Motion Picture News (Jul-Oct 1914)

THE MOTION PICTURE NEWS 33 C\iltivating tKe Newspapers By Roe S. Eastman This Manager Did It With a Newspapermen's Matinee, and the Results in Notices in the Editions of the Day More Than Justified His Outlay of Time, Money and Hospitality FEW motion picture exhibitors in Cincinnati use the newspapers to advertise their pictures. Probably many of them do not believe in publicity, or do not think it is worth the expense. This by way of foreword to a little story about John F. Royal, who recognizes the efficacy of newspaper advertising. John F. Royal is the manager of Keith's Theatre, devoted to motion picture and vaudeville. He secured recently the big feature film, "Neptune's Daughter," in which Annette Kellermann appears as the star, through the ]\IcMahan & Jackson agency, which has the state rights to the film. Securing the picture a week in advance of the time at which he was to show it, he conceived the idea that to get advance criticisms published in the Cincinnati newspapers would be the biggest kind of publicity for him. Accordingly he laid his plans. AN invitation was sent to every newspaper man in the city to attend a special performance at the theatre on a certain afternoon, at a time when Royal knew both morning and afternoon newspaper men would have the opportunity to be his guests. A little mystery was thrown about the performance when the manager passed the word along to several of the scribes that this was to be an "unexpurgated" performance, especially arranged to allow the newspaper men of Cincinnati an opportunity to get the first peep at the beautiful Annette Kellermann in an absolutely new and bewitching role. This message had its desired effect. When the time for the performance came around every newspaperman in the city was on hand, ready to be entertained. Royal had dispensed with the regular afternoon performance, the full orchestra was retained to play entrancing operatic airs in the darkened theatre, and i\Ir. Royal was at the door himself passing out fat cigars to the men as they entered. Smoking ordinarily is taboo at Keith's, but Royal made it plain that the scribes were his guests, and for this occasion the house was theirs and smoking his Perfectos was the rule. Thus hospitably received, the guests settled themselves comfortably to the enjoyment of a really wonderful picture. THE success of the manager's plan was strikingly apparent in the papers the next day. Each of the morning papers carried detailed descriptions of the picture, with favorable criticisms and pictures of Miss Kellermann taken from the photoplay. The afternoon papers were equally generous, and comments on the attraction at Keith's for the following week were made from every standpoint calculated to attract the public. Among the interesting accounts of the special performance was the following, which appeared in the "TimesStar": "Had Kaiser Wilhelm, Emperor Nicholas, King Albert, King George and President Poincare strolled into Cincinnati unannounced and held a peace conference there hardly could have been more local newspaper talent on hand than gathered late Tuesday afternoon to see a "movie" show. "Any lay citizen, acquainted in newspaper circles, who stood near Keith's Theatre at 4:30 p. m., would surely have thought a news happening of international significance was "breaking." First came a "special feature writer," then a city editor, an assistant city editor, a squad of reporters, a managing editor or two, several dramatic editors, a few editorial writers, a special photographer, and an artist, a telegraph 'war' editor, and even a few fleet-footed (?) office boys. "But not a war cloud broke. The 'towering intellects' were present as the guests of Manager Royal of Keith's, who had arraigned a private performance of 'Neptune's Daughter,' in which Annette Kellermann is shown to advantage. "The newspaper men were there to give their opinions as to whether she was shown to too much advantage, as some censors have said. After weighing the question expertly, taking into consideration all lines of Annette's art, the scribes decided that not even those prudish censors of war news could object to the picture as it will be shown at the local theatre." ROYAL has shown himself to be a live wire on many other occasions. He is a former newspaper man of Boston, and measures his success by the publicity he has obtained through similar advertising stunts. During the summer when the regular vaudeville season was over, he converted his lobby into a cool and inviting bower. Everything was painted white, and trellis work was placed along the en trance with trailing green vines creeping over the arbor. A cooling system had been installed and one of the big pipes was placed alongside the ticketselling booth, in the center of the improvised arbor, so that patrons might feel the cool blasts of air as they approached the window. Neat signs announced that the temperature inside the house was 20 degrees cooler than on the street. A big clock above the booth indicated the time for the beginning of each performance. Attendants and ushers were garbed in white and the whole atmosphere was one of inviting coolness and comfort. Even outside the lobby, hanging from the edges of the canopied entrance, were great baskets of green ferns. The theatre actually seemed an oasis of mountain coolness in the midst of the sizzling heat of the city streets. FOUR AND SIX-REELERS TAKE IN TRENTON Special to The Motion Picture News Trenton. N. J., Sept. 2. State Street Theatre, the largest motion picture house in the city, has been most fortunate this season in making its selections of four and sixreel subjects. "The Line-Up at Police Headquarters" and "Through Dante's Flames" proved big drawing cards. The Jack London picture, "John Barleycorn," and "The Little Gray Lady" were the attraction this week and scored well. The State Street Theatre will enter the market for the best four-, five or six-reel subjects for three-day runs. The booking of the pictures will be made direct by Milton Hirschfeld, of the Amalgamated Vaudeville Company Agency, Columbia Theatre Building, New York City. PAWLEYS FORM NEW FIRM Special to The Motion Picture News Asbury Park, N. J., Sept. 3. Three Asbury Park men, Francis A. Pawley, Bernard S. Pawley and Raymond Pawley, are the incorporators of a new $125,000 corporation which was granted a certificate recently at the office of Secretary of State David S. Greater in Trenton. The new company, the Paramount Finance Company, is organized to build and operate theatres. It is at present interested in the operation of the Paramount Theatre, Newark, described as the most beautiful motion picture playhouse in the state.