Inside facts of stage and screen (February 28, 1931)

EDITED BY JACK JOSEPHS ESTABLISHED 1924 Vol. XIII Entered as Second Class Matter, April 29, 1927, office, Los Angeles, Calif., under Act of ’ March at 3. Saturday, February 28, 1931 Published Every Saturday at 6253 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood, Calif. •No. 8 BIGGER STAGE SHOWSTO MEET H-F PRICE SLASH Plunkett On Coast For Meet “The only studio departments •working at anything like full swing at present are the publicity depart- ments—and they’re working over- time alibying for the slump in pro- duction.” This statement was made confi- dentially this week by a big picture exec., who was addressing a group of exhibitors’ representatives who were in town to find out what’s what for the coming year. The exhibs, the stock market and the inhabitants of Hollywood are being fed with big stories regarding production, making one judge by these stories that the town is even beyond normalcy for the time of the year in this respect. As a matter of fact, the exec ad- mitted, money is not forthcoming as j et for the next season programs of many of the big studios, and shooting is way off. But this fact is I being covered over, as the deleteri-1 os effect it might have on the stock I market and on exhibitors is feared. I Admittedly in many instances the! producers are worried. Thinking they would find easy plucking in New' York because of the amount of money lying idle in the eastern banks, they went back to the east- ern metrop with big programs. But they were met with a chilly recep- tion, which still continues. At three large studios it is now feared the budget may be slashed from 33 to SO per cent, and this slash will, if it materializes, be aimed at the execu- tive personnel rather more than at production costs. The independents are having the same trouble. Any inde who can make a good picture these days can sell it, due to the cut-down of prod- uct from the big companies. And it is likely that, should the present condition continue, he can do even better with his pictures in the near future. But the indes are having about as hard a time as the big stu- dios in getting sufficient money, to turn* out good pictures. All in all, it’s a bad market for the picture-makers right now, and sell- ing their paper programs is a stickler. FIGHTING PULLS ’EM Fighting and wrestling is the big draw of the Hildebrandt Carnivals, now' plaj'ing a two weeks stand in Glendale. The fighter-wrestler, who challenges all comers, is drawing in more than $1000 a week at 25 and 50-cent admission. San Francisco, Feb. 27.—A meeting here between Joseph Plunkett and execuive chiefs on the west coast for R-K-O decided to continue stage shows in all R-K-O coast houses, and to build them up . to a more elaborate scale. Lines of girls will be added, and there will also be orches- tral pit shows, with both men and women entertainers work- ing in them. Entry into the exhibition field of | the new Hughes-Franklin combina- tion is not going to be taken ly- ing down by the already establish- ed circuits. A few inside facts on a freeze- out policy tow'ard the newcomers, whose threat is in the fact that they intend to lower prices, w r ere unearthed this week, and it looks like, the F-H people are out for the works if the opposition can make it stick. While the Harold B. Franklin and Howard Hughes combination plan to slice themselves business from the other houses by hitting heavy on the name and fame of their U. A. stars, and lowering the boxoffice scale! the other chains W'ill come back with plugging of the same kind and bigger and bet- ter stage shows. Adding Draws Warner Brothers, who are the chief waverers between stage and non-stage enterainmeut, have built up a roster of almost sure-fire box- office names, including their re- cent raid on the Paramount ranks when they took Ruth Chatterton and William Powell. And to add to this they are borrowing the b.o. names irrespective of cost, having recently signed such stars as Ann Harding (at a cost of $30,000 a picture) and Constance Bennett. R-K-O is also very much on the job of meeting the newest brother exhibitor, joe Plunkett is current- ly on the coast as part of Radio’s plan to hit into the new situation with the classiest stage shows of any exhib. While details of the plans were not learned, it is un- derstood that the R-K-O policy will be to get the stage talent re- gardless of cost, and to back it up with class lines and dressing that will rate them the topnotehers in the stage show line. Among others who attended the Plunkett confer- ence, which is being held in San Francisco, are Cliff Work, terri- torial manager for Radio, and Bud Murray, who is producing the stage (Continued on Page 3) CARLOS MOUNO AND HIS TANGO ORCHESTDA Cocoansit CrerCf Ambassador Hotel Los Angefies JUMPER SIGNED “Novelty” Clinton, a high jumper who recently arrived here from Europe, will, open for Fanchon and Marco in the near future. SHERWOOD CASTING George Sherwood is now casting for an original play, “White Dra- gon,” which he expects to open in Los Angeles in the near future. Rehearsals are scheduled to start in two weeks. JOINS SILBER Dixie McCoy, who formerly had her own agency in Hollywood, is now associated with the Arthur Sil- ber Agency. Tie-Up Of Coin Hits Production