Inside facts of stage and screen (October 11, 1930)

PAGE TWO INSIDE FACTS OF STAGE AND SCREEN OCT. 11, 1930 IRECORD GROSSES HANG SIGN n n n n n n n n n nnnnnnnnnn Heat and Opera Hurt Movie Biz A* and H. Take Stock Lease On Duffy Territory SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 9.—Ackerman and Harris have taken a ten year lease on the Tivoli from W. H. “Doc” Leahy and will open a policy of stock there about November 1. Associated with A. and H. as general manager is Richard Marshall, former Duffy g.m. House will operate at a dol- lar top, prices ranging as low as SO cents. This, competing with Duffy’s new upward ad- mission tilt to $1.50 is ex- pected to bring some stiff competition in the local legit field, a heavy turnover being expected with the dollar min- imum as a draw. Neither cast nor opening piece has been definitely se- lected but, it is expected, will be decided by the end of the week. A. & H. are turning paint- ers and decorators loose, doll- ing up the Tivoli. The pres- ent barren lobby will be con- verted into a reception room with new carpets and drapes. TEMPTATIONS NO. TWO DUE “Temptations of 1930,” First Edi- tion, will close October 18, accord- ing to a report from Franklin War- ner, producer. Warner posted the usual two week’s notice this week. It is un- derstood this was in accord with his original plan of offering a “new edition” of the “Temptations” at frequent intervals. While no new names have as yet been announced it is understood lit- tle changes will be made in the present cast, with rehearsals of the new show already slated for Mon- day of next week. Present show had but fair suc- cess, opening week doing around $14,000, and the second $13,000, whinhe nut was said to.be heavy. Warner offerings in the first unit alone ran into a prohibitive figure, but the youthful producer was ada- mant in his efforts to offer Los An- geles a regular Broadway show. POLLARD AT WORK A Pathe comedy, “Her Hero,” featuring Daphne Pollard, has gone into production, under the direction of Arch Heath. TWO SPOTS STAND OUT Torrid weather, combined with the grand opera season, played havoc with box office receipts in the 1 picture theatres this week, with exception of one or two spots. Paramount’s “Santa Fe Trail,” starring Richard Arlen with supporting cast which included Mitzi Green and Eugene Pal- ette, and a neat stage show, led the town with $26,500. Another phenomenal week’s gross, the second, was turned in by Warner Bros. Downtown Theatre. Crowds lined up early to see Dorothy Mackaill in “The Office Wife.” The sec- ond week did a little better than $22,800, with a third and final week due to turn in $16,000. It was closely followed by Loew’s State “Sea Wolf,” supported b ya Fanchon and Marco “Idea,” that should be credited with a goodly share of the $22,608. A surprising total of $19,000 for a second run on “Dawn Patrol” was reported from Warner Bros. Hollywood Theatre. Picture did good business down town for sev- eral weeks at the Orpheum and warranted the holdover in Holly- wood. The first four days of Fox’ “The Big Trail” at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, inclusive of the big premiere opening, did $17,149. The opus, although grabbing good notices from the critics, is not bounding along at much of a pace. The closing date of “Hell’s Angels” was a wash-out. The latter opus was held a little too long. Criterion, minus billboard adver- tising, which hurt, did $16,652 with “Madam Satan.” Should have done more, properly publicized. Hollywood Pantages, with “Call of the Flesh” and second showing of F. and M. stage show, did $14,- 074. This is a little better than the nut. Carthay Circle’s closing stand of “Holiday” did $7466. Tourists are not hitting this house so heavily lately, although the picture is one of the finest that Pathe has turned RECORD AD GAG USED BY WILBURS TO SELL TICKETS Wilbur Players, Honolulu, have a real advertising gag. Richard Wilbur mails show fans of the island city a mini- ature “flexo” phonograph rec- ord. Title of the record is “Play This on Your Phono- graph.” • When played, the record not only is a plug for the stock show, but also gives an excerpt from a play, embody- ing some heavy drama, and a laugh gag. STEP FETCHIT COMES BACK Stepin Fetchit is to return to the studio, where he played his first role before the camera. He has been signed to appear in “The South- erner,” Lawrence Tibbett’s forth- coming staring vehicle, in the prin- cipal comedy role. NANCE O’NEIL AT U Nance O’Neil, one of the best known stage stars in motion pic- tures, has completed her work in the Edwin Carewe production of “Resurrection” at Universal studios. John Boles and Lupe Velez are co- starred in the production, and in ad- dition to Miss O’Neil, Rose Tapley and William Keighley also have im- portant roles. “IF,” GILMOR’S NEXT Lord Dunsany’s “If” is the next production scheduled at the Pasa- dena Community Playhouse, open- ing on Thursday, October 16, for a ten day run. House is run by Gil- mor Brown. PUSH DATE AHEAD FOR “ORCHID ANNIE” Forthcoming “talkie” engage- ments of Betty Bronson have made it necessary to move up the open- ing date of “Little Orchid Annie” at the Hollywood Playhouse. Originally scheduled to open on Monday, October 20, this Hadley Waters-Charles Beahan farce will now open October 13. Earl McCarthy, also known to screen audiences, plavs “Annie’s” husband, and the cast also includes Mabel Forrest, Julia Blanc, Georgie Harris, Frederic Sullivan, John Manning and Camille Rovelle of the original company, as well as Arnold Walsh, Ray Largy, and Isabel Keefe. TREVOR, A PRINCE Hugh Trevor has been selected for the role of prince, in RKO Ra- dio Pictures’ “The Queen’s Hus- band.” out. No fault of the picture for dough like this. ^United Artists had an off week with “Heads Up,” starring Joe Cook, doing $8000. “Whoopee” due to come in, with expected s.r.o. for opening night, with Cantor on the stage and an orchestra. Another West Coast chain house, the Egyptian, did a reported $5980 with the Marx Bros. “Animal Crackers,” which isn’t so bad con- sidering they get second runs. Still another neighborhood house, the Boulevard, fared better with “Let Us Be Gay,” the Norma Shearer opus pulling in $6840. Big Universal Sale Warner Brothers have taken nearly all of the Universal made pictures to be shown in the 800 Warner theatres throughout the country. Ac- cording to the announcement, the rental for the features alone will amount to more than $3,500,000. This is the second big book- ing deal consummated by Universal during the past few weeks, the first having been with RKO theatres for first run release in many of the key cities of the country. Jacobs Operates New ‘Rose Isle’ Off Long Beach LONG BEACH, Calif., Oct. 9.— Something new in entertainment and recreation opened when water taxis started their runs from the new dock on West Seventh street to the floating palace, “Rose Isle.” Since the Monfalcon burned, Tommy Jacobs has been in San Francisco planning this new boat, and a fortune has been spent to make it the finest. The boat is not a barge, but an oil burner , with all engines intact. Length is 342 feet and tonnage is 4,100, with every modern con- venience. The floating palace is painted a solid aluminum with stream stripes of gold border, mak- ing it look like a huge battleship distinctive against the blue waters. Jacobs features a unique cabaret aboard, besides a dance orchestra. Forriial opening will probably take place this Saturday night, Oct. 11. OTIS HOYT IS OIL MAGNATE Otis Hoyt, who for many years owned the Strand Theatre on the “Pike” in Long Beach is today rated among the oil magnates of the beach city. When the general depression hit the theatre and amusement business two years ago, Hoyt relinquished his interests in his house and going to concessionaires he knew, enticed them into pooling their resources in oil propositions that he was nego- tiating during the height of the oil boom. For a while nothing more was heard of Hoyt. Activity was re- ported on his oil wells but nothing startling happened. Now the news of his selling to the Dollar Oil Company more than $500,000 worth of his holdings, was announced last week. BYRON E. CRAMER ADDED TO STAFF AT BUD MURRAY’S To meet with popular demand of the children’s classes and special classes for high school students, Bud Murray has added Byron E. Cramer to the staff of instructors at the Bud Murray School for Stage, located at 3636 Beverly Bou- levard. Mr. Cramer will teach tap, off- rhythm, and acrobatics, and is best known for his connection at the RKO theatre last year, as well as at the Strand Theatre, Long Beach, where he was stage manager and assistant dance director for Bud Murray when he staged weekly pre- sentations. New classes for children from five to 18 years of age meet every Monday. Day and evening enroll- ments are going on continuously. HOMER SWEETMAN IN NEW CONTRACT SEATTLE, Oct. 9. — Homer Sweetman, Northwest singer and college orchestra leader, closed con- tracts for a series of broadcasts over the Northwest Broadcasting System this week. Sweetman was formerly with Vic Meyers’ aggre- gation, and was also a former re- cording artist for Columbia. . His broadcasts over KJR will un- doubtedly strengthen this station’s programs over Northwest ether. RATHBONE EAST As soon as he completes his pres- ent screen role with Constance Ben- nett at Pathe in “Sin Takes a Holi- day,” Basil Rathbone will go to New York to do a stage play for Arch Selwyn. BOWLES WITH CHRISTIE George H. Bowles has resigned as President of Pan-American Pic- tures and severed all connections with that organization, to accept the position of vice president in charge of exploitation for the Christie in- terests, with headquarters at Metro- politan Sound Studios. OPERA CASH SETS MARK FOR COAST Theatrical moguls, who have been crying the blues, should notice what happens when the public gets what it wants. In considering general de- pression of receipts this year, a suspicion sneaks in that the ticket buyers have been getting their favorite entertainment stuff the year around. During the nine days of opera season, the Los Angeles Grand Opera Association took in more cash than anything else has averaged this year., In spite of the so-called pres- ent slump, the advance sale of $85,000 was the greatest in Los Angeles opera history. After the nine days were past, a phe- nomenal gross of $185,000 had rolled into the coffers, accord- ing to the report of the com- mittee in charge. Probably the most sensational thing was Hope Hampton’s Los Angeles debut after her triumphs in Europe. Appearing in “Manon,” she proved so popular that her per- formance drew the sensational total of $22,600 on Monday night. Attendance of the cream of the motion picture artists attested Miss Hampton’s appeal. After render- ing the difficult part of Manon to perfection, the audience would hardly permit her to leave the stage. She scored an ovation of a magnitude seldom witnessed. With a nightly average of $20,000, there was no doubt of the success of this opera season. Jeritza was outstanding in “Carmen,” which took in $22,000. In the motion picture field, Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey proved their appeal to the public when they broke records for Satur- day and Sunday performances at the Orpheum theatre, when they made personal appearances with showings of their latest picture, “Half Shot at Sunrise.” These popular come- dians put out good comedy and people flock. Sporting circles woke up when returns on the Jackson- Corbett fight at the Olympic, total of $17,000, were known. Next night, interest in Sonnen- berg-Marshall fracas was good enough to register $27,000. These figures have been care- fully authenticated and they speak for themselves. Get good attrac- tions and get the people is the sign these totals hang over the mantle- piece. NATURAL FOR HUGH Hugh Williams, who makes his initial screen appearance as Charley Wykeham in the all-talking version of “Charley’s Aunt,” is enacting the same role he essayed in the stage version of this celebrated English farce. HINES STARTS SECOND Johnny Hines will start his sec- ond Gayety comedy at Metropoli- tan Sound Studios, within the next few days, under direction of Wil- liam Watson. EIGHT NEW FILMS ON PAR SCHEDULE Eight new talking pictures will go into production at Paramount studios in Holly- wood during the next 15 days, according to announcement by B. P. Schulberg. Launch- ing of these new films will mean employment of several hundred workers at the Hol- lywood plant. Among new productions scheduled for immediate starting are “Stampede,” star- ring Richard Arlen, George Bancroft’s next vehicle to fol- low his current sea story, the new picture showing the star as a newspaper editor; a com- edy to star Jack Oakie; the new William Powell produc- tion; Clara Bow’s latest ro- mantic farce told against a metropolitan background, and Josef von Sternberg’s “Dis- honored,” with Marlene Diet- rich in the stellar role. BYRON E. CRAMER Former Assistant Stage and Dance Director, RKO Theatre, Los Angeles, and Strand Theatre, Long Beach IN HOLLYWOOD, NOW As Instructor and Teacher TAP, OFF-RHYTHM AND ACROBATICS AT BUD MURRAY SCHOOL FOR STAGE AND SCREEN 3636 Beverly Boulevard