Moving Picture World (July-Dec 1909)

38o THE MOVING PICTURE WORLL horrible death, scaled up in a room in a tower. The king, who suspected his favorite, planned a trap into which she and her lover fell, and then they were scaled up and left to die in the room which the king had prepared as a resting place for himself and his favorite. The horror of the situation grows upon the audience, and as the approach of the lingering death becomes more and more apparent, the acting of the unfortunate couple is fascinating in its intensity. One's nerves are strung almost to the breaking point under the strain. And when it is over and the picture disappears there is a relaxation which is difficult to describe, but is a great relief. One, can sense the sufferings of the two until stupor overcomes them and they succumb to the inevitable. Outside the king stands and taunts them as the death shadows lengthen. It is all very real and very horrible, but none the less fascinating. In some respects this is probably the best film the Biograph people have ever sent out. "The Little Darling." — A Biograph comedy which makes a humor out of a mistaken idea that one whom her mother called a little girl and who was prepared for with a load of toys and similar tokens of friendship, turns out to be a young lady of seventeen, who prefers garden gates and shady walks to dolls and toys. The discomfiture of the crowd of bachelors is amusing, to say the least. The fun in some instances becomes almost uproarious. "The Woman Hater." — A Lubin which is a comedy, yet at the same time has many dramatic elements of strength. One partner is a woman hater and the other is not. The younger partner, while the older one is away on his vacation, engages a woman stenographer, which is against the wishes of the older partner. The older one returns and discovers what has been done, but accepts the inevitable, and eventually accepts the stenographer as his wife. There are many amusing touches in it that serve to give it life and increase its interest, and technically it is also good. The effect is that it is a pleasant enough film, telling a pleasant enough story. "Mrs. Jones' Birthday." — A Selig which might well be called a chapter of errors. If all husbands have had similar experiences, it is too bad to harrow them up with the telling of this story. If they have not, perhaps it will be a warning to them to watch very carefully the birthdays and see that some appropriate gift is at home in time for the event. Not wait, as poor Jones did, until the fateful day arrives, and then have a series of unfortunate accidents overtake one and prevent him presenting the present he intended. It is a tale of woe. indeed, and the fact that Jones meant well, but was pursued by an unkind fate, is the interesting point of the story, and in the telling much dramatic ability is shown and much excellent acting is done. The technical qualities of the film serve to emphasize the picture, making it a pleasure to look at. There is too much truth in it to suit some men, but it is sometimes well to have such shortcomings illustrated, so that the man — the average man — can see what he does and take measures to overcome his characteristics. "Winning a Widow." — A Selig picture which has much of interest in it because of its general mix-up, but offers little opportunity for dramatic ability. It is a mix-up with two men after one widow and a young man who wants a certain girl, to which her father objects. To square himself, the young man undertakes various things, and succeeds so well that he gets everyone into hot water. The result of it all is that the father consents to the match between the young people and makes one of his own. The piece is somewhat humorous, but is chiefly interesting because it is uncertain what is going to happen next. "The Mason's Paradise." — If the Gaumonts, from whose studio this travesty upon labor unions emanated intended to poke fun at some of their methods they succeeded admirably, for. while this picture is manifestly a burlesque, it unquestionably comes dangerouslv near to the truth in some particulars. The studied indifference of the Mason's Club toward the gentleman who wants some work done, and the almost impossible conditions imposed are strikingly like the stories that have been told of some of the unreasonable demands of trade unionists. Probably the picture was intended to be funny, but it will appear serious to those who have suffered. Perhaps it will do more good because of this and will lead to the consideration of the unreasonable features of unrestrained unionism. Notes from Chicago. San Bernardino, Cal. — James Slipper, well known throughout the country as a scene painter, is erecting a moving picture and vaudeville show house on West Third street. It will have a seating capacity of about one thousand and will be elaborately decorated both outside and in. In the Orpheum and Rijou Dream Theaters Chicago possesses what is perhaps the most unique theater group in the United States, if not in the entire world. These houses are side by side in the heart of the famous State street shopping district and it is no exaggeration to say that probably close to a million people pass their doors daily, including practically all the very large down town hotel population. The Orpheum occupies two stories of a brick building and the Bijou Dream three stories of a similar one, each house having a main floor and balcony. They are owned by the Jones, Linick, Schaefer Company, which controls twelve other moving picture or moving picture-vaudeville houses in Chicago, besides several park enterprises. The Orpheum opened September 9. 1907. as a moving picture-vaudeville house, ten cents admission, but after seven weeks the vaudeville sign came down and moving pictures and illustrated songs have constituted the entire bill ever since, admission remaining the same. The programme consists of three reels of film and two illustrated songs, lasting fifty minutes, and there is a five-minute intermission between shows. The house opens at 9 a. m. and runs continuously, except for the five-minute intermissions, until n p. m. The orchestra consists of eight pieces and the house employs thirty-five people in all. There are two shifts working from 9 to 4 and 4 to closing. On Saturdays the attendance often very nearly reaches the 10. 000 mark. The Bijou dream opened May 1, 1907, with a five-cent moving picture show upstairs and a penny arcade below. The theater was reached by a glass stairway under which ran a cataract of water. This stairway proved an immense drawing card, adding thousands of dollars to the income account. Last Fall the arcade was transformed into a small ten-cent vaudeville-moving picture theater and recently the whole house was remodeled into one theater, 46 feet in the clear from floor to ceiling, playing a mixed bill of vaudeville and moving pictures, admission ten cents. The house opens at 10 a. m. and runs continuous, with five-minute intermissions between shows, until it p. m. The two houses have a combined frontage of 65 feet, and the rental amounts to $6,000 per month, $d.ooo of which is for the Orpheum and $2,000 goes to the Bijou expense account. The Orpheum cost, in round numbers, $160,000, while the Bijou as it now is set the company back to the tune of more than $50,000. It is from the financial standpoint these theaters are unique and remarkable and in this point of view the writer believes they stand practically alone. That a theater costing $160,000 and paying $48,000 annual rental can not only exist by moving pictures alone, but pay .1 handsome profit on so large an investment seems wellnigh incredible. And this, too. desnite the fact that the Orpheum seats but 700, and the Bijou Dream, with a yearly rent expense of $24,000, seats but 342. and absolutely no one is allowed to stand during the performances. Both are beautiful houses inside and out. The operating rooms are models of their kind. The Orpheum operating room is in charge of Mr. F. H. Trude and Mr. W. P. Osineer. both of whom have been there practically since the house opened. The Bijou Dream operating room is in charge of Mr. F. II Richardson and Mr. Albert Ropinske. The room is 8 x 18 with a 12-foot ceiling;. It is iron lined with heavy cork matting on the floor, and a 36-inch vent oipe through to the roof. The machine peepholes are 12x24 inches and all holes are protected by sliding shutters made from No. T4 iron which work. The}' all close like clockwork by pullins: one small ring off a nail, the ring being located near the floor on the door jamb. Also the shutters are held up bv cotton lines which would burn through quickly and these lines have fuse-; inserted in them. It is a fact that a reel of film could burn in this room and the audience not have even a suspicion that there was a fire in the house. There are lockers of ample size for each operator and the whole room is painted with blackboard slating paint. There are two Viascope machines, a dissolver and spotlight. The machines set at a heavy angle. the drop being 25 feet in the 00-foot projection. I have «et this forth at some length, since I planned this room myself and consider it a model. Mr. Samuel I evine is the able manager of the Orpheum and Mr. Sig. Faller handles^the helm at the Bijou Dream. * * * November 2, 1907. Mr. D. L. Swartz opened a small moving picture-vaudeville house sat 194-6 North Clark street. Mr. Swartz was new to the amusement business and many were the prophecies of failure, but the gentleman attended strictly to business, put on a good show and kept it good. Competition was heavy but soon, instead of failing, he was obliged to double the capacity of the house, which has ever since done a capacity business I mention this case particularly