Movie Age (1927)

NOVEMBER 19, 1927 PAGE 7 Columbia Makes Tie-up With M. P. T. O. Group At Minneapolis Branch One of the most interesting affilia¬ tions between producers and distribu¬ tors effected in the motion picture in¬ dustry has just been closed by Columbia Pictures through Claude H. Macgowan, general sales manager, working in con¬ junction with William A. Steffes, presi¬ dent of the M. P. T. 0. of the North¬ west, and Theodore Hayes, representing the F. & R. circuit. The Minneapolis development has cul¬ minated in the opening of a Columbia branch exchange in Minneapolis, with Ben Marcus as manager. Distribution of Columbia production in the territory has taken out of the hands of the M. P. T. O., which up to the time of the new arrangement had distributed Colum¬ bia pictures in the Northwest. The Columbia deal is probably the first time that a producer with no thea¬ tre interests has been able to promul¬ gate and carry through a plan that calls for the co-operation of an exhibitor or¬ ganization, in effect making the thea¬ tre-owners partners in the gross busi¬ ness that results from the territory in¬ volved. The opening of Columbia’s Minneap¬ olis branch follows on the heels of the announcement made last week that Columbia had opened its own branch in Omaha, under the management of Joe White, formerly connected with Warner Bros, and FBO. Nationalization of the Columbia sales organization is nearing completion, for in addition to the two offices referred to above, Mr. Mac¬ gowan did not return to the home office until he had seen get under way a new Columbia branch in Des Moines, under the managership of Meyer Stern, for¬ merly with Fox. All three branches were opened within the space of three weeks. Star Novarro in “His Night” “His Night” has been chosen as the title for Ramon Novarro’s latest MetroGoldwyn vehicle, which is now being finished at the studios. In the new picture, which Harry Beaumont is directing, Novarro plays a youthful king in a fictitious European kingdom. The story is laid in modern times, with Renee Adoree as the hero¬ ine. The cast includes Dorothy Cumming, Roy D’Arcy, Edward Connelly, Jacquelin Gadsdon, Marcelle Corday, Alberta Vaughn and Shirley O’Hara. Fitzer “Star Talks” Are Given Initial Showing Before New York Critics The premiere of the Fitzer “Star Talks,” the new vocal trailer, was given in New York City on November 10 at the Brunswick auditorium, before an audience of stars, the press, theatre owners and others. The audience heard the first record made for the Fitzer company by Johnny Hines, who explained the theme of the story and drew many laughs from the audience with his code of rules for waiters. He described “Home Made,” a First National release in which he will be seen shortly. A complete description of the Fitzer method of presenting the voice of the star to the audience was given in a re¬ cent issue of this publication. Special records are made by stars who describe their next picture, telling only enough about it, however, to insure the return of the audience to see how it all comes out. The records take about three min¬ utes to play and are designed for ordi¬ nary phonograph reproduction. The records are rented to the exhibi¬ tor on a yearly basis, the producers making sixty records a year. The ex¬ hibitor is only obliged to pay for those records which he has pictures booked for. After each record is used it is returned. “Argonauts” to Be Filmed As Cosmopolitan Picture Peter B. Kyne’s new novel, “The Ar¬ gonauts,” dealing with the gold rush and the gold fields of California, is to be screened shortly, was announced last week by Irving G. Thalberg, MetroGoldwyn-Mayer executive. The story, which is now running ser¬ ially in the Cosmopolitan Magazine, un¬ der the title “Tide of Empires,” is to be filmed as a Cosmopolitan production with an all-star cast. The announce¬ ment that Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer will film “The Argonauts” is interesting be¬ cause of the fact that the same studio has recently completed the filming of “The Trail of ’98,” which Clarence Brown directed. It is definitely known that the pic¬ ture will be completed in time for 1928 release. Kathryn McGuire plays opposite Dor¬ othy Devore in her latest starring ve¬ hicle, “The Little Rube,” which will be released by Educational this month. Ten FBO Releases For December; One Feature “Legionnaires in Paris” FBO will distribute six features and four short subjects during December. On December 4, “The Slingshot Kid,” starring Buzz Barton, the 13-year-old western player, will be ready for ex¬ hibitors. Frank Rice, Jeanne Morgan, Buck Connors and Jay Morley appear in support of the young star. On December 10, “South Sea Love” with Patsy Ruth Miller in the leading role will be shown. This production is based on the story by Georges Surdez, with direction by Ralph Ince. Lee Shumway, Allan Brooks, Harry Crocker and Barney Gilmore appear in support of Miss Miller. “The Swift Shadow” starring Ranger, the dog, will be ready on December 11. “Aflame in the Sky” an airplane melo¬ drama, with Sharon Lynn, Jack Luden, William Humphreys and Robert McKim, will be distributed on December 18. “The Desert Pirate” starring Tom Tyler, is listed as a Christmas day release. Frankie Darro and Duane Thompson are prominently cast in the film, which is being directed by James Dugan. “Legionnaires in Paris” a special production, with A1 Cooke and Kit Guard in the leading roles, will be seen by exhibitors on December 27. This is the film which has the American Legion convention in Paris as its background. Actual scenes of the convention were shot in Paris by a corps of F B 0 cameramen, and shots of all important dignitaries who attended the conven¬ tion will be incorporated in the picture. The four short subject releases for December include: “Mickey’s Battle,” No. 4 of the Mickey McGuire series, based on the cartoons by Fontaine Fox, will be shown on December 5. On December 12, “Three Missing Links” a Larry Darmour-Standard Fat Men Comedy, will be shown. These two reelers features the three fat men, “Fat” Karr, “Fatty” Alexander and “Kewpie” Ross. A1 Herman directed. A one reel Newslaff, a travesty of the news events of the day, by Bill Nolan, will be shown on December 11, and an¬ other on December 25. Myers Joins Tiffany-Stahl Harry Myers, famous for his charac¬ terization in “A Connecticut Yankee,” has been engaged by Tiffany-Stahl Pro¬ ductions to help directors of the com¬ pany improve their stories from the angle of comedy relief and gags. It is intimated that Myers will find time shortly to direct one or more of the productions of the 24 Gems scheduled for the year’s program.