Motion Picture News (Nov-Dec 1925)

2574 Motion Picture News onal News from Corresponden THE Empire Theatre, Fabrique Street, Quebec City, Quebec, has been sold by Quebec Theatres, Limited, to J. A. Fraser, for §70,000, according to announcement made by the company on November 11. The Empire is one of the popular small theatres of the "Ancient City." Manager Frank Robson of the Empress Theatre, Edmonton, Alberta, has made a slight but in Canad teresting change in the general policy of the theatre. Starting the week of November 9, he stipulated that matinee prices would prevail up to six o'clock each day instead of five o'clock as heretofore. Mr. Robson made this lllllllllllllllllllllllllli;^ change to encourage more patronage for the supper shows, the later hour making it possible for a considerable number of office employes to take advantage of the matinee admission price. R. J. Romney of St. Johns, N. B., is perfecting the details of organization for the Vital Exchanges of Canada, Limited, of which he is the president and general manager. He has opened an office in Toronto under the management of William Melody, one of the veterans of the film exchange business in Canada. An office is also being opened in Montreal. The Canadian headquarters will remain at St. Johns. Atlanta WH. ODOM, manager of the • Pastime Theatre, Sandersville, Ga., was in town Thursday and paid many calls along Film Row. P. B. Kelly, 1 who formerly operated the Strand Theatre, Lawrenceville, Ga., has again taken over the management of that house. He supplanted D. B. Dixon, who has been running the Strand since Mr. Kelly gave it up. Earl Fain, formerly with Loew's Vendome in Nashville, Tenn., was in town this week for several days and renewed old acquaintances here. Mr. Fain was enroute to Florida. How'ard Price Kingsmore, manager of the Howard Theatre here at one time, who subsequently accepted a position in California, now has the position of manager of Loew's Vendome, under the supervision of H. M. McCoy, recently appointed district manager in this territory for Marcus Loew. Charles E. Kessnich, district manager for the Metro-Goldwyn forces in the South, left Atlanta Monday morning with Ed Schiller for Nashville, Tenn. Mr. Kessnich expects to visit all their exchanges in the Southwest before returning to Atlanta about ten days from now. Bill McCorvey, who was connected with Vitagraph about three years ago, paid a visit to several exchanges along Film Row this week visiting old friends. It is understood Mr. McCorney is now connected with Reynolds and Reynolds, traveling out of Detroit. Ernest Neiman, representative for Producers in this territory, returned to Atlanta Monday after having spent several days last week in the Charlotte office. Mr. Neiman expects to remain here for a week or ten days. E. A. Schiller, general repre sentative for Marcus Loew, arrived in Atlanta last Saturday and spent Sunday and Monday here, leaving Monday night for New Orleans. Mr. Schiller will visit other Loew theatres in this territory and expects to return to Atlanta within about a week. Harry G. Ballance, southern district manager for Famous Players returned to Atlanta yesterday from Chicago, where he has been for the past ten days attending Ithe district and branch ma'nagers' convention. It is understood Mr. Ballance will hold a sales meeting here next week which will be attended by the managers and a number of salesmen in this territory. R. G. McClure, cashier for the local Fox exchange, is receiving the svmpathv of friends on Film Row in the loss of his father, who died suddenly Saturday following an attack of acute meningitis. T..M. Flinn, head of the playdate department of Producers Distributing Corporation in New York and brother to lohn Flinn. vicepresident and general manager, visited the Atlanta exchange, under the management of Thomas A. LiHe. this week. "Bob" Savini, who left a short time ago to engage in the real estate activities and other businesses flourishing in Florida at this time, sends /the word from Fort Lauderdale, where he is located now, that things are just as bright down there as they seem to be from here. Rob can be reached at the Sunseit Theatre, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He is president of Savini Films, now under the. management of his brother. M. W. Smith, of the War Department, United States Army, paid one of his regular visits to Film Row this week selecting pictures for soldier audiences. Ernest Geyer, Paramount ex ploiteer, left Tuesday for La Grange, Ca., where he will assist in the opening of the remodeled and re-named Strand Theatre, now called the New Fairfax. Mr. Geyer will return to the city the latter part of the week. "Scotty" Chestnut, Paramount's branch manager in Jacksonville, visited the sister exchanges here in Atlanta this week. H. I). Hearn, local branch manager for Liberty hilm Distributing Corporation, returned early in the week after having completed a trip throughout the Tennessee territory. The local Pathe exchange this week will have six salesmmen on the road representing them instead of three. William Saul, otherwise known as "Bill,"' who is assistant to Sam Dembow. booker in Famous Players' New York office, spent several days in Atlanta this week. Beginning this week the Howard theatre will institute a new policy supplementing the regular picture and musical program with big-time acts that have won recognition in New York, Chicago, and other major metropolitan centers. Due to what he terms excessively bad business, C. A. Gobel, exhibitor in Bristol, Va.-Tenn., has closed his Columbia theatre, w hich was located on the Tennessee side. Mr. Gobel has consolidated his efforts on his two remaining theatres in Bristol, which are situated in close proximity on the Virginia side of the town. O. P. Hall, who succeeded Ira P. Stone as branch manager for Warner Brothers in Atlanta, arrived in the city Sunday and took over his duties in the local exchange Monday morning. The Strand theatre at LaGrange, Ga., which was recently purchased by R. T. Hill, of Tullahoma, Tenn.. will have its formal opening next Monday under the name of the New Fairfax theatre. Mr. Hill owns a number of small town theatres principally in Tennessee. He has spent over $10,000 in remodeling and improving his new house, installing a modern heater, two new projection machines, a Reproduce organ, and adding a new and attractive marque to the front of the New Fairfax. Philadelphia THE Stanley Musical Club, recently organized with Jules E. Mastbaum as president, will give the first of a series of five concerts on Sunday evening, November 29th, at the Stanley theatre. Mayor Kendrick has appointed Abe L. Einstein, publicity director of the Stanley Company of America, a member of the general Publicity Committee for the Sesqui-Centennial, which will be held in Philadelphia during the summer of 1926. Mr. Einstein will have charge of motion picture and outdoor publicity. John Gill is now managing the Art Class Film Exchange for Gus Krug and John Brehm. Mr. Gill has been a prominent figure in the motion picture community for many years. The Art Class Film Exchange specializes in western and outdoor stunt pictures. The Criterion theatre at Morristown, N. J. was recently sold by W. E. Darnell to Hunt's Theatres, Inc., operating a chain of theatres in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. A. H. Edwards has taken over the Good Will theatre, Cressona. Pa., from Fred Aschenbach. S iiiimiiini, n in iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiui iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiKiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiii inn iiii'i'iNiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiniiu iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimii iiiiiini mini iiiiiiiimiiimi iiimin I milium i niiimiiin i m mm" San Diego TuiiiiiimimiiiiimmKimitmiiiiiimi imtmiiiiim " n I i 111 i inn mini mum inn n mimiini imiiiiiiiiimiimmmiiiimiiiiiiimi mm iiiimimiimiiiiiim iiiimin n imiiiiiiitmiiiiimiiiiiiiiiimimim iimiiiimimi imiiiimiiiiiimii iiiimmiimmiimiimnrmiiimiiiimiibf THE Rialto theatre, a motion picture house which has been dark for some months, has been reopened with W. H. Crawford as manager. In addition to a feature film and a comedy the programs will include a musical revue. The prices have been fixed at 25 cents for adults at the evening shows and 15 cents at the matinees, with a rate of 10 cents for children. The house seats about 700, and has been completely renovated and changes have been made to provide for ample stage facilities, and new' lighting effects have been installed. Announcement is made that a new theatre is to be erected at Chula Vista, a suburb of San Diego, to cost approximately $65,000.00. It will be of Mission style of architecture and have a capacity of 500. The Liberty theatre, long operated as a musical comedy and stock house, has been reopened as a motion picture theatre, with Mike McPherson, formerly house manager of the California, as lessee and manager. It has a schedule of 10 and 15 cents, and has adopted a slogan, "Big Pictures You May Have Missed."