Motion Picture News (May-Jun 1923)

June 30, 1923 3177 Regional News From Correspondents Wasn ington Film Row and Theatre Brevities There is no such thing as a " summer season " in the conduct of the Crandall theatres. The popular belief among showmen that entertainment values must necessarily slump during the hot months is not subcribed to by Harry M. Crandall and his staff. " Songs of the Past," the concert overture which will be played by the symphony orchestra at Crandall's Metropolitan theatre this week under the conductorship of Daniel Breeskin, was arranged by Ray Hart, a local musician, who spent three months in research work at the Congressional Library before completing the work. Daniel Mannix, formerly musical director at Crandall's Avenue Grand theatre, has taken charge of the music at Crandall's Apollo Garden, operated in conjunction with the Apollo theatre in Northeast Washington. The transition from Winter garb to Summer was completed last Saturday night at Crandall's Metropolitan theatre. Fallas Broche, house manager, and his entire house staff worked all night replacing the canary colored Baronet satin draperies with the summer cretonnes and covering the orchestra chairs with the fresh and cool cretonne seat covers. Mrs. Harriet Hawley Locher, director of the Public Service and Educational Department of the Crandall theatres, returns to Washington last Tuesday after a week in New York where she attended the Authors' League Conference for the Betterment of the Mo. ion Pictures as a delegate representing both the Washington Branch of the League of American Pen Women, of which she was recently elected president, and the Crandall theatres. While in New York Mrs. Locher had a number of valuable conferences with executives of the Will H. Hays organiza*. tion and others interested in the line of work which the Crandall Public Service and Educational Department is pioneering. Thomas Joseph Gannon, director of the Palace Symphony Orchestra at Loew's Palhis future connection will be. ace theatre, returned Sunday night from New York City, with a budget of up-to-the minute snappy musical hits from Broadway. The pioneer Colonial Beach exhibitor, Menz, who operates the open-air movies there, on Saturday Sunday and holidays, is again facing competition for the Westmoreland resort trade as the Auditorium there opened late last season is again running its show whenever Menz is operating. Ben Pitts, Fredericksburg, Va., exhibitor, is facing competition from Pleasure Island, a near Amusement Park reached by a stairway from the highway bridge at the Virginia city. The Lynchburg, Va., Academy of Music has just been leased by C. M. Casey, owner of the Isis picture theatre there, and goes under his management on July 1, according to advice from Lynchburg, undeT date of June 13. The policy of the house it is learned will be the presentation of high-class legitimate travelling combinations, the better class of vaudeville, and first run feature films. Renovations to the house will include complete repainting inside and out, says House Manager G. E. Barrett of the Isis. A visitor at the F. B. O. exchange this week was Charles Williams of the National Community Enterprises of Washington, who books for non-theatrical affairs. Former pioneer western exhibitor, Benjamin Carl Ochert, was seen on the street here this week. Marquis James of the American Legion Weekly, veteran dramatic and film press agent, and member of the allied amusement S. Rankin Drew Post of the American Legion, New York City, attended the sessions of the Legion Flag Conference here as did Colonel Jov of the Will Havs staff. Me ssrs Payette and Sherwood gave a realistic interpretative Oriental dance at the Kiddies party of the First National Club at the Payette menage last week. J-. H. Beaver has returned from Pennsylvania but is not yet in a position to say what his future connection will be. Mr. and Mrs. Boteler of Paramount are taking a month's leave and will spend their vacation in California. Margaret Dunham will have a birthday party on the 23rd of June the guests being all the Paramount employees. Charles S. Parker of the Universal exchange was married last week to Miss Amelia Bingham Ridgeley, and is enjoying the heat. Captain J. A. Bachman of Educational and his two Drum(mer) Majors, Levey and Dutton are out to corral the Educational prize for volume of old and new business. Miss Ruby Mathers is spending the weekend in New York City. Roy McHugh, veteran shipper, is "vacationing" at the Emergency Hospital. W hile on the first lap of his holiday in Baltimore last week his motor-cycle was run into and he was rendered unconscious for several hours. He was given temporary treatment and sent to the Washington Emergency Hospital. He is expected back at work soon. Harry Hunter, Paramount manager, went vacationing last Sunday and reports the fish biting good at Chesapeake Beach. Jack Osserman is back at Universal for a few days. Manager Brown is spending a fe wdays at the Home Office in New York. Robert G. Wyckhoff, of the traveling auditor staff of Fox Film Corporation, has recently been in the city looking into the books of the local branch. Manager George Roberts is expected back from the north shortly. Visitors in town this week-end were: John Pryor, Pryor Enterprises, Danville, Va., operating theatres in Richmond, Danville, and other Virginia communities, Auditor Collins of the Karl Nickolas properties, Portsmouth, operating the Rialto and Tivoli in the Virginia seaport. At one time they also operated the old Orpheum there, which was gutted by fire and permanently closed thereafter, several months ago; and Bernard Depkin, Baltimore exhibitor. Photoplay Personals and Events in Southeast MOORE county, North Carolina, boasts of the two finest theatre pipe organs in the South, and it is a rural community at that, without a single large town. When Leonard Tufts, millionaire developer of the winter resort at Pinehurst, built his commodious Carolina theatre a year ago he installed at that time the finest theatre pipe organ in this part of the country, the theatre being under the management of Charles W. Piquot, one of the best known showmen in the South, who, catering to an almost entirely millionaire clientele, presents first runs on a majority of the bigger pictures. Now, O. L. Aufer Heide and Dr. G. G. Herr, are starting the building of a half million dollar theatre at the neighboring resort of Southern Pines and intend to install a pipe organ that will even excell the one in the Carolina theatre. Harry S. Allen formerly of the HowardWells interests in Wilmineton, spent a greater part of the past week on Charlotte's Film Row buying pictures for his new theatre at Sanford, which will open Friday, June 22nd, with a big gala formal event and expensive favors to all patrons. J M O Dowd of the O'Dowd theatre, Florence, S. C. who upon the occasion of the recent fire tragedy at Camden, South Carolina, secured a reel of vivid pictures, reports that it requires two prints working continuously to supply the demand in the Carolinas for these pictures. A percentage of the returns from rentals is donated to the stricken families left by the disaster. Nat L. Royer, well known film man of the South and formerly publisher of Southern Picture News, Atlanta, Ga., has been made managing director of the re-christened Capitol Theatre, in Birmingham, Ala. The entire theatre has been re-arranged inside and out and will run only second and third runs, at popular prices. "Nat" is inaugurating an extensive and intensive publicity campaign to put the house user. R. D. Craver will motor down from Charlotte to \\ ilmington with his family next week and will spend an entire week on Wrightsville Beach at the Oceanic Hotel before the opening of the North Carolina convention on June 28th. "R. D." owns the Broadway theatres at Columbia and Charlotte and is president of Associated First National Pictures of the Southeast with exchanges in Charlotte and Atlanta. First National's entire force of bookers, salesmen and managers in Atlanta and Charlotte last week attended the sales conference in New Orleans. Among the Atlanta territory salesmen who went were the following: W. A. Sanges, Paul Strachen, Frank Sands, Nick Carter. From Charlotte manager Frank P. Bryan, booker Jack London and salesmen Bryan Craver and Jack Cunningham attended. District manager Fred Creswell announces the appointment of A. E. Rook, of Oklahoma City to the head of the advertising department of the new paramount exchange in Memphis. A. C. Edwards, now in the New Orleans office, will be in charge of the shipping department. The marriage in Atlanta last week of DeSalles Harrison for a lon.s time director of the Howard Theatre, to Miss Virginia Pegram, was one of the most fashionable of the month. Theadore Young, director of real estate for Famous Players-Lasky Corporation, was in Atlanta enroute to San Antonio, Texas, to arrange for the opening of an exchange there. The Pack Theatre, Asheville, N C, will soon re-open under the management of A, H Cobb. Jr., of Johnson City, Tenn, J. C Bailey, former owner and manager of the Star Theatre, Rockingham, N C, has purchased the Pastime, at Troy, North Carolina.