The Film Daily (1931)

Tuesday, September 15, 1931 Z^ES DAILY TIMELY TOPICS A Digest of Current Opinions € star Names and High Prices ■JVrOT all of the blame for high prices may be placed upon the exchanges. The distributor, occasionally, gets plenty of help from the exhibitor who does not figure properly at the time of deals. Percentage advocates draw a healthy argument from some of the flat buy practices. If an exhibitor pays a higher price for one star than for another because the distributor desires him to, then the exhibitor is only allowing himself to be subject to a demand for a high price when the lesser-priced star hears of it. Stars have different values, but, naturally, if the business representative of one star knows that another's pictures command higher figures from an exhibitor, that business representative will seek to make his star's price higher. On the other hand, if a certain group of pictures, without stars or names, command a figure higher than that of a star, it only leads that same star to seek the high , er figure for his own pictures. This business gauges itself by the top figure, not the lower one, with the sky, apparently the limit, as far as distribution returns are concerned. It is silly ' to pay huge sums for pictures which, on the surface, do not 1 contain either star or star-story. Stars command a definite figure. To assume that a group of specials, with no names, should get top prices is an unsound theory for exhibitors to adopt. An ex 1 hibitor can blame no one but I himself if he allows himself to I believe otherwise. I — Jay Emanuel Congratulates : KING VIDOR for his pulsating direction of the Samuel Goldwyn-United Artists production, "Street Scene" No. 34 of 1931 *^Good Deeds" Series 4LO mm • • • FREQUENTLY IT'S the actor, not the woman, who pays and pays and pays in Chicago F'rinstance, taKe the case of Georgie Jessel some time back Georgie was playing a de luxer in that hamlet when a Guy With A Tough Voice got him on the phone and asked him to do his entertaining stuff at a food powwow that night in honor of Tim McCoy the luminary politely vetoed the idea, alleging a previous engagement But after the show three muggs, with pans as hard as Portland cement, crashed into his dressing room and Georgie decided to go along although he had never heard of said Tim McCoy En route in the expensive mechanical buggy he mustered up enough courage to ask who was this guy McCoy "What's it to yuh?" Which ended the Jessel inquisitiveness pronto • • • ABOUT one thousand ginks and geezers, supplemented by their girl f'rens, were out to do honor to Mister McCoy or mebbe to save their lives and hearthsides And still Georgie had no idea who this Mugg McCoy was Anyhooooo, he mounted the rostrum and gave a rave about Mister McCoy as being the Greatest Man in the World the boy who wrote Lincoln's Gettysburg speech the bird who stopped the World War And did he get applause and not pineapples * * * * • • • RENE CARROLL, the world's most popular hat check impresario, did a bit in a Vitaphone short at the Brooklyn plant yesterday Gave a perfect performance checking lids Courtesy of Sam Sax Add Things to Get Excited About: Peggy Shannon, Paramount discovery, has long red hair, sez the Paramount press dept Marion Marsh was miked last eve Meaning she headlined for "The Radio Newspaper of Hollywood," reproducing her big moment of "Five Star Final," in which she makes the cheeks of the tabloid's staff red by telling them what Every Tabloid Editor Ought to Know • • • GRAB SEARS, who looks more like a fillum celeb than a fillum sales manager, got himself endorsed by Lil Dagover the other day The exotic star, after having given him the once over several times, went on the records as stating "Such Men Are Dangerous." And did Grad blush seriously he did not Donald Henderson Clarke is enjoying the Westhampton ozone while pounding out another best-seller His latest completed work, "Young and Healthy," has just gone onto the book counters Val Lewton, also of the Metro press organization, is ghosting And how this boy Lewton can ghost and write other stuff as well • • • MARY PICKFORD has no idea of folding up as far as pictures are concerned Sez Joe Schenck, out Hollywood way When she gets hold of the right story, the Pickford moniker will start heading toward more marquee lights If you want to believe Rian James, who columns Broadway and environs, "Love Is a Racket." That's the title of his unpublished novel which First National has bought You write your own answer From this observation post it looks like women teams are becoming pop M-G-M has been getting plenty of b. o. satisfaction from that IVfarie Dressier-Polly Moran combo Now Fox is amalgamating Sally Filers and Minna Gombel What a break for wimmen players when the pictures went gabby • • • CONGRESSIONAL dignity, so-called, took an awful wallop at the Paramount Coast studio recently An assistant director, failing to recognize U. S. Senator Gillett of Mass., yelled: "Yeh, you, didn't you hear me say all beards on the set? Now shake a leg and sit at a table with those two women in the corner." If the two women were goodlooking it was no insult, sez we « « « » » » EXPLOITETTES A Clearing House for Tabloid Exploitation Ideas €) New Gag for Doorbell Hangers 'TpO advertise the engagement of the "Man in Possession" at the World, Kearney, Neb., Manager Rowan Miller prepared a fake summons herald. The kicker in the herald was that it was dfstributed by a doorbell hanging crew of college students, who filled in the recipient's name in pen and ink to make it look bonafide. The names were obtained from the mail boxes and by asking nextdoor neighbors. — World, Kearney, Nebr. New Slant On Classified Ads ^L GONSIOR, manager of the Virginia, Champaign, 111., included an interesting Questionnaire Contest on "Trader Horn." The Urbana Courier ran a classified Ad Questionnaire contest on "Trader Horn," for two days previous to the opening of the picture at the Virginia. Questions pertaining to certain incidents in the production were placed among the classified ads, and theater tickets were awarded as prizes to those patrons sending in the most correct replies. — Virginia, Champaign, III. Many Happy Returns Best wishef and congratulation! are extended by T H K FILM DAILY to the following members of the industry, who are celebrating their birthdays: September 15 Leonard P. Grant David Roice John Slosson