Motion Picture News (Jul-Aug 1916)

August 26, 1916 MOTION PICTURE NEWS 1199 Children's Epidemic Hits Eastern Exchanges Hard Distributors and Exhibitors Admit Paralysis and Hot Weather Have Seriously Affected Business in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maryland and Pennsylvania, But Improvement Is Looked for and Big Business Expected With the Cooler Weather INFANTILE paralysis, together with the hot weather is causing exhibitors in New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland and Pennsylvania to feel a summer slump in business to an almost alarming extent. Maryland and Pennsylvania have heretofore escaped the heavy hand of the epidemic, but these states, fearing the spread of the disease, are now taking precautions to prevent it, with results that are somewhat disastrous to exhibitors. A resolution was adopted at a special meeting of the Board of Public Safety of Baltimore, on Tuesday, August 8, authorizing Health Commissioner Blake of that city to prohibit children under twelve years of age from attending motion picture theatres. This is the first step of that kind taken in Baltimore and is similar to actions taken in other cities affected by the plague. It is expected that the resolution will go into effect immediately although it will apply to motion picture theatres exclusively. Some of the Baltimore theatres that have open spaces adjoining are putting in small playground paraphernalia for the benefit of the children who come to town accompanied by their parents. An attendant will be put in charge of the playground to keep an eye on the children while their parents are inside the theatre. This is hoped to allay the let-up in business which the ban on children would otherwise create. Pennsylvania is taking like action. Dr. Samuel G. Dixon, State Health Commissioner, in trying to prevent the spread of the epidemic in that state, issued on August 7, an order prohibiting the admittance of children under sixteen years to motion picture and other theatres. It is expected that the order will be issued in Philadelphia and other cities within a few days ; 179 cases of paralysis have been reported thus far in Pennsylvania and a strict quarantine has been placed on the state, prohibiting all children under sixteen from entering from the infected states of New York and New Jersey, unless they are in possession of health certificates. Exhibitors Expect Decrease Exhibitors and exchangemen in these parts of the country have either already felt or are expecting to feel a decrease in business. Business prospects have been dull and thousands of dollars have been lost by exhibitors. Many exchanges, including Mutual, Universal, Pathe and International, have given material aid to the exhibitors in the way of reductions in film service, and in some cases they have gone so far as to advance cash to the exhibitor in financial straits. Lee Ochs, president of the Motion Picture Exhibitors League of America, made a short statement to Motion Picture News on the subject. " I can see no marked improvement in sight. Perhaps in a few days, or at most, a week, we will have something to say that will sound more promising. I hardly think that Philadelphia will be affected by any ban on children, although the rest of Pennsylvania may suffer from the passage of special laws and acts. The theatres served by the Universal program embrace such a variety of houses that the effect of infantile paralysis on the business of the exchange in New York, which keeps in touch with a wide district, taking in Connecticut, part of Massachusetts, New York State and New Jersey, may be taken as representative. Hy Gainsborg, manager of the Universal Film Exchange of New York, said to Motion Picture News : " With one hundred and fifty theatres closed in Greater New York it can be seen that the epidemic has seriously affected the exchanges. The neighborhood houses in particular have felt a big loss. Many of them have closed, those that remained open for the reason that a closing aiid a reopening would effect business even more seriously, are running at a loss. Our exchanges have felt the let-up in business greatly. " Universal, however, has done everything in its power to assist the exhibitor in straits over the paralysis epidemic. Reductions have been made to the houses that preferred to remain open even though business did not warrant it. Sometimes the rental price has been cut in half. To what extent the scourge has effected Universal houses may be judged by the fact that the release date for the first episode of " Liberty " has been postponed until the first or the middle of September, although the serial is already being shown in other parts of the country. Little Houses Suffer Most " It is, of course, the little houses and the neighborhood theatres that suffer the most, and as it is from these houses that the real income of the exchange comes, it would be foolhardy to claim that our revenues have been just as good this summer as they have been in the past." S. Eckman, Jr., New York branch manager for Triangle, who exercises jurisdiction over the greater part of New York State, New Jersey and Connecticut, said when interviewed on the subject: "Everyone looks for a summer slump. Infantile paralysis has done much to make an ordinary occurrence seem unusually portentious. In my experience in the exchange line, I've never worked through a hotter summer in this part of the country, and this, combined with the paralysis, has stilted business to a big extent. " I can honestly say, though, that Triangle is not greatly perturbed over the present let-up in business. New contracts, to start with the first week in September, are coming in right along, while, as Triangle caters majorly to the larger houses, cancellations and reductions have been few. Some of our smaller exhibitors have come to us, asking for a reduction during the period of bad business created by the infantile paralysis. After investigation almost all of these requests have been granted, but the cases are so few as compared with the larger houses that are not murmuring at all, that the effect on the receipts is practically negligible. " I usually see personally about twentyfive exhibitors a day," continued Mr. Eckman, " and in the past few weeks these customers have told me that though at first the grown-ups stayed away from the theatres when their children were refused admittance, they shortly came to the shows themselves despite the fact that they were obliged to leave the youngsters home. So while the absence of the children from the theatre is certainly felt to some extent, it has not done terrible harm, — that is, speaking in reference to Triangle houses." Kahn Sees Improvement Ahead Henry W. Kahn, assistant general manager of the New York Metro Film Service, although admitting that the epidemic had severely handicapped business, was optimistic. " During the past week," he said, " more business has come into the exchange than during the entire month of July. At the height of the plague we made reductions in the price of service to three-quarters the usual rental. " While Greater New York has suffered lieavily, the cities up state have fared in proportion. Utica shut down nine houses, and proportionate closing occurred in Albany and other large cities. Orders are coming in now for resumption of service beginning with September 1, but none of us look for any radical improvement until that time. " The proposition which the members of the New York Exhibitors League first sponsored," continued Mr. Kahn, which proposed the establishment of medical stations whereby children could be examined for traces of the disease, and if found in full health, receive admission to the theatres, was dropped. The idea didn't hold water, because physicians don't know what infantile paralysis is, and consequently are unable to detect early symptoms of it. " It would be foolish to deny that the epidemic has not hit all of us very hard, but with renewed orders coming in at this early date a prosperous fall and winter may be looked for." "BEATRICE FAIRFAX" IS SHOWN IN PRIVATE AT NEW YORK A private view of " Beatrice Fairfax," the new moving picture serial of the International Film Service, Inc., was given to exhibitors and the press in the Criterion theatre, Broadway and Forty-fourth street, on Tuesday, August 8, at 10.30 A.M. The first two episodes and the prologue of " Beatrice Fairfax " were shown, as also the current news reel and cartoons. A symphony orchestra furnished the music. A large crowd attended.