Motion Picture News (Apr - Jun 1927)

1264 Motion Picture N c zv s Jackie Coogan in "Johnnv Get Your Hair Cut." At the Saenger, Gloria Swanson in ' ' Sunya" played to exceptionally large houses, the picture having a strong feminine appeal. "An Affair of the Follies" proved a pleasing screen feature at Saenger 's Strand, though the house did not have one of its usual big weeks. The Liberty Theatre did a fine business with ' ' Everybody 's Acting, starring pretty Betty Bronson. "The Fire Brigade" continues to draw. The Trianon had one of the biggest weeks this year during the showing of this screen epic with Charles Rav and May McAvoy. Business was slow at the Globe Theatre, which played "It" with Clara Bow and Antonio Moreno. The Tudor Theatre drew a large patronage with the racing film, "The Thoroughbred." Racing is at its height in New Orleans and this is one of the city's most popular sports. The Coogan film at Loew's State also deals with this subject. New Orleans neighborhood theatres report a slight decline in business. New Orleans is a large Catholic city and managers attribute the drop in attendance to the Lenten season. Baltimore THREE houses in Baltimore ran up the scale with big business during the week beginning Monday, March 21. Keith's Hippodrome, with Johnny Hines, in " 'Stepping Along," and five acts of family vaudeville, topped the list with big business all through the week while at Loew's Century "Sorrows of Satan" and the Russian Choir did big business and ' ' It, ' ' with Clara Bow, pulled them in very strong during its second week at Loew's "Valencia. "Stranded in Paris" did not prove a particularly strong drawing card at the Rivoli but business held up pretty good and opinions were divided regarding the humorous qualities of ' ' Getting Gertie 's Garter, ' ' with Marie Prevost, at the New Theatre, where it went over good but was not a howling success. Rin-Tin-Tin did not draw big houses at Warner's Metropolitan in "Hills of Kentucky," but there was good patronage throughout the week with Vitaphone attractions on the program. "Tarzan and the Golden Lion," shown with five acts of family vaudeville at the (jarden, went over all right but the Embassy with its split-week policy did very poor all week with "Exit Smiling" and "Ladies of Leisure." At Ford's Theatre, a legitimate house, "Beau Geste" did all right during its third week at $1.50 top. Central Pennsylvania CRISP and mostly clear weather during the week stimulated attendance at the Harrisburg picture theatres, in spite of the fact that the Lenten season is still causing many patrons to stay at home. Cajjitalizing on the interest of the ba-se.ball fans in the near approach of the league season, Manager Charley Jones reports excellent box office receipts from "Casey at the Bat," featuring Wallace Beery, in the Victoria. The pulling power of IMilton Sills, a Harrisburg favorite, in "Paradise," l)r()Ught good business for the week to the Colonial. At Loew's Regent the feature attraction was Gloria Swanson in "The Love of Sunya," with the personal appearance of David Rubinoff, the violinist, in a return engagement, as an added aUi-action. There was normal attendance at this theatre throughout the week. As a counter attraction to the movie, the Morgan Wallace Players opened in stock at the Majestic, with six night performances and three matinees. Indianapolis (~\ NLY a slight drop in movie business ^^ was expected to result from the opening of the stock season at English's this week by the Berkell players. Colleen Moore in "Orchids and Ermine" and the Vitaphone at the Circle were the attractions on the opposite side of Monument Circle. Business in first-run houses was very good last week, with "Don Juan" at the Circle leading the receipts at downtown houses. The Vitaphone has swelled Circle attendance the past few weeks, despite the omission of the regular orchestra. The orchestra conducted by Stolarevsky was back in the pit this week. Charlie Davis and his gang in "Ride 'Em, Cowboy" held business at normal last week at the Ohio with the film, "Afraid to Love." Davis' orchestra draws considerable of the Ohio business. Showing this week was "Slide, Kelly, Slide," which did a fair business. Plastering of posters all over town and co-operation of the fire department boosted business of "The Fire Brigade" at the Apollo. Neighborhood business was reported normal. Salt Lake City OUSINESS downtown in the Salt Lake first-run theatres was fairly good as a whole last week. "A Kiss in a Taxi" Avas not quite up to par in creating enthusiasm at the Paramount Empress. "Blonde or Brunette" did well at the Victory, as did "Sunny Side Up" at the Gem, the latter picture having received quite a bit of publicity and exploitation. "Ladies at Play" went over fairly good at the American, in addition to the Vitaphone offering. "Slide, Kelly, Slide" was the feature picture at the Pantages, with "Stage Madness ' ' being shown at the Orpheum in connection with their vaudeville programs. A second showing of "The Scarlet Letter" and an added attraction billed as "Sunbonnet Belles and Beaux" was offered at the Kinema. Neighborhood business picks up intermittently, but is hampered by the large number of ward chapel houses here offering weekly picture perfonnances. The Mission Theatre, a neighborhood house, did fairly well with "Summer Bachelore, " it is reported. Des Moines p ASEY AT THE BAT," playing at the ^^ Des Moines Theatre, did a very good week and was a good drawing card. It is a picture that sells itself. "Blind Alleys" at the Capitol is one of the most interesting things Thomas Meighan has done in some time. Mr. Meighan had been falling off a bit here and good pictures w(>re needed to keep his rating up. "Sensation Seekers" at the Strand did very well for a half-week. Billi(> Dove is getting a following of her own. "An Affair of the Follies," recently shown, did nmcli to add to her popularity. Ottawa rpXHIBTTORS ill Ottawa, the Canadian '--^ capital, had no cninplaiiit to make re garding business during the week of March 2L With the festive observance of MiCareme (Mid-Lent), the attendance of French-Canadians at various theatres was particularly pronounced but there were excellent crowds generally throughout the week. "Don Juan" was the outstanding attraction, this being presented at the Regent Theatre to full houses afternoon and night. "Nobody's Widow," a picture in lighter vein, was a feature that pleased at the B. F. Keith's Theatre. Corinne Griffith has a large following in Ottawa and there was substantial patronage all week for her "Three Hours" at the Center Theatre. "The Third Degree" was fair at the Imjierial Theatre. "Beverly of Graustark" packed them in at the Fern Theatre for second run. Tampa T AST week opened with beautiful weath■*--' er, but Tuesday it rained, followed by two days of real chilly weather which put a crimp into the box office receipts. The Tampa had "The Winning of Barbara Worth" the first four days, which pulled big for the first two days, but the bad weather hurt business the last two. For the last half "The Demi-Bride" was the attraction and it did Avell. Norma Shearer and Lew Cody are both M'ell liked in Tampa. At the Strand "The Understanding Heart" did good on Sunday and Monday. "The Sea Tiger" was the attraction the next three days and opened to only fair business Tuesday, caused by the rain, but Wednesday saw the crowds coming better and it finished up with an excellent day on Thursday. "Easy Money" did average business the last two days. The Victory brought back two pictures this week that had been very successful here on their first showing. "The Phantom of the Opera" failed to arrive for the matinee opening on Sunday and they were forced to offer a substitute. This hurt the matinee business, but the Phantom arrived in time for the evening show and the picture pulled very well. The other feature was "The Thief of Bagdad ' ' and it did as well as could be expected for a second showing. The Franklin kept its receipts up to the mark with "Wolf Hunting," "Pals in Paradise" and "When a Dog Loves," though they, too, felt the effect of the inclement weather. Oklahoma City THE Criterion Theatre won large audiences all last week with their doubleheader, "Blonde and Brunette" and a style show staged in conjunction with one of Oklahoma City's best woman's wear stores. Good sized ads in the daily papers were carried throughout its run. At the Empress "Venus of Venice" held the screen all week, and managed to bring in the uniformly good sized crowds in spite of keen competition from the other j)iteure houses. "A Little Journey" seemed to please fair sized audiences the first half of the week at the Capitol and was succeeded by a four-day return run of "The Big Parade" the last of the week. "Sensation Seekers" started a successful week for the Liberty Theatre and gave way in mid-week to Tom I\Iix in "The Canyon of Light." Mix seems to be a good card for anv week end at the Libertv.