The Film Daily (1931)

THE (HE NEWSPAPER FILM DOM 411 THE NEWS ALL THE TIME OL. LV NO. 1 NEW yCCK, PCIDAY, JANUARY 2, 1931 > CENTS Bigger Budget Set By Paramount for '3 1 , Says Zukor IKO, K1N0GRAMS ENTERING INDUSTRIALS Columbia Features and Shorts Booked by Publix 5 00 of Circuit's Houses Sign for 1930-31 Product Columbia has closed contracts for he showing of its 1930-31 features md shorts in more than 500 Publix heaters. The product includes Coumbia's 20 features and Its seven seies of shorts. Agreement provides or the playing of these pictures in louses acquired later by Publix, provided it does not conflict with prior :ontracts. "IDEAL" IN 4 T RKO's "Beau Ideal" will be the first talker adapted to foreign versions under the Dunning Process of superimposing the characterizations I required by the respective countries. Carroll Dunning sails Sunday for Berlin to make arrangements for the conversion of "Beau Ideal" into German, Spanish, French and Swedish. Dodge Dunning, his son and inventor of the process, will go to Berlin in February to supervise the work. "All Quiet" and Cartoons On "Nation's" Honor Roll "All Quiet on the Western Front" and the creators of animated cartoons, particularly as exemplified in the Mickey Mouse and Silly Symphony series, are mentioned on "The Nation's" Honor Roll for 1930 under the drama heading. German Statistics Berlin (By Cable) — A checkup by "Lichtbildbuehne", German film trade weekly, shows 5,087 cinemas throughout Germany with an aggregate of nearly 2,000,000 seat, Of this number, 2,184 cine mas with a total of 1,140,85'/ seats give daily performances Europe's Ten Best Berlin (By Cable) — In a contest conducted in 39 countries by "Der Deutsche" to determine the 10 best pictures of 1930, the following were selected in the order named: "Under the Roofs of Paris", "All Quiet on the Western Front", "Blue Angel", "Westfront 1918", "Anna Christie", "Two Hearts in Waltz Time", "With Byrd at the South Pole", "Fire in Opera", "Big House", "Mickey Mouse". Portable Recording System Launched By Whitman Corp. A new recording system, the invention of Stewart C. Whitman, is being introduced by the Whitman Sound Corp. Several short test reels already have been produced and additional tests are being made for several leading producers interested in the process. Sound recording under this system is on photo-sensitized motion picture film, and among the features claimed is that it eliminates all ground and surface noises and covers a full band of musical frequencies. The frequency range of recording light source is as high as 14,000 cycles. The device can be built portable so that it would be no trouble for one (Continued on Page 2) SAYS "CLOSED MARKET" FORCES PATHE-RKO DEAL A "closed market" has forced Pathe into its merger deal with RKO, was the comment made by Lewis Innerarity, Pathe office, Wednesday, in discussing the two suits filed in an effort to prevent the consolidation. He said that the stockholders' meeting called to ratify the deal will be held at 10:30 o'clock Monday morning, on the 10th floor of the building at 45 West 45th St. More For Films, Advertising, Zukor 's 1931 Success Formula 116 SOUND SET FIRMS PUT OUT OF BUSINESS At least 116 manufacturers of cheap sound equipment have gone out of business trying to market a bout ser.; AT. Bum sales man ager of ctrical Re arch Prod ucts. Bunn says, that in view of ■i on Page 2) Paramount's program for 1931 calls for an increased appropriation for production and more money for advertising the pictures, says Adolph Zukor in his New Year statement. The Paramount president declares this is no time for penny squeezing. "We believe that the American people have plenty of money," he states, "and will spend that money if this industry, as well as other industries, offers them greater value for their dollar. It is not enough to give them the same class of product as last (Continued on Page 11) Production of Commercials Planned by Two More Companies Two more producers of theatrical films are entering the industrial and sponsored pictures field. Both RKO and Kinograms are understood planning production of this type in the near future. Producing in both cases will be centered in New York City. BIG-NANE INDUSTRIALS PLAN OF WARNER BROS. A trend toward the use of big names in industrials and sponsored pictures is further substa-..*;'ated by plans for a celebrity series being made by Warner Bros. Industrial Films, Inc., subsidiary of Warner Bros. Under supervision of A. Pam Blumenthal, vice-president and general manager, one subject, starring (Continued on Page 11) Legislative Moratorium Recommended by Hays West Coast Bureau, THE FILM DAILY Hollywood — State Legislature? can aid business by declaring a moratorium for the next four months on all measures which would add specific or general burdens on industry, said Will H. Hays on his arrival here for his midwinter visit. Short-Term Writers Policy of giving writers long-term contracts is gradually being ended at the Paramount New York studio. The new plan is to engage them picture by picture). Under this system the overhead is considerably slashed, it is figured, and the studio is within easy reach of established fictionists and playwrights who are available for individual assignments.