Variety (Jan 1941)

Wednesday, January i, 1941 iPIGTURES All Indies asMaiorSti^^ Hoiiywobd,,tiec..3i.:', Screen WHters,, Guild , has gained- virtuar control of the scripter -sii;.. liitlon in the film industry by sign- ing contracts with practically all the Independent producers iartd reaching tentative agreements with the rest. Pacts, similar , to those with the ma- W studios, are :f6r six months iand give SWC the right; to arbitrpite any. disputes that may arise .oyer screen credits. • ■■ ■ Indies, who. have signed are Edward Small, Howard . Hughes, Qlpbe, Principal Artists Productions, Alexander Korda, James Roosevelt, iTank Lloyd, Frank Capra/ Larry Darmoup and David L. Lojew-Albert; Lewiri, Inc.. David. O. Selznick has promised to sign after he forms is new corpoiratibri. With a few minor details to .be worked out,. tentative . agreements have; been reached ] with Republic, Hal Roach, Walter Wanger and Monogram. . . . : Coast , leaders-of the. CIO, armed with 17,660 membership pledge cards Irtm. various labor classifications in the major-.siudibsV are, waiting for' a chance to crash-the film industry; There will be no diriect move in that direction; according , to the leaders, who Insist that any action Ayill have come from the workmen themselves. . Crux of:, the .situation, the CIO representatives declare, is the. unset- fled condition of. several studio lo- calf aligned with Ihteirnational Alli- anca of Theatrical .. Stage Employes. George E. Browne, flrexy of lATSE, ii reported: to be investigating the possibility of a GIO drive in Holly- wood.;. ■. Belief here is that any such move .J>y CIO would result ffi lATSE tak- ing command of the 10 stiidio locals to protect its own jurisdiction; with the American-. Federation; of Labor taking over spnie of the. independent . crafts to forestall CIO. Thus, far the AFL, in the middle of an prgainiza- •tlpn campaign in the film, industry, has been keeping hands off the indie tuilons. beep Cut Into Extra Lists . .Producers Association meets Jan. 6 to approve the Standing Committee teport recommending a heavy cut in the list of available extras. Appj oyal means the dropping of: 2,900 atmos- phere players who worked 10 days or less in 1939. These casual extras were paid approximately $200,000, Which, will be available'for distribu- tion to regular extras whose sole •upport is the picture industry. Motion Picture Costiuners Union ■ubmitted demands to Pat Casey, producer-iabor contact, fot, a five- . flay, 4.0-hour week, with uppcd wages tor employes in the lower pay brackets. Huddles between produc- ers and: union representatives begin .next week. ^Herbert AUer, business represent- •tive of Internalidnal Lpcal 659, conferred with. Wall Disney studio •xecutives to discuss a proposed cfnr tract fiovernihg the wages and woik- Ujg. conditiDhs ;for cameramen. Most Pf the .cartoonists in the Disney planl nave already signified their intention - JO affiliate, with the Screen :Car- wonists Guild, . PrPducers and Studio Scenic Art-' "IJJ exchanging diplomatic notes with a.possibility that a coilitraet will »• - wgned . when Herbert Sorrtill.- DMsmess. representatiyie of Motion Pictures Painters Local '644, returns nom his Oakland vacation. b Row forillbureeii . ' .: Hollywood, Dec, si, Erich'' .Pornmer,. picked ■ Maureen Q'Hara for the femme lead in his forthcoming RKO production, Two on an Island.'. ' Two pictures,^ tKe ciirrent "They Met " in Argentina* arid 'Water Gyp- , sies,' precede.: 'Island* Miss O'Hara's schedule. > : - ,S.F., Placed Stftted That th« W^d^e Intb ; Thektfes; Natioiially;^^ W^^ : Coine Via the N. Y. Home- : Office* of the Siindry : Chains or Partiierships DETROIT EX AMPLE ; Sah Francisco, Dec. 31. The much-mooted .consent decree and its multifarious ramifications won't make much change in the cus^i tomary serenity , of Frisco's film row. A little more paper work, a few more visits from exhibs, and per- haps fewer headaches for the .ship- ping dopartnreht Is the way they summarize it here, . 'It's like all the other overwhelming; s t u p e n d o.u s i problems, in this business/ philoso- I phizes George Ballentine. of .20th.- Fox. When they actually arrive they always tinsnari themselves somehow and a . short time , later you ne.ver i know anything has happened.' I An increase in.clericial work ap- parently will, be the major change here. The scireening problem, worry of many eastern centers, has caused no ripple here yet;. 'There'll be' a few. more exhibs Iboking at pictures, but I thifnk you'll, find that the average exhib will con- tinue to gauge his reactions by audi- ences in first-run houseis. But as for trade.showirig the first-runners al- ways, look at their:product aiiyway, and. we screen all ;our pictures, so actually,.there won't be any grpat change in the preiseht setup.' Paramount, 26.th, Universal, Warn- ers and RKO all have screening rooms,, in addition to another rental room on the row, which is expected 16; be .ample to .care for p'reyiew needs. In the. event of overflow, plenty of h.ou-^es are available in con- venient location;?. . Reported that the International Alliance of Theatrical-. Stage Em- ployees, which has beeri quietly , or- ganizing- Various - Ahieatre crafts throughout the cpuntry, is beginning to. make its big moye in! the organ- ization of picture houses from top to bpttom. • ..yarious points around the couhtry, such as Detrpit Where trouble, has .just . cropped .up, .may serve as testing points 6n the IA campaign and. not uiilooked for in the trade is that the lA may use its studio strength, for pressure.' Among other things, it is. bielieye;d that. lA would like, to throw the re- sponsibility on labor • -niatters .as much :on 'New York as possible, especially so far as large circuits, which have partnerships, .are con- cerned. With result; negotiations may be presised with circuit h.o.'s instead of through lpcal operators or part^ ners. N. Y. C. itself is well, organ- ized under lATSE auspices. With all theatre- help under contract in N:.Y. and Bropklyn excepting ushers. During the past ..week union trouble cropped up in Miami Beach in connection - with the .. opening Christmas Da.y . (25) . of the new Beach theatre^ an' S. A. Lynch-Par ppei-atibn, but that was straightened put. '." Detroit's Case , Much more alarming are the diffi- culties and the threats in Detroit, affectirig. not only Par there but Pther operators,. United Detrpit Theatres,, a Par subsidiary, had scheduled to open a new house, the Royal.. Friday night (27) but ran up against unanticipated union . de- mands.. Stagehands got tough by in- sisting on putting in a maintenance man at $78 a. week, With result When demands were refused,, the operators would not go, into the booth. House couldn't open and is still unlatched.. Wisper & Wetsman, independent neighborhppd operators, are involved since they built the Royal and have a. piece of it with Par. Still additional difficulty fn De- $78 Stagehand Balks Preem troit involves .an effort; of the .janlr tors to obtafn recognition and a con<- tiract.' Reported labor interests from Chicago, probably representing thie lA, prganized the janitors in Detroit and they are jnaking their bid under threats, tp fiicket theatresi ■ Under- stood they hiaive obtained .agreement from other unions not' tp. cross a' picket line if thrown Up. American. Guild^of Vairiety' Artists, the lA and musicians, are .mentioned lii - this connection. Because of resistance from the theatres, the janitors threatened to organize a picket line- last night CNeW Year's Eve) in front 'of Par'is Michigan in Detroit, which this weefe. has a .hblidayi. stage show. ; Fears, are that similar unrecog-: hized unions in the lA or AFL group may begin .testing their strength In other -parts of .-the country shortly after New Year's in a move directed by George E. Brown to solidify the lA throughout the entire nation: • • ■ > mooo For False Arrest in Hollywoodi Dec. 31. District .Court of Appeals on Mon- day (30) affirmed a judgment, fpr damages , to Herbert Sorrell, biz rep of the Studio Painters Union, and Ralph Peckham growing out of false arrest in a studio strike several years ago. , Warners and Blayney Mathews, studio police chief, Were defendants in case. Jury's.award of $15,000 was reduced to' $9,000 by subsequent court actions which Appellate. Di- vision has just affirmed. Lang on 'Man Hunf Hollywood, Dec. 31. Fritz Lang gets the directorial.task Oh 'Man Hunt,' a story undergoing a lot of rewriting since its publication, as the novel,'Rogue Male.' ; Filming starts early in January at 20th-Fox. RCA Common-s 20c j)iyyy . Common stockholders of Radio Vorp. of Arfierica, on record as own-; ffi last Dec. 20, start off the new year with a 20c divvy melon., Divi- JWnd is payable Jan. 27, but action. R^he distribution was taken, early . »■ December, It .gives. RCA common shafeholders a flying start. :on . diyi-' pends for the year bccau.sc only 2Qo Was paid all of 1940. - OTv^^ also is paying the cu.stomary 'TVic and: $1,25 [on- its -first preferred ^ 'B' preferred shares as of today IW^d.), this/representing the iisuS.! . aiJarterly distribution for the: 'final Quarter of 1940. ON SALE AT ALL NEWSSTANDS NEXT WEDNESDAY, JAN. 8 of Advertising Forms Close Friday, Jan, 3 No Advance in Rates or Neivsstand Pripe of Many subscribers aiul readers buy extra copies of Variety's : anniversary issues to be mailed to friends* Orders should be placed in advance with your newsdealer or at any Variety office NEW YORK . HOLLYWOOD CHICAGO LONDON 154 W. 46lh $1. 1708 N. Vine St 54 W. Randolph St. 8 St. Martin's PL . r ^ : ; Detroit, Dec; 31, . • Refusal of the ; United Detroit Theatres and the Wisper & Wetsman circuit, joint operators: of the new luxury house, to pay a $78 weekly salary to a stagehand for the new Royal halted the scheduled opening of the 2,5o6-seat. $306,000 .liabe here. Instead of a gala opening Friday (27)^the theatre . turned iaway 3,500 custom.eirs'at t.he windows; refunded to those who had bought in advance and .handed but the following istate- meht to all who came put for the opening. ^ ' \ 'We exceedingly regret - the incon- venience caused you by the failure of this theatre to open. We feel the following explanation is due you. This theatre;, constructed and • equipped iri its entirety by .uriioh; la-^ .ijpr, will not. open as the i*esult of the unreasonable and. illegal demands of the Stage Hands Union, who die-, mand that we employ a stagehand at a salary bf;$78 per week. For your Information, a stagehand is one who during the presentation of a . stage show moves scenery! and other equip- ment used by the actors in the piresentation of their act. Since this theatre will have no stage shows there is absolutely no work of any kind for a stagehand to do. - 'Two moving picture operators to whom we are willing to pay the union scale of $105 per week per man refuse to Work unless we em- ploy a stagehand. Because of these facts and for no other reason what- soever this theatre Will not open. We will pay for all work done but refuse to pay a man $78 per week when there is absolutely no work of any kind for him to do. What would you do if you were in our :position?', The Detroit "Theatrical Protective Association claimed that there was work for a stagehand to do ,at the new house in the form of mainte- nance. The union said it Was neces- sary for a stagehand to handle the ligliting backstage and supervise exit facilities, Roger Kennedy, international, rep- resentative of the M:P.<D.U., said that naturally none of the members of the operatprs union would go to wjork . until the theatre's dispute With the/, stagehands was settlied. The house continued dark over the. weekend with no negotiations im- pending. LVille Usher Walkout In Unionization Drive Louisville, Dec. 31. Ushers at the Strand, Rialto, Rex (Fourth Ave. Amus; Co. houses), and the Kentucky, operated by Switow Bros., were on striate last ■ week, as part o( a move by Clem Johnson, - repi^esenting the Building .Service Employes union (AFL) to organize l;hc^ ushers,;, Usiiers at the ' Brown,- Loew's State, and Mary . Ander.crin were /not affected and "dcciincd; joi/i ■ the movement, which up. to the present has merely resulted in the affected hou.ses being subject to' picketing. No violence has been evi-. dent, with; the exception of-a; minor alterciiiioh with one of- the woi"king ushers,; who had his tiie pulled out, ; , lATSE local' has refused to take any^ part in the strike, claiming that while tHe Buildinjg Scrvic^ Employes^ group is affiliated with the AFL, que^tion.' resolvcs - itself into, a juri.<f- dictional dispute. Claimed that ush- ers properly belong in lATSE if that • union Would be Interested in- taking them - in,, and" that if and when this is decided upon, then, it would be time enough to enter into the local .situation., ■■ .By Sunday i'2!)) .hight, all ushera had returned to work arid picketing had been practicaUy 'di.scoiitin.ued,;. '. PAR BOEEQWS LODER liollywoodi Dec. 31,; Paramount borrowed John Loder from 2"0th-Pox tor, one of the top roles in 'One Night; in Lisbon.' ' . Actor recently finished. 'Uncen- sored' on that lot.