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RICHARD ABEL
77 See, for instance, the Orpheum ad, Canton News-Democrat (19 November 1911), p. 16, p. 17.
78 See, for instance, the Colonial ads, Des Moines News (30 April 1912), p. 7, and (14 May 1912), p.
2.
79 See the Elite ads, Des Moines News (6 August 1911), p. 6, (3 September 1911), p. 6, and (10
September 1911), p. 6.
80 See the Elite ad, Des Moines News (24 September 1911), p. 6.
81 Laemmle Film Service, which would become part of Universal in late spring 1912, had a branch
in Des Moines by 1911; see the Sales ad, Moving Picture World (5 August 1911), p. 260. Mutual
opened its branch office a year later-see the Mutual ad, Moving Picture World (17 August 1912),
p. 611.
82 See, for instance, the Palace ad for Universal’s The Massacre of the Sante Fe Trail, Cedar Rapids
Republican (5 October 1912), p. 3; and the Columbia ads for Gaumont’s The Land of Lions,
Cedar Rapids Republican (31 October 1912), p. 3, and (3 November 1912), p. 3.
83 Again, one of the features consistently advertised was Pathé’s Weekly-see the Princess ads,
Cedar Rapids Republican (30 October 1912), p. 3, and (20 November 1912), p. 3.
84 See, for instance, “‘Spectator’s’ Comments,” New York Dramatic Mirror (31 January 1912), p. 51.
For a thorough overview of the initial introduction of American two- and three-reel films, especially
in terms of production and distribution, and from the standpoint of the trade press, see
Bowser, op. cit., pp. 191-204.
85 See, for instance, the Cameraphone, Avenue, and Tabor ads, Cleveland Leader (7 January 1912),
Section B, p. 7; and the Mall ad (24 March 1912), Section S, p. 6.
86 Each Sunday “The Week in Moving Pictures” column in the Youngstown Vindicator described
and remarked on from one to four new films each day shown at the Dome, Palace, and
Orpheum; occasionally each theater would mention its change of films daily.
87 See, for instance, the Unique ad, Des Moines News (18 January 1912), p. 8; the Elite ad, Des
Moines News (28 January 1912), p. 6; and the Casino ad, Des Moines Register and Leader (4
December 1912), p. 4.
88 See “Photo Plays,” Des Moines News (31 January 1912), p. 8; the Family ads, Des Moines News
(19 April 1912), p. 14, and (21 April 1912), p. 6; and the Star ad, Des Moines Register and Leader
(21 April 1912), p. 5.
89 See “Photo Plays,” Des Moines News (18 February 1912), p. 6.
90 The Cozy listed its “Vitagraph night” in “At Leading Theaters,” Cleveland Leader (14 January
1912), Section S, p. 5. The Orpheum began advertising its Essanay westerns every Sunday in the
Cleveland Leader (10 November 1912), Section B, p. 5.
91 See “‘Spectator’s’ Comments,” New York Dramatic Mirror (8 November 1911), p. 26. The argument
that many theaters had only one projector (which mandated a break, an illustrated song,
or a vaudeville act between reels) seems far from tenable. In Youngstown, for instance, in late
1911, the Dome was using three projectors; the Orpheum, Palace, and Bijou all used two; see
Wheeler, op. cit., p. 650. At the same time in Canton, the Odeon boasted of its two Edison projectors-see
the Odeon ad, Canton News-Democrat (29 October 1911), p. 10. Information on the
number of projectors used in theaters in Cleveland is more difficult to come by, but if the small
downtown Crescent (300 seats), with its two projectors, is any indication, a two-projector system
must have been relatively standard in commercial district theaters by 1911; see C. F.
Morris, “A Cleveland Fireproof Theater,” Nickelodeon (15 April 1910), pp. 197-198. In Des
Moines, the Casino used at least two “Powers machines”-see the Casino ad, Des Moines
Register and Leader (4 December 1912), p. 4. Although never mentioned, the Colonial probably
used two projectors because it consistently stressed its “continuous” programs and, in
early 1911, could afford to install the only “Plate Glass Mirror Screen outside of New York and
Chicago”; see the Colonial ad, Des Moines News (17 January 1911), p. 3. Notably, however, the
Family Theater did not add a second projector until the summer of 1913; “Family Reopens,”
Des Moines Register and Leader (24 July 1913), p. 3.
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A MARRIAGE OF EPHEMERAL DISCOURSES: NEWSPAPERS AND MOVING PICTURES
92 See the Dome ads, Youngstown Vindicator (10 December 1911), p. 21, and (7 January 1912), p.
16; the Princess ad, Youngstown Vindicator (31 March 1912), p. 20; and the Orpheum ads,
Youngstown Vindicator (12 May 1912), p. 18, and (19 May 1912), p. 21.
93 See the Park ads, Youngstown Vindicator, from 5 November 1911, p. 17, to 31 March 1912, p.
20.
94 Just prior to the film’s release, the Leader also printed a special photo-story on Mabel
Taliaferro who starred in Cinderella-see “Famous Actress in Film,” Cleveland Leader (17
December 1911), Section S, p. 7.
95 Feature & Educational Film ads promoted Zigomar in the Cleveland Leader from January 14
to February 4. The company also may have paid for the photo-story on this “great detective
film” appearing in the Cleveland Leader (4 February 1912), Section S, p. 6.
96 The company or its distributor, Film Supply, may have paid for the photo-story on 101-Bison’s
The Crisis which, in conjunction with Film d’Art’s Camille (with Sarah Bernhardt) and
Biograph’s The Girl and Her Trust, appeared in the Cleveland Leader (7 April 1912), Section S,
p. 8.
97 See the Colonial ads, Des Moines News (3 January 1912), p. 5, and (11 January 1912), p. 6.
98 See the Family ads, Des Moines News (21 April 1912), p. 6, and (5 May 1912), p. 6.
99 See, for instance, the Dome Theatre ad, Youngstown Vindicator (23 February 1913), p. 17.
100 See, for instance, the Princess ads, Youngstown Vindicator (16 February 1913), p. 18 (16 March
1913), p. 21.
101 See the Cameraphone ad, Cleveland Leader (5 May 1912), Section W, p. 8; and the Broadway
ad, Cleveland Leader (15 September 1912), Section W, p. 7. In June, The Coming of Columbus
not only played at two theaters in Canton but was promoted with a full-page article on the
film’s production and story-see the Odeon ad, Canton News-Democrat (2 June 1912), p. 16; the
Orpheum ad, Canton News-Democrat (16 June 1912), p. 12; and “Wonderful Moving Pictures,”
Canton News-Democrat (16 June 1912), n. p. The Orpheum even sponsored a contest inviting
school children to write essays on The Coming of Columbus-see the Orpheum ad, Canton
News-Democrat (26 May 1912), p. 14. This promotion may have been designed to counter the
influence of the Italian “Black Hand” gang in Canton, a city which, by the 1920s, would gain
some notoriety as a Mafia stronghold and later be branded the “Little Chicago” of Ohio.
Always known for its “muckraking” tendencies, the News would win a 1927 Pulitzer Prize
“for [editor] D. R. Mellet’s campaign against the city’s underworld that cost him his life;” A.
McClung Lee, The Daily Newspaper in America: The Evolution of a Social Instrument (New
York: Macmillan, 1937), p. 646.
102 See the Norwood ad, Cleveland Leader (17 November 1912), Section B, p. 5. Appearing with
The Auto Bandits of Paris was another Éclair crime thriller, The Mystery of the Notre Dame
Bridge (three reels).
103 See “Genuine African Jungle,” Cleveland Leader (10 November 1912), Section B, p. 5; the
Delmar ad, Cleveland Leader (17 November 1912), Section B, p. 5; the Penn Square ad,
Cleveland Leader (1 December 1912), Section B, p. 5; and “Coming Events at Local Theaters,”
Cleveland Leader (8 December 1912), Section B, p. 7.
104 See “The Movies,” Des Moines News (16 March 1913), p. 6.
105 See the Colonial ad, Des Moines News (20 March 1913), p. 8.
106 See the Unique ads, Des Moines News (21 January 1913), p. 5 (26 January 1913), p. 6.
107 See the Theatre Royal ad, Des Moines News (2 February 1913), p. 6.
108 See the Family ad, Des Moines News (27 January 1913), p. 6.
109 Queen Elizabeth first played at Powers Theatre in Chicago, in the middle of August-see the
Famous Players ad, Moving Picture World (17 August 1912), p. 679. See the Berchel ad, Des
Moines News (14 September 1912), p. 5.
110 See “Preliminary Peeps at the Peep Shows” and the Colonial ad, Cleveland Leader (27 October
1912), Section M, p. 3, 4.
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