Variety (Mar 1936)

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4 VARIETY PICTURES Wednesday, March 25, 1936 ■Washington, March 24. Proposed revision of portions of copyright, statute relating: to films was assailed last week in a lengthy brief submitted to the House Pat- ents Committee by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, which declared various provisions of the pending Duffy bill will injure producers in order to benefit exhibitors. Professing no interest In whether studios or theatres pay composers for use of their music, ASCAP de- nounced the plan to merge the right lo produce and exhibit films and aU low acquisition of performing rights at one move. The idea of stipulating that the right to. pro- duce a film shall include, the right to exhibit was termed a direct vior lation of divisibility requirements of the Berne convention. Another feature of the Duffy bill drawing ASCAP fire, was the sec- tion which exempts newsreels trom infringement proceedings for inno- cent, incidental and unavoidable use of copyrighted music; 'This clause, the society said, is entirely superfluous. Argument .that under present law composers can hold up both film producers and exhibitors was termed 'a shallow pretext' for changing the law, with ASCAP de- claring no case can be cited where creator attempted to collect at both ends* Such a change would bar composers from taking advantage of best opportunity to dispose of performing rights to music written for legit, the brief said.. 'Upon the opening night of a legr itimate musical attraction, all the buyers for the motion picture com- panies attend with a view of ascer- taining its availability for repro- duction in motion pictures,' ASCAP explained. 'The competition is then keen among these buyers to acquire the rights for motion picture repro- duction. The legitimate manager has perhaps invested $260,000 in making the production. He must be protected in his run before a motion picture of the attraction can be made, which otherwise would run in competition with his attrac- tion. Customary Practice Under the customary practice the contract for the,sale of the picture rights of the attraction provides that no exhibition shall take place until, after the rut of the attraction is concluded. Under the Duffy amend- ment, exhibition is merged with pro- duction, and the composer is de- barred of the right to control the ex- hibition rights 50 that he is con- fronted with one of two .altera- tives: either to . sell .the.-.picture rights at the most opportune mo- ment when competition to acquire— the rights is-very keen otf to await until the attraction has run- its course before entering negotiations for the sale of the picture rights. By that time all interest in the attrac- tion has been lost and the composer will suffer Irreparable loss. "This Duffy amendment Is not for the benefit of the motion picture producer. On the contrary, it is aimed directly at hi 1 for the bene- fl. of the exhibitor. Motion picture, producers with the advent of sound reproduced musical works jpo.n discs and later on sound tracks without the license of the composer on the claim of right so to do upon the payment of 2c. for the record or sound track under the compulsory license provision of existing- la'v." ASCAP dismissed the provision concerning newsreels with the ob- servation that in order to avoid in- fringement all the pioducers havr< (o do is remove the sound track whenever copyrighted music lias boon picked up, In Its brief, the. Society also hit at. fno. shows by broadcasters pointing out lhat this unfair competition af- fects exhibitors and in the end hurls creators. RKO's 1'liss' Revival RUSSE SINGERS PEEVED, ASK $250,000 OF METRO Russian Symphonic Choir, which has quite a rep on both sides of the Atlantic, was not shown proper re*, spect m Hollywood when Metro substituted their voices with those of natives of the Coast, according to a $250,000 suit filed in N. Y. Su- preme Court. The choir claims .that MGM's action tendered to ridicule them and did 'irreparable damages.* to their international rep. . In the complaint papers attorneys ■ for the. Russian singers declare the choir was engaged to do six num- ber for Greta Garbo's picture 'Anna Karenina.' They carried out their part of the contract, but when the picture was released the plain- tiffs say the voices were, not theirs, but those of Hollywood warblers. However, the- choir was prominent- ly advertised in. the release of the picture. FILM TOME TOPPER Claim 8,000,000 Copies. Sold of 'In His Steps' PAR STUDIO TO Hollywood, March 24. Paramount output ..for 1936-37, consisting of around' 50 features, was outlined and discussed at prod- uct confabs staged by, William Le- Baron, studio production chief, at his home last week., Russell Hol- man, head of the eastern editorial board, sat in with a batch of story material rounded up by his depart- ment as likely yarns for next sea- son's picts. Studio output of 50 or 52 features will not include pictures, delivered by independent : producers - releasing through Paramount, Latter include Winfield Sheehan, who will turn out six or eight for the new season, and Harry Sherman, delivering six Hop- along Cassidys. Day and night sessions were held at the LeBaron menage, producers and: execs attending, including Ben- jamin Glazer, Arthur Hornblow, Jr., Albert Lewis, Henry -Henigson, A. M. Botsfbrd. Lewis Gensler, Harlan Thompson, Chandler •Sp'ra'gue, Fred Leahy and Jeff Lazarus, Wattersbn R. Rothacker and Henry Merzbrun showed up for the new powwows. Elements of -studio operation will gauge how many pictures LeBaron turns out for new progra.m. 'Gen- eral Dies at Dawn,'' in preparation, which Lewis Milestone will direct, will be under LeBaron's wing, and released on next season's slate. Hollywood, March 24. •In His Steps;' authored by Charles Monroe Sheldon in £899, with royal- ties paid on approximately 8,000,000 copies, will be transferred to screen by Ben F. Zeidman, ; Karl Brown- is adapting and will direct. 'Steps' claimed to hold all time record as best seller, with.'Freckles,' (Gene Stratton-Porter) next with 2,000,000 copies. Start Revising Neely-PettengiD Bill to End Stalling in Senate WB AND RKO'S 23 TOP PROD. LINEUP U SIGNS ELISHA COOK, JR. Elisha Cook, Jr., legit juvenile, has been signatured by Universal, via the Lou Irwin office. Hollywood, March 24. Warners and RKO Radio studios hit production activity peak this week with nine features going at Burbank and 14 in work or skedded for the Radio lot, a dozen of them lined up by Sam Briskin, produc- tion chief. ,. v Four of the nine at Warners will be new starters; 'There's Millions in It,' William McGartn directing, and 'Public Enemy's Wife,' irected by Nick Grlnde, got into produc- tion yesterday (23). 'Stage Struck' gets firing order. Wednesday (26), with. 'Charge of the Light Brigade' set to go Saturday (28). . Quintet, continuing in work at Warners are 'Bullets and Ballots,' 'Earthworm Tractor,' 'Love Begins at Twenty,' 'Angel of Mercy' and 'Case%f the'Velvet Claws.' . Previous top at Radio has been eight features in production at one time.- In addition to 12 going in for "Briskin,.. Pandrb Berman, exec- utive head of his own unit, will have two pictures in work. Briskin pictures slated to start Wednesday (25) are 'Bunker. Bean,' 'Last Out- law,' 'Grand Jury,' 'Daddy and I,' 'M'Liss,' 'COunt Pete,' 'Make a Wish,' 'Save a . Lady,' 'Mother Carey's Chickens,' 'Riddle of the Dangling Pearl' and 'Marry the Girl.' BERNERD HELD WEST FOR'RHODES'OPENING Hollywood, .March 24. Instead of pulling out for. New York as planned, Jeffrey Bernerd, Gaumont-British gen. mgr., is stay- ing oyer at request of Charles Skouras, following preview of 'Rhodes.' Film opens March 27 for Fox-West Coast at the Four Star, Arthur Lee, American v.p. of G-B,. and Jimmy Campbell, British song publisher, who came here with Bernerd, hopped east. Carey io 'Last Outlaw' Hollywood, March 24. Harry Carey gets a featured role in RKO's Robert Sisk production, 'Last Outlaw.' John Twist and Jack Townley wrote ori inal and screen play. r ilcox to Align New DAD Staff Hollywood, March 24. Radio has ac uircd Rim rights to '^tlfsV"''"^'"^!^ ley. with Robert Sisk functioning as associate producer. Dorothy Vast preparing screen play. Mary Pickford starred silent version of story in 1918. 'Sailor Beware - Up Again Hollywood, March 24! Paramount will make 'Sailor Be- ware' with an entire new story be- ing written by Eddie Moran. Rob- iM\v Florey will direet. Surge piece was bought originally Cor Ring Crosby, who refused to go into it. on account of the dame angles. McDonald-Eddy's Next Hollywood, March 24. Falling to land a desired Victor Herbert operetta for Nelson Eddy . a . n \! •J* 5 * 11 ^ !•<•<• Mat-Donald, Meiro is puTLTmg^W cent Youman's 'Great Day,' also a stage piece. t Meantime the studio is negotiat- ing with. Paramount which owns most Herbert musical London, March. 24. Contrary to expectation;;, Herbert .Wilcox will not rebuild the-British & Dominions studios at Elstrc-a which recently were burned down. Instead he will transfer the entire activities to Pine-wood studios, now under con- struction at Ivor, in Buckingham- shire. Will have four floors, of modern design, up-to-date in every way. Behind the venture are Arthur Rank, Lady Yule and Jesse Boot, trio of millionaires who arc also behind the C. M. Woolf film projects. Wilcox sails shortly for America, going directly to Hollywood to line up a full Ifciinical staff ana also WfiWaWAYiTh^^ is director of production for all Woolf production units and is act- ing as the Woolf emissary on this ti'ip.. Exact sailin Washington, March 24. Senate Interstate Commerce sub- committee ended fortnight of stall- ing today (Tuesday) and began revising Neely-Pettehgill bill, ban ning- block booking, with hopes of -getting the legislation 'before the. Senate during the closing weeks of the present* Congress session.- Still puzzled by. complexities of film distribution problems and violently-conflicting testimony by exhibitors, - reformers-and. distribu> tors, solons started closed-door con-, ferences this afternoon but. gave no indication of general subcom- mittee attitude-on the drastic pro- posal to force rental of films singly. No hint forthcoming of how much time may be required to present the legislation, to the full, committee or Whether the entire Interstate Com- merce group will consider the proposish before adjournment^ now carded for late May. As-the Senators got down to seri- ous ' work, the House Interstate Commerce subcommittee entered its third week of. rambling discussion, of film morality and. distribution with. George-J. Schaefer, vice-presi- dent of United Artists telling the representatives on Monday (23) that no business in the entire nation ex- periences hotter rivalry and com- petition' than the picture industry, Schaefer entered, blanket denial of monopoly charges, fired by reformers and indie exhibitors, declaring con-, ditions are of the 'dog eat dog' variety. 'Intensive Competish Asserting that distrlbs fight anxiously to book films into chains controlled- by rival producers, Schaefer told, the committeemen there is no truth to" the charge that conspiracy of studios compels ex- hibitors to take films they dp not want and cast reflections on pious stand taken by Indie theatre own- ers who squawked about being forced to show unwanted sex films. Both indies and affiliated." houses dislike too sophisticated pictures for neighborhood trade, U.A. exec said, but the principal offenders are the independent theatres-owners. 1 Distribs are forced to designate play-dates for certain films in order to get a decent return on huge in- vestments, Schaefer told the law- makers during intensive quizzing by Chairman Pettengill about the indie charge that week-ends were snatched for percentage films. He said - ~art exhibs try to get out of divvyiug the take with distribs by slipping in "Costly films on poor days. Cancellations for price reasons rather than moral objections are common, Schaefer testified, denying implications that distribs 'shuffle' films in order to collect all the traf- fic will bear in different territories. He called the committee's attention to' figures given the Senate group showing that in 400 principal cen- ters most contracts are for less than full blocks and that exhibs buy from more than one studio. Vaudeville and Pix Uproar of alleged showing of an indecent vaudeville act in theatres belonging to two indies who had testified for the bill on grounds that they were forced to shov/ undesirable pix because of block booking, high- lighted Tuesday's- (2i) hearings. Shocked and indignant congress- men hush-hushed reading of lines allegedly aired from stage in houses belonging to Nathan Yam ins, Fall River, Mass.. independent, and Walter Littlefield, Newton, Mass. Solons shut off Schaefer in his. opening sentence and ruled obscene could not be introduced into the record. Committeeman Cooper scored the two indies, saying 'any man who will permit any such show to go on in his theatre' had no right to come before the committee with com- plaints about block booking, based, on grounds of decency. Protests of Abram Myers, allied counsel, wl.o th -atelied to bring in the department of justice were-an- swered by Charles O. Pettijohn, Hays attorney. Pettijohn. said the bars were down and his organization would not 'pull its punches* from now on. Myers then asked refer- ence to the Justice Department be withdrawn.._.-. ___ Proposing negotiations, to be car- ried on within the industry, for liberalizing existing cancellation clauses in contracts to 20% mini- mum, Ed Kuykendall. president the ■MPTC-A, declared the small in- depedent would be 'destroyed' through anti-block booking legiaia* tion. Films would be sold to highest bidder, with big houses picking off the box office attractions, h e i„.. slsted. M.P.T.O.A. at recent Florida con vention took 'definite and positive action' oh question of higher rejec U6n. privileges, Kuykendall told committee, arid is receiving coopera- tion from producer - distributor representatives. Hopes that hearings might fold thifl week faded, with several wit" nesses waiting to testify against bill and proponents of the legislation jockeying for the chance to elan back in rebuttal. v Kent and Schaefer Rebut , Two industry tops resumed the stand last Tuesday (17), when Sid. ney R. Kent; Fox prez, and George J. Schaefer, United Artists* v. p. and general manager;, bayed persistently on the trail of alleged false t'esti. mony given the committee by inde- pendents; Hearing, skedded for Wedneday was telescoped into the afternoon session. ill does, not destroy block book- ing but rather sets up the machin-, ery for. synopses, furnishing swell- alibi for exhibs, Kent charged. Squeeze can be put on producers and distributors through cancella- tions, any time, because exhibitors' will only need to say that film did not click with impression they re- ceived through reading the synop- sis, he told.the committee.. Be'st way to. spike exhibitor squawks would be to arrange screenage of each ■film before selling, Fox exec de- clared, thereby depriving owners of small houses of their excuse that pictures hud been 'misrepresented.' Agreeing with Kent's proposition to make exhibitors 'see before buy- ing,' Schaefer accused the commit- tee of 'putting the industry on trial,' and neglecting, real object of the hearings. 'We. have had very little on the bill itself,' he com- plained. Placing a stack of documents-on the. stand before him, the United Artists exec attacked, paragraph by paragraph; testiriiony of. the. bill's proponents. Starting with Congress- men Culkens and Connery, both of whom endorsed , the Pettinglll bill, Schaefer worked down to the small' independent exhibitors who had screamed loudest against hardships imposed by producers. One of the saddest wails came from an Indie who, Schaefer proved, had been trying to haggle with Paramount for entire two-year out- put. Appearing before the commit- tee with sob-story that ho was forced, under block booking, to 'buy a pig in a poke,' individual hid been offering, at the same time, to 'make it profitable' for. local Para- mount dealer if he would take a contract for all 1936-1937 pix, the UA g. m. pointed out. Schaefer produced further evi- dence that the same exhib had been attempting to throw his oniy com- petitor out of business by the deal, since his own theatre had a monop- oly on all studios with the excep- tion of Fox and Paramount. WB's $50,00*0 for 'Gall It A Bay,' 2d Ephraim Play Warners closed for film rights to 'Call It a Day,! current leg-it play, yesterday (Tuesday). Reported paying $50,000. Piece was produced here, by 1"?° Ephraim in association with the Theatre Guild. Ephraim also pro- diiced' 'Sweet Aloes,' current,' with Warner financing. MG Sets Down Lenser Hollywood, March 24. Failing to report for duly Satur- day at Metro, where ho.has been in charge of photography on Norma. Shearer starrer,. 'Romeo and Juliet/ William Daniels, cameraman, has been put on studio's suspended"H*" Daniels is reported to have hopped plane for Chicago, without notifying studio of his intentions. Merritt Gerstcd replaced. Metro's Tito Guizar .....mUa^-.ulzar T r-.pon-,ea^ is being coached by Al AHman. Metro talent executive preparatory to being lensod. Guizar is to.be given thorough test for possibilities as singer and ac 10 ' by pix company* i ■n