Variety (Feb 1937)

* m • St. Martin's Place; TrufiilKiir Siiiini* INTERNATIONAL FILM NE>V$ TelepTiea* *«nttto .Bar M41-5M* . Cable Address} VARIES!', LONDON In Varying Degrees All Oppose Proposed Gov't Commission J — Quality and Quantity Clauses Basis of Much Disagreement By JOSHUA LOWE London, Feb. Film ^deration of ritish Industries (producers) - Is meeting Which time, a will that a clause be inserted in the new quota act next year whereby f oreign .dis- tributors here can. claim partial ex- emption Irom quota by purchase of British pictures for release. in their own countries. This means .that Ame lean dis'-'b^-V>rs who purchase British pictures for. American distri- bution wottld' secure partial relief ; from 'producing, ^pictures here. .Cinemas .l.ere would gain no ex- emption^ but ritish producers would be guar ante; d partial Ameri- can distribution. ANZAC BIZ AFTER FINE London, •Third step towards new Cjubta leg- islation/is how virtually complete, with, producers, distributors and ex- hibitors haying replied to the Board of Trade teqiiest for comment on the. drastic recommendations of, the :TCc,enV; G.o vj.e'j ri m e n t •committee.. Labor also has: made a partial res- ; pbnse, with the lesser of two trade unions the only-body which has not replied. ' In varying.. degrees each of the three major trade organizations is ' opposed to the proposed Commission through -whichthe government would exercige cphtrol.of the'*indus- iry: Federation, of. British Industries (film ; producers* group V expresses : >^Snis^virigs* on i h e suggestion; Cinematograph Exhibitors' Assri. de- .clares it is ^emphatically opposed,* and Kirieriiatbgtfaph Renters' Society (distribs) pronounces it 'unthink- able.'. QuaUty and quantity of the new quota are equally the<sub3ect of free comment froiir each (grpujpi, all, three stating "definite , opposition to 4 the :prVriiipie:;bf;a, &atutdry fcady to pass on the merit, of every British film, so as ip; determiner ; whether it is-good enough for quota, or hot . Exhibs' Panel Idea C. Ev. A., in' its published reply, /.•welcomes the proposal for a quality " iest/ but reconimends a panel of two exhibs,- a distrib, a producer and an ■ • ■■ independent; chairman, responsible tp the Board of Trade; it objects to . the Quota Committee prpposal. for a .body of individuals dissociated ith the industry. K. R.. S. agrees ith the oard that quality should'be the aim, but argues that viewing committee would lead to chaps and confusion; 'experience over a lpng period has proven the impossibility pf any per- ; son »or 'persons' assessing entertain- ment values,' the Society says. It offers no direct alternative, how- ever.' ' --'i '*' , Different slant on* the proposition derives from the F. B. I. slant. Ac- ; ceptihg' the recommendation a quality committee, it Urges the view- ing test shouldseek to establish .. whether each .film is-a genuine at- terfipt 7 t6. pToyi reasonably good entertainment; should not de- .. mand any ; standard . of artistic quality. naive sugges- tion; made is that any picture cost- ing not less "than $10 a foot shoulcT automatically pass, 'without applica- tion of the quality yardstick; istribs Wi ivergeribe of opinion ' is evident* -nevertheless,: on the broader issues of the Gov't. "Corhmittee's re- port. In general, producers and ex- hibitors give it their support (exhibs less, generously .. than the F. I. members), but the distributors op- pose almost every major recommen- dation. Implications pf the report itself rendered such verdicts inevit- able, with dehiands of the two former groups having been observed in varying degrees, but the evidence of the K. R,"S. having been pretty well; igndred or-flatly opposed. At the same time, some satisfac- tion is felt in the industry here that exhibitors and distributors can have found points of mutual agreement. Both bodies object to a quota rising, as high as 50%, dismissing it a (Continued on page 56) Sydney, 26. After brilliant holidays, biz is slipping a little. Leaders are 'Swing Time' (RKO), 'General Died' (Par), 'Dodsworth' (UA), and 'Show Boat* (U). .... 'Libeled Lady* (MG) came in ait the week-end, and should have no trouble' smashing into the hit class. 'Orphan pf ;the Wilderness' (Cine- spund) and' 'Rangle River' (Col- Nat) -move out after average trade for four weeks. -Poor Little Rich Girl' (Fox) di okay on matinee biz, but nights were off. 'Devil Is a Sissy' (M-G) moves on, too, after three weeks; New ones ..comi in-, include 'Craig's Wife'- (Col),. "'Cain and Mabel* (WB), arid 'East Meets West' (G-B). - London, Feb. 7. Questions asked in the House Commons last week gave a . slant ■ the government tude, one M.P. asking what was . being done about the Quota Re- port and was not the gov't going to promote sbme.acti before it was too late? Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade, r. Lesli Burgi , said: 'Legislation in . connection with the industry musty as far as possible, be can- vassed in the industry first. ■ I am awaiting replies from' the industry and I propose to give full opportunity of considering the .way . in which the industry ought to be governed. The M. P.: 'Will you ask them to hurry up? GtherwLe there will be no industry left!' Mexico City Has 66 Cinemas; More Coining Mexico City, Feb, 16. Another new de luxe nabe, Cine Moderno, has just opened here. Foimdations have been laid fpr the Cine Alharribra, a 4,500-seater, on the fringe of the downtown area. Plans are well advanced for start- ing three other cinemas—two class houses in. the downtown zone and the other in a silk stocking residen- tial district. Work the trio is expected to begin this winter^ Town now has 66 cinemas in daily operation. OSTRER-BLACK DiCHARGE OF C00D JAP (MMA HZ ENCOURAGES BUILDING Melbourne,.. 26. Trade is still fairly solid here, with 'Anthony Adverse' (WB) tops. Line- up includes 4 PiccadUly ^ Jim* (M-G ), 'It's;'.' Lpye Again';.. (G-B), : 'Girls' Dormitory'- (Fox), 'Last of Mo- hicans' (UA), "'San Francisco' (M-G), 'Big Broadcast' (Par), 'Three Married Men' (Par), 'To Mary—With Love' (Fox), 'Bengal tiger* (WB), and 'Song of. Free- dom' (G-B). AUSTRIAN CASINO BARS LOCALS; TOO MANY LOSE Vienna, Jan. 2$. , Austrian Casino, government-con- trolled, .will close its doors for -'; tive* visitors, due .to the increased number - of suicides; erhbezzleriients and. crimes cpmmitted "by heavy losers.. House of laws, former parliament, will shortly enact a law to this effect. As is, almost every Austrian citizen can to Baden, , Semmeririg , or Salzburg and lose his money at bac- carat, rpulette or chemin-de-fer. All that is needed is a membership card, obtainable fpr a few pennies. Victoria Bans Russ Pic Melbourne, Jan. 26 Victorian Chief Secretary has banned Soviet pic, 'Teh Days That Shook the World.' Pic was nixed in New South Wales, but on appeal was allowed in without cuts. Further representa- tion will also be made here by the pic's sponsors, 'Friends of the So- viet Union.' , Jan.-27. Lush biz is being enjoyed by the entire chain of film houses under the control 6f the Tpho theatrical interests. is has encouraged that organization to plan further' expan- sion. To carry out such plans, the Toho putfi't recently (22). incorporated the Koto Rakutehchi (Higher Para- dise) with a capital, fully paid up, of $280,000. New company has pur- chased a large tract of land near the Kinshi station, upon which . a large building, will be. erected to house; two theatres, each with a seating capacity of 2,000 In one house Japanese films will be shown while in the other Western pictures and revues will be presented. SYDNEY MGRS. MULL STAGE SHOW RETURN Crick to Eniglancl Sydney, Stanley Crick, mid. of. Fox-Hoyts here, leaves early next month with Mrs. Crick to view the Coronation. Crick is an Alderman in the City Council outside his pic activities. Plans are laid for an auto tour through E u r o p e, thence tp America for a chatter. : with 20th-Fox execs.. Whole trip will take about six months. ■■*■' Jannings in Rome Rome, Feb. Enjil Jannings has cohie to Italy to work on Tobis production of - 'The Regent.' Exteriors for the film are to be taken at Pompeii. With Jannings are his wife, Gusli Hojl, leading lady, Marianne Hopp, Director Veit Harlan, two ass't di rectors and mernbers pf the cast and technical staffs.- B & DeF's 2d Mex Pic Mexico City, Feb. 16, Bustamante and De Fuentes, who made Mexico's first click pic, 'Alia en el Rancho Graride' ('Way Down on the Rancho Grande'), are ar ranging to make their second film this month. Fernando de Fuentes, who directed •Alia,' will meg. tage presentations may come back here this year, according to several managers who are flirting with the idea. So for the comeback try has not penetrated into the city proper, although a few nabes haVe tried vaude acts with films. General opi is that stage shows will not be generally introduced in pic program in the city proper be- cause, the. rriob. has teen educated to expect dual, bills. City shows run- ning orchestras sometime? have the pit boys do a novelty number or two, but beyond that no other stage stuff is used. Italian Pic Production Rome, ing Italian films have just been completed: 'II fu Mattia Pas- cal' ('He Was Pascal'), for which Pirandello; wrote script, and which Director ; Cheval has done in two ver- si , French and Italian; 'La Cori- tessa di Parma'. ('The Countess of Parma'), irected by Blasetti; 'Ho Perduto m\d Marito' ('I've Lost My Husband'), directed by Guazzoni; f Questi Ragazi' ('.These Kids'), di- rected by Mattoli; 'La Fossa Degli Angeli' ('The Tomb of the Angels'), directed by C. C. Bragaglia; 'Regina Delia Scala' 'Queen of the Scala'), directed by Sialyl * - and Mastro- ci •Paris, Feb. End of the first month of 1937 finds American film industry repre- sentatives much . the dumps as ever. Added to. the bid story of the ever- increasing rench get around the terms -. American trade treaty, which -: tects Yank film , busi- ness has taken a serious^.turn for the worse.'. Latter has tumbled to such an ex- tent that even the French are grum^. bling. Holiday spending reached a new igh as compared to recent years, but- there has been a marked slump since. ."Political conditions in general might be blamed for this and, with an international situation growing more tense daily, few. signs of a let-down are sight. J \ With the exception, of a particu- larly low number of films — which include 'San Francisco* M-G) arid 'Charge of the Light Brigade' (WB) —few. pix are. gleaning the returns they should. This is true for French, as well as /American films. : But this hang-over could be better endured if there were any certainty that existing conditions, under which the Americans are permitted, to do business here, would be allowed to continue unchanged. ' a r e marked 'indications that ill riot. To use the old one, .practically everybody who has anything to do With the .cinema industry here is pregnant with suggestions of what ^should be done to aid the French film industry. And practically all of these ideasy "if put into effect, would be the detriment of American interests.. ^eari-Michel itour, .president of the Cinema Commissibh of the Chamber, is one of the many who has allowed • some his, ideas on what should be done to become pub- lic property. Renaitour, among other things, has let it be known that there is every possi ility of an official cinema organization being brought into existence within the next few months. He also says that, whatever solu- tion is adopted from those which have been proposed to the French industry, certainly measures will be taken to stop what he calls the 'invasion of screens by im- ported films and to rectify our na- tional industry poisPned by dishon- est and doubtful characters who have monopolized In defending and encouraging lo- calites,, Renaitour says in so many words he hot only .wants to bar American films from French screens but wants American cornpanies to furnish capital for production here. Work 'Marrabo,' ' and ' Don't id'). started on rothers,' CNi , Somaliland Pic Rome, Feb. 8. Somalilan will be the scene of a new Italian colonial film 'Marrabo,' sponsored, by Fono-Rorna. Eugenio Fontaha, who was the director of the last local film of this, sort 'Squad- rori Biancp' ('White Squadrpn') will be the. directpr of this one. Scenario is by Marcello Orano, who is an authority on the customs, languages, and costumes of Somali- land. Gian Gaspare Napolitano will | do the sets. ITALIANS TO FILM . Rome, Feb. 'I fratelli Castiglioni'. ('The Casti- glioni Brothers' ) r comedy by Alberto Colantuoni, which was transjated into six languages and won consid- erable success all over Europe, is to be filmed. Camillo Pilotto, Ugo Ceseri, Amedeo Nazzari and Ar- mando Migliari ill play the parts of the four brothers. Corrado D'Er- rico. will direct the filrii, of which Amatp is to be the producer. Luisa Ferida, Vahria Vanni and Silvio Ba- golini will be other members of the cast. .*. Another film based on a theatrical hit is to be 'Nina, non far la Stupida* ('Nina, Don't Be Stupid'), which the Consorzio Spec! will, produce. Nunzie Malaspmma will /direct, lsa P6la and Descp Baseggio are to act in it. London, Maurice Ostrer is taking over com- plete charge of.GaUmpnt-British pro- duction in Shepherd's Bush studios, with Teddy Black now the assistant prpduction manager to Ostrer. Black will concentrate at the Gainsborough Studios and be i complete charge there. .. Move was fprced through drpp-out from G-B production activ- ities of Michael Balcon, whb goes over te Metro lecally. H0ME0.' 'SWING TIME' BUST INDIA RECORDS Calcutta, Jan. American films broke local house records ^during the hpli period and are continuing big. 'Romeo and Juliet* (MG) played for three weeks at the Metro, which broke the stand- ing two-week run record. Time' (RKO) at the New Empir broke ' the gross record. 'Romeo and. Juliet,' patrons were getting their ducats days in advance, almost unheard of here. Manage- ment states that business, far out- distanced the previous record holder, 'Mutiny oh the Bounty' (MG). Inribvation at the Metro recently of midnight shows has started a vogue, with two other local cinemas following suit. Hershey and Mearson's 4 Quiet' Caruso Quest ' Rome, Feb. Burnet Hershey and Lyon Mear- SPn, writers pf a scenario on life of Enrico Carusp, have cpme tp Italy to visit cities that: were Caruso's triumphs. Screen story is based on play, 'Caruso the Mag- nificent,' by the same authors, and traces development of Caruso's career as. well as giving picture of . the con- cert and opera world of his time. . Authors Hershey and Mearson thought to slip quietly into Naples, look up such members of the Caruso family as were still to be found, ab- sorb the atmosphere of Caruso's birthplace, ask. a few questions apd be off. But a ship-to-shore broJPB- cast from the .steamer that carried them to Naples, celebrating the rer inauguration of President Roosevelt, put an end to their ideas of dpi anything quietly. Hershey arid Mear- son found that the part they took in the broadcast—just a few harm- less words about how ice it was to •hear Washington when you were over 2,000 miles out at sea—was just enough occasion' for publicity in the Naples papers to bring every man and woman who had ever heard or seen or managed to save some pic- ture of Caruso to their hotel. The number of 'authentic' Caruso anec- dotes, letters and signed portraits brought to light for the edification of the authors of the Caruso film script... was staggering. As were the prices which the owners of these treasures thought the American authors might be willing tp pay for thiem. From Naples; Hershey Mear- son went to Rome, Florence and finally to Milan, scene of Caruso's successes at the Scala Opera. Visiting Rome at same time as Hershey and Mearson was- Director George Cukor. He was given a. bi \ reception, saw Director General for Italian. Cinema Freddi, met various and sundry personalities of the Italian screen, and went on to Buda- pest. Royal Cinema The Hague, Feb. 5. : As the Prince Consort is an en- thusiastic film fan, the Palace Soestdyk, where the royal couple is going to live after their honeymoon, is to get a special cinehia. n order to avoid spoiling architec- ture of the ancient palace, hall will be built underground. It will be furnished with a fireproof projection room.