Motion Picture News (Sept-Oct 1921)

October 15, 1921 2005 ^ E fV S Y BRIEFS FROM CENTRAL FILM BELT phicago and the Mid-West H.MASON, REP RESENT AT IFE, 910 S, MICHIGAN AVE. W. D. Burford and John Silha, t the Motion Picture Theatre Owners of Illinois, were scheduled o attend the convention of the Moon Picture Theatre Owners of Michigan, at Jackson, Michigan, on ictober 4th and 5th. President Sidney Cohen and General Council .Valker, of the national organiza;on, were among those to address he meeting. Work of redecorating and refurnishing the Illinois theatre at 31st and W'entworth avenue will be completed within a few days and the new owner, Louis H. Frank, expects to open the house about October 10th. H. Lutz, the former owner, is now operating the Century theatre. Attorney Francis W. Walker headed a delegation from the People Liberty League, which appeared before the directors of the Motion Picture Theatre Owners of Illinois, at their last meeting, and asked for co-operating for theatre men in fighting blue laws, Sunday closing and other legislation aimed at the ■' freedom of conscience." The directors passed a resolution endorsing the aims oX the league and promised the aid of the motion picture theatres owners in promoting the same. M. S. Kusell, who for some time has been Famous Players-Lasky's Chicago salesmanager, has been promoted to the managership of that company's New York exchange and is leaving to take charge immediately. The many friends he has made in this territory regret to see him go but are pleased over his advancement. Ottie Bolle," formerly assistant salesmanager, will fill the vacancy made by Mr. Kusell's promotion and Neal Agnew, formerly Barbara Tennant and Russell Simpson in " Shadows of Conscience," Russell Productions' new seven-reel feature country salesman, becomes assistant salesmanager in charge of country sales. The Chicago branch of the M. P. T. O. has arranged to co-operate with the Chicago Association of Commerce during the No Accident, No Fire Week and at that time Chicago exhibitors will run the film prepared by the Association of Commerce showing methods of preventing fire and accidents and emphasizing the dangers of carelessness. Ralph Bradford has severed his connection with Paramount to become general manager of the University Cinema Service, Incorporated, with headquarters at 808 S. Wabash avenue. This company was recently incorporated in Illinois with a capitalization of $40,000, and will cater to the nontheatrical field exclusively. Aaron Jones has received a letter from Douglas Fairbanks written on the eve of the latter's departure for Europe, in which he said : " Sorry that I cannot come on to Chicago to appear personally with my picture, ' The Three Musketeers,' at your Randolph theatre but I promise to bring Mary to Chicago with me as soon as we return from the continent. I knew it will not be too late then because I count upon the Fairbanks family occupying the Randolph screen the rest of the year." Doug and Mary therefore will appear at the Randolph either during the final week of ' The Three Musketeers " or during the early engagement of " Little Lord Fauntleroy," which is to succeed the Fairbanks picture. Dan Roche has returned from Madison, Wisconsin, where he went to assist in the exploitation of " The Affairs of Anatol," which was playing at the Majestic theatre there. He reports that the Majestic's greatest crowd saw the picture Sunday and that the waiting patrons were lined up four abreast for a block all evening waiting to get into the theatre. " The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse " closed its long Chicago engagement on October 1st, after a successful run of twentyseven weeks, which is believed to be a record breaker in this territory. Five road shows are now working out of the Chicago oflFice of Metro, one of them at present showing at Peoria and another at Springfield. The Peoria engagement will be for three weeks and the Springfield for two weeks. Lee Woodyatt has been appointed sales manager of Select's Chicago exchange. " The Foolish Age," Doris May's laughing success, has been booked into Barbee's Loop Theatre for Robertson-Cole's Joy Week, starting October 16th, and the following week. An unusually large exploitation and advertising campaign will be carried on in connection with the Barbee showing, which will be handled by Hunt Stromberg. " The Foolish Age " was screened before a regular audience at Ascher's Roosevelt Theatre last Tuesday evening, and rocked the house with laughter, so that Manager Gallas, of Robertson-Cole, is assured will be a big hit at Barbee's. A pre-release screening of Vitagraph's widely heralded feature production, " The Son of Wallingford," was held on Wednesday at Aryan Grotto Theatre with orchestral accompaniment. A large crowd of exhibitors was present to get their first view of this picture, and it was very well liked by the crowd. A trade showing of " Shadows of Conscience," Russell Productions' new seven-reel feature picture, was held at Barbee's Loop Theatre last Thursday morning, and drew a representative crowd of exhibitors, exchange men and press reviewers. The picture caused unusually favorable comment and W. D. Russell and Bernie Russell, the latter of whom brought the picture on from the California studio, were kept busy receiving congratulations on this feature, which all agreed was the biggest and the finest production yet put out by Russell Productions. Samuel Sax, of Robertson-Cole, who is making a trip which includes visits to all the RobertsonCole exchanges in the United States, spent several days in Chicago, and left Thursday to visit the western exchanges. He reports motion picture theatre attendance throughout the eastern portion of the countrj', which he already has covered, is excellent, and that outside of the steel centers he found little complaint from exhibitors of poor business, even the Akron and other rubber industrial cities having recovered from a slump they recently experienced. Lorin J. Bennett, owner of the Liberty Theatre, at Atlanta, Illinois, has purchased the Capital Theatre at Mason City, Illinois, and renamed it the Liberty. Mr. Bennett will open his new house on Thursday and hereafter operate both theatres. The Capital was formerly owned by Peter Smallwood, of Mason City. Celebrated Players Film Corporation has appointed W. Hirschberg, formerly of Associated Producers, and Isadore Natkin, recently asso ciated with Robertson-Cole, as special feature representatives for the city of Chicago. The former will cover the north side territory and the latter will be in charge of the south side. President Joe Friedman now has completed the organization of his feature sales department for both city and country territory, as a preliminary step in making ready for the Fall distribution of Celebrated's long list of feature productions. Douglas D. Rothacker, of the Rothacker Film Manufacturing Company, is in Birmingham in connection with the making of an industrial picture. George Gilgore, one of the Rothacker directors, is filming a two-reel telephone practical picture. M. F. Leopold, safety engineer for the United States Bureau of Mines, is at the Rothacker Chicago plant in connection with a multiple reel steam shovel picture, which Rothacker's practical picture division is producing for the government. A. Siegfried, of the Bijou Theatre, Decatur, has returned after a two-months' trip abroad, most of the time being spent in Germany. Mr. Siegfried was visiting the Chicago exchanges this week and reports that he was in the same hotel with Carl Laemmle in Germany, when the letters threatening the Universal chief were slipped under the door, and had other interesting occurrences of the trip to recount to his many Chicago friends.