Moving Picture World (Jan-Mar 1913)

48o "THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD The Illinois State Register of Springfield, III., has at last recognized the moving picture and runs the daily programs at the local houses. The Colonial, at Charleston, 111., was recently closed by an action of the city council because it was charged the place refused to pay the license fee. The Star theater at EI^'m^ 111., which was' recently -leased for seven anu a half years by John Bodkin, head of the B. K. circuit, has been placed under the management of L. II. Williams, former manager of tlie Pastime theater on Madison street, Chicago. The theater was redecorated, new scenery was painted and a $5,000 unit orchestra, declared to be the equivalent of twenty musical pieces was installed. A program of four reels, with a musical number, was arranged. L. C. Casey has gone from Marshall. III., to take charge of tlie American theater at Terre Haute. Ind. He retains control of the Princess at Marshall, and will continue to make his home in that city. W. H, Marple. who formerly owned a half interest in the Palace Theater at Aurora, 111., and his associates, are reported to be negotiating for a lease on the Egerman Building, at Fox and Water Streets in that city, to be used as a theater. J. D. King of Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, has purchased the East Main street' theater at Galesburg, 111. W. E. Busha of Elgin. 111., is reported to he meeting with success in operating the Star theater at Belvidere, 111. His pianist. Miss Marion Lewis, Is the author of the Kalem "A Treacherous Shot," which was released January 3. Employees of the Colonial Amusement' Company, ivhich has a monopoly on picture shows and vaudeville houses in Harrisburg, III., controlling the Colonial, Star and Orpheura theaters, were given a banquet Christmas night by Manager Tim Turner and his associates. Manager Turner was presented with a handsome meerschaum pipe by bis employes. The guests at the affair were: Mr. and Mrs. Richard Davenport, Mr. and Mrs. M. D. Nesler. Colonial theater— Orlie Turner. Edith Knawl, Edna Strlcklin, "Judge" Butler, T. Bruce and Leo Abney. Star theater — Billy Braddick, Mary Lindenmuth, Glodys Hethenngton. Jessie Dove and Phillip Upchurch. OrpheUm theater — Mr. and Mrs. E. G. Stuff, Gertrude Hetherlngton, Will Tate, Earl Estes, Eddie Rogan and Jessie Stunslon. Orchestra — Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Cook, Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Miller, Lucile Audre, Will White, Corum Wanson and Ernie Johnson. Officers — Mr. and Mrs. H. A. Murphy, Mr. and Mrs. George 0. Davenport, W. P. Oliver and Miss Stella Short. H. Hoskins, a negro, has filed suit in the United States District Court at Fort Madison, Iowa, against the Orpheura Company of Fairfield, Iowa, for $2,000 damages. He alleges that on account' of his color, he was prevented from sitting on the main floor of the picture house and later forcibly ejected. A new white marlile and stucco front is being placed for the new Princess theater on Main street, at Galesburg, 111. A balcony is also being Installed. The Barrymore theater at Moline, 111., has been reopened with moving pictures predominating In the program. Three reels are given for five cents. Matinees are offered Wednesday. Saturday and Sunday. A four-piece orchestra is furnishing the music. The Middle Westei-n Lyceum Association of Chicago, has leased tlie George B. Norton opera bouse at Lockport, III., which opened January 15 as a moving picture house. This is a departure in middle west amusements and entertainments, and the substitution of high class literary, musical and educational numbers for vaudeville will be watched with Interest. It is said that If the plan is successful, the Lockport bouse may become one of a chain which will appeal to the better class, of patronage in a number of Mississippi Valley cities. The house has been undergoing extensive repairs and has been refitted and redecorated. The furnishings of the Majestic theater in Rock Island, 111., were sold at a mortgage sale to Joseph Hopps, a lessee of tho place, for $S30. and the place will be opened as a nioviu;.' picture liouse. C. M. Eckhart and B. Vauglian have leased the (Jreenup opera house at Greenup, 111. Thomas Walsh will erect a new $120,000 vaudeville theater at Third and Rijtley streets in Davenport. Iowa. When completed, the building will be taken over by an operating company, headed by Richard Lane, Reed Lane and Harry Blancbard. P. J. Hanson will retire from the picture show business, having sold the Bijou at Rhinelander, Wis., to Paul U. Philleo, of Tomahawk. The Cosmopolitan Securities Company of Chicago, III., has been Incorporated with a capital stock of $30,000, to operate a theater and dance ball. The Incorporators are: Abraham Dick. Lewis F. Jacobson and William M. Tannenbaum. The Gem theater at Macomb, III., has switched to the Mutual Film Service. Apropos of the appearance of the Vltagraph feature, "The Mills of the Gods." an Illinois editor, who has been bothered by speeding reels, hopes that the operator "will grind slowly and preserve the eternal fitness of things." The Kankakee Amusement Company of Kankakee. 111., has been Incorporated with a capital stock of $1,000, to do a general theatrical business. The Incorporators are; Frank C. Smith, Vausle L. Smith and Josei»h H. Kelly. Clarence Kleckner of Kent, 111., has purchased the oppra house building at Stockton, 111., from Lingford & McCarty. He has leased It to Peter Wales, to be used as a moving picture show. The Wayne Film Corporation of Warsaw, Ind., has been incorporated with a capital stock of $20,100. The directors are: Addison D. Whitman, Orion W. and \\'illiam P. Clemen and Walter Brubaker. The Vonng Men's Cliristian Association of Des Moines. Iowa, has purchased a moving picture machine and is giving a performance every Saturday night, free to members of the association. Nonmemliers are charged admission. Tlie Alfred Theater Company of Chicago, III., has been incorporated with a capital stock of $2,500, to do a general amusement business, also a manufacturing and mercantile business. The incorporators are: B. Blumeuthal, E. S. Hartman and J. Schwartz. The State Board of Control of Iowa has purchased moving pictvire machines for nearly all its insane hospitals and otlier charitable Institutions. A novelty in connection witli the exploitation of local moving pictures is credited to Manager Vance of the Dawn theater at Streator, III, He secured a number of photographs of cities In their pioneer days aiid showed them as a contrast' to the reels which pictured a modern city. Warner Judy of Hoopeston, 111., has sold the Derthick opera house at Belvidere, 111., to Charles W. Fruehling of Fort Madison. la. Dysart & Loop have a lease on the house. The new owner Is not a showman. The Middle West Film and Exchange Company of Indianapolis. Ind., has been incorporated with a capital stock of $10,000, to deal in motion picture films, etc. The Incorporators are: J. B. Davidson, Muncie. Ind.. It. Kilmere and A. McCormlck. The Opera House Picture Show at Pittsfleld, 111., will be closed for three weeks while the interior is being redecorated. George Densmore, who recently opened a skating rink at Defiance, Iowa, is reported to be contemplating opening a picture show at that place. Leon Shumway has purchased the Rex theater at Eau Claire, Wis., and will run pictures sis days each week. J. M. Hobbs of Mcl^eansboror. 111., has opened a new picture show In Eldorado. 111. The Dreamland Theater Company of Spooner, Wis., has been incorporated with capital stock of $1,00[». The incorporators are; H. A. Bresee, E. A. Bixby. C. L. Appleman, J. A. Brechlo. E. M. Elliott and A. E. Wittek. FRANK H. MADISON. LOUISVILLE. ■pvESPITE the walkout or "lockout" of union -L-'operators by members of the Louisville Photoplay Association, attendance at the eigliteen theaters in the organization is suffering to no extent. Tlie association has decided to couUnue its policy of showing high grade films, ignoring the subject of the strike. Despite the efforts of the union operators and musicians to keep tlie subject alive, the public is fast forgetting that a strike is in progress, and the situation is regaining its former etatus. The new operators are filling the gap satisfactorily, and no damage is being sustained from poor work in the booths. The exhibitors expect the strike to die a natural death in the near future. The operators and musicians recently shot tlielr last bolt when tliey issued several thousand cards and distritmted them among tlie crowds on Fourth Street. "The Avenue is the only picture theater on Fourth Avenue employing Union musicians and operators," read the placards. The public was evidently too busy to listen to the strikers' woes, as was attested by a huge pile of the cards which were thrown in the gutter at Fourth and Green Streets. The Union Feature Company has established a branch office in Louisville. Irvin Simon being manager of the establishment. The deal was arranged during ■ a recent visit of J. D. Tinnets, manager of that company. Offices of ttie Union branch are in the Tyler building. Charles Olson, connected with the Central Film Service Company, of Indianapolis, is also a wrestler of note. Mr. Olson's prowess was recently demonstrated in I^uisville. when he met .Tohn Perry, of Boston, at the Buckingham Theater. Olson' was altogether too much for the Eastern man, and the bout was a poor one from the standpoint of the spectators. Mr. Olson won the first fall in nine minutes and the second In 55 seconds. The wrestler, besides having a good income from liis ability in that regard, is an officer of the Central Film Service Coinpany, and controls the Lyric Theater, Indianapolis. The Sun Theater, controlled by IT. B. Strube, has decided to use T^niversal service in the future. The program will be provided by A. P. Mayer, Louisville manager of the Central. Judge W. Allen Kinney, of the Princess Amusement Company, has returned to Louisville after spending New Year's In Chicago. Judge Kinney watched the demise of 1912 from a point of vantage at Rector's, finding the spectacle an exhilarating one. The Inter-Southern Booking Exchange has been opened by Arthur V. Sheckler. formerly rx)uisville representative of the Gomes Thcatricai Exchange, of Cincinnati. Mr. Sheckler has opened offices on the twentieth floor of the new Inter-Southern building. He will book independently, and will use his acts almost entirely in moving picture theaters In Kentucky and adjacent states. Kinemacolor, effectively exploited by the Majestic Theater, Is proving a great attraction to patrons of that house. "Romeo and Juliet" was a presentation which attracted much favorable comment from devotees of the animated picture. The Lincoln Theater, which recently opened at Winchester, Ky., for the benefit of colored patrons, was inspected by the Commercial Club of that town recently. The house was found to be sanitary and well-conducted, and the endorsement of the Commercial organization was extended to it. Receipts of the Princess and Rex theaters, of Hopkinsville, Ky.. on Christmas Eve were donated to the Western Kentucky Orphans' .Home by the management. The beneficence of the owners of the two houses proved a splendid Christmas gift to the orphanage, at the same time securing the goodwill of Hopkinsville residents for the two animated picture bouses. A paper devoted to insurance has recently discussed the proposition of advertising by means of slides in moving picture theaters. It Is conceded that the animated picture house offers an effective means of reaching the public. Exhibitors who go after slides will proijaiily find memb.ers of the insurance business profitable patrons, provided such service may be sold without interfering with the offerings of the exhildtor himself. Manager Russell, of the Washington Theater, of Maysville, Ky.. gave the receipts of a designated day to the City Mission of that place recently. The attendants at tlie theater donated their services, while the public helped out by patronizing the house liberally. The Columliia Theater, of Paris, Ky., will use the Mutual program exclusively In the future, it is announced. The Columbia recently presented the Tlianhouser ofCering, "The Star of Bethlehem," special singing and music being provided for the occasion. The clergy of Paris recommended the Iiicture warmly, indicating further that the animated pictures are adding to their patrons steadily through intelligent work on the part of exhibitors and manufacturers. The Crescent Amusement Company, of Nashville, Tenn., remembered its employees substantially Christmas. Tony Sudekum, president of the company, presented each attache of the Princess, Bonita. Alhambra and Elite theaters with a $.50 gold piece. The employees in turn remembered their president, presenting him with a handsome handbeaten brass desk set as a mark of their appreciation. A two-dollar bill was the contribution of the Colonial Amusement Company, of Lexington. Ky., to each employee of the Colonial and Star theaters at Christmas, Morton Shaw, manager of the Avenue Theater, Louisville, entertained friends and employees at a New Year's dinner held at the theater. An orcliestra provided music and the banquet was the occasion of general joyousness. Architect Antiiony Kunz, of Cincinnati, Ohio, has been awarded completed plans for the new Belvidere Theater, to be erected on the east side of Belvidere, north of Hatch, in that city. Work wU begin on the motion picture house in the near future. A modem moving picture theater Is to be erected by the Park Amusement Company, recently formed in Cincinnati. The structure will go up on the west side of Hamilton Avenue, opposite Lingo Street. Ground will be broken at once. G. D. CRAIN, JR. ST. LOUIS. ME. NEFF, president of the Mo-tlon Picture Erliibi tors' League of America, was recently entertained here by the St. Louis Branch, No. 3 during his slay In St. Louis along with local delegates who attended the State Convention of Motion Picture Operators, held at Kansas City. The reception given Mr, Neff and the delegates was held at the Slienandoah theater. Grand and Shenandoah avenues. Pictures showing the International balloon races held In Germany were part of an evening's entertainment given by Albert Von Hoffmann, a local aeronaught at the La Salle theater, to members of the Million Population Club and the Ad. Men's League of St. Louis. The property of the Colonial Amusement Company on the north side of Delmar avenue, west of Bayard avenue, lias been sold to the Monarch Amusement Co., a corporation of St. Louis people. The property is valued at $75,000. Frank Talbot has sold his interests In the Gem theater at 6th and Market streets, to a syndicate, headed by S. Jones, retiring prosecuting attorney of the City of St. Louis. Pictures showing "Nick Carter solving the $100,000 Jewel Robbery" a film manufactured by the Atlas Manufacturing Co. of St. Louis, were put on In the United States Court of Appeals In a suit by the Street and Smith Co., Publishers of New York City, who sued on an infringement of the copyright act. The case which was up on an appeal of Orland T. Crawford, proprietor of the Atlas Mfg. Co.. created considerable excitement. The Atlas people claim that a real Nick Carter existed In actual life and that their pictures are based on the fact that the said Nick Carter existed In France. The pictures were taken in St. Louis. Suits for an accounting and $100,000 damages are envoi ved in tlie case. F. J. FEGAN.