Variety (July 1929)

VARIE-i J. PIC T U R E S Wednesday; July 3, 1929 DepL of Jusflce Reopeimig Verbal Approval of Wamer- 1st Natl Buy, tike Fox-Loew "Washlneion, July 2. Deals In the picture industry are elated for another checking: by the Department of Justice. This la seemingly set to go through whether the original transaction was first submitted for approval or not be- fore consummation. It is looked upon here as the means O'Brien, new assistant to the At- torney General and head of the anti-trust functions of the depart- ment, to get his "bearings." O'Brien, who is credited with many victories for the department in anti-trust cases, has a reputa- tion of preparing his cases not from the individual angle but from the whole situation, considering how the various deals and their ramifi- cations tic In. This fits with the procedure making Itself manifest in the department's attitude toward the picture industry. It is all the outcome of the find- ings of the Investigation, started before the advent of Mr. O'Brien, of the Fox-Loew deal. Papers cover- ing the Fox purchase submitted by the several investigators are now on the new oftlclars desk. He Is known to have had theni there for over a week, with Mr. O'Brien ad- mitting he is still far from ready to make - his recommendation to the Attorney General. With the Fox-Loew purchase reaching this point, the department Is now Investigating the Warner Brothers' purchase of First Na- tional and the many phases of that deal. Including the acquirement of the Stanley company theatres.. De- partment stated It to be but "a part of the general Investigation now In progress." Behind the Warner-F. N. checkup, however. Is foppd to be a like con- dition as faced by William Fox' in the control purchase of Loew's, Inc. Approval .was given the Warner purchase as was the Fox deal. When attorney^ for the picture In- terests learned of the Investiga- tions, both factions ptit practically the same question: "How -come?" Saul E. Rogers, representing Mr. Fox, and a Mr. Green, 4}f the New York'law Arm of Sullivan & Corm' well, for Warner Bros., had It point- ed out to them that If approval had been given it was but verbal and in such a manner as to leave it open for the department to later take action if so desired. How deeply the investigation of the Warner-P. N. deal will carry the department or the time It will require, could not be learned. XJn- derstandln'g Is that two Investiga- tors familiar with the other check- ups In the picture Industry went to work on the case yesterday (Mon day). • MUNI'S SIX BOLES Los Angeles, July 2. Pox's "A Friend of Napoleon" film will contain 12 characters with Paul Muni playing six roles. Action takes place In a wax- works. Six llfcslze statues, now being sculptured by Hon Young, will come to life via Muni. MUSICAL FILM WITH ALL STARS 382 For^-Bwn From 36 Coimtries m Coast F^; 185 Meii-79 WomeihrSS Directors ERNO RAPEE Music, Roxy, Studio's Portable Organ Cost 12 Mnsicians Jobs American Sound Studio on 44th- street -has the first portable studio organ, electric-controlled. Instrur ment containing 231 pipes, requir- ing no sound chamber. ' By the use of cable It can ,be moved to any part, of the. studio. It win eliminate about a dozen musicians. Director of York. Extends greetings friends overseas. New to his many Cordi^b Gets 10 Years; Sentenced for Larceny Warner Brothers has in prepara- tion an all-star musical talker, with some of its names to initial themselves upon the noisjr sheet. So far the selections are Al Jol- son, John Charles Thomas, John Bairymore, Elsie Janis, Ed Wynn and W. C. Fields, the latter not yet set. Jolson Is under agreement to do two more pictures for Warners be- fore the Mammy kid goes to United Artists. Barrymore is also in the Warner contract fold. Mr. Thomas and Miss Jonis are the inltialers. Fields's a silent screen vet, and Wyni^a one-time (Paramount) si- lent flop so far. The revue will be called "The Show of Shows." All principals on both the War- ner and First National lots will be In the cast. Others Including Marilyn Miller, George Arllss. Irene BprdonI, Eddie Buzzell, John Bar- rymore, Colleen Moore, Dolores Cos- tello-and Jaclt Buchanan, Jack War- ner and Daryl Zanuck will be in charge. Fox Is loaning Seymour Felix to stage a number and M-G-M Is per- mitting Warners to borrow Sammy Lee for a lone atxglng effort. Jack Haskell will do' two numbers and Larry Ceballos three or four. Barrymore and Dolores Costello may do a sequence together. Production will be all-color. Director* Jack Haskell, stage director who came to the Coast to assist In film- ing "Sally" for First National, has been retained by Warners to assist in direction of "Show of Shows." In addition to Haskell, Mack Scheck, Larry Ceballos, • Jack AdolphI and Roy Del Auth will di- rect numbers and blackouts. Los Angeles, July 2. Nat Cordash, one of the financial sponsors for James Cruze's "The Great Gabbo," was sentenced to 10 years In San Quentin prison follow- ing his. conviction on ohe of 11 counts of grand theft. Verdict of not guilty on the other 10 counts ^as rendered. Cordash was president of Mutual Motors, Inc., and was charged with discounting false sales contract. His partner, B. K. Fleming, also Inter- ested In the Cruze enterprise, was acquitted of the same charges. Superior Court Judge Wood de- nied a motion for a new trial. U's N. Y. Studio Universal is reported okaying the expenditure of tlOO.OOO for the rent- ing and equipping of a sound studio in New York. Three sites have been presented and the okay in the home office is expected for an old church location on 116th street. Universal has had eastern pro- duction under consideration for the past year. ACADEMY ADDS EIGHT Los Angeles, July 2 -Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has added eight mem- bers to its roster this week. New comers are Carl Laemmle, Jr., the youngest member in the producers' branch; Noah Beery, Harry Wilson, Albert DeSart, H. Keith Weeks, Victor Voyda, Sidney Lazarus and Holmes Herbert. Total membership In all branches of the Academy is now 375. Pnblix Aoto Train Publix has launched a $14,000 limousine with 'fancy brass trim- mings and a hood that belches steam. Car, of special make, is to be known as the Publix Entertain- ment Train. It will make a tour of the country to consume over a year. Publicity man, H. W. Tlllltson, and a driver In Publix livery will staff the excursion. An observation platform and ra- dio loud speaker of special con- struction is Included. F. N. Lets Sills Out Los Angeles, July 2. Milton SlIIs Is but at First Na- tional. - There are no Sills pictures Included on First National's new production program -and the next option on bis contract will not be taken up. Sills' ill health is glven^as the reason: He'l3"snirin~lhe~easC~~*'' CONELIN'S VACATION Los Angeles, July-2. Chester Conklln has wound-up his contract services with Paramount end announces he is going to aban- .don everything for the rest of the -Bummer.. Nothing'but fish and tenfiis until .Ibe days cool off; Joan Lowell Settling Out Of Cotirt on Her Book Los Angeles,. July 2. . Joan Lowell has decided to settle out of court the damage ^ cose of Theodore Soloman, scenario writer,; who holds a contract from her Blv"- Ing him the exclusive! right to the' material in. her book, "Cradle of the- Deep," aa^ well as to her services as an actress for the period of - five, years. When the paper? began carrying stories that D. W. Griffith was about to make the book into a picture fea- turing the author, Solomon con? suited his attorneys regarding the contract signed by Miss Lowell about three years ago. In this con- tract it was set forth that the ma- terial which she later used In Cradle of the Deep" was to be Solomon's exclusive property for film use and that he was to have ex- clusive right to her services as an actress in the filming of any picture based on this material. Solomon's attorneys wrote Miss Xiowell who referred them to her attorneys who in turn ignored the correspondence for three weeks. When about to file the injunction petition Solomon's lawyers received word from Miss Lowells representa- tives that a representative was on the way here to settle. Los Angeles, July 2, Survey of the foreign born talent now in Hollywood for pictures shows a total of 882 subjects, repre- senting 36 countries as against 6,000 or more in the native lineup. While more than 16;000 people now here have adopted the picture pro- fession as their financial means no ut attempt has been made to make a/:i-/ census on nativity of the entire pcr-.,tjf sonnel, but an appfxiximate check on the most important personalities . In the Industry show 186 actors, 79 actresses, 10 producers, 8 executives, 66 directors, 27 writers and 8 tech- nicians, drawn from foreign nations. Most of these hav-e resided here the ' greater portion of their lives and are now naturalized citizens. iSlnce the advent of talkers only ',' 62 of the 264 foreign born screen - players find themselves restricted in '' acti^hg for pictures because qf pos^ sesslng a foreign' accent. Those unable to abandon their ac- dfent .are held to parts of their own nationality, yet in a number of cases ; where they can drop, the accent, ' some studios will tolerate the ordeal of long'reHearsals to this end, pro- vldi'ng: the lines needed to be spoken are not too many. On the other hand, many pictures contain inter- national characters and the need of accehts to fit has Increased the de- mand for the foreign actor. New scheme of making pictures has not, of course, affected the foreign prpducer, director or writer as much as the player. Britain's 95 Among the 36 nations represented In Hollywood, England contributes the most subjects with a total of 96. §ome 24 of these are under con- troct, while the balance are free lancers. A vocational classification shows one producer, two executives, 18. directors, eight 'writers, one tech- nician, 66 actors and 14 actresses for Pritaln. Producer Is H, B. Warner. Execu- (Continued on page 84) W. L's Newest Credit Regulator Jvst Maldhg It Harder, Hiat's All Vibna's Personals Los Angeles, July 2.. Sam Ooldwyn is again sending Vilma Banky out for personal ap- pearances with her pictures. Star Is now en route to Kansas City and then goes east to appear with "This Is Heaven." Goldwyn figures that ever since Lupe Velez made personals the lat- ter's drawing power has Increased. Producer wants to establish Miss Banky as an indlvfdual star. ROBERT Z. LEONARD who has directed practically every star on the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer list of notables. Is now starting on his second trip around'that list by again directing Marian Davies, this time In the all-dlalog.- feature "Marlanna." Leonard directed this same stor In "Her Cardboard Lover," which rated as one of the biggest box office'draws of the year. "Marianna" ijs being produced with n la'vishness that will exceed anything In the way of pretentiousness so far attempted by Leonard. Gladys Brockwell's Face Scarredr-Auto Sinash Los Angeles, July 2. Gladys Brockweli Is in a serious condition at the Osteopathic Hos- pital following injuries 'when a car in which she was riding plunged over an embafikment on 'Ventura Highway. Injuries include fractures of both upper and. lower jaws, be- sides an internal rupture. It is feared tlialt Miss Brockwell's face will be permanently; scarred. Stanley Brennan, advertising so- licitor who accompanied: her in the car, was also seriously hurt. Following a second blood tra,ns- fusion Miss Brockweli was reported as holding her own. _ _ i!!? "Here's Howe" Los Angeles, July 2. Universal will shortly put Into production its first screen musical comedy, "Here's Howe." It is an .idaptiitibn from the stage show of the same name from the story by Fred Thompson and Paul Gerard Smith. The original lyrics, which Were written by Irving Ceasar and the score by Roger' Wtilfe Kahn and Joseph Meyer, 'wiU be used. . Although ^uged now to handle.,> exhibitor paper and to operate thea- . ■ tres or reposse^ talker equipment - when payments default. Western .^y , Electric is secretly considering j ^ plans which, through its collection agency, Exhibitors Reliance Corpo-,^ ration, may be its master stroke in.^ sewing up the film Industry. ^ Making a gigantic institution ot.^. Reliance through which cooling. , plants and every big nondescript.;; piece of theatre equipment would be cleared financially, is now being discussed in inner electric circles. Contrary- to the philonthropic propaganda which ■\Y«stern- Is now spreading regarding Its financial ad- dition being a timely savior tor many exhibitors, it Is learned from within Reliance that the only differ- o ence Is a tighter hold on .the ex- lU hibltor, a more thorough scrutiny into the life of his theatre, but not &f<' • cent less or easier payment terms it , than was realized when the books-"!- were being kept by Electrical Re» search Products. Insiders summa-^'3 rlze the change, so far as future' reproducer licensees go, as techl- cally little more than a shifting In the bookkeeping and just the method popular In other fields of conducting business through an In- dustrial banking concern. It is understood that Reliance, just comriienclng to. function, has already had $2,600,000 worth of paper turned over to It by ERP. -ill As to authority. Western has em-itl powered It to accept or reject any.'al . .tnstaJlatl?LiV._CPJltrafit_turaed Jn_^^ an ERP salesman. The contract gathering calls for theatre owners; filling out a credit application blank Ji to Reliance, after TiHF has made the initial contract move and bound the:" . exhib to defray any costs so In- ': eurred whether he Is okayed or not. Tl>e ERP deal Is done with a prom- issory note. After the okay by the credit subsidiary the exhib wados through another raft of lesal docu- (Contlnued on page 32)