Variety (Sep 1938)

Wednesday September 7; 1938" PICTURES VARIETY FALSE FACES OV ER H'WOOD ■: r 5 . Radio StiO Peeved Because Fix Biz Overlooked 'Em with Some of That Ad Coin; Talk 'Reprisals' on Film Plugs freedom of Press' Issue in Fox Movietone's Loss of 'Klondike' Shots Philadelphia, Sept. 6. : Fox-Movietone cameras arid'sound taulpment and 665 feet of film were wnflscated last Thursday by city Sflcials investi ting the roasting to death of four convicts at Holmesburg Prison. An assistant district attor- ney ordered police tolake the equip- ment and reels from J. Dennis Welsh, chief of the crew despite the fact Welsh had previously obtained per- mission to shoot the footage frorn the'coroner, who Is nominally : sup- posed to be In charge of the prison. When Welsh refused to budge from the scene until , his film and camera were returned, the d.a., John Boyle, went before Common Pleas Court Judge Gerald F. Flood with a petition to impound the pix. Film was ordered impounded, but Boyle was Instructed by the court to re- turn the' equipment Welsh was principally angered at the confisca- tion of his equipment, valued at $18,- 000, because he needed it the next day for the start of the Davis Cup ; matches at the Germantown Cricket Club. Film, which has been sent to New York for developing and will be re- turned'to the crew if it includes nothing to injure the State's case against prison officials, were of preparations for a test of the heating 'apparatus in the 'Klondike,' where file convicts were roasted. Boyle argued that release of the Sim uncensored might not only ob- struct justice, but might 'jeopardize an important homicide, case right in the middle of a trial and even might jive the defense grounds to' demand' . a change of venue.' .Robert N. Green, attorney for Fox-Movietone, told Judge Flood the "da. had used 'high-handed methods and emphasized that the men were inside , the prison walls taking pic- tures, with the specific consent of Coroner Hersch. He declared Boyle's .action 'infringes on the freedom of the press.' Judge Flood said he wanted to be ' wry careful. about infringing on the v freedom of the press, but felt the .alms might prove too dangerous to • an Important case to be shown un- censored. Hersch later withdrew his permission when Boyle so: vehenv ently objected to the shooting of the Pix. In giving the okay to Welsh, the Coroner .'stipulated that print's for simultaneous release, had to be provided to all other major news- reels, In the crew from which detectives took the truck containing films and *?uipment were included sound technician James McKeoh, electrician John Hawking and cameraman U. B. Whipple. ADJOURN RKO REORG UNTIL END OF SEPT. The hearing on the confirmation of the RKO reorganization plan, •flglnally set for this Thursday (8), *ul be further adjourned until the week of the month. It was learned yesterday (Tuesday) that >Mge Bondy will not return to the tench until then arid, as a result, V°L" H. C. Rickaby, counsel to the Woponents of the plan, will ask. Judge andelbaum to adjourn the "earing. The same action will be taken on if ap P licat '°n for fees by George A1 ?er, special master, who has not guested a lefinite amount. It's Done in Sixes Long Time No Tumble Hollywood, Sept. 6. David O. Selznick achieved another record by the purchase of 'The Married Life of Helen »nd Warren,' longest serial in newspaper history. It was started 25 years ago by Mabel Urner arid is still going. Selznick also owns 'Gone with the Wind.' Columbia Pix Net Profit $183,392, as Against $1,317,771 in '37 Columbia Pictures net profit, after all charges, taxes and other deduc- tions, totalled $183,392 for the fiscal year ended June 25, statement sent to stockholders is week revealed. This compares with $1,317,771 net profit for fiscal year endi' in June, 1937. Decrease in profits was recorded despite the fact that gross income from.'film rentals and sales totaled $20,101,699. fost of amortizing pro- duction figured as the largest single item to be deducted from, this total, being $12,230,387. General admi is- trative and selling expense also was a large item being placed at $6,- 598,216. Taxes set the company back $36,484. Columbia showed that it paid out' $585,577 in dividends, with almost equal amounts of . cash on both the common and preferred shares. In- cluded in this total was. $117,214 which was supposed to represent the value of common -shares distributed as stock dividends. Company's earned surplus as' of June 25 this year was placed at $4,- 098i680, as "a result of operations in the past fiscal year. Report also re- vealed that the company issued 500,000 of its six-year 4%% deben- tures in that period, being placed privately with an insurance' com- pany. . Registers Stock Washi , Sept. 6. Permit to register another batch of voting trust certificates and al- ready authorized common stock was sought from the Securities & Ex- change Commission Thursday (1) by Columbia Pictures Corp. Trustees asked to have listed on the New York Stock Exchange cou- pons for 34,454 shares of no-par, as well as the securities themselves. Also want to register 36,272 com- mon ducats on the New York Curb. Hollywood, Sept. 6. It will take six weeks to complete *•* days of actual shooting of re- «k» on David O. Selznick's 'The "ung in Heart.' Required for some of the scenes " e ., Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., cur-. ?. nt |y working in RKO's 'Gunga and Roland Young, busy ' " a l Roach's Topper Takes a Tri .' Field Day for Needle Workers at Warners Hollywood, Sept. 6. Dressmakers and tailors are get- ting a heavy play at Warners, with five heavy budget productions re- quiring 2,800 costumes. Requirements are 1,000 for 'Jua- rez'; 500 for 'The Sea Hawk'; 300 for 'Dodge City'; 750 for 'Memphis Belle,' and 250 for 'Oklahoma Kid.' En-oll Flynn is slated for the top role in 'Dodge City,' second of the Technicolor supoi-outdoorers, ic- ture set to roil about Oct. 15. War- ners' other prairie linter is 'Okla- homa Kid,' starring James Cagncy and Ann Sheridan, due for a mid- September start. Both screenplays are by Robert Buckner. Studios' Paint-and-Wig Spe- cialists ver worked—- Cycle of Outdoor and Cos- tume Specs Call for Un- usual Transformations Doran Back West D. A. Doran. east for conferences at the Columbia home office, left yesterday (Tues.) for the Coast. , In the east two Weeks, he will ; ' make periodic trips back and forth. | ! probably corning on again shortly; ! to see the new crop of fall plays. 1 BULL MARKET By BOB MOAK Hollywood,. Sept. 6. These are golden days for Holly- wood's army of studio makeup ar- tists. Because of the flood of out- door spectacles and . unusual cos- turners carrying heavier-than-usual casts, the demand for grease paint spreaders, and Wig and chin spinach specialists is running fair in excess of the supply. Result-is that all those of the clan who want it are in a position to pile up fancy overtime earnings. Record number of. pictures cur- rently being shot in Technicolor is further swelling the makeup prob- lem. Paint, formerly purchased in gallon units, is now being bought by the barrel. Headaches seem to be the order of the season for production executives, what with the regular, studio 'con- tract and freelance face and hair toucher-uppers, as well as those em- ployed by the Factor and Westmore cosmetic and wig plants, booked solidly until late into the fall. Most monumental task yet pre- sented any talker factory makeup bureau is that of converting human thesps Into the semi-human charac- ters in Metro's 'The Wizard of Oz,* which producer Mervyn Le Roy will send before the cameras within the next few days. Calling for such screwy characterizations as the Munchkins, the Cowardly Lion, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman and the Wicked Witch of the West, 'Qz,' which will be turned out as a tinter, has occupied the vastly swelled makeup personnel of the Culver City lot for more than, two months. Lion-Sized Job Munchkins, to' be played by midgets, will wear plastic masks de- signed by Jack Dawn. . More than 150. of these, bearing the same, char- acteristics, but of a necessity evi- dencing distinct personalities, have been manufactured. Cowardly Lion will wear a lion skin which sets a mark as the largest wig ever made. Instead of using a real skin, which by no stretch of the imagination could be made to fit a full-sized ac- tor,, a synthetic one has been assem- bled hair by hair. Filming of exteriors for 'Gunga Din,' near Lone Pine, has James Parker, RKO makeup chief, and his big crew working day and night. (Continu on page 22) Ti Typed Hollywood, Sept. 6. Two tinsmiths were required to tailor Buddy Ebsen's costume in Metro's 'The Wizard of Oz.' His role is the Tin Woodman and his clothes are ^made of sheet aluminum. Television Tourists (At 55c Per Tour) See Themselves Via Visio Television Tour, latest to be In- augurated by National roadcasting Co. in Radio City, began giving the public intimate gl>npses of sight- sound secrets last Thursday (1). High spot of tour, admission for which is 55c, is when members of touring party are televized. Stunt, is cleverly arranged so that some members may see into television studio Atjhile sight-sound broadcast is in progress and then see the tele- vision program on four different television sets at same instant.- Screen image shown on sets Is clearer, and more lifelike than those shown. by NBC-Radio Corp. several months ago before it temporarily halted test televizing. Television tourists are brought through from the adjacent studio room by means of coaxial cable. No makeup of any sort needed, indicating how far television :has progressed in the hands of NBC engineers. For this tour, the usual 441 lines standard is employed with the image approximately 7 by 9 inches in size, same as when last viewed by the public i New York. . Black and white objects appear on the televized screen, admittedly a stride forward although employed before.' Remainder of tour consists of word description, of equipment and methods used in television, in the past and at present time. Tour has what is known as a self-contained unit and is separate from the one currently in use for experimental telecasts from Station W2XBS, atop Empire State building tower, by NBC-RCA. When the N. Y. World's Fair opens next year, tour probably will be elaborated so that telecasting and re-, ceiving between the exposition grounds, where RCA will have an extensive television exhibit in its building, and the RCA building. Whole tour is through a series of rooms oh the ninth floor of the RCA structure. Forcing Holdovers To Offset Nabe IsMpls/Way Theatres' Inroads Minneapolis, Sept. The latest 'way for local down- town first-run houses to combat the inroads on their busi from curtailed buying power and from the neighborhood and suburban houses, helped by lower admission prices, parking advantages, etc.,. is to extend more engagements. Given a product break like they're now getting it's a logical procedure, they claim. More films than ever before are being held over and a. picture now will be given a second week f or longer engagement on consider- ably loss initial business. I As a result, the downtown first- run spots get more out of the pic-| lures. By delaying the films" ar-: rival uptown and in the suburbs, they overcome some of the public! tendency to' wait and save. The I psychological effect of extended loop runs, it's, found, is to increase the average person's desire to sec the attraction immediately. Then, too, it's pointed out. there are fewer hew first-run attractions to split the available business and oven the weaker newcomers get a better boxoffice break. In this con- nection, it's felt, the trade attracted by the holdovers comes under the head of additionally created patron- age—as far as the loop houses are concerned—that never would have come into being except for the extended first-runs, business; that wouldn't have reached down-1 town. Under, present conditions.! too, there's only a li itcd amount i of;-trade'available for new. altrac-i tibns and too many of thcrn can't be supported. -The holdovers .help to.: solve this problem, it's believed. Washington, Sept. 6. Radio means business in checki on the gratuities given the film i duslry. Vendetta looks sure, par- ticularly in view of picture leaders' refusal to. give broadcasting stations a slice of the big fund raised to build good-will through 'Best Enter- tainment' campaign. . Attitude of the film crowd' has. strengthened determination to con- duct a thorough study into radio sta- tions' generosity. Survey outlines now being pondered by the National Association of Broadcasters, with Paul Peters, researcher, is due to be- gin active inquiring within a few weeks. In the week'sine'e Ed Kirby, NAB public relations boss, chided Howard.. Dietz, Metro p.a, about the intent to use newspapers predominantly in the business-building effort,' the radio industry has received no ex- planation, no alibis, apologies, or promises.. Unconcern of the Hays organization about holding'the good- will of broadcasters—particularly while films are trying to win friend- ship of the public—seems to be ir- ritating the radioites specially. Only - response since the Kirby letter was from Jim Stahlman, presi- dent of American Newspaper Pub- lishers Association, disclaiming any. thought among the press of freezing out radio. This was heartening, as it improved prospects of better rela- tions between, broadcasters and newspapers. Reciprocity Angles. While no direct threats have been uttered, the NAB staff. expects to collect data showing film moguls that radio has been very open-handed and Is entitled to some, return. Among the matters due for examina- tion are; (1) amount of gratis time for 'previews,' gossip, spielers, nut- shell dramatizations; (2) extent of plugging for film tunes; (3) use of platters arid fr chatter sent out by Hollywood praiseries; (4) number of stars employed on radio programs. Broadcasters take, the attitude that they have built up film personalities arid attracted new crop of picture customers. Good business tactics, since novel airwave personalities have stimulated listener interest.. But the talent has been compensated when hired for commercial pro- grams,- so radio cannot be accused of widespread. chiseling. On the contrary, chains often have Identi- fied musical numbers with current or forthcoming screen features as a matter of course, ithout com- pensation. [This seemingly refers to an ASCAP requisite that a copy- righted tune from any production, stage or screen, must credit its source by title.] What will be done with the data is a matter for Neville Miller arid the directorate. Probability the NAB will move in on film execu- tives and talk pointedly- suggesting that the relations in the future be on a two-way basis and emphasizing that one-sided good neighborliness will not go on forever. Northwest Radio's Beef Seattle, Sept. G. Radio execs are not feeling very happy since the $250,000 Movie Quiz broke here Sept, 1, leaving them out on a limb as far as spending money in the outlets is concerned. Local committee in charge of the promo- tion here is using only blade and while, all of the sheets breaking with first page layouts and reams of publicity. The radio boys are keeping mum but thinking plcnly and do not expect to retaliate, but naturally are hot cheering sinre they are not to .gel sumc of the easy money that is being spent. Kddie Rivers, p. a. for. a rick- Kvcrgreen, and .Jack Sampson.doing the same trick for ,Slrrhiig chain nf houses, say tlic.v derided to use one media of expression for carrying out the campaign, feeling they could. <\<> .(Continued-on page 1!>>