Variety (Dec 1934)

•VABiETva LONDON onims, • 9L Vactta'*- PlaM. Tfafaloar Sqnore FOREIGN FILM NEWS IM1-BM9 VliONDON. 11 Modernization of Turkey a Break For Ya^srlezzes (hit^^^ ■ . Parl8> Dec. .8,:- • ; Harry Lei^lm,; Radio Plctyres' "Ipcil chiefs who 'recehUy had:': a flock of southern, central ,and eajat- •rn: Euro;peaii: countries added td tils ierrltbry "becauiae h6 can seU .Jh all, Bprts. of funny.\ Mturned from a survey ajid con- tract-signing trip, to : Rouma Greece, Turkey aind Bulgaria. {: Besides finding Virginia tobacdo •xpenslve ; and ; cbckrdaches, , nu- merous).'i^^ checked recent .grbaBoai on ail sorts of fllihjs Ih those :€ountrIes. . In Turkey, however, business^ is .'-rotten. Film business was pverex- 'i^ded therer : and there are too -many theatres, Leaalm saya, But—^ make, the country modeniize Itjself: more qutcWy.V . Leas said, •Mustapha Kemal has forbidden the pliylng arid singing of Turkish jBiuslc, which is; a good break for Americans. Jaz2; Is all over .the ,■ place.*' '-"^ ■ In: Rouinania aad.Greece business is not too bad»'Iieaalm. found!. After ' Wring signed up. with: Arta Films . to distribute Radio product la the former country,, fie made a deal with Cine Alliance HeUerilque for Greece. ' Both countries ace getting through the depresatoh' because they are largely agricultural and have no big . lactorles-rto-- inoreover. Is exporting plenty of to- bacco, and Roumanla la sielllhg oil. •in both , Greece Leaiiiin found that- the revue type of ipictures is no good. Theiy want " arama' attti :c!om*dy^mostly drama. ■ Despite the general thvimbs down Oft music, however, the Austrian-made ITnflnlsb^ Symphony'' set* an. all time high In Qreece-r-because: It has a real story behind the- miislc. In most of these countries a film, : must be dubbed In l^rench.! to: get by. .English versions, tod, can go . In RpumaTila, ahd German. Is ^e- eeptable in Greece.' Blilsarla wants nothing: but, German dubbed verr elons. For Turkey; French dubblitg Is essential. . In Greece the French picture ^UEaltre des Forges', a Gaby llbrlay : Teraion of an old Fi'ench play, was the biggest Yecent drawing card. . German mristcals are good there, ■ too.^.. : ■ ■'' ■■ ■■. The ; language ihixup in these •oantrlies; leads to ftinny .compiica- . tlons. 'king Kong"* which has been Badlo't biggest European success, —JBM dlsttfhutedLinJlurkey jii Jthw^ ■~ forms: In: Sojsllslt^wlth- Turkish, itl-. ties, 1q Fretich with Turklah titles, and In English with French titles. 'DICTATOR' READY Simultanepus Prentiores !n Paris,' Copenhagen and Vienna London, Dec. 15. -Toepllt? Productions' first effort,; The Dictator,' has passed Its cutting rpoitn stage, and :wlll. hiave a slmul-, taheoua preriiiere in I^ria,, 0open- hageii and. Vienna around the middle of January, with the English pre- miere 10 days later, : ; y .Picture : will, have, its first West Eiid prerelease at the Tlvoli, Ask Bids on I. W. Schlesinger Chain London, Dec. IB, Receiver ■ for the 7% debenture holders of United Picture Theatres, Ltd., is advertising in the local trade papers, here asking for bids for io picture houses and 60,000 ordinary shares of British Amalgamated The- atres,. Ltd. ■■ . .;" ■ U. Pi T. is the corporation or- ganized by li W. Schlesinger to con- duct theatres in, England. . MG DENIES ANY Australian Qoota^J^ Almost Reaifef; mm G-T, G-B ALLY. iOWSLOSS LIBERTY OUTBIDS 6-T FOR llffr IN SYDNEY Sydney, Nov. 29.__^ " •■tQ^;^ :^^ (eol) was ■old. by John McCurdy. to the Mar- ti n , Lib erty-i^eup—^tiftei*—Gteneral- Theatres refused to go any higher on bids. Flc is due to ppen Dec/26 at: 11.60 top. Said tluit \<d^l caild f<Hr 12 l.lF^'^'^B' i^^l^^i^^'^ run : at highest " pride oh a slrigle pic here yet. Re- ported that MartiiL plans to spend plenty on advertising and Is out to •qua! the alz-month ruaV bf. 'Vlen- -Bese Nights.' —■ ■ • G. T.:;will. t!pntlnue~'to bobkr-the Col product a« before. , ■ Columbia product will be handled ;. here for "another year by Greater Australian Films under direction of jr. ji Jones. ' Col will then probably flriallz* matters In connection with running its own distribution u nit. ,. London,vDec. IB. . Annual- report of Gerifsral :Thea-. tres /Corp,,. Ltd^ one of .the biggest subsidiaries \', of .Gaumont-Brltisb, reveals a net profit of close, to $1,000,000. -■ — Company owns nine theatres In London, 60 houses la the provinces, and :the Alhambra, Paris,-besides numerous dance halls, some of these adjoining the theatres. About 12 of these araMlevoted, to vaiide* vllle. •■. . \ t'ear'a profit shbws a decrease of around |260,00i<y from last year. Report claims-loss of earnings due to, increasing competition, caused by over-bunding and the additional theatre tax Imposed by the government. Financial position of the compcmy Is not strong enough to allow for the rebuilding of some of Its prop- erties on up-to-date lines, and as a result the theatres havd suffered by comparison. After various de- ductions, Inelndlng.. Interest on the debenture stock ,«nd Income tax, there Is a. clear surplus of Just over 130,000, meaning there Is not enoueii to meet the debenture stbck Interest for the year ending March 81. ' , ., An Interesting fact revealed Is that despite booking arrangement for films with Oaumont-Britlsh,. as onarTot-ita-aQb8ldIat1«s,:^theVcost^pf cinema programs, ha*'Increased dub; to competition. On the. other hand, tlM cost of viandevllle programs Is slightly. lower, due to the arrange- ment made sonie time ago betweeil General Theatres and Moss Em- pires. :.-■ Directors hava decided the only way to put General Theatres Corp. on a paying basis la' to reduce its capital, and a scheme is on foot for "the "Wrttlng^down- "Of the" com- pany's capital hy about 60%. ftftnrg* ttlaolr, :tirhn im one of the IJ. S. Ambassador Attends Opening of French Pic Paris, Dec. 16. Ambassador Jesse Isldor Straus arid Mrs. Straus were among the notables who gave swank to open- ing of a French film, 'Maria Chapde- laine,' at Cinema Agriculteurs yes- terday (14). Fancy first showings, as originated by American com- panies here, are thus revived, but now the French Instead of the Yanks are throwing the" parties. Mrs, Albert Lebrun. wife of Presi- dent,., and her daughters; Premier Flandih and his daughter, a flock of ambassadprs, politicians and func tlonaries al£o attended. Paris, Dec. 24. ■■ Deputy Petsch at a session of the Finance Committee of the Chamber of Commerce Wednesday (19) de- manded an 'investigation into rumors abput an approaching liquidation of Pathe-Natan : and purchase of the Gaumont theatres In France by a group, which In- cludes Metro.' ': Since the crash of the Andre Citroen firm, manufacturers bf local low-priced '' automobiles, Parlia- mentary : circles have been busy With_ chatter-^feout.. the. .Jpath.e affair,' with this open explosleri the putcpme. Metrp In New York declares It has no Interest in the cTautriont theatre or any other theatre chain in France. :" SYDNEY CARNIVAL «L HEtK PHS AtB^ 0. Sydney, Nov. 28. Business remains on the slow side Sesplte high b.o. attractions. Car ivai week in Sydney Just now and trade la axpected to pick up. ' Entertainment lineup includes 91oaaom Time'. (B.LP), 'Change of Heart' (Fox), "Llttlb Miss Marker" (Par), 'House of Rothschll^' (UA), iSuoh WomenAre Dangerous' (Fox), thin Man' (Metro), 'Have a, Heart' (Metro)i 'We're Not Dressing* gar"), 'Splendid Fellows,' 'One More ver* (f), •Romance in. Bain' (U), 'Strike Ma Liicky' (B.LP.), 'She •Xioves Ma Not' (Par). 'Ltttl* Man. iHiat Now* (U), 'Desart Song* (WB> Md 'Shner and EIsIc' (P«r^ directors to retire by rptatlori, offers himself for re-election. ARTHUR LOEW BACK Foreign Film Execs on Hop— : Due to Start Aoatn Arthur Loew, Metro's foreign de- partment chief, .got .back. to New York yesterday <Mpnday) after a six months' trip arbund the world, which Included a complete survey of South America .'and :a look-see of the European situation. With him for home office o.o.'s are Arthur Field, head of the Metro French ofllce and Ma r tin Subleniah, uius ot the Field aides. Phil Relsman, head of Radio's foreign 1>lz. returned to: New York Saturday (22) after a quick three week hop to Europe to set new men In London and Incorporate a new company. Radio Pictures, Ltd.,. to handle .the company's European af- fairs. Arthur Kelly, head of the United Artists' Foreign departriient, and Arthur Ldew's rival In picture busl ness for globe-girdling honprs, beat Loew back to New York by about a week, although he was out In the Far East this time and goue three months longer than Loew on his trip. It's tha first tlma In. a very long time, that all the film company foreign managers ara. In New York at the sama tlma, although tha ex odtAi will start again soon, prob ably Ud bf John W. Hicks, Jr., F^ht on French in READYttS: Paris, Dec. 16. ' Charles Delae, .president of the Chambra Syndicate, is reported taking a new crack at' Imported' films In a confidential report sub- mitted to tha intermlnlsterlal com- mIttee.-W-Ojcking_out_a-FceiiciL_Jllih. NRA.. .'■ _ ; , Flat tariff of $3,000 to $4,000 a film' on an features Imported, whether dubbed or not, with pror portlonal duty on shorts. Is said to be the main feature of his report. ' This means that Just as the fight to extend the old quota has been won a new battle must be waged agEiinst the Chambre Syndlcale Idea.,: :■:; ■ \ v Raymond' - Lusslez; - exhibitors' leader, and Henri Clerc, chief ot Independent producers and distrlba. Paris, Dec. 15. -StiiTed -by- departure :o£- -Robert. Hurel to get Pathe-Natan's New York office started, Independent group-of French distributors who dear through John S. Tapernoux in New. York are' busy with plans to aend. films to America. This- is the crpwd that has hookups with the iPrench Line:ajnid' Harvard tJniver- Slty. ■ ■;. ■ Deal is pending between Taper- noux and Uriiversal's French branch for. American release of 'La Ma- temelle,':. French picture which was one of the heaviest grossers here a couple of years ago and which Uni- versal owns. Plan la to show it in the original with English titles. Representatives of the French Line, Harvard Committee and others previewed Itto,' French film on .Morocco colonization, which Marcel Sprecher expects to bring to Neiw York In January to show at a steamship gala. Picture is supposed to- combine propaganda with enter- talnmeiit. . have already filed their reports With the committee. They are liberal as to Imports, in addition to picture Import provisions, the Delac report la supposed to contain Ideas which would upset the raw film manufac- ture and Import situation In France. Distributors Interested In fighting booking combines and unifying dls- trib trade organizations are meet- ing next week, and deflnltejactlon is expected! •'.' , ';' WARNER'S mOES' TOO REALiSTlG FOR PARIS .:'■."■ Paris, Dec. 15. ■ . French censors refused to permit showing here of 'Heroes for Sale' (WB). Objection is based on riot scenes in picture, which are alleged to remind the French of those which tppk place here last February, and therefpre might stir up trouble if shown. Ministry of Interior said to be the department which is do- ing the objecting, Film was first shown to censors last June and then turned down, but Warners hoped to get it through, without cuts, on present- ing It again. Nothing doing.. Riot scenes are tough to cut, be- cause essential to action. Warners will try to slice them a little, how- ever, enough to overcome objections, and will show the film to censors again next week, with fingers orOBMd. ^HFILM Paris, Dec. 15. Reasonable amount of activity In studios around Paris. At Pathe-Natan Jolnvllle studios Pierre. Colombler (Florence Wal- ton's 'husUand) is 'megglng 'Ecole des Cocottea' ('School for Fast Women-*>,—with—Ralmu- and -Renee Saint-Cyr in principal parts. Ana- tole Lltwak'a company la back from location, where It was making ex- teriors for 'L'equlpage.' A troupe Is being prepared for an as yet un- titled film to be made by Karl An- ton and distributed by David Sou^ haml's concern, Gallic Films. 'Prince Jean' la in the cutting room. At the Paramount Joinville studios -Fred- Bacoa is making - 'iJe Vertige' for Fox, based on a Charles Mere play, adapted, as usual, by Dr. Paul Schiller. Alice Field, Paul Ber- nard and Jean Toulout are In the cast. Christian Jacque has started to shoot .'Gompartiment des Dames Seulea' ('Ladles Only^), with Ar By ERIC GORRICK Sydney, Nov. .28. Action la promised this week by the government on the quota ques- tion. . .::;;:■- .; Believed that the figures will be: Distributors, first year, 6%; second : year, T % %;. third year, 10%; four tit - year, 12%; .fifth year, 15%. Exhib- itors, 4, 6, T%; 10, i2^i%. This Is exactly as laid; down by . F. W. Marks at the Iphg-passed film inquiry. . Thje:: Mai-ks ■ Inquiry topic place so long ago that the industry has almost forgotten the whole af- fair. ' ■.■.:,•■:, The government promised action almost at once, and producers set about to make plans for, bigger and better local pics in opposition to America and England. But timo went on and on, and the govern- ment Just deeply slumbered on tha whola film thing. ■ Now, after months of Inactivity, the news is given out that the gov- ernment will definitely Introduc'e a ■ quota for exhibitors and distrib- utors as set out by Marks. Thrina's IMove F. W. Thrlng, operating Effteb in Melbourne, threatened to move, to N. S. Wales. unless the Victorian government aided with a quota. Looks now fis If Thrlhg will move -here-because ~ his- -main studio has- been closed for some time. Anyway, Thrlng got so tired of waiting he mo.ved out of pics and into legit; - With the quota In force, quite a bunch of producing units will come Into the field with stock to offer to ithp. public. Several, with plans set, have fallen by the wayside because public .refused to nibble until quota protection became assured. Looks now as though the local brokers will be kept busy lining up the coin for units to get under way. It Is understood the government; will protect the public from shyster units and go-getters trying to break into the Industry. The Chief Sec- retary will be given the right to re- ject for quota purposes any pic con- sidered unsuitable in entertainment value: and below the,.average stand- ard. Exhibitors will be; given the right, despite contracts, to reject any for- eign pics necessary to enable them to comply vHtfi, .quota regulations. An advisory bommlttee,' comprising representatives of diatribs, pro- ducers and exhlbs will be formed to assist. the...Chlef. Seccbtary. In ad- mliilsterlng legislation.- . ■■' .-;: -- .. Local Opinion ■ :'. Opinions are divided here on tha quota angle. Many favor quota for exhlbs, but are entirely against quota for dlstribs. Assumed that an unfair dlatrib quota may cause vn«; : (Continued on page 62) mand Bernard. :ln comic lead. Sev- eral retakies for sound version of Abel Gance's old one, 'Napoleon,' were shot last week. . ,: , At the Eclair studios, in Epinay, sound is being recorded for 'Last Adventure,'. Helgat Film production, with music by Jean. Wiener. ; 'Un Petit Trou Pas Cher' ('Cheap Place') is. in the cutting room, as is a military mOiJiker megged by Mau- rice Cammagc. On the Tbbia lot 'Deux Contre Un' ('Two Against One'), with Paula II- lery, is being made. This is a quickie for first, parts of duail pro- grams. ; Work is being started oh dubbing of 'Little Women' (Radio), which Tobis will release in French. . At Billancourt Studios Forrester- Par ant la still working on French newspaperman's assbclatipn's pic- ture, 'Thousand Firanc Note,' and Warwick Films' 'Last Waltz' la In tha (putting room. ■ — Rome,-Dec. 13.__ Instead of the importation of for- ■ elgn films decreasing since-a tax of $2,150 each has been put on them, they are arriving in greater num- bers. ; > During the 1932-33 season about 200 foreign films were Import- ed and the number Increased to ab o ut 250 ill 1933*34. . . ' Some explain this by the Ircrease ; in first-run cinemas, while others declare It to be due to the poor quality of many of the Imports,; making frequent changes necessary. Most modest computation for tha 1934-35 season is 360 new films, and. as the maximum number tliat can be placed on the market here Is 300. of which 35 are Italian, the; surplus 85 foreign films will have tP taka their first run in second run houses. New renting cpmpanies are con- tinually being formed here sp that competition grows keener and the- atre owners have a big stock to chopse from; but sls 'there is a dearth pf really gopd films, the pub-, lie is net much better off. Averaga yield of a gopd film here Is frem $21,400 to $25,700, but expenses run up to almost that with the result that the renter la often the loser, .