Motion Picture News (Apr - Jun 1927)

1836 Motion Picture N ezvs I Incandescent Lighting Being Used at M-G-M on All Interiors of Gish Films INCANDESCENT lighting, as developed in experiments by Maude Adams and Dr. Nutting, is being given one of its most thorough tests at the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios in the production of "The Wind," Lillian Gish's latest vehicle. All interior scenes in the picture are being filmed vi^ith the use of the incandescent lights instead of the usual hard lights, or arcs. John Arnold, the cameraman in charge, who, with Victor Seastrom, the director, worked out the application of the method, reports better results in photography with less current consumption, an absolutely steady light, perfectly controllable and making it impossible for the actors to develop Klieg eyes. The players, too, report considerable satisfaction with the innovation. The method was developed by Miss Adams and Dr. Nutting in experiments over a period of years, and was later made available for general use through General Electric. Several companies have tried it on a single production, and there is reason to believe that it will ultimately become an important factor in studio operation. Theatre Chains Acquire and Build Nevv Houses Famous Active in Canada; Stanley Gets Three Each in Jersey and Pennsylvania FAMOUS Players Canadian Corp., Toronto, has undertaken the construction of two more theatres in Western Canada, the new Cajjitol at Nelson, B. C, and also the Capitol at New Westminster, B. C. The corporation already operates the Starland in Nelson, where J. P. Pitner is the resident manager and he will have charge of the new house there. The Stanley Company of America has taken over the Embassy Theatre, Baltimore, the Strand, Shenandoah, Pa., and the Savoy, Bethlehem, Pa., which were operated by Len Berman, who formerly held the Warner Bros, and later the Columbia franchises in the Philadelphia territory. Stanley-Fabian has entered the Jersey field, purchasing a 50 per cent interest in the Wellmont, Montclair and Bellevue, owned by the Montclair Amusement Co., headed by H. H. Wellbrink. Vaudeville will be added at the 2,40()-seat Wellmont, while the Montclair, a combination house, is to be renovated and play only pictures. A .$;?,2.')0,000 merger, involving theatres, improvements and new buildings in Cleveland, Akron, Canton, and Mansfield was completed last week when the SilvermanOhio Theatres Company, and the M. S. Fine and A. Kramer interests of Cleveland united to form the Variety Amusement Company. The deal includes four theatres outside of Cleveland valued at $1,250,000, one Cleveland theatre now operating, one nearing completion, two to be built in Cleveland during the next year and one theatre site, totaling a sum estimated at $2,000,000. The theatres outside of Cleveland include the Strand, Akron, Alhambra, Canton; Opera House and I\Ia,jestic, . Mansfield. Cleveland houses include the Shaw-Hayden and Wind-A-Meer, which were owned by the Silverman-Ohio Theatres Company, controlled by Jacob and Isaac Silverman of Altoona, Pa. Fine and Kramer own the Princess theatre and are heavily interested in others. Messrs. Fine and Kramer were formerly connected with the Ohio Amusement Company. The new company is made up of Fine, Kramer, Jacob and Isaac Silverman, and Sam H. Stecher, real estate man and theatre promoter. The Midwest Properties Company, headed by Stecher, will erect all the new theatres fiu the company. The officers plan to acquire between fifteen and twenty other Cleveland theatres during the coming year. The Variety theatre, the first of the houses to be built, before the first of next year, will be located on St. Clair Ave., between East 105th and East 106th Streets, and will have one acre of seats, representing a capacity of more than .3,000. This will be a neighborhood house. Plans for this house call for the widest lobby in Cleveland, a new type ramp construction which will eliminate balcony stairways, and parking facilities for more than 300 cars. White terra cotta used in Gothic architectural design has been specified. The Union Square theatre, East 114th Street and Union Avenue, now in course of construction, with 1,800 seats, \vill open May 15th. Another new theatre will be erected during the year on the West Side at Lorain Avenue and West 118tb Street, with a seating capacity of 2,200. Officers of the Variety Amusement Company, Inc., are Jacob Silverman, president; M. S. Fine, vice-president, and Isaac Silverman, secretary-treasurer. S. H. Stecher is president of the Midwest Properties Company, with Fine as vice-president and Isaac Silverman as secretary-treasurer. Carl Laemmle, president of Universal, announced in 'Kansas City this week that a large first run house would be built bv Universal in Kansas City in the near future. John and Peter Sinopoulo and Tom H. Poland and their associates announced recently that they would erect a new $1,000,000 theatre on West Main Street, Oklahoma City, in the very near futui-e. It is claimed that this theatre will be the finest and costliest in the entire Southwest and will embody all the recently developed features of architecture and buildin"'. Boriskey Plans Circuit for Chattanooga Suburbs S. H. Boriskey, vice-president of Independent Theatres, Inc., which now controls four theatres in Chattanooga, announces plans for the organization of Community Theatres, Inc., a corporation to operate community motion picture houses in the suburbs of Chattanooga. The company will either erect the theatres or lease them from property owners on a long term basis; the contemplated circuit of nine theatres will be completed within the year, it is thought. The first theatre of the chain, now under construction, Avill be built on the Southeast corner of McCallie Avenue and Willow Street and it will be followed by other theatres in Alton Park, East Lake, St. Elmo and North Chattanooga. Each house will seat about 600 and will represent an investment of approximately $40,000. The company will have an initial capitalization of $25,000. Papers of incorporation will be filed during the week. Incorporators are S. H. Boriskey, A. Solomon, J. Schwartz, A. H. Boriskev and Phil Whitaker. Dr. Bausback Resigns as Head of Ufa Interests Dr. Ferdinand Bausback, the head of Ufa, has resigned from that position — a move which has been foreseen for some time, according to H. Fraenkel, Berlin correspondent of The News. He ha« been with Ufa for exactly one year, and will return to the Deutsche Bank directorate, from which he came. A number of other changes in personnel are expected. Six prominent executives have resigned during the past few days. Florida Showmen Menaced by Sunday Closing MOTION picture theatres of Florida will find their revenue seriously curtailed if the Sunday closing law proposed late last week by Representative Getzen of Bushell succeeds in passing. An equally undesirable feature of the same bill is ■ clause proposing a 10 per cent tax on admissions. The measure is aimed not only at theatres, but circuses, carnivals and other amusements of like nature. The bill provides that the bulk of the moneys accruing from the proposed tax levy shall go to the county school fund. Religious, charitable, educational organizations and school shows are exempt, as are towns under a 2,000 population.