Variety (Jan 1935)

S4 VARIETY P IC T E S Tuesdayt January 8, 1935 90 HOUSES IN DETROIT USE il - - - — Detroit, jdn. 7. Preiiiluma are the big thing In Detroit. About a hundred theatres are using the china giveaways •which are supplied by four com- panies specializing in the business, yrith 0(11 COS here. Price Premiums,' Inc., with Ar- thur Robinson in charge, leads the number of theatres serviced. His accounts number 80 theatres, while the combined total of houses serv- iced by the three other companies, Btrelmer Ad Service, Coulter and Quality Premiums, total 10. Among Robinson's accouhts are 15 theatre.*: that are using his Itenis at least twice weekly, two of them usinp the china three nights a week. 235G Bus Terminal on Site of 2 Del Theatres Detroit, Jan. 7. Now building to supplant the Shubert-Dctrolt and the RKO Tem- ple buildings, now being torn down, will be a bus terminal. R. E. Olds, automobile man, states the terminal will cost $235,000. Terminal will front' on Monroe .avenue, whlcte^ears ago wa-s the main grind tjKeatr(5'section. Houses now remainife prfWeet are the Na- tional (burlesciue), \columbla, Mon- roe, Bijou and. Family, all film grinds. 3 IN N. E. PIX BOMBINGS New Haven, Jan. ,7..^ Philip R. Vanarsdale. a,nd John Mongillo, • this city, areout under- Managers interviewed stated that I $5^000 bonds In connectlfiin with, re-'.: •without the giveaways it would be cent bombings in Boston^ LynnifHid-,^ curtains for them, particularly in Pawtucket theatres and a possible: the smaller theatres where nabe competition is keener. Price pre- mium deals run from .6%c up, cov- ering 10 lines. Extensive stock and Quarters are maintained in the Film Building. Ky. Cols. (Continued from page 3) tieup with local firing of Garden thealre.last August. Pair originally held under bonds of $15,000, later reduced. Men were arrested here last week on Information allegedly given to Boston police by ^lerbert E. Logan; describing himself as a Torrington, Conn., actor. Police are said to have found several sticks of phos- phorous in Logan's hotel room and are reported to have a statement •tv 1 f''om Logan Implipating the two mtsson blank costs six cents, "bbon Kq^j^j. t^e recent bombings, two, seal three-fourths of a cent, poij^e hope to connect the pair with mailing two and one-half and postr tj^e charge that they paid Logan age nine cents.. About 24 cents-in j250 to take explosives to "Boston tirland the recipient Is entitled to f^^g theatres designated by go out into the world and salute them. another Kentucky Colonel. Logan Is said to be unknown to In 1932 It started to look a little theatrical interests in Torrington.- tough for the Colonels when a bill secretary of Theatrical Workers was introduced into the Kentucky xj^iq^ there reported he had re legislature by some unsympathetic celved a complaint some time ago politician to tax all Colonels $100 that a man using that name had. at for the honor. It was quickly killed tempted to raise money in Massa- and the politician "went down to de- chusetts by posing as a member of feat and to this day is known the Torrington union. •-Logah will thr oughou t the sta te as the man fl^st be tried in Boston for posses —who wanteano taji the CulujitJls. ■ glon" of an informal macKine, before When in. Louisville, visitmg answering a local arson charge. Colonels.visit.the Brown hotel, the Vanarsdale and. MongiUo are birthplace of their order, talk about operators In a deluxer here and the advantages of the great state, former is business agent of local ' drink juleps and discuss the merits [ union of .burgoo and curse Theodore Dreiser for being arrested for mis conduct within the borders of the fair state. He's a damned Yankee, 9uhr And they still nip a little moonshine Probably the biggest disappoint ALVIN, PITT 01* Alabamy (Continued from page 8) loped the last 20 yards and cave the schnoz finger t? tl*® l^'St *wo tack- lers, not needing a straight arm. Looked like Durante was playing when Howell slipped Stanford that 'geste mechant.' Ted Shlpkey, picker for Dailt VAniBTT, picked Stanford to win; much of the picture jnoney followed him. But this, mugg, nqt bavlng ^een afootbftU game in 10 years, remembered when ho was a sports writer on the i^ew York Sun. One look at the teams and Scully said, 'Lay It on Mammy's Bammles—and tell Jolson to getdown on his knees and pray for rain If Stanford wants an assistant director.' Interested Parties Manny SefiC only heard the first half of the suggestion and bet. on the pride of the south. He paid for the box and won the cost of It back, ^ax Lief was In the box, too, but he didn't bet. He brought along the New York Times book section to read during 'time out' Stanford called enough to let him even read the adsl. " " Our party beat all the raps. We' arrived three hours before game iliiie^ in the first 1,000 of 80,000 cars, an<i::J)lew out five minutes before t&e filial whistle. That got us home tlii-ey hours before those who waited till the referee made It offlclal, and they^hai. to walk four miles to thulr parked cars. Bx-Prez Herbert Hoover .didn't come to the game, but the ghost of Sen. Underwood's '24 votes for Ala- b^-ma' was there. HIj boys raised It to 29. And they got In oh passes. After a 10-year lay-off football BI-SCREEN CINEMA BUILDING IN C WS Columbus, Jan. 7., Now Bexley theatre (suburb) is under construction, house to seat COO, divided by solid partition with 300 on each side. The two screens win be fed from same projectlo'n machine and same celluloid ■ strip. Theodore Lfrfclenberg, Inventor, who .is also building and financing the theatre, hasTippUed tor patents; • Idea of two separate theatres will supposedly facilitate handling of large and small crovirds by shutting up either unit. Small auditorium will also enhance intimacy, with scrieen figures life-size and sound not distorted, Inventor claims. ^ Ohio's 3% Sales Tax Works Out Better Than 10% CANADIAN TEST ON GIVEAWAYS Toronto, Jan. 7, Sequel to the announced inten- tion of Toronto police ofllclals to stop the practice of the nabes who stimulate business by offering china, silverware, etc. on 'gift nights,' gome 30 nalbe operators have formed the Independent Theatre Exhibitors' Association and will defend any ac- tion against them by police In a proposed test case. Although there is no Code legisla- tion in Canada regarding the giv- ing of premiums by theatre own- can, be a lot of fun, especially if I ers or lessees, a revised Federal you back the winning team dnd Lotteries Act states that 'no person would rather be a wooden Indian .licensed as the owner or keeper of than an assistant director. Un- fortunately for Stanford there was no choice. , a theatre, music hall, moving plC' ture show or anj other, place of amusement, shall periplt any gam- bling, raffling, lottery or chance gift, distribution of money or ar- ticles of valuei to be connected therewith, or in anywise permitted or held ont as an. inducement to visitors. While the 'give-away' system has. been well-established here and ft lowed regularly by some operators for years, the new legislation means prosecution in court if the practice tlnue d , polic e Glalm,—Situa- action of Kenneth Flnliay, 'recently | ton was brought to a head by petl appointed manager of the Capitol, in dismissihg-'seVeral long time em- ployees, including Andrew J. Phil- tips, cashier," oh'the staff for 30 years, and Prank B. Fitzgerald, stage and property manager, a vet- Theatre Employees of 30 Years Fired Under 'Orders,' Says New Mgr. .St John, N..B., Jan. 7, Local terapest-haa dfevelope . Springfield, Or, ^ap, 7t.^ . Lifting of 10% state amusement tax In Ohio and placing in effect pC a new 3% sales tax, applying to theatre admissions, has had a varyr ing effect throughout the state, the 3% tax is to be paid on gross receipts monthly at end of niqnth and is to be paid, according to the meaning of the regulatlbn, by the- atre owners and not by patroh^i. Thus, 10% tax was mfeant to be re- voked and admission prices thus lowered. However, many houses which nad absorbed the tax formerly have held to their old prices and conse- quently are going to realize a profit. Instead of 10% going to the state, they win pay only 3%.. They •wiU realize still more because split pen- . nies always had to go to sthto rather than'be retained by theatre. Many houses throughout the state, where admlsh was 40c plus tax (44c) and 30c plus tax (33c), for instance have reduced tickets to straight 40 and 30 respective^. Here patrons profit. Others, however, where prlceia were listed as 35c. (Including 4c tax) and 28c (including 3c tax), for ex- ample, have held to old prices and will pay state from gross receipts at 35 and 28. There are. a few who, in cases where foj-rtier prices • wisre 18 and 28c (tax included) have Increased their admlsh to 20 'and 30. Such action was contrary-to pact-of- the--— atre managers' association, which pledged some time ago not to boost scale when new tax came In. Many houses throughout state may revert to policy of 'bargain matinees' to 1 or 2 p. m., when gate will cost probably 15, 25 or 30c. This practice was abolished about • 18 months ago, because, theatre managei-s said, tax of two or three cents in addi ion frightened- awa,y women shoppers. Now, they cori- tBnd, iiu tax, no frigh t: ■ (Continued from page 22) although ' small audience at first show made It tough going for most nient to the Hollywood branch of I of the turns Lafiloon's kitchen police is that they I „ Next is Ray Melville, pantomime tlons and protests from nabe mer- chants, especially those handling such commiodltles as were given away at the theatres. This has In- cluded groceries and even house furnishings. Claim is that business ! eran of 30 years' servrce to the 1 0^ "rtaln hitherto established mer Keith-Albee Interests here. Locan ^^ants have been affected to such organizations threaten a reprisal, ^" extent that some have been taking the form of a boycott. The forced Into bankruptcy or have had manager of 80 years, W. H. Gold- *<> move away from the neighbor Ing was shelved at the Capitol in I hood of certain houses Important $5,000 Award in Theatre Accident Lawsnit Verdict of $5,000 was dlrect<id against Rose Reade, Inc., operatorB In many I of the Savoy, 34th street grind, by place of Flnlay, recently, but re- h^'^s®^' nabes have been-offering se- have no uniform to wear.- They're [gpUe-'thrfacT thrt^Sl qlfue^p^o- taln^dTn an advisVry^ap'aclty-, In- I ries of weekly gifts which ultimate- green with envy every time Victor jj^j, j,, j^jg borrowing. He has the definitely, A box office assistant "»ay be assembled Into a com- McLaglen parades with hls^ own lit-I ^(lannerlsms and getup. of Cy Lan-: (feminine) who was on the staff P'^te set of silverware, china, etc. tie army, the California Dragoons. I dry. does the fan dance parody in McLaglen's army is made up of 200 troduced by others, and winds up boys and girls, all mounted and re- later In the finale doing a. ballet splendent with blue and yellow unl- burlesque a la Ben Blue. Les Ghez forms. They;re an eyeful while the ^^f',;- -^d S^-^alS t^r?. - regiment of Kentucky Colonels are g^yg pj^^^^y showmanship . a nondescript mob, not unlike ^^h their stunts and it reffects in I Coxey's Army. the ultimate-results. Okay air the i However, militarists will admit way through and achieved the first- that an army of Colonels would be genuine click of bill, a rather sad affair. Someone would Production number at this point have to be a private. At present an Indian fantasy that found the li,^ .„ „ ^„ v,o-.r«» Streamline Alvinettes in a state of .there is a movement on foot to have ^j^^^ mdeclsion. Through it all. Gene Fowler appointed a Kentucky there's a gal perched on a high pe Second Lieutenant so that the aestal, who turns out to be one Colonels would have some one to half of the adagio team of Frank boss, but Fowler claims he' is a|and Lorainfi. ., Whole thing pretty student of things military and be • -:fore" long he'd be a General and for 23 years was also dismissed re- Flnlay says he Is acting under New Yearns Eve orders .in dismissing the long, time { employees. Capitol, seatlnfe 1,800, was built as " " ^Continued from page 1)- average. . Next-to-shut—brings on . Brltt , t„„„u xu.., r<«ir.«»i= c.-^ I Wood, harmonica-playing hick inake It tough for the Colonels, so I Wood starts slow, but winds it looks as If that Idea will go by Lp gtrong, and would wind up even the board. stronger with a shortened turn. He Worse still Is the plight of the runs overboard and cuts Into his Hollywood Colonels who have dis covered that there isn't a bartender in town who knows how to mix a julep and they're thinking of ap- pointing Col Mae West as an In- vestigating committee of one to find out how come. At a meeting here someone re- ferred to the Kentucky Cardinals. Al Jolson started to take a bow, but was Informed that the Cardinal was the state bird. -Until that- time Jolson thought the bird was a sound produced hy placing the tongue on the upper lip and. blowing vigorous- ly. It almost started a West Coast edition of the Hatfleld-McCoy feud, another product of Kentucky.* Some of the local boys who have been appointed Colonels, have never been nearer Kentucky tfean Mead- villo, Pa. But that's a good spot, too In fact, some ui)starts cla.Im that Meadville's bourbon is 'better than the brand that was born in Kentucky, all of which Is a lie, Suh! effectiveness. Finale has chorus in one of those spirit of spring things, with Melville' coming on at end in hoke ballet garb for a laugh finish. At least, it was meant to be a laugh finish. Since show runs almost an hour as it is, with an 80-minute picture, Johnny Perkins, house m.c, keeps in the background. Doesn't have a specialty at all, and his only talk outside, of introductions Is a little inti-oductory stuff with Melville. He does, work-, however, witli Bernie Armstrong In latter's orpanlogue carrying around a portable mike and sticking it in front of Individ uals during the community singing, Some- of the results are plenty funny Film is 'Music In Air' (Fox) and a Fox newsreel rounds out a bill that runs close to 170 minutes. Cohen. a personal Investment by the late vatlon list, this sans wine or liquor A. Paul Keith and E. F. Albee, re- bills. The new 'Folies Bergeres' • v * placing the Keith-Albee circuit show at the French Casino grossed Parent from the testimony ; that Y^ork and Nickel houses. Flnlay was $25,000 New Year's Eve. while there were places for .more transferred to St. John, a few weeks Broadway and Park avenue, and guide lights, only one was llthted ago from .Guelph, Ont. The local points east and west, never saw and that was . a dim'light. Com such gala holidaying and free- mentlng on the testimony given spending. The cops and the about a worn carpet, the court waiters and the maltres who re- a erred that what conclusively member 'way back when,' all at- established the theatre's negligenc« test to the birth of 1935 being the was the fact that there was insuf tops. ^_ ficlent light to show patrgns the de An un'pTecedented amount of prf-'"fectrve condlflori ot the carpet vate party biz fell to the lot of the • The court- allowed a. 20Tday stay exclusive restaurants and smaller and 60 days in which to prepare an hotels which catered to private appeal from its verdict. The Savoy gatherings of 15-25 people—a type Is a Walter Reade house, RKO hoiise Is affiliated with the Fal- mous Players chain for product. WARNERS NEW_CROP OF BLilRB tbSSERS I 4 ^dastardly lie! N. T. Supreme Court Justice McLaughlin following the trial of a negligence action brought by a patron, Elsie Fewry. The court held that the injuries suffered by th« wor..an In a. fall down the balcony Ftairs resulted from the failure of the house management to furnish the aisle lighting required by the New Tork city ordinances. Justice McLaughlin declared X\ia.t the defendant's negligence wai ap- Hollywood, Jan. 7. Warners publicity staff is being I of spending patronage that didn't enlarged this week, with several new additions to the department. Newcomers Include Joe O'Neill. Francis Heacock from the Los An- geles office of Associated Press; Carl Schaefer of the Hollywood Cit- izen-News, and Bd Stone, photog rapher, who has been with Interna tional newsreel. want to stay home and listen to the radio and yet didn't want to be trampled on when apprised by the headwalters around town just how big the reservation lists were; Parties of this sort, getting their food and drinks served, 'n hide- STUART WEBB IN ON HIPP WITH GORMAN Drome Corp. operating the Hip- away upstairs rooms with a couple I podrome theatre on Cth avenue, has Eugene O'Brien, I of entertainers (colored pianist or Thomas F. Gorman, veteran show- who resigned- as . head of the still strolling guitarist) averaged checks, man foi-merly of RKO, as president, department, switches over to the of from $600 to $900 for gatherings pact that Stuart W, Webb was publicity department as'unit man. of around 16-25 people. named as one of incorporatore led Additions were the result of the The n^octurnal marathon seem- to Initial report that the Hippo- recent Coast visit of cniarles Eln- Ing unanticipated, the police depart- drome was to be a llfik in a chain feld, head of advertising and pub- ment called In the trafilc cop3 too of theatres serving as as o^utlet for liclty for Warners. Harry Malzlich. early. At 4-5 a. m., when they were Patho product. Webb promptly, who has been handling exploitation needed most, the gendarmes weren't denied this. Drome Corp., accord- for Warner Coast theatres, goes around to direct traffic. At 67th ing to Webb, has no connection with Into the studio to work on national street near 6th avenue, one of the Pathe, and was formed only to exploitation campaigns and layouts business cross-roads In the world, operate the Hippodrome, which - _ , for feature releases. Besides these In a nasty rain there was nobody to opened Dec. 31 last with double fea- FEANKXIN ON *DAKK AKGEL hew duties, Malzlich win have direct traffic. Only the advent of ture picture program's at pop prices. Sidney Franklin will direct Sam charge of exploitation for the War- an ambulance with Its. emergency Gorman is managing director of the Goldwyn's 'Dark Angel,' Franklin [ner first-runs In San Francisco and clanging" helped ease the motor Hipp as well as head of the Drome was borrowed from Metro. 'Los Angeles. ' congestion at one period of the aim. ' Corp.