Variety (Feb 1927)

VARIBTY PICTURES Wtdaetday, FtlNriuury 1^ Ittf ADOLPUE AT NEWMAN TOPS MAIN ST. BY $800 $12,800 for Menjou —"Kid Brother" Off 2d Wk., $6,600 ^"Stroootf»" 45,700 Kansas City, F-b. t» . Population, 600,000) A' week et bad weathar ^ve the amusements a hard Kame last week. In spite "names" and bar^in entertalBiiiiat, all tha hoitiaM flUt- fered. The AiJPMll With "The Kid Brother" In <ta aaeo ad weak dropped nearly a half of its opening week's receipts, but the picture has been held for the third Veek. The Newman, starting Saturday, will discontinue Ita "New Idea" policy of presenting extra artfata with the orchestra, and the musicians will be kept in the pit. This change in policy affects »• PttMlx houaea In ]>allaa, Piiai>lo and lIpiiHNfv NawoMMa gatf m i ta a rar Last Week Newman—"Blonde or Brunette" <C. F. F.) (MSOi 25-40-60). "Gar- den of Dreami** Waa the Publix fcrinK; Luella Lee, Ruth Stanley and Jjunea ISUard added artists ap* pearlnr wltll IRgiiiund BagaalawiMEl and his orchestra; feature all Men- Jou, but that'a what "they" wanted and **tlMy** wat% aatlifled: hit |1S,- Royal—"The Kid Brother" (C. F. P.) (930: fB-40-BO). Second week for Lloyd comedy; business disap- pointing but not bad conaidering waathef^t expeetlBd 10 idhiom-M-mf^* terial increase OA thM WaaH; grossed $6,600. ' ifMftyM-miehaal fttrogoir* <U.) (1,000; 25-35-60). For those who liKe tiialr melodrama this French mad* pIMrn HIm everything; pic- ture given extensive publicity and most of tlioae who paid to aee it wata wdU pljiMty tbtai |^ ftlMUt normal, weathwT alltti coMMtoMdV $6,700. Pawtaota Summer Baehetora ** (Fox) and vaudeville, headed by Watson Siatera, Picture and ataise abow good entertainment: botiaa held ita own; ft.SOO. Mainatreet—"The White Black tAitoep" (P. N.) (S.200; 15-50-60). Vaudeville consisted of but three acta, now the eatabliahed policy; enthra Mil wall raoelved by crltioa and customerat bvitoeaa bald up 10 tihmn $12,000. (Copyright, 1927, by Variety, lae.) Heavy Doagh for Pugs li Oii't F«lit Fib The Mehwd XHx^lfalealm St. Clair company Urom Famous' Long Ishind studios, numberlni? 43 per- aons, who went to I«ake Placid last week for exterlora for 'ftnoefcant Rollly," returned Monday wlth#Mt havinf,' shot a foot of film. ReaSQll, "too cold" at northern resort. Jaek llMMiilt tha ha^vyweight, la playing opposite Dix for alx weeks, having that length of engragement guaranteed at $2,000 weekly. Fa- mous flnH wftBtad sign Jack Da- lan?y. but ha muted I7.006 weekly for picture work. Tommy Iioughran, another heavy- wel/Tht, 0ot a bad break because he looked too much like Dix. Other- wise he would have had the role. Now he is doubling? for Dix in the "long iMif* iji the flght, with $3,000 for a ahiito waah's work. <4 Black Bottom" Film Hit the "blaok bottom" haa de- vfdoped Into a film hit. A shout reel version of the dance, turned out for the i^tate right market by Billy Wilkerson. seems to have struck the woHtorn Ponnsylvania terri- tory particularly hard. The usual quota is four prints for that territory tbroui^ diatri- butlon out of Pittsburgh. At present there are seven print.s worked out of the exchange. BRONX 0. H. BECOMES ''OPPOSITION" IN POUCY Goldreyer Taking Over House -<-*>Now on Legit Subway Cir^ cuit-meal Arranged For The Subway Circuit is to lose one of Ita links In the passing of the Bronx opera house, held under lease by Al. H. Woods, Sam H. Harris and Lee Shubert, the latter having taken over the Intereat for- merly held by George M. Cohan. An agreement has been signed by Charles Goldreyer. a picture exhib- itor ^ the Bfonx. whereby ho Will take over the house for a term of >ears under a lease. The final papers are to be closed upon re- Wpl Of thia Otgnattiro Of Sam H. Harris, at present in Florida. The O. H. under the Goldreyer mamigement will play pictures and vaudevillo^ It to so loeOted that It will be la direct opposition to Loew's National, and the Royal, a K.-A. operated theatre, both play- ing plcturao 4a< Vftiido^lo. Goldreyer states that he will ar- rnngre with the Pantages New York ofUcc for his vaudeville and will go tot»tho opMi aiorlEOt for hfi oeioon attractions, giving tho independents a chance, la tho Bronx territory. Los Angalfil, Feb. 1. Tho Writers* Club gave a pro- gram of one-act plays.Friday and Saturday nighto. Gouverneur Morris' "The Jus- tice of • the Damned" Included Kudolph Schildkraut. Mabel Tallia- ferro, Walter Long. Carroll Kjre and Paul Welgel. with Svend Gade tt.i?dng. "Dear Vivian," by Walde- mar Young, was enacted by Owen Mfo^e, VVoifc^ Dale, Tina Stevenfi at Rif'hanl Tucker. Maude Fulton ft ;<d. "Tiio Traveling M:ui." Staged by Lionel lielmore, intro- duced John Bowers. PHilflpe^^ ^ ^ Liacey and Ada Gleason. A group of three vicjnettes by Donald Crisp and Charles Grape win completed the program. Wlbiteimii at Ptramouiit Weak at $9,500 Paul Whiteman'a road salary of $0,600 will pra«att tar hio oao wook in New York at the Paramount, Htarting Feb. 12. With the closing of his week Friday night (Feb. 18), Whiteman will open his Paul White- man's night club on Broadway and 48th street. Charles B. Dillingham approved of the Whiteman-woek engagement in the picture hoiise, although there is no stipulation contrariwise in re- latioii to thO Mary Baton-Whitoman ■tliak^l comedy which merely pro- hibits Whiteman'a theatrical en- gagement other than under DUllng- ham*a mr>it<%gomeiit fOr thomn Of the play. The Dillingham show may open toward the end of March. ■Tho ongagonBlaiit of Pavl Whito* man at the Paramount, beginning Feb. 12, is to be something of an experiment. It will be the flrat big added attraOtlon to play tho houae instead of the regular units pro- duced by Publix. Fo rthat week the regular unit will be skipped and will open la Botfton laatoaA. CMMk GuBbol 1^ 1b Log Angeles. Feb. 1. The third annual gambol of the Cath<»llc Motion Picture Actors' Guild will be held Feb. 28 in the i*lttlhafnfonlO AtidHOi^lain. Jark Coogan, Sr., prealdent of the Guild, Is in charge of arrange- ntents and has lined up Colleen Moor«ri KMmund liowe, Jamea Klrk- wood, Norm.in Kerry, Antonio Mo- reno, Snr.ih I'adden. Jobyna Ral- Htone, May McAvoy. Mae Murray, Zaati Pitta, Doloroa Dd Hlo, Ruth (Clifford, GtoiKe O'Brien. Wallace McDonald, n. be Diini<>ls, Krlch Von Htrohelm, Lee Moran. Carnielita ('eraghity. George Seigman, Johnny nines an<l Olive Borden, who Will provide the cntertalnmetit. Walter Wills will do tho staging. LLOYD FLOPS IN 'lEMPTR^" $7,000 'Kid Brother' $5,20(>—Pres- entation Givet B'way Big Weeic, $15,000 I\)rtland, Ore.. Feb. 1. (Drawing Population, 310,000) Had weather had a terrible effect on local box offices last week. The Hroadway led the town with Fan- chon and |fareo*a stage spectacle, "The Pyramid.s," consisting of over 100 people. This act was billed like a circus and was given a great ballyhoo in the papers. Crowds lined up for blocks were evident the opening two daya, in spite of cold weather, and the .balance of the weeic held up remariuibl*' well. "The J idy In Ermine^* was the picture, huL c r« dit for the biz went to the stage presentation. Oliver Wallace, feature organiat at the latter house since its opening, leaves this week for Tacoma. where he will direct a 14-piece orchestra at the new Broadway theatre in that city. North American Theatres, Inc., has taken a 20-year lease on this house. Fanchon and Maroo ^reaOntatloaa will be featured. Estimates for Last Week Broadway (2.500; 25-40-60). "The Lady in Ermine" (F.N.). Fanchon and Marco's "Pyramids" was the real draw; stood them up three deep in spite of terrlblo ahow weather; $15,000. Liberty (2.000; 26-40-60). "The Scarlet Letter" (M.G.). For some reason Lillian Oish did not catch on. Wineland's orchestra and.Coster and Hewlett becoming favoritoa; $5,500. Columbia (850; 35-50). "The Temptress" (M.G.). Sure-fire nat- ural for this baby Universal house; so profitable at $7,000 is being held over. Majestic (1.000; 25-40-60). "The General" (U.A.). In third week. Keaton slipped to $5,000. Rivoli (1.210: 25-40-60). "The Kid Brother" (F.P.). A real flop for Harold Lloyd in this town terrific rental paid, with intake scarcely enough to get money back; t5.2C0. People'a (9t$: 80-45) "London' (F.P.). House getting by with pic- ture as sole attraction; "Beau Geste" cornea in aoon on road ahow basis; $2,000. Blue Mouse (800; 25) "Forever After" (P.D.C.), Pair intake, al- though house allpped a f«W hun- dred; $2,200. _ (Copyrightv 1t27, by Varloty, Ine.) PYopacanda Comeback Los Angeles, Feb. 1. Valda Valkyrien. known In the eaat a number of yeara ago as Baroness Dewltz, Is Invading Holly, wood with a lot of propaganda whicii leads picture people to believe she haa never been hero before. The propaganda aays she was acclaimed the most beautiful girl of 60,000 in a l>eauty contest in Denmark, and won almilar honora In a nation-wide ooatest in Sweden. Also that she has been starred in pictures in both of these countries, besides doing ballet dancing; When she waa married to Baron Dewlt«, from whom she has ob- tained a divorce, Miss Valkyrien waa offered to picture people both in tho east and weat. Ihia waa about Ave yeara ago. LOEf S 27 NEW HOUSES SPONSORS PROMOTION CONCERN'S RANKS E. A. Schiller Working Out Details—^Vogel Atfitting Schiller rad Keene UndOT L. K. * Sidnqp-^-So. Office in Atlanta—Mgrs. to DMiion Men, Etc HiUred Harris' Serial Od Chaplin m L A. Daily *Loo Angeles. Feb. 1. The Loa Aagoleo "Examiner," Hearst morning paper, has started the publication of a series of articles enUUed *'My Ufo With a Oenlua." sponsored and said to have been written by Mildred Harcif, Charlie Chaplin's first wife. An introduoSory aaya that Miss Harria haa a hotter understanding of Chaplin today than sh< had when ahe was his wife. She claims to be able to look book upon her eaq^orl* encea with the film comic so that she can make an impersonal analy- sis of the actor and the man. • Tho artMoo wlll>4ill wh» ChapMn should not marry again as no wife could ever hope to be happy with him. She is to tell of her honey- moon and how hor droama of happi- ness can^o , to nothtnc Of ^. poctedly. If Cigarei Bitt Passes In Kans., "Sunday* Hope Topeka. Kan., Feb. 1. By a two to oao vote, tho Hovae of the Kansas legislature has pa8.<^cd a new cigaret bill repealing the old prohibitory affair, allowing the aale and lloenaing doaloro. at tho ga w O time putting a two-cent per package tax on the smokes. Its only pro- hibitory feature la that advertlaing the pills Is forbltfdon. The bill is now up to the Senate, which has practically the same membership as laat aesslon when it passed a repeal bill. tuWd down by the House. There is every in- dication the current cigaret bill will go through with perhaps 0^0 ad- vertising feature eliminated. Baseball fans and American Le- gion members who are anxious for an amendment to tho atato labor law which atops Sunday amuse- ments, are marking time, until the Senate takes ita action on the ci- garet bill, before atarting thoir now drive. The cigaret bill waa put through the House by the aflorta of the Legionnaires. ViU in 3rd Week At LouisTille Strand Louisville. Feb. 1. ViUphono with the Warners* "Don Jiinn" is in Ita third week at the local Strand. The uswil admission scale of tlie picture house la prevailing. L A to N. Y. Mf. and Mra. Max Qordoii. Herman Mankiewica. Maude Allan. HATS LEAVINa COAST Los Angeles, Feb. 1. Will Hiivrt leaves lu i t< this \vt. k after paying his semi-annual vi.sit to tho coast. While h ere Hays attended several m ssidiiK (if fhf Assori ition of Mo- tion IMeture Producers meeting.'*. He also took up matters regarding co-operation with the churches and ^oelal Work oi panization by produc- ers and directors. Hnys will stop off at his home In Sullivan. Ind., before returning to New York. Film ss Evidence in Accident Suit for $102,950 Iioa Angelea, Feb. 1. iioving picturea Will be intro- duced into court an evidence in the damage suit brought by Frederick Peters, actor, against United Stu- dios, Inc. Peters suffered a fractured leg and now walks with a limp as the result ol^ being struck in August, 1926, by a tractor used by Christie Comedies. A camera, grinding at the time of tho accident, is said to have caUght the incident and the Jury will be asked to Judge from the pictorial record who waa at fault. United Studios, Inc., claim Peters was careless and could easily have averted the accident. Peters, who was getting $75 a week at the time of the accident and claims he was shortly to be placed under contract iit $350 a week. He is hIx feet six iiir-hes tall .nnd has not worked Hini'c the accident. He asks $102,860 in damages. Valsntino's Sister on Coast Los Angeles, Feb. 1. Mi.s. iMarie fcJlrada, sister of Ku- dolph Valentino, accompanied by her husband, Eugenio Strada, ar- rived here from Italy this week. Ant SPRAY XnXS PAINTEB Xjoo Aagelea, Feb. 1. C. R Deluncey, painter, employed by Warner Brothers, was killed at that concern's studloa Jan. 27 when an air compteaalon apraiy, eon* nected with a paint tank, exploded and blew portions of the metal from the tank into bla face and body. Delancey waa 27 yeara OM^ iHarrM. and besides a widow is survived by a mother, father and sister. He had t>een employed by Warner BfothOra for throi yeanib anA waa spraying a piece of scenery in the alleyway behind one of the atagea when the accident occurred. BOWLASO WlOm BACK Iioa Angeles. Feb. 1. Richard A. Rowland, general manager of First National, and Ned Marin, sales manager of the com- pany, here on a semi-annual visit for three weekSi Will leave for New York Friday. Rowland while here spent most of his time discussing thO'lfST^tS production schedule. It is likely that (.ilter hi3 depar- ture there %vill be a change in some cf the studio exeeutlvo peraonnel. WINIilE SHEEHAN BUST Los Angeles, Feb. 1. Winfleld Sheehan. general man- ager for Fox. returned here this week after a three months* absence in the east. Shqehan immediately plunged into supervising "Seventh Heaven," b< sMos readying things for the making of "In Znt So?" by Alfred K. CJreen. and "Carmen, " by Kaoul Walsh. Webb to Direct Colleen Moore LoH A!iK( Ics, Fcl). 1. Millarde Webb lia.s been chosen to direct Colleen Moore in "Naughty But Nice- for First National. To provide for expansion plans which call for the opening of 27 new houaea within tho noxt 10 months, the Marcus Loew vaude* ville and de luxe picture house em* ployes and managera will fall in for general promotlona all along tho line. The flrst changes announced are the appointmenta of Joe Vogel. divtolon manager to New York, to be an assistant to Vice-President £3. A. Schiller, together with Louia K. Sidney, the latter, however, to continue handling the do luxe pic- ture houses. Lionel Keon% aaatot* ant to Sidney, will be promoted to southern district manager, re- placing Herahel Stuart, who re* signed. The chancres contemplated, other than those announced, have not been oompletely worked out by Schnier, but when flnlOhod aeverai managers will be elevated to divi- sion posts and numerous assistant managera will be promoted to fill the vaeaaciea. It Is reported a southern offlce la to be opened in Atlanta, this being noceaaory due to the growth ot the Loew aouthern holdlnga, the lateat additions being new houses in New Orleans and San Antonio with sev- eral others to follow within tho next year. Promoting from the Ranks The plan of the Loew Circuit la to promote from the ranka and to aatlelpato tho normal expanaM needs of the organisation by train- ing competent assistants for execu- tive duties in case of emergencies. Tho promotion of Vogel will lea^ a vacancy for a division manager in New York. Vogel's new dutiea will require his entire attention. Another promotion oohtempiatpid; will be an assistant to Terry Tur«\ ner In the Loew publicity depart* ment. alao unannounced to date. Tho ohanirii iMdf for tho switching of aeveral managers t<» new houses as they open, and in most cases the vacancies tliua cr0at<jd wiH hO tSot' UMi :ia!M raaha of the assistant ai4tHi#ihi to thO houses affected. In building up his urgaui;&ation Mr. Schiller has taken on emplOgriO in advance of openlngo. placing them as vacancies occur through promotions and openings of new I. R. RFOUIREMENT Washington. Feb. 1. The Treasury announces that tho courts have decided the require* ment under which afllliated eor* porations must file consolidated tax returns showing net Income and capital invested is constitutional The Revenue Act of 1018, Section 240 <b). covered such a provision, with several corporations affected, carrying it to the courts. Under regulathma praacribedr these consolidated retuma require not only the net income B)id In- vested capital, but that the tax shall flrat be computed on the cor- poration aa a whole and then ahail be assessed on the respective com- panies in such proportions as may be agreed upon among them; in. the absenoO of auch agreement, then on the ba.sls of the net Incomo properly assignable to each. Ullman'ft Valentino Park Los Angeles, 1\'). 1. 8. George Ullman is going rtl^oad with his plans to ralae $500,000 from movie fans all over the country to build a memorial park in memory of Rudolph Valentino. Ullman will devote hiK time and rervifcs piatis, all moneys received to go to the fund intact. All of the late Rudolph V alen - tino's cnects not soid KZ mrrttnTT here are IxMfig sent to Pin Fran- cisco, where George Ullman, ex- ecutor of the estate, will conduct another auction. Lou Anger in N. Y. Lou Anger (United Artists), reached New York thia week.