Motion Picture News (Sept-Oct 1921)

2164 Music and The Picture Motion Picture N Liberty Boosts Sunday Concert Receipt Portland Civic Organizations Compete in Local Musical Event THE Liberty theatre, Portland, Ore., a Jensen and Von Herberg house, managed by Paul Noble, has recently put over a musical event that boosted the attendance at the Sunday concerts held weekly at 12:30 noon to capacity business, helped the Liberty daily attendance, interested the whole city anew in music and brought untold publicity for a period of five months. The Liberty offered a $500 prize to the Portland civic organization which should present the best musical program of four numbers at a Sunday concert. Any civic organization was eligible to the competition which required absolutely no financial outlay on the part of the competitors. Attendance formed the basis of the award, the ticket machine being checked a half hour before the concert commenced and again at the close of the musical. Twenty organizations entered programs so that the contest extended over a period of five months. The number of persons who were affected by the competition approximates at least 15,000 as the memberships were informed to a man by each group when it came time for its respective program to be played. Some of the largest and most cultured groups in Portland participated under the name of charity. Some of the worthiest and smaller groups entered the contest because they frankl\needed the prize of $500. Typical of the clubs who entered were the American Legion, Press club, Musicians' club, Society of Oregon Composers, Drama league, Civic league. Newsboys' union. Elks, B'nai Brith, Community Service, Portland Symphony orchestra, Women's Ad club and others. The local order of B. P. O. E. won the prize and the presentation of the check to the leader of the Elks' band on the Liberty stage was made an event of public interest. When the Elks were promoting their program their band and drum corps paraded business streets for two hours preceding the concert. They had 1,745 persons enter the Liberty between the hours of 12 and 1 p. m. and the Liberty seating capacity is but 2,000. Many persons wishing to hear the concert and not wishing to fight for a seat came earlier as the house opens at 11 a. m. Second to the Elks was the Community Service, one of the several competing organizations to get Sunday first page publicity for the Liberty and its Sunday noon concert. Their program came at a time when adverse criticism of motion pictures and propaganda for stricter censorship was rampant and undoubtedly it did much to help the screen cause. The Community Service chose Mothers" day as the Sunday on which to enter their program. A tableau presentation of the painting, " My Mother," by Whistler, was reproduced while one of the most famous singers of the northwest whom money could not have coaxed on the Liberty stage, sang Kipling's " Mother O' Mine." In addition the Community Service announced through the press that a basket of carnations would be given to the oldest mother present and that any mother who wished transportation might call their office and would be Stage setting for the vocal duet recently staged by Lowell V. Calvert, managing director of the Capitol theatre, St. Paul. The selections were " Sweetheart Mine " and an adaptation of Dvorak's " Humor esque." The sir^ers were Lillian Crossman and Bernard Ferguson taken in a machine to the theatre as their guest. Tickets for these mothers were furnished by girls of the Community Service. A score of Portland's richest and best known business and professional men sold papers at a business intersection one Saturday noon to help boost the program entered b}' the newsboys' union. Portland police took out the patrol wagon and manned by " coppers " dressed in grotesque style " ran in " men found on the streets the Sunday noon of the Police Beneficiation association program. The prisoners were brought to the Liberty and fined admission to the theatre. One of the police sergeants sang as an extra feature of the program. These few programs show that the contest ceased to be a commercial affair and developed into a civic proposition. Ever>-one became interested and the fact dawned on thousands of persons who did not belong to any of the contesting groups that Sunday noon concerts were a regular feature of the Liberty theatre. Henri Keates, Liberty master organist, who played the concerts was boosted immeasurably. His name was brought before the attention of the public constantly. Music lovers came to xnow that he was equal to playing on two notice, any organ selection submitted t They were forced to recognize his sk genius not only as a motion picture ace ist but as a musician. The entire expenditure occasioned 1 stunt was the $500 prize. Just one pri offered with the thought that if it wen really worth while it would amount to fa than several smaller awards. C. S. Jensen, senior partner of Jensi Von Herberg, who operate the Liber several score other first class theatres northwest, was the originator of the ide tails were handled by L. H. Allen, p agent for the firm, with the cooperatior E. Noble, manager of the theatre. i Evansville Pleased at turn of Organist Robt ^ Evansville, Ind., picture fans and m thusiasts are elated over the return o{ favorite organist, Percy G. Robbins, to jj anent place at the Victorj theatre oi^i Robbins officiated during the opening v the Victory and made a most fan pression. Mr. Robbins is a native of London, up the study of music at the age of fiv and studied first at the Society' of Arts Charles Long, graduating from that inS when nine years old. Later he studied under Dr. Hoffman, Dubois; The Guilmant School, Paris, : ally under Sir George Martin at the Ro: ' lege of Organists, graduating in the A. 1 ' degree at 13 years. The same year he the diploma of Associate of College < tors for musical theorj-, harmony ai: point. He has been connected with A. F. Breiir manager of the Consolidated Realty an^ f tres Corporation, of which organization c theatre in this city is a part, since 1916. He has exhaustively studied the of the organ to motion pictures am pettoire of approximately 1,150 orchestr bers memorized, is able to accurately any picture. :stTip ac( w E.rploitation for "The While IJorsiinan" and " Reputation " used recently by the .4mador theatre. Cristobal. Republic of Panama San Diego Sunday C* certs Find Favor Manager Jack Wall of the Rialto the; Diego, in cooperation with the San Dici E ing Sun is showing " Creation," the ture in connection with his Sunday certs. An elaborate musical program is pi^ these events. A recent program includ tions by the Lykins brothers, altar bj Ann Sharp Bunting, soprano soloist, the music furnished by the Rialto's ne^j Morton organ, with Robert C. Bruxtc! console. ' Diei E i