Variety (June 1915)

MOVIN G PICT URE 15 PRICE FOR CHAPLIN FILM ADVANCED THROUGH G. F. Essanay Scale for Comedian's Two-Reelers Considerably In- created When Distributed by General Film Co. G. F. Insists All Exhibitors Using Chaplin Film Take G- F. Service. (Daily Charge.) Present. Old. $25—1-2 weeks. $15—first 7 days. $20—3-4 weeks. $10—next 30 days. $15—5-6 weeks. $5—after 30 days. $10—7-8 weeks. With the handling of the distribu- tion by the General Film Co. of the Essanay Charlie Chaplin two-reelers, a new scale of prices has gone into effect for the comedy films. The daily charge under the G. F. as against the former prices for the Essanay Chap- lin two-reelers before the G. F. ac- quired the sole circulation of them is shown above. The General Film, from accounts, is proceeding cautiously in its attempt to force exhibitors to partake of the G. F. service if a Chaplin film is also wanted. When an application is made, accord- ing to report, for a Chaplin film by an exhibitor who has not been using G. F. service, and who does not particularly care to do so, the exhibitor is informed at the G. F. office that, while His order will be filled, it must abide its time, as the G. F. regular exhibitors will first be served. With this explanation the exhibitor who does not signify a will- ingness to use other G. F. service can secure no specific date for a Chaplin picture, with the very huge probability, lamely disguised by the excuse, that other picture exhibitors in his neigh- borhood will have the very Chaplin he has ordered a long time in advance of the date it will be given to him. The impression is that the General Film is chary of making any definite statement that may be passed on to the Government, which now has an in- vestigation under way to determine whether the Motion Picture Patents Company is a "Trust" under the Sher- man Act. The General Film Co. is the rental branch of the M. P. P. Co. It is also said that the G. F. is fear- ful lest its attempt to stifle and con- trol the exhibiting trade will result in an organized protest by exhibitors in general to the Government, before the "Trust" decision, shortly expected, is handed down. The G. F. has set no limit of service in connection with the Chaplins. The cheapest service the G. F. supplies is $25 weekly. This would be an expense to picture houses accepting it, if they did not run the daily release films it furnishes. Picture theatres playing fea- ture films only (but which must use a Chaplin through the demand and com- petition) and vaudeville theatres would be the ones mostly having to suffer the added expense of shnwm? the G. F. Chaplins. The Greater New York Film Rental Exchange, the William Fo> Agency concern (against which the G. F.'s Chaplin order is believed to be mostly directed), is said to have notified Essanay last week it expected a supply of Chaplin film, under its agreement with the M. P. P. Co. Up to the early part of this week it was reported the Fox exchange had received no reply and was deciding upon what procedure to take to enforce shipment of Chap- lins to it direct, as Fox did in the mat- ter of Pathe, after Pathe left the Pat- ents Co. Word came to town Wednesday that Chaplin had gotten himself into an entanglement as the result of his gen- erosity in granting the rights for the public marketing of the Chaplin statuettes and that with any number of companies putting out Chaplin "copyrights" the rights for the privi- lege are expected to result in a fight that will land all into court, Chaplin included. Chaplin is said to have given one friend the right to reproduce him as a statuette and is then said to have granted a similar privilege to another man some weeks later. Other men, without permission or privilege, have gotten out a Chaplin figure, making some slight change in the mold from the ones first out and marketing them accordingly. The entire United States within the past two months have been deluged with Chaplin statuettes of all sizes and hues, their sale prices ranging from five cents to a dollar. 1,500 DAYS FOR PICTURES. The Globe Feature Booking Office the result of the former U. B. O. Pic- ture Department, has just been organ- ized and will be in a position in about a week to lay out a guaranteed route of 1,500 days for feature pictures. The company will have 28 branch offices throughout the country and each will be allotted a certain number of days which they will have to fill, being charged accordingly. The various offices will have to play the allotted time within a period of nine months. The Globe will contract to play a feature 1,500 days within nine months on 24 copies. The features will range in price from $5 to $100 a day, ac- cording to their strength. DONLIN'S FILM COMING. "Love and the Pennant," the film scenario selected to star Mike Donlin, has been completed, and work on the feature will begin as soon as a cast is selected. The scenario was rewritten by Bob Goodwin after a half dozen other writers had experienced with the idea. KALEM AND EDISON TOGETHER? The indications abroad are that Kalem and Edison have raised in arms against the V. L. S. E. f the latter the feature film exchange of the four prom- inent makers linked with the Motion Picture Co. They are Vitagraph, Lubin, Selig and Essanay. Kalem and Edison are also members of the M. P. P. Co. The nature of the strife between the M. P. P.'s opposing daily release makers of feature films is to be shown, according to report, in the manner in which Kalem and Edison will circulate their features. These are to go direct to the exhibitor upon the General Film Co. service, it is said, while the V. L. S. E. manufacturers release their fea- tures through their own exchange. Each of the six makers involved however continue to have the G. F. serve their daily release product. The first feature to be sent out against the V. L. S. E. is said to be "Midnight at Maxim's," a Kalem four- reeler, shown privately Tuesday. Reports vary on the whys and where- fores of the split among the M. P. manufacturers on the policy of feature film distribution. The men in the four- lettered concern are said to be inclined to believe the decision in the Govern- ment's action against the M. P. P. Co. on the "trust" investigation will be adverse to the company. Likewise, ac- cording to report, they believe it be- hooved them to protect their future service by an organized exchange in- dependent of the M. P. Co.'s rental branch, General Film Co. On the other hand Edison and Kalem are said to be firmly impressed they are the lungs and heart of the M. P. Co., also General Film Co., and that by virtue of their belief, will stick to it on all kinds of film, short or long. At the same time Edison and Kalem think they can give the V. L. S. E. service a sufficient dent that may eventually bring those four makers and their feature films back in- to the G. F. fold. Meanwhile the exhibitors are report- ed waiting for a rate cutting jangle be- tween the two factions that will re- dound to the exhibitors' benefit. SERIAL IN DANGER. The Mutual serial, "The Diamond from the Sky," made by the North American, has stood in danger of can- cellation on the Loew Circuit this week, according to report. The "Diamond" serial has but about run one-half its course. Wednesday it was said the Loew people had decided to drop it, but at the Loew office it was stated no decision had been reached. Other picture concerns, however, had heard the same rumors. The Universal is said to have made an immediate proposal to place its new serial, "The Broken Coin" in the Loew houses, and it was under consideration. Disappointed Girl Tries Poison. Los Angeles, June 16. Caroline Carman, a film actress, took poison and is in a serious condition in a local hospital. The girl's reason for attempting suicide was that she could not become a film star. BIG FILM CONCERN'S CHANGE. An important change is impending in a large film concern, with headquarters in New York. The change is in con- templation at the present moment, from reports, and will be a drastic switch in management, when it arrives. The film men now in control of the organization will be superseded, ac- cording to the story, by other execu- tives designated, by the monied in- terests behind the concern. These monied interests will direct the future operations of the film concern, at well, the financial men having about decided that such a move is imperative. The same group of wealthy men re- cently came to the aid of the concern, which was making a big splash at the time with a very small, amount of cash on hand, depending almost entirely upon appearances to realize from stock sold, although the then heads of the firm were spreading stories of enorm- ous business done and profits made. It was reported in the trade about this time the concern was doing a large business, but that its disbursements ex- ceeded the weekly receipts. Of late the concern, while having a run of fair features for a while, has dropped off almost entirely with meritorious film, and a great deal of its business has been taken away by other firms. That the move has been foreseen by the present executives of the film con- cern interested is forecasted, according to the picture men aware of the status of the company, by these executives apparently preparing to leave the con- cern, and attempting to smooth the way through preliminary announce- ments. The monied men behind the concern mentioned in the stories of the change are quite well versed in the show busi- ness, having been doing little of recent years excepting to invest money in it. MANY UNATTACHED DIRECTORS. There are more picture directors "at liberty" in New York today than there has been in a long, long time. New policies at several studios followed by a line of retrenchment by some of the oldest film makers has resulted in the releasing of a raft of celluloid direc- tors. As soon as a half dozen or more "independent features" have been fin- ished within a few weeks there will be a further augmentation of the di- rectors of films disengaged and look- ing for new berths. McINTOSH AFTER "NATION." Negotiations are under way between D. W. Griffith and Chris Brown, the latter representing the Hugh Mcin- tosh interests, for the Australian rights to "The Birth of a Nation" film. If the plans go through, Mcintosh will play the spectacular film in his larger houses at a $2.00 admission scale, which will set a record for Australia. Mcintosh has played "Cabiria" throughout his Australian circuit, and the success of that picture at an in- creased admission suggested the pros- pective engagement of the Griffith film. If rou don't •dv.rtU. In VARIETY, don't advertise.