The Billboard 1924-03-22: Vol 36 Iss 12 (1924-03-22)

Nae The Bi lliboarad MARCH 22, 1924 a a fe Billiard The largest circulation of any theatrical paper in the world. Published every week By The Billboard Publishing Company, W. H. DONALDSON, President, In its own plant at THE BILLBOARD BUILDING, 25-27 Opera Place, Cincinnati, Ohio, Phone, “Main "5306 Cable and Telegraph jAdteom, ‘‘Billyboy”’, Oincinn , U.S. A. BRANCH OFFICES: NEW YORK Phone, Lackawanna 7180-1. 1493 Broadway. CHICAGO Phone, Central 8480, Crilly Building, Monroe and Dearborn Streets. PHILADELPHIA Phone, Tioga 3525, 808 W. Sterner Street. ST. LOUIS Phone, Olive 1733. 2088 Railway Exchange Bldg.. Locust Street, between Sixth and Seventh. BOSTON Phone, Beach 2556. Room 301, Little Building, 80 Boylston Street. KANSAS CITY Phone, Harrtson 0741, 225 Lee Bidg., 8. E. Cor. Tenth and Main Sts, LOS ANGELES Phone, 824-250. Roem 734, Loew's State Bidg., Broadway and Seventh Street. LONDON, ENGLAND Phone, Regent 1775. 18 Charing Cross Koad, W. 2. Cable and Telegraph Address, “Showorld”, Sydney, Australia, 114 Castlereagh Street. SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVES: Baltimore, Md., 723 Newington Ave. Denver, Col, 820-21 Symes Bide. Detroit, Mich., 507 Detroit Savings Bank Bldg. New Orleans, La., 2632 Dumaine St. Omaha, Neb., 216 Brandeis Theater Bldg. San Francisco, Oalif., 205 Pantages Theater Building. Washington, D. ©., 1724 Newton St.. N. W. ADVERTISING RATES — Forty cents per line, agate measurement. Whole page, $280; half page, $140; quarter page, $70. No advertisement measuring less than four lines accepted. Last advertising form goes to press 12 M. Monday. No telegraphed advertisements aceepted unless remittance is telegraphed or mailed 60 as to reach publication office before Monday noon. SUBSCRIPTION, PAYABLE IN ADVANCE. Foreign. $4.00 2.25 One Year i Pe .scebedehesn« Three Months 1.00 Remittances should be made by post-office or express money order or registered letter, addressed or made payable-to The Billboard Publishing Co., Cincinnati, Ohio The editor cannot undertake to return unmanuscripts. Correspondents should If you find a misstatement or error in any copy of The Billboard, please notify the editor. The Billboard reserves the right -to edit all advertising Copy. mats roe, 19 Vol. XXXVI. MARCH 22. No. 12 Editorial Comment HIS week we present to you the Spring Special Number of The Billboard—the annual number which for many years has heralded the advent of the outdoor show season in America. The printing order is 105,000 copies, and it is doubtful if that will cover he demand for the big edition. In laying out the issue we decided upon 276 pages, but judging by the way in which the advertising has been pouring in up to this writing (March 13) extra pages may be needed before the last form goes to press. The big call for this issue, not to mention the demand for advertising space therein, speaks volumes, we believe, as.to the usefulness of its columns. To each and every one who has aided us in accomplishing this happy achievement (at least we expect it to be at this early date) we are very grateful a May health, happiness and prosperity be yours thruout the year. HICH brings us to a question which everybody is interested in —the business outlook. Forecaster$—the business seers— say that prospects, generally speaking, are bright, in some industries more so than others, The iron and steel business continues to gain. Railroads generally continue to be in a strong position. The latest carloading figures reflect a continuance of active business conditions and show that the volume of traffic is gaining momentum as the year goes on. , Production of automobiles is again moving upward. Paper mills are fairly active and consumption continues to méve at good speed. Speaking of the future of the railroads of the country, the lumber and other industries of. the South, R. H. Aiston, president of the American Railway Association, in an address at the annual meeting of the Southern Pine Association in New Orleans the other day, said: “To me the signs of the future only point to optimism. There is every idea is the John Robinson Circus, which will have its inaugural in Cleveland at the Auditorium, to be followed by another indoor date in Detroit, before its first stand under canvas. Circuses for the past few years have added quite a number of animal acts to their programs, in fact most of the shows make a big feature of the animal displays. The Sells-Floto Circus, which has been offering a high-class straight circus program, will deviate from that policy this year by presenting many wild animal turns. It seems as if the owners of circuses have called the public’s mind, inasmucl®agnimal acts (daring and welltrained) have been received with approbation. The time will no doubt come, however, when audiences will tire of this form of entertainment and ask for more circus acts—the aerialists, riders, acrobats, etc. UST a few weeks and the amuse ment parks of the country will blossom forth in summer dress and their new season will be on. Reports of riding device and game builders and dealers in supplies indicate that the park managements are getting ready for a big year. Many new park ventures, too, are announced. BOSE Sz Fe Se HHT HE SITE tt SOUSZIST 327 Sx) <1 Sz) sei se) oe b= 4) ad ed — “ROAD TO HAPPINESS”, SHOWS VALUE OF HIGHWAYS TO COMMUNITY NEW MOTION PICTURE, Coe bution. Sdbdbsdbsabadbrdecabsa sdb cdihx engineering in bringing about the The story has to do with the life of a farm laé reared in an old éé HE Road:te Happiness”, a highway film produced jointly by the Ford Motor Company and the National Automgbile Chamber of Commerce, representing the entire motor vehicle industry, and the Highway Education Board, has just been released for distriThe picture was made with the advice and guidance of the Bureau of Public Roads, United States Department of Agriculture. President Coolidge, who is a strong believer in the value of road improvement, appears as one of the principal characters in his proper role as President of the United States. Taken in historic Fairfax County, Virginia, about twenty from Washington, the picture tells the story of the influence of improved highways upon the social, educational, religious and economic phages of life in rural communities, and the need for skilled highway miles improvement. etd farm home on a mud road, surrounded by all the handicaps, difficulties * and discouragements attendant upon such an environment. e As the ult of an essay contest for a four-year scholarship s@0=s prize offered ates the Highway Education Board the boy, who wins he the contest, obtains the chance for a college education. He becomes *% a highway engineer and is privileged to bring about such changes in Re ea the condition of the roads of his home community that even the he most skeptical opponents of road improvement are brought to a ; Pea realization of the truth of the maxim which forms the moral of the (5 picture that “we pay for improved roads whether we have them or es} not, and we pay less if we have them than if we have not”. oe The film is distributed by the Ford Motor Company thru its (Ss) numerous branches and is available for use in schools and at public (32) meetings without other charge than the cost of transportation. Full % information in regard to the film can be obtained from the Ford < be Motor Company, the National Automobile Chamber of Commerce, es x the Highway Education Board*Gr the United States Bureau of Public & Roads. q x RMN HMRI RI, economic reason why we should go forward and enhance our prosperity in a methodical and lasting way. Car loadings continue to increase over a year ago, being 6,979,568 for the first two months of 1924 compared with 6.735,564 for the first two months of 1923. The previous record, or that of 1920, was 6,383.714. Our prosperity is dependent in no small degree upon what and how we, as individuals, believe and think. The psychology of going ahead, the spirit of optimism, and the principle of eo-operation are the potent attributes of American business dealing and maintain just as prominent and emphatic a place in our relationship today as they did in the minds of those who conceived our great constitution of liberty.” All in all, the new season is full of promise. HREE circuses will start their season this year with indoor engagements before opening under can vas. The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Combined Shows will hoid forth at the Garden, New York, and Sells-Floto at the Coliseum, Chicago, @s usual The latest to follow thie A survey of the building operations reveals no startling innovations in rides and other fun devices, tho here and there the glimmer of a new idea is» evident. A healthy sign is the greater recognition of the value of “kiddie-land” attractions. Parks have, of course, for years catered to children, providing swings, slides, etc., for the younger ones, but of late this idea has been very much elaborated upon and a number of parks have established a kiddies’ playground in charge of competent supervisors and attendants, where the little tots may be left to enjoy themselves without fear for their safety and their elders are free joy to the full their stay at the And now we seem to be entering an era of kiddie rides. Supplementing the old favorites, the merry-go-round and the miniature railway, new rides, designed especially for little folks, have appeared and are being installed in scores of parks. This will undoubtedly result in increased attendance wherever such attractions are provided. It also will have a tendency to rafRe the standard of patrons and gradually increase the prestige of the parks. to enpark. several QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS H. E.—The salag paid a circus side-show act depends entirely upon ability. c. J. B.—(1) Mount Everest is in Thibet. (2) We suggest that you write Tom Bass for information, Vv. D.—Your questions are of Koo personal a nature; also we do not answer questions fecarding divorce. Suggest that you consult an attorney, E. F.—Most every State has passed a law that all drops and curtains must be flameproof. Some States enforce the law while others are not so strict, _- G. H.—The duties of a boss canvasman are to see that the big top is put up ip time for scheduled openings and torn down at night as quickly as possible after the performance for loading apd moving. More detailed information could be obtained thru persona! interview with one employed in this work, F. F.—There aro repertoire showmen who buy the best that money can procure in everything they need except the plays they intend to sell the public, to quote one of our best authors of repertoire plays. You would be foolish to buy cheap plays for presentation tm rural communities, as people in the hinterland are as fastidious—in many cases more critical—as their city brethren. =——=—=>= S the entertainment value of the mo« tion picture on the increase or decrease? Information that has just reached us is that it is shagving a décrease. In New York City there is an organization known as the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures, This board has what it terms skilled, disinterested committees whose duties are to view films in advance of release. Out of a total of 1,519/films submitted to the board last year, these committees deemed only one-third—506 to be exact—suitable for listing as worthwhile entertainment. These are published in a /catalog just issued by the National Committee for Better Films, entitled lected Pictures 1923-'24". Three hundred and thirteen of the 506 are marked as especially suitable for the family audience and boys’ and girls’ matinees. The rest are recommended simply for either the general audience or mature audience. The National Committee for Better Films has as its motto “Selection, not censorship, the solution”, and the issuing of its catalog is one means of encouraging the exhibition and patronage of the “bette? films”. Jane Cowl’s words delivered at the Actors’ Equity meeting held at the Forty-Eighth Street Theater, New York, and which were published in our last issue, are worth repeating. Being the wife of a manager and the business partner of another manager, her position on the question of Equity Shop is a peculiar one. Said she: “Jane Cow @ manager is in competition with™Jane Cowl the actress, and in that competition Jane Cowl the manager goes down.” The Actors’ Equity Association, she said, she knows is in the right—and she is for it and its council 100 per cent. A small carnival was playing a smaller town. The free acts were daring and of the “death-defying”’ kind. During the show's entire stay in the town a sign reading “Happiness in Every Box” was prominently displayed by the local undertaker. That's what we call taking advantage of the circumstances. : He probably got the idea during the war from another undertaker who displayed one of the Liberty Loan posters with the caption, “Sure, We'll Finish the Job!” it helgs you, the power and edverticore, te mention The Bilibeard,