Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-09-10
Motion Picture
Trade in Brazil

Moving picture show houses, or
cinematographs. as they are known
here, constitute the most popular
form of indoor public diversion in Rio
de Janeiro, and the successful main
tenance of at least five large
theatres in the downtown dis
trict of this city, with about
thirty other show houses scat
tered throughout the city, is evidence
that they are well patronized, says
Consul General julius G. Lay, Rio de
Janeiro.
The Companhia Cinematographica
Brasileira, Largo do Carioca, 10, con-
i trolls some of the most important
show houses in Rio de Janeiro and in
many other cities in Brazil. It has
four houses in this city--the Pathe,
with a seating capacity of 600; Odeon,
with 500 chairs; Avenida, with 400,
and the Pare F'luminense, with 1000.
In the city of Belo Horizonto, State
of Minas Geraes, there are three first
class show houses one of which, the
Cinoma Commerce., with a capacity
of 400, is owned by this company; it
also controls the largest show house
in Juiz de Fora, State of Minas
Geraes, with a capacity of 1000, as
well as others In other cities In and
beyond this consular district.
Another large distributor of films
is j. r. Staffa, Avenida Rio Branco,
.179, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, who, be-
sides owning and operating the Pari
sienne, with a capacity of 500, sup
piles films for about 100 other show
houses throughout Brazil.
Gustavo Jose de Mattos is now
remodeling several large stores and
WILL in the course of a month open
the Cine Palais, at Avenida Rio
Branco, 147, Rio de Janeiro.
Besides the aforementioned firms,
Blub q Cisteine, Rua S. Jose, Rio de
Janeiro, buy and rent films, and Bas-
tos Dias & Co., Rua Goncalves Dias,
import and handle motion picture
machines.
There are six to eight exhibitions
per day in each show house, COM
mencing at 1:S0 D. m. and ending at
about 1920 p. m, the average show
running about 1000 meters (meter-
1928 feeD of films, usually including
two or three separate subjects, ex-
cept on certain occasions, when spe- |
cial extremely long historic or dra-
matte films are exhibited. Programs
are changed Mondays and Thursdays |
in Rio de Janeiro, but In the smaller |
towns every other day.
All moving-picture show-house ma |
chimes are operated by electricity, |
furnished.
The public is very particular about |
the class and quality of the films |
produced, and 1t Is readily perceiv-
able to any person who has visited |
the moving picture show houses here |
that only the very best films are used.
Love, intrigue, drama, spectacular
and tragic films, in the order named,
seemed to have the largest demand. |
Comic, scenic and war pictures are
also shown, and historical pictures
when well executed are we'll patro-
nized. Recent exhibitions of the life |
of Napoleon, the fall of Rome, and
similar films were we'll received Up
to recently cowboys and Western pic
lures were popular, but the public
seems to have become tired of them.
Industrial and educational pictures
are not much in demand, and films of |
Indian warfare and those involving
the negro question will not be put on
by the managers.
The reading matter should in every
instance be in Portuguese, the Ian
guage of Brazil.
The following are the most popular |
makes of films in Rio de Janeiro at |
present: Gaumont, French; Pathe, |
French; Cines, Italian; Nordisk,
Danish; Messter, German, and Vita |
graph, American.
American films have been shown !!
here in the past, and importers state !
that they have been given a fair trial, |
but the trade in American films has |
dropped considerably In the last few
years because the price is higher |
than European films illustrating the |
same class of subjects, and the man
ner of presenting the plots and stu
ations with plenty of intrigue in the
European films appeals more strongly
to the public here.