Motion Picture News (Jul-Aug 1923)

A u (j u s.t 11, i y 2 j 643 Saenger Co. Officials Give Testimony HEARINGS in the Federal Trade Commission's investigation of the activities of Famous Players-Lasky and allied corporations were resumed last week in New Orleans, and on Wednesday of this week moved to Dallas, Texas. The principal testimony taken at the New Orleans hearing centered about the Saenger Amusement Co. and its activities. One of the first witnesses called was C. M. Clark, secretary of the Saenger organization, who declared that the company was not in control of New Orleans theatres. He asserted that the Sobel, Richards, Shears Corp. and the Jacobs Laundry Co., operators of most of the suburban theatres in New Orleans, were independent of the Saengers and that the latter company did not own any of the stock in cither of these corporations. Clark was on the stand for four hours. All of the theatres owned, controlled or booked by the Saenger company were listed. There are about 100 all told scattered throughout Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Florida and Arkansas. Clark Tells Saenger History " The Saengers were the pioneers in providing high-class amusement for the South and in building first-class theatres in a dozen cities," asserted the witness. " In many instances we have been invited by the civic bodies of cities to establish theatres and some of them have given us bonuses. We had the vision, the foresight, the nerve and the money where the other fellows would take no chance." Gaston Dureau, booking manager for the company, testified that the Saenger Amusement Co. buys its pictures in the open market and that its competitors are free to bid against it. " The various producing companies submit their pictures to us and we dicker with them," New Film Corporation to Bring Russian Peace THE first announcement of a $5,000,000 international film corporation was made in Los Angeles by Theodore Kosloff, who will have a prominent part in the organization. This motion picture . corporation, which will have stockholders from almost every nation in the world, is organizing with the specific intent of bringing peace and plenty to war-torn, famine-ridden Russia. Kosloff, who is a Lasky motion picture star, will give up his own promising career in America and return to his own country to help with what he feels is the most momentous project of modern times. Kosloff has still four months of unexpired contract with the Lasky-Famous Players which he will fulfill. He expects to leave soon after that for Paris to confer with his brother-in-law. His family will remain in America, where he will maintain a home for a time, at least. The corporation will have its headquarters in Paris and its releasing field will be centered in Russia exclusively. E. Altswang, brother-in-law of Kosloff. who was known before the Russian revolution as the "richest man in Russia," is the promoter and president of the corporation. Federal F.P.-L. Hearing Resumed theatres in New Orleans, testified he had to sell his film exchange because the Saengers dominated virtually all of the big towns. He said 90 per cent of the big features were denied him. John E. Storey (left) general sales manager of Pathe and W. B. Frank, feature sales manager, who have assumed their new duties. said the witness. " We have bought virtually all the pictures of a number of the important companies for this year, but there is no provision in our contracts against their selling to others. " The same applies in the various small towns where we have picture houses. We get the exclusive right to a town on the pictures we buy, but our competitor gets an exclusive right on the pictures he buys. There are numerous towns where we have no competition but there are also many towns where we have no theatres or affiliations and where the one theatre has no opposition. That's because the average small town in this territory will not support more than one picture house. If there are two they both lose money and one or the other must sooner or later quit." The closing day of the session was featured by an attempt by the Government to trace the relations existing between Famous Players and Georgia Enterprises, Inc., L. M. Ash testifying that Herman Fichtenberg had owned 200,000 of the 500,000 shares of the company's stock. It was also testified to that Saenger had used as many Paramount pictures before Fichtenberg had sold out to Georgia Enterprises, Inc., as afterwards. Witnesses testified that the Saenger Amusement Co., through the theatres it owned or with which it was affiliated, controlled virtually every town of any importance in Louisiana and Mississippi. Vitagraph Manager on Stand M. W. Osborne, local manager for Vitagraph, testified there was only one first-run house in New Orleans to which he could sell a film. He said that his home office had instructed him not to sell to the Saengers for any of their affiliations. " Plenty of theatres want our pictures, but are tied up with the Saengers as booking agents and will take the pictures only through the Saengers. We don't recognize booking agents," said the witness. On the other hand, it is claimed the Saengers will not buy the Vitagraph pictures unless they can get them for their affiliations. C. R. Hatchler of Meridian said he was unable to book any of the big companies' productions. " I used to get them all, but now I am shut out," he said, but admitted he was booked up to October, and that he did not usually make his contracts until every September. J. E. Pearce, who operates three Small Estate Enters Claim for Toronto Grand Following the granting of an order for the winding up of Trans-Canada Theatres, Limited, Montreal, with Robert E. Meagher as liquidator, the estate of Ambrose Small has entered claim for the Grand theatre, Toronto, one of the large downtown houses of the Ontario capital, on which Trans-Canada Theatres had been liable on an unpaid balance of $675,000. This is the theatre from which Ambrose Small mysteriously disappeared on the night of December 2, 1919, shortly after receiving payment of $1,000,000 in cash for his interest in an extensive chain of theatres in Ontario. A balance of $750,000 was made up of stock in Trans-Canada Theatres, Limited, and was secured by a first mortgage on the Toronto Grand. Payment of the above balance was guaranteed at the rate of $37,500 a year for twenty years. With the liquidation of Trans-Canada Theatres and the alleged default in payment of the year's installment on the Grand mortgage, the Small estate has made a move to secure possession of the theatre and it is expected that the house will revert to the Small interests. Loew's Abandon Bureau to Furnish Artists Loew's Star Attractions, which was organized in April for the purpose of supplying high-class artists to bolster picture programs, ceases to function this week. Officials of the organization have decided that unless the picture has the proper drawing power the shows cannot be made a success. The decision was the result of experiences at the State theatre in Los Angeles and the Warfield in San Francisco. Exhibitor Urges Action to Repeal Amusement Tax NED PEDIGO. an exhibitor, this week wrote to MOTION PICTURE NEWS an urgent appeal to other exhibitors about the country to take concerted action to repeal the federal amusement tax, asserting that it was ruining countless small exhibitors and taking from them their small margin of profit. He points out that during the war the motion picture theatres of the country exerted every possible effort, making their stages available to speakers for the Liberty Loans, Salvation Army, Y. M. C. A., the Red Cross, and such agencies, and carrying much special matter on their screens. He urges that exhibitors get together on some concerted action to demand the removal of the tax.