The Sunday telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1914-1927, 1915-03-21
In Connection with the Regular
Theatrical Productions in
the Near Future.
MAMMOTH PIPE ORGAN
Costing 5000 Will Be In
stalled and Many Other
Changes to Be Made.

Arrangements have just been per-
fected whereby the Robinson Grand
theater will. in connection with reg
ular theatrical productions, present
the best picture plays obtainable. The
exact date that the theater will COM
1nence showing pictures is not an
nounced, but will be as soon as a
mammoth pipe organ can be installed
and a few other changes made IN the
house.
Some ten or twelve years ago, when
picture houses came into existence,
it was the hardest sort of work TO
convince show men, men who had
spent the greater part Of their exist
enceS catering to the ~hims Of amuse-
ment seekers. that the public would
accept a story in pictures, and enjoy
it very nearly as much as regular
play Those that went into the bust
ness OF making picture films first,
got the real money out of it; take
for example, G. NJ. Anderson, known
to picture lovers as ''Broncho Billy
No less than twelve years ago, this
same Anderson was an actor whose
weekly stipend was not over $50; now
look at him Besides owning one of
the prettiest Of theaters on the Pa
cific coast his fortune runs into the
thousands.
A great many Of the film producers
have shared the same fortune as that
of Anderson, their far sightedness
having put them into a practically
alnheard Of business and before one
could scarcely realize it, they emergeu
with fortunes. 1t remained for the
owner Of the picture house to share
the real money out of the film bust
ness, in those days one who had an
empty store and good location be-
came manager over night. His
store was cleaned of everything, he
secured few hundred chairs "a pic
ture screen, machine, and made ar
engagements for some picture ser.
vice Then he was ready for business.
At the outset, he was laughed at.
never taken seriously, and those that
thought they knew, remarked, They
will catch on to him in the near fu-
ture. The public will not stand for
that sort of entertainment long, even
liz The price is but nickel Well.
what was the result, the very people.
who scoffed are the ones that have
entered into the same business today
on a much larger scale. Theatrical
managers such as Klaw & Erlanger,
the Shuberts, William A. Brady, Lleb-
Ter & Company. Henry W. Savage.
both Of the Frohmans. Belasco, IN
fact, every great producer, is actively
interested in the uplift OF the film.
Many OF the great plays that these
producers have made in recent years
on dollar and a half scale have been
turned over into screen productions
In years gone by as soon as one
OF these Broadway hits had outlived
IFS usefulness at a dollar and a half,
there was always some manager who
was more than willing to try it out
on the popular price circuit, where.
as a rule, another small fortune was
made. But now. as soon as a
manager has made success Of a.
play; his one big thought is. This
will be great in pictures. 1t seems
that the public insists OH pictures. be-
cause there is SO much told in short
Ispace OF time without tiresome dis
A1ogue.
From the dingy little store room
that seemed to be good enough for
those who wished to patronize this
sort OF entertainments years age, there
arose hundreds Of. houses throu ghout
the country that We're built at a mod
crate cost to house these picture pro
auctions. And as the houses became
better, the picture stories seemed to
advance at the same time, more peo-
pie were employed, larger produc-
CONTINUED on page 5. second section.)