Variety (June 1932)

•Tuesdity, June 7, 1932 p icra RE$ VARIEtr s SURE B. 0. STARS i]ay$ Ponders Suspension and Fine System to Curb Unruly ^ & . Establishment of a court martial, '0r a penalty system, wherein oftend- Ingr employees within the. industry, especially publicity men,. could be officially called \to account, and meted out punishment. Is being: con- sidered by the Hays Organization, it's really another move Vto^j^grd copying the manner In, which or- eranlz^d baseball conducts itself. Z>lscipline would be scaled so that a, first offender would be given a ^caution.' Repetition of the. viola- tion, however, would entail suspen- sion -from, his job for a designated period without pay. Upon being re- Instated another violation would mean a payless ^vacation of froiii three to six months, lioss of a job wltil little chance of re-engage- ment by the major firms. would. be the extreme ruling. Follows Attacks This move,' the most drastic of Its kind ever considered within the t»lcture industry, was precipitated ,after a series of outside attacks on picture advertising^. Part of It was that the editor of the 'Catholic World,' In rejecting an Invitation to address the Motion Picture Club in New Tork, Incorporated In his letter clippings of an ad gotten out by one of the big film companies. Just prior to this the .'Literary DI- ,gest' lifted the copy of another com- pany' and reproduced it aa the eisnter piece of an editorial on pic- ture advertising. .Although the Hays office put Into effect a code on advertisliig n year ago. It was said last week that some step for rigorous enforcement Is evidently Imperative. • Repeated threats to carry the complaints to heads of conipanles are being made and occasionally are carried outi. But this. It is be- lieved, Is no*: as efCective as would .be a neutral committee passing on copy' considered questionable. FATTY WANTED FOR SCREEN COMEBACK Deals are currently on with War- ner Bros, and Columbia for the re- turn of Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle to the screen after a 10 years* absence. Each company wants Arbuckle, if terms can be arranged, to write,, act and direct a series of 12 two-reelers. The Warner offer is being handled l>y Leo Morrison from the Holly- wood end, While . with Columbia dealing is through Morrison's New Tork office. Meanwhile, both pro- ducer-distributbrs are checking audlenpe reaction and business on Taude dates now being played by Arbuckle. The vaude tour was arranged by Morrison for. Arbuckle basically, with a view to priming his return to the screen as a comedian; Seven weeks for RKO and Fox have al- ready been played. Seven more, all for RKO, are set at $1,600. Arbuckle, since he was ruled , off the screen,: has directed comedy shorts under the name of William Goodrich, PUTNAM, PUBLISHER, TO HEAD PAR'S STORY D'PT. George Palmer Putnam, head of the publishing house bearing his name, Is reported, set with 'Par- amount to head that company's stoi'y department; Putnam Is now in Europe with his wife, Amelia Earhart, who recently flew the Atlantic. Contract. Is sup- posed to be In forcd wh^n he re- turns with Par havlnp closed nego- tions before he sailed. TSK, TSK Hays Office Amazed at Foy's In- tended Garbo Satire Hollywood, June 6. Attempt of iBryan Foy to make a jplcture kidding Garbo ran into a stone wall composed of the Hays office, and Metro. Both said 'No* so loud the picture is off. .. Foy, after testing several Garbo ringers, was set oh Betty Stockton to play it. FoiFflmsNot Affected in Fox Met's Recvrship Irving Trust Co. has been ap- pointed equity receiver for the F.ox Metropolitan Playhouses, inc., on a. petition filed, on behalf of Henry Spitz, noteholder-of Paterson, N. J. The Spitz suit followed on the ap- parent default of the $13,000,000 6%% convertible gold note Isisue which was due May 1. This Issue was underwritten by Halsey-Stuart In 1929. The receivership Is stated to have no bearing on the status of the Skburas brothers' ownership of cer- tain of these New Tork houses nor on the Rinzler & Frisch holdingrs of certain of the Brooklyn and Long Island theatres formerly of the Fox Met group. Skouras operates the upstate and metropolitan New Tork spots. Tiiere Is some talk of the note- holders organizing to bring about a .:oreclosure on the Fox Met outfit but Insiders look upon such a move as unlikely. The receivership, however, In- diciates that the outfit will sever connection with Si Fabian, who held a post at around $1,500 weekly as advldor to the Fox Met trustees \/ho formerly controlled. The trustees were a group of five or six banker reps. A. J. Schlosser, v. p. and treasurer of the outfit at $16,000 an- nually may also, be out. No Effect on Fox Films ' Under the trusteeship, the Fablan-Schlosser combo supervised the collection of rentals from Skoiiras and -he Rinzler & Frlsh groups. Fox Metropolitan, of itself, has been a non-operating theatre organization, since the sale of the theatres, to the present Skouras and R. & G. groups. Receivership of Fox Metropolitan has no effect or connection with Fox Films or any of the other Fox groups, all or mostly having been separated from official operating connection with Fox Films. The Fo:X Met receivership; hibw- eyer, is another in a long series of such actions that have fallen upon several of the formerly William Fox controlled properties. Among th?sc are^the de luxers in Detroit and St. Louis, also the Roxy, New York. General Theatres Corp., holding company of alli including Fox Films and these former properties of Fox, is now In the process of reorganiza- tion with those interested speedily arranging the affairs of that com- pany. In the meantime, a receivership suit is also pending against Fox Theatres, formerly the parent com- pany of both Fox Met and Fox Fllnis, but no longer, such as con- cerns the latter. Fox Films func- tions today Indepently of all; L.aemmles Move West Carl Xacmmle, Jr., left Now York Sunday (5) for the Coa.<5t studio. Senior Laemmle is' expected to leave Johns Hopkln.s, Baltimore, next Monday (13) and return to California. Other 'B'-Gk-ade Stars De- pendent on Story Material -^Eyen Circumscribed Oroup Must Have Good Script Support—-Gaynor- Fanrell Mid Four Marx Bros. Group Satellites Z SILENT HOLDOVERS The number of stars who are consistent boxpffice regardless of stories can be coiunted on two hands. A check with theatre operat- ing departments and film 'buying sources reveals a total of only 11 whose draw maintains an average of 25% o^r more abovp the house average. , Falling into this circuniscribed major sta.r group is one team and a quartet, Gaynor-Farrell and the Four Marx Bros., respectively. Otherwise the personality draws are singletons, including Harold Lloyd who up to now had. made only one a year, and Charlie Chaplin who has done only 'City Lights' In the past five year& The balance of the film firma- ment's constellation rates as B stars who must have stories to pull any- where near 26% over and above house averages. This Includes a number of stars who carried over from the silent era, plus an approx- imate equal number that have found their way to the screen since talk- ers. 'After you get away from the A star group, they're just, pictures/ states one high film-buying author- ity.. The ll major stars, drawing con- sistently, are picked for that rating by the theatres due to their nationial appeal, certain stars being excluded who are away oiit front In one or two localities on the strength of their names, but mean nothing when the country is taken as a whole. Multi-Star Need Theatre men point to recent dou- bling up of lesser stars as an at- tempt to aid their draw Individ- ually. . Just as poor stories have kept numerous B stars from developing as A . potentialities during recent years, so do poor stories have their effect on the high drawing power maintained by the superior 11 Records show that while a poor story headed by ope of this group may do the same level of business as its predecessors, the next pic ture, whether good or bad, suffers from the story disappointment. Three In a row, tradition holds, will break any star. By the same figuring, several good pictures in a row are virtually needed to develop a star .nationally. Tlie lack. of strong. story material for the po- tentials, plus the shortage of inoney to build them up big. Is holding down the hopefuls who may have the makings but not tlie stories.to land them In the A group. Story Importance While the 11 big draws stiU main- tain their lead oil businesiJ, late de- velopments Indicate that more than ever It Is becoming necessary to. closely safeguard these stars through strong story material. After a bad one, this difference has .be- come noticeable through reflection in buslness-on the sta.r's next pic- ture, even if a good one, public ap- parently becoming a little more fickle than in the past. The PuWlx system of reports from house ushers, who weekly turn In remarks they overhear from pa- trons, bears out a slip in fan loyalty whenever poor stories occur. Grosses over and above the house- averages by a 25% margin or more by the 11 ■slam named, and the pic- tures of .strong story or spectacle appeal, make it apparont In many! H'woodWiH a 25% 'Must' ununer That 'Lifetime' Hollywood, Ju ne 6i Script for Universal's <Once in . Lifetime' has been turned In > the front office. It's 257 pages. WB Studio Idle 1 Month; Early Trade Showings Hollywood, June 6. Warners Is going to throw its Burbank plant Into neutral July 1 for a four-weeks' layoff. Decision was. reached last week. With the studio having around 15, or more, pictures completed for the new program, the idle period merely means the putting over of production on two pictures to Au^ gust This twosome was listed for work in July;, but now. boost? the August working list to seven in- stead of five. One of the postponed pictures Is the Paul Muni film. The four weeks layoff will not .^iffect studio executives, It Is be- lieved. They will continue whip- ping stories into siiape for the cameras. Technical crews, however, will have a month in which to wonder about it all. ■ . - Warner's commences national trade shows. August 1 for all key spots as a result of having so many pictures completed for fall release. About a third of the films now ready will be screened.. Warner Brothers Monday (0) opened the first of four zone sales conventions In New York City. Others will be held in Chicago, Los Angeles and New Oirleans. All are scheduled to.be completed with- in the next two weeks. WB will release around 60 fear tures and 133 Vitaphoiie shorts for the new season. Some, 17, pr around 25% of the feature product. Is to be turned loose by Jan. 1. Firm Is the only company wltii definite release dates at this time. The shorts' schedule Includes 91 one-reelers and 42 two-reelcrs, of which 70 are musicals and 16 two- reel comedies. Los Angeles, June 6. Western division meeting of the Warner sales staff takes place June 20-21 at the Ambassador hotel. New York delegation, headed by Major Albert Warner, Includes Gradwell Sears, Charles Elnfeld and Norman Moray. Elnfeld will reach liere by way of New Orleans: and southwest stopovers. Fox Execs West Sidney R. Kent, Winnie Sheehan and Sol Wurtzel will probably leave In a party, Tliursday (9), for the Coa.st. Original plans were for Sheehan and Wurtzel to leave tomoirrow (Wednesday). During the next ; two months Hollywood tvill probably become ac« qiialnted with the depression. Ma« jor producers are set to slash 25% off Hollywood costs as a whole. A check-up by the home offices re- veals tliat the Coast's costs today are only 10% under what they were two years ago. Presence of ■ certain! production heads in New York during the past few weeks is understood to havo been largely for pruning Instruc- tions. One of these heads last week admitted that Hollywood hadn't started to cut compared to what is going to happen with the start of hot weather. The procedure is to have fewer people on smaller salaries putting In longer hours. Largest savings, . however, are hoped to be realized in mc|^e-care- ful, planning of production sched- ules and a l^etter selection of stories. Schulberg OK's Star Pools Speaking for Paranlount, B. P. Schulberg voiced approval of the associate producer system but op- posed the policy of farming out pictures to Independent producers. In Schulberg's estimation produc- tion . should be centered otnder one roof with a central governing point. He expressed the belief, however, that associate producers should be In full coT.':mand of their production unit and free from Internal obstruc-: tlons once they have proven their ability. The star pooling isystem was held up by Schulberg as one of the smartest moves Hollywood has made. He. declared that it*'dld . not Involve anything of a complicated nature, and that the producers are willing to exchan-re stars on a 'give and take' basis so far as any Incon- v.inlence is concerned. This means, he pointed out, that when a com- pany borrows a star it will get the star on the date promised, regard- less of any changes in the scheduliB of the company holding the con- tract. That the Interchange of stars will not standardize rentials is pointed out by Haysites. They express the belief, however, that the pool will increase the popularity of the per-, cientagc method of sale? and confine flat rentals to the smallest of the subsequent runs. While the po61 ends competition for names and shelves for all time chances of repetition of star raid- ing, Haysites point out that it stim- ' u'ates rl-alry In other directions. The story department and direction will in the main, it js stated, deter- n-Ine a picture's value under the new set-up. Star borrowing, also, is not exr pected to b*) done on a large .scale .nd only for . ejccentional produc- tions, due to tlie wide difference In star costs; VEREE'S VERY NICE BREAK IfoUywOod, June 6. Verce Tcasdale, at Metro for one picture ha.4 been given a term con- tract. Lpgit actrf.ss walkod out on Lew Le.slle'a C_^Jcago rcvuc when offered a screen, opportunity. circles that cutting admission prices is not the solution. These pictures draw regardless of the piifft <.palc, while the otlu-rs' do not attract tvon if the turlfC it- less. ARTHUR MAY TAKE OVER 5 PAR THEATRES IN N.E Boston, June 6. Paramount Is negotiating with Harry Arthur of Arthur Theatres Corp. whereby the latter may take over operation of somo five Par hou.ses in New lOngland In four towns whore the. Arthur operating concern is- also operating the. Poii tih-iin,. It's pooling oi. another order. The towns ronc<*rnea are ."^p-lng- . field, Woiv'st'T, Hartford and Xcw Ilavon, one. Par .house In ea'-h ex-• cept Sijring/ield where there are two I'ur hous> •. , The ]\ir n"pr<>ii.'itldi.s are . under-, .■^lood to liave roiiii' from the Uos- lon end. but to be completed in .Vi'iv York.