Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1934)

MOTION PICTURE DAILY Wednesday, January 24, 1 924 Ask Definite NRARulingon Cancellation (Continued from page 1) ston, Nathan Yamins and Ed Kuykendall, the committee on clearance and zoning and grievance boards, start work Friday on selections. After weeding out duplications, the list of 3,000 suggestions has been pared to 930. The committee will continue its work until it completes selections for each of the 32 zones and these will be presented to the Code Authority at its next meeting, Feb. 9. More recommendations are filtering in at the authority headquarters from far west points, but the final batch is expected before the selection group begins sifting the names. Rosenblatt is due back from Hollywood between Feb. 4 and Feb. 7 and will attend the next session. Headquarters will be ready for occupancy Feb. 13. The committee on rules for the authority will have its report ready at the next session, it was stated yesterday. Johnston, Schaefer and Felix Feist have been named to a committee on fire regulations for exchanges. Feist is on his way to the coast and will not back for six weeks. A committee of seven will be appointed today by R. H. Cochrane, who presided at yesterday's session, to investigate vaudeville protests. Naming of the five Code Authority members for the studio agency committee was deferred until Rosenblatt returns from the west. Nathan Yamins will be chairman of the Feb. 9 session. It was stated yesterday that if the board's committee completes its work sooner than anticipated, the next session will be held before the set date. Official figures of the authority show that up to yesterday there were 4,502 assents on hand, 60 of which were from distributors, including na_tional companies. Individual producers signing the forms totaled 29. Lowell Declination Approved by Graham Copies of a letter sent to Dr. A. Lawrence Lowell of Harvard, supporting his refusal of a post on the Code Authority, were mailed yesterday to President Roosevelt, Attorney General Homer S. Cummings, members of the Senate and House of Representatives, and other administration figures, by Arthur Butler Graham, attorney and author of the letter to Dr. Lowell. Graham's letter is an attack on the legality of block booking. It cites various court opinions holding the practice to be a violation of the antitrust _ laws when identified with monopolistic practices, and recites the history of Edward Quittner's antitrust action against Paramount and major distributors last spring. Graham was Quittner's attorney. His 10 Per Cent Ruling to Stay, States Rosenblatt Coughlin Short to RKO RKO has booked "The Fighting Priest," a short featuring Father Coughlin, for 11 metropolitan theatres. (Continued jrom page 1) entitled to 10 per cent eliminations after Dec. 7. "If the distributors want to bring suit, that is their privilege. But I haven't heard of any." Refusing further comment on the subject, Rosenblatt declared: "I don't see why I should have to add to a carefully prepared and formulated statement given out in Washington and approved when it was given out." The administrator declined to suggest a possible date when the local boards will begin operations, which is widely and eagerly awaited in the field. "That is up to the Code Authority," he explained. Rosenblatt would make no comment on Allied's test case against the NRA. He said all comments and answers would be filed by the Government, as the NRA has its own legal staff which works in conjunction with the attorney general. Rosenblatt professed complete ignorance of objections against the current NRA investigation of industry salaries and said he hadn't heard of the general opposition expressed by company executives here to the searching salary questionnaire. "Nothing like that has been called to my attention," he said. Asked if he would confer here with Will H. Hays, who arrived in Hollywood late last week, Rosenblatt indicated he had no prearranged plans to meet Hays. "But if he is here, I'll probably see him," he added. Rosenblatt expects to remain here about 10 days. changes has to do with a Kansas Supreme Court decision last year declaring film contracts stipulating minimum admissions illegal under the state anti-trust laws banning pricefixing. The distributors contend that under the code they are permitted to specify minimum admissions, since the code empowers the use of the Optional Standard License Agreement under which admission prices may be set. It is held that since the standard license agreement is part of the code and since the code is Federal law, under these conditions it would supersede the state laws of Kansas. Rosenblatt's answer was that there is nothing in the code itself which permits stipulation of minimum admissions in contracts, and since the question had not been raised formally, it will have to be submitted in accordance with code procedure. Rosenblatt Dodges Kansas Law Ruling Kansas City, Jan. 23. — Distributors here sought an informal ruling from Sol A. Rosenblatt, division administrator, at the Union Station here on an apparent conflict between the industry code and Kansas laws. Without ruling directly on the question, Rosenblatt's opinion was the matter would have to be submitted for a decision in the usual procedure. The problem disturbing local ex Authority Lists 26 For Secretary Jobs (Continued from page 1) yesterday by Code Authority. The names wrere from six exchange centers— Cleveland, Des Moines, Detroit, Los Angeles, Milwaukee and Omaha. They follow : Cleveland — A. G. Constant. Des Moines — R. M. Copeland, W. E. Banford, D. V. McLucas, Hale Cavanaugh, Tom Brown, A. J. Diebold, Grace Gannon. Detroit— C. R. Beethler, William London. Lew Wisper, Sam Brown. Fred DeLodder. Alex Schreiber, William Hurlbut, Sam Decker, W. S. McLaren. P. M. Sprott, Priscilla Ackerman, Louise Miller. Los Angeles — Harry C. Arthur, Sr., John Redmond. Milwaukee — Ben Koenig. Omaha— Will Singer, G. F. Nye, Rich ard Koch. Allied's Directors Meeting Here Today Directors of Allied States meet today at the Warwick to discuss problems in connection with the code. Attending will be Nathan Yamins, Sidney Samuelson, J. C. Ritter, Al Steffes, Abram F. Myers, Fred Herrington and H. M. Richey. Stranger Within Gates Disturbs Code Authority Producers Gather For Talks on Code (Continued from page 1) the former are holding a number o conferences during which Will H Hays is discussing code development since the President signed the docu ment. Producers have decided to await ai invitation from Rosenblatt for an; conferences he may desire, and wii appoint committees for this purpcs when he requests it. Rosenblatt had let it be known tha star raiding is one of the importar matters he intends to investigate, te cause of the general belief that it elimination will lower production cost: Sixteen producers, including Adolp Zukor and Harry M. Warner, at urging the naming of B. B. Kahan< Louis B. Mayer, Emanuel Cohen an Jack L. Warner to the agency corr.j mittee. The Academy has offered Roser blatt access to its files, but other tha this offer of cooperation the board governors will make no effort to coi tact him. Other groups are adoptin the same attitude. Rosenblatt spent today contactir studios and executives to get firs hand information on the code. E visited Fox, M-G-M, Roach, Colur bia, Radio and 20th Century and m Louis B. Mayer and Winfield She han. The balance of the studios w: be visited tomorrow. In addition 1 is holding night conferences at h hotel. Ralph Blum, attorney for tl agents, was one of his visitors la night and John Zanft was amor those who called on him this evenin Darryl Zanuck was cagey about di cussing the conferences other than hint at a secret investigation. (Continued f Farnsworh would substitute for Division Administrator Sol A. Rosenblatt, Executive Secretary John C. Flinn was under the impression that the newcomer was the government representative and let him in. After walking into the room, the unidentified man said he was a friend of R. H. Cochrane and then sat at the sidelines waiting for the members to be seated. When the meeting was called to order, the man went over to Cochrane, Charles L. O'Reilly, S. R. Kent, W. Ray Johnston, Nathan Yamins, George J. Schaefer and Ed rom page 1) Kuykendall and handed each a folded slip of paper. Opening the papers the seven men found them to be summonses issued in behalf of the Congress, Newark, N. J., suit against the Authority. The man turned out to be a deputy from the United States marshal's office. Flinn, having been served on Monday, was not served again. M. H. Aylesworth is in Florida and, likewise, was not given a summons. With Joseph Bernhard pinch hitting for H. M. Warner, J. Robert Rubin for N. M. Schenck, and Farnsworth for Rosenblatt, they were not served. Samuelson Attacks Kuykendall View "Independent exhibitors are amazec declared Sidney Samuelson, head Jersey Allied and vice-president Allied States, yesterday, "at Ed Ku kendall's activity as a propagandi Certainly his appointment to the Co Authority should have had a restrai ing influence upon his outbursts." Samuelson's statement was in ret to one from Kuykendall on Mondi in which the M.P.T.O.A. head charg Allied was misleading its members advising them to sign with resen tions. "By his continued intemperate, li j justified and unfounded attacks he h convicted himself in the eyes of inc pendent exhibitors," Samuelson's sta: ment went on, "as being unfit to sit j the Code Authority as a representati I of indeoendent exhibitors. Once a for all he should come out in his tr j colors and take his position with t j affiliated major producer-distribute I exhibitors above the line." To Determine Credits t Hollywood, Jan. 23. — The Wi ers' Guild has named a committee determine writers' demands in I way of screen credits. On it are S; Ornitz, Alice Duer Miller, Les Cohen, Winifred Dunn, Arthur Kol and John Fish Goodrich.