Variety (Dec 1929)

32 VARIETY P I C T UBE S Wednesday, December 11. 192Q Favorable Pop Music Situation In Great Britain Due to Talkers London, Dec. 3. . The music situation In England Js influenced at present by talking pictures. Of current big sellers over one-half of the popular num- bers are talking picture songs. Full sales effect of a general release for a talking picture has not yet been felt by publishers here because of delay consequent upon , the gradual wiring of picture houses. Also owing to the length of time Intervening between ia picture's pre- release and the general release date, publishers are in.a dilemma If the theme song Is published and records are released at the time the film gets its first run, then there comes a waiting period of fipssibly six months before the next date of the picture shown, during which time it Is difficult to keep the best Song In the world aliv6. . * One effect the talking picture has bad in this territory: is to definitely depress the sale pf production mu- sic, although strangely enough it has not harmed attendance at the legit theatres and music halls to an appreciable extent. • There will be far more chance of success .for the non-talking picture song In Great Britain thsin there would be In the U. S. A., owing to the Important fact that brpadcast - ing Is carried on under seml-Gov ernm^nt control here,^ which gives ■ the free song just as "much chance to be heard frequently as the film; song. ' Mechanicals . Mechanical companies are study ;lng the talking picture medium for exploiting. popular songs. A' com parison of the Issues of records by principal companies shows they have in recent months been guided by the fact that^ a song is featured .'in a film when deciding the num- .bers to be record6di In this connection they are of, course, fortunate in having In many cases, a link with aw Ameri- can recording company and they can therefore Judge by the lists re- ceived from your side the most likely numbers to prove popular here. The music situation. Is a very healthy one for Great Britain, as publishers, phonograph companies and film companies alike have one advantage. As songs, records and talking pictures invariably reach here six or eight weeks after their first showing In America, the Eng- lish are able, to judge to ar-consid- erable extent by the reaction of the U. S. public whether the song, or. picture, will ,enjoy small or big pop ularlty here. THE GAMBLING SPIRIT THROUGHOUT EUROPE Chi Publix Mgrs. Move Up Chicago, Dec. 10 Promotions given three Publix- B. & K. house. managers. Hari-y XiUstgarten, of the Paradise, this : week assumed, supervising mana- ger's duties of six Publix theatres in Detroit. Nate Piatt, of the Uptown, will now supe'rvlse the Uptown and Paradise, and S. Goldfinger, of the Harding, elevated to manager of the Paradise. D. Woh-ach, assistant manager, moved up to Goldflnger's post. ^ EmnniNG in RUBBER For the Stage ana Screen COSTUMES ANIMALS NOVELTIES Exciasive furiilshen of all ivaterprpof materials to Publix Tbcatrts ' Paris, Dec. 2. The gambling spirit which moti- vates much of the general Euro- pean nite life through the. paslnoo attracting, prospects via special cabaret features', large dance or- chestras and the like, is further re- flected in the widespread stock mar- ket gambling by the petty specu- lators. " . The Brussels, Paris, Berlin and London bourses have thousands, ot small speculators. In Brussels notably, the bourse, which Is In the. heart of the Bel- gian capital, on the Botilevard Adblphe Max, ' Is adjacent to/ the hotel and nite life section. At- noon- time and in between sessions, even waiters and busboy9 are seen with their ,100 francs 'or so dabbling around and. being cllipped as a gen- eral thing. •. One cannot conceive the' great hold the baccara (card) and chemln-de-fer games have on the public until It Is cited that these casinos are legalized because France, for. example, derives only (16% of aU the casinos' Intake! Tet there's enough left seemihgly In the remaining 35%. of the casinos' ;'kltty" to make it very worth while, especially when it Is considered that elaborate gaming rooms must be maintained along with well stocked cellars, elaborate cuisine, etc., which latter are more or less of a loss considering that many offer bargain club dinners at 20 francs as come- ong. -With the 20 francs you get a crack dance orchestra and special floor attractions which cost money and certainly aren't covered by the nominal Intake. But the adjacent casinos are beckoning and one Is expected to call, The Kitty The operator of a. room III Brus sels showed the count-up on the most sluggish of all hours one afternoon with 7,000 francs chalked up from a measly roulette game catering chiefly to small: femme bet- tors around tea time. That's the ebb. in a very small If exclusive gaming casino. (Roulette pb legal In Belgium; barred in France, hence Monte Carlo's success as a Riviera resort, drawing the French across thfe border Into the Principality of Monaco). • In Brussels and Antwerp, In Bel glum, small rooms, seating no more than 100 people, hold 15-piece dance orchestras, a six-piece tango band, and two important acts, playing at tea and supper on an average of from 20 to 80 people; not even the lesser figure at some of the teas. Yet it's very worth while all around if only that 20 enters the casino. In Brussels, Percy Atbos has a piece of the. Embassy club; Athos Is an English stager. He . only bought in this year and admitted In October <5f having 150% of his In- vestment back with the year still two good months to go. The Merry Grill and the Abbaye clubs round out the big three of Brussels, although that city has perhaps 100 such casinos. At the Abbaye, Ramon Bourgeois Is man ager. Billing Garbo Only IA the Sunday advertising for LKjew's State, New York, this week, Greta Garbo in "The Kiss'r was billed as Greta Garbo only. Title of the pic- ture or mention of Miss Garbo appearing in a talker was en- tirely omitted. The Garbo name headed the list of the Statie's attractions for the week, with the names of the vaude acts following; Atlanta's 1st Tineapple' Party—NoBody hjored Atlanta, Ga , Dec. 10. Believed a reprisal against the open shop policy of the 10th Street theatre, a bomb placed there Sunday morning destroyed the boxofiice and a section of . the lobby. No one was Injured. Windows within a radius V Of three, bloqks were ehat- ;ered by Atlanta's first theatre pine- apple Pfirty, ■ House Is managed by Mrs. Anna A. Patterson, editor of "Weekly Film Review" and wife pf W. C. Patterson, district manager for Publix.. • Several month's ago circulars were distributed In the neighborhood iBtatIng: that the tl^eatre was en-, dangering the lives of children by a fire hazicLrd through employing "In- competent" non-union operators, House remains open. $2 Globe Goes Grind The $2 Glolie, ^ew York, Is going grind Saturday, with Radio's "DanCe Hall." It will top at 76<5. Joseph B. Plunkett of B-K-O Is said to have Induced the owners of the Globe to revise the lease, which previously ijrohlbited any- thing but a twp-a-day showing. Radio will put Its specials Into the Carroll. "Rio Rita" is on its run there. Coast to Coast Show Business Holds Few Radical Differences Coast Newsreel Houses Ijos Angeles, Dec. 10. Fox will have two newsreel the atres shortly, ordered by Harold B. FrankUn. One will be a,t the Palace In this city, and another In an unselected house as yet In San Francisco. ADD UCDWEST SIX Los Angeles, Dec. 10. Six theatres have been added to the Midland and Midwest chains (iFox). Fox, at Beatrice, Neb.; Strand, Council Bluffs, la.; Circle, Jackson, 111.; Orpheum, Park and Broadway, Cape Girardeau, Mo., are all now under J. E. Wheeler's supervision IHLWAUEEE S£ATS 110,720 Milwaukee, Dec. 10. According to figures compiled by Leon M. Gurda, city building in- spector, Milwaukee's 80 theatres. In- cluding the big Auditorium, can seat 110,720 persons, about a fifth of the city's population. More theatres are under way. NopiUBeal Rubber Mfg. Co. 10 West iSth St. Watkins 9623 New Torh IC OSXLJ ME S I PROimsTIONfl . BXPLOITATIONS PREIBBNTATION8 Contractor Sues Fox The refusal of the Fox Theatres Corp., Roxy Theatres Corp., and William Fox. to go ahead with the contracts to build the Mansion the- atre at 148 East 68th street re- sulted In the filing In the Supreme Court on Monday of a suit against them for $110,120 by the Taylor- Flchter Steel Construction Co., In;., which got the contract for, the steel work In January^ 1928. The suit is also brought against Walter W. Ahlschlager and A. Buckley Llptak, architest; Aron- berg-Fried Co., general contractors, and--H; Robins-BurroughSr-consultr ing engineer. JONES and HULL Featured in F. & M. «*SWEET COOKIES" IDEA TbonlcB to FANCHON & MARCO Direction SHALLMAN BROS. SILVER-PTJBUX PART Max Silver Is out as Publix's rep- resentative In New Orleans. He is back in New York. Silver severed an assistancy to John Zanft, Fox theatre head, In October. . W. B.'S NEW NEWARK HOUSE Spyros Skpuras, acting for War- ner-Stanley, has closed with John. Bberson, theatte architect, for a new 4,500-seater In Newark, N. J. Site is on Broad street. . $616 Judgment Hollywood, Dec. 10. Goodwill, Inc., oi-ganized two years ago to produce Yakima Canutt westerns, obtained a Judg- ment^ Qf „$616 against the^ Goodwill Film Exchange for unpaid rentals on pictures. Narrowing the crack down to the confines pf show business In this country, from the westward regionis of the Pacific slope to the Hudson river stream, the panoramic aspect Is rather analogous. Relatively and proportionateiy the stage Is the sanie everywhere. Only the scenes shift and the actors change. In this wise, show business from coast to coast does not differ so radically. Pooled interests, massive combines and ultimate gigantic mergers have just about taken away the Individualism and distinctive personality from the show game. The revolutionary establishment and majnascopic trend of talking pictures was of course the . greatest factor In bringing together and uni- !ylng the Broadways and Main streets of America. Above all, it lias brought the layman cldser to the Inner and charmed circle behliid foot and klelg lights. There isn't mych left in tuese days back of these realms that the average man,. woman or child doesn't know about. Pictures, books, fan magrazines and even the .stage Itself have tipped and dished suf- ficient inside stuff On show biz to provide a liberal education for any- one. Still, thiq doesn't altogether repudiate Barnum. There -was. Is and probably always will be gullible folks, who just naturally fall for the greatest bait of all time—Illu- sion. And oh thtit principle, not 80 speculative as it-' sounds, the wheels go 'round, box offices click and the industry prospers and pro- gresses. California Giving the coast to coast layout the oncfe oyer, California boasts of that illusion thing more than any other sector. More actors, promo- ters and anglers in the show trade are attracted to the "sunshine" land than anywhere else. Hollywood is the" cause. In and around the film center, with its aiazlng lights, kaleidioscopic sce- nery and tropical climate, every- thing fairly'froths and teems with Illusion. Because of the motion pic- ture industry out there. Tiake that • away and there'd be nothlngf left but the bieaches. Pictures naturally predominate above everything else on the Coast. To watch the opening nights of any filcker, half way exploited properly, one would think that no greater event could possibly overshadow .this In the minds of the populace. Despite what hais been written and said about Hollywood's mob reac- tion to its picture stars, they're probably more pashy about thiem than a flapper used to be over a pic- ture house m. c. That gag about everybody rubbing shoulders with the stars on streets, in restaurants, theatres and other thoroughfares Is a good deal over-estimated. It's true that the picture folk can be found almost anywhere, but how many observers ever find out who they are, unless it's at an opening night, where they are usually an- nounced with purposeful pomp and ceremony? Picture houses get the biggest play In Los Angeles, Hollywood and even Sah Francisco. No telling where and when some screen lumi- nary may make a personal appear- ance. It's even grown to the extent where hotels, restaurants, furniture stores, and even delicatessen shops make high bids for a picture star's appesirance. Where they can't get a virtual star they'll take a featured plaVer or some less noble of the ranks. Everything else on the Coast pales by comparison to pictures. Vaudeville situation is neither good nor bad any more out there because there is hardly any vaude 16ft to speak of. Actors' conditions are somewhat relieved now through the medium of the talkers, but the panic is still on. More and more Holly- wood is becoming Broadwayized through the Influx of so many east- erners. Most of them count the sunshine there in lieu of dough, and =a=^Sood .^deal=' of ..them:. do..get^paid. oft In Just that. But still they keep coming, watching and waiting. Middle West The middle west, with Chicago considered the most Important key city out of New York, remains the theatrical paradox it has always been cracked up to be. Conditions In and around Chi are ever change- able. Nothing Is a criterion for Chicago. Show business Is con- ducted In Its own way there—likes^ dIsUkes 9.nd appeals. De luxe picr ture houses, with their presentation policies, come first In choice and preference to the mid-west amuse- ment seekers. What with big chains of theatres monopollzliig everything else. It's only a natural. coiflHtlon. Chicago, once sounding the key- note In vaudeville. Is just another, stopping point on the way now. The central and neighborhood stands are fully protected by the city-wide picture-house chalii operated by Publix. Vaude, once the cheer leader in the Windy City, Is hot even a competitor any more. Pic- ture' houseis there have been left a clef-T field and are taking advan- tage to the utmost degree. The Chi legit game, another erst- while important and profitable veni' tiire, has been hitting the toboggan for the past few seasons and still not showing signs of shifting gears. Legit attractions are becoming more and more of a gahible In Chi,' Useless to dope the town In that direction, because It almost defies figuring. Many a, hit show; from New York has been known to flop In Chi, and vice versa. A good musical there will always get the edge over a. good drama, but It has, to be plenty good to turn the trick. East Getting Into eastern territory, all roads In show' business lead di- rectly to Broadway. Nobody will probably ever be thoroughly con- vinced of half the stories told about New York, so saying any more about it will be just added con- versation. New York is still paramount In holding out more opportunities for people In show business than any- where else. Answer seems to be that with the hundreds of actors to be found out of work at present here, they still hang on, reluctant to move oH the main stem and wait* Ihg for a break. Schenectady's Big Screen Schenectady, N. Y., Dec. 10. Farash. Corp., has announced in- stallation In the State theatre one of the new wide screens by Magno- scope Corporation. If You Don't Advertise in merv You Don't Advertise c r - u- V--- y-^ i'-^ $5,400 Injury Verdict for |5,400 returned in the | Supreme Court, Manhattan, against the Monarch Amusement Co. Suit filed by Cella IMarron for $50,000 because she fell on a stair- way in Loew's Bijou, Brooklyn, leased by the defendant. KAHA AND THEODORE FEATURED DANCERS IK >\ Si M. "ACCORDION" IDISAS THANX TO A1,ICK (iOODWiN