White Pine news weekly mining review. [volume] (East Ely, Nev.) 1910-1920, 1914-08-16
MILLION DOLLAR MYSTERY"

Representatives of all the import
ant daily newspapers in New York.
as we'll as of the several motion pic
ture trade papers. to the number of
almost two score. crowded into the
little projection room at the Mutual
Film Corporations offices at Sixth
avenue and Twenty-third street,
Tuesday afternoon. June %. to see
some of the early releases in the
tremendous new serial. "A Million
Dollar Mystery which has been
made by the Thanhouser company
and marketed by the specially form
ed Syndicate Film Corporation in CO.
operation with the Mutual.
The verdict seemed to be. Guilty
as stated in the Indictment and
the Indictment. as represented by the
Thanhouser company's extraordinary
advance advertising campaign. was
that The Million Dollar Mystery
was the bigsest and best serial ever
attempted and a set OF motion pic
lures that would establish a racord
Tor this class of productions
The Million Dollar Mystery the
great production evolved through
months Of patient work by the Than
houser PLAYERS. is % be offered in
t%wenty-six episodes. each episode
comprising two reels for release
weekly on successive Thursdays The
scenario IS by LLOYD F. Lonergan
rom a story by Harold McGrath. To
Howell Hansel was assigned the big
task Of directing the production.
In a number of respects. THE
Million Dollar Mystery" project is a
particularly notable one in the mo-
ton picture industry. 1t has been
handled In an unusually big way and
is a gamble the success or failure
OF which will be followed with keen
interest in the trade.
To begin with, McGrath and Lon
ergan are said to have drawn down
a record price for the story and see
mario. Then the pick of the Than
houser players. including the highest
salaried people or the payroll, were
cast in the action and the matter of
expense was not considered in the
making of the production. And, IL
nally, a publicity scheme with a $1O,-
600 prize offer broad enough TO en-
brace every section of the universe
in which motion pictures are shown
and enjoyed. and expensive enough
to dwarf anything which had beer
attempted before. was devised.
The $4,000 prize is offered for
the best 100-word solution to the
mystery which the serial will develop
as it progresses. The advertising
campaign has been placed in the
hands of a national advertising agen-
cy in Chicago which is working in
conjunction with the Mutual Film
Corporations highly effective publ
city department. Page advertisements
in a number of the leading daily
newspapers and big painted signs
have been used to herald to the New
York public the coming of the fea-
ture and this expensive advertising
is to be supplemented with a national
campaign intended to make the serial
as big a puller in the smallest town
IS II Is in the largest city. A quarter
of a million dollars Is the estimate
placed on the advertising which was
| done for the serial before the release
of the first episode.
Eight reels of the total of fifty
two. comprising four episodes. were
shown at the recent private exhibit
ton. For these II can be said that
they will not disappoint ever those
who have read every line of advance
publicity printed about the serial and
by it, have been led to expect some
thing far beyond the ordinary. "The
Million Dollar Mystery as a title.
and the mention of a $4,000 prize
for the solution of the mystery, gives
the proposition a wealthy" start and
1t strikes n as particularly fitting