Exhibitors Daily Review and Motion Pictures Today (Jan-Jun 1930)

m DAI LY^R E V I E W M O T I C3 M P I C T IJ II E S TODAY Reg. U. S. Pnt. Off. — Formerly Exhibitors Trade Review V0L. 2J N©. la NEW WEENESDAT, JANEAET 15, 1^3© TEN CENTT BROOKHART REMAINS TRIAL LAWYER IN IVAN ABRAMSON SUIT AGAINST PROOUCERS i Bia FUND UNO FOR WHAT? By WE NOTE that the musicians’ union is spending $500,000 to stop the “debasing of musical taste by the talkies”. This is a jolly old idea, isn’t it? « * « TN COMMENTING on it, the Tjejuene Walter Winchell says: “As soon as this movement begins to show results, the buggy painters union is going to do something about the automobile cra^e, and the makers of satin petticoats are going to stop the debauchery of American womanhood, brought about the silk stepuns”. ^ -41 ^ WE wonder how this $500,000 is to be spent, if any. Our experience with the music on the talking screen is that it grows steadily better. It came just in time to keep the industry from being at the mercy of the musicians union and the results have been especially gratifying both in the matter of music and in the matter of business liberty. * m m TTIVE hundred thousand dollars is a large sum of money, but it is not large enough to stem the tides of the sea and what approximates a tidal wave has swept over the consciousness of the country so that good music is everywhere being heard, whereas before, it was heard only within the limits of the (Continued on pag-e 2) JOHN J. BYRNE BEACON MANAGER Harry L. Charnas, managing director of Warner Bros. Metropolitan Theatres, announced today the appointment of John J. Bryne, of Newark, as Manager of the new Beacon Theatre. Byrne succeeds Charles G. Garfield who is on leave of absence. FOX DIRECTORS STAND ON SCRIP DIVIDEND At a further meeting of the Fox Film Corporation Board of Directors held yesterday it was decided to pay the quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share due today in scrip payable in cash with 6% interest on or before Jan. 15, 1931. Notice of a change of name of the William Fox Securities Corporation to the William Fox Holding Corporation has been filed with the Secretary of State in Albany. It is not known whether this presages the starting of the plan which was announced some time ago of consolidating all the Fox companies into one holding company. LUPE VELEZ PRAGUE FILM POSTPONED PRAGUE, Jan. 14 — The production of a big Czecho-American film, with Lupe Velez as the star, has been postponed indefinitely owing to the uncertainty caused in the European film world by American talkies. The producers are undecided as to whether to make the film a silent picture or a talkie. The Fortuua Company of Prague last year signed a contract for it with the Czech actor, Karel Lamac. The financing was done by Czech, French and Spanish interests. Plaintiff’s Law Firm Says Senator Will Surely Try The Case and Has Not Withdrawn German ‘Dubbed’ to American Talkie Flayed at First Showing in Berlin BERLIN, Jail. 14 — German critics do not take kindly to the experiment of Herbert Brenon and Frederick Zelnick in synchronizing German dialogue to acting and lip movements of the original American players in the talking picture, “Lummox,” which had its premiere here last night. Considerable interest was displayed in film circles because of the possibility that such a method might solve the problems of American producers in selling their products in foreign markets without the heavy cost of actual duplication of entire films. The German phrases fitted to the story were felt to be inadequate, with perhaps too great an effort to select such German words as coincide with the lip movements for kindred English words. The story itself was generously flayed as a torpid, hyper-sentimental tragedy, so handled as to be involuntarily comic. One writer mentioned “the stately solemnity of kitchen talk spoken as if coming from two broadcasting princesses.” OSCAR STRAUSS IS COMING TO AMERICA A cable from Berlin says that Oscar Strauss, composer of “The Chocolate Soldier”, “The Waltz Dream,” and other light operas of international popularity, is following the example of the composer of “The Merry Widow”, having sailed on the S.S. President Roose velt on his way to enter the movies at Hollywood. Like Franz Lehar, Strauss professes faith in the future of the sound films, and expects, with the picture score he is engaged to compose, to establish himself in connection with American picture production. Senator Brookhart is not out of the Ivan Abramson suit against the producers of the motion picture industry. He is in the suit up to his eyes, as the saying goes, and will try the case in court. This was the positive assertion made yesterday by other attorneys in the case and it is further corroborated by the fact that on the printed complaint in the suit, the Senator’s name appears at the head of the list of the trial lawyers. In order to verify printed reports that Senator Brookhart had severed his connection with the suit being brought by Ivan Abramson against the Hays organization, and certain producers and Boards of Trade, the Exhibitors Daily Review went direct to the plaintiffs attorneys. Blau, Perlman and Palakoff of 475 Fifth Avenue,. Former Judge Blau disclaiming any familiarity with the status of (Continued on page 3) “HIT THE DECK’’ HIT “Hit the Deck.” Broadway’s newest smash hit. Premiere last night at tlie Earl Carroll. Luther Reed’s second sensational mnsical potato masher for Radio Pictures. Hallelnjaii semiiinale tlie wow of the sliow put over hy Alarguerita Padnla and an Dalioney enseinhle that said it with tliighs. .Tack Oakie the personality he-gny starred and mopped np tlie applause. Polly Walker sang like a lark — yes, two larks. Cast splendid. Choruses superb. Seven song sockdolagers went over and liow. Technicolor effects heantiful. “Hit the Deck” liits the success hull’s eye. A. J.