Variety (Sep 1933)

Tuesday, September 26» 1933 PICT E S VARIETY SpecKd P. E. tkditors Meeting Deals A special meietin^ of creditors. of Publlx EJntGrprises - to pass upon . pi>i;>ppsed traiiGifers l>y trustees of Ite^,- rights in, various subsidiary companies of and others mat- t^<>s has bben called , for Dot. 2 be- Ipi'e Heferee Henry.K, Pavls. ■ In addition to' transfers, tlie irv- C6. asks ,for dbrpotiEttlon or. coi'porations to purchase personal property and equipment froni the- trustee iii bahkruptcy Of Tennessee. Enterprises for 140,000, to be fuf-' niahed put of the funds of PJE and to acquire leases on. theatres in. Chattanooga and • Naahvllle. . Tenniessee Enterprises,, "a. in the Publlx Ent^ setup, has it^If been , under a separate receivership. This and the petitions filed with Referee Davis for transfers of right and title, mark new .steps, in the cbmpliciated unscrambling of the P.E. h olding co nipany fthd .it.q in. terests. » flank, Hbblitzelie, One transfer,, taking in a claim of $1,.520,771, has to dp with the A. H. , Blank Theatre Corp. and arises out of the parntership between Par. and Blank over the Iowa and Nct braska territory for wliiich a hew corporation is being set up. In con-. ■ sequence of. - this partnership the P.?;. trustee will trihsfer its rights aii4. interest in the capital stock , of B%^k Theatres, including the $1,- 6)20,7.71 claim to the new company. ;..JV,; similar transfer is called for In connection with the Karl Hob- litzelle partnership,^ offlcially known as' Interstate Glrcult, Inc.. Claims in TThlch P.E. transfers its rights to thie new compiany include ■$l,696i636 ort the books as. of i)ec» 31,. Id32, against Southern Enterphises, and $632,720 oh the books against the Dallas Bealty & : Building Co. Additional .claims ot P.E. undet Its bankruptcy are proposed .. for transfer to' a new corpioratidh that •will ^e set up between' Par and Hunter Perry oyer Virginia prbpier- ties. These include'P.E.'s interest In, capital stoclc and all claihis against yirgiriia-Tennessee The- ati-es, Publlx-Virginia, Inc., and Publlx Newport News, Inc.;" on books aa of Jan. 26, ,1933, and amounting to $94,964 against . Virginia-Tennes- see Theatres; $115,787 against Pub- llx-Virgini , Inc„ and $41,768 against Publlx Newport News, Inc. N.W. STILL CAUTIOUS ABOUT UPPING SCALES Mi , Sept. 2B. lenty. of desire territory to theatre admission prices in ',wlth present rising trend of cps,ts geherallyi but so jfar. it has ■been mostly -talki Feeling is that conditions haye riipt improved suf- .flciently yet to siistkin a boost and £ea,r is a deterring. factor... It is ipioihted out that purchasing power in , smaller communities i is lower than, ever, if anything, because farm prices haven't risen as fast as those ofj^opds wliich i?ur.alitos must buy . ani^: because most., Sections, have suffered., crop- failures. Too many Twin Cities' theatre customers, po- tential and otherwise, are still hav- ,ihg plenty tough financial..sledding, theatrical survey shows.,. Independents are -waiting for, Publix circuit to take the lead in raising prices, but it hasn't shown any inclinatiPn in this direction yet. The independents, hope that Avhen Publix starts its greater fall and JB[iJatC3i.^eason^lt=:=wjll^nnDjuri boast, of Ave to 10c in admission per house, but John J, Briedl, Publi-x division manager,, disclaims any present intention in this respect. The suggested boosts would put the scales back wliere they were before thie recent Publix cuts. So far Publijc has made ohe price boost, at the Capitol, St. l*aul pabe, frpip 15c tp 20c. Friedl says reac- tion has been splendid; no com- plaints and business better. The Code's teeth How ■ inen now seryine in their own states as NBA bfflcials can be was illustrated Fri^ day yrh^n Ed Itvykendall, head of the Motion iPicture Theatre Owners Pf Am.erica ian administrator for all Industries in Mississippi, orr dered license revoked, and oiBflce padlocked of a friend of his who has been a Miss, .contractor fpr the. past 4fr years. .Kiiykendail 'm[6ntioned this case in the same breath with propaganda wilich he said had belen; circulated among exhibs during the past week. This, he said, was in belittlement pf - the film code and .advices thit pictures don't have to have: a permanent code and that there Is nothing for theatre xneri: to be coh- cerned about. /^P'^OA. hea d warned that iSOiTr^ exhibs may waR'e up when it is too late and possibly .find thesm- selyes in the position of'the Mis- sissippi contractor. "Thl? builder, Kuykendall satd, he. had repeatedly cautipned. Finally ' he turned the case .over to tlie local district at- torney and when the. d.a. advised him in New York Friday he had affidavits confirming violation of the code, Kuykehdali. .said he wired to close, down^ on him. Mgr. Says SmaH Town Critic Abne in US. Panning lady for Day' Louisville, Sept. 25. Jack Schwartz, manager of the Brown theatre here, belHeVes' he has cPnvicted the film reviewer of the Louisville 'Times' of being excess- ively hatd-boiled and a. poor judge pf what audiences iike. Critic, panned 'Lady for a Day' (CPi), whicii gpt. nxarvelous -notices all over the. country. Schwartz has madie, a check of the entire country without finding a single critic that rapped the film. DAVIDGE INVENTS NEW DEVELOPING METHOD Hollywood, Sept. 25. New blanket process of develop- ing him, with which tlie Davldge laboratory has been experimenting the past three months, will be used excluseyily .in: the .new lab .X>ayidge is to build* / In the process a separate film or 'blanket' of celluloid id wound along with regular film on reels. The blan- Icet is perforated, allowing solution t) reach, the film, tut protecting the. latter frpm strain or swishing while chtirhihg . in the solution. Blanket also .pei'ihIts film to be moved more rapidly in the solution, aiding the developing; Roy 'Davidge is credited ^ylth invehtihg tiiie process. Par Detroit Trustee Makes Proposition A representative of the trustees of Paraniouhf Theatres, - is rec- ommending that all cialnis be =^vml\LedijDjaJthe^JEftriimo here. In return the boridhblders' dpmmitteo Is getting a. rec- ommendation that all back rents, etc., l?e waived in favor of Para- mount Theatres. Local nianagement was given' a certain time to decide whether they Wanted the house before other of- fers Were acted upon. With the Tecommcndatlohs being made the theatre will be used for concert work and opera. Rosenblatt 1 m ,p a t i e n t~ Sends '£ih AH Home Stave a Hand-Chbsen . 225— Thinks Considerable jPrbg- ress Has Been Made De- spite thie Diehards <6n Diials by Indies^ Right to Bujr^ Et Cetera NO H*W0OP EDICT By TQM WALLER Washington, Sept. 25. Late, tonight the Goyei'nrnent virtually took the film code into jt^ own hands. It will assemble it and p'robabiy present it to the industry on Monday or Tuesday next, for the film, savants to formally okay it. - [ T h is means eyerybody-scrams- liome tpni£|hi<.' The radio code hearings start Wednesday (27) morning, in the meantime. WashingtPn, Sept. 25. Deputy Administrator Sol A; Ro- senblatt officially announced tonight (25) that fut'ther film code confer- ences will be continued ■with skele- tonized committees and that others may return home' tpmprro.w.^ It is figured all committeemen repre- senting trade prganizatrons and branches of the industries may not exceed 25. The Government figures it may expedite a code with few membarai. although it is setting no deadline and is keeping the abbre- viated committees oh right through the radio code hearing Which, starts on Wednesday (27).. Bress conference tonight gave the .Deputy a. laugh- when he Said, 'Con- sideriable progress has beeii made, even though ho qihe knows it', ' He stated he has his own ideas on a numbfer of points, but will not re- veal them to the industry until he finds clauses satisfactory. Exhibitors thi^s afternoon and evening are in their second sessipn, .devoted'entirely to the right,to buy. No one as yet,. Rosenblatt said, has been able to idefihe this proposal. He declared that this arid.all clauses must be clearly interpreted before they can get Into the code. The deputy also announced that major producers and distributors have expressed, a willingness tp omit all mention Pf double features in the code. It is known, hpwever, that indie producers want duals protected by having it stated In the code that no exhibitor will suffer .any jrestric^ tion. .of product if he continues to double. - Last, minute proposals was re- ceived, by the Government this aft- ernoon from a .west coast, property interest.. Tills asked that the code enjoin producers froin borrowing each other's sets and costumes. Rosenblatt .said' he has lost 18 pounds since he started work on the film code. It Was reported around the lobisy that he was taken ill lifter the. conference with ex- hibitors which broke up earfy this moi'ning. The Deputy figures he has not been. averaging four hours sleep during-film conferences, verybody birxy' The film merry-go-rrpund in. Washington is whirling ifaster than ;eyer thrbiigii a fog which hourly is thickening over codism. One grand seriies of snags, clinches iand dead- locks, which get stronger and more plentiful as the time passes, has ,litoraliy _. gptten.;^th e- picture mind-.to, the. standstill point iawaiting action by the government. But the gwernment In the form of a sole deputy, how hollow-eyed and lcg»wcary from racing from- floor tp floor, meeting after meeting, day after day and nigiit after night, making progress one hour only to retrogress In the very next,. Is now commencing to lay the first o£-cards- In the next deal on the table. It wants the rii'ob to go home and To a Code Written by the Industry As New Complexities Cloud Outlook the mob already Is figuring, codism to date has cost ■ thie Industry .over |40Q^0Q0. In. top representative, siaila:^ ries and lawyer fees, Depglty* Administrator Spl A. Rosehbiatt early this niprhing made known he would like trade associations to designate, on an average of three spokesmen aiid ship all the others back. The DePr uty had. voiced his 6p|inion two weeks , ago and additions Were made until the present conyentlphrlike proportions were evidenced in the existing cpde-cbritiriuing commit- tees,. The peculiarities: of the; business a,s .compared to other ; industries make a' national fbrmiula of fair trade practiced hopeless in the opinions of some of ihe shrewdest shpwmen. ■There is talk among them of go- asking the Government to set up a control bpard which would deal With thi> hundreds of y.arying box; pfllce situations Individually. The Deputy Administrator has already indicated appreciation for a need of local autonomy on somie practice phases, such as referring them to zone vote. But just when he thought this could be done with premiums and double features, submitting their destiny to a,, 75% vote of indies and a 75% . majority Pf indie exhibs in each territory, the usual happened and the Deputy annouriced new wrinkles. In this dizzy atmosphere With everybody seemingly cpiicentrated ,pn" maneuvering the. pther.; fellow the calm high light is simply that the business today is exactly -where it was, only badly shaken up and iself-conscious-, of its 'injustices.' That H'wood Situash The Hollywopd situation for in- stance, with all the forebodings and repercussions of a few days back, is stalled pn adjusting salaries. The ■Deputy referred all questions as to Whether the NRA can establish a maximum salary in pictures to Gen; Johnson. Major producer spokesmen frankly admitted- oy^r the Weekend that cdntrplling art- ists' remuneration is Out of the question. All of that talk about railroad heads taking a cut Is noW held up as no analogy since films are not attempting to borrow money from the government aind since it iaf up to stockiiolders to exercise their rights if, they think they are being cheated. Also the fact that jfarm- ing of stars is omitted ddlsn't pre- vent producers froni continuing that practice. Of course the Gov- ernment is, the Government and anything is liable to happen i>efore it's all over. But right now, that ultimatum credited as emanating from Pres. Roosevelt, is reported by insiders to have been a reha:sh. within the industry of what, the President said generally abput the entire NRA idea some time ago. It Is ..true that the deputy is still credited with 'a stench in. the nos.- trils' line, but he as welt right now remains unspecific.about salary ad- justments. His Observation that producers are busily redrafting is met by certain company heads that hlfifh isalary regulation is £ts good as shelved. MPTpA's Stands ■When thfe celebrated right to buy had its innings in exhibitPr cautsus early today it was reported a num- ber of brands wore eveloped and that there were some 19 interpreta- tions fpr each, brand. The MPTOA. JlpJE=.the..Jflrai_^time=jv.eiit^cleacly the record as opposed to any brand that would give a barn or tent show the privilege of showing day and date with the biggest emporium In any locality. It wanted the clause thrown out entirely unless a clear cut definition could be recorded. •Rights,' now, is a' slogan for every- t:.ing. Thie Academy wants the -r-iglrt—to—live,—the-di«i;ributor:«—t-he- rlght to sell, and the producers the (Contlnuea on page C9) Mindful that for lO; years the .In-.- dustry Itself has been unable to do. anything about most, pf its -bitter conflicts, filmdom returned, to Washirigton Friday night recohciied to a:dmitting Hollywood, .bfeyond Us control .'and that only the gpv- ernment can call. a halt to the as-< cent .of salaries. ' In industry 'high, places it was regarded as a cer- tainty that before • thfe eiid ;of thia week a code.: will cPrne out.3vrIttc|n' 50-50.;. by- pictures and . thes Govern- ment with Washington left to handle all of thie snarls such, as right to buy and. double fieatures along with the Hollywod plight. ; Meetings during the past wecek In New York served chiefly to build up new arguriients on conflicting points for prieseritation In the series of final: star chamber debates un^er wa y over the Week-end with De n- uty Administrator Sol Rosenblatt. The President's brief talk with Ros.enblatt relayed and ihteripreted from a'll angles, . no two personia back from Washington having . the same, version. ' . Persons who stayed on at the capital not returning until late last wieek. or. just in time tP make a. round trip, report that Roosevelt called Rpsenbiatt's atten- tion to numerous complaihts being received by the Department of Jus- tice from small jplcture interests all over the' Country. Everyone, hpw- ever, qifoted the Government as ex- pressing the Hollywood situation to be a hard nut to crack; As summarized by one of the in- dustry's chief strategists, this is the picture: Must Settle Question 'The President will Insist that. something be worked out In the code that will limit or ciire the Hol- lywood financial exdeSses. Mahy persons in official Washington fop. a long time have viewed jvith alarin statements from .Hollywood that another player has become dissatis- fied -with a salary of $2,000 a week or $50,000 for a feature and is about to receive |4,Q00 a week or |100»000 fpr a feature.. •Many of the present administra- tion regard with raised eyebrows such statements, t.ue or untrue, while iJ.pOO.OOO people are-unem- ployed ^nd while labor :is fighting for 40 icents per hour.as a minimum wage scale. 'Add to this conditio^ the fact that many prominent film execu- tives haye frankly admitted to of- ficial Washington that the Industir has no plan to check cert^n mbuht- Ing costs of production and it is jao wonder that official Washington ha« expcessed .a desire to help the In- dustry crub what is commoriiy re- J!*^ ^ Its toughest problem.' The lajors oh the day of depart- ure for the. lastl-ound at the capital also conceded that the very fact It has never, been able to tabulate unit costs is proof that th6 Federal Gov- ernment cannot come to. its aid by way ,of specific etipulations. The theatre can'.t iigurevlts admlssloh costs.because It can hever: tell how many peppie are going to buy .Into Wh? ^"^u ^"^^ distributor ^^^^ to many more customers can't figure ah av- erage price. Much, bf th0 private New York sessions were taken up with de- bates over the right to buy prin- ciple. When the majors entrained, according to. the conferees, they did BO With the impression that Washingtoh has not a clear picture Of what , this clause means. There- tfpre--in'-BuppOT't^iyr=-Tlfelr^are^it^on^ tentlpn that the distributor shpuld have the right tp use his own judg- ment, in selecting customers they are prepared to put these principles on tlie record: I'stributor .(1) The distributor must have, ain outlet for his entire season's prod- exhibitor Who wants one picture, (Cuntinued on page 55)