Variety (Nov 1928)

i*ubllah«d We«kly at 164 Wciat 46tli St., New fork. N. Z., oj Variety. Uxa. Annual subscription lib. Single oopleit. r6 cerita Entered a* second-class matter December 22, 1906. at the Po«t Office at New fork. N. 7., under the act of Marcb I. 1878. VOL. XCm. No. 6 NEW YORK, WEDNESDAY. NOVEMBER 21, 1928 64 PAGES CHUMPS BY RADIO $400 Top Film Salary for Month for lar hdiasMost , . Los Angeles, Nov. 20. A. Narayanan, of Madras, India, : executive of the Exhibitors' Film -Service of Bombay, arrived here to look over Hollywood and the Amer- ican picture industry and to take, back to India plans for a film plant for his company. India produces more pictures than does England, and at a cost ridicu- lously far below that of English or American made pictures, he claims. Use of natural sets instead of specially constructed ones, cheap (Continued on page 59) Disabled Check-Room Tip Taker Marries Heiress Romance Is dead on Broadway. Oh, Is it? The checkroom attendant at- a theatrical club, a chap with a for- eign accent and a crippled leg that he draws after him when he walks, about 40 years old, not especially handsome, passed a young woman on the, street a few weeks ago, on h' way to work. She turned to look back, so did he. He talked to her. A few days ago they were mar- ried, here in New York. She is the daughter of thb president of one of the biggest banks In the middle west, and worth at least a million In her own right. Tlie marriage is secret. The checkroom tip-taker is studying banking in his hours off Soon his wife will, take him home to Milwaulcee and introduce him to the. papa and the mamma, and he will go behind a different sort of' counter. • : He i.s a French' war veteran, hav- ing been wounded: in the shindy. Disabilities drove him to becoming a menial for stray dimes. It looked as though life for him had left all hope behind. "Belly Rub" Dance Newest in Harlem Newest ballroom dances in Har- lem arc the "bumpety-bump^" and the "belly riib." The latter de- scribes iLself by title and the. ^'bum- Pety-bump," deriving its cognomen from the bumping of the bodies. While looking dirty, is more mild. rit's a naturally lazy Aframerican dance evolirtion, only indulged in by couples who are. that way about each uther when it doe.sn't mal<e any difference whether they roiiKh It^ up a little or not. Caun.aiisian- mTfnagi^l"" aiCn'ce'"^^^ sanction it freely and it i,^ indulged in openly. , .... .' ' "The. ''belly'rub."-is a b'it-taboo .in' soiiK^' of tUi-- "refined" ••creor>^ joint'.'} but like tlie C-liarle.ston and Ulauk- bottom of ilje while folks' dance .hr.JIs, ii'H troiien .'i.\v;iy. with e.n.sily °ut of r<uigi> of the floor men's "viiriianoe. Laugh Guesser Lios Angeles, Nov. 20; Among the many new Jobs to come from the development of sight. and sound pictures will be that of a "laugh ex- pert." His duty will be to sit in on a stoiry construction arid time the pausea after each laugh in dialog sequences. An actor on the stage. has the advantage over the film. In that he can pause after each audience laugh before continuing, but the man who can flgrure out in a.dvance Jiist how an audience will react to a gag In talking pictures, will be more than an expert. CHINESE NICKED AND CURED BY NITE CLUBS STOCK SELLING STITS New Allocations for Metro- politan Area Permits Hideaway Stations to Do Their Stuff for Easy Re- ception—Greed for "Com- mercial Accounts"—-Air- plane Stock at $15 a Share FEDERAL CURB DUE? Chinese Syndicates backing the nlte clubs are cold on the couvert charge places for investment pur- poses. They've been flopping and closing so badly and often of late the Ori- entals had little opportunity to get back their down payments. The advance royalties from the Chinese for the kitchen concessions often as not financed another up- holstered joint, the proprietors us- ing the coin for Incidental expenses and relying on the intake to carry them along. If they flivved pronto, as they so often did, the concession- aires for the kitchen privilege, coatroom, etc., were out accord- ingly. . The Chinese havS found that the chbwmeirteries are their racket after all arid the best bet for certain profit. At first, two or throe yfears .ago when the cafe gyp was at its peak, the Orientals were smitten with the profit, that-existed in a $1.50 or .$l'.75. bowl of the Oriental food which stood them. 21c. gro.ss to produce. Frorii that, they backed some nite rooms under cover as silent part- ners. Jjattcrly they've been taken over heavy, arid are chilled on the Joint idea completely. Selling unlisted stocks by radio, not requiring printed prospectus or guarantees to be sent through the mails, is Radio's latest. With the aid of 20th century radio broadcasting facilities, high- pressure salesmanship mated with the ultra-modernistic ether bally- hooing, is in its glory once again. Lesser stations particularly are utilized for purposes of selling any- thing from aviation stock to live stock, not to mention the usual fur- niture sales, department stores' "daily radio specials," hair-growing treatments, installment - paying wearing, apparel, musical instru- ments, courses in foreign languiages, and anything else you can think "P- The condition is even more acute in the hinterland where the chumps are the thickest. It may, in lime, create some fed- eral legislation or censorship to curb this type of high-pressure salesmanship in view of the smaller station.?' hunger for commercial ac- counts for the regular use of their radio "time" and facilities. The new wave-length allocations in the metropolitan area have (Continued on "page 59) " le No loew or Keith WfieWublix Now Mustache Contest Syracuse, Nov. 20. With election and the Col-; gate-Syracu.se gam© both over, local bettors are turning to the Great Mustache. Derby staged by Bill Saxton, managing di- rector of Loew's State, and Eddie Rosenbaum, local Shu- bert representative. Both boys, some years back, had lip decorations on the Coast. , Meeting again in this city, they found each other smooth shaven; Followed an argument as to whose tache was the bushiest In the old days. "I'll give you a six-day spotting and still beat you," said Rosenbaum. "You're on," said ,Saxto.n. Rialto is all het Up over It, with plenty of wagers posted. LONG WALK AS SACRIFICE Chicago, Nov. 20. Mrs. Paul Denno, who.se liu.sband,. of tlie Donno, Sranlon Bro.s and Denno act. died Sept. 2 ^in Colum- bus, O., of cerebral hemorrha,t;o, Is waIking--from^ Oaklandp^-Gallf,,.-.to.. Xew York as a sacrifice in memory of the,deceased. , Orier-.'strie'ken- qVei: th6 death of lier husband, Mrs.' Denno"so far,ha.s followed the highways tri Clii(;'af,'ij. Phe is determined to carry on her unirjue .«<acrifieo dr^jiite laek. of fund.s. Ilf-r two children are In Woonsocket, R. I. Liquor Prices With the approach of the holi- days, the bootleg liquor, market around New • York becomes lively. Already "Die be-st I've .ever, handled" is the by-word Pi'iees have been about the same since tJio .summer, wiih thft liifjlie.st, ?100 a rawc for good rye. A\'iLh a shortaK:e of vintap^e (age; ch;i.m- pagno; the price cAUx'^h ai'ound $80- ?0(J, though deulers have had it nlTiTod to tbern in lots at $05. Scotch as usual, ha.s tiio widest price range, from $60 to $S') a I'ase. Scotch in genei-al is of a bet- ter grade at present than in a loii'f while. M.iu h of it i.s corni:);: frorn the otiier side in bull:, bottled ovi-r ■here. _ . . ^ Light wlnt'.s are S'-ljiii;,' at $TO-$W a case, with an uni'h"in;.f'-il quota- tipn. f'/r..ov(>r/ thr.ef. yfm:,s,. , » ■.' An;)IytI'\al ti'.stj.ir: of boozf. Is. .stil! rav(n(d in the \vi.^e'-t cii-'li-.-'. A' bno;i".t':;er may hold the worM'-^ I medal {nr truthfuliiiv s but }\-\ rim't. vour-h for .ill of tho frl«.:n'i:> li',- uiu .t i do bu.slness with. SPANISH KING GETS TOP DOUGH FOR PLUG After thre'e years of. independent bookings, Harry Ross and ISddio Edwards have signed for the full season with a Publlx uriit^ "Bub- bles." Ro-ss and Ed^ya^d3, during those three years, have been handled by the same agent, Abe Frledhian. Ross and Edwards perhaps hold a riaore unique vaude record than any other two-man act in that they played yaude and picture houses for two years Without a single date for Loew or Keith. Their independent booking has not kept them harnessed to one salary; It has gone up three times. Independent booking has always been regarded as one ot the most uncertaljn things facing "acts un- able to i)btaln placements on either the LoeW or Keith books. Betasco's Hell in'Irnia" Full of Devils and Thrills King Alphonso of Spain is con- tracted for an Old Gold testimonial for a cash consideration, of $25,000, which, says His Majesty; will go for educational and chai*ity. pur- poses within his domain. The pro- viso further Is that the testimonial ads be run in rotogravures and on fine photographic stock In Ameri- can and foreign language papers. Alphonso also went for a Fox Movietone talking short by Jack Connolly, Fox's demon globe-trot- ter. Connolly claims he didn't give up—much. .Old Gold's prevlou.s high has been Cliarles Chaplin at $0,000. Al Jol- son collected ,$2,500 from Lucky Strike, turning it over to a charity, for a testimonial. That is Lucky's high, not going in for fancy scales, figuring the roclproeal publicity l.s worth much to the. subjects of the te.stini.6nial.s. ' Stowaiyay's Alternative, $5,000 W'kly or Salesman Too much inteirerejice by r(;ki- tiviis of Clarencfj Terliune, the Graf Zeprjeliii stowaway, r''.siilled in IJarry H'ieheri bach's withdrawal, as bookiritc and expbiitation riian- .Tger of til" kid e;irly this wi-ek. Vau'le booking;; an,'in^'ed by Rcich- enbacli with the keiili office were eaneelled, and the boy I'.'ft for St. j^oui.s .Miiiiday night, eliaperonerl by hi.« si.sler and gilardia.n, Mr.«. Kdna rr.n7,"""";!.rrir~ in-^fiTTrirTrtah--advi^ep- l'"r.Uik .M';f'.)nil>ri'l|;". .■ .M' C.'.inii)! toM a yai'i'i.ty re- i-f-ifct'-'r tJiat i.r If (ioulilri't ^^'-t WO,-- ')!)() ]i>r 10 wi i'k-j in Vfiud"' wHh the boy )).(> v.'O'.iM tak". lilin to .St. I>ri'.iis, .si-nd hirn fo ; ■ hri(,! U>r a f"W V' l' -- ari'l tl|i ri n^ike a l;or!d . .s;ih ^;ni.u) out of hirn A lot of diabolical arrangements tat the Belasco theatre. Entire stage has been tr.ansformcd into the most monstrou.s infei-nal machine, made of steel, and the house swarms with devils and satarilc Implements of all description. The benevolently appearing Mr, Belasco Is the Instigator of this theatrical hell, for it seems that "Mima,'' the' Ferenc Molnar play he is producing, has its locale set entirely in Jladcs, . Belasco sits and watches the hell- ish doings with evident ijleasuie, and. this d^'vilish outburst may seal him for all time as the wizard o£ stagecraft. . It has taken five year.s, from re- port, to make the mechanical effects for his show. For the last two ^ months the huge Infernal machine has Ijceh in. the in-oces.s of being built into the stage. Even the boxes have been cov-ered with steed and steel runaways descend into the audience. Variety's nosey reporter had cold chills at the mere look of the plaee. A motley assortment • of couples riinged themselves upon the .stage' and slowly went Ihnni^^h a grew- some and ghastly dance while a rii(ji-king was heard. ■ . '^I'he dancers Were of all types, young, old, pretty, u^'ly; a blonde with .wha,t looked like her sugar , daddy ; a Chinaman and . even a rriinlHter, At the (.•oncluslon they, nioimed and groaned In uni.'ion. This was a little too rriueh for the rep()i't(-r, who decided that .she had bail plenty, of Mr. iJela.sco'.^- hell and hu'-iled out. THE t-IAME YOU GO DY WMr.N VfjU r,0 TO BUY