Variety (Dec 1929)

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86 VARIETY PI C T U R E S Wednesday, December 11, 1929 distribute, Publlz Is I Inside Stuff-Pictures A chain or so seems to be taking up the pass problem. It Is a problem^ always has been for a circuit, and probably always will be. It s unlikely it a better check can be put upon the ,pass thine than the local manager"! judgment or discretion. Always angles, political, civic, posting and newspapers. In some town the'pdpers are" the biggest pass hogs^ In the aggregate on a. chain the pass evil appears to reach large proportions, but may not be so amazingly big when analyzed. In Pubux Opinion" for Instance, It Is claimed that the Publlx Theatres over 500,000 passes annually. That sounds enormous, but credited with operating at least 1,200 theatres. In a year of 62 weeks that amounts to over 60,000 weeks. Against that, 500,000 passes would make an average of 12 passes per week per house. With each pass taking in two at least, that means there may be 24 deadheads weekly In any one -ot the houses. Figuring that the larger houses will give out more passes of course and any number jpossibly hot Issuing any through the town, grade of theatre or low sca,le, the pass matter with Publlx even may not be so alarming as it looks iri bulk. _ • Any effort to check the pass thing though Is always laudable and the greater the reduction, the greater the benefit. ThlsJs not always the aim of the theatre management to keep the list of deadheads down In order to provide a larger cash gross, but more so not to educate a com- munity to become deadhead fiends. For It is an axiom of the show busi- ness that a deadhead is deadly. . Personal letters to hoUse managers might do more than anything else to keep the pass giving to Its minimum in any town, with the hogging newspapers tO be requested not to spread Its passes so promiscuously, reserving them for the editorial or reportorlal itaft only. Although in almost any of the middle class cities or towns the newspaper inen are known to the thea;tre8 and do not require a pass. Home Office Advice To curb the old exhibitor cry of poor business against high rentals, First JTatlonal Is es- atabllshing a special service bureau wherein the Indie may get the Ipw-down on how to get the most customers. . Charlie Elnfeld Is the chief consultant. No matter where they are or why, iElnfeld Is prepared to answer each In- coming letter personally. It Is the first time publicity has been dispensed this way. To get the proper handling an exhibitor must outline In detail his own peculiar case. ' First letter received Is one of the toughest expected. It's from Ada, Iowa, a town of 2,500 dependent upoii college draw. Ada's SQS is for dope oh how It will survive the holidays When the boys are eating tur- key at home. DESTROYEDKBY FIRE Patron and Operator Theatra roes—Keep Film Runnina Atlantic, la^t Deo. 10, Atlantic theatre was destroyed by flre last week for between a |30,000 and $50,000 loss. Blaze drove 1.000 members ot audience from the building. . Fire gained headway slowly and audience exited quietly. Hilton Frost, Des Moines/a 8pe6tatot, dis- covered the flre, calmly told the audience to leave, and by his com- mand ot the situation prevented a panic. Clarence Lay, booth operator, con- tinued the fllm until the screen fell In flames. He was partly overcome by smokei U's Sales Drive ad, on First Technicolor ad, outside of trade papers. In the $500,000 to $1,000,- OOO campaign to plug color, Is a three-page spread for the "Sat. Eve. Post" Issue of Jan. 11, with the cost tor same $34,500. A similar cost not including art work and plates. Is scheduled for the "Post* Jan. 25. ■ First display carries a picture of Dorothy Revler In a close-up from "Cleopatriv" (Columbia) but does not give credit to either the star or producer. Cuts of Miss Revler, In bUiok-and-white and color, to Illustrate the difference are on the first page. Second page has color cuts of scenea from VSally" (FN) with picture ot Marilyn Miller in costume and a group scene from '^No, No Naiiette*' (FN). Third page has scene from "Show ot Shows": (WB) and '•General Crack'* (WB) with mention In copy of some of.'the Teichnlcolot ^productions. Second triple-page Spread. for the^"Fost" will include cuts of scenes from -"Vagabond King," "Golden Dawn," "Song of the West," "Song ot the Flame" and 'ISoh ot . the Gods," with Par, having one page to , Itself on cuts showing Nancy Carroll In black-and-white and in color. Thh:d flash In "Post" will be a twofpage ad on "Vagabond Klng.'V "Hit the Deck" and "The Rogue Song." - * Major Coast studio found itself lacing a damage suit when pictures ot a Beverly Hills mansion were published with one ot the company's leading actresses posing as mistress of the domain. Photos were made without malice and with consent of the actress's boy friend, who hap pened to be the son of the old lady'who made the squawk. , Actress, at the time, lived In a small apartment and when the studip received requests for a series pt home studies ot the fair one, she and the boy friend got together and agreed to have them made at his home. But before the pictures could be published, the girl became matrimonially Involved with another picture star. This didn't go so well with the original suitor, or hia mother. So when they saw the pictures of their home profusely mounted, like gems upon a background of fictitious .chatter concerning the actress' home life, the mother rebelled and asked the studio to produce credentia,ls permitting them to use her home. Case was settled before It reached the courts by diplomatic mea.sures In furnishing the owner with a series of pictures showing her as mistress of her own domain Instead of the actress who Jilted her son. Technical Fbreclosure Chicago, Dec. 10. Legal steps are being taken to foreclose on the Terminal and Sheridan theatres, former Ascher Bros.' houses, at present.being oper- ated ' by the Fox Chicago Corp. Move Is purely technical, and will serve to clear the properties of mi- nor claims.. Proceedings, Instituted by Stone Securities Co., which holds the first mortgages of $1,350;000 against these houses, are for taxes and ma- tured bonds, totaling approximately $306,000. Present status of Fox is iiot affected. Fox took these theatres last July under a lease for 18 months and reserving the right to buy at the close ot that period. Taking aUto and other Industries as an example. Universal Is plan- ning an Innovation by creating a new selling season Jan. 1. to cover a block of the company's product embracing 16 plcture|i. New mid-season selling drive re- sults from many changes In U plans, production work In some cases hav- ing turned upside down since the June announcement on product. Lazarus On Theatres Hollywood, Dec. 10. Jeff Lazarus, .who recently left Fox after tunctlpning, for a year as supervisor, has been appointed executive assistant to H. B. Frank- lin, president of Fox Coast The- atres. Lazarus had previously been associated with Franklin. Besides Lazarus, Jack Mansfield and Bruce Fowler are also execu- tive assistants to Franklin. tor him hook, line and sinker. In order to clinch the deal he promised to marry her. , Two weeks after the cafe opiened, the actor took it on the ld.m with the $15,000 and the employees came to the woman with the sad news. Then the actor's wife came looking for him. Woman who was taken started to squawk and went to the district attorney's office, but when she got there, she decided It would be better to let the whole thing drop Figured she was. getting money from her family and If they found out about It, would be just too bad. feed and gab test alibis. John Flinn , Others who piped A. Parsons, George Past presidents* day at . the AMPA's last dollar turned out to be little more than an occasion for spoke earnestly as did Paul Gullck and Bill Yearsly. briefly included Walter Eberhardt, Paul Lazarus, P. Harvey, Bruce Gallup and Glenn Allvlne. Unusually large congregation listened to all but two of the boys, Vic Shapiro and A. M. Bottsford, who have lead the flook since its Inception 14 years ago. incidentally, memberships have Increased from 13 at that time io 230 today. Active president, Eddie Kline, was down in Washington. A lengthy article In the Kansas City Sunday "Stfu^' dwelt upon the quality of the pictures going Into that town and the strength of their respective drawing power. It vtras an unsigned story but written by someone who knew what he was talking about. He quoted firom Variety of a couple ot weeks ago when the K.,C. grosses for two successive cur rent weeks, showing a drop of $20,000 in total gross one week, were printed. The story admitted as Variety had stated that the drop was not due to stock market conditions In K. C, the writer stating that the week when the top grosses were taken the stock market effect locally had been the severest. The article concluded In this way; "The public wants good pictures. "It shops to find them." Kansas City Is a notorious "shopping" show centre. It's the first town as far as the record goes which "went shopping for pictures." Variety's Kansas City correspondent. Will Hughes, called attention to that,fact In his Kansas City report some years ago and often has repeated it. With Warners producing Its own stage units in both Pittsburgh de luxe houses, Stanley and Enrlght, at least 40 local girls have been giVen steady employment In chorus work there. All are eager to get down town at the Stanley, many of the kids from the Enrlght, nel£:hborhood in East Liberty, filing applications at the Stanley and several were moved down to fill vacancies &a they occurred. Miore or less rivalry between the two groups. After Jan. 1 Publlx units come into Stanley and the 24 girls there will be out of work. Los Angeles' Film Row extends Its charitable work the year round. Exchanges rotate weekly In furnishing programs to homeless kids (St. Vincent's Institution at Santa Barbara); Boyd and Girls' Aid Society, Pasadena; Masonic Home, Convina;. wayward kids at the Whlttler State School; McKlnley Industrial Home, Van Nuys; L. A. Juvenile Hall; Convicts Camp No. 15, San Simeon; Pacific Colony, Spadra; County Poor Farm, Hondo; Jewish Consumptive Relief Association, Duarte; L. A. Tubercular Association camp, San Gabriel; Pasadena Preventorium; Olive View Sanatorium, San Fernando, and St. Mary's hospital, Tucson, Ariz. Gratis service Is arranged through the Los Angeles Film. Board of Trade. Institutions call for and return the fllmia. Requests at Thanks- giving and Christmas for specials are also usually complied with gratis. An ex-lndle producer, who recently stepped up as production manager of a first line company, and Is' trying to save his Coast studio money. Is overboard on enemies already. Just a prop boy Is the latest. In one picture it was necessary to supply cigars for a gag In which a player thrust the weed down another player's throat. Scene was taken several, times, necessitating 18 cigars. When the :exec saw the- cost Sheet he crossed off the account calling for the cigars and made the prop boy pay for 17 of them out of his own pocket, saying, "One was enough." With United Artists, M-G-M, Columbia, Tiffany, Pathe, Universal and all Independent and state right exchanges now concentrated on Ninth ave., film carriers have discontinued calling at 729 Seventh ave., for 12 years the hub of Greater New York's physclal dltsrlbutlon. Seventh ave. building Is ndw exclusively a home office structure with the 49 th st, side, once glutted by delivery trucks, now entirely free of same. A ramp under the Film Center building, on Ninth ave., enables the trucks to be loaded Indoors without traffic congestion. ' Importance ot being hard boiled and officious is fittingly pronQUnced and exemplified by some of the Inside secretaries to picture execs. Placed In advantageous spots, these sees are working all sorts of rackets and sidelines to grab an extra penny. Not unusual to find one peddling llqUor to other members of the firm, using as an excuse that the boss has ordered the stuff. 'Some work the tdagazlne subscription thing, raking off nickels through that source. Those tiot actually employed In chiseling for dough use their positions for takr ing care of someone's girl. or boy friend, maybe their own, calling up another exec to say, "this is a friend of the boss, and anything done will be appreciated." Most of the bosses don't seem to know anything about it. Russian picture actor promoted a Pasadena society woman lor $15,000 ■to open .a cafe :in, a. Hollywood SUM BIARTIN AND HIS BAND Now at COLORADO THEATRE, PASADENA, CALIF. COAST NOTES Carrol Graham to UA publicity department. . Robert Roiss, production manager on "King of Jazz," U. Moseby's colored band In "Main^ ba," Colorart. Kathleen Picture, dancer, "Broads way Vagabond," UA. . Bobby Forbes and Margaret sted«i man, college picture, Ti>em-Cavr. Complete cast "The Last Dance," Audible: Vera Reynolds, Jason Ro- . iards, Georgd Chandler, Gertrude Short, Miami Alvarez, Harry Todd, iLiIllian Leiightoh, LIhton Brent. " Scott Pembrokie directing. Henry Armetta,."SunkIssed," M-G. Johnny Mack Brqwn, "Montana." Complete cast "Faithful,'* FN: Billie Dove, Montague Love, Glnp Corrado, Kay Francis, Kenneth Thompson, Basil Rathbone, Blanche Frederica, Malcolm Walte, Almeda Fowler, Philip Strange. Complete cast "Slightly Scarlet," Par: Evelyn Brent, Cllve Brook, Paul Lucas,. Helen Wa;re; Eugene Pallette, Morgan Farley, Christland Yves, Claude Alllster, Henry Wads- worth, Virginia Bruce. Myrna Kennedy, "The Song Writer." M-G. . Forrest Stahley, "What Price College," Beecroft. To be made in New York. E. T. Lowe, Jr., continuity, "Bar- bara Coast,". U. Grace Carlisle, novelist, to write originals, U. Complete cast "Only the Brave," Par: .Cai'y Cooper, Mary Brian, Phillips Holmes, Morgan Farley, Edna. Voekel, James' Nelll, Wm. Le- Malre.° Frank Tuttle directing. Renee Macready, "The Fire Walker," Radio, Herbert Ashton, Jr., for Coliimr bla's writing staflT. "Borrowed Love," changed to "Black Sheep," Col. J. Carrol Nalsh, actor, on from New York under contract to Fox. Fox has bought "A Very Practical Joke," Satevepost slory, from B. A; Williams. Latter put it Into screen form as his last chore before quit- ting this lot. Ullrich Haupt, Yola D'Avrll, "A Sailor's Sweetheart," UA. Alice Weaver, "Flower Garden,'^ M-Qj Houston Branch remains with U another year as staff scenarist. Fay Wray, B. H. Calvert, Eugene Palette, "Benson Murder Case," Par. Jacques Feyder, writing original for Greta Garbo. Junior Coghlan, Wilbur Mack, 'Fresh From College," M-G. H. B. Carpenter to direct "West of the Rockies," for Charles Daviig. Art Mix and Fontaine La Rue leads. Radio has borrowed Conrad Nagel from M-G for "Second Wife." George Atchalnbaud to Radio to direct "Framed," original by Paul Schofield. Shannon Day, Dot Farley, "Old Vamps for New," Darmour. Albert ContI, Hedda Hopper, Claude Alllster, Bela LugasI, "Such Men Are Dahgerous," Fox. El. Brendel, Frank Albertson, "The Golden Calf," Fox. TRADO TWINS . Featured in . Fanchon and Marco's "TYPES IDEA" Carlena Diamond Singing and Dancing Harpist Featured in F. & M. '♦TYPES" IDEA Atrival of talkers, which brought the hope that, chattei-lng customers would hereafter be silenced during performances, seems only to have caused picture fd.ns tq jabber more fiendishly. Illustration of how this rule is ignored was an Incident in a Broadway picture house. Three men, hats In hand, seated together, kept talking away with gusto until a patron in front called an usher saying: "Can't you, please, niake. them stop. I can't hear the picture." "Sh!" said the usher, "They're the bosses ot this theatre." That Hollywood is pretty much like a small town was about'proved here when an assistant director at Fox wanted to get a watch, fixed In a hurry. He spotted a combination jewelry, plumbing, coal and wood store adjacent to the studio. Entering, he' asked if they could fix his watch, Old man took it apart and finally decided a hair In the spring was causing the trouble. A. D. said, "Well, can you fix It?" and the old gent replied, "You'll have to wait for the jeweler;. I'm just the plumber." -"TsiffiisitaHe<rasir^with^tHs-T5^ in Hollywood, the Capitol, Salt Lake City, opened the picture here last week. Hollywood affair was broadcast over a hook-up, and CBS, Salt Lake station, worked with the Capitol In sending the progrram to that theatre through Ipud speakers on the stage and through a public address system outside. Ben Markson, sent- to Salt Lake by United Artists, handled the ploltatlon. ex- A novelist and poet was singled out by a Hollywood film producer to (Continued on page C2) JOELaROSE PRODUCTIONS FOX THEATRES RALPHSPENCE DIALOGUE FOR M-G-M FOX THEATRE Detroit - Mich.