Motion Picture Daily (Apr-Jun 1934)

MOTION PICTURE DAILY Wednesday, May 16, 1934 MOTION PICTURE DAILY (Registered U. S. Patent Office) Vol. 35 May 16, 1934 No. 114 Martin Quigley Editor-in-Chief and Publisher MAURICE KANN Editor JAMES A. CRON Advertising Manager Published daily except Sunday and holidays by Motion Picture Daily, Inc., subsidiary of Quigley Publications, Inc., Martin Quigley, President; Colvin 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 l^earborn Street, Edwin S. Clifford, manager; London Bureau: Remo House, 310 Regent St., London, W. 1, Bruce Allan, Representative; Berlin Bureau: Berlin Tempelhof , 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. Usievitch Recovering M. Usievitch, head of Soyuzkinoexport, the combined Soviet film industries, who is here to discuss deals for an interchange of American and Russian films, retired to a midtown hotel on his arrival aboard the Euro pa to recuperate from the after effects of seasickness. "Mr. Usievitch will not be available for interviews for a few days," the Amkino office replied to inquiries yesterday. Publicity Staffs Shift Changes in publicity personnel of Fox, Paramount and United Artists have Morris Halpern of Fox switching to United Artists, succeeding Bernard Simon. Charles Wagner of the Mirror joins Fox in Halpern's post. Jeanette Sauer has replaced C. N. O'Dell at Fox. O'Dell has joined the Paramount studio publicity department on Long Island. NV.A Fund Awaits Check The total receipts of the NVA Drive, held last week throughout the country, will not be available for another week, according to the office of the treasurer of the drive. The west coast and southern returns are expected to be in by then. Consolidated Dividend A 50-cent dividend on the preferred stock of Consolidated Film Industries, payable July 2 to holders of record June 8, was voted yesterday. Insiders' Outlook Waite on Exchange Tour Stanley Waite of Paramount is on a two-week tour of exchanges in the south. Hollywood VER on Gower Street where is housed the Columbia plant and around the luncheon table one day recently developed a discussion on double features, although there is nothing unusual in that. The question continues to intrigue Hollywood, which has ideas, some strange, on what should be done and how to do it. . . . ▼ Geared up high now as a result of the smashing success of "It Happened One Night," the Columbia bunch deplored the circumstance which combines its big baby with features of admittedly inferior grade. It happened elsewhere and on plenty of nights with other important pictures from other important studios, but that's the other studios' worry. Spoke Frank Capra, the capable director whose record as a picture-maker is recognized and hailed far and wide here by friends, of course, but what's more to the point, by competitors as well. . . . T He thinks the smaller theatres ought to recognize progress and make way for the larger houses. Granting that were true, we attempt to point out the smaller houses won't view it that way at all ; that they have as much right to their business existence as the de luxe first runs. We get over our point without difficulty, which is strange for us. Capra has an idea the more representative houses might veer away from doubles and toward singles, but we tell him what's been happening at producer-owned or affiliated theatres everywhere to disprove his observation. . . . T Having argued it back and forth with Bobby North, Felix Young, Jack Holt, Sam Jaffe, Hubert Voight and Vic Shapiro dipping oars in and out, the argument on doubles remains where everyone has left it, which is nowhere. "Good pictures have no trouble at the box-office," says Capra, who has made them and so is qualified to speak his mind. "The main trouble today is mass production of mediocrity. Studios should cut down on their cheap pictures or 'cheaters' and theatres should abolish block booking, which enables producers to put out 'cheaters.' " . '. . T Capra is being told now that, if some exhibitors had their say, block booking would go. Others — many others, too lazy, too indifferent and, by lucky breaks, too confident that their luck will continue — would oppose any such idea if they had their say. Sales managers and sales organizations, well-oiled and well-experienced under the block selling plan, won't agree with Capra and will put down what he says as another Hollywood man talking — through his hat. "I am for unit production of fine pictures," continues Capra. "One year's output of quality would do away with censorship and all kindred ills that our business is heir to." The final quotation may leave the result it argues for in some doubt, but on the former there remains little doubt but that the way to make them is in units and not in mass formation. . . . T Not all of interest is to be found in the modest studio dining room, however. Harry Cohn's office with its generous windows overlooking the patio, the patio's tinkling fountain and the writers' building beyond is Eastman Leads Rise on Big Board Net High Low Close Change Columbia Pictures, vtc 27 27 27 +15* Consolidated Film Industries 354 354 354 + 54 Consolidated Film Industries, pfd 1554 1554 1554 + A Eastman Kodak 93J* 90 935* +27/s Eastman Kodak, pfd 135 135 135 Fox Film "A" 15 14 1454 — A Loew's, Inc 3054 2954 305* + 54 Paramount, cts 45* 45* 454 + A Pa the Exchange 254 256 254 + 54 Pathe Exchange "A" 2054 1854 19J^ + Vs RKO 3 2V% 2% + J* Warner Bros 554 55* 55* + 5* Technicolor Up % on Curb Net High Low Close Change Technicolor 854 854 854 + 5* TransLux VA \% VA Paramount Publix Bonds Up 1% Net High Low Close Change General Theatre Equipment 6s '40 8% &A &Ve + >/8 . Keith B. F. 6s '46 68 68 68 Lcew's 6s '41, ww deb rights 10054 10054 10054 + 54 Paramount Broadway 554s '51 4454 4454 4454 +1 Paramount F. L. 6s '47 47 47 47 Paramount Publix 554s '50 49 49 49 +1% Warner Bros. 6s '39, wd 575* 5554 57 +254 Sales 100 100 400 300 10 1,000 4,200 2,900 2,200 6,300 700 4,300 'Sales 100 100 Sales 1 2 7 1 3 IS 67 something. Harry has, beyond all question, the most complete desk in Hollywood, which means elsewhere as well. It has a battery of phones, but that's not unusual. It has compartments that swing out from all corners ; they are apt to floor the innocent bystander if he doesn't watch out. One contains scripts. Another the requisites for hard liquor. A third, a hidden phone. A fourth, books. Piped for practically everything, only hot and cold running water are among the missing. . . . T When Harry wants to confer with the writers, time is saved by yelling across the office to patio to writers' building, but not before the fountain and its gurgling are turned quiet long enough for the message to get through. On his desk is a curious metal arrangement, and nearby, buttons. Cohn may, by going through the proper button pushings, learn what's happening on any and all sets. He can even hear a director or a lead swear at him. He can even press more buttons and yell back. . . . T This is the office where much Columbia business goes on. This is the office where supervisors and key men on the lot meet every Thursday night to wrangle back and forth on how this or that might best be handled. Here is the scene where the boys match Cohn's lung power, his arguments and his desk-pounding. They treat him as they would each other, arguing for what they hold best for the company and not for Cohn, although that to a large extent is one and the same thing. Harry is president of Columbia. Make no mistake about it, he's president only six nights a week. Never on Thursday KANN Find Erlanger Deficit A deficit of $552,270.48 in the Abraham L. Erlanger estate is indicated in a report of Referee Philip J. Dunn approved by Surrogate James A. Delehanty. The claims against the estate total $1,857,647.77 and the as sets are $1,305,377.29, including $124.50 cash on hand. F. & M. Seek the Fox Fanchon & Marco have made the receivers of Fox, Brooklyn, an offer to lease the house starting from Sept. 1. Sydney Cohen has been operating the house for the bondholders, who will have to approve the F. & M. deal before it can materialize. Mascot Sets Coast Deal Mascot Pictures Corp. has closed a deal for its entire list with the Mel Hulling and Sam Berkowitz exchanges for Los Angeles and San Francisco. Para. Signs Joe Penner* Joe Penner, radio comedian, has been signed by Paramount for a role in "The Big Broadcast of 1934."