Motion Picture News (Sep-Oct 1922)

September Q, 1922 1269 MEN AND EVENTS I N THE FILM CENTRES With “News” Correspondents TteHTs OF THE EXCHANGES A N D T H EA T RES KANSAS CITY The Film Booking Offices of America has opened its headquarters for exploitation in the middle western division in Kansas City. Harold Horne of Omaha, a veteran in the exploitation field, has been placed in charge. Films, valued at more than $10,000, stolen from the Kansas City Pathe branch during the last year, have resulted in two arrests, with more expected to follow. Although the office has not been burglarized, films, mostly old ones, constantly have been disappearing, much to the mystification of Harry Graham, branch manager. Investigation revealed that Roy Ballinger, a motion picture theatre operator of Independence, Mo., a suburb of Kansas City, had been selling films to a film broker. Upon arrest Ballinger testified that he had purchased the films from Luther Lawton, a negro janitor in the Pathe office. Lawton, after being cross examined by the police, admitted he had been stealing the prints and selling them for small sums, according to the police. Samuel Harding, owner of a chain of motion picture theatres in Kansas City, Omaha and Oklahoma City, has gained control of the Wichita theatre, Wichita, Kas., by acquiring the majority of stock and a sub-lease on the building. Mr. Harding, who is president of the Overland Amusement Company, plans big improvements on the house, which he hopes to make the largest in Wichita. “ See yourself in the movies.” That line was featured in all advertising of the Pantages theatre in Kansas City last week. Motion pictures of the audience, to be shown at the theatre the following week, were widely heralded and succeeded in drawing good crowds. INDIANAPOLIS Most all of the picture houses have changed policies. The Colonial was the first to change, opening with Wallace Reid in “ The Dictator ” and doing a wonderful business. The Circle is adding 15 pieces to their orchestra, making a total of 40. Several of the houses that cut down their orchestras for the summer,' are engaging more men than they had last season. The Keith interests failed in their effort to get Loew’s State theatre for vaudeville, it is reported. There are reports to the effect that “ Blood and Sand ” will open the house September 17th. Mique O’Brien, dramatic critic of the Terre Haute Tribune, who is spending the week-end in Indianapolis, says that 16,000 coal miners work in and around Terre Haute and the city was just beginning to feel the effects of the strike when it was settled. The railroad situation is more serious than the coal strike ever was in the coal mining section. All the movie houses in Terre Haute kept open all summer and apparently made expenses at least. OKLAHOMA CITY The Oklahoma Exhibitors Association Will convene at the Skirven Plotel, Oklahoma City, Okla., September 7-8 and a large number of exhibitors and visitors are expected to attend. Future legislation at the hands of the coming sessions | of the Oklahoma Legislature will be dis' cussed. The Palace theatre at Oklahoma City will reopen on August 27th, with pictures and musical comedy as the policy. The Orpheum theatre at Oklahoma City is scheduled to reopen on September 16th with high class vaudeville and pictures as the attractions. The Stage and Screen Club of Houston, Texas, at its luncheon had Mayor Holcome, M. E. Foster and W. E. Woods for one minute talks for their part of the program. Other features of the program were a reel of pictures, orchestral music and vaudeville stunts from the Isis theatre. C. A. McFarland, city manager of the Southern Enterprises, is the president, and the membership already numbers several hundred. T. B. Triplet has purchased the Olympic theatre at Lockney, Texas. W. B. Wesley has accepted position as film salesman for Goldwyn with headquarters at Houston, Texas. The Rialto theatre at Wilson, Okla., has reopened, after having been dark for the past several weeks. Sam Horton, an experienced theatre man, will manage the house. CANADA First National’s “ Strongheart ” was chosen by the Allen theatre, Toronto, for the feature attraction for the opening of the “ fall season ’’ at the theatre, starting August 28. This picture was intended by Manager Ben Cronk as the special feature to be presented during the Canadian National Exhibition at Toronto which opened August 26. Mrs. Jennie Rappaport has sold the Crescent Palace theatre at 3265 Dundas street West, Toronto, to Bernard Press for $38,000. This theatre, which has long been successfully operated in the northwestern section of the city, is of solid brick and stone construction with a frontage of 30 feet and a depth of 137j4 feet. Manager J. C. Kennedy of Allen’s Regent theatre, Ottawa, Ontario, made a ten-strike by booking “ Chain Lightning ” for the week of August 28, this being race week for the Canadian Capital with the bang-tails performing at the Connaught Park Jockey Club, the local track. Manager Kennedy secured this picture immediately after it had been given its first Canadian run at the Allen theatre, Toronto. The Family theatre, Ottawa, is being reopened on Labor Day under the management of Jack Soanes. This has been a moving picture house but it will be used for the presentation of stock drama. It is owned bv Harry Brouse, also owner of the Imperial theatre, Ottawa. PROVIDENCE, R. I. The Capitol theatre is the latest acquisition to the motion picture life of this rity and will open on T,abor Day. It has been renovated. The bills to be presented will be changed every two days, and two features and a comedy will be shown. The house is unique in that one price will be charged, 15 cents admitting to any seat in the house between 10:30 a. m. and 10:30 p. m. The theatre will be under the direction of the Strand and Modern theatres management with second run features. Fay’s theatre which shows a big feature picture weekly in connection with its vaudeville bill, beginning August 28 cut its lowest price of 17 cents to 10 cents to any part of the first balcony up to 5 o’clock. The Rialto theatre has procured the sole rights to the six Fox features, which are to be shown at intervals during the fall at advanced prices, the top price being 55 cents. The first one. “ Monte Cristo,” is booked for Labor Day week. BALTIMORE The Strand theatre", a 500-seat downtown house, which has been putting on three shows a week for several months, will be restored to the basis of a firstrun theatre early in September. The theatre will begin one-week showings, with admission prices at 25 and 33 cents compared to the present 17 and 25-cent schedule. Two theatres in residential neighborhoods which have been closed for the summer have reopened — the New Gem, under the direction of J. Rabinowich, and the Good Time. Both theatres have been renovated and improved during the period when they were idle. The possibility of this city having another new theatre in the next year or so is being forecast locally as a result of the association in the management of the Victoria with Fred C. Nixon-Nirdlinger of Jules E. Mastbaum and the Stanley Company of America. WILMINGTON, N. C. The Royal theatre has cut its admissions from 39 cents matinees and 55 cents evenings to 25 cents matinees and 40 cents evenings, in an effort to stimulate business. The same class of attractions are to be shown as heretofore. Starting September 4th the Victoria theatre, Wilmington, N. C., will open with feature pictures, using the same class of service that has been shown in the Royal which will then house the tabloid shows. Road attractions will also be shown in the Victoria, the pictures being between road-show dates. The policy of the Grand theatre will vary very little, a little better class of attractions being shown there. The Rialto theatre in Greer, South Carolina, has been sold by J. E. Barton to C. H. Stokes, a banker of that city. C. E. Davenport, its present manager, will remain in charge. SPRINGFIELD, ILL. Frank Rinks, formerly operator at the Gaiety, Princess and Vaudette theatres of this city, was killed at Dixon, 111., recently. Rinks was employed as electrician by the Heth Carnival Company. He was a member of the local motion picture operators’ union and K. of P. Springfield musicians are working only part time. The old wage scale expired on August 1. They worked until August 12 pending a settlement. Now they work only at night and on Sunday afternoon. It is understood they accepted these conditions rather than take a slight reduction in pay. The Vaudette is fast being made over into one of the city’s finest playhouses. It is booked to reopen Sunday, September 3. The Majestic opened for its regular season, Sunday, August 20. George Ecklund, former leader at the Gaiety, is now in the Majestic orchestra. WESTERN NEW YORK According to very reliable information, Harold P. Dygert is about to acquire the Strand and Andrews theatres in Salamanca, N. Y., and O. T. Schroeppel, now in Fairport, is to manage both k^us.es A. B. Depauw is now manager ° , eT,T??ite .a.nd Opera House in New‘l,1K ’ N. Y. Mr. Depauw will manage the Capitol in the same city when it opens around the first of the year. The Dygert interests will soon take over the Park theatre m Bath, N. Y. and W. L. ager °* -^ansvi^e will be named man* -uuudio s lamous shea’s Hippodrome the past week celebrated its eighth anniversary with “ Orphans of the Storm ” as the feature film. The big Wurlitzer Hope Jones unit organ will be ready Octoher 1. It will have four keyboards and pedal boaid, 209 stop-keys and 70 pistons. It is 32 feet long. The instrument is now being1 installed. Some class to Hornell. Puts over a pre-release showing of Harold Lloyd in qw?” i M Boy' TT Il: happened at the Shattuck Opera House where Charlie Smith holds forth. All box office records Droken and the town’s laughing yet. the Peerless theatre in Hornell. N. Y., to James Cranideas who controls several houses in Olean. , E O. Weinberg, formerly manager of the Buffalo Strand and now in charge of the Mark-Strand in Syracuse, will be ™anagcr of the Troy Strand when that 2,400-seat film palace opens about January 1. T *1'$ Kothb’ite, David Cohen and Fred J. Gillen are the directors of the newly organized Endicott Theatre Corporation, which has been capitalized at $80,000. The company intends to build a new house in Endicott. A1 Beckerich, manager of Buffalo’s Loew s State, has been named on the committee to pick the winners of the Enquirer’s Beauty Contest. A1 has not been feeling well of late, but this job ought to make him perk up a bit. The Elmwood and Shea’s North Park m Buffalo were both entered one evening last week by safe blowers who cracked the strong boxes in both theatres and got away with large sums. In the Elmwood, however, they missed about $500 m one compartment which they were unable to open. The old Buffalo Empire managed for a long time by Sam Carver, who recently resigned to accept the post of exploitation manager at the Detroit Universal office, is now the home of burlesque once more and the name has been changed to the Garden. ST. LOUIS Harry Earl, for many years connected with the local staffs of prominent metropolitan newspapers throughout the country, is the new manager of the Rialto theatre. It opened for the season on Sunday, August 27 with Orpheum Junior vaudeville and motion pictures. The program changes twice weekly. Charles Vollmer, manager of the Delmonte theatre, plans to have some movie star appear in person with each feature picture booked at his theatre this season. In conjunction with “ Slim Shoulders,” Irene Castle’s Fashion Promspade is being given. The Delmonte opened on September 1. Miss Ruth Lamar, 27 years old, 1516 Grand boulevard, St. Louis, an actress, while playing at the Elite Airdome Sunday, August 20, was struck on the head by a brick thrown into the theatre by one of a gang of boys. A few minutes previously the manager ordered the lads from in front of the airdome. Miss Lamar was treated at the City Hospital. Her condition is not serious.