Film Follies (Jun 1922 - Jan 1924)

run The CHRISTIE !)**]>**£ FOLLIES MAGAZINE of COMEDY Published by the CHRISTIE FILM COMPANY, Inc., 6101 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood, Calif. E. G. KLEIN, Art Editor PAT DOWLING, Editor Photography by C. E. DAY Vol. 6 JANUARY 1924 No. 1 A Good Comedy Well Advertised Will Fill the Last Hundred Seats It’s the last hundred seats in the house that make or break the average theatre owner, and his big problem is to fill those seats and fill them regularly. To do this he books the best pictures obtainable, and then uses every bit of advertising appeal which those pictures contain. Wise showmen have agreed that the best way to fill that last hundred seats is to advertise the whole program. Advertising the feature alone means that only about sixty-five per cent of the show is being advertised. It naturally follows then that only about a sixty-five per cent attendance shows up. The comedy must be credited with a big percentage of the amusement value of the bill. Many people come to a theatre on the chance that they will see a good comedy; many more would come if they were assured of a good comedy before they bought their tickets. Any theatre can cash in on that last hundred seats by using the advertising value of a Christie Comedy by telling the patrons about it in advance. Some of the best comedy paper in the business is issued by Educational Exchanges on Christie Comedies. They have unusually good ones and threes, also attractive 11x14 lobby cards. The names of the well-known Christie stars: Bobby Vernon, Jimmie Adams, Neal Burns and Dorothy Devore, fit well into the signs out in front; Educational has little mats to slip into the newspaper ads; they have just the proper amount of news readers to add to the advance notices sent to the papers; they also have little cuts of the newspaper ads for programs, etc. — all of these accessories answering the exhibitors’ demand for something to fill the last hundred seats. The Booking Manager of a Big Circuit Wrote This Boost “Recently in our House Organ we asked the managers of our theatres to advise us which comedies the public liked best of all, in order that we may be guided accordingly in buying short subjects this fall, and it will probably be good news to you to know that Christie Comedies held first place among Educational comedies.” A1 and C. H. Christie Starting Their Eighth Year as Independent Producers Features in Everything But Length Christie Comedies have always been produced on a scale that has no equal in the Short Subject field. Their quality in production has set up a standard that represents the highest in comedy class, and at the same time these comedies have caused millions to laugh and forget their troubles. Christie Comedies are features in everything but length, and many times have surpassed the “feature” in amusement and entertainment value. They are the product of years of experience in the field of making comedies for laughing purposes only, and the result is their well known and well earned reputation. A Christie Comedy on the bill is your patrons’ guarantee of twenty-five minutes of solid entertainment. Christie Comedies are known to the fans everywhere as consistently good comedies and this knowledge is founded on the remembrance of those previously seen. It has been proven that the fans remember a Christie Comedy, as well as having laughed with the Christie stars while they were in the theatre. With the wide reputation of Christie Comedies as a valuable advertising point, the wide-awake exhibitor advertises his Christie Comedy as faithfully as he does his longer picture. It is another string to his bow, and many times it has been good insurance when the feature was an uncertain quantity. Don’t forget — Christie Comedies have saved many a weak show; they always make a good show better. Production Trend in Features Is Great Boost for Comedies By AL CHRISTIE. All of the predictions now being made by the various leaders of our industry point the way to the greater ascendancy of the short subject during the year of 1924. Probably one of the most encouraging things which has been said recently was Mr. Marcus Loew’s statement last week, through the Los Angeles press, that Metro would in the coming year concentrate on five and six-reel pictures. Mr. Loew, being one of the largest theatre owners in the United States, should know whereof he speaks and when he says that theatre owners AND THE PUBLIC are tired of long, padded pictures, and predicts that the passion for making eight, nine and ten-reel so-called super-pictures will soon die out, he encourages every producer of short subjects which serve to round out a varied bill. In a statement in the Los Angeles Illustrated Daily News, Mr. Loew agreed that programs in certain picture houses are much too long, principally on account of vaudeville which has no place in the picture house, and states, “Money could be used in improving picture programs; short subjects to provide comedy and novelty.” L. B. Fowler, motion picture editor of the same publication declared that “shoe stores must sell shoes,” and that more and better pictures and less padding of the shows with miscellaneous froth and advertising of coming attractions will solve the problem of pleasing the majority of the public. All of these things indicate the trend away from costly super-productions and as Mr. Loew says, “The public no longer cares for lavish productions merely for their lavishness, and there is even no advertising value in the fact that a given picture cost a million dollars or more to make.” Mr. Loew should have the congratulations of the entire industry for his stand in favor of the short picture which will make it possible for the largest number of theatre managers to successfully arrange their bills to please the public with a varied program of pictures. Suggested By a Fan “Christie Comedies — Passed by the Board of Nonsensers.”