Motion Picture Herald (Apr-Jun 1931)

12 MOTION PICTURE HERALD April 11, 1931 KANSAS THEATRES AWAIT DRASTIC OUSTER SUIT ON SUNDAY CLOSING Wichita Croup Launches Statewide Fight Supreme Court Uniformly Has Approved Proceedings Based Corporation Law Violations on Kansas City (QP) — Fox theatres of Kansas face the threat of an ouster suit unless they cease alleged violation of the Sunday labor laws, and similar action looms against other film organizations in various cities ot the state where Sunday shows are being presented. The proposed action against the Fox organization has its origin in Wichita. A group of business and professional men of that city met this week with Attorney General Boynton and discussed their plans to force Sunday closing in Wichita. At the conference the possible effects on showings in other cities of the state also were taken up. Boynton, in a letter to George L. Adams, Sedgwick county attorney, held that a "limited ouster" proceeding would lie against Fox West Coast Theatres "if it controls shows which operate on Sunday in violation of the state law." The state supreme court uniformly has approved limited or complete ouster proceedings in cases called to its attention in which a company has been found to have violated the state corporation or general laws. A survey of decisions of the court shows the tribunal very jealous of the requirements of the law on corporations in Kansas. With Fox West Coast owning many houses in the state, some of them operating on Sundays, the plan of the Wichita group calls for the launching of ouster proceedings first against the parent organization, to be followed by additional actions against the individual units operating the local motion picture houses. At the same time, members of the Wichita citizens' group said they had not planned to attempt an ousting of the entire Fox organization from the state, but would ask for a limited ouster order to prevent the 'company or any of its subsidiaries from presenting shows on Sundays, or otherwise violating the labor laws or any other state regulations. Leaders in the film trade, however, see the danger of the action going out of all bounds once it becomes a subject for court decision. Galsworthy Says Films Are Often Unfair With Writers John Galsworthy, in New York from Arizona, expressed the belief that the writer for pictures must guard himself always with a sound and inclusive contract, "so one can talk of injunctions and things like that." He calls it unfair that an author's name is put to a work when little of his work is left in the production. "The ideal solution, it seems to me," he said, "would be to get authors to write direct for the screen." ns7.•><>%— 7''/, o-'A 55%. GROSSES TRAVEL UPWARD! Average theatre grosses for the first three months of 1931 showed an increase of from 5 per cent to 25 per cent over average grosses for the last 30 weeks of 1930. In only three of the 20 cities from which receipts were obtained was a decline noted, these three being Des Moines, Minneapolis and Portland. In the above chart the white uprights indicate the average gross for the last 30 weeks of 1930, while the black shows the average receipts for the first three months of this year. Warners Reach Production Peak Hollywood (QP) — Warner-First National, with six in production and seven other features slated to start within two weeks, faces the biggest schedule since the companies consolidated. By April 15, thirteen will be in production. In addition to features, the Bobby Jones shorts are in production. J. D. Willianns Conning Back; Handling Viking Picture Release of the Viking picture will mark the re-entrance of J. D. Williams in films. The feature, retakes for which cost the lives of scores when the vessel was wrecked of? Newfoundland shores last month, will be handled on an elaborate scale, possibly roadshowing. "J. D.'s" deal for distributing rights has already been closed. Dowling to Film Famous Comedy Eddie Bowling's famous Broadway comedy, "Honeymoon Lane," goes into production soon at the Metropolitan Studios in Hollywood. It is scheduled for release by Paramount in July and is dated for the Paramount Theatre, New York, late in that month. "Honeymoon Lane" will be produced by Dowling, personally, and is the only independent production on the Paramount 193031 release schedule. It is an adaptation of the play that ran eighteen months at the Knickerbocker Theatre in New York City and then played more than a year on the road. William Vogel, well known in the export field, has become associated with Dowling and George Weeks in the production of "Honeymoon Lane" and leaves with them and Mrs. Dowling (Ray Dooley) for Hollywood this week.