Motion Picture News (Jan-Feb 1922)

February 25, 1922 1259 I Thanks Exhibs. for Co | Operation with R'C | Charles R. Rogers, general manager of Robertson-Cole Distributing Corp. Selling Films in Australia Abundance of Thrills in Life of Antipodes Salesman, Says Manager SELLING film-thrills in Australia involves some original thrills in the process, according to John C. Jones, general manager of the Australian Selznick Company. Telephones and mail must be abandoned in most instances, according to Mr. Jones, and the exchange manager finds it necessary to travel and keep in direct personal touch with every section of his territory. And what a territory! The itinerary of Stanley D. Bott, manager of New South Wales, for eight weeks, brings him over about 5.281 miles and to 76 towns. On a recent trip from Sydney to1 Bourke, during the bush fire season, Bott got the the thrill of riding aboard a railroad-coach through a hundred miles of flame. Here are three paragraphs from a letter of Mr. Bott’s, recently received at the Selznick headquarters : “ Showmen in the country are experiencing a very bad time mostly due to the combination of bush fires and drought. On the day I arrived at Mungindi, which is on the extreme North Western Border of New South Wales, a terrific gale rendered life out of doors impossible. The picture theatre, which had only recently been redecorated, had its roof hurled 100 yards away. Three houses in the same town were also demolished. “ Such hardships are common occurrences to the men in the back country, and by some peculiar prank of fate the exhibitors are singled out as victims. Theatres generally are poorly constructed, have very little comfort for patrons on a wet night are uninhabitable. Advertising in most centres is an unknown quantity, but the keen men who are rebuilding and going in for the picture game as a financial proposition and not as a gamble are giving the business a much-wanted fillip. “ Selznick Pictures are very popular through the territory I have traveled. The people seem to have tired of the cowboy and Indian type of picture and crave film fare a little more like real life.” “Wild Honey” Announced Title of New Priscilla Dean Release is Now Definitely Decided HE splendid showing made by the exhibitors during RC Week in all parts of the country prompts me to express to them my own sincere appreciation and that of R-C Pictures Corporation, for their splendid co-operation,” said Charles R. Rogers, general manager of distribution for R-C Pictures. “The volume of bookings and play dates during R-C Week was a splendid testimonial to the merit of these pictures and to the confidence the exhibitors have in the pictures and in the organization. “The thorough co-operation of the exhibitors in our extensive plans for that week is most thoroughly appreciated by all who have worked to make that week a big financial success for the exhibitors, and we are gratified beyond measure by the success of the week’s showing.” S!e 1 z n i c k Announces New Talmadge Revival In Selznick’s arrangements for early releases, “ Mrs. Leffingwell’s Boots,” starring Constance Talmadge, will be issued from Select exchanges March 10. This number will be a revival of one of the former Talmadge successes and it now returns to the screen after about four years. The late Walter Edwards directed from Edith Kennedy’s scenario of Augustus Thomas’ greatly successful stage play which had great vogue just previous to its arrival on the screen. Harrison Ford appears in the role of Mr. Leffingwell, opposite Constance. r | NIVERSAL states that on ac ' count of a peculiar situation under our copyright laws it is only now able to announce its next Priscilla Dean picture and the correct title. The story is “ Wild Honey,” directed by Wesley Ruggles from Cynthia Stockley’s own novel of English and South African life. This is Mr. Ruggles’ first picture for Universal, and it utilizes the services in support of Miss Dean of Robert Ellis, Noah Beery, Wallace Beery, Lloyd Whitlock, Mai Wells, Helen Raymond and Percy Challenger. Although “ Wild Honey ” was completed at Universal City some time ago, it has been held in abeyance for some time, owing to uncertainty about the title. Because “Wild Honey” was the name of the popular novel from which the play was made, the presumption would naturally be that it was a usable and acceptable title for the picture, Such, however, was not the case. A picture with this title had been made some years ago and copyrighted. Owing to this fact and to the further objection that the owner intended at some later date to reissue the picture, painstaking endeavor was made to select another suitable title for this picture. However, an amicable arrangement was effected with the owner of the title, it is stated, and Universal is now able to call its adaptation of a popular novel by its original name. “ Wild Honey ” starts off with a sensational murder mystery in the very first few reels, and the far reaching effects of this mystery stretch into far away South Africa, where the romance culminates with a gigantic scene in a gorge where the rival factions are overcome by the bursting of a huge dam. No actual release date for “ Wild Honey ” has yet been announced, but the Exploitation Departments have started the compilation of elaborate press, advertising and exploitation material. It is anticipated that Miss Dean will very soon have completed her work in Frances Hodgson 'Burnett’s well-known novel, “ That Lass o’ Lowries,” under the direction of Hobart Henley. This picture of the Lancashire district also contains a very strong cast headed by Robert Ellis, Wallace Beery, Beatrice Burnham and Katherine McGuire. It is hoped to get this picture on the market before June. As soon as Dean is finished with “ That Lass o’ Lowries ” she will start immediately on a gigantic production of “ Under Two Flags,” which has just been purchased. “Pafdon My Nerve” Is New Chas. Jones Film “Pardon My Nerve” is the title of the picture Charles Jones is now making for Fox at Hollywood. Reeves Eason is directing and Eileen Percy is leading woman. Shirley Mason is finishing “ The Ragged Heiress ” at the Western studio. Lionel Barrymore in “ Boomerang Bill,"created by Cosmopolitan Productions,, and a Paramount picture “Fauntleroy” Goes Bi£ in Reading, Pa. “ Little Lord Fauntleroy,” starring Mary Pickford, had a highly successful engagement at the Capitol theatre, Reading, Pa., according to a report from the office of the United Artists. Captain Stanley Lewis, who has been doing exploitation work for various United Artists releases throughout Pennsylvania, was largely responsible for the big opening of the picture in Reading, Pa. As a guest at a banquet of the Kawanis Club at the Berkshire Hotel, Captain Lewis delivered a brief address on the U. S. Marines, and with his talk tied up> the “ fighting qualities ” of Cedric, as played by Mary Pickford. Kinograms Covers Grand Ball of Fine Arts Many leading lights in the worlds of architecture, painting, sculpture, literature, journalism, the stage and the screen who attended the Ball of the Fine Arts given by the Society of Beaux Arts Architects at the Hotel Astor, New York, Thursday, February 16th, saw themselves on the screen enjoying the evening’s festivities before the party broke up in the wee hours of Friday morning. Kinograms, Educational’s news reel, “covering ” this big event exclusively, rushed prints to completion while the party was at its height, and showed the pictures to the big crowd before they left the ballroom. GYPSY PASSION ADAPTED FROM , dEAN RICHEPINS FAMOUS GYPSY STORY MO [AR The Child of hhe (bear* ALBERT E. SMITH president