Variety (November 1924)

VARIETY P IOT U RE S Wednesday, November 10. ItM ^1 >nM DiimiDl:Q . .'^^ ■V , ON PICTURES j^r9 ■ ^$f /'.'5 ■ ■ • ■ V. A i4ctur« producer of the Independent type on the west coaet recently withdrew from the ranks ot the Aaaoctation of Motion Picture Producer*. He save as his reason financial strlnseQcy. On the other hand. Variety learned the real cause wbs the fact that the first line produccn would Dot oo-operate and loan him stars whom he desired to use. Another angle has now cropped out as the prime Cause of the re^lcnsi- tlon. 7hls producer has under contract for a term of years an Insenue who is very much in demand for use by other producers. The producer la paying this girl |tOO a week, and according to the rules of tl.e asso- ciation a 25 per cent bonus can be charged for the services of i>eople who ar« farmed out. This producer figures that it would be an easy matter to get $700 or $760 a week for the actress if he were not tied down by tit* rules of the association. So, now having wtlhdrawn, it is an easy matter ter him to get the price &at he asks fdr the services of this coming star. fT^ ——. '. (Famous Players' Theatre Department ' .2^ inaugurated its own review ^fetrvlce for the benefit of their local managers out of town. The Broad- way presentations at all of the bigger house*—the Capitol. Strand, Pie- •adiUy. and their own houses, the Rlalto and Rivoli—are reviewed in da- tall each week and forwarded to all house managers employed by Famous. The reviews are m^re or lees technical in nature, the mechanics of precmtatlons and pr<dbgs thoroughly gone into in detail, so that the managers will ha aaabled to get an idea ot what is baing donei akms Krcadway and be 1» a. position to pick up Ideas for their own howMS When Um ptottvM tldit ara reviewed 4iome to them. Harold B; FrankUn tnaagorated the idea thi< week and the flrat rerrlvw to sent >>it in mimeographed form. This will be followed each week by the reviews being inolxided In "The Close-Up," the bi-monthly house organ of the theatre department., y ^ In the list of new productions to be released in Paramount's "Second Forty" are several that will be made from stories which Cecil and Wil- liam De Mille's father, Henry C. DeMlUe, wrote and produced in con- The outstanding picture hits next week on Broadway: , Wages of AT THE RIVOLI tmaarmmr 'AT THE STRAND ffblajkgrii «ERNST JlBITSClf g^>- PRODUCTION >w»\Ajtooa» AOOUIKMOUOU fMUUNCSTARr tf fl touWUK K ^teUST 5^ J^ * 'AT THE RIALTO FAMOUS FORTY ^ammoun JuactioB with pavld 3etes«w.' One U tha old suooeas, "l«rd Chumtoy,^ whkh wlU reUla its odcinal n««te o« the eereeb. "Men and women l« another. The principals will be aN«h* NIs*««, trom The Baggar Onf Horseback" cast (legitimate), and Rod La Rocqua. It la reported that both the pieces were seleet«4 by reaMM> ot their, original stage success and the signlflcanca ot the two namaa that carry wwtght in the difiaiatio producinf M^. Thar* is more than ii t«at of ths "blua lawa" in BrU, Pa., whera the theatre managers under arrest are striving to run Sundays. The Law SnforcemeDt lioague there la gatting some sUta-wido pubUclty through its stuck «pon Mayor Jooeph C. WiUlams, taking him to Usk for allseed laxity In not antorolag the Sunday closing Uw. His honor does not take the matter very Sfrlonaly, and is In print quoting the illustrious IJncoln about doing the heat he can and keep on doing it. etcetera. —- A "^:'r-:' Any ^donbt the Famous Players-Lasky would not cast Frances How- ard la any other picture when she had finished her first important as- signment in rrhe Swan" has been dispelled by the casting of Miss How- ard in «'A Kiss in the Dark." She will play the feminine lead In place of Agnes Ayres,* originally slated. The men will be Rlcardo Cortes and Adolphe Menjou. There wlU be no rolease of "Saldme of the Tenements" unUI next March, V according to present plans in the Paramount offices. This is tho Sidney Olcott production with JetU Ooudal featured. Ml3S Goudal recaivea the new billing distinction through her work In "Open All Night." , , V Therf ara Mraral prepopaassing Hbn oalesmen. connected with some M the «zchang«p, who hustja. tjir prosReotlva aales, yat cannot pronounce the names of somo ot ^ho j^ajrors qottectly. Thay also slip op on film titles, but some of the exhibitors are In the same boat on prohunciatton, ao it's an even break. All indications point to Paramount grooming Rlcardo Cortes to be- come the Paramount "sheik" and giving him as much billing attention As either Rud7lph Valentino or Ramon Novarro. Among future Cortes produetlons is "The Spaniard," adapted from the novel, "Spanish I«ve." Only Cortes will get the "space" in tho proposed poster campaign. In tho "sacond Paramount forty" picture list U appears that Richard Diz, who made such a hit In "Manhattan," has the edge on Thomas Meighaa in number of Issues. Meighan is elated tor two, while Diz has three; "None But the Brave," "The. Early Bird" and 'Til Tell the World." At laat Jack I«ondon's story, "Adventure," has been freed ot litigation, which tho London estate had gotten into some time ago and it is to be released as a Victor Fleming production by Famous Players. TOKEA PASSES UP ' , -rHET AT JliO P/aferred . ''Hunohbaok" Ui, Seoond Run at 30 Cents - —"ThW." $5,300 ,;.- s I ■4; Matty Roubort, regarded as the first baby star in pictures, is back in Bollywood, BOW 18. At the age of i Matty worked for the Universal and waa known as the original "Universal bby." The Hudson Bay Company la reported to be the principal backer of the BflucatlOBal Fibns Corporation. It MLMMUI the tamous Canadian fur firm haa iBvosted 11,000,000-in the pictuifEWbc known to have becQ declared. bern. Few, if any, dividends are Topeka. Khna, Nov. It. Local movie patrons gave out tho Information that they wUl not pay one and « halt plus the tlx for any picture, this weak. They made tho announcement by way of sUyin* away from "The Thief ot Bagda at the New Grand, with all the trir;«< mlngs aa brought hero by the Shu- bert road show manaf ement for tho At the same time "The Hunch-, back," brought back hero tor aoo*^ ond run at' the Orpheum, did SOo4';; busineas at the regular prioei. Mo(*!>f people turned out tor It thin did last spring when it waa road ahowod hero. Eatimatea for Laat Woakt Hmii Grand—"The Thief ot Bac«' dad.'' Given all the amosphero pos« sible, but tho IIAO top made many stay away. Picture given rather apathetic treatment by local re- viewer. Moat ot the business wao done in the balcony. Total tor the week ai>proximately |6,S00. Orpheum—Return of "The Hunch- back." Attended by more patrona than saw the first run despite show- , Ing being given almost "cold," with little else to draw . At M-eent top aggregated about 91,000. Isi»—"Her Love Story" proved draw of the week. Kztra music «^ lO-plece orcheatra helped. With _ but 700 seats house trossed nearly I2.S00. Coxy^"Tho Arab" nearly lUled this 400 seat first mh house tor tho week. Picture not entirely up to «z- pecUUons, but pleaaod. Orooo sligbUy under 11.000 at SB oenU a throw. Novelty—With two bUla ot vauda- vllle ataowed a rorlval of hualneoa from tho aiump ot the pre-olootlon period, puUlnc nearly tMoO with its 700 seata. . 44 A Gift of tlie Gods w • / ■■ M-vT V'.» ■•= Say London Critica at Trad o' Showing of MacLiEAN I n 44 rf •. -si-. Hor^a tho cablegrtam \ NA 652 CABLE - ' LONDON ^7 ^ ' LOO ASSOCIATED EXHIBITORS 35 WEST 45TH STREET NEW YORK NEVER SAY DIE WENT OVER GREAT AT PALACE THEATRE THIS AFTERNOON STARTED WITH A ROAR AND ENDED WITH CRASH OF ENTHUSIASM LEADING NEWSPAPER CRITICS ACCLAIMED • DOUGLAS MACLEAN A GI#T OF THE GODS THANl^ AND CONGRATULATIONS > i' I- IDEAL FILMS LTD : Anoihmr amathing hit for DOUGLAS MacLEAN COMEDIES IN ENGLAND "GOING UP" Now Plftying 1096 Britich Thentres "In front rank of the WorWa comedy artiate." ^. —^fMfon l}aUy Prma*. t I *♦»«. a. THE YANKEE CONSUL' For Holiday Release "Donglaa MacLean ia the white hope of aereen laughter" — London Cinema. .T^ ^ftaS^iA^OOATED EHflBITORS, Ibc„^ k^™«.^u« Sidney Grant <iv )■ ARTHUR S. KANE, PrMident f-