The Film Daily (1922)

7Ao biiAdi>treet 9^ FILHDOM Authority FORMERLY ;!. XXI No. 19 Thursday, July 20, 1922 Price 5 Cents Quinn Hei . from Chicago with ^tails of Better Pictures Move — committee of Seven Planned John A. Quinn, presid ■'*■ of the ^tter Pictures Association of the orld arrived in New York yestery from Chicago with details for the tension of his better pictures idea. Quinn stated in all of the importt cities of the country there will be mmittees of seven appi^inted. In ;h instance these will be -omposed a member of the Fed :ration of .urches, a representati\° of the jtholic church, a rabbi representing '} Jewish faith, a business man inested in the promotion of better iiness relations, a representative of men's clubs and an official of the tter Pictures Association. Some of Quinn's plans as he outi?d them yestcrdaj' follov.': ["he country will be divided into ee divisions, the East, the Middle jst and the Far West. Eastern idquarters will be in New York, idle Western in Chicago and Far 'Stern in Los Angeles, 'review theaters will be establishin these three cities for the exhibi1 of any worthwhile pictures, redless of company affiliation. These :ures will be of above-the-average ue only will then be boosted and ised to those of the public who beg to the B. P. A. by means of bulns to be sent out by that organizaI. ^ National Better Pictures Week be launched in the Fall and a ion-wide membership drive in Sepiber. )uinn yesterday produced a typeItten sheet which gave the follow names as members of the nation :ommittee of the parent organiza i: Dr. Robert Watson, pastor iiond Presbyterian Church, New [[k representing Protestant Church !j Charles A. McMahon, director, cion picture bureau. National Cath Welfare Council, representing (Continued on Page 2) Mike Vogel Here like Vogel, Paramount exploiter St. Louis is visiting the home of Salesmen's Outing Tomorrow he Motion Picture Salesmen, , will hold their first outing toTow at Bear Mountain. They t chartered the "Onteora." which leave the Battery at nine o'clock, cets include both hinch and dinaboard the vessel. About five dred will probably be in the y. ■ Operators' War Chest Decide Self-Assessment of 15% To Fight T. O. C. C— Held Meeting Yesterday Morning Determination and to acceed to the T. O. C. C. demand for a 10% cut in the wages of operators was the general attitude expressed at a meeting held by the membership of Moving Picture Machine Operators' I^ocal 306 yesterday morning. The wage reduction was offered the men as a basis to negotiate a wage scale for the year cominencing Sept. 1st, high cost of rental being given by the theater owners as the basis for asking the cut. The operator body declared the present attempt of theater owners to cut expenses by reducing operator wages was both illdirected and ill-timed. The meeting was attended by close to 600 operators. A motion was offered and passed imanimously, whereby the tnen went on record as willing to pay a selfinflicted assessment of 15% weekly between now and the wage scale agreement to provide additional funds to carry out the policy they have decided upon, namely, to accept no wage reduction. It was pointed out at the meeting that this 15% assessment would work great hardship upon the men, but the general attitude at the meeting was to "give until it hurts." No clamor or disturbance marked the meeting. The body had previously listened to the wage scale committee of the Chamber of Commerce at the Central and individual operators had expressed inability to conform to the reduced scale. Statements of these men to the effect that living costs made it impossible to accept the cut were confirmed. In addition considerable disapproval was expressed concerning a statement which appeared in the trade press attributed to an exhibitor which quoted that "men can be 'broken in' in three hours as operators." Speakers contended that with the modern projection machinery, and in view of screen results demanded the standards for operator qualifications were constantly g:rowing more difficult, and responsibility more pressing. The findings of Local 306 will, it is stated, be communicated to the T. O. C. C. at an early date. Ingram Film at the Astor Rex Ingram's "The Prisoner of Zenda" will open at the Astor Theater on Monday, July 31 for an extended run. / That Big Deal That important contract between Goldwyn and First National is expected to be signed at any moment. It's said to be all over but the actual affixing of the signatures. After it is closed, the First National fall announcement of 60 to 70 for next season may be looked for. Hepworths Placed Burr Nickle Prod. Secure English Output — To Be Released on State Rights Market An interesting deal in the independent field was announced yesterday by Burr Nickle, president of Burr Nickle Prod., with offices in Los Angeles, who stated his concern had acquired the productions of the Hepworth Picture Plays, Ltd. of London, for distribution in the United States and Canada. Nickle has just returned to California after spending several weeks in the east, during which time he concluded negotiations with Thomas F. MacMahon, attorney for Hepworth in the L^nited States. The pictures will be distributed on a state rights' basis. The first of the new productions will be ready in August, and it is planned to release the pictures twice a month. The first will be "The City of Beautiful Nonsense" and the next "Sunken Rocks." While Nickle was in New York, he made arrangements with Lesley Mason, to act as his eastern representative. Nickle expects to return to New York about Sept. 1 st. Hager Going to Holland for "U" Gus Hager for some time Universal manager at Salt Lake is in New York preparatory to sailing for Holland on Saturday where he will be Carl Laemmle's personal representative. He will be succeeded in Salt Lake by S. L. McNamee who has been a Universal salesman for the past 10 years. Australian Exhibitors Here Stanley N. Wright, general manager and J. McLeod Bolton, chairman of the board of directors of the Haymarket Theaters, Ltd. of Sydney, Australia arrived in New York on Tuesday evening. They are at the Belmont. Ince's Exchanges? Producer's Own Distribution Talked Of — Wire of Denial Comes From the Coast That Thomas H. Ince intends forming his own distributing organization, is a report that is being discussed in New York. The story goes that Ince, who has completed his next year's output, is seriously considering the formation of a releasing organization to possibly bear his name. At present the producer is involved in litigation with Associated First National over his next season's series, in which there will probably be eight pictures. On Monday a telegram asking Ince for a statement regarding this was sent to the coast, and yesterday the following response was received by THE FILM DAILY: "No truth to report 1 am forming my own distributing organization nor reissuing my former subjects at the present time." The latter portion of Ince's telegram concerned the report that he intended state righting a number of old pictures including "Civilization." He was asked to comment on that, as well as the report regarding the releasing company. Rogers Back to Home Office Charles R. Rogers has relinquished his duties at the New York exchange of the Film Booking Office and has returned to the home office of the company. Charles Rosenzweig, who recently left Universal for F. B. O., will assume charge of the exchange. Selznick News Censored Selznick News No. 1058-C, containing scenes of four bathing girls on a beach near Chicago, in which the bathing censor there is seen attempting to make the abbreviated suits cover a greater portion of the girls' limbs, has been censored by the Motion Picture Commission of New York. Indecency is the official reason. Harry Scott Resigns (Special to THE FILM DAILY) Detroit — Harry Scott, First National manager, has resigned. His health is not of the best. Floyd Brockell, First National supervisor of exchanges, stated yesterday that H. A. Bandy, Central Division manager, was at present in Detroit in charge of the office. No one has been named to succeed Scott as yet.