Inside facts of stage and screen (March 8, 1930)

SATURDAY, MARCH 8, 1930 INSIDE FACTS OF STAGE AND SCREEN PAGE FIVE FOX FIGHT TO HAVE WIDE EFFECT INDE DISC RECORDERS HAVE BUSINESS WAR ALL THEIR OWN A merry little war is being-fsound-track pictures upon records, fought in Hollywood among the independent disc recorders. Since talking pictures started and Vic- tor, Columbia and Brunswick each established laboratories for the pressing of disc records locally, there has sprung up a number of sound engineers with devices for recording on wax. The business that most of these have been doing has largely been dubbing from independently made LEGION NITE GOES IT The Orpheum had a classy mid- nite show last Saturday starting at 11:30 p. m. It was American Legion Night, with the former A. E. F. and home guard boys on hand in strength and full of the T7 rol- licking spirit. The celebration reached a high point during Bob Hamilton’s or- gan solo. He had prepared a special number for the night, it being one which naturally drew the enthusiasm to high temperature. Dedicated to the A. E. F. and the American Legion, the recital started out by recalling the wild scenes on Armistice Day of T8. First was a musical description of how England celebrated, then the French celebration and so on through to the American. The screen advised the audience that they were now to re-celebrate with the same spirit, and then came “Over There,” “Long, Long Trail, " “Where Do We Go From Here, “Keep the Home Fires Burning, and “Hinky Dinky Parley Voo,” winding up with “The Stars and Stripes Forever,” words of all the songs being cast on the screen. The audience went for it 100 per cent, and it turned into a great community singfest, with a tre- mendous round of applause upon its conclusion. The Legion’s 40-piece band was on hand for the evening, and also a program of celebrities who put on a good show. Among them were Richard Dix, June Clyde, Joe E. Brown, and two m. c.’s, Eddie Borden and Ernie Young. Gov. Young had been expected, failed to show up. ON UNFAIR LIST but The Wabash Theatre in Boyle Heights has been put on the Union Labor unfair list because of refusal to abide by union rules concerning the motion picture operator. The house is now running nonunion. RUGGLES RETURNING Wesley Ruggles is bringing his M-G-M unit back after two months on location near Mazatlan, Mexico. Sixty-three people were on the trip. also the synchronizing of sound into the silents. Some of the concerns also have put in devices geared to make phonograph records at 78 r. p. m. Then, too. a new field was opened up when the radios saw the pos- sibility of making their programs on large records and selling them to sponsors. This provided an out- let for the electrical transcribers. Then came an influx of sound engineers with various systems of making records, some of them good, some better but largely of but ordinary quality. Each of the concerns put out salesmen to scour the industry for business and then the war was on. The Western Electric and the eastern major concerns such as Columbia and Victor charge something like $300 or $400 a reel for dubbing from film-track. The local recorders cut the price into less than half establishing a price of about $125 a reel at the start. With competition, the price be- gan to drop and in the scramble, one can have his picture recorded for almost anything one cares to pay, no reasonable offer refused. If there is no cash forthcoming, some of these concerns will accept a small interest in the picture rather than see the business go to a competitor. One concern advertised the mak- ing of phonograph records for $25 a side, whereupon others started catering to the individuals with nrices as low as half of that. Most of the concerns are doing a rushing business, that is, they are keeping their machines going but few of them are making any money for themselves. The Columbia and Victor press- ing concerns are reaping the har- vest of the battle royal. They make their discs and master dies only for cash and their plants are being tested to capacity. It is going to be a survival of the fittest and those with the longest purse are going to be the last in the ring. Some of the re- corders, recognizing the possibili- ties of manufacturing their devices for other cities, are offering the recorders for sale and encouraging people in cities distant from the film center to go into the sound recording business to make records for the phonographs in the homes of the localities. Already, many of these have induced prospects to go into the game in their home towns and there is a large demand on the part of the out-of-towners for wax recording devices which can be pressed here into records. The upshot will be that soon the country will be flooded with record makers who will imprint the voices and musical ability of the ambitious home towners much the same as photographers take their physiogs. DELEGATE ELECTIONS SETTLE CONTROL MATTER OF PRODUCING FOR AIR INCREASINGLY POPULAR EDDIE KAY THE EXTEMPORANEOUS IMPRESARIO AT Coffee Dan’s Los Angeles NOW IN 13TH WEEK AND GOING STRONG I Thank You—Eddie Kay Delegates from the various I. A. T. S. E. locals to the organiza- tion’s national convention to be held in Los Angeles June 2 will be elected at meetings to be held in about three weeks. The locals are 37, 33, 150, and 683, embracing studio mechanics, sound techni- cians, cameramen, motion picture machine operators and laboratory workers. William Canavan, presi- dent, and General Secretary Green left again for the east following a preliminary visit here last week. The battle now being waged by William Fox in New York to re- tain his commandership of his film company and his theatre com- pany is one which will affect the future of the entire industry. Fox has long been the outstand- ing independent in the field, not under the complete domination of Wall Street, and if he is put out of the industry, a Wall Street pe- riod of merger and standardization may be expected to follow. The present hearing, which opened Wednesday, means victory or defeat. Fox is seeking to gain a stockholders’ vote for a plan worked out by the Bancamerica and Lehman interests, while op- posed to him are the Western Electric, though its ERPI sub- sidiary, and Halsey r , Stewart and Company. Summary of Situation The whole tangle, considered from a laymian’s viewpoint, briefly summarizes into the fact that Fox, relying on the financial support of ERPI and Halsey, Stewart, ex- panded over his depth by purchase I of a big interest (working con- trol) of Loew’s Inc., and of his English chain of houses. Money for the initial down payment was advanced by the two concerns, but when payments became due he could not obtain further money from them, the stock market de- cline had hit his sources for ready moneys, and he found a frigid welcome when he attempted to negotiate with other New York bankers. It is an old trick in Wall Street to get a money man to expand beyond his capacity, relying on the belief that he can count on further financial support, and then not find it when the crucial moment arrives. Which means he loses his business. But no such charges has been directly made in the present instance, and the Wall Street decline seems to be the principal villain. Plan Advocated One plan has been advocated by a minority stockholder, whether inspired or not, not being stated, that a portion of Fox’s holdings be sold to meet the current obli- gations, which are the only ones apparently pressing, returns on the Fox activities indicating plain sail- ing if he can get over the present difficulty. The holdings to be disposed of, if the advocates of the plan have their way, are the West Coast Theatres. According to an affidavit filed by Fox, tenta- tive overtures in this respect were made by the trusteeship named, representing Halsey, Stewart, ERPI and himself. His statement declared that the Warners were approached, and also Adolph Zukor. When the point was raised that the two approaches should not have been made at the same time, it was stated that the War- ners and Zukor had an agreement whereby they would divide the West Coast 50-50 if either deal went through, A _ large independent, such as Fox is, has a tendency to stabilize the whole industry, and if it fails to emerge victorious in the battle, radical changes in the government of picture business may be ex- pected. CELEBRATE ANNIVERSARY Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Grant, the latter of whom is known pro- fesionally as Hegee : Hay, cele- brated their first wedding anniver- sary last Monday. To make mat- ters nicer, Grant has just been signed by Warners for a good part in “See Naples and Die,” and Charles Miller, local Equity repre- sentative, gave a dinner party in their honor. TOM QUEEN Known Throughout the World as AMERICA’S GREATEST STEP DANCER Permanent Address 501 Hillstreet Building Los Angeles PUBLIX SIGNS TEAM By TED MAXWELL (Production Manager Pacific Division National Broad- casting Company) SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 27.— I am under the impression that few dialers give much thought to the tireless effort expended by pro- gram builders in preparing a week’s entertainment varied in character. About three years ago, when I made my advent into radio after 17 years in dramatic stock, vaudeville and repertoire, it was indeed all very vague to me. Wilda Wilson Church, at that time in Oakland with KGO, was producing 'a number of my plays over the air. Not having 'been bitten by the proverbial “radio bug” I was interested only in the royalty checks. Then I was asked to play a part in one. of my dramas. Agreeably surprise.d at the professional manner in which they were presented my interest was stimulated and I de- termined to learn more of this new manner of entertaining the public, this great boon to the shut- in, the homebody, and those in remote corners of our country. Department Grew Shortly after coming to N. B. C., Don E. Gilman talked to me of organizing a “Production Depart- ment” similar to one in opera- tion in our eastern division. He placed me at the head of this de- partment, which was to build and produce all programs from this division. The department grew with the company and the very rapid development of radio itself, until now there are nine producers on the staff, all with a back- ground of many years in the dif- ferent branches of the entertain- ment world. It may be of interest to know some of the names familiar to “Coast Defenders” who are as- sisting in this department: Caryl Coleman, Dick LaGrande, Harry DeLassaux, George Rand and Ben McLaughlin. In the dramatic pro- grams from these studios there have appeared such well known names as J. Raymond Northcutt, Ben Sager Deane, A1 Hallett, Charles MacAllister, Bert Horton, Fred Thomas, Jack Phipps, Ber- nice Berwin, Vanita D’Voir, Bobbe Deane, Olive West, Barbara Lee, Pearl King Tanner and many others equally as well known to the followers of the drama in the west. Individual Attention Each program, whether it be a 15-minute period with a violin and piano, a sports talk, or a full hour with 50 or a hundred artists and musicians participating, is given individual attention. Programs are timed to the split second, care- fullv rehearsed and then presented. During the performance the pro- ducer is stationed in the monitor booth, where is also found the technical man who operates the volume control. These two men work together to send the pro- gram over the telephone wires to the various stations who broad- cast N. B. C. features in the best possible quality. Radio has now attracted the dramatic actor; he realizes particu- larly with the coming of tele- vision there is a future for the actor with the “mike” voice. Radio needs the actor; radio needs the writer, the singer, the musician, the man with ideas. We, who are fortunate enough ■f-to be associated wtih the National Broadcasting Company are con- stantly striving to present pro- grams in a more interesting and novel manner. When the time comes that through our efforts we can bring our great invisible audi- ence to feeling that, on the stroke of the clock that brings another program, an imaginary curtain is being raised on a “show,” that it will behoove them to buy “4th row center” seats and open their programs, then I will know that the sincere efforts of the N. B. C. Production Department have not been in vain. Emilie and Romaine, adagio dancers who recently returned from a 32 weeks’ tour of the Fanchon and Marco circuit in the “Jazz Bucaneers Idea,” have signed a contract with Publix to be featured beginning May 1 in a new Publix Unit that will open in New York and tour the eastern Publix The- atres. The team is a product of the Earle Wallace dance studios L. A. IS OF HE PLIYHOOSE In a general shift about of man- agers on the Henry Duffy circuit, Walter Chenowith, for the past two years manager of the Holly- wood Playhouse, and for the last seven years one of the ace skip- pers for Terry, is out temporarily. Chenowith has not as yet been assigned to another Duffy house, but the call is expected daily. Wal- ter has made a great number of friends among the patrons of this house who will miss his smiling face seen nightly at the boxoffice. He has been supplanted by Geo. Hood, who- was brought down from the north to try his hand at steering the Hollywood house. Hood is of the affable, friend- making persuasion and is certain to become popular among the film colony. It is rumored that Ira La Motte will shortly return to his former home at the President, which house he successfully managed for over a year. SIGN LAMBERT FOR TWO Eddie Lambert has been signed for two pictures by M-G-M, “The March of Time Revue” and “The Big House.” Hardly ever a comedy picture, whether feature or ‘short,’ that doesn’t select anywhere from one to a dozen jokes and gags out of MADI- SON’S BUDGET. The author of MADISON’S BUDGET is now located in Hollywood, and al- though Thanksgiving Day is a long way off, is ready to talk ‘turkey’ to some big motion pic- ture concern that desires a writer who really knows his laughs. So DIAL for DIALogue and other comedy require- ments to JAMES MAD- ISON, ORegon 9407, the address being 465 South Detroit St., Los Angeles GUS EDWARDS’ ACT Gus Edwards is rehearsing an act which is tentatively set for six weeks’ playing on the RKO time. Included in the cast are Armida, Marjorie Moore and Gogo Delys. KIDDIE REVUE Mac Bisset’s studio of stage dancing will open at the Man- chester Theatre next week with a . kiddie revue. ' EARLE WALLACE Always Busy Developing Dancing Stars but Never Too Busy to Create and Produce Original DANCE ROUTINES and REVUES That Sell Belmont Theatre Bldg., First and Vermont Phone Exposition 1196 Los Angeles, Calif. SUH MURRAY I SCHOOLS STAGE Associates Gladys Murray Lafe Page 3636 BEVERLY BLVD. — Los Angeles — Tel. DU. 6721 PRACTICAL STAGE TRAINING STAGE TAP DANCING (In All Its Branches) BALLET TechSiquel By SIGNOR G. V. ROS1 SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT Mr. Lon Murray is no longer associated with this school BUD MURRAY, Principal