We sell tickets to theaters, not movies.
-Marcus Loew

During the 1915-1928 period, the experience of viewing a film was far different from what it would be at any time before or since. Exhibitors considered themselves showmen, not film programmers. The feature motion picture was only one part of their evening's entertainment, supplying about 68 percent of the total "attraction," according to one 1922 exhibitors' poll. Indeed, 24 percent of theater managers in this survey found that it made absolutely no difference at the box office whether the feature attraction was any good or not. Consequently, while exhibitors always hoped for a strong feature, they did not feel wholly dependent on that part of their show which arrived in a can. Nor were they above "improving" their film subject by any means at their disposal.¹

The Theater

In 1928 Harold Franklin, then president of West Coast...