Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1937)

The Leading MOTION PICTURE DAILY Alert, Intelligent the In in All Branches VOL. 41. NO. 5 NEW YORK, THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 1937 TEN CENTS Shirley Again Heads List as Profit Player Child Star Box -Office Top; Gable Second Shirley Temple heads the list of money-making stars for the second year in Motion Picture Herald's annual poll of exhibitors. She also heads a similar poll conducted among English exhibitors for the first time. Three players achieved new prominence during the year — Robert Taylor, Jeanette MacDonald and Gary Cooper. Taylor's rise was phenomenal. He jumped from 83rd place in 1935 to fourth in 1936, his rise dating from his role of the doctor in "Magnificent Obsession," an early 1936 release. Miss MacDonald rose from 35th in 1935 to ninth last year, largely as a result of her work in "Naughty Marietta," "Rose Marie" and "San Francisco." Cooper jumped from 31st position to 10th. Four of his outstanding achievements were "Lives of a Bengal (Continued on page 5) Sterling Acquires Monogram Pictures Sterling Pictures has acquired the name, good will and negatives of Monogram Pictures Art of N. Y. and also has filed an amendment to its incorporation papers to change the name to Monogram Pictures Corp., W. Ray Johnston stated yesterday following a meeting of the board of directors. At the same time Monogram Pictures of New York, which has been in liquidation for the past two years, will be changed to W. Ray Johnston Enterprises, Inc. All exchanges acquiring franchises will operate under the name of Monogram, Johnston said. Officers of the new Monogram company are Johnston, president ; Scott R. Dunlap, vice-president; J. (.Continued on page 6) Adolph Zukor Gets Flood of Messages Hollywood, Jan. 6. — Adolph Zukor has received innumerable telegrams and letters of congratulation on the anniversary of his 25th year in the industry from all parts of the world. The Silver Jubilee dinner to Zukor will be held Thursday night at the Paramount studio. Among the tokens (Continued on page 8) President Takes New Stand For Principles of the NRA By CLARENCE LINZ Washington, Jan. 6. — Apparently abandoning all thought of a constitutional amendment to permit the Government to deal with labor and social problems, President Roosevelt today reiterated his belief in the principles of NRA and demanded court support of the New Deal program. Personally delivering his annual message to Congress, the President declared: "The vital need is not an alteration of our fundamental law but an increasingly enlightened view with reference to it," later asserting that "it is not to be assumed that there will be prolonged failure to bring legislative and judicial action into closer harmony." "Means must be found to adapt our legal forms and our judicial interpretation to the actual present national needs of the largest progressive democracy in the modern world," the President said. "The judicial branch also is asked by the people to do its part in making democracy successful," he declared in concluding. "We do not ask the courts to call non-existent powers into being, but we have a right to expect that conceded powers or those legitimately implied shall be made effective instruments for the common good." Telling Congress that "overproduction, underproduction and speculation are the three evil sisters who distill the troubles of unsound inflation and (Continued on page 6) Hearst Leads, Mae West Next In Salary List Washington, Jan. 6. — William Randolph Hearst's $500,000 was top salary paid in the United States in 1935, but the film stars and executives were pushing him hard, led by Mae West, who received $480,833, it was disclosed today by the annual salary report of the Internal Revenue Dep't, made public through the House Ways and Means Committee. The voluminous report, for several years made public annually, listed every person in the United States whose salary, commission, bonus or other remuneration exceeded $15,000 for the calendar year 1935 or the nearest comparable fiscal year. Not only was this year's report consider (Contimted on page 5) New Orleans Enjoyed Best Year in Seven Herewith is the first of a series of articles rezriewing in highlight the business situation in 1936 in leading cities of the country, with forecasts for 1937. New Orleans, Jan. 6. — In 1936 New Orleans theatre owners had one of the best seasons since 1929, both in grosses and the nature of the product offered by the producers. Business in all lines showed a pronounced advance, in prices and the volume of merchandise handled. Increase in payrolls and the number of employes began in the early spring and climbed upward steadily. Savings accounts increased 25 per cent over (Continued on page 6) Aherne the Shining Light In Disappointing "Othello" Sooner or later this confession will out. It might as well be this morning. Your dramatic reviewer begs leave to inform his readers that he finds a good deal of Shakespeare old-fashioned, often dull and a pretty difficult fellow to take. Craving your further indulgence, he deposes and continues by adding he would much prefer to read the Bard than see him interpreted on the New York or any other stage unless the job is one of great beauty (Continued on page 6) Radio Developments — Page 4 Probing Power In Anti-Trust Cases Sought Complaints Ineffective Asserts Dickinson By BERTRAM F. LINZ Washington, Jan. 6. — Authority for the Dept. of Justice to engage in "fishing expeditions" where it has reason to believe the anti-trust statutes are being violated was urged upon Congress today by Assistant Attorney General John Dickinson, who this month resigned after two years as head of the anti-trust division. Dickinson's recommendation was made in the anti-trust divisions section of the annual report submitted to Congress by Attorney General Homer Cummings, in which it was pointed out also that the construction given the anti-trust laws by the courts has made legal "many things popularly believed to constitute violations." His suggestion that broader powers be given the department was based on the limitations imposed by its present dependence on complaints by private parties for the initiation of investigations and the difficulties which it encounters through the filing of complaints by persons who later compromise their grievances against those of whom they have complained and then seek to abandon the cases they have caused to be initiated. "For all these reasons," Dickinson said, "it seems imperative that the (Continued on page 6) See Bills for Aid To Small Business Washington, Jan. 6. — Legislation prohibiting unfair competition and bills providing for Federal aid to small business along the lines of the Federal Housing Act and setting up a permanent national economic council similar to the National Industrial Advisory Committee, will be submitted to Congress for consideration in near future by the Council for Industrial Progress, whose correlating (Continued on page 6) Circuits Chary on Bank Night Ruling Despite the Court of Appeals ruling that Bank Night is legal in the state of New York, major circuits have no plans to expand the game in its local units, it was stated yesterday. Loew's plays Bank Night and (Continued on page 8)