The Film Daily (1923)

THE 4 m Friday, May 11, 1 Boss On Stand (Continued from Page 1) which he said, Farrington had in his possession the preceding day. claiming that the correspondence was incomplete and objecting to the admission of the letters until the balance v. ere produced. Attorneys in Spat "Where are they," Swaine asked heatedly. "You had them yesterday, and I demand them now." "They will be offered in good time," Farrington retorted. "We are presenting this testimony by subjects, and various letters pertain to different subjects." Koss said that when he sold out he did not take all of his correspondence with him, and that there were therefore some letters that he did not have. •Ah, then you only retained the letters that you thought would help your side of the case," Swaine returned. "Mr. Kxaminer," Swaine exclaimed, appealing to Examiner Alvord, "I want you to note that this is a striking example of the witness' willingness to tell only his side of the case and not to tell the whole story." "Don't you worry, Mr. Swaine," replied Farrington evenly, for the first time showing indication of approaching anger, "before this witness finishes he will very likely tell a great deal more than Famous Players would like to have told. You know that this witness has already been interviewed months ago concerning this case, this is not new to you." "We are not familiar with the back-stairs methods of the Government investigators," Swaine sarcastically replied. "You have spent two years dilly-dallying around on this case, and haven't gotten anywhere yet. We have things of considerable more importance than such long-winded threshing out of this case." At one time during the witness' identification of various contracts signed by him with the Oklahoma City exchange for certain pictures Swaine asked Farrington for a copy of one of the documents under consideration, Farrington replying that he had no copy. "I noticed that the Government is most accommodating," Swaine replied. "Here Mr. Swaine, take my copy. We want to be accommodating, but it happens that I haven't a copy." "Isn't it peculiar," Swaine remarked to no one in particular, "how conveniently theae copies disappear." Says He Didn't Get First-Runs The correspondence, which Examiner Alvord finally admitted with the understanding that such other letters of a similar nature as could be procured would be presented, dealt with Boss' reiterated complaints to the Oklahoma City exchange that he was receiving pictures which had previously been shown at McAllister. All of the replies to these complaints deplored the situation, pointing out that perhaps an exhibitor in a nearby town who also had a theater at McAllister was showing pictures at McAllister without the knowledge of the exchange, thus making it possible for Bom to receive pictures thought in all good faith by the exchange to be first-run pictures for McAllister. One of the letters to Boss stated that since "The Marriage Price," an Elsie Ferguson picture for which Boss had contracted, had already been shown at McAllister, another film was being substituted in its place. Boss declared that Joseph Gilday, exchange manager at Oklahoma City, had promised him that it would be "perfectly all right" to book a feature for two days, to run it one day and receive it again later on for its second day's run, but that this agreement was never lived up to and that he was compelled to run all his pictures two davs consecutively, despite his understanding with the exchange manager. The witness furnished a list of more than a dozen pictures which had been shipped him by the Oklahoma City exchange as firstruns but which he stated, were repeaters. He said that he had booked one Wallace Reid picture, advertised it with a lavish lobby display, extensive newspaper advertising and Vesting of lithographs in McAllister and outlying sections, and that the picture never arrived, his patrons being greatly disappointed. Boss testified that the Oklahoma City exchange claimed that he had not sent his check for the booking, although the witness declared, the check had been sent in ample time. Boss declared that this development hurt his business materially. He also testified that the exchange many times failed to live up to its agreement to furnish advertising matter for lobby displays with pictures booked, although the cost of the pictures, he said, was "exhorbitant" enough to include the cost of the supplemental advertising matter. Claim for credit on advertising which failed to materialize in slpite of the contract was never recognized, Boss stated. Lobby display is 50% of the value of an attraction, the witness stated, and every theater owner depended upon advertising matter furnished with his picture as an aid to "putting the picture over." Alarmed by Lynch Plans Boss testified that he had heard rumors to the effect that Southern Enterprises, Inc., was beginning to buy up theaters all through the South, and that he became alarmed despite the fact that Frank Freeman, whom he characterized as Stephen A. Lynch's "right bower," whom he had known for a long time, had promised that Lynch would never come into McAllister, and wrote Freeman asking if Lynch was contemplating building or buying a theater at McAllister, but never received a reply. Later, he stated, he rece ved a letter from the Dallas office of Southern Enterprises, which advised him that Freeman had written the Dallas office concerning putting a theater in McAllister, and discussing the question of buying out Boss' interests. Boss testified that W. R. Lynoh, brother of Stephen A. Lynch, visited him and discussed buying Boss' theater lor Southern Enterprises. Lynch, he said, went over his books and received considerable information relative to his business that he had expected would be kept confidential. Lynch left McAllister with a definite proposition, from him, Boss stated, and with the understanding that the matter would be gone into immediately. It was several months before he heard from Lynch, he said, the reply stating that the price of $22,000 asked by Boss was too much and that the Lynch interests would not be interested at that time. Boss testified that Lynch had already secured control of the leading opposition theater, across the street from his own house. After W. R. Lynch had talked purchase with him, according to the witness, he was approached by a local real estate man who said that he represented very powerful principals who were interested in his house, asking him to submit a proposition. The realtor, he stated, would not divulge the name of his principal, but merely smiled when Boss told him, "I'll tell you who your principal is, it is Famous Players." "He didn't whistle, did he," asked Swaine. "No," responded the witness, who is a mild mannered and meek individual, "but he will when this hearing goes to Dallas." Claims Rentals Were Jacked Up Boss testified that during the time he was having so much trouble over getting the firstrun pictures which he was supposed to receive under the terms of his contract, and after Southern Enterprises had secured control of the Palace, he was very seldom visit ed by the Paramount salesmen, and then only to be offered second-run Paramount and Artcraft pictures at high prices. He was then paying around ten times more than he had contracted to pay for Paramount pictures less than a year before, he testified, and the opposition across the street, controlled by Famous, was running first-run Paramount pictures and advertising as the "new home of Paramount." The witness said that he was offered for a Thanksgiving day performance a Fairbanks Picture which had already had three runs in McAllister. When he tried to get good pic tures, he said, salesmen for Paramount quoted them at anywhere from $150 to $300, which, he said, was exhorhitantlv high for a town of the size of McAllister, so he concluded that the price had been boosted to keep him from buying them. He then went outside after good pictures, Boss said, and found that the Oklahoma territory for Associated Exhibitors, United Artists, Metro, and Universal had been sewed up by Lynch who was furnishing the output of these companies to his rival across the street, and that First National was exclusively handled by another competitor in McAllister, thus making it impossible to obtain any good pictures. He said the Palace across the street was really running about a third of Paramount pictures among the pictures shown, and the balance of Metro, Universal, United Artists and other companies, so that he would not be able to get them for this theater. Claims F. P. Launched Opposition The Palace, under its new management, he said, was launched in the way "Paramount does everything." It was completely re modelled, a pipe organ installed, the seating capacity enlarged and extensively advertised as "the new home of Paramount," while, he stated, "I could not get any good pictures either of Paramount or other companies — only second run pictures." Boss asked Marvin Farrington, who was conducting his. examination, if he might be permitted to explain how it was that he couldn't get any good pictures. Robert T. Swaine interrupted, "let him go ahead and air his grievances. He did it last year before the M. P. T. O. A. convention, so if it will make him feel any better, let him go ahead." Boss told how at the M. P. T. O. A. convention at Washington last year, to which he was a delegate from Oklahoma, he told President Sydney Cohen how he had been treated and Cohen, he said, expressed great surprise that Adolph Zukor had allowed such a state of" affairs to exist, if he knew anything about it. Boss told Cohen that he had written the facts to Zukor, and at Cohen's request promised to send him copies of the letters which he had written Zukor, which he said he did. Cohen promised to take the matter up with Zukor immediately." "When did you next hear from Cohen?" Farrington asked. "That was the last I ever heard from Sydney Cohen," replied the witness, to the great glee of Swaine and his associates grouped around the respondents' table. Boss testified that after many letters to Oklahoma City, he finally recieved a letter from Hulsey, former owner of the Texas ; Oklahoma and Arkansas franchise of First National who sold out to Famous and continued as manager of the circuit which he formerely owned, stating that he wanted to get things straightened out with Boss, and that Wifks, the new exchange manager at Okla noma City, would take up the matter. of readjusting the prices of super-features, which in some instances were as high as $500, Boss said, and concerning which high prices he had repeatedly complained. Asked if Wilks ever made an adjustment or attempted to, Boss replied, "No, only to further increase the cost of my pictures." He said he had to pay $500 for "The Miracle Man." which was out of all proportion for McAllister. Says Letters Were Unanswered Boss then testified that he had sent special registered letters to Adolph Zukor, Frank Freeman, S. A. Lynch, Cecil. B. DeMille, and Jesse Lasky, all dated Feb. 24, 1921, in which he recited at length to the extent of about 1500 words, his difficulties, pointing out that had he known that the Lynch people intended building the Palace across the street from his show that he never would have built, and pointed out that his service was cut off without notification, nor had he ever been notified that Lynch had intended entering McAllister, despite that previously in Dallas, they had told him that they did not intend to come. He added that despite that Famous had his deposit, that they refused to ship him films C. O. D. He received no answer to his letter. On Tune 11, Boss read, so he testified, Adolph Zukor's open letter published in the Motion Picture News in which Zukor pleaded for fair play. This will be recalled, was during the height of the Convention when the now famous Mrs. Dodge case was being discussed. In reply to this, on June 13, Boss wrote Zukor a letter in which he controverted many of the declarations which Zukor made, and in part, by saying that "I have found you to be anything but a friend to the exhibitor. You took my service away without notice — During the past five years, the policy of your company has changed from that of a kindly nup to that of a ravenous wolf who wants to hog it all." He concluded his communication by advising that he intended to do all he could to co-operate with the Department of Justice and the M. P. T. O. A., after which he made three visits to Washington to see Mr. Burns of the Department of Justice, but always found him in Florida. He then detailed the movements leading to the sale of his house to Willis Adams, the former manager of the Lynch house, and after these negotiations fell through, and his place was advertised for sale, he also made efforts, and did not raise the money. He learned that Barney Resnick who owned the property, had upon that day, made a deal with Hulsey in Dallas to take over the property. He said that when his place was sold, that he got almost nothing for it. The Government completed its examination of Boss, and counsel for the respondents reserved cross examination until the arrival here of the Oklahom City exchange manager with files of all correspondence relative to Boss' controversy with Famous Players. The hearing was recessed until Monday morning. CHICAG EXHIBITOR CONVENTIO; Several publicatio; promise to publi: special editioi every day durii the M.P.T.O.of, convention in CI cago, May 21-26. But the one pap sure to be read w be just as it always hi been. MAKE YOUR RE ERVATION FC ADVERTISE SPACE