The Film Daily (1930)

— " THE THE NEWSPAPER OF FILM DOM ALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME VOL. LIV NO. 2* NEW yCCI\, TUESDAY, CCTCEEC 28. 193C PIVE CENTS Arbitration and Credit Defended Before High Court W. B. READY WITH 65MM. FOR ALLHOUSES RKO September Quarter Profits Jump To $1,006,437 Television — still years away -By JACK ALICOATE Regardless of a Dr. Jordan feeling of appreSpeaking hension on the part of some, this television thing is still a considerable distance from first base as far as its practical standing in the amusement league is concerned. Far be this from mere theoretical small talk. It is the opinion of no less an authority on matters televistic than Dr. F. B. Jordan, President of the Bell Telephone Laboratories, and uttered from the rostrum, so that the whole world might hear, in convention assembled, before the Pioneers of America in Los Angeles last week. To get a little closer to the point, here is what the authoritative Dr. Jordan said: "While we know how to operate television practically, either over wires or air, and are daily carrying on experiments in the field, we are of the opinion that television as a commercial possibility is still many years away." Dr. Jordan is not given to rambling opinions. His observations on this important subject arc, therefore, doubly interesting. * * * wi w ut » Rumblings of Llty Lights the return of the And Silent 8 silents continue as the release date of Mons. Chaplin's muted opera, "City Lights," draws near. Producers, seeking to emulate the master pantomimist of all time and produce pictures without dialogue, will, in our modest opinion, be flirting with a 100 to 1 shot. And some will take the gamble sure as tomorrow. The talking screen of today is no different from the talking stage of yesterday. There always has been, is, and always will be room for the (Continued cm page 2) Nine Months' Earnings Equal to $1.25 a Share Operating profits of RKO for the quarter ended Sept. 30 totaled $1,006,437.62, and net for the period was $976,437.62, against a net of $410,230.58 in the previous quarter, according to the report of Herman Zohbel, treasurer, issued yesterday. Net for the first nine months of this year is $3,052,571.00, after deducting $395,000 for federal taxes, against $1,637,899.99 in the corresponding period last year, and is equal to about $1.25 a share on the Class A common. NEW ALLIED STATES UNIT • » Cincinnati — A new Allied States unit, taking in southern Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia, has been formed here. Offices will be in the Film Mart Bldg. with Fred Strief acting as business manager. Among those who attended the organization meeting were Henry Levy, Elmer Shard, Phil Miller, Charles Fine, Mrs. A. Schwenker, Andy Hettescheimer, Doris Stecker and Carl Brown, of Cincinnati; John Kaiser and Earl Myers of Chillicothe; Harry Silver and Nat Turburg of Hamilton; Ed Keene of Oxford; Fred Rowlands, Real Neth. William Pul(Continued on page 7) The Wild and Wooly Broadway picture houses have gone for Western entertainment in a serious way. During the past two weeks, five outdoor pictures have appeared on Big Stem screens. They are: "Sante Fe Trail," "Billy the Kid," "The Silver Horde," "The Big Trail" and "Girl of the Golden West." Vitascope Head for Wide Screen Can Also be Used on 35 MM. Warner Bros, are ready to install their 65 mm. film process in their entire circuit of houses immediately, THE FILM DAILY learns. Vitascope, as the wide film system is called, requires the attachment of a (Continued cm page 7) PARAMOUNT CLOSES DEAL FOR FOUR LONDON SUPERS London (By Cable) — Paramount Publix has closed its deal for the leasing of four local supers of the Astoria Circuit. Houses are among the finest suburban theaters in England and include the 6,000-seat Astoria in Brixton, Stretham Astoria and Finsbury Park Astoria. Emil Wertheimer is understood to have definitely bought the Astoria Circuit, in which cases the leases to Paramount were made by him. The price is reported at about $5,500,000. Second 65 mm. Picture Being Made by Paramount A second experimental wide film picture, a short featuring Eddie Miller, will go into production at the Paramount New York studio Thursday, under supervision of Larry Kent. It will be made on 65 millimeter film. U. S. Supreme Court Hears Arbitration, Credit Appeals Chipping In Detroit — Allied indie houses, under H. M. Richey, are chipping in to help the unemployment relief here by donating 10 per cent of one night's receipts each week to the city government. iiuiton Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Washington — Arguments in the appeals from the Judge Thacher ions on arbitration and the credit system were heard yesterday by the U. S. Supreme Court, each issue being taken up separately due (Continued on page 7) INDIA HAS 66 PRODUCERS; 72 DISTRIBS, 417 HOUSES Although only 417 theaters operate in the territory, there are 66 film producers and 72 distributors in India and Burma, according to listings in the first issue of the Cinema Annual published by "The Cinema" of Lahore, India. U. S. Interests Reported Seeking French Combine Paris — Negotiations by an American company for the acquisition of Gaumont Franco-Auberl, major factor in the French film industry, are reported in progress. Good Actors An amusing scene written by Harley L. Clarke and dealing with the depression is on the current newsreel bill at the Embassy. Upon seeing it, Clarke expressed keen pleasure, adding, "That's the kind of actors we need on the coast. Who are those men?" The actors were Fred Ryle, makeup man, and Bill Jordan, sound man, at the Fox studios in New York.