Variety (Sep 1928)

Wednesday, September 5, 1928 P I C T U R E S VARIETY 11 Chatter in New York Bon Hecht turned down, an offer from the World . to do ilaywood Eroun'3 old column. Paper wanted him to do his reporto.rial '"1,001 Af- ternoons in Ghicago" type o£ stuff, but Hecht held out for more critical privileees. Oct. 15 Issue of Plain Talk wIii carry the hottest attack ever launched on the Anti-Saloon League. Senator Edwards is the author of the expose, which will carry inside documents to prove its points. Liouis Broomfield is in' the south ef France, doing a book of positive opinions on social questions, includ- ing the toughest, women. It will be called "A Disagreeable Book." ■ Stockingleas flicks on Broadway are fooling the reformers by. draw- ing a pencil rnark seam up the backs; «f their logs. Mrs. Sum Taylor has accom- panied her director husband on his three day visit to "Coquette." Ben Bernie la scheduled to can aborts for Warner Brothers. Conway Tearle is being niein- tlpned in diiipatclies with a Reno date line; Natacha Rambova's iiiclividual- Isiic gown shop is being played by the long, thin ladies. . The Paramoimt local publicity •tafC is scheduled for a revainping. One of the ferhme film stars who Visited town recently accidentally got half crocked with three news- papermen and bawled over her love affairs. She had been.instructed to treat the boys when they came around to ask questions. .. She treated so successfully that everybody broke down and wept over hpw. biad the boy friend had acted, how much of her dough he had acquired and how he had walked out on a wedding. . After the tear festival, the re porters each walked out with a pint to take home to their \yiv«^s. Not a line of the heart story ever reached print. Newspaper mob in Paris got a brutal double crossing on the Ed win Carewe-Jaime Del Rio duel story. The boys had been tipped that something would pop on the U. .A. "good will tour." They looked for a big space splurge In the American dailies when the thing finally broke. But somebody re leased the sappy duel yarn before anything genuine hud time to hap- pen. The local newspaper men are squawking that some inside party who was wise to the foreign press system deliberately took the edge off their yarn, Picture experts around town are being approached by publishers of a magazine group .on the possibili ties for a fan rag on talkers. Most of the fan monthlies have felt a decline in personality interest since the advent of sound. Several of the hotel swimming pools are being watched for light ladiesTTbe infofmcOtfy of sWimnTiitg ^ parties makes pickups hai-d to spot so several managements have been up agiainst it to weetl out the on the-make ladies. The New York literati has been g'ivlng a week-end play to Theodore Dreiser's place on Crotpn Lake. At tractions, besides book gab, include a 300-foot stone pool and an 8 by 10 log cabin built by labor im ported from Valley I'orge. The Sunday draw includes dramatists, author.s, publishers, editors, literary agont.« and even movie reviewers. A "Spaniard*' Los Angeles, Sept. 4. PubUcity on Mexican senor- itas landing picture contracts reached Mexico' City and at- tracted a Mexican boy who im- mediately canie to Hollywood. Upon arriving iiere, he found recognition difficult so went to a rabbi and rtslved for financial assistance and influence. The rabbi asked him why lie didn't . go to the Mexican consul, but the lad said he was Jewish, though born in Mexico, and couldn't talk the. langjuage. This passed with the rabbi who gave the lad $38 and a letter to one of the studio executives. . torium. With his orgatiization more or less disrupted and one of the most conservative religious associa- tions in the country holding a Jirm r-ein on his methods, the, evangelist's income for his week's ^v:ork was nothing compared to the days when he was get ling , his name in head- lines. ■ —. — '■ • ■. Layoff magicians are working the Yorkville and Hoboken beerr gardens. "They sit at tfibleswith the customers and palm coin.s, al- ways getting the props at the table. One of the magicians hits tlu'oe joints a night and averages $10 and 10 seidols, .which he figures better than waiting, for the last half.. Money is back of a new weeldy to start this fall, under Burton Rascoe, who recently resigned from The Bookman. The sheet will be daring In satire and hiimor. Classy, but without the liveried butlers on the coyer or the use of the word "swell" as an adjective. Arthur Caesar talies off for Fox's Coast studios as staff writer Sept. 9 and has a two-day whoopee sched- uled starting the Seventh. Caesar is contracted for .a year , at $"ri0 a week with a renewal option at $1,000, Asked how his wife, Dora Piatt (Caesar), a scenic artiste and in- terior decorator, fancied the Holly- woodlan invasion, Caesar retorted that the prospect of eating three meals regularly intrigued her. Ali U Sound West? A strong probaljility th.at Univcr- s;il will abandon sound production l:>lans in the east and concentrate all effects on the Const where four sound proof stages are now under construction. OfTleially it Is said Universal Is simply delaying reno- vation of the Fort Lec slultlos be- cause of various details. It Is pointed out that the plant Cit U C'ily, which will be complot\»d be- for the first of the year, and wliich has already turned out one short i» 11 talker, will be adequate to accom- modate Qll the Liiemmle souiid woi'k. • ■ • ■ ' " ■ However, four features ready .for reka.'?e have been, souncled in tho east. But none of these has dialog ;!Jid for the immediate future Uni- versal, fi-oin what can be gathered, iias ma.de no plana for its first 100 l?cr cent dialog picture. Why Coast P. A.'s Square and Squawk And Sometimes Find Time to P. A. Ames Mayor Won't Okay Act Passed Over Veto Des Moines, la., Sept. 4. Ames, la . has found it necessary to take its problem of Sunday movies to district coiirt. The mat- ter h:is been a sore spot in the city for six years. Attorney for Joe Gerbracht, man- ager of the Ames Theatre Co., has filed an appeal in district coiirt fol- lowing the $75 fine on Gerbracht for operating on Sunday. Contend- ing that a new ordinance allowing Sunday movies is void, the mayor has . refused to recognize It and fined Gerbracht under the old or- dinancie^ddopted six years ago. New ordinance was pa.ssed by the city council over the mayor's veto. Edward J. Dohcrty is hosting tonight' (Wednesday) after theatre In the Pai-amount hotel grillroom for ex-Chlcago. newsp.aper people, now headquartered in New York. Doherty is now with "Liberty." U'S 2D CLASS P. 0. Los Angeles, Sept. 4. Universal City's ppstoifice, in ths third class regulation, will shortly become a second class office when the present quarters are enlarged. This has bfcon^c necessary through incrca.sed business of mak- ing pictures at Universal and the many new homes erected near the studio in the past five years. CAMERAMAN AS PILOT Lo.s Angelp.s, Sept. 4. Alvin Knechtel, cameraman for First National, became Holly^yopd's. first ofilcial flying cameraman when heTtbljk oiit an"^filciailiii Knechtel specializes in filming air scenes, iiaid for his pilot in- structions and purchased a plane from his earnings as a camera- man. The Evastern l^istributlng Com- pany, which lost the Street and Smith piiiilications. Is starting four new magazines of the wood pulp variety. Jlarold lier.>^ey, f(;rmer editor of Clayton I'ulilii'alions, is ^gc.lKnliilod,.a.s_exe(.vutiv^r .^edi group. Billy Sunday, now sin.iily billed as "the well-known ev<»u;,'"list," was the ff'a'turcd exhorter nt tlie r.Dth annual old .^Ijli^ o.imp nu-r-tinp at Ocean Grove, N. J., which closed Monday, • Sunday's appearance at the North Jersey resort broke no att<'ndaTife recordd at the Ocean Grove Audi- COLLEEN MOOEE CEUISING Los Angeles, Sept. 4. Colleen Moore and her husband, .John McCormick, return to the First National studios Sept. 10 after spending a month ^ruising the Coast in their yacht. Miss Moore will immediately be- gin on "Synthetic Sin" for which production is sciieduled Sept. 17. \V. A. Seite.r will direct. Christies' Trips Lo.s .Angules, Sept. 4. °Cliarlcs CMii-istif is in New Vork for his ciuarierly confi'i-ence with business a.s-^udate.s, He will be :tluii*c=.juiumilil.=== Al ChriJftii', in N^w York on his hoiu-ynitM ii, is e.-tpectod to r>.'lurn lu-rc >y:i.irily. "Interference's" Final 5 Reels Now in Dialog Los Angeles, Sept. 4. "Interference's" five final reels, following completion of its produc- tion by Paramount as a silent pic- ture and Its succeeding treatment for effects, have been put entirely into dialog. Principals on the vocal side" are Eyelyn Brent, Olive Brook, William Powell and Doris Kenyon.. Jesse Lasky suggests the result Is perhaps. the first example of syn- chronized dialog vtrritten by a prom- inent dramatist. Green With F. N. Los Angeles, Sept. 4. Alfred E. Green, after completing two-year contract with Fox, has re- turned to the First National lot. He was sighed through Felix Young to direct Corinne Griffith In "Saturday's Children." ROCKETT'S STAY Los Angeles, Sept. 4. Al Rockett, general studio execu- tive and production head of First National, is in New York for a two weeks' stay. Rockett will confer regarding studio problems and assignments of personnel brought about through the elimination of J. P. ICennedy as operating, head of the company. Rockett is also going to look over new plays. During Rockctt's absence Bobbie North 1?'in charge-of-tbe studio. "LEIF" UMBEE BUDGET Los Angeles, Sept. 4. Technicolor's "Leif the Lucky" has been completed as a.silent pic-. tur6 :in six weeks and inside both schedule and budget. . Following editing and titling, pic- ture goes to Now York for synohro- ni5{atic>n. Question of dialog will be settled at that time. DeMille's Gold Coins Los Angoles, Sept. 4. : C. }i: l")eMille has a habit of paying for favors and courte- sies with gold coins Avhich he always carries. He doesn't get as much publicity for this gen-' . erosity as .KockofeUer, but:. someone must have tipped off the newsboy who sells pripers. in front of the Biltmore theatre. After the opening of "The Godless Girl" here, the newsie surged through the crowd to . the directoi', patting the dig- nitary on the back and with yoiithful enthusiasm proclaim- ing it was a great picture. The director pressed a $20 gold piece into the urchin's palm for a paper. DRAMAPHONE UMFOLOS Chi Firm's New Sound. Device-r- Will Sell for From $1,475 to $2,885 . Cliicago., Sept. 4. Another new sound deylce, Dramaphone, is on the market. It's put out by the Musical Devices Corp., here. Company claims it will have the machine perfected within. 60 days and. ready for synchroniza- tion with any film no\y being made. Demonstration was given at a small neighborhood house • with "Kamona" used. Timing was ini- perfect, but the general tonal quality and amplification of sound was good. Manufacturers are prepared to re- lease the instrument at a cost rang- ing from $1,475 to $2,885, depending on the size of the theatre, and covering a leasing period of 10 years. Total amount, however, is to be paid the first year. SID OLCOTT'S COMPANY Los Angeles, Sept. 4, Sidney Olcolt left England Aug 22 for Hollywood loaded with a number of screen rights to wi'll known British writers' works. Olcott plans to organize a com- pany in Hollywood for the making nf these pictures.' New Academy Members IjOH Aug* Ics, Si-1'I. 4. . Peter Mole. Gt^orge Mank'cr Wal- ters, G. A. Mitchell and Alice Diiy are new niombers of the Acadfiny of Motion I'icturo Art.s and Sci- ences. \ Kaufman in Charge of All Paramount Sound Los Angeles, Sept. 4, Albert A. Kaufman, assistant to Jesse Lasky at iParamount, has been assigned to head the dialog depart- ment for that company. Kaufman is in charge of all pro- duction along these lines and the selection of special talent for sound pictures. The Pohieroy department will also come under his super- vLsion. Forced Vacation . Los Angeles, Sept. 4. William Con.selman, supervising for Fox the past year, leaves that organization Sept. 15. Fox exercised its option on Gon- selman for another year but . the strain of work has. been too much and Consclman ha.s asked to be re- lieved so that he can taku a three months' vacation. During the past year Conselman has supervised production on 12 pic- tures besides writing five originals, lie was formerly a reporter on the Los Angeles^'TilncSr;^ - IjOS Anpoli>H, Sept. 4. Siudio press agents are squawk- ing because tl.ieir duties cover a diver.sified range and are subject to . call any hour of the day and night. Writing, copy and conceiving, new ideais for grabbing free space is no longer the basic: foundation of tl.eir job. This is now. incidental to a process for building up .the sales argument,- which they ai*e forced to use in prevailing upon the. directors and players for co-opera- tion. The average high salaried direc- tor or screen actor regards public- ity as an unnecessary evil since It was primarily responsible in bring- . Ing them along, and places them on the defense when approached by the publicity department to sac- rifice,a bit of time to get over a stunt. They-bpcome very tempera- mental when the press agent pushes an issue, and If it is not handled with diplomacy the p. a.'s job be- comes jeopardized; A veteran theatricftl press agent, brought from New York to take chai'gb of a studio's publicity af- fairs; could not understand the re- luctance to, co-operate when his efforts meant so. much to sustain their popularity. He went to the head of. the studio for enllghtmeht and was curtly Informed that In order to get his players and di- rectors to work Avlth him it would be essential to "sell the. idea and create a demand through a per- sonal sales talk so that they woiild respond. As) far as issuing orders demanding co-operation, the ex- ecutive's job would be Jeopardized and genieral di.scord about the studio would result.- MisQellaneous Duties Chief among the many, other duties required is that of attending previews, which average as high as 10 a week and are scattered all over southern California/. ^Sometimes a whole night Is spent In-covering one out of town pre-vlew and if the p. a. Is not on the job at nine in the mornln|r he is accused of laying down. In addition,, he is called upon to'act as chief peace-' maker about the lot in Ironing out petty . jealousies arising from printed articles mentioning certain. names. Scores of chatter writers demanding exclusive news f)6unce upon the p. a. when a .scoop appears and he Is accused of playing fav- orites. It is a common occurence to have a number of these scribes eall a p. a. from his early morning slumber for confirmation of a simple rumer. Stars and directors scenting an un- favorable story about to ba published will madly seek, the protection of the p. a. for his Influence to stop publica- tion. An(J if they happen. to be suffering from in.somnia. and ideas foi- great publlcit.v stories percolate through their minds they seek to get it off their chest by calling up their press agent at any hour of t he night. If the story doesn't break In head- lines the next morning he is crit- icized for being a poor press agent. TITLE AND LENGTH CHANGE • Los Angeles, Sept. 4. Fox has changed title of "A Ca- beller6&' Way," an O. Hejiry story, to "Flo.wer of Sin;" Originally In- tended as an experimental tWO-reel dialog picture. It will now be of fea- ture length. Raoul Walsh will direct and play the male lead. FBO TAKES BASaiTETTE Lo3 Angeles, Sept. 4. Further evidence that FBO can draft upon the talent of Palhe is the ril^'ning by the former firm of Llna Uas(|uette. She will play tlif I'-iul In "Hard Hoilcd.". Ralph ln<:e will star and dlrc'-t. Mix's Two Directors Must —Write Their Own Yarns Los Angele.s, Sept. 4. Eugene Ford and Robert De Lacey, assigned as alternate direc- tors for Tom .Mix, are required to wi"ite their own stories in between pictures. !De Lacby hius left for the Hunt- ington Lake district where he will write his next story using the. big tlmbcwr country for locale. 2 "AVALANCHES" . Los Angeles, Sept. 4. With Paramount now in produc- tion on "Av;il.anehc," directed by Otto Brower, Unit(!il Artists has an- nounced the sanie tiilf for the next John Barryniore pii;ture. Paramount . is ai)i)i*;ilint,'- t<> the Hay.s oi'gauiz.-iliori, allh'>i:t,'h ailuiil- tin:^ .it a'>;,'li'('li''J to r'^yi-^t'-T tho name. U'S EXTRAS Los Angeles, Si:pt 1. I'niver.«ial continues to pii.'k it: .■.;;ri'en jdiiyora froni the oxlni, ruMl:.'-. It has bigtiod Peggy Howard to a form contract. MiK;-j Howard ha.i been In extra parts around Hollywood Cor tiic past two yyuis or more. U. A. Has ''Potemkin'e" Director Los Ang"l"s, ,'-?'>iit. 4. S. M. Kiseii.sttin, director of 'I'n- tf'mUin," wa.i siKned to rii;il:/' one picture for I'liili-d Ai'ti.sts (jJit l»>'r< by Jo.seph M. .Si-benck, Vihiie tin; latter was abr*^.ijd. Ki.i'.-ii.'^lein wili irot bu abi'^ 1" leave, Ru.s.-;ia until, the end of S''l>- teuiber. C O S T* U IVl E S F'OR hire: pnonnc'TiONs I BXl'LOITATrONS I PKl'JSUNTATIONB I CO STUAAES