Variety (February 1914)

VARIETY 21 "THE MOVIES" ARE ALL RIGHT DECDES HIGH-SC HOOL DEBATE Held in Pittsburgh Before Large Audiences. Test Made of Motion Pictures in School Proves Overwhelmingly Suc- cessful. Claim They Make School Work Easy. Pittsburgh, F«b. 25. Rumors that there is a falling off in picture interest find no confirmation here. The opposite is true. There is more interest and discussion on movies than in many years. Last week the movies won a signal victory when a series of inter-high school debates were held. The question was, "Resolved, that motion pictures do more harm than good," and the negative won before audiences of thousands. The second set of debates will be held in April. The suggestion of President William H. Stevenson of the Chamber of Com- merce that educational movies be tried out in the public schools was received by the Board of Public Education and a test made in one of the buildings. It proved overwhelmingly successful and the board will make plans to in- clude movies in the educational sys- tem in the future. An objection raised was that movies do all the thinking for the pupils and school work gets too easy. However, it is planned to show chiefly historical films and current events. The University of Pittsburgh is using its picture machine to film its activities and happenings in this part of the state. These are afterwards exhibited in the theatres and incidentally advertise the school. In Carnegie Institute of Tech- nology movies are being used fre- quently. Professor Miller showed 4,000 feet of "From Iron Ore to Finished Steel," made by the Farrell Film Com- pany of Farrell, Pa., the steel corpora- tion's town. Commercial organizations include pic- tures at meetings and banquets. The Diebold Lumber Co. sent a man out who filmed all its operations and is ex- hibiting two reels. Boston, Feb. 25. The exhaustive investigation into the moral conditions of all Roxbury picture houses resulted in the an- nouncement this week by the Chil- dren's Welfare League that 80 per cent, were objectionable. Over 400 films were viewed by 25 settlement workers representing the clergy and associated charities and of these 184 were found good, 184 pass- able and 92 utterly objectionable. In eleven weeks 65,000 school chil- dren paid admission to see the films in question. According to Secretary Ralph S. Thompson, the National Board of Censors has fallen into a rut from having passed so many films and their sense of morality and re- sponsibility dulled. The objection- able films, according to Thompson, depicted 21 individual types of crime, and if a child sav/ them all it would constitute a comprehensive education in immorality. Included in Thomp- son's list are murder, suicide, bru- tality, marital infidelity, abduction, theft, desertion, drunkenness, obscene "love," betrayal, seduction, travesty on the clergy, law and investigation into prostitution, gambling and ille- gitimate children. The fact that an immoral film ends with a moral lesson does not excuse it, according to Thompson, who says that the child absorbs the detaiU of immorality and skips the moral lesson. KLEINE SELLING FEATURES. Chicago, Feb. 25. It is reported George Kleine is sell- ing outright to a local syndicate his "Quo Vadis," "Cleopatra" and "Last Days of Pompeii" feature films and will devote considerable attention to the new theatre now being completed for him on West 42d street, New York, which will be ready in April. DICKERING FOR STRAND? Philadelphia, Feb. 25. It isn't a certainty yet from reports about that Mitchell Mark and asso- ciates will themselves operate the new Strand theatre, at Broadway and 47th street. New York. Yesterday in this city Commodore J. Stewart Blackton, of the Vitagraph Co., and Max Spiegel, representing the Strand owners, held a conference, their second within the past few days. It was said the leasing of the Strand to perhaps the Vitagraph in combination with S. Lubin was the subject of the conversation. The story here is that the Strand, which will seat about 3,000 when com- pleted, cannot be operated for less than $85,000 yearly as rent. Mitchell Mark has announced a fea- ture film policy for the Strand, when in readiness sometime late in April or early in May; but the property has been repeatedly offered to prospective lessors. PLAYGOERS' CO. FIRST FEATURE. Daniel V. Arthur, managing director of the Playgoers Film Co., will release, March 15, the initial presentation of his new corporation. It will be a big pro- duction of "The Great Diamond Rob- bery," with a cast of Broadway players. The play is in five acts and includes 250 scenes. Wallace Eddinger heads the cast, which includes the following: Gail Kane, leading woman of "Seven Keys to Baldpate"; Charles J. Ross, Elita JEROME SUES VITAGRAPH. Jerome K. Jerome, the English au- thor and playwright, through his Amer- ican attorney, has brought suit in the Federal Court against the Vita- graph Co. for $10,000, claiming dam- ages to that amount through the put- ting out by the Vitagraph people of a film called "Professor Optimo," which he claims is an infringement of "The Passing of the Third Flo Back," written by him. MUTUAL'S EXPERIMENT. It is claimed that the Metropolitan Rink, which has been leased by the No "Vice Film" Advertising t» VARIETY, having reached the conclusion that '*Vlce Films of any kind or description are injurious to the public at large and the moving picture trade as a whole, announces it will not accept advertisements for pictures coming under this classification. Proctor Otis, Martin J. Alsop, T. B. Pratt, Dorothy Arthur and Edward Gil- lespie. More than 100 actors have been employed in the taking of the film, in every instance Broadway favorites who are making their initial bow in the realm of film enactment. Picture House in Bankruptcy. Philadelphia, Feb. 25. Creditors have filed a petition in in- voluntary bankruptcy in the United States District Court against Harvey Ringler and Charles £. Gdddard, pro- prietors of the Broadway Moving Picture theatre, Broad street above Race. The petitioning creditors are the Interstate Film Co., which claims $728.15; Lewis M. Swaab, trading as the Swaab Film Service Co., with a claim of $27.05. and the Pierce Poster Co., claiming $2.88. Ringler, who was formerly a saloon keeper, is said to have personal debts amounting to $9,000 or $10,000. The only assets in which the cred- itors hope to share are chairs, two picture machines, and an electric sign worth $600. A receiver will be ap- plied for. Mutual Film Corporation, is debarred from the lack of modern exits, from being converted into anything but a 600-seat house. The picture people are confronted with the same obstacles which the building department placed upon Felix Isman's former theatre at Broadway and 31st street. The Mutual is understood to be con- verting the mammoth rink into a sort of theatre de luxe most of the seats be- ing in the form of private boxes, luxu- riously appointed and designed to cater to the elite. The Mutual's lease of the Rink, as well as Weber's theatre, is more in the nature of an experiment, and if successful with the straight pic- ture policy the corporation may en- deavor to secure one or more larger theatres more centrally located on Broadway for the permanent exhibi- tion of their newest releases. The Bijou, on the next block to Wchcr's, .started Monrlay with a first run Mutual program. There will be no conflict with the Mtittial's policy at Weber's. That will consist of features only. TOM JONES ADLER IN THE MOVIES. It's reported Jacob Adler has signed a contract with Leon Rubenstein to ap- pear in pictures in a series jof plays in which the "Yiddish" actor has played here and abroad. Several picture managers have been making overtures to Adler for some time, wanting him to appear in a big feature, "The Merchant of Venice/' At present Adler's company is hold- ing forth at the former Dewey (14th street), changing pieces weekly. Will- iam Applegate, who has been managing the Adler theatre, resigned this week to take up another theatre proposition. SEGREGATION SUGGESTED. Pittsburgh, Feb. 25. The latest "request" made by Di- rector of Public Safety Charles S. Hub- bard to the picture men of Pittsburgh is to segregate the sexes in their thea- tres. Recently the department has be- gun issuing a series of orders, or "re- quests," mostly dealing with suppres- sion of certain films and "mashers." The segregation suggestion has not been followed. Instead a committee will confer with the director and tell him it cannot be done. Baltimore, Feb. 25. Segregation of the sexes in the pic- ture theatres is the latest proposition made by the local police. They pro- pose to place the unaccompanied fe- males to the right of the theatres; the unaccompanied males on the left and men or women accompanied by one or the other in the centre aisles. The plan has the approval of Marshal Farnan, head of the police force, and the picture theatre managers and own- ers have been summoned before the Police Board to give their views on the regulation. Indications are that it will be favored as recently there have been several reports of insults to women, and the patronage in this respect is falling off in some of the theatres. EXHIBITORS DISCONTENTED. Discontent exists among the exhibi- tors, of the General Film Exchange. At the 30th street branch a railing was erected at the entrance to the offices, and the bookers secluded inside. The old schedule system is again being put into force, and as a result brings complaints from the picture men because of repeats. NEW YORK OPENS FEB. 28. George W. Lederer has retired as managing director of the Anglo- American Film Corporation, which has taken over the New York theatre for the sho>ving of their feature films. He is succeeded by Nate Spingold. The Anglo-American will present its first feature ("Three Musketeers"), to the American public at the New York Saturday, at prices from 10 to 50 cents. A private invitation exhibi- tion is scheduled for tonifj^ht (Friday). Lederer retains his interest in the English production of "Potash & Perl- mutter," which Edward Eaurillard, owner of the "Three Musketeers" and "Sixty Years a Queen," has contrib- uted to the Anglo-American company for its first display.