The Film Daily (1934)

Intimate in Character Internationa! in Scope Independent in Thought e c« T.O.J kti India P.I ie cod <>r fi as i . whe gSHM* APR The Daily Newspaper Of Motion Pictures Now Sixteen Years Old -1FDAILY' VOL. LXV. NO. 85 NEW TCCr, THURSDAY, APRIL 12, 1934 5 CENT/ 'TO nh'i fori HM ft. \ sp: Low B. O. Prices Delay Upturn, Trade Survey Shows MAYER URGES OUSTINGjFCHEAP FILM PRODUCERS 15 Houses Reopen in Des Moines-Omaha Territories Oil we! alii'. til tffl DIM . 09 il or m sue l i d a !i tl Ml MB aiise onvention gets down to business =By JACK ALICOATE Convention Hall, Los Angeles, Wednesday Tb'N-FIFTY A. M. and Schoolmaster Ed ' Kuykendall calling classes to order. Another grand day. You can't beat California in the springtime. What ho! for a load of that Santa Monica Beach right now. Busy Ben Berinstein announces more new entertainment, with all on the ragged edge now. Ed Kuykendall is reading a wire on codes and cooperation from Sol Rosenblatt, and the hall is filling with late comers who had too much home work last evening. The convention is now down to serious business, with Barrister Ed Levy of New Haven first speaking on the theater's liability to its patrons. An important subject ably presented. Lawrence Cobb, California lawyer is now talking on the constant peril of industry taxation, with practical constructive thoughts on exhibitorlegislator cooperation. Subjects like these make the trip to Hollywood decidedly worth while. T T T THE Hall is rapidly filling, for there are important film folk on the program. The gang like the address of Mrs. Thomas Winter, who gets the first big hand when she finishes. Never saw so many new faces at an exhibitor gathering. Louis B. Mayer is coming down the aisle, getting 3 hearty welcome. Joe Breen of the Hays outfit talks briefly on the industry movement toward clean advertising, and all listen intently to his able presentation. You cannot flaunt indecency in the eyes of the American public 3nd get away with it. Louis Mayer is introduced and the gathering now filling the auditorium is tense with anticipation. Finished, polished, dramatic Louis Mayer. His topic is production, but he talks on tolerance. A grand speech, for he is a born orator. Never before have we heard a producer address an audience of exhibitors more intelligently. Everybody has two businesses in this world, his own and motion pictures Jules Michaels, Buffalo war horse, want: to talk from the floor, and Prexy Kuykendall rules him out of order, for they are behind schedule, with lunch waiting at two (Continued on Page I) Better Conditions Are Reflected in the Grain Belt Reopening of 15 theaters, against only one closing, in the Des Moines and Omaha territories last month, as shown in the current reports of the Film Boards of Trade, reflects improved conditions in those regions. Twelve of the openings were in Iowa, as follows: Park, Arnolds Park; Rialto, Burlington; Ritz, Centerville; Lyric, {Continued on Page S) RAIRD IS DEVELOPING THEATER TELEVISION London — A method of television suitable for theaters is being developed by Baird Television, it was repealed in the course of a demonstration of a home set at the Gau.nont-British Theater. In showing .he apparatus des.gned for the (Continued on Page 4) East and West Sales Meet Is Planned by Col. in May Columbia sales convention is understood to be set for late in May and will be held in two sections, one in Atlantic City and the other in Los Angeles. What, No Free Lunch? "Queen Christina" and "Six of a Kind," both features released only about two months ago, were offered this week at an uptown house as a dual bill, garnished with a Bing Crosby short, a cartoon comedy, another short and newsreel — all at a dime admission for adults! 20 HOUSES BEING BUILT BY CIRCUIT IN ENGLAND London — Construction of 20 addi:ional cinemas this year is announced by Oscar Deutsch, whose Odeon circuit already numbers 25 firstjlass houses. Deutsch says he also nas 24 more sites lined up in his expansion move. Most of these cinemas will be in rapic.ly developing residential districts. Must Notify John C. Flinn When Asking Cancellations Under instructions sent by Executive Secretary John C. Flinn of he Code Authority yesterday to exchanges, they must notify him when exhibitors make application for the privileges of the 10 per cent cancellation clause provided by the code. Cancellation privileges are granted only by a distributor when the exhib.tor has fully complied with the code. Only 1 0% Gain in First Quarter Credited Mostly to Low Prices Amer. Group Franchised To Make Films in Russia American Group Inc., first motion picture company to produce films in Russia under a franchise from Soviet monopolies, has been organized jy its counsel, Fitelson & Mayers. The roster of the company's office iiolders is entirely American. Members of the group are William Os (Continued on Page 8) Due principally to continued low admission iprices, increased operating costs under the code and bad weather breaks, recovery in the film industry for the first quarter of this year probably did not amount to more than 10 per cent, it is stated in the periodical motion picture theater survey issued yesterday by Standard Statistics, Inc. Attendance volume has not increased (Continued on Page 2) M-G-M Exec. Denies Block Booking Forces Playing of Unclean Films By RALPH WILK West Coast Manager, FILM DAILY Hollywood — Claims of exhibitors that they must play unclean pictures because of block booking is dishonest, said Louis B. Mayer with much emphasis at the morning session of the M. P. T. O. A. convention yesterday. He pointed out that exhibitors were happy to play all pictures that did smashing business regardless of any questionable material. "Double and triple bills over a (Continued on Page 9) CODE AUfinOPENING OFFICE ONTHE COAST A Coast office will be immediately opened by the Code Authority with object of handling code application to various branches of production activity. Pat Casey, chairman of the producers' labor committee, and Mrs. Mabel E. Kinney, chairman of the standing committee on extras and also a member of the state la (Continued on Page 9) 15 Secretaries Appointed For Code Board Positions With announcement yesterday of appointment of 15 local board secretaries, nearly half of the total to be named are set. The rest will be selected by tomorrow, when the (Continued on Page 4) New House for Houston Fort Worth — I. B. Adelman, operator of the Tivoli, neighborhood house, will erect a $100,000 suburban theater in the 4400 block, South Main Street, Houston. Construction will start within a month, according to Adelman.