Moving Picture World (Jul - Aug 1918)

August 31, 1918 THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD 1233 Here Are Figures in "Crusaders" Contest \ow You Estimate for Yourself Your Standing in the Race for the Splendid Trophy Offered by the Moving Picture World to the Exchange Showing the Largest Relative Bookings for "Pershing's Crusaders" HERE are the official figures to be used in determining the winner of the huge bronze trophy that presently is to decorate the office of the exchange manager whose staff shows the greatest amount of hustle in getting •'Pershing's Crusaders" before the public. These figures are •fficial and are given for all First National Exchanges. The figures for the territories occupied by the State Committees of Defense are not yet announced, but will be given later. Working with these figures, there is a close race between ten of the eighteen exchanges, with plenty of time in which to change the figures. It should be remembered that to count in this contest all contracts should be reported before September 1, but they need not be for showings prior to that date. It is "bookings" and not "showings" upon which the contest is to be decided. There is another heavy advance all along the line, as is shown by the advertising pages where the latest definite results are recorded. Last week you were given a table of bookings to that date. To get the new bookings, merely count the starred names and add these to the totals shown last week. We think Des Moines must have been swanking us — to employ Allied slang — when they asked that the trophy be sent on at once without the mere formality of waiting for a count-up. They have 1,557 houses to draw to, and it is evident that a lot of towns are not going to see the film. This is a pity, because it is something that every man, woman and child in America should see. When you read that the raincoat companies are charged with turning out inferior product it is a comfort to turn to the film and to realize that raincoats are but a small feature of the great work being done. It takes all sorts of men to make a nation and it will cheer your heart to see how most of the men are plugging away at their bit. The manager who passes over a single issue of these Government films is neither a patriot nor wise. To show them is a patriotic duty and to handle them right is to make money. Of course you cannot merely book the film and then kick because Secretary Baker does not send a regiment from the nearest cantonment to bayonet the people into your house. That's the way it is done in Germany, not over here ; but if you make the right sort of announcement and follow it up you'll be surprised to find that you can make as much money as you can with an one of the fifty-seven varieties of Chaplin films. Get the Boy Scouts out, coax the local band. Fake up some sort of a "production" and you'll get enough money to pay for the program feature you have had to shelve and you'll still show a profit. J. J. Schuester. for example, has a house in Wagner, S. D. He put on the film properly with some tableaux and a lot of germane noise and he did so well that he is already asking for the next film in the series for two days instead of one and he wants it right out of Minneapolis. He showed to more than 1,000 persons for "Pershing's Crusaders," and he realizes that if he holds the film over the first day's audience is going to go out and press-agent the rest of the town. It has been pretty hot in New York the past few weeks. yet the Cohan theatre has been crowded with paid admissions, and you hear more talk of "America's Answer" along Broadway than you do of the thousand and one "patriotic" films. One night, for example, the house was packed by the Knights of Columbus, then holding a convention here. A few days later the Mystic Shriners took the entire seating capacity, and another night was filled in Allotments for "Pershing's Crusaders." The following tables gives the figures upon which will be based the award of the beautiful bronze trophy offered by this publication' Number of Territory Theatres Seattle 865 Denver 591 Minneapolis 1,164 Des Moines 1,557 St. Louis 616 Dallas 1,166 Chicago 1,379 Indianapolis 649 Cleveland 1,038 Louisville 482 Boston 1,143 New York City 1,529 New Jersey 461 Philadelphia 763 Pittsburgh 991 Washington 322 Richmond 994 New Orleans 394 by the Rotary Club. You can do the same thing in jour own town with "Pershing's Crusaders." You can sell seats !)V the block instead of singly, and you can keep your house filled. I ee L, Goldberg, of Louisville, reports that even the tank^ and the mining camps are handling the picture at a \>-.. All you have to do is to create lln right sort of an atl phere and the film will do the rest. You can get the local notables to make speeches, you can call in the singers and musicians and have the bigj time since the circus was in town, and you will be making money and you'll have the handsome Governmentawarded Victory Screen Pledge to hang in your lobby and show that you have done your bit. Have a little local pride. Help out your local ex change. If the salesman does not get around to you in time, telegraph in. Don't wait. Do it today if you did not do it yesterday. And remember, it is not to help the First National. It's to help your country. We present below the latest figures on the standing of the contestants, giving the total bookings to date, so far as they have been recorded and approved. It will be seen that New Orleans is getting busy now and Chicago lias taken a decided jump. Almost all of the exchanges have advanced their figures and even Washington is showing more ample bookings, though the District and Maryland and Delaware combined still show but 15 bookings out of a quota of 322. But a very respectable total of 1,727 houses has been played, and the returns are still incomplete with several districts open. Bookings to Date for "Pershing's Crusaders." NOTE :— The figures given below do not represent the standing of the various contestants, but merely give the bookings recorded to the time of going to press. It throws some light on the matter, but does not supply material from which the outcome may he adjudged: Territory "Pershing* Crusaders." Book Book Book Bookings ings ings Published Added Added Addi I Grand in in in Total Aus. in Aim. 17 Aug. 24 Aug. 31 to Date Issue. Is3ue. Issue. 1 Col. -X. Mix. — I'tah— Wvo. .",:; 26 :i is \t Wash.— Ore.— Alaska— Mont IT 6 15 I"',1?0'5 125 19 9 H ]<u Indiana ;,,, 12 u '£ Iowa — Xebraska — Kansas 7." 10 -ii u uq Minn.-Wis.-S. D ig 0g g -» J«g Missouri 24 7 ;„ *™ Ohio 24 i£ fi U, 22 Delaware— Md.— D. C. i ■■ ?I *ew TYork 86 ::<! is 28 168 New .Jersey ,,■ c . 7,, New England states .'.'.'..." ,; 1(, ,-' West Va. and Western Pa.. .. " -i ,, • Sn ^stern Pa l6 „, r.i W Texas— Arkansas 17 , 'YL Kentucky— -Tenn 23 19 0 ?5 N C.-S. C-Va.-Pla.-Ala.-Ga. 23 9 4 8? North Dakota ] *{ Michigan | California 1 State Com Nevada and Hawaii 1 Mississippi and Louisiana. 1 1 8 IS Grand Total Xumber of Theatres Playing "Pershing's Crusaders 1 7^7 Walraven Goes to Coast. J. Hesser Walraven. for some time press representative for Paralta, has resigned and will go to San Francisco to take the management of the Rialto theatre in that city.