Variety (Aug 1938)

80 VARIETY PICTURES Wednesday^ August 31,1938 N. Y, Operators Union Inducts Clocking System to Prove That a Chain Hurts the B.O. Clocking theatres, with a view to determining what damage piclceting is doing, much the same as done for other reasons by distributoTs when pictures are on percentage, Local 306, Moving Picture Machine Operators of N. Y. is clai ing that their figures show the A. Schwartz (Century Circuit) houses which it'seeks to in- vade, are suffering severe drops .in grosses. The clocking ot representa- tives places attendance at below 100 persons in some of the more im- portant houses several nights. Obtaining the. aid of Local 802, American Federation of Musicians, and Local 4, Brooklyn stagehands, the 306 operators arie making what is promised to be a final offensive for the complete control' of metro- politan New York booths. The cam- paign presupposes a deal with Em- pire State Operators, now in.Schwartz and other houses, since that N, Y. state-chartered union has contracts with the theatres In which its men work. Thus, 306 is proceeding with the picketing, aided, and 'abetted by the .musiciaiis and stagehands, re-, gardless of th& existence of contracts which an, employer is expected to ■r^ect By clocking , the nine .Century houses in Brooklyn, now feeling, the brunt of picketing. Local 306 hope^ to prove to Schwartz, as well as to Empire, that a deal is advisable: to correct an. odd situation which de- veloped in the days of tiie deposed Sam Kaplan when both Empire and Allied' Operators undersold the A.FX. 306 union in order to get into booths. Stenchihg which followed the picketing of Schwartz houses a week ago has hot been pinned on' anyone. An additional nine Century theaitres are on the list for. picketing as the drive intensifies' against Schwartz. Members of both the musicians and Brooklyn stagehands' unions are being used oa the picket lines with 306 ops' for the first, time. The usual schedule is two men a day and four at night,, with occ ibnal surprise mass picketing. While Empire men are also being used in other independent houses, including the Springer & Cocalis chain, understanding is that no op- position to. a deal or an absorption of Empire by 306 is looked for ex- cept from Schwartz. The picketing of the letter's houses at this moment would suggest an effort to break down such resistance .from the Cen? tury Circuit owner, one of the most influential indies in the east. Less Than Peanuts Hollywood, Aug. 30. ilm scribes are being warned against certain indie producers who are trying to get writers' ideas for poppy seed (smaller than peanuts). Procedure is this: if the writer submits an idea the producer .likes, he is put on a $25 weekly salary to develop treatment, and is usu- ally fired at the end of. one week. His yarn is then turned over to a' regular staff scenarist to polish. . One of the scribes, recently approached oh a poppy seed deal by a small agent, is spread- ing the bad news. BING'S LONDON BANG ■sinners' and Crosby Hailed—iFlrst Time Favorably There London, Aug. 30. Bing Crosby productions, which have been more or less acknowl- edged to be wea:cies at the foreign box office, are due for a pleasant surprise judgihg from the critical reaction here to the" warbler's latest, 'Sing You Sinneis' (Par). Appar- ently, it's the first time that critics have acknowledged that Crosby is an actor, one reviewer describing latest screen . appearance as 'Bing Crosby springs a surprise.' Critics in London papers, who for- merly panned him, praised his efforts and took bows.for 'discovering that he's an actor. One tabbed his work in 'Sinners' as 'Bing ithout his baop-a-dbop.' JOHN FORD ON LOAN TO DIREa WANGER PIC PINTO TOSSES ASTOR, DELAY WORRIES METRO Hollywood, Aug. 30. Injuries to Mary Astor, thrown from a horse; caused suspension of production on Metro's 'Listen, Darling' until Sept. S. Studio Is worried because the picture has .a September release date;, . . Director Edwin L. Marin has shot all possible scenes around Miss Astor. Holiywopd, Aug. 30. John Ford, out on loan from 20th- Fox, pilots Walter Wanger's 'Stage Coach' as soon as he has finished the cutting jdb on 'Submarine Patrol' at the Westwopd studio. Deal with Wanger prevents Ford from directing the next Eddie Cantor starrer, "The Average Man,' at 20th-Fox. Metro Packs Delight' For Fear of OffendiBg Hollywood, Aug. 30. Next starrer for Norma Shearer will be "The Women,' a Hunt Strom- berg production at Metro. .'Idiot's Delight,' In preparation for weeks, has been shelved indefinitely, owing to war angles that might of- fend fascist governments. PAR'S USUAL $1.50 AND 15c ON 1ST AND 2D PFD. Paramount maintained its usual dividend rate on both classes of pre ferred stock Monday. (29), when di rectors made 'quarterly declarations on first and second preference issues. Voted usual $1.50 on the former and 15c on the. second preferred. Both divvys are payable Oct. 1 to stockholders on record Sept 16. Desert Song' of Hammers Hollywood, Aug. 30. Warners is going- into the conr structibn .business. in a big way for th^. production of 'Desert Song,' which gets the starting signal late next inonth. Among the building projects, will be five acres of structures to repre. sent the . port of Casablanca. on the north African coast, and 15 miles of plank road in the. Arizona desert Dick Foran Offered To Vande as Maestro ick Foran, sagebrush film trouba dor, is'^ being offered to eastern vaude as a leader-vocalist of a swing crew. Foran is currently .rehearsing his outfit on the Coast, and- will start east as soon as dates are lined up, Nat Goldstone and Charles Morrison booking through Bill iller, pair's New York rep. Sonja's Moppet Rival Hollywood, Aug. 30, Irene Dare, 6, skating moppet was signed by Sol Lesser to start in a series of picturesi first of which will be 'The Silver Skates,' based on th? bid Hans Brihker le. Play will be filmed by Principal for United Artists release, Norman .Taurog directs. Inside Stuff-^Pictiires Unauthorized showings of pictures on . S. Coast Guard vessels have' been definitely squelched because of prompt action of distributors in re- ix»rting the practice to the Copyright Protection Bureau. This resulted in a blanket order by the Coast Guard Commandant designed to check the practice in all its units. «, , . . Matter was brought to light when commanding officers of certain coast guard ships called to film exchanges to book product and rejected several suggested films because they claimed that they had been previously shown. In several instances these prints had been supplied by local exhibitors. Capt L. C. Covell, replying for the commandant, sent out a general, order in which he quoted from the lettier of Gabriel Hess, in behalf of the dis. ti-ibutors. Order reads: 'Commanding officers of units where motion pictures are exhibited will, in case of programs obtained from the ^^avy Motion Picture Exchange, comply strictly with the provisions of the Bureau of Navigation pamphlet . . When programs are obtained from other sources, care shall be taken that the exhibition thereof at the unit involved is properly licensed in writing by an authorized distributing agency, and that the terms of the license^are fully complied with;' This cooperation with distributors is similar to the general order issued several years ago by the adjutant general of the War Department, again at the request of the Copyright Protection Bureau, to all commanding generals in the nine corps areas having jurisdiction over C.C.C. camps in order to halt unauthorized showings by traveling exhibitors who visited various camps. . , j ^ ^ Itinerant exhibitors, some of whom juggle playdates because traveling from town to town and sometimes hold back prints, always have been a source of trouble for the Copyright Bureau in past years; Warners is bearing down on its series of patriotic Technicolor shorts, arranging nationwide tie-ups through the Afmerican Legion, schools and patriotic and civic groups. Gordon Hollingshead, producer, won the Academy award with 'The Man Without a Country' last year, and ia making four more historical films this year: 'Lincoln in the White House,' Teddy Roosevelt and His Rough Riders,' 'Remember the Alamo' and American Cavalcade.' Studio is stressing the Ameirican angle as opposed to Europiean dictatorships. Five of WB's new historical shorts will be shown Thursday (1) before 1,000 delegates to the convention of the American Council of Education^ Program consists of 'Romance of Robert Burns,' 'Song of the'Nation,' 'Man Without a Count ,' 'Romance of Louisiiana' and 'Give Me Liberty,' all in color. American Film Center, latest non-profit educational film organi tion made possible through aid from the Rockefeller Foundation, is understood to have been established jprimarily to better the quality of all educational and scientific picture subjects but also will include non-theatrical 'films ot all kinds. Group of experta in the educational field will make up the re- search advisory committee which will advise potential film makers. Small fee niay be included for research advice but it is in no way a rhoney- making proj t Odessco Productions, Inc., has been chartered to conduct a business in motion pictures, etc., with, principal office i Manhattan, and with G. B. Odium, 1501 Broadway, and Stanley A. Odium, 51 Ingram street, Forest Hills, Ii. I., among the directors. Bernard Steele, 1501 Broadway, is the third director. None of them is listed as owners of stock. The subscribers; each holding one share, are Charles F. Mclsaac, 'Walter K. Walker and James P. Murtaugh, 120 Broadway, N. Y. That is the address of the filing attorneys, Simpson, Tliacher St Bartlett Capital is $200,000, $1 par value. [Floyd Odliuh is backing William K. Howard in. indie production in. the east] Nancy Kefly's CHmb Hollywood, Aug.. 30. Nancy Kelly co-stars with Alice Faye in Tailspin,' femme flying pic- lure slated to start Sept 12 at 20th- Fox with Roy Del Ruth directing. Role will be Miss Kelly's third since leaving Broadway. She started in 'Submarine Patrol' and currently playing opposite Tyrone Power in 'Jesse James.' Lowell Thomas Soloing For Fox; Off U's Series Because of previous commitments, Lowell Thomas, who - nairrates for Fox Movietone newsreel, abandons- his stint as commentator on Univer-. sal's 'Going Places" shorts in order to do commenting job on 20th-Fox's 'Magic Carpet of Movietone' series. Spot Thomas vacates on 'Going Places' will be filled by Graham McNamee, who does newsreel nar- rating job for Universal newsreel. Thomas gets top billing for his commentation on the ' agic Carpet' shorts. tranger than Fiction' shorts nar- ration will be handled entirely by Alois Havrilla, formerly star nar- rator for Pathe newsreel. This is also a U series: Metro Megger Returns To Film Childhood Locash Rochester, N. Y., Aug. 30, Metro . Director Richard Rosson is causing a stir in Geheseo, Genesee Valley village near here, by return ing toi the old^ home town to shoot atmosphere scenes for 'The Great Waltz.' Rosspn^lived in Geneseo for a time when a" boy. ith him are cameramen Sid Wagner and George Bourne to get shots of a covered bridge, rolling hills, picturesque sky and shepherds in ' the fields. A, nuinber - of the Geneseo younger .set are being used in the filming. WB BOLLS FAIR Hollywood, Aug. 30. 'Unfit, to Print,' a newspaper yarn, and 'Password to Larkspur Lane,' first of the Nancy Drew series, rolled yesterday (Mon.) at Warners. Joan Blondell and Pat O'Brien head the cast in 'Unfit* with James Flood directing. Bonita Granville is tops in 'Password,' William McGann piloti And Then the Battle Hollywood, Aug. 30, 'Glinga Din' troupe, on location for seven weeks at Lone Pine, returns to the RKO studio Saturday (3) for three weeks of interiors before film- ing the battle scenes in the hills. George Stevens, producer, figures the war shots will take two. weeks more. SHOBTAOE OF comes? Hollywood, Aug. 30. Twentieth-Cent'iry-Fbx is looking for a featured comic to fill the role originally written for Robert Coote in 'Mr. Moto Takes a 'Vacation,' start- ing this week. Cbote is busy in RKO's 'CSunga Din.' Holly.vvood is getting a big laugh out of the six stars named by the.Dies Congressional Committee as 'Reds,' with iShirley Temple heading the list Signatures of the players, including Clark Gable, Robert Taylor, James Cagney, Miriam Hopkins and Bette Davis, ini addition to Miss 'Temple, had been sent by the h-o. publicity departmenta attached to congratulatory cables to Ce Soir, Paris daily, on its anniversary last .March. Even iPaula Walling, Hollywood correspondent for Ce Soir, did not know about it She insists Ce Soir, fiar from, being Red, is owned by a. group of Pari bankers supporting the French government. A survey of the conditions facing writers who desire to turn their at- tention to writing for the screen has been completed by Frances Taylor Patterson, who has just returned from Hollywood, where she interviewed producers and writers on the lota of the major conrpanies. Mrs. Patterson is in charge; of motion-picture work at Columbia University and the sur- vey is intended for the use of the studenta in the course which is to be held on Monday evenings during the academic year beginning Oct 2. Two Is a Lull Here Hollywood,'Aug. 30. Temporary lull in production showed only two pictures, 'Down on the Farm' and 'A Very Practical Joke,' at work on the' 20th-Fox lot last week. 'Jesse James' is being filmed at Pineville, Mo. Prodiiction ^icks up this week, with two slated to go and nine more set to start in the next/three weeks. AUied's Milw. Meeting Milwaukee, Aug. 30. Allied Theatre Owners opened a two-day meeting today (Tuesday), which will be climaxed with a banquet (Wed.). After the banquet, guests will pre- view Kprda's 'Drums' (UA). Boris Kaplan, head of Paramount's eastern talent department, con- tinues to receive applications from folks who think they have a chance on the screen as a .result of series by King Features on motion picture talent and building of .new folks for pictures. Many of- them address Kaplan as 'dean of Star University,' because he was so tabbed in the series of stories that began breaking in newspapers eight or nine months ago. Gratitude for old kindnesses, resulted in the - assignment of Mary Jo Desmond to a featured role in 'Annabel Takes a Tour' at RKO. Lou Landers, director, remembered the time when he was a second assistant pilot and William Desmond, her father, was an outstanding star. Desmond is in a Pasadena sanitarium. His daughter had been with a little theatre group for three years. Film company press agents are mulling the possibilities of Hollywood; N. J., particularly in explbiting picture stars when they arfe east Officially the post office covering this spot in Jersey is listed as West End, but it is best known as Hollywood-West End, being a part of Long Branch, utgers Neilsen unearthed the idea. KNOCHE QtJiTS U Hollywood) Aug. 30. Bob Knoche, . superintendent of construction at the Universal stu- dio for years, turned in his resigna- tion. He was succeeded by Al Richards, formerly with Warners. STORY BUYS Hollywood, Aug. RKQ. . purchased 'No Law in Shadow Valley,' by W. C. Tuttle. and 'Stage Stops at Piny on Gulch,' by Bernard McGonville. Hans Rameau sold ah original on the life-of Jenny'Lind to Universal; Deanna Durbin starrer. •Pygmalion,' CJabriel Pascal's British-made production of George Bernard iShaw's play, cost $675,000. It is the. first of Shaw's works to be made into a full length feature. Metro will distrib in America but picture will not be put on MG's regular dbmestic release slate. It will be road- showed in the U. S. and (janada. Most colossal list of autographs ever compiled will be awarded by Warners as a prize in a nation-wide contest in connection with the 'Motion Pictures Are Your Best Entertainment' campaign. Before the prize is awarded signatures of all stars.and featured players will be enlarged for use on 24-sheets. Lucille Watson, Selznick player, is understood to be under consideration for at least three stage plays this season on Broadway. Richard Alclrich wants her for 'Marriage Royal'; George Abbott for 'February Hill,' S. K' Lauren for 'Many Happy Returns;' J. Carrol Naish, Paramount player, arrived in New York yesterday (Tuesday) to sit in on the Hines trial in state supreme court Idea pur- portedly is to study gangster types since he hias beien playing such roleJ in films lately. Annoyed by the rattle of casters on the pavement, Paramouht shushed two miles of studio stireets surrounding the outdoor sets.. New pavement is made of soundproof asphalt, covering 50,000 square feet.