Exhibitors Herald and Moving Picture World (Oct-Dec 1928)

36 EXHIBITORS HERALD and MOVING PICTURE WORLD October 27, 1928 THE NEW $10,000,000 FOX MOVIETONE STUDIO Civic Leaders and Stars Help Fox Dedicate Studio Sunday (Special to the Herald-World) HOLLYWOOD, Oct. 23. — Civic leaders and stars of stage and screen will help Fox Film Corporation Sunday to decorate its ten million dollar Movietone studio with its 25 buildings grouped on a forty-acre lot and all built in ninety days. On a platform outside the newly erected Number 1 stage there will he an invocation by three clergymen — Rev. Neal Dodd, Doctor Isidore Isaacson, and Father Joseph Sullivan, president of Loyola University. Other speakers will be George L. Eastman, president of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, Joseph Scott, who will deliver the dedicatory speech, and Oscar Lawlor. Event Will Be Broadcast Mary Duncan, rising young Fox star, will unveil a bronze plaque on one corner of the building. The proceedings will be broadcast by radio station KMTR. A program will be given by Clark and McCullough, comedians of the stage and of Movietone, and by the Mystic Shrine Band of Al Malaikah Temple, Los Angeles. The Fox company has contracted with L. H. Anderson, of Palo Alto, traffic expert, to handle the throng. He will be assisted by 500 university students, in addition to the regular police officers. They also will guide the visitors among more than 25 large buildings which are the outward sign of William Fox's faith in talking pictures. The principal feature consists of four huge wundproof stage buildings, each capable of containing two Movietone units. One stage has a huge Wurlitzer organ specially designed to give all manner of sound effects. Ventilation Plant Installed One innovation is the plant for regulating the ventilation and temperature on the sound stages. Hitherto, a great drawback in buildings converted to sound use has been the closeness and stuffiness of the atmosphere. The Fox plant has a huge refrigerating, heating and atmosphere equipment which will keep the staKcs cool in summer, warm in winter and always supplied with fresh air. In addition there are a large administration edifice; a huge building with up-to-date dressing rooms for all players ; Movietone projection rooms; cutting rooms; electric plant; carpenter shop and property rooms ; storage vaults for films ; library and garages. Winfield Sheehan, vice president and general manager of Fox Film Corporation, who has supervised the construction of this Movietone studio, has assembled a corps of writers, directors, playwrights, composers and artists. Easterners Promoted Among the Easterners who have just been promoted to responsible positions on the supervising staff are Philip Klein, son of the noted playwright, Charles Klein ; J. K. McGuinness, and Luther Reed. Ben Jackson, former manager of several New York theatres, is production manager at Movietone City, and has Fred Schader and George Schneidermann as assistants. Joseph Pincus is assisting in gathering talent for Movietone in this country and William Gleason O'Brien is general director for Fox Movietone in Europe. Others who have been elevated to new prominence in motion pictures through the advent of sound films are Charles Judels, general stage director for the Shuberts for five years; Eugene Walter; Tom Barry and Hugh Herbert ; Maude Fulton and Dave Stamper. Stage Actors Listed They will handle the sound film destinies of many important figures from the spoken drama, whose exodus to Hollywood has been inspired by Movietone, and who include the following : Bobby Clark and Paul McCullough, Chic Sale, Sylvia Field, Helen Twelvetrees, Margeurite Churchill, Donald Gallaher, Gilbert Kmcry, Paul Muni, Helen Ware, who will coach the younger players, Lumsden Hare, Clifford Dempscy, Charles Eaton, Arnold Lucy, Paul Fung and Florence Lake. Others who will be concerned with Movietone production from the standpoint of direction and writing are: Earlc Lewis McGill, A. H. Van Buren, Arthur Caesar, Ben Holmes, Harlan Thompson, Paul Gerard Smith, Chandler Spraguc, William K. Halligan and Edmond Joseph. 16 Gotham Branch Managers at Bristolphone Sales Session (Special to the Herald-World) NEW YORK, Oct. 23.— Sixteen Gotham branch managers are back at their stations all over the country thoroughly acquainted with the operation, mechanism and performance of the Bristolphone synchronizing disc systems following the first sales meeting held sinct Gotham Bristolphone acquired the national distributing rights to the sound device. The high point of the meeting was the visit the entire personnel made to Waterbury, where they witnessed a performance of "Times Square," the company's first synchronized picture with Bristolphone dialogue and sound effects. A faultless demonstration under regular theatre conditions repaid the visitors for their journey, with the unanimous opinion by all those present that Bristolphone is as perfect and practical a sound device as can be had in the market today. Among those present were L. G. Berman, Chicago ; Phil Monsky, Omaha ; Claude Townsend, Detroit ; Donn Hayes, Los Angeles; Wm. Hurlbut, Detroit; Tess Fishman, Cleveland; B. Rosenthal, St. Louis; Chas. Bessenbacher, Kansas City; J. S. Berkowitz, San Francisco; R. G. Romney, St. John; M. Trueman, St. John; Herk Webster, Buffalo; Morris Fitzer, Buffalo; L. Korson, Ben Amsterdam, Philadelphia; Mr. and Mrs. Jack Grauman, Milwaukee; Mr. and. Mrs Strauss, Milwaukee; W. A. Steffes, Minneapolis; Col. H. A. Cole, Dallas; S. Kaplan, Dallas; Chas. Rogers, Budd Rogers, Sam Sax, John Weber, Harold Shumate of the home office. Former Owner Takes Over Three Theatres, Wires One (Special to the Herald-World) SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 23.— Samuel H. Levin, former owner of the Alexandria, Coliseum and New Balboa theatres, again has taken over these houses and has arranged for the installation of Vitaphone equipment in the Alexandria. The interior of this house will be redecorated and new loges installed, making it necessary to close the theatre until the first of the year.