The Moving Picture Weekly (1917-1919)

38 THE MOVING PICTURE WEEKLY Longacre Distributing Century Comedies HREE names are inextricably I bound together in the film world. They are Alice Howell, Century Comedies, and Longacre Distributing Company. Alice Howell is going to make the Century Comedies, and Longacre is going to see that her big public has a chance to enjoy them. Their plans for doing so are all laid, and include some novel aids to exhibitors booking these super-comedies. The Longacre plan calls for the devision of the territory into districts. The "district rights" will be sold in each of these divisions. The Century Comedies will be furnished to exhibitors regardless of any other service which he may be receiving, for Longacre has no connection whatever with any other film service. For the benefit of those purchasing district rights, Longacre designates a "district" as a town, or in the case of a large city, a section of the town, in which there is either one theatre which draws from the entire populace, or two or more theatres, which run in direct 2-Reel 101-Bison Eileen Sedgwick Fred Church Eileen and Fred live in a town which is the winter headquarters of a circus. Fred wants to be a lion tamer and Eileen a bareback rider. They get their chance, and your audiences will be initiated into the mysteries of these perilous professions. There are jungle beasts enough in this thrilling Bison to satisfy the most jaded movie fan. competition to each other, and to which only one of the so-called "firstrun" of a picture can be sold. This constitutes the selling plan of Longacre, and the prices are already scheduled in every district. Longacre exchanges have already been established in all the principal cities, Atlanta, Boston, Buffalo, Butte, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Des Moines, Detroit, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New Orleans, New York, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Portland, San Francisco, St. Louis, Toledo, Washington, D. C, Salt Lake City, Wichita, Milwaukee, Seattle and Spokane among them. Screenings are held in all the districts in these cities, and tremendous enthusiasm for the Alice Howell productions has already been shown. As part of its service, Longacre issues a clever campaign book, called "The Boost-'Er Book," which is filled from cover to cover with publicity stunts, press stories, talks on comedies as a program feature, descriptions of the novel and original advertising matter, and every help known to the trade. There is also a folder, gotten up in brand-new style, announcing the new series of Centuries, which has been mailed to every exhibitor. If your name has been overlooked, write to 1600 Broadway, and the oversight will be rectified at once. A wonderful line of advertising material of all kinds has been prepared, including life-sized cut-outs of the famous comedienne, novel heralds — the first a balloon to advertise the first comedy, "Balloonatics." The purpose of Longacre is to issue twelve of these super-comedies, featuring Alice Howell, every year. At least ten are guaranteed, and every effort will be made to have twelve appear on the first of every month. The first, "Balloonatics," is scheduled for September first. "Automaniacs" follows on October first; "Neptune's Naughty Daughter" on November first, and "Alice of the Sawdust" on December first. It is unnecessary to say very much about the star, Alice Howell. Her work, and the immense popularity she has won by it, speaks loudly for her. Her rise in the comedy world has been meteoric, and she has gained in record-breaking time the proud position of "funniest woman in pictures." Her director, who has been largely responsible for her success, is J. G. Bly stone, one of the greatest comedy men in the game, a producer whose sense of the ridiculous is developed to the nth degree, and whose success with this type of picture has been phenomenal. Miss Howell and Mr. Blystone form one of those ideal combinations of star and director, who understand each other. Teaser Campaign for "The Voice on The Wire" (Continued from page 30) ous person, and it is found that the cause of death is what is known as the "Sen Si Yao," a little-known form of jiu-jitsu. The evidence now points to some Oriental as the culprit, and, although the detective and his assistants were assailed in the dark, no one so far has been captured. July 21, Evening Express. The Voice on the Wire. News respecting the great American mystery are very difficult to obtain, but we hear that a terrible struggle has been going on from day to day between them, detectives and the police on one hand and the band of crooks on the other. Notes, apparently from the chief of the gang, have been found signed "Laschas," and the famous detective's female assistant, known as "Polly," has been captured, and, on being put into a trance, is ordered to kill John Shirley, the detective. July 23, Evening Express. The Voice on the Wire. The latest news respecting this absorbing mystery is that when Polly, the female detective, while in a trance was about to shoot John Shirley, the great detective, the latter, by means of hypnotism, overcomes her stupor and brings her back to her senses. Later he hears from her a meeting of the whole gang, who will be masked and admitted to their meeting-place by giving the password, "Thumb." Shirley goes to the meeting masked, and while there, a mysterious message comes that there is a traitor present. All are ordered to unmask. Shirley then fires his revolver and the police rush in. All are captured except Red Warren, who knows the secret. There now seems some prospect of the authorities overcoming the "Voice on the Wire" gang. July 24, Evening Express. The Voice on the Wire. Developments have now gone on at a great pace since we last heard news of this great mystery. The "Voice" has claimed its fifth victim in a wealthy financier, named Thomas Welsh, and in a scuffle Red Warren, who knew the secret, has been killed by his own master. This stroke seems to have almost brought the mystery to an end, for the "Voice" has announced its intention of telling the truth by writing in on a paper at twilight. Here our information is broken off.