El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-03-07

ing presented at first class theaters
in New York. Smashing the Vice
Trust" holds forth at the Garrick,
where that peerless actor Richard
byaone times. At David Belasco's
Republic we can now see a highly
thrilling film "The Sky Monster" and
the pictures flicker on a sheet
stretched across the sIaSe Where ~ we
recently saw "The w oman, The
Governors Lady and other BelascO
productions. The New York theater,
where Ziegfeld used to present his
Musketeers" done in films. At the
years ago 'Fhe Quaker Girl" was
housed for a long run, we have
highly. exciting and so called 'eG .!l2Ia-
tionaW motion picture feature The
Drug Terror"
flickers on a sheet in Carnegie hall,
while Fire and Sword a sensational
film, with the aid of a fife and drum
corps is doing nightly duty at the
old Harlem opera mousse when mas
succumbed after several successful
seasons Of stock. The Criterion thea
ter, where Robert Hilliard made ms
long run last year in 1.-THE Argyle
Case" is now the Vitigraph theater'
having been purchased by the motion
and is now devoted to feature Vita
graDh films At WeDer's theater,
fi?m called THE GamesteTs" is draw
ing large crowds, and at Days ana
the old Herald Square, where many
famous players have trOd the boards,
the ordinary programs Of four or five
pictures are presented from noon until
almost midnight. The Union Square
theater, one of the old landmarks on
Fourteenth street, which has been de-
voted to vaudeville for several sea-
sons. is now a movie" house
This list does not include about 100
T0~r Tod era o.
bill of small time vaudeville and NOV
ing pictures and more than so hole In
the wall regenerated store rooms
where one may see program OF
LiG 8Eccordi I'm when one Of the big
theatrical magnates dropped a casual
remark that the moving pictures we're
not making inrOads on his business, I
for one. concealed a sleKly sniIe anu
hoped that on the day Of judgment,
that little white lie would not be held
against him.
Are Hurting Theatrical BHsiReEa-
The films are hurting TIE theatrical
business they are taking money away
from the regular managers and any
manager who makes a statement to
The contrary is merely talking to boil
ster up his own courage, like the
small boy who whistles as he comes
home in the dark
There isn't a big manager in New
York who will turn down a chance
to get in" on good moving picture
proposition and several of them are
already interested in feature films
Charles FrOmau is the controlling spirit
in the Famous Film company, which
recently produced The Pride Of Jen-
nico" in the movies with remarkable
success.
Now as to the reason why the pic
lures draw such crowds while the Iegi-
innate actors very often play to empty
seats. In this age of the high cost of
living, seats at a theater, which surely
must be reckoned as a luxury, are al
most prohibitOTy in price to the man
of average means, It is impossible
to get two seats for a first class pro
duction for any amount less than IS
while in most cases they will cost 81
Any of the feature films referred to
at the beginning Of this article can be
viewed for prices ranging from so
cents downward, and for most Of them
the highest price is 25 cents The con-
clusiOn drawn from these facts is per
fectly simple. People will go to the
movies because they can obtain an
evenings entertainment at about one
eighth the price they would paw at
the regular theateI.
The managers cry that they cannot
reduce the price of seats owing to the
tremendous expenditures involved in
making first class production Huge