Variety (Aug 1932)

vAKien r i C T ii R E 9 T^e6dlky, AuguBt 2, 1932 ith Parties Fafor the Screen jpw Pi^eiitial 1^ Both the Republican and Demo- cratic parties have organized de- partments of publicity which will concentrate on the preparation and production of film stories that will be accepted t>y the theatre screen. Hitherfore the burden of political propogarida has been cartied by the newsreels, but during the coining campaign other types of film pres- entation will be used. A Beries of short reels will be assembled by the Roosevelt forces. VarlOuia phases of the Democratic platforih will be covered by these short subjects^ The Democrats have also planned a feature length picture to .portray the life of their candidate. One of the major dis- tribs has already bieeh reauested to handle this picture. Charles Michelson, former Wash- ington political correspondent, In chargie of Dem;ocrattc propb'ganda, had received oVer 200 plans contain- ing id^s for pubirctzlng the Demo- cratic meissage on the scfeeh. ' The Riepublicah Committee is re- ceiving atlvlce from ' George; Aker- Bon, former Iloover secretary and now a Par exec; also Will H4jrs. The ii6Uticr.l rcommittees expert' tb nalce wide use'of the iiortable pro- jector true: this "fall. Experienced publicity c:, •: nts from the show biz will cOinmsLr.d. their use. High Pressure S-L ASSIGNMENT SUIT .Answer by William Fox need not be made until Sept. 16 to the. suit flied against the former film mag- nate, by. the Chicago Title ^ Trust Company of Chicago for |l,pOO,006. iJatter amount . Is .(), claim jield by the : Chicago ;bank on. assignment from Airs. Herbert- Lubin and Ar- thur. jSawyf^r. , These' two originally received the assignment from Hec- b<prt '.li^ubln, '^Iginaliy connected with the Roxy.TT. T,, and more re- cf^tly afBllated ^ith the operation of- that house, under Receiver J^arry Q. Kosc'h.. The. Chicagp/Title & Trust Co. Aled two suitis based on the same pl-emleres. Qhe Is in the ITcw York St^te court. ' Other action is'In the ei&stern ' district of the Federal courtSi In Brooklyn. •The claim is 1t>aeed on a guaranty allegedly made, by William Fox'to personally pay the final |l;opO,000 of the 'purchase price of Roxy^Circuit, Inc., by Fox Theatres, when and if Fox Theatres did. not pay it. Fox T|ieatres recently went into receiv- ership, thus defaulting on ^such pay- ment. :. - ■ .Original ^rice .paid by Fox The- atres was $4,630,633, to;-be paid. In stipulated ^annual instalments until March 4, 1S34, when final payment of $362,-730 was ta.be made.. Roxy Circuit is the parent com- pany ot Roxy .Theatres Corp., con- trol of which Fox Theatres gqt when it made the deal with Lubln. . On Aug. 15, a month previous to making answer to the present suit, \yilliam Fox mUst makei his answer to the suit against him by ^ Foy Films, Hied in - the.-Nassau, N. Y„ courtq. and whereby Fox Films is trying to retrieve some $26,000,000 from the former president. Meyer Su^estsLo¥rer Music Scale for Indies .Jake Wilki eastern story head for Warners, fipent a recent week-end at jSkbwhegan, Me., looking over legit shows an- nually tried out there , during the summer months. Wilk hadn't been in; town an hour before four ficripts were shoved at him to read. One report is that Samniy Ship- man met the train five miles out. World Premier FprRa^aB^^^ On West Coast iofl Angeles,. Aug. 1. Radio wUV at Intervals hold world premieres here, prior to national release of outstanding: pictures, with the idea in mind that exploitatipn and studio hookups for the inlti^^l showing will fcldv.in the general ex- ploitation value of the product. First picture is to be 'Age of Con- sent,' opening at the Orpheum, Aug. 13, wlxen the' hOU.se begins its straight picture polifcy. House ad- vertising will be normal, with studio aiding through special space, radio announcements, dnd- tiie lights, stars, etc., for opening night. Also members of studio stock oompany will make personal appeai-ances during the week.. Figured In pre-shbwing that New Tork can get releafie print's, also exploitation and advertising mate- rial, based on; premiere, ready for the genierai showings. If the plan 'is successful next premiere will be '.on 'Liberty Road,' the Richard i>\T prlsoii story, how bearinis completion. 'Eddie Ecicles,. in from New York this weeic, will, handle the advertis- ing and exploitation'ibr the open- ing, aided by Clitt Work's publicity staff. Demand for Scenics Adds 2 libraries on Coast Hollywood, Aug. .1/ Plan for reclassification of mu Biclans so that move of . them could be used for screen recording, has been submltted by Abe Meyer, Indle synchronizing company' head, to J. W. Gillette of the musicians' union. Calls for fOrmitlon of a' class B list of muslciafis, comprising those who are not bcrng usfed iil the studios now, to work under' a'lower scale for the smaller producers. According to Meyer, at present only about 200 of the 2,500 member? I of the Tj. a. local Are being used because o£ the highTecovcllne scale. Remainder' are not considered of recording caliber When studios mu.st pay'inlnlmum of J30 per session. ■•■ 'Idea is to stihiulate more exten- Ulve use of Tnuslc in Indie"i)lctures by "making • prices Attractive and hiring of larger-orcheistras possible. ■ .Hollywood, Aug. 1. Continued popularity . of travel shorts and independent production of South Seas picttures has brought two new .film libraries Into the In- dustries. Each admits that 75% of Its calls come from indie pro-, ducers who are making South Sea pictures, .and from producers of novelty travel shorts. lilbraries do most of their work with the independients, selling to these producers at from 60 cents a. foot up. It's mostly, negative of out-of-the-way .places^ animal stuff, mob and air scenes, sea footage and other scenes which fit' in with the production plans. This clips .con- siderable oft the- budget. Major studios rarely deal with the . libraries. Most of them - have news reel connections which supply them with the desired scenes on short notice. Biggest library here has stuff on its shelves collected, over the past 12 years.. Most of it is silent, indie producers dubbing in the sound de- sired. These libraries have beein the success factor in many indie Productions: It has not been un- usual for an indie to get at least half of: his picture from collected negative. . Par's Rush Job . Hollywood, Aug. 1. Paramount is having writer dlfll- culiy on AVllUam LeBaron's films scheduled to go into work next week. O. n. p. Garrett, Vlnce Lawrence and Kitty Scola have now been as- signed to rush "Night After Night' for production Aug!, 8. Nine other writers have worked on this script. . Seaton Miller is also assigned to 'Hot Saturday,' on which Joseph liovett. and Joseph M. March pre- viously worked. Roach Starts Two After Month of. Inactiyity Hollywood, Aug. 1. Aiter four Weeits .of inactivity Roach will send two' pictureB into production this week. 'Strange In- ner Tube; second of the Taxi Boys series, is one, with Ben Blue In the lead. Charles Rogers, writer of the lot; Billy Gilbert, Richard Cramer and Yola D|Avril are", also'cast. Del L,ord directs. ' . The other duo is ett Our' Gang comedy minus a title. ■ ' ■-—^—— . ^ . Electrics Goiiig After ICnmt Reld on Up C^paign First plan to develop the 14t-nim. Held on a, national baaia will be an- nounced shortly by the American electrics. This follows niimerous survey's made by Western and Gen- eral. Through its radio interests, however, General Is taking tlie ini- tiative. A company has'-been foirmed by G.E. to produce-tiny features and to reduce standard size professitfnal releases. This Is called Pleasure Pictures Corp., with former radio executives Included on its staff. . A ,move wlll.be made to. establish film. libraries ; and exchanges throughout the country, - • Advances ha^ve been made to sev- eral major companies .on ° the sub- ject ■ of reducihg :f)ljm .tor' IS-mm. release by Dr. At Goldsmith,- RCA executive and head of that corpora- tion's miniature film activities.. ■:' > . Both ^Western Electric and Pbcto- phone i have <16-mm.- . reproduction devices.' Mass. production will not be kttempted in either case, it is learned, until a, consistent supply of good entertainment can be made available to all prospective equip- ment buyers; OLYMPIAD NEWS SHOTS INTO L A. HOUSES DAILY . Hollywood, ,Aug. .1. . Paxaniount newsreei was first to ^is^ibute special, istutt on the Olympics. Hit the Paramount the- atre. Saturday liight (30), with 200 feet and supplying a like amount to the house each night for :balance of the!'^ames, . < , I Hearst Metrotohe gave Lioew's State 600 feet Sunday morning (31), and, will supply similar footage eyery other day throughout ' the games.- Pathe released 200 feet Sunday to the Orpheum' and Fll- marte and will continue with daily stuff. \ Attendance at the Olympics Sat- urday for the opening day 110,000, with Sunday dropping to 56,000—a local surprise on the down side. Austin Produces 6 Weird Animal Shorts for Educ. • Los Angeles, AUg. 1. B;ducational-Wide: World, cldsed a deal with Harold Austin, for six novelty travel ' shorts^ three of which are made, and balance to be delivered by first of tlie yeiar. Those ready,, all two-ireelers, are 'Captur- ing. Elephant Sharks,' "Wild Cats and Wild Boars,' and 'Bloodhounds and Mountain Lions.' Austinr is. leaving for the Ca- nadian northwest in the next few days to start -filming the other three. : Harold Austin, who made 'Fisher- man's Paradise," Metro short, signed for six similar pictures by Educa- tions;!. Am Is 120^ Qidck 6; Foxlists 16inNext 45 IDayd Fox's Free Ride One night laiat week the Lynbrook,: at Lynbrook, It, was giving away a trip to Ber- muda. William Fox, in the audience, ' was the winner. Not mentioned whether he'll take the trlp-or ■not. Fox built the Lynbrook the- atre years ago. Newsreels Gel asIMN Los Angeles, Aug. 1. . Turning .down an offer from an lndepend<^ht producer of $30,000 for the: j^soIusCve motion, lilct'ure rights to the Olympic Games, committee made, a gratis arrangement with the Ave i(ewsreel. companies, all of whonii haVe increased staffs here to cover the events. Olympic committee dropped the idea of exclusive sslling when it was argued the, Independent might not be-good for the 30 graind, a:nd, .as none .9f the majors had, put' Ih a bid, it was figured good publicity to pass up tlie idea of trying to cash In from this angle. Agreement reached with the flye companies ~ Movietone, Metrbtbiie, Pathe, Paramount, and Ufnlversal-r is that fllm must be used solely for n'ewsreel imrpoBea, and cannot be'r come ipdrt of a feature picture until at least 00 days after the games. Iii iaddltion, the newsreel outfits agreed to alternately supply reels of the day's'events for screening at nic;ht in Olympic village. ' - Alsb' understood' compstnies will make up. prints of activities of' the various nationals to take home me- mentos. VICKI BAUM'S 'MONEY KIHG^ Hollywoodi Aug. 1. VIckl Baum is working on 'Money King' ior iMetrow This is the story originally written by WiUard Keefe. Title has been switched to 'Bridge Versus Bridige.' Keefe Is keeping oh at. Metro on a week- to-week contract, ills 90-day option having expired. Boyd on Radio's Indies Hollywood, Aug. 1. Len Boyd has' been spotted at RKO-Pathe as unit press man. He will handle the Indies thercj releas- ing through Badio. Boyd is under supervision Of Don Eddy with all. publicity cleared through Raidio's pre^s department Pasadena Houses Protest Ad Raise with Own Paper Pasadena, Aug. 1. With the -merging of the 'Star News' and the 'Press' the - town's only newspapers, into the Wews- Press,' and the resultant boost of theatrical advertising rates, ■ local theatres have Withdrawn their-ad- vertising and are publishing the 'Screen. News,' a throwaway with 20,000 circulation. Paper, contains mostly theatre hews arid picture .hallyhoo^ but is also out'after merchant advertising and is conn^ctfng In this ehd. Giiaranteeing the payment of the paper's publication are the four Fox-West Coast theatres, the Colo- rado, United 'Artists, Strand and Florence, and .ttie independently operated Tower, ..Rlalto,' PasadenfL, Egyptian) Fair .Oaks ^nd Park. Baltiinore Opehs Up To Percentage Deals Baltimore, Aug. 1< Both Metro and Paramount, locked out of town the. greater part of last season by an exhib agreement against percentage pictures* are selling throughout the district at present. Breaking up of the situa- tion has opened this territory , to every, sort of percentage deal. Up to last year percentage , contracts were extremely rare locally. . Both Metro and Par were, held out of the subsequents locally from the beginning of the past selling season until last March. Miraculously, the Indies were able to stick together uiitll March, but at that time one qt the leading anti-percentage exhibs broke away and bought Metro. His .opposition started the panic, another hastily signatured a Par contract, and the agreement blew to pieces. Pa. Passes Trice* Pittsburgh, Aug.; 1. 'Purchase Price,' which Pennsyl- vania censors . originally turned down, has finally been passed but with plenty of outs. , Picture, . first. r booked .into. , the Stanley,, week ot July 22, opens this Friday (B). Culver City, Aug. 1. , In need of product and facing shortage .after Septl 1, Metro wiH! seiid at..least a half dozen ^plcturea.' - into work within the next tWQ weeks. . In several Instances, films will get started before, the sbrlpts^ are completed.-: MrG win try to bring- 'K:ongo,< 'Payment Deferred', and 'Tin Foll^ under the wire at budget cost 6£ around |20O,000. Studio, feels that with salary cuts now in effect; and every angto closely watched, this,, can be done. ' ~ '• .■ Plaiia by ' thia' studio to' ■ buj? 'Whlstlinlr ih th«' DarK' frbni Joseph^ Schenck>' for: Immediate productioi} with Ernest Truex, fell through when Alexander McXaig, who pro* duc^ the pidy> and shares . the rights,, turned doWn the offer clalm|J Ing it wo.uid Iritorfere with" thei show.'s current tpur. .. : ; •JCohgo^. 'goe|!| into,; production this' w^eiic, WijiiQtn dbyran directing, and -.fPlg .Boats,'., .Robert . Montgomery;' 'Let's Go,^ Williani Haines; 'Fleah.,^ Wallace ]^eerjt,. . and ^ 'Reunion, In . Vienna,' yf\\l all set ihe rusii act» Fox. Is also in soniewhat of 9, hurry, that studio's Immediate ^prot- duction prografn calliiig for the launching of 16. pictures within the next 45 days.."First in thl8;.bo/tch are 'Salomy jiine' and 'Hat'Checlt Girl,' which'start this week..'. COL SENDS 7 INTO WORK IN NEXT 2 WKS Ijolly wood, Aug. 1. Within; the next tviro weeks, Co* lunrbia sends* seven pictures into prodr.'ctloii, heaviest' sbh^dule studlOr has had this year. Currently, °'Blf« tct" Tea 6f (Seheral Ten' and 'Pblo' are working;' both ^111 wind up In 10 days. . . - Features ready for starting &re 'Virtue,'•"Eddie Buzzell directing;, 'No More'Oi'chids;' Walter La;ng di- recting; 'Air Hor.tess,'- • Al Rogell directing} 'Washington Merty-Goi- Round,''" Jameifr Cruze tllrectlng; 'That's My Boy' rrid" 'Bullet Trail,'- latter- a- Tim McCiy western;" ■ 'Vanity Str<e6t' win also start With the story, cast and direction >tiU on'the Ure. "Coming ptoductlon rush will utilize ait studio facilities. • ' Story Bnying ^calmed, Waiting to See Trend While every story department is on the alerf' for material there Is Virtually no buylnc right how. This- Is not only due; according to story execs! to ti reduced number o'fl stories from publishers, works byt playwright's and criglnals, but also to sharp tightening of purchasing rclnd;" . ■ . N-." ' '■ Reluctance' t3 buy at this timie not only ascribed to a desire to 114 ,Up rights .with, more caution than In the past, wiicn most companleEl overbought,'but also to lay loW until new season's rentals begin to pro- vide revenue. ' Another reason propounded for the check on buying now Is that the producers are anxious to see what the early releases will do, so that they can be guided thereby^ Prisoner's Patent . PittsAeld, Mass., Aug. 1. t George Greenwood, of North Adams, serving- a four months' sen- tence here for larceny, has been granted a federal patent for a pro- jecting . machine. Claims It will permit the exhibition of three di- mension pictures. . Greenwood says that his device, may be used without theatres be- ing obliged to cha.nge their present projection, equipment. He is an engineer. Mn,LAED ON COAST Hollywood, Aug. 1. S. S. Millard, sex liim exhib and px'oducer, is here trying to promote a studio, writer and cast for mak- ing a hew pink ticket film. This Is Millard's first vlslf to the Coast, since he .made- 'Is, . Your Daiighter Safe?' at; the old Gali- fprnia studio five years ago. "When he left Hollywood he was consider- Ably on .the nut.