Variety (May 1924)

PRICE 20c THEATRICALS PRICE 20c Published 'Weekly at 1E4 Weat 4«tb St.. New Tork, N. T. bf Varietr. lao. Annual aubaerlptlon tT. Slncla oopiaa 1* eanta. Entered aa aecond claaa matter December 22. 1(01, at tha Poit Offlea at New Tork. N. T.. under the Act of March 1. ISTf. VOL. lAXIV. No. 12 NEW YORK CITY, WEDNESDAY, MAY 7, 1924 48 PAGES NATIONAL SUNDAY aOSING EQUin HOLDS UP SIGNING I AGREEMENT WITH SHUBERI^ Lee's Faction Must Wait Until Mass Meeting of Members Has Okayed Plan—Is Believed Indica- tion of Equity Hold-Off A flock of managerial and Equity Council meetings almoat dally last "Week when the Producing Man- - a'gers' Association was split, prom- Isied consummation of an agreement , between Equity and the newer man- agers faction. Early this week in- dications were that Equity leaders are holding off tleing up with one ■ croup of producers -vith the ma- .Jority still at loggerheads with the . actors' leaders. The latest move from Equity is . the plan to place the proposed agreement with the new faction led fcy the Shuberts before Equity's , membership for ratiflcatoin by ref- erendum. That would take some time and Is interpreted to mean that Equity Is not entirely trustful of . the new managerial group, several ©f whose members are blamed for the strike of 1919. Following the special general meeting of the Producing Managers' Association last week, that body * tpllt and a group referred to as the Shubert faction formed what is called the Managers Protective As- •ociation. The leading producers .allied with the Shuberts in this group are the Selwyns, A. H. Woods and - Arthur Hammerstein. Equity is ready to sign an agree- • • (Continued on page 46) .MEW FILM HOUSE INCOME >h«ntal of Beveraga Stands Going for From $300 to $500 Chicago, May 6. Chicago "loop" theatres are plck- .Ing up an Important item of income • by renting parts of their lobbies to _ orange drink' and other purveyors . of beverages. All the smaller film houses have this feature. In cases where the house has two entrances the profit l.s an important , offset to the rent. Such houses as the Randolph and the Olympic. The Randolph has a. front on State and . one on Randolph, and with the privi- lege rented the income for three months each year adds $1,000 a month. Generally the rate is from $300 to $500 a stand a month, according to . neighborhood or location. HITCHCOCK'S 'CALIPH" S.in Franoi.sro, May 6. Raymond Hitchcock is expccto'l to arrive in Ban Francisco next wepk to bpRin rehpar.<<al.s of "Tlie Caliph," which Thomas AVill<<'s rinns to give its premiere at his local Alcazar. "The Caliph" is a mu.slcal com- "iSy by Maurlne Montagu*. JAa'S UTTIE THEATRE HIGHBROW m MUSICAL Md. Pen. Giving Show July 4 —Serious Play on Tapis Baltimore, May (. A number of prisoners In the Maryland Penitentiary have organ- ized a little theatre that Is so high- brow Its orchestra has selected Its entre acte music from Salnt-Saens and ChoplB. Listen to the name—the Intra- (Continued on page 36) "EHRA PERFORMANCE'^ "BEATEN'' IN STOCK A number of out-of-town stocks are beating the 10 performances weekly maximum as stipulated In the Equity stock contracts. They are playing 12 to 14 performances under an arrangement that Equity has been unable to upset and without the extra remuneration for the ad- ditional performances. In most Instances managers en- (Contlnued on Page 36) SHAKESPEARE STATUE Committee to Place it in Wash- ington Washington, May 8. Washington Is a city of hundreds of statues. The latest proposal is a statue to the Bard of Avon, Wil- liam Shakscpeare. The General Federation of Women's Clubs have such a pro- posal under con.slderation and have appointed a committee of 100 women to devise ways and mear.s tor the erection of the st.itue. Considerable backing has already been secured in Congress for the as- signment of ajiace in one of the numerous pul)lic parks here. GAUJ-CURCI OUTDOORS Lo.s AngcloH, M;iy fi. Oaili-Cuici will make licr fir.^t outdoor appoaninco at a conifrt on ,Iune B, wlion slie will sing at the Hollywood bowl. She will be accompanied l-y an orchestra on this occasion. OF eiLi Say That "If We Can Close Washington, We Can Close the Entire Country" —Senator Jones Intro- duces Bill to Accomplish Reformers' Aim — Pro- posed Law Is "Bluest of the Blue" TO STOP EVERYTHING Variaty-Clipper Bureau, Evans BIdg., Washington, May 6. With but one month yet to go. It the schedule is maintained. Congress almost got through the prcsont ses- sion without a bill being introduced to close up the nation's capital Sun- day. Senator Wesley Jones (R) of Washington, howevei*, broke the "charm" and on Friday last Intro- duced such a measure, conceded by local attorneys to be "airtight," should the bill become a law. There Is much Joy In this move on the part of the Senator being expressed by the local church or- ganization. They believe, and have so stated, "if we can clo.se Wash- ington, we can close^the entire coun- (Continued on page 45) "BLUE SKY LAW" BAN ON 164 COMPANIES Massachusetts Lists Some Amusement Companies—De- partment's Official Action Boston, May 6. Among the 164 companies included In the list of those whose securities are banned in Massachusetts as a result of the drastic action taken by the State Department of Public Utilities under the "Hlue Sky Law" are the following: Anderson Amusement Company, Cinema Consolidated, New Knfiland Radio Company, Phone-Radio Manu- facturing ^ompany, Trans-I^ux Day- liKht Pictures Screen, Inc.; United .Studio.s, Inc., and Wireless Improve- ment Company, Inc. Critics' Percentages The percentages of the New York dramatic critics, brought up to date, are on page 11 of this issue. COVERED WAGON'S" RECORD; 603,117 PEOPLE HERE PAID $568,620 60 Weeks at Criterion—Cost of Picture, $325,000— Profit of Road Shdwing Around $2,000,000—^Yet to Play Picture Houses ANNUAL BOOTUGGERS' CONVENTION AT BORDER Held This Year on Canadian Side—"Adventure Seeking Drivers of the Night"' Malone, N. Y., May 6. The annual border convention of bootleggers was held recently near Valleyfleld In the province of Que- bec, according to reports reaching here. Last year's gathering was held at Pine Plains, near Watertown. The rum runners apparently de- (Continued on page 36) SOTHERN IN HAMLET ALONE NEXT SEASON E. H. Sothern haa in mind a tour of one-nighters next season, alone, and as Hamlet. The Shakespeafrean star's wife and associate, Julia Marlowe, does not contemplate an immediate return to the stage. Her Injured ankle,'which prevented her co-appearance with Mr. Sothern for some weeks, re- mains In doubt if the strain of con- tinually playing could well be placed upon It by the new season. Mrs. Sothern, however, will ac- company her husband, according to report, and the Sotherns will travel in a private car. EXCLUSIVE CLUB Los Angeles, May 6. Ilobert Kdeson and Brandon Hurst are organizing what will be an exclusive club, known aa "The Troupers." The qualincatlons are at least 20 years' experience on the speaking stage before entering the picture lield. These rules v.-lll be rigidly en- forced, says Edeson, and he does not expect more than 30 to join at the bouinning. INSURANCE REJECTION A reason for refusing Marlon .Miirlowe life Insurance was riled by one company bec.au.'^e of the "un- reliability of surroundings." Miss Marlowe Is a dancer at the Rendezvous Cafe, New York. The world's record run In pictures has ended. Last Saturday saw the passing of "The Covered Wagon" after havingr been at t^e house 69 weeks consecutively and having played 825 performances. In that time 603,117 people paid admission to see the picture which gave In receipts |S68,620, at {1.50 top. The Criterion as controlled by Fa- mous PlaJ^ers-Lasky and maintained as one of their string of theatres operated under the direction of (Continued on page 40) MET OPERA'S $145,000 ON CLEVELAND WEEK 60,G00 to 70,000 Attended ''IVIost Remarkable Engagement" Cleveland, May 8. The Metropolitan Opera closed a most remarkable engagement here Saturday. Receipts, for seven per- formances were around 1145,000; attendance between 60,000 and 70,000. The peak night was Thurs- day ("Faust" with Challapin), w^iJi receipts $23,878, and attendapci more than 8,000. The performances were given In Cleveland's Public Auditorium. 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