Variety (September 1919)

w$®m0?&®i :•';?;'- -I^PL^ g ' "~.\ .■" :''' : -'7 OVING PICTURES NEW JERSEY'S SUNDAY LAW. From advices received at the Na- tional Association of the'Motion Pic- ture Industry here, the Sunday opening law, which has been a thorn in the side of exhibitors in New Jersey, is well on the way towards eventual passage.. vTfce whole matter is being handled for the New Jersey State Exhibitors' League by Dr. Charles Hespe. For years his work has been to impress upon legislators the overwhelming pub- lic support that this measure is ac- tually receiving. Yesterday he re- ported that at no time during the scries of campaigns conducted under his leadership has the outlook for the Sunday opening been more promising. One of the features of the bill which has been generally misunderstood is the fact that it provides for a referen- dum'in each locality upon the question of Sunday motion pictures and does not legitimatize the Sunday .opening scheme except upon a favorable vote by the locality to be affected. Once this is understood by legislators and the public generally, it is felt the measure would have every chance of succeeding. The primaries in New Jersey come on Sept. 23, and the next Legislature will convene next January. It is ap- parent, then, that the work that Dr. Hespe and his staff must do between now and 1920 consists largely in ob- taining a declaration of where 'they stand on Sunday opening fromfthe can- didates of the two political parties; and a subsequent support or oppostfton to their election on the basis of their opinion in regard to whether or not they will enlarge or restrict the pub- lic's rights to recreation or amuse- ment. STUDIO HANDS THE GOATS. The striking studio hands have been the goats in the controversy, between the unions and the picture producers. They were caught short when it was announced that the Los Angeles Build- ing Trades Council had signed a year's working agreement with the Motion Picture Producers Association. There is a dispute as to whether the Council or the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employes has jurisdiction over the studios. NEW PORTLAND FILM CO. Portland, Ore., Sept. 24. The Beaver Film Co. has been in- corporated here to make two-reel Western dramas. W. E Hibbards, F. K. Masters and Charles E. Bartlett are the incorpo- rators. Pete Morrison and Dorothy Dickson will play leads. The American Lifeograph studios will be used. TO EAST AFRICA FOR PICTURES. Dr. Leonard J. Van Valkenburgh, George B. Shattuck and James W. Morse sailed Wednesday for British East Africa on a scientific film making expedition for Famous Players-Lasky. The expedition is co-sponsored by the American Museum of Natural His- tory. The party will remain in Africa for a year ornnore. -. .r.>> »>jpea DAVIS EDITING "HOME JOURNAL." Philadelphia, Sept. 23. H. O. Davis, of Los Angeles, has been' appointed the editor of "The Ladies* Home Journal" to succeed Edward Bok, whose resignation takes effect Jan. 1, 1920. Mr. Bok has been the editor of the publication for the last 30 years. H.O.Davis has been managing editor of the magazine for the last six months. . H. O. Davis, of Los Angeles, is very ^well known in film circles. He was more or less of an efficiency expert /and at one time the general manager of Universal City. It was his desire to produce feature films cheaper than : they had ever been turned out before and also to abolish the star system. At the end of six months of the Davis "regime, the U. was said to have been $250,000 loser. • After that Davis went over to the .Triangle which at the time was not any too well off. Immediately after his advent, the Triangle stock took a little boost on the Curb, but then it started dropping and i never recovered. At the time the H. O. Davis of the films sever- ed his connection with the Triangle, ibis contract still had three months to iron. "BATHING GIRLS OF 1920." ' :SoL L. Lesser has left New York for the Coast where he will confer with Mack Sennett and further plans for a big spectacle along the lines of this year's "Bathing Girls." It will be known as "The Bathing Girls of 1920" and have a melange of - music, lyrics and girls. The spectacle will' be arranged on the Coast next spring and brought to New York FICKLE FAVORITE. Los Angeles, Sept. 24. Lieut. Roger G. Williams has sued his wife, Vera Paloma Williams, known in pictures as Vera Bennett, for divorce. He says that his wife started flirting rJVith other men immediately after they ftere married. They lived together only ;«*enty-two days. 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