Motion Picture News (Mar-Apr 1923)

April 7 , i 9 2 s 1695 Picture Happenings in and About Cleveland A PROMINENT local exchange manager recently made a trip through the territory. Upon his return to the city he was asked what type of motion picture theatre is making money, in his opinion. Is it the big downtown house that is getting the business, he was asked, or is it the first-run neighborhood houses, or is it a little of both? "It's the house that has the biggest picture that gets the business," this exchange matiager, who does not want to be quoted, answered. " The public does not discriminate among theatres. It goes downtown just as readily as it stays uptown. Everything depends upon the picture. The public is shopping for entertainment. Extraneous matters, like location, convenience, luxury and so forth, do not count. The answer is, give the public good pictures and they'll come to the picture theatres." J. A. Koerpel, division manager for Goldwyn Pictures Corporation, is just back from New York, where he went to attend a two-day conference with F. J. Godsoll and all Goldwyn division managers. The object of the special meeting was to discuss autumn distribution plans. One of the chief events of the conference was a special screening of the Rupert Hughes story, " Souls for Sale." A messenger brought a print of the picture all the way from Los Angeles for the occasion, and immediately after the screening took the first train back to the coast. Koerpel says the representatives present were unanimous in their praise of the production. F. G. Conklin, personal representative for Mr. Brulatour, spent several days in Cleveland last week. Paul Mooney, in charge of the New York offices of Louis B. Mayer Productions, Inc., started out on a cross-country trip to visit all the exchanges handling Mayer-made productions. His trip was interrupted this week by an attack of ptomaine poisoning. Fortunately this all happened near Cleveland, so he stayed over in the old home town until he was sufficiently recovered to continue the journey. Jack Mooncy, representing the Oliver Morosco interests, has been spending the week in Cleveland. Robert Cotton, manager of the Cleveland Fox exchange, succeeded in booking " The Town That Forgot God " for twenty-three simultaneous runs in Cleveland beginning Sunday, April 1st. It has been Mr. Cotton's policy right along to follow the first run with a bunch of simultaneous neighborhood runs. And it has been a satisfactory and highly remunerative policy. T. J. Conncrs, assistant general salesmanager for Metro, arrived in Cleveland on Friday of this week in company with District Manager W. C. Bachmeyer. Conners and Bachmeyer have been making a tour of the central division exchanges, just to get acquainted with local people and local conditions. Conners left Saturday for New York. Harry Charnas, president of the Standard Film Service Company of Cleveland, left Saturday of this week for New York and Atlantic City. Lou Thompson, well known in the territory through his long association with Universal and later with Associated Exhibitors, is now with the M. Shea Booking Exchange, Inc. Thompson is handling special feature attractions used in connection with a feature picture program. Among his specialties are Eva Tanguay and a ten-piece band ; Yvette, Mayme Gehrue and company, and Vera Sabina with the Spanish Marimba band. Eva Tanguay played at the James theatre, Columbus; Orpheum, Detroit, and Mozart theatre, Canton. Thompson booked the Hollywood Studio Orchestra in the Liberty theatre, Youngstown, for a week. Christie Deibel liked to see the way the crowd elbowed its way into the house, so he held the attraction over for a second week. This is right in line with the opinion expressed by many local prominent exhibitors that the public is looking for specialty numbers in addition to a feature picture to complete a program these days. J. E. Beck, local Vitagiaph exchange man ager, got lonesome for the exhibitors this week. There have been so few around the Film Exchange Building that he boarded a suburban and went over the nearby territory to see the specimen in their native haunts. C. L. Peavey, manager of Hodkinson's local office, has arranged for the state premier of " Down to the Sea in Ships " to take place at the Alhambra theatre, Toledo, on April 7th. The picture is booked for an indefinite run. Sam Lichter, whose name has been identified with" the Angella and Nemo theatres of Cleveland, has, according to the wise ones, leased the Grand and State theatres in Salem, O. George Schenker of the Pearl theatre, South Lorain, made the local Fox exchange happy this week on a visit to Cleveland by signing up for the company's entire 1922-1923 product. Joe Schagrin separated himself from the Park theatre, Youngstown, long enough to pay Cleveland a few days' visit last week. Peter Rettig of the Mystic theatre, Galion, was observed signing a Goldwyn contract while in town the other day. John Kessler, of the Alhambra theatre, Canton, paid Cleveland the compliment of a visit this week. J. A. Bradshaw, manager of the Grand theatre, Crestline, signed his name in the visitors' book of the Film Exchange Building this week. Dick Deutch, associated with Samuel R. Bradley in the Bradley Feature Pictures Company, was the leading man in a matrimonial event which took place in Cleveland last Sunday. Deutch was co-starred with Miss Lillian Green, also of Cleveland. Best wishes of friends and competitors are following them on the honeymoon trip in the East. It is reported that John Pekras of the Dreamland theatre, Elyria, has purchased a half interest in the Grand theatre, also of Elyria. Pekras was in Cleveland the greater part of the week booking pictures for the entire summer. The reason for his haste is that he is sailing early in April for an extended trip to Europe. Trade Jottings from Spokane and Vicinity THE first change of program for the moving picture theatre dc luxe of the crack Olympian transcontinental train of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railway was made last on March 20th by R. C. Hudson, assistant manager of the local Universal exchange. The Olympian moving picture car, which is a dining car transformed in to a screen showhouse, started with the train at Seattle showing " Driven " and a Herbert Rawlinson picture, " The Prisoner." , At Spokane on the night of March 20th Mr. Hudson tossed the reels aboard for the show to continue until the train arrived at Butte,' Mont., where another change was made. The films taken on at Spokane were " The Ghost Patrol," a Baby Peggy comedy and a one-reel Mirror film. Sale of " Safety Last," the latest Harold Lloyd comedy, has been announced by C. M. Van Horn, local manager of the Pathe exchange, handling the Lloyd comedies. According to reports from the Liberty the theatre managements, of which Ray Grombacher is the head, paid the highest price it has paid for a picture in Spokane, for " Safety Last," not excepting " Robin Hood." The picture will be shown early in April. Lionel Dobell, well known in Los Angeles screen circles, associated with his father-inlaw, D. E. Lakin, of the Lakin Milling Company of Spokane, has taken a lease on the studios at Minnehaha at the northeastern city limits. The studios are controlled by the PanAmerican Film Corporation. Dobell has started studio shooting on three pictures which he started here last summer without a studio. His organization is known as the North American Photoplayers, Inc., and holds the lease on the studios for a 22-month period. Dobell's films are comedies, child films and Indian pictures. " Russia Through the Shadows," a film said to be backed by the Friends of Soviet Russia and which is to show at the Auditorium theatre here in April, is receiving little support locally. It is rumored that Maurice Smith, police commissioner, is not overly enthusiastic over the film. The Nell Shipman Producing Company, which recently released " The Grub-Stake," is in no way opposed to organized labor, Bert Van Tuyle, manager, told delegates at the Central Labor Council meeting last week. In his talk Manager Van Tuyle assailed J. C. H. Reynolds, secretary-treasurer of the Nell Shipman Productions Syndicate, formed to finance the making of the film, " The Grub-Stake," and blamed him for the hostility of labor toward the picrure after it appeared for exhibition. " Our contract with the finance corporation was that it should provide the funds for making the picture up to a limit of $150,000," said Mr. Van Tuyle in addressing the labor delegates. " The finance syndicate was to pay the bills and receive 65 per cent of the net proceeds, and we were to receive 35 per cent. From the start we were handicapped by two things — Reynolds and the lack of money. Day after day we were tied up for lack of funds, until in all some 52 days were lost. Last July when the picture was nearing completion' and the finance company refused to produce any more money we canceled the contract. " Just as we were about to leave for Los Angeles, S. J. M. Smith and F. O. Berg came forward and agreed to advance $6,500 each of the $16,000 needed to finish the picture, and we put up the balance and at the same time agreed that the people who had previously invested their money in the production should be reimbursed. I will say that the motion picture studio at Minnehaha and the scenic advantages of this district are ideal for the production of pictures that should bear the name of Spokane." " Dr. Jack," starring Harold Lloyd, returned to Spokane last week for a second run, and is making a phenomenal box office showing at the Rex theatre, according to reports. " Dr. Jack " showed to record houses at the Liberty theatre late last year. The Rex is a second ruir house with 450 seats, and the first day, with seven shows, brought in 3,100 admissions. Late News Bulletins from the Des Moines Exchanges Miss Stella Hughes, stenographer at the Universal Film exchange, Des Moines, is suffering from a sprained back received in a fall on Thursday of last week. Mr. L. R. Brager, exploitation man at the Associated First National exchange, left Friday for New York, called on business bv the New York office. It is probable Mr. Brager will locate in New York. Edward Grossman, of New York, special representative for the Al Lichtman corporation, was in Des Moines last week conferring with A. H. Blank. Harry M. Weinberg, manager of the Associated First National, will return Sunday. March 25, from a business trip to New York."