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Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 844 – McVicker’s Vaudeville Theatre, 1913

In 1913, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Started a lot of work for McVicker’s Theatre – that was in June. I did all the exterior drops.”

The venue had changed hands again, and Moses created a set of scenery for the new lessees of the new “McVicker’s Vaudeville Theatre.” The well-known Chicago establishment had just become a combination house. McVicker’s Theater, located on West Madison Street, near State, was once considered the oldest playhouse in Chicago.

From the “Chicago Tribune,” 27 Aug 1913, page 8.

On May 10, 1913, “The Lancaster Intelligencer” reported,

“OLD THEATRE IN FILM RANKS

Chicago’s Fire-Baptized McVickers Sold for $500,000.

McVicker’s Theatre, Chicago’s historic playhouse, which has passed through five fires, including the great fire of 1871, and which has been rebuilt or remodeled after each fire, passed from the ‘legitimate’ on Thursday when it was sold to a moving picture firm for $500,000.”

The Jones, Linick & Schaefer circuit began leasing McVicker’s Theatre in 1913, presenting “popularly priced” vaudeville acts along with motion pictures. The ticket prices were 10,15 and 25 cents, an affordable option when compared with legitimate theater and you could stay as long as you wanted from 1p.m. to 11p.m. (Post-Crescent, Appleton, Wisconsin, 9 May 1913, page 7).

From the “Inter Ocean,” 14 Sept 1913, page 32.

The firm’s partners were Aaron J. Jones, Adolph Linick and Peter J. Schaefer, They first established their firm in 1899, leasing Keebler & Co., a store on Clark Street just south of Madison Street, and establishing a penny arcade. As their operation grew, Jones, Linick & Schaefer became primarily interested in entertainment, running amusement parks and theaters. They eventually managed the Orpheum Theatre on State Street, opposite of the Palmer House (Chicago Tribune, 5 Jan. 1913). By 1913, the firm operated eight Chicago theaters.

On April 29, 1913, the “Chicago Tribune” announced, “All arrangements for the acquisition [of McVicker’s and the Colonial] have been made…The Jones, Linick & Schaefer people will open a vaudeville booking agency of their own on Thursday in offices in the Orpheum Theatre building in State street, in preparation for the increased business. They have been booking from the Western Vaudeville Managers’ association” (page 3).

From the “Chicago Tribune,” 1 Aug 1913, page 12.

On May 22, 1913, the “Washington Herald” reported, “Jones, Linick & Schaefer, Chicago’s new theatrical triumvirate, who practically dominate the popular vaudeville and moving picture field in the Windy City, have just signed a contract with the Kinemacolor Company of America to install the original nature-colored features of the vaudeville bills at the Colonial and McVicker’s Theatres, their latest acquisitions…Both are located in the heart of “The Loop,” and their cosmopolitan patronage demands the best and latest novelties. Kinemacolor scored such popular success at the Willard, Wilson, and other theaters of their circuit that Jones, Linick & Schaefer decided to make it a permanent feature of their vaudeville bills. In this they were following the example of F. F. Proctor, William Fix, Oswald Stoll, and other leading showmen of America and England” (page 11).

“Moving Picture World” published an article about Jones, Linick & Schaefer, commenting that moving pictures were replacing all other vaudeville at the Willard Theatre by 1914. The article, “Picture Programs Supplant Vaudeville in the Willard” noted, “Vaudeville has been withdrawn from another of the Jones, Linick & Schaefer houses – the Willard, at Fifty-first street and Calumet avenue. The Willard was closed Sunday night, Jan. 18 to make the necessary changes for straight picture programs. A $10,000 organ will be installed. It will be reopened Monday, Jan. 26. ‘There is no significance in this change, ‘said Mr. Linick. ‘Our patrons in that neighborhood prefer moving pictures to vaudeville, and we’re trying to give then what they want. The price will be ten cents, as against the ten-twenty-thirty we charged for vaudeville. Our downtown houses, the Orpheum, La Salle, Colonial and McVickers will go along just as they have been” (Sat. January 14, 1914, page 551).

Moses would also deliver scenery to the Colonial Theatre, also managed by Jones, Linick and Schaefer. In 1913, Moses wrote, “ “A good, big contract for the Colonial, city– a very complete set.” The addition of “city” means that it was a complete city setting for the theater, a perfect setting for many vaudeville acts.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 823 – Kinemacolor Theaters

Yesterday, I mentioned the two reels of famous “Kinemacolor pictures” that were part of the new Empress Theatre’s vaudeville program in 1913. When movies were first introduced, they appeared as an act, one of many on the vaudeville stage. However, a shift occurs in the theatre industry, slowly nudging moving pictures to the forefront of popular entertainment on stage. This had a major affect on the construction of other entertainment venues, subsequently decreasing the demand for painted scenery. In a sense, the appearance of Kinemacolor Theaters albeit short lived signally the beginning to the end for Sosman & Landis and other firms founded on the production of painted illusion. I am going to explore the construction of Kinemacolor theaters today.

Kinemacolor was advertised as “the perfection of animated photography.” It is noted as the most successful of the so called “natural color processes” in early cinema, using an additive process operated with alternating red and green filters that were applied to the shutter in front of the camera and in front of the projector. Popularized by George Albert Smith and Charles Urban. Kinemacolor flourished in theaters during the decade before WWI. The principle of recording color separations with revolving shutter filters was not invented by Urban. German Hermann Isensee is credited as one of the individuals who first experimented with the process during the 1890s. By 1899, Frederick Marshall Lee and Edward Raymond Turner patented an early version of the system.

In short, the three-color records (wheels) used by Lee and Edward proved to be impractical, and yet the earlier two-color system failed to produce the entire color spectrum; blue to violet hues and whites had a yellowing tinge. It was Smith who proposed adding blue-violet filters to the projection light for a more satisfying result. As I was reading about the various filters, it was hard not to think of the red/green/white border lights that were installed in some Scottish Rite theaters during this same time period (see past posts, as I have addressed the lighting approach).

The popularity of the short films resulted in the construction of Kinemacolor theaters. On Oct. 9, 1911, the “Courier-News” reported the Historic Mendelssohn Hall was leased to the Kinemacolor Company of America as a permanent home for the colored motion pictures in New York and renamed the Kinemacolor Theatre (Bridgewater, NJ, page 3). The article noted, “Kinemacolor Theatre will be unique, and to New York what the Scala Theatre, with a similar exhibition, is to London. Abroad Kinemacolor has become the rage of Royalty, and on average of once a fortnight their majesties King George and Queen Mary visit the Scala, and as well have a private exhibition set for the children of the Royal family. For the first time in New York the complete series of Coronation pictures will be present for a limited engagement at the Kinemacolor Theatre, which opens its doors on Saturday evening.”

From “The Observer,”14 March 1915, page 7

From the “Boston Daily Globe,” 23 March 1915, page 45

That same year, a Kinemacolor theater also on the west coast of the United States. Tally’s Broadway was in Los Angeles soon featured the new color films and was briefly renamed the Kinemacolor Theatre.

The Island Amusement Company in 1913 constructed another Kinemacolor Theatre in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. On February 20, 1912, the “Vancouver Sun” reported “As its name implies the Kinemacolor theatre will feature the famous colored motion pictures prepared under the Kinemacolor system, but it will also present a musical programme including an orchestra of nine pieces under the direction of Mr. Joseph Kos and noted soloists brought here at considerable expense and changed twice weekly. Each day’s performance will be continuous from 12 noon to 11 o’clock at night. There will be seven numbers in the night bill occupying upwards of an hour and a quarter for consecutive presentation. The night charges will be 25 cents to the lower floor and 15 cents to the balcony, while for the benefit of children and their parents the charge of all parts of the house form noon to 6 p.m. will be only 10 cents” (page 7).

From “The Province,” 3 March 1913, page 5

By the summer of 1913, newspaper headlines boasted, “Kinemacolor Breaks Film Speed Record.” The “News-Herald” of Franklin, Pennsylvania, reported “The Kinemacolor broke all records for quick motion picture reporting the day the Impersonator docked by exhibiting the pictures a little over six hours after arrival. It is the first time that natural color photographs have been taken, developed, printed and exhibited with such speed and satisfactory results” (28 June 1913, page 7). Film footage taken at noon was shown in the Kinemacolor exhibition theatre by 6 p.m. that evening. All seemed to be on the upswing, but the demand for new films outpaced those who produced and processed them. At the time, the model was unsustainable to deliver new subjects to the Kinemacolor Theaters. The novelty wore off.

From “The Vancouver Daily World,” 22 March 1913, page 28

On October 21, 1913, the “Victoria Daily Times” reported “Kinemacolor Closed Up. Victoria’s Newest Theatre Proved Unprofitable Venture and Policy Will Be Changed” (21 Oct, 1913, page 17). The article continued, “The colored pictures never proved a great attraction in any part of Canada and the company behind the films has been reported in difficulties in some months past.” By 1915, the venue reopened at the Colonial Theatre.

Widescreenmuseum.com explains one of the flaws to Kinemacolor (http://www.widescreenmuseum.com/oldcolor/kinemaco.htm), “Like all sequential color processes, Kinemacolor suffered from color fringing when objects moved, since the two color records were not recorded at the same time. In projection, a filter wheel, similar to that in the camera, added the red and green tints to the successive frames. Many color processes used this approach and all suffered from fringing on moving objects, dark images, and untold grief if the film was not loaded in the projector in appropriate sync with the color wheel. None of the two-color processes could reproduce blue or pure white, but various tricks were used to fool the eye into thinking it was seeing a neutral white…Kinemacolor was quite successful in Europe and promised to grow and improve. However, two events ultimately killed the company. First, William Friese-Greene sued for patent violation. Friese-Greene claimed to have invented virtually everything relating to motion pictures but he lost his suit through all the lower courts in England. He finally did win when he appealed the lower court decisions to the House of Lords. This didn’t get Friese-Greene anything but it did open up the Kinemacolor technology so that anyone could take advantage of it. The second event was World War I, which nearly destroyed all the European film companies. By the time Europe started to make a comeback Kinemacolor was nearly defunct and Technicolor in Boston, Massachusetts had taken the lead in producing a workable color process.”

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 822 – Empress Theatre, Fort Wayne, 1912

In 1912, Thomas mentioned three projects at Sosman & Landis, writing, “A nice little order from Charlotte, N. Car., Minnie Palmer, two shows, full stock for the Empress Theatre, Fort Wayne.”

Postcard with bird’s eye view of Fort Wayne, ca. 1912.

The Empress Theatre was located at the intersection of Wayne and Clinton streets in Fort Wayne. In addition to an auditorium and stage, the building included gentlemen smoking rooms, ladies rest rooms, and a nursery. Of the Sosman & Landis installation, local newspapers described fire prevention measures.

Postcard depicting Fort Wayne, Indiana, ca. 1912.

On March 8, 1913, the “Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette” reported, “The stage is fitted with the finest scenery that has ever been brought to Fort Wayne. The curtain arrangement is also something new to Fort Wayne. Two asbestos curtains will be used with a water curtain in the center, which makes the matter of a fire upon the stage the next thing to an impossibility. The curtain will be raised and lowered automatically, sliding through a metal groove which also makes it an impossibility for fire, if there should be one to get through the curtain and out into the auditorium.” (page 7).

Previously, “Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette” reported, “In matter of exits, the Empress will boast pf being one of the safest theaters in the middle west. Constructed almost entirely of concrete and steel, it is practically fireproof and being equipped with sixteen exits, open on all four sides, the place can be emptied in less than three minutes” (February 23, 1913page 15). The industry was still reeling from the Iroquois Theatre fire, with new theaters now citing how quickly an auditorium could be evacuated. Fort Wayne residents had also witnessed the Aveline Hotel Fire of 1908, a devastating tragedy for the town. The Empress Theater’s opening drew many men prominent in vaudeville to be in attendance.

Although Sosman & Landis completed the scenery in 1912, the official opening of the Empress Theatre was on March 9, 1913. With a seating capacity of almost 1300, advertisements promised, “every modern convenience known to theatre building.” The theater’s policy was three performances every day, with five hundred “choice seats” being available for ten cents. Matinees started at 2:30 and were followed by two evening shows at 7:30 and 9:00 P.M. Girls were used as ushers for the evening performances and on Sunday. For matinees, patrons were expected to seat themselves.

The opening billing included Lew Field’s “Fun in a Boarding House” as the headliner. The stage setting for the show included the section of a house, six rooms in all. Fields, of the firm Weber & Fields, was engaged to produce “fun” acts exclusively for the Sullivan & Considine theaters nationwide.

Scene from “Fun in a Boarding House,” from the “Fort Wayne Journal Gazette,” 2 March, page 25

In addition to the headliner, there were four other acts and two reels of famous “Kinemacolor pictures” as part of the new vaudeville theater’s program. The Kinemacolor pictures were changed twice weekly – on Sunday when the entire bill was changed – and on Thursday (Fort Wayne Daily News, 10 March 1913, page 8).The May 8, 1913, “Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette” article reported, “Kinemacolor pictures will also be shown, which is something new in the motion picture art in Fort Wayne. The Empress controls the sole right to these pictures in the city, therefore they will be shown at no other place in Fort Wayne. The pictures are educational in a way and also amusing.”

An advertisement in the “Fort-Wayne Journal-Gazette” stated, “The Empress theatre has instituted the new and marvelous Kinemacolor moving picture machine, which reproduces on the screen the same colors and shades that are present when the picture is taken. The colors are true to nature in every respect, and, although the system of mechanism is carried out in a very complicated manner, yet the color scheme is most simple, entirely like the doctored and painted films of the black and white machines. A filter wheel, divided in four parts, two of which are filled with a red filter and the other two parts with green filter, forms the foundation and basis of the new system, The great, yet simple, law of nature , that all colors of the rainbow can be made from three colors – red, yellow, and blue- is taken advantage of, and two colors, yellow and blue are so blended in the filter as to produce the shade of green desired. The film is sensitized so that the darker colors are shows through the green filter and then lighter shades are projected through the red filter, thus making a segregation of colors that are true to nature. The method of producing such a high degree sensitiveness on the film is the same as the other methods of film making ways, only a picture for the Kinemacolor machine must be taken out in pure sunlight, whose rays alone are strong enough to produce the desired sensitiveness on the negative. The red and green filter wheel is placed in front of the negative when the picture is taken and the rays passing through the filter form a color value on the film. Then when the film is put into the machine, a high-powered Arclight throws its strong rays through the filter onto the film and out through the lens, forming a segregation of colors that exactly reproduce the picture. The machine utilizes three times as much candle power as the black and white machines, and, being run by a one-horsepower electric motor shows forty pictures in a second, while the other machines, most of which are run by hand, project and average of sixteen pictures per second. The inventor of the machine is an American, Charles Urban who has resided in England for the past fifteen years. The machine has been in England for the last six years, but only in America for three years. It has been largely accepted by all the large theatres of the east, and its success is due to its value. The machine is merely leased to the companies, and the Empress is the only one in the city at present that will use it “(8 March 1913, page 7).