Motion Picture Herald (Apr-Jun 1931)

Record Details:

Something wrong or inaccurate about this page? Let us Know!

Thanks for helping us continually improve the quality of the Lantern search engine for all of our users! We have millions of scanned pages, so user reports are incredibly helpful for us to identify places where we can improve and update the metadata.

Please describe the issue below, and click "Submit" to send your comments to our team! If you'd prefer, you can also send us an email to mhdl@commarts.wisc.edu with your comments.




We use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) during our scanning and processing workflow to make the content of each page searchable. You can view the automatically generated text below as well as copy and paste individual pieces of text to quote in your own work.

Text recognition is never 100% accurate. Many parts of the scanned page may not be reflected in the OCR text output, including: images, page layout, certain fonts or handwriting.

40 MOTION PICTURE HERALD April 11, 1931 Five Stations Now on Air Five Eastern studios regularly broadcast television programs, four broadcasting daily and the fifth once weekly. With the addition of the new studio to be opened in New York soon, the daily total will jump to five. W2XCD, Passaic, broadcasts on 2035 kilocycles (synchronized voice 1604 k.). This station broadcasts daily from 9 p. m. to 10 p. m. W3XK, Washington, sends out a two hour daily program, from 7 to 9 p. m. on 2850 k, and W2XBS, of New York, a daily program from 2 to 5 p. m. and 7 to 9 p. m., on 2100 k. WIXAV, 2870 k., broadcasts two periods daily, from I to 2 p. m., and 7:30 to 10:30 p. m. This station is in Boston. W2XR, Long Island City. N. Y., broadcasts on 2950 k., once weekly, usually on Wednesdays, from 5 to 10 p. m. Amusement Stocks Rally with Others (Continued from page 18) the year. Pathe common and A were steady in a light turnover. Trading in film stocks on the curb exchange was very light, attention centering mainly on Trans-Lux, which sold off to a net loss of more than a point on realizing attracted by an early advajice. General Theatres Equipment preferred came back strongly after a dip in sympathy with Fox Film A. The former stock is dependent upon Fox dividends to maintain its own rate and thus is sensitive to any movement of Fox shares on the Big Board. National Screen Service was firm in a light turnover, gaining more than a point, while Technicolor, Fox Theatres A and Sentry Safety Control were restricted to narrow price movements. Amusement bonds were remarkably firm in the face of a generally declining fixed interest-bearing securities market. Pathe 7s again featured with a run of four points to a new high for the year at 89, from which it eased off a couple of points. General Theatres Equipment convertible 6s moved up from a low of 62^ to 68, subsequently selling off to around 64. Loew's issues were very dull and little changed, while Paramount bonds were steady in a fractional range. Lichtman of United Artists Due With Convention Outline Al Lichtman, United Artists distribution head, is due from the Coast early next week, following conferences with Joseph M. Schenck, president, on sales convention plans, which will be announced on his arrival. The convention will be held late in May or early in June. All salesmen will attend the single national meeting, to be held either in New York or on the Coast. Pittaluga Death Robs Italian Film Trade of Leader Italy's motion picture industry suffered a blow in all three of its major branches — production, distribution and exhibition — through the death of Stefano Pittaluga, head of Cines-Pittaluga of Rome, leading producing organization of Italy, as well as operator of an extensive chain of theatres. His death on Sunday, April 7, was a shock to the trade, in both Europe and America. He was thought to have practically recovered from a recent slight illness. Born in Genoa 47 years ago, Pittaluga began his career in the industry as a very young man, distributing pictures in Genoa. Soon he expanded his activity to northern Italy and from his offices in Turin he also directed a number of small theatres. Realizing the necessity of developing the Italian industry on a thoroughly modern foundation, he opened his first theatre, the Itala, in the central section of Turin at the time when Lombardi Film, Caesar Film and Ambrosio Film were at the height of their activity. Soon afterwards he entered exhibition in Genoa and other Italian cities. Next he entered production. In the year.s of the World War he released a few pictures, but greater success began when he introduced American product, of such companies as Triangle, Fine Arts, Famous Players and Metro. After the war, with the cooperation of such leading business men as Ottolenghi and Levi of Turin, he produced the well known "The Machiste." The Banca Commerciale Italiana now took an interest in the Pittaluga developments and with its cooperation he went on to his greatest triumphs, within a period of less than three years. He obtained control of the largest circuits of theatres in Italy, totaling more than 350 houses, and formed the Societa Anonima Stefano Pittaluga. Then, to supply product for his own theatres and the many others that his company controlled, he established an office for the booking of American, English, German and French productions. In the face of the world business depression he continued to forge ahead, with the aid of sound and talking pictures. Recognizing the value of this new instrument, Pittaluga undertook the presentation of sound to a rather skeptical Italian people. He effected the amalgamation of his organization with Cines of Rome, reorganized Cines and established modern studios for talking picture production in Rome. Pittaluga. who recently was made Commandatore of the Italian Crown, was a dynamic personality of decision and modern ideas. His forcefulness in business transactions combined with frankness and honesty made him one of the foremost figures in the industry in Europe. He introduced his productions in foreign countries and recently in the United States through J. V. Cremonim of New York. Two of the first sound and talking productions, "Napoli Che Canta" and "La Canzone dell 'Amore." have been presented in several American cities. Ontario Censor Has Deficit; Manitoba Passes 1,848 Films Toronto — Ontario made a nrofit in 1930 of $32,567 on censoring fees, but lost $102.431 on operation of its studio. The Manitoba board passed without alteration 1,848 of the 2,103 films submitted last year. Of the others, 56 were banned and 206 were deleted. There were 19 British films. And Harry Let Her Slumber Hollywood — Apropos of his flying activities, Harry Bannister recently launched into a discussion of the part aviation is playing in modernizing the backwoods regions which had never been reached by railroad or good roads. "Soon," said Harry, "we will have no villages like the one at which a motorist stopped when a storm had washed out a bridge on the main road and made it necessary to use a detour. "The motorist sought refuge from the rain in the only restaurant of the town. " 'It looks like the flood,' he remarked to the waitress. " 'Like what?' the girl asked. " 'Like the flood. You've read of the flood and how the Ark landed on Mount Ararat, haven't you?' " 'No sir,' confessed the waitress, 'You see no newspapers have been delivered here for over a week.' " Screen Advertising on Trial with Allied (Continued on page 11) tracts, although the first issue of the reel will not be delivered until early June. Kinograms, insiders say, can make it pay with 2,000 accounts. When actual operations start in two months, Kinograms and Allied expect to have 3,000 theatres lined up. Kinograms' present newsreel organization will be enlarged. With its Educational agreement already terminated and the deal for production of a Universal reel ending June 1, the Kinograms organization, headed by Capt. George McL. Baynes, will concentrate on the Allied tieup. Oscar Hanson is the contact between Allied States and Kinograms. Financial arrangements with exhibitors playing the reel are more or less a state unit matter. The exhibitor will book the reel at straight rental charges and receive financial remuneration, depending on the size of his house, for showing the advertising contained in the reel. Whether all of the fees received by exhibitors will be turned over for support of the state and national Allied units is a matter for each state association to decide. At least part of the returns, however, will be claimed by each factor in the transaction. A committee of Allied members will pass upon the "quality" of the advertising matter contained in each reel. This is to protect the exhibitors from obnoxious screen material. Each of the 104 annual issues will contain no more than 30 per cent of advertising matter, with the plan providing for non-advertising treatment of industrial phases of big business, that is to say, screen treatment will be given to the manufacture of a certain product, eliminating all but minor reference to the manufacturer's name. Only Allied members will be solicited,, at least until after sales possibilities in the Allied ranks have been covered.