Variety (Dec 1937)

^ednesiayt December 1^ VARIEtY ■ Philadelphia, Nov. 30. Heps of' Warner^ Bros, -circuit, Phiily"Alusiciahs'l.Xdcal and Amerif pan Federatibh : of Musician? met in office of Joe We berr A, F, M. pr ez., last Friday (26 > to thrash out misuii- | dei'standings : in pterins of • WB con- , trac t wi th ;the locai, 'which . runs out OTt Cjani 6{, Weber; tbok- matter V tinder- 'advisementj ■ iand will • • isstie; edict oh it'shortly ^n^Ust Be set-, .■tied before ,binder for next, year Can; : be drawn up. lii the meantime,: ordh, has. been taken but of the .Fox the- atre on Warxier contention that it has; fulfilled its obligations in thiis /■■spot., v.. ' ; ■ . Entire difficulty arises from ' difr fering ihterpretatipns of the ; sum, W'arhers rgUarariteed. to -spehd ■ oh hiusic this. stah?:a. d.irbuit claims, it has how laid out that amount and, ,4hu$: ;hai.icoiinpi(eted it$. i^niX/M i^ coritraci' for ti^e .yeari In ;faGt>vWB 6XBCS maiihtain, by Januajy the cir- Vcuif wiil have: spent betW6(Bh $^ 000 and $185,000 for music. Union asserts. $i7^;500. figure \Vas ■ set lip as a niinimum and virhether it h.as been .paMed oif not has lio bear- . ■ ihg on contiract cb.mt>letion. Warners must play; out the nurrtbet'^ of weeks ^hey guaranteed wprk^^^^^^ itihsists. • ■ . There- is evett ifurther . rboin. ipr misunderstandihjg in the 'Fox pact. ; Contract states it is fci 48 weeks, 30 . at fiill cpnipleriient and 15: at reduced: staff during the summer. Warners testify, they have given the biaiid its 30 and l5 weeks and thus are justi- . ;-fled in -dispensing with it.; Union 1 protests three! weeks are still due to .make the 4B. . ;: Necessity ^)f^ confabbing ' imme-^ diately . on nc'w deals with.; indie houses: whose binders: expire early in December, and .with radio star tibns. irnder terms of rie\y .national agreeiniiiEht, will cause some delay in, .lurther negptiations with WB. TUT, BUT FEWER HANDS Negptiations a^e^ going for^ tb"' iR'ard a reduction in stage: hand xnian- , power :at. Radip .City MusiC; Hall, : N.'Y., with reports favorablfe-^hat a smaller, crew will be agreed- upon 'ipr-this house with the N. Y. .Theat- rical Protective . U"iphi N,p, 1. . . Hall is said to be agreeable to a 12% increase in the scale, as voted , recently by other de luxe operators, but in view of the. size. of its crew backstage, ais well as . maintenance men, believes it. should get a rediiCr tion ■ the ;humber b£ hands - : quired.' What this may be is not in- dicated but declared TPU is .. - sidering some relief in : this directipri; Shut«ye Shutout Hollywood, Nov; 30. . • Actor under contract at maj or studio.cWho-has-torledTTr •eight pictures ' the lak 22 weeks, met a .producer who wanted tp hire him for No. 23. 'Can. J have: 12 hours off be- tween pictures : from now bh?' the player cracked. wanta catch up on my sleep.' Hollywpod, Nov. 30. ;: ;:H.. C. Potter is back at Goldwyn studio, having completed direction . of Gladys Swarthout and John BJles. in 'Romance iii the Dark'" at Par-a- moimt on loanout. • .; Potter has. been: assigned to niaVe. . retakes on ■Goldwyh'FbltieSrVuirected by George Marshall. liOndpn, Nov. 30. • 'Although Noel Coward is teticent, understood; he .4e:^writirtg\ a hew op- e:r'etta: to - be"" completed ' ai-buhd March, • ;•;:■■■• /■ .■ ■■,.••'-■•/-;■•,■' Nothing set but John C. Wilson will; produce it; with: His Majesty's theatre likolyt Par*s 'Light* Remake ; " • • Hollywdbd, Nov. 30. ■ 'The Light. That Failed' has been skedded for. remake at .Paramount. , vFilm goes to William Wellman for direction next year, after he com-, pletes 'Men With Wings.* The first known instance ,:where.. ai Committee for.. Industrial 'prganiza- tion'union has picketfed a/theatre oc- qurred Monday: (29) when the Photo Union, Local 415 of ; the G.I.Q., ■ asr- signed ., man .■ to the . Paramount, N.. y. tp parade a. sandwich sign pro- claiming that Par was unfair tp- br- ganizied. labor.; A similar .picket is in front bf Loew's State. , Althbugh the complaint is against Par: - .P i-c it u r e.s,-.- which- ^recently switched on still makers; the theatre in the h.o. building was subjected, to the picketing and some enlargements outside| part of .the currjent front bn 'Ebb Tide,' were smeared 'with acid or sonie other substance^ No pickets Were pri duty, in front of th^e Par building itself.; .Fropts; for the Par arie made- by-a-uhionrshp^^^ age to enlargements thus being against union-made product; '■ The C.I.O. up to now made no direct, moves against; theatres; thci Phbto Union being the first to bid for attention. , •; r SAG Demand Could Well M ean That CNews^ i^^^iiteiiiid Foot- iball Stadium People: .a Fee as .ia Film Extra NEWSREELS* SLANT ^- : Seattle, Nov.. 30. ' Slightly higher scale in effect for usherettes,. doprmen and . cashiers, With hew wage agreement signed be- tween theatres and recently formed A.F.L. union. Upping is up to 10%. New scale: cashiers, $20 per week; doormen, $22; head usherettes, $20; assistant, $17;50; others, $16. . This is for the top first runs, name- ly, Paramount, Fifth, Ave., Liberty, Qrphe'uht and, ,Palomar.. Canada's Walkout Thrent ^ .^ : - : Toronto. Nov.. 30, •, ■; Urile.ss .'an Tnternatiohal /the^ employe.iBs' union, squabble with Famous Players-Canadian' is settled in \yinriipeg there: ; : - possibility of approxiftiately 200 FP houses across Canada clpSilig shop. ' W. P. Covert.-^Ciariadian^y.p. of the union, says the Winnipeg fight start- ed; when the local union asked that international men. be emplpyed in- stead of O.B.U. (One Big Union) operators; Latter '' ^a purely Cana- dian outfit. G. E, Brown, union president in New York, has ordered a generat walkput at all FP "houses in Canada unless FP comes to terms. Feeling is that they will,;' ■ • 'Western tJnion' On ParV*A' Schedule "■: 'Hollywood, Nov. 30.^ ■ ^Paramdunt.'- will, make- a\ - Western U.fiipn' with;. 'A*.'budget rating, and Albert Lewitv' . the prpduQcr spot. Cast will be topped; by . Joel McCrea, Bob Burns. . and ■Fraric'es Dee, " /.;■ , .^^, : Script is being written by Wilfred Rothschild', and Ward Wing. ;March of Time and' the Screen Actors, Guild are still at logger- heads, : A 'sigh lip, or else' .ulti- matum was issued last, week follow- ing a preyipus. refusal of SAG to accord Time "classificatipn a' hewsreel. .Threat tp list; Match' bf Tirne as iirifair has . been made. ; .One of. the: issues ;* dispute is the use . of 'real people': in' news, re-eriactinents.- Time\ points ;tp its recent' neWs story, oh' .Manchester, N. H,, where thousands of citizens turned .but' for a photographic . tell- ing of the town's .ecbnomic -histpry.. Under SAG rules. Time- declares, this .sequence would have been im- possible. . Numerous, bther ■ news stbrie5: >.involving . large thrbngs are also cited;-;: Time : iEailf to .under-" stand the., demand, bf Kenneth. ThomsPn that students phbtPgraphed in a; football jgrandstand should all be compensated as extras. "This is precisely; 'what the neWsreels do. Time, feels. r-'- ■ That ntwsreels, especially since -sound, depend to an ; overwhelm- ingly exteht .■ upon 'staged : re-eh- .actments,':: strikes . 'thje ; heads ; of Time as placing the reels and 'March- in the same boat.. ; :" No Displtfcement .of SAG ; Willingness , to accept SAG con> ditionsV and wage scale and union recognition on studio : production is ; expressed but Time feels that SAG ; cannpt fairly impose ; the- atrical., .conditions.; on grpups .where there is no question of ; displace- ment : of SAG, membership. : : Not clear to Time is wha;t SAG proposes in the event that 'jurist diction', over nbn-theatrical per- sons was acknowledged. Payment bf SAG scale to noh-SAG members carries the implication that: such one-time . participants phbtbgraphed ■■ all over the cpuntry in cities, towns and villages must take put union membership! and ^ pay .dues. SAG, Time feels^ is overlooking the. unique nature of the monthly release;, and :its essential same^n^ to a;:neWsreei. But apart .from that, payment of wages tp grandstands or streets-' full of. citizens would skyrocket production costs. Rental factoirs. in- the.vShprts . field are hot such that such.'costs be gotten back from exhibitors. Tinie^Vwith..headquarter.'; in New \>v.k,;and the SAG, located in Holly- wood, have carried.:ph.- ncsotiaitiohs chiefly by mail. Very-ilittie prpgre.ss toward agreement has been made since the; matter.;first, came up in July. ; -;-,■■?;., ;■■/,?.-'■ ASHER CONFABS ON WB PROD. ABROAD ..':':-\y\ -'.;.. Hollywood, Nov. 30. . Ir.vihg Asher, Warner studip head' in England, arrived at; the studio, Sunday (28), to huddle; for several weeks with; H. M. and Jack L. Wai- her -and. Hal - B. Wal^ pr'oblenis for the .Tedding^^^ plant. ■ ■■; Three" hew' .cohtract;' [ players-"' at- companied Asher. They are James Stephenson; Bruce Lister , and Chili Baucher. .'Mrs.' Asher, the foriribr Laura LaPlantc, also in the party. ^ WB SWITCHES DIRECTORS ■ - Hollywood. Nov. 30.' . Warneris switched Williani Mc- dahn biff .'Penrod'^ Double^T Bpoth Tarkington story' for thp Mauch twins. Assignmient goes to Lew Seiler. Cpllegians Outsinarted Cahipus town theatre mana- gers decided discretion was the better- part of valor, this fpot«< ball season, ;.;.'•::' ,. ':; Rather than be firmly, ada- mant, they solved the, darnage created by gate-crashing ; cpl- i legians, following grid games. ■ rallies, by inviting them in; gratis! r. U; saVcd wear ;'n' tear, . and ; the boys: didn'tget; anxious to get inside.' the thea- tres once it, was open sesame^ 1 Distribution of 16-.millimeter veri- slons Pf features maide. by bpthmajpr .and; independent producer^ has in- creased to such an iextent that ex- hibitors in regular run theatres haye started to squawk. Some ;complairits iare that the pictures are made avail- able in 16-mm. size fpr hph-theatrii cat showing too soPn after the ;sub- ject runs in their hpuscs,; and other exhibs, simply contend I that any; of these : subjects put into their buslnessj whether comparatively niew pr old. : Exhibitors charge; that the 16-rnm. prints get to' cbmmunity auditori- ums and into noh-theaitrical hiands in violation; of known larger company restrictions against; such exhibition. Judging froih the flood; of iirotests' re.eeiv.ied- ;by - the industry's copyright protectibh authorities in N. Y. from many sections of the country^, the liB-mm. cpniiMititiort .stahds.tp b next problem tackled oh a large scale by the Copyright' Protection Bureau. ; ; MUSTANG STARS FEMME DRAW VIA MIKE BUILDUP Sex appeal has cbme to; the West- ern pictures. And it Is meaning a wider • audience lor distributbrs of these features. ' It. all has to do with widening scope of the oats operas, definitely traced to the trend towards, singing cowboys on the screen. ^ Most of these warblers ; either deyeloped a: following to a major extent through appearing on the radio or after get- ting in films began building by means of air programs.' Because they have rea ched the ear of fernrriie^ listeners, the boots and saddle : singiers : now' have fol- loWihjgs beyond normal scope. Pro- ducers, cognizant of this, have given more consideration, to. the romantic iwi.<?t;fbr their,,ppen spaces dramas. Result has been; that feminine players in mustang mellars, previous- ly considered;a riccessai-y. evil, .are coming into, their.own in the. cactus .epic.s. No;'/longer ^d^ make pretty backgrpund but an effort to build sorne semblance of a love yarn is made . While definite plans thus ^ar' hjive!. been ^mulled behind; clpse.d; doors, latest ihdication^ are' that it is only a matter of time until the first cir- cuit of: IG-i^illim'eter ncvysreel-shPrt; feature theatres is' started.. Pt'esent idea is to obtain hewsreel Subjects from regular producers of; hevys weekly issues, with . indications; that. any bt>jectloiv as to reducing- down to idrmm. size - will be pyercome by the number of theatres offered tP all five of newsre6l companies.-- Would be at least is accounts at outset. Urge to use 16-mrn, equipment and negative is strictly• economic one, those backing present pircuit figur- ing: that ythe outlay > for prpjectioh-' ists can be trinimed from,$365: per week to less than $150 and that a better deal on newsreel rentals can' be secured if : definite number of accpunIs is assured. With the. budg- et for hewsreels cut to $175; a week and booth cost teduced: materiall^^^ fu.rther saving would; be Pbtaihed irt house staff cuts .so that actual over-' head weekly expense can be reduced to, pne-third; and possibly; bnerfourth^^ of what, it costs to operate nbrmally;. in newsreel cinemas today. ' If.-- the ; newsreel. theatre . costing; $2,100 to operate at the present time' can,-put; Ph. the same shbw for $500. • tP $750 •■ . .'monetary ;outlay; each week, present circuit plans; seem as-, siired of success, from the start. This, in.turn, WPuld make a 50%': to 100%; slash from the 25c admish scale pos- sible,: giving the new; type' of opera- tion the turnover. ; Iniproyemcnts in, ;optical ; equip* meritfor. 16-mm. prPjectiPn plus new lighting devices make the nirrpwr ; gauge film feasible in such type ot hpuse, experts claim. •: - NO SAG-MARCH Stude Cops Cellulbided Hollywood, Nov. 30.. V: 'Police,Cadet,* ;brigirial yarn writ- ten around; the •'iips^An^g^^^^ school, ha.s been turned in to! War- ners, by; .Don:. Ryan ah(i k<f incth Garnet ' ; ■ Np production. assignments set. ' Screen Actors .Guild-has tcmporarl- ' iy passed up its previouijly announced strike deadline of last Saturday (27) against March of Time. Believed the Guild: may modify its :ijrcvipUg stand against March's claim of news- reel status, although np pfflcial word ; of such action.has been made. '- , : SAG. reps in New York last Satur- ' day morning viewed recent; March . reels at a special screening. Under- stopd it Was the first time they had '; done so, March having claimed that such viewing would" establish its claim of ipomihg under newsreel classificatioh. While the SAG repis ' were, repof led as expressing them- •; selves partly • convinced of the jus-, tice of March's new.sreel claims, they said they were - Unable to' take any action without aiithority from Guild headquarters on the. Coast,However,; no strike was called; or iahnounced. .: • During .the'dispute, which .has.con- tinued since iast July* March has agreed to observe iall Guild shop re- quirements, but has refused to sign a contract. . March officials have claimed their product is neither . feature, :Jaiccbrding to Hollywood standards, nor ■ a newsreel, but comes under :.a separate classl.ficatibn of its ;. own. Execs have been willing tp observe Guild rules and use Guild members whcrtycr scenes ,or ; indir ' viduals; 'are substituted in-place-birT the actual ones. But in ca.ses where the ^ actual per.sons ire-fenact- scenes, froth.. rie:al.~.:lifCj.. Marchbecomes.: a .new.sreel, it is claimed/: So far, SAG: has worke'd.but rib statuts br-rcquire- mcnts for new.sreel.s. ■'■..■'--' ■< :.. METRO'S 'SOXDIERS 3' / .-: ; Hollywood', Nov. 30. :; Rudy a rd Kipl ihg's 'Sold iers Tb ree*' is "Mrhg readied at Metro ;by Mal- colm Boylan. and Tom Reed on the script end.: , Louis Q. Lighton will produce with G rover Jones as his aide. ; Par's *Dream* Perking ■ :•- Hollywood, Nov. 30, j— Paramount will rplI . 'Dr-eanr'^T~T Love' Dec. 15 with Frcd'^;^^^ • and piympe ;Bradna. tbpspPtted, from Andrew ,L.; .. Stone', ,■ ■ original . and screenplaiy by: ' Eye Greene ; and Frederick Jackson. , Stone alsp directs.' :