The Moving picture world (February 1922)

February 25, 1922 MOVING PICTURE WORLD 809 of the company, is an old Cornell man, and io a little bit of college days was injected in the booth by using the college colors. Mr. Fllklns and Miss Wheeler also did not lose sight of the fact that the convention opened on Valentine's Day, and used a lot of hearts In the decorative effects. • • * "Burt" Gibbons, who handles "Vitagraph's Albany branch, certainly put one over in the Larry Semon cut-outs. Wherever one went around the city's business center, he was confronted with a life-sized figure of the well-known star. Two of them flanked the entrance to the Hotel Ten Eyck. • • • Two guesses on the busiest man at the convention. If you guess Irvln Salyerds, of Rochester, national organizer of the Motion Picture Theatre Owners of America, you win. Some one remarked that Mr. Salyerds wasn't any bigger than a pint of cider, but that he had the punch of a full-sized barrel of 100 per cent, proof. • • • About the time that this magazine comes out, Samuel Suckno of Albany, who not only looked after the hotel reservations but was chairman of the ball committee as well. Is having the first good night's sleep in weeks. • • * There wasn't any camouflage about Mayor William S. Hackett being ill in bed at his home. Mayor Hackett Is a firm friend of the screen, but, anyhow, City Treasurer Thacher opened the convention in fine style. • • • Does Sam Berman play poker? You can't prove It by his wife. When some one wad seeking Mr. Berman the other night they knocked at his room at 11:30 and were in- formed by Mrs. Berman that her husband was "watching some game." Incidentally, there were a few others who later on re- marked that it was certainly "some" game. • * • Frank Tierney, now with Fox productions, was the hit of the banquet with his original songs. What he said about O'Reilly and Cohen had the crowd laughing from the start. • • • The Albany crowd never believes in doing anything half way. They have been work- ing on the convention for weeks and It cer- tainly went over in fine style. • • • And speaking about the convention, every woman who attended it was entertained from the moment she arrived in Albany by the women's entertainment committee, of which Mrs. George Roberts was chairman. • • * The electric piano in the exchange room helped to liven things up for the first few hours of the convention. After that it simply helped out, but it lent an attractive atmos- phere to the room. • • * W. Dlllemuth, of the Broadway Lyceum, Buffalo, was so anxious to get Moving Pic- ture World's story on the convention that he asked a representative of this publication "to make sure and send It special delivery. I always look forward to my copy of Moving Picture World, for it is giving me not only all the news of the industry, but incidentally 'rendering me a service that I can not do without. It's a part of business." • * * William A. True, of the Strand Theatre, Hartford, Conn., dropped into town to meet friends. Mr. True is president of one of the livest exhibitor organizations in the country, the Motion Picturo Theatre Owners of Connecticut, which boasts a membership of 146 of a total of 155 picture theatres in that state. True is one of the most progres- sive and popular men in the organization and his advice was much sought during the convention by many New Yorkers. • • • So that the men folks would not have to worry over their feminine escorts, the women's committee saw to It that not a spot in Albany was not visited by the fair delegates. Result: the men stuck to business from early morning to the wee sma' hours of the following morning. • * • A. C. Hayman, of Niagara Falls, refuses to get excited. Not even a newsboy shouting "Uxtry! Prohibition law killed!" caused any unusual excitement. But then A. C. Is one of those very few exhibitors who know the Empire State. And then some. • • * There were more bombs exploded at this convention than were fired off at any other four similar gatherings held within the past year. But 'tis only a forerunner of what may be expected at other conventions slated for the near future. Wednesday was a holiday in Albany, for this city seemed to have turned out en masse to greet the stars who later appeared at the movie ball. The legislature boys may be inclined to boost Joe Levenson's claims, but when it comes to saying "how-dee-do?" to the film luminaries—ah, that's the other half of it! • • • Sam Zierler of Commonwealth Exchange of New York was a happy visitor. Sam In- formed exhibitors here that his exchange in Gotham and the Nu-Art in Buffalo would distribute the Clara Kimball Young features in New York State, Clara having decided to release her five pictures this year through Metro exchanges in every territory except- ing the Empire State. • • • Owing to the fact that we became deluged by a series of "13" even to the extent of being asked to occupy room 313, we reck- lessly declined all Invitations to imbibe of Albany's popular Bevo. • • • A quartet of jazzy feminine musicians in Peacock Alley of the Ten Eyck Hotel man- aged to hold the attention of the exhibitors when they were not engaged at the sessions. • « • No sooner had the advance brigade of ex- hibitors set foot on this proud municipality's soil than the delegations from Buffalo and Syracuse started their campaigns for the 1923 convention. New York City, too, wants the convention. • • • Sam Berman, of Brooklyn, executive sec- retary of the Motion Picture Theatre Owners of New York State, arrived on the scene a week ago and to him and the local commit- tee must go the bulk of credit for the splen- did program that confronted the exhibitors on their arrival here. Hotel accommoda- tions had been properly taken care of, enter- tainment for the women arranged for in advance and, in fact, the details incident to the convention had been so thoroughly per- fected that not a single moment was wasted. • • • Rumors galore were afloat. Most of them proved mere idle chatter. Some promised to develop interesting facts. • • * Mrs. George W. Roberts, chairman of the women's entertainment committee, was on the job bright and early Tuesday morning, meeting the wives, mothers, sweethearts and sisters of exhibitors. Socially, the women had their hands full, for Mrs. Roberts had prepared an interesting program for them. Other members of the committee included Mrs. Samuel Suckno, Miss Noma Suckno, Mrs. Fred P. Elliott, Mrs. William Berinstein, Mrs. Harry Hellman, Mrs. Harry Lazarus, Mrs. Jack Leonard, and Mrs. O. E. Stacy. • * * No little disappointment was felt by ex- hibitors when, on their arrival here, they learned that the hearing on the bill provid- ing for the repeal of the censorship law had been deferred from February 14 to February 21. • • • Charles F. O'Reilly, president of the Mo- tion Picture Theatre Owners of New York State, not only was one of the busiest men at the convention, but he also was the human target for inquiring newspaper reporters from the moment he arrived here until he left after the banquet on Tuesday night. In- cidentally, the newspaper folks voted Charles "a regular" who was never too busy to hand out Information. He was so popular with the newspaper fraternity that the con- vention press agent did not even exist so far as the pen pushers were concerned. • • * When the M. P. T. O. A. of New York State starts something it usually completes the task with a bang, for In addition to com- manding front page publicity every day dur- ing the convention the "movie" ball was given prominent "play." When one Is re- minded of the fact that local theatre owners pay 10 cents a line for reading notices, the recognition given the convention, ball and banquet seemed like a dream to those who were intimately acquainted with local con- ditions as they relate to theatre and press. • • • A huge and brilliantly illuminated electrle sign that could be seen for ten blocks on State street read "Welcome Motion Picture- Theatre Owners." The sign was prominently placed in front of the State Capitol, facing State street. • • • W. H. Linton, treasurer of the State M. P. T. O. and owner of the Hippodrome, Utica, knows every legislator by his first name, and spent the week introducing the "boys" around at the Capitol. • • • The "reform" lobby is busy here. But take It from Sam Berman, who has reached the point where he has decided to commute be- tween Albany and Brooklyn, his home. It "doesn't mean a thing." • * • Included in the New York delegation were the following: Sydney S. Cohen, Sara I. Ber- man, Charles O'Reilly, William Brandt, pres- ident of the Theatre Owners Chamber of Commerce; Harry Brandt, Sam Sonin, Max Oestricker, Jack Mattern, M. Chetkin, George Steiner. Charles Steiner, Isaac Casputo, Hy Gainsboro, Morris Goodman, Otto Lederer, P. Rosenson, J. Alton Bradbury, S. Sheer, M. Needle, Charles Schwartz, B. and M. Edel- hertz, B. Knoble, M. and D. Silverman, B. Rossassey, Max Barr, Oscar Muller, Joseph Finger, Adolph Barr, H. Weissner, B. Forma, E. R. Behrend, Herman Jans, Al Harsten, Louis Geller, Lester Adler, S. G. Book, S. Rlnzler, Sam Schwartz, S. A. Moross, Morris Goodman, S. Weinberg, Max Felder, Joe Seider, and B. Grobe. • • * Fred P. Elliott, who presides over the Clin- ton Square Theatre in Albany, and several other exhibitors, became involved in an in- teresting set-to with several exchangemen in the spacious lobby of the Ten Eyck. One exchangeman ventured the following remark: "Why, the trouble with some of you ex- hibitors is that you will never admit you're making money." "And that crack just shows how much you know about the situation," came back Fred. "Say, boy, have you stopped reading the newspapers? Seems to me you must be get- ting your information from some of those press books you send me. Why, haven't you heard about that measure now in Congress seeking to increase instead of eliminate the admission tax? And why do they want to raise that tax? I'll tell you: because a lot of us have said we have been making money when we have had to dig down deep into our jeans to make ends meet. Those Con- gressmen have been jollied long enough. They know that there is not a single In- dustry in this country that has returned to normalcy. They get complaints daily from these industries. Still motion picture press agents grind out yarns about what this or that picture is making at the box office. Is it any wonder why Congress wants to raise the tax? Think it over. Business Isn't what it should be in the motion picture Industry." And the twenty or more theatre men who had been attracted to the scene by enterpris- ing Elliott's oratory, could not refrain from Indorsing Fred's remarks. • • • Martin G. Smith, president of the Ohio M. P. T. O., was here, as was also President R. F. Woodhull, of the New Jersey organi- zation. Mr. Woodhull is confident that w.nen the Skeeter State organization holds Its con- vention this year it will be representative of 100 per cent, of the theatre owners In Jersey. • • • Mayor W. S. Hackett, of Albany; Mayor George R. Lunn, of Schenectady, and former Governor Martin H. Glynn, who Is publisher of an Albany daily, did not wait for the banquet to meet the exhibitors, for on Mon- day night they were spotted in the Ten Eyck lobby shaking hands with the visitors. • • • Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, some one had said, were due here on the 1 o'clock from New York Monday. Result: sev- eral hundred folks who had heard the rumor crowded the Albany railway station hoping: to get a glimpse of the popular duo, but, alas, Mary and Doug did not come.