Motion Picture Daily (Apr-Jun 1934)

MOTION PICTURE DAILY Thursday, May 10, 1934 Independents Plan Fight to Protect Duals (Continued from page 1) several pages of photographs of theatre fronts showing the prevalence of duals and the methods used to advertise them was the opening gun in a campaign, it was stated. The monopoly angle, the Federation says, will center in the fact that the ending of duals would mean the elimination of 200 features and the production of only about 300 yearly. "If only 300 features are made a year," the Federation's statement goes on, "the cost of these pictures would be prohibitive and that in itself would cause the exhibitor to pay high film rental. The overhead required in the making of pictures when limited to only 300 features a year would be excessive and the cost would naturally have to be added to the picture." Clearance to Stand As Is in St, Louis (Continued from page 1) Saturdays and Mondays will be the regular meeting days hereafter. Omaha, May 9. — One complaint has been received by the grievance board. It has been filed by T. C. Shipley of the WJJM Radio Theatre, Clay Center, Neb. Shipley charges George Werner has been operating the Orpheum there with merchants' tickets which are in effect cut-rates. A new clearance schedule is in the ir. Buffalo, May 9. — First case handled by the Buffalo grievance board resulted in an order to Ben Bordinaro, Olean exhibitor, to cease and desist from issuing two-for-one tickets. The first case scheduled to be handled by the clearance and zoning board involves overbuying. A new schedule of meeting dates has been arranged. The grievance board will assemble henceforth on the first and third Mondays of each month. The clearance and zoning board will meet on the second and fourth Tuesdays. Cleveland, May 9.— The fifth grievance complaint to come up here will be considered next Monday. Frank Gross charges Sam Barck, Market Square Theatre operator, with maintaining a 10-cent bargain hour from 6:30 P. M. to 7:30 P. M. Requests for clearance changes are scheduled to come up tomorrow afternoon before the clearance and zoning board. Cincinnati, May 9. — Requests for clearance schedules based on admissions, double billing and added attractions are to come before the clearance and zoning board next Monday. More Pittsburgh Duals Pittsburgh, May 9. — The Warner, 2,000-seat house, charging 25c-40c, is going to duals on May 17. The East Liberty will stick to duals, but the other Warner first run site, the Stanley, will continue on a single feature basis. MPTO Hits at Dual Billing in St. Louis St. Louis, May 9. — The day of double features here has about passed. Members of the M.P.T.O. of St. Louis have gone on record in favor of elimination of duals provided they are assured of the full co-operation of the various first runs. It is understood the elimination plans are awaiting final consummation of the reorganization of the Ambassador, Grand Central and Missouri theatres. If control of those houses passes to the Snyder-Koplar interests and Fanchon & Marco takes over the management, it is believed they will favor a policy of single features in conjunction with shorts and news reels. Loew's State has always favored single programs. With F. & M. controlling the Fox and the St. Louis, which is scheduled to close tomorrow, it is possible that a new single feature deal will come very soon. The M.P.T.O. has also gone on record as favoring exhibitor representation on the committee in charge of the Municipal Auditorium and Community Center Building. The fact that the auditorium management has been able to book some films in competition with theatres has caused unfavorable reaction in exhibitor circles. The theatre owners feel the municipal project should confine its pictures to technical or educational subjects. Darrow Report Gets Departmental Study (Continued from page 1) House last week, together with the minority report written by John F. Sinclair, who resigned this week from the National Recovery Review Board, has been turned over to the attorney general, the Federal Trade Commission and the National Recovery Administration to be digested, it was learned today. At the White House it was said the President unwrapped the several hundred page report and then decided it was impossible to read it without putting everything else aside for a number of hours. The report, it was indicated, is so complex that it could not be briefed unless two or three persons were put to work on it. Rosenbaum Here on Cincu Code Problem Irwins Rosenbaum, impartial member of the Cincinnati grievance board, arrived in New York yesterday for conferences with Division Administrator Sol A. Rosenblatt, who comes from Washington tomorrow. Yesterday, Rosenbaum conferred briefly with Executive Secretary John C. Flinn. Skip Advisory Meeting Because no requests for changes in schedules were on file yesterday, the advisory committee for Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island did not meet. However, several protests are on tap for Monday when the advisory boards for New Jersey and Manhattan, Bronx, Westchester and Staten Island meet. Over 200 Reported Given Cancellation (Continued from page 1) throughout the country, it has been found that in several cases exhibitors who signed for only one theatre of a group they operate are sending in assessments for all houses. These checks are being held aside by Campi until it meets tomorrow to act on disposition of them. According to the code, non-assentors have to pay for the upkeep of the code if they seek any benefits, including the 10 per cent cancellation, but they cannot file grievances or complaints on clearance and zoning. Campi officials are confident the full quota of exhibitor assessments will be on hand before the 30-day period expires on May 20. Exhibitors who feel they are being taxed excessively can take complaints to grievance boards for adjustment. Ruling on Cut Rates Is Asked by Cullman (Continued from page 1) the New York grievance board "Article V, Division E, Part 3, Section 1" dealing with cut rate tickets. Cullman's letter states : "I do not believe the board is able to interpret intelligently the section described and I think it will be up to Washington to give them the appropriate and necessary ruling, viz : whether the giving out of cut-rate tickets for the placing of so-called advertising in windows is a violation of this section. "Personally I believe it is entirely a subterfuge, and if this is allowed, we might as well have a free-for-all in the industry and forget the code." Code Costs Are Hit By Gulf States Men New Orleans, May 9. — Code assessments as they apply to smaller houses were hotly criticized at a meeting of the Gulf States Theatre Owners' Ass'n. Protests are to be forwarded to Code Authority. Protests also were voiced against secret meetings of code boards. Members want the meetings open to recognized theatre owners and representatives of the press, with decisions open for inspection. Members were urged to contribute toward a fund for legislative expenses. attorneys Agree to Delay Rogowsky Case By agreement between Louis Nizer, defendant attorney, and Robert R Rosan, counsel for the plaintiff, the adjourned hearing of Rogowsky Brothers' overbuying charges against Skouras and seven major distributors, scheduled for today, has been postponed until next Tuesday. Nizer will be in Washington today on another case. The Rogowskys claim they have been unable to secure first run product of the defendant distributors for the Embassy, Port Chester. Krellberg on the Mend Sam Krellberer is recovering raoidly at the Polyclinic Hospital and expects to be out in two weeks. X-rays revealed he has a broken nose and a fractured shoulder. He was hit by a taxi Tuesday while crossing Eighth Ave. Hit Bishop's Film Attack; Held Not Fair (Continued from page 1) give its support to so-called "clean" films which it had been asked to endorse and that the picture public, a large percentage of which is Catholic, would not support "clean" films when shown in local theatres. Both exhibitors and film men were practically unanimous in saying that the attack of the church on films would unfairly deprive them of considerable revenue. One exchange man said : "We have several subjects that are clearly and unqualifiedly Catholic Church pictures. Various churches showing pictures in the city have refused to play these subjects. They have, likewise, refused to endorse them, so that they would 'draw' well if played in theatres. It is a wellknown fact, too, that when the socalled cleaner pictures have been shown in theatres they have proved first-class flops ' because the public would not support them — the public being to a large extent composed of Catholics." Another exchangeman said the attack of the church was entirely without justification. "Bishop Gallagher and his priests forget," he said, "that all pictures played in the city are twice censored before they are shown to the public — first by the National Board of Review and then by the local police censors. They cannot possibly be as immoral, degrading and corrupting as they are made to appear by this attack." While some exhibitors said their business had been slightly affected by the Catholic drive, most of them were of the opinion that it would not affect their business. Bishop Gallagher's appeal was read in all Catholic churches in the diocese last Sunday. Women Hit Crime Films Paris, May 9. — Denunciation of American crime films was made today at the annual conference here of the Federation of American Women's Clubs. A committee was named to urge Hollywood producers to send abroad films more representative of American life. No Action in Delaware Dover, May 9. — The Delaware Legislature has adjourned without taking action on either the censor or the tax bills aimed at films. Shapiro Will Go West William D. Shapiro, vice-president of Majestic and Boston franchise holder, is in New York for a few days and plans to make a trip to the coast shortly. Allied to Meet May 21 Allied of New Jersey will hold its next meeting May 21 and every other Monday thereafter at new headquarters in the Lincoln hotel. Jewish Guild Has Lunch The Jewish Theatrical Guild yesterday held a special luncheon at the Astor.