Moving Picture World (Sep 1916)

1806 THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD September 16, 1916 Aontagu Revives Ol& Memories Indent Film History in Moving Picture World invention Number Starts Him Going The Editor Moving Picture World, New York: Dear Sir — 1 have just received your convention number ol July 15th. It is a long time since I have read anything that has interested me so much, as in the various articles dealing with the early days of the moving picture, I am reading of people whom in very many cases I helped to start in the business, or who started when I was selling films for Pathe in Chicago. In the first place, if my letter is not too late, I would like to enter into the controversy as regards the first picture store show in Chicago, and to my mind there is no question, and never has been, but that the first house was the one owned by Harry Davis at the corner of State and Harrison streets. I well remember Aaron Jones opening his house next to the Palm House, and I think he will confirm that in order to open up he had to buy a large stock of mantles from the people who owned the store. He did an enormous business here, and in the minds of the pioneers of the business a house on this side of State street was considered the ideal location in the whole of the U. S. A. However, the property owners would not allow it to continue, and he had to move across the street. Many of the people who are today magnates in the film business were then starting in a small way. I well remember Bill Swanson when he operated at this first store show. One had to be like a monkey and climb up a pole into what was a small iron closet at the top, where there was no room to move. What a difference between this and the. palatiai operating boxes of today. One of the early pioneers also were the Aitkins, of Triangle fame. They started with a small interest in a little theater on State and Van Buren streets, and many a Sunday have I seen Harry Aitkin standing at the door asking people to walk in. It may interest you to know that at that time when I was selling films for Pathe and had the whole territory west of the Ohio River, that it was naturally to my benefit to increase the number " ' Purchasers of.films, and I think Carl Laemmie will confirm theft I persuaded him, as I did many others, to start in the rental business; in fact, Laemmie wanted me to become an equal partner with him when he started. I always took the credit, and it may seem a tall statement to make, but I feel certain it is true, that I started more people in the film rental business than anyone else has ever •done. If you go back to those early days at the start of the store show, one should not forget the craze there was for this form of amusement all over the country towards the fall of 1906. Everyone who could raise the price of a machine and rent a small store started in the business; and in a small village in Texas, the name of which at the moment I cannot remember and which at the time was not marked on my map, there were fifteen store shows, all of whom were obtaining their films from Chicago, and in those days there were no exchanges in the South. Remarkable as it may seem, there was one of the biggest renters at that time who was so overwhelmed by the number of new places that had cropped up that he used to open his mail in the morning and take out the checks, and throw the rest of the letters into the basket; and sometimes I have seen as many as twenty telegrams come to him in a day ordering film, none of which would be taken the least notice of. Carl Laemmie will bear out that in those days when they only changed once a week in the country, when the end of the week drew near the renter would find himself with not •enough film to supply the customers he had taken, and about Thursday he and the other renters would rush around to me and would say. "We want to buy 30,000 or 40,000 feet of film fas the ease mighl be] in order to fill our orders"; and they would have to lake whatever films T had left in stock. as in those days there was no one else from whom they eould get their films, with the exception of the Vitagrapii I Ompany, which shortly afterwards started to keep a small stock in Chicago. As representing Pathe I used to try to carry a stock of all films we had put out. although it was difficult, as in those ■days all the films had to come from Paris as there was no American factory. I have often told the tale how I found myself getting landed with the scenics and films such as a bull fight, the marriage of King Alphonso of which Paris used to send me several copies. One week, in .order to clear these out, when the film renters came around* for their films, I had the good stuff packed away out of sight and told them to help themselves out of the closets, with the result that they took 85,000 feet of shelf film that week. Those were the days! I must say there was a lot of enjoyment then attached to the film business, and practically most of the agents and manufacturers in Chicago used to meet each day for lunch. George Kleine, W. N. Selig, George Spoor, Johnny Rock, Jack Hardin (then representing the Edison Company) and myself nearly always lunched together, and although in strong rivalry with one another, compared notes and worked more amicably than one could imagine was possible, and your present correspondent, James McQuade, frequently joined us at the table and was heartily welcomed. I do not know whether this letter will be published or net, but I should very much like to be remembered to all my old friends. Yours very truly. E. H. MONTAGU. London W., July 21, 1916. ELIZABETH BURBRIDGE WITH POWELL. Elizabeth Burbridge, long known to film fans through her work in Essanay and Ince productions, has been engaged by Frank Powell and will appear in support of Creighton Hale. Linda A. Griffith and Sheldon Lewis in the first feature of the Frank Powell Productions, Inc. Miss Burbridge early commenced her career before the camera. She worked as an extra for D. W. Griffith, went into dramatic stock, and returned to pictures to play leads for Lubin. She next was leading woman for Kinemacolor during the regime of the late David Miles, and also for the Frontier-Universal Company. After six months in comedyshe signed with New York Motion Picture Company under Thos. H. Ince. An engagement for Mutual Masterpieces, in which she featured, followed, and she also played ingenue roles in several of the Triangle productions. Essanay placed her under contract and in her first picture. "Blind Justice," in which she played opposite Henry Walthall, she scored a substantial personal success. In addition to her activities before the camera Miss Barbridge has written, and, more important, seen produced, several scenarios. AARON CORN JOINS SHERRY FORCES. Aaron A. Corn has been added to the Wm. L. Sherry offices as salesman, covering Manhattan and the Bronx. New York City. Mr. Corn began work in his new position August 21 and has been spending most of his time receiving congratulations and well wishes from his friends among the exhibitors, where he is well known through his long connection with the picture business. Mr. Corn comes directly from the International Film Company. Previous to this connection he was with the Pathe Company and is covering practically live same territory for the Paramount Program that he previously covered when with these companies. He is best known, however, as a theaternianager, having successfully managed big theaters in New York City for several years before entering the exchange business. He is, therefore, in close touch with the exhibitor's problems and needs and just the man exhibitors want to see. "MANNY" GOLDSTEIN RETURNS FROM TOUR OF EXCHANGES. "Manny" Goldstein, assistant to M. H. Hoffman, general manager of Universal exchanges, has returned to the New York offices of the Universal after a ten months' tour through the west, visiting Universal exchanges. Manny-'s tour included Chicago. Pittsburgh. Denver, Salt Lake City, Butte. Montant, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Universal City. Oklahoma City. Kansas City, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Omaha. Des Moines. Wichita and a half thousand way stations around and between. Manny's task was to help local exchange managers boost their sales and to suggest publicity stunts to local Universal press agents.