Variety (Apr 1927)

Wednesday, April SO, 1M7 FQREIGN VARIETY BRITISH QUOTA BILL UNDER INSPECTION JN WASHINGTON BUT NO AQION UKEY 36cretary Hoover and State Department Silent—One '"'^ Official Has Complete Analysis of Bill—Of 761 Pietnrea Shown in England During Last Fiscal Year, 661 Americans—28 Only W^re '^Can't UgUUte MoraU Witb the PeopW I Variety Bureau, Washington, April 19* J- Vhttuch th« BHtlili Stan quoU Mr la probably* th« moat disousaed Intimate topic before the picture industry, both abroad and in the V. 8n ofllclml Waihttifton declines io commit itaelf «• to the poaalble •ffects of thr BMMiirt pn Amorloan l^oducera. , Seeretary of Commerce Herbert ^oover stated he could say nothing mt this time on the proi>osaI. OfIl> iBiala of the State Departmentt be- Ifend admittlnt that the bUI and the 90-odd amendments propoaed waa being given considerable study, followed the same course pursued ^y ICr. Hoover* They would aay AotlMBS beyond the fact that no representations of a friendly nature itad been made to the British gov- j^mneBt It waa poteted out that may liation la fully within It^ righta to paas such legislation, and beyond ily overturea drawing that menfa aHiafkm t» the tn- ^jJnqr^ICN^sht do an Induatry of this coui\iry, i^^jould be beyond the of the at|iu|^ent to act. Stetei^tlNi^a yet the American producers halN|fiauested «» action from the dep9l||;^nt, ther verbally or In a formal Spreading Legislation eh Variety'a reporter drew the a attention to the trend of year* te donpete with legto- latlon rather than with pictures, it agreed/that the possibility of MMage of the English propos- ^'i^mmmh migtkt MMd t^ « rush of miuM fcfysttem ta other Countries. W One offloial, not of the State De- ^ »ttfient> mmam^im the bin and its possible effecta, "unofficially and Hot for publication,** Indicated Just how closely the measure Is being HfMidled. ▲ eMigltte aaalyais of the bill was before him, with one of the outstanding features of it disclos- ing that in a 62-play date house a»plt>ximately tear wwricg ef that Would havo'lo be givea oyer to the Hrltish productions. > Further was it shown that though ttie Gertaaa "one for dae" had «euied, pr^noipally because no re- quirement waa included ta ' that plan for the actual ahowlnga o: the iMittve Vf9^im firamttii the Brtttoh proposal had corrected very forcibly fh^t "error.- Also in this same regard the reporta coming thi t m% teiH-eist that thie Britiah I measure la being tightened up In I such a manner as to leave but few, a M aay, loopholes for evasion. As to what Hlh attitude of Con- tress will be when that body meets, <^qember 1 next, is problematical. )Bhe AaMfltaa ifan tadastry la well represented, ^and should the BHttsh )»roposal develop to such a stage \ Jhat the Americaa exhibitor would have ta ahaei^ part. If aot all, of the losses abroad by the ^ymeat of high rentals, a reprisal measure ^uld undoubtedly come out. . The prodaoera^ toob are strongly entrenched In the aatloaal law- ^Aiaklng body. The question may ythus come up without the exhibitor imgle. ' :■; The motion picture means much to practically every American In- auetry. They have been pronounced > this nation'a beat advance aalea- Inen. With such a powej:ful groap ^ alllea the picture Industry will JBidoiibtedly be assisted materlWly Ut flndlBff a legislative or some ether form of reprisal. In Variety last week appeared a ■jatement from George Canty, mo- tton pietata trade commissioner, la , ^? «*Pre8ses tlm hmlM t^^t A Wise Wise-Cracker Minneapolis, April 19. la a lead editorial eoauaeat- ing upon the lecture given here by Will Rogers, the Minneapolis Daily Star (eve- ning) declared that Regera Is a *'wlse cracker" with aai- phasis on the "wise." "Mr. Rogers poses as a 'hick from Oklahoma'," the editorial stated. "If some of the official Jobs in Washing- ton were held by 'hicks' with ability to slae ap tnteraattonal situations as wise as the 'mayor of Beverley Hills,' our international affaire might not be la such « dlatractlng saarL** WHAT HANNEN SWAFFER COULD SAYOF PAUL ASH (Happily Written without requeet by a member of Variety'a Chicago office staff and aomewhat gleefully printed. The Mr. Swaffer referred te la a London newapaper man, de* ing ciramatio oritiquea aa a aide line and running a weekly column in Variety—en the other page» to the left. Read it and weep.) BRITAIN'S FUJI FANS AHEND EVERY 6 WEEKS 3J60 Picture Houses Average SyOOOyOpp Attendance if attention to thia and then turn to the reporU of the atreauoaa ebjec- tiona of practically all of the Brit- ish exhibit^ra to the qapta Idea as proposed. Statlatlca forwarded firoia Lon- don to the Department of Com- merce disclose that from Augrust 1, 1925, to July 31, 1926, that of the 761 fllma harlBS 'trade •ehawtags't i England during that period, 6f L we^^ii^nerlcan productions, w>. ae but 28w!il^U||fih:_ An optlmliitmR^|||||d|Mi^^oaad la the oft-repeated gtatement be- fore Congress in connection with legislative moves by the **reform- Ing^ element—'^oa eaaaot legis- late morals into the people.** A prominent attorney here, represent- ing Biaay film companies, added to this; *Wor caa yoa legislate them up to box office.** The Germans learned their les- son. The answer was expressed bat recently by oae of the leading trade joumala af that eoaatrjr: Qeod pictures. 'Scararnqoche,' Moderate; 'CO.D/Rsme-NeaiaKe Ijoadoa, April It. Shr Martin Harvey in "Scara- mouches** Sabatini story, opened at tha Ohrrlek last night and may make a moderate rua of it. As played here the piece is minus the thrill and ct^m of both the novel and the picture. Another epeatag' waa a revue galled "C. O. D.** It came Into the Duke of York's April 16. Disap- pointing effort because of poor ma- terlaL Archie DeBaiir staged. THE FItZQEBALOS BREAK Cissy's Son and Brtde Separate While on Honeymoon Lioa Angeles. April It. Agreeing to disagree, Osmund Mark Fitsgerald, aon of Ciaay Fita^ gsrald, atag^ and ptotura hahreaa. parted with hla leaa than three- month bride, Florence Vera Walker, while atil) on tlieir honeymoon. DlToroe prooeedlnga are expected, with Fitzgerald now in New York and his bride ia San Franciaoo^ 7 »g|^^ leglaUUoB abroad wiU d«fsat ^ —■— - —• jn* Thoae of the induatry here draw "Queen High" Closing London, April 19. "Queen, High" (American) will cloae at the Queen'a Saturday (April 2S). The show has had a raa e< six montha. Tom Holt ia Now York Tom Holt, representing tho WIll- lamsoaa of Australia* la la New York. Chicagro, .\pfll 14 »ORIENTAL - (Chicago) Rannen Swaffer, witi dne apolo- gies and bless his soul, should catch thia boy, PaUi Aah. Maybe like this: Paul Ash As K Looka I am over on you side at last. For a whlla I thouvht my depar- ture from London w-*uld be delayed, aa I had previously, and thought- leaaly, arranged % luncheon en- gagement with L- rd Whintank on the very mornin'/ that I waa to leave. Fortunat ly, however. Lord Whintank died chat same morning so I wrapped m r share of the lunch- eon la' my ve? and came on l|yer. I Come to Chicago When I rrrived on ybur aide I hurried rl'-nt to Chicago without staying ' verlong In New York. Channinf Pollock, headstronlr but foolish, waa In New York, I didn't want to aee him. I had challenged him *j aomething, a debate I ae- lievf: I had forgotten all about It unr i my arrival. Thea. It waa too la o to make notea. I waoM iMiye V ja aayway. ^ 1 Like Chicago Chicago la a pretty city. I dined with Mayor Thompson yesterday and told him so* He thanked me. The papers were fult of It. In fact, the papers were full of everything. What papers you have on your side. In liondon they woaM be hissed. I wonder If they know that in Lon- don they would be hissed. I would hisa them anyself. I 4ie» te wt» hotel room. I See Paul Ash Later I weat ta the OrtoataL It ia a gaudy theatre, a product of the abnormal minda of .klnema klnga. There was a Queue outside, but I walked right In as I had dined with the head usher the previous evening. Paul Ash. a bandmaster with red hair, is featured here. I am goings to onalleage him to something. Ho directs a large Jasa orchestra and acts as master of ceremonies for the program of spec ialtf eg. The people who come here are terrible. Most of them are young churls wha applaad ■ Toolferously and talk among themselves like a group of school children. Later I found out that they are^ I am not going to dine with thsM» Bitajlthsr will I challenge them. 1 Wonder I wonder If HenH Keats, the or- ganist, realizes that he ia good. He plajrs accompaniment to silly lltUe iongs that are flashed on the screen. The patrons, stalls and alia sing as he plays and the noise is deafening. At the time I was in attendance there was a large thermometer on tho stage and as the audience sang louder and louder a light »blub rose 3n the thermometer until the people had shouted It vp as fnr aa It waald go. I told Keats that I thought he was good, but he already hadMMMk So I weat to «iThompson*a, The Progrsm Paul Ash had a very deceat of- fering for ma It was called "Jass- ology'* and consisted mostly of jass. Ash appeals to ma He is a very likeable chap, handsome la hla way, and a fluent talker. We have ao .one like him In London, with the possible exceptloa of myself. Bat I hate Jazs. The kinema program was sum- cient. There was **The Sea Tiger." a First National lllia. a BUnogram news reel, and aa "ASOOP* cartoon pictursw I think I win challenga Ran Out of re Pardon my thoughtleesness now in closing bat I aaye raa oat of I'a It's really aggravating that I should. Just as I got another idea about what I ooald do If Paul Ash had not done It before I could, but the I on this machine that I own has gone blooey. Toy must excuse L I thi nk I shoald ahlU lepgo the machlna. WILL MAHONg¥ While at the Temple, Detroit, the •TBVKNING NEWS." Mar. 17. said: "WiU Mahoney, Temple Star. That btff. bang, gattllng gun eccentric dancer. Will Mahoney, back at the Temple Theatre, registered such a hit at the opening Show Sunday that this reviewer Is convinced of what he had previously considered prob able, that Mahoney Is the greatest dancing single variety hag p rstt wu d .^ Direction RALPH a FARNUM (Kdw. KoUoir <|moe) EnglUh Benefit, $20,^ Loadoa, April It. At tho 17th annual general meet* ing of the Provincial Clnemato« graph Theatres, Ltd., IiOrd Ashdeld, chairman of the company, read a report showing a healthy conditiOB for the concern. He made many ob* servatlons on tho industry, #">oag them the following: In Aiperica there are now 17,000 pictttre tHeatrcK with aa estimated average weekly attendaaee of tt,- OOO.OOe. In Great Brltabi there are t,760 picture theatres, at which the average weekly attendance is esti« mated to be t.OOO,0Ot. The number of attendances per aaaum per head of the population in the United States Is, therefore, 26, or. In othw words, every person in that country visits a einettia theatre oa aa aver- age once eyery fortnight In Great Britain the number of attendances per head of the popu- lation is roundly eii^t per annun^ or. eyery persoa te this ooaatrr visits a cinema oa an aveiaca •< OBoe la every six weeks. I III It haa^ tMr aiteoaaoea It the British committee assist- ing the Actors' Fund that the beneflt performance for the fund by English actors at tha Imperial, New York, netted over $10,000. Incidental to the performance thM a souvenir program. ^ Tho DrtttOll oommittoe has pledged a quota of $20,000 to the Actors' Fund in the lat- ter's drive to raise $1,S00,000. CanaiGan Customs Off Braoo nMik theatrieal traffic ageat for the Canadian Pacific, has announced the abolishment of the Canadian Customs regulations re- quiring payment, of dnty okl aos- tumiea golag teta Oaaada frOM the u. s. A single regulation remains, of the cash deposit oa* oarload or other large lot of show effects. This deposit is refunded aftec;_aas|l of fecta have left Canada^ , QoUft^m Casino Revue Paris, April If. The Dolly SIsteVs are shortly due hero to f o h i aw ii iOr tlia aow Iroyue at the Casino de Paris in May. Roflle Dolly is at present In New York and Jennie Is in London. Their permaaeat hopM^ li te this city. Hal Sherman win be Included in the new revue dne at the Casino early In June. • ^ ' Eddy Dony, brother OC lilO PoHy glrls^ is producing. Enelish Not Fred/ London, April If. Of the $l<.S00.0OO oorporaUoa formed bp Ostrer Brothers (bank^ ers) for the Gaumont Britiah Pla- ture Corp., the public has sabsovfboi for but a small amount. UaderwHfOrs of the project hay«» to take approatmatolyTI per oiiilaC SAILINGS April SO (New York to London), "Whispering Jaak" SBiOi (Lorla* than). April SO (New York to Berlin). Mr. and Mra M. U Malevinaky (Rotterdaia). ? April SO (New York ta IiOBdoal Park Sisters (Majestic). April Sf (New York to London). A R. Kats (Levtethaa). April 27 (New York to London), T. D. Kemp, Jr. (Berengaria). April 30 (New York to Paris), PoU NegH (Aqaltaala). April If (New York to London), Michael Bohnen and w|fO (Maqr Lewla), .(Bellance). April If (toadon to New York), Herbert Brenon (berengaria). April IS (New York to ParlO) Jack Hawklnson (Albert Ballln). THE TILLER DANCING SCHOOLS JfHP Fori OF AMERICA, Inc. 226 West 72d Street N£W YORK Bidie«tt ttli-S MARY READ Ella Shields' Ovation London, April If. BIta Shields appeared at the Vic- toria Pals^' (vaudeville) yesterday (Monday) and received aa ovation. It ia her first London appearance since undertaking aa It BMntha' wortd tear. She waa f staid to two ciirtnln speeches beCwa tha %oase I would let hsr ipib lIcINTOSH COMING OV£B Sydney, March 7. Sir Hugh HotetadH ggpacHi to visit America by imr if da kip way to London. It has been about three years PAKIS Parli, April §; Laarie and Vera Rayne opened at the Perroquet Cabaret April 1, and are now doubling at the Cafe de Parla. Huguette Dufios, picture star, late of the Comedle Francalse, and divorced wife of the actor Dufios, may be called upon to change her stage name after legal proceedings in hand. She will probably bill herself as Mile. Huguette (mana- gers adding: "Former^ Mlao, Huguetto PudosT'). Jerome IT. Jerome's "Fanny," adapted by Pierre Seise and Andree Mery. will be produced shortly at the Daunou by Jane Renouardt when she resumes the management of this fashionable little house. Robert de SImone will assume management of the Apollo June IS when the Fronch vrralon of "Mer- cenary Mary" will migrate from the Bouffes-PatlHlens for the summer Hoason. It is exiK-rtod to hold that place until Septenhart ^ INDEX '■* -. / Forelga S-t Pictures ...••.••••••.«•*• 4*2f Plctura Reviews....lS-17-20-21 Pietvre Preseatatloas... • 17 Film Hottso Reiylowa..... 21 Vaudeville ..••••«•••/•.. ^ 10- 27 ^ew Acts9*«* 28 Burlesque 40 Burlesque Roatoa........ 40 IBilJs .....•..<•*•.•••*•• .22-39 Times Square. 41 Editorials 42 Literati 24 Women's Page 42 Legitimate 44-51 Legit. RovlOira 42-49-51 Music • 52-54 Night Cluba 54 Outdoors i«••• •.li-67 Obituary "^5 Correspondence •••••«...58-63 Letter List $t Inside Pictures If Cabaret Bills 54 Radio 12 imports •••••••••• 40 Inside Legit..42 Inside Vaude 26 $STUNES< 'PRODUCTIOliS^ PICTURES GOWNS INDIVIDUALS 'SCHNEIDER — ,«ANDaMOM