The Moving picture world (May 1920-June 1920)

May 22, 1920 THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD 1055 Kehrlein Praises Riesenfelds Music; Pays Respects to Riviera and Majestic ANOTHER foremost American exhibitor of pictures declares New York City leads in the musical accompaniment of motion picture presentation. This time it is Emil Kehrlein, senior, head of the Kehrlein Kinema Circuit, of California, who adds his praise to that of others. Mr. Kehrlein is definite in his statement. He names the houses directed by Hugo Riesenfeld as being, in his opinion, the homes of the best musical presentation in the country. The western exhibitor comes of a family of musicians and he feels in a measure qualified to pass judgment on the music side of exhibitor activities. "No one with a knowledge of music can enter the Rivoli without feeling that its orchestra is under the guidance of a master mind," said Mr. Kehrlein. "It is my conviction, too, that the quality, fine as it is now,' will continue to improve." The Kinema Circuit at present is composed of one house in Fresno and two in Oakland, Cal. The owners are the subject of this sketch and his sons, Emil and Oliver. The Kinema of Los Angeles was formerly one of the chain. At present plans are being prepared for two more houses, one in Oakland and one in Fresno. Each will have a seating capacity of 3,000. In Oakland the new structure will be near the present Kinema. No name has as yet been decided upon for it. In Fresno the contemplated house will be on a plot 150 by 175 in J street, the main thoroughfare of the town. The five Kehrlein houses will have a total seating capacity of about 14,000. Seeks Ideas for New Houses. It was in search of ideas that Mr. Kehrlein left home a few weeks ago. Accompanied by Mrs. Kehrlein, he has visited Chicago and Detroit. When he left New York on May 13 he intended making stops at Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, St. Louis and Los Angeles. Asked as to what he had so far seen that most impressed him, Mr. Kehrlein declared Balaban & Katz's Riviera in Chicago and Kunsky's Majestic in Detroit seemed to top other houses. One of the outstanding features of the Riviera was the courtesy extended by the employes. "Instinctively you feel the courtesy as you enter the Riviera," said Mr. Kehrlein. "You know the personal contact is there. The Majestic appealed to me as an ideal picture house. By the way, I like the term 'picture house' better than I do the word 'theatre' when referring to a structure in which screen entertainments are featured." Since 1907, when Mr. Kehrlein began business, courtesy has been one of the fundamentals in his houses. He believes its importance cannot be overstressed. The Kinema Circuit is credited with building the first large straight picture house, that in Oakland, in 1910, and seating 1,500. Also it was a pioneer in introducing music with pictures and among the first to advance prices. Adequate Lighting Not Yet Devised. One of the objects of Mr. Kehrlein's trip is to seek an adequate lighting system, which in his opinion has not yet been devised. "I want to eliminate light spots in every part of the house," he said. "Also I want perfect ventilation. I want every patron when he leaves one of our houses to feel not tired but refreshed." Asked as to any rules he might have for seating incoming patrons, the western ex Chief of Kinema Circuit Making Tour of Country in Search of Ideas for Two New Picture Houses By GEORGE BLAISDELL hibitor said it was a rule of his circuit to place men on one side of a house and women escorted and unescorted on another. "We do this as if it were not by design, but we find it to the advantage of the house and its patrons," he said. "One thing I have been pleased to note in the East,' declared Mr. Kehrlein, "is the getting away from the double feature. Too much of this sort of thing is going on in the West, and it is not at all beneficial to the business; it is not constructive. Strong for Prologues. "Another factor in picture presentation in which we feel we were pioneers and which has been much improved is the employment of prologues, the injection of atmosphere in the presentation of a picture. You have got to bring your patrons into the spirit of a picture if you want them to get the most out of it. What we are trying to do is to get away from anything that obtrudes or distracts. Even the music must be right." It was right here that the speaker paid his respects to Mr. Riesenfeld. "It is a most difficult thing to apply music to pictures," the speaker went on. "I was interested this morning to read in one of your New York papers a story to the effect that Dr. Damrosch blamed moving picture houses for keeping people away from singing societies. If moving pictures have done anything at all they have elevated the public taste for music, for good music. A lot of people never heard the compositions of the masters until they attended picture houses. Asked as to whether be had as yet personally encountered the competition of producer exhibitors, Mr. Kehrlein declared Well Again and Feeling Lovely. Tom Moore and his sweetheart after "The Great Accident," a Goldwyn picture. he had lost no sleep by reason of them. He said he believed the field was too big ever to be monopolized by any one. One Way of Dodging Percentage. On the percentage question, while Mr. Kehrlein had strong opinions, he preferred not to be quoted. He did, however, say he believed no hard and fast rule could be laid down, that the problems of one exhibitor were different from those confronting his neighbor. Then again there was the personal equation. He related an instance where an exchangeman, "one of the best men in the business, without exception," he declared, who, when the two had been unable to agree on the rental for a subject of more than usual importance, told him to put on the picture, run it for a week and pay him what he thought it was worth. "That put me on my honor to do my best with the picture," said Mr. Kehrlein, "and also to see that the exchangeman got a square deal. The result was we paid him $800 for the week's run, which was more than before had been obtained in that part of the country. Of course, the arrangement was possible only between two men who had perfect confidence in each other." Strong on Short Stuff. "How are your houses on the short stuflF?" Mr. Kehrlein was asked. "Strong, and always have been," was the prompt ansv/er. "We were among the first to support the weeklies. Also we find our patrons like scenics. We use them all. It has been my observation that many of our patrons more highly regard the combination of scenics, weeklies and comedy than they do the average feature." "What about uniforms for employes?" Wants Projection Room on Ground Floor. "Why, I am against the loud or striking uniform. I prefer the subdued tone, making the employe less conspicuous and perhaps less self-conscious. Then again, in summertime we employ many college boys and girls. You can figure for yourself how these would look upon wearing bizarre garb." "In your new houses — what are you going to do with your projection?" "I think it will be as flat as a flounder, with the projection machine opposite the center of tho screen and installed on the ground floor.' "Famous" Blows Self to Wind Machine. To complete the equipment at the Famous Players-Lasky Corporation studio on Fifty-sixth street. New York City, a new wind machine has just been constructed. J. N. Naulty, general manager of the eastern studios, conceived the idea of constructing such a machine, and it was carried out by the studio staff. The apparatus is mounted on a 30 horse power Locomobile chassis. It has an electric motor which is interconnected with a new 30 horse power Overland motor, which is complete with a self-starter, generator and magneto. The propellor of the wind machine is driven by a 220-voIt 13 horse power electric motor, with an average speed of 1,500 revolutions a minute. The machine may be driven either by electricity or by gasoline, so that it may be used either in the studio, where electricity is available, or out on location, where gasoline may be substituted.