Variety (Nov 1941)

PICTURES 'WedncBd'ajr,' Noreuber 3, 1941 Anticipate Electricity Conservation By Cutting Down Partially on Juice Milwaukee, Nov, 4, Although there has been no ol- flcial crackdown locally on the con- sumption of electrical energy, the Fox theatres in this area, both down- town and nabes, believe such a step may be in the offing. They have already instituted a partial black- out policy by way of educating the public for eventualities, and have posted notices in boxoflices advising patrons that, in spirit of national de- fense cooperation, they are doing their bit to conserve electrical energy by eliminating all unnec- essary illumination. Daytime lighting of signs, mar- quees and attraction boards has been entirely done away with and nighttime illumination ia being held to a minimum, no lights whatever being turned on until darkness makes it absolutely necessary, and all outside 'lights being doused an hour or more earlier than for- merly. Execs who recall World War No. 1 and the absolute closing of thea- tres on certain days of the week as a conservation measure in .the sav- ing of fuel Ijelieve that In taking time by the forelock and voluntarily effecting economy measures at the present time they may be able to avoid more stringent regulations in the future. In some parts of the country a shortage of electrical energy needed for defense Industries has already, resulted in cracking down on -the theatres, but in this ' area there is ^o shortage, in sight, and authorities assert there is' no necessity at this time for any drastic curtailment of customary power by any user. However, the Fox houses put their partial blackout iiito effect several weeks ago, watching effects carefully and gradually extending iti They assert their new policy has had no detrimental effect upon busi- ness, but on the contrary has won praise for their patriotic zeal, and the old time Uieory that lights drew customers as they do bugs has been disproved. Incidentally, the savings on juice are sufficiently substantial on a chain of theatres to add consider- ably to the profit side of the ledger. 65,867 Shares of Mono Unloaded, SEC Allows Washington, Nov, 4. Dumping of 65,867 shares of $1 par common Monogram Pictures Corp. stock, - in June this year, was re- vealed today In the.Securities & Ex- change monthly summary of stock transactions. According .to the re- . port, Pathe International Corp., of New York, shucked off the papers last June and, on the same day,' got rid of 3,017 options for common. Leaving nothing at the month's end. Other film stock transactions in- cluded the shucking off of. 3,300 shares of no par yalue Loew's stock by J. Robert Rubin, v.p. of the com- pany. Rubin retained 14,415 shares at the end of September. During the same month, Loew's, Inc. picked up stiU another handful of Loew's Boston Theatres $25 par common. Grab for September was 68 shares, bringing total holdings of the New York parent to 118,567 shares. * Modest pickup of 10 shares In Kelth-Albee-Orpheum common was recorded by the SEC for RKO, the New York parent corporation. Total holdings of the latter amounted to 1,205,675 at the end of September, plus 7,476 shares of 7% cumulative convertible preferred stock in K-A-O. Turnover of Paramount Pictures, Inc. 3>/i% convertible debentures (1947) also was'recorded for Sep- tember, with the Manufacturers Trust Co. of New York dropping 10,000 shares under the heading of •bequest or inheritance.' Retained 8,102,800 shares of same and also was listed as owner of 5,710 shares of company's 6% convertible Ist pre- feired. Jack L. Warner, vice president and beneficial owner of more than 10% of the registered securities, picked up 4,400 shares of $6 par common of Warner Bros. Pictures to bring his holdings to 102,060 at th$' end of September. Also listed esi oyvnlng 14,844 shares of $3.86 vxft- ferred In ^^,f0mi;a^,,.. . ,.. Mixing 'Em Up Hollywood, Nov. 4. Team work in double features Is the new strategy at 20th-Fox, aimed at balancing programs so that two heavy dramas or two comedies will not be shown on the same bill. Under'the consent decree, limiting packages to five pictures. It'Is easier to send out selective programs In which no two films of the same type will compete with each other. Plan is to sell a balanced pro- gram to please as many custom- ers as possible at one sitting. FREE DISHES GIVE WAY TO NEW GAG Milwaukee, Nov. 4. Free dishes are no longer a profit- able come-on in this area, according to exhibs, who one by one are dis- carding the giveaway of dlnnerware, ovenware and book sets and, while some are experimenting with hand- ing out Constance bennett cosmetics gratis to.the femme j?ortion of their audiences, far more are switching to a Bank Nlte successor. It's styled 'Photo Pay Day' and has cash ap- peal. Variety of reasons are given for the passing'of dish taights, which have ,been the vogue for several years. Many patrons became over- loaded and tiieir cupboards wouldn't hold any more. Other patrons w;earie.d of attending the same the- atre a certain night fot 100 or 150 consecutive weelis In order to 6B- tain a complete set of dlnnerware, and simply quit with what they had. Then, too, the national defense situ- ation enters Into the picture, dealers being unable, owing to transporta- tion difficulties and supply )prlorities, to guarantee uninterrupted delivery of crockery'and glassware. UUSICAI. TOE UAKOUUAH Hollywood, Nov. 4. Next director Jpb lor Rouben Ma- moulian at 30th-Fok Is the musical, 'Rings On Kar Fingers,' slated for an early 'winter start. s Milton Sperling (s handling pro- duction. jors Deny They Told Indie M Worry Ahont Fihn Prodoct' b St Loo St. Louis, Nov. 4. The some-run beefs of Mrs. Mil- dred Karsch, owner-operator of the Ritz, 680-seater, Rolls, Mo., and Floyd L. Lowe and W. B. Snell, part- ners of the Star, Lebanon, Mo., are under advisement in the local AAA office., In her beef against the Big Five, Mra Karsch' testified ^he had been led to believe that product would be available to her. On oc- casions, before her house was com- pleted, she said the distribs told her to 'go home and jjon't worry, finish your house and you will be taken care of.' Maurice J. Schweitzer, for Para- mount; Cecil House, a film sales- man for the same company; Hall Ealsh, for WB; B. B. Reingold, for 20th-Fox; Clarence Ritzier, for Loew's, and' R. V. Nolan, for RKO, disagreed with Mrs. Karsch's ver- sion of the conversations-and, col- lectively, said declared Mrs. Karsch was told their first-run product was coiTimitted to the Rollamo, a rival hoiise. On his own motion, John J. Nangle,' AAA arbitrator, ques- tioned Forrest Snyder and Caesar Berutt, who head the Gasconade Amusement Co.,. which operates the Rollamo, 7S0-seater, and are erect- ing a 1,000-seater for the same town. In the Lowe-Snell case, heard by Prof. William H. Stead, a dean at the Washington University here, the petition was amended to eliminate 'Vitagraph (Warners) and 20th-F6x. Maurice J. Schweitzer, for Para- mount, testified there had never been any refusal on his part to furnish screen fodder, but counsel for the plaintiffs asserted that he had never offered his product to .Loew and Snell, end they contended this was a violation of the consent de- cree. As to RKO and Loew's, the bone of contention was whether those companies should rent their percent pictures to the Star on the flat price that Lowe and Snell were willing to pay. Lefty and Aggie Spend a Qt of Gin Getting an Earful From a Phoney t New Detroit Beefs Detrbit, Nov. 4. Taking on more life, two more cases have been filed with the AAA here, both by Grand Rapids, Mich., theatres. . Complaints are similar, charging . that clearance after the first-runs extends from three to five months. Suit filed by Alyce Cornell, owner of the Galewood, was brought against Loew's, 20th, Paramount and War- ners. The other was put In by R. G. Taylor for his. Southlawn, and Is aimed at Loew's, 20th and RKO. 'The cases also name the Butterfleld Circuit and other houses as Inter- ested parties to tiie action. Frisco Indie Pays 31^ of His Gross For Fib Rentals; Important Test San Francisco, Nov. 4. Frisco's longest and most 'in- volved consent arbitration hearing, that of Gerald Hardy's Piedmont against tha.Big Flve^ was adjourned until Nov. 12 by arbitrator Donovan O. Peters after three days of hear- ings. The defense has yet to call a single witness. Hardy, through attorney W. B. Bryant, asks reduction of his 60-day availability to 21 days. Case Is of major Importance here as, should Hardy win, the entire Oakland area zoning and clearance setup might be affected. Effort has been made by the complainant to show that the alrrangement Is un- fair, precipitating heated clashes over move-over and other practices of the district. Also named by Hardy are all Oak- land first runs, Paramount, Fox Oak- land and Fox Orpheum (operated by F-WC) and Blumenfeld's Hoxie and Esquire. Intervenors include the Fox Grand Lake and Fox Senator. Expert witnesses called by Hardy die distrlb, and Rotus Harvey, indie exhib, both of whom were mem- bers of the NRA clearance and zon- ing board. Burden of their testi- mony was that the present Oakland setup was not an NRA offshoot, in- ferring an arbitrary arrangement. Attack on the policy of dating all Oakland clearances'from a Wednes- day flick actually finishes, was de- flected by admissions drawn forth by the defense that the setup sim- plifies booking. Lengthy arguments by the defense on motions to dismiss; on ^ound this is a .'run' rather thaii a' 'clearance' case were taken under submission by the arbitrator, who indicated he wants to hear what the defense has to offer before ruling Hardy out on a technicality. Peters also over- ruled a 20th-Fox motion to be dis- missed from the case on the ground the company has an indirect interest in the three Fox-West Coast oper- ated first-runs. Arbitrator ruled they belonged in the case inasmuch as they were selling film to the com- plainant. , Hardy testified the 887-seat Pied- mont pays 31% of its gross for film rentals, and that it had lost better than $4,400 In 10 months of opera- tion, ohly proflitable month netting $71.57. Among those In the crowded cham- bers were Charles A. Buckley and John B. Bertero, representing 20th Included Floyd St John, retired in-. Jfox and F-WC, backed by Arch M, Bowles, local F-W.C chieftain; A. A. Freston, Vitagraph, one of the smoothest consent attorneys seen here; Peter S. Sommer for Para- mount (with Neal East at his elbow), also representing Blumenfeld's Roxie and Esquire; B. E. Kragen for the Golden State Chimes; N. P. Jacobs of RKO, Al Wingham, Metro; Roy day first-run closing, regardless of | Cooper, Golden State,'and others. By Joe Laurie, Jr. „ , Coolacres, Cal, Dsor Joe: Every once In a while w* get a laugh out here and I wish you and my pals on Broadway were here to help me and Aggie enjoy it Like for instance the other night a guy hung around the lobby, so I thought maybe here Is another guy that wants to buy the Jemt So I klnda edged up to him and he sez, 'Are you the manager?' and as we happened to have a good show that night 1 wasn't afraid to say "Yes.' So he sed, "Well, I'm an old vaudeville performer passin' thru here on my way to Hollywood where I am going Into pictures and where 1 have i lot of friends.' ' So I sed, "You have friends In the pictures or in Holly- wood?', and ha sed, 'Both.' So I sed, -You're lucky." Then he tells me things have been tough with him since vaudeville got the blitz and so with work gettln' scarcer and scarcer be decided to 'go t6 Hollywood and go into pictures or even maybe the radio, he will dedd* when he gets there, but meanwhile he needs a coupla bucks. Well, h* seemed Ilke^a nice guy so I gives the wink to Aggie and we tak6 him up to the house and Aggie puts up a swell feed, and you know she can cook when she wants to and has what to cook. I opened a bottle of glri and the old man got to talkin' worst than a sister team coming off the Western Vaudeville Time. . It seems he 41d an act with a dame that was a novelty musical called 'A. and B. Minor.'^ They played an act in a kitchen set with musical knives, forks, brooms, cups and saucers, and finished the act playing the 11,000 electrical garden. He told us it really didn't cost $1,000, but It did cost $50 wholesale and'it played like a $1,000. He sed the stage got dark and he and the partner, which later became his wife and later became his partner again. They would make contact with.« sprinklln' can with th« flowers and they would light up (the flowers) and play a musical bell. They played 'Old Black Joe.' They had another piece, but never used it as 'Old Black Joe' was too big a hit for them. He got things kinda au bawled up when the gin got workln' and he sed he shouldn't a drank the ,two drinks. I ain't a bad host and don't care what a guy eats or drinks, but me and Aggie only got three drinks a piece outta the bottle, and there -was nuthin' left and you know those bottles hold 18 drinks. So if you know anything about gin-arithmetic you know this guy had plenty, which I don't care because that's what it's there for, but I don't like for a guy to say he got only two drinks when he blots up a whole quart Mistook Us For Bnbes Anyway this guy took us for a coupla Rubes and started tellin' us all about vaudeville. He forgdt that we told him we used to do an act too, and a good one. He knew everything and everybody; knew when Paul Whiteman worked foi' Bing-Crosby; he knew Joe E. Brown when it used to be Rice & Proyost; he knew^Roger Imhoff who did a song and dance act with Velaska Suratt; he played on the biU with Mclntryre Heath and Jack Nolan and Nora Bayes; he remembered when Walter Winchell did a kid act with Ed Sullivan, and when they split up they went In the newspaper business and are now making over $300 a week apiece. Aggie asked hli]^ did he ever play the Palace In New York, and he sed he played it when it was called Loew's .Delancy'St. theatre, that's how far he goes back. He admitted that they didn't play east much on account his partner had asthma and that's why they never played brass instruments in their aci We asked him did he know Bill Halllgan and Solly Violinsky, and he sed the team sounds familiar but he couldn't recall them. So then we know he was a phoney. We figured the guy did an act around Indiana playln' schools and he got readin' the trade papers and talkin' to. actors and got a cockeyed idea of the business. He got everything mixed up. Aggie se? show business Is all mixed up anyway, so what this guy did to It didn't hurt it any. I slipped him a few bucks and Aggie fixed him up a nice lunch to take along. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if . the guy goes to Hollywood and iMcomes a big success. If ignorance of the show business counts for anything in Hollywood, I know this'guy is in. Best to the Gang, SEZ Your Pal, Le/tv. P. S. Charlie Mosconl sez, 'An optomist is a guy who thinks his wife has quit cigarettes when he finds cigar butts around the house.' Fifan Readers' Demands Hollywood, Nov. 4. Substantial wage raises and 100% union shop are demanded' by the Screen Readers Guild, seeking to re- open Its current agreement with the film producers. Readers at present have an 80% Guild shop and want io make it complete. Their proposed wage schedule calls for an Increase from $45 to $75 a week as a minimum, with apprentices upped from $30 to $45. Stodio Contracts Hollywood, Nov. 4. Annie Rooney's player option picked up by Metro. Stuart Heisler drew an option lift as director at Paramount Arthur Rosenstein renewed as vocal coach at Metro. Susan Peters' minor contract with Warners approved by Superior Court Hugh Bennett's director option hoisted by Paramount Nancy Gates Inked player pact at RKO. ■ Field Gray inked art director con- tract with RKO. Cesar Romero drew new two-year contract with a four-year option at 20th-Fox. Red Skelton renewed by Metro. Paul Henreid's player option picked up by RKO. Darla Hood, moppet renewed by Metro. William Horning drew a new Metro contract as art director. SOPEG PETITIONS M-G PREZ ON CONTRAa Homeoffice employees of Loew's have filed a request with prez Nich- olas M. Schenck to fiegin bargaining negotiations. They filed a request with the National Labor Relations Board at the same time for an elec- tion to determine a bargaining agent Screen Office & Professional Env ployes Guild, CIO, claims a majority of the workers. SOPEG, which reps Columbia's homeoffice employes, is seeking A 'consent election' with the company. Should the company agree, that would obviate necessity of holding NLRB hearings to determine who is eligible to vote. Technical Peak at WB Hollywoddi Nov. 4. Technical work at Warners reaches a new high on the Warners lot thij week with nine pictures being edited* eight in the process of musical scor« Ing and 14 camera and sound crew's on assignment Added personnel is busy In the art, set-dressing wardrobe and makeup departments. lOBT UOVES OUT Hollywood, Nov. 4. Dave Lory, president of Film Technicians Local of the Interna- tional Alliance of Theatrical Stag* Employees, turned in his resignation after a disagreement with the board of directors. John R. Martin was appointed act- ing president, pending an election.