Variety (March 1920)

WWW^^Wi^W^ ■V ,v '.'"■» ■'•'.'.'•', ■ Jj ' . •■ V v-J 1 Vol. LVffl, No. 3 «t* Street. New. Tort. N. T., by Vuletr. Ino. Annutf Mtealp- Uon. S7.00. Hade ooplw, X) (wju NEW YOBK CITY, MARCH 12, 1920 a. Entered m mmd due natter DmnlMr H IMS. »t the Port OfliM at New Tork, N. X. under Uie ^et Of Kiroa I. lift. THEDA BARA'S STAGE SALARY EXCEEDS HER PICTURE INCOME Received $6,000 Last Week as Her Share of 'The Blue • Flame" in Boston. $4,700 Week Before. Picture. Salary was $4,000 Weekly. <*Blue Flame" Doing Enormously But Must Leave* Boston for New York. m ■.-.:• .-•"I : Boston, March 10. One of the sights of the city these days is the arrival and departure of Theda Bara from the Majestic. In the neighborhood of the stage door when she is due gathers hundreds of the . curious and it has been necessary to ' call out the police, reserves on several occasions to take care of this crowd. If it were not for the weather con- ditions last Saturday the crowd would pcobably have numbered thousands. Theda originally was booked to go to and from the theatre in a coach drawn by several pair .of milk white horses. This idea was abandoned. The. limou- sine she uses attracts enough atten- tion. , Theda Bara received last week from A H Woods "as her share of the re- ceipts of "The Blue Flame" at the Ma- jestic, $6,000. The week before Miss Bara's end was $4,700. This week will equal her share last week. She is ap- pearing under a weekly guarantee of $1,500 and SO per cent of the net profit. When Miss Bara appeared in pictures for William Fox, at the end of her Fox engagement, she was receiving $4,000 weekly. The debut of Miss Bara on the legiti- mate speaking stage in a dramatic play has proven a revelation to theatredom. While it is incomprehensible to show people why film fans who saw the famous screen vamp for' from 25 cents downward will pay $2 or more to see her in person in a speaking piece, that fact remains, nevertheless. The strength of the Bara draw appears to be from among her picture admirers. All rights to 'The Blue Flame" were purchased by Mr Woods for $35,000. It cost $40,000 to its day of opening and is^ believed by the producer to have a value as a picture play of at least $200,000 Miss Bara has one-half interest in the piece for pictures and will star in it. The show must leave Boston this week, though it could have an indef- inite run here A contract clause js reported to be the cause, calling for a Broadway appearance of the vamp. It opens at the Shubert, New York, next Monday. '.■•..' The initial New York appearance of Theda Bara is bringing about specu- lation whether she can duplicate in the * metropolis ner undoubted draw- ing powers in the provinces, as indi- cated by her record in "The Blue Flame" at Washington, Pittsburgh and Boston In all of those three cities the show brought capacity . Another picture star, Elsie Fergu- son, returning to the stage in "Sacred and/Profane Love," now at the Mo- rosco, New York, seems to be also drawing through. her picture fame. Whereas Miss Bara is having her first experience in a speaking role, Miss Ferguson was a star of the legitimate before posing in front of a camera. Each has made "personal appearances" in picture houses in connection with the pictures they were appearing in, for publicity purposes, but neither ever drew in the picture houses when per- sonally appearing as they have done since opening in $2 productions When Martin Herman, of the Woods office, was asked to what he ascribed Bara's phenomenal box office pull in view of all the facts, Mr Herman an- swered: - "The most important fact has been overlooked William Fox spent $2,000,- 000 to make Theda Bara the best known picture actress in the world. The result of that now is being reaped by Miss Bara." The success of the Misses Bara and Ferguson in their stage plays is ex- pected to induce other picture stars to reappraise their value for the legit, if approached. It is also quite likely that the freedom with which "personal ap- pearances" have been hitherto re- quested and acceded to will be quite appreciably abbreviated in the future, picture stars deciding their appearance in person is becoming too valuable SHUBERTS BUY IN PHILLY. Philadelphia, March 10. The Chestnut Street opera house was purchased by the Shuberts this week at a reported price of $850,000. •' This week also the Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia's oldest play- house, was purchased by Thomas P. Barry, its present lessee. Charles Wanamaker will remain as its man- ager. A new theatre to seat 1,800 is planned, to be ready by October,, -\ The Maitbaum Brothers acted' for the Shuberts in the sale of the opera house, and against Fred Nixon-Nird- linger, who was negotiating, it is said, on behalf of the Klaw & Erlanger interests. With the forthcoming demo- lition of the Forrest and the Broad and Garrick out of the future running through realty deals, the prospect for the K. & E. is barren just at present Those three houses are the K. & E. stands. ■ ■ * ■ : . Two years ago the asking price for the Chestnut Street opera house was quoted as $425,000. COLUMBIA STOCK AT $400. While various theatrical stocks are being quoted on the exchange or curb, little is heard of the Columbia Amuse- ment Co. stock price. The last quota- tion reported was $400, with the par $100. Little of the stock Is on the mar- ket and is quickly taken up when ap- pearing. V' <: The Columbia Amusement Co. is the parent corporation of the Columbia burlesque wheel. Its capital is said to be $250,000, with 19 stockholders of record on its books. Last year the Co- lumbia's dividends are reported to have reached a total of 30 per cent, with a considerable sum placed by the com- pany in its surplus fund. Any number of subsidiary corpora- tions operate Columbia theatres and are separate institutions. ,.,■» "DARDANELLA" REHEARSALS. Five acts rehearsed "Dardanella" at the Harlem opera house Monday. Sol Levoy in an effort to straighten out the mixup suggested that one sing it, one whistle it, one play it on a musical instrument, one dance it, and the last recite it. PICTURE SONGS AGAIN. The "picture song" threatens to be revived. The idea was the composi- tion of a number "inspired" by a pic- ture production, hitching both to- gether for mutual publicity benefits. According to E. Z. Nutting, of the Woolworth stores, Famous Players- Lasky and Griffith will publish these songs and release through the Wool- worth stores. SEX PLATS FOR SERMONS. Reading, Pa., March 10. Rev. L. Griswold Williams, pastor of the Universalist Church of Our Father has shocked some of the more austere ministers of the city by read- ing sex plays from his pulpits on three successive Sunday nights. • ; . Last night he read "Damaged Goods." The church service' well .ad- vertised, by the two former readings was filled to the doors. Many people could not get inside. The other minis- ters while viewing the effect in ap- parent silence have discussed the mat- ter at the-weekly meetings of their issociatioh where none but clergy could obtain admittance. Rev. Williams in his own. defence says he sees nothing so exceptional in reading a play instead of preaching a sermon on Sunday nights. "If the play teaches a lesson it does the same thing a sarmoh is Supposed to do," he says. "The monks originated the play after it had been Almost forgotten. They traveled to nearby towns during tUe dark jiges tnd told their lesson by means of plays. They kept the play alive. So why shouldn't a clergyman today teach his lessons in the same way?" ... . CANADA A TEMPTATION. Montreal, March 10. .....Yerjc. little isheard, about it hut Jhe_ fact remains Canada as a wet country is commencing to prove a' temptation to American artists who come over the border for engagements. ; With liquor freely on sale hereafter their prohibition experience in the States, the -Americans (not profes- sionals alone but all of them)' look upon a Canadian visit as a holiday, with varying effects. The booze here is cheap and good compared with the poison sold at high prices in the States. As visits on this side are con- fined to a limited time, different cases have been reported where someone or another tried to take in a full supply the first day. TRADE PAPERS COMBINING? , Negotiations looking toward joining the "Clipper" and "Mirror" into one publication were reported in progress during the week. Both are theatrical weeklies, with "The Clipper" the oldest publication of its character in this country. ^ The present extraordinary high cost of paper and printing may have had its influence in the overtures. Nothing is reported regarding the possibilities of the negotiations. ■■..•: ■'•:': ..:ii