Variety (Oct 1933)

Tuesday, October 31, 1933 LEGITIMATE 51 COAST ON TWO mortuary! Fun at a. funeral Is ho go as Broadway fare. Sponsors of tw»> ehowis wlthi mortuary'details found that out last week when, b^jth wisrs panned arid quickly' sent to' the storehouse. 'Move On Sister* at the Playhouse lasted Ave days, wViiU •Give Us This Day- tarried but two daysj bowing -n Friday and. bbwintj out Saturday; 'Slstfer' In .one scene permitted the audjenc^ to get sfeyeral peelcs at ft coffin with the. lid raised. 'Da^*^' etarted. witH a demise arid-ended that way, plus a -suicide Two Audiences ■A 'SAHOR BEWARE'IS SET FOR CAL DISPLAY Holly\yood, Belasco & Curran have talten an option on the coast rights to 'Sailor. Beware," comedy hit in N. Y.,at the Lyceum. Production will follow hbyv Bbaf into the Mayan, aithbugli - it may. open while 'Show Boat' is run- ning, in San Francisco, Bainforidgfe Takes Slap At Local Opera Group Minneapolis. Oct* - 30. Heads of the civic opera company, Which hjad. gratis use of the mtinlcl- pal auditorium for its production of *The Bohemian Girl,' were as- sailed by A. G. Bainbridge, show- man mayor. In a radio speech oyer station KSTP, for having a <2,B0 top and for failing to Inform the public sufficiently that there were Uiany f riee seats. The mayor pointed out that the civic opera project was one of his cariipaign promises which had been kept. The Ave performances of •The Bohemian. Girl,' the coriipany's initial offering, were largely at- tended, practically the only Ivacan^. cies being among the free seats.. •The Twin City opera group Is .-"♦ntlHed-^to-alHsoptia-of-credttT-for-the magniflcicnt manner in which it presented 'The Bohemian Girl' and the staging was beyond criticism,' the mayor said. 'However, before we have another production, I will make sure that my theory as to. the handling of the public is carried 'Out.' 'I. believe that $1 pe. seat Is plenty, to charge, with the enormous capacity at their disposal. 'Moreover, they neglected abso lutely to malie it clear to the pub- lic that there were plenty of good balcony seats free of any charge.' Kansas City, Oct. $6. Mary Hart launches, her; experi- ment .of a traveling stock troUpe at. the iShiihert theatre: here next Fri day (3). .Besides Kansas City, other towns on the route are .St Louis and Cincinnatii iridianapdlis and Columbus are being considered as split week possibilities if the ven- ture connects in the week'' stands. Scale is flxcd at $1 top. Lee Shubert is reported in .on the enterprise, with Miss Hai:t, la.tter having- gained ' prominence; in the stock field through her enterprise at the; Otpheum, f3t. Louis.. Plaris include a complete change of cast B'<!4ti^ three weeks with the initial lineup, for 'Dinner at Eight,' including James Kirkwoodi Lester Vale, Ann Mason, Mabel . Manwar- ring, and Jean Newcomb. Heading the .third week's cast will be Violet Heming., 'Blumey's Musical with Two British Girls . C. Bluriienttial has Evelyn Laye and Beatrice Lillie' for the. Kern Hammerstein operetta slated fot this wlntet,. This follows 'Fresh Fleids,' a dra matic which Blumey. will dp, now that 'Eight Bells'- has opened. indie 'Divorce' Folds Indie road production of 'Gay Di Torce' folded Saturday (28) at the Broad 'Street, Newark, where it started. Cast, headed by Allan Keatns arid Juliette Day, was paid off for., the week's work frohi the Equity bond. Venture was George Hirst's,. He ^i==,iQ.cikij;he.-^show=oY£k:.£ronL=:^^ "V^eatherly. Miss Barondess Sues Hollywood, Oct/ Barbara Barondess has filed' suit in superior '•ourt for divorce from Irving Jacobs, legit producer. Ac- tress charges miental cruelty. 3Plled under the nariie of Mary Jacobs. Audiences drawn to ''The' Green Bay Tree,* Cort, N. Y.> are the. oddest, assortment since 'The .Captive.' On the lower floor are playgoers of the smart, dressy sOrt, but the balcohy is mostly occupied by frivolous young men. At the .curtains, downstairs plaudits are politely regula- '^ton; but the. upstairs expresses its delight with 'whoops,' Mary Hart taunclies Travelmg Stock; To Circle Three Cities Schwab Set to Direct Fihn Version of 'She' Laurence Schwab is associated with Dwight D. WIman in the pro- duction of 'She . Loves Me Not,' a comedy with iriterpplated songs which is due on Broadway ;late Ih November^ Deal also has Paramount interested In the. show, under an' arrangement calling for a guaran- teed bid for the picture rights. That, however, does not bar other picture firm's frorii biddihg. " : Schwab's arrangement ^with Pai* calls for him dir ecting th e_^pictu re VefsTon" oP ^SIiC ' probably on fiie coast, at an indefinite date after the Broadway premiere. Plan is to star Bing Crosby in the film ver sion. Florence Rice, daughter of Grant land Rice, the sports coluriinist, re ported, out of the cast. DUFFrS IDEA No .More Stocks—^Do Ori inals for Film Rights Los Angeles, Oct. 30^ Henry t)uffy. fpr^ first tinie w;ill produce riew plays on coast Instead of buying New York productions Figures cashing in on picture rights. Has Billie Burke up arid searching for opus. Harwood Plans London Msirshall-Best Show Hollywood^ Oct. H. N. Harwood arid IVIfs.. Harwppd (F. Te'nnyisori Jesse), afe enrouto to England where the hubby will produce a play. Expects, to use Herbert Marshall and Edna Blest in a Loridon opening. Harwood,, English playwright, was brought out by . Metro, but recently has been devoting l>is tiriic to play authoring. New Bankhead Relapse ^DeSs^^ Jezebel-l^ga^ Tallulah Bankhead suffered an other relapse early last week, but •doctors say she'll be completely re covered within a few weeks. Re heareals were about to start again on 'Jezebel,' in which she will star for Guthrie McClintick, but these have again been postponed. Current idea is to open the play on Dec. 12. f|[|y|[|{S f|E)(||||g League and Guild Reach Agreement on Quick to See Better Plays--: Paramount Ahead as Bid- der —'Sailor, Beware- Brings Season's Tppt $76,000^Two Offers for 'Ah, Wildei'ness* at $73;. OOO^Metro Buys It RIVALS JUMP PRICES .The upward swing. In theatre at^ tendance on -BrbiBidway'is legits is definite. .Expectations are that the jmprovemeiit will continue, bar- ring a radical change in general con- ditions. Falli . off during .last two weeks should right itseliF. The sharp improvement during this October over last season was marked by the registering - of six successes but of eight productions, e.arly in the month,, two musicals,, two ies 'and two dranias; Thereafter the ihcoming cirds were not. as. highly .rated, but the outstanding fact, developed about the season this far in the much-im- proved; product—^better playwrlght- ing. One of the. modt stridient man- agerial squawks has been that all the good authors had gone Holly- wood. That's been going on season after iseason,. the good oiies and the bad ones. The other complaint wais that all. the actoi-s had gone to pictures, which condition, too, lias been considerably improved. Observers for pictilre producers were, quick _to realize the fact that Broadway plays are better in gen- eral conception, story, content and writing. Some film cohcerhs had until recently decided. , to give Bi'oadway but scant attention. Par. Johnny On Spot Foi' that reason Paramount, which, concentrated more attention on the new plays, as shown by the care with which it combed the rural play shops-throughput- the summer, got the jump on the others. That explains . i?ar's" grabbing oif two sue5i§ssir.-^itTrms"nro^ and more than a rooti.ng interest in a show now rehearsing, However, with the other picture firms jumping into the bidding, prices being paid, for .new hits are skying. There wCre two bids in at $75,000 for 'Ah, Wilderness' (Guild) with Metro - taking the rights at that figure. At this time; the tenta tive release date is set for some time in 19.35. Higbest price of the season so far will bo paid for 'Sailor, Beware' (Lyceum), which Par gets for $76, 000, but the sho-9r will 'have to run 30-odd weeks. Deal "was made at the time the laugh slipw-opened* on a sliding isCale arrangement, and were the sho-y an ordinary success the price would be about $25,000. Par was willing to go. for $17,000 even if 'Sailor' flopped. Other Top Prices Par alj{o . bought the rights; for 'Double, Door,' price being :$57,i 00 The odd amount reiprescnts bidding which became so competitive that the price was shoved up by notches and other film firms .dropped out when it was apparent that .I'ar was. determined- to grab the sbdw. Same picture company will pirobably close a deal for 'The Pursuit of Happi- ness' and is known to have put in an advance bid on 'She Loved Me Not,' due on the boards nexi month, Bid ding.for the rights to 'Men in .White' (Broadhur.st) is still on Asking price is $60,000 with no tak- er r^ut=there".1sHiniJaubteTj=^tjq interest-and the selling price tihould be adjusted shortly. There are bid.s, too, for "The Curtain Rises' tVan derbllt), although the show is not among the hewer successes. While older mianagers are figured to stall Off picture offers, which, sometimes has resulted in lesser bids than original flgures, newer showmen are not so cagey. There are some sales of film rights which wete consum- It was a, bye :week for the Na- tional Association of the Legitimate. Theatre so far as the weekly ses- sion of the general Committee. was Concerned, but the Theatre. League which is part of the NALT Svent into session with the .Dramatists' Gt(ild. It was the !first amicable session bettveen the manager.? and authors for six months, ever. since they started, bickering pver in- terpretations of clauses in th^ Basic Minimum Agreement. Progress -wets made and ihost of the' differences^. Tvere adjusted. To make the changes official a general meeting of; the remaining sigha- loriea and their approyal a,lohe Is necessary* Both sides made .con- cessions; It was explained by the Guild of- ficers that the NRA legit code .adds to; the .agreement but takes .nothing a\vay from it. One instance is the code provision which gives a man- ager partial participation in film rights money if a show plays, but one or twb: weeks. Original agree^ ment stipulates that managers get a share of the picture .money (50%) only if engagement is three or. mbre weeks. Despite the. code's modifica- tion the Guild's stand Is that It muist be fprmaliy adopted to be- come effective. Play brokers were advised , that the three* -weeks' rule applies imtil such time as they are notified otherwise. Authors' Concessi The authors, however, conceded a point that has been wrangled over It's the application pf three weeks' clause under Certain circumstances From ^.now on if a manager opens a show In ih^ middle of the week (any time after Monday) and pays the players their pro-rata, salaries, it shall be considered: a full week; If, therefoire, a show opening at the midTweek, is withdrawn at the end Of the third following Saturday, the engagemen': shall be con.sidered to have been running for three full weeks and the manager shall be en- titled to 50% share of the picture mon^y; The managers' concession came in the ■ naming of art, official deposi- tory for the"picture money. Bafik is dated for.W'ednefiday, -wiUv-have the NAL"!" committee considering charges against eight ticket agen- cies and managers for alleged vlola- tipn. . 'tlvo rules set forth in the license issued tp the brokers. Same, procedure as applied to the cases pf the Broadway ticket agency and .-.Courtney Burr, lessee of the Lyceum- theatre ('Sailor Beware'), .will doubtless, be followed. Testi- : mony in those cases, .was •EoirNVarded to AVashington (Tuesday (24)- for-, review by'. Gen; Hiagh S, JPhnson and Sol A. Rpsenblatt. The penal- ties ordered by.'the >IALT'may or may not be confirmed. In .the Case of Burr, a fine of $500 was imposed: The Broad-way agency was . ■pended frbni doing business for two •weeks; Both penialties were vetoed • by Rosenblatt, who ordered the charges transmitted to Washington. imited Progress Other tlian In the ticket situation, the NAL'i' has yet to get results. ■Tliero is little question but that more tickets, can be had at the Broadway box offices: than , in other seasons. While there Is some gyp- ping (the rules do not apply to first nights for some reason), a" good propPrtion of tickets Is being sold at the .regulated premium pf 75 cents over the box office price. One peculiarity of the new ticket rules •is that the front rows in the bal- cohy are limited to a 60-cent pre- mium.- Originally thei rules pro- vided that the agencies could sell such locations'at a .75-cent advance; but in one Pf the sessions the agen- cy representatives In a blg-liearted. way applied the lesser premium for all tickets other than the lower floor. With some hitsi charging as much for the. front balcpny as-the orchestra flppr, the agencies may ask the original regulation be put back into the.)rules. NALT awaits rulings from Wash- ington on several matters. Among them is the question of -whether the code Saiairy rule nlininiums for iac- tors is retrpactive. That is, whether the $40 to $50 vireekly. minimum ap- plies; Ori contracts signed prior to the adoption of the code. The NALT usual W;ednesday MLft&tlne.~JiLas .poatpaned^becauser^.^ the Chemical. The defunct HarrI man bank formerly was the depos- itory. Process of naming a suc- cessor amicably -was so involved as tP make it practically impossible. But the managers held the virhip hand in that officials cPuld with- holding ' signing and endoriing checks,: on the ground that they would not be responsible, were any other bank tP fold* Picture, money could thus be tied up indefinitely. Another, point ironed out was .fix- ing the salary of the picture arbi- ter, Joseph P. Biclcerton, Jr. Sug- gested fee-was $30,6o6. Under-stood that the salary has bee.n fixed, at $25,000. Balance of the fees c61-. lected by the arbiter, who extracts 2Vi% of the, picture sales total, will probably "be turned over to the Guild'sr relief fund and the League. Thi.s..weok'.s session, \yhich is, now mated (juickly because of surprise clicks or dented bankrolls. r'ompt Bids In. Case in point is that of 'Sailor, B.e-ware.' Picture release date -set tentati-yieiy for next .Vi)ril. For that reason se-yoral companies of. the show will toUr immediately. Among the eight attractions which ppened on Broadway la^t -week there are several picture possibilities at healthy prices. Week opened with 'Her Mastcr'.s Voico' (Piyinputh) and bidding by Uie, picture people was=»iTnmocliater=0i-heP.s=are-surei'to^ catch the eye-of- thn picture bunch and among Xht-m ' 'Tho, ^Vorid Waits.' Prcf^ent liidirations arc that Jiol- lywood will takf» almost anything that J^roadway prodUfJes this sea- son. If that in corrcft, nianagers old and new In legit have a much better chan<'e to keep out of the rod than in former s<>asonf-'. b^eaus'^ of the pif'turc oiit. with Important business coming up. It was deemed right that the two additions to the committee named by the NRA to represent the public should be familiar with the general situations and the problems to be considered. Just who was to wise up the new committee members was not stated. No 'Chance' Show Frl, As 0. & J. Hop to Chi Weekly for Air Hour Chicago, Oct., 30. Olsen and ,Johnson when going on the road wj^th 'Take a Chance' will close the show each Friday In order to hop back to Chicago for thelr- Swlft radio prograni. This is Cording tP the contract the petw. formers: ha-ve with S-wift calling fpr their personal appearance in Chi- cago for at least. 13 weeks;;" Whori'they pull out of the ,Er-: iangev for Minneapolis,, they will have done , four shows, out of this town. For these 13 Weeks: 'Take a Chance' will play within a sleeper- jump, radius of the loop. Folding of *Toiii' Troupe Disappoints Aged Ey^ ■ —_^ -_ ^..RoclLcWtcr,.,-Qot.-30; cHlation of .Lyceum date for 'Uncle Tom's Oabin' was disap- pointment to ilns. Jcs-sie Booth Church, 75, who played Little P^va here iiack in the 19th CRntuirj'. She says her sister, Alice Booth, was one of the first Little Evas, and when she outgrew; the part Je.ssie took her place. She had planned to f-end a bouritiet of .roses to Qiieente