Exhibitors Herald (Dec 1924-Mar 1925)

January 3, 1925 EXHIBITORS HERALD 21 Mayer and Hearst May Make Deal LOS ANGELES, Cal., Dec. 23— Louis B. Mayer, arriving here from the East today, admitted that negotiations are under way for him to make six Cosmopolitan productions for William Randolph Hearst. Hearst and the late Thomas H. Ince were negotiating over a similar proposition at the time of Ince’s death. Following Mr. Mayer’s statement to a representative of Exhibitors Herald, Dr. Daniel Cardon Goodman of Cosmopolitan Productions admitted that the negotiations were on for Metro-Goldwyn to film certain Hearst and Cosmopolitan stories for Cosmopolitan. That the negotiations are practically completed was indicated by the fact that all of the Hearst production staff on the West Coast with the exception of Dr. Goodman and his assistant have been laid off. It is understood that the negotiations do not include the Marion Davies unit. The pictures starring Miss Davies, it is declared, will continue as a strictly Cosmopolitan unit. McFarland, Enterprise Manager at Houston, Is Stricken Playing Golf (Special to Exhibitors Herald) HOUSTON, TEXAS, Dec. 23.— C. A. McFarland, for twelve years associated with Southern Enterprises and manager of the Queen, Liberty and Capitol theatres here, died suddenly Sunday, December 14, while playing golf with C. A. Casperon at the River Oaks Country club. Death is believed to have been due to heart disease. Mr. McFarland approached the twelfth hole and prepared for a swing at the ball when he dropped to the ground. He was dead a few minutes later. Mr. McFarland came here from St. Louis and is nationally known as a ball player, having pitched for the St. Louis National team for many years. He has been in Houston since 1906. OJ* Club Members* Theatre Razed by Fire Thomas W. Radtke, Lucky theatre, Mansfield, Wash., writes; "/ cannot send any more reports on pictures I am showing as my theatre was destroyed by Gre and I do not know just when I will open again." Mr. Radtke is “Herald Only” Club member No. 220. Magazine Writer Visits Paramount NEW YORK. — Frances Noyes Hart, prominent short story writer, contributor to the Saturday Evening Post and to numerous women’s magazines, is now visiting the Paramount Long Island studio, where she will spend a month observing motion picture productions. Hackathorne Back in New York NEW YORK. — Following the completion of his role in B. P. Schuberg’s special production, "Capital Punishment,” on the Coast, George Hackathorne arrived here last week for a short vacation. Kent’s Testimony Sets Off Fireworks; Cohen in Retort “Let Those Who Know Us Be the Judges,” Says General Manager of Paramount in Replying to Statement by Former M. P. T. 0. A. President {Special to Exhibitors Herald) NEW YORK, December 23. — The Federal Trade Commission investigation into the affairs of Famous Players-Lasky Corporation, after marking time for many weeks awaiting the return of Sidney R. Kent, got busy again last Thursday. The general manager of Paramount arrived from Europe on Monday. On Thursday he took the stand in Paramount’s presentation of its side of the long drawn out case, and the result was more fireworks than occurred in any previous hearing. Paramount Pictures Not Indispensable, Says Kent Mr. Kent was asked by Robert Swain, Paramount’s counsel, as to whether or not in his opinion Paramoimt pictures were indispensable to the success of an exhibitor. Mr. Kent replied : “By no means do I consider Paramount pictures indispensable. There are thousands of exhibitors who do not use the product and who are generally considered successful in the conduct of their theatres.’’ In reply to a question as to what pictures Mr. Kent considered camparable in quality to those distributed by Paramount, Mr. Kent said: “First National, Metro-Goldwyn, llniversalJewels, Fox Specials, some of Warner Brothers, United Artists and occasionally an independent picture.” Discusses Block Booking The subject of block booking was taken up and along with it the question of splitting the product of Famous Players among two or more theatres located near each other. At a previous session of the investigation Sydney S. Cohen, former M. P. T. .O. A. president, testified as to the hardship to exhibitors caused by selling in blocks. In referring to this Mr. Kent said : “During the past four years Mr. Cohen has had occasion to phone about eight or nine times, on each occasion trying to get a bigger split to the Famous product than he was then getting. Judging by his request had we let him have more pictures than we did, he would have thanked God for the opportunity.” Regarding the question of price of pictures sold in block, the witness said that the price of each individual picture was maintained whether the exhibitor took a single film or the whole group, and that at no time was a single picture boosted above its original listed price, if the exhibitor selected it from the group. On the subject of screening before buying it was Kent’s opinion that about 95 per cent of exhibitors didn’t consider a screening indispensable to a purchase, since the basis of buying is mostly one of confidence in the firm releasing the product, and that in 60 per cent of the cases, exhibitors had precedents to guide them in the matter of pulling power, player value, etc. In the other 50 per cent the risk was further minimized by the fact that many of the pictures were modeled after certain definitely proved box office types and appealing stories. Calls It “Cross Word Puzzle” In reply to Kent’s testimony, Cohen issued the following statement; My attention is called to the testimony of Sidney R. Kent, General Manager of the Famous Players-Lasky Corporation, on Thursday, December 18, before the Federal Trade Commission. Mr. Kent in discussing the testimony I had given at a previous hearing as to the “hardship to exhibitors engendered by block booking selling,’' made the following statement: “During the past four years Mr, Cohen has had occasion to phone about eight or nine times, on each occasion trying to get a bigger split of the Famous Product than he was then getting. Judging by his requests had we let him have more pictures than we did he would have thanked God for the opportunity.” This statement is a cross word puzzle of two words of seven letters meaning unqualifiedly false with the initial letters of “d” and “1.” I haven’t phoned Mr. Kent eight or nine times in four years to secure a “greater split of the Famous Players product” for my theatres than I was getting, because 1 was never getting the Famous product in my first run house, which has Loew and U. B. O. opposition. These two circuits get the Famous pictures. . I did phone him once relative to the possibility of securing film there on a split with Loew so they might have an opportunity of proving their sincerity in their claim that they were selling on an open market basis. Mr. Kent arranged an appointment between us, at which time he told me his regret at being unable to give me any of the films at this theatre, because Loew would withhold buying Famous Players for his Cleveland and Washington theatres and elsewhere, to say nothing of other sections of New York. I fp>Q was manifestly unfair to permit a whip of this kind to be used and he replied he was helpless in the situation under the circumstances. Prior to the season of September, 1924, sales representatives of the New York Exchange oi Famous Players Lasky Corporation called at my office at their particular request, presumably to offer me an “equitable” split of the first forty pictures of the current season with Loew, claiming that Loew wanted to buy the pictures for his theatres, but they would take half away from him to give the independent theatre owners in the New York territory a chance. Forty-eight hours previous to this visit, Mr. Marcus Loew had personally told me and others, he could and would only use half of the Famous Players first forty, as he had to leave room in his theatres for the playing of the pictures of his own producing company (Metro-Goldwyn). Without disclosing the source of my information to the Famous Players sales representatives, I told them that their statement was untrue and the ridiculous prices they quoted me proved the absolute insincerity of their visit. I told them that the purpose of the call and the propaganda they were disseminating of presumably taking half of the pictures away from the Loew theatres to give to independent theatre owners, was only for the purpose of securing higher prices from the U. B. O. theatres in the negotiations then pending between Famous Players and U B O. for the balance of the product that Loew did not want. This statement was subsequently confirmed by the closing of contracts between U. B. O. and Famous Players for the balance of the pictures that Loew refused to buy. My first run theatre is one of the model neighborhood houses in the city. Has been in operation for eleven years and I don’t think I have played eleven Famous Players pictures there in all that time. At another of my theatres playing second run pictures, a few years ago (despite my better judgment) I consented to take over a split of several Famous Players pictures with another second run house in the territory, and the prices charged me for the pictures by Famous Players with the severe losses entailed, forced me to change the house from pictures into stock at the end of the season. The only business consideration I could get from Sidney Kent would be if Famous Players (Continued on page 26)