The Film Daily (1936)

Intimate in Character International in Scope Independent in Thought The Daily Newspaper Of Motion Pictures Now Seventeen Years Old -IF DAILY VOL. 69, NO. 47 NEW YORK. WEDNESDAY. FEBRUARY 26. 1936 TEN CENTS Buck Charges Power Firms Behind Copyright Bill GOVERNMENT FILES NEW ACTION IN NEW YORK Propose Merger of Paramount Picture Subsidiaries Would Join Distributing and Para. International With Parent Unit A plan to consolidate Paramount Pictures Distributing and Paramount International corporations with Paramount Pictures, the parent company, will be submitted to the Paramount board of directors at a meeting now scheduled for Friday. Under the move, assets of Paramount Pictures Distributing and Paramount International would be acquired by Paramount Pictures. LOEW DEBENTURES QUICKLY TAKEN UP Entire issue of $15,000,000 Loew's, Inc., 10-year 3%% debentures was subscribed for yesterday. The issue was put on sale during the morning at 99 and accrued interest and by 2:30 p.m. the books of the underwriting syndicate headed by Dillon, Read & Co. were closed. Proceeds of the sale will be used by Loew's to retire outstanding issues bearing higher interest. The debentures are subject to redemption in advance of maturity and are entitled to the benefit of a semi-annual sinking fund, beginning May 15, 1936, which will retire at least $750,000 principal amount annually. Acceptance by Telegram Held Binding as Contract Chicago — In a court verdict ruling that a telegram of acceptance constituted a contract, Paramount has won a suit filed against it by the Rosewood Theater which sought to cancel a contract entered into for Paramount product. J. T. Gehring was held responsible for paying for all pictures stipulated even though they were not played. New Jersey Censorship Bill Introduced Trenton, N. J. — Senator Horace G. Prall, Hunterdon County Republican and active in church circles, introduced in the Senate yesterday a motion picture censorship bill. The bill creates a state board of censors comprising two men and a woman appointed by the Governor with Senate confirmation. A statement attached to the bill declares it is designed to prohibit the showing of "immoral, indecent, obscene, or sacrilegious" films. After passage of the act, it would be unlawful to sell, lease, exhibit or lend any film until approved by the state board. A fee of $2 would be charged for examination by the board of each 1,200 feet of film and the same charge would be levied for each print. Stiff fines are provided for violations. 10 IN PRODUCTION AT M-G-M STUDIOS West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Hollywood — Production activity at the M-G-M studios is again in high gear, with ten features currently before the cameras. The list includes "Petticoat Fever", "Small Town Girl", "Moonlight Murder", "Unguarded H o u r", "Absolute Quiet", "Great Ziegfeld", "Mob Rule", "Romeo and Juliet", "San Francisco" and "Tarzan Escapes." Wurtzel Unit Completing 1935-36 Lineup in Month West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Hollywood — Sol M. Wurtzel, most prolific producer under the 20th Century-Fox banner, will have his entire 1935-36 program either completed or well under way by the end of next month. He is now putting (.Continued on Page 6) 39 HOUSES PLANNED IN SOUTH AMERICA Approximately 39 theaters are planned for construction during the present year in three South American countries, said Walter Gould, United Artists foreign department executive, in New York yesterday, following his return from that con (Continued on Page 8) New Dramatist Agreement Approved by Guild Council A proposed revision of the basic agreement between the Dramatists' Guild and the producing managers has been approved by the council of the former organization. It will be submitted to the general Guild membership at a meeting called for 2:30 o'clock tomorrow afternoon at the Hotel Shelton. Unless the meeting upsets the (Continued on Page 8) Copyright Law Amendments Are Attacked by Ascap Group Film Trade Perks Up In Midwest Territory Omaha — Film business in the midwest territory has perked up considerably with the arrival of milder weather. Exhibitors are again prominent on film row, film deliveries are once more proceeding on (Continued on Page 6) By GEORGE W. MEHRTENS FILM DAILY Staff Correspondent Washington — Declaring that proposed changes would not improve the copyright law but were simply promulgated to destroy the American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers, Gene Ruck, president of the Society, led the attack against proposed amendments before the (Continued on Page 8) St. Louis Equity Case Will be Continued Here With 30 Individuals Named Re-filing its St. Louis equity injunction action, the Government yesterday instituted suit in Federal Court, New York, against Warners, Paramount and RKO and 30 individual defendant employees. The complaint is substantially the same as the one which formed the basis of the St. Louis trial which ended Jan. 20, when Judge Joseph W. Molyneaux granted the Government's motion for permission to dismiss without prejudice. In addition to the three majors and affiliated companies, the individual defendants in the new action (Continued on Page 6) IATSE BOARD BANS LOCAL 306 MERGER Executive board of the I.A.T.S.E. has prohibited a merger of Local 306 with the Allied and Empire unions, The Film Daily learns. The next time that a merger of the three local unions can come up before the I. A. executive board is just prior to the I. A. annual convention to be held at Kansas City in June. The I. A. board has voted to as (Continued on Page 6) Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Sets Four Productions for U. A. Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., is set to produce four features for United Artists, with at least two of them to be distributed by the company in the United States. First picture in the group is "The Amateur Gentleman," which has geen completed, i Fairbanks' company is called Cri ] terion Film Corp. Samuel Goldwyn in New York | yesterday denied a report that he is financially interested in the venture or in any way associated with it.