Motion Picture News (May-Jun 1923)

2696 Lyric, South Bend, to Be Razed Work of razing the old Lyric theatre in South Bend, Wash., began recently, preparatory to clearing the ground for the erection of a modern new combination vaudeville and motion picture house. George Eeizner. YVillapa Harbor theatre magnate and owner of the property on which the Lyric stands, has purchased fifty feet additional frontage and expects to begin work on the new house within the coming few months. All the motion picture equipment and other apparatus from the Lyric has been moved to the Grand Opera House in South Bend, which Mr. Reizner is now operating as a motion picture theatre. The Lyric was the oldest theatre in the city and was one of the landmark? of that locality. — Prager. Broadway Theatre, Council Bluffs, Opened The Broadway theatre in Council Bluffs, Iowa, opened recently, representing an investment of $250,000. The Broadway was built under the general direction of the A. H. Blank enterprises. The stage proscenium width is 32 feet, the stage is 62 feet from wall to wall. The appointments include an up-to-date switchboard and ample dressing rooms. There are 1,500 seats and about 90 boxes and loges. The decorating scheme is in ivory and gold, with tapestry and carpets in harmony. There are eight massive chandeliers and the latest improvements in heating and cooling systems. The projection is possible through two Powers latest type machines in a large booth with sanitary accommodations. All chairs in the auditorium are leather cushioned. Walter F. Davis is managing the Broadway, which is just the last word in elaborate small-town theatres. — Black. Family Theatre to Be Remodeled N. Dipson of Batavia, N. Y., will remodel and redecorate the Family theatre in that town this summer and reopen it in the fall. The Family now has a seating capacity of 600. The remodeling plans call for the addition of 600 more seats. It is reported that Mr. Dipson will also remodel a store in LeRoy, N. Y., into :i picture house, starting operations there in about six weeks. — Taylor. Taunton Company Resumes Building The Empire Theatre proposition on Broadway, Taunton, Mass., originally sponsored by tl)e Black and Spitz interests, has been acquired by the Donovan Amusement Company, of Taunton, who already control the Park theatre, Casino and Auditorium in that city. It is the intention of the new owners to build a combination business block and theatre. /. Roth, expert at handling film in Tropics Becomes Expert in Handling Film in Tropics Roth's career began some fifteen years ago as the man behind the camera with the Nestor Film Company. Roth established a reputation for himself, and then decided to retreat to the laboratories in order that he might be as expert as possible in every angle of his work. He eventually became head of this department for Unista Film Mfg. Company, where he again attained a place among the top-notchers. Two years ago Roth was induced to take a trip to Porto Rico where he has been in charge of the Gonzalez's Studio Laboratory, experimenting with new effects and doing some research in the difficulties of handling film in the Tropics. Some of the remarkable results he has been able to achieve are denoted in " The Tents of Allah," just completed. He promises some entirely new and very beautiful effects in the next picture, soon lo be started in the Porto Rico Studio. Emery Majestic to Show Pictures The Emery Majestic opened recently in Providence, R. I., as the most beautiful theatre devoted to photoplays in that city. Erected about six years ago by the Emery Amusement Company, it was devoted for the past five years to the legitimate, and now. with the expiration of the Shubert lease, passes back into the hands of the Emery Amusement Company, who inaugurates a high-class policy of photoplays with presentation. The equipment installed includes a Wurlitzer organ, at" which will preside Aurele J. Forest and Earlc C. Snow as organists. — Strong. Motion Picture News Smooth Movement of Pictures Explained {Continued from page 2692) of this substance upon which the motion picture depends. Every material mechanism exhibits a property which physicists term inertia. By virtue of this property matter tends to remain in a state of uniform motion unless acted upon by some external force. One finds many illustrations of this in every-day life. Let us take an example from automobiling. If it were not, lor the initial inertia to be overcome there would be no need for a shift of gears from low through intermediate into high in order to get the machine under way. The initial sluggishness or inertia of the machine has to be overcome before the automobile can be propelled at its usual speed. And when once under way it will continue to move when the power is shut off; it is necessary to apply the brakes in order to bring the machine to a halt. The effects of inertia are met with both in starting and stopping an automobile. But what has this matter of inertia to do with motion pictures? A great deal, indeed. An example or two will sullice to demonstrate the inertia which is present in the eye. It is only to be expected that we find inertia in the organ of vision since we have found the eye to be mecano-chemical in operation. Inertia is found in the eye as in any oilier material mechanism. Initial inertia — the inertia to be overcome in starting — manifects itself in the retina in what is known as the latent time. A few hundredths of a second elapse between the moment a beam of light falls upon the retina and the beginning of the 7-esulting nervous impulse in the retina. This time is consumed in overcoming the molecular inertia of the photo-chemical stimulating medium. In the case of the automobile the initial inertia can be overcome quickest by the highest powered car. In the case of the retinal lag — the initial inertia — the latent period also decreases with an increase in the intensity of the light. This initial lag in the retina is difficult Jo demonstrate except with the aid of intricate laboratory apparatus. The retinal persistence, or what corresponds to the inertia of stopping in the automobile, however, is easily demonstrated. In a recent issue of The Journal of Experimental Psychology I described a new apparatus for the study of visual after-images. A rough and ready demonstration apparatus along the same lines can easily be improvised. Stand in a dark room with the eyes about two feet from a round, gas-filled, clear glass electric bulb. Remain in the dark for about five minutes so the visual purple of the eye may become adapted to the dark. Then switch the light on for just an instant, watching the bright yellow filament closely. What is seen after the light is switched off? Although all stimulation is removed an identical image of the red-hot filament remains for a considerable length of time and is seen as {Continued on page page 2697) FOR BETTER MUSIC THE FOTOPLAYER THE AMERICAN PHOTO PLAYER CO. 1600 ^ROADWAY 702 SOUTH WABASH AVENUE 109 GOLDEN GATE AVENUE NEW YORK CITY CHICAGO. ILL. * SAN FRANCISCO, CAL.