The Film Daily (1932)

Wednesday, April 13, 1932 z-^E2S DAILY COPYRIGHT IS UPHELD BY COURT OF APPEALS (Continued from Page 1) (luoted in support of contentions that holdovers did not constitute inpyright infringement, the present reversal is looked upon as having vast significance. At alxiiit the same time as tlie TuilKe Morten ruling last May, U. S. District .ludKC I Pieman of Maryland handed down a (jirc-ct ly opposite lU'cision in the case of Tiffany V -. Dewing, and Judge Morris of the P ■< Circuit Court of Appeals here stated that Indge Coleman's opinion was "well considered Hid appealed to us," quoting Judge Coleman I holding in such regard "that the projectn n of a photoplay film on a screen without ilic copyright owner's permission was an int riiigement.** The Circuit Court of Appeals held that ■ ihe Copyright Statutes ought to he reasonililv construed with a view to effecting the imrposes intended by Congress." Tn vacating the dismissal of the com1.1. lints hy the lower court and returning the . ises to ' that court for further disposition, the Circuit Court pointed out some technical (luestions of pleading which it stated could he resolved by amendment. According tn Gabriel L. Hess, counsel^ for the distrdnitors in this case, the decision sustains the position of the distribntors that the tmanthorized exhibition of motion picture photoplays are infringements of copyright and that the Federal Courts have jurisdiction in cases of this character. Skouras Bros. Complete Coast Personnel Setup (Continued from Page 1) Charles Skouras, who is in charge of the circuit, four district managers will work out of Los Angeles. They are: Edward Smith, Robert Smith, George Bowser and Hal Neides. Arch Bowles is in charge of the San Francisco div'sion with the following as distric-w managers: Ellis Arkusk. Dick Soij^-s and N'ck Turner. Robert Fro , is handling the Seattle division a^'l Bill Stege is in charge of the Montana division. Spyros Skouras, who returns to New York in about two weeks, and Alperson, will both headquarter at Fox Film Corp. offices on 10th Ave. CHARLES RITCHIE SWITCHES Charles Ritchie, formerly librarian of Kinograms newsreel, has joined General Film Library in the same capacity. COMING & GOING PAUL L. STEIN, RKO Radio Pictures di rector, returned to America yesterday aboard the Bremen. He leaves for the coast today. A. W. SMITH, Warner sales executive in charge of eastern and Canadian distribution, returned yesterday to his desk after having been out of town for ten days. ELMER RICE. playwright, and JOE COOK, the comedian, sailed last night on the Bremen for Europe. SAM JAFFE, studio production manager for Paramount, arrives in New York from Hollywood today. P. N. BRINCH. MG-M home office repre sentative in charge of European distribution, arrives Friday on the Albert Ballin from Paris with the body of his wife, who died April .-?. HAL HOKNE sails for California on the President Lincoln. Saturday. SAMUEL I.. "ROXY" ROTHAFEL and J. H. TURNER returned from Havana yes terdav. AL CHRISTIE arrived from the coast yes terday. ALONG™^ lALTO PUILM.DALY • • • THAT FIRST session of the Motion Picture Club Forum was by way of being a Wow appropriately enough, Will Hays was the speaker doubly appropriate coming as it did on the eve of the publication of his Tenth Annual Report on behalf of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors the spacious Empey Club dining room was .jammed to capacity and Mister Hays favored us by reading some highlights from the report causing the cold printed words to sparkle and penetrate with the dynamic force of a naturally gifted dramatic speaker • • • WHICH CAUSED us to wonder why he personally remains in the background for he is ideally equipped to go out on a nation-wide tour addressing special gatherings of our leading financiers and industrialists instilling the much-needed spark of Confidence and Courage in them during this era of doubt and hesitancy Confidence in the nation, its people, and the fundamental soundness of industry Courage to grasp the problems facing business leadership in all fields even as they have been met in the motion picture field # 0 # WE WHO are daily absorbed in our own specialized jobs in the film biz lose sight of the broader aspects the panoramic sweep the gigantic influences of the industry and in a short 15 minutes Mister Hays conjured all these up before our mental vision renewing our faith in our business, our public OURSELVES • • • LACK OF soace permits only brief mention of a few trenchant truths Mister Hays emphasized "Every other business faces the problem of finding a market. Our problem is to make a worthy product consistently, for we HAVE the market. We are standing them up in times of depression every time we produce an outstanding picture." "Experimentation in studios should not be charged up as Overhead. In all other industries it is properly characterized and classified as Research. And without this essential research work, there can be no progress in pictures." "New types of pictures are constantly tapping new strata of audiences." "There are big problems to be met in the coming years. But with faith and confidence in ourselves and the business we can and will meet them." and a great Punch Line for his closing remark "It's not the size of the dog in the fight that counts. It's the size of the fight in the dog.". • • • INSPIRED WITH the confidence that he had something of value to sell to the customers Chairman Jack Alicoate pounded his gavel in approved auctioneer's style and knocked the speechmaking down to Al Lichtman who in turn presented Mister Hays • • • .JUST TO prove that he had a real sense of humor the industry's leader told two pip yarns one was on Al Lichtman summoned early in the morn by his banker, Dr. Giannini, to hurry right down to the latter's office and Al, in a cold sweat, with visions of being wiped out in the market rushed down to meet Mayor Rolph of San Francisco and the Doc sez "I just sent for you, Al, to tell the Mayor a Funny dtory." the other story was "Do you play bridge?" "No, and the worst of it is I can't stop it!" SHORTS IN FILM STOCKS COMPARATIVELY SMALL (Continued from Page 1) April 1. RKO on April 6 had 6,059; Warner, 2,405; Loew, 6,271; Fox, .330. Compared with active stocks of similar capitalizations, the short interest in film issues is considered low. Among the larger short positions as of April 6 were U. S. Steel, 361,698 shares; Westinghouse, 125,107; General Electric, 91,806; General Motors, 262,408; A. T. & T., 197.695. "Grand Hotel" Premiere Ranks With Greatest (Continued from Page 1) extending beyond the current eight weeks' sale of seats. In addition to various film executives the audience included the following stage and screen celebs: Dorothy Mackaill, Clifton Webb, Cliff Edwards, Belle Baker, Grace Moore, Gus Edwards, Fanny Ward, Noel Coward, Fay Marbe and James Cagney, plus Tammany Young. Heading the impressive cast ai-e: Greta Garbo, John Barrymore, Joan Crawford, Wallace Beery, Lionel Barrymore, Lewis Stone and Jean Hersholt. And suppleinenting them are: Robert McWade, Purnell D. Pratt, Ferdinand Gottschalk, Rafaella Ottiano, Tully Marshall, Frank Conroy, Murray Kinnell and Edwin Maxwell. Edmund Goulding, maker of many screen successes, directed. William A. Drake adapted the story from the Broadway hit written by Vicki Baum. Others involved in the making of the picture are: Douglas Shearer, recording engineer; Cedric Gibbons, art director; Blanche Sewell. Film editor; William Daniels, cameraman, and Adrian, gowns. WARNER CLOSING SUNDAY After several weeks under a second-run policy, the Warner on Broadway will close Sunday. Reopening is indefinite. %.'6 MANY UAPPY RETURNS, « « « » » » April 13 Arthur Hurley Richard Spier Malcolm Stuart Boylan Charles H. Christie