Motion Picture News (Sep-Oct 1923)

1172 Motion Picture News Trust Charge May Hit Film Board Oversold Exhibitor Demands Are Made A MUDDLE -which appears headed for serious results, either the dissolution of the Kansas City Film Board of Trade cr an injunction prohibiting several of the largest film companies from serving exhibitors of Kansas, developed this week in Kansas City and Topeka, Kan., the state capitol. The situation, which is the climax of a long series of events occurring between W. B.. Rogers of the Columbian theatre, Wamega, Kan., and exchanges of Kansas City and exchange members of the joint board of arbitration, may result in the tiling of a charge under the Kansas anti-trust law by Charles B. Griffith, attorney general of Kansas, against exchange members of the film board. The facts, briefly, are: Mr. Rogers, who was oversold on pictures, received notices from time to time to appear at hearings of the joint board of arbitration, but did not do so. Finally registered letters, mailed on the same date, from several film companies, demanding deposits approximating $1,200 and threatening discontinuance of service, were received by Mr. Rogers. Mr. Rogers' next step was to retain an attorney and attend a joint board of arbitration meeting in Kansas City, which brought no concise results. Mr. Rogers then went to Topeka, retained an attorney there, and requested of Attorney General Griffith that charges under the anti-trust statute be filed agains exchange members of the Kansas City Film Board of Trade. Before consenting to use the name of the state in such a charge, Mr. Griffith requested a preliminary hearing in order to ascertain the merits of the case. The meeting was held Asks Hearing After for $1,200 in Deposits in Topeka Tuesday and it is the consensus of opinion among non-participating exhibitors who attended the hearing that Mr. Griffith may be inclined to file the charge Under the name of the state of Kansas. The injunction, if granted even temporarily, would be disastrous to every theatre owner of Kansas, while the dissolution of the film board w ould be a blow to the exchanges, as they are functioning smoothly at present. Universal Takes Lease on Kansas City House Announcement was made this week that Samuel Harding, owner of the Liberty theatre, one of Kansas City's downtown first-run houses, had leased the theatre to the Universal Film Company of New York for a period of five months. The company is planning to show some of its biggest productions in the house, which now is being remodeled, it is said, as well as pictures from other companies. Lee D. Balsly, Universal branch manager at Kansas City, will become house manager of the Liberty, which reopened August 31. West Coast Theatres Buys Stockton House The State theatre, owned by Ackerman & Harris Corporation, has been purchased by the West Coast Theatres Company of San Francisco, as announced by A. M. Bowles. The deal gives the West Coast firm two large playhouses in Stockton. New Motion Picture Companies Incorporated in New York State Show Decided Increase MOTION picture companies incorporating in New York State during the past month show the following capitalization and directors, according to the papers filed with the Secretary of State; G. and H. Pictures Corporation, 20,000, Jack Noble, John Powers, A. L. Grey, New York City; Rockville Centre Theatre, Inc., Rockville Centre, $50,000, F. M. Da Costa, George A. Powers, L. W. Dawson, Rockville Centre; Hayakawa Productions, Inc., $1,000, Harry and Moe Luftig, Morris Stone, New York City; S. and A. Amusement Co., Inc., $1,200, L. H. Baer, Andrew Bellanca Morris Minkoff, New York; The Old Masters-Studio, Inc., $25,000, H. F. Turrell, Sag Harbor; Maurice Workstel, George B. Williams, New York City. Willat Film Corporation, $5,000. A. Kessel, Jr., Charles O. Baumann, New York City; Robert J. Rudd, Sea Cliff, L. I.; Capital District Picture Play Corporation, $75,000, Frederick T. Cardoze, Florence A. Cook, Albany; Daniel S. Conway, Troy; Anderson Pictures Corporation, $100,000, H. G. Kosch, A. Thompson, M. Gerst, New York City; Winship Pictures Corporation, $10,000, Clyde E. and Marie E. Elliott, Horace C. Shimeld, New York. City; Stagecraft RestaurantTheatres, Inc., $10,000, William J. Gallagher/ Ted Reily, John M. Anderson, New York City; Lloyd Carleton Productions, Inc., $500, Lloyd .Carleton, Sylvia Stern, John Thow, New York; Great Lakes Theatre Corporation, $500, Louis Mehl, Brooklyn; Marie A. Finn, Mildred Lustgarten, New York City. Mammouth Picture Corporation, $250,000. Victor B. Fisher, H. G. Kosch, New York; Aaron L. Jaffe. San Francisco, Cal. ; Aetna Pictures Corporation, $20,000, H. Ned Marin, Pearl Cohen, Isabel Kaplan, New York City; Illustrograph Service Corporation, $20,000," Matthew M. Feely, John P. Robertson, Solomon. Goodman, .New York; M. and V. Motion Picture Corporation, Kingston, $12,000, John McLean, Joseph B. and Raymond C. Van Buren, Kingston; C. C. Burr Producing Corporation, $500, Charles C. Burr, Freda Freeman, Brooklyn; H. Edwin Goldberg, New York City; Kahnegraph Film Corporation, $25,000. Harry Kahn, Ray Leason, New York; Joseph Acaleo, Brooklyn; Rome Exhibitors, Inc.. $10,000, Adolph Berkowitz, Henry M. Rieders, New York; Frederick G. Reif, Bridgeport, Conn. The En-Roy Pictures Corporation, $125,000, Isidor and Eugenia Zar, Brooklyn; Mayflower Photoplay Corporation, $1,500, Dorothy Strumpf, V. A. Pascal, Martha Manevetz, New York City; South Shore Theatre Corporation, $10,000, R. E. Maben, Brooklyn; Albert Mannheimer, New York; C. P. Kramer, Far Rockaway. Kirkwood Seriously Injured in Accident JAMES KIRKWOOD, who has the star role in " Wild Oranges " for Goldwyn, was reported in a very critical condition at the Beverley Hills Hotel in Hollywood on August 28 as a result of a fall from a horse. Advices to Motion Picture News from its West Coast office said that Mr. Kirkwood was suffering from concussion of the brain, and that he had been unconscious since the accident, which occurred on Saturday, August 25. Lila Lee, wife of Mr. Kirkwood, is at his bedside. King Vidor, director, and the company filming "Wild Oranges" had only recently returned to Hollywood from Florida, where scenes for the picture were made. Work on the production has been held up as a result of the injury sustained by the star. On August 29, Mr. Kirkwood was reported improved, but it was said a long period of recovery ^would be necessary. It was also reported in Los Angeles that Goldwyn would scrap the film "Wild Oranges," upon which $75,000 had been spent, retaking with a substitute for Mr. Kirkwood opposite Virginia Valli. Alleged Swindler Finds Missouri Victim Frank Blatti of Harwood, Mo., reported to the St. Louis police on Friday. August 24, that he had apparently been "swindled out of $300 plus expenses from St. Louis to Arkansas by a man representing himself to be a motion picture distributor. Blatti claims that he answered an advertisement in a St. Louis newspaper offering a " good position to a bright voung man with $300." In Room 401 of the New Plaza Hotel he signed a contract to accompany a film entitled " Yankee Doodle in Berlin " over a route in Arkansas and Texas mapped out by his employers. He paid a deposit of $300 as good faith. He alleges he was to have "received a salary of $200 a month. When he reached Helena, Ark., he received his first shock when he discovered that the first theatre on his calling list had been closed for three years. Detectives assigned to the ease arrested John F. Le Roy, 37 years old, in the room named in the advertisement. ILe Roy denied making the arrangement with Blatti, saying that his roommate known to him as Farmer had engaged Blatti. London Opens Luxurious New Picture House London opened its biggest and most luxurious cinema, the Shepherd's Bush Pavilion, which presented its first picture on August 15th. The house was built by L Davis, owner of the Marble Arch and Shaftsbury Pavilion. Norma Talmadge in " Within the Law." Two and a half years were taken to complete the new theatre, which accommodates 3.000, with standing room for 2,000 more. Prior to making his plans, Mr. Davis toured the United States, where he inspected the leading theatres in the larger cities in an effort to discover their best points, all of which were later embodied in the big London playhouse. Among the unusual features of the theatre are a $50,000 electrically controlled organ and a projection room located under the balconv close to the stage.