Variety (Nov 1936)

r I c ¥ 1 s VARIETY Chicago, /Noy. 3;; FoUotA'ing Six ihpiiths of hegOtiiaL' tiohisf -Baiaban & Katz has obttiined coiinplete possession iater Lfiike building and theatre. This ac- quisition is slat^ to mean the com- plete revision and shake-up of the Ibop's. theatre and managemisnt set- iiPt It will lead, according to present schedule, the ^iimiiiation of Jones, Linicic & Schaefer from the State- Lake, the shifting of the Roosevelt policy to' $.t^te-I.ake by B. &. K. and the removal of the Hooseyelt from the loop theatrical^ picture, and changies in ojperation for perhaps the ifcVickers and Oriental. B. ^ K. closed final details on the StaterLt^e building on Thursday (29) and took possession of the building proper as of Nov. 1. And from that date, Jones, inick & Schaefer, present operators of the State-Iiftke theatre, have six m^^^ iiotice to vacaite, which meains that on May i; 1937, J. L. & ' will iJl>e_QUt_of; theStateyL the loop'vaudfiiin situation VBndfllm Out l^lans for the theatre by B. & K is the elimination of. its present yaudfllm policy and the substitution of a first-run^ Extended run straight picture policy a:s now used, by the B. St K. ;RobseVelt. . B' & K.. has wanted ta get out of the RooseveU for msiny years, dite to the big rental overhead of the spot, which is fig- vtred at apprbxihiately $5,000 a Week: B. & K.'s rental agent, in the pres- ent situation, Ben' Liiidheimer, is now negotiatihg with several bom panies for the sale of the property with; the. condition that it. be cbn- verted into a,commercial spot. B. & K., is moving its generial Offices into the State-.Lake building, from its preisent. quarters in that Loop-Endi. and Cliicago theatre build- ings. Taking three floors in the State-Lake building and ill have them air-pooled and air-conditioned. B. & "K. most likely also will mOye its private screening room into the State-Lake building. B. & laid: out a .reported $8S0, 000 for the possession otthe State- Lake building and theatre. The cir- cuit, however, does not get tliC land property itself, which belongs to Mai^hali Field es'ate. Jpkiiny jones^ Deal Though it has nothing to do with the State^Lake deal in any-way, the case of the shuttered McVicker^ is im^portant because of its influence bh the loop situation. B. & K. is readying to take oyer' the property at the next; meeting of the School Board should the. board accept. the second B. & K. bid. Original bid of .$48,000 annual rental, wa^ n'xed by it. • Should: [B. :& K. get the V aatre, it Will be turned to Johnny Jones, of J. L. & S., individual, Jones to. get a management fee plus ■ a 50-50: split on the ; proflts. B. & K. will take care of ; the losses; Aliso in the ,wind is the possible switch ■pf the Oriental to Jones on a setup similar to the proposed . McVickers plan. SCHOOLING SCRIBS Loyola on Coast Will Groom writers for Films of Dave Loew Ups Staff Hollywood, Nov, 3. r Additions to production staff . David L. Loew at Pathe studios has Sandy Roth in as assista;nt director .to Harry Beaumont. , . , Harry Harris has beien engaged as second assistant and aide to Al Raiboch, prbductioh manager oh the Joe E. Brown picture, 'When's Your Birthday?' starting Nov. 9. George Rpbiiison gets the camera ign- ment John Decasse Schulze will fuhctibh :as art directbr. . HolijnyoOd, Nov; . tfbypla Univbrsity, Catholic insti- tutipn at Plaiya del Rey, near here, is making plans to install ia bourse in motion picture scribbling and con- struction during its second semester this "^sea^pn. Already half a. dozen youths have been icked as logical candidates, for the cburse, which will be made an adjunct college's regular driun^ traini jdba . is to eilect a tie-ih with a major studio, with Metro likely get- ting^ first call because: of its prox- imity to the schpoL Plan is tp draft couple of experienced writers from the istudio stiaiflE to sit in. ' -. structbrs. Cleveland, Nov. 3. il Selznick, imcle of baive and Myron Selznick of Hpllywpod, has formed a film production cbmpany of his Owh with idea Of. starting off with iSeries of westerns made in California* ■ Clevelander has bptibn on all liov^ls by Charles Alden Seltzer, an other localite, whose western;novels rank next to Zane Gray's as best- sellers. Tentative filming schedule includes such books; as 'Way; of Buf- falo,' 'Gentleman from Virginia,' 'Mesa,' 'Chanhing Comes, Through,' 'Clear the Trail,' 'Spn of Arizona*' Prpmoter of Phir Selznick Pictures Co. says h^ has raised local backing and will rent space in one of HpUy- wood's indie studios; He was con- nected with, old Selznick Picti^res.fpr 11 years in selling end. but has con- fined hin^seif to.nitery biz recently: Optioned author is faither ot Louis Seltzer, head of Scripps-Hpward sheets in Ohib« . who is a friend of Selznick's* ItroadcastV Big Biz at N'Y. Par Ousts VaHee *lbVE' lEADS SET ^ Hollywood, Nov. 3. Tyrone Powei*,. Jr., and Loretta Young Will play lead parts in 'Love Js News' at 20th-Fox. Tay Garnett will direct from an Orj inal screbn play by William R. Lipman and Frederick Stephani, Grossing $56,900 on the first week, a new high for' the Pa:ramount, N. Y. since inception of its present pit show policy last Christmas, 'Big Broadcast Of 1937,! with Clyde Liicas Orchestra in thb trench, ' being held fpur weekis.v As. result, 'Wedding Preisent' (Par), which , was scheduled for'the week of Noy. 11, with the Rudy Vallee orchestra in the pit, has been rempVed frbm the bbpking schedule arid'now probibly w'ill be offered tb other, houses. Deal with Vailee is mutually oft iunicss; Vallee, wants to come 'in- after 'Go West, Young Man' (Par), scheduled for NoV. 18. Vallee was . to con^e in> for one week; at $i9,50O, sui)plylng whole, pit" show.. MG'i Dutch Import Hollywood, Nov, 3i Louis Vbrell,, Dutch stage actor, has been tied, to a Metro contract by tHe studio's rep in London, Vorell.ls due; hei:e this mphth, with his first assignment not set. Iiidustry Expects Thi» Phase ip Jb« a. 'Miust^ ii^ Self- Regulatibn----Ii| pperatiQn in All Key Centres WB, GNi HEP., ETC. METRO'S FRISCO SQUARilR San Francisco, Nov. To appease civic fathers who have been peeved at Metro oyer tbe earthquake scenef^ in 'San Francisco,' W. S. Van Dykb iised plenty of pan shots of the city's pride and joy, the bay. bridge, in 'After the Thi Man/ part of-\yhich Was filmed here. A, system oif cOhcili;' , as out-, iined in thie MpTOA 10-point plan of industry refonh,, has been tabbed a 'must' by the industry leaders. They consider this pbrtibn of the Motion Picture Theatre i Owners of America platfonn soinething^ that is vital tp tbe entire business because of the -nianher in] which it is ex- pectecl to curb litigation, and cut down "the consequent heavy expense to the distributors and exhibitors.. While the conciliation line-up has hb right to make a . flnbV binding decisiOn.^t jxas. J worked b ut - so ef- fectively in labor matters " the last few years that its success in the film business seems assured: It dif- fers fuhdamentally from arbitration in th^t it attempts to obtain a vol-^ uhtiairy agreement between two par- ties with no attempt to force a final ruling. With arbitration, a written agreiement is prepared in advance bn the exact matter tb be settled with bbth parties ; agreeing ill advance tp abide 1>y it': A:niii a- definite award is rendered;; With the cpnciliatipn alignment, a conciliator investigates^ : holds a hear- ings explains the various bleihehts figuring; ill the dispute , and then at- tempts to obtain a voluntai^ 'agree- ment between the two; parties. Failr ing -in/this ,the. board . may carry through by Suggesting arjbitration. Still Cain Sae,,If Necessary . Workability of this type of iettle- ment can be understood when it is realized that both arbitration and final recourse tb ciyil action in the courts still is available should con- ciliation' faiL ^Thb scope of. concili-^ ation bbards is considerably larger than the arbitratipn method em- ployed by Old film boards of trade in that thby will strive to settle al- most everything. The range of sub- jects that can be handled is diversi- fied, including zoning ;iftnd clearance, overrbuying and non-theatrical com- petitibn, not touched ithder the old set-Up. Following executive approval by major., picture companies, which is expected befbre the. first pf the year, the conciliation plan then must be set up in principal exchange key spots. Distribution companies ' the ex- change city will have, representative^ bh. the .board while exhi itors lo- cally will have equal representatioh. Active cooperation, of local exhibit- ors is essential tb, the sUccbss pf the project. It is likely that where they won't cobperate, conciliation will be dropped for that tierritory. : With the industry, now pbssessing hp; instrumentality with Which to handle grievances with . exhibitors and distribUtoi*s, this hew machinery is regarded as the logical answer. In- dustry leaders feel thait' it will work in nine cases but of ;10 and that it will prevent the spectacle of com^ pbtitors stahding up. and attemptii;ig to slug each other into submission as well as prolpngbd and: costly aGtipns involving both exhib and distributorj Should Fall In Line Warner Bros., classed as a recal- iditrant by the Mptio.n Picture Thea- tre Owners of .America, together with Republic, rand Natibnal and producer-distributors of, lesser im- portance, will'be forced to li upi; behind those majors which; .make concessions under the .MPTOA IQ- point program, in the ppiniph .of exr hibitpr leaders. For this reason, the MPTOA isn't worrying oyer the re- fusal bf: Warners to listen to pro- posals for trade practice reforms rtOr it, it .pressing lesser .distributors for action; Both Republic and Grand I^iational, npt: members of the Mays' organiza- tion haye . been invitee! to consider concessions under the 10-point pro- jCCbntinued on page 25) Marsball Goldberg's Pop Cashes In oh Jr.^s Reels ittsburgh; ;Nov. 3; Goldberg, father; bf Marshall Goldberg,: . ^ sensational' IS-year-old University , ofPittsburgh. halfback, is a prominent exhibitbi^ in Elkins, W. Va. Two years ago, yOung Goldr berg was practically matricvdated at Notre Dame, but decided iat last ininute to rnsike it Pitt.' Last week,. when' the .gridder ran wild against Nptre' Dame, Goldberg-, pere, collected every - newsreel shbt of the game he Cpuld get, made pne reel of them, piit it oh for a week at his E!lkini5 .house and. pilayedi to car pacity biz. 20 'Alcazar' ProposedpToduction of^Im,. lege Of the Alcazar,' by Darryl Zanuck for 26th Century^-Fox, will be pro- tested by labor organizations and iself-appbinted champions 'Of .the. Spanish Republic. Grounds of the prbtest are that ..^film 'will, neces- sarily favor the FaSbist revpiution- aries since it . is tb be supervised by H. R: Knickerbocker, Hearst syndi- cate writci: on foreign afTairs. Majority are left wing and church outfits^ but they are how endeavor- ing' to interest thb. American Federa- tion of Labor and.kindred organiza- tions, in the protest. Those that have already issued complaint to the studios are Ameri- cain Friends of the Spanish [ Democ- racy, American League Against War and Fascism, North American Com- mittee to Aid Spanish Democracy, Friendi; of the Spanish Republic, New Film Alliance, League of Amer- ican Writers, Spanish Anti-Fascist Committee, League for Industrial Deinoeracy, the Church League and the Federated Cliurches of Christ Lattbr organization is reputedly rep- resented by 10,000,000 people/. Attempts are also being made to (Continubd ' page 25) FOSTER GIVEN PiC TO DIRECT AT 20TH-F0X Hollywood, Nov., First directorial - job for Nprman Foster, after many years as a screen Writer and player,, will, be on -Death in Paradise Canybn,' a Sol Wurtzel production fpr 20th-Fox, . Foister, With Saul Elkins, is hbw working; oh the 'Paradise* script, which is from an original, by Philip Wyli Hpllywood, .Nov. ;3. Tom in, New York story editor fOr 20th Century-Fox, : joins Sam Goldwyn in the same capacity next- week. UV Gymnastic Tyro ■ Bob Anderson, former wrestling and swimming champ at the Uni- versity of Illinors,, has. been signa- tured by Universal-s eastern talent division. Anderson'has been posing for artists, photographers and sculp- tors in N, Y. He is a pianist, has done radio work and is a composeh Because of his phy|ique (he is more than 6 feet tall and weighs 180 pounds), U plans to use him in featurbs requiring athletic feats. Not set thus, far on initial pictures but will go to the Coast in the next 10 days. Detroit, Nov. . Intervention by minority holders in the pending reorganiza- tion plan for the Fox Theatre build- ing was ordered Saturday (31) by the public trust commish, following a .deep probe into the original financ- ing of the property in 1927 by the Halsey Stuart :& Co., of N, Y. ' Besides charging that actual cost of the theatre, exclusive of 'carry- ing charges,' was less than the orig- inal $6,400,000 bond issue, CpmmisW sioners i. A. Capizzi and Oscar A. Kaufman's heari also revealed that William Fox^ who wa^ behind thb Colwpod Corp., nominal mort- gagor under the bond issue, set up a 'kick-back' system whereby hb got several thousand! dollars: from Vari-- 'Otis partieis concerned in construct- ing the building. These kick-backs were made, it was testified; to A. C. Bluihenthal, described as Fox's Ifoht. man, who came to Detroit to handla prelim arrangements for building. Testimbny also javerred that . Blu- menthal got $52,000 of the $100,000 c omm ission paid Horner^Wiarreh Sc Co., agents in purchase bTTsttb;~-;«" well as $18,000 kick-back from fees paid C. Howard Crane, architect of building. Dixon Kennedy, of • th» Crane staff, was queried if Fox got a split from contractor. 'I don't khow,' smiled Kennedy, 'but the contractor was a brother- in-law oif Fox.*' Commissioner Capizzi, who en- gaged in several acrimonious debates with Elroy O. Jones,- attorr^ ipr iha receivers, Unibn Guardian Trust Co., declared that the N. Y. bondholder committee seeking reorganizatibn is hot~licensed by the commission; that some of.its members.were connected with the original financing; that, al- thoiigh pamphlets and prospectuses issu<^ to ,the public prior to building represented this issub would bb 61.^ of the estimated cost of $10,000,000, exclusive of carrying charges, the actual cost was less lhah. the bbhd issue; thai cost of the project waS Appraised by interested pames; a^d that the Halsey Stuart Co., under- writers of the bond issue/ are tiovr ih control of the issue. Other testimony at the hearing re<* vealed that of the $6,400,0i00 re- ceived by Halsey Stuart &' Co.' from sale of bonds, more than $1,000,000 was spent in 'carryirig charges.' Of this amount, it was testified, $660,000 was deducted to pay interest charges to bondholders, 'paying bond^ holders with their own money.' The reorganizatipn plan, due up in Federal Court here this week, provides for leasing the building to National Theatres, which 'would guarantee' a major supply of film product,' according to Attorney Jones, Also provided. are the ex- change of each $1,000 bond for 10 shares bf preferred stock and .10 shares of cpmmbn stock. Jones declared that work of the N. Y; bbndholders' committee, which represents 77% of the bondholders, enabled the theatt-e to keep open.. and that their plan, of reorganiza- tion is fair. Capizzi, however, serted that thb N. Y. committee Was Organized by Halsey Stuart & Co., which picked attorneys tb. represent the committee and also recpihmehd- ed that same Couinsel be engaged to represent trustee. • Capizzi ordered Michigan: bond- holders to inform Federal. Court bf commish;hearing and take whatever legal steps necessary to protect in- terest pf all bondholders. Harris W. Weiriner, attorney for a bpndholders* protective committee, said he would oppose the reorganization plan. 20TH FACTS HUMBERSTONE Hollywood, Nov. 3. Humberstone has. been given a new five-year: directing cbn- : tract at 20th-Fox, He megged the last Chan' ictures. BUL MORRIS RETURNS Hollywood, Nov, 3. Wiliiain Morri , Jr., planed to Neir York yesterday (Monday). Game for a week's look-see.