Variety (Apr 1935)

•VARIETY'S' rOXDON OFFICE, 9 St., Mortln'N'Pliirp, TrafalRnr Square . FOREICN FILM NEWS Mt^OM TempU Bar B Ml-BMl Mfld Production m Madrid Cifesa's 10 Feature Plan Tops List—Several . Indies'-Busy . ■ Madrid; March 2i5. Pic jiroductlbn ie at a mild pace here now. Companla Industrial Film Es- pahol, with studios at Aranjuez, near Madrid, is pl&nning ten fea- ture pictures this year, r First will be •Rumbo al Cairo' ('Headed: for '. Cairo'),-' -WKh. Benito Perojo. meer- glns, story by AlfriBdo Mlralles,- dialog by Edgar Neville, music: by Maestro Jacinto Guerrero and star-, ring Antonita Golome, Miguel Llgero and Rlcardd Nunez. CEA studios, in tiie suburb of Giudad Lineal, is flnishing Xa Bien Pagada' <'The WeU r P^^^^ with Fernandez; Ardaylri directing and the Marquis of Portago and Iiina , Tegro' starred.; Story by Joso Maria Carrietero.; ■ Ijeoni 'Artola is megglng 'Se Ha Fiigado Otro Preso,' ('Another Pris- oner Escaped'), at Cinearte studios, ■ with Alfredo Corcuera, Carmen En- rlquez, Marifehu Qama and Carmen -^htiveros,--wlth—music^-by-^edto. : Brana. ArtoUi is also planning *E1 Bapido Madrid-Barcelona,' ('Mad- rld-Barciilona Express')* ' CIFI productions is oftering 'Que lio Mas Qran&e,' directed by Joiae ; Oaspar, starring Rafael ArcoB, baf3ed 6n :ia; 'rtoiy bjr Garcia Alvarez. ^ Ihtercambio Cultural lberO Ameri- cano is ^producing 'Nuevas Butas* (T^ew Routes'), a noyellzed tnivel picture of Spain! written by Antonio de Obregon and Joaquin Goyanea, with Adolph Troiz directing. . Jose ^ Busch is planning a sound Tersloit of "El Nino' de las Monjas' (The Child of the Nuns'), featur-^ Ing Iiuis Gomez, the matador. Fernando Delgadb has begun pro- duction for CIPESA of'ir por Lana,' ■eml-muslcal, featuring Baquel Row • drlgb, Pedro Terol, Jose Soria, Cir- men PradlUo. and Gabriel Algara. Music by Maestro Patlno. . Eiisebio Fernandez Ardavin is fln- ishing •Vidas Rotas' ('Smashed Lives') for Inca Film, with Mariehu Fresno, Lupita .Tovar, Joie Isbert and Enrique Zabala, based on a novel by Concha Esplna. produced at CEA studios. :. "Ei Desaparecido' ('Disappeared!) —aiifected by Graclani, ':- with Bnriiiue Bambal and Fortunto Bonanova, is : being. tutnedbD-uLatJthe prphca stu^^ 'dios./ Indtistria Clnematograflea Espan- ola, niew producing qutili/ has been organized by Bilbao, Spain, inter- ests, with an initial captal of $136,'- 700. Studios will be built in the Tamiiig Diitribt Paris; M^rcli 24.. French: distrlb ran ah ad in a local trade paper telling what a hit his film ' d. been in a Marseilles cinema. ' The Marseilles' exhlb, r^r calling . that custpniers hkd whistled the first day and- stayed away the riest; of 'wjeek, sued the distrlb : for damages, alleging that the ad discredited his: theatre^' ■ Court decided in favor, of the exhib/ ruiihg that tho ad made him an unwitting accessory ' after the ifact in a plot against the public. ; ' : ' •^nwbmrlrdfCliigimsrtinr CHINA BANS lANCER' FORIMPERIAUSM' . Shanghai, March ?. :Xivcs of Bengal;^Lancer* (Par), Was banned by the Nanking. Govr «rhment censors, although passed by the Shanghai Board. Alleged im- perialism is keynote of objections, Report reads, 'film depicts oppres- sion of revolting Indians by BrltV Ish. troops, stationed;: in India. It inpholds imperialism in the ruling of weak races by means of force.' Parampuht Is appealing aerainst the decision but with little hope. Locial .conjecture: What will hap- pen to 'Clive in; India'; and MGM's prol e'ct€a~'Ge'crd~Earth^?~ .': Mex LUces 'Em Tough .: Meicicb City; March 30. ^^pUlai4ty-^f-honFoi?-^i; public down" here is fiianifested again with sock !at b.o. of latest shocker by native producers, pic is .*Mohja y Casada, . Vlrgeh /y Mar- tlr* ('Nun; ahd: Married'), based on a Mexican classic novel of the same -name •wh^h ;deaJs w:ith the hprrp bf^the Spanish Inqulsitidn in Sf exlco 4!i^ring^^he 17th century. ; Production is' by Clnematograflca, llexicaha, S.A., largest of the -na- tive producers* , N.' ; London,; March 24* Pending contjpact between Ludo- ■▼ico' Tbeplltz and. Karl Zuckmayer, author of 'Captain; of koepehlck,' fell througii. , Instead Zuckmayer- is talking a deal with Alexander Korda for -ah •rlginal script. . London, March 24. ~ Encouraged by' tlie profits miadd lafit year. Moss Eoipires has notr, definitely decided that/wheiiever It plays musical or straight shows they must b6 of. a higher standard than hitherto. Old days of cliekp re'v^ues ar4 def' Initely. over, It^ is felt Instead, there, will be West-End. successes with at least two or three liames. Jaxik Taylor Is especially catering for big flash Shbtirs> and has oiie running on the tour with another to follow soon. Tom Arnold ialso has one, consist Ing of best bits, from the last Palla- dium;'Cra2y': show, with Max Miller as~ the marquee attrkctton. Also, he will shortly launch Charles Coch ran's 'Streamline,* for which he holds the provincial rights. n% m SHOWN IN CHINA FROM THE U.1 BestinCiuui jBhaiighiil. Mmrch >. fTarzah* (MG). 'wltboiit sound; did the biggest bis of. aniy film in (Shanghai (darins 1934. Next In . order were ^In Man' (HQ), It Happened One Night' (Col), lad UUllonB* (UA)^ 'Viya Villa' (MQ). and ''day Divorcee' (Radio). Inside Stuff^tores (Continued from i^age 6) Synopsis of Jim Tully's modera version of ''The , Rti'ven,' and of David Boebm's screen play (film Is In production; with Boris KarlofC and Bela Lugbsi) has been sent to the i*oe devotees. Thiis far answers have been favorable to-IT'S treatment; David Plamond Is supervising. - ' SEZ SYDNEY Sydney, Marcii 13. Film .censor Creswell P'Relily, in his. annucd reiptort,: finds little to complain at In the illm fare :com- ing Into AtiBtrallar. from . abroad. This report la aboiit the first in which the censor haa not -taken a slain, at eltW the British or Amer- icans. Censor stated that t'he purity" movement In America during the latter half of last -year had .a marked etiect iipdn liuia standards froni a censor's Viewpoint, : Stated that .of the 476; feature films Imported, 89 ;'wei^ rejfcted. Many of these; however, were passed alter some eliminations had been; made. For the first nine months of year E2% of the fea- tures Imported were cnt or rejected, but for last three months the per- centage amoiunted to only 26%.. Sdlesioj^V Newspap^ Battle Vs. Stage ■■■■ Shianghal, March 9. Film, censors oMocal police board reviewed 723 features liength . films during 1934. Rejected 16 films, ow- ing to crime or international mo- tifs and 185 were passed with 'slight cuts.- - K| National origin and character- istics of pictures were: ■ Per. Cent. American . 78 -Britlsli .'..........•••••*«..« 2'^ Chinese ...-•'«•.'.■........,•.. ' 8^ Jaiianese .10 Other countries Including France, Germany, Itialy. and Soviet Russia 1 per cent. : Capetown, March 8. Curlpua battle .'was 'waged / here between tWo opposition ahoyf grbupa, MacRay Brps. and Schles inger's In which tha newspapers figured as tha battle field. Fight was of short duration and-resulted In good b.o, for the HacRays and a very sad day for 8. African. Thea tres. - :--'-"'-^v\- - ------^-r----'---:' - ■ ■• MacRay Bros, bad contracted for the appearanca of Peter Dawson, singer, and bia accompanist Nied- zlelskl, polish pianist Knowledge of this reached Scbleslnger's whb Immediately, mapped oot an adver an<i^,.az.5Ljmorts_pIufl__n6.wsiiel8,_ 41sIng-4;ampalgnlin;4ocal_papera:-tp^ pftset the. oppbsitlo'n attraction. Booiced the . film "Don Quixote' (French) 'which features Fepdor Challapin,.' and advertised 'first ap- pearance of the great Russian singer.' . ■: MacRay Interests countered with increased neyrspaper space in which they emphasized the difference be- tween a singer In the raw, which they offered, and one on a screen. Film did badly at the b.o. while the MacRay attraction showed profit ■■ ■ ■ ' Xove' in Sydney Sydney, March 13 "Dne NTgHt"6£"'Love' (Col), goes Into its 10th week at the Liberty and will remain; until biz takfes a drop, \vhlch doesn't seem to be soon Since the opening the dally re _ spits nave Kept, at the same level, almost capa:clty. Picture is figured to run between six and eight months, at least. ^; Baisserman's Duo ; Vienna, March 22. Albert Basserman . has .. been signed for two pics by Planta. First is .'The 'White Woman of t^e Maharajah' based on a novel by Ludwlg von Wohl. Bassermann is to' enact the part of an English colonel,. an intimate friend of the Maraharajah. Ernst Deutsch Is to play the Maharajah. In sbcondi - film, "Black Cloud,' based on a play by Chesterton, Bas- sermann will be an English aristo- crat. ■ V' ' Also his wife. Else, .will appear in both films. . Kurt Qerron will direct. RUSSIAN ARCTIC PIC TO BE SEEN IN LOND. London, March 24. . "Rescue,*- fllm-T-ecord :of-the- -ex pedltlon of Russlifin scientists to discover a. North East passage in the ship Chelusktn and the epic rescue of the explorers after their ship wa,s crushed and sunk by ice, is set to open at; the P plyteclrnicr "March ^e. " ~ - - 'Cheluskln' complement numbered 104, including 10 women and three children and a fourth child was actually bom during the trip. Ex- pedition was headlined In the world's press when the 'Cheluskln* was crushed and Suiik by Ice In the Arctic almost 12 months ago. A camera man placed on board by the Gbyemment i-ecorded every detail of the actual sinking. . London, March 24. Dave Bader got bis first intrp to George Bernard 'Shaw. He immedlataly scoured an option for tJnIvenal oh a film scenario B. 8. haa jnsl aamplsted* Sophie Smith, who was managing director of the Little Picture House, has gone into projection: for the general public. Using 86mm, or IGmm film, she will screen commercials for business firms anywhere they may designate, as also amateur films. . : Using her former staff of projectionists she flgures there's a spot for such a service. . Al Jolson's new 'Cio Into Your Dance' CWB), like "Wbnder Bar,' is on a percentagerof-the-profits foiv jolson. That's tiie same deal between, the star and WB for the next three years qii all pictures. New Jolson- WB. pact also provides for the nialmmy singer to produce. Arrangement started with "Wonder Bar' through Jolson also owning the script rights to the stage musical which he first did on Broadway as a show. ;:^■■'■/"■;■ : .■■■■.';■." ■'■■.'.■'•■ | • John E. Otterson's. name bobs up anew arid with greater prominence; currently 'as & ppsslbllity for president of Paramount. Otterson is presi- dent of Erpl, 'Western Electrie's talker equipment subsidiary. Inference fr^in any Otterson talk Is that Adblph Zukor would be chair- man of the board, in any such eventuality. 'House of Rothschild' gross to United Artists has reached |1,250,000 In the U. S., and will: get more, running 'second tp 'Roman Scandals' XCantor) which toUatp has brought in |1,600,000. : This season's Cantor picture, 'Kid Millions', will lead in. sales for UA among pictures so far released, estimated at |1,250,000. - Present plans of Universal are to produce 26 features for the 1936-36 season, the same number as on the current program. There will be four serials, repeatljng present schedule, and about the same number of shorts as this year. Company's cphventlori will be in Chicago during May. Lots of squawks from, the femmes in "Redheads On Parade' (Fox), over the necessity of having the tresses hennaed. That goes for the chorus, too. ■ Picture is being photographed in black and white. "When Warner, N. T., execs huddle with Jack Warner on the Coast soon, one thing to be taken up will be the switching around of Warner 'stock company' personnel in releases. Group^8 32'Week Actors (Continued from page 1) cording to experience and back- ground and run to about $300. Av- erage of the group of 83 is Just under |100. Luther Up and Down :. These salaries are paid to the ehr tire company at all times that there is; a Group play running, whether appearing in a play or not. Also the'sairie salary is paid consistently despite the size of parts, which is figured to make for greater general experience and all-around ability. Thus Luther Adier played one of the leads in 'Success Story,' a walk- on-lnJMen-in WhIte!L-and Is hackj.a. -a~lead-i n " Awak e and "Slngf-all-at the same salary. Stella Adler was out of "Men An White' completely but still collected throughout the run of that play. ° While this makes a long payroll to be strapped with, it totals only about $3,300 weekly arid allows for the undertaking of big cast showig, which, otherwise, would be highly expensive. '■.].■'' There Is an apprentice troupe attached to the Group and now con- sisting of about a dozen. These are youngsters figured having act- ing prospects. They get no salary at all, except when actually in a play. Then they usually get code minimum. Exception to this is Jules Garfield, who was a member pf the apprentice group up to the time casting on 'Awake' began. Re- garded okay for one of the lead -rolBsr-irerTvaarvoye"d~In~ttk"a~fnll^ fledged member of the Group arid given a salary a- couple of notches above minimum. : The actors of the Group vote on whether or not ap- prentices are allowed into, the major a summer house somewhere for the purpose of practising and prepar-. Ing new plays for the following sea- son. No salaries are paid at such time but all members of the Group get room arid board and are entitled to have their mates alpng on the same basis, married men bringing their wives and wonien their hus- bands. Last year the Group hired ah .abandoned. ;:hptelj_l|i_ upper ^..N^^ York and marined it .themselves. Previous summer was spent at a summer resort. Group giving resi- dents free entertainment twice' weekly in return- for room and board. ■ '~Ctirlotiy'nsltmtiair^~eutrently—Is OTganlzatldii. Organization was first started as an offspring of the Theatre Guild but soon broke away; It Is In its fourth year now. Has only four executlvies. Harold Clurman, Cheryl Crawford and Lee Strasburg all formerly 'with the Guild, are direc- tors. They guide the organization arid stage the plays. All decisions of practical Import are up to them arid whichever of them is in charge of a particular production is en- titled to use his own Judgment and employ any .member of the acting company ho .wishes for. any part, regardless of salary or company standing. Fourth exec is: Philip Adler, business manager. Summer Vacash- . "One other advantage for actors of the group is surtimer vacations when, and if, there is no Group play running. At such time Group takes that all three of the plays the Group is doing now are by CllfFord Odets, one of the actor-members. Group, found Itself without a play about mid-season, 'Gold Eagle Guy' hay-. Ing fallen down, Odets' 'Awake and Sing' had previously been held on option by Frank Merllri, among other producers, but dropped; Group "was fearful of doing-it because of expressed fear" of what the critics' might say. , Finally put it on be- cause having nothing else to do and it is the most successful play that the Group has put on yet from a financial standpoint ("Men In White' was done in association with an- other firm, Harmon & Ullman). The two one-acters by Odets are not figured by the Group as an Im- portant production, being mostly for the purpose of bringing in some A0iri.jtpwarAs_saJarjr..l_^O^^ is being asked. . (Continued from page 1) "~ Dionne parents" along with the pic- ture. ' , Toronto, April 2. plonne parents have signed :with Norman Alley, Chicago agent, for a second vaude tour and will play New York houses, according to re- ports. Under direction of Max Hal- perin, Dlonnes' previous weekly share was $1,700 for the Chicago- Detroit dates, . Meanwhile, Provincial Police offi- cials announced that- they, had veri- fied a well-organized plot to kidnap the quints from the Dafoe Hospital and take them across the border by, auto and plane. Police state they know the idenftty of the plotters and are; on guard at the hospital night and day. Extra precaution has a. nurse now sleeping Iri the same .room with the quints.