Variety (July 1922)

96 PICTURES 33: Friday, July 28, iMl CAPITOL, IN BROADWAY SLUMP STANDS OUT WITH $34000 WEEK sai« PITTSBURGH STILL DULL "SiaUrs" Latt W*ek Qing«r«d Up Grand— Did >12,700 Qross Baby" 11,000 under opening: weak last week Just over $6,000. Criterion^—"Five Dollar (Metro) (Seats 886; scale 55-99). Last week fourth land final week with business pretty badly shot, gross not going to $3,000. "Forget Me Not" opened Sunday and looks as though going to prove business getter. Lyric—"Nero" (Fox Special) (Seats X.400; .scale $1.65) (10th week). Picture to remain until Auff. SI. followed Sept. 1 by "A Little Child Shall Lead Them." Business last week below that which picture has been doin^ last few weeks, with gross slightly above $3,000. Heavy advertising campaign with special stunts in various sections of Sunday papers did not seem to have effect of pulling extra business. General slump along Broadway last week in the picture theatres as again.st the business of the prc- TiouR w«''k. But one exception, the Gapitol. where the receipts jumped $3,000 over those of the week be- fore and under most peculiar cir- cumstances. T^e Capitols feature attraction was the war-time Chaplin comedy. "Shoulder Arms," originally given Its pre-relea.se showing on Broadway in October, 1918. The picture had not played a single date in the New York territor>' in 20 months, according to the local First National exchange, yet with a slump in bu.siness on in the other houses, the comedy attracted a gross of $44,000. The managements of the various picture houses in the Times square section arc discovering the public is varying In the days that it at- tends those theatres. This summer has brought to the picture theatres the same condition as pr«vailing at the legitimate houses. The first few days of the week bring the big business, and the week-ends are off, with Fridays and Saturdays the low ebb In receipts. At the Strand last week where the remade "A Fool There Was." the William Fox second special here, was the attraction, business >fas not on a par with that attracted by .... ^ , «- Foxs "Fast Mail." "The Fast Mall" ^ ^^ ^ Philadelphia. July 26 production gav^the Strand the best Better business was reported last weeks business it had had in over week ind the general opinion is the two months. weather caused the break. -The At the Rivoli and Rlalto the re- Stanley did not improve as much ceiiHs were below those obtained ^« ««"™V*^/»»^^«'"^»«^*}<>"»fa; Con- the previous week, but the Centra!, f^nce Talmadge in ''The Primitive with "The Storm" in its third week. I ^P^^^ '^ almost held its own. This Is the Rialto.—"If You Believe It Its So" (Paramount) (Seats 1.960; sca1% 50-85-99). Thomas Moighan. Moved down from Rivoli, where it got over $18,000 week before, and did $14,700 for* eecond week on street. Below normal at Rialtd. Rivoli. — "Man Unconquerable" (Paramount) (Scats 2,210; scale 50-85-99). Business off almost $3,000 as against previous week. The fact picture faUed to draw to extent expected did not get it sec- ond week on Broadway. Gross $15,200. Strand.—"A Fool There 'S^s." (Fox Special) (Seats 2.989; scale 30-50-85)^. After having best week in two months with "The Fasts Mail." business did not hold up last week with "A Fool There Was," fk)U8e getting just under $17,000^ Pittsburgh, July 2%. Pittsburgh's alumpinsr summer season continued dull last week, though it kept pace with returna^f the last three weeks. "Sifters," the I feature at the Grand and the Of the dailies. "Spanish Jade." at . •iiiJDJCtl "»« Olympic, was attended with an HoUfteC I'layUlg DpeCiaU liad tSad Opell extra draw in some Filipino ipus- icians. The Regent, not In the "big three" class made the most decided gain of the summer with "The Good Provider." EZstimates for last week: Grand — "Sisters." Seats, 2.500; scale, 25, 40, 55. Seena Owen. Sev- eral stilling days made $pod at- tendan<ie out of th« question, but a few nights toward latter part of week helped. Pictures praised by critics, particularly for photography. About $1^.700. Olympic—"Spanish Jade** Seats, 1,100; scale, 25 and 40. David Powell. Attendance here jumped over past few weeks, presence of Filipino melodists aiding. About $7,200. Liberty — "Domestic Relations." Seats. 1,200; scale. 25. 40. 55. Kath- erlne MacDonald. Local girl always go(^d for healthy draw, especially in neighborhood where reared. An- other picture. "Mr. Dedd Mann's Island" taken among local scenes and with local talent, added feature. About $7,100. m BARGAIN BILL JAUSDOWNINlt Downtown Section at Stand- still Though Weather h Favorable WEATHER CHANGE IN PHUIY BRACES UP iBZ. HEAT AT CAPITAL Lack of Good Features Felt with Break—Building Up Stanton final week of the picture on Broad- way, with "Human Hearts" sched- uled to come in there Sunday. Houses playing specials were off last week. The R.-C. feature, "In the Name of the Law," dropped be- low • $C,000 at the Cohan, and the two Fox pictures on 42d street. "Nero" at Lyric and "Silver Wings" at Apollo, dropped down in receipts. This week Metro staged a terrific exploitation campaign in behalf of "Forget Me Not." the Louis Burston feature which opened at the Cri- terion Sunday, following "The Five Dollar Baby" at that house. All of the Fifth avenue bus lines are c<'irrying banners foir the attraction, and in addition a tie-up was ef- fect oJ with the various orphanages Aroutid the city. Special morning performances with orphans as guests, and another ti<-up with a chain of candy stores whereby tickets arc being sold there and a quantity of candy donated for the kiddies, according to the amount of seats sold. r^sfiriiuto for last week: Apollo.—"Silver Wing.s" (Fox Speci.Tl) (Seats 1,200; scale $1A5) (llth week). Business took a drop la.st wt'i'k because of general Hlumt>. Gross little better than $2,100. Cameo.—"Sherlock Holmes" (In- ^ dependent) (Seats 550; .scale 55-75) (6th week). Picture held In be- cau.se of «pecial arrangement be- tween producers and house man- agement. Business not unusual during last two week.s, with gross around $2,200. Capitol.—"Should.^r Arm.s" (First National) (Seats 5,300; scale, mats. 35-55-85; cve.s. 55-85-$1.10). This Chaplin comedy, first reloasod ln« 1918. proved top business getter of street. Show surrounding fairly #rood and prross v/ent $3,000 better than previous week with new pic- ture. Totil slightlly better than $34,000. Central.—"The Storm" (Univer- sal Special) ^Scats 960; scale 55- 75) (4th week). Final week on Broadway. Last week grossed $6,500. "Human Hearts." another U production, goes In Sunday for four weeks until the U lease ex- pires and house revert to Shu- barts. Cohan.—"In the Name of the Law" (Robertson-Cole-F. B. O.) (Seats 1.111; acale 40-50-85-$!) (Sd week). Bitfineaa dropped over was the attraction. The picture was not liked as well as "Polly of the Follies."' The Aldine. still quivering on the edge of a rumored change of man- agement, hit a better pace with "The Isle of Zorda," given some good boosting by the local Pathe office. Pathe has been in control of the Aldine for several weeks. Whole- sale cutting by the censor board took away most of the sex thrills of this Verne romance, but the crowds came probably out of curiosity. The Karlton had a weak program feature, about strong enough for the Regent or Capitol, in "Mr. Barnes of New York." The Palace went way up with "Man Unconquerable,*' another prognam picture of no very grteat strength, originally booked for the Karlton. kWith a strong feature, the .Palac% would have done big business. The Victoria had "Strange Idols," styled by one critic "the worst ever." The Ar- cadia didn't boom so much, probably because the smart draw of this house is away for the summer. This week the Stanley has "The Dictator" and looks, with any kind of weather, to plean up in fine style. The Stanley is also advertising Holt in "While Satan Sleeps" and Kea- ton In "The Blacksmith" as the bill for the following week. The Aldine has "Lady Godlva," another Pa^he released film. It may pull the curiosity seekers. The Karlton has another program pic- ture of doubtful pulling power, "Her Social Value." with Katherine MacDonald. The Arcadia has "Come on Over' and the Palace "Our Leading Citizen" and "Nanook of the North," the double bill which scored so heavily at the Stanley re- cently. The Stanton, closcdvfor the stim- nier, is plastered with signs adver- Washington, D. C, July 26. Warm weather realty hit with the last three days of the past week, making Inroads Into the business of the local houses. The Columbia got the grreatest attention with the per- sonal appearance of the child star, Miriam Battista. Estimates for last week: Loew's Coliimbija—(Capacity 1.- 200; scale 35c. mats., 35-50c. nights). "The Mao^from Home," of good en- tertaining valpe. Rtal business getter personal appearance of little Miss Battista. About $€,000. Loew*8 Palaca^(Capacity 2,500; scale 20-S5C. mat's., 35-50c. nights). Mary Miles Minter in "South of Suva." first half; "The Spanish Jade" second half. Looks as if "The Spanish Jade" outdid the Minter picture, although fhe week appeared little off. About $10,000. Moore's Rialto—(Capacity 1.900; scale 30c. mornings, 40c. afternoons and 50c. nights). Business evi- dently considerably off. "Free Air," by Sinclair Lewis, created some in- terest but failed to boost business. Looks to have slipped even from the previous week to about $6,500. Crandairs Metropolitan — (Ca- pacity 1.700; scale .20-35c. mats., 35-50C. nights). Anita Stewart in "The Woman He Married." Looked around $9,000. GOOD TRADE LAST WEEK IN LOOP'S FILM PLACES Chicago Registers $30,000— Last Two Weeks of J. L & S. tlslng "Blood and Sand" as opening the house Sept. 5. It is evident the company Is making a strong play for this drooping house which will soon have the new Fox theatre as a next-door rival. Estimates last week: Stanley—"The Primitive "Lover" (First National). Not heavy win- ner as star Is not in great favor here now. Lack of supporting fea- ture also felt; $24,500; not much profit for this big house. (Capacity 4,000; scale, 35-50 cents matinees; 50-75 cents evenings.) Aldine—"Isle of Zorda." Boomed as sensational, and attracted curios- ity seekers, but disappointed mo.sr. Cen.sors rendered It mild. Good weather put mark up to nearly $7,000. (Capacity, 1,500; scale, 50 cents straight.) Karlton—"Mr. Barnes of New York" (Goldwyn), Not 'strong enough for this house and would have fallen woefully with recent hot weather conditions, but was saved by general rousing of Interest In pictures. Grazed s'4,000. (Capacity 1,000; scale, 50 cents straight.) Chicago, July 26. The Loop closed last week with good business, but not what it had been. The big three houses har- bored some attractions Which stood up on their own merits. At the Chioago, "The Storm" finished close to $30,000. There were 80 24-sheet8 scattered throughout the city three weeks in advance, besides Balaban & Katz's own publicity. "Orphans of the Storm" was held over at the Roosevelt. "The Storm" film followed a vaudeville act, a condensed version of the forest fire scene, which played at the Majestic not long ago. The Randolph eutering into its last two weeks unden tha Jones, Llnick & Schafer management, played "Always the Woman." It did not please audience or,'critics, fin- ishing to fair gross. The weather man was not par- ticular as to how he treated the movie patrons, as a heavy rain storm injured Saturday night's bus- iness and the previous days of the week were stifling in heat. . Estimates for last week: "The Storm" (Universal). Chicago. Seats 4.200. Morning, 39; mats.. 55; nights, 65. Recovered from sltimp which hit house hard. Close to $30,000. Specialties rounded good show. "Orphans of the Storm" (D. W. Griffith). Roosevelt (3d week). Seats 1,275. Mats.. 39; e^•enings, 50; holi- days, 60. Strong competitloh, but touched $14,000, little below pre- vious week. Will finish fourth week and then make room for Harold Lloyd's "Grandma's Boy." ♦ "Always the Woman** (Goldwyn). Randolph, Seats 825. Mats.. 39; nights, 60. Betty Compsort. Pic- ture made two years ago,'first tiftie released. Business not up to the average, with gross about $4,000. Management did not ballyhoo that "A Game Lady," a Henry Lehrman comedy, was showing, featuring Virginia Rappa. AKItim m every week by Subscribing for it The surest way. You don't have to depend upon newsstands if a regular subscriber to Variety. Subscription, $7 yearly; $3.50 six months J Foreign, $8 yearly; $4 six months; Special Summer Rate: $2 three months; Kansas City, July tl. *1t they don't want to see your show, yau can< get 'em In." !« th* reasoning of one manager duriiw a discussion regarding the apparent apathy of the picture show patron^^ in this city, this summer. Indif- ference, unconcern, etc., are tha words to explain the l<x:al condI« tion. The molt rabid of the fant are passing up pictures, at least for a while. It is not the weather keeping them away. There has not been a, day so far this July when the mercury reached pa^t 86 degreet. In an attempt to attract some of the automobile trade, the Newman is using billboard space calling at- tention that the feature picturt staxts at 10 p. m. Last week Wiis a disappointment to all the downtown interests. A« the days continued cool and the nights inclined to b^ chilly, it waa thought business would pick up, but it did not. Strongly boosted in advance, "One Clear Call," at the Newmao;, failed to come up to the box office expec- tations. No reference was made in any of the advance stuff regarding the Ku Klux Klan scenes and inci- dents, as this subject is a delicate one here and*very much under tlie ban. "Star Dust," at the Royal, wai rather an old one for this city. R was originally booked' for several months ago. when Hopo Hampton,- the star, was to have appeared ia person, but she was unable to ap- pear and the picture was held up. This time, instead of the personal appearance of the star, the theatre gave coupons good for an auto- graphed picture of Miss Hampton, when mailed to her home address. The Harding brothers made a strong bid for busUpess at the Lib- erty with "Yellow Men and Gold* and "Nanook of the North." The feature, while n^w here, was rather an old release, iiaviiif been seen in about all the other cities before reaching Kansas City, and was noe up to the sta,ndard demanded by the Liberty regulars. In the resi- dential district most of the leading houses, shooting tnv 10-15-25 and giving pictures Just as good as the downtown houses, but a little older, are reporting better business con* ditions than those in the high rent district. Women and children g» to these houses who would not taki the time and pay carfare to e<JBii downtown. Liberty—"Yellow Men and Gtold* (Goldwyn)rf (seats 2.000; scale «• 50). Richard Dix, Goldwyn'a new- comer, featured jointly with Helen Chadwick, but Rosemary Thebf, another local favorite, found favor with most of fair sex. "Nanook of the North" (Pathe), added feature, and came In for biggest part of press notices, on account of iti novelty. The "Non-Skid Kid," fea- turing "Sunshine Sammy." the litUe negro Juvenile, completed summer bargain bill. In spite of quantity of amusement, business failed miser- ably. About $0,000. Newman—"One Clear Call' (First National), (scats 1.980; scale, mat* 35; nights, 60-75). Milton SllU, Claire Windsor and Henry B. Wal* thall. Prolog, "On the Levee, musical novelty by Southern Har* niony Four, assisted by six negroes, pleased. Feature not lilted bf many, who did not hesitate to say so. Critics played it up ntronf. especially cvJt. Business &l>o"^ JS.SOO. Royal—"Star Dust" (seats ^' scale, 35-50). Hope Hampton in » picturlzatlon of one of FanniJ Hurst's books. "A Piir of Kinf*^ a Semon comedy, and voral s^^J^ tlons by Edythe Decker were evX^^ measure. Kind of pirlure ^^' would ordinarily fill this houfl* twice daily and.with stir and P«jj made to order for sob s^"^''* \- failed to come out in numbef* Gross .iround $4,000. Twelfth Street—'Th- M'^" J^", conquerable" (Paramount), K^'^ 1,100; scale. 25). "Two Men two-reel western thriller. Sklpper's^Last Resort," Toonen comedy, and news Him <^^^^\^ kind of bill suited to ^his nou Around $2,000; not b«^'l ^"" ^*J*" and prices. JH