Motion Picture Daily (Apr-Jun 1934)

MOTION PICTURE DAILY Tuesday, May I, 1934 MOTION PICTURE DAILY (Registered U. S. Patent Office) Vol. 35 May 1, 1934 No. 101 Martin Quigley Editor-in-Chief and Publisher MAURICE KANN Editor JAMES A. CRON A dvertising Manager Grosses Fall, But Seven Features Continue Strong (Continued from page 1) Published daily except Sunday and holidays by Motion Picture Daily, Inc., subsidiary of Quigley Publications, Inc., Martin Quigley, President; Colvm Brown, Vice-President and Treasurer. Publication Office: 1790 Broadway, New York. Telephone CIcle 7-3100. Cable address "Quigpubco, New York." All contents copyrighted 1934 by Motion Picture Daily, Inc. Address all correspondence to the New York Office. Other Quigley publications: MOTION PICTURE HERALD, BETTER THEATRES, THE MOTION PICTURE ALMANAC and THE CHICAGOAN. Hollywood Bureau: Postal Union Life Building, Vine and Yucca Streets, Victor M. Shapiro, Manager; Chicago Bureau; 407 South Dearborn Street, Edwin S. Clifford, manager; London Bureau: Remo House, 310 Regent St., London, W. 1, Bruce Allan, Representative; Berlin Bureau: Berlin Terapelhof , Kaiserin-Augustastrasse 28, Joachim K. Rutenberg, Representative; Paris Bureau: 19, Rue de la Cour-desNoues, Pierre Autre, Representative; Rome Bureau: Viale Gorizia, Vittorio Malpassuti, Representative; Sydney Bureau: 102 Sussex Street, Cliff Holt, Representative; Mexico City Bureau: Apartado 269, James Lockhart, Representative; Glasgow Bureau: 86 Dundrennan Road, G. Holmes, Representative; Budapest Bureau: 11 Olaaz Fasor 17, Endre Hevesi, Representative. Entered as second class matter January 4, 1926 at the Post Office at New York City, N. Y., under Act of March 3, 1879. Subscription rates per year: $6 in the Americas, except Canada $15 and foreign $12. Single copies: 10 cents. Baer May Do Two More Max Baer returned from the coast yesterday and may make two more features following his fight with Carnera on June 14. Negotiations on the film deal are under way and are con tingent on the outcome of the fight in the Garden Bowl. Reopen Vitaphone May 7 Warners will reopen the Vitaphone studio in Brooklyn May 7 with Ben Blue, who has just returned from abroad, scheduled to make ^ the first comedy on the new season's lineup. Blue will do six in a second series for the company. Knorr on Voyage Abroad Arthur Knorr, producer of the stage shows for the Capitol, is on the high seas bound for a month's vacation in London, Paris and Monte Carlo. He's on the Paris. the St. Francis and "Catherine the Great" had a big $10,000 at the United Artists. "Men in White" was a wow at the Warfield, reaching $23,000, up by $4,000. It was helped by a stage show. "Glamour," "Keep 'em Rolling" and a dual, "Crime of Helen Stanley" and "City Limits," were only fair. "Bottoms Up" and "As the Earth Turns" pulled a par $12,000 at the Paramount. Chicago went into a slump, with "Tarzan and His Mate" the only better-than-normal attraction at McVickers. The take was $15,000, up by $2,000. Even with a stage show, "We're Not Dressing" failed to reach the Chicago average with $34,000. The other weak ones were : "Looking for Trouble," "Wharf Angel," "Glamour," "Spitfire" and "Men in White." Three Hits in Detroit Detroit had three hits, with "Wild Cargo" topping the trio at $24,300 in the Fox, helped by a stage show. "Melody in Spring" was strong at the Michigan with $21,300 and "Men in White" piled up $12,200 at United Artists. Spring and the competition hit "All Men are Enemies" at the Downtown, "You're Telling Me" at the Fisher and a dual, "One Is Guilty" and "Lazy River," at the State Pittsburgh went into the throes of a slump, with only two spots beatin; par and a third equalling it. The draws were "The Quitter," $7,400 at the Pitt and "Let's Be Ritzy" with "Madame Spy" at the Regent. "Wild Cargo" was normal with $9,000 at the Stan ley. Those taking it on the chin were : "Coming Out Party," $2,300, Fulton; "The Trumpet Blows," $17,500, Penn. and "A Very Honorable Guy," $3,900 at the Warner. A combination of "Mystery of Mr, X" and Dave Apollon and his revue took the only bis money in Indianapolis, $9,000 at the Palace. This was 100 ner cent over average. "I'll Tell the World" was $1,000 up at $7,000 in the Lyric. "Wild Cargo" had a par $3,500 at the Circle. "Wharf Angel" took $2,500, fair, at the Indiana. Chas. Rosenzweig Back Charles Rosenzweig, general sales manager for First Division, has returned from a short tour of the company's exchanges. Rohbins in from Coast Herman Robbins, president of National Screen Service, is back from a visit to the coast. The Private Life of Henry VIII" was an outstanding Minneapolis hit in the 400-seat World at $4,000. This is double the normal take. St. Paul had a similar sensation, "Catherine the Great," which grabbed $3,000 in the 300-seat World on the other side of the river. The other hits were: "The Cat and the Fiddle," $6,000 at the Minneapolis State, and "The Lost Patrol," $4,500 at the RKO Orpheum. "Jimmy, the Gent," "Tarzan and His Mate" and "I Like It that Way" were just average. Dual bills failed to stir up much box-office activity in Omaha, the only combination bettering normal being "Melody in Spring" and "Upperworld" at the Orpheum, with $7,000. The average combinations were : "Nana" and "The Show Off," $6,750, Paramount, and "This Man Is Mine" and "The Ninth Guest," $4,250, Brandeis. Oklahoma City Slips Oklahoma City slipped back into the doldrums with only one strong attraction, "Let's Fall in Love," which reached $2,500, a normal week's draw, in four days at the Liberty. The others, all pretty weak, were: "Madame Spy," $900 in three days at the Liberty; "Melody in Spring," $3,000 at the Mid-West, and "Tarzan and His Mate," $4,000 at the Criterion. High gross in Seattle went to "Men in White" at the Fifth Avenue, where the $8,500 take was $1,500 up. The weak links were : "Keep 'em Roll ing" and "Upperworld," $3,000, Blue Mouse; "It Happened One Night," $2,750, Liberty; "This Man Is Mine $3,500. Music Box, and "Death Takes a Holiday," $5,500, Paramount. "Bottoms Up" was a smash-hit at Warners' Hippodrome, Cleveland, go ing $4,000 over normal to $9,000. "Catherine the Great" also was strong, getting $3,700 at the Allen. "Mystery of Mr. X" and "Thunder Over Mex ico" were good with $4,200 at Loew's Stillman. "Palooka," with a stage show at the RKO Palace, and "Tar zan and His Mate" at Loew's State were both disappointing. U. A. Program Seems Headed For About 20 Penner to Be at Ampa Joe Penner will be guest of honor at the Ampa Thursday. The meeting will be held at the M. P. Club. Budd Rogers Returns Budd Rogers of Liberty has returned from Pittsburgh and Cleveland. Eastmans Lead Big Board Slump Net... High Low Close Change Columbia Pictures, vtc 2S5/& 28% 28% — % Consolidated Film Industries, pfd 15% 15% — % Eastman Kodak 94'/2 93 93 —2 Eastman Kodak, pfd 134 134 134 —2 Box Film "A" 16% 15% 15%, — % Loew's. Inc 32% 31% 3154 — % Loew's. Inc., pfd 95 95 95 — % Paramount, cts 4% 4% 4% — % Pathe Exchange 27/* 2S/e 2% — % Pathe Exchange "A" 21% 20y2 21 RKO . . . : 3% 3 3 — % Warner Bros 7% 654 654 — % Trans Lux Up on Curb Net Hieh Low Close Change Sentry Safety Control % % Technicolor 9% 9 9 — % Trans Lux 2J4 2%, 2% + 54 Warner Bonds Off Two Points Net Hteh Low Close Change General Theatre Equipment 6s '40 11% 1054 10M — V2 General Theatre Equipment 6s '40, ctf 10% 95i 9%. —1 Keith B. F. 6s '46 70% 70% 70% + % Loew's 6s '41. ww deb rights 102 101 101 "aramount Broadway 5%s '51 35 35 35 — 54 Paramount F. L. 6s, '47 50% 49 503% + 54 Paramount Publix 5%s '50 49 48% 48% — 54 Warner Bros. 6s '39, wd 64% 6154 652 —2 Sales 900 1,300 1,400 2,000 4.200 10.000 100 12,200 1, 2.900 2, 9,300 Sales 200 2,300 300 'Sales 42 40 (Continued from page 1) able for Ronald Colman. Fredric March and Constance Bennett and is contemplating starring combinations of various kinds, including Colman and March in one picture. It all depends on story material. Definite, however, is a reduction in numbers of pictures for the new season. Samuel Goldwyn will make four. One will be "Resurrection" with Anna Sten and March. A second will be the usual annual Eddie Cantor musical and a third will be "Barbary Coast," originally planned for Gloria Swanson with Miss Sten the replacement now. Edward Small and Reliance now are figured for three. London Film, headed by Alexander Korda, are regarded as a source of three more. i Purely Personal ► CC. PETTIJOHN, Herman Rob• bins, Morton Van Praag, Budd Rogers, Charles Rosenzweig, Robert Wolff, Joe Vergesslich, Jacob Schechter, Col. E. A. Schiller, Leo Brechter, Si Seadler, Louis Nizer, Jack Steinman, Charles L. O'Reilly, Gus Edwards, Ben Sherman, Eugene Picker, Mort Spring, Dave Blum, Harry Shiffman, Emil Jensen, Irving Wormser, Edward Schnitzer, Max Cohen, M. J. Kandel, Laurence Bolognino and a host of others at the M.P. Club yesterday for lunch. Dave Palfreyman returned yesterday from four weeks of bookings at exhibitor conventions, which included two weeks at Los Angeles, one at San Francisco and a few days each at Salt Lake City, Denver and Cleveland. Dashiel Hammet, author; Sam Sidman, character actor, and Tom McNamara, comic strip artist, will be guests of the Cheese Club today. CarlLesserman, assistant to Gradwell Sears at Warners, is recuperating at the New Rochelle Hospital following a minor operation performed Sunday night. Al Dezel of Road Show Pictures has acquired the rights to "Guilty Parents" for Wisconsin, Upper Michigan, Minnesota and the Dakotas. Zelda Sears, on leave from M-GM, will reach New York Thursday on her way to Europe for an eightweek rest. Sam Eckman, in charge of M-G-M activities in Great Britain, arrives today on the lie de France. Louis Gasnier, French director, and Bob Newman are among those arriving today on the lie de France. Edwin Burke. Fox writer, is due in New York today for a month's vacation. George Burns and Gracie Allen arrive in town today from the Coast.