Variety (Dec 1929)

Wediiesdajr, I>ecismber 18> 1029 PICTURES VARIETY DowntownTheatre Plays 2d Run Film After Suburb's 1st •piUfiburgh, X)tec. 17. peculiar flltuatloii JiiBre In picture ♦greement' between Harris Amuse- ineht Co. and R-K-Q. H^-rrls, first- run house downtown, Is to . i>lay Badio pictures after they've been ahown in ft neighborhood house, the Sheridan. Square, which R-K-O operates, : • ■ 'Harris played second, rjin down- towns but went back to first riins Jast summer with straight picture First Instance, on record of a ilo\^i|»wn first tun site playing scc- i>niiTPhs <»f a.neighborhood. "Street ^Irl," which preyloupiy; playe/d .two yreiefks. ieit S^^'^'^^)^> ^^^^ Har- ris next week, -to b^ .followed by >Tlld RltasV now on. riiiti,^ a^ Shejrl- (flan.-.-'-- . ; ' \ :'. .Harris will use^ur Bi-K-O vaude jwjts with Pictures,; V . INDIES TAKE PUilLIX GAStOFF Shreveport, La., Dec. 17. liocal. Capitol theatre, dropped by Publlz as a losing proposition three weeks ago, has been taken up by Independents. House reopened with "Fox-Movie- tone Follies" and .Will continue using Fox pictures almost entirely. Claude Hazle is thalnager. Publlz has worked over Its Saen- i^er here, installing sound, and will compete with Capitol in the low scale field. Silent pictures are now entirely ^fl the map In Shreveport. "StambouF' to Music Hollywood, Dec. 17. "Universal will probably remake •The Virgin of Stamboul," H. H Vart Loan original filmed In 1919 with Prlsdlla Dean, as a musical talker. Femme lead not set. but John Boles picked for the l?oy. Understanding Is that Van Loan goes to work for TJ in January re vising the 10-year-old script and Writing idialog. JOE LaROSE PROpUCTiONS FOX THEATRES .00 FOX THEATRE Detroit Mich. Jmt ToTicliy One of those vaudeville rou* tines occured at the Florida (Publtx) In Jacksonville, Flor- ida. During the engagement of "Dynamite" a lady by tele-' phone Inquired of Manager Perlberg about the picture and asked if there was a theme song "How Am I To Know," re- plied Perlberg. ■ Next day the woman's hus- band called to demand how dare Perlberg get smart to liis . wife.,, •■ BOOTH MEN WALKED IN BUFFALO; NO NOTICE Buffalo', Dec. 17; Lopial Operators': Union No. 233 this, week called out the union oper- ators-from about a dozen Buffalo neighborhood houses, ; following a long period' Of negotiatlonis. .. Union dentianded iw^ men In every iieighr borhbddv-house booth. iWith iinion operators now receiving $_96.44- per week for the neighborhood houses, the managers claimed an Iiicrease under present .business conditions would be suicide. " ■ In pulling the nien out, union offi- cials issued a statement "deciaring that to have one man in the booth was a mena.6e and unsafe. The owners countered with the state- ment that the booths have been operated by one man for 20 years. The union operators walked out at 5 In the afternoon without notice. It necessitated a number of houses remaining dark for the end of the week. Within 24 houris, however, aU booths had been manned by li- censed non-union operators and all of the nelghboriiood houses are again in full operation. No picket- ing up to,the present time. It is reported that, the union atti- tude is governed largely by the fact that the Independent owners have recently started a school ifor oper- ators. FOX'S 52 FOR PROGRAM; GRANDEUR AND COLOR Although the number of Fox plc- ture? for the '30-31 program has hot been definiiiiely . decided, advance talk is that th^ company will turn out 52i or one a week, the same as Cor the current season. How many will be in Grandeur, if not all, and how many in color are decisions In..the distance along with the possibility that Fox next year will definitely qiilt making si- lent versions. Fox now ha,s three making in Grandeur. "When the current schedule was announced last June, the PoX com- pany stated it .weuld not make any silents at all, but later reconsidered In view .of the many unwlred ac- counts still existing. With 33 pictures of its approxi- mate 63 on the current program completed, in production or slated for immediate screening, ,Metro Is further ahead on its schedule than even' befbrie. at this tinxe of the year. Besides the 20 yet to., be .done, M-G-M will make four foreign'ver- sions uiider present plans. First two will be' German versions of "Sunklssed," featuring Vilma Bahky, arid. "Anna Christie/', starring Greta Garb.o and her first talker, already completed. No Spanish • prints planned on either. The Hispanic versions wlU .be of two Ramon Novarros, but will ; not Include his first, "Devil May Care," opening next week at the Astor, New York, on a $2 run. First from plans wlH he "House of Troy," now In production, with Robert Z. Leonard directing. This Is a Spanish classic, adapted for the screen by Bess Meredyth. Steffes' Co-op Circus Is After 50 Northwest Houses Minneapolis, Diec. 17. Reports hereabouts are to the ef- fect that W.. A. Steffes, president of the Northwest Theatre Owners' Association and owner of the Paradise theatre here, is organizing a circuit of 50 theatres throughout Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Iowa, Montana, Wisconsin and northern Michigan, Under the Steffes plan, part own ershlp and supervision of the houses will remain with the local Inter- ests entering the circuit* but the operating cqmpany will own 61% of the stock and control the chain's buying power, F. N. Options Hollywood, Dec. 17. First National has renewed op- tions on J. Grubb Alexander, Hum- phrey Pearson and Gordon Rlgby From my log book of experience in The Picture Business Year 19i28—spent ten months at P. B. O. studios. In Hollywood. studying production and acting as publicity director. Returned to New York, where I acted as assistant to Robert T. Kane, head of Pathe Sound Studios, While here functioned In charge Of productions and casting, and directed dialog on three features made at this studio last year. Titles are "Syncopation," "Mother's BOy" and "Lucky in Love." Returned to Hollywood six months ago, where I di- rected dialogue on seven features for Columbia. Titles are : "College Coquette," "Broadway Scandals," "Ac- quitted," "Wall Street," "Broadway Hoofer," "Mexican Rose" and "The Melody Man." 33 of 53 Schedoled Metro Films Finished FILM REVIEWS (Continued from page 28) ingly impudent, touchingly ■ warm youngsters who will carry a tre- menous. appeal to. the great home- keeping, family-loving American public. In the midst of the children and for this reason, as for others, suggestive of Thomas Meighan, al- though in no respect similar as, to looks, is Frederlch March, sharing billing with Mary Brian, atid getting a great break, A couple of pictures like this one and March will romp upward pronto. Miss Brian Is splendid. This young performer has had a fine growth. Her work now has sure- ness and sympathy. It Is impossible to think of anyone doing this role better. Without having read the novel It seemg she must very nearly approximate Edith Wharton's orlgi nal of the girl who brought up her young brothers and sisters because the fashionable parents were too busy traipsing about Europe. In a production characterized by quiet, unostentatious elegance, par- amount has created fullness of nar- rative and characterizations. None of the puny one-Incident plots so prevalent nowadays, but the depth and breadth of a. novel plus that good old-fashioned heart tug, Lothar Mendes has a product here which he can use a prestige en- dorsement. He has done a fine di- rectorial job with the valuable co- operation of cameraman, sound man and. not to slight one always Impor- tant if ofttlme ignored, the cutter. " But, lundariientaiiy, the story must get a big chunk Of the credit. It is rich in the things that make films glamorous, as well as arous- ing definite. sympathetic responses in the audience. In other words, the spectator Is always absorbed. Land. Seven Directors Hollywood, Dec 17. New claim is that ^even di- rectors are required to make a talking picture. They're listed as screen, dialog, pictorial, sound, dance, music and color. It's Don Eddy's press agent- ry angle for Radio, but it raises the titles of cameramen and technicians, If It gets over. CLOSED THEATRE Ma STARTS "TRUSr SWT Kansas City, Dec. 17. A suit for 195,000 damages against the Famous Playerg-Lasky Corporation and 14 other picture or^ ganlzatlbns has been filed here by Walter O. Burkey, formerly oper- ator of the Admiral theatre. Burkey allejgesv'.the defendants maintained.; 4^" triiat In restraint of trade. ' He" chargeB it forced; hifti to close his tKela,j£re>;a.nd thkt th^t^ffl- clals of the defendant companies or- ganized a pool, combination or trust a few years ago for tho purpose of regulating and controlling the film industry. Reeds'Final Decree jLos V Angelesi Dec. l^i Superior J.udge SchaUer granted Naomi Childers Reed her final decree of divorce from Luther Reed, direc- tor. Miss Reed gets the custody of thehr 8-year old son Peter, $260 weekly alimony and an allowance of $260 a month for the child. Considino's Visit Hollywood, Dec. 17. • John W. Consldlne, Jr., and Howard Emmett Rogers are en- route to New York. , Consldlne will look over the play market for future United Artlsf product. W. E. THROWS OFF 25% DOWN FOR WIRING Sacrifice of Its 25% down pay- ment, reported from within as cov- ering the manufacturing costs of Its equipment, which Is set to be officially announced by ■ Western, is regarded by competitors as de- signed to oflCset the cheaper de- vices in the field. Radio's Photojphone, related to Western through Generals -slster- ship with A. T. & T,, does not in- tend to alter its present policy with the new Western system'which records the lowest down payment of any equipment In . the field, . Radio's executiyes say Western'^ lowest price remains $7,000,; and that the only adyantftge to the ex- hibitor Is that ithete no .lump sum at the start, while'hla Wjeekly pay-in fot years is . Jacked . tip to nearly $100. • ' '. " Radio was one of the" last-of the lesser equlpmbni,' ctinip^^nies to cut its price. Its los|f(^. prlc^ ment, good only .^(Loirj'^in es, sells for $2,995.-:. iTnat requires a down payment of $299, with the remaining payments averaging $36.66, weekly. Up to last week, although the contracts, signed were claimed In excess of 600, Radio adiiiltt,ed It haa yet to make itsN flrSt^lnstallat^On of this model. Slownfes^' Iiiitriass pro- 'duction Is cla,lmed by,^i;0yeral rer cently. identified with "^Photophone flis chief \reason fw .tlrielr with- drawal. • • Although Western salesmen have reported being Instructed to go after theatres with any equipment ex- cept Photophone, execs in the lat- ter company believe that the West- ern price adjustment m6ans a drive against every competitive equip- ment In the business. Furthmah'a Move Hollywood, Decl7. Jules Furthman, scenarlati leaves Paramount after four years to Join Fox. Moves Jan. 1. Inside StuS^Pictures Lot of Hollywood femmes stung bht persuaded not to squawk on a; sure-thing tip rackef. Racketeer is one of the "good old-dlaysV boys and makes contacts by Introducing himself to old-tlmera ahd recalling Incidents "with Blograph" or on other historic lots. He then goes .pn to say he Is the brother of a,noted Jockey and has the Inside on a sure bet at big odds. He agrees to placia a bet fior 140-to-l or something like that, and that Is. the first ollve out of the, bottle. Later he calls up Mrs. Jones and tells her her horse won and he's on the way oyer with the money. ' . Then he phones another girl, explains' who he Is and what; he has to (Continued on page 45) . ■ James mour MONTE BLUE in 99 HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA Telephone Granite 5101 THE MANXMAN (ENGLISH MADE) (Silent) British -.International production with no. American distributor credited. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Based on novel of same title by Sir Hall Calne. Jack Cox,: camera- man. At the Little CarneBle, New York, week Dec. 14. Runnlner time, 70 minutes. Pete QulUIam.. Carl Brlsson Kate Crcgdcn.... I, Anny Ondra Philip Christian.,-' Malcolm Keen Caesar Cregeen Ramlle Ayrton Granny Grcgeen., .....Clare Greet Antiquated adaptation of beat I seller of another day, first error. I Lustreless performance by this all- . British cast plus usual foreign di- : rection WiS^ ledltlrig,'"th¥ ^second. English locale about the only asset for "The Manxman," a pancake even for the die-hard sure-seaters. Story Is unfolded In a stupid ele- mentary way. Much footage is de- voted to Caesar's grog shop where Anny Ondra, pretty but inoffensive .blonde, starts the Kate role, off In a barmaid capacity. Of rmn-.^e, there's more—but less. Waly. "Isles of Escape Warner Bros. Vitaphone Release Max f!aet<»i^ Make^f^ Used Exelustvelg Tnie-to-Iife characters are easily created with Max Factot's Make-Up' Flexi' bility» purity, naturalness are only a few of the qualities which cause leading celebrities of stage and screen to use Max FactCMr's Makt'Up exclusively. When vou see Monte Blue m ^Isles of Escape/' note the make-up...and cemembo: it is Max Factor's; Your inquiry on any ntake-up problem will receive immediate attention No obliga- tion. Address: Special Service Make-Up Dept, MAX FACTOR MAKE-UP ^TUDIOf HOLLYWJOODr CALm ^ Hol^^ At AU Leading Drug Stores ■ j' Max Factor's r j Max Factor's PANCHROMATIC iftf,^ Theatrical Make-Up and TECHNICOLOR /ItiWll FOR THE STAGE MAKE-UP for the screen