Associated First National Franchise (1921)

J it n i , i g 2 i First X a t i o n a I F r a n c h is e He Edits the Post P. E. Cudlipp, above, has been elected president of Motion Picture Post, Inc., and will hereafter supervise the policy of the Motion Picture Post. Associated First National and the Motion Picture Post, Inc., have entered into an agreement whereby all franchise holders will have an opportunity of taking advantage of the Motion Picture Post and its possibilities for the next twenty-five years. The Post is designed to aid the First National exhibitor in putting over his attractions. The cooperation of the Motion Picture Post, together with the program that Associated First National Pictures is outlining for the future, should be a combination hard to beat. Three months have elapsed since the Motion Picture Post was launched. In the three months the circulation has grown to 122,000, because exhibitors have seen the great advantage in having this high-class, interesting magazine as a silent partner in their business. The Post goes into the home and stays there. It is read with interest by every member of the family. Barthelmess Becomes National Star First Exhibitors of Associated First National Pictures learned through an announcement just made, that the valuable publicity which has been given Richard Barthelmess during the past several months is going to be put to work for the First National organization. Through an arrangement which has been completed, Barthelmess is to be starred in pictures distributed by Associated First National, for a period of three years. Present plans call for twelve pictures during this time. The producing organization will be known as "Inspiration Pictures." As yet no studio location has been picked and no time has been set to begin work on the first production. In the past eighteen months Richard Barthelmess has become one of the most popular feature players in motion pictures and in heading his own company for First National distribution, exhibitors of that organization will have a great chance to cash in on the popularity already attained by this player. His rapid rise and his success in all the pictures in which he has appeared offer great opportunity for exploitation to the live wire exhibitor. Exchange Men Meet in New York City Important Business Matters Discussed • and More Exhibitor Service Assured ENTHUSIASM and optimism prevailed over every session of the Associated First National Pictures branch managers' convention at the Hotel Astor, New York, May 16, 17, 18 and 19, and when the exchange heads returned to their respective territories on Friday, it was with the distinct feeling that more constructive work had been accomplished in those meetings than at any other convention of the kind which they had ever attended in their experience as film men. The discussions, conducted under the guidance of J. D. Williams and Harry O. Schwalbe, covered every phase of organization business, and every factor that goes into the composition of the industrial and business condition of the various sections of the nation at the present time. Each day the managers assembled on the eighth floor of the Astor at ten o'clock, adjourning at one for luncheon, and reconvening at two for a three-hour afternoon session. The entertainment program laid down for the evenings of the convention was "produced under the direction of" the independent producers releasing through Associated First National. Joseph M. Schenck fired the opening gun of hospitality Monday evening at a gala beef-steak at Healy's with Norma, Constance and Natalie Talmadge as the hostesses of the occasion. Considerably more than one hundred guests were present, and extra tables had to be pressed into service to accommodate the members of the party. The dinner was followed by an original feature comedy, in which Buster Keaton, who was at the host's table, played a leading role as did the Misses Talmadge. An elaborate vaudeville program followed the picture. The dinner Tuesday evening was given by Miss Hope Hampton to the exchange managers and their wives at the Claridge. Again the seating capacity of the dining room was taxed to the utmost and it was not until near midnight that the banqueters began to consider departing for their homes and hotels. An unexpected surprise was given the assemblage when J. E. Brulatour, the producer of the Hope Hampton pictures, rose to introduce Marcus Loew to the exchange men. Mr. Loew was cheered long and loudly as he cordially congratulated the managers on their organization and expressed his pleasure at being with them. The presentation of Miss Hampton was the signal for another prolonged ovation, followed by a third a few minutes later when Hobart Henley, who is directing Miss Hampton in "Star Dust," was called to his feet against his will. Wednesday evening, the final evening of the convention, brought the meeting to a close with an extraordinary burst of entertainment, beginning with a dinner at the Flotilla, given by the Louis B. Mayer Company, producers of the Anita Stewart and the John M. Stahl productions. This was followed by a theatre party, given by the Katherine MacDonald Company at the performance of "Two Little Girls in Blue." Midnight found the managers and their wives at the Midnight Follies as the guests of Marshall Neilan. It was a tired but happy and contented group of film men that turned in during the wee small hours of Thursday, ready to return to their territories for another season's work with renewed energy, keener vision and a firmer conviction of success than ever. Several of the principal franchise holders were present at the sessions of the convention, among them Emanuel Mandelbaum, of Cleveland ; Spyros Skouras, of St. Louis ; Sam Katz, of Chicago. On Tuesday afternoon Jules Mastbaum, the head of the Stanley Company, of Philadelphia, looked in long enough to greet the managers and assure them of the satisfaction he felt at being a First National franchise holder. A one hundred per cent attendance was recorded, not a single manager being absent. In addition to Dave Bershon, the manager of the Los Angeles exchange, John McCormick, the special publicity representative in the southwest, made the journey to New York to attend the convention. Mr. McCormick has already broken most existing publicity records along the Pacific Coast since his identification with Associated First Naional. As an aftermath to the convention, there was an informal luncheon at the Astor Friday, at which Mr. McCormick was formally introduced to the editors of the trade press, by the home office staff of Associated First National Pictures. Clean-up" Brings Dubuque Business Improves His Theatre Whether It Needs It or Not and Profits Thereby IN line with the Trade Review's "Paint-UpClean-Up" campaign, Harry Dubuque, proprietor of the Imperial Theatre. Alliance, Nebraska, and one of the most progressive exhibitors of the Cornhusker state, recently used common sense and some paint, with the lesult that he now has a new box-office record to shoot at. Were Dubuque a less keen business man, he could, without an alibi, have avoided the expense of a "clean-up," for his house is a comparatively new one. It was built about five years ago, at a cost of $92,000 — no trifling outlay in a town of 8,000 population. Then, as now, he was an optimist, matching his judgment against conditions when Europe was aflame and the United States preparing to mobilize its man power for the adventure overseas. He figured that the people would seek their entertainment in the theatre offering them the greatest comfort. His fellow townsmen felt sorry for him then, and probably regarded his venture as the vagary of a madman. A similar thought must have passed through the minds of his fellow exhibitors recently when Dubuque, in the face of a thriving business, closed his theatre for repairs, weeks before the theoretical beginning of the "slack season." But he went ahead. His house was "dark" for about a week, during which time he installed a new organ, redecorated the interior and the facade, installed a new soft illumination system and made improvements in his ventilation method. Mr. Dubuque, an Associated First National franchise holder, timed the comnletion of his renovation for the beginning of "First National Week," and used the two factors for a doublebarreled advertising campaign. When Charles Ray in "The Old Swimmin' Hole" was presented as the first unit of the special week offerings, the rejuvenated Imperial showed to the largest crowds that ever stormed a film house in Alliance. His average business, he declares, has been greater since then than at any time in the theatre's existence. "The box-office shows that it pays to paint." said Mr. Dubuque. "Ever since I have had the Imperial I have tried to keep up with the times, trying out new things as they came along and not missing an opportunity to improve my house or my pictures."