The Moving picture world (May 1922)

May 20, 1922 MOVING PICTURE WORLD 271 Paramount s Announcement Means Box-Office Insurance for Exhibitors IF there is one dominant, salient fact that has been driven home to the industry in the last year it is that the only box-office insurance that amounts to anything is the insurance of a sure, steady supply of big pictures. Words, promises of co-operation, much-heralded policies — all three go by the board when confronted with the question, "How good is the picture?" It is on this basis that Famous Players-Lasky Corporations lays before the exhibitors of America the most complete program of big pictures which has ever come out of a producing organization. For six ^months from August 1, a series of forty-one productions — each with its release date, its title, its stars, its director, its supporting cast and even its advertising accessories — are placed in the hands of exhibitors in an array that is truly startling in its thoroughness and in its magnitude. Not Merely Promises These pictures are not promises — they are all set, established, and they go to exhibitors backed by an organization which has led the world in the high-grade consistency of product. "How good is the picture?" We've answered it in terms that much gladden the heart of exhibitors who have been looking forward to next season with anxiety and doubt. "But in offering these productions to exhibitors, we also expect exhibitors to reciprocate by doing their part. It is not enough to book these pictures. Unless the exhibitor names his playing date and sticks to that date he is likely to find himself in the position that imperilled him this year — that is, without his big pictures assured, and dependent upon the uncertain supply of small productions that have been proved valueless at the box office. It is unthinkable that any exhibitor, after having gone through this last season, can be so reckless, so heedless of experience, as to neglect to protect his theatre investment by failing to fix his playing dates now. Advertising Plans Paramount, however, is not content to drop the exhibitor when he books the picture. This season we intend to do more national advertising than ever before. In the Saturday Evening Post, the Ladies Home Journal, the various fan magazines, and through extensive campaigns of newspaper advertising, we plan to co-operate with the exhibitor in getting the public into his theatre. SIDNEY R. KENT By SIDNEY R. KENT ■ General Manager of Distribution Exhibitors throughout the country have already felt the tremendous benefit from our exploitation department. This department will be augmented during the year and we shall intensify our aid to the exhibitor by following through with him and assisting him to exploit his attractions to the limit of their possibilities. In publicity, too, we are constantly aiding the CAN you imagine a picture with the following cast : Elsie Ferguson, Alice Brady, Jack Holt, Agnes Ayres, Theodore Roberts, May McAvoy, Thomas Meighan, Betty Compson, Bert Lytell, Wallace Reid, Bebe Daniels. Wanda Hawley, Dorothy Dalton, Gloria Swanson, Rodolph Valentino, Mary Miles Minter, Tom Moore, Leatrice Joy, Ethel Wales, Lucien Littlefield, Mitchell Lewis, Conrad Nagel, Julia Faye, William Boyd, David Powell, Walter Hiers, Harrison Ford, Lila Lee, Walter Long, Nita Naldi, Theodore Kosloff, Helen Dunbar, Charles Ogle, Clarence Burton, Guy Oliver, Milton Sills, Robert Cain, Casson Ferguson, Sylvia Ashton, Anna Q. Nilsson, Lois Wilson and T. Roy Barnes? Well, there is such a picture! It is titled "A Trip to Paramountown," and Paramount officials, from Adolph Zukor, Jesse L. Lasky and S. R. Kent down, are a unit in proclaiming it to be the most remarkable superspecial ever offered to the exhibitors of America. What is more, this amazing picture, which is expected to cause more comment among picture fans than any other picture shown next season, is offered to exhibitors — absolutely free ! In Two Reels "A Trip to Paramountown' 'is about 2,000 feet long, and it shows production activities at the Lasky studio in Hollywood and in the Cosmopolitan studios. Produced under the supervision of Jerome Beatty, who has spent the past three months in the Lasky studio, the picture consists of a series of views of various production units at work on some of the feature productions composing the Paramount program for the season of 1922-23, as well as a number of Paramount stars and prominent players in off-stage moments at the studio. The story behind the production of "A Trip to Paramountown" reveals the extent to which Paramount goes in its efforts to aid exhibitors. Late last winter the home office decided that exhibitors should be given an opportunity to show their patrons the remarkable effort which was put behind every one of the Paramount pictures shown them. Accordingly Mr. Beatty was sent to the Lasky studio, with credentials from Mr. Zukor and Mr. Lasky placing the entire resources of the studio at his disposal. Every director, star and leading player was called into conference and instructed to give Mr. Beatty the utmost co-operation in making this one of the biggest productions. In making the picture Mr. Beatty was particularly fortunate in that when he was at the studio the entire production force was going at top speed, and nearly all of the Paramount units were at work. .•\moii<T the director^ shown at work are exhibitor by building up in advance the reputation of the pictures he books and the prestige of the stars he shows on his screen. These are the things Paramount is offering the exhibitors next season. I am confident this coming fall will see a return to conditions nearer normal, but this state of affairs cannot be brought about without the greatest effort on the part of everybody in the business, exhibitor, producer and distributor. Paramount, in my opinion, is doing its share and more than its share to meet the test in the question, "How good is the picture?" Cecil B. DeMille, William de Mille, Sam Wood, Fred Niblo, George Fitzmaurice, George Mel ford, Penrhyn Stanlaws and John S. Robertson. A number of the stars are seen in some of their most famous characterizati'^ns of the past, as well as working in scenes for their current productions, the whole being woven together in a well-connected and absorbingly interesting scenario. In no sense is the picture a series of trailers, but it is a complete picture in itself. There is some marvelous trick photography in the picture, the work of Karl Brown, who stands at the head of his profession in that particular line. For instance, Dorothy Dalton is shown simultaneously in four of her famous characters, and so perfectly was the quadruple exposure made that not even the eye of the most critical expert can detect lines of junction. Free Accessories Associated with Mr. Beatty in making the picture were Karl Brown, cameraman ; Vernon Keays, assistant director; Walter Reed, technical director ; Jack Cunningham, who wrote the continuity, and Rob Wagner, who furnished the titles. Establishing shots at the opening and close of the picture show airplane scenes of the studio and also exterior views showing the throngs of actors and studio employees going to and returning from their daily work. "A Trip to Paramountown" is furnished free to exhibitors booking the first six-months' product of Paramount in the new season. It will be available for booking in a few weeks, and to assist exhibitors in getting the maximum of benefit out of it, free accessories are being prepared for immediate distribution. "The Ghost Breaker" Wallace Reid and Lila Lee in "The Ghost Breaker." Directed by Alfred Green. Adapted from the melodrama by Paul Dickey and Charles W. Goddard. Romantic thrills abound in this story of a modern New Yorker who hurries to the aid of a beautiful Spanish girl whose wealth is hidden in a medieval castle peopled with ghosts. He gets in and uncovers after a series of amusing and exciting adventures a plot for keeping the girl's wealth away from her. The title furnishes manv angles for exploitation by means of a ghost. PATHE ELECTS OFFICERS At the annual stockholders meeting of Pathe Exchange, Inc., held on April 25, the same board of directors was re-elected. "A Trip to Paramountown, " a Super-Special Free to Exhibitors