Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1935)

10 MOTION PICTURE DAILY Wednesday, January 30, 1935 Trustees for Para. Urged Third Time (Continued from page 1) attacks on the board nominees. "If there must be a board it should have on it the president, general manager, general counsel and other executives of the company. If the bankers want to watch, put a few of them on the finance committee, but don't let them run the company. The management is the most important to the company's future. The court should name a voting trust for three years which could get a management the industry will not sneer at." Palmer followed his attack on the proposed directorate with criticism of virtually every phase of the plan, but with special emphasis on the bank debt settlement. Several of his statements regarding the fitness of the proposed directors were challenged as ."untrue" by Morton G. Bogue, of counsel for the bank group, and Lansing P. Reed, of counsel for the Vanderlip debenture committee. Palmer, earlier, had been required by the court to furnish a list of the stockholders he claimed to represent. Alfred A. Cook, counsel for Paramount and for the stockholders' committee, reported to the court yesterday that there was no record of any of the holders named in the list supplied by Palmer. Attacks Para. B'way Plan Monroe Goldwater, law partner of Edward J. Flynn, Bronx Democratic leader, appearing as counsel for Allied Owners, a large Paramount creditor, described the reorganization plan as "good, on the whole," but attacked the plan for reorganization of Paramount Broadway, holding company for the Paramount Building and theatre. Asserting that the rental for office space and the theatre is "excessive," Goldwater urged abandonment of the property in favor of cheaper headquarters for Paramount elsewhere. He charged that the terms provided for bondholders in the Broadway plan "remove the possibility of the parent company ever deriving any profit from the property." Jacob Lesser, representing stockholders, attacked various phases of the plan, particularly those relating to the $2 assessment on stockholders. He asked the court to appoint counsel in addition to Cook to represent Paramount in the proceedings. Opposition was also registered by counsel for the 1432 Broadway Corp., whose rent claim of $400,000 is being contested by counsel for the Paramount trustees. The hearing will be resumed today. Para, Studio Lease Approved by Court An order approving the leasing by Paramount News of the Astoria, L. I., studio has been signed by Federal Judge Alfred C. Coxe, counsel for the Paramount Publix trustees reported yesterday. The studio lease is part of a plan under which Paramount retains possession of various properties held by Seneca Holding Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary. A plan for expediting the reorgani zation of Olympia Theatres, Paramount's New England subsidiary, by purchasing for $50,000 outstanding stock of the company not owned by Paramount and allowing a $1,800,000 claim of Olympia stockholders for alleged breach of a stock purchase agreement by Paramount, was taken under advisement yesterday by Special Master John E. Joyce following a hearing. The proposal is regarded as a means of avoiding a delay of one year in the reorganization of Olympia, which might be occasioned by dissenting stockholders. Rule Complainants Must Observe Code (Continued from page 1) is accepted as a precedent to be followed by local boards, and indicates a procedure wherein the complainant must also agree to drop code violations. Inasmuch as it is the practice of respondents to bring charges against complainants where they are also violating the code, this ruling, it is expected, will expedite the work of local boards and cut down on the number of appeals to Campi. Campi determined this point in deciding an appeal by John Feeney of the Gem in Tulsa from a decision awarded to Southwestern Theatres of the same city. Feeney contended Southwestern Theatres were likewise violating the reduced admission clause of the code and he was forced to adopt bank nights and similar devices in self defense; Campi affirmed the cease and desist order issued against Feeney, but. ruled in cases such as this the order shall become effective and remain in effect "only so long as the complainant abides by the provisions of Article V-E, Part 3, Section 1 of the code." Tulsa Houses Given Stay on Bank Nights (Continued from page 1) bans on bank nights against the Gem and Cozy theatres, Tulsa, pending a decision by the U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals on the Huffman case which originated in Denver. A petition filed by the Tulsa houses named six major distributors and members of the grievance board. It alleged that distributors were threatening to stop film service. Eldon J. Dick, attorney for the theatres, pointed out that the case was exactly like the Huffman case. Pittsburgh Fears Theatre Price War (Continued from page 1) will adopt a regular stage show policy and cut its top from 60 cents to 40 cents. The Stanley, Alvin, Fulton and Warner appear bound to become involved, since this is the most drastic admission cut in the city's history. In the past the Penn has charged 50 cents on a straight picture policy and 10 cents more for shows. Mastbaum Drops Prices Philadelphia, Jan. 29. — Coincident with the new Thursday opening policy scheduled to start this week, the Roxy Mastbaum will drop its night prices from 75 cents to 65 cents in a drive to bolster attendance. Tacit Pact Retains Cleveland's Zoning (Continued from page 1) and is being continued to the satisfaction to all, he said. In a few instances, some unimportant houses are "chiseling," Gusdanovic declared. According to the agreement, theatres charging 25 cents get pictures 35 days after first run, houses with admissions of 20 cents, 56 days; 15 cents, 65 days, and 10 cents, 100 or more days. Duals are rare in Cleveland, the circuit operator stated. He added that independent distributors are interesting outside parties to reopen dark houses with double features, naming the Temple, Metropolitan, Family and Alhambra as instances. He said that where independents have good features they are booked in single programs, but much of the product from the smaller exchanges does not warrant this type of playing time. The Alhambra, which dropped duals when it booked "Imitation of Life," has held the Universal picture four weeks, Gusdanovic said. Exhibitors are now discussing renewing the dual ban agreement which expires July 8. The exhibitor stated that in Cleveland proper there are no giveaways or two-for-ones prevalent. Price cutting is also absent, he held. K. C. Independents Hit 20c. Clearance (Continued from page 1) distribution official asserted : "We are not thinking about trouble until we meet it face to face." His opinion was that if protection will prolong the life of a theatre over an inferior house, it will be given the necessary protection. An attempt was made to extend this theory to double bills when Columbia and Universal initiated a move to set duals back 28 days behind the regular datirg spot. When exhibitors protested, the major distributors went into a huddle and decided to release features for dualing on the single bill spot. The independents want the distributors to return to the old method, which proved generally satisfactory for three years, of granting equally priced houses identical clearance. This, however, the Campi clearance committee claims is illegal, and has been rejected as the basis for a schedule. Coast Board Seeks Federal Legal Aid (Continued from page 1) its case to Federal District Attorney Pierson M. Hall, who will defend it against the show cause order issued Jan. 24 by Judge Harry A. Holzer of the U. S. District Court. The court, on that date, issued a temporary restraining order against the board requiring it to show cause why a cease and desist order should be applied to the Mission Theatre, San Gabriel, on the bank night complaint filed by the Granada of Alhambra. The same order also applied to M-G-M, Vitagraph, United Artists and Paramount. Allied Approves Budget Allied of New Jersey yesterday approved the budget for 1935. Leon Rosenblatt presided under the rotating chairmanship plan. Hot Words Fly As Selectives Come Up Again (Continued from page 1) Louis Geller disputed Nizer's statements and then Sattler and Jack Bellman tried to settle the whole argument by asking Century immediately to choose 85 second runs so that the complainant could begin negotiations for the product he needed. This suggestion met with a negative response when Century contended it could not tell from its contracts what pictures it was getting, most of the pacts having production numbers without mention of star or story. Piccione claimed that Century's buying of 376 first runs for the Freeport and Grove in addition to a selection of 66 of the total for second run at the first house tied up all the product so that he could not get any pictures until Century passed them up. The complainant also held that Century had First Division, Capital, Hollywood and Gaumont British films bought, but Klupt countered with the information that although some pictures from these companies were played they were bought on individual pacts. Tom Murray of Century stated that when the circuit books first run pictures it immediately books or rejects its second run films for the Freeport, thus giving Piccione ample time to book. Murray also said that he has to wait from 35 to 45 days after Broadway first run before he can run in Freeport. He offered to help Piccione if he would come up to see him. Nizer Calls System Wrong Nizer, who represented Morris Kutinsky of the Community, Queens Village, in a similar complaint against Century, contended that the system of selective contracts is wrong and that exchanges do not want to sell that way. Klupt stated : "We don't want to buy blind. I sweated down in Washington at the time of the drafting of the code to get designations and couldn't get it. If you can tell us what pictures we are going to get, we will make our selection." He pointed out that there is no agreement between Century or any of the exchanges not to sell the Plaza. Piccione last year bought Paramount and Fox when Century couldn't get together on a deal, but this season A. H. Schwartz has the two products. After an executive session, the board dismissed the complaint, stating that Century must date or reject second runs within 21 days after Broadway first runs. Loew's complaint against Ben Roman of the Renaissance for prematurely advertising ahead of the Victoria and Broadway runs was also decided. Roman was found guilty of advertising ahead of Broadway, but can advertise seven days after the A^ictoria which has protection over the Renaissance. Ban Prescott Bank Night Los Angeles, Jan. 29. — The local grievance board has ordered the Studio, Prescott, Ariz., to discontinue bank nights. The house is competition to the Elks, same city.