Variety (March 1923)

10 EDITORIALS Thursday, March 8, 1023 ^rIety Trade Wark Reglatere<l Pabllahed \r««klf by VARIETY. Ino. films Silverman. President Hi Weat 46th Street New York City ip»»——^i—^■^——~"^-^—~""~-~-^—^^—~~^"~~^ SUBS'^PTPTION: Annual $7 I Foreign.........11 aiogla Copivfi 20 Canta \'OI>. I-X.\. 120 No. 3 E. L. Bloom, owner of "Spice of 1S22" in Its present tour, has made complaint to H. Robert Law's omce against Billy Dunn and Co., claim- ing Dunn has copied the "Adam and Eve" ballet from the show. Bloom is paying the Law office a royalty for the use of the number, which Is copyrighted. Dunn was in "Spice" at the Winter Garden and on tour, fol- lowing D'Andrra and V/alters in the ballet witji a girl partner. He re- cently showed a new act at Proctor's 23d St., calling it "The Beginning of filn." The Law office transmitted the communication to the Ktiih liookers and the N. V. A. Clement C. Courtier, electrician With the "Midnight Rounders" unit, was discharged by Magistrate Max 8. Levine in the West Side Court last week on a serious charge pre- ferred ^against him by Mrs. Mary Keenan, proprieteress of a W. 65th street theatrical rooming house. Courtier was one of her roomers. Mrs. Keenan is the widowed mother of nine children. Several letters written by her to Courtier were In- troduced In evidence by the latler's counsel which resulted In the case belnj^ dismisEed. Al Bosburg, a picture-press agent, who has been seeking vaudeville engagementw around New York un- der the billing of "The Masked Man From Hollywood" left for the coast this week, having decided to give up the vaudeville venture. His act consisted of telling audiences of In- side happenings in the coapt picture colony, the teller keeping his Iden- tity unknown to his listeners who were given the impression he was an actor on the inside. The same secrecy regarding his Identity was maintained in seeking vaudeville engagements. Proctor's 23rd St., New York, Js celebrating its S4th Anniversary this week. (March 6) The house opened March 6. 1889 with Neil BurgPRH in "The County Fair." Since then the house has harbored every conceivable form of theatri- cal entertainment from drama, mu- sical comedy, straight pictures, and 14 years ago the present fotm of entertainment, vaudeville and pic- tures. John Duffy, manager of the house has decorated for the occa- sion. Theodore Kotloff, playing last week at the Rivoli, New York, in conjunction with the film, "Adam's Rib" in which he has a leading role, was served during the engagement with a $500 action by S. Jay Kauf- man. Kaufman claims this for ser- vices in arranging a certain en- gagement at KoslofTs request. A complaint has been filed at thf National Vaudeville Artists com- plaint bureau against C. M. Blan- chard by the members of three travelling vaudeville shows that claim part of their salaries are due following the closing of the shows In up state New York towns sev- eral weeUs ago. Eddie Mullen, picture publicity promot*>r, will leave the New York "Herald" copy desk shortly to take up his duties as advance man for the lecture lour of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle which begins April 7 at Carnegie Music Hall. New- York. EQUITY, SUNDAY AND ACTORS It's a remarkable position Kquity ha.s assumed in the matter of Sun- day playing. Inconceivable as It may be that any theatrical organization would stand wijh the reformers who are alway* against the theatre as an Institution regardless of their qualiflcalions on that point, yet In this subject of E<iuity interjecting itself into the Sunday discussion and negatively so, it also assume* to tell its members how, where and when they must earn their living. . i ' V ^ • •',.■, Surely It does tippear that If members of Equity were called upon for a ref*'»'*»ndjjm vote to decide among themselves if they wanted a labor union affiliation, they must be entitled to the same means to auvtnirtiu whether they want to work or not, on Sunday or any other day. But maybe through having voted for a labor^ union and closed ehop, they voted this latest halter around their necks. Above even that, as asstrting an utter absence of forethought by Equity :n plunging into llilj* Sunday agitation. Equity taken the preposterous position actors must have rest in a six-day town but don't need it in a seven-day town. In other words where Sunday performances are per- mitted l!ke in the middle-west and some eastern cities, it is permissible for actors to play for profit, but In New York City where the blue laws might stop a dramatic performance, they need the rest from their pre- vious labor in eight performances. To us it doe.^n't look like a matter for Equity's Interference; more it looks like a matter for the actor, alone. It deals with his work, his career and perhaps his income. It's akin to depriving an actor of the right of livelihood for if an actor without an engagement could secure a Sunday date but was prevented through an Equity ruling, that one day lopt deprives him of salary. It's going pretty far when mi actors' or- ganization takes this stand. ,, It also seems incredible that it this Sunchiy ruling is blamed upon the Equity Council that the entire Council could have been unanimous on It. It's unbelievable that is so. It exhibits Instead to what extent Equity has passed into single handed or clique control, when within the Council restraining voices can not make themselves heard, though they are al- lowed to talk there against the clique or the dictator. . , It's improbable the exercise of authority or judgment of that descrip- tion can endure; It can erect nothing, establish nothing and bring forth nothing excepting the bare and vivid fact that the government of Equity is handling dangerous weapons when it adopts these methods. As to the future along the same lines that Is not so visionai-y and were it not making an argument in favor of the managers, it easily could be pointed to. u UNIQUE AND EXTRAORDINARY" The defeat of the Shuberts in their injunction suit against Gallagher and Shean, besides proving a genuine surprise to the Times square legal fraternity whi.h specializes in theatrical litigation, is conceded by al- most everybody Interested as efjtaMishlng a precedent and presenting an "out" for the actor, considered not altogether equitable for the man- ager. For the actor a contract Is Issued for mutual protection but mutuality ceases and a fair sense of equity becomes nullified when the thespian can set forth a defense that he or she is not "unique or ex- traordinary"' and that the manager or theatrical producer is little if at all damaged In view of the contention his or her services may be easily replaced. . . Proceeding on Justice Dekhanty's ruling, to how many present day artists can a Jurist point and rule that he or she is truly "unique and extraordinary." If a Caruso or an Edwin Booth Is at once accepted as a criterion, the ruling that ''there is no comp.arison" is bound to obtain with the average contractual litigation. On the other hand, does the Appellate Division's decision that Charles Smith and Joe Dale are of the irreplaceable kind and accordingly "unique and extraordinary' place them In the Caruso-Booth class? If every litigant will point to Justice Delehanty's decision to support his or her contention as it may arise, to suit his or her individual purpose. It is obvious what every que'tioned contract will lead actor and manager into. The manager can point to the Tom Hov.ard case where a Brooklyn .Supreme Court justice adjudicated the burlesque comedian irreplaceable and extraordinary, but he will always be met with the Gallagher and Shean refutation. Will Morrlsey's Movie Stars have signed for a tour of Loews south- ern time opening in Atlanta March 22. A special adveitishjg campaign is being arranged for the company which includes Billy West. Mar- guerite Marsh, Ethel Gibson and Gabriel Rinaldo. Cornelius Roddy Is doubling be- tween the Aihambra and the Palace. New York, this w<Hk, api'«..i:ii: iw two different sketches. .Ai tii*- for- mer house he is leading mi\n for Laura Plerpont. At the I'r.la<'e Roddy also appears in support of Valcska Surratt. Edward Childs Carpenter, presi- dent of the American Dramatists, sailed yesterday (Wednesday) for a tour of Europe. The decision Is a just one in the Gallagher and Shean instance. A song idea which Bryan Foy, son of Eddie Foy, suggested, "made* the team. In fact so valu/ibie has the song become that Foy still has his suit pend- ing against the duo In the New York Supreme Court to be declared co- author of the number and participate in one-third in the royalties. There's an Italian sidewalk team doing the same number In vaudeville currently and getting r» much out of it as the originals ever did during their vaudeville itinerary. The success of the "mister" idea has long since proved its worth in vaudeville. But the fact remains that should a con- tracted act become popular through a fortunate choice of material and seek a severance of contractual obligations, it presents an inequitable aspect for the manager. A contract accordingly becomes manager-proof with all odds in favor of the a'^tor. The Shuberts seem to think the retention of ex-Justlce Edwaid E. McCall as trial counsel for Gallagher and Shean was a strategic move. But Charles H. Tuttle, Bainbrldge Colby, David L. Podell and others Intermittently have been retained by William Klein for the Shuberts, for similar reasons. It proves this sort of legal strategy works both ways. Gallagher testified Lee bragge^ to him that litigation was his (Leo's) "long suit." It didn't prove so in this instance. This obvious loop-hole Is bound to become an important Issue with the m.inagers. For their protection it may even result in the inclusion of a clause calling for liquidated damages of specific amounts in case of any breach, IiTespective of a court's ruling. As Leo swore he has 1 000 actors working for him just now. Lee is apt to encounter a.» much diffi- culty through the decision as any other producer. FROM THE NEW YORK ^EVENING POST" (Monday. March 5. 1923) THE BOWLING GREEN Round Columbus Circle The other evening as I was walking along Fifty-ninth street I noticed a man buying Variety at a newstand. Obedient to my theory that lif« deserves all possible scrutiny. I thought it would be interesting to follow him and see exactly what he did. « I chose my quarry not merely at random. People who read Variety are iikeiy io be jiit«r<6fitlng because they are pretty mxtrci to ha connected, no matter how remotely, with that odd, unpredictable, and high-spirited race who call themselves "artists." or "pro4es8lonal8." He might be the manager of a picture house; he might be in the legitimate. He might even be one of my favorite pair of artists-(of whojn I think with affection: I have never seei. them, but their professional card appears now and then In Variety—"Null and Void, The Dippy Daffy Duo"). So I followed him discreetly, to see what might happen. At Columbus Circle ho paused and looked about him rather as though he felt himself in a congenial element. The blue mildness of the night was bright with exciting signs, the ancient one of the full moon seeming rather pallid compared to the electric picture of Sacony Oil pouring from a can into a funnel. Thfre was a constant curving flow of skittering taxis, especlally^he kind that have slatted black panels abaft the win- dows: these look like little closed shutters and give a sens'e of secreey, mystery, and vivid romance. Upon all this my fugitive gazed with a sort of affection; then he turned and stood a minute before the window of Childs' where small gas flames were as blue as violets under the griddle. . I supposed that perhaps he was hungry, for he gazed jiensively; but perhaps he was also thinking that the restaurant had quaintly changed its sex since afternoon; for now it was bustling with whiie-clad men Instead of the laundered ladles of a few hours ago. He went on to an adjoining florist's window, and here he studied the lilacs, orchids (in their little individual test-tubes), lilies of the valley, forsythia, narcissus, daffodils, pussy-willows, sweet peas. It was a very springlike window. I saw his eye fall upon the deftly wrapped sheaves of paper inside the shop, where bright colors glimmered through swathes of pale green tissue. These parcels were all addressed; ready to go out, I supposed, to very beautiful ladies. He passed on (he had lit a pipe, by the way) by the Park theatre, and'^ he cast an observant eye upon that, noting that It was dark. I'erhaps he pondered the vicissitudes of the show business. The windows of sev- eral haberdashers, al' announcing their proximate retirement from traffic, won declensions from his eye; there wore some quite lively .shirts at $1.85 that seemed nearly to obtain his suffrage. But again I saw him lured by food. A very minute, narrow doggery, intensely masculine in aspect, but with its courteous legend LADIES INVITEE) glossed upon the pane, exhibited a tray of hamburger steak, liberally besprinkled with onion slivera. These he gravely considered. But still he proceeded; and still. In the phrase of Mr. Montague, I "committed myself to his vestiges." . It was the automobile business, next, that drew his attention. Those astonishing windows just south of the Circle plainly afforded him material for thought—places where, in great halls of baronial aspect, on^ Oriental rugs anil marble floors, under little whispering galleries where the sales- men retire to their orisons, America's most shining triumphs are dis- played. He was fascinated by the window of U. S. Rubber—where a single tire, mounted on a canary-colored wheel, and an array of galoshes and arctics are gravely displayed under tall blue hangings and festoons of artiflciaj flowers. Or the Goodrich window, where a huge flattened circlet has the space to Itseli on a crinkled wealth of purple-green shot silk. Amethystine lights shine through glazed screens behind this monstrous tire; drapes of imitation Spanish moss and enormous vases give the effect of a vaudeville stage set for some Juggling act. The auto- mobile business has learned all the tricks of Victorian stage decor; per- haps that was why my Variety reader was so thrilled. Another window, where the car comes bravely to the aid of the hard-pressed Church ("To Church in Their Chevrolet"—have you seen it?), is even more dramatic. Here the depaitment store lends a hand also, for the modes worn by the figures are from Fifth Avenue. I was rather thrilled when I saw my fugitive halt also in front of the Dame Quickly showroom; a much more businesslike display, where the latest models of the Quickly family ex* hibit their modest and competent elegance. But it was most interesting of all to And him striking off Broadway, and entering the lobby of the Grenoble Hotel. He peered about the lobby as though he were expecting to meet some one; but I couldn't help suspecting that this was chiefly for the benefit of the clck at the desk; what he really wanted was a quiet place to sit down and read his Variety. At any rate he occupied the resilient corner of a couch for some time, studiously conning the magazines. I should have liked to tell the clerk behind the counter the reason why the Grenoble Is always a special place to me—it was there, I believe, that Rudyard Kipling lay danger- ously ill twenty-five years ago. I wonder if the hotel register holds any record of that momentous Incident. Presently—after carefully scanning the columns which tell how much each play took In at the boxofflce last week; perhaps the on'.y positively accurate gauge of New York theatrical tastes; you will learn with sur- prise, for instance, that one of the leading moneyriiakers is a show called "Abie's Irish Rose"—my subject folded up Variety and set forth again. Following, I was pleased to see him stop at Mr, Keyte's bookshop on Fifty-seventh street; and even more surprised to note that the thing that seemed most to catch his eye was a fine photo of Henrj' James. He complimented the saleslady upon It, and he bought a book. It was a copy of Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio, In the "Modern Library." 15 YEARS AGO From Varietjt of March 7. 1908. The United States Supreme Court In Washington, Justice Day presid- ing, handed down a momentous de- cision sustaining the l''nl(ed States: Circuit Courts of Appeals in the case of the Whitc-Smlfh Publishing Co. against the Apollo (^o., makers of j)iano roil records. The Apollo hail used the piainilff's compositions i:i the manufr.cture of mechanical rec- on??. The M i^to-Sinith company ^u.aI for in'; .:iKtnjMit. and the Fed- eral appeals court deoided for the defei^dnnt. JuKtiro Day affimied the ruling, declaring in formal opinlor that the Apollo company's records were for use only on its piano and could not be read. Hence the copy- right did not apply. (It was this decision that Inspired the framing of the new copyright law of 1909. under whi'^h the publishers are pa;il royalties for words .ind mjsi.?.) The picture business was seething with excitement. Hiograph served Edison with papers in a suit seek- ing to have the projection machines manufactured and sold by Edison declared Infringement on certain patents held by Biograph. The ab- solute control of tiie picture busi- ness was at isRue. Biograph had bought the "Latham loop and shut- ter" patent, controlling a f*=ature of the projector that was absolutely essential. If Biograph could estr.b- lish Its poj'it no crank could turn without Biograph license. Edi*-**!! had tried (6 (^onfP^d thp Kcrpen with its canier.i pateijts. but it looked a.s though Biograph had turn'-d the tables on Edison, tit was this situ- .atlon that for-^»-d the I'atents Co. trust and sewed up the trade for o number of years) But It was plain all this time the idea of food had been loitering agree- ably in the back of his mind. I trailed him back to Columbus Circle, and there, to my amusement, he returned straight to the little hash-alley where he had admired the meat-pattles with onions. He went in and sat down at the tiny counter. "Hamburg steak," he said, "and put plenty of onions on it." And then, after a moment, "Coffee with plenty," he added. "It's plenty of everything with you to-night," said the x^hitecoat, genially. "Sure, everything but money," remarked this mysterious creature. He proppfd up his Variety against the sugar basin and read while lie ate. At this point, fearing that my sleuthijig might cause him to become self-conscious, I went thoughtfully away. CHRISTOPHF.R MORLEY. N€verl]i'".!f<(<i the Ellison peop-<- were going ahead «.« if they own'-d evorj'th'ng in sigiit. "^i;ey )lcen5e<l a group of exchanges, i.ssued a for- mal fixing minimum rental pr!re? about 60 per cent, above the old scale and served notice that ex- changes that cut prices would be thrown out. licences would be re- voked if an exoh.inge handled in(U»- pendent product. The exhibitors were worried at the situation. They didn't know what to do. so *' •: talk*^d a lot and did nothing, hMpi'ir that some rehof uould come thiongh the opjK'Sition of Biopiaph. •Wiun tiie rivnls pfit together they sjiueez-nl the exhibitors good, going so far .\n placing a "ta.v."' '"alkd "royalty," on the exhibitor-!' ywr projecti.-n ma- chines.) by Edison, gave out a statement from his Philadelphia studios, exil- ing uport the government to protect the "infant industry' from foreign competition. •Toi)* Lubii:, i.ctmcd f.-» produce K. & E.'s vaiidcvile venture had collapsed and its co'itracts witii a( ts were turned over to the \I. B. O. (Kei'h's) h\)^ Wiili.'ini Morris de- '•i;ii>-d h;.s ;i,:« i/ion of sivtatnlng an opiKtsition. lie Ue<'l.ired he wovild have 20 to 30 weeks Mie foliowng season and namrd a dozen towns aire.idy signed up. ,, Eva Tancruay and 'Ictrude Iloff- the week before, but Mi.«s Tanguay niasin were !n a jam. lioih had been (Continue don pi.ge 40>