Moving Picture World (Jan-Feb 1927)

364 MOVING PICTURE WORLD January 29, 1927 Steve Farrar Writes Some Good Opposition Copy Production Hints from Edward L. Hyman Managing Director, Mark Strand Theatre, Brooklyn Hits Opposition in a Dignified Reply Lately a new management has taken over the opposition to Steve Farrar in his Eldorado, 111., house, the Casino, and as oppositions sometimes will, bragged about the good shows they were going to have. Steve comes back with a card of thanks, appropriate to the Christmas season, in which he makes reply without seeming to do so. It’s so good we reproduce it here. The copy given is followed by a list of seven better than usual bookings and : “The above are just a few. Six nights a week you will see a great show at the Casino.” He closes with a thanks for the past support and the usual Christmas wishes. The text reads : FOR 15 YEARS How many in Eldorado can remember back that far? If you can you will remember that the Casino Theatre has been showing the best motion pictures made during all those years. Year after year, good years and bad years, the quality has been the same — always the best! And in the future you will see the best pictures that are made, on the Casino screen. This is no idle boast. You know us. The Casino is a part of Eldorado. Children who could hardly reach their dimes up over our box office ledge when we started showing moving pictures fifteen years ago are bringing their children to the Casino now. You can depend upon the Casino for good shows — not tonight, or tomorrow night, but every night in the year — this year, next year, and the years to come. Enlisted the League Tom Holliday made his opening Midnight Matinee of The Black Pirate a sociaf event at the Imperial Theatre, Columbia, S. C. He offered a cut of the proceeds of the matinee to the Junior League, and the members proceeded to put over the event like a circus. They painted posters and planted them, provided a prologue, enlisted a college orchestra and the girls assumed the uniforms of the ushers and other house employees for that evening and ran things themselves. They made a clean-up. Seven incidents made up the program in which Corinne Griffith in “The Lady In Ermine” was the feature photoplay. This picture was 1 hour and 6 minutes long, and the only other film subject on the bill was the topical review, running 8 minutes. The musical end of the show, five incidents in all, took up 47 minutes, bringing the entire performance up to 2 hours and 1 minute. In the order of their presentation the incidents were as follows : The overture was “The Dance of the Hours” from “La Gioconda,” lighted as follows : 2 lemon floods on the orchestra from the dome ; color blend on sides and draw curtains ; blue borders and blue foots on orchestra stage; steel blue stars in cove. The overture took 8 minutes. Aladeleine Macguigan, violin virtuoso, was presented on the production stage in a new performance with the Duo-Art Reproducing Piano. The piano played he accompaniment for 2 numbers, the first classical and the second Victor Herbert’s “Kiss Me Again.” This was lighted as follows : spot from dome, lemon top, light blue bottom, covered the artist ; purple spots from bridges on white patterned leather shrubs ; stage in blue, and took up 7 minutes in the presentation. The Smith Brothers, Trade and Mark, in the persons of “Scrappy” Lamber and Billy Hillpot, appeared on the apron of the large G. R. Stewart, of the Sterling Theatre, Greeley, Col., used a profile football, twelve feet long, for his ballyhoo on The Quarterback. When it was not being paraded it was hung from the front of the marquise. It was most useful during a college rally, but it worked hard for several days in advance and during the three-day showing. stage in a series of songs. These boys,, widely advertised as WEAF radio favorites, wore the well known Smith Brothers whiskers for the first selection, after which they took them off for the remainder of their incident, which took 8 minutes altogether. Lights : black out as they start to sing introductory song, amber spot from dome. At. the finish of act spot dissolves off at finish. Ross Gorman, billed as the world’s most: versatile instrumentalist, appeared on the production stage, “in one” with the purple spangled draw curtains as the back ground. Gorman plays various instruments in a. presentation which required 8 minutes and which was lighted as follows : blue foots,, magenta borders ; amber spot from dome on artist. Following the topical review came the biggest of the stage numbers, “The Mark Strand Gaieties,” running 16 minutes. It opened with 8 girls of the ballet doing a. “Tiller” dance ; lemon floods from bridges and dome; 10 lemon side spots and foots also lemon. Following this came a tango by Ramon and Rosita. Lights : stage black out ; bridges light red ; light amber spot on * dancers. “Moonlight on the Ganges” was next, sung by a soprano while 6 girls did a pantomimic routine. On the chorus a screen was lowered and upon this was thrown a water film from the projection room, which further accentuated the name of -the song. Fion Van Mar, an acrobatic dancer came next, after which Ramon and Rosita came on for another whirlwind dance, in which they were assisted by the ballet for a rousing finale. Got a Laugh For His Quarterback Notice Going some $150 over the “last three” records for the Imperial Theatre, Charlotte,. N. C., Warren Irvin worked hard to get the result. One of his best stunts was to arrange with the cheer leader at a game to announce the picture, the announcement running : “I have been given four passes to announce that Richard Dix in The Quarterback is coming to the Imperial Theatre next week. It is said to be the best football picture ever made and several AllAmerica players are in the game.” The frankness brought a laugh that helped to sink the message in. The week before he had distributed football cutouts at the High School game telling that the reader would see two good games, the one in prospect and another when Richard Dix came along. At both games posters were placed at the entrance to the grounds. Three window displays were made in sporting goods stores and there were others in connection with national tie-ups, including one very exclusive shop. The local paper permitted their deliverytrucks to be bannered, and a special showing' to the sporting editor got a lot of advancenotice in the sporting pages. A TWENTY-FOUR FOOT TANK FOR THE BIG PARADE This is a built-in truck used in Stockholm for the M.-G.-M. picture, which is going over strong in Sweden. You can recognize the names of Gilbert and Renee Adoree, but perhaps “Den Stora Paraden” would be not so good on Broadway. Balled It Up