Variety (Jan 1932)

VARIETY FIC¥«liE S Tbcsday, Jannaiy 5, 1932 W| mafres in New Opera Line Up laid Down by Bernhtf ' with a, real estate operator; Joe Bemboi'd, In charge bt the. entire theatre circuit. Warners haa con- scripted Jack Cohen of .their legal dep artm ent to fake, active charge of the WB Broadway hoases. Regular theatre operators In the company have been relegated; to separate posts. Moe Stiver is as- signed to a small sliver of houses, called t hS w est, but with nothing to do with WB houses on the coast and taking In only theatres west of Pittsburgh to the Mississippi. Ed- ward Peskay has the most impor- tant' Warner theatre district, the eastern territory. It is reported of Bernliard that during a period of nine months, the total time he has been with the company, he smoothed Warner the- atre^ commitments 'and leases, to . one tenth of the original figure they cialled' for for a cash outlay. In 1931. It amounted to 'payments of 000,000 in cash whereas , the Warr tiers had expected to. pay out much mpre. on a total $ll,000,66o. For 1932 and a somewhat similar realty Condition, Bernhardt has asked for the. light allotment of $400,000. ' To <Sarry ojn tlils economy, with thought of circuit liquidation denied. Is the reason, for the Brothers conscripting. B^rnhard, and. he in turn is leaning on Cohen. lAtteV has had some theatre experi-^ ence, having had an interest 'lii t'he 40 .Warner Jlquity. theatres which t)ie Stanley Company took over 'about 2% years ago. Cabinet . Other than appointing his cabi.^ net which includes also Dave Weschner remaining in the pub- licity and advertising chair for thp olrct|it, and Clayton Bond continu- ing ..s film booker and buyer, Bern- hard is going to acquaint himself . with conditions out in the field be- fore altering to any extent the gen- eral policy which has existed. _ Bernhard around Jan. 16 will cominence the first of a series of tpUrs. It is expected that the same will not be coihpleted before late fn the' spring . when the/new op- erator will then effect changes. 80 Va'ude Houses? As things now stand there I s a posslSllity'that'trie-number'of Wtl theatres playlnig -vaudeville' may - be ' Increased from the present 40 to 80 ; On - realizing economy through cutTing salaries and putting in in ferlor help Bernhard is understood as thoroughly opposed. Where a theatre has' been flopping and yei holds possibilities through a build- up, Bernhard Is reported agreeable to spend extra money for such pur- pose. Theatres deemed oOlcIally dead- wood will be closed and disposed of, It Is also said. Bernhai-d has started systematiz- ing his cabinet. Every morning there is a meeting at which the events of the day are programmed These meetings • are reported to never exceed a half hour and the pow-wow Is devoid of the usual preamble. Harry Charnas, who occupied tho Broadway throne and now has title Instead, and Dan MIchaelove. former head of the entire circuit, are not Included In the Bornhard advisory force. PAT POWERS OFFERED TO OPERATE RKO Pat Powers Is reported one of the many who haye offered to operate RKO If a new head of that company should be selected. Powers Is said o have gone right on up in his quest to Owen. D..Young. Powers' background as presented by .him, according to the story, Is that once he was Interested In FBO; a picture cbmpany included in the. absorption of the Keith Circuit by RKO, besides the many other pic- ture ventures-Powers got into, and out .o'f. with more 'or less speed up to a'few years ago. Pat hpoked in on the RKO thing, it Is. said, through . finagling for a Trans-Lux theatre in the Griybar building. Running RKO may have come as an afterthought to. Patrick. TED YOUNG'S UNTIMEY DEATH WITH NEW YEAR GOLDSTM'S ANGEL BIZ HAS ji» INDIE AGAIN Hollywood, Jan. 4, Phil Coldstone, now the main bankroll'for'Idle' producers on the coast, will ■ ge't^ back Into Indie pro duction Iflmself early this year. ' Goidstonie'figures on a series of feo tures costing around (100,000, aim Ing for a' spot ' jn major programs, None lined up 'yet. Since laying jTllTany six month ago, G'old'slohe* lids been in produc tlon only as uncle. High Phone BiUt Film headqaart6rfl,;generally are aald to be Issutng orders to lessen- the longrdlstance phone .expense. Principally, this calls for a reduction of the wire talks between New . York, and Hollywood. Some companies have the long distance on contracted time dall^. Others pay by the calL Air mall and wires are re- ported suggested as. substi- tutes. THURSTON ON COOPERATION Boyd's 2d RKp Action BaJtlrapre, Jan. 4. J. CoAkm^n Boyd, local RKO stoikholfler.. w.bo. stai'.tcd receiver- ship projcAcdlngs Against the picture corporatlpa.bflore the .recent re- organization-.meetings in this city is still mad.and up at 'em. Boyd .filed, an additional bill nf- complaint In Circuit Court here la^t week. BKO.iian until Jan. 9 to an- First Important- casually of th« New Year is that of Theodore C Yoiung, head of' .the real estate de- partment of Pammount-Publlx, who met a shocking death by accident and drowning at 6 a. m. Saturday morning (2), when he .Inadvertently drove'his car oft a stringplece Into Reynolds -Ohannt^l, near I,ong Beach I., Mr, Young was 46 and had been with Taramount at the head pi the real ectate division since 191S, when he moved ever from the Cros> & Brown realty company. It Is believed Young would , havt- escaped his untimely fate' had he not suffered a blow on his heac when the car, falling Into the water on its top, had not rendered him unconscious 'or seml-unconscIoiiF The. windshield was broken as though kicked through when Vnt cbr was found, but It Is. though) this may have occurred when. It fell Into the. Sound. That Young was struck a severe "blow on his head was Indicated by his crushed derb> which was halt down over his head, when found. Not Speeding Belief, that Young, going home from a party, may have been speed- ing and couldn't stop before his car plunged over the stringplece, is erroneous. The car, of heavy make, was found In second gear. At the time Young left the Lido Club, Iiong Beach, where he hsid t>een enter talned by friends. It was raliilngand It Is thought that he didn't know- he was on the wrong road until too late. Young's absence was discovered shortly after he left the Lido club, since he was expected back to pick up some-friends thei-e. They went out to Investigate and saw th» tracks In the mud leading to where the oar leaped Into the sound, but thought they may have been made by somebody turning around and were not Immediately alarmed. Paramount Publlx did not know of the' mishap Saturday, alth'bu'fii 'Young didn't appear that, day at his ofllce. ■ As head of the P-P real estate department, Young had been with the parent company but also han- dled all realty transactions for Pub- llx as well. His successor, yet io be appointed, may be one of the several dlvlsloi^. managers under him. - Wife Died in June lAst July, attei- Mrs, Young had died in June, Young and his daugh- ter, Edith, 16, went to Europe on a six weeks'leave of absence. lTe *r ranged the trip mainly for hl:< daughtrr, who was badly distressed over her mother's death. Only a year ago the Young.s )m'^ celebrated thch- silver (2uth) anni- versary. Besides Rdlih, Mr. Young is s\ir- vlved by Otto S., Alfred A. ami Edwin H., brotJiers, none of wliom Is In th6 show business. Young lived In Pelham. N. y. Funeral sei-vlces will be lio.'d to- dsy, (Tuesday) nt 2 p. in. at ^h<» Church of the Ttedcenier, nt Mor^l'i Pelham, with hiierinont at Woud- lawn. A'tcr di.40overed, the '-e- malns rcjposc^l nt the George T. D.i- > Rochester,. N. Y., Dec. 24. Editor Variety: . Thanks for the notice about the extra showB'we gave in Hartford. It was necessary to give tiie extra shows for the reason the house had such small seating capacity and the added expense of our act made it Impossible for the theatre to m&ke a profit, although we did a record business covering si period of 22 years. It occurs to me that If there was a better understanding of show busi- ness in general between' the man-, ager and performer. It would'result In a more helpful co-operation. The average performer has had . little opportunity of knowing the business worries that beset the manager, rent, taxes, advertising, orchestra, house Staff and stage crew, besldec the performance, which all burden the manager, whereas the performer Is usually concerned - with his acl and drawing his salary. I am sure that should the artists be further enlightened on these mat- ters they would show a willingness to co-operaLte, not only in obtaining extra publicity, but in giving extra performances where advisable, for after all, the show business Is moi-e or less a partnership affair. Hoioari Shurstoti, BLUMEIf MAY SUE ON FOX OVERDUE NOTE (Reprinted froi^ 'Variety/ Jan. 4, 1928) m OimTORS-flbW w ' (Oddly enough) although this article wo wrKten four years ago; it still' ■tanile a timely report, and for that reaMit repMdueed.) • What is a chain operator? He's' a theatre operator. And what's a theatre operator? What is he7. It's a question that can stanif a lot of'thought. .' There are not over five men In America entitled to be called theatre operators In the same s^nse the show business now understands them. Not over Ave? Maybe only three. But, listen, there may be others. Hidden away, though. If there Is latent talent as a chain or theatre operator. It must burst, forth. Bankers have stumbled upon this great problem of present day . show business—the theatrfe operator. - It has been the opinion of''V&rlety's* observant picture reporters for months that bankers have cbta'clude'd. not to approve of huge mergers uiitil satisfied with the operator.' "Every'day that impression becomes strohger. Theatre operators of the leglt/Vaudeville and burlesque circuits of other days or this day are like babes In arms In knowledge and ability to operate, compared with the'Ilghtnlng-Iike picture chain operator of today.' Every theatre manager, director,'^booker or general manager of 'a cir- cuit believes he is-a theatre operator. He may be In his own opinion- be may be in fact. He kno'ws his owii theatre or circuit and can oi>erate It. Perhaps he has-done so. successfully. But the "theatre operator" as he'is I60k'ed'up6h nciw.'hihst be able to operate 260, 400'or 760 theatres, and everyone from his desk. He must do with that massive chain, every one of them, what the present operator may be doing with one, five or ten theatres.' Probable suit by A. C. Blumenthal looms against Fox Theatres to col- lect on a note for $600,000 now about ^ month overdue.. Notice has been served on Fox Theatres- through ' Blumenthol's attorney, Nathan Burkan. The amount of th< note Is a settlement claim for com- missions due Blumentiial In conn^- tion with his famous Fox-Loew deal of 1929. The note was given Blumenthal by Fox Theatres around 13 mohthe ago, after some protracted negotia- tions and during which Blumey'c original demand for commissions was compromised at the - amount of the note. If the recorded info of rnslders can'go, Blumey'e orig- inal claim, was .;or 11,600,000. There's a rub on the whole thine In that no formal complaint so far has been made by ACB. Just the notice of suit, according to report. Harley Ij. Clarke, is president of Fox Theatres. Reported thai Charles Caballero was appointed' executive v.p. of Fox Theatres, when checked, this report was marked unfounded at downtown. It may be the whole'thing wil' wait the arrival of Harry Arthur from the coast Ijatter is known to have, been recalled east by thr Fox chieftains. He is due east Jan. 10, Among other Items for Arthur to settle is the Roxy management. The chain with city subsidiaries-has no general operator.' (This In 1928, prior to Spyros Skouras becoming the Warners' general theatre operator.) The Stanley Company is"the best example. . It Is sub-operated in Washington, Baltimore, Newark, New York and Brooklyn. The Stanley Company has no. theatre operator who directs sll of Its theatres. A theatre operator as outlined, here, the super-operator, and with the liberal limit placed at five in this oountry right now, mKst know theatre eonstructipn, equipment, operation, manipulation,, trading, dealing, .buy- ing, selling, and attractions (screen and stads); policies (removable* replaceable, exchangeable, interchangeable), besides adaptability of the- atres for such policies, requirements of communities, eKminations of theatres, and opposition (not only in the latter as to current opposition, but for locations where building stops the other fellow, keeping the community sewed up); and the booking of picture—one of the most im- portant matters a picture theatre operator must be fully advised- upon, although his chain has its own theatre film broker—and the booking of stage attraotions, knowing that end as well as the screen booking end, with knowledge of prices of each, where to place and how to cut—in short, the theatre operator of thle nature herein must knew everything his chain departments should, knew. ' • And above all he must be the sole dominating figure of his organiza- tion, the single ruler, the absolute Boss. He must be the moist complete mentally equipped showman of all time, for. he must qot Only have expert knowledge as above, but he must know all of the rest of the show business, their theatres, their strength and their weaknesses. - » And after that do you think that five Is too liberal an estimate? Or three? • . - And when you pick those capable according to these requirements you will have the three forthcoming chain operators of America. Fox Met Theatres Board Meeting Adjourned Indef Scheduled board meeting of Fox Metropolitan Theatres has been put off. until the return of Walter Green a director, to New York city. He wb:s away when the meeting was called for Monday (28).. Green's presence was necessary to fill the required quorum. Among things which F. M. T. will consider Is the recently nained Voting Trust for Fox MetVopoIltan b. Fox Theatres, Inc. Also the mat ter of approving certain contracts entered• Ir.to-by the company mnn a?enient and among which Is the 'ikouras deal for Fox's up..<«tato N. Y, Reformed! . "William Hearst, former edl- to»- of Fox Movietone News- .reel. Is opening a chain of cut- rate drug stores; on Liong Island. First is at Amityville. Chase Roach Hollywood, Jan. 4. Cha-rlie Chase has received a 30- day notice from Hal Roach and will leave that lot following the com- pletion of his eighth and last short on the current program. His short:- have not figured In the black lately so his exit was decided upon. - He plans to free lance followlnr the termination of the Roach con- tract. UA SALARY CUT AS HIGH AS 40% Salary reductions within I'liltcd Artists, slated to become effective Saturday (9), will range as high as around 40% or more, depending on amount now opposite names on pay- roli. So far notices have been received by some people In low and high spots of the slice, while others have not as yet heard whether they wMI be cut' or not. N. Y. to L. A. Henry Ginsberg Inez Courtney. Betty Lawfoi-d, Monta Bell. William Schorr. Maria Antlnorl. . L. A. to N. Y. TA>uis Cohen. Nlta Marfan. Murray Smith. T.,ouis Cohen. Harry Cohn. I.eRoy Prlnz. . llan-y Arthur. Mike Marco. Skeets Gallagher. Buster Collier. Douglas MacLean. George Cat^s. Pierre Etchepare. Andre Hnrnez. ^coj[ol^^Iarchand_^ 2 Delmar Writers Hollywood, Jan. -1. Eugene Delmar and Vina Delmar have been placed under a Joint con- tract by Metro as writers. It runs for three months. Anothier writing contract ap- proved Is with Bartlett Cormack, for some time with Paramoiint, ■ Vina Delmar is' expected here from New York in the course of the next two weeks to take up a writ- ing contrtict at Metro, tor three or six months. . No assignment has been prepared for her, being held In abeyance until her arrival. She plans to leave New YOrk about Jan. 15. Italian Girl Writer Maria Carolina Aiillnorl, Italian writer, arrived in New York-Satur- day <2) from Naples. She left Mon- day (4) for the const to join the Metro foreign staff. Miss Antlnorl has a sl.-c-month paper, plus options, cftllliig for work on Italian-syncs.