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ZB VARIETY PICTURES "^Wednesday, December £, 1925 UNDISCLOSED COLD FACTS IN EXAMINER'S PRIVATE REPORT ON F. P. INVESTIGATION Variety Bureau, Washington, Deo. 1. The Trial Examiner's "Ucport Upon the Facts" In the F. P. case before the Federal Trade Commis- sion has been a muoh discussed document throughout tlie past sev- eral months. It is in tl.e nature of a confidential conclusion. From this report was prepared the Govern- ment's two briefs upon which coun- ■el for tlie commission hope to sus- tain their charges of attempted monopoly in restraint of trade as brought against the Zukor-Lasky company and the others named in the original and amended com- plaints. The attorneys for F. P. have bit- terly attacked this report both In their brief and during their argu- ment before the five commissioners here last week, as reported else- where in this issue. Counsel for the picture interests did not confine this attack solely to the report but carried it through to the man who prepared It, E. C. AVvord, who as Trial Examiner sat throughout the many months consumed in taking the testimony as would a master In -chancery in a Federal Court. Mr. Alvord in his report simply States the cold facts as he saw tbem in the evidence. As would be expected much of the material contained In this report has been discussed by the opposing counsels, particularly by the Gov- ernment's attorneys, who have In- corporated in their brief many lengthy extracts from the Alvord report. As there has previously been published a digest of this brief only those outstanding features In the Examiner's report not already touched upon are reported here. The formation of Paramount Is flrst touched upon and agaiiT the name of Mary Pickford, which has been so prominent throughout the entire proceedings, plays an Im- portant part. It was the films of this star that forced the flrst switch In the original distribution plan of Paramount and the creation of Art- craft Zukor received first 72% per cent of the gross film rentals on the Pickford films and gave an ad- vance of $35,000 on each picture at the time of release. A five-year contract was entered into under this basis. This wa slater amended in 1916 to that eight films were con- tracted for, each to carry a 150.000 advance and a guaranteed rotupi of J60,000 on each picture withm a period of 15 months from date of release. Under the paragraph devoted to the formation of F. P. the report states that it was In July, 1919. that Zukor'8 progressive policy of ex- tending the activities of F. P. In the acquisition of theatres or interests therein was approved. At this same meeting the much discussed 12,000,- 000 of convertible notes of the Stanley Company, for $500,000 cash and 15.000 shares of the common stock of F. P. was. approved. The report also discloses the Stanley Company as a stock holder in F. P. "The growth and importance of P. P. L. In the picture Industry is shown In the following figures: Growth of F. P. Shares outstanding, 1918, 187,576 valued at $13,406,000. In 1923 the stock, common and preferred, out- standing totaled 322,231 shares valued at $23,267,000. The surplus in 1918 was $110,228 in 1923 the surplus was $12,054,000. Dividends paid in 1919 totaled $1,- 023,000; 1923. $2,574,000. Profits after paying income tax in 1919 totaled $3,139,000; 1923, $4,245,- 000. Land, buildings, equipment, and equity of subsidiary companies In land and buildings in 1917 was but $329,000, in 1823 this totaled $12.- 280,000. The Tangible assets in 1918 to- taled $11,269,000; in 1923, $39,761,- 000. In 1919 F. P. earned 30 per cent of all the film rentals in the United States. Following the public interest phase Mr. Alvord touches upon the interstate commerce angle, and after describing the nine districts Into which the country was originally divided, and goes into a description of the making of the pictures through to the point of delivery to the exhibitor. In this connection it is stated that when a picture Is worn out it is sold as Junk to the Eastman Kodak Company while those not un- (Continuod on page 62) HINTERLAND'S FILM CHOICES DONT AGREE Salt Lake Daily Asks Readers for 10 Best- Three Lists Below LITERATI $5MiflINNEW HLM RELEASES Jesse L. Lasky Says So in Los Angeles Los Angeles, Dec. 1. Jesse L. Lasky has arrived from the east after four months' absence and announces that within the next year F. P. will have a $5,000,000 pro- duction schedule. Lasky stated that the Realarts ■tudio located on Beverly boule- vard, closed since 1922. will ref>ppn •nd be operated by his organl7,ation. He also says that the Famous Players studio on Vine and Arg>-le Street."! will have a number of new Stages built. RAY'S DEBTS AND ASSETS "Contest" Girl in U Film "Peg of New York," the film Starring the winner of the New York "Mirror" film opportunity contest, is now In production by Universal with Dorothy Kitchen In the title role. Miss Kitchen has been given a six months' contract at $50 weekly as agreed upon. George Cochran is directing. The story is by Phil Hum and Cochran. By coincidence, Miss Kitchen is cast as a fireman's daughter in the script, her father In private life also being of the N, Y. P"ire Dep.irt- Bient. Voting on Sunday in Florida St. retershurg, Fla., Dec. 1. The matter of whether there will be Sunday picture shows In St. Petorsburg will be put up to the people at a special election held around Jan. 12. Los Angeles, Dec. 1. First creditors filed a petition of involuntarj' bankruptcy and then Chas. E. Ray. film actor and his father. Chas. T. Ray, filed InJlvldual petitions In the Superior Court Three crecitors of Ray filed peti- tions following the government suits for back taxes last week. The action against Ray and the in- voluntary petitions was filed by Herbert Stone, trustee of the Richardson building and construc- tion company; Cecil Frankel and the Continental Bank. Claims amounting to $35,000 were based on promissory notes given by Ray. The petlt'ons filed by Ray listed his liabilities at $986,508.87 and his assets at $130,355.14. His father scheduled his liabilities at $390,- 510.67 and his assets at $04,000. The schedule accompanying thfe peti- tion by Ray asserts that he has a $20,000 Judgment held against him liy Tirst National; that he owes the (]. . imient $255,992, taxes and d<'l)ts; that he owes $15,375 for city and county taxes, and that secured claims against him total $252,219, while unsecured claims are $201,- 1''8 and accommodation r-iP*"" amounting to $201,508. The assets listed by Ray Include $90,000 real cntntf, bin home in rifverly Hills with furnishings amounting to $41,000 and $355.14 cash. He claiiris $6,000 personal ex- emption. The largest jiorsonal account listed is $10,803 owed a local Jeweler, while Kri'd NIblo has a claim of $3,000 on money loaned to Uay, Salt Lake City. Dec. 1. Tb response to the request of one of the dallies here for a list of the 10 best pictures of the year many replies came in. They indicate quite a diversity of opinion respecting the best pictures. An odd thing about the following three lists Is that no one picture ap- pears in all: "The Last Laugh." "Little Annie Rooney." "The Beggar on Horse- back." "Sally of the Sawdust," "Peter Pan." "Pony Express." "The Covered Wagon,* "Forbidden Para- dise," "The Gold Rush" and "Class- mates" made up one list. "The Covered Wagon," "Class- mates," "The Thundering Herd," "The Freshman," "The Tea Com- mandments," "The Iron Horse," "Rin-Tln-Tln,- "The Man Who Came Back," "Coming Through" and "Midshipman'" were another. Another movie fan selected "The Alaskan," "Don Q.," "The Fresh- man," "The Air Mall," "Birth of a Nation," "The Lost World," "The Last of the Duanes," "Broadway or Bust," "Little Robinson Crusoe" and •Quo Vadls." Louise Glaum's Case Must Be Started Again Louise Glaum asks for heavy damages from Ellen Prlscilla Ince and Ingle Carpenter as executors of the late Thomas H. Ince estate. The amount sued for is $405,000 In total. The question has arisen as to the legallty^of service on Car- penter. Justice Gavegan held for Carpenter that the service be set aside as not proper. It means Miss Glaum must start her cause ail over again in the California courts. Carpenter is a native of Los Angeles. Carpenter was in New York . re- cently and served on Oct. 22. 1925. Miss Glaum made a motion to de- clare the service legal on the ground Ince has large property as- sets in New York State and that Carpenter came to New York to wind up the Dim director's eastern affairs. The court held otherwise. The case revolves about a con- tract between the actress and J. Parker Read. Jr., and Ince. made with Read, who is alleged to have been acting for Ince. The total claim on this contract is $103,000. A $5,000 loan to complete "Greater Than Love" Is also sued for and the balance of $297,000 damages based on a renewed contract carrying with it a graduated salary from $2,500 to $4,000 a week, completes the total claim of $405,000. Miss Glaum also has pending a suit for the $103,000 which con- stitutes her flrst cause for action, against Read. This suit was begun early In 1925 and because of Read's foreign residence in Paris, an order to serve attachment proceedings by publication was granted Ml.is Glaum, If you don't advertise in -VARIETY"—Don't advertise No Bow-Keith Wedding Donald Keith, on behalf of Clan Bow and himself, has ipsued a de- nial of the report he and Miss Bow are engraged to marry. Miss Bow rei ched New York last week, followed by the story that there would b« a Keith-liJow mar- riage. F. P. BUYS GRANADA San Francisco. Dec. 1. Famous Players have purchased the Granada theatre property which they were operating under lease. The price Is said to have been $2,600,000. The newest idea in magazines, as exampllfled by "The Golden Book" and "Famous Stories." which re- print the best works of known authors, is adding revenue to some of the better known writers. Just when they thought that picture and stage rights and newspaper syndi- cation as well as the original pub- lishing had about yielded every cent. A recent issue of "Famous Stories" contained short stories by Irvln Cobb and Edna Ferber, writ- ten by the pair early in their careers. It Is reported the prices they received for the reprint'ex- ceeded by far that paid for the original. These two publications are also reprinting stories of the old masters, the copyrights on whose works have long since expired. The large sales of Channing Pol- lock's play, "The Enemy," in book form, concurrent with the produc- tion of the play, has led Brentano's, the publisher, to plan for the pub- lication of other stage pieces along the same lines. This probably means copies of the play may be sold In the lobbies of the theatres where the production is on view, as in the case of sheet music with musical productions. An Idea simi- lar to this was proposed a.s a com- mercial venture sometime ago by a non-publishing group but it did not go into effect. Protection for Authors With added revenues "*to writers and particularly from the screen, the matter of protection to the authors from play brokers has grown most important. Many a writer would like to be certain the proper protection had been extended to him in negotiation for sale of rights. It's often up to the broker's conscience. While an author may sell one story to a producer, the producer may buy many stories. Which leaves a choice to the play broker. Or that sort of a play broker knowing where to place a script and underhandedly putting the sale though under cover via dummy or dummies. It has grown to be quite a busi- ness, play broking and rights sell- ing. The brokers who can gain and retain the confidence of writers are quite apt to build up a very lucra- tive business. Brokers as a matter of fact can woiK for both a<>thot and producer without Injuring either if negotiating in perfectly good faith. If this department should con- tinue in Variety it will from time to time go into tills subject, on its many angles, and it will expose at every opportunity crooked brokers, whether they cheat the author or the producer. The author requires the most protection. Robert Keable's Illness It now becomes problematical whether Robert Keable will ever be able to write his long-planned play, because of his serious Illness in San Francisco. Keable had long harbored the ambition to write a play. He studied with Jules Eckert Goo<iman and Edward Knoblock when the pair made the stage adaptation of his "Simon Called Peter." As Keable was about to start on his initial stage effort In England, he became ill and went to the South Sea Islands. About to make a start there, he again took ill and traveled to San Francisco, Hans Kraely's Success Hans Kraely, who came over from Germany with Ernst Lubltsch, seems established as a writer of screen originals. Following the successful "Kiss Me Again," of Kraely's authorship (which Lubltsch did for Warner Brothers) Kraely was commissioned to do an original for Constance Talmadge and turned out "Her Sister From Paris." Al- though the latter offered little that was original, it nevertheless got across surprisingly and now Kraely Is to do a few more for the Warners. S.amson 'Raphaelson, author of "The Jazz Singer,'* has discovered there la more money to be made in writing plays than short stories. Accordingly, he has departed for the French Riviera, where Edwin Mayer, author of "The Firebrand," is at work on a now play, and will also try for a now one. "Tbe Jazz Singer" was adapted by Raphaelson from his Hhort siory "The Day of Atonement,' wliicli appeared in "Everybody's." He has many other short stories to his credit. Lsit's 10-year Contract William R. Hearst has given Jack Lait a contract for 10 years. It automatically abrogated the two- year balance of Lait's previous Hearst agreement. It is reported Lait besides his supervision uf the Kings Features Sunday magazine section, will be in general charge of the Hearst comic strips, with Laii already contributing one of his own, ^^ the "Gus and Gussie" daily. Night Life Book Konrad Bercovlcl is to write a book on European night life. He has departed on his mission and is ex- pected soon to send in the flrst of the series to the Century Co. Va- riety is currently running its "Night Life of the World" series. That Is said to have suggested the foreign visit. Variety may, according to report, publish its serial In boolc form, titling it "Night Life of ths World." "The Writer's" Come-back "The Writer." the oldest of Ameri lean publications devoted to the au- thor, and which has rather lost prestige the last few yc«rs having been outstripped by the newer pub- lications of the sort, is to try a grand come-back. The publication is appearing^ in a new dress and with new features and a new staff. William H. Hills, who founded the magazine in 1887. has returned as editor and Margaret Gordon Is the new assistant edito.-. John Oalli- shaw. formerly assistant dean of Harvard college, la a contributing editor and the '^<iw managing editor is William Dorsey Kennedy, assist- ant dean )f the Harvard School ot Business Administration. In its effort to build up clrcula- tlon, "The Writer" is being placed on newsstands, the flrst time a pub- lication of this type has ever angled for lay sales. Dailies and Rhinelander Among the New York dallies re- porting the Kip Rhinelander case, "The Mirror" (tab) took the most chances in detailing the testimony •and letters. "The Times" gave it more space than that paper cus- tomarily does a "scandal story," but "squared It" by running three col- umns of text under a single column head. Wednesday, last week, "The Graphic" (tab) ran a composite pic- ture on Its front page, presumably the photo of Mrs. Rhinelander aa she undressed before the Jury. It showed a woman In her undies. The paper claimed it '. ad run the day's sale up to 180,000 by 4 o'clock. The picture was posed by a show girl. Stansbury on N. Y. "Amaricsn" The N. Y. "Ame.-lcan" now has aa managing editor W. R. Stansbury, from Hearst's Washington "Herald." James Nourse. former manager for Universal Service at the Cajiital, has Stansbury's post on the "Herald." Stansbury supplants Gene Fowler on the "American." Inez Hayes Irwin, Pres. Inez Hayes Irwin Is the new prcc (Continued on page 55) Fox Men East Los Angeles, Dec. 1. Gerald K. Rudolph, supervising director of publicity for the Fox and Edward Hill, head of that company's scenario department ar* enroute to New York. Rudolph is preparing for the con- vention of the Fox sales force here In April. He will remain In New York until February and then re- turn. Hill Is cast to look at plays iti New York, on which Fox has option to place on the screen. COSXUIVIES F'OR hire: PRODUCTIONS BXPLOtTATIONS PRKHENTATIONS triioofi^s .1437 B'way. Tsl.85«0Psiw.-:^