The Moving picture world (November 1926-December 1926)

218 MOVING PICTURE WORLD November 27, 1926 Plans Are Shaping Up For Tirst National Month' Rowland's Auspicious Return Spurs Sales Cabinet to Increased Activities As January, 1927, Approaches T N addition to creating the A season's biggest screen sensation by bringing over from Europe three of the continent's most celebrated cinema figures to make pictures in America, Richard A. Rowland, by his arrival, signalized the launching of First National Pictures' annual anniversary drive known as First National Month. • This screen festival, which is observed by exhibitors all over the; country, begins on New Year's Day and lasts throughout January. Previous years have seen the support given this drive by motion picture showmen increase with the tremendous public interest in the event. This year, with the impetus .given the movement by a nation-wide publicity and exploitation campaign just set afloat by First National, it is predicted that the company's celebration will prove more successful than ever before. The members of First National's sales cabinet, headed by Secretary Treasurer Samuel Spring, are now out in all territories making preparations for the annual occasion, which is expected to result in new sales records. Depinet on Tour Ned E. Depinet, sales manager for the South, is now on tour of the exchanges in his division, grooming the sales force for the drive. Ned Marin, sales manager for the West and Canada, is now completing a swing over the Western territory which brought him to the West Coast and contiguous divisions. A. W. Smith, Jr., reports the Eastern division in his charge working at top-speed to make First National Month an outstanding event in the organization's sales history. C. F. Chandler, director of Publicity and Advertising, and his department have already launched an impressive campaign reaching both exhibitors and the public. A special twocolor press-sheet containinar a host of valuable suggestions to showmen anent the successful staging of First National Month, as also newspaper stories for the local publicizing of the film holiday, has been put into the hands of thousands of showmen who will observe First National Month. In addition, free accessories, iticluding banners, heralds and trailers, are being gen Ready for Camera Budd Rogers, vice-president of Luma^ Films, with Frank O'Connor (holding the script) for "Heroes of the Night," a Gotham picture. erally distributed to theatre managers. National advertising on a tremendous scale in magazines read by the public is lining up the fans for the big First National celebration, it is stated. Exploitation experts at First National's home office and in the field are busy at work arranging newspaper tie-ups, national and local merchandizing cooperative stunts, ballyhoos, contests and other campaign features which are expected to be productive of the most promising box-office results. Both President Robert Lieber and General Manager Rowland are confident that First National Month of 1927 will be the most brilliant birthday celebration that the famous film company and the numerous exhibitors associated with it in the observance of the occasion, have ever enjoyed. M&rcel De Sane Signed Marcel De Sano, Roumanian director who recently finished "Blarney," adapted from Donn Byrne's novel "In Praise of James Carabine," has been placed under a new contract by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios, according to an announcement from the offices of Louis B. Mayer. Mastbaum Praises "Minute to Play" Joseph I. Schnitzer, senior vice-president of F. B. O., has received the following wire from the head of the Stanley Company of Philadelphia: "Red" Grange in "One Minute to Play" made a big hit at Karlton Theatre here this week. Did phenomenal business. Every indication business will keep up for second week run. Patrons surprised and delighted with acting of "Rpd." Picture has lots of punch and should be good box office attraction anywhere. "Jules Mastbaum, "President, Stanley Company of America." Stage Players In W. C. Fields' New Picture Two young men of the stage who recently made their screen debuts, have been assigned iml)ortant roles in W. C. Fields' next starring picture, "The Potters," Associate Producer William LcBaron announced yesterday. Richard "Skeets" Gallagher, former musical comedy star of Dillingham productions, whose first film job was in "New York," will play the sweetheart of Mame Potter in the Fields picture. (Continued from page 216) "The Magic Garden" proper was found on the estate of Mrs. George Young in Ross Valley, Marin County. The cast of the "Magic Garden" includes Margaret Morris, Raymond Keane, William V. Mong, Charles Clary, Alfred .\llen, Paulette Duval, Cesare Gravina and the three child stars, Phillippe DeLacy, Joyce Coad and Walter Wilkenson. The David Kirkland unit is shooting sequences of "Uneasy Payments," starring Albert Vaughn. Jack Luden is playing the male lead and the supporting company includes Amber Norman, Gino Corrado and Eugene Stone. Sandwiched between the Thomson and Vaughn units Phil Rosen, director of "Abraham Lincoln," is hard at work with George O'Hara in "California — Or Bust" from an original by Byron Morgan. Helen Foster, John Steppling, John Fox, Jr. Ellbee Ready With Half of Its Program With the completion of "The Lightning Reporter" under the direction of jack N'oble, Louis Baum, President of Ellbee Pictures Corporation, points out that this completes half of his company's productions for the 1926-27 seasons. The complete program consists of sixteen features of the melodramatic or comedy dramatic variety. The pictures so far completed are: "Race Wild," directed by Oscar .Apfel and featuring Eileen Percy and David Torrence; "The Warning Signal," with Gladys Hulette, Kenneth Mead, Lincoln Steadman and Martha Mattox, directed by Charles Hunt; "Speeding Thru." directed by Bertram Bracken, starring Creighton Hale and Juda King; "Pursued." directed by Del Henderson, with Gaston Glass, Stuart Holmes and Gertrude Astor; "The Pay Off," with Otis Harlan, Robert McKim and Dorothy Drew, directed by Del Henderson ; "Frenzied Flame," directed by Stuart Paton, starring Cullen Landis, Mary Carr, and Virginia Browne Faire, and "Forest Havoc," also a Stuart Paton picture with Forrest Stanley and Peggy Montgomery. "The Lightning Reporter" will be readj' for screening in New York next week. It has a notable cast, including Johnny Walker, Sylvia Breamer, Burr Mcintosh, Mayme Kelso. Lou .\rcher and Nelson McDowd. and Irving Bacon are in the more prominent roles. After weeks of preparation, Caryl Fleming, recently signed to a long term contract by Edwin King, vice-president of F. B. O. in charge of production has started the first of the series, "The Wisecrackers." This particular story is "The .'\rtist's Brawl," and in Betty Caldwell and Thelma Hill, Mr. King believes he has found the counterparts of "Hazel" and "Gladys" as H. C. Witwer visualized them in his stories from which "The Wisecrackers" has been taken. Al Cooke and Kit Guard are furnishing the comedy construction and titles. Out on the Mojave Desert, Tom Tyler is busy on "Lightning Lariats." Ralph I nee is ready to go with Viola Dana's new starring production, "Homestruck," from an original story by Peter Milne, with the adaptation by Ewart Adamson. Six F. B. O. Companies Are Working Now at West Coast Studios in Big Rush