Motion Picture Daily (Oct-Dec 1934)

MOTION PICTURE DAILY Thursday, December 20, 1934 MOTION PICTURE DAILY (Registered U. S. Patent Office) Vol. 36 December 20, 1934 No. 145 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 Circle 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 Dearborn Street, Edwin S. Clifford, Manager; London Bureau: Remo House, 310 Regent St., London, W. 1, Bruce Allan, Representative. Cable address: "Quigpubco, London"; Berlin Bureau: Berlin Terapelhof , 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: 3, Kaplar-u, Budapest, II, Endre Hevesi, Representative; Moscow Bureau: Civtzev Vrazhek, N. 25, Apart. 146, Moscow, U. S. S. R., Bella Kashin, Representative. Cable address: "Samrod, Moscow." 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. Columbia Tops List Of B. O. "Champions Columbia heads the list of "BoxOffice Champions" for November compiled by Motion Picture Herald, out today, with two entries, "One Night of Love" and "Lady by Choice." The other champions are M-G-M's "The Merry Widow," Radio's "The Gay Divorcee," Fox's "The White Parade," United Artists' "Kid Millions" and Paramount's "Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch." Film Parties Planned Warners' New York exchange force will hold a Christmas party tomorrow afternoon. M-G-M's Pep Club holds its annual dinner and dance at the New Yorker Saturday. Pick "Man of Aran*' "Man of Aran," Gaumont British feature produced by Robert J. Flaherty, has been picked as the best picture of the year by the National Board of Review. 2 WEEKS ON BROADWAY WAR If A | racket; FOR BOOKINGS AND RIGHTS EUREKA PRODUCTIONS 723-7TH AVENUE, NEW YORK CITY New Fox Met Plan Selects Board of 5 (Continued from page 1) addition of other members in the future when deemed advisable. The completed plan differs in few respects from the original plan of reorganization for Fox Met developed by the committee last spring and first published in Motion Pictuee Daily May 22. The most important changes are those which have been made in the directorate and in the operating agreements with Skouras and Randforce, whose contracts are now cancellable after May 1, 1936, as reported in Motion Picture Daily of Nov. 28. The original board named only Kent, Hunt and Herbert P. Howell, president of the Commercial National Bank & Trust Co., who also were to comprise a voting trust for the common stock for a period of three years. In the completed plan, Howell is not on the board, while Peyser, King and Clark have been added. The voting trust has been abandoned. Terms of Revised Agreements The revised Skouras and Randforce operating agreements provide for operation of 44 New York, Long Island and New Jersey houses by Skouras and 36 Brooklyn houses by Randforce. Skouras Bros, will receive $75,000 per year and Samuel Rinzler and Louis Frisch, $44,200, total. If a satisfactory offer for the circuit, approved by two-thirds in amount of the bondholders, is received prior to May 1, 1936, and a sale consummated which vests operation of the circuit in new hands, then Skouras and Randforce are to receive 75 per cent of all net profits from Nov. 1, 1934, to May 1, 1936; 50 per cent of all undistributed net profits up to Nov. 1, 1934, and 25 per cent of all undistributed net profits from that date to May 1, 1936. If Fox Met is not sold by May 1, 1936, Skouras Bros, thereafter will receive total salaries of $52,000 per year, and Frisch and Rinzler total salaries of $39,780 per year. The Fox Film franchise held by Skouras and Randforce is to be assigned by them to the new Fox Met company after May 1, 1936, if a sale has not taken place. Thereafter, if a change of theatre management occurs which is not satisfactorv to Fox Film, the franchise is cancellable by that company. Fox Film will receive 10 per cent (27,000 shares) of the common stock of the new Fox Met company as a consideration for agreeing to the transfer of the film franchise to the new company of Skouras and Randforce. The issuance of this stock is also made a consideration in the settlement of Fox Film's claim of $288,691 against Fox Met. The settlement also provides for the payment of $25,000 in cash to Fox Film. The new Fox Met company will own 50 per cent of the outstanding stock of the two operating companies to be organized by Skouras and Randforce and the latter will own the remaining 50 per cent which will be subject to options held by the new company in the event of a sale of the circuit. The operators will also subscribe at par for $650,000 of debentures of the new company if no sale has occurred by May 1, 1936, and will pay for these within five years after that date out of dividend income from their stock interest. /. L. & S. in Court On Paramount Case (Continued from page 1) Sherman Act. A hearing was set for Dec. 26. The action was brought by McVickers Theatre, Inc., and if granted would make Paramount and Charles D. Hilles, Eugene W. Leake and Charles E. Richardson, trustees, defendants in the anti-trust suit to be brought in Federal court at Chicago against Balaban & Katz and major distribution companies. The action, according to Aaron Jones, Sr., head of Jones, Linick & Schaefer, will allege restraint of trade and inability to procure product for the McVickers. New Group Set to Start Milwaukee, Dec. 19. — Articles of incorporation of the Independent Theatre Protective Ass'n. of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan were approved today. The initial meeting will be here Jan. 3-4, when officers will be named. Majestic Closes Deal Majestic has just closed a deal with Celebrity Prod, for distribution of the second series of ComiColor cartoons in greater New York and New Jersey. Many on Big Board Drop High Low Close Columbia Pictures, vtc 38% 38% 38% Consolidated Film Industries 5% 4% 5 Consolidated Film Industries, pfd 19% 18% 19% Eastman Kodak Ill 109% 110% Eastman Kodak, pfd 140 140 140 Fox Film "A" 13% \ty% 13'A Loew's, Inc 35% 35% 35% Paramount Publix, cts 3% 3% 3% Pathe Exchange 1 1 1 Pathe Exchange "A" 14% 14% 14% RKO 2% 2% 2% Warner Bros 4% 4% 4% Warner Bros., pfd 21% 21 21% Net Change % + % + % +1 -2% % % % % + Vs % % % Sales 100 6,600 7,800 1,800 7,000 300 9,900 4,700 300 500 7,800 2,900 5,000 Technicolor Declines % on Curb Technicolor General Theatre Equipment 6s '40 9% General Theatre Equipment 6s '40, ctf Keith B. F. 6s '46 Loew's 6s '41, ww deb rights Paramount Broadway 5%s '51 Paramount F. L. 6s '47 Paramount Publix 554s '50 Pathe 7s '37, ww Warner Bros. 6s Net High Low Close Change Sales • 12% 12% 12% % 200 ? 1% Points Net High Low Close Change Sales . 9% 8% 8% % 32 . 8% 8 8 10 . 6754 67 67% + % 5 105 104% 104% — % 8 . 4454 44% 44% +1 1 . 63% 63% 63% —1 2 . 64% 63 63 —2% 8 100 100 100 +1% 18 41% 40% 40% % 4 60 59% 59% % 15 British Move to Tip Quota Picture Cost (Continued from page \) mons early in the new year. Opposition to the proposals is held unlikely. Caine's further allusions to loopholes and what he described as the damaging effect in the Dominions of films costing approximately a pounda-foot make it obvious that the intention is to force Americans to make or buy British films fit for exhibition in line with the policy consistently urged by the Federation of British Industries film group and recent representations of the Cinematograph Exhibitors' Ass'n. U. A. Sales Meet Is Set Here Saturday Three mid-season sales meetings will be held by United Artists within the next three weeks. The first takes place Saturday at the home office when branch managers from Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington, Buffalo, New Haven, Boston and New York meet with Al Lichtman and other executive personnel. This session may extend to Sunday. On Dec. 29, the second meeting will be held in Chicago and on Jan. 5, western sales heads will gather in San Francisco. Lichtman returned yesterday from New Orleans and Harry Gold and Charles Stern from Cincinnati. Trans-Lux Meeting Will Resume Friday Fight for control of the Trans-Lux Daylight Pictures Screen Corp. failed to terminate yesterday. Tellers were unable to count the proxies held by the two conflicting factions and the meeting was adjourned until Friday. It was revealed at the meeting by Percy N. Furber, president, however, that the company earned a net profit of $168,985 for the 10 months ended Oct. 31, sufficient to warrant another 10 cents dividend, bringing total payments for this year to 20 cents. In the full calendar year of 1933 the company's net was $114,926. Court Sets Date on Tri-Ergon's Action (Continued from page 1) Court's decision on the pending review in which to furnish Warners and Vitaphone a bill of particulars in connection with the complaint filed against those companies alleging infringement of the double print patents. The defendants will have 20 days threafter in which to file an answer to Tri-Ergon's bill of particulars, Judge Campbell directed. The Supreme Court hearing on a review of Tri-Ergon's litigation against Paramount is expected to be held the week of Jan. 14 with a decision probably being handed down a month later. Stanley Co. Loss Rises Stanley Co. of America reports a net loss, after depreciation, amortization and other charges, of $2,590,296 for the vear ending Aug. 25. Last vear the loss was $2,439,104. Hays to Talk with Breen Will Hays and Maurice McKenzie, his assistant, left for the coast yesterday to confer with Joseph I. Breen on rumors he might quit the Production Code Administration.