Variety (Dec 1937)

B St . Mortln'B Pliite, =TriiTntifur Stuiai* C(il»le Artrtres-ii tARfRTT. f,(l>NniO!i 13 ■;l.ondori,;pec^.1.... >arlikineiii heard i mpr* itbdiy (Monday) "on ritisK" film question Vhen Qilveii Sto^^ pointed put .contrast: betWten British, revenue. Qutside, of iioiiit; »nd that ofVforeign films ih Ehg' ■ ;ljii.rid*..:';; 'j,-':-':^:-^'''-^^: ^n:-,:rriiiy ;-:'ti-; ' ;;";question;-:- fce- stated that afiprpj^imately m(t,999 left .England In 19i$ far; iillm hire while only $5,0H,*«# was recelyed; fr#in foreign dls-^ tribatUn. of British ini^ The quota ^^tihdihgc^^ committee flnally; appt^ .clause to measure .without .any changes as tP number of memberg; (21) or : ppwet^. PropQsied advisory: commit- tee plaii lo.. relieve thie cbvipcil: was ■;;withdirai-w^^ • ■'^ v \ TJie :cQmmiU.ee adj eration of separate or , divotcfed quota plan biit wiil reneW discussion Thursday It is that bliver Staiitey: is. opposed to the .diyorced quo.ta; .arid U. ,S; dis^ ari'bitterly ^against'it'" . ' Latest Slant here is: thait producers hope to protect; their share ot home . mark^et K. by . insiisting • on .. ydiiyorced^ quota ijlan; They say jiresent setup : dqt.e^ not J>rotebt their share, of . dp- ihestic market. . Bjisil Dean. outlined the' schem*! ; which ;wbuid provide- IrM fentiy^^^^^^-o^ British films into this market/ iGlaims that; this • WouM : ha.H ' ;cpiTkpetition from quickies^- n : hibitbirs by - istributors-. system of . .booking. : System :. would'l ; consider; . reciprocity* maybe .later. .. . • London-, Dec, 7. ■ Noel .Coward's still ■ Untitled op- eretta: 6pen;s, in MahclVe^^^ foir three, weeks before cqmi.lng to London;; ■ V- :■■ ■ < Peggy 'Wood, Gri ffith Jones; and Fritzi Massary aire set for- important TOfes;!,.' ■■■■ -,-•:'■■■■■■:■'•■- '■■■' ""TFiTnis Bni ' is sljll 'InBafeng slow headway, arid after three sittings the standing Vcomrhittee ha^ passed only Glauses ■ 1-3 iarid the films council of , Goverrim^nt/. siK>kesmen, ICNi by, \Oiiver'Stanley, B.b.T. president strong for- the' council, :;bu;t fOimd keiener: pppositipn thM, they;-antici pated, CpverrimeriV; sUpI^9r^ eviri . goihg in with Labor speakers to-press fpT the small, icpmrnission; / Kanleyi • stands-by. 'h conteniion the indvistry . is; largely :imit^ as . regards the Film Council, though the facts suggest he is .takihg some- ^What of a. long; chance at that ;Ciiie vmatograph Exhibitors Assn;^ w^ for the' TOmmissibn at first, coming: over to; the council plan only when it realized there was little possibiiity of its first hope getting ainy , piac6 rYesteirday;' simultaneously, with ; the \ cpmnvittee ses.sipn, Jfohh' Maxwell, Isidore Qstrer, ; iSidney , Bernsteiiu John Griersbn iahd others issued a manifesto plumping :for the commis- . At the;' close : of yesterday's ses . siPn, Stanley yehementiy .pleadcfd fp^^^ agreemeht to -be reached; ph/'tlie is , sue. ihdicatihg; (jovernhient' a ; at the slowness with which .the.husi- . hess iis: going: along. ; . ' • ■ Mearitirne,' state of ;the bill; now is that the ■ origihal reciprPcity ;c:lause: is ;. :Pia.rt; whereby .Aimerican 4istribs can piy ;^i()b,(WO for ifdreign rights of local product; inyoivihg labor :;C0st of not below '.;il2,50C|, sind meet half their quota that. v^aj*',- pow goes through, except in the unlikely event of the bill bein^^^ put wh.eh it has its; ultjnriat^ .third TCadirig; in jth^ ■ ,;H;6use;;; -; - ,;'■" ■■■•'.' vv ..: "V-;'^- , This- nieahs;; the. .. pstrer-Maxwell . alternativ ;: reef procity project, ,)ern>ittiiig Americans :;"to .meet. aii; thtir quota -.by buyi.hg ; distributiph. ..n at; 33% . bi the- negative, .c picture, .iS;flat on' its back, assumption being ; it came top. late .tb make any, impres : sLon.; ; There i.s always a,; chance : nevertfieleis, it niight be brought ; into the; act wh^n its. provisioh.s ;are ■reviewed .after a; couple • of year.s. is Still much alive; as it is hot 'cov- erea by'that sniall secti^ so far apprpvedV : Appeal Ip the Ui S; Goyei'nment to seek mod ififcatipn^^^^^b^^^ flUfjtas' ■■ : foreign countries is. bpvng tions^ B o p s t Exchange^ Coats to Pbm^ ; /pbssibler<^ETery Employeie Paid Unidh Spy--i^^ ; itisf Jobsr-rEqual Staffs •• .for :Aii: ,... :' SHOWDOWN NEAR Berlin, Nov. 28, Generai ; use of .; npn-inflammable film stock ioT both: cPmmercial and amateur ■ purppses . is predicted - fpr the heat future by Dr. Ludwig Matz. Statenient was\made, at a meeting at the .^Deutsche ' Kinotech ^liscHaft /(Film Technplpgy Contributing factor of the develop- ment of the film is .Wat np cotto^n is needed, -for its .manufacture, ther^ being a shbrtage -of raw materials,in Germany.':;.-.' ' Nohflam fllrh, has been in existence since abbut .1907; ;. Its .imrnuiiity to flre <made the taking: bf motion ;pi.c- tures possible for ■ ^mateUrs.: ;La.w Was passed in France 10 .years ago that oniy. safety films should be usedi btitr;it"rWasTiever;:erif6rced7becaUse;6 two- diff iculties; involved; . For one thing, the' film-s itself is not strong enough for commercial use. And for another, its lack pf flexibility makes it hard to handle in laboratpries., They have done, . little : expert^- meriting here in Gerniariy. Qne hun;- dred and fortyrseveri; copies^ pai-ts or the whole of which were safety filrns; Were sent' to the /variou,s theatries without mentiohihg the difference in riiaterial.. Eaih pic Was: tagged to, list observations; th us eriabl ing ;a check - up afterwards.: Results: we^^^^ :^^^* photographic.; effects and .-sbiind; ;re-. production dp; iibt vary from the riitrp.--' :-^;.v'^-';'; ;Poihts in favPr pf-the npnflarh; film; are that it assures a greater ampunt ot safety in stiidios, laboratories, fac- tories arid projection rppms, also ;in case pf air raids; :pblice rtstrictions "would ".b5 cpnsidera1jiyr~ea5ed"^ip Faults are that the nonflam is ex- pensive, weak on : the sticking . end and still too brittle. Year's experi- ments also show that the / vflam films have 85% Pf the durability of the nitro^.. LEVEY-WHITE SPLIT London. Dec. 7. Ethel Levey '. and Claude Graham White have come to . parting of the ways; Couple, were; rnarr"ied in 1916. -:-/:■ . Miss Levey is the first Mrs, George M. ' Cohan; he's an aeronautical -. pert/ ;'. ;■' ; - [I .Mexicp City, Dec. 7.. • .Deyelbpments in- Mexico's ,labpr situation affecting the picture busi- ness are rapidly approachirig a show- dpytrn. It all hits the cost pf operate ing exchanges, .with v wages and; the' entire' setup, becoming so bad that some film officials believe it will be impossible to do business under the latest labor impositions. .^Widespread 'belief .at present is that the industry will have to: take a strong :hand ■ in the. situation or quit the country. While it' is tod early to Say that American interests Svill withdraw, therer seisms to. bp little question; biit that affairs; are rapidly nearing; a crisis. ■ ; ; ^Distributors met last week to dis- cuss : all recent labor tnoyes.; No definite action was announced, though many indicated disgust with the new developments,- ;Demahds of unions., as set forth tp distributors, amounted to an ultimatum by the governriierit's labor, department, to this film in- dustry. Dictatorial methods tp be used are .regarded as the worst fear "tureT ~^'~^~~~-r~~T7— ■: ; ; tJnder the new alignment the union wPuld be able: to dictate terms of hiring, • the wages to be paid, when increases must .be given and tp in- corporate a; system whereby, em- ployes would be rotated frpm de- partment . to depairtment;. in all /ex- changes. ,: Thus, a cashier would be shifted to: the shipping departriient after a certain length: of . time. An inspector could be transferred to .some Pther division in Uie distribu- : tion system. ' Another 'must,' . which is yiewed by distributors as intensely unfair, is the prpviso whereby a; distributor ppe.ratirig ;on a small scale, with a payroll of three, would-be forced- to increase the number of employes to the same total used by larger dis- tributers. This would, force him tp add, nine employes if the bigger dis- Wrong BiUiiig ;;;;; Colchester, Eng., Dec. 7. Local, digi.itaries .turned but in £ul 1 force recently tp:weicome; Ling Lieoppld of the Belgians, who vi.sited here briefly.; But the circurnstartces prior tp- the: arrival > ot; .the ; regent nearly caused considerable embarrass- ment. .;'•-;.;;. .../'/-' ''. .// • The local 6pera; sbcietyr .Rre.- pairihg-for' its annual production, had advertised extehsively, even tp a huge streariier across the; main street.' Learning ,of Leoppld's arrival, the banner; was hurriedly remo.ved; :. . ; . , The ;' production Svas ; 'The Vagabond King.'. mentioned again. New British quota prPppsais continue tp' cause- alanri in American ;film- ci.rcles ..':.;'' / Sanest .proposal far was - made by Sir John Maxwell. British film and./theatrical mogul, in .0P'"'9" some ;,' . London./.: Maxwell's pio- posal is.fpr an :exiiibitors' quota only- Joseph / Seidelman, .foreign ;;.mank a^er for Columbia pictures, returned Mphdaj'^;'(6);'frbnri:Englaridv^w .looked into the quota sittiatiori. Hi'- idea, like others, is to offer the wid- est cooperation po;ssible;. to build up .a. union ;of inter ests a lid,. good - w ill. be- t\yeeh:the Bntish and'Aincrica circles, --.'-. . ■ -.;; ■ While in Eurbpe/iseidelman pperied Columbia. offices in - Birusisels and Iri Alexandria. He al.so named J. Sk:hiUer, formerly With .Uriiye.rsal^^ a^^ Columbia district manager for Central Europe, with headquarters ;■' Prague. ■ ..,-'. .,.■ "-• '•- Irib was using 12: workers. Inside Staff Distributprs^also have learned that the linion controlling film employes has beeii cbllectirig data.on picture operations in Mexico over a period ot time. They discovered that this union now possesses records show- ing the boxoffice business ait/every theatre in the nation for .the last yearior; more, .This data alsp includes .irtform.£.ti6n pri the cost of. produc- tions,' distribution outlay, the am.punt required tp, pperate each exchange and all gross figures. These figures are :suppbsed to be. used in arriving at wage; scales for . various workers, idea apparently/being that- salary .tilts. would be ■:. required as the dis- tribiitor takes in iriore coin. .^ Another thing that does- not set sb^ well with fi.im . executives ' that .the unions, have ordered every em-, plpye ; to report' all details .of biisir; .ne.ss done daily. Apparently this will establish.'every; employe as a known .'spy . for . his .local. Attitude; of - lal^or . interests, / that they .'have, as much : right tP organize as the distributors', poiritlng :tp the Film Board of Trade which was formed about a year ago Some distributors a i"e putspokeri i.ri sayirigi: that: this entire alignment ;aiTiounts to permitting eitiplpyes to run/the busirie.ss while they (the dis- Ttrrib,"}^)-^rem^iii-^puppet*r^ 'While labor organizations have been shpwing increased strength in recent months, latest ultin»atiim doubtlessly will produce a shovv- dpwrt.. lVfajprity::3f industry members say there must be a retreat from .these hariih demands "or. foreign, .dis- / ; . Copenhagen, Dec. 7. The biggest film scandal navian film . historic was caused this week by tiie marine, film, 'Flaadens blaa' Matrpser^' ('Blije. Sai^ .pf the Fleet':),: which was. made by Palla- dium. For the first tinrie the Danish government had ' worked together with . a...!fl_lm TOmpany .by^placirig. the ■fleiTs biggest Ships ait the film cbm- pariy's d i spbsal. ■' Some officers played; very small Tples ;in the film, whose star was the rotund .lb Schon- berg.. ■ \.; /;: J, After the, premiere all Danish'pa- pers iri./ screaming headlines, ^de- nounced the film not only as one of the most amateurish comedies seen, but a picture that destroyed the Dan- ish marine's reputation, the soldiers were shown as drunken idiots and the girls, in ; the provincial towns, where the fleet arrived, as Ippse women; - .;.\^ .;'.-:-; The ministry and the marine asso- ciations protested officially against the film, and asserted that they/had not seen the- amateurish manuscript and only knew the;few scenes where the fleet'.s ships were shown. Npw 'Flaadens blaa MatroserV has been cut, sp that some of / the worst ' '; ■■ •■• ^ ■: /■/'.- ;/-/^.Pari?rP<?c.. T;//;.. ; : Cinematic .pbset.vei^ he where in France-.see a decided trend;.' towards / 'increased popularity ;fo.r . Frenbh-made featUr'es^^^a a result- ing hike in. prpduclibn activity -: Popularity of the hativorrnade fea- tures has :gone hand in hahd with a definite increase in flirri: making. AH bf 'this' has brought a sharii reaction against grosses of U. S./features, and . it may becbme worse, u . - , ■ Ariiericari distributors were having enbugh difficulty; Showing the home office in New York/be- ; cause of the :heavy . .slump in the franc. .But the . ihanncr in which ; pcally 'produced;;films. have tjone over ately /has; American; dj-ftribution 'brceii V here ; worrying^ They are hpiieful that it wiil pass on; and that their pictures soon will be gotting old-time biz. But just riovv,; most U. S. features hit - one or two first- runs in France arid; then they are virtually washed up jfoi; big coin., it's not. that' American pi'bducl 'Is slipping in quality or/ apppal but simply that the French features, are; improved. Potential Frenph audience / riatlirtilly goes;fbr pictures in hatiye^^ tongue if the film; has appeal/ Average- big calibre; feature pro- ducer here turns out one pr two pic- tures per year. . Some make five or / six, but this latter figure is about the peak; No outstanding company in, the local field but severar.are Tinish- ing one or two hits annually.v.-Esti- niated ^that ; features'made during 1937 will total lOt). / /. Production here has run into the- sairne financial difficulty that U. S. distributors have encountered .. be-^ cause of: the slump / : the franc's- value, Reason/ is; that .many. pro- ducers secured" financing via--Lloyd's " of London. Trouble/ ' that; the mpney .was advanced when the English pound was worth about 80 francs. But wheij French producers started paying back the loan, .they h^d to pay off at the rate of at-ound 145 francs, to the pound. It meant . returning 150.000,000 for 80,000,000 borrowed, with result that each pro- ducer needed niore tlme.'r Latest report is that England's big financial house apparently has so much faith iri the future of French production that additiorial coin has beien advanced for the ■ new produc- ing seaspri. . At least it is believed they figure th.is is; the best chance of recpupirig :frbm t^ franc's'-;value. Which is takeri to mean that U, S. distribs will coi)- tiriue to feel the competition of; French product. scenes are out./-: AS a result of the tremertdpus publicity the film made big money the first few days; and thereafter flopped. :. ;: / And the Danish government will probably never, more have, anything: to dp w-ith Danish film companies; PIC GIVEAWAYS OKE, AUSSIE COURT RULES ' Sydney, Nov; lOi Civeawayvj' in ' pic / hpuses were okayed ;here this week . in ■: test brought in Equity Courts ■ Ca.se arose out of a; dispute between Paramount and .Broadway Theatres; Ltd., con- trol lers of a nabe and cpuntry ehain throughout New South Wales, over a contract, whereby Par agi-ccd to jjup ply pix under conditions alldWirig;fbr a fixed;;.'minimiifti .admi.s.jiio.n.; :which; it was allG.iicdi excliiclcd iHc pres e.iitation. of .-fi'eQ;;-(jifts,., . '•■ - ..;/;':./;■' . Broadway/ The argued . tha'. patrons were; acbustpmed .to; rcceiy ing free gifts before the Par. contrac was' signt'd. -Justice . Nichola.s; ruled in favor of: Brbadwa.y Theatres am dismissed the a'ction with costs/. . FEWER WARNER FILMS SET FOR TEDDINGTON Hollywood, Dcfj. 7. Warners - has. decided Pn, a policy . of slashing production; at the Ted-.' dirigtdn plant to 10 or 12..picture.Sc next year as compared with 16 this y^ar, with upped budgets for all, follpwirig confabs held ait the. studio participated in - by. , Irving 'Ashcr, head of British production. Total prbdiictiori exp.bnditures at the ;Briti.s.h plant ' the currebt .sea - son ran around $2,000,000./ Ashdr said he is not ; yet certain'; ju.st hpvv the new British quota legislation will affect: the •situation with : pro- visions of the new act still uncertain. 4SibUtoii,i-ml.l-qijit^th ket.: This would force /exhibitors; tp depend strictly, on Mexico-made product and force, them tp shutter, unless there . is a tremendous aitd immediate. impi oycmerit in quant.ity and quality of this country's pro. d.uctipa activity, ' '' ' 'Mi", Pepys^ Gets Qyer .:. ■' /'/ .; ;.. ' ' ' London/ Dec. 7.. 'Thank you, Mr. Pcpys' ;'(nce '90 Sairj/Plieried. at 'the .'Sfiuft^^ atre (30) as a t>rilliant hi.storicil'/play and was ;cbrdially rcceivc'd by upper crust flrstn.igKterSv /1titere.iting piece . is;well ^actpd: and .piroduceci ;in' :stc'(^ edition, ;but. .is/.uhlikbl.y;/fp.r' geti'ehi.l:. appeal. However, play ha.s/the: m.uk:- / ::ih^s H>f .'a/-grea.t:fil-u^/,:/,; .'/ -^rrMa-i-ks^thPr^GGPndr-;4^^ .' i nt{ ' of I he play - which bowed a.s.. Sail/.under . auspices of Miles. Mallo.son. > Liattcr yanked; the show because .pf other, thin gs. a n d i t, w as r e prod uced uhd o r: the new ' title and/ vvith an :.entirely riew. cast; Never hit London before, having been;limited to the provinces..: