Variety (Dec 1929)

12 VARIETY PICTURES Wednesday, December tS, 1929 Film Stocks Steadier CContlnued from page 9) Is going on behind the scenes here, but the situation is ndt clear, except that strong support always, appears to be at hand at 16%, the bottom touched since the October smash to 12. One view is tha,t the big corpo- ration or banking capital behind RKO also now is in command of Fox and there are large possibilities In that situation favoring the RKO future, but in what way is still vague. Reported also big buying .orders are in around 16. Last ten days have brought de- velopments that played entirely in the bears' hands. ^First the recovi ery from the Nov. 13 bottom had gone too far and too fast and crie- ated a technical market situation made to order for a reaction. All It needed was a bold bear attack and prices melted, then tax selling came In on recessions. On top; of that the series of. receiverships shook buyers' nerves again. By then whatever bullish sentiment there had bepn for the pre-hollday days was thoroughly dissipated with the result that what had looked like bargains at the top of the recovery began to be examined aneW through dark glasses. Money Tightens Monday a njew influence bore down on the market. The money mark'et tightened with the call rate moving up to 6%% in the list bour just in time to hip a late rally. Stif- fening of money at this time is quite normal, due to seasonal shifting of funds to the interior and Withdraw- als for the holidays, but this year tliere Is also the export of gold to foreign capitals, amounting In three weekd past to 1(90,000,000, and of course making a shrinkage in avail- able credit 6f about 10 times that ahiount. Corpora^tlbn withdrawals for year-end payments should re- fltrlct credit further, ^ ThesQ developments would prob- ably mean nothing In themselves to a market bolstered. by confidence, but the ticker following Is full of nerves ahd there Is a suspicion that the . big banks are determined to block any public participation In a boom market for a Jong time and divert capital to the bond list, the pl.an b.elng to pave the way for heavy foreign . ftriandng here. There's no sense'ln Inspiring a ijuH market of any size without the pub- lic being toy It wag the huge public following that made possible the new financing of corporiatlons In the last four years that reached stag- gering proportions, Prepare New Leaders The disheartening thing about the market Is the ease with which the bears can hammer down such lead- ing stocks as Consolidated Gas, American Can and the old leader. Steel. One Ingenious explanation is that the next recovery is now In the making, although it may not manifest Itself until along in Feb- ruary, Meantime the cliques are leaving alone the old leaders and accumulating lines of lesser stocks which they hopei to build into new leaders later on. Aspect of the list suggests that a good ttjany stocks are bein^ made to look sick for purposes of iac-. cumulation. There Is' no .locic,, for instance, in a strong company like Loew's going to a basis of nearly 10% return.. Merits of Iioew have been pointed out by financial writ- ers many times during the recent Slump, but the stock attracts no following. What amounts to assur- ance that Paramount will go on a 44 basis in the spring has had no. result. except to accelerate the de- cline.: Both stocks at current levels look like real bargains for the long pull, regardless of manipulation in the near future. ; Paths Bonds '' There are several other strange looking details in the picture. Pathe bonds in relatively heavy ti:'a:dlng last week broke to 29 % at which price the $.7 rate represents nearly 26% yield. Pathe bonds probably would be worth more than -that in llquidatibn. Monday there was a feeble recovery to around '33 at the close. Unlversal's i8% preferred is an- other stock that has reached. re- markable figures, aippeating as low as 28 recently. Universal has some financing to dp around the first of th€i year when more than |2,000,000 of' funded debt is duel, but even that scarcely Justifies such prices. Kelth-Orpheum- preferred has not appeared on the tape in days, being last quoted around 78. Senior issue is Convertible 3 for 1 Into R-K-Q common> and the Improved future for the. common probably. Is reflect- ed here in determined loni:s. Bid and asked Monday were 73% bid, 78 asked. Stock really represents a long term privilege on the common arid meanwhile is paying $7 a year. Orpheum. preferred paying $8 is an- other apparently held down for shakeout purposes and selling Mon- day at 59. It Is convertible two for one for R«-K-0 common. Statistical, survey tdr last week shows 23 stocks and bonds oh big board and curb off. an aggregate of .76 points, and only ..one Issue, up,. Universal preferred, which gained 3% from its low. Radio Corp. led In sales Of 1,193,000 shares, with Pox second with turnover of 328,000. There were no new highs, but seven new lows'for 1929 or longer, in- cluding Fox A at i9%; American Seating at 19%; Pathe common at 2%,'Pathe A at 4%, Shubert com- mon, at 9%, Pathe bonds at 29% and Shubert bonds at 48. Season's Greetings MAURICE BARON Staff Composer, Roxy, New York Beginning Dec. 20 (for two weeks) his original score in, the operetta, "Babes In the Woods." Acclaimed by the press of New York. PD6LIX WILL BRING IN MST. MGROY GROUPS Piiblix district managers are to be provided with special opportu- nities for first-hand knowledge of how the home office functions.. Plan calls for special congresses of the district captains In New York. Approximately 60 district man> agers are. affected, only those dis- trict heads whose' territories are n such shape that business will permit them the trip'and stay being considered; It Is likely that each congress will not Include more than eight or 10 district managers at any period. v These periods are to extend about four or five, weeks for each group. During this time visiting district chiefs wHl be privileged to ransack the hOme departments for all in- formation that may come to mind. Idea, according to report, Is to lay the foundation of an Instruction school for district managers. I^ub- lix already has a student manager school and a managerial Instruction unit. The district managers will be tipped QfC by Dave Chatklh, man- aging director of Publix Theatres, ahd~ Jack 'Barxy, director of person- nei. Summary for week ending December St; STOCK EXCHANGE Sales, Issue and rate. 1,400 American Seat (2) 1,000 Conaol. Film (2).; , 4,000 Consol. Film pfd. (2) 41,000 Eastman Kodak (8) 328.000 Fox Class A (4) 100 Keith pf. (7) 31,000 Tjoew (8%) SOO Loew pf. (0%) ' 3,200 Madison Sq. Garden (11^)...... 000 Met.rO.-M. pref. (l.SO),... 70 Orph. pref. (8) 47,000 Paramount-Fam.-Xasky (3).^... 18,000 Pathe Exchange ............... 7,000 Pathe Class A. ^ 1,103,300 Hadlo Corp.... 80.200 Radlo-K-O 2,C00 Shubert 80' Unlveraol pref. (8)...^.,..;.... 131.400 Warner Bros. (4y 2,000 Warner Bros. pref. (2.20)....;. CURB .... Columbia Plcts 89.1)00 F<Jx Theatres 18,400 Qen. The, Eq. V. T. C... ..... Loew Bts.. 102,500 Sonora Prod 800 Univ. Plcts. • • •Ex dividend. BONDS 07 - 74% $7,000 Keith O's. '46........ 80 78 78% S2 28,000 Loew O's. '41 102% 102% 102% 100% 88 . 0,000 Do ex war.. 03% 01% 01% ^84 20%* 21,000 Pathe 7's, '37 43 20% 20% 100% 01% . 0,000 Par-Fam-Lasky O'e, '47.... 00 04% 05 01% .',0 .'52.000 Shubert O's. 52 40% 60 101 00 6,000 Warner Bros. O's, '3D (Curb).... 03 00 00 ISSUES IN OTHER MARKETS All Ouoted for Monday Cvier the Counter, N. Y. PRODUCE EXCHANGE, N. Y. .. 100 Technicolor 42 42 42 Quoted In bid and asked. Prev. 18 20-. 17 Roxy, Class A (3.50) .. 18% 20%. 17% XJnlt do .»».... ,, 1% 2% 1% Unit do.. .. 1 8 ' 2 De Forest Phono< .. ^ 41% 43 42 Technicolor. Los Angeles Sales. 60 Roach, Inc................ 7% 7% 7% .. ii. 100 Fox Theatres. 6% 0% 6% Montreal . ,» . 400 Famoua Players—Can...* 36% 36 3.' Toronto M A« 205 Famous PlcCyera...........u,,.. 38*4 . M 36 W3d Ammals in Africa Curious, erous. Say Film People Star in a spot it's an 111 wind that doesn't blow a couple of Hollywood berets around. The recent stock market slap lis said to have made at least one film company breathe easier In re-, gard to a male star. . Actor had . a terrific contract but when the tide started to go out he found himself riding the first pontoon. Needing cash, and quick,, the star is reported to have SOS'd his firm which, knowing when a spot's a spot, made acquiesc- ing a pleasure on condition that certain contract clauses be rewritten to mi^ke the whole resemble a normal piece of paper. It being no tinie to quibble, the dynamite has been ex-, tracted. BRILL REMAINING INDIE? Fox Deal Off But Sale To WB Still Possiblo Fox deal to acquire the Sol Brill chain of 11 houses on Staten Island and in New Jersey, ready to be closed when the Fox company was placed .Into trusteeship, has been dropped. Brill, proyl^iine negotia- tions are not reopened with War- ners, at. one time Interested, will continue as an Indepeiideht. This chain and the A. H. Schwartz circuit of 26 houses In: Brooklyn and liong; Island are the only Indie out- fits of importance In the east to re- main strictly Independent. Schwartz string has been looked ov6r by both Fox and Warners, v^Ith neither buying due to the reported ilgh price asked by. Schwartz for an outri^t sale, Incliidlng many valuable real estate properties. AH proposals to lease the ^ Schwartz houses ^ere turned down by the owner. W. K'S FIBEPBOOF SHEET Western Blectric announces It has perfected a fireproof sheet which will be Included In the regular sound equipment purchased in the future. It Is reported that for some time underwriters have been, endeavor ing to persuade the electrics to make the move. Wired 4iouses will bei taxed from $75 up for the new product. It is learned. Leo Morrison East Leo Morrison Is In New York for about 10 days looking over his local ofilce In charge of Maxwell AJ^now, The agent has bben In Hollywood for about a year. He has built up a placement business there of some moment on the coast. Metro's. Sequel Hollywood^ Dec. 24. M-.Cr will make a talker sequel of "Dancing Daughters" and "Modern Maidens," both silents, starring Joan Crawford. Studio has picked "Our Blushing Brideei" lEUs IV title for the third in the series. Tarn will be manufac- tured on the lot. -1% + ^4 -10% —2 -1% -l'-4 Space Givers Tabbed Taking the trouble*to check up on the amount of publicity crashed thus far this year In two trade papers printing more p. a^ copy', than any others, "Motion Picture News" and "ExhibitorsV Herald," Metro lays claim to having copped more inches than any other "T^oduciSr-distribirtdrr'T'"^^ Metros checkup shows that it crashed. 2,003 Inches, about 40 pages. In the "Herald" from Jan. 1 to Dec. 1, and 1,294 Inches, about 26 pages. In the "News" In this period. Par In both cases, according to the figures, ranked second, land- ing 1,420 inches In the "Her- ald" and 1.090 In the '^ews." - Metro's company, just returned; from working on "Trader HOrn," i© Africa, feels that they have been to hades and back. Once Africa is res,ched the locals Is not waiting. .Eight thousand miles of Africa had to be covered to reach the foliage, .animals and' different natives Aeeded in the pic^ ture. With . 92 tons of equipmentl every step was a struggle. Sickness and every imaginable in^i sect pest had to be guarded agalnstt Aside from disconiforts the danger* of wild Africa are a myth, they say* Animals are more curious than ferocious, and will always. leava humans alone if they are not di^ai.' turbed. The casualties occurring amongst white hunters are usually owing to carelessness' upon th« hunters' part. It Is claimed. The buifalo Is the keenest and most dangerous. Whien. cameraing a herd of buffalo the. party got into a tight enough place to have one of . Its camera men exclaim, "Say, does any one what a, . camera cheap?" VFresh" Animals W. S. Van Dyke, the dlirector ot the Metro company, says that they broke every precedent In Africa, in«. eluding orders not to touch alcoholio. beverages, and yet the entire party of 86 white and 128 blacks came out alive. Aninials,. he also says, are nice to work with. . They all look . alike and so you can't start, wltbi - one and finish up vidth another, ^nly four lions, two rhinos and two buff aides that tried to' get fresh were-shot. Any number could have been slaughtered without trouble. One of the main dlfilcultiea oiS Africa is that, a natne and suppose^ place may be on the map, but that doesn't mean anybody lives there or has ever been there. If It had . not been for a number of For$ trucks the cotapiany would prob^ ably never have gotten any plaice., After seven months of African Jungle, Hollywood looks ; like a . pretty good place to take'pictured. in, says Van Dyke. Calliope's Noise in Froni Of Theatre ^Starts Plenty Mt. Clemens, Mich., Dec. 24. , For defendlnfT his father'S'Trtght to station an advertising calliope in front of a theatre In Utica, near here. Max Krim, 20, son of Leon Krim, lessee of the Bijou and Maxt comb theatres In this city, faces an assault; and battery charge before Justice William Swan .Christmas eve.- V. Barron Edward, 18* pa,rt owner of the theatre in Utica, had enlisted the aid of. other youths in'forcing the Krim calliope away ti-om his theatre. It Is charged young Krim la.ter broke into Edward's home and knocked him cold. • Sol Krim, another son of the the- atre lessee, faces charge of resists ing ah officer who attempted to keeP. him and the calliope out of the business district after the city com- mission had declared it a nuisance GirU Now Talkittg Hollywood, Dec. 24. M-G will remake "Sally, Irene and Mary," formerly made silently with Joan Crawford, Constance Bennett and Sally O'Nell. Josephine Loveft. is arranging the script to fit' the talkers which will be heavy of music. None of the original three will be In the talker Closed B. O. at 8:30 P. M. Chicago, Dec. 24. Blizzard's opening force was so violent that trade at the Sherlda:n (rox), Irving and Sheridan road, dropped to a dribb and the box office was closed at 8:30. Wind-swept boulevard kept the neighborhood patrons in their apartments. Hollywood, Dec. 24. Universal will talkerize "The Signal Tower," with which Clarence Brown won his spurs, as a silent four, years ago. Paul Gangelin, Pathe writer, has been engaged to dialog it. . William Holden in 'Tramed' (Radio). Monte Katterjohn doing script for "Song of the Island" (Tift). W. E. and Trade Papers Western Electric Is handing out the startling information that duro Ing 1929 It took mofe paid space in! the trade papers than any of the other manufacturers- of talker equipment. According' to Its line-up, and 'W'. E,. some time ago announced that; its trade paper budget was $20,000. RCA PhotOphone is next, with Pa^ cent third and De Forest last. The other companies W. HI doesn't figure. Neilan-Stromberg Fuss Hollywood, Dec. 24. • Marshal Neilan, directing "The Song Writer," and Hunt Stromberg, producer for M-G-M; quarreled over making Of picture. Harry. Beaumont will finish the picture instead of Neilan. Tiffany's 26 Shorts Hollywood, Dec. i24. Tiffany will produce . 26 "Voice of Hollywood" single reel subjects, m-* stead of 13. These* are being made at the 'Tec- Art studios. BENEE AOOBEE FEEELANCma . Hollywood, Dec. 24. After seven years with M-G-M Rbnee Adbree leaves that company Feb. 1. Miss Adoree played in "Redemp- tion" (dialog), not yet released, but since that time heis been farmed out to other producers. She will free- lance. Chevalier On Coast. Hollywood, Dec. 24. Following "Strictly Dishonorable,** to be ni'ade In the east by Para- mounti,-MaurIce-=ehevalier"=will =-bO brought here to do a picture with Ludwlg Berger directing. Studio is now looking for a suit- able yarn. Starring Cooper Hollywood, Dec. 14. Paramount will star Gary Cooper In "Civilian Clothes,", play by Thompson Buchanan. Edward Sutherland will direct It. Xew Itlpton will adapt It.