Motion Picture Herald (Jul-Sep 1931)

September 26. 193 1 MOTION PICTURE HERALD 21 A§IDE§ & INTERLUDES By JAMES CUNNINGHAM I HE PESSIMISTS might like to know . . . that the gold holdings of the U. S. have passed the $5,000,000,000 mark . . . representmg over 45 per cent of the world's total monetary stocks If we had any part of it ... we would wager it against a scratched print of an old Sennett comedy ... That six months will bring a return ofthe billboard ... as an important factor m theatre exploitation. . . . That "Uncle" Carl Laemmle's highly commendable decision ... to rescind Universal's 10 per cent salary cut . . . will do more to bring back prosperity . . . than 47 conferences on How Best to Alleviate the Depression. . . . And if the other major companies followed Laemmle's action, so far as is practicable. . . . the industry would eventually benefit by it. . . . That any reputable independent who can turn out dramas ... of at least fair quality ... is in line for "beaucoup jack." . . . That "Barking dogs never bite" . . . even m the motion picture business. . . . That the industry will go merger-less for the next two years . . . That nobody takes seriously . . . Frank Reuibusch's tirades . . . against you and you and you . . . That William Fox . . . never will forget . . . Samuel Untermyer's bill for the famous stockholders fight of 1930. . . . That at least half of all publicity matter emanating from studios and home offices never reaches print. . . . ▼ ▼ ▼ Ruth Hiatt, Sennett leading lady, is in tears . . . vowing she will never again sacrifice her "baby" to the cause of publicity. . . . The baby weighs only three pounds soaking wet. . . . If you are sufficiently interested to take a peek into the pink room in the Hiatt domicile you will find the cutest little . . . schnauzer dog . . . tagged Graf von Schleswiz Holtstein Hoch Hoch der Blitzen und Donner, etc., etc. . . . Ruth posed for some stills with the baby (mutt) and the hot lamps took off half a pound from the frankfurter candidate. . . . But then maybe Ruth did not pose long enough. ... T ▼ ▼ All's quiet in the Federal courts. . . . M. A. Schlesinger hasn't filed a suit in weeks. . . . His pet diversion, apparently, is battling the electrics on sound patents. ▼ ▼ ▼ The battle supreme continues in the fan magazine field . . . with circulation figures nozv stacking up something like this: Photoplay, 644,493; Silver Screen. 400,000: Motion Picture Magazine, 375,645 ; Screenlafid, 309,207; Motion Picture Classic, 196,194. T T T Jesse (Paramount vice president) Lasky spent two months on the Coast . . . where he discovered . . . that "Hollywood is not jealous ... It is a Hollywood that reports to work at nine o'clock every morning . . . a Hollywood that eschews afternoon golf and night clubs!" . . . T V ▼ Lou Sobol, New York Journal penman, will tell you that Charles Chaplin ... is the onlv admirer of Peggy Joyce . . . whose presents never threatened an acquaintanceship with the sheriff. Many years ago . . . When Cholly was trotting about with Peggy ... he sent her a Christmas present from Hollywood. ... It was a little doll ... a replica of himself . . . which cost a quarter ! . . . T T T War films are dead . . . so are musicals . . . gangster . . . trial . . . and newspaper yarns . . . likewise vehicles zmth too much dialoaue Next? ... "M Where It Goes! A published estimate of how America spends its money indicates that those people with the lowest incomes, spend most for food, while those with the greatest incomes spend most for housing. Miscellaneous, which also includes amusement, rates high, in the case of the higher incomes being the largest figure, ranking above food, clothing, housing and furniture. Hy Daab, press relations chief at RKO, in a communication to this pillar, commenting on last week's paragraph regarding the toning down of "Titan" advertising by company chiefs, says : "No advertising man in show business . . . has ever had a freer hand than I . . . nor a more sympathetic support ... in all branches of my work . . . from the executives of RKO. . . . "The old Titan hasn't toned down a bit. ... He's merely down in the bull pen . . . warming up for the heavy going just ahead . . . and will be back on the mound shortly . . . with a new supply of cut-curves . . . and fade aways." . . . Which makes all of us feel a lot better! . . . T T T A fair-sized portion of George Eastman's personal fortune ... is being spent in furthering Eastman's pet: a 13-month calendar. . . . The Kodak chief is chairman of the National Committee on Calendar Simplification. . . . ▼ ▼ ▼ Bill Paley, president — and in active charge of Columbia Broadcasting System . . . is only 27 year old! Bill's pet is Bing Crosby, appearing in a series of shorts for Educational . . . and one of the highlights of the Columbia ether waves . . . thanks to Foley's order to his entire staff of 30 publicists . . . to concentrate heavily on pushing Bing in all Columbia press matter. . . . WWW Still waiting for that coast-to-coast string of 100, 400, 900, 1,000— or what have you — Trans Lux quarter -in-the-slot newsreel houses. . . . T ▼ Y . Who zms it . . . who said . . . "To be a successful shoTiinan . . . you don't have to be crasy . . . but it helps!" . . . WWW You may get a slight idea. ... of the extent of Harley (Fox) Clarke's interests . . . outside of the picture business and particularly in the field of public utilities . . . from the unadulterated but imposing fact that Clarke's Utilities Power & Light Corp., Chicago . . . iust turned in a 12-months gross of $51,718,000! . . , Net earnings were $22,246,000 . . . and net income, $7,141,000. . . . Utilities' preferred paid $98.70. . . . Class A paid $9.45. . . . Class B, $3.54 and common, the same. . . . T V ▼ Seen in Omaha the other day . . . Wanda Hawley {remember?) . . . ballyhooing a Hollywood beauty preparation . . . in a department store. . . . WWW Will Tommy Meighan . . . come back . . . in "Skyline?" . . . 'ILLION dollar" figures concerning film folk came in for another false twisting by the nation's press when someone released a list of picture people who are insured for $1,000,000 or more. . . . Twenty-two "names" are on record as holders of policies ranging from one to six-and-ahalf millions . . . but what the press failed to state is the very important fact that only seven in the group hold straight personal policies . . . the remaining 15 having combination businesspersonal contracts . . . which considerably lessens the heavy premiums which players and film executives are supposed to pay yearly on personal insurance. . . . For the record: . . . Insured Amount Type Wm. Fox $6 Jos. M. Schenck 5 Jesse Lasky 5. Adolph Zukor 5, Harry Warner 2, .S. L. Rothafel 2, John Barrymore 2. C. B. DeMille 1 Albert Warner 1 Buster Keaton 1 Otis Skinner 1 Norma Talmadge .... 1, GilBert Roland 1 Doug Fairbanks 1 Al Jolson 1 Mary Pickford 1 Harry Richman 1 Will Rogers 1 Constance Talmadge.. 1 Eric von Stroheim.... 1 Jack Warner 1 Gloria Swanson 1 ,500,000 Bus. -Personal ,250,000 Bus.-Personal ,000,000 Bus.-Personal 000,000 Bus.-Personal ,500,000 Bus.-Personal 401,200 Bus.-Personal ',000,000 Personal 750,000 Bus.-Personal ,500,000 Bus.-Personal ,250,000 Bus-Personal ,250,000 Personal 250,000 Bus.-Personal ,000,000 Bus.-Personal ,000,000 Bus.-Personal ,000,000 Business ,000,000 Bus.-Personal ,000,000 Personal ,000,000 Bus. -Personal ,000,000 Bus.-Personal ,000,000 Bus.-Personal ,000,000 Personal 000,000 Personal The lives ... of 22 "big names" . . . worth . . . $46,000,000.'.'.' . . . As a press agent sees it: WWW "Directing scenes and taking bows can keep a director busy. King Vidor was engaged in scenes in 'The Champ' at the M-G-M studios when 'Street Scene' opened in Los Angeles, and between every scene with Wallace Beery and Jackie Cooper he had to STOP to sign for congratulatory wires that poured in." WWW And that, my dear children, is why the bankers went West! . . . WWW Top this for expense cutting ... if you can ! . . . When the rush slows up at Western Union offices in the New York theatrical district . . . the messengers are taken off the floor and sent down to the cellar to await a pickup in business. ... Of course, the company does not pay the quarter-an-hour salary while the boys are so confined to the darkness and pleasant thoughts of President Newcomb Carlton . . . ▼ T T RKO's San Antonio Majestic staged a popularity contest the other day . . . offering the young lady a free trip to Holljnvood . . . which was won by, of all people ... a Mary Carr ... We hope ... ▼ ▼ ▼ The Phoenix Book Shop, New York publishers . . . announce "Holy Hollywood" . . . "Movieland from different angles . . . the judicious and the galumphing . . . the roseate and the reminiscent . . . the naked truth and the irony of it all. . . . The time has come (as the walrus said) . . . when this matter of the movies must be weighed . . . sifted . . . evaluated . . . Hence this symposium on the why . . . what . . . and wherefore of Hollywood ... by the eminentissimos of wit . . . and belles lettres. ... A compendium of reason . . . razz . . . and research !" T T T Well, how about . . . that comeback . . . Clara?