Publix Opinion (May 9, 1930)

MORAL: THIS KIND OF ALERT ' PUBLIX OPINION, WEEK OF MAY 9th, 1930 EFFORT BUILDS SUPREMACY FOR PARAMOUNT AND PUBLIX) from Patron Through the fast work of M. R. Clark, manager of the Paramount exchange at Columbus, Ohio, Paramount secured one of the most -gensational pictures ever made of a great prison disaster. In thanking Mr. Clark for his co-operation on the story, Emanuel Cohen, editor of Paramount Sound News, ex plained just how the branch manager managed to get the cameramen into the Columbus Penitentiary while the fire that took over three hundred lives was still burning. “Mr. Clark displayed all the resourcefulness of an old time news man on this story,’ Mr. Cohen stated. “He no sooner got the first flash on the story than he realized its possibilities and shot a phone call through to our New York office. “while we were rushing Fel-inger, our nearest sound cameraman, into Columbus, Mr. Clark went ahead with his local arrangements. The penitentiary was surrounded with troops and police and no passes were issued for the lines. Somehow Mr. Clark managed to get a local cameraman inside the smoking walls and also arrange for Felbinger’s passage. | . Uses Fire Truck : “When Felbinger rolled into town late that night, he, his sound ~ man, Weyman Robertson and all their sound camera equipment were quickly transferred to a fire department emergency truck. Outside the prison walls were grouped gome forty or fifty disconsolate cameramen, barred by the troops from approaching any nearer. Keep your eyes and ears and contacts jalert! You { may be next to ring the bell as did Mr. Clark. ~ © NA SOAS TATED With siren shrieking, Felbinger’s. fire truck tore through these, through the machine guns and troops and through the great prigon gates that swung open just h to let S TE orice inside the penitentiary felbinger found the courtyard jammed with fire Everything was in an uproar. No one had time to bother with stray cameramen. Using his fire truck as a base Felbinger was able to -amove from one part of the peniten¢tiary to another. He was even able to light flares he carried and ake use of som naniaent search lights, when the flames themselves failed to give enough light for pictures. Actual Scenes 5 “Through this assistance of Mr. Clark, we were able to shoot a ‘very wonderful picture, a picture of a great disaster while it was actually taking: place. The se actually caught the firemen fighting madly to hold the flames to one section of the puilding, while their companions hacked their way through to the penned prisoners. Unconscious bodies were rushed out to the doctors working by flame light. ‘Troop reinforcements qere flung inside the walls to round up the convicts. Throughout the night the penitentiary was a bedlam of noise, the screams of the trapped prisoners and the eurses and your ee those in the j oring buildings. Lenwen re when it came to making daylight shots, Mr. Clark also came to Felbinger’s assistance. Somehow he managed to secure permission for the cameraman to again get inside the prison walls. Of even more importance he secured a prison official, who was also a friend of the convicts, to qwork with him on the story. Gets Interviews “The convicts were still in a state of semi-revolt. been herded into one end of the prison, but they sullenly resented all outsiders. In fact, they badly beat up one inquisitive reporter and threw out bodily or chased through the lines most of the other -eporters and photographers that managed to get into them. “Through the auspices of the of the fire. the fire apparatus in. |" apparatus. | |p Sar Sos Geena oe ee Se Se prison official Felbinger was able to round off his picture in striking fashion. He secured complete daylight scenes of the fire ruins. He also secured dramatic sound interviews with the two convict heroes In the most graphic fashion imaginable they described how they had managed to smash their way through to the locked cell blocks where the men were suffocating by the hundreds, “Finally, through his many friends, the exchange manager somehow managed to work Felbinger in on the official state investigation of the tragedy that was at once started. While all other movie men were barred out, Felbinger here managed to secure the prison warden’s own dramatic story of the disaster, as well as| sound records of the other high lights of the investigation into this fire which took the lives of three hundred and twenty prisoners.”’ RICHARDS UNDER KNIFE—DOES WELL E. V. Richards, veteran showman of the Publix Saenger circuit, was operated upon successfully the day before yesterday according to word from New Orleans, where he |. is at present in the Baptist hos|. pital. ‘ His many friends and business associates will be happy to learn that despite the ordeal of being under the knife for two and one half hours, Mr. Richards is, ac cording to attending physicians, in the best possible condition. — ~ RAIBOURN ILL ) Paul Raibourn, Home Office statistician, is confined to the Madison Hospital in New York following an operation for appendicities last Saturday. His many friends wish him a speedy recovery. theatres / praise on their high sound stand Good Reproduction Brings Pratse Concentration on good sound reproduction, Divisional Director John J. Friedl finds, is so -prolific of results that a number of his have received written ards. A case in point is a letter from the president of the Miami Broadcasting Co., operators of Columbia Station WQAM, to City Manager Ernest Morrison, complimenting the sound at the Community Theatre, Miami Beach, where the writer has his winter home. “The other night when I heard Lawrence Tibbet at the Community,’ the letter says, “I was astounded at the reality and lifelike quality of sound. It is the nearest to the real thing I, have ever heard, and we have been working with Western WHlectric sound equipment for broadcasting purposes and public address systems for the past .four years, making several of the finest installations in the country.”’ Manager of the Community is John Reinhard. Kentucky Theatre Sells When front page stories on Ohio penitentiary fire, in which several hundred lost their lives, were being carried by all papers, Kentucky Theatre in Lexington had first page of all papers rubber stamped in red ink with copy as follows ‘‘First Scenes of Ohio Prison Fire Now Showing Kentucky Theatre in Paramount Sound News,’’ In addition extra paid space of amusement page carried announcement under large ‘‘Extra’’ headline. While story was hot in papers, news shots proved greater draw than feature. They had| ‘THEY SELL TICKETS! Mercantile newspaper advertisers in Boston are now fully aware of the value a theatre tie-up has to them. Without giving them any passes or doing anything else except supplying a good copy idea and eye-catching pictures, the publicity staff of the Washington St. Olympia and Uptown Theatres, under H. F. Kayes, are consistently crashing the Boston papers with big ing pictures, and tickets! ruled to open. ‘SOUND’ INFORMATION ‘SOUND DISTRIBUTION by DR. N. M. LA PORTE Director, Department of Scientific Research, Sound and Projection — | It is of the utmost importance that the projectionist make a thorough check of the sound system, each day, at least one-half hour before the house is schedIf this policy is observed strictly, many minor interruptions may be avoided. The following routine is suggested for the daily check. Assuming, of course, that the batteries, if used, have received the necessary charging the previous night and are in a fully charged condition, the system should be turned on as outlined in the Western Electric Operating Instruction Books supplied to each theatre. While waiting for the amplifier tubes to warm up, the projectionist should clean possible accumu lations of dirt or emulsion from the sound aperture plate with a soft cloth and a pipe cleaner, (never with any sort of sharp instrument). The exciting lamp focusing adjustments should next be checked. After allowing a minute to lelapse the tubes will be warm Fire Shots Over Feature enough to apply. the plate voltage, and this may now be done. The filament current should be adjusted to give the correct meter reading (do not overlook the film amplifiers on the machines) and the plate current meters checked to be sure they are reading the value specified in the Instruction ‘Book. Low reading of any plate current meter may be caused either by low line voltage or by a defective tube. If the latter condition exists, a new tube may be tried, tentatively being removed if no improvement is noted. In case new tubes do not bring the meter readings to their proper value the chances are that the trouble is with the power supply : | ticket-selling ads which cost the theatres nothing. » Merchants are glad to get copy ideas and compell are glad to tie up with activities which have the attention of the entire town. Tie-ups like these are easy to get and can be had for the mere effort on any picture in any town. They sell and this should be checked. tube shows symptoms of being defective, it is better to replace it before the show starts, rather than risk an interruption later on, Throw one machine on ‘‘film’’ and move your finger rapidly up and down across the light beam in the opened sound gate several times with the fader on, say, step 12 or 14.. This should produce loud thumps from the monitor horn. Repeat this test on the other machine. Next, place a record on each turntable, and after switching to disc reproduction check the reproducers of each machine through the monitor horn. a Finally, with sound going ~ through the system, have the sound observer check the stage horn receivers, one at a time, for volume and quality. <A receiver which is low in volume, or which shows a tendency to rattle should be changed immediately, as best results quite naturally can not be obtained unless the stage horns are in perfect operating condition. This procedure should be conducted every day as a definite routine. The short time so spent will be well worth while to insure that the equipment will be in op| erating condition when the show opens. ‘PUBLIX PARTIES’ ON AIR INIOWA Arrangements for the _ broadcasting of the Des Moines Paramount Theatre stage band, Herbie © Koch, Charlie Agnew and other — entertainers every Tuesday night through station WHO have been — completed according to word from Nate Frudenfeld, division manager. ” Programs will be planned as — “Publix Parties’ with strong emphasis on personalities to build them up. Newspapers are carrying stories on the broadcast with sponsorship credited to the Paramount Theatre, Des Moines, and associated Publix Theatres in central and eastern Iowa, and western Illinois. Prizes are being offered to the public for the best original musical composition that can be used as a musical signature. FREE PLUG Ted Emerson, manager of the Strand, Des Moines, crashed into free publicity during an Airmail Week sponsored by the Junior Chamber of Commerce. 4 seen speaker using an amplifying — system kept up a constant spiel on the advantages of air mail. Emerson sent him a message to the effect that Publix uses air mail ~ constantly, and the message be~ come part of the ballyhoo. Indi— vidual pictures were mentioned. | BEUTE PROMOTED C.. A. Beute has been placed in charge of Paramount’s Music De— partment at the Home Office, suc© ceeding Morris Press. Eastern division of Paramount’s Music Department works in conjunction with the West Coast division under Nathaniel Finston, and. is distinct from the Publix Musie Department, under General Music — Director Boris Morros. NEW MARQUEE New marquee on the Roosevelt, — Chicago, is 66 feet long and 13 feet high. Ends are arranged to — handle all types of displays; 2450 © red and amber lamps, 1600 feet of red and blue neon tubing, and | 1950 lamps under the canopy ~ make it the brightest spot on State Street. If ar An un-) 4