Motion Picture News (Mar-Apr 1923)

April 21, 19 2 3 1957 Regional News From Correspondents Exchange and Exhibitor Items from St. Louis Judge W. J. G. Neun ST. LOUIS filmdom scored an excellent victory with the election of April 3 of Walter J. G. Neun, general counsel of the General Film Manufacturing Company, University City, Mo., as president of the Board of Aldermen of St. Louis. Neun's election as President of the Board of Aldermen is most timely so far as the film interests of St. Louis are concerned. There is considerable agitation in St. Louis at present in favor of a Daylight Saving ordinance and the president of the board will have great weight in deciding the fate of such legislation. Neun is a member of the law firm of D'Arcy & Neun, National Bank of Commerce Building, St. Louis, and is a product of St. Louis and a graduate of Washington University Law School. He formerly was a Circuit Judge and an assistant circuit attorney. The General Film Manufacturing Company has its large studios in the Egyptian Building. University City, Mo., the largest building of its kind in the world. Citizens of Webster Groves, a suburb of St. Louis, on April 3, by a vote of 1,910 to 1.464. decided in favor of retaining the town's only blue law, an ordinance prohibiting the showing of motion pictures on Sundays. The ordinance has existed since the suburb was organized as a municipality, many years before it had a picture show. The movement for Sunday movies started last September, when residents of the town, thinking of the long journey to St. Louis the first of every week for a little amusement, suggested the removal of the local restraint. So petitions were circulated and more than 1,300 signatures were obtained. These were submitted to the City Council, which body passed the buck to the town as a whole, voting to' submit the question at the municipal election, April 3. Proponents of Sunday movies did not campaign at strenuously as they could have, but the church and reform element did not sleep on the job and expended large sums to keep Webster blue on Sundays. Burglars took $400 from the safe of the Shaw theatre, April 1, after battering the door off with a sledge hammer. They broke open a window to get into the theatre office. The St. Louis Amusement Company owns the Shaw. Cartha.se, Mo., shook off the reform element on April 3, defeating all the candidates for the five aldermanic positions who had the endorsement of the Christian Council, an organization composed of the Church-Blue Law crowd. The injection of the Sunday closing issue resulted in a very heavy vote. A motion picture, "A Day With the Careless Driver," is being shown in St. Louis motion picture houses for the St. Louis Safety Council through the courtesy of members of the Exhibitors' League. Noah Bloomer, owner of the Gayety theatre, Freeburg, 111., has opened the New Dreamland theatre, Belleville, 111. Ed Fellis of the Orpheum, Hillsboro, III., has been honored by the citizens of his county by being elected to a place on the County Board of Supervisors on the Republican ticket April 3. James D. Drake and Phil Cohen have opened the Temple theatre, Alton, 111., as a combination house. Drake's management of the Lyric and Avenue theatres, East St. Louis, 111., for Cohen was so successful he decided to expand his operations by taking in the Alton house. Jim Reilly of the Princess theatre, Alton, 111., has recovered from his recent illness sufficiently to permit his making the regular weekly trips to St. Louis. . Tom Reed of Duquoin, 111., has returned from a trip to Atlanta, Ga., where he went to visit a daughter in school. While South, Tom carefully studied the theatrical situation. "Down to the Sea in Ships," which is playing a special engagement at the Pershing theatre. St. Louis, has enjoyed excellent success and has been held over for another week. The attendance has grown larger day by day, the picture benefitting considerably from word of mouth advertising by those who witnessed it. G. E. W. Griffith, who plans to open a summer theatre at Centralia, 111., to be known as the Broadway theatre, was in St. Louis during the week arranging his programs. He plans to open about May IS. A. C. Norwein, who recently sold his theatre at Bonne Terre, Mo., has accepted a position with the St. Louis branch of the Nash Motor Out-of-town callers to St. Louis exchanges the past week included : Tom Law of Pana, 111.: Jim Reilly of Alton; G. E. W. Griffith of Centralia, 111. : Verna Coffman, Lyric theatre, Moweuqua, 111.; George Newsum, Mount Vernon, 111. ; Tom Reed of Duquoin, 111. ; Noah Bloomer of Freeburg and Belleville, and S. E. Pirtle of Jcrseyville, 111. Trade Activities in and About Milwaukee AN innovation in the form of a "discovery" contest will be the feature of the Sunday, April 15, program at the Alhambra theatre, of which Leo Landau is manager. Mr. Landau is advertising a noon concert, to be followed by the regular program, and is reserving seats for the performance, with no extra admission charge. All non-professional entertainers, either vocalists, musicians, or novelty acts in the state of Wisconsin are asked to communicate with Mr. Landau. From the list of those desiring to participate, an interesting program will be arranged. Sixteen motion picture theatres in the city, including three downtown houses, have been granted a temporary lifting of the ban placed by the health department, against attendance of children under 12. The restriction was placed upon all motion picture houses more than a fortnight ago, owing to the scarlet fever epidemic among school children, and seriously, affected business in many outlying houses, which depend upon juvenile interest in serial pictures to a great extent. Each of these theatres are having a physician to examine all children under 12 seeking admission. Children may again attend the Princess, American or Whitehouse theatres downtown ; or the Astor, Kosciusko, Violet, Tivoli, Venus, Jackson, Rose, Parkway, Arcade, Liberty. Fern, Atlas or Riviera in their respective neighborhoods. Liens have been filed against four theatres in Milwaukee and in the state as a result of differences with the internal revenue office. Two of these are motion pictures houses the Whitehouse at Cudahy, and the Palace at Racine. A lien for $152 for taxes on admission from July 1920 to May 1921 was filed against the Whitehouse, and for $1,344 against the Racine theatre, said to be due as additional tax on the theatre's income in 1917. Practically every active organization in Milwaukee took sides in the recent daylight savings controversy, prior to the election of April 3. The ordinance, which was peculiarly worded, read : Shall the ordinance providing for daylight saving be repealed? The fact that those in favor of the measure would have to vote "No" and vice versa was thought to have contributed to the defeat of the plan, which has been in force for three years. The Motion Picture Theatre Owners organized the Standard Time League to work for the repeal of the ordinance, and with them in sentiment were such organizations as the Federated Trades Council, Marquette Women's League, Milwaukee chapter, American Institute of Architects, Milwaukee Baseball Umpires' Association, Milwaukee Business Women's Clubs, Milk Producers' association. Allied with the Daylight Saving Committee, vhich labored to prevent the repeal of the ordinance were the Parent-Teacher association, Milwaukee Real Estate Board, Engineers' so ciety, W. C. T. U., Chamber of Commerce, Wesley Methodist Church Men's Club, Polish American Housewives' League, West Side Mothers' Club, Bayview Civic Association, thousands of employees of the Schuster stores and Gimbel Brothers. The vote to maintain standard time was won by a majority of 10,000 votes. Briefs From Florida Territory Fort Myers jumps into the lime-light with two distinguished visitors, Thomas Edison and Henry Ford, and, says the report, upon the arrival of the two gentlemen in that city, Mr. F.dison went at once to the picture show, while Mr. Ford went for a shave. Jack Frost, manager of the Strand. Tampa, put over another of his famous Merchant tieun oages. in the local papers, on the feature. "What's Wrong With the Women?" AH of the merchants' ads, which surrounded the theatre announcement, asked the question, "What's Wrong With the Women?" and then proceeded to answer the question with cleverly worded suggestions and reasons for trading at their establishments. John B. Carroll, manager of the Victory, Tampa, has added a special attraction, or orologue, to his regular picture programs. Members of the Victory orchestra have been used in some of the numbers and they have proven their abilitv to put over a specialty as well as the vaudeville artists.