Motion Picture News (Sept-Oct 1918)

2022 Four More Goldwyns Announced Golchvyn Gives Titles and Release Dates of Four More Star Series Productions for Fall Season GOLDWYN'S first ten productions are now known to exhibitors and four additional noteworthy productions are being announced this week, together with their dates of release. These new productions comprise another broad comedy story for popular Mabel Normand, an engaging and speedy drama from a well-known playwright for Tom Moore, a successful play that was a big stage success for Madge Kennedy, and still another big emotional drama for Geraldine Farrar. The productions announced are : October 21 — Mabel Normand in " A Perfect 36," by Tex Charwate ; directed by Charles Giblyn. October 28 — Tom Moore in " Thirty a Week," by Thompson Buchanan ; directed by Harry Beaumont. November 4 — Madge Kennedy in " A Perfect Lady," by Channing Pollock and Rennold Wolf ; directed by Clarence G. Badger. November 11 — Geraldine Farrar in "The Hell Cat," by Willard Mack; directed by Reginald Barker. These four productions come in direct succession after Geraldine Farrar in " The Turn of the Wheel,' 'September 2; Mabel Normand in " Peck's Bad Girl," September 9; Tom Moore in "Just for Tonight," September 16; Madge Kennedy in " The Kingdom of Youth," September 23 ; Rex Beach's " Laughing Bill Hyde," with popular Bill Rogers, September 30, and Mae Marsh in " Hidden Fires " on October 6. These ten productions are declared to have been responsible for a tremendous volume of business taken on by Goldwyn at the outset of its second releasing year and its first season of its sales policy under the star series system. Goldwyn's decision to return to broad comedy for Mabel Normand stories is said to have been met with enthusiastic exhibi Madge Kennedy, Goldwyn Star, Appears in " A Perfect Lady," the Former Stage Success tor and public approval — her reappearance in comedy in " Peck's Bad Girl " having been the signal for a renewed welcome for this star in all parts of America. Tom Moore's initial star success in " Just for Tonight " revealed how easily a handsome and likable young man can be made into a star when exhibitors and the screen fans demand such action by a producer. Goldwyn constantly is seeking bigger screen material for Madge Kennedy. Messrs. Pollock and Wolf provided Rose Stahl with one of her biggest stage successes in " A Perfect Lady." Converted to the screen, it becomes one of the most enjoyable of stories — a story that Miss Kennedy herself feels is the best she has had since her screen debut a year ago. Geraldine Farrar's November production, her second under Goldwyn auspices, is "The Hell Cat," by Willard Mack, supported by Milton Sills, Tom Santschi and half a dozen other players. Motion Picture News Parsons Comments on Serial Business (Continued from page 2021) Mr. Brunet has done that recently with one which will never be released. Mr. Brunet felt after looking at it that it would only "just get by." When he gave the order for its withdrawal he stated the Pathe policy in a nutshell : " Pathe wants no serial that will only 'just get by.'" " Pathe practically started the serial business," said Mr. Brunet the other day in discussing his plans for the future, "and the success of the serial is without question due to the methods of production and cxxploitation which Pathe has employed and which have been copied with varying degrees of success by our competitors. Despite our great care to give the exhibitor only that which will be popular with the public twice in the past we have erred in our judgment, and two of our serials of some time back did not make the money for exhibitors and ourselves that we have expected. However, when it is remembered that we have actually released twenty-two serials, we feel that we may be justly proud of the record of our success. Ninety per cent of the Pathe serials have made much more money for the exhibitor than any features that he has played. It is significant that we have many exhibitors on our books who began with 1 Pauline ' and have booked every Pathe serial. Exhibitors have learned to rely on our judgment an dexperience. They know that we never have counted the cost in giving them the very best serials that can be made. There is no company in the business that can point to its feature output of the last five years and truthfully say that only ten per cent of its pictures have failed to make a lot of money for the theatres booking them and yet that is true of Pathe serials. This fact in itself shows the care, the wisdom, the study and the specialization which is responsible for the almost uniform success of Pathe serials. Hands Up ' has broken the record of every serial we have ever put out in the bookings before release. This is phenomenal when the tremendous records of the various Pearl White serials of the past are considered. In ' Wolves of Kultur ' I consider that we will release a serial that is absolutely certain to do splendidly for every theatre showing it. We have set the Pathe serial standard so high that it takes a most meritorious production nowadays to get on our program. Pearl White has now been engaged for some weeks in the Astra Studios in a new serial which is now called ' The Lightning Raider.' We have other serials in preparation also, but I do not care to go into details concerning them at this time. " Exhibitor's may rely upon it that they may expect from Pathe the very best serial productions that are made ; they may be assured that our plans are completed for many months ahead, and that they are of a magnitude and character that cannot fail to be of the greatest interest to every exhibitor in the land. Pathe has passed long ago the period of experimentation in stories, stars and production. Chaplin's *' Shoulder Arms" in Three Reels THE majority opinion from four thousand exhibitors who have been booking contracts with the First National Exhibitors' Circuit for the Charlie Chaplain comedies has decided that the next Chaplin release, " Shoulder Arms," will be in three reels instead of six. Questionnaires were sent out by officials of the First National several weeks ago, advising exhibitors that there was an abundance of strong comedy material in the completed negative for " Shoulder Arms " to make a five or six reel special of it. Inasmuch as the Chaplin contracts call for subjects of not less than two reels, nor more than three reels, it was felt that the release of a six-reel Chaplin comedy, which would necessitate cancellations of other feature bookings, shelving, and probable complete disarrangement of programs, should first be submitted to exhibitors for opinion. Rumors of discontent, disagreements and difficulties of various descriptions which have been assigned by some elements of the industry as the reasons for the intervals between the release of Chaplin comedies, and the lack of a definite schedule of release dates, will be answered in a statement to be issued next week from the offices of the First National Exhibitors' Circuit in behalf of Mr. Chaplin, and which will take up the question of the exact conditions which have surrounded the making of Chaplin comedies and the policy which governs them. Oriental Fighters in Film For what is said to be the first time since the war began a complete visual record of the part the Orient and the Dark Continent is shown now in pictures. The scenes are part of the Official British War Pictures, entitled " Fighting for Freedom," the seven-episode serial to be released by the Universal on October 1.