Motion Picture News (Jul-Oct 1914)

26 THE MOTION PICTURE NEWS The Pass Disease and Its Victims By Charles B. Taylor ' ' The "Deadhead" Is as Prevalent and Perennial a Pest to the Exhibitor as of Old to the Theatre ManagerThose Who Ask Most Deserve Least — And the Victims of the Disease Are the Exhibitors II -|--^ ASSES" is quite an unusual subject, but nevertheless a most important one to . countless managers who are daily being "pestered'' to death for a pass to their motion picture show. The telephone bell rings in the manager's office. "Hello, this is Mr. Blank, advertising solicitor of the Blade. I would like to have six box seats for to-night. Will you leave them in the box-office for me in my name?" "I am sorry, Mr. Blank, but tonight being Thursday, I expect to have a big house and I cannot turn my patrons who occupy box seats away. I will be glad to let you have seats in any other part of the house, however. "Oh, never mind, then, we will go somewhere else," is the reply. Such a thing is getting to be a common occurrence in Buffalo. THE other day a local advertising man on one of the big local dailies stopped one of the managers and asked him for a book of tickets to his theatre. The book contained 50 tickets, and just because it was a "book," he thought he had better, tackle the manager for the whole thing. This man had never done anything for the theatre in the way of publicity except perhaps knocking the theatre, which is a boost from some people, we have been told. Upon being refused, he threatened to see what he could do about having the write-up on the following Sunday for this theatre cut down, and carrying out his threat, went to the managing editor and told him to run about five lines on the Blenheim Theatre, as the business office was not getting any passes. The managing editor, being a "prince of a good fellow," who gives everybody a square deal and who is in turn always "taken care of" with all the passes he wants, and could bavf the whole theatre if he wanted it, told Mr. Advertising Man what his position was and that he was not running the dramatic page, etc., and then some. OOOKING and passes are two ■D things that are keeping the Buffalo managers busy. Everybody who ir. anybody seems to think that they have the privilege of free admission to their theatre. The result is that the managers a»e being pressed more and more for passes. What the ultimate result will be is only conjectural. Copy boys, elevator boys, make-up men, advertising solicitors, advertising-window men, in fact, every position on the newspaper, policemen, city officials, exchange men, open market bookers, sign painters, "Men Higher Up" and so on and so forth, down through a long list of so-called and would be dignitaries. The "pass disease" is a terrible thing once it has got the hold on anyone. After you receive the first, you want the second and then the third, and before long you hate to pay for admission. If you have to go down in your jeans for a dime, you have bad dreams all night. There are some people who are entitled to passes and these are the newspaper men who handle the copy such as city editor, dramatic editor, managing editor, in fact, anyone who helps the publicity in any way in their editorial position for, be it known that an editor is not interested especially in your theatre. Your ad brings no money to his pocket, but when you present him with a hand full of passes — -you notice the result in the write-up you get the next day. THEN again some managers do not like to be liberal with their passes, even to these men. This is a bad mistake and makes it hard for the press representative to get his copy "across." When a press agent enters the editorial sanctum, the first thing that passes through an editor's mind is "well, how many do I get." Goodnight, and also farewell. With the growing popularity of motion pictures and the consequent construction of large theatres for exclusive showing of the new art, managers are having just as much trouble as legitimate house managers have. If there is anybody that a manager of a theatre hates it is a newspaper man, for as a rule the first thing that the latter says is, "May I have two for to-night?" Nothing but box seats for the entire family will go for some advertising solicitors and they are usually the ones who do not deserve the courtesy. When Buffalo managers are literally "held up" with the threat that if a box of passes is not forthcoming their write-up is going to suffer, in spite of the fact that they are entitled to it, it looks as though some strict rules are going to be laid down in the near future with regard to passes and who shall receive them. Latest New York Uptown Film House Opens Adelphi, Owned by A. J. 'Wolf, J. W. Springer and L. Hamburger, and Costing $100,000, Will Use All Programs nay drama entitled "Two Men Who UNDER the management of the Trio Amusement Company, Inc., of which A. J. Wolf, J. W. Springer and L. Hamburger are the stockholders, the Adelphi Theatre, situated at Broadway and Eighty-ninth street. New York City, was opened to the public on Tuesday evening, August 25. The interior of the theatre is decorated in pearl gray, creating a pretty effect in combination with rose-colored carpets. The theatre has one small balcony comprised of loges, where smoking is permitted. The balcony and orchestra together seat 1,200. The house was built at a cost of approximately $100,000. The service which the management will use is a selection from all programs. The features will be changed on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and the balance of the program each day. The first program that the house offered consisted of an Essa Waited," and was followed by "A Fair Rebel," the latest Klaw & Erlanger release. After a short intermission "The Character Woman," an Eclair subject, was shown, and the World Film Corporation's latest release, "Jess of the Mountain Country," a comedy-drama acted by child players, put an end to the highly successful first night. The price of admission to the house is ten, fifteen and twenty-five cents in the afternoon, and fifteen, twenty-five and thirty-five in the evenings. NOT 'WITH RAMO NOW C. A. Maddox, of Kansas City, Mo., and William Conn, of Minneapolis, Minn., are no longer in the employ of Ramo Films, Inc., and have no connection whatsoever with that company. ;