Variety (July 1923)

iv^'^ffe*..-^; ■•'«»-,.;5jv-^• * '..• ' AJti'i , ■r';*t''*-i^r4'»ft"-£»*?:.-" "^-^ ■ > ■'. .■■ PRICE 20 CENTS Published Wecklsr At 164 West 4Sth St., New Tork. N. T.. by Variety. Ino. Annual •ubsortptloa fT. 8ta*U coplaa tV oaata^ Bater«d as a«eond clasn matter Decen\b«r 21. 1106, at the Poat Offlo* at New York, N. T., under the Act Of Marob t. tl7>. v t VOL. LXXI. No. 8 NEW YORK Cmr, THURSDAY, JULY 12, 1923 48 PAGES ^1 ■' CLIPPER" CHANGING POUCY FOUR innilON-DOIiAR" HTTS OUT OF ONE SEASOirS CROP ^Rain," 'Tool/' ''Seventh Heaven" and "Abie*s Irish Rote" Still Turning Out Gold—Best Percentage t Ever of Legit Money Makers There are four miUion-doIlar- ,. profit-prospects In the production )p of the season of 22-2S, that be- a better percentage of fortune iklng shows on record for any Ine year In show history. The maliza candidates are "Rain", [Seventh Heaven", "The Fool" and "Abie's Irish Rose," playing re- ipectively at the Booth, Elliott, Re- ^^ublic and the Times square. The first three look sure to run through next season. "Seventh Heaven" has been so ieonsistently strong there is no thought of booking another next season by the Booth management. It has been coupled with "Rain" In demand and gross throughout the season, playing an extra matinee I during the winter and spring. Only the house capacity prevented it I irlnnlng grosses equal to "Rain." i|^ . (Continued on page 10) NEW ''DOUBLE IN BRASr Hurt Now Be Able to Drive Car or Truck Chicago, July 11. The day of "doubling in brass" -n le show business promises to be cceeded by a period of being able "drive a car or truck." Carl M. Dalton, in the show bus- fcess 28 years, is putting out a com- |'t*ny which will play opera houses '^ the northwest, traveling by auto, »a«gage in a covered truck, "no W«ht Jumps" and "no waiting to.- trains" is the slogan. The pianist is expected to double the straight and ingenue roles, and ^ man is wanted to sell "sweets" •nd double piano or stage. The advance agent must be able to drive a Ferd but he need not do Wll posting. The show is rehearsing at La- C'^sse. Wis., and will open in a few CARNIVAL REFORMER IS HIT AND HITS Rev. Oscar Brown Runs Into Jam at St. John—Didn't Like Cooch Dancers TO BE TO FIELD America's Oldest Theatrical Paper Going Under New Direction —• Starts New Policy Next Week—Only Theatrical Paper in World Solely Covering Open Air Entertainment • ■. • ■ *■ 1 /I■ r Jl .-/^■■'■yJ- . ■" '■■ i VARIETY WILL CONTROL SKY WRITING AT NIGHT Sky writing by nornplane aftor aark will be tried tonight (Thurs- <lay) for the first time. A machine piloted by Capt. E. C. Hoarno will ■Pread illuminated letters over Boyle's Thirty Acres. .Tcrscy City. during the I.uis Firpo-Jess Willard fight. The aviator has entered into a contract with a cigarot manufac- turer for tho acri.Tl disi)Iay. a now P»^ceas having been discovered jvhereby the smoke lettering u.scd for several months during the <i;«y can be illuminaled for night work. St. John, N. B, July 11. The Rev. Oscar Brown, an evan- gelist, who promised to reform bad carnivals, started on his mission here. As his first objective he se- lected the Great Manhattan Shows, a nice little carnival with 10 con- cessions under canvas, six of them "cooch" shows and among the six an Hawaiian Village. That Hawaiian Village sounded naughty to the clergyman and he was not disappointed. Within were four lallapalosas In straw skirts and an inside education gained from running Boston ragged. Dr. Brown remonstrated with the girls from the audience, turning It into a ser- mon, but gave It up when one of the ladies remarked, "Why doesn't someone take that stew out?" It'seemed to be a cue for the male staff. Waiving a formal invitation to leave they hustled the minister through the exit and to make It speedy helped him along with a few kicks. That gave the Rev. Brown an idea of what to expect when reforming. He sought the manager of the car- niv(>!, who started to talk back, whereupon the man of the cloth smacked that manager right on the nose. As the evancjelist hit the manaper the man.iger hit the f^^round, giving tho reformer an even break on the day and full possession of the lot. With the reform fever running in high the clergyman went back for the -oughnccks of the Hawaiian Vil- lage, but they wouldn't let him in nor could he secure nili. ; '-n Into any of the other tt.ri .''how.'?. With the ban on, Dr. Drown tf>m- porarily retired. tU l.i now looking for another bad carnival nnd says in the ab.sence of it, h? will follow tho Great Manhattan Shows with a punch packed for every tent until tho girls witli or wifl out straw dress up and stop their couching. This week's issue of the "Clipper" marks its final as a general the- atrical paper. With Its next issue the "Clipper" will be under new di- rection and published as an outdoor amusement weekly. It will come out on Saturday hereafter. In accordance with the announce- ment published on this page, the "Clipper," the oldest theatrical pa- per in America, will pass to the control of the same Interests pub- lishing Variety, the youngest. Under Its new policy the "Clip- per" will be the only paper In the world solely devoted to the outdoor amusement business. Under that policy it will cover all open air entertainment. For over 70 years the 't^Ilpper" has been a sporting and theatrical authority. Founded by Frank Queen. It had the field to itself for many years. Its name in the outdoor amusement field remained unsullied when the "Clipper" took on general theatricals, in which division it has remained up to the present time. The other theatrical paper with (Continued on page 44) COLORED ''CHAUVESOURIS" A colored "Chauvc Souris" is be- ing promoted for a fall Broadway try by Winfield F. Kelley. The man- ager has among the available ar- tists Charles S. Gilpin, last in "Em- peror Jones," Will Marion Cook, Clef Club orchestra. Abbic Mitchell, Tom Fletcher and William II. Har- rison .and other representative col- ored artists. The same idea as the "Cliauvo Souris" is planned iru-Iudirii; a col- ored Balieff for the announcing. J.IQUOR AS BEQUESX. I,OS An^^'.'los, July 11 r.illie Uh:»dea is n«htiM^' the U. S. authorities and the Probate Court in an effort to secure posses.si<in of sev- eral Ihous.and dollars' worth of liquor left her by the late VViiliam I'arsons, the film comedian, whom she married a short tune b-jfore Inn Uciith. FREEPORT, L L, MERCHANTS GOUGING TOWN^ PR0FESSI0NAI2 Grocers, Butchers and Merchants Charged Carrying Two Sets of Pricet—One for Other for Actors V 1 MORE BIG SPECIALS FOR ROAD SHOW TRIPS Fairbanks', Chaplin's and Grif- fith's Reported—Chaplin Directed Only Two big special features that are being lined up as road show attrac- tions for the coming season are the new Douglas Fairbanks picture, "The Pirate of Bagdad," and the new Charles Chaplin-directed pro- duction, entitled "Public Opinion." The latter Is said to be in 10 reels and the comedian does not appear in the picture, onty having di- rected it. ; . D. W. Griffith is also counted on to deliver a big film spectacle dur- ing the coming season for the road show circuit. Immediately after fin- ishing with the United Artists. He is believed to be planning a super feature that Is to deal with an Im- portant pha.se In American history, but the period, nature and title ajre being kept secret at present PLENTY OF EXTRAS 4,100 of Them on Sams Hollywood Lot Metro studios making "Long Mary Rinehart Los Angeles, July 11. L. A. Program pictures seem more the voguo now than ever. At the Jackie Coogan Is Live the King," a story, and on the same lot Bex Ingram is in the midst of ".Scaramoucho," a Frencli revolu- tionary film. Ingram is using 2,600 extras, whil» Coogan has a crowd of 1.500 extras around, wh.ich goes to show that cos- tume productions are growing very popular. Doug ra!rhf»nkfl is to start work Tij*? Thf-f of Bagdad" mr *<hortly, anil is advertising for 2,000 extras. For the past month there has been a shortage in extra picture actors At the La.sky .studios Cecil De Mitle is making "The Ton Cora- mahdmonts," and on various occa- sions was forced to beg extras, a thin^ which Is unuduai in fllmdom. Freeport. Long Island, a town that owes its present growth to the actors who settled there for perma- nent homes with their families, Is accused by the resident-profession- als as extorting and disorlminatins through its grocers, butcherp and merchants, against the actors and in favor of the natives. Freeport tradespeople hare two sets of prIcM. it is charged. One is for tho locals, the lay peopls and the other "for the actors." "The actors" as an expression is said to be often employed by the lays of Freeport in speaking of their more liberal neighbors. The actors say the difference In the two-price scales operates around 40 per cent, as the average In the overcharge to the famlliea of pro- fessionals, while they allege to havs positive evidence where the trades- men of the town have charged them as much as 60 per cent, more than has been charged to the laymen- families. The extortion, it Is claimed. In charge accounts or on credit for merchandise, has reached 100 per cent In a defensive movement some of the show people of late have been reported discussing the feasibility of promoting an "actors' store" in Freeport. It is to be accomplished according to tho plan outlined by (Continued on page 39) NEW POLICY Yiddish Vaudeville snd American Pictures Kessler's theatre, on Second ave- nue. In New Tork's lower Rast Side, has a unique policy of Yiddish vaudeville and American films. It is probably the only Yiddish vaudeville theatre In the United States. The policy obtains for the summer months, with the acts having mtire or less permanent runs for several weeks, changing their speciaJtles weekly. Among the artists are Tanla Po- land, Yetta Kramer, Ludwig Sa's, Louis Kremer, Louis Wolf and Ilosa Wallerstein. A 65-cent top is charged. COSTUMES Who will mal<e your next ones? Those who have bought from us ■■:''-■ say— . -r BROOKS-MAHIEU 1137 Il'vray Ti^I. 6SI0 Pann. N. V. City 7 ,.i» 11,000 Costumes for Rental....^