Variety (Dec 1937)

^cdiiesflittf December-^ : Iri o i-der ■ tb,^ meet ^currer^t ;obliga-i tibns to • creditors, under a plan to p>ijr ; stipulatied;: iamouht weeHly pending - cbllectibn on playdajtes; of ,pib|Ures■ that airift; howr ■goitig .qu^^ ; Gi-^nd" Naitional , ha§t 1;fiitimed ^lerr vSoftneViat-tbei hbmie- . fl^ ias :well ■ ai ill its Mciianfifes ' throoighout Vthis ^ Country. V Oh Thii^sday ■ (ii3 was giyeri to arburid ,30 at the home office(-:GjI at the. same time^yirtiial- ly wiping but 'itis publicity depart- ment; iiiclyding Harry Blair, who had been iii charge under Ed. Fin- ney. Latter is. a producer, also, pf "ttie • company's-.wes^^^ '/x At . the same time GN dropped : kiiother -30 in its-varibus- exqhanges^ "mostiy clerks; stenographers, etc. . GN; is ' M to have, figured ,that if the payroll could be- reduced by the' dismissals rnade, this would pevr init it to- meet, creditor pbligations " at this time on a. weekly . ihstallmeht basis.,- Hope is that with the cpin- pariy preserving , a skeletpri , Setup, it can liquidatie its,,current bills pyer the 'i^ sor aiid, that cby^ v thskt:,-time; 'with .p bn .release ^ bringihg / in rtoh^ slate can be entirely, Wiped for a .iiesh start, with,' possibly^ some ; ifesh^'fihandrig/ ^' ^-^; ^ ' Hiving been delayed iii produci ,tioh this .taU due to financing difli, ■ ciilties,; the present trouble, is that . while assets'.are ahead pf liabilities, there is not enough playoff on pic; tures which are on release, As col lections from playdates begin to Increase, the isituation is expected tb be eiasid; Company has a rep- resentative list of • good product deals pn the current: (1937-38) pro- : gram and should be able to hit the desired stride, later as releases aire Walsh a$ B^^ Hollywood, Deb. 28. Paramount has . assigned Raoul Walsh to direct-Never Say-Pie,^.Jack Eienny' starrer skeded to roll Feb; J; Franciskia Gaal is tentatively set for. tiie.femme lead;Prestbn Sturges scripted and Arthur Hornblow;. Jr.^ will produce. brought up to date and deliveries made. .-..' ■ ' , The plan with respect to the pub licity-advertising department is to " Qpncentrate this- activity on the VCbast. in the future* .,Jo<i. Shea is .in charge. of the Hollywpod depart inent. ; Eddie Alperson, who's^ been oil the /.Coast several weeks g;etting produc- ■ • tion rolling, is expected back imme- diately; after New ..Year's. ..■ , Metro, Par, 20th and RKO 52,000, Auditioiied 6,050, Screen-Tested 360^^ 9^*>A Pacted 56 GOOD AVERAGE Warner Bros, is nbt ej^pecting tb clbse down its' Burbank plant this winter or spring in spitb' of the call for economy generally in production. Company plans "to go immediately, into next .season'^ (1938-39) pibtUre- makihg as: soon as the. program for this -yfear is completed. "That may >be in March or April. WB studio, which each, year iiSd Shuttered for two pr three months, last winter ground through - the, 52 weeks with; a- view to .completing earjy 1937-38 pictures prior to con- vention time. At present the,com- pany has product finished that will take releases up through the Grad Sears ' sales,, drive,... whlbh" .cnids April 16. . ' y. " By MIKE WEAR A recapitulation reveals that four compahies; Metro, Paramount, 20th- Fpx aiid RKO, interviewed 52,000 during 1937, arid of that total, only 56 actually -were sent to the Coast. • Demand for. new faces resulted in more , players being; -sent ; to- Holly- wobd than in recent years, iand though the percentage . making the grade is small, it. sizes up most fav- orably with the. old picture adage that. if one • personality- is supplied by a' single company during, a year's time, the work of the eastern talent division has been aimply justified'r ■ Although 52,000 were brought un- der the talent scouting miccpscbpe. only 6,050 actually were • auditioned and approximately 360 screehj-tested; Soine bf those giyen tests were pnly supporting players to the ciahdidate on which the test was ifpcUsed. though this paved the way foir pos sible discovery by executivbs; One fllrh exec , observes .that .*i£ Broadway were to dry up as to ,tal ent poSsibilitii&S, we :still Would. be able to find; suitable' players or de velop them'for fllms.This is not ncc essary now because there is, a fair (Continued on page 23 > Hollywood, Dec. 28. Paraririount , has acquired *Sou- brette.' unprPduced play byv Jacque.« IDeval, author of .'Toyarich.* and wilI lise it as a starring vehicle fbr .Frarir ciski Gaal,. . with Fred MacMurray opposite; ' •' ":;■}- ;' v'y;. : Arthur Hprnblow, Jr., will pro- duce.;. ''\ > v.: "• .. Hollywbod, Dec. 28, There 'were less studio pre-christ- mas letouts this year than ever, and only caused by slp^ydo^yn on produc- tioh. There also yirere fewer talent, director and writer contracts expir- ing at this time, which yvere not re- newed according to all major studios. .; Studios riext week start takirig on additional people iii all departments with production rbllihg .. unusually heavy at some of them, especially I Universal and Warners. V SHOW b;o. -. Washington, Dec. 28. ; Uplrend; ; amusement .business continued through " . October, the Treasury; • Department admissionis tax^ coilectioris for Noyeniber in- dicated last; week, with the haul .fiorii tile 10% ;levy touching a new ■ high sihbe the ..rateS: Were^ iackbd up • at the pit of the depression;: ■ The. (jovei'hmeht's November take; . based on October grosses, was $2, 242,573, approximately $50,000 bigger than the previpus peak, registered ih\ December last year. This means that V amusements' income from sales.! pyer: 40c per head was- roughly; $500,000 .. fatter ' October than .during' Nb- veniber. 1936. . ■ • •. i: ■ '. Bringing: the. tbtal. collbctibns for ^;lhe year to $18,684,000, the November payments Into the Treasury -shoy/ed . a;: rise for the third straight month. ' Was the 12 th successive month .when ' the. Govbrhment's .; bite has been larger than ' the cprrespohding .:!^s^h^a^ br the p;re.v'j^^ . ."f he November figure .was $636,90C better than in the . same canto of 1936, by far the. *Jiggest year-to-year gain while present rates haVe bee.h in effect; • Total was $275,956 more than the Treasury pocketed in Oc tober, the second fattest.. mbnth-tp rtiphth rise this year. . ; ,..-■.; .-■';. ... Minneapblis,, Dec,', 28,'"...'-..'• .If theatre business is bad in 1938 it'll be. the producers to blame, in-. sists Bennie Bbrger, owner of bhe of this territory's largest and most' \. successful■ theatre chains. \.'..;;; 'i; . /tutting the responsibility for the ;i' , exhibitors' welfare Squarely on the shoulders of those who are turning; ; out the films,- ; Berger, a former Northwest Allied States' president, is attempting to line up that body ; and other similar, independent ex- hibitors', organizatibns in a move to use pressure on the proclucerS to de- . sii'st fro'rh itiaking their proposed big production budget cuts. • Berger pbjnts out 'there's never a d-pression for. good pictures.!'. He also •points.; out. that, exhibitors bought the new-season product' on representations that there wbuld be ■; increased expenditures, instead of economies,' for prpductions and that contract prices, were based , on the promised larger production cbstsi .He. insists that the bad business being , ~ bxperienced :by hiany theatre own- ers; nbw is .due. in large part, to in- . ferior product,! instead .of to poor general trade conditions. ■ . . : In many territories, such as the Northwest, where' the farmer financially better oft than: in recehjk yeairS, economic conditions- are not basically bad, Berger says. But prod- uct of an inferior .qu» lit:- will aggra- vate any recession, 'or depression, : thai may ensuei he contends. : And, he declares, regardless '. of business conditions generally* the exhibitor can operate . profitabil *,. or at least;; 'fa^id the red too deeply, and per-: hap s entirely, if the producers will _ turn but enough 'real box office- pic- ; turesi' of which,; he claims, there have been 'all too few.' Greta-Garbo, now in-Sweden,, may ; nbt return to this country, her future , with ■ Metro being : co;nsicierably ; in doubt. . :': Star has completed the three, pic- tures wilder her last deal; her on a.basis of $250,000 a picture. Third was "Conquest,* with; Charles Bbyer, which cost oyer $2;000,000 and is.a box office disappointment. RELEASE, YENS B'WAY .V Holly wood, Dec. 28. William Anthony McGuire has asked Louis B. Mayer to. release him from his writer-producer ticket , on cpmpletion bf, 'The - Girl, of . the, Golden West.' McGuire is under- stood to be coriternplating; a return to Brbad way productiph. . ' T ; ^ . He has been away from the vstern seven years. His production.s for Metro include/ 'Great Ziegfeld' and 'Rosalie,' ' Meeii 1^^^ Break Hollywood, Dec. 28. Arieen. Whelan has worked her way out; of the stock company to a. femme lead in 'Kidnapped.' at 20th- Fox, .Oiher loads taken by Freddie Barth.olPmew and Warner . Baxter.. -Miss Wh.elah ' is. :a ;hebphyte''. dis-' cbycred as a manicutiist and given ii tutoring course, \ ' ^' '-^