Variety (Aug 1932)

44 VARIETY L E € ITIMATE Tuesjdaj, August 30, I932 Coast Legit Prospects Are at Ebb Los Aneeie3, Aug. 29. •Outlook ior £all legit season on coast lis ' sour. So far, only two pieces are set for locAl :-Bh6wlhg. TWO others are. In prospect. Cur- rently, but one legit Is . playing In town,,'Hang Up Tour Hat,' co-op musical at the Music Box, Holly- wood. "one of the pair Wt Is BelaBco & Cu'rran's 'Cat and the fiddle.* Not decided whether. It will pl&y B. & C.'s Beiasco. or the'Mayan, .with ca- pacity of 600 more.; Other than this, these producers have nothing set for production. • . ' • • Duffy's Revival Heiiry '.Duffyi whose El Capltan has been closed for four weeks,. Is rehearing 'As .Husbands Go,' Rachel Crother's comedy, . with Pauline Frederick .in lead. Play originally -^as produced here last ifall at the Biltmorei but folded after one wedlf. It had a run-In-New York; however. Piece will ojferi Sep^. 4i Other .than this, Duflty's plans f<^,fail,Are.Indefinite. ' , ; Only •.^ other ^ .producers talking about - getting spmethlpg on v local stwge' are. Eddie Lambert,'!who is trying • lo/iframe second edition of hto 1 co-op, 'Nine d'Clock Bevue,' which ran eight weeks, sit the MtisiiS Box last spiring, and Harold Berg ;W^tt> 'inter^nls.slpn,^ Lamberts plans 'are. stllj! iii -.the formative stage, .with coD^ia trying to cp,rral vaude names yacatlqninff : here. :. 3?he. ". Mason, which bias been closed ."for.. almost two year?,: will probably remain with glims doused, Mayan has. nothing set. Cartier the Great, magician, may come Into the Hollywood Playhouse for two weeks prior to sailing for China. Outside of these, legit , tide for Pacific slope is at" low ebb. Haven Hotel Hay Run New Haveni- Aug, 29.' Loplcs'like NeW Ha.ven naay hiave' • i'tegit seikon ifter,ilf. When the .;Shubert8 ''i)a,MedL. .iip their lease on the Shubert, town's, only legit, ■ it- eeemed ..theatre would be da,rk for coining' jseasoHj? ■' .•• ; Report-'>thaf owners of property "wUl hartdfe-it themselves. 5: Theatre la, pwned by pperatprs of adjacent Hbtel' ^Taft and' indications a)re, that management oi the theatre will be taken over by J. C. Lavin, manage v lng'director of the hotel. ' 'E.' D. 'fiiclridge, an' uncle of the Shuberts and formerly In dharge of local Shubert affairs, is reported set to handle bookings and actual operation of the theatre. Recent conferences between Lavl.n and stage'local report a satisfactory agreement. Boasberg on 'Ballyhoo' Al Boasberg has been called In tO rewrite-the second act of 'Ballyhoo.' T h e Gensler-Anthony-Connolly- Patterson revue will stay out.until ready before coming into the 44th ■ St. St; Louis Civic Opera Ends; Gross Under '31 ' Sti Louis, Aug. 29. •The Fourteenth. Municipal Opera season closed in Forest park last night. (Sunday) with indications that both receipts and attendance would be under last year. . . Business conditions are held re- sponsible. Audiences showed a trend toward lower priced seats with a niarked falling off In reser- vations in the $1.60 and |2 sections- Lower priced seats and the free sections were filled at nearly all performances. - ; It Is': not! certain that deficit • will occur, as operating expenses wire reduced over last year. |fo flgtii^es on either receipts or attendaitice. will be announced until , an ofilcial a,udlt is made; . The, closing production was ' a world;: premiere of/Cy^^o *® Ber- geraci': The adaptation was )>y Charles'C. 'Locke. The music was by Samuel D. Pokrass, Russian com- posed. The other new pieces w^re 'The Honeymopners' and 'The Land, of Smiles.' it is understood here the Shubertd plan to produce all three in New York. Revising 'Queen' 'Exit the. Queen,' which Alexa.nder MicKaig tried out in Atlantia City was brought back for revision after being otit one week, Beth Merrill starred, appears in the guise of Greta Garbo. Show is expected to reach the boards again in late: autumn. , PROM EILVS TO STOCK Alliance, O., Aug. 29. Stage shows due to return after Labor Day at the Columbia theatre, following an. absence of several years. ■ Columbia'theatre will switch from films to dramatic stocks House being renovated ' backstage,- but ideritltj^ of company not yet made known. Shubert Backing: Nanu^ 'Clowns In Clover* Cast Buy-in of the Shubert* ca^sed another change of plan on Lew Leslie's 'Clowns In Clover,' which goes into rehearsal next week and will open in Boston at the Shubert on the first lap of Its put of town break-in. 'Blackbirds' la set back. Unlike the Chicago try with a cheap cast, the Shuberts are In- vesting extensively, permitting some- important people fpr the cast, Leslie says he has seme surprise names lined up and he's rehearsing them secretly, apart frpmi the regu': lar rehearsal, until the prtHPer time. Backer of 'M Quits When Suits Multiply ,. LPS Angelea, Aug. 29,'.. Arthur Fischer, backer pt- 'Hang- tip Your Ha:t' at the Music Box,^ de;^! dared himself out of the musical Tuesday .(22), after a $1,406 Mu-' nicipal court suit and wage claims" of $238 were filed against, eho.w;' Paul Trebitsch's. tiame ^toppedi 'Uie production. :! • • : ■ Suit was brought by 14 non-union musicians, who say they, were >re'-' placed by a union band one day be-' fore they were to open. - Eight cps- tumers sought wage claim hearin;?^:, lyhlch 'was continued to Aug. ^(^, Chi Subscriptions oh Basis of Three Weeks Chicago,'Aug. 29. -' •Whistling in the Dark,' with Ernest Truex, will relight the Er-. langer Oct.-3 as the first attraction of. the so-called j'Ainerlcan Theatre League,' mejrger. 'jot the. Theatfe Guild and Dramatic League. It precedes' by three weeks 'Re^ union in Vienna.' . All attractions are destined for three weeks only under the contemplated'policy.- Tents WoridBg at a Profit; list of Stock Spots Extended Loa Angeles, Aug. 29. 1 Four. tent, stock companieB have weathered the eummer. hereaboiita, and all .coast stocks are ^reporting'a better than even break for past few mohtha. Local cahvaa troupea are the'Signal Hiir Players, David Torfs ooqipany at Hawthorne, now in ita fourth week; Murphy'a Come- dians at South Gate, and the Bob McKenzie tent In Culver City. Will Maylon put a stock policy In force at the Auditorium, Spokane, tvfo weeks ago, and Dwight Frye, a.favorite there. Is assembling com?; party Jn Hollywood to take north as tlojm'petltlon. •British "^Gulid. Players -wIU' reopen ^it i'the - Empress, Vancouver, lE^. C, thia TBireek.with David Cylde-head- 4pg-company. Qther MoveiTtenta '-William McCurdy'a troupe-la re- turtilng fro'm'.HOnblulu after playr Ihg 16 Weeka at the Liberty, where they wert ' origiiially■ booked tot ei^ht Success of this enterprise means either the return of .McCuraji' or the ilormatlon of a new companr there. ' " Louia Stvtz, La JoUa plotuii houae owner, la negotiating to put stock Into the Savoy, San Diego, Show Shop, Qlendale, may reopea with a stock policy. Shubert Backed Revue Scouts Foreign Cast Emile Boreo la back again fcob Paria and London and is retumUg once mpre,,hlR third.trip since earljr July, to. Bcout talent for a .netr Broadway Intimate revue. It will of an International character, with all-foreign people, Including a Hun- garian gyp^y orchestra Worn the H}ii)garla, -London/ and a flqck of French Etrtd .iGierman. talent. Will be labeled 'Tlieatra of Mlr# rors' and-la said to have Shubert backing. hside Stuff-^tilres I . V (Continued, from page 42)' vipualy published as a serial. ■ Mag wouldn't give tf a quit claim on the yarn, thoygh U and C^ibbons had aefreed 'on terms. 'Libertir' wanted a healthy cut 'which neither Gibbons npr Universal would-pay. Result is that the entire deal is cpld. BACK TO THE LAM) , . Thpmast6n, Conn., Augl 29,;,, °C6i. Felix R. Wendelschaefer, for more than -30 years manager of the old Providence, R. -I.j Opera -House, Which.was demolished last year. Has retired to his farm here.- ' " ;' '' He'Is concehtrating on- malclng^' a table relish."'. • ' '' " WILL ROGERS^ says; ,"If any man does not believe In ruiE-jINSCBiANCE,. juert let .him die ,Qnc« i-^eltliout U. and that -wUl con- vince .-.him.". •, ■ ; ijFE' MISUBANCB; represents the only; •roeans -hy which the. i<lans you have, xnftde/can be completed. XKTE INSWBANCK poys the greatest' dividends in satisfaction and capital. Let us show, you how to provide an Income that, 'would' be non-shrlnk- able,'non-fluctuatlns, payable to you each month, year after year, even though you Sh.ould live to.be a hun- dred years old. For further Information write JOHN J. KEMP INSURANCE 551 Fifth Ave., N. Y. C. Phones: Murray Hill 2-7838-7839 inside Sfufjf-^Ijj^ Literal case of too .maiiy'cbpks is the experience of a :Coast srpyxp in an attempt to launch aa-operetta. On th.e eve of opening absence of funds for Equity bond fdr chorus resulted In temporary postponement^ promoters figuring they eould'Talae bankroll after- few .days. Instead, fact 'that .'therei are" nea.riy a. dozen execs In the-producing Organization,' all of whom want, to bet ]paldi .with the first money raised, has. stopped several prospective angela. Conr ferences are held almost daily but none of the execs la willing to step aside, or lose the prospect of collecting some-slough.: Looks now as though the atager of the production will raise his own b.r. and, cooperating with the author, put the show on minus Ita original sponisors. Latter have had only amateur theatrical experience. F. T. li. SItrengholt, Metro head in Berlin, has given three M-O pictures to., Deutsche Lichtspiel 'Syhdicat, German Exhibitors Association, for general release in that country. Means the plOture will get a showing in the 460 housea represented by the exhibs. It's a new way of releasing pictures In Europe, exhibs grabbing because it cuts m their own orlranlzatlon rather than a regular distributing company. From Metro's standpoint It has Its good will angle. . . ,Fo^ ''Movie Crazy' Harold Lloyd for the first lime used the services of a recognized..dramatist, Vincent Lawrence, in whipping the story and dl^ jEilog Into shape. In previous, pictures; Lloyd has relied on his crew of gag men. _ Lloyd,^In handing out oredit for the picture,.gives a large share of It fo .'tiwrence, though at the beginning of production he was against eh- !gag(ng a.high-p^ic^d-write^^^^ ■ ' - i>uFllm> lobbyists.'are- being called back from.Vacations as the result of -several states calling^'special'sessions to consider emergency tai meas- ktfpea ■thia month, •-.•'.■'■.^ ..".indiana, and Vliabama . a^e. two of the statea and, picture. people are Va'dyliaed, there will prpb^bly be several more before the end of September. . ^vTbhf winter governmental contacts for the business expect a legisla- /tlve^Aeason. even heavier than the one Juf^t past: ' Earl Carroll's Importation of a raft of foreign actors for the new ''Vanities' has provoked no little resentment among professionals, because so many American players are without'engagements. However,'It de-' velops that instead of 14 specialty people there wilt be but seven and. two of that group may. be dropped.' There will be a set of English girl hoofers but most of the chorus and principals are American. Something , went wrong with Carroll's plana to import costumes worth $3,000. It is reported the duty raised the cost so high the costumes were shipped back. 'Harry "VahHoven, press agent and promotei;'brother' of the late Frank VanHoven, has decided "that being of the landed gejitry haa ita draw- ba.cka, • .' ■ .. .>.,,For Instance, there's the.family farm out Nebraska way. He rented it for $400 a year to a man with eight-.klds and a breakaway car. What with drought conditions, the ^ell went dry, so instead of paying the rent the tenant siied VanHoven for $1,000. , VanHoven won the ca,se, but It cost $160 for the lawyer. y They, still talk abput the featured player on the Coast who corralled $12.6,000. on her last two pictures principally because of delays. The main wait came on the second film while its star was making a personal appearance tourl Meanwhile, the lady In waiting had a contract which legally sent her into action on a prescribed date. So she Just drew salary for 12 weeks'and enjoyed herself. 'Claiming that 'Crazy Quilt' which Billy Rose roadahowed successfully with Phil Baker, Fannie Brice and . "Ted Healy, - is an elaboration or 'second edition' of ,'Sweet, and Low,' Benny Stein has retained' Josepl) P. Bickerton, Jr., to sue Rose for about $7,600 as an alleged cut of the profits. Stein was Rose's general manager with 'Sweet and I«ow' but not with.'Quilt.' . . . , •-i-' ^ Ro$e denies 'Qiiilt! and 'Low' are the same shows and contends tli^^ latter was not a success and Stein has nothing duia him. Stein, now general manager for Brown & Henderson's.'Forward March,' returned, to; Rose's employ as g.m. tliis summer,' butVwaa .succeeded by Warren O^Hara.-' ■ . ' '' , '>' " Fox eastern end gives plenty of credit to Truman Tally for having cut And edited'Congorllla'Into a feature. ■- Office force picked up a couple of wrinkles whipping this footage into shapis with two or three complete revisions necessary, the. final print said to hold almost no resemblance to the picture aa flrat screened in a projettlon room. Tally heads the Fox Movietone .hewsreel staff. . !AiI'onday (29) witnessed one of the biggest turnouts of major company (lawyers the Hays pffico has had in weeks. ' Sessloa Was devoted . ohieiny to discussing and preparing fdr pendlngi litigation against distrlbntbrs. \ ' . Three Selwyn theatres on 42d street are booked. The Selwyn will get 'Forward March,' Brown and Henderson musical, in November. 'Clear All Wires', first called.'Nine Day Wonder,' will go Intp the Times Square. The ApoUO is tinder lease to George White. Latter walked out on the. agreement, which has three years to go, but is again slated to place his new 'Scandales' there; Understood White's, move was a gag to obtain lowered rent and |hat the Selwyns have about agreed to the hunch. Previous report of Judith Anderson and iflelen Menken co-starring, for Peggy Fears is wrongf. Ekiil'anatlon is that M.iaa Anderson is- not under contract to Miss Fears (Mrs. A. C. Blumenthal). - » - Overtures for Miss Ander3bn:to do 'Madame Antonia* for Misa F^ars have been opened but there is nothing on paper aa yet. Miss Menken will head the cast of 'Saint Wench' for the same producer, the title of this piece to be changed. Possible there Will be no connected story in the dramatization of Sher- wood Anderson's 'Winesburg, Ohio.' Arthiir Barton la adapting the book and Horace Liverlght says he will produce it 'Wineburg' is a series of short stories laid in a small town. ^ May end up as sort of a middle-west 'Street Scene.' The city of New .York, having asked tlie lieadlng, theatre ,> chains .t* avpid . vlpiaUons on hoii^e fronts, a ..practice, become randpant -of late. B^o£j^dway theatres are veering to minor gadgets to: attract-attention. Exploitation J men are .trying to figure : new -ways of getting motio* into, house fronts without chancing vloiations. ' Npw-in the cutting room, Coluinbia's 'Bitter Tea Pf General Yen' to date has cost over $300,000, highest production cost of any feature od .company's, program this year. . 'Tampicp,' slated for production In October, also will be budgeted at around the same figure. Both pictures will go out on regular release. All Radio contract players have autographed photos which will be placed in Governor Roosevelt's N. "T. presidential campaign headquar- ters. Some wished candidate luck, while others were non-committal. . .Arranged by Eddie Eckels, Radio advertising man on coast, who ia chairman of stage and screen division of Hollywood Roosevelt committee. • An avei-age of two requests dally from fan; magazine and chatter writers are being rccolyed by Paramount's publicity department for inter- views with, or stories about, (Seorge Raft. Requests are almost double those received on any other male player on the lot. A Baltimore grind house goes in for Barnumlng in the following manner: ■ . • • ^Merrily we GO TO HELL,' while 'Lady and Gent' is playing under heavy banners of, 'A Punch Drunk Pug and a Half-Wit Gun MoU.' Hays lawyers aix; - adviaJng oxhlfilflJlMtiin Pennsylvania that the sales 'tax of 17% adopted in that state ladt weiaw* does not pertalz *-*.boxoai/'-^