Variety (Sep 1938)

'Alex Sets Another Kind of Record Through Almost Getting Back Its Neg Cost in the First Month Placed on- national release less than three weeks ago, date of availability throught the 20th-Fox exchanges having .been Aug. 19, 'Alexander's Ragtime Band' lays clai to the un- precedented distinction of having gotten back close to its negative cost in rentals within that very brief period. Costing around $1,200,000 to make, nearly $1,000,000 has already been r ched in rentals in a com- paratively small number of key en- gagements. A large proportion of the rental return is credited to two major en- gagements, the Roxy, N.Y., and the Chicago, Chicago, with new run grind records set in both. Picture is the first irt the history of the Roxy to go more than four weeks and the first to do more than two in B.&K.'s flagship, Chicago, Chi. The total gross at the Roxy will be arpund $340,000 on the five weeks, while the total for the 21-iiay run at the. Chicago totals $148,300. Over $200,000 in film rental is collected on these two engagements, a record in each in- stance. Additionally, as owner of the Roxy, 20th obtains the theatre operating profit ort the house after payment of overhead and the per- centage to Fanchon & Marco, operators. On the four weeks ending Thurs- day night (1) the Roxy had scored exactly $283,832 and played to a total of 636,253 people. On the fifth week, gauged at $57,000, the attendance will run more than a quarter of a mil^ Hon. Theatre, on a basis of gross, could hold a sixth" week, excepting that other pictures, committed under contracts, are waiting for their open- ing (national release dates meantime having been set and availabilities being held up), plus that RKO, buyer of 'Alex' 2d, run, has been backing *ip its play date calendar waiting for it: It is variously estimated that •Alex' will gross from $3,500,000 to $4,000,000 in domestic rentals alone. True to Title Hollywood, Sept. 6. Les Goodwins, RKO director, claims a record for-working his company on seven different sets in one day. He was maki Racket.' Douglas Fairbanks is due back from a European stay on Sept 14, and goes to . the Coast pronto. 20th Sales Up 10% Hollywood, Sept. 6. Selling for the new season at 20th- Fox is up 10% over the correspond- ing period for last year, according to Herman Wobber, general sales chief, here to confer with Darryl Zanuck and other production execs. Bill Hart Takes His $185,000 UA Suit Up To U. S. Supreme Court Washington, Sept. 6. Squabble between William S. Hart, past, generation cowboy star, and United Artists .over split in profits from 13-year-old thriller was laid before the U. S. Supreme Court last week. Hart is requesting a review of Second Circuit Court of Appeals' decision nixing his suit foe $185,000 against the distributing company Fight is Over distribution of rentals from Tumbleweed.' UA booked the film in accordance, with provisions of the contract, Hart told the judges, but 'knowingly and intentionally' agreed on low rentals so that receipts from exhibitors, were insufficient to cover production costs, which hit $302,000 without con- sidering worth of his own' talent. $87,000 Income Tax Claim Pursues Sr. Fairbanks; Appeals Washington, Sept. Douglas Fairbanks is latest film personality to get his back up oyer the Treasury Department's persist- ent attempts to snare bigger portions, of Hollywood income'and has turned to the Board of Tax Appeals in hope of. relief-from mounting tax burdens. Fight over receipts from securities transactions.- Fairbanks asked the Board to review the way the Fed- eral accountants' classified a profit of $689,594'from sale of bonds.. Government assessed a deficiency judgment of 7,283 for 1930. ALAN HALE MULLING B'WAY PLAY; WB DEAL Alan Hale is in New York from the Coast on a possible play; along with personal business.. Freelancing in films for a s' 11, a Warner termer is in work. Hale came east to look into sales: angles of a. new theatre seat manu- facturing firm in which he's inter- ested/ If Coast deals permit it, likely he will take a spot in Eddie Dowiing's forthcoming production of Madame Capet.' 'CAVALCADE' TITLE STICKS FOR U. S. PIC Film industry's feature, 'Cavalcade of America,' will be known as that when .it is shown In the theatre auditorium of the Federal building at the N. Y. World's Fair next year. This is the original title, but a pos- sibility existed that it might be re- tagged "These United States,' be- cause E. I. duPont, de Nemours Co. had protested it had a radio program bearing the same name. However, 'Cavalcade: of America' Is the best title and will stick. Ed Flynn, designated by President Roosevelt to have charge of the Government's building and exhibit at the New York exprsition, asked the film business to make this fea- ture for showing in. the Federal building's theatre. Will Hays and board of directors pi the Motion Pic- ture Producers & Distributors, asso- ciation agreed to. produce the film. Production largely, will consist of highlights of American history as presented in great historical photo- plays that principal U. S. producers turned out in the last 20 years. Part of picture may include a. superj - • posed description and overlay effect;! but this has yet to be ruled on. I Astoria Plants Extensive Ptod Necessitates Another New Bldg. Down but Not Out Hollywood, Sept. 6. That old Hollywood tragedy* 'The Face on the Cutting Room Floor,' was reversed for Wal- ter Kingsford, playing Tristan L'Hermite in Paramount's 'If I Were King.' Attracted by Kingsford's vil- lainous face peering from the sweepings. Producer - Director -Frank Lloyd inserted half a dozen close-ups'which'had been discarded in the first cut of the film. MUCH ACTIVITY IN JULY WALL Shorting M-G Features For Foundation Stunt Hollywood,. Sept. 6. Four old Metro features are being cut into 14 shorts as an educa- tional experiment by Joseph Losey, financed with $69,000 by the Rocke- feller Foundation! Shorts made from 'Captains Cour- ageous^ 'Men in White,* 'Fury' and 'The Devil Is a. Sissy,' ill be used' as material on human relations by the Progressive Education Associa- tion, N. Y-. ERWINS EAST FOR PIC AND PERSONAL TOUR Speed Up lady' Hollywood, Sept. 6. Behind in its production schedule, Samuel' Goldwyn's 'The Lady and the Cowboy* is being directed in two units on the United Artists lot. Henry C. Potter continues to pilot the first company! and Stuart Heis- ler is handling No. 2, completing tie- ups between' outdoor and indoor stuff. Stuart rwin and his wife, June CoIIycr, will arrive in New York around Sept. 10 to arrange a per- sonal appearance tour and make a picture at the Astoria, L. "I., studios. Harry Enger of Fanchon &" Marco, office' is holding up booking at the Fox theatre, Detroit, until pair work put their film, studio time. Not set whether they will tour or film first. U Drops Whale Hollywood, Universal is droppi to James Whale. Letting his option lapse Sept. 20. 'GUN' FOR RUBEN Hollywood, Sept. 6. J. Walter Ruben's second jqb as producer at Metro will be 'Gun in His Hand;' now. being scripted by Wells Root from an original by Wil- liam A. Ulman, Jr. Wallace Beery gets the top role. Ruben cooperates with Mervyn Le- Roy irt his first Metro production, 'Stand Up and Fight.' He will, have complete charge of 'Gun.' Washington, Sept 6. Topflight bos s of 20th Century- Fox dominated resurgence of stock market trading by film corporation insiders during July, the i- monthiy ...Securities & Exchange Commission report showed last week. Unusual number. of transac- tions, ending long period of. in- activity on the. part of officers and directors /of pic companies. Both Joseph M. Schenck and Darryl. F. Zanuck sheared substan- tial part of their holdings of 20th- Fox common. In 16 blocs, peddled over- the entire, month, the board chairman unloaded 19,600 tickets, while Zanuck, in Ave deals over as many -successive days, turned 10,000 ducats into cash. At month end, Schenck still accounted for 129,643 shares of common and 23,284 of $1.50 preferred; Zanuck for 152,130 com- mon and 21,946 preferred. . Trading also in paper of Warner Bros,,. Pathe, Loew's Boston and Uni- versal, while belated report showed details of April 1936. transactions in Universal Pictures securities. Stanleigh P. Friedman; officer and director, gave away $5,000 worth of WB debentures, hanging on to $41,- 000. He also holds title to 600 com- mon shares. Gurdbn W. Wattles. Pathe board member, peddled 400 Pathe common, in two 200-share lots, cutting his in- terest to.800 shares. Loew's continued corralling stray shares of its Hub realty subsidy Loew's Boston Theatres. Added 29 more common shares, bringing the total in the parent company's port- folio to 99,634. Series of deals in Universal Corp.- voting trust certificates by Daniel M. Sheaffer. In six batches, he disposed of 600 coupons, cutting his pile to 13,600,, plus his stake in Standard "Capital Co.'s 26,500. Whiskered re- port showed P. D. Cochrane in April, 1926, dumped, all of his paper, 688 voting trust certificates of the first scries, 1,408 of the second series, and 184 pieces of second preferred. Another overdue statement showed Daniel C. Collins, added to the Uni- versal Corp. directorate last year, has no financial interest in the firm READY FOR GRID SEASON Hollywood, Sept. 6. Metro has three football shorts ready to be released as soon as the grid season opens. Robert Bonchley's 'How to Watch Football' is a comedy. The other two are Pete Smith specialty , 'Grid Rules,' a technical explanation, and 'Football Thrills,' a collection of un- usual plays from last year's news- reels. Spitz Betting $75,000 Corrigan Is an Actor Hollywood, Sept. 6. Leo Spitz still hopes to make a film actor out of Douglas Corrigan. RKO president paid the 'wrong way' flyer $25,000 for his biography and technical advice, and is ready to pay him $75,000 more, to appear in the picture tentatively titled 'My Flight to Ireland.' Corrigan is slated to report to Pandro -' Berman, studio production chief, Sept. 10. Picture is.skeded to hit the cameras within five weeks.- Par, Look Mag Have HoHyw'd Time' Idea; U's Similar Newsreel Look magazine In conjunct! n with Paramount will essay a sort of March of Time of Hollywood. The stunt will be a series--of shorts, taking,, the public behind the Holly-, wood scene, - ti in with the Look periodical. Par and. the Des Moines Register-Tribune crowd, which pub-, lishes Look, have, long had a co- operative exploi tion tieup. Universal newsreel has just closed with George McCall, Old Gold's Hollywood gossiper, for a similar weekly stunt, treating with the film studios. McCall gets $100 a week for this chore. FAY WRAY REFUSES COL PIC TERMER FOR B'WAY ray, who has starr eral shows at the Spa theatre,' Sara- toga, is summer, is slated to ap- pear on Broadway this fall. Picture player stated she did not wish to re- turn to Hollywood this season and is known .to have turned down an of- fer from Harry Cohn of a termer with Columbia films, : Miss Wray's final appearance at the Spa was in There's Always Juliet,' which closed the season there last week. Grace Moore's $339,175 Income in '36; U.S. Probes Washington, Sept. 6. Government hauled Grace Moore, Warbler, before the Tax Appeals board last week in an effort to collect large amount which she allegedly failed to pay on her 1936. film and concert earnings. Bureau of Internal Revenue levied deficiency assess- ment of $109,292, on. ground that, en- tire income is taxable. Brief presented the board Saturr day (3) said she pocketed $339,175 in 1936. M-G Icing Three Rinks Hollywood, Sept. 6; Metro, is building three complete ice rinks to film 'The Ice Folli' ,' which Harry Rapf will produce and Reinhold Schunzel direct. Locale of the rinks will be Holly- wood, New York and an imaginary city. This is the troupe from the Inter- national Casino, N. Y., which MCA sold to Metro. 3 Young 'Uns Okayed Los Angeles, Sept. 6. Superior Judge Emmet H. Wilson last. week, approved film and radio contracts for three femme minors. Pacts were between Samuel Gold- wyn and Earleyne Schools; Eddie Cantor and June Harrison; and ' Loew's-, Inc., and Ann Morriss. STEVENSON HEADS ERPI T. .Kennedy Stevenson has been named president of Electrical Re- search\Products, Inc., to 'fill the. post left vacant through the recent death of Whitford Drake. Stevenson has been associated with: Western Electric for. 24 years, serv- ing as comptroller, ths last 10 years. With an untitled feature by a. Waxman and associates, and a not by Educational - Grand National spotted, for forthcoming production tit the Astoria plant. Eastern Service Studios and Audio Productions', Inc have drawn plans for a new building' to be erected adjoining its present studios. This would provide three additional studio stages in a struc- ture the same height at the present studio building. New- structure would be 200 by 350 feet in size and fill out the full square block owned by East- ern Service. No date set as yet for start of .con. struction, and it is possible that Audio and the educational picture group of Electrical Research Prod- ucts might confine all its activities to the new plant addition. Audio produces industrial and commercial subjects. Feature film which Waxman win produce is reported as set for Uni- versal release. The Educational-GN feature would be among the first to be turned out under the merged set- up. It is understood also to be in the nature of an experiment to deter- mine how eastern production costs compare with those on the Coast where Grand National has made ■■ ' of its features thus far. William Rowland is now winding up shooting oh first of group of Span- ish language features which RKO will handle- for the Latin-American market Production on 'One Third of a Nation,' which Harold Orlob and associates will make, starts Sept. 6, with Sylvia Sidney in the lead. Wil- liam K. Howard and Bernard Steele also will make 'Home Town' at the Astoria studio. Both pictures will- be distributed by Paramount. Milton Schwarzwald will add to production activity at the Eastern Service, plant this month, when, he swings into .action on additional mu- sical shorts for the 1838-39 programs of both Universal and RKO. Educa- tional unit also- starts on its new short features this month. Sylvia Sidney had to return to New York by Thursday (1) on a.smaller boat from Europe in order to live up to her contract with Harold Orlob for 'One Third of a Nation,' which specified she must be in New York three days In advance Of Labor Day (5). Par Has Tessei' Pic For U. S. Release; Wfll Try for Quota Credits 'Vessel of Wrath,' Charles Lau ton starrer which Erich Pommer Was trying to spot for distribution in U.S. during his stay in U.S. last month, will be handled by Para- mount. Deal will be signatur shortly. The British-made feature will be used by' Paramount in fulfilling its quota lineup the first year of' the new English quota act. Effort will, be made to obtain at least $150,000 gross rental on the picture in the U.S. market. This will enable Par to receive credit for two. quota pic- tures. If below that figure, but in excess of $100,000, distributors figure it will give Paramount one quota credit. BENNY-LAM0UR TEAM IN PAR'S'ABOUT TOW Hollywood, Sept. 6. Dorothy Lamour co-s rs ; . with Juck Benny in Paramount's 'Man About Town,' a comedy based on Bcnn W. Levy's original. Production starts Nov.. 14. w . ilh Arthur Hornblow, Jr., producing and Mark Sandrich directing. 11 Kick Off in Sept. at RKO Hollywood, Sept. 6. Starting tomorrow (Wednesday). RKO is slated to roll 11 pictures dur- ing September.' 'Picardy Max,' a Cliff Reid production, is the fust t° go, followed by 'Law est of Tomb- stone,' Sept; 12. Three more, 'Pacific Liner, 'L° ve Match' and an untitled Gcor6e O'Brien starrer, get the gun Sept. 15. 'Trailer Romance;' Sept. 20; 'Sorority . House' and 'The Castles;' *«" Astaire-Rogers. Sept. 21; 'Miss a, Sept. 23, and 'Memory of Love find •Little Orvi ,' Sept. 30.