Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1934)

MOTION PICTURE DAILY Thurtday, March 29, 1934 Code Boards Set to Start In Key Spots (Continued from page 1) Galanty, Carter T. Barron, and Edmund H. Toland. On the clearance and zoning board are Rudolph Berger, chairman; Sam J. Flax, John J. Payette, William S. Wilder, of Norfolk, Va., who was unavoidably absent from the meeting; Lauritz Garman, of Baltimore; Sidney Lust, and Prof. Hector G. Spaulding. The second meeting — at which the chairmanships will change in accordance with the rules set down by the Code Authority— will be held on April 9 for the grievance board, and on April 10 for the clearance and zoning board. Buffalo, March 28— Buffalo zoning-clearance and grievance boards have organized for work. The zoning board will meet the first and third Mondays of each month; the grievance board the second and fourth Mondays, unless pressure of work requires additional meetings. The same secretary, whose appointment must be approved by Code Authority, will serve both boards. Headquarters of the two boards will be in the Film Exchange Building. Members of the boards will rotate as chairmen. Sidney Samson, Fox manager, and A. Charles Hayman, manager of the Lafayette theatre, as temporary chairmen of the grievance and zoning boards, respectively, called the initial joint organization meeting. New Orleans, March 28. — Members of the local grievance and clearance and zoning boards have held their joint meeting and are scheduled to meet again April 9. Recommendations for a secretary, bids for office space and supplies and taking the oath of office will be the order of business. Memphis, March 28. — First meeting of the Memphis code boards will be called jointly during the coming week. Tom Young, Fox exchange manager here, and Sidney Nutt, Hot Springs exhibitor, have been notified from New York to call the two boards into joint session as soon as possible. Young is acting for the grievance board and Nutt for the clearance and zoning board. Considerable rivalry has already developed over the post of secretary, with the two groups apparently pretty well divided between Mrs. Alma Walton, secretary of the M.P.T.O. of Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee, and Herb Caldwell, former sporting editor of The Commercial Appeal. Both have close friends on the boards. All members of the two boards have been formally notified at last of their appointments. Charlotte, March 28. — A joint meeting of the grievance and clearance and zoning boards for this territory is to be held within a few days. Drops Poll Plan Plans by the Roxy to hold a poil of the patronage for reaction on reviving "All Quiet on the Western Front" have been dropped. May Decide Today Size of N. Y. Board (Continued from page 1) thority are optimistic over the board setup of a dozen members, the probability is that the one of six will be sanctioned because of its adherence to the provisions of the code. Decision on the type of board for New York now rests with Campi. In some quarters it is felt a 12-member board will be okayed. Three or four members on the board of 12 are being contested. This may result in a heated right today. The questionable names are those of local independents, who will insist on representation, it is said. Division Administrator Sol A. Rosenblatt will definitely attend the Campi meeting and is expected to name additional impartial men. The clearance and zoning setup for Philadelphia, to be announced today, will have on it Robert Lynch, Harry Weiner, Leon Schlesinger, John Higgins, Herbert Elliott and M. Rogassiner unless a last-minute change results. , "Code First" Ruling Held Spreading Work (Continued from page 1) worked more than the 40-hour maximum week now prescribed by the code, it need not now receive the same pay for the shorter 40-hour week that it did formerly for a 50 or 60-hour week. Thus operators who received $1 per hour as a prevailing scale last August 23, but who worked 50 or 60 hours per week, receive $40 per week now for the 40-hour maximum week prescribed by the code. The surplus work is given to new employes without the exhibitor's payroll being increased thereby, it is said. Named for Film Congress Washington, March 28.— Appointment of the American delegates to the International Congress of Educational and Instructional Cinematography, which opens in Rome the week of April 19, was announced today by the State Department. The delegation will consist of Carl E. Milliken, secretary, M.P.P.D.A. ; Frederick L. Devereaux of Erpi ; Cline M. Koon of the Interior Department; W. W. Charters, Director of the Bureau of Educational Research, Ohio State University; C. F. Hoban, Pennsylvania Department of Public Instruction, and Paul B. Mann, head of the Biology Department of the Evander Childs High School. New York. Asks Legit Code Change Washington, March 28. — Reorganization of the legitimate theatre code authority was today asked of the NRA by the League of New York Theatres on the ground producers are hopelessly outvoted by the labor group on the authority. The hearing also took up the question of ticket scalping and other proposals for amendment of the code which have been submitted to the Administration. Morris Buys an Estate Sam E. Morris has purchased a waterfront estate at Larchmont, Westchester county. The property formerly was owned by Minna Mahlstedt. Morris, who is in charge of Warners' foreign distribution, is now in Europe with H. M. Warner. He recently recovered from a serious operation. Expect No Changes In Monogram Setup (Continued from page 1) Friedhoff, treasurer; Madeline White, secretary; John S. Harrington, assistant secretary. The board of directors is as follows : Johnston, Carr, Ritchey, Harry Thomas, New York; Irving Mandell, Chicago; Arthur W. Bromberg, Atlanta; Floyd St. John, San Francisco; Robert Withers, Kansas City; Ralph Poucher, Consolidated Film, New York; Jack Jossey, Cleveland; Herman Rifkin, Boston. At least 28 pictures will be on the 1934-35 schedule, 16 of which will be melodramas, four specials and eight westerns with John Wayne. Paul Malverne will produce the outdoor group for Lone Star Attractions. Deny Warner, Reade Seek Fox Met. Group Denying that Warners and Walter Reade have filed bids to take over the remnants of the Fox Metropolitan Playhouses, Warner Marshall, Jr., secretary of the committee representing holders of 6lA per cent convertible gold notes and per cent sinking fund gold debentures, declared yesterday Irving Trust, receiver for the circuit, had advised him no bids had been received : "The committee is about file with the Honorable Julian W. Mack, United States circuit judge, in the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York, a plan of reorganization for such action thereon as Judge Mack may direct," stated Marshall. "Until the plan has been filed and Judge Mack has given directions with respect thereto, no details thereof will be published, but for the purpose of correcting any erroneous impression which may have been caused by your statement in your issue of March 23, you are advised that the plan to be submitted to the court, contemplates the continuance of theatre operations under lease or otherwise by the present operators, Messrs. Skouras and Frisch and Rinzler. "We are advised that pending consummation of the plan and subject to the approval of the court, Irving Trust Co., will continue as receiver of the properties of Fox Metropolitan Playhouses, Inc." NRA Will Be Made Code-Enforcing Body Washington, March 28. — Nearing the end of its task of codifying the industries of the country, the NRA is being reorganized with a view to its transformation into a code-enforcing organization. Under a new setup worked out by Administrator Hugh S. Johnson, the administration of codes will be organized into three divisions, compliance, enforcement and code authority procedure. The legal division will be expanded in anticipation of numerous court cases. The change will be marked by the establishment of new policy boards for labor, trade practices and code authorities, the membership of which will include representatives of the labor, industrial and consumer advisory boards, the planning and research and legal divisions. These boards will deal with such problems as may arise under codes with a view to developing uniform policies for general application. Seidelmans Sail Southampton, March 28. — Joseph and Mrs. Seidelman sailed for New York today on the Berengaria. They arrive in the United States April 5. "C. A." Confers Monday With Review Board (Continued from page \) idea of calling only those men whose appearance is deemed necessary. As a result the hearing before the board tomorrow will be confined to the taking of additional testimony from complainants against the code, with a session, probably late next week, to interrogate Campi and the sales managers. Unconfirmed reports are circulating in Washington to the effect that before leaving for Florida yesterday President Roosevelt sent a letter to the board asking that it file all its reports by April 15. Members of the board who could be reached tonight expressed ignorance of any such communication, but pointed out that it would be impossible to do anything in such a short time, since some of the hearings are to be held throughout the latter part of April, and evinced doubt that the President would order any such hasty action. Members of Campi yesterday stated the reason for their request for an extension in going to Washington was because its meeting, also scheduled for today, "was of such vital importance a delay would be of great harm to all concerned." Several members of the board are not in New York and, Campi stated, it was impossible to get them all together to go to Washington for today's hearing because of the short notice. A letter sent by Samuel C. Henry, secretary of the National Recovery Review Board, to Code Authority was misdirected and caused delay in notifying members of the Washington hearing. Up to late last night Campi members had not been advised of the Monday meeting in Washington. Louis Blumenthal, Milton C. Weisman, Harry Brandt and Jack Shapiro were among those who left for Washington yesterday to attend today's hearing of the Review Board. They are expected to testify. Kuykendall Asserts Code Will Succeed (Continued from page 1) discussed the code and other industry problems before a group of about 50 exhibitors and exchange men. He predicted the code would work after it had been given a trial and said he believed the board members would render fair decisions. Morris Lowenstein, president, and other members of the M.P.T.O. of Oklahoma, which is not affiliated with the M.P.T.O. A., were among those present. In his talk Kuykendall took a strong stand against percentage deals, indecent pictures and radio competition. He also discussed the 10 per cent can-, cellation clause of the code, the labor j situation and score charges. He was! against the Patman bill, he said. He also stated that he believed all exhibitors and exchange men should read the trade papers. At the close ( of his talk he answered questions.