Motion Picture News (Jan-Feb 1922)

1249 February 25, 1922 Second Nat’l Exchanges in New England TWO new exchanges were added to the list by Second National Pictures Corporation this week. The Second National Pictures Corporation of New England was established with offices at 57 Church street, Boston, with Herman Rifkin manager. The Eastern Film Features Company, Inc., 134 Meadow street, Nfew Haven, which also is under the direction of Mr. Rifkin, was made a branch exchange for Second National. These exchanges will distribute the series of twelve photoplays to be released by Second National in the current season to exhibitors throughout New England. Announcement already has been made of the release of “ David and Jonathan,” from the popular modern novel by E. Temple Thurston, and “ Her S t o r y,” by Dion Titheradge, who also directed his talented sister, Madge Titheradge, in the production. Thos. Ince to Release “When She Marries’’ Thomas H. Ince made announcement from the studios at Culver City, Calif., this week of the forthcoming release of a special drama, “ When She Marries.” The story was written by Bradley King, who has written a number of successful screen stories, and the picture is under the direction of John Griffith Wray with a special cast. Mr. Wray’s reputation as a director of big pictures has been enhanced by the dramatic excellence of “ Hail the Woman,” the current Thomas H. Ince release, which was directed by Mr. Wray under the personal supervision of Mr. Ince. Many “ His Nibs” Bookings Exceptional Feature to Run at N. Y. Capitol and Other Big Houses Viola Dana Welcomed to Salt Lake City Viola Dana, the Metro star, who is making a tour of personal appearances, was welcomed to Salt Lake City, Utah, last week by Governor Charles Mabey. After her reception at the state capitol she motored to City Hall, where she was received by Mayor Charles Nelson. After the official welcome, Miss Dana attended a luncheon of the Kiwanis Club, where she gave a talk on motion picture production. She then gave short talks at two high schools. The following day she addressed the assembly of the University of Utah and then motored to the Utah State Penitentiary, where she showed her new picture, “ There Are No Villains.” Plans _ for Miss Dana’s tour include visits to Kansas City, New Orleans, Birmingham, Memphis, Charleston, Baltimore, Washington and New York. At the end of the tour she will return to Metro studios in Hollywood to begin work on a new picture. LL. HILLER, the president of • ‘‘His Nibs” Syndicate, Inc., has forwarded the Exceptional Pictures Corporation, producers of the comedy novelty in which the versatile Charles (Chic) Sale has transferred his protean art to the screen, reports from various portions of the country showing the enthusiasm with which the picture is being received by both exhibitors and the public. A portion of the report contains the important announcement that “ His Nibs ” will be shown at the Capitol theatre in New York City, within the next two or three weeks, where it is expected to rank among the greatest comedy features ever produced at New York’s biggest motion picture theatre. Still another item of importance is the fact that the feature was shown at Ogden, Utah, with great success, and did a tremendous business at the Pantages theatre in Salt Lake City, where, to quote one report, “ they hung them on the chandeliers.” 1 Other important showings are the Doric theatre, in Kansas City, w'here the picture was immediately booked for two weeks when first shown, and the Allen theatre, in Cleveland, where it met with hilarious acceptance and big crowds. It is booked to play the Rivoli theatre, in Toledo, the latter part of February, and other Ohio bookings in the first-run cities are announced. In Michigan, the Favorite Film Corporation, of which Mr. William Hurlbut is the president, controls the rights for the state, and the picture has been bought for the entire Butterfield Circuit for Michigan, as well as being booked in Grand Rapids and Muskegon, and in Pontiac. It will also be played in Detroit this month. Mr. Sidney Baker, of the Exhibitors Direct Service, reports that “ His Nibs ” will soon start showing over that circuit, which is the only circuit in the country which is cooperatively booked and managed by theatre owners. The Exhibitors Direct Service controls thirty theatres in and about St. Louis, including many of the finest motion picture houses in the state of Missouri. Still another important distribution note is that Mr. Max Wintroub, the president of the Fontenelle Film Corporation, of Omaha, Nebraska, has purchased the feature for Nebraska and Iowa, and that he is arranging first run bookings in Des Moines, Sioux City and Omaha; also that he finds exhibitors throughout both states most enthusiastic over the manner in which “ Chic ” Sale’s comedy (which is always highly appreciated in the middle West) has been transferred to the screen. Mr. Hiller also reports that he has several important contracts pending, announcement of which will probably be made within a week. “ The success of ‘ Chic ’ Sale in ‘ His Nibs,’ wherever it has been shown, proves it to be a truly ‘ exceptional ’ picture,” was Mr. Hiller’; comment, “both the public and the box-office enjoy the feature.” Outlines Pacific’s Plans Julius Singer, Eastern Representative, Tells Company’s Policy THE Pacific Film Company of Culver City, California, one of the largest independent producers of the West Coast, recently announced the appointment of Julius Singer as Eastern representative with offices at 729 Seventh Avenue. In an interview with Mr. Singer the company’s plans were brought forth. “ The Pacific Co. has waited, patiently, for the time to ring the bell of action and that time is now — 1922. “ Sometime ago at the memorable Minneapolis convention I wrote and sent a message to that honorable gathering saying that the time will come when I would enter the independent field with a company that would show Wall Street and all other monopolistic film concerns that they would not be the “ boss ” of the film business. “ We will continue to make ‘ fewer and better pictures ’ which we have always done — that being nothing new to us. The public are not flocking to the theatres as they did before they are now carefully ‘ buying ’ their pictures like any other merchandise. Cleanliness has been the big policy with all the Pacific Company’s output. I would cite the instance of ‘The Call from the Wild ’ which has elicited high praise by exhibitors as an idealistic and clean production. We are now offering on the state-right market the following pictures : Henry B. Walthall in ‘ The Able Minded Lady ’ supported by Elinor Fair and Helen Raymond, adapted from the Saturday Evening Post story by William R. Leighton ; ‘ The Girl from Rocky Point ’ with Ora Carew, Gloria Joy, Walt Whitman, and directed by Frederick Becker ; ‘ The Fatal 30 ’ a stirring action-drama; The Forest King’ a red blooded picture of the Northwest with Reed Chapman and Lillian Hall.” Jigg-Saw Puzzle for “Jungle Goddess’’ The Export & Import Film Co., Inc., distributors of Col. Seng’s new wild animal serial, “ The Jungle Goddess,” is preparing a line of novelties to be issued with the serial. Among them is a multicolored card with odd shaped, meaningless cuts spread over it. When cut out and pieced together, the fragments make up a scene from the picture with the title and the names of the stars disclosed. M.P.D.A. in Hollywood Elects Officers THE members of the Motion Picture Director’s Association at their regular members meeting February 9th held at their club rooms in the Markham Building in Hollywood elected the following officers for the coming year: David Hartford, director; Frederick Sullivan, assistant director; Wally Van, technical di r e c t o r ; Norval MacGregor, treasurer; Frederick A. Thompson, secretary; Charles Parrott, inner guard; Duke Warren, outer guard; M. J. McQuarrie and Major Maurice Campbell, trustees. The new officers will be installed at the next regular meeting to be held February 23d. M. J. Winkler to Release State Right Product Miss M. J. Winkler has severed her connections with the Warners, with whom she has been actively identified for a number of years, and according to a current announcement, will branch out in the independent field at the helm of her own company. Her new plans as outlined in her initial statement, embrace the formation of a large distributing unit with distribution headquarters in New York and production offices in Los Angeles. The company will specialize in the marketing and exploitation of independent product. Offices have been taken in the Candler Bldg. At the present time Miss Winkler is personally negotiating for the distribution of a series of big feature attractions which will star several well-known screen favorites. It is expected that the contract will be closed within the present month. The series of animated cartoon comics, universally known as “Felix,” which are animated by the Pat Sullivan Studios and which for the past two years were distributed and exploited by the Paramount Pictures Corporation, was acquired recently by Miss Winkler for independent distribution. “Chic’’ Sale Writing Own Screen Story Charles (Chic) Sale, the Exceptional Pictures star whose first motion picture was “His Nibs,” left New York last December for a tour of the middle Western theatres of the Keith Circuit, and has met with the greatest success in every city he has played. He appeared in Louisville last week, and the reviewers tore loose as usual and used all their adjectives to explain how they enjoyed his rural impersonations. Mr. Sale has made a point of meeting the leading exhibitors in every town he plays. He is also busy with the script of his second motion picture. The story will be an original, of which “Chic” is the author, and he has an experienced continuity writer with him, to aid in the preparation of the story.