Variety (Dec 1939)

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Wednesday, December 13, 1939 PICTURES VARIETY LAWYERS' STAR SAURIES Neely w Not Single Pic Deals On the Upbeat in Twin Cities Minneapolis, Dec. 12. Major distributors here apparently are jetting further and further away from blockbooking, even without Neely bill passage. Never before has there been so much ofTering of in- dividual pictures for sale. Independ- ent neighborhood exhibitors in the Twin Cities can buy such pictures as 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington' and 'Gulliver's Travels' singly; and while top prices are being asked, the deals nevertheless are being favorably re- ceived by the trade. General feeling among the indies is that they can afford to pay con- siderably more for outstanding films, and are better off doing it, it they don't have to buy the whole deal in order to get the pictures in question. Price set by Columbia for 'Smith' is a new high for the company in the Twin Cities. The exhibitor must pay a sum equivalent to the largest amount that the most expensive re- lease of any company has cost him. The arguments of Harry Brandt, president of ITOA of New York, against the Neely bill at the recent conference in Chicago failed to make any impression on W. A. StelTes, president of Northwest Allied, and three other officials of the organiza- tion who attended the meeting. With Northwest Allied already 'strongly' on record in the bilVs favor, there will be no further action by the body at this time, StefTes be- lieves. No Like 'Wind' Terms Charging that Metro 'is attempt- ing to 'dictate' how they should 'run' their theatres, their admis- sion prices and their rate of re- turn, and also trying to impose 'ob- noxious' percentage terms on them. Twin City independent exhibitors, members of Northwest Allied, have gone on record to refuse to buy 'Gone With the Wind.' Called to- gether by president W. A. StefTes to take a stand, they declared them- selves 'unalterably opposed' to Metro's announced 'Gone' terms and conditions.' A resolution unani- mously adopted stated that 'We, individually, will refuse to play this or any other picture, sold on similar terms and conditions.' The independents reaffirmed a stand to make no further exception, afler this season, of Metro in the matter of four 40% percentage pic- tures on the regular contracts, but to buy product flat, the same as that of every other company or not at all. In their discussion, the indies con- tended that 'the next development' may be an ultimatum from the dis- tributors that return on their in- vestments should be limited to 6% and that high percentage pictures would be the rule rather than ex- ception 'if Metro gets away with this 'Gone With the Wind' demand.' StefTes asserted that he would call entire membership together after Jan. 1 to join the Twin City section In Its stand. Guilds and Neely Hollywood, Dec. 12. Eddie Mannix, Metro studio chief, conferred today (Tuesday) with heads of the three talent Guilds on the necessity of their cooperation in the producers' fight against the Neely bill. Harry Brandt, prez of Indepen- dent Theatre Owners of New York, who is visiting here, ex- plained the Neely setup to the group. Among those present were Frank Capra, repping Screen Directors Guild; Kenneth Thom- son, Screen Actors Guild; Ralph Block, Screen Writers Guild, Some plan of action will be worked out, it was said, for a united front to block passage of the Neely measure at the next session of Congress. RELEASE BIOFF; EXTRADITION STALLS Los Angeles, Dec. 12. The writ of habeas corpus oh Willie BiofT, wanted by the Illinois state authorities on an old pandering charge, was dismissed today (Tues- day) here by Judge Wilbur Curtis. Failing to send on the necessary papers from Springfield, 111., the lo- cal court freed the fllm labor leader. He had been out on $1,000 bail since hij arrest Nov. 23. Former Illinois state senator Abe Marovitz, Chicago counsel for BiolT, came here to represent him. Judge Curtis ruled that, not having been served with the necessary papers by the State of Illinois, he must release the union official. Judge Wilbur observed It evi- dences that the Illinois authorities are not interested in extraditing BiofT, as was first presumed. One of Brandt's Group Buys WB Independently In the midst of an attack uoon Warner sales policies by Harry Brandt, president of the Independent Theatre Owners Assn. of New York, the Kaybern circuit has broken away from Brandt and closed a deal with WB for the 1939-40 season. Brandt, through ITOA buying pow- er, has been handling the purchasing of film for this circuit up to now. Kaybern chain, headed by Ben Knoble and Joe Katsh, took the en- tire Warner lineup, including feat- ures, shorts and trailers. Theatres . are Eagle, Park Lane, Schuyler, De- catur, Monroe, Bedford and Green- wich, all in New York; Liberty, fouphkeepsie, and the Embassy, Mt. Vernon, N. Y. Ed Schnitzer, eastern district man- ager for Warner Bros., negotiated the deal with Katsh. Brandt broadside against Warners, jakmg a strong stab at Grad Sears, •ihe company's policies for '39-40 ■generally, and the forthcoming Sears "Sles drive, to begin Dec. 25, is hint- (Contlnued on page 16) Stallinc Bioff's Extradition Chicago, Dec. 12. State Senator Abe Marovitz, at- torney for Willie BiofT in his fight against extradition from California, to serve the remainder of his six months' prison sentence on a pander- ing conviction, is due back here this week after a lightning trip to the Coast to huddle with his client. The reported purpose of his Coast trip was to bring pressure on California authorities to refuse extradition. Before going to Hollywood, Mar- ovitz had asked Governor Henry C. Horner of Illinois for a hearing on the BiofT matter before he signed the order okaying the court's mandate requesting the return of the union representative to. serve the balance of his prison term. It was at first understood the State's attorney's of- fice feels that this hearing, set for Dec. 19, can bring out no new evi- dence or altered circumstances that would warrant holding up the order for BiofT's extradition. That is particularly the attitude in view of BiofT's police record subse- quent to the pandering conviction while he was still in Chicago, after getting out of prison on appeal. This appeal was later turned down, but BiofT never was returned to prison to serve the balance of his sentence. It has never been disclosed just how he avoided going back to jail. Stoll Prez of W. E. Clarence G. Stoll was elected pres- ident of Western Electric at yester- day's (Tuesday) meeting of the board of directors, succeeding Edgar S. Bloom, who retires Dec. 31. Stoll has been v.p. in charge of operations since 1928 and has been with W.E. for 36 years, H' TO FIGHT y. s.syiT Film Biz Will Learn Some- thing About Fancy Salaries When Anti-Trust Suit in N. Y. Comes to Bat $8,000,000 LEGAL BILL Small s Prod. Curtailment Keynotes UA Unit Roster; Expect Fewer Films Than Promised Due to Conditions Schenck's Coast Visit A legal bill, variously estimated at between $6,000,000 and $8,000,000 will be handed to the film industry as the cost of defending the Government's anti-trust action in the federal court of the Southern District of New York which is penciled in on the docket for. trial some time between February and May, next year. In a business where four figure sums for weekly compensation for stars, directors and executives are not unusual, the experience of pay- ing top legal talent from' $2,500 to $4,000 a day for court appearances is likely to be a new thrill in the entertainment field. When, as and if Thurman Arnold, assistant U. S. attorney-general, finally gets one of his pet anti-trust actions before the court he and the Department of Jus- tice prosecutors will be opposed by costly counsel. Importance of the outcome of the proceedings is said to justify the ex- tensive efforts of the film companies in building up high-powered legal armaments to withstand the Govern- ment's complaint. As the main issue of the proceedings will be the le gality of present company activities in the fields of production, distribu- tion and exhibition, victory for the Government would mean divorce- ment of theatre operations from other, functions — a consequence which managements of every com- pany, is determined to combat to the finish. Justification for the assembling of topflight legal talent is found in the issues at stake. . Victory over the Government also is regarded as es- sential in view of the burden of anti-trust and restraint of trade ac- tions which, within the past year, has mounted to a serious threat against the industry. The New York suit, although regarded as the most important "because" of the breadth of the bill of complaint, is only one of scores of actions pending throughout the country. The Department of Justice has filed suits in several sections in which in- dependent circuit operators are named as co-defendants with the ma jor film companies. Also there are scores of actions instituted against two or more film companies by inde- pendent theatres. 200 bays In Court? Based upon similar suits brought by the Government against other in- dustries, it is regarded as likely that the New York proceedings will re- quire at least 200 court days. The documentary aspects of the trial will be unique so far as any comparable fllm industry action is concerned. Since the complaint against the ma- jor companies was filed in the sum- mer of 1938, the job of collecting and assembling data in refutation of the charges has been going on with- out interruption, It is reliably reported that at the present time there are approximately 150 trained investigators engaged in obtaining affidavits and evidence to meet conspiracy charges. Letter and business flies of every fllm exchange in, the country operated by the ma- jor companies have been searched for corroboratory data. Scores of former employes of film exchanges .have been interviewed, and hun- dreds of fllm bookers and theatre managers have been questioned. When the case flnally is brought for hearing, nothing in the nature of defense will have been overlooked or neglected by the fllm companies. John W. Davis, Thomas D. Thacher and Col.- William J. Donovan are three of the trial lawyers, complete list of whom is likely to reach 30 or 35, who will be retained on a daily (Continued on page 54) Hollywood, Dec. 12. Nicholas M. Schenck arrived here for 'Gone with the Wind' press pre- view tonight (Tuesday). Studio confabs are also scheduled before he returns east. J. ROOSEVELT'S PREZ TITLE; SOLO SOON Hollywood, Dec. 12. James: Roosevelt was elected presi- dent of Samuel Goldwyn Studios, Inc., in addition to his current job as v.p. of Samuel Goldwyn Produce tions, Inc. His option has been lifted for one year. Roosevelt refused to "comment on the report that he intends to become an indie producer, but Goldwyn is known to be negotiating to bring two more production units into the studio. Belief is that one of these units will be Roosevelt's. Elliott Roosevelt is not interested in fllms. He is merely coming here in an endeavor to get the Warner Bros, station to affiliate with his network. The Goldwyn Studios operating company handles studio rentals strictly and has nothing to do with production. He's due in New York next week and will probably an- nounce his new production affilia- tions then. HAWKS' HEMINGWAY YARN FOR INDIE PIC Howard Hawks planed last night (Tuesday) for Florida, where he'll huddle with Ernest Hemingway about an original screen story the latter has tentatively agreed to do, It's an indie venture by Hawks. During his week's stay in New York the director had several story confabs with 6en Hecht. No con- tracts were signed on the latter deal and Hawks stated that the picture might or might not be made in the east, where Hecht and George Jes- sel are planning a film producing setup. Hawks has no future commitments at present, but hopes to get some- thing underway after the holidays, with the studio and releasing setup to be decided later. He'll plane to Hollywood afler three of four days in Florida. Hays Meeting: to Appraise Foreign Film Situation December quarterly meeting of the Hays office directorate is scheduled for next Wed. (20;. It will be the first time directors of the Mo- tion Picture Producers St Distribu- tors have had a chance to give ap- praisal of the foreign situation since Great Britain decided to freeze 50% of net income collected annually by distributors on the British Isles.- Un- officially the . terms are regarded as 'good an could be expected under the circumstances.' Will Hays, head of MPPDA. ar- rived from the Coast the middle of last week. 20TH HOLDS POWER , Hollywood, Dec. 12. Tyrone Power was handed new three-year contract by 20th-Fox. His current picture is 'Dance With the Devil.' Commitment by Edward Small to do six fllms foi: United Artists re- lease on the 1939-40 calendar will not be carried out, it was said this week, a condition which seems likely to prevail also with other UA pro- ducers. At least one and perhaps two films on the Small schedule will be carried over to 1940-41. Pro- ducer hasn't delivered any fllms for the current season as yet. Studio is now at work on 'My Son,' which will be completed shortly. It is also shooting 'Kit Carson,' with 'Son of Monte Cristo' to follow in January or February. Stories haven't even been selected beyond that, and it is held unlikely that more than one or two additional films will bt turned out. Loss of income due to the war In Europe is said by the Small office in New York to be responsible for the cut in promised quantity. With financing, under the independent producer setup of UA, made difficult when domestic income can't be guar- anteed to cover costs, slash is the only thing possible except for the richest of the indies. Unless conditions in Europe change, prospect of other UA producers fol- lowing Small in whittling down their promised turnout seems very likely. A number of them are con- siderably behind schedule and unless there's a sudden spurt in early spring it will be virtually impossible to fulfill commitments. Seems likely that the total UA output will come nearer 33 pictures for the scasoa than the 39 promised from 11 pro- ducers. Latter figures mclude four Laurel and Hnrdys to be made under the Hal Roach banner. How They Line Up In almost equally behind-schedul* state as Small is Alexander Korda with flve promised and only one de- livered, 'Lion Has Wings.' He's about to start another featuring the English fleet, however, and 'Thief of Bagdad' will be completed In two months, which won't put him in bad condition considering difficulties of working abroad. Sol Lesser-Ernst Lubitsch unit have promised three and only start work on 'Our Town' (Continued on page 14) Trad* Mark Reglitered POUNDED BT eiME SILVERHAN rubllshod Weekly bj VARIETT. Inc. Sid .*<llverman. President lU Weet *ith Street, New Tork City INDEX Bills .44-45 Chatter 53 Dance Bands 37-40 15 Years Ago ; 42 Film Booking Chart 20 Film Reviews 11 Film Showmanship 8 House Reviews 18 International News ...14-15 Inside—Legit 50 Inside—Music 38 Inside—Pictures 16 Inside—^^Radio 27 Literati 52 Legitimate 47-51 Music 37-40 New Acts. 45 Night Clubs ..41-43 Night Club.'Reviews 43 Obituary 54 Outdoors 55 Pictures 2-23 Radio , 24-36 Radio—International 29 Radio Reviews 34-35 Unit Reviews 43 Vaudeville- 41-43