Motion Picture Daily (Oct-Dec 1934)

Saturday, November 24, 1934 MOTION PICTURE DAILY Actor-Writer Rift Goes Up To Code Heads {Continued from page 1) consented to come here and try to end the deadlock. Flinn, who has been kept advised on the local situation by J. R. Donovan, his coast representative, will precede Rosenblatt's visit by a few days. A general meeting of the entire five-five-five committees will be called by Rosenblatt sometime next week when the rules promulgated by the two committees and turned down by the producers will be up to the compliance head. Instead of calling a general meeting for voting on affiliation with the American Federation of Labor, the Actors' Guild is calling in small groups for voting. Thursday night 30 actors favored the association with the national labor organization. Rosenblatt to Rush West To Avert Code Breakdown Texas Allied Sends Protest to Capital Dallas, Nov. 23. — Resolutions protesting against the code in its present form were adopted by the Allied of Texas convention here and copies were forwarded to the President. As was expected, Col. H. A. Cole was re-elected as president. Other officers named were : Vicepresidents, Rubin Frels, Martha McSpadden, R. N. Smith, L. M. Threet and R. Z. Glass ; secretary-treasurer, A. W. Lilly; directors. Homer Mulkev, P. V. Williams, Thomas Donnell, F. W. Zimmerman, Howard Bland. Paul Scott, Leaman Marshall, Mart Cole, Walter Steppleman, I. B. Idelman, Will Dorbdandt and T. W. Lewis. Committees chosen were: Finance, Zimmerman, Bland and R. M. Smith ; nominations, J. W. Courtney, Marshall and Robert Cooper; resolutions, Ed Dorbdandt, Steppleman and Donnell. Overbuying Charged By Fox, Ashtabula Cleveland, Nov. 23 — I. D. Fox, operating the Harbor Theatre at Ashtabula, has lodged an overbuying complaint with the local grievance board against the Shea Chain, Inc., operating the Palace and Casto, same town. Fox charges that, since the opening of his house last August, he has been unable to purchase product for subsequent runs from any of the major distributors since contracts have already been signed for the Palace and Casto. Allied Owners Case Set Back to Dec. 3 A scheduled hearing of creditors on the Allied Owners plan of reorganization was adjourned to Dec. 3 by Special Master Oscar Lewis in Brooklyn yesterday to await a ruling from the U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals on the action of Manufacturers Trust Co., which is seeking the right to vote the Allied Owners debentures for which it is trustee. If the appeals court upholds the contentions of Manufacturers Trust, the latter would have one of the most powerful voices in acceptance or rejection of the plan. Other Allied Owners bondholders yesterday appeared to favor the proposed reorganization plan. The Alllied Owners claim of $23,000,000 against Paramount Publix has been settled and incorporated in Paramount's pending plan of reorganization and is a vital part of Allied's own plan. It provides for the issuance to Allied of new Paramount securities to satisfy $5,000,000 of the claim, the payment of $150,000 in cash, the purchase from Allied for $1,000,000 of the Alabama, at Birmingham, and long term leases by Paramount of the Brooklyn Paramount, and the Glens Falls, N. Y., and Fremont, O., Paramount theatres. Lewis set Nov. 30 as the final date for filing of objections to the Allied plan by creditors. Fill Three Board Spots Three replacements have been made on grievance boards in Cincinnati, Minneapolis and Kansas City by Campi. In Cincinnati Joseph Oulahan replaces George Smith, who is being transferred to Paramount's San Francisco branch. Smith is now in New York and leaves for the coast next week. Ralph Cramblett, who replaced Max Stahl as Minneapolis U. A. manager, also supplants him on the grievance board. Fred Wolfson, attorney, has been named to replace Dr. Paul Lux as impartial member of the Kansas Citv board. Para. B'way Stock Unchanged in Plan (Continued from page 1) mount Theatre after the first 10-year period shall be for a rental to be based on an appraisal of the property and for a term ending at the date of maturity of the new Broadway bonds, in 1955. As security for the new lease, the new Broadway company is to deposit six months' rent or its equivalent in bonds. Paramount Broadway is the holding cocmpany for the Paramount Bldg. and theatre. Para. Foreign Net In 3 Mos. $538,000 (Continued from page 1) half of 1934 were $3,474,000, and for the entire vear of 1933 they were $5,852,000. Third quarter earnings for the theatre and other companies are not yet available. Net operating earnings of these companies for the first six months of 1934 were $44,000, as compared with a deficit of $160,000 for the entire year of 1933. Standard OiVs Show Plan Hit by Warner (Continued from pane 1) with exhibitors under the code and urged that action be taken to stop the oil company from carrying out its project. The question of free admissions has been pending before the Recovery Administration in connection with radio broadcasts but has not before been raised with respect to a "legit" show. (Continued from page 1) will also be notified in order that they may confer with him if they desire. He will be accompanied by Assistant Deputy Administrator Maurice Legendre. Hollywood, Nov. 23. — Fourteen demands are made by screen actors in the final draft of their code of fair practice submitted to producers. All have been unanimously accepted by the actor members of the five-five committee, while the producer representatives have voted every one of them down. Among the 14 points are a new form of standard contract for day players, a basic eight-hour day with a 15-hour rest period, one hour added for every hour worked overtime ; abolition of the call bureau, curtailment of layoffs to one week for 40-week contract players, instead of single days through the year. Writers have not yet proposed the final draft of their code to the producers. Since their demands are understood to be somewhat similar to those of the acting profession, it is believed they will have some trouble requesting Washington intercession before presenting the final draft to the producers, which is scheduled for next week. Kansas City Rulings Beclouded by Appeal Kansas City, Nov. 23. — The validity of a number of grievance decisions involving clearance is beclouded by a Campi ruling that the code machinery cannot adjudicate infractions of any schedule which has not received Campi's approval. The ruling was given on an appeal by E. S. Young. Roanoke Theatre, charging Universal had furnished a picture a day head of schedule to the Mokan. The local board dismissed the action when the theatre, also a respondent, assumed full blame for the violation, absolving the exchange. This was the first case of its kind filed here against a distributor. Hearing Likely for Vaude Code Changes (Continued from page 1) confer with Farnsvvorth, it is believed he will set a date for the hearing before he leaves for Hollywood on Tuesday. It has long been expected in the industry that a hearing would be required. Broadway Sees Rosy Holiday WeekLooming (Continued from page 1) impracticable. "Imitation of Life" may hold three weeks. The Paramount is hopeful of getting around $55,000 on "College Rhythm." Two weeks are certain and a third is likely if the gross holds up on the second stanza. "Lady by Choice" at the Palace fared badly with $11,000. The picture, coupled with "Peck's Bad Boy" goes into RKO neighborhood houses starting Tuesday. The Strand, with "The Firebird," grossed $10,150 and was replaced with "Gentlemen Are Born." In Brooklyn, Loew's Metropolitan was the only house to cheer about its business. With Eddie Cantor on the stage and "Trans-Atlantic Merry-GoRound" on the screen, the house went about 75 per cent over average with a tally of $35,000. The Fox with "There's Always Tomorrow" hit about $13,000, while the Paramount with "St. Louis Kid" got $15,000. The Strand with a dual bill, "I'll Fix It" and "Six-Day Bike Rider," hit a weak $9,000. Campi on Monday will officially announce the amendments, nine in all, as adopted at the last Campi session. Film Code Is Praised At a meeting of all Code Authorities held Thursday, one of the speakers stated that the film code was the most efficiently operated of the 485 in effect. John C. Flinn attended. Campi Arranges Audit Price, Waterhouse & Co. has been engaged by Campi to make a second audit of expenses, this time for the period from July 1 to Dec. 31, 1934. Monopoly in Fore In Doubles Action (Continued from page 1) fendants, climaxed a long series of objections to the testimony of witnesses for the plaintiff by announcing to the court a blanket objection to the proceedings as a whole, indicating a prompt appeal would be taken if the case went to Perelman. Among those at the hearing today were Stanley Friedman and I. Levenson of the Warner home office legal department. Testimony will be resumed Monday, although Judge Walsh yesterday said he did not expect the hearing would cover more than two days. Rockefellers Get 3 On Music Hall Board (Continued from page 1) Music Hall ; Francis T. Christie, a Rockefeller attorney and executive vice-president of Rockefeller Center, and Webster B. Todd of Todd & Robertson, who is a member of the board of managers of Rockefeller Center and a vice-president of the new company. RCA and Rockefeller Center each have a 50 per cent stock interest in the new Music Hall company. Officers of the new company in addition to Van Schmus and Todd include three representatives of the management. They are Leon Leonidoff, Music Hall stage show producer, who becomes a vice-president : G. S. Eyssell, assistant to Van Schmus, who becomes secretary, and Russell V. Downing, former comptroller, who becomes treasurer. RKO Sets Publix-Wilby RKO has just sold its 1934-35 product, features and shorts, to the PublixWilby circuit of southern theatres. Cresson E. Smith, Herbert Maclntyre and Hubert Lyons handled the deal for RKO.