Variety (October 1921)

"TPi-iday, (Tcio'her 7, 1921 PICTURES 43 ^«' 7 GRAFT IN PICTURES ONE ARABIAN NIGHT The D«aert Dancer Pola Nevri The Hunchback Ernm Lubltsch INSIDE STUFF GRAFT.! Today tbat is the greatest production in pictures. It is being turned out by nearly every one of the producing .eompanies. be it large or small, a program or a piking state righter. ^ It begins with practically the head of the company and extends down every fiber^bf producing to even the smallest. ^ No one who is connected with the picture mafcing' end of the industry Is immOne from an attack of graftitis at some time or aiiotber wh!le they remain in the industry. At least that ia the history of the industry from the time that it hrrin to get more money than it knew what to do with and it l^ been continoed to this day, when it is still holding full sway. It begins the minute a company is organized and extends all the way down the line until the finished picture is finally turned over to the exhibitor and projected on the screen of his theatre. The exhibitor, being the last one to handle the picture, pays ttse freight! Just to point out the manner in which the production graft Is bandied, let's start a picture or^^anisation on paper. Paper by the way is much better than table cloths. The promoter starts out to land his sucker. The sucker is in tow of another wise suy who declares himself in for a piece of the senution at the strand "One Arabian Night" is a film ver- sion of "SumuruD," made in Germany, as may well be guessed by the names of the two principal players in the cast. Those two names arc the only ones programed. Others among tlie players are worthy of .mention. Pola Negri is the oiai'aaU JfiTnrcUtfJftsrffT the director and principal support. In this picture he displays the fact that he is just as great an actor as he is a director and bis characterisation of the Hunchback is one that American character players can well study. As shown at the Strand the picture runs 96 minutes. Joseph Plunkett has given the production a prolog with solos and a dance in a Bagdad company on the strength of the introduction; the first step in the i graft. , Comes the process of organising. The promoter declares him- self for one of the offices at a fat salary, the Introducer is in for '■ ai)other and the chump trails usually aa treasurer to watch his bmnk roll. Then the promoter signs the star. Her salary is so much per . week. The star could hare been hired at 1750 with ease, but in- stead the promoter pays her 11,600 with the proTiso the star kick back 1600 a week of that. Then the star knows of a story that will juflt suit. The play or story broker is called in. The star haa already fixed it that there Is a piece of ^e story price to be handed oyer. When the bmkf^r arrtTes at the office of the promoter there has been added to the t\v,, setting that leads one to believe Ihat be is qualified to succeed Morris Gest as a producer of spectacles of the Far East. In a measure it approaches Gest's stren scene in "Mecca." The picture is worthy far greater pnbHoHv than was accorded its pre- It offers any sale price at least $1,000; the promoter talka it over with the broker i the East. number of chanifes to the exhibitor in the way of publicity and its presenta- tion anywhere should be made an event, rather than a matter of fact program presentation. It^ia a pic- ture that will pull audiences if tney only know what to expect. The American screen version of "Sumurun" was titled and cut by Leslie Mason of the First National forces who is given screen credit for the achierement. It richly deserves all of that for his titles explain the tale lucidly, yet - '^ a certain color- ful charm ti.u;. at all times holds the audience in the poetic atmosphere of and another $6,000 goes on. The director who has been hired by the promoter on the same basis as the star, comes in for a "ont" on the story, so the directof manages to know Just the person who ca» write the continuity at so much, with the continuity writer kick- ing back to the director.. It would not be right for the director not to have some other litV.e graft besides this, so he arranges with an agent to do his exclusive casting. The agent kicks back to the director and the promoter knowing this, declares himself in witli the director on that graft. All this means the salary of every actor hired Jumps anywhere from 25 to 50 per cent, so that the difference wi|l meet the cute that have to be made after the actor gets his. On a grafting picture the actor is sure of a long engagement, for the longer it takes to make the picture the more the graft that rolls up for the head of the company* Then the assistant director. He has to get his and he does it by fixing up an arrangement with the agent that furni|hes the ex- [[P"^°^ tras. "Assistant director" isn't much of a title for him so he, "1"^ u # w * *v * u take, it upon h.m,eH to confer the title of .tudlo manager. j jj^/«'i» «',i' »YJ f^liJ uoUmS Along comes the carpenter. He has a layout of the sets re- dancer of the player caravan. The quired. It figures so much lumber and paint, but if the sets have to Shcik sees and wants her. She is a b«f) torn down and rebuilt a couple of times it will take much more woman who has >'ovcd and been loved, At the opening of the tale, of the "Thousand and One" of the Arabian Nights, a small caravan is shown ap- proaching the city of Bagdad. In the wagon tliero is a quartet of players, the dancer, the hunchback, a Juggler and an old hag who does snake charm- init. Meanwhile, in the city, the mighty Sheik is having trouble in his haren). His fnvorite wife is in love with a merchant of the city and likewise she is loved by the only son of* the Sheik. The lRtt(>r suspects that all is not well and catches the favorite in what he belie res a flirtation. She is tried and doomed to death, but the son intervenes aivd saves her life. When recoverint; consciousness she is in the arm's of tNe Hheik whom she He. tired of her indifference. him so he ^^^^^ ^^ ^^'^ ^>^^ ^^ ^^^ slave dealer, lumber and much more paint, all of which carries with it that much more graft for himself and a cut to the studio manager. I The location man ian't a dead one by any means. He scouts r thr locations, fixes the people who have to be fixed, always figur- I iLg he gets his own in the fixing, and then makes the hotel arrange- ments to suit himself; that is, if he doesn't think it would be a little more profitable for him to have the company carried back and forth daily in autos, providing it can be done. In that event he . ... * u oi. i . gets his from the auto renting company. In those places where ir*<>'°f *''';»";*>♦';«'^Jf i-^"^^^ hav«T •'" "''""^ ^J.^H%S"'"'^"l **" *"* '^' etudio manager i:;*J;erhe';"i;'th^' 5^^^^^^^ have an arrangement with the nearby garage man for oil and gas after she has risen from his side on her lovers being in numbers, all serv- in her mind to advance her. and she goes to the harem of the Sheik even though she has met the son and would be far more willing to become his mistress. The poor hunchback clown who also love.«4 her follows to the harcra where in the coming of the dawn he steps ori which they get theirs. Then the piuperty man. He has to come in for a pretty good the couch while he was sleeping. The merchant lover of the former favor' When all these little arrangements have been made It is time to shoot the picture. Th^ poor chump has had a couple of good looks at hifi bank roll slipping but that is about all that he has had. It mustn't be thought the executives at the head of the organi- sation do not know about all of the petty grafting. They do know it but they are too busy gettitig theirs and looking for new ways to add to it to try to correct the lesser grafters. The executives for the greater part are in the position of the nian that steals a half dollar out of his left hand pocket to put a quarter into the right hand pocket. share of the graft around, so he makes his arrangement with one ite has been smuggled Into the harem cf the furniture renting concerns so that he isn't left in ihe cold during the night and as the Sheik altogether turns from tlie dead love to his former favorite he finds her in her lover's arms. The Hunchback avenges the dead dancer by killing the Sheik as is about to slay the merchant lover. It is a tragic tale, spicod with amours, wonderfully well enacted and containing touches of comedy that only Lubitsrh would nnd could have conceived. There is the scene at mid- night, wj^n the Shoik Is about to take his ride in the cool of the desert and the dancer appears on tlio tlirosh- old of the harem. She lures him from liis rid«» and tlio manner in whieh h** dismiss»>H his .nttondnnts and mount brought a howl from the audionce. The production is oolorful fhrough- out, the atmosphere of the Eiist be- ing perfect in detail and as h^'fore said the players present nerformances that arc remarkable. Pola Negri is tremendous! That is the one word that de.Moribes her performnnco litf- ingly. She has fire and an allurement that is essential to thf» role assigned her. also slie display.'* tho f.art that sho is a dancer of exceeding cleverness. I^nhitsch, however, is the member of the cast that will croato n histoii<' mark as the Tlunchbjiclc. It is impos- sible to recall a screen ijerformnnce that equals his in this picture. The snake <hnnning ling is another player of note. US well as the yonng mer- chant nnd the two women. Haidee and Zuleikn. The latter while not Iomr oh looks gives a corking performance. One cniiudf Ro wrr»ng in pliiyiiiK this fenture no niHtler wlint tlio reiifnl ON PICTURES Despite there have been any number of rumored amalganiations that have more or less turned out lo be myths, principally because something went wrong with the spokes prior to the consummation of the deals, there is now on tap a. logical combination that will cut down j3is.t»'*Mting overhead. The deal which.t^o First National closed re- cently with the Associated Producers has formed the basis for a general get-together of several produciug and distributing llrms. Those are Metro, Robertson-Colo and Goklwyn. Of the three, it is a certainty two have coriously figured on combining diatributin; in- terest. At the First National this week neither an affirmation nor a denial was forthcoming. On the outside of the First National it was gen- erally conceded there was a deal in progress and that the call of the meeting of the franchise holders of the organization sot for tbo middle of tnis month in Detroit or Milwaukee was for the purpose of discussing it. The terms under which the Asuoclated Producero arranged for the physical distribution of its product through the First National aro such that a number of outside companies that are doing their own producing; and distributing believe it would be to their mutual adv»n« t4ge should they be able to negotiate a similar arrangement. The Associated Producers turns over its product to the First Na- tional, giving th6 franchise hoMerc first call on the productions. If the First National board approves of a picture tnmed out by one of the units of the A. P., the producer receives the cost of his necative by a certified audit of his costs sheets on delivery of the aegotive. After the cost is returned to the First National there is a sharing arrangement on the gross that the picture may make above the price paid to the producer originally. If the franchise holders do not take the picture it la diitributed in the open market through tho First National ezehaBges, on a distributing contract whereby tho producer receives 70 per cent, of the gross after standing tbe advertising and print cost. A number of the larger producers hayo during the last year been showing their product to First National In the hope of makiag an outright si^e. Very few of these productions were aooeptable on the outright sale baeis. On a release basis they wou*d have been assured a certain number of playing dates that would have put them on the safe side of the ledger had the First National been in a positioa \% that time to negotiate dates outside of its first runs on ouslde pro- ductions. Now, however, there is n possibility the producers in the proposed pool could enter into an agreement with First National with the varied product that they are turning ont practically controlling the distributing market. The product of the three companies named when coupled with the present producing units of the First National can place on the market sufficient diversity of productions to virtually cover the wants of the exhibitors of all sisos and ruas in the industry. The Universal's folly in requesting New York's newspapers not to send credentiaLsd critics to review their present bill at the Central equals Arnold Daly's when he similarly adventured with hili Berkley Lyceum play repertory scheme some seasons since, and has already reaped a similar harvest of loss to the engagement. Dair* riding a high wave of popular esteem, bullded largely by the favor he elicited critically through his Bernard 8haw play bills, opened the little 44th street playhouse with a vaunt in the advertising pages of the town's dailies that he was determined to confine hie prodaotlons there strictly to the public, that critics would he unwelcome, that m dldn*t with them to review his appearances, and that, further, he would not under any circumstances issue to the writing fraternity any free seats. Three weeks after Daly's pronunciamento, and hia Berkley scheme was on the rocks. It hung on for many weeks after that, but under desolate circumstances, with the actor's audiences made up largely of folks buttonholed to come in and witness the performance on any terms. The Universal's ukase to the newspapers anent Miss Dupont's screen appearance in "Tbe Rage of Paris" at the Central didn't evoke the Park row flutter that Daly did. But the screen reviewers tmpli* cated as unfair by the Unlvei^sal's act felt the stigm^ Inferred, and resented it. One of the guild—a woman—paid for admiseVon, and what thifl critic wrote about the-plece with the natural animus be- hind her criticism that the situation agitated acted as hunk for all her fellows. Nor is the injury ended by this single experience. The U. by its short-sighted policy of attemptin^r to foist its own wares at tho ex- P5n8e of Broadway's screen re/lowers has established a freah strata of prejudice among the writing !r< ternity against its methods, and It goes without saying that wh^iiaver u.future U. comes up for critical review henceforth it will have ij rtand or faU strictly upon it<s merits sans the salve of tolerance peculiar to screen scribeo For instance there was a promoter who got a star under con- tract. He thought she was unmarried and figured if he managed to dig up a live one and' started a company he would establish the ■tar and marry her and thus get himoelf a meal ticket for life. He got the roll and got tho company started. He was put at the head of the works because he had the star. Then he discovered jLe had married some one else very quietly. But he wasn't daunted. The star was under personal contract to him at so much and she had to pay him a sliding commission on all that her salary ad- vanced, so even though the promoter was "in " on the profits of all of her pictures, he started advancing her salary wltti each additional production so that his bit grew bigger and bigger and practically JJjade up for what he didn't get hold of through marrying bor. This lasted as long as the company did, but it wea the means ol eventually driving the company Into bankrupt<y. It Isn't so long ago that another little girl who bad risen to Jtardom through the means of a single special production and a friendly director, had an experience that show.s that even tbe blR 8<?st of those now In the buslneea are not adverse to "taking coi T'Jis girl was placed at the head of ber own company after th^' special had been made and she was starred in three or four produc- ticns before that company went to smash. Along came one of the executives of another big picture making organization. He knew the pirl, but he met her throAigh his own attorney. After tbe intro- duction there was some talk of an engagement, perhaps even a Loew's 83d Street theatre. New York, newly opened last week, may alter its policy, according to the views of picture men. to the change- dally now held by Loew's New York theatre. The reason for the surmise by the picture people is that the 83d Street is but two blocks away from Keith's Slst Street, that plays a oombination vaudeville and picture policy, giving a good brand of both. The 8Ist Street, a large, handsome house, is not making any money to speak of. Be- sides, that section of Broadway is thickly dotted with picture the- atres. In fact, Broadway from 72d to 110th street probably holds more picture theatres than any like thoroughfare in the east. There is one on either side of th0 street, every other block. Loew is now playing a split week bill at the 83d Street. No startling business reports have been around since the house started. That's why it in thought the daily-change plan is to be tried, as that scheme of ex- hibiting pictures is looked upon as the bpst film drawing card. Whether I^ew can afford to have two houses changing daily Is un- known. Large exhibitors secure exclusive runs for their circuitt by giving so many days of exhibition. With two houses playing one day each apiece, they would provide only two days on the list, though thr Loew Circuit could likely shift almofit any way it pleased, to work in the 83d Street for a day only run. Just what "American raw stock" means is not quite i)laln on the surface, nor is it apparent whether a tacit understanding exists as to stock turned out by the ind«'pendent makers such as Powers Products and Revor;il otlieis. If laboratory men are to use only "American stock" it dof.sn't make much difference what duty the new revenue Mi; put.s on imports of foreign slock. If enoufih laboratorv men are 1 a I cost, for i)rop»rly pxploitod. it would j in the aKr('<*nu'nt. import.s of material will be disconraKed lo the )iK- inor*' thnn top \hv business 'I'Mssion- , v;:ni8binK point. Another thing apparently accomplished is that tbe n. I attrnctcd. I^rrd. j apn-otneiit of independents that a liiKh duty would leave the Kust- Morris Kashin Distributing Morris Knshin, vdorcn slinwrunn .ind pxi>loitation man, is making liis d^but. in tho firld of picturo di^fribn- [ tion. "I Drfy,' whirh is Kiisliin'si Btarring contraft. The latter eventually came about but not before first produrtion. is now in the (iruil the executive's attorney was the man selected to draw the cx)ntract ' stage of ediiiiiK. assoniMiim and ti- ^or the 8tar and received a fee of $ir>,000, which was cut with the tUug. The initial p^p^olnati..n will excrutite of the company for which she is now working. ,»r. vTtOt take plaer within the noxt few w**«'ks. man •trust'' fr(;e to run Its prices to any level. For all purposes of argument before Congressional tariff committees tl;e reduction of quar- ter of a cent at this time would ajjpear a blq; factor. Th<; suspicion is abroad that Eastman's entry into the laboratory field was .lust an object lesson to the Independent laboratory men to behave. H. E. H. ( onnick Is now officially out of Famous Tlayers but tho post of chairman o^ the ex^^c utivu committee is alill unfilled—or was tbe early part of this week.