The Film Daily (1931)

THE DAILV Monday, June 15, 1931 I I FCKMAN STIRS BRITISHERS AGAINST DOUBLE FEATURES ■ ntinued from Page 1) marks received prominent attention throughout the trade, with H. A. Bandy, Jeffrey licrncrd, James V. Bryon, Arthur Dent and others echoing the sentiments. Abandoning of the dual bill policy already is under way in some sections, and it is estimated that about 30 per tent >>t the British cinemas now are playing sink'le features, against about 15 per rent a year ago. Fox Closes 10Year Deal With Famous Canadian (Continued from Page 1) tions. Contract starts next Augufet and covers Fox's 48 features and 104 newsreel issues. Cities of Vancouver, Winnipeg, Calgary, Hamilton, Kingston, Ottawa, Windsor, Montreal, (Quebec, Halifax and St. John ate included in the deal. Two M. P. Club Tourneys Get Under Way Today Two big tournaments get under Way today at the Motion Picture Club. These 32 players compete for the Pocket Billiard championship of the Club: Class A: Herbert Muller and Edward Hyman; B. B. Kahane and Stephen Eller; Meyer Shapiro and Herman Zohbel; Louis Baum and Louts Cohen. Class B: O. R. McMahon and Morris Kutisker; Arthur Abeles and Milton Blumberg; I.. F. Blumenthal and George Derribow; I.ee A. Ochs and Tom Wiley. Class C: Phil Meyer and Leo Klebanow; A. S. Aaronson and H. Ebenstein: S. H. Goldstein and J. Louis Geeiler; Sam Stern and J J. Rosenthal; Joe Hornstein and H. Haskell; Lee Lubin and H. J. Cohen: Joe Arkin and J. Shapiro; James Ryan and J. H. Gallagher. The Hand Ball championship will bring together the following contestants: Class A: Gene Picker, Marvin Schenck, Ray Gallagher, Edward 11 \ man, Mort Spring, Jack Alicoate, Lubin. Bruce Gallup, Charles Schwartz, Morris Kutisker, Irving Wormser. James Mulvcy. Joe WeiT, J M. Maloney, Louis K. Sidnev, Bill Ferguson. Class B: Herbert EbenStein, Si Seadler, Leo Brecher, David Loew, Manny Shapiro, Millard Ochs, Joe Rosenthal, Al Lichtnian. Jack Ensler, Joe Quittner, M. J. Kandel, Lou Baum, Paul Benjamin, J. (ilucksman. NEW JERSEY CHARTER M.i\ Playhouse, Cape May, N. J., theaters; Hays, Hershfield, Kaufman & Schwabacber, New York City. 101 abates Cbmmon. DELAWARE CHARTER Educational Talking Pictures Co.. It'., Wilmington", Del., motion pictures; CorporaIll vet, Del. 05.000 s common. HOLLYWOOD FLASHES By RALPH WILK PARAMOUNT has given new contracts to Sylvia Sidney, Jackie Searl and Wynne Gibson. * * * M-li-M starts production soon on "Boarding School," an original story which Harry Pollard vriil direct. » * • KKO Pathe is beginning work on "Take 'Em and Shake 'Em," the second in its m ries of Gay Girls comedies. June Mact'loy. Mai ion Shilling and Gertrude Short will again play the featured roles. Don Gallant r is directing this series of comedies. "Take Km and Shake 'Em" is from a Mory bj Beatrice Van. * * * Wade Boteler is the latest addition to the cast now appearing in "Local Boy Makes Good" at the First National studios. This is an original story by Walter De Leon and is being directed by Mervyn Le Roy. In addition to the star the cast includes Dorothy Lee, Ruth Hall, Edward Woods and William Burress. * * • Nick Barrows, comedy writer, formerly affiliated with Harold Lloyd, has just finished writing li is second original story for Daphne Pollard at RKO Pathe. The new vehicle is -hing Reno," a burlesque on the Reno divorce mill. William Watson is directing. * * * Paul Hurst has been added to the cast of "The Mad Marriage," new Helen Twelvetrees starring picture, which Tay Garnett is directing at the RKO Pathe studio. Other members of the cast are Ricardo Cortez, John Garrick, Kenneth Thomson, Wade Boteler, Frank McHugh, Frank Conroy, Arthur Stone. James Eagels, Al Herman and Harold Goodwin. * * * Tom Douglas, Judith Wood (formerly known as Helen Johnson) and Irving Pichel have been added to Paramount's "Road to Reno," original by Virginia Kellogg, with adaptation by Josephine Lovett and dialogue by Brian Marlow. Richard Wallace will di rect ♦ * * "Tombstone," a one-reel dramatic subject, written, produced and directed by Ross Shattuck, was given a trade showing recently. Its cast includes George Duryea, Edward Woods, Glenn Tryon and Marion Walcott. Fred Allen, who was film editor for Charles Rogers I'rinluctions for several years, will supervise the westerns being made by RKO I'athc with "Tom Keenc," formerly known as (icoriic Duryea, as star. While RKO Pathe officials are at work en the selection of her first starring picture, I'ola Negri is enjoying the California beaches and sunshine. She is expected to make her first talking picture scenes within the next four weeks. + * * James Mason and Frank Rice have been sinned for the cast of Columbia's latest Buck Janes western, tentatively titled "Ex-Ranger." Stephen Roberts is the latest graduate of the short comedy field to be given a Paramount contract to direct features. Among the other former short subject directors now with Paramount are Norman Taurog, Richard Wallace, Victor Heerman, Edward Sloman. Eddie Cline and Norman McLeod. * * * By the way, Roberts broke into pictures as a stunt man. He served a year as an assistant director on William S. Hart productions and with Thomas H. Ince. This brouaht him to the field of comedy direction, which In entered in 1922. Since then, he has devoted all his time to directing Educational comedies. Two U. S. Federal Courts Disagree on Film Copyrights 'Continued from Page 1) owner of a copyrighted film does not have the right of action for infringement based on an unauthorized showing, while the latter makes an opposite ruling. Federal Judge James M. Morton, Jr., of the Massachusetts District Court, in dismissing bills for infringement in the cases of M-G-M and Educational against Bijou Theater Co., ruled that the unauthorized showing of a film by an exhibitor who obtains it under a contract does not constitute a violation of the copyright on the film. There is no provision in the copyright statute concerning the scope or effect of the copyright of moving picture films. Judge Morton points out in his opinion, they having been "commercially unknown when section 1 of the current act was passed in 1909, and are referred to only in the classification section of the statute, being brought in there by the amendment of 1912. "I do not think that a moving picture can be regarded as a 'drama' . . . nor that the mere exhibition of it infringes the copyright. The opposite conclusion would work a discrimination between films which are dramatic in character, and others, e. g. of sports, explorations, news, etc., which are not, and would put into the hands of the copyright owner powers which mi^ht be very oppressively used." Even assuming that an unauthorized exhibition of a copyrighted film would be a violation of the copyright, Judge Morton concluded that the plaintiff distributors were precluded from maintaining a suit for infringement because of the contract licensing the use of the film to the defendant exhibitor. It would be inequitable to permit the distributor to invoke the penalties of the copyright statute for what is really a violation of the contract, he said. Arbitration provisions in the contract, found recently by the Supreme Court of the United States to be illegal, do not bar the plaintiff from maintaining a suit, Judge Morton ruled. In the Maryland case, involving Tiffany v. Dewing, Federal Judge William C. Coleman ruled that copyright law gives a right of action against unauthorized exhibition of copyright motion picture films on the ground that the picture is a "dramatic work." A "motion picture photoplay" and a "dramatic work," Judge Coleman concluded, "are cognate forms of production. It is no longer open to question that a moving picture presenta MY' TO SEARCH EUROPE FOR RADIO CITY IDEAS With the determined purpose i making the architectural plan of Ra dio City buildings the finest interim and exterior designs in America, Samuel L. (Roxy) Rothafel and An drew Reinhard of the firm of Rein hard and Hofmeister, architects, pla to visit many old world cities thi summer, The Film Daily learns. They will leave for Europe early in August and be abroad about on«| month. It is possible that other architects and engineers who are planning Radio City construction will accompany Roxy. Consultations are held daily in the offices of Reinhard and Hofmeister, Thomas W. Lamb, Todd. Robertson and Todd, and Peter Clark, all of whom have been engaged to design the buildings, with Roxy present at each meeting and in full power to act for the Rockefeller interests. \ Newark Houses Close Newark, N. J. — The Newark close Saturday for renovation and altera tions, and will reopen in August. The Paramount name will be over the marquee and the house will retain its picture-vaudeville policy. The Mosqufl finished its season Thursday. Future disposition of the house, along with the Rialto, which has been closed for some time is not known. Warners now have but one first run house, the Branford. Rumors are to the effect that the Terminal will be closed, although management says it is booked through to August. Reduced admission prices are in effect at the Court. tion by an author's copyrighted work is a dramatization of such work (although dramatic and motion picture rights may be made the subject of independent contract), and that the person producing the films for such pictures and offering them for sale or exhibition, without a license so to do, even if not himself exhibiting them, is liable for infringement. "Since, then, a motion picture photoplay is to be considered as cmbraced within the term 'dramatic work,' as used in section 1 (d): and since, if copyrighted, it is an infringement for one without permission 'to exhibit, perform, represent, produce, or reproduce it in any manner or by any method whatsoever'; projecting it upon the screen is of course within the prohibition." MEYER SCHIXE. of Gloversville, X. Y.. was in New York on Saturday completing booking contracts with Warner Bros, and First National. RALPH BLOCK has left for the coast. EDNA BEST and her husband. HERBERT MARSHALL, sailed Saturday on the Bremen for Europe. MRS. TACK COHN. accompanied by her three young sons, is en route from New York to Los Angeles on the Pennsylvania by way of Cuba and the Panama Canal.