Variety (Sep 1933)

Tuesday, September 26, 1933 TIMES SQUAB E VARIETY 59 Code Plenty Costly (Continiiqd from page 7.) right to produce. Nothlncr Is being inentloned, bo far as can gleaneil about stockholders' clalmiiig a, Hght to dividends. There is plenty of propaganda,. BOnie of Tyhich is so obviously in-, spired as to be unworthy of reitera- tion. Sell-outs , for money among exhibs is one ;of thesie. It popped . up ■with the . double -feiEitUre thing Vhen eome of the boys evidently didn't go for the idea'of an uhrestrtcted road for duals. Alsp. that indies will iiot sigq code unless, they. like . it; With all of the meetings behind cloided .doors it is difficult to tell Just how the Indies are holding that front: ' evidenced at the public bearing. Code authority h«ls been . briefly touched upon, sufficiently Jax least to ihdicatei it is going to be atnong.the toughest items to straighten out. Already there have been some ex-. hlbitOr suggestion^ that entire in-, dustry be polled and that , froin'this, chief codlsts . be plucked , aiid their nanies printed in formula. This would require inontHs according to Deputy Admlni^traltor., Rosenblatt^ who indicated at the. time that this i6,not the prboedure thie Government . will endorse. v Sonrie of the 'Washing- ton hewsjpaper boys estlrtlE^te there aire already 6,000 ov more people iii the. oil code authority setup which runs from a national body down to iBtate and city subdiyislohs. There is an increasing belief that in view of the industry's inability to get together the government may shortly concentrate on hours and wages andlet the practice head- aches be battled over by the-■indus- try at its. ease through the code authority; Labor Deadlocked The labor situation is'also dead locked. Meeting yesterday of Unions, exhibitors and employes rep Tesehtaitlveig is reported to have wound up in a shag over the col leotlve bargaining, phase of NIRA. Runip Unions a,re said tO be under- bidding the American Federation of Liabor and the battle is threeroor hered with, exhibs . holding they are entitled'to the groups offerings the, 'ehieaper scaled. the 6tudlp mat ter sOund technicians and' bamera' men haye yet to -be eatiisfied. I*ro duqer representatives sayi however, that the majors are standing pat on 40 hours* pay'for 36 hours' work. Instead of the open hearing for the producers and distributors' scheduled to reopen the codO dis- cussion in 'Washington, Deputy Administrator Sol A. Rosenblatt called the entire Ifays .menibership, including affiliated circuit heads, into one star chamber conference, excluding all Others. When this iheeting recessed, three and a half hours later, Rosenblatt declared .more progress, had 'been made to ward getting somewhere on a code than had been made in the entire isix weeks previously. In the same breath he admitted that such head aches as the right to buy, and elimination had not been discussed and that the matters Of the agents, star raids and salaries were as high up in the air as ever. The Deputy's expressions of optimism were whit tied down to possible rulings fol lowing conferences with exhibitors Jh the afternoon. While: the; meetihg was. under, way," however, there, was plenty of conjecture anid observations arhong all .classes of. independent pro '.ducers and exhibitors, rrillling. about the Mayflower hotel, which has be <jt)ihe the offlcia.1 meeting ■T)lace of all fllmdoni. There was only one evidence of any agreement between the warring factions. '^Chis wks to the effect that each, was right and that unless each wins; 'each' would, not waste .any Ink signing:any doggone code: ^ indie producers sidmittedly burned at what Impressed theni as i frcezcout from the morning m.ati nee. They were all busy in the lobby laying out. plans of cam ipalgns and strategical moves. Fa- vored Idea seemed to be to permit the majors to spend their strength in the early a,rguments. and then .^ifcJth.e.p£Qpo5ltiQns.advarkcfed=thrjui£k them did 'not ,meet with the ap proval of the outs, to tike the mat- ter up iairOctly with tbe President, if necessary. Some of the strongest indie lead CCS ■with acknowledged political inSi were taking it calmly. They regarded the -White House ulti matum as moaning, thai in addition tp keeping the Hollywood payroll? down for. the benefit of the stock holders, the execs must also abro gate .their bbnuseis. for the- benefit o£ the same stockholders. In these circles reports virere cur-, rent: that tbe. heads of three niaJor companies are prepared to resign if the drastic demands/ which it is opined the Goyernmeht may incor- porate in the code on this, matter, are actually written, in. In .the' same tumor factory originated the report that the majoi's sfeb a pos- sible ;chance .staving oif the: right-to-buy issue thrOugb an ap- peal to the Courtis in behalf of the companies how in bahkriiptcy. Tbe argument would he based on'the premise that open booking, would Operate.to the dlsadvantiage of; the stockholders through. the reduction ih revenues which might>" be ' re- jjultaixt' from a natrowihg of the present rental market; There . was general unrest, .amohg the indies this morning, a feeling that It would be futile to continue further argumentation. There were also reports that th« CrpVernmeht has checked some ,of the testimony recorded *at the faearingig, and that certain of 'the' witnesses are hot standing pat on that testimony. Sonne of the indie leaiders /are boasting that^ they are maintiainihg an elaborate spy organization which . g:ets them informatioh as tO What happens.: behind the . closed doors • of major cbnferenceis. only a few riilnUtes after:'anything of im- portance breaks. Early this morn-^ ing these reported that; Sid Kent and H. M. "Warner were staging the main, boht ill the Hays .arena. Not Be! rbKrary Just before, he; entered the con- ference i)eputy Rosenblatt- -reit- erated that .he has set ho airbitrary deadline but is giving lilmdom ^as much time, as It need^.' In answer: to, a query he refused to state whether this meant next month or the entire winter. "That wad .grand news for a num- ber of exhibitors who are " here jat their owii volition and without the financial backing of any organisa- tion. The situation \i not .unlike the Democratic 'convention which nominated Al Smith after a dead- lock so long continued that many delega,tes had to return home be-i cause their funds had given out. ' Appreciating the • hold the law yers are getting on the code, some of the exhibitor.^^ Including Joe Seider, who has 38 houses, retained Ji Schechter as counsel. Tbe law" yer was already representing some indie producers and will handle indie exhibitioh affairs as well. No attempt has -bieen made to correlate the clause^ proposed by the various branches. None will be made until Rosenblatt is satisfied regarding th^ attitude of ' each branch toward Its own particular clauses; "This mekhs that! a code, so far as the actual written instni ment is concerned, is hiore dis tant from achievement than it was at the New Tork meetings Of a month ago. Rosenblatt^ indicated that there will probably be another adjourn ment declared and that it is /prob- able that committees will be skeler tonized into .drafting units which will remain here during the , recess How soon this will take place he is hot prepared to state. The Government, contrary to Its expectation in the morning, found itfielf. uhable. .. to. announce any rulings.- Ihs^ad it revea.led that 'consensus of opinion' of exhibitors is that premiums shall be ; subject to zone vote as to their continued existence.. This is along the lines of ■ the system devised, and how contested, for double features. It Will require a. 15% adverse. .Vote on the. part of affiliates and. indieis to ' bar the handouts of . china, glassware and what have you. In the -, event of: such , action 90 days would be allowed to clban up the system; many of the giveaways be ing based on a series of . weekly a,t tendances to complete a set, Some consideration luis been given to the zone author:ty, but. compara tively little. Rosenblatt says that a few of the indies strongly favor the balloting system as a nieans to select members, ;with their names to be incorporated Into tbe code This would delay the code for months, -the.. <3o-ver nment.i .c oh.te^^ Boosting M. H. Grossman Campaign being pushed in sev-. eral important quarters to get Judge Moses H. Grosshia;n ap- .pointed to Succeed the late Judge Max. Levlhe on the General Ses- sions bench.. Judge Grossman is well known.to %hoyf folks as of the legal firm of Houise,. Grossman & Vorhaus. He is a. piemocrsLt with a olean record and comes by his Judge title via a brief .term, as temporary city magistrate In 1918; , Several dailies, ihciuding the New York 'Herald Tribune,' 'New "York American* and 'Christian Science' Monitor* havie editorially boosted hlni within the past few weeks. 'Not For That $5,0i But to Save B'way': Sster Aimee At Capitol lios Angeles, 25. Playful pastime of tossing mounr tains of ipuscle from local rdssling rings iritp the laps of long suffer- ing spectators gets a warning from Superior Court suit for $25,000 damages filed by Alice K. Borland against Hollywood Legion- Stadium and George Wilson and James Ker- rigan. , FlalhtifE seeks to hold the Stadium equally accountable With the pair of wrestlers named for. in juries She allegedly sustained when Wilson heaved Kerrigan through the ropes against her necki.brea^tihg her. COlr larbone. She recites that this wa^ her first experience at grunt-and-heaye matches, and that she had no rea- son to" anticipate the 'propensities of. wrestlers to hurl one another out of the ring upon the spectators.* Steel mesh around the ring has been, suggested as a means of con- fining the catch-as-catch-canners' centrifugal tendencies. Studio Phcements Opposition to the ballot system ar gues that the balloting would only serve to make politicians out of the exhibitors; The Deputy is giving the boys no time for golf and very little for sleep, the pace, as set. the opening day, being one conUnupiis.round'of meetings while strength and. money last. And all the major issues and all the correlations are still to come. iliSK NEW GOVT. OPERATE HAVANA TMCK, CASINO ' Havana, 19. . Revolutionary organizations ha've asked the'; govei-nment to take- over the. properties of the Cuban Ameri-. can Realty CO.,. namely: .the ,.Na^ tibnal Casino, the Summer Casino, the . racetrack and the Marianao Beach known as 'La Playa,' claim- ing this company owes $5,000,000 in tourist taxes to the goyernment^ Statehient by the Cuban Ameri- can Realty Go. claims charges not true, as. in ID yedrs. it. has paid $1,419,865. . and that during; the 1930-31 season it .paid $120,121 and during the following sea- son $72,523, showing clearly that biz was on the decline. The Cpm,- pany is bankrupt and In the hands of receivers. (Continued from page 27) aid Cook; Maude Eburne, Montague Shaw, Edwin Maxwell, Wallace Clark, Reginald Barlow, G. Pat Col linsV . Bradley Page, •Hold the Press,' Col. Donald Reed,. 'Viva Villa,' Metro Jessie PrlnglOr Sana Hinds, Bob Montgomery, 'Mad Game,* Fox. Cora Sue Collins, Frank Sheridan, ^Qiieen Christina,' MGM. Gay Seabrook, Arthur Hoyt, '01 sen's Night Out,' Fox, Sidney Jarvls, 'Frbntier Marshal,' Fox. Roy D'Arcy, >' Fox. Leonid Snegoir, 'Smoky,* ; 'Orient Express,* Fox.. Harvey Stephens, Joseph Caw- thorne, 'Jimmie and Sallie,' Fox. Victor Jory, Preston Foster, Claire Trevor, 'Woman and the Law,* Fox. Guy Vossher, "The Mad Game,' Fox. Ruth Marion, '01sen?a Night Out,' FoXi ..- ' Bette Davis, lead in 'King of Fashion.' Warners. Jane Darwell, 'Design for Living,' Par. Maude Eburne, Tox,'Col. pick . Winslow, _ Richard^ Quine, Barbara Perry, TCOuriseiror at Law,' Uaaiv.ersal. Jimmy Adams, Gale Hienry, Rolf Sedan, Harry Duncansbn, Frank Gisige, 'Luncheon, at 12/ Roach. Frank: Morgan, 'It Happened One Dayl* Metro. . Armahd Schaefer, .'16 Fathoms iDeep,' Mono. Cecilia Parker, Esther Muir, Bruce Riley, Fern Emmett, Andy' Clyde, short. Educational. .Irving Pichel, -Viva Villa,' Metro- Harry Ci Bradley, 'Convention city,' WB. . Joseph cawthorne, liOla D'Avril, 'Cat and Fiddle,'Metro. Polly Moran, borrowed from Metro for 'Alice In Wonderland,' Par. Emll Chautard, 'Man of Two Worlds,' Radio. Ruth Gillette, 'Frontier Marshal,' Fox. Dick Winslow,. Rich Quine, Bar- bara Perry, 'Counsellor-at-Law,' U. Jacques Lory, technical adviser =onrij?Eench.-=iaequence5K.=^Sh.e,^Made Her Bed,* Par. Fletcher Norton, George Hum- bert, George Spelvin, Joe Bernard, J. B. Keltoh, 'The Mad Game,' Fox. Harry Tenbook, Heinle Conklln, Chet Withey, 'Olsen's .Night Out,' Fox. . Betty Ma:ck, Billy Gilbert, Jack Party; Chase untitled two-rcoler, Roach. Billy Bletoher, 'Back to Nature,' Roach. Gene Fowler to 20th Century on With repeal the bootleggers gee a new wave, of prosperity in store for themselvesr Their lO-years' con-' tacts in serving antI-i>rbhIbition clients has established them in definite and—say they—now valu- able circles.' As super-salesmen for booze at bootleg prices, those that enjoyed a nice clientele anticipate retiaining it. The 'leggers' depreciate those syh dicates who have bought up Jlkker stocks or have oi(tiohs on popular imported brahds for the Ameriban market. As a rule, say they, these syndicates are money groups who will need more than ever the serv ices of . a well-connected middleman for contact with consumers. This th.e bbotleggers. haive—some 'itor 10 years or more. ' The pi-ofessional liquor retailers avbr that there Isn't enough legal booze in the U. S. today to last the country two mohthS; It will neces sitate Importing Canadian rye, etc., and blending it with the more aged American brands; Legally, the U.S. regulations call for ryes to age some s€ven*ye.ars.r It's okay In Can ada at three or four years—;enough can't be made in the Dominion either for it to last longer for aging -purposes. With the Anierican medicos ie gaily authorized to administer on prescription up to . a gallon a day, sans question, since last April, there already has been a great drain. on the bonded government warehouse stuff. Likker as Big Biz The New York 'Jourhal of Comr merce' Is getting out a.special. Spirit Number for the dealers. It will feature llqubr advertising In anticipation, of .repeal, but will hot be. issued Until all the neced&ary states have bhecked /and double- checked. By Cecilia; Ager Aimee :iSemple MacPhersohJ on the eve of her .Caiiltbl Theatre Opening, considered • the Broadway audience and saw /heath its rought exterior' warm hearts, sloughs of the.mv; New Yorkers,, she felt then, were at bottom gbod,. lohging to. be Wnd •—reven as you and I^ :even a^ thoise splendid folk in Denver, .whoi she said, rolled, up fbr her a record*^ brer.king gross bf $i35,00p jh three weeks. To reach, thbse hearts she came to New Ybrk, came, lo, to a theatre. Understand, it wasn't for the $6,000. Just remember what she did; In Deriveri Money means nothing to her, she said, seated Ih, her press .suite at iier hotel, dressed with great, gance and expensive simplicity in a., chic black, frock, her rich, blonde hair smartly coiffed and'shining on her eloquent head. She ■ went on; 'So often my asso- ciates have "said to m.e, 'Sister, you work so hard, you. give so much .of yourself, ■..on't ybu thihk you ought- to start a. bank account?' But sbniehow I've neyer wanted to start «L bank account. The Lbrd will take Care of me. I like to think. of imy- self as an empty - channel, His channel, through which His lyorl. will pour.' DifRdeht Press Mrs. MacPheriaon wants so much for ..the press, to. .understand-that, her line is . not "a racket, that she really is . sihcei:e. Whenever she invades the .press" suite .. of her en- tourage, the bbys whisk oiit the Vet stuff, stainp out their cigarets,_. and explain to slightly astonished visiting reporters, 'After all, she 1$" a minister of the Gospel....' 'Sister,* as her theatrical, nian- agers are won't to call hor,. does not ..mind a bit being deemed jtcii"- satlonal. ^he devil rocks the church to sleep,' ishe isays. *We need a little sensationalism to wake it Up. What .'kind of ah act . am I going to do? Act? Oh yes, .abtf Well, I'm just ;gbing to go out therie and hope for guidance'. I: want ju^ to reach all your hearts. Ybu have them, you know. Oh yes, you; have.' Sister's managers agree , that she's the best- trouper they've eyer worked yrith. She does what they tell her. No .tempermental out- bursts,, punctual, deternilned, tlre-r less, 60 eager to succeed. And whether, or no she's over Jn a.lb.o. way, she's going to be treated; the best, for after all she has a good- ly congregation In Los Angeles' whose theatrc'-golng propensities must be. nurtiured. STATE RIGHTS SCOTCH FOR REPEAL DAWN loanout from MG to prepare, the final dialog for 'The Great Barnuml' Ferika Boros, Margiaret Marquis^ 'Elgbt Girls in a Boat,' Charles R. Rotors ~ Pfli*». " * • Curley Wright, 'Behold We Live, Radios. Josef Swlckard, Uhiversal. Theresa Selwyh, ?Ajl<ie ih Won- derland,' Par. Mae Busch, Edniund reese, Holmes . Herbert, josef Swlckard, Bennie Zeldman musical, U. Lyntbh Bren, 'Moulin Rouge,' 20th C. Herbert Corthell, Irving Bacon. 'PardnerS,' Par. Thelma Tbdd, 'We're Sitting P retty.'^Par. -^ J- __:. Albert Conti, untitled musical, Zeidman-U. Sarah Paddcn, Gertrude Wise, •Man of Two WorId.s,' Radio.; Cyril Hume, scripting 'Dahce of Desire,' Radio. Frances. Dee, ' liacUo. Shirley Grjty, G61. . Dorothy Wolbcrt, Kdrtic »no Kdward Kf-cno, (Jtoor^e HIIIirjf.rM, Leon KiTol .•Jhr)rt, Itfulio. Los Angeles,. F. Warren Horowitz, youhg at- torney here, hag secured the ex- clusive distributloh rights Ih the United States for the Scotch whiskies of a Glasgow distillery. The attorney Is eelllhg state rl^ht franchises for Wholesale, dis- tribution and - sale,'promlslhg. de-' livery Of flrst orders as sOOn as the ISth 'amendment Is. repealed and liquor sale legalized. It*s' the first time that Lps An- geles has been, the importing head- qiiarters for ■ :hard!: liquor, and , the first. real deal for distrlbiitlon set locally, although a number of pro- mbtei*s have been attempting , to make tie-ups tor exclusive han- dling; of foreign Whisky for. many months... BIRTHS Mr and Mrs. Lester Welnrott, son, in Los Angeles,. Sept. .16. Father is. continuity Writer iat KHJ. "Mr. and MrS. Paul Love, daugh- ter; In Hollywood, Aug. 25. Father is a trombonist with Terry pahtz- ler's orchestra.. =^=»IfL^=Wd"HMiT!r^^ son, in" Los Axigeles, Aug, 10. Father Ifl a theatre musiolah. Mr. and Mrs.' Johnny Mack. Brown, son, at Cedars of. Lebanon hospital, ItollyWobd, MSept. iO. Father is the screen actor/ Mr. and ]y[rn. Rollln Button, son, at Benedict haspital, Holly"wood, 'Sept.. 21. Mother is the former 'ildiiye McConnell, screen actrefls» aha father Isi ii Hollywood attorney*