The Film Daily (1934)

Intimate in Character Internationa! in Scope Independent in Thought The Dai ly N ewspe per Of M i o n Pict ures Now Six teen Years Old VOL. LXV. NO. 71 NEW yCP^TLESDAY, MARCH 27, 1934 <5 CENT/ Classics Become Definite Part of Screen, Says Hays REVIEW JOARD ORDERSJWEEPH CODE INQUIRY Prober of Code Was Impartial Nominee from Chicago Lowell Mason, Counsel of Review Board, Served Industry in Past Washington Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Washington — An interesting highlight of yesterday's hearing before the National Recovery Review Board was the fact that Lowell Mason, general counsel of the Board from Chicago, was nominated as an impartial member of the Grievance Board of the code in that territory. Interestingly, the Code Authority meeting Thursday will be to consider a successor to Mason, who notified NRA of his resignation fol(Continued on Page 7) RCA REPORWrEADY TO OFFERTELEVISION RCA is understood to have taken definite steps toward introducing television on the general consumer market. A spokesman for the company recently appealed to the Federal Radio Commission for a license to engage in television broadcasting. The move is based on a feeling that {Continued on Page 7) Seek Views of Public On Free Radio Shows Opinion of the radio public on whether studio audiences should be banned is being sought by the American Oil Co., which sponsors the appearance of Groucho and Chico Marx Sunday nights over WABC. In this connection it is the belief of George Storer, new president of WMCA, that free shows have been overdone. Cleveland Run Records Cleveland — "It Happened One Night" has established a local record by playing 25 days on a second run at Keith's East 105th St. "David Harum" is on an extended run at the Colonial, where it is winding up its third week and still going strong. Hays Officers Re-elected All otticers of the Hays association were re-elected. They include: Will H. Hays, president; Carl E. Milliken, secretary, and Frederick L. Herron, treasurer. Hal Roach is a new member of the board. Name of Charles Christie is omitted. Complete list of directors is as follows: M. H. Aylesworth, Robert H. Cochrane, Jack Cohn, Cecil B. deMille, Earle W. Hammons, Will H. Hays, F. L. Herron, B. B. Kahane, Sidney R. Kent, Jesse L. Lasky, Sol Lesser, Hal E. Roach, David Sarnoff, Joseph M. Schenck, Nicholas M. Schenck, Albert H. Warner, Harry M. Warner, and Adolph Zukor. ZONING SETUP DELAYS ROARDS FOR NEW YORK Storm center of the New York local boards situation is the makeup of the zoning and clearance board, with Code Authority members reported generally in agreement on the personnel of the griev (Continued on Page 7) Code Authority Answers Kicks Over Board Delays Replying to exhibitor protests expressing dissatisfaction with "slow progress" being made in setting up the code machinery, a statement was made yesterday at Code Authority headquarters pointing out (Continued on Page 6) Code Authority and Major Company Sales Managers Summoned to Appear at Washington Hearing Thursday Before Recovery Review Board By WILLIAM SILBERBERG FILM DAILY Staff Correspondent Washington — Charges of discrimination in the selling of pictures, restraint of trade and alleged monopolistic tendencies of the motion picture code, coupled with testimony of Russel Hardy, Department of Justice special assistant to the Attorney General, and the hesitancy of Division Administrator Sol A. Rosenblatt to appear as a witness without first consulting with Administrator Hugh S. Johnson, which he was unable to do during the day's hearings, featured hearings before the National Recovery Review Board yesterday Hearings WOR SUPPLIES ROXY SUSTAINING PROGRAM Under a tieup with radio station WOR, the Roxy Theater is to be supplied gratis with a well-known sustaining radio program which will give its regular half-hour broadcast (Continued on Page 8) Gulf Exhib Factions All Getting Together New Orleans — That the Gulf States Theater Owners' Ass'n will truly represent exhibitors in this (Continued on Page 7) Year's Progress in Films Cited By Will Hays at Annual Meeting Admission Tax in Britain Reduces Attendance 21% London — Decline in cinema attendance to the extent of 21 per cent since the emergency entertainment tax was imposed about two years ago was reported by T. Ormiston at a meeting of the C. E. A. Decrease in revenue to theaters was estimated by Ormiston at about jj.000,000. "The sweep of motion picture progress is making the production of films based on major and minor classics of literature an integral part of the screen entertainment of the future," declared Will H. Hays, president of the M.P.P.D.A., in his report presented at the annual meeting of the organization yesterday. He pointed to the contentions of rival producers for priority claims to (Continued on Page 8) were adjourned until Thursday morning, during which interval members of the Code Authority including all major company sales managers, are to be summoned to appear together with Rosenblatt. Objection was made to setting Thursday as the convening date due to a New York Code Authority meeting on that date, but Chairman Darrow at the insistence of General Counsel Lowell Mason would not consent to any longer continuance. Failure of the subpoenaed members to appear will not affect the Board's (Continued on Page 7) Fox Film to Expand British Production London — Complete removal of the Fox production staff from Berners St. to much larger quarters in Newman St. is interpreted as indication that there will be an expansion in the company's British production activities. More ambitious pictures are understood to be contemplated. 20 Million Weekly in Eng. London — Weekly film attendance in England and Ireland is approximately 20,000,000, it was stated by Simon Rowson in an address before the Bristol branch of the Royal Empire Society. In England alone it is 18,500,000 weekly, he said. Average admission price is equal to 18 cents in American money.