The Moving picture world (February 1920-March 1920)

March 27, 1920 THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD 2093 Secured from Sundry Sources Quebec Showmen Forming an Association for Mutual Help A CONSIDERABLE number of independent exhibitors of Montreal and other centers of the Province of Quebec have followed the lead taken by . the Moving Picture Exhibitors' Protective Association of Ontario and organized a cooperative moving picture exchange. The Montreal theatre interests have organized the Almagamated Exhibitors' Circuit, Ltd., and a Dominion charter has been secured for the company, as it is the intention to establish branch exchanges in other provinces of Canada. Announcement is made that about fifty per cent of the theatre men of Montreal are financially interested in the new enterprise and stock is being sold on the open market. An agreement was signed by practically all of the interested exhibitors last January and various investments were guaranteed by them. Even before the lists were completed offers had been made for important distributing franchises, but as yet no announcement has been made regarding such arrangements. Phil Hazza Heading the Movement. It is understood that the man behind the development was Phil Hazza, who has resigned from the management of the Montreal branch of the Canadian Universal in order to hold office with the new circuit. Mr. Hazza is also well known in the Canadian West, having been in charge of the Universal branch at Winnipeg for a number of years. He also has a brother who is a theatre owner of Edmonton, Alberta. It is expected that a circuit similar to the syndicate in Quebec will be organized in the Prairie Provinces to book the pictures secured by the Amalgamated. Mr. Harry Pulos, of the Midway Theatre, Montreal, is the president of the Amalgamated Exhibitors' Circuit, Ltd. He is one of the city's veteran exhibitors. New Japanese Company Starts with Extensive Theatre Chain THE International Motion Picture Company, Ltd., of Kyobashi, Tokio, Japan, has recently organized with a capital of 10,000,000 yen. The president is Bunji Okada, a member of the house of peers and former superintendent-general of the metropolitan police board. The board of directors includes Kisaburo Kobayashi and Shinji Sekiya, who will be managing director. The Natural Color Cinematograph Company, Ltd., of Tokio, which controls over 400 picture theatres in Japan, is amalgamated with this new company, assuring it an immediate market for its product. The new company announces its intention of erecting new theatres throughout the empire. This information is contained in a letter from the International Motion Picture Company to Moving Picture World. A representative will soon be sent to this country to get in touch with American producers. New Kentucky Company Buys Three Motion Picture Houses THE purchase is announced of the Princess and Dixie theatres in Mayflower and the Savoy Theatre in Princeton by the Strand Amusement Company, of Louisville, Ky., composed of Leo F. Keiler, John W. Keiler, Lee Goldberg and Fred Levy. All are motion picture houses. The company is capitalized at $50,000. The principal stockholders are the men named above. Colonel Levy is president, J. W. Keiler is vice-president, Lee Goldberg is second vice-president, Leo Keiler is secretary-treasurer and general manager, and Rodney Davis is assistant manager. The company is affiliated with the First National Exhibitors' Circuit. Members of the company are associated with the management of the Strand, National and Mary Anderson theatres in Louisville. Messrs. Levy and Goldberg control the Kentucky and Tennessee franchises of First National. The Strand company, it is reported, will within a week buy four other theatres in western Kentucky. Associated Producers Still Undecided on Distribution THOMAS H. INCE and J. Parker Read, Jr., left for California at which time they emphasized the fact that the Associated Producers had no announcement to make regarding distribution plans of the organization. Notwithstanding the rumors that have been current. Mr. Ince and Mr. Read declared no negotiations of any nature had been closed between the Associated Producers and any organization or individuals. They added that up to the time of their departure they were not even in a position to indicate what direction any future negotiations might take. "Nothing definite will be consummated until our return to the Coast," said Mr. Ince. "Immediately following there will be a meeting of the Associated Producers lo consider the result of our conferences in New York. It is reasonably certain that shortly after that a decision will be arrived at which will enable us to make public the future plans of the Associated Producers." Answers Insinuations That Film Men Think Only of Cash FRED B. MURPHY, president of the New England Film Managers' Association, has a few pertinent ideas regarding state censorship of motion pictures. Here they are: "We are not in an illegitimate business. Every man at the head of the film industry in Massachusetts is a married man and head of a family. We are not placing the dollar ahead of the morals of children. We Country Takes a Peep at City. Viola Dana and May Allison, Metro stars, oft duty. are doing everything under the sun to promote films suitable and eminently proper for all to see — good, big, broad, wholesome shows. "It has been charged by the proponents of the censorship bill in Massachusetts that the industry has brought a large sum of money into the state to fight the bill. This is a contemptible charge. It is absolutely untrue. Whoever made that statement does not know the film industry and does not know the men who are in that industry. This charge doubtless was made to show by innuendo that the film producers and distributors were placing the dollar ahead of the morals of the community and what is right for the children of this community. "It is a strange fact, but true, that many of the women now favoring this measure have been to our organization time after time for films for charity use. We have gone to great expense and have willingly done so, in order to help those who wanted films for any good, legitimate purpose." Shawnee Exhibitors Buy Another. Jones and Cammack, proprietors of the Cozy Theatre, Shawnee, Okla., have purchased the .Savoy Theatre in the same town from H. T. Douglas. C. E. Momand and son, A. B. Momand, the present lessees, will continue running the theatre until their lease expires early in 1921. Jones and Cammack will not close the Cozy Theatre. tiiiiiiiiiiiiiriiiiiiiHiintiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiitiiiiiuimiiiiHiiiriiE HERE is the list of the Reviews printed in this issue, beginning on Page 2173. By consulting these and the Consensus of Trade Press Reviews department, the exhibitor should be greatly aided in the selection of his pictures. Girl of the Sea (Republic) A Manhattan Knight (Fox) The Evil Eye (Hallmark) Sinners (Realart) The Inferior Sex (First National) Dangerous Days (Goldwyn) The Woman Game (Selznick) Uneasy Feet (Comedyart) The Blue Pearl (Republic) King Spruce (Hodkinson) Money Talks (Fox) Trailed by Three (Pathe) The Deadlier Sex (Pathe) The Third Woman (RobertsonCole) Comments and Short Subjects iiiiiiiiiiiirtitiiiniiiiimr