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

13 May 24, 1930 EXHIBITORS HERALD-WORLD Servicing Sound Theatre Holds Spotlight at M G M Convention Felix Feist, Schiller, Dietz and Hal Roach Address Sales F orce Fifty Full-Length Attractions Coming — Many Foreign Versions — Some to Be Made Also Silent By JAY M. SHRECK Servicing the talking picture theatre held one of the ace positions at the national — international, in fact — convention of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer at the Drake hotel, Chicago, May 18 to 21. Because of the fact that product and good reproduction are so closely allied, the service phase of the company’s activities received almost equal consideration with analysis of the 1930-31 program of attractions. 10,000 Seats in Theatre Practical , Declares Schiller Three years ago architects said that the motion picture industry had reached its maximum in seating capacity. Remember, that was three years ago. Today, according to Edward Schiller, vice-president of Loew’s, Inc., a theatre of 10,000 seats is practical. Engineers — both acoustical and projection — have made the large theatre possible. The architect, Mr. Schiller said, has adapted himself to the changed conditions. They Helped MGM Stage Its Biggest Sales Convention E. W. Aaron, lien Abner, Ben Abrams, M. Abrams, W. W. Adams, Morns Alin, John S. Allen, S. Applegate, L. Amaclier, J. E. Armgarilt, John J. Ash. T. C. Baker, vV. A. Banford, G. M. Baumeister, F. Bartow, C. H. Behlen, A. J. Benedic, Bred B. Benno, R. Berger, L. Bickel, B. Bishop, Jr., W. G. Bishop, Phil Bobys, E. M. Booth, H. E. Booth, Jack Bowen, L. J. Bugle, Sam N. Burger, C. Burtt, E. H. Brauer, L. B. Butler, J. N. Byrd, J. P. Byrne, C. J. Briant, B. H. Bridges, M. Bliss. VV. A. Caliban, Irving Carlin, H. Cass, E. Carriar, H. D. Charnass, C. W. Cheek, F. W. Chrysler, A. S. Clatworthy, B. H. Cohen, H. Cohen, F. C. Coleman, X. J. Connors, A. F. Cummings, Emanuel Cohen, R. J. Curran, W. P. Callahan, W. P. Cameron. G. W. Davidson, C. C. Deardourff, W. Devonshire, H. J. Devlin, Howard Dietz, Walter Dolin, T. J. Donaldson, F. J. Downey, Frank D. Drew, S' Eckman, Jr., H. Elias, Jack Elwell, A. Eskin. F. F. Feist, VV.’ R. Ferguson, Jack Flynn, E. L. Fullerton, Ira Furman. E. M. Gibson, G. R. Giroux, C. Glickauf, J. Goldberg, H. A. German, J. A. Gove, D. Gould, T. J. Gould, E. W. Green, G. G. Gregory. J. W. Hanlon, A. Harris, A. W. Hartford, E. B. Hatrick, R. B. G. Haughton. Walter Hayner, W. Haynes, F. M. Higgins, G. A. Hickey, Burton Holmes, J. S. Hommel, C. Houston, J. A. Hughes, F. C. Hensler F\ P. Ishmael. J. M. Jacobs. B. Kaufman, D. C. Kennedy, J. L. Kelley, C. E. Kessnich, S. W. Kidd, J. H. King, W. D. Kelly. A Earente, A. J. Lapidus, A. J. Laurie, S. Levinson, L. Levy, David Levy, O. Lightstone, E. Lipson, A. M. Loew, C. T. Lynch, R. Lynch, C. D. Lyne, Sam Lubell, H. Levy. C. H. Macke, J. J. Maloney, Wm. Marsh, R. VV'. Maw, S. MacIntyre, J. S. Macleod, W. G. McCorvey, C. F. McGuire, J. McManus, R. D. McRaven; F. E. McRoy, F\ Mendelssohn, T. Mendelssohn, H. W. Miller, J. J. Milstein, J. F. Morgan, E. Morrell, J. Morrow, E. C. Mix. C. Nedley, H. L. Nathanson. L. C. O’Connor, E. K. O’Shea, H. V. O’Connor. L. Padolph, G. C. Parsons, R. Pielow, C. Pippin, C. Pace, F. C. Quimby, J. Quinn. M. H. Rabanus, G. F. Reilly, J. Reville, H. Roach, W. F. Rodgers, H. Rosenblatt, B. H. Rosenwald, P. F. Rosian, D. E. Ross, M. Rubenfeld. M. Saffele, E. M. Saunders, G. Schwartz, Max Schwartz, Wm. A. Scully, S. Seadler, C. J. Severson, J. A. Shea, W. Sherry, S. Shirley, A. J. Shumow, H. J. Shumow, S. Shurman, G. Simmons, A. E. Smith, J. R. Smith, J. Soglovitz, M. A. Spring, Ray D. Stewart, Jos. Stickler, S. B. Stoll, E. A. Schiller. F. C. Thortsen, G. W. Turner. C. M. Van Horn, Eugene Vogel. H. A. Wagner, C. H. Watson, S. D. Weisbaum, L. L. Wells, M. H. Whitham, J. F. Willingham, W. W. Willmann, L. C. Wingham, R. R. Winnig, M. Wolf, H. P. Wolberg, H. Worden, W. H. Workman, E. Whelpley. W. B. Zollner. Stressed also throughout the convention was the importance of the short, or junior, feature. The presence of Edward A. Schiller, vice president of Loew’s, Inc., and Hal Roach, producer of the Laurel-Hardy, Charley Chase and Our Gang comedies, brought out the short feature as a special box office attraction. 50 Features Planned MGM will produce and release 50 feature attractions during the 1930-31 season, 30 of which will be vehicles for the company’s stars. There will be foreign versions on many of the pictures, both feature and junior, and silent versions on some of the product. Howard Dietz and William Ferguson did themselves proud in making this the outstanding MGM convention to date. Although primarily business, these two arranged it on the premise that “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” Sunday afternoon the men, after lunch, were given their first surprise — a view of Leo, the M G M lion. Leo, in this case, was a balloon built as a lion. It is 42 feet long, 28 feet high and 15 feet through. Twelve men, tugging against head winds, kept it in tow during the parade up Michigan along Chicago’s Gold Coast. This parade was led by the Daily News Band, followed by Leo and the 250 MGM men attending the convention. Hal Roach Presents Statistics Returning to the short feature, Mr. Schiller holds that this type of entertainment will be a very important factor in building theatre clientele. Hal Roach offered figures to back this contention. Executives of the organization addressing the convention were: Arthur Loew, Felix Feist, Edward A. Schiller, Howard Dietz, Tom Connors, Edward M. Saunders, William F. Rodgers, Fred Quimby and E. B. Hatrick. In the announcement of product, the following stars, appearing in 30 pictures, are outstanding : Marion Davies, Greta Garbo, Lon Chaney, John Gilbert, Norma Shearer, Lawrence Tibbett, Ramon Novarro, William Haines, Joan Crawford, Marie Dressier and Polly Moran. New star personalities will be presented. One of them is the eminent vocalist, Grace Moore, popular performer of the Music Box Revue, the Metropolitan Opera and concert stage. Jack Buchanan, star of Chariot's Revue and “Wake Up and Dream,” will also be featured. Several of the new season productions are already finished and have been previewed. One of these pictures is “Trader Horn,” filmed in British East Africa and which picturesquely in talking and in sound brings the jungle wild vividly to the citizens of civilization. Other films now ready include the musical success, “Good News,” and “The Singer of Seville,” described as Ramon Novarro’s masterpiece. Twenty-three of the new season pictures are adaptations of popular books or plays. Outstanding among the story properties are “The Merry Widow” (now in music), “Naughty Marietta,” “The World’s Illusion,” “New Moon,” “Jenny Lind,” “Trader Horn,” “The Bugle Sounds” and “Good News.” Musical Comedy Successes At least two of Marion Davies’ new season vehicles will be adaptations of New York musical comedy successes — “Rosalie” and “The Five o’Clock Girl.” “Rosalie” was presented by Florenz Ziegfeld and ran for a season on Broadway, while “The Five O’Clock Girl,” written by Guy Bolton and Fred Thompson, was a co-starring stage success for Oscar Shaw and Mary Eaton. Miss Davies’ third production for the coming season has not yet been determined. Greta Garbo will be seen in at least three productions during the coming season, the first of which will be “Red Dust.” This is based on Wilson Collison’s story and presents the magnetic Swedish star as a Parisian girl transferred to the background of a Chinese rubber plantation. Miss Garbo won general praise for her characterization in her first talking picture, “Anna Christie,” and furnished decisive proof that her voice is likely to enhance her previous popularity. Marine Film for Gilbert John Gilbert’s first starring film for the coming year will be “Way for a Sailor,” a photoplay based on Albert Wetjen’s story of marine adventure in various corners of the globe. This is a new type of role for Gilbert, his only other characterization in similar vein having been the leading role in “Twelve Miles Out.” He will be seen in at least one other production during 1930-31. Two of Ramon Novarro’s three scheduled productions for the coming season will be “The Singer of Seville,” in which the star appears on the screen for the first time as an opera singer, and “Song of India,” based on an original screen story now being prepared by Achmed Abdullah. “The Bugle Sounds” has been announced as a Lon Chaney starring film for 1930-31. This is an adaptation of Commandant Zinovi Pechkoff’s widely-read book of the same name, dealing with adventures in North Africa of the French Foreign Legion, and will be directed by George Hill. William Haines will be seen in four starring productions during the coming year, but the (Continued on page 16, column 1)