Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1936)

MOTION PICTURE DAILY Friday, January 10, 1936 Hardy Opens Case for U.S. At St. Louis (Continued from page 1) over to Russell Hardy for the Government and the afternoon to ex-Senator James A. Reed for Warners, and Louis Phillips for Paramount. Hardy took two hours to re-hash allegations contained in his opening in the criminal proceedings. Those who sat through the first case found it generally identical with his earlier presentation with an occasional deletion as to 1 names. Thus it was that, in firing : conspiracy charges at Warners, he i made specific mention of Herman Starr, Gradwell L. Sears and Abel i Cary Thomas, all originally indicted, I and subsequently acquitted, except Thomas, who had not stood trial be! cause of illness, but no reference to \ Harry M. Warner, fourth indicted j Warner official and also cleared of the i misdemeanor charge with his associate executives. "Attack by Wealth" Keynoting his presentation was the statement by Hardy at one point that, "this case is an attack by great wealth on a relatively puny business," later describing Warners, Paramount and RKO as "large corporate clusters." By citation of assets and theatre holdings he endeavored to demonstrate his point. The statistics he marshalled included the statement that the average number of features produced in the last four years totaled 340 ; that during the fiscal year 1934 and 1935 War, ners had produced 60 or 16.2 per cent, j Paramount 65 or 17.5 per cent and RKO 50 or 15.1 per cent, making a | grand total of 175 or 48.8 per cent ! of the entire number available. Allowi ing for Metro and United Artists at Loew's here, Hardy's proffered con! elusion was that Warners, with only two theatres, had available virtually 50 per cent of the first run product, while Fanchon & Marco with its five houses had to be content with approximately 25 per cent. In the afternoon and during his ■ presentation, Phillips hit back at Hardy's charges by computing the total feature output as between 600 and 700, produced by 20 or more compa I nies of which eight were majors. Of this annual output he asserted the three defendant companies produced between 140 and 150. Reed Speaks 90 Minutes Reed spoke for 90 minutes, emphasizing highlights as he saw them with ; pointed finger. In considerable detail I he outlined Warners' experience in the local theatre field and took the position that the company's entry into the first run field by leaseholds on the Or ■ pheum and Shubert-Rialto were necesj sitated by the alleged monopoly created by the F. & M. interests. He contended Warners had to deal with this group or remain out of the city and asserted it had been the decision : not to sell the plaintiff because of the i continued "enmity" of Harry Koplar over a long period of years. He described as another purpose of the present action an effort to J compel Paramount and RKO to cancel their film deals with Warners in > this city, thereby compelling a sale Some Jump! St. Louis, Jan. 9.— "The scene now shifts from St. Louis to New York," intoned Russell Hardy in the middle of his opening statement for the Government here today. Federal Judge Joseph West Molyneaux called a five-minute recess. "It takes more time than that for that kind of a jump," remarked one observer. with F. & M. or "abandon the city." This and many other points were not new, having already been covered in the first case. Large segments of Phillips' opening, as in the case of both Hardy and Reed, had been gone over in the indictment proceedings by William R. Gentry, special local counsel for Paramount. It was Phillips' first appearance in any court in about a year and the general consensus of opinion among film men present was that he did a thoroughly representative job. Says Para. Within Rights He argued Paramount was entirely within its rights in having canceled its franchise with Skouras Super Theatre Corp. on the ground the latter company had failed to pay its bills and had ultimately gone into receivership. This was by way of explaining how Paramount figured it had been entirely within its rights in subsequently selling its pictures to the landlords of the Ambassador, Missouri and New Grand Central and to Tom K. Smith, receiver for these _ properties. The Government allegation is that this franchise was one of the chief assets of the theatres. Paramount counsel asserted F. & M. were not "parties or privies to the franchise agreements" and that Skouras Super Theatres had had no power to assign the franchise elsewhere. RKO Statement Next Phillips constantly maintained Paramount had never attended any of the various bondholders' meetings at which reorganization plans for the three theatres had been discussed ; that Paramount had never purchased any of the bonds nor had it made any threats or negotiated for theatres in St. Louis and that therefore it could not have been a party to any alleged conspiracy. He charged Paramount had been indicted on perjured testimony of Harry C. Arthur. Arthur, Marco Wolff and Jack Partington for the second time did not attend the sessions until a few minutes before court adjourned. Herman Starr arrived from New York today and appeared in the afternoon, as did Gradwell L. Sears, who came in from Chicago. Spyros Skouras, who will be the first important Government witness unless Hardy switches his strategy, reached here from New York but repaired to the Park Plaza, not the Federal Building. Another arrival was Gordon E. Youngman, New York staff lawyer for RKO, with a Florida tan. Ernest L. Wilkinson, F. & M. attorney from Washington, checked in for the first time, during the last half-hour. The opening statement for RKO is yet to be heard. This is to be the first order of business on Friday. Following that will come arguments by counsel for the Ambassador and Missouri, who is seeking to quash subpoenaes calling for records sought by the Warners. Reed solicited a Saturday adjournment for personal reasons. Federal Judge Joseph West Molyneaux denied it, stating quickly he was for the elimination of as many delays as possible. Jacob M. Lashly, special RKO counsel, sought a recess next Wednesday, when another case in Springfield, Mo., will require his presence. This also was denied. New York film men found some solace in this, but not much. There is considerable resentment making the rounds over the enforced stay here while arguments over legal points delay the testimony of witnesses. The general opinion is that Government counsel must have known of the improbability of calling witnesses for the first four or five days. In the meantime, the ranks show every evidence of swelling in number. Harry M. Warner will testify again, according to Reed. George J. Schaefer and Neil F. Agnew likewise will return ; not under subpoena but as Paramount witnesses. Starr flew back to New York tonight, when he found he was not needed to testify at once. Frederick W. Wood was confined to his bed and is not expected in court tomorrow. ITO Plans Action Against Fox Zoning Kansas City, Jan. 9. — After reelecting all officers here today, the I.T.O. voted to proceed with legal efforts to break up what it termed the "unfair zoning and clearance" of Fox-Midwest. President Rolsky will confer with attorneys within the next few days to outline the course which the litigation will take. Members who have bought protection over other independents are to relinquish immediately. Some members are reported to have already done this. Variety Officials Selected by Harris Pittsburgh, Jan. 9.— Four national representatives of Variety Club have been appointed by John H. Harris, national chief barker. They are: Harry Goldstein, for Pittsburgh, Columbus and Cincinnati; Jack Flynn, for Cleveland, Detroit, Albany and Buffalo; Carter Barron, for Washington, D. C, and Philadelphia; J. E. Fontaine, for Milwaukee, Minneapolis and Indianapolis ; R. C. LiBeau, for St. Louis, Kansas City, DesMoines and Omaha. Louisiana Women to Probe Bank Nights New Orleans, Jan. 9.— Bank Night in neighborhood houses is to be investigated by a committee of the Louisiana Council of Motion Pictures. One of the things that started the probe was the fact that a six-year-old child recently won $105 at a show. Minnesota at $31,326 Through error it was stated that the gross at the Minnesota, Minneapolis, for the week ending Jan. 3 was $12,000. It should have been $31,326. The screen attraction was "The Bride Comes Home" and the stage show was headed by Burns and Allen. 7 Seek Adjustment of Matinee Time Fight St. Louis, Jan. 9. — Fred Wehrenberg, president of the M. P. T. O. of St. Louis, Eastern Missouri and Southern Illinois, today was seeking a conference with Harry Arthur of F. & M. to solve the problem resulting from the extension of the matinee at the F. & M. Ambassador, Missouri and Fox from 6 to 7:30 P. M. Some exhibition contracts provide that matinee time and prices end at 6 P.M. and certain second and subsequent runs are considering refusing to play films where the matinee time has not been observed by first runs. Arthur was invited to an exhibitor conference on the matter yesterday, attended by distributor representatives, but could not attend. Arthur shifted the time when outlying houses failed to eliminate exhibition practices to which he objected, claiming his original return to the 6 P. M. time was contingent on the elimination of the practices. Wehrenberg said Arthur did not give the exhibitors sufficient time to adjust the matter. Spoor Set to Make ^-Dimension Films Chicago, Jan. 9. — George K. Spoor declared here today that he would begin the production of three-dimensional films within 30 days. It is planned to film stage plays performed in a New York studio, which will be the center of the venture. Later, according to Spoor, full length operas will be produced with the original casts. W anger Adds to Space Hollywood, Jan. 9. — Walter Wanger has taken over another building on the General Service lot to house his directors. Raoul Walsh is preparing for "Big Brown Eyes." William Seiter has "The Moon's Our Home" in production. Al Santell is preparing "Spendthrift." Edwin Ludwig is preparing "Brazen." Aubrey Scotto is starting "Palm Springs." Joseph Santley is waiting for an assignment, and Anton Litvak will direct "Sahara." Franchot Sonotone Head C. P. Franchot, vice-president and general counsel of Sonotone Corp., was appointed president yesterday to fill the vacancy caused by the recent death of Dr. Hugo Lieber. The company's annual meeting of stockholders is scheduled for next month. Bill Pine East St. Louis, Jan. 9. — Bill Pine, Paramount studio publicity head, left here by air for New York tonight after looking in on the equity hearing. He is coming east to discuss plans for new product, including "Desire," with Marlene Dietrich. Sign Elizabeth Russell _ Hollywood, Jan. 9. — Paramount has signed Elizabeth Russell, sister of Rosalind Russell, to a term contract. Miss Russell is currently appearing on the New York stage, but will report to the studio Feb. 2. To Have Stage Shows Bridgeport, Jan. 9. — -Loew's Majestic will inaugurate stage shows Jan.