The Film Daily (1924)

|J||£ :^4? brAdshteet of FILHDOH Yr^O^ Authority Vol. XXIX No. 73 Thursday, September 25, 1924 Price 5 Cents BIG SETS By DANNY Well known producer talking. •'I want to make — but I'm afraid. Will the exhibitor run it? It hasn't any opportunities for big sets, or big scenes. But it is a wonderful story. What would you do?" And wc prompth fell for it. And said "go on and do it." And now we're thinking. Was he right? Is the exhibitor interested only in those pictures which have big sets; great production values? Many exhibitors — it is true — only "get behind" a picture with a big production value. But the rank and file can be depended upon to get behind a good picture. And that is where the story counts most. The public isn't interested in big sets, great productions, unless the story counts. That was proven several years ago. When Mr. Producer almost went broke — some did — trying to vie with eacli other. In seeing who could spend the most. On productions. On big sets, .^nd extras. If the theory -of big productions would have meant anything then foreign made pictures would have been a real success Iicre^ Because ;he production values wer/ always 'here. Don't lorget that. \ There are many fine, stories — ex-' cellent screen material — which do not lend themselves to great productions. Some of the current successes — real, meritorious, fine pictures — such as "Tarnish," "Merton of the Movies," "The Clean Heart" have no great production values. There is no reason why they should have. But the Stories — the plots — are fine material. And in our In.mble opinion any effort to subsidize story to production values would have been silly. There will always be pictures with great production t-alues. And xvhere the story is worth while they are successes. But big productions without story value. Are simply so much film. You cannot get a picture over on production values alone. No one can. And further no one will. Mounting costs, increasing expendiItures mean this: that if continued (Continued on Pane 2) Interests Divided New Inspiration Pictures Handling Barthelmess with C. H. Duell Now Completely Out (Special to THE FILM DAILY) Albany — Inspiration Pictures, of New York, v.'as organized here yesterdaj', listing 3,500 shares of preferred stock, each held at $100, and 3,500 shares of common, with no par value. J. Boyce Smith, Jr., F. H. Stokes and J. F. Mann arc the incorporators. It is understood the formation of the above corporation, which bears tlie title of the old Inspiration company, indicates that the internal rearrangement of that organization's affairs has been completed on the following basis : Inspiration, (the old company) will handle Barthelmess jjicturcs produced to date, "The White Sister" (Continued on Payc 3) May Not Do "The Swan" Elsie Ferguson may not appear in "The Swan" for Famous, as planned. Gill^ert ^^liller wants her for a new stage play and will endeavor to secure her services. Paramount officials are said to be looking for another lead for the picture. Mayer Buys Plays; Sails Saturday Louis B. Mayer has put oft' his salting for Europe until Saturday, when he leaves on the Leviathan. MetroGoldwyn has purchased rights to Som crset Maugham's "The Circle" and "Daddy-Goes-A-Hunting," by Zoe Akins. =~'~~~_l Estabrook's Next Howard Estabrook's next picture will be "The Adventuress Sex." It will be made at the Tec-Art studio for release through Associated Exhibitors. The Sterns Returning Julius and Abe Stern, Century Comedies, arc aboard the Maurctania, due in New York, from Europe, either late today, or tomorrow morning. Banker to Address A. M. P. A. A. C. Emery, president of the Hamilton National Bank will address the A. M. P. A. today on the attitude of bankers toward the picture business. Alice Terry Leaves .Mice Terry left New York for the Metro-GoId-.vyn studios on the Coast, yesterday to prepare for iier next picture. Still Figuring The Golf Committee was still at work yesterday afternoon, checking up on handicaps of Tuesday's tournament, in order to determine winners of the four cups donated for Classes A, B, C, and D. Class A Cup is the Arthur W. Stebbins Trophy. Class B is the Film Booking Offices Trophy. Class C is the Watterson R. Rothacker Trophy. Class D is the Jack Cosman Trophy. These awards will be announced in tomorrow's issue. Out Of GrandAsher Sam Grand and Harry Asher Resign — Company Now on Inactive List A brief statement issued yesterda\on behalf of the Grand-Asher Dist. Corp., announced that Samuel "V. Grand and Harry Asher are no longer connected with the company "in any capacity, Grand having resigned at a directors' meeting held yesterday 4S'e[)t. 16) and Asher having resigned in August." The offices at 1650 Broadway have been transferred to Boston. It is understood that Benjamin Schwalb, an accountant interested in film affairs in Boston has been elected president of the company and a new board of directors put into office. It is expected that there will be nothing in the way of renewed activity for the present at least. The company has a number of pictures placed with national distributors. Allied To Expand Will Seek More Members — Al Steffes Reelected President Despite Desire Not to Run (Special to THE FILM DAILY) Topeka, Kan. — Urged on by the insistence of W. .'\. Steffes that the Allied State Oganizations must do something to expand its activities it was decided at the two-day meeting here that Allied will definitely reach out to embrace additional states in its membership. Steffes, despite his desire not to run again for the presidency was reclertcd and it was determined that of (ContinueJ on Pai)e 2) 3,207 Gases Filed Local Arbitration Board Has Busy Year— Only 183 Were Contested of That Total The annual report of the F. I. L. M. Club of New York City, covering the period from Sept. 1, 1923 to Aug. 31, 1924 shows that 3,207 cases were submitted to arbitration, conducted jointly by the club and the T. O. C. C. Of this number, 183 were contested, 1,526 settled before hearing before the Joint Arbitration Board. 1,356 were defaults, 62 were dismissals and 80 cases were withdrawn. As proof of the impartial manner in which the cases were handled, the report points out that despite the large number of cases heard, the board was evenly divided on but three occasions, necessitatnig the calling in of a seventh arbitrator to break the deadlock. The board is made up of three members nominated by the F. I. L. M. Club and a like number by the T. O. C. C. Surprise Dinner to Kent A surprise dinner to Sidney R. Kent by his friends and executives of Paramount was given at the Ritz last night in honor of Kent's newly created position as general manager. Among those present were Adolph Zukor, Jesse L. Lasky. Harold B. F'ranklin, Felix Kahn, and about fifty others of the Paramount organization. Horace Clark Here Horace T. Clark, l-'ar Eastern rc|)resentative of First National, is in New York, having completed another jaunt of 40,000 miles in that territorj' where, he says, conditions loom up very satisfactorily. Laemmle Sails Sept. 27 Carl Laemmle sails from the other side on the .-\quitania, on Sept. 27, due in New York on Oct. 3. Raise $7,000 Fund M. P. T. O. of Kansas and Missouri To Launch Membership Drive — Topeka Meeting Ends {Special to THE FILM DAILY) Topeka, Kan. — The newly formed M. P. T. O. of Kansas and Missouri terminated its two day convention here by raising a fund of $7,000 to finance a dual-state membership drive. The convention opened to what appeared to be a meeting striving for stronger organization rather than for the purpose of declaring resolutions. The sessions were rather slow ini (Continued on Page 2)