Variety (December 1922)

■.*=-.•• ■ -■>• —■cr./v .r* i-T^v-.::^— ..-'v'- ■"m^~- ^>»»r-«. -.t-iriy . v-a ■ a«.ffl:";»i'-;T* •<»:.^^',. .'T,^ ■/•■". .,.> ""Hi'i'W.'T>'*T»".' "'jFMf^?-^^^; I'i JHWH»V'"™!I* "'t ',.■. ••:-^ PRICE 20 CENTS ^ PttbUahed W««kl7 a* 114 Want 4Ctb St.. N«w Tork. N. T.. by Vftrlatr. lac AbbvaI aabserlpfloo |T. 8ins)« coplM S« wtm. ■ntertd aa a»eoa4 olaaa aaatUr I>«c*mbar IS. ItM. at tha Port Oflica at New York. N. T.. «nd«r tha Act of March t. 187f. VOL. LXK. No. 4 NEW YORK CITY. FRIDAY. DECEMBER 16. 1922 48 PAGES 3 ^-^ HAYS CLEANING UP COAST CABARETS ASK TRY-OUTS" ■^Y BY RECOGNIZED ARTISTS Mostly Vaudevillians Invited to Perfonn for Nothing/ **To Show"—Imposition Following "Invitation* Turns—Standard Acts Pay No Attention "The Broadway cabarets have irone crazy," or their managements or booking agrenta have, according: to vaudevillians, who state with much Indignation that when ap- proached with an offer for an en- gagement In one or more Broa4- "way cabare-ts It was suggested that they "try out" before rec«^ivlng a contract. This request has been placed be- fore recognized artists, mostly vaudevillians. They look upon it as impudent and hare paid no at- tention. .■The acts say this Js a follow-up of the imposition practiced upon th«m through having professional friends as entertainers ln«the cab- arets, who have Invited them to the restaurant to do a turn as a favor, which they have done. Tha "invitation" turn, gratis, is generally ascribed as the cause of (Continued on page 3> BANKER OLD FILM MAN Baldwin Who Takes Loew Bonds Formerly Biograph Director The transaction by which tlie Kmpire Trust Co. of New York takes over a bond issue covering the purchase price of the Glynn & Ward theatres on Long Island by the Marcus Loew interests, recalls that the president of llie Empire Tru?t is Leroy Baldwin, wlio was a director in tlie old IJiograph Co. wh'vMi tli.'it concern unti the ICdlson Co. fornif^d tiie basi.M of the Pictur** Patents Co. and the General Film Co. T!i'.' -.Ill film 'Trust'" was liu crea- tion (*t" Jeremiah . Kenn«*»l.\" who bought control of Hiusrraph. and liiildwin was a llfc-lontj bu.sir.eas a:i80(r:uU' of KonneJy. The iindt»r- staTulincr in Ihe thejitre ^bu.'<in»-^^- is "that {\)v Trust Co.'s tl'UfilWSlilp is tem|M.iiiiy mill tli.at iilT!niat.^;.\ llie bond.-" \\ill he maiketed. M 'nnwhile the s-eiuity is depo.sitod witii tlie Empire on i-orre kind (\ a \\>u:\ ur- ransf'Mnont. Ot all the bonking ni**n wljo iiave a finmr in the picture \tif. (Baldwin Is said to be the Ix-.st i>if.ii ri)*U on «N>n<(itlonH in the <•♦ Ilnloiil and j^en- •ral lb sat re trades. HIGH RECORD FOR GROSS TAKEN BY 'THE BAT" Over $4,000,000 to Date— Wagenhals & Kemper's Hit Playing All Over World Wagenhala A Kemper's ''The Bat" is "now flying' all over the world. In addition to the American companies touring, Gilbert Miller has two in the English provinces, Robert Courtneidge is presenting a company in India, the play is in its 10th month in Australia, and two companies are being readied for Scahdinavla. "Tlie Bat's" total gross here has already established a world's record of nearly |4.000,000, secured in less than two ai><l one»half seasons. There are seven companies of the champion mystery play on tour In the U. S., as there were last season. Its Broadway run record of two weeks over two years was topped by "Lightnin' " which ran three years. Though the latter toi)s all comedy attrtietions for run, "Tlie Bat' is (Continued on page 3» VISITING THERE Intends Making Picture Players and Producers Behave, Under Pain of Being Expelled f at om "Film School"—^Some May Be Banished for Year or Longer if Disobeying— Co-operative Working Agreement Against "Bad Boys and Girls*'—Keep- ing Producers from Con- flicting, Another Plan of Chief of the Movies TOO MUCH MONEY REMEMBERED STAFF Patron of Teller's, Brooklyn, Left Bequest for Courteous Employes Los Angeles. Dec. II. The present trip Will H. Haya Is making to the coast seems to be surcharged with significance. It is purely and solely a business visit. All the dining, onteitaining and "yesmcn"' speeches are out The (Continued on page 6> The estate of Joseph Ki:emrinn, a Brooklyn (X. Y.) insuran<e man. who died four veHrs—njfo, l.^ heiii^; teUle«l up now. Among the besiye.HiH is one for the box otllce and usher staff employes of the Shubert-Tt'llei- theatre, Brooklyn, oi' which the de- r"n.«»d wa."« a regular i»atron. In H j»j»t«^* iatiow iut ttie f .tin-[^- -ioK .sliuWTi him by the ii(Mjs«» .Mr. I'^i-emann remembered them in his will. i'.ec.iu.-e of lepr.'il tefhiilcalitief- t'nr> .-liin !;• not deflTiitel* derided upon. MUSICAL "MERCHANT" PLAYS TO $50 NIGHTLY Mother of Composer Wants to Buy Princess Theatre to Continue Run CHI BALCONIES BEING FILLED BY CUT RATES It) WORKERS Ex-Treasurers Proiboting Succettful Plan—Selling at Half Price to Employes of Large Concern—Is Called Community Ticket Club ■^4 MAX SPIEGEL SUFFERS NERVOUS BREAKDOWN Unfortunate Theatrical Ven- tures This Season—Unit and Legit Productions Max Spiegel, theatrical producer and member of the Mark Strand Co., operators of the Strand picture houses throughout the Kast, is con- fined In New York, suffering from a nervous breakdown. Spiegel is the producer of several Shubert vaudeville units, ulso the recent Norah Bayes production "Queen O'Hearts" which had a short run recently. His Illness is at- tributed to worry about business condition.s and follows a number of unfortunate ventures theatrically the current season. - Mrs. Spiegel has also been under the care of pliysicians for several months past. She is the daughter (Continued on page 3> DALE'S PLAY CLOSED I It will ringe l)etween l.'JiiO .'»rid_$KflO to be divided between tiie two box offlce women and ll\e ui^hpis. eni- ployrd tlurinj^ Mr, Ki.ienninn s patrun:<ge. Lonilfjn, Dec Tlie mu>'iejil. "Metcluint of \en- iee. " with Adrian lleo-hnm. its com !)OKer. i.« playing to 10 pound- tabout %r,(tt nightly at the Duk^ of York's. Tlje boy's mother. I^ady Rr^pcbain. has <fr»red 100.000 pounds to th" .Melvllbs to puK-hise their Princess attaelje , theatre, in vvlii' h she WlidWi^ in ron- linue th*> in- oi' th«' muHieal vt'ision nft'T it ends ai the Prln'T'csti. The Al'^hiiles are askiiK ITO.OOO ponixls, )-tatin« the.\ retiised ;( laru'er bid ih.in Lady IJeecbum'.s cfl'er at au<- tlol'. Yo'l;!^' Iteecliam Is l?)e f-'U of the Heeeliatn futniiy. for lori^: yemx eon- ed with grand opera over here. "Nobody's Fool" Sent to Storehouse by Shuberti Chicago, Dec. ] S. Some az-trcasurers of leading theatres of Chicago have eVolved a scheme for disposing of balcony tickets. It started with such suc- cess It has attracted the attefitloti of showmen and is said to have received endorsement as a method of solving the problem of empty balconies, a serious matter In the loglt houses of Chicago and marty other oJtles. The concern is called the Com- munity Ticket Club and It deals with the welfare organizations In the leading concerns In the out- lying districts of Chicago, where great numbers of people are em- ployed, such as Western Electric at Cicero, which has 39,000 em- ployes; International Harvester Co.. 14,000; Chicago Telephone Co. and Illinois Central Railroad. The plan Is to have representa- tives of the Community Ticket Club appear before bodies of employes and offer cut rate tickets to thosu theatres with which the Community (Continued on page 3)' j neee • neel* ".Vobody's Fool.'* the Alan Dale eomedy-dr.ima whlcli was made a matter of dispute between Augustus I'itou, the Shuberts and the critic, closed alter being out for several W(:ekH. The play wa.n orijrinully produced by Pltou with May Itobson starred about two seasons -aj;o. luit was no»\er shown in New York. Last monfh it agiiin rea<hed the boards nnder (he direction of the Shuberts, who planned it for iiroadway, but sent It to the stnrehons»s nfirr play- ing the Maj#'Stir. lJiof>UIyn. Pi toil claim d lie had never le- linqiiished hi.x rights and that b" j held a claim to whatevei- prolUs the piece niigljt ciirn under the Shnb'rt management. Notices were s«Mve<l by his attorney, but thf pro- pof.d nrtiun b.\' Pilou was dropped n the show was called in. CHURCH NO THEATRE RIVAI Syracuse, N. T., Dec. 13. "When the Christian church tries to compete with the theatre, it loses out, because the theatre can enter- tain very much better than the Christian church." the Rev. Dr. Samuel C3. Trexler. president of the New York and New England Synod of the English Lutheran Church, and the "fighting parson" of the do- nomination, told Syracuse when ha spoke at the thirtieth anniversary jubilee of the Church of the Re- deemer. Dr. Trexler's attack was directed at ministers who deal with sen.«a- tlonalism and at churches which drop religion to concentrate upon other things. COSTUMES "i:vi:nYTntNa ' Foronioat Makers of Htax* AKIro for W'uiiirn und Alcii BROOKS-MAHIEU It.t; IIWHT N. Y. CMr