The Film Daily (1936)

THE m 4 DAILY Wednesday, Mar. 25, 1936 PETTIJOHN, MYERS IN HOT ARGUMENT (Continued from Page 1) words while George J. Schaefer, starting his third session's testimony, stood aside at the stand. Congressmen, members of the sub-committee joined in the free-for-all. Myers threatened to make public charges direct to the Justice Department, but later withdrew his reference to the department "in the interest of orderly hearing procedure." Charges and counter charges of bad faith and threats of recrimination and reprisals rained throughout the hearing room. The outburst came as Chairman Pettengill was absent from the hearing for the first time and Congressman Sadowski, bill sympathizer of Michigan, presided. When the regular hearing order was restored after Myers' withdrawal of his declaration, Schaefer quickly completed his testimony to make way for Ed Kuykendall, president of the M. P. T. 0. A. Kuykendall also filed briefs against Pettengill bill presented by Jay Emanuel, Philadelphia, and M. A. Lightman, president of the Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee theater owners association. Ray Morrow, Malvern, Arkansas, president independent theater owners as final witness of session, completed the assault of the day in an effort to sink Pettengill bill for all time. Today Pettijohn is expected to submit final lengthy brief opposing Pettengill bill. Floor controversy on part of the two leaders took place shortly after hearing opened. Continuing his outline of competition existing in the industry Schaefer said : "Let those exhibitors who really think there is a monopoly in this business take their case to the Department of Justice. We have federal courts for that purpose. The issue should not be injected here when we are discussing merits of the Pettengill bill", Schaefer added significantly: "Lets see if we should continue this battle for moral pictures on one front or on sixteen thousand fronts." Schaefer then strode to committee desk and handed to each member of the committee a typewritten report of alleged raw vaudeville act played in both Yamins' Capital theater, Fall River and in theater of Walter Littlefield, another Pettengill proponent witness. Pettijohn meanwhile rose to comment he doubted if committee desired to include much of the report on the act in record. Schaefer then started reading an account of "shocking lewd performance", but was stopped by Sadowski before completing. "We can't have this in record" he stated. Myers then rose to demand he be supplied with copy of the assult on Yamins and Littlefield. Pettijohn agreed to supply it. 'These are the people who have NEWS of the DAY San Antonio — The Chamber of Commerce has been asked to lend aid in making plans for a sound film in the Old Spanish Governor's Palace here. Mexico, Mo. — The local board of health has lifted the ban on public meetings and pictures theaters and churches have reopened after being closed for a week because of an epidemic of scarlet fever. Kansas City — The Regent, after complete remodeling, has reopened, with policy of subsequent run pictures. Oklahoma City — A 900-seat theater for negro patronage only, is being erected at 5th and Virgina, to be named the New Princess, with opening date set for early fall. married in the First Presbyterian church of Greensboro, N. C, Sunday afternoon. Oxford, Neb.— F. E. Reider is the new skipper for the Granada. Wilsonville, Neb.—£. E. Hurtt has taken over the Rainbow here. Charlotte — Eugene W. Street, manager of the Carolina, and Miss Louise Freeman of Charlotte were Wellsburg, W. Va. — Charles Anderson, president of the Alpine Theater Circuit, reports that he is adding another house by opening the New Rex here next month. Milwaukee — The Miller, downtown second-run house, is scheduled to close shortly for several weeks for a complete renovation. Milwaukee — The Layton Park, Grace and Pearl Theaters are being taken over by the recently organized L. P. G. Amusement Co. from Charles Washicheck, effective April 1. All are South Side Milwaukee neighborhood theaters. AUTHORS IN ATTACK ON STORY CHANGES Milwaukee — The Kenosha and Gateway Theaters in Kenosha are cooperating with the daily newspaper in that city in stimulating interest in safe driving by offering a pair of free tickets each day to the ten drivers who are observed by the newspaper's reporters operating their automobiles in a safe manner. serted Schaefer in striking directly at Yamins and Littlefield. "Here we see deliberate evidence of bad faith on the part of two of their witnesses." Reading from his transcript Congressman Cooper, Ohio, who has taken keen interest in the moral aspect of pictures throughout the hearing, exclaimed: "Any man who would permit such a performance as this in his theater comes here to plead for decency with very poor grace." Myers interjected: "We haven't yet had a chance to reply to Schaefer's previous charge against Littlefield, but I want to serve notice that we won't pull our punches when it comes to dealing with Mr. Schaefer, we are going to call public attention of Justice Department to certain matters." After further exclamations and retorts Pettijohn trained his guns directly on Myers: "We have desired to conduct our side of this hearing without undue controversy, but from now on we won't pull our punches either. Mr. Myers' threat of appeal to the Justice Department is hereby accepted. We accept Allied's challenge," he said. "We don't think it will be necessary to place obscene matter in the record" Sandowski commented. Kuykendall contended that the Pettengill bill would not affect moral status of pictures in the least. He assailed "the small minority of exhibitors who have taken it unto themselves to drag in outsiders that attack us so bitterly. I know the few of them who operate theaters, have sufficient intelligence to realize set themselves up foursquare behind that this bill will be disastrous to moral issue of Pettengill bill," as the very so-called little independent theater operator whom they profess to be fighting for." After calling roll of theater organizations affiliated with MPTOA, Kuykendall added: "We have many disputes with the producers as to what should and should not go into pictures. We tell the producers ourselves and they listen to us because they know we have the benefit of direct contact with the patrons." Kuykendall predicted the Pettengill bill would "increase film rentals for the smaller theaters and lessen the possibility of a continuous supply of pictures, provide a Roman holiday for lawyers in endless costly litigation, which somebody has to pay for, and rapidly spread unfair and disastrous non-theatrical competition throughout the country". He added that the M.P.T.O.A. had pledged itself to continue the fight for the unconditional minimum rejection privilege in all exhibition contracts of at least 20 per cent of the number of pictures licensed, as the "only practical solution." He also attacked the theory of synopsis in the bill, and touched on Allied's walk-out at NRA and other conferences. Ray Morrow in his testimony opposed the Pettengill bill as "impractical, unworkable and unenforceable". He added "in twenty years of show business I have never been compelled to run a picture I thought unfit. There is nothing in the bill in any way preventing unscrupulous exhibitor from buying and showing dirty pictures". Morrow declared that the exhibitor complaining he was forced to run "Skippy" and a sex picture together "should be barred from business and prosecuted for perjury." (Continued from Page 1) ents Committee hearings on the Duffy copyright bill here yesterday. Headed by Elmer Davis, members of league including George Creel, Thyra Sampter Winslow, M. Lucien Berman, Mary Heaton Vorse, Chester Crowell and William H. Osborne, declared entrance into Berne convention would give foreign composers and authors rights in this country over those of America. They urged the committee legislate to give authors some voice in producing of motion pictures based upon their books. M. Lucien Berman, author of "Steamboat 'Round the Bend," told committee from his own experience he has seen producers slash two years of effort to extent it was almost unrecognizable by the author himself. Berman, under questioning by the committee members claimed he received nothing from vast crowds of people patronizing moving picture houses to see film production of his work. "I would like to see a law passed," Berman stated, "that would give authors greater rights over our works in so far as motion picture production is concerned. The Duffy bill would decrease even what rights we have now." Declaring the Duffy bill "sold American authors down the river" to the motion picture producers and publishers, Elmer Davis, spokesman for the group, told committee as a league executive he didn't think much of the Duffy bill. "The divisibility clause of bill is fine," Davis stated, "but there has been written into the bill every concession we have ever made." Describing the Authors League as a union of the literary field, Davis stated while there were one or two points contained in the bill, looking at it in the net the bill helped them very little. George Creel, attacking the Hitler government for discrimination and race prejudice, declared in Germany all the mediums of propaganda such as motion pictures, book publishing, etc., were under Aryan control. Not one single country, Creel said, had made efforts to see that Germany abided by the treaty, Creel concluded it was the opinion of the League that nothing could be gained by entering Berne convention. At beginning of session, acting chairman Lanham, Texas, announced following the executive session of the committee yesterday, it was decided hearings would terminate April 15th, but would continue for four days each week instead of three, i Second Week For Rivoli Film "These Three" starts its second week at the New York Rivoli today.