and makes him a mere figurehead. We object to the 'pink permit' system, which has been resonsible for many of the vicious shows in the past. "The censorship mess dishonors Chicago. Our city has been called "the pulse of America.' Now more than ever that pulse should be strong and steady. We trust to you to give us a censorship worthy of our great American city of Chicago." Council has the letter along with a number of others received since the start of the Funkhouser trial and proposes to await the outcome of the report of the committee of eighteen, to be appointed by the judiciary committee. Opposition May Develop The Film Exporters of America will meet in the Hotel Astor tomorrow at 12.15 o'clock. It is expected that She meeting will hold much of interest to the trade, in view of the recent Government rulings, the resulting confusion and the chances of there h^ing a contest over the more objecConable of these regulations. Wednesday, July 24, 1918 Paramount-Artcraft's national advertising campaign seems to have become confused with a national advertising campaign in Paramount-Artcraft pictures. Large Attendance Expected CHICAGO.— Frank Rembusch is busily engaged making final arrangements for the A. E. A. convention to be held here in September. Already several delegations have signified their intention of being present, Oklahoma stating they will send seventy exhibitors. Dr. Samuel Atkinson, an exhibitor of Evanston, 111., has been appointed chairman of a committee to arrange for speakers. Owing to the illness of Jake Wells, it is feared he will not be able to attend. A big delegation is expected from the South. Universal's Own Industrial The Universal Film Company is making an industrial of its own plant. It is to be one of those "How the 'Movies' Are Made" pictures and is to show all of the inside workings of the production of a feature picture. Well, if not all of the inside workings, almost all of them at that. The picture has now developed to the stage where it reveals the operation of the sales force of the big exchange which handles the production after it is turned out of the studio. Coolidge W. Streeter. formerly with the Bray-Paramount Pictograph, is now with the Baumer Films, Inc. Changes in St. Louis National Film Publicity Corp. To Make One-Reel Comedies ST. LOUIS.— E. C. Pipe of Detroit has assumed the management of the New Delmar theatre in this city, formerly owned and operated by B. Stromberg. J. D. Vaughn, formerly booker for Mutual at Omaha, has succeeded J. C. Burhourne here as manager of Kleine-Edison. Mr. Bourhourne has been transferred to Dallas, Texas. The National Film Publicity Corporation of St. Louis, specializing in motion picture advertising, intends making one-reel comedies in the near future, and they are organizing a company for that purpose. This concern has branch offices in Kansas City, Mo., and Cleveland, Ohio. Frank Lowry, who operates the Princess theatre, at Salem, Ii!., is planning to build a new theatre in West Frankfort, 111., seating 900 people. The churches in the vicinity of the New Pestalozzi theatre, censored the Keystone comedy, "His Diving Beauty," featuring Fatty Arbuckle and Mabel Normand — reason: Mabel's one-piece bathing suit. Ted Morse, who opened the first Select office in St. Louis for A. H. Blanke of Des Moines, has been appointed road man for Fox in this territory. P. L. Ryan, general manager of the Standard Film Corporation, has enlisted in the U. S. Signal Corps, and is stationed at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He has been appointed Sergeant-Major, Company F, 8th Battalion. The U. S. Exhibitors' Booking Corporation's release, "The Belgian," billed for the Strand theatre, stood them up the first part of last week and the Columbia theatre, which had been closed, was opened the balance of the week to take care of the overflow crowds. Hart in "The Hell Hound of Alaska" played out the balance of the week at the Strand and did capacity business. The Park, Kings, Shenandoah and Grand Opera House theatres, of the Cella & Tate circuit here, are closed for the summer. The Park theatre opened a few weeks with light opera, but closed owing to lack of patronage. Fox's new theatre, the Victoria, Grand and Washington Avenues, will open the early part of September with Theda Bara in "Salome." The management is illuminating the neighborhood adjacent to this theatre, which is just about half a block from the New Grand Central theatre, operated by W. Sievers of the First National.