Variety (Jun 1930)

^lETY VOL. XCK. No. 11 NEW YORK. WEDNESDAY. JUNE 25.1930 260 PAGES II Subsidiary Company of Warners ConqiriseCoi^^ Exhibitors Organization ■ A complete organization for the likblbitor has been the eoal toward \whlch Warner Bros, have worked /jdurlng the four years of Vltaphone. jtlThat they have been successful In Ateftcblngr It is attested by their Acquisition of 61 subsidiary com- jHtnles, giving them facilities to .bandle every phase of their busi- I jness calling upon outside sources, r These 61 subsidia'rles, along with [•-jotheY diverse associations which- learner Bros, have recently con- ii^mated, cover production in all detfiilB, distribution worldwide in lij^pe, and extensive theatre hold- :s. One of the first as well as one i»t the most important steps in i'^VTarner Bros, development was '"their purchase of First National [-'pictures, which greatly, enhanced ;^dlr production facilities, so that /now sufScient Vitaphone product is available to the theafreman to sup- :ply him with a complete schedule t,of dates for the year. . With First National came the first 'ieizable group of theatres in War- ')ner Bros, present chain of more than 800. This- gi^iup furnished jthem with the nucleus Afound .which the entire expansion pro- I'^ram for building and buying th^- Jatres has been carried on. Becom-i 'ing exhibitors in their own right ';has made them more conversant I'with the problems and n4eds of all ithelr customers—and Improved box-oIRce product in general has 'been the result. A new responsibility was brought to the Industry through Vitaphone in demanding that the marketing of music be put at their disposal the work of expert song Writers as well as extensive music libraries and International organi- sations through which the exhibitor js served with special exploitation, llhese publishing houses include M. iJWitmark & Sons, Remlck Music Corporation, Harms, Inc., De Sylva, Brown & Henderson, Famous Husic Corporation and Chappell tbrms. Inc. Musical Co-operation ;/Another significant move was ;¥belr recent purchase of the musical Mvision of the Brunswick-Balke- voUender Co., through whose fac- tory facilities Warner Bros, will *ow manufacture the enormous number of records incidental to the production of Vitaphone pictures. Moreover, their exhibitor customers JJfll receive the benefit of co-opera- jwn from Brunswick agencies in ?v«ry city -of the country in the latter of picture ballyhoo. .Many patent rights and licenses Jjwl to the production of talking ««ms have come into Warners' "^08 through their substantial in- in the Kuchenmelster-Tobis Klangfllm groups. Other basic 'or producing sound-on- electric transmission of fac- ile telegrams and pictures by we and radio, and in the field of J (Continued on page 16) 7 90%QFAHERICA'SMUSIC HOLLYWOOD^WRFTTEN (Robert Crawford, Music Master of the Movies) More than 90% of the creative musio of America is now being written in Hollywood, declares Rob- ert Crawford, executive in charge of all musical activities at the War- ner Bros, and First National studios. Furtherhiore, he maintains that the finest American music is, with hardly an exception, being written for the screen. The revolution which has shifted the geographical center of musical creation to the Pacific Coast is destined, in his opinion, to mark a radically new epoch in ar- tistic history. "The dawn of the new music day was heralded by the so-called theme song, but the theme song is now a thing of the past, and it will not return," he says. "The very name seems a trifle antiquated today—so rapidly is the alliance of screen and music advancing. Music has become An Integral part of the screen story, to the great benefit of both." Just as an example of the present situation, Crawford points to First National's musical establishment, whose list j>t composers and libret- tists Includes such eminent figures as Jerome Kern and Otto A. Har- bach and the trio of Herbert Fields, Richard Rodgers and Lorentz Hart, as well as some 20 other well known specialists in the making of melody —all under exclusive contract. In other studios the story is the same. More Song Successes It is infinitely easier now to pop- ularize music than it was before the advent of the talkers, declares -Mr. Crawford. More songs achieve success, and the success is world- wide. In this process, of course, radio is of the first Importance as an auxiliary in carrying a melody all over the globe, but it was the development of the sound picture that opened the gates of limitless possibility to composers, lyricists and music publishers. The three latest musical pictures produced by First National hit Broadway at advanced prices. They are "Song of the Flame," adapted from the Gershwln-Stothart oper- etta, with Bernice Claire, Alexander Gray, Alice Gentle and Noah Beery heading the cast; "Show Girl In Hollywood," starring Alice White, with songs by Bud Green and Sam Stept, and "Bride of the Regi- ment," from the internationally suc- cessful German production, "The lAdy in Ermine," with Vivlenne Segal as prima donna, supported by Allan Prior and Walter Pidgeon, By A. P. Waxman (Director Advertising and Publicity) More amazing than any dr$^a unreeled on the screen Is the busi- ness story of Warner Bros. Its al- most fabiiloua narrative concerns Itself not only with colossal financial rewards for the Wairner BroW as individuals, but more-Important, It relates the world-wide acceptance of a modem scientific mlradle which actually affects all twentieth cen- tury civilization. Yet the success of ^ Warner Bros, is by .no means a caprice of for- tune. Warner. Bros, are successful because they have earned their suc- cess. That is the whole story. I am one who can speak with au- thority on the subject of Warner Bros. I have seen them up—have seen them down—and I have seen them up again. When they were down, they were never out—and al- ways came back smiling. And now that they are up, -they still wear the same smile. It la not a gloating smile nor one of self-satisfaction, but the pleasant smile of those who believe In themselves and believe (Continued on page 98) Warner Bros. Go Heavily hto Radio FieU By HERMAN STARR Vice-President (in Charge of Tech- nical Expansion), Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc. One of the inost recent acquisi- tions to Warner Bros.' subsidiaries is National Radio Advertising, Inc. By the purchase of this company, Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc., obtains a dominant position in the field of electrical transcriptions for broad- casting purposes. Taken in conjunction with the re- cent control of the Brunswlck- Balko-Collender musical division and the numerous music publishing companies previously acquired, the new acquisition places the entire preparation, sale and broa,dcastlng of recorded programs in the hands of a single company—Warner Bros. Pictures. It Is also an Indication that electrical transcriptions have become a definite and permanent feature of broadcasting. "Now, for the first time, electrical transcriptions for broadcasting can (Continued on page 28) ^Variety V Replar News Starts on Page 100 Usual newsi comment and oricicisms, in customary de- partments, commonest in this issue at page 100. August 6,1926 WARNER THEAlM Broadway at Fifty^cond Street^; New rYerk City- Warner Bros* PfctnreSi he. ■ I ■■ ■ ■ ■ '. the Vitaphone (kirpration By Arrangement with Western Electric Company and Bell:Telephone LaboratoriH PRESENT VITAPHONE , with JOHN BARRYMORE in "DON JUAN'' VITAPHONE PRELUDE Hon. Will H, Hays President of Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of ; America welcomed ' VITAPHONE, The New York Philharmonic Orchestra Henry Hadley, conducting; "Tannhauser," overture, Wagner. ■ Marlon Talley By arrangement with iihe Metropolitan Opera Company, Caro Nome from "Rigoletto." Efrem Zimbalist and Harold Bau^ Variations from "Kreutzer Sonata," Beethoven. Roy Smeck ^ in "His Pastimes" Anna Case "La Fiesta," Supported, by the Casinos and Metropolitan Opera chorus. Accompanied by the Vitaphone Symphony Orchestra. Herman Heller conducting Mischa Elman Josef Bonlme, accompanist; "Humoresque," Dvorak Giovanni Martinelli By arrangement with the Metropolitan Opera Company. VE8TI LA GIUBBA, from "II Pagliieci," Leoncavallo. Accompanied by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra* Incidental music to the above numbers played by members of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Herman Heller Conducting. JOHN BARRYMORE in "DON JUAN" Screen story by Bess Meredyth Directed by ALAN CR08LAND Musical score by Major Edward Bowes, David Mendoza and Or. William AxL Played on the VITAPHONE by the New Vork Philharmonic Orchestra Entire Program Arfange^l by S. L. Warner GENERAL PRESS REPRESENTATIVE: A. P. WAXMAN