Motion Picture Daily (Apr-Jun 1934)

Wednesday, May 16, 1934 MOTION PICTURE DAILY 7 Non-Lightman Suburbans Drop Memphis Zone Fight Allied Sees Plot to Kill 10-15^ Spots (Continued from page 1) czar of the movies." Declaring the NRA was no assistance in elevating the tone of pictures, he blamed the heavy loss in theatre patronage on "dirty" product, promising a countrywide war on "sexy" films. He charged block booking with being the cause of Hollywood's dwindling number of producers and praised the M. P. Research Council for doing "a swell job." The state unit approved the "clean screen" resolution promulgated at the Chicago Allied meeting over the weekend and was addressed by speakers, including Nathan Yamins, head of New England Allied. "We are surveying the field to see how much revenue can be derived throughout the country for the production of pictures with a standard of decency the public wants," Samuelson said in an interview this afternoon. "If we get the right answer and prospects of enough return to cover the cost, we will go into production before the end of 1934. There will be no hookup with any producer now in the field. We will start fresh. If and when we start, financial backing will be ready to see us through." Capital Board Puts Ban on Free Passes (Continued from page 1) right to exhibition were declared unfair practices by the local grievance board in a decision yesterday upholding Max Cluster, operating the Cluster, in his complaint against Moe Kohn, operator of the Elite, both in Baltimore. The board ordered the practices discontinued. The next meeting of the grievance board will be on May 28. The clearance and zoning board meets on May 22. C. E. Williams Quits Omaha Zoning Board Omaha, May 15. — Charles E. Williams, veteran president of the M. P. T. O. in Nebraska and western Iowa, late yesterday resigned from the clearance and zoning board due to poor health. The board expects to begin a series of daily meetings to continue until the territory is zoned as soon as Williams' successor has been appointed. Agency Body in Parley Hollywood, May IS. — The agency code committee will meet tomorrow for its first actual work with the subcommittee appointed to establish a code of fair practice. Major Joseph R. O'Donovan has been appointed to an administrative and secretarial position with the committee. "NRA" Nights Stopped New Haven, May 15. — In its first decision the grievance' board ordered the Dreamland Theatre to stop its "NRA" nights on which women areadmitted free when accompanied by a man. The complaint was brought by the Pequot Theatre. (Continued was decided to draw up a formal complaint. It had hardly been filed when owners not affiliated with Lightman held a second meeting and decided to withdraw their names from the formal complaint. "We realize this gives unprecedented protection to first run circuit houses," said one exhibitor who refused to allow the use of his name, "but they deserve protection. The chief trouble of the single-theatre suburban exhibitor here has been his inability to compete with Lightman's buying power. He has had to wait not only on downtown theatres, but on all of Lightman's suburban houses before he has secured product. The new setup gives downtowns an added advantage, but at the same time makes it possible for subsequents to get the same break that Lightman gets. Admission price, not buying power, is the chief factor under the new setup. Eastern Secretaries In Parley With Flinn Code secretaries from 10 eastern cities were instructed in code affairs and duties in a routine meeting with Executive Secretary John C. Flinn at Code Authority headquarters yesterday. The meeting was a replica of others conducted with the field secretaries throughout the country by Flinn in recent weeks. Attending yesterday's session were Benjamin Strosberg, Albany; Olive Bursiel, Boston ; Jane Holloran, Buffalo ; Harry Lander, New Haven ; Emaline Fineberg, Pittsburgh ; Basil Zeigler, Philadelphia ; James B. Fitzgerald, Washington ; Florence Abramson, New York ; Love B. Harrell, Atlanta, and Mrs. Georgia Moffett, Cleveland. Subsequents in K. C. Act on New Clearance Kansas City, May 15. — Independent subsequents today took decisive measures to scrap objectionable portions of the new local clearance schedule promulgated by the clearance and zoning board last week. A scorching protest signed by 22 independents was adopted at a protest meeting yesterday. At a meeting this afternoon a committee was named to draft a schedule to be presented to the board incorporating the demanded changes. The committee consists of Stanley Schwartz, chairman ; William Parson, Mrs. A. Baier, W. D. Fulton and E. S. Young. rom page 1) We did not realize this until the complaint had been filed." This bears out Motion Picture Daily's original Memphis code story that the chief squabbles here would be Lightman and anti-Lightman. Directors of the M. P. T. O. of Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee today drafted zoning and protection plans which they consider fair and will present to the zoning and clearance board with the request they serve as a substitute for the arrangement recently announced. R. X. Williams of the Lyric, Oxford, Miss., was named secretary of the organization, succeeding Mrs. Alma Walton, who has resigned to become code secretary here. R. McDougall, Monticello Ark., and Charles Mensing of the local Orpheum have replaced respectively T. W. Sharp of Little Rock, Ark., and Roy Pierce, former Orpheum manager, on the local clearance and zoning board. Dime Scales Figure In Cleveland Cases Cleveland, May 15. — Dime admissions were ordered stopped in one case before the grievance board and decision was reserved for three days in another. Six cases have now been heard bv the board and none are on file. In the case where dime scales were ordered ended, Max Kaplan, Grand Central Theatre, charged Morris Israel, Erie, with violating the 15cent minimum provisions of his contracts. He admitted it. In the other case Frank Gross. Grand Amusement Co., against Sam Ba.rck, Market Square Theatre, Inc., Barck was accused of maintaining a 10-cent bargain hour from 6:30 to 7 :30 P. M. He claimed he played only independent product during this period. H. C. Bissell, Columbia branch manager, presided. C lears Extras' Complaints Hollywood, May 15. — All extras' complaints, numbering 50, have been disposed of by the extras' code committee, which is now engaged in deciding who shall be among the 1,500 permanent extras to be retained under code requirements. This list will not be ready for several weeks. Sutherland Returns Hollywood, May 15. — Edward Sutherland returned from Panama today fully recovered from a long illness. He will start work soon directing Joe Cook's picture for Fox. Pending Bills May Open Up New Financing (Continued from page 1) loans from their usual banking connections, which could rediscount the paper with the reserve banks. Under the RFC plan the corporation would be authorized to advance money on promissory notes, acceptances or other collateral until Jan. 31, next, to any established industrial or commercial business to enable it to obtain working capital, reduce or refinance its outstanding indebtedness, or make plant improvements or replacements. Under either method the loans might run for as long as five years. Dubinsky Row First To Arbitration in K.C. Kansas City, May 15. — This city's first arbitration under the code will be Ed Dubinsky's dispute with the local operators' union. Arbitration was agreed upon today. Dubinsky withdrew his demand that a Federal judge be the impartial third member of the arbitration board. The union accepted his suggestion that A. W. Dubirney, special assistant U. S. attorney general in charge of the NRA here, be the impartial member. The argument is over Dubinksy's demand for a reduction in manpower at his two local houses from seven to five operators. He wants the same consideration given other subsequents in the same price classification. Dubinsky denies the St. Louis Regional Labor Board ordered him to reinstate operators and stagehands at his St. Joseph theatres at salaries in force last November. He says the National Labor Board instructed the regional board to modify the original ruling ordering reinstatement of the I. A. T. S. E. men pending arbitration. He adds that the national board ruled he did not have to reemploy men adjudged guilty of violence. Score Charges Up to Theatre Men — Cooper (Continued from page 1) exchanges and companies in Canada to deal with and is not the direct concern of the M. P. Distributors of Canada was asserted here today by John A. Cooper, its president, following a meeting of the organization. He said that in the case of various Canadian companies all contracts have to be submitted to the home offices in New York for approval, a procedure which, he asserted, gives producers there final say in the elimination of score charges after July 1, as has been urged. It was added that each company would have to consider the demand as affectino its private business arrangements. The admission was made by Cooper that the distributor organization as well as exchanges were receiving manv communications from exhibitors on the subject. Meyer, Nolan Improving Hollywood, May 15. — Fred Meyer and John Nolan continue improving at the Cedars of Lebanon Hospital. Another Rental Protest Parley A second meeting between independents to discuss protest of high rentals and preferred playing time will be held at the M. P. Club Friday. The move is sponsored by the M.P.T.O. of Eastern Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey and Delaware. At the next session, exhibitors from as far west as the Mississippi are being invited. The first session, also held at the M. P. Club, included only eastern exhibitor leaders.