Motion Picture News (Oct-Dec 1930)

October 4 , 1930 M o t i o n Pic t u r e N < 45 Before the "Mike" In N. Y. Studios PRODUCTION on "The Royal Family," under the co-direction of Cyril Gardiner and George Cukor, which includes in the cast Fredric March, Ina Claire. Mary Brian, Henrietta Grossman and Charles Starrett, is making rapid strides. Meanwhile several other full-length features are being prepared. * * * The Paramount scenario department has moved into its new quarters on the third flooi of the main building. The rooms hare been renovated and redecorated with a futuristic design finished in a sky-blue motif. Larry Kent's forces zed! occupy a section on the second floor. * * * Austin Parker, Paramount writer, and his wife, Miriam Hopkins, who has recently completed the female lead in "The Best People.'' under Fred Newmeyer's direction, have left for a two-weeks' vacation in Bermuda. * * * Frank Tours, musical director at the Paramount New York studios, has returned to his duties at Astoria after hazing been loaned by Paramount to supervise the musical synchronisation of the Evelyn Laye picture for Sam Goldzuyn. * * * In the past week Ray Cozine directed the shooting of two stars in short subjects at Paramount. He made one entitled "Clinching the Sale" in which Harry Richman employs his famous voice in selling brooms to the housewife, and a novelty called "The Happiness Remedy," featuring the "blues chaser," Ted Lewis, and his band. * * * Bill Laidlaw, Jr., Paramount surf a riter, has completed a play which will soon be produced on Broadway. Laidlaw adapted "Skippy." which will be made under the direction of Victor Sckertsinger. * * * With producers crying "Bring the children back to the theatres," Murray Roth, directorin-chief at eastern Yitaphone studios, is planning a series of Vitaphones with special appeal to children. He is also concentrating on a series of hokum comedies including slapstick. * * * After a ten-day vacation at the "city of conventions," Atlantic City, Arthur Hurley, Vitaphone's ace drama director, is back on the job in Flatbush. Hurley's latest effort was "Madame of the Jury," with Judith Anderson play %ng the lead. * * * The combination of Sam Sax and Casey Robinson is again in effect. Robinson, who wrote feature stories for Gotham Pictures when Sax was production chief, is now writing varieties at the Warner Yitaphone studio, where his old boss is his new boss. * * * Alf Goulding has recently rented a large home in Flatbush, and is awaiting the arrival of Mrs. Goulding and the three little Gouldings. Alf has already completed direction of six Vitaphones, the latest being "The Darling Brute," a slapstick comedy featuring Jack H accord. * * * Don Costello, one of the principals in "The Last Mile." current Broadway hit. visited the Warner Flatbush studio and zvas instantly recognized by Robert Berry, sound engineer. It seems that Costello' s fine performances as leading man in a stock company at Louisville, Ky., six years ago, left more than a favorable impression. THE STUDIO SLEUTH. Book Sills Film In N. W.; "Unholy Three" a Success Seattle — Decision to run Fox's "The Sea Wolf," starring Milton Sills, despite that star's recent death, in all first-run bookings throughout the Pacific Northwest territory was reached here this week. Fox West Coast Theatre officials conferred regarding the advisability of showing the film according to original schedules this month, or holding it over for a number of weeks until Sills' death had been forgotten to a greater extent. It was decided that it would be run as originally booked in the Fox Fifth Avenue late in September, and then in other cities throughout the territory immediately. The decision was influenced to a great extent by the big business now being done in this territory on "The Unholy Three." That film, starring Lon Chaney, has been piling up big grosses at all second-run houses in this city, and in first runs throughout the territory, despite Chaney's passing some weeks ago. Sound Company, Theatre Units Are Incorporated Formation of Sound Projectors to market equipment, heads the newest batch of corporate activities in Eastern states. MoMar Amusement Co.. of East Rockaway, Queens, is another new one, as are Adirondack Amusement Co., Boonville and Van Brawl Amusement Co., Syracuse. In Delaware. Shubert Players Co. and International Film Service, Inc., were formed. In Xew Jersey, charters were granted to Maple-Gor Theatre Corp.. Newark and B. & H. Amusement Co. "Screen Mirror" Extended To Fox Eastern Houses Nationalizing of "Screen Mirror," fan magazine launched by Fox West Coast Theatres, is under way, the eastern expansion being undertaken by Eddie Eckels, who is in New York from the Coast. The October issue will consist of 265.000 copies, Eckels says. The chief outlet is theatres of the Fox circuit. Wunder Plans Tour Hollywood — Clinton Wunder, executive manager of the Academy of M. P. Arts and Sciences, is planning a tour through the middle-west in November and December. Wunder will speak of the achievements of the screen as pertaining to art and science. He will take with him a talking picture specially prepared for the tour and dealing with the subjects on which he will speak. The tour will be of the good-will variety. Distribute Tone-O-Graph Cleveland— C. R. Reitz and E. C. Reitz have been named Tone-O-Graph distributors for the state of Ohio with headquarters at 1709 East 21 st St. C. S. Adler, who has been in charge of the office, has returned to the company's home office in New York High and Low On Music Row NOW that the new season has rolled around with a promise of setting a faster sheet music selling pace, music publishers throughout the city have augmented their catalogues with new numbers. Songs like "Little White Lies," "So Beats My Heart for You," "You Brought a Xew Kind of Love" and "If I Had a Girl Like You" are of the type wanted, sales indicate. As we said before, with many of the publishers possessing many real good songs this year things sure do look a whole lot brighter. Donaldson, Douglas & Gumble believe they have a fine running mate to "Little White Lies" in "Sweet Jennie Lee," also written by Walter Donaldson. "Love's Melody" is another tune sponsored by this house. Sammy Wigler of DeSylva, Brown & Henderson is pepped up over the fact that a music store in southern California has made a window display of "Don't Tell Her What's Happened to Me" and has included the photographs of Buddy DeSylva, Lew Brown and Hay Henderson, the writers, and Danny Winkler, general manager of the finn. Meanwhile, a new song, written by Clarence Gaskill, "Still I Love Her," is making its bow. Jack Robbins of Robbins Music Corp. is going across the big pond and will be accompanied by one of his writers, Jimmy McHugh. While abroad they are expected to make a tieup with a European publisher. Shapiro-Bernstein is publishing the entire score of "Leslie's Blackbirds of 1930," Will Morrissey's "Hot Rythm" and a list of tunes which include "Ro-Ro-RoIIin' Along," "Moonlight on the Colorado," "Singin' Your Love Songs to Somebody Else," "Shadows in the Moonlight." "By All the Stars Above You" and "Too Bad." Jack Glogau showed us a letter from the firm's Los Angeles office wherein it stated that "Shadows in the Moonlight" is one of the most popular numbers on the Coast. Harry Bloom, who in the short time as a publisher has had one hit in "My Heart Belongs to the Girl Who Belongs to Somebody Else," has taken a number, "Bad Girl" (You're Good Enough for Me), which several firms turned down as being "too daring." Harry Richman is doing it and the song looks like it will click. Word reaches us from Red Star that Fox is pepped up over "Song of the Big Trail," theme song of the Fox production, "The Big Trail." The number is by Jimmy Hanley and Joseph McCarthy. "I'm in the Market for Yi»u" also is a brainchild of this team as is "Where Can You Be?" sung by Arthur Lake in "Cheer LTp and Smile." "The Stein Song" is ending, but the malady lingers on. It brought to the fore such songs as "I'd Like to Find the Guy Who WVote the Stein Song," "The Mug Song," "To the Steins" and here is another entitled "Drink, Drink, Come. Brother, Drink," a German waltz which Edward B. Marks has imported to our prohibitioned shores. Well, maybe it will help. PINCUS.