How films and other programming in theaters were received by audiences
For my blog post, I chose an advertisement article about the Savoy theater in Medford that the Medford Mail Tribune published on October 3, 1908. The Savoy was the second moving picture theater built right after the Bijou. It is an interesting article because it was two days after its first opening on October 1 of 1908.
When the Dreamland Theater was first created, like many other theaters at the time, it had to be promoted in the newspaper to attract patrons from all over the town of Albany, Oregon. To gain traction the Dreamland Theater would often gain promotional advertisements in the newspapers telling patrons the price of admission, shows being played, acts offered if any. The promotions would complete this information with the showtimes of the films and the days on which the films would be changed.
The Gem Theater
In this advertisement for “Caberia” in Monmouth, Oregon from the May 19, 1916 issue of the Monmouth Herald, the advertisement found on page 6 makes great exclamations about this film “CABERIA” coming to the town. With exclamations such as “Nothing like it ever before in Monmouth”, “Earth’s Greatest Spectacle”, and “The Wonder and Marvel of the Present Era”, we are able to deduce the true popularity and success that this film had cultivated in the town of Monmouth.
This article appeared in the Corvallis Daily Gazette in June 1909. The article discusses the recent motion picture to arrive in Corvallis, Resurrection. As the article describes the motion picture was adapted from Tolstoi’s novel which the article describes as “melancholy.” Resurrection was a free adaption directed D.W. Griffith and produced by Biograph.
“Last Time Tonight…Thos. H. Ince’s $1,000,000 Mammoth Cinema Spectacle,” reads an October 14, 1916 advertisement for the Page theater in the Medford Mail Tribune. This advertisement would have likely been quite successful in attracting a crowd for several reasons.
The early 1900's era of filmmaking was under the firm grasp of the National Board of Censorship, an organization formed to prevent the showings of indecent or suggestive content in movies. This became quite a hot topic among viewers at the time. Some Americans preferred a restriction on what they considered to be inappropriate while others favored a more risqué style. This debate did not go unnoticed in Portland, Oregon and in fact seemed to emphasize the same national issues. Listed below are four separate segments from two Portland Newspapers between years of 1910 and 1922.
While doing research on the Grand theater in Bandon, Oregon, I came across an advertisement for a film titled Hypocrites. In the advertisement, it described how the film had been banned in Portland and across the country and that the film will easily offend those who are prudish.
After a short run as a theater, according to available newspaper clippings, The Nickelodion had its first ad in January 1907.