Julius Caesar (1913), dir. Allen Ramsey/Edison Kinetophone

Cast:
Brutus: Antony Andre

Listing: Variety, no. 1 (March 7, 1913):30. URL: http://www.archive.org/stream/variety30-1913-03#page/n29/mode/2up/

Listing: Variety 30, no. 1 (March 7, 1913):34. URL: http://www.archive.org/stream/variety30-1913-03#page/n33/mode/2up/

“Orpheum,” Variety 30, no. 3 (March 21, 1913):27. URL: http://www.archive.org/stream/variety30-1913-03#page/n109/mode/2up/

Listing: Variety 30, no. 4 (March 28, 1913):32. URL: http://www.archive.org/stream/variety30-1913-03#page/n155/mode/2up/

“Washington, D. C.,”  Moving Picture News 7. no. 16 (April 19, 1913):29 (excerpt) URL: http://www.archive.org/stream/movingpicturenew07unse#page/n573/mode/2up/

The initial appearance of the Edison talking pictures in the capital of the nation marked an epoch in filmdom here. They are booked as a feature at Chase’s Theatre, Washington’s newest and handsomest playhouse, the home of polite vaudeville. With a seating capacity of 2,000, this theatre held a record of 10,000 patrons during the first three days of the advent of the talking pictures, and a goodly part of the audience of each show of one hour and a half remained for two performances to fully appreciate the new sensation of the latest Edison invention. They are wonderful and seem almost unreal on first hearing. The sound production with motion is fascinating and has already gripped the photoplay fan. The talking pictures shown for the first week at Chase’s were “A Descriptive Lecture” and “The Edison Minstrels.” The next offerings were “The Quarrel Scene” from Julius Caesar and ”The Temptation of Faust,” which were even more wonderful.

It means progress to the moving picture industry when a grand theatre like Chase’s turns to exclusive motion pictures for its summer season with a general admission of 10 cents from 1 o’clock to 11. Each show includes several kinemacolors, two talking pictures and several black and white reels, with a change of bill daily except with the kinetophones.

“Actors’ Free Services Asked for ‘Talkers’,” Variety 21, no. 13 (Feb. 28, 1913):7. URL: http://www.archive.org/stream/variety29-1913-02#page/n129/mode/2up/

New Edison Talking Pictures Seeking Vaudeville Acts Without Compensation. Acts Refusing Through Danger of Having Time Cancelled Where Picture Previously Appears, or Want Big Money for Sacrifice. “Talkers” This Week Fall Down.

The vaudeville actor is resenting what is called an imposition attempted by John J. Murdock, of the Edison Talking Picture affair, through Murdock taking advantage of his position in the United Booking Offices in asking acts to speak and pose before the camera for nothing.

A danger to the vaudeville act of appearing before the camera and phonograph is the talking picture of themselves may be shown ahead of their appearance in cities booked through the U. B. O., when their time in those towns may be canceled, the pictures making themselves a return date. This the actor has thought of, also the lack of compensation promised. The value of an act posing for a talking picture is placed at $1,000. Exceptional cases of big headliners are quoted at from $3,000 to $5,000. These are the amounts paid by the Cameraphone, when that talking picture device had vaudeville acts to pose for it.

The Cameraphone was not successful, through not having a name as prominent as Thomas A. Edison’s identified with it. The Edison talker is the same as the Cameraphone, although the former is better synchronized. Hammerstein’s tried the Cameraphone, closing it at the first performance. This week the Edison talker has the “Quarrel Scene” from “Julius Caesar” and Truly Shattuck in her songs. Reports say the talking pictures flopped all over this week, where they were shown for the second time, either became the audiences were satisfied with one look last week or because of the subjects.

It is noticeable no vaudeville house booked by the U. B. O., is allowed to plate the talkers to close the show. This is probably for trade purposes, the promoters fearing the audience
would walk out on them the same as any ordinary black and white moving picture subject.

Applications for the use of the Edison talkers were so light this week at the United Booking Offices, it was reported a cut in the list of prices is being considered, in order to obtain a
wider area for the display, and to make a real showing with the Talkers in the financial department. It is also said Murdock has about concluded to waive the condition an exhibitor must contract for the picture over 13 weeks. This is what has stopped a great many managers from taking on the Talkers, they calculating that two or three weeks at the very most would wear out the usefulness of the device at the box office, leaving them with a large and unnecessary expense for the remaining ten weeks, that would eat up the profits of the extra patronage drawn at the commencement of the run.

The Talker is also said to be short of subjects, those on hand not being up to the “Caesar” scene, which has been generally condemned. F. F. Proctor expects the Talker will fizzle out very shortly, when the “novelty” will have worn out–in a very few days now. Then he will substitute Kinemacolor at the Fifth Avenue. The Truly Shattuck talking picture did not look good enough this week at the Fifth Avenue, and it became necessary to substitute the “Announcement” used last week, reinforced by the forum scene from “Julius Caesar.”

The talking picture people have exacted a three months’ contract with the Proctor theatres, but did not live up to their agreement, which was to deliver them last December. They exact a fee of $900 for installing the plant in addition to the cost of the weekly service.

“Fifth Avenue,” Variety 21, no. 13 (Feb. 28, 1913):21. (excerpt) URL: http://www.archive.org/stream/variety29-1913-02#page/n143/mode/2up/

The feature of the bill remained the Edison Talkers in pictures. An almost capacity house will probably be claimed for credit to the talkers, but it was rather the 12-acts that drew,
and if signs count for anything, the Edwards turn brought in most of the people, who waited intact for it until 11 o’clock, the slow show winding up at 11.20.

Hardly any applause greeted the talkers. Edison’s name when mentioned in the same opening speech as last week’s picture had, received a few handclaps, but the second half of the film (quarrel scene from “Julius Caesar”) passed through without noise. A whirring behind the sheet indicated a phonographic apparatus of some kind in close proximity to the screen, but not well placed, as the voices were distinctly off-side to the two figures. This talker is not different from others that have been shown (in private) as far as the general effect goes. Toward the finish of the Aim, the voices became guttural. They were always obviously mechanical. The house could not enthuse over any “novelty” that did not become apparent. After seeing the talkers the first time they amount to no more than the usual picture portion a vaudeville program always has. At the very best the Edison Talker is but an imperfect illusion of no extraordinary value to the stage.

“Correspondence: Chicago,” Variety 21, no. 13 (Feb. 28, 1913):27. (excerpt) URL: http://www.archive.org/stream/variety29-1913-02#page/n149/mode/2up/
The Talking Pictures, with a scene from “Julius Caesar” and Truly Shattuck doing her vaudevlllo act, did not convince the audience the pictures will in any way interfere with the plain black and whites. A few weeks with the novelty worn off will make the pictures simply an item on the bill.