Inside facts of stage and screen (May 24, 1930)

PAGE TWO INSIDE FACTS OF STAGE AND SCREEN SATURDAY, MAY 24, 1930 RUMOR BIG RKO DEAL PENDING Indes Rush to Get “Ingagi”Follow-Ups PM, SAID INVOLVED IN I E GENERAL IN BOXOFFICES OF Legit boxoffices failed to pro- vide anything of a sensational na- ture during the past week. Hold- over shows were generally in de- clines. Only two of the new ones had completed a full week at press time, one of them making a new low record and the other doing only average. “The Gorilla” at Henry Duffy’s Hollywood Playhoifse grossed $3400, the lowest week during Duffy’s operation of the house. Duffy has closed at the Play- house, and Ed Rowland, lessee of the house who has taken it back, opens “June Moon” there May 24. The President grossed $4600 on the third and final week of “Blue Ghost.” “Elizabeth Sleeps Out” is there now, doing only fair. This house still continues under the Duffy banner. Capitan Gets $5000 Last week of “Love ’Em and Leave ’Em” at the El Capitan was f chalked up at a generous $5000, and Bert Lytell in “Brothers” is in there now. This house reverted from Duffy to C. E. Toberman, owner, who is continuing to oper- ate the house with the Duffy staff and policy. The Lillian Albertson “Student Prince” closed at the Majestic last Saturday, May 17, following de- clines during the first part of the week. Closing notices spurted business for the last couple of days and brought the gross up to the $14,500 of the previous stanza. This show is slated to go to San Francisco, and “Last Mile” is now in rehearsal. The last week of the picture “Journey’s End” brought a gross of $7900 to the Mayan, a decline of $1300. Maurice Chevalier is putting on a personal appearance show there for eight days; mean- while “Decency” is in final stages of casting, for an opening sched- uled for June 2, acording to Sid Algiers, manager for Franklin Productions. Repertory Average The Civic Repertory production of “Going Home” at the Holly- wood Music Box, grossed $4200 on its opening week, about house av- erage. “Wound Stripe” follows in on June 2. “For Cryin’ Out Loud” at the Egan holds steady with a take of $1400 on its fourth week, opened the fifth week strong and expects to keep on going with no closing date in sight. Second week of “Slightly Dis- honorable” declined a little, gross- ing $12,000 as compared with fif- teen for the opening week, but still considered satisfactory. This pro- duction will continue to hold the Biltmore indefinitely. .Final and eighth week of “Rah Rah Daze,” featuring Fred War- ing’s Pennsylvanians at the Mason, although bolstered with the ap- pearances of Leon Errol and Charles Winninger as guest come- dians, failed to rally noticeably. The Orange Grove (Actors) opens May 23 with Yiddish players, and George Fawcett’s “The Great John Ganton” opened at the Vine Street, May 19, with what looks like a $4000 week. The Figueroa is dark. EDDIE PEABODY WRITING Eddie Peabody has returned from his tour of the Golden Gate re gions and has retired to the Pea- body Rancho to put the finishing touches on his new Banjo Instruc- tion book, which will be quite an elaborate, complete affair, and be available within the next few weeks. S. L. Cross Co. expect to handle the publication. COL. TO START ONE A new as yet untitled picture is planned to start into production at Columbia late this week, but neither cast nor director had been selected by the middle of the week. Two are now shooting at this stu- dio, “Rain or Shine” and “Hell’s Island.” By BUD MURRAY In Hollywod, Now, and a year ago. Do you realize, that a year ago all the leading agents were in N. Y. booking actors, dancers and directors, for Hollywood, then, and now reversing this custom, all the agents of any note, who are In Hollywood Now, including Harry Weber, Leo Morrison, Rufus Le Maire, Leo Fitzgerald, Louis Shurr, Arthur Lyons, Joe Sullivan, Max Hart, all New York agents, are In Hollywood Now, and are booking movie names, for productions for the forthcoming season, for the legitimate stage In New York. To- wit: Mary Pickford, Alice White (our pupil), Marjorie White and Bessie Love have already received very flattering offers for N. Y. productions for this fall, and any- one of them would be a draw and hit. Also Harry Gribbon, whom we were with 17 years ago, has a nice offer for a N. Y. Revue, and Harry has the itch for some real stage work, and what a riot he would be in N. Y.! He has been away so long from N. Y. that he would be considered a‘ ‘new face,” and what a face. Imagine Holly- wood, taking the play from New York. On the invitation of Warren Doane, head of the Hal Roach Studios, and Maitland Rice of the Fox Hills' Studios to display our California Sunbeam Unit, we made a trip out, and had a most de- lightful day, in fact the first day of a vacation we have had since we reorganized. Out at Hal Roach Studios, ran into Oliver Hardy, and Hal Roach and his brother (not cocky), but smiling Jack. Then on another set, making a Spanish version of a talkie, Charley Chase or La Belle boy friend, with Manuel Pedroza, who was in our Chicago Company of “Student Prince.” Manuel turned out to be a real baritone and actor. Then to Fox Hills, with the “Sunbeams,” ran into Jack Young, a former Shubert stage manager, now as- sistant casting director at Fox Hills, and then smack into Max Sheck, who is directing dances, whom we worked with, when with the Messrs. Shubert in 1921. Sey- mour Felix, the ace dance director, whether he likes the title or not, is out at Fox Hills, working on the new Brown, DeSylva and Hender- son talkie, and Lew Brown, who takes the writer back to Geo. White’s Scandals. They are all In Hollywood Now. In our weekly trip to the fites, noticed that charming Mary Fran- cis Taylor, always smiling. Mary worked for the writer in Carrol Re- vue and “Oh, Susanna,” and just FOB AFRICAN FILM T closed as premier dancer with “Student Prince.” Back of Mary is good old Dave Marion. We wonder whether you remember “Snuffy the Cabman,” for so many years in burlesque. There are the two boy friends, Robert Woolsey, whom we were with in the “Dream Girl” in 1923 at Ambassador The- atre, N. Y. Bert Wheeler takes us back to the “stock training days,” and right next to us Mr. and Mrs. Joe E. Brown, and nat- urally all Mrs. Brown talked about was her two sons, Joe, Jr., and Don, our pupils. And look at that fine actor and singer, who takes us back to Passing Show of 1921, J. Harold Murray. Yes, sir, and they are all In Hollywood Now. After the fites, for a “snack” in Henry’s. A few words with Dolly (Mrs. Eddie Nelson, our boy friend’s wife.' She is In Holly- wood Now, alone, but confides Ed- die will soon be back. He is one of the few native sons we know, and takes us back to the first Broadway show we had him with, “The Last Waltz,” in 1921. There’s the dancing referee, “strictly busi- ness Abe Roth,” and smiling Frankie Richardson, he of those top notes which never seem to fail him (thank the Lord)—all in Hollywood Now. Eddie Lambert reports that he leaves for N. Y. to fill an unex- pired Publix contract, and while talking about our dance studio, un- folded a very clever idea. Here it is. He wants to open a Kosher delicatessen store, and in order to draw the housewives in to buy, wants a tie-up with us to give free dancing lessons away with every pound of salami sold. Not bad. Andy Rice, Sr., who has written many “Scandals,” “Follies,” and “Le Maires Affairs,” at M-G-M, also, put forth a real legitimate proposition for amateur produc- tions, which will be divulged later on. They are In Hollywood Now. Louis Mosconi, the brother of Charley, also wants it known, even though they are only recognized as dancers, that for a long time they have had dancing schools, and we personally have been in their Philadelphia School many moons ago and watched the kids and Papa Mosconi teach, and how! Mosconis will have a good dancing school, too — and In Hollywood Now. At the Brown Derby for lunch, noticed that clever comedian, Ed- die Buzzell, whom we have to con- nect with the Winter Garden, much as we dislike to use the name, and a fine dramatic writer, Eugene Walters, who makes us think of a very fine party he gave in N. Y. (Continued on Page 6) A big rush is on among the opportunist indes to trail the sen- sational success of the African ex- ploration film, “Ingagi.” The opportunity boys are dig- ging down in the vaults to see what they have in the way of stock shots or pensioned films which can be pieced together for some ready capital following the evident pub- lic relish for this type of picture. But the exhibs are ready to re- gard such offerings warily, an in- vestigation on the other side of the fence revealed. “Ingagi,” ac- cording to absolute vouchings by its sponsors and according to all available information, is an au- thentic film. But there’ll have to be plenty of credentials to make any class house run the follow-ups, as they are almost certain to be fakes. There is a lot of old African film said to be in the control of the former states righters and in inde safekeeping in New York and here. The racketeers are scrambling to corral enough of this to make a feature length film, ready to take the chance of having the government get them for false advertising, the reports say. A rumor was current this week that the Hays office had issued a sub rosa ban on “Ingagi,” in- structing their theatres to lay off of it. One story had it that the RKO Orpheum here planned to play the film for a couple more weeks, and could have done so to excellent returns, had they not got their orders to jerk it. These reports were denied in toto and emphatically at Fred Beetson’s office. It was declared that insofar as that office knew the film was authentic, and there would be no reason whatsoever for any attempt to ban it. As proof of this assertion, it was stated that the RKO presumably had booked picture over its entire circuit. the re- his Paul Whiteman is slated to turn to Los Angeles with band ,to open a night spot, accord- ing to report. The word is that he will open up an open-air garden resort, gaily decorated and brilliantly lighted, with a lawn for dancing and leafy bowers for hide-away tables, somewhat similar to the place he made so popular in Paris Location of the spot, or prob- able date of opening, are not yet revealed, but it will probably be somewhere near the Culver City resort district and start operating in the early summer. “SUBWAY” PLANS With the return of I. Blatt to New York from a trip to Europe, it is believed he will shortly carry out previously conceived plans for producing “Subway Express”, in Los Angeles. His trip was under- stood to be for the purpose of con- cluding a deal, for production of the play in London this fall, and the local run, if it materializes, is ex- pected to begin at about the same time. IS GOLF IMPRESSARIO Horace Murphy, former head of Murphy’s Comedians, has opened one of the' miniature golf courses which are the present craze around these parts. His is located on Western avenue. BILL GETS JUDGMENT Bill Meiklejohn, who left the Pom Pom Cafe two months prior to its recent closing, last week won judgment against Hale Hug- gins, the Pom Pom proprietor, in the sum of $1400. The merger rumor market, long dormant, picked up this week, with RKO being the bull stock for the prediction boys. The report that went circulating through various quarters had RKO clearing the way for a big absorp- tion program that was to be quick and effective when launched. The rumored RKO plan was twofold: first, a closer production contact with Columbia than that revealed in recent announcement that RKO theatres would play all Columbia pictures; secondly, a re- vival of the once “hot” reports that RKO was to take over, under merger, the Pathe studios. It is not generally felt that RKO’s ambitious program, an- nounced when the outfit entered the picture field through the Ra- dio, Keith-Orpheum merger, has been justified by developments to date. The feeling at that time was that RKO intended to keep on developing in theatre acquisition and picture making until they overtopped the field by sheer weight of power and expenditures. In many quarters it was predicted then that RKO would become the ‘parent” picture company for every other company in Holly- wood, with the possible exception of Fox, then rated one independent who intended to stay that way. Other Interest But if this was the intention, it has not been fulfilled. Paramount and Loew’s still are generally rated ahead of it in both the making and distribution of pictures, and it not felt that this situation will be allowed to continue by the pow- erful radio interests. Consequently, when the Colum- bia announcement was made, it ,s felt that RKO must have some other interest than, the mere playing of Columbia pictures in RKO houses. And this despite the fact that Columbia has been turning out an exceptionally high grade class of product. But, with all the money back of Radio, fig- uring it as to why these houses should not play their own pictures exclusively, making as many as necessary for the purpose, rather than booking in the pictures for some rival production concern. Two Advantages The angle concerning Pathe stands on a somewhat different basis, for, besides securing the pictures of this company, which is now making them all of the big- ger variety, there are two distinct advantages to be gained to RKO should they obtain the other com- pany. First of these is the matter of the Pathe newsreel. The popu- larity of the various news,reels is unquestioned. No well balanced class house bill is complete with- out one. And it would seem to be distinctly to the advantage of every big studio to have its own. Fox, Paramount, M-G-M, and Universal are all set in this de- partment, leaving RKO somewhat of an outsider. A second consideration is the Pathe-DuPont alliance. With a direct tie-in between the combined RKO and Pathe and the DuPont film concern, profits would ac- crue to all involved, RKO by the returns they would get on their own expenditures for film from DuPont, and DuPont from the increased revenue assured by RKO using its film. Helps Rumor The rumors of this latter deal got big impetus from the resig- nation from Pathe of Joseph P. Kennedy. Kennedy is not known as a man who will play second fid- dle in any band, even in so grand a one as RKO. So, the report goes, his resignation was a pre- liminary to a merger which would have no place for him in the lineup had he remained with Pathe. All of which remains to be seen. Marion Kohn Resigns Marion Kohn resigned as sistant business manager of lumbia Pictures last Saturday, place has not yet been filled. BACK AT SAVOY as- Co- His Eddie Lawrence, character actor, has returned to the cast of the Sa- voy Players, San Diego, and opens in the title role of “Cappy Ricks.”