Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1936)

MotS Picture Industry MOTION PICTURE DAILY Alert, Intelligent the In in All Branches VOL. 39. NO. 58 NEW YORK, TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 1936 TEN CENTS Nichols Turns Back Academy Writer Award Frank Capra Replies For Academy Members Hollywood, March 9. — Dudley Nichols has refused to accept the Academy award for the best screen adaptation of 1935 on "The Informer" and has clarified his action in a letter which reached Academy heads today. Nichols' action is the most drastic thus far in the continued warfare between the Screen Actors' and Writers' Guilds and the Academy for producer recognition. The Writers' Guild would make no official statement today. Donald Gledhill, executive manager of the Academy, has steadfastly insisted that the Academy, as a non-political organization, would forward awards to the winners regardless of what the receivers did with them, and without personal resentment if the winners refused to accept. John Ford, the director of "The (Continued on page 6) L. J. McCarthy Made Aide to R. C. Rhoden Kansas City, March 9. — L. J. McCarthy, district manager of Fox Midwest, has been made assistant to Elmer C. Rhoden, president and general manager. McCarthy will do the film buying and will relieve Rhoden of other executive details. Martin Finkelstein, booker for M. B. Shanberg before Shanberg sold the houses to Fox, and holder of that job with Fox Midwest, becomes district manager in charge of Greater Kansas City houses. Edward Shanberg, brother of M. B. and ■ booker, has taken charge of the out-of-Kansas City part of McCarthy's territory. F. E. Ritter who joined Fox Mid (Continued on page 10) Grainger Goes West For Product Talks Universal's annual sales convention will be held in May at a date and place to be decided in the near future, James R. Grainger, general sales manager, said yesterday. Grainger left for the coast last night immediately after attending the testimonial dinner to E. C. Grainger. The Universal sales' head will confer with studio officials on new season's product plans before returning east to complete arrangements for the company's annual sales convention. Grainger Feted at the Astor By Exhibitors and Salesmen E. C. Grainger, who retires as eastern division sales manager of Twentieth Century-Fox on April IS to become general manager of the Feiber & Shea circuit, played to a full house last night at the Astor, where well wishing exhibitors and diplomatic film salesmen gathered in proud numbers by way of a testimonial to the rare transition. Claude Saunders of Ross Federal Service clocked the house at 623 paid testimonials, which included Jack Springer, about the receipt of whose tariff some doubt was expressed by Joseph Lee, treasurer of the dinner committee. The attendance, regardless, was of sufficient impressiveness to send Mort Shea home pondering the advisability of booking Grainger over the circuit for a mess of one week stands instead of following through with the original plans of putting him behind a home office desk. The key note of the evening, naturally, was the seeming oddity of a sales manager turned exhibitor, and it was sounded early by the Fox Movietone News crew who were permitted to speak during the soup course because word had just reached them of a war in progress in Ethiopia, for which they left early in the hope of incorporating it in a forthcoming issue of the riewsreel, according to Louis Ni (Continucd on page 6) Para. Fee Appeals Are Again Delayed Hearings on five appeals from Federal Judge Alfred C. Coxe's decision on the allowance of fees for Paramount reorganization services, which were scheduled to be held in the U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals here yesterday, were postponed to April 6 with the consent of the five appellants because counsel for several of them had to be in Washington before the U. S. Supreme Court this week. The appeal hearings scheduled were those of Root, Clark, Buckner & Ballantine, counsel to the Paramount trustees, whose application for a fee of $750,000 was reduced to $200,000; Cook, Nathan & Lehman, attorneys for the Paramount stockholders' protective committee, whose application for a fee of $250,000 was allowed at $115,000; Kuhn, Loeb & Co. and their attorneys, Cravath, de Gersdorff, Swaine & Wood, whose applications w-ere denied in toto, and the stockholders' committee appeal on behalf of its auditors, Coverdale & Colpitts, whose application for $51,000 was allowed at $27,860. Cooper Sees Color Picture Costs Cut Hollywood, March 9. — "We expect that after our fourth production the cost of color pictures will be no more than that of black and white films," Merian C. Cooper said today. Pioneer is making a close check on comparative costs, and so rapidly is the color process coming under control that shooting schedules now are no longer than on monotone pictures. The cost of raw film always will be higher, but this is a negligible item on the expense sheet. In the past the (Continued on page 10) Production Holds At 37 Third Week Hollywood, March 9. — Thirtyseven features were before the cameras last week, the third consecutive week this figure has held. Short subject production has fluctuated, with all studio shorts departments dark, according to the week's survey. The preceding week, short subject production hit a record high with seven one and two-reelers in work. M-G-AI continued to lead the field with eight features in work. Warners ran a close second with seven. Columbia has two features on the sound stages, five in preparation and five in the cutting rooms. M-G-M had eight, zero and 13 ; Paramount, six, four and nine; Radio, four, two and zero ; Roach, zero, one and one ; Twentieth Century-Fox, five, three and five ; Universal, two, two and one; Warners, seven, zero and six; independents, three, two and one. No short subjects were in work, but Columbia had two in preparation and three editing. M-G-M had four and five ; Roach, one and three ; independents, two and zero. Temporary Stay On "Ecstasy" Granted Justice Irwin Untermyer of the Appellate Division of the N. Y. Supreme Court yesterday granted to Eureka Prod, a temporary injunction restraining Metropolis Pictures from using the word "Ecstasy" in their film of ."Ecstasy of Young Love." Eureka, through its attorney, Henry J. Pearlman, contended the use of the word ' was unfair practice, in view of Eureka's film,' "Ecstasy/' Czechoslo (Continued oh page 10) Culkin Drops Federal Film Board Scheme Pettijohn, Cabot Talk On Block Booking Bill By BERTRAM F. LINZ Washington, March 9. — The declaration by Representative Culkin of New York that he has abandoned all efforts to secure the enactment of legislation creating a Federal film commission, marked the opening today of hearings on block booking before the Pettengill sub-committee of the House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce. Appearing before the group to discuss his measures, Culkin admitted he was more interested in the creation of the commission than in any other phase of the situation, but added, "I do not think civilization is advanced far enough to put that bill on the books." Urging that the industry should be made a public utility, Culkin pointed out that railroads, telephones and power already are in that category and that films are held to be utilities in England and France. Seeking a picture of the situation (Continued on page 8) RKO to File Briefs In Sale Tax Dispute RKO will file briefs in opposition to the levying by the city of the two per cent sales tax on film rentals as amicus curiae in the appeal by United Artists from the city comptroller's ruling that film revenue is subject to the tax. Permission to file the briefs was granted by the appellate division yesterday^ which will hear the United Artists' appeal late this month or early in April. Goldwater & Flynn, special counsel for Keith-Albee-Orpheum, will prepare the briefs in the interests of both the local Radio exchange and the company's theatre subsidiary. The United Artists' appeal is, regarded by, distributors as a test case in the city's move to apply the sales tax to film rentals. "Country Doctor" On Loew-Poli Dual Bill "The Country Doctor;" will lie double featured on the Loew's-Poli circuit, this week, although "Wife Vs. Secretary" will play the same circuit singly. "Paddie O'Day" is supplementing "Country Doctor" at the_Pcilj,_ (.Continued on page 10)