Motion Picture News (Oct-Dec 1930)

November 2 2, 1930 Motion Picture News 55 George and Karl Give Free Show Chicago — "Ain't they the (.kindest cutups !" Such was Chicago's opinion of the {unloving George K. Arthur and Karl Dane, when the team of screen buddies arrived here and immediately set to work entertaining a handful of listless Sunday morning transients at the Dearborn St. station. The boys just couldn't resist cutting a few capers after their 68 hours of enforced lassitude en route from the Coast. After a few days in Chicago the buddies will journey onward to Grand Rapids, where they are to begin a vaudeville tour. Swank Is Sunk Chicago — Machat's Punch & Judy house of swank, which opened here in September with a $2.50 top admission and all seats reserved, dropped into the bourgeois class this week when its third price cut in two months brought the tariff to four bits for matinees and six for evenings. House also opened as a two-a-day but is now on grind from 1 to 11, and no reserved seats. Machat gave away coffee and cigarettes, but Chicagoans who pay more than a buck for a movie expect wrist watches and tiaras. Hence the price cuts. Bill's Race Track Chicago — Bill Brumberg has installed a race horse chart in his office to indicate the progress of that bunch of personality salesmen of his from day to day. Every Monday shows the boys at the post with Contract up. The finish is scheduled for Saturday, but this week three of the boys got to the stretch by Wednesday and wanted two days off to go duck hunting. Frank Young threw his jockey, jumped a barrier and took a short cut diagonally across the field after closing a contract with a booking circuit. Elect Meltzer, Mindlin Chicago — Sol Meltzer and Fred Mindlin were elected to vacancies in the Illinois Independents Buying circuit this week. Meltzer succeeds Robert Gumbiner as treasurer of the organization, and Mindlin replaces George Burdick as secretary. Both Gumbiner and Burdick resigned recently to accept assignments outside Chicago. Tensen With N. S. S. Chicago — H. E. Tensen, formerly in a technical capacity at the Warner Hollywood studios, has been placed in charge of the special service department of National Screen Service here. Lee Verschuur, formerly in charge of the department, is vacationing in North Dakota prior to assuming a position outside the film industry. No Triangle Chicago — Chicago's favorite Austin story is the one about the very young, husband who, returning from work one evening, found the little womanknitting tiny garments. "Why, dear," he exclaimed joyfully, "vou never told me." "Don't be silly," she iced him. "It's a radiator cover for the new Austin." Wabash Ave. — South ( Continued from preceding page) ■ shorts in conjunction with the Chicago Civic Opera is slated to be closed in New York this week. Deal involves 24 two-reelers to be made in Insult's opry house on the river. * * * Harry Neil back at Warners' exchange as a sales manager following the readjustments after the F. N. distributing merger. * * * Bob Gumbiner resigned as treasurer of the independents' buying circuit to become manager of Gumbiner's new Los Angeles Theatre, at Los Angeles. Charlie Chaplin's "City Lights" will have its world premiere at the house New Year's Eve. * * * When George Scott, manager of the Ritz at Muskogee, Okla., announced his freak "dawn preview" for 5 :30 in the morning, Irving Mack kidded him by mail and predicted a financial flop. Scott wrote Mack this week that the sunrise performance was a wow, and the gross equalled that of his best Saturday night takes. * * * Harry Graham is managing at Universale St. Louis office. * * * Essaness Lakeside dark for the past week with plans for reopening still indefinite. * * * Ambassador reopened recently with Harry C. Miller managing. * * * Charles Rosenzweig, RKO sales manager, here for conferences with Bill Brumberg. It seems RKO can't supply prints fast enough to keep pace with the orders Bill's new sales force is turning in. * * * The Banner, formerly owned by Charlie Golin, has been taken over by Abe Ostrovsky, owner of the White Palace and California theatres. * * * Golin, meanwhile, bought Gumbiner's De Luxe. * * * Theatre acoustics cases continued again until November 26. They've had as many continuances as a hoodlum charged with killing a cop. * * * Publix local theatre departments may be moved into the new Paramount exchange on Michigan avenue in the near future. Home office wants the consolidation, but it looks as though another floor would have to be added to accommodate. The third floor, only one vacant, won't hold them all comfortably. * * * Bennie Benjamin, formerly RKO exchange manager here, is now Central States division manager for Columbia with headquarters at Kansas City. His territory includes Des Moines and Omaha in addition to K. C. * * * "Hell's Angels" finally opened here. It took as long for Chicago to get it as it did for Howard Hughes to make it. This means Chicago is playing day and date with Hencoop Crossing, Indiana. * * * Essaness opened the Vogue < formerly the Chateau) this week. Every time Essaness closes one it opens another. Noticed it? * * * Now the department stores are affording theatres competition. Opening of their toylands is bringing bigger talent to the bargain counters than it is to Loop stages. Paul Whiteman and hand headed an all-star eight-act bill at The Fair all day Saturday. * * * Aaron Saperstein knocked out for a couple days with one of those colds recently. This B. & K. P. A. Gets Front Page O. K. Chicago — Some smart publicity work by B. & K. netted the organization Page One space in local dailies with a story on ground breaking for a new theatre. The stunt was pulled by making the construction work look as though it were being attempted merely to provide employment in sore times. The philanthropic angle landed plenty of extra space with mention for a half-dozen B. & K. officials thrown in. Ordinarily it would have rated a paragraph in the Real Estate sections. Morning papers, however, ignored the yarn entirely, the break coming from the P. M. sheets only. The Paramount (tentative) Theatre in Englewood, plans for which have been under way since early last summer, was the basis of the ground-breaking yarn. Double Features Boost Trailers Chicago — The unprecedented number of houses double-featuring here has brought joy to at least one branch of the industry — the trailer houses. One company alone — Filmack — reports that orders for thirty trailers announcing impending double feature attractions at various houses were received during the Dast week. Opposed to this are the continuing complaints from exchanges over the short prices obtained from doublefeaturing theatres, and from short subject distributors who point out that the practice is cutting into their business with increasing severity and seriousness. Local Fox houses are the most recent to capitulate and start running two. department can sympathize with him, along with plenty of others who had the same thing or something just as bad. * * * Max Berling, prop of the Madlin and Ashland, will open the Parkside November 28, or thereabouts. * * * Madelon Anderson, new city cashier at National Screen, asks us to correct our recent paragraph referring to her as Madeline Sullivan. "Not that I object to the nationality," she says, "but I've got nothing against my husband's name." Oke. * * * B. & K. gave away fifty teams of ducats for the United Artists Theatre for prize-winning letters on "how to pick a bride." Stunt was a plug for "Lottery Bride" while it was playing the house. $100 in cash prizes were added as a further inducement. Evening American cooperated. KANE Presidential Timber Chicago — Walter Huston, while here, told Clark Rodenbach of the Chicago Daily Xews how he happened to get the Abraham Lincoln role. Griffith, it seems, asked George M. Cohan if Huston could play Lincoln. "Hell, yes," replied George. "He could play James A. Garfield."