Variety (Oct 1938)

VARIETY PICTURES Wednesday, October 5, 1938 Schaefer Setdes Jam in Philly By Explaining Sales Reasons Why6UAPixWereWididrawn Philadelphia, Oct. 4. Resentment against United Artists for withdrawing six pictures prom- ised on last year's contract, which threatened to grow into a date and buying strike like that against Paramount last year, was smoothed in less than 60 minutes last week by a personal visit to a Philly exhib protest meeting by George J. Schae- fer, general sales manager of UA. Exhibs left the meeting satisfied that the exchange would give them a fair break and co-operate with them. Schaefer explained exactly why the six films were withdrawn. He said that in three territories, Philly, Chicago and California, the ex- change was having difficulty in set- ting deals with Warner Bros., Bala- bam & Katz, and Fox-West Coast, respectively. There was some fear, as a result, that they would have to sell away to the indies. If that happensd, Schaefer said, it would .mean that fourth and fifth run hovises would get first run pix at rentals which would be impossi- ble for UA to exist Therefore, on the possibility that they would have to sell away frohi the circuits, the exchange cancelled the six pictures so that new deals could be made in case the subsequent-run indies got first runs. Exhibs all agreed with Schaefer. that it would be fair enough for them to pay higher rentals if they got initial runs. Schaefer said, however, that the circuit deals are now about 98% set and the selling away will be un necessary, so exhibs will get the product at exactly the same figure they would have under their for- mer termers. And even if UA does sell away, Schaefer maintained, any indie who insists may have his films at the original price, UA chieftain also pointed out that the contract was reciprocal. Exhib.<; have the same right of can- celling the pix if they are not de- li veried before Sept. 15. He said •Hiat he had instituted, this reciprocal contract when he joined UA. 'It is manifestly unfair,' he de-. clared, 'for a producing company to have the right of cancellation in its contract without giving the ex- hibitor the same right. If our com- pany finds it necessary, because of technical reasons or otherwise to cancel a picture included in an agreement, then I believe that the entire group of undelivered pictures should likewise be cancelled to give the exhibitor the right to re-ap- praise the value of the whole group. 'I don't believe that it is fair for a producer to cancel a picture that looks like a probablie. hit for the purpose of raising the price in a new contract—and then leave the exhibitor holding the bag for the in- ferior product' Schaefer also pointed out that his company's policy did not give a cir- cuit privileges over an independent. One indie asked Schaefer to use his influence to stop the practice of other producers in withdrawing pictures on phdney pretexts, so they can be sold at higher prices the fol- lowing season. Fed Up on Murder Hollywood, Oct 4. Fed up with murderous roles, Anthony Averill obtaired his release from a Warners ..i-. ■u-t with the completion of ni;:; . vU - rent job in 'Secret Servict \n the Air.' In nine pictures Averill has committed as many murders. Co-op Theatres Of Michigan In Buying Shakeup Detroit Oct. 4. A shakeup in the Co-operative Theatres of Michigan, Inc., has dis- placed Ray Moon,' with Carl Buer- mele now head of film buying. G. M. Richey, general manager, may also leave. It is reported locally that Moon and Richey were ' leading a proxy fight to oust Wisper & Wetsman and the Ben & Lou Cohen circuits from the co-op buying setup, supposedly to protect other nabes. They ran into plenty of opposition themselves from President Fred Deloddar and the Co- op membership. Post $5,000 Reward In Schading Murder; IBEW Names Brady 3t Louis, Oct. 4. The executive board of Local No. 1, IBEW, was voted a $5,000 reward for information leading to the ar- rest and conviction o£ the slayers of Arthur C. Shading, business agent who was shot to death by two men as he was leaving the union'^ hall two weeks ago. At the same time the board appointed H. W; Brady, re- garded as a neutral in the factional strife existing in the union, as Schading's successor. Brady will ftU Schading's unex- pired term which runs until July 1, 1940. Ed Redemeier has been se- lected as Brady's assistant The board also announced that a committee of 10, to be known as The Harmony Committee, has been appointed to iron out all factional differences ip the body. Genasdarmes working on the murder have questioned a num- ber of labor men and while no in- formation has been obtained that might clear up the killing they still believe Schading's declaration to have his organization take over the servicing of coin phonographs from the Teamsters' Union was the motive for the murder. Gold Lining Hollywood, Oct. 4. Cumulus clouds came high, financially and otherwise, when 20th-Fox shot 300 feet of them for 'Tail Spin.' They cost $3,819. It took three days of sky-snoop- ing by two planes, piloted by Paul Mantz and Tony La Vier, to find the proper type of clouds, 20,000 feet above Kern- ville. Cameramen acquired not only footage but illness, due to lack of oxygen at that altitude. HOOVER YARN UNDER HAYSIAN SCRirriNY Hollywood, Oct 4. J. Edgar Hoover's yarn, 'Persons In Hiding,' Slated to go into produc- tion yesterday (M'onday) at Para- mount, was postponed iAdeflnitely. Hays office is eyeing the script for objectionable angles. Meanwhile James Hogan, director, is standing by for the final decision. ^Marc Lachmaii-20-Fox*s Naf 1 Exploitation Chief Hollywood, Oct 4. Marc Lachman, formerly Universal publicity director, . appointed na- tional exploitation director for 20th- Fox, will headquarter at the home office. He got in from the Coast on Monday (3). Appointment was made by Charles E. McCarthy, advertising and pub- licity director, while on the Coast, McCarthy got back east with S. R. Kent m EXTENDS TO DEC. 1 FOR STOCK COPERSION Holders of Warner Bros. 6 % con- vertible debentures, due in 1939, have been given additional time in which to convert their present bonds to new series of obligations by the action of the directors last week in setting Dec. 1 as the final time when they have the righ" to deposit dC' bentiures. Statement to bondholders said that of the $29,400,000 principal amount of debentures outstanding, $17,457,000 already have been deposited with the NT. Y. Trust Co., as depository. Also that many who expressed intentic .i of depositing debentures under the plan tiius far have delaye^d doing $o. Recently released figures by the New York stock exchange shows that only $11,893,500 worth of old bond? re main to be converted. Warner Bros, bonds and certifi cates of deposit for new liens both were extremely active and more than four points higher after news of this extension was officially re- leased. Air Satire on H'wood Taken for Film Shorts Hollywood, Oct 4. Radio satire on the film colony, 'Hollywood Hams,', goes into pictures next week, . to be produced inde- pendently as a series of shorts by Preston Morris, Jr., at Grand Na tional studios. Air show attracted attention when Samuel Goldwyn objected to the character, Sam Goldman, claiming it ridiculed him. Role Jias been changed to Sam Finkelstein. HEAVEN KNOWS Pic Actor Guided by Stars in Pact With A|:ent Hollywood, Oct 4. Astrology mingled with law in the case of Bradley Page, actor, vs. Gene Mann,- agent who is charged with violating the State Private Employ- ment Agency Act. Mann testified th^" actor consulted the stars and thein vibrations before he okayed theii', oral agreement i Mann is charged with handing a f 5% cut of commissions collected N from Page to Fred Datig, casting di- I rector for Metro. Datig and Mann [' were former pailnerj in an agency. ' rrS GYPSY ROSE LEE AGAIN; TOPS VAUDE TAB Hollywood, Oct. 4. Gypsy Rose Lee is going back on the stage, resuming her burlesque name and dropping her nom-de-film, Louise Hovick, which. Incidentally, is also her real name. With a vaude unit of 35 people, under the manage- ment of the William Morris office. Miss Lee opens at the Golden Gate, San Francisco, Oct. 19. Unit, under Lou Epstein, is set for the Denver, Denver, and the Tower, Kansas City, after which it jumps east to play RKO houses. Freeman's M. 0. Qpictde PowwDW iiviA Richards Y. Frank Freeman planed out Fri- day morftiag (SO) for New Orleans to confer with E. V. Richards, Saeoger head and Paramount di- rector, in whose bailiwick the Pat tlieatre convention will be held next March but cut trip short hieing called back to N. Y. Monday (3) Karl HobUtzelle, Interstate head, left ahead for Dallas, training out Thursday night (29), while Bob O'Donnell, his associate, pulled out yesterday (Tues.). Latter came up to meet Hoblitzelle on docking from a European trip. Ralph Branton, general manager and film buyer for Abe Blank, left for Des Moines Friday ^30), followed by Blank himself Sunday (2). They were on for h.o. confabs with Free- man and Leon Notter, discussion of film deals, fall plans, etc. S. A. Lynch, Miami operator and partner, reached N. Y., Monday (3), for a short stay. Really Going to Town Hollywood, Oct. 4. Republic is making the most ex haustive tests in its history for roles in 'Wagons Westward/ a $750,000 budgeter, based on the exploits of Sam Ho'iston. Ralph Bird is taking tests for the Houston role and Hugh Sothern is the most likely candidate as Andrew Jackson. Theatre Realty A Barometer For ^-Bemhard Philadelphia, Oct. 4. Joe Bernhard, g.m. of Warner Bros, theatres, told the Philly Real Estate Board last Thursday that the city must go in for large-scale pro- motion or fall from a bad third among the municipalities of the na- tion to fourth or fifth. A former Philly realtor himself, he cited the- atre attendance records to show the town is slipping. Bernhard said that although the national income has risen 27% in the past four years, the number of people coming to Philadelphia for entertainment varied only '1%. 'The- atre attendance,' he declared, "is an index of economic health of any city. Our industry is one of the last to suffer from depression and one of the first to recover. When we stand still, while the rest of the country is fluctuating upward you know there is something wrong with the business ^conditions here.* The Warner books show that its real estate in Philadelphia, where it is a large^ theatre operator, stands at nearly $30,000,000, and that its taxes run close to $500,000 annually, Bernhard declared.- He added that WB pays $1,400,000 in rentals on properties it does not own. Against that WB collects more than $350,000 ii> rents on properties, stores, etc., it owns. Bernhard de- clared WB employs nearly 2,000 peo- ple in Philly. He is a former Phila- delphian himself. HICKS TO NAME XCOtAIWS SDCdSSOR . John Cecil Graham, managing di- rector for Paramount In Great Brit- ain, resigned this week. Graham was one of Par's oldest foreign managers in point of service. He had been with Par since 1917, when he joined the staff of the late Emil E. Shauer, first foreign manager f<^r the com- pany. He made a number of vital surveys in South America and was named to the London post, which he just quit, In 1919. Appointment of a new manager for England will be made by John W. Hicks, Jr., Par*s foreign chief, at present-in London. David E. Rose, who has been business boss of Par production in England only a few months, probably will be kept in his present spot, it's reported. CORRIGAN PIC LAGS, NEW SCRIPT ORDERED Hollywood, Oct. 4. Douglas Corrigan's film career has changed its course. Latest shift at RKO calls for flyer's debut in "The Flying Irishman,' now being written by Dalton Trumbo and Ernest Pagano. 'Born to.. Fly,', penned by Marcella Burke and Rowland Brown, was shelved by Pandro Berman. Change means a delay in filming the picture, orifjinally slated to start Oct 15. FINALE ON ORPHEDM'S B'KTTCY; 3% DIVVY Liquidation of the old Orpheum Circuit Inc., was completed Mon- day (3) when N. Y. Federal Judge Samuel Mandelbaum confirmed the final report, with slight uodifications, of referee Oscar W. Ehrhorn. The report fixes $104,398 in cash for immediate distribution and rec- ommends that an additional 3% dividend be paid to creditors whose secured claims amount to $2,132,523. The latter have already received a total of 27% in dividends. The voluntary petition of the corpora- tion was filed in January, 1933. Holden's First Pic / ,^ -Hollywood, Oct 4. John Jferrymore and Peter Holden top the cast in RKO's 'A Great Man VoJ'es.' Tees up Oct. 15. , Seven-year-old Holden is from ,5roadway legit This is his first pic- ture. KBUGER ABROAD Hollywood, Oct. 4. Otto Kruger heads east Sunday (9) to sail for England. • He goes into 'Dark Eyes' for' As- Stociated British. Wurtzel's $25,000 Buy Lifts H-I Out of 77B Los Angeles, Oct. 4. Harman-Ising Pictures, Inc., was granted court permission to sell three cartoon propierties to Harry Wurtzel.for $25,000. Receipt of the money will enable the cartoon com- pany to emerge from 77B. Partialljr finished cartoon*; -''^cf"co Wurtzel are 'GoW^c^L* and the Three Bears'," "Trt Gallery' and 'Gold Fish;"' Douglas Corrigan leaves for the Coast> in about 10 days to prepare to go into 'Born to Fly' for RKO. Flyer is working on the script while east and is also doing an au- tobiog for a mag. Film Man Running For N. Y. State Comptroller Albany, Oct. 4. One of the major party candidates for an important state office in the November elections has a show busi- ness connection. He is Julius Roth- stein of Utica, nominated for Comp- troller by the Republicans at their convention in Saratoga Springs, last week. Rothstein is the head of a company which owns the Avon the- atre, Utica, operated on lease by War- ner Bros. Many film men know him and probably will work for his elec- tion. His Democratic opponent is Morris S. Tremaine, of Buflfalo, State Comptroller for 14 years, Rothstein, active in Republican cir- cles of Utica but never before a can- didate for office, is general manager of the First National Corp., which owns and opei-ates the First National Bank building in Utica. One Pic in 18 Mos., Mi$$ Welch Back to N. Y. Stage Hollywood, Oct. 4. Phyllis Welch, who played in only one picture during her 18 months under Metro contract is going back to Broadway for & spot in a new Clifford Odets play. Miss Welch's sole film appearance was in Harold Lloyd's 'Professor Beware', on a loanout to Par. Gleason Exits Rep Hollywood, Oct 4. James Gleason checked off the Re- public lot after failure to reach an option-time agreement on his four- way contract as producer, director, writer and actor. Studio refused to pick up the option which called for four increases of $250 a week. Republic had planned a series of pictures around 'The Higgins Fam- ily,' with Gleason, his wife, Lucille, and his son, Russell, First picture Is now on the market. Fate of the series is problematical. Now 'Gone' Is a 'Secret' Hollywood, Oct 4. Secret work on 'Gone with the Wind' begins Oct 15, when David O. Selznick, G^rge Cukor and Sidney Howard retire to an unrevealed hideout to put in two weeks of script polishing. Cukor expects to start camera work before Jan. 1. See America First Hollywood, Oct 4. James A. Fitzpatrick, producer of Metro's Itaveltallcs, is confining his shooting to America for several months, seeking spots hitherto un- screened. As an innovation he is augmenting the usual orchestra with a tenor, singing out of rang-; of the camera.