Motion Picture News (Sept-Oct 1921)

2278 Motion Picture New Universal Sales Conference in Chicago H. M. Berman, general manager of exchanges, and Art Schmidt, general sales manager of short products, of Universal, held an important sales conference in Chicago this week. The two sales heads left New York last Saturday for the Windy City, after having summoned the Universal exchange managers for the Mississippi valley and as far west as Denver. It is expected the conference will be confined to Universal's two new big Universal-Jewel pictures, "The Fox" with Harry Carey, and "Conflict," Priscilla Dean's latest feature. "Winners of the W'est," Universal's thrills from history serials, also will be diagnosed and plans discussed for more like it. Neilsen Sails for Europe for Paramount Carl Neilsen, a member of the sales staff of the foreign department of the Famous Players-Lasky Corporation, sailed for Copenhagen, Denmark, on October 7th, on a special mission for the foreign department. He will spend several weeks in Denmark, Sweden and Norway assisting Ingvald C. Oes, manager of the Scandinavian Paramount organization, in his sales campaign for Paramount pictures, according to an announcement by E. E. Shauer, director of the foreign department. Stork Pays Visit to Home of Henry E. Wilkinson A new movie luminary arrived in our midst this week when Mrs. Henry E. Wilkinson presented her husband with a little baby girl. October 17th was the gala day at the Wilkinson home in Larchmont and according to an unbiased statement from the proud father, who is general sales manager of the Arthur S. Kane Pictures Corporation, the newest film luminary is a howling success. Mrs. Wilkinson, the baby, and " Hank " himself are all doing splendidly. Charles F, Schwerin Resigns Charles F. Schwerin has resigned from the Washington office of the Associated Producers. He has not given out his future plans. File 'Em File your copies of MOTION PICTURE NEWS! We take it for granted you already do file them. But from now on don't miss a copy. Not one! Better gather together the loose copies today. Hunt up the mislaid ones. Don't let a single one go astray. If you do you'll be kicking later because you can't find it. — And, pretty soon we'll tell you just why, why every copy will soon have new and greater business value to you. Pile them! Now! "Needed— 100% Unity'' Referring specifically to articles in the Dearborn Independent of Chicago and generally to articles in other papers, which through their tenor on the Arbuckle case make serious reflections on the industry, B. P. McCormick, owner of the Liberty theatre, Florence, Colo., calls for a national organization which will take up the cudgels of the industry. His letter follows: " I am inclosing herewith articles from the Dearborn Independent of Chicago, October 8th issue. Publicity of this character is of grave concern to the entire industry and I feel that you should call the attention of each trade paper to this article and any others of a like nature that you should come across. " All of us know that Arbuckle is not guilty of any worse offense that hundreds of others have been in all other walks of life, not even the ministry is excepted, as I have a report in today's paper of the charge against one J. A. Spencer, clergyman of Lake Port, Cal., who deliberately murdered his wife (it is charged) that he might be free to live with another womcm. " Nevertheless this Arbuckle affair has cost me personally the loss of patronage and I am sure that all the industry has suffered in the same proportion. " I think this is a good example of the real need for national organization, for if today we were 100 per cent organized, we could direct our officers to show the newspaper industry our hand and tell them to lay off or lose our advertising indefinitely. We might possibly have to use other language for legal reasons, but we could show them and they would think twice before they would lose this advertising revenue. In so doing we would not be trying to shield any one guilty of crimes; our only motive would be that of protecting our industry against slander and false charges. " The need for co-operation and organization has never been greater than it is today. Our need for clean pictures has never been more urgent than now, because the reform squads are on the warpath and the producer that turns out a questionable film or the exhibitor that dares to show one should be branded a traitor and driven from the industry." Mendelssohn Heads Philadelphia Exchange Men At the annual election of officers of the Exchange Men's Association of Philadelphia, held recently in that city, Felix Mendelssohn, branch manager for Goldwyn Pictures, was elected president, succeeding Bob Lynch of Metro. RalphWinsor Now Manager of Superha in **Los** Ralph Winsor, for several years managing-director of the Star theatre, Portland, Ore., has resigned his position to accept the management of the Superba theatre, Los Angeles. Mr. W^insor began his new duties last week, playing "Go Straight" as the multiple-reel picture and building up a well-balanced program in addition to the feature. Just One of Many Naturally when I look for original ideas I read the "News" (and this is no bunk) — Jos. J. Jacobson, Strand theatre, Marshalltown, Iowa. Law Suit Rises Over ''Ola Time Music Show" Idea The Edwards Amusement Company 5803 Utica Ave., Cleveland, has filed sui ag:ainst Jules and J. J. Allen, for an in fringement on " The Old Time Movi. -Show," which Mr. Edwards claims he ha covered with copyrights in America, Eng land and Canada. " The Old Time Movie Show " is ai old Mary Pickford reel made when mo tion pictures were in their infancy. Mr Edwards claims that it was his idea t< revive one of these old films, to make oh time slides and put it on as it was orig inally produced in the nickelodeons. H< claims that not only has he the reel an< the slides copyrighted, but also the man ner of presenting the novelty. The first week in September, Allen' Capitol theatre, Cleveland, presented wha Manager Rosenthal called " A Movie o Long Ago." Kansas Theatre to Have ''Exhibitors' Day'' The Motion Picture Theatre Owner 0 Kansas has declared that November 2m and 3rd is to be "Exhibitors' Day." Fift; per cent of the profits on those days are t( the exhibitor organization. The week o October 24th has been designated as "Pej Week," and party offices and the executiv. committee together with Attorney Genera Hopkins will tour the state during thii week in the interest of " Exhibitors' Day. Dearth of New Incorpora tions in New York THERE continues to be a slump in the number of firms incorporating ' in New York State, and entering the motion picture business.. During the . . past week there have been but five and all told these represented a capitalization which amounted to only $300,000, this sum, including one company which has a capitalization of $250,000. The companies, with their directors and the amount of capitalization in each instance, follow: The Every-Day-Life Film Company, $25,000; Robert Parker, Thomas Nedd, William Johnson, New York. Iden, Payne & Lavarack, Inc., $20,000; E. Kraychie, A. J. Johnston, A. M. Knoed . ler, New York; Ogden Amusement Corporation, $250,000; Emanuel Ghck. Max Berger, New York; Hyman Harper, Brooklyn. Webster Pictures, Inc., $5,000. j Charles P. Gilmore, George Roberts, Oswego; Albert N. Webster, Syracuse. National Exhibitors' Service, $500; Oscar A. Price, Washington; Harry S. Laskin, 1 Philadelphia; George B. Clifton, Scars ' dale.