Motion Picture Herald (May-Jun 1936)

56 MOTION PICTURE HERALD May 3 0, 19 3 6 LONDON'S DENHAM STUDIOS NOW ACTIVE Seven of 1 5 Stages Are Ready; Schenck and Kent Deny Sale or Purchase, But Seek Producer by BRUCE ALLAN in London London Films' studio in Denham became active this week, after a delay caused by fire which damaged the roof of the first completed floor. First of the major features to be made there will be the Robert T. Kane all-Technicolor "Wings of the Morning." A few miles away, at Iver, the Pinewood studios wait only the finishing touches also to go into commission. On July 5th Herbert Wilcox Productions definitely transfers its activities there. Seven big stages are ready for equipment, of the fifteen planned at Denham. Dressing room accommodation is nearly completed. The power house is fully functioning and the workshops are supplying all the furniture and apparatus needed by the studio. Iver, with a stage reserved by British National Films, will have three more available on a service basis. Both these studios will continue to progress towards complete equipment for the greater part of 1936. In less than full working order they will offer rather more than double the floor space available at Elstree until the big new Amalgamated plant gets going there. New Standards Committee The British Standards Institution, which recently was called in to adjudicate on the question of 16 mm. standardization, giving a ruling in favor of principles of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers, has now been asked to supervise the whole of the standards used in the industry, and is setting up a permanent committee for that purpose. The Rumor Market During the recent visit of Sidney R. Kent and Joseph M. Schenck, rumors associating them with various deals, and with the names of several of the biggest production and exhibition units here, were so numerous that the contradictions, inevitably forthcoming, might have been read into the original stories. Persistently, the intention has been credited to the 20th Century-Fox chiefs to put through a deal of some sort with Gaumont-British. Explicit denials came from them to the first story, in a London trade paper, that with the assistance of A. C. Blumenthal they were seeking to get G-B by purchase of the Ostrer holdings in the controlling company, Metropolis and Bradford Trust. A later development, depending in this case on cabled back New York stories, was the statement that they were planning to sell the 20th Century-Fox holdings in G-B to an unnamed "British group." Once again there were denials. Seek Contact for Six Films The one definite fact known about the plans of Messrs. Schenck and Kent is that which they themselves announced at the press reception on their arrival. That is that they wish to establish contact with a British producer capable of making six films a year of a quality comparable to that to be expected in the four al ready scheduled from Robert T. Kane's organization, New World. Briefly, it seems that 20thFox, like United Artists, will be freed of the quota incubus and a British unit be given a chance to show that it is worthy of a world release. That assumes that the deal comes off. On this point, it is obvious that everything depends on the status and financial strength of the "British group." Nothing has been officially released as to the identity of the persons who are talking with Mr. Kent and Mr. Schenck, but it can be taken as a definite fact that they have had many conferences with what is known as "the Portal group," and that there is a very great likelihood of an agreement being arrived at which will cover the British production needs of 20th-Fox, and perhaps other things. Heads Syndicate Lord Portal came into the film news as head of the syndicate which bought the Universal holding, later transferring it to General Film Distributors. It is obvious that with his associates, who include the millionaire J. A. Rank, he would have no difficulty in completing a production plan on the scale desired by 20th-Fox. Equally a certainty is that the films would be made at the just completed Pinewood studios, erected by the Rank-Rule-Boot interests. Uncertain is whether this production deal is to be extended further in the direction of a transfer of 20th Century-Fox holdings in G-B to the Portal group — associates of C. M. Woolf of General Distributors, who has been correctly or incorrectly credited with a wish to control G-B for a long time. Surmise on this point is that at this moment just surmise. The current facts are the 20th-Fox denials, underlined by more denials from Mark Ostrer of G-B. Meanwhile, said Sidney Kent at the 20th-Fox London convention, the company is back on a dividend paying basis owing to the work of Mr. Schenck and Darryl Zanuck and in 18 months expects to be ahead of the single company in the business which is at present doing a bigger world trade at the present moment. And, he added, it expected to have nine British pictures in the year, costing between £50,000 ($250,000) and £100,000 each. Production Notes Maurice Elvey began direction of "Fall of An Empire," his first for Twickenham Film Productions, at the J. H. Studios, Elstree. Kurt Courant is cameraman and Andrew Mazzer art director. * * * For "Accused," the Del Rio-Fairbanks Criterion production for UA release, an exact replica of the Criminal Court of the Palais de Justice, Paris, has been erected at Worton Hall. * * * Oswald Skilbeck, scenario and production chief of Western Electric's educational and publicity shorts department, has joined London Films and will assist Basil Bleck in organization of the casting department, to serve all units using the Denham studios. * * * Ronald Colman is expected to play "Sir Walter Raleigh" in January in the planned Criterion production with that title. Miriam Hopkins, Margaret Sullavan, George Raft and Fredric March are announced as other probable signings by Criterion. * * * Recent sequences for Associated Talking Pictures' "Lonely Road," directed by James Flood, include exact reproductions of exteriors and LONDON PARAMOUNT^ BOOKINGS CAUSE STIR The use of the Paramount in London's Tottenham Court Road section as a pre-release house is causing controversy along Wardour Street. Situated a few hundred yards from the Dominion, operated by Gaumont British as a second pre-release theatre, the Paramount has been doing big business with bookings putting it substantially on the same basis as the West End houses — Tivoli, Empire, Leicester Square, Pavilion, etc. Exhibitors, who have a long-standing grievance against the West End run in any case, are alarmed at the possibility of the area — never conclusively defined — being definitely extended. With a lead from GB, which has the power to withhold its circuit bookings from features playing prerelease at the Paramount, there will be an effort to force that theatre back to general release date. interiors of Scotland Yard, the British Police headquarters. Clive Brook and Victoria Hoppe. Next feature scheduled at Ealing is "Keep Your Seat, Please," Florence Desmond costarring with George Formby under Monty Banks' direction. # # * W. H. Beaudine is directing Nervo and Knox in "It's in the Bag," for Warner-First National at Teddington. Swanda Wanda, French film star, is christened Cora Beaucaire for her British debut in this film. 20thFox British Arrangement Told Terms of the Twentieth Century-Fox deal with British National for production of four pictures annually were revealed as without time limitation, and cancellable by either party after three pictures have been completed, by S. R. Kent, president, on his arrival in New York Tuesday after nearly six weeks in Europe. Said Mr. Kent: "We will cooperate with British National on casting and we have the veto power on stories. A minimum of $250,000 will be spent on some of the pictures and the others will cost around $400,000." Reports that Lord Portal had been negotiating for the Twentieth Century-Fox 49 per cent interest in Gaumont British were dismissed by Mr. Kent as annually recurrent rumors, and a similar comment disposed of reports pertaining to acquisition of the Roxy theatre in New York. Walter J. Hutchinson, head of the company's foreign division, returned with the president. Mr. Kent, Joseph M. Schenck, John D. Clark and other home office executives were to leave New York on Thursday to attend the company's sales convention in Chicago. Darryl Zanuck, Sol Wurtzel, William Goetz, William Dover, Irving Berlin and Irving Caesar were to leave Hollywood on Friday by chartered plane for the same destination.