Variety (February 1913)

VARIETY 15 K1NET0GRAPH CO. WRESTS 150 N. Y. HOUSES FROM GENERAL CO. One Week Old, the Kennedy-Waters "Opposition" Has Already Swept Business Estimated at $400,000 a Year From Books of the Trust's Rental Exchange. New Clients Served from New York Main Office, Just Opened The Kinetograph Co., the new Ken- nedy-Waters film exchange, started its second week of life Monday with more than 150 theatres served direct from the central office. All are in Greater New York and almost every one repre- sents an account closed with the Gen- eral Film Co., with which the Kineto- graph is in keen competition. There are a few recruits from the ranks of in- dependent exhibitors. In the list of the New York office's clients is the chain of vaudeville the- tres of Moss & Brill and those of Cun- ningham & Fluegelman. The Regent, the new house at 116th street and Sev- enth avenue also switched from the General to the Kinetograph Co. The company which operates the Regent has another house in Canada, also sup- plied by the Kinetograph. It was es- timated that the first week's operations of the Kinetograph had cost the Gen- eral Film Co. patronage amounting to $8,000 a week in former clients who had taken their business to the new dis- tributing concern. This is in the main office in New York alone. The General Co. is in no shape in the metropolis to met the crushing op- position that has arisen against it. Upon the formation of the Kennedy- Waters enterprise the managers of the three New York branches of the Gen- eral transferred allegiance from the General to the Kinetograph. They were Weiss, Dodge and Hancock. In a rush to fill their places the General people hurriedly summoned their Chi- cago and St. Louis managers to take hold in New York. Thus the strug- gle to capture and retain patrons was waged on one side by men entirely familiar with the local trade and on the other by outlanders working in unfam- iliar territory. The Kinetograph salesmen have been supplied with one strong selling ar- gument. For 90 days past the Kineto- graph Co. has had standing orders with the licensed manufacturers and even before it began to serve a customer it had accumulated an immense quan- tity of film. These reels were stored away against the opening of service so that if a customer called for a "30- day" reel it was available for him. The advantage to the exhibitor, as the salesmen argued it, is that now the exhibitor who wants "30-day" reels gets film that has never been put through the projecting machine, where- as the General Co. supplies him with a film that has seen 30 days of service. PRISCILLA READY TO JUMP. Little Priscilla Dean, who has left the Imp stock company, is dodging around with visions of a parachute be- fore her. Frederic Rodman Law, the jumper, wanted Miss Dean to go up in the air 1,000 feet in a balloon, when they would both drop off in a para- chute, leaving it to the motion picture man to catch the flight in a camera. Miss Dean thought well of the ex- periment, but her friends wanted to know why Mr. Law couldn't use a dummy, faking the lift and the landing. They finally persuaded the girl to abandon the idea, even at the risk of ruining Mr. Law's anxiety for realism. It is reported Miss Dean may return to her former place in the Biograph Company. SENDING KEARTON AWAY. The Famous Players Film Co. is re- turning Cherry Kearton to Africa. The explorer will sail March 1, to re- main in the interior of the wild country for six months, procuring seen s for the screen with wild animals in them that have not been yet shown. James Barnes will accompany him. The Kearton animal pictures were shown the first two days of this week at matinees in the Playhouse for $2 a seat. If the pictures drew as antici- pated, the Famous Co. expected to per- manently locate them in a New York theatre. OPERATORS* GRIEVANCES. The Moving Picture Machine Oper- tors' Union No. 1 of New York, which has established its quarters at 133 Third avenue, is anxiously awaiting the decision of the executive council of the American Federation of Labor re- garding their grievances against Local Picture Union No. 35. The M. P. M. O. boys refused to af- filiate wit{i "thirty-five" and wished to have a branch union which would re- ceive just recognition from the Alli- ance. The operators finally got the matter before the A. F. of L., and it was re- ferred to arbitration between repre- sentatives of the Alliance, No. 35 and No. 1 picture uniens. This meeting re- sulted in President Gompers sending the entire grievances back to the ex- ecutive council which is expected to make a final decision. If the grievances are sustained by the A. F. of L. the No. 1 body will be granted auxiliary recognition with the Alliance. James Vincent Is again back on the payroll of the Kalem Co. The Sun Film Corporation of New York has filed articles of Incorporation with the state officials at Albany, capitalized at $W>,000. Among the men Interested In the project are Tobias A. Keppler. Julius II. Dreher and Sydney H. Ascher. They live in Now York. The Screen Club Is making gala prepara- tions for Its big ball to be given In Terrace Garden April 10. A novel entertainment, with William Robert Daly In charge, will be a feature. It will be a whltefaced minstrel Hhow with all the picture playing celebs (akin* part. THE MIRACLE. A public exhibition for the first time of the "talking" movies, the Kearton reproductions of "wild life and big game" and "The Mira- cle," a lyrlscoplc play In three acts and l. r > scenes, all In two days, marks an era In the photoplay world. The "talkies" may not make much of a dent, the Kearton films are valua- ble from an educational standpoint, but the "Miracle." reproduced from the wonderful Keinhardt pantomime of the same name pre- sented at the Ixmdon Olympla, Is probably the finest exhibition of the "Celluloid drama" ever conceived. In some respects It Is superior to the original pantomime spectacle, In that the paths of the performers—or characters—may be followed more minutely and with greater detail than Is possible In the original, due to the possibility of showing the scenic pro- gression with the unfolding of the plot. Then again the Illusion of actual "life" is created to such a degree by the accompaniment of such noises as the knocking on a door, organ and choral accompaniment for church and other scenes, and, throughout a symphony or- chestra of 75 pieces rendering music by no less a genius than Humperdlnck. So far as detail Is concerned, the presentation is re- markable. Before the rise of the curtain there are a few minutes of "atmospheric" orchestral music, followed by a parade down the aisle by the choir In church vestments and onto the stage. Incense is wafted into the audi- torium. The rise of the curtain disclosed the screen on which the films are to be pro- jected. It Is in the form of the exterior of a cathedral, stained glass windows and heavy doors. As the "doors" are opened the white screen Itself is so "lighted" aa to give the illusion of gazing Into the Interior of the house of worship. At the close of each "act." these "doors" are utilized to shut out the picture. The whole presentment is remarka- bly Impressive in general effect, the pictures so beautifully colored to resemble natural colors, the scenes so plentifully interspersed with captions announcing the progress of the tale, and Anally the awakening to a realiza- tion that it was all a ghastly, ennervatlng "dream," Is extraordinarily vivid. No spoken play could be more so. Join. WILD LIFE. Probably the most wonderful exhibition of motion photography was at The Playhouse Monday afternoon. The film was taken by Cherry Kearton. who hunts wild animals in the Jungle without weapons, other than a camera. The entertainment is really an ex- hibition of zoology and zoography of all parts of the world from the standpoint of natural- istic photography as against any attempt to focus daring situations In encounters with beasts of the forests. In this respect the ex- hibition cannot stand comparison with the Ralney films, but have a far greater appeal from an educational, zoological research standpoint. Portions of the pictures will probably be very interesting to school chil- dren, but the pictures, as a whole, will be of great value In the advancement of natural history. For the first performance Mr. Kear- ton was Introduced In a few words by Theo- dore Roosevelt, who vouched for the authen- ticity of the pictures by declaring that he personally met the photographer in South Africa. Later this was still further verified by moving pictures of the Colonel himself on his memorable hunting trip in 1900. The first pictures shown are scenes in Yellow- stone Park. America. During their showing Mr. Kearton took occasion to throw a well merited "wallop" Into Americans for travel- ling everywhere but in their own country, saying that he found but few natives who had ever visited what he regarded aa the finest scenery to be found anywhere in the world. Buffaloes, moose, bears, English spar- row hawks and other animals in America and England were shown. Then a caterpillar and chrvsalls and later, in India and British East Africa, everything from ants to ele- phants. Birds and their natural habitat come In for especial attention. The most thrilling feature, used for the finish, Is a band of almost naked savages attacking a Hon and killing with spears the "king of beasts" with no other aid. Mr. Kearton's pictures will be of great Interest to posterity. Their present commercial value from general public exhibi- tions l« questionable. Jolo. Adrlenno Kroell and Rose Evans arc now numbered among the Sellg Photoplayers. William Duncan Is writing and producing scenarios for the Sellg people. His latest Is entitled "Range Law." I<em B. Parker Is now a director with the Sellg plrture company. Parker Is also turn- ing out some melodramatic scenarios. The Arcadia, a new house on Atlantic ave- nue. Atlantic* City, devoted exclusively to pic- tures, opened Feb. 11. Hall and Mason, for- merly connected with the Criterion, being Its managers. Charles Jourjon Is directing the manage- ment of tlie Kelalr film company. The con- cern, in addition to Its "Newlywedq" series. Is featuring n three-reel entitled "The Crimson Cross." which contains a conception of the "Life of Nnzarone." Victoria Forde. of the 101 Ranch Co.. was held up while on her way home- fr>m the Hollywood. Cal.. studio, but the robber didn't get a cent. She did not even carry carfare at the time. Tlarrlng a good case of hysteria. Miss Forde was none the worse for her ad- venture. It was o real adventure that was not cameraed. PRISONER OF ZENDA. I'p to the present time, it has been Im- possible to perpetuate the art of the player. The Beulptor has left his enduring touch on bronze and marble; the painter on canvas; the writer on the printed page, but until the marvel of the motion picture came, the actor's art has remained only a vague impression of Inaccurate memory. Mow, for the first time, thank* to the en- terprise of Daniel Frohman, Adolph Zukor and Edwin S. Porter of The Famous Players' Film Comoany, the visual half of the actor's art we hope may be made to Inst. I say visual half, because the player can only appeal to two senses, sight and hearing and unfortunately it Is as yet impossible to synchronize sight and sound. Pray remember that I am a pioneer in this field, and that some of the defects may be due to those exigencies which crowd fast upon the pathfinder. Through the genius of this great Invention, posterity will witness my performance In The Prisoner of Zenda long after I have crossed the Great Divide, and will then realize that Maeterlinck's Idea Is true, that "There are no dead." May it be the lot of my distinguished col- leagues and even of myself to perpetuate In this effort part of whatever art the players may possess. I hope you will find some virtue in my attempt. I know you will find many faults. May my profession profit from both! JAMES K. HACKBTT. The above is an extract from a very tastily gotten up souvenir program distributed at the private showing of the Famous Players Film Co.'s newest feature, "The Prisoner of Zenda," at the Lyceum theatre Tuesday after- noon. The picture runs In four reels. It Is of a drama that was first enacted 18 years ago, and which lends Itself very readily to the camera. To those who may not have seen the speaking version, the play Mr. Hackett starred In will be very Interesting. With the capable company and Mr. Hackett on the screen, "The Prisoner of Zenda" will prove In reality a "feature film" worth playing. If the Famous Players Co. is as fortunate with its other subject, the promoters of this ad- vanced development of tne picture business may consider themselves extremely lucky especially when it Is considered that each distinct production for the sheet, such as the "Zenda" series Is, means an Initial Invest- ment by the company of between $20,000 and $.10,000. In the playing company before the camera Beatrice Beckley. a handsome woman, brought most favorable notice to herself David Torrenee and Walter Hale did almost as well. Others were Prazer Coulter, C. R. Randall. Frank Shannon, Minna Gale Hay- nes. Sidney Barrlngton. Walter Claton. Will- lam H. Cone, Frank Young. John B. Trevor Irving Williams. 8ime. Arthur M. Brllant Is writing picture news for a Pacific Coast paper. Mary Charleson has returned to Santa Monica from her recent trip to San Francisco and Is again at work with the Western Vita- graph players. Florence Well has recovered from her re- cent Illness and Is again playing parts with the Western Vltagraph company -at Santa Monica. The members of the Western Vltagraph com- pany at Santa Monica attended the Valentine ball of the Photoplayers club at Los Angeles Feb. 13, and were also very much In evidence at the parade of the club, evening Feb. 8. Walter McCallum and Roger Bennett, of Medford, Ore., have purchased the South Am- erican rights for the Beverly B. Dobbs' "Atop the World In Motion" pictures and will de- part for that country Saturday to display the film, stopping at Colon en route. Joe Brandt, former manager of publicity of the Universal Co., has resignod to take a more remunerative position with the World's Rest Film Co.. as Its New York general man- R - r Jl e " npr,s tf» be settled in his new office Feb. 24. The central Opera House (ft7th street and Third avenue) since M. 8. Schleslnger opened pictures there, has been doing a gratifying business. M. S. this week added a drum ac- companiment to the piano and an Illustrated singer. He gives away a diamond ring to the most popular woman In the neighborhood Raster Sunday. Hie Pilot Film Co. will make Its third re lease P -b. 2<, when "The Doll and the Devil" will he offered This is a costumed spectacu- lar comedy from the old French opera ar ranged by Roy I,. McCardell. of the New York World stnff. The report that Laurette Taylor is to ap- pear before the picture camera In a photoplay reproduction of the "Bird of Paradise" Is untrue. Her stay at the Cort will very likely extend to late In the spring. Triple and (piadruple exposures of scenes, each one in colors, have been succegsfully niaoV by fhe Klnemarnlor Co. This new ex- periment will enable the Kim rn.-iolor people to take pictures which will permit ghosMy v .itor-4 to i-.iRH between the .-tudlen'r. and the I'liotopIjiycrM In the picture with tj,,. "ghostly" -eerie helng reproduce,! In nifur:i! colors. Thl* new phase of "trick photography"- i q now he- mg fri"d hy various Kl»i- m;i. ol-»r companies and will soon be pl.ic.i | ri the » Milar K Co film service ' " '