Variety (Sep 1933)

P MCT E S Taeeday, September 5, 1953? ta-Labor Day Ushered in With Bilsh BaDyhoo, hut No Light On Future from Stock Dealings By AL GREA80M Consensus of week-end ^oker- age opinion yr&6 that the n^w' week, first oif the post-Lahor Day season, would see the continuation of nar- row ndarket drifts, leading tp a re- Biiipiptlon of the upUrehd. as the country adjusted itself to the Re- covery program. There was plenty of hopeful forecast, but the mar- ket dealings for the week gave no hint of what msLy he in store, i<feare'st thing, to a'technical Vder Velopment ot . possible, feignlftfcance was a " 'sinking spell by ^'LiOew's' around mid-week during which the price broke through 31%, a preced- ing resistance "point, to 31%, the' movement being.-on yoluroe .with sizeable- blocks changing • h^iida. Also as a straw in the. wind, it was noted that the new Fox stock slipped further into new low. ground at 1,4.%»: closing close to the bottom, with dealings continuing at about the same rate. .of 2,600 shares a ■We'ek. These were technical details of ticker performanc*. Prom the trade itself the news Was favorable.' Late August the- atre attendance was- responding «nr couragingly to newly released, prpd- xiot and there .was the usual, busi- ness istlr appropriate to the ap^ pi;6ach, .of the'.fail season and the (Continued on.page 25) TREM CASR LAYING OFF ANY PART OF HAYS Banner August Hollywood, Sept. 4. Another banner week for extras, with 8,980 assignments made the past we^. Makes the - month of August something to. be reniem- bered by the day workers, since a total of 38,639 placements were made during that- time for an av- erage of-over 1,200 per d&y. ,. Metro's' "'Prizefighter and the liady' and Warners' 'College Coach" ^^ert the heaviest and most con- sistent users of extras last week. NO TIPOFF ON ROBERT WYLER A graduate Civil Engineer, who received his early motion picture training at Universal City, directed "PAPA SANS' LE SAVOIR" for Universal Films, Paris; "UNB ETOILiB DISPARAIT" for Para- mount, and "UNE MEKVEIL.- LEUSB JOURNEE" for Pathe- Natan. Returning to Universal City, di- rected. "ONE GLAMOROUS NIGHT" and "CANDLELIGHT." Under contract'.to Universal Pic- tures. i 1 Hollywood,. Sept. 4.. Long, courted ..by Will. Hays . to <K))n^ into the Producers' Associa- tion, Monogram has finally turned down ...the - invite.. becau'se o.f .. Its stand. , on the ques^i.on. .of : double fea.tures. .ipiioQogram stays; apUgned, with other Indies In; fjivpr of. exhibitor freedom in the matter of billing, in direct opposition to. ;^he .Hays of- fice • -standT against twin' features. Them Carr's jittltude widens the split between th,e indies and the majors.on.this.issue, wJith the Head, of :-.Monogram'on record as . saying: •As long as the Producers'. - As- sociation will- dictate to exhibitors, we dp not wish to become a part Of'. their, organization. Uxhlbltors should be allowed to bill' as they, see fit* SHORTS PICK UP They FurnlsFi New Faces Also for Full Lengthis in Hollywood Hollywood, Sept. 4. Increase in production of shorts during redent months has given studios a much needed, source from which, to draw new talent for features. .Shorts had always been - films' minor leagues, until double billing came in and killed oft two-reelers. It was at this .tjme last year when studios were conducting their most Intensive talent hunting. 'They were forced to go put «li Hollywood In the' search for '. fresh fabes. Because of less money involved, shorts producers will take a chaiiCe oil ei ne-Wcomer. A mistake in last- ing' for a short is less noticed thah Jn 2l" feature; Slim budgets "On two reelers also induce their produeers to- try a lesser kno-«7rt player at a ■mailer salary. L. A. to N. Y* Louis B. Mayer. Sam "Wolf. Jack liait. R. M. Savini. Carl Laemmle, Sr.. Robert Harris. Charles 'Williams.' Joseph Marks. Margaret S'ullavan. William K. Wells. B. B. Kahane. Phil Goldstone. Ben Bernstein. N. V. to Li A. Lew Cody. Lenrlo Hay ton. Jake Willc. J. r. JVlcTS-voy The industry hasn't an inkling as to how Deputy Sol Rosenblatt feels about its codes. Other than a for- )aial letter of thanks to the two co- ordinators, S. R. Kent and Charles O'Reilly, committeemen who aided in assembiing the docunacnts and who have been in Washington sev- eral times since, declare not a h^nt as to the NRA's reaction; week after the submission, has beep dropped. If the -government attempts to wade through • a transcript of the stenographic record reported made of every:utterance at the day and night ' sessions of the exhibitors' committee, it would need, a week of istesLdyreading. Producers - "who held their meet- ings in the Hays office and distrib- utors who congregated in the "Box building did not have their discus- sions recorded. As the result, only their findings ahd exceptions were noted In =the report to Washington. The Deputy Commissioner Is now granting audiences to aU who seek them. As the result several trade organizations have men detailed In Washington ■ waiting for the hear- ings to open Sept. 12. Whether the purpose is to keep In immediate contact with Rosenblatt, as devel- opments occutr In the field; or Just to get as .much of an advance low- down as possible, might come under the category of strategy. Metzger's Claims Hollywood,.-Sept. 4. Gus Metzger, president of ,the 'Southern Califorzila Independent jTheatre Owners, and active in the .return of single* feature pirograms in this territory, says opponents to the duals have all but 14 signatures of local exhibs necessary to make uj? the proposed 60% that would make single bills compulsory, un- der the proposed Industry code. , Metzger claims the necessary sig- natures to make up the .60% will ;have been secured within a few days. Maclntyre as Southern District RKQ Sales Mgr. ' Decehtrallzatioh in the south and |increased field activity as a result has RKO filling the long vacant ipost of southern district sales mah- ;ager held some time back by 'W. •IT. Calloway, J. H. Maclntyre, for the past several years RlC'O's : branch manager at Lbs Angeles, has been appointed to the re- i.created post and will make head- qufirters in New Orleand. Leaving the coast last week Mac- lntyre Is* meeting RKO sales men in Chicago before cpming into the, h.o. from which he will shortly de- part for the south. Newton P.^ Jacobs, salesman in the L. A. exchange, steps up to boss that branch. Hollywood SAM MINTZ Briefly rewritten extracts from 'VarietyV Hollywood Bulletin, pHntecf each Friday in Hollywood, and added to the regular weekly 'Variety.1 The Bulletin does not oirculate other than on-the Paoific Slope. News from the Dailies in Uoa Angeles will found in that cuatomarj; department. Educational studio ends two months of darkness Sept 6 when 'LoveL Honor and Obey,* Mermaid comedy, goes in. 'Merrily Tours,' two-reej^ started Sept. 1. - " Jack Llnder, here two months in charge of the Jack Curtis office, rei turns to New York to handle bookings in the Amalgramated Broadcasting office. 'Hoopla' starts at Fox Sept. 6, having been postlponed from Aug. 26| when Clara Bow threatened to walk unless she was given a rest- at her Northern ranch. She claimed that her diet of orange juice to bring her down to weight had sapped her vitality. ' Sam Jaffe has abandoned plans to produce 'The Mad Dog of Europe/ dealing with the Hitler situation. : C. M. Nelson, writer, and Peter Freuchen, Danish explorer, flew to thtf Hudson Bay territory to get material for a Metro pic built around tho Hudson's Bay Co. '• Finishing script of his 'Love Life of a Modern' at Metro, F. Hugh Her« bert hopped to Warners to adapt 'Hit Mo Again.' which he sold thelattez* studio. Also peddled 'Where Do'We Go from. Here?' to Pyramid .for Reginald Denny. . . Ann Cunningham doing an prig for Metro which will be Ned Maxlh'm first production effort there. "'i" Harry O. Hoyt producing series of two-reel Boy Scout plx which MoA<i^ gram will release. , After 'Flying Down, to Rio* at Radio, Fred Astalre goes to England foi» a musical. Art Jarrett goeef to the Cocoanut Grove as featured vocalist with thai Sid Llppman baiid. Married Eleanor Holm Sept 2 in L. A. Jerry Asher Of Metro's publicity department replaces Harry Lang, re- signed as westerh editor of 'Movie Mirror.' Replacing of Rod La Rocque by PaUI CaLVahaugh in Metro's 'Tarzait and His Mate' will necessitate two weeks' retakes. ■ La Rocque Walked after differences with Cedric Gibbons, megger. i , Perry Sattbef, who .wrote ,the. original untitled story for Stanley Bergern man's flrsi^ Universal release, will also do the script. Roger Pryor getal the lead. (Contintied on page 11) AM Wants Exhibs to Write NRA Clause in Film Contracfs Sam Mlntz is known as Hollywood's moBt versatile writer. "Sklppy" was an original from his pen. "No Marriage Ties" and "Rafter Ro- mance," RKO coming releases are from his recent scripts. Now under contract to Schenck-Zariuck (Twentieth Century Company), writing the Anii Harding story, ''Gallant Ladjr" and with Miss Maude T. Howell writing the two George Arllss pictures, "Red Tape" and "Rothqchild.'.' Extras NRA Provisos Ask Women to Cast KidiBes, All Femmes Hollywood, Sept. 4, Changes In handling and hiring extra talent will be sought by a representative group of 150 small part and extra players, who will send a representative to Washing- ton on Sept. 12 .to sit in . on the film industry code conferences and pre- sent 11 provisions for regulation of the bit and day actors. Allan Garcia, chairman of the committee, is expected to make the trip, with" the . extras formulating expense-raising plans at-a meeting held Thursday night (31), dUrlnlr which the code provisos were unanimously okayed.. Commission Uf^ed These seek control of casting through either two or three extras on a committee of five to control and .administrate Central and in- dividual studio casting offices. Also classification of players with small parts -and bit people who have dialog lines getting, minimum of $25 a day; same without lines and foreground extras with own ward- robe, 115 a day; ordinary fore- ground people, $12.50; semi-fore- ground and costume people, $10; ordinary extras, $7.50; mob peo- ple, $5. Half check? . for interviews that don't jelU^gxid for costume fittings when people only get a day's work .out , of them are- aljso requested. When sets are canceiied before the day's work, has gone an hour) half checks. After that, full day's pay. Wardrobe changes during the day are to bring in $2,50 . apiece and ideal hours are restricted to an hour during the eight-hour day, ac- cording to the proposed code rules. Day's work, to begin when, player reports at studio and end .when he Is returned there in case of location scenes, except when those calls are in Hollywood. Checking In ward- robe and paying off people to be made .within half an hour of dis- missal, with time over that charge- able. Overtime Is to be computed as one and a half times regular rate. Women to Cast All women and girls and chil- dren under 14 are to be engaged by women easting directors or as- slstantS/ -Arbltractlon board com- posed of three extras and two pro- ducers to hear all difficulties. R". O. Pennell and Fred Williams drafted the code. Extras are willing to back down on having three men to the pro- ducers' two, with a disinterested party called in to be the deciding factor. Chicago, Sept. 4. Finding that the exhibitors caii no longer be restrained from theii; readiness to buy new film pro'du^t^i the Allied Exhib organization IP'oalfy; has tried to make the best of the' situation by urging their members to signature new contracts for IQttik only when a clause has 'beeti sorted makliig the contract subject to any pt-ovislons made in the NtlAi' code, when and if adopted for tbei Industry. This letter has gone out -to the Iti^t die exhibs when Allied discovered that the exhibs were not willing t6| Walt a month or so longer to 'bily, product, though Allied has' b'e^n constantly urging to exhibs not to be In a hurry to buy pictures this year. But the natural exhib's impatieitcd to set his product, and his fear that the competing theatre acfoss 'thel street or arouhd the corner wouldii't also wait, but would step in and buy, Uii all the product from uhder hia feet, has sent the exhibS 'into th^j film market ready to buy now. Allied feels that the exhibitors'are to receive niany new benefits from! the industry code when adopted* and believes by inserting this- wheri-i and-lf clause the exhibs may ' ho certain that they will be allowed these new privileges, if any." ERPI MOWEY Induced by Dowling for Hoiikl Feature at Astoria to Start ' A program of ambitious hopes^ backed by considerable cap^tjal. Which his as Its goal the sti'mula- tion of film production in the east and, at the same time, greater ees curlty for the legit stage, is formun lating in New York. It begins i to. take shape by and through thei Arthur Hopkins picture, 'The .Great Adventure,' i>y Arnold Bennett, un-i der production at the Par Astoria^ L. L, studio, with Lillian Gish star. This talker is the first of threei scheduled to be made at the Astoria, film-factory by legjt producers .un^ der a plan w^ilch provides capital to' them for the purpose of converting into film the plays they offer on the legit stage. :>.( t-.i Money at the disposal of Hopklni* and -two other legit producers to^ be named shortly, who will turn their own Broadway plays into celluloid, has been put up by Eddie Dowling and ERPL Interest of ERPI is 4n-. dicatlve of its desire that Some^ thing be done about film productioh In the east, as well as conclusive that ERPI is looking for other clmn- nels of film expansion. Budget cost on the Hopkins pic- ture was set at $100,000.