Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1934)

The Leading Daihr Newspaper of the Motion Picture Industry MOTION PICTURE DAILY Alert, Intelligent and Faithful Service to the Industry in All Branches ol. 35. No. 70 NEW YORK, MONDAY, MARCH 26, 1934 TEN CENTS ^ew Concerns For St. Louis Clearance Board of 12 Is Sought for New York NIRA Labor Clause Faces Vi Deal Are Set Want Skourases to Back Part of Bond Issue St. Louis, March 25. — Details of 'the proposed plans for reorganization tif the Ambassador, Missouri and Orand Central theatres, which, the backers hope, will be approved by the !U. S. District Court and take the properties out of receivership, have been made public by Thomas N. Dysart, chairman of the first mortgage bondholders' committee. I As has been already stated, the big factor in the reorganization will be Allen L. Snyder, formerly vice-president of the Stone & Webster Engineering Corp.. and now head of a storage battery concern. Under the plan the present bondholders would become owners of the Ambassador and Missouri theatre buildings and the leasehold on the Grand Central through an exchange jf their present bonds for bonds and common stock in two Missouri corporations to be organized by Snyder to acquire title to the properties. One of the new corporations would I {Continued on page 6) Majestic Decides on Finishing Schedule Majestic has definitely decided to complete its current lineup of eight pictures. "Wild Geese," the first, is slated to start within the next few weeks. Herman Gluckman, president, plans to leave for Hollywood this .week to complete negotiations for a studio and a producer. Pictures to be made on the 193334 schedule include in addition to "Wild Geese," the following : "My Life." "The Rosary," "Husband Hunters," "An Entirely Different Woman," "Gaily I Sin," "The Diary of a Bad Woman" and "The Laughing Woman." About 12 features are planned for •1934-35. Two Theatre Issues On File in Capital Washington, March 25. — Security issues of the Paramount, Portland, Ore., and the Capitol, Wheeling. W. Va., have been filed with the Federal Trade Commission under the Securities Act, it was learned yesterday. ; Both are reorganization projects call| mg for the deposit of securities of the ■ concerns with bondholders' protective , committees. Recommendations for increasing the Xew York clearance and zoning board to 12 are now before the committee on selections, which is mulling over the plan. The suggestion does not carry with it a similar boost for the grievance board. Some members of the committee are frowning on the idea of doubling the regular lineup for clearance and zoning, but proponents of the plan are anxious to incorporate in the structure all of the important local theatre interests. The recommendations have gone back to the committee, which again meets on Wednesday to decide on the issue. Code Authority — Campi — will have to approve if the committee decides to approve the suggestion. This would mean dropping of the three (Continued on page 6) Finnegan to Stay, Rosenblatt Rules Kansas City, March 25. — Protest by Jay Means, president of the I.T.O., against appointment of Thomas J. Finnegan as impartial member of the Kansas City grievance board has brought the reply from Division Administrator Sol A. Rosenblatt that the appointment will stand. While Means is reluctant to discuss the matter, it is understood his objection to Finnegan was based primarily on the fact the government member is a Democratic ward committeeman here and the suspicion he may permit political considerations to influence his (Continued on page 3) All Boards Thus Far Set Meet This Week Practically all of the clearance and zoning and grievance boards officially set will meet this week to get organized and submit recommendations for quarters and secretaries. Last week manuals on operations were sent to all industry and impartial members of the boards with instruc (Continvcd on pane 3) Philadelphians to Fight Rental Boost Philadelphia, March 25. — Members of the M.P.T.O. of Eastern Pennsylvania, Southern Jersey and Delaware will head westward to the convention with axes sharpened against the rumored cost increases of films. With increased cost of operation under code regulations and the fact (Continued on page 6) Another Declines Atlanta, March 25. — Arthur Lucas, who replaced Lionel H. Keene of Loew's as affiliated exhibitor representative on grievances, has advised Campi — Code Authority of the M. P. Industry — of his inability to serve. He gives his reason as pressure of business. Review Board Finds Fight On Its Hands Washington, March 25. — President Roosevelt's National Recovery Review Board, preparing to hold a hearing Monday on the code, Saturday found itself facing a fight for life as officials of the NRA, aroused over failure of the board even to notify them that hearings were contemplated, prepared to protest to the White House. So far as could be learned Saturday, neither members of the Code Authority nor officials of the Recovery Administration had been invited to appear before the board to (Continued on page 3) Prince Edward Talks About Censor Board Toronto, March 25. — Prince Edward Island proposes to set up a censorship board because of complaints said to have been received against a British film, "The Private Life of Henry VIII." Film exchanges are concerned because the creation of a censor board would necessitate opening a branch office in Charlottetown, capital of the island, which has but four theatres operating and which is the only province in the Dominion without a board of censorship. Construction Picks Up Around Virginia Richmond, March 25. — New construction and theatre improvements in this territory are regarded as increasing signs of prosperity. One new house, the Patrick Henry, was recently completed at a $75,000 (Continued on page 6) Test in Court Constitutionality to Be Attacked on Appeal An attack on the constitutionality of the labor clause of the National Industrial Recovery Act is in progress in New York State, with the possibility that it will reach the U. S. Supreme Court. It involves the reinstatement of 55 operators employed by members of the I.T.O.A. Two cases covering the controversy have been in progress for some time. Both were brought by Local 306, I.A.T.S.E., one in the form of a complaint to the Regional Labor Board and the other in the N. Y. Supreme Court. The board ordered the reinstatement of Local 306 men and Judge Collins ordered 11 theatres to reinstate 55 men without naming their union affiliations. Milton C. Weisman, attorney for the I.T.O.A., secured a stay from the Appellate Division preventing enforcement of either Judge Collins' order or the Regional Labor Board ruling until the Court of Appeals has ruled. Weisman predicts that if the ruling is against his clients he will take the case to the U. S. Supreme Court. Briefs are to be filed by Weisman (Continued on page 3) Reservations Piling In for MPTOA Parley Reservations are beginning to pour in for the M.P.T.O.A. convention in Los Angeles April 10-12. Wisconsin will have its own car, to be attached to the special leaving Chicago over the Rock Island into El Paso and then further west on April 6. Love B. Harrell of the Southeastern Theatre Owners' Ass'n has requested 100 identification cards, while 20 have been requested from the M.P.T.O. of South Carolina. One group of Southern exhibitors will leave Memphis in a special car. German Films Given Protection Promise Berlin, March 25.— Increased protection for German films against foreign competition was promised for the near future by Propaganda Minister Paul Goebbels at a meeting of representatives of the German film industry here. Producers adopted a resolution declaring that because German studios (Continued on page 6)