Variety (Sep 1933)

CT E S Tacaday, SeptemBer 19, 1933 Warner Embargo on Player Loans Over WiHiam-Goldwyn Tiff Also Has an NRA Employment Angle! NRA Parade Casnalties ^iz's CoDtributkmS tO NJ. NRA Parade Rewarded at B.O.S; Industry Lent Color« Names, S. A. IloUywood, Sept. 18. Warners has eliminated the loan- ing of all people under contract to the stiidio and who cure given screen credit., jack Warner Issued the ;Lone Wolf order last wieek with the. additional command therie must be no. deviation froin the ruling!: This Applies not only to playeitis and dl^ rectors, but to writers who are given screen credit. Understood that the Warner edict Is intstigated, or at least crystallized, by the controversy with Sam Gold- wyn over 4 borrowed player. Goldwyii had borrowed Warren William for ?Nana,' the Anna Sten picture which has been halted through script and 'directorial Jams. Gbldwyn was told that when the time orlglnajly set was up the player would return to the Warner lot. Ooldwyn argued that vjrhilc the loiah was made for a definite period, it was through no faiilt of his that the prOgnress of production had been delayed and that it wais unfair to him to recall William be- fore the picture . was completed- Warner admitted it Mrould ber just top :bad, land added. that at. the ex- piration of. the time'originally set lie wanted William on. his own lot iSald that Warner further feels Ir- ritated over other situations arising from player . loans, and believes that the best headache powder is not to conclude any more loans. No Reflex benefits Another thought said to be in his niind is that the company Is turn- ing out good product with .pari of the success due to the casting.. Not figured, to be Intelligent to let other fltudios profit from the use of play- ers aiid others who have been built up through their Warner connec- tion. For a side angle, Warner . Is state «hairman of NRA, and can cap! tallze the fact that his stand Is helping the. purposes of reconstnic tlon by giving Jobs to unemployed layers. No intimation that Wariier will put the other shoe on and desist from asking loans. One casualty of the NRA parade among picture people who tried the long trek wag Boris Morros, head of Paramount's stage show and music department who got over- heated on the long march and went down with a cold Thursday (14). Among" the minor catastrophes, was Henry Stainpler's embarrass- ment in going home without a shirt. The Metro publicity department employee impersonating the MGM lion, Leo, couldn't find his shirt after the parade was over and had to go home half-dressed. That lion costume he wore weighed 20& pounds. Many were reported staying home Thursday (14) from ex- haustion of parading. Weighted down with heavy cos- tumes,, two of the Music Hall's Roxy'ettes and one of the ballet girls passed out before the parade was over. Par's Reorg. Plans Would Retain Lynch Any ' reorgaillzatioh plan which may be suhmltted for Pairamount- iE>ublix will have Adolph Zukor playing a promlneht part in feame That's the downtown sayrso. Zukor Is destined to stick in a high capac- ity regardless^ w;hether S. A» Lynch continues with the company upon reorganization,: so far as bankers are concerned, lies mostly Lynch is presently chairman of 1111 PAIj CREDfFORS' the reorganization committee as set ■ up by the Par trustees, and the AIMC |M DV ^FPT lAl downtown minds are openly com- I VLIUIIIU ilv Ul aiO. 1. It mending his work so far accom- plished. 20th c. lips ProdiKtions to 14 Fix STRIKE ECHO IS m9S0,0W SDITI i£SSER EAST, MOVING PRIN'S OFFICE WEST With Frank R. Wilson stepping out of Principal Pictures to head NRA publicity,. Sol Lesser came east to completely reorganize the Prln setup in New York and move everything to Los Angeles, includ- ing the eTcecutive offices, leaving the eastern center only to function for shipping purposes. Lesser is huddling with Jack Ba,rnstyn, foreign dlstrib, on. the foreign distribution of his. 'Tarzan, the Fearless,' serial. Lesser and Barnstyn sail for London shortly to. set the SngUsh distribution. Lesser meantime is trying to get Buster Crabbe back from Para mount, to whom he's yhder con tract, for a ffeW eXtfa ^hapte^s to tack onto the present 'Tarzan' se ri^.!, hut Far is holding out for too J stifC a priqe meantime. Los Angeles, Sept. Concentratinjg their attack ion Louis B. Mayer,, who heads a list I of Irandreds of defendants most of whom ure John Does, the lATSE has .filed. isUit against all major studio heads, the International Brotherhood of . Electrical Workers and the. United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, for $33,960,000, charging conspiracy. Gist of the complaint Is that the producers and the two defendant unions conspired to boycott'and blacklist members of the lATSE following, settlement of the recent technicians' Btrike and make it im- possible for lATSE members to get studio work. Mayer, It Is speclficially alleged, connived at wage reductions and hour Increases while voting him self a $1,000,000 ■ bonus. The MGM executive stated, *Any body can bring a suit. Let them sustain'theli* charges and. we'll see If they are made for publicity pur poses or not. I'll be in court to meet them.* Sentiment among lATSE mem hers Is that the suit may be only a gesture akin to thumbing one's nose, but that the gesture, at least, is due the defendants. A, Brlgham Rose, representing the lATSE, said: "Even if we lose we'll make legal history.' Rose avers thia conspiracy alleged was and Is not merely a general at tempt to cold shoulder the lA'TSE, but Is actually In violation of the NRA strike settlement agreemfent, which, he! says, provided that strik ers could return to work •without prejudice.' The large task, of analyzing creditor claims against Paramount Publix under Its bankruptcy Is ready to get under way by attor- neys and staffs for trystees. All claims which aire provable under the bankruptcy act were filed by last Thursday (14). Whien that date had piassed a tabulation of the bonds filed showed $3,000 worth had not been covered by creditor claims in the last-mln- ute rush to record th.em with-the trustee. In the final week more than 60% of th^ outstandlne $26,000,000 worth of bonds had not heen filed, though Par set up spe- cial offices downtown for the pur- i;K>se. The $3,000 not received by Sept 14 may Include some claims oh bonds which were mailed In time but were delayed in reaching Ni^w Toirk. Whenever they show up, If the postmark from point mailed Is not later than Sept. 14, they will be allowable under the liquidation of Par. Otherwise, they are worth- less. On going Into bankruptcy the to tal amount of Par liabilities were listed at $66,300,000, Including, the $26,000,000 In bond Issues. Claims are of virtually every de- scription and range bom. millions down to individual creditor debts of less than $1. The Work of selB regatihg and analyzing the lao-ge number of claims, together with court approval on all, will take several months. Hollywood, Sept. 18. Twentieth Century will produce 14 pictures for the currient year,. In- stead of 12 announced, and 'Expects to have its entire proBra,m In the can by March 1. Except for delay In starting George Arllss' second film, dated-to commence Jan. IB, 20th Century: would be cleaned itp by Christmas. ArllsSi who gets here Oct. 16, does not' Want^ to start his second (Story too soon after the first, and com- pany must wait for him. Only around 20 people are on the regular payroll, so a long shutdown won't bring too much extra over- heads RKO Th^tre Dept Shifted About in KBF^s Absence STUART OPPOSES % FOR BOTH PK, ACTS Detroit, Sept. 18. Herschel Stuart has . booked ..a Radio picture for the Michigan on a straight, rental to play with the stage appearance of Ted Lewis. This is the first picture to play the Michigan on a straight rental fo some time. It is understood that the booking is to set a precedent as to the play Ing- of plctui;es on percentage for this house. Plajrlng the names, house has had to split both with I talent and film. BEAHAN OUT AS U N. Y. STORY ED„ HARRIS IN Bankers Figure New Co. for Par Following Discharge from Bkptcy Charles Bteahani story editor of | Universal, Is out this week. Robert Harris, Itt New York now; •from, the coast, replaces him. HEEIAN GOQPEB Vm EA^T Merian Cooper, recuperating on the Coast from a throat infection, is expected east early in October to attend the regular meeting of the RKO board of directors. Cooper^is away from coast pro- WEISFELDT AT MAJ. Max Ji Welsfeldt has bten named general sales manager lor. Majestic Pictures. Formerly sales manager for several other indie companies. John Weber has been named Ma- jestlc's foreign manager. With expectations that Paramount Publix will be about ready to start out anew, minus the yoke of bank- ruptcy, by Feb. 1, reportis are that Kuhn, Loeb, Par bankers, will swing the reorganization and the transfer-of assets to a new company. Stpcks In the new organization, a parent company to take the place of Paramount Publix, will be ex- changed for existing P-P certificates, it Is believed. _ __ . _ Kuhni ijoeb fs intefeWnB'"^<el^f^In the possibilities of a rehabilitated Paramount and a discharge of the bankruptcy shortly after the first of the year to the extent of an ex- haustive check and survey into the bankrupt. Meanwhile the business of analyzing all claims, together with compromises of clalm.s wherever possible. Is getting under way on the part of the trustees in hope of an early liquidation or re-^ organization attended by sale. Kuhn, Loeb's Concern It is commonly conceded that the Otto Kahn banking house is anxi- ous to be with Par on the big pull- out in saving its. face, among Invest- ing clients. Believed also, In this connection,, that the exchange of stock will be on a favorable basis. Certificates, once worth about 15c, "are""hpw" Ti<^ from inside Kuhn, Loeb has "plenty of the certificates as well as Par and Famous Players Lasky bonds. One report is that several power- ful interests outside of. Kuhn, Loeb are in possession of large blocks of the stock. This may include Hall garten & Co., who have done private banking for Par. Excepting only the advertising and publicity division, all'th© oper- ating, departments of the RKO the atre end are now on the llth floor of the. company's home offlcis In Radio City. Includes Walter P. Brown, assistant to M.' H. Ayleis- worth. H© moved down from an upper floor In order to. he closer to things generally. Brown is now only three rooms, away from H. B, Fratiklin. Suddenly over the paist week lUCO things In the home office began moving while Ftankllh was busy coding In Washington. Looks like orders from higher up to reorganize the office setup, generally for oper- ating purposes plus the Intention of consolidating office 8pia.ce to reduce rent charges. Soi far as can be indicated the film end hasn't been touched. ■ Much of the flim coinpany offices are utilized by auditors and bookkeepers. It's only when the auditors get promoted that they move downstairs, not up. As .for the theatre end, the only offlceis remaining untouched by the move are those of Harold Franklin and Phil Rcisman. Otherwise every' body's moved or nearly. The film booking office formerly well segregated Is now piled in somewhere between the theatre dl vision and other departments and Iflooks like when RKO's film huy ers want to do business hereafter, they will have to. do it outside if the distribs from whom they buy should demand privacy. Only thing that separates Frank' lin from Walter. Brown, In an^ of fice way,' ipresehtiyi^ 6 c cupied by the division managers and Robert Hall. They're adjbihilng, Brown is occupying the office for- merly used by Hall's secretaries. Hall, and ari abundance of furiiiture plus two secretaries are now in one room. Next to Hall and in th* room formerly used for, cabinet meetings by . Franklin, are ' ail the home office division managers and their secretaries. Apparently, hereafter, cabinet meetings when held will be held In Franklin's private office, which is stiil the finest office on the floor. RKO AND U BIDDING UP GERMAN PIC TO $25,000 Radio Pictures and Universal are b5tH^biddiHr""for" Amerlcan'^^ to 'Countess of Monte Cristo,' Ger- man film starring Brigltte Helm. Both—companies would like the rights for remaking of the story in Hollywood. Between the bidding of the two companies price for the film has gone up to $25,000 with no purchase yet. NRA's parade. ioytiner id New York Wednesday (13) displayed a suhtle senile .of humor apottlner the Investment and financing companies ahead of the film division, but the industry added sex appeal to its march and, with girls in costume, lots of band music, some Impromptu entertalnnient,. eto.>. completely stole the show. Lending the Fifth ave, parade its most Impressive partici- pation by any Industry or group, amusements seemed 'none the less uncomfortable with the , bankers leading them .aiid the jfibrists trail •' The banicers, with few execs ;ap- parieintly fearing to come out in' the bpeh,^ presented, a r rather sorry look- ing sight, but the .:^orists with the way the. depression has favored the uhdertidceri had a fine riepreiaehta- tloh;. In spirit, -the investment-finaiiC'- Ing division inade a nilld impres- sion with Its representation, small, but the- picture industi^ and other branches of amusements, together with radio, was there with flags ilylng, banneih^ waving, bands play- ing and Its people. In, triumphant march. Reaction of the crowds to the film division, with the life and enthusiasm It put Into the parade, was show-stopping.. A total Of about .6,000 people from jplctures partic- ipated. While a couple companies wanted to take advantage of the parade to advertise some pictures, the Indus- try didn*t make it exploitatlonal ex- cept for NiElA and to Impress the public with the manner, in which thd show business is behind the drive. Jolson and Roxy, Al Jolson led the film and theatre division in person, the blggeist star to participate from amusements. Hd had behind him the fine representa- tion of RKO,; whose contingent was headed by the Radio City group and S. L. (Roxy). Rbthafel In person waiving a general greeting to his big American public. Roxy had a large seirvlce staff be- hind him in unifornis, followed by the Roxyettes, 'Musid Hall'd ' ballet corps, choriU ensemble , and cithers^ all ih costume. Tliis iihlt alone had the folks sitting ui> to tAke notice^ There were few big executives In the line of niarch except for'the, trio walking abreast up the long Fifth avenue st.ret<ih for RKO, Ned Deplnet, Phil. Reismah and Jtules Levy, ' . All the RKO Greater New York theatres were represeiited with usher groups and bands, from many of the houses. Oh top of the the- atre division, RKO had. Its. RKO Rkdib Pictures bunch In the line of march. United Artists and the Rivbli fol- lowed,. Hal iELorne stepping the light fantastic with 'em, with Loew's impressive troops as the third unit. Loew's-Metro vied with. RKO for first honors among the. film com- panies, lea.dlng oft with a cadet or- chestra and then Chester Hale girls, ushers, musicians and others from the Capitol, ias well, as usher and other groups from other Loew ho,uses. - The LoeW-Metro contingent,, in number of persons, participating, appeared the largest. Metrb had a mugg as Leo the JAon, a,, fellow on. stilts, a lot of balloons and the Hale girls with boxes of pigeons which, by arrangement with the,U. S, Sig- nal Corps, were released ipr flight to .Washington with, a message proniising co-operation to the Pres-. ident In the NRA drive. Columbia's NRA Ad Plug Some pt the Metro girls were in formal evening gownsj while in some of the other niajbr' film com- pany groups such as Columbia; most of the girls were all in white and the men In dark clothes. WB's order w£s that all the girls wear white and the men dark, but they didn't entirely. Col used a slogan, 'March Forward with Columbia,* nearest approach to an ad plug. Universal was next in line to 'Metro^and""drew-'a 'laugh- wlth--a- couple behind a canvas head cutout, one in blackface, In the nature of one of those carnival ball-throwing gags, with a ■ sign reading, 'Let's give depression two black eyes.' Warner representation following U was large and impressive, though not touchin;; RKO, LoCw'j? and par- (Continucd bn page 25) (A