Motion Picture News (Mar-Apr 1923)

1154 Motion Picture News "Jazzmania" in Song Form In connection with Mae Murray's new photoplay, " Jazzmania,'' a song of the same name is being published by the Shapiro-Bernstein Company. "Jazzmania" is a Metro picture presented by Robert Z. Leonard. The title page of " Jazzmania " carries two pictures of the star in scenes from the picture. The lyric was written by Lew Brown and N. T. Granlund. The music is bv James F. Hanley. The music publishing company and the various Metro exchanges are ready to cooperate with exhibitors throughout the country in effecting tie-ups with stores selling sheet music, according to word from the Metro home office. In addition to this, the song will be the theme number of the production. New Players Join Cast of "Red Lights" Announcement has just been made that Johnnie Walker, Alice Lake, Lionel Belmore, Frank Elliott and George H. Reed will take part in " Red Lights," Carey Wilson's adaptation of the successful stage play, " The Rear Car," which Clarence Badger will direct for Goldwyn. It has already been announced that Marie Prevost would have the leading feminine role. American Releasing to Distribute "Quicksands ' ' American Releasing Corporation announces its distribution of Howard Hawks' all-star production, " Quicksands," which was directed by Jack Conway. Helene Chadwick and Richard Dix are the featured stars and they are supported by Alan Hale, Noah Beery, J. Farrell McDonald, George Cooper, Tom Wilson, Hardee Kirkland, Walter Long, Edwin Stevens, Frank Campeau, Lionel Belmore, Jean Hersholt, James Marcus, Dick Sutherland, Lou King, William Dyer and Jack Curtis. American Releasing will issue " Quicksands " at once for pre-release, with its nationwide release date set for the first week in May. "Now You See It" Started at F.B.O. Studios Production was started this week at the F. B. 0. studios in Los Angeles on " Now You See It," which is a screen adaptation of the play, " Jerry Comes Home," by Roy Briant. The leading roles in this new F. B. 0. drama will be played by Virginia Fox, for two years leading lady for Buster Keaton, and Tom Gallagher. James W. Home will direct. The remaining principals in the cast are Tom Wilson, Victor Hotel, Herbert Griswold, Gertrude Claire, Robert Walker, Jack Carlisle, Henry Herbert and Dave Morris. Trade Paper Editor Wins Jersey Bride On Monday, February 19th, Charles S. Sewell, of the Moving Picture World, and Miss Irene Hoffman, of Passaic, N. J., were joined in the holy bonds of matrimony. Roger Ferri was best man. . Late News Notes from the West Coast by Wire AL KAUFMAN is in Los Angeles conferring with Cecil B. DeMille concerning a trip to Palestine for scenes in " The Ten Commandments." Universal has purchased a site on South Olive street and will erect a $150,000 twostory exchange building. Ferdinand Earle is on the coast and announces he will shortly start " Faust." Russell Simpson, playing the sheriff in Edwin Carewe's " Girl of the Golden West," was thrown from a horse at Sonora and slightly injured. Tod Browning has been signed by Goldwyn, effective as soon as he completes " Drifting " for Universal. Joseph Schenck has engaged C. Gardner Sullivan to write an original story and continuity for Constance Talmadge, to follow " Dulcy." William P. S. Earle is here to make an Egyptian film titled " Tut-ankh-amen " after research of six months or more. The new process in which artist's drawings are used as backgrounds will be employed, making possible an elaborate production at a reasonable expenditure. Theatre Interests Defeat Vicious Measure Determined to prevent the enactment of a bill which would mean death to many of the theatres of the state, and also determined to kill the bill so forcibly that it would not be brought up in any other state of the Union, two hundred persons interested in the theatre business of the state of Washington on February 1G attended the meeting of the Washington state legislature at Olympia, and the measure was killed without coming to a vote. The bill in question is known as Senate bill No. 134, and as proposed would levy a 10 per cent tax upon theatre admissions to be taken as revenue by the state. This wotild be in addition to the present 10 per cent government war tax. Realizing the utter unfairness of this bill and the harm it would do to exhibitors and motion picture men over the entire United States if it was passed and used as a precedent in other legislatures, L. O. Lukan, general manager of the Blue Mouse circuit of theatres in Washington, organized a special train and took to Olympia the largest gathering of theatre men that had ever been brought together in the state. The demonstration of these theatre men brought the desired results. N Y. Assembly Gets New 6% Tax Bill A bill is to be introduced in the New York Assembly by Charles P. Miller, chairman of the Assembly Committee on Labor and Industries, that will provide a 6 per cent tax on gross receipts of all amusements. If passed it is expected it will bring from $5,000,000 to $7,000,000 revenue to the State treasury. Games and performances specifically mentioned in the bill are theatrical and vaudeville performances, motion picture shows, baseball, football and basketball games; bicycle, automobile, motorcycle and skating races; prize fights, wrestling matches, athletic games and horse races. Amusements and sports for the benefit of educational and religious organizations are not to be ta' ed. " The bill carries an appropriation of $10,000 for the establishment of a bureau in the State Department for collecting the tax. The proposal has the approval of Democratic and Republican leaders. Ontario Censors Condemn 44 Feature Pictures The Ontario Board of Moving Picture Censors condemned 44 feature film productions during the calendar year 1922, according to a report of the activities of the board. The censors found that 31.5 per cent of the pictures examined, in addition to the features banned entirely, required trimming before they were considered appropriate for presentation in the 400 theatres of Ontario. The Ontario board passed upon 11,000,000 feet of moving pictures during the 12 months, this amount representing approximately 11.000 reels of film. The officials of the Board conducted the deletion of portions of pictures themselves which were considered offensive, and the condemned lengths were confiscated. At certain intervals throughout the year the film which had been seized was taken out and burned in a bonfire under official direction. Exchanges whose pictures had been cut were notified of the deletions made so that the same changes could be made in copies of the print examined in case duplicate films were to be released in Ontario. It is interesting to note that the Ontario Censors made it a practice last year of eliminating close-ups of foreign flags, including the United States Flag. One of the important decisions made by the Ontario Board last year consisted of the banning of an expensive production which was based on a popular and widely read novel. This picture was condemned, it is stated, because it indicated a too flagrant treatment of the unfaithfulness of a man toward his wife. M.P.T.O.A. Asks Repeal of N. Y. Censor Law The M. P. T. O. A. has forwarded letters to Senators and Assemblymen in New York State requesting their co-operation in the matter of repealing the censorship law in the state. In addition they have forwarded a letter to members of their organization urging that they get into touch with legislators of their districts and personally solicit their support to repeal the law. The letter to members of the Legislature calls attention to the fact that the motion picture screen is the visualized development of the printing press and the one phase of the public press subjected to censorship. The letters were forwarded over the signature of Svdney S. Cohen, president of the M. P. T. O. A. T. O. C. C. to Nominate New Officers This Week NOMINATION of officers for the Theatre Owners' Chamber of Commerce, New York City, was scheduled to take place on Thursday of this week. It was expected that three candidates would be put forward for president, one faction supporting Charles L. O'Reilly, another William Brandt and a third an unknown " dark horse." Several meetings were held during the week to discuss campaign plans by these various factions. A report was current that a petition had been drawn up by certain members requesting Sydney S. Cohen to attend the meetings. He is a member but has not attended during the past year.