Motion Picture News (Oct 1913 - Jan 1914)

THE MOTION PICTURE NEWS 35 Bijou is neatly painted card signs, giving the names of the pictures and of the manufacturers, and occasionally a few photographs from actual scenes. i 4 The experience of the Bijou is worth noting, as, although the seating capacity is one thousand chairs, at 8.15 p. m. standing room was at a premium, while the other theatres of the main street, with less seats, were not overcrowded. Mrs. J. Clement, of the Bijou Dream, of Boston, Mass., has the. same views. The advertising at the Bijou Dream is made through neatly framed card signs and a few occasional photographs. Mrs. Clement claims that an abuse of sensational posters acts a good deal like the supposed feature films and extraordinary inducements. These posters can, and generally do, bring a crowd, a crowd that cannot be accommodated and that overtaxes the employees of the theatre and makes everything unpleasant for everyone, even the patrons. Then the next day, unless you can advertise a couple more of sensational features or offer more inducements, your business falls flat, and the manager has to work high and low to find more sensational posters and more inducements to try to keep up his business. Mrs. Clement is not after the rush of one day; she wants a steady and regular patronage, and, while the lady cannot brag of days with crowds blocking the sidewalk, she has the satisfaction of knowing that day after day, week after week, she has goodsized houses of regular, satisfied patrons, who know where to go to see carefully selected pictures, projected correctly and accompanied with the proper music. When I called at the Bijou Dream Theatre at 11 a. m. I noticed a minister coming down Washington street, and without looking at the advertisements he took his place behind me at the ticket office and followed me to the auditorium, via the escalator. No minister of the gospel would like to be seen entering a theatre hidden behind a lot of sensational posters, while a minister is not ashamed to visit Mrs. Clement's place. It is the same story with the better class, and this is why Mrs. Clement is so successful. Providence, R. I., is not yet following the fad of too many sensational posters, but then there is practically no competition, as seven places showing motion pictures (three of them big vaudeville houses) is not much for a town of over 200,000 inhabitants. As an advertising scheme the "Nickel" Theatre has a number of extra large portraits of the leading men and women of the best manufacturers. These portraits, about 18x22, are neatly framed and arranged on the walls of the lobby. J. M. B. THE EXCLUSIVE PROGRAM AS a pioneer Independent in the film business, I can say safely that the Exclusive Supply Corporation has been more successful, has made greater strides toward progress than any other organization during recent years, considering the short space of time that it has been in operation. The reason for this success beyond question of doubt must be attributed to merit. The manufacturers connected with the Exclusive are among the best firms, and are, perhaps, in better position, due to their exceptional facilities, to produce the highest class of product with which to maintain the lead of quality in the realm of features. These companies have long maintained supremacy in the feature field, and are continually striving to improve upon previous efforts. Hence Exclusive features are more in demand and more profitable to the exhibitors than are any other features. The motion picture business has been one of steady advance from the beginning, and, to my mind, the introduction of the feature has contributed largely to the thriving condition of the industry. When one stops to consider that it is little more than two years ago that the Great Northern Film Company placed upon the market the first feature film, the strides that have been made since then are little short of marvelous The company which I represent was the first to realize the possibilities of multiple BY INGVALD C. OES (Abstracted) reel subjects and the industry was not slow to look into the future through the same telescope. The most recent achievement of the Great Northern Company is a ninereel production of Gerhart Hauptmann's stirring novel "Atlantis." It required considerable persuasion and a substantial money offer to gain the consent of the distinguished German author, winner of the $10,000 Nobel literary prize. It was only with the distinct understanding that the subject must be given with the magnitude that the story requires that Hauptmann consented. I am going into these details briefly in order to show the spirit and enterprise of a firm that undertakes to make a nine-reel feature. The first move of the company was to charter one of the Scandinavian-American steamships of 12,000 tons, and with her officers and crew she steamed into the North Sea to give realism to the story. Another steamship to be sunk was bought outright, as was the ill-fated Roland in the Hauptmann novel. Camera men were sent to the four points of the compass to carry out the author's wishes. It is estimated that the production will represent an outlay of $60,000 when ready for presentation. The sinking of the Roland and the rescue of only fifteen of the passengers and crew is a real feature endeavor, proving the strides made in this industry. Madame Orloff will be seen in the principal female leading role. She is an actress of renown in the European capitals; and Unthan, who was Hauptmann's inspiration for the part of Arthur Stoss, the "Armless Wonder," will be seen in his original part. Another of our multiple reel series in the near future will be "During the Plague," in which Rita Sachette, the famous dancer and actress, plays the principal female role. Betty Nansen, acclaimed as the "Bernhard of the North," is another who has been engaged to appear in a feature serijs which already has been begun. It is enterprise such as this tha; is calculated to lend strength to the feathe program and impress the trade with the importance of selecting the best. KLEINE ENLARGES OFFICES In addition to occupying practically the entire third floor at 166 North State street, Chicago, and a large suite of offices in the Long Acre Building, New York City, General Manager McCarahan has been compelled to rent a number of other suites on the fourth floor, despite the fact that almost all the available space on that floor is already occupied by the various departments of the big Kleine organizations. An entire sixstory building at 20 East Illinois street is given over exclusively to the photographic department and the storerooms of the Kleine Optical Company.