The Moving picture world (November 1925-December 1925)

116 MOVING PICTURE WORLD November 14, 1925 Embassy Companyy Adds Three ANOTHER major picture theatre deal has been swung in St. Louis. On Sunday, November 1, the Ashland Theatre, 3522 North Newstead avenue, and the Newstead, 4366 Lee avenue, were taken over by the Embassy Amusement Company, and on December 28 the same company will assume charge of the Mikado Theatre, Hamilton and Easton avenue. The company is to pay Joseph Litvag an annual rental of $16,000 for the Ashland and Newstead, while Henry and William Scherrer will receive a rental of $24,000 annually for the Mikado. The Mikado leases will run for 20 years and the leases on the Ashland and Newstead for 10 years each. In addition, the Embassy Amusement Company has announced plans for a 1200seat theatre to be erected at Marcus and St. Louis avenues at a cost of approximately $150,000 and will also let contracts in the near future for the 2000-seat Sanford Theatreat Union boulevard and Ashland avenue. The company also operates the Embassy, 4924 Delmar boulevard, a 8S0-seat house and an adjoining airdome of 1380 seats, the Plaza, Clare and Etzel, 735 seats, and the Union, Union and Easton avenue, 1147 seats. The Mikado seats 1608; the Ashland, 900, and the eNwstead 665. The combination seating capacity of all its houses will be 10,500. It is also dickering for two other houses in St. Louis. The deal gives the Embassy Amusement Company a dominant position in the northwestern section of St. Louis. The officers of the company are : A. Laveuthal, president; Ruby Laventhal, treasurer; Louis Stahl, vice-president; George A. Lubeliy, secretary, and Maurice Stahl, general manager. Maurice Stahl general manager of the company has the distinction of being one of the youngest and at the same time one of the oldest in point of service in the St. Louis exhibition ranks. He started his career back in 1908 as an usher for his father in the old Liberty Theatre on Easton avenue. He served in general utility capacities for a few years when he entered the employ of the General Film Company as a booker. Later he was made a salesman. Since then he has served as salesman for Paramount, First National and various other national distributors. During the World War he was in the Motion Picture Department of the Army, being stationed at the Pathe Studios in Pari,s. He has had experience behind the motion picture camera. In more recent years he worked for the St. Louis Amusement Company as manager of its leading houses. He opened the Tivoli in Uni CONTEST PLANNED THEATRE A controversy is on between the Moose Lodge and the City Council of Sedro Woolley Wash., over the building of a new theatre. Dr. M. B. Mattice is championing the cause of the Moose, and in defiance of the City Fathers plans to go ahead and build a theatre, prepared to stand the consequences. Deputy State Fire Marshal W. A. Groce, called to investigate the conditions here, advised against building the theatre in a frame building and said that the city should have a fire ordinance and enforce it. St. Louis f More Theatres versity and the Arsenal in South St. Louis for that company, and also handled the run of "Robin Hood" at the Pershing Theatre for that company. Other houses he managed were the Pageant, Shenandoah and GrandFlorissant. In addition to being general manager of the Embassy Amusement Company he is interested with George Skouras in the Aubert Theatre, Aubert and Easton avenues, and an adjoining airdome, and also in the Chippewa Theatre, Broadway near Chippewa street. Although he has been in the business for 17 years, Maurice Stahl is but 31 years of age. The Embassy Amusement Company has announced managers of its various houses as follows : Embassy Theatre, Donald W. Ross, former treasurer for Loew's State Theatre ; Mikado, Maurice Stahl; Union, Louis Stahl; Plaza, Wilton Colonna ; Newstead, Joseph Litvag, and .Ashland, Roy H. Hughes. Exhibitor Interest Keen at Washington Meeting Exhibitor interest was keen in the forthcoming convention of the Motion Picture Theatre Owners of Washington in Seattle on November 4. It was decided to make the afifair a one-day convention, packed full of official business, giving the visiting exhibitors an opportunity to attend to business matters on Film Row the following day before returning to their homes. There was a grand banquet and ball at the Olympic Hotel in the evening, in which exchange men and their employees and families "joined with exhibitors in making it an all industry affair. Committees in charge of the work were : Convention committee, H. W. Bruen, chairman ; Frank Edwards, Robert W. Bender, LcRoy Johnson, Mrs. Don Geddes, Si Danz, J. W. LaVigne and L. R. Stradley. Entertainment, R. W. Bender, chairman; LeRoy Johnson. Reception and Floor, L. O. Lukan, chairman; Joe Bradt, LeRoy Johnson and the convention committee. Tickets, J. W. LaVigne and J. M. Hone. Film Exchange, Charles W. Harden and J. A. Gage. $1,000,000 Fox Theatre to Rise on Main Street, Buffalo ONE of the largest real estate transactions ever made in Buffalo, N. Y., has been closed by the Fox Film Company and associates, Edward Fay of Providence and Mike Comerford, of Scranton, Pa., in the lease for a long term of years of the property at 608-618 Main street. Leasing of the property alone involved a sum of more than $3,000,000, according to Harvey Harrison of the Harrison Real Estate company, which negotiated the deal. Ground will be broken shortly after the first of the year for the new house to cost $1,000,000. First-run films and vaudeville will be the policy. The capacity will be 4,000. Two main entrances will lead to the theatre, one on Main street near Dickinson's jewelry store, occupying a frontage of approximately 70 feet, and the other on Chippewa street, directly behind Rudin's drug store, with nearly the same frontage. The huge auditorium will occupy ground in the rear running through to Pearl street. The Fox theatre will be the third theatre in Main street between the blocks of Chippewa and Tupper streets. The Buffalo Theatre for the Shea Amusement company is nearing completion and Famous Players is planning a house at 622 Main street. It also is reported that negotiations are now iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiii under way for a site in the same locality on which another picture theatre will be built. Fox company officials says a new house is needed in Buffalo for the outlet of Fox films. The new playhouse is also part of an enormous expansion program. Explaining the situation in Buffalo, Fox officials say their product is not getting proper exhibition because of the limited number of first-run theatres. The Main-Chippewa corner, according to Mr. Harrison, is the most valuable piece of property in Buffalo at the present time. He said the lease was closed with the Coplon Brothers, who bought the property several years ago from the Peabody estate. The Fox house will have a frontage of 187 feet on Main and Pearl streets and 232 feet on Chippewa street. Stores will be built in front of the auditorium. I IS! ew Chicago Chain | Another theatre circuit it in the mak | ing in Chicago. Eddie Trinz, manager 1 of the Pantheon for Lubliner & Trinz, 1 and Harry A. Gourfain, formerly pro m duction manager of the Senate and 1 Pantheon, have taken over the Calumet M Theatre on the far South Side under 1 the name of the Gourfain and Trinz 1 circuit and will add other houses to the 1 I chain latter on. g ^iniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiii^^ GERMAN PRODUCERS BUY THEATRES The Ufa plans this year to exhibit sixty of the major American productions, according to a recent report to the Department of Commerce by Assistant Commercial Attache Douglas Miller in Berlin, and have been getting their theatres in shape for the fall and winter seasons. A number of new theatres have been purchased. Mr. Pommer, managing director of the Ufa, recently gave the figures at 130 now actually in the possession of the Ufa; a great many more, however, are controlled by this firm. The Phoebus Company has also been purchasing theatres, mostly of lesser importance, and has its own chain now not only in Berlin but also throughout the small cities. BANKRUPT IN CHICAGO According to the Journal of Commerce, Clarence Jalass, a motion picture operator, has filed a petition in bankruptcy in the l"nited -States District court in Chicago listing liabilities at $41,248.35 and no assets.