Motion Picture Daily (Jul-Sep 1935)

MOTION PICTURE DAILY Saturday, September 7, 1935 MOTION PICTURE DAILY (Registered U. S. Patent Office) Vol. 38 September 7, 1935 No. 58 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 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 Hevesi, 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. Bouchard Feted by Canadian Industry Montreal, Sept. 6. — All branches of the industry in Canada were represented in tribute to T. D. Bouchard at a banquet in the Mount Royal Hotel to honor the past president of Allied Theatrical Industries on his appointment as Minister of Municipal Affairs, Trade and Commerce in the cabinet of the Quebec Provincial Government. In his speech Bouchard declared that, although taxation was a necessity, any levy should not be a crushing burden to industry. He expressed the view that a distribution of wealth was necessary for economic stability. Today, more than ever before, people had a right to sane entertainment and it should be placed at the disposition of all at a reasonable price. Taxes should be imposed which would bear equitably on the poorer classes and he warned that imposts that struck heavily at industry and legitimate capital would kill those sources of wealth. He saw better days ahead for theatres. Arthur Hirsch, president of Consolidated Theatres, took advantage of the opportunity to denounce the continued ban on the admission of juveniles under 16 years to any theatre in the province and asked for a square deal. The speakers included Col. John A. Cooper, Toronto, president of M. P. Distributors of Canada; President Charles B. Howard of Allied Theatrical Industries, and Alban Janin of France-Film, Ltd. i Purely Personal ► MERLE OBERON, due to inclement flying conditions, is en route here by train instead of air. She is due today and will immediately board the Aquitania to visit her home in London. • Beatrice Rosenblatt, Edward Golden's secretary at Republic, is back from a vacation. Madeleine White, W. Ray Johnston's secretary, will be on the coast for another week. • Marta Eggerth, Universal player, leaves for the coast tomorrow and will stop over in Chicago for one day, leaving the Windy City on the Chief Tuesday. Quip of the Day Sam Cocalis is in the Spyros Skouras class with an infected toe. A local exchange manager said the exhibitors got that way from feeing off in the rough. Vivian Moses has been pinch hitting for Bob Murray in the Paramount press book department. Murray is convalescing from an appendicitis operation. • D. A. Doran, Jr., left yesterday for a two-week stay on the coast during which he will sign talent for four plays he intends to produce this fall. • Leo Carrillo came in from Atlantic City yesterday. He is stopping at the Waldorf. He is on a personal appearance tour. • Henry Ginsberg returned from his European holiday yesterday. Today he and his wife leave for Hollywood, where the Roach studio is about to reopen. • Jerry Loeb of Warners is recuperating at the Royal Hospital from injuries he sustained last week when he slipped as he entered a taxi. • Evehett Marshall will sing several of the songs from "I Live for Love" tonight on the Lucky Strike hour over the NBC network. • Charles Skouras and Charles Buckley of F. W. C. leave for the coast Monday. • Louis Weber, attorney for Skouras theatres, is on a short vacation. He is due back Monday. • Irving Lesser will take a plane to St. Louis on Monday. He originally planned to leave via train on Sunday. • Harry H. Thomas, First Division president, is making a tour of eastern exchanges. Al Lichtman says he won't leave for the coast until early next week. • . . . New Haven Ted Smalley is advertising a new product these days — a baby boy. Dr. J. B. Fishman, Connecticut M.P.T.O. president, has returned after a six-weeks' tour of England, France and Russia. Sam Calechman of the Howard also has returned from a trip. Erle Wright is publicity director for his wife, Jane Morley, who makes personal appearances in Loew theatres as psychic reader. U.A., "U" Counsel To Fight Sales Tax United Artists and Universal will retain special counsel to represent them in opposing the city's attempts to collect sales tax on local film rentals, it was decided following a meeting of representatives of the companies yes terday. The city has already filed notices with both companies for payment of the sales tax on the film rentals of each. Briefs setting forth the com panics' reasons for declining to pay the tax have been filed with City Comptroller Frank J. Taylor, but no hearing date has been set yet. As no other companies have been served with the tax notices the outcome of the U. A. and Universal protests are viewed as test cases for the rest of the industry locally. Special counsel for the two companies will endeavor to obtain a dismissal of the tax assessments without a hearing, it was said. Roach Starting on Two Hollywood, Sept. 6. — "Our Gang Follies of 1936" begins shooting Monday under direction of Gus Meins at Hal Roach studios. Child dancers from the Meglin and Bud Murray schools will be used. Also starting Monday is the second of Charlie Chase's comedies in his new series. It is untitled as yet. M-G-M Signs Lighton Hollywood, Sept. 6. — Louis D. Lighton has been signed by M-G-M as a producer. His initial pictures will be Kipling's "Captains Courageous" and "Kim." Freddie Bartholomew will be starred in both. Also on Lighton's schedule is' "Elegance," starring Joan Crawford. Sign Schumann-Heink Hollywood, Sept. 6. — Mme. Ernestine Schumann-Heink, who will be 74 on June 13, has signed a three-year contract with M-G-M and will be starred. It is understood Jesse L. Lasky also was trying to get her to sign a contract. Mayer After Two More Arthur Mayer, in partnership with Rapf & Rudin, is seeking two more theatres in New Jersey. Negotiations are now under way for the houses and may be signed within the next week or so. Mayer-Rapf & Rudin several weeks ago acquired the Court, Somerville, N. J. McDonough Trip Routine J. R. McDonough, RKO Radio Pictures head, who arrived from the coast Thursday, said yesterday he is here on routine matters and that his stay will be brief. Warners Shift Theatre Heads In East-West Washington, Sept. 6. — Warners are revising the theatre management setup in this territory. Effective Sunday all the local first runs as well as the subsequents will be in the same division with Harry E. Lohmeyer, manager of the Earle, as district manager, states John J. Payette, general zone manager. Out of town districts have been altered. The district including Maryland, Pennsylvania and West Virginia will be under Guy Wonders, who was formerly in charge of first runs in Baltimore, Washington and Charlotte. He will continue as production manager for the vaudeville houses in the zone. John E. Firnkoess, district manager in charge of out of town theatres, has gone to New York to await further assignment. Nat Glasser will have charge of Virginia houses. He has been in charge of Washington subsequent runs. Charles R. Grimes, manager of the Colony here, goes to the Earle; Fred J. Thomas, manager of the York, goes to the Colony ; Arthur Kilburg, manager of the Home, gets the York ; Claude Land, assistant at the Central, becomes manager of the Home. George A. Crouch continues as assistant general zone manager in charge of film buying and bookings for the 35 houses. When the new Uptown and Penn are completed Walter E. Cersley, now at the Avalon, will manage the former, and Daniel A. Reynolds, now at the Avenue Grand, will have the latter. Halper Gets Three Aides Los Angeles, Sept. 6. — To relieve Lou Halper of details and coordinate coast theatre operation, Warners have made several managerial changes. Under the new setup there will be three district managers instead of one. George Weiss, who had the entire district, will now confine his activities to the Hollywood, Downtown and Beverly Hills houses. Carl Walker, former manager of the Granada at Santa Barbara, and Ben Wallerstein, manager of the Huntington Park, will assist Weiss, and all will have headquarters at the Warner Hollywood Theatre Building. Wallerstein will handle the Forum, San Bernardino, and San Pedro theatres in addition to the Huntington Park, while Walker will add all Santa Barbara houses, plus the houses in Fresno, Aberdeen, Wash., and Salem, Oregon. Several house managers have been shifted, and the lineup is now as follows : Jimmie Hicks transfers from the Hollywood to the Downtown, exchanging jobs with Mel Murphy; Vic Rosen goes from the Forum to the Granada in Santa Barbara ; Frank Regan from San Pedro to Fresno; Cliff Chellew from Fresno to the Forum ; Earl Cook from Beverly Hills to San Pedro, and Fred Kislingbury from Santa Barbara to Beverly Hills. All other managers remain as they were.