The Moving picture world (January 1923-February 1923)

January 13, 1923 MOVING PICTURE WORLD 121 The Exhibitor's Voice DON'T miss the Regional News and Gossip department in this issue. It contains letters from three exhibitors, all deeding with matters of vital importance to the industry. You should read each one carefully and digest its contents. Then sit down with pen and paper and give the editor of Regionad News and Gossip your opinions on the subjects raised. Only through co-operation can exhibitors succeed to that position in the industry to which they are entitled by reason of their works, and one of the greatest expressions of co-operation, if not the greatest, is the exchange of opinions. Exhibitors, give your opinions to the editor of Regional News and Gossip and he will lay them before the entire industry. Christie Says Moving Pictures Are Flourishing in Honolulu Sues for $50,000 Jacobson Says This Amount is Due Him for Damages Suit has been filed in the N. Y. Supreme Court by Louis Jacobson against Jacob L. Kempner, Kenipson Picture Corporation, Edward M. James, H. W. Hodkinson, Select Pictures Corporation, Bay State Film Company, and the Otis Lithograph Company. The action seeks to have an accounting of the receipts from certain motion pictures, to have an agreement with the Kempson Picture Corporation rescinded, and recover $50,000 alleged damages from the latter. According to the papers filed in the suit it is alleged the Kempson Picture Corporation failed to carry out its part of a certain contract, and in consequence has involved all the other defendents. This Jacobson avers has resulted in thousands of dollars damage to him. Another angle to the suit brought by Louis Jacobson against the Kempson Picture Corporation and others, was presented in the N. Y. Supreme Court, the past week, when Jacobson brought suit against the Kempson Picture Corporation to recover $2,550. In his complaint Jacobson alleges he contracted with defendent to act as vice-president for the Kempson corporation at a salary of $150 per week, but that since August 21 last, he has received no salary from defendent. Hal Roach in New York Makes First Trip East in More Than a Year Hal Roach arrived from Los Angeles last week for a short visit to New York — his first for more than a year. With "Dr. Jack" already a triumphant success and Harold Lloyd busy on a new comedy to succeed "Safety Last," completed several weeks ago, and with the Our Gang and Snub Pollard two-reelers solidly intrenched in public favor, Mr. Roach felt that the trip was coming to him. Although his visit is mainly of a social nature, Mr. Roach said that he would, of course, discuss the matter of future productions with General Manager Pearson, of Pathe, which distributes all the product of the Hal Roach studios at Culver City. Going to the Orient H. Wayne Pierson to Start on Inspection Tour of United Artists O.^ces H. Wayne Pierson, assistant general manager of the foreign department, United Artists Corporation, will sail from Seattle on board the steamship President Jackson, January 14, for the Orient on a tour of inspection of the foreign offices. His first stop will be at Tokio. His itinerary will include Russia, Japan, China, the Straits Settlement, Philippine Islands, India, South Africa. Egypt and Australia. The foreign business of United Artists Corporation has developed so rapidly that additional facilities for distribution of the product must be devised and Mr. Pierson will arrange with Far East representatives of the organization for new subordinate offices and the extension of the sales force. Although United Artists Corporation has been established in the Orient less than a year, buinesss has assumed such proportions that it has been necessary to double the quota of prints allotted to that territory. Meeting Scheduled A meeting of the M. P. T. O. of Eastern Pennsylvania, Delaware and Southern New Jersey will be held January 14 in Shamokin, Pa. NEARLY two thousand miles from Los Angeles and in one of our possessions which the average person think of as a dreamy, romantic land, it does the average picture man good to see the brilliant motion picture theatres, with their air of modernism, unequaled in most of our American cities," said Al Christie, who returned this week from a picturemaking tour to Honolulu. He said : In Honolulu there are two big new picture theatres, the New Princess owned by Wiley Matlier, who is on the island, together with Kahn & Greenfield of San Francisco, and the Hawaii, operated by Joe Cohn. There are also the States, the Liberty, Strand, Empire and Kaimuku, playing pictures exclusively, but the two first mentioned are the largest and compare favorably with any theatres in Los Angeles. Our company was welcomed whole-heartedly by the Honolulu picture interests. The New Princess has been playing our new pictures and had just played "Let 'er Run," featuring Dorothy Devore, who was with us, and were to play "Chop Suey" the following week, so Miss Devore appeared at the the JAMES R. GRAINGER, vice president and general sales manager of Goldwyn Distributing Corporation, left New York, January 2, for an extended tour of the country, during which he will visit each of the twentyseven Goldwyn exchanges. Before leaving, Mr. Grainger said that he will personally acquaint branch managers and the men in the field with the productions to be issued for the remainder of the season, including "The Christian," "Vanity Fair," "Souls for Sale," "Lost and Found," "Gimme!" and other pictures which are either finished or nearing completion. "The Strangers' Banquet," Goldwyn's New Year's release which opened at the Capitol Theatre Sunday, grossed the biggest two days' business in the history of that theatre, according to the auditor's report received by Goldwyn's sales manager. Mr. Grainger expressed himself as being delighted with the sweeping success of the atre and was given a royal welcome by the public. Honolulu, with its gigantic commercial enterprises, warehouses, banks and every aspect of city life, resents being known for the "Hula" dances, which have done so much to advertise the Hawaiian Islands. And the residents of the city learned the title of our comedy was "A Hula Honeymoon," that didn't take so well with the enterprising city boosters, than whom there are none more keen, even in California. However, we explained that in the American mind the thought of Hula dancers in connection with Hawaii will never become disassociated, any more than Pittsburgh and smoke and stogies, although there are no doubt more prominent things in the latter city than either stogies or smoke. Edward A. Smith, formerly with the Kinema Theatre in Los Angeles, is local manager of the New Princess Theatre in Honolulu, and he told me of the keen interest of the native non-English speaking element in our American pictures and our players. They watch the comedies with appreciative interest and get all the points of laughter regardless of titles or occasional American provincialisms which may at times creep into the pictures in spite of our continued effort to make them international in theme. pictures released by Goldwyn for the first months of the season. "Conditions in all parts of the country are looking up," he said, "and 1923 will be a good year. All we need is confidence and good pictures. "Reports that I have been receiving indicate that exhibitors are depending less on famous names and more on good, sound, well produced stories. This is a healthy condition and gives producers just the incentive they need to turn out pictures that will win on their own merits." Novel Musical Number A decidedly novel and original form of musical entertainment for motion picture theatre patrons has been evolved by Stanley W. Rhoades, organist of Crandall's Apollo Theatre, Washington, D. C, who has recently successfully combined the Victrola and organ in a series of musical numbers of distinctly artistic effect. So far as is known Mr. Rhoades is the first to offer this form of entertainment. J. Grainger on Extended Trip Around the Country