Variety (December 1925)

■^"r%- -^T.—ifr. T'^TW. »'^? Wednesday. Decembers, 1W5 PICTUREIS VARIETY S7 <^ GOVT. MAY REOPEN F. P. CASE, - CONTINUING UNTIL DECEMBER 1 Follows Hearing Before Commission—Swaine for F. P. Said to Have Smothered All Other Argu- ment—Fuller's Final Action for Reopening FATTY ABROAD ArbuckU May Mak* Comadiaa in Germany Viirloly Bureau, Washliiprloti. lire. I. The Federal Traile CominiKslon- %rfl have been petitioned by W. H. Fuller, the commlsaion's retiring tors termed It, presentation of the picture Interests' argument by Rob- ert T. Swaine. This member of the imposlnp: array of F. P. counsel knew his case thoroughly. He Chief Counsel, who terminated his gpoke for practically the entire four official capacity yesterday, to re- [hours allotted the respondents and open the Famous I'layers case. hut with the exception of a general In his written recommendation, Mr. Fuller asks that in the reopen- Ing^he theatres acquired since the RUlde, never once referred to a note, pnswerlni< question upon question put by the commission's chairman closinK of the present Investigation. _,„ ^ instances supporting the Sept. 1, 1924. to date (Dec. 1, 192r.) be gone into, and that the commis- ■ioners also pass upon the rulinRs ot the Trial Rxamlner In rejecting the niany "Offers of Proof" as sub- mitted by cott\)el for F. P. ! tliroughout the earlier hearings. Tills pcUtion oomos as a fulfill- inent of the predltrtion made In Variety of Sejit. 26, last wlicroin it was stated that in the acauiremcnt of theatres in wholesale lots a ques tlon livas brought before the com answer Riven with a citnf ion .from the record, a citation rea-ly and waiting to he handed to the cneaker by one of the corps of n-' ■ ■■' at- torneys. Swaine, too. was .i' le to divert from his argument to follow leads presented hy these questions to the decllrd advantapo of his case In striking contrast to the pre- sentation of Mr. Swaine, It was evi- denced to the comml^'sloners that Mr. Fuller, for the government, did to£ AngetBS, V)BC. 1. RoHcoa ("Fatty") Arbuckle con- template! going to Kurope within the next few weeks. His wife, Doris Dean, has gone to New York and he will join her about Dec. 12. It Is understood Fatty has had several offers from German com- panies to make film comedies In that country. M.-G.-U. A. DEAL CALLED OFF BY PROTESTS OF EXHIBS AND CHAPLIN ^3 -"3 n Joe Schenck Makes Official Announcement—Charlie Chaplin Remained Firm in Not Agreeing to Join Metro-Goldwyn—"Higher Aims Than Economy" mission that required Immediate iiot have this familiarity with his actlen, particularly In \'low of that compony's apparent disi'ejjrard for any order the commission might Is- sue, as officials here viewed their activities. That such action on the part of Mr. tXiller would he but the natural result of the "Scotch Verdict" (guilty but not proven), as local at- torneys termed the outcome of the first nrgumonts. .\nother phase Indicating such action was highly probable wa."* the questioning of Chairman Van Fleet as to the theatres acquired by F. P. since the closing of the case. Mr. Fuller replied that he had en- deavored to get coTinscl ff)r the pic- ture interests to stipulate .as to the number but had hern unable to do ■o., . Alhnirnian Van Flcu't'i! reference as to the Trial Kxamlner's ruling In rejecting the "Offers of I'roof as recounted l^y F. ]■•. coun--el. wherein It was stated that It wo\ild have been better for tlve commission It- aelf to pass on same, v.^ns another angle that caused the Fuller peti- tion to not be entirely unexpected. A (ieclalon from the rommlsslnn- case. Finally when forced by ques tlonlng to revert from his prepared notes, In addition to making the ad- missions as outlined, Mr. Fuller was obliged to refer the commission to his two briefs to find their answers to the respondent's argument. In so doing Mr. Fuller did not utlllKe a good portion of the time allotted him to answer the F. P. defense. Not only the attorneys but rep- resentatives of the picture Interests who crowded the hearing room as spect.ntors, left It in a Jubilant frame of mind. This feeling of optimism was enhanced due to the fln.al successful effort In getting the contrast of w"hat the other com- panies were doing and their magni- tude before the commJKsIon. and In a manner that was described as more effective than h.ad it been originally admitted to the 'record when offered during the course of the hearings throughout the country. This exclusion of evidence was char.acterlzed as Mr. Swalne's most telling argument. Following each reference to it the chairman would lALK - MOVIES" OVER RADIO INTO HOME A. T. Sc T. Experimenting HTalking Pictures' Over Land Wires Long Distance Bank Account A picture producing firm lif New York, noted for their methods of dodging bills, la reported now aa keeping their bank accounts In New Eng- land, where New York Judg- ments are Ineffective. ers .18 to whether or not they will I make adverse comment on Its own grnnt this petition is exiiected with- counsel's attitude In the matter. "Shooting Galleries" To all of this Mr. Fuller replied, "You cannot compare .a Ford auto- mobile and a Rolls-Royce (a fllmlle played upon by Mr. Sw.oine) as .ap- plying to the pnme mnrl-et. They do not compete at all In the a'uto- ninblle market, nor do the 17,000 odd theatres set forth as existing In competition to the ]fi9 theatres claimed only to bo owned by F. P. Mr. Fuller characterized the Fords In the next few da>s. .^uriounoement was made yester- day thnt xinder the rotation ruling of the commission, .Tohn F. N'ugent becomes ch,'>lrni''n ri>r the next year. Variety Bure;)u ,» Washington, Dec. 1. If the Feileral Trade Comnils- elone-s had handed down their de- The American Telephone & Telegraph Co. la experimenting with its telephonic projection of "talking movies" for the radio. Officials when Interrogated knew nothing of it other than suspecting that somj scientific advancement might be under way in the com- pany'a vast laboratories along with many another Invention. The new Invention is reported aa capable ot projecting "talking mo- tion pictures" Into the subscribers' homes over the American Tele- phone & Telegraph Co.'a land wires via the regulation telephonic service. Hringing the talking movie Into the home by means of the telephone lines would act as a deterrent for theatre patronizing but such pos- sibility Is still very much a thing of the future.^ The muchly heralded plan of two years ago of land-wire radlo- ca.<rting, and selling entertainment to subscribers via the telephone, is not practically perfected. "They still stick to the other form of radio amusement despite the Installation of wires on Staten Island, New York, where It was first tried out. A report about Is that the Tele- phone Co. Is ready to give a demon- stration of Its new process, with arrangements made to show It privately during the week In the offices of a New York picture pro- ducer and distributor. m THEATRES UNIVERSAL'S OBJECTIVE clsl'n based solelv upon th" nreu- i^ . i i.i .^ .>>. i. a -„„„, a . , m J »j H" nelnrr comparable to tho shoot- mcts as prepenfed on Tneo'lnv and |, ^ _,,,.___« ,. ^ .. „ Wr.lpepfl.ny last. Fnmous P'nyers could iny clnlm to having won l»s easo in answerlrg tb^ chnrees brought by the government that this company, and the others named In the two comi>l.iInts, were prnc- tlclng unfair methorls of comnetl- tlon In the selling of their picture? anil In the aeoulrement of Its the- atres, nil of whl-^h had n. tenden'^y toward the monopo'lzlnir of the mo- tion rlcture Industry. F. V. could mnke this claim alone npon the admissions wrting from the government's counsel. W. H. '■'nller, not by their attorneys dl- , reetly, but hy Phnlrman Vernon W. van Fleet of the commls=!on. Government's counsel failed to Pite the Individual cases thnt would Rive a background as to whv this ch.arge w,is mad" as s'>t forth in the coniplnlnt.^ "Zukor's expressed determinntion to ■'Tin domln-^tlon of the Indiistrv." Swaine's Able Argument To bo .i.Mpd to the .Thove Is still another pb.ise In .•-•npport of the Possible f.!,-,|,r, of victory by F. P — '"Id a powerful one, too. In Its reg- istration with the commls'^inners. This was the mncterftil, ns .-peetn- TIMELY XMAS P^FSENT Send "VARIETY" to Friends for One Year Single subscription, $7 ..>?ILada and Foreign, $8 Ing p.allerles and the Rolls-Royces 'contrasting to the first run houses. Re'.-erting to the arrunients of the opposinT fictions, following the operfng charires of >Tr. T^'i'ller for the government (as reriorfed In V.a- rlety of last weekl, Ch.T'es Ro.^vn, representing the S'enger brothers and Ernest V. Rii'hards, Jr., was the first attorney to .<--i)cnk for the respondents. Rosen claimed that his clients should not have been In- cluded with the others In the com- plaint, that no chnrges of unfair practices tending toward a monop- oly had been made acninst them. He admitted that they did buy F. P., Metro-fJoldwyn, AV'arner Brothers. First National and Ignited Artists 100 per cent, "but what of it," asked the counsel, "the competitors have the rest of the market in which to secure IheIr pictures," In reference to the purchase and later return of 40 per I'cnt of the capital stock of tlie companies by F, P.. Mr. Rosen stated at such could not be characterized in any sense .-IS I (>n<<tituting a (■onsi)lracy betwe. n his flients and Mr. Zukor. A hiL;ti tiiliulo was p..i«i to the.-fe respondents in the e.i.se. Rosen stat- ing that tliey had "staked their nil In the furin.ition of their I.UHlne.ss and liad inme throuch with hon- orrible re'orfis unequ.nl'ed within the Industry." Mr. Fuller, in making' his reply, did not offer to answer the argument of this counsel. With the ad.i nf of Mr. .»<walno, ((TontinueJ on pcuo 4D) CHAPLIN'S TIME UMrr-$500 BET Must Finish "Circus" 6 Months to Win m Los Angeles, Deo. 1. Joseph M. Schenck had an Idea he wanted to spur Charlie Chaplin along in the making of his next pic- ture, "The Circus," to be a Unltod Artists' production. Schefick told Chaplin that he did not think the latter could make a picture within six months, as it had taken him over a year to complete "Gold Rush." That got Chaplin's goat and he offered to bot .Schenck $500 he would have the picture done within that time. Schenck graapod the wager as he figured the gain to I'nlted Artists would easily cover the amount of money lost on the whger. Chaplin will start work on his picture about Dec. 15. "Merry Widow'^ at Million Dollar on Terms I.OS Anuelcs, IJCC. 1. Ifmtead of "The VVanJerer" fol- lowing "I^ittlo Annie l{ooney" at the Million Dollar Dec. 11, the Metro- Cold wyn production, "The Merry Wi'low" will lie the attrnetion. It is understooil that tlie house is ^u:irantcelng M-O a minimum of |2.'),000 for the run, wiili tlie ar- rangement that after the house gels its operating expense, the producers are to receive 65 per cent of the gross up to 125,000, after which it in to lio a &0-uO split Separate Corporation for Theatre Operation— 100 Now Universal has announced that a separate corporation will be formed to take over Its 100 theatre proper- ties and to accumulate several chains of houses throughout the country until the total reaches 1,000. New capital will be Intro- duced Into the firm to pro'vlde for the purchase of the houses and a stock selling campaign in the chain win begin shortly, the stock to be based on the record of Universal In the past. No name has been given to the new firm. In the announcement re- leased in the New York "Times" Monday, there was a hint of the theatre chains under consideration, the main reason for the formation of the new corporation being the necessity of protecting the Uni- versal product. When Laemmle founded Uni- versal, according to the story, he built up a moneymaker which is now capitalized at but $3,000,000, but which lias been assessed as worth $20,000,000. In the recent negotiations, rumors of which had been printed from time to time, between Warner Brothers and Unlver.sal, it was said Warners had offered $8,000,000 for U, and that Laemmle was holding out for $10,000,000. The recent tleup with UFA in Germany whereby a reciprocal arrangement was made for the release of product Indicates U Intends sticking to the field. Mr. Laemmle sails this Saturday for Kurope on the express errand of arranging the final details of the Universal-UFA deal. HIHAHERS, P. A.'S AND SOME EXaUSIVE Los Angeles, Dec. 1. The theatre press agents of Los Angeles have for some unknown reason felt that they needed an or- ganization. They have organized "The Hihatters." There are 13 In the organization. Possibly if another upstage guy comes to town he may be Initiated into this r.'ither exclusive club, said to ttontemplate putting on the rltz for the W.'impao gang, who have money In the treasury. Los Angeles, Dec, 1. An official notification of the abandonment ot the proposed Metro- Goldwyn-Unlted Artists amalgama- tion for distribution was issued to- day by Jos. M. Schenck on behalf of U. A. It states: "United Artists and Metro-Gold- wyn have definitely decided by mu- tual consent to permanently aban- don the proposed affiliations." "It Is with considerable regret we make this announcement. United Artists have felt for some time an affiliation with some other com- pany having an international dis- tributing organization would be beneficial, financially, and would effect a considerable saving. "We settled on Metro-Goldwyn aa a suitable distributing partner be- cause we considered the quality of their product to be of a continuous high standard. "We were engaged In working out the physical details when a storm of protests arose from exhibitors all over the world. These protests were based on the mistaken pre- mise that It was to be something In the nature of a trustification of the motion picture Industry. "Nothing could have been further from the facts. By realizing Inabil- ity to dispel this Impression we have decided that our independence and Integrity f • the e.\hlbltor la paramount to any economy we might effect In the face of adverse if mistaken criticism. "Both companies are la complete accord In this decision. "Speaking for United Artists, I cannot make It too 'emphatic that our aim from the very formation of the organization has been Inter- nal co-operation and complete inde- pendence. We shall not now or in the future abandon that aim. "United Artists now and always will make Its own pictures and conduct ita own affairs Independ- ently of any combination by which its freedom might be hampered." On Friday it looked as" though the contemplated mergpr of Metro- Goldwyn and United Artists would be blocked, for the present. An Important factor In the upset of the plans was the attitude of Charlie Chaplin against the distri- bution merger. Chaplin says there are higher alms than economy with Independence one of them; that he does not want to be associated with a "Trust." and that the merger would have been but a club for Metro-Ooldwyn to force exhibitors Into line, using the "block hooking" as a means to foist Its film "junk" on tho exhibiting market. Another rincorlng sjwt appeared to b^ the statement by Douglas Falrlxinks that Chaplin Is a "kicker." Chaplin retorts by stat- < ing Fairbanks was a "jumper." Chaplin offcrtHl to buy out his asso- ciated stars In United Arti.-ttji or sell his interest in U. A. to them. Other condition.'* also arose It Is said that frustrated the amalgama- tion going through Just now. What these conditions are no one will outline. Loew on the Spot Marcus Loew will reach here to- (Cuntlnued on page 62) June Mathis Continues l-os Angeles, I)cc. 1. June Mathis v/ill continue as a producer for First Nation.nl, follow- ing her sii'ceas in making "The Vienn<.-se Medley." Her next story will bo "The Pat- ent Leather Kid," an opus provided by Rupert Hughes. It is to be di- rected by Curt Rhrfeld and will be a special production. Rehfeld directed "The Vlenruise aieak-y," J^