Motion Picture Daily (Oct-Dec 1934)

The Leading Motior Picture Industry MOTION PICTURE DAILY Alert, Intelligent the In in All Branches VOL. 36. NO. 149 NEW YORK, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 1934 TEN CENTS MPTOA Urges Need of Code Overhauling Bulletin to Membership Points Out Faults The necessity of entirely revising he code when and if Congress enacts lew NRA legislation next June is uggested as a possibility in a curent bulletin issued by M. P. T. O. A. p exhibitor members on Monday. Reviewing the year of operation of he code, the bulletin states that "perlaps it will be necessary to revise the vhole motion picture code, simplify .nd clarify its provisions in the light •f experience, remove the dead wood nd take out the jokers, put in the mportant unfair trade practices •mitted at present, place more reponsibility and authority on the local ■cards, provide for fewer appeals to (Continued on page 9) Seek Missouri Aid For Enforcing NRA Kansas City, Dec. 25. — Incorporaion of NRA provisions in the Misouri laws is urged by the Greater lansas City NRA. Code Council, a •ewly formed group consisting of reptsentatives of code boards. Fred J. Wolfson, attorney and imartial member of the grievance board, (Continued on pane 9) Miller Wins Ruling In May wood Dispute Chicago, Dec. 25. — Jack Miller, ead of the Chicago Exhibitors' Ass'n. nd a partner in the theatre firm of imansky & Miller, won a break for is house from the local clearance and Dning board. The Miller house comlaint involved a protest filed by K. I. K. Theatres in the matter of a (Continued on page 9) Irandt and Warners End Clearance Row After raising considerable fuss over previous unexpected postponement ' his case, Harry Brandt amicably ttled his clearance protest against (Continued on page 9) National Stand Up To Wisconsin Group Milwaukee, Dec. 25. — One of the atters to be considered by the new dependent Theatres Protective (Continued on page 9) Must Lower Negative Costs, Says Zukor; Feist Confident By FELIX F. FEIST Gen'l Sales M'g'r, M-G-M The material betterment in economic conditions throughout the world, the steadily improving volume of domestic trade, the decidedly more optimistic and confident attitude in industry and commerce and especially the healthy and substantial progress in restoration of public confidence promise an accelerated pick-up in general business during the coming year. These important external factors, seems to me, give assurance of con (Continucd on page 12) By ADOLPH ZUKOR President, Paramount Publix The most important matter facing the industry in 1935 is not that of increasing grosses, but rather of lowering negative costs. During the past year negative costs have climbed at a rate of speed out of all proportion to any parallel increase in grosses, thereby reducing the margin of possible profit and seriously jeopardizing the future of the industry. Unless the studios can decrease negative costs without affecting the (Continued on page 12) Jack L. Warner, Arthur A. Lee, Herbert J. Yates, Harry Thomas and Carl Laemmle, Jr., expound their ideas on 1935 on page 12. Near Solution Of Basic Wage For Operators Solution to the problem of setting up a basic wage scale for New York neared Monday as I. A. T. S. E., circuit and independent heads met for the third time in succession to iron out the union situation. A fourth session is scheduled for today at Campi headquarters. Confronted with a mass of figures presented by the international union, exhibitor leaders spent the major part of Saturday and Sunday arguing back and forth trying to strike a yardstick for setting up the scale. Opposition has arisen to the plan to set booth scales according to seating capacity, (Continued on page 9) Labor Board to Act On Operators* Pact Kansas City, Dec. 25. — The local regional labor board is to get a contract dispute involving the Independent (Continued on page 9) Allied Owners To Take Stand On Para. Plan Trustees of Allied Owners, one of the largest Paramount Publix creditors, were directed on Monday by Special Master Oscar Lewis in Brooklyn to decide today on whether or not that company should appear in opposition to the Paramount reorganization plan at the hearing before Federal Judge Alfred C. Coxe tomorrow. The trustees of Allied Owners, Percival Jackson, William Greve and Stephen Callahan, accordingly, will meet today with their attorney, Monroe Goldwater, and representatives of principal Allied .Owners' creditors' (Continued on page 8) Report Richardson Quits as a Trustee Charles E. Richardson is reliably reported to have tendered his resignation as a trustee of Paramount Pub (Continued on page 8) AFA to Send Vaude Units Out on Tours Will Play in Spots Now Without Stage Shows American Federation of Actors is preparing to organize a number of vaudeville units to play cities where no vaudeville is offered currently in an effort to increase public demand for stage entertainment, it is learned. The A. F. A. 'units will consist of 25 to 30 performers each, a company manager and two advance men, all drawn from its own ranks. The units will carry scenery and travel in chartered buses. The first unit may be cast this week, and, according to present plans, will open in the east shortly after New Year's. Only those cities or towns in which no vaudeville is offered will be played by the units in order to avoid competing with thea (Continued on page 9) FWC Sale Approved By Federal Court Los Angeles, Dec. 25. — Sale of Fox West Coast assets to National Theatres Corp. has been approved by U. S. District Judge George Cosgrove in spite of protests from the Marshall Square Theatres Co. of San Francisco and Harry L. Hartman of San (Continued on page 8) Arthur Mayer Drops Share of Criterion Arthur Mayer is reported to have disposed of his 50 per cent interest in the Criterion where John Goring is now the 100 per cent operator. This confines Mayer's operations to the Rialto, his deal for the Mayfair now being cold. Referee Refuses to Act in Skouras Case St. Louis, Dec. 25. — Referee in Bankruptcy Hope has denied a petition presented by counsel for certain stockholders of the St. Louis Amusement Co., who sought an order to (Continued on page 8) Broadway Takes Up Over the Week-End Shaking off a two-week pre-holiday slump, Broadway box-offices took a decided spurt over the week-end and (Continued on page 8)