The Film Daily (1930)

THE Friday, March 7, 1930 jg^ DAILY Newspaper Opinions i "Puttin' on the Ritz" United Artists Earl Carroll, New York i AMERICAN— The photography is excellent but the colored sequences nothing to ijrag about. Everything considered, Harry i^ichman and Irving Berlin hold a field day h "Puttin' on the Ritz." ! DAILY MIRROR— Excellent acting, fin shed dictation and a beautiful production old up a rather conventional story. A tech ,icolor sequence, "Alice in Wonderland" is [harming. I DAILY NEWS — * * * all-around swellest ulkie-singie of the back-stage type to reach jtroadway. * * * Boy, O boy, will this one jlean up at the box office — and rightfully I [ EVENING JOURNAL—* * * an enterlining piece built on the by now very faliliar backstage formula. Had it come be pre the deluge of similar plots it would be lore novel. Richman's voice records ef pctively and he puts oVer his songs well. EVENING WORLD— You might wonder ihat makes "Puttin' On the Ritz ' tick, but bu'll probably agree that it has an enorlous box office appeal. GRAPHIC — The production is not only iceptionally good entertainment, but it is le of the best of the "hoofer" talkies which ive been released, and that includes the >lson vehicles. ' I HERALD-TRIBUNE—* * * tuneful, strik' igly staged and well acted film musical I [imedy that is not particularly helped h\ . IS nominal star. There is nothing preten pus about it, save in production, yet dc '! [lite Mr. Richman and a narrative that is (I pither novel nor important, it manages tu I t rather good entertainment. i; POST — * * 'remarkable to say, "Puttin j jn the Ritz" is that rare type of entertain lent which gains measurably in speed and It tterest as it goes along, and its resource \ ul display of showmanship, its imagina Wely handled scenes, its lively tempo, its Ming, its songs, dances and settings wert 'I limulatively responsible for the audience'; II firestrained enthusiasm. ■I SUN — * * * the producers have spared m ;pense in "Puttin' On the Ritz" and it maj ; described as the most handsomely mouiiiei 1! Ikie production of the most typical talkit 11 ory. )i TELEGRAM—* * * a good picture aiu j[ le that you should make it a point to see t :cause you will enjoy it. li TIMES — With charming music and lyric; prnished by Irving Berlin, the presence o • »e talented Joan Bennett, and effective sing p: g by Harry Richman. "Puttin' On thi i, ,'tz," well deserved the favor with which it ■ as received by a large audience. It is ; m that possesses that much sought-aftei ' gredient — good entertainment. ' I WORLD — Toward the end of the picture kere is a peculiarly bright spot. In a Tech , fcolor sequence depicting a stage show, th iiaracters of "Alice in Wonderland" comi :> life. Though, they are envisioned in the , iiusical comedy manner, yet in the grotesque hnny little creatures, there is a distinguishple breath of the fresh and clean imagina on of Lewis Carroll. Decision on Fox Case Now Up To Judge Frank Coleman (Continued from Page 1) To Handle Devices Wilmington — • Somerset Amuse'.[lent, Inc., listing capital at $25,000, as incorporated and will handle deices of all kinds. I Publix N. J. Theaters, Inc. I Wilmington — Publix New Jersey rheaters, Inc., is a new company armed here to operate houses in the tate of N. T. Remove Stores for Theater Nashville, Tenn. — A portion of the uildings on Church St., will be reloved to allow for the new Publix ouse to be erected here. In the case oi Fox Theaters, the count was 987,516 "A" shares, out of 1,105,387 represented at the meeting, and the entire 100,000 shares of "B" stock in favor of the plan, and 99,338 shares of "A" stock against it. This gives Fox a majority slightly under the 1 5 to 1 mentioned in the first report Wednesday night. The final count, according to Vice-president Jack Leo, excludes about 50,000 pro.xies (or the Bancamerica side which were left out because they appeared questionable. A big batch of proxies received yesterday morning also could not be voted because they arrived too late. Tlie inspectors stated that the votes for the 50,101 shares of Fox Film "B" and the 100 shares of Fox Theaters "B" held by the Bankers Trust, had been counted in favor of Mr. Fox because "on examination of the certified list of stockholders as of the record date, March 1, 1930, we find that William Fo.x is the owner." This stock had been voted on two ballots, one by both Mr. I'ox and the other by John E. Otterson ana H. L. Stuart as trustees under the agreement of Dec. 3. The inspectors further stated they had received proxies purporting to be executed by Bankers Trust, as attorney for Mr. Fox, in iavor of Stuart and Otterson, in respect of the "B" shares, but except as mentioned above they had not received any ballots signed by Stuart and Otterson or by any other parties as attorney, and proxies for Mr. Fox. Richard E. Dwight, counsel lor the trusteeship of Dec. 3, entered protest against the votes on the ground that a majority of the trustees (Otterson and Stuart) had the right to the count of the "B" shares. Dwight said that Otterson and Stuart had voted this stock in pursuance of Judge Aaron J. Levy's action in refusing to grant a restraining order to Mr. Fox. Samuel Untermyer replied that Judge Levy merely had ruled on the injunction and there had not been time to go into the legal aspects involved as to who was actually qualified to vote the stock at this time. Martin Conboy, representing an independent block of stock, also had his protests against the votes placed on the record. Another protest was made by Dwight with respect to the adjournment of the meeting. Dwight contended that the meeting could be adjourneii only by the action of "B" stockholders. He then raised the point about the four directors that were to be elected under the new agreement. The meeting of Fox Theaters, at 1 :15 p. m.. was just a formality lasting but a few minutes. Through misunderstanding, part of the StuartOtterson forces and some others, who were under the impression that the Theaters meeting was to take place at 1 :30, appeared on the scene after everything was over. Fol lowing the short afternoon session. Fox directors held a closed meeting, and it was the understanding that a report of the stockholders' action would be immediately transmitted to .judge Frank J. Coleman, who in turn is expected to call another hearing, either today or as soon as he can arrange it, on the receivership application, which the Judge said he would dismiss upon proof that a refinancing plan satisfactory to the Fox directors was approved by the stockholders. Halsey, Stuart's Statement Although the Stuart-Otterson side did not make known any development yesterday whereby they hoped to prevent the Bancamerica plan from being put into effect, the general sentiment in this camp was that difficulties were bound to result. Counsel for Halsey, Stuart stated they did not see how the Fox situation was clarified by the action taken at the stockholders' meeting and thought that, rather than clarifying the situation, the action taken had confused the situation more than ever. They stated their doubt that the Bancamerica plan, which provided for a voting trust radically different, could be made effective as long as the trust agreement between Fox, .Stuart and Otterson was a valid agreement. "The Supreme Court has held that the trust agreement of December 3, 1929, to be valid." said Halsey, Stuart's counsel. "They duestinned the right to make any plan effective except the plan approved by the trustees under that instrument. The trustees have not approved the Bancamerica plan, but, on the contrary, have approved the plan submitted by Halsey, Stuart & Co. We doubt if the Class "A" stockholders and their committee fully understood the situation, and that, by voting for the Bancamerica plan, the stockholders and their committee may have produced a situation fraught with more legal difficulties than any result which would have followed the adoption of the Halsey, Stuart plan. "Mr. Fox has now executed two trust agreements, one with Otterson and Stuart, and the other one with Uelaheld, Howell and Baruch. By the court declaring the first one valid, it would be difficult to see how the second one could be valid as well, and it is a most unusual situation if a man could make one agreement which was valid and turn around and make another one directly contradictory and expect the second one to hold. "Counsel and the other attorneys supporting the interests behind the Bancamerica plan must, therelore, realize that the approval of the Bancamerica plan and any responsibility resulting from this legal tangle cannot be charged to Stuart and .Otterson or Halsey, Stuart, or Electrical Research Products, as the meeting yesterday had taken action in defiance of the possibilities of the result oi Judge Levy's decision." Robert T. Swaine, counsel for the Banca merica banking group, gave a different opinion of the Dec. 3 voting trusteeship, declaring that the present agreement on refinanciiit would cancel the former one. Notwith standing whatever legal complications might arise on this point, Swaine said, the Dec. 3 trusteeship exuires of its own accord on June 1, and for the present the Bancamerica group probably will take a voting trust to pick up when the other expires. Meanwhile the box companies will be refinanced, debts paid, etc. After the adjournment of the Fox Film meeting, Mr. Fox, at the request of stockholders for a personal expression and pledge, made the following statement : "I hardly think a statement is necessary. I think that I have not by words, but by actions, deserved the confidence that you caused in favor of the plan I recommended. Those who are opposed to my retaining the 'B' stock, who are the telephone company and Halsey, Stuart & Co., have done everything that was in their power to take that away from me. At first it was their purpose to purchase this stock and I have a written communication that has been examined bj Mr. Dwight, of Hughes, Schurman and Dwight, in which I could have sold my cer tificates for $33,333,333. Had I done that, this meeting would have been conducted bj Mr. Otterson or by Mr. Stuart. I felt that it was to your interest not to sell my voting shares. 1 was offered more for the 50,101 Fox Film voting shares than the entire mar ket value of the balance of the outstandinj. 820,000 shares that did not belong to me. When, about two weeks ago, it looked a though we had no way out, nothing but re ceivership, this same group of men reduce<. their price to approximately $18,000,000. The night before this meeting took place, the\ had reduced their price to $12,500,000. This is not a quarrel between a group of bank ers about lending money, it is an effort t. gain control of the talking motion picture business. This matter is not going to end as a result of this meeting. There will bt plenty to say and to do and you shall reac in the daily papers of what the ultimate out come is to be. "I have given the companies the best year: of my life, from 21 to 51 and I do no proposed to work as hard as I have for thi next 30 years because I have not the vitality but all I have belongs to this company an I pledge you that." To Remodel Colo. Strand Colo. Springs, Colo. — Plans are under way for the remodeling of the Strand, recently taken over by J. E. Toinpkins. Sells Galva Movie Galva, 111. — Mrs. and Mrs. J. A. Wesee of I<"arnii,iigton have purchased the Movie House from Mr. and Mrs. Hippler. FILM BOARDS OF TRADE REPORTTHEATER CHANGES SOUTH DAKOTA Changes in Ownership Belle Fourche — Iris, sold to Black Hills Amusement Co. by James O'Neill; Clark — Idle Hour, sold to L. H. Aultfillisch by Jamea Leslie; Doland — Palace, sold to Earl E. Papke by Chester Giese; Eureka — State, sold to Charles Silver by Joe Bender; Wagner — Cozy, sold to L. A. Scobell by R. C. Metzger. Closings Rapid City — Auditorium ; Watauga — Watauga. New Theaters Midland — Legion. ReOpenings Hill City — Gem. TENNESSEE Changes in Ownership Knoxville — Central, sold to Tim Smith by P. C. Williams; McKenzie — Capitol, sold to Y. D. Moore by J. E. Whitten; Memphis— Linden Circle, sold to Malco Theaters, Inc., by W. W. Fischer; Malco, sold to Malco Theaters, Inc., by Binswanger & Fisher. Closings Jasper — Jasper; McLemoresville — Civic; Rogersville— Palace; Troy — High School Theater; Woodland Mills— Woodland Mills High School. WEST VIRGINIA Changes in Ownership Buckhannon — Opera House, sold to W. Frank Thornhill by M. E. Hymes; Huntington — Avenue, sold to H. W. Clarke by J. F. Walters; Madison — Rialto, sold to C. & M. Theatrical Co. by Rupert McNeely; Nevrburg — Crystal, sold to Edward B. Shafer by W. B. Cockrell. Closings Bancroft — Virginian ; Blair — Blair ; Cabin Creek — Herbert; Jodie — Bryce; Mt. HopeRoyal ; Nitro — Lyric ; Olcutt — Olcutt ; Parkersburg — Camden; Pettus — Pettus; Soverign — Soverign. New Theaters Williamson — Gem, owners — William Aders & J. I. Saad. WISCONSIN Changes in Ownership Kenosha — Vogue, sold to E. Wiesner by Jocius & .Slater; Milwaukee — Greenfield, sold to A. Zetley by Mr. and Mrs. J. Ozehno ; Radio, sold to Herbert Perlewitz by Leon Lee; Mt. Horeb — Strand, sold to Robert T. Hankel by J. H. Rupp ; Sheboygen — Butterfly, sold to South Side Amusement Co. by Arthur Lugg. Closings Abbotsford — .\rmor ; T5-!rlcy — Opera H'^use; Brillion — Audit nuni , Cashton — Opera — i'rtla re ; Excelsior — lie— Opera House, Ke ;;,e ; Merrill — Badger ; Fichland Center — OrSoMiers Gr-.v; — House: Clinton ' Excelsior; Green . waskum — Opera ';' New Lisbon — Hr.r': pheum ; Saxon — K't Electric; Walworth — Liberty, Wats' I'o— Coninumitv ; Wauzeka — Opera House; Winter— F.imilv. Cody— Rialto, Closings Devon Opens With Sound Devon, Conn. — Talking pictures have opened at the Devon, which is now under the management of Miss Margaret E. Kish. Phototone equipment is the sound device being used. Aberdeen Work Progressing Aberdeen, Wash. — Construction work on the new house being erected by D. Constantini is rapidly progressing despite the cold weather. United Chain Takes Space Philadelphia — United Chain Theaters Corp. has taken office space at 225 So. ISth St.