Variety (Mar 1939)

VARIETY PICTURES Wednesday, Marcb 8, 1939 Suit Charges Loew s Execs Hurt OwnCo.byHelpnigOrgaiiize20th Wilmington, Del., March 7. A conspiracy to defraud Loew's stockholders in the organization of 20th Century-Fox Pictures is charged in a suit filed in Chancery by Arnold Hermann, New York, tioew's stockholder. Exorbitant salaries and bonuses, and granting relatives concessions and privileges, at too high salaries, is charged in the complaint, which also asserts Darryl F. Zanuck was induced to resign froih Warners and use. his influence to persuade George Arliss to enter employment of the new company. . Defendants named are: Loew's, Inc., David Bernstein, Isadore Frey, Leopold Friedman, William A. Phillips, J. Robert Rubin, Nicholas M. Schenck. David Warfleld, David Loew, Arthur Loew, Louis B. Mayer, Darryl F. Zanuck, Joseph M. Schenck,. William F; Goetz, J. E. Searle, J. R. Hazel, George N. Armsby and William A. Parker. In the organization of 20th-Fox plaintiff charges the defendants, es- pecially Nicholas Schenck . and Mayer, with inspiring loans and pro- viding the capital funds for a com- pany which has become the 'strong- est competitor' of Loew's. Alter or> ganlzation, bill charges, the defend- ants, loaned actor^, artists, directors, writers, and other talent from' Loew's to 20th for grossly Inade- quate compensation.' Suit asks that the defendants be enjoined from disposing of any 20th Stock they hold; that their stock be sequestered to compel appearance; that the 2Qth ptock of the defendants be Impressed with a trust in favor of Loew's and be decreed Loew's property; th^t the defendants ac- count for alleged misappropriation of money and for loan of Loew's stars .and other talent to Selznick, Inc. J m COMMnTEE TO STUDY VISIO In order that the picture industry may develop a policy of cooperation with television, when the latter passes from experimental to com- mercial operation, the Hays organi- zation has named a committee, with 3. Robert Rubin, chairman, to in- vestigate and recommend.. Hays office also has engaged Courtland Smith; formerly head of Pathe News and one-time secretary of the Motion Picture Producers & Distributors Assn, to conduct a full survey for the committee. Smith also was editor of Fox Movietone and is known in the trade as an inventor entirely familiar with the technical phases of television. He will conduct his survey mainly from New York. The Hays office made a television survey several years ago. The pres- ent one consequently is to inform the picture industry oH its current status, it anything important has de- veloped that should be laid before film executives and any phase of television that may effect the film . business. 17 VISIO UCENSES ISSUED IN AMERICA Washington, March 7. There are 17 television plants cur- rently conducting experiments in vis- ual transmission, according to most recant FCC check. Revision of li- cense lists showed six more transmit- ters in course of construction, due to take the air in the immediate future. List was headed by General Elec- tric; which recently has been awarded four construction permits for image plants at Bridgeport, Schenectady and Albany. RCA had tickets for three stations, NBC and Philco for two each. Others cata- loged were: CBS, Don Lee, Allen B. DuMont Laboratories, Farnsworth Television, Inc., First National Television, Inc., General Television Corp., Kansas State College of Agriculture, Purdue Universl^, Radio Pictures, Inc., Uni- versity of Iowa, and Zenith Radio Corp. Power assi^uneiits vary widely, from 15 watts in the case of the PhUco plant at Philadelphia, W3XP, to the 30 kw outlet of RCA, W3XEP, at Camden. Including construction- permits in existence, nine of the ex- perimenters are using 1 kw or more juice. LESLIE HOWARD PROD. TO BE BACKED BY RKO RKO's Net '38 Profits Placed at |173,578 The consolidated net earnings of RKO for the year ended Dec. 31, 1938, was $173,578, as against $1,821,- 165 the year previous, according to O. C. Doering, attorney representing Irving Trust, «^o disclosed the fig- ures In an application for allowances to Federal Judge William Bondy on Monday (6). The judge reserved decision on the ^plication of $85,000 for Irving Trust and $95,000 for William J. Donovan, attorney for Irving Trust, who are seeking ad-interlm fees for their services covering the period of Oct, lS37-Oct, 1938. SAILINGS April 15 (Los Angeles to Tahiti), Del Lord (Haraki). March 11 (New York to London), George Sanders, Morris Helprin (Queen Mary). March 4 (West Bidiea Cruise), Mr. and Mrs. Abel Green, Mr. and Mrs. Arthur "Buns' Baer, Arthur Schwartz (Champiain). March 4 (London to New York), Charles P. Skouras, Alfred Hitch- cock, Eric Boon, Sid Hulls, Sir Har- old Wernbar (Queen Mary). March 3 (London to New York), Eddie ''Peabody, Dorothy Buccola (President Harding).' March 3 (Los Angeles to Hono lulu), Brskine Caldwell (Lurllne). March 3 (New York to Paris), Claire Luce, Tchelitcheff, Henry Hector Bolitho, George White, Rene T.,e Roy, E. L. 'Curly' Lambeau, Count and Countess von Tripp (Noirmandie). March 2 (Los Angeles to Sydney), Jan Rubint. (Mariposa). London, March 7, Phil Reisman, foreign manager for RKO, has announced that his New York office has approved a deal whereby his company will finance a Leslie Howard unit here on the same basis as Imperadio Pictures. Impe- radio, an English producing com' pany, is reported here to have been entirely financed by RKO, which will distribute at cost, the producer getting the first coin and the dis- tributor participating after the pro- duction cost Is out of the way. Im- peradio will make several features in Great Britain annually and one or two in Hollywood. Anne Neagle lis set to appear in the Initial U. S. film, and sails shortly. First feature in England will be "Kitchener of Khartoum,' In color, with many Hollywood stars tised. Imperadio was form^tTfib'tlKat Her- bert Wilcox could continue making fihns for RKO release. Wilcox ar- rived here with Reisman March 3. wB's mm '39 LOAN PLAN Official confirmation of a bank loan to swing its 1939 bond exchange plan was made by Warner Bros, yes- terday (Tuesday) in a letter to bond- holders. Company has finished ar- rangements for a bank credit agree- ment covering a secured loan in maximum amount of $6,00O,()00, ma- turing in varying amounts every six months storting April 1, 1940, and ending April 1, 1944. How much the loan will be depiends on how many bonds have not been exchanged when the 6% convertible deben- tures come due next September. Copy of the agreement has been filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, Statement to holders of bonds showed that $19,266,000 principal amount of debentures have been de- posited under the plan of exchange, annotmced last July, certificates of deposit having been issued in that amount It also stated that the com- pany has purchased in the open mar- ket $471,000 principal amount of these certificates to be used for sink- ing fund purposes for the proposed new debentures, also bearing 6%. Company also has purchased in the' open market $3,102,000 principal amount of debentures, of which $1,- 700,000 have been retired and the remaining $1,402,000 held in the treasury for retirement in due course. WB's statement was that after al- lowing for these purchases, there re- main outstanding $25,827,000 princi- pal amount of certificates of deposit and debentures. Same statement eS' timates that second quarter earnings for the three-month period ending Feb. 25, this year, will be in excess of the similar quarter last year, when they totalled $1,139,018. Keaton's Comeback Hollywood,. March t. Buster Keaton is trying a come- back as a comic in a new deal with Columbia. Pact calls tor a pair of two-reelers, with options for additional shorts. Neagl( ARRIVALS (At the Port of New York) Bruno Walter, Margaret Williams, iStcU Anderson, Ogden Nash, God- frey Tearle, Leo Genn, Roger Max- well,. Eve Curie, Anthony Ireland, Laurier Lister, Patricia Godfrey, George Cross, Karl Schnabel, Mar- iiaret Rawlings. Chaplin and DA May Examine French Tohis An application by Charles Chap lin, Chaplin Film Corp. and United Artists to examine the president and secretary of Films Sonores Tobis, S. A., before trial was granted last week by Federal Judge Alfred C Coxe in New York. Chaplin and UA are being sued for ap injunction.and an accounting on 'Modern Times,' which Tobis claims plagiarizes 'A Nous La Liberte,'. French film produced by Films Sonores Tobis. e in Title Role Of TWarie Lbj'd' in London London, March 7. First Hollywood feature to be made by Imperadio Pictures, RKO- EngUsh production company, will be story of Marie Lloyd, English music hall entertainer. Anne Neagle is set for the femme lead, with negotia- , tions now on for Cary Grant to cOr star. Film will be in color. Miss Lloyd attracted attention in -America as early as 1007. Her songs won her acclaim at the Palace, N. Y., and. elsewhere in the U. S. She .again appeared at the Palace' in No- - vember, 1913, six years after her act was originally reviewed by Variety. A sister, Alice Lloyd, is still head- lining In English show biz. Other News of Interest to Films Norman Rydge, C.V.T. chief, enroute to N. Y Page 23 Threaten French curbs on U. S. films .Page 23 ASCAP vs. Radio skirmishing Page 39 Amos 'n' Andy shift to CBS .Page 41 Loew's WHN suggests NBC form 'White' network Page 41 Radio income for February Page 41 Hazy status of AFRA-Writers Guild relations Page 42 Radio reviews: Joe Cook, Gloria Dickson, Bonita Granville. ..Page 48 Hepburn's 'Philadelphia Story' record gross Page 59 Visio Prize %ht Clicks liOndon, Feb. 28. Boon-Danahar fight, as seen on theatre television, was a thrill, and has got the whole film industry Intensely worried with Its Indication of a virile new form of entertainment that may change the whole structure of the business. Show was seen on two systems, Balrd, at Marble Arch Pavilion, and Tatler, Scophony. at Marble Arch Mon- seigneur. In comparison, Balrd Is easily tops for size of picture, using a screen 15 by 12 feet as against Scophony's « by 5 feet but latter won by a clear k.o. where clarity and brilliance was concerned. Quality of reproduction, though, didn't matter; what counted was that the theatres were jammed to the roofs with rabid fight fans, who sat the battle through, yelling their heads off, just as If they were at the ringside. Non-Commercial Television (Continued from page 1) prizefight a fee of some hundreds of pounds for permission to reproduce the contest on their screens. Hulls andi Harding grabbed the dough without hesitation, promptly told BBC If it wanted vIsio righta It would have to pocket Its pride and let G-B use the. broadcast. So, rather than lose a good program, BBC fell for it though endeavoring to cover Itself by issuing a .ttean- ingless Press statement the conces- sion was not to be regarded as a precedent If It was not that they gave no indication of what they thought It. might be. Exhibitor Complicated Even at that there might have been further delay in crystallizing the situation, determining how and when public reproduction of pro- grams might be permitted. But ex- hibitor Jack Davis, who, If be makes a living out of his theatres, certainly Hays' 17th Anni Will Hays quietly observed his 17th year as head of the Motion Pic- ture Producers tc Distributors Assa Sunday (5). Hays became the first president of the MPPDA on March 5, 1922. His present contract runs until March, 1941. L. A. to N. Y. Don Ameche.- Robert Armbruster. Rose Bamptoii. Binnie Barnes. Russell Bennett Edgar Bergen. Pandro Berman. Arch Bowles. Jack Brower. Dorothy Brown. Arthur Bryan. W. E. Calloway. Henry Fiske Carle. Diana Carlson. Howard Chandler. Max Cohen. Lester Cowan. Donald Dickson. Sam Eckman. Steve Hannagan. Moss Hart Milt Howe. Paul Kelly. Ruth Adams Knight. Cal Kuhl. Dorothy Lamour. Laudy Lawrence. Abe Lastfogel. Arthur Loew. Dick Mack. Clem McCarthy. Laurence Olivier. Sam Rinzler. Flora Robson. Wynn Rocamora. James Roosevelt Richard Rosson. WUliam A. Scully. J. J. Sullivan. Joe Seider. Jack Skirball. Homer Tasker. Olcott Vail. Anthony 'Veiller. Roy Webb. George White. Jock "Whitney. N. Y. to L. A. Neil F. Agnew. Barney Balaban. William A. Brady. Trem Carr. Bob Colwell. Scott R. Dunlap. Grace George. Sonja Henie. Sidney Howard. Jack Kapp.- . S. R. Kent Bert Lahr. Elliot Nugent William F. Rodgers. Louis Schurr. doesn't command the resources be- hind G-B, threw a chestnut in the fire by demanding similar facilities for a new translux type of cinema he was just opening, and which he had had fitted with a Scophony big screen a'ppiaratus. And the BBC turned him downl They said they had no power to grant him permis- sion, because they understood Hulls and Harding had sold exclusive' rights to Gaumont Davis let oiit a yell, Immedtately charged BBC with abetting a com- mercial monopoly by allowing state- owned services to'b« exploited by G.-B., and threatened to carry the matter to Parliament At ibe same time he so pestered Syd Hulls that eventually latter accepted a price so that Davis could use the broadcast too. Funny end of- the situation is, both Davis and G.-B. get publicity worth many times the- cost Syd Hulls geta a nice rake-off, but BBC gets not a sausagel Moreover, in a.letter to Jack Davia over signature of Ita television dir rector, Gerald Cock, BBC had opened the dopr wider by revealing it was ready to consider further pub- lic broadcasts on stated conditions. These were that only remote broad- casts, such as those of sporting eventa, would be eligible, and that permission of the promoters must naturally first be got This offers the theatres a wide range of valuable screen material, such as Interna- tional football games, athletic events, the Derby, Oxford and Cambridge boatrace, fights. Ice hockey contests and so on. So theatre television Is in. Both Gaumont-Britlsh and Jack Davis are ready to jump in with installations at more theatres. G.-B. ready to put Balrd units In 20 or 30 London cine- mas, Dav4s playing ball with Sco- phony, who could service 10 houses for hhn in a short time. Scophony, too, must eventually go into the Odeon theatres, but at this time It lags slightly behind Baird with its big screen equipment and ita larg- est practicable size is about 8 ft, which is suitable for a small ca- pacity news theatre, but useless for the 2,000 seat Odeons. Company is near ready with a 16 ft screen sys- tem, but meanwhile Baird has the more practicable job, which gives an image up to 15 ft in dimension. Until the bigger job is complete, Deutsch and Scophony obviously will willingly tag along with Jack Davis, which means when future events are televized threata of a price war are already brewing. That means G-B. vs. Odeon, and when John Maxwell, brings his Associated British chain into, the fray,' possibly by linking with another major radio concern like E.M.I.-Marconi, who have, dickered with big screen stuff, there'U be fun and games for all. Meantime, exhibitors are already seeing the red light The fact all three theatres relaying the . fight had the S.R.O. boards well in evidence— with a $5 top at that—pointa to a big market for this form of enter- tainment, and that means the whole face of the industry might change overnight. London exhibs, natural- ly, have' got the jitters worst be- cause the developmenta ' threaten them directly at this time, and their section of Cinematograph Exhibitors Ass'n is already demanding the par- ent, body set up and maintain a live committee to wateh every step taken by visio and protect them against its onslaughta. Newsreels, like\yise, are on some- what of a spot, and their first re- action was to boycott the event com- pletely. But because that might look like cutting off their nose to spite their face, G.-B. decided to. combine the righta for which they, had paid, and put the show on their reel as well, at the same time handing prjnts over to Universal News, which is its stable companion. Other reels were offered footage, but failed to reach agreement on terms.