Motion Picture Daily (Jul-Sep 1935)

MOTION PICTURE DAILY Friday, August 30, 1935 MOTION PICTURE DAILY (Registered U. S. Patent Office) Vol. 38 August 30, 1935 No. 52 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 "Ouigpubco, New York." All contents copyrighted 1935 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 Box-Office Check-Up. Hollywood Bureau: Postal Union Life Building, Vine and Yucca Streets, Victor M. Shapiro, Manager; Chicago Bureau: 624 South Michigan Avenue, C. B. O'Neill, Manager; London Bureau: Remo House, 310 Regent Street, London, W. 1, Bruce Allan, Representative. Cable address: "Quigpubco, London"; Berlin Bureau: Berlin Tempelhof , 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: 600 George 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 Hcvesi, Representative. Tokyo Bureau: 47 Higashi Gokencho Ushigome-Ku, H. Tominaga, Representative. 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. Pat he Name Change Is Effective Today (Continued from page 1) Building on the same floor with First Division. A new financing company will be formed shortly at a capitalization of $250,000, the money to be used for the backing of Chesterfield and Invincible which will distribute nationally through First Division. The RKO-Pathe five-year contract expires next March. New Issues Admitted The new securities of Pathe Pictures have been admitted to trading on the N. Y. Stock Exchange and are being exchanged for the old securities of Pathe Exchange, Inc., on the basis provided for in the company's reorganization plan. The vacating on Thursday of a stay obtained by Ben Hilbert, Pathe stockholder, against the consummation of the Pathe reorganization, made it possible for the company to proceed with the exchange of the new securities for old and the admission of the former to the trading list. Calls Cleanup B. O. Aid Kansas City, Aug. 29. — That the moral self-regulation of the industry has brought more money into the na tion's box-offices was the assertion made today by Gabriel Hess, M. P. P D. A. attorney, during a stop here on his way to New York. Insiders' Outlook By RED KANN JACK COHN on the telephone yesterday with this: "The story in this morning's paper is a lie. We [Columbia] have been doing business with Warners for years. The product for the new year was sold to them weeks ago all over the country and in most of their spots." T The story or the part, at least, branded as a falsehood: "The Warner circuit, which along with Paramount, Fox, RKO and Loew's, is one of the industry's 'Big Five' will not buy Columbia product this season. The decision is national in scope and will embrace all situations in which Warner theatres operate. "While an official statement was not obtainable at Warner circuit headquarters, the understanding is decision was reached because Columbia's terms for the new lineup are regarded as out of line as compared with performance based on other seasons' deliveries. Combined with this are rumblings of 'high-handed tactics'." T The facts, awful perhaps, but the facts : Prior to a visit to Warner theatre offices by Abe Montague, sales manager for Columbia, and his assistant, Rube Jackter, a commitment had been made for some of the Columbia product for some of the Warner coast theatres which total exactly twelve. A heavier commitment had been made for some of the Warner theatres in the Philadelphia zone, one hundred houses strong. Unconfirmed, but probably true, is a third deal for some of the circuit's houses operated out of Albany by Moe Silver. However, and despite Cohn's flat statement that "the product was sold to them weeks ago all over the country and in most of their spots," the situation is this : Warner theatres have not bought and will not use the Columbia lineup in these cities and areas : Chicago. Connecticut. Kentucky. New England. Ohio. Pittsburgh. St. Louis. Wisconsin. T Selling isolated situations is not closing a circuit deal. Cohn either knows that or he is rewriting accepted trade parlance to suit Columbia's purpose. He may be interested in learning here that Warners are so intrigued by Columbia's six-atthirty-five and six-at-thirty-percent demands and their methods that, in their present frame of mind, they are determined never to do business with the distributor again. Not even in those scattered coast theatres. Or in Philadelphia. Or in Albany. How do we know? An executive of the circuit says so and he ought to know. . . . TV A prediction : That, no matter what the basis or who gives up what, the circuits and 306 will get together finally and that the possibility of a strike in New York is remote enough to be entirely discounted. . . . V Irving Thalberg on the why and wherefore of his current sojourn : "Even a producer is entitled to visit New York once in two years, don't you agree." What else to do? . . . Argument Up Today In "Adeline" Action A motion will be argued by counsel in the N. Y. County Supreme Court this morning on behalf of Harry Armstrong and Richard E. Gerard, authors and composers of the song, "Sweet Adeline," to file an amended complaint for $500,000 damages against M. Witmark & Sons, Inc., Warner Bros. Pictures and Warner Brothers Production Corp. The amended complaint charges that the defendants unlawfully appropriated the musical composition known as "Sweet Adeline" without the authority of the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs further aver that on Feb. 27, 1930, they entered into an agreement with M. Witmark & Sons, Inc. for the renewal of the copyright to "Sweet Adeline" and that they were to receive one-third of any sum derived from the song. The complaint further states that without obtaining the sanction of the plaintiffs Witmark & Sons, which is affiliated with Warners, permitted the latter to use the composition for the picture, "Sweet Adeline" and that the defendant falsely represented that Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II, were the authors and composers of "Sweet Adeline." The plaintiffs also ask for an accounting and an injunction restraining the defendant from further violating the agreement. Counsel for the defendant will move before Justice Samuel Roseman to have the complaint dismissed. Skouras Gets Englewood George Skouras today takes over the Englewood, Englewood, N. J., from Walter Reade on a 10-year lease. The deal was signed yesterday following election of officers and directors of Metropolitan Playhouses, Inc., the new parent company for Fox Met. Moss Gets Lease on New Broadway Spot B. S. Moss has closed a deal with City Bank Farmers Trust Co. for a 42-year lease on the new 1,800-seat theatre now being constructed on the old Criterion-Loew New York site. Aggregate rental for the period of the lease will be about $3,000,000. The understanding is that Moss will not operate. He is reported trying to make a deal with Paramount Eugene DeRosa is the architect and he will draw up the plans under supervision of Thomas W. Lamb. A six-year deal for the Broadway was closed by Moss on Wednesday. He had operated the theatre for a number of years and dropped it about four years ago. Sherman Takes Over Belle Film Buying Ben Sherman has relieved Elias Mayer in the buying for Belle Theatres, which operates about 15 houses on the east side of Manhattan. Charles Steiner, who assisted Mayer, will continue in the same capacity with Sherman. Mayer, meanwhile, has taken over the Majestic, Jersey City. Negotiations with Harry Harris and Belle circuit on a booking deal have been definitely declared off. Michigan Allied to Convene in Detroit Detroit, Aug. 29. — Allied of Michigan will hold its annual convention in Detroit this year, probably early in October, H. M. Richey says. An effort will be made to bring the author of the Pettengill bill here as a speaker. Allied leaders from other centers also will attend. Wall Street New Issue Gains High Columbia 70 Consolidated 4% Cons., pfd 16% Eastman 147 Eastman, pfd ...153 Fox Film "A".... 16% Loew's, Inc 4156 Loew's, pfd 105 Paramount 854 Paramount, pfd . . 86 Paramount, 2 pfd 10J4 Pathe % Pathe Film 6 RKO 2% 20th Century-Fox 1454 20th Century, pfd 2554 Warner Bros. .. 556 on Big Board Net Low Close Change 66% 67% +3% 456 4% 16% 16% 146% 14654 153 153 % 15% 40% 105 m 86 9% % 5% 2% -1% 16% +1J4 40% + 54 105 — % 854 86 -54 % 54 5% 2% — % 13% 1454 +1 2554 2554 + % 5 5 Technicolor Up s/& on Curb Net High Low Close Change Sonotone 2 2 2 Technicolor 21 20% 20% + % Trans -Lux 2% 2% 2% RKO Bonds Off 2 Points Net High Low Close Change General Theatre Equip 6s '40 14% 1454 14% + % General Theatre Equip. 6s '40 ctf 14% 14 14% + 54 Loew's 6s '41 ww deb rights.. 104 104 104 Paramount 6s '55 93% 93 93% Paramount Publix 554s '50 103% 103% 103% + % RKO 6s '41 pp.. 53 51 51 —2 Warner Bros. 6s '39 wd 77% 77 77 + 54 (Quotations at close of Aug. 29)