The Film Daily (1934)

THE ■%fr* DAILY TELEVISION PLANS AT A STANDSTILL (Continued from Page 1) fear, for the present or near future, of television becoming a competitive form of entertainment. It was also manifest, that before television becomes a thriving industry, it must of necessity go through a most elaborate and costly organization period. Its visual form of entertainment will be a distinct and separate art from that of motion picture making or the technique of the legitimate stage. Its supporting talent will be considered as a unique art. Production in studios, necessitating sets, scenery, costumes, etc., will be essential. In short, television will confiscate little from the existing forms of entertainment, but rather will first form a basis of mechanical perfection and subsequently build an entertainment technique, in much contrast to the existing forms and conforming in only a small way to the present crafts. The effect on movie .house box-offices, when television does become an actuality, need not cause consternation among exhibitors unless some unknown force or invention that will improve the present television transmission and lessen the anticipated organization expense, becomes known. A more detailed analysis of the subject, answering a score of pertinent questions will appear in the Film Daily Production Guide which will be issued in July. Aylesworth and Sarnoff Predict World Television Chicago — World television and newspapers by radio recorded on paper tape while people are asleep were predicted by M. H. Aylesworth in a talk at the "preview of industrial progress in the next century." He said: "I believe the day will come when you will turn on the facsimile receiver when retiring and in the morning the paper tape will tell the story of what flashed through the sky while you slumbered. You will find road maps, fashion designs, comic sketches for the children, and no end of things, for whatever a pen can portray facsimile radio will handle." A statement sent by David Sarnoff coincided with Aylesworth's views: "Although important problems relating not only to the technical side but also to the commercial side of television remain unsolved, research has brought us much nearer the goal of its ultimate commercial introductions," Sarnoff said. Advertise Starting Time Radio City Music Hall is now making a daily practice of giving the starting time of its feature in its newspaper ads. Recommendation that theaters advertise this information was the leading suggestion on improvement of service in Film Daily's recent Critics' Forum. KfAttw PHIL M. DALY » • • GATHER ROUND, kiddies and grownups and grown-up kiddies and we will tell you the True Story of how the film biz catapulted from short-subject Nickelodeon shows into feature presentations and the Big Dough it is a most fascinating narrative that indicates clearly that some film mugs have Vision and some have not and that we owe to the Select Few who have vision any progress which has been made • • • IT HAPPENED in 1910 when the General Film Company part and parcel of the Motion Picture Patents Co the Film Trust was located at 80 Fifth Avenue George Kleine, prexy of General had "Quo Vadis" brought over from Italy a 9-reeler made by Cines a Monstrosity a Freak so everybody thought in those days when a five-reeler was considered a Massive Production T ▼ ▼ • • • SO THEY showed the film to the Board of Directors of General Films consisting of John Rock and Albert E. Smith of Yitagraph, Sigmund Lubin of Lubin Films, and John Berst of Pathe these four men were the committee that selected film for distribution and they unanimously turned "Quo Vadis" down on the conviction that no exhibitor would show it as it was Too Long! but President Kleine found support for his idea that the pix could be sold in Harry J. Cohen, his general manager of the feature dep't (now in charge of the theater dep't for Gaumont British) ,. Harry became a fanatic on the subject of putting "Quo Vadis" over big one of those gents we alluded to in the beginning as possessing Vision he and Kleine were the only ones who saw anything in this "Monstrosity" ▼ T Y • • • AT THAT time Michael Mark was building the Strand theater and it was the custom of Michael and Sam Harris to lunch in the Hunt Room of the Astor Hotel here Harry Cohen met them and sold Mister Mark the notion of opening his new theater with this pix after several interviews and a lot of intensive sales talk but there was delay in opening the Strand meanwhile Sam Harris got steamed up over the idea and Mister Cohen went to work on him to show the pix in the Astor theater a legit house the Revolutionary Idea shocked Mister Harris at first finally he came to see the light especially when his partner, George Cohan then rehearsing a company in Chicago to open in the Grand Opera House there wired him he had seen a print of "Quo Vadis" and thought it was a great proposition ▼ T T • • • TRY TO picture the Broadway of 1910 not the honkytonk Coney Island imitation it is today but the sedate, dignified Broadway saturated with traditions of the Theater ... and then imagine the shock to the Broad way lovers of that day when they heard that Sam Harris was going to show a "movie" in a legitimate house! the deal was that Harris collected the first $2,000 then fifty-fifty to General Film and himself IF there was anything over two grand on a three-week run Sain Harris doubted it but he was reasonably sure of his two grand so he took the Enormous Gamble with his fingers crossed and holding his breath the pix ran for Six Months a Sensational Cleanup and with the prolits Prexy Kleine of General built the Candler theater on 42nd Street to show exclusively foreign supers like "Quo Vadis" but the foreign companies like Lux, Ambrosia and Cine couldn't repeat . so Kleine sold the theater to Sam and that is the Sam Harris theater of today Monday, May 28, 1934 « « « » » » LITTLE HOPE IS SEEN FOR ADMISSION 600S1 (Continued from Page 1) other reason for the general belie that theater admissions will not b| advanced for at least a year," sai<| J. R. Vogel of Loew's. "Other real sons include the fact that for littlil money the people may see first clasl pictures at subsequent-run theaters! Those operators pay one-tenth oj what the first-run operator pay;! for film and pays proportionatel;! less for all other costs of runninJ his house. The downtown house! cannot raise their prices enough til make it pay. A raise of 10 cent:! means that 5 cents must go to th«| government and the patrons musl pay 50 rather than 40 cents. Thai amount is a great deal to the orl dinary patron. There is much to bj done, and many things must changj before theater prices can be raised.'! Photocolor Starting First of Two Series! Photocolor Pictures has prepare! a program of two series of single! reel color shorts, 12 comprising eacT group. First picture in a seriel based on famous paintings anl poems will go into work today al the company's studio at Irvingtoil N. Y., and is titled "The Villagl Blacksmith." Its cast includesl Thurston Hall, Renee Nemec, Eel win McDonald and James Robert!) Len Kennedy will direct with Waj ter Sheridan as his assistant. Nicl Rogalli i,s in charge of camera worl[ The second series deals with popu lar songs. B. I. P. Film at Criterion "You Made Me Love You," B. P. production featuring Thelm Todd and Stanley Lupino which mt jestic is distributing, opens tomoi row at the Criterion in conjunctio with the showing of the Ross-M Larnin fight pictures. New Columbia Milwaukee Mgr Cleveland — Oscar Ruby, salesma at the local Columbia exchange, h been promoted to branch manage of the Milwaukee branch, succee< ing L. George Ross, resigned. Heywood-Wakefield Expands Boston — Heywood-Wakefield has purchased the physical assej of the Hale & Kilburn Co. and w| hereafter produce their seats conjunction with regular activitij at the Gardiner plant. Floyd Crosby on Expedition Floyd Crosby, cameraman of "Tabu," who is now on the coast, has been signed, through his attorney, H. William Fitelson, as director, producer and chief cameraman for the Charles Bedaux expedition that will penetrate the Canadian northwest on a scientific and photographic expedition. Bedaux, Mrs. Bedaux and Mme. B. Chiesa have left for Montreal, where they will pick up the first members of their expeditio" party of 32.