Motion Picture News (Jul-Aug 1916)

August 19, 1916 ACCESSORY NEWS SECTION 1133 rooms and a palm garden will be among the features of the enlarged theatre. An extra large screen will be used and arranged so that it can be slanted and in a position so that the pictures will be clearly visible from all sections of the house. The George Brothers, Athens and James, will also introduce an innovation in prices. They announce they will secure high class pictures but still maintain one price, ten cents. " No matter whether it is a picture like " The Birth of a Nation," said James George, " the price will remain the same. W e believe that by this policy we can command a large patronage. None but the best pictures will be booked and we will have them just as soon as the large theatres in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia or other large cities." FT. WAYNE, IND., HAS SOME BEAUTIFUL THEATRES THE Jefferson Theatre, Calhoun and Jefferson streets. Ft. W ayne, Ind., is one of the finest theatres in that territory, under the able management of W^ C. Quimby (who, by the waj', holds card No. 1 of the Ohio Film E.xhibitors Protective Association, the forerunner to what is now known as the Exhibitors League). This theatre has an air of refinement that commends itself to the public. The interior resembles a " coliseum " in that all seats are on one floor and there is neither pillar nor post to obstruct the view of the patrons, no matter where seated. The ceiling, resembling an arched dome and decorated in sky blue, with stars twinkling here and there, is also a most pleasing effect. A Kimball organ, augmented by an orchestra of five pieces, furnishes the music at the Jefferson, and it is real music, too. The operating room is one of the largest and best appointed that I have ever seen, thirty-three feet in length, ten in depth, and eight in heighth. With two intakes and three exhausts to the open air there is always a supph of fresh air for the operator. Of brick construction with concrete floor, the fire risk is reduced to a minimum. Equipment consists of two Powers' 6-A machines ; Ft. W ayne motor generator set, with compensarc for warming up the lamp about to be operated, makes one of the most thoroughly equipped rooms one could wish for. W . R. Foreman, the operator, has been in the employ of Mr. Quimby for the past two years and is very highly thought of. He has an assistant, who relieves him from 3:30 to 6:30 p. m., giving him a rest sufficiently great to enable him to put over his best work when the crowd is greatest, which is as it should be, for no operator can do good work when he is compelled to stand by his machine for ten or eleven hours running. TWENTY-SEVEN BALTIMORE THEATRES ARE CLOSED DURING HOT SPELL IT is customary in Baltimore each summer for a number of moA tion picture theatres to close during July and August, but the large number of houses which have closed this year has caused general comment. The reason for the falling off in attendance during the last six or eight weeks is unexplained, except that the lengthy cool spell during the early part of the summer caused Baltimoreans to stick to town, and when the warm weather came there was a quick exodus to summer resorts, which cut the receipts to a very marked degree at the various motion picture theatres. There are at present twenty-seven theatres closed in Baltimore of the one hundred and ten picture houses in this city, making nearly twenty-five per cent, of the picture houses out of commission. In the case of the New theatre, which was closed the week of July 23, the temporary shut-down was made simply to redecorate and generally improve the appearance of the house, preparatory to putting in a new service of films, which began Monday, July 31. The other houses mentioned above are all closed for the entire two months, and some will not open until the middle of September. It was not a situation where the airdome took over the business of the regular theatres, as fewer open-air picture concerns opened this year than usual. The closing of so many houses has been pointed to as an example by all those who have been urging that all the picture theatres in Baltimore close during July and August. It is pointed out that should the motion picture houses close for the two months, that by the middle of September picture lovers would be hungry for films and it would benefit the exhibitor, as many of them lose money during the hot months. You can now get the most effective electric advertising ever devised —at an unheard of price ! Here is the neatest, most practical business booster you ever saw! Picture in your mind how a handsome program bulletin like the one illustrated below would look on the side of your screen, in the lobby, or outside the theatre. People simply can't help looking at its clear-cut, brilliantly lighted letters. The coming events you have prepared for them will stick in their minds, and you'll see them coming in again the next day. The beauty of it is that you can advertise attractions five days ahead, as the man below is doing, or you can use all five lines for the current day or the ne.xt day's program. The sign is so simple that any one can change the entire lettering in a jiffy. i The R & E Interchangeable Electric Program Bulletin pictured below is a revolutionary idea in electrical advertising. The letters are made of translucent white glass on a black enameled background. A few 40 or 6o watt lamps placed inside the frame light every letter brilliantly — the current cost being only a few cents a day. The frame is made of light, durable, galvanized iron, finished in oxidized black. The sign illustrated is 48 inches wide, 34 inches high and 6}4 inches deep. It weighs only 60 pounds. All our signs are provided with translucent colored inserts in red, green and blue, for emphasizing words, in color, initial letterr, etc. This illustration sho'ws a five-line sign with two sections removed while lettering is being changed. It also shows the indexed hox containing 450 letters, characters and blanks furnished with the sign. The price of this outfit, ready to operate is only $75.00. Extra lines may be added at a cost of $12.50 per section. In this way you can get as large a sign as you need. We make a flashing attachment for the sign for $4.50 additional. We cannot begin to tell you the wonders of this invention here. Be sure to tear out the coupon in the corner and mail it to us at once. By return mail we will send you, post free, our illustrated / booklet that tells everything you want to know. / This is the very device you have been / waiting for — tear out the coupon and Ativan" mail it to us iVOiy. / Co. / 710-712 W. Washiiigt^iii Boul. |> or Cliicago. III. Rawson & tvans to. /^;iS^h?e; 710-712 West Washington Boul. /'^ ^i-' " CHICAGO, ILL. /^N^ y Theatre / Address How can an advertiser continue advertising? By giving YOU value.