Motion Picture Daily (Oct-Dec 1935)

MOTION PICTURE DAILY Friday, December 13, 1935 Sydney Cohen Succumbs to Heart Attack Insiders' Outlook (Continued from page 1) ship of the 125th St. Apollo and the Empire in the Bronx, which he leased to RKO for a 10-year period in 1932. He was a partner in Artco Corp., which holds a management contract for the Roxy, and had been technical advisor to the Roxy bondholders' committee since 1932. With Howard S. Cullman, trustee of the Roxy, he was mentioned recently as a bidder for the house under a plan of reorganization being advanced by them. Cohen was also technical advisor to the bondholders' committee of the Beacon, at Broadway and 75th St., and operated the Fox Brooklyn for the bondholders for about one year just before operation of the house was turned over to Si Fabian. He owned retail stores in Stamford, Conn., and Trenton, N. J., also. In recent years he had been interested in educational and philanthropic activities and had been identified with the Educational Alliance. Cohen, who was 50 years old, resided at the Hotel Ansonia with his daughter, Dorothy Louise, and son, Richard Sydney, who survive him. Mrs. Cohen died in 1918. Funeral services will be held Sunday at 11 A. M., at Central Synagogue, 55th St. and Lexington Ave., of which Cohen was a trustee. The remains will be at Riverside Memorial Chapel, 76th St. & Broadway, until then. Quick Action Being Sought in St. Louis (Continued from page 1) quest by defense counsel for setting the trial late in January or early February. The special assistant to the attorney general will not arrive here from Washington until a day before the hearing. He is said to have his case all prepared, but defense counsel is insisting on the extra time to allow for preparations on the necessary data. Harry C. Arthur, Jr., vice-president of F. & M., arrived from New York by plane last night to be on hand for the inauguration of stage presentations at the Ambassador tomorrow. He plans to remain here a few days and return to New York with his son, Tom, who is attending a local school, for the Christmas holidays. With a number of stage shows lined up for the Ambassador, F. & M. will eliminate duals during the life of this type of entertainment. The new policy, it is said, was brought about to offset a reported film shortage. No hike in admissions is anticipated. Add to Stock Listings Changes in stock listings on the New York Stock Exchange have increased Paramount Pictures, Inc., common, $1 par, by 207 shares, making the total 1,576,682. Paramount Broadway Corp. has added 16,000, making the total 8,345,500, and 7,800 have been added to Paramount Pictures, Inc., 6 per cent, 1935, making the total 21,595,100. ( Continued begin to show until several hours later. The General made himself very busy. He saw all comers, maintained open house at his office. In California, Joe Schenck said Hays would be "the official umpire of the film industry." The umpiring shortly thereafter brought Hays to a Theatre Owners Chamber of Commerce luncheon. Walker was there and the occasion was pleasant on all sides. Hays outlined how he proposed to bring harmony into the business, eliminate unfair practices. Walker remarked the future now looked rosy. . . . T However, Cohen apparently refused to be convinced. Hammering away on many fronts and attacking all and sundry, he threw ice water in generous doses on the Hays movement. When convention time for the M. P. T. O. A. came along — it was Washington that year — Hays was smart enough to attend. Cohen, in a spot and sounding off on his program of cooperation, agreed to do just that. Hays pledged his and everything looked overwhelmingly harmonious. But politics, that perennial disturber, was grinding away. At the T. O. C. C. luncheon earlier, Walker had remarked he was willing to sit at the feet of Hays. Cohen, it seemed, didn't like the posture. His disapproval eventuated in a virulent attack on Walker, his dismissal as M. P. T. O. A. counsel with the added charge that he had sold out to the producers. . . . ▼ Walker was flabbergasted. Also stunned. His friends felt the same way about it. Invectives flashed back and forth and resulted in the unfolding of a sorry mess of dirty linen to breezes already sullied. The T. O. C. C. voted a resolution of "undying love" to Walker. It failed to appease him and, although the Washington convention voted him a vote of confidence as it also did with Cohen, Walker refused to be mollified, declared himself through with the business. This, thirteen years ago, was a pledge not since broken. . . . ▼ Cohen's sphere of influence began to shrivel following the break with Walker. It took time for the signs to point up what was happening, but happen it did. Committed to his unalterable policy of opposing Hays, Cohen saw to it that the M. P. T. O. A. voted against the adoption of the uniform exhibition contract negotiations which were launched early in Hays' second year in office. This was in February, '33. Too much Cohen, at this juncture, had permeated the M.P.T.O.A. It led to obvious dissatisfaction, a cleavage in the ranks which, in turn, led to the formation of individual territorial units and the coalition of the insurgents in Allied States Association. Michigan, Minnesota, Kansas, Indiana, Texas, Illinois, North Carolina, Virginia and the Dakotas cast the die at a meeting in Chicago. As Cohen refused to work with Hays, Allied, as of that time, did. Per from page 2) haps the step was more designed as a poke at Cohen than any desire to cooperate with Hays. At any rate, it was launched. It hurt Cohen and it hurt the M. P. T. O. A. As a parallel factor came the disintegration of the Theatre Owners Distributing Corp., formed by the M. P. T. O. A. months earlier. That organization took a year to get going and then with one picture and ended in bankruptcy. It was an inglorious end for dreams of exhibitor participation in production and distribution. . . . T Efforts on Cohen's part to heal the breach in exhibitor organization ranks developed their next phase in Boston, scene of the 1924 convention. His casual remark that he "missed the midwest crowd" swung loose the hinge on the door and led to an effort at harmony when Cohen determined to end his one-man domination by agreeing to the election of twenty-one directors. M. J. O'Toole stepped up to the presidency and Cohen down to the board chairmanship. Minneapolis was far behind by this time. Ample Wall Street money dazzled the major companies. Zukor no longer was apologizing for theatre activity, but, in interviews, was declaring boldly Paramount was "in the theatre business because there is money in it." Division in exhibitor association ranks mitigated against a united front ; producers were expanding as they liked and that's all there seemed to it. . . . ▼ When Cohen, his voice less fortissimo by this time, again blasted the merry cry of producer domination nothing came of it. A concession to Allied predicated on a representation for it of ten directors on the M. P. T. O. A. board was effected, but failed to remain effective. By '27, rantings against producer ownership of theatres had simmered to faint warblings. In Columbus, producer-distributor circuits were voted M. P. T. O. A. membership. Publix, Loew's and others did their stuff by the association treasury and Charles C. Petti john was persuaded to make a speech, high-sounding and fancy : "You (exhibitors) wrote the Magna Charta of the business by your action. You have laid the foundation whereby all branches may face common troubles with a united front. Your constructive step makes producers and distributors even happier than you." . . . ▼ Nobody has ever doubted the Nirvana producers and distributors have found since that "Magna Charta" was drawn. Since then, however, there has been and is, Allied ; Cohen went into the department store business, a mild foray in exhibition which he so long championed, the Roxy theatre in New York and the Fox in Brooklyn while from afar and with what reactions probably will never be known now watched the parade pass before him until yesterday so abruptly slammed the book closed. Stepin in Court Perry Lincoln, usually known as Stepin Fetchit, appeared in Harlem Court yesterday morning to answer to a charge of felonious assault on Philip Krauckers. He answered "not guilty" and was released in $1,000 bond for hearing next Tuesday. According to Krauckers, he served a legal paper on Monsieur Lincoln backstage at the Apollo and what Lincoln did to him was . Anyway, he had a black eye and bruises. 3 Weeks' Trial of Trust Action Seen (Continued from page 1) Columbia, Vitagraph, Universal, Fox, Educational, United Artists and RKO. The defense is represented by J. H. Beale, Jr., of the law firm of Reed, Smith, Shaw & McClay, of which former U. S. Senator David A. Reed is the senior partner. Leonard H. Krieger is prosecutor. Friedman claims, in his statement of claim, that he was forced out of the theatre business in Sharon and Farrel, where he had operated houses until 1928. It is asserted by Friedman that his troubles were caused by the alleged conspiracy action of the defendants, who were members of what was then known as the Pittsburgh Film Board of Trade. He declares that business differences between him and distributing firms were given for settlement to a board of arbitration appointed by the Film Board. Friedman claims that when he refused to abide by the awards against him as made by the arbitration board the eight distributing firms withdrew film service for which he had contracted. The refusal of the distributors to supply him with films, Friedman declared, resulted in forcing him out. Friedman also asserts the action of the members of the Film Board constitutes a conspiracy and that it violates the provisions of the Federal anti-trust act aimed at monopolistic action. He also declares that the withdrawal of service completely prevented him obtaining films. The large damages asked for, the points of law involved and the fact that the trial here is one of the few i thus far aired in Federal court are attracting great interest in the trade. The suit was filed by Friedman several years ago. At that time he had two partners associated with him. These partners are not now associated with him. He thus has become the j sole plaintiff. Appeal Is Allowed On Paramount Fees (Continued from page 1) Circuit Court of Appeals. These include Cook, Nathan & Lehman, Samuel Zirn and Archibald Palmer. Root, Clark based their appeal on the size and complexity of the Paramount estate, the volume of services required, the quality of such services, the result accomplished and the setup of a fund for adequate compensation to petitioners, all of which, their application for leave to appeal stated, J entitled them to additional allowances. i