The motion picture almanac (1931)

372 The MOTION PICTURE ALMANAC 1931 NOLAN. WARREN: United Artists publicity head. March 27. 1931. NORMAND. MABEL: Star. Died at Monrovia. Cal.. February. 1930. Among her notable hits were "Mickey." "Peck's Bad Girl." "Suzanna" and "A Perfect Thirtv-Six." First steady contract was with Mack Bennett, from 1916 to 1920, but had appeared earlier in pictures made by D. W. Griffith and Marshall Neilan. o O'CONNELL. J. F. : Exhibitor. Halifax. H. S. Suffered heart attack while arrancing for opening of new Capitol theatre. October, 1930. OTTO. DR. RICHARD: Berlin correspondent of Motion Picture Herald Was for years on the editorial staff of Filmkuricr. Died in Berlin in March. 1931. P PALANGIO. CHARLES: Exhibitor. Cochrane. Ont. Proprietor of Empire theatre. Died trying to rescue his family from hotel Are. December. 1930. PALEY. JOE: Veteran Chicago exhibitor. May. 1931. PALMER. PARK J.: Exhibitor. Akron. Ohio. January. 1930. PATEE. CLAIR M. : Exhibitor. Eawrence. Kan. Owned Patee theatre. One of America's earliest exhibitors. Started in 1898. July. 1930. PENROD. A. E. : Cameraman. Given up as dead. March 15. 1931. when an explosion sank the sealing steamer Viking near Horse Island, off Newfoundland. I'enrod was making sound motion pictures of the sealers with Varick Frissell. New York producer, and Itussell Harry Sargent, explorer. Frissell also is missing. PHELAN. EDMUND V.: Former manager of the Majestic and Colonial. March. 1931. PIDGEON. MRS. CHARLOTTE E. : Age 82. Fort I.ce. N. J. Mother of Edward Everett Pidgeon. director of publicity of Fox theatres. January, 1930. PRATT. FRANCIS COLE: Age 63. Vice president of General Electric Company. New York. January. 1930. PRINCE. HELEN (II) and EDGAR (9): Children of David Prince, district manager of Paramount I'ublix at Atlanta. Died in fire at Prince home. November. 1930. R RANDOLPH. ANDERS: Actor. Died at Beverly Hills. Cal. Pioneer character actor of screen. July, 1930. RHINOCK. WILLIAM P.: Age 4.1. Theatre executive Had been treasurer of Keith's at Cincinnati. January. 1930. ROCKNE. KNUTE: Notre Dame football coach. Killed in airplane crash. March. 1931. ROSE ORA D.: Exhibitor. Kansas City. Established Electric theatre with his father in 1906. February, 1930. ROSS. CHARLES J.: Executive. Died in Los Angeles. Was executive vice president of RCA Photophone. Inc. January, 1931. RUBEN. I. H.: Age 63. Partner of the late M. L. Finkelstein in Finkelstein and Ituben circuit of 135 theatres with headquarters in the Twin Cities. RUBENS. ALMA: Star of many pictures. Died January 21. 1931. RUNEY. CLARENCE E.: Age 63. Cincinnati. Ohio. Veteran film man and representative of various newsreel companies. s SANTSCHI. TOM: Player. Died April 9. 1931. SCHEAF. JACK: Age 47. Business agent of Stage Employees and Projectionists Union. Hamilton. Ohio. March. 1930. SCHENCK. JOSEPH: Vaudeville and screen actor. Died at Detroit. Mich. Member of vaudeville team of Van and Scbenck. July. 1930. SCHILDKRAUT. RUDOLPH: Actor. Hollywood. Among outstanding pictures in which veteran player appeared were Fox's "Christina" and Cecil B. DeMille's "King of Kings" (Pathe). July. 1930. SCHWALM. MRS. JAMES: Wife of James Schwalm. assistant manager of the Rialto, February. 1931. SCOTT. L. N. : Age "0. Exhibitor. Owned Metropolitan theatres in Minneapolis and St. Paul, legitimate theatres used at times for motion pictures. Died in Minneapolis. January. 1930. SILLS. MILTON: Star. Died at Santa Monica. Cal. Last picture was "The Sea Wolf" in sound. Was a leading figure in formation of American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and represented Actors Branch on board of directors at time of his death. September. 1930. SILVERNAIL. CLARK: Writer, actor and director. Hollywood. Played active part in Actors' Equity dispute with producers in attempt to unionize studio personnel. October. 1930. SMITH. MRS. MILDRED: Sister of Barbara Stanwyck. May. 1931. SOLMAN. LAWRENCE: Veteran showman and president of the Toronto Baseball Club. March. 1931. STERN. JACKIE: Age 19. Daughter of Emil Stern, president of Essaness Theatres Corporation. Chicago. Killed in auto crash. December. 1930. STROMBERG. BEN B. : Exhibitor. St. Louis. Part owner and manager of Ritz theatre. February, 1930. STURGIS. WALTER WOOD: Age 52. Exhibitor. Died at Dallas. Texas. Buried at Troy. Mo. Owned chain of theatres in Texas. March. 1930. SUDEKUM. HARRY: Age 42 Exhibitor. Nashville. Tenn. In industry with his brother. Tony Sudekum. since 1905 when they took over Dixie theatre. Organized chain as Cresc nt Amusement Company. Harry Sudekum was secretary. December. 1930. SZAMECKI. EDWARD: Age 36. Exhihitor. Died at Michigan City. Ind. Owned White Eagle theatre at South Bend. August. 1930. T TITUS. LYDIA YEAMAN: Comedienne and character actress. Hollywood. January. 1930. V VAVICH. MICHAEL: Actor. Hollywood. Was president of Russian American Art Club. October, 1930. VIETS. MISS EMMA: Chairman of Kansas State Board of Review. Died at Girard. Kan. April, 1930. w WALKER. HARRY L. : Exhibitor. Aberdeen. S. D. For many years was largest owner and operator in Aberdeen and other South Dakota cities. January. 1931. WALLACE. CHESTER L. : Theatre employee. Dallas. Texas. Killed when he grasped electric cord while standing in puddle of water in organ console pit. August. 1930. WALLACE. J. F. : Exhibitor. Albany. Managed Proctor's Grand theatre. November. 1930. WARNECKE. CARL. SR.: Age 70. Theatre musician. Cincinnati. Was at one time active in theatre orchestras and was father of Carl Warnecke, Jr., of RKO Albee theatre orchestra. January. 1931. WARNER. LEWIS: Son of Harry M. Warner. April 4. 1931. WARNER. W. W.: Advance agent for Roxy and his gang. Killed in auto crash. February 24. 1931. WEAVER. JOHN C. : Age 36. Theatre manager and projectionist. St. Louis. May. 1930. WELDON. HARRY: Comedian. London. England. Charles Chaplin was once his understudy. March. 1930. WELLS. CONRAD: Age 32. Cameraman. Killed in collision of planes on location. Santa Monica, Cal. January. 1930. WEISS. MAX : Exhibitor. Died at Belmont. Cal. Had theatres at Sacramento and San Jose, Cal. June. 1930. WHALLEN. JAMES PATRICK: Age 72. A pioneer in theatrical field. Louisville. March, 1930. WILLIAMS. CHARLES G.: Veteran showman. April. 1931. WILSON, BEN: Former producer and star. Hollvwood. Featured in many of his own productions with Ruth Stonehous.'. Mav Allison and Dorothy Phillips. August. 1930. W0LHE1M. LOUIS: Actor. February. 1931. WRIGHT. FRED E. : Theatre manager. Died at Brookline. Mass. Was for years with Shuberts. Klaw and Erlanger. and Loew's at Boston. March. 1930. z ZURO. JOSIAH: Executive. Killed in auto crash at Torrey Pines. Cal. Was directorgeneral of musical productions for Pathe. October. 1930. PUBLIC RELATIONS The public relations program of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of American necessarily includes all the functions and objectives of such a service in a business that is not, at the same time, an art, a medium of human expression with all that entails and a purveyor of entertainment. It supplies an information service for the entire industry, making available data about pictures, players, employment opportunities, and general information about the industry, referring technical queries to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences or the Society of Motion Picture Engineers. It receives and investigates the type of complaints to which all businesses are heir and endeavors to meet them to the end of preserving the good-will of the public, the industry's principal asset. The fact that motion pictures are a nonstandardized constantly changing product and that they are assumed, rightly, to have an influence on the thinking and social conduct not only of individuals but of whole populations, in the first instance makes any "fixed" public relations policy impractical, while the character of the merchandise— so to speak — makes its subject to criticisms wholly unrelated to its technical excellence. The Open Door The socallcd "Open Door" of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America is an expression of the industry's desire to receive the multitude of suggestions that come through it — panaceas for picture ills, subjects that should be treated in photoplays or in the news reels for patriotic, religious or other reasons, the protests that pictures have given offense to individual or minority interests, valued comment and suggestion with the impractical and the impossible; the evaluating and disposition of this mass of materials is done by the Public Relations Department. The Codes From this wealth of data, accumulated over a period of many years, it was possible to develop the Production Codes and the Advertising Code so that they represent a cross-section of informed public opinion about pictures. In the practical application of the codes, public relations supplies the liaison between producer and consumer, the industry and the public. Studio Relations But the Codes necessarily reflect only the body and treatment of subject matter on which there is common agreement. Above this base line of uniform judgment there is a wide field within which opinion fluctuates, problems that require solution for which there arc no precedents, subjects about which public opinion is continually changing as it reflects itself in criticism, verbal approval, or at the box office. To keep this changing opinion impact upon tomorrow's pictures, public relations functions through Jason Joy, director of the Studio Relations Committee at 5 504 Hollywood boulevard. Hollywood. Cal.. and through the studio personnel associated with him. The process of keeping the photoplay current with that fleet phantom, public taste, can be accomplished only at the source of production in the studios where pictures are being made. If the archives of information fail to supply the answer to some production question, if no precedent is available, then it is the job of public relations to find the expert advisor, whether for a "King of Kings" or "The Big House," whose opinion about the treatment or use of subject matter involved is likely to meet with the approval of the greatest number of interested people. Reviewing Service With so varied a product, the American motion picture industry stands practically alone in the inclusivcness of its consumer public — the world. This alone explains its success. This, too, explains many of its problems; its consequent inability to cater to minority group interests. But the problem is rather one of bringing together the minority interest and the appropriate picture, than any dearth of pictures suited to the taste and interest of any group. The child audience is a case in point — how shall