Variety (May 1928)

12 VARIETY PICT U R E S Wednesday, Miay 2, 1928 F. N. Tops Coast Studio Activity Los Angeles, May 1. .. In spite of two heavy sales con- yentlons eoing on in the east, studio activity retains the jsame percent- Age of production as reported In last week's survey. Fentures, how-^ ever, have ihcreased to 52 ■ wlth shgrt subjects offsetting the* advance hy a decrease:. of two units. Seven studios are dark as against six re- ported last week. First National takes top post away frOni Fpx for number of units In work. It has nine features In- cluding "The Barker," directtid by George Fitzmaurice; "The Divine l,:ady,",by Frank Lloyd; "The Head Man," ,by Eddie Cline; "Butter and Egg Man,*! by fiichiard Wallace; •rrhe Whip," by Charles Brabin; •T'he Volunteer," by Arthur Ripley ; "The Phantom City," by Al RogoU; "Heart to Heart," by William Beau- dine, and '*The Night Watch," by Alexander Korda. Fox is second with seven features and two short comedy, units Workr . in&. Fcfatures arie:- -'Fout Devils," by, F. W; Murnau; "Plastered In Paris," by JBeri Stoloff; "Aviatidn," by Howard Hawks; "The Road House,'* by Richard- Rossbn;. "Wild West Romance," by R. D. Hough'; "The River Pirate,",by W. K. HoW- ardi and. "The Farmer's Daughter," by Arthur RossoHi. M-G-M has seven features work- ing, including "Excess Baggage," by J:ames Cruze; "Tide of Empire," by Alan Dwan ; "Four Walls," by Wil- liam Nigb; "War in the Dark," by Fried Niblo; "Her Cardboard Lover," by. R. Z. Leonard; "Easy Money," by Jack Conwaj'; and. '■Snapshots," by Edward Sedgwick. Par's © U. B/s 4 Paramount hiaa six features in- cluding a version ot "Fedora," by. IitrawTB' .Sergerr "^a^i^ust Para ; SuniTjiary of weekly studio activity for the past 11 woek.s. Pprcontagc of production is based on 106 units wprkilig at the 24 studios on the roast, which is de- termined by th<» average normal working conditions during the year 1327: • ■ ' ■ . . - P-<^^ Pea-. . Total of ■ : ■ .turos Short .ui)ltB S.tu- iSro- in ■ B\>b- work- dies, ■.due- work. Jeote. iTig 47 39 F. N/s Siring LOS Angele!5,. May i, Firs't National's roster of contract player.g, producers and directors contain the names of the following:. Players CoJlecn-Mpore ■ Alice "White Ulllle Dov€ Dorothy Mackaill Harry Ijanigdon . Do'rlB Kenyon , Johnny HineS ' . • Donald Heed Corrlne Grimth I^ietta Young. Milton fSlIls \ I^rry Kent . Ken Maynard Paul Vlncentl . Richard . Barthelmess Thelhia Todd €havlle Murray Yoia d'Arvli Molly 0'Day Frances' HamiltoD Jack Mulhall' ' ' Doris Dawson • . Mary Astor , Producers Li. Rocket t John McCornrilok Henrv Hoban N«d Marin . Sam E. Rork George Fitzmaurice Alexander Korda Cliarles Brahlri Alfred Siantcll Uervyb L© Boy i!f£s?e^e""^ifp'SSS-^err ^^^^^^ Trap," by Victor Schertzinger; "The First Kiss," by Rowland V. Lee, and "Beggars ol Life," by William Wellman. Warn el' iBirbthers has four fea- tures ia,nd four Yitaphone) units in work. Features include' "Noah's Ark," by Michael Curtiz; "Fools in the Fog," by Howard Bretherton; , "Women . They Talk About;" by Lloyd Bacon, ' and "The Midnight Taxi," by John. Adolfl. Univei'sal has a Hoot Gibson western working under direction of Henry McPtao and is renting space for two,.other features, one, "U. S. Smith,", directed by Joseph Hene- bery for. Gotham, and the other a Joe Rock production titled "Com panionate Divorce," for Sterling re- lease. . , Metropolitan, leasing plant, has three features In works including, "Hell's Angels," by Howard Hughes for U. A.; "The Racket," by Lewis Milestone,- for Par.; "You're In the Army Now," by Cliff Wheeler for Burton King and Excellent. Tec-Art, another leasing plant also has three features and one short subject In work. Features * are "Revenge,'' by Edwin Carewe for U.. A.; "Big JBUslness" by Charles Hines, a C. C, Burr pro ducti on for -F. N;,' and 'an'.untitled feature being directed by Henry •Otto for . Utah productions. Short Is a two-reel comedy being produced by Cliff Broughtan.. ' United Artists has two Jfeatures going including "The Woman Dis puted;" by Henry King, and "Battle of the Soxes," D. W. Griffith. 'Tiffahy-t'Stahl has three features . in work.-including "Marriage of To morrow," ' by James Flood ; "Lin geric," by G6orge Melford, and "'fhe Schlemoihl," by Norman Taurog FBO has two westerns which are "The Road to Eldorado," Robert De Lacey directing, and "The Lariat kid," by Loliis King. Columbia ha an untitled - feature going with Fi'ank Capra directing. Pathe-DeMille has two features Including "Power," by Howard Hig- gin, and "Love Over Night," by E. ■ H. Grimth, ' . =^^-,Studios=enga;ged'^=in=-making--8lioi-t comedies are fetern Brothers, with throe in work for Universal release; Jean Novelle stxidios house the three Larry D.irmour .series of shorts for FBO roloaso, while Cal-Art and U. M. Dailey are working ono unit. Studios dark, or inactive thi.s woc'k. aro Christie, Hoat-h, .Scnnott, Ed.ii. ;!ii(inai, Chaplin, Chadwifk and CaliforJiiu. "VN'tieU ehdiiig; ■ Feb. 22. Feb, 29. March 7. 40- March 14. 49 March 21. 49 Ma:rch 28, 47 April 4., 6a April li.. 50 April 18.. 52 April 25... 50 May 2.,..' 52 8 9 14 16 15 17 17- 19 17' 17 15 55 48 54 65 64 64 70 69 69 67. 67 dark, tlon, ■'. '6-. • ..52 12 '• 9 ■ T 8 6 8 9 '. 6 . 7 .45 .!5l .61 .60 .60 .66 .65 .65 .€2 .62 Mrs, Mike Busts In; Joe and Louie Blow Enter Mrs. Mike Mindlin as gen- eral manager of her master's (2) sure-seating art theatres; exit Joe Fliesler and Louis Lusty from the organization. Fliesler started with Mindlin at the 66 6th Ave. PJayiiouse 'and Lwsty had charge of the B5th St, Cinema which Mindlin recently took over. They. also, control- the St. George, Brooklyn, another sure-seater. . The 'feminine . executive's intru- sion as the g.m, was too much for Fliesler and Liisty., 'Toverly Row" Moves Los Angeles, May 1. With the closing.of the California sttidibs, .the, small independent and fly-by-night: film producers who made Poverty Row flourish, have moved to Melrose ave., where more up-to-date facilities can be obtained. This also brings them closer to the laboratories that shoulder a large part of their financial obligations. When studio facilities cannot be obtained from the only leasing plant on Melrose, the ojperators move fur- ther wWt to the Metropolitan stu- dios where more space and a larger selection of sets can be obtained. Veiller Sued by U Bridgeport, Conn., May 1. The Ijtorary fraternity hereabouts is spocuiating on the outcome of the suit brought by . Universal against Bayard Vell.ler of Darieri, author of "The TriaV of Mary Du- gan." In this suit, to be heard on May lb in the Bridgcporii Superior Court,: Universal, seeks to collect : 1,200 from Veiller ifpr railure to go through with contract, July iO, 1926, Universal entered into a contract with Voiller whereby he Vas to write' ah original story ehtitled "Wet oi: Dry.'; He receive^ liiiOOO as a retainer and Was prom- ised f4,0.00. more' upojfi the Comple- tion of the story. Last Septernber Universal started suit against Veiller and attached,his Darieri property for $l!,500, as he had failed to write the story. In his answer Veiller admitted^ enter- ing into a contract with Universal, but declared that he had not been given enough time to complete the story, Univei-sal and Veiller have en^ gaged some of the highest priced le- gal talent, in Connecticut to argue their sides of the. case. "Wld Gunning Charles R. Rogers "Walter Movosco, Jr. E. M. AHher G. C. Burr Directors Kddie Qlinp Frank Lloyd • John Francis Dillon Albert Rogell Real Estate Finn Takes Over New Victory Studios Los Angeles, May 1.. Victory Studios, planned for erection near: First National's lay- out in jBurbank by Nerval McGregor and Richard. Thomas, have passed into the hands of the rear estate firm of Sam Taylor .& Co. Latter concern will proceed. to carry the original plans out in order to stlm ulate sales of acres surrounding the studio site,. New studios will be built for leasing space to independent piro- ducers. . Los Angeles, May 1. Louis Witte, technical expert on camera effects, has been signed to a threeryear contract, by 'Vyinnie Sheehan, general manager of Eox Witte's job will be to create new cariiera angles and effects for future Fox productions. It is the first instance of a cam- era specialist being so dignified. Turpin and Pollard's 10 2-Reelers for Weiss Bros Los Ahgele!3, May 1. Ben Turpin has signed-with Weiss Brothers to do a series of 16 two- reel comedies. It's about a year since "Turpin departed from the two reel comics, having devoted his at tention to vaude and featured stuff He still has about six weeks to go in a new act before reporting for screen work. Snub Pollard also has been signed by the same company for a similar series, and Weiss Brothers will make a third series with a comedian as yet unsigned. Three serials are also listed by this firm during the coming year. MURNAU 18 DAYS BEHHro Lo.S; Angeles, May 1. F. W. Murnau completes shooting "Four Devils" the end of this week after spending. 116 days actual shooting time. ; This dates the picture; 18 , days oy^r the original schedule, whlcii will require Murnau, to immediately prepare "The Mud Turtle," by El llott Lester, Berthold Viertel Is now writihg the adaptation and continuity^ "TJtiali Finii'i^econd . Los An.geles, May 1. Utah Productions is back in town after, a year's absence, making an other feature film for local con sumption, The first picture made here by thiis company was "Winds of Pampas," featuring Utah's lead ing stage actor, Ralph Cloninger. Popularity of Cloninger Insured the negative cost from theatres In the Mormon state and successful in selling other states as "well. The outfit has naw secured: Henry Otto, who is directing "The Urge With in." Mildred Harris and Evelyn Selbie are also fn the cast. LONG TEEM CONTRACTS Los Angeles, May 1. Lina Basquette and George Dur yea have been sighed to long term contracts by Pathe-DeMille.. Miss Basquette will be groomed for stardom, while Duryea will b^ featured as a leading man. The latter at "iresent Is loaned to M-G for the male lead In "Tide of Em pire." MULHAIX'S VACATION Los Angeles, May . l It will be ncces.sary for Jack Mulhall. to take . a vacation until Dorothy„ MackalU flni.Sihe.'?. her .wjork in "The Barker," now being pro- duced by First Natlona.1. Mulhall just completed his work in "The Butter and Egg' . Man" and the plans of First. National are to co .feature him with Mackaill in a se ries of. comedy dramas. BETTY BLYTHE IN GAEBO FILM Los Angeles, May 1. . Betty Blythe will be the only woman member of the cast suport- Ing Greta Garbo in "War in the Dark." Fred Nlblo puts it into pro- dtictlon next week for M.-G.-M. it wa.*5 originally announced that Car- JE*"^ -^^S^J?.-'^-9}yh\ kq^^ve ■ thj? part. KWiTslon"(rf.''Briufto ijnTTTF'bro'ughf about the •sc-lci'-tion of, Mi.ss Blythe who has not appoarod in a picture under Niblo's dinctWm for fire years. " .Sap.iro at A. M. P, A.'s Aaron Sapiro is s< hf'duled to i>o the giK'.st of honor at tli(.- A. M. P; A. ili.infin.-on 'r)a;r.-<J;.y <tCT>;ojrow). ERIC'S STORY FOR GLORIA Lbs Angeles, May 1 Gloria; Swanson has been in quandary for four mbpths trying to secure a story for her next United Artists release. She has had sev eral conferences with Eric Von Stroheiiri and it is understood he is writing aii original whicli Miss Swanson will do. It Is likely that VonStroheim wi direct this picture at FBO, Lf iiest Laemmle Loseft 3 Fingers in Accident Los Angeles, May i. Ernest Laemmle, director .at Uni- versal studios, and .nephew, of Carl Laemmle, was badly hurt In an automobile accident, when his car overturned and pinned him under the wreckage. At the Good Samari- tan hospital ^t was. necessary to amputate three of Laemmle's, fing- ers on his left hand in order to save his life. It'was at .first feared his whole arm would have to come off. Laemmle was alone in his ma- chine when the aceident occurred in Beverly Hills, Police found him in an unconscious condition, and took him to the liospital. . It- was- found he had suffered internal in- juries and a fractured left arm which was in bad shape. Physi- cians-.at. theJiosiiiial ^ated h^ wjii recover. ARCS STILL ESSENTIAL IN STUDIO LIGHTING But Coast Believes All Lighting Improved by Recent Demon- strations—Work to Go On F. N. Synchronizing Score For Billie Dove's "Tosca" Los Angeles, May 1. First National is now making ar- rangements with the Victor "Talking Machine Company to make a syn- chronized musical accompaniment by the Firnatone process of "La Tpsca," forthcoming Billie - Dove starring picture, . The Victor sound accompaniment will be used In connection with the picture when it is released as a road show attraction this fall. George Fitzmaurice w-ill direct. FBO'S 4 GOLD BONDS Los Angeles, May 1, FBO has completed plans for immediate^'production of four Gold Bond specials. These include "The Circus Kid," starring Prankle Darro with BalpTi Ince directing; "Gang War," by James Creelman and to be directed'' by Bert Glennon with star cast; "Sally's Shoulders," by : Beatrice Burton, and Lynn Shores direct ing, .^nd an untitled taxlcab story for Chester Conklin, Mickey Nielan to direct. Los Angeles, May 1. Every method of studio lighting was improved through.the demon" strations . and experiments with madza bulbs. recently held by the Academy, of Motion Picture Arts and Sclencejg in co-operation with the American Society . of Clne- maitogriaphers. .This Is . the con- sensus of reports subrnitted. at the ■. close of the demoh$trations and discussions which have covered the past three mdnths. However, the demonstrations did not prove that madza light- ing was the only . niethod to be used in picture production, but that, thought was not. paramount when the experiments werei started. Every method of illumination was used in photographing under va- rious conditions, with different grades of film, and the results compared. Stiil Need Arc» It was found that ma<^a lights could be used for certain iscenes; while others would hieed a com- bination of madzas and arcs. Neon tubes were found to be very effi- cient, under certain, conditions, when mixed w'lth Cooper-Hewltts< and it was stated that each source of illumination for lighting' picture sets should be watched closely for possible development. Joseph DuBray, speaking for. the A. S. C, said that the experiments showed the cameraman that they had all of the elements necessary for what. might_be termed the perfect picture" from a photo- graphic standpoint.. He further stated that the incandescent method ol? lighting was. good, but it. pre.«iented great possibilities for improvement, A constant check on production will determine the real value of madza.4, DuBray stated, Fred Beetson, executive vice- president of the Producers' As- sociation, declared the; demon- stration.s had definitely shown pro- ductirs that vast economies could be effected In lighting. He . also .stressed" the co-operation shown while the demonstrations were be- ing conducted. ; Plan.s are for the Academy to Is- sue a booklet of about 160 pages containing reports and results o£ the experiments with mazda light- ing. Included will be technical pa- pers by various. engineers interest- ed in .studio lighting. Wilson-Beranger Wind Up Los: Angeles, May l. Carey Wilson has finished adapt- ing. "Her Cardboard Lover" for M-G-M, and Clara Beranger has completed the .script of "Iris" for tlie sarnie company. Both had one picture agreements arid are now off the M-G payroll Decker's Laugh Units Los Angeles, May 1. Harry Decker is now supervisor of three feature comedy Units for Univer.sal. ' Theise ai*e the .Willi.'.mi Ci-.-xft, Wil- liam Wyler and AVo.<?loy Ruggles production.s. PAR'S "DOCKS OF N. Y." " Los Angeles, May l• ^J&srpl^"A':^mS twn bcrrrdlr^ in New York to make a number of exterior shots for his next produc- tion,, the "Docks of Now York," Jn whi<'h George Bancroft is starring for Paramount. It is from the original story by John Monk RaVindors with the jnd.'iptatioh being made by Jnlos I Furthnian, who is nocom]ianicd by i .Siornborg on his ra.stern trip. Vita Acts New one-act Vitaphone talkers will Include skits with Lois Wilson and Edward Everett Horton, Ho- bart Bosworth, Gladys Brockwell, Mitchell Lewis, Audrey Ferris, Polly Moran, Henry B. Walthal, Herbert Rawlinson, May McAvoy, Clyde Cook, Irene Rich and Montagru Love. ^ Lov^" is' doinl? a tion of Fagin from "Oliver Twist," which he played In legit before go- ing into pictures. Lewis appears in "The Death Ship," Clyde Cook In "Lucky In Love," and one of . Miss Rich's two acts Is ientitled, "The Beiast," ■ DOUBLING INTO FILMS Los Angeles, May 1. Helen .lerome Eddy, now playing in the stage production of "Women Go On Forever," has been signed for a feature role In "The Divine T*T.dy," • Miss Eddy will alternate on botli jobs. Jessel's Two Los Angeles, May 1. George Jesspl will star in. "The Sclilcm ich 1 e?i:--<'i,n d=^(i5.cor=BC^Wa,sl ington Cohon" for Tiffany-Stahl. Production on the fir.st picture starts next week nndj'r dinvtion of Norman. Taurog... Gotham Buys "Bed Velvet" "Rod Velvet," "Smart Sot" maga-' zino .«!tory by I^oth Brown; w;\,s boujrht by GMham ^nat w<'ik for production thi.'' .sca.«on. Vilma's "Innocent" Los Angeles, May 1. Francos Marion is writing the ftVoj-y Joy \^Tljie _ Ihnpcent," .wh job, wlil .sorve'Vihna Ha'ii'ky as her flMt' starring picture for Sam Goldwyn. Seiter's Extra 4 Los AngolCK, May 1. Soitor, former Universal hiis boon signed for four min'o picturofl by First National. It'.s the ro.xiilt of bis w-ork on Ci'llc'Oh Moore's "Ilappincs.s Ahoad."' \V. A dirotHor,