Variety (Apr 1935)

Wednesday, Apil(^ii,^ I^^ Battlof of the bank rilghtB, jplveaways, premluma, ttntl-dual$ and aundiy threata to 'teist the NRA up to the U. S.- Supreme Court,"^ assume chaitaeloh aspects depending oh each terrltbry. Divers reports from behind: the. key . spots, as well as the keys, each vajry tbe aspect oh the same situation. . ' ■ / ^,;• "'f-'... If It's: a key spot, tliere is hsually. enoueh coin to;finance a^^ appeal iand so; even If the decision ir iadyerse, one or the other party posts the usiial bond and stalls the matter some .more, pehdih^ To all intents-arid purpt»aes, that's all that's necessary and so, .once a^raih, any specific covenants to the contrary are defeated^ ; Bank nights or any of the chance drawings employed' by theatres for b.o, - hypoing- are, after aU, a matier. of current fancy, ; By the time an apjpeal is ever • tried some- months hence th^ti; type of exploitation will Jlke as not be outmoded. - ^ ^ v : Sojne Federal district court judgerijphold such stupta as violations of the-code against, cut-riting ind premljims,; %hiIo lother. legal . decisions -tak«^-"dlamejbFlcallj^^ppo8lt«-4^ • ■'" '[ ■ '■ ' '[ '■ " ' , / As regards doubld-bllllrig, that, .too; is a flciile proposition. . Where local exhibs have covenants against duals,. the moment one brej^ks away it usually means that the: Iqcal exchanges play: ball with';the -majority exhibs and refuse to serve the recalcitriaht theatre; In that, pase the balking , exhiib charges ^'monopoly' and .restraint of trade, and again the court clerks get biisy. ' ' -V'- ■' ■. ■■:■■■ The Code Authority seems helples^ oh a blanket jruling to serve .is precedent in all such cases as zoning.>and-clearance' schedules because the 2-c skeds Tight how are- one; b^ those thin ; , v . Pyrotechnics are anticipated by .many members Of the Film Code 4:Uthorlty as a result of the fresh dhtbr^k of the free pass stunt ih the Times Square area during the past week. While the • Astor, 1^. T., "^as the principal picture house to ihaugura.te the stunt, others had or were planning to follow- suit in order to meet this litw competition^ Service charge' .when the 'free' coupon is offered at the box ofhce Is deemed by C.A. representatives as a violation of the reduced ad- mission clause in the code since It amounts to selling. tickets at less , than the advertised price. , . The free oojjpon; gag also obtains at the legitimate Plymouth theatre .oh thef same block with the Astor. The Penn-Astor drug ^storri on the. corner Invites the store's patrons %o be -guests' at the Plymouth. ' " With the new outbreak of the service charge pass, the premium and giveawiay campaigns by picture houses along Eighth and Ninth ave- nues have been renewed. MICHIGAN PROPOSES STATE CENSORSHIP Skpum Coast Return ' Speeding F-WC m^ ■ V Xios Angeles, April 2. Return from Kew York, this week Olf Charles P. Skduras is expected to. speed up compilation of the final report of the three trustees ih bank- ruptcy of Fox-West Coast. Filing of report hqa been held up tempor- arily through the absen'ce in Min- nesota of Atty. W. B. Carmen, rep- resenting the trustees, who was called , there by. the death of his father.- ■ ■ '; '■: Bankruptcy. of the Fox Midland Theatres Corp. and Fox Bocky Mountain Theatres'~^orp, both^ formier subsids of Fox West Coast, Is expected to. be wound up Within the next six or^ght weeks. Colorado I)^ui^^ Lot. terie* liar^iPoro Depre- cjirted----FilBu in^I^ Coiiiinerce» Washington Na CHISELING ^Washington, April 2,; Bevisioh-of the: Rgooveiy Act, ex- READYING NEW EXTRAS UST TO SOOTHE ROSY . ' Detroit, April 2. Stiate boai:d of film censorship is provided In a bill introduced in the Michigan, legislature by Representa- tive E. H. Fenlon of St. Ignace. Rep. Fenlon denies reports that the Legion of Decency drafted the bill. Prop os ed board of three, to be ap- "Pblnted. by the governor' for three years, would-be p aid by fees levied on film distributors. .: ilhtire dlscrer tibn to approve or disapprove would be vested in the board, slm liar to board now operating in Ohio. Proposed levy of 13, for each reel of the first feature and a $1 on each succeeding print would ^rlng'nearly $100 per feature passed to the state. Only censorship at present Is that of the Detroit Police Film Censori^ Sgt. joe Kollar. ■ ' \ DELAY nGHTMAN if. y. TEIP : M. A.. Ijightman, due in New York on Monday (1),. to formally close a • partnership deal with Par over three hoiises ; In Memphis to. be . grouped, under his '■ operation,; has been forced to postpone his trip diie : to Tcnhessee tax .legislation which he is . actively opposing.: ■ T, ?'ra,rtk Freeman recently, was'ln M^emphis to work out the agriement with Llghtman, who Is a pai-ther of .I'ar in Fort Smlth^ Ar)c.. and other ->'<'ii,tliPi-n snotB. . - V . Hollywood, April 2. : Coding on registration of a se- lected extra list for NRA preferred work cards finally has come to a head after mohths of bickering. Code Extra Standing. .-'Committee will revamp the list of 1,000, prie- vlously recommended with the aim of getting committee members and, AdmlniStratbr Sol A. Rosenblatt off the spot Ih view of blasts against the hiethpds of selecting card get- ters in alleged 'star chariiber' ses- sion. ■ tenaing- tae code'syatem of restrict, i.ng. competition for another two- year period, appeared In Congress last .week as Roosevelt Administra- tion tipped lta-hand... At flrBt glance, apjpiears proposed laW. changes; will hot have ahy particular effect on film pact. ' \ Although aiibstahttal: modlflca- tloh had been promised by admih- istratlon mouthpieces. Congress found, the new law contains. ■ few importaht; ' alterations. Principal objective is to plug: loopholes ahd correct; deficiencies which have re- sulted in long string of unfavorable court : decisions in ! disputes JnvoRrT Ine constltutiohality. of the existing act.-;- ■ A major alteration consistii of re- writing of present provlalohs under which codes have been placed in operation, but _the^ effect la .to give the government .morl^ nither; than less, ppwer. tJntlt the U. S. Su- preme : Court ;comea a.Iohg and up- sets it, the outlOpk la that things will continue pretty much accordirig to .existing 'pflhclplea. and policies. Seeking to prevent upsetting of code procedure, bra,ln-tru8iers have entirely rephrased clauses specify- ing, the scope of the Blue Eagle by stipulating that. 'interstate com- merce' Includes any outfit which uses material shipped In 'interstate commLerce*. Which would knock in the head, last week's. Colorado court ruling that exhlbitlpn is not a part of lnters,tate business. ; Technically, enactment of the Total dlsbursemienta by the Film Code Ahthority for Februiary, aa announced by John .C. Fllhn, execu- tive aecretfiiry,' are 120,132. . . Total calsh on hand is |40,897.; amins proposed new law may require the government to go through the mo- tions of reapproying the film pact, although questioh la not settled. Suggested: legislation requires the President to make findings before approving: pacts, listing a number of n;ew con'lltlons which he must decide exist before puttin'^ John Hancock on competition agreemehts. Would have: to decide that codes establish rules of fafr competition; (Continued on page 60). Minneapolis^ April^2. After hearing Nathan Yamins, president .of the .Massachusetts. ;A1_-; lied Theatre Owiiers and a Code Authority member, denouhce the in- dustry code; as' presently constituted, northwest independent; theatre owners, at a mass meeting here went Oh record as condemning the in- strument. .'• The gathering of 200 exhlbitora was called by W.; a. Steffes, presl-- dent of Northwest Allleid States and was open to Independent theatre owners frbrti all seditions regardless of. aflillatTohs br. lacfc~of them. ■ The exhibitors pledged themselves to support the; Allied States! ni^ove to obtain a, new. Code Authority cbmprising equal'numbers from the producing ahd exhibiting ranks -and with power to; establish a new schedule of trade relations, Abram S.; Myers was a-utiiorized to- appear " before .Gbvernmehtal authorltiea in Washington to pre sent this viewpoint.. Yamins attacked the code , as Ing an instrument the provisions of which were dictated by the pro ducer-dlstrlbutbrs^ He asserted that, the Code Authority is 'producer- lopsided' and that tliei Hays' af- -flllateir"ca«stltm"e six of the seven producer members and present; a solid fronts W.- Ray Johnston, president of Monogram, was paid a tribute of fairness by Yamins, Steps were taken by the horthV west exhibitors to merge Northwest Allied States. and. the recently formed Independeht Theatre Own- ers' Association Into a single in- dependent exhibitors' organization. Steffes announced that ilL health compelled him to quit as president of. Northwest Allied. Chlcago^ April 2. : After waiting for months the mo« tloh picture code board ,la .golns into active campaigning agalnat theatrea which contihue to: vidlai* the ;rullhg8| of the board and con- tinue to run contrary, to code de- cisions ; despite 'cease a^nd .. desist' orders. First real " slap was br- dered^ast week when the local cod* board sent rulings: to all ;ex- . changes, to aioj flhn service to the B. E. Alger houses in southerh lUihois". for con tihu isr :i Violatlbh- of Result is that principal objectors to tljie orlglhai list are marklher time. Screen Actprs' Guild blistered ;the setup as unfairly worked but arid deriiarided a recheck. Another coali- tion of extra orgs, Hollywood P'lc-; ture Players, Picture ■ Players Alli- ance and The Troupers, Inc., railed at the setup as being in ylolatiori of code verbiage and: argues that if nothing Is . done to correct it ex- tras had bettor forget all. about coding and : deal direct with; studios and Central Casting. L A Exhiib Call Code a 'Dead ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Huffman Wins Ppint in Givieaway^ Case Denver. April 2. C. C. MOSKOWITZ'S-APP'TMENT Charles.'Ci Mbskbwltz,: Lpew thea:- tre executive, has .been namod a membef of the Ne.w York regional: board for the stfcond district, the appointment being made: .by the National Labor. Relations board at Wo^lngton, ■ It Is the first time that: a circuit executive .fias be^n placed on: the board Harry; Huff^nan won another round In his battle wltir~thiB Gbv- brnment .iand grieyahce bbards in their atteriipts to force him to stop his weeltly auto giveaways in his eight Denver theatres. On; Huffman'tf • motion tb. strike out certain portions .of the Goyern- rnent's complaint, Federal Judge J. Foster Symea ruled that Huffman was not -engaged In Interstate com- merce. fSym.RS ruled that when films are receiycd by a distributor In tlie state, they ;cea.se to be Inter- state, and becomes: intrastate busi- ness. -. Judge Symes did not dlsliose of the case,, but said ;hb would; hear arguments later on the question, as to whether the Government was correct in claiming that ' Huffman and his companies had a monopoly on first run films' in Denver, and on the qUestloh as to whether Huff- man was conducting; a lottery. : ; Los Angeles, April 2. - Code Authority request through John G. ITllnn that Interested par- ties be : queried on consent to ~ ia tpibuhal HettliTir?Apfii 11 fOr hear- Ihg on Fox;West Coast application for rehearing of . protiB.Ht.s aga;ih.st Im A:.- ;Zonlng SSchedule is meeting with, little responsci Zoners and .exhibitors, arc noric'Omifiiltfali' fbellng" .that the ;CA. previously informed it.q attitude , through Its ■ (icmand that a schedule: i;e 'put Into im- mediate effect "arid prbtGHt.-j deferred: until after the setup was given a fair^;t^!al.';-:;---' ' .'Local indies arc burned at the C-A. -.ictlon postponing. L;A. schcd- . uie. Keeling in affiliated .circles is that; the ; co'Je fs .a dbad:;isBUc.- A- reopmrnohdation made by a group of oonsorvatiyc indie, exhibitors . that iridopendcnt Theatre Ownei-s Asso- ciation and Aafiociated Exhibitors nonftolidate; forces and brihg 100% protest against further stalling was turned dOwn by the ITO Which wants no alliance. It's dceriied un- likely that lociai indies : well attend Ni Y. meetlni^.; ' the picture code.. For, the most part the exhibitors of the midwest have paid little at- tisntion to the code rulings . which ordered dozens of c<^e >nd desist Instances. As soon as^ they got the wrong deciision the., exhibs would either forget about .the ruling or Would immediately appeal to New; York. The eastern headquarters of the cqde brpad is now loa ded with , appeals frphi hundreds . of . midwest exhibs ;aiid Until these appeals are heard and decided upon tho exhibs are continuing to. have 'bank nltes,'- play, 'screenoi' advertising prema- turely and are- allegedly' conducting in oth'sr manners contrary to the: film code. ' ; ■.■-■■■.;'.;'■ Expected, ho.weyer, that this shutting off of.^ei^loe on one of the • biggest indie circuit operators In the midwest will shake up t he a it- liatlon In the territory and quiet dpwn exhibs who have been riin^ hihg wild. ' . Chicago especially: Is flooded with 'iScreeno,* 'bank nltes' and-giveaway :Tafflea; vbesided' p^^^ mature;; advertlsinjgr.^ .; LA.Z-CSKED Failure of the Film Code Author- " ity to act. definitely on the zoning portion of the ios Angeles clear- ance-zoning schedule before last Saturday . (30) brought Indefinite postponement on the dates when this aked la to become effective. Aa orig- inally approved by the C. A., the L. A, schedule was to: have gone into effect March 31. iBut the ac-r tlon last Friday means a'dblay of several weeks since the actual drtte'- of hearing protests on the zoning features has not been fixed as yet. Although the L. A. schedule was . approved in its final form more than a month ago and .the effective dates set, a formal protest on phases of ~ the zoning lodged by Fox West Coast Theatres Corp, for several weeks have held up; formal. Installa- tion of the sked. The authority voted .to have John C; FUnn go to - the Coast and investigate flr«t hand. He returned on "March 2C, and lile report arid other details of tho sit- ^ uation^ have been riioro or lefts under conaldcration by the clearance and. since, . ■ ; . Further diHcus.sIori on the . points .sti-essed by the Frtx-WeHt (ioaBt. of- ficials Thurftday afternpon prompLcd ■the-comnilttee to present the-prbb- • lem to the whole authority Friday morning. Because other major companlos, .exhibitors and theatre circuits ' might bring up objections to the re- vamping of the zoning eituatloh, the Code Authority decided to permit all Interested to appear before the authority before any changes in the alignment were- made/ - i;:-^ ' ' , In the meeting Friday (20) the biggest obstacle was the question as to whether tho L. A. schcdulb would conflict with actions. In tho U. S. trlct court of Southern California. It was feared by some that persons ; not In agreement with the L. A. . Jihc-up might (luejitlbn the- validity of the .schedule a.s drawhaip by the authority. .