PONDERS TAFT-HARTLEY WAL

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Verils of Pauline Back at Comef
In New York After 33-Year Span
TIIK V.AI.l'K OF ADVERTISING—(Jrant William Anson, who opened the Comet
Theatre, 100 Third Ave., New York, 3.5 years aRO, went in for advertisinp; in a big wa.v.
This is how the front of the theatre loolied during the early days of the industry. That
w:ls the time when Pearl White serials and boxing films packed them in. The Comet is
still operating, but there are no displays in front of the house. Photo made before
World War I.
From Eastern Edition
NEW YORK—"The Perils of Pauline" is
now back at the Comet Theatre here after
close to 33 years. This time "Perils" is not
a 20-chapter thrill packed serial, but a Paramount
feature with Betty Hutton as Pearl
White, serial queen £jom '14 to the middle '20s.
Mrs. Ruth Anson, operator of the house
recalls the hordes of excited youngsters that
would wait out.slde the Comet to see the
serials. "The theatre was so crowded at
times that the children would sit on the old
upriKht piano and interfere with the pianist,"
she said.
Paramounl's "Perils" was screened for
representatives of the newspaper, magazine
and radio press at the Comet on Tuesday,
June 24. following a liuicheon at the Hotel
Astor. The preview audience was transported
to the theatre in old automobiles and
hansom cabs. A chapter of "The Exploits
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M ^^^'
of Elaine." another serial produced by Paths
Exchange, Inc., and released in 1915, and an
old newsreel al.so was shown.
Pearl White thrilled Comet audiences in
such serials as "The Fatal Ring," 20 installments,
released in 1917: "The Black Secret,"
Pathe, 1919: "The White Moll," Fox Film
Corp., 1920: "The Tiger's Cub," Fox. 1920;
"Plunder," Pathe, 1923.
The Comet has changed very little since
the early days of the industry. It is one of
the oldest theatres in town. It was built in
1860 and was operated for a number of years
as a music hall, the Sans Souci. William
Grant Anson bought the four-story music
hall building 35 years ago.
The house is located at 100 Third Ave., between
12th and 13lh streets. It is south ot
the Gramercy Park residential section and
north of the Bowery. The Third Avenue elevated
trains roar by in front of the theatre.
The house seated only 300 before the owner
Vmrf EVERVTDIN6
.^, ^ FOR TMRIU.$ !
WAHOO
America's Finest Screen Came
HOLLYWOOD AMUSEMENT CO., 831 S. WABASH AVE.. CHICAGO
broke through the rear wall to add 200 seats
and lengthen the auditorium.
Mrs. Anson took over operation of the
Comet and another theatre, the Star, when
her hu.sband died in October 1942. She knew
little about exhibition when she started, but
in the past few years she has installed newseats,
new flooring, has done a small remodeling
job on tlie lobby and has installed
two new projectors.
Anson played all the Pearl White serials
during his early years as an exhibitor. The f
program was changed daily in those days—
and still is.
The Comet may boast the most skeady patronage
in town, or perhaps in the U.S. Many
of Mrs. Anson's patrons have been attending
the theatre since it opened. Some attend \
daily. One elderly gentleman was an actor
at the Sans Souci and keeps coming back to
revive old memories, Mrs. Anson said.
THEY LIKE EM RAW
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The theatre has been operating on an action
policy since it started. First the youngsters
clamored for serials. Later when the
neighborhood grew poorer the patrons stUl
demanded action pictures. Westerns were i
the an.swer, and the Comet never deviates
from its policy of showing at least one sagebrush
saga a day. There aren't enough westerns
around. Mrs. Anson said, so we have to
repeat. "But the audience doesn't mind"
Another thing that has changed little at the
Comet is the admis.sion price. When the house
opened the .standard rate was five cents.
After
World War I it went up to ten cents. No*-
the lowest rate is 14 cents weekdays up to
5:00 p. m. It goes up to 23 cents for late Saturday
and Sunday admissions. This includes
taxes.
The Comet also has a candy butcher. Nlssim
Levy has been hawking ice cream, candy
bars, soft drinks and old-fashioned pretzels
I bagels I in tlie audience for the past 20
years. His brother operated the concession
for six years before him.
Levy knows all the steady patrons, though
he can't understand why anybody would want
to spend seven days a week in a theatre. He
starts work at noon and quits when tlie house
closes at 11:30 p. m.
Sound was installed in 1929. Mrs. Anson
said the audiences didn't "take to it" immediately.
Mrs. Anson doesn't devote much attention
to exploitation. Her patrons know there will
be a new show every day. Stills from pictures
set for the entire week are displayed In
the lobby.
The Comet did go in for exploitation in a
big way during the Pearl White period. Mrs.
Anson recalled one stunt. Her husband had
booked a film with a prison background. A
pasteboard electric chair was placed in front
of the theatre. A man dressed in a striped
prisoner's suit was seated in the chair. "In
those days exploitation of this sort was effective,"
she said.
I'll'
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To many of today's most devoted young:
film fans, the name Mack Sennett is completely
unknown, though he was one of the^
American film's greatest inovators—the In-'
ventor of slapstick comedy. To celebrate the
jOth anniversary of the first motion picture
camera patent this month. Grand Inlema-'
tional Pictures is reviving .several of Sennett's
celebrated two-reelers. refurbished with
,