Variety (Dec 1928)

VARIETY PICT U R E S Wednesday, December 5, 1928 Congressional Friends and Enemies Say Howdy at Capitol Washington, Dec. 4. . ■ About the only new thing, in the opening of Congress for the short Begsion yesterday was the appear-' aiice, of Fox Movlfetbne (sound news) equipment in the legislative Halls x-ecording, for the first tinie,. this notable gathering of law mak- ers. This included Jack Connolly with the privileges of the .floor, something, previously denied for like purpoaes. Otherwise 'twas the same hand- Bhiaking and welcome" home stuff with very few changes In the cast of principals. ' ; Sbl Bloom,, the.. Deihocratic "the- atre's Congressman" was holding a reception on and off the floor. Then artood up in .the restaurant for IB minutes waiting for some hungry scribe to get up so he. could set dowh at the press table. Vestal of Indiana with numerous copyright bills- sees the three on the calendar enacted into lawv Jeff Buaby, jSlIss., known as the friend of the exhibitors,-equally as con- . fldent in the reverse;—and so on down the line. Senator C- C. Dill, Democrat from TVashlngton, said he Is through with copyright legislation. Senator added ' "the American Society has been taught to behave itself. With Congressiacting aa a policeman the Society should be expected to stay that way.." Hopes of the reformers are: Passage of Sproiil bill to put teeth in the Volstead law. Enactment of Jones-Stalker bill to make it hard on the persistent vloiatora of that same Volstead law, Federal moving picture censor- ship vlai It IS believed! the Brook- hart and Hudson bills: Enactment of legislation to tight- en up on the transportation of prize fight films so as to not only reach the transporter but the exhibitor. Passage of antl-gambling legis- lation. Passage of the Brookhart bill to put back on the payroll prohibition agents considered worthy but who failed to pass civil service tests. Hammer bill to stojp companion- ate marriage in the District of Co- lumbia. This latter to be another of the "shining examples for the rest of the country" such aa is. the proposed Sunday law, also for the District U's Crane Camera Replaces "Parallels LiOS Angeles, Dec. 4. Universal's camera crane is a rievolutibnary contribution to the mechanics of picture making.. .Rer minding at first glance of a fire- man's extension ladder, it goes through its halt dozen tricks with remarkable speed arid precision. The crane will take the place of "paral- lels," as studio camei-a ' platforms are known, removing from the pro- duction chart much expense incur- red in shifting bulky parallels from one set to .another. The machine weighs 14 tons. Its extreme elevation of the' caniera platform, six feet. in. diameter, is 3S feet. Camera and operators do not have to climb a ladder t6. get into the crow's nest. The device is low- ered to the ground and. the crew steps aboard. The boom carrying the platform may be raised or loweifed, may be turnied in any direction: or at any angle the ■ trudk conveying the en- tire machine may be moved ahead or backward, aa alongside a build- ing, and the platform; itself may be revolved with the- boom remaining stationary. . The machine is credited to an idea of Paul Fejos, who in conjuncT tion with the technical force of the studio'lai'd plans before H. W. Stev- ens, and C P. Walker of Lewellyh Iron Works. These electrical engi- neers are responsible for the final designs. The truck on which the engine Is carried Is trailfed by a generator. The crane pays out elec- tric cable as it moves away from the generator when latter is stand- ing and picks It up when returning to it trailer. . Engineers estimate the cost of the apparatus at $25,000, while stu- dio officials taking into account pre- 9 TecbniciaDS in Each Fox Umt for Talkers ; li'os Angeles, Dec. 4. Production of sight and sound pictures calls for nine men In the technical department for each unit* . 'rhis additional Staff, headed by a recording superintendent of com- bined units, consists of a transmis- sion engineer whose duty It Is to see that the dfelicate mechanical con- trivances for tecqrding are always in tun« and up to the m£irk; Then comes the monitor man or "mixer," as called at the studio. He sees thiEit the recording comes through in the proper manner and advices the microphone man when to lower or Increase the volurne. Similar orders ate received by the amplifier man In charg^^^ of the amplification panels* Five men are required In the re- cording room, one for recording on film and one in charge of record- ing oh .wax. Each has an assist- ant, with an extra man at all times to look after the numerous batteries required for maintenance of the sound equipment Warners^ Studio's lay Off . . Lioa Angeles, Dec. 4. When "Froni. Headquarters" is finished by Warners, Dec. 5, there .will be no further production until Jan. 15, .excepting 'Vitaphoning for conripleted pictures and making of talkjng shorts. The latter average four; a week and are expected • to continue at ^that pace until Dec. 15, at which time the" Brooklyn. [ plant.goes Into woi^k. s^; After that dateX the only ' shorts made In tiie. west will be of such acta as cannot conveniently be transferred to the east coast. Brookhart Bill and Indie Exhibs Agitating Independent exhibttors at this time over the Brookhart Bin. looks and sounds, like a smoke screen. For If the Brookhart Bill wer^ passed this week by the new Congress, the picture interests could still tie up Its provisions for judicial determination by the IJ. S. Supreme Court.. That might , take from two to three years. .Meanwhile every indie exhib in the country could go broke; The Brookhart Bill provides for ah open buying market for moving, pictures. It would have been a blessing to the pure indie exhibs had I*, gone Into' effect years ago or last year 'ior this year, If Immediately en-' forced. The Federal Trade Commission .stalled with the same problem : for five years In Its Joke Ihvestigatlbrt of Famous Players-Lasky (Para- mount). . Now when the pure Ihdle exhlbS needs product so badly they only see dark theatres or bankruptcy ahead .of them, the Brookhart Bill is held up as the hope. Whether this Brookhart Bill stuff is inspired or pot can not be decided without better evidence at hand; but it has a. peculiar, smeir at this time. No indie exhib should solely depend upon the Brookhart Bill or any: other legislative act for relief frb'ni prestnt conditions. Just now the best recourse appears to be the' Indie'exhlb's attorney. If the" indie Tnust go broke, he had, better go broke fighting, Instead of lying down waiting for the bell. Even their Own lawyer can't keep a theatre open, however. Flocked to Fox AH Indie exhibs had better study why the indie exhibs of Greater New York, hustled over to William Fox with such a rush to seir their 160^ or 175 Indie picture theatres. It was because the Greater New Yorkel-s fore- saw that. they couldn't live undier: the metropolita.n condition, with the chains (ihcluding Fox) operating against them, to sew up all . of the leading product, including Warners. And Warners hot having: a house in the Greatre City, excepting on Broadway. - . . . v By the . time the indie exhibs of New York would have secured their second runs, if they could haye secured second runs,, there would not. have been enough left for them to get out of the pictures tO'make the struggle worth while. So they fJOcked to Fox; Those of Grenter New York and o^thers. . If there can be any protection given to indie exhibs at this tiwe through btganization and under the leadership of such a very good ma.ri as Abram Myers, then by all means the indie exhibs should exert every effort to immediately protect themselves as best they may. "As be.*;! thry may'' may be better, than nothing. But no pure indie exhib entirely unaffiliated or i^nattached Irom a chain or distributor should be" muddled by Brookhart Bill talk. If the Brookhart Bill ever passes, and it looks too late no"w for any possible beneflt. lf it does,; that Bill will be thrown into the United- Sta.te.^ Court, for Its usual slow proceedure to the. highest court for a final dcci.?ion. F. N. Drops 15 More Weather Forecast Los Angeles, Dec. 4. First National continued its weekly reduction In studio person- nel by lettlhg out IB more people uiu umviiu-ia i.<<.n.A..b . I Including Adam Shirk, assistant to limlnary overhead set the cost at. QgQj.gg LaLndy, studio publicity head; doble that amount The crane is noiseless in opera- tion and may be driven on to a sound stage. three more assistant directors, in- cluding Ben Silvey, a number of the studio technicians and ward- robe assista,nts. Shirk Immediately connected with Columbia where he has become head A » «i • Columbia Where ne nas Become neaa Canadian Co.'s Showmg, ?oC.'^ry;^l'i"".oAe '^^^^^^^^ Washington,. Dec: 4 The Weather Bureau has -fur nished Variety with the following I outlook for the. week beginning to I morrow: Rain or snow and cooler east of Pittsburgh: clearing and- cold. iii I the Chicago area Wednesday (5), 1 followed by fair weather and rather cold Thursday and Friday. Snow Friday In Chicago area will spread eastward as snow • or rain 1 by Saturday (8). ' Probably fair Sunday (9). . Landis Makes Balto by Tanker—Alimony Dodger Baltimore, Dec. 4. Cullen Landis arrived in this to\yn onei gray morning last week There was no reception committee: He came over the bounding sea, chambermaid to the mess-room aboard the oil tanker "Sallna," bound east from 'Frisco. Landia explained that he was after "atmosphere" for a short story, admitting "other reasons, Including Mignon LeBrun, former Mrs, Landia, who should draw $3£iO a month alimony, Landis hinted at financial re ver."3es and declared that $350 Is a lot of .inoiiey, even in Moiiywodlan Ho.declared that the former Mrsj, Landis Is fair about the matter and he. shall resume the payments. Meanwhile Cullen has deserted the fo'castle in favor of-Broadwny.' Montreal, Dec. 4. United Amusement Corporation, operating 12 theatres in this city, has published its balance sheet fm- year ended August ' 31,: 1928. It shows profits of $401,372, up $90,0.00 on the previous year, record for the company Edwin Carewe Productions. L. A. Judge Rules Out Film Thenie Infringement GOTHAM'S PLAN CHANGE 18 Full Lengths and 54 Sound Shorts Known as Sonorato.no Merchandisers Want ShoVr Exploiters to Open Stores National merchandising organiza-< tions are combing the picture field' for men capable of applying- show- principles in the retail field, Among; others it is reported that Sears- - Roebuck have, been ihaking inquiries for reliable men to open stores in a manner similar to theatre openings. It is understood that showmed used by . this comjpahy for store openings have prpven 'Immensely successful. Salaries being ofi'ered are reputed to be many tirneS higher than those paid for similar work ill the theatre field. Other organizations, it is under- stood, are also scouting for show- men, some offering as much as $200 an hour for group lectures on ex* ploltatiOn. . Los Angeles, Dec. 4. Judge Leon Yankwich. In Superior Its totil net is up $120,000 for the Court ruled In the case of William period over the previOLS year. After F. James and Dorothea Martin vs. all deductions, net profit available Universal Pictures that themes be- for common dividend was $245,582, 1 long to the world and cannot be as against $144,782 in year before This works out at better than four per cent on the no'par value com- mon stock of the company out- standing. Net working capital Is up $42,000 . to $61,018. E. A. Cousins, president, says that In addition to paying common stock dividend, an eight per cent dividend on preferred shares was also paid. He adds that the new theatre of the company in Sherbrooke, Quebec, the Grenada, will be opened early this month, United Aumsements is afrillated with Famous Players Canadian. copyrighted. Only development and treatment can be copyrighted or iprotected, the opinion says. Evidence that Uni- versal had Infringed In producing "The Symphony" as alleged by claimants was deemed insufficient and case dismissed. Judge pointed out that while there was a parallel between the screen story.. written by Syend _ Gade.Jor Universal and the story written .by James and Martin, the identical theme and idea were used over 80 years, ago. in an opera called :'Llnda." . Hereafter all pictures produced by Gotham and the Ascher, Small & Rogers interests' will be known as Sonoratone Productions, accord- ing to Gotham offices. It is understood a definite pro- gram for the coming season has been decided upon, calling for 12 feature length pictures, instead of I 54 as-first reported, and 54 talking shorta. Easterners Back . Los Angeles, Doc. 4. Ben Holmes,, former burlesque Btraight man, directing shorts for Fox, Is' due to return east next • week. It is .also understood Dave Stam- per, brought out here last summer, will return east when his six-month Fox contract expires in January. QtTITS TEETH FOR FILMS Los Angeles, Dec. 4 . Dr. Henry Hale Collins practicing dentistry - in Seattle for^ 11 years, -- has - 8old,,al L.hj3,^Qfflce,_furnia^ and come to Hollywood" to become ah actor. Collins is 35' and will use the • name of Hale Collins for hi.s screen efforts.v. Joe Kennedy in Thursday Los Angeles, Dec. 4. Jos, P. Kennedy left hero .Bun- day for New York. He expects to go straight through and l3 due in New York Thursday. Options Taken Up Lbs Angeles, Dec. 4. Paramount has exercised its opr tlons on Wllllarti V. Robson, One of Prof, Baker's Yale hoys, Florence Ryersoh and Viola Brother!3. Shore, all writers, . '' Slx: months is" the extension period. Patho took up option on William Boyd for, another year. Doris-Dawson win remain on the Fli-st TTatlonar payroll, for six months more at least. She is. one of the hew corners picked for de- velopment. Scarce Voices Prevent "Masquerade's** Dialog Los Angeles, Dec. 4. It has been decided hot to at- tempt dialog sequences for "The Masquerade," recently completed for United Artists by D. W. Griffith, Difficulty of getting players to- I gether and Inability of some to talk is the reason. Voice tests made of Wllliani Boyd, Lupe Velez arid Jetta Goudal re- vealed their Voices as not fitting the roles played. **Noise** Library Los Angeles, Dec. 4. . Xtecordiiig of . sound .. has brought I a new form of screen library, on Ithe M-G-M lot described as a "noise f.morgue." Among the records novir on file lare wail of infant, shriek of wind through ailerons of falling plane, snores of. sleeper, machine gun bullets spattering on pavement and. [complete football game recorded in local Coliseum. Sound Engineers May Form Own Uniod Engineers working on sound In studios and now''coming under th6 jurisdiction of Local 52 of the* Stu- dio Mechanics' Union, are reported forming their own organization. They have been Working under cover and are expected to go after a charter and self-goverhmont. The. sound men in many cases aiie from. radio and telephone, not previously connected with unions: and prefierring their own union If belonging to any. 6ARB0 SAILS DEC. 8 Lo9 Angcledi ^I'O. 4. Greta Ciarbo, M-G-M, on route to New York will sail for her homo in Sweden Dec. 8 instead of Dec. 15. She will go on board the "Kungsholm," making its maiden voyage to Stockholm from Nc\v York. Miss Garbo will return to the Culver City studios March 1 to I resume her contract. L. A. to N. Y, Oliver H. P. Garrett, Ernest Pascal. Dr. lIuKO Riesenfeld. Jos. P. Kennedy. Greta Garbo. HOME GIBL FOE MAUEICE Los Angeles,. Dec. 4. Paramount has decided It will be smarter to put an American girl opposite Maurice Chevalier in his first picture, "Innocents of Paris." Company rushed pita Parlo from Berlin, but finally canie to the con elusion it wasn't such a bright Idea. Miss Parlo will be given some thing else to. do, Maurice Chevalier's "Innocents of |l'ari5;""hiS""iiT9trPaTa;mT!unt,^^ all talker and sinsring. , Victor Voyda is associate pro clnc'cr. Wasted Time Taken Up Los Angeles, Dec. 4. Time previously wasted by pic- ture directors and players on the I sets while waiting for lights and camera angles to be re-ari"ange<J, Is: now being utilized by rehearsing the lines to be enacted' In the next scene. This is keeping the actors on their feet at all times. In the old days they were permitted to lounge around or play bridge for .hours at a time. N. Y. to L. A. Pat Kearney. Warren Hymer. H. M, Walker. Sylvia Sydney KOACH STUDIOS STILL Los Angeles, Dec. 4 Hal. Roach Studios will be OlOsed from Dec, 29 to Jan, 28. : Sound stages and eQuipmeni will bo installed. U. A.*s Sound Changes ===--^-"="'=^os"T(V^i^^ei?sr^^ After making several tests with United Artist's new sound plant-It was discovered many .changes will have to' bo made before It is deemed practical. The "Nightstick" tro.upv, which I has been waiting for a sound stage, I will go ahead and shoot the silent version .first, then add s<,)und ami dialog, when, recording facilities ai*' ready.