The Film Daily (1919)

I t "B&ADSTREET F1LMDOM IfMk^ 7/knKOCNIZED Authority rOL. vii No. 1 ' Thursday, January 2. 1919 Price s Cents "Flu" Falls Steadily 1 Sections Improved Except Middle and Northwest. VccorJing to the latest reports the luenzi situation is very encouraging. I sec.ions of the country are very ich improved except a portion of the ddle and the Northwest. K number of outlying towns in Mis iri, Kansas and Arkansas have been tned. They are Courtland, Fredonia, la, Neodesha, Shell City and Water le. in Kansas; Higginsville and Lock >od in Missouri and Springdale in rkansfs < 'editions in this section •e expected to be normal about Jan iry 10. The northwest as yet seems to be jrticulaily hard hit. Most of the wns between Seattle and Portland e open l>ut the ban on school children tending the theaters is as yet in rce. Spokane, amusements are running ball capacity. Boise, Idaho is in .d shape while Montana, in general is '1 and Butte is open. Portland, Me. — No closing measure1 be adopted here in combating the "lu" Ban Lifted. Chicago — The influenza ban whic6 as placed on all moving picture leatres of Evanston early in Decem;r was lifted last Monday evening, le second closing of theaters was hard blow especially during the >liday season, when business in sub•ban towns is unusually good. Paramount After Chu Chin Chow. It is reported that Paramount is nego.ting to secure picture rights to "Chu lin Chow." Irwin Joins Famous-Players. Walter W. Irwin will join Famous ayer< organization today as vice-pres;nt. Eltonhead Starts on His Own. O Eltonhead, for the last few .. \s director of publicity for the atirnal Association of the Motion icture Industry has started out on s own. He is about to inaugurate i independent publicity office and ir that purpose he has leased suite 124, 1325 and 1326 in the Aeolian all building. He will still handle ablicity for the Association. Wiring for Wid's DECEMBER 27, 1918. (By Western Union) WHAT'S THE TROUBLE? NO DAILIES OR WEEKLIES SINCE DECEMBER FIRST. IF OUR SUBSCRIPTION HAS EXPIRED DRAW ON US WITHOUT FURTHER NOTICE. WE CANNOT GET ALONG WITHOUT WID'S AT ANY PRICE. SEND BACK COPIES. AMERICAN THEATER, BUTTE, MONT. Giblyn to Direct Olive Thomas. Charles Giblyn will direct Olive Thomas in her first Myron Selznick production. Mr. Giblyn is leaving immediately for the coast. Off For Coast Departure of Several Prominent Film Men Regarded Only as Coincidence. Hiram Abrams and Ben Schulberg who left for the coast yesterday will remain away for three weeks. Although several important film executives are leaving for California about the same time, Abrams and Schulberg disclaim any association with them or any concerted plan of mutual interest. They stated that the departure for the Coast of several prominent film folk at approximately the same time was purely a coincidence. First National Confab in L. A. J. D. Williams manager of the First National leaves for the Coast to-day. Several of the more important directors will also journey to Los Angeles to confer with T. L. Tally. Henley on Waj West. Hobart Henley is on his way West having completed "The Woman on the Index" with Pauline Frederick for Goldwyn. He will make future productions for Goldwyn o.i the Coast. Reynolds Off 01 Trip. Percy Reynolds, at me time chief inspector in charge of censorship at the Custom House and 'low with Robertson-Cole started on a transcontinental trip Sunday. The trip will be of several months' dura' ion. Hart on Distribution Division of Films Head Quoted. — Thinks Division's Work Will Cease After Next June. Charles S. Hart, director of the Division of Films in an interview in the Kinematograph and Lantern Weekly of London is quoted as saying that he proposes to leave the Division of Films next June. He is further quoted: "The department will then be finished with war activities. "There are many things to be considered before the Government takes the step of carrying on a MotionPicture Department, for 'it is extremely probable that if this were done public opinion would be against .it, and it would be suggested that it could be used for political purposes, as indeed it could. It is a very much more powerful agent than the Press and can undoubtedly sway the public to a remarkable degree. "One thing that struck me as very curious when I first came along was the difficulties of film distribution I found that if one house showed a film, that same picture could not be shown at another house for miles. This seemed all wrong to me, and we set about changing things. I believed it was purely prejudice and that the exhibitors would gain rather than lose by showing the same picture. Starting on this system our pictures were soon being shown everywhere and barring clauses were things of the past as far as we were concerned, which meant a 75 per cent bigger distribution for our pictures. Now, it this paid — and the exhibitor admitted he made money on the Government pictures — why should it not be done with other films? I am not a film man but it does strike me that the system in force means a fearful waste, for I understand that the average American picture only gets a 25 per cent distribution." "We spent $10,000 in New York newspapers in one week shortly after we started and the result was that every theatre showing our pictures played to standing room for the whole week. We got two million dollar bookings on the Official War Review — I believe the biggest bookings ever taken for anything of the kind." ■