Variety (Dec 1936)

TedqeB^y. Deeeiiiber 2,1936 P I € f VAUIETY S Plan in St k St. Louis, . IDec. Coiiterijplated il^^^ legislaiioh for reliulation of , motion jpix itidvis' tt^'wiil by id I^iiykeh-. daW, president of the M.- P, Theatrs> Owiiers of America at' the 15th in.-: niial meeting bf; the MPTO 6f i LbulSi iEasterin ' M6. - and iSouthetii III.; h'e;re Friday (11).^ Local Otgan-^ ikatibn is expected' to endorse ^ /Ip- . poiht program, outlifaed receiitly 'by Ktiyk6hdaU, ■ for solutiph of' indus- tfy's 'trbiiblesj'and should it be fpurid impbssiWe tb do thid within thcf ih- dUstiy, -c^nslderaW supiport will be thrown, for supppri of new Federal laws io clear tip isituation. ; Because ot iihiMrtance of m Fred Wehrehberg, president of the local body- bias obtained assurance that d. C., Pettijpim, jgeheral counsel ^fof the'MPPDA, ^yiU attte^^ 'ifhis^hieialth pern^ : ; Kent's Ameiu In v^w. of the fact that 20th Gen- tury-Fo?c'*s decision on- the lOVpoint . program oi the Motion Picture. The- , atie Owners of America, .\yith minor exceptions, - is e?seritially thP: same fli tJiiiVei'sars, fid, L. Kuylceiidall bas " serii' S. ItlKeht a qopy pf the letter be ..wrote R; H. Cpchranei president bf U; about two weeks sigo. In this letter,: the MiPTdA president ah- 'iOy^ed' tbe situatlpii in detail, re- nurkding &mbhg other things that the MPTO^ wanteii . ft .10% .pa^peUatipn claus^^ that wpiild; be tmcohditionail.' '. Kuykendali :expects to - reach NeW York; Fridiay: (^^^ which it is expected that >he will persPnally conifer with bojUi, .Cpchrahe aiid Kent in hppes of. getting better concesr sions frpm j20th-Fpx and UniyetsaL It: js nP secret thai the one thing the IMipTOA has waintad iilPre than any^ thing : else, among -its various prp- posals, was an out-and-out .10% can- c^ilatiou; pUyileg^ Which would be liiinus. any of the strings and condi- tions of the past, notably those that were tied under the NBA . code. is letter to kuykendali, Kent "icated that 20th-Fbx would re- strict the prjiyilege Oa cancellation to the situations where the exhibitor has bought, not all oi the product^ but all of the prpduct offered to him at; any pne time. This is virtually' . the satn^ condition ds imposed by'u, except that tl worded it a little dif- ferently, its condition being, that ari exfiibitbr 'could hot cancel a single feature unless all the product had beert purchased. Both O. K. 10% Cancellatibns Both U and 2pth agree on per- mitting ah accciint to eancel if noti- fying the distributor of this inten- tion withi lOi^ dayafter. : notice of a.aiiability has been mailed Put. The MPTOA is satisfied with this arrangement. 26th-Fox iavors the establishment . lockl conciliation boards with a G€riti;ai Appeals Boatd located in New York. Kent belieyes this is a matter, i bwever, that will require di cussibn and careful yiiYorkihg out bf details. 'We cannot expect mem- bers of the local boards and the; ap- peals board tb give up any substan-. tial amoxmt of their time to the hearing of minor matters and there- fore, the machinery of the boards, and their jurisdiction matters for further discussion,' he wrote. Kent added that 20thrFox will be glad to meet with Kuykendali and representatives of other : companies (Continued on ipage 30) The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences is throwing a dinner m honor of Adblph Zukor in,Holly- wood, Jan 3. Par's own studio is tendering a dinner to Zukor on Jan 7, his birthday. ^ Darryl F. ZanuCk is chairman of the arrangements, at the Acad dj - ner, committee including. Jesse Laslty, Mary Pickfoird and bthers. Par's Board Meets Thur^. Palrainplint holds a board meeting tpmbrfpw^-^ (Thursday);- • which time:' is expected that action will be taken -dividend-declariatibn. TPmbrrow's meeting" iis the first since, - ibctpberv the regulaf November meeting having-, been pa^s'^. , . HollyWood, Dec; ,Paramoimt's bijs production, ifefence does not. get wder way .next week,, as .scheduled, it's. beep, jipstr; pohed to^.after'Jan. , when the com- pany'si i^asterh cjiiefteins: are .due i^V discussion 'wltb Adolph Ztikbr, studio hiead and chairmah of the company. Under Barney Balaban, new president of Parampunt, and under Zukbr, the chief Officers and departmental beads of the firm form a consulting council on all company's affairs, in- clusive of pfbductiori, " ^ V'Those who' are expected .here in elude-Neil Agriewj v.p. iii charge pf distribution and a director bf the company; Russell Hblman, , eastern prpduetion head; Jfohh W. Hicks, 'Jr.,' .y.p. oii foreign; Y;! Frank Freeman,, y.p. 'Pf 'theatre operation and .a di4 rector of, the.'company!^ and Walter. CokelU treasurer of the. company; also Bob Gillham, pub and ad . head. Thiis, iall of the important depart-' mental branches oiE the firm, includ- ing the financial end, will be repre- sented directly in the coming, pro- duction confabs, .which are likely to. go deeply into the firrn's new sea- son's planis... This is probably the first time that all of the chief higher-ups shall have been at the . studio on the same er-' rand at any given time, of cburse excepting -Barney Balaban, comjpany president, as . he has bnly last week returned from a .visit to the studio. idle Talk Qf General O. Uppiii^ -Defes^ted by Sev- eral. Rea><>ns ■4' Chiseling jSichiba-^ Passeji^ Ete.^—-40c .Buflfabolb 24c is *36 AVERAGE M SYtVA TEEING UP W AS UINITIALER Holly wood, Dec. 1. Buddy beSylvai arrived, here last Friday ^ (27) to start his producer duties at tJniversaU., First Will be 'Hippodrome,' starting,, immediately. Univeirsal will also bebome more filmusical-minded with DeSylva, vet isongwriter and music publisher, to specialize in such productions hence- forth. Despite wide talk of general hiking in admission ' 'prices for. picture houses, the present upward swing in -grpsses is attributed to heavy attend* amce inprease; and Only a minor fe- alignment of the: old scales. - ' ■ Adinish scale. upping never has gone beyond ttiie conversational stage, according to recent-findings and a$ result the average picture theatre ad- mission fee in' the XJnited States at the close of 1936 WiU be approxi- mately 24c/ This is only abput 3c hlgber than the: average price isix. br, seven: months agP. . . » ' ', . .T^ree factbirs liiave down ticket prices; The. first incbtpbrate^ the' fiercely competitive - conditions which dominate the film tiheatfe busi- ness. The, second :is. the ruthless, price slashing; particularly on the part of iJindependable independents, . . tHc third is that old bugaboo of federal tax on admittances starting at. 40c.' ' r The failure of certain exhi itors lb live up tb the letter of the law when iihy jprice agreemeht has'been set is only a part of the competitive fituaT tibh. While appearing'tb abide! by a specific admission, /. trfide pr'ganij?ai; ^ tions. have discbvered J thit some ex-, hibs/'get arbuhd this /b^stacle by .bf- ferihg twb-fbr-bne ducats and other devices, including pa ' •. Such chiselers remain: a . cbnstaht threat tp uny attempt to lift the price structure. The reason obviously; is that once this type bf showman re-^ duces his admish fee, nb matter by What means, the competing, theatres are forced to return to the old scale and meet theisb cuts in order to hold patronage. ; . Indies Unreliability Failure of a certain portion of in-, die exhibitors to live ilp to these price scale agi'eemehts. Of necessity voluiitary; hias.been a vital force In holding down -admissions. Veteran theatre managers^ have discovered that there usually aire about 10%, of; the independent exhibs who will not fulfill any agreement on admittance 's'pales.. " Attempt to eliminate early bii-d matinees in New York Gity and other key cities is illustrative of how diffi- cult it is to hold exhibitors in line tinder present .competitive conditions and with certain elements in exhib i:anks. This move, while designed tb strengthen the entire price structure in Manhattan, is generally agreed to have been Pfimarily set UP for the ;(CQntinued on page 30) Hollywobd,:bec, 1. . Warners has pushed "ba^lc produc- tion of 'Dantpn' iintiLFebrua^^ ■■; SaiT^uel Ho^en^tein: is ."screenpiay- ing the French yarn',- which \vill be supervised by . Henry :'-Blah with Max Reirihai'idt and Michaiel Gurtiz receiving cbrdiredtiott credit; ON THEATRES' ■Ghiragbrpec^^^ . 3*i'^.,constaiit,^yelp bf the exhibitofis |ill- these J'ieairsr. that ttiip^ pipture 'stu- dios on the Cbast sh'biild consiiit with the exhibitors as to prbdu the exhibitbr is closer tb "the buying pubUc^iHan the prbdu is finally, coining to pass^ ' iPafaiho'unt, studio exbcs are inviting .'their varipus' aif- .filiate, circuits Vheads' to a. -special meeting so as to "get the exhibitor ^lant on pifbdiict,. , ibhn' Bj^l^|>an Jc*. Katz) ^is goirig ^est tbis. wieek tp;.attend this ;meet- ingV'where^ Va4 icepresent the af- filiate, exliii itork'in the lUiin prpdup^ !tion confab, Jgiying .the .prbducers an •idea: WiiaX,;j»e^ and' related . I^xhibs, tbinirs! Ifilin faif^ cbnl^titute; ' - Balaban is'gbing to the Goast with a brief Case'full pf idea^ bf'his bwn and those submitted by fellpw cir- cuit: execs oh' -Paramount product policieis as to stories,, directbrs, stairs and type of film fare, according to the indicated likes. aiid dislikes of the'ipepple who plank down their ig[uarters and halves at the box-^office Window. CONTRACTS SIGNED ON WiWGER'S iSTIN ROME Rome, Nov. 23. .One of the first cpntracts made for use of studios at Rbme's new Movie Gity is that with Walter. Wanger for filming of 'Arabian Nights,' Harold . Lamb, is writing the scen- ario fbr tl\e film, which is expected to be a chronicle of ancient Bagdad, Sylvia Sidney,. Madeleine Garroll, Gharles Boy er and Henry Fonda are expected to. come to Rome with Wanger. Hollywood, Dee. i; ' Forinalvdiscussipn . the;,; Gau? ^ niontrBritish-20tli-FoxV ahd, •Meiro alliance: jvill start here next Monday (7), when both the: Qstrer brot^hers, along, with both the Sihenck: broth- ers, Sidney Kent and 3. Robjert Rur bin get together with 'the Britishers and listen" to""'their prbpbsitioh; : - . KPrit,' ^Jite Schenck. and; Isl Qstrer had'an informal meeting yes- terday (Moiiday), at ; which I.s.idpt O^trer- ^ave' a brief outline bf the plan; Kent and Scheiick iiisisting that further parleys be withheld un- til the'arrival i^f Maurice Qstrer, who had stymied the brlginai' deal* He gets vi herb by plane Thursday,. (3)^ Nick; :Schenck;. .IUibin and at- torneys, tr^i ©"ut from N.. !y. Ibe sbrbe^rday.^' .'./"^■■■^r.:. '/y. . Isidbr , bstrer heads! for Palm' Springs >tbday (Tuesday);, and Joe Schenck* joins, him Thiirsday (3) to spend the weekend.^ Qstrer .ih|o*iinied a VABiEt«\man at. Sbtj; BernardinoV where he arr|ved Saturday .(28 )». tha^^^ the Jpiiri;,MaXweU pb^se of the^d was but "dhd ;)ie sefemed 'Verj^ bpti- mistic jHaf si deal could l^ lyPrk'eii Out wittftni^ Schenck interests, r V . He eWtilppiIacId that ceftaiii totpcij^tp changes'could be worked ^out thai will overcome the oBjectibhs^^ -^ vioiisly raised by the BrltiBb-gbvein* ment. Wis willingness to niPdifyi; with the eiifnihiitibn of MaxweU,< ar^ believed' to sihobth the way for-ih^; culminatibn of the.' deal, ' *4he 'Amei:icah' ihtbre^ Wbt'e itielineti-^ td stand pat- '1 ' a 4efliii^: ahd-well- deflhed^80iMfe;bejt^.0^ the prihcll^afat without^ lurtbe^^ delay. ■ ' Qsti:er 'stated that it was a^.tlckll^b siibject ip di^u9s tiu^ Mliieudid , not ,iVant sifiy- bflense or sliipit $bowii either side; vbUt feeift that the deal will be in the bag^ belore he leaves. All the prinelpala in the. deal jprb*' f essed. igt^ot^ce of/the purpose Ai^r thur I^ew hi^ in his current visit to Fngland. . , ;.. : A. G> Bl'umehthal is hanging close to Joe Schehck and, Qstrer, but neither, admits he's their:' the deal. ' .in m of Bs 2Wi^Fo:^ Shares Wall Street talk again centers iaround the probabiljity bf the Ghase ;Bank's disposing bf. its 20th Cen- ttiry-Fox shares, estimated to be' Worth from $35;000,000 to, $40,000,000, in compliance with" Federal laws; This is held tb be inclusive of the 500,000 sh^ires additipnally ■which the.bknk will receive from 20th Gen- tury-rFox for the bank's 58% stock equity in National Theatres (F-WC). . The purpose behind the bank's dis- posal of its holdings, .among other thi , seemingly .would be to have its shares distributed among the pUbliCi If and when made, the deal, would have no effect oh the oper- ating setup of 20th Gentury-Fpx, the administrati of which is se- cured by long-term contracts. .Some observers do not think the bank Will sell ,at this ^time, ,b,^cause of the rising value bf these securi- ties. However, . there are other: observ- ers who see a deal set between the bank and a syndicate of investment firms, Whereby the latter will take the shai-es off the bank's hands and undertake the: distribution of same to the public. This syndicate: chiefly Comprises, according to such authori- ties. White, Weld & Go,, I^awrence Stei:n & Go., of Chicago, and Blyth & Go. Ghase . Bank, roughly, .cdhtrbls: iaround. A0% of the outstanding shares of 20th Centuiry-Fox. Stronger Ghase control, of course, would be enconipassed when the bank r ceives the additional 500,000 shares to be had from selling to, the com-^ pany the bank's end bf National The.-- atres. Howevei"- it is fairly certain that the; bank will nbt: dispose of its shares in any manner to affect the present company setup, but tliat in disposing of the shares, it will be conditioning that these shares go to the public igenerally. This atti- tiide was one which was authori- tatlyely expressed some months ago when such talk about the bank's probable dispbsal of its shares first arose; . Diisposal oi holdings .in National Theatres by the bank to 20th GCn- turyrFox would hot be accoinplished under present circumstances lintil the pending , court action in Frisco regarding the old F-WG banktuptcy' is cleared up. This matter is .pend- ing before the Federal Gircuit Court of that territory; and will not be tribiiitofs of cleared, for -a mbnth more;>-' ■ j (Thursday).. . Loew's Scoiiting Londbn, Dec. 1; Arthur M. LoeW, first v^p. » .of IjoeW's, Inc., is quietly looking cbvei^ the Fnglish provinces With a view to picking sites for modern th^a^l^es. iii 20 key'cities. Move duplicates policy Which ..Paramount has oper- ated under oh this side for number of. yeiars. . Loew will , start building In the event: the Gaumbnt-British negotia>» tibns blow up ^ completely. PROBABLE Uiijp OF NEW RKO BOARD At present, it is not certain whether any Hpckefellei^ representative 'will sit on the neiy RKO boatd, prin- cipally because the Rockefellers may not wish to do this 4h the face <it controlling the Hi C. Music Hall and Center theatres, as they do, Attar and. the. Lchmai]!' Gorp,, cbntrbllihjg Owners of: RKQ,: probably 'w»ill ha;ve two representatives each ph the first board; Paul Mabur, Floyd Qdliim iahd Peter Rathvbn may be among these. Mazur. is a partner ' the Lehman firm. There will be mahagcmeht repre-. sentation also ambng the \ nine direbtbrs tb be iselected, which means . that Leo Spifz, company presidentj will be among such directors. Sam riskin, in charge' of '.0 production, may be. another to rejp< resent the management on the first board of, the teorganized cbmj^any. PETTIiOHN IMPROVED Shpwing rapid recovery from- recent severe attack Which 5enf him to the hospital, G. G. Pettiiohn . i expected back at ^is office in th# Motion Picture Producers Jfc Bis- America tom"oi*bw