Exhibitors Herald and Moving Picture World (Apr-Jun 1930)

26 EXHIBITORS HERALD-WORLD April 26, 1930 Production and Sales Chiefs T ell Why United Artists Sees Best Y ear Lichtman, Considine, Emil Jensen and Bruce Gallup Address District Managers of Eleven Western States (Special to the Herald-lVorld) SAN FRANCISCO, April 22. — Plans for United Artists’ greatest year, both in production and in sales, were laid down by A1 Lichtman, vice-president and general manager of distribution, John W. Considine, Jr., production supervisor of the United Artists lot, and Bruce Gallup, advertising and publicity director, at a convention last week, with the Palace hotel as headquarters. ESTHER major executives of United Artists, as well as district representatives from eleven Western states, took part in the discussion. Emil Jensen, vice president of Inspiration Pictures, also addressed the gathering. Mayor Greets Delegation Mayor Rolph and a group of city officials met the delegation at the train, and after a public welcome they were escorted to convention headquarters. Private screenings and part versions of forthcoming United Artists productions were given at Publix theatres, and stars and featured players were presented to the sales forces as a special feature of the program. Another angle was the singing by Robert Chisholm of several of Rudolf Friml’s compositions from the picture, “Bride 66.” And Joan Bennett was presented as a special guest. Lichtman Tells of Product Among the pictures shown wholly or in part were : Dolores Del Rio in “The Bad One,” with Edmund Lowe ; Gloria Swanson’s “What a Widow” ; Lillian Gish in “One Romantic Night,” with Conrad Nagel and Rod LaRocque ; D. W. Griffiths’ “Abraham Lincoln,” with Walter Huston ; Ronald Colman in “Raffles”; Howard Hughes’ “Hell's Angels,” with Ben Lyon, James Hall and Jane Winton ; and Charlie Chaplin in “City Lights. Pictures mentioned by Lichtman as being scheduled for 1930-31 release in addition to those just mentioned include: Irving Berlin’s “The Love Cottage” ; Henry King’s “Eyes of the World,” an Inspiration Picture; “Whoopee,” the Ziegfeld-Goldwyn production with Eddie Cantor; Norma Talmadge’s “Flame of the Flesh”; Mary Pickford’s “Forever Yours” ; a Douglas Fairbanks production ; “Sons o’ Guns,” with A1 Jolson ; and a DeSylva, Brown & Henderson picture. “Ingagi” Sets Record in Spite of Lent and Golf (Special to the Herald-World) PORTLAND, ORE., April 22.— In spite of the Lenten season, considerable opposition in the way of well-exploited first runs at other houses, and mid-summer weather with the thermometer hovering around 72 to 75, and the opening of the golf season, the novelty picture “Ingagi” brought to the Pacific Northwest by Ben Westland, representative of Congo Pictures, Ltd., and shown in John Hamrick’s houses in Portland, Seattle, and Tacoma is everywhere doing heavy business, and easily led the box office receipts in all cities for the week, and indications were that from the word-of-mouth advertising it would go into a good second week. Fox West Coast Theatres Leaders Study Productions ( Special to the Herald-lVorld) SAN FRANCISCO, April 22. — Two important gatherings of territorial executives and managers of Fox West Coast Theatres in Northern and Central California were held last week, under the direction of A. M. Bowles, general manager of the Northern California division. Theatre managers were advised of the productions booked for showing during the spring and summer months and of plans for publicity. Theatre managers in the territory north of Stockton met in conference at Oakland, with an attendance which included A. M. Bowles, Charles M. Thall, Robert Harvey, Richard Speir, Frank Newman, Phil Phillips, Frank C. Burhans, C. A. Tompkins, A. V. Brady, Clarence Laws, E. J. Sullivan, M. B. Hustler, Ralph Allan, Jack Ryan, A. M. Miller, Charles Carroll, Robert McHale, W. K. Mitchell, Dan McLean, Herman Kersken, Harry Seipel, Rufus Blair, E. W. Stollery, Thomas Kane, G. F. Teckemeyer, Harry Browne and Charles Huy. The second meeting was held at Fresno and was attended by theatre managers in the San Joaquin Valley district. Hammerstein Will Devote His Time to Films Next Spring (Special to the Herald-World) NEW YORK, April 22. — Arthur Hammerstein, stage and screen producer, will devote his entire time to pictures, beginning next Spring. In the interim, he will present “The Bird of Paradise” and “Madeline” on the New York stage. Hammerstein returned to New York from Hollywood last week, where he has just completed his first film for United Artists, entitled “Bride 66,” featuring Jeanette MacDonald and Joe E. Brown. FitzPatrick Pictures To Have Selling Drive For Shorts During May (Special to the Herald-World) NEW YORK, April 22. — The first sustained selling campaign for FitzPatrick short features is scheduled for May, which has been designated as “FitzPatrick Picture Month.” The 27 exchanges representing the FitzPatrick product in the United States have begun their drives for more business on each of the four series of one reelers which the company is releasing. James A. FitzPatrick, president of the company, has almost completed a tour of the world, on which he has obtained material for additional releases for his Travel Talk Series and natural backgrounds for a new International Overture Series. He is expected to return to New York early in May. Film Exchange Gets World Rights to Bonzo Cartoons (Special to the Herald-World) NEW YORK, April 22.— The Film Exchange, Inc., has purchased the world’s rights to the series of 26 Bonzo synchronized cartoons. Stars Take Over House To Treat Home Folk (Special to the Herald-World) DES MOINES, April 22.— For the first time in the theatrical history of the community, a whole town went “theatre minded” when Indianola, Iowa, home of Lola and Leota Lane, stars of screen and stage, took over a theatre in Des Moines for an evening performance of “Let’s Pretend.” The show made its world’s premiere, the first the capital city of Iowa ever witnessed, a few nights ago, and thereby attracted the attention of many surrounding towns as well as the home folk. Star Comedians in Educational ’s Lot Of Spring Comedies ( Special to the Herald-World) JSiEW YORK, April 22. — -Educational’s Spring line-up of comedies boasts a splendid array of featured players. Such stage and feature production names as T. Roy Barnes, Helen Bolton, Bobby Agnew, Alma Bennett, Geneva Mitchell, Eddie Lambert, Taylor Holmes, Norman Peck, John Litel, Addie McPhail and May Boley will grace a number of Tack White’s comedies. Mack Sennett will have Franklin Pangborn, George Barraud, Rita Carewe, George Duryea, Nick Stuart, Edward Earle, Nena Quartero, Johnny Burke, Rosemary Theby, and others. In Lloyd Hamilton’s will, appear Ruth Hiatt. Eddie Baker, and two-ycar-o.d . Barty. Appeals Court Tackles Suit as Death Follows Fall Through Trapdoor (Special to the Herald-World) NEW ORLEANS, April 22. — In the fifth United States court of appeals arguments were presented and taken under advisement which will decide in due course of time in the case of Charles H. Mapp, administrator, versus Saenger Theatres, Inc., et al. In the case, which was appealed from the federal court in the southern district of Mississippi, the lower court ordered an instructed verdict against Mapp, who sought $75,000 damages for the death of his father. The senior Mapp, president and business agent of the stage carpenters’ union in Meridian, Miss., received injuries from which he died, when he stepped through a trapdoor in the Temple theatre at Meridian, The accident occurred on June 10, 1928, and the victim died on July 1, of the same year. The theatre building involved is owned by the Shrine Temple of Meridian, and in the original trial the Saenger and other companies in the suit held that if anyone was to be held responsible for the fatal accident it should have been the Masonic body and not those made defendants in the case. Adolphe Menjou to Make Spanish and French Film (Special to the Herald-World) NEW YORK, April 22.— Adolphe Menjou has been re-engaged by Paramount to star in a talking picture to be filmed in Spanish and French. After the completion of his last picture, “Fashions in Love,” he went abroad for a period of six months, during which time he made an extensive study of French, Spanish, German, Russian, Italian, as well as English.