Variety (Sep 1928)

Wednesday, September 12, 1928 EDI TO RI A L VARIETY 49 "1 Trade Mark Ueijlstered >abllBhed W*okly by VARIETX. Ino. SIme Silverman, Prealdent 154 West 4 6Hi Street New York Cit y BUBSCRIPTIOK: Annual....... 110 Foreign.......»n BlnRle Coplca. »» Cente Inside Stuff-Pictures Vol, XCIl No. 9 15 YEARS AGO (From Variety and "CUviicr") Philip iJartholomae, producer, jper- haps showed the wa,y to Edgar B; Davis, angel of "The Ladder." Bar- tholomae had produced "Kiss Me Qvick," which drew laudatory no- tices In Philadelphia an(J was panned In Niew York. He drew the deadly parallel in advertisements and then invited the public to see his play at the 48th Street theatre and eet their money back if they weren't, siatisfled. Al Fields, vaudeville comic, didn't miss a game at the Polo Grounds all summer; A friend ad<Jressed a pos- tal card to him: "Al Fields, Grand Stand, Back of Third, Polo Grounds, N. Y. City" and U .wa.s delivered. . Jack Johnson, Negro heavyweieht ex-champ, was regarded, as the best music ha;)l draw in London, receiv- ing $2,500 a week. Sol Lesser was film buyer for the Golden C^te Film Co:, San Fran- cisco. A survey, .showed investment in American film theatres totaled $1,000,000,000 in rough estimate^ Supposed to be 17,040 houses of sill grades. General. Film Co, ("Trust" sub- sidiary) offered "d.e luxe" service, consisting of 12 reels a week not supplied to any competitor. Cost was $100 a week, a high figure. New York Strand was nearing completion and no policy had been fixed upon. One proposition under consideration was William A. Brady's idea of presenting spectacular melo- dramas at popular prices. They talked of a new Eden Musee wax works show in the basement. It's unlilu'ly AVilliam Fox has'h.'*'l J^py nopotiutioii looking n-waru a deal with Keith's, Fox is pavallfiiiig the Keith Circuit, ^ast itiul wi'st, too clo.sely in the large cities to' be able to handle or adjust the Keith cliain, even though the Keith (""iri'uit could be had at present. Joseph P. Kennedy, when making his Keith deal with E. F. Albeo, had and has J. J. Murdock as his partner and vaudeville advisor. Mur- dock is a heavy holder individually of iteith stock. It was Mui'dock's idea from the account to protect his holdings, and the Keith business., fearfully slumping bieCore the Keiinedy-Murdock coriibine came into control. Since that time the Keith bu.slness in the east, even over the summei', has shown an improvement to quite an extent in. spots, but in the west (Orpheuni Circuit) tliere has been no gain. . Tbe Keith reorganization is not yet completed. It's doubtful whether Messrs. Kennedy and Murdbck would consider any propositioti'at pres- ent for the Keith chain, unless that they were, empowered to dispose of It without consulting the other .stockholders^ The under.standing is that Kennedy's aigreement with the K^ith sstockhblders is that none of those subscribing to' his control pi'ocui*ed through the Albce stock pur- chase would-sell any of their Keith stock before Jan. 1, next. U'hile the large stockholders of the merged Keith-Orpheum circuits agroed to the Kennedy-Murdock operation of . the chain for five j-ears as the minimum, it Is improbable that they did agree that either Kennedy or Murdock could dispose of the chain without their consent. It Is not known if Kennedy also took an option on the Keith stock agreeing to the Albee transfer to him, expiring Jan. 1, but it is thought he did not. The account says that the Albee control passed to Kennedy- Murdock is a,bsolute, regardless of stock control of the Keith's. Albee demanded and received that operation control under a separate agree- ment when the Keith and Orpheum merged and regardless of his own stock holdings. The actual stock Albee transferred to Kennedy-Mur- dock foV |4i60b,000 in dash was 206,000 shares.of Keith common. It was then quoted at around IB, with the underwriting price of the stock at the previous merger having been 21. Fox is building in Los Angeles and San. Franci.sco, the Keith-Or- pheum's best stands west, while Fox is aKso in Brooklyn, Philadelphia and other eastern cities, .besides New York, In New York, Fox ap- pears ta contemplate a large double circuit of picture and vaudhhn houses/ ■ ■• ,.■ ■ V Fox, so far, has removed the Poll Circuit from the Kojth ofiice by purchase- It has been reported Fox .has; talked a deal oyer for tlio Proctor chain, another Keith-booked ciircuit, ■ Report of Joseph P. Kennedy di,'5as.sociating him-sclf from the nCA afllliation appears to be yiily in the matter of talkers or wired houses. The RCA Photbphone somehow is not producing, either talkers or wired equlpinent. JuSt what is :the cau.se of the delay is not known, but it ha-s been reported for .some, time that PhotOpho'ne has an Imperfection in its equipment and will not .start to wire, lintil that is straislitened out though the Imperfection is minor. On the other hand it is said that Photophone (General Electric) is allied through A-.T. & T. with Western Electric, with W. E. cl.timing prior rights to the talking thing. .G E., as a" matter of fact, is said to hive expressed itself to the ext^ent that it developed , the talking equipment with General Electric, but merely stepping into, something already made without creatmg. Itsplf. This, it is thought, may eventually lead to G. E. or Photophone bending to Western Electric and permitting the latter to assume all wiring. The Currier now in charge of Photophone, succeeding. Bob Kane, is a close friend of Kennedy's; as is his father, with the Curriers and Ken- nedy being Bostonians. Kane was also placed in Photophone by Ken- nedy RCA still holds its large block of FBO stock, the former Pat Powers holding in that company, manipulated away by option from Powers by Kennedy and slipped to RCA for nearly half a million Kennedy's influence among the downt^-wri New York bankers is said to include the RCA connections. . The Actors and Al Smith The actor for the fir.st time is in a position to h*-lp tloot to omce a n..,n ^^lu. .stands for a sane Sunday and ^^iVo has a thuioujih under- .^landing of and sympathy for the theatrical profession. Actors coine into' contact with representatives of every walk in life as they travel and rotate. They are in a position to' slaughter most of the whispering campaign. Actors Itriow the abstirdity of the slanderous and ridiculous picture that is bHng painted in certain quarters, if Al Shiith is elected. They, can diplomatically and intelligently give it the lie. The press is preponderoti.sly Republie.tn, Always has been. Charges inade against Smith's record, although answered and .disproven by the " weri^or, are assured of a far wider ^'^'-'^^^^^^^'^^J' answers lo iliem. This has Inspired some of the far-fetched challenge^. Word of mouth refutation will in many eases,. if given. In an honest strainht forward manner, offset those attacks. An honest difference of opinion about the merits of both candidates is perfeetlV rea.son.able and understandable. But the smoke screen set out by th; bigots and dr>-8 reqtiires an organized counter attacks of clarity to offset it. Al Smith deserves the support of the show business, .The in^lvldualB Of it behind his candidacy may do their best work for him by talking Al Smith as they-travel. 50 YEARS AGO (From "Clipper."} The Academy of Music of Provi- dence, R. I., is offered at a rental of $30 a night, the price to include "service, of attaches and the use of 10 sets of scenery," Ellin Terry, then 30 years old, and At the height of her career, was playing "Olivia" In London. Women suffragists, won their first victory in New England, home of conservatism. The house passed a law, already passed, by the senate, giving women the right to vote in all local school meetings: John Morrissey's poolroom on Broadway at 30th street was con- verted into a variety theatre, and was opening that week. This was the second establishment to turn playhouse, the Argyle, at 30th street and Sixth avenue, ,had lately been converted to theati*e use. Apparently the Argyle was the premises later notorious as the Haymarket. Mclntyre and Heath, song and dance team, aiinoimcc they would like to hear.from managers of first class theatres. Several athletic field events are mentioned that have pass(>d off thr> cards. Much is made of a special competition for $-100 in the standing bigh jumi) at one meet. It is re- <'orde(l that one entrant cleared the bar fit i:{ feet iji jneli to .^viii;^ An- f)tTi(u*~'"crdifl~'ev<\h t ffe^"l.JO-y';ii-d" sprint. More Indian outrages in Wyoming and the yellow fever epidi-mic was becoming wors»> in New Orleans, spreading up the Mississippi. There aKso was an outbreak in Havana, Cuba. A temperamental young film, comedy star, now playing for one of the leading comedy producing cx)mpanies,. after several years of making Ss oln fifmt decided that it wasn't necessary for him to appear in the oincludlne scenes of his most recent picture, particular y as. they were trbtfilmfd at night and there were other things he wanted to do^in he evening He left word that a double would do just as well for the ''Xn "he^SnS^y was called and the. star didn't appear, the super- vis^ was apprised of the actor's decision. He turned to director and instructed him to call the actor and notify him that If he didn't appear on the'set in half an hour, he, the supervisor, would see thit tie aSor's contract-Which. runs into sizeable figures-wotild Te cancelled. A Tew minutes later the actor called the supervisor and fnS injured tone, asked, what the latter meant by his attitude. No Lttitude at all." Jhe supervisor answered, curtly, "your presence on the set ^ necessary and tSe assistant director -"V'avrhinT^he instiuc- Before the actor could reply, the a. d. cut in and gave him the instiuc ^'wTthin the half hour limit, the actor appeared, all concilatory smiles, wi^ -'Wel here 1 am, let's go," and looked around toT the supervisor Jut ihe^atter had gone to the prize fights at a downtown Los Angeles ring. The picture wa.S. finished that night. Talking picture producers evidently are foreseeing brisk fniPctltion with the result any of the larger producers wish to protect them- reJ^es witran outlet that may be depended upon. That means the TcquTsltTon by the producers of theatre chains .or circuits to be secured -for control if-possible .or tied .up in., other ways. ■ — kramount, Loew's and Fox operate their own chains Were those three also talking picture producers., to shut out the other talkers m Svor of their own product, the others would have to rely upon the Jndie houses, with the Keith. Stanley. Finklestein & Ruben and minor ~ire of Warner's or First Nation.! to^tie uP Tw>,r«+rp chains also Universal,, since TJ has shifted most of its ©"wn ;S^trS^ lat^^hS Sanley and F & R are, reported having :elose Paramount relations, friendly, or otherwise. A miblicily gag pulled by Tx.oW during the appearance of the "Our naii^ SS lt^ State, .aeveland. brought a lot of business and will ^'J^^y ^uSi in me town carried the yarn of a warrant being issued r, ^ luf aii-est of ne^^^^^^^^ ]I. Dumond. manager of the State charging him wu" vSiatfng tlie state . industrial law prohibiting exhibition of ''^lumon^^^wppos^d lo answer the Hun-.e. was eonveni^-ntly «ut_of town. «n " r n"was ehat.g.-.r t<^ the .next day. His appearance in eonri ^wcve wa;^>^tWrfum.tory. f..r :tho case was again p.^tponed untH ; w rl n-om that day. The entirr. affair began to be suspicious by th.s U,::c; 'nn X ^.i^iiment of the kids was praci.ally over and .t was i,n,H,.ssiV,le for tho eom-t to do anythinj: drast.c. IJumond .win, •probably 'draw .vomeihing. like a $ 1 f » J""- ■ and Victor full screen and progi'am credit, the^^idea is^ estimated to. have sold 50 records to patrons on the five days it was used rhinkett intends using the device again, but with another singer. AjiuShig^ous^ also ?honed asking that one of, their number be used. Ambitious bovs and girls, old men and women who flock ttf the coast in seai^h of a film fortune often find their original quest turumg to diverse jobs foreign to picture making. Two sisters came to Hollywood, rom iorthern California a few years ago and failing to f V«tudio. work hap- nened to pick-Up a strange alley cat. They taught It to do tricks, and now the S dJaw as high as $25 a day by farming the feline out td. ^^'Lother example is that Of two ranch hands who had ability to train animals One of the boys captured a buzzard, penned It up and taught It tricks After the bird became prpficient, they peddled it's services un- til the. boys now have a trained bear, six dogs, a. leopard, a lion and a flock of trained mice. One of Hollywood's leading film producers, from whose pockets faint squawks are always heard, considiers himself a hot number at bridge. Now to ihe accompaniment of soul-wracking moans, he's not so sur^. One night he found as his opponent,^ a vivacious femriie star and when the smoke cleared the pr<Wucer wrote a check for $500. He^ demanded revenge and the actress, famed for her all round, sportsmanship, readily ^^^When'^the big card bout came off, the producer insisted upon playing for $1 a point. The girl, who doesn't copsider bridge a business, de- murred but upon the producer's continued demands finally consented. At the clo.se of the session she was $2,000 up on the producer. With the release of "Interference" as an all talker Paramount will also distribute a silent version. Picture was made silent orfglnally and then turned oVer'to the Pomeroy department where close-ups were made of long shots for dialog and sound, ClOse-ups taken in the first making were immediately adapted to dialog and sound. ■ ^ ,. Par.amount is the only studio that has made a talker and sound pic- ture in this way, with the use of one. domestic take and one foreign take without special shooting on another machine of the talking sequences. Theatre owners In a few towns just opened to J^unday shows are be- ginning to wonder if the extra day is worth the extra overhead. Bloomlngton, Pontlac and Champaign are three Illinois towns recently opened for Sunday showings. On an average It has been found that a house doliig $6,000 on a six-day week Is getting about the same money with the extra day Included. Expenses for Sunday run between $300 and $400. which means an actual cut In profits. .Champaign Is getting best results of the three .so far. Edwin Carewe, now In Paris, called up Louis Jerome; his business manager, to tell him he had had a successful operation on bis nose. The 'phone call cost Carewe more than the operation^ Inside Stuff-Legit San Francisco managers, especially olperators of Indie houses, are running afoul of so-called chicken'feed press agents. A couple of thia gentry come under the classification of chiselers, In that, though under- bidding, they are securing publicity and advertising clients away from the~reiiT pre^¥^m^. ~ r-— - ~- 7T \. ~~ ~Vt One chiseler developed a habit of submitting material for prospective clients to the newspapers. Upon It being printed he took oV sent It to the client to show what he could do in getting space. This lad recently tried out on a legit theatre, man who was already supplied with a publicity man. When questioned by drama editors as to his right to plant copy for this particular show he said It was okay, that he was Ju.st helping out. , When the regular p. a. learned of it he took it up with the house manager, who also had fallen for the helping out idea. The regular p; a. hunted up the chi.seler and threatened to beat him up if he persisted. 'The snriall guy is now laying low. In Sam Harris' "Women," John Ilalllday plays a novelLst who has love affairs with nine women. Five of the fomme roles are important. "The IMaygoer," theatre program fo'r local legit hou.ses, Issued by riydf- \V. Kilcy Adverti.sing System, is being plugged with fuU page .'I'lH in the Chicago dailies. Following Joe Vlunkelfs i,.Mu\a1ion of Looking up an nrd.nary pi.eno- .n-u •. .ord to the house .•unpHli.'Ts,at the .^tr.'Lnd. N-w ^ ork, and gn-ing k an mated, lyrics on the sereni. r.-w Austin's lawyer phoned <luring the mUhllo o-f the week vol-ing l.is di.«a,.proval and Plunkett p^.U^.d ,t ''^Pl'unkKr used" Austin's Victor mad. "Melody Out . of the Sky" for a three-minute interhide which cost the theatrr> exactly $28 on the.hook-up. Between the record Itself and the novelty of the idea, which gave Austin "The Night Before," which was interrupted by the police at. Wcrba's Brooklyn, and the e.a.st, including Ilenry E. l)ixi<^, arrested Friday night, vsa^ ha eked by Eddie DowHng, DowlIng had rendered the show financial as-istunee as a favor to the authors. Dorr)tliy and Arthur Henry, who l:ad done him a similiu' favor .some years ago wlion he was in need of jVniaiiiiiilrJrivlp..^^.-^^^^,^^ —— ^-.-^^^.^^^ Hynjan Adier and Paul Trebitseh, eone<Tned with the management of ".ykidding" are reported battling right along. One i.s oeeasionally tlirown out of the box office and the other ai.plau<l.s. The financial backers of the show who moved from tlie Hijou to the iJayes, ^ew \ork, and have be<-n battling to get the nut off, are Samuel C. Stampleman, vice-president of the Auto-Strop razor and William Birnes, the furni- ture man. The latter Is an inveterate anyel.