Variety (Jun 1930)

Wednesday, June llv 1930 PICTURES t^ARIETY 15 Amusement Stocks in Sharp Rally After New Low Points (Continued from page 3) cent reports of the company have represented so much bookkeeping devices their real import is vague. The Kennedy party in the inside fight appeared to have made a clean sweep in the clash of the special meeting of preferred stockholders Monday, but it was not clear what the ultimate effect of that would be. Defeat of the insurgent crowd ought to work out to the benefit of the concern in the long run, but the Immediate effect seemed to be the sacrifice of stock at low prices. Dealings were heavy, with the ticker around 1 O'clock about: half an hour behind floor trading, and Indicatiojis being that the turnover for the^day would run around 6.000,- 000 shares. Money was in large supply at the Stock Exchange desk at 3%, and was offered outside in quantity at 2«/4%. Shubert got to a new low since its recovery at 17. There was special weakness in Fox around 45, and General Theatre bonds gave way ominously below the level of 98 the syndicate has tried to maintain. Difficulties in both issues appear to be typical of "the troubles many of the syndicates are having in getting distribution for new issue."?. Break Old Bottpmi The new crash, and one which approximated that of last October in many issues, came in the last hoiir of trading Monday, when the amusement stocks were easily forced below resistance points established In the setback of May 7. Not only was "it obvious that support was lacking, but the fact that levels that had gone through last week with stubborn defense had been for the time being abandoned, Volume was heavy among the leading thea- tre issues, as i-epresented by the turnover of 110,000 shares for Warner Bros., 122,000 shares for RKO and 23,000 shares for Para- mount. All of these active amuse- ments came out in large blocks on the way down. Consol. Film ,(2) 10% 22'4 I0a.itmanK.X8)'. 220 231% FOK, CIas.s A (4) 44',4 48V4 Keith pret. (7) 132 125 Gen. Tlir. £;quip 45% 42Vi Loowr (3%) 78% 83 Par.-Fam.-Ii. (3) 02% 04 Pathe Exchonge 0 4'4 Pathe Class A 12V1 10 Radio Corp 41Vi 44'/i Radlo-K-O 35'/6 30'3 Orph. pret. (8) 87% 92 Shubert 20% 19 Warner Bros. (4) 58% 58% c d o 21% 220% 4r>'.i 117 38% 75',A 01% 4ri 0 41 30 IK) 18% 50% It was a day of market drama with a sort of climax when Steel broke to a brand new low for 1930, and in the last five minutes of trad- ing the old leader appeared on the tape in one transaction, of 13,000 shares at 1G2, up to that minute the bottom for the session. Anybody who had any confidence at that time lost it all, accepting with what grace he could command tlje pros- pect that Tuesday's session was go- ing to be a rcpitition of Monday's. Steel, within 12 points of its panic bottom of last autumn, was a little more than almost any optimist could stand. The amusement stocks were prom- inent in the retreat, for what reason is not yet plain. Keeping in touch w.ith market comment sheds no light oii the situation except to make it clear that a great deal of the talk tliat is going the rounds is de- signed to conceal rather than clarify the actual situation. One of the leading mediums of trading infor- mation gave a lot of space late last week to th« argument that amuse- ment stocks were selling off be- cause May income had declined, due to weak box office' attractions and warm weather, which drew people away from the theatre and to the beaches and colmtry. It ought to be patent to anybody inside the theatre trades that such an arijument is phoney. It's like the sudden discovery that the straw hat business turns dull in December. Theatre business always goes quiet With iiie first appearance of warm weather. This year it may be a bit below normal, but not enough «> raise any market excitement. I=uL. a condition that is not nor- jnal and .seasonal is the matter of the pending tarilf law and its prob- ahle fffeot upon the sale of Ameri- can fiirri product in the markets of tiie world, and it does .seem reason- aiilp to look in that direction for an ^Kt'lanation of the special weak- ness of amusement stocks. Tariff Juggling All American businons Is cnn- CfTn.Ml in thf« new tariff li'iiislation aiiiim which most peoDle know vry little. Business it.self doesn't seem to be in agreement lipon what it wants. . Some lines are demanding high duties and some want low im- port rates or no import rates at all. But pretty much all Wall Street is unalterably opposed to the way Congress goes about handling the subject. The picture business for one doesn't want any tariff on its own product and moreover suffers acutely from the effect of protective duties proposed for other lines of trade. If Congress puts high rates on imports of Krench luxuries—per- fumes for instance—^or British manufacturers—like Sheffield cutlery —it is plain that France and Eng- land, are pretty sure to make re- prisals and the obvious thing to do is to enact more film quota regula- tions. In a thousand and one ways American tariff legislation of the I wrong kind is. pretty sure to react upon the American picture business. And the cutting off of the revenue from foreign sales would be a seri- ous matter to the .whole industry.. Meanwhile, as an American busi- neiss is struggling to solve these in- tricate problems, dumbbell poli- ticians in Washington are bending all their efforts not to deal with these questions in a constructive way, but to use them for grand- standing in the interest of the votes they want to poll next fall or in 1932 at home. i Just say "tariff" soniewhere around a brokerage customers' room and the kind of language you inspire is illuminating. This isn't to argue that the whole trouble with the market is the pending tariff law, but it has a lot to do with it, and particularly with the situa- tion surrounding the fate of the picture stocks. Figuring the Dope There never has been such con- fusion In appraising a market move- ment. Last Thursday the market eased off and the word went around that Goldman Sachs Trading Co. was liquidating bank stock. On the strength of that sort of talk there was a lot of liquidation of long stock, with the usual deluge of short selling. Friday, the decline continued and the explanation then was that the increase of $73,000,000 in brokers' loan's was due to the fact that syn- dicates were having difficulty in get- ting distribution for new stock and bond issues. Logic of this is rather persuasive. After a week of daily sessions of 1,500,000 and 1,800,000 .shares and with prices declining, an increase of that extent in the loan account is certainly puzzling. Evidence in other directions tends to corroborate the idea. There is, for example, that $33,000,000 of bonds issued by General Theatres and offered for subscription at 99%. They have been progressively weak. After being maintained at 102 and better in the early campaign, they gave way soon after they were listed on the Stock Exchange, until on Monday something like $250,000 In this issue alone changed hands at a new bottom of 98. There Is a good deal of talk about difficulty in getting distribution for the Fox issues and at every point there is talk of similar problems in syndicate operations. Enormous amounts of new securities have been put on the market in the last six months and issues affected show the effect. General Theatres is as good an instance as any. Two weeks ago, as pointed Out in these columns, it broke through its May 7 low—the only amusement issue to give way in that direction. Monday it not only established a new low for the movement, but verified the chart by breaking its own 1930 low, going to 38'/i. compared to the .Jan- uary ))Ottom of 38%. Its next theo- retical resistance point is that of the December crash, somewhere around 28. The Chart Picture Among the leading amuscmontH there was no such appearance of jjanic break. Eastman Kodak, for oxami)le, was successful in defend- ing its May 7 bottom, although it went to within a fraction of the 220 level. However, this stork's 1930 low is far below—175. The other amusements are riding well above the panic prices. Warner Hu/s., for exami)le, has been as f..r (iown this year as 39, coniparpd to Monday's 50; I-oi'W h.is goni- ;is far.as 42 this year, compared (o its Monday low price of 75. It isn't r asonable to suppose that they will go anywhere near the old boltoins, but with .sell- ing like that of Monday it docs .seem possible for them to go further. Radio, for example, has been -M this year as low as Z-i'i:. but rallied from" that level almost to 70. Whf-n it fell back on the earl.\*Tay break (o 41 Vi and then dcvi-lopcl strong rallving power.-* from that i)Oint, U ili.r.seern ilnl It hail e.-it ililished it- I.M'lf at a te.-,ie,l re-<l.-,tanf<» point "Variety's" Bulletin Condensed Briefly rewritten extracts from "Variety's" Hollywood Bulletin, printed each Saturday in Hollywood, and placed as a wrapper upon the regular weekly "Variety." The Bulletin does not circulate other than on the Pacific Slope. News from the Dailies in Los Angeles will be found in that customary department in this' issue, and hereafter. Indications are that the local Paramount theatre will resume stase shows within 30 days. t!tago policies are already in effect in the Publix houses in San Francisco, Portland and Seattle. LOTTICE HOWELL in M-C.-M's "IN GAY MADRID- CAPITOL THEATRE New York, This Week BxcluBlvA Moiiueoment nKTTY P.WNK 200 West 5UIi St., N. Y. V. fircli; 'JOJ; Judgments Havin.g sta.i^ed the dances- in "Whoopee," lUisby Berkeley, re- mains on the VA lot to repeal for Irving Berlin's "Ueaching for the Moon." for C'oliinil)i:i rclivise and will hxv» Alice White in the lead with support of Lloyd Hughes, Marie Provost. Koimoih Thomson, and Kay (.'ooU. Fox and Metro are bickering over the picUire to go into the Chinese following "Ileirs Angels." Metro wants it for C. B. De Mille's "Ma- d:un Satan" and I'^ox wants it for Walsh's "Big Trail." Frieda Hempel, Inc.; It. A. Porter; $005. Gallo, Fortune; Pierce Holding Corp.; $20,538. Laiira Rospigliosi, Inc.; Harper's Bazaar, Inc.; $3,307.84. Wirth & Hamid Realty Corp.; N. Y. & Queens Elec. Light & Power Co.; $2,885. Betro Theatres Corp. and Jacob Jacobs; Burns Bros.; '$1,012.37. Krose, Leone; Musical Courier Co., Inc.; $379.04. Cinematic Accessories Co., Inc.; Public Nat. Bank & Trust Co. of N. y.; $811.12; Acierno Amus. Corp.; J. C. Dan- zllo;. $6,107.85. Acierno Amus. Corp. and Pelix Holding Corp.; P. Danzilo: $5,530.13. Estrix, Benjamin; • lOxperimenter Publication, Inc.; $1"J4.10. Lerch, Alpha M.; Monarch Radio Co.; $111.68. Ross, Morris and Crown Phono- graph Co., Inc.; Schmidt-Dauber Co., Inc.; $6,146.85. Satisfied Judgments Crane, Morris and June Marlowe; People, etc.; $500: October 7, 1929. •I'nlted Artists has definitely de- cided to roadshow 1). W. (frltlUh's "Abraham Ijincoln" on .1 twice daily basis. New York opening will take place around the end of July. No house desiginaied as yet. Fox, the last of the uiajor pro- ducing: companies to hold otit, has gone for forei.gn version pictures. Foreign department is under proc- ess of or.ganization with John Stone, former head of the silenls, in charge. Fox made a lost of Helen t'oh.vn, youngest daughter of (ieorge M. Miss Cohan is aiipearlng in the local production of "June Moon." Ilarold Franklin is now in Kan- sas City where he will remain a week to take up various details con- cerning recent theatre deals. H« will likely stop ort at "Wichita and Topeka before returning hero. Ben Bcrnie's band goes Into tho lOgyptian, Hollywood, for an indef- inite run. This is a switch from previous plans to have the hous>^ operate on straight fihns. Therw will be no acts other than Uernie. Due to illness, Bradley King has secured a leave of absence from Fox. She will spend several months in the Adirondacks, N. Y. Billy liOyser is p. a.'ing Christie comedies and industrials. Myron Nissley, radio singer, is the only one of 750 San Francisco screen possibilities to get a studio lest by Pathe; Louise Huntington and Claire Luce arrived here this week. Both come here for Fox. Sol Wurtzel, understood to be vacationless for 13 years, may be gi-anted a three months' leave of absence this summer to visit the Orient. .lacob Ben Ami, Yiddish-English actor, will api)ear In the English stage version of "Jew Suss" ("Pow- er"), at the Biltmore, June 30. Mickey Nielan, off the Mary Pick- ford payroll and "Forever Yours," has been engaged by Christie to di- rect "Sweethearts and Wives." This is the first of the Christie features When that level was broken Mon- day (stock broke to 41 flat and closed practically at the bottom) it did seem to chart students th't al- most anything was possible. Radio is another . issue that has , added enormous amounts of stock to Its outstanding volume, giving millions of shares in the General lOlectric- Westinghouse deal. It Is difficult to find among the important amusement stocks any issue that has not been, liberal in dealing out new stock latel.v. Par- amount has gone on acquiring new properties and paying for them In certificates. So has Warner Bros. Radio-Keith, which suffered worst Monday of all the theatre stocks, has changed its finances twice within the last four years or so. Nobody knows much about its current rate of profit. Many believe it ultimately will be put at a high price, entirely because it has the backing of RCA. Most traders who specialize in the theatre issues like Paramount best of the lot and Warner next. Loew has lost much of its following be- cause of the uncertainty of Its spon- sorship by Durant. And in general most smart traders got out Monday and took their los.ses, acting on the belief that al- though the more or less Immediate future Is pretty sure to see a rally, as soon as the list has been pushed up appreciably the now bold and enriched bears will sock It again, confidence in - the bull side h.'iving now been pretty conclusively killed off and the speculative idea switched to the idea that there Is. small pros- pect of a really substantial con- structive era likely before October at the earliest. E. E. Horton reopens slock for Cieorge Ebey at the Fulton theatre, Oakland, for four weeks before go- ing east. Milton Cohen, attorney, is sued by his office landlord for $2,500 rent since Feb. 1. Warner's exiierlmontal nlne-mln- -ute operetta In Color resulted In tho decision to put 12 more such mus- icals on the current Varieties pro- gram. John Sheehan, vet stage comedi.an, goes into "Kismet" (FN) with Otis ykinner. Robert Halliday, of many eastern operettas, is due here the end of tho month to take a crack at pictures. He goes back to New York to re- hearse for Bobby Connolly's "Prin- cess Charming." ' Jack Warner returned from th© , W.arner convention on Saturd.ay (7). rtreta Onrbo is scheduled to do "Red Dust" (M-(.!), to be directed by Fred Niblo. Summary for High. 2G'/i. 27% 28 2r,r,i/i 57% l.K) Sl'/i !>.-.•% 112% 1.-.% 20% 7714 ft 1!)% 00% no 9!»74 sr. 70 flOVi 7oyi -mo , Low. ir. 18 i7r,% IG% 85 3!1X 42l^ 8r,% lOVi 23 4874 2% r, 34% 1ft 03 H% M) .'tO'l week enijing Saiurd.iy. STOCK Jun.> EXCHANGE KM) 2,000 .1,500 30,000 100,600 100 21,000 i;5.:<oo 1.000 I«.!M)0 MOO i;t.8O0 8.100 730.100 221). .-.00 1.0H0 12,500 100 2!;i.!l0(> HOO Ih.iuc and rati;, Amerli;;in .Se.il 12) i-i)n.S')l. I'^ilm (2) '"on.iol. l-'ilm pfd (2)...... Ka.Hlmnn Ku'J.-ik (8> I-'iix, Cla.sH A M) KVIth pref. (71 ClPti. Thr. ICifUip Loew cj'-i) Do pier. (O'i) MadlnDn .Sq. (ianjeii (IW)... M.-t.-O.-M. prpf. n.HO) I'aramounl-Knm.-r.n.sky (3). Palhff Hxrhang" Palhi-. n-i.H.i A lU'li., f-)rp... Kailio-K-O f)rpli iircf. (8* Sliul)'*rt .'. I'Miv<?iH:>l prof. iHi W-iriii!r Rros. (i) !)■) pr»r. 12.20) CURB MlBh. Hi 2» 21 217 r,i% 125 47 112-yi 15.% 20 V.. 71'/<, 5% n-n .-.5 "A 43 "/i 08 25=(; 72 00 50*1 I,()W. 10 ■221', 231-% va 42'/i 83 1081,;; 11% 20 0( 4% 10 4 4i/t 30 V;, 02 10 70 r.8Vt 41% 421 'h 12 •r,H 31ti DMi?-. 1251,;; 101 W 104Vj 131V. !J8li I,aHt. Hi 2214 221,4 2;4i% 40 • 43 83 lOO'A 14-y, 20 •0514 10'^ 441/j 30% 112 10% 72 11% 42V4 12 OO'.'i 3214 m; ftMVi 12.-.'.4 Oil 101% .-.8 104'.1 1311/4. Nr-t Chge. -li.i -1% -8% -14vt —4 -7% -2% 4 3% - -Vi -3 ■ - -yi -10% -0'/, —5 -4% -3 -5','2 -1>/. -1% + Vi '-1% - V, -iy4 4 » -- % -3 - ly, -r.% - '„ Locally understood that Mary Pickford's "li'orever Yours" is I»e- Ing almost entirely rewritten and When It goes Into production Sam Taylor will direct. Al.so that the only member of the original cast to be retained will be Kenneth Mc- Kcnna opposite Mlsa PIckford. Hollywood party crashing has bo- come an exact but annoying science. One type dodges In to contact studio exQc for jobs. Others work In for the refreshments and gals. One host who Jnvlted under 20 counted over 40 when they all got there. Boston Oi t -tt i! ,^l ,1; Los Angeles .... ft'M* Ji In- Montreal 40 1'' ifri-,i|i I'l » . "T-^ Toronto ■ ».. £''^ffi.i»i. l'li,"i.i ... After having to pull out "Arizona Kid" (Fox) on Us second run, due to a T'ederal Injuniitlon obtalntd by Charles Davis, .2d, Fox .s^^tlUd for $3,000 and will resume release. Da- vis used the title on an Art Acord silent four years ago. Edmund Lowe will share equal honors with Warner Baxter In "Tho Cisco Kid" (Fox). Bill Perlberg is in New York on a scouting trip for now lalent. Re- turns here in two week.s. Al Lewis, eastern Fox casting di- rector, is due In New Yoi-k, next ->* week. He will not return to tho Coast until early fall. Cristina Montt Hied a wage claim against Chris Phlllls Productions for $875 demanding that ambunt as a balance of a contract calling for $3G0 a week. Phlllls counters by charging that the girl walked out on tho.picture without warning .and went to Fox. fieorgc Weeks .arrived here to iron out plans for .Sono-Arl's new pro- gram. lOM, 10 10 't Oi'l '►■4 "4. •131/4 Kix-nccr Tnicey will n>ake his HC.vfi'ix debut In "U() the River," prison story for I'ox. M»rro will Ch-rmanize "Mailimi^ X" and Kspanole ".'Wr. Wn," "fSn-it Lover." and "Divorcee." E. A. Patterson .su'-'-i'ed.H Ii"!-irik I'.ninni'r as lo'-al W'l! thc-ilti- p », ,Marjo)'ic Ilanibi-aii'... Iwo.ind otie- half vi-ai- oplii)ii.-(l ii-i\\\r.i.f\ wiHi I' ll III' .^lull's fiorn $ .':;oO lo $1 000 a Wi'i-lc. •'on'-liiii ,M.iiii'-ii">;'i i i-> 1 j\>'vf .Mi-iro .Sp uii-.li itnpori. \f>'li-i) h'll for i I I'V ■•'ti^.ii .»" (''■ml iiiui-l -m p itX'- ill