Variety (Nov 1928)

VARIETY PICTURE GROSSES Wednesday, November 21, 1928 Comparative Grosses During October Bel6w is a tabll of grosses diiring October f6p towns and. houses as listed. This high and low gross figures for the theatre are given, with the title of the picture, week played and grpss for that week. When theatre also employs stage shpw that is ihcjuded. TORONTO Dizzy Market Yesterday Saw Amusement Stocks Go Skying, Headed by Keith's . After maintaihlhe a dignified aloofness from, the surroundine fury of bullish delirium for 10 days of the bleeest trade Wall Street ever saw, the amusement stocks got Into the dizzy whirl yesterday. Keith, strangely enpueh, fuirnlshed the In- spiration. At the end of the day the ticker was oyer two hours late. Radio broke away from all re- straint arid Jumped nearly .40 points to 367, An association of ideas was inevitable, and bidding for Keith in large block.s ran that stock, up quickly from the previous close around 36 to 41. At that price It seemed; to meet selline; but It main- tained Its level around 40 through the day. Group Joins Rise It Is fruitless tp look for basic reasons for group movements In a market of this kind. With Keith moving up, all the rest of the group" got; under way, helped probably by the realization that the group had not done anything in the way of speculative exploitation, althoueh the . rest, of the market had re- sponded' abundantly to business outlook, trade forecasts and bull pool operation. Loew advanced to 63^^, Parar mount marked up a new top since the splitting of: the stock at. 54, and even Fox, which has for weeks'In- dicated determination of the. po'jl to keep within moderate bounds, was forced throueh par to 101. Warner was under wraps, moving quietly In contrast to tha others of the group, but still gaining a point and a half to. 130%. It is possible that some of the operations in the amusenfients got impetus from a freish report for the third quarter of Pox, showing rapid increase in net. Fox report showed an Increase in profits for the third .quarter of 1928 amounting; to 49 per cent, over the net for the same period of 1927. Fox Figures The figures were net Income after depreciation but before federal in- come taxes, $1,600,666, compared to $1,005,625 for the same three months of last year. This is equal to $1.96 a share on the 767,216 shares of common and B 'stock outstanding. It Is also to be considered that these figures represent the quiet period of the year in the film industry, and also in. the case of Pox, a period in which energies of the organization were directed at large scale expan- sion. Profits for nine months of 1928 are $4,384,160, compared to $2,507,259 for MAYFAIR IN AMERICA Devonshire^, Berkeley-^ ■ MAYFAIR— . Park Avenue, at Sixty-fifth-^ The vogue of th® elite-^ A gathering place for notables— THE. MAYFAIR HOUSE is one of New. York's outstandinely suc- cessful, hotels. . The musical atmosphere of the Mayfair House. Is created by a Meyer Davis Orchestra. •' the previous year, around $6 a . share; .. ■ In the case of Keith It was rer ported that annppncemeht might be made almost at any momeiit of the new- presid.ent. The lack of a re- sponsible head for the concern has hampered It sorely since, its chanee in ownership. Among showmen Keith is regarded mavketiylse as a stiff risk. There' has been no . positive evidence ol fundamental betterment In its busi- ness at the boxofllce or in the executive establishment. Feeling Is generally expressed that bankers want the stock to go over 40 to en- sure a. profit and after it gets to the profit talking point there Is al- ways the possibility Wall Street- might step put from under. For this reason such outside buying as comes into the stock around Times Square is strictly for the quick turn, with longs standing by for a hasty re- treat. Keith preferred was in es- pecially active demand yesterday and changed hands in volume at a new top Of 120. It Is convertible three-for-one into common. Out of town minor issues repeated old levels; with the exception of Skouras, dealt In on the St. Louls_, exchange. It went further to . 57,. representing improved prospects throiigh the purchaise of control by Warner Bros. In like manner Bala- ban & Katz imjjroved to 86 as pres- sure was relaxed. Paramount Is credited with holding this Issue down while it carried on open mar- ket operations to compiet© owner- ship. SuBimaj-y for week ending November 17: STOCK EXCHANGE . Issue, and riite, -American-Seat (3)'. Conspl. Film pfd. (2).:. ...... ... Eastman Kodak (8)...;....,..'... Lo^w (3) .. ■ • i Do. pref. (0%) ICelth. ... Do. pref. (7).................,. Fox Claes A (4)...,... Madison Square Gnrden (2)...... Met-<3-M. pref. (1.80).. Motion Picture Cap. Paramount-Famous-Laiky ■ (8).'. Pathe Exchange .... . ......'..... Pathe Class A. ........>,...•• •.'. Shubert -..(!»)... . ■.. ■ Universai pref. (8). "Warner Bros........... • Do. "A"...:.. ^ Hlgli. . 33 5S0% 102 03 102% 37 110 . , «0% 22% 25% 11% . .63, 0% .2.V% 83 04 ;i34% 183% 87 (ContiTiuc'd on page 16) CURB I!alaba;n £ Ku^z.. i.. Con. Film Ent .10 Fox Theatres,.'..,.... . 29% Nafl Theatre Sup.. , 0% Loew rights......... , '25 Radlo-K-O w i. 87 BONDS Keith 0 9, '40 07 Loew O's, '41 ., 112% Do, ex war 101 Pathe 7's, '37 80% Par.-F>imous-La3ky 100% Shubert 0*a , 03 ISSUES IN OTHER MARKETS ,.^-j:==J^lJ.jQuote.d=f.on^Monday..i.-.=^ Over the Counter New York Quoted in Did and Asked Boxy, Class A (3.'50) Unit do Unit do, De Forfst Phono Technicolor Los Angeles Boach. Inc....,, St. Louis Skouras Montreal Fsm. Play.i.tt.'>.,.. Low. : 28% "25% .184 61 101% 33% 104 . 00% 10%' 25% 10% Bl% 0 . 24% . 75% 01% ; 123% 124. 80 17% 28 0 22% 86% OKVi 111% 100% 78% 00% 91% 33 . "25% 188 01% 101% 35% 100 f7 20 25% 11 ^2% 0 .24% 81 93% 128% 120 86 17% 2S% « 23% 36% 06 112% 101. . 78% 00% 03 Net-. Chge. . +4 - % + % +1% -2Vk + % - % -1% +&% - % . +4% +4% +5% —1 - % - % + % - % +-1% -1% - % +1%