Variety (September 1921)

k H PRICE 20 GENTS •;«■■ PablUhad W«eklr at 1S4 Weat 4CUi St.. N«w York, N. T.. br V&rUtj. Inc. Annoal subMsrlptloa |T. SIbcU eopto^ It eaaU. ■aUrad ma second claaa matter Decembar tl, 1901. at the Poat Office at New York, N. T.. «Bder the Act of l(ar«h I. IIT*. iVOL.LXIV. NO. 6 NEW YORK CITY, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 1921 40 PAGES nCKET GRAFT WAR i^i^ FEATURE FILMS IN VAUDEVILLE MEAN GUTTING DOWN ON ACTS **Golem" in Keith-Moss Houses Takes Two or Three Acts Out of Each Bill—One Act Out for Each 2 Reels—Other Features Booked. ■ ^ — P.M.A. STRIKES AGTOR MUST PAT MANAGER •Thi* Golem" will go oyer the Kfith-Moss bouses when it finishes its run at the Criterion, New York, in about four weeks. During the en> gagement of "The Oolem" at any particular bouse it will mean thot U*^sk two Iw lLi«c rauileville acts ',vill be dispensed with that week, the pic- ture playing a full week in each in- stance. "Way Down East" goes into the Borough Tark week Oct 10. Ordi- narily the house plays six vaudeville acts. During that week it will play four. Several other multiple reelcrs are under consideration for the Keith- Moss houses, the booking of which will mean, if over five reels in length* that an act will be dropped for each two reels in excess of the 5,000-foot length. The forthcoming Charlie Chaplin comedy, "Tlie Idle Class," hrs been booked by the Keith people and will be routed in the Keith big-time houses, the same as Chaplin's •'Kid." "The Idle Class" is a two- reeler. It is scheduled to open at the Palace Oct. 17, playing the Colonial *nd Alhambra also the same week, and the other Keith houses in Greater New York on the soning sys- tem a week or two later In gronpa of four and five houses to a booking. A STAGER WITH A HEART The girls of the chorus—some 26 In number—of the Music Box Review, presented Xlassard Short, who staged the piece, with a huge loving cup, Buitably engraved. Dorothy Haver nade the presenUtion speech, in ^hich she claimed that for the first time within the recollection of the girls this producer never once lost his temper, and thanked him for the jniform courtesy with which he handled tha job. LOSSES ARE $300,000, ASSETS BRING $600 Defunct Hallmark Pro- ductions Reaches Finish Monday the assets of the defunct Hallmark Productions, Inc., was sold at public auction at Lloyd's Storage Warehouse and brought $000. The failure of the concern reprosents a loss of approximately $300,000. The directors of Hallmark included Frank G. Hall, Jacob Kuppert, the brewer, Mr. Mollenhauer, the sugar refiner, Mr. Borden, the cotton goods magnate and a representative of the New York Trust Co. AT GOUGING "SPECS." Producers at Hot Session Frame Own Advertising Agency — Say Go-Be- tween Profited $300,000 In Year—Business House Cleaning Ordered EQUm ARBITRATION DECIDES Umpire George Gordon Battle Awards Brock Pember- ton $2,000 Against Josef Shildkraut—First Known Case—Amount Covers Advance Royalties AD. BILL IS $6,000,000 FIRST "LITTLE EVA" Now 73, Mrs. McDonald "Went to Hoavtn' at 4—and io Troy Troy, N. Y., Sept. 28. The original "Little Eva" in the first production of "Uncle Tom'a Cabin'* was discovered last week in the person of Mrs. Cordelia Howard McDonald, who is 73 years old- Mrs. McDonald first played the part in this city in 1852, when four years old. Despite her age, she still moves about with the grace of one much younger and takes a keen interest in aflFairs of life. George O. Howard, Mrs. McDon- ald's father, was manager of the old Museum theatre, where "Uncle Tom" had ita premiere. Howard played St Clair, the painter, while Mrs. Howard was cast aa Topsy. Her mother, lAn. Emily Fox, was seen in the role of Ophelia in "Hamlet" George Aiken, nephew of Mrs. Fox, dramatked Harriet Beecher Stowt'a famouf noTtt a- - .«. i 1 ^ • • • The Producing Managers Associa- tion in a largely attended and hectic meeting Tuesday, started two move- ments whose objective is cleaning house in the busiuess management of attracTTOhs and thePtres. One special committee was selected to attempt a soTution of the alleged abuses of excessive prices charged by ticket agencies for Broadway hits. The P. M. A. aims to secure a pro- hibitive law enaltcd by the New York State Legislature. The other move- ment is the organization of au ad- vertising agency to be owned by the managers. Such an agency is ex- pected not only to become a source of considerable revenue to the P. M. A., but would also make for uni- formity in the kind and size of the advertisements employed. The plan to eliminate a numbeh of weekly and some daily publications was tabled after argument pro and con. Though it is to come up later, the general impression was that the (Continued on page 37) JVO ADVICE WANTED, SAYS LOUIS MANN Will Bring Play Into New York When Ready— Tublic Last Resort' Wilmington, Del., Sept. 26. Editor Variety: In your last issue there was com- ment made upon the play, ''In the Mountains," I am producing, and a discussion of my affairs by others. I should like to say a few words anent some alleged statements of ad- vice given me in that arcicle: I will not change in my determination to live up to the constitution of the Ac- tors' Fidelity League, which I believe to be for the bent interests of the actor; that in the main my company of open-shop actors is satisfactory to me. "Ye pays ycr money and ye takes yer choice." With regard to th«» »tnt«»m<»nt thnt a certain manager had witnossod the performance of "In the Mountains" (Continued on page 37) ROOF S "SUNDAY" Shubert to Play Same Bill Upstairt That Appears In 44th St. Theatre TRANSFER CO.'S SEASON Last Saturday the Globe Transfer brought in seven nhows from the road and the Gain Transfer people five more. The previous Saturday night the Globe alone brought in 17 legit altrac- tiona, Following last Sunday night's turn- away crowd at the Shuberts' 44th St Theatre, it wag decided that when the Sunday concert season opens, the 44th St.'s Roof (Norah Bayes theatre) Is to be utilized for a special Sunday performance, to catch the overflow expected. The vaudeville bill playing the 44th 8t. during the week is to give an ex- tra performance, pro rata, on the Uoof Sunday evening. The first known instance of an actor being ordered by the Actors' Equity Association to pay damagea to A manager for breach of contract, occurred last week when Josef Shild- kraut appearing in the title role of "Liliom," lost in the arbitration of his agreement with Brock Pember- ton. Bhildkrant was directed to pay $2,000 in liquidated damages to the manager. The umpire in the adbl- tration was George Gordon Battle, a noted attorney. Minnie Webster represented the actor and H. II. Stout appeared for Pemberton. The damages represented $1,000 In advance royalties paid by Pember- ton, after Shildkraut had signed a contract with him last spring to ap- pear In a pTay dealing with Lord Byron, the balance of the money be- ing expenditures resultcnt to the se- curing of the play. After niRTiing with the manng»»r. it was learned Shildkraut was under agreement with the Theatr«» fiuild. When Pemberton asked if ShUdkraut was ready to appear umier his di- rection the player stated he believed there would be no IrouMo in getting a release from the Guild. Upon be- ing assured by the player it w::k safe to procure the Byron play, Pom- berton proceeded to tie up the piece. That was prior to his sailing for England early in the summer. Upon his return, Pemberton was informed (Continued on page 37) POLICE CHIEF, WATCHMAN Chicago, Sept. 28. John McWeeny, chief of po'ice dur- ing the Carter Harrison administra- tion, and retired from the police de- partment, is now day watchman at the New Casino theatre, being constructed on State and Lake streets by Balaban Sc Katx. McWeeny was chief of po- lice from 1911 to 1915.