Variety (Dec 1929)

PablUIied WMkly at 1(4 West 4<tta St.. Nev Tork» N. T., tr TaHety, Ina ADnaal •ubacrlptlon. Slnclci coptn. Zt cent*. Bntered «■ mc4iid-clau nutttor J>ec«mb«r 22, 1906, at tha Fort Offloa at New York. N. mdtr tha Jict of Uarcb t. 1I7». VOL. XCVn. No. 9 NEW YORK, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1929 80 PAGES With 2 lifers' and 2 Pros in Cast 1/"Good News,'' Scbwab and Mah- deis musical comedy hit of two ieasons ago, presented at Sing Slper prison last week by an all-lninate ^st, two of ^tioin are serving life Sentences, probably grossed |10,00p in five performances for th6 Mutual "ji^elfare Iieague of the Institution, ^verage nightly attendance at 92.50 top was about 900. The audiences, Ynblhly relatives and friends of the l^soners with a scattering' of prlspn illQmnl and Broadwayltes, all found %B league's 11th annual show a Ulghly creditable amateur produc- tion. i Tiie boys In stir put the-show on under the direction of Vic Tler- pey, wha played >• comedy role. They rehearsed three .hours a night tour nights a week for a month, though they had to be up at 6 each ifaorning to begin the daily prison routine. ' Playing the leads were AI Mona- Uan, juvenile; Bob Carman, femmc lead: Jack Katz, soubrette; Jack Hanley. straight; Vic Tiemey and Bert Spalding, comics, and Qeorge Bisbein, ingenue. . Other male prls- Wers in the cast, including "ponies" and "show girls," were listed in the program under Initials. Names of principals unlikely their own. Proa in Cavt , J Only two of the cast, Carman and f^'^erney, have had professional show experience, it is said, the former having pla;yed in stock some "time prior to starting a 12i-year stretch tor burglary seven years ago: Both turned In first rate performances, from accounts, Tierney. handling tContlnued on page 60) KACm'SHAKE , jj Chicago, Dec. 10. Snaking down actors has sprung again here among racketeers, ^th Charles Winnlnger and prac- "cally all other principals of "Show ' '^k' ^'"^"S the victims. ® on guard during performances at the Illinois, on the lookout for the shake boys. ^: Allan Campbell was one of the i«w 'Show Boat" players who balk- «a at the shake. Result was Camp- , oeu received notice he would • be «ken for a ride. He packed his ^nk3, got his release, and is now «>*ck in New York. can with a telephone ihl^^'^'" ^^^^ e*""** voice on other end, "Is the office of State oenator Van Lunt. The senator Is Ir^A ^ Christmas benefit party 3 ^'0" are Invited. It will cost you about noo." 'But," the actor would protest, ■^,,5[<^n.t want to go." Oh. yog you do. Think how many (Continued on page 75) Future Stars? The only secondary school in the City of New York that botiBts of a moving picture club iB the New Utrecht High' school of Brooklyn, N. T. The school officials have recognized the memberet andtthe kids have gone ahead and appointed all sorts of directors. Including a "chief technician," "head cine- matogr^pher" and a couple .of yes-men and It^lies. The yoXingsters have on tap a melodramatic scenario which they intend to work on this ' term and complete for the sen- ior class night. They have also started a scenario contest among the. other students,. Each member of the cinema club gets a free screen test. The camera, in addition to mugging thie kids at social afiCalrs, is used for football shots, and other school ac- tivities. Marilyn Miner's $500,000; With F N for Four Years Hollywood, Dec. 10. Marilyn Miller will spend the next four years of her picture career with First National. Musical com- edy star made "Sally" for FN last summer, this picture now being due at the Winter Garden, New York, Dec. 28, following "Show of Shows." Contract arrangements were re- cently completed and the studio is figuring on making a picture and half a year with Miss. Miller, ac- cording to the time off her show en- gagements permit. This means she will make about six films in all. Story for her second release has not been selected as yet, but the understanding Is that all of Miss Miller's features will be in color With a strong possibility of DeSyl- va, Brown and Henderson doing at least one of them. Salary Is not mentioned, but It is believed she will get slightly in ex- cess of her "Sally" remuneration, which was $10,000 weekly on a five weeks' guarantee. Probably mean- ing around $500,000 for Miss Miller. Jack Johnson's Jazz Band ~ N6"r\vaIIc,""C6ririv;"^ Jack Johnson,' the former colored heavyweight champion of the world, who barnstormed around here a year ago giving boxing lessons to business men. is back, now leading a Jazz band. He played his orches- tra In McCormacIc and Barry's Ritz ballroom in Bridgeport Saturday night and has engagements throughout this section. Johnson plays a bass fidJIe. E IF ITNOW.BEIIEF Good-Sized Share of Film Industry Already Uiider Arm of - American Tele- t;r^ph & Telephone Co.— Mpre Shortly, Rumors ; Agree-r-O u t w a r d Move . With ^ Fqx Accepted as Ihdicator Factions Razzii^ Each Other in Feud BOARD OF DIRECTION Show business' insiders, that tak- ing Jn some of the film; industry's biggest men, have reached the con- viction that the American Telegraph and Telephone Company has decide ed to take over the picture theatre and' everything with it. ^Reasons advanced are: That the picture business is now operated on sounds That A. . T.. & T/s subsidiaries have too much money represented by the theatre to overlook it. That the Western Electric's wire and. device leases and licenses, will run off in about e^ght more years. That Radio has discovered there is money in the show business. That A. T. & T. sent out its in- dicator last week when John E. Ot- terson went on the William Fox board of trustees. That there is a lot of money now in show business and there is profit in it. It is said that the downtown bankers who see the picture trade (Continued on page 8) TALKERS CAN'T THROnLETHE SCREEN BUGS' Training, the Girl ;A Bronx merchant has an interest in a local house, for- merly playing subway circuit attractions but now irtermit- tently lighted iip with various attractions. Possessed of a stage-struck d a u g h t e r, he makes the condition that house can only bis rented if the girl is placed in the show. During the paist three months the daughter, without previous stage experience, has been in . Italian graQd opera, atock burlesque, and no# is 4n dra-' matlc Btopk. ' She longs for a talker in her pop's opry house. BETTER DIALOG DEMAND FOR BROADCASTING Hollywood, Dec. iO. Contrary to the general belief, and hope that talkers would cur- tail the number of screen aspirants, there has been actually an increase in ambitious screen crashers. Cast- ing offlces are not only having thou- sands of new applicants call, but are also receiving letters from all parts of the country a? formerly. If looking over some of the let- ters asking for recognition, you wouId""flrid^he" "fonb wihg^ "Twice while walking alung Broadway, New "Tork, I have been mistaken for Ramon Novarro, and on both occasions it has caused the aid of police to break away the crowd." ^ Just A Dizzy Gal Some dizzy dame In a mMwpstern tqwn boasts of possessing a so- prano voice cultivated In a. church (Continued on page 53) . Broadcasting companies and sta- tions, notably NBC, are gradually becoming- less lenient with radio sketch and material writers. Ether esecs are rejecting the type of script formerly, accepted. Increasing the iponey for good writers, and forcing amateurs to improve or quit. Demands of advertising air space buyers and radio audiences for class in the material, as well as in talent, is raising tha quality of dialog. Up to now anything in the air writing line Invariably got by. Average pay for short sketches was $25 to $50, and the writers were hacking them out by the ton. Or- ders to Improve the quality in re- turn for more money have ended the fast writing racket for radio and caused the dialog Creators to spend more time on. their stuff. One of the best known of the wholesale ether authors had two scripts rejected by NBC material readers last week'. He claims that until a short time ago the same sketches w'puld have been accepted without question. Xmas fiind Cops . Los Angelies, Dec; 10. Street corners in downtown L. A. are fitted up with radio loud speak- ers which from 10 until midnight broadcast a medley of Christmas carols. . Idea was all right on paper, but traffic belld, street cars and general traffic noises make the music in- audible 16 feet from the horns. Cops are kept busy moving the Wedding; Grosi Schenectady, N. T., Dec( 10 Admission was charged ai the wedding of Helen HovJce, former show girl, to Anthony Glanelll, mu- sician, in Howe's Caverns, near here. Caves were discovered by an an- cestor of the bride. Wedding drew quite a crowd. A feud is oh between«the con- cert-going public and the conduci tors of symphony orchestras. This is notably prevalent in big eastern cities in which the maeotros stub- bornly insist that the public shall observe proper etiquette and the publie, quite as stubbornly, holds to its right to be rude. Chief complaint is that patrons will not arrive on time. Conductors now have the doors closed prompt- ly at the designated minute with late comers. conipelled to wait out- side as Igng aa 45 .minutes, or until the opening symphony Js finished^ Leopold Stpwkowski, conductor of the Philadelphia Symphony, and among the most bitter in attacking the bad manneirs of the high brows, used a unique method of expressing his feelings^ He started his open- ing symphony with only a few mu- sicians. As it progressed other mu- sicians dame in, a, few at'a time* Nearly 20 minutes elapsed before the full orcl^estra was seated and playing. It Was Stowkowski*s way .of giv- ing the public a sample of its own conduct with reverse English. The "lesson" was hotly denoynced by some and endorsed by others. In the field of opera the society mob have always figured themselves too fashionable to arrive at. the start, or to stay for the finale. Noth- ing can be done abont this as the opera Is wholly and financially de- pendent upon the people who are most eruiity. Symphony orchestras, however, derive their support more directly froni the public and are generally over-subscribed. Conductors are able to . expressie Independence. Hissing As the feud over manners has intensified in the last couple of sea- sons, the public has adopted the European habit of expressing Itself volubly and pointedly by hissing. Coming from supposed .intellectuals and culture hounds, this hissing Is a.new and. vexatious problem. Con- ductors feel that their positions carry an obligation on their part to griv© hearings to new comjposefs, whereas' the symphony-going pub- lic waints nothing but the estab- lished composers. They claim the modern composers write "boiler factory" noise, so they hiss without Stint by way of dis- approval. This only makes the conductors more determined to pre- sent new symphoniefs. And so the battle ragies. Each side cjaiming rights and crltlciizlng the other. This season it's worse than ever. . . . • ^ . ;_ BROOKS THE NAME VOU GO BY WHEN YOU GO TO BUY COSTUMES OOWNS AVn UN I FORMS 1 B WAY. N.V, TEL. Mbo'peNn" 'i- ■ -AI.SO U.0OO COSTUMES TO BM?J^S===