The Moving picture world (April 1920-May 1920)

320 THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD May 8, 1920 Sales Branches of Selznick Speed Up After Annual Convention in New York A RESUME of the sales and booking reports from widely separated cities indicates a general acceleration in the business of the Select, Republic and National Picture exchanges. The exchange manager are now busy imparting to tne sales forces the news of the Selznick convention and in arranging for the starting of some of the new methods outlined to them at the New York meeting. The Atlanta office is the recipient of many compliments from several exhibitors in that territory who have benefited tiom the exploitation department's assistance. The Criterior Theatre, of Atlanta, was one of the theatres which played to a capacity house with the Olive Thomas production, "Footlights and Shadows." Following an extensive campaign in Savannah in which window displays, song tie-ups, and elaborate lobby displays were •used, the Odeon Theatre played to capacity business during the run of "Upstairs and Down," the Select production starring Olive Thomas. The novel idea of dressing a negro in a red uniform and sending him about town pushing a wheelbarrow filled with money bags, did much to put over the Eugene O'Brien production at the Alcazar Theatre in Birmingham, recently. In Buffalo, T. W. Brady, Republic manager, screened the first episodes of the new serial "The Whirlwind" and Manager Howard, of the National Picture organization, screened "Just a Wife." This general screening resulted in several contracts, a report says, and Manager Howard closed contracts for National with the Schugert Enterprises, of Buffalo; Charles Havens, of the Cataract, Niagara Falls, and Max Andrews, of Salamanca. Manager Moses, of the Buffalo Select office, has started a sales drive on Prizma productions and it is said that several of the salesmen have started brushing up on the geography of the world as a result. The San Francisco office has reported excellent business for the past few weeks and the Eugene O'Brien production are reported even more popular than usual. His latest production, "A Fool and His Money," is said to have scored heavily on the West Coast. given a special private showing in the big ball room of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, New York, on May 4. Prominent men and women will be invited. There will also be another special showing to professional concert violinists which will be held about the same time. Two Goldwyn Pictures Go Over Big in San Francisco GOLDWYN WEEK on Market street, San Francisco, brought record-breaking crowds at the California Theatre, where Pauline Frederick in "The Woman in Room 13" was the attraction, and at the Rialto, showing Rex Beach's "The Silver Horde." The pictures opened on a Sunday, one of the finest of California spring days. Thousands of people had gone to the beaches or on motor trips, yet lines two and three deep waited in front of the theatres from opening time until shortly before the closing hour. The publicity received on both productions was far above normal for San Francisco, although the expenditure on exploitation was kept within a reasonable figure. Walter Bodin, Goldwyn press and service representative at the San Francisco exchange, started the circulation of publicity on the two pictures about six weeks in advance of the shov;ings, and as a result there was a considerable popular interest in the productions. The city was so well covered with twentyfour, three and one sheets that no one could travel about San Francisco without being met by the name of Goldwyn. "Humoresque" to Have Private View. "Humoresque," Cosmopolitan Productions' new feature picture featuring Alma Rubens, which is scheduled for release by Paramount-.Artcraft on June 6, will be Disposes of "Adventuress" for Big Foreign Territory IXTER-OCE.A.N through Gus Schlesinger, manager of the department of foreign film sales, recently closed for the major portion of the foreign territorial rights to "An Adventuress," according to a statement issued from the New York offices of the company. While the name of the buyer is not mentioned in the text of the statement, it is understood that he is the accredited representative of a large export house distributing motion pictures in foreign territories. By the terms of the contract, the buyer takes over the exclusive distribution for United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ire land, including the Channel Islands; Belgium, Australia and New Zealand; Norway, Sweden and Denmark; France and its Mediterranean Colonies; Switzerland; India; Mexico, Cuba, Holland, Spain and Portugal; Dutch East Indies and Strait Settlement; Porto Rico, Santo Domingo and Venezuela: British South Africa, Argentine and Paraguay, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Egypt and Finland. "Gift Supreme" in South America. "The Gift Supreme," recently acquired by Inter-Ocean Film Corporation for exclusive foreign distribution, has been disposed of for physical distribution throughout seven Latin-American territories, according to a statement by Gus Schlesinger, manager of the department of foreign film sales for Inter-Ocean. The deal in question calls for the distribution in Argentine, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador. Purchase Franklin Novel for Eddie Lyons and Lee Moran FIXED BY GEORGE," one of Edgar Franklin's recent novels, has been bought by Universal for Eddie Lyons and Lee Moran. It will be produced as a five reel comedy. Mr. Franklin has come to be recognized as one of the leading writers of farce plots. Two of his stories recently put into films with great success were "Everything But the Truth," a Universal starring Lyons and Moran, and "Don't Every Marry," a Marshall Neilan production. "Fixed by George" will be the third fivereel Lyons and Moran comedy. The first was "Everything But the Truth" and the second was the screen version of Fred Jackson's musical comedy, "La La Lucille." "Fixed by George" is the story of a young married man who tries to tell everybody else how to manage their affairs. It was published serially in the Argosy, beginning with the issue of February 21 this year. It will be put into production early in the summer and will be released next fall by Universal as one of its Star Series pictures. Trade Showing of Pathe Serial. W'. E. Raynor, manager of Bathe's New York branch, has announced that a special trade showing of the new Pathe serial, "The Third Eye," for exhibitors in the metropolitan district will be held at the Stanley Theatre, Seventh avenue, near Fortysecond street, on Tuesday morning at 10.30 A. M. The first three episodes of the serial will be screened.