Variety (Aug 1932)

42 VARIETY E « Tuesdajf August 30, 1932 Trad* Uarlt Rastitfred rabllAed Weekly by TABIBTr. loe. Sid Sllverniaii, Prealdrat X(« WMt 4<tb Street Nrsr Tork City SUBSCRIPTION: Annufti..,......$6 .Fonlgii.. ...«...fT Single Coplee.It Cent* Vol. 107 No. 12 15 YEARS ACO "' {From Tarietif and 'Clipper*) Abolttlbri of the blacklist created by the White Rats strike announced by the managers. Only the so-called 'ana.rchlsts' were to remain on the outside. Loew. theatresi conslderlngr an up to 35c top. Plme boost. Usual shortage of acts, but not blamed on the war. Som& were still put with summer snaps and others were doing fairs. ■ Secret service men were Jittery, They questioned Adrian, a black- face comedian, as to his reglatra- tion. He told them ho was over 31 and it was up to th«m to prove he wasn't. So he got> locked up until a wire from N. T. gave him the O. K R. T. ' Richards ^ shows, under Rlngling manaigeiiiient booked :f«r a lot at 14Bth and TAnttx ave. for a tbree-diay stand. To break a Jump into New England. Final figures showed the Gentury. theatre had dropped flSMOO the past season. < BngUsh producers coming here for stage aupplles which .were mostly made in Austria and. could not be bad direct. Animal, acts not wQntedJj^France And: England; Food was needM for war woric. ' BVfliy manacrwa were conslderliig a plan to tour the military camps wltU shows. Oovemment later took Uie matter over. ; Chi musicians still In a ferment. "Ranted to refuse to play ASCAP . tunes, tinless palid . extra. iSore eoL VaaX . royalty ' idrlve. In vaude libuses It wanted $31' per man In ten cent bouses, With a dollar more for toch nickel above that up to 60O. 50 TEARS AGO (From •CHppe/') . J. W. Pepper took half a page to advertise a new style of drum Heads were tightened by thumb- screws Instead of leather tabs. Inside Stoff-Pictiires Daily papers and even the trade press are apparently confused to a certain extent anent the Roxy theatre, New Tork, management and operation. This Is due to the fact that stories are helng sent, out from the house by Receiver Harry Kosch in addition to the regular theatre publicity handled by the Rdxy operators. , * While the operating men are endeavoring to wean the public back, to the house, mention of-the receivership, In yarns about Kosch, tends to keep the financial difficulty of the spot in thei public mind, claim the directing faction. Result is that the oipierators are now more than anxious to make a change of name for the theatre. A campaign, on a contest basis for the public, may get under way, although by asreement with S. L, Rothafel (Roxy)j house can continue to use the Roxy name until October. Deal which United Artists has Just completed with British and Do- minions sets a precedent abroad. For the first time an American com- pany has taken over the product of an Important European company for distribution in Its own (European) territory. Deal is also apt to help Fox and Gaumont-Brltlsh get together on their dlfflculties, although neither of these companies Is directly in- vdlved. aaumoat-Brltlsh prevlpusfly distributed the B&D pictures, so it means that G-B will be able to use more outside product than pre- viously. It's scfaedtile calls for production of only about 60 pictures, which won't anywhere near satisfy the G-B circuit, even with its present tie- ups for Indie product. Fox pictures will therefore be given a break. The first run situation in Montreal is held by local showmen as com- pletely solved by the recent Famous Canadian-BKO-Loew pool giving operation to F. C. It Is felt by Famous Canadian operators that Mon- treal is now unique among Wg keys In that the first run market Is under control.' Result of the pooUiig has been the picking of the beat among major films for the Palace, the A first run of the city. Ix>ew takes pictures from the Pal on second run, plus vaude, while this other Publlx house, Gapitol, plays double features. In addition' to an occasional special stage attraction. Imperial, RKO house, is using French pictures. . hskfe Stnff-Vaude Peculiar situation occurred at the Frisco Fox when Lllyan Toehman did the act \vrltten for her by Sid . Silvers, and in which she played the Paramount, New York, several weeks ago^ But she. hit the local "Fax. too. late. Fanchon & Marco had sent Gilda Gray through in an idea' three weeks before doing the same turn. Miss Tashman, with Ken Murray and Jack Waldron, did the act all week. •■. •■ Silvers' suitposition is that F. & M. probably paid Jack Yellen, his partner, for the material. Miss; Tashmaii has yet to pay him for the material, he declares. The reverse of the usual story of ingratitude heard in the show bust;, ness is that of Jack Rosen, former burlesque comic, who died recently ' In Denver; Half of Rosen's f&,000 estate was filled to George McKay (McKay and Ardlne), In return for a kindness. McKay helped Rosen and his small daughter out of a financial pre- dicament'In New York one day. The amount was less than )100, but It got Rosen back on his feet and he never forgot it. Rosen's $5,000 was divided equally between McKay and the widow by the late comedian's will. McKay .sent |l,5'0O:of his share to Mrs, Rosen to defray funeral expenses. To economize on its telephone charges, RKO has installed pay station phones for agents and others In the Bond and the Palace theatre build- ings. With one or two pay phones on eabh floor it Is hoped that iii this- way the. company can cut down the number of its switchboard trunk lines which now liUmber 07. This is besides the direct board extensions to Universal, Paramount, Iioew's, Columbia and Warners. . Under a new policy Instituted by RKO, outside company -films when playing any RKO houses, will jget Idehtlflcatlbri credit In all theatre advertising. The plan comes from the theatre department of RKO In a cp-operatlve move to get betiind all picture bookings regardless. So far as known, unless stipulated by contract, major -comitonles have stub- bornly restricted company identification In' adyertlslns to their own dfllllated prodnct. ' The RKO departure from this custom may lead a general movement this way among the others. Besides its own product, RKO, In New Tork plays an the major product except Warners and Metroi. Sunday publicity breaks for Coast studios and theatres depends largely on volume of department store advertising, esi>eclally as applying to Los Angeles. It stores go in for extra display sjiace, Dniechanlcal requirements of Sunday sheets call for extra editorial matter. Drama and picture desks are usually Jammed , with copy, result being this type of editorial matter gets the play wlthi extra store ads being spotted in drama or society sections. Frequently, publicity copy is so widely scattered, the pjt.'s have a hard J6b. finding their stories, even when assured that their' copy has been used. Hal Roach's 'Our Gang* comedies hold the Bollywood record as the oldest unit In. pictures. Gang, now In Its 12th year, has worked under that title since Inception. Personnel, with exception of Robert Mao- Gpwan, first and only director, has had four complete chanlres. Despite early and long training, Jackie Cooper is only *6ang' graduate who has developed after leaving the Roach lot Several others have gone Into vaude but few got past the deuce spot. ' . In length of service 'Pete,' the dog, held th* medal as a 'Gang' per former, six years. Passing of cricket around New York lamented.^ Once famous St. George eleven had been weakened through losing some of Its best players to lawn tennis. Confusion over thei new German quota law as regards shorts prompted the G<6rman Exhibitors' Association to ask for a fuller Interpretation. Ui S. Trade Commissioner George Canty also asked for details and was officially. Informed by Dr. Plugge, .head of the Spic, that: 'Shorts up to a length of 600 meters may be Imported without a Kon tingent permit if the importing distributor is able to prove that he is also distributing 250 meters of German- educational or cultural film, which has been newly produced, but not yet distributed, and which have offl daily been acknowledged as such.' Margaret Mather niade her debut as a star In 'Romeo and Juliet' In Chicago. Her leading man was Alexander Salvini, son oiF the grreat Thomasso. Theatres wero rapidly opening up, but San Francisco was in a slump-with only one house lighted. . W. C. Coup's circus was in trou- ble in Detroit. On the ai^Ival of the show .the sheriff seized the out fit for three claims brought by Frank Melville, equestrian, Wm Ducrow, equestrian director, and George Loyal, gymnast, aggregat Ingr $6,000. Back salaries. -That started the avalanche and $26,000 plied up. U. S. Circus for sale under at tachment in Louisville. Lithograph CO. slapped the plaster. Show had had nine days' rain, two lost dates and a blowdown all- within two weeks. Advertising for a street talker and office man on a medicine show, an advertisement stated preference would be given one with long hair. 'Clipper' told a correspondent that it doubted any minstrel orch leader got OS much as $65 a week. Had to work hard, too, street parade, pre performance concert and all through the show. : Harrlgan and Hart, who scored their hits in stories of New York life, opened in an Irish drama. Not a happy experiment. Paramount managed to scoop the other news^eels on Olympic shots for Japan. That's according to cable advice from Tom Cochrane^ Par's Japanese chief.' . Par got its clips al>oard a steamer from San Francisco via plane Just before the liner sailed. Items were developed but unedited, that being left to the other side. .. All reels made pretty serious efforts to rush their Olympic stuff to various world centers as rapidly as possible, Japan especially because of the fine showing of its athletes. , Regarding; these showboat revues this summer, Hurtlg & Semon ran a similar show nightly for most of one summer In the old days.. But they " used stages instead of a fioor show. Stages wer» on three decks aiid the actors played them aU. Offered:a four-hour sail and a six or eight-act shOw tor centii, and while the ., idea niado a little money it -was not repeated because It did not make., : enough.' .' . •. ' George Gershwin, passing a burlesque house, heard the strains of 'I've Got Rhythm* pouring but of one of the exit doorways.. . George poked, his head Inside to see how his copyrighted. tune was being burglarized. 'If you want to come In,' welcomed an Indignant usher, 'youH have to go around and buy a ticket at the box office.' Warners' Downtown, Los Angeles, is hanging banners reading 'Only high class vaudeville in the west,^ as substitute for previous marquee. ' advertising claiming only big time yaude In town. Acts booked Into house frequently play. Long Beaob full week, or the. Hippodrome and Million Dollar here for split week stands. Two lay-off acrobats decided to take in an opera.. ■ They arrived in time for .the spirited overture to the third a«t of 'Lohengrin*. 'Can you beat that?', asked one, of the other. 'They've stolen our opening.' delivered and banks have turned him down, despite his releasing con^ tract, even for the amount of $90,000. ... A year ago this producer was able to borrow $860,000 on his contract with his original distrlb. He shut himself off from a cash .outlay by hlS new affiliation because he refused it the right to cast' and supervise hi^'^ films. ' .Writers who work on stories but cannot get screen credit, under twpr.; name limitation of code agreement^ at least will obtain recognition ia the files of the Academy. This week writers were handed cards on which tp give information for. the files as to work done on uncredlted pictures. Information will bo available for producers to back up qualifications of -wrltets seeking fu- ture Jobs. . Playing the part of Warden Lawes In '20,000 Years lii Sing Sing' for Warners, Arthur Byron is made up to resemble in appearance the writer of the book and the head of the Naw York state prison. It was found that Byron had a bald spot which was quite noticeable, so the studio expended $1,600 before It got a toupe to properly fit his head. Which is the most expensive hlrsutic adornment yet supplied for any screen male by a studio. The Roxy reopened Saturday (20) as the fii'st major Brpadway house on a rental deferrment basis. This means, house executives stated, that all overhead of the theatre will be paid weekly with a part of whatever remalnis going toward the rental. The house, in this way, expects to be able to carry on If necessary along the same lines as a smaller theatre with a correspondingly lighter nut. • Gag in pronunciation of Marlene Dietrich's first name as 'Marlaynaw,' by Joe Yon Sternberg, has got Frank Whitbeck all excited, and he is doing one of those 'Garbo Talks' stunts on a 1,600 foot trailer, now being readied for 'Blonde Venus.' Trailer opens with kaleidoscopic shots of characters In all walks of life around the world, meeting. Opening talk Is 'Have You Seen the Blonde Venus'? Reply is, 'Marlay- naw' Dietrich, with the German pronunciation of the; name stressed. Whitbeck fii^res it will be as big a stunt as 'GarbP Talics.* Growing tendency of Coast exchange managers to get in exhibition on the side has aroused protest, especially among indie exhibs. Already It has brought dismissal of one exchange manager in San Francisco. Other cases ace being investigated. ^ In the past year several, branch managers have bought in on neighbor- hood houses, and while there have been no cases reported where discrim- ination in bookings has resulted,; indies: believe the way is open for such practice and are voicing their objections to the distributors. Fox's 'First Year' was at one time a studlb orphan witii no one wanting to take credit for its parentage despite its success as a play. Picture went Into production prior to the return of Winnie Sheehan and Sol Wurtzel. Studio thought was that the casting of Janet Gaynor as a married woman was a fatal mistake, as also tiiO assigning of Bill Howard, a director considered arty by the lot. The returned execs,-regardless of thO success of the picturo, admit they had nothing to do with it. M. H. Aylesworih is closely watching Radio product with an eye to eliminating ofC-color material. He recently personally siloed a bit from 'Age of Consent.' RKO head saw a print of the picture the day It arrived in New York. He particularly objected to oiie gag and notified the studio to out It. It necessitated wiring some exchanges which already had. prints. A producer Of standard short subjects Is having a difficult time raising cash. He doesn't get a cent from his distributor-^until fibo hegatlVs Traveling execs for some of the big circuits are having their work doubled this season. Oh orders from home offices they are not only in- specting their own theatres, but are also visiting .the opposition to draw a comparison. One of these men, recently returned; figures that he covered 10,000 miles and while on the tour spent fully half of his time in competitors' theatres. A, writer left a Coast studio several months ago to become associat* producer at another plant. Before leaving he submitted an.Idea to ths head of the story department Idea had a political backgrpund and scenario head turned down the . hunch. In his new capacity, the writer was hunting for material. Studio sent him several scripts to read oho of which had Just been purchased. . It was his Idea woven into a story; and sold the studio by the exec who had previously turned it down. .A Hays office bulletin to Coast.studio press departments announced that the dramatic editor of a middle west daily was in Hollywpod for two weeks assigned by her paper to write a series of articles on pictures. Bulletin'stated that the woman should receive special studio courtesies as the paper was important, having over a 260,000 circulation. Current edition of 'Editor a;nd Publisher' gives the circulation of the paper as 20,000. Metro's batch of feature films budgeted at under $200,000 In cost now Includes threok 'Kongo,* 'Payment Deferred' and 'Mark of Fu Manchn.' These pictures a^* production. As studio preparation of material progresses, Irving Thalberg will decide which stories are to fall into this group. About six, it is believed, will come under this clMsificatlon. Magazines are stIU cutting In and queering picture rights for stories in some x^ea. Latest instance is Unlversol'^s attempt to purchase the Floyd Gibbons* yarn, 'Red Knight of Germany,' which 'Liberty' had pro- (Continued on page