Variety (Dec 1929)

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Wednesday, December 4. 1929 P I C T U R E S VARIETY 19 Gov t Picks on Pictures (Continued from pagre 11) total of about 660,000 shares of lioew's gives Fox actual stock con trol of Loow's. It is not thought that Pox's ad dltlonal buy of 225,000 shares of Iioew's fs concerned In the action instituted by the government. Filing of the ' anti-trust suits apainst Fox and the Warners in- dicates one thing rather clearly— that the picture IndtBtry is hot to be included In the Vplaying ball" attitude now understood to be the policy, at least temporarily, of thel administration. While the papers In the suits vrete in transit from the Depart- ment of Justice to the New York district attorney for filing . last Weflr"sday, th6 iPresldent was in the midst of a serleis of conferences urging big business to expand to overbalance ' the general panicky feeling throughout the country fol- lowing the Wall Street bust. Picture industry heads were not Included in. those conferences but Inside reports had it that Mr Hoover had let his attorhiey general know that because of these appeals to business the general hearing down Under the business control- ling laws, so previously stressed, would, be held lii abeyance. Hence, though known for a, few days prior to the actual filing that the Fox and Warner suits were on the way, they did come with some what of a surprise, pattlcularly that against Warner Brothers. Back of those silits is ah inside Btorjr the major portion of which has been reported during the past several months. Several factors played an Im pqrUnt part In the government's move. Possibly most. important of these first came to the surface With 'the —tbey arc looking-for talent *-* this is today^s bigT opportunity DISC Tecord~of "your" Blaff~wUl open many more doors to yon. {Those desiring speaking or musical :iBnditions for radio or moving pictnre iengagementB would do well to have them faithfully reproduced hy RCA licensed electrical recording process and in the form of records which re- ceive utmost attention at radio and picture studios. Such recordings rep resent limc'Saving, economicalf digni fiedf lasting, faithful auditions, token at the artistes convenience when the yoice is at its hest. Complete facilities, conveniently lo jcated to the theatrical district, permit of carrying through the entire, process of personal recordings' in minimum time and at minimum cost. Auditions by appointment. Write or *phone {CiTcle 9214) for further information SorxD Stubios OF PgijW YORK, Inc- 50 West 57th Street NE W YORK CITY rEVERYTHING¥Rlm For the Stage and Screen COSTUMES ANIMALS NOVELTIES I ■" *^ Kxclaalve furnishers ot all waterproof ■ materials to PublU Theatres Kopinseal Enbber Mfg. Co. West Wth St. Wotklns pOZI New Torb DOROTHY YOST WRITING FOR Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer criminal Ind' ^ment secured '^>v John I H. Amen, special attorney for the department, when he was denied certf'" '-"'^''rs wanted as a part of a planned civil suit on, principally, the question of . restraining trade throucrh protection oh play dates on the West Coast. . This hrought Amen to the atten- tion, of thie new attorney general, Mr. Mitchell,- Who was looking for action somewhere to stop the con- tinually growing attitude of busi- ness generally as to the antl-trust laws. Following upon the heels of this Indictment, from the Washington end, and hitherto not previously re- ferred to, wa.3^ a misunderstanding regarding certain evidence upon which Amen expected to carry his California case to a co'nclus.ion. With this evidence in the hands of Mitchell, Amen was hurriedly ordered. in from the coast. He came in such a, hurry that, air- planes were utilized. Amen denied that the evidence in the hands of the attorney general was that upon which; he hoped to :Win his case. When his papers brought from the coast wero gone over by the department he was given full charge of that proceed- ing. He was also immediately as- signed the task of going over the various mergers, consummated and contemplated, including those ap- proved by .the previous adtninis- tratlon of the antl-trust division under Col. Wm. J. Donovan. Important was the removal of C. Stanley Thompson fromi his as slgnment of handling all picture cases. Thompson had been mainly responsible, for the previous policy of approval in advance. Tough on Fox The yox-Iioew deal, current, was the first delved into by this attor- ney selected to put new life into the anti-trust laws. That delve was not made until Fox had completed the Loew deal. He was aictually left holding the bag with the department sewing him up completely. The Fox Loew die^l had been previously ap proved by. Thompson for the de partment. Amen finished the departmental assignment In short order, prepared the papers In readiness for the printer and left for the West Coast to pick up that case.- He imme diately became active there. Mean while the Fox-Loew deal papers re- clined on John O'Brien's desk until a week ago, when they were called for by the attorney general. —This move- on the-part- of—Mr Mitchell was looked upon for a time as a part of the "hands ofiE" policy That, though, was soon dlssipatfed tiven the previously planned inner- conference within the department was sidetracked with the order for filing understood to come direct from Mitchell. Congress was to assemble In reg- ular session 10 days later. Warners' 28% Buy The papers were rushed through with such dispatch that they were not even printed in advance, it is said. It was not until Warjiers acquired the Fox 28% of First National that the Warner action was seriously considered, from report. This is mentioned In cold legal phrasing in the petitions as drawn by Russell Hardy, whosfe name appears on the two documents along with those of Mr; Mitchell, Mr. O'Brien and Mr Amen. It is believed here that the suit was unexpected to. the Warners. Further indicating the Warner suit was; not anticipated beyond possi- bly a sh-ort while agOj,. the Warner attorneys made but few trips here to the department in contrast to the many visits of the Fox counsel. Hays' organization's legal lights were also here. The wide contrast between the previous administration policy and that how In eontrol in handling the picture industry becomes particu- larly apparent. Department has at- tacked from another angle, too, de- claring criminal Indictments were in the offlng If enforcement of arbitra- tion awards was attempted. This resulted in the stoppage of all ar bitritlon. This came practically at the same time as the suits.. ^^If-CDngress-now-goes-lnto-revcrse and lets through the Canon Chase censorship and Brbokharfs federal control proposal, the rout might be declared to be complete. The Walsh resolution asking, for Information on the department's picture activities was hanging over. Brookhart had been making speeches, and the Iowa Senator, it now develops, was quite a prophet Brookhart, too, had plenty ol ques tlons to ask the department. And then there were rimibllngs coming from King of Utah, Observers see a check not only on King, but Walsh and Brookhart In the filing of the Fox and Warner suits. Records of the Department of Justice will not disclose any formal complaints from Individuals or or- e^anlzatlons on either the Fox or the Warner cases, accounts agree. Mayer'* Visit* . What efforts were put forth to bring on the suit by officials of Loew,; particularly those who were reported to have been caught 'Un- expectedly, havei not come to the surface. Loiils B, Mayer, has been here and at thei White House on many occasions. White House ex- ecutives went out of their way to give'assurances that Mayer's visits had nothing to do with the depart- ment's Investigation. Mayer himself went on record with the statement that "it Was all too complicated for him to meddle In." •The legal aspect of the present suits gives the department the edge say attorneys here. They were brought under the Clayton Act, which creates a very narrow issue. It leaves the department facing only the necessity of proving that In the acquisition of the competitor's stock, "may substantially lessen competi- tion" between the acquired and ac- quiring companies. Says Washington offlclally and unofficially, the picture Industry Is involved in a governmental-entan- glement that will create much in- terest in Its development and final disposition... Old Stunt Made New And New House Record Joe Lee, RKO's Brooklyn dyna- miter, made an old one look new last week to beat the rest of the cir- cuit on comparative gross with "Isle of Lost Ships" (FN). He rented an ambulance from St.. John's hospital for $30 and planted it in front of the theatre with a driver and nurse In attendance. A sign on the pig offered free rides to those who fainted while seeing the picture. Inside the theatre Lee handed out salts to patrons growing limp Over the film. Lee's stuiitlng broke the house record with, a mediocre picture. 1 A Story of the er M EMBERS of a small country club in Gonneclicul triecf to economize by installing Mechanical Music to replace the small orchestra, which supplied music for the youngsters to dance each Friday evening. The plan worked once, but the next Friday evening the little orchestra was back on the job. "WhatV the matter with your swell music box?'* a father, l[sk<Ml; •*Wouida t you rather dance to Whiteihah or Vallee? music than to that tin pan band?** Junior shook his head and quoted the sadder of the Two Black Crows: " 'Even if it was good, we wouldn't like it.* Mechanical Music is line at home, but it hasn*t got enough kick at a club dance.*' * What is true of dancing must be true of the theatre. Me- chanical music cannot take the place of living music. * * * Americans pay generously for their entertainment. Why Should They Forego the Pleasure ol Real'Music-in-the-Theatre? The American Federation of Musicians (Comprising 140,000 profeaMional musiciaM in the United States and Canada) JOSEPH N. WEBER> President 1440 Broadway, New York, N. Y.