Motion Picture Herald (Jan-Mar 1932)

50 Better Theatres Section February 13, 1932 How to Reach the Theatre Market A straight line is still the shortest distance between seller and buyer. BETTER THEATRES is that straight line in the motion picture business. Nearly everyone with buying authority in the field is a reader. So are those without authority but with advisory influence. Reach them and you have gone straight to all of your market. Advertising in BETTER THEATRES is the most economical as well as the most direct route from you to your customer. With one advertisement you reach the whole of your market. Not a prospect is missed. Not a cent is wasted. Detailed and audited figures to prove these statements will be sent upon request. Address: BETTER THEATRES 407 S. Dearborn St, Chicago Motion Picture Patents My Specialty PATENTS Vmiiam N. Moore Patent Attorney Loan and Trust Building Washington, D. C The first important step is to learn whether you can obtain a patent. Please send sketch of your invention with $10, and I will examine the pertinent U. S. patents and inform you whether you are entitled to a patent, the cost and manner of procedure. Personal attention. Established 35 years. Copyright your play $5.00 TradeMark your goods or titles $30.00 RadiOA-W-Mat ' MR, EXHIBITOR: Your personal opinion of coming pictures, typewritten on RADIO-MAT SLIDES will possibly be of greater interest to your audience than the ordinary trailer — and it will cost you MUCH LESS. IS THE STATiONERr OF THE Screen THE NEW-TIFFIN CURTAIN CONTROL NOW — $100.00 — NO tfllhg^cenicStudios TirriN.oiiio Complete Stage Equipment JR. w they are to be considered, the purchaser should bear in mind that to get these additional factors of beauty and style he must be willing to sacrifice something in the wear life. The first principle, therefore, in considering soft coverings is : To be safe, stick to pile fabrics. The second principle is to select a good fabric in the particular class under consideration. It is generally unwise to buy the cheapest fabric made in its particular class. For example, it is usually safer to buy a good jacquard velour than to buy a cheap mohair. It is possible to buy a mohair for the same price as a medium class jacquard, but it is probable the medium priced jacquard will give greater satisfaction. In selecting a fabric some consideration should be given to the class of patrons which are to use the house. The same principle applies to colors. If a theatre is serving a class of patronage whose clothes are liable to be dirty, or if confections or refreshments are sold in the theatre, light colors should be avoided. It is good practice to avoid delicate shades entirely. Brightness can be obtained without having seating areas of light color. In general, mohairs can be used in lighter colors than cottons because the mohair yarn is smoother and holds less dirt. Most of the fabrics used for theatre chairs can be kept in a sanitary condition by regular use of a good vacuum cleaner. Most of the pile fabrics are washable, but if washing is undertaken it is important that chairs be thoroughly dry before using again. It is particularly important that the cotton padding beneath the covering material be dried as well, otherwise they may mildew. It is generally considered the best practice in washing pile fabrics to use a soap froth instead of sudsy water, in other words, a very much higher percentage of soap than is used in ordinary washing. Only mild soap containing no lye should be used for theatre chairs. EQUIPMENT AFFAIRS Equipment News and Commenf VENTILATING FAN • An adjustable volume ventilating fan has been marketed by the Vallen Electrical Company of Akron, designed especially for duct installations. The fan shaft is at right angles to the motor driving shaft, with power transmitted through specially constructed gears to provide a positive drive. All shafts are carried on ball bearings. A feature of the fan is adjustable pitch blades. The pitch of the blades can be adjusted to exhaust air (hot or cold), steam, fumes, spray, dust, odors, etc. SIGN ANIMATOR • An electric sign animator, or flasher, based on the simple principle of the "Jacob's ladder" known to every high school student of physics, has been brought out by Q-R-S-Neon of Chicago. The device consists of two vertical rods set at a slight angle to each other, forming a V. Both rods are supported at the bottom by an insulating base. The closest point between the two rods is at the bottom. When strong voltage is applied to both rods, the current jumps or arcs from one rod to the other. The air around and immediately above the arc becomes heated, forming a partial vacuum. The arc then climbs up both rods and into this vacuum. As the air heating process continues, the arc proceeds to climb upward along both rods until it reaches the top of the V, where it breaks and starts over again at the bottom. Tile arc generates heat in the rods and after it has traveled from bottom to top several times, the rods are brought up to a constant temperature. This permits the movement of the arc to become regular and uniform (providing, of course, that there are no air currents present, which would have a tendency to interrupt the uniformity of travel). By enclosing the rods in a protected chamber, with openings in both the top and bottom, distracting air currents are eliminated. The speed with which the air passes through governs the speed with which the arc climbs. INDIRECT FIXTURE • The Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company of Cleveland, has developed an indirect lighting fixture of semi-modernistic design, called a "Louverlux." It embodies a Lunalux globe for reflecting and diffusing the light, and a series of louvers to direct the remaining light toward the ceiling. The hanger is furnished with either chain or tubing, and lengths appropriate for any mounting height can be supplied. The keeper-ring method of supporting the globe is employed. This is to keep out bugs and to eliminate globe breakage due to unequal expansion and contraction. The louvers are a separate unit and can be attached or detached at will without removing the globe. ACCOUNTING SYSTEM • Simplification of the chore of keeping books is something to be welcomed by the average exhibitor, so an accounting system that was conceived for just such a purpose is -worth reporting. In a Seymour, Ind., newspaper we note an account of it, the product, we assume, of years of experi