Variety (Oct 1938)

Wednesday, October 26,1938 PICTUKES VARIETY 21 Kentucky Follows Ho. in Frown On Movie Quiz; Exldbs Ignore It St. Louis, Oct. 25, Despite a ruling made last week by Assistant Attorney - General Franklin E. Reagan at Jeffprson City ithat the $250,000 Movie Quiz is a lot- tery and a violation of the state stat- utes, members of the St. Louis divi- Bion of the MPTOA of eastern Mis-. Bouri and southern Illinois will pay no heed to it unless there should be a criminal action brought. Fred Wehrenberg, owner of a string of nabes here and prez of the MPTOA, said all elements of con- flicts with state and national laws were thoroughly ironed out by the film companies at meetings held in New York by a committee of which !he was a member before the final O. K. was made for the campaign. Wehrenberg said Postmaster General Farley had given the go-ahead signal only after he had consulted U. S. At- torney General Cummings on the legality of the plan and with this approval local exhibitors cannot fig- ure how Missouri's attorney-general can nix the campaign in this state. A meeting of the Theatre Owners' Assn. of St, Louis was in progress when Wehrenberg walked into the Toom with a newspaper account of Reagan's ruling. Wehrenberg got in touch with his attorney who assured him that Reagan's opinion was out of line with the details of the cam- paign and Wehrenberg, on behalf of the IVIPTOA, wired the attorney- general's office for a copy of the opinion. Local exhibitors who have dis- tributed approximately 150,000 quiz booklets are continuing to stress, in newspaper ads and trailers on their screens, the film features that figure in the Quiz. They report that biz has been on the upbeat since the fluiz campaign began. Reagan's action was made at the request of Prosecuting Attorney El- bert L, Ford of Kennett, Mo., who aslvcd for a ruling because he be- lieved the contest was a lottery and had advised exhibitors of Dunklin county not to sponsor the contest in their houses. Reagan held that three elements of a lottery—consideration, prize and chance—were present in the contest and Said, 'The test of a lottery is not how adroitly worded the scheme is, but how it works. Consideration was present in the scheme since p3rs<Sns patticipating buy tickets to motion pictures and obtain with the tickets booldet? containing rules of the quiz contest. Then they attend the pic^ tures to get the answers to questions in the booklet. 'Prize is an element in the scheme since the winner was to receive $50,- OOO and there were 5,403 other prizes. The element of chance consists of a 50-word statement each contestant is required to write describing the picture he liked best. It is appar- ent that:;the determination of the best statement is' left in the. uncon- trolled discretion of the judges.* Scz Schaefer George J. Schaefer, chairman of the pictures' greatest year campaign, sponsoring the Movie Quiz contest, exiilained in New York that it would have been the 'height of folly' to have started the contest if it were a lot- tery or without full assurances that it was in accordance with postal laws governing lotteries. He pointed out that recognized contest authorities were consulted on every detail of Movie Qiiiz contest and then sub- mitted to U. S, postal authorities which passed it in every particular. Kentucky, Too Louisville, Oct. 25. Bank nights and the $250,000 na- tionwide Movie Quiz will be banned in Louisville if the Court of Appeals upholds Acting Circuit Judge R. P. Dietzman's ruling that the bank night law is unconstitutional, accord- ing to a statement of Safety Direc- tor Sam McMeekin. Statement fol- lowed an 'off-hand' declaration of Attorney General Hubert Meredith, that the Movie Quiz contest is illegal in Kentucky, since it constitutes a lottery. Judge Dietzman, in ruling the law Invalid, said that the Legislature ex- ceeded its power in amending Sec- tion 2573 of the Statutes, which pro- vi'des the penalty called for in Sec- tion 226 of State Constitution. The Constitution declares-all lotteries il- legal, and that no special privileges can be granted. The amendment had Not Extending Quiz Executive committee for •greatest picture year* drive yesterday (Tuesday) officially decided not to extend closing date of Movie Quiz contest. Reason action was taken is that when first outlined all agreed that a four-month con- test was long enough, it was so outlined in rules and would be unfair to contestants if the final date was extended. FlUI MAYORING GOOD PRESS aG By GEORGE E. PHAm Hollywood, Oct. 25. Introducing Her Honor the Mayor- ess, Glenda Farrell, chief executive (in a purely decorative way) of North Hollywood. This semi-public ofdce, sans salary or authority, makes her the sole mayoress of the film colony, which is overrrun with mayors. With rare political acumen. Miss Farrell ran on two tickets—as her- self and as Torchy Blane. Count- ing the votes for both name^ she won by a landslide over such astute statesmen as Bing Crosby, Lewis Stone, Charlie Ruggles, Tyrone Power and Mickey Mouse. Mickey ran a poor last on account of wom- en don't like mice. Mayoress Farrell's platform is a sound stage. It demands freedom of the press, with double-truck lay- outs on Sunday. It also calls for an A production, 'Inauguration Day,' slated to roll Dec. 1, with an all-star cast of flacl^ and inter-, viewei's. Hollywood is thickly studded with mayors, only one of whom- actually works at it. Al Jolson is the of- ficial headman of Encino and takes his job so seriously that his radio sponsor often has to step on the soft pedal to prevent Al, the mayor, from making political enemies for Al, the actor. He has been elected twice, indicating that he is a popu- lar chief exec. The rest of the mayors are non- partisan, non-salaried and. non-op- erative- except for publication. "The voters of Studio City wanted, a sterling citizen who represented the jittery trend of contemporary poli- tics, so they elected Hugh Herbert. Andy Devine rode into office on his voice. To the rustic folks of Van Nuys, it had the familiar sound of a rusty hinge on a barn door. Be- sides, they were sick of crooners. With one exception, the Hollywood mayors are so many Stitch McCar- thys, but they' have never been or- ganized. Metro Testing Duo Dallies Frantz, concert pianist. Is being screentested by Metro for juvenile as well as musical rbles. June Preisser, currently in 'You Never Know,' also is being tested for pictures by Metro in hopes of developing her into a new type in- genue, Preisser Sisters act was split up when • Cherry Preisser married the sorx of .Harry L. Hopkins, na- tional administrator of the WPA. excepted theatres, merchants and newspapers from the penalty pro- vided. Ruling by Judge Dietzman was given in a suit filed by a local tailor, who was readying a scheme whereby he would give a free suit of clothes to a luclcy customer each week. The merchant contended he obtained ap- proval of the city law department, but that he was stopped by the po- lice department when he was ready to get the contest under way Judge's ruling was based on fact that the winner relied on chance, \yhich was decided to be the key in tfies^case. Local theatre operators have not taken any action as yet, contending that the Movie Quiz is a national promotion, and are resting their con- fidence in the fact that the promo- tors delved into the legal aspects of the contest before releasing it to the theatres of the country. Exhihs Drive (Continued from page 5) over failure 'to get enough contest films before the Movie Quiz is offi- cially closed, but bigger first runs also have reason to kick on number of contest features the way the rules are laid out. Delayed Clearances Resume of situation made this week revealed that industry heads are hearing more and more protests from subsequent-run theatres. One trade leader admitted that there are a lot of situations where independ- ents will be unable to play any con- test pictures before the first of 1939, after the present closing date of the Movie Quiz. This is the reason inde- pendent exhibitors are striving to have clearance altered so that they will get the films. Either that or they want the contest closing date extended. This presents a real problem be- cause moving up clearance is virtu- ally impossible in many situations. And many question the feasibility of extending the contest's closing dkte, even if this were fair according to the rules of the contest. Public must be kept interested jf the contiest suc- ceeds, -and this can't be done if the Movie Quiz closing is extended three or four months'; .or uritil Jxme 1, as some have, suggested. There are certaTn subsequent ac- counts, some with 12 to 15 runs ahead of their houses, which will be unable to play even 30 contest features un- der existing contest rules and present clearance. One New York circuit has about 200 theatres ahead of it on playdates while another got its first ontest product Oct. 1. Another failed to receive a contest picture until Oct. 18. An exhibitor in the southern terri- tory also registered a legitimate complaint claiming that he would not receive his initial contest picture for 180 days after the first one was re- leased final week in July. House in question is 120 days behind the first- run operation, which in turn is 60 days behind national release date. Consequently, this third-rUn exhib- itor charges that his first contest film will reach his house about Jan. 15, 1939, after the contest is officially closed. While this is an uncommon exam- ple, nevertheless the exhibitor in question has about 1,100 seats in this community, while the first-rUn exhib- itor has only 2,700. Figured that the first-run paid $270 for participation in the contest, while the subsequent- run house paid $120. Aefunds?. With such an. alignment in mind, one suggestion is that there should be some, refund of coin. Plan out- lined is that if at least 50 contest pic- tures were not played, the exhibitor should get back a percentage of the coin he has put up, and-that if he did not play at least 40 contest films, all the money he has advanced should be returned.' However, no action has been taken on any such suggestions, but sonrie such.arrangement may be necessary if clearance is not moved up to enable the subsequent-run the- atre to cash in on the Movie Quiz.' • It so happened that the rules of this contest also hit big first-runs, al- though no big squawks have been heardl In such operations, the thea- tres had its August releases out of the way by the time the contest opened, leaving only September and October releases, since pictures re- leased the last two months this year are not in the contest. Of September-October releases, larger first^runs would have room for only five to nine contests entries. If the house got 'Alexander's Ragtime Band,' 'Marie Antoinette,' 'If I Were King' or similar long-run features in this stretch, the operator probably would have room for only fivie or six contest pictures. And at least 30 must be tabbed correctly to partici- pate in the contest. 'GorSia' Revived For Ritz Freres at 20-Fox Hollywood, Oct. 25. Next picture for the Ritz Bros, is 'The, Gorilla,' based on^ Ralph Spenqe's old stage play receijtly bought by 20th-Fox. 'Take Her Dov/n,' 'originaHy slated as the next production, is tempo- rarily shelved. Ritzes are currently windiijg up 'Three Musketeers.' Allied Loses, but, Also, Indies Needn't Produce Their Books; MK In Peace Overtures on Dualing Mayer Silks on 45. Hollywood, Oct. 25. Louis B. Mayer added eight horses to his racing stable, mak- ing a total of 45 thoroughbreds, some, of which are running at Bay Meadows and others train- ing for the Santa Anita meet'^ ing. Four outstanding nags in the latest shipment are Magic Hour, Ossabaw, Quick Devil and Peri- fox, a son of Gallant Fox. J1&S.HASCHI ORIENTAL NOW Chicago, Oct, 25. Jones, Linick & Schaefer has taken over the Oriental, 3,200-seater on Randolph street, on a 25-year lease. House, which had been operated va- iously as a vaudfilm, stage show and straight film spot by Balaban & Katz since its erection 12 years ago, has been dark since June. J. L. & S., is now operating the State-Lake and McVickers for Bala- ban & Katz on a 50-50 basis. J. L. & S. plan to shift the vaudfilm policy from the State-Lake to the Oriental. But this is figured likely to result in Balaban & Katz exercis- ing its right to give J. L. & S. a 60- day cancellation notice on the State- Lake operating agreement, then tak- ing over the State-Lake for opera; tion under the B. & K. banner. If so, B. & K. would have three likely policies for the State-Lake. To con- tinue the present vaudfilm policy in competition with the J. L. & S. Ori- ental; to opetate it with double fea- tures; or to put in first-run straight pictures on a single-o basis. Shift of the leasehold on the Ori- ental once more puts J. L. & S. on Randolph street rialto from where it was removed six weeks ago when Essaness took over the Woods. How- ever, J. L. & S. is still financially in- terested in the Woods, getting a share in the profits for the next five years. Del Theatre Casbier Released on Parole Detroit, Oct. 25. Allen Yates, former cashier of ■United Detroit's Madisoii theatre, was paroled last week from Jackson Prison,' where he was serving a 1-to-lO-year term for embezzling $1,078 of house receipts less than a year ago. When he absconded with the re- ceipts, he was accompanied by his brother, Charles, then assistant cashier of the Michigan vaudfllmer, who was later charged with theft of $2,563 in - that theatre's receipts. Charles is still serving a term in Jackson Prison, Garfield in 'Dust* Hollywood, Oct. 25, John Garfield gets the role of the news photographer in 'Dust Be My Destiny,' the forthcoming Warners picture based on Jerome Odium's novel. Role features .a photographic ex- pose of political graft. Tom Gorman's Chi Spot Chicago, Oct. 25. Tom Gorman comes in as general press chief for RKO of the midwest, with headquarters here. Replaces Lou Blaine who heads to the Coast to join Universal. Throw Switch On 'U. P.' Hollywood, Oct. 25. Cecil B, DeMille's 'Union Pacific' went before the cameras on location in Utah, with Arthur, Rosson direc- ting a troupe of 400. DeMille will handle the principals on the Paramount lot with Charles Barton as bis assistanu Chicago, Oct. 25. Federal Judge James Wilkerson on Thursday (20) denied the petition, ol the Allied independent theatre own- ers for a temporary injunction against Balaban &; Katz, Paramount and other distributors, restraining them from enforcing the present clearance system. Allied sought this injunction, preliminary to the hear- ing on its suit of restraint of trade and monopoly against B&K, Par and other distribs. In denying the plea for the preliminary injunction the colurt held that it would be impos- sible to hand down an injimction at this time without,., in effect, giving a ruling on the entire ctfse. It is understood that the plaintiffs* attorneys, Joe Rosenberg and Aaron Stein, had but faint hope in getting this preliminary injunction okayed by the courts since at no time in the past have plaintifis been able to ob- tain such an inj miction in cases in- volving monopoly and ■ restraint of trade charges. Court gave\ the defendants 30 days in which to file a complaint answer to the original complaint. Court also quashed the subpoenas which would have forced the plaintiffs to bring their books into court. This latter came as something of a disappoint- ment to distrib managers and sales- men who had figured they were going to have a field day going through the .exhibs' books, and learning finally the exact financial standing of the theatres and their re- ceipts on pictures. "'The managers and salesm^ looked forward to see- ing these books and had figured that they would come out of the case a winner no matter how it was ac* tually decided, since they would then be armed with real boxoffice infor- matipn in future, negotiations with exhibitors. See AccQrd Meanwhile, outside of the courts Balaban & Katz and the Allied e^c* hibitors have-been making eyes at' each other, and there is growing -pos-^ sibilitisr that there will be a settle- ment before the 30 days will have expired. Double features squabble is the bone which is holding up the settle- ment and riot clearance. B&K, it is reported, has. made offers to re- ducie the clearance in nearly .all al- locations and situations^ which would bcing-j^-indie houses close behind, the loop and big.nafae houses, in the releasing schedule. But the Allied theatres feel that they are primarily ;battling double features, despite the f^ct that there is nbthing fundamentally or basically illegal in double feature exhibition. And' for that reason have not agreed, and are not lilcely to agree, to any ettlemenit W'hich doeis not call for the elimination of twin bills., B&K, on its hand, is just as determined to keep twin pictures as a .major part of its present policy, beileving thai, the only way double ' bills can be eliminated is for the producers to stop turning out so many pictures. 100 Film-Lecture Bates For Mrs. Osa Jokson; Plane Crash Suit Due Mrs. Osa Johnson's lecture tour, which opened last week in Westfleld, N. J., has been laid out by Clark Getts to bring her into. Los Ar^geles in December. Her suit against air- line based on alleged negligence in accident that killed her husband, Martin Johnson,- comes up at that time. Mrs. Johnson has played 300 lec- ture dates with 'Jungle Calling' film since widowed and wjill fill approxi- mately 100 this season. Truex in 'BaltOf Bubble' Hollywood, Oct. 25. Ernest Truex gets the top spot in 'Baltimore Bubble,' to be produced by Burt Kelly at Universal. Charles Graydon is doing the screen play. Shooting starts as soon as TrUeic finishes his current job in 'Ambush* at Paramount