Variety (Jan 1932)

^ueadAf, Janaary 5, 1932 PICTURES VARIETY OCEAN SOUND CIRCUIT JS5.()00 miy as Cot Saviiig % Clip of P^P on &nployes' Salaries Over ?2,700,000 is figured to be saved by Paramount-Publlr on Its ao-ordlnated No. 2 salary cut of employees, now working. The week- ly amount of $56,000 hoped for In this wise Is divided by divisions, with production leading, at $30,000 a weelc Next Is distribution, with a week- ly saving of $16,000,'made up by the oUp of $5,000 In salaries and $10,000 In other ways. The . Publlx chain expects to contribute flO,000 toward the total each week through a salary saving, but with no salary under $50 affected. Paramount's first salary slice rested almost wholly, with' the non- talent forces. In production now It Is said the screws will go down tighter on the contracted and other taleht in the studios. Paramount's and Publlx's Initial salary cuts ranged from Ave to 26%. Present cuts on the sliding P-P scale are reported as iiot above 10% through repeatlnis on the same em- ployees, but the production clips from reports will go to 25% for the talent, since It will be their first. When suggested to Paramount's players and directors the first time that, a cut in their contracted sala- ries should be made, very few of the talent fell in with the suggestion. Average salary of the Publix house manager receiving over $50 weekly and who must endure a sec- ond cut is estimated at under $70 a week. No Hours Paromount's second pay cut Is causing a number of employees and executives who have been with the brganlzatipn for the past decade to earn less than they did eight years ago. At tho same time clerks' and titenoes who were accustomed to to-.5 hours now are not finishing up lintll seven In the evening. New white collared employees are being hired only on the understand- ing that their hours are unlimited and that sucli time is strictly for their bosses to decide dally. No Unempibyed Figure Hays oflSce has no figures on - the total number of unem-. ployed in the picture business. As to' the unemployment situation generally in the busi- ness one Hayslte uses this exclamation: 'Too dreadful even to dream of.' f INSTALLLMENT PAY OFF ON PAR AT $52 In view Of the added or second 6 to 10% cut forced on all Paramount- Publlx employees now ekrnlng from $50 upward, arrangements are go- ing forward to readjust payments many are making on stock pur- chases made at a time when pres- ent conditions were unforeseen. Proposal under consideration is doubling the length of time In which to complete payments, so -that each installment from now until paid up will be cut In half. This it Is believed will ease the burden of numerous P-P employees who purchased. considerable stocU In 1929 when bought by employees at $52 a. share. At that time executives and sub- execs who put In requests wiSro per- mitted more than their allotted share. Many loaded up as heavily as they could see fit then to carry, with subsequent bad times and last summer's salary cut In P-P having made the struggle to. pay harder than expected. A few are said to have sold out. or been closed out through inability ao carry on. Those who did not overbuy allotted amounts were fully paid up last April. Some P-P execs and others should be paid up this April (1932), others later. Cutting of payments will ex- tend last payments twice as far. . Paramount stock is now listed at .^^ound $7 per share. Colmnbia Shutdown PUBLIX NET ON WEEK, $700,000 Publlx netted riearly $700,000 over Its theatre chain, during the holiday week ending. Dec. 31. It's close enough to .Publix net for the same week, the year before to- call it a stand off. Though there was a gen- eral theatre drop on the week of around 10% as against the year pre- viously. The holiday week fairly lived up to expectations with other chains, circuits and houses. A 10% drop on Xmas Day in the east started the week discouragingly, but with the week end normalcy climbed back. New Year's'Day and Saturday (2) in the east were miserable, rainy each day; Saturday also saw rain on the coast, with this week there by securing a poor start. Hollywood, Jan. 4, Columbia closes its shutters Sat- urday night (9) for six weeks.' Fifteen of Columbia's 20 films BCjje.dule are completed. FWC Would Like Pnblix To Resome Operation Of Its NW Theatres Los Angeles, Jan. 4. Fox 'West Coost Intends to pro- pose to Publlx to retake its theatres In the northwest, and remove the present operation away from F'WC. As a start toward such a move- ment, Louis Cohen, the theatre trader for F'WC, left here Saturday (2), for New York to talk it over with the Publlx people. It is clcAmed here there is noth- ing in the rumor that if Publlx agrees to relieve Fox 'WC of the several northwestern houses, that Harold B. Franklin will add them onto- his operation of Publlx's two downtown theatres in this city. Rather It is said there is more chance of the Ihdle Jensen & Von Herberg firm of Portland getting the houses. If anyone. FWC htis been operating the Pub- llx theatres in Seattle, Portland, Spokane, etc., for about two years. UA TALKING ABOUT 16 RELEASES FOR 32-33 Despite conditions this year, It will turn out satisfactorily to United Artists, inner accounts be Ing that the company will show a nice profit. As a result, U. A. is discussing a program for the com- ing season ('32-'33) of 10 pictures. If going through, that will be the largest schedule ever for the com- pany. This season U. A. is releasing a total of 12 pictures, majority of which have already gorie out. . Sam Goldwyn would contribute at least five, possibly more, with the balance between Art Cinema and individual owner-producers, making up the IG. ALLKINDSOF WIHED BOATS Merchant Marine and Navy Using Talking Pictures— Short and Long Run Boats Too NEW REVENUE MAKERS The picture industry., if it follows the lines being established by Amer- ican electrics, will broaden out to such -an extent that within another two years theatres will, have a com- paratively , insignificant place in filmdom's revenue getting sources. Ocean theatres are shaping up as a medium for return to the producer eclipsing in immediate prospect money from all other. outside sources. Betvveen the merchant marine and the U. S. Navy, it is fig- ured that talker rentals currently, are in excess of $2,000,000 yearly. The revenue potentiality from the merchant'marine alone is unbeliev- able when it is realized that many of the new ships'possess two talk- er equipments, while others In the plans have lay-outs for three sea foam theatres. This means that from four to 10 features are being booked on round trips. Both General and 'Western Elec- tric are certain of 200 civilian boats being wired before the ocean sound circuit will be deemed near coraple tlon. Right now 30 of the largest liners are wired, several of. these wltli two sets' of equipment On a gen eral average it Is figured that each of these boats is usliig 160 features yearly and paying In rental from $60 to $130 per feature for one showing per voyage. This means that at an average rental of $75 each boat with a single sound equipment is paying producers around $12,000 yearly In film rentals. Steady Users Ocean liners changing passengers at the end of five days are booking five features. Cruising boats that carry the same passengers back to the home /port, are booking new product for each day which puts them in the trans-oceanic class so far as bulk buy is concerned. The short trip to Bermuda, as an In- stance, at the end of the year repre- sents Just as many bookings to the Industry from the Furness-Bermuda Line as from the U. S. Lines. Dif- ference in running time also comes into account, the 'Monarch of Ber- muda' yearly scheduled to make 46 (Continued on page 48) Businessman-Showman Teams May Be New Angle to F3m Biz Operation Bill Fox-Pat Casey Sh! Sh! BUI Fox and Pat Casey were having a late hour luncheon together the other day^ Did that start something? INDIE MAKERS NOW TALK OF ORGANIZING ' Hollywood, Jan; 4. . Independent picture producers are talking about organizing ian asso- ciation, along, the lines of the MPPDA with the primary intention of being able to deal with unions and exchanges. Several nationally known attor- neys are being considered to head the new association. Included in the group are Sono- Art, Monogram, Big 4, Phil Gold- stein, M. H. Hoffman, J. G. Bach- man, Samuel Zlegler, Benny Zled- man,; Emil Jensen, nalph Like and others. SAM MORRIS AWAY ON WB mRET MISSIONS' U'S LAB FOR INDIES Con No Like and Says So on Coast FBMELIN EAST In New 'i'ork for a week Harold B. Franklin Is in conference with Publlx execs. Franklin reached N'ew York Sat- urday (2). Hollywood, Jan; 4. Entrance of Universal into the commercial laboratory field through extendln.g Its lab facilities to inde- pendent producers has the Consoli- dated Lab. squawking. A 10-year contract with Consolidated handi- capped U'S new lab as it is only used for turning '■ut the dally rushes. Studio decided that outside work would take care of the lab's overhead. 'When U* announced that King Charney would take over manage- ment of the lab and go out after Indie business. Consolidated pro- tested. A number of Indie producers Iiad jumped from Consolidated to U. Set-up of U's lab has as cus- tomers practically all the indie pic- tures financed by Phil Goldstone. Understood that Goldstone is inter- ested in tlic lab and was instru- mental in placing Charne' at the head. Charney Is former agent for Agfa, Consolidated has been less lenient with indies for the past three years and In most cases refused to extend credit. Now it has let the bars down and is carrying several of the more reliable Indle producers. Conflicting reports are associated with the sailing on the Europa to- night (5) 'for Europe of Sam Morris. That he will return after an In- definite stay In his present capacity of general manager of 'Warner Brothers Is stated In higher Sources, despite persistent rumors that the bringing into the home office of E.^ Alperson was for a grooming to the higher Job. Morris yesterday said the trip is strictly for business and involves 'a couple of secret missions.' That ah attempt to get at the bottom of the foreign market and ease "Warner pictures to. a strategic position is reported one of the 'mis- sions.' Meeting at the Hays office during the past six months have failed to afford this key to the in- dustry generally. That "Wall Street angle ot opera- tion by' a businessman-showman team at the helm of a film company looks to have taken form In the In-. du.<itry. I^atest setup that way is at 'War- ners and on the theatre end. Joe ' Bernard's appointment to head the 'W.B. theatre end is mainly from a business angle. - The W.B. lineup: sizes up quite 'similar to the Paramount situation. It's stated that John Hertz, busi- ness man and chairman'of the Par fi;iancial committee, is riding 8id» by side with Adolph Zukor but In a separate path. Hertz' work la confined to expenditures and bud- gets without delving into details of operation of the studio or the theatre, 'The same setup wiiile not actually put yet may be Installed at RKO, Although Fox Film Is not mentioned that way specifically, the matter ot- some such combo as business, man- showman has been also talked oic for that company. On the Fox end the . rub comes through its president, - E^dward Tinker. . Matter of selection of a showman-partner executive to run Fox with him is one tor' Tinker's own judgment and decision; At RKO an associate companion to Hlrani Brown In the form of an active showman Is not an Improb- ability, gathering from those who. should know. Bernard's post of operation at "Warners may be slightly different to all these mentioned as already In or contemplating but along th»i same angle. He has taken the va- rious showmen In the theatre end and named them as his executive' assistants. Of these there are five.' They Include, among others, Jack Cohen, a legal aid. EdncationalTiffany's Salary Cots—Letonts An economy wave Is battering at the door of Educatlonal-Tirfany. So far, including since Tiffany was taken In for production supervision and distribution by the E. W. Ham- mons' company, has. not sought to cut down. : On top of outs that are in process of developing.a general salary re- duction will be enforced, it is said. Inability to obtain wide .outlet for Tift and 'World-'Wldo prod- uct, coupled with discouragement brought to shorts' distributors by spread of double features and low- ering rental overhead, haven't ma:(ic E-T's season so far any rosier than that ot other producer-dlstrlbK, It as ros.v. Notices are reported having already been given to Mike Simmons, Joe RIfkIn, Gerald AVlnn and Peggy Spargo of the publicity department, which seems first hit. Others out are Sam Citron, in charge of nega- tives, and Storlln? Wilson of the contract department. Simmons may be switched to an- other department at a reported $50 cut In salary. It is said. RIfkIn blew fast after getting no- tice, joining D. K. Mos.3' Broadway In charge of publicity and advertis- ing. - Presumably a salary out In E-T would apply to both the Educa- tional and Tiffany stiidios on the Coast, as wpU as to. the exchanges. STAR CRAZE NOT SO HOT FOR BIZ star crazy producers will do as much harm to the film Industry as exhibitors who double feature. The phrase is a new one and la used by overseers of the industry to quietly stem the stampede for. all- star casts which Metro-Goldwyn, and Its success, is admitted having insi>lred. Two big names in a picture Is the 1. aximum In sufficiency. It Is charged. More, and grief is i>ound to ensue. It is declared, because the public, susceptible to every picture liovelty and extra dosage for the money, 'will set that bigger number as a precedent in their demand a.% the b. o. Just as much harm will fall upon the stars, themselves, if the con- stellatIon«iri-a-i>lcture policy pre- vails generally, as the producers,- it (s stated: Reason given In this con- nection is that a star Is the most delicate mechanism on the screen; that the big name has to have a thome directly attuned to its partic- ular atmosphere. Finally, that the right kind of such singular stories have been scarce in . the past, so what the chances for satisfying tlu-oe and four stellar personalities- In n. thrce-ln-one theme of the fu- ture? Rogers Doesn't Know Charles Rpgcrs. former production head of RKO-Pathe, says he doesn't know, what his future will bring out, but it won't Include William Le- Baron. The latter comment was brought about when Rogers waa Informed of a report from the west coupling him with J6e Schnitzer and. LoBaron In a new indie pro- ducing deal. Rogers will, he In Now York for about 10 days,