Exhibitors Herald World (Oct-Dec 1930)

December 27, 1930 EXHIBITORS HERALD-WORLD 19 Know Your Exchange —Managers The exchange manager is the direct contact between exhibitor and distributor, and therefore it is to their mutual advantage to know each other. The Herald-World presents a series of brief sketches of exchange managers and their outstanding activities in the motion picture field. News of the Foreign Field c c VT.for Virginia C. C. Parsoaa PARSONS, San Francisco manager Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, was born in in 1884 and entered the motion picbusiness 25 years later at Lynchburg, Va. He remained there two years, until 1911, when he became associated with Tom Moore at Washington, D. C. Parsons joined the staff of Mutual Film Company in 1914 and was sent to Cleve tland. In the following year he was nip! transferred to Buf— falo but he had been there only a few months when Triangle Film Company was formed and he was moved to Los Angeles to open a Triangle branch there. A HARRY MELCHER, Fox branch manager at Milwaukee, was born in the Middlewest — at Omaha — in 1899, attended grade school until he was 13 years old and then hied himself to Military Academy, at Lake Geneva, Wis., that beautiful spot where the parade ground overlooks a summer play center of Chicagoans. It was in 1919 that Melcher entered the motion picture business, as an employe of Vitagraph. He remained with Vitagraph until 1920 and for the next two Harry MeIeher years was with Pathe. The years 1922 to 1924 found him with Hodkinson, then he joined Fox Film Corporation and has remained with that company up to the present time. A /COMPLETING his college work in 1914, * — Charles R. Gilmour, now manager for the centralized Warner-First NationalVitaphone office at Denve r, went on the road for World Film that fall and in December was made manager of the Salt Lake City branch. Later he returned to Denver as manager and in 1916 was sent to Minneapolis. In September of that year he went back to Denver as special representative for Pathe. Leaving Pathe, Gil„ , mour went with Charie, R. GH-o«r United Picture Thea tres and later with Selznick. his district hemp from Denver west. (Special to the Herald-World) PARIS, Dec. 26. — Trade Commissioner George R. Canty, reports a definite trend toward the control of picture houses by renting concerns in Vienna. "Kiba" at present controls a number of suburban houses and the Schweden and Apollo in the West End of the city. Engel has the Lustspiel theatre on the Prater, and has just secured the Elite, one of the larger Vienna houses. Wirtschafter Brothers are stepping forward as leaseholders of numerous smaller theatres. The majority of the Vienna picture situations are equipped for sound. A Trade Commissioner Canty of Paris also reports that German dialog films are to be restricted in Alsace-Lorraine and that the French authorities have recently issued new regulations governing the exhibition of German talking pictures. As a result all such films must bear super-imposed French subtitles every 10 meters. Failure to comply will result in barring of the picture from exhibition. The trade press insists, however, that the cost of placing these titles will amount to an automatic prohibition of the showing of the pictures. The regulations are expected to meet with great opposition, since it is understood that the German talkers have captured this section of the French market. The suggestion that features should be shown in both versions alternately has been tried, apparently with considerable success. A The German press reports an interesting proposition submitted by the editor of an Oslo daily, to the effect that the three Scandinavia national theatres in Oslo, Kopenhagen and Stockholm should join forces in the combined production of Scandinavian talking pictures. The suggestion follows the recent banning of Norwegian legitimate actors from appearing in talking films. The same editor expresses the opinion that American made talking pictures should be barred from Scandinavia when they feature native artists. He predicts that such film production as he advocates "would be an interesting and economically sound venture." A A reorganization has taken place in the studio known as "Hunnia" in Budapest. Herr Ernst v. Feher is appointed director according to the new alignment, and has resigned his connection as vice president of the Film Page Harold Lloyd; He's Wanted on a Skyscraper! (Special to the Herald-World) NEW YORK, Dec. 26. — The cameraman who worked on one of the sequences of M G M's "The Easiest Way" had to be more than a cameraman. He had to be a human fly. Jack Conway, director, decided that certain scenes had to be made by shooting in through the window of a skyscraper. The purpose of this, Conway explained, was to show the color and atmosphere of an advertising agency in which Belle Bennett, the star, works as an artist's model. Another sequence called for a "travel" shot down a 150-foot procession of offices. In each of these, artists and layout men are shown working on ads in various states of completion. Fund. Herr Roland v. Szonyey replaced him in the Film Fund post by order of the Minister of Commerce. A Osso Films of France intend to make all future productions in both French and German versions. The latter have already been sold, it is understood. A Following the personal recommendation of Premier Mussolini, Commendatore Pittaluga, Italian film leader, has been named Grande Ufficiale of the Order of the Crown of Italy by Royal Decree. Color Concern Charged With Violating Quaker State Securities Act (Special to the Herald-World) PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 26.— Hans Von Fraunhofer, president of the United Films Industry, Inc., a company promoting color photography, was held in $5,000 bail by an Upper Darby magistrate, charged with violating the Pennsylvania State Securities Act. It was brought out at the hearing that J. D. Williams invested $4,800 in stock of the company after representations had been made to him by Von Fraunhofer that the concern was worth $10,000,000. Williams testified that he was taken to a factory thai the company operated last year in Ardmore, Pa., where exhibits of a color photography were arranged for his benefit. An investigator of the Pennsylvania Securities Commission testified that Von Fraunhofer was not registered to sell stock in Pennsylvania Hollywood Legitimate Theatre Goes to Sound (Special to the Herald-World) HOLLYWOOD, Dec. 26.— The Vine street legitimate house here has been acquired by a syndicate and will show talking pictures in the future. The theatre has been wired and completely redecorated. Contracts have been made with RKO, United Artists, and Columbia whereby the house will show films of those companies Raymond Griffith to Write W B Scenarios (Special to the Herald-World) NEW YORK, Dec. 26.— Raymond Griffith, former film comedy star, has been placed under contract by Warner Brothers as a scenario writer. His fist assignment has not been determined but D. F. Zanuck, associate executive, announces it will probably be comedy. Liberty Productions Sign Up Cadawallader (Special to the Herald-World) NEW YORK, Dec. 26.— Charles Cadawallader, formerly art director for Famous Players Lasky, Goldwyn and Cecil B. DeMille, has been signed by Herman M. Gumbin of Liberty Productions for a similar position. He has already begun work on the settings for Liberty's 1931 special, temporarilytitled "Women Like Men." Daughter for Christmas BERKELEY, CAL., Dec. 26.— Clarence W. Laws. manager of the Fox California theatre, receired a Christmas present in the form of a new bab» daughter.