Motion Picture Herald (Apr-Jun 1931)

June 27 19 3 1 MOTION PICTURE HERALD 15 Fox Is Grasping at Straw, Says Burns, In Grandeur Case l5o% Action pictures hold particular interest for picture patrons in the Middlewest, as evidenced by MOTION PICTURE HERALD'S survey of grosses and audience reaction in twelve cities, Cincinnati was the one city in which melodrama predominated over the other four types of pictures. One hundred per cent in the chart represents the average gross for all kinds of productions. The supreme court order granted to William Fox this week which gives to him permission to examine the books of Grandeur, Inc., is accepted by insiders as further indication of a reported plan of Fox to pique Harley L. Clarke, Fox Film and General Theatres chief, through a series of suits against the Clarke motion picture interests. Fox's re-entrance into pictures through his half Grandeur interest, the remainder of which Clarke owns, is said to be impossible, his iron-clad agreernent signed when he sold Fox interests to Clarke preventing him from staging a comeback. "Fox is just grasping at a straw," said S. R. Burns, secretary of General Theatres. Papers tiled in support of the application for the order declare that Fox is the sole owner of the stock of Half Grandeur, Inc., which owns 50 per cent of Grandeur, Inc. It is stated that the board of directors of Grandeur, Inc., consists of three representatives of Fox and three representatives of Clarke. Fox says in his supporting affidavit that he knows of no dividends declared by Grandeur, Inc., but that General Theatres Equipment, in a statement filed with the New York Stock Exchange, reported as income for 1929 the sum of $219,905 received as 50 per cent of the profits of Grandeur, Inc., and for the six months ended on June 30, 1930. a similar item for $64,662. In the papers is a letter from Fox to Clarke asking him how (general Theatres obtained those sums of money when Half Grandeur, Inc.. got none. Xo answer to this letter was filed with the papers. S. R. Burns, vice-president and secretary of General Theatres Equipment, filed an opposing affidavit, however, in which he asserted that while the items of nearly $300,000 appeared in the statement of the company, the money had never been received as dividends or added to the income of General Theatres in any way. The application of Fox also requested permission to examine books of Mitchell Camera, subsidiary of Grandeur. This application was denied, however, on the ground that the camera company is a foreign corporation not doing business in this state and therefore not under the jurisdiction of the New York courts. Bauer Blames S+effes For Wisconsin Schism Blame for the withdrawal of the Wisconsin MPTO from Allied States is placed on Al Steffes by Steve Bauer, business manager of the former organization. Bauer said that when the insurgent movement that later became a separate organization, first appeared in the Allied unit, Steffes, representing Allied, supported the dissenters at a meeting arranged to effect unity. It is regarded as practically certain that Allied will grant the charter discarded by the MPTO, to the new state organization. U Sales Increase Shows Exhibitors Are Buying Now Universal reports that its contracts for new season product up to June 13, showed an average increase of 49% over contracts for the same situations last year. Contracts on the new Tom Mix series are not included in the estimate. The increase is looked upon as an example of the renewed confidence of exhibitors in the future of the motion picture business for the next year. The Universal increase in sales bears out the message of Motion Picture Herald that "Now is the time to buy and sell." The first of a series of such messages is published on pages 16 and 17. A Kippere d Short! A talkertoon by Max Fleischer, which Paramount will release, called "The Herring Murder Case," is noted as the "gang picture to end all gang pictures." The story depicts the death of a poor defenseless herring, and what happened to his murderers when they were apprehended. Why, of course, they were kippered! Milliken Resigns From Committee Of Church Council Carl E. Milliken of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America, has resigned from the administrative committee of the Federal Council of Churches of Christ in America. The announcement came this week following a meeting last Friday, when the resignation was received and accepted. Dean Luther A. Weigle of Yale Divinity School presided. Mr. Milliken's resignation comes on the eve of the issuance of a report on the American motion picture industry to be released next week by the Federal Council. The findings of that report will be presented in full in the next issue of Motion Picture Herald. It is understood that Mr. Milliken at the beginning of the inquiry, which was started last year, because of his connection with the industry did not attend meetings of the committee. The files and records of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America were made available for the purposes of the inquiry. The report is said to offer both commendation and criticism of the conduct of the motion' picture industry. Mr. Milliken late in the week departed for Los Angeles where he will address the convention of the National Educational Association on educational values of the motion picture.