Motion Picture News (Sept-Oct 1916)

September 30, 1916 MOTION PICTURE NEWS 2035 KLEINE EXCHANGE IN KANSAS CITY TAKES OVER ESS AN AY AND SELIG RELEASES A. C. Melvin, Kansas City, Mo., manager of the George Kleine exchange, returned from Chicago recently with the news that the George Kleine exchange has taken over the Essanay and Selig releases. The V-L-S-E exchange, which formerly handled these releases, will now handle exclusively Vitagraph pictures. A committee of Oklahoma exhibitors and exchangemen stopped in Kansas City recently to visit F. L. Kiltz, manager of the Mutual Film Corporation. The committee consisted of the following: T. Boland, J. Sinopoli, E. C. Mills, and B. H. Powell. The committee is on its way to New York to see about settling the strike of all men connected with the business in their section of the country. Charles " Kid " Nichols, representative of the George Kleine exchange, is now in the city handling the serial, " Gloria's Romance." About fifteen theatres have already taken on the serial, and Mr. Nichols is expecting a big business. C. W. Harden, manager of the Kansas City exchange of the Metro service, has gone to St. Louis on business. DEMBOfF EXPECTS BIGGEST FOX SEASON IN PHILADELPHIA Interest is all agog in the first showing in Philadelphia of the Fox " Daughter of the Gods," with Annette Kellermann. This widely heralded picture is now at the censor's office. In view of the fact that the National Board of Review not only saw nothing to cut, but gave the film much favorable comment, no difficulty is expected in Pennsylvania. Although the time and place for the first appearance of this release have not been definitely decided, there is no doubt that in the near future it will have a long run in Philadelphia at a prominent theatre. Manager George Dembow of Fox reports a tremendous hit for " Under Two Flags " in that region. It is already the most popular Theda Bara picture that has ever been shown there and the most successful Fox release in months around the Quaker City. Mr. Dembow confidently expects the biggest season ever had on Fox subjects. HARDEN AND NEWMAN ACTIVE IN KANSAS CITY SCREEN CLUB AFFAIRS Charles W. Harden, chairman of the house committee, and Frank Newman, president, of the Screen Club of Kansas City, have not ceased their work following the opening of the club. They are busy completing the minor details of the decorations, and planning activities that will keep the members interested. A Fotoplayer is being installed by I. H. Case, agent for the instrument in Kansas City territory. There is already a piano in the rooms, and dances are being given frequently. Friday night ■ is to be ladies' night, and there will be dancing regularly then. The membership committee is planning now to seek members among the exhibitors outside of Kansas City. Shef-idan, Manager for Pathe in Des Moines, Plans to Install Publicity Department, the Second Inaugurated in That City in a Month LA. SHERIDAN, manager of the Des • Moines Pathe office, has decided to install a publicity department. Watching the good work of Howard Jameyson, Kansas City, publicity manager of the Pathe, has instigated the thought and it will soon be a reality, according to Mr. Sheridan. The Pathe executive will soon make a trip to Kansas City to get a man for this position, he says. If Mr. Sheridan does install such a department it will be the second exchange in Des Moines within a month to put in such a department. The Universal there recently opened a publicity department, installing Charles Stevenson, also a Kansas City man, as manager. For real co-operation with the trade journals, R. C. Li Beau, local manager of the Des Moines Film and Supply Company, distributors of the Paramount, is right in the front ranks. If he has nothing when the representative of any magazine calls, he thinks up something and then calls up the representative. In this way he not only boosts Paramount, but gets notes about his exhibitors printed. Although he has not been in his office for nearly three weeks, Nicholas Amos, Iowa manager of the Bluebird pictures, reports that his pictures are going in great style. Many of the small town exhibitors are booking Bluebirds, while those in the larger cities are also taking to them eagerly. A visit from C. R. Seelye, general publicity manager of the Pathe in New York is soon expected by L. A. Sheridan. And when that distinguished visitor arrives he will probably decide the question of whether Mr. Sheridan will install a publicity department or not. Stanley Mayer, who travels in Iowa for the Paramount, recently played the star role in what might have been a good movie plot. Mayer had placed his traveling bag on the floor of the station in Omaha. He stepped to the ticket office about thirty feet away to buy a ticket and when he returned his valise was gone. He looked around and discovered a slouchy looking individual lugging it up some nearby stairs. Mayer gave chase and caught the fellow. After an investigation it was found that the same person had got away with three valises in the same depot the preceding night. "I guess if it hadn't been so heavy he would have got away -with mine, too," said Mayer. " Asit was he was all in from carrying it up' a flight of stairs." Mrs. William O'Hare, assistant to D. B. Lederman, manager of the Laemmle Film Service, has been away from her desk for the greater part of the week on account of sickness. Her absence was keenly felt, as several of the stenographers wilt testify. " Shielding the Shadow," the Pathe serial, it going great in Iowa, says L. A. Sheridan, Pathe chief. " A lot of houses are booking this picture of ours and we believe it will prove a winner in all respects," recently said Mr. Sheridan. Artcraft Pictures Corporation Opens Central Distributing Office for Canada at 12 Queen Street, East Toronto WITH its exchange system in the United States fully developed, Artcraft Pictures Corporation has invaded Canada with a central distributing office for Canada at 12 Queen street, East, Toronto. Artcraft Pictures Corporation, Ltd., has been organized especially to handle the new Mary Pickford productions in the Dominion, and announcement of the name of the Canadian representative is expected in the near future. Rapid progress has been made in the organization of exchanges in the Rocky Alountain and Pacific Coast territory, Arthur S. Kane, Artcraft representative there, has drafted C. M. Simmons from the Mutual to be San Francisco manager. Mr. Simmons will make his headquarters at 443 Pacific Building with Mr. Kane, and will cover California, Nevada and Arizona. T. Y. Henry is in charge of the Denver office at 1440 Welton street, and will distribute the Pickford pictures in Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming, and a slice of Nebraska on the western border. In Seattle, H. G. Rosebaum has left Triangle to act for Artcraft in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. The Chicago and Minneapolis exchanges are as originally announced under the supervision of Max Goldstine, who makes his office "in Chicago. He has selected Ben E. Drum to manage the Minneapolis branch. Mr. Drum was formerly assistant manager for V-L-S-E in that territory and was snapped up by Artcraft as soon as Mr. Goldstine learned that he would be receptive to an offer. Walter E. Greene, president of Artcraft Pictures Corporation, reports the closing of an unusually large number of contracts for bookings of the Mary Pickford productions in the more prominent theatres of the country. He mentions offhand the Strand in New York, Keeney's in Brooklyn and Newark, the Gordon theatres in Rochester, N. Y., New Haven, Conn., and Worcester and New Bedford, Mass., the Walnut in Cincinnati, Portola in San Francisco and Stillman in Cleveland. The last named is a new house, which announces that it will open in October with " Less Than the Dust," the first picture Mary Pickford has made since she became an independent star with Artcraft as her distributing agency. Charles S. Goetz, assistant manager of the New York exchange, spent all last week in western New York. FATHER OF BEN SIMPSON DIES IN KANSAS All of the many friends of Ben Simpson, San Francisco, manager of the Triangle Film Corporation will sympathise with him in his bereavement in the loss of his father, Judge B. F. Simpson, who died on the lOth of August, at his home in Paola, Kans.