The Moving picture world (February 1920-March 1920)

March 27, 1920 THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD 2127 Three More Circuits Book Realart Films; Rubin & Finkelstein Among the Number THE ranks of big circuits booking Realart's special was swelled this week by the addition of Rubin & Finkelstein, the prominent Twin City exhibitors, Jensen & Von Herberg, the big Northwestern circuit, and Poll's chain of theatres in New England. The obtaining of these contracts in quick order, according to J. C. Ragland, general sales manager of Realart Pictures Corporation, makes the company's representation in all the big circuits throughout the country practically complete. Rubin & Finkelstein signed contracts for "The Mystery of the Yellow Room," an Emile Chautard Production, and "The Luck of the Irish," an Allan Dwan Production. Both features are presented by Mayflower Photoplay Corporation and are to have early showings in the principal houses of Minneapolis, St. Paul and Duluth. Jensen & Von Herberg closed contracts for "The Luck of the Irish" for one week each at the Majestic in Portland, the Strand in Seattle, the Rialto in Tacoma, and the Rialto in Butte. Poll's circuit of vaudeville theatres took contracts for "The Luck of the Irish" for four-day showings in the firm's houses in Bridgeport, New Haven, Waterbury, Hartford, Meriden, Conn., and in Springfield, Mass. "The signing of any one of these chains," said J. C. Ragland, "would constitute a good week's work anywhere, but here we are suddenly given all three, and at a time when we figured we had accomplished about all in the way of big circuit bookings a single firm could hope to get. "I consider that a circuit booking is the most rigid test to which any picture can be subjected. It means that its appeal is not limited to a single class of patrons or to small neighborhood audiences. Circuit bookings are only for pictures with a broad, powerful appeal, and those other qualities that attracted the large masses of people." Senator Sherman Introduces Wheeler Bill in the Senate SENATOR SHERMAN, of Illinois, has introduced in the United States Senate the bill previously introduced in the House of Representatives by Representative Wheeler, of the same state, restricting the sale of tickets and the number of admissions to the theatres in the District of Columbia. This would prohibit the theatre owner or manager from selling tickets or granting free admission to any person unless such ticket or admission permitted the immediate seating of the person involved. Further, section three provides that the district commissioners be required to limit the number and determine the arrangement of seats in any theatre, having regard to its proper ventilation, fire protection and sanitation, and no theatre would be permitted to increase its capacity without the approval of the commissioners. The building regulations now require with respect to theatres having a seating capacity of 500 or more that lobby space equivalent to one and a half feet a person be provided. Take the Metropolitan, Knickerbocker, Palace, Rialto or any of the other large houses and were it not for this regulation the seating capacity could be increased so as to take care of all the people who now have to stand for afew minutes after buying tickets and before seats become available. If the theatre men were prohibited from selling tickets until seats become available, it would mean an end to all continuous per formances such as the motion picture exhibitions. Incidentally, the price of admissions would be increased. The manager would run a show and then clear his house, and it would take forty minutes to sell tickets for a second show and seat the people, it is estimated. Hodkinson Releases Hit High Mark in New York Territory HODKINSON releases are cutting a wide swath in the Metropolitan district. Marx S. Nathan, head of the local exchange, and his sales force have for weeks been hitting a high mark in the volume of contract bookings obtained from the big circuits and the larger theatres in the New York zone on the big productions distributed by the Hodkinson organization. Manager Nathan reports contracts on J. Parker Read, Jr.'s, Louise Glaum picture, "The Lone Wolf's Daughter," for presentation on the entire Sydney S. Cohen circuit, which has already started a big twenty-four sheet poster campaign in the Bronx; for Moss' Hamilton, the Charles Steiner circuit, the M. & S. circuit, the latter having arranged for extended engagements at all its houses. The Cohen circuit has also contracted for Zane Grey's "Desert Gold," "The Capitol," starring Leah Baird, "His Temporary Wife," and J. Warren Kerrington's "Live Sparks." Last week Kerrigan's "30,000" played Moss' Hamilton, the Adelphi, the Symphony and the Seventy-seventh Street Theatre, besides being booked solid on all other Moss houses. C. H. Schneider, owner of the Beverly Theatre, Brooklyn, after booking "The Lone Wolf's Daughter," arranged with forty-six stores in his vicinity for use of their windows in a unique promotion campaign. FOLLOWING the announcements of the boo' ing of the latest Blanche Sweet production released by Pathe, "The Deadlier Sex," by the B. S. Moss Theatre, New York City, many of the finest theatres in the Metropolitan area have contracted for ihe picture. The Broadway Theatre run of the picture for one week started on March 14 and many exhibitors visited the theatre to see for themselves the maniier in which the production went over. Important bookings resulted. Among the important houses contracting for the picture are the Moss Regent and the ^oss Flatbush theatres, B. F. Keith's Prospect, Academy of Music, Proctor's Twenty-third Street and Proctor's 125th Street, Harlem Opera House, Keith's Jersey City, Proctor's Mount Vernon and Proctor's Yonkers, Halsey Street, D. V. Picker's Rio Theatre, Adelphia. Seventy-seventh Street, Symphony, Fox's Nemo and the Majestic on Washington Heights. In all of the big exchange centers the most representative exhibitors Iiave either booked the picture or have arranged for a screening as soon as prints are available for them. The splendid success of the first two Blanche Sweet pictures released by Pathe, "A Woman of Pleasure" and "Fighting Cressy," have established the star on a firm basis in the best theatres and with every assurance that the third production, which is from the pen of Bayard Veiller, is of the highest standard of excellence. She's a Gem at the Gem Projection Machines Is Mrs. J. C. Morgan Ripley HEREWITH we present a portrait of Mrs. J. C. Morgan, who is said to be the only woman moving picture operator in West Virginia. She has charge of the machines at the Gem Theatre at Ripley, and is also assistant manager of the house. Not only that, but Mrs. Morgan also conducts a photo studio in the town and does all kinds of photographic work. Film salesmen in this territory are high in their praise of the pictures projected at the Gem and all agree that Mrs. Morgan ia a little wonder when it comes to light, focus, frame and all other requirements of a perfect picture. /f " Mrs. J. C. Morgan. A star, you bet — but at the art of projection. Mrs. Morgan is the projectionist of the Gem Theatre, Ripley, W. Va A factor which is making the picture popular in many of the smaller cities and towns is the newspaper tie-up which has been arranged by the Pathe publicity forces. A series of articles on noted women of history prepared by Blanche Sweet under the title of "The Deadlier Sex" has been widely distributed among the newspapers of the country Columbia City Council Rules in Favor of Liberal Sunday THE city council of Columbia, Tenn., has passed an ordinance repealing the present Sunday closing law and permitting business houses to remain open on the Sabbath with the exception of two hours between 10 o'clock in the morning and noon. Whether or not this will also permit moving picture houses to remain open is not determined, but the motion picture theatre is regarded as much of a business industry as anything else. In passing this ordinance Columbia is one of the first cities in the South to take this step once the Sunday blue laws had been placed in actual operation, and the result will be watched with interest by other towns and cities of the section. Especially active against the repeal of the law were the various women's clubs of the city, several of them adopting resolutions against a repeal of the closing law. Many Houses in Metropolitan Area Book "The Deadlier Sex'' Following Premiere