Variety (May 1927)

84 VARIETY W^dimdajr, BCay 25, 1927 i. HELPING THE FLOOD (Continued from pa«re K) Abnormal extension of credit. He stated that reports eeemed affrotd that by the early fall, the South iriU have fully recovered, and he obaerved that the first extension of pairments should not go beyond that time, with further extensions be granted if deserved. With the distributors agreeable ■to aiding all exhibitors affected by the disastrous Mississippi floods, whether within or without the area, he did not believe that any one ex- iitbifeor abould Jeopardlsa the bene- fits for io many by tinbuslnesslilce tactics. In tbft face of the proffered and voluntecTt.4 assistance. T.^ latter, from all reports, will include liberal terms, taking in rentals as well for those resuming: over the summer, in the effort to rehabilitate the' exhibiting business of the South. Many Box Offices Hurt It is reported that the panic of the floods has gotten beyond the Immediate district, reflecting itself in the box offices throughout the southern states, although the re- flsetlon is not universaL In New Orleans, It Is stated that tlis Saenger'a (theatre) .gross has fallen off $10,000 weelcly, with the drop directly traceable to the flood threatening waters of that city, al- though it is unlikely New Orleans will have to flght the waters for self protection. Some Saenger houses in the flooded towns are un- der water with no oatiination of damago possible until they emergj. The situation is the same with ^m&t mmhmn aloiig lli* liiiss «K i^e high level rivers. The manner in which the picture business has come to the assistance •( llM iailllptsd maiiattni and the- 1 ■all FoV' STEINS' ABSOLUTELY CUA.'^AMTfLO ^nd be assured of receiving beat materials properly blended. ISOLD EVERYWHERE Maasfaetwed %r Eyebrows Darkened Permanently peifwrUd and darkeacd with Colotm: not aff«ct«d by washing. p«raptrtt!on. CTMUM, ate.; UMt for weeks. posIUfely iMffldML AgMte «t both thppt. Splro'S. 2« W. 36th 8t & 34 W. 46tN N.V. atres of the south may be gathered from a comment by a banker in New York the other day when speaking with a southorn exhibitor. The banker was informed that whatever loss mlKht be suffered would not be an entire loss "since the Industry will help us out lar>,'oly and recover for us to a y:r«'at ex tent what we may suffer, in property and grosses." the exhibitor said. The banker asked for sscplanatloii, when the showman •zplalned about the distributors, etc. •VVliat kind of a business are you in?" inquired the banker, '*a mutual protective organization?" the banker adding that anything like it ho never had lieard of in atiy line of trade. Flood Suffering Exhibitors Need Help From Industry—What Is Needed Now New Orleans, La., May 24. Exhibitors In the Lower MtsslMippi Valley are still In uncer- tainty as regards their future. The great yellow ||^nther Is in the last lap of Its catastrophic disgorging and is now rushing pell- mell over the beautiful teche country, spreading 160 miles to the gulf. Managers In the sections Where the water has drained are look- ing to distributors to render Immediate assistance Playhouses that have not been swept away entirely require carpets, organs, screens, and in many instances machines and new seats. National Distributors could appoint committee to act at once In their behalf. The committee could appoint representatives to travel through the entire valley, cluck up on requirements and then l^nd advice and aid in putting the exhibitors back on their feet. Distributors grown mighty within the industry might donate fres film service for the first 60 days of operation. Extending oredlt would only plunge these small exhibitors into debt. Managers and their families have been living In refugee camps for weeks and are returning to damp water soaked homes and the remaining wrecks of what were once theatres. There are now 150,000 homeless people In Loulsiiaiia alone. The Industry still has a chance and there Is no better time than now to help the little fl^m exhibitor while he is lying prone on his back. New Orleans has escaped the flood waters altogether although several news weeklies tacked on scenes of water in its streets caused by heavy rainfall and a breakdown in it dralnaf• system several weeks ago. such a fine ship, and Mpressed the hops that It would ba tha forerun- ner of a new and glorified American Merchant Marine to sail the seven seas, to enter all foreign ports and to stand at anchor at the roadsteads of ths world as did the American vessels in the days of our fore- fathers. As a. further appreciation of Cohan's song, I wrote to Secretary of War Baker and urged that he recommend to the President that Cohan receive the Distinguished Servlea Medal. Secretary Baker was most sympathetic toward the proposal,^ but pointed out that the law forbade the eonf^rrtfli Of a medal upon a citizen not dtirsetly connected with the service. However, were the matter of giving Cohan a medal left to the American soldiers, I am sure it would have been so awarded by their unanimous vote. Smith, Chlosca, for tha Methodist Church. This committee found that to date newspaper advertising had paid the greatest dividends and recommended that tha general agencies of the church, and also in- dividual churches, make continued increases in space usage in order to promota belief In tha Christian faith. It was advised that definite budgets be established to meet this purpose. Furth^, if the recommendations of the committee are carried out, all churches "will emi>loy experlenred Journalists to head publicity and press departments." LONDON Need Comedy Material? — Stephen G. Champiin Writes Comedy Acts Ttave written Hur( i^sspa for Harry TIol- man, Valorie lU'rg»>re. TiPin 1'. JackHon, Hefcal and Maik. Harry Htnsf(inl, Mc- CHrrt'Q an<l Mantica, the late Nat M. -WlUs and many others. Address ORRKNPOINT TIIEATBB. Brook lyn. N. Y. rhone Gn-gnpolnj tTf^ FOR SALE 8cenery Construction Plant Two floors, 26x90, lower floor can b« «Md for storngo of sc«nery. Complete •quipment. incTudlnt power band saw, mortlcer. Jig saw, tenon machines, clr- eular saw, work benches, templets. Iron benders and cuttem. and aU stock on band. Large electric equipment—spot lights, hanging hoods, eto. PRICB IX>W. Mi West Mth ai. rhoM Chlckertns ftSM SHIPPING BOARD STORY (Continued from pagh 1) soldiera who sang sonics aboiit the Red Cross girls," which sonffS WW written for the occasion. Here reference is also made to the pledge of suppor. from the actors, including the "victory,** in the form of a promise from Will Rogers that he would make no further comment on the "one lone ship produced by the board." Mr. Hurley states that the ship "The Lambs," so christened fol- lowing that dinner, is still in active service. John Phillip Sousa comes In for praise for his march "The Volun- teers.*' Tha many artists, headed by Charles Dana Gibson, are praised for their posters. Robert D. Heinl, the then publicity man for the board, gets his share also. Not only does the chapter devoted to George M. Cohan pay high tri- bute to the writer of "Over There," but it also gives the story of the launching of tha boat named for hie grandfather. This chapter reads: Launching of "Cottigan" The launching of a ship was an important event In any shipyard The shipbuilder and the employees made it a gala day, and hundreds of people would witness the chris tenlng. In order to develop a keen interest among tho people of the interior of the country in our ship- building program, we named ships after cities of Iowa, Illinois, Mlnne Hota aiiil other Rtat( m. Frequently from such cities would come spccia delegations headed by the mayor and the favofed young lady of the town who was to have the honor of christening the ship, Mrs. Woodrow Wilson, at our re quest, named all tho contract ships built by the Fleet Corporation Being a descendant of Pocahontas most of the names she selected were of Indian derivation. Occa- sionally, when we desired to make a change, we asked her permission as when I personally requested o her that a ship be named In honor of Mr. George M. Cohan, to express to him the country's appreciation of his musical contributions durirjg the war. Cohan's inspiring song, "Over There,** waa being played or sung by every American soldier and also by the soldiers of the Allied armies. It was hummed and chor- used by the hustling crews in our shipyards, and undoubtedly had something to do with stimulating the morale and with keeping aglow the fires of patriotism of the work- ers as they yisioned tha ships that won the war by aendtiiiF tha boys "over there.** I met Cohan in Washington, told him of my appreciation of his great song, and sala that as a slight tes- timonial of his services we should like to name a ship the "Cohan." Ha was most appreolatlTa of the proposed honor, but said he would prefer that the ship be named for his maternal grandfather, Dennis Costigan. I explained to him that it was our custom to confer only a single name upon a ship and that the name "Costigan" without the "Dennis^ would bo appropriate. He agreed thai this would bo satis- factory. Accordingly, when the time ar- rived, I went to tho Merchant Ship- building Company's plant at Bris- tol, Pa., where the launching of the "Costigan" waa to take place. Usually I did not have time to attend launchlngs personally, but I felt that this was ia tho nature of a special occasion. Mother and Son The affair was something unfor- gettable. There stood tho great 9,000-tonner, ready to glide down the FRANKLIN'S STAFF (Continued from page 4) will bo In charge of physical oper- ation and the personal oenrico de- partments; Fanchon and Marco are to head the production department and have added to their duties the handling of the musical department also. Louis Cohen, who also came from the Piiblix realty departnient, has been placed In charge of the realty department here and will have as his assistant, J eft Asher, who for- merly handled the real ostato for West Coast. H. G. Delabar, representing the Ilayden & Stone interests in the West Coast organisation, has been appointed the head of the account- ing department and will also be the office manager of the executive of- fices. The costume department will be handled by Harry Born. Freddie Schader (from Variety), will be in charge of the advertising and publicity department for the entire circuit. He will have as his assistant Robert C. Collier, with Tom Sanson and Harriet Cameron In his department. Hubbard O. Robinson Is to continue as the head of the art department and Ryllis Hemington will remain as the head of tha public relations department. C. A. Buckley Is in cluurgo of the legal department. Stuart is already in Seattle with J. J. Franklin due in Portland early this week. Bowles has taken charge of the northern California territory which he handled for West Coast prior to booming general manager of tho circuit. Houso Organ One of the first offlcfal moves that Franklin made was to sell the Strand and Circle theatres, both neighborhood houses, seating fOO each. The purchasers of the houses are Simon M. Lazarus and George S. Fredkin. He also directed that a bt-moathly houso organ to be known as "Now" be gotten out by Schader. This publication will be 16 pages in size with the first issue devoted to personal talks by Frank- lin, the lineup of the executives and personnel and outlining the duties of the division managers. There are to be board of directors* meet- ings once weekly. Prior to these meetings there is to be a session of what is to be known as "the Frank- lin cabinet.** This body will be composed of the heads of the va- depnrtments, which include (Continued from page 2) The idea of portraying the char* actors in "The Merchant" as they might be 10 years later is consid* erably overworked. Tho play must stand on its own merits. This ono sits down. Supporting Tallulah Bankhead in "The Garden of Eden," due at the Lyric after a trial week in Bdln- burg, will be Barbara Gott, Cladya B^foliiott, Eric Maturin, Kugh Wll- liams and Frederick Volpe. Early in June Madge Titheradgo will appear hero In a new play called "The Happy Husband." by Harrison Owen, a new author. The piece will be tried out In Ports- mouth, May 2S. Basil Dean will produce. Supporting cast includes Mabel Sealby, Eric Cowley, Charles Laugh ton. Laurence Grossmlth and A. E. Matthews. The offer made by Charles Gulli- ver for a site in Aldwych (off Strand) has been refused by the London County Council. The price submitted was >125.000 ground rent or $2,000,000 freehold. It was proposed to erect four theatres, arcades and shops, a bank and a restaurant iki tho building. ways into the sea. Standing on the launching platform waiting for | rlous the signal to crash the bottle of Buckley. Howe, Goldberg, Delabar, STRICTLY UNiON MADE ROFESSIONAL TRUNKS mnr Oilikuih d Mend e l Timki ALL MODELS—ALL SIZES ON HAND AT GRKATLT REDUCED PRICES ALSO 1,000 USED TRUNKS OF EVERY DESCRIPTION WB DO REPAIRING. WRITE FOR CATALOG, SAMUEL NATHANS, Inc. 66S Sovontli Avoniio, bstwoon 40IH and 41st Stroste, Now York Citv •O&a AGBNTfl FOB n a M TRrNKS IN TMM rhoneitt I.f>nir«rr^ «I97-9(W14 wine on the prow of tho vessel was Mrs. Helen Frances (Costigan) Cohan. At her side stood her famous, son George. I was very much impressed by the marked de- votion and attention which he showed to her. While last-mlnuto preparations were in progress, Mrs. Cohan rem- inisced a bit and related to me that the last time she had been in Bris- tol was some 25 years previous, when she and her husband, with George and his sister Josephine, were traveling through that section of Pennsylvania performing at "one night stands'* and doing a skit which the father and mother played. As the ship started to move slowly down the ways I saw a tear launched simultaheously down her cheek. "I christen the© 'Costigan'" she said, in a voice which told much of what her mind was conjuring up, a nd indic a t e d that in h e s womory Prof. BRUECKI IM WEST 67ttl ST.. M. T. Tel. Circle 449S she waa reliving Incidents of long ago. To the familiar strains of her son's popular song, "Over There," tho great ship slid graoofttllsr down the ways into tho waters of the n(>laware. Later she told mo she had been thinking of all tho Costigana and c nhans who had passed away. She s'Hd fih« wns very prond that the Lolller. Cohen, Mansfield, Rol Marco and Schader. They will dis- cuss various matters and sugges- tions that are to be taken up by the board of directors. Decisions of the rabinot on all matters will be handled by Franklin at the hoard of directors' meetings. Mike Gore is to serve as chairman of the board of directors, while his brother, Abe L. Gore, will function as vice-president of the West Coast organization. The North American chain of houses has been taken over by West Coast as have the houses operated by Far West and Golden States Thentrea, Inc., Included In the deal for 179 houses of that com- pany. With West Coast it gives tho wholo ehalii over 100 thoatros. FOR MODERN SENSATIONAL STAGE DANGINO Stretching and Llmberlnff ExerclaeS Now at 132-136 W.4Sd St Now York " ^. REUGIOUS PRESS ASSO. (Continued from page 1) development of this idea while fos- tering the growth of religious periodicals. The message was signed by M. E. Mcintosh, New York, for the Bap- tist Church; Rev. G. Warfleld Hobbs, Now Tork, for tho Protes- tant Episcopal Church; W. Irving Clarke. Philndrlphla, for th*% Pres- MINERS MAKE UP Est Henry C Miner. Inc« Dorothea Antel Sunshine Shoppe 226 W. 72nd Street, New York City Catering to Prof ettional Folk Opera Length Silk Hosiery Silk end imported French LingeriO Lovely Spanish Shawls and Sunshine Qrooting Csrdt •r Span ton o^tiaa Sroadwtf New VhI name "Costi«raa" had been given tohyterian Church, and J. T. Brahner