The Film Daily (1928)

7owa Exhibitors Adopt Waiting , Policy on Sound iTHE /"FILMDOM /ILL THE ^«EWS ALLTHE TIME »L. XLV No. 38 Tuesday, August 14, 1928 Price 5 Cents Wait and See y ETWEEN now and the J end of the year this shifting business will witness eral changes that will cause blase a little surprise. We 11 spot three. No names now, :t whein they happen you'll J uw that we knew. iOne big theater chain, pretty ich in its dotage, will pass to ^nds other than those now at |e wobbly helm. Who'll get it? [{most anybody who can meet e figure. A second large theater circuit 11 be absorbed by an even l|-ger outfit. The same old prof|dure : the strong fellow gobblJg up the weak. A producer-distributor, en■jrcling the world but not so lllurdily now as it used to, may I: expected to become part of a nmbination with several other Itering organizations. The idea to bring them all together id make a strong unit where simply doesn't exist now. It's going to be a nice, quiet 11 — the season, we're referring What Else to Say? The most graphic of stories told a line: "The Street Angel," rounding out ur weeks at the Roxy, rolls up the rrific gross of $479,957. No midght shows and four de luxe perrmance over week-ends as against e usual five. What else is there to say? Efficiency The stars in the heavens stop in eir tracks. The Great Mind is isy. A director whose name you low well is at work. He is creatg. When he finishes editing and itting the wastage goes into six rures. The cutting room floor littered with dollars in celluloid. his, in Hollywood. In New York, overhead must be ashed — into ribbons. So the cleral force is compelled to cut down 1 towel and soap supplies. This a business. KANN MAY UNITE 200 N. Y. IND'FT THEATERS IN PRODUCTION UNIT Shorts Popular Detroit — Short subjects again are getting a break at first runs. Some shorts are played every week, with the use of comedies on the increase. Box offices are feeling the result. NEW ANGLE ON FILMS AS ARTICLE OECOmCE A recent decision of the Court of Civil Appeals in Texas ruled, in brief, that the renting of films by a Colorado corporation to a theater in Texas constituted interstate commerce, and that the Colorado corporation could recover for unpaid rental in an action in Texas although the Colorad'o corporation did npt have authority to do business in {Continued on Page 8) Paramount to Handle "The Soul of France" United States distribution of "The Soul of France," filmed on the battlefields of the World War, has been acquired by Paramount. The picture will be synchronized, with sound effects added and distributed in the next group of Paramount releases. (.Continued on Page 8) PUBLIX RE-ENTERING K.C. THEATER FIELD Kansas City — Publix again will operate the Newman and Royal, which were taken over by Loew's last fall, following opening of Loew's Midland. The Royal has been dark since passing into Loew control. The Newman is to be wired for Western Electric sound projection. No decision has been reached on the Royal. Milton Feld, Publix district manager, recently was here in connection with his company's plan to take back the two houses. SEVENTH ARBITRATOR NOT USED IN CLEVELAND CASE Cleveland — A precedent in arbitration procedure was established last week when in a case presented before a seventh arbitrator by M-G-M against H. W. Lundgren of the Globe theater, Columbiana, Ohio, an award was made by the board without calling for an opinion by the arbitrator. The Board of Arbitration had previously heard the case in which MG-M asked for $352 for payment of pictures on a contract which they claimed Lundgren broke. A tie vote resulted. Because the deadlock (.Continued on Page 8) Day of Sound Pictures in Small Town is Held Distant Des Moines — The day is somewhat distant when the small town and small theater can afford pictures containing sound, music and talking sequences, Iowa exhibitors decided at their "sound convention" held here. J. O. Smith of RCA Photophone, Earl Bell of Vitaphone and L. J. Stern of the Han-a-Phone Co., addressed the meeting. Iowa exhibitors are "up in the air" over sound, the meeting demonstrated. All present agreed that a sound device purchased for a "reasonable sum" would be a "life-saver" if immediate delivery were possible. However, as deliveries could not be assured until next spring, the exhibitors decided on a policy of waiting, to take advantage of any improvements and standardization made, as well as possible reduction in price. "The increased amount of overhead because of the synchronizing cost and service charge makes sound (Continued on Page 3) Advances Made to Electric Group and Large Distributor A large electrical group interested in sound pictures and an important distributor have been approached to join hands with 200 unaffiliated New York theaters as the nucleus of a producing, distributing and exhibiting organization designed, at a latter date, to expand nationally. The theater interests represent houses with a box office intake of approximately $25,000,000 yearly and a film buying power of about $4,000,000 annually. B. S. Moss, Aaron Sapiro and Herbert A. Ebenstein are the principal factors in the plan. This is the latest development in the plan to consolidate unattached theater owners in the New York territory under the wing of one holding company in which participating exhibitors would share on a stock basis. Meetings of organizing committees are being held daily. Operators who several years ago, frowned on any suggestion which would result in elimination of their individual (Continued on Page 8) FOX NEWS GETS HOOVER SPEECH IN ADVANCE Less than 24 hours after he delivered his acceptance speech at Palo Alto, Cal., Herbert Hoover appeared on the screens of New York first runs Sunday afternoon delivering the highlights of his talk via Fox Movietone News. The Movietone negative of Hoover was rushed to New York by an airmail plane, arriving late Saturday night. A staff of men at the Fox Movietone laboratory worked all night developing and printing the (Continued on Page 3) "Four Sons" Does $51,629 at Roxy Over Week-End "Four Sons," grossed $51,629 in two days at the Roxj', establishing a new two day record at the big New York house. Saturday's gross was $25,264 as against $23,531 for (Continued on Page 8)