Variety (July 1929)

Wednesday, Jidy 8, 1929 PIC T U R E S VARIETY 9 STATES SEWN UP FOR FILMS f^i^Skmyi^^^ 25c tiini With Sanctity of die Knee Guarded By BOB LANDRY New Tork, June 27, In tills era of auper-palaces and Clobkwork efficiency with whole cir- cuits run by mimeographed charts and home bifflce ordinances, It may be InterestlnB to occasionally take note of the smaller arcaded in which galloping lithographs are still pre- sented to the .public In the sheer Blmplicity of 1916. ■ Figures recently published in Va rlety reveal that because of small capacity or scale or other economic factors something Uke 10,000 film parlors throughout the United States will never be wired. Presumably a substantial number of these old- time flicker galleries wiU continue to survive and function. . They will function without or. ' chestras in the main. "Where the film program is changed each day the organist will have to be a versa tile fellow, sucb as William J. Cow. : drey, who m"anipulates the console , Tor this 2B-cent grind emporium, Stanley at .7th avenue and . 41st street, which has been drawing its ' quota of the floating population Just below Times square for over 10 years. Cowdrey seldom or ever sees picture before he is called upon to. provide its musical accompanlmefit. It's sight unseen, frequently a csise : of improvising or faking entirely without a score. Faking on the organ while seeing for the first time, a pictiire which ; very theme, cast or plot is probably ) unknown Is a form of ad llbblng <>that implies more than a trace of SEEMS POLICY OF BIGGEST CHAINS art, ' not to mention musical sci- ence.' Faking on Organ As near as untutored observation caii detect, the technique of faking on the organ is to keep the tones quietly inobtruslve. A working knowledge of harmony and what the left hand can be doing to co-operate with the right is naturally a first requirement. Cowdrey was faking for the last 20 minutes or so of the British In- ternational picture, "Moulin Rouge." There was no melody, as such, run- ning through the music. It was sound, but not a tune. Where se- quences, were continued sufficiently for the situation to assume shape, the combination ot harmonics be- came Interpretative. The trick seems to be to subordi- nate the music, effacing It as far as possible from audience conscious- ness. Org^n is particularly well adapted for this self-eSac^ment. During the intervals of rest when an electric piano substituted for Cowdrey, the spectator became ' conscious of sound. With the resumption of the organ it was difficult to maintain musical awareness, the mind fall ing Into the narrative groove and following the picture with the organ as sort of formless lullaby. There are other unique attributes of a theatre such as the Stanley Problems of moral policing familiar enough in all drop-in houses near the main-traveled beats. The sanctity of the female knee, must be sustained and the inter mediates must not annoy men folks. The house manager has to be both a bouncer and a diplomat. Publix Buying Out Partners for 100% Operation, Giv- ing It Many States for Ex- hibitioik:—Fox Entrenched on Coast and Greater New York—Warners' Con- trol Through Stanley 1-a-Week Sdiedole on 16MM. Sound Subjects 1,08 Angeles, July 2. Large scale production of all- talking 16mm. films for home pro- jection will be under way Aug. 1 by Consolidated Sound Pictures, according to Charles Royal, vice- president. Disc recording only will be used: Immediate program con- sists of 12 general subjects, three of which have been completed. In- tent is to turn them out at the rate •f one a week, possibly more. Stage of Consolidated studio here Is .being remodeled and a percus- '.alpn organ is being installed for recordlAg purposes.. This is' to be supplanted late in the summer by a larger organ.- Royal serves In the capacity of play and song writer for the company. Mayer Coming East Los Angeles, July 2 Liouls B. Mayer leaves for New Tork Saturday to confer* with J. Robert Rubin before the lattea-'s departure for Europe. Mayer will be absent from Culver City about two weeks. N. Y. to L. A. Jack Colin. Joe Goldberg. Clarence McKaln. Hal Hodes. Rube Jackter. Jack Bellman. Lrouis Weinberg. D. A. Dorah. Claire Luce.*. Mrs. Jack Bobbins. Homer Curran Dolly Morse Regina Mermal Beatrice Llllie. Betty Carter. Joe C. Shea. J. A. Waldron. Fifl.Dorsay i „L. A. JrO N. Y. Bert Kalmar. Harry Ruby. Lotils B. Mayer. Herbert Stothardt Ray Henderson Frank Payne. George UecrlmaAi Rose Pelzwlck. Katherlne Zimmerman. Artlne De Haasw Tafliers on Lmer The first all-talker film on an lean liner will be on the "Ma Jostle's" voyage from here a week from tonight (10).. Western Electric Is Installing a portable reproducer and Carl Laemmie, honor guest en route for a three months vacation overseas, is providing prints of "Broadway" and "Show iBoat" for intermittent grind policy. The Electric headquarters regards the ship showing as an experiment. If successful, Westernltes say talker business with all of the big liners will be s6ught. GREAT BUYING POWER Exhibition of pictures is slowly approaching a state line division. The three biggest distributors hold- ing the most individual states under their theatre control. These are Publix, Fox and War nors, ranking in that order for num ber of theatres and states.. Each is listed in the box with the states held. A state-controlled Is a state In which a chain is sufficiently en- trenched to control film product service by virtue of its local or na- tional buying power or the over whelming majority of theatres within the state. In years back it was thought tact- ful If an exhibitor here or there so manipulated ;to gain the theatre and service control of a city or town From that grew local surrounding or state circuits and from these the current national chains. Keith's as Example Other large chains are represented In the theatre directory, but they do not dominate in any one state. Best example of that is Keith's, spotted perhaps in 26 states, but without superiority or supreme buying power for pictures in any. Uni- versal has about 300 houses about which no one brags and is without Influence in the theatre way. Publix has from time; to time bought In on other circuits, per mitt'ng control and operation to remain with the original group. Purchasing of late or about to buy out these partners, giving it full dl rectlon of all theatres It Is Interested in, the Publix gathered the entire South through the Saenger Circuit, as previously reported. Its pur (Continued on page 83) Chicago Tribune on Fool Censoring (Editorial in Chicago Tribune June 2S) Commissioner Russell and the censors have prevented the showing of the moving picture play made of "The Trial of Mary Dugan." The commissioner sald''tiiat Mary was not a virtuous girl. Consequently there could not be a picture shown of her." The woman who heads the censorship board said that Mary was kept off the Chicago screen because of the children. A picture called "Careers" was allowed on the condition that children were not admitted. The board even muddles its own rules, if it has any rules. When Russell took notice of the fact that there were two of- fensive plays in the theatres the tacts seemed to justify him; He was supposed to have sent an investigator to determine if complaints were well founded. The investigator said they were and the commissioner closed one show and made the other cut out offensive parts. It was conceded then that if police action taken to protect ordinary public decency were not allowable no restraint could be put on any lasclvlousness or Indecency which any one wanted to exhibit for profit. At the same time the danger of supporting police censorship wa^ recognized and that has quickly become apparent. No trust can be put in any board of city appointees whose job Is regulation and suppression. A censorship board will be a stupid nuisance because It Is Its nature to be. It will not show any intelligence because It does not contain ahy. Its Job is to pre- vent something. In the two shows the police were' acting when exhibitions were becoming notorious. The distlnctioh should be apparent, but It was quickly lost, and the only thing apparent now Is that there Is no discretion in thu poUcci department "The Trial of Mary Dugan" was not offensive to public decency. It was a good show. If the police had Interfered with it they would have been regarded as..crazy or worse.' There was no reason why the people of Chicago should not have 'seen the play in pictures. Commissioner Russell made himself a moral Simple Simon when , he said that no girl who was not strictly moral could be brought to trial on the screen while he- was on guard. He's thinking of the exhibition of Judas liscarlot in wax in Utica. The censors feel their oats and probably wlU Insist on proving t.hat the embodiment ot censorship stops at the collar button, going up.- New Color Process tJscs Panchromatic Filin Stock Los Angeles', July 2. Joseph B. Harris, Jr., president of HarrlBCOlor Films, Inc., arrived here this week from the east to es- tablish a site for a fllmi laboratory. New color method Is said to have been in development for. six years. It is a single-coated three-color process which. It Is said, brings to the screen a full range of., natural color. It requires a specially con- structed camera using regular pan chromatic stock. Claim Is. made that sound track can also be print ed on the same film without loss of tonal quality. Company already has Ave sound- proof cameras here, and expects, to have 26 in operation by Septem- ber. Firm is putting Into produc tlon a series of all-color sound shorts, recording with RCA equip- ment JACK BASBT BETTER Atlanta, July 2, Beating the appendix operation and standing off the nurses at the St Joseph's Jlospltal here. Jack Barry, the Paramount kid trainer of dude house managers, is wobbling around on the hoof In the institu- tion. Jack says he likes his nurses, but doesn't want to stay south. Jack claims he was oke after the operation, but that someone threw Stone Mountain at him when he wasn't looking and It busted up the works for a little while longer. Barry may be able to leave the hospital end of this week. Singing Vo^ce Does It Los Angeles, July 2. Pathe has again placed Jeanette Loff under contract after discover- ing she has an excellent singing voice. Mlss.LofC will be opposite Stan- ley Smith In "The Treasure Girl," In production July 18. Croze's Feelings Hnrt By Cartooi&t's Sign Los Angeles, July .2. James Cruze has filed suit for 1260,000 damages against John I)ecker, cartoonist, wbom' lie cliarges libeled him and facjld him up to rldil- . cule by. exposing In a shop window . a painting of Cruze with perpen- dicular bars bearing .across the frame a caption reading; "James' Cruze In Prison for Debt" Decker claims Cruze ordered and later refused to 'pay for a portrait of himself. Cruze states Decker's, art was not pleasing to him, that the picture was a grods caricature, such as he was unwilling to present to his wife, Betty Compsori, as a likeness of the man she married. MASaiTEBS BE-ELECT EABDY Los. Angeles, July 2. Sam Hardy was re-Iected Harle- quin, or president of the Masquers Club at the annual meeting June 26. New officers chosen were Jean Sainpolls, Pantaloon - and Robert' Armstrong, Melville Brown and Al- bert Ray, Jesterates, or council members. ' Meeting was a midnight session held at the clubhouse, following ad- journment of the gathering at the Beverly-Wllshlre hotel called by Conrad NageL JULIEN JOSEPHSON Aji outstanding scenarist and writer of original stories during the "silent" era, JuUen Josephson makes an impressive debut into talking pictures" with the dialogue adaptations of three famous stage plays: "The Green Goddess" and "Disraeli" (starring George Arllss) for Warner Bros, and "The Climax" for Universal. All three pictures will be released during the Fall. Josephson Is also Writing a stage comedy, "The Boneless Wonder," which will b© a stage-and-screen starring vehicle for a highly popular local comedian. JoUon Film Title Los Angeles, July 2. "Say It With Songs" will be the r eleas e title for Al Jolaon's new pic- ture, heretofore caTled'^^jlttle'Pal.^ Jolson sings seven numbers in the film. His next Warner film will called "Mammy." be UpSE BESPONSIBIIITT Los Angeles, July 2. Duties of E. Holtzendorf, chief of police, and fire departments. at First National, have been extended to take in the Warner and Vita- graph lots. This makes the chief responsible for public safety and Are protec- tion on more than 4:; acres of studio ground and more than $20,000,000 In property. Staff consists of 38 with fire contingents drafted as drill teams recruited from various studio departments. Vilma Banky in Person ~ Vii'ma Banky wni 'iria3tS~two"-Tay " personal appearances with her lat- est picture, "This Is Heaven," (U. A.). Miss Banky was at the Midland, Kansas Cltyi July 1-2, and wlU be at the State, St, tioula, July 3-4; State, Louisville, July 8-9; Penn, Beth Laemmie at Work Beth Xiaemmie, dancer, and niece j of Carl Laemmie, has been engaged I Pittsburgh, July 11-12; and Stan- by Universal. | ley, B^ltJgaore, July lB-18. v