Variety (Oct 1938)

VARIETY PICTURES Wednesday, October 5, 1938 WAGtHOUR UW Wni PROBABLY HAVE TO BE TESTED AS REGARDS SHOW BIZ Indie Theatres Particularly Concerned—Government Spokesmen Urge They Be Consulted Pronto for Any Puzzling Angles Although few in the trade look for adequate enforcement for at least six months, lesser exhibitors and mana- gers of independent circuit opera- tions already are checking up to as- certain how th?y will be affected by the new national wage-hour law which becomes effective this month. Because certain rules and defini- tions mU5t be worked out under the wage-hour act, it will take several months normally to set up complete enactment of the law. Besides this, it is understood that the Federal board will require additional funds before anything like effectual en- forcement will be possible. Much of this probably will have to come from the next Congressional session start- ing in January. Two possible outs lor picture the- atres already loom, according to best legal opinion in the industry. One is the possible classification as retail establishments, while the other is to •bring them Into the category of serv ice businesses, such as barber shops, beauty parlors, laundries, etc. Setting film theatres in the same class as retail establishments .seems most likely, in ^he opinion of many legal lights. They argue that the- atres sell to t}ie ultimatSe consumer, films being rented for the purpose of 'selling tickets to see them on dis- play. Picture houses are like other retail establishments in that the product they contract for is for ulti- mate disposal -at a set fee, the same as retail stores. 'Service' Bustnesses The analogy as to being service es- tablishments is not quite so clear, but deemed applicable by some attor- neys. This would set up theatres as selling a specific service to patrons, this service being the entertainment furnished on the screen. In one re-, spect, this rather intangible article can be classed legally in such man- ner. It is expected that many exhibitors will seek to get under the wage-hour law regulations. by means of either of these exemptions, contained in the statute. Method of procedure will be to deliberately violate certain phases of the law in order to set up a test case. It likely will be a year before the law will be operating smoothly, because of the necessary rulings and court decisions. National wage-hour law now pro- vides an $11 weekly minimum and a ■44-hour week the first year. This rate of pay increases as the number of working hours dip until the work 'week maximiun is 40 hours, and the minimum pay is $16 per week. While not many exhibitors would be affected the first year, the $16 weekly minimum of pay and trim- ming work hours to 40 hours would hit certain classes of employees in smaller communities.-and in a num- ber of independetft'"eircuit operations in big cities. "Even with the $11 and 44-hour week,, some operations would -be affected unless able to establish that they are entitled to exemptions. Actors and those en^ajed directly in a theatrical piH>duction are ex- encpted by the present "law. Conse- quently, the exhibition end of the business is expecied to be the Only one widely affected by the wage- hcur statute. with individual industry delegations before the deadline. Voluntary compliance with the acT—which limits a work week to 44 hours, unless time-and-one-half is paid for excess labor, and which re- quires a 25c pay base—is anticipated at the outset. No policing organiza- tion is likely for some months, due to shortage of cash. Efforts to clarify outstanding prob- lems may help broadcasters, film producers and exhibitors. With a legal crew working diligently on general rules and regulations, Ad- r inistrator Elmer Andrews today said that the question of who is an 'executive' is causing the chief con- cern. He hopes to have an answer on this before Oct. 24. Likewise rul- ings regarding learners, apprentices, professional workers^ and outside salesmen. General interpretive bulletins will be issued as coon as physically pos- sible, but individual ar.swers to in- quiries about unique cases will have to be delayed pending increased staff. • Co-opei^itive spirit, reflected by Andrews, who said that all indus- tries generally are reflecting readi- ness to conform to requirements. While the administrator lacks power to issue binding advisory opinions, he said every attempt will be made to solve puzzles. Employers who follow administra- tion's interpretations will not be in daiiger of govcrnmeni; persecution, if courts later take a different view,- point, although they may be subject to civil suits by workers. Andrews declared, 'If we make any mistakes w>'ll go right to ■ bat for the em- ployer.' There's little prospect the admin- istrator will set up additional indus- try committees before the first of next year. Groups are 'being or- ganized only in handfuls of basic in- dustries now, and negotiations with representative delegations of em- ployers in other lines cannot start until administrative hiachinery is perfected. Niven't Nifty Hollywood, Oct. 4. David Niven begged off from playing tennis with a friend. When pressed tot' a reason he cracked, 'I've got to go over to Goldwyn's court and play Chamberlain to Sam's Hitler.' DIXIE'S SHARP BCONOMC UPBEAT Atlanta, Oct. 4. Monthly report of Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta issued Sept, 30 re- vealed substantial gains in trade, construction and industrial activity throughout southeast. Atlanta led other Dixie cities in retail trade in- creases during August in Sixth Fed- eral Reserve District, an increase of 50.1% being reported over July. Con- struction contracts. awarded in Au- gust increased almost 29% and Au- gust awards for residential construc- tion totaled $8,863,000, highest in more than nine years. Reports from 145 firms indicated wholesale trade increased 15.8% from July to August. Following increases in retail trade in August over July were reported: Atlanta, 50.1%; Birmingham, 23.2%; Chattanooga, 16.1%; Mont- gomery, . 16.6%; Nashville, 29.1%; New Orleans, 44.7%. Cotton mills' consumption in Ala- bama, Georgia and Tennessee in- creased 20.3% over July. Capitars Slant ' V/ashin2ton, Oct. .4.- Indefinite delay in answering conundrums about the wage-hour lew confronting various branches of show business was indicated today, althoush all enierp'ises, subject to federal, regulation, are expected to comply voluntarily with statutory standards when the new act becomes effective Oct. 24. Unless films and radio submit specific queries prompt- ly, executives of studios, theatres, stations and other units will have to guess whethar they are affected and to what extent Scire doubt may be removed through interpieiations now in prep- aration, but offlcirls of the wage- hour administration emphasized there is little chance for meetings War Makes London Pic Execs Vacash-Minded Hollywood, Oct. 4. Recent war scare in Europe caused film execs in England to ship their wives and families to Ireland and Scotland as a precaution against -air raids, according to advice received here from London. General exodus was increased by large nunibers of film folks who sur- denly. discovered they needed vaca- tions. No Gas Mask for Her, Jtne Lang; Scrams Isle Hollywood, Oct.-4. June Lang's hurried exit from England was due to her aversion to being measured for a gas mask, ac- cording to word received here from the London ' film colony. Officials told M'ss Lang and her mother they micht be gased in. <iase of war, so they booked passage oii the Queen Mary pronto. She arrived in New York on Monday (3). An English girl Is taking tests for Miss Lang's part in the picture, 'So This Is London'. SAILINGS Oct. 18 (New York to London) Otto kruget (Nieuw Amsterdam). Oct. 12 (New York to London) Mr. and Mrs. Clifford C. Fischer (Nor- mandie). Oct. 12 (Lgndon to New York) Sergei Rachmaninoff (Que6n Mary). Oct. 9 (Los Angeles to Mexico) Mr. and Mrs. Sol Wurtzel, Mr. and Mrs. Norman Foster (City of Los Angeles). Oct. 8 (New York to Bermuda) William Wellman (Monarch of Ber- muda). Oct. 6 (New York to London) J. Cheever Cowdin, Mr. and Mrs. Jack Warner, James Whale (Queen Mary). Oct 5 (London to New York) Ches- ter Hale, Tamara Geva, Reg Con- nelly (Normandie). Oct 4 (New York to London) Sobu, Fernand Gravet George Grossmith, Jr. (Paris). Oct. 1 (London to New York) Louis Dreyfus, Josephine Huston, Mrs. Harry Foster, Irving- Berlin, Saul H, Bornstein," Francis Gilbert (lie de France). Ufe of a %m Bin By BILL HALLIGAN Gee, it's certainly great to get out of that vault for a change. What'i that strange smell; oh yeah, fresh .air. But I'nfi not sooner out than I'm tucked in the inside of a fat guy's hatband. Now he's telling his frau he hasn't got a quarter. He gave her a bus ticket to Perth Amboy to se^ her mother. He's taking me out now and putting me in his vest pocket I wonder who the swell doll is that he just called at the Ritz Tower? She says she wants to go to the Colony. There won't be much of me left when we leave there. Ho, ho, he knows the boss of the place. He's ordering caviar at three slugs a pennyweight. The man's crazy. He just ordered 'Lanson 1919.' That's the year I was born. She says she loves frogs' legs. I see she does. Here comes a new one on me. Chocolate ice cream drenched in Russian kirsch. She calls it 'a sweet.' Cute? He claims he could eat a ton of it He's in his third chinhood right now. Now he's ordering Napoleon Brandy. Ah, there, Josephine! Take a gander at the big schooners. Maybe he's switched to t»abst. No, I'm wrong again. They're pouring brandy in them. He calls for the checkeroo. Thirty-four slugs. He's damn near ruined me. I've got one foot in the grave already. Now we're in the ^tork Club. He mitts the doorman a mutuel certifi- cate—two washers. This'mugg must get his mullah out of a pump. We sit "down with two coppers from the precinct. Boy, wouldn't they like to get their fingerprints on me? Talk about cutting a woman in half, he's calling for the bed news again. Six- teen-flfty. He dukes the, headwaiter a sawbuck. I'm only half the man I was when we started out. She whispers she wants to take in Chez Blanc, otherwise Jack White at the 18 Club. He's going for more grape. That White would be funny if I wasn't all broken up. Now we are headed for Jimmy Kelly!s. I'm get- itng thinner every minute. He bet- ter go easy or I'll never leave the Village. Ah, he's switched to steak sandwiches. He's slowing up. He asks for coffee. The tab is seven tears and the Mills Hotel is just around the corner. I could live there a month on that seven. He slips Mario the maitre a fin. I'm down to 12 clams. He's tightening up. He gives my last ten to the doll. And I wake up in a Turkish bath, a wrinkled old $2 bill. Disney's Release Policy Hollywood, Oct 4. Walt isney has adopted a new policy of setting release dates on his shbrt subjects one year in advance and delivering the films on time. Thus far the cartoon producer has completed 10 of the 18 shorts to be released by RKO during 1938-39. He showed eight at a private press screening last week. Oiler News of Interest to Flms Arthur Loew's thrae-month swing through South America.. .Page 15 Japs ease U. S. film ban Page 15 See Czech grab hurting U. S. film distri Page 15 Ben Bernie's radio jam Page 27 Eu:ene O'Neill and radio censorship Page 27 Radio,reviews of Jack Benny, Bob Hope, Kate Smith, Burns and Allen, .Ben Bernie, Eddie Cantol-, Fredric March, Judy Canova, Charles Boyer Pages 30-31 Durante at Chez Paree, Chi ; Page 49 No Passes for City Hall Crowd, L. A. Mayor Rules Los Angeles, Oct. 4. Annie Oakley is persona hon grata at the city hall. Fletcher Bowron, the new mayor, told the first run houses to keep their passes, which had run up to several hundred a week under the old regime. Mayor's action was good news to the theatres, which are 'carrying on an anti-pass campaign. Recently the daily newspaper skulls were limited to actual reviewers. Unusual number of phonies Seeking passes to New York theatres in past weeks has resulted in a stiff cam- paign to frustrate the practice. The Broadway first-run picture houses are now checking back on all re- quests by phone. N. Y. to L. A. Claude Binyon. Joe' Brandt Peter Holden. Henry Jaffe, June Lang. Horace McMahon. Patricia Morison. Charles Powers. Wesley Ruggles. Waiter Ward. ARRIVALS Seki Sano, Louise Henry, Serge Jaroff, Don Cossack Choir, Phil Rcis- man. Serge Lifar, Mildred Billing, Andre Marchal, Burton Holmes, Mrs. Louis Bromfield, John Mark, Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Fairbanks, June Lang, Henry Oscar, Wesley Ruggles, Irving Maas, Wilfrid Lawson. HG FVJK ROLL AS MARS SCRAK itollywood, Oct. 4. Peace pact in'Europe was a go- ahead signal for Hollywood produc- tion, with 14 top-budget pictures slated to start this month . Had war been declared, all film^ costing more than $600,000 would have been temi- porarily shelved.- 20th-Fox started the ball rolling, yesterday (Monday) with two costly jobs. Thanks for Everything' and 'The Three Musketeer-s.' Metro rolled 'Stand Up and Fight,' RKO started 'Love Matcli,' and Paramount went to work on 'Cafe Society.' Warners turned the cameras on 'Words. With Music' today (Tues.) and is readying 'Dodge City' to shoot in 10 days. There is a possibility that 'The Sea Hawk' may get the gun before the end of the month. Uni- versal faces the heaviest 'A' sched- ule in its history this month, with 'Three Smart Girls Grow Up,' 'You Can't Cheat an Honest Man' and 'Three's Company' on the cj^lendar for Oct 15, and a -second Danielle Darrieux planned lor later in the month. Walter Wanger starts his 'Stage Coach' between Oct 15 and 20. Paramount has 11 features, seven in the 'A' class, skeded for Octo- ber. Studio operated at a low pro- duction cost last month, with the war scare, the Legion convention and the hot weather, but is ready to cut loose in a big way. Universal is putting additional construction crews to work this week, rebuilding two old stages scheduled to be ready by Oct. 15, when the plant will hit its highest production mark in recent years. When this job is finished, work will start on two new stages and a six-story administration building, at a total cost of about $1,000,000. Schenck Heads Chest Drive, Pic Quota 400G Hollywood, Oct. 4, Joseph M. Shcenck, chairman of the 1938 Commnuity Chest drive, set a goal of $400,000 for the picture industry and delegated lieutenants to push the campaign in the studios. Delegates are: Sam Katz and Nich- olas Nayfack, Metro; William Koenig, 20th-Fox; George Bagnall, Para- mauna; Joe Nolan, RKO; Blayney Mattliews,. Wafners; H. A. McDoh- nell, Columbia; Edward Muhl, Uni- versal; Reeves Espy and Jock Law- rence, Goldwyn, Wanger and United Artists; T. H. Richmond, Grand National; A. S. Rosenthal, Republiii; Matt O'Brien, Hal Roat:h; Ray Klune, Selznick-International; Sol Lesser, Principal Pictures and independent studios; Fred Beetson, allied indus- tries, and Abe Lastfogel, agencies. Kent Ends Studio Call Sidney Kent president of 20th-Fox, is back in New York after two weeks of studio conferences. Mrs. Kent accompanied him. L. A. to N. Y. Noel Busch. June Collyer, Lloyd Douglai. Bill Dozier. Willy du Mond. Stuart Erwin. Lew Goldberg. Samuel Goldwyn. Miriam Hopkins Dean Janis. Alexander Korda. Otto Kruger. Mare Lachman. Albert D. Lasker. Fred Leuscfaner. Mischa Levitzki Anatole Litvak. Bess Lonergan. Edward Ludwig. Jack Murray. Hugh O'Connell. Joe Pasternak. John Payne. Joel Sayre. George Schneider. Bob Spears. Marjorie Weaver. William Wellman. Ruth Weston. Roy Whitley.