Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1934)

The Leading Daibr Newspaper of the Motion Picture Industry MOTION PICTURE DAILY Alert, Intelligent and Faith full | 1 Service to the Industry in All Branches >L. 35. NO. 20 NEW YORK, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 24, 1934 TEN CENTS loblitzelle Is Named for Post at Para. mthwest Wants Him as Theatre Advisor Carl Hoblitzelle, Paramount theatre rating partner at Dallas, has been ;cted by all of the company's operig partners in the southwest as the resentative of that territory on Parount's national theatre advisory imittee of six. loblitzelle is the third member of committee to be named, E. V. hards of New Orleans having been •cted to represent the south and N. Nathanson of Toronto to represent Canadian territory. The three rening members will be selected from New England, Chicago and far ;t territories. lither John or Barney Balaban is arded as likely choice for the comtee from the Chicago territory. ara. Receivers' Expenses Up Soon J. S. District Court Judge John M. oolsey will pass on the Paramount □lix equity receivers' petition for iwances aggregating approximately (Continued on page 10) Izor Again Named lead of Penn MPTO 'hiladelphia, Jan. 23. — Lewen or was reelected as president of M.P.T.O. of Eastern Pennsyl (Continued on page 12) HershReld Explains Although columnists "misquote him all the time," Samjel Goldwyn, under the impression he was talking to them at the Cheese Club yes:erday, said he liked them iust the same and they are his best friends. When the producer finished his speech, Harry Hershfield took the floor and stated that what Goldwyn had tried to tell the boys was that he signed Anna Sten two years ago because he had inside lope that America was going :o recognize Russia. Majors Ask for Definite NR A Cancellation Ruling Reports Educ 'l-Fox Deal Is Off Bring Pair of Denials Probably Broadway's livest rumor yesterday was a story that Educational, dissatisfied with its current releasing deal, had served notice that it intended to distribute elsewhere. One angle of the report had it Hammons again planned an exchange system of his own. Sidney R. Kent, president of Fox, told Motion Picture Daily yesterday it "was news to him." Hammons declared : "Just a rumor and absolutely nothing at all to it. As a matter of fact, the first time I heard such a story was in circulation was when a newspaper reporter called to check." His 10 Per Cent Ruling to Stay, States Rosenblatt Player Loans Gain as Costs Rise on Coast Hollywood, Jan. 23. — Facing an inevitable increase in costs because of the NRA, producers will be more susceptible to farming their contract players to other studios when not needed on home ground. This, however, will not apply to established stars, except on rare occasions. The practice of interchanging contract players — from one studio to an (Continued on page 10) Hollywood, Jan. 23. — Conceding the right of major distributors to proceed with a legal test of his ruling, Sol A. Rosenblatt, division administrator, on arrival here today said that as far as he is concerned his decision regarding the application of the 10 per cent cancellation clause will stand. The distributors' position was cited to Rosenblatt, to the effect that the date of approval of contracts is considered the determining factor and contracts approved prior to the effective date of the code are not subject to the exclusion clause. To that interpretation, Rosenblatt had this to say : "It makes no difference when an exhibitor signed a contract or when it was approved. If he has signed the code and fully complies with the provisions governing cancellations, he is (Continued on page 8) Stranger Within Gates Disturbs Code Authority An elderly gentleman with a brown fedora and brief case in hand visited the Code Authority for the first time yesterday and almost caused a riot when the members started to get down to the business of the day. When first approached by Motion Picture Daily, the man said he was an alternate for a member of the authority, but upon further questioning would not say whom he was representing. Having read in this publication that Deputy Administrator William P. (Continued on page 8) Act at Code Authority Session — Johnson to Get Request Major distributors, through the Code Authority, yesterday asked for a definite ruling from the NRA legal department on the recent stand assumed by Division Administrator Sol A. Rosenblatt that the 10 per cent cancellation clause is retroactive as of Dec. 8. William P. Farnsworth, deputy administrator substituting for Rosenblatt at the authority session, said he would take the matter up with Hugh S. Johnson on his return to Washington. The deputy will remain in New York today to attend the hearing on the legitimate theatre code at Dr. Henry Moskowitz' office. S. R. Kent, Charles L. O'Reilly, George J. Schaefer, W. Ray John (Continued on page 8) Producers Gather For Talks on Code Hollywood, Jan. 23. — Producers as well as Division Administrator Sol A. Rosenblatt are making their headquarters at the Beverly-Wilshire, and (Continued on page 8) Authority Lists 26 For Secretary Jobs Twenty-six additional names of persons recommended for places as secretaries of clearance and zoning and grievance boards were announced (Continued on page 8) Not A Nod Kansas City, Jan. 23. — When Division Administrator Sol A. Rosenblatt alighted from the train here Saturday night to get some platform exercise he nearly bumped into Morton Downey, former president of the Actors' Betterment Ass'n, who was saying goodby to Barbara Bennett. Other players were also exercising, but Rosenblatt didn't even give them a nod.