Variety (Sep 1933)

tViesday, September 19, 193S PICTSRES VARIETY Over 50% Setdement for Par Possible if Landlonis Co-op. On P-Fs Theatre Situations There Is no certain form so far decided tipon for any reotganlzatibn of Paramouni-PUbllx. Much de- pends on what the landlords dp to- wards alleviating the Par theatre and other realty- situations, taking in oflace buildinifd, etc. Just what these do may determine the extent of settlimeht which the creditors of P-P ipfiay receive. if the landlords go th^ whole way with Par, and if present negotia- tions around for rental reductions and mortgage amendrnents are. sue-, cessfuli 'there Is the probability that the Par credltori^ can hope to re- ceive more than p. 50% settlement. So far; however, there Is no defi- nite plan. That things are mpvins fast to- wards a reorganization of the com- pany is known, and that such a re- organization can take place quickly and within a month Is also known, but that landlord thing is the ob- stacle to hop over mostly. The Bankers^ Angle There , are other angles, also. . One of these is the position yrhlch the 12 banks Interested in the n3,500,000 negative loan to Par. may take. That'o an itein aaucb discussed both Inside and outsidp, with the fact be Ing that neither side has come to any coriclusioh. on thfe matter. It isn't a far cry to suppose that a compromise tnay be reached and that the banks headed as they are by Chemical may wish to assist Par in reor6a,riizing by compromising their claims so aa to take a partly preferred position . maybe in cash, saihe as other secured creditors, and the remainder In' notes on the same basis as the general line of creditors. On the whole, however, this Is only copjecture. There Is still the possibility that the trustees may sue to revoke the original mortgage agreement with these banks but flgurlri- the company's money which would be spent on litigation could be saved, and the possibility that such a trial may drag for months, would serve to indicate that both iaides might get together. There Is no doubt that no matter which way that bank thing goes, the 12 banks must have some say In whatever plan of reorganization will be presented finally. It Is more than likely that Kuhn-Loeb and Hallgarten Co*, downtown bankers and Chemical will pivot wha.tever reorganization Is pursued. Among the three, they represent maybe $40,000,000 of the possible $50,000,000 In' probable claims against Par, either directly or through repre sentation of creditor Retroadiye CcMie? Washington^ The Legal Department of the NiRA today had "not arrived at. a decision ^ to whether the code may be made retros^ctivp. Problems is ad- mitted herie to be a knotty Oiiel This point was, raised at the public hearings by a delegation of Buffalo exhibitors through counsel who . then said that there would be few benefl^ts to be derived bjf the atrie owner^ under the codo unless it included 1933-4 picture deals, many of which already have been signed^. Chorus Equity and picture houses have not yet settled the girl salary and hour issue. . After hours of argumentation the issiie of taking care of the small theatres using, live talent has. been raised and is among th6 many other little and big con troveries isuspending ' liext Saturday* RIVAL OPS/ UNIONS IN MPLS. IN 1 YR. TRUCE That Riffht-to-Buy Washington, Sept. 18. The right-to-buy Is proving a stickler not only to the in- dustry but to the government. With all but a few film people returned to their homes until Saturdieiy, the rIght-to-buy seems to be the same govern- ment theme song as the right to sell, and' both are di^' ametricaliy opposed. Rights one way or the other are far from settled, the' gov- ernment admitted today, and no compromise is yet In sighti The rights' headachie is re- ported one of the main .rea- .sonis. for the exodus, from Washington over the weekend. Code Thrown Back to the Industry With Promise of an Arbitrary Attitude by Gov t, If No Accord Cameramen s Soc. Differs on NRA Interpretations >AR CLEARS ITS IN ENGLAND Minneapolis, Sept. 18. Warfare between the two local rival unions of booth operators, the Independent organization and - the regular one affiliated with the A. F., of li., has been ended with the sl|gn- ing of. a one-year truce. Under the terms of the truce, the |35 a w:eek independent union operators are permitted to remain in four theatres here, two neighborhood and two loop houses, including the 1,600^ peat Bijou, one of the recent stormi centers. All pthier loop arid neigh- borhood theatres will emploiy Inter- national Alliance members. The neighborhood thea-tres, with the two exceptions, agreed to use the ?45 a Week A. F*. of K operators, signing noh-cancellable one-year contracts. Members fo the two unions have been picketing theatres which do not employ their own members, bb,riners pf the Independent pickets charging the theatres using A. F, of L. operatori3 with not employing union help, The truce stipulates that there shall be no more picket- ing by either side. " ="Since-tKe-"9tart-; of=t number of theatres have been bombed, there have been street fist fights In front of the showhouses between members of the riVal.unions and the business agent of the Inde- pendent union and two members of his family have been wounded by bullets flred through a window of their home. -iiohdon, sept. 18. Paramount has finally completed a theatre d^ai in which dolves several difficult problems First move 'Win be: the immediate building .of two new Paramount thieatres, one in Liverpool and an other In Glasgow. Theatres will be built for Par by new companies be Ing formed by Arthur Segal, with Pjar In and to opera^te, but not to. put up any substantial amount of cash. Segal repiresents the Wert- heimer banker money, which has always been active for Paramount here. . Paramoiint's headache for some time has been that the company owned a-couple pf very expensive sites for theatres in Ltiverpool And Glasgow. Impossible under current conditions to build, but too valuable as property^ and having cost too much in leases, taxes, and licenses to drop. Now Segal has dug up the money to pull the thing through. Segal and Wiertheimer associated with Par Uto in the jegular four theatrtf Astoria circuit, which -the company bought for; a lot of money some years back. This chain has been showing: ci operating profit, but Paramount would like to lose it in view of mortgages, and exchange headaches involved. John Hicks, Jr;, and: Eugene ..Zukor, who were over heria the past couple months to iron the thing out, have gone on to survey the rest of the Continent before returning to America. Hollywood, Sept, 18 dimeramen's Union 669 Saturday (16) sent letters to aU members stating- Howard Hurd, its business -reipresentatiye, in Wash ington on code meetings, had beein hotlfled that .Sol A. Rosenblatt had ruled first, second and assistant cameram®^ would b» obliged to work at all hours necessary for production, which would meaia un- limited time ^Hurd said he has protested the rulihg and requested that members wife , their protests and: views to Washington pronto Hurd also wants the men to pro- test In the studios. It Will enable studios to work the men until they drop,' he says, 'and. will create a condition of economic chaos that will reduce salaries to levels never before realized.' Hurd also said that If the men don't support the protest, imem ployed in their ranks wlU have to seek new labor fields and the em ployed will have to reconcile them selves to a low standioird of wages and unbearable Working conditions He said he was re&dy to carry his argumient to Roosevelt if neces sary. American Society of Clnematpg raphefs declared. In answer to the Hurd plea, that working conditions would be no different than prior to July 20, which is the time the strike was called in Hollywood, and that men would actually profit since methods are being.worked out to employ mote mem Understood that where a mMi works through on a picture the accumulated time he labored will be .used as a basis of layoff before he goes to another picture and will thus allow more men to work. Nothing's Been Okayed Washington, Sept. 1 have not okayed a single clause,' Deputy Administrator Sol A Rosenblatt declared early this morning, following reports of ex hibitor leaders attending Saturday's sessions that the Deputy was using the mallet privately and had literally Ordered the industry to incorporate In the penrianent code nine clauses from distributor and exhibitoi!' pro posals. There Is a simila,rity among most of these clauses but a difference in language. The exhibitors clauses are oh traniafer to iavoid contracts, also advertising conflicting, with prior run. also midnight shows, also uniEiuthorized exhibition, also stand- ard license, agreement.. Distrib clauses Include midnight shows, also breaching playing contracts, also no gratuity to influence exhib or distrib, also dating restrictions. CONTINUED 1NN.Y. Washington, Sept. 1.8. Deputy Adnrinistrator Sol A. Bo- senblatt expects to be In New York Wednesday (20). Radio code hear ihg. scheduled here, foir then ..has been, put over until Sept. 27. Rosen blatt at first adjourned the filin committee cpnferences until Thurs day (21) but In consideration of the Jewish holidays he .has allowed a lapse until the 23d. He will then meet with producers a,nd distributors in the niornlng and exhibitors in the afternoon. He has not set any day next week for the general conference of film cpmmit tees Which failed to take plaice ever the past weekend. v Sunday he will sit with unions on the film situation and expressed the hope tpday that it can be brought to a satisfactpry conclusion. Hea,ring for the film supplies and equipment .field has been' marked from Sept. 25 until Oct. 3. MusiP publishers are to be heard some time in October, no date yet mentioned. Washington, Sept. is: With code: abruptly thrown back ih the industry's hands, p^p-^ uty Administrator Sol A. Rosenblatt today said " that a hearing. find. fl,lmdom other side of. the fence with but 12 hours to .file objections' tp a formula 3u))niitted the, next time by the NRA.' Because the majority of fllmdom is now flying the Rlue Eagle, Rpsen- biatt indicated he is sho.wing ievery^. cohsldetatiori.- The business must have a permanent code, however. Today the government-refused tP put time limit on the industry's own efforts to write, a cpde, ■ It is simply giving pictures a bi*eathing sjpell this w^^k alter finding mat^' ters deadlpciced over the Weekend, summoning all coirithittees back to Washington next Sa.turday for ah indefihite 'Stay during which it will be given a. final chance to', do own ironing. Virtually the entirO Industry pro- posals must be re-drsifted so that clauses which are now ambiguous will be concise and intolliglble. Rosenblatt also made known that clauses must read together or have a cpntihuity as to thought and In- tent while language must be thor- oughly agreed tipoh. 'The industry cannot use the code. a.uthorIty, also unsettled, as the dumping ground: for its headaches,' says he. 'Such problems as the right to buy and double features must be sifted by codists before any code win be acceptable to the govern- ment as a formula.'. Rosenblatt observed significantly today that, 'insofar as possible' the NRA will npt permit the industry to side-track any pf its issues whether, their be small or large. HOW SOL ROSENBLATT IMPRESSES INDUSTRY Bierlin; Sept. John Hicks, Jr.; and Eugenfe Zulior, heads of ParamoUnt's for- eigri depiirtmeht, left here. Tuesday (12) for Prague, after a three-day stay for thp purpose of deciding Par's German policy. Iri Prafeue they'll try tp figure out that Gzecho slovaklan closure of Amerlcari film companies. From Prague, couple go oh tp Yl enna, Budapest and Rome for quick o.o.'s, sailing back to the U. S. on the Briipress of Britain Sept. 21 Route laid out mearisr that they'll skip Paris completely, although in Europe for the past four months to figure out all the European situa- tions. NRA Deputy Administrator Spl A. Rosenblatt's Impressibn ' in " the open sessions; on the film code in Washington has been extremely fa- vorable. His keen perceptions and ma-nher of striking at the core of things resolved the sessions into a teacher-and-class hearing, with Rosenblatt doing a lot of interro- gating iand his pupils floundering for. replies; Prom north, east, south and west the squawks as presented were quickly choked off when Rosenblatt asked if the complaining: Indlyid- I uais or organizations were of a na- tional character. That the National Recovery Act was deslgrned strictly for national Interpretation Was the answer to strictly local complaints. Exhlbs were tpld that the MPTOA, as a national body, would haindle their worries. The west coast belligerents were similarly routed. [code authority will BE llEPRESENTATIVr Washington, Sept. 18. The code authority In which all branches want. tP be represented will be a small body, the govern- jment revealed today. Just how many it will compose. Deputy Ad- ministrator Sol Rosenblatt would not say except to make the added observation that it Will be 'representative.' The authority setrup hjis nOt.yet been officially defined and the gov- ernment would not aiiginent ex- planation of its powers other than [the general summary made by Rosenblatt at the conpluson of the first public hearing. tIBUX ENTERPRISES' REORG. PLAN ALL SET Reorganizatiph plain .fPr Fubllx. Enterprises on the basis as coni- pleted, rpugfhly computed at. 30c on the dollar, may be announced this week. Way Is set for, the plan tP be presented before Referee H. "K. Davis, but hinges presently as to. the exact technical fonn the i>lan may take. Publiz Enterprises, P-P's largest theatre subsid, com- prises around 260 theatres. There are around $16,000,000 In claims against P-P. HoWever, around $9,000,000 pf same are stated to be lii future rents which aniount might be discounted in final cOn- sidera,tion Of the plan by the court. Vampus Theatres Corp., a hew subsid of .P-P, win take over the Publlx Enterprises' assets,. the provable claims against which are given roundly as $7,000,000. Paramount itself Is a creditor of P-E fpr Sround $6,000>0d0 which would indicate that the parent comi>any will remain in cphtrol pf the, new subsid .as fprme,d ajid when approved by the court. ' All Canada Gets from NRA Drive Is Headache Mascot's See's O.O. Hollywood, Sept. 18. J. S. Kessler, secretary of Mascot Pictures, gets In this week from New York to confer on production and then make a, tour of exchanges around the country. BEED CITBED Hollywood, Sept. 18. J. Theodore Reed, prexy of the I'Academy, is expected here tomor- row (Id). Four days In. Washington gave him all he wanted of the code. Left there Friday (15), Ed Finney Goes Mono iSd Finney has resigned from United Artists to join Moriogram Pictures, as head of advertising and publicity, as 'well as (^tory editor. Finney's resignation takes ieffect Oct. 1. Licon Lee, his assistant at UA for the past couple Of . months, will take over his duties. ■ THIRD KICK-UP Hollywood, Sept. 18. Bud Murray Is doing his third dance directorial Jpb in the past three weeks. Currently on 'Eight Girls in, a Boat' at Par.: Cleaned up 'Heading for Heaven' at Tiffany arid 'Sisters of the Fol lies,' May fair, prior. , Sept. 18. NRA developmehts in U;S- • ^^i^e causing some concern, to film trade in Canada. Already prices of gaso- lirie, leather, coal and steel have Jumped in Dominion because of trend in States, but Canadians lare npt .getting thie benefit. Pf simul- taineous increase in wages and em- ployment because this country has no. organized recovery program: Canadian film men see higher pic- ture prices with Hollywood going NRA and. this hieans exhlbs vfill be forced to raise admlsh prices. ""^ConSnftTplTs^Ifave"^^ <>rally In Canada, .but the hitch comes in trying to get the . extra nick out of the publiP when the NRA does hot directly help the sit- uation. There is a growing demand that Prime Minister R. B, Bennett do something about a code system, but he has rpmalned obstinate.