Variety (Sep 1933)

Tuesday, September 12, 1935 PICTURES VARIETY CODE BY SEPT. 20 Sweat Shop Charge of Penny-Ante Pay Takes Extras' Pl^t to Cc Hollywood, Sept. 11. That Hollywood's extra situation will be Injected Into the NRA code hearings seems certain followingr a report of the Academy's investigat- ing committee that It had found evidence of sweat shop methods in the treatment of bit and mob players. Significant of this is also seen In the presence ' in Washington of Dave Allen, head of Central Casting Bureau, who -went east with the Hays office delegation following the presentation of the report to the Academy board of governors and branch executive committees. The- committee, headed' by Frank Woods,' stated It had found evi- dence that the principles of NRA are not being recognized to any ap- preciable degree. Taking Advantage Report, which Is expected to be presented at Washington, states that there seems to be a policy to keep wages down to the lowest level and to take advantage of the distress of unemployed players. It was pointed out that pay of extras has been radically cut in the past few years, and that those now getting between $7.50 and $15 a day had been sliced on an average of 20%. Alco that while two years ag<^ a $2 and $1.50 extra was un- heard of that such low salaries were foOnd to have been paid during 1933. Committee further found, It stated, that during the past year many former well-known names w4re working as extras for $3 and that the average paid per call In 1930 was $9, but during 1932 had been reduced to $7.48. 6nly 69 persons averaged as much as. two days' work a week in the averaged three days. Graft Reported Charges of graft, report states, had been heard but none substanti- ated, although there was plenty of evidence that favoritism and dis- crimination at central Casting of- fice was in existence, with relatives and close friends being given the breaks. Committee recommended a thor- ough and careful rcireglstratlon and reclassification of all extras by a competent and impartial com- mittee. New Hi for Extras Hollywood, Sept. 11 Despite a five-day week, caused by Labor Day, extra placements hit a new high o£ 10,687 for the week just fin- ished. Top day was Sept. 6, when 2,907 extras worked. Lengthy, Wordy Briefs; Hays Runs To 100,000 Words ROSMBLIITrS [OlCUe ELSE Too Many Intra-Trade Ar- guments, Too Many Briefs, Too Much Wran- gling—Government's Dep- uty Administrator Impa- tient with It All—^Press Conference Makes It Plain The^t Speed and Despatch Are Urgent Trickery Hurled at Agents' Move to Create NRA Body Outside of Acad; Actors Facmg Expulsion in Row WORKING FAST Anti-Loaning Clause Wanted by Acad. Actors Hollywood, Sept. 11. Actors' branch of the Academy is demanding that a clause be written into the code prohibiting studios from loaning each other contract players. Major studios are understood to bo jplannlng a freeze-out on free- lance players, using only contract players in forthcoming productions. Move Is partly in retaliation against the agents, who are fighting clauses 9 and 10 in the code. For the entire week before the open hearing in Washington today, (12) the jodes tentatively handed up to the Government by committee draftsmen were In hands of attor- neys. Lawyers are reported to have struggled ivlth clauses the same as committeemen, rcivritlng and again rewriting many opinions on clauses before agreeing to them as to style and language to be finally incor- porated in briefs. , Early It looked, as though the ad- ditional writing to be submitted In behalf of the Hays organization would run close to 100,000 wordSi On some tiiigle clauses Hays attor- neys collaborating with lawyiers of individual companies turned out as many as 50 typewritten pages. .Procedure for presenting the briefs. In fact for the entire pro- gram, was hot understood within official circles of the business as Ja/e^a3_last Thursday. While all cire're^ keeping "in''mind the Govern- ment's methcd of handling previous industries, and curtailing oral argument, may recognized differ- ences peculiar to fllmdom which might upset a lot of precedents and establish a partially new routine for the NRA code court remained. Briefs With Tallc It was then understood that a de- partment of the industry could do one of two things, or both. Indica tions^ were that most of the film contingents will do both, that is, file briefs and also file notice of personal appearance which Includes the privilege of oration. Arguments among the attorneys were reported many. It was pointed out that as member companies had affixed their signatures to the ten tatlve codes they could not very well appear as recanting In the brief. MINN'S, TEAM Minneapolis, Sept. 11. W. A. Steffes and Bennle Berger have gone to Washington to attend the industry code hearings as repre sentatives of Minnesota independent exhibitors. Former Is president and business manager of Northwest Allied States, Independent theatre owners' organi- zation. Berger Is a former presi- dent. N.M. INDIES ABSORBED Albuquerque, N. Mex., Sept. 11. Kimo, Pastime, and Rio taken over by Griffith Theatre company, owners of many houses in southern part of state. Kimo and Pastime were owned by BachechI Antuse ment Co. and Rio Indie. Everything open shop now. Mario Bachechi and C. E, McSwain operating local houses. Ass't Meggers' Delegate On In-Laws Situation Hollywood, Sept. 11. Assistant directors have sent Scott R. Beal to Washington for the NRA code hearing. He will ask that the sub-directors be granted a 60- hour week. Will also contend for the elimina- tion of the practice of Injecting rel- atives of studio executives and heads Into their ranks. Allied Leaders at Capitol Chicago, Sept, 11. Allied leaders from the west and midwest left for Washington for the pre-code meeting of the national Allied directors' board, held yester day (10). Aaron Saperstein, of the local Al lied, led the contingent from this territory. PEISCO'S DELEGATION San Francisco, Sept. 11. Bunch of local indie theatre oper ators have scrammed to Washington to attend the code hearlng.s. In the expedition are George and Al Nasser, Morgan Walsh, L. S Hamm and Les Dolliver. Washington, Sept. 11. In a conference with the press to- night, Deputy Admi istrator Rosenr blatt declared that in between day hearings he will instruct film par- ties to controversies to meet nightly n the Department of Commerce building. 'I expect to have the code finished, before Sept. 20. I may not work all night, but they will.' Rosenblatt also announced a deadline on briefs, permitting none to be submitted after the public hearings are closed. He said that to date 20 have been submitted and he has read them all, even one from stunt pilots and teanftsters. S. R. Kent and Charlie O'ReiUy w:Ill not sit on the dais with him during the hearings. They ceased to be co-ordinators when the Bar Building, N, Y., committees were disbanded. The. deputy administrator stated he had interviewed over 200 people on the film code today, which gives an idea of the speed with which he intends to handle the public hear- ings. Among briefs submitted were also about 65 from unions, most ot" [ in them from locals and one from In ternational Alliance. Rosentblatt (Continued on page Bl) More Code News Additional matter on picture code and hearings may be found on page 29. Shorts F^hting Indie Features For Protection If duals remain, shorts must go: Little subjects represent twice the investment and employing power tied up In Indie film feature pro- duction, say the short subject, makers. It's the argument they have for Washington and expect It to carry weight. Average short unit costs $22,500 figures E. W. Hammons, pioneer short producer, who claims the av- erage Indie feature Is not much more than $22,000. There are approximately 500 short units annually. A unit Is the term a short producer uses In flg- urlhg out reelage, rather than re- ferring to his product as one and two reelers. Granting the' indie producers their figure, that the end of dualism would eliminate 250 features, Ham- mons Is presenting as a difference In shorts and the $4,500,000 fgr the average second feature on a theatre program. Actors Defy Academy Groups in -Battling Proposed Code Set-Up Hollywood, Sept. 11, Members of the Actors' Branch of the Academy have proved the Bolsheviks of that organization on NRA code matters and have refused to be held in check on their de- mands as to what should go into the Industry pact. , While other branches have rati- fied the Academy code con^mittee's recommendations on the wording of the producer agreement In the code, the actors voted unanimously to pull all the teeth out of the proposed Instrument. Committee and four 6£ tha branches are agreeable to the pro- ducer pact, provided that section al- lo'ving for producer permission to meet bids of rival companies after a contract Is expired be eliminated, provided also that the agreement refer only to those getting $1,000 or mere a week, and that no bids from rivals be considered at the various option periods. Other branches also favored re- striction of rival company bids only during a period 30-days before the expiration of the-contract. Actors, on the contrary, demand that bids be a allowed for the whole life of the contract. This would mean that as soon as a player goes under con- tract to a studio any^ bids for his services on contract expiration from that time on mu.st be brought to the attention of the contracting pro- ducer. Actors also kicked over the traces at the meeting Friday night (8) when they unanimously voted to de- mand of Academy representatives at the Washington hearings that a clause go Into the Industry code to forbid studios loaning each other contract players. They also want another article that would prohibit free lance players from playing in more than one picture simultane- ously. This action was taken when Claude King addressed the meeting, saying that It seemed to have been overlooked by the producers that the NRA aim •was to spread employ- ment. He pointed out that there are now 12,000 actors in Hollywood, and that the practice of loaning players Is adding to unemployment instead of stemming it, as the Gov- ernment code Intends. Following several branch fights on the clause which states that a time limit cannot be placed on a production unit, it was finally agreed that the Academy would seek to get an amendment to this to the effect that a unit would work only 'reasonable hours.' Actors and directors had been chief contestants of this Item. Actors for a time fought for a limit of 48 hours, but finally surrendered to the word 'reasonable.' Both di- rectors and actors declared that the unlimlting provision would giv studios a governmental right to work them perhaps ridiculou.sly Icng hour.«J. Hollywood, Sept. 11. Charges of trickery, misrepresen- tation and underhanded methods are flying fast as a result of a group of agents, reported to be headed by Joyce-Selznick, circulating petitions that would set up a code-represent- ing body, independent of the Academy. Petitions contain the names of William K. Howard, Russell Mack, John M.. Stahl, Norman Tttilrogj"- William Wellman, Miriam Hopkins, George Bancroft, Eddie Cantor, Richard Dix, Clark Gable, James Gleason, Edmund Lowe, Groucho Marx and George Raft as a com- mittee to represent the slgrners at' Washington. But since the ptibllca- tlon of these names several of them, notably Miriam Hopkins, Jolin Stahl and Norman Taurog have claimed their names were used without au- thority and gotten by misrepresen- tation. Sole Representation Fly in the ointment to the Academy was that the signers to. the petition agreed that this com- mittee only would represent thetn and that .by signing they agreed that no other body could work In their interest at the code hearltiirs. As most of the committee are Academy members, it brought charges of treason and disloyalty. Academy threatened to expel any- one whose name was on this com- mittee who could not satisfactorily explain It. At the actors' meeting Friday (8), Adolphe Menjou stated that not . rf*osr^ifijj;^^^rfe *^--gotten^r" ■ 'misrepresentation/ but all Academy members signing should immedi- ately resign. As several named on the com? mittee were out of towA and could not be reached, no action was taKen but It was plainly Indicated tii^t ' those whb went Into the opposition' knowingly will be held answerable and expelled if they do not resign in the meantime. Wi res Claim Trickery This opposition to Academy em- ployee representation is expected to form an Interesting Interlude at the Washington hearings. Telegrams from Miss Hopkins, Stahl and. Taurog claiming trickery In getting; their names have been sent to Academy representatives at the sessions and will be used in an at- tempt to discredit this group. Joyce-Selznick reports around 1,- 000 signing the petition, with Frank Joyce of that agency-Harry Webber and attorneys now enroufe east to do battle for the signers and in- cidentally to fight inclusion of the Ac^^emy's agency code In the In- dustry pact. ANY CODE REWRITING WILL BE BY JOHNSON No matter what happens In Wash- ington this week Industry strategists are confident that there will prob- ably be no returning of the code to filmdom for revision. Whatever rewriting is done will be that of General Johnson and his staff. Picture men are certain of this for a number of reasons. Govern- ment virtually singled out pictures to have a Deputy Administrator per- sonally designate tentative code draftsmen. After permitting these men to. deliberate a full week over the official deadline and finding it necessary to call in immediately writings to that date, the govern- ment is in a position to appreciate the meaning of a picture deadlock. In other words, what the Industry couldn't do it.sflf In July it could not accomplish In fcJeptember*