12 THE MOVING PICTURE NEWS

BIOGRAPH COMPANY AND KLAW & ERLANGER L. R. Thomas, the special organizer, will attend to e,r­ TO COMBINE AND FORM THE PRO­ ganize the State of :i\Iaine in line with the national organ­ ization, which will be represented at the convention in TECTIVE FILM COMPANY July 7th to 12th. The announcement of Klaw & Erlanger some months ago that they were about to embark in the moving pic­ EXPOSITION NOTES ture field has caused endless discussion in and out of the moving picture world of theatricals. Since then a cor­ S. M. Speedon, publicity manager of the Vitagraph Com­ poration has been formed with a paid-up capital of pany of America for a long time, and one of the oldest in $500,000, and the announcement is now made that Klaw point of service and best known publicity men in the mo-. & Erlanger have made an association with the Biograph tion picture business, has been appointed honorary chair­ Company for a long term of years. man of the Publicity Committee of the First Interna­ The is the oldest moving picture tional Exposition of the Motion Picture Art, which will corporation now in the business, having been in existence be held in conjunction with the third annual convention since 1896. It has its studios in between Pros­ of the Motion Picture Exhibitors League of America at pect and Marmion avenues, running from 175th to 176th the Grand Central Palace, July 7th to 12th. Mr. Spedon's streets, occupying twenty-six city lots, and is the biggest post is intended to convey an appreciation of the work he moving picture equipment in America, and probably in has done for the motion picture business in general. the world. Mr. J. J. Kennedy, the president of the Bio­ The Eastman Kodak Company, of Rochester, N. Y., graph Company, is enthusiastic over the association with have closed for the entire block of spaces at the head of the Klaw & Erlanger organization. the main aisle. The service of this organization, which will be called The Gaumont Company are located just, the other side the Protective Film Company, embraces an exclusive serv­ of the aisle. ice of copyrighted plays and, at frequent intervals, large Others who arranged for space during the past week special films. Already nearly four hundred plays have are: been secured for this purpose, and rehearsals for the Hennegan & Co. earlier ones will be begun next week. Over six hundred The Automatic (;ash Register &, Ticket Company. people will be employed in the carrying out of this proj­ The l\Iorgan Litho Company. ect, which will begin releasing its films about October 1st. The Automatic Coin Cashier Company. Mr. Marcus Loew has already entered into arrange­ ments to have all of his theatres, numbering nearly fifty, Every week something is added to General Film Service supplied with this service, and Messrs. Jones, Linick & to make it more attractive to exhibitors. Following close Schaefer Co. of Chicago, and Carl Hoblitzell, manager of on the heels of the announcement of such elaborate multi­ the Texas circuit of moving pictures, have also availed ple reel features as "Mary Stuart," "The Snare of Fate." themselves of the opportunity to get the films of this com­ "The Struggle," "The Tiger Lily" and "Shenandoah," pany. comes the statement that two Pathe weeklies will be sup­ . The moving picture idea is not entirely new to Messrs. plied in every week, on :i\Ionday and Thursday, beginning Klaw & Erlanger, as they became inter ested in the mat­ in the near future. · ter and saw the first moving picture exhibited in this city seventeen years ago in the spring of 1896, when a man named Latham gave an exhibition down in Park Row. Later they entered into arrangements with Messrs. Raff and Gammon, and they still have in their possession a contract made between them, Raff & Gammon, and Thomas A. Edison for an interest which was to have accrued to them upon certain subjects at that time sug­ gested by Klaw & Erlanger. Six stage managers and as many companies are being engaged for the production of the forthcoming pictures, and among the earlier subjects to be placed in rehearsal are "Seven Days," "Thelma," "The Three Guardsmen," "The Round Up," "A Japanese Nightingale," "The Lib­ erty Belles," "The Pink Lady," " After Dark," "Divorcons," "Dr. J ekyl and Mr. Hyde," ":i\Iam-zelle," "The Devil," "Strongheart," "Peer Gynt," "St. Elmo," "The Land of the Midnight Sun," "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm" and the Rogers Brothers' series of comedies, in­ cluding "In Harvard," "In Berlin," "In London," "Ip Paris," "In Central Park" and others. The offices of the new organization will be in the Bronx near the Biograph studios, where the scenario writers, actors and others will congregate, and for this purpose a twenty-room house has been rented. Mr. A. L. Erlanger will be the managing director of the new enterprise, and Mr. Marc Klaw, president.

GREAT NORTHERN FILM COMPANY IN NEW QUARTERS The Great Northern Film Company has moved its of­ fices to the ninth floor of the World's Tower Building, 110- 112 West 40th street. General Manager Oes hesitated to leaves the old quarters in , but with increasing business, space became congested and the uptown loca­ tion was decided upon. When everything is placed per­ manently in position the new offices doubtless will prove among the most attractive in the city.

STATE OF MAINE E XHIBITORS A meeting of exhibitors is called for the State of Maine to be held Monday, June 23d, at the Falmouth Hotel, Port­ THE WORTH OF MAN land, Me. President M. A'. Neff expects to be present, or Ramo Release June 25th.