The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1916-08-31
History Of MoUing Pictures in
keokuk During the Last Decade
Of Theatre Films of Interest in This
NeuDe ar-Irea Pictures ShoWn
Pubic, and Some keokuk Players

r-anty years ago Keokuk people
Sd seeing their first moving pic
eleven years ago the first
LIRE at which moving pictures
shown was established here;
~ On Years ago was began the first
e.,nsiye showing OF pictures apart
sm vaudeville. for which the films
IA az chasers.
came sixteen years ago Keokukians
= gazing on the wonders Of 1.-THE
ssst Train Robbery" a super-mas-
sander film OF those days. a fea-
~ nicture 700 feet in length among
. xoot reels; today blase theatre
pas have their Birth OF q Nation. !"
which 100000 feet OF film was
.sen and which boiled down to 12.-
SIXTEEN years ago the moving pic
ma was a novelty, a circus feature.
1' minstrel attraction, for which no
.utnre was predicted; today it is a
.raat Industry with business houses
4 avery city and town in the United
States
~ film and the film business through
81 nf its stages. When theatre
~ established here eleven years
- II was looked upon as novelty,
ssrdty A legitimate business, thing
. e the street fair and circus type; to-
law II is a dignified and stationary
Enterprise. In eleven years Keokuk
| Ma seen the passing of the nickel
{odeom. the novelty, the curio, housed
n cheap, shoddy, unattractive
|iheatre. with its poor music, its poor
EErhting. its poor films, poor accom-
modatjons and wasteful competition,
an which four and five theatres were
stmggling on seas p6 sheer uncer-
tainty. and in its place has risen
fever and better theatres showing
fewer and better films, in attractive
surroundings, theatres that serve all
classes Of city and draw patronage
It as high as $3.50 where formerly
nickel was the limit.
First keokuk Theatre.
Reeves and Dodge established the
Grst theatre here where pictures
we're shown for any length of time.
EEeven years ago this firm opened
theatre in what is now the east half
/ Of the State Central Savings bank
building. This was primarily a vau-
deyille theatre, but the acts were
chased" with motion pictures. This
theatre remained in operation for
two years. During these two years
and even before. other picture thea
tres were opened here but none of
them lasted over week or ten days.
Before this, Keokllk had seen oc-
casional films. Almost every circus
at that time carried motion picture
tents and occasionally a building
would be rented by some travelling
Exhibitor for an engagement of a day
Or two, but in the Reeves and Dodge
theatre, Keokuk people received their
first regular Introduction to the
Pickering celluloid.
As far back as twenty-one years
ago films we're being made. For the
most part they were 80 feet in length,
but there we're some features" among
them. The first well known film was
The Great Train Robbery" produced
by Edison, in which Broncho Billy
Anderson, afterwards one of the
founders of Essanay, appeared for
the first time. A fortune must have
been reaped from this picture. 1t
was shown here at least dozen
times and never failed to draw the
crowds.
Only 700 Feet Long.
And 1t was only TOO feet in length,
not quite equal to present day one
reeler. 1t was one OF the first films,
however. that told any connected
story, and this combined with the
thrills packed away in its modest roo
ieet. made it film that never failed
TO please. Another old timer of
decade and half ago was Edison's
Uncle Toms Cabin" 1000 feet long
and considered the birth of a Ma
ton of it's day.
=. II. Dodge showed these pictures
m the road several years before he
Established permanent theatre in
aeokuk. This local exhibitor started
wenty-one years ago in the film
Long before he settled
lere, he toured the country with his
audeville show, in which the then
lew novelty, pictures, had part.
reeves and Dodge remained next
Q the bank building for two years,
rom 1905 to 1907 Tho FILM com