Motion Picture Daily (Oct-Dec 1934)

Monday, November 26, 1934 MOTION PICTURE DAILY Protection Selling Asked By Schaefer {Continued from page 1) and the flow from the first runs is not continuous, there will be a disastrous situation. "Because of the lack of revenue from the first runs, inferior product will result and the subsequent runs also will suffer. "The alternative to the curtailment of the revenue flow from the first runs is to have the subsequent run shoulder some of the expense in order to assure the continuance of the standard bf production quality which has made possible the industry's development. "The United States government or Campi do not intend to deprive the buyer of his legitimate buying power," Schaefer continued. "While the present system of basing clearance on admission prices may continue in practice until it throws things higher than a kite, Campi should not be expected to make it law. If continued, the present clearance system will produce pronounced abuses. "Clearance and protection must be identical in principle in all schedules. If Campi should give the Kansas City system the force of law, it would have to apply equally to all cities. The system is impractical, even illegal, and cannot be countenanced. "We realize we cannot obtain 100 per cent approval of exhibitors and distributors. The best we can hope for is a very large percentage of approval. If we can get that we will accomplish more than we have been able to accomplish for many years. If we can work this problem out, we will have something the Code Authority can approve for the protection of everyone's interests." For New K. C. Schedule George J. Schaefer, head of the clearance and zoning committee, and Edward Golden who were in Kansas City last week conferring with local interests on modification of the plan for Campi approval, reported favorably on the revised schedule at the Code Authority hearing last Thursday, it is understood. The modified plan, delayed when the airmail was forced down by bad weather, arrived at Campi headquarters Friday. It will be discussed at a special session tomorrow. Flinn in Hollywood To Patch Code Rift (Continued from page 1) local code problems. Compliance Director Sol A. Rsoenblatt and his assistant, Maurice Legendre, arrive here Wednesday. Upon his arrival today, Flinn immediately went into a huddle with J. R. Donovan, coast code secretary, preparing a resume of the recent rift between the 5-5-5 committee. Flinn will return to New York by plane Dec. 4. in time to prepare for the next Code Authority session on Dec. 6. New Columbia Dividend Columbia Pictures, Inc., has declared a regular quarterly dividend of 25 cents, payable Feb. 2 to stockholders of record Jan. 14. Kansas City's Price War May Set Back Clearance (Continued from page 1) pictures 28 days after prior runs and 35-cent houses 35 days after first runs has not been settled. Campi is also puzzled what to do with a house that runs vaudeville against all-picture policy competition. Whether inclusion of stage shows in programs will set back runs on pictures is another question to be decided. Code Authority is proceeding cautiously on the Kansas City plan. When approved, it will be the first schedule to be given such sanction and while it does not necessarily hold true that the provisions will be used as basic principles many factors will serve to help solve other clearance problems. It is highly likely that another general hearing will be called by Campi to go over all the clauses again before the K. C. schedule is finally adopted. No other schedule will be considered until Kansas City's plan is disposed of. If no agreement can be reached on this plan, the same would apply for others, it is held. A suggestion may be made to table the Kansas City schedule when it comes up for discussion tomorrow until the price war is settled. Campi, however, will have 20 appeals on individual complaints to dispose of and keep it busy tomorrow. California I. T.O. A. Bucks Operator Pay (Continued from page 1) the territory be complied with, the I. T. O. issued appeals for cooperation and funds to carry an appeal to Washington. Recently, several exhibitors were cited by the board for failing to comply with the new schedules, which closely parallel the unions' own scales and which, according to the I. T. O., many small houses are unable to pay. Garbo May Do Two For M-G-M This Year (Continued from page 1) Edington stated, prior to his departure, that Miss Garbo had not definitely decided whether she would return to her native country for a vacation. He said the star had several matters to clean up before she could go and if she did decide to vacation abroad, the trip would take her away from the studios for three months. Only 6.7% of Wired Canada Houses Dark (Continued from page 1) in 94. In the Midwest territory there are 120 theatres, of which 19 are not operating at present. The Maritime Provinces have 93 listed theatres and 11 are closed. Kohlmar Seeks Talent Hollywood, Nov. 25. — Fred Kohlmar, production assistant to Sam Goldwyn, is in New York where he will spend two months searching for new talent. College-Mystery Musical Hollywood, Nov. 25. — Paramount is planning a college-mystery musical, "Terror by Night." Joe Morrison, Jack Oakie and Helen Mack will head the cast. Move to Zone Eastern Penn. Territory On (Continued from page 1) to Code Authority as the recommendation of the independent exhibitors. The plan is in anticipation of the imminent drafting of a schedule by the Philadelphia clearance and zoning board. The I.E. P. A., alleging that independent exhibitors are not represented on the board, are on record as opposed to its schedule under the existing circumstances. On Nov. 21, Motion Picture Daily stated a general rezoning of the Philadelphia area was pending, certain territories already having been zoned. Modernism to Rule Theatres: Buchanan (Continued from page 1) the "merchandise appeal" angle as exemplified by modern treatment of the theatre front and foyer. "It is all very well to be a "conformist," " says Buchanan but you cannot get away from the fact that thousands of theatres on the Main streets of thousands of towns are practically starving in the same basket with the "butcher, baker and candle stick maker." "Theatres sell something so radically different from the ordinary lines of neighborhood merchants that it should be obvious that they should stand apart. There is plenty to be said for the fine tradition of architectural styles, but as a revenue producing unit I feel theatres must employ more modern methods of treatment. The theatre should be the brightest spot on the thoroughfare. This necessarily involves the use of many modern building materials of a colorful and distinctive character." Omaha Operators Raised Omaha, Nov. 25. — The three first run A. H. Blank houses here have signed an agreement with the operators' union calling for increases of $15 per booth for one year and an additional increase of $10 for the year following. For a four-man booth, twomen shifts working 42 hours, the circuit has been paying $275 per booth. This has been hiked to $290 for next year and to $300 the year following. Sheehan to Groom 5 Hollywood, Nov. 25. — Winfield Sheehan plans to groom five personalities on the Fox lot this season. The quintet are Siegfried Rumann, whose latest for the company is "Marie Galante" ; Alice Faye ; John Qualen of "Servants' Entrance"; Jane Darwell of "The White Parade" and Walter Woolf, who appears in "The Lottery Lover." Vaude Changes Call for Six to Hear Charges (Continued from page 1) to be in about three weeks, in Washington. Rosenblatt will approve the personnel of the committee recommended by Campi. This committee will function like the studio labor committee on the coast and will pass on all actor-labor complaints and grievances. The vaudeville group will relieve the local NRA compliance board of vaudeville problems as a result. Other amendments approved are : II. That Article IV, Part 2, Section 1 (a) of the code be amended by the deletion of "rep shows, tab shows, tent shows, wagon shows, truck shows, medicine shows, show boat or burlesque, as these terms are understood in the theatre." III. That Article IV, Part 2, Section 3 (a) of the code be amended to read as follows : "Rehearsal periods for pincipals shall be limited to two weeks. In the event that the rehearsal period extends more than two (2) weeks, the principals shall be paid half salary during' such extended period. This shall not apply, however, to principals owning their own acts." IV. That Article IV, Part 2, Section 4 (3) be modified to read as follows: "Minimum wage of performers employed on a 'per diem' basis and paid either directly or indirectly in any form of compensation, shall be $7.50 net per day for each theate in which they appear." V. That Article IVB, Part 2, Section 4 (b) (6) be added: "If layoff is required because of irregularity of bookings after first two (2) weeks of consecutive employment, a chorus person may be laid off without pay seven (7) days in any six (6) weeks' period. Such layoff may occur at any time after the first two weeks of consecutive employment. If additional layoff is required, the chorus person shall be paid for the period of such additional layoff at the rate of three ($3.00) dollars per day as long as the layoff continues." Want Transportation Paid VI. That Article IV-B, Part 2, Section 6 (b) shall be modified to read as follows: "If individual notice of contract termination is given by the employer the chorus person shall be paid in cash the amount of the cost of his or her transportation (including sleeper and the cost of transportation of his or her baggage) back to the point or origin whether the chorus returns immediately or not." Note: The above should be read in connection with the following proposed amendment : VII. That a new section to be known as Article IV-B, Part 2, Section 6 (c) be added as follows: "If individual notice of contract termination is given by the chorus person, the employer is not required to provide transportation or sleeper." VIII. The Vaudeville Committee recommends to the Code Authority that in certain classes of theatres an exemption from the provisions of Article IV, Section 4 (b) (working hours and layoff periods in resident presentation houses) be amended, giving the management the right of specifying one of two methods of rest periods from work with pay as follows: Plan (1). A chorus person shall be given one day off per week with pay as at present provided in the Code in this Article, or Plan (2). A chorus person shall be given one full week layoff with pay in every seven weeks of employment. Plan Number 2 also to contain the special provisions which were outlined in your committee's report with respect to pro rata days off if employment is less than seven weeks and also the specified number of hours of rehearsal the week of layoff, namely, 10 hours, which same hours of rehearsal shall not be required the week prior to the layoff. IX. That Article IV, Part 2, Section 4, last sentence, first paragraph, shall be amended to read: "No chorus person shall be required to report at a theatre before 9 o'clock in the morning except upon one day in each week, which shall be the day of the opening of a new weekly program, on which day such chorus person shall not be required to report at a theatre before 8 o'clock in the morning."