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The Public Is Never Wrong
part of them. The Schenck brothers were beginning to see a future in longer pictures, but Marcus was bound and determined to die hard.
Gradually the exhibitors realized that the public would pay an increased admission price for Queen Elizabeth. Their eyes bugged out when the carriage trade appeared at the box offices.
In this connection I remember a complaint by one exhibitor. I had taken a small office in the Times Building —the rectangular structure in Times Square around which the news lights run nowadays— and this fellow came in and charged me with making trouble for him. It seems that a carriage load of fashionable people had driven up to his theater to see Queen Elizabeth. Surprised by this patronage, he had ushered them inside with considerable pomp. The film had barely started when an apoplectic old gentleman came roaring up to him. It turned out that the party had expected to see Sarah Bernhardt in person. The old gentleman seemed to feel that by shouting long and loud enough he could force her to come out on the stage.
The exhibitor told me, "Your show bills are too persuasive."
He was joking about his own anger. Queen Elizabeth had opened his eyes to the possibility of a higher class of trade with feature pictures.
Now I was ready to put on full steam in an effort to get our own features into production. A lot of steam would be required, because the obstacles in the path were many. We had to get the plays and the players and