Variety (Jan 1933)

mwe^, Jtaaary 3,1933 PICTURES VARJETT SS Film B. O. Leaders For '32 RADIO Stan (Continued from page 1) |ip nke a whiz bans at the b.o., and glTM promise of being: one of the fMta* powers for the company as ||M» year goes along. Marx Bros. Par Toppers Though only having the one re- lease, Four Marx Brothers were tappers In the paramount organiza- tion, with Maurice Chevalier and Ifarlene Bletrlch trailing them, ^arold Iiloyd, who had been a pcreen absentee for quite a while, ^iras relegated to the next position In 4raw. From acting standpoint Par's featured group excelled, their vidue at the gate, however, was Quite negligible. Here, of course, the complaint was that the Paramount yeoet&m was 'way oiT as far as the- ittre selling power was concerned during the early part of the season, but toward the latter portion of the jear a better crop came along and fdso brought George Baft to the Core as star. His value Is undeter- minable, as he came to the horizon M the year was closing. Gaynor-Farrell Combo Fox showed the Janet Gaynor- Charles Farrell combination as its ace draw, with neither of these fltars able to do much individually. "Will Bogers stood on his own and was the strongest ace draw the or- ganization had. Clara Bow, In late on the year's program with one pic- ture, of course, wou.d be hard to olasslfy. John Boles seemed to be the mainstay of the featured group with this company. Breaking up of the Bdmund Lowe-Victor McLaglen combo here had the two players Jumping to other spots, and of course, took them out of the top spot drawees that Fox has. Spencer Tracy came Tery much up the line. Joan Ben- nett and Marian Nixon lead the fe- male contingent of players, but UNIVERSAL stars 8UMMERVILLE-PITTS MURRAY-SIDNEY TOM MIX BOLES-DUNN BORIS KARLOFF LEW AYERS WALTER HUSTON FEATURED Sidney Foxe Tom Brown Gloria Stuart Russell Hopton Pat O'Brien Ralph Bellamy Andy Devine Onslow Stevens Noah Beery, Jr. Tala Bircll Colin Olive METRO Stan MARIE DRESSLER GRETA GARBO JOAN CRAWFORD NORMA SHEARER WALLACE BEERY CLARK GABLE ROBERT MONTGOMERY MARION DAVIE8 KEATON-DURANTE RAMON NOVARRO JACKIE COOPER LAUREL-HARDY JOHN GILBERT WILLIAM HAINES HELEN HAYES LIONEL BARRYMORB JOHN BARRYMORE FEATURED Jean Harlow Karen Morley Walter Huston Anita Page Madge Evana Polly Moran Lewis Stona Conrad Nagel Leila Hyams Jean Hersholt Phillips Holmes Johnny Meism.ullar Dorothy Jordan Una Merkel Maurene O'Sullivan John Miljan Robert Young Myrna Ley Ralph Graves Louisa Cloaser Hale Mary Carlisle Lawrence Grant May Robson Nils Asther Hedda Hopper Ruth Selwyn Wallace Ford Anthony Jowitt Muriel Kirkland. neither of them has tremendous persuasion power to bring trade into the theatre. Joe E. Brown WB Ace Warner-First National, grouped in selling operation, has Joe E. Brown as Its ace money-getter. Edward Bobinson came along close on the heels of the comic, with George Arllss on limited production next. Those outstanding names which this organization could count on last year and the new stars they WARNERS-FN Stan JOE E. BROWN EDWARD S. ROBINSON GEORGE ARLIS8 RICHARD BARTHELMESS DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS, JR. JAMES CAGNEY RUTH CHATTERTON WILLIAM POWELL KAY FRANCIS BARBARA STANWYCK WARREN WILLIAM PAUL MUNI FEATURED Loretta Young Joan Blondell George Brent Chic Sale Ann Dvorak Bette Davis Guy Kibbee Evalyn Knapp Frank McHugh Alins MacMahon LyIe Talbot David Manners Dickie Moore Dick Powell John Wray Vivienne Osborn Allen Jenkins Claire Dodd Helen Vinson Glenda Farrell added this year were rather an ex- pensive luxury to the company. Especially Is this true of Buth Chatterton, William Powell and Kay Fr.ancls. James Cagney would have come close to the top had he been stead- ily employed in productions during the year. For the limited amount of product that included his image and voice the company got excellent re- turns. They also developed a new male star in Warren William and had Paul Muni for one. Barbara Stanwycic, used between thia com- pany and Columbia, fell 'way off on her value from the year before. Then, too, Warners Juggled around a number of Its stars, such as Loretta Young and. Joan Blon- dell, relegated to the feature group. Miss Young is the leader In this section, with George Brent the out- stander in the male contingent. Chic Sale showed well on the work he performed, with Ann Dvorak, a newcomer, giving indication of box ofHce magnetism. Bette Davis is another of this group forging ra- pidly toward the front Cantor Leads for U.A. CONSTANCE BENNETT WHEELER and WOOL8EY RICHARD DIX ANN HARDINQ TOM KEENE RICARDO CORTEZ nbL.iiN I wbi-Vbi KbbV WILLIAM BOYD JOHN BARRYMORB POLA NEGRI FEATURED Irene Dunne Leslie Howard Robert Armstrong Adoiphe Menjou Lowell Sherman INSURANCE TOO U1NN.Y.C Completng this week a Job which they started last summer, a crew of insurance engineers report that 4B0 theatres In Greater New York are paying a Are rate which they consider from 30 to 70% excessive. Armed with this report, the Thea- tre Owners Chamber of Commerce, as well as all of the major circuits, are prepared to demand a general revision In theatre Insurance. Changes In the building laws are held to make theatres less of a haz- ard. For that jnatter the TOCO claims there were not over 10 minor picture fires in New York during the past year. At the same time eastern studios and exchanges are going to bat, claiming that they are excessively rated by insurance companies and that they should not be subjected to as many inspections. Movement In the legit fleld to have liability rates flxed by attend- ance and not by the number of seats In each house Is also set to meet with Btrenuous opposition from picture ranks. SUCE IN DUES UKEY FOR BALTIMORE ALUED Baltimore, Dec. 31. Allied exhlbs of this state, under the Incorporated title of Motion Picture Theatre Owners of Mary- land, win meet in a general get- together Jan. 16 for a discussion of various matters. Other than ordinary subjects to be gabbed, about will be the problem of future^ rates for dues. Various members of the organiza- tion have already broached the pos- sibilities of shaving the dues out of respect for the times, and it's more than a likelihood that a healthy percentage will be cut from the present scale, despite the fact that the Baltimore dues are far below the Allied tax In other cen- ters. Which may account for the happy state of the local Allied or- ganization when compared to its turmoils in other cities, in some In- stances as high as 20c per seat an- nually, a rate which causes more than one member to default en- tirely. Acquitted Union Man Starts False Arrest Case Milwaukee, Dec. 31. Following the acquittal of Chester Millis, business agent of Motion Picture Operators' Union, Local 164, of alleged complicity In the bomb- ing of the neighborhood Parkway, which resulted in injury to six per- sons in this audience, Leslie Jacques, 34, pleaded with Judge George Shaughnessy that he be permitted to take all the blame for the bomb- ing so that his younger brother might go free. The Jacques brothers confessed to a detective friend of the family that they had placed the Parkway bomb and implicated Millis in their stories. They failed, however, to convince a municipal court Jury -that Minis-or-the union were In-any- way connected with the Parkway case. The suit for )C5,000 against mem- bers of the detective bureau who ratted union headquarters and took Millis and several other members of the local into custody is still on file. The complaint is false ar- rest. were supposedly on their way out of the picture realm and stop to make a last screen gasp. These are usually fortified by a group of fea- tured players who still are con- sidered as valuable draw power for a picture, and who would rather get along this way than have their salaries cut and stamped with the bigger companies, for either pic- ture engagements or contract pe- riods. Though 1932 showed little prog- res.q in the actual Individual box- ofTlce stability of the stars, indica- tions are that with lessened pro- duction for the 1933 season, the ma- jor companies may concentrate heavily on developing a new group which has been showing merltorU ou8 work during the last portion of the ye^ir that has Just gone Into oblivion. Eddie Cantor Is figured as the hottest shot of United Artists, with Ronald Colman, another Goldwyn entry. Just as consistent a money getter. Joan Crawford, on loan from Metro, showed better results than Doug Fairbanks did In his sin gle film. AJ Jolson, of course, can not be qualified, likewise Charlie Chaplin and Mary Plckford, who had no new pictures during the year. Paul Muni with 'Scarface* continued to bring In additional money for the company, and would score ahead of this contingent Gloria Swansea had three releases on the list, and though their returns were not of the big money class they were helpfuL Then there were various featured players brought in here for other productions whose value it would be hard to estimate so far as pull FOX StaiB GAYNOR-FARRELL WILL ROGERS WARNER BAXTER DUNN-EILERS GEORGE O'BRIEN CLARA BOW FEATURED John Bolee Edmund Lowe Spencer Tracy Joan Bennett Marian Nixon Greta Nissen Ralph Bellamy El Brendel Herbert. Mundin Minna Gombel Elissa Land! Ralph Morgan Alexander Kirkland Irene Ware Marion Bume Arthur Pierson Bert Hanlon Ing power for this company Is con cerned. Radio's Constance Bennett RKO-Radio's outstanding cash getter was Constance Bennett closely trailed by Bert Wheeler end Bobby Woolsey. Then came Rich ard Dix and Ann Harding, with Tom Keene, their western star, close on the latter's trail. Radio also had during the year In its star group Ricardo Cortez, Helen Twelvetrees and Pola Negri, now oft the roster, as well as Bill Boyd and John Bar rymore, now over there, but having no particular audience response. In the featured group Radio's best bets were Irene Dunn, Leslie How ard, Robert Armstrong, Adoiphe Menjou, Lowell Sherman, Dolores Del Rio and Joel McCrea, besides numerous others coming in for couple of pictures. Of their new crop, Wm, Gargan, a stage recruit gives the best Juve promise as lead ing man quality, and no doubt will be ahead of McCrea during the COLUMBIA Stan JACK HOLT BUCK JONES BARBARA STANWYCK LEE TRACY TIM McCOY WALTER HUSTON EVELYN BRENT CHARLES BICKFORD LEO CARRfLLO FEATURED Constance Cumminge Ralph Graves Robert Cromwell Pat O'Brien Joan Marsh William Collier, Jr. Noah Beery Lois Moran Dolores Del Rio Joel McCrea Edna May Oliver Neil Hamilton Eric Linden Rosco Ates Katherine Hepburn Rochelle Hudson William Gargan Mitzi Green Arline Judge Creighton Chanejf Dorothy WilaoD Gwili Andre Bruce Cabot Julie Haydon Betty Furneat 1933 season. Other featured players on this list with the exception of Katherine Hepburn, who goes into the star group, were Just acceptable for cast, but meant little on the dis- tribution cash-getting basis. Comedy Pair Lead at U Universal had as outstanding drawing power the Slim Summer ville-Zazu Pitts combination, with Murray and Sidney running a close second. Following the duo was Tom Mix with his westerns, after which came John Boles and Irene Dunn, followed closely by Boris Karloft, with Lew Ayera and Walter Hus- ton trailing. In the featured group Sidney Fox was top-mounter, with Tor Brown running her a close race, and Gloria Stuart also showing fli promise. This studio, of course, used numerous free-lance people who had bigger b. o. drag than those under contract, such as Pat O'Brien, Balph Bellamy, Bela Lugosl and Colin Cllve, but their consistent draw value to any par- ticular organization would be hard to determine. Holt Again Col's Mainstay Columbia's malnatay was again Jack Holt, as this company con- tract list is very meagre, with Buck Jones also a heavy draw on his Western product. It also hiad Bar- bara Stanwyck for a few pics, as well as Walter Huston. Tim Mc- Coy, another western star, trailed them, with Evelyn Brent, Charles Blckford and Leo Carrlllo winding up the. p.arade. Heading their fea- UNITED ARTISTS Stan EDDIE CANTOR RONALD COLMAN JOAN CRAWFORD DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS GLORIA SWAN80N PAUL MUNI CHARLES CHAPLIN MARY PICKFORD AL JOLSON tured group was Constance Cum- mlngs with Ralph Graves also ap- pearing In a couple. Other players In the feature class used from time to time were Pat O'Brien, Joan Marsh, Noah Beery and Lois Moran. There were any number of out- side feature players with consid- erable audience drawing power working for all of them major com- panies from time to time, but It would be hard to give them classi- fication as to value for those to whom they are not under contract. There are some 50 to 60 corking good featured players who have some box office draw that are elim- inated from this resume for that reason. No Indie Group Stars The independent erroup, natural- ly dependent upon stars gathered at random when and where pos- sible, and doing likewise with fea- ture players, obviously have no ac- tual star drawing power to de- pend on. Most of this product, go- ing through the state right market, gets stars who are either In bad grace with the major producers and come along now and then for a production, or utilize those' who PARAMOUNT Stan MARX BROTHERS MAURICE CHEVALIER MARLENE DIETRICH HAROLD LLOYD GEORGE BANCROFT GARY COOPER FREDRIC MARCH RICHARD ARLEN NANCY CARROLL SYLVIA SIDNEY GEORGE Raft TALLULAH BANKHEAD FEATURED Clive Brook Jack Oakie Phillips Holmes Claudette Colbert Jeanette MacDonald Carole Lombard Miriam Hopkins Wynne Gibson Stuart Erwin Charles Rugglee Gary Grant Richard Bennett Randolph Scott Charles Laughton Charles Starrett Frances Dee Alison Skipworth Mae West Roscoe Karns Sari Maritza Irving Pichel Lyda RobertI Kent Taylor Susan Fleming Gail Patrick