Exhibitors Daily Review (Jul-Dec 1928)

Exhibitors DAILY REVIEW, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 1928 DAIt«fVIEW Reg. U. S. Pat. Off. Published Daily Except Sunday ARTHUR JAMES. Editor W. R WILKERSON. Publisher Abraham Bernstein, Managing Editor; Herman I. Schleier, Business Mai Executive and Editorial Offices, 25 West 43rd Street. Suite -409, New York. Telephone Bryant 1489. Address all communications to Executive Offices. Subscription Rates including postage paid, per year United States and Canada, $10; Foreign, $15; single copies, 5 cents. Remit by check, money order, currency or postage. Entered as second-class matter January 4, 1926, at the post office of New York, under the Act of March 3. 1879. Published and copyright by Picture Publishers. Inc. Printed by Cline Printing Corporation, New York City. Most of our New York City subscribers are furnished their papers by carriers, in order that they will get a more prompt service than that given by mail. Subscribers will oblige by notifying us about any lapse in service. Joe Blair, West Coast Representative 1255 Taramind Avenue, Los Angeles (Phone Hempstead 1514). , London Office and Correspondent: Samuel Harris, "The Cinema". 80-82 Wardour Street. London, W. 1. ... r> • Canadian Office: Canadian Moving Picture Digents, 259 Spadina Ave., Toronto, Canada. New York:— Harvey Day, as he started to vote, said lie knew Hoover was bound to win unless it should chance that Al Smith won enough states to give him a plurality in the electoral college, then, of course, Smith's chances were best . . . Eddie Smith, Tiffany-Stahl sales manager, is back from a midwestern trip, and what he did in the way of selling Tiffany-Stahl new product is nobody's business . . . Paul Gulick took time out from yesterday's golf labors to a vote, presumably for Hoover although he didn't take anyone but he voting machine into his confidence . . . Eddie Klein and others connected with the Sam Harris big reciprocity etc. dinner, want it distinctly understood that a gentleman named Eddie Klein is still high guri of that dinner . . . Eddie MacNamee. who labors (?) over at National Screen service, says that Paul Benjamin is secretly practicing up in the hope of becoming a virtuoso on the harmonica in order to give a real concert at some future A.M.P.A, meeting . . . Victor Shapiro has a new joke at which he laughs himself while telling it, but since this is a family newspaper, we'll let you get it from him direct . . . Koxy Rothafel, vice-president of the Motion Picure Club, made his first appearance there after he had learned from this column that Jim Savage had been engaged as physical instructor . . . Billy Brandt and Harry Brandt stick as close as the proverbial brothers on business matters, but sometimes split other ways, as Harry gave a big election night party of his own down in the country instead of attending Broher Bill's big show at the Motion Picture Club last night . . . Jim Tully Feast Off After De Forest Flouts Villifier (Continued from page 1) the refusal to withdraw the Tully invitation. President George Harvey threw the meeting open to the directors and in attendance were P. A. Parsons, former president of the body, Charles Barrell, Walter Eberhardt, also a former president, Dave Bader, Alex Moss, Paul Benjamin and Ed McNamee. They maintained that in the more than a dozen years life of the body that an open forum had always been maintained and that they would continue this policy, even in the case of the unspeakable Tully. Insofar as this newspaper has ever been able to discover, the open forum never threw the gates wide open for swine, whether they were on two legs or four and on behalf of the industry it resists fully what it regards as the honest but fully mistaken attitude of the board of directors. Dr. De Forest being a gentleman, exercises the right to pick his company and his action, so soon as it became known, was applauded everywhere except among the unhappy patriots who took the "Death before a Restricted Forum" attitude. The really big laugh in the whole situation is the militant squawk of the "Film Daily" which suddenly woke up to the fact that Tully was alive and that his play "Jarnegan" traduced the prestige of the industry. Motion Pictures Today gave Tully attention immediately after the opening of his play, following its established custom of resenting and resisting all that attacks the motion picture business and its people, and Exhibitors Daily Review attacked his villification immediately. The newly virtuous "Film Daily" said: "The A.M.P.A. finds its sole reason for existence in the fact that it is presumably of, by and for motion pictures," tomorrow acts as host to Jim Tully, author of "Jarnegan", slinger of mud and traducer of the industry prestige. Then follows a criticism of the entire body, which is unfair, because there was never any vote on the invitation as far as the full membership was concerned and there are more men in the A.M. P.A. today who resent Tully's appearance than who favor it, even on the mistakenly brave attitude of the 'open forum". It was reported during the lunch hour at the Motion Picture Club that a telegram would be sent to the Hotel Vanderbilt, where the ex pug has his New York habitat, asking him not to come to the luncheon, but this proved to be mistaken. Today's luncheon would have been attended only by the morbidly curious, as men of gentlemanly instincts and a respect for the motion picture industry would have expressed their attitude by remaining away. But — there is no luncheon — todays directors meeting pushes it away into limbo. $5 Top for Opening Of "Interference" Nov. 16 When "Interference", Paramount's first all-talking picture, has its New York premiere at the Criterion Theatre on Friday evening, November 16, tickets will be scaled at $5.50 for the opening. Because of the anticipated heavy demand, all seats for the opening night will be sold, with no invitations being extended, except to film reviewers. "What's Right with the Movies" (Fifteenth of a Series by Industry's Leaders) By AL CHRISTIE President, Chirstie Film Company The Greatest tiling which has happened to the moving picture business in the last few years* of course, being the introduction of sound pictures, has had the effect of making every person in the production end of the business work harder than ever before. Every now and then some new stimulant comes along which jogs people up, makes them alive to new situations, makes them WORK, and THINK and try to keep progressing. Right now people in all branches in the studios are working as they have never worked before, a fact which is bound to have its effect on product which is coming. This new stimulant and desire and necessity of working hard will affect not only the sound pictures, which is the immediate aim, but will also affect the quality upward of the silent pictures which are made simultaneously. In adjustments which are brought about through the introduction of talking pictures, the material becomes more important than ever before. The star-system bows before, the newly-powerful slogan "the play is the thing". The industry is adjusting itself to this, aud it is already having its effect in presenting pictures of all types which strikes out into new angles of entertainment. Hoover Biography in Fox Newsreel Out Early (Continued from page 1) biography of Herbert Hoover's life. The cut and titled negative was in the laboratory, awaiting the outcome of the election Tuesday night and at 10 o'clock, Editor James E. Darst gave orders to start printing. The special Hoover subject reached New York theatres early Wednesday morning, were dispatched to all parts of the United States by air mail and were showing in a majority of theatres supplied by Fox News Wednesday evening, within sixteen hours of the time it was known that Hoover had been elected. They were the first to be delivered. Lindsey to Bring Suit Against T-S (Continued from page 1) Contract" infringes on his story "Companionate Marriage" which was put into picture form by Sam Sax and sold to First National pictures. He has retained Clarence Darrow, the noted attorney, to prepare papers and plead his suit. Edward Smith, general manager of Tiffany-Stahl acknowledges that Lindsey had been in touch with his company regarding the impending suit and claims, "Judge Lindsey has no basis for his suit and we would be very glad to have the matter tested". Both pictures, "Companionate Marriage" and "Marriage by Contract" are playing day and date runs in Denver next week and it is in this city that Lindsey hopes to bring his suit. Warner-ERP Agreement Read at RobertsonP-FL (Continued from page 1) fense, are Frank Eaman, Judge Stuart Hanley and David H. Crowley. The second half of the day featured a reading of the entire agreement between the Electrical Research Products and Warner Brothers by attorneys of the defendants, who also brought out that Robertson had no actual contracts for sound pictures, except verbal claims and contended that P-F-L stood ready to deliver all product which the defendant did have contracts for. The case was adjourned and will be continued today. Timid Boys Hate To Pick Winner (Continued from page 1) Great Britain and the United States". Their excuse was that they were "not familiar with conditions sufficiently to judge" and their names are W. A. Johnston, Motion Picture News ; Jack Alicoate, Film Daily and Martin Quigley, Herald-World. This naive confession from three great editors about not being familiar caused the entire staff of this newspaper to utter low gurgles. Mr. Sime Silverman of Variety declined to serve for the very legitimate reason that he was not the editor of a trade paper and so the choice of the winner will be made today by the board of directors of the A.M.P.A. Yesterday's session was red hot, as it developed that outside influences had been legging in behalf of their own candidates for the cup winner. All were unmentioned at the meeting. One of these is a financier who has by money loans aided Anglo-American activities. Another is a foreign manager, a third was the maker of a picture and there were more, the most conspicuous figure in the promotion of amity between the two countries' film industries having no politicians maneuvering in his behalf. The award will be announced today and a general call will be issued for industry support of the dinner, November 20th at the Biltmore. The purpose of the dinner is so worthy and so totally aside from politics in its motives that it is believed that now that the atmosphere is to be clear the dinner will be much larger than was first expected. The committee is working hard on a fine program and represenative leaders of the industry will be present. Harry Marx Resigns Big Publix Post (Continued from page 1) is understood it is Mr. Marx's desire to operate a group of his own thetres, the controlling interest of several having been offered him recently. The former Publix official had been associated with Sam Katz for approximately ten years and was brought to New York City from the Balaban and Katz interests of Chicago when the latter took over the operation of Famous-Player and associated theatres.