The Film Daily (1918)

tMA DAILY Friday, November 22, 1918 As a Small Town Exhibitor Sees It KEGENT THEATRE, Cleveland, Miss. Wid's Daily, New York City. Gentlemen : I am enclosing check. Please keep Wid's coming. I concur with other exhibitors in its being indispensable to an exhibitor that wants to know the truths about the picture game. Truthfully speaking I enjoy every copy that comes to my desk. That opinion in the P.-A. contracts is sure some Liberty Enlightening the World. I have several of last years contracts with this company on which I have given cancellation, some time ago. Am trying to get from under. Bookings are coming mighty slow, however. They cancel them just about as fast as they give them to me. I take it for granted you are familiar with conditions (partially at least) as they exist in this section. Whenever J. V. R. wants anything for his "chain," P-A has to come across and there's where I come in. And they are doing the 100% thing down this way, too. I have been advised (and I have the letter) that, should I desire to renew my contracts, I must sign up 100%, as he says: "We naturally take care of the exhibitor giving us the most business first." Some class to this, don't you think so, and I am wondering if they are going to get away with this "monopoly" thing. Quite naturally they are sore, just because of the cancellation. Again I would not sign up for the "Big Week." I am located in a small town about 1,400 population, have no opposition at present, but I have had it in the past, aplenty, but I am still doing business, giving the public high-class programs every day in the year, except Sunday. I rather believe I can keep going without P-A and thousands of other exhibitors could do it, of course, but no doubt a great manv of them will refuse to see the light. Thank you for your consideration of this and wishing you every success, I beg to remain Sincerely yours, R. T. MEGIBBEN. For Spanish Customers L. H. Allen, of the Foreign Markets Distributing Corp., has inaugurated a new service policy in which he is supplying all his Spanish customers with advertising in the Spanish language. He has done this on a small scale for the past two years, but as repeated requests have come for this work he is making it a regular part of his service. As a start he has printed 250,000 panel photographs of the ten Vitagraph stars, and on the back_ of these pictures is printed, in Spanish, a biography and the names of the productions each of the stars have appeared in. The small photographs are sold to the various theatres who in turn distribute them to their patrons.^ Mr. Allen has also had special posters made, printed in the Spanish and Portuguese languages. Mae Marsh is working on a new picture on the Coast for Goldwyn, the title of which is not yet known. Suit Against Kaplan Nathan S. Kaplan, picture producer of Santa Cruz, Cal., has been sued here in the Supreme Court for $7,500 by Nathaniel A. Rechlin, who obtained from Justice Gavegan an attachment for this amount against moneys due Kaplan from the Russian Art Film Corporation for films purchased from him by the corporation. The plaintiff alleges that in 1906 Kaplan agreed to buy from him for $7,500 stock he bought of Kaplan in a corporation known as "Tudor, Inc.," and alleges that in 1914 Kaplan signed a written agreement to pay him this money but has refused to do so. Southeastern Corp. Takes Offices The Southeastern Pictures Corp., lately organized, has engaged extensive quarters at 61 Walton Street? Atlanta, Ga., operating an independent or state rights exchange for the six southern states of Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, North and South Carolina and Mississippi.. A. C. Bromberg, vice-president and general manager of this new organization, is known among the exhibitors as a veteran exchange man. A. Samuels, president of the corporation, is the owner of a chain of theatres in Georgia, controlling three houses in Atlanta, five in Macon, one in Valdosta, one in Griffin and one in Newman, with a total seating capacity of over 9,000. Mr. Samuels is now negotiating for three other theatres in Georgia and hopes to shortly announce the acquisition of these additional houses. • The Southeastern Pictures Corporation has constituted W. E. Shallenberger, president of the Arrow Film Corporation, its exclusive buying representative on all attractions to be released through the Atlanta office. Called "The Cavell Case" Having arranged to market the Plunkett and Carroll production starring Julia Arthur, Select Pictures Corp. has decided to change the title from "The Woman the Germans Shat" to "The Cavell Case," using the former name as a sub-title. All Ready To Help Lieutenant Edward H. Griffith, who has charge of the production of educational and instructional pictures for the war department under the supervision of the Surgeon General of the Army, was formerly director for Shirley Mason. Associated with Lieut. Griffith in this work is Sergeant McKee, who as Raymond McKee will be remembered for his splendid acting in many films and particularly for his portrayal of the hero in "The Unbeliever," which was the last picture he did before entering the service. Lieut. Griffith meets with co-operation on every hand. The Famous Players built the sets for the last picture and many well-known artists have volunteered their services. Such names as Richard Bennett, Claire Adams, Jessie Stevens and Arthur Houseman, appear in the casts. His cameraman is Sergeant Lucien Androit, formerly cameraman for Mary Pickford. In addition to appearing in Lieut. Griffith's pictures, Sergeant McKee is assistant director of the Social Hygiene Division. The department has made two pictures for the training camps, "Fit to Fight" and "The End of the Road." Buys Two-Reel Series The series of two-reel comedy dramas featuring motion picture and legitimate stars, made under the auspices of the Woman's War Relief, has been purchased by Millard Johnson for Australia and New Zealand. Mr. -Johnson also purchased W. A. Bardy's special, "Stolen Orders," and all the Jewel productions for Australia and New Zealand.