Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1934)

MOTION PICTURE DAILY Court Objects To Radio City Theatre Pacts Grosses in 7 Keys Down Slightly; "Scandals" Top (Continued from page 1) (Continued from page 1) court again only in the event more favorable leases result. No time limit was set by the court for the conclusion of new lease negotiations. Leading the opposition to the Radio City leases yesterday as at earlier court sessions, was Walter Reade, operator of the Mayfair and a large RKO creditor on the basis of rent claims against the company arising out of repudiated leases. RKO, being in receivership, is under the jurisdiction of the Federal court, the approval of which must be had for expenditures by the receiver. Payment by Irving Trust Authorized Irving Trust Co., as trustee in bankruptcy for Publix Enterprises, was authorized by Referee Henry K. Davis yesterday to pay $76,171 to Paramount Publix trustees for services rendered by various real estate, accounting and auditing staffs of Paramount working on Publix bankruptcy affairs during the past year. Irving Trust was also authorized by Referee Davis to ppv $15,000 to Dan Michalove for services rendered the bankrupt on theatre affairs during the year. This payment is in addition to $7,950 which Michalove received earlier. Referee Davis yesterday also issued orders authorizing Irving Trust to turn over to Famous Theatres Corp. various Publix Enterprises documents in line with the recent purchase of Publix Enterprises' assets by Famous. A claim for $5,166 filed against the bankrupt by Abraham Goodside, a merchandise creditor, was expunged by the referee and all equipment of the Olympia, Miami, was released from a mortgage of Paramount Enterprises, Inc., subsidiary operating the theatre. Paul Wilson Quits Para. Memphis Job Memphis, Jan. 22. — Paul Wilson has resigned as manager of the Paramount exchange and W. F. (Bill) Bugie has been named to take his place. Wilson gave no reason for his resignation and said he had not made any plans for the future. It is understood, however, that he was dissatisfied with Paramount's consideration of his application for promotion. Promotion of Bugie from sajes manager to exchange head is effective immediately. Grover Ray moves up to sales head, and is replaced as booker by Gary Hammond, formerly Ray's assistant booker. Cooper Litton is the new assistant booker. Collier In; Yorke West Robert Collier, head of the F. & M. radio department, arrived from Los Angeles yesterday for a protracted visit. When he changed trains at Chicago, he met Gabe Yorke, who was heading for the Fox studios. big $12,000 at the Capitol in spite of wintry weather, and "Only Yesterday" took $11,000 at the Palace. "Should Ladies Behave?" was good for $10,500 at Loew's. Oklahoma City fell off last week, with "Flying Down to Rio" the only attraction doing good business. It topped par by $1,500 at $6,500 in the Criterion. "The Big Shakedown," "I Was a Spy," "Massacre" and "The World Changes" were all weak. "Scandals" Good in Cleveland Cleveland gave "Roman Scandals" a good $11,000 at Loew's State, but business elsewhere was nothing to get excited about. "As Husbands Go," with a stage show, "Artists and Models," took a par $18,000. "Blood Money," "Let's Fall in Love" and "I Was a Spy" were below normal. A dual bill, "His Double Life" and "Smoky" took a good $4,000 at the Stillman. "Design for Living" skimmed the cream off the business in Minneapolis and St. Paul with a gross for the two cities of $16,000. Minneapolis furnished $9,000 of this. "The Kennel Murder Case," "If I Were Free" and "Waltz Time" were all better than average draws in Minneapolis. "Counsellor at Law" was strong in St. Paul with $4,500 at the RKO Orpheum. "Blood Money" and "Cradle Song" were a little better than average. "I Am Suzanne," "Should Ladies Behave?" and "I Was a Spy" were just fair. Pittsburgh had three hits last week — "Roman Scandals," "Berkeley Square" and a combination of "I Was a Spy" and a condensed version of "Shuffle Along." "Scandals" was up by $4,000 on a $16,000 gross at the Penn, and "Berkeley Square" topped par by $5,200, with a $9,200 take at Paramount Theatre Men in New Orleans Following a meeting here with the southern partners of Paramount Theatre Service Corp., Y. F. Freeman and Sam Dembow, Jr., vice-presidents, and P. A. Raibourn, assistant treasurer, left for New Orleans and will return to New York from there tomorrow. Ralph Kohn, president of the newly formed company, arrived on the coast yesterday from Dallas and will probably return with Adolph Zukor within the next week or so. Freeman, Dembow and Raibourn arrived at New Orleans yesterday for conferences with E. V. Richards. Stuart Out of Para. And May Join F.&M. (Continued from page 1) George W. Trendle, this resulting in returning Stuart to New York, where he has been waiting, time on his hands, for an assignment. Ralph Kohn asked him to take a leave of absence to May 1 and urged that he spend the time looking for a new connection. Stuart, therefore, is. the Fulton. The gross on the "I Was a Spy" and "Shuffle Along" program at the Pitt was $9,000, up by $3,000. "Queen Christina" got off to a slow $5,000 start on its roadshow engagement at the Nixon, but was held over. Total first run grosses fell off to $38,300 in Providence last week, under normal by $2,200. The only strong draw was "Fugitive Lovers," helped by a vaudeville bill at Loew's State. The take was $12,500. "Convention City" and "Solitaire Man" took an average $7,000 at the Majestic, and "The Big Shakedown," with a stage show, was even at $7,000 in Fay's. "White Woman" and "The Girl Without a Room" reached $6,800 at the Paramount, but another dual "Horseplay" and "Criminal At Large," had an extremely weak $3,800 at the RKO Albee. "Dinner" Leads in Chicago "Dinner At Eight" was the outstanding attraction in Chicago. It piled up $27,000 at the Oriental. This tops average $4,000. The Chicago fell off to $40,000 after its big $53,000 week with Mary Pickford, but even so the gross was strong, with "Going Hollywood" on the screen and Will Mahoney heading the stage show. "If I Were Free" was just average, with the Cotton Club revue, at the Palace. "Roman Scandals" took $8,000 in its fourth week at United Artists. Grosses) at the Capitol and the Roxy, New York, were almost on a par last week. "Fugitive Lovers" and a stage show at the former took $32,876, while "I Was a Spy" and a show at the latter garnered $30,500. "Disraeli" at the Hollywood grossed $4,200, and "Easy to Love" at the Strand was good for $9,271. Mexican Advocates Bar on U. S. Films Mexico City, Jan. 22. — A consolidation of Mexican production, distribution and exhibition interests under a central board of directors to "protect" the home industry against foreign producers who see an opportunity to make pictures in Mexico at lower cost than elsewhere, was advocated here by Jose U. Calderon, an exhibitor and official of the Mexican Exhibitors' Union. "Outside producers," he declared, "are preparing an invasion to convert us into tributaries of the cinema magnates of the U. S. unless our borders are hermetically sealed. Mexico should have her own cinema industry. If other countries want our pictures, let them have them made by Mexican producers ; but they should not be permitted to send more expeditions to establish studios or laboratories in our country." Efforts to obtain comment here yesterday on Calderon's views were unsuccessful. No one could be found who knew anything about the speaker or the subjects be referred to. Tuesday, January 23, 193 Warner Ball Still Talk of the Towt The Warner Club's annual banquet! and ball at the Waldorf-Astori I Saturday night was the sole subject of talk yesterday at lunch at th I club's restaurant at the Warner hom I office. Many notables in the entertainmen I world were among the more than 1,50 I guests present. Of their numte I were : < Albert L. Warner, Mr. and Mrs Joseph Block, Mr. and Mrs. Harr Charnas, Mr. and Mrs. Jack Gold stone, A. J. Levy, Mr. and Mr; Moe Rosenberg, Herbert Sondhbis Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd Weil, Stan leigh Friedman, Abel Car Thomas, S. Charles Einfeld, Ma Einfeld, Gwen Heller, Mr. an Mrs. Sam Morris, Al Sch\valber< Harold Rodner, Lee Stewart, Es TELLE SCHROT, W ILL I A M MacLaUGH lin, Jack Nickolson, Mr. and Mr; Sol K. Weiner, Ruth Weisberc Milton Pollock, Gertrude Mario Martha Kaplan, Sidney Rechet nik, Arnold Albert, Irving Win disch, Jules Girden, Arthur Jef frey, Steve Trilling and Jule Levey. Guests from out of town included Mr. and Mrs. James A. Bracke> Mr. and Mrs. Nat Furst, BenjamiI Hoffman, Mr. and Mrs. DanieI Finn, Mr. and Mrs. Don JacockJ James Flaherty, Benjamin CoheiI Harry Kalmine and Mr. and MrJoseph Lesse. Cab Calloway, N.T.G. and Pa Rooney were among those who sun plied entertainment. Major Warner had a good tinr just watching the Warner folk havin a good time, and Schwalberg an Rodner, who supervised arrangement il for the affair, saw to it that they di< Levey had a job keeping his flowe from jumping out of his lapel whill vibrating to the "hotcha" tunes of tn I Cab Calloway boys. Stewart, who 1 1 Vitaphone casting director, had a|l eye out all evening for screen poss bilities of the entertainers. Rechetni took upon himself the job of introduc \ ing to the crowd people who needejl no introduction. Girden got himself i the spotlight when a group of N.T.i | cuties pulled him from his seat ont I the dance floor. And so it went. Lasky to Stay with Fox, Asserts Ken\ (Continued from page 1) missed published reports regarding I Lasky. Among them, most persistent k was the rumor he would join Radi as a unit producer. Lasky has twl I more years to go on his Fox contract I Holly-wood, Jan. 22. — Radio wil not negotiate with Jesse L. Lasky un til current contracts expire, declare B. B. Kahane today in answer to re ports tying the producer in with RKC Kahane said his company "would b glad" to talk a deal whenever Lask; became a free agent. U.A.on Seven Floors j With U. A. taking space on tbl sixth floor at 729 7th Ave., for th U foreign department, the company's of]] fices are now spread over the second sixth, eighth, 12th, 13th, 14th and lSt! floors.