Motion Picture Herald (Apr-Jun 1931)

ay 16, 1931 MOTION PICTURE HERALD 57 CHICAGO niM ccw CN WABASH AVENUE IT CHICAGO HE Loop is flooded with gang pictures — and no relief in sight. Current this week "The Finger Points," "Man From thicago" and "Little Caesar." On their heels [re "Secret Six," "Last Parade," "Hell Bound," .'Quick Millions" and "Public Enemy," not to mention the flock that has gone before. AAA Dirigible" goes info the State-Lake at popuar prices about July Ist. "Seed," which will not tie roadshown here, follows "Last Parade" at She S. L. ! AAA 'I Elmer Grace, former Tiffany branch man!sger, is at John Hopkins hospital, Baltimore, ' ^indergoing an operation. AAA : The International {92nd St.) is not Pete's tiHV more. AAA Out of town exhibitors congregate at the fbe Lazon, one of the better Loop theatre disrict restaurants, in back of the United Artists theatre on Dearborn St. It is operated by the brother of Tom Demos, of the New Main, Evanston. AAA Barney Balaban is a member of Mayor Cer•miak's Citizens' Advisory commission. AAA Chicago neighborhood theatres are so full of bathing beauty contests, lucky ticket drawings, grocery nights and gift nights that a person who just wants to see a movie has to go almost to Milwaukee to do it. AAA Mike Kahn, one of Radio's three 100% salesmen, was presented with an unmentionably expensive watch by Joe Schnitzer at the company's recent sales convention. "I'm not so hot," was "Modest Mike's" opening phrase in a speech of acceptance that, they say, sold himself 100% and gave some of the big shots tan idea of how he does it. AAA "Jungle Hazards," the silent African adventure yarn that is filling the Garrick, is proving a boon to all those unfortunates who were deprived of their theatre sleep by the talkies. The chorus of snores in the auditorium, if synchronized, could be made to be a most realistic substitute for jungle dialogue. There are even those who attribute the prosperity of the Garrick to the opportunity it affords the weary ones to catch up on lost "shut-eye." AAA Charlie Mensing, formerly of Sterling, has replaced Fred Mindlin as manager of the American. AAA Judell Pictures will open a St. Louis office within the next few weeks. Ben Judell also announces that Charles D. Koehler, formerly with Fox Milwaukee exchange, has been named manager of the Judell Milwaukee office. AAA Florence Hilligonds, who was with the Tiffany exchange here for eight years, is the new assistant cashier at Radio exchange. AAA Security Pictures has opened a new Milwaukee office with Max Weisner in as man AAA The Piccadilly theatre has finally induced the Chicago Motor Bus Co. to make the theatre a regular stop. This saves patrons a block walk in either direction. AAA Eddie Grossman, sporting a southern complexion and new pep after his recent recess at Biloxi. Ludwig Sussman also back from a brief rest trip. AAA Moe Wells has reopened the ZQth Century as the Republic. AAA Local trailer offices, still maintaining sharply reduced rates, are making exhibitors wonder if it's Christmas. AAA "Loose Ends," a British International, created a stir on the Rozv after its screening by Ben Judell. The salesmen critics are wondering how the American producers have overlooked Owen Nares, zvhose performance in this one, they claim, is a knockout. Also in the picture is Edna Best, the gal who is now on her way back to Metro after zvalking off the lot in a huff recently. KANE Child Patronage Would Be Ended By New III. Bill Chicago — An example of the extremes to which interests unfriendly to the industry will go in their efforts to interfere with it is provided in a bill introduced in the state legislature at Springfield recently directed at regulation of child patronage. The bill seeks to make a misdemeanor, subject to a fine of not less than $50 and not more than $200, of permitting a child of less than 16 years to enter a theatre or other place of amusement "at a time when a picture, pictures or series of pictures are being exhibited portraying the commission of a crime or any act that is punishable by a fine or imprisonment or both under the law of this state." Even the legislators smiled over this bill. If passed, it could keep juveniles from viewing such specifically child productions as "Skippy," wherein the young hero is depicted filching a loaf of bread from the home pantry — obviously an act punishable under the law of the state. Illinois State Censor Bill Is Expected to Be Shelved Chicago — Discussion of the Ryan state censor bill was deferred following a reading in a house committee at Springfield. Industry representatives believe the measure will be tabled since its proponents are not active and opposition is strong. Watching the situation for the industry are C. C. Petti john, Edna Pfister, secretary of the Chicago Film Board of Trade, Jack Miller, president of the Chicago exhibitors' group, and others. Hearst Paper Urges Exhibitors To Show Ad Film Chicago (QP) — Chicago exhibitors were urged to book a feature length sponsored film which was reviewed in Hearst's Chicago Evening American by Rob Reel (Hazel Flynn), picture critic, who devoted almost three times the customary space allotted movie reviews to her discussion of the advertising production. The picture, titled "Romance of the Reaper," was produced and is being exhibited by International Harvester. After lauding the production extravagantly in her essay which included a pointed suggestion that producers look to the field of American industrialism rather than to Broadway and the world of fiction for their source material. Miss Flynn concludes : "As to where, when or whether you will see 'Romance of the Reaper' or not, that depends on a lot of things. If there is some local exhibitor with vision enough to realize that such an offering would be out of the ordinary run and of tremendous interest to the public, you will." The picture tells the story of the life of Cyrus Hall McCormick, his invention of the reaper and its development by the company he founded — International Harvester. Its cast has been selected from the ranks of professionals, as has its technical staff, and a lavish variety of costumes is used. Bayr mes vs. Castle The week's record in the controversial field of screen advertising was enlivened by the appearance of an article in Editor & Publisher The Fourth Estate by Eugene W. Castle of Castle Films, in which he, as a producer of industrial films, of which he says "no one pays to see them, either as entertainment or advertising," sounded a tocsin of alarm to editors, publishers and advertisers against advertising on theatre screens. In the course of his article he devoted some considerable discussion to a nameless reference to the Kinograms-Allied States Association project for a newsreel with a 30 percent advertising content. This discussion drew the fire of a letter to the publication from Captain George McLeod Baynes of Kinograms, who set forth the assertion that the advertising content of the Kinograms-Allied reel would be brief and avowed. In the course of his letter Captain Baynes said that he had, "after a campaign of only three weeks more than 2,000 theatres under signed contracts," and that he has with Allied a contract for a term of five years. A sample of the new Kinograms-Allied reel was shown before the A.A.A.A. meeting at the Mayflower hotel in Washington. It contained as its specimen advertisement content a picture of the Ford assembly plant in Long Island City, with a news treatment and heading presenting it as Mr. Ford's answer to unemployment.