Variety (August 1925)

\7e<inc»4a7» Aug^oit 5. 1928 P IC T U R E S VARIETY 21 SKEST COAST, INC. EQUITIES VALUED AT $^000,000 BY BANKER -><*■■:•»■».:. i;.'v ': "k' ' ' • '■■I-.' ■ '\K:'' yjJue of lit NatM Franchise in Calif., $10,000,000— AM Qutltanding Obligations Additional—Final Hearings on W. C. Mortgage Bond Issue Jmb Angelea, Aug. 4. >* Final heartnsrs took place on the Application of West Coast Theatres, Inc., for a proposefl $1,600,000 six and one-half per cent, general tnorterage gold aerial bond Issue by. Deputy State Corporation Commia- ■ionef Earl Adania. The tatter took undAk* adyMlBRlent the' t^tlmony given by. 4]be. numerous jtrttnesses caUed oa.In behalf of the theatre corporation and announced be would expedite bis decision as to whether or not permliiBion'will be granted to sell th^ l^siM by Batiks, Huhtley * Co. .'. , 7' '" I Prloc ^o one, pf the h^rlnga. Will B^ Hays appear.ed at the meeting and at tbe. same tim«'. Walter K. Teller, sttorhey for the Aasoclation of Motion PlcturA Pi'bdUcers, was brought In 'afi lui associate counsel tor West Cowt. , A large number of bond and flnanoe mea were called, all of whom testified that Banks, Huntley ft Co. handle) only the most meri- torious propositions, and from their observitlons West Coast Theatres, lao., looked like a sound business project; that : permission for an ijMue such as they 'ask should be granted, as there is enough secur- ity to protect the bond-holders in ca4e of failure of the enterpriaes. All seemed to have the same view that as the West Coast did a cash business. It is to be compared With the large chain stores around the country, so far aiM niatters of In- eoQi* «re concerned. X. '.r ; ^ Value of Right* • • John B. Barber, vice-president of the First National Bank, who la an officer of the Cinema Finance Com- pany, statM that he figured the Fitst National franchise rights whiob West Coast own tor the Pa- clflc Coast worth 11,000.000 from an Intrinsic and strategic value. He also testined he would consider 16,000,000 as a fair price for the en- tire circuit, with the purchaser as- suming all of the circuit's outstand- ing obligations. When asked whether his concern on a general taortgage loan would give West Coast $1,600,000 without security, he stated that under the banking laws they could., not make any longer loan thandO days, so there- tore the matter was out of the Questtbn. CommiStlloner Adams, following this testimony,'inquired regarding the assets of the Northern Califor- hia Corporatloii. He aald . tliat their statement aheet showed their assets to be $8,000,000, of which $1,000,000 showed moneys receiv- abl* and that as he understood the business was a cash business he would like to know .the reason for . this. It was explained that the Southern Division of the West Coast Theatres, Inc., had borrowed $760,000 6f this amount and that $200,000 was due on a recent sale of flpme property. It was said that as the Northern Oprporatlon had never paid any dividends and that the stock was entlrelj^ owned by West 06Mt Theatres, Inc., that this loan would b« written'off'>frften dividends were declared by a charge to the parent organisation. t Should the Corporation Commis- Voner decide to permit the bond Usue. it la hardly likely that his i^Bcisloii will be made before Sept. 1; as hs must examine a lot of fliuinclal statements which West Coast was instructed to submit at :t^« last hearing. GOLDWYN JOINS HAYS ON COAST ..,.;f .1. CUims West Unaffitiated widi East ft'if fRONT PAGE THEATRES ■j Baltimore, Aug. 4. 'I Th«' papkr 'erection, of ibewi the- ^i^ in .t^lautbwny m't^ViOrlte^fter-i >^n edition pastime, with a section cjf the local press, was augmented last weeki whon thfe. -, Sitaxil^y'a reared an impo^ii^f, hoi^^o vlght across the front page of a ''riome ^Inal." ■' ; Wltl^ -Chopnas .D.> ^orloro's 4,000- irieat House in the blue print stage tiind Marcus Loew dutntuHleld to an- cfther, the Stanley stiory i" 1^ k^isp- mf wiOk the trend of thO'times. 1 ■ ' ••' Zio^'^ngeles, Aug. 4. Samuel Ooldwyn has joined the Association of Motion Picture Pro- ducers of America here on the coast, • This action comes as a surprise to the fi^m colony considering Goldwyn had djB^ed the Hays orsanizatloH by filming "Tarnish," banned: by it as being) unfit for screen presenta- tion. Goldwyn reconciles his action by saying that the Western organiza- tion which he'has joined has noth- ing to do with the Hays body in the' PED STAHS WOULD FORCE i: RESIGNATION OF SYD COHEN ostile Faction Calls M. P. T. O. A. *'One Man; Affair"—Cohen Followers Indignant at ''Deal Syd' is Getting"—May Investigate Books , '' Kast.' {■ JULfeS WALT6N and ■ [ ; :si$TEH josii; vMoaga's Sensational Dancing Ouo : Whii'ling arontid'thS' B. ft K. oir- ?uit-Of theatres, introducing new leas in terpsldMrei ' i ^' • ■' I This week (Atigl S). MoVldker^a, Chicago. ■ ' ' ' •. I Personal Oireetlon I . iMABELUe SHERMAN |41S Capitol Bulldlnc. Chicago, III. Barbecue Had to Move; PnbEcity Choked Off What appeared to be one of the biggest space grabbers for a motion t>icture organisation in some time was knocked 6n the head last Sat- urday, when the New York City Building Department refused to permit th9 Famous Players to Hold a Broadway barbecue in the lot back Of the Putnam building, which ts to \m the site of the tremendous Par- amount theatre and oflfloe building. The idea was that of fiddle Olm- stead, publicity man for the Rlalto and Rivoli theatres. It looked like a whale of a scbeine to celebrate the sAart of the buUdlng ope..-atlons for the new house. Friday it rainpd all day. and on Saturday the build- ing department decreed that the water seeping under the foundations of the rear of the Putnam building made it rather tinsafe for a gath- ering of 2,000 to tread the light fan-, tastic on the old fioor of what once was Shanley's. The crowd as It assemMod Sat- urday night was lirected to the Astor Hotel, where in the grand ball room the dance and feeding took place. There was barbecued meats, . hot dogs and sauerkraut, com, and watermelon, and all the trimmlns, but the outdoor picnic atmosphere was lacking, and that took the edge oft the story if noth- ing else, for the Ben Betnle band had the crowd dancing until early Sunday morning. Mayer's Name of Billing But Remains on Slides Los Angeles, Aug.. 4. ■ With the release of the 1926-26 product of Metro-Goldwyn, ' the name of lioula B. Mayer will' be eliminated from all the 24-sheet stands and other advertising mat- ter. Including press sheets as pre- senting the pictures. .. In the future, all o< this adver- tising will read "Metro-Goldwyir presents." Mayer's name will be continued on the screen as present- ing the pictures. The reason for the change is said to be that two lines of printing are saved in this way and that at the end of the year the rving will be quite large. In the past year, the name of Mayer was used on the advertising, and it was necessary to use several extra lines to call at- tention to. th* febt that the pic- ture was ■*. MetrO-tJcAdwyn output. , Hays on Vyay Back to N. Y* ' ' •,' Los Angeles,, Aiig. 4. WHf H. 'Hai's, aftfir thr je weAs at thei, Jbc^l, hBadViu.irteM '. of,.' the ^^saoctation is en routfc to Eptes Pii^k.- tiolo., where he w'ifl visit with hls'^oin, ■vhb Is vacationing %heto 'and tl)on. the General WlV^ return! to New York, ' TEAPOT DOME INTERESTS IHE GOVERNMENT 3-CORNERED iCOMBINAnON? But Fred Caldwell Says He'll Make Picture lU- gardless df GoV^ |teported as-Possible but '' Improbable I A three-cpriiered picfjure diatrl- ^ytihg and prod^clng. combination (B.iauch ioaids reported as a pos- sibility, but ran improtMibillty, >e- <weea Fox, WwnierS' and' Univer- j That It Is'Inaprobaijie is said to »e b^lWved throuj^h tp6'rtiany heads |o th* various organizations, none ♦f whom would' consent to be suib- ^pted ,to another or: submerged In standing or individuality., [ Notwithstanding, it is reliably humored that New York banking in- terests have lool^ed upon this p6s- sibie combinatlbri with favor. None Of the parties n^med has expressed an opinion. ;t.-.H .'V 'Lios Angled, An^, i. .Qorernment .agents - ara on the ^-all of Bruno Du Bala, who'styled himself a National sub-dLvider and was promoting & project to take over S.IOO acres of land at La Costa, near San Diego, to make it a film broduclng center as well as t»roduee a picture baaed oa '"The ^e&i>ot pome" acandal. ' Du JBaln. wbO oaima l>»re from Cleveland, had sianed, papers with jthe owners of this S,100-aore tract, and, it ts said, gave certain securi- jtios and references urtiich Cleveland bankers referred to refused to o. k. ; The Secret Service agents i^ot onto the trail,of Du Bain to ascer- tain what the picture would be and prevent him from injecting anything into the story which might in any Way prejudice Jndg% or Jpry. through film conclusions. In a trial which as yet Is stiU pending in the courts. The matter was also brought to the attention of Fred W. Beetson, secretary of the Association of Motion Picture Producers. Beetson Is now conducting an iaquiry on bis own. ... -v. Fred Caldwell Finaaelna< Variety located Fred CaJdW^ell, who has been making independent tiy^o-r^l productions, and .was to have produced the ■ picture ^or Du Bain. Caldwell .stated that he jwas going to finance a company for 1100,000 to make n- Teapot Dome picture' from a story which he,'%i(n- seir. had written, different frokn the bu Bain story.. HO iltated, .that his ^icti^ atory wiui ooQJ^rlgbted while that written by Da Bain was not ] Caldwell declared h^ had Thorn- ton Kinney, millionaire concqsslon and amusement man at Venice, In- terested and that Kinney would-.be 'ab)9 to Interest otl^er Venice capital -In t^e entarpris^. This CaldweU expects to do by Sept. 1, when he will start nuiklhg the picture at a Hollywood studio. When the Variety representative Ihfprmed Caldw<ill thip governntent m^ght object to h|in ijiaking sucH a fiicture he replied; "Well, if I have he money, I can make that or any '(Other, as people who invest in plc- ,'tures do not care what you make Lr long as it shows a profit." P. D. C. Takes on Neilan And Powers for 4 Filras . Los. Aoseias, Aug. 4. i John C. Fllnn. vice-president and general manager of Producers Dis- tributing Corpohition, has signed a contract with Marshall }feilan and Pat Powers, flnanqlal sponsor for Neilan, whereby the director-pro- ducer will i^ake four pictures for P. D. C. release tipbi^ the concluskm bf his contract with Metro-Gold- Wyn, where be Is qow inakiog "The Preat Love." . , I No arrangements were made for {the PfUnn organisation to handle /•Skyrocket,- starring Peggy Joyce, which Neilan recently completed. |rhis picture maq^ be turned over to the Associated BSxhibitors tor Its program. Fllnn centemplatei remaining around* Los Angeles for another 10 days to negotiate '6th'er releases .with new producers. ?, f.JSAKmQ C05AN ^^AY Famous Players will pioturize George M. Cohan's *'^hg- Und )anoe Man," although th^' author- ictor Is not expected to appear In h« icreeri , vcrtjlon. .11^ will prob- kl)iy 'irrlt^ tife, scenario, hav/evM, The backwash of the Detroit as* sembly of the executive ofl»cers of the M. P. T. O. A. that is noticeable in New Tork shows that the <ftro{^ adherents of Syoney S. Cohen are .] up, in arms over What they term ts 1 "the deal that Sydney is getting.'* , Seemingly the forces of the Allied^'V SUtes organization, which fetiimatt to t,be,foid pf thelii. P. gc 6. A. at the Milwaukee Convention this Spring, are determihed to ' force the resignatlan of Coheh from otimi', ^ial posttloti in 'the nSttlonaT e^w!3 hlbitof oi^ganls^tioB. The moetinga' in Dietroat were held last Thuradaf anf Friday. ,' ,'; ,•; , Theory of those opposed to Oohea^< (a that' as long as be remains' Iti'3 4n,oinc(al of the organisation tt.wJtt' be a "one-man" affair. I "Cohen won't retire under fire.** hla Supporters' aay. The opposition state that' Cohen won't retlra •*un- der fire" or under any circumstance, a^, his record in the past showa>-j^ They point to his sUtements antf- spseehes prior to the Chicago oon>' •Ventlon of three years ago, wh i the big split in the ranks of the M. P. T. O. A. occurred and ^o his action at that convention, a pr<^f positive that Cohen would like to remain in the driver's seat of the M. P. T. a A. for life. ' ; The results «f the Miiwai'keeooii- ventlon looked fine as far as ther went, but right now the exhibitor situation as far as organ ksatlonan^ cnocerted action la oqncemed Im again clouded. In Detroit last week the light nar- rowed down Into a battle of (>er- ironalUies, with Cohen actinslMr some of hts former su{>porters of double-crossing, aad at one tim^ Jt at>peared ,aO though charges wer^ to preferred against Cohen, but be Greta Nissen WfSk Glorify Ztegffeld's First P. P. FUm Los Angeles, Aug. 4. Qreta Nissen will play the lead- ing role in "Qiorifylng the Amer- ican Oirl," which wlU be the first picture Flo. Ziegfeld, Jr.. will make for Paramo^nt release. Miss Nissen is,.xu>w In "Lucky Lady;" which Baoul Walsh Is dl- reksting, and will. Onish i^bout Aug- ust 15. the very ones that he attacked were those that prevented thoee charge* being filed. XxMymlng al a possibility may be a general investigation via the oourie of the a:ffaira of tbe i$. P. T. O. A. as A resort on the part .pf those who want Cohen removed I from ofllce. In that event the books of tbe organisation would be brought to light for the industry at large to get an inside idea of how the organization was rim during the years that Cohen was its head, and likewise last year whllor M, J. O'Toole was the presldoot. That step seems to-be generally discussed ^t this time. Rupert Hiigli^ and U. A. I'OS Ancsl^, Aug>.' 4. , Rupert Hughes, who left Metro- bold wyn. Is. jroported. osgoUatlng With U^ted Artists to make plc- ^unM for release through that or- ganisation. ' ' i; - Hughes at present Is in San Fran- cisco, but will return this week to take the matter up further with Hiram Abrams, president of United ArtUts. .. It is si^id.H,ughes will .write his own stories and supervise the pro- duction of hts pictures as he did with the M.-a. outfit. t-A''-- ore See«,. Hays ' Loa Angeles, Aug. 4. Frank Qlllihore, executive secre- tary of the Actors Equity Associa- tion left here for New York today after a Aire day sojourn. While Gillmore was here ho conferred with Will H. Hays. It is said that the situation between Equity and the Picture producer's association la harmonious, with both organiza- tions to co-toperate. Gillmore also presided af a meeting of theexoni- llve cfSmriUffft^ oif .the local ICriiiUy branch whicjh W.^d^Qwoyd Nvwell heads. ''».••»:. QO» k <'t .•:<•<."» CAMEBA EXPORTS . Washington, Aug, 4;- Exports of motion picture camc'i'its t>ave increased with 12S of tfie pro- JeCtidli machines beinf ah^i^ t,» foreign countries di)r(ng !tha mantin 6f June, 1926, as against 5t li» JvMk l»24. '• ; For the fiscal year of tUe govern* (nent ending Jtine Y0; 1036. recof(|s of the department; disclose thi^t l.>4|[ ^f the machines wer^ exported i^" ^gaiciat l,0S0'the preced^g year., , ^ Xlu>ugb 4he. number haa Increased shippers declare the 1*24 t 26 exports as having a vatue of ^89,057 as com- pared with $342,062 tor th^ ie|^ humber exported W 1921-24. "V CLARKE'S DELATED VACATIOy Los Angeles, Au,,! .4. Victor H. Clarke, assistant to Jesse L. Lasky, la on his first vaoa.- tion in four years. He Is taking 4 three weeks' auto trip thi'dugh tfafs Pacific Northwest. Clarke's departure thrpw 't^p' 0ri^* tire exoc»ltl,ve tvork oi* the.sti;dio-oa a'eneral Manager Charles Eyton* > COSXUM ES PROnnCTTONS ».,.,,. „•,.. ,f>KB8BNTATtON8 -, ,..>/. i4l -.1437 B'way. Tol.M80Pefti'^<^~'