The Moving picture world (September 1920-October 1920)

334 THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD September 18, 1920 — it was a joke. Subsequent events have proven to be true. "For one example, take the Chaplin contracts. Instead of permitting the independent exhibitors of New England to share in the advantages of his highly profitable contract, Mr. Gordon increased the rentals beyond all precedents and the contract contained the 25 per cent, increased rental joker. The exhibitors of New England know only too well just what that 25 per cent, joker cost them. This statement can be readily confirmed in hundreds of instances. Involves Charles H. Bean. "Mr. Gordon's activities did more to increase the film rentals in New England than any other. The results were in direct contradiction to the objects he professed he would accomplish. At the time of Mr. Gordon's purchase of the First National franchise no producers, I am positive, had one dollar investment in theatre holdings in New England. The purchase of the First National franchise by Mr. Gordon, the largest theatrical owner in New England, was the start of other producers to invade New England with theatre holdings. "Is there any better example of the socalled distributor-exhibitor menace, with or without your booking proposition, than the First National? Even Charles H. Bean, president of the New Hampshire Motion Picture Theatre Owners and a member of Mr. Cohen's investigating committee of nine, stated to me, after the New Hampshire meeting, that Mr. Gordon and the First National activities were a greater menace to the New England exhibitor than the Famous Players ever thought of being. I don't believe Mr. Bean will deny this statement. Calls Williams ''Clever." "It is with regret that 1 have any controversy with you, Mr. Wiliams, who, personally, are nationally known as 'a prince of good fellows,' but you have certainly been very clever in tying up the publicity of the First National affairs to the Chicago meeting and to the Cleveland convention and, especially, to Mr. Cohen's recent gathering of Connecticut exhibitors. "I congratulate Mr. Gordon and your organization on being clever enough to "se Sydney Cohen as your advance agent for the Connecticut meeting. If you took advantage of him, as he claims, he must feel proud of the way you put it over on him. I admit it would have been a bit worse if Mr. Cohen had eaten your luncheon but not much more so. Denies Story of Backing. "As to your statement that I am 'working on capital obtained presumably from production profits,' I will simply say that your statement is false Neither am I interested in producing or distributing pictures; on the other hand, Mr. Gordon is apparently using the profits derived from increased film rentals in the development of theatre holdings. Can he deny this? 'No doubt you and your associates have felt highly elated at the attack made against other producers, which you have apparently nursed indirectly from every possible angle and even openly. It must be very distasteful now to have the spotlight turned on your New England methods. Tells Reason for Letters. "Heretofore I had refrained from public statements as to the First National methods in New England because I felt well able to take care of myself. But when the attacks became so bitter as to aflfect my theatre holdings, I felt that a full statement of facts would be helpful to the exhibitors throughout the United States. Most of those in New England do not need to get this information from me. They already know it." Letter to Mr. Patterson The following letter is addressed to Willard C. Patterson : "Why was it that you called your Chicago meeting at the time of the First National convention in Chicago? "Why was it that j'ou let the First Nationl publicity tie up with your activities in getting exhibitors to Chicago without any statement or denial from you that your efforts in calling the meeting were not done in behalf of the First National? "Sam Atkinson, president of the Chicago .Allied .Amusement Association, told me at the end of the Cleveland convention thai you showed him letters with memorandum attached, containing assurances that the First National stood back of the financing of your Chicago meeting. Are you prepared to publish these letters and the attached memorandum? Asks for Statement of Finances. "Why don't you give the exhibitors of the United States a complete statement of the financing connected with your activities? Did not the Cleveland convention vote to pay back the expense of the committee of FOLLOWING up the announcement that he has formed a new company, Harry Levey Productions, which will produce eight feature dramatic photoplays a year, Mr. Levey announces that it is his intention to make each of these pictures what may be generally described as "a picture with a purpose." It is in keeping with this policy that he has selected as his first release "Uncle Sam of Freedom Ridge," based upon the story by Margaret Prescott Montague. "I do not mean that these are propaganda pictures in the acepted sense of that word," says Mr. Levey. "They are to be straight dramatic feature productions, which are to be given nationwide distribution in the largest motion picture theatres of the country. But there is a purpose behind them. "Immediately following the war, people wanted the lightest, frothiest amusement material possible. They had been thinking seriously for too long and they wanted a rest from all things serious. They wanted to laugh and be merry and forget that there was ever anything but the lightest froth. We had tended to slump back into our oldpre-war ways. "That was natural. But now, again, has come a new attitude, not the excitement of war nor the unthinking lightness and carelessness of the days immediately following ALL previous announcements emanating from the World Motion Picture Company's offices at 500 Fifth avenue, New York, have been along construction lines and with regard to the policies of the corporation. Now James B. (".'^miling Jimmy") Kelly, general manager of distribution, announces something definite regarding initial releases. Commencing about October 15 this company will start releasing two high-class news pictorials weekly. Each will contain from twenty to twenty-five national news events. Because of its affiliation with large syndicates, the companj' will be able to secure exclusive and timely events. Mr. Kelly seventeen and then their executive committee repudiate the action of the convention ? "Can you deny that if it had not been for the refusal of Sam .Atkinson and Frank Rembusch to be a party to it, that your Chicago meeting would have been a First National aflair? "Why was it that you arranged to have Mr. Williams of the First National address your meeting and thereby forced Mr. Atkinson to wire Mr. Selznick at New York and others to rush to Chicago to prevent the First National controlling the Chicago meeting ? Calls on Rembusch and Atkinson. "I am sending a copy of this statement to Frank J. Rembusch and Sam .Atkinson. Rembusch was chairman of the Chicago meeting and knows the inside story and they both know that First National backed you. I ask them for the good of the industry to make an open statement of all the facts and let the exhibitors of the United States judge how closely you were affiliated with First National afTairs. I am not trying to detract from the. success of your getting the exhibitors of the country aroused, but I am trying to show the real motives and the real people back of your activities. They have hidden in the 'tall grass' long enough." the war, but something that is a combination of the two and even greater than either of them. "It is reflecting itself in the amusements of the day and I believe that it is to have its greatest reflection in the motion picture. The public has tired of the inane, senseless love story that forms the be-all and endall of most so-called feature photoplays. I believe that they are ready for something deeper, something that has the love story in it, too. but that also has a deeper purpose behind it all and will make them think of conditions and things as they are. "'Uncle Sam of Freedom Ridge' is such a story. It is woven around the League of Nations, but whether one is for or against the league, it is the spirit of intense sincerity, the plea for a bigger and better Americanism that cannot help but convey a real message. "It is my purpose to produce eight such pictures a year. I am already completing arrangements for securing the film rights to other stories with as wide and urgent an appeal. .Another such release is to be 'The Forgotten Child,' one of a series of sketches on life by Tim "Thrift and part of a volume known as 'Tim Talks' that has had wide circulation throughout the magazines of the country and has been syndicated to many newspapers. also says that by October 1 he will have from 200 to 300 cameramen out in the field gathering news and calling on exhibitors. It is hoped to release each week from two to three times more prints of the weekly than are released by any other news weekly. In order to introduce the novelty news weekly to exhibitors the company will give exhibitors who forward the names of their theatres the first ten issues free of charge. Followin;; the news weeklies the company will release one and two reel comedies and three and five reel features. Definite announcements relative to these future releases will be made later and they promise to be extremely interesting Harry Levey Productions To Release Eight Feature Dramatic Films Yearly World Motion Picture Company To Sell News Pictorials, Comedies and Features