Variety (Mar 1935)

'VABIETr'S' X.OMD0V OFFICE, ■ Bt. M»rtte'« PUo^ Trafalgar Sqoar* FOREICN FILM NEWS CabU IS :-r- ..; Parl^i'March lOr 7 VtvitU a' new quota fight ioomlng Jri a month, current trade paper at- tach ; on American^ interests ; here " jiiky prove ■ embarrassing.; LateBt r-Fmrch-qiibtaj-rwh leh-ail^^ of a sufflclent nuriiber of American films, Avas .set in Pecember for ; six months; and dickering for the nisw ; ohs will beg:ln shortly.- American concerns here have tended to minimize ^Importance of ' the violent attack; on tivem ; which hcM been conducted mostly in Co- media, theatrlcajr dally, for the past three weeks; Theory Is; that film • public> and : even bulic ' of trade, doesn't read the paper. ■ - - Ply ln-olntmeht,-however,-is; that jean de Royera, proprl^tt^r of. the sheets is a close frlen^ of many politlcai bigwigs, ^'riequentiy dines •with milhisters.' -Thus editorials In his paper, however ridiculous they —may^seem—to-anypne^who krtowsi anything, about; film biz, may have - im iriflu'ence:Ih --:--Latest;--of-SCTles^of—artlcles--l8 -j)Ointed-. tbJ :hayev-am .eff^cL^^/^^^^^ quota lines.; Deals with the fight of American interests in. France on quotas. It's bascfid largely on re- ports of quota dlisbuarlons ;at mcet- iriiss of the Chambre Syndlcalc, in - the'^dars when. Americttn'sLwetSOttli; -•inPii^hBra- 'American-v-leaders- are ; . ■ • ' , : ■ LdridTiriT^'M^i^ 10* ■ Twickenham; Fllins' ' Idea of a flimlzation of the life of ;Cromwell; has been temporarily shelved. Richard Fisher,. of the; O'Bryen Xihnet offlce) was commissioned, to write ■ the' script, and It waa Agi-eed: that he receive $2,500 fOr the Job; halt cash and balance When scenario was completed. . ; ; FJlm /was to have cost arbund $200,000, with Crbmwell-tb be por- trayed by either Rbbert Loralne or Mathesbn-i^ng^ -both- f ouiiil-ri:b—be- impqrtaht character In fllm| Wfts Intended tb be plalyed by Dennis KJiig, ;:but he- asked for $25,000, which was turned: down as too ;hlgh. ■Now Fisher Is threatening to aiie J[OEi2hlgilbalance._i: -;..; '' , ■- ■ '■■ - / ;''■ quoted and made to appear trying to dictate; to the; French as; to "what laws should be inade.. Two View» ■ ■ To anyone reading thiB article, With sympatiietlc leanings it Is, Ap- parent the Americans are '^cfsridlng their legitimate interests, but piece is so wbrded as to make the. argu- ments appear offensive, Distributors' aasociatibh, 'which Incluiies the Americanb, is ignoring, the campaign and going chead with its organization. Offices have, been -Wr^dr-and-a^unlfpr-m-jr-entlng-<on=L. tract is being, dr^wn iip. One Idea of the; dlatrlba is tp crack down on exhlbltof-s who don't live up to cohtriBLCts. I in the past . iexhli>s~. have been ; known rto .b.opit ten ;films and then refuse the last eight, and by the time the distrlb could get ' at them . through the courts, if at ali-the; fllma were out- dated. Damages Impossible to col- -lebt."; . ■■.,:■;■'' -•■■; ■ New aaspciation Is cbnteiaplatins an agreement whereby all d lstrlbfl i^wlll refusie to rent to any" exhlbyiivlw violates a contract with any one of ■them;':.■■-• Certain number of weeklies, and trade paperei have cPme to the de- fense of the. Americans -in -tile Co- media campaign.'. Yoltailre,; satlrib. weekly, wants to know why Cb- mediiei doesn't point ;-out some-sour spots In the French film biz, tooi instead'^ of picking only on the Americans. (rE*S PROVINCIAL CO.'S 15^ DIVIDEND -OLondon, -March-iS; Provincial Clriematpgraph; The- area, which is a Oaumont-British iBubsidlary, has Just issued; a report for last year showing considerably over 13,000,000 profit, and paying a 16% dividend. A bit- over $300,000 waa ;iallocated from the profit for the general re- werve fund.. One Way ; .1^ British premiere of Metrp'a TJayld! Cppperfield' was, held March 6, starting a run at the . Palace. ■ So; 'great waja; vthe. demand <or -seats,: "that the management -rented; the Prince Edward, within 3|, stone's thtbw, for a special press and trade showing, selling tickets at the Pal ace to the public. ■'; ■ ' " ' : BAKER. 50MEWW_ BQTmi) Hollywood, Ma;rch 19. ; Reginald Bake^, head of Brlt- Ish-J^iini piatrlbutors, left here Fri day foif New Tork and .England after 10 day^ on the CJoast inaklng arrangements top Bicltlsh^ distribu- tion of Mascot arid First Division ,;.prpduct.... !.;; .;'^:.;;.. ,_.;;;, ■.:;:„.■_. ^ In New Tork he wlil; huddle with PD on English distribution for •Mai ch of Timie,* CROMWELL PIC OFF Twickenham's Propbted: $200,000 Too Glean ■ Sydney, Feb. 24. 'Belle of the Nineties' (Par) slips put of the Prince Edward, Sydney,: ifter only three; weeks, considered poor here; Word of mouth.hurt.. "Reason' Jseeiris^ 't .be ■ 'pic ' would not bring a blush to the cheek Of the most Innocent as "on SVENSK'S 14TH Building 800-Seat De Luxer In Stockholm —, Paris, March"~lO.~ Restriction of dubbing of foreign illros by a license system, to protect the French, market. Is demanded in resolutions adopted by film branch Federation du Spectacle, union of workers- In-show-blz afnHttted~with- the Confederation General de Tra- vail," the;lo^r^j*-"Pi" bf^Il. ;r • '■ . -. Vote was taken at a meeting at which- delegates of - directors,- cut- ters, sound engineers, macblnlats, decorators and other studio- work- ers were present. Resolution condemns the quota system as not tough enough to keep out competlng-films~.Aska-that ej^'^ -hlbit^ora^be- controllea by- thft -pov- Stockholm, March 8. Svensk Filmlndustri has complet- ed plans for the erection of a new theatre, site of which will be located in a building in process of construc- tion here In the heart of the capital. House will be a de luxe 800-seater and Is figured to open about Oct. 1. ; Svensk company is the biggest fHm—producer-In the—countryj—In addition ;to be>ing largest holder of theatre properties. Has 13 houses -now. ^ ■ ^ • ■' . ;' ' " ' — .' '•' ;.. /;.; Paris, March 10. Fight over Belgian's Government's PJoPbsed ban pnlmRprtiatibn^^ dubbed abroad still continues, with decision hanging fire. According tp unconfirmed reports circulating here, Belgians are considering a-comprO- mlse whereby 10 foreign films could be-^lmpor-ted—fpr-^vetT-film-dubbed- inside the country. Another Belgian project which hasn't quite been cleared up is a 16 tax on profits from foreign films which are take out. of the country. This has supposedly been abolished by a decree, but latter is so worded that it Is not clear whether it a,pplied to thbse film companies who maintain offlces in Belgium. Only cases in which de- cree is clear Is in cases of com- pa nles who ship film from outside tp Belgian; dlstrlbBTf""; TONS' NEW $600,000 5^ ISSUE; TO EXPAND The Hague, Mai'ch 8. Board of Directors of the Inter- national Tobis, Ltd., has decided tp Issue $600,000 worth of 5% bonds at par. ■. ■ .- Some time ago a total; loan of $1,200,000 was authorized by the stockholders and the first batch issued amounted to $550,000 In bonds, whi ch carried -7 %. Intere stl A ■flriaaclar~gt0U"p -of~Swl8S, Kfiglish: and Dutch interests has; taken up $220,000 bonds of the second S% batch. ■■■; . In connection with this loan there will be some changes In the Board : and ttie Swiss interests will be represented now. while Dr. Baus- back, President of Tobls Tonblld Syndlkat In Berlln_ wiU also get a 'tsesx. ;,- — Object of the new loan is to ex- tend the company's international field. ney Sydney, Feb. 24. ^Anne of Green Gables' (Radio) Is the biggest smash to h it h iBr» Ini a long time;'; ■■;■'•;:' Plo Is drawing tremendous fein trade and Is figured to run at least six weeks on first showing. PIX EbE-NlZI-SCHpOlS— Berlin, March 10. Orders for 2,000 short films suit- able for educational purposes land 1,500 ppjectbra baye been .placed with thie German Industry by Min- ister of Education. . .;.- Projectors will .be distributed to scattered .schools and .films .to -be used In schoor courses. Travel and cultural films will make up bulk of first order. ernment, that censorship be abol' Ished, tiiat a central distributing organization be set up to replace independent, dlstrlbs, ttiiat authors' royalties on film right be collected directly from exhibs out of grosses, that no film worker be allowed to do mpre_ than eight hour's work a day, that studios be subjected to the same fire and.health regulations which apply tp theatres, and that eyery producer, before starting work on a'film, be forced to put In escrow enough money to pay all the wages Of the Workers to be «m U.A.'S vent such a, quota" coming into be- ing,. They . say Australian pica. . should be strong enough tp stand without assistance. Their conten- tion Is fltiding plenty of backing. It had been stated here that sev- eral Indie; plo companies would^ isprlng Into being pvernlght and that , Sydney would quickly become ia sec-, v ond-HoIIywopd^—But. these-tipsters r-' jyere-jgrAhciT:^ TjO Ployed. Fact that union Is affiliated with pbwerful labor federation makes it necessary for the trade to pay some attention. ■'■':' ;.■ ';■ ;r-'.~- '' ''■;' U. S. PIC BIZ UP IN PARIS; lANCERS' BIG Paris, March 10. Business Is looking up for Amer- ican films here because of the si- multaneous release of three or four good ones. .- ."Bengal Lancers,'- - in - a -French dubbed version, is dragging them -to the Paramount In. such numbers that traffic is impeded on the side- walk in front of the theatre. Just as in the old days. Two recent Metro English' lan- guage - Releases, are getting good showcase trade: 'Hideout' at the Marbeuf and 'Treasure Island' at Studio Universal. "Merry Widow,' In a French version, Is one of the best Metro has put Into the Madeleine; -for.a-long--while,-f rom-aJ>.o^ stands- point. In addition, .'Gay Divorcee' (Radio), is libldlng but at the Av- enue, aiid same company's 'Cock- Eyed Cavaliers' Is not doing so badly at the Champa Elysees. ; '; ; ; . . ' London, March 10;: According to report here* ■ Joseph M. Schenck Is to make one of his periodical visits to London In the near future. In addition toithe regular routine of buciiness. It Is under- stood he has in mind the acquisition of Walter Bentley's picture houses on behalf of United Artists. These houses comprise the Elite Notting- ham, Elite and Scala Middles- brough, , Erbplre Stockton, Luxor Easttaourner-ilegal—HaBtIngs,-TCen^ tral, Playiiouse and Pleasure Gar' dens Folkestone. This Is a continuation of a deal contemplated by United Artists two years ago In conjunction with Wal ter Gibbons, Bentley and Amery Parkes. At that time the deal was to include the Leicester Square theatre, the Behtley Circuit and three indie houses; Deal at pres eht contemplated Involves some thing In the neighborhood of $3,600,000. : ;, METRO SELU SYDNEY COMBINE SOME FILMS ■'.. /.,:; .■ ; ■ Sydney, Feb. 24^ Surprise here Is the sale to Gen eral Tlieatres by M-Q of several programmers. Roy Barmby put the deal over,: with 'Paris Interlude' first to come. III. Dated for the Civic. Metro discovered that by using only aces In Its own theatres its programmers have been mounting In the vaults. O. T., although not short on film, made an offer to take a few pics and the deal went -thFough-wlthout^much -giveaway on either side. ■ "Par Is doing the same thing with O. T. and thls will probably end the chatter that Par and M-O combined some time ago to smash the power ful local combine group. By ERIC GORRICK "ay diiey. Felt. 24. — Industry is seething right now, ';■[ with an eruption due any time.. Entire situation Is all haywire and causing : plenty head and ;. heart throbs. It ail dates back to the visit of Arthur Loew a year or more ago and the start of the quota bat- tic. . ■■.;■■; .■;■.:■'.;..;■•.■'■.;■. Government. Is still sleeping on the quota idea, but the Indie pro- , ducera are attempting to force a showdown. The F. W. Marks probe i ; into^fllm-blz—hafl-been -both'-costly ; arid useless.' Indies want a^ quota, as suggested by Marks, .. but thb American dlgtrlha ftfa nnt.r kp.an nri the ruling concerning ' themselves given by Marks. Dlstrlbs are, flphtlntr hard to nre- units hav e g o n e to the wall becatiso of public apathy. Failure; Instead ; of success Is met with on every - ■ hand. „ ;_;^ ■. So much has been written In the ;, press generally concerning . the quota that moneyed men are not. subscribing as f^xpected. Recog- nized units, such as Clnesound, are okay and will continue, but it is ' doubtful whether smaller men will go on unless the government aijte . / within the next few weeks. Production Off Mel Lawton, g.m. to Dan Carroll -said -^that-plans-had -been-set~torpro~—; duce locally F, E. Baume's 'Burnt Sugar' and Norman Lindsay's .'Red-., heap.' . Mentioned that A. Leslie Pearce would come from Hollywood to direct. Immediately Carroll re- - • turned froth America, however, he told Lawton to lay oft the pic pro- . dyeing idea for the time being; Pearce -has how accepted an en- gagement In London and will not ; make the trip to Australia. Lawton Is also on the board of directors of theV Mastercraft u nit and wdrked" hard to get that"com-:; party started. Mastercraft carries, \y,lthout- doubt, the fairest prospec- tua issued, yet the public has not subscribed enough tO allow a start ; .be.lng made. Studio, .optlpn will shortly lapse >nd may" not be taken up. V ■■.■■■;.:■.■.;■;.,-■- ; '.;''■':'.■■...'• Australian Mpnogram - producing v unit was the first to slide out when coin failure forced .Al Arbhaon to ' return tor America. A local cOm- , pany also hit the rocks in Queeria- land' some time ago. F. W. Thrlng. m.dj of.Efftce, says he will not produce again unless the Victorian government assists local men. Also ;threateria to move to N;S, Wales If a quota comes, J. C. Wllliamaon-Beaumont Smith To Be Discussed at Berlin Pic Meet Berlin, March 8,. ■ Plans for ■ World Film Congress here In May or June are going quietly forward. .■■/''■:.■ '■ ■■ . German producers, cooperating with the Relcliafllmkaminer, are holding dlacuaslohs about'lt but are undecided whether to Invite every- o'ne-flr- resirlet attendance - tb pror ducera, dlstrlbs and exhlba. . Dlscuaalons of Import to world film Industry will be discussed In a series of meetings; German leaders exchanging views with foreign mag- nates; . ■-•.; '.;■ ■ ■/ '•■ ■ ,■';; . Technical problems are also slated for discussion, with inspection trips through Germariy'a leading plants at" Templehof; Neubablesberg' and Johonnlsthal. - When discusslohs have reached a more definite "stage, ttte Gertn'an shipping lines and railroads will an- nounce cheap fare rates for those planning tP. attend, similar to re- ductions granted to visitors to Leipzig Industrial Fairs. . Rome, March 8;. . Invitation to attend the Cinema Corigrresa, to be held In Berlin, has been officially extended to Italians connected with the Industry' by Arnold Raether, of the German Mln- ifltry of i^rbpagahda acting througli Count Clanoi ■__:_:'£' ^ ■ ; .:;; ""Purpose of meet ;"l8 ; to " dlscUBs' trade queationa with ah eye to a better. International understanding. 'unit has not yet lined up a schedule. Last pic, 'Splendid Fellowa,' went flM^po In N.S.W., although rated as bent local produced. Expeditionary Films, Ltd., first produced 'In the Wake of the Bounty' and followed with 'Herit- age,' Latter gpt raves at preview but hot yet, set on release. Both pifes were made by Charlea Chativel. who has had some American ex- perience. ■ ■■■: ■:;■ Currently Clnesound Is closed, but has a schedule ready wheji Ken Hall returns fromi Hollywood, Basil Deal) Is coming to do a pic in con- junction with thte organization. Dean's; visit Is the most hopeful out- look on the present local horizon. • . .Madrid, March 8. Spanish goyernmont Is decorating the local Fox movietone staff In ap- . J?refilM^w»-«i-iia4wjM world; glim Spain through, news- reels. ■;•:■; ; . ;:; ;;■.;:■■;;■.'.,,-:;; Ben Mlgglns, European chief of Movietones Hans Mandl, Madrid ct- Ace manager; Fernando RIsI, camr eraman, and tpdwig Heiss^ sound- ' man, named knights of the Order pi the Spanish ^?P}L'^a11?' ^.I. --^---^ ^ ' Triffglria hdi).") .from New York,. Mandl f rom yienha, lil.sl frOm RPme ; and lies.s from Beriln. '