Variety (July 1923)

-..-^ ^••■^f ^'v-^^r; J ^Mk:,U4ai.t J3 '^-^ ■'■^ ^.. **;■> ' ■ ■» ■• ■ ■ ■..■■•it ^PRICE 20 CENTS ■:Cr'"'WS*v;^m^ ::,^^/- -V'm.TIK'WJS^' ' P«bllali«« Weekir at IM WMt Mtk Bt. N«w Tork. N. T.. by Variety. Im. AaBuU •«UMrar|p«ioB ft. fltacto mpimm f oMilai BoUrad >a —cond claw matfr DacamWr I. lfW» at t^ Pet Ome» at K»w Tork. N. Y.. «ad«r tka Act of March. 1. UTt. VOL. ISXL No.^ 10 NEW YORK Cnr, THURSDAY, JULY 26, 192S J4 48 PAGES *•■ STAR A(is aop iniFnji BRmSH PRODUCER AND AUIBOR SUING SMIBERTS OVER SCENE HYSTERF OF SPIRITUAUSM EXPOSED BY RAM JASW ♦.• •• ConTinces Cincinnati Newspaper Men It's a Fake— Explains Method—Defies Mediums, but None Re- ^;^ plied—^In Form of Vauderille Act : ;-4 .. * ''. ' .>* .■ V ^r jj\ Clncfnnatl, July M. ' R&bbl Joseph Jasin. of Cleveland. If t^ho came to Cincinnati to visit his ';' nephew, Manuel Rosenberg, artist. of the Cincinnati "Post." has a vaudeville act exposing fake /spiritualistic mediums. Jasin gave ;'* private domotistratlon here. With ^rafflne and a rubber glove filled i;;' wlh water, Jasin produced an }■ "ectoplasmic" hand — a white. : sboatly hand. "This is a crude •trick, but it helped to convince Sir 'Arthur Conan Doyle of the 'truth' of spiritualism," he explained. Next, the Rabbi did a long-dls- |v lance mind-reading act Prom a book, opened at random, one of the spectators selected the last word on a page. The page was 97, the word, "nothing." "Now," said the Rabbi, •I'll direct the telephatlc forces of Bay mind over long distance. This .. word, 'nothing.* will pass through _ the ether like a radio wave from my mind to the mind of a young lady In Avondale. Her name is Miss Dorn. Her telephone number ' is Avon 4228-L. When I have com- pleted sending the thought wave, I want a committee to go to a tele- phone and call up Miss Dorn. She " will tell you the word and the lium- ber of the page on which it ap- pears." So the committee called the num- ber and Miss Dom instantly gave the world "nothing." and the page, "97." "Now," said Rabbi Jasin, "I'lf ex- plain the fake. Of course, this was prearranged with the woman at the other end of the 'phone. The book contains 181 pages. I took 181 :' names from the city directory and gave each page a name. Page 1 Was Resigned 'Miss Smith." Page i, 'Miss Brown,' Page 97, 'Miss Dorn.' Then I made two copies of the '»ames and the numbers of the y:t (Continued on page 10) SmiA DOSS SENTENCED ON NARCOTIC CHARGE EASTMAN'S NEW COLOR Kodak Co. Has Perfected New Color Process for Pictures _^ The Eastman Kodak Co. ha| per- fected a new color process for plc- turea. asserted to be the most ad- vancea of any colored film photog- raphy mvMhods. The color tints and spots have been vilimlnated and each light and <thade is said to t>e clear and. distinct. The company I» negotiating for the production of some fihort reels which will be marketed as a com- mercial test before any longer sub- jects are attempted. Two Years Also Ghflen Hus- band—Once Well Known in Theatricals Kansas City, July 26. Stella Doss, once well known in the theatrical world and who at one time was prima donna with Anna Held and later with burlesque companies, has been sentenced this week to two years at the municipal farm for possession of narcotics. '^ Her husband,' Ernest Doss, was sentenced to two years In the fed- eral prison at Leavenworth on a similar charge. The two were arrested last March in an apartment hotel. Both had been arrested before on narcotic charges and fined, but received their first prison sentence this week. A plea for leniency waa made for the wonrlan by her attorney, who asked for a light sentence In mem- ory of her vanished glory. He ad- vised the court she once lived In a Long Island mansion. •' .^- 7 'NmVIES' HURT Special Attraction Bureau for Picture Theatres Called Off— Wat Organ- ized for Loew«Metro and Independents — Exhibit- ors Balked on $1,000 Cost FAMOUS PLAYERS ALSO After experimenting with "name acta" In its picture houses for the past Biz months, the Loew-Metro organization has reached the con- clusion stars are a flop In picture houses and are detrimental to pic- ture productions. Accordingly, it will therefore dis- continue the Loew star attraction bureau, Saturday. July 28. * The experiment was tried In sev- eral Loew houses, the original idea being to organise a film circuit of 2S weeks, which would include Loew houses and theatres operated by in- dependent exhibitors who desired to play the artists secured from the (Continued on page 10) A Chariot of London, Starts Action Againtl Winter Garden for ''Seeing Double'' Actr—Terms of Sd- wjns' Arrangements with Chariot ilOLLYWOOD" PKTURE GOOD PROPAGANDA N. Y.'S FILM HOUSES SHOW MARKED DEaiNE 200 Less in First Seven Months of This Year—More Stoppages Looked For Variety some weeks ago printed a comparative list of picture theatre licenses issued since 1914, and«a gradual decline was evidenced from year to year. The Department of Licenses' report is only complete through the year 1922. It develops that since 1922 and the seven months to date the decline is even more marked. In Greater New York there are some 200 picture theatres not doing business any more. High operating expense is ascribeti as the general cause, therefore, with the high film rentals as a popular contributing factor. Circuit opposi- tion is also taken into consideration. It lb maintained that this average will become even more marked by the end of the year. AUTHORS PROTECTED ON ROYALTY PAYMENT That the Keith booking ofllce is co-operating with vaudeville au- thors In enforcing the pajrment of royalties by acts It evidenced by I. R. Samuel's action in cancelling Cecilia Weston at the Columbia, Far Rockaway, L. I., the last half of last week. Miss Weston was to have opened Thursday ^July 19). Andy Rice, who wrote her special routine, notified the Keith ofilce he hold a $i>00 judgment against Miss Weston for accrued royalties due and recov- ered by default. The author also advised Keith's that under the copyright law a the- atre becomes liable to $50 a day damages if the copyright owner's rights are disregarded. This prompted Miss Weston's cancella- tion, it Is said. Film Says Beauty Is Not Every- thing in Picture Studios- Types Eagerly Sought Chicago, July 2S. The Famous Players' production of the picture "Hollywood." directed by James Cruze, Is said to have had lis first showing here, when reopen- ing the remodeled Orpheum last Saturday. "Hollywood" Is looked upon as ex- cellent propaganda to set forth the actual facts In the Hollywood pic- ture colony, y The story brings out that neither beauty nor youth has first call In the studios, but "types" are more eagerly accepted, with much more decision in their selec tlon. The story is of a pretty girl who seeks picture fame on the coast. She finds it Is overlooking her while various members of her family who, go west to see what is the trouble, Including a grandfather and grand- mother, aVe quickly snapped up by the film directors as "types." The picture ends with the young girl becoming happily married with- out having played before a camera, with all of hsr family continuing In pictures. Ths Winter Oardea Co. and Les and J. J. Bhubert were saoh served with a summons In an injunction suit begun by AnOrs Chartot and Ronald Jeans. Ttas suit has b««a filed by O'Brien. MalsviniKx a Drlscol in the U. S. District 06urt because" of the plalntifTs BritiA citlsenshlp. The Shnberts are charged wHh Infringing on the "cabaret drama" scene from Chariot's London revue which* in the current '^PassiB^ Show" at the Winter Garden. New York, Is entitled "Seeing Dout>le." This is one of the several scenes In the same show the Shuberts are alleged to have lifted from British and Continental revues. There Is also a similarity of scenes in White's "Scandals" at the Globe, New York. Appended to the complaint Is an exhibit of Arch Selwyn's letter forrfi of contract to Andre Chariot setting forth the terms whereby the Selwyns would produce Chariot's revues In this country. Chariot's contention Is that the Shuberts* adaptation of the "cabaret drama" scene (written by llonald Jeans and was part of the "Rats" review first produced at the Vaudeville theatre, London. Feb. 21 last) has (Continued on page 38) LEGIT OPTIMISTIG Wheat Crop Expected to Reflect Over Country . FRESSAGENTIKO FRENCH OEN. James W. Loughborough, of the Thomaa H. Ince publicity forces, is on a leave of absence pross-agent- Ing ahe.xd of General Oouround, tho I'Yench ofilcer who is making a tour of the United States. Loughborough" held a similar position while Marshal Foch w:i.s touring this country. LIKE STOCK OUTLOOK, BUT NOT "GUEST-STAR" Companies Lasting Through Must Have Favorites in Lead The stock outlook for th« fall lb Judged by the various managers to be promising. They generally conc«>de that only those companies w.th a. favorite leading man and woman will build up a through-season following. Tho visiting star system is dis- paraged and will be dlNCOurnRod l>y \h<i majority on the assumption that a ngular stock fan rost nts .my guest-player sui>or8«jfJing their U\ vorile.s. > The legit production field gener- ally foresees an optimistic season this coming theatrical year. Kvcn the most conservative concwJe that things shout? be humming up to the first of 1924. Thereafter they base their Judgment on a^ possible slump by the bankers' satlstlcs that the bumper wheat crop may react un- favorably all over tho country. An over-supply will do the market no good, and that reacts proportion- ately. Refuting this opinion are the re- ports of the various State labor commissions, which show a factory wa«e increase all over the country. The past soason has been only fair, with November through Wash- ington's birthday really big. The bottom dropped out of it by March. COSTUM£S~^ Who will make your next Those who have bought ffi SS] BROOKS-MAHIEU it;;7lt-\vay T*'l t6l« Ptna. N. T. ( _^ 11,C00 Costumes for Rental /.^J :%:■'