Motion Picture Daily (Jul-Sep 1935)

MOTION PICTURE DAILY 4 Purely Personal ► 8 FELIX FEIST,' Grad Sears and Neil Agnew did a combination host arrangement last night when they entertained, in the Hawaiian manner, Esmond Parker, president and general manager of the Consolidated Amusement Co., Ltd., of Honolulu, and Allan Davis, vice-president of the Hawaii Trust Co., which is interested in the Island circuit. • Earlier Sears and Andy Smith were guests of the Off-the-Record Club which meets at "21" every Wednesday. Out of that select circle, but at the same establishment, nevertheless, were Herb Yates, Willard McKay, Merlin Hall Aylesworth, Don Mersereau and Dorothy Mackaill. Not all together, you understand. Truman Talley, James A. FitzPatrick, Walter Eberhardt, Arthur Mayer, Gus Eyssell, Leon Netter, Harry Thomas, Abe Montague, Bruce Gallup, Arnold Van Leer, Jack Schlaifer and Terry Ramsaye gathered at the Tavern yesterday for lunch. • Walt Disney, who arrived from a European vacation yesterday on the Rex will be tendered a reception and cocktail party this afternoon at the Waldorf by United Artists. • Sylvia Sidney, who has been vacationing here for some time, leaves for the coast today by plane to confer with Walter Wanger on her next picture, "Mary Burns, Fugitive." • John C. Flinn, former national secretary of Code Authority, today joins Variety in an executive editorial post. He will maintain headquarters in New York. • Eddie Silverman and Emil Stern of the Essaness circuit, which is important in Chicago, were luncheon guests of Jack Cohn and Nate Spingold yesterday. • Luis Trenker, who is Tyrolean and not a German, as many think and who was reported set for a leading role in "Sutter's Gold," will not be in the picture. • Harry and Max Hecht of the Rialto and Palace, Passaic, and Plaza, Paterson, are mourning the loss of their mother. • Eddie Bonns, short subject sales manager for Universal, is back from a three-day sales trip to Boston and adjacent points. • William "Pop" Landau visited the exchanges yesterday, the first time since he underwent a serious operation. • Pat Reis, secretary to Howard Dietz, has just returned from a vacation at Ogunquit, Me., and New Hampshire. • Leatrice Joyce is back in the Music Hall stage show after being out for several months recuperating from a fall. • Myron Nast of FitzPatrick Pictures is vacationing in the Adirondacks. • Leo Spitz is in town again from Chicago. Sam Dembow is taking care of his entertainment quota. Louis Nizer and Jack Alicoate are planning another joint trip to Europe sometime this month. • Ed Hatrick, who has been trying to leave the coast for the last two weeks, is due in town shortly. • Ethel Merman, recently signed by Samuel Goldwyn, leaves today for Hollywood. Quip of the Day "A salesman has the 'Kootzba' to tell me his company breaks even on the first film they book me, and each succeeding picture I play they lose more and more money. "I never heard of such mathematics," boiled Mox Shabbus, soaring aloft mentally, in the California sunshine. Not ■wanting to see the company go bankrupt, Mox asked the salesman hozu he figured he zvas losing money on pictures his theatre played. "First, the excess cost of shipping," said the salesman, "because you're on the outskirts of Hollyivood, then my salesmen's expenses, then the distribution overhead, and the production overhead, which, all added together leaves us losing money when you book our pictures." "If that's the case," said Mox to the salesman, "I'll cancel your films and you'll make a profit." Wallace Beery is at the Waldorf for a week's eastern vacation. • William Boyd gets in from Europe today on the Europa. • Clarence Brown, M-G-M director, is in town to look over a few plays. • . . . Atlanta W. M. Richardson, district manager for First Division, has been in New Orleans conferring on the new film tax. • Arthur C. Bromberg, Republic Pictures, flew to New Orleans and back for conference with his branch in that city. • Charles Lester, branch manager for National Screen Service, Inc., spent a few days in New York conferring with Morton Van Praag, general sales manager. • Herbert Ochs, Warner branch manager, expects to get into the new building on Spring St., about Sept. IS. • . . . Boston Angeline A. Maney, assistant to Gene Fox in the Metropolitan publicity department, is traveling throughout Nova Scotia. • Florence Turner of the Department of Public Safety, in secondary charge of Sunday censorship, is at Lake Winnepesaukee. • Jack Rice, booker for National Screen, has been away for a rest. • Art Moger, theatrical artist, is back from a honeymoon in Atlantic City. Joe Cohen, booker for the Morris Pouzzner circuit, joined the Hole-InOne-Club as the result of a smack to a 150-yard hole at Pinebrook. • Arthur K. Howard, business manager for Independent Exhibitors of Massachusetts, Inc., is on an automobile trip through Northern New England, contacting Allied members. . . . Dallas Karl Hoblitzelle, Interstate president, has left for two months of vacation. • Jake Elder, Interstate warehouse and equipment manager is in San Antonio this week on a tour of house inspections. • A. W. Lilly, Greenville, Tex., exhibitor, is on a motor tour through South Texas and down to Matamoros, Mexico, over the new highway into Mexico City. • Barry Burke, former Dallas and Fort Worth Publix associate, now district manager with Minnesota Amusement Co. at Minneapolis, has been visiting friends here. • Herschel Stuart and his brother, Floyd, are in Dallas for a summer visit back home. . . . Denver F. D. Morton is spending a few weeks in Kansas and Nebraska. He is local representative of Erpi. • T. B. Noble, general manager of Westland Theatres, Inc., spent a day recently conferring with L. L. Dent, prexy of same, who stopped off on his way to Salt Lake City. • J. G. Tustison, Erpi inspector, spent two weeks at the R. O. T. C. camp at Fort Riley, Kan., in training with the Field Artillery. • B. P. Hanson has joined the engineering staff of Erpi. He is from Colorado Springs. • B. P. McCormick will open a new house in Canon City about Sept. IS. The house is being remodeled from an old building there. McCormick also owns the Jones, the only other theatre in Canon City. • Seen in Denver recently were these exhibitors : Mrs. Fred Lind, Rifle, Col. ; Dave Ashman, Idaho Springs, Col. ; John Grieve, Oak Creek, Col. ; B. D. Grove, Gering, Neb. ; A. F. Allen, Glenwood Springs, Col. ; T. E. Richards, Windsor, Col. ; S. Biella, Louisville, Col.; H. D. Bischoff, Lovell, Wyo. ; Marie Goodhand, Kimball, Neb., and J. F. Carper, Lafayette, Col. • . . . London Alex King, Glasgow exhibitor, who controls a number of Scottish theatres, guest of honor at a luncheon at the Trocadero to celebrate the reduction in the entertainments tax, largely achieved by the efforts of the tax committee of which King was chairman. Presentations of an album containing the signatures of his coworkers, and a check for £565 subscribed by the trade were features. Mrs. King received a silver tea serI vice. Joe Pollard, C. E. A. president Thursday, August I, 1935 during the year of the campaign on the tax, also received a check. King gave silver cigarette boxes to members of the committee and a silver cigarette case to W. R. Fuller, general secretary of the C. E. A. • Harry M. Cohen, vice-president of Hollywood's Chamber of Commerce, telling British producers how the Bank of America's film financing scheme works. Says more mergers are due. • G. F. McDonald, an ex-president of the C. E. A., seriously ill at his Birmingham home. • G. H. Selwey, manager of the Trocadero Liverpool staged a resolution of thanks to the Chancellor of the Exchequer from patrons of his first tax-free matinee and received an acknowledgment from Neville Chamberlain. • A. Herbert Diggle, veteran Lancashire showman, is sponsoring a new daylight screen. • Sammy Cohen saying goodbye to Wardour St. by postcard from Rome, where he concluded a Continental holiday with Mrs. Cohen before returning to New York. • Phil Reisman addressing Radio salesmen in conference in London by transatlantic telephone and loudspeaker. • Herbert W^-cox not answering the telephone to numerous press enquiries about the absence of B. & D. titles from the U. A. announcement. • D. Barrington-Hudson appointed studio publicity chief at British Lion studio, Beaconsfield ; previously news editor and commentator for Pathe Gazette. • Clive Brook on the Aquitania. • Bela Lugosi made a personal appearance at "The Raven" trade show at the Prince Edward. • Francis Mangan staged a presentation for the opening of Major Chas. H. Bell's Astoria at Southend. • . . . Omaha George Bickford, former manager of the Paramount, has left the A. H. Blank organization and film business to sell cars at Davenport, la. • Sam Stern, Capitol Pictures, is in Chicago on his annual holiday. • E. R. Cummings and Mrs. Cummings can be reached somewhere in the Black Hills. The district office is being managed by Secretary Ethel B. Good. • . . . Pittsburgh Harry Feinstein won't take that cruise to the West Indies, but is going instead to Atlantic City. • George Jaffe, owner and operator of the Variety, is a candidate for City Council on the Republican ticket. • Harry Hoehle is spending the summer with rod and reel at Lake Canadohta. • F. Ralph Gervers, once press agent at the Penn, will run for mayor of Tampa, Fla., according to friends.