Variety (December 1913)

VARIITY 13 s± MUTUAL PUBLICITY CAMPAIGN JOLTS CO MPETIT ORS TO LIFE General Film Calls Hurried Conferencet Appropriates $250,0<K) for Advertising and Hires Advisors; Universal Calls Brandt Home to Handle Like Sum, Set Aside to Foster Public Attention. The store window style of advertis- ing hitherto popular with certain big film manufacturers who haven't been able to see any particular value in newspaper or trade paper announce- ments, is to get the gate. The Gen- eral Film Co., credited with a yearly business in the millions, and an adver- tising appropriation in. the picayune class is being made to set up by the Mutual's recent aggressive, widespread and sensational newspaper outlays. Hanff & Metzger, expert advertise- ment circulators, were called into con- ference by the G. F. last Wednesday tc lay out a schedule for the quickest way to spend $250,000 of the G. F.'s money in newspapers and magazines. The $250,000 announced by the Uni- versal recently as a tidbit set aside for the press, to be circulated by the Wood-Cochrane Chicago agency, with a brother of the R. H. Cochrane of the U, one of the advisers, hasn't got as far as any of the counting rooms of the willing periodicals yet, but in- side report says it's on its way. Joe Brandt, the alert advertising stand-by of the U is now on the ocean headed for New York, summoned hotfoot by his superiors to come and grab hold of things and see that the Mutual's bill stickers and Phil Mindil don't wholly blanket the independent concern. The Mutual, for the first time in the history of film newspaper advertising, plunged into the daily papers of sev- eral cities last Sunday, taking half pages to cry the Mutual's claims to movie patrons' attention. The Mutual's heads believe the ap- probrium carelessly meted out to the movies by some newspapers, who ascribe to the films' influence, crime, floods and disaster, will be swung around to a more sympathetic under- standing of the moral good of the films when the manufacturers and ex- hibitors make the newspapers their forum. With the three big producing syndi- cates in a triangular fight for adver- tising space, the feature men, it is urged, will virtually be forced to get in line, in self protection, especially, with the fast maturing plans of each of the syndicates to issue frequent feature plays. exhibitors that the Keystone's style of semi-horse play funny films represented the average exhibitors wants' in laugh subjects, as the article stated. Several film periodicals to which the plates were given used them without modification. One trade paper used the plate but cut out the references to the Vitagraph. Variety refers to the mutilation to clear itself from responsibility for the matter inserted by the enterprising trade paper in place of the matter mor- tised from the article. Where Varibty* particularized the Vitagraph as the tar- get of the complaining exhibitor, the change substituted the word "manufac- turer" in one instance and "film ma- ker" in another. C. P. A. CENSOR BOARD. The Chorus People's Alliance at next Sunday afternoon's regular weekly meeting at their headquarters, 43 East 22d street, will elect permanent officers, including a Censors' Board to pass up- on complaints against managers by chorus girls and boys, and prosecute reprisal measures against convicted offenders. Charles Stade, secretary pro-tem, re- ports a rush for membership by chor- isters in all branches of theatre per- formances, including vaudeville and burlesque. The election will start a1 4.30. NEW RELIANCE PLANT. The new Reliance studio located on the dividing line between New York and Yonkers, went into commission last week. Actors and directors were at work in the new building the min- ute the glass roof was completed. Edgar Levis directed the first pro- duction in the new building. General Stage Director Griffith has laid out a schedule that will keep the establish- ment busy for a lonp- time ahead. HOLDING OUT VITAGRAPH. The Keystone Film Co. clipped from VxRiETr of a fortnight ago an article •■eflccting the complaints of exhibitors against the professed'Tunny" films of certain manufacturers. The iarticle's specifications included the Vitagraph Company as an oflFcnder. The Keystone had plates made of the page of Vartetv on which the article appeared, and sent them to sev- eral movie trade papers for advertising insertion, with the design of informing VIGILANCE FILM COMMITTEE. .About a score film exh'bitors \n Brooklyn and East New York have or- ganized a vigilance committee to dis- courage the practice of some exh'bi- tors of admitting six children at mat- inees for 5c. The complaining movie men have brought the pressure of the exclian.c:c's upon the offenders. The same lookout body has squelched the country-store film incubus in the Same sections in the same way KIN'S KRIS FEATURE. Kinemacolor announce ready for immediate delivery "Santa Claus." a three-reel holiday feature that during last year's Yuletide season proved the star feature of the La Scala movie house pro>.;ram in London. ''8LAVER** FILMS HURRIED. The Shuberts and the small time United Booking Offices will present the Universal's feature, "The Traffic in Souls" in cities outside New York. Frank Miller of the Shuberts' offices is in charge of the routing for the Shu- berts. Nominally leased to an independent feature company, Carl Laemmle of the Universal is the big mitt behind in all negotiations for the feature. The rival four-part red light feature, "The Inside of the White Slave Traf- fic," at the Park theatre, will be sent on tour by Werba & Leuscher. The Universal is turning out the "Soul" films with extra forces. An out- fit was shipped to the Adelphia, Phila- adelphia, Dec. 4, another to the Grand opera house, Wilkes-Barre, and one to the Lyric, Scranton, on the same date. The Laemmle forces plan to burn up the outside territory before the "In- side" slaver can get started. "The Traffic in Souls" is to be shown uptown, at the Republic on West 42d street, a Belasco theatre, up- on the ending of the run of "The Tem- peramental Journey" in that house. "The Inside of the White Slave Traf- fic" at the Park was reported this week as starting od with big business, get- ting over $500 on the day, Monday, despite the usual "paper" given out for the opening performances. Four or five shows arc being routed for the road in Werba & Luescher of- fices. PICTURING JACK BARRYMORE. The Famous Players Film Co. has put into rehearsal for its next feat- ure film production, Nat Goodwin's for- mer play "An American Citizen." Jack Barrymorc is to be starred in the screen reproduction of the comedy. FILM CO. IN TROUBLE. One of the reputedly big and solid special feature service companies shied on meeting its payroll last week. Unless money comes to its auditor soon, the concern will go to the wall. Other firms skirting the fringe of filmdom, as forecasted in Varibtv last week are doing business on hope and ready fountain pens. RLA.MKD 0\ THE MOVIES. Newspapers hlame the films for the disappearance of Jessie McCann and Mabel Moulton, among this week's vanishing misses of Manhattan. The suicide of Mrs. Alice Kelsey, a widow, in Harrison, N. J., Dec. 7 is also attributed to the film shows. Despondent over the disappearance of a daughter recently, Mrs. Kelsey went tc a movie show in Harrison Monday evening, saw her own life story in a film, returned home and turned on the gas. A PLANT? 5>ince the jircsent session of tlic prosecution of the ricncral Film Co. as a "trust." Grant W. .Anson, manau- inpT the Couiet theatre. 1.36 3(1 avenue. New York has been offering pro- irrams composed of two General Film subjects, twrt Mutuals. and two Uni versals. SPOILED O. F. LETTERHEADS. The Department of Justice at Wish- ington continues to create havoc with the stationery of the Motion* Picture Patents Co. and the General Film Co. Following the practice of many dis* solving trusts given the needle by tht Sherman anti-trust law, report has it that the executives of the twin com- panies being prosecuted separately by the William Fox movie interests and the U. S. government, were prepared to reorganize literally and dissolve nominally, and had all the letterheads mapped out to do business according to new plains and the law, when the decision of Attorney General McRey- nolds announced at Washington in his report to Congress caused the newly- fashioned letterheads to be pigeon- holed, pending developments. The Attorney General's latest mani- festo to the trusts is that when dis- solved they must dissolve, and that none of the members of a trust can singly or in combination "be under the control of the same set of men." COX BUYS IN ON FILM. George B. Cox this week purchased a one-third interest in the Universal's feature film "The Traffic in Souls/' paying, it is alleged, $30,000 for his share. OHIO CONVENTION JAN. 20-86. Cincinnati, Dec. 10. The Ohio Motion Picture Exhibitors will convene here Jan. 25-26. 5,000 vis- itors are expected to attend. THEATRE NAME COPYRIGHTED. Des Moines, Dec. 10. The movies are putting the regular theatres out of business. There are now seventeen moving picture houses in operation, with the announcement that another one, "The Black Cat," a 150,000 house will open January 1. "The Black Cat" will have a capacity of 600 and will be managed by J. S. Woodhouse. Woodhouse is the fin* to make use of a recent Iowa la* which permits theatres to protect their names by copyright. He has copyrighted the name of "The Black Cat" and will carry out the idea in lobby decorations, souvenirs, eve. MUTUAL FEATURES READY. The announcement of the Geners.' Film Company that the abrupt retire- ment of its briefly tried out Exclusiv service is due to a plan to replace it with six, seven and eight-reel feature productions—no productions named in tiic statement—has precipitated the ad- mission by the Mutual that the first of a series of loni^ film plays on which their companies have been and are now working will he ready for release about Jan. 15, and releases made thereafter frequently. The success of the six-reel Universal, "The Traffic in Souls," is said to have caused the General Film's sudden ehanpe of front to play the heavy pedal on lonp feature plays instead of on the F.xclusive service which died pre- maturely. The Mutual extended reelers will be i-^sued I»y a collateral company, the F'erlcral Features. It .Villi finn't advrrtiM In VAKIETY, il'iii't uilv«*rtl«f Ht all.