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n  this 
ssue: 


Local  M  P  T  O  Plans  Another  Code  Meeting 


A  Jay  Emanuel  Publication 


VOL.  16— No.  1 


PHILADELPHIA,  JANUARY  1, 1934 


Price,  15  Cents 


✓✓ 


RAINBOW 


There's  a  "pot  of  gold' 
for  every  exhibitor  .  . 
the  end  of  this  .  .  . 


OVER  BROADWAY 


With  GRACE  HAYES 

FRANK  ALBERTSON 
JOAN  MARSH 
LUCIEN  LITTLEFIELD 
The  Fanchon  &  Marco  Girls 


A  Musical 
Romance! 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  September  11,  1924,  at  the  post  office  at  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  under  the  Act  of  March  3,  1879. 


Music  by  Albert  Von  Tilzer  A  CHESTERFIELD  PICTURE 


Jan  1’34  pg.  2 


UNIVERSAL  first  again 

with  the  big  new  idea  in  pictures— 

A  swift- moving  romance-adven¬ 
ture-mystery  drama  whose 
plot  involves  every  passenger  on 
a  transcontinental  bus  trip  .  .  . 

Speed  and  snap  in  every  scene, 
with  scenes  changing  as  rapidly 
as  the  bus  flashes  from  city  to 
city  .  .  .  and  a  smash  climax  that 
will  hold  your  crowds  spellbound ! 


with 

JUNE  KNIGHT 


ALICE  WHITE,  Alan  Dinehart,  Eugene 
Palette,  Henry  Armetta.  Story  by 
Stanley  Rauh.  Produced  by  Carl 
Laemmle,  Jr.  Directed  by  Edward 
Buzzeil.  Presented  by  Carl  Laemmle. 


Jan  1 T 34  pg.  3 


THE  EDITOR'S 


PAGE 


Vol. 


16,  No.  1 


January  1,  1934 


Publishing  Receipts 


The  Exhibitor 


_  SECTION  F,  PART  5,  of  the  code, 
®  says : 

“No  exhibitor  or  distributor  shall  make 
any  disclosure  of  box  office  receipts  for 
publication  except  necessary  reports  to 
stockholders,  credit  and  governmental 
agencies  and  to  other  like  bodies.  No  ex¬ 
hibitor  or  distributor  shall  be  responsible 
for  disclosures  in  violation  of  this  PART 
made  by  agents  not  authorized  to  do  so.” 

The  first  sentence  attempts  to  check  a 
bad  practice.  The  second  proves  a  restrain¬ 
ing  order  on  the  first.  And  box-office  re¬ 
ceipts  are  still  printed  as  ready  fodder  for 
the  gentlemen  who  want  to  place  additional 
taxes  on  the  industry.  There  is  no  doubt 
but  that  the  receipts  as  published  in  some 
trade  journals  are  generally  but  pot  shots 
in  the  dark  by  a  lot  of  correspondents  who 
are  rarely  given  actual  returns  by  theatre 
managements.  Theatre  organizations  go 
constantly  on  record  as  opposed  to  box 
office  receipts  being  publicized. 

Such  disclosures  serve  few  purposes. 
The  Code  Authority  should  put  a  stop  to 
the  practice  altogether.  What  a  picture 
does  in  New  York  is  of  little  consequence 
to  an  exhibitor  in  the  sticks  and  vice  versa. 
Exhibitor  organizations  in  many  parts  of 
the  country  have  protested  publishing 
receipts  but  no  attention  is  paid. 


A  Break  for  Exhibitors 

£  EXHIBITORS  who  were  beginning  to 
feel  that  no  part  of  the  booking  direc¬ 
tion  of  their  theatres  is  being  left  to  them 
by  certain  exchanges  who  demand  a  definite 
number  of  week-end  dates  know  now  that 
at  least  one  week  in  the  year  has  been  al¬ 
lotted  to  them  by  these  same  distributors 
and  possibly  another,  Holy  Week. 

The  companies  who  refuse  to  date  in 
shows  during  the  week  before  Christmas 
are  to  be  commended  for  the  confidence  they 
place  in  their  product  and  the  exhibitor,  and 
their  sense  of  fairness.  Think  of  it.  Four¬ 
teen  whole  days  in  which  the  exhibitor  may 
decide  for  himself  what  pictures  may  be 
played.  But  there  is  st 'll  another  “but.” 
The  distributor  says  that  no  pictures  re¬ 
leased  by  him  may  be  inserted  in  the  book¬ 
ing  schedule  for  those  14  days.  Clauses  to 
this  effect  are  not  necessary. 

What  a  triumph  for  exhibitor  operation! 
Think  of  it.  The  distributor  steps  aside, 
permits  home  rule. 

It  is  to  be  wondered  whether  or  not  the 
code  will  allow  the  distributors  to  continue 
such  tactics.  Perhaps  the  Code  Authority 
will  say  what  is  sauce  for  the  goose  is 
sauce  for  the  gander,  or  perhaps  it  won  t. 


Progress 

^  AGAIN  we  take  the  lead  and  take  a 
bow.  On  this  page  will  be  found  a 
new  make-up  and  an  editorial  cartoon,  first 
of  a  permanent  series.  The  cartoonist’s 
pen  will  be  both  friendly  and  critical.  As 
the  pioneer  in  this  phase  of  motion  picture 
trade  journalism  comment  -is  requested. 


Circulating  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware.  Issued  on  the  1st  and  15th 
of  each  month  by  Jay  Emanuel  Publications,  Inc.  Publishing  offi.e.  219  North  Broad  Street.  Philadelphia. 
Branches  at  1600  Broadway,  New  York  City;  Washington,  D.  C.  Jay  Emanuel,  publisher;  Paul  J.  Greenhalgh, 
advertising  manager;  Herbert  M.  Miller,  managing  editor.  Subscription  rates:  $2  for  one  year,  $5  for  three 
years.  Single  copies,  15c  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware.  Publishers,  also,  of 
THE  NATIONAL  EXHIBITOR  of  Washington  and  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  EXHIBITOR.  Official  organ 
of  the  Motion  Picture  Theatre  Owners  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern!  New  Jersey  and  Delaware.  Address 
all  communications  to  the  Philadelphia  office. 


Standard  Availability  Sheets 

IF  THE  substitution  clause  included  in  the  code  is  to  be 
of  any  value,  the  exhibitor  must  be  given  ample  infor¬ 
mation  on  the  product  he  buys.  It  is  up  to  the  Code  Authority  to 
put  a  stop  to  the  slip-shod,  inefficient  manner  in  which  some  ex¬ 
changes  have  been  sending  out  availability  notices  and  other 
booking  information.  Some  of  the  exhibitors  who  are  reading  this 
will  be  surprised  to  know  that  their  contracts  with  a  few  major 
companies  do  not  even  include  production  numbers  by  which 
pictures  made  available  for  them  can  be  checked.  To  be  sure, 
there  are  worksheets,  but  worksheets  are  not  recognized  parts  of 
contracts. 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  Code  Authority  to  enforce  immediately 
a  standardized  form  of  availability  notice.  Such  notice  should 
include  the  following: 

Production  number;  Name  of  Picture;  Stars  or  featured 
players;  running  time;  whether  it  is  a  substitution  or  not. 

Change  to  a  standard  form  would  cost  companies  little,  would 
prove  a  real  service  to  exhibitors,  would  give  teeth  to  the  substi¬ 
tution  contract,  and  would  prove  immediately  that  the  Code 
Authority  as  a  regulatory  body  is  able  to  prove  of  real  benefit  to 
the  business. 

True,  there  are  more  problems  which  can  also  take  up  the 
time  of  the  Code  Authority,  but  there  is  nothing  which  hits  home 
closer  than  this  subject  of  slip-shod  booking  practices. 

The  industry  is  having  a  new  deal.  It  may  as  well  deal  with 
the  mechanics  as  every  other  department.  The  exhibitor  who  is 
forced  to  buy  blindly  at  least  should  be  given  the  protection  of 
knowing  whether  or  not  he  is  getting  anything  similar  to  that  for 
which  he  pays. 


4 


Jan  1'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Delaware  Exhibitors’  Organization 

Gives  Approval  to  Industry  Code 


Harrington  Meeting  Sees  Submission  of  Four  Names  to 
Washington  for  Places  on  Committees  —  Small  Attend¬ 
ance  at  Convention 


Independent  Motion  Picture  Theatre  Owners  of  Delaware  and  the  Eastern 
Shore  of  Maryland,  meeting  at  the  Reese  Theatre,  Harrington,  Del.,  December  21, 
adopted  the  NRA  code  approved  by  the  President,  and  submitted  names  of  four 
men  to  act  on  the  grievance  and  zoning  committees  of  the  Philadelphia  and  Wash¬ 
ington  district.  There  were  fifteen  members,  or  less  than  half  of  the  organization, 


present. 

Names  suggested  for  committeemen  to  the 
Administrator  at  Washington  were  A.  J. 
DeFiore,  Wilmington,  president,  and  Reese 
Harrington,  Harrington,  for  the  Philadelphia 
area,  and  Bryant  Dashields,  Cambridge,  and 
Carl  Schwartz,  Denton,  for  the  Washington 
area.  Secretary  of  the  organization  Roger 
Christopher,  Federalsburg,  was  ordered  to  send 
the  resolution  endorsing  the  code  and  the  names 
to  Washington  at  once.  Exhibitors  suggested 
would  serve  with  Washington  or  Philadelphia 
committees  on  either  board. 

The  national  film  code  was  adopted  unani¬ 
mously  with  only  a  few  minor  complaints  and 
squawks.  After  DeFiore  called  the  meeting  to 
order,  Secretary  Christopher  read  the  code. 
There  was  some  little  discussion  of  the  elimi¬ 
nation  of  gifts  and  free  tickets,  particularly  in 
towns  where  there  was  no  immediate  competi¬ 
tion.  There  was  some  discussion  then  as  to 
how  the  code  should  be  signed,  whether  individ¬ 
ually  or  collectively  by  the  organization.  Stead¬ 
ier  heads  finally  drove  home  the  point  that  it 
was  a  national  code  put  up  to  every  theatre  or- 
ganizat:on  in  the  country  for  the  benefit  of 
national  recovery ;  that  organizations  all  over 
the  country  would  give  it  a  trial  and  that  there 
was  nothing  for  this  organization  to  do  but  fol¬ 
low  in  line.  So  the  resolution  was  put  forth 
calling  for  an  adoption  of  the  code  without 
reservations  for  a  trial.  Those  absent  from  the 
meeting  will  receive  letters  from  the  secretary 
requesting  that  they  notify  the  officers  at  once 
as  to  whether  they  will  or  will  not  abide  by  the 
code.  If  they  refuse  to  do  so,  they  will  be  sum¬ 
marily  dropped  from  the  organization.  It  was 
agreed  the  code  should  be  given  a  thoroughly 
fair  trial,  too. 

The  fact  that  only  about  half  of  the  mem¬ 
bership  attended  the  meeting  spurred  those  who 
did  to  vote  on  a  drive  for  new  members  and 
renewal  of  interest  among  those  who  did  not 
attend.  It  was  agreed  that  every  member  con¬ 
tact  either  those  who  have  lagged  in  attending 
meetings  and  taking  interest  in  the  affairs  of 
the  association  or  those  who  have  declined  to 
join  so  far.  President  DeFiore  told  the  mem¬ 
bers  that  he  felt,  that  with  the  adoption  of  the 
code  the  Del-Mar-Va  peninsula  should  have  a 
100  percent  organization  if  the  terms  of  the 
code  are  to  be  met  and  given  a  fair  trial. 

It  was  also  decided  to  have  meetings  more 
often  so  that  the  organization  could  hold  the 
interest  of  the  members.  The  next  meeting  will 
be  held  in  about  four  weeks,  when  reports  will 
be  made  on  the  progress  under  the  code. 

DeFiore  and  Ben  Schindler  were  the  only 
representatives  from  Wilmington ;  A.  E.  Selig- 
man,  the  only  other  member  being  confined  to 
his  home  by  illness. 


Leads  Delivery  Combine 


Horlacher  Delivery  executive,  who  has  been 
elected  president  and  treasurer  of  the 
National  Film  Carriers,  Inc.,  a  national  asso¬ 
ciation  of  film  delivery  services.  Clark,  who 
has  been  largely  responsible  for  the  rapid 
success  of  Horlacher’s,  was  picked  as  the 
logical  leader  for  the  new  association  because 
of  his  high  reputation  in  film  circles. 


Poster  Hearing 

Hearng  on  the  poster  code  takes  place  Jan¬ 
uary  10  at  room  3204  Department  of  Commerce 
Building,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Several  will  attend  from  this  area,  includ¬ 
ing  George  P.  Aarons,  counsel. 


Wilmington,  Harrington,  New  Castle,  Reho- 
both,  Seaford  and  Georgetown,  Del.,  and  Cam¬ 
bridge,  Denton,  Federalsburg  and  Ocean  City, 
Md.,  were  represented. 


Deadlines 

Deadline  for  submission  of  names  of 
candidates  for  the  grievance  and  zon¬ 
ing  boards  is  January  4.  Anyone  can 
send  in  names. 

Deadline  for  signing  of  the  code  in 
order  to  get  its  benefits  is  January  10. 


Ushers  Low  Salary 


Charges  that  industry  code  wording 
has  been  used  to  cut  some  ushers  as 
low  as  $10  in  some  spots  have  been 
made  to  Deputy  Administrator  Sol  A. 
Rosenblatt.  The  matter  is  being  investi¬ 
gated. 


Clark  Heads  New  Film 
Carriers  Organization 

Horlacher  Executive  Leads  Truck¬ 
ing  Group 

James  Clark,  Horlacher  Delivery  Serv¬ 
ice  executive,  is  the  new  president  of  the 
National  Film  Carriers,  Inc. 

Unit  includes  30  companies,  serving  6,000 
theatres,  and  was  organized  last  week  in  New 
York  City. 

New  Jersey  Messenger  Service  is  the  other 
delivery  unit  joining  from  this  section.  Myer 
Adleman  attended  the  opening  meeting. 

Clark  is  also  treasurer.  Clint  Weyer  is  sec¬ 
retary. 

Film  delivery  executives  from  all  parts  of  the 
country  attended.  A  separate  code  for  film 
transportation  units  will  be  asked.  Standard¬ 
ization  of  equipment  and  other  economies  are 
also  planned. 


Wilmington  Suit  List 

The  following  suits  involving  motion  picture 
intrests  were  listed  on  the  United  States  Federal 
Court,  District  of  Delaware  docket  in  Wil¬ 
mington  for  the  December  term : 

Trial  List  in  Equity— Western  Electric  Com¬ 
pany,  Electrical  Research  Products,  Inc.,  and 
American  Telephone  and  Telegraph  Company 
vs.  The  Stanley  Company  of  America;  Nakken 
Patents  Corporation  vs.  Universal  Sound  Sys¬ 
tem,  Inc. ;  Westinghouse  Electric  and  Manu¬ 
facturing  Company  vs.  The  Hammond  Clock 
Company ;  Harry  Koplar  vs.  Warner  Bros. 
Pictures,  Inc.,  Harry  M.  Warner,  et  al. ;  Stan¬ 
ley  Company  of  America  vs.  A.  T.  &  T.,  Erpi, 
Western ;  Duovac  Radio  Corporation  vs.  A.  T. 
&  T.,  Erpi,  Western ;  General  Talking  Pictures 
vs.  A.  T.  &  T.,  Western  Erpi. 

Argument  List  in  Equity — News  Projection 
Corporation  vs.  Trans-Lux  Daylight  Picture 
Screen  Corporation. 


Dining  Garden  with  House 

A  tract  of  ground  containing  more  than  three 
acres  in  the  rear  of  the  Yorktown  Theatre,  here, 
which  is  being  built  on  Ogontz  Hill  on  Old 
York  Road  by  Charles  Kahn,  owner  of  the 
grounds,  is  to  be  improved  by  him  immediately 
as  an  open-air  dining  garden  which  will  follow 
closely  on  the  lines  of  the  most  popular  re¬ 
sorts  of  that  kind  in  the  large  cities  of  Europe, 
particularly  in  Paris,  Vienna  and  Berkn. 

Warner  Brothers  have  leased  the  theatre. 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Jan  1 T  34 


5 


Local  Exhibitor  Organization  Plans 

Meeting  After  Committee  Selections 


Said  Hobart  Mann 

Resignation  of  Dr.  A.  Lawrence 
Lowell  from  the  Code  Authority  was 
hinted  in  BEHIND  THE  PARAGRAPHS 
in  the  last  issue  of  THE  EXHIBITOR. 
It  was  written  that  unless  his  recom¬ 
mendations  could  carry  weight,  the  Doc¬ 
tor  wouldn’t  take  the  post. 

In  a  lengthy  statement  accompanying 
his  resignation,  Dr.  Lowell  panned  the 
code  provisions  regarding  block  booking 
and  other  angles. 

In  other  words,  Dr.  Lowell  figured 
that  he  would  be  little  else  but  an  orna¬ 
ment,  so  he  chose  to  resign. 


'Heard  In' 


C 


ROSSTOWN 

Eddie  Cantor 
Coming  Here 


A.  N.  PALMER  has  the  Majestic,  Middle- 
town,  as  well  as  the  Elks.  Messrs.  Frere 

and  Sobel  have  the  Eureka  Theatre,  as  the  New 
Eureka  Amusement  Company.  Star  Hold¬ 
ing  Company,  Inc.,  has  the  Unique.  W.  J. 
McClure  and  Chris  Nacrelli  have  the  Globe, 
Marcus  Hook,  with  M.  L.  Shibely  still  there. 
.  .  .  C.  W.  Hicks  has  the  Littlestown  Regent. 
.  .  .  Star,  Harrisburg,  has  closed.  .  .  .  J. 
Simone  and  D.  Oliver  have  the  New  Crystal, 
Miners  Mills.  .  .  .  C.  L.  Sprague  has  the 
Allentown  Park. 

EARLE  gets  Eddie  Cantor  in  a  few  weeks. 

.  .  Midnite  shows  prevailed  before  both 

holidays.  .  .  .  Artie  Cohn  reports  the  baby 

coming  along  nicely.  .  .  .  House  has  been 

playing  big  name  policy  lately. 

STANLEY  COMPANY  gets  $74,103  in 
over  assessments  from  the  government.  .  .  . 
"Alice  in  Wonderland”  did  five  days,  was  suc¬ 
ceeded  by  "Dancing  Lady.”  .  .  .  Downtown 
business  was  nothing  spectacular.  .  .  .  For  that 
matter,  holiday  business  was  nothing  to  rave 
over.  .  .  .  Shore  got  a  play,  but  generally,  the 
holiday  failed  to  make  little  difference.  .  .  . 
Where  the  attraction  was  above  average,  so  was 
business,  and  vice  versa.  .  .  .  Stanley  houses, 
some  of  them,  had  photo  of  staffs  in  the  lobby, 
wishing  patrons  a  Merry  Xmas  and  a  Happy 
New  Year.  .  .  .  Uptown’s  looked  nice. 

FOLLOWING  the  Wilmington  meeting  all 
Warner  officers  were  re-elected.  .  .  .  The  War¬ 
ner  Blumberg  trio  sent  out  identical  greeting 
cards.  ...  In  one.  .  .  .  Most  of  the  cards  this 
year  were  subdued,  anyway. 

FRANK  BUHLER  seems  busy  these  days. 

Willard  Patterson,  who  is  kept  hum¬ 
ming  hopping  between  New  York  and  Philly, 
doesn’t  get  any  heavier,  seems  a  bit  thinner. 
.  .  .  Sid  Stanley  is  now  at  Fay’s.  .  .  .  House 
has  an  8-act  policy. 

MORE  S-W  Manager  changes  have  been 
taking  place.  .  .  .  Lee  Kline  is  now  at  the 
Logan,  from  the  Ogontz,  to  mention  one.  .  .  . 
Philkino  stays  closed. 


General  Session  Likely  Following  Announcement  of 
Zoning  and  Grievance  Boards  from  Washington —  Dead¬ 
line  for  Signing  Approaches 

The  M.  P.  T.  O.  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware 
plans  a  general  meeting  following  announcement  of  local  zoning  and  grievance  boards. 
- - -  That  is  the  intention  at  present,  with  the 


Holiday  Parties  Cheer 
Up  Local  Industry  Units 

Exchanges,  Stanley -Warner,  Cen¬ 
sors  Have  Festivals 

Local  film  units  made  the  most  of  the 
Xmas-New  Year  spirit. 

Many  parties  were  held. 

Stanley-Warner  had  a  celebration  the  Satur¬ 
day  before  Xmas  for  all  the  employees,  at  the 
local  offices,  under  Warner  Club  auspices.  A 
happy  time  was  had  by  all. 

The  censor  board  had  a  small  party  for  the 
employees  and  friends. 

Three  standout  parties  on  the  street  included 
those  at  Horlacher’s,  National  Kline  Poster 
and  Warners.  Eventually  most  of  the  cele¬ 
brants  wound  up  at  Horlacher’s  where  a  happy 
time  was  had  by  all. 

Practically  all  the  exchanges  had  parties  as 
well,  stringing  them  out  in  the  holiday  period. 

Columbia  had  its  party  in  Camden.  Entire 
organization  hopped  over  to  the  Jersey  town 
and  had  a  swell  time. 

The  parties  were  quieter  than  those  of  last 
year  but  just  as  enjoyable. 


EARLE  THEATRE  has  a  benefit  for  Prison 
Welfare  Association.  .  Local  officials 

spoke.  .  .  .  Benefit  was  for  further  funds. 

MORRIS  WAX  is  no  longer  booking  the 
Pearl  Theatre.  .  .  .  The  Edgemont  Theatre 
had  a  United  Campaign  matinee.  .  .  .  Collected 
$38,  gave  it  all  to  charity.  .  .  .  Give  credit. 
.  .  .  Bill  Goldenberg  is  managing  for  S-W 
in  Collingswood.  .  .  .  There  were  a  lot  of  tin 
can  and  food  matinees  during  the  holiday 
period.  .  .  .  The  Philkino  ran  a  Polish  picture, 
then  closed  for  the  time  being. 

JOHN  S.  EVANS  IS  spending  the  winter 
in  Florida.  .  .  .  Buck  Taylor,  the  former 

exhibitor,  brought  out  his  circus  for  a  two 
weeks’  local  engagement. 

LEONARD  SCHLESINGER  hopped  over 
to  New  York  to  attend  a  session  of  Warner 
zone  managers.  .  .  .  Code  and  other  matters 
were  discussed. 

IRVING  YATES,  Mike  Mindlin  and  Arthur 
Fisher  have  the  Rajah,  Reading.  .  .  .  With  a 
picture  and  high  class  vaudeville  policy.  .  .  . 
This  will  liven  things  up  in  the  Reading  area. 

NINETEEN  YEARS  AGO.  .  .  .  Lubin 
Photoplayers  gave  first  ball  and  entertainment 
at  Eagle  Temple.  .  .  .  Featured  players  at¬ 
tending  included  Arthur  Johnson,  Lottie  Bris- 


meetmg  being  called  to  discuss  the  selections. 

All  exhibitors  must  sign  the  code  by  January 
10  to  get  any  of  its  benefits.  While  the  local 
organization  has  not  yet  gone  on  record  as  a 
body  approving  the  code,  individual  members 
will  undoubtedly  sign  up  100%. 

Jersey  Allied,  meeting  at  Trenton,  recently, 
left  the  decision  of  signing  up  to  individual 
members.  The  group,  as  a  body,  did  not 
approve  the  code. 

It  is  generally  expected  that  the  local  organ¬ 
ization  will  go  on  record  as  favoring  the  code  at 
its  next  meeting,  with  the  impression  Sol  Rosen¬ 
blatt  conveyed  at  his  recent  appearance  gener¬ 
ally  believed  to  have  clinched  individual  okay. 


coe,  Ethel  Clayton,  Lillie  Leslie,  Joseph  Smiley 
and  George  Terwilliger.  .  .  .  Auditor  General 
Powell  and  bred  A.  Van  Valkenburg  dismissed 
Arthur  McAllister  from  his  $2,000  a  year 
position  as  inspector  of  moving  picture  theatres 
because  they  claimed  there  was  only  enough 
work  for  two  inspectors  although  three  posi¬ 
tions  were  provided.  .  .  .  M.  Estris  succeeded 
G.  Beihoff  as  manager,  World  Film.  .  .  .  Sup¬ 
erintendent  of  Police  Robinson  issued  general 
order  to  all  police  that  drawings  for  prizes 
either  by  tickets  sold  at  the  box  offices  or  by 
tickets  given  inside  or  outside  theatres  would 
be  considered  lotteries  and  any  exhibitor  caught 
offending  would  be  prosecuted.  .  .  .  Maurice 
Spiers  sold  the  Plaza  and  Century  Theatres. 
.  .  .  Louis  Breitinger,  chief  censor,  issued 
order  that  any  theatres  wishing  to  display  6- 
sheets  in  front  of  theatres  should  send  them  to 
the  censor  office  to  be  examined  and  if  approved 
they  could  be  used  on  display  for  advertising 
purposes. 

TEN  \  EARS  AGO.  .  .  .  Doc  Schad  was 
re-elected  president  of  the  M.  P.  T.  O. 
Bluebird  Theatre  was  renovated.  .  .  .  Bill  Hee- 
non  had  a  real  birthday  party.  .  .  .  Film  Board 
of  Trade  opened  offices.  .  .  .  Independent  pro¬ 
ducers  formed  an  organization.  .  .  .  Jim  Byrne 
was  booking  at  FB0  .  .  .  Robert  Horselv  was 
branch  manager  for  Vitagraph.  .  .  .  Dover’s 
Opera  House  opened. 


Goldman  an  Independent 

William  Goldman,  formerly  general 
manager  of  the  Stanley-Warner  local 
division,  may  become  an  exhibitor  in 
this  territory  very  shortly.  That  is  the 
report  current  in  local  film  circles. 

The  former  S-W  chief  still  resides 
at  the  Bellevue-Stratford  here,  and  is 
still  very  prominent.  His  daily  carnation 
in  his  buttonhole  easily  identifies  him. 

His  future  moves  will  be  watched  with 
interest  by  his  many  friends  and  ac¬ 
quaintances  in  the  trade. 


Jan  1 T  34  pg. 6 


AND  BACKEI 


MFRlflN  C.  COOPER.  Executive  Producer 


:OR  THE  FIRST  TIME  NORTH  OF 

HE  EQUATOR  .  .  .  they’re  doing  the 


the  tantalizing,  mesmerizing  Brazilian  Dance  Sensation 
that  soon  will  be  driving  America  Melody  Mad! 


SEE  IT! . . 


and  a  thousand  other  wonders  in  a 


GENE  RAYMOND  •  RAUL  ROULIEN 
GINGER  ROGERS  •  FRED  ASTAIRE 

and  200  Beautiful  Girls  Picked  from  10,000 

Haunting  Melodies  by  VINCENT  YOUMANS 

OTHER  GREAT  NATIONAL  NEWSPAPER  ADVERTISING  CAMPAIGN 


spectacle  set  to  rhythm,  that  fills  the  earth  with 
beauty,  laughter,  song  and  dance  .  .  ,  and  sweeps 
to  eye-staggering  sensation  as  the  Flying  Armada 
Of  Beauty  soars  on  wings  of  giant  planes  down 
heaven’s  twinkling  pathway! 


NOTHING  LIKE  IT  HAS  EVER 
BEEN  DONE!  IT  MAKES  YOUR 
FONDEST  DREAMS  OF  MUSI¬ 
CAL  ROMANCE  COME  TRUE! 


8 


Jan  1  ’  34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


BETWEEN  THE  PARAGRAPHS 


WHO’LL  CHECK  EXHIBITOR  ADVERTISING? 

Perhaps  the  gentlemen  who  thought  up  the  idea  of  having  one  central  council 
okay  all  trade  copy  and  pressbook  material  will  now  figure  out  a  method  whereby 
exhibitors  will  be  prevented  from  turning  whatever  material  is  given  them  into  bits 
of  salacious  advertising.  The  council  may  do  its  work  well  but  it  will  probably  be 
up  to  local  boards  to  check  the  more-sexily-inclined  theatre  operators. 

There  are  some  who  consider  that  central  council  idea  rather  high-schoolish. 
These  objectors  point  out  that  most  advertising  departments  are  composed  of  men 
who  are  not  only  capable  but  who  have  a  high  sense  of  honor.  Why  force  an  okay 
on  every  piece  of  copy?  The  code  does  not  provide  for  a  central  council  although 
it  is  quite  likely  that  the  Code  Authority  may  favor  this  form  of  regulation.  The 
code  says  there  shall  be  a  high  moral  standard.  Inasmuch  as  the  success  of  the 
entire  code  depends  largely  on  co-operation,  it  is  to  be  wondered  why  the  central 
council  idea  is  being  made  mandatory. 


INDEPENDENTS  SHOULD  HAVE  OWN  BODY 

Independent  film  companies,  not  members  of  the  Hays  organization,  are  also 
ready  to  maintain  the  high  moral  standard.  But  if  they  place  their  copy  under  the 
central  council  censorship,  they  lose  their  identity.  Independent  companies,  releas¬ 
ing  regularly,  rarely  offended,  anyway.  Perhaps  a  few  shows  came  through  that 
were  handled  in  a  salacious  manner.  But  in  a  few  cases  the  campaigns  consisted  of 
good  showmanship  which  proved  real  tonics  to  the  business.  “Goona  Goona”  was 
an  example  of  showmanship,  not  poor  taste,  exploiteers  will  tell. 


WARNERS  AGAIN  SET  A  PACE 

The  industry,  which  several  months  ago,  was  wondering  what  change  might 
come  in  Warner  production,  now  has  its  answer.  If  “Havana  Widows’’  and  “Con¬ 
vention  City”  are  examples,  exhibitors  are  in  for  a  round  of  highly  funny,  entertain¬ 
ing  pictures,  containing  casts  that  may  contain  familiar  faces  but  which  guarantee 
entertainment.  Both  take  up  situations  which  may  have  been  seen  in  the  past,  dress 
them  up  and  keep  them  going  at  whirlwind  pace.  “Convention  City”  is  racy,  but 
always  entertaining.  The  names  of  Kibbee,  Blondell,  McHugh,  Herbert,  Jenkins, 
Powell,  Farrell  are  reasons  for  signs  of  satisfaction  from  any  audience,  while  the 
additional  faces  brought  in  for  each  vehicle  merely  add  to  the  guarantee.  Warners 
have  developed  a  capable  stock  company  of  comedians.  It  apparently  is  the  first 
company  to  do  so  with  success. 


WATCH  FOR  THE  FUN  TO  HAPPEN 

It  is  going  to  be  very  interesting,  this  business  of  the  grievance  boards.  Wait 
until  the  lists  of  complaints  start  rolling  in.  In  some  situations,  apparently,  the 
exhibitors  are  waiting  for  the  boards  to  hold  their  first  meetings  before  cutting  out 
unfair  practices,  condemned  in  the  code.  Some  theatremen  must  think  the  code  is 
effective  only  when  the  exhibitor  is  caught.  Theatremen  who  have  that  idea  are  in 
for  rude  awakenings. 


NEW  FACES  FROM  THE  INDES 

Monogram  has  finally  done  what  has  been  asked  of  the  indes  for  years.  It 
is  building  a  star  name  in  Ray  Walker.  Chesterfield  may  attempt  the  same  in  Grace 
Hayes.  The  trouble  with  inde  companies  is  that  they  have  been  influenced  by  the 
tradition  that  they  can  use  only  what  can  be  borrowed  or  cast  off.  In  bringing  in 
new  faces  (and  keeping  them  under  contract),  they  are  performing  a  service  for 
exhibitors  and  themselves.  Every  new  idea  in  independent  production  means  more 
money  for  all  concerned. 


CLASSES  OF  ADMISSIONS 

Even  more  interesting  than  the  list  of  complaints  under  code  regulation  will  be 
the  manner  in  which  theatres  will  attempt  to  supersede  those  clauses  calling  for  bans 
on  two  for  ones,  etc.  Already  some  houses  are  establishing  what  they  call  high 
school  prices,  between  the  children’s  low  and  the  adults’  high.  Cards  are  used, 
with  pictures  for  identification  purposes.  If  okayed  by  local  committees’  high 
school  prices  may  solve  problems. 


LOOKING  UP  THE  RECORDS 

Exhibitors  who  have  been  mentioned  for  local  grievance  and  zoning  boards  are 
investigated  before  being  appointed.  In  other  words,  the  theatremen  who  have 
clean  slates  have  the  best  chance  for  the  posts.  Nothing  is  being  left  untouched  in 
an  effort  to  find  out  the  reputation  of  the  men  who  must  make  or  break  the  code. 


owG 

PHILADELPHIANS 

know  that  the  quickest  and  most 
convenient  way  to  show-shop  is 
to  use  the  Record’s  Amusement 
Directory.  167,000  daily  and 
225,000  Sunday  turn  to  this  com¬ 
plete  listing  of  Philadelphia 
showings  when  show  time  comes. 

Not  even  the  most  casual  new 
readers  of  the  Record  can  miss 
the  Amusement  Directory,  for 
regular  and  frequent  use  of  front 
page  space  calls  their  attention  to 
this  first  and  only  complete  amuse¬ 
ment  guide. 

For  only  30  cents  a  day  you  can 
tell  them  who’s  playing  in  what  at 
your  theatre.  A  longer  listing 
costs  but  15  cents  a  line  more. 

The  RECORD 

Amusement  Directory 

j  offers  you  the  most  economical 
and  practical  form  of  advertising 
|  ever  presented  to  Philadelphia 
i  theatre  owners.  Today  it  carries 
the  listings  of  more  than  170 
|  theatres  in  the  Philadelphia  dis¬ 
trict.  Does  it  carry  yours?  To 
j  insert  your  ad  just  call 


PHILADELPHIA 

RECORD 

CLASSIFIED  DEPARTMENT 

WALNUT  2300 


HOBART  MANN 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Jan  1  ’  34 


9 


Code  Authority  Holds  First  Meeting 
and  Appoints  Preliminary  Committees 

Rotating  Plan  Used  for  Chairman — Rosenblatt  Presides 
— Indes  Well  Represented  on  Bodies — Cantor  Present, 
Lowell,  Dressier  Absent 

The  Code  Authority  held  its  first  meeting  in  New  York  City,  December  20. 
Only  preliminary  work  was  considered,  with  several  committees  appointed  to  start 
the  ball  rolling. 


Code  on  Doubles 

A  lot  of  exhibitors  in  the  local  terri¬ 
tory  haven’t  taken  time  off  to  read  the 
code  to  find  out  whether  or  not  there  is 
any  penalty  against  double  features.  If 
they  had  they  would  know  that  the  code 
doesn’t  mention  doubles,  which  should 
put  a  stop  to  any  rumors  claiming  other¬ 
wise. 

It  is  probable  that  the  question  of 
double  features  may  come  up  in  zoning 
discussions,  but  double  features  will  not 
be  barred  by  any  local  board  ruling. 
That’s  positive. 

Lowell  Resignation 
Revives  Block  Booking 

Industry  Problem  Again  to  Fore 
After  Doctor  Quits 

Resignation  of  Dr.  A.  Lawrence 
Lowell  from  the  Code  Authority  again 
brings  up  block  booking  as  an  industry 
issue. 

Dr.  Lowell  maintained  that  block  booking 
had  been  given  a  certain  legal  sanction  by  the 
code,  and  although  General  Johnson  replied  that 
block  booking  had  been  upheld  by  the  Circuit 
Court  of  Appeals,  Dr.  Lowell  still  held  to  his 
guns. 

The  Doctor  maintained  that  the  10%  can¬ 
cellation  privilege  meant  little. 

Block  booking  has  always  been  a  contro¬ 
versial  question. 

One  faction  in  the  industry  says  it  is  good, 
another  maintains  it  is  bad. 

The  question  is  what  exhibitors  individually 
think. 

To  that  end,  then,  the  blank  below  is  pub¬ 
lished. 

Drop  this  publication  a  line,  giving  reasons 
for  the  opinion  rendered.  More  light  on  the 
question  will  serve  a  purpose. 


The  next  meeting  will  take  place  January  4. 
While  committees  were  appointed,  it  was  de¬ 
cided  not  to  elect  a  permanent  chairman,  but  to 
use  a  plan  of  rotation  with  Sidney  R.  Kent, 
president  of  Fox  Film,  acting  as  chairman  at 
the  next  meeting. 

Sol  A.  Rosenblatt,  NRA  Division  Adminis¬ 
trator,  presided.  Questioned  about  reports  that 
Dr.  A.  Lawrence  Lowell,  president-emeritus  of 
Harvard  University,  would  not  serve  on  the 
Code  Authority,  Rosenblatt  said  : 

“Ask  General  Johnson.” 

Neither  Johnson,  Lowell  or  Marie  Dressier 
was  present. 

Committees  appointed  were  the  following: 

1.  On  appointment  of  a  permanent  executive  secre¬ 
tary — Nicholas  M.  Schenck,  George  Schaefer,  Nate 
Yamins. 

2.  On  rules — W.  Ray  Johnston,  M.  H.  Aylesworth, 
Ed.  Kuykendahl. 

3.  On  finances — Kent,  Harry  M.  Warner,  Charles 
O’Reilly,  Yamins. 

4.  On  getting  signatures  of  individual  executives  to 
the  NRA  code — Kuykendahl,  Yamins,  J.  Robert  Rubin. 

5.  On  naming  members  to  the  zoning  and  clearance 
board  and  the  grievance  board — O’Reilly,  Kent,  Schaefer, 
Johnston,  Yamin6. 

6.  On  permanent  headquarters — 0”Reilly,  Warner,  R. 
C.  Cochran. 

Kent  is  at  present  on  the  Coast,  and  was  represented 
at  the  meeting  by  W.  C.  Michels. 

Harold  S.  Bareford,  Warner  Bros/  attorney,  acted  as 
temporary  secretary. 

Eddie  Cantor  was  present  at  the  meeting. 

Preliminary  committees  will  have  reports  to 
make  at  the  next  meeting. 

Sol  A.  Rosenblatt  has  been  appointed  NRA 
Division  Administrator,  the  division  including 
all  the  amusement  field,  which  ought  to  make 
Rosenblatt  most  important  in  all  deliberations. 

William  P.  Farnsworth,  Assistant  Deputy 
NRA  Administrator,  has  been  moved  up  a  step, 
replacing  Rosenblatt  as  Deputy  Administrator. 

Meanwhile,  the  Federation  of  the  Motion 
Picture  Industry  was  preparing  for  a  meeting 
to  be  held  very  shortly,  at  which  time  definite 


action  on  the  advertising  council  and  the  code 
was  expected  to  be  taken. 

Forms  are  being  mailed  out  to  individuals, 
theatres,  and  others  in  the  business  so  that  sig¬ 
natures  may  be  handed  in  by  January  10,  the 
deadline  for  the  code. 

Resignation  of  Dr.  Lowell  from  the  Code 
Authority  was  not  a  surprise,  as  the  move  had 
been  hinted. 

John  Flinn  is  expected  to  be  named  perma¬ 
nent  secretary  for  the  Code  Authority.  He  is 
a  veteran  in  the  film  business,  now  serving  as 
president  of  the  AMPA,  advertising  unit. 

Allied  units,  generally,  have  been  cautioned 
to  wait  before  rushing  in  to  sign.  It  was  ex¬ 
pected,  however,  that  theatres  will  sign  the  code 
individually  when  securing  their  certificates  of 
compliance,  being  mailed  this  week. 

P  S.  Harrison,  publisher  of  Harrison's 
Reports  and  prominent  inde  leader,  has  come 
out  for  the  code,  believing  that  its  operation  will 
prove  its  merits.  This  statement  by  Harrison  is 
believed  to  have  swung  over  many  exhibitors 
who  might  have  been  doubtful. 

Generally,  the  slogan  of  the  industry  has  been 
“sign  and  see.” 

Announcement  of  local  zoning,  and  grievance 
boards  is  expected  soon.  Names  of  those  fav¬ 
ored  have  been  pouring  into  Washington. 

Following  an  interlude  in  which  major  pro¬ 
ducers  might  have  balked  on  further  code 
progress,  an  interpretation  by  General  Hugh 
Johnson,  NRA  Administrator,  regarding  the 
President’s  executive  order  accompanying  the 
code,  in  the  form  of  an  additional  memorandum, 
satisfied  the  producers. 

The  hue  and  cry  from  the  Hays  organization 
was  to  the  effect  that  self-regulation,  virtually 
assured  the  leaders,  had  been  taken  away  by 
the  President’s  executive  order,  accompanying 
the  code  signature.  This,  after  a  Washington 
weekend  conference,  was  interpreted  to  mean 
that  General  Johnson  will  not  pass  in  review  on 
all  cases  but  would  merely  observe  the  work¬ 
ings  of  the  code.  In  addition,  he  can  not  re¬ 
move  or  appoint  any  code  authority  members 
without  a  majority  vote  of  the  code  authority. 


Code  Cuts  Operators 

In  some  cases,  operators  may  be  cut 
under  code  regulations. 

Inasmuch  as  there  is  a  40  hour  limit, 
union  cannot  boost  the  cost  to  an  exhib 
who  obeys  code  regulations  on  salaries. 
In  cases  where  extra  man  is  needed 
union  must  supply  extra  men  where 
needed  but  to  conform  with  code  some 
operators  may  be  cut. 


WHAT  IS  YOUR  OPINION  ON  BLOCK  BOOKING? 

I  Favor  Block  Booking . 

I  Do  Not  Favor  Block  Booking . 

Name . 

Theatre . City . 

(Ed.  Note:  If  you  have  much  more  to  say,  attach  this  to  your  letter  or  memo¬ 
randum  and  send  it  in  immediately.) 

TEAR  OUT  THIS  BLANK  AFTER  YOU  FILL  IT  IN  AND  SEND  IT  IN 

IMMEDIATELY 


10 


Jan  1 T  34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Heard  In 

1NE  STREET 

Holiday  Spirit 
Found  Everywhere 


JOHNNY  BACHMAN  and  Jack  Skirball 
made  the  Washington- Pittsburgh  tour  recently. 
.  .  .  Johnny  reports  lots  of  bookings  on 

“Aniachak,”  a  swell  three  reeler.  .  .  .  Bets 
are  now  being  taken  as  to  who  will  function 
on  the  zoning  board  as  well  as  the  grievance 
board. 

MASTERPIECE  awaits  the  first  print  of 
“Wine,  Women  and  Song.”  .  .  .  Lilyan 

Tashman  and  Lew  Cody  head  the  cast  and 
advance  reports  were  very  enthusiastic.  .  .  . 
In  addition,  “Secret  Sinners”  is  in  the  house 
and  ready  for  booking.  .  .  .  “Pop”  Korson 

saw  “Wine”  and  was  waiting  for  a  print  to 
come  in  to  prove  his  raves  were  backed  by 
real  solid  entertainment. 

JOHN  GOLDER  has  plenty  of  Xmas  cheer. 
.  .  .  He’s  looking  forward  to  a  real  change 
for  the  better  in  1934.  .  .  .  Herb  Given  has 
been  spending  a  lot  of  time  in  his  New  York 
exchange  of  late.  .  .  .  Mike  Seigel  has  a  single 
reel  that  exhibitors  have  been  commending.  .  .  . 
Johnny  Backman  reports  that  Educational  will 
make  a  banner  year  out  of  1934.  .  .  .  He  got  a 
set  of  boxing  gloves  for  Xmas,  or  one  of  his 
sons  did. 

SANTA  WAS  VERY  GOOD  to  folks  on 
the  street.  .  .  .  There  were  plenty  of  parties 
and  plenty  of  hangovers.  ...  In  fact,  the 
period  between  Xmas  and  New  Year’s  was 
generally  a  festivity  and  hangover  era.  .  .  . 

Where  there  wasn’t  an  official  open  house, 
there  was  a  bottle  passed  around. 

THE  FOX  DRIVE  entered  its  last  weeks 
with  Philly  not  winning  this  time,  according 
to  early  indications.  .  .  .  Salesmen  Smith  and 
Tolmas  were  way  up,  though.  .  .  .  On  shorts, 
however,  the  local  office  stood  high. 

TONY  LUCCHESE  reports  that  Gold 
Medal  has  distribution  rights  for  the  Corni- 
color  Cartoons,  conceived  by  UB  Iwerks. 

“Jack  and  the  Beanstalk”  is  the  first 
of  the  single  reelers.  .  .  .  And  Stanley  used 

it  with  “Dancing  Lady.”  .  .  .  The  series 

includes  six.  .  .  .  Each  in  color.  .  .  .  And 

S-W,  as  well  as  other  circuits,  has  given  it 
plenty  of  good  playing  time.  ...  In  addi¬ 
tion,  Tony  is  awaiting  the  opening  of  Exploi¬ 
tation  Pictures’  “Enlighten  Thy  Daughter.” 

And  “The  Sin  of  Nora  Moran,”  from 
the  Majestic,  the  latest  one  in  the  house. 


Sunbury  House  Changes 

Glen  Wolfe  and  George  B.  Fluhrer  have  be¬ 
come  joint  operators  of  the  Chestnut  Street 
Theatre,  Sunbury.  They  acquired  proprietor¬ 
ship  of  the  theatre  December  15,  from  Edward 
G.  Wetzel  and  Ray  Beadle. 


LOU  KROUSE,  the  bibliophile,  visited  the 
local  Rialto,  made  a  great  impression,  had  some 
new  match  tricks  ur>  his  sleeve.  .  .  .  The  assist¬ 
ant  to  the  president  of  the  I.  A.  T.  S.  E.,  is 
a  busy  man  these  days.  .  .  .  Apex  Garage  is 
ready  to  serve  you  in  1934. 

HERB  TAYLOR,  at  Preferred,  reports  a 
big  pickup  in  business  during  the  holiday  period. 
.  .  .  Messrs.  Engel  and  Diamond  took  a  pull- 
man  when  they  hopped  to  the  big  city.  .  .  . 
Most  of  the  salesmen  stayed  off  the  road  this 
week  and  took  a  slight  vacation.  .  .  .  Thus  sav¬ 
ing  a  lot  of  expense  money. 

BECKETT  Brothers  thank  everyone  for 
the  Xmas  trade  patronage.  .  .  .  They  prom¬ 
ise  even  more  increased  service  in  the  future. 

RALPH  BINNS,  away  off  in  China  for 
Warners,  didn’t  forget.  .  .  .  He  sent  cute 

Chinese  Xmas  cards  to  all  his  friends.  .  .  . 
The  Venice  Theatre  tries  5  cent  matinees.  .  .  . 
Or  has  been,  up  to  the  code.  .  .  .  Lee  Blum- 
berg,  well  known  here,  as  a  S-W  man,  is 
handling  exploitation  section  of  Warner  press- 
books. 

NATIONAL  THEATRE  SUPPLY'"(ToM- 
PANY  reports  a  slight  upturn  in  business 
during  December.  .  .  .  One  of  the  biggest 

jobs  was  at  the  New  Broadway,  Camden. 
.  .  .  With  odd  contracts  in  other  spots. 

BEN  TOLMAS  gave  out  personal  small  cal¬ 
endars  to  Fox  accounts,  received  much  commen¬ 
dation.  .  .  .  George  Kline  sent  out  personal 
Xmas  greetings  depicting  “A  Century  of 
Progress.”  ...  A  nice  touch.  .  .  .Jim  Clark, 
at  Horlachers,  took  a  trip  to  New  York  and 
went  down  to  the  Washington  territory. 

JANUARY  8-JANUARY  15  is  Hal  Roach’s 
20th  Anniversary  week.  .  .  .  Metro  is  mak¬ 
ing  a  special  drive  for  it.  .  .  .  Several  local 

exhibitors  attended  the  Jersey  Allied  meet¬ 
ing  in  Trenton  a  few  weeks  ago.  .  .  .  The 

code  was  discussed. 

OPEN  HOUSE  at  Quality  Premium  Dis¬ 
tributors  provided  a  new  idea  for  Vine  Street. 

.  .  .  Dave  and  Charlie,  together  with  Miss 
Swartley,  Miss  Heisman,  Bill  Madison,  Miss 
Moran,  Ben,  Nat  and  Charles,  were  hosts.  .  .  . 
Ben  Bricklin,  former  film  man,  is  now  manag¬ 


ing  the  Quaker  City  Indoor  Tennis  Courts  at 
the  Commercial  Museum.  .  .  .  Badminton  may 
also  be  played.  .  .  .  Rates  are  reasonable. 

AL  BLOFSON,  at  First  Division,  points  out 
that  some  of  his  recent  specials  lined  up  are 
“He,”  “Eat  ’Em  Alive,”  “Throne  of  the 
Gods.”  ...  In  addition,  he  reports  plenty  of 
bookings  with  "Rainbow  Over  Broadway,” 
"Sweetheart  of  Sigma  Chi”  and  “Broken 
Dreams.”  .  .  .  Next  from  Chesterfield  is  “The 
Campus  Murder  Case,”  while  “He  Couldn’t 
Take  It”  is  due  from  Monogram.  .  .  .  “Six¬ 
teen  Fathoms  Deep”  and  “Sensation  Hunters” 
are  also  available  from  Monogram.  .  .  .  Mean¬ 
while,  “Tarzan”  is  knocking  ’em  cold. 

HARRIS  ITEMS  include  the  twins  getting 
skates.  .  .  .  Trying  to  skate  on  carpets  and 

then  going  outside  and  falling.  .  .  .  Jack  got 
a  movie  machine.  .  .  .  Claire  got  so  and 

so.  .  .  .  Sara  got  1000  pennies  (copper). 

.  .  .  Bennie  still  counting  his.  .  .  .  Elsie 

and  Joe  Schultz  enjoyed  their  NY  trip. 

NICK  POWER  was  a  visitor  on  the  street. 
.  .  .  Team  of  Sobel  and  Frere  entertained 

three  young  ladies  at  lunch.  .  .  .  Where  was 
Jack  Greenberg  shopping?  .  .  .  Joe  Wodock 
made  a  speech  at  the  opening  of  his  now  house. 
.  .  .  The  Gross  little  boy  has  a  new  puppy. 
.  .  .  Stanley  Smithers  was  a  recent  visitor. 
.  .  .  Paramount  Xmas  party  was  big  success. 
.  .  .  Harry  Freeman  is  quite  a  sheik.  .  .  . 
Mae  Borden,  Fox,  was  a  recent  visitor  in  Sun¬ 
bury. 

HORLACHER  is  sending  out  the  an¬ 
nual  listings,  including  necessary  addresses, 
bookers’  names,  etc.  .  .  .  Part  of  the  usual 
Horlacher  Service.  .  .  .  Snow  hurt  business 
this  week,  which,  added  to  the  lack  of  Xmas 
Day  trade,  made  it  a  disappointment  to  exhib¬ 
itors  in  general. 

BILL  QUINLAVEN  objects  because  there 
there  is  an  orange  spot  on  St.  Patrick’s  day 
on  The  Exhibitor  calendar.  .  .  .  Also  because 
the  type  on  Yom  Kippur  is  bigger  than  that  on 
Thanksgiving  Day.  .  .  .  Earle  Sweigert  at¬ 
tended  the  New  York  City  meeting  of  exchange 
employees  on  the  code.  ...  So  did  Jack 
Greenberg.  .  .  .  Louis  Nizer  presided. 

SOMEONE  POINTS  out  that  Carl  Laemmle 
is  a  wrestler,  weight,  203.  ...  It  can’t  be 
the  U  president.  .  .  .  He  doesn’t  weigh  that 
much.  .  .  .  Harry  Dembow  claims  he  slip¬ 

ped  on  the  ice,  offers  printed  alibi:  “Slipped 
down  the  front  steps  and  battered  my  face, 
and  for  the  finishing  touches  put  my  teeth 
through  my  lower  lip.”  .  .  .  THAT’S  MY 

STORY  AND  I’LL  STICK  TO  IT.  .  .  It  is 

Charlie  Beilin  who  is  the  cute  Warner 
booker,  not  Herb,  as  this  column  would 
have  you  believe. 


The  FINEST  SERVICE  on  FILM  ROW  f 


SPECIAL  RATES  TO  FILM  PEOPLE: 

Parking  All  Day  ........  25c 

High  Pressure  Washing  (ANY'  type  car)  «5c 

TOW-CAR  SERVICE  —  ANY  PLACE  —  ANY  TIME 


APEX  GARAGE 

249-51-53  N.^ JUNIPER  STREET  •  250-52-54  N.  CLARION  STREET 

Phone:  LOCUST  8604  -  -  PHILADELPHIA 
Becker  Bros.,  Props. 

Road  Service  to  Patrons  -  Mechanic  Always  on  Duty  -  Never  Closed 


Jan  1’  34  pg.  11 


The  Newest -Smartest 
Snappiest  Thing  in 

Screen  Entertainment 


Musical  Cartoons  in  Color 

Jan  1 1 34  pg.  12 


Real  Headline 
Attractions 


@Z^BT?®®[x]! 

A  Series  of  Six  Short  Subjects 


IN  CINE -COLOR 


Succeeding  Subjects  to  be 
Selected  from  The  Following 
Stories  Now  in  Preparation. 

“The  Brave  Tin  Soldier’’,  “Sinbad  the 
Sailor’’,  “Puss  in  Boots”,  “Cinderella”, 
“The  Three  Bears,”  “Jack  the  Giant 
Killer”,  “Tom  Thumb”,  “Aladdin”, 
“Snow  White”,  “Hansel  and  Gretel”, 
“The  Bremen  Town  Musicians”,  “The 
Little  Red  Hen”,  “The  Snow  Queen”, 
“The  Ugly  Duckling”,  “The  Golden 
Goose”,  “Dick  Whittington’s  Cat”  and 
“The  Little  Mermaid.” 


i 


World  Famous  Fantasies  Set  to  Symphonic 
Music,  Rhythmic  Lyrics  and  Presented  in 
Full  Color  Cartoon  Comics  —  First  Subject: 

JACK  fSS  BEANSTALK 

by  UB  IWERKS 

GOLD  MEDAL  FILM  CO.,  Inc. 

TONY  LUCCHESE,  President 

1236-38  Vine  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Telephone:  Locust  4712 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Jan  1  ’  34 


13 


“ Dark  Hazard ”  Is  a  New  Robinson 


Edward  G.  Robinson,  Glenda  Farrell,  Genevieve  Tobin  and  others  may  be  seen  in 

the  Warner  show. 


Theatre  Tieup  Brings 
a  Tariff  Suspension 

Premium  Involved  in  Public  Ser¬ 
vice  Commission  Case 

Tariff  of  the  Schuylkill  Valley  Lines, 
Inc.,  which  operates  passenger  bus  lines 
to  various  Montgomery  County  points, 
centering  in  Norristown,  was  suspended 
last  week  by  the  Public  Service  Com¬ 
mission. 

Body  charged  the  concern  with  giving  prem¬ 
iums  of  theatre  tickets  to  purchasers  of  bus 
fares. 

Ruling  of  the  commission  was  made  effec¬ 
tive  from  January  6  to  June  4,  1934,  and  the 
concern  was  directed  to  show  cause  why  the 
tariff  should  not  be  canceled.  Hearing  will  be 
held  January  11. 

The  charge  against  the  company  is  that  ad¬ 
missions  to  certain  Norristown  theatres  were 
being  given  with  purchases  of  round-trip  tickets 
on  its  lines. 


Stop  Russian  Film 

Wilmington  detectives  halted  the  showing  of 
alleged  communist  film  depicting  scenes  of  the 
Russian  revolution  and  development  of  the 
soviets,  arresting  two  leaders  in  the  movement 
at  a  meeting  at  Eden  Hall. 


Biograph  Reopens 

Completely  rebuilt  and  modernized,  famous 
Biograph  Studios,  New  York,  for  years  the 
workshop  of  such  luminaries  of  the  silent 
screen  as  Mack  Sennett,  Mary  Pickford,  D.  W. 
Griffith,  Marian  Sunshine,  Henry  B.  Walthall, 
Mabel  Normand  and  Sarah  Bernhardt,  and 
the  scene  of  the  early  efforts  of  some  of  the 
most  noted  performers  of  the  last  decade,  re¬ 
opened  for  the  production  of  talking  pictures, 
December  27. 

Among  the  hundreds  of  well  known  person¬ 
alities  who  attended  the  opening  ceremonies 
was  Amelia  Earhart,  Fannie  Hurst,  Henry 
Hull,  Moss  Hart  and  Nancy  Carroll.  And 
Mary  Pickford  and  D.  W.  Griffith,  who  were 
identified  with  the  old  Biograph  Company  when 
it  was  the  leading  picture  organization  in  the 
field,  were  guests  of  honor. 


Two  More  Trade  Shows 

Closely  following  the  success  of  the  national 
trade  showings  of  “Roman  Scandals,”  United 
Artists  completed  arrangements  for  two  more 
national  trade  showings  on  “Gallant  Lady”  and 
“Moulin  Rouge,"  both  20th  Century  produc¬ 
tions. 

“Gallant  Lady,"  starring  Ann  Harding  with 
Clive  Brook,  Otto  Kruger  and  Dickie  Moore 
under  the  direction  of  Gregory  La  Cava  will  be 
previewed  in  key  cities  on  January  3.  Con¬ 
stance  Bennett-Franchot  Tone  vehicle  "Moulin 
Rouge"  directed  by  Sidney  Lanfield  will  be 
ushered  in  with  a  national  trade  showing  Jan¬ 
uary  9. 


“Sensation  Hunters’ ’  Has  a  Musical  Background 


Arline  Judge  heads  a  feature  cast  in  the  Monogram  release,  now  available. 


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Jan  1 T 34  pg.  14 


BIG/  So  big,  we  had 

to  get  artists  as  famous 
as  these  to  give  it  the 
campaign  it  deserves! 


Ann 


ft 

I 

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j, 

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j 

A L 

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Released  thru  UNITED  ARTISTS!  Bade 


K I  IS  IS  AKt  UUIINO  mt 


JCK’S  PRODUCTION  OF 


MOTION  PICTURE  DAILY*) 

HOLLYWOOD  PREVIEW 


“Gallant  Lady” 

( 20th  Century) 

Hollywood,  Dec.  5. — “Gallant  Lady”  is  big  and  fine.  A  thrilling  pic¬ 
ture,  throbbing  with  a  measured  beat  of  human  sympathy. 

Audiences  will  meet,  know,  and  be  pulling  for  as  swell  a  group  of 
human  beings,  led  by  Ann  Harding  and  a  stellar  cast,  as  have  graced 
the  screen  in  some  time. 

Not  since  “Holiday”  has  Miss  Harding  been  accorded  such  a  genuine, 
sincere  and  meaty  role.  She  handles  it  with  feeling  and  telling  effect. 

The  story  concerns  a  girl  courageous.  Her  fiance,  killed  in  a  take-off 
on  a  trans-Atlantic  flight,  forces  her  to  have  her  child  adopted.  Her 
attachments  to  three  men,  her  business  success,  her  yearning  and  quest 
for  her  baby  boy,  and  her  final  break  for  happiness  are  meager  high¬ 
lights  of  an  absorbing  plot. 

Charged  with  quiet  power,  suffused  with  poignant  pathos,  the  picture 
reveals  dramatic  heartbreak  in  a  touching  and  tender  mood.  Sigh  and 
sob  are  broken  by  smiles  and  laughs.  Ann  Harding  softly  etches  a 
portrait  that  engraves  itself  on  one’s  memory. 

Clive  Brook,  as  a  social  outcast,  elevates  human  frailty  superbly. 
Tullio  Carminati  is  gay,  Otto  Kruger  is  dependable,  and  both  give 
quality  performances  as  the  two  other  men  in  Ann  Harding’s  life.  Janet 
Beecher,  rich  in  stage  experience,  turns  in  a  warm,  competent  and  sin¬ 
cere  portrayal.  Dickie  Moore  is  a  lovable,  regular  fellow.  Betty 
Lawford,  as  the -female  menace,  handles  a  tough  job  nicely. 

Gregory  La  Cava’s  direction,  keeping  the  human  values  well  in  front 
at  all  times,  is  expert  in  all  departments.  Sam  Mintz’s  screen  play  is 
a  model  of  craftsmanship. 

“Gallant  Lady”  explores  the  heartaches  and  gropings  of  real  people. 
Its  soft  symphony  reaches  the  hidden  springs  of  emotions  and  plays 
wholesome  music  on  the  heartstrings. 

Appealing  to  all  classes,  “Gallant  Lady”  may  well  be  considered  out¬ 
standing,  should  do  standout  business  where  Ann  Harding’s  name  pulls 
and  should  rejuvenate  her  popularity  elsewhere. 


Jan  1 T 34  pg.  15 


IRDII1G 


1UGER 

MIN  ATI 
OORE 

by 

At  CAVA 


CENTURY 

PICTURE 

Presented  by 
JOSEPH  M. 
S  C  H  E  N  C  K 


'  with  UNITED  ARTISTS  EXPLOITATION! 


16 


Jan  1 1 34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


BETTER  TESTED  SUCCESSFUL 

MANAGEMENT  #  ">eas  #  merchandising 


Holiday  Cheer 


The  majority  of  theatres  in  the  terri¬ 
tory  tied  up  with  some  form  of  charity. 

Food  matinees,  special  performances 
to  which  members  of  homes,  orphan¬ 
ages,  etc.,  were  invited,  were  the  order 
of  the  day. 

The  trade  earned  a  lot  of  good  will, 
and  while  individual  cases  often  fail  to 
be  noted  in  these  columns,  this  notice 
will  serve  as  credit  that  the  business  did 
a  good  job. 


“Little  King”  Has 
Plenty  of  Good  Tieups 

A  large  array  of  promotional  tie-ups 
in  merchandise  and  publications  are 
available  on  Otto  Soglow’s  famous 
"Little  King”  animated  cartoons,  pro¬ 
duced  by  the  Van  Beuren  Corporation 
for  RKO  Radio  release. 

In  press  channels,  Soglow’s  merry  monarch 
has  long  been  a  feature  in  the  national  maga¬ 
zine,  The  New  Yorker.  Now,  the  screen  lead¬ 
ing  the  ‘‘Little  Queen”  has  crashed  full  pages 
of  the  exclusive  Vanity  Fair.  This  cartoonist 
is  also  represented  in  the  press  through  his 
King  Features  syndicate  on  "The  Ambassador.” 

In  merchandising  channels,  liquor  glasses  and 
accessories  in  many  styles,  humor  books, 
milady’s  compacts,  greeting  cards  and  other 
media  enhanced  by  clever  cartooning  afford 
exhibitors  a  wealth  of  tie-ups  in  window  dis¬ 
plays  and  advertising  columns. 

"Little  King"  glasses  recently  secured  full 
window  tie-up  displays  for  RKO’s  New  York 
theatres  in  two  department  stores.  These 
glasses,  decanters,  cocktail  shakers  and  other 
glassware  carry  His  Honor  on  the  smaller  items 
and  the  King  and  his  courtly  butler  in  various 
phases  of  mixing  drinks.  All  reproductions  are 
in  full  color  and  carry  the  autograph  of  O. 
Soglow. 

Department  and  drug  store  windows  and 
cosmetic  displays  are  afforded  through  Sog¬ 
low’s  creation  of  the  "Little  King  at  the  Key¬ 
hole”  compacts  in  vari-colored  combinations. 

One  side  of  the  compact  presents  in  full 
color  a  likeness  of  the  mischievous  monarch 
peeking  through  a  keyhole  while  the  other  side 
reveals  the  capricious  maiden  of  his  gaze. 


Toys  in  Wilmington 

George  Jones,  manager,  Loew’s,  Wilmington, 
saved  the  day  for  the  poor  kiddies’  Santa  Claus. 
This  year  Uncle  Sam  was  the  only  Santa  Claus. 
-Anyhow,  toys  were  coming  in  slowly  and  the 
Welfare  Organization  and  the  Fire  Department 
officials  were  worried.  Jones  heard  about  it  and 
went  to  Chief  Lutz  with  his  scheme,  admis¬ 
sion  to  the  theatre  for  any  kiddie  for  a  dis¬ 
carded  toy  worthy  of  restoration.  Once  an¬ 
nounced  properly  with  plenty  of  publicity  for 
Jones  and  his  pictures,  the  toys  began  to  roll 
in  so  fast  that  it  kept  the  firemen  busy  haul¬ 
ing  them  over.  With  the  end  of  the"  week’s 
offer,  one  thousand  toys  had  been  collected. 


Here’s  how  Charlie  Perry,  publicity  man 
attached  to  the  local  S-W  Aldine,  helped  sell 
“Advice  to  Lovelorn”  and  “The  Night  Before 
Christmas.” 


Bike  Tieup 

Thousands  of  Harrisburg  children  are  par¬ 
ticipating  in  Speed-O-Byke  contest  being  con¬ 
ducted  by  Manager  J.  D.  O’Rear,  Victoria 
Theatre,  in  co-operation  with  R.  E.  Rakestraw, 
Harrisburg  dairy  products  dealer. 

Two  Speed-O-Bykes  will  be  given  away 
free  every  Saturday  matinee  at  the  Victoria 
Theatre  for  three  consecutive  weeks,  starting 
January  6. 


National  Birthday  Week 

H.  Wayne  Pierson,  vice-chairman, 
Democratic  National  Committee,  stage 
and  screen  division,  has  been  appointed 
director  in  charge  of  motion  picture  and 
theatrical  activities  in  connection  with 
the  “National  Birthday  Ball  f  or  the  Pres¬ 
ident”  to  be  given  throughout  the 
nation,  January  30.  Headquarters  have 
been  established  at  the  Hotel  Waldorf 
Astoria,  New  York.  Colonel  Henry  L. 
Doherty  is  national  chairman  and  Gen¬ 
eral  Will  Hays  and  Will  Rogers  are 
members  of  the  national  committee. 
Charles  L.  O’Reilly,  president,  Theatre 
Owners’  Chamber  of  Commerce,  is 
chairman  of  the  exhibitors’  committee 
and  Eddie  Dowling  is  national  chairman 
of  the  producers’  division. 

A  huge  motion  picture  ball  is  plan¬ 
ned  for  Hollywood  and  many  special 
amusement  features  are  being  planned 
in  theatres  throughout  the  United  States. 

The  entire  proceeds  from  the  result 
of  the  “Birthday  Ball”  activities  will  be 
turned  over  to  President  Roosevelt  for 
the  establishment  of  an  endowment  for 
the  Warm  Springs  Foundation,  so  that 
the  Foundation  may  carry  on  its  na¬ 
tional  crusade  against  infantile  paralysis. 


See  Cohn 


Artie  Cohn,  at  the  Earle,  has  some 
40x60’s  for  sale  on  some  of  his  recent 
shows. 


Upstate  Houses  Do 
Bit  for  Sweet  Charity 

Upstate  theatres  certainly  had  the 
Xmas  spirit. 

Up-State  theatre  managers  contributed  the 
use  of  their  houses  to  assist  various  organiza¬ 
tions  in  their  efforts  to  spread  Yuletide  cheer 
among  unfortunate  children  and  grown-ups  in 
their  respective  communities. 

Thousands  of  toys  were  collected  December 
16,  at  Loew’s  Regent,  Colonial  and  Victoria 
Theatres,  Harrisburg,  for  distribution  at 
Christmas  among  the  city’s  poor  children. 

Another  Harrisburg  theatre,  Capitol,  neigh¬ 
borhood,  admitted  children  December  15,  for  4 
potatoes  apiece.  Two  shows  were  staged. 
Potatoes  were  used  by  the  Mt.  Pleasant  Fire 
Company  in  making  up  Christmas  baskets  for 
needy  families.  Management  reported  twenty- 
five  bushels  of  potatoes  were  collected  from 
1200  children.  Sixty-five  children  of  the  Chil¬ 
dren’s  Home  of  Harrisburg  were  guests  of  the 
Capitol  management  the  following  Tuesday 
afternoon. 

Canned  fruits  or  vegetables  was  the  price  of 
admission  to  the  Strand  Theatre,  Carlisle,  at  a 
special  show,  December  15.  Manager  Arthur 
Glaser  turned  the  goods  over  to  the  American 
Legion,  and  Salvation  Army  for  distribution. 


FAY  S/  Philadelphia 

Under  Direction  of 

M.  E.  COMERFORD 
Playing 

8  BIG  ACTS 

-  OF  - 

VAUDEVILLE 

Booked  by 

EDWARD  SHERMAN 

VAUDEVILLE  AGENCY 

Real  Estate  Trust  Bldg. 
PHILADELPHIA 

Pennypacker  7595 

MAYFAIR  THEATRE  BLDG.,  NEW  YORK 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Jan  1 ' 34 


17 


'Heard  In 


s 


USOUEHANN A  VALLEY 


Local  Houses 
Plenty  Active 


CLASS  OF  1924  held  its  reunion  at  the 
Strand  Theatre,  Sunbury.  .  .  .  When  class  was 
at  school,  J.  M.  Blanchard,  manager,  Strand, 
took  the  pictures  with  the  proviso  that  the  reel 
be  sealed  and  shown  only  every  ten  years.  .  .  . 
This  being  the  10th  year,  the  showing  took 
place. 

ANNUAL  TOY  MATINEE  at  the  Blooms- 
burg  Capitol  was  a  big  success.  .  .  .  Lloyd 

Hause  was  in  charge.  .  .  .  More  than  1000 

kiddies  turned  out  to  celebrate.  ...  In 
addition,  the  annual  Kiwanis  party  drew  a 
record  breaking  crowd  also  with  almost  1500 
kids  present.  .  House  got  a  publicity 

break  on  the  front  page  of  the  local  paper. 
.  .  .  Capitol’s  midnite  show  was  jammed. 

STRAND,  SUNBURY,  turned  ’em  away  at 
the  midnight  show  Xmas  eve.  .  .  .  Glass  was 
broken  out  of  several  cases.  .  .  .  Strand  and 
Rialto  planned  a  midnite  for  New  Year’s  eve. 

STRAND  had  1485  kids  as  guests  at  a 
Xmas  party.  .  .  .  The  Sunbury  house  had 

a  program  arranged  by  Manager  J.  M. 
Blanchard.  .  Tie-up  was  with  station 

WKOK  and  a  merchant. 

LOCAL  HOUSES  expect  a  pickup  in  busi¬ 
ness  after  the  first  of  the  year.  .  .  .  All  the¬ 
atres  are  going  in  strong  for  community  tie-ups, 
which  seem  to  show  their  benefit  at  the  box 
office.  a 


ON  MV  WAV  TO 
NEW  VORK  AND 
THE  PICCADILLV 


.  .  best  hotel  I  know! 
Near  everything,  just 
200  feet  from  Broad¬ 
way.  Modern,  hospit¬ 
able  ,  and  comfortable. 
Like  the  Manager, 
like  the  rates  —  $2.50 
single,  $3.50  double, 
for  a  room  with  bath ! 


THE  HOTEL  - 

PICCADILLY 

45th  St.  •  W.  of  Broadway  •  New  York 

WILLIAM  MADLUNG,  Mgr. 


18 


Jan  1'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


“Convention  City” 


Warners  have  a  honey  in  “Conven¬ 
tion  City.” 

Piece  is  exploitation  meat,  has  a  cast 
that  includes  star  names  such  as  Joan 
Blondell,  Adolphe  Menjou,  Mary  Astor, 
Frank  McHugh,  Dick  Powell,  Patricia 
Ellis,  Guy  Kibbee,  Hugh  Herbert,  Ruth 
Donnelly  and  others,  rushes  through 
with  a  pace  that  is  seldom  equalled  on 
the  screen  and  can  be  marked  down  as 
another  hit  from  the  boys  who  know 
how  to  make  them,  Warners. 

Decidedly  an  audience  satisfying  at¬ 
traction.  J.  E. 


Many  Midnight  Shows 
Because  of  Holiday  Break 

Many  theatres  throughout  the  territory 
turned  to  midnight  shows  as  an  added 
means  of  revenue  in  the  holiday  period. 

In  the  city  and  in  other  spots,  Sunday  night 
and  Sunday  midnite  shows  were  presented. 

Wilmington  theatre  men  have  George  Jones, 
manager  of  Loew’s  Parkway,  to  thank  this  year 
for  helping  them  solve  a  midnight  Monday 
morning  show  problem  that  has  always  delayed 
their  show.  City  ordinance  stipulates  that  no 
theatrical  performance  shall  begin  until  after 
midnight  Monday  mornings,  but  there  seemed 
to  have  been  a  moot  question  about  the  right 
to  sell  tickets  prior  to  midnight.  In  any  event 
several  efforts  to  sell  tickets  before  midnight 
and  thus  avoid  a  delay  of  about  a  half  an  hour 
of  the  show  in  the  past  have  failed.  This  time 
Jones  went  to  work  on  the  matter  and  got  con¬ 
sent  from  the  Board  of  Public  Safety  and  also 
the  City  Council  to  sell  tickets  a  half  an  hour 
before  midnight. 


Four  for  FD 

First  Division  Exchanges,  world’s  leading 
independent,  has  four  pictures  playing  on 
Broadway  this  week.  They  include : 

“Rainbow  Over  Broadway,”  with  Grace 
Hayes,  Joan  Marsh,  Frank  Albertson,  Lucien 
Littlefield,  Fanchon  &  Marco  Girls  and  others ; 
“He,  King  of  Virtue,”  from  a  story  by  Guy  de 
Maupassant ;  “Dassan,”  produced  and  photo¬ 
graphed  by  Cherry  Kearton,  noted  naturalist 
and  explorer,  on  the  Isle  of  Penguins ;  “Throne 
of  the  Gods,”  a  thrilling  pictorial  tale  of  an 
expedition  which,  in  the  face  of  tremendous 
danger,  successfully  scaled  the  highest,  snow- 
covered  peak  of  the  Himalayas. 


Amity  Producing 

Definite  plans  for  production  have  been  an¬ 
nounced  by  John  M.  Crinnion  of  Amity  Pic¬ 
tures  Corporation.  Schedule  includes  twelve 
full  length  features.  Samuel  Efrus  left  for 
Hollywood  where  he  will  be  in  charge  of 
production. 

Amity  Exchanges  have  been  advised  that  the 
first  picture  of  the  new  program  will  be  re¬ 
leased  March  15.  Conforming  with  this  sched¬ 
ule,  Amity  also  announces  the  purchase  of  six 
Will  Rogers  shorts  of  a  novel  and  original 
character. 


“Roman  Scandals ”  Looks  Like  Dough 


Eddie  Cantor  heads  a  swell  cast  in  the  Samuel  Goldwyn  production  of  “Roman 
Scandals,”  released  by  United  Artists. 


UEST  COLUMNIST 

Holiday  Spirit 
Is  Everywhere 


THE  ENGAGEMENT  of  Miss  Ruth  Lissy 
and  Irvin  Laver  is  announced.  .  .  .  Ruth  is 
the  popular  young  member  of  the  Masterpiece 
office  staff.  .  .  .  The  ring  is  beautiful.  .  .  . 
Death  of  the  mother  of  John  Phelan,  RKO 
booker,  was  mourned  by  her  many  friends  and 
acquaintances.  ...  It  happened  Xmas  Day, 
which  made  it  all  the  more  sorrowful. 

IT  WAS  MR.  AND  MRS  William  Francis 
Lafferty  when  the  assistant  manager  of  the 
Stanton  Theatre  married  Miss  Helen  Cecilia 
Slocum  recently.  .  Honeymoon  was  a 

motor  trip. 


Buys  Rogers  Shorts 

John  M.  Crinnion,  Amity  Pictures,  an¬ 
nounces  the  purchase  of  six  Will  Rogers  shorts 
for  distribution  in  the  United  States.  Shorts 
produced  by  C.  S.  Clancy,  are  of  a  novel  and 
original  character,  featuring  Will  Rogers  as  a 
guide  on  a  sightseeing  airplane  flight  over 
Ireland,  Holland,  England,  France,  Germany 
and  Switzerland. 

The  first  release  is  scheduled  for  March  to 
coincide  with  Amity’s  announced  release  dates 
on  the  new  features  in  production  on  the  coast 
now. 


Heard  In 


E  A  D  I  N  G 


Orpheum  Re-opening 
Hinted  Here 


By  T.  R. 


MIKE  LAN  DOW,  the  prince,  has  a  cane. 
.  .  .  Lew  Kellman  is  thinking  of  buying  a 
ring.  ...  A  big  one.  .  .  .  Morris  Hoffman 
and  Bertha  are  all  happy  now.  .  .  .  Got  a  hot 
present. 

STREET  was  sorry  to  hear  of  the  death 
of  the  mother  of  Morris  Handel.  .  .  .  Her 

funeral  was  held  Tuesday. 

HERMAN  SHER  of  East  Stroudsburg  and 
Betty  Redmond  of  Metro  made  it  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Christmas  Day.  .  .  .  The  trade  will  be  glad  to 
hear  of  it. 

WHO  IS  THE  Vine  Street  young  lady  who 
visits  the  bachelor  exhibitor’s  theatre  quite 
often?  Norman  Lewis  broke  a  bottle 

and  will  a  Vine  Street  manager’s  face  turn 
red  when  he  reads  this.  .  .  Who  is  the 

Vine  Street  manager  who  spent  the  Xmas 
party  afternoon  kissing  MALE  exhibitors? 
It  must  be  that  party  influence. 

LOU  LIESER,  formerly  with  U  here,,  is 
now  with  U  in  Java.  .  .  .  H.  T.  Sniffin,  U’er, 
is  now  living  here.  .  .  .  U  exchange  had  a  nice 
Xmas  tree.  .  .  .  Mike  Landow  acted  as  Santa 
Claus  at  the  party.  .  .  .  Spent  a  pleasant  after¬ 
noon  handing  it  out.  .  .  .  That  has  been  his 
specialty  for  quite  a  while. 


“Man’s  Paradise” 

Herbert  W.  Given,  Inc.,  is  distributing  “Man’s 
Paradise.”  Shots  were  made  by  the  Hunting- 
ton  Expedition  in  the  South  Sea  Islands. 


WILMER  &  VINCENT  theatres,  Em¬ 
bassy  and  State,  were  the  scene  of  several  large 
Christmas  parties  for  children.  .  .  .  1,500 

packed  the  State,  host  being  Charles  E.  Kirlin, 
long  time  partner  with  “Peg”  Glase,  W-V 
general  manager  here,  in  many  welfare  move¬ 
ments  for  boys.  .  .  .  Raymond  Novitsky,  man¬ 
ager,  State.  ...  At  the  Embassy,  where  Gen¬ 
eral  Manager  Glase  has  his  offices,  2,000  young¬ 
sters  were  entertained  under  the  auspices  of 
Reading  Lodge  of  Elks. 

SOME  OF  THE  COMPETITION  that  the¬ 
atre  managers  in  Reading  and  rural  towns 
\ive  had  to  face  from  entertainments  where 
motion  pictures  have  been  shown  at  cut 
prices  or  free  may  be  eliminated.  .  .  .  State 

Department  of  Labor  and  Industry  is  enforc¬ 
ing  the  law  regarding  auxiliary  lighting  sys¬ 
tems  for  public  halls. 

LOBBY  of  the  Orpheum,  dark  since  last 
year,  has  been  redecorated.  .  .  .  Public  is  won¬ 
dering  is  the  house  to  be  re-opened.  .  .  .  Tama- 
qua,  Schuylkill  County,  Borough  Council  did 
a  quickstep  to  the  side  when  the  World  War 
veterans  of  the  town  petitioned  for  the  right 
to  show  motion  pictures  on  Sunday  evenings. 

.  .  .  Shows  were  to  be  at  hours  not  conflict¬ 
ing  with  church  services,  and  charities  and  wel¬ 
fare  funds  were  to  get  part  of  the  proceeds. 

.  .  .  Burgess  Peter  Barton  had  turned  down 
similar  petitions  before,  and  announced  that  he 
will  continue  his  policy.  .  .  .  Borough  Coun- 
cilmen  took  their  cue  from  the  burgess  and 
referred  the  matter  to  the  burgess,  thus  killing 
it.  .  .  .  Announcement  is  made  of  the  wed¬ 
ding  of  Edward  L.  Fanelli,  Shenandoah  motion 
picture  projectionist,  emploved  at  the  Capitol, 
that  city,  and  Miss  Helen  R.  Doming. 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Jan  1 1 34 


19 


Settling  Suits 

Several  suits  have  been  settled  out  of 
court. 

That  of  Youngclaus  against  distributors 
in  the  Omaha  zone  was  settled,  after  the 
exhibitor  won  a  Federal  injunction 
against  the  territory  protection  agree¬ 
ment. 

The  suit  of  Ivan  Abramson  for 
$1,500,000  against  distributors,  was 
also  settled. 

Locally,  the  Victoria  Amusement 
Company  suit  against  distributors  has 
not  yet  been  settled,  it  is  believed, 
although  there  have  been  rumors  that  a 
settlement  is  in  progress. 


Heard  In 


EHIGH  VALLEY 

Call  Him  Up 
Some  Time 


_  By  Jack 


HERE  COMES  1934  and  I  hope  you  all  get 
the  breaks.  .  .  .  Newest  manager  is  Arthur 
Kerns,  appointed  by  M.  H.  Goodman,  United 
chain,  to  the  newly  opened  Lyric,  Allentown, 
December  21.  .  .  .  Wilmer  and  Vincent’s  State 
re-opened  Christmas  day  with  Harry  Delmar's 
Revels  on  the  stage.  .  .  .  Allentown  is  in  for 
some  big  programs. 

PAUL  ALLENDAR  conducted  a  welfare 
benefit,  sponsored  by  the  Daughters  Division 
of  the  Women’s  Club  with  “Mickie  Mouse,” 
“Minnie,”  and  “Santa  Claus”  at  the  doors  of 
the  Strand  to  greet  the  kids.  .  .  P.  R. 

Hoffman  had  over  1000  guests  at  his  Christ¬ 
mas  matinee  in  his  19th  Street  Theatre,  in¬ 
cluding  the  inmates  of  the  Good  Shepherd 
Home  and  others  brought  in  by  the  “Satur¬ 
day  Gang.”  Lee  Levy,  Colonial,  and 

Walter  J.  Hurley,  Rialto,  (both  Wilmer  and 
Vincent  theatres),  collected  a  lot  of  canned 
goods  for  the  Lion’s  Club  Santa  Claus  bas¬ 
kets,  as  admissions  to  children’s  matinees. 

.  .  Andy  Anderson,  manager,  Roxy,  co¬ 

operated  with  the  Northampton  Quota  Club 
by  conducting  a  canned  goods  matinee.  .  .  . 
George  C.  Meeser  collected  400  toys  for  the 
Nazareth  girl  scouts  at  the  Broad  Street 
Theatre.  .  .  .  Has  been  busy  installing  Uni¬ 
versal  Sound  System  at  the  Royal  which  re¬ 
opened  Saturdays  only.  .  .  .  Penlo  Theatre, 

Emaus,  Earle  Tobias,  gave  patrons  ducks, 
geese,  chickens  and  groceries.  .  .  .  Towne, 

Allentown,  had  gifts  for  the  kiddies. 

DICK  SHAMUS,  manager,  United  Chain’s 
Colonial,  Bethlehem,  held  a  two-hour  matinee 
collecting  canned  goods  via  admissions  for  the 
American  Legion  and  Salvation  Army.  .  .  . 
Oscar  Foreman  at  the  College  (U.  C.)  admits 
children  for  10  cents  anytime.  .  .  .  State, 
Ray  Wolf  manager,  gave  gifts  to  all  the  kid¬ 
dies  at  the  Saturday  10  cent  matinee.  .  .  . 
Charles  F.  Moyer  is  back  on  active  duty  as 
manager  of  the  Nile.  .  .  .  Mrs.  Moyer  very 
capably  managed  affairs  with  the  help  of 
assistant  manager  L.  F.  Heiberger  during  Moy¬ 
er’s  absence.  .  .  .  Canned  vegetable  matinees 
for  the  benefit  of  the  Volunteers  of  America 
were  held  by  both  Wilmer  and  Vincent  theatres 
in  Easton,  Embassy,  J.  Fred  Osterstock,  and 
State,  Walter  E.  Jones. 

ANOTHER  NEIGHBORHOOD  THEATRE 
has  been  added  to  the  Allentown  district, 
Hamilton  Street  Theatre.  .  New  Allen 

tried  out  German  movies.  .  .  .  Manager  M. 

E.  Edwards  had  another  Sunday  show  at  the 


Park,  Coplay.  .  .  .  Oscar  Foreman,  College, 
South  Bethlehem,  U.  C.  circuit,  held  a  special 
Xmas  show  for  the  American  Legion  and  Sal¬ 
vation  Army,  admitting  patrons  for  canned 
goods.  .  .  .  Sorry  if  I  missed  anything.  .  .  . 
Phone  number  is  Bath  108-R-3. 

NEW  CATASAUQUA  house  had  a  gala 
opening.  .  .  .  Police  had  to  be  called  out  to 
check  the  crowds.  .  .  .  Theatre  has  been  en¬ 
tirely  renovated  and  is  now  an  attractive  show- 
place.  .  .  .  Was  closed  for  a  few  weeks. 


Delaware  Charters 

Cascabel  Amusement  Company.  To  carry  on  a  leasing 
amusement  business.  250  shares,  no  par  value. 

General  Film  Exchange,  Inc.  To  import  into  iChina 
motion  picture  films.  100  shares,  no  par  value. 

Historic  Films,  Inc.  Conduct  a  general  motion  pic¬ 
ture  and  talking  picture  business. 


Sherman  Adds  Fay’s 

Eddie  Sherman  has  added  Fay’s  Theatre  to 
his  books.  8-Act  full-week  stand  policy  opens 
January  1. 

With  the  addition  of  Fay’s  and  the  Wilmer 
and  Vincent  circuit,  recently  announced,  Sher¬ 
man  takeS|  his  place  as  the  leading  independent 
vaudeville  booker  in  the  east. 

Other  houses  being  booked  by  him  include : 

Hippodrome,  Baltimore ;  Carman,  Philadel¬ 
phia  ;  Fay’s ;  each  a  full  week. 

State,  Baltimore ;  State,  Harrisburg ;  State, 
Allentown ;  Girard,  Philadelphia ;  Victoria, 
Mahanoy  City ;  Walt  Whitman,  Camden ;  each 
a  split  week.  Also  the  Steel  Pier,  Atlantic 
City;  Keswick,  Glenside ;  Jumbo,  Philadelphia; 
Riant,  Conshohocken ;  Broadway,  Pitman,  N.  J. 


Step 


TOUR  MAN 


Up 

POWER 


Greater  opportunities  exist  today  for  producers  and  distributors 
of  Motion  Pictures  to  augment  their  organization  with  experienced, 
capable  and  resourceful  publicity  men,  than  at  any  time  in  the  past 
ten  years. 

Industry  events,  mergers  and  decentralizations  have  created  a 
situation  where  active  companies  may  select  unusual  man-power 
during  this  brief  re-adjustment  period. 

Associated  Motion  Picture  Advertisers,  Inc.,  in  full  understand¬ 
ing  of  all  circumstances,  are  seeking  diligently  to  raise  the  standard 
of  motion  picture  publicity  and  advertising  in  all  branches  of  our 
industry. 

Men  of  experience,  some  of  whom  in  the  past  have  handled 
outstanding,  profit-making  attractions,  are  being  recommended  by  the 
AMPA  to  employers  who  have  the  vision  to  take  advantage  of  the 
current  unusual  condition. 

Our  committee  has  a  registration  bureau  ready  and  eager  to  give 
advice  and  assistance  to  those  who  will  take  advantage  of  the  present 
opportunity  to  “step  up  their  man-power.” 


Communicate  with 


Marvin  Kirsch 
Film  Daily 
1650  Broadway 
New  York  City 
Tel.  Circle  7-4736 


Monroe  Greenthal 
United  Artists 
or  729  Seventh  Avenue 

New  York  City 
Tel.  BRyant  9-7300 


Sincerely, 

Associated  Motion  Picture 
Advertisers,  Inc. 


THIS  IS  THE  SECOND  OF  A  SERIES  OF  SIMILAR  ADS.  DESCRIBING  THE  QUALIFICATIONS  OF 
OUTSTANDING  MEN  FOR  WHOM  THE  A.  M.  P.  A.  IS  DESIROUS  OF  SECURING  EMPLOYMENT. 


20 


Jan  1'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Heard  In 

UP  -  S  T  A  T  E 

Santa  Gets 
Rather  Big 


jolly  Santa  Claus.  .  .  .  Tilting  Santa  against 
his  strong  shoulders,  Harry  raised  the  piece  of 
art  carefully  and  started  through  the  cellar 
door.  .  .  .  He  found  it  impossible  to  remove 
Santa  from  the  cellar.  .  .  .  He  had  constructed 
Santa  larger  than  the  cellar  doorway.  .  .  . 
After  a  delicate  and  tedious  operation,  Santa, 
his  appearance  somewhat  marred,  finally  was 
removed. 


NO  ONE  MORE  thoroughly  enjoys  Christ¬ 
mas  or  more  sincerely  enters  into  the  spirit 
of  planning  for  the  happiness  of  others  at  this 
period  than  does  Harry  Beck,  one  of  the 
handiest  stage  employes  in  Harrisburg.  .  .  . 
Harry  was  glad  when  asked  by  Manager  Jack 
O’Rear,  Colonial,  to  build  a  substantial  replica 
of  Santa  Claus  to  be  placed  in  a  prominent 
position  atop  the  marquee  of  the  Colonial.  .  .  . 
As  happy  as  a  child,  Harry  worked  laboriously 
in  the  cellar  of  the  Colonial  to  complete  a  large 


Brings 
E  xhibftors 

Real 

Live 

O  pport  unities 


FOR  EXTRA  PROFITS 

•loin  up  for  a  monthly 
commission  check 

NOW 

It’s  a  guaranteed  income 
“FOR  LIFE”  with  BERLO 
paying  the  premiums 


Get  in  touch  with: 

GEO.  P.  AARONS 

301  N.  13th  Street 

LOCUST  4245 


OR  CALL  POPLAR  6109 

BERLO 

VENDING 

COMPANY 

1518  N.  Broad  St.,  Phila. 

Specializing  in  Candy 
Vending  Equipment 
for  the  Theatre  Trade! 


NEW  YORK  BALTIMORE 

SCRANTON  WASHINGTON 

ALLENTOWN  CLEVELAND 

PITTSBURGH  CINCINNATI 


STATE  THEATRE,  Harrisburg,  was 
closed  during  the  week  of  December  18  for  the 
purpose  of  giving  it  a  thorough  inspection,  mak¬ 
ing  it  more  comfortable  wherever  possible, 
arranging  holiday  decorations  and  installing  a 
new  policy  of  operation. 


MANAGER  CHARLES  McLEARY,  Loew’s 
Regent  Theatre,  has  reported  excellent  re¬ 
sults  from  the  use  of  a  loud  speaker  on  the 
marquee.  .  .  .For  “Dancing  Lady”  the  loud 
speaker  was  put  in  operation.  .  .  .  Remarks 
on  the  picture  were  broadcast  together  with 
announcements  of  the  following  week’s  at¬ 
traction,  “The  Private  Life  of  Henry  VIII.” 

Phonograph  records  were  used  to 
broadcast  song  hits  from  the  pictures.  .  .  . 

For  “Dinner  at  8,”  Manager  McLeary  re¬ 
sorted,  for  the  first  time  in  a  number  of 
months,  to  the  use  of  one-sheets.  ...  A 
permanent  tie-up  with  a  Harrisburg  taxicab 
company  has  been  arranged  by  Manager 
McLeary.  .  .  .  Every  day  on  the  rear  of  the 

taxicabs  are  carried  prominent  signs  direct¬ 
ing  all  who  see  them  to  Loew’s. 


MANAGERS  Harry  Lambert,  Colonial; 
Jack  O’Rear,  Victoria,  and  Charlie  McLeary, 
Loew’s  Regent,  surpassed  former  Christmas 
week  attendance  records  by  offering  first-class 
pictures.  .  .  .  Miss  Mary  Pauline  Funk,  pretty 
cashier,  Colonial  Theatre,  Harrisburg,  be¬ 
came  Mrs.  Claude  Knol,  December  14.  .  .  . 
Marriage  was  performed  at  Newville.  .  .  . 

Mrs.  Knol  says  Mr.  Knol  is  a  handsome  bus 
driver.  .  .  .  Bill  Manahan,  doorman,  State, 
Harrisburg,  ill  for  a  week  with  grippe,  was 
expected  to  return  to  his  post  when  State  re¬ 
opened  for  holidays.  .  .  .  There  was  general 
rejoicing  among  his  innumerable  friends  when 
C.  Floyd  Hopkins,  manager  of  Wilmer  and 
Vincent  interests,  Harrisburg  and  Reading,  re¬ 
turned  home  from  Miami  Beach,  Florida.  .  .  .  He 
had  been  ill  since  June.  .  .  .  Her  speech  lost  for 
four  days,  due  to  severe  cold,  Mrs.  Estella  Hicks, 
cashier,  Victoria,  Harrisburg,  stuck  to  her  post 
like  a  real  trouper.  .  .  .  Colonial,  Harrisburg, 
gave  seven  complete  shows  daily  during  show¬ 
ing  of  “Little  Women.” 


TWO  OF  HARRISBURG’S  busiest  men 
prior  to  Christmas  were  Manager  Lambert, 
Colonial,  and  Manager  O’Rear,  Victoria.  .  .  . 
Former  spends  every  second  of  his  spare  time 
making  faces  for  his  new  baby.  .  .  .  Latter 
had  so  many  friends  to  send  Christmas  greet¬ 
ings  that  he  was  compelled  to  work  overtime. 


mmT,"1  t  1  1 i  t  i  '.TngrrnTiT'iTTiT,  v  rerrr  rr  nrrnTmgxic 

ST.  CHARLES  ! 

AN  ENTIRE  BLOCK  ON  THE  BOARDWALK  ■ 

•  ATLANTIC  CITY 

A  Smart  Hotel  in  America’s  Smartest  gesort  - 

Atlantic  city — Healthful — 

Restful — Affording  complete  relaxation  so  ] 

welcome  after  intensive  work — Where  the  ] 

St.  Charles  offers  the  maximum  in  hotel  ] 

comfort  and  service — Spacious  Sun  Deck  \ 

occupying  one  entire  block  overlooking  ■ 

Boardwalk  and  Sea — Ocean  view  Lounge.  : 

IDEAL  CONVENTION  FACILITIES 
RATES  GREATLY  REDUCED  j 


HARRISBURG  MOVIE  FANS  have  been 
expressing  disappointment  over  failure  of  the 
master  minds  of  moviedom  to  bring  “Alice 
in  Wonderland”  to  their  city. 


SKIPPER  CHARLES  McLEARY,  Loew’s 
Regent,  Harrisburg,  misses  few  opportunities 
for  exploitation.  ...  To  exploit  “The  Private 
Life  of  Henry  VIII,”  Mac  arranged  the  distri¬ 
bution  at  the  Harrisburg  Public  Library  of 
bookmarks  bearing  list  of  Henry  VIII  literature. 
.  .  .  “Mac”  and  his  assistant  “Bob,”  Etch- 
berger,  had  a  busy  time  judging  1200  draw¬ 
ings  to  pick  winners  of  the  King  Henry  Whis¬ 
ker  contest  conducted  at  Loew’s  recently.  .  .  . 
A  benefit  show  was  held  at  the  Strand  The¬ 
atre,  Steelton,  by  the  Baldwin  Hose  Company, 
Steelton.  .  .  .  Three  turkeys  were  given  away  by 
patrons  holding  lucky  tickets  at  Grand  The¬ 
atre,  Huntingdon. 


Horlacher  is  the 

OLDEST  DELIVERY  SERVICE 

ONLY  CAPABLE.  BONDED 
DRIVERS  ARE  USED 

Regardless  of  rain  or  snow 

DELIVERY  IS  PROMPT 

Leading  exhibitors  have 

j  BEEN  CLIENTS  FOR  YEARS 

A  FTER  15  YEARS  IT  STANDS 

WITH  UNEXCELLED  RECORD 

COURTESY  HAS  BEEN  A 

DOMINANT  PRINCIPLE  ALWAYS 

Heavy  insurance  covers  all 

DIVISIONS  OF  THE  BUSINESS 

Every  effort  is  always  made 

FOR  GREATER  EFFICIENCY 

Real  service  has  been 

THE  REASON  FOR  PROGRESS 


Horlacher 

DELIVERY  SERVICE,  Inc. 

1228-30  VINE  ST. 

PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 

NEW  TORK  WASHINGTON  NEW  HAVEN 

BOSTON  SCRANTON  BALTIMORE 


Jan  1  ’  34  pg.  21 


ELI  M.  OROWITZ 

EDITOR 


VOL.  1 


No.  11 


January,  1934 


HEALING  THE  AILMENT! 

LAST  month  we  presented  our  case  against  the  Fox  advertising  and 
publicity  department,  seeking  to  indict  it  for  negligence  in  performance 
of  duty  to  exhibitors.  We  promised  to  proceed  until  a  marked  improve¬ 
ment  would  result. 

We  make  no  effort,  even  by  innuendo,  to  claim  credit  for  the  change 
in  the  Fox  press-book  on  “I  Am  Suzanne.”  If,  indirectly,  calling  attention 
to  the  ineffectiveness  of  these  press-book  aids  resulted  in  more  time  and 
consideration  being  allotted  to  the  task  and  better  material  being  produced, 
we  still  prefer  to  believe  that  it  was  a  matter  of  time. 

Criticism  of  the  inferior  Fox  press-books  was  not  aimed  at  any  indi¬ 
vidual  but  at  a  system.  When  one  considers  that  productions  cost  around 
$200,000  or  more  and  then  learns  that  press-books  are  turned  out  at  less 
than  one  per  cent  of  that  major  investment,  one  can  readily  understand  why 
material  is  not  fulfilling  the  intended  purpose.  The  same  individuals  who 
produced  great  Fox  press-books  in  past  years  are  perhaps  influenced  by 
the  type  of  product  created  by  Movietone  City. 

These  men  are  not  being  given  sufficient  time  to  create;  they  are 
evidently  not  allowed  the  necessary  appropriation  with  which  to  do  the 
extra  special  job  needed  to  help  merchandise  this  type  of  Fox  product. 
These  are  our  suppositions. 

The  “I  Am  Suzanne”  press-book,  from  advertising  layout  and  sales 
copy  standpoint,  gives  exhibitors  something  tangible  to  play  with  and  sell 
to  prospective  ticket-buyers.  We  are  exceedingly  optimistic  about  this 
press-book  and  those  just  received  from  other  companies.  Therefore  we 
will  indicate  a  new  trend. 

Beginning  next  month  we  will  reproduce  the  best  individual  ads  from 
the  month’s  press-books  and  simultaneously  review  those  exploitation  ideas 
which  are  practical,  economical  and  carry  a  possibility  of  bringing  addi¬ 
tional  revenue  into  box-offices. 

Presentation  of  our  case  against  press-books  in  general  and  Fox,  in 
particular,  last  month,  was  not  refuted.  On  the  next  two  pages  we  devote 
a  great  deal  of  space  to  show  Fox  ads  which  are  foreign  to  the  press-book 
layouts.  This  is  being  done  in  a  spirit  of  helpfulness  not  only  to  Fox  and 
their  account  but  to  other  home-offices.  It  is  up  to  all  ad  departments  to 
give  exhibitors  the  material  with  which  to  work. 


Jan  1'34  pg.  22 


B 


YOUR  THEATRE 


REPRODUCTION  of  newspaper  ads  in 
papers  throughout  the  territory,  as  shown 
on  the  left,  is  indicative  that  Fox  exhibi¬ 
tors  have  to  spend  plenty  of  time  to  clip 
and  prepare  copy  for  their  regular  ads. 

On  the  extreme  left  by  chopping  off  sev¬ 
eral  inches  of  waste  you  find  a  condensed 
ad,  compact  but  containing  the  essential 
sales  copy  of  your  own  ad.  Directly  under¬ 
neath,  the  exhibitor  has  deleted  over  a  half¬ 
inch  with  the  prominent  Fox  slug  and  has 
substituted  copy.  The  next  “As  Husbands 
Go’’  ads  required  further  dissection.  The 
ben  day  and  eerie  background  was  routed 
out. 

Attention  of  the  Fox  office  is  called  to  the 
“Hoopla”  ad.  There  is  more  guts,  more 
specialized  selling  of  the  attraction  in  it 
than  in  any  ad  in  the  press-book.  The  “I 
Was  A  Spy”  press-book  was  especially  con¬ 
tradictory.  “The  Showman”  on  the  cover 
advises  “subordination  of  war  background” 
yet  every  ad  and  the  accessories  specifically 
carry  out  the  war  stuff.  Hence,  the  Steel 
Pier  copy. 

The  lines  suggested,  last  month,  to  top 
off  the  “Jimmy  and  Sally”  ads  were  not 
original  and  perhaps  hackneyed.  Neverthe¬ 
less  they  were  picked  up  apparently  as  in¬ 
finitely  better  by  the  Easton,  Pa.,  first  run 
— a  theatre  operated  by  a  great  showman, 
A1  Boyd,  of  Philadelphia,  who  operates 
the  first  run  Fox  Theatre,  also.  Directly 
underneath,  the  Roxy  (N.  Y.)  utilized  orig¬ 
inal  lines,  layout,  etc.  Trenton,  N.  J.,  ad 
below  it  had  to  have  a  surgical  job,  too. 

Colonial  ad  on  “My  Lips  Betray”  may  not 
be  very  good  but  it  sells  Lilian  Harvey 
stronger  than  the  Fox  press-book  ads.  _ 

Study  the  reproductions,  gentlemen  of 
Fox.  Become  acquainted  with  what  the  ex- 
hib  tors  want  and  use  and  serve  them.  To 
complete  a  press-book  where  the  art  work 
is  too  aesthetic  for  the  movie  mob  is  a  waste 
of  money. 

Light  ads  fulfill  a  certain  purpose  and 
may  be  ideal  in  a  dozen  cities  where  first- 
run  exhibitors  seek  contrast  from  the  heavy, 
black-bordered  or  black  type  ads  on  the 
same  page.  But  the  inject  on  of  class  in 
layout  and  text  to  sell  average  pictures  is 
not  conducive  of  better  box-office  business. 
After  all  no  theatre  is  operated  merely  to 
run  classy  ads. 

The  case  against  Fox  is  based  upon 
actual  experience  and  difficulties  encount¬ 
ered  in  preoaring  suitable  newspaper  ads 
for  the  product. 

More  s’ngle  column  ads  are  used  than 
two  column  spreads.  More  two  column  ads 
are  used  than  three  or  four  column  smashes. 
Where  an  exhibitor  runs  one  big  opening 
day  he  invariably  uses  single  column  space 
during  the  engagement.  This  has  been 
done  so  long  that  it  is  routine.  We  suggest 
that  the  press-book  ads  should  offer  at  least 
eight  single  column  ads;  s:x  two-column 
(one  supplementary  included)  ;  three  3-col¬ 
umn  ads  and  one  four-column  ad.  Remem¬ 
ber  when  press-books  usually  ran  a  full- 
page  layout?  It’s  time  for  some  more 
changes. 

Ads  reproduced  here  have  been  picked 
from  tear  sheets  sent  in  from  nearly  50 
cities  and  are  indicative  of  the  manner  in 
which  Fox  product  is  advertised. 


Jan  1 T 34  pg.  23 


YOUR  THEA TRE 


C 


WE  REITERATE  that  the  “I  Am 
Suzanne”  press-book  showed  some  improve¬ 
ment.  It  indicates  that  the  department 
which  creates  the  press-books  seems  to  have 
been  influenced  in  the  past  by  type  of  Fox 
product  and  that  the  department  has  plenty 
of  man  power  to  turn  out  improved  books. 

THE  PASTE-UPS  on  this  page  were 
prepared  primarily  for  those  exhibitors  who 
want  their  ads  to  be  eye-attractors  on  a 
newspaper  page  without  exceed  ng  the  aver¬ 
age  weekly  budget.  In  “I  Am  Suzanne” 
Fox  uses  more  reverse  plates  than  on  any 
picture  released  thus  far,  this  year.  For 
this,  we  thank  them,  in  behalf  of  thousands 
of  Fox  product  users.  It  is  far  more  effec¬ 
tive. 

REPRODUCTIONS  on  this  page  are  not 
intended  to  be  examples  of  perfect  news¬ 
paper  ads.  But  we  have  reason  to  believe 
that  they  will  be  used  by  many  exhibitors 
who  picked  up  the  other  ad  suggestions 
carried  in  the  preceding  issue. 

MANY  YEARS  AGO,  the  home  office  of 
a  major  picture  company  sent  out  advance 
proofs  of  national  ads  to  their  respective 
exchange  managers.  In  one  city,  the  ex¬ 
change  manager  consulted  his  exploitation 
man  as  to  their  value.  While  the  e.  m.  was 
a  firm  believer  in  adertising  he  expressed 
his  opinion  in  one  word — “Lousy.”  This 
opinion  was  immediately  forwarded  to  the 
home  office.  The  next  morning,  a  telephone 
call  summoned  the  said  e.  m.  to  the  home 
office. 

There,  the  general  director  of  publicity 
and  advertising,  flanked  by  his  depart¬ 
mental  chiefs  and  the  advertising  agency 
representative  were  ready  to  sit  in  judg¬ 
ment.  The  cross-examinat'on  was  brief. 
Here  it  is,  according  to  the  story: 

“Why  do  you  think  our  advertising  cam¬ 
paign  is  lousy?”  (A.)  “What  are  you  try¬ 
ing  to  sell?” 

“Pictures.” 

“They  why  do  you  go  in  for  a  lot  of  art 
work  with  cubistic  lines,  etc.,  Dental  com¬ 
panies  and  soap  manufacturers  pay  money 
for  permission  to  use  a  film  star’s  head  in 
their  ads  to  attract  readers.  We  not  only 
can  get  these  heads,  gratis,  but  these  stars 
are  our  stock  in  trade.” 

Believe  it  or  not,  the  home  office  chief¬ 
tains  were  broad-minded  enough  to  real’ze 
that  the  simplicity  of  the  e.  m.,  warranted 
some  consideration.  In  twenty-four  hours 
the  layouts  were  ripped  apart  and  new  ads 
were  substituted. 

“I  AM  SUZANNE”  is  the  third  Ameri¬ 
can  release  with  Lil'an  Harvey.  Her  face 
is  not  yet  well  known  because  enough 
advance  interest  has  not  been  created 
through  various  mediums  of  public'ty  to 
the  public.  At  least,  every  piece  of  adver¬ 
tising  copy  on  each  of  her  pictures  should 
have  included  a  face  of  Miss  Harvey  to 
bring  her  closer  to  the  movie  mind.  This 
is  only  one  of  the  purposes  of  the  paste-ups 
taken  from  your  “I  Am  Suzanne”  press- 
book  w'th  deletions  and  substitutions,  A 
very  important  reason  is  also  that  every 
line  of  space  an  exhibitor  uses,  today,  must 
help  him  sell  the  picture  and  bring  more 
people  to  his  box-office. 


SOME  MORE  AD  SUGGESTIONS 

CHANGE  THE  COPY  TO  SUIT  YOURSELF 


TELL  Me  That  you 
Love,  me! 


A  Jesse  L.  Lasky  Production 

with 

LILIAN 

HARVEY 


Gene  Raymond 


[Lilia-fi  Harvey  €.  (&&-ne  Pay mond] 


A  PERSONALITY  THAT  SWEPT  THE 
UittfLD  Except  the  maw  she  wahtedI 


ILIAN  HARVEY 


Gene  Raymond 
Leslie  Banks 


An  Eve£a  veE  ! 
Art  Edr-ful  Jp  I 
A  He  art  Pul  f 

tfce  A»rl  Vjhewds  botr» 
P**  +©  be  -whose 

ftsSfS  -wHsSp 
•  rs*  *’,**r**  Only  Swce*  Wkjsprrf 

LILIAN 

HARVEY 


wi+k 

„  <5ene 
UAYMOHI) 


A_LOVE  SToRY 

Itwt  -Kinils  e-nd  Throbs 
\s.  ‘-ni'de  shory  of- 
**><■  Fox  P,'c+i,.re--- 


with 

LILIAN  M ?ve 

G-e-ne  cL 

Leslie  6<jt»ks 
s-nd.  +Ue 
Screen  Si 


Pod 


ur  prise 


r€CC^'S  Roo°li /WncUei 


Jan  1’34  pg.  24 


D 


YOUR  THEATRE 


I 

I 


Bill 

Box-Office 

Looks 

Ahead 

to 

Lent— 


And  Gets  Some 
Very  Good  Local 
Tieup  Angles 


Make 
of  Th 


T 

the 

Most 

em 

Now 

THIS  IS  A  HECTIC  BUSINESS  of  ours.  We  have  more  competition 
and  opposition  than  any  other  industry,  but  not  a  single  showman  really 
attributes  bad  business  to  these  factors.  The  regular  pre-Xmas  slump  is 
anticipated  and  dreaded.  Then  that  grand  big  week  between  Christmas 
and  New  Year’s.  If  the  weather  is  not  too  cold  we  continue  getting  them 
to  our  box-office.  If  the  winds  from  the  North  Pole  swoop  down  upon  us 
it  means  more  coal  in  the  heater  and  less  cash  in  the  till. 

Why  not  make  an  indirect  endeavor  to  offset  the  Lent  slump  without 
offending  anyone?  I  recall,  years  ago,  I  was  in  a  city  where  Lent  was  as 
costly  to  my  box-office  as  daylight-saving  time  is  to  you.  I’ll  tell  you  what 
I  did.  Maybe  you  will  get  something  out  of  this  idea.  Maybe  you  won’t. 

The  big  department  store  was  not  satisfied  with  its  infant  business. 
I  made  inquiries  around  the  town  and  in  this  way  obtained  that  tip.  I 
visited  the  store  executive  and  detailed  my  plan.  Here  it  is : 

I  WOULD  SEND  a  silent  cameraman  to  the  infant  department  every 
morning  at  a  certain  time  to  shoot  these  babies  for  a  proposed  Baby  Movie 
to  be  shown  in  my  theatre  during  one  week  in  Lent.  The  store  was  obli¬ 
gated  only  to  get  the  newspaper’s  co-operation  in  its  news  columns  and 
to  use  a  half-page  ad,  at  least  once.  The  daily  ran  a  stick  or  two  which 
I  knew  would  not  create  the  required  interest  in  the  reel  to  make  it  a 
success. 

It  was  then  I  suggested  to  the  department  store  executive  that  he 
make  it  mandatory  upon  mothers  bringing  their  babies  to  be  filmed  to 
present  a  coupon  appearing  in  the  paper.  The  editor  and  business  manager 
agreed  that  from  a  circulation  standpoint  it  merited  more  space  because 
of  its  own  sponsorship. 

I  DON’T  RECALL  exactly  what  the  aggregate  cost  was  to  the  theatre 
but  I  do  know  that  I  ran  the  five  hundred  feet  during  a  usually  bad  week 
together  with  a  mediocre  feature  and  showed  a  handsome  profit. 

IN  LOOKING  OVER  NEWSPAPERS  from  all  parts  of  the  country, 
I  notice  that  the  classified  ad  newspaper  tie-ups  are  returning.  How  long 
has  it  been  since  you  talked  it  over  with  the  business  manager  of  your 
daily  about  it? 

Stores,  encouraged  by  the  unprecedented  holiday  business,  will  resume 
their  intensive  merchandising  campaigns  which  include  among  many 
mediums,  window  displays.  There  is  as  much,  if  not  more,  interest  in 
movie  stars  than  ever  before.  Why  not  arrange  for  a  daily  change  news 
bulletin  in  that  window?  What  do  I  mean? 

Suppose  the  first  edition  carries  an  AP  report  from  Hollywood  that 
Ricardo  Cortez  just  got  married.  The  department  store  will  blow-up  the 
reader  and  you  supply  the  still.  Cortez  may  not  appear  in  pictures  you 
play,  but  the  courtesy  line  of  your  theatre  is  worth  the  investment  of  a 
ten-cent  still.  In  a  comparatively  short  time  that  location  in  the  window 
becomes  very  popular  so  that  when  you  have  something  worth  while  to 
put  it  over,  you’ve  got  the  ideal  spot  to  sell  movie  devotees. 

ANOTHER  THOUGHT  just  came  to  me.  I  wonder  why  exhibitors 
don’t  cash  in  on  the  tremendous  circulation  of  movie  fan  magazines?  It 
is  an  easy  matter  to  find  out  which  one  has  the  greatest  sale  in  your  city. 
Ask  about  the  release  date  in  the  town.  Get  the  first  copy  and  go  over  it. 
Check  off  the  stories  about  stars  whose  pictures  you  will  play  that  month. 
Then,  either  an  insertion  in  the  “Personal”  column  or  a  herald  for  a  local 
insert  in  the  magazine  itself  urging  them  to  read  these  stories  and  then 
to  see  the  subjects  in  the  pictures  you  have  booked.  I  know  it  sounds  a 
bit  complicated  but  it  will  serve  as  the  germ  of  an  idea,  to  be  adapted 
locally.  These  fan  magazines  boast  of  sales  in  millions  of  copies.  Their 
readers  are  prospective  movie-goers.  That’s  what  I’m  getting  at. 

THE  WOOLWORTH  PEOPLE  issue  several  movie  magazines  of  their 
own.  Isn’t  there  a  possibility  of  an  exclusive  tie-up  in  your  town?  How? 
That  depends  on  the  local  situation,  but  don’t  be  afraid  to  go  see  the  Wool- 
worth  manager  in  your  town.  He  is  looking  for  business  just  as  you  are. 
Maybe  a  display  can  be  exchanged.  Try  it. 

I’LL  WRITE  YOU  AGAIN,  NEXT  MONTH. 

Your  friend, 

(Signed)  Everything  WILLB  OKAY. 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Jan  1 1 34 


25 


Heard  In 

ILMINGTON 

Xmas  Spirit  Is 
Everywhere 


FOR  ALL  ROUND  DECORATIONS  and 
display,  for  both  Christinas  and  current  attrac¬ 
tions  the  pewter  skillet  goes  to  George  Jones, 
manager,  Loew’s  Parkway,  for  downtown 
houses  and  to  A.  J.  DeFiore,  manager,  Park, 
goes  the  goat  skin  decanter  for  the  “nabes.’' 

.  .  .  DeFiore,  of  the  Parkway,  had  the  front 
of  his  “Nabe”  decorated  with  500  electric  bulbs 
of  various  colors,  making  an  unusual  light 
effect.  .  .  .  Aldine,  looked  after  by  Lew  Black, 
had  very  beautiful  decorations.  .  .  .  Lobby  was 
full  of  poinsettas  and  other  florists’  exhibits 
of  the  Christmas  variety.  .  .  .  Lew  has  a  yearly 
hookup  with  the  Wilmington  Florists’  Club  for 
lobby  display.  .  .  .  Joe  Jacobs  had  made  a 
tasteful  lot  of  crepe  paper  chains  for  the  lobby. 

LEW  BLACK,  Aldine,  was  plugging  hard 
in  advance  for  “Little  Women”  with  24 
sheets.  .  He  hid  a  school  tie-up  with 

distribution  of  pamphlets  on  the  author’s 
life  and  the  story  itself  among  the  pupils  in 
the  public  schools.  .  .  .  Berny  Seamon,  man¬ 
ager,  Queen,  had  his  front  and  lobby  all  done 
up  Christmassy  with  laurel,  colored  bulbs. 

Berny  gave  a  party  to  St.  Vincent  s 
orphanage  during  the  holidays.  .  .  .  Levine 

gave  250  poor  kiddies,  who  had  just  been 
entertained  by  the  Masons,  a  theatre  party. 

GEORGE  JONES,  Loew’s  manager,  is  well 
satisfied  with  his  experiment  with  nice  kiddies’ 
shows  Saturdays.  .  .  .  George  has  landed  the 
Sunday  old  song  contest  that  used  to  be  con¬ 
ducted  over  WDEL  for  Arcadia  tickets,  that 
theatre  being  closed.  .  .  .  Mrs.  Edmund  Ear- 
sham,  former  chairman  for  motion  picture  for 
the  Women’s  Federation  led  a  round  table  dis¬ 
cussion  on  “The  Code,  Before  and  Since  the 
NRA  Administration.,”  before  the  motion  pic¬ 
ture  committee  of  the  New  Century  Club.  .  .  . 
Haven’t  heard  much  from  Dr.  M.  Dalema 
Draper,  successor  to  Mrs.  Earsham. 

A.  E.  SELIGMAN  had  a  tough  break  just 
before  Christmas.  .  During  the  sleety 

spell,  the  genial  manager  of  the  Strand  fell 
on  the  ice  and  broke  his  collar  bone.  .  .  . 

Theatre  men  are  not  yet  ready  to  say 
whether  liquor  is  drawing  out  a  hitherto 
stay-at-home  crowd  that  drops  in  for  a  movie 
before  their  toot  or  not.  .  .  .  Ben  Schindler 

put  on  a  children’s  matinee  Saturday  before 
Christmas.  .  .  .  All  of  the  “nabes”  are  get¬ 
ting  little  readers  now  when  their  ads  war¬ 
rant  it. 


Film  Got  Through 


Both  Horlacher’s  Delivery  and  New 
Jersey  Messenger  got  film  through  on 
time  in  spite  of  the  local  trucking 
strikes. 

Largely  because  of  the  activity  of 
James  Clark,  Horlacher  executive,  both 
services  were  unimpaired. 

Th  is  makes  the  second  time  that  local 
strikes  failed  to  interfere  with  services 
rendered  local  exhibitors. 


Heard  In 

O  R  K 

“Alice”  Gets 
Big  Sales 


HARRY  TRAVIS  outdid  himself  in  plug¬ 
ging  “Alice  in  Wonderland”  when  it  played 
the  Capitol.  .  .  .  Sent  out  special  letters  to  the 
teachers  in  the  local  schools  calling  attention  to 
the  picture  and  is  special  appeal  to  the  kiddies, 
sent  special  heralds  designed  to  attract  the 
child’s  attention  into  the  school,  and  then  en¬ 
tertained  the  children  from  the  Children's 
Home,  as  his  guests  to  show  his  own  faith  in 
the  picture’s  merits.  .  .  .  Managed  to  have 
the  Book  Worm,  regular  attraction  on  the  local 
radio  station  devote  an  entire  fifteen  minute 
radio  program  to  a  review  of  the  popular  story 
from  which  the  picture  was  adapted,  and  tied  up 
with  a  big  store,  to  plug  the  sale  of  the  book, 
just  prior  to  its  opening.  .  .  .  The  music  from 
the  picture  was  used  extensively  on  radio  pro¬ 
grams  presented  by  the  station  and  played  in 
the  daily  concerts  on  the  Strand  organ  over  the 
air.  .  .  .A  tie-up  with  a  local  store  on  the 
“Alice  Doll,”  gave  him  a  full  window  display 
in  a  busy  section  of  the  city,  and  a  department 
store  gave  him  a  display  on  its  book  counter 
which  features  the  popular  fairy  tale. 

JOE  WHEELER  got  to  Red  Lion  just  in 
time  to  preside  at  the  annual  Christmas  party 
in  the  Lion  Theatre  sponsored  by  the  local 
Legion  and  lodge  of  Elks.  .  .  .  Cleon  Mil¬ 

ler  has  arranged  a  standing  display  in  one 
of  the  central  drug  stores,  on  his  current 
attractions.  ...  A  special  midnight  show 
was  staged  in  the  Strand  on  Christmas  eve 
and  special  shows  are  planned  for  the  Rialto, 
Strand  and  Capitol  on  New  Year’s  eve. 


“Sixteen  Fathoms  Deep ”  Is  a  Sea  Story 


Creighton  Chaney  and  Sally  O’Neil  head  the  cast  in  the  Monogram  production  of 

sea  and  love. 


READY 

REFERENCE 

EACH  COMPANY  LISTED  IS  AN 
AUTHORITY  IN  ITS  FIELD  AND 
IS  RELIABLE  AND  TRUSTWORTHY 


AIR  CONDITIONING 

PHOON 

ONDITIONING  CO. 

BLOWERS  -  FANS 
AIR  WASHERS 

2}}  W.42"i  ST.  NEW  YORK  N.Y. 


ARCHITECT 

THEATRE  DESIGN 

Remodeling  »  Building 

I  LATEST  COMPLETED 

ROXY  RIDGE 

Northampton  Philadelphia 

Penna.  Penna. 

DAVID  SUPOWITZ 

REGISTERED 

ARCHITECT 

246  S.  15th  St.,  Phi  la..  Pa.  Pennypacker  2291 


BUSINESS  BROKER 


THEATRES 

BOUGHT  •  SOLI)  •  LEASED 

Partnerships  Negotiated 

M.  II  .  GOODIN.  I »  «• . 

1201  CHESTNUT  STREET 
Rittenhouse  4595  Rittenhouse  9077 

OSCAR  NEUFELD,  Mgr.  Theatre  Dept. 


DRAPERIES 


INTERIOR  DECORATIONS  SCENERY  DRAPERIES 

w  NOVELTY  w 
^  Scenic  Studios  * 

INC. 

"Built  on  Merit"  340  W.  41st  St.,  New  York 

ACCOUSTICAL  TREATMENTS  RIGGING 


INTERIOR  DECORATORS 


Theatrical 

Decorating 

OUR  SPECIALTY 
Phone 

Rittenhouse  7828 
2315  Walnut  St. 
Philadelphia 


GRIECO  COMPANY, 


INC. 


Formerly  of  G  i  be  1 1  i  &  Co. 

PAINTING 

INTERIOR  DECORATING 
1321  Vine  Street  .  Philadelphia* 

We  will  be  glad  to  estimate 
without  obligation  to  you. 


26 


Jan  1  ’  34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Heard  In 

ILKES-BARRE 

4  Pass  Operator 
Exams 

_ By  Mac  _ 


Checkers *  Experiences 

Experiences  of  checkers  are  interest¬ 
ing. 

One  went  to  work  with  a  bag  of  beans 
as  a  statistical  medium,  rather  than  a 
docker.  The  bag  broke. 

Another  was  cautioned:  “There  may 


Heard  In 

ILUAMSPORT 

Xmas  Spirit 
Is  Everywhere 


ANOTHER  WEEK  of  headaches  is  behind 
and  holiday  business  was  away  off.  .  .  .  But 
there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  better 
times  are  ahead.  .  .  .  A1  Cox,  Capitol,  staged 
a  Christmas  Eve  special.  .  .  .  Show  itself  be¬ 
gan  at  12.01,  Mayor  Loveland  not  relenting  on 
his  closing  edict.  .  .  .  Practically  all  of  the 
houses  ran  extra  shows  for  the  holiday  itself, 
Penn  opening  at  12.30  with  its  vaude  and  pic¬ 
ture  combination. 

ORPHEUM  had  a  new  outfit  for  the  holi¬ 
days  and  was  John  Comerford  proud?  .  .  . 

South  Main  Street  showhouse  was  redeco¬ 
rated  inside  and  out  and  a  new  Walker  Aneto 
screen  installed.  .  .  .  Reports  are  that  the 

Orpheum  is  going  to  make  a  stronger  bid  for 
central  city  business  which  has  been  shared 
largely  by  the  Capitol,  Penn  and  Irving.  .  .  . 
Out  of  nine  men  who  took  the  tests  for 
motion  picture  operators,  only  four  passed. 

Lucky  quartet  includes  Donald  R. 
Eggleston,  Edmund  J.  Walsh,  Edward  Zima, 
Wilkes-Barre,  and  Edward  W.  Pearson, 
Trucksville.  .  .  .  Examining  board  includes 

John  Kenworthy,  Thomas  Brislin  and  John 
Alles,  city  electrician.  .  .  .  Annual  election 

of  officers  by  Local  325,  Motion  Pictures 
Operators’  Union,  was  more  spirited  than 
usual.  Following  will  serve  during 

1934:  President,  Earl  Cunningham;  vice- 
president,  Donald  Haines;  recording  and 
corresponding  secretary,  Robert  Piatt;  finan- 


be  dirty  work  in  that  town.”  He  wore 
overalls. 

Just  fun. 


cial  secretary  and  treasurer,  Joseph  D.  Mal¬ 
loy;  business  manager,  John  B.  Mitchell;  ser¬ 
geant-at-arms,  Lenp;  members  of  the  board 
of  trustees,  John  Wallace,  Wilbur  Fletcher, 
and  John  Zuritski;  members  of  the  executive 
board,  Raymond  Conrad,  Vincent  Tite, 
George  Clymer  and  Theodore  Hayden.  .  .  . 
New  business  manager  is  located  at  the 
Capitol. 

BILL  ROBERTS  has  provided  a  new  screen 
for  his  customers  at  the  Shawnee.  .  .  .  Jos¬ 
eph  Emashovski  is  in  charge  of  the  Strand, 
Swoyerville,  which  is  now  ready  for  business. 
.  .  .  Mitch  Conery  made  the  most  of  “The 
Power  and  the  Glory”  at  the  Kingston  last  week 
when  he  featured  Clifford  Jones,  a  home  town 
boy,  who  was  in  the  cast.  .  .  .  Liberty,  Exeter, 
is  charging  15  cents  after  5  P.  M.  on  Sundays 
and  holiday^.  .  .  .  Fred  Hermann  is  stick¬ 
ing  close  to  the  Irving  these  days.  .  .  .  M.  B. 
Comerford  subbed  for  his  uncle,  M.  E.,  at  the 
testimonial  dinner  in  honor  of  Postmaster  James 
Law,  Kingston.  .  .  .  Buck  Jones  outfits  were 
given  away  at  the  Rex,  Nanticoke,  Saturday 
afternoon,  in  a  tie-up  with  the  Leader  store 
which  ran  a  special  sale  during  the  week, 
featuring  them. 


A  BIG  CHRISTMAS  PARTY,  featuring 
special  singing,  a  radio  broadcast  and  Santa 
Claus,  was  held  at  the  Park  before  the  holi¬ 
day.  .  .  .  Free  gifts  were  distributed.  .  .  . 
Keystone  added  stage  shows.  .  .  .  Capitol  had 
an  indoor  circus  for  a  show  the  weekend  be¬ 
fore  New  Year’s.  .  .  .  Majestic,  planning  to 
re-open  for  stage  shows,  ran  into  a  streak  of 
bad  luck.  .  .  .  George  Bubb,  who  is  managing 
the  theatre  again,  is  planning  to  bring  road 
shows  in. 

CWA  is  having  its  effect  on  attendance. 
.  .  .  Nearly  6,000  have  been  put  to  work  on 
projects  in  this  county  and  all  the  theatres 
report  an  increase  in  attendance  during  the 
past  few  weeks.  .  .  .  Capitol  received  a  good 
amount  of  free  publicity  in  connection  with 
its  toy  show. 


“Road  to  Ruin”  Clicks 

“Road  to  Ruin,”  First  Division’s  sensational 
film  on  modern  youth,  starring  Helen  Foster, 
has  begun  its  third  record-breaking  week  at 
the  Majestic  Theatre,  Boston.  Photoplay,  after 
smashing  box  office  records  at  the  Transfer 
Theatre,  Jersey  City,  is  doing  likewise  in 
Boston. 


“Goodbye  Love ”  Offers  Charlie  Ruggles 


Charlie  Ruggles  heads  a  stellar  cast  in  the  Radio  comedy  release. 


• 

Official  Letter 
Service  to  the 
Motion  Picture 
Industry 

Accurate  List 
of  all  Theatres 
and  Executives 

Mimeographing 
Multigraphing 
Public  Stenography 

Addressing  -  Folding 
Enclosing  -  Mailing 

Advertising 

Publicity 

Printing 

WM.  Z. 

PORTER 

Advertising  and  Letter  Service 

1307  Vine  Street 

Bell,  Locust  4182 

Keystone,  Race  3579 

SENTRY  serviced  SAFETY  CONTROL 


Many  theatre  owners  weigh  the  matter  of  Safety  as  it  suits  them. 
PLAINLY  THIS  IS  ALL  WRONG.  In  Safety  there  is  no  half-way  meas¬ 
ure  with  the  Public.  The  Public  would  not  consider  it  safe  if  you  decide 
to  do  without  a  Serviced  Safety  Device  on  your  projectors.  The  Public 
would  think  with  horror  if  you  tried  to  economize  by  buying  Safety  equip¬ 
ment  without  a  service,  and  the  fact  that,  in  your  theatre,  the  Public 
has  not  yet  inquired  as  to  the  measure  of  Safety  that  you  are  giving  them — 
THAT  DOES  NOT  MEAN  THAT  THEY  CAN  BE  DECEIVED. 


SENTRY  SAFETY  CONTROL  CORP. 


10th  ST.  and  ALLEGHENY  AVE. 
PHILADELPHIA,  PENNA. 


Sentry  Safety  Controls  Listed  as  Standard  by  National  Fire  Underwriters  Laboratories 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Jan  1 f  34 


27 


Heard  In 

Need  Calendars? 

A  TLANTIC  CITY 

This  office  has  a  few  calendars  left 

m  Business  Up 

for  distribution. 

Here  a  Bit 

First  come — first  served — is  the 

motto. 

So,  if  additional  calendars  are  needed, 

AT  THE  COLONIAL  Manager  I.  Perlin 
staged  three  pre-holiday  broken  toy  matinees 
for  children,  netting  a  satisfactory  number  of 
toys,  which  were  repaired  by  firemen  from  the 
Pennsylvania  Avenue  firehouse.  .  .  .  Toys,  also 
candy  for  each  child,  were  distributed  at  a 
9  A.  M.  Christmas  show  for  the  city’s  poor 
children.  ...  Si  Tannenbaum,  Palace,  co¬ 
operated  with  the  Chelsea  Union  League  and 
Auxiliary  with  a  stage  show  benefit  given  at 
each  evening  performance  for  a  full  week.  .  .  . 
Sammy  Harris  m.  c.,  with  change  of  bill 
nightly,  using  local  talent,  three  acts  each  night, 
.  .  .  Moe  Silver,  assistant  general  manager  the¬ 
atre  department,  Warner  Brothers,  and  Joe 
Hornstein,  purchasing  department,  spent  holi¬ 
days  on  the  boardwalk. 

ALDINE  has  temporarily  cut  out  week¬ 
end  vaudeville.  .  .  .  Three  hundred  attended 
Heim  Jacobs’  Theatrical  Profession  Frolic 
and  voted  the  affair  a  great  success.  .  .  .  Im¬ 
promptu  floor  show  had  talent  contributed  by 
Ed  Phillips’  Dancing  School,  and  Milt  Rus¬ 
sell  brought  the  Aldine  stage  show  playing 
the  current  week-end.  .  .  .  Bill  Thompson, 

manager,  Ventnor  Theatre,  and  his  Virgin¬ 
ians  orchestra,  played  for  the  dancing.  .  .  . 
Strand  doing  good  business  with  “Dinner  at 
Eight.”  .  .  .  Stanley  starred  off  Katha-ine 

Hepburn  in  “Little  Women”  with  a  1,200-line 
RKO  ad.  .  .  .  Reports  on  holiday  business 

generally  show  decided  increase  over  same 
period  last  year. 

! 

COLONIAL  THEATRE  had  three  free 
Xmas  matinees,  admission  by  toys,  collected 
enough  for  1500  kiddies.  .  .  .  Repaired  by  city 
firemen  they  were  distributed.  .  .  .  Candv  also 
given.  .  .  .  Newspapers  tied  up  as  did  WPG. 
.  .  .  Plenty  of  good  will.  .  .  .  House  had 
food  matinees  of  similar  nature  at  Thanks¬ 
giving. 


10  Cent  Low  Upheld 

A  western  judge  has  upheld  the  right 
of  an  exchange  to  refuse  to  service 
where  an  exhibitor  violated  a  10  cent 
minimum  clause  in  his  contract. 

Exhib  sold  a  serial  for  less  than  a 
dime.  Judge  said  if  exhib  broke  contract 
so  could  the  exchange. 


The  short  supply  won’t  last  long. 

Katz  Re-elected 

Lawrence  J.  Katz,  Loew’s  Regent  Theatre, 
Harrisburg,  was  elected  president  of  Local  No. 
488,  International  Alliance  of  Theatrical  Stage 
Employes  and  Motion  Picture  Operators,  De¬ 
cember  18,  for  the  sixth  consecutive  year.  Other 
officers  were  elected  as  follows : 

Charles  J.  Jones,  vice-president ;  M.  C.  Mil¬ 
ler,  recording  secretary ;  Paul  Patterson,  finan¬ 
cial  secretary ;  Samuel  Rubin,  business  agent ; 
John  Brunner  and  Maurice  Caldwell,  members 
of  the  executive  board;  Horace  Gladfelter, 
Clarence  Rudy  and  Lester  Firing,  trustees ; 
James  Leone,  sergeant-at-arms,  and  Lawrence 
J.  Katz,  delegate  to  national  convention. 


ERPI  Monopoly  Charge  Stricken 

Charges  of  invalidity  of  Electrical  Research 
Products’  standard  theatre  license  agreement 
because  executed  in  pursuance  of  a  conspiracy 
between  American  Telephone  and  Telegraph, 
Western  Electric  Company  and  Electrical  Re¬ 
search  Products  to  create  a  monopoly  in  the 
sound  reproducing  business  have  been  held  to  be 
immaterial  and  unresponsive  to  a  suit  brought 
by  PIRPI  to  recover  sums  due  under  such  con¬ 
tract. 

Iowa  D;strict  Judge  Smyth  so  ruled  in  grant¬ 
ing  ERPI’s  motion  to  strike  such  charges  from 
the  defense  in  the  case  of  ERPI  against  M.  L. 
Dickson,  operating  the  Temple  Theatre,  Mount 
Pleasant,  Iowa. 


“A  Chance  at  Heaven ”  Has  Rogers ,  McCrea 


Reliable  Decorative  Co.,  lie. 

INTERIOR  DECORATORS 

Draperies ,  Carpets ,  Painting 

1316  Vine  Street,  Philadelphia 

WE'VE  TURNED  NUMEROUS  NON-PAYING 
THEATRES  INTO  MONEY  MAKING  PROPOSITIONS 
ASK  US  HOW! 


'AKMANDC-TOCCB 

IJIATH 

DlCCmTCR 


20I-N-BR0AD-ST- 


•RIT-5575 


Queen  Wants  Games 

For  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the  Queen 
Theatre,  Wilmington,  theatre  will  be  repre¬ 
sented  in  basketball  this  season. 

Team  is  comprised  of  such  players  as  Ed. 
Boeck,  manager;  Bill  Highfield,  captain; 
Charlie  Millman,  Jimmie  Kearney,  Bernie  Sea¬ 
man,  manager  of  theatre;  Benny  Tebbens, 
Frankie  Young,  and  Mort  Levine. 

Any  second  or  third  class  teams  desiring 
games  with  the  team  which  is  known  as  the 
“Queen’s  Guards,”  are  requested  to  communi¬ 
cate  with  Ed.  Boeck,  1114  West  Street. 


THEATRE  EQUIPMENT 


PEJVN  THEATRE 
EQUIPMENT  CO. 

309  North  13th  Street 
PHILADELPHIA 
Phone.  Rittenhouse  3273 

GENERAL  THEATRE  EQUIPMENT 

Specialists  in  Repairs 


CLEM’S 

MOTION  PICTURE  SUPPLY  HOUSE 

The  Most  Complete  Independent 

Supply  House  in  the  Territory! 

255  North  13th  Street  -  Philadelphia 

SPRUCE  I8e4  EXPERT  REPAIRING 


National  Theatre  Supply  Company 


Ornccs  IN  ALL 

^  principal  Cities  ) 

Service  and  courtesy  from  men  you  know  .  .  . 
Plus  equipment  of  known  and  guaranteed  quality 
.  .  .  are  at  your  service  at  our  local  branch 


VAUDEVILLE  AGENCIES 


VAUDEVILLE 

PRESENTATIONS 
MUSICAL  COMEDY 
REVUES 


HARRY  BIBEN 

(603-4  COLONIAL  BUILDING) 

N.  E.  Cor.  13!h  and  Market  Sts. 

Phone,  Rittenhouse  9494-5 

PHILADELPHIA 


FRANK  WOLF 


Booking  Vaudeville 
and  Picture  Theatres 


307  REAL  ESTATE  TRUST  BLDG. 
Philadelphia  -  -  PENnypacker  0794 


PREMIUMS 


There  are  many  imitations  but  there  is 

only  one 

22  KARAT  GOLD  DINNER  SET 

with  a  success  record 

QUALITY  PREMIUM 

UIST. 

1305  VINE  ST. 

PHILA. 

Joel  McCrea,  Ginger  Rogers,  Marian  Nixon  are  in  the  Radio  show. 


28 


Jan  1 1 34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


THE  CHECKUP 


For  your  convenience,  this  publication  furnishes  this  guide  to  reviews  of  pictures  which  have  appeared 
in  "Looking  Ahead  at  the  Product,"  the  regular  review  department.  Before  dating  in  your  show,  consult  this 
page,  find  out  when  the  review  appeared  and  then  look  it  up.  If  you  have  misplaced  any  copies  of  your  home 
town  journal,  drop  “THE  CHECKUP”  a  line  and  missing  copies  will  be  sent  to  you.  Save  these  pages  and  refer 
to  them  as  needed.  Key:  For  example,  2-Sept,  means  the  second  issue  of  this  publication  in  that  month. 
1-Oct.  would  mean  the  first  issue,  and  so  on. 


Columbia 

Lady  for  a  Day  1-Aug. 

A  Man’s  Castle  .  .  .  1-Nov. 

Police  Car  17  2-Nov. 

King  of  Wild  Horses  2-Nov. 

Above  the  Clouds  2-Nov. 

Master  of  Men  1-Dec. 


Firs!  National — Warners 


Bureau  of  Missing  Persons  1-Sept. 

Wild  Boys  of  the  Road  1-Oct. 

The  World  Changes  2-0ct. 

Gold  Diggers  1-June 

Footlight  Parade  2-Oct. 

Ever  in  My  Heart  2-0ct. 

Kennel  Murder  Case  1-Nov. 

College  Coach  . 1-Nov. 

House  on  56th  Street  2-Nov. 

Female  .  1-Nov. 

Havana  Widows  . 1-Nov. 

From  Headquarters  .  2-Nov. 

Son  of  a  Sailor  .  2-Nov. 

Dark  Hazard  .  1-Dec. 

Lady  Killer  1-Dec. 

Convention  City  .  2-Dec. 

The  Shakedown  .  .  . . . .  1-Jan. 


Fox 


Pilgrimage  . 

The  Last  Trail . 

Paddy 

Good  Companions 

Charlie  Chan's  Greatest  Case 

Dr.  Bull  . 

My  Weakness 
Power  and  the  Glory 
Walls  of  Gold 
Worst  Woman  in  Paris 
Berkeley  Square 
My  Lips  Betray 
This  Mad  Game 
Oleson’s  Big  Moment 
Hoop-La 

As  Husbands  Go 
Frontier  Marshal 
Jimmy  and  Sally 

Smoky  . 

I  Was  A  Spy 

Mr.  Skitch  . 

I  j  Am  Suzanne  . 

I  " 


1- Aug. 

2- Aug. 
1-Sept. 

1- Nov. 

2- Sept. 
2-Sept. 

1- Oct. 

2- July 
2-Oct. 

1- Nov. 

2- July 
2-Nov. 
1-Nov. 

1- Nov. 

2- Nov. 
2-Nov. 
2-Nov. 

1- Dec. 

2- Dec. 
2-Dec. 
1-Jan. 
1-Jan. 


Metro 


Radio 


Penthouse  2-Sept. 

Stage  Mother  . 1-Oct. 

Night  Flight  .  1-Sept. 

Bombshell  .  2-Oct. 

The  Chief  . 2-Oct. 

Day  of  Reckoning  1-Nov. 

Meet  the  Baron  . 2-Oct. 

Dinner  at  Eight  2-June 

The  Late  Christopher  Bean 

(Her  Sweetheart)  2-Nov. 

The  Prizefighter  and  the  Lady  2-Nov. 

Eskimo  2-Nov. 

Should  Ladies  Behave  (The  Vinegar  Tree)  2-Nov. 

Dancing  Lady  1-Dec. 

Sons  of  the  Desert  1-Dec. 

Women  in  His  Life . 1-Jan. 

Going  Hollywood  . 1-Jan. 

Queen  Christina  1-Jan. 


Monogram 

DISTRIBUTED  BY  FIRST  DIVISION 

The  Avenger  . 2-Nov. 

Sweetheart  of  Sigma  Chi . 1-Nov. 

Broken  Dreams  . 1-Nov. 

He  Couldn’t  Take  It  2-Dec. 

Sensation  Hunters  . 1-Jan. 

Paramount 


Song  of  Songs  . 1-July 

This  Day  and  Age  2-Aug. 

One  Sunday  Afternoon  1-Sept. 

Torch  Singer  .  2-Sept. 

To  the  Last  Man . 1-Oct. 

Golden  Harvest  .  1-Oct. 

Too  Much  Harmony .  2-Sept. 

I'm  No  Angel  .  2-Oct. 

Tillie  and  Gus  .  2-Oct. 

Way  to  Love  .  2-Oct. 

Take  a  Chance  .  1-Nov. 

Hell  and  High  Water . 2-Nov. 

White  Woman  1-Nov. 

Design  for  Living  .  2-Nov. 

Cradle  Song  2-Nov. 

Duck  Soup  2-Nov. 

Lone  Cowboy  2-Nov. 

Thundering  Herd  .  2-Nov. 

Sitting  Pretty  .  1-Dec. 

Girl  Without  a  Room  .  1-Dec. 

Alice  in  Wonderland  .  2-Dec. 

Miss  Fane’s  Baby  Is  Stolen . 1-Jan. 

His  Double  Life  .  1-Jan. 

8  Girls  in  a  Boat  .  1-Jan. 


Morning  Glory  1-Aug. 

Rafter  Romance  1-Aug. 

One  Man's  Journey  .  2-Sept. 

Midshipman  Jack  . 1-Oct. 

A  Chance  at  Heaven  .  2-Oct. 

Ann  Vickers  .  2-Oct. 

Ace  of  Aces  .  2-Oct. 

Aggie  Appleby .  2-Oct. 

Little  Women  2-Nov. 

After  Tonight  (Woman  Spy)  2-Oct. 

Right  to  Romance  .  1-Dec. 

If  I  Were  Free  .  2-Dec. 

Flying  Down  to  Rio  .  1-Jan. 

United  Artists 

Bitter  Sweet  2-Sept. 

The  Bowery  .  2-Oct. 

Broadway  Thru  Keyhole  1-Nov. 

Emperor  Jones  .  1-Oct. 

Henry  the  Eighth  .  1-Oct. 

Blood  Money  .  1-Dec. 

Roman  Scandals  1-Dec. 

Advice  to  the  Lovelorn  .  2-Dec. 

Gallant  Lady  .  2-Dec. 

Moulin  Rouge  .  1-Jan. 


Universal 


Love,  Honor  and  0  Baby .  2-Oct. 

Saturday’s  Millions  .  2-Sept. 

SOS  Iceberg  .  1-Oct. 

Only  Yesterday  .  2-Nov. 

Myrt  and  Marge  1-Sept. 

Special  Investigator  2-Nov. 

Invisible  Man  2-Nov. 

King  for  a  Night  .  2-Nov. 

Counsellor  at  Law  .  1-Dec. 

Horse  Play  .  2-Dec. 

Beloved  .  1-Jan. 

By  Candlelight  . 1-Jan. 


First  Division 

(CHESTERFIELD) 

By  Appointment  Only  . 

Dance,  Girl,  Dance  . 

I  Have  Lived  . 

A  Man  of  Sentiment  . 

Rainbow  Over  Broadway . 

Notorious  But  Nice  .... 


Picture  Brides 
One  Year  Later 
Tarzan  the  Fearless 
Eat  'Em  Alive 
The  Road  to  Ruin 


Gold  Medal 

Sing,  Sinner,  Sing 

The  Big  Bluff  ........ 

Important  Witness  . . 

Laughing  at  Life  . 

Curtain  at  Eight 
You  Made  Me  Love  You 

The  Charming  Deceiver  . 

Sin  of  Nora  Moran  . 


2-Nov. 

1-Nov. 

1- Aug. 

2- Nov. 

1- Dec. 

2- Nov. 

2-Nov. 

2-Aug. 

1- Sept. 

2- Dec. 
2-Dec. 


2-Aug. 

2-Oct. 

2-Aug. 

2-June 

1-Dec. 

1-Dec. 

1-Jan. 

1-Jan. 


Masterpiece 

Neighbor's  Wives  1-Oct. 

Her  Forgotten  Past  .  2-Nov. 

Riot  Squad  2-Aug. 

Secret  Sinners  . .  1-Jan. 


Looking  Ahead  at  the  Product 

A  Service  Designed  to  Give  the  Exhibitor  Each  Picture's  Analysis  Before  Playing 

fSc*  By  Our  Hollywood  Correspondent  uaE)  - 


"Miss  Fane's  Baby  IsStolen77— Para 

Dorothea  Wieck,  Baby  Leroy,  Alice  Brady,  Jack 
LaRue,  Dorothy  Burgess,  William  F'raw.ey,  George 
Bar  bier,  Alan  Hale. 

Good  show,  with  the  kidnapping  of  a  baby 
the  theme,  but  handled  so  as  to  insure  box 
office  satisfaction.  Piece  will  appeal  strongly 
to  the  women,  has  a  sock  that  winds  up  in 
a  real  box  office  punch  and  should  do  a  nice 
business.  Title,  though  long,  is  intriguing  and 
there  is  plenty  to  sell.  Piece  looks  like  a  sur¬ 
prise  standout. 

Estimate:  Get  the  dough. 


"Women  in  His  Life77 — MGM 

Otto  Kruger,  Una  Merkel,  Hen  Lyon,  Itosco  Karns, 
IsobcU  Jewel.  Irene  Hervey,  C.  Henry  Gordon,  Sam¬ 
uel  Hinds,  Raymond  Hatton. 

Familiar  yarn  of  the  smart  attorney  who 
makes  a  comeback  to  save  the  life  of  the  man 
who  married  his  wife.  Piece  has  elements  that 
have  been  seen  before  and  must  be  classified 
as  just  a  picture.  The  cast  tries  but  evidence 
is  against  them. 

Estimate:  So-So. 


77The  Charming  Deceiver77— Maj. 

Constance  Cummings,  Frank  Lawton,  Binnic 
Barnes,  Gus  McNaughton. 

With  an  American  name,  this  importation 
slips  into  the  light  comedy  groove  and  will 
probably  pass  off  as  a  programmer.  Picture 
has  refined  comedy  throughout,  mixes  a  case  of 
the  heroine  impersonating  a  famous  actress  with 
a  love  background,  and  winds  up  okay  in  the 
end. 

Estimate:  Light. 


77His  Double  Life77— Para. 

Lillian  Gish,  Roland  Young,  Montagu  Love,  Lums- 
den  Hare,  Lucy  Beaumont,  Charles  Richman. 

Light  comedy  headed  for  the  more  intelligent 
class  of  audiences,  with  a  couple  of  names  to 
sell  in  addition.  Young  and  Gish  are  the  stand¬ 
outs,  with  some  amusing  moments  throughout. 
Picture,  however,  is  generally  a  mild  entrant. 

Estimate:  Mild. 


77The  Shakedown77— WB 

Bette  Davis,  Charles  Farrell,  Ricardo  Cortez,  Glenda 
Farrell,  Allen  Jenkins,  Adrian  Morris. 

Story  of  the  cut-rate  patent  medicine  racket 
that  contains  a  lot  of  action  but  which  hasn’t 
enough  to  lift  it  out  of  the  so-so  class.  Yarn  is 
typical  in  layout,  even  if  topic  is  new,  but  whole 
thing  must  be  classified  as  just  film. 

Estimate:  Angles  to  sell. 


"Flying  Down  to  Rio77— Radi 


IO 


Gene  Raymond.  Fred  Astaire,  Dolores  Del  Rio. 
Raoul  Rou.ien,  Ginger  Rogers,  Blanche  Frederici, 
Roy  D'Arcy,  Reginald  Barlow. 

High  rating  musical  with  plenty  of  speed  and 
novelty  and  with  a  cast  that  lends  itself  to 
marquee  space.  Show  has  to  be  sold  as  a  spec¬ 
tacle,  because  it  contains  plenty  of  angles  that 
will  make  for  word  of  mouth.  Story  is  of  a  band 
leader  who  follows  the  gal  down  to  Rio  and 
then  makes  good.  It  has  dancing  on  airplane 
wings  for  novelty,  some  good  song  numbers, 
plenty  of  flash,  Astaire’s  dancing  and  lots  of 
girls. 

Estimate:  Showman’s  opportunity. 


'Mr.  Skitch77 —  Fox 


Will  Rogers,  Zasu  Pitts,  Rochelle  Hudson,  Florence 
Desmond,  Harry  Green,  Charles  Starrett. 

Tale  of  a  family  traveling  across  the  country 
via  the  auto  route  and  a  Rogers  story  for 
Rogers  fans.  Piece  is  fair  family  entertain¬ 
ment  and  should  turn  in  better  grosses  in  the 
hinterland.  Several  of  the  episodes  are  partic¬ 
ularly  bright.  Title  may  mean  little  but  the 
Rogers  tag  classifies  this  as  okay  for  most 
houses. 

Estimate:  Will  Rogers. 


"Queen  Christina"— MGM 

Garbo,  John  Gilbert,  Ian  Keith,  Lew  s  Stone,  C. 
Aubrey  Smith,  Elizabeth  Young,  Reginald  Owen, 
Lawrence  Grant,  David  Torrence,  Sara  Padden. 

Triumph  in  directing  and  acting,  with  its  suc¬ 
cess  depending  on  how  the  public  goes  for  the 
Garbo-Gilhert  combination.  Picture  has  been 
well  mounted,  has  situations  that  make  for  hot 
box  office  and  is  an  excellent  piece  of  merchan¬ 
dise.  Metro  deserves  credit  for  the  production, 
hut  in  the  final  analysis,  this  tale  of  the  queen, 
who  was  tossed  between  the  decision  of  being 
a  queen  or  being  a  woman  will  depend  on  the 
( iarbo-Gilbert  combination. 

Estimate:  Something  to  sell. 


"8  Girls  in  a  Boat77— Para. 

Dorothy  Wilson,  Douglas  Montgomery,  Kay  John¬ 
son,  Barbara.  Barondess.  Walter  Connolly. 

Picture  looks  like  a  surprise  without  any 
-'tar  strength.  Tale  of  the  members  of  a  racing 
crew  in  a  girls'  school  with  boys  barred,  the 
story  gets  underway  w  hen  the  heroine  finds 
motherhood  approaching.  Father  stands  in  way 
of  marriage  because  of  proposed  husband's  lack 
of  funds  but  it  winds  up  okay.  Show  has  been 
expertly  handled,  is  a  woman’s  show,  a  great 
opportunity  for  exploiteers.  Picture  ought 
to  he  looked  at  before  booking. 

Estimate:  Possibilities. 


"Going  Hollywood77— Metro 

Marion  Davies,  Bing  Crosby,  Fiji  D’Orsay,  Stxiarl 
Erwin,  Ned  Sparks,  Patsy  Kelly. 

Fine  production  with  some  good  songs,  well 
produced  numbers  and  names  to  sell.  Piece 
should  do  satisfactory  business  everywhere  and 
if  earlier  in  the  musical  cycle  might  have  been 
a  smash.  As  it  is,  it  will  be  an  ace  in  all  spots, 
and  deserves  it.  Crosby  ranks  high,  Marion 
Davies  is  competent  and  the  whole  thing  has 
been  produced  in  a  workmanlike  manner. 

Estimate:  Good. 


"Moulin  Rouge77— UA 

Constance  Bennett,  Franchot  Tone,  Tullio  Car - 
manati,  Helen  Westley,  Russ  Brown,  Andrew  Tombes, 
Ivan  Lebedeff,  Hobart  Cavanaugh. 

Good  number  from  20th  Century  and  a  help 
to  Constance  Bennett.  Show  has  a  sort  of  ‘‘The 
Guardsman”  background  and  is  built  for  the 
femme  trade.  In  addition,  there  is  a  top  notch 
cast,  some  good  numbers,  some  excellent  songs, 
and  a  neat  production.  Picture  should  please 
in  all  spots,  for  it  has  the  goods  for  exhibs  to 
sell. 

Estimate:  Tune  show;  and  dough. 


.-34 

"Beloved"—  U 

John  Boies,  Ruth  Hall,  Gloria  Stuart,  Mae  Busch, 
Edmund  Breese,  Oscar  Apfel,  Dorothy  Peterson, 
Morgan  Farley. 

Mass  audience  picture  that  carries  through 
three  generations,  but  tempered  by  plenty  of 
emotional  scenes  that  will  help  build  word  of 
mouth.  Boles  is  the  musician  who  works  on  a 
symphony  only  to  find  his  grandson  uncon¬ 
sciously  stealing  it  and  scoring  with  his  own 
modern  composition  generations  later.  Gloria 
Stuart  turns  in  a  nice  piece  of  work  with  Boles. 
Piece  deserves  a  hand  for  nice  production 
values. 

Estimate:  Okay  show. 


"Sin  of  Nora  Moran"— Majestic 

Zita  Johann,  Alan  Dinehart,  Paul  Cavanagh,  John 
Miljan,  Claire  De  Brey. 

Handling  of  the  picture  is  in  flashback  style, 
with  the  theme  rather  heavy.  However,  there 
are  plenty  of  selling  angles  to  offset  any  disad¬ 
vantage  this  may  be.  Entire  production  de¬ 
serves  praise  for  its  handling  and  ranks  high 
in  independent  records.  Cast  is  strong,  with 
story  intensely  dramatic,  showing  suffering  of 
woman  who  loved  a  man  for  whose  guilt  she 
took  the  blame. 

Estimate:  Heavy  drama. 


"Secret  Sinners"  Mayfair 

Sue  Carol,  Harry  Harris,  Nick  Stuart,  Jack  Mul- 
ha’l,  Cecilia  Parker.  Natalie  Moorhead. 

Tale  of  a  chorus  lassie,  befriended  by  the 
nice  man  who  found  out  be  was  married  all  the 
time.  However,  a  reconciliation  takes  place 
before  any  damage  is  done.  Cast  has  familiar 
names  that  may  mean  something,  but  in  general 
there  are  few  highlights. 

Estimate:  Average  inde. 


"Sensation  Hunters77— Mon. 

Arline  Judge,  Kenneth  MacKenna,  Marion  Burns, 
Preston  Foster,  Creighton.  Hale. 

Programmer  about  a  troupe  of  girls  who  go 
down  to  Panama  for  a  cabaret  spell  with  the 
heroine  out  of  her  element.  Winds  up  with  a 
happy  ending,  with  two  songs  to  help  out. 
Arline  Judge  turns  in  a  nice  job. 

Estimate:  Two  songs. 

"I  Am  Suzanne"— Fox 

Lilian  Harvey,  Gene  Raymond,  Leslie  Batiks, 
Georgia  Cain,  Murray  Kinnell,  Piccoli  marionettes . 
Halliwell  Hobbes. 

High  class  number  from  Jesse  Lasky  and  a 
question  at  the  box  office.  Artistically  the  show 
is  in,  with  a  novel  plot  involving  a  troupe  of 
puppets.  However,  show  won't  help  Lilian 
Harvey  any  even  if  it  will  draw  critics’  raves. 

Estimate:  Class. 


"By  Candlelight77— U 

Elis  sa  Landi,  Nils  Asther,  Paul  Lukas,  Esther 
Ralston.  Dorothy  Revier,  Laurence  Grant. 

Adult  sex  yarn  handled  nicely  and  a  bet  for 
the  better  trade.  Direction  is  sprightly,  content 
is  spicy,  and  with  the  sex  angle  taken  care  of 
by  Landi,  Asther  and  Lukas  it  looks  like  a  sat¬ 
isfying  attraction  for  the  women. 

Estimate:  Well  produced. 


Jan  1'34  b.c. 


-9&0  C4 

DRAPERIES? 


l*s' 


,  D^  • 


w- 

rLL  PAINT  THE  MARQUEE'- 

A  NEW  PROGRAM  IDEA  i 

\  %o^  Ude^lLe 

AND  THOSE  FIXTURES!  MlG^ 

^hooero^'-  T^v, 

^^CeR-ORWANTSAOENERATOR.. 

THE  OPERA  TICKETS  ARE  SHORT ! 

THE  organ  might  pi_  \ 

MAYBE  PREMIUMS! 

1  uniformed  USHERS'.^ 

^Cc"EAT  DOVERS! 

J-Q. 

i  A^R  CONDITIONING! 

CHANGE  MACHINE! 

TICKET  REGISTER! 


n  the  back 
of  your  head 

A  KNOWLEDGE  THAT  YOU  NEED 
EXPERT  ADVICE  .  .  .  BUT  AFRAID 
TEMPORARILY  TO  MAKE  THE  EX¬ 
PENDITURE. 


What 

will  it  cost? 

Must 

1  close  down? 

Who’s 

an  expert  on  it? 

> 


■ 

i 


Tear  Out 

and 

Mail ! 

IF  YOU  DO  NOT  WISH 
TO  BE  SOLICITED,  SAY 
SO,  AND  INFORMATION 
WILL  BE  MAILED. 


Jay  Emanuel  Publications 

Incorporated 


219  North  Broad  Street 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


BUFFALO — ALBANY — NEW  YORK — WASHINGTON 


I  would  like  information  on  «  »  / 


ARCHITECTS 

□ 

PROJECTION 

□ 

AIR  CONDITIONING 

□ 

POSTERS 

□ 

CARPETS 

□ 

SAFES 

□ 

CHAIRS 

□ 

SAFETY  DEVICES 

□ 

CHAIR  COVERS 

□ 

SCREENS 

□ 

CONSTRUCTION 

□ 

SIGNS 

□ 

COSTUMERS 

□ 

SLIDES 

□ 

DECORATING 

□ 

SOUND  EQUIPMENT 

□; 

DRAPERIES 

□ 

STAGE  SCENERY 

□ 

ELECTRICAL  WORK 

□ 

TICKETS 

□ 

HORNS  and  SPEAKERS 

□ 

TICKET  REGISTERS 

□  ! 

LIGHTING  EQUIPM’NT 

□ 

TRAILERS 

□ 

LIGHTING  FIXTURES 

□ 

UNIFORMS 

□ 

LOBBY  FRAMES 

□ 

VAUDEVILLE 

□ 

MARQUEES 

□ 

VENDING  MACHINES 

□ 

PRINTING 

□ 

VENTILATION 

□ 

MISCELLANEOUS 

THEATRE  . 

OWNER  OR  MANAGER 

ADDRESS 

A  Jay  Emanuel  Publication 


n  this 
Issue: 


Code  Signature  Deadline  Now  Set  for  Jan.  31 


rOL.  16-  No.  2 


PHILADELPHIA,  JANUARY  15,  1934 


Price,  15  Cents 


Here  is  a  great  picture  —  prob¬ 
ably  one  of  the  most  timely  and 
impressive  stories  ever  brought  to 
the  screen.  Packed  with  emotion¬ 
stirring  value.  Poignantly  realistic, 
it  should  be  tremendously  pop¬ 
ular  with  all  classes  of  patrons." 

— Motion  Picture  Herald 


DOROTHEA  WIECK 
ALICE  BRADY 

in 

"MISS  FANE’S  BABY 
IS  STOLEN!" 

with  Baby  Leroy 

Directed  by  Alexander  Hall 


v; 

I 


>. 

ii: 


(i 

: 

i 


“Previewed  'Miss  Fane's  Baby'  privately  with  about 
thirty  people  in  attendance.  Everybody  enthusi¬ 
astic  and  positive  it  will  be  excellent  box  office 
attraction." — Charles  D.  Skouras,  Fox  West  Coast  Theatre 

"'Miss  Fane's  Baby'  fine  entertainment." 

— Martin  J.  Mullin,  M.  &  P.  Theatre 

"Everyone  connected  with  this  picture  should  take 
bows  for  a  grand  entertainment.  The  picture  is 
one  of  those  often  talked  of  but  rarely  produced. 
A  combination  of  suspense  and  feminine  appeal 
—  with  the  stress  on  the  former." 

—  Hollywood  Variety 


Entered  irs  second-class  mailer  September  11,  1924,  at  the  post,  office  at  PliUadel  phi  a.  Pa.,  under  the  Act  of  March 

.  ..  PUJfUSBEi).  - 


1879. 


Printers.  Phlla 


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NATURALLY, 


WARNER  BROS.  PICTURE 


*  Says  "Variety"  0  Says  "N.  Y.  Mirror ' 


Janl5'34  pg.  4 


Janl5'34  pg.  5 


THE  EDITOR'S 


PAGE 


Vol.  16,  No.  2 


January  15,  1934 


On  Block  Booking 

*  IF  IT  DID  nothing  more,  exchange  of 
®  correspondence  between  Dr.  A.  Law¬ 
rence  Lowell  and  General  Hugh  Johnson 
in  regard  to  the  former’s  resignation  as  a 
member  of  the  Code  Authority  again 
brought  to  the  fore  the  subject  of  block 
booking  and  blind  booking. 

Busy  with  other  matters,  the  block  book¬ 
ing  bugaboo  had  been  submerged  in  this 
business.  Now,  with  Dr.  Lowell  withdraw¬ 
ing  from  the  Code  Authority  so  that  he 
could  apparently  direct  his  unceasing  fight 
against  the  practice  from  the  sidelines,  the 
industry  again  finds  itself  concerned  with 
its  problem. 

There  are  many  in  the  business  who  find 
block  booking  not  the  big  bad  wolf  it  is 
supposed  to  be.  This  faction  maintains 
that  if  it  is  not  block  booking  it  may  be 
the  same  rose  in  another  color.  Another 
group,  like  Dr.  Lowell,  thinks  that  block 
booking  is  an  evil  that  should  be  eradicated. 
As  how  its  removal  would  affect  the  com¬ 
plex  structure  of  this  business  the  group 
does  not  suggest. 

The  industry,  generally,  is  of  the  opinion 
held  by  General  Johnson,  that  the  cancella¬ 
tion  clause  gives  exhibitors  protection. 

The  resignation  of  Dr.  Lowell  may  prove 
of  interest  to  the  public  but  the  industry 
will  probably  lose  no  sleep  because  of  it. 


Post  the  Names  Now 

^  BEFORE  the  Code  Authority  an- 
®  nounces  those  who  will  serve  on  the 
local  grievance  and  zoning  boards,  it  would 
be  well  for  local  exhibitors  organizations 
and  film  board  groups  to  post  the  names  of 
those  already  mentioned  for  the  posts.  Once 
these  are  announced,  any  objections  can 
immediately  be  entered  by  those  who  think 
some  of  the  men  are  not  fitted  for  such 
positions. 

The  Code  Authority,  then,  will  be  in  a 
better  position  to  get  a  clear  view  of  the 
situation  than  if  it  announces  the  names 
and  then  hears  complaints.  It  is  up  to  local 
exhibitor  and  distributor  units  to  take  such 
a  step.  Certainly,  it  would  be  better  to 
lock  the  barn  before  the  horse  is  stolen 
rather  than  look  for  him  afterwards. 


The  Exhibitor 

Circulating  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware.  Issued  on  the  1st  and  15th 
of  each  month  by  Jay  Emanuel  Publications,  Inc.  Publishing  office.  219  North  Broad  Street,  Philadelphia. 
Branches  at  1600  Broadway,  New  York  City;  Washington,  D.  C.  Jay  Emanuel,  publisher;  Paul  J.  Greenhalgh, 
advertising  manager;  Herbert  M.  Miller,  managing  editor.  Subscription  rates:  $2  for  one  year,  $5  for  three 
years.  Single  copies.  15c  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware.  Publishers,  also,  of 
THE  NATIONAL  EXHIBITOR  of  Washington  and  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  EXHIBITOR.  Official  orgar 
of  the  Motion  Picture  Theatre  Owners  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southerr/  New  Jersey  and  Delaware.  Address 
all  communications  to  the  Philadelphia  office. 


Looking  Forward  in  1934 

A  HASTY  review  of  the  situation  reveals  plenty  that 
should  lead  exhibitors  to  expect  the  most  from  1934. 
There  seems  to  be  a  general  improvement  in  the  current  move¬ 
ment;  shorter  hours  provide  more  leisure  time;  ranks  of  the  unem¬ 
ployed  are  diminishing;  recognition  of  Russia  should  spur  pro¬ 
duction;  NRA  operations  are  speeding  up  wheels  of  progress; 
more  corporations  are  beginning  to  declare  dividends;  the  worst 
of  the  readjustment  period  is  believed  to  be  over. 

The  key  to  the  entire  situation  rests  in  the  hand  of  President 
Franklin  D.  Roosevelt.  Singlehandedly  he  has  been  leading  the 
fight  against  depression. 

It  is  up  to  the  motion  picture  business  to  lend  its  every  effort 
toward  helping  the  President.  If  the  industry  must  assume  added 
burdens;  if  it  must  adjust  itself  to  help  bear  its  part  of  the  load, 
it  should  do  so  with  the  realization  that  eventually  it  will  cash 
in  on  all  this  co-operation. 

Common  sense,  as  always,  is  a  necessity. 

Good  pictures  will  always  do  business.  It  is  up  to  the  show¬ 
men  and  producers  to  sell  the  others.  It  has  been  done.  It  still 
can  be  done. 

In  short,  there  should  be  a  New  Deal  for  all.  The  motion 
picture  industry  is  a  part  of  a  vast  house  which,  divided  against 
itself,  cannot  stand.  This  is  no  time  for  pessimism.  Those  who 
scoff  should  stand  aside  and  let  the  optimists  hold  the  reins. 

A  united  industry  is  a  necessity.  It  is  up  to  this  business  to 
do  its  part. 


A  Place  for  Angels 

^  IF  THE  ZONING  and  grievance  boards 
do  nothing  else,  they  should  prove  an 
immediate  and  necessary  check  upon  the 
chisellers  in  this  business,  the  smallest  of 
the  small  fry  whose  unethical  violations 
prove  more  harmful  to  both  exhibitors  and 
distributors  than  any  other  division. 

Fair  play  in  this  industry  is  spoiled  by 
these  chisellers,  who  gnaw  at  the  very  vitals 
of  the  business.  This  type  of  exhibitors 
contributes  nothing  but  violations.  Ex¬ 
changes,  apparently,  either  are  too  busy  or 
too  thoughtless  to  check  the  spread. 

If  the  chisellers  are  not  checked,  their 
success  at  their  work  will  be  copied  by 
others  who  will  also  try  to  get  away  with  it. 
There  is  no  point  in  being  a  square-shooting 
exhibitor  if  the  reward  is  only  to  be  in 
heaven. 

It  is  up  to  the  zoning  and  grievance 
boards  to  be  angels  in  disguise. 


Janl5'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


- 

.4  Concise 
National  Surrey 

TRADE  IA  REVIEW  < 

Glances  Outside 
the  Territory 

• 

CODE 

Some  Say  No, 

Most  Say  Yes 

Votes  on  the  industry  code,  as  organizations, 
are  coming  through.  The  Oklahoma  unit  en¬ 
dorses  the  code  at  a  convention.  New  Jersey 
takes  no  action  as  a  body.  Pittsburgh  finds 
fault,  upholds  the  NRA,  sees  flaws  in  the 
code.  Michigan  (Allied)  recommends  signing 
with  reservations.  But  generally  the  trade  is 
for  the  code,  does  not  forget  that  to  get  its 
benefits  signatures  must  be  applied  before 
January  31. 

400  Nominations 
For  Code  Places 

More  than  400  names  have  been  mentioned 
for  code  places.  More  are  expected. 

Release  of  names  suggested  for  places  on  the 
zoning  and  grievance  boards  reveals  the  fact 
that  if  those  suggested  are  included  in  the  final 
appointees,  the  same  people  who  did  all  the 
work  before  will  do  it  now.  Few  who  failed  to 
take  any  interest  in  general  exhibitor  matters 
were  included  in  the  suggestions.  The  names 
announced  are  not  appointees,  are  published 
only  for  general  scrutiny. 

EXHIBITION 

First  the  Name, 

Then  the  Person 

Samuel  L.  Rothafel  (“Roxy”  to  you  and 
the  rest  of  the  world)  resigned  a  fortnight 
before  Radio  City’s  New  Roxy  became  The 
Centre.  His  departure,  not  a  total  surprise, 
finds  him  temporarily  unattached.  A  vacation 
precedes  a  new  announcement. 

Code  Causes  Stir 
In  Organization  Work 

The  industry  code  causes  a  revival  in  organ¬ 
izations.  In  Virginia  a  hitherto  inactive  unit 
reorganizes.  In  New  York  City,  the  M.  P.  T. 
O.  A.  meets  to  discuss  financing.  In  Boston,  a 
testimonial  dinner  is  given  to  Nathan  Yamins, 
Allied  member  of  the  Code  Authority.  Else¬ 
where  there  are  other  signs  of  awakenings. 

The  M.  P.  T.  O.  of  Ohio  has  joined  the 
M.  P.  T.  O.  A.,  after  six  years  of  absence. 

Theatremen  in  the  Rocky  Mountain  area  or¬ 
ganized  for  purposes  of  protection,  a  holding 
company  playing  an  important  part. 

Legislatures 
Peep  at  Movies 

With  legislatures  coming  back  into  harness, 
once  again  movies  will  have  the  spotlight.  Tax 
attempts  in  many  states  are  being  lined  up.  More 
trouble  for  exhibitors.  More  reason  for  organ¬ 
ization. 

Miss.  Exhib 

Gets  An  Adjustment 

A1  Yoeman,  Temple  Theatre,  Meridian, 
Mississippi,  is  a  strong  code  booster.  Reason : 
Saenger  circuit,  after  NRA  invention,  relin¬ 
quished  enough  features  to  keep  the  Yoeman 
house  open.  Score :  Code,  1  ;  Opponents,  0. 


First  Short  House 
H  as  Rent  Troubles 

Embassy,  New  York  City,  which  blossomed 
forth  as  the  first  newsreel  and  short  house  in 
the  country,  went  dark  when  lease  trouble 
arose.  House  was  generally  in  the  black  and 
owners  are  seeking  another  Broadway  spot. 
Trans-Lux  theatres,  on  similar  basis,  are  con¬ 
tinuing  to  expand 

Employees  Organize 
in  Other  Districts 

From  New  York  and  Chicago  come  reports 
of  organization  of  employees.  A  40-hour  week, 
living  wage,  NRA  standard  are  some  of  the 
things  requested.  Ushers,  doormen,  janitors, 
etc.,  are  represented.  In  New  York  the  move  is 
strong,  with  the  idea  certain  to  spread  else¬ 
where. 

Oppose  Premiums, 

Favor  Doubles 

Exhibitor  organization  including  Nebraska 
and  Western  Iowa  has  gone  on  record  as 
opposing  premiums,  but  holds  on  to  doubles 
until  big  city  exhibitors  drop  them.  This 
premium  vote  is  as  an  organization,  not  under 
the  code  provision  for  voting. 

Cracking  Down 
On  All  Strikes 

Strikes  will  get  no  support  if  occurring  be¬ 
fore  arbitration,  the  NRA  indicates.  Code  pro¬ 
vides  that  all  disputes  must  be  arbitrated  before 
any  walkouts  occur.  Several  hot  spots  through¬ 
out  the  country  will  thus  be  checked  for  a  while. 

Meanwhile,  throughout  the  country,  locals 
finding  cuts  imminent,  protest.  Compensation  is 
reduced  to  put  more  members  working. 

Exception  Because 
of  Too  Much  Work 

An  exception  to  the  clause  limiting  operators 
to  40  hours  is  reported  from  Boston.  Because 
the  union  has  all  its  members  workmg,  Local 
182  is  believed  to  have  been  granted  the  right 
to  work  longer  than  40  hours. 

PRODUCTION 

2100  in  ’33, 

1590  Are  Foreign 

Film  Daily,  statistically  minded,  reports  2100 
features  produced  in  1933,  1590  of  which  are 
foreign,  with  over  500  produced  in  this  country. 
This,  of  course,  opens  the  way  for  sextets  of 
features,  if  need  be. 

Imports  dropped  30%,  the  Film  Daily  also 
shows.  These  figures  are  incorporated  in  the 
Year  Book,  out  soon. 

All  Studios 

Boost  Their  Production 

Coast  reports  indicate  a  big  revival  with  prac¬ 
tically  all  studios  having  their  schedules  at  peak. 
Releases  have  picked  up,  no  shortage  of  product 
is  imminent.  No  standout  hit  appears. 


Are  These 
The  Best  Ten? 

Film  Daily  announces  the  Best  Ten  as 
selected  by  movie  scribes  and  other  folk : 
Cavalcade,  42nd  Street,  Private  Life  of  Henry 
8th,  Lady  for  a  Day,  State  Fair,  Farewell  to 
Arms,  She  Done  Him  Wrong,  I  Am  a  Fugitive 
from  a  Chain  Gang,  Maedchen  in  Uniform, 
Rasputin  and  Empress. 

Film  men  will  pxiint  out  that  the  box  office 
contributions  included  Nos.  2,  3,  4,  5,  6,  7,  8,  9. 

Score  also  shows:  Paramount  (2)  ;  Warners 
(2)  :  Fox  (2)  ;  Columbia,  Lhiited  Artists. 
Metro,  Filmchoice  each  (1). 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Leroy 
On  Honeymoon  Trip 

Honeymoon  bound  are  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mervvn 
Leroy,  director  and  son-in-law  of  Harry  M. 
Warner.  Daughter  Doris  was  wedded  to  the 
ace  not  long  ago,  with  150  present  at  a  gala 
affair.  D:rector  Mervvn  returns  after  a  few 
months  to  his  work,  not  to  a  desk. 

Not  For  Sale 
Sign  at  Universal 

Universal  is  not  for  sale.  Denials  of  all  re¬ 
ports  come  from  high  executives.  The  com¬ 
pany  is  producing  rapidly,  plans  to  get  its  1933- 
1934  quota  finished  early. 

Motion  Picture 
Federation  Plans 

W  ith  Harry  H.  Thomas  as  the  new  presi¬ 
dent,  the  Motion  Picture  Federation,  composed 
of  independent  producers  and  distributors,  looks 
for  a  healthy  future.  An  independent  ad  coun¬ 
cil,  self-regulation,  financing,  loom  as  problems. 
Secretary  will  be  Alex  Moss. 

UA  Gives  Back 
Cuts— Who  Else? 

L’nited  Artists  made  a  happy  New  Year  of 
it.  It  gave  back  the  cuts  of  the  hectic  peroid. 
Other  compan'es  probably  frowned.  None  indi¬ 
cated  that  the  UA  action  starts  a  parade.  Mean¬ 
while,  employees  wait. 

DISTRIBUTION 

Choice  of  Exchange 
Folk  on  Boards  Up 

Film  men  are  wondering  who  will  pick  the 
exchange  people  to  be  represented  on  local 
boards.  First  groups  of  names  issued  did  not 
include  many.  Second  batch  had  a  few.  Who 
does  the  picking?  Which  exchanges  shall  be 
favored — these  are  the  questions. 

Selling  Season 
Early  Next  Season 

Observers  who  try  to  figure  all  the  angles 
are  of  the  opinion  that  the  selling  season  may 
be  early.  They  intimate  that  there  is  little 
chance  of  getting  local  boards  working  early 
enough  to  affect  this  year’s  contracts.  Their 
argument  is  that  if  selling  is  early,  contracts 
still  may  not  be  retroactive,  may  not  affect  some 
1934-1935  sales.  But  others  think  differently. 
Wait  and  see. 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Janl5'34 


7 


Code  Authority  Sets  January  31 

as  Deadline  for  Signing  of  Pact 


Answer  Those  Letters 


Local  exhibitors  who  have  been  cited 
for  alleged  violations  of  the  NRA  had 
best  pay  attention  to  letters  sent  them. 

An  alleged  violation  is  nothing  to  be 
sneezed  at  and  even  if  the  industry 
boards  aren’t  working,  the  letters  should 
be  answered  or  visits  be  made  to  the 
local  NRA. 

Of  course,  it  is  quite  possible  that 
many  of  the  complaints  aren’t  justified, 
but  a  lot  of  exhibitors  aren’t  paying  any 
attention  to  citations  from  the  local 
NRA  boards. 

It  only  goes  to  show  that  exhibs  don’t 
answer  mail.  In  this  case,  they  had  bet¬ 
ter  do  so. 


Little  Change  in 
1934  Theatre  Lineup 

Seating  Capacity  of  Territory’s 
Houses  About  Same 


There  has  been  little  change  in  the  set¬ 
up  of  the  territory’s  theatres,  a  survey 
recently  completed  indicates. 


Here  are  the  figures : 

1934 

Number  of  theatres  in  territory  768 

Seating  capacity  . 663,169 

Philadelphia  theatres  .  193 

Seats  . 211,969 

Affiliated  Circuit  Theatres....  181 
Unaffiliated  Circuit  Theatres..  90 
Independent  houses  (not  circuit)  497 
Closed  theatres  . .  52 


1933 

782 

662,894 

188 

179 


Circuit  includes  any  chain  of  four  houses  or 
over. 


Happy  Days 

Upstate  house  played  a  35%  hit  pic¬ 
ture  at  20  cent  admission,  gave  a  pre¬ 
mium  costin"  10  cents  apiece  with  each 
admission. 

Figures  would  indicate  that  exchange 
got  7  cents,  premium  company  10  cents 
out  of  each  20  cent  admission,  leaving 
3  cents  for  exhibitor. 

Two-day  bill  included  New  Year’s  and 
day  following,  one  time  in  the  year  when 
people  don’t  have  to  be  coaxed  to  go. 

And  they  call  this  a  business. 

(The  rest  of  the  story  can  now  be 
added  on.  Operator  who  ran  the  above 
program  withdrew  from  the  house,  with 
another  exhibitor  taking  it  over. - Ed.) 


Extension  Also  Allowed  on  Recommendations  to  Clear¬ 
ance,  Zoning,  Grievance  Posts — Financing  Not  Set  Yet 
— No  Okaying  in  Part 

The  code  must  he  signed  by  January  31.  All  recommendations  for  local  boards 
must  be  in  the  hands  of  the  Code  Authority  by  January  20. 


Leads  Go(ld )  Getters 


Bob  Mochrie, 


local  Warner  manager,  is  leading  the  Warner 
forces  in  the  current  Go  (Id)  Getters  drive, 
from  January  1 -February  24.  Drive  is  for 
dates  and  collections,  with  the  exchange  hav¬ 
ing  a  real  list  of  hits  during  that  period. 
Division  leader  gets  2  weeks’  salary  for  each 
employee,  from  inspectress  to  executive,  while 
country  winner  splits  up  $2500.  All  exhibi¬ 
tors  in  the  territory  are  urged  to  support  the 
drive  and  let  the  local  Warner  Go  (Id)  Get¬ 
ters  get  into  the  big  money.  With  the  War¬ 
ner  pictures  hitting  a  high  and  exhibitor  sup¬ 
port,  it  should  be  a  cinch. 


General  Theatre  Compromise 

U.  S.  Senator  Daniel  O.  Hastings,  receiver 
for  General  Theatre  Equipment,  Inc.,  has  filed 
in  Court  of  Chancery,  Wilmington,  a  proposed 
compromise  agreement  between  the  corporation 
and  the  Chase  National  Bank  of  Washington 
upon  which  hearing  will  be  heard  February  23. 


Sherman  Adds  Another 

Eddie  Sherman,  live  wire  booker,  has  added 
another  house  to  his  books. 

Roxy,  Northampton,  is  going  to  put  on  vaude¬ 
ville  Saturdays. 


Amity  Takes  One 

John  M.  Crinnion  has  added  another  short 
to  Amity’s  list,  titled  “Men  of  Ships.’’  Pro¬ 
duced  by  Irving  Browning,  with  Norman  Brok- 
enshire  describing  the  action,  “Men  of  Ships” 
is  an  interesting  and  entertaming  narrative  of 
New  York’s  busy  water  front. 


The  two  deadlines  are  final. 

Exhibitors,  therefore,  would  do  well  to  send 
in  their  signed  blanks  to  the  Code  Authority 
by  that  time.  Unless  they  sign  they  cannot  send 
•n  any  recommendations  for  grievance  and  zon¬ 
ing  posts  or  get  the  benefits  of  the  code. 

The  Code  Authority  has  already  held  three 
meetings,  with  financing  not  yet  set. 

Code  delinquents  can’t  sign  later.  Also,  the 
code  cannot  be  signed  in  part.  It  must  be 
signed  in  full,  or  not  at  all. 

A  manual  covering  operation  of  local  zoning 
and  grievance  boards  is  being  formulated.  Code 
Authority  headquarters  are  on  the  23rd  floor  of 
the  RKO  Building,  New  York. 

Next  meeting  is  scheduled  for  January  23. 

Suggest  Names 

First  batch  of  names  suggested  to  Sol  A. 
Rosenblatt,  Division  Administrator,  NRA,  and 
Code  Authority,  for  members  and  secretaries 
of  Local  Clearance  and  Zoning  Boards,  as  re¬ 
leased  by  John  C.  Flinn,  secretary,  Code 
Authority  include : 

Philadelphia — Milton  Rogasner,  P.  Mortimer 
Lewis,  Charles  Segal,  Herbert  J.  Elliott,  David 
Barrist,  Jay  Emanuel,  Lewen  Pizor,  Michael 
O’Toole,  Joe  Willing,  Philip  Sterling,  M.  B. 
Comerford. 

In  the  second  group  released  the  names  of 
Bob  Mochrie,  Mike  Landow,  Morris  Wax,  Leon 
Schlesinger,  Robert  Lynch,  and  others  are 
mentioned. 

This  announcement  is  the  first  to  come  from 
the  secretary.  Other  names  will  be  announced 
later,  it  is  expected. 

Meanwhile,  anyone  can  send  in  names  of 
nominees  for  the  posts.  Definite  selections  will 
be  forthcoming  later. 

Kuykendahl  Speaks 

A  statement  from  Ed  Kuykendahl,  M.  P.  T. 
O.  A.  president,  this  week,  said,  in  part : 

“It  is  my  firm  opinion  that  any  association  or 
individual  who  advises  exhibitors  or  anyone  else 
in  this  industry  that  they  should  send  in  an 
assent  to  the  code  with  any  reservations  what¬ 
soever,  is  misleading  those  to  whom  they  make 
the  statement  and  in  all  probability  helping 
them  to  get  into  serious  difficulties  and  I  think 
that  any  serious  minded  person  who  is  in  any 
way  anxious  to  be  helpful  to  the  exhibitors,  of 
this  country  would  not  give  any  such  notice. 

No  Reservations 

“I  know  it  to  be  a  positive  fact  that  the 
only  acceptable  assent  that  can  be  received  by 
the  Code  Authority  must  be  without  any  res¬ 
ervations  whatsoever  and  I  want  to  sincerely 
advise  the  exhibitors  of  this  country  not  to 
jeopardize  their  interests  by  trying  to  evade  in 
any  manner  whatsoever  the  spirit  of  the  code 
for  the  motion  picture  industry.” 


THE  REAL  "INSIDE"  STORY  OF 
HOLLYWOOD  BY  ONE  WHO  KNOWS 


I 

i 


i 


[ 

1 

I 

1 

i 


Janl5'34  pg.  8 


Adela  Rogers  St.  John,  authoress  of  "Woman's  Man"  (The 
Great  God  Fourflush),  has  interviewed  every  big  star  in 
Hollywood  including  Hepburn,  Pickford,  Garbo,  Harlow  and 
dozens  of  others.  Her  fiction  stories  about  the  movie  capitol 
are  featured  by  Liberty,  Cosmopolitan  and  other  national 
publications.  "Woman’s  Man"  is  one  of  the  best  yarns  ever 
written  about  the  World’s  own  land  of  make-believe. 


i 


Distributed  by  FIRST  DIVISION  EXCHANGES,  Inc.,  1240  Vine  St.,  Philadelphia 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Janl5'34 


9 


Motion  Picture  Relief  Fund  Again 

Makes  New  Drive  for  Contributions 


“ Eskimo ” 


Screened  in  a  cold  projection  room, 
“Eskimo”  stands  out  as  a  film  that  will 
remain  in  memory  for  a  long,  long  time. 

It  depicts  the  code  of  the  North - the 

Eskimo.  It  shows  sex  without  filth,  love 
that  is  beautiful  and  honorable,  thrills 
galore.  One  forgets  he  is  seeing  a  movie. 
The  show  is  real,  actually  stupendous. 

Not  a  Saturday  show  because  of  the 
kids.  It  is,  however,  something  that 
MGM  can  well  be  proud  of. 

What  the  show  needs  is  a  trade  pre¬ 
view  in  order  that  exhibs  can  really  see 
what  a  piece  of  property  it  is.  The  en¬ 
thusiasm  thus  created  will  be  transmit¬ 
ted  from  exhibitor  to  patron  and  aid 
the  box  office. 

It’s  a  swell  show,  should  be  forced 
to  the  limit.  Patrons  will  love  it.  It’s 
a  hit,  sell  it ! 

JAY  EMANUEL. 


M.  P.  T.  0.  Reviews  Work 
in  1933;  Asks  for  Dues 

Points  to  Tax  Work  and  Other 
Accomplishments 

Progress  of  the  local  M.  P.  T.  O.  is 
reviewed  in  a  letter  sent  to  all  members 
by  Secretary  George  P.  Aarons. 

Work  accomplished  by  the  organization  is 
also  highlighted  in  his  survey  recently  sent  out 
to  all  M.  P.  T.  O.  folk. 

It  follows  in  part : 

Another  year  has  rolled  around  and  upon  looking 
back  over  the  accomplishments  of  this  organization  dur¬ 
ing  the  past  twelve  months,  we  find  it  filled  with  much 
activity  resulting  in  benefit  to  every  independent  exhib¬ 
itor  in  this  territory. 

The  exhibitors  were  confronted  with  threatened  in¬ 
crease  on  admissions,  which  were  successfully  combatted, 
and  there  has  been  no  material  increase  during  the  past 
twelve  months.  The  organization  participated  and  was 
very  active  in  the  deliberations  and  conferences  with 
the  United  States  government  from  which  came  the 
code,  and  at  all  times  it  strove  to  protect  the  indepen¬ 
dent  exhibitor  to  the  fullest,  and  it  is  no  idle  boast  of 
the  organization  that  it  has  gained  something  for  the 
independent  exhibitor  in  this  document  which  has  now 
become  a  part  of  the  law. 

Many  cards  containing  beneficial  information  to  the 
exhibitor  have  gone  out  from  the  organization.  It  waged 
a  very  successful  fight  against  the  50%  pictures  and 
we  find  no  50%  contracts. 

These  are  but  very  few  of  the  accomplishments  of 
the  organization  and  added  may  be  the  fact  that  the 
organization  has  increased  its  membership  during  the 
past  twelve  months. 

The  officers  have  given  unstintingly  of  their  time,  re¬ 
ceiving  no  remuneration  whatsoever,  but  satisfied  in 
the  thought  that  their  efforts  have  been  for  the  pro¬ 
tection  cf  the  members  of  this  organization,  and  all 
other  independent  exhibitors.  The  organization  has 
gained  the  respect  of  every  other  exhibitor  organization 
throughout  the  country,  and  we  read  constantly  of  the 
favorable  comments  in  the  trade  papers  of  the  work  of 
your  organization. 

Your  organization  only  asks  in  return  the  same  sup¬ 
port  in  1934  that  you  gave  it  in  19  33,  and  that  you 
will  immediately  pay  your  dues  for  1934  in  order  that 
the  good  work  may  be  continued,  and  you  may  be 
safe  in  the  realization  that  your  organization  stands  as 
tile  watch-dog  to  protect  you  and  your  investment  at  all 
times.  You  will  find  herewith  enclosed  a  statement  of 
your  dues  for  1934  and  you  are  earnestly  urged  to 
immediately  return  the  statement  with  your  check. 


Stanley  Theatre  Benefit  Scheduled  February  4  —  $4183 
Given  to  Needy  During  1933 — Committees  in  Exchanges 
Appointed 

With  a  record  of  having  given  $4183  to  destitute  former  exchange  employees 
during  1933,  the  Motion  Picture  Relief  Fund  is  making  a  new  drive  for  contributions. 


Candid  Camera  Closeup 


Joe  Rossheim,  United  chain  executive,  and 
Frank  McNamee,  Radio  exchange  manager, 
are  caught  in  the  midst  of  a  great  pile  of 
additions  and  subtractions  on  the  overages 
due  the  exchange  for  “Little  Women.” 
They  are  both  smiling  because  they  think 
the  camera  hasn’t  any  film  in  it.  Now  they 
know  it  had. 


Heard  In 


M 


I  D - J  E  R  S  EY 

Few  Indes, 

Singles,  Left 


EXPANSION  of  the  Victoria  Amusement 
Corporation  into  Palmyra  leaves  few  indepen¬ 
dent  spots  left  in  the  sector.  ...  Si  Myers 
has  two  in  Moorestown  and  Haddonfield.  .  .  . 
Tom  Lazarick  has  Mt.  Ephraim,  W.  C.  Hunt 
has  two  houses,  and  there  are  a  few  more 
smaller  houses.  .  .  .  Atlantic  Theatres,  Inc., 
and  Victoria  have  the  rest.  .  .  .  The  setup  of 
the  section  has  changed  considerably  within  the 
past  few  seasons. 

NOW  WE  KNOW  why  Sol  Altman’s  office 
in  AC  was  done  over.  .  .  .  The  reason  must 
have  been  the  recently  acquired  Mrs.  Altman. 

.  .  .  Harry  Kohmer  came  from  Beach  Haven 
to  get  a  thermometer.  .  All  the  way. 

.  .  .  The  manager  of  the  AC  Lyric  intends 
to  vacation  between  Florida  and  Georgia  on 
the  Atlantic  Avenue  of  AC.  .  .  .  Good  luck 
lo  Sam  Varbalow  in  Palmyra. 

EPPY  EPSTEIN,  the  Atlantic  Theatres, 
Inc.,  exec,  maintains  his  happy,  smiling  spirit 
at  all  times.  .  .  .  So  does  manager  Manny 

Heller. 


To  this  end,  through  the  courtesy  of  Leonard 
Schles.'nger,  the  Stanley-Warner  company  has 
contributed  use  of  the  Stanley  Theatre,  Febru¬ 
ary  4,  for  a  benefit. 

Again,  too,  exchange  organization  finds  a  dis¬ 
tinct  committee  ready  to  take  care  of  contribu¬ 
tions.  The  committee : 

Lester  Wurtle,  Columbia;  E.  V.  Segall,  First 
Divis’on,  Ethel  Freedman,  Fox;  Michael  Katz, 
Gold  Medal ;  Dorothy  Dennis,  Horlacher’s ; 
Dorothy  Burreson,  Metro ;  Francis  Holtzstein, 
National  Penn;  Clara  Kraftsow,  Paramount; 
Margaret  Clark,  Radio ;  Anna  Parrish,  UA ; 
Mary  Meadowcroft,  Universal;  Charlie  Beilan, 
Warners. 

It  is  expected  that  the  entire  local  industry 
will  join  to  keep  the  fund  alive  and  :’n  healthy 
shape. 

It  is  up  to  the  trade  to  take  care  of  its  own. 


Emanuel  to  Coast 

Jay  Emanuel,  publisher,  Jay  Emanuel  Pub¬ 
lications,  Inc.,  is  coast  bound,  at  this  writing, 
with  Mrs.  Emanuel,  on  a  business-pleasure  trip. 

They  plan  to  visit  friends  on  the  coast  as 
well  as  the  various  studios. 

The  publisher’s  observations  will  appear  in 
succeeding  issues  of  this  publication. 


Church  Competition 

St.  Edmunds  School,  23rd  and  Mifflin,  is  run¬ 
ning  shows  one  day  each  week. 

Children  are  urged  to  attend,  and  regular  ad¬ 
mission  is  charged. 

It  comes  under  the  head  of  non-theatrical 
competition. 


Sees  Prosperity 


Victoria  Expands 

Victoria  Amusement  Company,  which  has 
recently  added  some  Jersey  houses,  has  just 
taken  another. 

Unit  will  buy  and  book  the  Broadway,  Pal¬ 
myra.  Sam  Varbalow  is  signing  contracts. 


Charlie 
Goodwin,  who 
with  Dave  Bar- 
rist,  directs 
Quality  Pre¬ 
mium  Distrib¬ 
utors,  sees  a 
gala  1934  for 
exhibitors,  es¬ 
pecially  those 
who  play  his 
premiums. 
Goodwin,  who 
is  also  an  ex¬ 
hibitor,  thinks 
there  are  defi¬ 
nite  signs  of  an  upturn.  Furthermore, 
the  signs  are  more  definite  for  Quality 
Premium  users,  he  avers. 


Janl5'34  pg.  10 


The  King  of  Daredevils 


In  a  Whirlwind  of  Action! 


With  Lucille  Lund,  Wal¬ 
ter  Miller,  Pat  O'Malley, 
William  Desmond.  Story 
by  Ella  O'Neill.  Directed 
by  Ray  Taylor. 

TWELVE 
EXCITING 


Iron-nerved  Richard  Talmadge  out- 
stunting  even  his  former  efforts  in  a 
serial  packed  with  hair -breadth 
thrills  and  stirring  adventure. .Drama 
that  speeds  ashore  and  afloat  in  a 
frenzy  of  flaming  excitement  .  .  A 
serial  to  ATTRACT  capacity  for  its 
first  episode  and  SWELL  ATTEN¬ 
DANCE  with  each  succeeding  chap¬ 
ter.. Book  it  now,  from 


UNIVERSAL 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Janl5'34 


11 


Code  Primer  for  Exhibitors 


Q. - Do  I  have  to  sign  the  industry  code? 

A. - No  one  has  to.  But  unless  you  sign  it  you  will  not  be  able  to  receive  any 

of  the  benefits  in  it  or  be  considered  for  places  on  any  of  the  boards. 

Q. - What  is  the  deadline  on  signing? 

A. — Your  certificate  of  compliance  has  been  mailed  to  you.  It  must  be  back 
in  the  hands  of  the  Code  Authority  in  New  York  City  by  January  31,  at  the  latest. 

Q. - Can  I  suggest  names  of  people  I  think  would  be  suitable  for  places  on  the 

local  zoning  and  grievance  boards? 

A. - Anyone  can.  But  you>  must  have  those  names  in  the  hands  of  the  Code 

Authority  by  January  20  at  the  latest. 

Q. - 1  see  some  of  the  names  of  those  mentioned  for  posts  have  been  published. 

How  can  I  register  my  objections? 

A. - Write  to  the  Code  Authority  secretary,  John  Flinn,  in  New  York  City, 

and  state  your  reasons.  All  such  letters  will  be  kept  confidential. 

Q. — Is  the  code  effective  now? 

A. — It  certainly  is. 

Q. - But  there  are  no  boards  functioning  to  take  care  of  complaints.  My  oppo¬ 

sition  is  violating  the  prior  advertising  clause.  How  can  I  register  a  complaint? 

A. - Write  or  wire  Deputy  Adminsitrator  Sol  A.  Rosenblatt  in  Washington, 

D.  C.  He  will  give  some  attention  to  the  matter. 

Q. — I  received  a (  letter  this  morning  from  the  local  NRA  board,  asking  me  to 
come  up  for  hearing  regarding  some  complaint  that  has  been  made.  What  shall  I 
do? 

A. - By  all  means  go  to  see  them.  Explain  your  situation  to  them.  If  you  are 

right,  it  will  not  affect  your  present  hookup.  If  you  are  wrong,  then  change  your 
setup  to  conform  with  NRA  provisions. 

Q. - 1  am  somewhat  confused  on  the  labor  situation.  Does  the  local  union  have 

to  supply  me  with  additional  operators  that  I  will  need  because  I  have  cut  down  the 
hours  of  my  present  men  to  40?  Will  they  have  to  give  me  the  new  men  at  no 
total  increase?  Do  my  present;  operators  take  a  cut  to  conform  to  40  hours  as  a 
basis  ? 

A. - Indications  are  that  “yes”  is  the  answer  to  all  your  questions.  However, 

labor  matters  are  the  most  troublesome  at  this  time.  Be  on  the  safe  side.  Write 
directly  to  the  Code  Authority  in  New  York  City  or  Sol  A.  Rosenblatt. 

Q. - Will  the  code  prevent  me  from  using  double  features? 

A. - No,  the  code  cannot  do  so.  The  worst  that  may  happen  is  that  houses 

playing  a  double  feature  policy  may  be  set  back  a  few  days  when  zoning  is  set  up, 
but  nothing  has  been  decided. 

Q. - Can  I  keep  on  giving  premiums? 

A. - If  you  are  doing  so  now,  continue.  No  decision  will  be  made  on  premiums 

until  the  territory  votes  one  way  or  the  other.  If  premiums  are  kept,  they,  too, 
may  be  zoned  with  the  same  restrictions  as  double  features.  But  there  has  been  no 
decision. 

Q. - When  will  thq  local  boards  be  announced? 

A. — As  soon  as  possible  after  January  20  when  the  last  names  can  be  suggested 
for  posts. 

Q. — Will  there  be  any  salary  for  such  positions? 

A. - It  is  not  thought  likely.  There  will  probably  be  a  salary  for  an  outside 

neutral  party,  but  financial  matters  have  not  been  set  at  this  writing. 

Q. — Where  can  I  get  a  copy  of  the  code? 

A. — Write  to  this  office  and  one  will  be  mailed  to  you. 

Q. — Where  shall  I  mail  my  signed  form  of  execution  of  the  Code  of  Fair 
Competition  for  the  Motion  Picture  Industry? 

A. — To  the  Code  Authority  Motion  Picture  Industry,  Room.  1204,  Paramount 
Building,  1501  Broadway,  New  York  City. 


More  Discrimination 


In  urging  the  public  to  be  discrimin¬ 
ating  in  the  selection  of  movies  for  their 
youngsters.  Rev.  Alton  M.  Motter,  pas¬ 
tor,  Redeemer  Lutheran  Church,  Har¬ 
risburg,  declared  that  36  per  cent,  of  the 
total  movie  audiences  was  made  up  of 
children. 

Commenting  on  the  statement  of  the 
Lutheran  minister,  in  an  editorial  “The 
Patriot,”  morning  daily  newspaper, 
Harrisburg,  said,  “It  is  this  vital  fact 
that  has  prompted  eminent  educators 
and  others  through  the  Motion  Picture 
Research  Council  to  fight  against  the 
suggestive  screen  picture.” 


“Cross  Streets”  Ready 

“Cross  Streets,”  Invincible  picture  and  a  First 
Division  release,  will  be  ready  shortly.  Film  is 
an  original  story  by  Gordon  Morris,  author  of 
“Six  Hours  to  Live”  and  “Night  Coach.”  Cast 
consists  of  Claire  Windsor,  John  Mack  Brown, 
Anita  Louise,  Matty  Kemp  and  others.  First 
Division  distributes. 


BREATHLESS  THRILLS . See  Page  4 


A  GOLD  MEDAL  RELEASE! 


—THAT  WILL 
MAKE  MONEY 
FOR  THE 
SMART 
THEATRE 
OWNER 


2  MYSTERY 
THRILLERS 

from  the  masterful  pen  of 

EDGAR  WALLACE 

Now  Ready 


// 


WHITE  FACE 


// 


A  Baffling 
Mystery 
Drama 

Action  ! 
Suspense! 
Thrills  ! 
Backed  by 
Special  Roadshow 
Displays 

FREE! 

Pennants!  Banners!  Lobby  Displays! 

Featured  Serially  in  the  October  Cosmopolitan  Magazine 
200,000  Volumes  Sold  as  a  Book 


Coming: 


"Criminal  at  Large" 


Direct  from 
its  World 
Premiere  at 
the 

MAYFAIR, 
N.  Y. 

• 

Held  Over  for 
a  Second  Week 


EXTRA! 


SINGLE  REEL  GEMS  OF 
THE  SCREEN  .  .  . 

Special  and 
Unusual  Sub¬ 
jects  for 
Selected 
Programs 
GUARANTEED  TO  PLEASE 


THE  SPY 
KOREA 

Double  Crossing 
tbe  Rattler 
HAWAII 


Distributed  by 

HERBERT  W.  GIVEN,  Inc. 


1239  Vine  Street 


Philadelphia 


Also  WESTERNS,  FEATURETTES, 
FELIX  Cartoons,  TRAVELOGUES 


12 


Janl5'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Heard  In ' 


V 


INE  STREET 


Blofson  Has 
Nice  List 


AL  BLOFSON  has  a  smart  list  of  releases 
on  hand.  .  .  .  “Eat  ’Em  Alive"  bowed  in  at 
the  Moe  Verbin-directed  Europa,  with  Georgie 
Scher  putting  on  a  nice  campaign.  ...  In  addi¬ 
tion,  First  Division  has  “He  Couldn’t  Take 
It,”  “Murder  on  the  Campus,”  “Throne  of  the 
Gods”  and  many  other  features  available.  .  .  . 
“Tarzan”  cleaned  up  for  exhibitors,  and 
“Sweetheart  of  Sigma  Chi”  provided  some 
smart  grosses.  ...  It  looks  like  another  ban¬ 
ner  season  for  First  Division.  .  .  .  Ben  Harris 
got  a  haircut,  claims  he  looks  like  Clark  Gable. 

JOHN  M.  CRINNION,  Amity  chief,  an¬ 
nounces  the  purchase  of  “Seeing  the  U.  S. 
A.”,  a  series  by  Harold  McCracken  and  M. 
J.  Weisfeldt  including  “Georgia”  and  “Mary¬ 
land.”  .  .  .  Preferred  distributes. 

FRANK  McNAMEE  and  the  rest  of  the 
Radio  gang  took  a  squint  at  the  Amos  and 
Andy  cartoons  and  thought  they  were  rather 
good.  .  .  .  United  Artists  proved  a  nice  host 
at  the  “Moulin  Rouge”  and  “Gallant  Lady” 
showings.  .  .  .  Both  were  judged  success  by 
audience  approval.  ...  In  addition,  the  shorts 
programs  (UA)  were  very  nice.  .  .  .  Thus,  the 
UA  showings  to  the  trade  have  clicked  unani¬ 
mously.  .  .  .  More  credit  to  Manager  Harry 
Bodkin,  Booker  McCaffery,  Harry  Levine,  Jeff 
Davis  and  the  rest  of  the  UAers. 

CHARLIE  GOODWIN  went  to  Pittsburgh 
on  a  business  trip.  .  .  .  Looking  over  fac¬ 
tory  conditions.  .  .  .  Add  joyous  pictures; 

Bob  Mochrie,  Harry  Dembow,  Bill  Mansell, 
Roger  Mahan,  bookers  Noble  and  Guilfoyle 
after  seeing  “Hi  Nellie”  with  Paul  Muni.  .  .  , 
Johnny  Bachman  was  in  town  last  week.  .  .  . 
He’s  usually  hopping  to  Washington  and 
Pittsburgh.  .  .  .  Thinks  the  Stoopnagle-Budd 
short  is  a  honey. 

ANOTHER  FAMOUS  fa;ry  tale,  “The 
Brave  Tin  Soldier,”  has  been  selected  and  prat 
into  production,  as  the  third  subject  in  the  P. 
A.  Powers  “ComiColor”  series,  distributed  by 
Celebrity  Productions.  .  .  .  Gold  Medal  dis¬ 
tributes  here. 

I 

HERB  GIVEN,  who  keeps  hopping  between 
his  local  and  New  York  City  offices,  has  two 
thrillers  on  hand,  “White  Face”  and  “Crim¬ 
inal  at  Large.”  .  .  .  For  those  who  like 

detective  and  mystery  stories,  these  Edgar 
Wallace  tales  have  plenty  of  attraction.  .  .  . 
Titles  are  good  and  exploitation  should  aid 
both  of  them.  ...  In  addition,  he  has  a  nice 
series  of  shorts. 

MESSRS.  FRERE  AND  SOBEL,  operat¬ 
ing  the  Eureka,  when  last  seen,  were  haggling 
with  Manager  Sid  Stanley,  of  Fay’s.  .  .  . 
Former  offered  to  trade  two  old  trailers  for  a 
one-sheet,  but  couldn’t  come  to  terms. 


ZOOMING  ADVENTURE . See  Page  4 


A  GOLD  MEDAL  RELEASE! 


Columbia  Drive 


Columbia’s  March  Forward  Drive  is 
now  taking  place  and  lasts  until 
March  31. 


Harry  Weiner 


The  local  exchange  is  making  a  fine 
attempt  to  come  in  first  in  the  national 
contest  and  all  exhibitors  should  give 
their  co-operation  to  Manager  Harry 
Weiner  to  insure  the  success  of  the 
move. 

Manager  Weiner  promises  some  ace 
shows  during  the  banner  period. 


FILM  BOARD  has  just  completed  its  1934 
directory.  It  is  the  only  authentic 

record  of  theatres  in  the  territory.  ...  If 
one  is  necessary,  get  in  touch  with  the  Film 
Board.  .  .  .  Apex  Garage  is  ready  to  serve 

you. 

GETTING  AGED,  Mike  Landow,  Univer¬ 
sal’s  prince,  has  now  taken  to  physical  culture, 
wrestles  in  his  office  after  hours.  .  .  .  It’s  with 
Wrestler  Harry  Weisbrod,  however,  to  put  all 
other  ideas  at  rest.  .  .  .  Boxing,  also,  enters 
the  curriculum. 

METRO  seeks  reaction  on  its  cartoons. 
.  .  .  Asks  exhibitors  to  see  whether  or  not 
color  versions  result  in  better  audience 
comment. 

JOHN  GOLDER,  at  Hollywood,  has  “This 
Mad  Age,”  which  drew  critics’  rave.  .  .  .  Pic¬ 
ture  shows  the  progress  of  America  during  the 
past  decade  or  so,  is  well  edited  and  can  stand 
plenty  of  ballyhoo.  ...  Its  New  York  pre¬ 
miere  saw  plenty  of  raves  showered  on  it.  .  .  . 
Herb  Taylor,  at  Preferred,  is  getting  plenty  of 
new  releases  from  Amity  these  days.  .  .  .  Over 
at  Peerless,  the  Bud  ’ll'  Ben  series  as  well  as 
the  other  Astoc  releases  are  keeping  Messrs. 
Neufeld  and  Heenon  busy.  .  .  .  The  Flash 
series  is  also  making  out  well.  .  .  .  The  shorts 
fit  any  bill. 

GOLD  MEDAL  announces  that  there  is  a 
24  sheet  campaign  in  back  of  Majestic’s  “The 
Sin  of  Nora  Moran.”  ...  In  addition,  Com- 
erford,  as  well  as  the  other  leading  circuits, 
bought  the  Comicolor  “Jack  in  the  Beanstalk” 
single  reel.  .  .  .  Meanwhile,  the  trio  of 


'  Heard  In ' 


L 


ANCASTER 


$5  to  See 
“Invisible  Man” 


RAY  O’CONNELL,  manager,  Grand  The¬ 
atre,  started  something  when  he  offered  five 
dollars  to  any  woman  who  would  sit  alone  in 
his  theatre  beginning  at  the  stroke  of  midnight 
and  witness  a  showing  of  the  “Invisible  Man.” 

.  .  .  Two  hundred  young  women  applied  for  a 
chance  to  take  the  test.  .  .  .  Grand  did  big 
business  with  “Little  Women,”  hanging  up  one 
of  the  best  box  office  records  in  the  history  of 
the  house. 

THERE  IS  MORE  TALK  of  using  the  Field 
House  in  Maple  Grove  Park  to  produce  grand 
opera.  .  .  .  Patrons  are  still  going  for  vaude¬ 
ville  once  a  week  in  the  Capitol  Theatre  in 
a  big  way. 


Majestic  releases,  “The  Gay  Deceiver,”  “The 
Morning  After,”  and  “You  Made  Me  Love 
You”  are  available  for  booking.  .  .  .  The  latter 
premiered  at  Fay’s,  and  is  playing  throughout 
the  territory.  .  .  .  Critics  thought  much  of  it. 
.  .  .  New  pictures  at  the  exchange  include 
“Beggar’s  Holiday,"  from  Tower.  ...  In  addi¬ 
tion,  “The  Mystery  Squadron,”  Nat  Levine 
serial,  is  now  beginning  to  break,  with  the  decks 
being  cleared  for  the  new  Nat  Levine  1934-1935 
serial  lineup.  .  .  .  Tony  Lucchese  has  plenty 
of  pictures  available,  with  releases  right  on 
schedule. 


48th  Street,  West  of  Broadway 

NEW  YORK 

Just  Around  the  Corner  from 
the  Center  of  the 

Motion  Picture  Industry 

400  ROOMS 

All  with  Bath,  Shower,  Radio 

From  $2.50  Daily 

Single  -  -  -  $2.50,  $3.00,  $3.50 

Double  -  $3.50,  $4  00,  $4.50,  $5.00 

Special  Weekly  Rates 

Five  minutes’  -walk^to  Fifty  Theatres 
J.  S.  SUITS,  Manager 


TWO  WEEKS  AT  RADIO  CITY  to  Top  Money  am 

hold -out  crowds  during  New  York's  biggest  snow  storm  am 
coldest  weather  in  ten  years! . . .  now  playing  in  a  hundree 

KEY-SPOTS  THRUOUT  THE  COUNTRY .  . .  BACKED  BY  ANOTHER  GREA1 
NATIONAL  NEWSPAPER  ADVERTISING  CAMPAIGN! 


-&y 


Vi** 


TO  THE  BREATHLESS 
CLIMAX  OF  ALL  MUSIC 

CUAUIC  Janl5'34  pg.  13 

SHOWS. .t/ie  most  stupendous 
spectacle  ever  bom  to  rhythm 


It's  driving  America 
melody-mad !  .  .  the 

CARIOCA  .  .  . 

new  Brazilian  dance 
craze  from  Rio  de 
Janeiro  where  it 
never  gets  coldl 


Meet  FRED  ASTAIRE 

Broadway  star  .  .  .  in 
his  first  laugh  con¬ 
quest  of  the  screen 
He  makes  the  hit  of 
YOUR  life! 


f 


Heart  catching  music  by 

VINCENT  YOUMANS 

composer  of  "Hit  the  Deck," 
"No,  No,  Nanette," 


'Halleluiah" 


Thrilling  STARS! 

Teasing  TUNES! 

mid  scenes  of 

gasping  beauty! 
• 

Come,  take  a  joy  ride 
through  the  clouds! 
.Sell  your 
troubles  for  a 


14 


Janl5'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Heard  In ' 


u 


P  ■  S  T  A  T  E 

Serial  Epidemic 
Breaking  Out 


A  HARRISBURG  BOOK  DEALER  ran 
newspaper  ads  as  large  as  those  run  by  the 
Colonial  Theatre,  Harrisburg,  to  advertise 
“Louisa  M.  Alcott’s  8-volume  library,  including 
‘Little  Women,’  and  a  selected  reading  pro¬ 
gram.  ’  .  .  .  Newspapers  placed  the  book  ad, 
which  stated:  “Endorsed  by  Parent  and  Teach¬ 
ers’  Associations  and  prominent  educators 
throughout  the  country,”  beside  the  Colonial  ad, 
which  helped  both  the  theatre  and  the  book 
dealer.  .  .  .  “Looks  like  old  times,”  said  C. 
Floyd  Elopkins,  Wilmer  and  Vincent  skipper  in 
Harrisburg,  while  watching  crowds  lined  up  for 
"Little  Women”  at  the  Colonial  Theatre,  Har¬ 
risburg.  .  .  .  Mrs.  Cathrine  Sheeley,  who  was 
Miss  Fry  when  she  was  relief  cashier  at  Loew’s 
Regent,  Harrisburg,  some  years  ago,  came  to 
the  rescue  of  Manager  Charlie  McLeary, 
Loew’s,  when  his  regular  relief  cashier,  Miss 
Thelma  Miller,  became  suddenly  ill.  .  .  .  It 
seems  like  old  times  at  Loew’s  since  Eddie 
Simms,  Negro  porter,  is  back  on  the  job.  .  .  . 
Charles  Rice  is  the  cultured  looking  new  usher 
you  have  seen  assistant  manager  Bob  Etch- 
berger  breakmg  in  at  Loew’s. 


LAWRENCE  J.  KATZ,  operator  at 
Loew’s  Regent,  Harrisburg,  and  president  of 
Local  No  488,  International  Alliance  of  The¬ 
atrical  Stage  Employes  and  Motion  Picture 
Operators,  and  William  S.  McKay,  Jr.,  elec¬ 
trician  at  Loew’s,  Harrisburg,  and  president 
of  Local  No.  98,  International  Alliance  of 
Theatrical  State  Employes  and  Motion  Pic¬ 
ture  Operators,  are  members  of  the  executive 
committee  for  the  Roosevelt  Birthday  Ball. 

Disabled  American  Veterans  of  the 
World  War,  Chapter  No.  4,  Harrisburg, 
sponsored  a  benefit  show  at  the  State  The¬ 
atre,  Harrisburg.  .  .  .  Epidemic  of  serial  pic¬ 
tures  has  broken  out. 


FOR  THE  SECOND  TIME  in  five  years 
J.  D.  O’Rear,  manager,  Victoria  Theatre,  Har¬ 
risburg,  was  summoned  Christmas  to  Altoona 
to  relieve  John  Maloy,  Wilmer  and  Vincent 
manager  in  Altoona  and  former  manager  of 
Wilmer  and  Vincent  interests  in  Allentown. 


GRAND  OLD  MAN  of  the  motion  picture 
industry  in  Harrisburg  celebrated  his  77th 
birthday  anniversary  December  28.  .  .  .  He 

is  Herman  L.  Fehleisen,  ticket  taker  at 
Loew’s  Regent  Theatre,  Harrisburg,  for  more 
than  eight  years. 

“CAVALCADE”  received  the  greatest 
number  of  votes  in  a  “Ten  Best  of  1933” 
movie  contest  conducted  by  the  Harrisburg 
“Telegraph,”  an  evening  daily  newspaper  in 
Harrisburg.  .  .  .  List  included  “Cavalcade,” 
“Rasputin  and  the  Empress,”  “Maedchen  in 
Uniform,”  “Forty-second  Street,”  “I  Am  a 
Fugitive  From  a  Chain  Gang,”  “State  Fair,” 
“Lady  for  a  Day,”  “Strange  Interlude,” 
“Private  Life  of  Henry  VIII,”  “Sign  of  the 
Cross.” 

A  SERIES  of  free  musical  concerts  are 
being  held  Sunday  afternoons  at  the  Rialto 
Theatre,  Lewistown.  .  .  .  Rialto  is  featuring 

stage  shows.  _ 

More  Names  Suggested 

A  few  more  names  were  added  last  weekend 
to  those  already  suggested  as  likely  candidates 
of  the  local  zoning  and  grievance  boards  from 
this  territory.  The  Code  Authority  secretary 
released  this  quartet : 

A1  Boyd,  A.  J.  DeFiori,  A1  Blofson,  George 
Gravenstine. 


Why  Premium  Distributors  Turn  Gray 


NRA  has  undoubtedly  proved  a  life  saver  to  industry,  increasing  employment 
and  boosting  wages  from  all  of  which  the  movies  theatres  obtain  their  share  of  the 
increased  spending,  a  statement  from  Quality  Premium  says. 

No  revolution  in  industry  can  take  place,  however,  without  some  dislocation  of 
business.  Premium-using  exhibitors  had  a  taste  of  some  of  these  dislocations  the 
past  two  weeks  when  the  pottery  code  went  into  effect  eliminating  without  notice 
all  work  over  the  40  hour  weekly  limit.  Potteries  which  had  been  working  two 
and  three  shifts  to  supply  the  needs  of  the  Quality  Premium’s  large  list  of  customers 
were  suddenly  confronted  with  the  necessity  of  filling  increasing  orders  within  the 
40  hour  limit  prescribed  by  their  code.  Quality  Premium’s  facilities  were  taxed  to 
the  limit.  Their  reputation  for  prompt  and  dependable  delivery  was  at  stake.  They 
rose  to  the  occasion,  however,  and  with  the  aid  of  a  batch  of  additional  skilled  labor, 
hurried  trips  to  and  from  the  factory  and  a  couple  of  hundred  dollars  worth  of  long 

distance  telephoning  every  theatre  was  taken  care  of  but  one - their  own.  The 

Army  and  Navy  and  the  U.  S.  Marines  couldn’t  have  done  more. 


Income  Tax  Service 


As  a  special  service  for  its  readers, 
THE  EXHIBITOR  is  in  a  position  to 
give  valuable  advice  in  regard  to  income 
tax  statements  for  theatres. 

Through  a  special  hookup,  theatres 
which  are  in  doubt  regarding  the  proper 
procedure  can  save  themselves  time  and 
money  if  they  get  in  touch  with  this 
office. 

Write  or  call  INCOME  TAX  SERV¬ 
ICE,  THE  EXHIBITOR. 


Heard  In 

-J-  R  E  N 


TON 


Wheeler-Woolsey 
at  Capitol 


ROBERT  WHEELER  and  Bert  Woolsey, 
with  Dorothy  Lee,  invaded  the  House  of 
Assembly  of  the  New  Jersey  Legislature  at  the 
opening  of  the  1934  session  and  won  a  tre¬ 
mendous  lot  of  publicity  by  mounting  the  ros- 
tum  and  posing  for  pictures.  .  .  .  Offering  a 
personal  appearance  vaudeville  act  at  RKO 
Capitol  screen  comedians  attracted  big  busi¬ 
ness.  .  .  .  Sidney  S.  Samuelson  presided  at  the 
meeting  of  the  Allied  Theatre  Owners  of  New 
Jersey,  Inc.,  in  the  Stacy  Theatre.  .  .  .  John 
Bodley,  manager.  Hunt’s  Gaiety  Theatre,  pro¬ 
moted  a  “Wilbur  Happy  Holiday  Club”  for 
relief  of  the  poor  of  the  neighborhood.  Special 
matinees  with  canned  groceries  as  admission 
charge  netted  some  600  food  cans,  distributed 
to  the  poor. 


WILLIAM  C.  HUNT,  president,  Hunt 
Theatres,  Inc.,  was  inducted  into  office  for  a 
second  term  as  member  of  the  House  of  the 
New  Jersey  Legislature,  January  9,  serving 
from  Cape  May  County.  .  .  .  He  was  named 
as  member  of  the  important  appropriations, 
conference,  and  steering  committees.  . 
Capitol  (RKO)  is  programming  motion  pic¬ 
ture  celebs.  .  .  .  General  Manager  James 

Brennan  landing  lots  of  publicity  through 
newspapers. 

JERSEY  ALLIED  meets  at  Stacy  here,  Jan¬ 
uary  16.  .  .  .  Regular  meeting  of  the  organ¬ 
ization  with  Sid  Samuelson  in  charge. 


Heard  In 

y  o  r 


K 


Paul  Rhodes 
Bit  Better 


CLEON  MILLER  made  a  big  play  on 
"Little  Women”  when  it  played  the  Strand. 
.  .  .  Crowning  achievement  of  the  advance 
campaign  came  when  the  West  York  schools 
closed  early  one  day  to  allow  200  students  to 
attend  the  matinee  in  a  body.  .  .  .  The  group 
was  organized  in  response  to  a  letter  sent  out 
over  Miller’s  signature.  ...  In  addition  to  the 
letter  Miller  distributed  cut-out  dolls  and  menu 
holders  in  restaurants.  .  .  .  Street  car  ban¬ 
ners  were  used,  and  valance,  was  hung  around 
the  marquee  during  the  week  of  its  showing. 
.  .  .  Inmates  of  the  chlidren’s  home  were  the 
guests  of  the  manager. 

RIALTO  is  publishing  a  weekly  program 
of  attractions  for  the  following  week.  .  .  . 

A  window  display  was  set  up  in  the  center 
of  the  city  when  “Day  of  Reckoning”  played 
there,  and  special  one  sheet  backgrounds  are 
being  constructed,  carrying  the  name  of  the 
theatre.  .  .  .  Paul  Rhodes  appeared  on  the 

street  for  the  first  time  recently,  after  break¬ 
ing  his  leg  three  months  ago. 

HARR\  I  RAV IS  seems  to  have  a  herald 
all  the  time  for  his  ushers  to  hand  out.  .  .  . 
Miller  got  a  lot  of  free  advertising  when  he 
offered  $5  to  any  woman  who  would  sit  through 
“Invisible  Man,’’  alone  in  the  theatre  at  mid¬ 
night.  _ 

Queen,  50;  Opposition,  28 

Bernie  Seamon,  manager,  Queen  Theatre, 
W  ilmington,  showed  that  he  could  play  basket¬ 
ball  as  well  as  manage  a  theatre  in  the  game 
between  the  Queen's  Guards  of  the  Warner 
Bros.,  Wilmington,  and  the  Elmhurst  Big 
Five.  Queen  boys  won  the  game  by  the  score 
of  50  to  28,  making  the  fifth  straight  victory  for 
the  five.  Jack  Flynn,  district  manager,  refereed 
the  game. 

Queen  team  has  just  acquired  new  suits  of 
blue  and  gold,  the  Warner  Brothers  colors. 


DAREDEVIL  SKY  STUNTS . See  Page  4 


Release  reached  this  office  after  deadline. 

All  the  names  suggested  are  released  as 
received. 

It  is  believed  that  the  Code  Authority  will  be 

guided  in  its  final  decision  by  the  suggestions.  A  GOLD  MEDAL  RELEASE! 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Janl5'34 


15 


BETWEEN  THE  PARAGRAPHS 


A  NEW  TREND  IN  ADVANCE  GLIMPSES 

Warner’s  trailer  on  “Convention  City”  is  a  distinct  bid  for  audience  reaction 
and  gets  it.  The  trailer,  which  provides  a  prelude  to  the  usual  sales  copy,  includes 
three  sequences  in  which  the  participants  unanimously  agree  that  “Convention 
City”  is  something  to  be  seen.  The  group,  including  two  burglars  and  a  police¬ 
man;  a  cheating  wife,  her  amour  and  the  husband;  and  two  acrobats  give  the  scene 
shots  in  the  trailer  a  real  buildup.  Somebody  deserves  a  hand. 


PHILADELPHIANS 


INDE  AD  COUNCIL  HAS  OPPORTUNITIES 

The  independent  producers’  and  distributors’  ad  council,  separate  from  the 
Hays  group  revolving  about  the  same  idea,  has  a  real  job  to  perform.  This  depart¬ 
ment  suggested  a  divorce  from  the  Hays  organization  group.  It  has  so  resulted. 
Now,  if  the  inde  functions  can  include  exhibitor  opinion  in  their  regulation,  it  may 
mean  something.  Pete  Harrison  should  be  a  logical  man  for  the  inde  board.  He 
is  an  apostle  of  clean  movies,  is  close  to  the  public  trend  and  knows  showmanship. 


MUSIC  FILMS  REACHING  PEAK 

What  was  suggested  before  is  coming  to  pass.  Some  good  music-shows  are 
slipping  in  as  “just  another  picture”  merely  because  the  public’s  appetite  for  music- 
pictures  is  slipping.  True,  some  decidedly  good  songs  have  helped  some  of  the 
weaker  tune  fare  become  strong  box  office  attractions,  but,  in  general,  because  there 
can  be  too  much  of  a  good  thing,  tune-talkies  seem  to  be  on  the  wane. 


BEST  TEN  SELECTIONS  MORE  BOX  OFFICE 

This  is  the  time  of  the  year  when  the  best  ten  selections  flood  the  country. 
Surprisingly,  a  majority  of  the  pictures  selected  for  highest  group  can  be  termed 
box  office  shows.  “Cavalcade,”  of  course,  was  no  box  office  achievement,  but  was 
headed  for  the  best  ten  when  the  camera  first  turned.  “The  Private  Life  of  Henry 
the  8th”  is  a  welcome  member,  and  should  prove  encouraging  to  the  English.  If 
most  authentic  best  ten  groups  are  surveyed,  it  will  be  found  that  at  least  six  are 
in  the  money  category.  This  is  an  improvement  over  the  years  when  perhaps  one 
or  two  might  be  called  dough  shows. 


FOX  TURN  SEEMS  TO  BE  ON  WAY 

Exhibitors  and  the  trade  in  general  are  hoping  that  the  Fox  turn  is  at  hand. 
After  a  succession  of  meaningless  pictures,  it  looks  as  if  “Carolina,”  “Fox  Follies,” 
“Bottoms  Up”  and  “Scandals”  will  provide  the  Fox  exchanges  with  something  over 
which  to  enthuse.  No  one  wants  an  improvement  in  Fox  product  more  than  the 
exhibitors.  If  the  specials  above  concentrate  more  on  “guts”  and  less  on  art,  the 
turn  may  be  reached. 


RAY  JOHNSTON  MAKES  IT  20 

W.  Ray  Johnston  is  having  a  20th  anniversary  this  month.  Exactly  two 
decades  ago,  the  Monogram  president  started  in  the  field.  His  anniversary  finds 
him  way  up  at  the  top  of  the  independent  production  peak.  Announcement  that 
Monogram  goes  to  36  features  next  season  is  another  indication  of  what  is  in  store. 
No  question  that  Monogram’s  production  has  increased  in  production  value  as  well 
as  for  the  exhibitor.  The  20th  anniversary  is  a  real  result  of  constant  plugging  and 
honest  dealing. 


“SON”  LOOKS  LIKE  A  CHIP  OFF  THE  OLD  BLOCK 

“Son  of  Kong”  looks  like  a  stronger  entrant  than  most  trade  opinion  would 
have  had  exhibitors  believe.  Where  the  show  has  played,  it  has  done  a  better  than 
average  business,  even  though  not  up  to  “Kong.”  However,  even  this  must  come 
as  a  surprise  to  those  who  thought  that  the  sequel  would  just  be  slipped  in  as 
another  picture.  There  is  no  reason  in  the  world  why  the  same  appeals  in  “Kong” 
can’t  be  put  to  advantage  when  playing  “Son  of  Kong.” 


know  that  the  quickest  and  most 
convenient  way  to  show-shop  is 
to  use  the  Record’s  Amusement 
Directory.  176,952  daily  and 
270,425  Sunday  turn  to  this  com¬ 
plete  listing  of  Philadelphia 
showings  when  show  time  comes. 

Not  even  the  most  casual  new 
readers  of  the  Record  can  miss 
the  Amusement  Directory,  for 
regular  and  frequent  use  of  front 
page  space  calls  their  attention  to 
this  first  and  only  complete  amuse¬ 
ment  guide. 

For  only  30  cents  a  day  you  can 
tell  them  who’s  playing  in  what  at 
your  theatre.  A  longer  listing 
costs  but  15  cents  a  line  more. 


The  RECORD 

Amusement  Directory 


offers  you  the  most  economical 
and  practical  form  of  advertising 
ever  presented  to  Philadelphia 
theatre  owners.  Today  it  carries 
the  listings  of  more  than  170 
theatres  in  the  Philadelphia  dis¬ 
trict.  Does  it  carry  yours?  To 
insert  your  ad  just  call 


PHILADELPHIA 

RECORD 

CLASSIFIED  DEPARTMENT 

WALNUT  2300 


HOBART  MANN. 


16 


Janl5'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


JVanfs  Warner  Special 


At  least  one  exhibitor  asked  this  office 
to  find  out  at  what  terms  the  footage 
taken  of  the  Mervyn  Leroy-Doris  War¬ 
ner  wedding  could  be  had  for  an  added 
marquee  attraction. 

The  sound  film  would  be  a  good  spe¬ 
cial,  the  exhib  thought. 

Harry  Thomas  Elected 
President  of  Federation 

Succeeds  Pete  Harrison  /4s  Inde¬ 
pendents' ’  Head 

Harry  Thomas,  First  Division,  was 
unanimously  elected  president  of  the 
Federation  of  the  Motion  Picture  Indus¬ 
try  of  America,  Inc.,  national  organiza¬ 
tion  of  independent  producers  and  dis¬ 
tributors,  at  an  executive  session  of  the 
Directors,  succeeding  P.  S.  Harrison. 

W.  Ray  Johnston,  Monogram,  was  chosen 
first  vice-president.  Various  committees  were 
appointed  by  Thomas.  Changes  made  in  the 
line-up  of  the  new  Board  of  Directors  make 
that  body  a  most  representative  one. 

New  officers  of  the  Federation  for  the  com¬ 
ing  year  are  as  follows : 

Harry  H.  Thomas,  president ;  W.  Ray  John¬ 
ston,  of  Monogram,  vice-president  for  distribu¬ 
tors  ;  I.  E.  Chadwick,  vice-president  for 
producers ;  Jack  Bellman,  vice-president  for 
exchanges ;  Irving  Mandel,  vice-president  for 
exchanges,  Charles  Glett,  treasurer. 

Board  of  Directors :  Harry  H.  Thomas,  W. 
Ray  Johnston,  Charles  Glett,  Bob  Savini,  I.  E. 


Sign  This 

Form  Sent  to  All  Exhibitors  for 
Code  Signature 

CODE  OF  FAIR  COMPETITION  FOR  THE 
MOTION  PICTURE  INDUSTRY 

The  undersigned  hereby  approves,  adopts  and 

assents  to  the  Code  of  Fair  Competition  for  the 
Motion  Picture  Industry  as  approved  by  the 

President  on  November  27,  1933. 

Signed  this  day  of  193  , 

at 

(Town  or  City)  (State) 

(Seal) 

(Name  of  Individual  or  Corporation) 

Check  One:  Producer  (  ) 

Distributor  . . (  ) 

Exhibitor  (  ) 

Answer  the  First  and  Appropriate  Remaining 
Question 

(1)  State  business  address:  . 

(Street) 

(City)  ’  . (State)' 

(2)  If  exhibitor  state  name  and  location  of 

theatre  and  seating  capacity 

(3)  If  distributor  state  name  and  address  of  ex¬ 
change  . 

(4)  If  producer  state  name  of  brand  of  pictures 

This  Assent  Is  Invalid  if  Qualified 
After  signature  return  to 

“CODE  AUTHORITY  MOTION  PICTURE  INDUSTRY 
in  the  enclosed  envelope. 


“He,  King  of  Virtue,”  distributed  by  First  Division,  is  a  French  importation  with 
English  dialogue  and  some  selling  angles  that  no  showman  can  overlook. 


Chadwick,  Nat  Levine,  Irving  Mandel,  Jack 
Bellman,  Pat  Powers,  David  J.  Mountan,  Trem 
Carr,  Armand  Cohen,  Claude  Ezell,  Harry 
Asher,  Herman  Gluckman,  Larry  Darmour, 
Bob  Withers,  and  three  more  to  be  selected. 

Executive  Committee :  Harry  Thomas,  W. 
Ray  Johnston,  Jack  Bellman,  Herman  Gluck¬ 
man,  Charles  Glett,  Bob  Savini,  Pat  Powers. 

Membership  Committee:  Eddie  Golden,  chair¬ 
man  ;  Bob  Savini,  Jack  Bellman,  David  J. 
Mountan,  I.  E.  Chadwick,  Irving  Mandel, 
Claude  Ezell,  Bob  Withers,  Armand  Cohen, 
Harry  Asher. 

Revolt  against  the  edict  that  motion  picture 
producers  and  distributors  must  submit  to 
censorship  of  their  advertising  and  publicity 
copy  took  more  definite  form  with  the  election 


of  Alec  Moss  as  executive  secretary  and  the 
planning  of  a  permanent  headquarters  by  the 
Federation. 

The  Federation,  which  is  composed  of  lead¬ 
ing  independent  producers  and  distributors, 
threw  down  the  gauntlet  to  the  Hays  organiza¬ 
tion  recently  by  announcing  its  intention  of 
setting  up  its  own  board  to  censor  the  adver¬ 
tising  and  publicity  of  its  members. 

Moss  will  be  chairman  of  a  Standards  Com¬ 
mittee,  which  will  make  up  the  censorship 
board.  Other  members  of  the  committee 
selected  include :  Charles  Glett,  Eddie  Golden 
and  Herman  Gluckman. 

The  censorship  board  will  be  financed  through 
a  tax  on  each  reel  of  film  which  will  be  paid 
by  the  producers  and  the  film  exchanges. 


Universal  Is  Quite  Patriotic 


The  patriotic  lassies,  Gloria  Stuart  and  Roger  Pryor  are  in  “I  Like  It  That  Way,” 
while  Shirley  Grey  offers  an  intriguing  pose,  all  for  Universal. 


“J/e”  Is  a  Real  Piece  of  Merchandise 


Janl5'34  pg.  17 


SATISFACTORY  ENTERTAINMENT  BY  EVERY  STANDARD  OF 
COMPARISON  .  .  .  100%  SAYS  VARIETY  .  .  .  SLICK,  HUMOROUS 
AND  Al  ENTERTAINMENT  ANGLES  SAYS  M.  P.  HERALD— Book  ’Em 


A 

haunting  hit  songs  ...  hilarious 
comedy  gags  beautiful* 

gowns  ...  gay  sets  ...  uproarious  ‘ 
situations.  Life  says:  "It's  pack¬ 
ed  with  laughs.  £ 


BIG 

SHOWS 

from  •  • 


A  witty,  sparkling  confection  of  good 
humor,  gay  comedy  and  delightful 
romance. 


EILERS 

Ben  LYON 


IN 


The  Morning 
After' 


A  new  star¬ 
ring  team  in 
a  continental 
love  affair 
...  as 
audacious 
as  it  is 
charming 
and  as  spicy 
as  it  is 
speedy 

/ 

/ 


'  '  . .  ■■■  t  ♦♦♦ 

MAJESTIC  PICTURES,  Inc. 

A.  LUCCHESE,  President 


1236  Vine  Street,  Philadelphia 

The  House  of  Independent  Hits! 


Janl5’34  pg.  18 


THOU  poR  HOURS'. 

OUT  fOR  n 


•  f 


'jy&yT T‘ 


/••  y.v'Ofc.*  SgMEagfe m 

I  . 

■ 


®%®£s 


l 


IN  THE  STORM  FOR  HOUR 


ill 


Thousands  of  men,  women  and 
children  stood  in  line  at  the  RIVOU, 
braving  the  worst  storm  New  York 
had  known  for  years,  clamoring  to  see 


IN  THE  SAMUEL  GOLDWYN 

P  R.ODU  CTION  OF 


ROMAN 

SCANDALS 


with 

RUTH  ETTING 
GLORIA  STUART 
DAVID  MANNERS 

and  the 

Goldwyti  Girls 


Released  thru  UNITED  ARTISTS 


_ 


20 


Janl5'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Phillipson  Here 


Rebirth  of  General  Register  Corpora¬ 
tion  and  increased  service  for  exhibitors 
is  seen  in  the  arrival  in  this  country  of 
Percy  Phillipson,  managing  director  of 
Automaticket  England  as  well  as  the 
U.  S.  unit. 

In  an  interview,  Phillipson,  who  is  a 
confirmed  believer  in  using  advertising 
to  strengthen  the  bond  between  manu¬ 
facturer  and  client,  pointed  out  that 
when  he  took  over  direction  of  the  Eng¬ 
lish  company  it  was  spending  $1000  and 
lost  $20,000  annually.  He  boosted  the 
advertising  budget  to  $8000  and  the 
company  immediately  turned  in  a  profit 
of  $10,000  during  the  first  year. 

Phillipson  intends  to  stay  in  this  coun¬ 
try  for  more  than  four  months,  during 
which  time  he  intends  to  survey  the  sit¬ 
uation  and  make  changes  that  will  allow 
exhibitors  to  benefit.  He  also  hopes  to 
introduce  a  ticket  taker  that  is  abso¬ 
lutely  silent  and  a  machine  that  prints 
as  the  tickets  are  issued. 

Belief  within  the  trade  is  that  General 
Register  will  go  far  under  Phillipson 
direction. 


Rumor  Booking  Combine 
for  Local  Exhibitors 

Three  Year  Movement  May  Reach 
Peak  Soon 

A  booking  combine  is  hinted  in  the 
local  territory. 

Rumors  indicate  that  such  an  idea  may  act¬ 
ually  be  consummated  within  the  next  fort¬ 
night. 

That  the  subject  has  been  brewing  strongly 
during  the  past  few  weeks  is  evident. 

The  move  toward  a  booking  combine  is  said 
to  have  been  largely  influenced  by  the  policy  of 
overlapping  zones  which  has  sprung  up  during 
the  past  few  years.  Through  this  method  of 
buying,  theatres  not  in  the  same  zone  as  others 
have  been  getting  clearance  on  them. 

Exhibitors  maintain  this  is  unfair,  as  the 
practice  interferes  with  their  availabilities  and 
gives  houses  selling  admissions  at  a  lower  scale 
clearance  over  them. 

The  practice  has  spread  because  of  some  of  the 
larger  exchanges  which  have  been  giving  this 
right  in  order  to  close  their  deals  quicker  and 
clear  up  disputed  situations. 

For  three  years,  the  booking  combine  has 
been  smouldering,  but  this  time  it  looks  as 
though  it  may  spring  forth  into  a  real  flame. 

Exchanges  admit  privately  that  the  over¬ 
lapping  of  zones  is  really  getting  to  be  a 
racket,  with  the  clearance  boards  probably  the 
ones  to  straighten  things  out. 

This  should  make  the  work  of  the  clearance 
boards  most  important  as  the  entire  setup  of 
future  selling  and  the  exhibition  business  itself 
depends  upon  it. 


Universal  Has  Some  New  Faces 


June  Knight,  in  “Cross  Country  Cruise”;  Sunny  Waterman  in  the  same  show,  and 
Richard  Talmadge,  U’s  serial  star,  are  noticed. 


Heard  In 

EHIGH  VALLEY 

Holiday  Spirit 
Everywhere 

_ By  Jack _ 

1800  CHILDREN  didn't  miss  the  big  Christ¬ 
mas  party  in  the  Globe,  Bethlehem.  .  .  .  Man¬ 
ager  Harry  Gammet  and  employees  donated 
their  services  co-operating  with  the  Bethlehem 
Lodge  of  Elks  as  hosts  for  the  occasion.  .  .  . 
A  Post  Christmas  party  was  held  in  the  Colon¬ 
ial  theatre  where  manager  Dick  Shamus  and 
employees,  including  John  and  William  Hickey 
and  Ralph  Osterstock,  projectionist,  enabled  500 
children  to  see  “Little  Women’’  and  receive  an 
orange,  an  apple  and  cookies.  .  .  .  Charles 
Moyer,  Nile  manager,  got  away  to  a  big  start  in 
the  New  Year  with  “Tarzan.” 

1 

COLLEGE,  Oscar  Foreman,  held  a  Gala 
New  Year’s  Eve  Frolic.  .  .  .  Globe,  Colonial 
and  Palace  also  had  Sunday  midnight  shows. 
.  .  .  Wilmer  and  Vincent’s  Rialto,  Walter 

Hurley,  and  Colonial,  Lee  Levy,  secured  spe¬ 
cial  Lehigh  Valley  bus  service  for  their 
patrons.  .  .  .  Other  Allentown  theatres  hav¬ 
ing  special  shows  for  the  occasion  were  State, 
D.  A.  Knorr’s  Embassy  and  Paul  Allendar’s 
Strand,  Astor,  Transit,  19th  Street,  P.  R. 
Hoffman,  and  the  Lyric  under  the  wing  of 
Arthur  Kerns. 

PARK,  Coplay,  and  Roxy,  Northampton, 
Andy  Anderson,  each  had  a  N.  Y.  E.  S.  mid¬ 
night  show.  .  .  .  Penlo,  Emaus,  Earl  Tobias, 


has  installed  High  Fidelity  sound ;  Liberty,  Pen 
Argyl,  is  benefiting  by  the  $130,000  being  ex¬ 
pended  in  the  vicinity  for  CWA.  .  .  .  House 
is  being  operated  by  the  owners,  Harold  Jack- 
son,  Vernon  Hill  and  Russel  Hurd.  .  .  . 

George  C.  Meeser,  Nazareth,  received  plenty  of 
compliments  and  lots  of  patronage  as  a  result  of 
his  two  day  plugging  for  “I’m  No  Angel.” 
.  .  .  An  “attractive”  young  miss,  appropri¬ 

ately  dressed  and  placarded,  walked  the  streets 
and  flapped  duck  wings  attached  to  her  shoul¬ 
ders.  .  .  .  Says  keeping  bachelor  hall  is  “not 
what  it’s  cracked  up  to  be.”  .  .  .  Case  of 
Jamaica  rum  is  enroute  from  Mrs.  Meeser  at 
Kingston. 


“Mystery  Squadron” 

If  the  three  episodes  of  “The  Mystery 
Squadron,”  Nat  Levine  serial,  are  an  in¬ 
dication  of  what  the  whole  serial  will  be 
like,  exhibitors  can  well  be  assured  that 
they  will  get  the  daddy  of  them  all  in 
that  release. 

Everything  ever  in  a  serial  is  seen  in 
the  show,  and  it  is  safe  to  say  that 
the  fourth  1933-1934  release  from 
Levine  is  the  best  yet. 

With  a  cast  including  Bob  Steele, 
Guinn  Williams,  Lucille  Browne,  Purnell 
Pratt,  J.  Carrol  Naish  and  Jack  Mulhall, 
the  show  is  well  set. 

“Mystery  Squadron”  looms  as  a  smash 
from  Levine  and  Gold  Medal. 


“ Massacre 99  Offers  a  New  Barthelmess 


Richard  Barthelmess,  Ann  Dvorak  and  a  stellar  cast  are  in  the  Warner  attraction. 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Janl5'34 


21 


Big  Time  Stuff 

There  used  to  be  a  time,  in  the  good 
old  quickie  days,  when  some  pictures, 
totally  unknown  to  the  trade,  were 
current.  Produced  on  the  cuff,  they 
were  excused  because  they  were  never 
supposed  to  reach  anything  but  the 
smallest  subsequents. 

In  this  era,  however,  the  practice  of 
at  least  one  company  releasing  pictures 
that  seem  to  fit  this  classification  is  not 
a  pleasant  one.  Exhibitors  playing  the 
product  of  this  company  are  getting 
availabilities  on  productions  that  not 
only  have  not  been  given  any  first  run 
showings  or  any  trade  advertising  any¬ 
where,  but  which  don’t  seem  to  have 
received  any  publicity  at  all. 

The  same  company  prides  itself  on 
its  place  as  one  of  the  majors  in  the 
business,  but  a  policy  of  this  kind 
stamps  it  an  outfit  which  retains  the 
worst  features  of  former  quickie  pro¬ 
ductions. 


Plenty  of  Corporations 
Pass  Out  in  Delaware 


Many  Movie  Firms  Included  As 
Taxes  Are  Unpaid 


Scores  of  charters  for  motion  picture 
enterprises  of  all  kinds  and  amusement 
concerns  have  been  repealed  by  Governor 
Buck  of  Delaware  upon  report  from 
Pierre  S.  duPont,  State  Tax  Commis¬ 
sioner,  for  failure  to  pay  taxes  assessed 
against  them  by  the  state  for  the  last 
two  years. 

Clearing  of  the  charter  books  of  concerns  in 
Delaware  that  fail  to  comply  with  the  state 
charter  law  is  an  annual  occurrence,  and  results 
in  the  elimination  of  many  corporations  that 
were  organized  on  a  “shoe  string.”  Some  of  the 
movie  and  amusement  charters  revoked  were  as 
follows : 

DeForest  Spanish  Phonofilm  Productions,  Inc., 
Fischers  Paramount  Theatres  Corporation,  Forrest  The¬ 
atre  Corporation,  Equity  Theatres,  Inc.,  Faultless  Pic¬ 
tures,  Inc.;  International  Motion  Picture  Corporation, 
Hollywood- A  rgent  ina  Cinema  Corp.,  Holy  Land  Film 
Company,  International  Talkies  Corporation,  National 
Talking  Pictures  Corporation,  Pacific  States  Theatres, 
Inc.,  Penn  State  Theatres,  Inc.,  Pieturetone,  Inc.,  Sevilla 
Film  Corporation,  Religious  Films,  Inc.,  Sound  Pictures, 
Inc.,  Superior  Films  Corporation,  Talkiefllm  Corporation 
of  America,  Talking  Film  Corporation,  20th  Century 
Film  Company,  United  Theatres  Corporation,  Vaudephone 
Corporation,  United  Amusement  Enterprises,  Inc.,  War¬ 
ner  Electric  Products  Corporation. 


Hail  Flinn  Selection 


Selection  of  John  C.  Flinn  to  become 
executive  secretary  of  the  Code  Author¬ 
ity  has  been  hailed  by  the  industry  in 
general. 

He  is  a  film  veteran  and  will  retain 
his  post  as  president  of  the  AMPA, 
advertising  group. 

The  Code  job  pays  $200  weekly. 


“Easy  to  Love ”  Has  Lots  of  Dash 


Adolphe  Menjou,  Genevieve  Tobin,  Mary  Astor  and  a  good  cast  are  in  the  Warner 

picture. 


Acker  Amusement  Corporation.  American  Projecting: 
Company.  Bennings  Theatre  Corporation,  De  Luxe  Film 
Co.,  Inc.,  Luna  Theatrical  Enterprises,  Inc..  Majestic 
Theatre  Company,  Milford  Theatre  Company,  Paramount 
Holding  Corporation.  Pennsv  Theatre  Company,  Seaside 
Park  Amusement  Company,  Spiro  Film  Corporation. 
Suburban  Theatres  Corporation.  Tallahassee  Amusement 
Company,  Inc.,  Talk-O-Yision  Theatres  of  America,  Inc.. 
Theatres  Corporation  of  America.  Vocafilms  Corporation 
of  America. 

Western  Amusement  Company,  Amusement  Business 
Corporation,  Carmichael  Amusement  Company.  Carolina 
Shows.  Incorporated,  Fifth  Avenue  Playhouse  of  Chicago, 
Inc.,  Fifth  Avenue  Playhouse  Groups.  Inc.,  Cinephone 
Equipment  Corporation  of  Pennsylvania,  Cinema  Pro¬ 
ducts  Corporation,  Crandall’s  Theatres  Operating  Co., 
Cronin  Amusement  Corporation,  H.  and  W.  Projector 
Corporation,  Hollywood  Screen  Star  Style  Corporation, 
Guelph  Amusement  Co.,  Harrington  Theatre.  Inc., 
Hamilton  Amusement  Company  of  America,  Mission 
Beach  Amusement  Corporation. 

National  Syndicated  Theatres,  Inc.,  New  Broad  Street 
Theatre  Company,  Park  Amusement  Company,  Parkway 
Company,  Inc.,  Phono-Kinema  Syndicate,  Inc.,  Radio 
Corporation  of  Oklahoma,  Reeltone  Corporation  of 
America,  Ruty  Amusement  Corporation,  Inc.,  Seville 
Studios,  Inc.,  Sonoraphone  Corporation,  Television  Cor¬ 
poration  of  America. 


M.  P.  T.  O.  Meets  Krouse 

Local  M.  P.  T.  O.  chiefs  plan  to  meet  with 
Lou  Krouse,  Local  307  head,  in  regard  to 
operators’  rates. 

It  is  likely  that  the  two  factions  may  en¬ 
deavor  to  seek  some  basis  on  which  local 
operator  scales  may  be  guaged. 


Porter  Moving 

William  Z.  Porter  moves  to  1208  Vine  Street 
January  29. 

At  that  stand,  he  will  handle  stationery  in 
addition  to  his  stenographic  and  other  divisions. 
Office  supplies  will  also  be  carried  as  well  as 
the  usual  services. 


RCA  Scores 

RCA  Photophone  has  come  forth 
with  as  fine  a  demonstration  of  an  in¬ 
telligent  and  showmanlike  presentation 
of  facts  as  seen  in  this  business  in  many 
a  season.  It  is  all  represented  by  a 
handsomely  executed  sales  book  for 
the  salesmen. 

The  book  reviews  RCA  High  Fidelity 
Photophone  equipment  and  indicates 
that  angles  have  been  made  possible  for 
exhibitors  using  the  sound  apparatus  of 
that  company.  Particularly  important 
is  the  press  book  division,  with  samples 
of  the  aids  given  to  exhibitors  to  sell 
their  patrons  the  value  of  RCA  Photo¬ 
phone  sound. 

Banners,  publicity  stories,  trailers, 
one  sheets,  heralds,  mats,  etc.,  are  all 
available  to  RCA  Photophone  High 
Fidelity  users. 

Showmanship  is  predominant  in  the 
book.  In  several  colors,  it  is  pictorially 
impressing  as  well  as  from  the  idea 
standpoint.  Book  is  distributed  with 
compliments  of  E.  O.  Heyl,  manager  of 
Photophone  division. 


Delaware  Charters 

Fox  Iowa  Theatre  Corporation.  Operate  theatres  and 
other  places  of  amusement. 

Fox  Billings  Theatre  Corporation.  Operate  theatres 
and  other  places  of  amusement. 

Fox  Cape  Theatre  Corporatiqn.  Operate  theatres  and 
other  places  of  amusement. 


Colonel  Stoopnagle  and  Budd  Enter 


And  the  scene  is  the  Educational-Coronet  comedy,  “The  Inventors,”  released  by  Fox. 


22 


Janl5'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Heard  In 

s  gns  of  clicking  with  its  new  8-act  policy, 
thanks  to  the  energetic  direction  of  bia  biainey, 

/•ROSSTOWN 

who  worked  hard  to  heip  put  tne  theatre  on  its 
new  legs. 

X-^UEST  COLUMNIST  ! 

Fox  Cuts 

LOU  BERMAN  went  for  a  southern  trip. 

It  Was  Not  a 

Down  Musicians 

.  .  .  Florence  Werner  can  c  talk.  .  .  .  Wnat 

Marriage 

the  trouble  is,  she  doesn  t  say.  .  .  .  Earle  bwei- 
gert  was  a  guest  at  tne  J.\ew  York  hum  .board 

FOX  THEATRE  cuts  11  men  from  the 
orchestra  in  agreement  with  the  union.  .  .  . 
In  a  few  months  or  so,  some  more  will  be 
dropped.  .  .  .  Stanley  has  settled  its  dispute 
with  the  union. 


installation.  .  .  . 
honorary  member. 


Last  week. 


tie  is  an 


AMBASSADOR  THEATRE  was  robbed. 
.  .  .  Burglars  didn't  get  much.  .  .  .  Hut 

managed  to  secure  a  bit  Irom  the  Forte  house. 


S.  E.  APPLEGATE,  genial  Metro  sales 
manager,  plans  a  trip  to  parts  unknown.  .  .  . 
A  rest  from  his  strenuous  duties  selling  Metro 
shows.  .  .  .  Boost  the  Motion  Picture  Relief 
Fund. 


WITH  AT  LEAST  TWO  houses  in  South 
Philly  charging  5  cents  admission,  .it  is  about 
time  certain  exchanges  put  that  10  cent  mini¬ 
mum  clause  in  the  contracts  in  force.  .  .  . 

This  short-sighted  policy  on  the  part  of  some 
exchanges  is  certain  to  be  checked  by  local 
grievance  committees.  .  .  But  why  some 

exchanges  persist  in  allowing  such  violations 
is  not  easily  explained.  .  .  .  Probably  can 

be  checked  back  to  the  brains  running  the 
offices. 

FOX  THEATRE  held  over  "I  Am  Suz¬ 
anne,'’  lowered  prices  to  a  30-40-65  scale.  .  .  . 
A  drop  of  a  dime  from  the  top.  .  .  .  Phil  Mal- 
ickson,  Sentry  Safety  Company  executive,  has 
been  on  a  West  Indies  cruise.  .  .  .  Pearl  The¬ 
atre  back  to  a  straight  film  policy.  .  .  .  Arcadia, 
Wellsboro,  had  a  $10,000  fire  over  the  holiday 
period.  .  .  .  Troy  Roxy  had  one,  too,  but  little 
damage. 

FOX  intended  to  hop  out  of  its  regular  run 
of  artie  shows  with  “The  Frontier  Marshal,” 
but  didn’t,  it  seems.  .  .  .  Picture  is  more 

of  the  blood  and  thunder  variety,  which 
would  seem  to  indicate  that  the  Fox  patrons 
could  probably  go  from  one  extreme  to  an¬ 
other.  .  .  .  Earle  gets  Fifi  Dorsey  in  person 

very  soon. 


EARLE  THEATRE  didn’t  have  to  worry 
this  week.  .  .  .  With  Eddie  Cantor  heading 
the  stage  show  it  became  a  question  of  how 
many  could  be  packed  in.  .  .  .  Giving  Artie 
Cohn  something  to  be  busy  about. 

KEITH’S  changed  its  policy  again.  .  .  . 

H  ouse  is  now  back  on  a  Friday  opening 
policy  after  using  a  Monday  change  for  a 
spell.  .  .  .  Took  place  last  week. 

HARRY  BIBEN  has  added  the  Shamokin 
Capitol  to  his  vaudeville  booking  list.  .  .  .  Other 
houses  he  has  include  Keith’s,  Oxford,  Logan, 
Circle,  State,  Midway,  Kent ;  Stanley  and  Lyric, 
Camden;  Capitol,  Lancaster;  Norris,  Norris¬ 
town,  and  Grand,  Bristol. 

CHARLIE1  McCLAIN  is  now  operating  the 
Pearl  Theatre.  .  .  .  Flesh-movie  policy  still 
continues.  .  .  .  Fay’s  had  a  gala  opening  over 
the  holidays,  packed  them  in,  and  gives  good 


FURIOUS  ACTION . See  Page  4 


A  GOLD  MEDAL  RELEASE! 


NEW  YEAR'S  MIDNIGHT  SHOWS 
were  everywhere.  .  .  .  But  in  most  cases  it 
depended  on  the  show.  .  .  .  "Little  Women’ 
did  a  standout  business  in  town.  .  .  .  Herb 
Hustler  is  at  the  Grant  for  Jack  Cohen.  .  .  . 
George  Reister  is  now  attached  to  the  Skouras 
contingent. 

APEX  THEATRE  has  closed.  .  .  .  E. 

Morris  has  the  Lyric  Theatre,  Williamstown. 
.  .  .  United  chain  has  the  Dixie  Rose,  Man- 
ayunk.  .  .  .  Grant,  Philly,  is  now  a  Cohen 

and  Arman  possession. 

CINEMA  LEAGUE  of  Philadelphia  held 
its  regular  monthly  meeting  this  week.  .  .  . 
Contests  are  being  conducted.  .  .  .  Another 
special  showing  under  Art  Alliance  auspices 
has  been  arranged.  .  .  .  Eric  Knight’s  picture 
will  be  unveiled. 


WHO  IS  THE  MANAGER  who  sent  in  a 
photo  of  himself  disguised  as  Santa  Claus? 
.  .  .  Reports  say  it  is  Charlie  Dutkin.  .  .  . 
At  any  rate,  no  Santa  was  ever  bigger.  .  .  . 
Frankford  Theatre  is  now  open  every  day 
after  a  two-day  start.  .  .  .  Eureka  Theatre, 

completely  repainted,  is  now  under  Sobel  and 
Frere’s  improved  direction.  .  .  .  Lou  Ber¬ 

man,  the  United  Chain  mogul,  who  recently 
took  over  the  Dixie  Rose,  Manayunk,  is  also 
interested  in  beer  gardens  for  summer.  .  .  . 
“Dynamite”  is  just  pent  up  with  ideas. 

TEN  YEARS  AGO.  .  .  .  James  O.  Mulhern 
was  appointed  fire  marshal  succeeding  George 

W.  Elliott.  .  .  .  Jules  Mastbaum  barred  box¬ 
ing  at  the  Arena.  .  .  .  Fjew  Douglas  Theatre 
opened.  .  .  .  Renovated  Hollywood,  Pottsville, 
opened.  .  .  .  Globe  Ticket  Company  opened 
new  offices.  .  .  .  Plans  were  being  made  for  a 
Doc  Schad  testimonial  dinner.  .  .  .  Mayer  Mil- 
gram  opened  the  Avon.  .  .  .  Clayton  Busse 
managed  a  theatre  in  Florida.  .  .  .  Rajah, 
Reading,  was  turning  ’em  away. 

NINETEEN  YEARS  AGO.  .  .  .  Conven¬ 
tion  at  Harrisburg  of  Motion  Picture  Exhibi¬ 
tors’  League  of  Pennsylvania  postponed  until 
January  26  to  28.  .  .  .  Third  annual  ball  of 
League  took  place  in  Horticultural  Hall.  .  .  . 
Over  1,000  persons  attended.  .  .  .  Lewis  J. 
Selznick,  World  Film,  presented  oil  painting  of 
Clara  Kimball  Young  to  League  and  it  was 
decided  to  auction  it  off  for  the  benefit  of  Red 
Cross.  .  .  .  Abe  Einstein,  Stanley  Company, 
finally  got  it  for  sixty  bucks.  .  .  .  Miss  Young 
was  present  standing  beside  the  portrait  as  it 
was  bid  upon  and  money  was  showered  upon 
her  to  go  to  the  Red  Cross.  .  .  .  Sigmund 
Lubin  did  a  one  step.  .  .  .  Chairman  of  the 
committee  was  assisted  by  Nat  Fisher,  James 
Pollon,  William  Crozier,  Michael  J.  Walsh, 

David  R.  Sablosky.  .  .  .  Carl  Laemmle  and 
Mark  Dintenfass  were  present  and  notables  seen 
included  Ormi  Hawley,  Romaine  Fielding, 

Vivian  Martin,  Robert  Warwick,  Edwin 

August,  Edgar  Jones,  Lottie  Briscoe,  Francis 

X.  Bushman,  Beverly  Bayne,  Edmund  Breese. 


BEN  FREED  got  a  black  eye.  .  .  .  Auto 
accident.  .  .  .  No  more.  .  .  .  No  less.  .  .  . 
Miss  Forman  (FD),  the  first  name  escapes  us, 
is  going  to  say  “I  do”  soon.  .  .  .  Eli  Epstein  is 
the  street’s  champ  matchmaker.  .  .  .  George 
Raft  gave  Jack  Cohen  a  new  topcoat,  ’tis  said. 
.  .  .  The  Milt  Rogasners  and  Herb  Elhotts 
were  having  a  great  time  at  a  spaghetti  domi¬ 
cile  recently.  .  .  .  Esther  Diamond  hopped  to 
Newark.  .  .  .  Two  employees  of  one  of  the 
major  film  companies  are  having  a  romance. 
.  .  .  Ben  Fertl  seen  with  two  beauties.  .  .  . 
Ethel  Freedman  now  pious. 

THE  TRADE  was  sorry  to  hear  of  the 
death  of  the  11 -year-old  son  of  Clarence 
Hexter.  .  .  .  Recently  ill  from  pneumonia, 

he  went  out  sledding,  crashed  into  an  auto, 
had  concussion  of  the  brain,  died  soon  after. 

DAUGHTER  OF  ED  BORETH,  Master¬ 
piece  executive,  had  a  birthday  recently.  .  .  . 
Had  a  party.  ...  Ed  ate  ice  cream,  too.  .  .  . 
William  Mansell,  Warner  salesman,  was  ill 
three  weeks  with  infected  glands,  revived  suffi¬ 
ciently  to  come  to  work  after  the  holidays.  .  .  . 
Is  still  slightly  under  the  weather.  .  .  .  Bennie 
Harris  worked  all  day  New  Year’s.  ...  So 
did  Joe  Toner.  .  .  .  Both  hard  workers.  .  .  . 
The  Harris  kids  had  their  own  parade.  .  .  . 

THE  MR.  AND  MRS.  REFERENCE  to  Miss 
Betty  Redmond,  last  issue,  meant  an  engage¬ 
ment,  nothing  else. 

WHO  IS  the  exhibitor  who  will  have  a  new 
swimming  pool  in  which  to  frolic  next  summer? 

Where  Are  the  Good 
Times  of  Yesteryear? 

Where  are  the  good  times  of  yester¬ 
year? 

Oscar  Neufeld,  film  veteran,  and  now  asso¬ 
ciated  with  Peerless  Distributing  Company, 
wants  to  know. 

To  that  effect,  he  wrote  this  letter.  Perhaps 
other  film  folk  have  ideas'  on  the  subject. 

What  has  become  of  the  good  times  we  used  to  have 
for  so  many  years  on  Vine  Street? 

Competition  became  so  keen,  and  the  depression  left 
such  a  telling  effect  upon  cur  disposition  that  sociability 
entirely  disappeared.  There  was  a  flare-up  over  the 
Christmas  week-end  and  it  seemed  like  old  times  to  see 
how  everyone  who  attended  the  few  parties  there  were 
having  such  a  good  time. 

There  is  no  excuse  for  friendship  not  to  exist  be¬ 
tween  exhibitor  and  exhibitor,  exchangeman  and  ex- 
changeman,  exhibitor  and  exchangeman,  because  cf  com¬ 
petition.  We  are  all  in  the  business,  and  we  hope  to 
stay  in  it  so  we  might  as  well  enjoy  it. 

The  depression  has  ended,  we  are  quite  sure  things 
will  be  no  worse,  all  signs  point  to  business  getting  bet¬ 
ter,  we  at  least  now  know  where  we  stand. 

There  should  be  some  sort  cf  social  event  every  week 
by  some  part  of  the  industry. 

Would  like  to  have  an  expression  of  opinion  from 
some  of  the  old  timers  on  this  and  publish  their  opinions 
in  your  paper. 

Very  truly  yours, 

PEERLESS  DISTRIBUTING  CO., 

OSCAR  NEUFELD. 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Janl5'34 


23 


Operator  Available 

Motion  picture  projectionist,  25  years 
experience,  is  available.  Five  years  on 
sound.  Does  own  repairing.  Doesn’t 
drink.  References.  Go  anywhere.  Write 
John  J.  Lehman,  217  W.  Lancaster  Ave¬ 
nue,  Shillington. 


Heard  In ' 


w 


ILMINGTON 

Seligman 
Around  Again 


NEW  YEAR’S  eve  midnight  shows  in  Wil¬ 
mington  are  believed  to  have  broken  all  records. 
.  .  .  By  11.30  when  the  box  offices  were  opened 
they  were  standing  in  long  lines  at  Loew’s 
Parkway,  and  the  Aldine,  Opera  House  and 
Queen  of  the  Warner  string.  .  .  .  Many  were 
turned  away  at  the  Opera  House,  Levine  says. 
.  .  .  Aldine  with  a  picture  that  had  been  on 
since  Friday  took  care  of  all  that  came  and  had 
a  house  full.  .  .  .  Berny  Seamon  had  to  turn 
several  hundred  away  at  the  Queen. 

BERNY  SEAMON  gave  a  free  show  to 
orphanage  kiddies  during  the  Christmas  sea¬ 
son.  .  .  .  “Morty”  Levine  had  a  heroic  size 
cardboard  cut-out  figure  of  a  pretty  woman 
in  the  Opera  House  lobby  for  “Take  a 
Chance.”  .  .  .  Lew  Black,  Aldine,  was  bid¬ 
ding  high  on  “Little  Women”  with  24  sheets, 
merchants  full  page  ads  and  activities  among 
women’s  organizations. 


Heard  In 


E  A  D  I  N  G 

Rajah  Has 
Vaude-Pix 


_ By  T.  R - 

ONE  DOLLAR  OPERA  is  coming  to  Read¬ 
ing  to  soothe  the  savage  breast  of  the  tired 
Reading  businessman,  in  an  effort  to  wean  him 
for  one  night  from  the  flickers.  .  .  .  Earl  Car- 
roll’s  Vanities  was  booked  for  the  Capitol  The¬ 
atre,  now  closed,  for  performances  covering 
three  days  and  starting  at  11  A.  M.  each  day. 
.  .  .  Company  of  60,  with  Ray  Bolger,  was 
announced.  .  .  .  Five  shows  were  presented 
Saturday,  January  13,  and  four  shows  on  each 
of  the  two  week  days  following,  Monday  and 
Tuesday.  .  .  .  On  the  screen  at  each  show  was 
“His  Double  Life.”  .  .  .  Opening  of  liquor 
stores  in  this  locality  doesn’t  seem  to  have 
affected  business. 

PAUL  E.  GLASE,  general  manager,  Wilmer 
&  Vincent  theatres,  Reading,  advertised  the 
personal  endorsement  of  State  Senator  Henry 
L.  Snyder.  Allentown,  of  “Mad  Game”  at 
the  State  Theatre.  A1  Novitsky  manager.  .  .  . 
Rajah  Temple,  Mystic  Shrine,  Reading,  has 
apparently  given  up  its  efforts  to  run  the  big 
2,300-seat  theatre  in  the  temple,  wffh  its  own 
committee,  and  has  leased  it  to  New  York 
men  who  are  going  to  split  weeks  on  pic¬ 
tures,  three  days,  and  vaudeville  and  Dictures, 
three  days.  .  .  .  Manager  William  O.  Heck¬ 
man  will  remain  in  charge. 


READY 

REFERENCE 

EACH  COMPANY  LISTED  IS  AN 
AUTHORITY  IN  ITS  FIELD  AND 
IS  RELIABLE  AND  TRUSTWORTHY 


AIR  CONDITIONING 


T 


KXPHOON 

'ONDITIONINGCO. 


A,R  C 


COOLING 

VENTILATING 


BLOWERS  -  FANS 
W  AIR  WASHERS 

W.42"4  ST.  NEW  YORK  NY. 


ARCHITECT 


THEATRE  DESIGN 

Remodeling  »  Building 

LATEST  COMPLETED 

BRUNSWICK  BENSON 

Philadelphia  Philadelphia 

Penna.  Penna. 

DAVID  SUPOWITZ 

REGISTERED 

ARCHITECT 

246  S.  15th  St.,  Phi  la.,  Pa.  Pennypacker  2291 


Erpi  Wins  Point 


BUSINESS  BROKER 


A.  J.  DeFIORE,  manager,  Park,  brought  the 
"Three  Little  Pigs”  back  for  a  return  engage¬ 
ment.  .  .  .Joe  feels  very  optimistic  about  his 
Del-Mar-Va  organization.  .  .  .  A.  B.  Selig¬ 
man,  manager,  Strand,  who  broke  his  collar 
bone  in  a  fall  on  the  icy  pavement  before 
Christmas,  is  out  again.  .  .  .  Seligman,  whose 
theatre  had  been  omitted  from  the  placards 
posted  about  town  by  the  labor  union,  as  being 
among  those  fair  to  labor,  says  he  signed  up  for 
the  NRA  code  immediately  after  it  was 
approved  by  the  President,  and  forwarded  it  to 
Washington.  .  .  .  Ben  Schindler  seems  to  be 
doing  well  enough  at  the  Avenue.  .  .  .  New 
Rialto  continues  to  “fill  up”  once  in  a  while  on 
new  Fox  films. 

BERNY  SEAMAN,  manager,  Queen  The¬ 
atre,  Wilmington,  has  contacted  the  city  school 
authorities  and  arranged  to  have  teachers  an¬ 
nounced  in  classes  the  fitness  of  “Alice  in  Won¬ 
derland.”  .  .  .  Jack  Flynn,  manager,  Wilming- 
ton-Chester-Darby  district,  has  been  presented 
with  a  radio  for  his  automobile  by  managers 
and  employes.  .  .  .  Jack  Mulhall,  Warner  man¬ 
ager,  Chester,  is  being  congratulated  and  razzed 
on  becoming  a  happy  father.  .  .  .  Johnnie 

Roach,  Ardmore,  has  been  elected  president  of 
the  Warner  Club  for  the  Philadelphia  zone. 


SCOFFING  AT  DEATH . See  Page  4 


A  GOLD  MEDAL  RELEASE! 


Judgment  amounting  to  $678.94 
with  interest  and  costs  has  been  awarded 
to  Electrical  Research  Products,  Inc.,  in 
its  court  action  brought  against  the 
Landbar  Amusement  Company  and 
Arthur  Landsman,  as  an  individual,  and 
operator,  Gem  Theatre.  New  York  City, 
to  recover  unpaid  installments  and  liqui¬ 
dated  damages  claimed  to  be  due  under 
lease  of  sound  equipment. 

In  awarding  the  judgment,  Justice 
Kahn  of  New  York  City  Court,  rendered 
a  decision  in  part  as  follows: 

“  .  Defendants  do  not  deny  the 

fail  ure  to  make  payments,  but  aver  that 
the  contract  is  a  service  contract  and 
that  for  six  weeks  prior  to  the  alleged 
termination  thereof  by  plaintiff  defend¬ 
ant  corporation’s  theatre  was  closed  and 
it  was  no  longer  doing  business,  and 
consequently  there  was  no  service  per¬ 
formed  by  plaintiff  and  it  is  not  entitled 
to  the  weekly  payments  claimed.  This 
contention  is  untenable,  for  the  reason, 
as  above  stated,  that  the  contract  is  one 
of  rental  and  not  of  service  and  the 
plaintiff’s  right  to  the  rental  or  license 
fee  is  not  dependent  on  whether  or  not 
defendant  used  the  plaintiff’s  sound 
equipment.  Nor  is  there  merit  to  the 
contention  that  the  clause  for  damages 
is  a  penalty.  The  sum  specified  was 
agreed  upon  as  liquidated  damages  and 
not  as  a  penalty,  in  view  of  the  difficulty 
in  determining  the  exact  damage  to  the 
plaintiff.  It  is  a  valid  agreement  of  the 
parties  and  will  be  enforced.  ...” 


THEATRES 

BOUGHT  •  SOLD  •  LEASED 

Partnerships  Negotiated 

M.  H.  GOODIS.  Inc. 

1201  CHESTNUT  STREET 
Rittenhouse  4595  Rittenhouse  9077 

OSCAR  NEUFELD,  Mgr.  Theatre  Dept. 


DRAPERIES 


INTERIOR  DECORATIONS  SCENERY  DRAPERIES 

w  NOVELTY  w 
^  Scenic  Studios  * 

INC. 

"Built  on  Merit"  340  W.  41st  St.,  New  York 

ACCOUSTICAL  TREATMENTS  RIGGING 


INTERIOR  DECORATORS 


24 


Janl5'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Heard  In 

ILKES-BARRE 

Town  “Little 
Women”  Conscious 

_ By  Mac _ 

NEW  YEAR  was  ushered  in  with  capacity 
business.  .  .  .  Midnight  shows  could  not  have 
been  more  satisfactory.  .  .  .  John  Galvin,  Penn, 
tried  something  new  in  New  Year’s  cards  this 
year.  .  .  .  Sent  out  specially  printed  postals. 
.  .  .  A1  Cox,  Capitol,  was  responsible  for  hav¬ 
ing  the  town  “Little  Women”  conscious  during 
the  week.  .  .  .  All  of  the  dailies  carried  big 
displays  and  there  was  a  special  feature  in  each. 
.  .  .  Record  featured  a  coloring  contest.  .  .  . 
The  prize  winners  receiving  tickets  for  the 
regular  performances.  .  .  .  Evening  News  ran 
a  picturization  of  the  famous  story  in  six  daily 
installments. 

LUZERNE  offered  a  magician  as  a  special 
attraction.  .  .  .  Electrocution  of  Frank  Sta- 

binski  and  Anthony  Tetrosky  at  Rockview 
last  week  held  more  than  ordinary  interest  in 
local  theatrical  circles.  .  .  .  Both  admitted 

robbing  the  Capitol  during  their  brief  crime 
career  which  was  climaxed  with  two 
murders. 


Gag  of  the  Week 

Eddie  Lambert,  appearing  at  Fay’s 
Theatre,  invited  the  Yo  Hung  Wah 
troupe  of  acrobats  across  the  street  to 
the  Eureka  Theatre. 

Sign  outside  the  house  said:  Tonight. 
China  Free. 

So  Lambert  figured  the  troupe  ought 
to  get  in  okay  at  the  Sobel-Frere  house. 


Delaware  Charters 

Classic  Pictures,  Inc.,  Real  and  personal  property 
of  all  kinds. 

United  Moving  Picture  Exhibitors,  Inc.  Operate 
theatres. 

Kenilworth  Amusement  Corporation.  Operate  the¬ 
atres,  etc. 

Fox  Beatrice  Theatre  Corporation.  Operate  theatres 
and  other  places  of  amusement. 


AL  COX,  Capitol,  and  Fred  Hermann,  Irv¬ 
ing,  swapped  jobs  January  13.  .  .  .  Incident¬ 
ally,  arrangement  is  pleasing  to  both  since  it 
places  them  in  houses  they  previously  served. 


“If  I  Were  Free”  Has  Class 


Irene  Dunne,  Clive  Brook  and  Nils  Asther  head  the  cast  in  Radio’s  drama. 


HROUGH  STORMS  AND  f 
SNOW  Your  Film  MUST  GO  f 


.  .  .  and  the  Record  of  Never 
Having  a  Missout  is  Still  Held 
by  ALL  O  ur  Jersey  Clients 


NEW  JERSEY  MESSENGER  SERVICE 

MEYER  ADLEMAN 

250  N.  Juniper  Street,  Philadelphia 

SPR.  9355  LOC.  8787  RACE  9444 


3000  Cans 

Nearly  3000  cans  of  fruit  and  vegetables  were 
collected  New  Year’s  Day  at  the  Colonial,  Vic¬ 
toria  and  Loew’s  Regent  Theatres,  Harrisburg, 
for  the  Children’s  Home  of  Harrisburg,  and 
needy  families  of  the  city. 


AIR  RACKETEERS . See  Page  4 


A  GOLD  MEDAL  RELEASE! 


Mr,  Exhibitor 

If  you  were  offered  a 
guaranteed  income  for 
life  absolutely  free 

Would  you  pass 
it  by? 

BERLO 

offers  you  just  that 

Call  a  Berio  representative  and 
start  the  parade  of  monthly 
commission  checks 

DO  IT  NOW! 


Get  in  touch  with: 

GEO.  P.  AARONS 

301  N.  13th  Street 

LOCUST  4245 


OR  CALL  POPLAR  6109 

BERLO 

VENDING 

COMPANY 

1518  N.  Broad  St.,  Phila. 

Specializing  in  Candy 
Vending  Equipment 
for  the  Theatre  Trade! 


NEW  YORK  BALTIMORE 

SCRANTON  WASHINGTON 

ALLENTOWN  CLEVELAND 

PITTSBURGH  CINCINNATI 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Janl5'34 


25 


“Moulin  Rouge ”  Has  a  Musical  Background 


Reliable  Decorative  Co.,  Inc. 

INTERIOR  DECORATORS 

Draperies,  Carpets,  Painting 

1316  Vine  Street,  Philadelphia 


WE’VE  TURNED  NUMEROUS  NON-PAYING 
THEATRES  INTO  MONEY  MAKING  PROPOSITIONS 
ASK  US  HOW! 


rA[RMANJ)C-raCC[ 

mPi<  it  vifi 

20I-N-BRCAD-ST-  -HIT- 5575 


Witness  scenes  from  the  Darryl  Zanuck-20th  Century-UA  production,  with 
Constance  Bennett  and  Franchot  Tone  heading  the  cast. 


Heard  In 


A 


TL ANTIC  CITY 

Seashore  Employees 
to  Frolic 


STEEL  PIER  was  playing  to  such  crowds 
New  Year’s  Eve  with  their  combination  of 
“Roman  Scandals/’  vaudeville  and  an  elaborate 
party  in  the  ballroom  that  the  Music  Hall  was 
opened  for  the  overflow.  .  .  .  Herbert  Copelan, 
Seashore  Theatres,  reports  more  benefits 
arranged  lately  than  at  any  time  in  the  last  six 
months  as  a  result  of  the  special  trailers  shown 
in  each  of  the  Seashore  group.  .  .  .  General 
Manager  Coielan  misses  no  opportunity  for 
favorable  tie-ups  for  his  theatres.  .  .  .  Has 
arranged  to  advertise  all  houses  in  the  pro¬ 
grams  for  wresti  ng  matches  at  Atlantic  City 
Auditorium,  playing  to  over  two  thousand 
weekly,  at  no  cost  to  theatres.  .  .  .  Seashore 
group  only  theatres  advertising  shows  in  Pacific 
Avenue  jitneys,  with  double-faced  card  in  every 
jitney.  .  .  .  On  “Little  Women’’  had  window 
cards  in  Blatt’s,  and  in  Boardwalk  store  win¬ 
dows.  .  .  .  For  "House  on  56th  Street”  sold 
Kay  Francis  with  a  specially  built  modernistic 
Broadway  front  to  Stanley,  creating  a  lot  of 
attention.  .  .  .  “Son  of  a  Sailor  ’  at  Virginia, 
had  Western  Union  put  out  a  special  telegram 
plugging  show,  and  announced  show  over 
WPG.  .  .  .  On  “Cradle  Song”  they  are  get¬ 
ting  a  generous  response  from  contacting  all 
the  Catholic  churches  and  all  the  Catholic 
paroch'al  schools.  .  .  .  “Flying  Down  to  Rio” 
at  Stanley  is  getting  radio  broadcast  of  song 
h;ts  from  the  picture,  which  was  also  done  for 
“Sitting  Pretty”  and  “Take  a  Chance.”  .  .  .  On 
“Hi  Nellie,”  an  early  booking,  plan  to  cover 
Jewish  section  of  town  with  special  throw¬ 
aways.  .  .  .  J.  Keen  Smith,  doorman,  10  years 
at  Capitol,  plays  in  hard  luck  but  comes  up 
smTng.  .  .  .  Knocked  down  by  automobile  last 
week,  but  only  off  the  job  three  days.  .  .  . 
Charles  Marshall,  operator,  Ventnor,  mourns 
the  rassing  of  his  mother,  a  resident  of  Cam¬ 
den,  just  before  New  Year’s  Day. 


DARINGLY  DANGEROUS . See  Page  4 


A  GOLD  MEDAL  RELEASE! 


Against  Block  Booking 

Sentiment  against  block  booking  was 
evident  in  the  first  ballots  received  in 
the  survey  of  exhibitor  attitude  toward 
that  problem. 

As  other  ballots  are  received,  the  re¬ 
sults  will  be  indicated. 


Heard  In ' 


W 


ILLIAMSPORT 

Business  Picks 
Up  Here 


EVERY  MANAGER  is  now  carrying  a 
wide  smile.  .  .  .  Largest  bank  in  the  city  re¬ 
opened  shortly  after  New  Year’s  and  t/WA 
projects  have  absorbed  practically  all  the  unem¬ 
ployed  in  the  district.  .  .  .  Capitol  set  an  all- 
time  record  at  its  New  Year’s  midnight  show. 
.  .  .  An  83-year-old  man  from  Hughesville  saw 
his  first  moving  picture  when  he  attended  the 
Capitol  Christmas  Day. 

ARCADIA,  Wellsboro,  was  rather  exten¬ 
sively  damaged  by  fire  recently.  .  .  .  Mid¬ 

night  shows  at  Jersey  Shore  and  Lock  Haven 
on  New  Year’s  were  successful.  .  .  .  Lock 

Haven  newspaper  birthday  club  attended  a 
theatre  in  a  group  during  the  holidays.  .  .  . 
Local  radio  station,  in  addition  to  using  the 
theatre  organs,  now  presents  special  movie 
transcriptions. 


ALDINE,  Harry  Savage’s  house  lately 
thrown  into  receivership,  went  dark  after 
January  9.  .  .  .  Receiver  Mort  Lewis  states 
closing  for  purpose  of  making  structural 
alterations  not  possible  while  operating.  .  .  . 
Apollo  completely  torn  out  inside,  balcony 
and  gallery  and  proscenium  arch  gone.  .  .  . 
New  plans  cut  18  feet  off  old  stage,  leaving 
28  feet  from  back  wall  to  footlights.  .  .  .  Hi 
Walters  having  fine  time  selecting  latest  re¬ 
finements  in  de  luxe  operating  equipment. 
.  .  .  Secret  marriage  last  October  of  Sol 

Altman,  manager.  Royal,  and  Miss  Tess 
Levitz  became  known  when  a  religious  cere¬ 
mony,  supplementing  the  civil  union  by  a 
justice  of  the  peace  at  the  time  of  their  elope¬ 
ment  October  15  to  Elkton  was  performed 
by  Rabbi  Intrator.  .  .  .  Cigars  were  on  Sol. 

.  .  .  On  January  27  general  manager  Cope¬ 
lan  has  arranged  a  party  for  all  the  members 
of  Seashore  Theatres,  Inc.,  employees  to  in¬ 
augurate  the  joining  of  the  Warner  Club. 


PREMIUMS 


There  are  many  imitations  but  there  is 
only  one 

22  KARAT  GOLD  DINNER  SET 

with  a  success  record 

QUALITY  PREMIUM  DIST. 

1305  VINE  ST.  PHIL  A. 


SOUND  SERVICE 


WE  SOLVE  YOUR  SOUP- 5)  PROBLEMS 

^'“X.A.McCrorkl 


holmes 


SOUND  ENGINEER 

262  N.  13TH  ST. 
PHILADELPHIA 
Day  Phone:  RIT  4529 
Night  Phone:  SHE  0805 


THEATRE  EQUIPMENT 


A 

PEjYN  THEATRE 

EQUIPMENT  CO. 

309  North  13th  Street 

PHILADELPHIA 

^4 

Phone,  Rittenhouse  3273 

GENERAL  THEATRE  EQUIPMENT 

Specialists  in  Repairs 

CLEM'S 

MOTION  PICTURE  SUPPLY  HOUSE 

'The  A  lost  Complete  Independent 

Supply  House  in  the  Territory  ! 

255  North  13th  Street  -  Philadelphia 


spruce  i ee4 


EXPERT  REPAIRING 


National  Theatre  Supply  Company 


Service  and  'courtesy  from  men  you  know  .  .  . 
Plus  equipment  of  known  and  guaranteed  quality 
.  .  .  are  at  your  service  at  our  local  branch 


UNIFORMS 


American  Uniform  Co. 

134  So.  11th  Street,  Philadelphia 

Styled  Right  ® 

Serviced  Right 

Priced  Right 

NO  ORDER  TOO  SMALL  OR  TOO  LARGE 


n  the  back 
of  your  head 

A  KNOWLEDGE  THAT  YOU  NEED 
EXPERT  ADVICE  .  .  .  BUT  AFRAID 
TEMPORARILY  TO  MAKE  THE  EX¬ 
PENDITURE. 

What  will  it  cost? 
Must  I  close  down? 
Who’s  an  expert  on  it  ? 


Tear  Out 

and 

Mail! 

IF  YOU  DO  NOT  WISH 
TO  BE  SOLICITED,  SAY 
SO,  AND  INFORMATION 
WILL  BE  MAILED. 


Jay  Emanuel  Publications 

Incorporated 

219  North  Broad  Street 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

BUFFALO— ALBANY— NEW  YORK— WASHINGTON 


1  would  like  information  on  «  .  ^ 


ARCHITECTS 

□ 

PROJECTION 

□ 

AIR  CONDITIONING 

□ 

POSTERS 

□ 

CARPETS 

□ 

SAFES 

□ 

CHAIRS 

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SAFETY  DEVICES 

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CHAIR  COVERS 

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SCREENS 

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CONSTRUCTION 

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SIGNS 

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DECORATING 

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SOUND  EQUIPMENT 

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DRAPERIES 

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STAGE  SCENERY 

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TICKETS 

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HORNS  and  SPEAKERS 

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LIGHTING  EQUIPM’NT 

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THEATRE 

OWNER  OR  MANAGER 
ADDRESS 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Janl5'34 


27 


Radio  Has  a  Couple  of  Naturals 


Dolores  Del  Rio,  Gene  Raymond,  Fred  Astaire,  Ginger  Rogers  in  “Flying  Down  to 
Rio,’’  and  a  scene  from  “Son  of  Kong”  are  presented. 


Local  516  Active 
in  Chester  Dispute 

Injunction  Issued  Against  “Un¬ 
fair”  and  “Scab” 


Local  516  I.  A.  T.  S.  E.,  the  Spielmont 
Theatre,  Marcus  Hook,  and  the  Lyric, 
Chester,  have  been  involved,  recently,  in 
a  row  revolving  around  the  employment 
of  non-516  operators  in  those  towns. 

In  an  order  issued  December  28  by  Judge 
Albert  Dutton  MacDadc,  an  injunction  is 
given  against  union  officers  afplying  the  words 
“unfair”  and  “scab"  against  motion-picture 
machine  operators  of  two  Delaware  County 
theatres.  The  Court  ruled  that  it  is  lawful  to 
use  pickets,  but  banned  the  use  of  cards  or 
advertisements  “involving  coercion.” 

Decision  was  made  in  the  case  brought  by 
Daniel  Katlin,  owner  of  the  Lyric  Theatre, 
Chester,  and  Morris  H.  Spielman,  Spielmont 
Theatre,  Marcus  Hook,  against  officers  of 
Chester  Local,  International  Alliance  of  Motion 
Picture  Machine  Operators. 


Soviet  Arrest  Rapped 

The  Film  and  Photo  League  of  New  York 
protested  to  Superintendent  of  Public  Safety 
Black,  Wilmington,  against  the  arrest  of  exhibi¬ 
tors  of  the  Soviet  film,  two  of  whom  were  fined 
$100  and  costs  each. 

Superintendent  Black  said  the  pair  were 
warned  that  they  could  not  exhibit  pictures 
without  a  permit  or  license,  which  had  been  re¬ 
fused  them  and  that  when  they  persisted  in 
showing  the  films  he  had  nothing  else  to  do 
but  arrest  them. 


C.  S.  Losh  Dies 

Many  theatre  exhibitors  will  be  sorry  to  learn 
that  Charles  Seibert  Losh,  SO,  prominent  pipe 
organ  builder,  died  recently  at  his  home  in 
Hershey. 


The  union  men  demanded  that  the  present 
operators  be  replaced  by  union  operators,  but 
would  not  admit  the  present  operators  to  mem¬ 
bership. 

Phil  L.  Trainer,  president  and  business  man¬ 
ager,  Local  516,  Chester,  headed  the  campaign 
against  the  two  houses.  He  was  represented  in 
court  by  Frank  Murdock,  member  of  local  307 
and  an  attorney. 


VAUDEVILLE  AGENCIES 


VAUDEVILLE 

PRESENTATIONS 
MUSICAL  COMEDY 
REVUES 


HARRY  BIBEN 

(603-4  COLONIAL  BUILDING) 

N.  E.  Cor.  13th  and  Market  Sts. 

Phone,  Rittenhouse  9494-5 

PHILADELPHIA 


“Wine,  Women  and  Song” 

Masterpiece  has  received  its  first  hit 
on  the  new  program,  “Wine,  Women 
and  Song,”  which  bowed  in  at  Keith’s. 

Show,  which  has  a  stage  background 
as  well  as  a  human  story,  boasts  a  cast 
led  by  Lilyan  Tashman  and  Lew  Cody. 
Picture  drew  a  nice  hand  from  the  local 
dailies,  and  is  backed  by  plenty  of  ex¬ 
ploitation  angles.  The  title  is  a  natural 
for  all  box  offices. 

Nathan  Sablosky,  manager,  Keith’s, 
said  about  the  picture: 

“I  am  very  well  pleased  with  the 
feature.  If  this  is  a  sample  of  the  1934- 
1935  features  you  are  going  to  deliver  I 
am  quite  sure  that  the  exhibitor  will  be 
giving  you  preference  in  bookings  as 
this  picture  received  very  good  com¬ 
ments  from  our  patrons  and  they  are  the 
ones  we  must  satisfy.” 


DEATH  DEFYING  SPEED . See  Page  4 


A  GOLD  MEDAL  RELEASE! 


• 

Official  Letter 
Service  to  the 
Motion  Picture 
Industry- 

Accurate  List 
of  all  Theatres 
and  Executives 

Mimeographing 
Multigraphing 
Public  Stenography 

Addressing  -  Folding 
Enclosing  -  Mailing 

Advertising 

Publicity 

Printing 

WM.  Z. 

PORTER 

Advertising  and  Letter  Service 

1 307  Vine  Street 

Bell,  Locust  4182 

Keystone,  Race  3579 

Selling  the  RCA  High  Fidelity 


Here’s  how  Hunt’s  Century,  Audubon,  N.  J.,  made  use  of  the  RCA  selling  acces¬ 
sories  in  telling  their  patrons  that  the  house  was  using  RCA  Photophone  High 

Fidelity. 


28 


Janl5'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


BETTER  TESTED  SUCCESSFUL 

MANAGEMENT  #  ideas  *  merchandising 


“Moulin  Rouge”  Train 
Next  Big  Ballyhoo 

One  of  the  most  outstanding  publicity 
campaigns  engineered  has  been  definitely 
arranged  for  the  showing  of  the  Joseph 
M.  Schenck-Darryl  F.  Zanuck  20th  Cen¬ 
tury  production,  “Moulin  Rouge.” 

In  co-operat'on  with  the  Socony  Vacuum  Oil 
Company  of  New  York,  United  Artists  and 
20th  Century  Pictures  will  inaugurate  a 
“Moulin  Rouge  Caravan”  which  will  start  from 
New  York  City  on  February  1st  and  visit  the 
various  key  cities  for  the  opening  engagement 
of  the  picture. 

“Moulin  Rouge  Caravan”  will  be  gayly  deco¬ 
rated,  its  entire  covering  will  be  silver  and  blue 
tinsel  and  an  effective  array  of  lights  informing 
all  of  its  mission  to  the  various  theatres. 

In  addition  to  picture  and  broadcasting  facili¬ 
ties,  there  will  be  fifteen  prominent  Hollywood 
stars1  accompanying  the  caravan,  besides  twelve 
of  the  best  looking  show  girls  in  “Moulin 
Rouge.” 

Included  in  the  list  of  Hollywood  stars  who 
have  agreed  to  make  the  trip  are :  Leo  Carillo, 
Jimmie  Gleason,  Mrs.  Gleason,  Russell  Gleason, 
Raymond  Hatton,  Creighton  Hale,  Anna  Q. 
Neilson,  Mary  Carlisle,  Johnnie  Mack  Brown, 
Mary  Brian,  Ben  Turpin,  Sally  O’Neill,  Sally 
Plane,  Arlene  Judge,  Patsy  Ruth  Miller  and 
Nancy  Welford.  John  Hundley  will  act  as 
master  of  ceremonies. 

Upon  its  start  from  New  York  City,  the 
"Moulin  Rouge  Caravan”  will  first  visit  Phila¬ 
delphia  where  a  series  of  luncheons,  broadcasts 
and  personal  interviews  with  the  press  will  take 
place.  In  this  manner  the  above  stars  will  have 
the  opportunity  to  be  interviewed  by  various 
key  city  newspapers  which  in  itself  will  result 
in  unlimited  columns  of  publicity. 


Selling  UA  Duo 

Twelve  additional  men  have  been  added  to 
the  United  Artists  exploitation  department  to 
inaugurate  campaigns  in  key  situations  through¬ 
out  the  country  on  both  “Roman  Scandals,”  the 
Samuel  Goldwyn  musical,  starring  Eddie  Can¬ 
tor,  and  “Gallant  Lady,”  the  latest  20th  Century 
release,  with  Ann  Harding  in  the  starring  role. 


Winchell  on  “He” 

“Never  before  in  the  history  of 
movies,  has  a  Guy  De  Maupassant  story 
ever  been  made  for  the  screen.  ‘He, 
King  of  Virtue,’  is  the  first  De  Mau¬ 
passant  story  ever  to  be  filmed - and 

not  in  Hollywood!  ‘He’  arrives  today 
at  the  55th  St.  Playhouse — and  it  is  one 
of  the  funniest  movies. 

“The  story  revolves  around  an  old 
custom  that  every  year  the  most  vir¬ 
tuous  girl  of  the  village  is  chosen  Queen 
of  Virtue.  The  day  of  this  year’s  cele¬ 
bration  is  nearing.  The  harassed 
members  of  the  committee  cannot  find 
one  virtuous  girl  in  the  town ! 

“So,  instead  of  a  queen,  a  virtuous 
young  man  is  selected  King  of  Virtue. 
H  ow  this  young  chap  loses  his  title, 
however,  is  one  of  the  most  hilarious 
themes  ever  put  on  a  screen.  Haw!” 
— Walter  Winchell. 


Selling  “Christina” 
in  Astor  Premiere 

After  a  world  premiere  at  the  Astor 
Theatre,  December  26,  “Queen  Christina” 
seems  established  in  New  York. 

Sign  above  the  theatre — the  largest  illumi¬ 
nated  theatrical  sign  on  Broadway — carried  the 
single  word  Garbo  in  flashing  electric  bulbs 
over  a  massive  likeness  of  the  Swedish  star. 
Lobby  design  is  done  in  modernistic  style  com¬ 
bining  the  historical  appeal  of  the  story  with 
the  modern  treatment  accorded  it  and  was 
highly  praised  by  persons  in  the  industry. 

Fashion  tie-ups  with  “Queen  Christina”  were 
sought  by  New  York’s  leading  department 
stores  and  fashion  houses.  Result  was  an 
exclusive  tie-up  with  Macy’s,  publicizing  the 
type  of  gowns  worn  by  Greta  Garbo  in  the 
film.  Store  gave  a  special  window  display  to 
the  fashions  used  in  the  picture  and  also  de¬ 
voted  page  after  page  of  costly  advertising 
space . 


Radio  for  “Fugitive  Lovers” 

George  Jones,  Loew’s  Theatre,  bally hooing 
“Fugitive  Lovers”  brightened  up  an  old  gag 
with  a  radio  angle. 

It  is  not  the  first  time  that  the  hunt  for  a 
mystery  woman  or  man  has  been  staged  in  Wil¬ 
mington,  so  this  part  wasn’t  so  original,  but 
with  the  use  of  WDEL,  and  the  name  “Fugitive 
Lovers”  new  glamour  was  added  to  it.  During 
the  day  on  Friday,  Saturday  and  Monday,  the 
WDEL  announcer  would  say  mysteriously 
“Wanted,  the  Fugitive  Lover,”  tune  in  at  six 
P.  M."  Then  the  instructions  that  were  broad¬ 
cast  at  that  hour  were  that  between  the  hours 
of  7  and  8  and  9  and  10  the  “fugitive  lovers” 
would  be  in,  around  or  not  far  from  the  lobby 
of  Loew’s  Theatre,  and  that  a  $10  reward  would 
be  offered  for  the  first  person  who  would  iden¬ 
tify  the  proper  pair  as  the  dupes  that  had  been 
planted. 


Jones  Praised 

George  Jones’  celebration  of  his  second  anni¬ 
versary  as  manager  of  Loew’s  Parkway  The¬ 
atre,  Wilmington,  and  his  subsequent  carrying 
part  of  the  Christmas  children’s  entertain¬ 
ment  for  the  city  brought  out  of  the  “Pertinent 
Comment”  column  of  the  Labor-Herald,  one 
of  the  strongest  commendations  a  Wilmington 
theatre  has  ever  received. 

Jones  was  named  chairman  of  the  Mayor’s 
Christmas  Celebration  Committee  and  very  suc¬ 
cessful  in  getting  co-operation  entertaining  the 
children.  Result  was  that  he  was  host  to 
2,500  children  during  the  pre-Christmas  period. 


RECKLESS  ROMANCE . See  Page  4 


A  GOLD  MEDAL  RELEASE! 


SENTRY  serviced  SAFETY  CONTROL 


Many  theatre  owners  weigh  the  matter  of  Safety  as  it  suits  them. 
PLAINLY  THIS  IS  ALL  WRONG.  In  Safety  there  is  no  half-way  meas¬ 
ure  with  the  Public.  The  Public  would  not  consider  it  safe  if  you  decide 
to  do  without  a  Serviced  Safety  Device  on  your  projectors.  The  Public 
would  think  with  horror  if  you  tried  to  economize  by  buying  Safety  equip¬ 
ment  without  a  service,  and  the  fact  that,  in  your  theatre,  the  Public 
has  not  yet  inquired  as  to  the  measure  of  Safety  that  you  are  giving  them — 
THAT  DOES  NOT  MEAN  THAT  THEY  CAN  BE  DECEIVED. 


SENTRY  SAFETY  CONTROL  CORP. 


10th  ST.  and  ALLEGHENY  AVE. 
PHILADELPHIA,  PENNA. 


Sentry  Safety  Controls  Listed  as  Standard  by  National  Fire  Underwriters  Laboratories 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Janl5'34 


29 


Clean  Booth 


Here’s  a  view  of  the  projection  booth  in  the 
Traco  Theatre,  Toms  River,  N.  J.,  operated 
by  Is  Hirschblond.  It’s  considered  one  of 
the  nicest  in  the  Jersey  hinterland. 


For  “Alice” 

For  “Alice  in  Wonderland/’  which  was  at 
the  Victoria  Theatre,  Harrisburg,  a  contest  was 
run  by  Manager  Harry  Lambert  in  co-operation 
with  the  proprietor  of  a  Harrisburg  book  store 
to  stimulate  interest  among  children. 

Irving  Weber,  book  store,  awarded  to  six 
Harrisburg  school  children  special  deluxe  edi¬ 
tions  of  Lewis  Carroll’s  “Alice  in  Wonderland’’ 
for  the  best  essays  on  the  characters  they  liked 
best  in  the  motion  picture. 


Building  Good  Will 

Charlie  Steifel,  Venice  Theatre,  builds  good 
will  by  having  children  and  others  from  institu¬ 
tions  as  guests.  He  brings  them  in  in  groups 
and  everyone  praises  the  idea. 


George  Jones,  manager,  Loew’s  Parkway, 
Wilmington,  got  plenty  of  favorable  publicity 
on  the  celebration  of  Loew’s  Thirtieth  Anni¬ 
versary  and  the  second  anniversary  of  the 
Parkway  under  Loew  management. 


Change  In  Name 

Paramount  Famous  Lasky  Corporation  to  Lares  The¬ 
atre  Corporation,  N.  Y.  (The  Corporation  Trust  Com¬ 
pany.  ) 


Credit  Paramount 


Three  salvos  and  broadsides  for  the 
pressbook  on  “Miss  Fane’s  Baby  is 
Stolen.” 

The  press  sheet  is  gotten  up  like  a 
tabloid,  is  most  interesting,  contains  a 
lot  of  selling  angles  and  is  a  real  change 
from  the  regular  form. 

There  are  plenty  of  meaty  angles,  a 
smash  layout  and  plenty  of  real  hints  for 
showmen. 

Take  a  look  at  it.  Bob  Gillham  and 
aides  have  turned  in  a  neat  job. 


WHIRLWIND  SENSATION . See  Page  4 


ON  MV  WAV  TO 
NEW  VORK  AND 
THE  PICCAD1LLV 


.  .  best  hotel  i  !<  now! 
Near  everything,  just 
200  feet  from  Broad¬ 
way.  Modern,  hospit¬ 
able  ,  and  comfortable. 
Like  the  Manager, 
like  the  rates  —  $2.50 
single,  $3.50  double, 
for  a  room  with  bath ! 


THE  HOTEL  - 

PICCADILLY 

45th  St.  •  W.  of  Broadway  •  New  York 

WILLIAM  MADLUNG,  Mgr. 


BOOK  EM 

NOW/ 

ONE  EVERY 
MONTH 


BUD  N  BEN 


12 — 3  Reel  Westerns 
ARIZONA  NIGHTS— Jan.  15 

Distributed  by 

^PEERLESS  DISTRIBUTING  CO. 

1321  Vine  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


A  GOLD  MEDAL  RELEASE! 


30 


Janl5'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


“Wine,  Women  and  Song ”  Is  from  Masterpiece 


Lew  Cody  and  Lilyan  Tashman  head  the  cast  in  “Wine,  Women  and  Song.” 

Masterpiece  distributes. 


Second  ComiColor  Finished 

“The  Little  Red  Hen,”  second  subject  in  the 
P.  A.  Powers  “ComiColor  Cartoons”  series, 
has  been  completed  in  Cinecolor,  by  Ub 
Iwerks,  at  the  Animated  Pictures  Corporation 
studio  in  Los  Angeles.  Gold  Medal  distributes. 


FAY  S,  Philadelphia 

Under  Direction  of 

M.  E.  COMERFORD 
Playing 

8  BIG  ACTS 

—  OF  - 

VAUDEVILLE 

Booked  by 

EDWARD  SHERMAN 

VAUDEVILLE  AGENCY 

Real  Estate  Trust  Bldg. 
PHILADELPHIA 

Pennypacker  7595 

MAYFAIR  THEATRE  BLDG.,  NEW  YORK 


Wielland  Looks  at  AC 
Parade;  Senses  Upturn 

Shore  Executive  Thinks  Holiday 

Turnout  Good  Sign 

George  F.  Wielland,  associated  in  the 
operation  of  several  Atlantic  City  houses, 
including  the  Strand,  Ventnor,  and  sev¬ 
eral  others,  thinks  that  the  upturn  has 
been  reached. 

He  bases  his  predictions  on  the  fact  that  over 
2200  chairs  were  on  the  boardwalk  at  one  time 
during  the  holiday  period,  the  biggest  in  three 
years.  In  addition,  crowd  was  finely  attired 
with  many  fur  coats  in  evidence  as  well  as  top 
hats.  Money  was  spent  freely. 

Wielland,  who  is  associated  with  Mort  Lewis 
in  his  operations,  expects  the  company’s  Apollo 
to  reopen  February  22,  with  1646  seats.  Many 
new  ideas  are  being  incorporated,  including  a 
new  refrigeration  system  as  well  as  a  45-ft. 
stage  opening. 


SKY  SOARING  SPECTACLE.  .  . . See  Page  4 


A  GOLD  MEDAL  RELEASE! 


“You  Made  Me  Love  You ” 

Majestic  has  a  hit  in  “You  Made  Me 
Love  You,”  a  piece  that  can  stand  a 
showing  anywhere.  Starring  Thelma 
Todd  and  Stanley  Lupino,  the  show  was 
recently  clocked  at  Fay’s,  and  the  laughs 
piled  up  as  strong  as  they  have  for  any 
picture  seen  hereabouts. 

The  picture  should  be  a  strong  en¬ 
trant  in  any  first  run  situation,  any¬ 
where,  and  on  the  basis  of  entertain¬ 
ment  deserves  a  hand. 

It’s  a  pity  that  a  lot  of  exhibitors 
have  to  be  shown,  but  if  they  dropped 
out  to  catch  the  picture,  they  would  see 
for  themselves  what  the  audience  reac¬ 
tion  is. 


Horlacher  is  the 

OLDEST  DELIVERY  SERVICE 

ONLY  CAPABLE,  BONDED 
DRIVERS  ARE  USED 

Regardless  of  rain  or  snow 

DELIVERY  IS  PROMPT 

Leading  exhibitors  have 

j  BEEN  CLIENTS  FOR  YEARS 

A  FTER  15  YEARS  IT  STANDS 

WITH  UNEXCELLED  RECORD 

COURTESY  HAS  BEEN  A 

DOMINANT  PRINCIPLE  ALWAYS 

Heavy  insurance  covers  all 

DIVISIONS  OF  THE  BUSINESS 

Every  effort  is  always  made 

FOR  GREATER  EFFICIENCY 

Real  service  has  been 

THE  REASON  FOR  PROGRESS 


Horlacher 

DELIVERY  SERVICE,  Inc. 

1228-30  VINE  ST. 

PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 

NEW  YORK  WASHINGTON  NEW  HAVEN 

BOSTON  SCRANTON  BALTIMORE 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Janl5'34 


31 


139  Best  Ten 


66  You  Made  Me  Love  You ”  Is  on  the  Scene 


139  pictures  received  votes  in  the 
Best  Ten  contest  conducted  by  the 
“Evening  Ledger”  (Ollie  Wood). 

Winners  included  Cavalcade,  42nd 
Street,  Berkeley  Square,  Morning  Glory, 
Private  Life  of  Henry  8th,  She  Done 
Him  Wrong,  When  Ladies  Meet,  The 
Masquerader,  State  Fair,  Footlight 
Parade. 

Frank  Lloyd,  Lowell  Sherman  and 
Lloyd  Bacon-Bus  Berkeley  won  direc¬ 
tors  laurels. 

Katherine  Hepburn,  Diana  Wynyard, 
Marie  Dressier  won  feminine  acting 
honors. 

Leslie  Howard,  Charles  Laughton, 
Lionel  Barrymore  topped  in  men’s  divi¬ 
sion. 

There  was  a  lot  of  interest,  with  gen¬ 
eral  survey  indicating  people  thought 
pictures  were  getting  better. 


EVERY  MOMENT  A  THRILL.  .  See  Page  4 


A  GOLD  MEDAL  RELEASE! 


Thelma  Todd  and  Stanley  Lupino  are  in  “You  Made  Me  Love  You,”  a  Majestic 

release. 


Looking  Ahead  at  the  Product 

A  Service  Designed  to  Give  the  Exhibitor  Each  Picture’s  Analysis  Before  Playing 

By  Our  Hollywood  Correspondent  - 


"He"— FD 

M.  Fernandel,  Francoise  Rosay,  Marguerite  Pierry, 
Marcel  Simon,  Marcel  Carpentier. 

French  made  picture  but  constituted  so  it 
can  be  easily  understood  by  all.  Story  revolves 
itself  about  the  selection  of  a  rustic  youth  as 
King  of  Virtue  and  continues  when  the  King 
falls  into  the  hands  of  a  designing  woman  who 
takes  his  right  to  hold  the  crown  away  from 
him.  Picture  can  be  sold  easily,  and  looms  as 
a  real  novelty. 

Estimate:  Exploitation  natural. 


"The  Last  Round  Up"— Para. 

Monte  Blue,  Randolph  Scott,  Barbara  Fritchie, 
Richard  Carle,  Charles  Middleton,  Fred  Kohler,  Fuzzy 
Knight. 

Very  good  western  with  more  than  the  usual 
handful  of  names  to  sell,  in  addition  to  the 
popularity  of  the  song  hit.  Monte  Blue  makes 
a  nice  return,  is  aided  by  a  good  cast,  and 
Zane  Grey’s  “The  Border  Legion”  is  a  good 
story.  Show  is  okay  for  western  houses  and 
may  appeal  to  those  ordinarily  out  of  that  class. 

Estimate:  Whoopee. 


"Man  of  Two  Worlds"— Radio 

Francis  Lederer,  J.  Farrell  MacDonald,  Elissa 
Landi,  Henry  Stephenson,  Walter  Byron. 

First  feature  for  Francis  Lederer  and  he 
shows  enough  to  indicate  that  he  may  become  a 
box  office  bet.  Picture,  itself,  is  no  great  shakes, 
but  Lederer  is  the  man  to  sell.  As  an  Eskimo 
who  goes  back  with  an  expedition  to  the  land  of 
society,  he  turns  in  an  adequate  performance  in 
a  familiar  setting.  He  looks  like  a  strong  per¬ 
sonality. 

Estimate:  Sell  Lederer. 


"Bombay  Mail"— U 

Edmund  Lowe,  Onslow  Stevens.  Shirley  Grey.  Ralph 
Forbes,  Hedda  Hopper,  Tom  Moore,  John  Wray, 
Brandon  Hurst,  Ferdinand  Gottschalk. 

Action  takes  place  on  a  train,  mystery  angles 
are  plentiful  and  “Bombay  Mail”  slips  nicely 
into  the  adequate  program  department.  Lowe 
turns  in  a  neat  performance  as  the  inspector 
and  audiences  should  like  it. 

Estimate:  No  handsprings. 


"Meanest  Gal  in  Town"—  RKO 

Pert  Kelton,  Zasu  Pitts,  El  Brendel,  Jimmy  Glea¬ 
son,  Sheets  Gallagher. 

Programmer  with  some  comedy  angles,  but 
whole  thing  just  sums  up  as  more  film.  Cast 
makes  an  attempt  to  keep  it  going,  but  for  most 
part  show  will  be  just  an  also-ran. 

Estimate:  Weak. 


"Madame  Spy"— U 

Nils  Asther,  Fay  Wray,  Edward  Arnold,  David 
Torrence,  John  Miljan,  Vince  Barnett. 

Just  a  spy  story  and  a  weak  one  at  that. 
Husband  spy  marries  wify  spy  without  knowing 
it.  She  thinks  he  killed  her  brother,  finds  out 
he  didn’t  almost  too  late.  Love  saves  the  day 
but  not  the  picture. 

Estimate:  Missout. 


"Massacre" — Warners 

Richard  Barthelaness,  Ann  Dvorak,  Claire  Dodd, 
Dudley  Digges,  Henry  O'Neill,  Arthur  Hohl,  Sidney 
Toler,  Clarence  Muse,  Tully  Marshall. 

Piece  tends  to  show  how  Indians  may  be  mis¬ 
treated  and  even  if  the  angles  are  present  day, 
the  appeal  is  limited.  Barthelmess  won’t  add  to 
his  prowess  through  his  role  of  an  Indian  who 
finds  himself  when  he  learns  how  his  people  are 
being  mistreated.  Show  can  be  sold  in  spots, 
but,  generally,  story  was  not  a  happy  selection. 

Estimate:  Plug  star. 


"The  Poor  Rich"— U 

Edna  Mae  Oliver,  Edward  Everett  Horton,  Andy 
Devine,  Leila  Hyams,  Grant  Mitchell,  Thelma  Todd, 
John  Miljan,  Una  O'Connor. 

Comedy  with  plenty  of  farce  angles  and 
enough  satisfaction  to  take  care  of  audiences 
who  don't  want  star  names.  Piece  has  no  single 
draw,  but  a  capable  cast  takes  care  of  matters 
nicely.  Horton  and  Oliver  do  best  work.  It 
is  more  or  less  family  entertainment. 

Estimate:  Laughs. 


"Throne  of  the  Gods"— FD 

Travel  film  and  record  of  the  expedition  climbing 
up  the  highest  Himalaya  peak. 

Well  edited,  photographed  film  that  not  only 
has  travel  highlights  but  which  has  beauty  as 
well  to  sell.  Picture  has  running  talk  by  Lowell 
Thomas,  and  is  interesting  all  the  way  through. 
It  can  stand  on  its  own  where  audiences  like  the 
faraway  stuff,  but  in  any  spot  can  be  played 
to  satisfaction. 

Estimate:  Okay  travel. 


"Son  of  Kong"—  Radio 

Helen  Mack,  Robert  Armstrong,  Frank  Reicher, 
John  Marston,  Gertrude  Short,  Lee  Kohlmar,  Noble 
Johnson,  Clarence  Wilson. 

Sequel  to  “Kong'”  but  not  of  the  same  calibre 
as  far  as  the  box  office  concerned.  Show  still 
has  exploitation  opportunities,  however,  so 
where  they  like  this  kind  of  thing,  it  will  pass 
off.  Piece  is  more  for  juveniles. 

Estimate:  Not  "Kong.” 


"White  Face"— Hcl. 

Gordon  Harker,  Renee  Gadd,  Nora  Swinburne, 
Richard  Bird,  Jeanne  Stuart. 

English  film  with  American  voices  dubbed 
in,  which  proves  a  handicap.  Picture  holds  in¬ 
terest  most  of  way,  with  Edgar  Wallace  story, 
but  dubbing  doesn’t  help.  Question  is  whether 
English  voices  might  have  been  better. 

Estimate:  Just  a  picture. 


" — Columbia 

Reginald  Denny,  Mary  Brian .  Donald  Cook,  Helen 
Freeman,  Robert  McWade,  Edwin  Maxwell,  Maude 
Eburne. 

Action  takes  place  on  shipboard,  with  not  one 
murder  but  several  inviting  attention.  Cast  has 
no  star  names,  but  for  those  who  like  their  mys¬ 
tery  murder  tales  this  should  satisfy.  Picture 
has  exploitation  angles. 

Estimate:  Mystery  murder  stuff. 


.-34 

"Cross  Country  Cruise"— U 

June  Knight,  Lew  Ayres,  Alice  White,  Alan  Dine- 
hart,  Eugene  Pallette,  Arthur  Vinton,  Minna  Gom- 
bell,  Henry  Armetta. 

Action  takes  place  in  a  bus  and  keeps  going 
nicely.  Tour  has  a  murder  and  a  final  mad  bus 
ride  for  a  finish,  but  shapes  up  as  adequate 
program  entertainment.  Bits  guarantee  satis¬ 
faction,  even  if  picture  is  no  standout. 

Estimate:  Begins  a  cycle. 


"Fury  of  the  Jungle"  Col. 

Don  Cook,  Peggy  Shannon,  Harold  Huber ,  Alan 
Dinehart,  Dudley  Digges,  Toshia  Mori. 

Poor  Peggy  struggles  among  the  badmen  on 
the  jungle  island.  Eventually  a  couple  of 
people  (not  the  hero  or  heroine)  are  thrown 
to  the  crocodiles  and  the  saga  of  jungle  pas¬ 
sion  ends.  It  is  just  about  what  you  imagine  it 
is. 

Estimate:  Just  about. 


"Orient  Express"— Fox 

Heather  Angel,  Norman  Foster,  Ralph  Morgan, 
Herbert  Mundin,  Una  O'Connor,  Irene  Ware,  Dor¬ 
othy  Burgess. 

Things  happen  on  a  train,  nothing  novel 
in  itself.  Neither  is  the  picture.  Show  has  no 
star  names.  Picture  starts  fast  but  slows 
toward  the  end,  classifying  whole  thing  as  a 
programmer. 

Estimate:  No  names. 


"The  Sagebrush  Trail"— Mon. 

John  Wayne,  Yakima  Canutt,  Nancy  Shubert, 
Lane  Chandler,  Wally  Wales,  Robert  Burns,  Art  Mix. 

Entering  the  picture  under  a  cloud  of  sus¬ 
picion,  our  John  joins  the  gang,  stops  a  couple 
of  their  scheduled  holdups,  conquers  all  for  the 
girl  after  cleaning  up  the  villains.  Piece  has 
several  western  names  to  sell,  looms  as  a  better 
than  average  western  picture. 

Estimate:  Okay  western. 


"I  Like  It  That  Way"— U 

Gloria  Stuart,  Roger  Pryor,  Marian  Marsh,  Shirley 
Grey,  Noel  Madison,  Gloria  Shea,  Mae  Busch,  Eddie 
Gribbon,  Myrna  Kennedy. 

Musical  that  has  an  entertaining  cast  if  no 
star  names,  some  pleasant  music,  nice  sets  but 
little  in  the  way  of  a  story.  Where  audiences 
like  their  programs  on  a  basis  of  entertainment 
this  will  slip  in.  It  has  no  standout  angles. 

Estimate:  Could  have  been  big. 


"Volga  Volga"— Kin. 

Silent,  with  foreign  cast  and  synchronization. 

Novelty  that  may  play  some  types  of  houses. 
Picture  is  better  fitted  for  artie  theatres.  Act¬ 
ing  is  okay,  but  story  and  background  is 
foreign: 

Estimate:  Art. 


"When  a  Man  Rides  Alone"— Fr. 

Tom  Tyler ,  Al  Bridges,  Bob  Burns,  Adele  Lacey. 
Typical  western,  but  a  better  entrant  than 
most.  Tom  does  a  Robin  Hood,  fights  aplenty 
and  wins  the  girl. 

Estimate:  Tom  Tyler. 


2-Jan.-34 


“Fugitive  Lovers77— MGM 

Robert  Montgomery,  Madge  Evans,  Ted  Healy,  Nat 
Pendleton,  C.  Henry  Gordon . 

Bus  story  with  a  convict  background  to  boot, 
and  a  couple  of  feature  names  to  sell.  Story 
is  more  or  less  familiar,  even  if  placed  in  a  new 
background,  but  must  fall  into  the  program 
groove.  Individual  parts  are  well  taken,  action 
is  ever  present,  but  show  is  just  another  of  the 
vast  majority. 

Estimate:  Bus  yarn. 


“Big  Time  or  Bust'  ' — Tower 

Gloria  Shea,  Regis  Toomey,  Charles  Delaney,  Ed¬ 
win  Maxwell,  Paid  Porcasi,  Walter  Byron. 

Typical  triangle  story  with  the  husband  re¬ 
fusing  to  live  on  the  wife’s  success,  and  a  mod¬ 
erate  entrant  in  the  program  division.  Picture 
is  familiar,  although  the  cast  contributes  inter¬ 
esting  performances.  Picture  has  a  carnival  and 
night  club  background. 

Estimate:  Program  inde. 


“Before  Midnight77— Col. 

June  Collyer,  Betty  Blythe,  Ralph  Bellamy,  Claude 
Gilling water,  Bradley  Page,  Arthur  Pierson. 

Once  again  we  have  a  murder  mystery,  with 
the  young  doctor-hero  under  suspicion.  How¬ 
ever,  thanks  to  our  inspector,  the  whole  thing 
is  cleared  up  and  love  wins  all.  Show  doesn't 
boast  much  in  the  way  of  novelty,  and  is  famil¬ 
iar,  but  where  they  don’t  care,  well — . 

Estimate:  Ditto. 


“Criminal  at  Large77—  Helber 

Emlyn  Williams,  Gordon  Harlcer,  Cathleen  Nesbitt, 
Norman  McKinnel,  Cyril  Raymond. 

Murder  tale  with  an  English  background  and 
plenty  of  thrills  all  the  way.  Show  may  be  a 
bit  foreign  in  production  but  story  will  hold 
audience  attention.  No  names  to  sell  except 
Edgar  Wallace,  the  author. 

Estimate:  Thrills. 


“Under  Secret  Orders77— Monarch 

Phyllis  Barrington,  J.  Farrell  MacDonald,  Don 
Dillaway,  Nina  Quantaro,  Matthew  Betz. 

Young  hero  is  on  a  secret  mission,  loses  the 
papers,  but  gets  them  back  as  well  as  the  girl 
before  the  final  closeup.  Picture  won’t  mean 
much  in  most  spots,  although  there  are  some 
feature  names  that  may  be  familiar. 

Estimate:  Just  film. 


“Marriage  on  Approval77— Freuler 

Barbara  Kent,  William  Farnum,  Leila  McIntyre, 
Donald  Dillaway,  Edward  Woods,  Dorothy  Grainger, 
Oston  Harlan,  Phyllis  Barry. 

Nicely  produced  tale  of  modern  youth  and 
the  usual  consequences,  with  a  good  title  to 
boot.  Daughter  marries  against  father’s  oppo¬ 
sition,  leaves  home,  goes  away  with  husband. 
Misunderstanding  between  wife  and  husband  is 
overcome,  and  love  conquers  all. 

Estimate:  Sell  title. 


“Enlighten  Thy  Daughter77— Exp. 

Marian  Battista,  Herbert  Rawlinson,  Claire  Whit¬ 
ney,  Charles  Eaton /  Jack  Arnold,  Wesley  Barry, 
Audrey  Maple,  Robert  Emmett  Keane,  Beth  Barton. 

Showmen  can  get  behind  this  and  sell  it  as 
a  moral  lesson  against  sin  and  parental  neglect. 
Story  is  one  of  a  girl  betrayed  and  parents  who 
don’t  understand,  with  the  heroine  passing  on 
to  make  a  sad  finish.  However,  the  moral 
lesson  is  strong,  and  theatres  can  cash  in  with 
plenty  of  good  tie-ups. 

Estimate:  Showmen’s  special. 


“Fashions  of  1934“— Warners 

William.  Powell,  Bette  Davis,  Frank  McHugh,  Hugh 
Herbert ,  Veree  Teasdale ,  Reginald  Owen,  Dorothy 
Burgess,  Henry  O’Neill. 

Looks  like  a  natural  for  men  and  women, 
with  some  gorgeous  style  shows  to  attract  the 
last  named.  William  Powell  as  a  style  pirate, 
carries  the  bulk  of  the  piece,  but  he  has  glorious 
assistance  from  some  swell  settings,  gowns  and 
fashions  that  will  make  the  ladies  applaud  and 
some  good  comedy.  Once  again  it  looks  as  if 
Warners  have  delivered  a  real  piece  of  mer¬ 
chandise. 

Estimate:  Style  natural. 


“ThroughJ  the  Centuries77— Beacon 

Religious  picture,  composed  of  shots  from  news¬ 
reels  and  other  films  for  definite  audiences,  generally. 

Handled  so  that  it  will  appeal  especially  to 
Catholics,  this  picture  is  a  natural  for  co-opera¬ 
tion  with  church  groups.  Although  it  will  have 
its  greatest  weight  in  certain  sectors,  it  has 
angles  that  should  help  put  it  over  with  the 
church  elements  generally.  Show  has  been  nicely 
edited,  has  many  shots  from  other  pictures,  but 
in  its  own  sphere  is  a  nicely  done  job. 

Estimate:  Religious. 


“The  Ghoul77— BG 

Boris  Karloff,  Anthony  Bushell,  Cedric  Hardwicke, 
Harold  Huth,  Dorothy  Hyson. 

Thriller  story,  with  Karloff  coming  back  to 
life  after  pronounced  dead  and  going  on  a  ram¬ 
page.  Tale  revolves  around  a  precious  jewel, 
with  Karloff  finally  passing  out  for  good  and 
the  hero  and  heroine  saved  from  a  living  death. 
Picture  was  made  in  England,  but  has  two 
names  familiar  to  American  audiences. 

Estimate:  Karloff. 


“Nana“— UA. 

Anna  Sten,  Mac  Clarke,  Phillips  Holmes,  Helen 
Freeman,  Muriel  Kirkland,  Lionel  A  twill,  Lawrence 
Grant,  Reginald  Owen,  Richard  Bennett. 

Picture  is  more  a  triumph  for  Anna  Sten 
than  for  its  production  values.  Play  is  the  Zola 
classic,  adapted  to  movie  demands,  with  Sten 
playing  many  men  and  going  up  and  down  in 
the  social  scale.  Ending  sees  her  shooting  her¬ 
self  when  brothers  fight  over  her.  Picture 
should  be  sold  as  first  from  a  new  star,  rather 
than  in  its  content.  Sten  makes  good  copy, 
should  become  a  definite  personality. 

Estimate:  Sten  standout. 


“Search  for  Beauty77— Para. 

Buster  Crabbe,  Ida  Lupino,  Toby  Wing,  James 
Gleason,  Robert  Armstrong,  Bradley  Page,  Rosco 
Karns,  Gertrude  Michael,  Pop  Kenton. 

Here  is  Paramount’s  big  tie-up  picture,  with 
the  contestants  almost  lost  in  the  shuffle.  Show, 
however,  emerges  as  a  saleable  article,  with 
feature  names  if  not  many  stars  to  sell.  Plot 
revolves  about  a  health  farm  with  plenty  of 
comedy  angles  predominating.  Show  will  do 
especially  well  where  the  contest  meant  any¬ 
thing,  but  even  at  that  is  okay  program. 

Estimate:  Adapted  for  exploitation. 


“The  Lucky  Texan77— Mono. 

John  Wayne,  R.  N.  Bradbury,  George  Hayes,  Bar¬ 
bara  Sheldon,  Lloyd  Whitlock,  Yakima  Canutt. 

George  Hayes  turns  in  a  nice  characteriza¬ 
tion  in  the  picture,  which  has  more  of  the 
acting  and  less  of  the  wild  riding  usually  seen 
in  westerns.  However,  Monogram  has  given 
the  show  the  same  attention  and  it  should 
satisfy. 

Estimate:  Usual  Wayne. 


“Two  Alone77— Radio 

Tom  Brown,  Jean  Parker,  Zasu  Pitts,  Arthur 
Byron,  Beulah  Bondi,  Nydia  Westman,  Willard  Rob¬ 
ertson,  Charles  Grapewin,  Emerson  Treacy. 

Interesting  but  unhappy  sort  of  picture 
which  concerns  itself  with  struggle  of  an 
orphan  and  a  lad  who  escaped  from  a  re¬ 
formatory  and  their  attempts  to  rise  above 
their  surroundings.  Lack  of  humor  becomes 
a  handicap,  and  piece,  in  general,  may  get 
credit  for  trying,  but  little  more. 

Estimate:  Unhappy. 


“All  Of  Me77 — Para. 

Miriam  Hopkins,  Fredric  March,  Helen  Mack, 
George  Raft,  William  Collier,  Sr. 

Nicely  handled  picture  with  name  strength 
as  well  as  an  interesting  story  to  sell.  Two 
pairs,  Hopkins  and  March,  Mack  and  Raft, 
turn  in  good  performances,  the  latter  duo  as 
a  gangster-moll  combo.,  with  Hopkins  being 
mixed  up  in  their  adventures.  Theme  is  one 
of  the  girl  being  afraid  marriage  will  destroy 
romance,  with  the  direction  particularly  good. 

Estimate:  Nicely  done. 


“Shadows  of  Sing  Sing77— Col. 

Bruce  Cabot,  Mary  Brian,  Grant  Mitchell.  Dewey 
Robinson,  James  Crane. 

Here’s  one  about  the  young  assistant  district 
attorney  who  loves  the  sister  of  the  gang 
leader.  A  rival  gangster  frames  the  hero,  and 
thanks  to  a  last  minute  punch  the  show,  despite 
familiar  material,  holds  interests  all  the  way. 
Gangster  stuff  may  be  outworn  but  this  is 
nicely  handled. 

Estimate:  Surprise  twist  helps. 


“A  Woman’s  Man77— Monogram 

Marguerite  de  la  Motte,  Wallace  Ford,  John  Holli¬ 
day,  Kitty  Kelly,  Jameson  Thomas,  Tom  Dugan, 
Harry  Green,  Jack  Perry. 

Tale  of  a  Hollywood  star  whose  director 
can’t  tell  her  she  is  slipping  because  her  direc¬ 
tor  once  loved  her,  and  all  in  all  a  credit  to 
Monogram.  Piece  has  some  feature  strength 
to  sell,  has  a  Hollywood  background,  and  a 
prize  fight  to  boot.  With  all  of  these,  the 
show  comes  through  with  colors  flying.  Pic¬ 
ture  is  a  programmer  that  can  stand  up  any¬ 
where. 

Estimate:  Credit  Monogram. 


“Wine,  Women  &  Song77— Chad. 

Lilyan  Tashman,  Lew  Cody,  Matty  Kemp,  Paid 
Gregory,  Gertrude  Astor,  Bobbe  Arnst,  Esther  Muir, 
Bobby  Watson. 

With  two  names  to  sell,  this  one  can  stand 
plenty  of  exploitation.  Piece  is  produced  on 
an  inde  budget  but  contains  some  selling  op¬ 
portunities  that  shouldn’t  be  muffed.  Title  is 
a  great  help,  and  whole  thing  comes  off  nicely 
for  an  independent  show. 

Estimate:  Get  behind  it. 


“Four  Frightened  People77— Para. 

Claudette  Colbert,  Herbert  Marshall,  William  Gar- 
gan,  Mary  Boland,  Leo  Carrillo. 

Novel  yarn  directed  by  DeMille  and  headed 
for  box  office  honors.  Piece  revolves  about 
four  people  lost  in  the  jungle,  the  leader  going 
yellow,  love  between  the  heroine  who  takes 
charge  and  the  hero  who  is  married,  savages 
who  capture  Mary  Boland,  a  return  to  civili¬ 
zation  and  an  eventual  working  out  of  all 
problems.  Show  has  plenty  and  should  hold 
its  own. 

Estimate:  Decidedly  different. 


34 


Janl5'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


For  your  convenience,  this  publication  furnishes  this  guide  to  reviews  of  pictures  which  have  appeared 
in  "Looking  Ahead  at  the  Product,”  the  regular  review  department.  Before  dating  in  your  show,  consult  this 
page,  find  out  when  the  review  appeared  and  then  look  it  up.  If  you  have  misplaced  any  copies  of  your  home 
town  journal,  drop  "THE  CHECKUP"  a  line  and  missing  copies  will  be  sent  to  you.  Save  these  pages  and  refer 
to  them  as  needed.  Key:  For  example,  2-Sept,  means  the  second  issue  of  this  publication  in  that  month. 
1-Oot.  would  mean  the  first  issue,  and  so  on. 


Columbia 

Lady  for  a  Day  . 

A  Man's  Castle 

Police  Car  17  . 

King  of  Wild  Horses 
Above  the  Clouds 
Master  of  Men 

Fog  . 

Fury  of  the  Jungle 

Before  Midnight  . 

Shadows  of  Sing  Sing 

First  National — Warners 


The  Chief 


1-Aug. 

1- Nov. 

2- Nov. 
2-Nov. 
2-Nov. 

1- Dec. 

2- Jan. 
2-Jan. 
2-Jan. 
2-Jan. 


Day  of  Reckoning  . 

Meet  the  Baron  . .  .  .  . 

Dinner  at  Eight  . 

The  Late  Christopher  Bean 

(Her  Sweetheart)  . 

The  Prizefighter  and  the  Lady 

Eskimo  . 

Should  Ladies  Behave  (The  Vinegar  Tree) 

Dancing  Lady  . 

Sons  of  the  Desert  . 

Women  in  His  Life . . 

Going  Hollywood  . 

Queen  Christina  . 

Fugitive  Lovers  . 


Bureau  of  Missing  Persons 
Wild  Boys  of  the  Road 
The  World  Changes 
Gold  Diggers 
Footllght  Parade 
Ever  In  My  Heart 
Kennel  Murder  Case 
College  Coach 
House  on  56th  Street 
Female 

Havana  Widows 
From  Headquarters 

Son  of  a  Sailor . 

Dark  Hazard 

Lady  Killer  . 

Convention  City  . 

The  Shakedown  .  .  .. . 

Massacre 

Fashions  of  1934 


1-Sept. 

1- Oct. 

2- 0ct. 

1- June 

2- 0ct. 
2-0ct. 
1-Nov. 

1- Nov. 

2- Nov. 
1-Nov. 

1- Nov. 

2- Nov. 
2-Nov. 
1-Dec. 

1- Dec. 

2- Dec. 

1- Jan. 

2- Jan. 
2-Jan. 


Fox 

Pilgrimage  1-Aug. 

The  Last  Trail  .  2-Aug. 

Paddy  .  1-Sept. 

Good  Companions  .  1-Nov. 

Charlie  Chan’s  Greatest  Case  .  2-Sept. 

Dr.  Bull .  2-Sept. 

My  Weakness  . . 1-Oct. 

Power  and  the  Glory .  2-July 

Walls  of  Gold  .  2-Oct. 

Worst  Woman  In  Paris .  1-Nov. 

Berkeley  Square  .  2-July 

My  Lips  Betray  .  2-Nov. 

This  Mad  Game . 1-Nov. 

Oleson's  Big  Moment .  1-Nov. 

Hoop-La  .  2-Nov. 

As  Husbands  Go  .  2-Nov. 

Frontier  Marshal  .  2-Nov. 

Jimmy  and  Sally  .  1-Dec. 

Smoky  .  2-Dec. 

I  Was  A  Spy  .  2-Dec. 

Mr.  Skitch  . 1-Jan. 

I  Am  Suzanne .  1-Jan. 

Orient  Express  . 2-Jan. 


Metro 


Penthouse  .  2-Sept. 

Stage  Mother  .  1-Oct. 

Night  Flight  .  1-Sept. 

Bombshell  . .  2-0ct. 


Monogram 

DISTRIBUTED  BY  FIRST  DIVISION 

The  Avenger  . 

Sweetheart  of  Sigma  Chi . 

Broken  Dreams  . 

He  Couldn’t  Take  It  . 

Sensation  Hunters  . 

The  Sagebrush  Trail  . 

Lucky  Texan 

Woman’s  Man  .  . 


Pa  ramount 

Song  of  Songs 
This  Day  and  Age 
One  Sunday  Afternoon 

Torch  Singer  . 

To  the  Last  Man  . 

Golden  Harvest  . 

Too  Much  Harmony  . 

I’m  No  Angel  . 

Tlllie  and  Gus  . 

Way  to  Love . 

Take  a  Chance  . 

Hell  and  High  Water . 

White  Woman  . 

Design  for  Living  . 

Cradle  Song  . 

Duck  Soup  . 

Lone  Cowboy  . 

Thundering  Herd  . 

Sitting  Pretty  . 

Girl  Without  a  Room . 

Alice  In  Wonderland . 

Miss  Fane’s  Baby  Is  Stolen . 

His  Double  Life . 

S  Girls  in  a  Boat  . 

The  Last  Roundup  . 

Search  for  Beauty 

Four  Frightened  People  . 

All  of  Me  . 


Radio 

Morning  Glory  . 

Rafter  Romance  . 

One  Man's  Journey . 

Midshipman  Jack  . 

A  Chance  at  Heaven . 

Ann  Vickers  . 

Ace  of  Aces . 


2-0ct. 

1- Nov. 

2- 0ct. 
2-June 


2-Nov. 

2-Nov. 

2-Nov. 


Aggie  Appleby  . 

Little  Women 

After  Tonight  (Woman  Spy) 

Right  to  Romance . 

If  I  Were  Free . 

Flying  Down  to  Rio . 

Man  of  Two  Worlds  ...... 

Meanest  Gal  in  Town 

Son  of  Kong  . 

Two  Alone 


2-Nov. 


United  Artists 


1-Jan. 

1-Jan. 

1- Jan. 

2- Jan. 


2-Nov. 


Bitter  Sweet  . 

The  Bowery  . 

Broadway  Thru  Keyhole 

Emperor  Jones . 

Henry  the  Eighth . 

Blood  Money  . 

Roman  Scandals . 

Advice  to  the  Lovelorn 

Gallant  Lady  . 

Moulin  Rouge  . 

Nana  . 


1-Nov. 

1-Nov. 


Universal 


2-Dec. 

1- Jan. 

2- Jan. 
2-Jan. 
2-Jan. 


1- July 

2- Aug. 

1- Sept. 

2- Sept. 
1-Oct. 
1-Oct. 


Love,  Honor  and  O  Baby 
Saturday’s  Millions 

SOS  Iceberg  . 

Only  Yesterday  . 

Myrt  and  Marge  . 

Special  Investigator  .  .  .  . 

Invisible  Man  . 

King  for  a  Night 
Counsellor  at  Law 

Horse  Play  . 

Beloved  . 

By  Candlelight  . 

Bombay  Mail 

Madame  Spy  . 

The  Poor  Rich 
Cross  Country  Cruise 
I  Like  It  That  Way 


2-Sept. 

2-0ct. 

2-0ct. 

2-Oct. 

1- Nov. 

2- Nov. 

1- Nov. 

2- Nov. 
2-Nov. 
2-Nov. 
2-Nov. 
2-Nov. 
1-Dec. 
1-Dec. 


First  Division 

(CHESTERFIELD) 

By  Appointment  Only  . 

Dance,  Girl,  Dance . 

I  Have  Lived  . 

A  Man  of  Sentiment  . 

Rainbow  Over  Broadway  . 

Notorious  But  Nice  . 


Picture  Brides 
One  Year  Later 
Tarzan  the  Fearless 
Eat  ’Em  Alive 
The  Road  to  Ruin 

He  . 

Throne  of  the  Gods 


2-Dec. 

1-Jan. 

1- Jan. 
1-Jan. 

2- Jan. 
2-Jan. 
2-Jan. 
2-Jan. 


Gold  Medal 

Sing,  Sinner,  Sing . 

The  Big  Bluff  . 

Important  Witness  . 

Laughing  at  Life  . 

Curtain  at  Eight  . 

You  Made  Me  Love  You  . 

The  Charming  Deceiver  . 

Sin  of  Nora  Moran  . 

Big  Time  or  Bust  .  .  . 

Enlighten  Thy  Daughter  . 


1-Aug. 

1- Aug. 

2- Sept. 

1- Oct. 

2- Oct. 
2-Oct. 
2-Oot. 


Masterpiece 

Neighbor’s  Wives  . 

Her  Forgotten  Past  . 

Riot  Squad  . 

Secret  Sinners  . 

Wine,  Women  and  Song 

Marriage  on  Approval  . 


2-Oct. 

2-Nov. 

2-Oct. 

1- Dec. 

2- Dec. 

1- Jan. 

2- Jan. 
2-Jan. 
2-Jan. 
2-Jan. 


2-Sept. 

2-Oct. 

1-Nov. 

1-Oct. 

1-Oct. 

1-Dec. 

1- Dec. 

2- Dec. 
2-Dec. 

1- Jan. 

2- Jan. 


2-Oot. 

2-Sept. 

1- Oct. 

2- Nov. 

1- Sept. 

2- Nov. 
2-Nov. 
2-Nov. 

1- Dec. 

2- Dec. 
1-Jan. 

1- Jan. 

2- Jan. 
2-Jan. 
2-Jan. 
2-Jan. 
2-Jan. 


2-Nov. 

1-Nov. 

1- Aug. 

2- Nov. 

1- Dec. 

2- Nov. 

2-Nov. 

2-Aug. 

1- Sept. 

2- Dec. 
2-Dec. 
2-Jan. 
2-Jan. 


2-Aug. 

2-Oct. 

2-Aug. 

2-June 

1-Deo. 

1-Dec. 

1-Jan. 

1- Jan. 

2- Jan. 
2-Jan. 


1- Oot. 

2- Nov. 
2-Aug. 

1- Jan. 

2- Jan. 
2-Jan. 


Janl5'34  pg.  35 


T he  Motion  Picture 
RELIEF  FUND 

During  1933 

Gave  to  Destitute  Former 
Exchange  Employees 

*4183®® 

THE  FUND  NOW  NEEDS 
VOI  D  HELP 

Please  Give / 

/ 

The  following  have  been  appointed  to  receive 
your  weekly  contribution : 


LESTER  WUERTLE  ....  COLUMBIA  FRANCIS  HOLTZSTEIN  .  .  N  ATI -PENN 

E.  V.  SEGALL  ....  FIRST  DIVISION  CLARA  KRAFTSOW  .  .  PARAMOUNT 

ETHEL  FREEDMAN  FOX  MARGARET  CLARK . RKO 

MICHAEL  KATZ  .  .  .  GOLD  MEDAL  ANNA  PARRISH  .  .  .  UNITED  ARTISTS 

DOROTHY  DENNIS  .  .  .  HORLACHER  MARY  MEADOWCROFT  .  UNIVERSAL 

DOROTHY  BERESIN . METRO  CHARLES  BEILAN . WARNERS 


66  Yesterday  they  worked  beside  you  •  .  . 
to-day  they  need  your  help ” 


This  space  contributed  by  THE  EXHIBITOR. 


STAR  NAMES  •  •  •  LAVISH  SETS  •  •  •  MUSIC 


»  .  »  MELODRAMA  *  •  *  HEART  INTEREST  *  «  «  PLUS 
MASTERFUL  DIRECTION  BY  HERBERT  BRENON  I 


supported  by 


LEW  CODY 


Booked  by  leading 
circuits  throughout 
the  country  . . .  and 
First  Run  Indepen¬ 
dents  everywhere. 


BOBBY  ARNST 
GERTRUDE  ASTOR 


and  the  Callenette  Ballet 


WIN€ 


WOM€N 


Direct  from  its 


PHILADELPHIA  FIRST  RUN 

KEITH'S  THEATRE 


iHstributnl  by  I’hihulrlphiu  *.s  First  Mntlrprmirnt 

MASTERPIECE  FILM  ATTRACTIONS,  Inc. 

L.  KORSON,  President 

1329  VINE  STREET  •  PHILADELPHIA 

_ _ _ _ _ _ 


Well  guarantee 
your  satisfaction 
with  .  .  . 


LILY  AN 

TASHMAN 


Janl5’34  b.c. 


n  this 
issue: 


Local  Grievance,  Clearance  Boards  Due  February  9. 


A  Joy  Emanuel  Publication 


VOL  16-No.  3 


PHILADELPHIA,  FEBRUARY  1,  1934 


Price,  15  Cents 


Chicago  Goes  Nuts  Over 

"In  The  Money" 


150  Day s 

Solid  booking 
Over  Entire  loew 
De  Luxe  New  York 
Circuit 


LCZ-P5  THBATRYS 

175th  St. 

Lincoln 

Ave.B. 

Delancey  or  Canal 

PlAza 

Prospect 

Grand 

116th  St. 

Elsmere 

Preem^n 

Voodelde 

Karroo 

'iterlwlck 

Century 

Lexington 

72nd  St. 

Ziefrf  laid 

New  York 
96th  St. 

Rio 

7th  Ave. 

New  Rochelle 
t.7ernon 
Yonkers 
°itkin 
Astoria 
Vi  Hard 
Hillsi'1© 

Alpine 
4oth  St. 

Oriental 
Coney  I ©lend 

Broadly 
Bedford 
Palace 
Premier 
^irrrount 
167 tn  St. 
Burnside 
Bur  land 
Rational  or 
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"IN 

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AX  INVINCIBLE  PICTURE 

^  SKEETS  GALLAGHER 
LOIS  WILSON 
WARREN  HYMER 
SALLY  STARR 

and  the  nuttiest  east  of 
relatives  ever  assembled 


*  *  •  And  The  Trade  Is 
Going  Nuts  Over  FIRST  DIVISION 


"DINNER  AT  EIGHT" 
"DANCING  LADY"  ,„j 
"QUEEN  CHRISTINA" 

-  are  just 

killing  them  at  the  box  office ! 


Early  reports  on  the  engagements 

“"ESKIMO" 


YOU  CAN  T  BUY  EVERYTHING 


£1 


M-G-M 


Drama 


84  mins. 


ANOTHER  MAY  ROBSON  TRIUMPH;  \ 
EXCELLENT  ENTERTAINMENT  J 
FOR  FAMILY  TRADE 

Cast:  May  Robson,  Jean  Parker,  Lewis 
Stone,  Mary  Forbes,  Reginald  Mason.  Wil¬ 
liam  Bakewell,  Claude  Gillingwater  and 
others.  Original  story  by  Dudley  Nichols 
aid  Lamar  Trotti.  Screen  play  by  Zetda 
Sears  and  Eve  Greene.  Director,  Charles 
F.  Reisner. 

Plot:  May  Robson  takes  her  money  and 
securities  out  of  the  bank  on  learning  of 
Lewis  Stone’s  appointment  as  Vice-Presi¬ 
dent.  She  has  hated  Lewis  Stone  for  30 
years  because  he  jilted  her.  She  married  a 
wealthy  man  to  spite  Stone,  and  after  her 
husband’s  death,  had  only  one  thought — 
to  make  his  fortune  grow  until  her  son  \/ 
would  be  America’s  wealthiest  .man.  How¬ 
ever,  her  son  marries  Stone’s  daughter  and 
mother  and  son  become  estranged  when  the 
mother  breaks  Stone  in  a  business  deal. 
Stofie  reveals  the  reason  he  jilted  her  and 
everyone  is  reconciled. 

Summary:  Here's  a  picture  that  will 

prove  its  worth  as  an  attendance  buildeF. 

One  that  all  classes  will  enjoy ,  especially 

appealing  to  u ’omen.  Jean  Parker  gives 

another  one  77f  her  sweet  performances. 
Bakewell  and  Mary  Forbes  also  do  good 
work.  In  exploiting  the  lovable  May  Rob¬ 
son's  fine  performance  don't  overlook  the 
juvenile  love  interest  supplied  by  Jean 
Parker  and  William  Bakewell. 


SO  far  In  th  is  territory  are  excellent! 


I  have  just  screened  May  Robson's 
new  picture  entitled  .  .  . 

"YOU  CAN'T  BUY 
EVERYTHING" 

and  I  have  reproduced  opposite  a 
criticism  taken  from  the  "Show¬ 
man^  Round  Table". 


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“So  well  acted  by  Mr.  Lederer 
that  it  tickled  the  risibles  of 
the  audience  . . .  spectators 
applauded  this  film'’ 

— Hall,  N.  Y.  Times 

“His  Hollywood  entrance  can 
be  definitely  set  down  as  a 
success” 

—Watts,  N.  Y.  Herald-Tribune 

“Broadway’s  most  exciting 
matinee  idol” 

—Bland  Johaneson,  N.  Y.  Mirror 

“Has  both  talent  and  per¬ 
sonality” 

—Regina  Crewe,  N.  Y.  American 

“An  excellently  true  and  sym¬ 
pathetic  performance” 
—Boehnel,  N.  Y.  World-Telegram 

“An  actor  of  sufficient  skill 
and  personal  charm  to  endow 
any  character  he  portrays 
with  the  love-glow” 

—Delehanty,  N.  Y.  Post 

“Charming” 

—John  S.  Cohen,  N.  Y.  Eve.  Sun 


FRANCIS  LEDERER 
ELISSA  LANDI 

in 

9F  TWO  WORLDS 


with  Henry  Stephenson . .  i.  Farreii  MacDonald 

Directed  by  J.  Walter  Ruben..  ..A  Pandro  S.  Berman  Production 


RKO-RADIO  PICTURE 

MERIAN  C.  COOPER,  exec.  prod. 


Feb  1  ’ 34  pg.  4 


.  and  Not r 

— a  New  Star  in  a  Different  Story 

JUDITH 


ALLEN 


(COURTESY  PARAMOUNT  PICTURES) 

Star  of  "Too  Much  Harmony" 
and  "This  Day  and  Age" 

in 


Dancing  Man 

(THE  LOVE  LIFE  OF  A  GIGOLO) 

With 

REGINALD  DENNY  »  Natalie  Moorhead  »  Edwin  Maxwell 

A  Well-conceived  Idea  .  •  .  Ably  Cast  ...  Lavishly 
Set  ...  and  Ade€|iiately  Di reeled  ...  Plus  a  Title 
any  Exploiteer  Will  Rave  About 


99 


// 


Now  Playing  Leading  Theatres 

WINE.  WOMEN  and  SONG 


// 


with  LILV.W  T ASHMAN 

Directed  by  Herbert  Brenon 


LEW  CODY 
BOBBE  ABN  ST 


Distributed  by  Philadelphia's  First  Independent 

MASTERPIECE  FILM  ATTRACTIONS,  Inc. 


1329  VINE  STREET 


L.  KORSON,  President 


Feb  1  ’  34  pg.  5 


THE  EDITOR'S 


PAGE 


Vol.  16,  No.  3  February  1,  1934 


Analyzing  the  Best  Ten 

FILM  DAILY’S  BEST  TEN  as 
®  selected  by  critics  and  the  trade  repre¬ 
sentatives  of  the  country  presents  a 
good  cross-section  of  actual  changes  in  the 
industry. 

From  the  company  standpoint,  several 
things  are  outstanding.  Warners  retain 
their  pace  as  one  of  the  industry’s  leaders, 
with  “42nd  Street”  and  “I  Am  a  Fugitive.” 
The  first  began  the  present  musical  cycle, 
the  second  was  a  distinct  contribution  to 
the  school  of  film  realism.  Both  showed 
initiative  and  progress.  Paramount  indi¬ 
cated  that  in  a  large  measure  it  has  re¬ 
gained  its  important  place  in  the  business 
with  “She  Done  Him  Wrong”  and  “A  Fare¬ 
well  to  Arms.”  Some  may  dispute  the  lat¬ 
ter  but  Paramount’s  advancement  cannot 
be  denied. 

That  Fox’s  “Cavalcade”  would  be  in  the 
best  ten  was  never  doubted.  It  deserved  a 
place  even  though  its  entrance  saw  no  box 
office  glory  here.  “State  Fair”  probably 
rode  in  the  select  list  on  the  basis  of  general 
appeal. 

Foreign  pictures  gave  indication  of  their 
progress  with  “Henry  the  Eighth,”  box 
office  and  artistic  success,  and  “Maedchen 
in  Uniform,”  critics’  picture.  Columbia  s 
“Lady  for  a  Day”  was  a  real  movie. 

Probably  the  best  indication  of  how  times 
have  changed  may  be  seen  in  Metro’s  lone 
wolf,  “Rasputin,”  which  barely  nosed  its 
way  in.  Time  was  when  Metro  always 
used  to  have  many  pictures  in  the  group. 
Best  ten  ranking  should  serve  notice  to  the 
studio  that  a  new  deal  is  needed.  The  best 
ten  merely  confirms  exhibitors’  opinions 
that  companies  which  stand  still  slip  back. 

One  happy  fact  recorded  in  the  many 
polls  of  best  ten  pictures  taken  throughout 
the  country  was  an  indication  that  people 
think  the  movies  are  generally  getting  bet¬ 
ter.  The  best  ten  is  serving  a  good  purpose 
in  that  it  helps  crystallize  the  opinions  of 
movie  goers  everywhere. 


Racket  Practice 

ONE  OF  THE  FIRST  jobs  for  the 
®  Code  Authority  should  be  to  decide 
whether  or  not  clauses  in  certain  contracts 
are  optional  as  far  as  certain  distributors 
are  concerned.  Some  exchanges  have  writ¬ 
ten  in  clauses  barring  their  pictures  from 
being  double  featured  with  any  other  films. 
Whether  this  is  fair  or  unfair  is  not  the 
question.  The  code  does  not  specifically  bar 
it. 

But  if  the  clause  is  there  it  should  be 
enforced  or  completely  forgotten.  The  prac¬ 
tice  whereby  the  exchange  cracks  down  on 
some  who  violate  it  and  allows  others  to  do 
as  they  please  is  the  evil  that  must  be  cor¬ 
rected.  If  doubles  are  barred,  in  contract, 
let  them  be  barred.  But  if  some  exhibitors 
who  have  signed  a  contract  with  that  clause 
are  allowed  to  double  and  others  who  signed 
the  same  kind  of  a  contract  are  not,  then 
it  comes  under  the  heading  of  a  racket  inas¬ 
much  as  the  exchange  enforces  it  to  serve  its 
own  convenience. 

There  is  no  reason  why  exchanges  should 
be  allowed  to  handle  the  matter  in  any  way 
they  wish.  If  such  clauses  are  not  en¬ 
forced  they  should  be  abolished. 


The  Exhibitor 

Circulating  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware.  Issued  on  the  1st  and  15th 
of  each  month  by  Jay  Emanuel  Publications,  Inc.  Publishing  office.  219  North  Broad  Street,  Philadelphia. 
Branches  at  1600  Broadway,  New  York  City;  Washington,  D.  C.  Jay  Emanuel,  publisher;  Paul  J.  Greenhalgh, 
advertising  manager;  Herbert  M.  Miller,  managing  editor.  Subscription  rates:  $2  for  one  year,  $5  for  three 
years.  Single  copies,  15c  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware.  Publishers,  also,  of 
THE  NATIONAL  EXHIBITOR  of  Washington  and  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  EXHIBITOR.  Official  orgar 
of  the  Motion  Picture  Theatre  Owners  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southerr?  New  Jersey  and  Delaware.  Address 
all  communications  to  the  Philadelphia  office. 


Code :  Second  Month 


AS  THE  industry  code  moves  slowly  along  in  its  second 
month,  several  factors  are  apparent. 

First,  delay  in  forming  the  local  clearance  and  grievance 
boards  is  not  helping  the  situation  any.  Exhibitors  want  to  see 
how  the  code  will  work  out.  Their  best  chance  of  finding  its  value 
rests  in  the  operation  of  the  local  units. 

Second,  ruling  of  Deputy  Administrator  Sol  A.  Rosenblatt, 
that  the  cancellation  clause  in  the  contract  is  retroactive  begin¬ 
ning  with  pictures  released  after  December  7  raised  a  storm  of 
disapproval  from  the  distributors.  If  this  clause  is  retroactive, 
how  about  the  rest  of  the  code?  That  is  the  question  to  be  answered. 

Third,  suit  brought  by  Allied  to  find  out  whether  or  not 
qualified  approvals  of  the  code  must  be  accepted  by  the  Code 
Authority  represents  a  move  on  the  part  of  certain  exhibitor  fac¬ 
tions  to  make  a  test  of  the  code. 


The  final  strength  of  the  code  will  be  in  its  operation.  The 
sooner  the  industry  gets  around  to  it,  the  better  everyone  in  the 
business  will  feel. 

Currently,  the  state  of  mind  of  exhibitors  in  general  may  well 
be  represented  by  the  editorial  representation  which  rests  directly 
south  of  these  observations.  Some  may  say  that  the  code  benefits 
directly  protect  the  producer,  but  in  the  long  run,  unless  they  apply 
to  everyone  in  the  business,  a  storm  shall  arise  that  will  be  so 
terrific  as  to  destroy  whatever  protection  there  may  be  in  the 
covering  so  neatly  illustrated. 


AS  PART  OF  THE  INDUSTRY  SEES  IT 


6 


Feb  1'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Promotions  Accorded  S-W  Managers 

as  Part  of  New  Opportunity  Plan 

Flynn,  Davidoff  Assistants  to  Zone  Chief  Schlesinger — 

Plough,  Kessler,  Speece,  Lexy  Get  Districts — Bonus  Plan 
Success — Promotions  for  Achievement 

With  a  company  policy  dedicated  to  immediate  recognition  of  proven  ability  on 
the  part  of  every  employee  and  promotion  for  those  who  are  worthy  of  it,  the  local 
Stanley- Warner  division,  under  the  guidance  of  zone  chief  Leonard  Schlesinger, 
underwent  a  slight  reorganization  last  week  that  gave  immediate  proof  of  the  com¬ 
pany’s  sincerity.  i==^^=^^^=======- 


Whereas  in  the  past  this  zone  has  had  seven 
divisions,  three  new  ones  have  been  created  as 
well  as  a  new  assistant  zone  manager’s  post 
under  Zone  Chief  Schlesinger. 

Jack  Flynn,  a  real  veteran  with  the  company, 
and  a  man  who  rose  from  the  ranks,  is  now 
assistant  to  Schlesinger  in  charge  of  theatre 
operation,  with  Lou  Davidoff  assistant  in 
charge  of  film. 

The  new  divisions  and  the  one  vacancy  re¬ 
sulting  from  Flynn’s  promotion  see  A1  Plough, 
Robert  Kessler,  Rufus  Speece  and  Jack  Lexy 
moved  up  into  divisional  posts.  They  had  been 
managing  the  Uptown,  Colney,  Astor,  Reading; 
and  Broadway,  respectively,  with  the  promo¬ 
tions  a  reward  for  their  success  in  their  indi¬ 
vidual  operations. 


Moved  Up 


Top,  A1  Plough,  Jack  Lexy 
Below,  Rufus  Speece,  Bob  Kessler 


Other  promotions  announced  at  the  same 
time  include  J.  G.  McGee  from  the  manage¬ 
ment  of  the  Clementon,  Clementon,  N.  J.,  to 
management  of  the  Princess,  Camden ;  Roland 
Haynes,  from  managing  the  Forum  to  manag¬ 
ing  the  Colney;  Ben  Blumberg,  from  manag¬ 
ing  the  Plaza  to  managing  the  Broadway ; 
George  Fox,  from  managing  the  Northeastern 
to  managing  the  Strand;  Harry  May,  from 


Full  Speed  Ahead 


Leonard  Schlesinger 

Zone  manager  for  Warner  theatres  in  this 
district. 


managing  the  Second  Street  Imperial  to  the 
management  of  the  Keystone;  Joe  Ghiglione, 
from  managing  the  Alhambra  to  managing  the 
Plaza ;  Allan  Rappeport,  from  managing  the 
Camden  Princess  to  managing  the  Vineland 
Grand. 

In  each  of  these  cases  the  promotion  took 
the  manager  from  a  smaller  house  to  a  larger 
one. 

Other  promotions  include  assistants  being 
moved  up  to  managerships.  This  resulted  in 
Richard  Kirson  getting  the  helm  of  the  Im¬ 
perial  (60th  Street),  after  being  at  the  Circle; 
R.  Park  managing  333  Market ;  J.  E.  Parker, 
from  the  Lansdowne,  to  management  of  the 
Forum;  C.  Lieberman  to  the  management  of 
the  Reading  Astor ;  D.  Luciente  to  manager¬ 
ship  of  the  Alhambra;  M.  Levin  to  manager¬ 
ship  of  the  Northeastern,  after  having  been  at 
the  Broadway ;  G.  Hartman  to  managership  of 
the  Clementon,  Clementon,  N.  J. 

Zone  manager  Schlesinger  has  just  returned 
from  a  series  of  trips  to  all  parts  of  the  terri¬ 
tory,  where  he  held  meetings  with  district 
managers,  managers  and  other  employees  of  the 
company.  He  impressed  upon  them  the  possi¬ 
bilities  of  advancement,  indicated  that  within 
the  past  six  weeks  there  had  been  at  least  20 
important  promotions  of  all  kinds  and  the 
marvelous  opportunity  which  awaited  those  who 
worked  hard  for  the  company. 


To  Dues  Paying  Members 

Dues  paying  members  of  the  M.  P. 
T.  O.  are  urged  to  get  in  touch  with  the 
office  of  President  Lewen  Pizor.  Those 
who  have  paid  their  dues  to  date  will 
receive  a  membership  card. 

Meanwhile,  a  special  committee  is 
discussing  the  new  form  of  membership 
contract  recently  approved. 


It  is  interesting  to  point  out  that  Schlesinger, 
himself,  started  as  an  usher  in  the  business, 
which  is  ample  proof  that  hard  work  makes 
for  steady  promotion. 

Warner  Brothers,  at  the  present  time,  stand 
in  a  significant  position,  with  the  company’s 
last  report  showing  the  outfit  in  the  black.  In 
addition,  the  bonus  plan  of  the  organization, 
which  had  30  local  managers  getting  into  the 
money  when  the  last  drive  ended  January  1, 
gives  chance  for  extra  money  for  those  who 
have  the  goods.  The  present  drive,  part  of  the 
bonus  plan,  on  a  percentage  basis,  ends  March 
31,  when  a  new  period  will  beg'n.  The  bonus 
plan  is  a  national  idea,  with  the  local  district 
actively  engaged  in  doing  its  part. 


Assisting 


Lou  Davidoff,  assistant  in  charge  of  film,  and 
Jack  Flynn,  assistant  in  charge  of  theatre 
operation,  local  Warner  zone. 


Schlesinger  found  business  picking  up  during 
his  trip.  CWA  money  as  well  as  CCC  activi¬ 
ties  have  helped  conditions  in  the  outlying  areas, 
but  in  general  he  thought  there  was  more 
money  circulating.  This,  with  a  vast  improve¬ 
ment  in  product,  helps  the  circuit’s  business. 

The  moral  position  of  the  local  circuit  is 
extremely  high  with  the  spirit  of  the  men 
reaching  a  new  peak,  thanks  to  the  confidence 
of  the  men  in  Schlesinger  and  his  able  lot  of 
assistants. 

Flynn’s  promotion  was  especially  gratifying 
to  the  trade  in  general.  As  chief  of  the  Read¬ 
ing,  Chester,  Wilmington  and  Delaware  county 
( Continued  on  page  24) 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Feb  1  ’  34 


7 


Hear  Appointment  of  Local  Clearance 
and  Grievance  Boards  Due  February  9 

Names  Being  Ratified  by  Code  Authority-Allied  Units 
File  Test  Suit  Against  Body  —  Qualified  Signatures 
Involved 

The  boards  which  will  govern  local  clearance  and  grievance  matters  in  the  local 
territory  are  now  being  selected.  They  will  be  ratified  bv  the  Code  Authority,  Feb¬ 
ruary  9,  it  is  believed. 


Delaware  for  Code 


Membership  of  the  Independent  Mo¬ 
tion  Picture  Theatre  Owners  Associa¬ 
tion  of  Delaware  and  the  Eastern  Shore 
of  Maryland  stands  one  hundred  percent 
for  the  NRA  code.  At  a  meeting  of  the 
association,  held  at  Swaine’s  Hotel, 
Harrington,  January  18,  all  of  the  mem¬ 
bers  except  those  who  had  previously 
signed  up  individually,  signed  the  code 
individually,  representing  46  theatres. 

Meeting  was  called  by  Secretary 
Roger  Christopher,  Federalsburg,  Md., 
after  the  organization  had  first  approved 
the  code  collectively  at  its  December 
meeting.  Not  all  of  the  members  had 
signed  up  collectively,  so  at  the  sugges¬ 
tion  of  the  code  authorities  a  meeting 
was  called  so  that  the  members  might 
sign  individual  agreements.  President 
A.  J.  DeFiore,  a  Wilmingtonian,  pre¬ 
sided. 

Independents  attending  the  meeting 
and  signing  the  code  represented 
theatres  in  Wilmington,  New  Castle, 
Delaware  City,  Dover,  Smyrna,  Middle- 
town,  Lewes,  Rehoboth,  Harrington, 
Georgetown,  Seaford,  Laurel,  and  Mil¬ 
ford,  Delaware,  and  Easton,  Snow  Hill, 
Berlin,  Salisbury,  Cambridge,  Federals¬ 
burg,  Denton,  Ridgely,  Crisfield,  Ches- 
tertown,  and  Princess  Anne,  Maryland. 

Theatre  Employees  Union 
Spreading  in  Territory 

Outgrowth  of  New  York  Move¬ 
ment  Taking  Hold 

A  union  of  theatre  employees,  to  include 
ushers,  doormen,  cleaners,  porters,  and 
general  utility  help  is  growing  in  this 
territory. 

The  movement  is  an  outgrowth  of  the  success 
of  the  idea  in  New  York  City  where  it  has 
taken  a  firm  hold. 

While  most  independent  houses  have  not 
been  approached  as  yet,  this  is  considered  a 
matter  of  time.  It  is  reported,  however,  that 
chains  are  always  the  first  points  of  attention. 

Generally,  the  demands  are  for  less  hours, 
more  wages. 


Operation  Refused 

Secretary  Beamish,  Commonwealth  of  Penn¬ 
sylvania,  January  17,  refused  the  applica¬ 
tions  for  acts<  of  authority  to  operate  in  Penn¬ 
sylvania  of  the  Independent  Motion  Picture 
Operators!’  Union  of  Wilkinsburg,  and  the  Key¬ 
stone  State  Motion  Picture  Operators’  Asso¬ 
ciation  of  Philadelphia. 


Paramount  Party  Big 
Help  in  Charity  Drive 

Aid  to  Film  Folk  Boosted  by  Ex¬ 
change's  Benefit 

The  Paramount  party  for  the  benefit 
of  the  Relief  Fund  for  Vine  Street  Un¬ 
employed  was  a  big  success. 

More  than  200  film  folk  attended  the  affair, 
January  26,  at  the  Byrd  Theatre,  furnished 
through  the  courtesy  of  Earle  and  Joe  Forte. 

Committee  on  arrangements  included  Misses 
Clara  Kraftsow,  Anna  Kraftsow,  Elsa  Chan, 
Naome  Lowenthal,  with  branch  manager  Earle 
Sweigert  giving  everything  a  fatherly  eye. 

Affair  was  held  in  the  Byrd  lounge.  The 
Fortes  also  contributed  a  five-piece  orchestra, 
buffet  supper,  beverages.  Metropolitan  Print¬ 
ing  contributed  tickets.  Horlacher  brought 
bridge  tables  and  chairs.  Card  games  were  in 
order  duruig  the  evening,  followed  by  dancing. 

First  door  prize,  a  floor  lamp,  donated  by 
Miss  Naome  Lowenthal,  was  won  by  M.  S. 
Altemose;  second  door  prize,  contributed  by 
Mrs.  P.  A.  Bloch,  was  a  cake,  and  went  to  J. 
Engel,  Universal.  The  Quality  Premium  set 
of  dishes,  70  in  number,  donated  by  Barrist  and 
Goodwin  went  to  Mrs.  M.  S.  Altemose. 
Twenty-six  other  prizes  were  donated  by  vari¬ 
ous  Paramount  employees  for  high  scores  as 
well  as  non-player  prizes. 

The  Fund  benefitted  to  the  tune  of  $115,  and 
a  vote  of  thanks  is  due  Messrs.  Bloch,  Swe'gert 
and  the  Paramounteers  who  made  it  possible. 


Industry  Helps  President’s  Ball 

The  local  industry  gave  its  support  to  the 
President's  Ball,  held  January  30. 

Locally,  the  ball  was  at  Convention  Hall, 
wtih  various  houses  supplying  stage  talent. 
Musicians’  union  gave  plenty  of  music,  while 
theatres  ran  trailers  plugging  the  event. 

Proceeds  went  to  the  Warm  Springs  Founda¬ 
tion  for  Crippled  Children. 

Theatres,  organized  under  the  leadership  of 
a  committee  headed  by  President  Lewen  Pizor, 
M.  P.  T.  O.,  bought  tickets  and  boosted  the 
affair. 


Samuehon  President 

Sidney  Samuelson,  president,  New 
Jersey  Allied,  is  now  president  of  the 
Allied  States  national  body. 

Succeeds  Jim  Ritter. 


The  committee,  Messrs.  Kent,  O’Reilly, 
Schaefer,  Yamins,  Johnston,  Kuykendahl,  is 
completing  its  work.  Ratification  is  necessary  by 
the  Authority.  No  secretaries  have  been 
selected.  Local  boards  will  choose  their  own. 

The  first  court  test  was  an  Allied  matter. 

It  has  been  sponsored  by  Allied  States  Asso¬ 
ciation  and  was  filed  recently  in  U.  S.  District 
Court  in  New  York  by  the  Congress  Theatre, 
Newark,  N.  J. 

It  was  filed  against  Sol  A.  Rosenblatt,  Deputy 
Administrator,  members  of  the  Code  Authority 
and  secretary  of  that  body.  It  seeks  to  enjoin 
them  from  refusng  to  accept  any  qualified 
assent  to  the  code  tendered  by  that  theatre  men¬ 
tioned.  House  reserved  its  rights  under  the 
Sherrran  anti-trust  law  and  other  statutes.  In 
the  alternative,  bill  seeks  to  adjudge  the  motion 
picture  code  contrary  to  the  NRA  and  in  viola¬ 
tion  of  the  fifth  amendment  to  the  Constitution 
and  to  enjoin  its  enforcement  agamst  the  com¬ 
plainant. 

The  Philadelphia  boards  were  given  extreme 
consideration  by  the  Code  Authority  committee. 
This  was  because  the  zone  was  deemed  one  of 
the  most  important. 

Signatures  from  this  territory  have  been  com¬ 
ing  in  fast.  The  local  M.  P.  T.  O.  has  already 
advised  its  members  to  get  into  line.  This  was 
believed  largely  responsible  for  the  good  results 
from  this  zone. 

Meanwhile,  the  ruling  of  Rosenblatt  wherein 
the  cancellation  clause  in  the  contract  is  held 
retroactive  beginning  with  releases  of  Decem¬ 
ber  8  is  certain  to  meet  with  protests  from  the 
distributors. 

It  is  hoped  to  keep  the  costs  of  administering 
the  industry  code  down  to  about  $250,000 
annually. 

The  Code  Authority  held  another  meeting 
January  23,  in  New  York  City. 

It  was  announced  that  4502  unqualified  sig¬ 
natures  to  the  code  had  been  received  from 
exhibitors  and  60  distributors.  Twenty-nine 
producers  also  signed,  including  major  com¬ 
panies. 

Nominations  for  local  clearance  and  griev¬ 
ance  boards  totalled  930  at  that  time.  There 
are  416  places  to  be  filled,  five  members  on 
each  grievance  board,  seven  to  every  clearance 
group  and  a  secretary  for  each  zone. 

R.  H.  Cochrane  was  the  chairman  at  the  last 
meeting,  under  the  rotating  plan.  A  report  on 
the  manual  for  local  functions  is  expected  at 
the  next  meeting,  set  for  February  9. 

Other  matters  were  also  postponed  until  that 
time. 

A  committee  to  take  up  the  matter  of  fire 
regulations  was  also  appointed,  including 
W.  Ray  Johnston,  George  J.  Schaefer,  Felix 
Feist. 

A  committee  was  also  appointed  to  investi¬ 
gate  protests  regarding  vaudeville  conditions. 

{Continued  on  page  24) 


8 


Feb  1  ’  34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


A 

A  Concise 
National  Survey 

TRADE  IX  REVIEW  • 

- V 

Glances  Outside 
the  Territory 

CODE 

Allied  Meets 
On  Code  Matters 

Highlighting  the  week  was  a  scheduled 
meeting  of  Allied  leaders.  The  code,  ’twas 
said,  was  to  be  a  topic.  The  trade  wondered 
what  steps  against  it  might  be  in  order  follow¬ 
ing  the  test  suit. 

Protests  Against 
Code  Names  Received 

Apparently  all  the  code  names  mentioned 
haven’t  been  received  with  jubilation  by  the 
trade.  Protests  come  into  the  Code  Authority 
headquarters.  Deadline  for  nomination  was 
January  20,  but  protests  can  come  in  any  time, 
reports  say. 

Will  to  Hollywood 
So  Is  Sol 

To  Hollywood  went  Deputy  Administrator 
Sol  A.  Rosenblatt,  intent  on  studying  coast 
effects  of  the  code.  All  work,  no  play  was  to 
be  his  program,  with  plenty  of  problems  now 
awaiting  his  attention  in  that  territory. 

To  Hollywood  went  Will  H.  Hays  on  a  sur¬ 
vey.  It  was  his  12th  trip.  As  usual,  it  was 
preceded  by  the  usual  statements  about  the 
future,  etc. 

Rotating  Chairman 
in  February,  Report 

Rotating  chairman  will  be  used  on  local 
boards,  along  the  same  lines  as  the  national 
body. 

It  is  expected  that  local  boards  will  start 
functioning  sometime  in  February.  Mean¬ 
while,  an  anxious  industry  waits. 

10%  Ruling 
Face*  Conflict 

The  10%  elimination  clause  is  effective  for 
pictures  released  after  December  7,  if  exhibi¬ 
tor  has  complied  with  his  part  of  the  code. 
This  applies  also  to  all  contracts  signed  after 
that  time.  But  a  legal  squawk  impends. 

Financing  and 
No  Benefits 

Exhibitors  not  signing  the  code  do  not  have 
to  help  finance  it,  reports  tend  to  show.  How¬ 
ever,  those  who  do  not  sign  do  not  reap  any 
benefits. 

February  28 
Deadline  Observed 

With  February  28  as  the  deadline  for  code 
signatures,  most  exhibitors  refused  to  be  de¬ 
terred  by  the  Allied  test  suit  on  qualified  sig¬ 
natures,  sent  in  their  signatures  in  order  to 
get  aboard  the  bandwagon. 

Observers  were  quick  to  point  out  it  is  better 
to  sign  and  find  fault  afterwards,  not  before. 


PRODUCTION 

Independents  On 
Time  with  Releases 

Independent  units  are  producing  on  time. 
Chesterfield  and  Invincible  will  contribute  all 
promised.  Majestic  intends  to  complete  its 
program.  Monogram  is  already  making  plans 
for  1934-1935.  Steadiness  of  these  units  brings 
renewed  confidence  to  the  trade. 

Paramount  in  Black 

Optimistic  About  Future  • 

With  Adolph  Zukor  inspecting  the  coast  divi¬ 
sions,  Paramount  stands  in  a  strong  production 
position.  Company,  in  the  black,  releases  on 
schedule,  has  contributed  more  than  its  share 
of  hits.  Thanks  to  good  direction  and  Mae 
West,  trade  is  again  Paramount-conscious. 

Salary  Questionnaire 
Now  Being  Answered 

Studios,  home  offices,  chains,  etc.,  are  now 
answering  questionnaires  sent  them  by  the  gov¬ 
ernment  in  accordance  with  the  President’s  exec¬ 
utive  order.  What  will  happen  after  these  are 
received  is  undecided,  but  filled  out  they  must 
be,  or  else  .... 

Salaries  from  $150  up  are  included  in  the 
inquiry  list. 

Screen  Actors’  Guild 
Becomes  Big  Factor 

1935  will  see  nearly  5000  members  in  the 
Screen  Actors’  Guild,  president  Fredric  March 
asserts.  Observers  see  strength  of  the  Academy 
gone,  future  of  the  Screen  Actors'  Guild  bright. 
Exhibitors,  generally,  don’t  care,  as  long  as 
actors  act,  help  make  box  office  pictures. 

EXHIBITION 

13,736  Houses  Open 
in  Country,  Survey 

Film  Board  of  Trade,  which  has  facilities  to 
survey  theatres  in  country,  reports  13,736  houses 
open.  18,371  are  listed  as  entered  on  the  books, 
with  940  eliminated  since  last  year.  4635 
houses  are  closed. 

Legislatures  Prepare 
to  Tax  Movie  Industry 

From  all  parts  of  the  country  come  threats 
of  legislation  against  the  industry.  Virginia 
senses  a  5%  tax.  Massachusetts  proposes  a 
board  for  supervision  of  exhibition.  Missouri 
has  trouble  of  its  own.  Jersey  exhibs  prepare 
to  fight  a  sales  tax. 

Kentucky,  Colorado,  Iowa,  West  Virginia, 
Washington,  Mississippi,  Rhode  Island,  South 
Carolina  are  other  states  with  legislators  par¬ 
ticularly  interested  in  possibilities  of  theatre  as 
avenues  for  revenue. 


Tri-Ergon  Letters 
Irritate  Exhibitors 

Exhibitors  have  received  letters  from  Tri- 
Ergon,  informing  them  of  the  decision  in  the 
case  against  Wilmer  and  Vincent,  hinting  at 
damages  if  patent  rights  are  upheld.  RCA 
and  Western  Electric  are  quick  to  comfort 
exhibitors,  pointing  out  that  liffgation  is  long, 
there  is  no  need  to  worry. 

National  Board 
of  Review  Meets 

Few  exhibitors  know  what  the  National 
Board  of  Review  is.  Most  of  them  know  it 
only  as  a  mention  on  every  feature  they  show. 

Annual  proof  that  there  is  such  a  body  comes 
when  the  group  meets.  This  year  it  has  its  ses¬ 
sion  in  New  York  City,  February  8-10.  Sol  A. 
Rosenblatt,  code  supervisor,  speaks. 

Post  Office  Dept. 

Seeks  Lottery  Ban 

From  Denver  comes  a  post  office  ruling  that 
may  affect  theatres  in  Maine,  California,  etc. 
Competitive  theatres  give  away  autos.  “A  lot¬ 
tery,”  asserts  the  p.  o.  Newspaper  carrying 
such  ads  would  be  banned.  Meanwhile,  houses 
using  similar  ideas  elsewhere  wonder. 


DISTRIBUTION 

Out  of  the  Red 
Into  the  Black 

$105,752  profit  for  Warners  was  shown  in 
the  13  weeks  ended  November  25.  Observers 
noted  that  this  was  the  company’s  first  entrance 
into  the  black  since  1930,  attributed  the  change 
to  “42nd  Street,”  “Gold  Diggers,”  “Footlight 
Parade/’  Warners’  courage  and  initiative. 

Happier  Days 
For  Para,  RKO 

Both  RKO  and  Paramount  will  be  out  of 
the  receivership  mess  shortly.  Things  look  bright 
for  both  companies,  with  financial  stabilization 
allowing  for  a  permanent  reorganization. 

United  Artists  Trade 
Shows  Setting  Record 

United  Artists  is  apparently  determined  to 
show  exhibitors  before  selling.  On  the  heels 
of  “Gallant  Lady”  and  “Moulin  Rouge,”  trade 
shows  for  “Nana”  and  “Palooka”  follow. 
All  made  an  impression,  with  UA  probably  en¬ 
couraged  to  continue  its  practice. 

Distributors  Get 
Lowdown  on  The  Code 

Sales  departments  have  sent  out  detailed  in¬ 
formation  on  the  code  to  all  distributing 
agencies.  Meanwhile,  reports  of  contracts 
seeking  to  have  exhibitors  fail  to  sign  optional 
form  are  heard.  Looming  as  topics  for  con¬ 
siderable  argument  are  the  cancellation  clause, 
selective  buys. 


(QooA.  UJdUl  V7aJjt_ 


Feb  1  ’  34  pg.  9 


9  PROVEN 

ENGAGEMENTS 


[ 


IN  FULL  DETAIL! 


REPEAT  THEIR 
SUCCESS  WITH 
READY  CAMPAIGNS! 

Contents: 

TWELVE  DOUBLE -SIZED  PAGES 


with  photos  and  complete  description  of  9 
successful,  proven  “Eskimo”  campaigns,  from 
Atlanta,  Richmond,  Norfolk,  Miami  and  five 
other  cities  .  .  . 

30  NATIONAL  TIE-UPS 
such  as  Lipton’s  Tea,  Norge  Refrigerator, 
Remington  Typewriter,  Lucky  Strikes, 
Hills  Bros.  Coffee,  Atwater  Kent,  Eskimo 
Pie  and  22  more  equally  big!  Special 
window  cards,  streamers,  banners,  etc. 

NEWSPAPER  SERIALIZATION 
In  12  thrilling,  illustrated  chapters!  Also  news¬ 
paper  cartoon  strips. 

RADIO  THRILL  CONTINUITY — ■ 
FULL  PAGE  CO-OP.  AD  LAY-OUT 


ESKIMO  PHOTOPLAY  NOVEL 

^with  Special  Window  Cards 

FULL  PAGE  EDUCATIONAL  PLAN 


AND  100  MORE  VALUABLE 
EXPLOITATION  SUGGESTIONS 

15  SMASHING  PAGES 

OF  ADVERTISING ! ! ! ! 

PUBLICITY  SECTION  CONTAINING 

every  conceivable  press  angle! 

ACCESSORIES  FULLY  ILLUSTRATED 
Giant  Pictorial  Cut-out  Letters,  combination 
marquee  hangers  and  door-knob  novelty,  plus 
many  more  in  addition  to  regular  accessories. 


This  Campaign  Book  is  32  inches  high.  24  inches  wide — and 
every  inch  is  crammed  with  practical  Theatre  Showmanship! 


10 


Feb  1  ’  34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


St'NNY 

mm 

♦HOW 

MEN-/ 


Shows  that  have  angles 

Shows  that  can  be  sold 


;t  MYSTERY  THII1LLEKS 

from  the  masterful  pen  of 

EDGAR  WALLACE 

The  most  outstanding  writer 
of  current  mystery  fiction 
NOW  READY 

"WHITE  FACE" 


FREE! 

Pennants!  Banners!  Lobby  Displays! 

Featured  Serially  In  th«  October  Cosmopolitan  Magazine 
200,000  Volumes  Sold  as  a  look 


A  Baffling 
Mystery 
Drama 

Action  ! 
Suspense! 
Thrills  ! 
Backed  by 
Special  Roadshow 
Displays 


COMING: 

"Criminal  at  Large" 


Direct  from 
its  World 
Premiere  at 
the 

MAYFAIR, 
N.  Y. 

• 

Held  Over  for 
a  Second  Week 


AND 

;/The  Man  They 
Couldn't  Arrest77 


A  Sensational 
Title  Backed 
by  a  Thrilling 
Production 


DISTRIBUTED  BY 

HERBERT  W.  GIVEN,  Inc. 

1239  Vine  Street  Philadelphia 

Also  WESTERNS,  FEATURETTES, 
FELIX  Cartoons,  TRAVELOGUES 


Two  from  Warners 


HOLLYWOOD— 

“Heat  Lightning,”  with  Aline  Mac- 
Mahon,  Ann  Dvorak,  Lyle  Talbot, 
Glenda  Farrell,  Frank  McHugh,  Preston 
Foster,  Ruth  Donnelly,  has  an  ace  cast, 
action  background,  plenty  of  speed, 
with  LeRoy  direction.  Show  fits  nicely 
into  the  program  groove,  can  be  sold 
anywhere. 

“I’ve  Got  Your  Number,”  with  Joan 
Blondell,  Pat  O’Brien,  Glenda  Farrell, 
Allen  Jenkins,  Eugene  Pallette,  Gordon 
Westcott,  has  lots  of  exploitation  possi¬ 
bilities,  loads  of  laughs,  smash  move¬ 
ment  all  the  way,  and  is  an  audience 
picture. 

Production  glimpses  of  “Hot  Air,” 
with  Ginger  Rogers,  Dick  Powell,  and 
others,  as  well  as  “Merry  Wives  of 
Reno,”  Glenda  Farrell,  Guy  Kibbee, 
Ruth  Donnelly,  Donald  Woods  indicate 
these  two  will  also  be  laugh  specials. 

EMANUEL 


Heard  In ' 


C 


ROSSTOWN 

Norman  Lewis 
Likes  Midgets 


FOREST  THEATRE  had  a  setback  when 
it  was  discovered  that  burglars  had  borrowed 
the  sound  equipment.  .  .  .  Lost  a  matinee 

show.  .  .  .  Frank  Hauss,  operator,  discovered 
the  loss.  .  .  .  Warners  plugged  “Fashions  of 
1934”  by  inviting  Philly’s  best  dressed  women 
to  see  the  show,  had  them  plug  it  over  the  air. 

THE  HEIGHT  of  something  or  other: 
Europa  plays  return  of  "Emperor  Jones”  at 
65  cents  top,  while  down  the  street  the 
Capitol  has  it  at  15  cents.  .  .  .  Artie  Cohn, 
whose  Earle  telegrams  announce  the  coming 
of  a  new  show,  doesn’t  overlook  the  foreign 
papers  in  his  publicity  plugs.  .  .  Names 

coming  to  the  Earle  include  Duke  Ellington, 
Lillian  Roth  and  others.  .  .  .  Earl  Carroll 

was  a  visitor  in  town,  dropped  in  on  the 
Earle.  .  .  .  Meanwhile,  Joe  Feldman  con¬ 

tinues  his  rosy  management. 

NEW  CRYSTAL  THEATRE,  Miner’s 
Mills,  operated  jointly  by  Joseph  Simone  and 
Dominic  Oliver,  has  arranged  for  the  installa¬ 
tion  of  RCA  Victor  High  Fidelity  sound 
equipment.  .  .  .  Penlo  Theatre,  Emaus,  Wm. 
H.  Knaake,  manager,  has  been  equipped  with 
Photophone  High  Fidelity  reproducing  ap¬ 
paratus. 

NORMAN  LEWIS  played  Singer’s  Midgets. 

.  .  .  Almost  got  a  crush  on  one.  .  .  .  Joe 

Conway  also  played  the  Midgets  at  his  house. 

.  .  .  It  looked  like  midget  week  in  Philly. 

KEYSTONE  STATE  Motion  Picture  Op¬ 
erators  Union  was  denied  registration  in  this 
state,  according  to  a  Harrisburg  decision’.  .  .  . 
It  was  pointed  out  that  three  officials  of  the 
unit  were  under  indictment. 

DAVID  SEGAL  has  the  Laurel  Springs 
Towne.  .  .  .  S.  Alexander  Smith,  brother  of 


Howard,  the  Fox  city  salesman,  now  has  the 
Souderton  Broad.  .  .  .  N.  W.  Fredericks  has 
the  Garden,  Lock  Haven.  William 

Flindt  has  the  Montrose  Ideal.  .  .  .  Closed 
houses  include  the  Parkesburg  Opera  House 
and  the  local  Apex. 

MOE  VERBIN,  Europa  manager,  undergo¬ 
ing  nose  and  throat  operation.  .  .  .  Legit  show 
at  the  Erlanger  sells  unreserved  seats.  .  .  . 
New  idea  for  the  house.  .  -  .  .  Town  has  been 
flooded  with  special  passes  for  the  house,  re¬ 
deemable  at  a  low  cost. 


ZONfi  CHIEF  Leonard  Schlesinger  spent 
much  time  in  the  territory  a  fortnight  ago  in- 
siecting  Warner  theatres  in  Lancaster,  Han¬ 
over,  Red  Lion  and  York,  with  division  chief 
William  Israel.  .  .  .  He  made  the  trip  as  part 
of  his  tour  around  the  circuit. 


MRS.  HOYME,  the  efficient  outer-office  re¬ 
ception  committee  at  Stanley-Warner’s  11th  and 
Market  offices,  continues  to  give  her  beaming 
smile  to  all  those  desiring  to  get  into  the  inner 
sanctum.  .  .  .  She  knows  practically  everyone 
in  the  local  field  through  her  many  years  of 
service. 


NINETEEN  YEARS  AGO:  .  .  .  Mer¬ 
chants’  Theatre  Ticket  Company  filed  corpo¬ 
rate  amendment  changing  name  to  Merchants’ 
Amusement  Company.  .  .  .  Mrs.  Francis 

Mooney,  probation  officer  of  Juvenile  Court, 
was  sent  60  guest  tickets  by  management  of 
Keith’s  Theatre  for  boys  placed  in  her  care 
by  Judge  Gorman,  Municipal  Court.  .  .  . 

Frank  Gademan  and  John  Morollo,  managers, 
Forrest  Theatre,  entertained  300  newsboys 
with  a  show.  .  .  .  Nixon  and  Erlanger  Film 
Exchange  moved  to  bigger  quarters  at  1337 
Vine  Street.  .  .  .  Maurice  Spiers  bought  the 
Plaza  and  Century  Theatres.  .  .  .  G.  H.  Chap¬ 
man  gave  contract  to  build  a  theatre  at  Rising 
Sun  Lane  and  Loudon  Street  to  Louis  Ahlers, 
Jr.  .  .  .  Cedar  Amusement  Company  took 

over  from  William  Friehofer  the  theatre  at 
Cedar  and  60th.  .  .  .  John  Fiocca  planned  a 
theatre-  at  841  North  40th  Street. 


FAY  S,  Philadelphia 

Under  Direction  of 

M.  E.  COMERFORD 

Playing 

8  BIG  ACTS 

—  OF  - 

VAUDEVILLE 

Booked  by 

EDWARD  SHERMAN 

VAUDEVILLE  AGENCY 

Real  Estate  Trust  Bldg. 
PHILADELPHIA 

Pennypacker  7595 

MAYFAIR  THEATRE  BLDG.,  NEW  YORK 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Feb  1*34 


11 


Heard  In 

INE  STREET 

Plenty  of 
Drives  Here 


EXHIBITORS  who  have  played  “Tarzair” 
and  “Rainbow  Over  Broadway*  ’  are  now  com¬ 
pletely  First  Division  conscious.  .  .  .  When 
“Tarzan”  played  Waldman’s  Garden,  8th  Street, 
more  than  4000  admissions  were  recorded  on  a 
recent  Saturday.  ...  In  addition,  “Murder  on 
the  Campus’’  and  ‘In  the  Money,”  from  Ches¬ 
terfield,  are  in.  .  .  .  And  Monogram  produc¬ 
tions  include  “He  Couldn’t  lake  It,’  “Broken 
Dreams,”  “Woman’s  Man”  and  “16  Fathoms 
Deep.”  ...  In  addition  to  some  new  John 
Wayne  westerns.  .  .  .  Keith’s  gets  “Rainbow 
Over  Broadway,”  first  run,  with  plenty  of  good 
dates  all  around  the  state.  .  .  .  A1  Blofson,  the 
beaming  manager,  is  also  sending  “Goona 
Goona”  out  for  some  road  show  engagements. 

.  .  .  And  with  the  interest  created  in  World 
War  photos  in  the  local  Bulletin,  a  natural 
would  be  “The  Big  Drive.”  .  .  .  The  exchange 
will  celebrate  another  anniversary  in  March. 

CLEM  RIZZO,  the  equipment  man,  didn’t 
have  much  to  say,  when  this  department 
dropped  around.  .  .  .  But  he  thinks  things 

are  picking  up. 

GOLD  MEDAL  is  setting  exploitation  runs 
on  “Enlighten  Thy  Daughter/’  which  Attrac¬ 
tions,  Inc.,  is  releasing  through  the  exchange. 

.  .  .  Majestic  releases  now  current  are  “Sin 
of  Nora  Moran,”  with  “The  Divorce  Bed”  com¬ 
ing  up.  ...  In  addition,  the  “Jack  and  the 
Beanstalk”  Corni-Color  reel  got  extended  play¬ 
ing  time  throughout  the  territory,  with  a  new 

one  duq  in  shortly . Nat  Levine,  whose 

Mascot  serials  are  distributed  through  Gold 
Medal,  will  have  his  complete  lineup  set  soon. 

.  .  .  Meanwhile,  "The  Mystery  Squadron”  is 
beginning  to  work  around,  and  there  is  plenty 
of  interest  among  exhibitors. 

MASTERPIECE’S  big  news  was  “Dancing 
Man,’’  with  Reginald  Denny  and  Judith 
Allen,  borrowed  from  Paramount. 

Show  will  be  ready  soon.  .  .  .  Meanwhile, 

“Wine,  Women  and  Song”  is  playing  ace 
inde  houses  in  town,  beginning  with  Keith’s 
and  including  Fay’s,  Met,  Grand  and  other 
spots.  .  Upstate,  it  has  been  getting 

plenty  of  time.  .  .  .  New  releases  include 

“What’s  Your  Racket?”,  an  action  picture, 
with  Regis  Toomey  and  Noel  Francis.  .  .  . 
Some  big  news  will  be  forthcoming  soon 
from  the  exchange. 

SYLVIA  ZAGRANS  was  a  local  visitor.  .  .  . 
She  is  with  Educational  in  New  York.  .  .  . 
Oscar  Neufeld  and  Bill  Heenan’s  Peerless  ex¬ 
change  has  a  swell  Lenten  subject  available, 
especially  for  Catholic  communities.  .  .  .  It  is 
“The  Shepherd  of  the  Seven  Hills,”  and  a 
couple  of  upstate  towns  which  have  played  it 
have  done  nicely  with  it.  .  .  .  It  is  adapted  for 
use  during  Lent.  ...  In  addition,  the  exchange 
has  a  wealth  of  short  product  for  all  kinds  of 
houses,  including  novelties,  travel,  etc.  .  .  . 
And  the  Bud  ’n’  Ben  and  the  Flash  dog*  action 
series,  three  reelers. 


CURRENT  DRIVES  on  the  street  include 
those  of  Universal,  Columbia,  Warners,  Para¬ 
mount.  ...  So  all  good  exhibitors  should  come 
to  the  aid  of  the  exchanges  and  date  in  all 
shows  and  shorts  available.  .  .  So  that  the 
exchange  employees  can  win  a  lot  of  prizes. 
.  .  .  One  good  turn  deserves  another. 

ELI  GINSBERG  is  now  selling  for  Gold 
Medal  in  the  Harrisburg  and  Jersey  block. 
.  .  .  Eli  says  that  with  such  a  nice  lineup 

of  product,  he  will  be  kept  plenty  busy  turn¬ 
ing  in  contracts.  .  Oscar  Neufeld  was 

reminiscing  the  other  day  regarding  the  good 
old  days  when  he  was  president  of  the  Amer¬ 
ican  basketball  league. 

A  LOT  OF  EXHIBITORS  looked  at  the 
Japanese  scare-headlines,  wondered  if  their 
premium  shipments  would  be  affected.  .  .  . 
Dave  Barrist  went  upstate  on  a  visit.  .  .  . 
Jim  Clark  went  to  Washington,  Baltimore,  took 
over  two  Baltimore  film  routes.  .  .  .  Charlie 
Goodwin  may  go  on  a  trip  with  the  Missus. 

I 

HARRY  WEINER  hopped  over  to  New 
York  to  attend  a  Columbia  regional  meeting. 
.  .  .  New  product  was  discussed. 

BARNEY  COHEN,  popular  Benson  man¬ 
ager,  is  now  back  in  harness  after  a  few  days 
of  being  hors  de  combat.  .  .  .  He  was  ill.  .  .  . 
Herb  Given  is  kept  busy  these  days  hopping 
back  and  forth  to  New  York  city,  where  he 
has  another  exchange.  .  .  .  John  Bachman  went 
down  to  Washington  to  oversee  Educational 
matters.  .  .  .  J.  Becker,  at  Apex  Garage,  plans 
some  improvements  for  the  spring.  .  .  .  His 
service  staff  was  recently  revised. 

WILLIAM  Z.  PORTER  is  already  en¬ 
trenched  in  his  1208  Vine  Street  quarters. 

.  Second  floor.  .  .  New  enlarged 

quarters  and  facilities  are  available. 

TEN  YEARS  AGO.  .  .  .  M.  S.  Landow 
was  sales  manager-m.  c.  at  the  Paramount 
frolic.  .  .  .  C.  S.  Trowbridge  resigned  from 
UA.  .  .  .  Bill  Heenan  was  given  a  big  birth¬ 
day  party.  .  .  .  He  was  41  years  young.  .  .  . 
The  Logan  Theatre  opened.  .  .  .  Julius  Freed¬ 
man,  at  the  Family,  Forrest  City,  celebrated  his 
16th  anniversary  in  the  business.  .  .  .  E.  M. 
Orowitz  took  over  the  enlarged  exploitation  de¬ 
partment  of  The  Exhibitor.  .  .  .  Warners 
offered  150,000  shares  on  the  New  York  Curb. 


New  ComiColor  Aid 

Emil  Offeman,  general  manager.  Animated 
Pictures  Corporation,  producing  the  new  “Pow¬ 
ers  ComiColor”  and  “Willie  Whopper”  series 
of  cartoons  in  color,  has  signed  several  impor¬ 
tant  personalities  to  augment  the  present  pro¬ 
duction  staff. 


Title  Change 

“The  Quitter”  is  the  release  title  on  the 
Chesterfield  picture  featuring  Emma  Dunn. 
Charley  Grapewin  and  William  Bakewell 
“The  Quitter”  was  formerly  known  as  “The 
Understanding  Heart.”  First  Division  dis¬ 
tributes. 


• 

Official  Letter 
Service  to  the 
Motion  Picture 
Industry 

Accurate  List 
of  all  Theatres 
and  Executives 

Mimeographing 
Multigraphing 
Public  Stenography 

Addressing  -  Folding 
Enclosing  -  Mailing 

Advertising 

Publicity 

Printing 

WM.  Z. 

PORTER 

Advertising  and  Letter  Service 

120H  Vine  Street 

(Second  Floor) 

BELL  TELEPHONE 

:  RITTENHOUSE  7195 

H 

O 

R 

L 

A 

C 

H 

E 

R 

# 

S 


Meet  "Bill"! 


Debonair,  smiling  —  all 
the  force  of  a  Marine 
Corps  “top  kicker,”  but 
courteous  and  fair. 

• 

WM.  CLARK,  pictured  below,  is 
purchasing  agent  for  the  HOR- 
LACHER  LINES  and  super¬ 
vises  maintenance  and  repairs. 
Under  his  careful  watchfulness 
our  trucks  are  equipped  and 
manned  to  be  kept  rolling  in  any 
weather. 


SERVING  THEATRE  OWNERS 
FOR  MORE  THAN  18  YEARS... 
AND  EARNING  THE  REPUTATION; 


The  Company  with 


a  100%  Perfect  Record 


LOCAL  FOX  BRANCH  still  down  in 
national  standings.  .  .  .  Shorts  up,  though. 

World  premiere  here  of  “Carolina” 
was  preceded  by  another  world  premiere  in 
Charlotte.  .  .  .  Howard  Smith  up  in  Movie¬ 
tone  news  standings. 

DAVE  BARRIST  hied  himself  off  to 
Florida  for  a  rest.  .  .  .  Johnny  Bachman,  the 
Fox-Educationalite,  visited  Pittsburgh. 


Charters 

Catasauqua  Amusement  Corporation.  Philadelphia ; 
owning,  managing,  operating  and  controlling  theatres 
and  places  of  amusement;  William  and  Marion  Hum¬ 
phries.  both  Philadelphia,  and  C.  J.  Klang,  Upper 
Darby,  incorporators. 

Fidelity  Amusement  Company,  Inc.,  Perk  Haven; 
owning,  leasing  and  operating  motion  picture  theatres, 
musical  comedies;  N.  W.  and  R.  W.  Fredericks,  both 
Lock  Haven,  incorporators. 


H 


ORLACHE 

DELIVERY 
SERVICE,  INC. 

1228-30  Vine  Street 
PHILADELPHIA 


R 


Scranton  New  Haven  Baltimore 

New  York  Boston  Washington 


12 


Feb  1  ’  34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Pizor  Re-elected  Head 
of  Local  Exhibitor  Group 

Fearless  Leader  Directs  M.  P.T.  O. 
in  1934 

Lewen  Pizor  has  been  re-elected  presi¬ 
dent  of  the  M.  P.  T.  O.  of  Eastern  Penn¬ 
sylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and 
Delaware. 

The  re-election  took  place  at  a  meeting  held 
January  23  at  the  Elks  Hotel.  Other  elections 
included : 

Vice-presidents,  Michael  H.  Egnal,  P.  Mort 
Lewis ;  treasurer,  George  Lessy ;  secretary, 
George  P.  Aarons. 

Board  of  managers  (four  vacancies  to  be 
filled)  Milt  Rogasner,  Ben  Fertl,  Ed  Jeffries, 
Joe  Conway. 

Advisory  board:  Charles  H.  Goodwin,  Jay 
Emanuel,  A.  B.  Smith,  Morris  Spiers,  Morris 
Wax,  George  Kline,  Herb  Elliott,  Iz  Hirsch- 
blond,  Charlie  Segal,  Sam  Somerson,  John 
Bagley,  Elliott  Goldman,  Si  Myers,  Luke 
Gring,  Norman  Lewis,  Jack  Brown,  I.  Borow- 
sky,  Fred  Leopold,  Dave  Milgram. 

The  advisory  board  will  function  with  the 
actual  board  of  managers.  In  this  manner,  a 
more  workable  body  can  be  formed. 

Reviews  Year 

Opening  the  meeting,  President  Pizor  re¬ 
viewed  the  work  of  the  year,  concerning  the 
code,  daylight  saving,  carnivals,  taxes,  copy¬ 
right  bureau,  etc.  He  pointed  out  what  the 
organization  had  done  for  the  members. 

Business  of  the  meeting  concerned,  primarily, 
high  percentage  being  asked  for  Sam  Goldwyn 
productions  from  UA.  A  resolution  against 
the  sales  policy  was  passed,  but  the  door  was 
left  open  for  a  conference  with  UA  officials 
regarding  the  policy. 

A  report  on  the  operators’  situation  indi¬ 
cated  that  the  union  would  play  ball  with 
members.  All  matters  were  to  be  adjusted 
amicably,  it  was  felt.  This  could  be  accom¬ 
plished  through  the  organization. 

Members  were  told  that  both  electrics  would 
protect  their  interest  in  the  Tri-Ergon  patent 
suits. 

The  organization  urged  everyone  to  sign  the 
code. 

Support  for  the  President’s  Ball  and  the 
Romance  of  the  People  was  urged. 

Discussion  of  the  cancellation  clause  in  the 
contract  arose.  This  was  followed  by  the  an¬ 
nouncement  that  a  new  membership  contract 
was  being  formulated.  The  matter  was  re¬ 
ferred  to  the  board  of  managers. 

Record  Meeting 

About  100  members  were  present  and  the 
meeting  was  over  in  record  time.  It  was 
deemed  one  of  the  best  held  during  the  past 
year. 

The  Board  of  Managers  recently  passed  a 
resolution  prohibiting  the  secretary  and  counsel 
of  the  group  from  giving  any  advice  or  infor¬ 
mation  to  any  exhibitors  who  are  not  in  good 
standing  in  respect  to  their  dues  to  the  organi¬ 
zation.  The  organization  maintains  this  is  only 
just  and  fair  to  those  exhibitors  who  pay  their 
dues. 


Code  Highlights 

Last  code  news  discloses  the  fact  that 
February  28  is  now  the  deadline  for 
code  signing. 

And  also  that  appointment  of  the 
Philadelphia  local  boards  will  be  com¬ 
pleted  February  8,  at  a  meeting  of  the 
committee. 

Announce  New  M.P.T.O. 
Committees  for  1934 

Groups  to  Deal  with  Various 
Questions 

The  following  committees  for  1934 
have  been  announced  by  the  M.  P.  T.  O. 
of  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New 
Jersey  and  Delaware  to  deal  with  local 
problems  as  they  arise. 

LABOR — -Chairman,  H.  D.  Cohen,  Lewiston; 
Si  Myers,  Moorestown,  N.  J. ;  Martin  Ellis, 
Camden,  N.  J. ;  P.  Mortimer  Lewis,  Atlantic 
City ;  Lou  Rovner,  Camden,  N.  J. ;  A1  Fischer, 
Jr.,  Glenside ;  Jack  Brown,  Jenkintown;  J.  A. 
Jakcoen,  Lebanon;  Ike  Marcus,  Harrisburg; 
Stanley  Peters,  Summit  Hill ;  Herb  Effinger, 
Shamokin ;  Oscar  Stief el.  Lock  Haven ;  Mau¬ 
rice  Freed,  Narberth  ;  Harry  Fried,  Bryn  Mawr  ; 
Leo  Posel,  Philadelphia. 

ENTERTAINMENT— Chairman,  Milt  Ro¬ 
gasner,  Philadelphia :  Morris  Spiers,  vice-chair¬ 
man,  Philadelphia;  I.  Borowsky,  Philadelphia; 
Sam  Hyman,  Philadelphia ;  Charlie  Goodwin, 
Philadelphia;  Morris  Wax,  Philadelphia; 
George  Kline,  Philadelphia ;  Iz  Hirschblond, 
Toms  River,  N.  J. 

PUBLICITY  AND  PROPAGANDA— 
Chairman  George  P.  Aarons ;  Sam  Hyman, 
Philadelphia;  Frank  Salasin,  Narberth;  L.  Felt, 
Norristown ;  P.  R.  Hoffman,  Allentown. 

MEMBERSHIP — Abe  Sablosky,  chairman; 
Ed  Jeffries,  M.  Lessy,  Joe  Conway,  Allen  Benn, 
all  of  Philadelphia. 

OPERATORS’  COMMITTEE  (Philadel¬ 
phia) — Lewen  Pizor,  chairman;  Milt  Rogasner, 
Morris  Sp:ers,  Abe  Sablosky,  Norman  Lewis, 
Sam  Sonerson,  M.  Gerson,  Jay  Emanuel,  Ray 
Schwartz,  all  of  Philadelphia. 

CENSOR  COMMITTEE— Jay  Emanuel, 
chairman ;  Luke  Gring,  Herb  Elliott,  George 
Naudascher,  Lew  Pizor,  Leonard  Schlesinger, 
all  of  Philadelphia. 

POSTERS  AND  SUPPLIES— Ben  Fertl, 
chairman;  Fred  Leopold,  H.  Rosinsky,  Benja¬ 
min  Creep,  George  Aarons,  all  of  Philadelphia. 

FIRE  MARSHAL  COMMITTEE— Mike 
Egnal,  chairman ;  Lou  Berger,  William  Spiegel, 
George  Lessy,  William  Butler,  Joe  Price,  E.  J. 
Goldman,  all  of  Philadelphia. 

John  Bagley  is  Sergeant-at-Arms. 

The  chairman  of  the  board  is  a  member  of  all 
committees,  ex-officio. 


Ross  Shifts  Men 

Transfers  in  personnel  of  Ross  Federal  Serv¬ 
ice,  Inc.,  men  see  Arthur  S.  Kane  appointed 
western  division  manager;  Walter  I.  Brown 
appointed  mid-west  division  manager ;  Max 
Ungerman  to  Atlanta ;  J.  C.  Page  to  Denver ; 
and  B.  E.  Jolley  to  Indianapolis. 


UEST  COLUMNIST 

Too  Many 
Wall  Flowers 


PRESENCE  of  wall  flower-bachelors  at  the 
Paramount  party  was  mourned  by  all  the  young- 
ladies.  .  .  .  They  left  before  the  festivities 
were  over.  .  .  .  Sam  Schwartz  was  quite 


charming  at  the  same  affair.  .  .  .  Anna  Kraft- 
sow  made  a  hit  as  m.  c.  .  .  .  Manager  of  the 
Avon  thrilled  all  the  lassies.  .  .  .  Joe  Leon, 


Universal,  danced  many  times,  proved  a  Don 
Juan.  .  .  .  Lou  Goldsmith  dropped  in,  received 
quite  a  hand.  .  .  .  Herman  Rubin  missed  his 
vocation.  ...  He  belongs  in  Monte  Carlo. 
.  .  .  Esther  Diamond  lost  some  money  for  an 
exhibitor.  .  .  .  Berns,  Engel  and  Diamond 
made  music. 

PARAMOUNTEER  Yetta  Weiss  and  First 
Divisionite  Rose  Foreman  were  seen  dancing 
at  A.  C.  .  .  .  The  romance  at  the  major 

exchange  is  still  blooming.  .  .  .  Anne 

Schaefer  is  recuperating  from  an  appendix 
operation.  .  .  .  Marion  Mellon,  Universalite, 
is  still  sick.  .  .  .  Dot  Carson,  Bert  Messen¬ 

ger,  Mary  Meadowcroft,  the  Engels,  Joe  Leon 
and  Miguel  Landow  had  a  good  time  at  the 
Para  party. 

MISS  ROSALIND  FRIED,  Wayne,  daugh¬ 
ter  of  the  Main  Line  exhibitor,  a  student  in 
the  school  of  journalism,  Syracuse  University, 
received  commendation  recently  for  a  feature 
article  written  by  her.  .  .  .  And  is  papa  proud. 

MOTHER  of  Louis  Berger,  South  Phila¬ 
delphia  exhibitor,  died  recently.  .  .  .  Her 

passing  came  as  a  shock  to  her  family.  .  .  . 
The  trade  sends  its  condolences. 

THE  ENGAGEMENT  of  Harry  N.  Good¬ 
man,  Metropolitan  Printing  executive,  and 
Miss  Lillian  Blackman,  Philadelphia,  has 
been  announced.  .  .  .  The  marriage  takes 

place  March  4.  .  .  .  The  trade  wishes  them 
well  and  knows  that  Metropolitan  service  will 
be  even  better  when  Harry  becomes  a  mar¬ 
ried  man. 

New  First  Division 
Specials  Coming  Thru 

First  Division  is  now  getting  set  on  its 
specials  for  the  current  season. 

“He,  King  of  Virtue,”  which  played  to  sen¬ 
sational  business  at  the  New  York  Cameo ; 
"Road  to  Ruin,”  which  is  now  breaking  records 
in  its  Boston  engagements,  are  two  of  the  spe¬ 
cials  lined  up. 

Extended  runs  for  these  pictures  will  be 
announced  later. 

The  exchange  also  announces  that  “Young 
Eagles,”  a  12-episode  serial,  sponsored  by  the 
Boy  Scouts  of  America,  directed  by  Spencer 
Gordon  Bennett,  “Tarzan”  director,  with  release 
set  for  April  15,  is  now  available  for  dating. 

Meanwhile,  the  exploitation  department  of 
FD  has  been  busy.  Songs  from  “Rainbow 
Over  Broadway”  were  broadcast  over  WEAF 
on  a  recent  Saturday  night,  while  Abe  Lyman 
has  also  given  the  score  a  plug  over  the  air  on 
a  recent  Sunday.  Rudy  Vallee  also  gave  it  a 
big  boost  recently. 

Flarry  H.  Thomas,  president,  has  gone  to 
Florida  with  Mrs.  Thomas,  for  a  vacation. 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Feb  1 ' 34 


13 


MEET  THE  CHAMP! 


(Ed.  Note:  This  publication  in  no  way  subscribes  to  the  sentiments  contained  in  the 
following  article  written  by  the  author  as  an  individual.  The  columns  of  this  publication 
are  always  open  to  those  who  wish  to  convey  their  opinion  on  industry  matters  to  the 
trade.  Answers  to  the  following  article  will  receive  the  same  attention  accorded  this. 
This  publication  is  always  glad  to  allow  its  columns  to  be  used  as  a  forum.) 


DEHOLD  the  Philadelphia  exhibitor — champion  resoluter  of  the  industry.  Every  time  he  gets  socked,  he 

passes  a  resolution. 

Last  meeting  he  passed  some  mean  resolutions  against  high  film  rentals  and  the  depression.  Next  meeting 
he’s  going  to  pass  some  more  against  Hitler,  kidnapping  and  bad  weather  on  Saturdays. 

A  curious  specimen  is  the  Philadelphia  independent. 

Genus  homoyellowbellyus — which  is  Latin  for  “man  without  guts.” 

While  other  exhibitor  groups  band  themselves  together  into  powerful  units  to  combat  rising  costs  and 
excessive  labor  demands  he  resolutes. 

“Millions  for  tribute,”  says  he,  “not  one  cent  for  defense.” 

He’ll  pay  five  dollars  for  a  single  reel  but  only  50  cents  for  protection. 

He  wants  La  Guardias  and  Borahs  to  lead  him  but  won’t  pay  them  what  he  pays  a  lowly  usher. 

And  when  the  fire  becomes  hot  and  his  leaders  need  him,  he  deserts  on  the  field  of  battle. 

Right  now  he  is  girding  up  his  loins  for  combat  with  the  newly-organized  janitors,  ushers  and  cashiers 
union.  If  they  try  to  raise  salaries  on  him  he’ll  slap  them  down  with  a  hot  resolution. 

Every  so  often  he  goes  to  meetin’.  And  does  he  have  fun!  He  has  even  been  known  to  attend  when  there 
was  no  free  lunch. 

And  when  our  hero  goes  into  action  no  high  school  debating  society  or  ladies’  sewing  circle  is  more  exciting. 

Everybody  makes  plenty  speeches  with  resolutions  against  50%  pictures  with  overages,  with  guarantees, 
with  the  right  to  interchange,  with  score  charge. 

Theatre  owners  with  heavy  dough  invested  playing  at  making  speeches  while  their  investments  are  being 
washed  away  by  the  rising  waters  of  high  film  rentals  and  increased  operating  costs. 

And  the  FEW  WHO  KNOW  AND  CAN  SEE  sit  helplessly  by  wondering  why  the  lunacy  commission 
doesn’t  arrive. 


Behold  the  Philadelphia  independent — the  DOORMAT  OF  THE  INDUSTRY! 
tinct  as  the  dodo ! 


He  will  soon  be  as  ex- 
DAVE  BARRIST. 


MPTOA  on  Radio 

A  statement  from  the  MPTOA  says: 

MPTOA  have  been  compiling  data  coming 
from  every  state  in  the  United  States  where 
there  is  a  radio  broadcasting  station, — getting 
actual  facts  and  figures  concerning  broadcast¬ 
ing  programs  being  open  to  the  public  with  free 
admission.  In  many  instances  these  advertis¬ 
ers  reserve  the  right  to  issue  free  tickets  to 
thousands  of  patrons  ordinarily  of  the  theatre. 
It  is  unfair  as  well  as  ruinous  competition  and 
there  is  a  definite  clause  in  the  code  dealing 
with  this. 

MPTOA  intends  to  try  to  get  together  with 
the  radio  people  first,  and  ask  them  to  eliminate 
these  practices.  They  even  have  gone  so  far  as 
to  lease  theatres  and  halls.  Thirty-five  stations 
are  expected  to  be  contacted. 

If  the  organization  and  the  radio  people  can¬ 
not  get  together  on  the  subject,  it  shall  be  taken 
to  the  Code  Authority  of  the  motion  picture 
industry  and  they  shall  be  asked  to  appeal  to 
the  radio  authorities. 

Allied  Jersey  Dinner 

Allied  Jersey  held  a  beefsteak  dinner  this 
week  in  New  York  City. 

Newark  Athletic  Club  was  the  spot. 


UA  Two-a-Day 

United  Artists  announces  the  premiere  of 
“Catherine  the  Great,”  London  Films  produc¬ 
tion  based  on  the  life  of  the  Russian  Empress, 
February  14,  at  the  Astor  Theatre,  New  York 
City. 


Allied  Test  Suit  Postponed 

Allied  this  week  consented  to  a  postpone¬ 
ment  of  the  hearing  on  the  Congress  Theatre 
suit  against  the  Code  Authority. 

The  theatre  seeks  to  enjoin  the  body  from 
refusing  to  accept  cpialified  assents.  Postpone¬ 
ment  was  believed  a  result  of  the  extension  of 
the  period  of  filing  assents  to  February  28. 

Hearing  will  now  take  place  February  20. 


New  Censor  Set-ups 

At  least  two  states  are  trying  to  make 
changes  in  the  censor  setup. 

In  Virginia  and  New  York,  bills  to  abolish 
the  boards  have  been  introduced.  Virginia 
wants  to  do  away  with  the  group  altogether, 
while  the  New  York  idea  seeks  to  place  the 
comptroller  as  head  of  a  new  motion  picture 
division  to  take  over  the  functions  carried  by 
the  education  department. 


New  Standard  Model  & 

George  Mead,  general  manager,  Standard 
Ticket  Register  Corporation,  is  pleased  to  an¬ 
nounce  the  New  1934  Model  “N”  Silent  Auto¬ 
matic  Ticket  Register  with  interchangeable 
units. 

Mead  states  that  each  unit  is  built  separately 
and  any  unit  can  be  easily  removed  when  serv¬ 
ice  is  required.  Register  will  operate  just  the 
same  while  any  unit  is  being  repaired. 

Special  features  protect  your  cash  receipts. 
Ticket  numbers  are  easily  readable  under  the 
nickel  silver  top  plate,  according  to  Mead. 


Warners  Score 

Warners  have  another  ready  for  re¬ 
lease  that  should  provide  a  merry  tinkle 
for  the  box  office. 

“Mandalay,”  with  Kay  Francis, 
Ricardo  Cortez,  Lyle  Talbot,  Warner 
Oland  is  sumptuous  and  colorful.  Has 
definite  appeal  for  the  women,  while 
Kay  Francis’  performance  is  ample  in¬ 
surance. 

JAY  EMANUEL. 


14 


Feb  1  ’  34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


BETTER  TESTED  SUCCESSFUL 

MANAGEMENT  *  ideas  *  merchandising 


Sings  for  Columbia 


Grace  Hayes,  under  contract  to  Columbia,  is 
seen  here  with  a  couple  of  friends.  She  is 
now  working  in  a  musical  film,  untitled. 


“Moulin”  Caravan  Due 

With  a  cargo  of  some  of  the  most  popular 
motion  picture  stars  in  the  country,  accom¬ 
panied  by  a  chorus  of  twelve  girls  who  have 
been  appearing  recently  in  the  spectacular  pro¬ 
duction  numbers  of  musical  films,  a  fleet  of 
cars  known  as  the  Moulin  Rouge  Caravan  is 
scheduled  to  arrive  in  New  York,  February  6, 
as  part  of  a  coast-to-coast  tour  being  made  to 
celebrate  the  presentation  of  “Moulin  Rouge” 
from  20th  Century. 

Instead  of  travelling  by  train,  this  group  of 
screen  personalities  is  making  its  foray  across 
the  .nation  by  overland  stage,  so  to  speak.  Be¬ 
ginning  in  Washington,  the  caravan  is  to  arrive 
by  way  of  Baltimore,  Philadelphia  and  Newark, 
and  then  visit  three  New  England  cities  before 
it  turns  westward  for  the  long  trek  back  to 
Hollywood.  Nearly  a  score  of  specially 
equipped  limousines,  plus  a  giant  Greyhound 
bus  with  especially  installed  drawing-room 
furniture,  followed  by  a  truck  carrying  bag¬ 
gage,  will  make  up  the  caravan. 


S-W  Managers  on 
High  in  Exploitation 

Stanley- Warner  managers  are  riding 
along  on  the  crest  of  an  exploitation  wave. 

Home  office  department,  Harry  Goldberg  in 
charge,  arranged  a  special  preview  of  “Fashions 
of  1934”  for  local  well-dressed  society  women. 
Women  saw  it,  did  a  rave  over  WCAU.  Local 
ad  copy  stressed  sensational  features  rather 
than  fashion  element,  in  order  to  aid  the  male 
trade. 

Lloyd  Seiber,  at  the  local  State,  used  a  large 
keyhole  for  “Broadway  Thru  a  Keyhole,”  had 
a  boy  on  roller  skates  pass  around  the  neigh¬ 
borhood.  Had  a  girl  in  the  lobby  plugging 
“Advice  to  Lovelorn.”  Passed  out  booklets. 
Also  had  floral  and  men's  shop  tie-ups. 

Douglas  George  planned  a  “Go  to  Theatre” 
week  before  Lent.  Sought  co-operation  of 
mayor  and  Lancaster  bodies. 

Circle  had  a  lobby  exhibit  on  “World 
Changes,”  with  personal  letters  from  Lester 
Stallman  to  various  societies. 

Marty  Goldenberg,  at  the  Colonial,  had  lobby 
display  of  life-size  figures  of  Marx  Brothers 
as  well  as  rubber  ducks  in  water  for  “Duck 
Soup.”  Had  a  new  trailer  effect  for  “Invisible 
Man.” 

For  “Convention  City,”  a  list  of  local  sales 
managers  received  invites  to  a  special  preview. 

Douglas  George,  Capitol,  Lancaster,  used 
letters  to  bridge  fans  to  plug  the  Culbertson 
series. 

Charlie  Moyer,  State,  Hanover,  used  per¬ 
sonal  letters  to  plug  “Cradle  Song.” 


Disney  Honored 

Walt  Disney  was  honored  by  the  Poor 
Richard  Club  here,  January  17,  when  he  was 
awarded  that  organization’s  gold  medal  for  the 
outstanding  achievement  of  1933  at  a  banquet 
in  the  Benjamin  Franklin  Hotel. 

Eddie  Cantor  acted  as  Disney’s  proxy  in  re¬ 
ceiving  the  medal,  as  Disney  was  unable  to 
leave  Hollywood  because  of  production  activ¬ 
ity  at  his  studio  there.  Each  year  the  Poor 
Richard  Club,  composed  of  the  leading  pub¬ 
lishers  and  advertising  men  of  Philadelphia, 
makes  several  awards  for  meritorious  achieve¬ 
ments,  but  gives  only  one  medal  for  the  out¬ 
standing  achievement. 


Back  Again 


Arthur  Kelly,  UA  foreign  district  manager, 
and  Joseph  M.  Schenck,  president  UA  and 
20th  Century,  arrive  from  a  European  trip. 


Short  Bill  Clicks 

To  test  the  popularity  of  Walt  Disney's 
comics,  George  Jones,  manager,  Loew’s  Park¬ 
way,  Wilmington,  had  to  turn  away  what  he 
considered  crowds  equalling  a  two-house 
capacity.  He  filled  the  house  and  had  about 
200  standing. 

Special  all-Disney  program  was  a  “try-out” 
to  determine  the  amount  of  drawing  power 
these  comics  have,  and  Jones  admits  he  was 
flabbergasted  by  the  crowd.  It  was  put  on  in 
the  place  of  the  regular  children’s  program, 
which  is  given  there  under  the  auspices  of  a 
Trinity  Church  organization  every  Saturday 
morning.  Instead  of  drawing  an  all  juvenile 
crowd,  Jones  figures  that  there  were  as  many 
adults  admitted  and  turned  away  as  there  were 
kiddies. 


SENTRY  serviced  SAFETY  CONTROL 


Many  theatre  owners  weigh  the  matter  of  Safety  as  it  suits  them. 
PLAINLY  THIS  IS  ALL  WRONG.  In  Safety  there  is  no  half-way  meas¬ 
ure  with  the  Public.  The  Public  would  not  consider  it  safe  if  you  decide 
to  do  without  a  Serviced  Safety  Device  on  your  projectors.  The  Public 
would  think  with  horror  if  you  tried  to  economize  by  buying  Safety  equip¬ 
ment  without  a  service,  and  the  fact  that,  in  your  theatre,  the  Public 
has  not  yet  inquired  as  to  the  measure  of  Safety  that  you  are  giving  them — 
THAT  DOES  NOT  MEAN  THAT  THEY  CAN  BE  DECEIVED. 


SENTRY  SAFETY  CONTROL  CORP. 


Sentry  Safety  Controls  Listed  as  Standard  by  National  Fire  Underwriters  Laboratories 


Feb  1  ’ 34  pg.  15 


ELI  M.  OROWITZ 

EDITOR 


VOL.  1 


No.  12 


February,  1934 


CHOOSING  THE  MOST 
STRIKING  PRESS  BOOK  ADS 


IN  THE  fulfillment  of  the  pledge  made  last  month,  we  are  now  attempting  to 
choose  the  leading  press-book  ads  on  some  pictures  now  current  in  your  houses. 
Our  decision  after  consultation  with  several  active,  independent  theatre  operators 
dependent  on  press-book  aids  in  the  merchandising  of  pictures  to  the  public  is  based 
upon  the  following  factors: 


Absence  of  exaggerated  adjectives. 

Assembling  of  word  combinations  to  create  curiosity  and  interest. 

Befitting  illustration  lending  itself  to  clean,  effective  reproduction  and 
appropos  of  the  text  itself. 

Inclusion  of  timeliness  relative  to  a  cast  player  who  has  been  the  re¬ 
cipient  of  valuable  newspaper  publicity. 

Particular  copy  written  especially  about  the  story  in  the  picture  instead 
of  stock  phrasing. 

Faces  of  box  office  names  instead  of  embellished  art. 

Smaller  ads  which  provide  the  nucleus  of  campaign  during  run  of  picture. 

Specific  sales  themes  which  begin  in  the  advance  and  opening  ads  and 
continue  through. 

(I)  Ads  which  lend  themselves  to  situations  where  half-tone  and  reverse  are 
desirable  or  where  black  on  white  is  preferable. 

A  6  point  line  or  two  to  top  off  the  14-line  ads. 

Close-up  heads,  two  inches  wide,  without  backgrounds,  for  publicity  or 
inclusion  in  enlarged  ads. 

Originality. 

Concentrated  consideration  to  the  completeness  of  one  and  two  column 
rather  than  three  or  four  column  ads.  (Where  one  3-or-4  column  ad 
is  used,  two  2-column  or  four  1 -column  ads  are  utilized.) 

Ads  written  AFTER  the  picture  has  been  viewed  rather  than  theoretical 
campaigns  based  on  Hollywood  flashes.  If  press-books  must  be  rushed 
to  take  care  of  pre-release  bookings,  then  supplementary  sheets  should 
be  stuffed  immediately  afterwards. 

Text  suggestive  of  supplementary  exploitation  instead  of  conflicting  ad¬ 
vertising  copy  and  exploitation  ideas  in  the  same  press  book. 

We  shall  be  pleased  to  read  or  publish  letters  of  criticism  or  otherwise  from 
exhibitors  or  home-office  publicists.  The  purpose  is  to  provide  the  missing  link 
between  disgruntled  exhibitors  and  distributors’  home  office  personnel.  We  want 
to  do  our  share  in  directly  or  indirectly  arousing  enough  interest  to  bring  about 
press-book  ads  which  will  fulfill  the  complete  purpose  of  their  existence;  to  get 
those  few  extra  dollars  at  the  box-office  that  intelligent,  creative  and  economically- 
spaced  ads  can  attract. 

Theatre  operators  who  exhibit  pictures  fifty-two  weeks,  annually,  can  not 
afford  to  over-sell  attractions  because  their  prospects,  in  a  comparatively  short  time, 
will  have  no  confidence  in  their  claims. 


(A) 

(B) 

(C) 

(D) 

(E) 

(F) 

(G) 

(H) 


(J) 

(K) 

(L) 

(M) 

(N) 


(O) 


Feb  1  ’  34  pg.  16 


YOUR  THEATRE 


B 


AD  HIGHLIGHTS  of  the  PRESS  BOOKS 


Music  that  weaves 
a  magic  spell  —  ro¬ 
mance  that  touches 
the  depths  of  human 
emotion . . . 


LETSFALL 
IN  LOVE 

A  glorious  musical 
romance  oj  two  hearts 
in  song  time 
with 

EDMUND  LOWE 
Ann  Sothern 
Miriam  Jordan 
Gregory  Ratoff 


SHE  HAD  A  YEN 
FOR  TWO  MEN 

She  needed  two  men 
to  fill  her  life ...  so  the 
three  of  them  kicked  con¬ 
vention  out  the  window. 


‘l/locO,  CxociAdPl 

DESIGN  FOR  LIVING 

FREDRIC  MARCH  CARY  COOPER 
MIRIAM  HOPKINS 

EDWARD  EVERETT  HORTON 

A  Paramount  Picture 

OnOtnUluMich 

PRODUCTION 

THEATRE 


Civilization  made  her  a  Lady 
The  jungle  made  her  a  Woman! 


*'  />  Smothered  with  ‘dort’ts* 

....  i  * . 


CD 

He  kidnapped 
her  right  under 
the  eyes  of  her 
husband  and 
she  loved  it! 


She  wot  as  ruthless 
as  she  was  beautiful; 
as  cunning  as  she 
was  alluring,  and 
as  dangerous  as 
she  was  deverl .  . . 
See  the  love  story 
of  an  adventuress  I 

zAiadcune 

SPY 

with 

FAY  WRAY 
NILS  ASTHER  I 


%  LADY  IS 
WILLING 


The  kidnapper*  serve 
notice  upon  a  mother 
.  .  .  frantic  with  fear 

MISS  FANE'S 
BABY  IS 
STOLEN" 

DOROTHEA  WIECK 
UICI  GRADY 

BABY  L  e  R  0  Y 

A  Poromounl  Picture, 

Vat  I  AC — .IS 

,  THEATRE 

-  '  -3 


OTFOU] 
FRIGHTENED 
/PEOPLE 


v  .  ’ 


CLAUDETTE  COLBERT 
HERBERT  MARSHALL 
MARY  BOLAND 
WILLIAM  GARGAN 


THEATRE 


W&GAVCMC’ 


COUMSEllOB/m 


with 

BEBE  DANIELS 

DORIS  KENYON, 

Onjlow  Stevens,  Isabel  Jewel, 
ThelmaTodd,Melvyn  Douglas 
Mayo  Methot.  Produced  by 
Carl  Lacmmle,Jr.,fromthe  play* 
by  ELMER  RICE.  Directed  b^ 
WHIlam  Wyler.  Presented  by 
Carl  Lacmmlc.  A  UNIVERSAL 
PICTURE. 


(NOTE: — The  number  refers  to  the  indi¬ 
vidual  ad  so  marked.) 

(1)  Clarity 

Reverse  effect  in  this  one  insures  clarity, 
denotes  musical  and  illustration  tells  in 
drawing  what  the  top  five  lines  purport  to 
sell. 

(2)  Adaptability 

Six  selling  lines  with  combination  line  and 
half-tone  very  effective  for  this  picture. 
Possible  to  chop  this  one  up  for  two  columns. 

(3)  Good  Use  of  Halftone 

The  half-face  of  Fay  Wray  is  an  atten¬ 
tion  arrester  without  any  doubt.  Support¬ 
ing  cast  in  light  face  italic  with  omission 
of  some  of  the  credit  lines  would  further 
improve  this  good  ad. 

(4)  Clever  Combination 

Smart  combination  to  draw  them  in  with¬ 
out  scaring  them  too  much.  The  baby’s 
head  gets  sympathy  as  does  wailing  mother, 
while  the  cartoon  lettering  of  snatcher’s 
note  promises  plenty  of  action. 

(5)  Sex  Cleverly  Handled 

Without  stressing  the  sex  angle  too  much 
the  half-tone  and  wash  drawing  illustrate 
what  the  text  states  happens  to  the  girl. 

(6)  Appeal  to  Women 

An  appeal  to  every  woman  who  secretly 
hopes  for  the  same  destiny  is  neatly  indi¬ 
cated  here  according  to  five  type  lines.  Re¬ 
production  will  come  up  nicely  in  any  paper. 
Good  showmanship  just  to  sell  Leslie 
Howard  without  bothering  about  rest  of 
cast.  If  Howard  don’t  draw  them  in — no 
business. 

(7)  Smart  Small  Ads 

This  is  what  we  mean  by  a  line  or  two  of 
sales  copy  in  14-line  ads  which  are  used 
during  run  of  picture.  (7-A)  supplies 
similar  requirement.  Some  companies  fol¬ 
lowing  this  plan,  but  majority  should  do 
this. 

(8)  Intelligent  Use  of  Space 

An  example  of  a  small  uncrowded  ad  yet 
containing  every  element  of  this  picture 
and  easy  to  read.  On  any  newspaper  page 
regardless  of  competitive  advertising  it  will 
catch  and  hold  the  eye. 

(9)  Attractive  White  Space 

The  space  on  the  right-hand  side  may  be 
utilized  for  sales  copy  or  by  moving  Cantor’s 
head  to  center  a  sub-head  or  theatre  slug 
will  balance  off  the  ad. 

(10)  No  Waste 

The  Barrymore  profile  gets  a  good  play 
here.  No  waste  of  space  but  ear  mortised 
for  sales  copy.  Too  many  credit  lines  at 
the  bottom,  but  the  exhibitor  can  exercise 
privilege  of  eliminating  everything  but  sup¬ 
porting  cast  names  at  bottom  half. 


Feb  1’34  pg.  17 


YOUR  THEATRE 


C 


(11)  14-Line  Asset 

Another  14-line  combination  reverse  and 
lettering  which  exhibitors  want  and  con¬ 
sistently  use.  Maybe  6-point  italic,  light- 
face  lines  would  have  served  to  make  con¬ 
trast  more  effective,  but  the  point  is  that 
you  have  a  complete  14-line  ad. 

(12)  Economy 

More  evidence  that  it  does  not  require  a 
quarter-page  layout  to  sell  a  picture — 35- 
lines  across  two  columns  but  it’s  all  there, 
especially  the  top  sales  line  which  is  used 
throughout  the  campaign  book  ads. 

(13)  Good  Reverse  Plate 

A  reverse  plate  which  will  reproduce 
cleanly  and  clearly.  For  the  daily  run  ads, 
excellent. 

(14)  Supplement 

Supplements  ad  number  six  on  opposite 
page  for  end  of  engagement.  It  begins  with 
the  kidnapping  slant  and  continues  right 
on  through  even  to  the  14-line  slug. 

(15)  Easy  to  Modify 

Most  exhibitors  playing  this  product  will 
probably  chop  this  one  at  the  center  dot, 
but  they’ll  use  this  one.  Half-tone  back¬ 
grounds  are  not  conducive  to  the  best 
results,  but  in  this  case  the  heart-effect 
carries  out  the  definition  of  the  title. 

(16)  Everything  Here 

An  ad  which  has  everything.  It  will 
attract;  it’s  balanced;  the  two  side  half¬ 
tones  bring  out  what  will  enhance  eye- 
interest.  We  think  the  text  could  be 
moved  up  and  production  credit  lines  moved 
down  to  the  bottom.  But  the  ad  lends  itself 
to  rearranging  these  minor  details. 

(17)  Selling  Past  Performances 

The  three  half-tone  illustrations  are 
smartly  inserted  to  make  readers  reminisce. 
It’s  a  10-to-l  shot  everyone  has  seen  Muni 
in  at  least  one  of  the  three  and  the  strength 
of  his  past  performance  will  decide  hesitant 
ticket-buyers.  In  every  detail  this  ad  is 
complete,  compact  and  evidence  of  show¬ 
manship  applied  intelligently. 

(18)  Catchy  Copy  and  Layout 

This  ad  will  probably  attract  more  atten¬ 
tion  than  the  average  display  ad  because 
of  the  lack  of  display  type  and  headings. 
Six  lines  that  say  a  mouthful  and  on  a  page 
where  illustrations  are  scarce  the  half-tone 
of  the  girl  will  compel  eye-attention. 


Combining  Selling  Lines  with  Selling  Copy 


(NOTE: - The  absence  of  ads  from  other 

press-books  printed  during  January  is  not  to 
be  regarded  as  a  reflection  upon  them. 

The  selection  of  these  ads  with  reasons  for 
choosing  them  may  impart  to  home-offices,  in 
behalf  of  exhibitors,  what  is  wanted.  In  this 
way,  we  believe,  publicists  will  be  able  to 
guide  themselves. 

We  are  not  infallible  nor  do  we  set  our¬ 
selves  up  as  an  authority  except  of  our  close 
affiliation  with  actual  theatre  operation  and 
daily  contact  with  first  and  subsequent  run 
exhibitors  who  buy  and  use  newspaper  line¬ 
age. 

This  problem  is  yours,  exhibitors  and  dis¬ 
tributors.  Let  us  hear  from  you  and  through 
these  columns  the  goal  may  be  attained 
sooner.) 


(Exhibitors  who  study 
these  ads  with  the  accom¬ 
panying  criticism  will  see 
that  the  best  ads  are  not 
necessarily  the  biggest,  the 
ideal  layouts  are  those 
which  can  be  rearranged 
to  suit  any  theatre  any¬ 
where.  A  consensus  would 
show  that  the  smart  exhib¬ 
itor  asks  only  for  the 
materials  with  which  to 
work.) 


©  • 


They  shed  civilization  as  they  shed  their  dothes ! . 


Claudette  Colbert 
Herbert  Marshall 
Mary  Boland 
William  Gargan 


OTTO  KRUGER 

TULUO  CARMINATI .  DICKIE  MOORE 


JOSEPH  M. 
SCHENCK 


cAnn 

HARDING 


CLIVE  BROOK 


A  DARRYL  F  ZANUCK 

Directed  by  Gregory  La  Cava 

BECAUSE  SHE  PLAYED 
WITH  FIRE  ...  her  child, 
whom  she  craved  so  des¬ 
perately,  must  never  know 
that  she  was  his  mother. 


Punchy  Illustrations  Used  to  Advantage 


Feb  1 1 34  pg.  18 


D 


YOUR  THEATRE 


AN  OPEN  LETTER 
TO  LEO  THE  LION 

WITH  A  PARTICULAR  NOD 
TOWARD  BILL  FERGUSON 


Dear  Leo: 

ON  THIS  PAGE  we  intended  reviewing  exploitation  ideas 
contained  in  the  press-books  recently  released,  but  your  compre¬ 
hensive  exploitation  campaign  on  “Eskimo”  warrants  a  change 
in  plan  even  before  that  goes  into  effect. 

SINCE  1918,  the  writer  has  been  in  the  field  executing  cam¬ 
paigns,  in  home  offices  of  theatrical  chains  rushing  ideas  and 
suggestions  to  hundreds  of  showmen  from  coast-to-coast.  We 
have  read  and  carefully  d.gested  exploitation  angles  conceived, 
suggested,  submitted  and  proferred  by  others.  We  refer,  par¬ 
ticularly,  to  those  published  in  the  hundreds  of  press-books  orig¬ 
inating  in  distributors’  offices.  We  have  a  good  memory.  Not 
since  1918  have  we  seen,  heard  of  or  read  anything  to  compare 
with  your  “Eskimo”  campaign. 

ITS  OUTSTANDING  FEATURE  is  not  only  the  easy 
adaptability  of  most  of  the  ideas  but  the  actual  execution  on 
your  part  and  presented  in  such  a  manner  that  not  one  manager 
in  the  world  can  conscientiously  say  “I  couldn’t  exploit  ‘Eskimo’.” 

MONTHS  AGO,  in  this  department,  we  crit’cized  several 
companies  for  suggesting  tie-ups  and  other  exploitation  angles 
in  press-books  that  should  have  been  originally  effected  in  the 
home-office.  We  recall  especially  a  picture  with  an  ocean  liner 
for  a  locale.  The  exploration  page  instructed  exhibitors  to  com¬ 
municate  with  a  steamship  company  for  the  purpose  of  arranging 
a  tie-up.  We  will  wager  that  not  a  single  exhibitor  paid  the 
slightest  bit  of  attention  to  it.  Another  picture,  based  on  a  book, 
depended  for  its  exploration  on  a  tie-up  with  book-stores.  The 
home-office  did  not  check-up  to  ascertain  whether  the  stores 
stocked  the  book.  A  dozen  exhib  tors  in  one  territory  ’phoned 
book-stores  only  to  learn  there  were  no  copies. 

IT  APPEARS  to  the  writer  that  few  recognize  the  impor¬ 
tance  of  exploitation.  We  mean  intelligent  exploitation  minus 
the  unfavorable  aft°rmath  resulting  from  fake  origination,  sen- 
sat  onal,  fast-running  stuff,  etc.  Years  ago  exploitation  played 
a  very  important  part  in  this  industry.  But  when  pictures 
reached  a  new  entertainment  l°vel  and  business  grew  worse, 
naturally  the  producers  practically  strangled  exploitation.  Even 
when  exploitation  was  directlv  responsible  for  a  definite  propor¬ 
tion  of  increased  box  office  receipts  and  film  rentals,  producers 
and  distributors  chose  to  cred  t  it  to  the  picture  alone. 

WE  ALT,  KNOW  THAT  exploration  will  not  put  over  a  flop 
but  it  will  get  an  opening  and  from  that  point  everything  depends 
upon  the  production.  It  is  no  secret  yet  producers  treat  exploi- 
tat  on  as  a  step-child.  So  the  publication  of  your  great  “Eskimo” 
exploitation  campaign,  we  believe,  creates  a  new  era  and  perhaps 
marks  the  return  of  exploitation  to  its  important  spot  in  the 
industry’s  rehabilitation. 

THE  “ESKIMO”  BOOK  is  a  masterpiece.  It  bristles  with 
the  results  of  earnest,  s’ncere  and  intelligent  efforts.  It  must 
have  required  a  great  deal  of  time  to  have  successfully  concluded 
arrangement's  for  the  innumerable  direct  tie-ups  effected.  It 
evidences  the  faith  of  your  organization  and  of  your  department 
in  your  product.  No  human  be’ng  could  have  visualized  the  many 
possibilities.  Inspiration  must  have  been  born  from  something 
much  more  than  the  mere  performance  of  one’s  duty. 


IN  OUR  OWN  EXPERIENCES  we  recall  the  greeting  ex¬ 
tended  on  our  first  visit,  in  nearly  every  city.  “This  town  is 
different  from  any  other  in  the  country  and  tougher.”  But  we 
found  managers  had  reached  this  conclusion  only  because  daily 
routine  made  them  soft  and  unimaginative  and  unambit.ous. 
Our  purpose  in  injecting  this  bit  of  personal  reminiscence  is  to 
prove  that  even  that  type  of  manager  can  not  resist  exploiting 
“Eskimo”  after  reading  your  campaign  book. 

SUPPOSE  THE  NEWSPAPERS  in  the  town,  for  economic 
reasons,  will  not  co-operate  and  use  the  serial;  then,  the  radio 
dramat  zation  will  bring  extra  business  on  the  opening  day.  If 
the  radio  station  or  stations  insist  upon  proh.bitive  payment  or 
the  time  you  want  is  not  obtainable,  then  the  imitation  eskimo 
dog  team  making  a  scheduled  rush  on  the  main  street  will  get 
into  the  papers.  If  the  pol'ce  department  refuses  to  grant  the 
permit  for  the  dash,  then  “Eskimo”  can  be  easily  planted  on  the 
windows  of  the  best  located  stores  in  each  city  by  virtue  of  the 
effected  tie-ups. 

It  is  hardly  likely  that  all  the  “ifs”  listed  in  the  preceding 
paragraph  can  happen,  but  granting  the  except.on,  there  are  a 
dozen  other  ways  and  means  in  your  book  which  makes  the  execu¬ 
tion  of  the  “Eskimo”  campaign,  in  part  or  complete,  a  pleasure. 

THERE  ISN’T  A  SHOWMAN  in  the  country  who  can  help 
but  revel  in  your  accomplishment.  Showmen  have  someth. ng  in 
their  blood  which  urges  them  to  reach  heights  to  which  com¬ 
mercial  experts  would  not  even  dare  contemplate.  Give  a  show¬ 
man  a  spark  and  he’ll  start  a  fire  and  before  he  finishes,  the 
conflagration  will  eventuate  into  a  roaring  flame. 

YOUR  “ESKIMO”  CAMPAIGN  book  supplies  that  spark. 
It  brings  with  it  an  emotional  influence  which  will  awaken  many 
showmen  who  are  tired  of  the  usual,  hackneyed  and  obvious 
plans  submitted  in  some  press-books.  We  wish  that  some  branch 
of  the  organization  or  the  AMPA  would  make  an  award  annually 
for  the  most  intelligent,  comprehensive,  serviceable  and  adaptable 
money-making  exploitation  campaign.  If  there  were  one,  your 
“Eskimo”  campaign  book  would  entitle  you  to  that  honor. 

WHILE  WE  TAKE  this  means  of  congratulating  you,  we 
urge  every  showman:  producer,  distr.butor,  operator  or  manager, 
to  borrow  or  obtain  a  copy  of  the  “Eskimo”  exploitation  campaign 
book  you  prepared  and  study  a  phase  of  picture  selling  to  the 
public  that  is  a  rarity.  It  is  a  complete  education.  Our  copy 
is  being  filed  away.  When  sometime  *n  the  future  a  young  man 
comes  to  us  to  inquire  as  to  what  book  will  give  him  a  better 
insight  into  theatre  operation  and  selling  to  the  public,  we  will 
invite  him  to  look  at  the  contents  of  your  book. 

The  omiss'on  of  theoretical  suggestions;  ordinary  “ideas” 
which  most  managers  in  the  field  have  forgotten;  routine  and 
obvious  space-fillers  make  your  book  what  it  is  because  you  have 
done  all  the  work.  You  went  to  work  on  the  job  in  behalf  of 
exhibitors  playing  MGM  product  and  the  results  justify  your 
effort. 

IF  THOUSANDS  OF  SHOWMEN  who  may  reap  a  profit 
harvest  don’t  express  their  appreciat'on,  individually  and  col¬ 
lectively,  for  what  you  have  done  for  them  and  their  box-offices, 
then  the  most  surprised  person  will  be 


EMO 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Feb  1  ’  34 


19 


“Henry  8th”  Gets 
Big  Push  in  Reading 

Manager  Charlie  McLeary  and  his 
assistant,  Robert  Etchberger,  Loew’s 
Regent  Theatre,  Reading,  put  over  a 
series  of  effective  window  display  tie-ups 
and  other  stunts  with  local  newspapers  in 
connection  with  their  exploitation  cam¬ 
paign  to  usher  in  the  opening  of  “The 
Private  Life  of  Henry  VIII.” 

A  few  days  before  the  opening  of  the  picture 
all  local  dailies  co-operated  by  using  advance 
publicity  stories  and  gave  generous  art  space 
to  Charles  Laughton,  the  star. 

In  their  window  display  campaign,  arrange¬ 
ments  were  made  with  book  stores,  whereby 
each  window  carried  an  assortment  of  scene 
stills  with  groups  of  the  book  “The  Private 
Life  of  Henry  VIII.”  Taxi  company  co¬ 
operated  by  using  special  signs  on  the  back  of 
their  12  cabs  announcing  the  opening  of  the 
picture  at  Loew’s  Regent  Theatre.  With  some 
of  the  scene  stills  from  the  picture  showing 
Laughton  enjoying  a  real  banquet,  a  tie-up  was 
made  with  the  Governor  Hotel  and  State 
restaurants. 

Through  the  co-op>eration  of  the  Liberty 
Magazine,  3,000  inserts  were  gotten  up  and 
placed  in  their  latest  issue,  which  were  dis¬ 
tributed  by  their  agents  in  a  house  to  house 
campaign.  Another  important  tie-up  was  put 
over  with  the  local  public  library  authorities 
whereby  7,500  special  book-marks,  with  theatre 
imprint,  were  distributed  in  their  various 
branches.  Arrangements  were  also  made  with 
Radio  Station  WKBO  for  the  broadcasting  of 
a  ten-minute  playlet  in  which  local  talent  was 
used.  _ 

“Berkeley”  Local  Angle 

“Berkeley  Square,”  New  Rialto  Theatre, 
Wilmington,  did  well,  because  the  author  of 
the  book,  John  Balderston,  was  raised  in  Wil¬ 
mington  and  spent  many  years  there  before 
going  to  England. 


Mickey  Mouse  Bills 

Reports  indicate  that  there  is  a  hid¬ 
den  gold  mine  in  all-Disney  short  bills 
for  children  and  adults. 

Here  at  the  Penn  A.  C.,  the  Saturday 
kid  show  reached  a  new  peak  when  the 
all-Disney  program  was  given.  In  New 
York,  in  Wilmington,  similar  results 
were  reported. 

It  would  seem  logical  for  all  houses 
to  devote  a  Saturday  morning  to  such 
a  hill. 


Bally  for  “Eskimo” 

Street  car  ballyhoo  put  out  by  George  Jones, 
manager,  Loew’s  Parkway,  Wilmington,  for 
“Eskimo.”  was  one  of  the  most  artistic  layouts 
of  its  kind  that  has  been  produced,  exclusive  of 
parade  floats.  Jones  went  to  considerable  ex¬ 
pense  and  trouble  to  have  the  side  display  on 
the  car  done  by  an  artist  in  colors,  with  an 
aurora  borealis  as  the  center  design  and  the 
word  Eskimo  standing  out  in  vivid  cut-out 
letters.  The  car  went  the  rounds  of  the  streets 
for  three  days,  and  Jones  had  full  houses  for 
nearly  all  performances. 


Gala  4-Hours 


Sid  Stanley,  at  Fay’s,  is  giving  plenty 
show  these  Saturdays. 

One  of  the  matinee  bills  there  a  re¬ 
cent  Saturday  included:  “1  Was  a  Spy, 
a  western  feature;  Mickey  Mouse;  news; 
8  acts  vaudeville;  Uncle  W1P,  lolly  pop, 
all  for  ten  cents  for  the  kiddies. 


"Lets 

GO 

TO 

SEE./7 

WHAT? 

WHERE? 

Have  you  told  them  what’s  show¬ 
ing  at  your  theatre?  You  ought 
to.  You  can’t  expect  people  to 
flood  your  theatre  if  they  don’t 
know  who’s  playing  in  what. 

And  now  you  can.  The  Record 
Amusement  Directory  offers  you 
the  opportunity  to  tell  176,952 
people  every  day,  270,425  on  Sun¬ 
day,  for  only  30  cents  a  day. 
That’s  all  a  listing  in  Philadel¬ 
phia’s  first  and  only  complete 
Amusement  Directory  costs  you. 
Longer  listings,  15  cents  for  each 
additional  line. 

The  RECORD 

Amusement  Directory 

is  consulted  every  day  by  Phila¬ 
delphia’s  biggest  group  of  people 
who  go  places  and  see  things. 
More  than  160  movie  theatres  in 
the  Philadelphia  area  already  are 
listed  in  it.  If  yours  isn’t  you’re 
letting  your  competitor  lure  your 
customers.  To  insert  your  ad  just 
call 


PHILADELPHIA 

RECORD 

CLASSIFIED  DEPARTMENT 

WALNUT  f  3  0  0 


And  the  vaudeville  was  very  good. 


Witness  “ Dancing  Man ”  with  Judith  Allen 


Reginald  Denny  and  Judith  Allen,  courtesy  Paramount,  are  in  “Dancing  Man,” 

released  by  Masterpiece. 


20 


Feb  1*34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Suits  Sells  “Blood 
Money”  in  Reading 


Brings 

xhibitor  s 

Real 

i  ve 

pport  unifies 

FOR  EXTRA  PROFITS 

Join  up  for  a  monthly 
commission  check 

NOW 


In  ushering  in  the  opening  of  “Blood 
Money,”  R.  H.  Suits,  manager,  Loew’s 
Colonial  Theatre,  Reading,  put  over  a 
powerful  exploitation  campaign  which 
scored  with  telling  effect  at  his  box  office. 

A  few  days  in  advance  of  the  opening,  Suits 
lined  up  his  local  newspapers,  with  the  result 
that  the  Eagle  devoted  space  to  a  number  of 
special  stories,  while  the  Times  gave  the  spe¬ 
cial  cartoon  gotten  out  on  Bancroft  consider¬ 
able  prominence  in  its  issue.  In  addition,  the 
Times  also  used  the  cross-word  puzzle,  sug¬ 
gested  in  the  press  sheet,  with  free  tickets 
awarded  the  winners. 

Local  radio  stations  also  participated  in  this 
campaign,  with  Radio  Station  WEEU  plug¬ 
ging  the  music  from  the  picture  and  Station 
WRAW  putting  over  a  best-letter  stunt,  which 
kept  the  title  of  the  picture  before  their  air- 
listeners  for  days  during  the  engagement.  The 
stunt  consisted  of  offering  free  tickets  for  the 


Special  “Women” 

Through  the  co-operation  of  Mrs.  A.  P. 
Tanberg,  president,  Wilmington  City  Federa¬ 
tion  of  Women’s  Clubs  and  Allied  organiza¬ 
tions,  and  Dr.  M.  Dalema  Draper,  chairman 
for  motion  pictures  for  the  State  Federation 
of  Women’s  Clubs,  Lew  Black,  manager  of  the 
Aldine,  S-W  house,  Wilmington  gave  a  special 
showing  of  “Little  Women,”  the  Saturday 
after  the  picture  went  on. 


best  100-word  letter  on  “The  Best  Way  to 
Wipe  Out  Racketeers.”  Each  night  the  sta¬ 
tion  devoted  time  to  the  reading  of  the  best 
letter  with  the  winner  requested  to  call  at  the 
theatre  for  two  free  tickets. 

There  were  very  few  merchants  in  town 
who  didn’t  tie-up  with  Suits’  window  display 
campaign. 

Another  stunt  put  over  by  the  manager  con¬ 
sisted  of  placing  2,000  letter-box  inserts  in  all 
the  leading  hotels  in  the  city.  Both  the  dis¬ 
tributing  agents  for  Picture  Play  and  Screen- 
land  Magazines  placed  50  special  14  x  22  cards 
at  all  newsstands  which  plugged  George  Ban¬ 
croft  in  “Blood  Money.” 


It’s  a  guaranteed  income 
“FOR  LIFE ”  with  BERLO 
paying  the  premiums 


Get  in  touch  with: 

GEO.  P.  AARONS 

301  N.  13th  Street 

LOCUST  4245 


OR  CALL  POPLAR  6109 

BERLO 

VENDING 

COMPANY 

1518  N.  Broad  St.,  Phila. 

Specializing  in  Candy 
Vending  Equipment 
for  the  Theatre  Trade! 


NEW  YORK  BALTIMORE 

SCRANTON  WASHINGTON 

ALLENTOWN  CLEVELAND 

PITTSBURGH  CINCINNATI 


44 The  Mystery  Squadron ”  Flies  High 


Gold  Medal  distributes  the  Nat  Levine  serial,  “The  Mystery  Squadron,’’  with 
Tom  Tyler  and  a  host  of  serial  favorites. 


The  FINEST  SERVICE  on  FILM  ROW  l 


SPECIAL  BATES  TO  FILM  PEOPLE: 

Parking  All  Day  ........  25c 

High  Pressure  Washing  (any  type  car)  .  .  .  S5c 

TOW-CAR  SERVICE  —  ANY  PLACE  —  ANY  TIME 


APEX  GARAGE 

249-51-53  N.  JUNIPER  STREET  •  250-52-54  N.  CLARION  STREET 

Phone:  LOCUST  8604  -  -  PHILADELPHIA 
Becker  Bros.,  Props. 

Road  Service  to  Patrons  -  Mechanic  Always  on  Duty  -  Never  Closed 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Feb  1*34 


21 


Dogs  for  “Eskimo” 

Captain  Earl  Hammond  and  his  Alaska 
huskies  were  in  Harrisburg  to  herald  the  pic¬ 
ture,  “Eskimo,”  at  Loew’s  Regent  Theatre. 
Sturdy  dogs  of  the  North  pulled  a  sleigh 
mounted  on  wheels  through  the  business  sec¬ 
tion  of  the  city,  dodging  through  traffic  skill¬ 
fully  at  the  command  of  their  driver,  Captain 
Hammond,  who  spent  a  great  part  of  his  life 
among  the  Eskimos. 

A  large  motor  van,  bearing  replicas  of 
Eskimo  homes  and  carrying  twenty-three  of 
the  famous  captain’s  dogs  toured  the  city  for 
several  days  in  addition  to  the  sleigh  demon¬ 
stration  to  direct  attention  to  the  “Eskimo” 
picture  at  Loew’s. 


Harvey  Double  Wanted 

Manager  John  D.  O'Rear,  Victoria  Theatre, 
Harrisburg,  used  a  novel  advertising  stunt  for 
“I  Am  Suzanne.” 

Running  in  all  Harrisburg  newspapers  photo¬ 
graphs  of  Lillian  Harvey,  Manager  O’Rear  an¬ 
nounced  he  was  seeking  a  Harrisburg  girl  who 
resembles  Miss  Harvey  for  temporary  employ¬ 
ment  during  the  engagement  of  her  new  picture. 


Disney  Short  Bill 

A  weekly  Saturday  morning  feature  for  chil¬ 
dren  was  started  by  Manager  Charles  McLeary, 
Loew’s  Regent,  Harrisburg.  “Three  Little 
Pigs,”  “Trader  Mickey,”  “Old  King  Cole,” 
“Whoopee  Party,”  “Touchdown  Mickey,” 
“Babes  in  the  Woodd”  and  “King  Neptune” 
comprised  the  first  children’s  program. 


Charters 

The  Playhouse  Operating  Company,  Inc.,  Philadelphia; 
to  purchase,  own  and  lease  theatres;  M.  II.  Coleman 
and  H.  A.  Gross,  both  New  York  City,  and  A.  Wein¬ 
stein,  Brooklyn. 


ON  MV  WAV  TO 
NEW  VORK  AND 
THE  PICCADILLV 


.  .  best  hotel  I  know! 
Near  everything  just 
200  feet  from  Broad¬ 
way.  Modern,  hospit¬ 
able  ,  and  comfortable. 
Like  the  Manager, 
like  the  rates  —  52.50 
single,  S3. 50  double, 
for  a  room  with  bath ! 


THE  HOTEL  - 

PICCADILLY 

45th  St.  •  W.  of  Broadway  •  New  York 

WILLIAM  MADLUNG,  Mu. 


PHILADELPHIA 


NEW  YORK 


WASHINGTON 


BALTIMORE 


NATIONAL-PENN 
PRINTING  CO. 

1233  VINE  STREET 

▼ 

PRINTING 

FOSTERS,  PROGRAMS 
WINDOW  CARDS 
THROWOUTS,  ETC. 


CREATORS  OF  A 

New  Standard 

IN 

SERVICE 

TO 

Theatres 


AT  YOUR  SERVICE 
DAY  and  NIGHT 


NATIONAUKLINE 
POSTER  CO. 

1305-07  VINE  STREET 


RENTAL  SERVICE 

POSTERS,  INSERTS 
PHOTOGRAPHS,  ETC. 

Of  All  FILM  COMPANIES 


SIMON  L1BROS 


GEO.  H.  KLINE 


OSCAR  LIBROS 


22 


Feb  1,34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


BEWARE  of 
Counterfeits! 

There  are  many 
counterfeit  Gold 
Dinnerware  Pre¬ 
mium  Sets  being 
offered.  There  is 

Only  One  Genuine 

22K.  GOLD 

Dinner  Set 

With  a  record  of  Success 

and  is  used  by 
Every  Theatre 
now  distributing 
Gold  China. 

WHY 

Buy  counterfeits 
when  you  can  ob¬ 
tain  the  genuine 
Thin  Model 
Squares 

7  7  7 
■  ■  ■ 

Sold  only  by 

QUALITY 

Premium  Distributors,  inc. 

1305  Vine  Street 
PHILADELPHIA 
Branch  Offices  in  Key  Cities 


Heard  In 


E  A  D  I  N 


Stores  Competish 
To  the  Movies 


G 


_ By  T.  R _ 

THEATRES  accustomed  to  tie-ups  with 
stores,  are  now  getting  undesirable  competi¬ 
tion  from  them.  .  .  .  One  concern  is  showing, 
at  a  Penn  Street  location,  comics  for  children 
and  grownups  alike,  in  its  windows — this  a 
furniture  store.  .  .  .  Two  firms  of  retail  coal 
dealers  have  rented  the  windows  in  the  vacant 
storeroom  of  a  central  location  building  and 
are  showing  movies  every  night.  .  .  .  Improve¬ 
ments  in  a  big  way  are  being  made  at  the  front 
of  the  film  theatre  in  Roesonia.  .  .  .  Wilmer 
&  Vincent,  lessees  of  the  Capitol,  are  making 
every  effort  to  put  it  on  Reading’s  main  stem 
map  again.  .  .  .If  anybody  can  do  it,  Peg 
Glase,  general  W-V  manager  here,  can. 

A  NEW  YORK  CORPORATION  filed  ap¬ 
plication  at  Harrisburg  for  registration  in 
Pennsylvania  and  a  certificate  of  authority 
to  do  business  in  Pennsylvania.  .  .  This 

is  the  firm  which  has  leased  Rajah  Theatre 
from  the  Mystic  Shriners  for  combo  movie 
and  vaudeville  purposes,  and  now  in  opera¬ 
tion. 


RAJAH  THEATRE,  Reading,  gave  a  penny 
matinee  for  the  aid  of  the  Roosevelt  birthday 
anniversary  fund.  .  .  .  Children  were  admitted 
for  a  cent,  a  nickel  or  a  dime,  on  Tuesday,  and 
if  they  had  no  coins  at  all  they  were  admitted 
free.  .  .  .  But  nearly  every  youngster  had 

something  to  throw  in  the  hat  to  help  the  Presi¬ 
dent's  infantile  paralysis  children’s  fund.  .  .  . 
Michael  Mlndlin,  operator  of  the  theatre  for 
Arthur  Fisher  and  Irving  Yates,  New  York 
men  who  recently  leased  the  house,  arranged  the 
big  party. 


Heard  In 

MP-STATE 


O’Rear  Writes 
Own  Review 


JACK  D.  O'REAR,  manner,  Victoria,  Har¬ 
risburg,  wrote  his  own  review  on  “Ann  Vick¬ 
ers,"'  which  opened  at  the  Victoria  Friday  and 
mailed  it  to  the  movie  editor  of  a  Harrisburg 
daily  wha  published  it.  .  .  .  Monday  openings 
have  been  discontinued  at  the  Colonial,  Harris¬ 
burg.  .  .  .  Now  Loew’s,  Victoria  and  Colonial 
have  Friday  openings.  .  .  .  Walter  Yost  is 
being  commended  by  residents  of  Allison  Hill, 
Harrisburg,  for  the  high  types  of  programs  he 
has  been  presenting  at  his  neighborhood  the¬ 
atres,  Roxy  and  Grand. 


STATE  THEATRE,  Harrisburg,  was 
turned  over  by  Manager  Charles  Bierbauer, 
Saturday  evening,  from  5.30  until  closing 
time  to  the  Disabled  American  Veterans, 
holding  their  fourth  annual  State  convention 
in  Harrisburg.  .  .  .  Hershey  Theatre,  Her- 

shey,  presented  the  piano  ensemble  of  the 
Matinee  Musical  Club  of  Philadelphia.  .  .  . 

Tickets  for  the  President’s  Ball  in  Harrisburg 
were  sold  at  the  box  offices  of  the  State, 
Loew’s  Regent,  Colonial  and  Victoria  The¬ 
atres.  Milton’s  new  theatre,  being 

erected  by  the  Comerford  Theatre  Company, 
is  rapidly  nearing  completion.  .  .  .  New 

Colonnade,  Millersburg,  is  open  Tuesdays, 
Thursdays  and  Saturdays.  .  .  .  Betty  Boop 

“in  person”  was  on  the  stage  at  the  Rialto, 
Lewistown.  .  “A  Mid-Winter  Dance 

Revue”  was  presented  on  the  stage  at  the 


Operator  Available 


A  motion  picture  operator,  with  10 
years’  experience,  WE  and  RCA,  non¬ 
union,  is  available.  Can  handle  all 
kinds  of  booths.  All  replies  confiden¬ 
tial.  Address  Box  XYZ,  THE  EX¬ 
HIBITOR. 


Heard  In 

y.  o  r 


K 


Schlesinger  Visits 
the  District 


RIALTO  got  a  break  when  it  was  mentioned 
over  a  national  radio  hookup  that  it  would  play 
“Miss  Fane’s  Baby  is  Stolen.”  .  .  .  Announce¬ 
ment  was  made  during  a  program  presenting  a 
dramatization  of  the  picture  by  a  big  milk  con¬ 
cern.  .  .  .  Local  subsidiary  of  the  company 
helped  plug  the  picture  locally  by  sending  out 
100  letters  to  its  dealers  urging  them  to  see  the 
picture  and  200  postal  cards  to  a  selected  mail¬ 
ing  list  offering  a  quart  of  ice  cream  to  the 
holder  who  saw  the  show  and  wrote  a  50-word 
letter  telling  what  he  or  she  thought  of  it. 

CLEON  MILLER,  Strand,  plugged  “Henry 
VIII”  from  two  angles,  sending  letters  to  the 
city’s  school  teachers  playing  on  the  his¬ 
torical  angle  and  used  the  sex  angle  in  the 
newspapers.  .  .  .  They  are  still  talking  of  his 
stunt  of  having  a  woman  witness  “The  Invis¬ 
ible  Man”  alone  in  the  theatre.  .  .  .  Leonard 
Schlesinger,  zone  manager,  and  his  assistant 
Jack  Flynn,  attended  the  weekly  meeting  of 
the  York  district,  at  which  Bill  Israel  pre¬ 
sided,  January  23.  .  .  .  Harry  Travis,  Capi¬ 
tol,  had  a  good  plug  for  “Hi,  Nellie.”  .  .  . 
He  asked  all  his  employes  to  use  the  title  of 
the  picture  whenever  hailing  any  of  their 
friends  on  the  street,  and  planned  a  teaser 
campaign  with  cards  in  local  restaurants  and 
teaser  lines  in  the  newspapers. 

ELECTRIC  FANS  are  of  some  use  in 
winter,  as  the  Rialto  is  displaying  to  its  patrons. 


Strand,  Carlisle.  .  .  .  Double  feature  pro¬ 

gram  was  presented  at  Clifton,  Huntingdon. 
.  .  .  Mickey  Mouse  watches  and  banks  were 
given  to  lucky  children  at  Academy, 
Lebanon. 

MAJESTIC  THEATRE,  Harrisburg,  closed 
for  several  months,  will  be  opened  by  C.  Floyd 
Hopkins,  managing  director,  Wilmer  and  Vin¬ 
cent  interests  in  Harrisburg,  February  13,  for 
the  presentation  of  a  “Pop”  concert  for  the 
benefit  of  needy  musicians  of  Harrisburg. 
.  .  .  Sponsored  by  the  American  Federation  of 
Musicians,  Local  269,  the  concert  will  be  pre¬ 
sented  by  the  Harrisburg  Symphony  Orchestra, 
the  entire  personnel  of  which  is  composed  of 
103  musicians  who  are  members  of  Local  269. 

COLONIAL  THEATRE,  Harrisburg,  was 
the  scene  several  mornings,  from  9.30  to  11 
o’clock,  of  a  bridge  school  held  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Patriot  and  the  Evening  Ncxvs, 
Harrisburg  daily  newspapers.  .  .  .  With  the 
co-operation  of  Manager  Harry  Lambert,  Col¬ 
onial,  the  newspapers  engaged  Mrs.  W.  C. 
Ryan,  one  of  the  authorized  instructors  of  Ely 
Culbertson,  to  conduct  the  school.  .  .  .  Eigh¬ 
teen  business  places  in  Harrisburg  co-operated 
with  the  newspapers  and  theatre  management  in 
sponsoring  the  school. 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Feb  1 '34 


23 


Heard  In 

EH1GH  VALLEY 

Maury  Comes 
to  Town 

_ By  Jack _ 

JAMES  HUBERT  MAURY  is  the  new 
manager  of  Wilmer  and  Vincent's  Rialto, 
Allentown,  succeeding  Walter  J.  Hurley.  .  .  . 
Maury,  native  of  Illinois  and  a  graduate  of  Col¬ 
gate  University  was  formerly  with  W.  and  V. 
houses  at  Reading  and  Richmond.  .  .  .  An¬ 
nouncement  of  his  appointment  was  made  Jan¬ 
uary  15,  when  Hurley  resigned  to  conduct  an 
extensive  advertising  campaign  for  the  Killian 
Products  Co.,  cosmetic  manufacturers.  .  .  . 
This  column  extends  best  wishes  to  the  retir¬ 
ing  pilot  and  his  successor.  .  .  .  State  had  a 
special  ten  cent  rate  for  the  kiddies  up  to  5.33 
during  the  week’s  showing  of  “Sigma  Chi.” 
.  .  .  “Forgotten  Men”  drew  crowds  who  were 
served  free  coffee  and  doughnuts  from  a 
“dugout”  by  Salvation  Army  lassies. 

LYRIC,  under  the  wing  of  Arthur  Kerns, 
now  has  the  only  stage  show  in  town.  .  .  . 

Pastime,  Coplay,  has  joined  the  ranks  of 
advertisers  in  the  Allentown  “Call’s”  movie 
page.  .  Towne,  Park,  Franklin,  New 

Allen,  Penlo,  Emaus,  19th  Street,  Trine,  all 
giving  premiums.  .  .  During  showing  of 

“Morning  Glory,”  Lyric  gave  lady  patrons 
tinted  photo  of  Katharine  Hepburn,  Rialto 
ran  a  bargain  matinee  during  showing  of 
“Eskimo”  and  manager  Maury  had  Captain 
Earle  Hammond  with  his  team  of  Eskimo 
Huskies.  .  .  .  Column  wishes  to  extend  con¬ 
gratulations  and  best  wishes  for  many  happy 
returns  to  J.  G.  Beilin,  manager.  Palace,  Beth¬ 
lehem,  on  the  occasion  of  his  birthday.  .  .  . 
State  has  big  bags  of  candy  for  the  kiddies 
attending  the  “Three  Musketeers”  shows 
each  Saturday. 

COLLEGE  has  a  big  kiddy  show  each  Satur¬ 
day  at  12.30.  .  .  .  Lot  of  CWA  work  in  the 


Serving  Non-Theatricals 

One  of  the  major  exchanges  is  con¬ 
tinuing  to  serve  a  non-theatrical  account 
which  charges  admissions  for  films 
shown  on  Sunday  in  this  town. 

Institution  comes  under  non-theatri¬ 
cal  guise,  but  is  probably  paying  for  its 
pictures.  Not  only  is  this  unfair,  but  it 
looks  like  a  Blue  Law  violation. 

Of  course,  the  exchange  may  not 
know  of  the  practice,  but  chances  are 
it  does. 


district.  .  .  .  Exchange  checkers  have  been 

doing  their  stuff  around  Palmerton  and  Lehigh- 
ton.  ...  A  theatre  at  Palmerton,  was  the 
subject  of  a  law  suit  brought  into  Northampton 
county  court  by  David  Kahler,  Wilson  borough, 
against  Frank  and  Ada  Segal,  Nazareth.  .  .  . 
Kahler  sought  to  collect  commission  for  the 
sale  of  the  property  over  a  year  ago  and  was 
awarded  the  verdict  in  his  favor  by  president 
judge  Stewart. 

GEORGE  C.  MEESER  had  a  big  benefit 
showing  of  “Alice  in  Wonderland”  for  the 
Girl  Scouts  at  the  Broad  Street.  .  .  .  Letter 
sent  by  air  mail  from  Mrsw -Meeser  at  Kings¬ 
ton,  Jamaica,  arrived  in  35  hours,  flat.  .  .  . 
Roxy,  Northampton,  Andy  Anderson,  is  feat¬ 
uring  big  time  vaudeville.  .  Embassy, 

Easton,  Walter  Jones,  especially  recom¬ 
mended  “Cradle  Song”  to  patrons.  .  .  . 

Strand  had  an  amateur  night.  .  .  .  Boyd  had 
a  special  advance  showing  of  “Suzanne.” 

OSCAR  FORMAN  is  one  of  the  busiest  of 
district  exhibitors.  .  .  .  Was  recently  trans¬ 
ferred  by  United  Chain  from  the  College,  Beth¬ 
lehem  to  Easton,  where  he  manages  the  Transit 
Theatre.  .  .  .  Dick  Shamus  took  over  the  post 
vacated  by  Forman  and  was  in  turn  replaced 
at  the  Colonial,  Bethlehem,  by  Frank  Hammer¬ 
man,  from  the  Roxy,  Philly. 


“What’s  Your  Racket ”  Has  Action 


Regis  Toomey  and  Noel  Francis  may  be  seen  in  the  Mayfair  action  picture,  released 

by  Masterpiece. 


READY 

REFERENCE 

EACH  COMPANY  LISTED  IS  AN 
AUTHORITY  IN  ITS  FIELD  AND 
IS  RELIABLE  AND  TRUSTWORTHY 


AIR  CONDITIONING 

^ftXPHOON 


|a"*  c 


COOLING 

VENTILATING 


CONDITIONING  CO. 

BLOWERS  -  FANS 
AIR  WASHERS 

2 >3  W.42"^-  ST.  NEW  YORK  N.Y. 


ARCHITECT 


THEATRE  DESIGN 

Remodeling  »  Building 

LATEST  COMPLETED 

BRUNSWICK  BENSON 

Philadelphia  Philadelphia 

Penna.  Penna. 

DAVID  SUPOWITZ 

REGISTERED 

ARCHITECT 

246  S.  15th  St.,  Phila.,  Pa.  Pennypacker  2291 


BUSINESS  BROKER 


THEATRES 

BOUGHT  •  SOLD  •  LEASED 

Partnerships  Negotiated 

M.  H.  GOO  DIS.  Inc. 

1201  CHESTNUT  STREET 
Ritteohouse  4595  Rittenhouse  9077 

OSCAR  NEUFELD,  Mgr.  Theatre  Dept. 


DRAPERIES 


INTERIOR  DECORATIONS  SCENERY  DRAPERIES 


NOVELTY  w 
Scenic  Studios  ” 


INC. 


"Built  on  Merit"  340  W.  41st  St.,  New  York 

ACCOUSTICAL  TREATMENTS  RIGGING 


INTERIOR  DECORATORS 


Theatrical 

Decorating 

OUR  SPECIALTY 
Phone 

Rittenhouse  7S28 
2315  Walnut  St. 
Philadelphia 


GRIECO  COMPANY, 


INC. 


Formerly  of  Gibelli  &  Co. 

PAINTING 

INTERIOR  DECORATING 
1321  Vine  Street  .  Philadelphia1 

We  will  be  glad  to  estimate 
without  obligation  to  you. 


24 


Feb  1  *34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Herb  Given  Has  Full 
Lineup  for  Exhibitors 

Popular  Exchangeman  Offers  Real 
Novelties 

Herb  Given  has  a  real  line  of  features 
and  shorts  for  all  houses. 

The  exchange,  Herbert  W.  Given,  Inc.,  has 
been  adding  product  and  now  has  plenty  of 
pictures  for  district  exhibitors. 

Features  include  “Man’s  Paradise,”  a  story 
of  Bali ;  “White  Face,”  “Criminal  at  Large,” 
“The  Man  They  Couldn't  Arrest,”  mystery 
thrillers;  “None  So  Blind,”  with  Percy  Mar- 
mont  and  Madeleine  Carroll ;  “Faithful  Heart,” 
with  Herbert  Marshall  and  Edna  Best.  In  addi¬ 
tion,  he  is  distributing  “The  Face  on  the  Bar¬ 
room  Floor,”  “Maedchen  in  Uniform”  and  “The 
Divorce  Racket.” 

His  westerns  include  10  westerns,  several 
with  Tom  Tyler  and  others  with  Bob  Custer 
and  Buffalo  Bill,  Jr. 

His  shorts  lineup  includes  5  Explorers  of  the 
World,  2-reelers;  16  1-reelers,  Felix  the  Cat; 
a  4-reel  novelty,  “Cry  of  the  World’  ;  Richard 
Arlen  in  “Below  the  Deep,”  the  2-reeler ;  a  three 
reeler  on  “Evolution”  and  4  single-reelers  on 
varied  subjects. 

Tom  White  productions  include  4  single¬ 
reels  ;  9  2-reelers ;  4  3-reelers,  dealing  with 
varied  subjects  and  all  parts  of  the  world. 

Given’s  New  York  exchange  is  also  progress¬ 
ing  rapidly. 


STANLEY-WARNER 

( Continued  from  page  6) 
district  he  made  good.  The  local  division  plan 
sees  no  division  chief  with  more  than  10  houses 
under  his  command,  with  one  exception,  Market 
Street,  Hankin’s  division.  In  th:s  way,  the 
division  chief  can  give  more  attention  to  each 
house. 

The  Warner  spirit  extends  to  all  departments, 
with  every  unit,  exploitation,  etc.,  going  along 
fast. 

Observers  point  out  that  with  such  a  psycho¬ 
logical  advantage  the  local  circuit  stands  in 
one  of  the  strongest  positions  in  its  history. 

Under  the  new  set-up  recently  announced, 
the  following  line-up  is  included : 

Leonard  Schlesinger  is  zone  manager  over 
the  entire  territory,  with  Jack  Flynn  his  assis¬ 
tant  in  charge  of  theatre  operation,  and  Lou 
Davidoff  his  assistant  in  charge  of  film. 

District  managers  and  the  theatres  they 
supervise  are : 

Supervision  of  zone  assistant  Jack  Flynn — Aldine, 
Boyd,  Karlton,  Stanley,  Stanton. 

ROBERT  KESSLER — Colney,  Felton,  Keystone,  Lawn¬ 
dale,  Liberty  (Columbia  Avenue),  Lindley,  Logan, 
Strand,  Uptown.  This  is  a  new  division. 

JACK  LEXEY — Alhambra,  Broadway,  Commodore, 
Cross  Keys,  Imperial  (60  th  Street),  Leader,  Plaza, 
State,  Wynne.  This  is  a  new  division. 

EVERETT  CALLOW — Clementon.  Collingswood, 
Grand,  Vineland;  Levoy,  Millville;  Grand,  Lyric,  Prin¬ 
cess,  Stanley,  Camden. 

LYLE  TRENCHARD — Aldine,  Wilmington,  Grand 
Opera  House,  Wilmington;  Queen.  Wilmington;  Stanley, 
Chester;  State,  Chester;  Rialto,  Warner,  West  Chester; 
Washington,  Chester.  This  division  has  been  changed 
a  bit. 

RUFUS  SPEECE — Ambler,  Ambler;  Grove,  Willow 
Grove;  Seltzer,  Palmyra;  Strand,  Pottstown;  Astor, 
Strand,  Reading.  This  is  a  new  division. 

AL  PLOUGH — Ardmore,  Benn,  Lansdowne,  Lindy, 
Manor,  Orient,  Parker,  69th  Street,  Waverly.  This  is 
a  new  division. 


Ambassador  Likely  Spot 

HOLLYWOOD— Hotel  Ambassador, 
Los  Angeles,  looms  as  a  logical  spot  for 
the  forthcoming  M.  P.  T.  O.  A.  con¬ 
vention. 

Quite  probable  that  hotel  may  be 
official  meeting  place  for  the  conven¬ 
tion,  but  at  any  rate  it  is  the  place  for 
all  good  exhibs  to  go  when  they  come 
here.  Hotel  has  all  facilities,  is  recog¬ 
nized  convention  place  for  film  folk,  and 
has  a  reputation  that  has  spread  all  over 
the  country.  John  B.  Browne,  manager, 
is  ready  to  take  care  of  the  trade,  and 
hotel  is  geared  so  that  all  requests  can 
easily  be  taken  care  of. 

In  selecting  the  Ambassador,  M.  P. 
T.  O.  A.  would  have  ample  insurance  of 
excellent  facilities  and  a  swell  time. 

JAY  EMANUEL. 


ERPI  Decree  Soon 

Supreme  Court  at  Dover  has  announced  that 
a  decree  in  the  suit  of  Electrical  Research 
Products,  Inc.,  against  Vitaphone  Corporation 
will  be  handed  down  February  5.  The  pending 
issues  involve  the  contention  of  ERPI  that  the 
lower  court  erred  in  not  holding  that  Vita- 
phone  is  barred  from  prosecuting  the  ac¬ 
tion  under  three  agreements  entered  into 
between  the  two  concerns  that  by  these  agree¬ 
ments  Vitaphone  is  compelled  to  submit  all 
disputes  to  arbitration  under  the  New  York 
Arbitration  law. 

Issues  in  the  suit  involve  claims  of  at  least 
$50,000,000  damages  as  an  outgrowth  of  Vita- 
phone’s  charge  that  ERPI  violated  their  agree¬ 
ments  by  charging  producers  licensed  by 
ERPI  for  the  use  of  patented  talking  appa¬ 
ratuses  $500  a  reel  royalty  instead  of  eight  per 
cent  of  the  gross  profits  derived  from  the  use 
of  the  license. 


Enforcing  License  Act 

The  Pennsylvania  Department  of  Revenue  is 
enforcing  a  ruling  which  requires  night  clubs, 
road  houses,  and  similar  establishments  provid¬ 
ing  floor  shows,  vaudeville  performances,  spe¬ 
cialty  numbers,  songs  and  similar  entertain¬ 
ment,  in  addition  to  music  for  dancing,  to  take 
out  public  amusement  licenses  in  addition  to 
liquor  and  restaurant  licenses. 

Rate  of  the  amusement  license  fee  ranges 
from  ai  flat  rate  of  $30  in  boroughs  and  town¬ 
ships  to  a  flat  rate  of  $500  in  Philadelphia. 
Rate  is  $400  for  establishments  in  Pittsburgh 
and  Scranton  seating  1000  or  more  patrons ;  $75 
for  those  seating  more  than  400  and  less  than 
1000,  and  $20  for  those  seating  400  or  less. 
A  flat  rate  of  $75  obtains  in  third-class  cities. 


PAUL  COSTELLO — Allegheny.  Circle,  Forum,  Har- 
rewgate,  Holme,  Kent,  Midway,  Northeastern,  Richmond, 
Wishart.  This  division  has  been  changed  a  bit. 

WILLIAM  HAYNES — Colonial,  Germantown,  Colum¬ 
bia,  Fairmount,  Ogontz,  Park,  Sedgwick.  This  division 
has  been  changed  a  bit. 

WILLIAM  ISRAEL — Capitol,  York;  Capitol,  Grand, 
Hamilton.  Lancaster;  Lion,  Red  Lion;  Majestic,  Gettys¬ 
burg;  Rialto,  Strand,  Ritz,  York;  State,  Strand, 
Hanover. 

SOL  IIANKIN — Aster,  Auditorium.  Avon,  Capitol, 
Earl  (28th  Street),  Family,  Imperial  (2nd  Street), 
Model,  New .  Palace,  Palace,  Princess,  Savoy,  333  Mar¬ 
ket,  Victoria.  This  district  had  two  houses  added  to  it. 

JOHN  LATIMER  is  now  secretary  to  Leonard  Schles¬ 
inger.  He  succeeds  William  Prizer,  resigned. 


CODE 

( Continued  from  page  7) 

Others  recently  mentioned  for  places  on  local 
clearance  and  grievance  boards  were ; 

Jack  Greenberg,  Oscar  Neufeld. 

Later  names  included : 

George  P.  Aarons,  Reese  B.  Harrington. 
Still  later : 

Earle  W.  Sweigert,  William  Heenan. 


Given  Distributes  “Paradise” 

Miss  Harriet  E.  Huntington,  daughter  of  the 
late  Rev.  Harwood  Huntington,  is  an  enthusi¬ 
astic  student  of  the  dances  and  religious  rites 
and  ceremonies  of  the  little  known  tribes  in  far 
off  places. 

Organizing  an  expedition  at  an  expense  of 
over  a  quarter  of  a  million  dollars,  she  set 
sail  last  year  from  the  Golden  Gate  for  the 
Orient. 

With  Tom  White,  an  experienced  motion  pic¬ 
ture  man,  eighteen  pictures  were  the  result  of 
the  odyssey,  showing  natives  of  China,  Japan, 
Siam,  Ceylon  and  the  South  Sea  Islands  in  their 
customs,  dances  and  rituals,  as  well  as  thrilling- 
wild  animal  hunts.  Most  important  film  is  a 
feature  entitled  “Man’s  Paradise.” 

Herbert  W.  Given  has  the  distribution  of  this 
product. 


Reading  Tax  Cut  Sought 

All  the  large  theatre  owners  in  Reading  have 
joined  a  general  movement  in  the  courts  there 
to  have  the  realty  tax  assessment  figures  cut 
down.  Out  of  over  2,000  appeals  filed  at  City 
Hall,  only  about  50  were  granted.  Business¬ 
men,  merchants,  hotelmen,  banks,  store  block 
owners,  factory  owners  and  theatremen,  as 
well  as  individual  property  owners,  have  joined 
in  suits  to  make  City  Hall  officials  realize  that 
the  good  old  days  of  1929  have  not  returned. 


“Wine,  Women  and  Song”  Clicks 

“Wine,  Women  and  Song,”  Masterpiece’s 
first  big  production  of  the  season,  has  gotten 
some  choice  inde  and  circuit  dates  throughout 
the  territory.  Picture  played  Keith’s  and  imme¬ 
diately  was  gobbled  up,  up  and  down  the  line. 

The  Lilyan  Tashman-Lew  Cody  vehicle  is 
likely  to  be  exceeded  by  “Dancing  Man,” 
with  Judith  Allen,  Paramount  star,  and  Regi¬ 
nald  Denny.  Show  was  expected  in  this  week 
by  the  exchange.  It  has  been  highly  praised. 


New  Invincible  Set 

Maury  Cohen,  producer  of  Invincible  Pic¬ 
tures,  has  announced  an  elaborate  cast  for  his 
next  picture,  “Birds  of  a  Feather,”  including 
Monroe  Owsley,  Hale  Hamilton,  John  Miljan, 
Shirley  Grey,  Robert  Elliott,  Maurice  Black 
and  Wilson  Benge.  First  Division  distributes. 


Cantor  Hits  BL* s 

Eddie  Cantor,  making  several  benefit 
appearances  in  town  in  connection  with 
his  Earle  date,  addressed  some  ban¬ 
quets,  took  time  off  to  rap  the  Blue 
Laws. 

In  addition,  he  hopped  to  Camden, 
made  a  trailer  for  the  President’s  Birth¬ 
day  Ball. 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Feb  1 T  34 


25 


44  Woman’s  Man ”  Has  a  Hollywood  Background 


Marguerite  de  la  Motte,  John  Halliday  and  Wally  Ford  are  in  the  Monogram  picture. 


Heard  In 

1LMINGTON 

Warner  Folks 
Have  New  Faces 


THERE'S  SOMETHING  of  a  kick  to  be 
gotten  out  of  making  the  rounds  of  the  War¬ 
ner  houses  in  Wilmington  on  the  heels  of  a 
new  district  manager,  particularly  when  said 
manager  happens  not  to  be  entirely  new  to  the 
scene.  .  .  .  Lyle  Trenchard,  new  chief  for  the 
old  “Aloe''’  Goodman  district,  must  not  have 
seen  many  familiar  faces,  unless  it  was  Lew 
Black,  who  I  found  him  closeted  with  for  a 
long  period  and  Charley  Albert,  who,  of  course, 
every  district  manager  who  has  ever  served 
here  for  any  time  knows.  .  .  .  Trenchard  was 
the  nabob  for  the  Wilmington  Warner  interests 
in  the  days  when  Pop  Peacock  was  running  the 
Grand  for  the  Harris  interests  and  when  the 
Savoy  was  run  by  an  exhibitor  who  later  sold 
out  to  the  Warners. 

WALKING  PAST  the  box  office  in  the 
Grand  Opera  House,  as  I  usually  do  a  voice 
called  to  me,  and  turning,  found  to  my  sur¬ 
prise,  Morty  Levine,  sitting  inside  next  to 
the  cash,  a  mighty  good  place  these  days. 
.  .  .  Of  course,  he  was  relieving  the  cash¬ 
ier  for  a  few  minutes.  .  .  .  Morty  had  a 

dummy  horse  on  the  street  ballyhooing 
“Horse  Play.”  ...  I  said  dummy,  but  as  a 
matter  of  fact  it  took  two  whole  men  to 
make  it  up.  .  .  .  He  was  also  making  plans 

for  “Fog,”  considering  placing  the  model  of 
a  stern  of  an  ocean  liner  in  front  of  the 
entrance,  with  a  dummy  dangling  from  it. 

Lew  Black  sticks  to  flowers  for  the 
Aldine  lobby  through  the  Wilmington 
Florist  Club.  .  .  .  Lew  ballyhooed  “Sitting 

Pretty”  from  the  naughty,  naughty  girl 
angle  and  “A  Dream  Walking”  song  hit 
slant.  ...  A  nice  layout  for  “Design  for 
Living”  at  the  entrance  for  the  benefit  of 
patrons  leaving  the  house.  .  .  .  Berny  Sea¬ 

man,  manager,  Queen,  made  a  tie-up  with 
the  Auditorium  wrestling  and  boxing  outfit 
for  a  sign  saying  “See  ‘Blood  Money’  at  the 
Queen”  on  the  back  of  the  card  bearing  the 
number  of  the  round  of  the  fight  which 
is  displayed  about  the  ring  between  rounds. 

.  Had  a  special  showing  of  “Cradle 
Song.” 

I  APOLOGIZE  for  saying  Jack  Flynn,  now 
assistant  manager,  Philadelphia  zone,  refereed 
the  basketball  game  in  which  the  Queen  team 
figured.  ...  It  happens  that  there  is  more 
than  one  Jack  Flynn,  and  this  one  happened  to 
be  a  Wilmingtonian.  .  .  .  George  Jones,  man¬ 
ager,  Loew’s  Parkway,  has  set  up  his  time  for 
25-cent  matinee  from  one  until  two  P.  M.  .  .  . 


Queen  Guards  Stop 

The  Queen  Guards,  basketball  team  of  the 
Queen  Theatre,  Wilmington,  closed  their  sea¬ 
son,  at  least  temporarily,  by  giving  the  Elm¬ 
hurst  five  a  chance  to  come  back7  at  them  with 
revenge  for  the  first  defeat  the  theatre  men 
administered.  Elmhurst  team  won,  29  to  22, 
which  the  Queen  boys  didn’t  take  so  badly, 
considering  the  score  of  SO  to  28  they  rolled 
up  against  their  opponents  in  the  first  game. 
Queen  team  is  composed  of  E.  Boeck,  Connell, 
Tebbins,  Kearney,  W.  Boeck,  Highfield,  Berry 
and  Conner.  Berny  Seamon,  manager,  Queen 
Theatre,  played  in  some  of  the  games. 


Trenchard  in  Wilmington 

Shifts  among  Warner-Stanley  district  man¬ 
agers  in  the  Philadelphia  zone  gives  the  Wil- 
mington-Chester-Darby  district  a  new  manager 
and  steps  the  previous  manager,  Jack  Flynn, 
up  a  sizeable  notch.  Flynn  becomes  assistant 
to  Zone  Manager  Schlesinger,  while  Lyle 
Trenchard,  who  managed  one  of  the  Philadel¬ 
phia  districts,  takes  Flynn’s  place  in  the  old 
so-called  Goodman  district. 


Lew  Black,  Aldine  manager,  is  considering  a 
similar  move.  .  .  .  George  was  so  tickled  about 
the  mob  that  tried  to  get  in  to  see  the  Disney 
special  program,  he  called  me  up  about  the 
same  day,  something  that  he  nor  any  other 
manager  seldom  does.  ...  I  don't  blame  him 
a  bit  either. 

THATCHER  UNION,  W.  C.  T.  U„  at 
their  meeting  at  Harrison  M.  E.  Church,  ^Wil¬ 
mington,  adopted  a  resolution  urging  favorable 
action  and  an  early  hearing  on  the  Putman 
Motion  Picture  Bill.  .  .  .  R.  R.  M.  Carpenter, 
duPont  Company  vice-president  and  big  game 
hunter,  was  host  to  a  group  of  50  or  more 
friends  at  Loew’s  Theatre  for  a  special  pre¬ 
view  of  “Eskimo.” 


Bad  Movies  Rapped 

A  resolution  condemning  motion  pic¬ 
tures  “which  might  have  a  harmful 
effect  on  the  morals  of  youth”  and 
urging  cleaner  amusement  in  the  the¬ 
atres  was  adopted  by  Harrisburg  Coun¬ 
cil,  No.  869,  Knights  of  Columbus,  at  a 
recent  meeting. 

Copies  of  the  resolution  were  for¬ 
warded  to  all  Harrisburg  theatre 
managers. 


Reliable  Decorative  Co.,  is*. 

INTERIOR  DECORATORS 

Draperies,  Carpets ,  Painting 

1316  Vine  Street,  Philadelphia 

WE’VE  TURNED  NUMEROUS  NON-PAYING 
THEATRES  INTO  MONEY  MAKING  PROPOSITIONS 
ASK  US  HOW! 


IlltATKL 

DECORATOR 


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PREMIUMS 


There  are  many  imitations  but  there  is  only  one 

22  KARAT  GOLD  DINNER  SET 

with  a  success  record 

It’s  the  Dainty  Thin  Square  Model! 

QUALITY  PREMIUM  DIST. 

1305  VINE  ST.  PHILA. 


SOUND  SERVICE 


WE  SOLVE  YOURSOUND  PROBLEMS 


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PHILADELPHIA 
Day  Phone:  RIT  4529 
Night  Phone:  SHE  0805 


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EQUIPMENT  CO. 

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PHILADELPHIA 
Phone,  Rittenhouse  3273 

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Specialists  in  Repairs 


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Service  and'courtesy  from  men  you  know  .  .  . 
Plus  equipment  of  known  and  guaranteed  quality 
.  .  .  are  at  your  service  at  our  local  branch 


UNIFORMS 


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26 


Feb  1 T  34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Heard  In 

Heard  In 

^ID-JERSEY 

Jersey  Setup  Intrigues 

A  TLANTIC  CITY 

Setup  of  inde  theatres  in  the  Southern 

Hot  Things 

New  Jersey  sector,  in  the  Camden  and 

X” \  Warner  Folk 

Loom  Here 

adjacent  area,  is  especially  intriguing. 

With  Victoria  Amusement  Company 
addin?  a  counle  of  houses,  Broadway, 

W  W 

Have  Party 

WHAT  A  PARTY  W.  C.  Hunt  had  when 
he  was  inaugurated  into  the  assembly  for  a 
second  term.  .  .  .  John  Bodley  isn  t  over  it 
yet.  .  .  .  Bill  Keegan  headed  the  delegation  of 
Trentonians  in  town  last  week.  .  .  .  Something 
up  their  sleeves,  no  doubt.  .  .  .  We  wonder. 

Joe  Murphy  back  on  the  job  at  the  Oaklyn 
Ritz.  .  .  .  Billy  Rovner  promoted  a  new  carpet 
for  the  Berlin  Palace.  .  .  .  Wonder  how.  .  .  . 
Eppy  Epstein  hasn’t  been  in  Jersey  since  it  got 
cold'  .  .  Wait  until  he  thaws  out. 


Palmyra,  and  the  Broadway,  Pitman, 
recently,  rumors  are  current  that  others 
may  also  enter  the  fold. 

The  outfit’s  suit  against  distributors 
has  not  yet  been  settled,  but  street  re¬ 
ports  indicate  that  a  settlement  is  a  pos¬ 
sibility.  Not  known  when  or  how  this 
might  happen. 


PARTY  arranged  by  General  Manager  Herb 
Copelan  for  the  members  and  friends  of  the 
Warner  Club  of  employees  of  Seashore  The¬ 
atres,  Inc.,  at  the  Linwood  Country  Club,  Jan¬ 
uary  27,  brought  out  an  attendance  of  about  200 
who  enjoyed  supper,  dancing  and  entertainment 
from  midnight  to  after  4  A.  M.  .  .  .  Lou 
Sheinholz,  publicity  staff,  wangled  free  trans¬ 
portation  from  some  15  of  the  jitneys  that  carry 
Stanley  cards  on  their  windows. 


THE  SAME  LOEB  who  operates  the  West- 
ville  Embassy  now  has  Laurel  Springs.  .  .  . 

Federation  of  Jewish  Charities  dance  was  a 
great  success.  .  .  Thanks  to  ]N4essrs.  S. 

Shane  and  Myer  Adleman.  .  .  Lew  Rovner 

bought  a  derby,  has  his  moustache  waxed. 

.  .  Business  must  be  good  at  the  Parkside. 

.  .  Sam  Varbalow,  Victoria  Amusement 

Company,  deserves  a  medal  for  one  of  the 
biggest  things  that  can  be  done  in  these  times. 

.  Sold  185  shares  of  the  Hyman  Varba¬ 
low  B.  and  L.  Association,  and  Rox,  man¬ 
ager,  Victoria,  has  been  appointed  chief  col¬ 
lector  for  Vine  Street.  Exhib  Orloff, 

Egg  Harbor,  isn’t  kicking  about  business.  .  .  . 
Opening  an  extra  day.  .  .  .  Harry  Waxman 

up  to  New  York  recently.  .  Wonder 

what’s  up?  .  .  .  Looks  like  the  Apollo,  AC, 
will  have  a  crack  sound  equipment.  . 
Walter  High  doing  plenty  of  traveling  to  in¬ 
sure  it.  .  .  .  Mort  Lewis,  Jr.,  thrilled  because 
of  those  Hollywood  letters.  .  Mr.  and 

Mrs.  Tannenbaum,  AC,  made  many  Scranton 
trips.  .  .  .  May  be  taking  over  another  the¬ 
atre.  .  .  .  Bill  Ford,  Lyric,  AC,  must  have 

done  good  with  “Footlight  Parade.”  .  .  . 

Intends  to  get  a  new  car. 

THE  ALTMAN  honeymoon  comes  in  Feb¬ 
ruary.  .  .  .  Marriage  of  Sol  and  the  Mrs.  took 
place  a  few  months  ago.  .  .  .  Aldine  still 
closed.  .  .  .  Milt  Russell  looking  for  connec¬ 
tions.  .  .  .  Colonialite  Palen  had  a  bridge  rarty 
for  the  women.  .  .  .  Pulled  fast  one  on  the  men 
with  his  pre-war  so-and-so. 

VINELAND  now  has  its  Sunday  movies 
without  a  big  tax.  .  .  Appeal  to  a  higher 

court  resulted  in  a  finding  for  the  theatre 
corporation.  So  the  tax  on  Sunday 

can’t  be  any  higher  than  on  weekdays. 

CHARLIE  DUTKIN,  manager,  Parkside, 
Camden,  N.  J„  who  was  Santa  during  the  holi¬ 
days,  took  some  of  his  radio  kiddies  to  New 
Y’ork  for  an  audition  recently.  .  .  .  Lots  of 
luck. 

CLEMENTON  is  now  operating  on  a  full- 
week  policy.  ...  It  used  to  be  open  just 
a  few  days  each  week. 

LOCAL  EXHIBITORS  are  intensely  inter¬ 
ested  in  the  proposed  sales  tax  which  faces  the 
legislature.  ...  It  calls  for  a  2%  retail  tax 
on  gross  sales.  ...  It  would  affect  theatres. 


Ricci  Decorating  Apollo 

Armand  Ricci,  prominent  local  interior  deco¬ 
rator,  is  doing  the  interior  decorating  work  on 
the  new  Apollo,  Atlantic  City. 

Contract  was  one  of  the  choice  ones  in  the 
territory,  with  the  house  scheduled  to  open  in 
March. 


Heard  In  ~ 

T  R  E 


N  T  O  N 


Allied  Fights 
State  Tax 


SIDNEY  E.  SAMUELSON,  president, 
Allied,  is  leading  the  fight  of  theatre  owners 
agamst  the  enactment  of  the  2  per  cent  general 
sales  tax  measure  introduced  in  the  New  Jersey 
Legislature  by  Assemblyman  W.  Stanley 
Naughright,  of  East  Orange.  .  .  .  Allied 

members  want  exemption  on  admissions  up  to 
fifty  cents.  .  .  .  Bill  exempts  only  gasoline, 
water,  gas  and  electricity.  .  .  .  Payment  of  the 
tax  by  theatre  owner  is  prohibited  by  the  meas¬ 
ure.  .  .  .  At  a  meeting  of  the  Allied  in  Hotel 
Windsor,  President  Samuelson  outlined  the  plan 
for  fighting  the  proposed  sales  tax  legislation. 

.  .  .  Code  also  received  the  attention  of  the 
large  gathering,  mainly  from  South  Jersey.  .  .  . 
Mrs.  Helen  Hildinger  was  hostess  to  the  mem¬ 
bers  at  luncheon  preceding  the  meeting. 

FOUR  VAUDEVILLE  ACTS  with  second 
run  pictures,  Saturday  and  Sundays,  is  the 
new  set-up  at  RKO  Broad  Theatre.  . 

Frank  McGeoy,  Western  Electric  service  man 
for  Trenton  and  vicinity  is  receiving  con¬ 
gratulations.  .  McGeoy  and  Marie  Ac- 

quoviva,  Trenton,  obtained  marriage  license 
at  Elkton,  Md.  .  .  .  Supreme  Court  at  Tren¬ 
ton  set  aside  enactment  of  ordnance  by  Vine- 
land,  N.  J.,  governing  authorities,  which  ord¬ 
nance  imposed  a  special  tax  on  Sunday 
amusements.  .  Ordnance  placed  a  tax 

ranging  from  5  to  20  cents  on  admissions  and 
fixed  hours  for  showing  pictures.  .  .  .  Gen¬ 

eral  Theatrical  Corporation  filed  the  court 
action,  attacking  both  the  limitation  of  hours 
and  the  special  tax.  .  .  Sunday  amuse¬ 

ments  was  approved  by  the  voters  of  Vine- 
land,  N.  J.,  at  referendum  election.  . 

Court  ruling  was  that  the  time  restriction  was 
not  unreasonable  but  declared  there  was  no 
legal  basis  for  the  tax. 


Support  Benefit 

Better  support  for  the  benefit  sched¬ 
uled  under  the  auspices  of  the  Film 
Board  of  Trade  is  needed. 

Show  will  be  held  February  4  at  the 
Stanley  Theatre  through  courtesy  of 
Leonard  Schlesinger,  Stanley-Warner 
zone  chief  here. 

Feature  probably  “Hips,  Hips,  Hooray.” 


STRAND,  playing  “Eskimo,”  brought 
down  Earl  Hammond  and  23  dogs,  with  sled 
and  complete  Polar  equipment,  for  ballyhoo 
on  the  street,  day  before  picture  opened.  .  .  . 
Hammond  also  lectured  before  entire  student 
body  in  High  School  Auditorium  on  the 
Arctic.  ...  It  looks  now  as  if  Apollo  won’t 
be  ready  to  open  until  March.  .  .  .  Steel 

Pier  has  arranged  for  free  parking  for 
patrons  on  the  old  Ilesworth  site  open  air 
parking  lot.  .  Patron  purchases  pier 

ticket  from  attendant  and  can  park,  Satur¬ 
day,  Sunday  and  holidays  excepted,  until 
midnight.  .  .  .  Steel  Pier  celebrated  begin¬ 

ning  of  second  year  of  Sunday  vaudeville 
combined  with  feature  film  with  special  bill 
January  28th. 

BUSINESS  on  the  walk  generally  off  with 
the  Avenue  getting  the  benefit,  with  the  walk 
having  little  protection.  .  .  .  Shows  being 

pulled  off  the  walk  and  doing  business  on 
the  repeat  and  second  run. 


New  General  Register  Office 

General  Register  Corporation  has  opened  a 
new  branch  for  sales  and  service  of  ticket 
registers  at  307  North  13th  Street,  under  the 
management  of  Ray  Duport.  From  this 
branch  exhibitors  in  the  Baltimore,  Philadel¬ 
phia  and  Washington  territories  will  be  given 
factory  service  at  a  minimum  cost,  with  the 
guarantee  of  authentic  factory  parts  and 
machinery. 

Opening  of  this  branch  and  of  new  sales 
offices  at  1540  Broadway,  New  York,  are  just 
a  part  of  the  expansion  program  planned  by 
Percy  Phillipson,  president  of  the  corporation, 
who  arrived  recently  in  this  country  to  take 
full  charge  of  its  operations.  Duport  has  been 
associated  with  the  company  for  a  great  num¬ 
ber  of  years  and  with  the  opening  of  this  new 
showroom  should  become  a  familiar  figure  in 
the  local  territory. 


Harris  Injured 

Ben  Harris,  popular  Masterpiece  booker,  was 
injured  this  week  when  an  auto  tested  its 
fenders  on  him. 

The  fenders  didn’t  bend,  but  Ben  bounced. 
He  is  now  hopping  around. 


Four  For  Metro 

It  looks  like  old  home  week  for  Metro  in  the 
downtown  houses. 

Exchange  has  “Sons  of  the  Desert,"  a  Laurel 
and  Hardy  feature,  at  the  Karlton ;  “Fugitive 
Lovers”  at  the  Stanton;  “Dinner  at  Eight”  at 
the  Boyd ;  and  “Queen  Christina”  at  the 
Stanley. 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Feb  1’34 


27 


Heard  In 

ILKES-BARRE 

Managers  Switched 
In  Town 

_ By  Mac _ 

SWITCHING  of  A1  Cox  from  the  Capitol 
to  the  Irving  and  Fred  Herman  from  the  Irv¬ 
ing  to  the  Capitol  seems  to  hav  started  changes. 
.  .  .  A.  A.  Alexander,  assistant,  Capitol,  has 
gone  to  the  Luzerne  house  as  manager.  .  .  . 
Mitchell  Conery,  manager,  Kingston,  has  left 
the  Comerford  employ  and  associated  himself 
with  Schine.  .  .  .  George  Bittinger,  Sunbury, 
who  was  with  the  Comer  ford's  there,  has  been 
sent  to  Kingston  as  manager.  .  .  .  He  will  be 
succeeded  in  his  old  job  by  Bruce  Hause.  .  .  . 
Cox- Hermann  exchange  was  no  surprise. 

MITCH  CONERY’S  departure  is  regretted. 
.  .  .  Eight  youths  were  required  to  furnish 

$300  bail  each  for  court  during  the  wee  k  by 
a  Wilkes-Barre  magistrate  after  their  arrest 
on  charges  of  malicious  mischief  in  damag¬ 
ing  doors  at  the  Capitol  Two  other 

youths  previously  caused  considerable  excite¬ 
ment  in  central  city  when  they  were  discov¬ 
ered  trying  to  force  their  way  inside.  .  . 

Lewis  Hill,  janitor,  Sterling,  in  the  North 
End,  died  after  an  attack  of  pneumonia. 

STATE  had  a  tie-up  with  the  Nanticokc  De¬ 
partment  of  The  Evening  Ncivs  in  connection 
with  the  showing  of  “Little  Women.”  .  .  . 

Readers  were  offered  free  tickets  for  coloring 
a  newspaper  cartoon  of  character  in  the  film. 
.  .  .  Rex,  Nanticoke,  has  been  featuring  the 
old  time  angle  on  “The  Perils  of  Pauline.” 
.  .  .  Special  Saturday  morning  matinee  was 
arranged  for  the  kiddies,  so  they  might  see  what 
thrilled  their  parents  when  they  were  boys  and 
girls.  .  .  .  Gold  edict  brought  plenty  of  action 
at  the  local  theatres  on  the  final  night  of  the 
original  order.  .  .  .  Five  and  ten  dollar  gold 
pieces  were  more  numerous  than  they  are  at 
Christmas.  .  .  .  And  so  were  the  gold  back 
notes.  .  .  .  “Little  Women”  was  held  in  town 
for  a  second  week  at  the  Orpheum  after  playing 
the  Capitol.  .  .  .  Evangelist  Anthony  Zeoli 
used  the  Parsons  Theatre  for  his  concluding 
service.  .  .  .  Warden  William  B.  Healey, 
Luzerne  County  prison,  panned  the  theatres  for 
their  contributions  to  the  crime  wave  in  an 
address  he  gave  at  the  Elks’  Luncheon  Club 
gathering.  .  .  .  Insurgent  mine  strike  con- 


ERPI  on  Tri-Ergon  Suit 

A  release  from  Electrical  Research  Products 
to  exhibitors  regarding  the  Tri-Ergon  suit 
reads : 

“We  understand  that  American  Tri-Ergon 
Corporation  has  addressed  a  letter  to  exhibi¬ 
tors  generally  claiming  that  the  sound  repro¬ 
ducing  equipment  used  by  them  infringes  a 
patent  owned  by  it  and  referring  to  certain 
litigation  in  Pennsylvania. 

“We  advised  you  in  our  letter  of  Novem¬ 
ber  29,  1933,  that  Western  Electric  apparatus 
was  not  involved  in  that  litigation.  S’nce 
then  we  have  learned  that  appeal  has  been 
taken  to  the  U.  S.  Circuit  Court  of  Appeals 
and  that  pending  decision  of  the  appeal  all 
proceedings  in  the  lower  court  have  been 
stayed. 

“In  the  event  of  a  patent  infringement  suit 
based  on  our  reproducing  equipment  behig 
brought  against  you  and  provided,  of  course, 
that  you  are  not  in  default  under  your  agree¬ 
ment  with  us.  we  will  protect  you  in  strict 
compliance  with  the  provisions  of  that  agree¬ 
ment.” 

General  Talking  Reassures 

General  Talking  Pictures  Corporation  has 
sent  the  following  reply  to  letters  from  exhibi¬ 
tors  asking  what  their  rights  arc  in  the  Tri- 
Ergon  suit : 

“Please  be  advised  that  equipments  m- 
stalled  and  maintained  under  valid  license 
from  us,  were  in  no  wav  involved  nor  was 
this  company  a  party  defendant  in  the  above 
entitled  suit,  yet  several  exhibitors  have 
•nqu’red  of  the  effect,  if  any,  the  decision 
handed  down  bv  Judge  Albert  W.  Johnson 
in  the  said  action  has  on  them.  For  that 
reason,  we  caution  our  licensees  not  to  be 
unduly  influenced  by  any  misrepresentations 
relating  to  our  reproducing  apparatus. 

“Licensees  under  contract  with  us,  who 
have  duly  performed  and  arc  performing 
the  terms,  covenants  and  conditions  thereof, 
have  paten*  protection  and  indemnity  pro¬ 
visions  in  their  license  agreements  with  us 
and  we  stand  ready  to  carry  out  any  re¬ 
sponsibilities  assumed  under  our  contract.” 


tinues  to  cut  deeply  into  the  grosses  at  all  the 
houses. 


TICKETS  AND  REGISTERS 


THE  ROLLS-ROYCE  OF 

TICKET  REGISTERS! 

The  mechanism  Gf  today,  tomor¬ 
row  and  next  year.  Tried  and 
Proven.  Imitated  but  neve  r 
equalled — Priced  no  higher  but 
bought  with  the  guarantee  of  a 
reputable  house  backed  by  more 
than  twenty-five  years  experience. 

SERVICE  and  REPAIRS 

With  Official  Factory  Parts 

AV'ff  /.on-  Prices 

3-UnitA utomatie  ....  .,  ...  . 

Gold  Seal  Register  Whether  a  Minor  Adjustment  or  a 
_ _ _ Complete  Overhaulinq 


General  Register  Corp. 

Executive  Offices:  1540  B'way,  New  York 

1  our  t  naira*  t  llninrh  Oflit  v:  307  N.  13th  St. \  PHILA.,  PA 


Standard  Services  SaveYou  Money 

SERVICE  No  1 

The  .Xeir  1934  A' 

SI  LENT  AUTOMATIC 
TICKET  RELISTER 

•  INTERCHANGEABLE  UNITS 
ouarantee  NO  REPAIR 
WORRIES. 

•  NOISELESS  in  operation. 

•  SPECIAL  FEATURES  protect 
your  cash  receipts. 

•  LIBERAL  ALLOWANCES  for 

nM  rr.3-bir.os  in  frarie. 

SERVICE  No.  2 

Used  Machine 
Bargains 

SERVICE  No.  3 

Repair  or  Re¬ 
build  Any  Make 
Machine —  Low 
Cost. 

SERVICE  No.  4 

Tickets  Stand¬ 
ard  Quality — 
Lowest  Market 
Prices. 

Write  Immediately  for  Our  New  Introductory  Offer 

STANDARD  TICKET  REGISTER  CORP. 

1600  Broadway.  New  York  •  Geo.  Mead. gen.  mgr. 

VAUDEVILLE  AGENCIES 


VAUDEVILLE 

PRESENTATIONS 
MUSICAL  COMEDY 
REVUES 


HARRY  BIBEN 

C603-4  COLONIAL  BUILDING) 

N.  E.  Cor.  13th  and  Market  Sts. 

Phone,  Rittenhouse  9494-5 

PHILADELPHIA 


Some  Sprightly  Universal  Favorites 


Shots  from  “Love  Birds,”  a  Pitts-Summerville;  Gloria  Stuart  in  “I  Like  It  that  Way”; 
“Cross  Country  Cruise,”  with  Alice  White,  all  from  Universal,  are  seen. 


FRANK  WOLF 

Booking  Vaudeville 
and  Picture  Theatres 

307  REAL  ESTATE  TRUST  BLDG. 
Philadelphia  -  -  PENnypacker  0792 


ST.  CHARLES 

AN  ENTIRE  BLOCK  ON  THE  BOARDWALK 

.  ATLANTIC  CITY  • 

A  Smart  Hotel  in  America's  Smartest  %esort 

Atlantic  city— Healthful— 

Restful — Affording  complete  relaxation  so 
welcome  after  intensive  work — Where  the 
St.  Charles  offers  the  maximum  in  hotel 
comfort  and  service — Spacious  Sun  Deck 
occupying  one  entire  block  overlooking 
Boardwalk  and  Sea — Ocean  view  Lounge. 

IDEAL  CONVENTION  FACILITIES 

RATES  GREATLY  RED U  C  E  D 


28 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Looking  Ahead  at  the  Product 

A  Service  Designed  to  Give  the  Exhibitor  Each  Picture’s  Analysis  Before  Playing 
-  '  "  By  Our  Hollywood  Correspondent  - 


"Hips,  Hips,  Hooray"— Radio 

Bert  Wheeler,  Robert  Woolsey,  Dorothy  Lee,  Ruth 
Etting,  Thelma  Todd,  Phyllis  Barry ,  George  Meeker , 
Dorothy  Granger. 

Good  Wheeler-Woolsey  combination,  with 
one  song  to  plug,  plenty  of  pretty  girls,  broad 
comedy  and  laughs.  Show  should  do  as  well  as 
the  other  Wheeler- Woolseys  and  has  produc¬ 
tion  values  not  apparent  in  some  of  their  recent 
contributions.  Picture  looks  like  the  usual 
W-W  dough  entrant. 

Family,  comedy  with  songs,  86m. 


"Palooka"— UA 

Jimmy  Durante,  Stuart  Erwin,  Lupe  Velez,  Mar¬ 
jorie  Rambeau,  Robert  Armstrong,  Mary  Carlisle, 
William  Cagney,  Thelma  Todd,  Stanley  Fields. 

Comedy  show  and  a  natural  for  Durante. 
Cast  is  A-l,  dialogue,  direction  okay,  with  the 
result  that  the  piece  looms  as  a  nice  entrant 
in  the  better  grosses  division.  There  are  names, 
plenty  of  tie-ups,  a  good  yarn  and  lots  more  to 
sell.  Score  another  for  UA. 

Family,  comedy  with  songs,  85m. 


"Hi  Nellie"— Warners 

Paul  Muni,  Glenda  Farrell,  Burton  Churchill ,  Ned 
Sparks,  Donald  Meek,  Robert  Barrat,  George  Meeker, 
Douglas  Dumbrille. 

Muni  as  a  newspaper  editor  who  is  demoted 
into  the  heart-throb  editorship  to  work  out  a 
contract,  and  a  racy,  interesting  yarn  all  the 
way.  Star  makes  the  whole  thing  believable 
and  a  topnotch  Warner  cast  guarantees  pace 
throughout.  Show  can  be  sold,  gives  Muni 
plenty  of  meat,  ought  to  please  aud’ences 
everywhere. 

Family,  comedy-drama,  74m. 

"Easy  to  Love"— Warners 

Adolph  Menjou.  Genevieve  Tobin,  Edward  Everett 
Horton,  Mary  Astor,  Patricia  Ellis,  Hugh  Herbert, 
Guy  Kibbee. 

Adult  comedy  of  wives  and  husbands  that 
should  fit  into  the  program  grade.  Show  man¬ 
ages  to  keep  going  even  though  lots  of  it  is 
familiar,  and  other  portions  are  unconventional. 
Warners  have  given  the  show  plenty  of  name 
strength,  with  the  husband  and  wife  angles 
lending  the  picture  easily  to  exploitation. 

Adult,  comedy,  61m. 

"You  Can’t  Buy  Everyt’ng"-  MGM 

May  Robson,  Jean  Parker,  Lewis  Stone,  Mary 
Forbes,  Reginald  Mason,  William  Bakewell,  Reginald 
Barlow,  Claude  Gilling water . 

Weak  sister  that  depends  upon  an  unsympa¬ 
thetic  role  for  the  lead’ng  performer.  May 
Robson  is  a  woman  embittered  because  she  was 
left  at  the  church  by  a  young  banker.  Years 
later  she  gets  her  revenge  and  ruins  him.  In 
getting  this,  however,  she  loses  her  son  who 
runs  off.  Piece  telegraphs  its  punches  all  the 
way.  Cast  has  some  names  but  doesn’t  shape 
up  as  anything  sensational. 

Adult,  drama,  85m. 


"Strange  Holiday"— Para. 

Fredric  March,  Evelyn  Venable,  Sir  Guy  Standing, 
He'en  Westley,  Henry  Travers,  G.  P.  Huntley,  Cecil 
Patrick,  Kent  Taylor,  Katherine  Alexander. 

Class  picture,  taken  from  “Death  Takes  a 
Holiday’’  and  a  high  rater  when  direction,  act¬ 
ing,  atmosphere  are  considered.  Show,  how¬ 
ever,  must  be  sold  from  the  eerie  angle  for  the 
general  public.  March  turns  in  a  swell  per¬ 
formance.  Exploiteers  may  have  to  do  a 
Jekyll-Hyde  on  this  one,  but  as  an  achieve¬ 
ment  it  is  there. 

Adult,  drama,  76m. 


"Good  Dame"— Para. 

Sylvia  S'dney,  Jack  LaRue,  Fredric  March,  Noel 
Francis,  Russell  Hopton,  Kathleen  Burke,  William 
Farnum,  Dewey  Robinson. 

Good  programmer  that  should  turn  in  a  bet¬ 
ter  than  average  gross  at  the  box  office.  Story 
concerns  a  showgirl  who  meets  a  carnival  fel¬ 
low.  Two  get  into  one  scraps  after  another,  pal 
together  and  tale  winds  up  in  a  marriage  after 
plenty  of  complications.  Background  is  breezy, 
roles  well  taken,  atmosphere  interesting  all  the 
way. 

Adult,  comedy  drama,  72m. 


"Th  is  Side  of  Heaven"— Metro 

Lionel  Barrymore,  Fay  Bainter,  Mae  Clarke ,  Tom 
Brown,  Una  Merke1,  Mary  Carlisle,  Onslow  Stevens, 
Eddie  Nugent,  C.  Henry  Gordon,  Dickie  Moore. 

Family  tale  and  a  director’s  achievement. 
Show  relates  happenings  of  a  day  in  a  family 
with  many  episodic  bits  showing  all  the  angles. 
Eventually,  when  a  crisis  arises,  family  sticks 
together  and  solves  all  problems.  Piece  doesn’t 
sound  like  much  but  can  be  made  an  intriguing 
program  attraction. 

Family,  comedy-drama,  79m. 

"Straightaway"— Col. 

Tim  McCoy,  William  Bakewell,  Sue  Carol.  Lafc 
McKee,  Ward  Bond,  Arthur  Rankin,  Francis 
McDonald. 

Auto  racing  story  for  McCoy  fans  with 
plenty  of  thrills  for  everyone.  Love  element 
isn’t  very  strong,  but  folks  won’t  object.  Pic¬ 
ture  will  enter  nicely  into  the  action  program 
division. 

Family,  action-drama,  60m. 


"Sleepers  East"— Fox 

Wynne  Gibson,  Kenneth  McKenna,  Preston  Foster, 
J.  Carrol  Naisli,  Harvey  Stephens. 

Another  of  those  yarns  with  action  oil  a 
train,  with  a  girl  on  parole  for  a  crime  of 
which  she  was  innocent,  mixed  up  with  sev¬ 
eral  men.  Piece  lacks  name  strength,  which 
will  probably  handicap  it  as  much  as  the  atmos¬ 
phere  and  background.  Similar  stories  have 
been  prevalent  a  long  time. 

Adult,  melodrama,  69m. 


.-34 

"Six  of  a  Kind"— Para. 

Charlie  Ruggles,  Mary  Boland,  W.  C.  Fields,  Alison 
Skipworth,  George  Burns,  Grade  Allen. 

Comedy  that  should  appeal  wherever  the 
laughs  mean  dollars.  Story  won’t  trouble  any¬ 
one,  but  it  offers  plenty  of  opportunities  for 
good  fun  and  gags.  Picture  has  an  ace  comedy 
line-up,  and  with  the  names  to  sell  can  mean 
a  neat  return  at  the  box  office. 

Family,  comedy,  62m. 


"Public  Stenographer"— Scrcencraft 

Lola  Lane,  William  Collier,  Jr.,  Jason  Robards, 
Esther  Muir,  Richard  Tucker ,  Bryant  Washburn, 
Duncan  Renaldo. 

Program  entrant  with  some  feature  names  to 
sell.  Tale  revolves  about  the  lassie  who  falls  in 
love  with  an  exec’s  son,  thinks  he  is  two-timing 
her,  but  discovers  he  wasn  t.  Acting  is  up  to 
par,  and  there  are  other  angles  in  a  weak  story. 

Family,  comedy-drama,  64m. 


"Once  to  Every  Woman"— Col. 

Fay  Wray,  Ralph  Bellamy,  Walter  Connolly,  Mary 
CarVsle,  Walter  Byron,  Mary  Foy,  Georgie  Caine, 
J.  Farrell  MacDonald,  Leila  Bennett,  Ben  Alexander. 

Hospital  picture,  well  directed,  well  cast,  and 
a  strong  programmer.  Show  may  lack  star 
name  strength  but  will  make  up  for  it  in  enter¬ 
tainment.  Picture  has  some  real  punches, 
should  please  all  types  of  audiences. 

Family,  drama,  70m. 


'Woman  Unafraid"— Goldsmith 

Skeets  Gallagher,  Lucille  Gleason,  Barbara  Weeks, 
Warren  Hymer,  Eddie  Phillips,  Jason  Robards,  Ruth 
Clifford. 

Tale  of  a  woman  cop  and  likely  to  please 
where  they  like  gangster  stories  that  attempt  to 
include  new  angles.  Cast  is  of  feature  name 
strength  and  mass  audiences  should  find  some 
satisfaction  in  the  inde  programmer. 

Family,  comedy-drama,  60m. 


"Coming  Out  Party"— Fox 

Frances  Dee,  Gene  Raymond,  Nigel  Bruce,  Harry 
Green,  Alison  Skipworth,  Marjore  Gateson. 

Weak  sister  that  deals  with  a  rich  young  g:rl 
who  loves  a  p>oor  music  peddler  and  finds  out 
she  was  going  to  have  a  baby.  However,  young 
love  solves  all  before  she  has  a  chance  to  elope 
with  another  fellow.  Tale  is  thin,  cast  does 
the  best  it  can. 

Adult,  drama,  65m. 


"16  Fathoms  Deep"— Mon. 

SaUy  O'Neil,  Creighton  Chaney.  Maurice  Black, 
Lloyd  Ingram,  George  Nash,  George  Regas. 

Action  tale  with  underwater  scenes  and  an 
okay  number  for  the  p>op  houses.  Show  packs 
a  punch,  has  its  love  elements  subordmated  to 
plenty  of  movement,  and  will  please  action 
lovers. 

Family,  melodrama,  62m. 


o/?e  him  at  the 

NATION 

WIDE 

TRADE 

SHOWS 


TUESDAY 
FEB.  6th 

Qel  Qfour  A^icdels 
[Al  ') j//ur  Clearest 

UNITED 

ARTISTS 

EXCHANGE 


101 


l  JIMMY  DURANTE 
LUPE  VELEZ 
STUART  ERWIN 

,(Pl  •  dP  e  /  i  a  n  c  e  (PP  i  c  /  u  r  e 
P Produced  by  w  a  rcl  cJm  all 


30 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


1  -Feb. -34 

"Let’s  Fall  in  Love"— Col. 

Edmund  Lowe.  Ann  Sothern,  Gregory  Rat  off,  Mir¬ 
iam  Jordan,  Art  Jarrett,  Tala  Birell,  Marjorie 
Gateson . 

Nice  programmer  with  a  good  song  to  plug 
and  a  fair  amount  of  feature  names.  Show  has 
a  movie  background,  familiar,  but  directed  so 
that  it  never  lags.  Newcomer,  Ann  Sothern, 
does  well  enough,  with  Ratoff  stealing  most 
of  the  laughs. 

Family,  comedy,  64m. 


"Wheels  of  Destiny"— U 

Ken  Maynard,  Dorothy  Dix,  Philo  McCullough,  Jay 
Wilsie. 

Our  Ken  leads  a  band  of  settlers,  routs 
Indians,  villains,  floods,  etc.,  gets  everything  and 
everyone  there  safely. 

Family,  western,  63m. 


"The  Fighting  Code"- Col. 

Buck  Jones,  Diane  Sinclair,  Niles  Welch ,  Ward 
Bond,  Alf  James. 

Our  Buck  clears  the  name  of  the  girl’s  father 
and  all’s  right  with  the  world.  Western  advo¬ 
cates  will  have  nothing  to  complain  about. 

Family,  western,  63m. 


"Sweden"— Boyle 

T ravelogue  with  color  and  music. 

“Sweden,  Land  of  the  Vikings”  is  a  travel¬ 
ogue  of  Sweden,  in  natural  color,  with  run¬ 
ning  talk  and  some  beautiful  shots.  Picture 
can  be  played  anywhere  as  a  scenic  and  will 
mean  more  in  Scandinavian  sections. 

Family,  travel,  77m. 


"Ever  Since  Eve"— Fox 

George  O’Brien,  Herbert  Mundin,  Mary  Brian,  Betty 
Blythe,  Roger  Imhoff,  George  Meeker. 

O’Brien  owns  a  mine,  goes  east,  marries  a 
social  registrite,  finds  she  loves  him  for  his 
money.  Complications  arise,  but  everything  is 
ironed  out. 

Family,  western,  70m. 


"West  of  the  Divide"— Mon. 

John  Wayne,  George  Hayes,  Virginia  Browne 
Faire,  Lloyd  Whitlock,  Yakima  Canutt. 

Once  again  our  John  gets  going,  triumphs 
over  evil,  wins  the  girl.  Show  is  up  to  the  usual 
Wayne  standard. 

Family,  western,  54m. 


"Mandalay"— Warners 

Kay  Francis.  Ricardo  Cortez,  Warner  Oland,  Ruth 
Donnelly,  Lyle  Talbot,  Lucien  Littlefield,  Reginald 
Owen,  HalliweU  Hobbes. 

Familiar  sort  of  yarn  with  the  players  doing 
their  best  to  overcome  the  story.  One  woman 
and  many  men,  a  doctor  who  is  brought  back 
to  self-respect  by  the  heroine,  the  return  of  the 
heavy  and  a  case  of  poisoning.  Show  has  a 
good  song,  a  saleable  title. 

Adult,  drama  with  songs,  63m. 


"  Leg  Ong"—  Bennett 

Native  cast  in  a  story  of  Bali. 

Bali  pictures  have  been  around  before.  It  can 
be  said  of  this,  however,  that  it  has  been  pro¬ 
duced  with  beauty,  taste,  and  all  other  artistic 
ingredients.  Its  box  office  future,  however,  is 
another  thing. 

Family,  travel,  55m. 


BETWEEN  THE  PARAGRAPHS 

. - .  ■  J 


SECRECY  HASN’T  HELPED  CODE  AUTHORITY 

Allowing  trade  papers  to  guess  at  what  took  place  at  the  first  few  Code 
Authority  meetings  hasn’t  helped  the  standing  of  that  body  any  with  the  exhibitors 
in  general.  “Variety”  gave  the  first  hint  of  a  conflict  between  inde  and  major  com¬ 
pany  representatives  on  the  Code  body,  and  later  in  the  week  its  reports  coincided 
with  the  announcement  that  the  code  would  be  retroactive  to  pictures  released  after 
December  7.  This  business  is  naturally  a  suspicious  one,  because  of  the  nature  of 
buying  and  selling,  and  secrecy  around  the  movements  of  the  industry’s  high  code 
body  doesn’t  allay  exhibitors’  fears  any.  Better  have  full  publicity  on  everything 
the  Code  Authority  does  if  the  best  interests  of  the  Authority  itself  and  the  industry 
in  general  are  to  be  considered. 


WALKER  REPUTATION  HIGHEST 

The  furore  in  Washington  which  saw  several  leading  Democrats  resigning  their 
places  on  the  National  Committee  brought  out  the  fact  that  Frank  C.  Walker, 
Comerford  chain  executive,  and  formerly  national  treasurer  of  the  Democratic 
party,  had  resigned  his  post  several  months  ago  when  he  took  his  place  in  the 
National  Emergency  Council.  At  no  time  has  there  been  any  intimation  that  he 
mixed  politics  with  recovery  work  or  anything  else,  for  that  matter.  Walker  has 
one  of  the  highest  reputations  in  the  business,  has  always  been  a  square-shooter, 
carries  the  confidence  of  producers  and  exhibitors  who  know  him.  It  is  a  signal 
honor  that  he,  as  a  member  of  this  industrv,  has  the  high  place  in  the  NRA  lineup. 


LEVINE  STILL  ACE  SERIAL  MAN 

In  this  era  of  production  supervisors,  new  production  unit  ideas,  new  pro¬ 
duction  trends,  No.  1  man  in  the  serial  field  is  still  Nat  Levine.  The  producer  of 
Mascot  serials  turns  out  four  a  year,  on  schedule,  and  strives  in  each  to  better  all 
preceding.  His  themes  are  new,  novel,  different.  His  place  as;  No.  1  serial  producer 
looks  safe  for  many  seasons  to  come. 


PETE  HARRISON  HELPS  ON  CODE 

Pete  Harrison,  whose  Harrison’s  Reports  has  been  the  bible  for  independent 
exhibitors  these  many  years,  gave  the  code  signal  assistance  when  he  published  the 
fact  that  he  thought  its  adoption  would  bring  vast  benefits  for  everyone.  He  took, 
in  detail,  plenty  of  time  to  show  that  proper  workings  of  the  code  meant  real  bless¬ 
ings  for  exhibitors.  In  doin?  so,  he  shocked  some  of  the  insurgent  exhibitors  who 
thought  that  he  would  aid  them  in  their  onslaught  on  everything  and  everyone 
connected  with  the  code.  Pete  may  not  get  any  vote  of  thanks  from  the  Code 
Authority,  but  he  deserves  it. 


METRO  MUST  HAVE  FAITH  IN  “ESKIMO” 

According  to  word  going  around  in  the  trade,  Metro  has  enough  faith  in 
“Eskimo”  to  assure  accounts  playing  it  that  if  house  overhead  isn’t  reached,  well 
....  Whether  or  not  this  means  that  the  exchange  will  guarantee  anything  on 
this  40%  feature  is  unknown,  but  it  indicates  that  the  company  has  confidence  in 
the  picture.  The  show,  itself,  is  a  banner  piece  of  entertainment  that  is  a  difficult 
proposition  to  sell.  Similar  films  have  failed,  even  with  the  best  of  critical 
endorsement. 


DUBBING  “MAEDCHEN”  MAY  OR  MAY  NOT  HELP 

Dubbing  of  “Maedchen”  with  English  dialogue  does  not  remove  the  principal 
trouble  encountered  in  certain  sections  of  the  country.  The  element  which  pro¬ 
tested  against  showing  of  the  film  after  racial  agitation  arose  will  still  find  the  same 
fault  with  it.  No  one  ever  spoke  against  the  merits  of  “Maedchen’’,  but  rather  the 
squawk  was  against  its  origin.  Having  characters  speak  English  doesn’t  remove 
the  sore  spot. 


NRA  TAKES  CARE  OF  COMPLAINTS 

Exhibitors  who  thought  that  they  would  be  immune  from  detection  on  code 
violations  until  local  boards  are  formed  now  know  differently.  Local  NRA  boards 
have  been  calling  exhibitors  on  the  carpet  on  alleged  labor  violations,  while  Sol 
Rosenblatt’s  office  has  been  sending  out  plenty  of  letters  to  exhibitors  who  have  been 
reported  violating  certain  clauses.  The  code  became  effective  December  7.  From 
that  time  on,  a  violation  became  a  violation,  boards  or  no  boards. 


HOBART  MANN. 


Feb  1 T 34  pg.  31 


-cP^- 

i  DRAPERIES?  ^Ts, 

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ni  PAINT  THE  -A*Q««’ 

A  NEW  PROGRAM  IDEA! 

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PENDITURE. 

What  will  it  cost? 
Must  I  close  down? 
Who's  an  expert  on  it  ? 


Tear  Out 

and 

Mail ! 

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TO  BE  SOLICITED,  SAY 
SO,  AND  INFORMATION 
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Incorporated 

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ADDRESS 

Feb  1 T 34  b.c. 


The  Biggest  Names 
e  Biggest  Laughs 


STOOPNAGLE 

and  BUDD  in 

"THE  INVENTORS" 

with  OLIVE  BORDEN 

''Excellent  comedy  ...  shows 
Stoopnagle  and  Budd  at  their 
best  as  the  nutly  inventors  ...  If 
you  are  looking  for  belly  laughs, 
this  has  them."  Film  Daily 

CORONET 

COMEDY 

Produced  by 
AL  CHRISTIE 


short 


. . .  and  always 
More  Big  Names 

To  the  long  list  of  big  names  in 
Educational  Pictures  is  now  added 

BUSTER  KEATON 

coming  soon  in  a  new 

STAR  COMEDY  SPECIAL 


LIC$ 
OUTH 

"'PARDON 
MY  PUPS'" 

A  comedy  of  youth,  its  fights  anc 
its  frolics,  that  will  keep  any  au 
dience  in  stitches  of  laughter,  anc 
then  leave  a  pleasant  memory 

with 

JUNIOR  COGHLAM 

and 

SHIRLEY  TEMPLE 

'Altogether  delightful." 

Rob.  Wagner's  Scrip  I 

'Furnishes  plenty 
of  laughs.  Shir 
ley  Temph 
is  great.' 
M.  P.  DAIL' 


(^vctuyiz^ 

•THE  SPICE  OFTHE  PROGRAM" 


Distributed  in  U.  S.  A.  by  FOX  FILM  CORPORATION 


'OL.  16-No.  4 

PHILADELPHIA,  FEBRUARY  15, 1934 

Price,  15  Cents 

MFT  *1# 

GARGLE  1  BIB  HUB 
SUL!  RANG 
FRANCES  DRAKE 


if  it’s  a  PARAMOUNT  PICTURE  it’s  the  best  show  in  town! 


Feb  1'34  b.c. 

'HI 


'34  pg.  2 


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\ig  Nationwide 
'adio  Hook-up 

>t ion  wide  //eimpdpprlie-i 

Story  by 

Harry  Q  Hoyt 

Director  of '  LOST  WORLD' 


Directed  by 

Spencer  6ordon  Bennet 

Produced  by 

^  Georoe  Stout 


^i^ii  * 


“THE  WORLD’S  LEADING  INDEPENDENT ff 

FIRST  DIVISION  EXCHANGES,  In 

HARRY  H.  THOMAS,  President 


•*»  i  o>(  ncwii  i 


EXECUTIVE  OFFICES,  RADIO  CITY,  NEW  YORK  CITY 
PiiFgALft  aLRANY  •  -PHILADELPHIA  CLEVELAND  •  PITTSBURGH  •  WASHINGTON  •  NEW  VC 


,n  ’  I  with  *  1  '  1  l  ffffr  tan 

JOHN  H  A  L  L  I  D  AY  '  | 

WALLACE  FORD  1 
KITTY  KELLY 
MARGUERITE  de  la  MOTTE 

i  Presented  by  MONOGRAM  PICTURES 
Directed  by  EDWARD  LUDWIG 
" Supervised  by  BEN  VERSCHLEISER 
the  Cosmopolitan  Magazine  Story  by  ADELA  ROGERS  ST.  JOHN 


PICKFORD-HEPBURN-HARLOW 
TOLD  HER  ABOUT  JlpLLYWOOD 


Plenty  of  entertainment  .  .  .  The  kind  that  is 
sure  to  please.  — Hollywood  Reporter 

Good  story  well  directed  .  .  .  Sparkling  with 
comedy,  should  hold  any  audience. 

_  — Variety 

Real  Entertainment  for  any  exhibitor's  audi¬ 
ences.  — Motion  Picture  Herald 

Refreshing  piece  of  entertainment  sparkling 
with  smart  dialogue,  yet  not  sophisticated 
.  .  .  Appeal  for  all  classes  of  audiences. 

Motion  Picture  Daily 


ADELA  ROGERS  ST.JOHN 


whose  feature  stories  about 
all  the  big  stars  are  "lead" 
articles  in  Liberty,  Cosmopolitan 
and  the  best  fan  magazines, 
wrote  this  "inside"  story  of 
the  movie  capitol. 


THE  REAL  "INSIDE"  STORY  of  HOLLYWOOD  by  ONE  WHO  KNOWS 


jDiitrib'jteJ  Vf  FIRST  DIVISION  EXCHANGES,  Inc., 


1240  Vine  Street,  Philadelphia 

Febl5'34  pg.  3 


4 


Febl5'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Warners  * 4  Wonder  Bar  *  Cast 
Sets  Multiple  Star  Record 


With  the  largest  cast  of  stars,  fea¬ 
tured  players,  and  chorus  beauties 
ever  gathered  in  the  Warner  Bros.- 
First  National  studios,  “Wonder  Bar” 
stacks  up  as  the  most  overwhelming 
screen  spectacle  yet  attempted  by  the 
company  that  stood  the  industry  on 


Kay  Francis  As  She  Appears  in 
“Wonder  Bar” 

.is  collective  ear  with  "Footlight  Pa- 
ade,”  “Gold  Diggers,”  and  “42nd 
.Street.” 

Precedent  Broken 

With  “make  it  different”  the  studio 
byword,  Warner  Bros,  started  build¬ 
ing  box-office  values  immediately  upon 
purchase  of  the  story.  The  studio 
aimed  to  break  precedent  and  set 
records  in  all  departments,  as  a  re¬ 
sult  of  which  the  talent  division  com¬ 
prises  a  “Who’s  Who”  of  Hollywood’s 
greatest. 

Kay  Francis  appears  as  the  glam¬ 
orous,  capricious,  amorous  Parisian 
wife ; 

A1  Jolson  as  the  night  club  enter¬ 
tainer  ; 

Dolores  Del  Rio  as  Inez,  the  ex- 
otically  alluring  night  club  dancer; 

Ricardo  Cortez  as  Inez’s  partner, 
“matinee”  idol  and  gigolo; 

Dick  Powell  as  the  young  singing 


Bar”  with  a  long  list  of  selected  stars 
is  regarded  in  Hollywood  as  indica¬ 
tive  of  specially  keen  business  fore¬ 
sight,  the  trade  holding  that  the  pic¬ 
ture’s  sale  to  the  public  is  facilitated 
for  the  exhibitor,  giving  him  the  great¬ 
est  opportunity  in  film  history  to  use 
the  fine  art  of  ballyhoo. 

‘  Wonder  Bar’  World- 
Famous  as  Stage  Hit 

“Wonder  Bar,”  Warner  Bros,  ex¬ 
travaganza  to  exceed  its  own  success¬ 
ful  extravaganzas,  was  one  of  the 
most  successful  of  this  .century’s  stage 
plays  in  this  country,  with  a  two-year 
road  tour,  plus  a  solid  sell-out  year 
in  New  York,  behind  it.  In  Europe, 
“Wonder  Bar”  set  enviable  records  in 
Vienna,  Paris,  Berlin,  and  London. 


Director  Of 
“42d  Street” 


Scores  Again 


Lloyd  Bacon’s  record  of  “box-office 
champions”  is  due  for  an  addition,  ac¬ 
cording  to  preview  reports  on  “Won¬ 
der  Bar”  from  Hollywood.  Bacon 
irected  “42nd 
Street,”  one  of 
1 9  3  3  ’  s  “Ten 
Best”  in  the 
FILM  DAILY 
Poll  and  a  cham¬ 
pion  for  two  suc¬ 
cessive  months 
in  MOTION 
PICTURE 
HERALD’s  na¬ 
tional  box-office 


survey. 

Bacon  also  di- 
lloyd  bacon  rected  “Foot- 
light  Parade,”  which  achieved  similar 
"best  b.  o.”  renown.  In  addition  to 
directing  two  of  the  industry’s  most 
successful  musical  extravaganzas, 
Bacon  has  directed  a  half  dozen  of  the 
money-making  Joe  E.  Brown  films. 


‘Wonder  Bar’ 
Tango  Is  New 
Dance  Craze 


Dubin-Warren  melody  dedicated  to 
the  beautiful  star.  Jose  Fernandez, 
coach  of  the  ballet  for  the  Holly¬ 
wood  Bowl’s  presentation  of  Ravel’s 
“Bolero,”  directed  Miss  Del  Rio  and 
Cortez.  Coast  dancing  masters  are  en¬ 
thusiastic  over  the  possibilities  of  the 
routine  for  popular  ball-room  dancing. 


“The  Gaucho,”  something  new  in 
the  Way  of  dances,  is  introduced  on 
the  screen  in  “Wonder  Bar,”  Warner 
musical,  by  the  stellar  team  of  Do¬ 
lores  Del  Rio  and  Ricardo  Cortez. 

Representing  a  blend  of  the  famous 
Apache  dance  of  Paris  and  the  Tango 
of  the  Argentine,  “The  Gaucho”  is 
danced  to  the  “Tango  Del  Rio,”  a 


Mammy! 

One  ton  of  black  grease 
paint  was  used  by  Warner 
Bros,  for  the  “Goin’  To 
Heaven  On  A  Mule”  number 
of  “Wonder  Bar.”  Number 
marks  A1  Jolson’s  return  to 
blackface. 


band  leader; 

Hal  LeRoy  as  the  kid  hoofing 
marvel ; 

And  Ruth  Donnelly,  Guy  Kibbee, 
Hugh  Herbert,  Fifi  d’Orsay,  Kath¬ 
ryn  Sergava,  Henry  O’Neill,  Merna 
Kennedy,  Henry  Kolker,  Mia  Ich- 
ioka,  Pat  Wing,  Clay  Clement  and 
many  others  in  varying  dramatic 
and  comedy  parts. 

Chorus  Doubled 

In  addition  to  the  marquee  person¬ 
alities,  Warners  commissioned  Busby 
Berkeley  to  double  his  quota  of  beau¬ 
tiful  girls  for  the  ensemble  spectacles. 
Instead  of  the  gorgeous  group  of  two 
hundred  used  in  “42nd  Street,”  “Gold 
Diggers  of  1933,”  “Footlight  Parade” 
and  “Fashions  of  1934,”  Berkeley  put 
four  hundred  to  work  in  “Wonder 
Bar’s”  imaginative  chorus  sequences. 

Warners’  fortification  of  “Wonder 


New  High  For  Magnificence 
In  ‘  Wonder  Bar ?  Settings 


Film  set  construction  reached  a 
record  high  during  the  filming  of 
“Wonder  Bar”  at  Warner  Brothers’ 
Burbank  studios.  The  largest  indoor 
construction  yet  attempted  in  Holly¬ 
wood,  covering  an  area  equal  to  two 
city  blocks,  was  built  to  house  the 
Busby  Berkeley  chorus  conceptions. 

The  largest  set,  representing  the 
enormous  Parisian  night  club  in  which 
the  action  of  the  story  transpires,  re¬ 
quired  enough  lighting  to  illuminate  a 
city  of  twenty  thousand  people.  All 


four  walls  of  the  cafe  were  constructed 
in  order  that  cameras  might  “pan” 
around  to  cover  the  richly  dressed  pa¬ 
trons  as  they  danced  and  dined. 

Five  weeks  were  needed  for  the 
shooting  of  the  “Wonder  Bar”  story 
sequences.  Five  additional  weeks  were 
taken  in  filming  the  elaborately  imagi¬ 
native  Berkeley  spectacles. 

All  phases  of  such  a  night  club  as 
the  “Wonder  Bar”  were  built  into  the 
set,  including  fifteen  rooms,  main  bar, 
dance  floor,  orchestra  platform,  foyer, 


kitchens,  business  offices  and  dressing 
rooms.  The  art  department  decorated 
the  set  in  modern  style  and  the  furni¬ 
ture  was  especially  created  for  the 
picture,  even  to  the  seventy-five  bar 
chairs. 

The  night  club  set  was  almost 
equalled  in  size  by  the  sets  constructed 
for  Busby  Berkeley’s  “Goin’  To 
Heaven  On  A  Mule”  and  “Hall  of 
Mirrors”  ensembles,  all  the  sets  for 
the  picture  covering  40  per  cent  of  the 
affiliated  Warner  and  First  National 
studios’  stage  space. 


Special  Material  for  “Bar” 

A  10-day  newspaper  fictionization  of 
“Wonder  Bar,”  complete  with  illus¬ 
tration,  is  being  made  available  in 
mat  form  by  Warners.  Orders  are 
being  accepted  at  the  home  office  now. 
Also  available  is  a  10,  15,  20  or  30 
minute  radio  sketch. 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Febl5'34 


5 


Dubin -Warren 
Tunes  Already 
Are  Radio  Hits 

A1  Dubin  and  Harry  Warren, 
writers  of  the  screen’s  most  success¬ 
ful  songs,  collaborated  again  on  the 
musical  score  of  “Wonder  Bar,”  turn¬ 
ing  out  six  hits  for  Dick  Powell,  Kay 
Francis,  A1  Jolson,  and  the  Busby 
Berkeley  chorus  creations.  A  spe¬ 
cially-planned  music  campaign  is  es¬ 


tablishing  the  numbers  in  a  national 
advance  build-up,  with  Guy  Lombardo, 
Paul  Whiteman,  the  Mills  Brothers, 
and  other  first-raters  plugging  them. 

Looking  for  something  different  in 
melodies  and  lyrics,  the  writers  of 
the  “42ad  Street”  and  “Gold  Diggers 
of  1933”  hits  produced  the  title  num¬ 
ber,  “Wonder  Bar,”  as  well  as  “Vive 
La  France,”  “Don’t  Say  Goodnight,” 
“Goin’  to  Heaven  on  a  Mule,”  “Why 
Do  I  Dream  Those  Dreams”  and 
“Tango  Del  Rio,”  the  latter  dedicated 
to  Dolores  Del  Rio,  who  dances  the 
number  with  Ricardo  Cortez. 

In  addition  to  the  studio-created 
tunes,  Jolson  sings  the  famous  Rus¬ 
sian  air,  “Dark  Eyes.” 


WB  Plans  Gigantic  Easter 
Send-Off  for  ‘Wonder  Bar’ 


Easter  Week  has  been  definitely  set 
by  Warners  for  nation-wide  pre-release 
engagements  of  “Wonder  Bar,”  ac¬ 
cording  to  home  office  announcement, 
and  selected  bookings  for  this  period 
are  now  being  accepted.  Preceding 
these  dates  there  will  be  simultaneous 
world  premieres  in  New  York,  Paris, 
London  and  Vienna  on  February  21st, 
as  part  of  a  gigantic  plan  for  an  all- 
time  high  in  pre-release  campaigns. 

The  New  York  opening  at  the 
Strand  Theatre  will  be  attended  by 


the  most  elaborate  ceremonies  ever 
arranged  for  a  stage  or  screen  pre¬ 
miere.  The  maiority  of  the  film’s 
stars  will  come  East  for  the  occasion 
and  a  nation-wide  broadcast  from  the 
stage  of  the  Strand  will  be  participated 
in  by  celebrities  in  the  audience.  For¬ 
mal  dress  will  be  the  order  and  Man¬ 
hattan’s  social  and  theatrical  elite  will 
also  participate. 

Seats  for  the  New  York  opening 
are  scaled  at  $5  top,  with  a  share  of 
the  proceeds  to- charity. 


Berkeley’s  Lavish  Spectacles 
for  WonderBarStressNovelty 


Going  one  better  on  the  imagination 
which  created  the  spectacles  of  “42nd 
Street,”  “Gold  Diggers  of  1933,” 
“Footlight  Parade”  and  “Fashions  of 
1934,”  Busby  Berkeley’s  innovations 
for  “Wonder  Bar’s”  augmented  chorus 
of  beautiful  girls  will  inaugurate  an¬ 
other  series  of  “firsts  on  the  screen.” 

To  tunes  by  A1  Dubin  and  Harry 
Warren,  the  four  hundred  girls  and 
one  hundred  boys  in  the  Berkeley  en¬ 
sembles,  together  with  the  stars,  do 
a  highly  unusual  rendition  of  a  mod¬ 
ern  negro  spiritual,  “Goin’  to  Heaven 
on  a  Mule”  with  the  whole  company 
in  blackface.  Berkeley  turned  out  this 
number,  with  A1  Jolson  leading  a  sing¬ 
ing  chorus  of  two  hundred  voices,  as 
a  fitting  climax  to  the  picture  and  his 
successful  stage  and  screen  career. 

Runs  12  Minutes 

Also  featured  in  this  number  is  Hal 
LeRoy,  famous  young  dancer  of  the 
“Ziegfeld  Follies”  and  “Strike  Me 
Pink”  and  the  lead  in  WB’s  coming 
“Harold  Teen.”  The  “Mule”  number 


One  of  the  Many  Sumptuous  Sets  in 
“Wonder  Bar” 

runs  for  twelve  minutes  and  is  re¬ 
garded  as  a  new  high  for  elegance  in 
construction  and  imagination  in  con¬ 
ception. 

Another  featured  spectacle  is  the 
“Hall  of  Mirrors,”  in  which  the 
Berkeley  beauties  are  multiplied  six¬ 
teen  times  in  number  by  the  use  of 
the  largest  plate  glass  mirrors  ever 
constructed  on  the  Coast. 

Berkeley’s  Reward 

Then  there’s  the  “Pillars  of  Song” 
number,  with  endless  rows  of  huge, 
gleaming  columns  forming  a  stun¬ 
ningly  simple  setting  for  intricate 
chorus  routines. 

Warner  Bros,  gave  Berkeley  carte 
blanche  on  “Wonder  Bar”  to  exceed 
all  past  extravaganzas,  and  his  work 
has  already  won  for  him  his  first 
solo  directorial  job,  on  “Dames,”  co- 
starring  Dick  Powell  and  Ruby 
>  Keeler. 


‘Wonder  Bar’ 
Sets  New  Style 
In  Screen  Fare 


“Wonder  Bar”  is  the  first  screen 


presentation  of  its  type,  according  to 
Warner  Bros. -First  National,  the  pro¬ 
ducers.  The  story,  described  as  “inti¬ 
mate,”  is  said  to  introduce  an  entirely 
new  technique  in  presentation,  includ¬ 
ing  the  theatre  audience  as  partici¬ 
pants  in  the  action.  With  A1  Jolson, 
master  of  intimacy,  pacing  the  show, 
the  guests  at 
the  “Wonder 
Bar.”  a  huge 
Parisian  night 
club  and  pop¬ 
ular  rendez¬ 
vous,  sit  in 
and  watch  the 
story  unfold. 

It  has,  accord¬ 
ing  to  preview 
reports,  the  ef¬ 
fect  of  “tak¬ 
ing  the  audi¬ 
ence  where 
everything  is 
happening.” 

The  story  of  DOLORES  DEE  RIO 
“Wonder  Bar”  is  based  on  the  fa¬ 
mous  international  play  by  Karl  Farc- 
zas  and  Geza  Herczeg,  which  played 
in  the  leading  capitals  of  Europe  and 
was  then  imported  to  New  York  for 
a  long  run.  Earl  Baldwin,  one  of 
Hollywood’s  top-flight  scenarists, 
wrote  the  screen  adaptation  of  “Won¬ 
der  Bar”  for  Warner  Bros. 


National  Plugs  To 
Sell  ‘Wonder’  Film 

National  exploitation  tie-ups  blan¬ 
keting  the  country  are  now  in  process 
of  completion  by  Warner  Bros,  as 
advance  aids  in  selling  “Wonder  Bar” 
do  the  public.  One  of  the  first  big 
blasts  will  be  via  Coca-Cola  and  its 
national  coverage  in  dozens  of  large 
circulation  publications.  Other  tie-ups 
will  cover  all  the  possibilities  for  giv¬ 
ing  exhibitors  local  coverage  through 
national  plugs.  Full  details  will  be  in¬ 
cluded  in  the  special  merchandising 
plan  now  in  work  by  Warners. 


By  Request 

Kay  Francis  and  Ricardo 
Cortez,  appearing  together  in 
“Wonder  Bar,”  are  teamed 
for  the  third  time  in  recent 
months.  The  combine  has  re¬ 
sulted  in  an  increase  of  fan 
mail  for  both  stars  and  has 
established  them  as  one  of 
the  best-selling  duos  in  pic¬ 
tures. 


THE  FUNNIEST  THING 
THEY’VE  EVER  DONE 


Febl5'34  pg.  6 


MUSIC  LYRICS  AND  SCREEN  PLAY  BY 
HARRY  RUBY  AND  BERT  KALMAR 
MERIAN  C.  COOPER  Producer 
Directed  by  Mark  Sandrich 


THE 


Febl5’34  pg.  7 

EDITOR’S  PAGE 


Vol.  16,  No.  4  February  15,  1934 


Let  the  Exhibitor  Help 


The  Exhibitor 


HOLLYWOOD— 

_  NOW,  more  than  any  time,  the  prob- 

®  lem  of  Hollywood  is  for  the  exhibitor 
and  the  public  to  decide. 

How  about  the  stars?  That  is  the  big 
puzzle  for  producers  to  work  out.  Studios 
shrink  from  giving  the  difficult  ones  a  les¬ 
son  for  a  lot  of  reasons,  among  which  are 
a  lack  of  names  to  take  their  places  and 
expectation  of  what  the  code  might  do. 

Take  the  case  of  Susie  Blank.  Receiving 
$150  weekly,  her  contract  is  assumed  by  a 
studio  and  she  is  raised  to  $250  per.  The 
producer  gets  behind  her,  builds  her  and 
she  reaches  the  $1000  grade.  Options  take 
this  to  $1500  per  for  40  weeks.  Then  upon 
the  scene  enters  her  agent.  Temperamental 
Susie  holds  out  for  more  money.  The  pro¬ 
ducer,  rather  than  interfere  with  his  produc¬ 
tion  schedule,  acquiesces.  The  added 
expense  is  passed  on. 

Now,  if  the  producer  would  refuse  to  pay 
her  more  than  she  is  worth,  if  the  exhibitor 
would  support  the  studio  in  its  fight  to  keep 
costs  down,  and  if  support  of  the  public 
could  be  gained,  Susie  Blank  could  be 
taught  a  lesson. 

The  story  of  John  Dough  is  similar.  He 
was  getting  $250,000  a  picture,  flopped  as 
a  star.  The  studio  kept  faith,  honored  the 
contract,  dropped  $500,000  to  uphold  its 
reputation.  John  Dough  asked  for  another 
chance  to  do  anything,  worked  again  at 
$20,000  a  picture.  He  suddenly  clicked, 
now  seeks  to  get  out  of  his  $20,000  contract. 
The  system,  apparently,  doesn’t  work  both 
ways. 

A  lot  of  the  trouble,  too,  may  be  laid  at 
the  door  of  the  agents.  Some  of  them  are 
doing  unethical  things  and  are  getting  away 
with  it. 

Of  course,  there  are  many  agents  who 
are  respected  and  who  play  fair,  but  the 
unethical  variety  is  proving  a  thorn  in  the 
side  of  the  production  divisions. 

Time  is  a  great  element  in  production. 
Delays  can’t  be  encouraged.  Pictures  must 
be  turned  out  on  schedule.  It  is  in  this  spot 
that  the  agent  is  strongest.  He  mixes  with 
his  clients  and  others  right  in  the  studio, 
keeps  the  little  bug  moving  around.  And 
the  little  bug  repeats:  “You’re  worth  more, 
you’re  worth  more.” 

Contracts?  They  don’t  seem  to  mean 
much  to  the  unethical  agents.  Contracts 
should  be  a  part  of  the  studio’s  protection. 
Some  producers  may  admit  that  even  all  of 
their  own  people  don’t  do  the  right  thing 
at  the  right  time  but  they  do  respect 
contracts. 

And  with  the  unethical  agent  must  be 
included  stealing  of  stars,  writers,  directors 
and  others. 

All  these  tack  on  overhead  to  the  produc¬ 
tion,  increase  costs  for  the  exhibitor. 

The  problems  of  Hollywood  are  not  theirs 
alone  to  solve.  They  are  linked  up  with 
the  future  of  the  smallest  exhibitor.  Only 
by  a  proper  understanding  of  what  the 
studios  are  up  against  and  how  co-operation 
may  be  insured  can  they  be  met  squarely 
and  fairly. 

It  looks  like  a  big  job,  but  it  can  be  done. 

(jy£ 


Circulating  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware.  Issued  on  the  1st  and  15th 
of  each  month  by  Jay  Emanuel  Publications,  Inc.  Publishing  office.  219  North  Broad  Street,  Philadelphia. 
Branches  at  1600  Broadway,  New  York  City;  Washington,  D.  C.  Jay  Emanuel,  publisher;  Paul  J. 
Greenhalgh,  advertising  manager;  Herbert  M.  Miller,  managing  editor.  Subscription  rates:  $2  for  one 
year,  $5  for  three  years.  Single  copies,  15c  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersev  and  Delaware. 
Publishers,  also,  of  THE  NATIONAL  EXHIBITOR  of  Washington  and  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  EXHIBITOR. 
Official  organ  of  the  Motion  Picture  Theatre  Owners  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and 
Delaware.  Address  all  communications  to  the  Philadelphia  office. 


No  Union,  No  Strength 


MORE  and  more,  observing  the  earlier  operation  of  the 
Code  Authority,  it  becomes  apparent  that  the  indepen¬ 
dent  exhibitor  will  be  at  a  disadvantage  not  because  of  any  majority 
and  minority  groups  on  the  Code  Authority,  but  for  the  reason 
that  the  independent  exhibitors  of  the  country  are  split  into  sev¬ 
eral  factions,  M.  P.  T.  O.  A.,  Allied  and  some  groups  unrelated  to 
each. 

The  producers,  regardless  of  their  varied  opinions,  function 
as  a  body  when  their  massed  interests  are  concerned.  This  imme¬ 
diately  became  apparent  when  the  cancellation  ruling  from  Sol  A. 
Rosenblatt,  Deputy  Administrator,  was  issued.  Producer  reaction 
to  this  indication  revealed  a  unanimous  opinion,  that  the  ruling 
might  be  open  to  question. 

The  independent  exhibitors  of  the  country,  however,  are  not 
molded  in  such  pattern.  On  one  hand  there  is  the  picture  of  Allied 
going  into  the  courts  to  test  a  point  in  code  signing.  To  this  the 
M.  P.  T.  O.  A.  is  no  party.  On  the  other,  the  M.  P„  T.  O.  A. 
launches  a  bombast  against  Allied,  with  the  latter,  of  course,  enter¬ 
ing  into  the  monotonous  and  unimportant  battle  of  words.  What 
the  exhibitor  units  unrelated  to  each  think  of  the  forensic  tussle 
is  of  little  importance,  also. 

If  these  occurrences  be  taken  as  samples,  the  exhibition  faction 
may  well  look  forward  to  little  co-operative  action  from  its  repre¬ 
sentatives  on  the  Code  Authority. 

There  is  only  one  definite  manner  in  which  the  independent 
exhibitors  of  the  country  can  insure  the  utmost  representation  on 
the  Code  Authority,  and  that  is  by  the  formation  of  a  national 
exhibitor  body,  to  command  the  same  respect  in  the  industry  as 
does  the  association  of  producers. 

But,  it  must  be  sadly  admitted  the  prospect  of  such  a  union 
within  the  near  future  is  as  probable  as  a  journey  to  the  moon  by 
rocket.  Sometime,  somehow,  perhaps. 


FRANKENSTEIN 


8 


Febl5'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


National  Board  of  Review  Calls  for 

Showdown  on  All  State  Censorship 


Pittsburgh  Professor  Says  Pennsylvania  Board’s  Efforts 
Are  “Negative  and  Foolish” — Movement  in  New  York 
Having  Some  Success 

The  National  Board  of  Review,  in  session  in  New  York  City,  last  week-end, 
not  only  came  out  against  censorship  in  general,  but  heard  a  professor  of  economics 
of  the  University  of  Pittsburgh  single  out  the  Pennsylvania  State  Board  of  Censors 
in  a  caustic  bit  of  comment  on  that  problem. 


Tn  a  resolution  introduced  and  adopted  it  was 
declared  that  “legal  censorship,  be  it  state  or 
federal,  is  unnecessary,  unscientific  and  opposed 
to  the  best  interests  of  the  public.” 

It  further  was  resolved  to  favor  and  support 
the  organized  effort  to  repeal  censorship  in 
those  states  where  it  is  at  present  exercised  by 
the  state  authority  and  “that  it  endorse  the  pres¬ 
ent  measure  introduced  into  the  legislature  of 
the  state  of  New  York  to  abolish  the  censor¬ 
ship  body  known  as  the  Motion  Picture  Divi¬ 
sion  of  the  New  York  State  Education  Depart¬ 
ment.” 

Adoption  of  this  resolution  followed  a  sum¬ 
mary  by  Dr.  Francis  D.  Tyson,  professor  of 
economics,  University  of  Pittsburgh,  of  the 
conference’s  activities.  In  the  summary  Dr. 
Tyson  remarked  that  “in  the  present  emergency, 
with  its  vast,  real  needs,  any  unnecessary,  ineffi¬ 
cient  and  costly  pseudo-public  service,  like 
censorship,  should  be  abandoned  for  economic 
as  well  as  social  reasons.” 

“The  time  has  come  to  free  the  film  industry 
from  the  twisted  leading  strings  of  censorship,” 
added  Dr.  Tyson.  “We  are  glad  to  aid  in  the 
movement.  We  have  adopted  resolutions  for  a 
quarter  of  a  century  pointing  out  that  censor¬ 
ship  is  negative,  unscientific,  indiscriminate, 
designed  to  defeat  the  public  interest  and  tend¬ 
ing  to  harass  and  thwart  the  development  of 
motion  pictures  as  an  art,  instruction  and  enter¬ 
tainment  and  generally  to  trammel  our  efforts 
to  increase  the  social  usefulness  of  the  medium. 

"We  welcome  the  New  York  organized  effort 
and  endorse  the  measure  about  to  be  introduced 
at  Albany  to  suspend  the  censorship  body.  And 
the  movement  to  repeal  censorship  and  to  re¬ 
move  the  expensive  Pennsylvania  State  Board 
whose  activities,  study  no  doubt  will  show,  are 
as  negative  and  foolish,  or  more  so,  than  in 
New  York,  has  a  good  chance  of  success.” 


Heard  In 

ROSSTOWN 

Media  Theatre 
Gets  $4  Fine 


BEN  SAVAGE  has  taken  back  the  Colonial 
at  Aspen  and  Lancaster.  .  .  .  Sam  Blatt  is  no 
longer  associated  with  the  house.  .  .  .  Fire 
Hall,  Delta;  Neutral,  Simpson,  have  closed.  .  .  . 
Jack  Delmar  has  the  Norristown  Towers.  .  .  . 
William  Kneller  has  the  Astor,  Annville. 

FOX  and  the  “Record”  have  apparently 
made  up,  what  with  the  latter  again  carrying 
the  theatre’s  ads.  .  .  .  The  Erlanger  pit  sys¬ 
tem  is  a  success,  with  the  house  turning  in  a 
small  but  nice  profit  each  week.  .  .  .  Show 

is  apparently  cutting  into  the  downtown 
houses,  the  average  scale  hitting  the  movie 
theatre  figure. 

OPENING  of  the  Media  Theatre  resulted  in 
a  $4  fine  for  Manager  Harlan  Taylor  and 
owner  Harry  Dembow,  on  charge  of  Blue  Law 
violation.  .  .  .  Sunday  opening  was  given  as 
benefit  for  local  American  Legion  Post.  .  .  . 
Burgess  visited  the  performance,  and  issued 
warrants.  .  .  .  First  time  there  was  a  Sunday 
show. 

DIXIE  ROSE,  Manayunk,  has  been  con¬ 
veyed  from  Alice  S.  Ludin  to  H.  Wendall,  sub¬ 
ject  to  mortgage  of  $30,000. 

JACK  COHEN  hopped  out  to  the  coast  as 
attorney  for  Bill  Rowland,  the  first  half  of  the 
former  Rowland-Brice  combination.  .  .  .  Row¬ 
land  plans  to  make  a  couple  of  pictures,  with 
releasing  arrangements  being  set.  .  .  .  Cohen  is 
his  attorney.  .  .  .  Mrs.  Hoyme,  efficient  Stan- 
ley-Warner  outer  office  guardian,  was  ill  for  a 
spell. 


Metro  Tops  Bowlers 

Metro’s  Maple  Topplers,  after  garnering  the 
first  half  pennant  of  the  Theatrical  Bowling 
League  of  Scranton,  started  the  second  half  in 
first  place  by  winning  three  points  from  the 
Warner  Bros.’  Five.  RKO  and  Universal  each 
scored  two  points  in  the  opening  games  of  the 
second  half  of  the  season.  Reggie  “Doc”  Spie¬ 
gel,  brother,  Harry  Spiegel,  is  the  league’s 
leading  bowler  with  an  average  of  201.  Harold 
Sohns,  Warner  Bros.,  is  individual  high  for 
one  game  with  the  score  of  233.  Warner  Bros.' 
team  has  the  honors  for  team  lr’gh,  with  a  total 
of  900  pins  for  one  game. 

Capacity  audiences  were  on  hand  for  the 
opening  of  the  second  half  of  the  season  and 
the  league  has  a  great  following  of  bowling 
fans  in  Scranton.  Edgar  Simonis,  bustling 
manager,  Capitol  Theatre,  is  president. 


BUSINESS  hit  bad  everywhere  by  the  cold 
spell.  .  .  .  Who  could  blame  the  folks  for 

staying  at  home?  .  .  .  The  “Moulin  Rouge” 
train  came  to  town,  saw  the  mayor,  had  a 
couple  of  free  meals,  cracked  all  the  da:lies 
and  went  on  its  way.  .  .  .  Caravan  was  well 

handled  while  it  was  here. 

EUROPA  BUSINESS  shot  up  with  “For¬ 
gotten  Men,”  thanks  to  Moe  Verbin’s  tie-ups 
and  the  interest  in  world  war  pictures  in  current 
dailies.  .  .  .  Earle  has  list  of  headliners  lined 
up,  with  Artie  Cohen  putting  on  whirlwind  cam¬ 
paigns.  .  .  .  Carman  increased  ad  space  for 
“Mvrt  and  Marge,”  reports  nice  pickup  in  busi¬ 
ness  for  that  period.  .  .  .  Fay’s  shooting  ahead, 
thanks  to  Sydney  Stanley,  the  demon,  who  has 
tied  up  all  West  Philly  dailies  as  well  as  others. 

AL  REH  is  back  with  Stanley- Warner.  .  .  . 
He  was  recently  with  a  printing  concern,  and 
now  is  manager  of  the  local  Victoria.  .  .  . 


Hint  32-Hr.  Week 

A  32-hour  week  looms  in  this  indus¬ 
try  as  well  as  others  if  Washington 
reports  are  correct. 

It  is  the  aim  of  the  NRA  to  head  for 
a  shorter  working  week,  with  such  a 
move  to  be  announced  at  a  meeting  of 
all  code  authorities  in  Washington  next 
month. 

Horlacher  Service  Again 
Proved  to  Local  Industry 

No  Missouts  as  Mysterious  Mis¬ 
hap  Damages  Truck 

The  Horlacher  Delivery  Service  record 
of  never  having  a  missout  holds  good, 
despite  a  serious  accident  recently  which 
saw  an  entire  truckload  of  film  headed 
for  the  Easton  and  Scranton  areas  burn 
on  the  pike  outside  Doylestown. 

Immediately,  however,  the  Horlacher  system 
began  to  function.  The  Philadelphia  office  was 
notified,  all  departments  reported,  all  bookers 
and  managers  were  notified  within  an  hour  and 
the  entire  force  went  to  work  to  re-route  and 
bicycle  shipments  so  that  no  house  would  be 
handicapped. 

After  a  hard  night’s  work,  with  much  rerout¬ 
ing,  every  theatre  that  was  originally  scheduled 
to  get  show  got  it.  Not  one  theatre  suffered  a 
missout.  The  marvelous  manner  in  which  Hor- 
lacher’s  got  on  the  job  and  insured  the  uphold¬ 
ing  of  its  reputation  has  never  been  equalled  in 
the  local  territory. 

Loss  ran  into  the  thousands,  but  was  insured. 
James  Clark,  Horlacher  executive,  said  that 
the  cause  of  the  fire  was  unknown.  The  com¬ 
pany,  he  stated,  carries  every  protective  device 
to  stop  known  causes  of  fires,  but  in  this  case 
the  solution  was  still  a  mystery. 

The  cab  is  separate  from  the  film,  it  was 
pointed  out,  and  every  possible  precaution  is 
taken. 


Charlie  Ramb  is  also  back  as  night  manager 
of  the  Family.  .  .  .  He  used  to  be  an  assist¬ 
ant  at  the  Mastbaum,  manager  of  the  Boyd 
and  operator  of  the  Runnemede.  .  .  .  Karl- 

ton’s  first  run  policy  has  been  coming  along 
nicely.  .  .  .  Stronger  shows  have  been  spot¬ 

ted  into  the  house  and  the  theatre  has  been 
increasing  its  clientele  with  the  type  of  show 
booked  in. 

THE  WALNUT  THEATRE  re-opens  with 
tabs  and  first  run  pictures.  .  .  House  will  be 
on  a  continuous  grind  and  is  under  the  same 
operation  as  the  Troc  and  the  Bijou.  .  .  .  Pearl 
Theatre  closed  after  several  changes  in  policy. 

.  .  .  Fays,  Carman,  Met,  other  houses  con¬ 
tributed  acts  to  Sacred  Heart  dinner.  .  .  . 

Edwin  Prizer  now  secretary  to  Wm.  Goldman, 
with  James  B.  McKeown,  also  associated. 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Febl5'34 


9 


Code  Authority  Expected  to  Announce 
Official  Board  Selections  February  16 


Think  Local  Groups  Will  be  Functioning  Here  Within 
Month — Giveaways,  Prior  Advertising  Big  Problems  of 
Grievance  Body 


The  Code  Authority  is  expected  to  release  the  official  selections  for  local  zoning 
and  grievance  boards  February  16. 


Pizor  Puts  on  Full 
Steam  in  1934  Program 

M.  P.  T.  O.  Head  Active  for  In¬ 
dustry’s  Interests 

Lewen  Pizor,  president,  M.  P.  T.  O., 
Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New 
Jersey  and  Delaware,  isn't  wasting  a 
minute  in  putting  his  program  into  effect. 


That  was  the  indication  early  this  week. 

Unofficial  publication  of  some  committees 
being  suggested  at  committee  meetings  of  the 
Code  Authority  excited  interest  in  the  local 
territory,  but  it  was  later  learned  that  such 
publication  was  without  consent  of  the  Code 
Authority  or  the  secretary.  It  could  in  no 
way  be  construed  as  having  the  okay  of  the 
board. 

With  the  boards  selected,  the  groups  were 
expected  to  function  within  a  month. 

Two  pertinent  problems  awaited  the  griev¬ 
ance  committees,  giveaways,  and  prior  adver¬ 
tising.  In  the  case  of  the  first,  a  vote  of  all 
theatres  in  the  territory  will  be  necessary. 


Benefit  Success 

The  benefit  held  for  the  Motion  Picture 
Relief  Fund  at  the  Stanley,  February  4, 
was  a  decided  success. 

The  money  raised  will  help  the  work 
of  the  fund  during  the  coming  season. 

Stanley-Warner  Gives 
Awards  to  Top  Managers 

Winners  in  Bonus  Drive  for 
13-Week  Period  Listed 


Stanley-Warner  has  announced  the 
winners  of  the  first  Bonus  Drive,  for  the 
13-week  period  ending  December  30. 

Men  who  received  additional  salary  for  a 
period  of  13  weeks  are: 

Jack  Mulhall,  Hadden  Matthews,  Lewis 
Black,  Bernard  Seamon,  Ray  O'Connell,  Jack 
Lexey  (now  district  manager),  A.  S.  Gold¬ 
smith,  Lawrence  B.  Graver,  Robert  Boving, 
Harry  Bauman,  Maurice  Gable,  Marty  Golden- 
berg,  Lee  Kline,  Joseph  Murdock,  J.  Lester 
Stallman,  Albert  Blumberg. 

Those  who  will  receive  bonus  awards  in  the 
form  of  a  separate  check  and  not  as  a  13  week 
increase  in  salary  are  : 

Robert  Kessler  (now  district  manager),  Mor¬ 
ton  Levine,  Charles  Moyer,  Richard  Hirsch 
Benjamin  Loeb,  Charles  W.  Cox,  Albert  Cohen, 
Herbert  Lubin,  Karl  W.  Schaeffer,  Earle  H. 
Bailey. 

The  second  13-week  period,  in  progress  now, 
ends  March  31.  The,  company  is  desirous  that 
every  manager,  district  manager  participate  in 
the  awards. 

The  bonus  plan  is  an  admitted  success.  War¬ 
ners,  with  Leonard  Schlesinger,  as  zone  man¬ 
ager,  supervising  it  in  the  local  district,  is  the 
first  company  to  put  such  a  plan  in  operation, 
and  predictions  are  that  it  will  work  wonders. 


C.  C.  C.  Goes  Sound 

Interest  of  State  officials  in  motion  pictures 
continues  to  increase. 

Deputy  Secretary  John  W.  Keller,  of  the  De¬ 
partment  of  Forests  and  Waters,  reports  that 
ten  sound  motion  picture  projectors,  complete 
with  electric  generators  for  operating  them, 
have  been  made  available  to  the  18,000  emerg¬ 
ency  forest  workers  in  C.  C.  C.  camps.  Each 
of  the  ten  camps  has  use  of  a  machine. 


Observations  Next  Issue 

With  the  return  of  Jay  Emanuel,  pub¬ 
lisher,  from  the  coast,  his  observations 
on  Hollywood  will  appear  as  a  special 
feature  of  the  next  issue  of  THE 
EXHIBITOR,  March  1. 

Watch  for  them. 


Pizor  has  been  hopping  to  New  York  City 
in  industry  behalf,  has  been  meeting  with  his 
publicity,  propaganda,  entertainment  commit¬ 
tees  to  outline  plans  for  the  new  season,  and  has 
taken  a  personal  interest  in  the  effect  of  the 
proposed  local  traffic  ordinance  on  the  local 
industry. 

The  ordinance  contains  a  $25  license  fee  for 
no  park'ng  signs  in  front  of  theatres  as  well  as 
an  additional  $10  rental  for  each  sign,  and  also 
bars  any  advertising  wagons  from  the  streets. 
This  would  hit  some  of  the  smaller  theatres 
who  depend  on  that  form  of  advertising.  The 
organization  is  watching  the  progress  of  the 
measure. 

A  meeting  of  the  board  of  managers  is  sched¬ 
uled  for  next  week. 

Pizor  plans  an  active  season,  with  no  t;me  for 
laggards.  LTnder  his  direction  it  is  expected 
that  the  organization  will  have  a  banner  season. 

A  delegation  of  M.  P.  T.  O.  committeemen 
will  meet  with  Samuel  Goldwyn  in  New  York- 
City  next  week  to  discuss  the  company’s  sales 
policy  with  him,  Goldwvn  has  been  ill. 


Theatre  Employees  Get 
Union  Charter  No.  19190 

Ushers,  Doormen,  Cashiers,  Por¬ 
ters,  Night  Cleaners,  Etc., Included 

Announcement  has  been  made,  by  John 
Slavin,  president,  of  the  granting  of  a 
charter  by  the  American  Federation  of 
Labor  to  Theatre  Ushers,  Doormen. 
Cashiers  Union,  Local  No.  19190, 
Philadelphia. 

Orgairzation  includes  in  its  ranks  watchmen 
and  maintenance  men,  night  cleaners,  porters, 
ushers,  cashiers,  doormen,  chiefs  of  service. 

Union  believes  that  only  way  its  conditions 
can  be  improved  is  through  formation  of  a 
union. 


Want  Jersey  Board 

Exhibitors  of  the  Southern  New  Jersey 
territory  have  made  attempts  to  have 
the  Code  Authority  appoint  alternate 
members  to  sit  on  cases  involving  Jersey 
members. 

The  Southern  Jersey  exhibitors  don’t 
want  individual  boards  but  maintain 
when  cases  involving  their  territory 
arise,  Jersey  folk  should  sit,  as  far  as 
the  exhibition  end  is  concerned. 

It  is  thought  unlikely  that  Code 
Authority  will  follow  this  line  of  reas¬ 
oning.  Observers  hold  that  a  fair  exhib¬ 
itor  is  a  fair  exhibitor,  no  matter  what 
part  of  the  territory  he  hails  from,  and 
that  closeness  of  Jersey  to  local  scene 
defeats  the  argument.  Also  argued  that 
there  are  parts  of  the  territory  more 
removed  from  Philly  than  Jersey  and  no 
exhibitor  from  the  far  district  is  kicking 
in  the  same  manner. 


10 


Febl5'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


UEST  COLUMNIST 

Eddie  Sherman 
Loses  Tonsils 


JOHN  E.  HENNESSEY,  formerly  United 
Artists  exchange  manager  here,  died  re¬ 
cently.  .  Many  film  men  attended  his 

funeral.  .  He  was  with  United  Artists 


when  it  first  started  here.  .  .  .  Also  with 

Sentry  Safety  Control. 

JOSEPH  GOLDER,  father  of  John  Golder, 
passed  away  last  weekend  in  North  Carolina. 
.  .  .  His  death  was  a  shock  to  his  family  and 
his  many  friends.  .  .  .  Burial  was  this  week. 
.  .  .  The  street  passes  on  its  regrets  to  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  John  Golder. 

TO  THE  SOUTH  went  exhibitors  Ben 
Fertl,  Dave  Shapiro,  Charlie  Goldfine,  Sam 
Hyman.  .  .  .  Business  must  be  bad.  .  .  . 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Doc.  Schad  are  also  hibernating 
in  the  winter  clime.  .  .  .  Others,  too,  have 


•  If  your  seats  are  hard,  lumpy,  and 


THAT 


WOULD 

YOU 

BUY  A  CAR 
HAD  NO  SPRINGS 


uncomfortable,  you’ve  just  about  as 
much  chance  of  getting  and  holding 
patronage  as  a  manufacturer  who 
turns  out  a  springless  car.  Get  the 
jump  on  your  competition  by  reseating 
with  comfortable,  upholstered  chairs. 


? 


Ask  Us, 

“How  can  I  reseat  and  pay 
for  new  chairs  conveniently?” 


American  Seating  Company 


Makers  of  Dependable  Seating  for  Theatres  and  Auditoriums 
General  Offices:  Grand  Rapids,  Michigan 
BRANCHES  IN  ALL  PRINCIPAL  CITIES 


gone  down  to  Miami  shores.  .  .  .  Mr.  and 

Mrs.  Charles  H.  Goodwin. 

LEONARD  SCHLESINGER,  Warner  zone 
chief,  lay  sick  in  bed  of  grippe  all  week,  but 
tranacted  business  as  usual.  .  .  .  The  George 
Lessys  are  separating  legally. 

LEST  it  has  been  misunderstood,  Norman 
Lewis  did  not  have  a  crush  on  one  of  Singers 
midgets.  .  .  .  The  midget  had  a  crush  on  him, 
but  ’twas  not  reciprocated. 

CLARA  KRAFTSOW  to  Florida.  ...  So 
is  George  Lessy.  .  .  .  S.  E.  Applegate, 
Metro’s  sales  manager,  also  went  on  pleasure 
trip.  .  .  .  Oscar  Neufeld  still  dodging  the 

overcoat.  .  .  .  Two  street  brunettes  doing  a 
stage  door  Johnny  act  at  Keith’s  recently.  .  .  . 
A1  Boyd  vacationing  in  Hot  Springs.  .  .  . 

Edgar  Moss’  dog,  Eva,  had  puppies.  .  .  .  Edgar 
says  it  was  a  complete  suprise. 

SON  OF  MORRIS  SPIERS,  South  Philly 
exhibitor,  graduates  from  Pennsylvania  this 
season.  .  .  .  Eddie  Sherman  losing  tonsils. 

JOHNNY  BACHMAN  went  sledding,  now 
eats  standing.  .  .  .  Jules  Seltzer  still  aces  with 
the  lassies.  .  .  .  Anne  Schaefer  (Universal) 
appendix  now  okay.  .  .  .  Bill  Humphries  got  a 
new  car,  marvels  about  the  brakes.  .  .  .Joe 
Price  still  doing  a  rave  about  his  daughter,  also 
son.  .  .  .  Monte  Salmon  still  the  great  guy 
with  the  ladies.  .  .  .  Germantown  division  of 
the  business  expects  a  blessed  event.  .  .  .  Mrs. 
A1  Davis  a  visitor  in  town.  .  .  .  No  surprise. 


Brown  Adds  Maryland 


H.  A.  Brown,  the  local  representative 
of  the  American  Society  of  Composers, 
Authors  and  Publishers,  has  taken  over 
jurisdiction  of  the  Maryland  territory. 
H  e  now  covers  Eastern  Pennsylvania, 
Delaware,  Maryland. 


Brown  is  willing  and  glad  to  explain 
the  policy  of  the  Society  to  any  exhibi¬ 
tor  as  regards  the  Copyright  Law  and 
how  it  applies  to  theatres. 

Brown,  whose  contact  with  theatres 
results  from  collection  of  the  music  tax, 
has  offices  at  1638  Lincoln  Liberty 
Building,  has  been  in  the  field  for  1 1 
years,  and  is  always  ready  to  co-operate 
with  exhibitors. 

He  invites  inquiries. 


WE  DO  OUR  PART 


Febl5'34  pg.  11 


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NEW  YORK! 

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Cpn 

CHICAGO! 

at  th  UNITED  ARTISTS  THEATRE 

the  same  {Ling  happened ! 


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e  n  e  cl  to  ile  largest  c rowels  in 
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cJ n  both  cities 

BUSINESS  THE  SECOND  DAY 
WAS  BIGGER  THAN  THE  FIRST! 


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BUSINESS  THE  THIRD  DAY  WAS 
BIGGER  THAN  THE  SECOND! 

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UNITED 
ARTISTS 


12 


Febl5'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


First  Division  Has 
Second  Anniversary  Drive 

Strong  Releases  Scheduled  for 
Big  Push 


First  Division  exchange  celebrates  its 
second  anniversary  next  month,  with  a 
special  March  Drive. 


Manager  A1  Blofson  announces  a  banner  list 
of  releases,  with  a  possibility  of  a  trade  show 
shortly,  at  which  time  some  headline  releases 
will  be  screened. 

In  the  house  now,  Blofson  includes : 

Chesterfield — -“I  Have  Lived. ’’  “Notorious 
But  Nice,”  “Rainbow  Over  Broadway,”  “Man 
of  Sentiment,”  “Murder  on  the  Campus.”  In¬ 
vincible — “By  Appointment  Only,"  "Dance, 
Girl,  Dance,”  “In  the  Money.”  Now  in  produc¬ 
tion — “Twin  Husbands.” 

Allied — “One  Year  Later,”  “Picture  Brides.” 

Monogram — “Broken  Dreams,”  "He  Couldn’t 
Take  It,”  “The  Avenger,”  “Woman’s  Man,” 
“Sensation  Hunters,”  “16  Fathoms  Deep,” 
“Sweetheart  of  Sigma  Chi.”  Coming  soon — 
“Beggars  in  Ermine,”  “Mystery  Liner.” 

In  addition  he  has  6  Kazan  westerns,  8  Mono¬ 
gram  westerns,  and  8  western  thrillers,  “Tar- 
zan  the  Fearless”  feature  and  serial ;  6  special 
shorts,  13  Monogram  single  reels,  "He,”  a  spe¬ 
cial  feature,  and  others. 


Wilmington  Musicians  Benefit 

Seven  former  musicians  in  Wilmington  the¬ 
atres  are  members  of  the  Wilmington  Sym¬ 
phony  Orchestra  which  gave  its  mid-winter  con¬ 
cert  at  the  Playhouse,  Sunday,  February  4. 
Former  theatre  musicians  who  had  parts  were 
Harry  E.  Stausebach,  the  conductor,  who  form¬ 
erly  served  under  J.  Frank  Merrick,  Aldine ; 
Carl  M.  Elmer,  viola,  formerly  Aldine  and 
Queen ;  Harry  Moore,  clarinet,  formerly  Al¬ 
dine ;  Carl  Brown,  trumpet,  formerly  Aldine; 
Harry  D.  Alexander,  bassoon,  formerly  Aldine, 
and  Howard  R.  Ingram,  tampani,  formerly 
Queen.  John  B.  Danby  played  a  trombone, 
Harry  Brubaker,  treasurer  of  the  New  Rialto, 
who  formerly  played  with  the  orchestra,  has 
dropped  out. 


Protest  Non-Representation 

A  report  was  current  at  press  time 
that  the  members  of  the  M.  P.  T.  O. 
had  been  totally  ignored  by  the  commit¬ 
tee  making  up  the  group  to  supervise 
zoning  in  the  local  territory.  The  rumor 
said  that  certain  distributors  represented 
on  the  Code  Authority  had  fought 
against  any  member  of  the  M.  P.  T.  O. 
being  selected  for  a  place  on  the  local 
zoning  board. 

The  local  M.  P.  T.  O.  was  planning  a 
mass  meeting  to  protest  against  non¬ 
representation. 

It  was  felt  that  the  code  could  not 
succeed  here  unless  the  M.  P.  T.  O.  has 
some  representation  on  the  zoning 
board. 


Heard  In 


ILKES-BARRE 


Showdown  On 
Sunday  Question 


By  Mac 


Heard  In 


M 


I  D  -  J  E  R  $  EY 

Vineland  Grand 
Helps  Townspeople 


SALE  OF  ALDINE,  Atlantic  City,  now  set 
for  April  15.  .  .  .  Garbo  did  an  ace  business 
at  the  Strand,  AC.  .  .  .  Harry  I.  Waxman  now 
turning  philanthropist.  .  .  .  Collected  funds  for 
Federation  of  Jewish  Charities.  .  .  .  Royal, 
AC,  playing  Metro  product,  doing  nicely.  .  .  . 
Lew  Rovner  taking  over  Audubon  Highland. 
.  .  .  Reported  that  folks  from  the  Lyric,  AC, 
dickering  for  AC  Aldine.  .  .  .  Sam  Franks, 
Rivoli,  Hammonton,  reported  making  plans  for 
a  picnic  for  Jersey  exhibitors  and  others  this 
spring.  .  .  .  Doesn’t  want  Iz  Hirschblond  to 
have  anything  on  him.  .  .  .  John  Bodley  a  visi¬ 
tor  in  town.  .  .  .  AC  Apollo  getting  ready  to 
open  soon.  .  .  .  Will  be  a  swell  place.  .  .  . 
Business  way  off,  but  Lincoln’s  Day  business 
helped  a  bit  everywhere  in  territory.  .  .  .  Myer 
Adleman,  New  Jersey  Messenger  Service  exec¬ 
utive,  still  cheerful. 

DAVID  M.  ORLOFF  writes  in  that  his 
Colonial,  Egg  Harbor,  isn’t  open  an  extra 
day.  .  .  .  He  wishes  it  were,  but  the  original 
report  was  incorrect.  .  .  .  Business  has  been 

off,  but  hopes  it  will  pick  up. 


IF  IT’S  NOT  one  thing,  it’s  another.  .  .  . 
Weather  ujan  hit  the  theatres  staggering  blow 
with  mercury  dropping  anywhere  from  20  to  40 
degrees  below  zero.  .  .  .  There  are  indications 
that  Mayor  Charles  N.  Loveland,  who  has  re¬ 
fused  to  lift  the  lid  on  Sunday  shows,  is  due  for 
some  trouble.  .  .  .  Straw  that  may  have  broken 
the  camel’s  back  is  his  refusal  to  grant  the 
Franciscan  Fathers  permission  to  run  a  Sunday 
night  benefit.  .  .  .  Parish  was  compelled  to 
put  their  play  on  at  a  parochial  school  on  two 
week  nights  with  results  that  were  not  as  en¬ 
couraging  as  they  might  have  been.  . 
Durkee  hotel,  which  adjoins  the  Capital,  has 
been  closed.  .  .  .Was  reported  during  the 

week  that  M.  E.  Comerford  will  take  over  the 
operation  of  the  dining  room,  convertmg  the 
place  into  a  cabaret. 

FRED  HERMANN  has  been  busy  at  the 
Capital  during  the  past  few  days.  . 
Secured  plenty  of  publicity  in  the  newspapers 
through  the  visit  of  Captain  Earl  Hammon 
for  “Eskimo.”  .  .  .  Ernie  Schmidt,  assistant 

general  manager,  theatre,  was  here  to  share 
in  the  activity.  .  John  Galvin  did  his 

bit  for  the  President  by  sending  his  vaudeville 
show  to  the  Irem  Temple.  .  Roosevelt 

hid  a  prosperity  drive  with  the  merchants 
of  Swoyerville. 


Feinberg  Opens  Office 

International  Seat  Corporation  has  opened  its 
U  16  show  room  in  the  Paramount  Building, 
New  York  City,  where  a  permanent  exhibit  of 
the  U  16,  with  Floating  Comfort,  will  be  on 
display  under  the  supervision  of  J.  George 
Feinberg,  vice-president  in  charge  of  sales. 


FURTHER  EVIDENCE  of  the  way  theatres 
co-operate  with  communities  may  be  seen 
in  the  announcement  that  the  Grand,  Vine- 
land,  under  direction  of  the  New  Jersey  The¬ 
atrical  Enterprises  will  begin  a  new  Sunday 
policy  February  1 8.  .  .  .  House  will  operate 

from  1.30  to  6  and  from  9  to  11.30,  as  an 
evidence  of  its  desire  to  work  with  local 
authorities.  .  The  corporation  recently 

won  a  most  important  victory  when  a  special 
lax  on  Sunday  shows  was  ruled  illegal  by  the 
State  court.  .  .  .  The  trial  will  extend  for 

four  weeks  and  if  successful  will  be  retained. 

.  .  .  Otherwise,  a  different  plan  will  be  tried. 

In  any  event,  the  company  will  go 
along  to  the  best  of  its  ability.  .  It’s  a 

good  example  of  community  good  will. 


T  R  E  N  TO  N 


AN  AMENDMENT  to  the  New  Jersey  bill¬ 
board  law  offered  in  the  state  legislature  by 
Senator  Horace  Prall,  Senate  Bill  98,  is  opposed 
by  Allied  organizations  and  theatre  owners  in 
general.  .  .  .  Measure,  general  revision  of  the 
present  law,  provides  more  stringent  methods 
of  control  and  increases  the  license  fees.  .  .  . 
Allied  is  striving  for  exemption  of  admission 
tax  up  to  50  cents  on  proposed  2  per  cent  state 
sales  tax  bill  pending  in  legislature.  .  .  .  Her- 
man  Wahn  resigned  as  manager  of  State,  oper¬ 
ated  by  owner,  Ogden  D.  Wilkinson.  .  .  . 
Charles  Sweet,  Stacy  Theatre  manager,  is 
mourning  death  of  his  father,  Richard  Paul 
Sweet.  .  .  .  Downtown  houses  report  business 
fair. 


Manager  Wanted 

A  theatre  in  a  small  town  within  40 
miles  of  Philadelphia  wants  a  live  wire 
manager.  Man  must  be  conscientious, 
have  experience  with  small  communities, 
must  live  in  the  town  and  must  be  a  wiz 
on  exploitation. 

Address  all  wires,  letters  to  BOX 
WIZ,  THE  EXHIBITOR. 


Phillipson  Visits  Here 

Percy  Phillipson,  managing  director,  General 
Register  Corporation,  visited  Vine  Street  and 
the  local  industry  last  week,  and  dropped  in  on 
Clem  Rizzo  and  Harry  Blumberg. 

He  is  making  a  tour  of  inspection  of  the  vari¬ 
ous  offices,  and  also  contacted  the  local  man¬ 
ager,  Ray  Duport. 

Duport,  who  had  his  official  opening  this 
week,  says  that  the  company  has  something  that 
will  interest  small  exhibitors  very  shortly.  He 
advises  all  exhibitors  to  watch  for  it. 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Febl5’34 


13 


U 16  Introduced 


J.  George  Feinberg,  vice-president, 
International  Seat  Corporation,  who  has 
been  exhibiting  the  new  U16,  Floating 
Comfort,  theatre  seat  at  the  Astor 
Hotel,  New  York  City,  last  week,  claims 
that  this  chair  marks  the  dawn  of  a  new 
era  in  theatre  seating.  U16  has  been 
designed  by  automotive  body  engineers 
on  the  principles  of  unit  construction. 
With  this  new  product  the  theatre  chair 
has  jumped  twenty-five  years  ahead  of 
its  present  day  product,  company  says. 

Union  City  Body  Company  manufac¬ 
ture  it.  Unit  parts  are  made  of  pressed 
sheet  steel,  while  the  ends  for  the  row 
ends  are  made  of  cast  aluminum  and 
cast  pressed  sheet  steel. 

Each  chair  is  itself  a  separate  unit. 
This  enables  a  theatre  manager  to  re¬ 
place  a  worn-out  center  seat  with  newer 
side  seat.  This  can  be  done  without  the 
bother  of  taking  out  an  entire  row. 
Chairs  are  comfortable  and  are  gener¬ 
ally  constructed  so  that  they  lend  every 
convenience  and  comfort  to  the  theatre¬ 
goer. 


Heard  In 


W 


ILMINGTON 

Ben  Schindler 
Looks  Ahead 


TWAS  a  cold  night  and  I  made  up  my  mind 
I  would  kill  two  birds  with  one  stone  and  call 
on  Ben  Schindler.  .  .  .  You  can  imagine  my 
surprise  in  finding  a  spic  and  span  front,  showy 
marquee,  colorful  lobby  newly  improved  with 
flooring  and  decoration,  the  inside  well  carpeted 
and  roomy  lobby  and,  all  told,  a  very  comfort¬ 
able  little  and  tastily  decorated  “nabe.”  .  .  . 
Ben  is  satisfied  at  present.  .  .  .  He  means  to 
regain  his  old  footing  and  standing  in  Dover. 
.  .  .  Maybe  he  has  his  eyes  open  for  something 
right  in  Wilmington.  .  .  .  Wilmington  man¬ 
agers,  generally  speaking,  have  seen  no  affect  of 
the  return  of  liquor  on  the  box  office.  .  .  . 
George  Jones,  Loew's  Parkway,  has  the  only 
house  far  ojut  of  the  “thirst  sector.”  .  .  . 

George  packed  ’em  in  for  "Roman  Scandals.’’ 

.  .  .  Put  out  10,000  tabloids  for  it.  .  .  .  A.  J. 
DeFiori,  Park,  has  put  on  Joseph  Landon  as 
janitor  to  take  care  of  decreased  hours  for  his 
employees  under  the  NRA  code.  .  .  .  Miss 
Rose  Paresi  is  in  Joe’s  box  office  in  the  place 
of  her  pretty  sister  who  got  married. 

PEEPED  IN  on  “Morty”  Levine,  Opera 
House,  but  be  had  feminine  company,  his 
pretty  frau.  .  .  Found  district  manager 

Lyle  Trenchard  in  a  huddle  with  Lew  Black, 
Aldine  manager,  and  Berny  Seamon.  . 

I  hear  nearly  all  of  the  Warner  employes  in¬ 
volved  in  the  closing  of  the  Arcadia  and  the 
Savoy  here  been  taken  care  of.  .  .  .  Lew  Black 
had  the  sound  truck  with  cut-out  girlie  fig¬ 
ures,  a  sandwich  man  with  two  boards  full 
of  stills  and  an  employe  standing  in  the  door¬ 
way  of  the  closed  Arcadia  with  a  phonograph 
crooning  song  hits  from  “Flying  Down  to 
Rio.”  .  .  .  He  sent  out  postal  cards  with  girl 
pictures  and  “Where’s  Elmer”  printed  across 
them  to  every  member  of  the  American 
Legion  Post  for  “Convention  City.” 

Found  Berny  Seamon  away  back  in  the  very 
last  row  of  the  Aldine  much  absorbed  in  the 
wind  up  of  “Flying  Down  to  Rio.” 


Heard  In 


EHIGH  VALLEY 

Globe  Has 
Some  Classes 


By  Jack 


GLOBE,  Bethlehem,  Harry  Gammett,  bene¬ 
fited  by  the  extra  advertising  occasioned  by  the 
theatre  being  used  to  conduct  classes  each  morn¬ 
ing  of  February  6-9  for  a  cooking  school.  .  .  . 
State  is  giving  hand  painted  premiums.  .  .  . 
Five  hundred  thousand  dollar  breach  of  promise 
suit  drew  crowds  to  the  vicinity  of  Colonial, 
Allentown,  Lee  Levy.  .  .  .  Lehigh  County 

court  house  adjoins  the  theatre  and  many  of 
those  who  couldn’t  get  in  the  court  house  took 
in  the  s]iow.  .  .  .  German  movies  had  quite  a 
run  in  the  Odd  Fellows  auditorium.  .  .  .  Stage 
shows  at  the  Lyric,  Arthur  Kerns,  manager, 
have  proven  popular.  .  .  .  Penlo  gets  a  lot  of 
free  advertising  in  briefs  under  Emaus  news. 
.  .  .  George  Meeser,  manager,  Broad,  Nazareth 
acquired  a  heavy  cold. 


A.  R.  BOYD  gave  personal  endorsement  of 
“Suzanne,”  Boyd,  Easton.  .  .  .  Embassy  had 
Capt.  Earl  Hammon  and  his  Eskimo  huskies 
in  conjunction  with  “Eskimo.”  .  .  .  Through 
the  courtesy  of  a  dairy  company  children  at¬ 
tending  a  special  matinee  were  given  Eskimo 
Ice  Cream  Cups.  .  Strand  had  another 

amateur  night,  Wilbor  conducted  a  special 
Saturday  showing  of  “Alice  in  Wonderland” 
for  the  kiddies.  .  .  .  Transit  (United  Chain) 
Oscar  Forman,  also  is  running  big  shows  for 
the  children.  .  .  .  Forman  is  still  conducting 
the  district’s  most  gorgeous  blonde  places. 


Heard  In 


w 


ILLIAMSPORT 


Browell  at 
The  Park 


COLD  WAVE  literally  swept  people  away 
from  the  theatres.  .  .  .  John  M.  Browell  is 
now  managing  the  Park.  .  .  .  As  his  first 

major  step  for  good  will  he  invited  Boy  Scouts 
to  attend  a  show  the  night  Scout  Week  opened. 


Praises  Movie  Rap 

Harrisburg  Council,  Knights  of 
Columbus,  was  commended  editorially 
in  “The  Patriot,”  Harrisburg  daily  news¬ 
paper,  for  the  action  taken  by  the  lodge 
in  condemning  “the  degrading  types  of 
moving  pictures.” 

Editorial  stated  in  part  that  the  lodge 
by  its  action  “has  not  only  performed  an 
act  of  public  service  but  set  a  fine  ex¬ 
ample  for  all  civic  and  other  groups 
which  cherish  the  good  morals  of  the 
community.” 


Wilmington  Operators  Elect 

Motion  Picture  Machine  Operators’  Union, 
Local  No.  473,  International  Alliance  of  The¬ 
atrical  Stage  Employes  of  Wilmington  has 
elected  officers  as  follows:  Philip  Jones,  Wil¬ 
mington,  president :  Leon  H.  McCarns,  vice- 
president ;  Leonard  Wright,  financial  secretary; 
Walter  F.  Scott,  Sr.,  business  manager ;  Albert 
B.  Williams,  recording  secretary;  John  Maisel, 
sergeant-at-arms.  Members  of  the  executive 
committee  elected  are  Frank  Page,  John  R. 
Waller,  Philip  Jones,  Leon  McCarns  and  Wal¬ 
ter  F.  Scott,  Sr.  Union  includes  a  membership 
of  21  projectionists  from  all  theatres  in  Wil¬ 
mington  except  the  Strand  and  the  New 
Rialto,  and  those  of  Clavmont  and  New  Castle, 
Del. 


.  .  .  Three-day  bridge  school,  sponsored  by 
merchants  and  the  daily  newspapers,  was  held 
in  one  of  the  theatres  early  this  week.  .  .  . 
Classes  were  held  in  the  morning.  .  .  .  Key¬ 
stone  benefited  through  a  co-operative  tie-up 
with  newspaper  on  a  “Know  Your  Merchants” 
contest.  .  .  .  Local  theatres  have  noticed  the 
results  of  distribution  of  over  $365,000  in  CWA 
funds  here.  .  .  .  Serials  continue  to  be  popular 
on  Saturdays  at  the  Keystone  and  Park.  .  .  . 
To  Blossburg  Theatre  Sunday  is  just  another 
day.  .  .  .  Attendance  is  reported  larger  on 
Sunday.  .  .  Blossburg  is  midway  between  Wil¬ 
liamsport  and  Elmira.  .  .  .  Victoria  is  modern 
and  well  patronized. 


Answers  Barrist  on  ‘‘Meet  the  Champ” 


To  the  Editor: 

In  your  last  issue  you  published  above  the  signature  of  Dave  Barrist  an  article, 
“Meet  the  Champ.” 

A  number  of  exhibitors  have  spoken  to  me  about  this  article.  The  opinion  of 
all,  including  myself,  is  the  same. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  writer  of  the  article,  who  has  been  suspected  of 
possessing  some  intelligence  and  good  judgment,  permitted  his  emotions  to  over¬ 
come  him. 

The  reasons  which  prompted  the  article  are  probably  unknown  only  to  the 
exhibitors  at  the  North  Pole  and  in  Bolivia.  For  their  benefit  they  may  note  that  at 
the  meeting  of  the  organization  referred  to  approximately  100  members  attended, 
including  the  writer  of  this  article. 

It  is  recorded  that  30i  men  or  more  were  sturdy  and  robust  enough  to  partici¬ 
pate  in  the  discussions.  It  may  also  be  noted  that  at  the  meeting  the  “Crusader,” 
“Little  David  Aimee  Semple  McPherson”  Barrist,  found  himself  too  feeble  to  arise 
and  deliver  his  sermon  “Meet  the  Champ.” 

The  writer  of  the  article  is  correct.  “Genus  homoyellowbellyus”  means  “Man 
without  guts”  in  Latin  and  any  other  language. 

If  Mr.  Barrist  feels  another  sermon  coming  on,  he  can  arrange  for  its  world 
premiere  at  the  next  M.  P.  T.  O.  meeting.  A  number  of  members  have  volunteered 
to  hold  him  erect  while  he  delivers  it.  In  the  meantime  he  might  read,  the  fable 
“Bite  the  Hand  that  Feeds  You  and  Live  the  Rest  of  Your  Life  on  Liquids.” 

The  liberal  policy  in  making  your  columns  available  for  expression  by  exhibi¬ 
tors  is  to  be  commended. 

With  kindest  regards,  I  am 

Sincerely  yours, 


MICHAEL  H.  EGNAL. 


14 


Febl5'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Heard  In ' 


V 


INE  STREET 


Changes  at 
Fox  Exchange 


JOHN  GOLDER  reports  the  booking  of 
“Mad  Age’1'  all  over  the  Stanley- Warner  cir¬ 
cuit,  after  a  first  run  at  the  Karlton.  .  .  . 
Hollywood  also  has  just  received  “Found 
Alive,”  jungle  drama,  which  recently  had  its 
first  city  run.  .  .  .  Hollywood  will  also  dis¬ 
tribute  the  Hoffman  picture  here,  with  “Cheat¬ 
ers,”  “When  Strangers  Meet,”  “Take  the 
Stand,”  as  the  first  three.  ...  In  addition, 


General  Register  Corp. 

Executive  Offices:  1540  B'way,  Hew  York 

tour  nrari*l  Itranrl,  Offirr:  307  N.  13th  St  ,  PHILA.,  PA 


SERVICE  and  REPAIRS 

With  Official  Factory  Parts 

Whether  a  Minor  Adjustment  or  a 
Complete  Overhauling  and  Rebuilding 
NEW  LOW  PRICES! 


GAMBLE 

with  your  cash  receipts! 


All  of  your  income  is 
collected  through  one 
source  .  .  .  Your  Box 
Office. 


Your  protection 
against  Box  Office 
Leakage  is  as  impor¬ 
tant  to  your  future  as 
your  Life  Insurance  or 
the  solidity  of  your 
Bank. 


3  UnitAutomatic 
Gold  Seal  Register 


GENERAL  REGISTERS 

have  protected  Theatre 
Owners’  Cash  Receipts 
for  more  than  20  years. 

• 

TRIED  AND  PROVEN 
Imitated  But  Never  Equalled 
PRICED  NO  HIGHER 


Don't 


“Woman  Unafraid”  is  a  new  feature.  ...  A 
special  series  of  colored  reels,  first  two,  “Mis¬ 
sion  Trails,’1’  “Utah  Picture  Book,”  are  also 
available.  .  .  .  The  exchange  has  many  features 
on  hand.  .  .  .  Sid  Stanley  making  good  at  Fay’s. 

AT  GOLD  MEDAL,  the  big  news  was  the 
Majestic  booking  of  “The  Charming  De¬ 
ceiver,”  with  Constance  Cummings,  at 
Keith’s,  the  success  of  “Sin  of  Nora  Moran” 
at  the  shore,  where  it  did  very  well;  the  entry 
of  “Little  Red  Hen,”  second  of  the  Second 
ComiColor  reels;  a  Loew  Wilmington  date 
on  “Sin  of  Nora  Moran,”  and  plenty  of  atten¬ 
tion  for  “The  Lost  Jungle,”  first  Nat  Levine 
serial  of  the  new  season.  .  .  .  Clyde  Beatty, 
starred  in  it,  has  gotten  plenty  of  newspaper 
attention  recently. 

FIRST  DIVISION  is  bringing  “Goona 
Goona”  out  again,  with  the  Allentown  date 
turning  in  plenty  mazumeh  for  the  house  and 
exchange.  ...  In  addition,  current  pictures 
being  dated  are  “Murder  on  the  Campus,’’ 
“Woman’s  Man,”  “He  Couldn’t  Take  It.”  .  .  . 
“Broken  Dreams”  gets  its  local  first  run  at  the 
re-opened  Walnut.  .  .  .  “Young  Eagles,”  a  new 
serial,  will  be  here  in  April.  ...  It  has  boy 
scout  tie-ups  and  has  tremendous  exploitation 
possibilities.  .  .  .  A1  Blofson  is  celebrating 

another  anniversary  next  month, 
r 

DAVE  BARRIST  returned  from  the  South¬ 
land,  filled  with  pep,  oranges.  .  Sent 

some  fruit  to  friends  in  the  local  territory 
and  managed  to  get  back  in  time  to  be  on 
hand  when  the  weather  record  for  an  all  time 
low  was  broken. 

CREDITS  for  the  success  of  the  President’s 
Ball,  as  far  as  the  local  industry  is  concerned, 
belong  to  Leonard  Schlesinger,  P.  A.  Bloch 
and  Earle  Sweigert,  appointed  by  Adolph 
Hirschberg,  general  chairman  of  the  Ball, 
here,  as  well  as  Lewen  Pizor,  Warner  Broth¬ 
ers  theatres,  who  secured  National  Screen 
Service  trailers;  Paramount  exchange,  which 
distributed  tickets  and  window  cards  to  all 
theatres  boosting  the  affair;  the  M.  P.  T.  O. 
which  accepted  the  tickets,  trailers  and 
window  cards,  at  suggestion  of  Lewen  Pizor; 
all  this  also  distributed  by  Paramount;  Hor- 
lacher  Delivery  Service,  for  handling  the 
physical  end  of  the  matter.  .  .  .  All  returns 

for  M.  P.  T.  O.  members  should  be  made 
to  George  P.  Aarons.  _ 


THE  I.  T.  O.  A.  MOVIE  BALL,  to  be 
held  in  New  York  City,  February  21,  may 
include  a  delegation  from  this  district.  ...  It 
is  sponsored  by  the  movie  men  of  the  metropoli¬ 
tan  area,  with  rlenty  of  stars  scheduled  for  the 
event.  .  .  .  “Twin  Husbands”  is  announced  as 
the  new  title  for  “Birds  of  a  Feather,”  with 
First  Division  distributing.  .  .  .  Masterpiece 
will  have  big  news  soon. 

BENNIE  HARRIS  wants  to  take  this 
method  to  thank  all  of  his  friends  who  inquired 
about  his  health.  ...  It  seems  they  all  mourned 
his  being  bumped  around  by  an  automobile.  .  .  . 
His  son  Jack  is  following  in  his  father’s  foot¬ 
steps.  ...  A  local  department  store  has  bought 
some  of  his  drawings.  .  .  .  And  he  has  re¬ 
ceived  a  certificate  of  merit.  .  .  .  Claire  is  13. 

.  .  .  Mitzi,  Dotzi  all  well. 

SOME  CHANGES  took  place  within  the 
Fox  ranks  last  week.  .  .  .  Joe  Toner,  one  of 
Vine  Street’s  veteran  film  men,  with  Educa¬ 
tional  for  a  long  time,  and  with  Fox  since  it 
took  over  Educational  distribution,  was  let 
out,  to  be  succeeded  by  Howard  Smith,  who 
stepped  from  a  city  salesman  post  to  that  of 
booker.  .  .  .  Toner’s  passing  was  regretted 

by  film  men  who  knew  him  as  one  of  the 
most  efficient  bookers  on  the  street.  . 

They  are  all  hoping  that  he  gets  set  with  an¬ 
other  company  shortly.  .  .  .  Other  changes 

are  pending  at  Fox,  at  this  writing. 


THE  EMPLOYEES  of  National  Penn 
Poster  deserve  a  hand  for  manner  in  which 
they  contributed  to  the  help  of  one  of  their 
associates  who  received  a  lot  of  tough  breaks. 

.  .  .  Fire  left  the  family  of  Morris  Shapiro 
destitute,  but  immediately  all  the  employees 
chipped  in  and  made  plans  to  help  the  family 
until  Morris,  who  was  severely  injured,  gets 
back  on  his  feet  again.  .  .  .  The  company  em¬ 
ployees  have  now  organized  the  National  Penn 
Relief  group  for  taking  care  of  all  such  cases  of 
employees.  .  .  .  It’s  a  good  example  of  some 
taking  on  additional  burdens  to  see  that}  others 
do  not  suffer. 

GEORGE  J.  WILSON,  Brown’s  Film  Reno¬ 
vating,  is  making  arrangements  with  several 
local  exchanges  whereby  film  will  be  cleaned 
by  him.  .  .  .  It  is  estimated  that  the  value 

of  the  film  is  increased  many  times  when  it 
is  properly  cleaned.  .  .  .  Exchanges  using 

his  service  report  it  very  efficient. 

TONY  LUCCHESE  is  predicting  great 
things  for  “The  Lost  Jungle,”  which  features 
Clyde  Beatty  and  his  celebrated  jungle  cats.  .  .  . 
Nat  Levine  produced  this  ace  serial,  with  shoot¬ 
ing  starting  soon.  .  .  .  More  later.  .  .  .  Mean¬ 
while,  “Sin  of  Nora  Moran”  was  held  over  at 
the  shore  and  pleased  all  audiences. 

RAY  DUPORT  had  quite  an  open  house 
at  his  General  Register  headquarters.  . 

Quite  a  few  exhibitors  attended  the  opening 
and  found  out  what  quality  and  new  ideas 
General  Register  had  in  store.  .  Herb 

Given  has  some  attractive  art  work  on 
“White  Face.”  .  .  .  H  is  new  series  of  shorts 
is  beginning  to  work  the  territory. 

PARAMOUNT  visitors  were  Milt  Kusell 
and  Joe  Unger,  dropping  in  on  Earle  Sweigert 
and  Percy  Bloch,  in  the  interests  of  the  drive, 
for  Victory  and  Paramount.  .  .  .  Atlantic  City 
gets  the  next  S.  M.  P.  E.  convention,  April  23. 

GOLD  MEDAL  will  shortly  release  “The 
Divorce  Bed,”  from  Majestic.  .  .  .  Cast  in¬ 
cludes  Dorothy  Revier,  Helen  Jerome  Eddy, 
Leila  Bennett,  Arietta  Duncan,  Barbara  Baron- 
dess  and  others. 

JOHN  GOLDER’S  “MAD  AGE”  got  book¬ 
ings  over  Stanley-Warner  circuit,  Loew’s  Wil¬ 
mington  and  Reading  Rajah.  .  .  .  Show  is  a 
three-reeler  and  drew  plenty  of  critical  atten¬ 
tion.  .  .  .  Eli  Epstein,  RKO^s  cheerful  earful, 
offers  a  special  shadchen  service,  to  all  readers 
of  The  Exhibitor.  .  .  .  He  has  already 

arranged  one,  has  many  applications  on  file. 

NINETEEN  YEARS  AGO.  .  .  .  Globe 
Theatre  opened  under  management  of  Sj.blosky 
and  McGuirk.  .  .  .  Lewis  M.  Swaab  installed 
projection  equipment  on  battleship  Connecticut. 
.  .  .  Max  Katsman  bought  the  movie  theatre 
at  17th  and  Annin  Streets.  .  .  .  Judge  Thomp¬ 
son,  in  U.  S.  District  Court,  appointed  William 
S.  Lloyd  receiver  for  Liberty  Motion  Picture 
Company.  .  .  .  Siegmund  Lubin  entertained  the 
dramatic  critics,  members  of  the  Critics’  Asso¬ 
ciation,  at  the  plant  of  the  Lubin  film  company. 
.  .  .  In  the  party  were  George  Rogers,  J. 

Howard  Bonte,  Harvey  Maitlant  Watts,  Henry 
Starr  Richardson,  A.  Duross  Ferris  and  Her¬ 
man  Dieck. 


TEN  YEARS  AGO.  .  .  .  Governor  Pinchot 
called  upon  the  censors  to  co-operate  with  ex¬ 
hibitors.  .  .  .  Clayton  Buss  was  to  build  a 

theatre  in  Florida.  .  .  .  George  H.  Earle,  Jr., 
finally  consented  to  having  the  Earle  Theatre 
named  that,  after  Elrae  was  suggested.  .  .  . 
Charlie  Powell,  Abe  Altman,  Ben  Amsterdam, 
Mike  Lessy,  Lewen  Pizor,  Oscar  Neufeld  and 
Gene  Marcus  were  on  the  arbitration  board. 
.  .  .  Mike  Landow  was  a  special  representative 
for  Universal. 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Febl5'34 


15 


• - 

A  Concise 
National  Survey 

TRADE  l\  REVIEW 

- 0i 

Glances  Outside 
the  Territory 

t  - - — - 

\  ‘1 

CODE 

Extension  on 
Signatures  Given 

Signatures  to  the  code  can  be  sent  in  up  to 
February  28,  an  announcement  from  the  Code 
Authority  reads.  The  test  case  on  qualifying 
signatures  was  postponed  until  February  20. 

7147  Sign 
Industry  Code 

Latest  advices  indicate  that  a  total  of  7147 
signatures,  without  qualification,  have  been 
tacked  on  to  the  code  assents.  With  many  days 
left  until  February  28,  authorities  look  for  this 
number  to  swell. 

Coast  Watches 
Every  Rosenblatt  Move 

Visit  of  Sol  A.  Rosenblatt,  deputy  adminis¬ 
trator,  to  the  coast,  was  watched  by  all  divi¬ 
sions,  production,  agents,  press,  extras,  etc. 
Even  his  social  visits  were  well  publicized,  with 
criticism  and  some  praise  accompanying  his 
many  meetings,  remarks,  etc.  Hollywood’s  giant 
welcome  was  not  needed  by  Rosenblatt.  He 
went  there,  saw,  but  whether  he  conquered  is 
still  unknown. 

Impartial  Observers 
Needed  on  Bodies 

Impartial  observers  are  needed  on  the  code 
bodies.  One  sits  on  each  local  committee.  It 
will  be  interesting  to  see  how  quickly  they 
assimilate  the  mechamcs  of  the  business. 

Allied  Suit 
Due  the  20th 

Suit  of  Allied  theatre-member,  Congress, 
Newark,  N.  J.,  testing  legality  of  code  signa¬ 
tures  has  been  postponed  until  February  20. 
Only  one  suit  was  filed,  a  misunderstanding 
leading  press  to  believe  that  two  other  Allied 
directors  had  also  filed  suit. 

Premium  Question 
First  to  Be  Settled 

The  question  of  premiums  should  be  one  of 
the  first  to  be  decided  by  exhibitors  in  each  ter¬ 
ritory.  In  some  spots,  expensive  premium  wars 
have  started  where  exhibitors  could  not  get 
together.  Supreme  Court  ruling  affects  placing 
of  prizes  in  candy  packages.  Other  rulings  are 
heard.  It  looks  like  plenty  of  trouble  is  brew¬ 
ing. 

PRODUCTION 

Producers  Give 
Inklings  of  ’34-’35 

If  pre-season  interviews  mean  anything, 
major  producers  aren’t  cutting  down  product 
schedules.  Universal  may  bring  its  list  up  to 
40,  Carl  Laemmle,  Jr.,  says. 

Paramount  is  expected  to  stick  to  the  60 
figure  for  the  new  season.  Columbia  may  hop 
to  52,  about  the  same  as  this  year.  United 
Artists  will  have  about  two  dozen  or  more. 
Metro  expects  to  have  about  52. 


“Herald”  Offers 
Box  Office  Champions 

Not  to  be  outdone  by  Film  Daily’s  Best  Ten, 
Motion  Picture  Herald  offered  its  Box  Office 
Champions,  based  on  8000  bookings  in  157  key 
theatres  during  the  year,  including : 

“I’m  No  Angel,’  “Cavalcade,”  “Gold  Dig¬ 
gers,”  “Little  Women,”  “Tugboat  Annie,”  “Be 
Mine  Tonight/’  “State  Fair,”  “Girls  in  Uni¬ 
form,”  “Rasputin,”  “Animal  Kingdom,”  “Kid 
from  Spain,”  “Private  Life  of  Henry  Eighth.” 
Honorable  mention  went  to  “Match  King,” 
“Dinner  at  Eight,”  “Sign  of  the  Cross,”  “Sailor 
Be  Good,”  “The  Bowery,”  “Lady  for  a  Day.” 

Observers,  in  looking  at  the  list,  might  won¬ 
der  how  “Cavalcade,”  “Be  Mine  Tonight,” 
“Girls  in  Uniform,”  “Rasputin,”  “Animal 
Kingdom,”  “Henry  the  Eighth,”  got  on  the  first 
list,  “Match  King,”  “Sailor  Be  Mine,”  “Lady 
for  a  Day,”  on  the  second,  might  question  the 
absence  of  “She  Done  Him  Wrong,”  might  lift 
eyebrows  because  of  the  presence  of  “Dinner  at 
Eight,”  (release  date,  January  12,  1934)  on  any. 

Fox  Season 

Program  Soon  Finished 

Fox,  ’tis  said,  will  have  all  its  current  season 
pictures  completed  by  the  end  of  April.  Work 
on  the  new  season  then  begins.  Exhibitors  play¬ 
ing  Fox  wondered,  could  not  tell  whether  this 
was  a  good  or  bad  omen. 

Mayer  Re-elected 
to  Coast  Body 

Louis  B.  Mayer  has  been  re-elected  president 
of  the  Association  of  Motion  Picture  Produc¬ 
ers,  coast  body.  Jack  Warner  succeeds  him¬ 
self  as  first  vice-president.  Winfield  Sheehan, 
Fred  Beetson  are  other  officers.  United  Artists 
is  still  absent  from  lists. 

Slight  Shakeup 
in  Radio  Ranks 

With  the  resignation  of  Merian  Cooper, 
Radio  finds  itself  without  an  executive  pro¬ 
ducer.  Unit  supervisors  still  remain,  but  studio 
is  without  an  active  big  chief.  B.  B.  Ivahane 
functions  as  the  overseer  supervising  Berman, 
Brock,  MacGowan  units.  Rumors  of  Jesse 
Lasky  traveling  to  Radio  are  denied. 

EXHIBITION 

M.  P.  T.  O.  A.  Meets 
On  Coast  April  10 

The  M.  P.  T.  O.  A.  will  meet  in  Los  Angeles 
April  10  for  a  three  or  four  day  session.  Vari¬ 
ous  industry  problems  will  be  considered. 

Samuelson  Up 
In  Allied  Changes 

Sidney  Samuelson,  who  has  been  the  guiding 
star  for  Allied  Jersey  for  some  time,  now  can 
do  the  same  for  the  national  Allied  body. 
Abram  Myers  is  counsel  and  chairman  of  the 
board,  with  Herman  Blum  treasurer.  An  active 
year  looms  under  the  well-known  Samuelson 
direction. 

There  will  be  a  Cabinet  to  aid  the  president, 


Players  in 
Headlines  Help 

Exhibitors  currently  playing  “Queen  Chris¬ 
tina1”  are  getting  daily  breaks,  what  with  the 
current  publicity  on  the  hide-and-seek  angles. 
From  the  coast  and  New  York,  stories  saying 
that  the  great  Garbo  is  in  both  cities,  hiding, 
offer  excellent  opportunities  for  showmen.  In 
addition,  the  trailer  on  the  show  ties-up  with 
all  the  news  angles.  Smart  exhibitors  will  over¬ 
look  nothing. 

Movie  Features 
Grow  in  Dailies 

Apparently  Hollywood  is  again  coming  to  the 
fore  as  a  news-interest  centre.  More  syndicate 
material  appears,  more  drawings,  more  news 
service  writers,  more  space  for  movie  doings. 
Dailies  apparently  are  seeing  the  lesson  of  the 
cheap  mags  and  acting  accordingly  in  ex¬ 
tending  greater  co-operation  to  theatres. 

Animal  Pictures 
Revive  Again 

Exhibitors,  wearied  from  a  succession  of 
animal  thrill  pictures,  look  at  their  availabilities, 
find  (1)  “Devil  Tiger'  and  (2)  “Wild  Cargo” 
soon  ready  for  them.  Both  took  time,  effort, 
money,  on  the  part  of  (1)  Fox,  (2)  Radio. 
Theatremen  heard  rumblings  of  new  thrills  in 
(2),  discovered  a  triangle  (with  humans),  to 
help  them  sell  (1). 

Paramount  Committee 
Helps  Theatre  Operation 

Paramount’s  national  theatre  advisory  com¬ 
mittee,  three  of  whom  have  been  selected  in  N. 
L.  Nathanson,  Canada ;  E.  V.  Richards,  south ; 
Karl  Hoblitzelle,  southwest,  will  act  as  a  con¬ 
sultant  body,  help  progress  of  remaining  Publix 
houses  in  all  parts  of  the  country. 

DISTRIBUTION 

UA  Offers  Two 
Trade  Shows,  Clicks 

United  Artists,  sold  on  its  own  product’s 
merits,  continues  its  trade  show  practice,  offered 
two  more  for  “Looking  For  Trouble”  and 
“Catherine  the  Great.”  UA’s  batting  average 
has  been  high,  indicating  the  confidence  it  holds 
in  its  pictures. 

Loew  Shows  Nice 
Profit,  Also 

Loew’s,  Inc.,  showed  a  net  profit  of  $1,594,608 
for  the  12  weeks  ended  November  23,  1933, 
according  to  a  recent  financial  statement.  This 
compares  with  $741,910  net  profit  the  same 
period  in  1932. 

Press  Book  Competition 
Helps  Exchanges’  Sales 

Metro,  Warner  exchanges  should  report  up¬ 
turn  in  accessories  sales  on  “Eskimo,”  “Fash¬ 
ions  of  1934,”  if  quality  of  press  books  are  an 
indication  of  appeal  to  exhibitors.  Press  book 
consciousness  now  completely  envelops  ad  de¬ 
partments,  it  appears,  with  the  two  on  the  above 
mentioned  shows  especially  good. 


16 


Febl5'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


LETTERS  TO  THE  EDITOR 


Gentlemen : 

On  page  10  of  your  February  1st,  1034,  issue  of  your 
publication  known  as  the  “Philadelphia  Exhibitor,” 
(Vol.  16,  No.  3),  there  was  published  a  statement  in 
part  as  follows:  “It  was  pointed  out  that  three  officials 
of  the  Union  were  under  indictment.” 

I  call  your  attention  tc  the  fact  that  at  no  time 
was  any  officer  or  official  of  the  Keystone  State  Moving 
’Picture  Operators’  Union  ever  under  any  indictment  for 
any  charge  whatsoever.  I  consider  the  statement  in 
your  publication  highly  improper  and  prejudicial  to  the 
Association  and  its  officials. 

Will  you  be  good  enough  to  advise  me  whether  you 
will  publish,  in  a  prominent  place  in  your  next  issue 
of  your  “Exhibitor,”  the  fact  that  the  statement  made 
by  you  in  your  publication  of  February  1st,  was  incor¬ 
rect,  and  that  at  no  time  was  any  official  of  the  Asso¬ 
ciation  under  indictment.  Kindly  advise  me  what  you 
intend  to  do  with  reference  to  this,  and  if  you  publish 
this  retraction,  will  you  forward  me  a  copy  of  the  publi¬ 
cation. 

Very  truly  yours, 

GABRIEL  D.  WEISS. 


Mr,  Exhibitor 

If  you  mere  offered  a 
guaranteed  income  for 
life  absolutely  free 

Would  you  pass 
it  by? 

BERLO 

offors  you  just  that 

Call  a  Berio  representative  and 
start  the  parade  of  monthly 
commission  checks 

BO  IT  NOW! 


Get  in  touch  with: 

GEO.  P.  AARONS 

301  N.  13th  Street 

LOCUST  4245 


OR  CALL  POPLAR  6109 

BERLO 

VENDING 

COMPANY 

1518  N.  Broad  St.,  Phila. 

Specializing  in  Candy 
Vending  Equipment 
for  the  Theatre  Trade! 


NEW  YORK  BALTIMORE 

SCRANTON  WASHINGTON 

ALLENTOWN  CLEVELAND 

PITTSBURGH  CINCINNATI 


Local  Warner  Club 
Holds  Many  Affairs 

Districts  Have  Parties  in  Local 
Headquarters 


Heard  In 


E  A  D  I  N  G 

Rajah  Open 
Sunday  Night 


By  T.R - 


The  local  Warner  club  rooms  have 
been  used  a  lot  of  late. 

Warner  Club  of  the  Philadelphia  zone  has 
been  having  many  entertainments,  with  a  dis¬ 
trict  party  held  every  Sunday.  Every  member 
of  a  particular  district,  including  managers, 
cashiers,  doormen,  ushers,  cleaners,  etc.,  are 
present.  John  Roach,  president  of  the  local 
Warner  Club,  has  named  Stanley  Smithers  as 
chairman  of  the  house  committee,  with  Miss 
Polly  Morse  as  hostess. 

A1  Plough’s  district  had  the  first  party  with 
all  members  of  his  district  present.  This  was 
followed  by  one  including  all  members  of  Bob 
Kessler’s  district.  Last  Sunday  night,  the  local 
Warner  exchange  had  its  affair,  with  Manager 
Bob  Mochrie  in  charge. 

Schedule  for  the  next  Sundays  includes  the 
districts  supervised  by  Jack  Lexey,  Sol  Hankin, 
the  local  office,  the  Haynes  and  first  run  divi¬ 
sion,  and  those  supervised  by  Messrs.  Costellos 
and  Callow,  each  one  getting  a  Sunday  night  up 
until  March  25,  the  last  one  scheduled. 


Earle  Nomination  Up 


Indicated  nomination  of  George  H. 
Earle  to  become  democratic  candidate 
for  governor  is  of  interest  to  theatre- 
men. 

Local  Earle  Theatre  name  follows 
that  of  the  family,  and  Earle  interests 
have  been  identified  with  the  motion 
picture  industry. 


READING  has  another  Sunday  night  theatre, 
Rajah.  .  .  .  Locally  owned,  by  the  Mystic 

Shriners,  it  did  not  get  into  the  Sunday  show 
procession  when  the  movement  began  there, 
six  years  ago.  .  .  .  Now  the  Newpenn  Amuse¬ 
ment  Company,  recently  formed  to  operate  the 
house,  has  a  tie-up  for  Sunday  night  shows  with 
the  Tall  Cedars  of  Lebanon,  a  fraternal  society 
meeting  in  the  Rajah  Building.  .  .  .  Musicians’ 
Union,  Reading,  which  includes  all  theatre  or¬ 
chestras  there,  has  passed  the  450  membership 
mark. 

THEATRE  MANAGERS  here  are  feeling 
more  comfortable  over  the  March  outlook. 
.  .  .  One  of  the  two  new  banks  will  release 

$4,600,000  in  frozen  assets  the  day  it  opens, 
and  the  other  will  pay  out  over  $2,000,000. 

EMBASSY  THEATRE,  under  personal 
direction  Paul  E.  Glase,  general  manager  W-V 
houses  here,  had  a  giant  colored  doorman  in 
uniform,  on  duty  outside  the  main  entrance 
every  afternpon  and  evening,  his  rich  Southern 
darky  accent  in  ballyhooing  the  show  fitting 
'‘Carolina”  atmosphere.  .  .  .  Rajah  Theatre, 
under  new  management,  feature  pictures  and 
vaudeville,  is  advertising  popular  prices,  15  to 
25  cents  matinees,  25  to  35  cents  night,  children 
10  cents  at  all  times.  .  .  .  Park,  upper  end  of 
Penn  Street  house,  has  adopted  a  10-cent  rate 
for  children  up  to  6  P.  M.  .  .  .  Hershey  The¬ 
atre,  exactly  40  miles  from  Reading,  is  adver¬ 
tising  on  a  large  scale  in  Reading  newspapers 
and  through  other  mediums.  .  .  .  Old  Victoria 
Theatre,  Reading  naborhood  house,  is  to  be 
removed. 

LOCAL  ASTOR  has  gone  in  for  stage 
show  policy,  with  name  act.  .  List  in¬ 

cludes  Ingenues,  Cab  Callaway,  Hoot  Gibson, 
and  others.  .  .  .  Idea  is  clicking. 


HROUGH  STORMS  AND  t 
SNOW  Your  Film  MUST  GO  f 


.  .  .  and 
Having  a 
by  ALL 


the  Record  of  Never 
Missout  is  Still  Held 
Our  Jersey  Clients 


NEW  JERSEY 


MESSENGER  SERVICE 

MEYER  ADLEMAN 


250  N.  Juniper  Street,  Philadelphia 


SPR.  9355 


LOC.  8787 


RACE  9444 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Febl5'34 


17 


Heard  In 


C  R  A  N  T  O  N 

Jim  Edwards 
Puts  On  Weight 


By  Waddy 


M.  E.  COMERFORD'S  private^  secretary, 
well  known  to  the  industry  at  “Kate,”  has  every 
reason  to  rejoice.  .  .  .  Her  daughter,  Sister 
Mary  Georgia,  has  returned  from  St.  Joseph’s 
Hospital,  Savannah,  Georgia,  to  continue  her 
duties  at  the  Mercy  Hospital,  Wilkes-Barre, 
prior  to  receiving  her  ring  some  time  in  August. 
.  .  .  Joe  Elicker,  former  head  of  Hodge  s 

show,  leader  of  Rose's  Midgets  and  others,  has 
taken  the  managerial  reins  of  the  Riviera 
Theatre,  Scranton.  .  .  .  Walter  Shelton,  To- 
wanda  lad,  has  been  transferred  from  the 


H 

O 


ORLACHER  is  the 

Oldest  Delivery  Service 


nly  Capable,  Bonded 

Drivers  are  used 


jegardless  of  Rain  or  Snow 

Delivery  is  Prompt 

Leading  Exhibitors  have 
B  been  Clients  for  Years 


A 
C 
H 


fter  15  Years  it  stands 

with  Unexcelled  Record 


ourtesy  has  been  a 

Dominant  Principle  Always 


eavy  Insurance  Covers  all 

Divisions  of  the  Business 


lvery  Effort  is  always  made 
T  for  Greater  Efficiency 

teal  Service  has  been 

the  Reason  for  Progress 


SERVICE,  Inc. 

1228  Vine  Street 

PHILADELPHIA 


New  York  Washington 

Scranton  Baltimore 


HORLACHER’S  never  fails  ! 


Luzerne  Theatre,  Luzerne,  to  the  Lyric  The¬ 
atre,  Honesdale,  replacing  Bob  Hayer,  resigned. 
.  .  .  Adams,  the  Notre  Dame  Irishman,  guides 
the  destiny  of  the  Dreamland  Theatre,  Hawley, 
for  Comerford.  .  .  .  Willard  Matthews,  pro¬ 
tege  of  the  former  Clinton  Lake,  Riviera  The¬ 
atre,  Scranton,  now  directs  the  management 
Granada  Theatre,  Olyphant.  .  .  .  Ralph 

Freitz,  formerly  Olyphant,  has  secured  a  berth 
at  Atlantic  City.  .  .  .  Amusement  pages  of  the 
Scranton  dailies  have  gone  for  group  advertis¬ 
ing.  .  .  .  Change  is  most  satisfactory.  .  .  . 
Hank  Stezar,  fight  promoter,  featured  Pete 
Latzo  twice  at  Town  Hall.  .  .  .  Roosevelt’s 
Birthday  Ball  at  the  Scranton  Armory,  held 
more  than  a  capacity  crowd.  .  .  .  M.  J.  O’Toole 
directed  the  publicity. 

LANSFORD  and  Palmerton  have  gone  in 
for  Sunday  shows.  .  Bloomsburg,  Sun- 

bury,  and  Pottsville  featured  “Eskimo”  with 
the  Eskimo  dog  train,  and  fur  exhibition.  .  .  . 
Italian  shows  continue  to  show  occasional 
popularity  at  the  Roman  Theatre,  Pittston, 
The  RCA  and  Garden,  Scranton.  .  .  .  Dun- 

more  show  goers  have  followed  Bill  Kays  to 
the  new  Orient  Theatre.  .  .  .  Capitol  The¬ 

atre,  Scranton,  under  Manager  Simonis,  is 
featuring  names.  .  Charles  Ryan,  con¬ 

struction  engineer  for  Comerford,  continues 
to  push  the  erection  of  Milton’s  new  theatre. 
.  .  .  Hard  times  or  good  times,  Harry  Spei- 

gel,  Family  Theatre,  Scranton,  continues  to 
use  the  SRO  sign.  .  .  .  Matt  O’Keefe,  man¬ 
ager,  Globe,  Scranton,  bolstered  his  weak 
nites  with  amateur  talent.  .  .  Earl  Mc¬ 

Laughlin,  brother  of  M.  B.  Comerford’s  sec¬ 
retary,  Marion,  has  become  associate  city 
solicitor  in  the  new  mayor’s  cabinet.  .  .  . 

Sam  Kessler  has  returned  once  again  as  busi¬ 
ness  agent  Scranton  Local  I.  A.  T.  S.  E.,  No. 
329,  succeeding  Lester  DeVol.  .  .  .  Married 
life  put  ten  pounds  on  Jim  Edwards,  man¬ 
ager,  State  Theatre,  Scranton.  .  .  .  Popular 

cashier,  Orient  Theatre,  went  off  and  done 
got  herself  married.  .  .  .  Wedding  bells  will 

soon  ring  for  one  of  the  operators  at  the  Bell 
Theatre.  .  .  .  John  Roberts  has  new  car. 


Heard  In 


y 


O  R  K 


Snow  Shovel 
Lessons  Here 


TRAIL,  Shrewsbury,  showing  double  feature 
programs  Saturday  nights.  .  .  .  When  “Flying 
Down  to  Rio“  was  playing  at  the  Strand,  Cleon 
Miller  had  folders,  illustrating  the  new  dance 
sensation,  the  Carioca,  distributed  to  patrons  at 
the  local  dance  pavilions.  .  .  .  Bill  Maston, 

assistant,  Strand,  and  secretary  to  Bill  Israel, 
district  manager,  recently  conducted  a  class  in 
the  gentle  art  of  the  use  of  the  snow  shovel. 
.  .  .  One  of  the  boys  was  busy  cleaning  off  the 
walk  in  front  of  the  theatre  when  Bill  came  out, 
and  not  being  pleased  with  the  way  he  was 
doing  it,  Bill  very  graciously  showed  him  how 
it  is  done  in  the  best  of  circles. 

TO  BILL  ISRAEL,  district  manager,  and 
Maurice  Goldman,  one  of  the  Warner  attor¬ 
neys,  goes  considerable  credit  for  blocking  an 
ordinance  presented  before  the  city  council 
February  2,  to  modify  a  previous  ordinance 
closing  the  town  up  tight  on  Sundays.  .  .  . 

Modifier  would  have  allowed  parks  in  the 
city  to  operate  during  the  afternoon  and 
evening.  .  Israel  appeared  before  the 

council  and  protested  allowing  the  parks  to 
operate  when  the  theatres  were  forced  to 
remain  closed  and  when  the  bill  was  pre¬ 
sented  by  the  park  commissioner,  it  was  not 
even  seconded.  .  Israel  explained  that 

he  will  gladly  back  an  open  Sunday  ordin¬ 
ance  if  the  bill  included  the  theatres. 


What  Every 
Woman 
K  nows 

There7*  a  reason  why 
theatres  are  distribut¬ 
ing  and  1  times 
their  usual  number  of 
premium  giveaways 

AND  THE  REASON  IS 
The  Only  Genuine 

22kTgold 

Dinner  Set 

With  a  record  of  Success 

BECAUSE  . . . 

It7s  the  newest  thin 
model  squares  and  the 
set  that's  preferred  by 
women  patrons 
everywhere. 

Don’t  DUY  Counterfeits 

We  are  the  largest  sellers  of 
Premium  China  in  America 
and  have  deals  ~l 
as  low  as  .  .  life 

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Branch  Offices  In  Key  Cities 


18 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Looking  Ahead  at  the  Product 


A  Service  Designed  to  Give  the  Exhibitor  Each  Picture’s  Analysis  Before  Playing 


COLUMBIA  METRO 


2-Feb.-34 

RADIO 


It  Happened  One  Night  Comedy 

121m. 

Clark  Gable ,  Claudette  Colbert,  Walter  Connelly, 
Roscoe  Karns,  Alan  Hale. 

Very  likeable  programmer  that  stands  out  as 
a  real  piece  of  entertainment.  A  newspaperman 
helps  a  girl  escape  from  her  father  who  is  bent 
on  preventing  her  marriage.  Story  isn’t  any  too 
original  but  is  a  gem  as  far  as  dialogue,  direc¬ 
tion  and  acting  are  concerned.  Folks  will  like 
it  everywhere. 

Estimate:  Very  good. 


Men  in  NVhite  Drama 

77m. 

Clark  Gable,  Myrna  Loy,  Jean  Hersholt ,  Elizabeth 
Allen,  Otto  Kruger,  C.  Henry  Gordon,  Russell  Hardie, 
Wallace  Ford,  Russell  Hopton ,  Henry  B.  Walthall. 

Excellent  screen  version  of  a  stage  hit,  with 
Gable  turning-  in  one  of  his  best  performances. 
Metro  has  given  the  play  which  revolves  around 
an  interne,  his  duty,  and  his  loves  a  well  rounded 
production  which  insures  attention  from  all 
intelligent  theatre  goers.  Piece  is  a  real  credit 
to  the  company. 

Estimate:  One  of  the  better. 


FOX 

Family 

Carolina  Comedy-Drama 

85m. 

Janet  Gaynor,  Lionel  Barrymore,  Stepin  Fetchit, 
Robert  Young,  Henrietta  Crosman,  Mona  Barrie. 

Sentimental,  well-directed,  well-photographed 
adaptation  of  “The  House  of  Connelly,!’  with 
plenty  to  sell.  Gaynor  fans  will  be  satisfied, 
even  if  picture  seems  a  bit  slow  at  times.  Cast 
has  plenty  of  names  to  help  and  show  shapes  up 
as  nice  family  fare. 

Estimate:  Will  depend  on  Gaynor. 


Family 

Devil  Tiger  Jungle-Drama 

60m. 

Kane  Richmond,  Marion  Burns,  Harry  Woods,  Ah 
Leo. 

Jungle  drama  that  manages  to  get  in  several 
fights  between  wild  animals,  a  brief  romance 
and  a  final  punch  in  the  nature  of  an  elephant 
stampede  that  helps  out  a  bit.  Picture  was  shot 
largely  in  Malay  peninsula,  looks  authentic,  but 
must  be  listed  as  more  of  a  jungle  picture  than 
anything  else.  Some  houses  may  better  con¬ 
centrate  on  the  romance  and  triangle. 

Estimate:  Animal  fights. 


Family 

Hold  That  Girl  Comedy -Drama 

66m. 

James  Dunn,  Claire  Trevor,  Alan  Edwards,  Ger¬ 
trude  Mil-had .  John  Davidson,  Robert  McWade. 

Claire  Trevor  as  a  reporter  and  Jimmy  Dunn 
as  a  detective.  Mix  in  a  wise  crack;ng  atmos¬ 
phere.  some  racy  episodes,  and  the  final  tussle 
with  the  racketeers  and  there  you  have  it.  Show 
won't  help  Dunn  or  Trevor  and  won't  perform 
any  miracles  at  the  box  office. 

Estimate:  You  guessed  it. 


What  Do  You  Think? 

It  is  the  aim  of  this  publication  to  give  its  readers 
every  possible  service.  Revision  of  the  page  is  an 
attempt  to  offer  a  concise  reviewing  form  that 
will  help  every  exhibitor.  Your  suggestions  and 
criticisms  are  welcomed.  Write  in  now  and  tell 
us  whether  you  like  this  or  not. 


MONOGRAM 


Family 

Mystery  Liner  Melodrama 

62m. 

Noah  Beery,  Astrid  Align.  Edwin  Maxwell,  Ralph 
Lewis,  Gustav  von  Seifertitz ,  Booth  Howard. 

Mystery  on  a  liner  with  the  centre  of  atten¬ 
tion  a  tube  that  controls  the  destiny  of  a  liner. 
Edgar  Wallace  wrote  the  story,  the  proceedings 
are  gripping  and  those  who  like  their  mystery 
stuff  should  be  well  pleased.  Story  is  above 
average  and  a  couple  of  good  performances 
help  out. 

Estimate:  Mystery  stuff. 


PARAMOUNT 


Adult 

Bol  erO  Drama  with  Music 

87m. 

George  Raft,  Carole  Lombard,  Sally  Rand,  Frances 
Drake,  Gloria  Shea,  Paul  Panzer. 

Plenty  of  appeal  for  the  women,  plenty  of 
selling  angles  and  an  applicant  for  plenty  of  box 
office  attention.  Story  of  a  dancer  who  throws 
his  women  where  he  finds  them,  the  picture 
has  strong  dramatic  values  as  well  as  some 
stirring  dance  numbers.  Picture  can  be  sold 
especially  to  the  females. 

Estimate:  To  the  ladies. 


No  More  Women  Comedy-Drama 

77m. 

Vic.  McLaglen,  Edmund  Lowe,  Sally  Blane,  Minna 
Gombell.  Christian  Rub,  Tom  Dugan,  Harold  Huber, 
J.  P.  McGowan. 

Another  of  the  McLaglen-Lowe  cycle  with 
the  story  enhanced  a  bit  by  some  action  punches. 
Constant  battling  between  the  two  is  present 
but  this  has  probably  worn  out  its  welcome  at 
the  box  office.  Show  can  be  sold  on  the  sea 
diving  background,  some  action  episodes  and 
some  excitement. 

Estimate:  Hits  duo’s  average. 


Keep  ’Em  Rolling  Comedy-Drama 

70m. 

Walter  Huston,  Frances  Dee,  Minna  Gombell,  Rob¬ 
ert  Shayne,  G.  Pat  Collins. 

Horse  story  about  the  love  of  a  soldier  for  a 
nag,  and  headed  just  where  you  think  it  is. 
Picture  falls  into  the  program  groove,  hasn’t 
much  appeal  for  women  and  must  be  classified 
as  a  programmer. 

Estimate:  So-so  program. 


Long  Lost  Father  Drama 

63m. 

John  Barrymore,  Helen  Chandler,  Donald  Cook, 
Alan  Mowbray,  Ferdinand  Gottschalk,  Natalie  Moor¬ 
head,  Doris  Lloyd,  Phyllis  Barry. 

Drama  of  a  father  whose  daughter  can’t  for¬ 
get  he  walked  out  when  she  was  a  baby  and 
who  isn’t  forgiving.  Dad,  however,  hovers 
around  and  gets  the  gal  out  of  a  tight  spot. 
Book  may  have  received  some  praises  but  the 
picture  won’t.  Despite  the  Barrymore  name, 
show  hasn’t  universal  appeal. 

Estimate:  It  sags. 


The  Lost  Patrol  Melodrama 

73m. 

Victor  McLaglen,  Boris  Karloff,  Wally  Ford,  Regi¬ 
nald  Denny,  Alan  Hale,  Billy  Bevan,  Howard  Wilson, 
Sam  Stein. 

All-male  show,  with  the  punch  at  the  end 
when  the  Arabs  get  them  all  except  one.  Direc¬ 
tion,  under  John  Ford,  is  splendid,  but  story 
is  thin.  Lack  of  females  may  handicap,  but  for 
the  men  show  has  plenty  of  appeal. 

Estimate:  No  women. 


UNITED  ARTISTS 


Looking  for  Trouble  Comedy 

80m. 

Spencer  Tracy,  Constance  Cummings,  Morgan  Con¬ 
way,  Jack  Oakie,  Arline  Judge,  Judith  Wood. 

Good  movie  based  on  telephone  trouble  shoot¬ 
ers  and  well  sprinkled  with  the  necessary  in¬ 
gredients  for  box  office  satisfaction.  Cast  is 
A-l,  humor  and  action  plentiful  and  there  are 
some  melodramatic  angles  that  make  for  strong 
interest. 

Estimate:  Satisfactory. 


Sorrell  and  Son  Drama 

H.  B.  Warner,  Hugh  Williams,  Margot  Graham, 
Peter  Penrose,  Winifred  Shotter. 

Remake  of  a  silent  success  is  of  credit  to 
British  production.  Piece  has  been  made  with 
an  eye  toward  the  American  market,  with  an 
American  star  and  other  American  angles. 
Story,  however,  is  essentially  British.  Appeal, 
is  international. 

Estimate:  Depends. 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


19 


2-Feb.-34 

WARNERS 


Family 

As  the  Earth  Turns  Drama 

72m. 

Jean  Muir,  Donald  Woods,  David  Landau,  William 
Janney,  Dorothy  Appleby,  Dorothy  Peterson.  Sara 
Padden,  Clara  Blandick,  David  Durand,  Cora  Sue 
Collins. 

Ideal  for  the  hinterland  but  more  of  a  prob¬ 
lem  for  the  cities.  Screen  transition  of  a  well- 
known  book  is  sincerely  produced,  has  no  big 
names  with  which  to  draw,  but  carries  interest 
all  the  way  because  of  the  characterizations,  in¬ 
telligent  direction.  Piece  may  prove  a  puzzle 
for  the  larger  cities  but  in  the  smaller  towns 
it  can  be  made  to  pay  aplenty. 

Estimate:  Well  produced. 


Adult 

Bedside  Drama 

65m. 

Warren  William,  Jean  Muir,  Katherine  Segrava, 
Allen  Jenkins,  Donald  Meek,  David  Landau. 

Story  of  a  fake  surgeon  and  even  Warren 
William  can’t  make  it  seem  believable.  How¬ 
ever,  the  exploitation  angles  are  all  there  even 
if  the  central  character  is  disagreeable.  Missout 
can  be  charged  up  to  type  of  story,  because  the 
cast  does  its  best  to  make  the  whole  thing  seem 
real. 

Estimate:  Weak. 


Heat  Lightning 


Adult 

Drama 


Aline  MacMahon,  Ann  Dvorak,  Lyle  Talbot,  Glenda 
Farrell,  Frank  McHugh,  Preston  Foster,  Ruth 
Donnelly. 

The  usual  Warner  dependable  casting  will 
help  overcome  deficiencies  in  story.  Meryn 
LeRoy  directed  from  the  stage  play,  with  Aline 
MacMahon  turning  in  a  sweet  performance  as 
well  as  the  rest  of  the  featured  players.  Show 
holds  some  heavy  drama,  but  should  enter  into 
the  program  groove  nicely. 

Estimate:  Rather  heavy. 


I’ve  Got  Your  Number  Comedy 

68m. 

Joan  Blondell,  Pat  O’Brien,  Glenda  Farrell,  Allen 
Jenkins,  Eugene  Pallette,  Henry  O'Neill,  Hobart 
Cavanagh,  Gordon  Westcott. 

Ace  Warner  comedy  with  a  phone  repair 
crew  and  two  girls  mixed  up  with  some  racke¬ 
teers.  Tempo  is  fast,  lines  as  well,  and  show 
will  go  over  as  another  hilarious  funfest  from 
the  boys  who  know  how  to  make  them.  The 
all-star  Warner  comedy  lineup  is  a  guarantee 
of  laughs  all  the  way. 

Estimate:  Nice  comedy. 


Wonder  Bar  Musical 

86m. 

Al  Jolson,  Dick  Powell,  Ricardo  Cortez,  Dolores 
Del  Rio,  Hugh  Herbert,  Guy  Kibbee ,  Robert  Barrat, 
Henry  O'Neill,  Kay  Francis,  Louise  Fazenda,  Fiji 
D’Orsay,  Merna  Kennedy,  Henry  Kolker. 

Top  money  offering  with  a  sweet  production, 
a  new  Jolson,  plenty  of  names,  girls,  songs  and 
a  swell  Warner  product.  Show  is  taken  from 
a  stage  hit,  has  been  immensely  improved  upon, 
contains  all  the  ingredients  that  make  for  big 
box  office.  Exhibitors  have  another  dough  show 
waiting  for  them  to  play. 

Estimate:  Get  the  S  R  O  signs  ready. 


UNIVERSAL 


Family 

Love  Birds  Comedy 

60m. 

Zasu  Pitts,  Slim  Summerville,  Mickey  Rooney, 
Dorothy  Christy,  Clarence  Wilson. 

The  usual  Pitts-Summerville  attempt  and 
about  as  funny  as  the  others.  Laughs  hold  forth 
all  the  way  and  gags  are  well  selected.  It 
should  equal  the  grosses  on  similar  comedies. 

Estimate:  Okay. 


Family 

The  Crosby  Case  Mystery  Drama 

58m. 

Wynne  Gibson,  Onslow  Stevens,  Alan  Dinehart , 
Skeets  Gallagher,  William  Collier,  Sr.,  J.  Farrell 
MacDonald,  Warren  Hymer,  Edward  Van  Sloan. 

Murder  mystery  stuff  with  plenty  of  feature 
names  in  the  cast  that  won't  mean  much  more 
than  program  for  the  average  house.  Picture 
falls  into  a  familiar  compartment. 

Estimate:  Familiar. 


FIRST  DIVISION 


Murder  on  the  Campus  Mystery  Drama 

72m. 

Edward  Van  Sloan,  Charles  Starrett,  J.  Farrell 
MacDonald,  Maurice  Black,  Shirley  Grey,  Ruth  Hall. 

Mystery  drama  with  the  solution  generally 
not  apparent  until  the  final  reel.  Show  holds 
interest  all  the  way  and  has  a  title  that  can 
be  sold.  Student  is  killed  and  young  reporter 
finds  out  why. 

Estimate:  Get  behind  it. 


MAJESTIC 


Family 

The  Morning  After  Comedy 

63m. 

Sally  Eilers,  Ben  Lyons. 

Light  comedy  that  should  prove  pleasing  to 
all  types  of  audiences.  Story  is  one  of  intrigue 
and  burlesque  on  mythical  kingdom  plotting. 

Estimate:  Fun. 


MAYFAIR 


What’s  Your  Racket  Action 

60m. 

Noel  Francis,  Regis  Toomey,  Creighton  Hale, 
J.  Carrol  Naish. 

Action  inde  with  a  background  of  cheating- 
crooks  and  suspicion  cast  on  the  heroine.  It 
develops  finally  that  she  has  been  hobnobbing 
with  the  gangsters  because  they  framed  her  dad. 

Estimate:  Plenty  of  bullets. 


"Let*s 

GO 

TO 

SEE.." 

WH  AT  ? 
WHERE? 

Have  you  told  them  what’s  show¬ 
ing  at  your  theatre?  You  ought 
to.  You  can’t  expect  people  to 
flood  your  theatre  if  they  don’t 
know  who’s  playing  in  what. 

And  now  you  can.  The  Record 
Amusement  Directory  offers  you 
the  opportunity  to  tell  176,000 
people  every  day,  270,000  on  Sun¬ 
day,  for  only  30  cents  a  day. 
That’s  all  a  listing  in  Philadel¬ 
phia’s  first  and  only  complete 
Amusement  Directory  costs  you. 
Longer  listings,  15  cents  for  each 
additional  line. 

The  RECORD 

Amusement  Directory 

is  consulted  every  day  by  Phila¬ 
delphia’s  biggest  group  of  people 
who  go  places  and  see  things. 
More  than  160  movie  theatres  in 
the  Philadelphia  area  already  are 
listed  in  it.  If  yours  isn’t  you’re 
letting  your  competitor  lure  your 
customers.  To  insert  your  ad  just 
call 


UFA 


The  Love  Waltz  Musical 

Lilian  Harvey,  George  Alexander,  John  Batten, 
Hans  Junkerman. 

If  Lilian  Harvey  has  developed  a  draw  in 
any  spot,  this  may  be  okay.  Made  in  Europe, 
it  will  depend  upon  some  nice  tunes. 

Estimate:  Sell  Harvey. 


PHILADELPHIA 


RECORD 

CLASSIFIED  DEPARTMENT 

WALNUT  2300 


20 


Febl5’34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


BETTER  TESTED  SUCCESSFUL 

MANAGEMENT  #  ideas  *  merchandising 


Warners  Pep  Up 
Trade  on  “Wonder  Bar” 

In  line  with  their  plans  to  give  “Won¬ 
der  Bar“  one  of  the  biggest  national  ex¬ 
ploitation  campaigns,  Warner  Bros,  pub¬ 
licity  and  advertising  department,  under 
supervision  S.  Charles  Einfeld,  is  serv¬ 
icing  the  exhibitors  with  specially  pre¬ 
pared  pre-advance  campaign  material. 

Every  possible  angle  for  starting  the  ball 
rolling  on  the  campaign  for  this  picture  six 
weeks  in  advance  of  its  special  Easter  Week 
play  dates  is  included  in  this  four-page  broad¬ 
side,  which  is  7p>x22t4,  printed  in  red  and 
black. 

Broadside  contains  the  following  material :  A 
synopsis  of  the  story,  with  hints  of  how  to  play 
up  the  great  dramatic  value  in  same ;  star  stills 
and  specially  selected  production  stills  which 
can  be  obtained  from  the  company’s  home  office 
still  department;  10  underline  ads  for  plugging 
the  picture’s  opening  three  weeks’  in  advance ; 
completq  copy  for  a  special  pre-advance  trailer 
on  the  picture ;  ideas  on  how  to  plug  the  song 
hits  from  the  picture  through  radio  and  music 
store  tie-ups ;  etc.,  and  several  special  press 
stories  for  immediate  use,  to  get  advance  news¬ 
paper  plugs.  In  addition,  there  is  made  avail¬ 
able  through  this  broadside  a  special  fictioniza- 
tion  on  the  picture,  with  art  work ;  a  complete 
radio  sketch  based  on  the  action  in  the  picture  ; 
and  two  40x60  two-color  blowups  of  fan  ads 
on  “Wonder  Bar.” 


“Young  Eagles ”  Set 


“Young  Eagles,”  new  serial  from 
First  Division,  is  a  banner  exploitation 
opportunity.  In  12  episodes,  with  first 
ready  April  15,  the  Boy  Scout  story 
has  tie-ups  with  Boy  Scout  troops,  radio 
broadcasts,  magazine  serializations,  all 
set  to  go  when  national  release  breaks. 

Spencer  Gordon  Bennett  directed  the 
serial,  from  the  story  by  Harry  O.  Hoyt, 
of  “Lost  World”  fame. 


Photophone  Plug 

Two  of  the  largest  banners  ever  made,  meas¬ 
uring  110  feet  high  and  three  feet  wide,  were 
fastened  to  the  outside  of  the  Bond  Building, 
New  York  City,  to  proclaim  the  installation  of 
RCA  Victor  High  Fidelity  sound  in  the 
Embassy  newsreel  theatre. 

E.  O.  Heyl,  manager,  Photophone  Division, 
RCA  Victor,  presented  a  metal  plaque  to  F.  C. 
Wood,  managing  director,  Embassy,  before  the 
grinding  camera  and  microphone  of  the  Pathe 
Newsreel. 


Captain  Hammond  on 
Job  for  “Eskimo” 

Captain  Hammond  and  his  dogs  are  on 
the  job  for  “Eskimo.” 

A  lot  of  theatres  in  the  territory  have  used 
the  Captain  and  his  Eskimo  huskies  and  other 
theatres  are  planning  to. 

One  of  the  most  recent  ones  to  make  use  of 
the  team  was  Samuel  Friedman,  Capitol,  Potts- 
ville.  The  Captain  addressed  the  high  school 
students,  Lions  Club,  was  interviewed  by  a  local 
daily ;  was  welcomed  by  the  mayor ;  gave  talks 
during  his  presence  there;  and  was  shot  for  a 
newsreel  with  the  mayor. 

The  result  was  that  business  was  better  than 
it  ordinarily  would  have  been. 

Get  in  touch  with  Metro  exchange  for  further 
dope  on  the  Captain. 


“Earth  Turns”  Tieup 

Public  Ledger  issued  a  complete  novelization 
based  on  the  “As  The  Earth  Turns”,  which 
Warmer  Bros,  are  releasing  soon  as  a  picture,  as 
supplementary  to  its  publication.  Ledger’s 
novelization  consisted  of  a  twenty  page  tabloid 
supplement,  augmented  with  special  art  work 
illustrating  scenes  from  the  novel. 


Selling  “Gallant  Lady ”  in  Town 


Bulletin  Follows 

Local  “Bulletin”  is  now  running  small 
neighborhood  ads  in  alphabetical  order, 
eliminating  the  many  small  cuts  and  re¬ 
verse  plates  formerly  used.  Under  the 
new  setup,  the  paper  lists  all  neighbor¬ 
hood  shows,  regardless  of  size,  with  the 
listing  cleaner  and  easier  to  read.  New 
setup  is  a  vast  improvement. 

Local  “Record”  started  the  directory 
idea,  which  has  jumped  with  leaps  and 
bounds.  The  “Bulletin”  hasn’t  a  direc¬ 
tory,  but  its  change  is  a  marvelous 
help. 


Charlie  Perry,  ambitious  young  publicity  man  at  the  Aldine,  tied  up  with  Straw- 
bridge  and  Clothier  for  a  window  on  Ann  Harding  in  connection  with  the  showing 

of  UA’s  “Gallant  Lady.” 


SENTRY  serf  iced  SAFETY  CONTROL 


Many  theatre  owners  weigh  the  matter  of  Safety  as  it  suits  them. 
PLAINLY  THIS  IS  ALL  WRONG.  In  Safety  there  is  no  half-way  meas¬ 
ure  with  the  Public.  The  Public  would  not  consider  it  safe  if  you  decide 
to  do  without  a  Serviced  Safety  Device  on  your  projectors.  The  Public 
would  think  with  horror  if  you  tried  to  economize  by  buying  Safety  equip¬ 
ment  without  a  service,  and  the  fact  that,  in  your  theatre,  the  Public 
has  not  yet  inquired  as  to  the  measure  of  Safety  that  you  are  giving  them — 
THAT  DOES  NOT  MEAN  THAT  THEY  CAN  BE  DECEIVED. 

SENTRY  SAFETY  CONTROL  CORP.  ,0l™^GHr“YNAAVE 


Sentry  Safety  Controls  Listed  as  Standard  by  National  Fire  Underwriters  Laboratories 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Febl5'34 


21 


William  Bakewell, 
Barbara  Weeks, 
Emma  Dunn, 
Mary  Kornman, 
Glen  Boles  are 
seen  in  “The 
Quitter,”  a  First 
Division  release, 
from  Chesterfield. 


Stanley- Warner  Plans 
to  Buck  Lenten  Slump 

Local  Stanley-Warner  division  is  buck¬ 
ing  the  Lenten  slump. 

Last  week  in  March  is  the  final  week  of  the 
second  quarter  of  the  Bonus  Drive  and  this  is 
now  called  “Managers’  Week.’’  Each  manager 
is  planning  stunts  to  aid  his  theatre. 

Every  theatre  will  make  an  attempt  to  build 
business  instead  of  standing  still  and  taking  it 
on  the  nose. 

The  week,  too,  will  have  a  lot  to  do  with  the 
final  selection  of  the  winners  in  the  grosses 
drive. 

Leonard  Schlesinger,  zone  manager,  is  very 
optimistic  over  the  results  that  can  be  obtained. 

“It  can  and  will  be  done/’  he  asserts.  “We 
have  the  pictures,  the  public  has  the  money  and 
with  sincere  work  on  the  part  of  each  individual 
manager  1  know  Holy  Week  can  and  will  be 
licked.’’ 


Jones’  Exception 

George  Jones,  manager,  Loew’s  Theatre, 
Wilmington,  is  the  only  Loew  theatre  manager 
permitted  to  repeat  the  “all-Disney”  program. 

At  the  first  Disney  Saturday  morning  show 
held  simultaneously  with  those  in  other  Loew 
theatres  all  over  the  country,  Jones  had  such 
a  crowd  on  hand  that  couldn’t  get  in  for  the 
show  that  he  promised  them  that  he  would  run 
two  performances  the  following  Saturday  so 
that  all  could  see  it. 

It  was  during  the  following  week  that  orders 
came  through  that  the  show  would  have  to  be 
called  off.  Jones  at  once  got  in  touch  with 
first  one  official  and  then  another  and  finally 
reached  the  main  office,  and  explained  his  plight. 
The  exception  was  made. 


Following  the  annual  banquet  given  by  the 
Harrisburg  “Telegraph”  t<y  its  newsboys, 
newsboys  were  the  guests  of  Manager  Jack 
O’Rear,  Victoria  Theatre,  and  Manager 
Harry  Lambert,  Colonial,  both  Harrisburg. 


Jones  Gets  Library 

George  Jones,  manager,  Loew’s,  Wilming¬ 
ton,  succeeded  in  breaking  down  for  the  first 
time  the  _  artistic  barriers  of  the  Wilmington 
Public  Library  with  photographs. 

Stanley-Warner  houses  preparing  for  big 
campaigns  on  “Roman  Scandals.” 


Selling  Garbo 

If  there  was  anything  Manager  Charles 
McLeary,  Loew’s  Regent,  Harrisburg,  failed 
to  think  about  while  exploiting  “Queen  Chris- 
tina,"’  his  assistant  manager,  “Bob”  Etchberger, 
thought  of  it,  and  it  was  done. 

Harrisburg  was  100  per  cent  Garbo-minded 
for  the  opening  of  “Queen  Christina”  at  Loew’s. 
Beside  the  ticket  window  at  the  city’s  most 
popular  ballroom  appeared  a  3-sheet  of  Garbo. 
Taxicabs  carried  her  picture  to  all  sections  of 
the  city.  A  large  “sound”  truck,  appropriately 
decorated  with  Garbo  pictures  and  the  title  of 
her  next  showing  at  Loew’s,  patrolled  virtually 
every  street  in  the  city. 

Ten  thousand  beautiful  pictures  of  Garbo, 
signed  “Sincerely,  “Greta  Garbo,”  were  sent 
through  the  mails.  Two  weeks  before  opening, 
a^  papier-mache  replica  of  the  unusual  face  of 
Garbo,  stood  six  feet  high  in  the  Loew  lobby. 
Actual  paintings  of  Garbo  in  frames  i/z  by  2 
feet  stood  in  the  inner  lobby.  It  was  the  first 
time  Harrisburg  theatregoers  had  seen  exploi¬ 
tation  of  this  type. 


Rivoli  Theatre,  thanks  to  Iz  Segal,  gave 
away  little  boats  for  “Midshipman  Jack,” 
found  it  helped  business. 


Caravan  in  Wilmington 

Mayor  William  H.  Speer,  Wilmington, 
"dolled  up"  in  spats,  morning  suit  with  a  flower 
in  the  lapel,  and  some  thousand  or  more  spec¬ 
tators  broke  their  usual  Sunday  afternoon  rou¬ 
tine  to  welcome  the  “Moulin  Rouge”  caravan, 
sponsored  by  Twentieth  Century  and  the 
Socony-Vacuum  Oil  Co. 

Official  welcoming  took  place  in  the  mayor’s 
office.  Others  welcoming  the  party  were  Mrs. 
Speer,  Supt.  of  Police  George  Black,  Ralph  B. 
McKinney,  Gerrish  Gassawav,  manager,  Cham¬ 
ber  of  Commerce ;  Edward  Duffey,  Powel  E. 
Craig,  and  George  A.  Jones,  manager,  Loew''s. 

Party  was  welcomed  at  New  Castle  the  pre¬ 
vious  Saturday. 


7  Pay,  1  Free 

For  “Eight  Girls  in  a  Boat,”  Victoria,  Harris¬ 
burg,  Manager  Jack  O’Rear,  made  an  unique 
offer  which  resulted  in  numerous  working  girls 
renewing  acquaintance  with  old  friends. 

_  To  any  working  girl  who  made  up  a  party  of 
eight  girls,  including  herself,  to  attend  any 
showing  on  the  opening  day  together,  Manager 
O’Rear  offered  free  admission.  It  mean  that 
only  seven  of  each  group  paid. 


READY 

REFERENCE 

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IS  RELIABLE  AND  TRUSTWORTHY 


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Blowers  ::  Air  Washers 


ARCHITECT 


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THEATRES 

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M.  H.  G  O  OBIS.  Inc . 

1201  CHESTNUT  STREET 
Rittenhouse  4595  Rittenhouse  9077 


OSCAR  NEUFELD,  Mgr.  Theatre  Dept. 


DRAPERIES 


INTERIOR  DECORATIONS  SCENERY  DRAPERIES 

NOVELTY 
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INC. 

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without  obligation  to  you. 


22 


Febl5'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Hershey  Covering  Plenty 

Thousands  of  attractive  four-page  pamphlets 
are  distributed  every  week  by  John  B.  Sollen- 
berger,  manager,  Hershey  Community  Theatre, 
Hershey,  at  the  doors  of  homes  in  Hershey, 
Harrisburg,  Lebanon,  Annville,  Palmyra  and 
other  nearby  communities. 

Many  of  the  pamphlets  are  sent  through  the 
mails.  Regular  mailing  list  is  maintained. 

In  addition  to  the  weekly  programs,  which 
consist  of  stage  and  screen  shows  Thursdays, 
Fridays  and  Saturdays,  and  feature  pictures 
Mondays,  Tuesdays  and  Wednesdays,  the 
pamphlets  announce  schedules  of  ice  hockey 
games  at  the  Hershey  Park  Ice  Palace  and 
advertise  the  Hershey  Inn. 


For  “Gallant  Lady” 

Tie-ups  were  made  by  Manager  Charles 
McLeary,  Loew’s  Regent,  Harrisburg,  with  two 
of  the  city’s  leading  department  stores  to  exploit 
the  coming  at  Loew’s  of  “Gallant  Lady.’’  Ar¬ 
rangements  consisted  of  the  display  in  the 
most  prominent  windows  of  the  stores  of  models 
clad  in  gowns  and  hats  worn  by  Ann  Harding 
in  “Gallant  Lady.”  At  one  department  store, 
through  the  efforts  of  Manager  McLeary,  a 
Cinema  Hat  Shop  has  been  opened. 


Middletown  Houses  Busy 

Middletown  theatres  have  been  hanging  up 
the  old  good  will  sign  of  late.  Over  1500  school 
children  of  the  town,  Royalton  and  surround¬ 
ing  spots  viewed  a  special  performance  of 
“Alice  in  Wonderland,”  at  the  Elks,  with  the 
school  letting  the  children  out  early.  Majestic 
brought  a  magicians’  act  sponsored  by  a  local 
church  club.  Elks  allowed  use  of  its  house  for 
the  senior  class  of  the  local  high  school  to  pre¬ 
sent  a  play. 

H.  Douglas  Carpenter  manages  the  Elks. 


ON  MV  WAV  TO 
NEW  VORK  AND 
THE  PICCADILLY 


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Near  everythins,  just 
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Like  the  Manager, 
like  the  rates  —  $2.50 
single,  $3.50  double, 
for  a  room  with  bath ! 


THE  HOTEL  - 

PICCADILLY 

45th  St.  •  W.  of  Broadway  •  New  York 
WILLIAM  MADLUNG,  Mgr. 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Febl5'34 


23 


“Once  to  Every  Woman ”  Has  a  Doctor  Background  [ 


Ralph  Bellamy,  Walter  Connelly,  Fay 


Around  the  Circuit 

with 

STANIEY-WARNER 

_ By  Harry  Goldberg - 

WITH  TWENTY-SIX  MANAGERS  in 
the  bonus  money  for  the  first  quarter  ending 
December  31,  all  the  Warner  boys  are  making 
it  a  race  to  be  in  the  bonus  money  at  the  end 
of  the  second  quarter  ending  March  31.  .  .  . 
It’s  a  free-for-all  with  no  manager  barred 
who  can  hit  the  bonus  figure.  .  .  -  To  boost 
business  the  boys  are  exercising  their  skill  at 
exploitation.  .  .  .  Dave  Seamon,  Commodore, 
has  been  giving  out  a  miniature  piece  of  furni¬ 
ture  with  a  tag  and  a  gag  about  “Sitting- 
Pretty.”  .  .  .  Allan  Rappaport  made  Vineland 
wild  about  “Little  Women”  when  it  played  at 
the  Grand  with  a  six  day  serial  in  the  Vineland 
Journal,  and  a  page  of  co-operative  ads  in  the 
paper,  besides  window  displays  in  the  five 
5  and  10  chain  stores.  .  .  .  Lee  Kline  im¬ 
pelled  his  patrons  to  give  a  look-see  for  his 
“Invisible  Man”  stunt  in  the  Logan  lobby  when 
he  put  a  large  rocking  chair  in  continuous 
motion ;  a  small  motor  cleverly  hidden  did 
the  trick  and  patrons  were  asked  to  look  for 
the  “Invisible  Man1”  sitting  in  the  chair.  .  .  . 
Boys  have  been  cooking  up  many  ways  to  sell 
“Duck  Soup.”  .  .  .  Jack  Levy,  Kent,  used  a 
street  ballyhoo  with  his  Harpo  dressed  in  a 
barrel  and  skirt,  with  a  live;  duck  harnessed  to 
the  barrel.  .  .  .  Herb  Lubin  (Levoy,  Millville) 
stopped  traffic  in  front  of  his  theatre  with  his 
imitation  brick  firepot  with  decoy  ducks.  .  .  . 
Red  and  amber  lights  under  the  vat  gave  the 
fire  illusion  with  the  ducks  floating  in  the  water; 
dry  ice  in  the  water  caused  it  to  boil  giving  off 
vapor. 

MURRAY  WADE,  Strand,  Pottstown,  has 
been  making  speeches  before  women’s  clubs 
and  civic  organizations  to  build  up  big  bouses 
for  “Little  Women.”  .  .  .  Graham  Jeffrey 

cracked  the  editorial  page  of  the  Ambler 
daily  with  an  editorial  on  “Little  Women.” 
.  .  .  Joe  Murdock,  Camden,  at  the  Stanley 
arranged  a  preview  for  “Little  Women”  fix¬ 
ing  a  tie-up  with  the  schools  by  which  class 
room  lessons  were  prepared  making  it  essen¬ 
tial  for  the  kids  to  see  the  picture.  .  .  .  A1 

Schwartz,  Warner,  West  Chester,  had  the 
Burgess,  head  man  of  that  town,  make  a  pub¬ 
lic  statement  on  the  behalf  of  “Little  Women” 
and  the  Superintendent  of  Schools  passed  the 
word  to  the  teachers  to  tell  the  boys  and  girls 
it  was  a  great  show. 

POP  GRAVER,  Willow  Grove,  picked  out 
the  busiest  section  in  Willow  Grove  to  set  a 
“chair  sitter”  who  rocked  for  the  entertain¬ 
ment  of  traffic  making  it  known  to  all  and  sun¬ 
dry  by  means  of  copy  that  he  was  “Sitting 


Wray  are  in  the  Columbia  hospital  tale. 


Pretty.”  .  .  .  “Cradle  Song”  was  a  sweet  tune 
as  played  by  Tommy  Mangan  at  the  State, 
Chester,  because  he  had  the  foresight  to  send  a 
personal  letter  to  every  parochial  school  de¬ 
scribing  the  endorsement  by  Catholic  sisters 
and  priests.  .  .  .  Hadden  Matthews,  69th  St., 
celebrated  the  President’s  birthday  by  promot¬ 
ing  a  huge  cake  from  a  local  cake  shop  and 
cutting  a  piece  for  every  patron  on  the  even¬ 
ing  of  the  celebration.  .  .  .  Doug  George, 
Capitol,  Lancaster,  sent  a  card  to  every  member 
of  the  American  Legion  inviting  them  to  join 
the  mob  heading  for  a  great  laugh  in  “Conven¬ 
tion  City.”  .  .  .  Charlie  Moyer,  State,  Han¬ 
over,  has  been  sending  out  a  good  will  letter  to 
all  parents  pointing  out  the  influence  of  the 
manager  in  the  community  and  how  he  looks 
after  the  children  who  come  to  his  house.  .  .  . 
Lester  Stallman,  Circle,  devised  a  powerful 
stage  prologue  in  connection  with  the  trailer  on 
“Invisible  Man.”  .  .  .  Had  the  house  dark 
and  a  black  “eye’  covered  the  stage  opening ; 
while  the  amplifiers  boomed  with  mysterious 
voices  a  man  dressed  in  a  luminous  suit,  his 
face  dark,  giving  the  impression  of  being  head¬ 
less,  crossed  the  stage.  As  the  voices  came  up 
to  crescendo,  a  pistol  shot  rang  out  and  the 
man  disappeared  as  the  trailer  came  on.  .  .  . 
Dominick  Lucente,  Alhambra,  made  his  “In¬ 
visible  Man”  from  old  stove  pipes,  painting 
them  a  ghastly  silver  color,  using  red  gelatin 
eyes,  and  placing  the  “Man”  on  the  stage  all  the 
time  the  trailer  was  run. 


Charters 

Fail-haven  Productions,  Ltd.  Operate  theatres. 

National  Film  Carries,  Inc.  Promote  the  interests  of 
those  engaged  in  the  motion  picture  industry. 

Rowlands  Productions,  Inc.  Deal  in  moticn  pictures. 

Fox  Rockhill  Theatre  Corporation.  Operate  theatres 
and  places  of  amusement. 

Fox  Southwest  Theatre  Corporation.  Operate  theatres 
and  places  of  amusement. 

Belleville  Theatre  Corporation.  Operate  theatres  and 
other  places  of  amusement. 

United  Theatres  Corporation  of  Pennsylvania.  Oper¬ 
ate  theatres  and  other  places  of  amusement. 

M-T-M  Corporation.  Deal  in  motion  picture  cameras. 


Dish-Premium  Service 

A  local  premium  concern  is  consider¬ 
ing  sending  out  a  monthly  survey  classi¬ 
fying  all  dish  pictures  by  various  grades. 

These  would  include  ( 1 )  Large  dishes, 
(2)  Small  dishes,  (3)  Smallest  dishes. 

In  that  manner,  exhibitors  could  tell 
when  to  spot  (1)  Weak  sisters,  (2) 
Duds,  (3)  Flops. 


Reliable  Decorative  Co.,  Inc. 

INTERIOR  DECORATORS 

Draperies ,  Carpets ,  Painting 

1316  Vine  Street,  Philadelphia 

WE’VE  TURNED  NUMEROUS  NON-PAYING 
THEATRES  INTO  MONEY  MAKING  PROPOSITIONS 
ASK  US  HOW! 


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PREMIUMS 

There  are  many  imitations  but  there  is  only  one 

22  KARAT  GOLD  DINNER  SET 

with  a  success  record 

It’s  the  Dainty  Thin  Square  Model! 

QUALITY  PREMIUM  DIST. 

1305  VINE  ST.  PHILA. 


SOUND  SERVICE 


WE  SOLVE  YOUR  SOUND  PROBLEMS 

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C .  Ni9ht  Phone:  SHE .  0805 


THEATRE  EQUIPMENT 


PEJVN  THEATRE 
EQUIPMENT  CO. 

309  North  13th  Street 
PHILADELPHIA 
Phone,  Rittenhouse  3273 

GENERAL  THEATRE  EQUIPMENT 

Specialists  in  Repairs 


CLEM'S 

MOTION  PICTURE  SUPPLY  HOUSE 

'The  Most  Com  ft  lete  Independent 

Supply  House  in  the  Territory 1 

255  North  13th  Street  *  Philadelphia 


SPRUCE  re 84 


EXPERT  REPAIR  !  N  <3 


National  Theatre  Supply  Company 


Service  and’kourtesy  from  men  you  know  .  .  . 
Plus  equipment  of  known  and  guaranteed  quality 
.  .  .  are  at  your  service  at  our  local  branch 


UNIFORMS 


American  Uniform  Co. 

134  So.  11th  Street,  Philadelphia 

Styled  Right  ® 

Serviced  Right 

Priced  Right 

NO  ORDER  TOO  SMALL  OR  TOO  LARGE 


24 


Febl5'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Mr  ho  Irani  norvllivs ! 


F 

E 

A 

T 

U 

R 

E 

T 

T 

E 

S 

o 

F 

M 

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I 

T 


Tom  White  Productions 

3  REEL  NOVELTIES 

CANNIBALS  OF 
THE  PHILIPPINES 
.  .  .  Chinese  athletes 
and  tricksters  .  .  . 
Beautiful  peasant  girls  fur¬ 
nishing  power  for  tread  mills 
.  .  .  Unveiling  the  mysteries  of 
Japan,  India  and  the  rest  of 
the  Orient. 

All  these  and  more  under  the 
four  titles  of 

"Igorote,"  "The  Slumbering 
Giant,"  "Mothers  of  Nippon  " 
and  "The  Sacred  Cow." 


2  REEL  NOVELTIES 

A  battle  between  a 
mongoose  and  a  cobra 
.  .  .  Trapping  of  a 
vicious  water  buffalo 
.  .  .  Racing  down  the  Pyramids 
.  .  .  Battles  between  two  fight¬ 
ing  fishes. 

Featured  in  unusualness  under 
nine  titles  of 

"A  Siamese  Journey,"  "On 
the  Fringe  of  the  Jungle,"  "At 
Home  and  Afield,"  "Narahai," 
"The  Hopi  Witch  Doctor,"  "Man 
and  Beast,"  "Byways  of  Egypt," 
"  Smiling  Burma,"  and 
"Land  of  the  Yellow  Robe." 

1REEL  NOVELTIES 

The  thoughts  of  the 
condemned  spy  during 
his  last  few  minutes  of 
life  .  .  .  The  Hula 
Hula  .  .  .  Spearing  fish  .  .  . 
Rattlesnake  bites. 

Very  colorful  under  four 
titles  of 

"The  Spy,"  "Korea,"  "Double 
Crossing  the  Rattler,"  "Hawaii" 


Also  FEATURE  ATTRACTIONS 
by  famous  authors  ...  Iiaeked 
by  seal-spllinfj  iilfos  ! 

DISTRIBUTED  BY 

HERBERT  W.  GIVEN,  Inc. 

1239  Vine  Street  Philadelphia 

Branches  in: 

NEW  YORK  WASHINGTON 


BETWEEN  THE  PARAGRAPHS 

_ I 


TRADE  QUESTIONS  RADIO  SQUAWK 

The  squawks  which  were  issued  when  it  was  discovered  that  radio  stations  were 
admitting  patrons  gratis  to  see  their  favorite  artists  perform  for  commercial  broad¬ 
casts  represent  another  repetition  of  an  art  so  common  in  this  industry.  Radio  is  a 
distinct  business.  It  has  its  own  methods  of  operation.  Why  the  motion  picture 
industry  should  think  it  should  be  allowed  to  dictate  to  another  form  of  entertain¬ 
ment  provides  an  interesting  question.  After  all,  the  radio  has  supplied  the  motion 
picture  industry  with  some  box  office  names,  has  been  used  as  an  aid  to  exploitation 
and  stands  as  a  friendly  associate  of  this  field  rather  than  an  enemy  competitor. 
The  boys  who  are  passing  resolutions  against  free  tickets  to  radio  shows  ought  to 
pay  more  attention  to  their  own  business,  less  to  others. 


LENTEN  LULL  IS  EXPECTED 

The  so-called  post-holiday  period  found  releases  just  about  what  was  expected. 
After  a  holiday  impetus  with  “Little  Women,”  “Dancing  Lady,”  “Roman  Scandals,” 
“I’m  No  Angel”  and  others,  there  was  a  let  down  in  releases.  Standing  out  in  the 
future  are  “Wonder  Bar,”  some  star  shows  from  Metro  and  several  others  which 
seem  to  be  held  back  for  the  Easter  break.  “Nana,”  of  course,  looms  as  an  excep¬ 
tion  to  the  rule,  but  it  was  handled  as  a  single  picture  and  exploited  to  the  limit. 
“King  of  Fashions,”  too,  benefited  from  exploitation.  Generally,  though,  it  is  the 
usual  post-holiday  period. 


TALKIE  VERSION  OF  TALKIE  NEW  IDEA 

Metro  is  going  ahead  with  plans  to  make  “The  Showoff”  in  talkie  guise.  The 
trade  still  remembers  “Men  Are  Like  That,”  a  talkie  version,  which  in  the  city 
about  which  the  show  revolved,  Philadelphia,  received  its  first  run  in  a  fourth-run 
house.  However,  making  talkie  versions  opens  up  a  new  field  for  producers.  On 
the  other  hand,  there  would  seem  to  be  plenty  of  originals  around  that  might  make 
more  money  at  the  box  office. 


WARNER-UNITED  ARTISTS  COMPETITION  GOOD 

The  current  telephone  competition  between  Warners’  “I’ve  Got  Your  Number” 
and  “Looking  for  Trouble,”  from.  UA,  should  be  more  encouraged  than  mourned, 
if  coast  indications  are  true.  This  business  has  no  fault  to  find  with  cycles  or  copies, 
if  they  all  bring  inj  dough.  And  similarity  of  stories,  when  smartly  produced,  indi¬ 
cates  healthy  competition  that  should  bring  in  money.  After  all,  this  industry  has 
been  repeating  on  itself  aplenty  as  far  as  stories  involving  two  men  and  a  women  or 
two  women  and  a  man,  so  why  worry? 


MONOGRAM  HAS  TITLE  TROUBLE 

Monogram,  which  is  delivering  a  vastly  improved!  type  of  product  this  season, 
seems  to  be  handicapping  some  its  releases  with  titles  that  don’t  fit  the  subjects. 
“He  Couldn’t  Take  It”  is  generally  acclaimed  a  likeable  comedy  but  is  a  name  that  is 
poison  to  some  houses.  Now  “Woman’s  Man”  crops  up  as  a  Hollywood  story, 
but  no  one  would  know  it  from  the  title.  “The  Great  God  Fourflush”  would  have 
been  a  better  tag  for  the  show,  one  that  would  intrigue  any  exhibitor.  Credit  is 
due  Monogram  for  the  type  of  pictures  it  is  releasing,  but  someone  ought  to  organize 
a  new  board  to  select  the  titles. 


MORE  INTEREST  IN  SERIALS 

Interest  in  serials  seems  to  be  reviving.  In  addition  to  the  topnotch  quartet 
from  Mascot,  other  independents  are  'entering  the  field.  Sol  Lesser  plans  to  make 
one  based  on  “Chandu.”  First  Division  will  distribute  “Young  Eagles.”  Some  may 
be  expected  from  Universal.  Someone  must  have  found  out  that  a  good  serial  is  a 
good  investment. 


FULL  PUBLICITY  ON  ALL  CODE  MATTERS 

When  the  local  grievance,  zoning  and  arbitration  boards  begin  to  function, 
full  publicity  must  be  given  ,to  all  cases.  This  publication,  for  one,  will  do  every¬ 
thing  within  its  power  to  throw  the  spotlight  on  all  and  any  code  matters.  Only 
in  such  a  manner  can  respect  be  gained  for  the  code  from  every  exhibitor.  And 
then,  too,  this  may  deter  some  exhibitors  who  are  habitual  and  chronic  kickers  from 
seeking  the  spotlight.  Let  all  the  workings  be  made  public.  The  code  has  a  chance 
to  make  good  quickly. 

HOBART  MANN. 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Febl5'34 


25 


Star  of  “The  Lost  Jungle ” 


Clyde  Beatty,  star  of  Mascot  Pictures  Corporation’s  twelve-part  serial  “The  Lost 
Jungle”  with  “Sammy,”  one  of  his  lions.'  It  will  be  recalled  that  Sammy,  the  five- 
year-old  lion  attacked  and  killed  Bessie,  a  two-year-old  lioness  at  a  recent  training 
session  while  Beatty  was  appearing  in  Cleveland.  Beatty  is  the  only  man  who  ever 
lived  to  mix  lions  and  tigers  in  the  same  act.  Gold  Medal  distributes  the  serial. 


Heard  In 

IT  ST 


ATE 


Wrong  Credit 
For  “Henry” 


MANAGER  CHARLIE  McLEARY  and 
Assistant  Manager  Bob  Etchberger,  Loew''s 
Regeirt,  Harrisburg,  were  the  recipients  in  the 
preceding  issue  of  The  Exhibitor  of  many 
beautiful  words  of  praise  for  their  exploitation 
of  “The  Private  Life  of  Henry  VIII,”  but  their 
kind,  anonymous  friend  confused  the  name  of 
the  city,  using  Reading  instead  of  Harrisburg. 

.  .  .  Manager  McLeary  asked  this  writer  to 
express  his  thanks  to  the  contributor  of  the 
well-intentioned  story  just  the  same.  .  .  .  Don 
W.  Ross  wouldn't  know  the  old  office  now.  .  .  . 
Wire  was  received  by  Manager  Jack  O’Rear, 
Victoria,  Harrisburg,  who  also  manages  the 
Majestic,  Harrisburg,  during  its  occasional  en¬ 
gagements,  asking  him  for  a  reservation  at  the 
Majestic,  April  H,  for  the  annual  Mask  and 
Wig  Club  (University  of  Pennsylvania)  show. 

.  .  .  Estimates  for  wiring  the  Majestic  for 
sound  are  being  obtained  by  C.  Floyd  Hopkins. 

.  .  ..  Rumored  that  the  forum  of  State  Edu¬ 
cation  Building  is  to  be  equipped  for  sound 
pictures. 

HARRY  BECK,  popular  property  man, 
Victoria,  Harrisburg,  is  busy  these  days 
directing  rehearsals  of  the  Elks’  Imperial 
Minstrels.  .  .  .  Harrisburg  Symphony  Or¬ 

chestra  gave  its  first  “pop”  concert  at  the 
Majestic,  Harrisburg.  .  Children  are 

admitted  to  the  Astor,  Annville,  for  10  cents. 
.  .  .  Daily  matinees  at  10  and  20  cents  are 
proving  popular  at  Wilson  Theatre,  Tyrone. 

.  .  Rialto,  Lewistown,  celebrating  Anni¬ 

versary  Week.  .  .  .  Harrisburg  theatregoers 
wanted  to  see  “Emperor  Jones”  in  Harris¬ 
burg.  .  .  .  Many  of  them  went  to  see  it  when 
it  played  the  Hershey  Community  Theatre, 
Friday  and  Saturday.  .  .  .  Manager  J.  B. 

Sollenberger,  Hershey  Theatre,  had  sell-outs 
for  “Greenwich  Village  Follies”  in  the  flesh. 
.  .  .  Consuming  a  piece  of  cake  baked  by 

his  new  wife,  Mary  Funk  Knol,  cashier,  the 
Colonial,  Harrisburg,  husband  survived  with¬ 
out  apparent  harm.  .  .  .  Her  sister,  Miss 

Genevieve,  cashier  at  the  Victoria,  whispered 
said  cake  tasted  and  “bounced”  like  rubber. 

CHARLES  ESLINGER,  doorman,  Victoria 
Theatre,  Harrisburg,  on  a  ten-day  motor  trip  to 


Miami  .  .  .  Robert  Houser,  manager,  Strand 
Theatre,  Steelton,  had  an  amusing  experience 
recently.  .  .  .  Two  boys  appeared  at  the  ticket 
window  of  the  Strand  Theatre  and  asked  Man¬ 
ager  Houser  whether  one  free  pass  was  good 
for  two  children’s  admissions.  .  .  .  When  he 
informed  them  that  a  free  pass  entitled  only  one 
adult  or  one  child  to  admission,  they  were  not 
dismayed.  .  .  .  Since  an  adult  admission  was 
twenty  cents  and  admission  for  a  child  only 
fifteen  cents,  they  argued,  he  should  accept  the 
pass  and  ten  cents,  which  one  of  the  youths  pos¬ 
sessed,  as  two  admissions.  .  .  .  You  told  us  the 
pass  is  good  for  one  adult  admission,  the  one 
boy  insisted.  .  .  .  “Since  the  adult  price  is 
twenty  cents,  you  can  take  five  cents  from  the 
pass  and  put  it  on  to  our  ten  cents  which  will 
give  each  of  us  enough  for  our  fifteen  cent 
tickets.”  ...  “I  give  up/’  the  manager  declared. 


Heard  In 

Lancaster 

Wrong  Pictures 
Bring  Squawks 


CHARLES  M.  HOWELL,  manager,  Col¬ 
onial,  is  brushing  up  his  house  with  some  fancy 
painting,  a  new  box  office  and  a  new  method  of 
displaying  advertising  in  the  outer  lobby.  .  .  . 
In  the  outer  lobby  Howell  has  installed  equip¬ 
ment  that  will  make  it  possible  for  him  to  dis¬ 
play  transparents  calling  attention  to  current 
and  coming  attractions.  .  .  .  Hershey  Commun¬ 
ity  Theatre,  Hershey,  30  miles  away,  is  draw¬ 
ing  heavily  upon  local  theatre  goers. 


“FLYING  DOWN  TO  RIO”  went  big  with 
local  motion  picture  fans.  .  .  .  Ray  O’Con¬ 
nell,  Grand,  held  the  picture  over.  . 
Vaudeville  continues  to  hold  the  boards  one 
day  a  week  at  the  Capitol.  .  .  .  Plan  of  some 
theatre  managers  to  illustrate  advertisements 
and  readers  with  scenes  censored  from  films 
is  bringing  a  protest  from  newspapers  in  this 
section. 


“He”  Held  Over 

“He,  King  of  Virtue,”  First  Division  release, 
did  such  sensational  business  in  its  first  week  at 
the  Cameo,  New  York,  that  it  held  over. 


TICKETS  AND  REGISTERS 


Standard  Services  SaveYou  Money 

SERVICE  No.  1 

The  iYeir  1934  J/odc/  A7 
SILENT  AUTOMATIC 
TICKET  REGISTER 

•  INTERCHANGEABLE  UNITS 
guarantee  NO  REPAIR 
WORRIES. 

a  NOISELESS  in  operation, 
a  SPECIAL  FEATURES  protect 
your  cash  receipts, 
a  LIBERAL  ALLOWANCES  for 
old  machines  in  trade. 

SERVICE  No.  2 

Used  Machine 
Bargains 

SERVICE  No.  3 

Repair  or  Re¬ 
build  Any  Make 
Machine — Low 
Cost. 

SERVICE  No.  4 

Tickets  Stand¬ 
ard  Quality — 
Lowest  Market 
Prices. 

Write  Immediately  for  Our  New  Introductory  Offer 

STANDARD  TICKET  REGISTER  CORP. 

1600  Broadway,  New  York  •  GEO.  Mead.  gen.  mgr. 

VAUDEVILLE  AGENCIES 


VAUDEVILLE 

PRESENTATIONS 
MUSICAL  COMEDY 
REVUES 


HARRY  BIBEN 

(603-4  COLONIAL  BUILDING) 

N.  E.  Cor.  13th  and  Market  Sts. 

Phone,  Rittenhouse  9494-5 

PHILADELPHIA 


FRANK  WOLF 

Booking  Vaudeville 
and  Picture  Theatres 

307  REAL  ESTATE  TRUST  BLDG. 
Philadelphia  -  -  PENnypacher  0792 


• 

Official  Letter 
Service  to  the 
Motion  Picture 
Industry 

Accurate  List 
of  all  Theatres 
and  Executives 

Mimeographing 
Multigraphing 
Public  Stenography 

Addressing  -  Folding 
Enclosing  -  Mailing 

Advertising 

Publicity 

Printing 

WM.  Z. 

PORTER 

Advertising  and  Letter  Service 

1208  Vine  Street 

(Second  Floor) 

BELL  TELEPHONE 

:  RITTENHOUSE  7195 

EXPERTS . . . 

in  every  field 

of 

theatre  design 

and 

maintenance  will  be  ! 

found  listed  on 

the 

READY  REFERENCE 

PAGES 

26 


Febl5'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


THE  CHECKUP 


For  your  convenience,  this  publication  furnishes  this  guide  to  reviews  of  pictures  which  have  appeared 
in  “Looking  Ahead  at  the  Product,”  the  regular  review  department.  Before  dating  in  your  show,  consult  this 
page,  find  out  when  the  review  appeared  and  then  look  it  up.  If  you  have  misplaced  any  copies  of  your  home 
town  journal,  drop  “THE  CHECKUP”  a  line  and  missing  copies  will  be  sent  to  you.  Save  these  pages  and  refer 
to  them  as  needed.  Key:  For  example,  2-Sept,  means  the  second  issue  of  this  publication  in  that  month. 
1-Oct.  would  mean  the  first  issue,  and  so  on. 


Columbia 


Lady  for  a  Day . 1-Aug. 

A  Man’s  Castle  . 1-Nov. 

Police  Car  17  .  2-Nov. 

King  of  Wild  Horses  .  2-Nov. 

Above  the  Clouds  . 2-Nov. 

Master  of  Men .  1-Dec. 

Fog  . 2-Jan. 

Fury  of  the  Jungle  .  2-Jan. 

Before  Midnight  . 2-Jan. 

Shadows  of  Sing  Sing  .  2-Jan. 

Straightaway  . 1-Feb. 

Once  to  Every  Woman  . 1-Feb. 

Let’s  Fall  in  Love  . 1-Feb. 

The  Fighting  Code  . 1-Feb. 

It  Happened  One  Night .  2-Feb. 


First  National — Warners 


Bureau  of  Missing  Persons . 1-Sept. 

Wild  Boys  of  the  Road . 1-Oct. 

The  World  Changes . 2-0ct. 

Gold  Diggers  .  1-June 

Footlight  Parade  .  2-0ct. 

Ever  in  My  Heart .  2-0ct. 

Kennel  Murder  Case . . 1-Nov. 

College  Coach  . 1-Nov. 

House  on  56th  Street .  2-Nov. 

Female  .  1-Nov. 

Havana  Widows  . 1-Nov. 

From  Headquarters  . 2-Nov. 

Son  of  a  Sailor . 2-Nov. 

Dark  Hazard  . . 1-Dec. 

Lady  Killer  . 1-Dec. 

Convention  City  . 2-Dec. 

The  Shakedown  .  .  _ . 1-Jan. 

Massacre  . 2-Jan. 

Fashions  of  1934  . 2-Jan. 

Hi  Nellie  . 1-Feb. 

Easy  to  Love  . 1-Feb. 

Mandalay  . 1-Feb. 

As  the  Earth  Turns .  2-Feb. 

Bedside  . .  2-Feb. 

Heat  Lightning  . 2-Feb. 

I’ve  Got  Your  Number . 2-Feb. 

Wonder  Bar  . 2-Feb. 

Fox 

Pilgrimage  . 1-Aug. 

The  Last  Trail .  2-Aug. 

Paddy  . 1-Sept. 

Good  Companions  . 1-Nov. 

Charlie  Chan’s  Greatest  Case .  2-Sept. 

Dr.  Bull  . 2-Sept. 

My  Weakness  . 1-Oct. 

Power  and  the  Glory . 2-Julv 

Walls  of  Gold . 2-Oct. 

Worst  Woman  in  Paris . 1-Nov. 

Berkeley  Square  . 2-July 

My  Lips  Betray  . 2-Nov. 

This  Mad  Game . 1-Nov. 

Oleson’s  Big  Moment . 1-Nov. 

Hoop-La  .  2-Nov. 

As  Husbands  Go . 2-Nov. 

Frontier  Marshal  .  2-Nov! 

Jimmy  and  Sally  .  1-Dec. 

Smoky  .  2-Dec. 

I  Was  A  Spy .  2-Dec. 

Mr.  Skitch  . 1-Jan. 

I  Am  Suzanne . 1-Jan. 

Orient  Express  .  2-Jan. 

Sleepers  East  . 1-Feb. 

Coming  Out  Party  . 1-Feb." 

Ever  Since  Eve  .  1-Feb. 

Carolina  .  2-Feb. 

Devil  Tiger  .  2-Feb! 

Hold  That  Girl . 2-Feb. 


Metro 


Penthouse  . 2-Sept. 

Stage  Mother  . 1-Oct. 

Night  Flight  . 1-Sept. 

Bombshell  . 2-0ct. 

The  Chief  . 2-0ct. 

Day  of  Reckoning .  1-Nov. 

Meet  the  Baron .  2-0ct. 

Dinner  at  Eight . 2-June 

The  Late  Christopher  Bean 

(Her  Sweetheart)  . 2-Nov. 

The  Prizefighter  and  the  Lady . 2-Nov. 

Eskimo  . 2-Nov. 

Should  Ladies  Behave  (The  Vinegar  Tree) . 2-Nov. 

Dancing  Lady  . 1-Dec. 

Sons  of  the  Desert . 1-Dec. 

Women  in  His  Life . 1-Jan. 

Going  Hollywood  . 1-Jan. 

Queen  Christina  .  1-Jan. 

Fugitive  Lovers  . 2-Jan. 

You  Can’t  Buy  Everything  . 1-Feb. 

This  Side  of  Heaven  .  1-Feb. 

Men  in  White  . 2-Feb. 


Monogram 

DISTRIBUTED  BY  FIRST  DIVISION 


The  Avenger  .  2-Nov. 

Sweetheart  of  Sigma  Chi . 1-Nov. 

Broken  Dreams  .  1-Nov. 

He  Couldn’t  Take  It . 2-Dec. 

Sensation  Hunters  . 1-Jan. 

The  Sagebrush  Trail  .  2-Jan. 

Lucky  Texan  . 2-Jan! 

Woman's  Man . 2-Jan. 

16  Fathoms  Deep . 1-Feb. 

West  of  Divide  1-Feb! 

Mystery  Liner  .  2-Feb. 


Pa  ramount 

Song  of  Songs . 1-July 

This  Day  and  Age . 2-Aug. 

One  Sunday  Afternoon  .  1-Sept. 

Torch  Singer  . 2-Sept. 

To  the  Last  Man .  1-Oct. 

Golden  Harvest  . 1-Oct. 

Too  Much  Harmony .  2-Sept. 

I’m  No  Angel  .  2-Oct. 

Tillie  and  Gus  . 2-Oct. 

Way  to  Love  .  2-Oct! 

Take  a  Chance  . 1-Nov. 

Hell  and  High  Water . .  2-Nov. 

White  Woman  . 1-Nov. 

Design  for  Living  .  2-Nov. 

Cradle  Song  . 2-Nov. 

Duck  Soup  .  .  2-Nov. 

Lone  Cowboy  . 2-Nov. 

Thundering  Herd  .  2-Nov. 

Sitting  Pretty  .  1-Dec. 

Girl  Without  a  Room .  1-Dec. 

Alice  in  Wonderland .  2-Dec. 

Miss  Fane’s  Baby  Is  Stolen .  1-Jan. 

His  Double  Life .  1-Jan. 

8  Girls  in  a  Boat . . 1-Jan. 

The  Last  Roundup  . 2-Jan. 

Search  for  Beauty  .  2-Jan. 

Four  Frightened  People  . 2-Jan. 

All  of  Me  .  2-Jan. 

Death  Takes  a  Holiday  (Strange  Holiday)  1-Feb. 

Good  Dame  .  1-Feb. 

Six  of  a  Kind .  1-Feb. 

Bolero  .  2-Feb. 

No  More  Women .  2-Feb. 


Radio 

Morning  Glory  .  1-Aug. 

Rafter  Romance .  1-Aug. 

One  Man’s  Journey .  2-Sept. 

Midshipman  Jack  .  1-Oct. 

A  Chance  at  Heaven  .  2-Oct. 

Ann  Vickers  .  2-Oct. 

Ace  of  Aces  .  2-Oct. 

Aggie  Appleby  .  2-Oct. 

Little  Women  .  2-Nov. 

After  Tonight  (Woman  Spy) .  2-Oct. 

Right  to  Romance .  1-Dec. 

If  I  Were  Free .  2-Dec. 


Flying  Down  to  Rio . 1-Jan. 

Man  of  Two  Worlds  . 2-Jan. 

Meanest  Gal  in  Town  . 2-Jan. 

Son  of  Kong  .  2-Jan. 

Two  Alone  . 2-Jan. 

Hips  Hips  Hooray  .  .  .  1-Feb. 

Keep  ’Em  Rolling  . 2-Feb. 

Long  Lost  Father .  2-Feb. 

The  Lost  Patrol . 2-Feb. 

United  Artists 

Bitter  Sweet  . 2-Sept. 

The  Bowery  . 2-Oct. 

Broadway  Thru  Keyhole . 1-Nov. 

Emperor  Jones . 1-Oct. 

Henry  the  Eighth . 1-Oct. 

Blood  Money  . 1-Dec. 

Roman  Scandals  . 1-Dec. 

Advice  to  the  Lovelorn  . 2-Dec. 

Gallant  Lady  . 2-Dec. 

Moulin  Rouge  . 1-Jan. 

Nana  .  2-Jan. 

Palooka  . 1-Feb. 

Sorrell  and  Son  . 2-Feb. 

Looking  for  Trouble . 2-Feb. 

Universal 

Love,  Honor  and  0  Baby . 2-Oct. 

Saturday’s  Millions  . 2-Sept. 

SOS  Iceberg . 1-Oct. 

Only  Yesterday  2-Nov. 

Myrt  and  Marge  . 1-Sept. 

Special  Investigator  . 2-Nov. 

Invisible  Man  2-Nov. 

King  for  a  Night  .  2-Nov. 

Counsellor  at  Law .  1-Dec. 

Horse  Play  .  2-Dec. 

Beloved  1-Jan. 

By  Candlelight  . 1-Jan. 

Bombay  Mail  2-Jan. 

Madame  Spy  . 2-Jan. 

The  Poor  Rich  2-Jan. 

Cross  Country  Cruise  .  2-Jan. 

I  Like  It  That  Way . 2-Jan. 

Wheels  of  Destiny  .  1-Feb. 

The  Crosby  Case  .  2-Feb. 

Love  Birds  .  .  .  .  2-Feb. 


First  Division 

(CHESTERFIELD) 


By  Appointment  Only . 2-Nov. 

Dance,  Girl,  Dance .  1-Nov. 

I  Have  Lived  1-Aug. 

A  Man  of  Sentiment  . 2-Nov. 

Rainbow  Over  Broadway . 1-Dec. 

Notorious  But  Nice  . 2-Nov. 

Murder  On  the  Campus  2-Feb. 


Picture  Brides  . 2-Nov. 

One  Year  Later  .  2-Aug. 

Tarzan  the  Fearless  . 1-Sept. 

Eat  'Em  Alive  .  2-Dec. 

The  Road  to  Ruin  . 2-Dec. 

He  . 2-Jan. 

Throne  of  the  Gods  . 2-Jan. 

Gold  Medal 

Sing,  Sinner,  Sing  . 2-Aug. 

The  Big  Bluff  . 2-Oct. 

Important  Witness  . 2-Aug. 

Laughing  at  Life  . 2-June 

Curtain  at  Eight . 1-Dec. 

You  Made  Me  Love  You  . 1-Dec. 

The  Charming  Deceiver  .  1-Jan. 

Sin  of  Nora  Moran . 1-Jan. 

Big  Time  or  Bust .  2-Jan. 

Enlighten  Thy  Daughter .  2-Jan. 

The  Morning  After .  2-Feb. 

Masterpiece 

Neighbor’s  Wives  . 1-Oct. 

Her  Forgotten  Past  . 2-Nov. 

Riot  Squad  .  2-Aug. 

Secret  Sinners  .  1-Jan. 

Wine,  Women  and  Song  .  . 2-Jan. 

Marriage  on  Approval . 2-Jan. 

What's  Your  Racket? .  2-Feb. 


Febl5'34  pg.  27 


INTRODUCING 


"the  Speaker 


EVER  sit  in  on  a  banquet  while  a  toastmaster,  with  more 
cracks  to  his  line  than  a  syndicated  colyumist,  introduced 
a  speaker  who  was  a  washout?  It  happens  often. 

Think  about  your  theatre  the  same  way.  You  book  a  feature, 
promote  it,  stunt  it,  advertise  it  to  a  fare-thee-well.  And  you 
pack  them.  You’re  just  like  the  toastmaster.  You’ve  got  your 
customers  on  edge,  waiting  for  something  swell. 

And  then  ...  up  comes  the  speaker  of  the  evening — your 
sound — the  most  vital  part  of  your  show.  And  what  do  your 
customers  do? 

If  you  have  High  Fidelity,  they  sit  thrilled  to  the  most  per¬ 
fect  sound  that  money  can  buy.  They  listen  to  realism  unrivalled 
by  life  itself.  In  short  they  listen  to  natural  sound,  and  they  go 
home,  sold  on  your  house,  sure  to  come  next  week. 

But,  if  you  haven’t  High  Fidelity  .  .  .  Well,  why  take  the 
negative  angle?  Someday  in  the  interest  of  your  box  office,  you 
will  have  High  Fidelity,  and  when  you  do  you'll  understand 
and  join  in  the  enthusiasm  of  the  hundreds  of  ear  wise  exhibitors 
who  are  making  money  with  their . . . 

HIGH  FIDELITY 
RCA  VICTOR 
PHOTOPHONE 

Make  them  ear  happy  ivith  HIGH  FIDELITY 

PHOTOPHONE  DIVISION 

RCA  VICTOR  CO.,  Inc. 


Camden,  New  Jersey 


Stage  presentations  are  on  the  rehound.  If  you  plan  to  go  in  for 
them,  remember:  Stage  Sound  must  now  be  as  good  as  Screen  Sound, 
or  else  .  .  .  Sound  Reinforcing  is  the  answer  and  we 
have  a  completely  standardized  proposition  to  tell  you 
about.  Mail  this  coupon. 


«  «  «  COUPON  »  »  » 

□  I  want  further  information  about  High  Fidelity. 

□  I  want  information  about  Sound  Reinforcing. 

Name . . 

Address . 

City . State. . 

2G 


Febl5'34  b.c. 


TO  MY  MANY 

19: 


FRIENDS  IN  THE  THEATRE  INDUSTRY 


On  December  1st, 
of  sales,  after  severinc 
product  to  which  I  brou 

The  nationally  known 
But  I  now  state,  witho 
COMFORT,  marks  the 
beauty  of  unit  design, 
the  horse  and  carriage 

The  growth  of  any  ind 
the  steel  back  panel  a 
by  Paramount  seven  ye 
With  the  designing  of 
tion,  the  theatre  chair 

I  would  be  happy  to 
in  the  Paramount  Build 
recent  show  at  the  Ast 


3,  I  joined  the  International  Seat  Corporation  as  /Vice-President  in  charge 
a  connection  of  sixteen  years.  This  step  was  important  inasmuch  as  the 
ght  my  experience  and  happy  associations  was  comparatively  new. 

I  sold  in  the  past  was,  to  my  belief,  and  /still  is  the  best  in  its  class. 


c  nair 

jt  hesitation  and  with  sincere  enthusiasm,  that/ the  U  16,  with  FLOATING 
dawn  of  a  new  era  in  theatre  seating.  In  simplicity  of  construction  and 
it  is  as  far  advanced  over  present  equipment  as  the  "airflow"  auto  is  over 

ustry  is  measured  by  the  continuous  perfection  of  its  product.  Outside  of 
np  steel  bottom  board  to  replace  veneers, /which  were  specified  and  adapted 
ars  ago,  theatre  chair  design  has  progressed  little  in  the  past  twenty  years, 
the  U  1 6  by  automotive  body  enginee/s  on  the  principles  of  unit  construc- 
ndustry  has  jumped  twenty-five  years  ariead  of  its  present  day  product. 

have  you  inspect  the  FLOATING  COMFORT  of  the  U  16  at  my  showroom 
ng,  or  at  the  offices  of  our  representatives  if  you  were  unable  to  attend  my 
or  Ftotel  in  New  York. 


Yice-Preside 
/n  Charge  ol  Sal 


INTERNATIONAL  SEAT  CORPORATION 

A  subsidiary  of  Union  City  Body  Co. 


rn  .  vrrr/  v/^pt^  _  V  V 


VOL  16— No.  5 


PHILADELPHIA,  MARCH  1, 1934 


Price,  15  Cents 


PUBLIC  IS  TO’S 

i£\  .,v4.  $i,<mbooA 


TO  HELL 


ith  House  ft 


YOU’LL  LOOK  A 
KNOW  WHY  A  W 

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WHAT  BUSINESS' 


jHh  Bi&wet 


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ON 


ES- 


WIRE! 

PHONE! 

WRITE! 


READY 
NOW  FOR 
RELEASE 


Mar  1 1 34  pg.  2 

HIT 

utter 

HIT 


•  -You 

dor/t  have 
to  take  my 
word  for  it, 
Boys!  There 
jt  is  in  the 
I ndustry  s 
leading 
trade  papers 

BOB  LYNCH 


men  in  white 

M-G-M  Drama  75  m,ns- 

STRONG  MEDICINE;  HOSPITAL 
SETTING  FOR  TORRID  LOVE 
STORY;  GABLE  SUPERB 

Cast:  Clark  Gable,  Myrna  Loy,  Jean  Her- 

sholt,  Elizabeth  Allan  °“°  ^"wallace 
Henry  Gordon,  Russell  Hardie,  Wallace 
Fnrd  Henry  B.  Walthall,  Russell  Hopton 

Ef-oSS?  Screen  Pto  bv  Wfd“»' 
Young  from  the  play  by  Sidney  Kingsley. 
Director,  Richard  Boleslavsky. 

Plot-  Clark  Gable,  ambitious  interne  is 
engaged  to  marry  Myrna  Loy,  spoiled 
daughter  of  a  wealthy  man.  Irked  by 
devotion  to  duty,  Myrna  goes  with  another 
admirer.  Gable  finds  solace  in  the  arms  pf 
Elizabeth  Allan,  a  student  nurse  who  wor¬ 
ships  him.  Myrna  and  Gable  patch  up  their 
quarrel  Elizabeth  Allan,  suffering  from  an 
illegal  operation,  is  rushed  to  the  0PeJ.at'"f 
table  and  Gable  assigned  the  Fas*- 
overhears  Elizabeth  tell  Gable  she'sntsorry 
they  forgot  conventions.  Elizabeth  dies 
asking  Myrna  not  to  blame  Gable. 

Summary:  A  heavy  dramatic  role  fall' 
upon  the  broad  thouldert  of  Clark  Gab 
and  he  certainly  carnet  it  admirably.  Hit 
performance  it  tuperb.  He  it  extremely  f  - 
cinating  in  a  ho.pital  doctor  t  uniform.  In 
exploitation,  more  ttrett  thould  be  lot 
upon  the  popularity  thu  play  rece,v<!*X.t 
ing  iti  Broadway  thowing.  The  lave  ,n‘ere‘* 
between  Gable  and  Myrna  Loy  it  tpicy  and 
will  enthrall  thoie  who  crave  torrid  ro¬ 
mancer.  Commendable  direction  and  beau¬ 
tiful  photography  add  latter  to  the  lavi.h- 
nett  of  the  production. 


VIVA  VILLA 

MGM 

Here's  the  material  from  which  showmanship 
naturals  are  made.  Pancho  Villa,  20th  Century 
Mexican  Robin  Hood,  glamorous,  glorious,  ter¬ 
rifying.  Boy  and  nian;  peon,  avenger,  bandit, 
soldier,  general,  president;  the  worshipped  idol 
of  his  followers— hated  scourge  of  his  enemies. 
The  picture  is  produced  on  epic  scope,  crammed 
with  the  color,  punch  and  thrill  of  the  man  and 
his  career;  a  subject  as  fresh  and  exciting  as 
it  was  in  the  days  when  Villa  rode. 

It  .  is  based  on  a  novel  by  Edgcomb  Pinchon 
and  O.  B.  Stade,  the  screen  play  written  by 
Ben  Hecht,  noted  for  his  vigorous  realism  as 
ip  “Front  Page’’  and  “Scarface,”  Hecht  has 
embellished  historical  fact  with  the  appealing 
sweep  of  legend.  For  the  screen  has  been 
evolved  a  romance  of  adventure,  h  saga  of  fer¬ 
vid  patriotism,  heartless  cruelty,  tender  chiv¬ 
alry.  The  story  of  a  man  and  his  amazing 
raids,  of  a"  man  who  knew  and  married  many 
women,  but  loved  only  one,  of  a  man  whose 
flaming  spirit  re-created  a  nation. 

Wallace  Beery  is  Villa ;  the  role  should  fit 
him  just  as  did  that  of  Butch  in  “The  Big 
House”  and  “The  Champ.”  The  cast  is  com¬ 
posed  entirely  of  familiar  screen  names,  listing 
Leo  Carrillo,  Fay  Wray,  Stuart  Irwin,  Donald 
Cook,  George  Stone,  Joseph  Schildkraut,  Kath¬ 
erine  DeMille  (C.  B.’s  daughter,  making  her 
screen  debut),  Henry  B.  Walthall,  Francis 
Bushman,  Jr.,  and  Henry  Armetta  in  support. 
The  picture  was  made  almost  in  its  entirety 
in  the  locales  that  Villa  rode  to  fame.  Its  big¬ 
ness  is  demonstrated  by  the  marching  thousands, 
barefoot,  ragtail  revolutionists,  men  and  wo¬ 
men  who  followed  their  idol.  There’s  a  mighty 
thrill  in  every  line  --of 1  “Viva  Villa.” 


“The  Mystery  of  Mr.  X” 

(M-G-M)  ..  c 

Hollywood,  Feb.  20.-Melodrama  with  unique  ^nse  f^r  )C” 

i 

‘StHSX’  SSsome,/,,.«,tirny  »<!„*  him  in..  .He  chief, 
home  where  he  meets  his  daughter,  El.zabrth  .  Mr  X,  but 

At  the  chief  s  home  he fusses ^  Ot  captur^  ^  ^ 
excites  the  suspicion  of  Connor  (Lew  >  hot_  Mont_ 

senses  Montgomery’s  criminal  em  ■  ^  Mr  x  himself,  and  in 

tmmprv  decides  tO  Olltsmsrt  Connor*  1  ,  «  •  i  T'hr 

a  slam-bang  action  finish,  gets  the^  murderer  ^nd  wins  ^ 
production,  with  Montgomery  ^  entertainment  satisfaction, 

supporting  cast,  seems  dest  g  ative  departments  and  is 

ssiv;:  ;;.e 

P  -The  picture  opens  at  the  Capitol.  New  York,  Friday. 


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METRO 

GOLDWYN 

MAYER 


sin 


•  Mar  1 T 34  pg.  3 

e  seeing  you 


MARCH  6th 


at  the  big 


where 

WARNER  RROS. 

will  show  you  what  to  use  for  MONEY  this  coming  season,  including 


“Wonder  Bar”0 

4 'lia  It  erf  on  in  “Journal  of  a  Crime”0 
“As  the  Earth  Turns”* 
Cagney  in  “Jimmy  the  Gent”* 

x;  " .  •• .  . .  „  .  .-  ••  •_  .  • 

Stanwyck  in  “Gambling  Lady”* 
Hal  LeRoy  in  “Harold  Teen”* 


You  owe  it  to  your  box-office  to  get  this  advance  slant  on  your  major  attractions 
for  the  next  3  months — a  running  start  on  ideas  and  promotion  plans  for  the  most 
important  shows  you’ll  get  this  spring.  The  Exhibit  will .  be  held  simultaneously 


3 n  3~\il  r  n  e  r  Exchange  (Elites 


Just  mail  the  coupon  below  to  your  exchange  manager  and  you’ll  be  all  set  for  the 
big  show!  He’ll  make  special  arrangements  for  your  hotel  and  other  accommo¬ 
dations.  But  DO  IT  NOW! 


I’ll  be  there! 

Name — 
Theatre. 

City - 


'arner  Bros.  Pic  tare 
trft  National  Ptalure 
•graph,  Inc.,  Distributor* 


.J 


WASHINGTON  HERALD  .  •  "If  you  like  re 

punches,  here  is  a  film  that  will  certainly  please 


M.  P.  DAILY  .  •  "The  Lost  Patrol  is  red-meat  drama  with  a  red-blooded  wallop." 

DAILY  VARIETY  .  •  "Lost  Patrol  is  strong  meat ...  designed  for  popular  entertainment." 


r 


M.  P.  HERALD  .  •  "A  great  showmanship  picture  ...  a  heroic  saga  that  every  woman 
should  love,  one  to  move  the  heart  and  mind  of  every  man  .  .  .  will  be  one  of  year’s  most 
^  «  discussed  pictures  .  .  .  it’s  a  courageous  picture,  one  that  courageous,  resourceful  showmen 

should  welcome." 

Mar  1 1 34  pg.  4 

FILM  DAILY  .  •  "Smacking  of  Beau  Geste  and  packing  plenty  of  human  interest  . . .  ranks 

— — .  -  -  ~ _ _ -  -  -  -  -  - - - - - - 


&#8g 


p&&* 


V!'  *  /  / 

4SBm&~'lfl 

j&wsgfe*-  ..  43 


smmm 

mmm 


ws^mwmt 


■Mmmm 


VICTOR  MCLAGLEN 
BORIS  KARLOFF 

WALLACE  FORD  REGINALD  DENNY 
TOWERING  LIFE  TRIUMPH  OF  JOHN  FORD 


RKO  RADIO 
PICTURE 


WHO  DIRECTED  "THE  IRON  HORSE"  "ARROWSMITH"  "MEN  MERIAN  C.  COOPER 

WITHOUT  WOMEN"  "FOUR  SONS"  AND  "PILGRIMAGE"  EXECUTIVE  PPOmiCFR 


m«Rnty 

AutK 


3;  «*»  m  slt&Xr* 


tAf^K. 


Distributed  by 

FIRST  DIVISION  EXCHANGES,  Inc. 

1240  Vine  Street,  Philadelphia 


iMW 


WITH 


W.RAY  JOHNSTON 

PRESIDENT  MONOGRAM  PICTURES 

LEW^PIZOR 

WELL  KNOWN  EXHIBITOR.  AND 
PRESIDENT  M.P.T.O.  OF  PENNA. 


Mar  1 T 34  pg.  7 


THE  EDITOR'S 


PAGE 


Vol.  16,  No.  5 


March  1,  1934 


Again  the  Exhibitor  Suffers 

^  REGARDLESS  of  Hays  censor  com- 

®  mittees,  in  spite  of  propaganda  to  the 
effect  that  movies  are  100%  clean,  a  cam¬ 
paign  is  being  started  which  will  vitally 
affect  the  box  office  of  every  exhibitor  in 
the  country.  Members  of  the  Catholic 
hierarchy,  priests  throughout  the  country, 
are  being  asked  to  use  their  influence  with 
the  people  for  the  success  of  the  proposed 
country-wide  attack  against  many  of  the 
objectionable  motion  pictures  now  being 
made  in  Hollywood.  Religious  brother¬ 
hoods  and  sisterhoods  as  well  as  many  in 
parochial  schools  will  be  asked  to  join  as 
auxiliaries.  It  is  thought  likely  that  pul¬ 
pits,  publications  and  other  methods  will 
be  used  to  further  the  campaign.  It  is  also 
thought  likely  that  laymen  will  be  asked 
to  refrain  from  attending  motion  picture 
theatres  showing  films  condemned  by 
Catholic  councils.  Stricter  attention  by 
parents  toward  the  sort  of  movies  fit  for 
children  will  also  be  emphasized. 

The  above  campaign,  if  successful,  is 
certain  to  provide  another  serious  problem 
for  the  individual  exhibitor,  who  must  play 
what  he  has  purchased,  regardless  of  con¬ 
tent.  What  mistakes  Hollywood  has  made 
in  producing  the  sort  of  pictures  on  which 
the  Catholic  councTs  frown  are  for  the  ex- 
hib’tor  to  meet  and  correct. 

The  intended  campaign  is  not  a  complete 
surprise  to  the  industry.  There  were  ink¬ 
lings  of  it  several  months  ago,  and  now, 
apparently,  it  will  proceed  along  original 
lines.  One  can  not  blame  anyone  for  seeking 
to  boycott  salacious  films,  but  it  is  a  pity 
that  the  blame  be  directed  against  the  in¬ 
dividual  exhibitor  who  has  nothing  what¬ 
ever  to  do  with  the  productions  of  the 
Hollywood  manufacturers. 

The  campaign,  it  must  be  admitted,  is 
choosing  its  fight  along  the  sector  where  it 
will  be  most  felt,  the  box  office,  but  in  doing 
so  it  is  working  an  injustice  on  men  who 
are  as  desirous  of  clean  pictures  as  anyone 
in  the  country,  the  theatremen. 

It  is  up  to  the  exhibitors  in  sections  most 
affected  to  indicate  to  their  patrons  that  the 
pictures  they  show  have  to  be  shown,  be¬ 
cause  of  contractual  obligations,  etc.  The 
public  must  be  made  to  understand  that 
what  Hollywood  makes  must  be  screened, 
with  practically  no  choice  whatever. 

Here,  again,  will  be  a  problem  for  the 
Code  Authority  to  decide.  Should  the  ex¬ 
hibitor  have  an  additional  right  to  bar 
salacious  pictures,  aside  from  his  rights 
under  the  cancellation  clause? 

The  question  of  objectionable  pictures 
cannot  be  decided  by  a  set  of  rules,  it  can¬ 
not  be  completely  stopped  by  a  boycott  on 
the  box  office. 

It  can  only  be  checked  by  a  realization 
on  the  part  of  the  producers  that  it  is  pos¬ 
sible  to  attract  folks  to  theatres  with¬ 
out  a  great  evidence  of  those  features  held 
offensive  by  large  groups  of  theatre-goers. 
True,  an  avalanche  of  pictures  like  “Three 
Little  Pigs”  or  “Little  Women”  might  not 
forever  result  in  swelled  receipts,  but,  at 
least,  these  ought  to  be  an  indication  that 
audiences  are  willing  to  appreciate  some 
kinds  of  films  which  do  not  concentrate  on 
the  angles  which  too  many  Hollywooden- 
heads  label  sure-fire  sex. 


The  Exhibitor 

Circulating  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware,  Issued  on  the  1st  and  15th 
of  each  month  by  Jay  Emanuel  Publications,  Inc.  Publishing  office,  219  North  Broad  Street,  Philadelphia. 
Branches  at  1600  Broadway,  New  York  City;  Washington,  D.  C.  Jay  Emanuel,  publisher;  Paul  J. 
Greenhalgh,  advertising  manager;  Herbert  M.  Miller,  managing  editor.  Subscription  rates:  $2  for  one 
year,  $5  for  three  years.  Single  copies,  15c  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersev  and  Delaware. 
Publishers,  also,  of  THE  NATIONAL  EXHIBITOR  of  Washington  and  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  EXHIBITOR. 
Official  organ  of  the  Motion  Picture  Theatre  Owners  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and 
Delaware.  Address  all  communications  to  the  Philadelphia  office. 


Choosing  the  Local  Members 


'  I  'HE  Code  Authority,  through  lack  of  foresight,  has 
deprived  exhibitors  of  a  farce  which  exceeds  the  funni¬ 
est  efforts  of  even  the  best  producers.  They  should  have  included 
scenario  writers  and  gag  men  as  alternates  to  the  committee  which 
met  to  choose  members  of  local  zoning  and  grievance  boards. 

What  an  opportunity  for  humor!  What  a  chance  to  depict 
one  of  the  most  farcical  situations  in  trade  history!  If  it  were 
not  so  serious  the  matter  could  be  classified  as  the  best  laugh  since 
one  bright  youngster,  a  decade  or  so  ago,  prophesied  that  the  music 
tax  never  would  be  collected. 

Once  the  industry  was  told  that  members  of  the  local  boards 
would  be  chosen  on  the  basis  of  personal  qualifications,  standing 
and.  reputation,  honesty,  knowledge  of  the  territory,  fairness  and 
nothing  else.  No  one  can  deny  that  any  of  the  men  picked  for 
places  on  the  local  boards  do  not  possess  those  virtues,  but  they 
were  selected  for  the  boards  by  the  oddest  methods  possible,  if 
rumors  be  true.  Various  versions  of  the  meetings  held  by  the 
committee  choosing  local  members  are  now  being  passed  around. 
Some  names  were  said  to  have  been  dropped  because  a  distributor 
member  failed  to  be  at  peace  with  one  gentleman;  others  were 
reported  opposed  to  double  features;  others  were  not  sold  on  the 
organization  in  the  territory;  others  failed  to  receive  chain  ap¬ 
proval  ;  others  because  they  favored  premiums.  These  were  some 
of  the  rumors.  There  were  others  just  as  funny. 

All  this  brings  to  mind  a  statement  from  Divisional  Admin¬ 
istrator  Sol  A.  Rosenblatt  to  be  effect  that  exhibitor  associations 
would  be  consulted  regarding  appointments  to  be  made.  Perhaps 
the  appointing  committee  never  heard  of  the  statement  or  perhaps 
the  Administrator,  himself,  figures  he  doesn’t  need  exhibitor 
organizations  or  their  good  will  now.  It’s  a  funny  business. 

The  code  authority  is  starting  off  on  the  wrong  track.  It  had 
a  chance,  by  open  sessions,  to  gain  the  good  will  of  the  trade.  The 
present  situation  finds  the  code  for  the  motion  picture  industry 
beginning  its  operation  with  a  signal  lack  of  confidence  on  the 
part  of  the  exhibitor. 


NEWS  ITEM—  “It  is  the  intention  of  the  Code  Authority  and  the  administration 
that  before  appointments  are  made  that  the  people  have  enjoyed  a  reputation  for  honesty 
and  integrity  and  have  a  reputable  character,  and  I  assure  you  that  we  are  making  an 
effort  to  see  that,  appointments  made  are  good.” 

— Sol.  A.  Rosenblatt,  December  7,  1933. 


8 


Mar  1 T  34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Heard  In 


V 


NE  STREET 

All  About  the 
Poker  Game 


“ALL  QUIET  ON  THE  WESTERN 
FRONT”  is  being  revived,  what  with  all  of 
the  propaganda  and  such  being  shown  in  the 
local  papers  everywhere.  .  .  .  Howard  Smith, 
Fox,  ill  at  home. 

PARAMOUNT  very  enthusiastic  over 
“Death  Takes  a  Holiday,”  with  a  projection 
room  crowd,  including  Eppie  Epstein,  Ben 
Amsterdam,  Jack  Greenberg  very  convinced 
about  the  box  office  prowess.  .  .  .  Norman 

Lewis,  in  a  confiding  moment,  asserts  Girard 
will  play  pictures  only  part-time. 

HARRY  WEINER  thought  so  much  of 
Columbia’s  “It  Happened  One  Night1'’  exchange 
used  a  banner  to  flag  the  news  to  all  exhibitors. 

.  .  .  George  Gravenstine  was  a  Florida  visitor. 

.  .  .  Second  time  during  the  season. 

GOLD  MEDAL,  with  another  of  the  Corni- 
Color  single  reel  cartoons  on  hand,  expects 
a  lot  from  “Unknown  Blonde,”  the  latest 
Majestic  which  will  have  a  whale  of  an  ex¬ 
ploitation  campaign  behind.  .  Tony 

Lucchese  expects  a  lot  from  the  new  Nat 
Levine  1934-1935  serials.  .  .  .  “Sin  of  Nora 
Moran”  got  a  downtown  run  and  is  breaking 
in  the  neighborhoods  shortly.  .  .  Mean¬ 

while,  the  prosperity  three,  “You  Made  Me 
Love  You,”  “The  Morning  After”  and 
“Charming  Deceiver”  are  playing  around. 

HERB  GIVEN  has  added  a  new  series  of 
shorts.  .  .  .  He  has  acquired  distribution  of 
Frank  Seltzer’s  United  Newsreel  “Explorer” 
and  “Broadway  Gossip”  reels,  both  of  which 
receive  first  runs  everywhere.  .  .  .  Stanley- 
V  arner  and  Comerford  have  booked  them  solid, 
and  so  have  most  of  the  leading  circuits.  .  .  . 
In  addition,  he  has  also  acquired  a  new  featur- 
ette  that  has  made  movie  history.  .  .  .  “Dawn 
to  Dawn”  is  its  name,  and  its  runs  35  minutes. 

.  .  .  Coast  critics  acclaimed  it  and  it  received 
h'gh  praise  in  New  York  City.  .  .  .  Herb  is 
lining  up  a  big  campaign  for  it,  and  promises 
more  dope  on  it  in  the  future.  .  .  .  Watch  for 
further  details. 

A  VISITOR  on  the  street  recently  was 
Elias  N.  Coury,  who  is  interested  in  the 
Humphries-Coury  houses  in  Lansford.  .  .  . 

An  old  timer  and  in  the  business  since  it  first 
started,  he  visited  the  street  this  week  and 
booked  in  a  lot  of  shows.  .  Coury  is  glad 

to  be  back  in  the  whirl  again.  .  .  .He  is  one 

of  the  real  veterans  in  the  territory,  and 
interested  listeners  when  he  told  yarns  about 
the  time  he  was  selling  single  reels  for  the 
old  Pathe  company  many,  many  years  ago. 

.  .  The  trade  welcomes  him  back . 


OVER  AT  FIRST  DIVISION,  A1  Blofson, 
thrilled  because  he  has  acquired  distribution  of 
“Forgotten  Men”  here,  also  has  plenty  to  talk 
about  in  two  new  pictures  he  distributes.  .  .  . 
“Woman  Condemned”  and  “Under  Secret  Or¬ 
ders’  are  both  action  pictures  and  certain  to  get 
good  runs  everywhere.  .  .  .  “Young  Eagles” 
will  break  shortly.  .  .  .  It’s  the  new  serial.  .  .  . 
The  2nd  anniversary  drive  is  progressing.  .  .  . 
“Forgotten  Men,”  in  several  spots,  has  broken 
“Big  Drive”  records  and  is  a  natural  for  tie-ups. 
.  .  .  Blofson  also  expects  much  from  “Beg¬ 
gars  and  Ermine”  and  “Mystery  Ship,’"  two 
new  ones  from  Monogram,  as  well  as  from 
‘Cross  Streets,”  a  Chesterfield. 


Chip  Off  Block 


Edmund  Grainger 

associate  producer  at  Universal,  is  a  chip  off 
the  old  block.  While  Jimmy  Granger  sells 
Universal  all  over  the  country,  young  Ed 
produces  hit  pictures,  helps  keep  the  exhibi¬ 
tor  sold  on  Universal.  And  young  Ed  is 
making  good  with  a  vengeance,  having  de¬ 
livered  many  good  box  office  properties. 
The  two  he  is  now  handling  are  “Alias  the 
Deacon,”  with  Guy  Kibbee  and  “Frailty,” 
title  to  be  changed.  “Madame  Spy”  was 
under  his  supervision. 


EARLE  SWEIGERT  beaming  Paramount 
manager,  and  P.  A.  Bloch,  district  chief,  all 
smiles  because  of  the  way  office  is  traveling  in 
current  Victory  drive.  .  .  .  Earle  will  have  a 
birthday  soon,  expects  a  bicycle. 

WITH  POP  KORSON  on  a  trip,  Master¬ 
piece  seeks  to  establish  new  sales  records. 
.  .  .  “Dancing  Man”  is  in  the  house  now. 

Ed  Boreth  is  losing  weight,  working 
overtime.  .  Ben  Harris’  leg  is  better. 

He  pulled  his  tendon  the  other  night, 
but  it  is  normal  now.  .  Apex  Garage, 

which  gave  the  best  of  service  throughout 
the  winter  weather,  is  ready  to  take  care  of 
all  spring  demands. 


MANY  OF  THE  SALESMEN  who  went 
upstate  used  the  train.  .  .  .  The  snow  was  that 
bad.  .  .  .  Business  fell  off  everywhere. 

QUALITY  PREMIUM,  which  is  meeting 
all  orders  with  as  little  increase  as  possible, 
even  tho  costs  have  mounted  tremendously,  has 
some  nice  new  deals  ready  for  the  trade.  .  .  . 
Charlie  Goodwin  and  the  Mrs.  are  still  away. 
...  So  are  a  lot  of  other  film  folk. 

SIG  WITTMAN,  the  Universalite,  was  a 
visitor  in  town.  .  .  .  He  had  a  conference 

with  local  Universal  folk.  Frank 

McNamee,  the  Radio  chieftain,  hopped  into 
New  York  for  a  confab.  .  .  .  Auditor  Mac- 

Shea  paid  the  local  office  a  visit.  .  .  .  Charlie 
Zagrans  reports  success  with  his  upstate  legal 
tilt  on  behalf  of  RKO.  .  “Lost  Patrol” 

is  a  new  show  in  the  house,  with  “Spitfire” 
due  soon.  .  .  .  A1  Davis,  the  former  Foxite, 
is  back  on  the  local  scene  and  exhibs  all  glad 
to  hear  of  it. 


VIOLA  PORRECO  had  her  locks  shorn.  .  .  . 
Bobbed  now.  .  .  .  Hilda  Harris  letting  hers 
grow.  .  .  .  Dot  Caron  doing  plenty  of  knitting. 
.  .  .  Mrs.  Sara  Harris  plowed  through  the 
snow,  brought  sandwiches  to  husband  Ben. 

WARNERS  are  telling  all  accounts  not  to 
use  the  word  “Follies”  in  advertising  “Fash¬ 
ions  of  1934.”  .  .  .  They  might  use  “frolics” 
instead.  .  .  .  Salesman  Ben  Tolmas  up  high 
in  the  Fox  contest  ranks.  .  .  .  Local  branch 

hopped  to  6th.  .  .  When  A1  Davis  came 

back  to  the  local  Fox  office  he  was  welcomed 
by  a  lot  of  flowers,  from  employees,  home 
office,  etc.  .  Exhibitors  were  also  on 

hand  to  meet  him. 

CHIEF  TOPIC  of  conversation  was  the 
snow.  .  .  .  John  Golder,  at  Hollywood,  found 
plenty  to  talk  about  in  his  new  1  neup  of  Hoff¬ 
man  Liberty  pictures,  with  “Cheaters”  in  the 
house,  and  “When  Strangers  Meet”  and  “Take 
the  Stand”  coming  along.  ...  In  addition, 
"Found  Alive"  has  been  getting  plenty  of  book¬ 
ings  around  and  so  has  the  series  of  single  reel 
color  shorts.  .  .  .  “Woman  Afraid”  is  another 
feature  just  in  the  house.  .  .  .  The  new  Tom 
Tyler  westerns  are  also  on  hand.  .  .  .  The  local 
Warner  office  is  wondering  who  gets  what  in  the 
drive.  .  .  .  The  Go  (Id)  Getters  Drive.  .  .  . 
It  has  an  idea  it  won. 

CHARLIE  RICH,  formerly  a  salesman 
here,  is  now  Warner  branch  manager  in 
Pittsburgh.  .  .  .  He  -.sed  to  sell  for  Lou  Ber¬ 
man  here.  .  .  .  Berman,  incidentally,  is  back 
from  his  trip  and  going  ahead  full  speed. 

“BUD  ’N’  BEN”  series  as  well  as  the  Flash 
dog  pictures  are  drawing  much  attention  at 
Peerless,  Oscar  Neufeld  and  Bill  Heenan’s  ex¬ 
change.  .  .  .  “Shepherd  of  the  7  Hills”  is  an 
Easter  special  as  well.  .  .  .  The  General  Reg¬ 
ister  office,  with  Ray  Duport  in  charge,  is  a 
centre  of  exhibitor  attention,  with  a  fine  set  of 
new  machines  available  for  all  types  of  houses. 

HARRY  BODKIN,  the  tree  planter,  expects 
to  raise  a  nursery  when  his  UA  days  are 
over  decades  from  now.  .  .  .  Three  girls  in 

the  UA  office  are  wearing  green,  and  it 
isn’t  because  of  their  ancestry,  either. 

BECKETT’S  CIGAR  STORE  is  celebrating 
some  kind  of  an  anniversary.  .  There 

will  be  souvenirs.  .  .  .  Ask  about  it. 

ABOUT  TEN  of  the  Vine  Street  boys  who 
played  in  the  stud  poker  game  in  Scranton  still 
want  to  know  what  Harry  Speigel,  who  had 
four  3’s  in  his  hand  at  the  time  he  was  dealing, 
meant  when  he  said :  “Beat  it,7  when  he  drew  a 
fifth  card.  .  .  .  They  all  thought  a  fifth  3  might 
turn  up. 

C.  C.  PIPPIN  is  now  advance  man  for 
Captain  Hammond  and  his  eskimo  dogs.  .  .  . 
See  him  about  the  “Eskimo”  engagement. 
.  .  .  The  float  on  “Eskimo”  started  out  on 

the  Monday  it  snowed.  ...  It  was  a  nice 
float,  anyway.  .  .  .  Metro  has  added  a  serv¬ 

ice  for  exhibitors.  .  .  .  Exchange  now  mails, 
through  Horlacher,  a  press  sheet  on  all  pic¬ 
tures  as  soon  as  bookings  are  received.  .  .  . 
The  exchange  had  an  all-day  hunt  for  the 
tank  which  holds  the  oil  for  the  heating  sys¬ 
tem  the  other  day.  .  .  .  No  one  seemed  to 

where  it  could  be.  .  .  .  Finally,  Bob  Lynch 
found  it,  with  the  aid  of  the  employees. 


New  Records!  Grosses  Mounting  Daily! 


Ford  often 

Avetr 


DATE  IT  NOW!  From  FIRST  DIVISION 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Mar  1 T  34 


9 


Allied  Wins  Point  on  Legal  Rights 

of  Exhibitors  Signing  Trade  Code 


Deadline  for  Falling  in  Line  Extended  to  March  10 — Suit 
Against  Authority  Dropped — Interpretation  Puzzles 
Industry — Johnson  Explains 

An  exhibitor  signing  the  code  does  not  give  up  his  legal  rights,  the  deadline  for 
signing  is  March  10,  Allied  has  dropped  its  suit  against  the  Code  Authority. 


Those  Local  Appointments 

The  grievance  committee  for  the 
Philadelphia  territory  has  been  set,  but 
the  zoning  committee  is  a  headache. 

Objection  after  objection,  most  of 
them  as  silly  as  possible,  have  been 
hurled  at  names  of  honest,  reputable  ex¬ 
hibitors  suggested  for  the  post.  Dis¬ 
tributor  members  of  the  appointing  com¬ 
mittee  have  succeeded  in  keeping  off 
the  committee  prominent  exhibitors  who 
bear  the  respect  of  the  trade.  While 
distributors  have  been  stopping  exhibi¬ 
tor  members  from  getting  on,  exhibitors 
seem  to  have  no  right  to  object  to  pro¬ 
posed  distributor  and  circuit  representa¬ 
tives. 

The  trouble  rests  in  the  fact  that  in¬ 
stead  of  the  original  Code  Authority 
committee  members  appointing  the  local 
names,  alternates  have  been  at  work  and 
are  making  the  going  tough.  It  is  not 
the  intention  to  assert  here  that  those 
who  eventually  will  be  appointed  will 
not  possess  the  qualifications  to  make 
them  fair,  honest  committee  members, 
but  rather  to  decry  that  sort  of  appoint¬ 
ing  which  bars  honest  exhibitors  from 
the  boards  because  of  the  same  sort  of 
pettiness  that  has  been  a  scourge  to  this 
industry  since  it  began,  and  the  unusual 
length  of  time  in  doing  so. 

Regardless  of  the  committees’  makeup 
and  through  no  fault  of  theirs,  it  can  be 
said  definitely  that  the  code  or  code 
committees  will  not  bear  the  respect  of 
the  local  industry.  The  burden  of  proof 
will  be  upon  the  committees.  Exhibi¬ 
tors  from  this  territory  are  all  now 
from  Missouri;  they  will  have  to  be 
shown.  A  further  question  develops. 
How  fit  are  the  members  of  the  zoning 
board  with  knowledge  of  the  territory, 
as  to  the  situation  of  competing  theatres 
who  will  be  asking  for  protection  over 
one  another? 

J.  E. 

Warners  Hold  Trade 
Show  at  Boyd  March  4 

Exhibitors,  Film  Men  View  New 
Product 

Warner  Brothers  will  hold  an  advance 
showing  of  new  product  at  the  Boyd 
Theatre,  March  4. 

It  is  planned,  at  present  writing,  to  show  four 
pictures,  two  in  the  afternoon  and  two  in  the 
evening.  The  shows  will  be  selected  from 
“Journal  of  a  Crime,”  “Jimmy  the  Gent,” 
“Wonder  Bar,”  “As  the  Earth  Turns,”  “Harold 
Teen”  and  “Gambling  Lady.”1 

Tickets  are  now  being  distributed  to  the  trade 
by  the  local  exchange.  They  will  admit 
exhibitors. 


Film  Delivery  Units 
Keep  Right  on  Rolling 

Terrific  Cold,  Snow  Fail  to  Hold 
Up  Schedules 

The  film  delivery  services  are  still 
rolling  along. 

Whereas,  in  other  sections  of  the  east,  exhib¬ 
itors  had  to  close  up  because  their  shows  didn’t 
get  to  them  on  time,  the  local  units,  Horlacher 
Delivery  and  New  Jersey  Messenger,  got 
through  on  time,  kept  their  pledge  of  100% 
service. 

James  Clark,  guiding  executive  of  Horlach- 
er’s,  almost  caught  pneumonia  in  personally 
supervising  the  deliveries  of  that  company.  In 
Baltimore  on  business,  he  got  word  that  a  truck 
delivering  film  to  the  lower  end  of  Delaware 
was  having  trouble  getting  through  the  6  foot 
drifts.  Clark,  despite  the  fact  that  he  was  out¬ 
fitted  for  spring,  no  rubbers,  derby  and  light 
coat,  went  to  the  scene,  walked  two  miles  with 
film,  and  then  went  back  to  free  the  truck. 
The  film  got  through  okay  but  Clark  just 
averted  pneumonia.  He  was  in  bed  for  a  few 
days. 

In  all  parts  of  the  territory,  drivers  suffered 
frost-bites  and  colds  because  of  the  snow,  but 
the  film  got  through. 

Exhibitors  of  this  territory  are  extremely 
fortunate  in  having  the  finest  delivery  service 
in  the  east  at  their  disposal.  This  year  has  been 
a  tough  one  on  the  box  office,  but  the  delivery 
services  can  always  point  to  the  fact  that  they 
got  through  on  time. 

Myer  Adleman,  head  of  New  Jersey  Mes¬ 
senger,  worked  overtime  in  keeping  the  routes 
open.  He  finally  wound  up  this  week  by 
attaching  snow  plows  to  his  trucks  so  that  they 
could  get  through  to  Cape  May,  Ocean  City 
and  other  points.  In  many  places,  the  drifts 
were  higher  than  the  trucks. 

The  company  upheld  its  high  record,  with 
Adleman  on  the  job  every  minute.  All  Jersey 
accounts  were  served  and  got  their  shows  on 
time.  Adleman  says  it  was  the  worst  winter  the 
company  has  ever  had,  and  grateful  exhibs  are 
happy  to  have  been  served  by  him. 


The  showing  will  reveal  to  exhibitors  the  type 
of  product  the  near  future  will  bring  to  them. 
More  than  a  year  ago,  Warners  held  a  national 
trade  show,  which  was  most  successful. 

Manager  Bob  Mochrie  is  highly  enthusiastic 
over  the  affair  and  promises  that  the  pictures 
will  send  the  exhibitors  out  raving  about  the 
excellence  of  Warner  product. 


These  are  some  highlights  in  code  develop¬ 
ments  which  have  sought  to  make  the  picture 
more  topsy-turvy  than  it  ever  has  been. 

If  trade  members  have  a  legal  right  to  go  to 
court  following  decisions  of  local  boards,  what 
good  are  board  decisions,  the  trade  asks? 

Why  have  a  code,  if  redress  to  the  courts  will 
become  as  common  as  heretofore?  Why  have 
self-regulation  if  it  is  not  self  regulation? 

Allied  went  to  bat  on  the  qualification  issue, 
won  a  victory  when  General  Johnson,  in  his 
interpretation,  gave  an  inkling  as  to  the  legal 
rights  of  the  trade  following  the  Allied  suit 
against  the  Code  Authority. 

Interpretation 

For  tile  information  of  members  of  the  Motion  Picture 
Industry  with  respect  to  the  form  of  assent  distributed 
by  the  Code  Authority  of  the  Motion  Picture  Industry 
under  the  terms  of  Article  VI,  Part  2,  Section  8  of  the 
Code : 

1.  It  is  not  the  intent  or  purpose  of  Article  VI,  Part  2, 
Section  8,  of  the  code  that  any  member  of  the  indus¬ 
try  assenting'  to  the  code  on  the  forms  used  by  the 
Code  Authority  shall  thereby  waive  or  be  estopped 
from  setting  up  any  right  which  such  member  of  the 
industry  may  possess  under  general  or  statutory  law 
against  any  arbitrary,  oppressive,  injurious  and  unre- 
spons.ble  action  by  any  administrative  official  or 
agency  under  the  motion  picture  industry  code. 

2.  It  is  not  the  intent  or  purpose  of  such  article,  part 
or  section  of  the  code  that  any  member  so  assenting 

shall  be  precluded  or  estopped  from  seeking  amend¬ 
ments  to  or  modifications  of  said  code. 

3.  Members,  of  the  industry  not  assenting  to  the  code 
on  the  forms  above  mentioned  can  not  be  denied  any 
of  the  rights  and  remedies  afforded  bv  the  code  save 
only  that  they  will  not  enjoy  the  right  to  file  com¬ 
plaints  before  the  administrative  agencies  provided 
for  in  the  code.  Upon  acceptance  of  any  of  the  bene¬ 
fits  and  advantages  of  the  code,  such  members  of  the 
industry  may  be  assessed  a  reasonable  amount,  subject 
to  the  approval  of  the  administrator,  to  help  defray 
the  expenses  of  administering  the  code  but  not 
otherwise. 

4.  While  assent  on  the  form  above  mentioned  is  neces¬ 
sary  to  enable  a  member  of  the  industry  to  lodge 
protests  with  clearance  and  zoning  boards  and  to 
make  use  of  the  facilities  of  the  local  grievance 
boards,  nevertheless  such  assent  is  not  essential  to 
enable  any  member  of  the  industry  to  interpose  his 
defense  before  any  such  Board  if  he  so  desires  in  any 
matter  affecting  his  interest,  and  thereafter  to  prose¬ 
cute  any  and  all  appeals  therefrom  to  the  same 
extent  and  in  the  same  manner  as  a  member  assent¬ 
ing  on  the  form  above  mentioned. 

5.  The  statements  contained  herein  apply  with  respect 
to  the  execution,  either  heretofore  or  hereafter,  by 
any  member  of  the  form  of  assent  above  mentioned, 
and  all  such  assents  will  be  deemed  to  have  been 
executed  in  the  light  of  these  statements. 

HUGH  S.  JOHNSON, 

Administrator. 

APPROVED : 

DONALD  R.  RICHBERG, 

General  Counsel. 


Thrifty  Sales  Man ager 


A  sales  manager  of  a  big  company 
certainly  pays  attention  to  details.  A 
local  exchange  was  advised  this  week  by 
him  that  it  would  be  okay  to  keep  a 
certain  employee  on  the  payroll  but  it 
would  be  advisable  to  cut  the  salary 
50%.  The  employee  in  question  is  not 
overpaid  and  has  been  with  the  company 
12  years. 

It’s  a  great  example  of  brilliant  sales 
managership. 


10 


Mar  1 f  34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


“Magnesia” 


Word  As  Censor 


Board  Continues  Record 


Joins  “Nuts”  in  Opinion  of  State  Solons — Pennsylvanians 
Now  Immune  from  Patent  Medicine  Evil — Rivals  Other 
Decisions 

Page  the  American  Medical  Association — 

Page  the  druggists  of  America — 

Page  everybody — 

MAGNESIA  has  been  banned  by  the  Pennsylvania  State  Board  of  Censors. 


It  joins  the  now  generally  used  word  NUTS 
as  something  not  to  be  mentioned  in  films  seen 
by  the  people  of  Pennsylvania.  But,  at  that, 
NUTS  is  permissible  when  it  means  a  fruit,  or 
when  it  is  obvious  that  it  doesn’t  mean  anything 
but  NUTS  or  NERTS. 

So  MAGNESIA  stands  alone. 

This  sensational  bit  of  news  came  to  the  ears 
of  exhibitors  of  the  territory  when  it  was 
learned  that  the  censors  had  cut  out  mention  of 
the  popular  brand  of  patent  medicine  from  a 
scene  in  "It  Happened  One  Night."  During  the 
scene,  the  wife  awakens,  finds  out  one  of  the 
lovers  has  flown  the  coop  during  the  night, 
hurries  to  her  husband’s  bedside  to  tell  him, 
attributes  her  good  fortune  in  awakening  during 
the  wee  hours  to  the  fact  that  she  had  taken 
some  MAGNESIA. 

But  such  a  terr’ble  statement,  such  a  sem¬ 
blance  of  evil  won’t  come  to  the  ears  of 
Pennsylvania.  No  siree. 

Pennsylvanians  may  have  to  take  magnesia, 
they  may  have  to  read  the  ads  about  it,  they 
may  have  to  listen  to  it  over  the  radio,  but  on 
the  screen — wham,  zowie  and  pow — NO 
MAGNESIA. 

No  topic  in  recent  years  has  so  stirred  exhibi¬ 
tors. 

Is  the  censor  board  touchy  about  magnesia? 
Have  they  had  bad  stomachs?  Do  they  con¬ 
sider  it  commercial  advertising?  Is  such  a 
statement  offensive  to  the  lady  members  of  the 
board  ? 

These  were  the  questions  that  arose.  They 
remained  unanswered.  And  this  condition  will 
remain. 

It  wasn't  so  long  ago  that  NUTS  was  a 
horrid  word.  Now,  it  is  only  about  50%  horrid, 
with  NERTS  and  NUTS  creeping  into 
pictures. 

Knowledge  of  pharmacy  isn't  a  qualification 
for  membership  on  the  Pennsylvania  State 
Board  of  Censors.  In  fact,  most  people  don’t 
know  what  the  qualifications  are  to  become  a 
censor. 

The  trade  is  still  wondering.  The  public  still 
wonders.  Maybe  the  censors  themselves  still 
wonder. 

But  the  cutting  goes  on,  unheeded. 

And  from  the  censors  come  deletions,  slashes, 
along  the  same  lines  as  these  from  other  states. 

CROSS  COUNTRY  CRUISE — Eliminate  following  cap¬ 
italized  words  in  dialogue:  “I’m  trying  to  help  a  young 
girl  TURN  OVER  A  NEW  LEAF.”  Eliminate  capital¬ 
ized  words  in  following  toast:  “To  the  ladies — BOTTOMS 
UP.”  Also  eliminate  capitalized  words:  “Careful, 
friends,  remember  the  JOHNSTOWN  FLOOD.” 

DARK  HAZARD — Eliminate  following  dialogue  be¬ 
tween  Jim  and  former  mistress:  “Remember  that  time 
in  Louisville  when  my  nightgown  caught  on  fire?” 
“I  didn’t  get  it  off  you  in  time.”  Eliminate  following 


dialogue  which  occurs  when  Jim  leaves  former  mistress 
when  she  makes  amorous  advances:  “Well,  anyhow,  this 
is  the  first  time  I  disappointed  you.” 

FUGITIVE  LOVERS — Eliminate  capitalized  words  in 
following  dialogue:  “He’ll  give  you  anything  you  want.” 
“YES,  AND  I’LL  HAVE  TO  GIVE  HIM  ANYTHING  HE 
WANTS.” 

HI,  NELLIE — Eliminate  word  “Guts”  wherever  it 
occurs. 

FASHIONS — Eliminate  scene  in  which  Nash  smacks 
spurious  grand  duchess  on  the  posterior  after  making 
the  following  remark:  “But,  Mabel,  I  never  forget  a 
personality.”  (This  elimination  does  not  include  remark.) 
El  minate  all  close  up  scenes  of  almost  naked  girls. 
Eliminate  scene  in  which  camera  pans  from  feet  of 
almost  naked  girl  on  up  to  her  head.  In  following  dia¬ 
logue,  eliminate  capitalized  words:  “Yes,  birthmarks, 
Mabel  had  one,  oh  yes,  indeed.  She  had  the  cutest 
little  strawberry  mark  IN  THE  MOST  UNUSUAL  AND — 
ER — INTERESTING  LOCATION.” 

HIPS,  HIPS,  HOORAY — Eliminate  that  portion  of 
scene  which  shows  Thelma  Todd  as  she  pulls  out  por- 
t  cn  of  Woolsey’s  underwear. 

I  LIKE  IT  THAT  WAY — Eliminate  capitalized  words 
in  following  dialogue:  “You’re  not  so  bad.”  “Y^EAH, 
AND  WHEN  I  AM  BAD — I’M  GOOD.”  Also  eliminate 
capitalized  words  as  follows:  “He’s  still  fiddling  around?” 
“HUMPH!  AND  WITH  FEELING!” 

MADAME  SPY — Eliminate  following  remark  made  by 
check  girl  at  restaurant:  “There  was  a  time  when  a  girl 
could  get  a  coat  like  that  working  a  little  cvertime.” 

MOULIN  ROUGE — Eliminate  the  following  words: 
“IT’S  DAY  AND  NIGHT  WORK,  TOO.” 

MANDALAY — Eliminate  scene  showing  Kay  Francis 
as  she  disrobes  before  dressing  to  go  with  Cortez  to 
go  ashore?” 

PA  LOOK  A — Eliminate  following  suggestive  remark 
made  by  manicurist  to  Joe:  “Come  up  to  my  room  some¬ 
time.”  Eliminate  capitalized  words  in  following  dia¬ 
logue  when  French  valet  keeps  saving  “Oui,  oui”:  “Will 
you  stop  WEE  WEEING  ALL  OVER  THE  JOINT?” 
Eliminate  following  remark  made  by  girl  as  she  walks 
by  Joe’s  mother,  wiggling  her  hips  suggestively :  “I’ve 
got  what  it  takes  to  hold  him.” 

QUEEN  CHRISTINA — Eliminate  following  capitalized 
words:  “  like  your  Lordship,  IT’S  A  COLD  NIGHT 

TO  BE  ALONE  that’s  certain.  I  could  find  Your  Lord- 
ship  some  good  company.  IF  YOU’RE  IN  THE  MOOD.” 
Eliminate  words:  “The  master  says  you’re  to  have 
everything  you  need.”  Eliminate  shots  showing  Chris¬ 
tina  as  she  crosses  and  stands  by  bed,  lies  down  on  bed, 
lying  on  bed,  etc.  May  leave  where  she  goes  to  wall 
and  stands  by  painting.  May  also  leave  scene  of  Antonio 
seated  on  floor,  etc. 

SIX  OF  A  KIND — In  following  conversation  between 
Charles  Ruggles  and  his  wife,  eliminate  capitalized 
words:  “An  hour.”  “Half  an  hour.”  “OR  EVEN  IF 
MINUTES.”  Eliminate  flash  showing  chamber  pot. 

ESKIMO — Eliminate  capitalized  word  in  dialogue: 
“She’s  going  to  stay  here  TONIGHT.”  Eliminate  all 
views  of  Eskimo  woman,  intoxicated,  lying  on  couch, 
and  man’s  hands  fingering  beads.  Eliminate  views  on 
ship  of  white  man  carrying  Eskimo  woman  through 
hatchway.  Shorten  to  flash  scene  where  captain  is 
forcing  Aba  to  drink.  Eliminate  scene  where  captain 
carries  Mala’s  wife  through  hatchway.  Eliminate  scene 
where  captain  is  shown  lying  in  bunk  as  Aba  leaves 
cabin. 

FOUR  FRIGHTENED  PEOPLE  (Second  Order  On 
Appeal) — Eliminate  words:  “Have  you  thought  of  the 
night  ?”  “You  don’t  affect  us  he-men  like  that.”  Elim¬ 
inate  front  view  of  nude  woman  (full  length)  in  water¬ 
fall.  Eliminate  all  views  of  man  approaching  nude  girl 
under  waterfall,  and  all  scenes  where  he  carries  her  off, 
and  words:  “You're  beautiful.”  Eliminate  words  spoken 
by  woman  to  man :  “  As  long  as  you  can,”  in 

reference  tc  protecting  girl.  Eliminate  words:  “Just  the 
animal.” 

NANA — Eliminate  words  spoken  by  Greiner  to  Nana: 
“You  alley  cat.”  Eliminate  capitalized  words  spoken 
bv  Greiner  to  Nana:  “On  a  park  bench  WHERE  YOUR 
REVENUE  IS  ASSURED.” 


Business  Off 

Bu  siness  took  a  decided  drop  when 
biggest  snow  in  a  century  hit  the  terri¬ 
tory. 

Locally,  S-W  felt  it,  with  downtown 
houses  bearing  the  brunt  when  trans¬ 
portation  facilities  were  crippled.  Cir¬ 
cuit,  however,  expects  to  benefit  when 
current  downtown  shows  hit  the  nabes 
later  on. 

DeFiore  Plans  Fight 
Against  Block  Booking 

Will  Line  Up  Sentiment  in  All 
Parts  of  Territory 

A.  ).  DeFiori,  manager,  Park,  Wil¬ 
mington,  and  president,  Independent 
Motion  Picture  Theatre  Owners  of  Dela¬ 
ware  and  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Maryland, 
is  preparing  to  try  to  line  up  his  organi¬ 
zation  and  public  sentiment  of  the  terri¬ 
tory  it  represents  against  block  booking. 

DeFiori  declares  that  he  intends  to  bring 
the  matter  before  the  association  at  the  next 
meeting.  In  the  meantime  he  expects  to  try  to 
sway  as  many  women  and  civic  orgamzations 
as  possible  in  Wilmington.  Fie  does  expect  to 
obtain  solid  support  of  the  Wilmington  inde¬ 
pendents  as  well  as  those  of  the  thirty  or  more 
theatre  managers  of  the  peninsula. 

"Why  should  we  be  obliged  to  take  films  that 
we  not  only  do  not  want  to  show"  said  DeFiori, 
“but  wh:ch  would  hurt  the  reputation  of  our 
houses  if  we  did  show  them?  Many  smart  club 
women  are  familiar  with  this  situation  and  are 
gradually  getting  the  idea  across  to  the  public, 
but  it  is  not  going  over  fast  enough.  What  is 
needed  is  concerted  action  everywhere,  and  I 
for  one  am  go:ng  to  try  to  get  it  in  Wilming¬ 
ton  and  on  the  Del-Mar-Va  peninsula.’’ 

New  General  Register 

General  Register  announces  its  Model  “C” 
ticket  issuing  machine,  des’gned  especially  for 
small  theatres,  fairs,  carnivals  and  so  forth. 
New  machine  is  built  so  that  it  can  be  either 
set  flush  in  the  counter  or  set  on  top  of  the 
counter  and  be  moved  at  will.  It  has  a  very 
handsome  bronze  cabinet  and  will  add  luster  to 
its  surroundings. 

Th;s  machine  gives  the  theatre  owner  the 
same  protection  as  does  the  more  expensive 
electrically  operated  machine.  Each  ticket  is 
safe  under  lock  and  key  and  as  it  issues  the 
ticket  the  machine  automatically  records  the 
issuance  of  each  ticket. 

Machine,  according  to  Percy  Phillipson, 
pres:dent.  General  Register  Corporation,  is  but 
the  forerunner  of  a  large  number  of  new  ticket 
issuing  machines  that  will  be  of  material  bene¬ 
fit  and  help  to  theatre  owners  both  large  and 
small. 


V 


> 


WAR 


clouds  darkening 
the  world  demand 
the  re-release 

a  NOW 

of- 


ALL  QUIET 
ON  THE 
WESTERN 
FRONT 


Another  stroke  of 

Salesmanship  by 


UNIVERSAL 


Mar  1*34  pg.  12 


The  Cream  of  the  Independent  Market  I 


// 


DANCING  MAN 


// 


with 

JUDITH  ALLEN 

(Courtesy  of  Paramount  Pictures) 

REGINALD  DENNY  »  EDWIN  MAXWELL 
NATALIE  MOORHEAD 

Lavishly  Set  Adequately  Directed 

An  Exploitable  Title 


// 


Wine,  Women  aA  Song 


w 


ith 


LILYAN  TASHMAN 

LEW  CODY  BOBBY  ARNST 

Directed  by  Herbert  Brenon 

The  Title  and  Cast  alone  will  drag  'em  in  .  .  .  The  picture 
will  keep  them  there 


Current  Helenses: 

"Back  Page"  with  Peggy  Shannon/  Edwin  Maxwell.  //What/s  Your  Racket"  with 
Regis  Toomey  and  Noel  Francis.  "  Neighbor's  Wives"  with  Dorothy  Mackaill  and 
Tom  Moore.  "Secret  Sinners"  with  Sue  Carol  and  Nick  Stuart.  "Her  Forgotten 
Past"  with  Monte  Blue/  Barbara  Kent  an  d  H.  B.  Walthall. 

And  Westerns: 


u 


Fighting  Cowboy",  "Lightning  Ranger",  "Rawhide  Romance",  "Circle 
Cowboy",  "Lightnin'  Bill"  and  "Boss  Cowboy"  with  the  leading  cowboy  and 
action  stars. 

MASTERPIECE  FILM  ATTRACTIONS,  Inc. 

L.  KORSON/  Proprietor 

1329  Vine  Street  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Mar  1  ’  34 


13 


M.P.T.O.A.  Los 
Be  Meeting 


Angeles  Convention  to 
of  All  Industry  Divisions 


Fete  to  Dowling 


Film  men  are  expected  to  attend  the 
testimonial  dinner  to  Eddie  Dowling 
April  4  in  this  city. 

Dinner  will  be  given  by  his  friends 
and  leading  Democrats,  in  recognition  of 
his  services. 

M.  E.  Comerford  and  Frank  Walker 
expected  to  be  present. 


Binns  Writes  from 
Warner  China  Post 

Tells  of  Trade  in  Far  Corner — 
Peculiar  Angles 


Ralph  E.  Binns,  for  many  years  a  Vine 
Streeter,  and  formerly  Warner  branch 
manager  here,  is  making  good  in  China 
with  Warner  Brothers. 

In  a  letter,  recently  received,  he  gives  a  brief 
picture  of  some  of  the  difficulties  in  exchange 
operation  there.  It  will  interest  everyone. 

It  follows : 

Dear  Jay : 

On  at  least  half  a  dozen  different  occasions  I  have 
intended  writing-  you,  but  it  seems  that  on  every  occasion 
something  cropped  up  to  prevent  getting  a  letter  off  to 
you,  bujj  I  can  assure  you  that  I  have  thought  of  you, 
and  many  of  the  others  boys  frequently  during  my  hectic 
ten  weeks  in  Shanghai.  The  things  are  now  starting 
to  go  a  little  more  smoothly  with  much  of  the  detail 
work  already  taken  care  of. 

You  can  very  well  appreciate  some  of  the  tribula¬ 
tions  which  any  new  man  would  have,  coming  to  a 
foreign  country  like  China  where  the  company  had 
never  operated  an  office  previously.  First  it  meant  secur¬ 
ing  of  the  office  quarters,  which  in  this  instance  was 
not  so  easy  because  of  the  very  stringent  fire  regula¬ 
tion  regarding  the  storage  of  motion  pictures,  and  there 
are  only  two  buildings  in  Shanghai  that  house  film 
companies,  and  the  vaults  in  these  buildings  must  be 
located  on  the  top  of  the  roof.  New  York  City  fire 
regulation  covering  motion  pictures  is  applied  here 
with  some  modifications  and  additions.  However,  we 
were  fortunate  enough  to  secure  splendid  quarters  with 
one  large  vault.  After  signing  our  lease,  we  had  a  lot 
of  alterations  to  make  as  our  office  was  one  large  room 
approximately  1500  square  feet.  We  had  to  build  par¬ 
titions  and  counters,  but  the  main  work  was  in  laying 
a  composition  floor.  When  I  tell  you  that  our  office  will 
compare  favorably  with  any  of  the  Film  Offices  in 
Philadelphia  or  Washington  of  the  same  size,  you  can 
appreciate  that  we  are  quite  comfortable.  Then  it  was 
necessary  to  hire  personnel,  order  furniture,  typewriter, 
and  all  other  equipment  necessary  to  operate  an  office 
efficiently,  then  came  one  of  the  main  headaches,  and 
that  was  in  making  up  office  forms  to  cover  the  routine 
of  our  business.  A  great  many  of  these  in  use  in 
America  did  not  meet  with  conditions  here,  so  these  were 
modified  or  discarded  entirely.  Several  whole  days  were 
spent  in  making  up  a  contract  to  meet  local  needs,  but 
I  am  happy  to  say  that  practically  all  of  this  has  passed, 
and  from  now  on  our  attention  will  be  devoted  to  getting 
the  dough. 

I  know  you  would  be  amazed  if  you  were  to  see  some 
of  the  fine  modern  theatres  in  Shanghai,  while  T  do  not 
think  that  they  are  anything  to  compare  with  the 
“Boyd”  or  the  “Stanley”  T  can  assure  you  that  there 
are  theatres  in  Shanghai  that  are  finer  than  the  “Stan¬ 
ton”  or  the  “Earle,”  and  the  grosses  in  some  of  these 
theatres  run  as  high  as  $30,000.00  (Mex.)  a  week  on 
an  outstanding  picture. 

I  found  this  venture  in  the  Far  East  extremely  inter¬ 
esting  and  I  know  you  would  get  a  great  kick  out  of 
seeing  some  of  the  things  that  transpire  here  in  con¬ 
nection  with  the  industry. 

You  may  be  surprised  to  learn  that  I  read  THE 
EXHIBITOR  at  this  distant  point,  and  perhaps  I  repre- 
qpnt  the  most  distant  reader  you  have,  although  I  quite 
appreciate  the  fine  qualities  of  your  magazine  which 
deserves  to  be  read  clear  around  the  world.  After  I 
fin  sh  with  my  copy,  I  turn  it  over  to  Beverly  Griffith, 


Plan  Attendance  from  Every  Branch — Dates  Set  for 
April  10-11-12 — Special  Rates  Arranged — Gala  Turn¬ 
out  Expected 


The  1934  meeting  of  the  M.  P.  T.  O.  A.,  scheduled  for  Los  Angeles,  April 
10-11-12.  will  he  a  Catherine  of  all  divisions  of  the  industry. 


On  a  Trip 


Louis  “Pop”  Korson 

President  of  Masterpiece  exchange  is  at 
present  on  a  trip  to  parts  unknown,  resting 
from  his  arduous  duties  directing  the  ex¬ 
change.  He  plans  a  big  announcement  on 
his  return. 


Berwick  Fire 

Palace  Theatre,  Berwick,  was  destroyed  by 
fire  this  week  witli  $30,000  loss. 

Flames  that  started  near  the  stage  were 
discovered  by  a  policeman,  and  firemen  had  ex¬ 
treme  difficulty  battling  the  flames  because  of 
the  snowstorm. 


who  is  here  representing  Fox  Film,  and  I  know  Bev¬ 
erly  gets  a  great  kick  out  of  it.  same  as  I  do. 

If  you  get  a  minute,  drop  me  a  line  telling  me  just 
how  things  are  going  with  you  at  the  theatre,  as  well  as 
with  your  papers.  With  this  salutation  I  shall  sign  off, 
and  with  kind  personal  regards,  I  remain  your  China 
correspondent. 

Sincerely, 

RALPH  E.  BINNS. 


Better  Product  Seen 

Improvement  in  current  product  is 
easily  seen  from  a  survey  of  recent 
Hollywood  productions  completed. 

Exhibs  who  have  been  bucking  the 
cold  weather  probably  will  disagree,  but 
within  the  next  few  weeks  some  saleable 
and  dough  shows  will  be  circulating. 

No  doubt  that  there  has  been  plenty 
of  money  lost  recently,  but  the  appetite 
of  the  movie  fans  should  make  up  for  it 
when  the  weather  breaks.  Meanwhile, 
exhibitors  can  be  assured  that  pictures 
will  be  better. 


Official  announcement  came  last  week  from 
Tony  Muto,  who  is  the  recognized  representa¬ 
tive  of  Ed  Kuykendahl,  president,  M.  P.  T.  O. 
A.,  in  handling  pre-convention  details. 

The  convention,  open  to  all  branches  of  the 
industry,  will  concentrate  on  a  review  of  the 
operation  of  the  code  and  enable  exhibitors  to 
visit  the  studios  and  see  what  is  in  the  making. 
Contact  between  exhibitor  and  production 
branches  is  expected  to  prove  of  benefit  to  all 
concerned,  with  complete  co-operation  of  all 
production  divisions  already  assumed. 

Local  units  will  co-operate  to  help  filll  the 
special  trains,  at  reduced  rates,  with  de  luxe 
equipment,  promised  by  all  lines  contacted. 
Representatives  of  women’s  clubs,  etc.,  will  be 
invited. 

Other  details  will  be  announced  later.  Pre¬ 
convention  indications  are  for  a  gala  turnout. 

The  Ambassador  will  be  M.  P.  T.  O.  A. 
headquarters  during  the  sessions. 


Suit  Rehearing  Asked 

Vitaphone  Corporation  in  its  renewed  attempt 
to  have  the  courts  of  Delaware  pass  on  its 
claims,  running  into  millions  against  Electrical 
Research  Products,  Inc.,  instead  of  leaving  it 
with  a  New  York  arbitration  committee,  asks 
the  State  Supreme  Court  of  Delaware  for  a 
rehearing  of  the  issue  on  constitutional  grounds. 

Former  Judge  Hugh  M.  Morris,  counsel  for 
Vitaphone,  questions  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Supreme  Court  in  the  matter  receiving  appeals 
from  the  Court  of  Chancery  “upon  other  than 
final  decrees.'’  Argument  was  heard  at  Dover 
after  the  Supreme  Court  reversed  the  Chancery 
Court's  ruling  in  the  case.  The  higher  court 
ruled  that  Chief  Justice  James  Pennewill,  sit¬ 
ting  as  chancellor,  had  erred  in  ruling  that 
Vitaphone  had  a  right  to  sue  ERPI  in  the 
Delaware  courts  on  claims  involving  millions 
of  dollars  over  an  alleged  agreement  on  terms 
of  leasing  and  replacement  charges  for  sound 
systems,  and  that  the  matter  should  be  returned 
to  the  arbitration  board  in  New  York  as  orig¬ 
inally  agreed  upon. 


Warners  Answer 

Warner  Bros.  Theatres,  Inc.,  filed  in  Berks 
County  Courts,  Reading,  an  answer  to  the  suit 
of  Triangle  Enterprises,  Inc.,  an  amusements 
company,  which  had  claimed  $7,861.25.  Answer 
denies  the  validity  of  the  claim,  which  asserted 
that  the  Warners  had  failed  to  deliver  certain 
stock  for  four  Reading  Theatres,  with  the  result 
that  when  the  stock  market  declined  a  loss  was 
sustained.  Warners’  reply  says  the  stock  could 
have  been  sold  without  loss,  according  to  market 
quotations  at  the  time.  Charles  H.  Weidner, 
the  law  firm  of  Stevens  &  Lee,  Reading,  repre¬ 
sents  Warners. 


14 


Mar  1’34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Variety  Club  Hinted 


Prominent  Vine  Streeters  are  reported 
forming  a  Variety  Club  for  this  terri¬ 
tory. 

Club,  which  would  be  a  local  link  in 
a  national  hookup,  would  include  mem¬ 
bers  of  all  branches  of  the  theatrical 
professions,  have  club  rooms,  etc. 

Local  movie  industry  has  had  clubs 
in  the  past,  most  of  which  have  folded, 
but  Variety  organizers  maintain  this  one 
will  be  different. 


Heard  In' 


C 


ROSSTOWN 

“Nana”  Opening 
Big  News 


OPENING  of  “Nana”  promised  to  be  a  big 
event.  .  .  .  Samuel  Goldwyn  was  expected 
for  the  first  show  at  the  Aldine  . 
Dailies  all  got  breaks  when  big  copy, 
plugging  star,  was  used.  .  .  .  Lou  Krouse 

a  visitor  in  town.  .  .  .  The  assistant  to  the 
president  of  the  I.  A.  T.  S.  E.  spends  four  days 
in  Washington  each  week.  .  .  .  Death  of 

Emmett  Welch  was  mourned  by  the  trade.  .  .  . 
He  was  well  known  to  everyone  in  the  indus¬ 
try  and  will  be  remembered  as  one  of  the  great¬ 
est  minstrels  of  all  time. 

S.  E.  TOTH  interested  in  the  reopened 
Little  or  Vogue  or  what  have  you.  .  .  .  Non- 
amaker  associated  as  advertising  counsel.  .  .  . 
Moe  Verbin  all  smiles  because  of  Europa’s 
“Forgotten  Man,”  but  a  bit  put  out  because 
“Devil  Tiger”  was  pulled  on  him  after  he 
had  advertised  it  for  two  weeks.  .  .  .  Fox 

will  play  it  instead.  .  .  .  “Hold  That  Girl” 

passed  up  local  Fox.  .  .  .  House  has  the 

lowest  scale,  for  the  entertainment  offered, 
of  any  downtown  house,  in  the  early  hours. 
.  .  .  Captain  Hammond,  who  is  working  the 

territory  with  “Eskimo,”  got  a  publicity 
break  when  he  visited  the  local  Franklin  In¬ 
stitute,  said  it  was  colder  here  than  in 
Alaska. 

VOGUE  THEATRE  opened  up  again  with 
"Pagliacci,1’  Italian  film.  .  .  .  House  will 

stay  open  with  foreign  pictures  for  a  spell.  .  .  . 
Divorce  suit  of  Evelyn  Stiefel  against  Samuel 
Stiefel  was  filed  recently. 

NEW  AD  HANDLING  of  Stanley-Warner 
subsequent  runs  downtown,  such  as  the  Victoria 
and  Palace,  is  a  better  idea.  .  .  .  Houses  get 
more  attention,  as  well  as  a  billboard  display. 
.  .  .  Apparently  company  works  on  the  belief 
that  plenty  of  people  care  enough  about  the 
pictures  to  come  downtown  at  a  cheaper  tariff. 
.  .  .  Also,  for  first  runs  on  that  side  of  City 
Hall,  company  has  been  using  increased  space  in 
dailies.  .  .  .  “Last  Roundup'1’  was  example  of 
that. 


Local  Veterans  and  Legion  Co-operation! 


DATE  IT  NOW!  From  FIRST  DIVISION 


“Mystery  Liner ”  Has  a  Mystery  Air 


Cornelius  Keefe,  Astrid  Allyn,  Noah  Beery,  Gustav  Van  Seyferrtitz  are  current  in  the 

Monogram  release. 


THE  BOYS  who  were  there  (50)  are  still 
talking  about  the  Blumberg  bachelor  party  held 
at  a  local  hotel  last  weekend.  .  .  .  And  the 
gentlemen  present  had  a  whale  of  a  time.  .  .  . 
Dave  Starkman  is  now  handling  the  Blackwood, 
N.  J.,  house.  .  .  .  Clifford  and  Flynn  have 
the  Legion,  White  Haven.  .  .  .  Warren  John¬ 
son  has  the  Watsontown  Lyceum.  .  .  .  Had- 
don  Amusement  Company  has  the  Audubon, 
N.  J.,  Highland.  .  .  .  Abe  Rovner  is  inter¬ 
ested  in  the  Penn  Amusement  Company  which 
has  the  Colonial  Theatre  at  Aspen  and  Lan¬ 
caster.  .  .  .  Pearl  is  reported  opening.  .  .  . 
Lincolnite  Slatko  reported  interested.  .  .  . 

New  Allen,  Allentown,  closed.  ...  A  few 
others,  also. 

'  WILLIAM  P.  MONTAGUE,  assignment 
editor,  Paramount  newsreel,  who  has  faced 
innumerable  breath-taking  situations  in  the 
course  of  his  career,  faced  another  as  guest 
speaker  of  the  Philadelphia  Motion  Picture 
Forum. 

FOX  THEATRE  has  been  having  lobby 
and  mezzanine  exhibition.  .  Met  went 

in  for  a  “Crazy  Show,”  has  been  using 
plenty  of  daily  space. 

HOWARD  AMOS  now  managing  the  Stan¬ 
ley-Warner  Strand.  Pottstown.  .  .  .  New¬ 

comer.  .  .  .  Zone  Manager  Schlesinger  all  re¬ 
covered  from  recent  illness  and  speeding  on  men 
full  blast.  .  .  .  Plenty  of  spirit  in  the  ranks 
and  chain  did  its  best  to  overcome  winter  blasts 


WARNERS’  music  department  has  taken 
over  sheet  sale  department  in  McCrory’s.  .  .  . 
Local  representative  of  home  office  was  in  town 
to  help  handle  matters. 

THE  RESNICK-OPERATED  CAYUGA 
is  now  spic  and  span,  with  a  complete  Dave 
Supowitz  remodelling,  including  the  interior  of 
the  theatre,  rest  rooms,  etc.,  as  well.  .  .  .  House 
looks  totally  different. 

BARNEY  COHEN  tells  this  one  on  a  rival 
manager  who  wanted  to  know  why  business  at 
Cohen’s  house  was  so  good  at  the  9  P.  M.  show. 
.  .  .  Barney  said  he  tied  up  with  the  churches 
in  the  neighborhood,  distributed  2-for-l's  for 
the  9  P.  M.  .  .  .  When  church  let  out  he 
claims  he  had  a  sandwich  man  walk  up  and 
down  the  street,  carrying  a  sign,  “Follow  Me 
to  the  Benson.”  .  .  .  The  rival  manager  grew 
incensed,  told  Barney  he  would  report  him  to 
the  NRA  for  violation  of  the  code.  .  .  .  And 
he  never  knew  that  it  was  all  a  gag,  one  of 
Barney’s  gags.  .  .  .  Ex-exhib  Zizick  was  stop¬ 
ped  by  robbers,  lost  $500. 

TEN  YEARS  AGO.  .  .  .  Several  local  inde 
exchanges,  Masterpiece,  DeLuxe  and  20th  Cen¬ 
tury,  combined  in  Washington  distribution.  .  .  . 
Jesse  Lasky  and  Adolph  Zukor  attended  an 
opening  of  “Ten  Commandments.”  .  .  .  Film 
Board  acted  to  stop  wholesale  film  thefts.  .  .  . 
A  testimonial  dinner  was  given  to  Doc  Schad. 
.  .  .  A1  Fisher  joined  Vitagraph.  .  .  .  Earle 
Theatre  opened.  .  .  .  Chestnut  Hill  Theatre 
was  damaged  by  a  blast. 


Ralph  Bellamy  and  Shirley  Grey  may  be  seen  in  the  Columbia  show. 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Mar  1'34 


15 


A  Concise 
National  Survey 

TRADE  IN  REVIEW  - 

Glances  Outside 
the  Territory 

f  — -i- 

CODE 

Code  Signatures 
Approach  10,000  Mark 

Signatures  to  the  code  will  top  the  10,000 
mark  when  all  are  in,  belief  has  been  in  code 
headquarters.  Dribbling  in  daily,  they  show 
that  a  lot  of  houses  must  be  closed  or  else  the 
code  call  falls  on  non-hearing  ears. 

Cancellation 
Ruling  Holds 

Ruling  by  Deputy  Administrator  Sol  A.  Ros¬ 
enblatt  to  the  effect  that  the  cancellation  clause 
becomes  effective  with  pictures  released  after 
December  7  stands,  according  to  the  NRA, 
Washington.  The  NRA  ruled  his  word  was 
final. 

Operators  Basis 
Set  as  of  August  23 

Basis  for  salaries  to  be  paid  operators  has 
been  definitely  set  as  of  August  23,  1933.  Ex¬ 
hibitors  must  pay  that  scale  to  operators, 
according  to  a  recent  ruling. 

Code  Authority  Meets 
In  Washington,  March  5-8 

The  Code  Authority  for  this  and  other  indus¬ 
tries  meets  in  Washington  March  5-8.  Those 
present  will  probably  hear  General  Johnson  talk 
on  various  matters,  the  32  hour  week,  more 
work  to  be  done. 

Deadline  for  Signatures 
Ends  March  10 

Deadline  for  signatures  to  the  code  ends 
March  10.  After  that  time,  none  will  be 
accepted,  with  anyone  outside  the  fold  unable  to 
get  its  benefits. 

Board  Announcements 
No  Great  Sensation 

Announcement  of  the  members  of  local  clear¬ 
ance  and  grievance  boards  provoked  no  decided 
disturbance.  Observers  attributed  this  to  lack 
of  interest  on  the  part  of  exhibitors  until  the 
boards  begin  to  function.  Looking  ahead,  many 
cases  lay  in  waiting,  chiefly  regarding  overbuy¬ 
ing  of  pictures,  prior  advertising,  etc. 


PRODUCTION 

RKO  Makes  Changes 
In  Executive  Setup 

J.  R.  McDonough  is  president  of  RKO 
Radio ;  B.  B.  Kahane  president  of  RKO 
Studios;  Ned  Depinet  president  of  RKO  Dis¬ 
tributing  Corporation ;  Merian  Cooper  vice- 
president  in  charge  of  production ;  Pandro 
Berman  an  executive  producer  following 
changes  in  Radio  ranks.  The  new  setup  is 
not  surprising,  except  that  Merian  Cooper 
stayed  as  production  chief,  with  B.  B.  Kahane 
overseeing. 


Warners  Hold 
Trade  Show  March  6 

Warner  Brothers,  picking  up  an  idea  they 
inaugurated  nearly  two  years  ago,  plan  trade- 
shows  of  six  pictures  March  6.  "Wonder  Bar,” 
“As  the  Earth  Turns,”  “Journal  of  a  Crime,” 
“Harold  Teen,”  “Jimmy,  the  Gent,"  “Gambling 
Lady”  comprise  the  sextet. 

Samuel  Goldwyn 
to  Harvard 

The  industry  was  thrilled  to  hear  of  the  visit 
of  Samuel  Goldwyn  to  Harvard,  to  be  a  lunch¬ 
eon  guest  and  meet  the  faculty.  The  trade's 
chief  anecdote-builder-arounder  made  quite  an 
impression. 

Pettijohn  Scores 
Block  Booking  Blind 

C.  C.  Pettijohn  took  a  crack  at  professional 
agitators  who  use  block  booking  as  a  smoke 
screen  to  hide  their  attempts  to  impose  political 
censorship  on  the  film  industry,  in  an  address 
before  the  New  Haven  Bar  Association.  The 
Hays  general  counsel  flayed  the  agitators,  gen¬ 
erally. 

Inde  Producers 
Assess  Members 

Independent  producers  are  planning  a  $10  a 
reel  negative  charge  plus  a  small  per  reel  posi¬ 
tive  charge  to  finance  activities  of  the  Federa¬ 
tion  of  the  Motion  Picture  Industry.  Harry  H. 
Thomas,  president,  plans  an  active  season  for 
the  body. 

Story  On  Salaries 
Causes  Big  Stir 

Samuel  Goldwyn,  producer,  contributed  an 
article  on  stars’  salaries,  caused  quite  a  stir  in 
the  trade.  Some  studios  are  said  to  have  pro¬ 
tested.  Goldwyn,  who  defends  high  salaries  for 
stars  who  are  worth  them,  indicated  that  stars 
only  last  about  five  years  (peak)  and  their  in¬ 
come  should  be  pro-rated. 

Film  Daily  Survey 
Sees  Production  Ahead 

Survey  by  the  Film  Daily  sees  coast  produc¬ 
tion  from  one  to  three  months  ahead  of  sched¬ 
ule.  Warners  are  three  months  ahead ;  RKO 
will  be  completed  in  June ;  Fox  winds  up  the  end 
of  April;  Paramount  is  15  days  ahead;  Colum¬ 
bia  will  be  completed  in  August;  L’niversal  is 
a  month  ahead ;  LTnited  Artists  is  practically 
finished. 


Every  Newspaper  is  carrying  war  stills  from 


f  Ford  ot  teii 
Men  ♦ 


DATE  IT  NOW!  From  FIRST  DIVISION 


Producers  Buy 
Broadway  Plays 

Producers  have  been  buying  Broadway  plays 
right  and  left.  Regardless  of  whether  or  not 
shows  are  of  hit;  calibre,  many  have  been  sold. 
Paramount,  Metro,  RKO  have  been  leaders, 
with  many  a  flop  included  in  the  list.  Observ¬ 
ers  see  ability  to  control  production  cost  in 
adaptation  of  a  stage  offering. 

EXHIBITION 

Protest  Free 
Radio  Shows 

Radio  shows,  to  which  audiences  are  admit¬ 
ted  gratis,  now  perturb  the  legitimate  theatre 
Code  Authority  as  well  as  the  movies.  A 
meeting  to  do  something  about  it  has  been 
arranged,  with  a  curb  on  such  practices  ex¬ 
pected  to  be  asked.  85,000  see  such  shows 
weekly,  tis  said.  Whether  this  number  would 
go  to  the  movies  instead  is  unknown.  Mean¬ 
while,  free  art  museums,  medicine  men,  com¬ 
mercial  shows,  etc.,  rolled  on,  unprotested. 


Kansas  City  Price 
War  Soon  Checked 

Scheduled  price  war  in  Kansas  City,  whereby 
the  first  runs  were  going  to  cut  to  the  neighbor¬ 
hood  figure,  to  fight  giveaways,  lotteries,  10- 
cent  nights,  etc.,  was  averted  when  certain  prac¬ 
tices  were  banned  by  exhibitors.  The  first  runs, 
then,  returned  to  normal.  Such  a  policy,  if 
used  in  other  situations,  might  soon  clean  up 
the  territory. 

M.  P.  T.  O.  A.  Prexy 
New  Question 

Who  will  head  the  M.  P.  T.  O.  A.  in  the 
new  season?  Pre-convention  reports  indicated 
that  Ed  Kuykendahl,  president  for  the  past  two 
years,  may  again  be  drafted  for  the  post.  No 
rush  of  nominees  was  heard,  with  Kuykendahl 
having  proven  his  qualifications  for  the  post 
during  his  term. 

DISTRIBUTION 

Paramount,  Universal, 

Radio  Hold  Meetings 

The  pre-spring  distribution  meetings  found 
Paramount,  Universal.  Radio  holding  sessions 
with  branch  and  district  managers  in  attend¬ 
ance.  Plans  for  final  pushes,  next  season's  pic¬ 
tures  were  discussed,  as  was  the  code. 


Rumors  Report 
RKO-Fox  Deal 

Current  rumors  include  a  possible  deal  be¬ 
tween  RKO  and  Fox.  Rumor,  itself,  is  old. 
w'th  its  revival  credited  to  probable  end  of 
RKO  receivership  and  other  financial  matters 
being  cleared  up.  Both  companies  have  als  > 
had  studio  trouble. 


16 


Mar  1*34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


What  Every 
Exhibitor 
Knows 

There7s  a  reason  why 
theatres  are  distribut¬ 
ing  and  4  times 
their  usual  number  of 
premium  giveaways 

AND  THE  REASON  IS 
The  Only  Genuine 

22K7GOLD 

Dinner  Set 

With  a  record  of  Success 
BECAUSE  . . . 

It7s  the  newest  thin 
model  squares  and  the 
set  that's  preferred  by 
women  patrons 
everywhere. 

Don’t  BUY  Counterfeits! 

We  are  the  largest  sellers  of 
Premium  China  In  America 
and  have  deals  1 
as  low  as  .  .  life 

Sold  only  by 

QUALITY 

Premium  Distributors,  inc. 

1305  Vine  Street 
PHILADELPHIA 
Branch  Offices  In  Key  Cities 


BETWEEN  THE  PARAGRAPHS 


SELLING  SEASON  MAY  BE  DELAYED  A  BIT 

The  1934-1935  selling  season  might  be  delayed  a  trifle  this  year  to  await 
developments  under  the  code.  Distributors  want  to  see  how  it  works  out,  then 
decide  on  selling  plans.  Most  companies  will  make  the  same  number  of  pictures  as 
last  season,  but  they  can  be  depended  upon  to  ask  more  money. 


PREMIUMS  FIRST  BIG  PROBLEM 

One  of  the  first  big  problems  to  be  settled  after  the  code  begins  to  operate  will 
be  that  of  premiums.  There  is  no  denying  the  fact  that  the  premium  issue  has  become 
as  big  a  question  as  double  features  and  two  for  ones  in  many  localities.  How  and 
when  the  vote  on  premiums  will  be  taken  will  be  up  first. 


PLENTY  OF  SMART  CRACKS 

Despite  Hays  regulation  of  scenarios  and  working  scripts,  it  is  quite  apparent 
that  there  is  plenty  of  rough  stuff  slipping  into  pictures,  if  current  censor  elimina¬ 
tions  are  any  indication.  In  some  pictures,  the  home  office,  itself,  is  censoring  films 
before  they  get  into  censor  states,  but  even  then  objectionable  lines  still  give  censors 
plenty  to  do. 

WESTERN  MARKET  BIG  ONE 

There  is  still  a  demand  for  westerns  even  if  it  is  restricted  to  Saturdays  in  many 
spots.  Trick  is  to  keep  the  overhead  down  so  that  there  can  be  a  good  return  on 
investment.  Paramount  is  dropping  its  westerns  next  season,  the  report  goes,  which 
should  encourage  the  inde  market.  The  indes  have  the  knack  at  low  overhead, 
which  allows  them  to  produce  the  sort  of  stuff  which  fills  the  bill. 


ENGLISH  SHOW  VAST  IMPROVEMENT 

That  the  English  are  showing  a  vast  improvement  in  their  pictures  can’t  be 
denied.  Majestic’s  prosperity  three,  “You  Made  Me  Love  You,”  “Charming 
Deceiver,”  “Morning  After,”  all  have  American  names  and  comedy  to  sell,  while 
UA’s  introduction  of  “Henry  the  Eighth”  and  “Catherine”  helped  boost  the  stock 
of  the  foreign  folk.  The  improvement  seems  to  lie  in  making  the  dialogue  easy  to 
understand  even  if  it  isn’t  overwhelmingly  brilliant.  English  pictures  recently 
released  may  be  called  more  international  than  domestic,  but  they  satisfy  audiences 
more  than  they  used  to. 


TWO  REEL  COMEDIES  STILL  PROBLEM 

Two  reel  comedies  are  still  a  problem.  It  seems  that  when  the  shorts  go  over 
the  10  minute  mark  they  become/  real  headaches  for  the  shorts  producers  with  the 
result  that  there  are  plenty  of  dead  spots.  In  the  short  musical  field,  however,  the 
improvement  has  been  remarkable.  Use  of  good  camera  work,  music,  directorial 
angles  has  resulted  in  some  neatly  executed  musical  shorts. 


POPEYE  OUGHT  TO  GET  MORE  ATTENTION 

Paramount  has  a  marvelous  bet  in  Popeye,  but  the  company  doesn’t  seem  to 
be  giving  the  series  the  same  build-up  that  resulted  in  Mickey  Mouse  and  Silly 
Symphony  shorts  becoming  marquee  attractions.  No  question  that  Popeye  has  built 
tremendously  on  its  merit,  but  there  would  seem  to  be  plenty  of  room  for  more 
exploitation  on  the  series. 


FOREIGNS  NOT  THE  SAME  OLD  GOLD  MINE 

Foreign  pictures,  in  foreign  dialogues,  aren’t  the  clean  up  they  used  to  be. 
Some  of  the  art  houses  are  down  to  running  trick  American  stuff  to  fill  in  the  void. 
With  German  pictures  held  back  in  many  spots,  animal,  war  and  other  types  are 
being  used.  And  there  used  to  be  a  time  when  anything  and  everything  went. 


SOME  NEW  YORK  CRITICS  NEED  REST 

Apparently  the  strain  of  looking  at  a  lot  of  pictures  must  be  affecting  some 
New  York  critics.  Several  of  the  recent  films,  which  failed  to  create  any  attention 
for  themselves  in  pre-New  York  City  engagements,  received  raves  from  the  metro¬ 
politan  scribes.  Of  course,  some  of  the  critics  are  retaining  their  equilibrium,  but 
in  a  couple  of  instances  the  cheers  and  applause  almost  look  phony. 

HOBART  MANN. 


FOUR 

STARS 


Mar  1'34  pg.  17 


N.  Y. 
DA  in 
NEW* 


ever  such  reviews 


ork  news 


er  acclaims 


imr 


CR€AT 


SCREEN  ACHIEVEMENT 
OF  1934 


cATHemnc 


cl  L 


thiul 


hr r i n 6  ci n cl  oecic 

e> 

emerald-studded  romance,  vibrant  with  love 
and  passion!  Elizabeth  Bergner  defies  descrip¬ 
tion.  You  thrill  to  the  sensitive  realization  that 
you  are  in  the  presence  of  a  truly  great  actress! 

Regina  Crewe 
New  York  American 

★  ★  ★  ★ 


A  new  film  genius!  Elizabeth  Bergner’s  per¬ 
formance  is  so  rich,  so  stirring,  so  simply  beau¬ 
tiful  that  she  holds  you  enthralled! 

Bland  Johaneson 
Daily  Mirror 

★  ★  ★  ★ 


An  important  picture!  Important  not  only  be¬ 
cause  it  is  splendidly  acted,  mounted  and  pro¬ 
duced,  but  above  all  because  it  introduces  the 
genius  that  is  Elizabeth  Bergner.  There  is  so 
much  to  see  and  assimilate  in  the  film  that  any 
condensed  resume  would  fail  to  do  it  justice! 

Rose  Pelswick 
Evening  Journal 

★  ★  ★  ★ 


In  some  magical  way  Elizabeth  Bergner  makes 
the  character  of  Catherine  more  alive  than  you 
would  think  any  embodiment  on  the  screen 
could  be! 


Superlatives  aren’t  ! 
Elizabeth  Bergner  : 
It  is  too  important 


Thornton  Delehanty 
Evening  Post 


■k  ★  ★  ★ 


Handsome  film!  Elizabeth  Bergner  goes 
through  her  scenes  with  rare  dignity  and  ac¬ 
complishes  marvels  with  her  large  eyes  and 
expressive  lips! 

Mordaunt  Hall 
New  York  Times 


Ml 

UNITED 


Mar  1 1 34  pg.  19 


fe  enough  to  describe 
'atherine  the  Great.” 
fcture  to  be  missed! 

Al  Sherman 
Morning  Telegraph 


J  thru 

ARTISTS 


WmPP 
mx  ms 


I  I  I  ■  I 

a n a s o ha e  cmcl  lari s 1 1 

dramatically  impressive  and  beautifully  acted 
drama  of  striking  skill  and  power.  Elizabeth 
Bergner  plays  with  a  thrilling  combination  of 
emotion,  honesty  and  technical  brilliance.  One 
of  the  distinguished  dramas  of  the  season! 

Richard  Watts,  Jr 
Herald-Tribune 


A  picture  worthy  of  many  superlatives.  Noth¬ 
ing  finer  has  been  seen  hereabouts  in  months! 

William  Boehnel 
World-T  elegrani 


Bids  fair  to  be  the  most  important  picture  of  the 
season.  The  same  qualities  which  characterized 
‘‘Henry  VIII”  are  present  in  the  new  Korda 
production,  a  lavish,  completely  satisfying 
background,  an  almost  cunning  sense  of  com¬ 
edy,  a  story  lifted  from  sufficiently  familiar 
pages  of  history  to  make  everyone  feel  at  home, 
and  two  powerful  performances  instead  of  one. 
Grand  entertainment! 

Eileen  Creelman 

New  York  Sun 


A  gorgeous  pageant!  Alexander  Korda  has 
added  another  brilliant  film  to  his  list  of  fine 
motion  picture  productions!  Four  Stars! 

Kate  Cameron 
Daily  News 


TkeWORLD  SALUTES  ALEXANDER  KORDAS 
OWN  SUCCESSOR  TO  HENRY  THE  VIII 


UfS' 


LONDON  FILMS 
Ltd. 


D  irected  by 
PAUL  CZINNER 


u  c  1 1  o  n  s 


presents 


CR€AT 


DOUGLAS  FAIRBANKS,  J 


ELIZABETH  BERGNER 


Mar  1’34  pg.  21 


14  DAYS  IN 
HOLLYWOOD 


Mar  1 1 34  pg.  22 


14  DAYS  in  HOLLYWOOD 

•  CHRONICLE  OF  A  VISIT  TO  THE 
INDUSTRY'S  PRODUCTION  CENTRE 
WITH  AN  ATTEMPT  TO  ANALYZE  MUCH 
OF  WHAT  HAS  BEEN  SEEN  AND  HEARD 


EDITORIAL 


T  HAVE  been  to  Hollywood. 

I  have  seen  exhibitors,  producers,  stars, 
directors,  supervisors,  technicians,  carpen¬ 
ters,  designers,  and  all  manner  of  assistants. 

Hollywood  is  still  Hollywood.  It  is  sin¬ 
cerely  trying  to  make  every  picture  a  good 
picture,  beset  by  problems  of  which  the 
exhibitors  in  the  smallest  town  or  hamlet 
can  have  no  inkling.  It  is  truly  remark¬ 
able  that  the  studios  have  been  able  to  turn 
out  the  brand  of  pictures  they  have  been 
producing  with  all  the  problems  that  arise 
each  day. 

If  Hollywood  were  not  so  sincere,  it 
would  be  a  pity.  But  the  men  who  are  in 
charge  out  there  are  really  striving,  work¬ 
ing  day  and  night  to  provide  the  kind  of 
box  office  fare  that  helps  the  industry  grow 
in  all  divisions. 

There  are  a  few  men  who  understand  the 
exhibition  end.  There  are  others  who  are 
concerned  only  with  their  personal  glory. 
That  type  is  rapidly  passing. 

Nothing  would  help  the  industry  more 
than  a  closer  union  between  the  men  who 
make  the  pictures  and  the  men  who  have 
to  sell  them  to  the  public.  They  have  plenty 
of  things  in  common. 

Hollywood  has  come  through  a  depres¬ 
sion.  It  knows  that  exhibition  has,  too. 
And  there  is  a  new  spirit  growing,  one  that 
can  mean  only  one  thing  to  the  business  in 
general — that  if  it  is  humanly  possible  for 
good  pictures  to  be  made,  Hollywood  will 
make  them. 


THE  AGENT 

A  thorn  in  the  side  and  a  blessin  g— The 
exhibitor  pays  the  bill — $82,500  where 
$75,000  would  have  been  enough — 
Harsh  words 

m  WHEN  A  PRODUCER  admits  that 
®  there  is  a  problem  to  be  solved  and 
there  is  no  way  to  solve  it,  there  must  be  a 
serious  situation.  There  is. 

The  problem  is  the  agent,  blessed  by  the 
stars  many  times  and  cursed  by  the 
producers. 

ONE  AGENT  out  there  is  making  almost 
$10,000  a  week,  a  cost  that  must  be  absorbed 
by  the  studio  and  passed  on  to  the  exhibitor. 
But  it  is  not  particularly  because  of  their 
earnings  that  agents  are  scorned.  Rather  it  is 
because  of  their  hold  on  the  stars  and  the 


manner  in  which  they  are  constantly  dis¬ 
turbing  the  Hollywood  picture. 

A  CONTRACT  is  signed  between  pro¬ 
ducer  and  star.  Everything  is  coming  along 
swell  until  one  fine  day  the  star  decides  not 
to  work.  The  reason:  The  agent  has  in¬ 
fluenced  the  player,  has  told  him  or  her  that 
another  studio  is  willing  to  pay  more  or 
that  the  same  studio  can  be  made  to  hand 
over  a  fat  increase.  The  star  refuses  to 
work,  regardless  of  contract,  and  rather 
than  hold  up  release  date,  the  studio  com¬ 
promises.  The  star  has  succeeded,  the  agent 
has  gained  his  point. 

PRODUCERS,  themselves,  are  sometimes 
the  greatest  boosters  for  the  strength  of  the 
agent.  Sometimes  they  tip  off  their  favor¬ 
ite  agent  to  get  an  actor  from  another  com¬ 
pany.  In  that  way  the  menace  is  encour¬ 
aged. 

One  female  star  started  in  the  business  at 
§250  per  week.  In  a  year  she  hopped  to 
§1250  per,  thanks  to  the  studio.  Later 
this  went  to  $1500.  Then  the  star  balked, 
with  the  agent  holding  the  reins.  The  star 
has  just  settled  for  $2500  per.  The  exhib¬ 
itor  pays. 

ANOTHER  MALE  STAR  proved  a  dud 
in  the  talkies.  The  studio  honored  his  con¬ 
tract,  paid  him.  He  pleaded  for  another 
chance,  was  cast  in  a  big  picture,  showed 
vast  improvement,  now  wants  to  hold  up 
the  studio  that  upheld  its  good  name  by  toss¬ 
ing  about  $500,000  at  him  while  he  didn’t 
work.  The  idea  doesn’t  work  out  both  ways. 

INTERCHANGE  OF  STARS  has  a  lot 
to  do  with  the  agent’s  power,  also.  One 
studio  borrows  from  another,  pays  a  bigger 
salary.  This  starts  the  little  bug  working, 
with  the  result  that  eventually  the  first 
studio  has  to  fork  over  an  increase. 

One  can’t  blame  the  stars  for  asking  big 
money.  Their  stardom  is  comparatively 
short,  and  they  are  entitled  to  what  they 
can  get.  But  it  is  up  to  the  studios  to  check 
the  stars  and  the  agents.  The  studios  must 
realize  that  there  should  be  a  standard  of 
values,  that  if  a  tremendous  box  office  asset 
is  worth  $5000  a  week,  the  scale  should  read 
downward  for  the  lesser  fry. 

THERE  IS  A  MALE  NAME,  not  a  big 
star,  who  wanted  $75,000  a  picture.  He  had 
been  getting  §35,000.  The  agent  saw  to  it 
that  he  got  $82,500  per.  And  the  actor 
would  have  been  satisfied  with  less.  Obvi¬ 
ously,  there  must  be  something  wrong  with 
a  studio  that  allows  such  a  condition  to 
exist. 

Naturally,  a  studio  that  has  millions  in¬ 
vested  in  production  must  acquiesce  when  it 
is  caught,  figuratively,  with  its  pants  down. 
But  the  studios,  apparently,  figure  the  bill 
will  be  paid  somehow. 

THE  QUESTION  is  not  one  for  the  pro¬ 
ducers  alone  to  settle.  They  must  have  the 
aid  of  the  exhibitors  and  the  public.  Keep 
the  bad  boys  and  girls  off  the  screen.  Once 
they  found  out  that  they  are  not  wanted  in 
their  present  mood,  they  will  change  for  the 


better.  There  can  be  no  idling  in  the  mat¬ 
ter.  It  is  costing  every  exhibitor  dough. 
Contracts  by  stars  should  be  respected  as 
stars  expect  exhibitors  and  producers  to 
fulfill  their  obligations. 

HOLLYWOOD 

The  fan  magazines  are  correct — Some 

sensible  heads — Playspots,  workspots — 
Previews,  tradeviews — Come  up  and  see  it 

some  time 

^  HOLLYWOOD  is  just  about  what  any- 
*  one  thinks  it  is. 

It  has  plenty  of  tinsel,  seems  almost  un¬ 
real,  contains  all  the  glamour  that  fan  mag¬ 
azines  have  given  it,  but  holds  a  few  sen¬ 
sible  people  who  know  that  out  of  Holly¬ 
wood  must  come  something  that  means  en¬ 
tertainment  for  millions  and  money  for 
many. 

HOLLYWOOD  is  picture-minded.  Nearly 
every  theatre  that  can  be  used  for  preview 
purposes  has  a  spy  near  it,  who  phones  the 
trade  papers  and  dailies  to  tell  them  when  a 
preview  is  to  be  run.  These  s'pies  get  paid 
for  their  information.  And  the  preview 
question  is  one  of  the  most  irksome  to  studio 
folk.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  get  a  sneak 
preview  without  someone  else  knowing 
about  it. 

UP  TO  THREE  YEARS  AGO  some  of 
the  local  theatres  were  picking  up  pictures 
that  had  been  passed  up  by  the  first-runs 
and  billing  them  as  previews.  One  house  is 
still  doing  it. 

A  HOLLYWOOD  PREVIEW  crowd  is  as 
picture-minded  as  any  audience.  Here  is  a 
chance  to  see  stars,  to  witness  something 
new,  to  be  in  on  the  know.  Some  of  the 
studios  haven’t  been  previewing  for  audi¬ 
ence  reaction  as  much  as  they  used  to.  They 
send  the  prints  to  the  home  office  without 
getting  local  reaction.  And  in  a  great  many 
cases  it  reacts  with  more  benefits  than  if 
the  show  had  been  publicized. 

HOLLYWOOD,  as  far  as  the  exhibition 
division  is  concerned,  is  a  double  feature 
territory.  The  exhibs  out  there  have  their 
problems,  the  same  as  do  eastern  theatre- 
men.  Prices  range  from  15-40c,  with  vaude¬ 
ville  in  some  instances. 

There  is  always  plenty  of  money  flowing 
in  the  upper  Hollywood  circles.  Stars  get 
good  salaries.  So  do  technicians,  directors, 
etc.  They  spend  it  rather  quickly,  too. 
Whereas  dollars  mean  something  in  the  east, 
hundred  dollar  bills  occupy  the  same  corre¬ 
sponding  niche  among  the  select  few. 

And  then  there  are  the  play  spots,  Malibu, 
Agua  Caliente,  Palm  Springs,  Catalina,  all 
the  vacation  locations  for  the  Hollywood 
folk  who  need  a  rest. 

The  stars  work  as  hard  at  rest  as  they  do 
as  when  they  are  on  the  set. 

IT’S  A  GREAT  TOWN.  Come  up  and 
see  it  some  time. 


Mar  1 T 34  pg.  23 


JAY  EMANUEL  PUBLICATIONS 


C 


THE  STUDIOS 


WARNERS 

Industry  needs  more  playboys — What 
morale  means — Working  into  the  night — 
"Wonder  Bar" — Jolson’s  last  chance — 
Even  the  office  boy  is  heard 

«  IF  JACK  WARNER  is  the  ace  Holly- 

®  wood  playboy,  what  Hollywood  needs  is 
more  Hollywood  playboys.  At  10.00  and  11.00 
p.  m.  he  was  still  in  his  office  on  three  occa¬ 
sions  that  I  was  at  the  studio. 

Under  the  Jack  Warner  supervision,  the 
lot  is  turning  them  out  good  and  box  officey. 

Twelve  new  pictures  were  completed,  wait¬ 
ing  for  release.  Four  were  in  the  cutting 
room. 

THE  SPIRIT  OF  WARNERS  is  marvel¬ 
ous.  The  folks  eat,  talk  movies  all  the  time. 
Everyone  knows  what  to  do,  does  it  with  a 
minimum  of  waste  and  a  maximum  of  effi¬ 
ciency.  All  of  this  may  be  credited  to  the 
Warner  flair  for  knowing  how  to  do  things. 
The  stars  work  hard,  work  late,  often  into 
the  night,  but  they  are  happy,  know  that 
their  efforts  are  duplicated  by  every  execu¬ 
tive.  All  their  endeavors  are  tuned  to  one 
pitch,  work  and  accomplishment. 

There  was  plenty  of  activity  on  the  lot. 
A1  Green  had  just  turned  out  “Dark  Haz¬ 
ard”  and  “As  the  Earth  Turned,”  thought 
them  both  outstanding  attractions.  He  pre¬ 
dicted  a  great  future  for  Donald  Woods, 
who  looks  like  a  Warner  favorite  of  the 
future.  The  set  also  contained  plenty  of 
“Wonder  Bar”  atmosphere,  of  which  little 
was  being  said  as  the  picture  contained 
some  new  ideas,  new  creations,  which 
couldn’t  be  revealed  until  the  picture  was 
previewed.  The  interior  of  St.  Peter’s 
office,  with  A1  Jolson  doing  a  number,  was 
marvelous.  The  set  for  “Fog  Over  San 
Francisco”  was  a  triumph  of  construction 
with  even  veteran  San  Franciscoers  willing 
to  swear  it  was  a  part  of  the  town. 

JACK  WARNER  hit  it  on  the  head  when 
he  said  that  there  was  more  than  the  human 
element  being  put  into  “Wonder  Bar.”  It 
wasn’t  to  be  all  A1  Jolson,  but  there  was 
more  besides.  A1  was  all  wrapped  up  in  the 
show,  said  that  if  he  didn’t  click  in  that  one, 
it  would  be  his  last.  But  even  that  didn’t 
stop  him  from  thinking  about  what  his  horse 
paid  in  Miami  or  mentioning  the  fact  that 
just  when  he  had  taken  his  steam  bath,  a 
night  call  was  sent  out  and  he  had  to  go 
back  to  work  at  9.30  P.M.  It’s  that  kind  of 
a  business. 

“Hot  Air”  was  also  on  the  fire.  Ginger 
Rogers,  Dick  Powell  and  others  were  in 
that.  And  “Merry  Wives  of  Reno,”  with 
Glenda  Farrell  and  Guy  Kibbee,  looked  like 
another  comedy  hit.  “Hit  Me  Again”  had 
just  been  finished,  with  Warren  William, 
Joan  Blondell,  Claire  Dodd,  Frank  McHugh. 
The  all-comedy  contingent  was  apparently 
working  overtime. 

AT  WARNERS  the  impression  seemed  to 
be  that  the  code  would  be  responsible  for 
faster  pictures.  Inasmuch  as  the  code  pro¬ 
vided  more  money  for  bit  players,  it  looked 
like  there  would  be  a  slash  in  dialogue,  more 
attention  to  action.  For  this  same  reason, 
talent  might  not  be  developed  so  quickly. 


Perhaps  it  is  the  Warner  spirit  that  can 
be  held  responsible  for  shows  like  “Wonder 
Bar,”  “Hot  Air,”  “Hit  Me  Again,”  “Fur 
Coats,”  “A  Very  Honorable  Guy,”  “Merry 
Wives  of  Reno,”  and  others.  Perhaps  it  is 
the  Warner  spirit  that  keeps  every  man  and 
woman  on  his  toes,  proud  to  be  with  th° 
company.  Perhaps  it  is  because  Jack  War¬ 
ner  is  such  an  ace  that  the  rest  of  the  studio 
crowd  falls  into  the  same  category.  Per¬ 
haps  it  is  because  politics  interferes  with 
production  that  politics  is  unheard  of  on 
the  Warner  lot.  Perhaps  it  is  because  all 
eyes  are  aimed  at  the  box  office  that  even 
the  office  boy’s  voice  can  be  heard  if  it  really 
has  something  to  say. 

WHATEVER  IT  IS,  it  has  been  respon¬ 
sible  for  “Wonder  Bar.”  And  “Wonder 
Bar”  is  the  Warner  ace  for  the  next  few 
weeks  to  come.  Almost  exactly  a  year  after 
“42nd  Street,”  Warners  are  delivering 
what  they  believe  to  be  the  crowning 
achievement  of  the  musical  field.  Plenty  of 
dance  numbers,  gorgeous  girls,  scenery,  A1 
Jolson,  Bus  Berkereley,  Dolores  Del  Rio, 
Ricardo  Cortez,  Dick  Powell,  Warner  direc¬ 
tion  all  rolled  into  one  production  that  looks 
like  a  triumphal  dough  show. 

It  wasn’t  so  long  ago  that  the  trade  was 
wondering  what  might  happen  to  Warner 
production  when  one  of  the  production  heads 
left.  Well,  now  it  has  its  answer. 

WARNERS  never  stopped  for  a  minute. 
They  kept  going  and  are  still  stepping  along. 
Exhibitors  can  well  be  assured  that  the  old 
touch  is  still  there,  that  the  boys  who  know 
how  to  make  them  are  still  turning  them 
out. 


METRO 

It’s  up  to  Louis  B. Mayer — A  group  of  60 
houses  refuses  to  buy — Grade  A  pictures 
are  harder  to  make — They  understand 
exhibition  here — A  trip  for  Mayer 

_  RAMON  NOVARRO,  who  would  like  to 
*  be  a  director,  ought  to  stay  in  the  star¬ 
ring  ranks,  if  the  pleas  of  exhibitors  who  play 
his  pictures  are  of  any  value.  But  ir.  will 
not  be  up  to  the  exhibitors  to  decide.  It 
will  be  up  to  Mr.  Mayer. 

And  whatever  happens  at  Metro-Goldwyn- 
Mayer  is  up  to  Mr.  Mayer,  Louis  B.  Mayer, 
the  godfather  over  M.G.M.  production.  To 
know  Mayer  is  to  know  Metro,  to  under¬ 
stand  why  things  happen  as  they  do,  why 
there  are  hits  and  why  there  are  flops. 

AS  MAYER,  himself,  puts  it,  the  prob¬ 
lem  is  one  of  making  A  pictures.  He  could, 
he  pointed  out,  take  it  easy,  produce  a  lot 
of  B  films,  but  profits  are  in  A  films,  both 
to  the  producer  and  the  exhibitor.  Mayer  is 
one  producer  who  knows  about  exhibition. 
He  used  to  be  in  it  once  himself.  He  says 
that  it  wouldn’t  be  a  bad  idea  if  the  dis¬ 
tributor  looked  over  the  exhibitor’s  books, 
and  if  there  were  no  profit,  adjust  matters, 
if  the  exhibitor,  also,  were  fair.  He  main¬ 
tains,  also,  that  as  soon  as  the  producer  and 
exhibitor  trust  each  other  more,  this  busi¬ 
ness  will  be  the  better  for  it. 


AMONG  OTHER  THINGS,  also,  Mayer 
has  had  enough  of  swapping.  He  doesn’t 
feel  that  Metro  stars  have  been  helped  much 
by  appearing  in  other  producers’  pictures, 
and  that  in  a  couple  of  instances  the  other 
side  got  the  best  of  it.  To  protect  Metro’s 
investment,  and  incidentally  those  of  Metro’s 
customers,  the  swapping  will  stop,  to  some 
extent. 

THE  SUPERVISOR  PLAN,  started  by 
Mayer,  is  in  full  force  at  Metro.  He  states 
that  behind  each  unit  there  is  a  separate 
organization,  with  new  ideas,  with  differ¬ 
ent  forces  at  work,  with  new  methods  of 
producing.  Irving  Thalberg  works  along 
one  line,  Harry  Rapf  along  another.  The 
exhibitor  benefits  from  a  diversified  group 
of  pictures.  Occasionally  the  individual  pro¬ 
ducer  guesses  wrong. 

The  only  dominant  note  in  Mayer’s  prin¬ 
ciples  of  doing  business  is  sincerity.  He  is 
fair,  a  clear  thinker.  He  knows  that  no 
one  can  be  in  the  motion  picture  production 
field  just  for  a  day.  The  paramount  idea 
here  is  to  make  other  than  ordinary  films. 
Exhibitors  need  attractions,  not  just  films. 
Metro,  seeing  a  long  pull,  is  preparing  for 
this  very  thing. 

Mayer  also  had  something  to  say  about 
“Christopher  Bean.”  He  knew  that  the 
title  had  helped  kill  the  picture,  but  the 
impression  had  been  that  the  Dressier  name 
was  enough.  Titles,  here,  were  problems. 

METRO  HAS  a  terrific  overhead.  Writers 
cost  them  a  fortune  weekly.  Cameramen  are 
in  the  ace  class  also. 

Mayer  understands  the  selling  game.  He 
maintains  that  Metro  tried  to  be  fair  all 
the  way  down  the  line,  but  what  could  the 
exchange  do  when  a  group  of  some  60 
theatres  organized  a  buying  combine,  tried 
to  allocate  Metro  product  among  them¬ 
selves.  If  the  exchange  encouraged  build¬ 
ing  of  opposition  theatres  in  a  hitherto 
closed  situation,  it  would  be  called  the  worst 
names. 

Certainly,  if  after  a  fair  hearing  at  arbi¬ 
tration  no  one  could  blame  Metro  if  the 
group  refused  a  fair  deal,  persisted  in  keep¬ 
ing  the  company  out.  After  all,  a  company 
has  a  right  to  protect  its  interests. 

THERE  WAS  MUCH  to  say  and  much 
to  speak  about.  He  discussed  agents,  the 
star  problem,  the  fact  that  there  were  prob¬ 
ably  only  about  30  stars  that  meant  any¬ 
thing  at  the  box  office,  the  code,  the  spirit 
of  Metro  employees,  the  writers  problem, 
many  other  things.  What  he  didn’t  say  was 
that  he  was  so  busy  that  he  ate  only  one 
meal  a  week  at  home.  That  was  learned 
elsewhere. 

METRO’S  TECHNICAL  STAFF  de¬ 
serves  a  vast  hand.  What  they  do  is  often 
more  interesting  than  the  production  itself. 
Intricate,  with  expensive  lamps  and  hun¬ 
dreds  of  other  gadgets,  1600  people  at  work 
at  one  time,  processes  for  reclaiming  silver, 
building  of  sets — going  on  endlessly  as  new 
pictures  need  new  ideas,  new  backgrounds. 

Metro,  proud  of  its  record,  has  many  new 
hits  in  the  making.  Norma  Shearer  returns 
in  “Lady  Mary’s  Lover,”  with  Robert  Mont¬ 
gomery,  Herbert  Marshal,  a  lavish  produc¬ 
tion.  “The  Cat  and  the  Fiddle”  is  beginning 
to  break  everywhere.  “Tarzan  and  His 
Mate,”  with  marvelous  technical  work,  is 
another  newcomer.  “Louisiana  Lou”  was  in 
the  production  whirl. 

But  through  it  all,  from  one  cycle  to  an¬ 
other,  while  stars  crumble  and  others  build, 
Louis  B.  Mayer  oversees  everything,  keeps 
a  fatherly  eye  on  productions,  supervisors, 
stars,  writers,  agents,  everyone. 


Mar  1  ’ 34  pg.  24 


1U  DAYS  IN  HOLLYWOOD 


RAMON  NOVARRO  was  right— “what¬ 
ever  Mr.  Mayer  says  is  okay.” 

Ed.  Note:  After  talking  to  Louis  B.  Mayer 
the  thought  arose  that  he  should  be  sent 
on  a  tour  of  10  or  12  principal  exchange 
centres  to  discuss  the  producer  problems 
with  their  customers.  An  expensive  idea, 
perhaps,  it  would  be  one  that  should  pay 
handsome  dividends  later  in  the  form  of 
good  will. 


PARAMOUNT 

Youth  is  being  served — Zukor  keeps  a 
watchful  eye — The  studio  cabinet — Guts 
and  plenty  of  it — No  big,  bad  wolf  at  the 
door  now 

_  THE  PARAMOUNT  IDEA  rests  largely 
®  in  Paramount’s  studio  cabinet.  This  is 
the  crux  of  production,  the  key  toward  audi¬ 
ence  satisfaction,  one  of  the  reasons  why 
Paramount  pictures  fit  the  times  and  are 
hitting  their  old  stride. 

A  studio  cabinet  decides  whatever  is  done. 
No  one  man  dominates.  Procedure  is  largely 
co-operative,  all  working  toward  one  goal — 
perfection  in  production 

THE  STUDIO,  too,  works  with  the  box 
office.  Take,  for  example,  “Death  Takes  a 
Holiday.”  Titled  “Strange  Holiday,”  it  was 
given  key  city  tests.  Eleven  had  wanted 
“Strange  Hobday,”  three  young  men  held 
out  for  “Death  Takes  a  Hoi  day.”  It  later 
developed  that  the  young  spirit  was  the  cor¬ 
rect  spirit.  Box  office  receipts  proved  that 
“Death  Takes  a  Holiday”  was  box  office. 
That  became  the  title. 

Again,  the  co-operative  idea,  with  youth 
in  the  foreground,  won  out. 

The  head  of  the  story  cabinet  is  Jeff  Laz¬ 
arus.  Once  invited  to  a  preview  by  B.  P. 
Schulberg,  he  immediately  gave  evidence 
of  the  exhibitor  angle,  offered  concrete  sug¬ 
gestions,  eventually  found  himself  going 
from  Fox  West  Coast  to  Paramount  story 
department.  The  editorial  board  is  now 
largely  a  Lazarus  division,  with  exhibitors 
assured  of  box  office  opportunities,  with 
titles  suggested  largely  from  the  exhibitor 
angle.  Nine  people  used  to  buy  stories, 
now  Lazarus  does,  after  editorial  considera¬ 
tion. 

PARAMOUNT  now  is  youth.  The  story 
department  is  young,  the  old  crowd  which 
used  to  be  there  is  departing.  Twenty-five 
stories  are  set  for  the  1934-1935  season,  with 
casts  and  direction.  Preparations  on  the 
other  35  are  proceeding.  Usually,  write-off 
on  stories  amounts  to  about  $750,000-$l,- 
000,000.  This  year,  it  came  to  only  about 
§20,000.  Paramount  writers  cost  $20,000 
weekly,  while  at  other  studios  the  cost  comes 
as  high  as  $40,000. 

Paramount  is  preparing  for  the  future. 
Some  of  the  junior  executives  there  will  be 
occupying  major  positions  in  this  industry 
within  the  next  four  or  five  years.  The  one 
happy  family  idea  seems  to  be  working  out. 

ADOLPH  ZUKOR  understood  when  he 
was  out  on  the  Paramount  lot.  He  was  keen 
and  observing  but  hardly  noticeable.  Zukor 
must  have  known  that  a  new  spirit  was 
arising  and  that  he  could  father  and  counsel 
it,  that  it  would  be  willing  to  learn. 

Paramount  is  through  with  westerns. 

Just  at  present,  the  attention  on  the  lot 
was  largely  concentrated  on  “The  Man 
Who  Broke  His  Heart,”  with  Vic  McLaglen 
and  Dorothy  Dell,  an  ex-Follies  importa¬ 


tion;  “We’re  Not  Dressing,”  with  Bing 
Crosby,  Ethel  Merman,  Leon  Errol;  “The 
Trumper  Blows,”  with  George  Raft,  among 
others. 

The  hot  shot  in  the  immediate  future  con¬ 
cerns  “The  Scarlet  Empress,”  the  new  Diet- 
rich  picture  of  which  much  more  will  be 
heard  later. 

EMANUEL  COHEN  is  the  vice-president 
in  charge  of  production,  and  under  Cohen’s 
direction  pictures  are  made  that  lend  them¬ 
selves  to  showmanship  in  advertising.  Cohen 
has  also  been  through  those  dark  years 
when  the  big,  bad  wolf  knocked  at  the  door. 
But  pictures  improved,  new  stars  were  born, 
and  with  improvement,  business  got  better. 

PERHAPS  it  was  guts  that  might  de¬ 
scribe  the  aggressiveness  of  Adolph  Zukor, 
George  Schaefer,  Emanuel  Cohen,  Ralph 
Kohn  and  the  others  who  steered  the  Para¬ 
mount  ship  when  the  going  was  rough.  And 
the  lessons  they  learned  will  keep  Para¬ 
mount  headed  on  the  right  path  for  a  long 
while  to  come.  There  is  enthusiasm  for 
Paramount  within  Paramount,  with  some 
200  persons  rooting  for  “Manny”  Cohen  and 
the  showmen  within  the  production  unit.  It 
should  mean  much  to  exhibitors. 


UNITED  ARTISTS 

Zanuck  the  dynamo — Many  parts  to  this 

family — Giant  campaigns — Doom  of  the 

programmer — Goldwyn  and  high  percent¬ 
age  pictures 

^  WHATEVER  the  individual  studios  may 
®  say  of  the  competition  Darryl  F.  Zanuck 
has  given  them,  the  industry  (and  that 
means  exhibitors)  can  well  be  thankful.  It 
made  all  the  boys  pep  up. 

Zanuck  is  going  places  and  so  are  the 
other  United  Artists  units. 

Twentieth  Century  hasn’t  been  producing 
a  year  but  already  the  unit  has  been  mak¬ 
ing  itself  felt  with  the  trade  and  the  pub¬ 
lic.  “The  Bowery”  started  it  off,  and  now 
other  pictures  loom  as  applicants  for  box 
office  honors. 

“The  Bowery”  showed  the  way.  The 
studio  followed.  The  company’s  first  indi¬ 
cated  that  there  was  more  in  specials  than 
in  programmers.  A  hasty  revision  followed, 
with  the  result  that  “Gallant  Lady”  and 
“Moulin  Rouge”  were  born.  The  latter  was 
given  a  big  exploitation  campaign.  Then 
Jack  Oakie  was  selected  to  team  up  with 
Spencer  Tracy  in  “Looking  for  Trouble,” 
and  the  result  brought  forth  a  new  comedy 
team.  Raymond  Griffith,  studio  exec,  has 
preview  cards  to  prove  what  he  says. 

THE  SAME  POLICY  also  applied  to 
George  Arliss  in  “The  House  of  Rothschild.” 
True  that  Arliss  isn’t  a  money  name  all 
over,  but  if  anybody  can  do  anything  human 
to  bring  dough  to  the  box  office  with  the 
Arliss  sign  outside,  Zanuck  will  do  it,  and 
United  Artists  will  help  out.  No  expense 
was  spared,  and  with  a  cast  including  Boris 
Karloff,  Loretta  Young,  Robert  Young  and 
C.  Aubrey  Smith  there  should  be  help  all 
along  the  line. 

The  next  two  are  “The  Firebrand,”  with 
Frederic  March  and  Constance  Bennett 
and  “Bulldog  Drummond  Strikes  Back,” 
with  Ronald  Colman  and  Loretta  Young. 
What  more  could  any  marquee  ask? 

ZANUCK  did  all  this  in  less  than  a  year. 
And  if  he  can  do  all  that  in  such  a  short 
time,  what  will  the  future  bring? 


United  Artists,  especially  happy  because 
of  the  Zanuck  releases,  has  plenty  to  point 
to  in  other  units.  Reliance  offered  “Palooka,” 
which,  at  this  particular  moment,  should  be 
a  welcome  entrant  at  any  box  office.  The 
European  division  brought  “Catherine  the 
Great,”  which  has  a  right  to  believe  that 
it  may  duplicate  the  success  of  “Henry  the 
Eighth.” 

AFTER  ALL,  United  Artists  is  made  up 
of  many  parts.  Samuel  Goldwyn’s  last  en¬ 
trant  was  “Nana,”  with  a  new  star,  follow¬ 
ing  “Roman  Scandals,”  with  Eddie  Cantor. 
What  Goldwyn  thinks  about  program  pic¬ 
tures  would  in  itself  fill  a  book,  so  “Nana” 
and  “Roman  Scandals”  may  easily  be  said 
to  have  cost  him  a  few  millions.  Goldwyn 
will  get  his  money  back.  There  is  no  ques¬ 
tion  about  that.  And  he  will  continue  to 
send  out  gorgeous  productions  at  high  per¬ 
centages  to  exhibitors.  His  argument  is 
that  it  pays  to  pay  a  little  more  for  some¬ 
thing  that  the  exhibitors  know  will  pay 
them.  Of  course,  he  doesn’t  care  about  any 
pictures  other  than  his  own,  but  it  must  be 
admitted  that  the  Cantor  shows  help  bring 
in  more  than  enough  money  to  repaint  the 
shingles  on  the  old  homestead  each  year. 

So  Darrel  Zanuck,  Reliance,  Sam  Gold¬ 
wyn  and  the  European  sector  contribute 
to  United  Ar’ists.  It  is  a  happy  and  well- 
formed  organization,  releasing  hit  shows 
with  plenty  of  exploitation  behind  them. 

THE  COAST  had  h-'ord  all  about  the 
giant  c^mna  rns  on  “Nana”  in  eastern  cities, 
which  triumphed  over  s’eet.  snow,  cold  and 
every  othe.-  hnnd'cap.  It  a’roady  knew  the 
grosses  on  “'Poman  Scandals”  and  “The 
Bower-.”  And  the  ho-s  who  claim  they  are 
in  the  know  give  a  lot  of  credit  to  the  pro¬ 
duction  min^s  rp~oons’b!e.  Nothing  is  sent 
out  that  isn’t  r^ady  for  patron  consumption. 
It  is  a  good,  although  seemingly  expensive, 
idea. 

But  thus  far  it  has  clicked  mightily. 

IT  IS  A  PART  of  this  business,  gamble 
and  win,  or  gamble  and  lose.  In  this  case 
the  odds,  backed  by  United  Artists  brains, 
Goldwyn,  Zanuck,  Reliance,  are  heavily  in 
favor  of  dough  for  everyone  concerned,  the 
studio,  the  distributor  and  the  exhibitor. 


RADIO 

B.  B.  Kahane  is  supervising — ‘  ’Little  Wom¬ 
en"  meant  so  much  —  "Last  Days  of 
Pompeii" — Unit  production — Lots  of 
confidence  in  the  future 

_  MARION  C.  COOPER  had  just  resigned. 

®  But  at  that  time,  it  didn’t  seem  to  make 
much  difference  at  Radio.  The  studio  was 
proceeding  full  blast.  B.  B.  Kahane  was 
keeping  a  watchful  eye  on  all  production. 
And  whether  or  not  Jesse  Lasky  hopped 
over,  as  they  were  rumoring  he  might, 
Radio  still  had  release  dates  to  meet,  pic¬ 
tures  to  make. 

B.  B.  KAHANE  is  considered  a  straight- 
shooter  by  everyone.  He  is  really  an  east¬ 
erner  who  went  west,  but  still  an  easterner. 
All  of  which  means  that  he  hasn’t  gone 
Hollywood,  and  which  indicates  that  there 
will  be  a  conservative,  fatherly  guidance  for 
Radio  pictures. 

And  when  Radio  says  pictures  it  means 
pictures.  Cooper’s  resignation  as  executive 
vice-president  in  charge  of  production 
doesn’t  intimate  that  he  will  be  absent  from 
the  scene.  Rather,  he  stays  around  to  make 
an  all-color  production  of  Sir  Edward  Bui- 


Mar  1  ’ 34  pg.  25 


JAY  EMANUEL  PUBLICATIONS 

wer  Lytton’s  famous  novel,  “Last  Days  of 
Pompeii,”  which,  when  you  and  I  were 
young,  Maggie,  was  a  big  picture. 

(Ed.  Note:  Cooper  was  recently  appointed 

chief  of  RKO  production  for  the  new 

season.) 

PICTURES  shooting  at  the  time  were 
“The  Crime  Doctor,”  with  Otto  Kruger,  Nils 
Asther,  Irving  Pichel,  J.  Farrell  MacDonald, 
Judith  Wood  and  others.  “Finishing  School” 
had  Frances  Dee,  Billy  Burke,  Ginger 
Rogers  and  others  in  the  cast.  Ann  Harding 
was  due  back  to  start  work  in  “Alien  Corn. ’ 
“Stingaree”  was  to  combine  the  talents  of 
Richard  Dix  and  Irene  Dunne  in  the  hope 
that  another  “Cimarron”  might  result.  “Of 
Human  Bondage”  had  Leslie  Howard  sched¬ 
uled.  “Green  Mansions,”  with  Dolores  Del 
Rio  and  Joel  McKrea,  was  in  preparation. 
John  Barrymore  had  finished  his  yachting, 
prepared  to  work  again  in  “The  Devil’s 
Disciple,”  with  the  title  probably  to  be 
changed.  Constance  Bennett  was  scheduled 
for  “I  Loved  An  Actress.”  “Lady  of  Tudor” 
was  being  readied  for  Katherine  Hepburn, 
and  there  was  a  story  being  groomed  for 
Francis  Lederer.  Wheeler  and  Woolsey  had 
“Frat  Heads”  under  way.  “Down  to  Their 
Last  Yacht”  was  Lou  Brock’s  production. 
Sidney  Fox  was  headed  for  that.  And  there 
were  others,  many  others. 

RADIO’S  SPECIAL  PRIDE  and  joy  was 
“Little  Women.”  The  studio  felt  proud  of 
the  job,  thought  that  it  had  benefitted  the 
industry  by  producing  such  a  sterling  film. 
Of  course  it  wasn’t  so  enthusiastic  over 
Katherine  Hepburn’s  appearance  in  “The 
Lake,”  which  hadn’t  been  an  altogether 
happy  experience  in  its  New  York  City  en¬ 
gagement. 

The  unit  system,  which  had  been  advo¬ 
cated  here  for  some  time,  was  bringing  forth 
a  diversified  number  of  pictures,  of  all 
themes  and  types,  easily  proving  that  when 
a  lot  of  minds  produce  along  different  trains 
of  thought,  most  anything  is  likely  to  result 
from  such  a  situation. 

And  Radio  was  seeing  the  result. 

B.  B.  KAHANE  knows  the  Radio  prob¬ 
lem,  and  even  if  a  producer  to  supervise 
all  the  doings  on  the  lot  isn’t  appointed, 
Kahane  will  oversee  everything.  He  has 
done  it  for  some  time,  and  with  Radio,  like 
Paramount  and  Fox,  pulling  itself  out  of 
the  lower  depths  into  which  it  had  fallen, 
exhibitors  could  look  for  an  improvement  in 
product. 

It  will  take  time,  but  improvement  there 
will  be,  no  doubt  about  that. 


COLUMBIA 

Eunuchs  and  critics — Directors  who  value 
Sood  titles — A  new  idea  in  stills — Harry 
Cohn’s  eye  for  exploitation — Sam  Briskin’s 
ideas — “Lady  for  a  Day"  headaches 

_  HARRY  COHN,  who  is  Columbia, 
9  should  be  credited  with  coining  an  ex¬ 
pression  that  is  headed  for  the  department 
labelled  IMMEDIATE  ATTENTION. 

Mr.  Cohn,  with  no  little  display  of  empha¬ 
sis,  says: 

“A  critic  is  like  a  eunuch.  He  can  tell 
you  how  to  do  it  but  he  can’t  do  it  himself.” 
(It  takes  guts,  nerve  and  some  experience 
to  make  such  a  definite  statement.) 

And  so  the  spirit  of  Harry  Cohn  is  the 
spirit  of  Columbia.  The  men  who  make  the 
pictures  Columbia  delivers  to  exhibitors 
care  not  for  the  critics.  They  care  not  for 


the  heights  of  artistic  perfection.  They 
care  only  for  the  annual  statement  which 
for  the  past  few  years  has  indicated  that 
the  men  who  make  Columbia  pictures  can 
also  make  money.  That  statement  proves 
to  them  that  they  are  on  the  right  track. 

What  could  be  most  noted  in  conversa¬ 
tions  with  the  Columbia  folk  is  their  con¬ 
cern  over  a  problem  that  Hollywood,  exhib¬ 
itors  might  tell  you,  often  neglects,  the  sub¬ 
ject  of  titles.  The  entire  studio,  from  the 
office  boy  to  the  biggest  director,  uses  every 
bit  of  brains  to  give  every  feature  a  sales- 
able  attractive  title.  The  directors  know 
that  good  titles  help  sell  average  pictures, 
that  poor  ones  help  kill  them. 

ON  “LADY  FOR  A  DAY,”  for  example, 
a  list  of  titles  was  handed  to  people  pass¬ 
ing  the  Empire  State  Building.  They  were 
asked  to  choose  the  one  they  liked.  They  all 
differed.  At  an  informal  dinner  in  Holly¬ 
wood,  some  of  the  local  wizards  were  asked 
for  suggestions.  That  didn’t  work  out 
either.  All  the  studio  knows  is  that  a  good 
picture  went  forth  as  “Lady  for  a  Day,” 
and  the  returns  didn’t  equal  what  they 
should  have.  Admittedly,  the  picture  was  ex¬ 
cellent.  The  title,  however,  kept  the  folks 
thinking  of  one  of  Janet  Gaynor’s  mythical 
kingdom  yarns.  It  just  didn’t  jell. 

Similar  ideas  prevail  regarding  exploita¬ 
tion  and  stills. 

COLUMBIA  prides  itself  on  the  fact  that 
its  stills  are  laid  out  with  a  definite  thought 
in  mind  for  exploitation.  The  list  of  stills 
to  be  taken  is  laid  out  in  advance.  Colum¬ 
bia  claims  it  is  the  only  studio  doing  that. 
Bv  creating  the  basic  material  at  the  source 
of  production,  situations  can  be  studied 
easier  and  results  are  more  certain.  On 
exploitation,  the  Columbians  also  try  to 
make  every  thing  mean  money  for  exhib¬ 
itors. 

Perhaps  one  of  the  reasons  for  the  cur¬ 
rent  spirit  is  Sam  Briskin.  Sam  is  of  the 
opinion  that  this  industry  will  see  Grade  A 
theatres  playing  in  Grade  A  houses.  He 
does  not  say  how  Grade  A  pictures  will  be 
guaranteed  or  whether  the  same  principles 
that  make  for  Grade  A  milk  can  be  used 
for  Grade  A  films,  but  he  points  out  that 
when  a  theatre  plays  a  show  like  “Henry 
the  8th”  one  week  and  follows  it  with  “Ad¬ 
vice  to  the  Lovelorn”  the  next  something  is 
wrong  and  a  house  can’t  progress  when  it 
has  to  follow  such  a  policy.  There  is  some 
logic  in  this  argument.  Sam  also  maintains 
that  decentralization  is  the  best  thing  that 
could  have  happened  in  the  industry. 

HARRY  COHN,  who  never  minces  his 
words  and  who  is  as  great  an  aid  in  build¬ 
ing  trade  stories  as  is  Sam  Goldwyn,  has 
definite  ideas,  also.  Harry,  discussing  the 
questions  of  hits  and  flops,  added  that  a  hit 
gets  more  publicity  because  when  a  flop  is 
on  the  way  no  disguise  will  make  the  pub¬ 
lic  think  otherwise. 

The  Columbia  chieftain  also  has  no  illu¬ 
sions  about  production  matters.  He  insists 
that  it  is  all  a  guessing  game  and  the  one 
who  guesses  correctly  is  a  wizard  while  the 
one  who  doesn’t  just  can’t  be.  The  same 
setup  can  be  used  when  speaking  of  musi¬ 
cals.  Musicals,  Cohn  maintains,  make  for 
good  grosses  when  they  are  good.  When 
thev  are  bad  they  do  not.  It’s  just  as  simple 
as  that. 

COLUMBIA’S  leading  executive  has  no 
illusions  about  so-called  artistic  pictures. 
He  cited  “No  Greater  Glory”  (the  title  in 
force  January  26)  as  of  an  arty  type  but 
designed  for  the  box  office. 

Columbia,  generally,  is  nicking  up  speed. 
Current  releases  include  “It  Happened  One 


E 


Night”  and  “No  Greater  Glory”  as  attrac¬ 
tions  of  real  calibre.  In  addition,  “Twenti¬ 
eth  Century”  and  “Red  Square  are  an¬ 
nounced  as  being  in  preparation.  The  lat¬ 
ter,  it  was  later  indicated,  is  being  called 
off. 

Columbians  are  not  asleep. 


UNIVERSAL 

The  old  man  is  still  here — Jr. also  helps — 
Words  for  Ed  Grainger,  too — Three  hits 

helped  out  a  lot — Exhibitors  have  noth¬ 
ing  to  worry  about 

^  THE  OLD  MAN  is  still  on  the  job. 

9  Which  can  only  mean  that  Carl  Laemmle 
is  still  Universal.  Maybe  it  was  Groucho 
Marx  who,  when  told  that  art  was  universal, 
retorted  with  something  to  the  effect  that  he 
always  thought  Carl  Laemmle  was. 

Carl  Laemmle  still  is. 

MAYBE  ^THAT  IS  why  Universal  has 
been  delivering  its  list  of  hits  from  Uni¬ 
versal  City,  with  a  banner  start  that  in¬ 
cluded  “Counsellor  at  Law,”  “Only  Yester¬ 
day”  and  “The  Invisible  Man,”  all  within  a 
month.  Even  now,  the  production  staff  is 
thinking  up  something  to  succeed  the  “In¬ 
visible  Man”  return  at  the  box  office;  Mar¬ 
garet  Sullavan  is  being  shot  in  “Little  Man; 
What  Now”;  Edmund  Grainger,  a  swell  fel¬ 
low  as  well  as  an  ace  producer,  is  shooting 
Paul  Lukas  in  “Frailty,”  which  title  posi¬ 
tively  will  be  changed,  and  Guy  Kibbee  in 
“Alias  the  Deacon,”  which  should  be  a  nat¬ 
ural. 

It  wasn't  so  long  ago  that  all  sorts  of 
rumors  were  surrounding  Universal,  but 
they  aren’t  around  now.  Maybe  Junior 
Laemmle’s  progress  as  a  producer  had 
something  to  do  with  their  disappearance; 
maybe  Jimmy  Grainger’s  entrance  as  sales 
manager  helped  a  bit;  but  anyway  when 
Universal  is  mentioned,  the  story  deals  with 
something  else  other  than  the  company’s 
possible  sale. 

“GLAMOUR,”  with  Constance  Cum¬ 
mings,  Paul  Lukas,  Russ  Columbo  and 
others,  was  in  the  making;  “Let’s  Be  Ritzy” 
had  Lew  Ayres,  Patricia  Ellis,  Isabel  Jew¬ 
ell,  Frank  McHugh,  Burton  Churchill, 
among  others;  and  preparations  were  in 
progress  for  many  others. 

CARL  LAEMMLE  had  a  birthday  party, 
it  didn’t  matter  which  one,  not  so  long  ago. 
Irving  Thalberg,  who  started  in  the  busi¬ 
ness  as  an  aide  to  the  Universal  chief, 
dropped  in,  so  did  many  others.  They  think 
of  Laemmle  as  the  old  man  out  there,  with 
love  and  respect,  but  they  aren’t  quite  set 
on  what  they  should  call  the  younger 
Laemmle.  Not  so  many  years  back  they 
might  not  have  had  such  trouble  in  picking 
a  name  for  him,  but  since  he  turned  out  a 
list  of  hits,  their  views  are  changing.  A 
PePPy  youngster  is  doing  things. 

And  there  is  also  Edmund  Grainger,  a 
chip  off  the  old  block,  a  youngster  with  a 
level  head,  doing  things,  who  will  be  heard 
from  later.  He  deserves  a  lot  of  credit. 

Carl  Laemmle  is  the  picture  business.  He, 
like  Zukor,  is  among  the  daddies  of  them  all. 
New  blood  is  coming  into  Universal  and 
the  new  blood  is  still  of  the  Laemmle  strain. 

EXHIBITORS  who  play  Universal  have 
nothing  to  worry  about  with  a  combination 
of  Laemmles,  the  Cochrans,  R.  H.  &  P.  D., 
not  forgetting  that  traveling  dynamo, 
Jimmy  (Rossi)  Grainer  and  others. 


Mar  1  ’34  pg.  26 


F 


U  DAYS  IN  HOLLYWOOD 


WALT  DISNEY 

Hollywood  at  its  best — Mickey  Mouse, 
Silly  Symphony,  no  profit  from  distribu¬ 
tion  here — A  plea  for  a  better  deal  from 
exhibitors — 600  commercial  tieups 

^  WALT  DISNEY  doesn’t  make  any  money 
®  with  his  Silly  Symphonies  or  Mickey 
Mouses.  That  statement  immediately  dis¬ 
poses  of  the  countless  rumors  regarding  the 
millions  Disney  is  hoarding  away. 

But — 

WHATEVER  MONEY  he  does  receive  in 
the  form  of  profits  comes  from  the  various 
commercial  tieups  engineered  by  nis  repre¬ 
sentatives  with  about  600  different  firms. 

To  see  the  Mickey  Mouse  and  Silly  Sym¬ 
phony  studio  in  action  is  to  see  the  motion 
picture  industry  at  its  best.  There  is  nothing- 
like  it  in  Hollywood  or  anywhere  else. 


Mickey  Mouse  Land 


STATISTICALLY— 

Mickey  is  now  about  6  years  old.  One 
million  Mickey  Mouse  watches  were  sold 
within  the  last  8  months.  This  doesn’t  in¬ 
clude  the  alarm  clock  or  the  3  Little  Pigs 
Watch.  One  hundred  and  eighty  employees 
help  produce  the  shorts.  Every  conceivable 
form  of  commercial  tieup  is  made.  There  is 
no  pi'ofit  in  the  North  America  sales  of  the 
shorts.  Prints  and  production  cost  over 
$10,000  more  on  the  color  Silly  Symphonies. 
In  England  the  returns  hop  from  33  per 
cent  to  50  per  cent  more  for  the  Silly  Sym¬ 
phonies.  Average  gross  is  about  $36,000  in 
18  months. 

MICKEY  MOUSE  costs  about  $20,000  a 
short.  Two-reelers  wouldn’t  cost  much  more. 
From  inception  to  completion,  it  takes  five 
months  to  produce  one  of  the  shorts.  “Three 
Little  Pigs”  cost  $55,000,  has  grossed  over 
$64,000. 

The  folks  who  help  make  the  shorts  work 
year  Yound,  help  must  be  trained,  must  go 
to  school  to  learn  the  trade.  The  people 
must  be  paid  while  learning. 

IN  SOUTH  AMERICA,  a  program  is  sold 
on  the  basis  of  15,000  feet,  including  feature 
and  short.  Now,  separate  deals  are  made 
for  Mickey  Mouse  and  Silly  Symphonies. 

Exhibitors  do  not  seem  to  appreciate 
them  sufficiently.  Booking  them  in  the  same 
as  any  ordinary  poor  short.  They  should 
be  featured  and  sold  properly.  Thereby, 
everybody  would  benefit. 

Birth  of  a  short  finds  an  idea.  This  idea 
may  take  60  days  to  develop.  These  must 
be  expressed  in  drawings.  Outlines  of  the 
story  are  given  to  about  100  people.  They 
work  on  it,  bring  it  back  within  two  weeks. 
The  story  starts.  The  entire  organization 
works  on  it. 

Animators  are  scarce.  This  makes  the 
work  more  difficult.  A  new  short  must  be 
finished  about  every  two  weeks. 


Walt  and  Mickey 


Disney  may  eventually  make  a  feature. 

The  Mary  Pickford  tieup  idea  was 
dropped  because  the  studio  didn’t  have  the 
time. 

THIRTY-TWO  DRAWINGS  are  needed 
for  every  two  feet  of  action.  This  part  is 
on  the  screen  one  and  one-third  seconds.  A 
picture  averages  about  50,000  separate 
drawings.  A  superimposed  process  is  used, 
with  about  12,000  frames  to  a  picture.  It 
averages  about  100  hours  to  shoot  a  picture. 

THE  DISNEY  STUDIOS  occupy  large 
buildings.  These  are  constantly  in  use.  One 
part  is  devoted  to  classrooms  where  new¬ 
comers  learn. 

About  20,000  feet  are  shot  for  use  of 
sound  alone,  4000  feet  included  in  test  ac¬ 
tion,  1500-2000  feet  per  picture.  Finally, 
this  is  cut  down  to  about  650-800  feet  in 
final  form.  Picture  is  actually  shot  twice. 

The  director  works  with  the  musicians. 
Time  sheets  are  prepared.  The  music  is 
translated  into  feet  and  then  synchronized, 
so  many  frames  to  the  measure.  If  okay,  it 
is  then  shot. 

PERFECTION  is  always  sought.  The 
studio  aims  to  give  the  best.  As  an  indica¬ 
tion  of  its  desire  to  help  exhibitors  sell  the 
shorts,  a  trailer,  to  sell  for  50c,  is  being  de¬ 
veloped. 

The  Disney  executives  don’t  kid  them¬ 
selves  about  the  importance  of  the  shorts. 
They  realize  all  too  well  that  too  many 
houses  use  them  for  filler,  but  they  are  de¬ 
termined  to  build  them  until  they  will  mean 
more  than  the  feature.  In  this  they  will 
need  the  aid  of  exhibitors. 


They  All  Help 


TOO  MANY  PEOPLE  have  illusions 
about  Disney’s  profits.  The  average  Silly 
Symphony  is  in  the  red  for  18  months, 
Mickey  Mouse  for  about  12.  What  expan¬ 
sion  has  come  has  been  from  by-products 
and  commercial  tie-ups. 

Walt  Disney  is  a  square  shooter.  During 
depression,  he  increased  his  payroll  500  per 
cent.  For  years,  the  Symphonies  lost  money. 
But  Disney  was  determined  to  make  them 
pay  for  himself  and  exhibitors. 


TODAY,  AT  32,  Disney  is  still  seeking 
perfection.  If  exhibitors  were  as  sincere 
with  Mickey  Mouse  and  the  Silly  Sym¬ 
phonies  as  Disney  is  with  them,  maybe  Dis¬ 
ney  could  turn  a  profit  on  his  American  re¬ 
turns  and  not  depend  upon  other  sources 
for  revenue. 


FOX 

What  has  been  has  been — A  note  of 

prosperity  in  the  future — They're  all 
standing  with  Sidney  R.Kent — Manpower 

and  what  it  means  to  the  studio 

#  WHAT  HAS  BEEN  has  been.  Fox  is 

*  determined  that  exhibitors  will  forget 
what  has  gone  before.  And  it  bases  its  hopes 
on  three  reasons,  “George  White’s  Scandals,” 
“Bottoms  Up,”  and  “Fox  Follies.” 

These  three  productions  will  make  exhib¬ 
itors  forget  what  has  been  labelled  as  a  bad 
year,  even  though  it  really  hasn’t  been  as 
bad  as  it  seemed. 

Then  there  will  be  Will  Rogers  in  “David 
Harum,”  as  well  as  the  current  “Devil 
Tiger,”  which  may  make  a  lot  of  money 
for  some  houses. 

OUT  AT  MOVIETONE  CITY,  where 
Winfield  Sheehan  is  running  the  works,  with 
Sol  Wurtzel  as  executive  producer,  with 
Jesse  Lasky  producing  for  his  own  unit, 
they  are  forgetting  the  past,  and  with  a 
firm  realization  that  Sidney  Kent  is  giving 
more  and  more  attention  to  production,  they 
believe  that  the  future  holds  much  in  store 
for  the  company. 

True,  some  of  the  inbetweeners,  like  “Mur¬ 
der  in  Trinidad,”  with  Nigel  Bruce,  Heather 
Angel  and  Victory  Jory;  “3  on  a  Honey¬ 
moon,”  with  Sally  Eilers,  Zasu  Pitts,  Hen¬ 
rietta  Crosman  and  Johnny  Mack  Brown; 
“All  Men  are  Enemies,”  with  Hugh  Wil¬ 
liams  and  Helen  Twelvetrees,  can’t  be  ex¬ 
pected  to  make  patrons  break  down  the 
doors,  but  Fox  believes  they  will  shape  up 
as  good  as  inbetweeners  from  some  other 
studios. 

TECHNICALLY,  Fox  is  way  up  near  the 
top.  The  construction  and  technical  depart¬ 
ment  generally  surmount  the  stories,  but 
there  will  be  a  change  in  the  type  of  story. 
There  will  be  a  reversion  to  the  kind  of 
yarn  that  makes  for  better  box  office.  The 
voice  of  the  exhibitor  must  and  will  be 
heard. 

THE  JESSE  LASKY  UNIT  has  pro¬ 
duced  all  sorts  of  pictures,  good  and  bad,  on 
“best  tens”  and  “worst  tens,”  but  if  Jesse 
Lasky  stays  at  Fox,  and  it  is  likely  that  he 
will,  Lasky’s  endeavors  will  be  vastly  im¬ 
proved. 

SIDNEY  KENT  has  had  much  to  do  be¬ 
sides  overseeing  production.  But  now  the 
financial  difficulties  are  rapidly  simmering 
down  to  a  smaller  heap  and  Kent,  who  knows 
his  box  office,  is  determined  that  the  pro¬ 
duction  end  keep  its  promises  to  exhibitors. 

AS  HE  SAYS: 

“No  organization  is  stronger  than  its 
manpower,  and  all  its  manpower  must  work 
with  enthusiasm  and  in  harmony  toward  a 
single  goal  or  that'  goal  cannot  be  reached. 
I  know  that  with  every  man  and  every 
woman  at  the  studio,  at  the  home  office  and 
in  the  field,  working  shoulder  and  shoulder, 
we  shall  make  our  obligations  to  the  public 
and  to  the  exhibitors  through  whom  we  serve 
the  public. 

“We  are  in  a  position  to  take  and  hold  the 
leadership  of  the  industry.” 


Mar  1’34  pg.  27 


JAY  EMANUEL  PUBLICATIONS 


INDEPENDENTS 

They  have  caught  the  spirit — Monogram, 
Chesterfield,  Majestic,  Hoffman  lead 

More  faith  on  the  part  of  exhibitors 

THE  INDEPENDENTS  have  sensed 
®  the  upturn.  Their  product  is  improv¬ 
ing. 

THANKS  TO  TREM  CARR,  who  super¬ 
vises  production  at  Monogram,  and  W.  Ray 
Johnston,  who  takes  care  of  the  home  office, 
as  president,  Monogram  is  leading  the  way, 
turning  out  its  scheduled  list  of  pictures, 
paving  the  way  for  a  better  appreciation  of 
independent  production  on  the  part  of  ex¬ 
hibitors,  unaffiliated  and  affiliated. 

M.  H.  HOFFMAN  is  in  the  parade,  too. 
He  has  Liberty  working  overtime  to  bring 
forth  dough  pictures.  He  has  in  the  past. 

At  Chesterfield,  Maury  Cohen  and  George 
Batcheller  are  also  proceeding  on  a  regular 
schedule.  No  delays  here  either. 

I.  E.  Chadwick,  with  “Wine,  Women  and 
Song”  playing  to  good  returns,  is  also  pre¬ 
pared  to  complete  a  quartet. 

Mayfair,  Showmen’s,  Freuler,  Ken  Gold¬ 
smith,  Pyramid,  Tower  and  the  others  are 
prepared  to  complete  their  schedules. 

Majestic,  with  “The  Divorce  Bed”  on  the 
way,  is  uncertain,  hopes  to  finish  its  sched¬ 
ule.  Several  of  its  productions  of  the  past 
have  been  proven  money-getters. 

IN  THE  SERIAL  FIELD,  Nat  Levine 
holds  the  fort,  turns  out  his  quartet  of  ep¬ 
isode — -plays  each  season.  This  season  he 
expects  to  top  it  with  “The  Lost  Jungle;” 
with  Clyde  Beatty,  the  lion  man. 

MONOGRAM  must  be  given  a  lot  of 
credit  for  the  impetus  in  independent  pro¬ 
duction.  It  taught  exhibitors  to  expect 
regular  releases,  gave  them  “Sweetheart  of 
Sigma  Chi,”  and  now  readies  “Beggars  in 
Ermine,”  which  looks  like  a  dough  show. 
It  seeks  to  build  up  new  faces,  has  Ray 
Walker  and  Astrid  Allyn  on  the  upgo.  A 
Monogram  emblem  is  beginning  to  mean 
something  to  exhibitors. 

LIKEWISE,  CHESTERFIELD,  with 
“Rainbow  Over  Broadway,”  has  one  of  the 
ace  indes  of  the  season. 

The  indes  have  caught  the  spirit,  too. 
They’re  all  looking  up. 


STRICTLY  PERSONAL 

ARTHUR  UNGER,  who  is  Variety’s 
head  man  in  Hollywood,  was  formerly  an 
associate  producer  at  Universal.  It  stands 
him  in  good  stead  now. 

*  *  * 

Walt  Disney  studio  is  proud  of  the 
fact  that  houses  playing  all-Disney  bills 
make  out  well.  It  has  clippings  to 
prove  it. 

*  *  * 

IT  LOOKS  like  the  Gran  Cine  Lara, 
Prado  Y  Virtudes,  Habana,  has  the  best 
title  for  “Lady  for  a  Day.”  It  calls  it 
“Dama  Por  Un  Dia.”  Harry  Cohn  please 
notice. 

*  *  * 

Vince  Barnett,  the  ribber,  attended 
the  birthday  party  for  Carl  Laemmle, 
provided  a  nifty  when  Irving  Thalberg 
walked  in  while  the  eating  and  talking 
were  in  progress.  Barnett  rapped  for 
order  and  said,  “It’s  all  right,  boys, 
here  he  comes  now,  stop  talking  about 
him,  he  may  hear  you.”  Thalberg 
blushed  and  laughed  himself. 


THEY  WERE  considering  a  S5  premiere 
for  “Queen  Christina.”  And,  as  usual,  they 
called  up  a  celebrated  female  star  to  ask 
whether  or  not  she  would  take  the  usual 
ten  tickets  at  S5  for  the  opening. 

Said  the  star:  “Why  should  I?  She  never 
buys  any  for  the  opening  of  my  shows.” 

*  *  * 

It  wasn’t  so  long  ago  that  a  young 
writer  joined  the  staff  of  a  studio,  was 
eyed  by  the  president  and  deposited  in 
a  corner  to  wait  out  his  contract  after 
the  prexy  loked  at  him,  decided  he 
couldn’t  be  any  good  with  that  appear¬ 
ance. 

The  young  uniter  is  the  author  of  a 
legitimate  smash.  Now  the  same  studio 
wants  him  back  to  write.  He  won’t 
budge. 

*  *  * 

THE  STARS,  in  general,  think  that  ex¬ 
hibitors  make  a  lot  of  money.  Another  illu¬ 
sion  is  that  stars  never  get  paid  enough. 
They  worship  the  critics  who  give  them 
raves,  try  to  pay  no  attention  to  those  who 
don’t.  Their  fan  mail  is  a  tipoff  how  they 
stand  with  the  public. 

*  *  * 

Katherine  Hepburn  is  the  most 
sought  after  actress.  Everybody  wants 
to  trade  for  her.  They  figure  she  made 
“ Little  Women.”  The  studios  also 
think  “ Morning  Glory”  was  a  smash  at 
every  box  office.  Some  one  ought  to  put 
them  wise. 

*  *  * 

ONE  STUDIO’S  folk  distrust  each  other 
so  much  the  slogan  is:  “Don’t  even  tell 
the  time  unless  you  have  to.” 

*  *  * 

Double  features  are  considered  a  prob¬ 
lem  out  on  the  coast.  And  when  a  pre¬ 
view  is  announced,  it  becomes  a  triple, 
in  many  cases. 

*  *  * 

THE  STUDIO  executives  hate  what  they 
call  ‘blackmail  sheets.”  Many  a  time  when 
they  desire  a  sneak  preview  it  burns  them 
because  a  review  appears  somewhere  the 
next  day.  In  a  lot  of  cases  it  is  better  to 
ask  the  paper  to  lay  off  until  ready. 

*  *  * 

Arthur  Kane,  ivho  used  to  be  presi¬ 
dent  of  Realart,  is  now  western  division 
manager  in  charge  of  Ross  Federal 
Service.  M.  A.  Block,  well  known  in  the 
ad  field  in  the  east,  is  with  K.M.T.R., 
Pasadena,  as  manager  and  announcer. 

*  *  * 

SPEAKING  OF  STARS,  the  case  of  Con¬ 
way  Tearle  was  brought  up.  Star  wanted 
S5000  per,  but  the  studio  wouldn’t  meet  the 
demand.  Tearle  was  out  for  two  years  be¬ 
fore  he  came  back.  Did  he  learn  a  lesson? 
*  *  * 

Among  the  “I  Knew  Him  When” 
recollections  was  one  to  the  effect  that 
Phil  Reisman,  in  charge  of  foreign  de¬ 
partments  for  RKO,  once  was  a  tie 
salesman  in  St.  Paid. 

*  *  * 

THE  U.  S.  MINT  is  the  biggest  user  of 
silver  in  the  country,  but  Eastman  Kodak 
is  second.  Metro  has  a  system  for  reclaim¬ 
ing  the  silver  from  old  film  that  is  success¬ 
ful. 

*  *  * 

Howard  Dietz  came  out  of  his  adver¬ 
tising  and  publicity  department  to  work 
at  Metro  on  “Hollywood  Party.”  He 
is  spending  plenty  of  time  with  the 
show. 

*  *  * 

Nick  Schenck  was  once  a  registered 
druggist  in  New'  York. 

*  *  * 

WALLACE  BEERY  is  a  great  one  for 
stories.  He  is  also  crazy  about  his  little 


G 


girl.  Whenever  he  has  a  new  costume  she 
wants  one  like  it,  and  Wally  hops  down  to 
get  one  immediately. 

*  *  * 

If  President  Roosevelt  ever  needs  am¬ 
bassadors,  he  might  call  on  such  gen¬ 
tlemen  as  Ed  Selzer,  Howard  Strick- 
ling,  Eddy  Eckels,  Tom  Bailey,  Hubert 
Voight,  Leroy  Johnson,  among  others. 
The  head  p.  a.’s  at  the  local  studios  are 
swell  fellows,  and  what  ambassadors! 

*  *  * 

Ask  Felix  Feist,  Metro  sales  man¬ 
ager,  about  his  game  of  golf  with  Jean 
Harlow.  Ask  who  won. 

*  *  * 

MARION  DAVIES  comes  in  for  a  lot  of 
praise  because  of  her  kindness.  She  gives 
away  5000  baskets  of  food  at  Xmas  and  is 
generally  voted  a  swell  gal. 

*  *  * 

Jack  Warner  was  talking  over  ac¬ 
quaintances  when  he  suddenly  piped  up, 
“For  God’s  sake,  what’s  the  name  of 
that  Irishman  in  Pennsylvania?”  Yes, 
it  was  Mike  Comerford. 

*  *  * 

CARL  LAEMMLE,  feted  at  a  party, 

wanted  to  know  who  the  best  man  was,  Sig 

Wittman,  of  the  home  office,  or  Mike  Lan- 
dow.  It  was  an  embarrassing  question,  but 
Uncle  Carl  wanted  to  know.  So  the  answer 
was  “they  are  two  different  types.” 

*  *  * 

It  was  recalled,  also,  that  Epes  Sergeant, 
Variety  exploitation  head,  used  to  bring  in 
the  photo  of  his  kid  each  day  he  worked 
at  the  old  Motion  Picture  World. 

*  *  * 

Mrs.  Jules  Mastbaum  and  her  two 
daughters  were  visitors  in  the  Para¬ 
mount  lot  and  at  Agua  Calient e. 

*  *  * 

RAMON  NOVARRO  has  8  brothers,  4 
sisters,  took  them  all  to  Europe,  and  is  now 
writing  a  play. 

*  *  * 

Metro  is  keeping  a  mountain  lion  and 
a  young  deer  together  on  the  lot  for  a 
scene  to  be  shot  in  a  picture  to  be  made 
months  from  now. 

*  *  * 

THAT  “R”  in  James  “R”  Grainger  stands 
for  “Rossi,”  after  an  Italian  priest,  friend 
of  the  family. 

5*C  5}C 

Jake  Milstein  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jeff 
Lazarus  headed  for  the  east  about  the  same 
time.  *  *  * 

When  one  producer  was  told  that  a 
poor  title  killed  a  picture,  he  said, 
“Well,  we  made  money  on  it.” 

*  *  * 

BENNIE  ZEIDMAN,  who  used  to  be  a 
Philadelphian  many  years  ago,  is  now  a 
producer  at  Universal,  turning  out  some 
nifty  pictures  and  happily  married  to  a 
beautiful  non-pro. 

*  *  * 

They  are  telling  a  good  one  about  the 
ace  femme  syndicate  scribbler  who 
usually  takes  a  big  limousine  around 
to  the  studios  at  Xmas  time.  This  year 
she  hired  a  taxi,  loaded  up  with  gifts 
at  all  the  studios,  and  landed  at  the  last 
one.  When  she  came  out,  someone  had 
stolen  the  taxi  with  all  the  gifts. 

*  *  * 

BOXING  is  a  weekly  Hollywood  occur¬ 
rence.  But  the  folks  don’t  care  about  the 
palookas.  They  go  to  the  Legion,  where  all 
the  stars  attend.  The  Olympic  has  better 
fights,  but  no  one  goes  to  see  the  bouts. 
They  just  want  to  see  the  stars. 


THE  PRODUCERS  ANSWER  SEVEN  QUESTIONS 


Mar  1T 34  pg.  28 


Answered  by  Darryl 
Zanuck  for  United 
Artists-20th  Century 

Box  office  results,  pre¬ 
views,  criticisms  in 
trade  and  newspaper 

publications. 

Most  certainly.  The 

exhibitor  has  his  fing¬ 

ers  directly  on  the 
pulse  of  his  audiences. 

He  not  only  hears  the 

word  of  mouth  opinion 

of  his  patrons,  but  has 

his  ledger  figures  to 

go  by.  However,  the 

exhibitor  should  try  to 

be  constructive. 

They  are  the  price 

both  producers  and  ex¬ 

hibitors  pay  for  criti¬ 
cal  opinion  and  good 
taste.  However,  they 

should  be  limited,  and 

there  is  small  reason 

why  theso  pictures 

could  not  be  so  made 

that  they  will  return 

profit.  1’ 

We  give  considerable 

study  to  the  selection 

of  titles,  with  the  view 

to  selecting  titles  that 

are  “catchy”,  provoca¬ 

tive  and  always  in 
strong  measure,  con¬ 

sistent  with  the  plot. 

We  have  just  altered 

our  policy  to  conform 

to  this  idea.  We  have 

discontinued  program 

pictures,  and  hence¬ 

forth  will  make  only 
big  productions,  fewer 

in  number,  but  bigger 

in  scope. 

Yes.  Change  of  envir¬ 

onment  helps  the  stars 
and  helps  the  com¬ 

panies.  We  borrowed 
Ann  Harding  from 

RKO  Radio  and  have 

given  her  a  picture 

whose  box  office  suc¬ 

cess  greatly  enhances 
her  value. 

We  always  welcome 

criticisms  of  the  press, 

both  trade  and  news¬ 

paper.  Their  observers 
are  trained,  and  reflect 

impartial  viewpoints. 

Answered  by  B.  B.  Kahane 
for  Radio 

We  get  a  public  reaction  to 
our  pictures  through  various 
means — our  branch  exchange 
managers,  the  RKO  Theatres 
which  are  in  touch  with  us 
constantly,  reports  from  cir¬ 
cuit  theatre  operators  and  in¬ 
dependent  operators,  trade- 
papers,  radio  stations,  etc., 
etc. 

Our  company,  of  course,  is 
open  to  suggestions  from  ex¬ 
hibitors. 

We  certainly  do  not  consider 

that  any  prestige  gained  from 

so-called  "arty”  pictures  com¬ 

pensates  for  any  losses  sus¬ 
tained  by  exhibitors,  who  play 
such  pictures.  We  never  set 

out  to  make  a  picture  which 

will  not  be  profitable  to  us 

and  to  exhibitors  playing  the 

pictures.  We  are  not  inter¬ 

ested  in  artistic  triumphs  or 
prestige  pictures  which  are 

box  office  "flops.” 

This  question  is  difficult  to 

answer  as  its  meaning  is  not 

altogether  clear.  Naturally, 

we  always  strive  to  get  good 

box  office  titles.  Occasionally 

after  a  picture  has  been  re¬ 

leased  and  we  believe  that  the 
title  hurts  the  picture  we  go 

to  the  expense  of  changing  the 

title. 

1  do  not  think  the  trend  in 

the  industry  is  towards  less 

pictures.  With  the  present 

theatre  set-up.  and  with  the 

present  policy  obtaining  in 

theatres,  there  is  a  question 

whether  a  reduction  in  the 

number  of  pictures  produced 

by  the  major  companies  is 

feasible. 

With  the  exception  of  certain 

outstanding  personalities,  our 

company  favors  the  inter¬ 

change  of  players.  We  believe 
that  there  are  several  starring 

personalities  who  should  be  re¬ 

tained  exclusively  on  our  com¬ 
pany's  program  and  who 
should  not  be  loaned  to  other 

companies. 

We  give  all  due  consideration 

to  reviews  of  trade-papers  and 

newspaper  critics,  and  con¬ 

structive  suggestions  from  all 
sources. 

Answered  by  Carl  Laemmle, 
Jr.,  for  Universal 

Previews — several  of  them  in 
various  places — unadvertised 
surprise  showings  certain  to 
net  unbiased  reaction.  We 

make  cuts  and  changes  and,  if 
necessary  re-takes  after  these 
previews.  Laughs  are  clocked, 
cards  for  written  reactions  are 
passed  out.  Criticism  (by 

trailers  ahead  of  features)  is 
invited  from  the  screen. 

Not  only  open  to  suggestion 
but  extremely  eager.  1  should 
like  to  have  any,  every  exhibi¬ 
tor,  sit  down  with  a  list  of  our 
pictures  and  check  them  and 
write  me  what  he  likes  and 
what  he  does  not  like  about 
them. 

No  picture  which  causes  the 
exhibitor  to  lose  money  is  an 
asset  to  the  business;  arty  or 
not.  1  do  think  an  arty  pic¬ 
ture  can  be  sold  but  it  must 
bo  sold  by  special  methods 
and  run  in  the  proper  type  of 
theatre. 

No  producer  is  actually  pro¬ 

tected  against  poor  titles.  We 
have  a  title  committee  which 

goes  over  suggestions  from 

more  than  100  persons  on  each 

picture  made.  We  have  often 

had  as  many  as  a  thousand 

title  suggestions  on  a  single 

picture. 

Universal  is  making  more 

pictures  today  than  it  did 

five  years  ago.  1  doubt,  if  we 

will  cut  down  our  program  at 

any  time  in  the  future  but  1 

would  rather  we  would  make 

26  good  ones  than  40  that 

would  just  fill  up  the  booker's 

record. 

The  interchange  of  stars  has 

been  of  great  benefit  to  most 

studios  for  there  are  not 

enough  real  box  office  stars  to 

meet  the  demand.  Nor  can 

any  one  studio  supply  all  of 

its  stars  with  an  outstanding 

building  vehicle  with  every 

assignment. 

We  welcome  the  candor  of 

honest,  competent  critics.  We 

cannot  appreciate  the  “smart 

Alec”  attitude  of  some  who 

think  it  clever  to  poke  fun  at 

all  pictures  and  we  frequently 

for  the  sake  of  their  own  ex¬ 

hibition,  rather  than  appraisal 
of  the  picture,  distort  a  story. 

Answered  by  Emanuel  Cohen 
for  Paramount 

We  get  our  first  reaction  at  the 
"sneak”  previews  of  our  pictures 
— the  previews  attended  by  a  full 
audience  and  only  one  producer 
and  director  from  the  studio.  The 
next  comes  from  the  "general” 
preview,  after  a  picture  has  been 
cut  and  edited.  Then  the  picture 
is  released  and  we  get  reactions 
from  first,  the  box-office;  second, 
from  the  opinions  expressed  in  let¬ 
ters  from  salesmen  and  exhibs. 

At  all  times,  gladly. 

1  believe  each  company  should 
release  only  one  or  two  "prestige” 
pictures  a  year.  This  type  of  pro¬ 
duction  does  build  good  will  for 
both  producer  and  exhibitor  in 
that  it  brings  a  different  audience 
to  the  theatres. 

1  agree  with  you.  Our  titles  are 
decided  upon  by  our  advertising 
and  publicity  council,  a  group 
composed  of  Bill  Pine,  studio  ad¬ 
vertising  manager;  Tom  Baily, 
studio  publicity  director;  A.  M. 
Botsford,  William  Wright,  William 
Thomas,  and  Jeff  Lazarus,  former 
theatre  operator  and  advertising 
man  for  Publix. 

1  know  of  no  such  trend.  Our 
first  consideration  is  to  the  the¬ 
atres. 

The  system  of  interchanging  stars 

has  two  definite  advantages. 

First,  it  permits  better  casting; 

consequently  better  pictures.  Sec¬ 

ondly.  it  enables  a  greater  audi¬ 
ence  to  become  acquainted  with 
the  work  of  a  player. 

1  do  not  consider  them  by  them¬ 

selves.  Critical  views  and  box- 
office  results  must  be  taken  to¬ 

gether. 

Answered  by 
Harry  Cohn  for 
Columbia 

From  ex¬ 

changes. 

We  don’t  get 
advice  from 

exhibitors,  but 
w  e  welcome 

ideas  from 
them. 

"Arty"  pictures 
should  also  be 
made  with  an 
eye  toward  the 
box  office. 

Titles  cause  us 
great  concern. 
We  are  con¬ 
stantly  on  the 
lookout  for 
good  ones. 

A  critic  is  like 

a  eunuch.  He 

can  tell  you 

how,  but  he 

can't  do  it 

himself. 

Answered  by  Louis  B. 
Mayer  for  Metro 
Goldwyn  Mayer 

By  previews,  by  ex¬ 
change  reactions,  by 
contact  with  the 
public. 

Certainly.  We  are  al¬ 
ways  glad  to  get  the 
exhibitors’  viewpoint 
so  that  we  can  gauge 
our  production  poli¬ 
cies  from  it. 

A  so-called  "arty”  pic¬ 
ture  should  also  be  made 
with  an  eye  to  the  box 
office.  No  picture 
should  be  so  con¬ 
structed  that  it  is 
totally  devoid  of  the 
entertainment  values 

that  make  for  audi¬ 
ence  consumption  on  a 
large  scale. 

The  staff  is  constantly 
on  the  lookout  for 
good  titles.  There  have 
been  too  many  ex¬ 
amples  of  good  pic¬ 
tures  being  killed  by 
poor  titles.  In  this  de¬ 
partment,  too,  we 

often  ask  exhibitors’ 
reactions. 

No  one  can  regulate 
quality  by  quantity. 
Metro  tries  to  make 
good  pictures.  Each 

time  we  start  produc¬ 
tion  on  a  picture  we 
do  our  best  to  make  it 
a  money-maker  as  well 
as  a  production  suc¬ 
cess. 

This  has  been  a  vast 
problem  to  us.  In  a 
lot  of  cases  it  did  not 
benefit  our  studios.  In 
the  future,  we  will  not 
encourage  such  prac¬ 
tices  unless  we  know 
that  the  star  will 
benefit.  We  must  pro¬ 
tect  our  accounts. 

When  a  critic  is  hon¬ 
est,  his  opinion  is  ap¬ 
preciated.  It  is  only 
when  the  critic  gets 
away  from  his  real 
purpose  in  reviewing 
that  there  can  be  any 
objection  found. 

Answered  by  Jack  Warner 
for  Warner  Brothers 

The  type  of  pictures  we  make 
hinges  upon  the  condition  or  state 
of  mind  of  the  public.  In  times 
of  stress  when  people  are  more  or 
less  worried,  they  need  laughs  to 
take  their  minds  off  their  troubles. 
When  in  a  happier  frame  of  mind, 
they  are  more  receptive  to  drama. 

Absolutely.  We  are  getting  them 
all  the  time  in  the  form  of  re¬ 
ports  from  theatres  as  to  which 
pictures  are  most  popular  with 
their  audiences.  In  fact,  before 
we  plan  our  production  program, 
each  year  we  get  a  very  careful 
check  through  our  sales  depart¬ 
ment  as  to  what  type  of  pictures 
exhibitors  feel  will  bring  in  the 
customers. 

So-called  “arty”  pictures  have 
never  been  commercial  successes. 
It's  been  my  experience  that  peo¬ 
ple  who  talk  most  about  elevation 
of  pictures  rarely  ever  see  them. 
All  pictures  should  be  works  of 
art  that  appeal  to  everybody 
from  both  an  artistic  and  enter¬ 
tainment  standpoint. 

1  don't  know  that  we  have  poor 
titles.  However,  no  title  alone 
will  get  people  into  the  theatre. 
We  make  sure  that  not  only  the 
portrait  is  striking,  but  also  the 
frame  around  it,  by  building  up 
interest  in  the  picture,  by  sur¬ 
rounding  the  title  with  stars,  pop¬ 
ular  and  capable  casts,  stressing 
the  picture’s  strong  sales  points, 
exploitation  and  other  commer¬ 
cial  angles. 

Certain  individuals  who  have 
set  themselves  up  as  so-called 
aristocrats,  whoso  limitations  are 
confined  to  producing  a  single  pic¬ 
ture  about  every  year  or  two,  have 
been  the  loudest  in  their  clamor 
for  fewer  pictures.  Well,  this  in¬ 
dustry  of  ours  can't  wait  for  peo¬ 
ple  like  that. 

THE 

QUESTION 

What  means 
do  you  have 
to  sense 
public  reac¬ 
tion  to  your 
pictures  ? 

Is  your 
organization 
open  to 

suggestions 
r  e  g  a  rding 
pr  oduction 
plans  ? 

Do  you  feel 
that  prestige 
gained  from 
“arty  or  dif¬ 
ferent”  pic¬ 
tures  makes 
up  for  losses 
e  x  h^i  bitors 
usually  in¬ 
cur  in  play¬ 
ing  them? 

What  pro¬ 
tection  do 
you  have 
against  poor 
titles? 

Do  you 
think  the 
trend  is  to¬ 
ward  more 
or  less  pic¬ 
tures? 

Do  you  be¬ 
lieve  in  the 
inter- 
change  of 

stars  ? 

How  do  you 
feel  toward 
opinions  of 
critics  ? 

(ED.  NOTE:  Due  to  the  press  of  studio  work,  answers  from  Winfield  R.  Sheehan  for  Fox  were  not  received  in  time  to  be  included  in  this 


LUCILE 

BROWNE 


Directed  by 

PAVE  HOWARD  BERT  CLAP 


12  MIGHTY  EPISODES 


FOR  THE  PAST  8  YEARS  I  have  been  specializing  in  serial 
production.  In  that  time  I  have  given  to  the  trade  more  than 
thirty-five  serials.  Among  this  number  have  been  such  out¬ 
standing  money-makers  as:  “King  of  the  Kongo",  (the  first 
talking  serial  ever  produced),  "Phantom  of  the  West", 
"Vanishing  Legion",  "Lightning  Warrior",  "Hurricane 
Express",  "Devil  Horse",  "Three  Musketeers",  "Fighting  with 
Kit  Carson"  and  "The  Wolf  Dog". 


NOTWITHSTANDING  THE  HIGH  QUALITY  of  these  produc¬ 
tions  I  do  not  hesitate  to  go  on  record  that  our  latest  serial, 
"THE  MYSTERY  SQUADRON",  represents,  without  question, 
the  best  serial  I  ever  produced.  In  asserting  this,  I  am  staking 
my  reputation  and  knowledge  of  serial  values. 


AND 


WHEN  I  DECIDED  to  produce"THE  MYSTERY  SQUADRON", 
it  was  with  the  determination  to  incorporate  and  emphasize 
ADULT  APPEAL,  and  we  built  our  story  and  dramatic  values 
with  this  constantly  in  mind.  I  am  confident  that  this  objective 
has  been  achieved  in  "THE  MYSTERY  SQUADRON".  And 
you  will  bear  me  out  when  you  play  it. 


I  am  ready  and  willing  to  stand  or  fall  on  the  claims  I  make 
for  this  Perfect  Serial.  /I  /^~) 


.'V 


"FIGHTING 

WITH 

KIT  CARSON 


"THE 

WOLF  DOG 


"THE 

THREE 

lUSKETEERS 


"A  real  story  with  a  full 
quota  of  hair-rising  stunts 
puts  this  one  up  front  in 
the  serial  class". 

— Box-Office 


A  big  advance 
on  the  usual  serial". 
—  National  Exhibitor 


-  .  - 


"Nat  Levine  has  outdone 
himself  in  the  production 
of  this  serial". — Film  Daily 


iOLD  MEDAL  FILM  COMPANY 

1ILADELPHIA  OFFICE:  1236  Vine  Street  A  LUCCHESE,  President  WASHINGTON  OFFICE:  Mather  Building 

Telephone  No.  Locust  4712  Telephone  No.  Metropolitan  2133 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Mar  1*34 


31 


Censor -Film  Dispute 

Taxpayers’  Protective  League  experi¬ 
enced  difficulties  with  city  police  and 
State  officials  when  the  league  attempted 
to  show  a  motion  picture,  “The  War 
Against  the  Centuries,”  in  a  Harrisburg 
hall,  February  16.  Dealing  with  Soviet 
Russia,  the  picture  was  postponed  from 
the  original  date  and  shown  in  another 
hall,  February  19. 

Contending  State  authorities  had  con¬ 
demned  (he  hall  in  which  the  picture 
originally  had  been  scheduled  to  play 
and  the  picture  had  not  been  passed  by 
the  State  Board  of  Censors,  Harrisburg 
police  ordered  the  league  to  cancel  its 
original  date  and  a  detail  of  policemen 
was  on  hand  to  see  that  orders  were 
not  disobeyed. 

Picture,  which  J.  F.  Ommert,  a  mem¬ 
ber  of  the  publicity  committee  of  the 
Taxpayers’  Protective  League,  said  was 
approved  by  the  State  Board  of  Censors 
as  an  educational  film,  when  shown 
February  19,  lost  money.  According  to 
Ommert,  the  show  was  presented  for  the 
benefit  of  Harrisburg  unemployed,  but 
the  presence  of  policemen  and  detectives 
in  the  hall  frightened  away  many  would- 
be  spectators,  so  that  instead  of  raising 
money  for  the  unemployed,  the  league 
lost  money  on  the  transaction.  Ommert 
also  charged  that  a  fee  of  $100  was 
demanded  by  the  city. 


Heard  In 


EHIGH  VALLEY 

Petition  For 
“Little  Women” 


By  Jack 


THIS  COLUMN  extends  sympathy  to  Jack 
Van,  manager,  Wilmer  and  Vincent’s  State, 
Allentown,  owing  to  the  loss  of  his  father. 
.  .  .  Elder  Van  passed  away  at  Binghamton. 
.  .  .  Jack  made  a  hurried  trip  to  the  upstate 
city.  .  .  .  District  manager,  Lee  Levy,  took 
charge  of  things  during  his  absence.  .  .  .  For 
“Eat  ’Em  Alive’1’  State’s  ads  in  Morning  Call 
appeared  inverted.  .  .  .  Wilmer  and  Vincent's 
Rialto  is  doing  well  under  the  wing  of  new 
manager,  James  Maury.  .  .  .  Lyric,  Arthur 
Kerns,  is  keeping  up  a  hot  schedule  of  big 
stage  shows  during  the  cold  wave. 

ROXY,  Northampton,  Andy  Anderson, 
nearly  lost  its  claim  to  being  “Lehigh  Valley’s 
Most  Beatuiful  Theatre”  when  fire  broke  out 
in  the  basement  of  the  building.  .  .  .  Dam¬ 

age  was  confined  to  the  section  where  the 
fire  started  but  the  theatre  auditorium  was 
filled  with  smoke  by  the  time  the  blaze  was 
brought  under  control.  .  .  .  Women’s  Club, 
Nazareth,  grew  impatient  owing  to  delayed 
bookings  of  “Little  Women”  at  the  Broad 
Street,  Nazareth.  .  .  .  Petition  was  stopped 

when  Manager  George  Meeser  informed  them 
the  picture  would  be  shown  in  the  near 
future.  .  Mrs.  Meeser  is  remaining  at 

Kingston  waiting  for  moderate  weather.  .  .  . 
Savoy,  Catasauqua,  had  a  benefit  showing  of 
“A  Chance  at  Heaven,”  February  21,  spon¬ 
sored  by  the  Unemployed  League.  .  .  .  Main 
Street,  Phillipsburg,  N.  J„  had  the  “Only 
Showing  In  This  Section  Uncensored”  of 
“Private  Life  of  Henry  the  Eighth.” 

Wilbor,  Easton,  had  special  show  for  children 


“Catherine  the  Great ”  Has  a  Big  Cast 


Doug  Fairbanks,  Jr.,  and  Elizabeth  Bergner  are  offered  in  “Catherine  the  Great  ” 

from  United  Artists. 


Heard  In 

C  R  A  N  T  O  N 

Comerford  Won’t 
Run  for  Governor 

_ By  Waddy _ 

M.  E.  COMERFORD  refuses  to  be  candidate 
for  governor.  ...  "1  am  not  a  candidate  for 
that  office  or  any  office,  for  that  matter.  .  .  . 
1  am  very  grateful,  of  course,  to  those  who 
have  mentioned  me  in  connection  with  this  high 
position.  .  .  .  It  is  indeed  a  very  honorable 
place  and  of  the  highest  importance  to  the 
people  of  Pennsylvania.  ...  I  want  to  see  it 
occupied  always  by  men  of  sterling  integrity 
who  will  give  to  the  people  honest  and  capable 
service.1’’  .  .  .  Century  and  Regent  Theatres, 
Rochester,  have  just  been  acquired  by  Comer¬ 
ford.  .  .  .  Jess  Blanchard,  manager.  Strand, 
Sunbury,  has  been  designated  to  handle  the  pub¬ 
licity  for  a  Sale  Week,  sponsored  by  the  local 
Chamber  of  Commerce.  .  .  .  Manager  Charles 
Woodin  will  conduct  Sunday  night  perform¬ 
ances  at  the  Capitol,  Mauch  Chunk,  proceeds 
from  which  will  assist  the  newly  formed  com¬ 
mittee  on  flood  relief.  .  .  .  Dan  Holland,  Old 
Forge,  has  taken  a  fling  at  stage  attractions  to 
counteract  the  bugaboo  of  Lent. 


of  Rin  Tin  Tin,  Jr.  .  .  .  State,  Wilmer  and 

Vincent,  J.  Fred  Osterstock,  had  Eugene  Bar- 
nako’s  style  show  on  the  stage. 


JOE  ELECKER  is  rehashing  his  bag  of 
tricks  tc*  keep  the  Riviera  Theatre,  Scranton, 
from  being  splurged  with  red  during  the 
church  season.  .  J.  J.  O’Leary,  Comer- 

ford’s  general  auditor,  has  a  steady  bunk  in 
a  railroad  berth  between  Scranton  and  New 
York.  Theatregoers  of  Sunbury  sug¬ 

gest  that  the  only  fault  they  find  with  the 
Strand  is  the  censorship  of  the  product  be¬ 
fore  exhibition. 


WILLIAMSPORT 


SA'I  LRDAY  BUSINESS  has  held  to  about 
normal  and  weekday  attendance  fairly  good. 

.  Well-balanced  newspaper  advertising 
campaigns  credited.  .  .  .  Serials  are  catching 
the  eyes  of  a  good  many  older  people.  .  .  . 
Once  again  the  Majestic  is  to  be  opened  for 
stage  shows.  .  .  .  Under  the  direction  of  a  man 
who  has  operated  a  motion  picture  theatre  with 
much  success.  .  .  .  Two  daily  newspapers  are 
now  running  Hollywood  news  features  and  the 
local  radio  station  is  presenting  transcriptions 
prepared  by  movie  companies.  .  .  .  The  the¬ 
atres  are  receiving  more  indirect  publicity  than 
for  some  time.  .  .  .  Sunday  paper  carries  a 
column  listing  the  features  at  each  theatre  for 
the  week,  and  the  dailies  carry  the  Hollywood 
news  and  an  occasional  direct  story  on  the  local 
theatres. 


“The  Lost  Patrol"  Is  a  Man's  Show 


Vic  McLaglen,  Boris  Karloff  and  a  man’s  cast  are  in  the  Radio  picture. 


32 


Mar  1'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


SCOOP! 


We’re  proud  to  announce  the 
acquisition  of  the  most  unusual 
shorts  on  the  market. 

"BROADWAY 

GOSSIP" 

BIG  ENOUGH  TO  PLAY 
FIVE  CONSECUTIVE  WEEKS 
AT  THE  ALPINE,  PHILA. 

Daring!  Different! 
Diverting!  Hitherto 
undisclosed  chapters 
in  the  lives  of  the  men 
and  women  who  make 
the  headlines. 


"AMERICAN 

EXPLORER" 

BOOKED  SOLID  BY 
THE  WARNER  AND 
COMERFORD  CIRCUITS 

An  education  with  a 
laugh!  What  laughs 
when  you  rediscover 
the  big  cities  of  Phila¬ 
delphia,  New  York  and 
Washington. 

We  promised  the 
Industry’s  Best  Shorts 
.  .  .  we’re  delivering  them! 


Previously  Announced 

Tom  White 

Featurettes  of  Merit 

4  —  Three  reels 
II  —  Two  reels 
4  —  One  reels 

Bits  of  Novelty  collected  from 
the  four  corners  of  the  earth. 


DISTRIBUTED  BY 

HERBERT  W.  GIVEN,  Inc. 

1239  Vine  Street  Philadelphia 

Branches  in: 

NEW  YORK  WASHINGTON 


First  Division  Adds 


‘forgotten  Men”  to  List 


Exchange  Takes  Another  Exploi¬ 
tation  Hit 


First  Division  has  acquired  distribu¬ 
tion,  in  all  its  territories,  of  “Forgotten 
Men,”  smash  authentic  war  picture, 
which  has  been  breaking  records  every¬ 
where. 

The  exchange  is  now  distributing  the  show, 
which  is  a  tie-up  natural  in  view  of  the  current 
war  pictures  used  in  all  the  leading  papers  of 
the  country. 

The  exchange  is  also  backing  the  show  with 
a  whirlwind  campaign,  and  has  the  picture 
ready  for  immed:ate  dating. 

Meanwhile,  “The  Road  to  Ruin,”  with  big- 
buys  from  the  chains,  including  southern  Pub- 
lix  group,  is  also  accounting  for  big  grosses. 
Another  exploitation  campaign  is  ready  on  this 
one. 

Playing  “Road  to  Ruin”  are.  Liberty,  New  Orleans. 
Strand,  Knoxville,  Tenn..  Rialto,  Chattanooga,  Tenn.; 
Tivoli,  Montgomery,  Ala.;  Family  and  Ritz,  LaGrange, 
Georgia;  Imperial,  Jacksonville,  Fla.;  Franklin,  Tampa; 
C'ameo,  St.  Petersburg,  Fla.;  Webb,  Gastonia,  N.  C.; 
Rialtc,  Durham,  N.  C.;  Victory,  Salisbury,  N.  C. ;  Broad¬ 
way,  Fa.vetteville,  N.  C. ;  Olympia,  Cambridge,  Mass. ; 
Strand,  Boston;  Strand,  Gloucester,  Mass.;  Hollywood, 
Buffalo;  Broadway,  Dover,  Mass. 

Academy,  Fall  River;  New  Bedford,  New  Bedford, 
Mass.;  Strand,  New  Haven,  Mass.;  Garden,  New  Haven, 
Mass.;  Palace,  New  Britain;  Bowdoin  Sq.,  Boston;  Mag¬ 
net,  Dorchester,  Mass.;  Strand,  Haverhill,  Mass.;  Princess, 
Hartford,  Conn.;  Majestic,  Boston;  Broadway,  Spring- 
field. 

Strand,  Wallingford;  Hollywood,  E.  Providence;  Com¬ 
munity,  Centerdale;  Gem,  Arctic;  Union  Sq.,  Pittsfield, 
Mass.;  Suffolk,  Holyoke;  Richmond,  N.  Adams,  Mass.; 
Gayety,  Boston;  Transfer,  Jersey  City;  Princess,  Hartford, 
Conn. 

Playing  “Forgotten  Men”  are;  Criterion  Theatre, 
Broadway;  Shubert's,  Cincinnati;  105th  St.,  Cleveland; 
Colonial,  Akron;  Princess,  Toledo;  State,  Youngstown; 
Europa,  Philadelphia. 

The  success  of  “Forgotten  Men”  is  largely 
due  to  Samuel  Cummins,  one  of  the  ace  exploi¬ 
tation  men  of  the  business.  Cummins  knew  that 
“Forgotten  Men”  would  be  a  natural,  primed 
it  and  had  it  set  to  go  when  interest  was  at  its 
highest.  It  is  a  good  example  of  a  man  know¬ 
ing  his  business  and  having  a  lot  of  foresight. 


Michael  Magaro  Passes 

Michael  Magaro,  proprietor,  Harrisburg’s 
first  motion  picture  theatre,  died  February  20 
at  his  home  in  Harrisburg.  Native  of  Cosen- 
zra,  Italy,  Magaro  came,  in  1883,  to  Harris¬ 
burg  where  he  opened  the  Bijou,  Harrisburg’s 
first  picture  house,  in  1903.  Admission  prices 
were  five  cents  for  children  and  adults  and  at¬ 
tendance  was  fair.  Few  children  paid  to  see 
shows  at  the  Bijou,  however,  for  it  was  one  of 
the  delights  of  Magaro  to  let  them  in  free. 
Magaro  rebuilt  the  Bijou  and  continued  to  oper¬ 
ate  it  as  a  motion  picture  house  until  1912  when 
he  sold  it  to  James  George. 


A  WAR  CONSCIOUS  Public  is  rushing  to  see 


Men" 


"Let’s 

GO 

TO 

SEE.." 

WH  AT  ? 
WHERE? 


Have  you  told  them  what’s  show¬ 
ing  at  your  theatre?  You  ought 
to.  You  can’t  expect  people  to 
flood  your  theatre  if  they  don’t 
know  who’s  playing  in  what. 

And  now  you  can.  The  Record 
Amusement  Directory  offers  you 
the  opportunity  to  tell  176,000 
people  every  day,  270,000  on  Sun¬ 
day,  for  only  30  cents  a  day. 
That’s  all  a  listing  in  Philadel¬ 
phia’s  first  and  only  complete 
Amusement  Directory  costs  you. 
Longer  listings,  15  cents  for  each 
additional  line. 

The  RECORD 

Amusement  Directory 

is  consulted  every  day  by  Phila¬ 
delphia’s  biggest  group  of  people 
who  go  places  and  see  things. 
More  than  160  movie  theatres  in 
the  Philadelphia  area  already  are 
listed  in  it.  If  yours  isn’t  you’re 
letting  your  competitor  lure  your 
customers.  To  insert  your  ad  just 
call 


PHILADELPHIA 

RECORD 

CLASSIFIED  DEPARTMENT 

WALNUT  2300 


DATE  IT  NOW!  From  FIRST  DIVISION 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Mar  1  ’  34 


33 


Heard  In 

1LMINGTON 

George  Jones 
Cuts  Passes 


HEAVY  SNOW  played  havoc.  .  .  .  George 
Jones  plans  to  get  out  advertising  teasers  of 
Anna  Sten  poses,  similar  to  those  carried  in 
New  York  papers  for  “Nana.”  .  .  .  Lew  Black 
“teased”  a  lot  with  “Hi,  Nellie”  stickers.  .  .  . 
Lew  also  had  all  of  the  Aldine  employees  send 
out  some  400  or  500  unique  postal  cards  to  their 
various  friends  and  acquaintances  urging  “Hi, 
Nellie”  attendance.  .  .  .  Lew  ran  a  full  page 
"adv  in  the  Sunday  Star  for  "Man's  Castle,” 
but  he’s  not  right  sure  that  cards  sent  out  to 
Jewish  citizens  about  the  appearance  of  Mollie 
Picon  in  a  short  on  the  same  program  didn  t 
draw  as  many  in  during  the  rough  weather. 

NEW  RIALTO  management  had  remin¬ 
iscences  of  good  old  days  when  “Carolina’ 
was  put  on.  .  .  .  Big  ads  were  used.  .  .  . 

Lew  Black  had  to  resort  to  stock  24  sheets 
for  his  top  sign  after  the  police  made  him 
pull  in  a  large  announcement  banner  that 
projected  too  far  over  the  building  line.  .  .  . 
Certainly  was  sorry  to  see  Berny  Seamon 
leave  the  Queen.  .  .  Aldine  3  sheets  are 

being  placed  above  the  closed  Garrick  mar¬ 
quee.  .  .  .  “Bill”  Highfield,  assistant  man¬ 

ager,  Queen,  tells  me  Lew  Black  and  Charley 
Albert  were  not  the  only  familiar  faces  Lyle 
Trenchard,  district  manager,  saw  when  he 
came  back  to  Wilmington.  .  .  .  “Bill”  says 

he  was  among  them.  .  .  Young  Highfield 

is  a  neighbor  of  mine.  .  The  Stanley- 

Warner  train  locomotive  and  coach  on  motor 
trucks  for  “Convention  City”  paraded  about 


“Catherine  the  Great” 

England  may  well  be  proud  of  the 
UA-distributed  “Catherine  the  Great.” 
A  new  name  appears  in  Elizabeth  Berg- 
ner  while  Doug  Fairbanks,  Jr.,  offers  an 
added  marquee  help  to  sell. 

“Catherine”  is  a  big  show,  must  be 
sold  that  way.  It  is  well  produced,  a 
credit  to  any  country. 

Exhibitors  ought  best  to  see  it  before 
playing  it.  It  deserves  a  big  campaign. 
Without  it  prospective  audiences  will  be 
unimpressed. 

J.  E. 


the  streets  for  the  film  ballyhoo  when  it  was 
shown  at  the  Aldine.  .  .  “Morty”  Levine 

had  a  layout  of  patent  medicine  exhibit  and 
letters  from  doctors  in  lobby  for  the  “Big 
Shake  down.”  .  .  .  Dropped  over  to  Joe 

DeFiori’s  Park  the  other  night  and  was  cer¬ 
tainly  impressed  with  house’s  snappy  appear¬ 
ance.  .  .  .  Regular  Warner  turn  out,  with 

trolley  car  and  other  ballyhoo  is  ready  to  go 
out  for  “Fashions  of  1934”  at  the  Aldine. 
.  .  .  An  Aldine  usher,  uniformed  and  gold 

braided  came  into  the  “Journal”  office  the 
other  day  with  a  reader,  inspiring  William 
Penn  Frank,  former  “Exhibitor”  correspon¬ 
dent  to  wisecrack  that  copy  boys  ought  to 
be  dolled  up  that  way,  so  they  could  be 
found.  .  .  .  George  Jones,  Loew’s  Parkway, 

has  cut  down  on  newspaper  passes. 

FIRST  CHANGE  made  in  Warner  man¬ 
agers  recently  was  the  shifting  of  Berny  Sea¬ 
mon  from  the  Queen  to  the  Germantown  The¬ 
atre,  and  the  transfer  of  Dick  Hilsher,  assist¬ 
ant  manager,  Stanley,  Chester,  to  the  Queen. 


Audio  Expands 

Due  to  the  increased  activity  in  the  trick 
photography  and  animation  field,  Audio  Produc¬ 
tions,  Inc.,  has  moved  their  production  head¬ 
quarters  from  the  Bronx  Studios  to  the  Fox 
Studios  New  York,  where  they  have  taken 
larger  space  to  accommodate  this  department. 

A  considerable  amount  of  equipment  with 
several  new  items  which  will  permit  them  to 
obtain  additional  desired  effects  in  theatrical 
trick  photography  beyond  the  standard  work  of 
wipes  and  dissolves  has  been  added  to  the  pres¬ 
ent  equipment. 


Theatre  Corporation  Dissolved 

Notice  of  certificate  of  dissolution  of  the 
Marshall  Street  Theatre  Corporation,  operat¬ 
ing  at  Norristown,  but  a  Delaware  cor¬ 
poration,  was  published  in  Wilmington  papers. 


.  .  .  Shifts  meant  promotions  for  both  men. 
.  .  .  “Bill”  Highfield  remains  as  assistant 
manager  at  the  Queen.  .  .  Lew  Black,  Aldine, 
will  look  after  some  of  the  lower  Market 
Street  interests  that  Seamon  formerly  handled, 
such  as  the  sign  shop  and  the  two  closed  the¬ 
atres. 

JACOB  SCHEIFELE,  Wilmington,  a 
former  member  of  the  Delaware  legislature, 
who  on  two  sessions  of  the  legislature  caused 
motion  picture  men  considerable  worry  over 
a  censorship  bill,  which  died  with  a  commit¬ 
tee,  had  his  left  foot  amputated  recently  as  a 
result  of  gangrene  poison. 

WARNER  EMPLOYEES  have  revived  the 
service  meetings.  .  .  .  Meetings  are  being  held 
once  a  week,  with  Edman  Devenney,  assistant 
manager,  Aldine,  as  presiding  officer. 


PHILADELPHIA 


NEW  YORK 


WASHINGTON 


BALTIMORE 


NATIONAL-KLINE 
POSTER  CO. 

1307  VINE  STREET 
PHILADELPHIA 

A 

POSTER  RENTALS 


NATION  AL-PENN 
PRINTING  CO. 

1233  VINE  STREET 
PHILADELPHIA 

A 

PRINTING 


SIMON  LIBROS 


GEO.  H.  KLINE 


OSCAR  LIBROS 


34 


Mar  1'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Heard  In 

T  R  E  N 


TON 


Allied  Fights 
Two  Bills 


ALLIED  THEATRE  OWNERS  of  New 
Jersey,  Inc.,  at  meeting  in  Trenton  pledged 
united  support  to  President  Sidney  Samuelson 
in  his  fight  against  three  measures  introduced  in 
the  New  Jersey  legislature — one  senate  bill  by 
Albert  Woodruff,  Camden,  and  two  by  Assem¬ 
blyman  Alexander  P.  Waugh,  Verona.  .  .  . 

The  Woodruff  measure  allows  the  use  of  state 
and  local  officials  to  enforce  the  National  Re¬ 
covery  Act  codes  and  the  Waugh  bills  provide 
for  confirmation  of  the  State’s  authority  to  levy 
against  industry  the  cost  of  administering  the 
National  Recovery  Act  codes  in  the  state  and  an 
appropriation  for  the  State  Industrial  Recovery 
Board.  .  .  .  President  Samuelson  declares  the 
bills  as  drawn  impose  too  great  restriction  upon 
the  theatre  and  motion  picture  industry. 

THE  ALLIED  MEMBERS  reported  prog¬ 
ress  in  the  effort  to  amend  the  pending  two 
percent  sales  tax  measure  by  exempting  ad¬ 
missions  up  to  50  cents.  .  .  .  Bill  as  offered 
by  Assemblyman  Stanley  Naughright,  Re¬ 
publican  house  leader,  makes  no  exemptions 
except  for  water,  gasoline,  electricity  and 
other  public  utilities.  .  .  .  Two  measures  to 

increase  the  billboard  license  fees  and  impose 
more  drastic  regulations,  pending  in  the  leg¬ 
islature  are  opposed  by  the  Allied. 

William  C.  Hunt,  Hunt  chain,  assemblyman 
from  Cape  May  County  offered  a  measure, 
House  260,  to  prohibit  walkathon  or  mara¬ 
thon  dances  after  eight  consecutive  hours. 

Another  bill  by  Hunt  provides  for 
licensing  of  carnivals,  exhibitions  and  other 
itinerant  shows.  .  .  .  H.  G.  Brooker,  Phila¬ 

delphia,  who  succeeded  Herman  Wahn  as 
manager  of  the  State,  resigned  February  17. 


Heard  In 


A 


TL ANTIC  CITY 

Strand  Plans 
Some  Rebuilding 


COLD  AND  LIEAVY  SNOWS  killed  an¬ 
ticipated  Washington’s  Birthday  business.  .  .  . 
Steel  Pier  cancelled  holiday  vaudeville  bill.  .  .  . 
Opening  of  Apollo  now  set  for  March  10.  .  .  . 
Immediately  following  Apollo  opening,  Strand 
will  close  for  alterations  that  will  give  spacious 
entrance,  preliminary  to  contemplated  general 
rebuilding,  if  operation  can  be  finished  in  time 
to  reopen  house  for  Easter  business.  .  .  .  Store 
adjoining  present  entrance  already  torn  out  for 
wide  lobby  space.  .  .  .  Complete  project  for 
new  theatre  building  will  start,  according  to 
present  plans,  in  the  Fall.  .  .  .  Floyd  West  and 
I.  B.  Finn  have  exchanged  places  as  Warner 
house  managers.  West  going  from  the  Stanley 
to  the  Virginia  and  Finn  leaving  the  Virginia 
for  the  Stanlev.  .  .  .  Probability  is  that  West 
will  take  charge  of  Warner  when  the  big  house 
ooens  for  the  summer  season.  .  .  .  Capitol  and 
Ventnor  are  spot-booking  RKO  product.  .  .  . 
“Little  Women"  and  “Flying  Down  to  Rio"  to 
date. 

ALLOWING  FOR  interference  of  nasty 
weather,  Warner’s  “Convention  City*-”  did 
well  at  box  office  in  locale  of  film’s  story. 
.  .  .  Received  unsolicited  publicity  through 
newspaper  front  page  squib  describing  Mayor 
Harry  Bacharach  as  burning  up  over  alleged 


Adolphe  Menjou,  Ruth  Chatterton  and  Donald  Woods  are  included  in  the  Warner 

picture. 


affront  to  Mayor’s  official  dignity  in  reception 
scene  at  station. 


MID-JERSEY 


LOU  ROVNER  opened  Highland,  Audubon, 
with  a  complete  renovating  and  remodelling  job. 
.  .  .  Dave  Shapiro,  Penn  Jersey  Amusement 
Company,  went  to  Florida.  .  .  .  New  Egypt, 
Laurel  Springs,  closed  until  cold  weather  re¬ 
cedes.  .  .  .  Dave  Starkman  gets  lots  of  luck 
in  taking  over  Blackwood.  .  .  .  Some  exhibitor 
sent  Myer  Adleman,  New  Jersey  Messenger 
Services,  oranges,  etc.,  told  him  it  was  warm  in 
Florida.  .  .  .  Myer  out  gunning  for  him. 


Heard  In 


E  A  D  I  N  G 

Daylight  Fight 
Starting  Here 


- By  T.R - 

CWA  WORK  and  payrolls  are  indirectly 
helping  theatres  in  Reading.  .  .  .  Along  with 
other  lines  of  business,  theatres  are  feeling  the 
general  improvement  in  conditions,  as  reflected 
at  box  offices.  .  .  .  That  annoying  question, 
daylight  saving,  must  soon  be  settled  in  the 
Berks  district.  .  .  .  Farm  and  daily  organiza¬ 
tions  are  already  active  in  opposition  to  day¬ 
light  time  adoption,  and  theatre  men  who  pre¬ 
fer  standard  time  all  the  year  round  would  do 


Managers’  Board  Meets 

Meeting  of  the  M.  P.  T.  O.  board  of 
managers,  held  last  week,  was  deferred, 
in  part,  until  this  week. 

Election  of  the  chairman  of  the  board 
is  one  of  the  principal  points  of  interest. 
It  is  believed  likely  that  David  Barrist 
will  be  returned  to  the  post. 

A  committee  from  the  M.  P.  T.  O. 
had  luncheon  with  Samuel  Goldwyn  last 
week.  The  meeting,  while  pleasant,  re¬ 
sulted  in  the  belief  that  Goldwyn  would 
try  to  be  as  fair  as  possible  with  the 
exhibitor  faction. 


well  to  effect  a  tie-up  with  the  Grangers  and 
other  farm  groups  who  are  politically  influen¬ 
tial.  .  .  .  Theatre  managers  here  are  wondering 
what  effect  the  new  lease  of  Lauer’s  Park  by 
the  New  York-Penn  baseball  league,  for  the 
use  of  Reading’s  nine  in  the  league,  is  going  to 
have  on  the  amusement  situation  in  general. 

READING  THEATRES  are  showing  no 
signs  of  grief  over  the  folding  of  some  of  the 
hot  spots  in  the  roadhouse  list,  near  this  city. 
.  .  .  Some  of  them  have  been  showing  “men 
only”  films  and  presenting  vaudeville  in  com¬ 
petition  with  regular  film  and  variety  houses. 

Union  hosiery  workers  have  leased 
Rajah  Theatre  for  three  nights  and  three 
matinees,  for  the  benefit  of  relief  fund  and 
charity  work. 


44  Man  of  Two  ff or  Ids”  Includes  Lederer 


Francis  Lederer,  Elissa  Landi,  J.  Farrell  MacDonald  and  others  may  be  seen  in  “Man 
of  Two  Worlds”  from  Radio. 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Mar  1'34 


35 


Heard  In 

O  R  K 

Kiddie  Shows 
Click  Here 


SPECIAL  KIDDIE  SHOW  was  held  on 
Washington’s  Birthday,  at  the  Ritz.  .  .  .  Now 
they  are  being  held  all  over  Bill  Israel’s  York 
district.  .  .  .  Irving  Dunn  staged  a  special 
four-hour  show  and  plugged  it  in  the  schools 
with  heralds.  .  .  .Now  they  are  being  held 
regularly  every  Saturday  morning  at  the  Ritz, 
and  at  the  Lion,  Red  Lion,  and  the  Majestic, 
Gettysburg.  .  .  .  J.  Oliver  Kinard,  former 

assistant  to  Joe  Wheeler  at  the  Lion,  Red  Lion, 
is  now  assistant  to  Sidney  Poppay  at  the  Rialto, 
opposition  during  the  last  week  in  February, 
York.  .  .  .  Cleon  Miller  capitalized  on  his 


when  he  managed  to  have  local  automobile 
dealers  show  his  trailer  for  “Fashions  of 
1934  ’  on  the  small  sound  screen  at  the  York 
Automobile  Show. 

PAUL  RHODES,  assistant  manager,  Capi¬ 
tol,  has  returned  to  ^he  job  after  an  enforced 
layoff  of  several  months  because  of  a  broken 
leg.  .  .  .  Rhodes’  return  returned  Jim  Glad- 
felter,  who  took  his  place  as  Harry  Travis’ 
assistant,  to  his  post  of  chief  of  service.  .  .  . 
Rialto  is  making  a  big  play  on  “Fighting  With 
Kit  Carson.”  ...  A  special  four-page  herald 
has  been  issued  and  will  be  distributed  to  the 
school  children  and  a  six  sheet  cut  out  will  be 
placed  in  front  of  the  theatre  several  days 
prior  to  the  opening.  .  .  .  Harry  Travis,  to 
judge  from  the  attendance  1  saw  at  the  Capitol 
finally  managed  to  put  over  one  of  Paul  Muni’s 
pictures  in  York.  .  .  .  This  time  he  started 
way  in  advance  of  the  opening  and  his  word  of 
mouth  advertising  in  addition  to  teasers  inserted 
in  the  newspapers,  and  stickers  plastered  all 
over  the  town,  had  their  effect. 


Peggy  Shannon, 
Rockcliffe  Fellows, 
Sterling  Halloway, 
Claude  Gillingwater, 
Russell  Hopton  are 
seen  in  “Back  Page.” 
Masterpiece  distrib¬ 
utes. 


BOOKING  ALL  LEADING  THEATRES 

WITH 


VAUDEVILLE 

PRESENTATIONS 


HONEST  —  RELIABLE 
CONSCIENTIOUS  SERVICE 


EDWARD  SHERMAN 


VAUDEVILLE  AGENCY 


NEW  YORK  OFFICE 

MAYFAIR  THEATRE  BUILDING 

PHONE,  BRYANT  9-1905 


PHILA.  OFFICE 

REAL  ESTATE  TRUST  BUILDING 

PHONE,  PENNYPACKER  7595 


Strand,  Wilmington,  Improved 

Improvements  amounting  to  about  $5,000 
made  in  the  interior  of  the  Strand,  Wilming¬ 
ton,  by  A.  E.  Seligman,  the  manager,  has  made 
this  “nabe”  one  of  the  most  attractive  theatres 
in  the  city. 


TO  HELL  .  .  .  With  House  Record.! 


Ford  ot  teii 
Aten' 


DATE  IT  NOW!  From  FIRST  DIVISION 


with  your 
cash! 

GENERAL 

REGISTERS 

•  •  •  have  proteetetl 
Theatre  Owners^ 
Cash  Receipts  for 
more  than  2©  years 

TRIED  AND  PROVEN  I 
Imitated  but  Never  Equalled 
PRICED  NO  HIGHER! 

SERVICE  and  REPAIRS 

With  Official  Factory  Parts 
Whether  a  Minor  Adjustment  or  a 
Complete  Overhauling  and  Rebuilding 
NEW  LOW  PRICES! 


General  Register  Corp. 

Executive  Offices:  1540  B'way,  New  York 

1  „„r  M'limi  Urn,,,  !,  0(1,,  ,  .  307  N  13th  SI  .  PHILA.,  PA 


36 


Mar  1'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Downtown  Competition 
Terrific  As  Snow  Impedes 


Movies  at  Walnut,  Shubert  and 
Erlanger  Stock  Added 

The  downtown  theatre  picture  is  get¬ 
ting  rather  involved. 

The  Walnut  Theatre  has  reopened,  with  tabs 
and  first  run  inde  shows ;  the  Shubert  is 
rumored  thinking  of  installing  movies  in  addi¬ 
tion  to  burlesk;  the  Vogue  reopened  for  an 
Italian  opera  policy;  and  the  Erlanger,  with 
cut  rates,  has  affected  downtown  business. 

With  downtown,  with  the  exception  of  the 
Fox  Locust,  going  full  blast,  all  houses  took  it 
on  the  chin  when  the  snow  and  cold  weather 
hit  twice  in  succession.  Only  standout  was 
“Forgotten  Men’-  at  the  Europa,  which  did  a 
whale  of  a  business,  mostly  male  trade. 

Everything  was  affected,  with  matinee  busi¬ 
ness  up  in  the  neighborhoods,  but  evening  trade 
generally  off. 

The  Erlanger,  which  distributes  two-for-ones 
as  well  as  passes  for  which  a  maximum  of  40 
cents  is  charged,  has  been  turning  in  a  nice 
profit.  House  is  hooked  up  with  a  stock  com¬ 
pany  organization  working  out  of  New  York. 
It  is  believed  that  the  pass  charge  is  a  viola¬ 
tion  of  the  legitimate  theatre  code  but  no 
squawks  have  been  heard  as  yet. 

Local  exchanges,  playing  specials  on  per¬ 
centage,  particularly  suffered  during  the  cold 
spell.  The  more  fortunate  ones  were  those 
which  sold  on  outright  buys  rather  than  a  cut 
of  the  gate. 


'  Heard  In ' 


u 


P  ■  $  T  A  T  E 

“No  Wiring” 

Says  Floyd 


ALTHOUGH  C.  FLOYD  HOPKINS,  gen¬ 
eral  manager,  Wilmer  and  Vincent  interests, 
Harrisburg,  continues  to  remain  silent  when 
questioned  concerning  reported  activities  at  the 
Majestic  Theatre,  Harrisburg,  rumors  persist 
that  the  work  of  wiring  the  Majestic  for  sound 
goes  merrily  on.  .  .  .  “  Snews  to  me”  represent¬ 
ative  Hopkins  grunts.  .  .  .  Majestic  has  not 
been  able  to  make  a  go  of  stock  or  occasional 
stage  plays.  .  .  .  Loew’s  Regent  Theatre,  Har¬ 
risburg,  ad,  appeared  in  programs  distributed 
to  nearly  2,000  spectators  at  a  boxing  show  held 
recently  in  Harrisburg.  .  .  .  Replica  of  Mae 
West,  kidnapped  from  the  marquee  of  the  Vic¬ 
toria  Theatre,  Harrisburg,  some  time-  ago, 
turned  up  at  Dickinson  College,  Carlisle,  so 
JacI;  O'Rear,  Victoria  manager,  was  informed. 
.  .  .  “Round  the  World”  pictures  were  shown 
at  the  Katharine  Sweeney  Day  School.  .  .  . 
Prices  were  reduced  at  the  Academy,  Lebanon, 
for  three-day  showing  of  “The  Face  on  the 
Barroom  Floor.” 

BALLOONS  were  presented  as  gifts  to  all 
children  who  attended  the  Saturday  matinee 
showing  of  Jackie  Cooper  in  “Lone  Cowboy” 
at  the  New  Alto,  Columbia.  .  .  .  Grand,  Hunt¬ 
ingdon,  featured  stage  show  Friday  with  regu¬ 
lar  screen  program.  Clifton,  Huntingdon,  also 
held  midnight  show,  starting  with  “Palooka.” 


UEST  COLUMNIST 

Mr.  and  Mrs. 

Irving  Blumberg 


MISS  MIRIAM  HEIDELBERGER  and 
Irving  Blumberg  make  it  Mr.  and  Mrs.,  March 
4,  when  the  marriage  takes  place.  .  .  .  Bride  is 
a  popular  Wynnefieldite  while  the  groom  is  a 
valued  member  of  the  Stanley- Warner  organ¬ 
ization.  .  .  .  The  boys  threw  a  party  for  him 
that  exceeded  all  expectations.  ...  It  had  a 
one  sheet  sendoff. 


MOTHER  of  Sam  and  Joe  Varbalow  passed 
away  this  week  after  a  long  illness.  . 
Death  came  as  a  shock  to  their  friends  and 
acquaintances. 


JESSE  LEVINE’S  SON  is  a  champ  wrest¬ 
ler  at  Penn.  .  .  .  And  is  papa  proud.  .  .  . 
Edwin  Friedman,  son  of  the  Vine  Street  finan¬ 
cial  magnate  and  Local  307  official,  is  getting 
married  soon.  .  .  .  No  one  knew  that  papa 


Manager  Available 


Manager,  experienced  in  pictures  and 
vaudeville  and  all  phases  of  business,  is 
available. 

Will  work  on  salary  or  commission, 
will  go  anywhere.  33  years  of  age. 
Address  Box  WH,  THE  EXHIBITOR. 


Drop  “Follies” — Ruling 


In  response  to  a  protest  by  Fox 
against  the  use  by  Warner  Brothers  of 
the  word  Follies,  which  had  been  in¬ 
serted  in  the  title  of  their  picture  “Fash¬ 
ions  of  1934”  after  its  release,  commit¬ 
tee  on  title  registration  of  the  Hays 
office,  sitting  as  a  board  of  arbitration, 
has  ruled  that  Warner  Brothers  must 
discontinue  the  use  of  the  word  forth¬ 
with. 


Friedman  was  so  old  until  the  news  was  dis¬ 
covered. 

ANN  SHAEFFER  all  recuperated  from 
appendix  setback.  .  .  .  Joe  Engel  and  Mrs. 

dared  the  boardwalk  a  Sunday  P.  M.  .  .  . 

Jack  Engel,  motored  to  N  Y  amidst  snow  and 
ice.  .  .  Joe  Azzarano  won  some  Easter 

eggs.  .  .  .  Timely  gift. 

MISS  ROBERTA  COHN,  daughter  of  the 
Earle  Theatre  Cohns,  made  it  one  year,  Feb¬ 
ruary  27.  .  .  .  Father  threw  a  birthday  party 
attended  by  all  the  leading  1-year-old  debs  and 
debutantes  of  the  neighborhood  and  Mickey 
Mouse. 

MARCUS  BENN,  veteran  film  man,  cele¬ 
brated  his  68th  birthday,  feels  like  23.  .  .  . 
The  proprietor  of  the  Belmont  Theatre  can 
remember  everything  and  everybody  when. 
.  .  .  And  expects  to  be  active  for  decades  to 
come. 


Premium  Indes  Band  Together 


In  line  with  the  recently  announced  policy  of  the  President  to  protect  the  small 
business  man  against  monopolies,  independent  theatre  men  in  this  territory  who 
use  premiums  are  banding  themselves  together  into  an  association  for  their  preser¬ 
vation.  According  to  a  spokesman  for  these  independent  premium  users,  of  whom 
there  are  about  250  in  this  territory,  continued  use  of  give-aways  is  essential  to 
enable  the  independent  theatre  owners  to  offset  the  heavy  advantages  enjoyed  by 
some  competitors,  such  as  cheaper  film  prices,  prior  runs,  selective  buying,  vaude¬ 
ville.  etc. 

The  independents  are  fully  aware  of  the  heavy  barrage  of  propaganda  against 
premiums  being  directed  against  the  Code  Authority  by  some  theatres.  These 
independents  feel  that  many  exhibitors  who  do  not  use  give-aways  will  vote  in  favor 
of  their  retention  when  these  theatre  men  realize  that  to  elimiate  premiums  would 
result  in  further  strengthening  the  circuits  and  weakening  their  independent  com¬ 
petitors.  It  is  the  intention  of  this  new  organization,  the  offices  of  which  will  be 
announced  shortly,  to  place  the  facts  of  the  situation  before  the  administration  in 
Washington;  to  point  out  what  they  term  monopolistic  practices  in  the  territory  and 
to  ask  for  necessary  measures  of  relief  which  will  assure  the  independent  theatre 
owners  continuance  in  business. 


“The  Super  Snooper ”  Gives  Andy  Clyde 


Andy  Clyde  may  be  seen  in  “The  Super  Snooper,”  from  Educational  and  Fox. 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Mar  1'34 


37 


Heard  In 

ILKES-BARRE 

RCA  Wins  | 

Legal  Point 

_ By  Mac _ 

VAUDE  at  the  Penn  is  holding  up.  .  .  . 
Combination  picture  and  stage  show  is  keeping 
the  wolf  away  from  John  Galvin's  headquar¬ 
ters.  .  .  .  When  vaude  went  into  the  Penn  in 
the  Fall,  there  was  some  speculation  about  how 
long  it  would  last.  .  .  .  Speaking  of  the  Penn, 
of  course,  brings  to  mind  the  sad  news  of  the 
death  of  Dave  Lipincott,  pianist  and  orchestra 
leader.  .  .  .  Although  clergymen  of  various 
denominations  have  made  pleas  for  their  flocks 
to  remain  away  from  the  theatres  during  Lent, 
the  houses  report  that  business  has  not  been 
cut  down  as  much  as  in  previous  years. 

JUDGE  W.  A.  VALENTINE,  Luzerne 
County  common  pleas  court,  has  denied  the 
motion  of  the  defendant  for  judgment  not¬ 
withstanding  the  verdict  for  a  new  trial  in 
the  suit  of  the  RCA  Photophone,  Incorpor¬ 
ated,  vs.  Robert  Schmidt  and  others.  .  .  . 

Case  was  an  action  in  replevin,  Photophone 
having  sued  on  a  lease  for  sound  producing 
equipment,  installed  in  the  American  Legion 
Theatre,  White  Haven.  .  .  .  Jury  awarded 

a  verdict  for  the  plaintiff  for  the  equipment, 
subject  to  a  lien  in  favor  of  the  landlord  for 
$1,312.50.  .  .  .  Judge  Valentine  could  see 

no  error  in  the  record  for  the  granting  of  a 
new  trial.  .  .  .  Fred  Hermann  at  the  Capitol 
had  a  tie-up  with  a  store  for  a  stage  fashion 
show  in  connection  with  the  William  Powell 
film,  “Fashion  Follies  of  1934.” 


“Death  Takes  a  Holiday ” 


Paramount  has  contributed  what  may 
be  considered  the  finest  pictorial 
achievement  of  the  year  in  “Death 
Takes  a  Holiday,”  a  screen  transition  of 
a  stage  play  that  adds  new  lustre. 

Fredric  March,  as  Death,  tops  his  best 
performance  in  picturedom,  while  the 
whole  show  has  been  produced  with  an 
artistic  eye.  Evalyn  Venable,  Sir  Guy 
Standing,  Gail  Patrick  and  others  are 
good. 

The  picture,  however,  is  for  class 
consumption.  It  should  be  sold  along 
legitimate  lines,  with  no  one  allowed  to 
enter  the  theatre  after  the  feature  starts. 
Handled  that  way,  it  offers  its  best  possi¬ 
bilities.  Regardless,  it  is  a  triumph  for 
Paramount  and  the  industry  generally. 
Paramount  should  be  proud. 

J.  E. 


AL  COX  is  sticking  close  to  the  Irving  these 
days.  .  .  .Beginning  March  1,  the  Irving  re¬ 
verts  to  its  Thursday  opening  which  A1  insti¬ 
tuted  before  he  went  to  the  Capitol.  .  .  .  He 
has  been  opening  Mondays.  .  .  .  Capitol  will 
continue  to  open  Saturdays  and  the  Orpheum 
Mondays.  .  .  .  There  hasn't  been  a  word  lately 
about  the  plans  for  road  shows  in  the  Temple 
under  Comerford  management  in  the  spring. 
.  .  .  Frank  Farrell  was  a  visitor  in  central 
city  last  week. 


ON  MV  WAV  TO 
NEW  VORK  AND 
THE  PICCADILLV 


.  .  best  hotel  I  know! 
Near  everything,  just 
200  feet  from  Broad¬ 
way.  Modern,  hospit¬ 
able  ,  and  comfortable. 
Like  the  Manager, 
like  the  rates  —  $2.50 
single,  S3. 50  double, 
for  a  room  with  bath  ! 


THE  HOTEL  - 

PICCADILLY 

45th  St.  •  W.  of  Broadway  •  New  York 

WILLIAM  MADLUNG,  MSr. 


Biben  Busy 

Harry  Biben,  live-w're  booker,  is  kept  plenty 
busy  these  days  with  the  Stanley- Warner 
houses  he  has  been  booking  as  well  as  Keith’s. 
Biben  has  lined  up  a  nice  brand  of  vaudeville 
and  is  always  adding  to  his  books. 


9th  Big  Week  on  Broadway! 


Men 


DATE  IT  NOW!  From  FIRST  DIVISION 


H 

O 


ORLACHER  is  the 

Oldest  Delivery  Service 


nly  Capable,  Bonded 

Drivers  are  used 


^gardless  of  Rain  or  Snow 

Delivery  is  Prompt 

Leading  Exhibitors  have 
p  been  Clients  for  Years 


A 


fter  15  Years  it  stands 

with  Unexcelled  Record 


lourtesy  has  been  a 
(  Dominant  Principle  Always 


H 


eavy  Insurance  Covers  all 

Divisions  of  the  Business 


‘very  Effort  is  always  made 
r  for  Greater  Efficiency 


!  eal  Service  has  been 

the  Reason  for  Progress 


SERVICE,  Inc. 

1228  Vine  Street 

PHILADELPHIA 


New  York  Washington 

Scranton  Baltimore 


HORLACHER’S  never  fails! 


38 


Mar  1*34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


BETTER  TESTED  SUCCESSFUL 

MANAGEMENT  #  ideas  #  merchandising 


“Going  Hollywood” 
Selling  Ties  Up  All 

Joe  Feldman,  managing  director,  Earle, 
and  Arthur  Cohn,  publicity  director, 
didn’t  waste  a  minute  selling  “Going 
Hollywood.” 

There  were  plenty  of  window  displays,  with 
bus  lines,  hat  stores,  grocery  and  drug  stores, 
music  stores,  department  stores. 

There  were  radio  broadcasts,  with  a  private 
screen'ng  of  radio  entertainers  and  orchestra 
leaders,  with  plugs  on  the  air ;  a  strong  hookup 
on  the  NBC;  several  tie-ups  with  commercial 
hours  during  the  day. 

Fifi  D’Orsay,  playing  the  week  before,  plug¬ 
ged  the  show  from  the  stage  several  times. 

The  advance  lobby  display  was  especially 
striking,  with  a  huge  electrically  lighted  dis¬ 
play,  two  smaller  displays,  colorful  cards  in 
the  transoms,  etc. 

The  front  also  presented  some  novel  angles. 

Five  thousand  imitation  telegrams  were  de¬ 
livered  by  uniformed  Western  Union  messen¬ 
gers. 


Stanley  Gets  Women 

Sid  Stanley,  Fay’s,  scored  when  he  tied  up 
with  the  Daily  News,  station  WDAS  and  West 
Philadelph-a’s  women's  clubs  to  use  the  house 
for  the  once  a  week  meeting  and  broadcast. 

West  Philly  women  will  meet  there,  hear 
lectures  on  various  topics,  and  there  are  exhibits. 

Should  be  a  business  builder  for  the  theatre, 
and  speaks  well  for  Stanley  who  grabbed  the 
sessions  while  others  were  hot  for  it.  Secur¬ 
ing  radio  and  newspaper  co-operation  was  a 
honey. 


A  $1,000,000  Newspaper  Tie-up! 


i'FordottetT 

Aven" 


DATE  IT  NOW!  From  FIRST  DIVISION 


For  “fi  Girls ” 


MY  DIary 

9  aa* 


my  diary 

lyfiij  am  9  fniu&for, 


&  taff  to  a /m&rt? 

|  (ym  afuuU 

f)  snutAt  &md  j  (^e  m  faa* 
and  tuff  Aim  a6cm/  ^^^uiined 


um*WMKr  ttXK 

KK&f&iK  xOMAJKi 

m>  t'iitfi  t?  <  V  / 


DOROTHY  WULSOH 

,  mmswMmxf 
’  kay  johksoh 
wjoiir  coMouy 

!  40 


Artie  Cohn,  Earle  Theatre,  rigged  up  this 
inviting  display  for  “8  Girls  in  a  Boat.” 


“Unknown  Blonde”  Campaign 

With  the  arrival  east  of  its  latest  production, 
“Unknown  Blonde,  ’  Majestic  broke  a  big  cam¬ 
paign.  New  York  Mirror  startled  its  2,000,000 
readers  with  the  opening  installment  of  a  sensa¬ 
tional  series  of  articles  entitled  “I  Was  the 
Unknown  Blonde  in  100  Divorce  Cases.’1’ 

Starting  with  a  center  spread  the  Majestic- 
Mirror  tie-up  will  continue  for  four  Sundays 
into  and  past  the  premier  of  the  “Unknown 
Blonde,”  in  a  Broadway  house  which  will  be 
announced  in  a  few  days.  E.  H.  Goldstein, 
executive  vice-president,  Majestic,  was  respon¬ 
sible  for  the  publicity  arrangements. 

Miss  Dorothy  Jarvis,  who  was  the  profes- 
sional  co-respondent  in  many  divorce  cases,  the 
“Unknown  Blonde”  of  a  hundred  court  records 
acted  as  special  advisor  while  the  picture  was 
in  production  and  wrote  the  stories  for  the 
Mirror. 


“Nana”  Sendoff  Big 
Exploitation  Campaign 

Charlie  Perry,  UA’s  bright  little  boy 
at  the  Airline  Theatre,  went  to  work  with 
a  vengeance  on  “Nana,”  the  Goldwyn- 
UA  production. 

Forty  thousand  slips  were  used  by  Gimbel 
Brothers,  starting  six  days  in  advance  of  the 
opening.  Each  wrapped  package  contained  a 
slip  as  well  as  all  delivered  ones.  First  time  the 
store  went  for  the  idea  in  such  a  big  way. 

Store  also  gave  window  space  for  some  of 
the  original  gowns  worn  by  Anna  Sten  in  the 
show,  as  well  as  modern  adaptations  of  the 
gowns,  for  sale  at  the  store.  Perry  helped  dedi¬ 
cate  the  Cinema  Shop  when  "Moulin  Rouged 
played  at  the  theatre  and  the  caravan  of  stars 
made  a  personal  appearance. 

Store  also  co-operated  in  regular  ads  by 
giving  space. 

Jn  addition,  theatre  used  big  space,  plugging 
the  star,  along  the  lines  of  the  metropolitan 
campaign. 

Perry,  assisted  by  the  house  staff,  gave  plenty 
of  attention  to  the  campaign  with  the  result 
that  it  looked  like  the  picture  would  get  a 
tremendous  opening. 


For  “Palooka” 

A  contest  to  “tease  the  intelligence  and  jog 
the  elusive  memory”  was  conducted  for  five 
consecutive  days  in  the  movie  column  of  The 
Morning  Telegraph,  Harrisburg  daily,  by  Man¬ 
ager  Charles  McLeary,  Loew’s  Regent,  Harris¬ 
burg,  to  create  interest  in  the  picture, 
“Palooka/'  which  started  a  week’s  run  at 
Loew’s  following  the  contest.  Contest  consisted 
of  a  daily  “limping"  limerick  with  cash  prizes 
and  guest  tickets  to  see  “Palooka”  awarded 
daily  to  the  winning  contestants. 


NATION-WIDE  RADIO  HOOKUP! 


Ford  often 

M*en 


DATE  IT  NOW!  From  FIRST  DIVISION 


SENTRY  serviced  SAFETY  CONTROL 


Many  theatre  owners  weigh  the  matter  of  Safety  as  it  suits  them. 
PLAINLY  THIS  IS  ALL  WRONG.  In  Safety  there  is  no  half-way  meas¬ 
ure  with  the  Public.  The  Public  would  not  consider  it  safe  if  you  decide 
to  do  without  a  Serviced  Safety  Device  on  your  projectors.  The  Public 
would  think  with  horror  if  you  tried  to  economize  by  buying  Safety  equip¬ 
ment  without  a  service,  and  the  fact  that,  in  your  theatre,  the  Public 
has  not  yet  inquired  as  to  the  measure  of  Safety  that  you  are  giving  them — 
THAT  DOES  NOT  MEAN  THAT  THEY  CAN  BE  DECEIVED. 


SENTRY  SAFETY  CONTROL  CORP. 


10th  ST.  and  ALLEGHENY  AVE. 
PHILADELPHIA,  PENNA. 


Sentry  Safety  Controls  Listed  as  Standard  by  National  Fire  Underwriters  Laboratories 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Mar  1'34 


39 


DON’T  KNOW 

--BUT 

- By  E.  M.  OROWITZ  (EMO) - 


SELL  “RAFTERO” 

EXHIBITORS  haven't  much  inspiration  for 
dancing  and  therefore  may  not  be  fully 
acquainted  with  the  public’s  current  interest  in 
the  art  of  terpsichore.  Well,  let  me  tell  you 
they  have  some  rhumba  and  tango.  This  pre¬ 
faces  my  suggestion  that  the  “Raftero”  dance 
in  “Bolero”  should  be  commercialized,  well  in 
advance  of  the  picture  opening.  There  are 
enough  ideas  and  campaigns  in  the  press-book 
for  you  to  execute,  if  you  will. 

GOOD  “LIGHTNING”  ADS 

THERE  is  some  swell  selling  copy  in  “Heat 
Lightning”  ads.  The  art-work  closely  re¬ 
sembles  illustrations  in  the  true  story  maga¬ 
zines.  When  you  consider  that  these  mags 
sell  millions  of  copies  of  each  issue  you  will 
realize  that  the  ads,  art  and  copy,  will  look 
familiar  to  readers.  I  refer  to  the  broken 
letter  style  headings  and  wash  drawings.  Use 
them  for  the  Warner  show. 


SELLING  “NANA” 

IF  YOUR  BUDGET  will  permit,  advertis¬ 
ing  campaign  to  put  over  Anna  Sten  used  in 
New  York  City  is  worthy  of  duplication.  The 
one  word  selling  copy  describing  the  Russian 
star  was  a  master  stroke.  If  it  brought  vol¬ 
untary  opinions  and  expressions  of  congratula¬ 
tions  from  New  Yorkers  imagine  what  it  will  do 
in  the  hinterland.  I  wouldn’t  be  a  bit  surprised  if 
imaginative  exhibitors  would  invite  local  ad 
clubs  to  refer  to  the  ads  either  in  straight  news 
stories  reporting  weekly  meetings  of  the  or¬ 
ganization,  where  mention  of  the  “Nana"  ads 
would  be  made. 

GOOD  INDE  JOB 

SPEAKING  of  press  books,  I  am  reminded 
that  the  job  on  “Enlighten  Thy  Daughter”  is  a 
nifty  achievement.  The  press-book  ranks  with 
some  of  the  best  the  indes  have  turned  out.  It 
was  designed  with  an  eye  to  actual  usage,  not 
to  please  just  a  few. 


GOOD  DRAWINGS  FOR  “PALOOKA” 

I  THINK  the  “Palooka”  advertising  campaign, 
especially  the  ads  includi  ng  the  Steig  impressions, 
veritably  breathe  the  spirit  of  the  picture  itself.  No 
superlatives;  no  hackneyed  claims  but  eye-attractors 
destined  to  steal  any  newspaper  page  in  which  they 
appear.  If  I  were  an  exhibitor  I  would  write  Hal 
Horne  at  the  home  office  asking  for  photostatic  copies 
of  the  Steig  drawings.  I  could  land  newspaper  space; 
unapproachable  window  locations  and  other  tie-ups 
with  them.  “Palooka”  on  the  air  laid  a  large-sized 
egg  when  sponsored  by  the  Heinz  Company  but  the 
picture  will  lure  radio  fans  from  their  receiving  sets 
into  theatres. 


DON’T  FORGET  PICTURE 

PRESS-BOOK  on  “Man  of  Two  Worlds” 
sells  Lederer  as  a  new  screen  luminary  and  is 
effective.  There  is  no  question  about  that 
point.  But  I  do  think  that  more  emphasis 
should  be  incorporated  on  the  selling  phase  of 
the  picture  itself.  I  believe  the  barbaric  love 
angle  should  have  topped  the  copy  with  the 
Lederer  screen  entry  of  supplementary  impor¬ 
tance.  The  mass  does  not  know  Lederer.  For 
this  reason  selling  the  story  will  have  a  ten¬ 
dency  in  bringing  more  people  to  theatres  to 
see  the  new  star. 

NO  HEADS  YET 

I  SEE  WHERE  Fox  fails  to  provide  a  single 
column  star  mat  of  Will  Rogers  in  the  “David 
Harum”  press-book.  The  character  pose  may 
do  in  a  pinch  but  movie  editors  of  daily  news¬ 
papers  will  give  a  theatre  the  space  if  a  single 
column  star  head  is  available.  Maybe  they’ll 
have  one  on  the  next  picture.  In  the  meantime, 
don’t  despair.  You  might  dig  one  up  at  your 
nearest  Fox  exchange  or  in  the  newspaper 
morgue.  Ditto  on  Frances  Dee  from  “Com¬ 
ing  Out  Party.” 

CREDIT  WARNERS 

FLASH!  Warner’  press-book  on  “Wonder 
Bar"  is  another  worthy  achievement  of  a  cap¬ 
able  organization.  Book  proves  there  are  other 
things  to  sell  besides  flesh  and  the  ads  and  entire 
makeup  offer  showmen  plenty  to  rave  over.  See 
the  press-book,  and  be  sold  on  the  show. 


N.  Y.  CAMPAIGN  WANTED 

“IT  HAPPENED  ONE  NIGHT”  press- 
book  is  a  complete  job.  I  wonder  why  George 
Brown  did  not  include  proofs  of  the  New  York 
campaign  in  which  all  solid  type  was  used? 

DROP  THAT  “TOGETHER” 

I  WANT  TO  GO  on  record  against  the  use 
of  the  line  “Together  For  the  First  Time.”  It 
is  meaningless  because  nearly  every  company 
has  used  it.  Lhider  the  current  system  of  bor¬ 
rowing  stars  from  one  company  or  another,  the 
line  comes  bobbing  into  one’s  mind  without  con¬ 
sidering  the  exhibitor  for  a  second. 

PLUG  FOR  “CHRISTINA” 

1  MAY  BPI  A  BIT  belated  referring  to  the 
“Queen  Christina”  press-book  but  right  on  top 
of  “Eskimo"  it  indicates  what  a  home  office  can 
do  when  implicit  faith  in  product  predominates. 

U  FLEXIBLE 

FLEXIBILITY  of  Uni¬ 
versal  ads  is  commended 
and  recommended  t  o 
other  companies.  Take 
for  instance,  “Midnight.” 

The  single  column,  re¬ 
produced,  can  run  as  is 
with  cast  set  in  type 
directly  beneath  the  mat. 

By  cutting  straight  across 
circle  and  eliminating 
four  reverse  lines,  an  inch 
is  saved. 


READY 

REFERENCE 

EACH  COMPANY  LISTED  IS  AN 
AUTHORITY  IN  ITS  FIELD  AND 
IS  RELIABLE  AND  TRUSTWORTHY 


AIR  CONDITIONING 


Now  in  N  E  W  Offices 

252West  26th  Street 

NEW  YORK 

Phone,  LAcawana  4-7356 

COOLING 
VENTILATING 

Blowers  ::  Air  Washers 


TYPHOON 

Air  Conditioning  Co. 


ARCHITECT 


THEATRE  DESIGN 

Remodeling  »  Building 

LATEST  COMPLETED 

BROADWAY  CAYUGA 

Philadelphia  Philadelphia 

Penna.  Penna. 

DAVID  SUPOWITZ 

REGISTERED 

ARCHITECT 

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Mar  1 1 34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


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Here’s  a  good  idea.  Houses  playing  “Forgotten  Men,”  from  First  Division  and  Samuel 
Cummins,  can  sell  it  to  the  foreign  nabes  by  these  window  cards.  They  are  striking, 

should  get  plenty  of  returns. 


Around  the  Circuit 

with 

STANLEY-WARNER 

_ By  Harry  Goldberg _ 

HOW  THOSE  WARNER  boys  are  going 
hell-bent  for  the  bonus  money.  .  .  .  Last  week 
of  the  second  period,  from  March  23  to  March 
30  has  been  designated  as  “Managers’  Week" 
with  every  manager  on  his  own  to  show  that 
he  is  a  showman  popular  enough  in  his  neigh¬ 
borhood  to  jull  in  additional  business  on  pic¬ 
tures  plus  his  personality.  .  .  .  Jack  Mulhall, 
Chester,  was  so  excited  about  “Little  Women’ 
that  he  gave  the  fever  to  the  head  of  the  school 
district,  receiving  permission  to  attend  teachers’ 
meetings  in  schools  and  arrange  for  the  distri¬ 
bution  of  blotters  to  older  children  and  cutout 
dolls  to  the  youngsters  with  the  teachers  directly 
recommending  the  picture  to  the  kids.  .  .  . 
They  like  their  entertainment  rough  at  the 
Broadway  and  that’s  how  Ben  Blumberg  served 
it.  .  .  .  Advance  lobby  on  “The  House  on  56th 
Street’’  using  a  display  of  gambling  equipment 
with  tag  lines  selling  the  picture.  .  .  .  Joe  Riley 
Liberty,  Columbia  Avenue,  made  the  neighbor¬ 
hood  keyhole  conscious  using  six  sandwich  men 
to  carry  twelve  keyholes  so  that  "Broadway 
Through  a  Keyhole”  clicked  in  his  house.  .  .  . 
While  Bernie  Seaman  (now  at  the  German¬ 
town)  was  still  at  the  Queen,  Wilmington,  he 
bought  six  sweat  shirts,  had  “Blood  Money” 
painted  on  them  and  they  were  worn  by  the 
seconds  in  the  rings  at  the  various  wrestling 
bouts.  .  .  .  Lee  Kline,  Logan,  invited  the  mar¬ 
ried  women  in  his  audience  to  answer  the  ques¬ 
tion  “If  I  Were  Free,  I  Would  — •”  and  ex¬ 
plained  that  Irene  Dunne  was  collecting  mate- 
r-'al  for  a  picture  that  would  be  a  sequel  to  the 
one  bearing  the  above  name.  .  .  .  That  three- 
sheet  stopped  every  man,  woman  and  child  that 
came  into  the  theatre.  .  .  .  Many  married 

women  would  like  to  be  single.  .  .  .  That’s 
sound  psychology,  Lee.  .  .  .  Tommy  Mangan, 
Washington,  Chester,  startled  the  town  with  his 
stunt  on  “Girl  Without  a  Room."  .  .  .  Ask 
him  about  it. 


COMPLIMENTS  to  Jack  Mulhall,  Stanley, 
Chester,  for  his  clever  selling  slant  on  “By 
Candlelight.”  .  .  .  Set  of  cutout  letters  was 

pinned  to  a  drop  that  read  “How  Do  You 
Like  Your  Romance?”  .  .  .  Spot  was  played 
on  this  and  then  switched  to  a  40x60  that 
read  “By  Electric  Light”  and  then  played  on 
a  fellow  and  girl  in  one  of  the  lower  boxes 
in  a  clinch,  then  turned  again  to  a  40x60 
reading  “By  Moonlight,”  turned  to  another 
box  where  a  couple  was  necking  under  a 
smiling  moon.  .  .  .  The  spot  was  then  turned 
back  to  the  40x60  now  reading  “No  Light  At 
All”  and  as  a  girl’s  voice  cried  out  “Oh, 
My”  it  picked  up  the  third  couple,  then  back 
again  to  the  40x60  saying  “By  Candlelight” 
finishing  with  a  couple  in  the  fourth  box  in 
a  clinch  under  a  candelabra,  and  then  the 
trailer  goes  on.  .  .  .  Greyhound  Bus  Lines 

were  working  for  Irving  Blumberg  at  the 
Stanton  when  he  got  ready  to  play  “Fugi¬ 
tive  Lovers.”  .  .  .  On  all  main  roads  into 

Philadelphia  the  buses  coming  from  New 
York,  Trenton,  Atlantic  City,  Wilmington, 
Bryn  Mawr,  etc.,  distributed  heralds  to 
patrons  regarding  the  picture.  .  .  .  Dick 

Kirsch,  Imperial,  60th  Street,  pulled  an  old 
one  out  of  the  bag  for  “Take  a  Chance”  and 
it  clicked.  .  .  .  He  used  lovely  girls  to  dis¬ 

tribute  cards  inviting  those  who  received 
them  to  “take  a  chance”  and  stop  in  for  a 
great  time.  .  .  .  “Doug”  George,  Capitol, 

Lancaster,  had  five  hundred  postals  of  a  New 
York  night  club,  urging  the  addressee  to  see 
“Convention  City”  mailed  to  patrons  in  Lan¬ 
caster.  .  .  Larry  Graver,  Stanley,  had 

eleven  hundred  windows  through  the  city  on 
“Eskimo”  by  tie-ups  with  Lipton’s  tea  and 
Norge  refrigerators.  .  .  .  And  may  I  make  a 
bow  to  Miss  Helen  E.  Tindall,  cashier,  Grand 
Opera  House,  Wilmington,  who  is  so  inter¬ 
ested  in  the  theatre  that  she  sat  down  and 
wrote  out  a  long  list  of  practical  suggestions 
for  improving  business  at  that  house.  .  .  . 

Manager  Armstrong,  Wishart  Theatre,  helped 
to  sell  “Advice  to  the  Lovelorn”  by  inserting 
five  line  ads  in  the  personal  columns  of  his 
neighborhood  paper  inviting  love-sick  readers 
to  hurry  to  104  E.  Allegheny  Avenue  for 
advice.  .  Of  course,  that’s  the  address 

of  the  theatre. 


The  FINEST  SERVICE  on  FILM  ROW  l 


SPECIAL  RATES  TO  FILM  PEOPI.E  : 

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Phone:  LOCUST  8604  -  -  PHILADELPHIA 
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Road  Service  to  Patrons  -  Mechanic  Always  on  Duty  -  Never  Closed 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Mar  1*34 


41 


O’Rear  Uses  Bean 
in  Selling  “Suzanne” 

For  “I  Am  Suzanne,”  which  ran  a 
week  at  the  Victoria  Theatre,  Harris¬ 
burg,  Manager  Jack  D.  O’Rear,  executed 
a  series  of  unique  exploitation  stunts. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  features  was  an 
“identification  stunt'”  in  which  the  photograph 
of  a  woman,  unknown  to  residents  of  Harris¬ 
burg  and  neighboring  communities,  was  run 
regularly  in  the  Harrisburg  daily  newspapers 
with  the  following  instructions : 

“Study  the  picture  of  the  young  lady  care¬ 
fully.  Her  name  is  Suzanne.  She  will  spend 
today  and  tomorrow  (two  days  preceding  open¬ 
ing  of  the  film  play)  on  shopping  tours  through 
Harrisburg  stores  and  walking  through  the 
business  section  of  Harrisburg.  When  you  see 
her,  step  up  and  say,  “Pardon  me,  Miss,  but 
aren’t  you  Suzanne?”  If  you  have  been  for¬ 
tunate  enough  to  have  chosen  the  right  girl 
she  will  reply,  “I  Am  Suzanne,”  and  hand  you 
a  free  ticket  to  see  the  motion  picture  by  that 
name  at  the  Victoria  Theatre. 

Manager  O’Rear  reported  Suzanne  was 
recognized  by  scores  of  people  among  whom 
were  a  number  of  city  policemen  and  detec¬ 
tives. 

Employes  of  the  Victoria  assisted  Manager  O’Rear 
in  another  unusual  exploitation  stunt  in  which  the  em¬ 
ployes  ran  an  advertisement,  6  by  9  inches,  in  all  Harris¬ 
burg  daily  newspapers  for  which  the  employes  paid. 

“Employes  of  the  Victoria  Theatre,”  t lie  advertisement 
stated,  “after  seeing  a  special  pre-vue  showing  of  ‘I  Am 
Suzanne,’  feel  it  is  such  a  worth-while  entertainment  that 
they  have  gotten  together  anil  suggested  this  ad  in  order 
that  all  of  their  friends  might  know  of  its  merit  and  not 
fail  to  see  it.” 

At  the  bottom  of  the  advertisement  appeared  the 
names  of  the  Victoria  employes  as  follows:  William 
Wolf,  doorman;  Estella  Hicks,  cashier;  Genevieve  Funk, 
cashier;  Charles  Eslinger,  doorman;  Sarah  First,  Mary 
E.  Hatfield,  Kathryn  Whittington  and  Mary  Hoon,  ushers; 
Sara  Spotts,  Mary  Wertz,  Nellie  Smith  and  Ruth  Rowley, 
cleaners;  Harry  Beck,  maintenance,  and  Paul  Patterson, 
John  Bruner,  Edgar  Nebinger  and  Harry  Fomwalt, 
operators. 

In  Reading 

Manager  Glase,  Embassy,  Wilmer-Vincent, 
Reading,  got  a  lot  of  good  publicity  for  “I  Am 
Suzanne.”  A  tie-up  with  merchants  for  a  solid 
page  of  newspaper  advertising;  an  airplane  fly¬ 
ing  over  the  city  with  a  big  streamer  labelled 
with  the  name  of  the  show,  and  a  girl  stranger, 
visiting  restaurants  and  other  public  places, 
giving,  occasionally,  free  tickets  to  those  who 
spotted  her  as  “Suzanne,”  were  some  of  the 
means  by  which  he  advertised  the  show. 

“Suzanne”  got  the  benefit  of  the  current  craze 
for  marionettes  in  Reading. 


Radio  for  Garbo 

Typical  of  the  rapid-fire  exploitation  cam¬ 
paigns  being  originated  to  tie  up  with  great 
public  interest  in  “Queen  Christina'’  was  one 
given  at  the  Stanley. 

Six  different  broadcasts  gave  plugs  of  vari¬ 
ous  sorts  to  the  production.  Two  of  them  were 
“book  hours,”  in  which  recent  publications  deal¬ 
ing  with  the  life  of  Christina  were  tied  up  with 
the  film.  Critical  excerps,  which  were  very 
enthusiastic,  were  repeated,  and  the  life  his¬ 
tory  of  Christina  discussed  briefly. 


Joe  Conway,  the  Main  Liner,  billed  Joe 
Penner  over  “Alice  in  Wonderland,”  had 
cards  stuck  in  snow  piles.  Result;  Egyptian 
did  a  fair  business  despite  the  snow. 


Pizor  Special  Kiddie  Shows 

Lewen  Pizor  houses  in  Phoenixville  and 
Pottsville  are  running  special  kiddie  rarties 
for  children  during  the  week.  Turnout  is  very 
good  and  it  may  spread  all  over  his  circuit. 


S-1V  Drive  All  Set 


Managers’  Week,  big  drive  period  for 
Stanley-Warner,  under  guidance  of  zone 
manager  Leonard  Schlesinger,  takes 
place  week  of  March  23rd,  before 
Easter,  with  special  prizes  for  the  men 
coming  through. 

Chain  all  primed  to  click. 


For  “Gallant  Lady” 

Numerous  merchant  tie-ups  resulting  in  out¬ 
standing  window  disflays  were  among  the  high¬ 
lights  of  the  exploitation  campaign  put  over  by 
R.  H.  Suits,  manager,  Loew  s  Colonial  The¬ 
atre,  Reading,  for  "Gallant  Lady.”  Specially 
prepared  six  art  drawings  were  used  for  an 
entire  window  display  in  a  paint  store.  A  series 
of  colored  fashion  stills  was  prominently  dis¬ 
played  in  several  shops.  Windows  contain. ng 
jewelry  lay-outs  were  used  in  three  stores. 
Travel  angle  in  the  picture  was  the  means  of 
securing  two  effective  displays.  In  each  of  the 
above  windows  scene  stills  and  appropriate 
cards  mentioning  the  theatre  and  playdate  were 
used. 

Special  cards,  plugging  “Gallant  Lady”  were 
distributed  in  restaurants.  On  the  song  numbers 
in  the  picture  displays  were  effected.  Both 
stores  devoted  inside  counters  up>on  which  were 
an  array  of  scene  stills  from  the  picture.  Radio 
tie-ups  were  also  put  over. 


Consider  Misleading  Ads 

A  round  table  discussion  in  which  too  much 
nudity  and  misleading  advertising  was  a  feature 
of  the  meeting  at  the  Y.  W.  C.  A.,  Wilmington, 
sponsored  by  the  motion  picture  committee  of 
the  Wilmington  Federation  of  Women’s  Clubs 
and  allied  organizations. 

Mrs.  E.  M.  Barsham,  former  chairman,  Del¬ 
aware  state  federation,  vice-chairman,  film  com¬ 
mittee,  New  Century  Club,  and  member  East 
Coast  Preview  Committee  which  meets  monthly 
in  New  York,  led  the  discussion  on  the  ques¬ 
tion  :  “What  Does  the  Mean-So  Misleading.’’ 
Some  exhibitors  were  not  present,  but  had  been 
invited. 


U  Prexy  Boosts  Garbo 

An  unexpected  bit  of  publicity  was  given  re¬ 
cently  to  Loew’!s  Regent  Theatre,  Harrisburg, 
by  Dr.  H.  W.  A.  Hanson,  president,  Gettysburg 
College,  during  the  theatre’s  showing  of  “Queen 
Christina.” 

Principal  speaker  at  the  Sixteenth  Annual 
Father  and  Son  Dinner  by  Men  of  Zion  Broth¬ 
erhood  in  Harrisburg,  attended  by  more  than 
2000  people,  Doctor  Hanson  declared  Greta 
Garbo  had  the  greatest  control  over  her  face  of 
any  actor  he  had  ever  seen  and  stated  she  was 
one  of  his  favorite  motion  picture  stars. 


For  “Sigma  Chi” 

Fraternity  Night  was  celebrated  at  the  State 
Theatre,  Harrisburg,  at  the  first  evening  show¬ 
ing  of  “The  Sweetheart  of  Sigma  Chi,”  through 
an  arrangement  by  Manager  Charles  Bierbauer. 
Any  member  of  Sigma  Chi  fraternity  showing 
his  fraternity  pin  at  the  ticket  office  of  the 
State  between  6.30  and  7.30  was  admitted  free 
by  Manager  Bierbauer. 


18  HEARST  NEWSPAPERS  PLUGGING  IT! 


Ford  ot  ten 

Men' 


DATE  IT  NOW!  From  FIRST  DIVISION 


TUEAIFL 

DECORATOR 


201-N-BEQAD-ST- 


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PREMIUMS 


There  are  many  imitations  but  there  is  only  one 

22  KARAT  GOLD  DINNER  SET 

with  a  success  record 

It’s  the  Dainty  Thin  Square  Model! 

QUALITY  PREMIUM  DIST. 

1305  VINE  ST.  PHILA. 


SOUND  SERVICE 


WE  SOLVE  YOUR  SOUND  PROBLEMS 

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HOLMES 


SOUND  ENGINEER 

262  N.  13th  ST. 
PHILADELPHIA 
Day  Phone:  RIT  4529 
Night  Phone:  SHE  0805 


THEATRE  EQUIPMENT 


PENN  THEATRE 
EQUIPMENT  CO. 

309  North  13th  Street 
PHILADELPHIA 
Phone,  Rittenhouse  3273 

GENERAL  THEATRE  EQUIPMENT 

Specialists  in  Repairs 


CLEM'S 

MOTION  PICTURE  SUPPLY  HOUSE 

The  ,\|  mt  Corn/) /etc  ! nt/t/n  rreJrn t 

Sn/r/ily  Home  in  / he 

255  North  13th  Street  -  Philadelphia 

SPRUCE  1884  EXPERT  REPAIRING 


National  Theatre  Supply  Company 


VJlN  OrriCM  IN  ALL  ' 

aniNCIRAL  CiTica  /^u 

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Service  and  courtesy  from  men  you  know  .  . . 
Plus  equipment  of  known  and  guaranteed  quality 
.  .  .  are  at  your  service  at  our  local  branch 


UNIFORMS 


American  Uniform  Co. 

134  So.  11th  Street,  Philadelphia 

Styled  Right  ® 

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NO  ORDER  TOO  SMALL  OR  TOO  LARGE 


VAUDEVILLE  AGENCIES 


FRANK  WOLF 

Booking  Vaudeville 
and  Picture  Theatres 

307  REAL  ESTATE  TRUST  BLDG. 
Philadelphia  -  -  PENnypacker  0792 


42 


THE  EXHIBITOR 

1  -March-34 


6-Point  Reviews  ( 


J  1  Who  made  it  ?  4  Is  it  family  or  adult  type  ? 

2  Who's  in  it  ?  5  What's  it  about  ? 

3  How  good  is  it  ?  O  Running  Time  ? 


COLUMBIA 

1 

METRO 

MONOGRAM 

No  Greater  Glory  Melodrama 

Frankie  Darro,  Jackie  Searl,  Jimmy  Butler ,  George 
Breakston,  Lois  Wilson,  Ralph  Morgan. 

Different  tyre  of  picture  and  away  from  the 
beaten  path.  It  tells  the  story  of  gangs  made 
up  of  kids,  is  handled  tenderly  by  Frank  Bor- 
zage  and  opens  itself  to  exploitation.  Show 
must  be  sold,  but  delivers  all  its  promises. 
Results  will  depend  on  the  handling.  Big  names 
are  missing  although  there  are  some  familiar 
faces  in  the  piece. 

Estimate:  Sell  it. 


Cat  and  the  Fiddle  Operetta 

89m. 

Ramon  Novarro,  Jeanette  MacDonald,  Jean  Her- 
sholt,  Frank  Morgan,  Charles  Butterworth,  Vivienne 
Segal. 

Well  produced,  well  directed  version  of  the 
stage  hit,  with  Metro  excellence  to  boot.  Wil¬ 
liam  Howard  s  direction  is  superb,  score  and 
all  musical  departments  are  splendid,  and  entire 
show  looms  as  an  ace  from  Leo.  Picture  should 
do  a  nice  business  anywhere,  what  with  a  pro¬ 
duction,  names  and  music  to  sell. 

Estimate:  Dough. 


The  Song 
You  Gave  Me 


Adult 

Comedy  Drama  with  Music 
65m. 


Bebe  Daniels,  Victor  Varconi,  Fred  Lloyd,  Claude 
Hulbert,  Lester  Matthews. 

English  made  picture  with  an  American  name 
to  sell.  Heroine  is  a  singer  who  finds  love 
after  the  usual  complications.  Show  includes 
some  music  and  has  angles  that  might  be  em¬ 
phasized.  Otherwise  it’s  nothing  to  brag  about. 

Estimate:  Just  Bebe. 


FOX 


I  Believed  in  You  Drama 

67m. 

Victor  Jory,  John  Boles,  Rosemary  Ames,  Gertrude 
Michael,  George  Meeker,  Leslie  Fenton,  Joyzelle, 
Morgan  Wallace,  Jed  Prouty. 

Weak  sister  about  the  girl  who  thinks  the 
radicals  are  real  and  finds  out  they  are  phony. 
Silent  lover  risks  all  to  prove  that  he  is  right 
in  his  conviction  that  some  so-called  geniuses 
are  just  papier  mache,  and  wins  love  in  the 
end.  New  face  is  Rosemary  Ames,  who  won’t 
mean  much  on  any  marquee  in  first  attempt. 

Estimate:  Weak. 


Mystery  of  Mr.  X  Melodrama 

82m. 

Robert  Montgomery ,  Ralph  Forbes,  Elizabeth  Allen, 
Lewis  Stone,  Henry  Stephenson,  Nan  Simpson,  Alec 
B.  Francis. 

Mystery  melo  with  plenty  of  concentration  on 
the  necessary  departments.  Show  moves  at  a 
speedy  pace,  holds  interest  and  rates  a  high 
place  for  its  own  particular  type  of  yarn.  Lack 
of  star  names  may  affect  the  show,  but  the  en¬ 
tertainment  values  are  high.  Montgomery  has 
a  meaty  party,  makes  the  most  of  it.  Title  may 
help. 

Estimate:  Okay  mystery  murder  yarn. 


Sing  and  Like  It 


Family 
Comedy  with  Music 
73m. 


Zasu  Pitts,  Pert  Kelton,  Edward  Everett  Horton , 
Nat  Pendleton,  Ned  Sparks. 

Surprise  comedy  standout  with  satirical  qual¬ 
ity  that  any  audience  will  relish.  Show  has  a 
gangster,  musical  comedy  background  but 
comedy  runs  riot  all  the  way  and  piece  never 
takes  itself  seriously.  Lack  of  star  strength 
may  handicap  the  show,  but  as  far  as  enter¬ 
tainment  goes,  it  can  be  sold  heavily. 


Estimate:  Comedy  hit. 


David  Harum  Comedy  Drama 

84m. 

Will  Rogers,  Louise  Dresser,  Kent  Taylor,  Evelyn 
Venable,  Stepin  Fetchit,  Noah  Beery,  Charles  Middle- 
ton,  Sara  Padden. 

Good  Rogers  vehicle  and  no  doubt  about  its 
success  where  the  name  means  anything.  Pic¬ 
ture  is  aimed  for  the  family  trade,  takes  its 
time  but  should  be  suitable  for  Rogers  houses. 
Show  is  well  handled,  has  few  highspots  but  is 
an  okay  number  where  Rogers  is  liked. 

Estimate:  Rogers  all  the  way. 


What  Do  You  Think? 

It  is  the  aim  of  this  publication  to  give  its  readers 
•very  possible  service.  Revision  of  the  page  is  an 
attempt  to  offer  a  concise  reviewing  form  that 
will  help  every  exhibitor.  Your  suggestions  and 
oriticisms  are  welcomed.  Write  in  now  and  tell 
im  whether  you  like  this  or  not. 


Spitfire 


Family 

Comedy-Drama 

85m. 


Katharine  Hepburn,  Ralph  Bellamy,  Robert  Young, 
Martha  Sleeper,  Sidney  Toler. 

New  type  of  yarn  for  Hepburn  but  a  wel¬ 
come  entrant.  As  a  mountaineer  lass  who  puts 
faith  in  prayer,  she  steps  out  of  her  usual  role, 
turns  in  a  neat  performance.  Her  work  is  of 
her  best  yet,  and  story  makes  the  picture  a 
natural  for  family  audiences. 


Estimate:  Personal  triumph. 


Adult 
Drama 
77m. 

Doug  Fairbanks,  Jr.,  Genevieve  Tobin.  Frank  Mor¬ 
gan,  Colleen  Moore,  Edward  Everett  Horton,  Lydia 
Westman,  Allen  Vincent,  Henry  Kolker. 

Good  cast  in  a  show  that  isn’t  worthy  of  the 
array  of  players.  Taken  from  a  stage  play 
which  had  moderate  success,  picture  doesn’t 
offer  much  opportunity  for  cast  to  top  material. 

Estimate:  Dud. 


Success  Story 


Family 

in  Ermine  Drama 

70m. 

Lionel  Atwill,  Betty  Furness,  Henry  B.  Walthall, 
Astrid  Align,  George  Hayes,  Jameson  Thomas,  James 
Bush. 

Story  of  a  steel  executive  who  loses  his  home, 
his  wife,  his  position  and  his  legs  because  of 
the  double  cross  ng  of  a  pal,  and  who  organizes 
mendicants  into  an  organization  which  allows 
him,  years  later,  to  return  and  get  even  with 
the  man  responsible  for  his  misfortune.  Show 
is  well  handled,  has  oodles  of  exploitation 
opportunities. 

Estimate:  Good. 


UNITED  ARTISTS 


Catherine  the  Great  Historical  Drama 

92m. 

Doug  Fairbanks,  Jr.,  Elizabeth  Bergner,  Gerald 
De  Maurier,  Flora  Robson. 

English-made  historical  picture  about  a  queen 
whose  prowess  was  international.  Show  has  an 
American  name  to  sell  as  well  as  an  ace  per¬ 
formance  from  Elizabeth  Bergner.  Picture  will 
have  to  be  ballyhooed  all  the  way  because  of 
the  costume  background.  Showmen  will  have 
to  give  it  the  same  attention  as  “Henry  the 
Eighth.” 

Estimate:  Must  be  sold. 


^  UNIVERSAL 


Midnight  Drama 

78m. 

Sidney  Fox,  O.  P.  Hcggis,  Henry  Hull. 

Action  revolves  about  a  foreman  of  a  jury 
who  is  determined  that  justice  must  be  handed 
out.  Later  he  finds  his  daughter  has  committed 
a  crime  similar  to  that  which  sent  another 
woman  to  the  chair.  Ensuing  developments 
concern  themselves  with  the  attempt  to  save  the 
girl.  Piece  is  hard  drama  all  the  way. 

Estimate:  Tough  stuff. 


Family 

Gun  Justice  Western 

59m. 

Ken  Maynard,  Cecilia  Parker,  Walter  Miller,  Lafe 
McKee,  Francis  Ford. 

Somebody  else  says  he  is  our  Ken  and  does 
our  Ken  get  angry?  You  bet,  and  by  the  time 
the  59th  minute  is  reached,  he  has  outwitted  the 
gang,  won  the  girl  and  provided  the  final 
closeup. 

Estimate:  Yippee. 


These  Look  Big 

Catherine  the  Great 
Cat  and  the  Fiddle 
Spitfire 


THE  EXHIBITOR 

1  -March-34 


43 


WARNERS 


Gambling  Lady  Melodrama 

Barbara  Stanwyck ,  Joel  McCrea,  Pat  O'Brien, 
Claire  Dodd. 

Melodrama  with  gambling  background  and 
likely  to  suit  the  audiences  who  like  their  action 
rough.  Romance  proceeds  amidst  a  background 
of  intrigue,  shooting  and  double  crossing,  with 
the  general  picture  shaping  the  show  for  pro¬ 
gram  groove.  Stanwyck  seems  at  home.  Cast 
gives  good  support. 

Estimate:  Keeps  you  guessing. 


Harold  Teen  Comedy  with  Music 

64m. 

Hal  Le  Roy,  Patricia  Ellis,  Guy  Kibbee,  Rochelle 
Hudson,  Hugh  Herbert,  Hobart  Cavanaugh,  Chic 
Chandler,  Clara  Blandick,  Mayo  Methot. 

Ideal  number  for  the  neighborhoods  and  a 
whale  of  an  entrant  for  tie-ups,  exploitation, 
etc.  Show  is  well  directed  for  the  audiences 
to  which  it  will  appeal  and  youthful  players 
add  zest  to  it.  Story  isn’t  much  and  doesn’t 
have  to  be.  Picture  is  okay  for  the  masses, 
the  younger  folk  and  is  wholesome. 

Estimate:  Wholesome. 


CHESTERFIELD 


Cross  Streets 


Family 

Drama 

68m. 


Johnny  Mack  Brown,  Claire  Windsor,  Anita  Louise, 
Kenneth  Thomson,  Matty  Kemp. 

Drama  of  a  young  doctor  who  loses  out  in 
love,  falls  into  the  gutter,  almost  makes  his 
comeback  and  who  later  turns  down  the  love 
of  the  daughter  of  the  woman  he  might  have 
married.  Brown’s  name  may  mean  something, 
but  generally  picture  must  fall  into  the  ordi¬ 
nary  division.  Actors  strive  but  story  over¬ 
comes  them. 

Estimate:  No  high  spots. 


STATE  RIGHTS 


Found  Alive 


Family 
Jungle  Drama 
65m. 


Barbara  Bedford,  Maurice  Murphy,  Robert  Frazer, 
Harry  Griffith,  Edwin  Cross. 


A  mother  doesn’t  want  to  lose  her  son  in  the 
divorce  courts,  kidnaps  him,  runs  away  to  a 
delta  of  the  Rio  Grande,  is  found  there  years 
later,  with  the  husband  eventually  being  recon¬ 
ciled.  In  addition,  there  are  many  wild  life 
scenes,  animal  fights.  Those  who  like  this  sort 
of  thing  will  be  satisfied. 

Estimate:  Exploitation  'opportunity. 


_  .  Adult 

on  Earth  War  Drama 

70m. 

All  foreign  cast. 

Foreign-made  picture  which  may  be  deemed 
propaganda  for  p>eace.  Picture  hasn't  much 
talk,  contains  bits  of  English,  German,  Jewish, 
French  dialogue,  shows  how  war  brings  together 
all  men,  proves  that  individuals  have  no  fights 
against  themselves.  Piece  can  stand  plenty  of 
exploitation  and  tie-ups.  Its  production  values 
are  strong. 

Estimate:  Depends. 


Hired  Wife  Drama 

65  m. 

Greta  Nissen,  James  Kirkwood,  Molly  O’Day,  Wel¬ 
don  Hcyburn,  Jane  Winton. 

Husband  and  wife  enter  into  one  of  those 
contract  affairs  with  the  hubby  finally  realiz¬ 
ing  they  are  really  in  love  with  each  other. 
Nothing  much  else  happens. 

Estimate:  Tame. 


Love  Past  Thirty  Comedy  Drama 

63m. 

Theodore  Von  Eltz,  Aileen  Pringle,  John  Marston, 
Phyllis  Barry,  Robert  Frazer,  Virginia  Sales ,  Ger¬ 
trude  Messenger,  Pat  O'Malley. 

A  woman  past  30  almost  loses  the  man  she 
loves  to  a  young  girl  she  has  mothered  most 
of  her  life.  Before  the  damage  is  done,  how¬ 
ever,  the  woman  spruces  up,  beautifies  herself, 
wins  him  back.  Show  is  a  pleasant  little  inde¬ 
pendent  number  and  should  please. 

Estimate:  Pleasing. 


The  Big  RdCe  Comedy  Drama 

65m. 

John  Darrow,  Boots  Mallory,  Paul  Hurst,  Frankie 
Darro. 

Even  the  heroine  refuses  to  believe  in  the 
hero’s  innocence,  so  he  just  has  to  win  the  big 
race.  He  does  and  saves  the  day.  Racetrack 
background  is  familiar  and  show  can’t  rate  very 
much. 

Estimate:  Dish  picture. 


LIBERTY 


Cheaters 


Adult 
Melodrama 
65  m. 


June  Collyer,  William  Boyd,  Dorothy  Mackaill, 
Alan  Mowbray,  William  Collier,  Sr.,  Guinn  Williams. 

Attractive  independent  with  some  feature 
names.  Ex-convicts  try  to  work  a  marriage 
racket  on  a  multi-millionaire,  but  the  hero  turns 
straight  and  goes  sour  on  the  plan  because 
of  love.  Plot  also  contains  some  jewel  thiev¬ 
ery  suspense.  Picture  moves  along  briskly  and 
deserves  a  hand  for  an  independent  show. 


Estimate:  Better  than  average  inde. 


Telling 


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44 


Mar  1 T  34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


THE  CHECKUP 


a 


For  your  convenience,  this  publication  furnishes  this  guide  to  reviews  of  pictures  which  have  appeared 
in  regular  review  department.  Before  dating  in  your  show,  consult  this  page,  find  out  when  the  review  appeared 
and  then  look  it  up.  Key:  For  example,  2-Jan.  means  the  second  issue  of  this  publication  in  that  month. 
1-Feb.  would  mean  the  first  issue,  and  so  on. 


Columbia 


Lady  for  a  Day .  1-Aug. 

A  Man’s  Castle  .  1-Nov. 

Police  Car  17  . 2-Nov. 

King  of  Wild  Horses  .  2-Nov. 

Above  the  Clouds  . 2-Nov. 

Master  of  Men . 1-Dec. 

Fog  . . . .  •  .  .  .  -  2-Jan. 

Fury  of  the  Jungle  . 2-Jan. 

Before  Midnight  . 2-Jan. 

Shadows  of  Sing  Sing  . 2-Jan. 

Straightaway  . 1-Feb. 

Once  to  Every  Woman  . 1-Feb. 

Let's  Fall  in  Love  .  1-Feb. 

The  Fighting  Code  .  1-Feb. 

It  Happened  One  Night .  2-Feb. 

No  Greater  Glory .  1-Mar. 

The  Song  You  Gave  Me .  1-Mar. 


First  National — Warners 

Bureau  of  Missing  Persons . 1-Sept. 

Wild  Boys  of  the  Road  . 1-Oct. 

The  World  Changes . 2-0ct. 

Gold  Diggers  . 1-June 

Footlight  Parade  .  2-0ct. 

Ever  In  My  Heart .  2-0ct. 

Kennel  Murder  Case . 1-Nov. 

College  Coach  .  1-Nov. 

House  on  56th  Street .  2-Nov. 

Female  . 1-Nov. 

Havana  Widows  . 1-Nov. 

From  Headquarters  .  2-Nov. 

Son  of  a  Sailor .  2-Nov. 

Dark  Hazard  . 1-Dec. 

Lady  Killer  . 1-Dec. 

Convention  City  . 2-Dec. 

The  Shakedown  . . 1-Jan. 

Massacre  . 2-Jan. 

Fashions  of  1934  . 2-Jan. 

Hi  Nellie  .  1-Feb. 

Easy  to  Love  .  1-Feb. 

Mandalay  .  1-Feb. 

As  the  Earth  Turns . 2-Feb. 

Bedside  2-Feb. 

Heat  Lightning  . 2-Feb. 

I've  Got  Your  Number .  2-Feb. 

Wonder  Bar  . 2-Feb. 

Gambling  Lady  . 1-Mar. 

Harold  Teen  . 1-Mar. 

Fox 

Pilgrimage  . 1-Aug. 

The  Last  Trail . 2-Aug. 

Paddy  . 1-Sept. 

Good  Companions  . 1-Nov. 

Charlie  Chan’s  Greatest  Case . 2-Sept. 

Dr.  Bull  .  2-Sept. 

My  Weakness  . 1-Oct. 

Power  and  the  Glory . 2-July 

Walls  of  Gold  2-Oct. 

Worst  Woman  in  Paris . 1-Nov. 

Berkeley  Square  .  2-July 

My  Lips  Betray  . 2-Nov. 

This  Mad  Game  . 1-Nov. 

Oleson's  Big  Moment . 1-Nov. 

Hoop-La  . 2-Nov. 

As  Husbands  Go . 2-Nov. 

Frontier  Marshal  . 2-Nov. 

Jimmy  and  Sally . 1-Dec. 

Smoky  . 2-Dec. 

I  Was  A  Spy .  2-Dec. 

Mr.  Skitch  . 1-Jan. 

I  Am  Suzanne . 1-Jan. 

Orient  Express  . 2-Jan. 

Sleepers  East  . 1-Feb. 

Cominq  Out  Party  . 1-Feb. 

Ever  Since  Eve  . 1-Feb. 

Carolina  . 2-Feb. 

Devil  Tiqer  2-Feb. 

Hold  That  Girl . 2-Feb. 

I  Believed  in  You  . .  .  .  1-Mar. 

David  Harum  .  1-Mar. 

Metro 

Penthouse  . 2-Sept. 

Stage  Mother  . 1-Oct. 

Night  Flight  . 1-Sept. 

Bombshell  . 2-Oct. 

The  Chief  . 2-Oct. 

Day  of  Reckoning . 1-Nov. 

Meet  the  Baron . 2-Oct. 


Dinner  at  Eight . 2-June 

The  Late  Christopher  Bean 

(Her  Sweetheart)  . 2-Nov. 

The  Prizefighter  and  the  Lady . 2-Nov. 

Eskimo  . .  2-Nov. 

Should  Ladies  Behave  (The  Vinegar  Tree) . 2-Nov. 

Dancing  Lady  . 1-Dec. 

Sons  of  the  Desert . 1-Dec. 

Women  in  His  Life  . 1-Jan. 

Going  Hollywood  . 1-Jan. 

Queen  Christina  . 1-Jan. 

Fugitive  Lovers  . 2-Jan. 

You  Can't  Buy  Everything  . 1-Feb. 

This  Side  of  Heaven  . 1-Feb. 

Men  in  White  . 2-Feb. 

Cat  and  the  Fiddle .  1-Mar. 

Mystery  of  Mr.  X .  1-Mar. 


Monogram 

DISTRIBUTED  BY  FIRST  DIVISION 


The  Avenger  . 2-Nov. 

Sweetheart  of  Sigma  Chi . 1-Nov. 

Broken  Dreams  . 1-Nov. 

He  Couldn’t  Take  It . 2-Dec. 

Sensation  Hunters  . 1-Jan. 

The  Sagebrush  Trail  . 2-Jan. 

Lucky  Texan  . 2-Jan. 

Woman’s  Man  . 2-Jan. 

16  Fathoms  Deep  . 1-Feb. 

West  of  Divide  .  1-Feb. 

Mystery  Liner  .  2-Feb. 

Beggars  in  Ermine .  1-Mar. 


Paramount 


Song  of  Songs  . 1-July 

This  Day  and  Age  . 2-Aug. 

One  Sunday  Afternoon . 1-Sept. 

Torch  Singer  . 2-Sept. 

To  the  Last  Man . 1-Oct. 

Golden  Harvest  . 1-Oct. 

Too  Much  Harmony . 2-Sept. 

I’m  No  Angel  . 2-Oct. 

Tillie  and  Gus  . 2-Oct. 

Way  to  Love  . 2-Oct. 

Take  a  Chance  .  . 1-Nov. 

Hell  and  High  Water . 2-Nov. 

White  Woman  . 1-Nov. 

Design  for  Living  . 2-Nov. 

Cradle  Song  . 2-Nov. 

Duck  Soup .  2-Nov. 

Lone  Cowboy  . 2-Nov. 

Thundering  Herd  .  2-Nov. 

Sitting  Pretty  . 1-Dec. 

Girl  Without  a  Room .  1-Dec. 

Alice  in  Wonderland  . 2-Dec. 

Miss  Fane’s  Baby  Is  Stolen . 1-Jan. 

His  Double  Life . 1-Jan. 

8  Girls  In  a  Boat  . 1-Jan. 

The  Last  Roundup  .  2-Jan. 

Search  for  Beauty  .  2-Jan. 

Four  Frightened  People  . 2-Jan. 

All  of  Me  2-Jan. 

Death  Takes  a  Holiday  (Strange  Holiday) . 1-Feb. 

Good  Dame  . 1-Feb. 

Six  of  a  Kind . 1-Feb. 

Bolero  .  2-Feb. 

No  More  Women .  2-Feb. 


Radio 

Morning  Glory  . 1-Aug. 

Rafter  Romance . 1-Aug. 

One  Man's  Journey . 2-Sept. 

Midshipman  Jack  . 1-Oct. 

A  Chance  at  Heaven . 2-Oct. 

Ann  Vickers  . 2-Oct. 

Ace  of  Aces  . 2-Oct. 

Aqgie  Appleby  . 2-Oct. 

Little  Women  . 2-Nov. 

After  Tonight  (Woman  Spy) . 2-Oct. 

Right  to  Romance . 1-Dec. 

If  I  Were  Free . 2-Dec. 

Flying  Down  to  Rio . 1-Jan. 

Man  of  Two  Worlds  .  2-Jan. 

Meanest  Gal  in  Town  . 2-Jan. 

Son  of  Kong  . 2-Jan. 

Two  Alone  . 2-Jan. 

Hips  Hips  Hooray  . 1-Feb. 

Keep  ’Em  Rolling  . 2-Feb. 

Long  Lost  Father . 2-Feb. 


The  Lost  Patrol . 2-Feb. 

Sing  and  Like  It .  1-Mar. 

Spitfire  . 1-Mar. 

Success  Story  . 1-Mar. 


United  Artists 

Bitter  Sweet  . 2-Sept. 

The  Bowery  . 2-Oct. 

Broadway  Thru  Keyhole . 1-Nov. 

Emperor  Jones . 1-Oct. 

Henry  the  Eighth . 1-Oct. 

Blood  Money  . 1-Dec. 

Roman  Scandals . 1-Dec. 

Advice  to  the  Lovelorn . 2-Dec. 

Gallant  Lady  . 2-Dec. 

Moulin  Rouge  . 1-Jan. 

Nana  . 2-Jan. 

Palooka  . 1-Feb. 

Sorrell  and  Son  . 2-Feb. 

Looking  for  Trouble . 2-Feb. 

Catherine  the  Great . 1-Mar. 


Universal 

Love,  Honor  and  0  Baby . 2-Oet. 

Saturday's  Millions  . 2-Sept. 

SOS  Iceberg . 1-Oct. 

Only  Yesterday  . 2-Nov. 

Myrt  and  Marge  . 1-Sept. 

Special  Investigator  . 2-Nov. 

Invisible  Man  . 2-Nov. 

King  for  a  Night  . 2-Nov. 

Counsellor  at  Law  . 1-Dec. 

Horse  Play  . 2-Dec. 

Beloved  . 1-Jan. 

By  Candlelight  . 1-Jan. 

Bombay  Mail  . 2-Jan. 

Madame  Spy  . 2-Jan. 

The  Poor  Rich  . 2-Jan. 

Cross  Country  Cruise  . 2-Jan. 

I  Like  It  That  Way  . 2-Jan. 

Wheels  of  Destiny  . 1-Feb. 

The  Crosby  Case  . 2-Feb. 

Love  Birds  . 2-Feb. 

Midnight  . 1-Mar. 

Gun  Justice  . 1-Mar. 


First  Division 

(CHESTERFIELD) 


By  Appointment  Only . 2-Nov. 

Dance,  Girl,  Dance . 1-Nov. 

I  Have  Lived  . 1-Aug. 

A  Man  of  Sentiment  . 2-Nov. 

Rainbow  Over  Broadway . 1-Dec. 

Notorious  But  Nice  . 2-Nov. 

Murder  On  the  Campus . 2-Feb. 

Cross  Streets  ...  1-Mar. 


Picture  Brides  . 2-Nov. 

One  Year  Later  . 2-Aug. 

Tarzan  the  Fearless . 1-Sept. 

Eat  ’Em  Alive  . 2-Dec. 

The  Road  to  Ruin . 2-Dec. 

He  . 2-Jan. 

Throne  of  the  Gods  . 2-Jan. 

Under  Secret  Orders . 1-Jan. 

Forgotten  Men  . 2-June 

Gold  Medal 

Sing,  Sinner,  Sing . 2-Aug. 

The  Big  Bluff  . 2-Oct. 

Important  Witness  . 2-Aug. 

Laughing  at  Life  . 2-June 

Curtain  at  Eight . 1-Dee. 

You  Made  Me  Love  You . 1-Dec. 

The  Charming  Deceiver . 1-Jan. 

Sin  of  Nora  Moran . 1-Jan. 

Big  Time  or  Bust . 2-Jan. 

Enlighten  Thy  Daughter . . 2-Jan. 

The  Morning  After . 2-Feb. 

Masterpiece 

Neighbor's  Wives  . 1-Oct. 

Her  Forgotten  Past  . 2-Nov. 

Riot  Squad  . 2-Aug, 

Secret  Sinners  . 1-Jan. 

Wine,  Women  and  Song . 2-Jan. 

What’s  Your  Racket? . 2-Feb. 


I  V"'  ^ 


i**  t^sC 

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Ate, 


I’LL 


t>. 

i  DRAPERIES?  ^T'Sp 

1 

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of  your  head 

A  KNOWLEDGE  THAT  YOU  NEED 
EXPERT  ADVICE  .  .  .  BUT  AFRAID 
TEMPORARILY  TO  MAKE  THE  EX¬ 
PENDITURE. 

What  will  it  cost? 
Must  I  close  down? 
Who's  an  expert  on  it? 


Tear  Out 

and 

Mail ! 

IF  YOU  DO  NOT  WISH 
TO  BE  SOLICITED,  SAY 
SO,  AND  INFORMATION 
WILL  BE  MAILED. 


Jay  Emanuel  Publications 

Incorporated 

219  North  Broad  Street 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

BUFFALO— ALBANY— NEW  YORK— WASHINGTON 


I  would  like  information  on  «  • 

/ 

ARCHITECTS 

□ 

PROJECTION 

□ 

AIR  CONDITIONING 

□ 

POSTERS 

□ 

CARPETS 

□ 

SAFES 

□ 

CHAIRS 

□ 

SAFETY  DEVICES 

□ 

CHAIR  COVERS 

□ 

SCREENS 

□ 

CONSTRUCTION 

□ 

SIGNS 

□ 

COSTUMERS 

□ 

SLIDES 

□ 

DECORATING 

□ 

SOUND  EQUIPMENT 

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DRAPERIES 

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STAGE  SCENERY 

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ELECTRICAL  WORK 

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TICKETS 

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HORNS  and  SPEAKERS 

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VENDING  MACHINES 

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PRINTING 

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VENTILATION 

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MISCELLANEOUS 

THEATRE 

OWNER  OR  MANAGER 

ADDRESS 

•  Mar  1 T  34  b.c. 

t 

Current  Heleasesi 


GOLDSMITH 

PRODUCTIONS 


iVoir  Ready 


•  CARNIVAL  LADY 

With  BOOTS  MALLORY,  ALAN  VINCENT, 
JASON  ROBARDS,  GERTRUDE  ASTOR, 
IRENE  DENNY  and  STRONG  SUPPORT. 
Directed  by  HOWARD  HIGGIN 


•  WOMAN  UNAFRAID 

With  LUCILLE  GLEASON,  LONA  ANDRE, 
SKEETS  GALLAGHER,  WARREN  HYMER, 
BARBARA  WEEKS. 

Directed  by  WM.  J.  COWEN 

Followed  by: 

•  Bargain  Day  •  Working  Wives 

•  Nobody’s  Children  •  I  Hate  Women 


A  Box  Office  Special 

THE  MAD  AGE 


In  a  Four  and  Six  Reel  Version 
Booked  by  the  Loew,  Warner  Bros.,  RKO, 
Century  and  Skouras  Circuits 


TOM  TYLER 

WESTERNS 


The  first— RIDIN'  THRU— Now  available 


BUFFALO  BILL,  Jr. 

WESTERNS 

In  Three  Reels — Ideal  for  Saturdays 

"PALS  OF  THE  PRAIRIE" 

The  First  —  Now  Available 


Shorts 

10  —  IN  NATURE  COLOR  i  reel 

Booked  to  Warner  Circuit 
Wilmer  &.  Vincent  Circuit 
Comerford  Circuit 
The  First — “MISSION  TRAIL” 

Second — “UTAH’S  PICTURE  BOOK” 


12— SECRETS  OF  NATURE  i  reel 

The  Oddest  Novelties  Ever  Filmed 
The  First:  “PEAS  AND  CUES”  was  the  rave  of  all  critics 


8  Special 
Attractions 

STORIES  BY  FAMOUS  AUTHORS 

Produced  by  M.  H.  HOFFMAN 

A  Veteran  Who  Knows  Box  Office  Values 

Xoie  Heady i 


•  CHEATERS 


By  Fanny  Heaslip  Lea 


With  a  strong  cast  including:  BILL  BOYD, 
DOROTHY  MACKAILL,  JUNE  COLLYER, 
ALAN  MOWBRAY,  WM.  COLLIER,  Sr. 
Directed  by  PHIL  ROSEN 


•  When  Strangers  Meet  By  Zona  Gale 

With  RICHARD  CROMWELL,  ARLINE  JUDGE, 

LUCIEN  LITTLEFIELD,  CHAS.  MIDDLETON, 

HALE  HAMILTON,  SHEILA  TERRY  and  Others 
Directed  by  CHRISTY  CABANNE 

•  TAKE  THE  STAND  "iXXS: 

With  JACK  LaRUE,  THELMA  TODD,  GAIL 
PATRICK,  RUSSELL  HOPTON,  VINCE 
BARNETT,  BURTON  CHURCHILL, 

LESLIE  FENTON  and  Others 
Directed  by  PHIL  ROSEN 


In  Production : 

•  THE  QUITTER 


By  Damon  Runyon 


With  PHILLIPS  HOLMES,  LEILA  HYAMS,  JACK 
LaRUE,  ROBERT  McWADE,  HEDDA  HOPPER, 
EDDIE  NUGENT,  VINCE  BARNETT 


Follotred  by : 

•  MAD  HONEYMOON 

By  Eleanor  Gates 

•  WITHOUT  CHILDREN 

By  Mrs.  Wilson  Woodrow 


•  SCHOOL  FOR  GIRLS 

By  Reginald  Wright  Kauffman 

•  TWO  HEADS  ON  A  PILLOW 

By  Dorothy  Canfield 


sold  with  the  Hollywood  Exchanges’Guarantee  of  Box  Office  Quality 


i 


A  Jay  Emanuel  Publication 


n  this 
Issue: 


Observers  See  Censorship  Linked  with  Fall  Elections 


VOL.  16— No.  6  PHILADELPHIA,  MARCH  15, 1934 


Price,  15  Cents 


JZntered  (IS  SP.r.a mA-r.ln.HR  matter  Semtemher  11  1Q94  nt  the  -no  of  T>*  +  A**  Mm-* h  Q  1  QaQ 


-  — - - 


SAMUEL  Marl5'34  pg.  2 

ZUMMINS 

presents— 

•  •  •  .  . 

•  •  «  • 

O.  •  •  •  • 

•  •  •  •  •  •  • 


Slaughtering  House  Records ! 

Euro  pa,  Philadelphia — 6  Big  Weeks 
W.  &  V.  State,  Reading — -New  Record 
W.  &  V.  State,  Allentown — New  Record 

AND  NATIONALLY  .... 

12th  Big  Week  on  Broad¬ 
way  and  Still  Packing  ’em  in! 

RIALTO  THEATRE  .  .  .  New  House  Record 
SAM  HARRIS  THEATRE  New  House  Record 
TRANS  LUX  THEATRE  New  House  Record 
CRITERION  THEATRE  .  .  .  NOW  PLAYING 

Majestic,  Brooklyn — 

Now  playing  to  terrific  grosses 
Park,  Boston — 

Top  business  and  mounting  daily 
RKO  Victory,  Providence — 

New  Top 

A  $1,000,000.00  TIE-UP! 

25,000,000  Daily  Readers  of 

18  HEARST  NEWSPAPERS 

and  ENTIRE  KING  FEATURE  SYND. 

See  three  columns  of  pictures  and 
a  half  page  ad  with  full  credits. 

A  NATIONAL  RADIO  HOOKUP  ! 

ROAD  SHOW  ACCESSORIES! 

The  World’s  Leading  Independent! 

FIRST  DIVISION  EXCHANGES,  Inc. 

HARRY  H.  THOMAS,  Pres. 

Executive  Offices: 

RKO  BUILDING,  RADIO  CITY,  N.  Y. 


NEW  YORK 
ALBANY 
BUFFALO 
CLEVELAND 


Branches  in: 

ATLANTA  PITTSBURGH 

WASHINGTON  CHARLOTTE 

DETROIT  PHILADELPHIA 

BOSTON  LOUISVILLE 


NEW  HAVEN 
CINCINNATI 
NEW  ORLEANS 


Fm? 


©FAIRCHILD  AERIAL  SURVEYS,  INC 


9mm. 


SSSsfl&i 


©FAIRCHILD  AERIAL  SURVEYS,  I 


Lc«  -1 1  J  ■  s 

|PF  *J  f 

1  *  #? 

1  •JiS  s  ^ 

1 Wr  fUSST 

f - v ;  i fl  fl  wF.j*# 

..  '  » 

i  -'r!'-;: 

*r  " '*■- 

•  -  ?  nm  -  ^ 

IN  DAHBURY-IN  DALLAS 


(towns  like  your  Main 


Street  and  mine ) 


// 


AS  THE  EARTH  TURNS 


Marl5'34  pg.  3 


has  made  good  as  the 


fill  lYfte" nun  in  *  mi  «cr 

Called  “Motion  Picture 
Without  Hokum” 


\gs  Eliminated  for  Screen 
Edition  of  Gladys  CarrolFs 
Novel  of  Maine  Rural  Mores 


i  prcsmtative  Explains  Selection  of 
!  Dallas  for  World  Premiere 


BY  SIDNEY  C.  DAVIDSON. 

,  :  Special  Repremntol) ve  Werner  Brothers. 

'  br-:UM<  Ah  exaggeration  of  emoHous  wMdb  »rr  mo?f  sublet  «t  the-  , 

v  ffice. 

b'stant  individual  m  checked  vast  and  big  cigar  stands  in  front  of. -a  ; 
i  •  side  show  end  give  you  a  “spiel."  It  is  mostly  lies,  you  know  it.  but  j 
ove  it.  The  barker  knows  you  hkc  things  like  sex  and  sensation  so  hi 
.intimates  things  concerning  Fatima,  who  discloses  many  thrills  for*10c,  : 


intimates  things  concerning  Fatima,  who  discloses  many  thrills  for  •: 

>sv  your  money,  go  in  and  are  fooled.  This  is  ''hokum.”  Thai  Is  one  of  ; 
>eds  upon  which  a  certain  type  of  motion  picture  has  prospered  .  .  .  < 
'  }e  first  time  a  deliberate  attempt  has  boon  made  to  stay  away  from  those  j 


ular  movie  values  which  Hollywood  injects  into  pictures 
business. 

b  k  “As  the  Earth  Turns”  is 
i»pe  of  story  producers  buy  for 
es  and  then  proceed  to  change, 
a  beautiful  story  and  probably 
lost  successful  book  of  the  year, 
i  wood  looked,  at  it  and  said  it 
not  be  made  into  a  picture  -  ba¬ 
it  was  too  g<wxl- 

jy  such  books  pass  through  the 
Hf  the  studio  story  department, 
any  changes  are  made  in  the 
go*  book  that  by  live  time  Holly- 
is  through  with  it  the  author 
not  recognize  his  or  her  brain- 
This  is  not  Hollywood's  fault 
ly.  The  legend  has  grown  that 
ublic  requires  a  certain  type  of 
in  all  pictures.  Getting  this 
1  into  pictures  is  what  is  com* 
r  known  as  “hokum”  and  while 
wtxwf  mills  grind  out  hokum  by 
hrd  movie  critics  strive  to 
[cm and  by  mereilestd 


.  matter  of 


can  family  ever  written  end  it  is  one ! 
of  the  best  sellers  of  the  year-  “As  i 
the  Karfb  Turns”  .s  one  of  those  books  j 
that  Hollywood  changes  for  screen  i 
purposes.  Warner  Brothers  have  not 
changed  it  We  have  not  put  any 
“hokum''  into  it.  Thus  we  come  to 
the  test  that  people  have  been  asking 
for  since  the  inception  of  motion  pic~ 
ture  business.  The  question  is, 
whether  or  not  the  public  will  spend 
their  money  to  see  a  good  picture 
made  from  a  good  book  without 
“hoke,"  The  investment  and  experi¬ 
ment  will  cost  $500,UUB,  That  question 
is  to  be  settled  in  Dallas!  Without 
previous  fanfare  and  ;ts  yet  unknown 
to  the  rest  of  the  Nation  and  the  rest 
of  the  motion  picture  industry,  on 
March  2  Dallas  finds  itself  in  the  posl- 
lotnon  who  passes  judg- 
>vics.  Warner«Broth- 


A 


with  pages  of 
publicity  for 
the  "first  bunk¬ 
less  picture 


'  With  lean  Muir ,  Donald  Woods,  Russell 
j  Hardie,  Emily  Lowry,  Arthur  Hohl, 
1 1  Dorothy  Peterson,  David  Landau,  Clara 
I  B/andick ,  14  others.  Lrom  the  best-seller  by 
Gladys  Hasty  Carrol.  Directed  by  Alfred 
E.  Green.  Vitagraph,  Inc.,  Distributors. 


Marl5'34  pg.  4 


WE  TESTE 


DALLAS  WILL 
DECIDE _ 


Whether  Theatre  Seers  want 
Film  Stories  .  .  .  True  to  Life 
. . .  without  Hokum  . . .  at  the 


§mwp 


Of  GLADYS  HASTY  CARROLL'S 

sensational  story  at  passion  wtumt  bimk  ^ 


TUBUS 


, . .  Bringing  Undying  Fame  to 
the  Screen’s  Sincerest  Lovers 

JEAN  M  U  t  R 
DONALD  WOODS 


FRIDAY 
AT  7:30  P.  M. 


with  ads  like 


this  —  still  plug¬ 
ging  the  "bunk- 
less"  angle 


•  •  •  • 


and 


Hi  THE 


] 

'■i 


ter  view 

poth 

viraveUfl 

tlnenJH 


harl&s- 
W  tW'  : 

l»«n 

IN'! 


novelization  in 


local  paper 
opening  day 


Marl5’34  pg.  5 


DALLAS 

POPULATION  260,475 


now  star  appears 


.Tran  Muir  .  . 


j  At  $:30  p.  TO.  Thursday,  a  possible  audienco  of  more  than  3,006,- 
I  000  people  in  Texas,  Oklahoma  and  Arkansas  will  listen  to  a  least. 
1  distance  telephone  convereall^dMja^nStasie  Door  (Eddie  Barr) 
ami  Jean  Muir.  L\ "  ■  n<>«v  Plrtnre,  "As  the 

Earth  Turns,"  w>a«lB8MmcajBPlHgwlB«B»Wdhe  Melba  theater. 
/Friday  nlnh *•  . 

Sin;..  D'jS  ■^ftmtoasllng  sta¬ 
tion  and  l^aK  '■  X?*  *n' 

mm 


Stage  Door  and  Jean  Muir 
Will  Broadcast  by  Telephone 
Thursday  for  Listening  Millions 


Supplement  to 

THE  DALLAS  DISPATCT 

AS  THE  EARTH  TURNS 

A  'realistic  Novel  <■>  Rural  kite  With  Its  Romance  trad  its  Tragedy,  !« 

HC  and  its  Moments  of  High  Adventure,  Its  W  Mcscmie  Living  and  Its  ,V|>irv,ti 


ARM  TURnS 

R  NIGHT  BUSINESS  AT  T  HE  MELBA! 


flTf  71  »>  It  FTuCl  ill  i  ui  hit 


stasy  #f  moon  light, 
-pa  tee  knows  the 

Facie  of  springtime, 

afire, 

you  believe  in  the 

asrty  anti  strength  of 
woman’s  devotion 


ftrVftf.WJ? 

tfW  ENGLAND  HEARTS 
BEATING  TO  THE  RHYTHM 
OF  THE  SEAS0HSa_ 


If  UK 


ED.  NIGHT 
at  8:30 


&  LAO YS  NASTY  CARROLL 
JEAN  MUIR  as  “JEN" 


DONALD  WOODS  as  “STAN" 

DOT  APPLEBY  DOROTHY  PETERSON 
A  Warmr  Brea.  Picture 


I 


★TOMORROW  NIGHT  at  8:30 


I  ...The  curtain  at  the  Palace 
Theatre  will  rise... and 
Danbury  will  be  the  first 
in  all  the  land  to  greet 
the  characters  of  Gladys 
Hasty  Carroll’s  story  .... 
“As  the  Earth  Turns” 
...they  step  from  the  pages 
of  the  book  onto  the  screen 
...  A  Symphony  of  New 
England  Hearts  Beating 
to  Hie  Rhythm  of  the  Seasons 

WARNER  BROS.  PRESENTS 

THE  WORLD  PREMIERE 

o<  tho  Motion  Picture  Classic  of  1934 


flf  THE 


f:  nvm 


Jt 


TURRIT 


JEAN  MUIR  as  aJENa 
DONALD  WOODSas’STAN' 

Bfc.  DOROTHY  APPLEBY 
WL  DOT  PETERSON 

\  THURSDAY 

■DM  ;  FRIDAY 

■KlL  ]  SATURDAY 

after  the 
Premiere 

?:15 

M. 


r  ,  \ 

-with  day-be¬ 
fore-opening 
ads  like  this 


GALA  WORLD  PREMIERE 

TONIGHT  at  8:30 

by  mth  Wxnw  8m.  Ptefsm. 

RESERVED  SEATS  NOW  ON  SALE 

No  Advance  In  Rrico* 

ORCHESTRA  SO*  500  BALCONY  SEATS  35c 
THUN,  >RI.  SAT,  *t  i*15  -  1  P.M,  -  9  P  M, 


with  full  three- 
column  open¬ 
ing-day  ads 
like  this  .  .  . 


I 


•  •  • 


DOUBLED  RECEIPTS  OF  BIGGEST  PREVIOUS  OPENING 


POPULATION  2  2,2  6  1 


<*•*** 


mtmei 


ma  a/ 
wc  &MTH 
TUm/' 


1  'AS  TH-E 

i  mmum/ 


DOS  IS 


with  giant  book 
pages  turned 
by  girl  atten- 
tant  .  .  .  . 


QUADRUPLED  AVERAGE  RUSINESS-AT  THE  PALACE! 


Marl5,34  pg.  8 


MUIR 


■including  Screenland’s 
highest  tribute,  the 
Honor  Page,  awarded 
by  Delight  Evans,  fa- 
mous  editor,  in  the  May 
issue,  out  March  20th 


FOR  MAKING  POSSI 
BLE-BY  THE  SIMPLE 
BEAUTY  AND  SINCER¬ 
ITY  OF  YOUR  FIRST 
STAR  PERFORMANCE 
-THE  AMAZING 
SUCCESS  OF  THIS 


FIRST  BUNKLESS  PICTURE 


Till 

TH  TURIN 


Sell  it  that  way  and  duplicate  Dallas  and  Danbury  profits! 
Get  complete  outline  and  material  from  these  campaigns 
so  you  can  start  building  now  for  national  release  date, 
April  14th.  Order  today  from  home -office  Adv.  Dept,  of 


WARNER  BROS 


■ 


Marl5'34  pg.  9 


THE 


EDITOR'S  PAGE 


Vol.  16,  No.  6 


March  15,  1934 


10%  Cancellation  ! 

_  FROM  MANY  of  the  acts  inspired  by 

®  certain  members  of  the  industry  it 
appears  that  the  code  is  being  shoved 
around  like  a  football.  First,  the  question 
of  zoning  and  grievance  board  appoint¬ 
ments  become  almost  a  farce,  and  now  the 
10%  cancellation  ruling  by  Divisional  Ad¬ 
ministrator  Sol  A.  Rosenblatt  is  being 
fought  by  certain  distributors.  Combine  the 
shortage  of  product  and  the  fact  that  every 
exhibitor  does  not  take  advantage  of  the 
cancellation  privilege  in  his  contract  with 
the  fact  that  the  contract  itself  provides  for 
a  Vk%  cancellation  and  then  wonder  why 
all  this  fuss  over  2  Vi  %  cancellation?  Is 
this  to  be  just  another  method  to  withhold 
co-operation  on  the  code?  If  labor  and 
other  provisions  of  the  code  are  retroactive, 
why  not  the  10%  cancellation? 

A  code  should  be  arranged  to  stop  squab¬ 
bling  among  the  industry.  Certain  high 
priced  executives  would  be  able  to  return  to 
their  desks  to  help  create  what  they  are 
paid  for  and  the  exhibitor  would  probably 
be  assured  of  better  product  with  less  ex¬ 
pense  than  fighting  every  detail  that  seems 
to  come  up  and  does  not  originate  with  one 
group  or  another. 


Examine  Them  All 

^  AS  LONG  as  this  seems  to  be  the  open 
season  for  examining  prospective  mem¬ 
bers  on  all  zoning,  clearance  and  grievance 
boards,  it  would  be  well  for  everyone  not 
to  overlook  the  impartial  members  of  the 
boards.  Of  course,  outsiders  can’t  be  ex¬ 
pected  to  harbor  any  prejudices  but  just 
for  the  sake  of  the  record  it  might  be  well 
to  consider,  for  example,  if  the  impartial 
observer  be  a  banker,  whether  or  not  any 
distributor  or  exhibitor  keeps  his  account 
in  that  bank;  if  the  observer  be  a  lawyer, 
whether  he  has  any  film  clients;  if  the 
observer  is  a  doctor,  whether  he  serves  film 
people. 

In  this  manner,  the  last  vestige  of  doubt 
may  be  removed.  The  various  factions  who 
picked  local  members  seem  to  have  set  the 
fashion.  Let  it  be  followed  through. 


Less  Shorts 

^  IT  IS  ALREADY  being  predicted  that 
^  there  will  be  a  severe  slash  in  the  num¬ 
ber  of  shorts  next  season.  The  code  is  held 
largely  responsible  in  that  no  exhibitor  will 
be  forced  to  buy  more  shorts  than  he  will 
need.  Ratio  will  be  guided  by  the  number 
of  features. 

In  one  way,  this  will  be  a  blessing,  but 
it  will  serve  as  a  severe  handicap  to  the 
exhibitor.  Beset  by  many  short  features, 
he  will  be  at  a  loss  to  fill  out  his  program 
properly.  Here,  indeed,  will  be  a  chance  in 
a  lifetime  for  double  feature  advocates. 

The  trouble  with  shorts  in  the  past  has 
been  the  general  lack  of  lustre.  True,  some 
companies  have  contributed  some  outstand¬ 
ing  subjects  but  generally  too  many  of  them 
have  been  made  obviously  for  filler  pur¬ 
poses  and  nothing  else.  The  effect  of  the 
code  on  the  general  quality  of  shorts  will 
be  interesting  to  follow. 


The  Exhibitor 

Circulating  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware.  Issued  on  the  1st  and  15th 
of  each  month  by  Jay  Emanuel  Publications,  Inc.  Publishing  office.  219  North  Broad  Street,  Philadelphia. 
Branches  at  1600  Broadway,  New  York  City;  Washington,  D.  C.  Jay  Emanuel,  publisher;  Paul  J. 
Greenhalgh,  advertising  manager;  Herbert  M.  Miller,  managing  editor.  Subscription  rates:  $2  for  one 
year,  $5  for  three  years.  Single  copies,  15c  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersev  and  Delaware. 
Publishers,  also,  of  THE  NATIONAL  EXHIBITOR  of  Washington  and  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  EXHIBITOR. 
Official  organ  of  the  Motion  Picture  Theatre  Owners  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and 
Delaware.  Address  all  communications  to  the  Philadelphia  office. 


More  Light,  Please — 

T  N  THOSE  far  distant  years,  when  the  local  zoning  and 
-*■  grievance  boards  get  to  work  to  make  this  industry  a 
happy  paradise  for  all,  it  will  be  interesting  to  note  with  what 
facility  offending  exhibitors  are  held  in  check,  are  penalized  for 
code  violations,  are  made  to  understand  that  the  whole  set-up  is 
not  just  a  mass  of  notes,  announcements,  names  and  opinions. 

Perhaps  the  manuals  to  be  distributed  to  the  local  boards  will 
tell  whether  or  not  exhibitors  and  exchanges  will  be  fined;  whether 
or  not  the  mistakes  that  have  been  happening  in  the  past  can  be 
punished;  whether  or  not  exhibitors  who  are  now  suffering  from 
competitive  violations  can  secure  redress;  whether  the  advertising 
in  advance  clause  is  a  reality  or  a  myth. 

And  what,  too,  if  the  distributor  or  exhibitor  who  loses  out  in  a 
case  before  the  board  wants  to  go  further,  to  assert  his  right  in 
court?  What’s  to  stop  him  from  doing  that?  How  long  will 
members  serve?  It  is  unfair  to  ask  that  they  continue  to  give 
effort  and  time  for  an  indefinite  period.  What  if  they  fall  ill; 
what  if  they  refuse  to  serve  because  of  peculiar  connections  with 
a  case  in  question;  what  if  it  is  more  convenient  to  drop  out  rather 
than  be  embarrassed  by  listening  to  a  case;  will  alternates  be  ap¬ 
pointed,  and  how;  how  will  a  situation  that  arose  in  connection 
with  the  Code  Authority  committee  choosing  local  appointees 
wherein  the  alternates  got  on  the  board  and  practically  ran  it  be 
averted;  what  insurance  will  there  be  that  the  quality  of  the  board 
will  not  suffer  from  a  lot  of  alternates;  how  shall  these  problems 
be  taken  care  of? 

By  their  bickering  and  exhibition  of  petty  tactics,  the  Code 
Authority  members  responsible  for  local  appointments  have  placed 
the  code  under  a  tremendous  handicap.  They  could  have  averted 
all  this  by  allowing  the  local  exhibitor  organizations  and  the  film 
boards  to  handle  appointments.  The  Code  Authority  has  been  in 
error.  The  blame  can  be  placed  at  their  feet.  Nothing  has  been 
gained  but  a  lot  has  been  lost. 


“Let  him  have  it.  He  has  to  have  something  to  keep  him  happy.” 


10 


Marl5'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Heard  In 


V 


INE  STREET 


Blofson  Now 
Eats  Yeast 


WITH  THE  TELETYPEWRITER  system 
between  the  Washington,  Baltimore  and  Phila¬ 
delphia  offices  going  full  blast,  Horlacher  De¬ 
livery  service  has  reached  a  degree  of  perfec¬ 
tion  often  unattained  in  the  trucking  field.  .  .  . 
Colonel  Tom,  who  handles  the  southern  route, 
was  a  visitor  here  recently.  .  .  .  Johnny  Bach¬ 
man  was  in  town  for  a  spell,  then  went  out 
again  for  Educational.  .  .  .  Auditor  Levine, 
from  the  Educatio  jal  home  office,  was  a  visitor. 


SIG  WITTMAN,  Milt  Kusell,  Neil  Agnew 
and  their  wives  hopped  aboard  the  Georgic 
for  a  West  Indies  cruise.  .  .  .  Metro  has  a 

thirteen  and  a  half  minute  reproduction  of 
song  hits  and  dialogue  culled  from  “The 
Cat  and  the  Fiddle,”  on  a  Victor  record, 
33  1/3  R.  P.  M.,  which  cannot  be  used  on  a 
phonograph,  for  bally  purposes.  .  .  .  Ex¬ 

change  also  will  have  similar  records  on 
“Queen  Christina”  and  “Viva  Villa,”  on  a 
four  and  a  half  minute  record,  78  R.  P.  M., 
which  can  be  used  on  an  ordinary  phono¬ 
graph.  .  Exhibs,  however,  should  bear 

in  mind  that  use  of  the  record  should  not 
conflict  with  the  local  ordinance  regarding 
sound  advertising. 

HAVING  RECEIVED  congrats  on  his  re¬ 
turn  from  the  trade,  A1  Davis  is  breezmg  thi  gs 
up.  .  .  .  With  Sam  Gross  he  plans  to  show 
Edgar  Moss  that  business  will  be  just  grand. 

.  .  .  “Scandals'1’  was  screened  to  a  full  pro¬ 
jection  room  last  week.  .  .  .  And  the  reaction 
certainly  confirmed  what  some  had  thought 
about  it  .  .  .  Another  of  the  Gold  Medal  dis¬ 
tributed  ComiColor  cartoo  .s  got  an  ace  down¬ 
town  first  run.  .  .  .  “The  Little  Red  Hen.  ’ 

.  .  .  With  plenty  of  Stanley-Warner  time  fol¬ 
lowing. 

WITH  LOUIS  “POP”  KORSON  away, 
Masterpiece  is  making  a  drive  for  increased 
business.  .  .  .  First  runs  on  “Dancing  Man” 

and  “Back  Page”  are  being  set  and  shows 
will  be  available  shortly.  .  At  Peerless, 

the  announcement  was  to  the  effect  that  the 
exchange  will  handle  physical  distribution 
for  the  Gaumont-British  pictures  to  be 
handled  here  by  Sam  Rosen.  .  .  .  Sam’s  first 
“The  Ghoul,”  opens  at  the  Europa,  and  in 
New  York  runs,  has  garnered  good  returns. 

.  .  .  The  shows,  according  to  Sam,  will  ba 

primed  especially  for  domestic  audiences. 

GONE  YEAST  is  A1  Blofson.  the  dynamo 
of  First  Division.  .  .  .  The  luncheon  ceremony 
is  never  complete  until  he  takes  it  out,  unwraps 
it  and  deposits  the  contents  in  a  glass.  .  .  . 
Then  he  drinks  it,  to  the  cheers  of  the  assembled’ 
film  men. 


ERROR 

In  the  February  1st,  1934,  issue  of  this  pub¬ 
lication,  a  statement  was  made  regarding  offi¬ 
cials  of  the  Keystone  State  Moving  Picture 
Operators’  Union.  The  statement  therein  con¬ 
tained  was  an  error  on  the  i  art  of  this  publi¬ 
cation. 

(Signed)  EDITOR. 


HERB  GIVEN  is  still  preparing  a  big  cam¬ 
paign  on  “Dawn  to  Dawn,”  a  35-minute  feat- 
urette  which  has  been  heralded  by  the  critics 
everywhere.  ...  In  addition,  he  has  his 
usual  line  of  outstanding  shorts.  .  .  .  “Dawn 
to  Dawn”  includes  Julie  Hayden  in  the  cast. 

This,  too,  has  a  lot  of  exploitation 
\alues  and  should  be  an  outstander  on  any 
program. 


FRANK  McNAMEE,  the  Radio  branch  chief 
o,  .lies  that  ‘  Spitfire,’’  with  La  Hepburn,  should 
do  a  whale  of  a  business.  .  .  .  “The  Lost 
Patrol,”  at  the  Stanton,  has  been  doing  a  re¬ 
markable  box  office  return  in  Scranton  ai.d 
other  spots.  ...  It  has  saleable  qualities.  .  .  . 
Harry  Bodkin,  the  spade  and  tree  man,  plans 
to  give  a  public  demonstration  one  of  these  days. 
.  .  .  Bob  Mochrie,  the  Warnerite,  will  be  an 
i  terested  observer.  .  .  .  He  wants  some  tips 
on  Bodkin’s  gardening. 

BOB  MOCHRIE,  incidentally,  was  all  en¬ 
thused  over  the  splendid  reaction  following 
the  Warner  trade  show  here.  .  .  .  “Journal 

of  a  Crime,”  “Gambling  Lady,”  “Wonder 
Ear”  and  “As  the  Earth  Turns”  were  shown. 

And  two  packed  houses  at  the  Boyd 
attested  to  the  interest.  ...  A  two-reel 
short,  “Not  Tonight,  Josephine,”  drew  its 


L.  E.  Stone  Back! 


HARRY  BLUMBERG,  the  ace  National 
Theatre  Supply  Company  head  here,  is  wait  ng 
for  the  cold  weather  to  go  away  so  that  the 
theatres  can  become  conscious  of  their  decorat¬ 
ing  and  cleaniing  needs.  .  .  .  He  expects  an 
upturn  shortly. 

AL  BLOFSON’S  “The  Ferocious  Pal,”  with 
Kazan,  the  wonder  dog,  came  in  this  week.  .  .  . 
He  is  awaiting  a  print  of  “Stolen  Sweets,"  from 
Chesterfield,  which  he  hears  is  an  ace.  .  .  . 
Local  equipment  men  all  looking  forward  to  a 
rickup.  .  .  .  Once  the  snow  gets  off  the  ground. 
Miss  Segall,  First  Division  booker,  kept  very 
busy,  what  with  the  increased  business.  “For¬ 
gotten  Men”  has  brought  in.  .  .  .  Show  has 
some  choice  upstate  dates. 


International  Seating  Company,  which  has 
just  launched  a  new  product,  U-16  Float¬ 
ing  Comfort  theatre  chair,  on  the  market, 
announces  that  it  has  signed  L.  E.  Stone  as 
its  Philadelphia  sales  representative.  Stone, 
who  with  his  son,  Earl  Stone,  owned  the  sales 
agency  for  the  Steel  Furniture  chairs  in  the 
Philadelphia  territory  up  until  the  absorption 
of  that  product  by  National  Theatre  Supply 
Company,  enjoys  the  reputation  of  having 
sold  more  theatre  chairs  locally  than  any 
o’her  single  salesman.  He  is  well-known  in 
the  local  industry  and  has  a  host  of  friends 
among  theatre  owners  who  will  be  glad  to 
hear  that  he  has  again  entered  chair  busi¬ 
ness.  His  acquisition  is  a  stroke  of  good 
judgment  on  the  part  of  this  new  company. 


share  of  laughs.  .  The  exhibitors  are 

now  completely  sold  on  Warner  product. 

HARRY  WEINER  went  to  New  York,  at- 
ieiu.ed  the  home  office  Columbian  party.  .  .  . 
EarL  Sweigert,  genial  Paramount  chief,  still 
his  rotund  beaming  self.  .  .  .  J.  Howard  Smith 
lully  recovered.  .  .  .  Charlie  Dutkin  still  put¬ 
ting  on  weight.  .  .  .  P.  A.  Bloch,  what  with  the 
warm  weather,  thinking  about  how  nice  it  will 
be  to  get  his  hands  on  his  niblick.  .  .  .  Joe 
Kennedy,  the  Horlacher  sage,  having  a  birth- 

cay  soo.’ . Dorothy  Dennis  prettier  every 

t,ay.  .  .  .  Jack  Greenberg  always  hard  at  work. 

.  .  .  Looks  like  a  late  spring.  .  .  .  Jolii  Hen¬ 
drick  putting  on  weight,  too. 

HARRY  BODKIN,  the  art  collector,  plays 
a  piano,  plays  it  well.  .  .  .  Lion  and  the  mouse 
business.  .  .  .  Harry  Weiner,  enthusiastic  be¬ 
cause  of  the  busness  done  by  “It  Happened  One 
Night,”  looks  for  similar  returns  from  "No 
Greater  Glory.” 

AL  BLOFSON,  the  First  Division  leader 
here,  all  enthused  because  of  “Forgotten 
Men,”  prepares  for  “Young  Eagles,”  first  of 
his  1934-1935  serials.  .  .  .  “Forgotten  Men” 
has  broken  records  wherever  it  plays.  .  .  . 

A1  Friedlander,  sales  manager,  was  a  visitor 
in  town  here  and  was  pleased  with  the 
progress  of  the  exchange.  .  .  .  “Beggars  in 
Ermine,”  “Mystery  Ship”  are  current  Mono¬ 
gram  releases. 

JOHN  COLDER,  at  Hollywood,  after  see¬ 
ing  the  raves  on  M.  H.  Hoffman’s  "Take  the 
Stand,”  believes  that  he  has  a  real  hit  to  sell. 
...  A  print  is  expected  in  shortly.  .  .  .  The 
show  has  names  to  sell  and  is  considered  even 
better  than  "Cheaters”  and  “When  Strangers 
Meet,’'  the  first  two  from  Hoffman  and  Libertv. 
.  .  .  “The  Mad  Age”  is  getting  a  nice  run 
around.  ...  "I  Hate  Women”  is  the  latest 
Goldsmith  production,  with  Wally  Ford,  June 
Clyde,  Fuzzy  Knight,  Bradley  Page,  Eleanor 
Hunt,  Alex  Carr  and  others  in  the  cast. 

CAPITOL  FILM  is  distributing  "The  Fight¬ 
ing  Priest,”  which  is  a  record  of  Father  Cough¬ 
lin,  the  air  evangelist.  .  .  .  The  short  has  gotten 
a  lot  of  time  over  the  Stanley  circuit  and  is  con¬ 
sidered  a  showmanship  natural.  .  .  .  The  short 
is  filled  with  exploitation  possibilities,  and  with 
the  rad’o  tieup  offers  exhibitors  something  of 
real  value  to  sell.  .  .  .  Messrs.  Gabriel  a  •<! 
Behall  are  quite  elated  about  it. 

GEORGE  DILLON,  well  known  here,  is 
now  working  out  of  Washington  for  United 
Artists.  .  .  .  Many  exhibitors  around  town 

who  are  reported  for  code  violations  are  get¬ 
ting  letters  from  Warner  home  office  asking 
how  come  and  what  to  do  about  it. 

UNIVERSAL  will  hold  regional  sales  con¬ 
ventions  this  year.  .  .  .  A1  Blofson,  with  sales 
staff,  will  attend  the  Monogram  sessions  in 
Atlantic  City  early  in  April.  .  .  .  Majestic  has 
a  lot  of  Polish  pictures  for  distribution. 

CHARLIE  STEIFEL,  the  impressario  of 
South  Phil ly,  keeps  in  touch  with  all  improve¬ 
ments,  wonders  whether  the  rumors  lie  hears 
are  true.  .  .  .  Apex  Garage  is  ready  to  serve 
you. 


Early  Bird  Catches 

Apparently,  the  early  bird  is  catching 
the  box  office  worm. 

Several  houses  in  the  territory  are 
turning  toward  the  early  bird-cut  price 
idea  to  aid  the  box  office. 

In  many  instances,  in  the  evening,  this 
is  a  contract  violation. 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Marl5'34 


11 


Political  Picture  May  Include 

Censorship  in  Fall 


Showmen  Fete  Dowling 


Many  showmen  are  expected  to  be 
present  at  the  dinner  to  be  given  Eddie 
Dowling  here,  April  4. 

M.  E.  Comerford,  Frank  C.  Walker, 
James  Farley  and  others  are  expected  to 
be  guests  of  honor  at  the  local  affair. 
Many  prominent  Democrats  are  ex¬ 
pected. 


TRICTLY  PERSONAL 

Plenty  of 
Weddings  Here 


MARRIAGE  of  Miss  Effie  M.  Clements, 
Pine  Grove,  Harrisburg,  and  Harry  0.  Beck, 
maintenance  employe  at  the  Victoria  Theatre, 
Harrisburg,  was  performed  at  Union  Labor 
Hall,  Harrisburg,  March  6,  by  Alderman 
George  W.  Ramsey.  .  .  .  Anne  Litvin  and 
Mark  Wilson  will  trip  the  light  fantastic  to  the 
altar  March  17. 

IT’S  A  BOY  at  the  Dave  Milgrams.  .  .  . 

Mrs.  Milgram  presented  the  family  with  a 
7  pound  boy,  March  10,  and  is  the  father 
happy?  .  Child  will  be  called  William 

and  the  old  man  is  passing  out  cigars.  .  .  . 

He  always  wanted  a  boy. 

THE  SOUTHERN  VOYAGERS  are  re¬ 
turning  home.  .  .  .  Charlie  Goodwin  and  the 
Mrs.  came  back  to  receive  a  snowstorm. 

MRS.  IGNATIUS  BIBLE,  mother  of  the 
late  Tom  Bible,  well  known  on  the  street, 
passed  away  at  her  home  March  4.  .  .  .  She 
had  many  friends  in  the  industry.  .  .  .  Miss 

Catherine  Sane,  manicurist  at  Vine  Street’s 
most  popular  barber  shop,  is  getting  married 
shortly.  .  .  .  Lots  of  luck. 

QUITE  A  LOT  of  film  folk  were  at  the 
wedding  of  Miss  Miriam  Heidelberger  and  Irv¬ 
ing  Blumberg,  March  4.  .  .  .  The  couple  went 
on  a  honeymoon  to  Bermuda. 

TONY  LUCCHESE,  head  of  Gold  Medal 
exchange,  was  confined  to  his  bed  with  a 
severe  illness.  .  .  .  His  friends  hope  that  he 
will  be  on  the  real  road  to  health  soon.  .  .  . 

Another  on  the  sick  list  was  Lewen  Pizor, 
president,  M.  P.  T.  O.,  who  was  taken  ill 
last  week-end.  .  .  .  He  has  been  overwork¬ 

ing  himself  on  behalf  of  the  organization  and 
in  connection  with  code  matters.  .  .  .  Edgar 
Moss,  the  Fox  chieftain,  went  to  the  coast 
for  a  business  and  pleasure  trip. 

A.  M.  C0HP2N,  attorney,  expanding  offices. 
.  .  .  Represents  many  offices.  .  .  .  Sara  Harris 
had  a  birthday  March  6.  .  .  .  Cakes  and  ice 
cream  at  the  party.  .  .  .  Twins  bought  a  present. 
.  .  .  Jean  helped.  .  .  .  Ben  sent  regrets  by  wire. 
.  .  .  Used  all  the  SO  words.  .  .  .  Jack  happy,  too. 
.  .  .  Claire,  too.  .  .  .  Lou  Kellman  still  courti  g 
Helen.  .  ._.  Sister  now  better.  .  .  .  Ben  attended  a 
dinner  with  local  big  shots. 

JAKE  FOX,  widely  known  Jersey  theatre- 
man  before  he  leased  his  possessions  to  Stan- 
ley-Warner,  is  now  on  a  forty  day  Mediter- 


Trade  Wonders  Whether  Attitude  of  Various  Candidates 
on  Industry  Problem  Will  Be  Forthcoming— See  Impor¬ 
tant  Link 

The  Pennsylvania  censorship  question,  for  decades  a  troublesome  problem,  may 
be  linked  up  with  the  political  picture  that  will  confront  voters  here  in  the  fall. 


Joins  Gaumont  British 


Sam  Rosen 


is  now  special  representative  in  the  local 
territory  for  Gaumont  British  Pictures  Cor¬ 
poration  of  America,  with  headquarters  at 
1321  Vine  Street.  Rosen  is  well  known  in 
the  local  territory,  having  held  important 
positions  with  leading  film  companies.  Up 
to  a  year  ago  he  was  branch  manager  at 
RKO.  Among  the  GB  productions  available 
for  immediate  booking  are  “The  Ghoul,” 
with  Boris  Karloff;  “Waltz  Time,”  with  Eve¬ 
lyn  Laye;  “Love  in  Morocco,”  with  Rex  In¬ 
gram  starring  and  directing;  “The  Ghost 
Train;”  “Orders  is  Orders,”  with  Charlotte 
Greenwood  and  James  Gleason.  Rosen  prom¬ 
ises  that  the  pictures  will  all  be  of  high 
calibre  for  all  types  of  audiences. 


ranean  cruise.  .  .  .  He  plans  to  spend  the 

Passover  period  in  Palestine.  .  .  .  He  has 

been  looking  forward  to  the  trip  for  some 
time.  .  .  .  Ben  Fertl  lost  his  appendicitis. 

.  .  .  Feels  better. 

LOUIS  “POP’’’  KORSON,  guiding  head  of 
Masterpiece,  remembered  friends  here  with 
cards. 

ESTHER  DIAMOND,  queen  of  the  Fox 
office,  is  having  gland  trouble.  ...  In  the 
throat.  .  .  .  Was  ill.  .  .  .  Mr.  and  Mrs.  P. 
A.  Bloch  went  off  to  Bermuda  for  a  few’  days. 

ABE  SABLOSKY  had  a  carbuncle,  felt  in¬ 
convenienced.  ...  A  sister  of  Bennie  Zeidman, 
who  is  producing  pictures  for  Universal,  is 
working  in  a  Vine  Street  office.  .  .  .  She  ;s  a 
good  looking  blonde.  .  .  .  Hilda  Harris,  Uni-' 
versalite,  ill.  .  .  .  Expected  back  soon.  .  .  . 
Dick  Brown,  Universal,  has  new  glasses.  .  .  . 
Looks  dignified. 


Film  men,  high  in  local  circles,  are  of  the 
opinion  that  support  of  showmen  may  be  en¬ 
listed  in  the  torrid  fight  that  is  certain  to  result 
when  the  pleas  for  voters’  support  are  made 
later  this  year.  That  the  assistance  of  the 
screens  of  the  state  is  valued  is  not  doubted  by 
anyone. 

While  theatremen,  generally,  keep  away 
from  any  commercialization  of  their  screens 
for  any  such  purpose,  it  is  believed  that  some 
support  might  not  be  an  impossibility  if  some 
candidates  come  out  for  an  end  of  the  present 
system  of  state  censorship. 

Month  by  month,  bodies  which  were  deemed 
the  strongest  supporters  of  the  present  system 
of  censorship  have  been  changing  their  minds. 
The  action  of  the  Philadelphia  Methodists  is 
but  one  example.  Gradually,  social  bodies,  like 
the  motion  picture  industry,  itself,  feel  that 
censorship  at  the  source  is  more  important, 
that  the  present  censor  system  serves  no  purpose 
but  becomes  a  football. 

The  political  picture  is  still  too  involved  to 
bring  forth  any  facts  which  might  affect  the 
attitude  of  candidates  towards  censorship.  But 
it  is  admitted  that  before  any  attempt  can  be 
made  to  secure  co-operation  of  exhibitors,  can¬ 
didates  will  have  to  make  public  their  attitude 
on  a  continuation  of  the  present  silly  censor¬ 
ship  system. 

The  word,  silly  is  used  because  of  the  antics 
of  the  censors,  which  results  in  eliminations  on 
the  same  order  as  these,  from  other  states : 

,  SCHOOL  FOR  ROMANCE  (Second  Older  on  Appeal)  — 
Eliminate  scene  of  girl  seated  on  dummy’s  lap,  with 
legs  exposed,  taking-  lesson  in  "love  school.”  Eliminate 
entire  view  of  girl  with  legs  exposed  making  love 
to  "dummy”  in  love  school.  Eliminate  entire  scene  of 
embrace  between  Count  Romansky  and  gill  beside 
cane e,  and  Count’s  remark:  "Your  husband  isn’t  dead; 
lies  hiding.”  Allow  only  that,  part  of  embrace  where 
his  sweetheart  enters  and  discovers  him  with  other 
woman. 

GOOD  DAME — Eliminate  capitalized  words  in  dia¬ 
logue  where  man  attempts  to  force  girl  to  take  part  in 
indecent  show:  "All  right,  meet  me  in  my  apartment. 
NOTHING’S  HARDER  TO  TAKE  THAN  THAT.”  Elim¬ 
inate  all  views  of  girl  in  negligee  at  doer  of  hotel 
bedroom,  and  dialogue;  including:  “Aren’t  wa  going  to 
have  breakfast  together,”  and  reply.  Eliminate  capital¬ 
ized  words  in  following  dialogue:  “THERE’S  ONE 
THING  I  NEVER  DID  YET— ONE  THING.  Goodbye, 
innocent.” 

Meanwhile,  in  New  York  State,  a  campaign 
against  state  censorship  of  pictures  was  carried 
along  by  the  National  Council  of  Freedom  from 
Censorship,  unit  of  the  American  Civil  Liberties 
L  nion.  A  bill,  which  would  abolish  censorship, 
hut  which  would  keep  the  tax  on  film,  is  being- 
endorsed  by  the  body.  The  tax  would  remain  at 
per  1000  feet  for  originals  but  a  slash  from 
$2  to  $1.50  on  duplicates  would  be  in  order. 

The  association,  in  a  statement,  says :  “It  is 
submitted  that  the  judgment  of  a  jury  on  so 
controversial  an  issue  as  obscenity  or  indecency, 
on  which  men’s  opinions  differ,  is  the  only  fair 
test  of  current  standards  of  morality,  and  vastly 
superior  to  the  judgment  of  professional 
censors.’’ 


12 


Marl5'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


The  Double  Feature  Question 


A  new  problem  has  arisen  in  connection  with  double  features.  It  is  one  that  has  added  to  a  controversial 
subject,  an  issue  which  was  not  included  in  the  code  after  proponents  for  double  features  delivered  a  strong 
case  basing  their  claims  chiefly  on  the  fact  that  double  features  increased  labor,  kept  theatres  in  business  and 
the  money  remained  in  the  industry. 

The  new  problem  concerns  itself  with  the  fact  that  certain  distributors  have  incorporated  in  their  contracts 
a  clause  prohibiting  double  features,  while  others  have  included  such  a  clause  only  with  those  exhibitors  double 
featuring  in  the  past.  That  such  a  situation  is  unfair  cannot  be  denied.  If  double  features  are  right,  they 
should  not  be  restricted  by  clauses;  if  they  are  wrong,  they  should  not  be  arbitrary  matters  to  be  regulated  by 
some  exchangemen. 

Some  exhibitors  care  not  for  contracts,  others  are  double  featuring  but  advertising  one  feature  on  their  pro¬ 
grams.  This  is  a  flagrant  evasion  where  the  contract  restricts  such  a  practice,  yet  nothing  has  been  done  by 
certain  distributors  where  this  has  been  called  to  their  attention.  This  lessens  respect  for  themselves  by  exhibi¬ 
tors  who  do  honor  their  contracts. 

The  code  does  not  bar  doubles.  More  and  more  exhibitors  want  to  turn  to  some  modified  form  of  double 
features  because  of  three  reasons:  ONE — Shortness  of  features;  TWO — Poor  quality  of  certain  pictures; 
THREE — Impossibility  of  playing  weak  pictures  passed  up  by  the  first  run.  It  is  in  this  last  department  that 
the  independent  exhibitor  suffers  most.  He  must  play  the  pictures  even  though  a  circuit  can  shelve  a  show  with¬ 
out  any  cost  to  itself.  It  is  a  decidedly  unfair  advantage. 

If  double  features  were  permitted,  the  exhibitor  could  arrange  his  programs  to  offset  all  these  worries. 

Recently  a  constructive  idea  was  proposed  for  former  single  feature  spots.  It  said: 

1.  Limit  double  features  to  one  change  of  program  each  week. 

2.  Appoint  a  committee,  including  distributors  and  exhibitors,  with  one  outsider,  to  decide  which  product 
could  be  double  featured,  including  the  major  distributors,  as  well. 

3.  Double  feature  only  those  pictures,  eliminating  the  possibility  of  doubling  an  attraction  like  “Roman 
Scandals”  with  another  feature,  which  was  done  in  a  prominent  theatre  only  recently. 

4.  Overcome  the  problem  of  too  many  poor  shorts  with  intelligent  double  featuring,  for  a  long  program  of 
shorts  cannot  always  be  good. 

5.  Handle  the  problem  so  that  the  majors  as  well  as  the  inde  distributors  will  benefit.  Instead  of  sloughing 
off  pictures,  exhibitors  will  double  them.  Independent  production  will  also  be  encouraged.  This  encourage¬ 
ment  is  a  necessity,  for  independent  exhibitors  always  regard  independent  production  as  a  safeguard  to  their 
investments. 

6.  Regardless  of  who  gets  this  extra  playing  time,  the  money  still  remains  in  the  industry. 

The  plan  would  be  so  flexible  that  it  could  be  modified  in  certain  territories.  Let  the  Code  Authority  regu¬ 
late  the  problem.  Let  the  public  get  to  know  the  calibre  of  independent  product. 

Handled  intelligently,  the  problem  can  benefit  everyone,  producer,  distributor,  exhibitor  and  public. 

Criticism  on  this  plan  is  invited.  Send  your  replies  to  this  publication  immediately. 

JAY  EMANUEL 


Stanley -Warner  Gives  Al  Jolson  a  Timely  “Wonder  Bar ”  Welcome 


Some  shots  taken  when  Al  Jolson,  star  of  “Wonder  Bar,”  came  to  town  to  appear  at  the  picture’s  opening  at  the  local  Stanley.  Seen 
with  him  are  Leonard  Schlesinger,  zone  manager;  Jack  Flynn,  and  other  Stanley-Warner  executives,  as  well  as  a  group  including  the 
local  scriveners,  Elsie  Finn,  “Record”;  Eric  Knight,  “Ledger”;  and  Phyllis  Foster,  (Ethel  Felt)  “Radio  Press.”  The  "Wonder  Bar” 
opening  was  a  terrific  success,  the  show  breaking  all  records  despite  the  cold  and 


snow. 


Marl5'34  pg.  13 


CRfl'CS 


"Batting  average  of 
20th  Century  retains  its 
high  rating.  Theatre 
literally  rocked  with 
lauqhter.  Box-office  all 
the  way; 

—  Associated  Publications 


"A  rowdy,  funny  flicker 
with  Tracy  and  Oakie 
at  their  best!" 

—  Sidney  Skolsky 
Daily  News 


"Another  hit  for  Darryl 
F.  Zanuck!  Tracy  and 
Oakie  a  great  team!" 

—  North  American 
Newspaper  Alliance 

"The  earthquake  sequ¬ 
ence  is  the  most  thrilling 
and  effective  ever  seen! 

—  Modern  Screen  Magazine 


; 


"A  natural!  It’ll  please 
the  highbrows  and  have 
the  lowbrows  doubled 
up  with  laughter!" 

—  Billboard 

"In  Tracy  and  Oakie  a 
splendid  new  screen 
team  is  born.  Robust 
action,  tangy  lines, 

lusty  laughs!" 

—  Motion  Picture  Daily 

"One  of  the  most  excit¬ 
ing  comedies  I  have 
ever  seen!" 

—  Alice  Tildesley 
Philadelphia  Public  Ledger 

"Tracy  and  Oakie  are 
great!  It  moves  and 
moves  fast!" 

—  Alas  on  Edwards 
United  Press 


"The  team  of  Tracy  and 
Oakie  should  be  incor¬ 
porated  immediately! 
Can’t  miss  being  a  hit 
picture!" 

—  Hollywood  Reporter 

"So  fast  and  funny  only 
an  earthquake  could 
have  topped  it . . .  and 
it  does!" 

—  Jack  Grant 
Motion  Picture  Magazine 

"May  very  well  prove 
20th  Century’s  best 
money  maker  to  date. 
Tracy  and  Oakie  step 
out  as  a  bet  on  the  nose 
in  the  team  class!" 

—  Daily  Variety 


EXHIBITORS  Chime  in  / 


''I’ve  seen  all  the  20th 
Century  releases  to 
date,  and  they  get 
better  and  better! " 

—  W.  W.  Troxell 

Wilber  and  Sun  Theatres 
Central  City,  Iowa. 

"Excellent  comedy! 
Very  good  indeed!" 

*—  John  Ludwig 
Ludwig  Circuit 
Milwaukee,  Wis. 


UNIT 


"Will  be  splendid  at¬ 
traction  in  our  territory" 

—  Charles  Williams 
MPTOA,  Nebraska 

"Very  good!  Tracy  and 
Oakie  at  their  best, 
with  a  fine  supporting 

cast! "  —  H.  Knudsen 

Paradise  Theatre,  West  AHis,  Wis. 


"Fine  entertainment! 
Should  keep  Tracy  and 
Oakie  together  .  .  . 
they’re  a  great  team!" 

—  Ray  Felker,  BroadwayTheatre, 
Council  Bluffs,  Iowa 

"Great  entertainment!" 

—  Ralph  Goldberg 
Paramount  Theatre,  Omaha,  Neb. 


JOSEPH  M.  SCHENCK 
presents 


\\ 


ED 


Spencer.  TRACY 
OacA  OAKIE 

CONSTANCE  CUMMINGS 
ARLINE  JUDGE  •  JUDITH  WOOD 

Directed  by  William  Wellman 

A  DARRYL  F.  ZANUCK  Production 


Marl5'34  pg.  14 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Marl5'34 


15 


All  Code  Boards  Now  Expected  to 

Be  in  Action  by  End  of  the  Month 


Boards  Still  Up 

Announcement  of  the  members  of  the 
local  zoning  and  grievance  boards  is  still 
awaited  by  the  local  trade. 

Now  it  hears  that  March  21  will  see 
the  official  announcement  forthcoming. 
All  the  posts  except  one,  a  member  of 
the  zoning  board  in  the  capacity  of  first 
run  independent  exhibitor,  have  been 
filled,  it  is  understood,  with  the  last 
named  giving  plenty  of  trouble. 


Local  Employees  Union 
Goes  to  Mat  on  Cuts 

Officers  Let  Out  So  NRA  Hears 

About  It 

The  local  theatre  employees  union  has 
gone  to  the  mat  with  local  theatres  re¬ 
garding  dropping  of  employees. 

With  a  large  number  of  its  members  believed 
to  be  Stanley-Warner  employees,  the  organiza¬ 
tion  has  gone  to  the  local  NRA  labor  board  for 
protection. 

In  New  York  City,  most  of  the  large  circuits 
have  been  coming  to  terms  with  the  union  there. 

Favor  Regulation 

Members  of  the  City  Federation  of  W.  C.  T. 
U.  chapters,  Wilmington,  adopted  resolutions 
favoring  the  bill  authorizing  supervision  of 
motion  pictures  by  the  United  States  govern¬ 
ment. 


** Wonder  Bar” 


“Wonder  Bar”  puts  A1  Jolson  back  in 
the  big  money  as  far  as  his  draw  in  pic¬ 
tures  is  concerned  and  which  should 
make  exhibitors  happy. 

Jack  Warner  has  produced  an  ace 
musical.  Bus  Berkeley  has  contributed 
what  must  be  considered  the  industry’s 
peak  in  dance  and  photographic  forma¬ 
tions,  Dolores  Del  Rio,  Ricardo  Cortez, 
Jolson,  Kay  Francis,  Guy  Kibbee,  Hugh 
Herbert,  Ruth  Donnelly,  Dick  Powell 
furnish  names,  the  Warner  tunesters 
contribute  some  hits,  and  “Wonder  Bar” 
emerges  as  a  natural  for  extended  play¬ 
ing  time.  The  mirror  scene  is  a  knock¬ 
out. 

It  is  the  peak  Warner  musical  of  all 
time.  It  performs  a  dual  purpose,  in 
that  it  restores  Jolson  into  the  big 
draw  class. 

In  addition,  it  will  serve  as  a  tonic 
to  houses  which  have  been  waiting  for 
a  terrific  hit  to  sell.  Provided  that  ex¬ 
hibitors  get  behind  it,  “Wonder  Bar”  is 
a  big  dough-show  anywhere,  anytime. 

J.  E. 


Look  for  Huge  Annual  Bill  Covering  Operation  Cost — 
General  Johnson  Asks  Working  Hour  Cut,  Salary  Raise 
— Cancellation  Ruling  Brings  Balk 


All  code  boards  are  expected  to  be  in  operation  by  the  end  of  the  month.  By 
tliat  time,  all  boards  will  have  been  appointed. 

That  was  the  outlook  this  week  as  the  Code 
Authority  met  in  Washington  to  report  to  the 


Comerford  Praises  First 
Year  of  Administration 


Points  Out  Benefits  Resulting  in 
Past  Period 


“More  has  happened  to  advantage  the 
American  people  and  perpetuate  their 
liberty  in  the  past  year  than  in  any  other 
period  of  time  in  the  history  of  the  United 
States,”  says  chairman  M.  E.  Comerford, 
Pennsylvania  Recovery  Board,  NRA, 
and  prominent  exhibitor. 


Comerford  is  very  enthusiastic  over  the  first 
year  of  the  Roosevelt  administration.  Speaking 
at  his  office  in  Scranton,  he  reviewed  the  work 
of  the  President  in  part  as  follows : 

“It  is  now  just  one  year  since  President  Roosevelt 
took  office  and  in  celebrating  that  important  anni¬ 
versary  we  can  certainly  look  with  pride  and  satis¬ 
faction  on  what  has  been  accomplished.  While  to  some 
tlie  progress  may  have  seemed  slower  than  they  expected 
yet  it  was  and  is  constructive  and  substantial. 

“President  Roosevelt  announced  in  bis  inaugural 
address  one  year  ago  that  he  proposed  to  arrange  the 
industrial,  business  and  other  affairs  of  the  nation  so 
that  jobs  would  be  found  for  all  willing  to  work. 
Since  the  passage  of  the  National  Recovery  Act  by 
Congress  about  nine  months  ago  the  President  lias 
certainly  made  wonderful  advances  in  putting  people 
back  to  work.  Millions  can  gratefully  testify  to  that 
fact. 

“The  President  also  declared  that  he  would  drive 
the  money  changers  out  of  the  temple  of  American 
liberty.  This  has  certainly  been  done.  The  exposures 
in  tire  senate  and  through  direct  action  from  the  White 
House  have  resulted  in  completely  breaking  the  grip  of 
the  money  changers  on  the  government.  The  President’s 
re-valuation  of  the  American  dollar  and  his  refusal  to 
allow  foreign  nations  to  meddle  in  our  financial  affairs 
was  a  bold  and  patriotic  move  worthy  of  a  great 
national  leader. 


NRA  and  give  a  picture  of  industry  progress  in 
a  report  by  John  C.  Flinn,  secretary. 

Meanwhile,  whatever  expenses  the  Code 
Authority  has  been  incurring  are  being  paid 
from  monies  advanced  by  distributor  producer 
members,  it  is  understood,  until  a  financing 
system  is  approved  and  set  in  action. 

The  distributors,  generally,  have  gone  on 
record  as  objecting  to  the  ruling  of  Deputy 
Administrator  Sol  A  Rosenblatt  regarding  the 
10%  cancellation  clause.  They  are  opposed 
to  the  ruling,  in  that  they  claim  that  it  should 
not  affect  contracts  signed  before  December  7, 
the  date  the  code  became  effective. 

A  10%  cut  in  working  hours  was  asked  by 
General  Johnson  from  all  industries  at  the 
recent  Washington  conference.  Increase  in 
wages  will  also  be  looked  for. 

The  industry  code  authority  joined  with  the 
legitimate  code  authority  in  passing  a  resolu¬ 
tion  against  free  radio  shows. 

It  is  estimated  that  the  cost  of  code  opera¬ 
tion  will  be  under  $5U0,000  annually.  This 
amount  will  be  paid  by  the  various  branches  of 
the  industry. 


“The  President’s  refusal  to  worship  the  gold  standard 
idol  and  bringing  the  outstanding  gold  in  the  nation 
into  the  possession  of  the  government  has  placed  our 
country  ahead  of  every  other  nation  in  the  world. 
The  results  of  these  great  achievements  alone  are  reflected 
in  elements  of  progressive  prosperity  which  lead  us 
daily  to  higher  and  better  levels. 

“More  lias  happened  to  advance  the  American  people 
and  perpetuate  their  liberties  in  the  past  year  than  in 
any  other  similar  period  in  the  history  of  the  United 
States.  We  have  been  freed  from  the  strangling  influ¬ 
ences  of  improperly  directed  banking  effort  and  every 
honest  business  leader  is'  now  standing  by  the  President 
and  applauding  the  new  day  he  is  bringing  to  agricul¬ 
ture,  industry  and  commerce. 

“A  great  revolution  has  been  accomplished  which 
has  forced  from  place  destructive  business  practices  and 
installed  a  new  leadership  in  American  affairs.  Ability 
and  genius  held  in  check  by  the  false  conservatism  of 
the  international  Banking  control  is  now  free  and  we 
are  moving  toward  an  era  of  progress  unprecedented  in 
our  national  history. 

“As  the  processes  of  government  are  made  more  and 
more  efficient  and  the  operation  of  the  same  honest  and 
square  deal  in  every  division,  taxation  will  decrease 
and  much  of  this  burden  will  be  lifted  from  the  backs 
of  the  people.  In  every  division  of  government, 
including  that  of  the  state,  county,  city  and  other  parts 
this  spirit  of  economy,  efficiency  and  honesty,  now 
fostered  by  President  Roosevelt  will  be  felt  and  all  will 
undergo  necessary  and  pleasing  changes. 

“All  we  ever  needed  in  government  was  common 
honesty  and  a  square  deal.  By  that  I  mean  honesty  in 
all  divisions.  Crooked  and  un-American  official  and 
business  practices  robbed  the  people  more  than  did 
burglars,  racketeers  and  highwaymen.  Let  no  class  live 
on  another.  Everyone  in  this  nation  sliould  honestly 
earn  what  is  coming  to  them  and  not  be  allowed  to 
work  sharp  rackets  to  swindle  the  others. 

“All  of  this  is  now  being  thrown  out  from  the 
highest  to  the  lowest  and  we  will  have  a  completely 
transformed  official  and  business  structure  where  tin* 
new  deal  and  all  that  it  stands  for  will  be  manifested 
and  practiced  daily. 

“Under  Roosevelt  the  Ten  Commandments  and  the 
Golden  Rule  will  be  given  a  new  meaning.  Under  the 
President’s  direction  we  are  going  forward  daily.  G*ur 
prosperity  is  assured,  our  happiness  guaranteed  and 
our  freedom  will  be  perpetuated. 


16 


Marl5'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Suggest  Federal  Restriction  on 

Features  to  Aid  Inde  Producers 


Main  Stem  Situation  Grows  Tougher  As  Slough  Pictures 
Increase — Feel  Governmental  Check  Would  Help  Trade 
Generally 

Let  the  government  regulate  the  number  of  pictures  to  be  produced  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  government  is  now  keeping  check  on  production  of  crops,  etc. — that 
is  the  idea  that  is  gaining  a  lot  of  attention  in  the  industry. 


Additional  pressure  on  independent  distribu¬ 
tors  and  producers  in  many  spots,  including 
New  York  City,  has  led  observers  to  believe 
that  some  relief  must  be  forthcoming  or  else 
the  indes,  bulwark  of  the  inde  exhib  strength, 
will  be  unable  to'  survive.  That  is  the  impres¬ 
sion  circulating  in  high  film  areas  at  this  time. 

There,  the  observers  point  to  the  fact  that 
sloughing  of  major  product  because  of  long 
runs  in  other  houses  and  quick  release  of  pic¬ 
tures  has  deprived  indes  of  two  consistent  out¬ 
lets,  the  Mayfair  and  the  Rialto.  Both  these 
houses  seem  to  be  turning  toward  major  pic¬ 
tures,  whereas  in  the  past  they  have  been  play¬ 
ing  inde  pictures  to  fair  returns. 

Even  the  Roxy,  which  had  picture  trouble 
of  its  own  not  many  months  ago,  is  now  turn¬ 
ing  pictures  away,  while  the  Rialto  is  also  get¬ 
ting  major  attention.  The  same  situation  can 
be  duplicated  in  double  and  single  feature  spots, 
with  the  condition  similar  in  neighborhoods, 
where  exhibitors  find  themselves  tied  up  with 
commitments,  unable  to  give  indes  a  break. 

That  the  independents  arei  turning  out  a  bet¬ 
ter  brand  of  pictures  is  denied  by  no  one,  but 
their  improvement  depends  upon  the  returns  and 
encouragement  from  all  branches  of  the  busi¬ 
ness. 

While  it  was  felt  that  growth  of  doubles 
would  help  the  indes,  this  has  not  turned  out 
to  be  the  final  solution.  While  doubles  help  the 
inde  market,  the  impression  grows  that  majors 
may  contribute  more  features,  thus  tieing  up 
the  field  as  they  have  in  the  past. 

The  problem,  to  the  minds  of  leading  indepen¬ 
dent  thinkers,  is  one  that  must  not  be  solved 
for  today  but  for  tomorrow. 

Check  on  production  would  allow  growth  of 
independent  pictures,  would  tend  to  cut  down 
the  swapping  of  playing  time  and  would  make 
for  a  healthier  industry  all  around,  it  is  be¬ 
lieved  by  those  advocating  the  idea. 


Legit  Season  Longer 

Because  of  the  phenomenal  success  of 
the  pit  and  two  for  one  system  at  the 
Broad  and  Erlanger,  it  is  expected  that 
the  legitimate  theatre  season  at  those 
two  houses  will  extend  past  the  usual 
closing  time  here. 

The  house  gets  its  revenue  from  regu¬ 
lar  admissions,  two  for  ones  and  service 
tax  on  passes,  redeemable  at  the  discre¬ 
tion  of  the  management. 

Houses  have  been  turning  in  a  good 
profit  and  rotating  stock  shows  are  used. 


Production  Contact 
Big  Convention  Point 

Exhibs  at  M.  P.  T.  O.  A.  Meeting 

Will  See  Actual  Shooting 

Exhibitors  attending  the  M.  P.  T.  O.  A. 
convention  at  Los  Angeles,  April  10-12, 
will  have  a  chance  to  see  productions  in 
work,  exchange  ideas  with  studio  folk 
and  get  first-hand  information  on  the 
studios. 

This  will  be  one  of  the  highlights  of  the  14th 
annual  convention  of  that  body. 

The  Ambassador  Hotel  is  the  official  con¬ 
vention  place,  with  a  local  committee  headed 
by  Ben  Berenstein  taking  charge  of  arrange¬ 
ments. 

A  program  of  business  sessions,  trips  through 
the  studios,  etc.,  is  being  arranged. 

All  problems  of  the  industry  will  be  discussed, 
with  a  program  now  being  arranged  to  include 
all  such  matters. 

Special  trains  from  all  parts  of  the  country 
will  carry  exhibitors  at  reduced  rates. 


Film  Daily  Book  Out 

The  1934  “Film  Daily  Year  Book,”  ref¬ 
erence  work  of  the  industry,  was  issued 
this  week. 

It  contains  1056  pages  and  includes 
everything  everybody  wants  to  know 
about  the  industry,  from  the  reference 
angle. 

M.  P.  T.  0.  Intends  to 
Protect  Members’  Rights 

Hint  Suit  in  Connection  with 
Western  Electric  Equipment 


The  local  M.  P.  T.  O.,  in  line  with  the 
efforts  of  exhibitor  organizations  through¬ 
out  the  country,  intends  to  find  out, 
through  the  courts,  what  chance  it  has  to 
recover  allegedly  excess  charges  from 
Western  Electric. 

The  suit,  when  filed,  will  seek  to  declare  con¬ 
tracts  signed  by  Western  Electric  users  void, 
and  have  the  alleged  excess  charges  returned. 

Power  of  attorney  is  now  being  secured  by 
George  Phineas  Aarons,  counsel  for  the  organ¬ 
ization. 

The  suit  will  be  similar  to  those  filed  in  other 
parts  of  the  country. 


Who  Wants  the  Censors? 


Another  popular  belief  has  been  blown  to  bits. 

When  trade  folk  tried  to  find  a  reason  to  justify  the  existence  of  the  Pennsyl¬ 
vania  State  Board  of  Censors,  some  used  to  whisper:  “Well,  perhaps  the  church 
folk  like  the  idea.” 

Well,  apparently,  the  church  folk,  or  a  lot  of  them,  at  anv  rate,  DON’T  LIKE 
THE  PRESENT  SYSTEM  OF  STATE  CENSORSHIP. 

The  Methodists  don’t. 

In  a  report  of  the  social  service  commission  of  the  Philadelphia  Annual  Con¬ 
ference,  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  the  following  is  especially  important. 

Terming  the  motion  picture  industry  “one  of  the  most  potent  social  influences” 
in  shaping  the  morals  of  modern  society,  the  commission  asked  that  censorship  be 
exercised  before  or  durin"  production  of  each  film,  instead  of  afterward.  “THE 
PRESENT  METHOD  OF  DELETING  CERTAIN  OBJECTIONABLE  FEATURES 
AFTER  THE  FILM  IS  MADE,”  it  is  pointed  out,  “OFTEN  RESULTS  IN  EMPHA¬ 
SIZING  THE  VERY  THINGS  WHICH  SHOULD  NOT  HAVE  BEEN  IN  THE 
PICTURE.” 

Well,  that  disposes  of  the  popular  belief  that  the  Methodists  were  strong  for 
the  present  form  of  censorship,  if  the  report  of  the  Philadelphia  commission  is  any 
indication. 

Who  wants  the  censor  board,  then? 

Intelligent  Pennsylvanians  don’t.  Film  folk  don’t.  The  churchmen  indicated 
above  don’t.  Leading  liberal  newspapers  don’t.  A  large  part  of  the  populace,  if 
popular  opinion  is  credited,  doesn’t. 

The  reason  for  the  Pennsylvania  State  Board  of  Censors  is  still  a  mystery. 

The  washroom  incident  started  the  popularity  of  Huey  Long  on  the  decline. 
No  question  but  that  the  episode  hurt  his  standing  in  the  national  eye  a  great  deal. 

And  who  can  tell  but  that  the  tiny  word  “MAGNESIA”  may  do  the  same  for 
the  Pennsylvania  State  Board  of  Censors. 

It  would  be  funny  if  the  eventual  abolition  of  the  board  could  be  traced  to  the 
contents  of  a  bottle. 


Marl5'34  pg.  17 

GaaiDoot  British 

hctare  Corporation  of  America 


Announces  the 
appointment  of 


SAM  ROSEN 

as  Special  Represent¬ 
ative  ...  in  the 
Philadelphia  Territory 

No  w  Available  for  Immediate  Booking: 

THE  GHOUL  ★  Starring  Boris  Karloff 

LOVE  IN  MOROCCO 

★  Starring  and  Directed  by  Rex  Ingram 

WALTZ  TIME 

|  ★  Starring  Evelyn  Laye  and  Johann  Strauss*  Waltzes 

THE  GHOST  TRAIN  ★  Starring  Jack  Hulbert 

ORDERS  IS  ORDERS' 

★  Starring  Jimmie  Gleason  and  Charlotte  Greenwood 

DICK  TURPIN  ★  Starring  Victor  McLaglen 


With  Headquarters  at  ..  . 

1321  Vine  Street,  Philadelphia 

Telephone:  RITtenhouse  4595 


GaaiDODt  British 

hctare  Corporation  of  America 


MAIN  OFFICES:  226  W.  42nd  STREET,  NEW  YORK 


18 


Marl5'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


V - - 

A  Concise 
National  Survey 

•— 

* 

TRADE  IN  REVIEW  W  "ZTJJZ?  f 

N  - «l 

CODE 

10,000  Mark  Likely 
In  Code  Assents 

It  is  likely  that  the  10,000  mark  will  be 
passed  in  code  assents.  Final  returns  were  in 
by  March  10,  the  last  day  for  signing  by  the 
industry. 

Majors  Fight 
10%  Cancellation 

Legal  suit  loomed  on  the  decision  of  distri¬ 
bution  companies  to  fight  the  ruling  that  the 
10%  cancellation  clause  applies  to  contracts 
signed  before  December  7  as  well  as  after.  A 
meeting  was  held.  A  court  case  looms. 

Allied  Heads 

File  Consumer  Brief 

Allied  chieftains  filed  a  brief  before  the 
NRA  section  which  heard  complaints  of  the 
code’s  effects  on  small  enterprises. 

Industry  Report 
Shows  Business  Pickup 

Appearing  at  Washington,  John  C.  Flinn,  for 
the  Code  Authority,  released  statistics  to  show 
that  things  were  picking  up  in  the  industry, 
that  more  people  were  at  work,  that  more  sal¬ 
aries  were  being  paid.  Trade  leaders  looked 
forward  to  a  further  cut  in  hours  of  employees 
in  line  with  the  edict  of  General  Hugh  Johnson. 

Rosenblatt  Has 
Until  April  7 

Sol  A.  Rosenblatt,  industry  code  administra¬ 
tor,  has  until  April  to  make  public  his  report 
on  industry  salaries  and  trade  practices,  NRA 
has  given  okay  to  the  extension. 


PRODUCTION 

Federation  Applies 
$10  Reel  Dues  Charge 

The  Federation  of  the  Motion  Picture  Indus¬ 
try,  Harry  H.  Thomas,  president,  is  assessing 
members  $10  per  negative  reel  to  raise  an 
annual  budget  of  $50,000.  A  small  charge  is 
being  made  for  a  positive  reel.  The  organ¬ 
ization  views  with  interest  the  spread  of  double 
features. 

Star  System  Check 
Asked  by  AMPA  Group 

A  check  on  the  star  system  of  reviewing  has 
been  asked  by  the  AMPA,  trade  advertising  and 
publicity  group.  Body  feels  that  current  method 
of  reviewing  pictures  is  unfair  and  doesn’t  give 
idea  of  merit  of  shows. 


Salaries  to  Execs 
Causes  No  Stir 

Salaries  paid  to  motion  picture  heads,  as  re¬ 
vealed  by  the  report  of  the  Federal  Trade 
Commission,  caused  no  commotion  in  industry 
ranks.  The  trade,  generally,  has  had  an  idea 
of  what  the  chieftains  were  making,  andi  while 
the  expose  may  have  been  exciting  to  outsiders, 
tradesters  took  it  calmly. 

Rembusch  Suit 
Dismissed  by  Court 

Another  of  those  suits  came  ta  an  end  when 
the  Frank  J.  Rembusch  conspiracy  and  mon¬ 
opoly  action  against  producers  and  the  Hays 
body  was  dismissed  on  motion  by  counsel  for 
defendants.  Hearings  lasted  three  weeks,  cost 
both  sides  plenty. 

Voting  on  Coast 
Reveals  New  Honors 

The  annual  Academy  awards  on  the  coast  will 
be  picked  from  the  following: 

Best  performance,  actress :  Katherine  Hep¬ 
burn,  “Morning  Glory;”  May  Robson,  “Lady 
for  a  Day’’ ;  Diana  Wynward,  “Cavalcade.” 
Actor :  Leslie  Howard,  “Berkeley  Square’’ ; 
Charlie  Laughton,  “Henry  the  8th'  ;  Paul  Muni, 
“I  Am  a  Fugitive.”  Best  direction:  Frank 
Capra,  “Lady  for  a  Day” ;  George  Cukor, 
“Little  Women”;  Frank  Lloyd,  “Calvacade.” 
Best  production,  “Farewell  to  Arms,”  “Calva¬ 
cade,”  “42nd  Street,”  “I  Am  a  Fugitive,”  “Lady 
for  a  Day,”  “Little  Women,”  “She  Done  Him 
Wrong)”  “Smiling  Thru,”  “State  Fair,”  “Henry 
the  8th.'*  Votes  on  original  stories,  best  adap¬ 
tations,  best  cinematography,  art  direction, 
sound,  etc.,  will  be  announced  as  well  March  16. 

Radio  Getting 
Movie  Minded 

Radio  accounts  are  getting  movie  minded. 
Regardless  of  what  anyone  may  say  about  free 
shows,  commercials  are  using  more  and  more 
movie  stuff,  finding  audiences  eager  to  listen, 
copy  more  interesting  to  create.  During  the 
past  few  months,  use  of  studio  co-operation  has 
increased  many  times,  with  more  in  sight. 

Columbia  Produces 
Plays:  Others,  Too 

Now  Columbia  joins  the  list  of  producers 
backing  plays.  Paramount  has  long  been  active, 
as  part  producer,  or  financially  interested.  Even 
Western  Electric,  through  subsidiaries,  has  had 
a  part  in  financing.  Metro,  RKO,  while  not 
actively  interested,  are  just  as  busy  buying  stage 
hits  for  production. 

EXHIBITION 

Mrs.  Belmont  Wants 
Some  Film  Reforms 

Mrs.  August  Belmont,  society  leader,  is  now 
president  of  the  Motion  Picture  Research 
Council.  She  will  work  with  Dr.  A.  Lawrence 
Lowell  to  eliminate  block  booking  and  promote 
the  use  of  pictures  for  cultural  and  educational 
work. 


Roxy  Tours 
Entire  Country 

Roxy,  at  $10,000,  will  spread  his  goodness 
among  audiences  visiting  Loew,  RKO,  Publix 
theatres.  The  tour,  to  include  many  houses, 
will  offer  a  Roxy  gang  in  addition  to  the 
impressario. 

No  “Frolics” 

In  “Follies” 

Acting  on  a  protest  made,  title  arbitration 
committee  of  the  M.  P.  P.  D.  A.  has  requested 
Warner  Brothers  to  desist  immediately  in  the 
use  of  the  word  “Frolics”  which  they  inserted 
in  the  title  of  their  picture  “Fashions  of  1934” 
after  its  release. 

M.  P.  T.  O.  A.  Studio 
Contact  Important 

Big  point  in  selling  the  M.  P.  T.  O.  A.  con¬ 
vention  on  the  coast  April  10-12  is  the  con¬ 
tact  with  the  studios.  All  those  attending  the 
convention  can  get  into  the  studios,  confer  with 
executives,  see  what’s  what.  Cheap  rail  fare 
is  an  added  incentive. 

War  Rumors  Help 
War  Pictures 

Rumblings  of  war  in  foreign  sectors  have 
reacted  to  the  benefit  of  exhibitors.  War  pic¬ 
tures  current,  “Forgotten  Men,”  “The  Big- 
Drive,”  etc.,  have  crashed  through  to  good  busi¬ 
ness,  aided  by  plenty  of  newspaper  publicity 
and  still  tie-ups  with  dailies  in  all  parts  of  the 
country.  Good  examples  of  showmanship,  they 
indicate  keen  sense  of  values,  help  make  box 
office  attractions. 

DISTRIBUTION 

Merger  Mart 
Still  Active 

The  boys  are  still  at  it.  Merger  between 
RKO  and  Fox  is  kept  hot  even  though  report 
has  had  no  effect  on  the  morale  of  the  company 
and  has  never  been  denied  or  substantiated  by 
anyone.  Industry  opinion  generally  frowns  on 
mergers  unless  such  a  move  would  benefit  the 
business,  not  apparent  in  the  above  mentioned 
case. 

Poster  Rental 
Companies  Fight  Back 

Poster  rental  companies,  which  have  been 
checked  by  major  distributors  who  refuse  to 
sell  them  accessories  for  leasing  purposes  to 
exhibitors,  have  gone  to  bat  and  are  now  mak¬ 
ing  up  their  own  block  paper.  These  original 
contributions  will  be  in  two  colors,  will  be  very 
attractive.  With  exhibitors’  support,  poster  ren¬ 
tal  companies  feel  they  can  force  a  change  of 
mind  on  part  of  majors. 


QUEEN  by  right  of 
her  blazing  genius! . . . 

Today  she  reigns  over  Star-  ^1 

.  .  .  .  ..  ; 

dom!  .  .  .  Again  the  amazing 

Hepburn  .  .  .  superb  in  a  role 

completely  and  daringly  different ! 

...  as  the  fighting,  thieving,  loving 

spitfire  of  the  hills !  A  wildcat  girl  who 

stole  men’s  hearts  and  prayed  for  the 

|  souls!  Only  Hepburn  would  dare  such  a 


NOW  PLAYING 


RADIO  CITY 


EXTENDED 

ENGAGEMENT 


WITH 

ROBERT  YOUNG 
RALPH  BELLAMY 
MARTHA  SLEEPER 


From  the  play  "Trigger" 
by  Luia  Vollmer 

DlrttUd  by  John  Cromw.ll 

RKO-RADIO 

PICTURE 

A  Pandro  S.  Btrman  Production 

Merian  C.  Cooper 

Ixtcutivo  Producer 


Marl5’34  pg.  19 


I 


20 


Marl5'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Monogram  to  20 

W.  Ray  Johnston,  president,  Mono¬ 
gram  Pictures,  believes  that  by  limiting 
the  Monogram  schedule  to  20  carefully 
produced  features  he  will  materially 
assist  the  Motion  Picture  Federation  and 
its  allied  distributor  and  exhibitor  mem¬ 
bers  in  their  dual  booking  policy. 
Johnston  said:  “As  one  of  the  associate 
companies  in  the  Motion  Picture  Federa¬ 
tion,  Monogram  is  naturally  interested 
in  doing  everything  it  can  to  aid  the 
two  feature  program  policy  adopted  by 
the  Federation. 

“By  producing  fewer  pictures  we  are 
able  to  inject  greater;  values  into  these 
pictures  and  make  them  ideal  compan¬ 
ion  features  for  any  program.  While 
our  original  plans  were  to  produce  36 
pictures  a  year,  we  feel  that  in  concen¬ 
trating  upon  a  smaller  number  we  can 
get  greater  values  and  inject  more  pro¬ 
duction  quality  into  each  release.” 


Heard  In' 


c 


ROSSTO  WN 

Fox  Locust 
Open  Again 


FOX  LOCUST  reopens  again  with  “Scan¬ 
dals.”  .  .  .  House  will  try  to  stay  open  after 
that  if  any  product  is  available.  .  .  .  Europa 
settled  its  tiff  with  Fox  by  getting  “Devil 
Tiger”  second  run.  .  .  .  Moe  Verbin  will 

probably  give  it  a  big  campaign  comparable 
to  the  successful  one  covering  “Forgotten  Men.” 

THE  BANDITS  made  it  two  when  they 
robbed  the  Broad  Street  Theatre,  Nazareth. 

.  .  This  time  the  burglar  wore  a  green 

mask.  .  Northampton  has  dropped  its 

vaude  policy.  .  .  .  Amidst  the  raves  which 

have  been  handed  out  to  many  pictures  which 
have  been  breaking  of  late,  the  local  “Bulle¬ 
tin”  still  takes  the  cake  for  what  many  trades¬ 
men  consider  sensible,  unbiased,  intelligent 
movie  reviews. 

MARTIN,  Lock  Haven,  is  being  operated  by 
H.  and  O.  Stiefel.  .  .  .  Main,  Phillipsburg, 


Handling  Reins  Alone 


I.  Manoff 

is  now  handling  the  I.  Manoff  Reliable  Deco¬ 
rating  Company,  1316  Vine  Street,  on  his 
own,  as  successor  to  Reliable  Decorative 
Company,  Inc.  Manoff  will  have  the  firm 
under  his  personal  direction.  Exhibitors  who 
know  the  reputation  built  up  by  him  in  his 
many  years  in  the  territory,  with  several 
firms,  are  assured  of  the  best  of  service  in 
this  individual  operation.  In  the  past,  he  has 
made  good  all  his  promises,  and  he  promises 
that  even  these  will  be  surpassed  in  the 
future.  Anything  in  the  line  of  stage  settings, 
draperies,  carpets,  decorating,  chair  covers, 
etc.,  will  be  supplied  by  him. 


N.  J.,  is  being  run  by  Ritz  Theatres,  Inc.  .  .  . 
Manor,  Croyden,  is  now  a  Mrs.  E.  S.  Grupp 
operation.  .  .  .  Harry  Slatko  has  reopened  the 
Pearl  here  on  his  own.  .  .  .  Rialto,  formerly 
the  3  Links,  Port  Carbon,  is  being  operated  by 
the  Odd  Fellows.  .  .  .  New  Joy,  Port  Norris, 
is  a  H.  R.  Wertle  operation.  .  .  .  Fire  Com¬ 
pany  Auditorium,  Newmanstown,  is  being  run 
by  Charles  Mull.  .  .  .  Park,  Trenton,  is  being 
operated  by  F.  K.  M.  Plessner.  .  .  .  W.  and  A. 
Brown  have  the  Wilkes-Barre  Palace. 


Exhibitors  Should  Tell  Which  Names  Are  Poison 


Exhibitor  claims  that  certain  names  are  poison  at  the  box  office  can  only  mean 
anything  when  they  reach  the  ears  of  the  producers.  For  that  reason,  this  publica¬ 
tion  is  asking  exhibs  to  write  to  it,  telling  which  names  don’t  mean  anything  on  the 
marquee,  and  which,  when  revealed  to  the  public,  means  plenty  of  stayaways. 

Please  fill  out  the  accompanying  blank.  All  replies  will  be  kept  confidential. 
Returns  will  be  sent  to  the  producers.  Perhaps  the  results  will  mean  less  names  that 
are  labeled  “poison”  to  the  box  office. 


I  THINK  THE  FOLLOWING  NAMES  ARE  “POISON”  AT  THE  BOX 
OFFICE.  THE  PICTURES  I  PLAY  AT  MY  THEATRE  WOULD  MEAN  MORE 
WITHOUT  THEM  IN  IT. 

(Write  names  here)  . 

Exhibitor . 

Theatre . City . 


WHEN  ARTHUR  TRACY  came  to  town, 
Sid  Stanley  and  his  assistant  Jack  Rose,  at 
Fay’s,  got  up  a  parade,  tied  up  with  WIP  and 
Gimbel's  and  the  town  was  “Street  Singer” 
conscious.  .  .  .  The  40th  Street  and  Market 
nouse  has  been  going  in  for  names,  and  with 
some  good  inde  pictures  as  well  as  some  majors, 
has  been  making  a  nice  go  of  it. 

WHEN  AL  JOLSON  came  to  town  for  the 
opening  of  “Wonder  Bar,”  bands  turned  out, 
so  did  thousands  of  people,  and  theatre  was 
jammed.  .  .  .  Jolson  and  Leonard  Schlesin- 
ger  were  hosts  at  a  dinner  for  the  press  at 
the  Warwick  Hotel.  .  .  .  Lenny  was  pictured 
in  the  local  dailies  with  A1  Jolson  and  no  one 
could  tell  who  was  most  impressive,  he  or 
Jolson.  .  .  .  Harry  M.  Warner  was  in  town 
for  the  opening.  .  .  .  The  S-W  boys  deserve 
a  hand  for  the  turnout,  because  the  house 
packed  them  in  to  the  sidewalks.  .  .  .  Need¬ 
less  to  say,  Lenny  proved  an  excellent  host 
and  Jolson  was  sure  sold  on  S-W  hospital¬ 
ity  in  this  territory. 

PALACE,  LANSFORD,  had  a  fire.  .  .  . 
The  rebuilt  theatre  was  pretty  well  wrecked 
by  the  flames.  .  .  .  Penn,  South  Philly,  has 
early  morning  shows. 

VOGUE  THEATRE,  using  “Pagliacci,” 
switched  to  “Carmen.”  .  “Forgotten 

Men”  made  it  six  weeks  at  the  Europa,  is 
followed  by  BG’s  “The  Ghoul.”  .  .  .  Met 

advertised  a  city  premiere  for  “The  Song 
You  Gave  Me,”  with  Bebe  Daniels. 


TEN  YEARS  AGO  .  .  .  Jack  Greenberg 
became  secretary  of  the  Film  Board.  .  .  .  He 
succeeded  B.  S.  Willis.  .  .  .  George  Meeser 
was  appointed  general  manager  for  the  Shugar 
houses.  .  .  .  Bill  Crozier  was  managing  the 
Savoy,  AC.  .  .  .  Jake  Fox  returned  from  a 
vacation  in  Bermuda.  .  .  .  “Covered  Wagon” 
ran  a  year  at  the  Criterion,  New  York  City. 
.  .  .  “Hunch  Back  of  Notre  Dame”  was  do¬ 
ing  a  fine  business.  .  .  .  Iz  Perlin  was  manag¬ 
ing  the  Ritz,  Hunting  Park  Avenue. 

NINETEEN  YEARS  AGO.  .  .  .  Charles 
E.  Oelschlager  was  getting  up  plans  for  altera¬ 
tions  to  his  theatre  at  Point  Breeze  Avenue 
and  Earp  Street.  .  .  .  Operators’  Union,  Local 
307,  was  planning  a  movie  ball.  .  .  .  Tioga 
Theatre  opened  to  public,  seating  1,700  persons, 
under  the  management  of  Mark  Wilson.  .  .  . 
Belmont  Amusement  Company,  operating  Bel¬ 
mont  Theatre,  52nd  above  Market,  obtained 
injunction  from  Judge  Patterson  in  Common 
Pleas  Court,  No.  1,  restraining  Locust  Theatre, 
52nd  at  Locust  Street,  from  showing  “Samson,” 
claiming  violation  of  contract.  .  .  .  Fairmount 
Feature  Film  Company,  headed  by  George  Ben- 
nethum,  took  new  quarters  on  the  first  floor  of 
1304  Vine  Street.  .  .  .  Samuel  Levick  bought 
from  Harry  Pierns  the  movie  theatre  at  2907-11 
North  Fifth  Street. 


Doubles  Increase 


Double  features  are  increasing  in  the 
territory. 

It  is  estimated  that  the  number  of 
houses  using  doubles  is  heading  toward 
the  75  mark.  This  does  not  include 
houses  which  use  two  features  on  a  Sat¬ 
urday  matinee  program. 

Many  houses  use  doubles  one,  two, 
three  and  even  four  changes  a  week. 

In  the  city,  itself,  doubles  are  grow¬ 
ing. 


Marl5'34  pg.  21 


faBT'  J  /rF* 

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11 

L  k* 

The 

Most  for 
the  t 
Least  / 

Streimer 

Premiums 


WASHINGTON  GOLD  ffi=)  DINNER  SET 


Of  a  Quality  and  Perfection  Fit  to  Grace  the  Table  of  the  White  House 

A  Square  Design  .  .  .  Service  of  Eight  .  .  .  Platter, 

Vegetable  Dish,  Casserole,  Creamer  and  Sugar,  Cups,  Plates, 

Saucers,  Soups,  Desserts  and  Bread  and  Butter  Plates. 

PRICE  10y2c  NO  INCREASES  SAMPLES  ON  REQUEST 

Platinum-Edged  Silhouette 
Dinnerware  Set 

Black  Colonial  Design  .  .  .  Sold  Only  in  the  Largest 
Department  Stores  .  .  .  Must  be  Seen  to  be  Appreciated. 

SERVICE  OF  EIGHT  53  PIECES  PRICE  10c 

Cherry  Blossom  Glass 
Dinnerware  Set 

Will  Please  and  Satisfy  the  Most  Critical  Lady  of  the  House  .  .  .  See  it  at 
the  Viola  Theatre,  Philadelphia  .  .  .  Capacity  Business  and  Still  Building. 

SERVICE  OF  FOUR  ALL  FLASH  PRICE  6V2c 


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STREIMER  AD  SERVICE 

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22 


Marl5'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


- Heard  In 


C  R  A  N  T  O  N 

Mrs.  Roberts 
In  Miami 


_ By  Wdddy - 

REPORTS  emanating  from  Forest  City  indi¬ 
cate  quite  conclusively  that  Roxy  will  begin  a 
26-week  tour  with  his  famous  gang  for  Para¬ 
mount.  .  .  .  His  nephew,  native  of  Forest  City, 
Zach  Freedman,  will  act  as  his  assistant.  .  .  ■ 
Mt.  Carmel  has  gone  in  for  double  featuring. 
.  .  .  Bobby  Rollins  gave  a  good  account  of 
himself  at  the  Keystone,  Williamsport.  .  .  . 

Three  day  vaudeville  policy  at  the  Caiitol  Ihe- 
atre,  Hazleton,  revealed  a  stage  hungry  patron¬ 
age. 

LLOYD  HAUSE,  manager.  Capital  The¬ 
atre,  Bloomsburg,  is  planning  a  gala  celebra¬ 
tion  for  the  sixth  anniversary.  ...  Ed  Wynn 
at  the  Temple  Theatre,  Scranton,  enjoyed  an 
appreciative  audience.  .  Tom  Pawley, 

manager,  Sayre,  Sayre,  has  arranged  a  bene¬ 
fit  show  for  the  nurses’  periodical  at  the  local 
hospital.  .  .  .  Mitchell  Conery,  recent  man¬ 

ager,  Kingston  Theatre,  Kingston,  has  been 
transferred  from  Mt.  Vernon,  O.,  to  Belle- 
fontaine. 

JERRY  CADORET,  Comerford  executive, 
enjoyed  a  sort  of  a  family  reunion,  when  his 
cousins  Billy  Melrose  and  Marie  Mears  ap¬ 
peared  on  the  vaudeville  bill  at  the  Capitol  The¬ 
atre,  Scranton.  .  .  .  Ushers  dressed  in  special 
tropical  uniforms,  with  armbands  bearing  the 
title  “Mandalay”  did  much  to  exploit  the  picture 
for  Joe  Elicker,  Riviera,  Scranton.  .  .  .  Floss 
Roberts,  wife  of  Comerford’s  chief  booker, 
has  sojourned  at  Miami  Beach,  Florida. 

Jim  Clark  Host  at 
Big  Industry  Clambake 

Trade  Being  Asked  to  Set  Date 
for  Fete 

James  Clark,  guiding  executive  of 
Horlacher  Delivery  Service,  may  be  host 
at  a  giant  industry  clambake  to  be  held 
in  the  future. 

All  that  is  necessary  to  clinch  the  deal  is  the 
setting  of  details. 

The  committee  which  will  shortly  be  ap¬ 
pointed  to  handle  the  affair  would  like  to  hear 
from  exhibitors  regarding  suggestions  as  to  the 
time  and  place. 

Fill  out  the  following  coupon,  and  send  it 
immediately  to  THE  EXHIBITOR,  219  North 
Broad  Street,  and  it  will  be  turned  over  to 
the  Horlacher  chieftain. 


NAME . 

ADDRESS . 

I  THINK  WE  OUGHT  TO  HAVE 

THE  CLAMBAKE  (date) . 

at  (place) . 

ANY  SUGGESTIONS . 


Battle  of  Briefs 


The  battle  of  briefs  reached  heights 
during  the  past  fortnight. 

M.  P.  T.  O.  A.  got  a  two  pager  out  to 
combat  Allied  assertions  of  progress. 
The  M.  P.  T.  O.  A.  said  the  Allied  test 
case  was  a  fizzle. 

In  addition,  an  analysis  of  the  code 
in  respect  to  rights  of  small  minorities 
was  also  available.  This  numbered  35 
pages. 

Allied  filed  a  brief  during  the  con¬ 
sumer  hearings  in  Washington,  asking 
that  Ed  Kuykendahl  step  out  of  the  code 
picture. 

Last  week,  the  Code  Authority 
through  John  Flinn,  filed  a  report  with 
the  NRA  chieftains  in  Washington.  This 
indicated  that  the  industry  was  on  its 
way  to  general  recovery. 

Exhibs,  generally,  failed  to  be  im¬ 
pressed  by  any  of  the  typewriter  on¬ 
slaughts. 


Delaware  Door  Closed 

The  State  Supreme  Court  of  Delaware, 
March  1,  closed  the  doors  of  Vitaphone  Cor¬ 
poration,  subsidiary  of  Warner  Brothers  Pic¬ 
tures,  Inc.,  for  royalty  suits  against  ERPI  in 
Delaware  courts,  unless  some  other  issue  is 
raised. 

Court  overruled  the  motion  of  Vitaphone’s 
counsel  for  reargument  on  grounds  that  the 
highest  state  court  had  no  jurisdiction  in  the 
issue  after  Chancery  Court’s  ruling.  While 
the  ruling  seems  to  push  the  litigation  back 
to  New  York  arbitration,  favored  by  ERPI, 
it  is  understood  that  Vitaphone  counsel  will  file 
a  replication  to  the  plea  in  Chancery  Court, 
calling  upon  ERPI  to  submit  proof  of  the  facts 
set  up  in  the  plea.  In  its  plea  which  was  granted 
by  Supreme  Court  after  Chancery  had  ruled  in 
favor  of  Vitaphone,  ERPI  had  contended  that 
under  arbitration  covenants  between  two  com¬ 
panies,  all  disputes  would  have  to  be  submitted 
to  arbitration  in  New  York  and  that  after  four 
years  of  arbitration  at  a  cost  of  about  a  mil¬ 
lion  dollars,  Vitaphone  had  suddenly  withdrawn 
and  resorted  to  court  action  in  Delaware.  Now 
Vitaphone  expects  to  try  to  compel  ERPI  to 
submit  proof  of  its  contention  that  aribitration 
had  not  broken  down. 


Heard  In 

EHIGH  VALLEY 

Robbery  Excites 
Local  Trade 

_ By  Jack _ 

A  TALL  BANDIT  made  a  sudden  appear¬ 
ance  at  the  ticket  booth  of  the  Broad  Street 
Theatre,  Nazareth,  shortly  before  9.30  P.  M., 
March  3,  and  demanded  the  receipts.  .  .  .  Then 
took  83  dollars  in  paper  money,  joined  three 
companions  in  a  sedan  which  promptly  left  for 
parts  unknown.  .  .  .  Mrs.  Morris  Searles  on 
duty  at  the  booth  pressed  the  buzzer  signal  for 
manager  George  C.  Meeser.  .  .  .  Meeser  made 
an  unsuccessful  attempt  to  catch  the  fleeing 
car. 

EARLY  SUNDAY  MORNING  following  the 
Nazareth  robbery,  an  attempt  was  made  to 
break  into  Wilmer  and  Vincent’s  Colonial, 
Allentown. 

LYRIC,  Lhiited  Chain,  was  the  locale  for  a 
big  Purim  bake  sale  conducted  by  the  Hebrew 
Ladies’  Aid  Society,  chairman,  Mrs.  Abel  Phil¬ 
lips.  .  .  .  An  outdoor  theatre  is  under  con¬ 
struction  at  St.  Elmo  and  Union  Streets,  Allen¬ 
town,  on  a  site  donated  to  the  City  Planning 
Commission  for  park  purposes  by  the  Hamil¬ 
ton  Park  Realty  Company.  .  .  .  Civil  Works 
Administration  funds  are  being  used  for  the 
project  which  is  supposed  to  be  completed  May 

I.  .  .  .  Dimensions  are  about  200  feet  square 
from  the  front  of  a  stone  stage  to  allow  for 
a  seating  capacity  of  6,000.  .  .  .  Roxy,  Easton, 
had  its  gala  opening,  March  9,  with  "Footlight 
Parade.” 

OSCAR  FORMAN  is  no  longer  at  the 
Transit,  Easton,  but  is  with  Atlantic  Theatres, 
Inc.,  and  stationed  at  the  Broad,  Pennsgrove, 
N.  J.  .  .  .  Dick  Shamus  is  back  at  the  Colon¬ 
ial,  Bethlehem.  .  .  .  A.  Jerry  Cooper,  form¬ 
erly,  College,  South  Bethlehem,  has  Easton 
Transit  under  his  wing  and  present  manager¬ 
ial  head  of  the  College  is  Berkseth.  . 
District  Manager  Moe  Goodman  is  at  Allen¬ 
town.  .  .  .  N.  Apter  is  still  at  the  Transit 

Theatre.  .  .  .  Frank  Hammerman  returned 

to  Philadelphia.  .  .  .  19th  St.  Theatre  ad¬ 

mitted  100  children  free  for  “Eskimo.” 

WILMER  AND  VINCENT  Easton  theatres 
have  been  having  some  stage  attractions.  .  .  . 

J.  G.  Beilin,  manager,  Palace,  and  Mrs.  Beilin 
had  quite  a  family  reunion  when  their  daugh¬ 
ter,  Miss  Thelma  Beilin,  returned  from  a  visit 
to  New  York  City,  accompanied  by  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Harold  Hirschberg,  who  are  Miss 
Thelma’s  sister  and  brother-in-law  respec¬ 
tively. 


“The  Lineup ”  Has  Melodrama 


William  Gargan,  Marian  Nixon  ancT  others  are  seen  in  the  Columbia  show, 

“The  Lineup.” 


Marl5'o4  pg.  26 


§|P|g§ 


CHARLES  WINNINGER  •  PAULINE  FREDERICK 
ALEXANDER  KIRKLAND  •  ROBERT  BENCHLEY 
ROSS  ALEXANDER  •  MARGARET  LIVINGSTON 


Supervised  and  Directed  by 

MARSHALL  NEILAN 

Associate  Producer :  — 

William  C.  De  Mille 

From  the  play  by 
John  Emerson 
and  Anita  Loos 


Special  musical  compositions  by 


24 


Marl5'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Poster  Rental  Units 
To  Make  Their  Own  Paper 

National- Kline  Moves  as  Protec¬ 
tion  for  Exhibs 

Poster  rental  units  are  going  to  the  bat 
for  exhibitors. 

Unable  to  secure  paper  from  various  com¬ 
panies  because  of  checks  recently  put  into  effect, 
National  Kline  Poster  Company,  with  other 
similar  units,  is  going  to  print,  at  request  of 
exhibitors,  one-sheets,  three-sheets,  etc.,  on  all 
releases  of  Fox,  Paramount,  RKO,  Universal 
and  any  other  organizations  which  have  failed 
to  co-operate  with  the  poster  outfits. 

Posters  will  be  in  two  colors  of  type  letters, 
attractively  laid  out.  They  will  be  mounted 
and  leased. 

Co-operation  of  exhibitors  is  asked  in  order 
that  a  prospective  monopoly  which  may  result 
in  sky-high  prices  be  broken  up,  a  statement 
from  National  Kline  says. 

A  plea  has  been  sent  to  all  theatres  asking 
for  complete  co-operation. 


LETTERS  TO  THE  EDITOR 


Praises  Censors 

Gentlemen: — 

Your  “6-Point  Reviews”  are  indeed  interesting  and 
helpful  to  me.  They  contain  more  meat  for  the  exhibi¬ 
tor  than  anything  that  has  thus  far  been  dene  in  helping 
the  exhibitor  place  his  pictures.  It  is  a  great  step 
forward  for  your  publication  and  a  distinctive  feather  in 
your  hat. 

However,  there  are  two  articles  in  the  March  1  issue 
that  are  very  inconsistent.  In  the  article,  “Magnesia  A 
Horrid  Word  for  the  Censors,”  you  ridicule  the  efforts 
of  the  Censers  to  make  pictures  fit  and  clean  to  look  at 
and  listen  to.  In  the  editorial  column  you  bewail  the 
fact  that  the  Catholics  are  taking  definite  steps  to  “clean 
up  the  movies.” 

I  have  perused  the  “Magnesia”  article  and  must  state 
that  I  am  thankful  that  our  Censors  do  know  what  is  fit 
and  unfit  to  be  shown  and  spoken  in  pictures.  The  half¬ 
wit  who  worried  his  brains  (if  he  has  any)  to  write  that 
article  must  be  pitied  by  all  decent  minded  people! 
Every  slash  that  the  Censors  made  in  the  pictures  as 
reviewed  in  that  list  showed  a  sense  of  decency  that 
such  a  fool  could  not  understand.  I'll  wager  he  never 
owned  a  theatre;  and  if  he  did,  he  never  took  any 
interest  in  anything  but  the  receipts  at  the  box  office. 

Before  I  read  this  article  about  “Magnesia  A  Horrid 
Word  for  the  Censors,”  I  did  not  fully  realize  what  a 
real  necessity  the  Censor  Board  is.  They  are  truly  keep¬ 
ing  the  industry  from  consuming  itself!  They  are 
directly  responsible  for  keeping  the  exhibitor  in  busi¬ 
ness.  They  are  directly  responsible  for  keeping  the 
exhibitor  on  a  higher  plane  than  a  grogshop  proprietor. 
To  illustrate:  the  grogshop  proprietor  heartlessly  hands 
out  his  rum  and  ruins  man,  body  and  soul;  there  is  no 
good  side  to  his,  shall  we  say,  business.  He  grabs  the 
money  and  in  return  hands  out  misery  not  /nly  to  the 
boob  who  drinks  it  but  to  everybody  who  is  associated 
with  the  rummy  ((eventually  they  will  be  rummies). 
If  Hollywood  had  its  way,  they  would  compel  the  exhibi¬ 
tor  to  soil  clean,  youthful  minds,  and  wreck  all  the 
religious  training  that  is  given  in  all  Churches  and  in 
the  majority  of  true  American  homes. 

Any  person  who  has  the  knowledge  to  know  right 
from  wrong  will  not  argue  that  all  slashes  as  made 
under  the  “Magnesia”  article  were  necessary  if  we  wish 
the  best  people  in  the  community  to  attend  cur  the¬ 
atres.  We  cannot  keep  our  theatres  going  with  the  riff¬ 
raff;  if  the  respectable  class  discontinues  attending  the 
theatre  the  riff-raff  will  also  lose  interest  because  they 
follow  the  decent  class,  they  do  not  want  to  be  by 
themselves.  I  think  we  owe  our  Censer  Board  a  rousing 
three  cheers  for  using  fine  judgment  and  deep  under¬ 
standing  in  making  their  slashes  and  deletions  in  pic¬ 
tures  that  need  it.  Hollywood  needs  a  lot  more  than 
magnesia ;  they  need  dynamite  to  blow  the  stench  from 
their  evil-thinking  minds!  More  power  to  our  State 
Beard  of  Censors! 

Very  truly  yours, 

A.  H.  EDWARDS. 


Heard  In 


w 


ILMINGTON 

Assistants  Get 
a  Bit  Busier 


ASSISTANT  MANAGERS  of  Warner 
theatres  in  Wilmington,  under  Lyle  Trenchard, 
seem  to  be  getting  a  little  more  responsibility. 
.  .  .  This  gives  the  managers  more  time  to 
make  business  contacts.  ...  At  the  Opera 
House,  assistant  manager  Merritt  Pragg  has 
been  busy.  .  .  .  “Morty"”  Levine,  manager, 

spends  a  lot  of  time  at  the  sign  shop.  .  .  .  Lew 
Black,  manager,  Aldine,  who  has  to  spend  much 
of  his  time  in  general  contacts  with  the  public, 
leaves  his  desk  satisfied  that  it  is  O.  K.  while 
in  charge  of  assistant  manager  Edman  Devenny. 
.  .  .  Dick  Milsher,  manager,  Queen,  new  on 
the  job  and  just  out  of  assistant  managership,  is 
glad  to  leave  plenty  of  responsibility  to  likely 
young  “Bill”  Highfield,  one  of  the  young  “vet¬ 
erans.” 

WARNER  BOYS  are  getting  on  their  tip¬ 
toes  for  Manager’s  Week,  March  26.  .  .  . 

Lew  Black  was  rigging  up  a  lot  of  stuff  for 
Mandalay.  .  .  .  Edman  Devenney,  assistant, 
who  owns  a  fine  collection  of  pipes,  brought 
down  an  opium  pipe.  .  .  .  And  you  would 

have  thought  there’d  been  a  real  kidnapping 
when  “Miss  Fane’s  Baby  is  Stolen”  came  to 
the  Opera  House  when  “Morty”  Levine 
turned  loose  his  barrage.  .  . ..  .  “Morty”  had 

a  baby  coach  in  the  lobby,  a  “traffic  cop” 
out  asking  everybody  if  they’ve  seen  Miss 
Fane’s  baby  and  some  5,000  tabloids  with 
screaming  headlines.  .  .  .  Jack  Flynn  drop¬ 
ped  in  on  the  boys  to  see  how  everything  was 
going  along. 

JOE  DE  FIORE  Park  manager,  tells  me 
business  is  picking  up.  .  .  .  Ben  Schindler, 
manager,  Avenue,  put  on  the  Carnera-Loughran 
fight  pictures.  .  .  .  George  Jones  had  song  hits 
from  “The  Cat  and  the  Fiddle”  showing  at  the 
Parkway,  broadcasted  from  WDEL.  .  .  .  He 
put  on  a  real  metropolitan  teaser  campaign  to 
introduce  Anna  Sten.  .  .  .  A.  B.  Seligman, 
manager,  the  Strand,  still  has  a  little  misery  in 
his  shoulder. 


EARLE  THEATRE,  New  Castle,  and  Green 
Lantern,  Claymont,  are  both  union-op>erated 
houses.  .  .  .  Local  Union  No.  473,  I.  A.  T.  S. 
E.  has  them  under  contract  and  the  theatres 
are  operated  under  union  conditions. 


Heard  In 


E  A  D  I  N  G 

Young  Leroy 
Keeney  Here 


By  T.  R. 


“HOME  TOWN  BOY  MAKES  GOOD”— 
that's  Calvin  Lieberman,  new  manager,  War¬ 
ner’s  big  Astor.  .  .  .  With  one  exception,  Cal’s 
the  only  native  son  in  that  city  to  get  such  a 
responsible  position.  .  .  .  He  served  a  long 
apprenticeship,  in  minor  places  in  the  house, 
and  later  became  assistant  manager.  .  .  .  C. 
G.  Keeney,  Park  Theatre  manager,  and  the 
better  half  have  welcomed  a  new  son  and  heir 
to  their  household.  .  .  .  Youngster  arrived  with 
the  early  March  winds  and  will  be  named 
LeRoy. 


BOXOFFICES  report  upward  grade  in  re¬ 
ceipts.  .  .  .  General  retail  business  reflects  the 
same  condition.  .  .  .  William  C.  White,  Read¬ 
ing  man  who  spent  some  years  in  Russia,  has 
been  called  to  Hollywood  to  serve  as  technical 


Patman  Bill  Up 

Hearings  on  the  Patman  Bill,  which 
will  allow  for  cataloging  of  films,  a  nine 
member  picture  commission,  with  many 
prohibitions  on  film,  will  begin  in  Wash¬ 
ington,  March  19. 

The  bill  is  being  taken  seriously  by 
the  industry. 


advisor  on  a  picture  dealing  with  Russian  life. 
...  A  Lutheran  Sunday  School  at  Robesonia 
has  adopted  films  and  the  screen  in  teaching 
methods  of  religious  work. 

CHISELING  on  the  NRA  by  certain  busi¬ 
ness  houses  here  is  reported  hurting  business. 
.  .  .  League  baseball  situation  in  Reading 

not  yet  cleared  up  for  the  coming  Spring  and 
Summer. 

EIGHTY-SECOND  ANNIVERSARY  con¬ 
cert  of  the  Ringold  Band,  one  of  the  oldest 
musical  organizations  in  America,  took  place 
in  the  Capitol  Theatre,  March  11.  .  .  .  When 
“David  Harum”  shows  in  the  near  future  in 
Reading,  readers  of  the  book  will  be  astonished 
to  notice  the  liberties  taken  with  the  story,  liber¬ 
ties  which  improve  the  tale. 

READING  city  officials,  having  turned  a 
deaf  ear  to  the  great  majority  of  tax  assess¬ 
ment  appeals,  are  defending  some  400-odd  ap¬ 
peals  in  court  this  month.  ...  No  decisions 
will  be  handed  down  until  all  cases,  including 
various  theatres,  are  heard.  .  .  .  Wilmer  & 
Vincent  have  asked  that  the  Capitol,  $300,000 
assessment,  be  scaled  down  to  the  $150,000  or 
$160,000,  which  two  experts  gave  as  the  actual 
value  of  this  house,  now  closed.  .  .  .  Loew’s 
Colonial,  assessed  at  $278,850,  and  operating, 
was  valued  by  appellar.ds,  at  $232,000  to 
$235,000.  .  .  .  City’s  experts  said  actual  value 
of  this  house  is  $300,000  to  $310,000. 

READING  PICTURE  THEATRE  manag¬ 
ers  were  guests  at  a  dinner  given  Frank  Per- 
rotto,  Reading,  in  honor  of  15  years’  faithful 
service  as  service  engineer  for  film  houses  in 
this  district.  .  .  .  Gold  medal  was  presented 
Perrotto  by  Reginald  Meeker,  division  super¬ 
intendent  of  Electric  Research  Products  Co., 
which  was  represented  also  at  the  dinner  by 
Elmer  Z.  Wilschke,  district  supervisor.  .  .  .  An 
address  extolling  Perrotto  for  his  ability  ar.d 
meritorious  service  was  made  by  Meeker. 


50.000.000  Radio  Fans 
are  waiting  for  this  film! 


Released  by 

INTER  AMERICAS  FILM  COMPANY 
50  East  42nd  Street  New  York  City 

For  Direct  Bookings: 

CAPITAL  FILM  EXCHANGE 
1314  Vine  St.  Philadelphia 


Marl5'34  pg.  25 


~ 

Hypnotize  Your  Box  Offices  into  the  big 

money  with  this  sensational  sure-fire  attraction  .  .  A 
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in  the  Territory 


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for  Immediate 
Dating! 


PROFESSOR  GERALD  M.  P.  FITZGIBBON 

Eminent  Hypnotist  ::  Author  ::  Entertainer 

For  Further  Information:  Write — Phone — Wire 

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Thousands  of 
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26 


Marl5'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


You  3ll  hear 

more  about— 

“DAWN  to  DAWN" 

•  *  ★  ★  N.  Y.  Daily 
News  the  highest  rating 
ever  awarded  a  featurette 
and  the  critic  called  it 
“the”  best  motion  picture 
she  had  seen  to  date. 

“DAWN  to  DAWN” 

•  A  complete  absorbing 

story  with  a  minimum  of 
dialogue — Not  a  single 
false  note  in  the  entire 
film  .  .  Says  N.  Y. 

Telegraph. 

“DAWN  to  DAWN” 

•  A  poignant,  well-made 
three-reeler  of  haunting 
dramatic  quality  —  de¬ 
serves  high  artistic  rating 
and  should  grace  any  bill 
.  .  .  Says  Variety. 

“DAWN  to  DAWN” 

•  Josef  Berne  has  done  a 
fine  job  of  directing.  .  .  . 
The  photography  is  im¬ 
pressive.  .  .  .  The  players 
are  real  and  sincere.  .  .  . 
Says  M.  P.  Daily. 

“DAWN  to  DAWN” 

•  A  laudable  undertaking 
credited  to  a  group  of 
Hollywood’s  unknowns 
.  .  .  it  marks  them  for 
future  film  fame.  . 

Says  the  New  York 
American. 

“DAWN  to  DAWN” 

•  A  picture  that  com¬ 
mands  attention.  A  three- 
reeler  with  the  dramatic 
form  and  interest  of  the 
biggest  feature. 


DISTRIBUTED  BY 

HERBERT  W.  GIVEN,  Inc. 

1239  Vine  Street  Philadelphia 

Branches  in: 

NEW  YORK  WASHINGTON 


Also  distributing  Exploitable 
Features  ...  and  Novelty 
Shorts  of  Outstanding  Merit. 


BETWEEN  THE  PARAGRAPHS 


EXHIBITORS  ENTHUSE  OVER  TRADE  SHOWS 

No  question  that  the  Warner  trade  show  idea  caught  the  fancy  of  exhibitors 
everywhere  and  meant  a  lot  to  the  company  as  well.  Showing  the  pictures  the 
way  they  did  indicates  that  Warners  have  a  lot  of  confidence  in  their  product,  and 
this  spirit  is  passed  alonrf  to  showmen.  United  Artists,  too,  deserves  a  lot  of  credit 
for  trade  showing  practically  every  picture.  Confidence  of  company  means  confi¬ 
dence  of  trade  in  general.  Some  companies,  who  don’t  subscribe  to  the  Warner-UA 
idea,  ought  to  catch  on  and  sell  that  all-confident  idea  to  exhibitors  and  the  trade.  It 
will  pay  them. 


CHECK  ON  MICKEY  MOUSE 

Someone  ought  to  hand  Walt  Disney  a  palm  for'  intelligence.  Word  has  gone 
out  that  the  Disney  studio  frowns  on  all-Disney  bills,  in  that  the  shows  might  take 
the  edge  off  the  single  releases.  In  a  business  where  cycles  are  always  damned 
and  copies  of  hits  are  prevalent,  such  an  intelligence  is  almost  overwhelming. 


SALARY  REVELATION  NO  THRILL 

The  trade  refused  to  get  excited  about  the  revelations  of  the  Federal  Trade 
Commission  concerning  salaries  of  movie  executives.  Most  of  the  information  had 
been  known  before.  The  impression  seems  to  be  that  the  movie  chieftains  are  not 
overpaid,  as  compared  to  other  industries,  and  if  a  guy  delivers,  he  is  worth  the 
dough.  If  he  doesn’t  deliver,  however,  that’s  another  story. 


PARAMOUNT  HAS  SOMETHING  IN  FRANCES  DRAKE 

Out  of  the  crop  of  younger  lights  that  Paramount  is  developing,  Frances  Drake 
stands  out  like  a  light.  In  “Bolero”  she  makes  an  outstanding  impression,  and  seems 
to  have  something  that  'will  help  the  box  office  after  a  few  more  pictures.  Evelyn 
Venable,  another  of  the  younger  stars,  seems  to  be  improving,  but  when  it  comes 
to  box  office  appeal,  Drake  looks  to  be  the  strongest  of  the  lot. 


BETTER  FEATURES  ARE  ON  WAY 

No  one  can  deny  that  the  pictures  are  generally  getting  better.  The  trouble 
is  that  so  many  of  them  are  so  good  that  they  suffer  from  comparison.  If  anything, 
star  shows  don’t  seem  to  have  the  box  office  prowess  that  they  used  to.  Of  course, 
they  are  better  bets  than  the  average  run  of  good  films,  but  the  gradual  improvement 
in  all  departments  has  pushed  up  the  quality  of  all  pictures  quite  a  bit. 


COUNTRY  IN  GENERAL  DUBIOUS  ON  BOARDS 

It  will  take  a  lot  of  good  work  by  local  boards  in  some  sectors  to  overcome 
the  handicaps  under  which  the  groups  will  begin  to  work.  Word  has  been  spread 
around  that  the  antics  of  distributor-producer  representatives  on  the  appointing 
committee  have  been  such  as  to  sour  exhibitors  in  the  know  regarding  anything 
connected  with  the  code.  In  San  Francisco  and  Omaha  there  has  been  almost  open 
revolt  against  the  boards  appointed  and  there  have  been  rumblings  of  discontent 
in  other  spots.  Generally,  there  is  not  so  much  squawk  against  the  makeup  of  the 
boards  as  there  is  against  the  tactics  used  in  appointing  them. 


EXHIBITORS  GETTING  EQUIPMENT  MINDED 

Equipment  manufacturers  and  servicing  units  expect  a  big  upturn  in  the  spring. 
With  sound  machines  having  reached  the  point  where  they  have  been  pretty  well 
worked  to  death,  with  projection  equipment  in  many  instances  nearly  falling  apart 
and  with  many  houses  having  dodged  repairs  and  decoration  for  the  past  few 
years,  the  accessory  division  of  the  business  expects  to  benefit.  Exhibitors  who  find 
the  going  tough  are  sold  on  the  idea  of  better  business  following  a  general  sprucing 
up.  So  the  spring  should  be  a  boom  to  these  companies. 


LOW  PRICED  COOLING  UNITS  WANTED 

If  cooling  and  ventilating  units  come  down  to  reasonable  figures,  more  houses 
will  install  them  during  the  spring.  Last  year,  a  lot  of  theatres  who  usually  took  it 
on  the  chin  found  out  that  a  good  ventilating  and  cooling  apparatus  was  a  godsend 
and  helped  business  no  end. 


HOBART  MANN. 


Marl5'34  pg.  27 


SUAVE 


•RALOOKA’ 


NEW  YORK — Packed  Rivoli  at  opening  yesterday  despite  zero 
weather  and  record  snowstorm 1 

BOSTON  —  D  oubles  gross  ot  previous  week! 

WASHINGTON  —  Beats  previous  week  30%  despite  blizzard! 

BALTIMORE  -  "H  eavy  attendance  ups  sugary  gross” 
reports  Variety ! 

AKRON  —  Biggest  week  since  house  re-opened  last  summer! 

BINGHAMTON  —  Smashes  all  records!  Audiences  wild 
with  enthusiasm1 


Si  I  j 


i|lll 

Directed  by 


mfim  ] 


■ 

BENJAMIN  STOLOFF 


Presented  by  RELIANCE  PICTURES 
Produced  by 

EDWARD  SMALL 

. 

cLuJ  linn 

UNITED  ARTISTS 


with  this  great  ad  campaign  by  Steig, 
world-famous  caricaturist.  It  takes  the 
lines  off  your  face  and  puts  'em  in  front 
of  your  box-office! 


28 


Marl5'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Heard  In 

O  R  K 

Free  Rides 
From  Movies 


THE  FOUR  YORK  THEATRES  have 
arranged  a  tieup  with  the  local  railways  com¬ 
pany,  whereby  for  two  weeks,  beginning  March 
23,  company  will  take  home  all  the  patrons  to 
the  evening  shows  at  the  four  theatres.  .  .  . 
Patrons  at  the  theatres  after  six  o’clock  will 
be  given  coupons  good  for  one  ride  that  night 
from  the  center  of  the  city  to  the  end  of  the 


street  car  line.  ...  In  addition  on  the  inside 
of  the  car  will  be  a  placard  “Ride  This  Car  to 
Your  Favorite  Movie,’’  and  giving  the  current 
attractions  at  the  four  houses. 


WITH  FOX  PICTURES  not  being  shown 
in  Warner  houses  in  York,  Auditorium,  Dal- 
lastown,  about  eight  miles  from  the  city,  is 
going  into  the  local  papers  every  time  they 
show  one.  .  .  .  Sidney  Poppay  at  the  Rialto 
reported  the  biggest  kiddie  business  during 
his  reign  as  manager  there,  March  3,  when 
he  played  the  first  chapter  of  a  new  Western 
serial.  .  .  .  He  went  into  the  schools  with 

2,000  special  heralds  and  drew  in  the  neigh¬ 
borhood  of  1,500  kids  into  the  theatre  that 
day. 


“Gambling  Lady ”  Possesses  Barbara  Stanwyck 


Joel  McCrea,  Pat  O’Brien  and  others  are  in  support  of  the  star  in  the  Warner  picture. 


Celebs  Attending 

A  score  of  notable  figures  have  been 
invited  to  attend  the  14th  annual  con¬ 
vention  of  the  Motion  Picture  Theatre 
Owners  of  America  in  Hollywood,  April 
10-11-12. 

Among  those  who  have  been  asked 
to  attend  are  General  Hugh  S.  Johnson, 
Sol  A.  Rosenblatt,  Senator  William  G. 
McAdoo,  Senator  Hiram  Johnson,  Mayor 
Rossi  of  San  Francisco,  Frank  Walker 
and  Postmaster  General  James  A. 
Farley.  Will  Rogers  has  been  asked  to 
preside  as  toastmaster  at  the  convention 
banquet. 


Booking  Theatres 
Everywhere 

EDWARD  SHERMAN 

VAUDEVILLE  AGENCY 

Real  Estate  Trust  Bldg. 
PHILADELPHIA 

Pennypacker  7595 

MAYFAIR  THEATRE  BLDG.,  NEW  YORK 
BR.  9-1905 


ON  MV  WAV  TO 
NEW  VORK  AND 
THE  PICCADILLV 


.  .  best  hotel  I  know! 
Near  everything,  just 
200  feet  from  Broad¬ 
way.  Modern,  hospit¬ 
able  ,  and  comfortable. 
Like  the  Manager, 
ike  the  rates  —  52.50 
single,  S3. 50  double, 
for  a  room  with  bath ! 

THE  HOTEL  * 

ICC ADILLY 

45th  St.  •  W.  of  Broadway  •  New  York 
WILLIAM  MADLUNG,  Msr. 


CREATING . 


an  atmosphere  of  richness 


Lobby 


appearance  is  a  very  important 
part  of  theatre  showmanship.  TYL-A-MATS 
dress  up  your  lobby,  creating  an  atmosphere 
of  luxuriousness,  of  comfort  .  .  .  your  pa¬ 
trons  feel  that  you  have  their  interest  at  heart 
when  first  impressions  are  made  by  TYL-A- 
MAT  lobby  installation. 


Tyi*A*MA  TS 


O.  W.  JACKSON  CO.,  Inc. 

225  W.  34th  St.  New  York,  N.  Y 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Marl5’34 


29 


“The  Expectant  Father ”  Offers  Ernest  Truex 


Ernest  Truex  heads  a  laugh  cast  in  the  Educational-Fox  release. 


Wilmington  Theatremen 
Band  To  Kill  Booth  Bill 

Would  Have  Made  Current  Provi¬ 
sions  Mandatory 

Wilmington  theatre  men,  independents 
and  chain  managers,  lined  up  together 
and  have  succeeded  in  having  tabled  an 
ordinance  which,  if  passed,  would  have 
required  all  theatres  and  public  places  ex¬ 
hibiting  motion  pictures  to  employ  one 
operator  for  each  projection  machine  and 
would  have  stipulated  that  not  less  than 
two  operators  be  on  duty  in  the  projec¬ 
tion  booth  at  all  times. 

Ordinance,  introduced  in  behalf  of  the  Motion 
Picture  Machine  Operators’  Union,  Local  No. 
473,  was  sprung  so  quietly  that  it  took  most  of 
the  theatre  men  by  surprise.  Fight  of  the  union 
lias  been  going  on  against  the  New  Rialto 
Theatre  openly  for  some  time  and  until  now  the 
other  theatres  have  taken  the  attitude  that  it 
was  none  of  their  affairs.  Therefore  it  was 
introduced,  given  its  first  and  second  readings, 
before  all  of  the  theatre  men  got  wise  to  the 
plight  they  would  be  in  if  required  by  law  to 
comply  with  union  requirements. 

Lyle  Trenchard,  district  ma  ager,  Warners, 
all  of  the  Warner  managers  and  all  of  the  inde¬ 
pendents  flocked  to  the  council  chambers  to 
oppose  the  measure.  Albert  B.  Williams,  re- 


cordlng  secretary,  a  Warner  operator,  and 
Philip  Jones,  president,  local,  were  on  hand. 
A  committee  meeting  behind  closed  doors  with 
the  managers  and  the  union  men  was  called. 
The  attitude  of  the  Warner  and  independent 
managers  were  that  they  had  no  objection  to 
the  safety  features  stipulated  in  the  ordinance 
but  that  they  did,  not  want  to  be  tied  down  by 
law.  Upon  questioning  the  union  men,  it  was 
discovered  that  the  measure  was  really  aimed  at 
theatres  that  had  no  such  agreement  with  the 
union.  A.  J.  Belair,  manager,  New  Rialto, 
was  cited  as  manager  who  had  failed  to  com¬ 
ply  with  the  terms,  so  he  was  asked  if  he  would 
do  so.  Belair,  it  is  reported,  readily  agreed 
to  comply  with  the  same  requirements  that  the 
other  theatre  men  were  meeting,  but  said  he 
wouldn’t  promise  to  put  union  men  on  the  job. 

With  this  turn  of  affairs,  it  was  announced 
publicly  that  it  was  decided  to  table  the  measure. 


Mead  Goes  Fishing 

George  Mead,  general  manager,  Standard 
Ticket  Register,  is  going  fishing  on  the  100- 
acre  island  of  Claude  Parker,  former  Buffalo 
exhibitor  and  owner  of  the  Chesapeake  Bay 
possession.  Mead  sails  for  Europe  later. 


“Together  Again”  Ahead 

Maury  Cohen,  producer,  Invincible  Pictures, 
has  added  James  T.  Mack,  Rosita  Marstini, 
Tom  Ricketts,  Clarence  Geldert  and  Lloyd  In¬ 
graham  to  the  cast  of  "Together  Again,”  which 
he  is  producing  at  the  Mack  Sennett  studios 
with  Frank  Strayer  directing. 


44  Wonder  Bar ”  Is  a  Warner  Extravaganza 


A1  Jolson,  Ricardo  Cortez,  Dolores  Del  Rio,  Guy  Kibbee  and  many  others  may  be 

seen  in  “Wonder  Bar.” 


READY 

REFERENCE 

EACH  COMPANY  LISTED  IS  AN 
AUTHORITY  IN  ITS  FIELD  AND 
IS  RELIABLE  AND  TRUSTWORTHY 


AIR  CONDITIONING 


T 


UPHOON 

'ONDITIONINC  CO. 


AIR  C 


COOLING 

VENTILATING 


BLOWERS  -  FANS 
AIR  WASHERS 
252  West  26th  St.,  New  York 


ARCHITECT 


THEATRE  DESIGN 

Remodeling  »  Building 

LATEST  COMPLETED 

BROADWAY  CAYUGA 

Philadelphia  Philadelphia 

Penna.  Penna. 

DAVID  SUPOWITZ 

REGISTERED 

ARCHITECT 

246  S.  15th  St.,  Phi  la.,  Pa.  Pennypacker  2291 


BUSINESS  BROKER 


THEATRES 

BOUGHT  •  SOLD  •  LEASED 

Partnerships  Negotiated 

M.  H.  LOOIMS.  Ine. 

1201  CHESTNUT  STREET 
Rittenhouse  4595  Rittenhouse  9077 

OSCAR  NEUFELD,  Mgr.  Theatre  Dept. 


DRAPERIES 


INTERIOR  DECORATIONS  SCENERY  DRAPERIES 

w  NOVELTY  w 
^  Scenic  Studios  ' 

INC. 

" Built  on  Merit"  340  W.  41st  St.,  New  York 

ACCOUSTICAL  TREATMENTS  RIGGING 


INTERIOR  DECORATORS 


Theatrical 

Decorating 

OUR  SPECIALTY 
Phone 

Rittenhouse  7828 
2315  Walnut  St. 
Philadelphia 


I.  Manoff  Reliable  Decorative  Co. 

INTERIOR  DECORATORS 

Draperies,  Carpets,  Painting 

1316  Vine  Street,  Philadelphia 


WE'VE  TURNED  NUMEROUS  NON-PAYING 
THEATRES  INTO  MONEY  MAKING  PROPOSITION* 
ASK  US  HOW! 


30 


Marl5'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


DRIFTS  of  winter 

that  won’t  90  with  the 

rains  of  spring! 

Obesity  flourishes  during  the  long  winter  months. 

Rich,  warming  foods  and  lack  of  green  vegetables  and 
exercise  bring  it  accompanied  by  that  “stuffy”  feeling 
when  we’re  so  susceptible  to  colds.  In  this  run-down 
condition  we’re  prey  to  every  germ. 

You  owe  it  to  yourself  and  to  your  job  to  keep  fit. 

A  few  minutes  each  day  of  relaxation  and  moderate 
exercise  under  the  skilled  hands  of  our  Attendants 
will  be  the  best  Health  Insurance  you  can  buy. 

Take  a  Tip  -  -  -  Take  a  Trip  to  -  -  - 

YOUNG’S  HEALTH  INSTITUTE 

219  North  Broad  Street,  Philadelphia 

COLONIC  IRRIGATION  By  Registered  Male  Nurses 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Marl5'34 


31 


Gaumont  British  Distributes  Some  Names 


Scenes  from  “The  Ghoul,”  with  Boris  Karloff;  “Orders  is  Orders,”  with  Jimmy 
Gleason  and  Charlotte  Greenwood,  and  “Love  in  Morocco”  directed  by  and  starring 
Rex  Ingram  are  seen  here.  Sam  Rosen  is  the  local  special  representative. 


MMANDC-TFMCU 

EMM  ILUIARI 

20IN-fcRCAD»ST-  —  •RIT*3575 


PREMIUMS 


There  are  many  imitations  but  there  is  only  one 

22  KARAT  GOLD  DINNER  SET 

with  a  success  record 

It’s  the  Dainty  Thin  Square  Model! 

QUALITY  PREMIUM  DIST. 

1305  VINE  ST.  PHILA. 


SOUND  SERVICE 


Heard  In 

P  -  S  T  A  T  E 

Stores  Helping 
Window  Displays 


A  NOBLE  WORK  for  humanity  was  done 
by  Manager  Harry  Lambert,  Colonial,  Harris¬ 
burg,  when  he  compiled  data  on  the  best 
methods  of  holding  a  girl.  .  .  .  He  had  offered 
free  movie  tickets  to  “Hold  That  Girl,"  which 
ran  three  days  at  his  theatre,  to  the  man  sending 
him  a  letter  that  described  tbe  best  method  for 
holding  a  girl.  .  .  .  Charles  Eslinger,  door¬ 
man,  Victoria,  Harrisburg,  and  Ralph  A. 
Sheets,  Enola,  have  the  reddest  faces  in  town. 

.  Sporting  sun-tans,  acquired  while  in 
Miami.  .  .  .  Harrisburg  theatre  managers  are 
getting  plenty  of  co-operation  from  merchants 
who  seem  to  like  the  window  display  ideas 
offered  by  the  ambitious  movie  men.  .  .  . 

Clever  exhibit  on  “The  World  Changes”  ap¬ 
peared  in  a  large  show  window  of  a  Market 
Square  furniture  store  for  a  week  before  the 
picture  opened  at  the  Colonial. 

CHARLEY  McLEARY,  manager,  Loew's 
Regent  .  Theatre,  .  Harrisburg,  .  and  .  Mrs. 
McLeary  escaped  injury  in  that  automobile 
accident.  .  .  .  “Ike”  Davis,  electrician  at 

the  .Victoria  .Theatre,  .Harrisburg,,  says 
there’s  no  escape  for  Harry  Beck,  Victoria 
maintenance  man.  .  Huntingdon  High 

School  gave  its  Senior  Class  Play,  “A  Lady 
to  See  You,”  at  the  Grand  Theatre,  Hunt¬ 
ingdon.  .  Pastime  Theatre,  Lewistown, 

has  been  increasing  attendance  with  show¬ 
ings  of  two  features.  .  .  .  At  Saturday  mat¬ 


inee,  New  Alto,  Columbia,  gave  each  child 
a  chocolate  cocoanut  Easter  egg.  .  .  .  Capi¬ 

tol,  Shamokin,  vaudeville  and  movies,  adver¬ 
tises  in  Danville  newspapers,  “The  Region’s 
Only  Vaudeville  Theatre.” 

TWENTIETH  ANNUAL  firemen’s  memo¬ 
rial  services  for  volunteer  firemen  of  Lewis- 
town  and  neighboring  communities  were  held 
Sunday  afternoon  at  the  Rialto  Theatre,  Lewis- 
town.  .  .  .  M.  E.  Comerford,  president,  Com- 
erford  Theatres,  Inc.,  and  owner,  Ritz  Theatre. 
Danville,  visited  manager  George  A.  Nevin, 
Ritz  Theatre,  March  8.  .  .  .  He  was  accom¬ 
panied  by  Ned  Kornblite.  .  .  .  Comerford  said 
he  was  on  his  way  to  his  Scranton  home  from 
Washington.  .  .  .  Kornblite  and  Manager 

Nevin  met  for  the  first  time  in  six  years. 

THAT  THE  “PERSONAL  APPEAR¬ 
ANCE"  appeal  is  not  losing  its  grip  among 
motion  picture  patrons  was  demonstrated  when, 
little  Ann  Little,  more  popularly  known  as 
Bettty  Boop,  of  the  famous  Max  Fleischer 
cartoons,  anpeared  on  the  stage  at  the  Colonial 
Theatre,  Harrisburg,  packed  the  house.  .  .  . 
In  person  at  the  Rialto  Theatre,  Lewistown, 
Hoot  Gibson,  western  movie  star,  and  June 
Gale,  screen  and  stage  actress,  appealed.  .  .  . 
Full  houses  greeted  Ed  Wynn  and  his  company 
of  sixtv-five  singers,  dancers,  comed;ans  and 
specialty  stars  at  the  Hershev  Theatre,  Hershev. 


Majestic  Opening  Hinted 

Rumors  that  the  closed  Majestic,  Harrisburg, 
is  to  open  in  the  near  future  as  ai  movie  house 
which  C.  Floyd  Hopkins,  Wilmer  and  Vincent 
manager,  Harrisburg  d'strict,  has  failed  to 
verify,  were  strengthened  recently. 


Claudette  Colbert  and  Clark  Gable  may  be  seen  in  the  Columbia  show. 


SOUND  ENGINEER 

262  N  13th  ST. 
PHILADELPHIA 
Day  Phone:  RIT  4529 
Night  Phone:  SHE  0805 


THEATRE  EQUIPMENT 


PENN  THEATRE 
EQUIPMENT  CO. 

309  North  13th  Street 
PHILADELPHIA 
Phone,  Rittenhouse  3273 

GENERAL  THEATRE  EQUIPMENT 

Specialists  in  Repairs 


C  L  E  M  *  S 

MOTION  PICTURE  SUPPLY  HOUSE 

The  Moi t  Complete  huh pi  ndeut 

Supply  House  m  the  T<  tutors! 

255  North  13th  Street  -  Philadelphia 

SPRUCE  I0S4  EXPERT  REPAIRING 


National  Theatre  Supply  Company 


Service  and  courtesy  from  men  you  know  .  .  . 
Plus  equipment  of  known  and  guaranteed  quality 
.  .  .  rre  at  your  service  at  our  local  branch 


UNIFORMS 


American  Uniform  Co. 

134  So.  11th  Street,  Philadelphia 

Styled  Right  ® 

Serviced  Right 

Priced  Right 

NO  ORDER  TOO  SMALL  OR  TOO  LARGE 


VAUDEVILLE  AGENCIES 


FRANK  WOLF 

Booking  Vaudeville 
and  Picture  Theatres 

307  REAL  ESTATE  TRUST  BLDG. 
Philadelphia  -  -  PENnypacLer  0792 


32 


Marl5'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


GREATEST  improvement 


TICKET  ISSUING  MACHINES 


FOR  20  YE  ARS  .  *  .  Generol  Registers  have 
been  standard  cash  control  equipment  for 
theatres  ...  restaurants  cafeterias..  so< 
fountains  .  .  .  Designed  by  foiemost  engineers 
...manufactured  by  skilled  technicians, 
serviced  by  expeit  mechanics  .they  are  the 
infallible  guardians  of  cash  receipts 


Two  Unit  NEW  1935  MODEl 
H  ALL  PURPOSE  REGISTER 
showing  door  m  place 


PERFECTION  of  50  years  embodied  in 
the  NEW  1935  MODEL  'H'  ALL  PURPOSE 
TICKET  REGISTERS  brings  to  the  motion 
picture  theatre,  cash  control  equip¬ 
ment  that  is  without  equal  in 
accuracy  and  speed.  Low  cost... 
noiseless  hand  operation  ...  relia¬ 
bility  . . .  sturdiness  . . .  attractiveness 
n  design  and  appearance... makes 
this  register  adaptable  to  any  type 
house. 

WRITE  TODAY  TO  OUR  NEAREST 
REPRESENTATIVE  FOR  FULL  DETAILS 


50  Z 


SAVING 


GENERAL  REGISTER  CORPORATION 


1540  Broadway,  New  York 

1018  S  WARASH  AVE  1726  SO  VERMONT  AVE  57  COLUMBUS  AVE 

CHICAGO,  ILL  LOS  ANGELES.  CAL  BOSTON,  MASS. 

307  NO  13th  STREET.  PHILADELPHIA  PA 


Celebrate  His  Week 


Andy  Smith 

Warner  division  sales  manager,  whose  week 
will  be  celebrated  April  8-14.  During  “Andy 
Smith  Week”  exhibitors  will  be  able  to  date 
in  such  shows  as  “Wonder  Bar,”  “As  the 
Earth  Turns,”  “Registered  Nurse,”  “Harold 
Teen,”  “Journal  of  a  Crime,”  “Gambling 
Lady,”  “I’ve  Got  Your  Number,”  “Jimmy,  the 
Gent,”  among  many  others.  That  exhibs  will 
help  make  it  a  real  big  affair  is  certain. 


MID- JERSEY 


LEW  ROVNER  busy  between  Parkside  and 
Highla:  id.  .  .  .  Needs  a  new  car  to  keep  him 
on  time.  .  .  .  Herb  Copelan  interested  visitor 
at  opening  of  AC  Apollo.  .  .  .  Jack  Waxman 
had  tonsil  operation.  .  .  .  Doing  well.  .  .  . 
Walter  Hi  has  a  new  shower.  .  .  .  Solves  all 
problems.  .  .  .  Iz  Hirschblond  feeling  a  bit 
better.  .  .  .  Herb  Copelan  has  a  riew  car.  .  .  . 
No  more  engine  trouble.  .  .  .  Dave  Starkman 
doing  okay  at  Blackwood.  .  .  .  Abe  Franks, 
Lyric,  AC,  still  looking  for  some  place  to  put 
that  fireplace.  .  .  .  Left  it  at  the  theatre.  .  .  . 
Manny  Heller  now  managing  Bridgeton  Stan¬ 
ley.  .  .  .  Plans  to  buy  a  new  car.  .  .  .  Bridge- 
ton  having  a  flesh  war.  .  .  .  Belle  Baker  vs. 
Siamese  twins.  .  .  .  Bill  Rovner,  Berlin,  says 
business  is  “snow  good/’  .  .  .  Lou  Schein- 
holz.  AC,  looking  around  for  a  mate. 

BECAUSE  a  few  children  have  been  falling 
asleep  in  Camden  theatres  and  have  been 
locked  in,  it  is  urged  that  all  exhibitors  in¬ 
spect  their  houses  before  closing  up  for  the 
night.  .  .  .  Camden  has  had  a  few  instances. 


TRENTON 


CHARLIE  SWEET,  Stacy  manager,  and 
Airs.  Sweet  are  enjoying  a  cruise  to  Nassau, 
Havana  and  Miami.  .  .  .  John  Bodley  is  mak¬ 
ing  a  rousing  success  of  his  Kiddie  Club  at  the 
Gayety.  .  .  .  Another  box  office  stunt  pro¬ 

moted' by  Bodley  is  a  movie  contest  with  patrons 
voting  for  members  of  the  cast  in  the  Wednes¬ 
day,  Thursday  stage  shows  by  local  talent.  .  .  . 
Frank  Henry  lias  acquired  of  the  Bishop  Estate 
stock  in  the  Rialto,  Princess,  Greenwood,  Bijou 
and  Victory  houses. 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Marl5'34 


33 


“ Palooka ”  Has  the  Great  Schnozzola 


Jimmy  Durante,  Lupe  Velez,  Robert  Armstrong,  Stuart  Erwin  are  current  in  the 

UA-Reliance  release. 


- Heard  In 

TLANTIC  CITY 

Apollo  Opening 
Big  News 


OPENING  OF  NEW  APOLLO  under  man¬ 
agement  of  George  F.  Wielland  and  P.  Morti¬ 
mer  Lewis  big  event.  .  .  .  SRO  sign  set  out 
for  7  and  9  o’clock  shows  March  10.  .  .  . 
No  heavy  ceremonials,  but  a  trailer  was  screened 
from  which  the  management  in  a  few  well 
chosen  words  dedicated  the  new  Apollo  to  the 
amusement-going  public.  .  .  .  Lobby  filled  with 
floral  tributes  and  among  the  guests  from  out 
of  town  were  Fred  Warren,  New  York;  A1 
Bovd,  A1  Fisher,  Glenside ;  Harry  and  Bet 
Blumberg  and  their  wives ;  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Charles  Teen  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Herb  Elliott. 
.  .  .  Present  policy  of  Apollo  is  straight  films ; 
but  complete  stage  equipment,  with  28  ft.  depth 
and  45  ft.  proscenium  arch,  makes  any  kind  of 
stage  production  possible.  .  .  .  Outstanding- 

feature  of  equipment  is  a  single  finger-touch 
switch  button  that  will  throw  control  of  all 
lights,  curtains  and  other  devices  instantly  and 
without  interruption  from  the  back-stage  switch¬ 
board  to  either  of  two  observers'  positions  i  i 
the  booth  and  vice  versa.  .  .  .  Plan  was  worked 
out  by  William  Braun,  Braun  Electrical  Co., 
local  contractors  and  co-operation  of  Philadel¬ 
phia  office  engineering  department  of  General 
Electric.  .  .  .  Sound  is  Western  Electric  gen¬ 
erator-less,  coupled  with  Wide  Range.  .  .  . 

Booth  has  daylight  and  outside  ventilation,  and 
was  laid  out  with  all  equipment  definitely 
located.  .  .  .  Electrical  equipment  and  air  con¬ 
ditioning  apparatus  in  adjoining  rooms,  placing 


all  on  same  floor  level  and(  under  control  from 
booth.  .  .  .  Screen  28x40  ft.  .  .  .  House  seats 
1700-1500  on  main  floor  and  200  in  mezzanine. 
.  .  .  Personnel  drawn  largely  from  other 

houses  in  Wielland-Lewis  chain.  .  .  .  Harvey 
Anderson,  who  has  been  managing  Capitol  since 
last  July,  takes  managerial  reins,  equipped  with 
many  years  of  experience  running  combination 
houses  for  Fox.  .  .  .  Betty  Guether,  head  cash¬ 
ier,  and  Pauline  Metzger,  both  come  from  the 
Strand  box.  .  .  .In  the  booth  Otto  Bertholdi 
and  Matthew  Badger  are  operators  from  the 
Strand,  and  Fred  Dodd  and  William  Hodge 
were  Strand  ushers,  promoted  to  the  projec¬ 
tion  room.  .  .  .  Peter  Sharp  moves  from  the 
Strand  as  doorman  and  Joe  Weiss  also  from  the 
Strand  is  head  usher.  .  .  .  Fred  Hardy,  James 
Marshall,  Denn  Sloden  and  Vince  Sheridan, 
ushers,  are  new.  .  .  .  William  Taylor,  veteran 
porter,  Strand,  is  promoted  to  head  porter  at 
the  Apollo.  .  .  .  Valeria  Barbour  is  maid  and 
Carrie  Carson  janitress. 

JAMES  HOLT  again  assumes  the  manage¬ 
ment  of  the  Capitol,  and  Pete  Corkill  goes 
there  from  the  Strand  as  assistant  manager. 

Paul  Dole  leaves  the  Embassy  to  be 
assistant  manager  at  the  Strand.  .  .  Mar¬ 

garet  Bloat  and  Alva  Schneider,  the  latter 
moving  from  the  Embassy,  are  in  the  box  at 
the  Strand,  and  Bill  Murrin  is  on  the  door. 

Herb  Craig  moves  from  the  Embassy 
booth  to  the  Strand,  and  Francis  Pogy,  Strand 
usher,  and  Mort  Hodge,  Embassy  usher,  are 
elevated  to  the  Strand  booth.  .  .  .  Four  new 
ushers  are  broken  in  at  the  Strand,  Warren 
Russell,  Henry  Denton,  Robert  Penn  and 
Westy  Watson.  .  .  .  At  the  Embassy  Rich 

McSweeney  goes  into  the  booth  and  Rose 
Caulk  is  the  new  cashier,  while  A1  Glenn, 
Charles  Shearer  and  John  Donahue  are  new 


“Catherine  the  Great,”  from  London  Films,  is  distributed  by  UA  and  includes  Doug 
Fairbanks,  Jr.,  and  Elizabeth  Bergner. 


TICKET  REGISTERS 


TICKET  MACHINE 

BARGAINS 

ALL  MAKES.  .  . 
ELECTRICALLY  OP¬ 
ERATED  .  .  .  REBUILT 
.  .  .  GOOD  AS  NEW 
.  .  .  MECHANICALLY 
PERFECT  .  .  .  GUAR¬ 
ANTEED. 

Write  for  Prices! 

60% 

SAVING 

Write  Immediately  for  Our  New  Introductory  Offer 

STANDARD  TICKET  REGISTER  CORP. 

1600  Broadway.  New  York  •  Geo.  Mead.genmgo 

• 

Official  Letter 
Service  to  the 
Motion  Picture 
Industry 

Accurate  List 
of  all  Theatres 
and  Executives 

Mimeographing 
Multigraphing 
Public  Stenography 

Addressing  -  Folding 
Enclosing  -  Mailing 

Advertising 

Publicity 

Printing 

WM.  Z. 

PORTER 

Advertising  and  Letter  Service 

12011  Vine  Street 

(Second  Floor) 

BELL  TELEPHONE 

:  RITTENHOUSE  7195 

ushers.  .  .  .  Hy  Walters,  having  supervision 
over  all  operators  in  the  chain,  as  well  as 
purchase  and  installation  of  all  mechanical 
equipment,  has  his  office  in  the  Apollo.  .  .  . 
Atlantic  City  “Press  and  Union”  got  out  a  3- 
page  section  on  day  of  opening  and  carried 
front  page  stories  for  several  days  prior  and 
on  Sunday  following.  .  .  Tragic  note 

sounded  when  Frank  Evans,  Western  Electric 
service  manager  for  Atlantic  City  district, 
received  word  Friday  night  just  as  he  was 
finishing  the  hook-up  of  sound  system,  that 
his  father-in-law,  John  Burt,  local  radio 
dealer,  had  dropped  dead.  .  .  .  Leland  The¬ 
atre  Company,  George  F.  Wielland,  president, 
P.  Mortimer  Lewis,  treasurer,  has  just  been 
incorporated,  with  the  purpose  of  taking  over 
other  theatres  for  which  negotiations  are  now 
going  on.  .  .  Warren  Wielland  has  an 

active  interest  in  the  companies  in  which  his 
father  is  associated. 

THOSE  at  Apollo  opening  voted  interior 
decoration  one  of  the  highlights.  .  .  .  Con¬ 
tributed  by  Armand  Ricci,  interior  decoration 
is  called  most  striking  part  of  the  theatre’s 
beauty. 

W.  RAY  JOHNSTON,  president,  Mono¬ 
gram  Pictures,  a  visitor  here  to  prepare  for 
the  annual  convention  of  Monogram  franchise 
holders  at  the  Ambassador  next  month. 


Rantz  High  Rating  Short 

Louis  Rantz,  well  known  in  this  territory,  has 
produced,  with  Charles  J.  Hunt,  on  the  west 
coast,  a  two  reeler  entitled  “Sixty  Cent  Dol¬ 
lar,’1’  devoted  to  just  that  subject.  Research 
data  by  Professor  Philip  Shearer  Fogg,  AB, 
MBA,  California  Institute  of  Technology,  is 
included.  Cast  includes  Wallis  Clark,  Matt 
McHugh,  Katherine  McHugh,  Leah  Winslow. 
A  timely  short,  it  has  been  heralded  in  coast 
previews. 


34 


Marl5’34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Heard  In 


ILKES-BARRE 

Popeye  Big 
Fare  Here 


By  Mac 


FRED  HERMANN,  Capitol,  devoted  most 
of  his  er.grgies  during  the  past  two  weeks  to 
the  promotion  of  the  Ed  Wynn  show  at  Irem 
Temple.  .  .  .  Fire  in  the  old  G.  A.  R.  building, 
which  houses  the  Family  Theatre,  drove  out 
150  patrons  last  week.  .  .  .  Blaze,  which  started 
in  a  partition,  was  discovered  by  Clarence  De:t- 
rich,  janitor,  who  notified  William  Piatt  and 
Aston  Sutliffe,  motion]  picture  machine  oper¬ 
ators.  .  .  .  A1  Cox,  with  an  eye  to  news,  billed 
pictures  of  the  Dillinger  escape  from  that  In¬ 
diana  prison  during  the  week.  .  .  .  Local  W . 


you  CAN  SHOO 

Mr.  Sum.  R.  Blues 


Increase  your  income 
during  the 


HOT  WEATHER 


with  a 


BERLO 

CANDY  VENDOR 

66 Ask  Your 
Fellow  Exhibitor ” 


Get  in  touch  with: 

GEO.  P.  AARONS 

301  N.  13th  Street 

LOCUST  4245 


OR  CALL  POPLAR  6109 

BERLO 

VENDING 

COMPANY 

1518  N.  Broad  St.,  Phila. 

Specializing  In  Candy 
Vending  Equipment 
for  tke  Theatre  Trade! 


NEW  YORK  BALTIMORE 

SCRANTON  WASHINGTON 

ALLENTOWN  CLEVELAND 

PITTSBURGH  CINCINNATI 


Jersey  Bills  Up 

Jersey  exhibitors  are  confronted  with 
three  bills,  to  set  up  and  finance  state 
NRA  boards.  Two  provide  for  a  state 
allotment  for  a  recovery  board  and  the 
other  assesses  industries  to  give  finances 
to  the  code. 


C.  T.  U.  during  the  week  adopted  resolutions, 
calling  upon  Congress  to  place  the  movies  u.  der 
U.  S.  control.  .  .  .  Popeye  is  giving  Mickey 
Mouse  plenty  of  competition  in  these  parts.  .  .  . 
So  popular  is  the  famous  pen  and  ink  comic 
that  he  is  running  in  two  houses,  Capitol  and 
the  Irving,  the  same  week. 

JOHN  GALVIN,  Penn,  was  host  to  a  dozen 
transients  during  the  week  after  they  enter¬ 
tained  over  WBRE.  .  .  .  Fred  Hermann  has 


Three  Aces 


k. 

It’s  unusual  to  catch  three  of  the  four  York 
theatre  managers  together  in  the  morning. 
In  fact  so  unusual  when  one  of  the  boys  at 
the  Capitol  saw  it,  he  got  out  his  camera 
and  snapped  the  above.  Left  to  right  they 
are  Harry  Travis,  Capitol;  Irving  Dunn,  Ritz, 
and  Cleon  Miller,  Strand. 


taken  to  the  air  with  a  letter  contest,  the 
winner  receiving  two  guest  tickets  good  for 
any  performance  during  the  week  except 
Saturday.  .  .  .  Information  is  wanted  about 

the  whereabouts  of  Harry  Carey,  formerly  of 
the  Rialto,  Plymouth.  .  .  .  Mother  has  been 
ill  at  Montrose. 


Block  Booking  Fight  Delayed 

While  clubwomen  are  already  taking  a  defi¬ 
nite  stand  against  the  block  booking  plan,  A. 
J.  DeFiore,  president,  Independent  Theatre 
Owners  of  Delaware  and  the  Eastern  Shore  of 
Maryland,  expects  to  wait  until  he  can  lay  the 
problem  before  his  association  before  he  maps 
out  his  fight. 


HARRY  BIBEN 

VAUDEVILLE 

AGENCY 

(603-4  COLONIAL  BUILDING) 

N.  E.  Cor.  13th  and  Market  St(. 

Phone,  Rittenhouse  9494-5 

PHILADELPHIA 


Booking 

STANLEY 

WARNER 

THEATRES 

Philadelphia 


HROUGH  STORMS  AND  1 
SNOW  Your  Film  MUST  GO  f 


.  .  .  and  the  Record  of  Never 
Having  a  Missout  is  Still  Held 
by  ALL  O  ur  Jersey  Clients 


NEW  JERSEY  MESSENGER  SERVICE 

MEYER  ADLEMAN 

250  N.  Juniper  Street,  Philadelphia 

SPR.  9355  LOC.  8787  RACE  9444 


Marl5'34  pg.  35 


Look  over  your  equip¬ 
ment  .  .  .  your  carpets 
.  .  .  draperies  .  .  .  seats 
.  .  .  walls  .  .  .  lobby 
frames  .  .  .  marquee 
.  .  .  screen  .  .  .  and 
ticket  booth. 


ANNUAL 
SPRING 
CLEANING 
ISSUE 

Articles  by  leading 
Theatre  Architects 
Charts  of  Building  and 
Renovating  Costs 
Actual  photographs 
and  sketches 

Out  April  1st 


What  do  you  need  .  . 
What  will  it  cost  .  .  ■ 
Must  you  close  down  . 
Who  is  an  expert  .  .  . 


I  Would  Like  Information  on: 


Architects  who  know  theatres  ....  Q 

Artificial  flowers  .  □ 

Banners  and  Flags .  .  □ 

Carpet  for  the  aisles  and  foyer.  .  .  □ 

Chairs  and  chair  repairs .  □ 

Chair  covers  .  □ 

Decorating:  lobby — marquee — 

auditorium .  Q 

Dry  cleaning .  Q 

Electric  signs  .  [H 

Horns  and  Speakers .  □ 

Lighting  Equipment  and  Elec¬ 
trical  Work .  □ 

Lighting  Fixtures .  □ 

Lobby  Frames  and  Ticket  Booth.  .  □ 

Marquee  and  Ballyhoo  Front..  ...  □ 

Premiums .  □ 

Printing  and  Posting .  □ 

Safes — both  Money  and  Film .  □ 

Safety  Devices  .  □ 

Screens  . .  □ 

Slides  .  □ 

Sound  Equipment  and  Repairs.  ...  Q 

Special  Trailers  .  □ 

Stage  Scenery .  □ 

Summer  Draperies  .  □ 

Tickets  and  Ticket  Registers .  □ 

Uniforms  and  Costumes  .  □ 

Vaudeville  and  Stage  Presenta¬ 
tions  .  □ 

Vending  Machines  .  .  □ 


Tear  out  and  mail  to: 

JAY  EMANUEL  PUBLICATIONS 
219  N.  Broad  Street,  Philadelphia 


THE  EXHIBITOR 

2-March-34 


36 


6-Point  Reviews  i 


J  1  ■►Who  made  it? 

2^ Who's  in  it? 
^3^ How  good  is  it ? 


4-*ls  it  family  or  adult  type? 
5  *►  What's  it  about  ? 

6 ■►Running  Time? 


COLUMBIA 

ft 

FOX 

a 

PARAMOUNT 

The  Lineup  Melodrama 

64m. 

William  Gargan,  Marion  Nixon,  John  Miljan,  Paul 
Hurst,  Noel  Francis. 

A  hat  check  girl  gets  involved  in  a  fur 
racket,  with  the  sweetheart,  one  of  two  detec¬ 
tives  who  pal  together,  helping  get  her  out  of 
the  scrape.  Show  has  a  cops  and  robbers  back¬ 
ground,  falls  into  the  melodrama  programmer 
classification. 

Estimate:  Familiar. 


The  Ninth  Guest  Mystery  Melodrama 

66m. 

Don  Cook,  Genevieve  Tobin,  Vince  Barnett,  Edwin 
Maxwell,  Helen  Flint,  Edward  Ellis. 

Eight  people,  all  enemies  are  invited  to  a 
party.  A  lot  of  murders  take  place.  Why  they 
do  and  how  the  mystery  is  solved  is  especially 
intriguing.  Show  is  well  produced.  For  those 
who  like  mystery  murder  stuff  it  will  satisfy. 

Estimate:  Plenty  of  thrills. 


Speed  Wings  Action  Drama 

60m. 

Tim  McCoy,  Evalyn  Knapp,  William  Bakewell, 
Vincent  Sherman. 

Action  yarn  about  a  lad  who  goes  yellow 
when  air  supremacy  is  at  stake  and  good  old 
Tim  McCoy  who  sees  to  it  that  he  becomes  a 
man.  Show  has  punches  all  way,  will  satisfy 
the  thrill  lovers  without  any  trouble. 

Estimate:  Speed. 


FIRST  NATIONAL 


Journal  of  a  Crime 


Adult 

Drama 

66m. 


Ruth  Chatterton,  Adolphe  Menjou,  George  Barbier, 
Claire  Dodd,  Philip  Reed,  Frank  Reicher,  Leila  Ben¬ 
nett,  Noel  Madison. 

Intriguing  show  which  shows  a  wife  killing 
a  rival  for  her  husband's  affection,  the  husband 
knowing  of  it  and  living  with  her,  an  inno¬ 
cent  man  killed  for  the  crime  she  committed, 
and  a  surprise  finish.  Picture  has  angles  for 
the  women. 

Estimate:  Novel  yarn. 


Registered  Nurse  Drama 

63m. 

Lyle  Talbot ,  Bebe  Daniels,  John  Holliday,  Irene 
Franklin,  Vince  Barnett,  Virginia  Sale,  Minna  Gom- 
bell,  Gordon  Westcott,  Beulah  Bondi. 

Hospital  yarn  with  the  wife  loved  by  two 
men  but  held  back  by  a  husband  who  is  in  a 
sanitarium.  Husband  escapes,  comes  to  one  of 
the  doctors,  asks  for  an  operation,  but  before 
it  is  performed,  finds  out  the  wife,  now  a 
registered  nurse  in  the  hospital,  loves  someone 
else,  so  he  jumps  out  of  the  window.  Show  is 
well  directed,  rates  high  in  hospital  series. 

Estimate:  Satisfactory. 


Bottoms  Up 


Family 

Musical 

84m. 


Pat  Patterson,  Spencer  Tracy,  John  Boles,  Herbert 
Mundin,  Sid  Silvers,  Harry  Green. 

High  rating  musical  with  a  backstage  atmos¬ 
phere,  good  songs,  good  acting  and  plenty  of 
comedy.  Show  introduced  a  new  face  in  Pat 
Patterson,  who  gets  good  support,  but  who  will 
have  to  be  sold.  Picture  has  usual  musical 
comedy  assets  to  sell  and  has  individual  per¬ 
formances  from  Tracy,  Silvers,  Mundin,  Green 
that  help  out  a  lot.  Show  should  do  a  nice 
business. 


Estimate:  Okay  musical. 


George  White’s  Scandals  Musical 

78m. 

Rudy  Vallee,  Jimmy  Durante,  Alice  Faye,  Adrienne 
Ames,  Cliff  Edwards,  Gregory  Ratoff,  Warren  Hymer, 
George  White. 

Fortified  by  names,  dance  numbers,  good 
songs,  plenty  of  comedy,  “Scandals”  seems 
headed  for  the  bigger  dough  division.  There 
may  be  deficiencies  but  these  are  minimized 
when  the  selling  angles  are  considered.  With 
all  these  entertainment  elements,  show  will 
undoubtedly  sing  a  sweet  tune  at  the  box  office. 

Estimate:  Money. 


METRO 


I  r*.  Family 

LaZV  River  Melodrama 

75m. 

Robert  Young,  Jean  Parker,  C.  Henry  Gordon, 
Irene  Franklin,  Maude  Eburne,  Joe  Cawthorn,  Ray 
Hatton. 

Background,  the  Louisiana  country,  rings  true 
but  story  seems  a  throwback.  Smuggling  of 
Chinese  is  tied  in  with  the  young  lad  who  loves 
the  girl  but  who  had  a  hasty  marriage  in  his 
youth,  plenty  of  intrigue  and  a  final  closeup 
which  brings  the  two  together.  Picture  is  a 
departure  from  the  usual  Metro  style. 

Estimate:  Melo. 


The  Showoff  Comedy 

77m. 

Spencer  Tracy,  Madge  Evans,  Henry  Wadsworth, 
Lois  Wilson,  Grant  Mitchell,  Clara  Blandick,  Alan 
Edwards. 

Remake  of  a  talkie-silent  and  all  Tracy.  Story 
is  generally  familiar  to  movie  audiences,  but 
where  Tracy  means  anything  it  should  account 
for  itself  nicely.  Picture  is  otherwise  well 
cast  and  produced. 

Estimate:  All  Tracy. 


What  Do  You  Think? 

It  is  the  aim  of  this  publication  to  give  its  readers 
every  possible  service.  Revision  of  the  page  is  an 
attempt  to  offer  a  concise  reviewing  form  that 
will  help  every  exhibitor.  Your  suggestions  and 
oriticisms  are  welcomed.  Write  in  now  and  tell 
us  whether  you  like  this  or  not. 


Come  On  Marines 


Family 
Comedy  Drama 
70m. 


Richard  Arlen .  Rosco  Earns,  Ida  Lupino,  Toby 
Wing,  Lona  Andre,  Grace  Bradley. 

Tale  of  marines  and  women  and  filled  with 
enough  action  and  comedy  to  amuse  most  audi¬ 
ences.  The  marines  get  into  action  in  the  Phil¬ 
ippines,  eventually  capture  the  bandit,  after  the 
plot  allows  several  beautiful  girls  to  enter  the 
scene.  The  show  has  guffaws,  belly  laughs  and 
generous  fun,  all  the  way. 

Estimate:  Action  all  the  way. 


She  Made  Her  Bed  Melodrama 

74m. 

Sally  Eilers,  Robert  Armstrong,  Richard  Arlen, 
Grace  Bradley,  Roscoe  Ates,  Charles  Grapewin,  Rich¬ 
ard  Arlen,  Jr. 

Melodrama  that  was  never  movie  material  in 
the  first  place  and  which  won’t  satisfy  audi¬ 
ences.  Picture  makes  an  attempt  to  include 
angles  that  will  make  for  good  showmanship, 
but  the  punch,  wherein  a  baby  is  locked  in  an 
ice  box  while  a  man  and  animal  fight  it  out  in 
the  fire,  may  be  too  strong  for  mass  audiences. 
Title  is  a  good  one,  but  seems  wasted  on  a  story 
of  this  type.  Best  that  can  be  said  for  the  show 
is  that  in  some  spots  it  may  be  liked.  On  the 
whole,  though,  it  would  have  been  better  had 
the  money  spent  on  it  been  devoted  to  a  more 
likely  box  office  attraction. 

Estimate:  Well,  well. 


Wharf  Angel  Melodrama 

62m. 

Victor  McLaglen,  Dorothy  Dell,  Preston  Foster, 
Alison  Skipworth,  David  Landau,  John  Rogers,  Mischa 
Auer,  James  Burke,  Frank  Sheridan. 

Melodrama  of  the  water  front  variety  and 
rough  stuff  generally.  Plot  deals  with  the 
gilded  lass  with  the  soul  of  white,  the  hero 
who  understands  love  and  understanding  the  big 
hearted  pal  who  turns  over  his  friend  to  the 
police  when  he  finds  out  the  gal  doesn’t  love 
him.  Show  has  atmosphere,  but  generally  won’t 
mean  very  much. 

Estimate:  Rough  stuff. 


RADIO 


This  Man  Is  Mine  Comedy  Drama 

74m. 

Irene  Dunne,  Constance  Cummings,  Ralph  Bellamy, 
Kay  Johnson,  Charles  Starrett,  Vivian  Tobin,  Sidney 
Blackmer,  Lou  Mason. 

Well  photographed  and  acted  adult  comedy- 
drama,  with  sophistication  the  main  asset.  Pic¬ 
ture  is  more  a  photographed  stage  play  but  has 
individual  performances  that  should  clinch  it 
for  smart  audiences.  Dunne’s  name  may  help 
in  the  star  department.  Woman  from  the 
past  enters  the  scene,  almost  breaks  up  a  happy 
home. 

Estimate:  Intelligently  produced. 


THE  EXHIBITOR 

2-March-34 


UNITED  ARTISTS 


House  of  Rothschild  Drama 

84m. 

Georye  Arliss,  Boris  Karloff,  Loretta  Young,  Robert 
Young,  C.  Aubrey  Smith,  Arthur  Byron,  Reginald 
Owen,  Florence  Arliss,  Alan  Mowbray,  Holmes  Her¬ 
bert. 

High  rating,  impressive  picture,  with  Arliss 
contributing  another  sterling  performance. 
Story  tells  of  the  history  of  the  Rothschild 
family,  with  Arliss  as  the  central  figure,  sur¬ 
rounded  by  a  lot  of  names  who  will  help  the 
box  office.  No  question  but  that  Arliss’ 
grosses  have  been  spotty,  but  with  the  backing 
given  him  in  this  picture  the  show  ought  to 
make  money.  It  will  need  intensive  selling,  but 
the  picture  includes  everything  claimed  for  it. 

Estimate:  Credit  to  20th  Century. 


UNIVERSAL 


Countess  of 

Monte  Cristo 


Family 
Comedy  Drama 
73m. 


Paul  Lukas,  Fay  Wray.  Patsy  Kelly,  Reginald 
Owen,  Paul  Page,  Robert  McWade. 

Comedy  drama  of  crooks  and  a  fake  Count¬ 
ess,  love  and  romance  and  no  standout  perform¬ 
ance.  Intriguing  title  may  be  an  asset,  but 
generally  story  gets  too  involved  to  help  much. 
Settings  are  nice  but  the  assets  don’t  balance 
the  deficiencies. 

Estimate:  So-so. 


LIBERTY 


Adult 

Take  the  Stand  Melodrama 

81m. 

Jack  La  Rue,  Thelma  Todd,  Gail  Patrick,  Russell 
Hopton,  Berton  Churchill,  Vince  Barnett,  Leslie 
Fenton,  Sheila  Terry,  Paul  Hurst,  DeWitt  Jennings, 
Bradley  Page,  Oscar  Apfel,  Jason  Robards,  Richard 
Tucker,  Bryant  Washburn. 

Swell  show  and  one  of  the  topnotch  inde¬ 
pendent  productions  of  the  year.  M.  H.  Hoff¬ 
man  has  given  the  piece  names,  good  direction 
through  Phil  Rosen,  a  plausible  story  and 
action  all  the  way.  La  Rue,  as  a  columnist 
who  has  plenty  of  enemies,  tops  his  best  per¬ 
formances.  Piece  revolves  about  his  murder 
and  an  interesting  solution.  Exhibs  playing 
this  one  have  a  grand  piece  of  entertainment 
to  sell. 

Estimate:  Ace. 


FIRST  DIVISION 


Family 

The  Texas  Tornado  Western 

60m. 

Lane  Chandler,  Ben  Corbett,  Doris  Hill,  Frank 
Glendon. 

The  hero  captures  the  gangster,  disguises 
himself  as  the  gunman,  finds  out  the  rustlers’ 
secrets  and  saves  the  day  for  the  gal.  Show  is 
a  high  rating  western  and  will  satisfy  open  air 
audiences. 

Estimate:  Punchy. 


Honor  of  the  West  Western 

60m. 

Ken  Maynard,  Cccila  Parker,  Fred  Kohler,  Frank 
Farnum. 

Our  Ken  plays  two  parts,  one  good  and  one 
bad.  It  doesn’t  make  any  difference  because 
western  devotees  will  love  this  one  as  much  as 
the  rest. 

Estimate:  Yippee. 


Let’s  Be  Ritzy  Comedy 

76m. 

Lew  Ayres,  Patricia  Ellis,  Frank  McHugh,  Berton 
Churchill,  Isobel  Jewell,  Betty  Lawford,  Clay  Clement. 

Down  to  earth  tale  that  should  be  pleasing  to 
most  audiences.  A  young  couple  finds  the  going 
tough  on  a  $30  weekly  salary,  the  husband 
poses  as  a  wealthy  South  American,  the  wife 
nearly  succumbs  to  a  wealthy  man  but  every¬ 
thing  is  ironed  out.  Comedy  elements  are  espe¬ 
cially  strong. 

Estimate:  Nice  little  show. 


WARNERS 


Family 

Jimmy  the  Gent  Comedy 

70m. 

James  Cagney,  Allen  Jenkins,  Bette  Davis,  Allan 
Dinehart,  Alice  White,  Arthur  Hohl,  Mayo  Methot. 

Breezy  Cagney  yarn  with  Jimmy  as  a  tough 
guy  in  the  missing  heir  racket  who  gets  a  bit 
refined  on  account  of  a  girl  and  with  that 
Warner  flair  for  rapid  fire  comedy  all  the  way. 
Picture  is  a  comedy  whirlwind,  and  although  it 
slows  up  a  bit  toward  the  conclusion,  starts  at 
a  fast  pace,  holds  it  most  of  the  way.  Cagney 
fans  will  like  it. 

Estimate:  No  trouble. 


STATE  RIGHTS 


Family 

Dancing  Man  Action  Drama 

67m. 

Judith  Allen,  Reginald  Denny,  Edmund  Breese, 
Natalie  Moorhead,  Edwin  Maxwell,  Huntley  Gordon. 

Tale  of  a  young  man  who  turns  gigolo, 
chucks  it  for  the  girl,  but  who  becomes  in¬ 
volved  in  a  murder  mystery.  Show  is  well  pro¬ 
duced  for  an  inde,  has  a  major  company  name 
to  sell,  should  please  where  folks  like  their 
society-drama.  Picture  has  saleable  title. 
Estimate:  Nice  inde. 


Dream  of  My  People  Religious 

66m. 

Late  Cantor  Rosenblatt  in  a  travelogue  of  the 
New  Palestine. 

Jewish  film  especially  adapted  for  the  Jew¬ 
ish  neighborhoods,  with  a  running  commentary 
in  English  and  some  songs  by  the  late  Cantor 
Josef  Rosenblatt.  Picture  is  well  made,  shows 
the  new  Jerusalem,  but  will  be  especially  valu¬ 
able  in  the  sections  where  the  Jewish  people 
predominate. 

Estimate:  Good  bet  for  Jewish  nabes. 


Ridin’  Thru 


Family 

Western 

55m. 


Tom  Tyler,  Ruth  Hiatt,  Lafe  McKee,  Philo  Mc¬ 
Cullough. 

Horses  are  being  stolen,  and  Tom  Tyler 
makes  up  his  mind  to  find  out.  He  does  and 
wins  the  girl.  Western  is  up  to  the  usual 
standard. 


Estimate:  Open  air  usual. 


37 


these  Canny 
Show  -  shoppers 


Tell  Philadelphia  show-goers  what 
you  are  offering — or  else  how  are 
they  going  to  know  which  show  to 
pick? 

They  are  enthusiastic  show  fans, 
but  they  are  canny  show  shoppers. 
Cash  in  on  the  thought  and  con¬ 
sideration  you  take  of  what  you 
select  to  show  them  each  day. 
Tell  them  what  you  are  showing — 
Tell  them  the  quickest,  surest, 
most  economical  way — 

Tell  them  in 

The  RECORD 

Amusement  Directory 

A  listing  in  Philadelphia’s  best- 
known  and  most-consulted  direc¬ 
tory  costs  only  30  cents  a  day 
(longer  listings,  15  cents  per  line 
additional)  and  carries  your  show¬ 
ing  to  176,000  families  daily  and 
270,000  on  Sunday. 

To  place  your  listing  or  for  fur¬ 
ther  information  call  the 


PHILADELPHIA 

RECORD 

CLASSIFIED  DEPARTMENT 

WALNUT  2300 


38 


Marl5'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


BETTER  TESTED  SUCCESSFUL 

MANAGEMENT  IDEAS  *  MERCHANDISING 


Jones  Won’t  Take  It 


What  critics  may  have  to  say  about 
certain  films  may  get  by  a  less  adroit 
theatre  manager  than  George  Jones, 
Loew’s  Parkway,  Wilmington. 

George  was  showing  “The  Cat  and 
The  Fiddle.”  Furthermore,  he  was 
praising  it  to  the  skies.  Then  suddenly 
one  of  Dan  Thomas’s  cracks  in  his 
Hollywood  review  in  “The  Evening 
Journal”  and  “Every  Evening”  referring 
to  the  film  as  “mutilated”  and  not  up  to 
the  standard  of  the  stage  production. 

The  next  day  Jones  got  a  story  by  on 
the  theatrical  page  which  said  that  “at 
least  forty  persons  who  had  read 
Thomas’s  criticism  spoke  to  me  about  it 
after  viewing  the  picture  and  all  ex¬ 
pressed  the  opinion  that  the  picture  was 
far  superior  to  the  stage  play  which 
they  had  seen.” 


Nowitsky  Plenty  Busy 

“Fog,'’  State  Theatre,  Reading,  Alfred  Now¬ 
itsky,  manager,  used  a  novel  lighting  effect  for 
front  and  marquee  that  enveloped  the  theatre 
exterior  in  a  sort  of  thick  haze,  but  with  enough 
lights  and  other  contrivances  to  make  the  name 
of  the  show  and  its  players  clearly  visible. 

Murray  Livingston  is  nearing  his  second  anni¬ 
versary  in  his  104th  straight  Friday  night,  at 
the  State. 

“Spook  Night,”  with  some  weird  ghost  and 
skeleton  contrivances  flitting  about  in  the 
darkness,  was  another  winner  staged  by  Man¬ 
ager  Nowitsky  at  the  State. 


Sound  Machine  For  Sale 

Cheap.  One  Pacent  Sound  and  Film 
Equipment  Complete.  Address 
E.  C.  EVANS 

Plaza  Theatre,  Milford,  Delaware 


Selling  Betty  Boop 

If  there’s  a  vacant  store  window  in  Reading 
or  nearby  that  didn’t  carry  a  Betty  Boop 
advance  herald,  to  announce  her  act  at  the 
Embassy  Theatre,  Paul  E.  Glase,  manager,  it 
hasn’t  been  discovered.  And  along  with  the 
vacant  windows,  Glase’s  crew  managed  to  get 
most  of  the  residential  districts’  operating- 
stores’  windows.  An  airplane,  with  a  big 
streamer,  flying  low  over  the  city  and  most  of 
the  county  as  well,  helped  to  supplement  news¬ 
paper  and  other  forms  of  advertising.  With 
Little  Ann  Little,  Betty  Boop,  booked  for  a 
whole  week,  Pauline  Comantor,  girl  movie  car¬ 
toonist,  was  offered. 


In  selling  “Wonder  Bar,”  local  S-W  organ¬ 
ization  had  a  half-hour  on  WIP,  used  various 
bands  to  plug  the  picture. 


Lambert  Alert 

City  of  Harrisburg  presented  to  Harry  Lam¬ 
bert,  manager,  Colonial,  Harrisburg,  one  of 
those  unexpected  opportunities  for  exploita¬ 
tion  which  managers  enjoy  so  well  recently. 

Manager  Lambert  learned  that  the  city  was 
to  sell  nine  horses  on  the  auction  block.  Sale 
was  to  take  place  on  the  day  preceding  opening 
of  “The  Last  Round-Up'1’  at  the  Colonial.  Los¬ 
ing  not  a  moment’s  time,  Lambert  arranged  with 
the  city  fathers  to  have  the  nine  horses  parade 
over  the  business  section  of  the  city  on  their 
way  to  the  auction  block.  Appropriate  signs 
placed  on  the  backs  of  the  horses  gave  “The 
Last  Round-Up7  a  neat  piece  of  exploitation. 


Star  Theatre  is  giving  away  electric  table 
lamps.  House  has  a  drawing  on  the  stage 
once  a  week  in  connection. 

Sten  on  Building 

Robert  H.  Suits,  manager,  Loew’s  Colonial. 
Reading,  made  use  of  a  Penn  Street  building 
whose  three  upper  floors  were  vacant  to  adver¬ 
tise  “Nana.”  Top  floor  windows  carried  the 
word  “Anna,”  one  giant  letter  to  each  window. 
The  third  floor  windows  carried  the  name 
“Sten,”  one  letter  to  a  window.  The  second 
floor  windows  set  out  the  name,  “Nana,”  and  a 
border  just  below  carried  the  name  of  the  the¬ 
atre,  in  big  letters  just  above  the  first  floor 
window  level. 


Birthday 

In  honor  of  his  32nd  birthday,  Ben 
Harris,  popular  Masterpiece  booker,  has 
made  arrangements  to  give  miniature 
cameo  to  all  his  friends  and 
'  Masterpiece  clients. 

The  picture  on  the  cameo, 
seen  on  the  left,  four  times 
its  original  size,  indicates 
what  artistry  went  into  its 

production. 

On  the  back  of  the  cameo,  there  is  a 
copy  of  Lincoln’s  Gettysburg  address, 
with  phone  number. 


Lasky  Thanks  Help 

Employes  of  the  Victoria  Theatre,  Harris¬ 
burg,  received  a  letter  from  Jesse  L.  Lasky,  in 
which  he  congratulated  them  on  their  recent  ad 
in  Harrisburg  newspapers  on  "I  Am  Suzanne.” 

They  were  William  Wolfe  and  Charles  Es- 
linger,  doormen ;  Estella  Hicks  and  Genevieve 
Funk,  cashiers;  Sara  First,  Mary  E.  Hatfield, 
Kathryn  Whittington  and  Mary  Hoon,  ushers ; 
Sarah  Spotts,  Mary  Wertz,  Nellie  Smith  and 
Ruth  Powley,  cleaners ;  Harry  Beck,  mainten¬ 
ance,  and  Paul  Patterson,  John  Bruner,  Edgar 
Nebinger  and  Harry  Fornwalt,  operators.  Man¬ 
ager  Jack  O’Rear,  Victoria,  also  congratulated 
each  of  his  employes  personally. 


Todorov  with  Bierbauer 

Milan  (Nick)  Todorov,  former  assistant 
manager,  Loew’s  Regent  Theatre,  Harrisburg, 
has  become  advertising  director  for  manager 
Charles  Bierbauer,  State  Theatre,  Harrisburg. 


Tickets  for  Excellence 

A  column  for  young  folks  has  been  started 
in  the  Harrisburg  Telegraph,  Harrisburg  daily 
newspaper.  A  pair  of  free  movie  tickets  are 
offered  for  the  best  contributions,  tickets  to  be 
donated  by  some  Harrisburg  theatre  manager. 


SENTRY  serviced  SAFETY 


CONTR OL 


Many  theatre  owners  weigh  the  matter  of  Safety  as  it  suits  them. 
PLAINLY  THIS  IS  ALL  WRONG.  In  Safety  there  is  no  half-way  meas¬ 
ure  with  the  Public.  The  Public  would  not  consider  it  safe  if  you  decide 
to  do  without  a  Serviced  Safety  Device  on  your  projectors.  The  Public 
would  think  with  horror  if  you  tried  to  economize  by  buying  Safety  equip¬ 
ment  without  a  service,  and  the  fact  that,  in  your  theatre,  the  Public 
has  not  yet  inquired  as  to  the  measure  of  Safety  that  you  are  giving  them — 
THAT  DOES  NOT  MEAN  THAT  THEY  CAN  BE  DECEIVED. 


SENTRY  SAFETY  CONTROL  CORP. 


10th  ST.  and  ALLEGHENY  AVE. 
PHILADELPHIA,  PENNA. 


Sentry  Safety  Controls  Listed  as  Standard  by  National  Fire  Underwriters  Laboratories 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Marl5'34 


39 


Warners  Thrill  Industry  with  Big  Sock 

Test  Campaigns  on  "As  the  Earth  Turns" 


Select  Dallas,  Texas,  and  Danbury,  Conn,  for  Experiment  — 
One  "No  Bunk"  —  Other  "Romantic"  —  Opportunity  for 
Showmen  to  Choose  the  Best 


WARNER  BROTHERS  ADVERTISING,  publicity  and  exploitation  divi¬ 
sions,  under  the  guidance  of  S.  Charles  Einfeld,  director  of  advertising  and  pub¬ 
licity,  thrilled  the  industry  during  the  past  fortnight  with  two  sock  test  campaigns 
on  “As  the  Earth  Turns”  that  came  through  with  colors  flying  and  which  practically 
guarantee  every  showman  playing  the  picture  swell  returns  if  the  campaign  best 
suited  to  his  theatre  is  followed. 

TWO  CITIES  in  different  parts  of  the  country  were  selected  for  the  tests, 
Dallas,  Texas,  city  of  260,475,  and  Danbury,  Connecticut,  town  of  22,261. 

Two  entirely  different  campaigns  were  conceived  and  put  into  effect. 

THAT  FOR  DALLAS  was  based  on  the  idea  of  “No  Bunk.”  Danbury’s 
was  sold  on  the  principle  of  romance,  together  with  the  fact  that  it  was  a  storv 
typical  to  the  Connecticut  country.  Both  campaigns  proved  very  successful.  In 
Danbury,  the  biggest  snowstorm  since  1888  failed  to  keep  the  townspeople  out. 
The  house,  with  a  reserved  seat  increased  admission  policy,  broke  all  records,  with 
the  result  that  the  picture  will  he  brought  hack.  In  Dallas,  the  results  were  over¬ 
whelming. 


WARNER  OFFICIALS,  themselves,  do  not  know  which  campaign  is  the 
better.  They  feel,  however,  that  exhibitors  can  examine  both,  figure  out  which 
will  mean  the  most  money.  For  that  reason,  both  campaigns  are  revealed  here. 
Read  them,  decide  which  is  best  for  your  house. 

THE  DANBURY  CAMPAIGN, 

DANBURY  is  a  typical  in-the-country  Connecticut  town,  with  22,261  popu¬ 
lation,  with  a  drawing  population  of  probably  15,000  more  when  the  roads  are 
good.  But  the  blizzard  came  and  that  immediately  proved  a  handicap.  That  didn’t 
deter  the  Warner  exploiteers,  however,  for  the  men  went  hell-bent  for  big  records. 

EVEN  THE  SNOW  was  made  use  of  with  cards  stuck  in  the  big  drifts, 
announcing  the  world  premiere  of  “As  the  Earth  Turns.”  Campaign  was  based 
on  the  romantic  idea  of  the  story,  with  a  milk  and  honey  background  with  which 
to  work.  Copy  sold  the  town  on  the  fact  that  it  was  a  drama  of  the  soil  with  no 
villains,  etc.,  hut  a  faithful  reproduction  of  the  novel.  House  was  sold  out,  with 
the  gate  going  to  $1000  for  the  night,  a  marvelous  tribute  to  the  salesmanship 
ability  of  the  exploiteers  who  handled  the  campaign. 

S  TRESSING  the  show  along  romantic  lines  was  a  difficult  thing  to  do  in  view 
of  the  frigid  atmospheie,  but  with  the  entire  town  awake,  the  romantic  campaign 
scored. 

Special  lobby  work,  giant  pages  of  the 
book,  big  ad  space,  before  day  of  open¬ 
ing  and  after  opening,  with  lines  reading : 
THRILL  TO  THE  SYMPHONY  OF 
NEW  ENGLAND  HEARTS 
BEATING  TO  THE  RHYTHM  OF 
THE  SEASONS  ...  IF  YOU  HAVE 
FELT  THE  ECSTASY  OF  MOON¬ 
LIGHT,  IF  YOU  HAVE  KNOWN 
THE  MIRACLE  OF  SPRINGTIME, 
A  WATERFALL  .  .  .  YOUTH 

AFIRE,  IF  YOU  BELIEVE  IN  THE 
BEAUTY  AND  STRENGTH  OF  A 
WOMAN’S  DEVOTION  .  .  .  these 

Lobby  work  in  Danbury,  Connecticut,  selling  all  helped. 

the  romantic  phases  of  the  show.  ( Please  Turn  Over) 


HIGHLIGHTS 


Example  of  the  24-sheet  used  in  Dallas  to  sell 
opening  of  “Bunkless”  campaign  on  “As  the 
Earth  Turns.” 


Copy  selling  “No  Bunk”  idea,  with  the  ques¬ 
tion  left  for  the  Dallas  citizens  to  decide. 


Lobby  display  selling  literary  form  of  “As  the 
Earth  Turns”  in  Dallas. 


40 


Marl5'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


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Selling  "As  the  Earth  Turns"  (Cont'd) 

THE  DALLAS  CAMPAIGN 

IN  DALLAS,  the  problem  was  one  of  “No  Bunk.’’ 

Tie-ups  were  engineered  with  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  the  Film  Guild, 
Civic  League,  the  dailies,  even  the  critics.  Latter  were  sold  on  the  idea  of  frank¬ 
ness,  that  here  was  a  campaign  totally  devoid  of  the  usual  hokum,  and  it  was  up 
to  the  critics  to  sell  the  show.  They  did.  The  town  turned  out,  some  local  angles 
cropped  up  and  were  immediately  used  to  perfection. 

A  SPECIAL  TRAILER  selling  the  picture’s  advantages,  boosting  the  truth 
element,  asking  audiences  if  they  want  pictures  like  “As  the  Earth  Turns,”  whether 
they  wanted  hokum  or  sincerity,  etc.,  was  used  to  good  effect.  A  letter  from  the 
Film  Guild  plugging  Jean  Muir,  the  star,  her  performance,  the  sincerity  of  the 
show,  the  presence  of  Gladys  Hasty  Carroll,  the  author,  at  the  opening,  etc.,  went 
out  to  all  members. 

PAGES  AND  PAGES  of  publicity  with  the  build-up  apparent  for  Donald 
Woods  and  others  were  used.  Presence  of  the  author  of  the  work  drew  lots  of 
space,  with  much  made  of  the  fact  that  this  was  her  first  visit  to  Texas  and  hos¬ 
pitality  in  the  Texas  sense  was  to  reign. 

PASSION  WITHOUT  BUNK;  LOVE  AS  REAL  PEOPLE  LOVE— 
these  were  selling  lines  on  the  one-sheet.  A  phone  conversation  between  a  local 
celeb  and  the  star,  Jean  Muir,  was  broadcast  to  millions  of  listeners. 

ARTICLES  TELLING  why  Dallas  was  selected  as  the  spot  for  the  world 
premiere  drew  plenty  of  columns.  A  local  girl  sold  the  movie  rights,  which  lent 
another  angle  to  plug.  A  10-page  novelization  in  a  local  daily  helped.  So  did  double 
size  window  cards,  teams  of  clubwomen  selling  the  no  bunk  idea,  “BUNKLESS 
ADS,”  etc.  The  selling  line  FIRST  BUNKLESS  PICTURE  was  used  every¬ 
where. 

WARNER  TRADE  SHOWS 

THE  CAMPAIGN,  which  concentrated  on  “As  the  Earth  Turns,”  is  an 
example  of  what  can  be  done  with  any  of  the  shows  that  Warners  exhibited  at 
the  trade  shows  held  recently.  Pictures  shown  were  selected  from  “As  the  Earth 
Turns,”  “Gambling  Lady,”  “Harold  Teen,”  “Wonder  Bar,”  “Journal  of  a 
Crime”  and  “Jimmy  the  Gent.”  Audiences  everywhere  were  guests  of  Warners, 
were  impressed  by  the  sincerity  of  the  company  and  its  confidence  in  its  product. 

EXHIBITORS  can  get  an  idea  of  what  showmanship  really  is  when  they 
examine  the  “As  the  Earth  Turns”  campaign.  It  is  a  show  without  a  name  that 
means  big  dough  on  a  marquee.  It  is  a  picture  that  fails  to  include  sex  angles  to 
sell  or  any  of  the  sure-fire  audience  attraction  devices.  “As  the  Earth  Turns” 
needed  a  campaign  and  Warners  were  determined  to  find  one  that  would  mean 
dough  to  showmen.  They  not  only  found  one.  They  found  two.  But  in  doing 
so,  they  have  given  new  ideas  to  theatremen  everywhere.  Exhibitors  can  look  at 
the  campaign  and  get  tips  that  will  help  them  in  selling  any  show  any  place. 

S.  CHARLES  EINFELD,  in  directing  a  “Earth”  Campaign,  is  really  perform¬ 
ing,  with  his  valued  aids,  a  service  to  the  business.  Showmen  want  help  but  they 
want  it  in  compact  form,  proven.  In  these  two  campaigns,  Einfeld  has  shown 
showmen  it  can  be  done.  It  is  up  to  them  to  do  it. 


James  Cagney,  Allen  Jenkins,  Bette  Davis,  Alan  Dinehart  are  current  in  the 

Warner  show. 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Marl5'34 


41 


THE  “Come  On  Marines”  press-book,  while  not  an  elaborately  printed  job,  is 
chockful  of  money-making,  show-selling  material.  Very  little  time.,  trouble  or 
effort  has  been  devoted  to  fronts  because  of  economic  conditions  in  recent  years. 
But  the  Paramount  boys  apparently  believe  that  now  is  the  time  to  make  fronts 
attractive  without  spending  too  much  to  get  the  desired  effect.  1  think  they  are 
absolutely  right.  If,  however,  your  particular  theatre  does  not  lend  itself  to  a  real 
front  because  of  space  limitations,  we  suggest  this  one.  On  the  first  publicity  page 
is  a  three  column  combination  line  and  half-tone  mat.  Ask  your  printer  what  it 
would  cost  to  print  up  about  2000  214  square  eight  page  booklets  or  a  fold-in. 
If  the  price  is  right,  take  the  five  individual  line  drawings,  one  on  a  page.  On  the 
cover,  print  “The  Marines  have  discovered  new  definitions  for  military  terms.  To 
them  any  order  is  confused  with  love-making.  ‘Come  On  Marines’  shows  you  how 
they  win  girls  and  what  they  do  to  hold  ’em.”  On  another  page  use  a  reduced  mat 
of  Lupino  and  Arlen  with  the  heading  “The  Marines  have  landed  and  have  the 
situation  well  in  hand — and  how!”  On  the  eighth  page,  theatre  date,  cast,  etc. 

******* 

Years  ago,  motion  picture  producers  and  distributors,  mindful  of  exploitation 
possibilities  had  stars  pose  for  'specific  tie-up  stills.  With  curtailment  dominating 
instead  of  business-getting  methods,  the  service  was  discontinued  or  rather  dis¬ 
couraged U  We  have  before  us  the  press-book  on  Monogram’s  “Beggars  in _  Ermine. 
Merc  'the  service  is  revived .  There  must  be  at  least  a  half-dozen  hard-boiled  stores 
in  any  city  that  exhibitors  would  tike  to  crack  bu>t  up  to  nozv  have  not  had  the 
wherewithal.  “Beggars  in  Ermine”  offers  specific  poses  for  soda,  sun  [amp,  compact, 
auto,  face  cream,  beauty  aids,  powder,  furs  and  perfume.  Then  there  id  a.  set  of  five 
bathing  suit  sttills. 

******* 

IF  YOU  ARE  A  FOX  EXHIBITOR,  order  Mats  L-l  X  and  R-lX  on  “George 
White’s  Scandals.”  You’ll  find  them  on  the  center  pages  of  the  press-books.  Not 
only  are  they  swell  teaser  illustrations  but  following  the  large  opening  ads,  the  illus¬ 
trations  are  great  attention  getters.  If  you  have  the  facilities,  order  a  load  of  those 
tabloid  heralds.  They’re  smart  and  timely.  That  front  page  devoted  entirely  to 
Rudy  Vallee’s  wedding  to  Alice  Faye  (in  the  picture)  will  make  them  read  the  tab 
and  naturally  the  other  pages,  too.  I’ve  seen  tab  papers  on  other  pictures  but  this 
one,  I  think,  is  Iwhat  a  live  wire  exhibitor  would  publish  if  he  made  it  up  himself. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  many  exhibitors  will  get  the  same  reaction. 

******* 

The  Warner  plan  of  pre-releasing  each  picture  in  many  different  cities  to  obtain 
the  best  selling  angles,  is  good  business.  The  photostatic  enlargeme  ts  of  newspaper 
stories  are  the  best  evidence!  of  what  papers  will  run,  W e  refer  particularly  to  “As 
the  Earth  Turns.”  Conception  of  exploitation  ideas  in  the  field  and  the  execution 
thereof  is  conducive  to  better  campaigns.  Adaptability  of  these  campaigns  to  the 
majority  of  cities  will  have  a  under  range.  I  think,  the  success  of  this  undertaking 
is  being  observed  very  closely  by  other  companies  and  may  eventually  mean  the 
introduction  of  a  new  phase  of  publicity,  advertising  d  d  exploitation  in  press-books. 
It  will  be  spot-stuff — campaigns,  so  elastic  that  local  adaptation  will  not  prove  as 
difficult  as  at  present. 

******* 

THE  “WILD  CARGO”  bulletin  prepared  particularly  for  the  RKO  theatres  is 
the  most  complete  thing  we  have  seen  in  a  long  time.  Credit  is  naturally  due  to 
Robert  F.  Sisk,  RKO  public  relations  chief  and  to,  John  Dowd,  advertising  and  pub¬ 
licity  head  of  the  RKO  theatres.  It  is  one  of  those  emergency  jobs,  where  mimeo¬ 
graphing  is  utilized  to  save  the  long  wait  of  printed  press-books. 

Of  course,  most  of  the  material  came  from  the  nimble  mind  of  S.  Barrett 
McCormick  but  it  is  an  RKO  accomplishment,  just  the  same. 


An  example  of  the  trailer  used  to  exploit  “Wild  Cargo.” 


Around  the  Circuit 

with 

STANLEY-WARNER 

_ By  Harry  Goldberg - 

WITH  “MANAGER’S  WEEK,”  period 
from  March  23  to  March  30,  looming  just  ahead 
the  Warmer  boys  are  bending  every  effort  to 
finish  up  the  second  quarter  with  a  smash  week. 

.  .  .  It’s  the  end  of  the  quarter  and  when  the 
Bonus  money  is  passed  around.  .  .  .  They  want 
to  be  in  at  the  payoff.  .  .  .  They’re  not  over¬ 
looking  any  bets  to  be  there  at  the  finlish.  .  _ .  . 
Warners  are  primed  to  keep  right  on  into 
Easter  week.  .  .  .  Manager  Field,  Parker, 

Darby,  has  a  well-rounded  campaign  all  set  to 
roll  when  “Manager’s  Week”  comes  around. 
.  .  .  Schools,  local  merchants,  civic  clubs,  offi¬ 
cials,  have  all  been  tied  up  to  put  him  across 
as  the  most  popular  Warner  manager.  .  .  . 
Marty  Goldenberg,  pilot,  Colonial,  conceived  a 
novel  street  ballyhoo  on  “Going  Hollywood,’’  a 
girl  perched  on  a  trunk,  bound  for  Hollywood, 
a  red-cap  pulling  it  through  the  streets.  .  .  . 
“Pop”  Graver,  Grove,  Willow  Grove,  is  looked 
upon  as  a  community  leader.  .  .  .  Local  paper 
gave  him  a  great  plug  with  a  column  interview 
and  a  cut.  .  .  .  That  won’t  hurt  him  a  bit.  .  .  . 
Iz  Wernick  saved  the  Sedgwick  money  by  put¬ 
ting  window  cards  on  lathes  and  sticking  them 
into  the  hard-packed  snow  piles  around  his 
neighborhood.  .  .  .  It’s  an  “ill  snow”  that 

blows  no  one  good. 


GRAND  OPERA  HOUSE,  Wilmington,  had 
its  patrons  stopping  to  read  the  catchy  copy 
on  the  heart-shaped  cards  used  to  sell  “Easy 
to  Love.”  .  .  .  Carl  Schaffer  knows  what  his 
Richmond  patrons  like.  .  .  .  And  gives  it  to 
them.  .  .  .  Witness  his  street  ballyhoo  on 

“Lady  Killer.”  ...  A  tough-looking  mug 
dragging  a  dummy  of  a  woman  through  the 
streets  by  the  hair.  .  .  .  His  patrons  loved  it. 
.  .  .  Dave  Seaman,  Commodore,  went  after 

a  few  more  box  office  dollars.  .  .  .  By  selling 
Nelson  Eddy,  Philadelphia  boy  now  with 
Metro.  .  .  .  To  his  patrons  in  “Dancing 

Lady.”  .  .  .  Eddy  was  popular  in  a  church 
in  the  Commodore  parish.  .  .  .  Seaman  got 
box  office  reaction.  .  .  .  Ben  Blumberg  gave 
local  twist  to  “Counsellor-at-Law”  for  the 
Broadway.  .  .  .  By  using  40x60  covered 

with  clippings  about  local  lawyers  and  crime 
news.  .  .  .  Old  newspapers  supplied  the 

material. 


WARNER  KEY  THEATRE  managers  get 
together  every  Wednesday.  .  .  .  To  discuss  the 
proper  and  improper  ways  to  sell  pictures.  .  .  . 
Getting  the  RIGHT  angle  is  important.  .  .  . 
The  plan  is  bearing  fruit.  .  .  .  The  campaigns 
are  built  to  fit  the  neighborhoods.  .  .  .  Tommy 
Mangam,  Washington,  Chester,  put  a  punch  into 
the  lobby  display  on  “Miss  Fane’s  Baby  is 
Stolen.”1  .  .  .  An  empty  crib  with  a  half-filled 
milk  bottle.  .  .  .  And  a  ragged  note  pinned  to 
a  baby  blanket.  .  .  .  Told  the  story  in  few 
words.  .  .  .  Harry  Travis  also  promoted  a 

Greyhound  Bus  gratis.  ...  to  carry  the  ban¬ 
ners  of  the  Capitol,  Lancaster,  when  “Fugitive 
Lovers”  played  its  run  there.  .  .  .  Earl  Bailey, 
Uptown,  startled  Broad  street  subway  users 
with  his  stunt  on  “Hi,  Nellie” ;  he  had  a  man 
stand  on  a  box  at  crowded  stations  and :  “Hi, 
Nellie,  I’ll  see  you  at  the  Uptown”  as  each 
train  roared  to  a  stop.  .  .  .  Irv  Blumberg,  Stan¬ 
ton  ma;  ager,  hasn't  returned  from  his  honey¬ 
moon  in  Bermuda  yet.  .  .  .  Just  can’t  tear  him¬ 
self  away  from  the  balmy  breezes.  .  .  .  On  the 
other  hand  we  heard  that  he  missed  the  boat 
back.  .  .  .  The  wedding  was  a  highlight  of  the 
social  season.  .  .  .  Everyone  wishes  the  couple 
the  best  of  everything. 


42 


Marl5'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Sherman  Handles  240 


Universal  Keeps  On  Its  Merry  Way 


Eddie  Sherman,  live  wire  vaudeville 
booker,  is  Handling  an  average  of  80 
acts  weekly,  involving  about  240  people. 

This  tops  many  leading  circuits,  and 
ranks  with  the  biggest  vaude  house  line¬ 
ups  in  the  business. 

Sherman  has  some  of  the  biggest 
houses  in  this  area,  including  the  Car¬ 
man,  Fay’s  and  the  Hip,  Baltimore,  as 
his  top  notchers. 

By  putting  so  many  people  to  work 
he  is  certainly  doing  his  part. 


H 

O 


ORLACHER  is  the 

Oldest  Delivery  Service 


nly  Capable,  Bonded 

Drivers  are  used 


^gardless  of  Rain  or  Snow 

Delivery  is  Prompt 

Leading  Exhibitors  have 
p  been  Clients  for  Years 


Ah 
C 

H 


fter  15  Years  it  stands 

with  Unexcelled  Record 


ourtesy  has  been  a 

Dominant  Principle  Always 


eavy  Insurance  Covers  all 

Divisions  of  the  Business 


'very  Effort  is  always  made 
f  for  Greater  Efficiency 

k  eal  Service  has  been 

the  Reason  for  Progress 


SERVICE,  Inc. 

1228  Vine  Street 

PHILADELPHIA 


New  York  Washington 

Scranton  Baltimore 


HORLACHER  ’S  never  fails! 


Lee  Tracy,  Carmel  Myers,  Patricia  Ellis  are  in  “I’ll  Tell  the  World,”  “Countess  of 
Monte  Cristo”  and  “Let’s  Be  Ritzy,”  from  Universal. 


Prof.  Fitzgibbon  Now 
Ready  for  Bookings 


Professor  Fitzgibbon,  internationally 
known  hypnotist,  is  ready  for  bookings 
at  all  theatres  free  of  charge. 

That  is  the  news  that  astounded  local  exhibi¬ 
tors  this  week. 

The  professor,  whose  act  has  played  many 
leading  houses,  is  being  offered  by  a  commercial 
organization,  on  a  special  tie-up,  available  to 
all. 

Previously,  the  act  used  to  get  $50  daily,  but 
this  cost  is  saved  the  theatres,  because  of  the 
angles  involved. 

The  Spee-Dee-Kleen  Company,  Keystone 
Building,  Broad  and  Vine  Streets,  is  handling 
the  professor,  and  the  act  has  been  endorsed 
by  thousands. 

If  exhibitors  want  to  boost  their  box  office 
grosses,  get  in  touch  with  the  professor  at  the 
Spee-Dee-Kleen  Company. 


Back  to  Fundamentals 


Al  Jolson,  a  recent  visitor,  confessed 
that  “The  Jazz  Singer,”  which  started 
it  all,  was  made  in  1 1  days. 

A  large  number  of  features  take  about 
the  same  time  these  days. 


National  “Blonde”  Rights 

E.  H.  Goldstein,  executive  vice-president, 
Majestic,  has  completed  purchase  to  all  serial 
rights  of  the  story  “Unknown  Blonde”  as  it 
appears  in  the  New  York  Sunday  Mirror  and 
will  arrange  to  place  the  material  in  newspapers 
all  over  the  country.  Mirror  stories  are  the 
result  of'  a  tie-up  Majestic  made  several  weeks 
ago  with  the  New  York  Mirror  in  connection 
with  its  latest  production  “Unknown  Blonde” 
which  has  arrived  east  for  an  early  pre¬ 
miere  on  Broadway. 


Delaware  Measure  Would  Bar  Divorcees  in  Films 


Delaware  motion  picture  theatre  owners  and  managers  read  their  morning 
paper  the  other  day  and  wondered  if  they  were  reading  things  right  when  they 
observed  an  article  under  a  Dover  date  line  to  the  effect  that  Dr.  Robert  B.  Hopkins, 
a  representative,  from  Milton,  in  the  General  Assembly  was  preparing  a  bill  to  be 
introduced  which,  if  passed,  would  bar  all  films  in  which  divorced  actors  or 
actresses  take  part. 

It  is  the  good  rural  doctor’s  idea  to  create  a  board  of  censorship  of  three 
members  to  be  appointed  by  the  Governor.  Their  duties  would  be  to  censor  films 
showing  in  any  part  of  the  state,  and  it  would  be  incumbent  upon  them  to  weed  out 
those  in  which  divorcees  appear.  A  violation  of  the  law  would  cost  an  exhibitor 
$100  fine;  a  second  offense  would  close  his  theatre  for  one  month  and  a  third 
offense  would  close  it  for  three  months. 

“Joe”  DeFiore,  Wilmington,  president,  Independent  Motion  Picture  Theatre 
Owners  of  Delaware  and  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Maryland  who  has  George  Schwartz 
of  Dover  keeping  a  weather  eye  on  legislation  for  the  organization  said  he  is  just 
wondering  what  kind  of  films  would  be  shown  if  such  a  bill  by  some  rare  chance 
should  go  through.  He  said: 

*1  m  not  greatly  alarmed*  for  after  all  it  is  mostly  the  producers’  worry  about 
such  bills  as  this  one.  I  intend  to  notify  them  that  such  a  measure  is  to  be 
introduced.  However,  I’ve  been  trying  to  figure  out  just  what  films  we  could  play 
without  showing  a  divorcee,  and  the  only  ones  that  I  can  think  of  would  be  Mickey 
Mouse  pictures,  and  at  that  I’m  not  sure  about  Minnie  Mouse.  She  might  be 
divorced  for  all  I  know.  Why  they  get  divorces  so  quickly  we  might  contract  for 
a  dozen  or  so  films,  and  the  stars  in  every  one  of  them  might  be  divorced  before 
we  are  able  to  play  them.” 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Marl5'34 


43 


66 Forgotten  Men ”  Aides 


“Forgotten  Men,”  ace  war  film  from 
First  Division,  after  a  sensational  five 
week  run  at  the  Europa,  which  topped 
"The  Big  Drive,”  is  available  for 
dating. 

Show  has  a  big  campaign  that  can  be 
followed  to  good  returns.  Picture  has 
the  benefit  of  current  picture-daily  tie- 
ups,  and  is  a  natural  for  co-operation 
from  legion,  war  veteran  units. 


Aviation  Minded 

Manager  Glase  is  never  lost  when  it  comes  to 
aviation  features  for  the  Fmbassy  or  the  nearby 
State,  Reading.  A1  Nowitsky,  manager  State, 
has  often  flown  himself.  At  the  State  Nowit¬ 
sky  had  Captain  Smiles  O’Timmons,  one-armed 
and  one-legged  aviator  and  parachute  jumper, 
to  address  his  house.  Friday  nights  and  Sat¬ 
urday  afternoons,  and  at  the  Madeira  Flying 
Field,  hear  Reading,  Captain  O'Timmons  wears 
the  State  colors — or  advertising — when  making 
his  aerial  derbies. 

UA’s  campaign  on  “The  House  of  Roths¬ 
child,”  as  indicated  in  the  New  York  City 
dailies,  shows  that  the  company  is  getting 
behind  the  show  with  a  vengeance.  The  ads 
used  prior  to  the  two  a  day  opening  at  the 
Astor  could  truly  be  called  terrific. 


First  Division  Opens  Boston  Office 


PRR  Tieup  for  “Bar” 

Stanley-Warner  tied  up  with  the  Pennsyl¬ 
vania  Railroad,  distributed  leaflets  t  icing  up  the 
idea  of  the  Wonder  Railroad  of  the  World  with 
the  Wonder  Musical,  “Wonder  Bar.'' 


Some  views  of  the  First  Division  Boston  office,  considered  to  be  the  finest  in  the 
modern  scheme  of  design  by  many  trade  observers.  The  office,  which  serves  the 
entire  New  England  district,  is  the  ace  exchange  in  the  company’s  lineup  of  fifteen 
branches.  First  Division  has  been  quietly  expanding  during  the  past  few  seasons 
and  now  covers  practically  all  territory  east  of  the  Mississippi. 


PHILADELPHIA 


NEW  YORK 


WASHINGTON 


BALTIMORE 


%-ST 


MW. 


NATIONAL 

KLINE 

POSTER 

CO. 

1307  VINE  STREET 
PHILADELPHIA 

A 

POSTER  RENTALS 


NATIONAL 

PENN 

PRINTING 

CO. 

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A 

PRINTING 


SIMON  LIBROS 


GEO.  H.  KLINE 


OSCAR  LIBROS 


44 


Marl5'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


For  your  convenience,  this  publication  furnishes  this  guide  to  reviews  of  pictures  which  have  appeared 
in  regular  review  department.  Before  dating  in  your  show,  consult  this  page,  find  out  when  the  review  appeared 
and  then  look  it  up.  Key:  For  example,  2-Jan.  means  the  second  issue  of  this  publication  in  that  month. 
1-Feb.  would  mean  the  first  issue,  and  so  on. 


Columbia 

King  of  Wild  Horses 
Above  the  Clouds 
Master  of  Men 
Fog 

Fury  of  the  Jungle 
Before  Midnigh 
Shadows  of  Sing  Sing 

Straightaway  . 

Once  to  Every  Woman 

Let's  Fall  in  Love  . 

The  Fighting  Code 
It  Happened  One  Night 
No  Greater  Glory 
The  Song  You  Gave  Me 
The  Lineup 
The  Ninth  Guest 
Speed  Wings 


2-Nov. 

2-Nov. 

1- Dec. 

2- Jan. 
2-Jan. 
2-Jan. 
2-Jan. 
1-Feb. 
1-Feb. 
1-Feb. 

1- Feb. 

2- Feb. 
1-Mar. 

1- Mar. 

2- Mar. 
2-Mar. 
2-Mar. 


First  National — Warners 


Gold  Diggers 
Footlight  Parade 
Ever  in  My  Heart 
Kennel  Murder  Case 
College  Coach 
House  on  56th  Street 
Female 

Havana  Widows 
From  Headquarters 
Son  of  a  Sailor 
Dark  Hazard 
Lady  Killer 
Convention  City 
The  Shakedown 
Massacre 

Fashions  of  1934 
Hi  Nellie 
Easy  to  Love 
Mandalay 

As  the  Earth  Turns 
Bedside 

Heat  Lightning 
I've  Got  Your  Number 
Wonder  Bar 
Gambling  Lady 
Harold  Teen 
Journal  of  a  Crime 
Registered  Nurse 
Jimmy  the  Gent 


1- June 

2- 0ct. 
2-0ct. 
1-Nov. 

1- Nov. 

2- Nov. 
1-Nov. 

1- Nov. 

2- Nov. 
2-Nov. 
1-Dec. 

1- Dec. 

2- Dec. 

1- Jan. 

2- Jan. 
2-Jan. 
1-Feb. 
1-Feb. 

1- Feb. 

2- Feb. 
2-Feb. 
2-Feb. 
2-Feb. 
2-Feb. 
1-Mar. 

1- Mar. 

2- Mar. 
2-Mar. 
2-Mar. 


Fox 


Paddy  .  1-Sept. 

Good  Companions  .  1-Nov. 

Charlie  Chan’s  Greatest  Case  2-Sept. 

Dr.  Bull  .  2-Sept. 

My  Weakness  .  1-Oct. 

Power  and  the  Glory  .  2-July 

Walls  of  Gold  2-0ct. 

Worst  Woman  in  Paris  1-Nov. 

Berkeley  Sguare  2-July 

My  Lips  Betray  2-Nov. 

This  Mad  Game  1-Nov. 

Oleson’s  Big  Moment  1-Nov. 

Hoop-La  .  2-Nov. 

As  Husbands  Go  .  2-Nov. 

Frontier  Marshal  2-Nov. 

Jimmy  and  Sally  .  1-Dec. 

Smoky  . 2-Dec. 

I  Was  A  Spy  .  2-Dec. 

Mr.  Skitch  .  1-Jan. 

I  Am  Suzanne  .  1-Jan. 

Orient  Express  .  2-Jan. 

Sleepers  East  .  1-Feb. 

Cominq  Out  Party  .  1-Feb. 

Ever  Since  Eve  .  1-Feb. 

Carolina  .  2-Feb. 

Devil  Tiger  . .  2-Feb. 

Hold  That  Girl  .  2-Feb. 

I  Believed  in  You  1-Mar. 

David  Harum  .  1-Mar. 

Bottoms  Up  2-Mar. 

Scandals  ■  2-Mar. 


Metro 

Night  Flight  1-Sept. 

Bombshell  .  . .  2-Oct. 

The  Chief  2-Oct. 

Day  of  Reckoning  1-Nov. 

Meet  the  Baron  2-Oct. 

Dinner  at  Eight  2-June 


The  Late  Christopher  Bean 

(Her  Sweetheart)  2-Nov. 

The  Prizefighter  and  the  Lady  2-Nov. 

Eskimo  2-Nov. 

Should  Ladies  Behave  (The  Vinegar  Tree)  2-Nov. 

Dancing  Lady  .  1-Dec. 

Sons  of  the  Desert  1-Dec. 

Women  in  His  Life  .  1-Jan. 

Going  Hollywood  .  1-Jan. 

Queen  Christina  1-Jan. 

Fugitive  Lovers  .  2-Jan. 

You  Can't  Buy  Everything  .  1-Feb. 

This  Side  of  Heaven  .  1-Feb. 

Men  in  White  2-Feb. 

Cat  and  the  Fiddle .  1-Mar. 

Mystery  of  Mr.  X  .  1-Mar. 

Lazy  River  2-Mar 

The  Showoff  2-Mar. 


Monogram 

DISTRIBUTED  BY  FIRST  DIVISION 


The  Avenger  2-Nov. 

Sweetheart  of  Sigma  Chi  1-Nov. 

Broken  Dreams  1-Nov. 

He  Couldn’t  Take  It  2-Dec. 

Sensation  Hunters  . 1-Jan. 

Tho  Sagebrush  Trail  .  2-Jan. 

Lucky  Texan  .  2-Jan. 

Woman's  Man  .  2-Jan. 

16  Fathoms  Deep  .  1-Feb. 

West  of  Divide  .  1-Feb. 

Mystery  Liner  .  2-Feb. 

Beggars  in  Ermine  .  1-Mar. 


Pa  ramount 

Torch  Singer  .  2-Sept. 

To  the  Last  Man  1-Oct. 

Golden  Harvest  1-Oct. 

Too  Much  Harmony .  2-Sept. 

I'm  No  Angel  2-Oct. 

Tillie  and  Gus .  2-Oct. 

Way  to  Love . 2-Oct. 

Take  a  Chance  1-Nov. 

Hell  and  High  Water  2-Nov. 

White  Woman  1-Nov. 

Design  for  Living  .  2-Nov. 

Cradle  Song .  2-Nov. 

Duck  Soup  .  2-Nov. 

Lone  Cowboy  .  2-Nov. 

Thundering  Herd  2-Nov. 

Sitting  Pretty .  1-Dec. 

Girl  Without  a  Room  .  1-Dec. 

Alice  in  Wonderland .  2-Dec. 

Miss  Fane’s  Baby  Is  Stolen  1-Jan. 

His  Double  Life  .  1-Jan. 

8  Girls  in  a  Boat  1-Jan. 

The  Last  Roundup  .  .  .  .  ?.-Jan. 

Search  for  Beauty  2-Jan. 

Four  Frightened  People  2-Jan. 

All  of  Me  2-Jan. 

Death  Takes  a  Holiday  (Strange  Holiday)  1-Feb. 

Good  Dame  .  1-Feb. 

Six  of  a  Kind  .  . .  1-Feb. 

Bolero  2-Feb. 

No  More  Women  2-Feb. 

Ccmc  On  Marines  2-Mar. 

She  Made  Her  Bed  2-Mar. 

Wharf  Angel  .  2-Mar. 


Radio 

Rafter  Romance  .  1-Aug. 

One  Man's  Journey  .  2-Sept. 

Midshipman  Jack  1-Oct. 

A  Chance  at  Heaven  2-Oct. 

Ann  Vickers  .  2-Oct. 

Ace  of  Aces  .  2-Oct. 

Aoqie  Appleby  .  2-Oct. 

Little  Women  2-Nov. 

After  Tonight  (Woman  Spy)  .  2-Oct. 

Right  to  Romance  .  .  1-Dec. 

If  I  Were  Free  2-Dec. 

Flying  Down  to  Rio . 1-Jan. 

Man  of  Two  Worlds  .  2-Jan. 

Meanest  Gal  in  Town  .  2-Jan. 

Son  of  Kong  .  2-Jan. 

Two  Alone  .  2-Jan. 

Hips  Hips  Hooray  .  1-Feb. 

Keep  ’Em  Rolling  .  2-Feb. 

Long  Lost  Father .  2-Feb. 

The  Lost  Patrol .  2-Feb. 


Sing  and  Like  It  .  1-Mar 

SP'tfire  1-Mar! 

Success  at  Any  Price  1-Mar. 

This  Man  Is  Mine  .  .  2-Mar". 


United  Artists 

The  Bowery  2-Oct. 

Broadway  Thru  Keyhole  . 1-Nov. 

Emperor  Jones .  1-Oct. 

Henry  the  Eighth  .  1-Oct! 

Blood  Money  .  1-Dec. 

Roman  Scandals  1-Dec. 

Advice  to  the  Lovelorn  .  2-Dec. 

Gallant  Lady  .  2-Dec. 

Moulin  Rouge  .  1-Jan. 

Nana  .  2-Jan. 

Palooka  1-Feb. 

Sorrell  and  Son  2-Feb! 

Looking  for  Trouble  .  2-Feb. 

Catherine  the  Great .  1-Mar. 

House  of  Rothschild  .  .  .  .  2-Mar. 


Universal 

Only  Yesterday  .  2-Nov. 

Myrt  and  Marge  .  1-Sept. 

Invisible  Man  .  2-Nov. 

King  for  a  Night  . 2-Nov. 

Counsellor  at  Law  .  1-Dec. 

Horse  Play  . 2-Dec. 

Beloved  .  1-Jan. 

By  Candlelight  .  1-Jan. 

Bombay  Mail  2-Jan. 

Madame  Spy  .  2-Jan. 

The  Poor  Rich  2-Jan. 

Cross  Country  Cruise  . 2-Jan. 

I  Like  It  That  Way  . 2-Jan. 

Wheels  of  Destiny  .  1-Feb. 

The  Crosby  Case  .  2-Feb. 

Love  Birds  .  2-Feb. 

Midnight  .  1-Mar. 

Gun  Justice  .  1-Mar. 

Countess  of  Monte  Cristo  2-Mar. 

Honor  of  the  West  .  2-Mar. 

Let’s  Be  Ritzy  .  2-Mar. 


First  Division 

(CHESTERFIELD) 


Dance,  Girl,  Dance  .  1-Nov. 

I  Have  Lived  1-Aug. 

A  Man  of  Sentiment  .  2-Nov. 

Rainbow  Over  Broadway  .  1-Dec. 

Notorious  But  Nice  .  2-Nov. 

Murder  On  the  Campus  .  2-Feb. 

Cross  Streets  1-Mar. 


Picture  Brides  .  2-Nov. 

One  Year  Later  2-Aug. 

Tarzan  the  Fearless  .  1-Sept. 

Eat  'Em  Alive  .  2-Dec. 

The  Road  to  Ruin  .  2-Dec. 

He  2-Jan. 

Throne  of  the  Gods  .  2-Jan. 

Under  Secret  Orders  .  1-Jan. 

Forgotten  Men  .  2-June 

Texas  Tornado  2-Mar. 


Gold  Medal 

Sing,  Sinner,  Sing  .  2-Aug. 

The  Big  Bluff  .  2-Oct. 

Important  Witness  .  2-Aug. 

Laughing  at  Life  .  2-Jun« 

Curtain  at  Eight  1-Dec. 

You  Made  Me  Love  You  .  1-Dec. 

The  Charming  Deceiver  .  1-Jan. 

Sin  of  Nora  Moran  .  1-Jan. 

Big  Time  or  Bust  . 2-Jan. 

Enlighten  Thy  Daughter  .  2-Jan. 

The  Morning  After  .  2-Feb. 


Masterpiece 

Her  Forgotten  Past  .  2-Nov. 

Riot  Squad  .  2-Aug. 

Secret  Sinners  1-Jan. 

Wine,  Women  and  Song  .  .  2-Jan. 

What's  Your  Racket? .  2-Feb. 

Dancing  Man  2-Mar. 


Marl5'34  pg.  45 


ALIFORNIA 

Here  We  Come!” 


THE  MOST  IMPORTANT  DATE  IN 
EXHIBITOR  HISTORY— APRIL  10fh-12'h 


Every  word  of  this  announcement 
is  of  vital  interest  to  the  showmen  of 
America.  On  April  10th  in  Los 
Angeles  an  unprecedented  oppor¬ 
tunity  offers  itself  to  theatre  owners. 
The  FOURTEENTH  ANNUAL 
CONVENTION  OF  M.P.T.O.A. 
organized  under  the  most  favorable 
circumstances  as  regards  economy 
and  combination  of  business  and 
pleasure,  promises  to  be  a  signifi¬ 
cant  event  in  the  history  of  motion 
pictures. 

ITS  PURPOSES 

With  greatly  reduced  fares,' and  low 
expenses  it  has  been  made  possible 
to  plan  a  real  business  convention, 
together  with  the  opportunity  of  a 
lifetime  to  go  behind  the  scenes, 
learn  how  talking  pictures  are  made, 
and  to  survey  coming  product. 

MAJOR  AIMS 

To  exchange  and  review  actual  experi¬ 
ence  with  the  functioning  of  the  NRA 
Code  for  the  Motion  Picture  Industry 

a.  The  local  Grievance  and  Zoning  Boards 

b.  The  trade  practice  provisions 

c.  The  labor  provisions 

d.  Discussion  of  how  the  Code  can  be 
improved. 

PRODUCER  MEETS  EXHIBITOR 

Here  is  a  real  opportunity  for  round  table 
discussions  between  the  people  who  make 
pictures  and  the  people  who  sell  them  to 
the  public,  exchange  of  views,  experiences 


and  opinions,  to  bring  about  a  better  ap¬ 
preciation  of  both  of  the  other  fellows 
troubles  and  problems. 

BEHIND  THE  SCENES 

This  is  the  first  exhibitor  convention  in 
Los  Angeles  since  talking  pictures  and 
therefore  it  is  the  first  opportunity  of 
theatre  owners  personally  to  see  and  ex¬ 
amine  the  actual  production  of  the  talking 
pictures  they  will  play  in  their  own  theatres 
the  coming  season.  Know  the  technical 
processes  used  in  manufacturing  the  prod¬ 
uct  you  sell  at  retail  to  your  patrons. 

CONVENTION  TOPICS 

a.  Improved  methods  in  theatre  opera¬ 
tion,  to  raise  the  standards  of  exhibi¬ 
tion,  theatre  management  and  theatre 
advertising. 

b.  Organized  efforts  to  increase  interest 
in  and  attendance  at  motion  picture 
theatres. 

1.  Cooperation  with  local  and  na¬ 
tional  public  groups  sincerely  inter¬ 
ested  in  motion  pictures. 

2.  In  competition  with  other  forms  of 
amusement,  such  as  radio,  dancing, 
carnivals,  amusement  parks,  etc. 

c.  Protection  through  organization 
against  unfair  and  discriminatory  taxes 
on  theatres  and  theatre  admissions, 
censorship,  drastic  regulatory  legisla¬ 
tion  and  ordinances. 

d.  Double  features — an  evil  or  a  blessing. 

e.  Efforts  to  restrain  cut-throat  competi¬ 
tion  between  theatres. 

f.  Modern  theatre  construction,  remodel¬ 
ing  and  equipment. 

g.  Labor  problems. 


h.  Public  relations  programs  for  the  local 
exhibitor. 

i.  Famous  speakers  will  address  the  con¬ 
vention  on  subjects  of  interest  to  ex¬ 
hibitors. 

THE  FACTS 

1.  Name  of  organization:  Motion  Picture 
Theatre  Owners  of  America  National 
Headquarters:  1600  Broadway,  New 
York,  N.  Y. 

2.  Affair:  14th  Annual  Convention. 

3.  Place  and  Date:  Los  Angeles,  April 
10th  to  12th,  1934. 

4.  Convention  at:  The  Ambassador  Hotel, 
Los  Angeles,  Cal. 

5.  Minimum  rates:  $5.00  single,  $7.00 
double. 

6.  For  hotel  reservations  communicate 
with  Ben  Berenstein,  Chairman,  Ar¬ 
rangements  Committee,  1914  South 
Vermont  Ave.,  Los  Angeles,  Cal. 

7.  Lowest  fares  ever  offered  due  to  special 
convention  rates.  For  railroad  infor 
mation  and  reservations  communicate 
with  M.  P.  T.  O.  A.  National  Head¬ 
quarters,  1600  Broadway,  New  York, 
N.  Y. 

8.  Convention  Specials  from  Chicago 
and  New  Orleans,  arriving  Monday, 
April  9th. 

9.  Arrange  for  return  trip  and  route  you 
want,  rail  or  boat. 

10. Convention  is  for  M.P.T.O.A.  mem¬ 
bers,  their  friends  and  guests. 

1 1  .Access  to  the  studios  is  assured  for  con¬ 
vention  delegates  and  their  guests. 

12. Forenoons  will  be  devoted  to  business 
sessions,  afternoons  to  trips  through 
the  studios  and  evenings  to  social  af¬ 
fairs,  banquet  and  entertainment. 


KEEP  THIS  PAGE  FOR  REFERENCE 


Marl5'34  b.c. 

YOU  WILL 


U16  PHAETON 


The  U16  PHAETON  is  equipped  with  a  soft  mattress 
seat  ...  12  auto  springs  .  .  .  soft  boxing  which  prevents 
cracking  at  the  corners  ...  2”  upholstered  back.  Its  parts 
are  steel,  units  interlocking  without  the  use  of  bolts,  nuts 
or  screws. 


The  Luxurious  FLOATING  COMFORT  of  U16  is  made 
possible  by  the  application  of  the  identical  “POSTURE 
ANGLE"  of  the  automobile  seat  to  the  fixed  chair. 
Designed  and  built  of  quality  material  by  the  Union  City 
Body  Company,  makers  of  fine  automobile  bodies  for  over 
a  quarter  of  a  century,  it  brings  the  easy  comfort  of  the 
auto  to  the  motion  picture  theatre. 


i 

I 

I 


RESEAT 

.  .  .  and  when  you  do  .  .  .  you  will  demand 
. .  .  the  acme  in  comfort .  .  .  low  initial  cost .  .  . 
ease  of  installation  .  .  .  minimum  maintenance 
. . .  enduring  quality  . . .  color  scheme  to  match 
your  decorations  at  no  extra  cost  ...  a  chair 
that  will  not  cause  distress  to  your  patrons  by 
ripped  clothing. 

SO  .  .you  will  naturally  select  U16  because 
for  the  First  time  in  history  you  can  have  all 
these  features  in  ONE  chair. 

The  complete  FLO ATING  COMFORT 

of  U16  is  unexcelled.  Designed  by  auto¬ 
mobile  body  engineers  on  the  principle  of 
unit  construction,  each  chair  is  an  individual 
unit  of  interchangeable  parts. 

you  SHOULD  SEE  THIS  CHAIR 
AND  BE  CONVINCED! 

It  is  on  permanent  exhibit  in  the  U16  Show¬ 
room  in  the  Paramount  Building,  New  York, 
...  or  at  any  of  the  company's  representatives 
in  the  key  cities. 


mmM, 


71 


FLOUTING  COMFORT 


4 


INTERNATIONAL  SEAT  CORPORATION 

a  subsidiary  Union  City  Body  Company 

PARAMOUNT  BUILDING  •  NEW  YORK.  N.  Y. 


./.  Georye  Feinberg,  Vice-President  in  charge  oj sates 


INTERNATIONAL  SEAT  CORPORATION 

a  subsidiary  Union  City  Body  Co. 

Paramount  Building  .  New  York,  N.  Y. 


\ _ i  Cl  IU'CIII'C.1  I.  ___ 

Please  send  me  complete  details  about  your  U16  PHAETON. 

I  am  interested  in  reseating  my  theatre  of . seats, 

located  in . . 

Name . . . 

Address . 


r*.  , 


VOL  16-No.  7 


PHILADELPHIA,  APRIL  1,  1934 


Price,  15  Cents 


11  1Q94  nt  fhd>.  rtnaf  ci'fFLs,0  nt  ’Ph-tlnArol/nhnra  Po 


MR.  CHARLES  ROSENZWEIG 

As  General  Sales  Manager  of 

FIRST  DIVISION  EXCHANGES,  Inc. 


HARRY  THOMAS  Month  of  May 


BY  THE  ENTIRE  ORGANIZATION  OF 


First  Division  Exchanges,  Inc. 


HARRY  H.THOMAS 

President 


Executive  Offices:  RKO  BUILDING,  RADIO  CITY,  N.  Y. 


Branches  in: 


NEW  YORK 

ALBANY 

BUFFALO 


CLEVELAND 

ATLANTA 

WASHINGTON 


DETROIT 

BOSTON 

PITTSBURGH 


CHARLOTTE 

PHILADELPHIA 

LOUISVILLE 


NEW  HAVEN 
CINCINNATI 
NEW  ORLEANS 


•  YOUR  LONG  EXPERIENCE 

•  YOUR  FINE  REPUTATION 


As  a  motion  picture  sales 
executive  is  known  the 
country  over.  We  wish  you 
success — selfishly — and  also  as 
a  reward  for  the  fine  record 
you  have  made  in  the  motion 
picture  industry. 

We  join  hands  with  you  and 
pledge  you  our  unstinting 
effort  in  making  a  success  of 
the  big  business  push  for  the 


FRAN 
BUCK’S 


NOW  UNDER  THE  BIG  TOP  AT 

RADIO  CITY  MUSIC  HALL 

AND  SOON  ALL  AMERICA  WILL 
BE  ONE  GIGANTIC  CIRCUS  TENT 


VAN  BEUREN  PRODUCTION 

DIRECTED  BY  ARMAND  DENIS 

RKO  RADIO  PICTURE 


Apr  1’34  pg.  3 


THE  EDITOR’S 


PAGE 


Vol.  16,  No.  7 


April  1,  1934 


A  Spirit  To  Capture 


The  Exhibitor 


THE  SPIRIT  of  the  good  old  days 
®  when  even  the  smallest  independent 
used  to  have  exploitation  shows  and  blast 
the  trade  with  gigantic  announcements  of 
their  possibilities  is  being  recaptured  by 
the  competition  between  some  of  the  major 
companies,  notably  Warners  and  United 
Artists. 


Circulating  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware.  Issued  on  the  1st  and  15th 
of  each  month  by  Jay  Emanuel  Publications,  Inc.  Publishing  office,  219  North  Broad  Street,  Philadelphia. 
Branches  at  1600  Broadway,  New  York  City;  Washington,  D.  C.  Jay  Emanuel,  publisher;  Paul  J. 
Greenhalgh,  advertising  manager;  Herbert  M.  Miller,  managing  editor.  Subscription  rates:  $2  for  one 
year,  $5  for  three  years.  Single  copies,  15c  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware. 
Publishers,  also,  of  THE  NATIONAL  EXHIBITOR  of  Washington  and  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  EXHIBITOR. 
Official  organ  of  the  Motion  Picture  Theatre  Owners  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and 
Delaware.  Address  all  communications  to  the  Philadelphia  office. 


There  is  no  need  here  to  review  the  recent 
histories  of  both  companies.  That  the  com¬ 
petition  has  benefited  both  outfits  is  certain. 

Each  company  refuses  to  let  one  show  go 
past  unnoticed.  No  matter  how  weak  or 
strong  the  picture  may  look  after  comple¬ 
tion,  huge  campaigns  lend  a  “socko”  tinge 
to  it,  bombasts  of  publicity,  advertising, 
etc.,  result  and  the  trade,  as  it  always  has 
in  the  past,  stands  almost  convinced  that 
each  show  has  big  possibilities,  that  each 
picture  can  not  be  shoved  aside  as  a  slough 
number. 

The  effect  on  the  industry  is  that  which 
should  be  sought  by  every  company.  Largely 
a  business  in  which  the  man  who  shouts  the 
loudest  always  seems  the  most  important, 
the  motion  picture  world  is  always  im¬ 
pressed  by  grosses,  by  the  manner  of 
selling,  by  the  enthusiasm  with  which  every 
new  production  is  born. 

Other  companies  have  caught  the  UA- 
Warners  idea  and  have  used  it  on  a  few 
pictures  to  good  success.  But  until  they 
stop  branding  some  shows  as  slough  pic¬ 
tures  and  get  behind  each  one,  no  matter 
how  weak  or  strong,  they  are  keeping  dol¬ 
lars  from  themselves  and  the  exhibitors’ 
box  offices. 


Why  Daylight  Saving? 

~  IT  WILL  BE  interesting,  this  year,  to 
note  whether  or  not  advocates  of  day¬ 
light  saving  use  the  added-leisure  angle  to 
help  renew  a  condition  which  has  proved  a 
thorn  in  the  side  of  theatremen. 

With  9,000,000  unemployed  and  3,000,000 
more  on  CWA  relief  rolls  and  many  others 
working  part  time,  it  can  hardly  be  said 
that  that  extra  hour  of  sunshine  is  neces¬ 
sary  to  help  offer  leisure  time  to  the  workers 
of  this  country.  The  trouble,  since  shorter 
hours  came  into  effect,  will  be  what  to  do 
with  added  leisure. 

But  this  industry,  which  usually  can 
never  get  itself  to  look  far  ahead,  will  prob¬ 
ably  allow  daylight  saving  advocates  to  be 
as  successful  this  year  as  in  the  past. 

Daylight  saving  is  not  the  necessity  it 
may  once  have  been.  But  because  of  the 
short-sightedness  of  the  motion  picture  in¬ 
dustry  and  others,  we  shall  probably  con¬ 
tinue  to  have  it. 


Dream  On,  Dream  On 


Tj'XHIBITORS,  generally,  will  not  be  shocked  by  reports 
^  that  exchanges  will  ask  higher  prices  this  year  than 
last.  Such  a  request  is  the  usual  one  in  this  business.  Regardless 
of  conditions,  the  distributor  thinks  he  should  get  more.  After 
the  usual  deadlock  between  buyer  and  seller,  the  exchange  can 
compromise  for  the  same  figure  as  in  the  present  season.  At  any 
rate,  it  stands  to  gain  everything,  lose  nothing. 

Once  again,  the  exhibitor  finds  himself  in  the  position  of  need¬ 
ing  definite  product,  of  being  unable  to  get  along  without  it.  Since 
the  major  companies  have  dwindled  to  eight,  with  few  independents 
filling  in  the  breach,  the  advantages  in  the  annual  selling  tussle 
rests  with  the  distributor.  He  knows  the  exhibitor  needs  pictures, 
practically  drives  his  own  deal  in  many  instances. 

Savings  in  production,  check  on  Hollywood  waste,  more 
efficiency  in  distribution — these  are  not  passed  on  to  the  exhibitor. 
The  distributor  demands  all  the  traffic  will  bear. 

Maybe  this  is  because  there  is  no  definite  unit  of  selling. 


The  position  of  the  exhibitor  is  depicted  in  the  editorial  car¬ 
toon  below  these  observations.  Each  theatreman  thinks  he  is  in 
the  best  position  to  drive  his  own  deals.  He  refuses  to  support  an 
organization,  which  through  buying  strength,  could  force  a  fair 
proposition  for  him.  Instead  of  financing  and  building  a  strong 
exhibitor  unit,  he  prefers  to  dream  on,  hoping  that  each  year  may 
bring  the  utopia  he  always  seeks. 

Dreaming  may  be  pleasant,  but  perhaps  one  of  these  fine  days 
he  may  find  himself  without  even  a  bed  in  which  to  imagine  pretty 
pictures.  And  when  that  day  comes,  he  will  have  no  one  to  blame 
but  himself. 


Pleasant  Dreams — but  he’ll  need  an  Aspirin  when  he  wakes. 


4 


Apr  1 1 34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Deletions  of  Pennsylvania  Censor 

Body  Include  Interesting  Slashes 


Excerpts  from  Elimination  Lists  Presented  for  First  Time 
— “Liverwurst”  Falls  Beneath  Clippers’  Eye — Others 
Offer  Some  Odd  Angles 

Once  again  the  Pennsylvania  State  Board  of  Censors  has  gone  afar  for  material 
to  delete  from  current  pictures.  _ 


This  time,  “Liverwurst”  has  been  barred  by 
the  board. 

In  the  “Expectant  Father,”  an  Educational 
short,  references  to  “liverwurst”  are  ordered 
eliminated  by  the  board  in  several  instances. 
“Hassenpfeffer”  is  also  under  the  ban,  accord¬ 
ing  to  the  eliminations  in  the  picture. 

To  be  explicit,  THE  EXHIBITOR  now 
presents  some  recent  eliminations  ordered  by  the 
PENNSYLVANIA  board.  As  far  as  is  known, 
this  is  the  first  time  that  such  information  has 
ever  been  published  in  the  columns  of  any  trade 
journal.  THE  EXHIBITOR  felt  that  such 
information  was  necessary  for  the  guidance  of 
its  readers. 

ADVENTURES  OF  THE  NEWSREEL  CAMERAMAN — 
OUTDOING  THE  DAREDEVILS — Eliminate  all  views  of 
steer  and  lion  in  arena. 

JOURNAL  OF  A  CRIME — Eliminate  side  view  of 
piece  of  scenery  where  the  nude  figures  are  discernible. 

LOVE  ON  A  LADDER — Eliminate  capitalized  words 
in  “I  THINK  WE’LL  PLAY  BRIDGE.  Goodbye.”  Elim¬ 
inate  speech  by  woman:  “Not  bridge.” 

TORCH  TANGO — Eliminate  closeup  view  of  tear  gas 
bomb  in  box.  Eliminate  dialogue:  "It’s  a  tear  gas  bomb. 
When  that  explodes,  there  won’t  be  a  dry  eye  in  the 
house.” 

CHEATERS — Eliminate  capitalized  words  where  they 
appear.  K.  C. — “Aw,  cool  off,  will  you  Babe!  Maybe  her 
sister  did  have  a  kid.  SOMEBODY’S  GOTTA  HAVE 
’EM!”  Steve:  “Suppose  you  did  prefer  the  straight  and 
narrow  .  .  .  YOU’VE  FOUND  THAT  THERE  AREN’T 
ENOUGH  JOBS  IN  THE  WORLD  FOR  HONEST  PEOPLE 
.  .  .  MUCH  LESS  FOR  JAILBIRDS.  HAVEN’T  YOU?” 
Steve:  “Hello,  K.  C.  We’re  all  set!  Yeah  .  .  .  with 
A  CONVENT  FRONT  AND  a  big  house  background.” 
Steve:  “K.  C.  is  our  uncle,  Mabel’s  cur  aunt  AND  YOU 
CAME  OUT  OF  A  CONVENT.” 

JIMMY  THE  GENT — Eliminate  capitalized  words 
where  they  appear.  Louie:  “SHE  FITS  POIFECT.” 
Louise:  “And  she’s  got  a  little  mole  ON  HER  LEFT 
HIP.”  Driver:  “Yeah.  Some  bum  decided  to  kick 
himself  off  and  put  CYANIDE  in  his  cheese  sandwich.” 
Eliminate  all  sounds  of  stomach  growling  by  Corri¬ 
gan  and  his  reaction  to  same.  Eliminate  speech  from 
Mabel:  “WHAT  DO  YOU  MEAN?”  Barton:  “There’s 
your  bride,  Louis — BLUSH  AND  EVERYTHING.” 

THE  EXPECTANT  FATHER — Eliminate  following 
speeches:  “By  Jim — “Oh,  Delia,  I  can’t  stand  it.  Such 
robust  food.  Delia,  do  you  know  what  I  have  a  longing 
for?”  By  Delia:  “No,  sir.”  By  Jim:  “Liverwurst.” 
By  Delia:  “Liverwurst?”  By  Jim:  “I  have  such  a  long¬ 
ing — I  could  eat  five  pounds  of  liverwurst.”  “By  Jim: 


Hays  Reelected 


At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Motion 
Picture  Producers  and  Distributors  of 
America,  Will  H.  Hays  was  again 
elected  president.  Other  officers  re¬ 
elected  included  Carl  E.  Milliken,  sec¬ 
retary,  and  Frederick  L.  Herron,  treas¬ 
urer. 

Following  members  of  the  board  of 
directors  were  elected:  M.  H.  Ayles- 
worth,  Robert  H.  Cochrane,  Jack  Cohn, 
Cecil  B.  deMille,  Earle  W.  Hammons, 
Will  H.  Hays,  F.  L.  Herron,  B.  B. 
Kahane,  Sidney  R.  Kent,  Jesse  L.  Lasky, 
Sol  Lesser,  Hal  E.  Roach,  David  Sarnoff, 
Joseph  M.  Schenck,  Nicholas  M.  Schenk, 
Albert  H.  Warner,  Harry  M.  Warner, 
and  Adolph  Zukor. 


Zoning  Board  Forces 
Dropping  of  Trick  Scales 

Houses  Raise  Balcony  Prices, 
Cut  Bargain  Admissions 


A  lot  of  theatres  in  the  territory  which 
have  been  resorting  to  early  bird  matinees, 
lower  balcony  admissions  and  a  staggered 
scale  of  prices  which  saw  the  low  almost 
at  bottom  are  gradually  reverting  to  a 
higher  admission,  a  survey  by  The  Ex¬ 
hibitor  indicates. 

This  has  been  taken  to  indicate  that  a  lot  of 
the  houses  are  afraid  that  functioning  of  the 
local  zoning  and  grievance  boards  will  affect 
their  run  if  they  persist  in  the  lower  admis¬ 
sions. 

During  the  past  few  weeks,  many  local  houses 
tilted  their  balcony  admissions  five  cents  or 
more,  others  cut  out  early  birds  and  other  price 
slashes.  This  means  that  houses,  in  case  of 
zoning  disputes,  want  to  come  before  the  com¬ 
mittees  with  clean  hands. 

There  is  no  doubt  but  that  there  has  been  an 
overdose  of  bargain  prices.  With  the  local 
committees  at  work,  a  stop  to  this  practice  is 
expected  to  be  permanent. 

Several  Stanley-Warner  theatres,  including 
the  Liberty  and  Leader,  have  raised  prices  in 
the  balcony  from  15-20  cents.  The  circuit’s 
records  indicate  that  buying  power  of  the  people 
has  increased  a  bit,  so  the  return  to  the  normal 
figure  was  encouraged. 


“I  just  couldn’t  sleep  a  wink  all  night.  Oh,  but  I’ll 
come  through.  Now,  you  don’t  have  to  worry.  I’ll  be 
all  right.  I’m  really  going  to  be  brave.”  Eliminate 
speech  by  driver:  “You’ve  got  him  upside  down.” 
Nurse:  “i’m  sorry,  Mr.  Smith,  our  error.  I’m  afraid 
you’ll  have  to  suffer  some  more.”  Man:  “0,  that’s 
nothing.  With  my  first  I  waited  from  Saturday  morning 
until  Tuesday  night.  I  lost  four  pounds  and  a  half.” 
Williams:  “Why  not?  If  you  can  have  one,  I  suppose  I 
can.”  By  Jim:  “Well,  they  do  say  you  forget  it  as  soon 
as  it’s  over.”  By  Williams:  “I  don’t  believe  it.  I 
know  I’ll  never  forget  some  of  the  longings  I’ve  had  for 
the  last  few  months.”  By  Jim:  “Longings!  Say,  two 
weeks  ago  I  had  the  most  insidious  longing  for  old- 
fashioned  hassenpfeffer.”  By  Williams:  “Hassenpfeffer? 
What’s  that?  An  exercise?”  By  Jim:  “No.  No.  You 
eat  it.  Well,  that  left  me.  I  wouldn’t  eat  a  plate 
of  hassenpfeffer  if  it  was  covered  with  whipped  cream. 
Lately,  all  of  a  sudden  I’m  intrigued  with  a  new  long¬ 
ing  for  liverwurst.  Has  it  bothered  you  that  way?” 
By  WilPams:  “I  can’t  say  that  it  has.  But  I  have 
other  longings,  just  as  definite,  but  different.”  By  Jim: 
“Interesting,  tell  me  about  them.”  By  Williams:  “Well 
up  to  the  last  few  weeks  I  wanted  to  be  sliding  down 
banisters.”  By  Jim:  “How  interesting.”  By  Williams: 
“But  I  live  in  an  apartment  building  with  all  modern 
elevators.  Now,  I  have  a  new  longing.  I  want  to  spend 
all  my  time  on  a  ferris  wheel.” 

GOOFYTONE  NEWSREEL — Eliminate  capitalized 
words — Man:  “Well,  I  don’t  know  what  about.  HOLD¬ 
ING  THE  RECORD  ONLY  MAKES  YOU  WO’RK  HARDER 
TO  KEEP  IT.” 

AMONG  THE  NORDIC'S — Eliminate  capitalized  words 
— Voice  off  scene— “Reaching  the  station  at  the 


Employees  Union  Active 

Local  employees  union  went  to  the  mat 
at  the  Earle  Theatre  recently  in  con¬ 
nection  with  the  discharge  of  Nathan 
Snyder,  ticket  taker.  Union,  claims 
union  activities  caused  his  dismissal. 
Conferences  between  Joe  Feldman, 
Earle,  and  John  Slavin,  union  head, 
came  to  naught. 

Complaint  is  being  made  to  NRA  Re¬ 
gional  Labor  Board.  In  the  event  that 
the  body  doesn’t  act,  union  claims  it  will 
call  for  a  strike  at  the  Earle.  It  claims 
a  majority  of  the  Earle  employees  as 
members. 

Complaint  to  Warner  Brothers  execu¬ 
tives  is  believed  to  have  been  respon¬ 
sible  for  the  re-employment  of  several 
Stanley-Warner  workers  who  were  re¬ 
cently  discharged.  Conferences  resulted 
in  the  members  going  back  to  their 
places. 


Employees  Union  Lists 
Demands  for  Its  Members 

Local  19190  Asks  Closed  Shop, 

Overtime,  No  Staff  Meetings 

Theatre  Ushers,  Doormen,  Cashiers 
Union,  Local  19190,  through  vote,  has 
decided  upon  the  following  demands  to 
be  met  by  theatres  hiring  any  of  its 
members. 

They  are : 

1.  Recognition  of  the  union  as  the  represent¬ 
ative  of  the  members  enrolled  in  its  organ¬ 
ization  in  all  matters  fertaining  to  their 
wages,  hours,  working  conditions. 

2.  Closed  shop. 

3.  Abolition  of  the  stagger  system. 

4.  Time  and  a  half  for  overtime. 

5.  Time  and  a  half  for  part-time  workers. 

6.  Elimination  of  theatre  staff  meetings. 

WAGE  and  HOUR  SCALE — Assistant  to 

the  manager  (chief  of  service  and  utilitarian) 
65  cents  an  hour,  based  on  a  48-hour  week ; 
chief  of  service  (not  assistant  to  the  manager) 
and  maintenance  (duties  of  general  character) 
70  cents  an  hour,  based  on  a  40-hour  week ; 
assistant  chief  of  service,  doormen,  ticket  tak¬ 
ers,  janitors,  watchmen,  60  cents  an  hour,  based 
on  a  40-hour  week;  ushers,  cashiers,  janitresses, 
matrons,  50  cents  an  hour,  based  on  40-hour 
week. 

The  union  will  incorporate  these  demands  in 
the  contract  to  be  offered  all  employers  of  union 
members. 


top  of  the  mountain  we  went  for  a  walk  and  the  first 
people  to  greet  us  were  three  cld  maids,  who  had  just, 
returned  from  taking  a  trip  into  the  woods  HI  T  J l ' I - 
TNG  FROM  THE  DISAPPOINTED  LOOKS  ON  THEIR 
FACES,  THE  TRAMP  MUST  HAVE  ESCAPED.” 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Apr  1 ' 34 


5 


Boycott  Against  Immoral  Movies 

May  Prove  Serious  Factor  Here 


Holy  Name  Union  of  Catholic  Diocese  Considers  Action 
— Sentiment  Re-echoed  Throughout  State — Block  Book¬ 
ing  Attacked 

A  boycott  of  films  considered  immoral  by  the  Holy  Name  Union  of  the  Catholic 
Archdiocese  of  Philadelphia  will  probably  prove  to  be  a  serious  factor  with  which  to 
be  reckoned,  interviews  secured  by  The  Exhibitor  with  leading  film  men  reveal. 


Schwartz  Speaks 

A  publicity  release  from  the  Motion 
Picture  Producers  and  Distributors  of 
America,  Inc.,  New  York  City,  says: 

Samuel  D.  Schwartz,  chairman  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Board  of  Censors,  has  been 
appointed  by  Dr.  Marvin  Nathans,  Dean 
of  the  High  School  Evening  Extension 
High  School,  to  give  a  series  of  lectures, 
on  present  day  talkies  at  the  Fitzsim¬ 
mons  Junior  High  School,  in  Philadel¬ 
phia. 

Civil  Liberties  Union 
Requests  Data  on  Slashes 

Seeks  Weekly  Reports  of  Dele¬ 
tions,  Reasons 

Pennsylvania  Civil  Liberties  Commit¬ 
tee  has  sent  an  open  letter  to  the  Penn¬ 
sylvania  State  Board  of  Censors  request¬ 
ing  a  detailed  report  of  all  films  censored, 
and  with  a  complete  contextual  matter  of 
the  deletions,  and  the  reasons  for  such 
eliminations. 

Such  action  by  the  committee,  which  includes 
on  its  membership  lists  many  of  the  most  intelli¬ 
gent  leaders  in  various  branches  of  civic,  private 
and  professional  life,  brings  to  the  open  a,  plea 
which  exhibitors  have  been  voicing  for  many 
years. 

The  censor  board,  regardless  of  requests,  has 
always  disregarded  such  demands,  and  it  will 
be  interesting  to  see  what  the  developments  will 
be  in  this  case  In  most  other  states  eliminations 
are  public  property  and  exhibitors  find  the  elim¬ 
inations  are  considerably  less  than  in  Pennsyl¬ 
vania. 

The  letter  follows : 

March  20,  1934. 

OPEN  LETTER  TO 

Mr.  Samuel  1).  Schwartz,  Chairman, 

Pennsylvania  State  Board  ol  Censors, 

Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania. 

Dear  Mr.  Schwartz: 

The  subject  of  bureaucratic  censorship  of  motion  pic¬ 
tures  has  long'  been  of  great  concern  to  this  Committee 
and  to  all  people  of  liberal  opinion  in  this  Common¬ 
wealth. 

Repeated  attempts  have  been  made  to  obtain  a  list 
of  motion  picture  reviewed  each  week  and  to  secure  data 
regarding  the  deletions  ordered  by  your  Board.  Our 
Committee  has  gathered  the  impression  that  reprisals 
in  the  form  of  unusually  severe  censoring  might  be  the 
result  from  any  disclosures  of  such  information  from 
the  picture  producers. 

The  public,  however,  in  whose  interest  the  censor 
board  was  ostensibly  created,  has  been  unable  to  voice 
any  intelligent  praise  or  criticism,  or,  in  fact,  to  make 
any  appraisal  whatsoever  of  the  value  of  this  “protec¬ 
tion”  of  their  interest. 

Since  the  passage  of  the  Censorship  Act  in  1914,  the 
Pennsylvania  Board  of  Censors  have  been  working  behind 
closed  doors  in  violation  of  the  spirit  of  democratic  govern¬ 
ment,  and  in  abuse  of  the  civil  rights  of  the  interested 
public.  We,  therefore,  call  upon  your  Board  to  make 
a  weekly  detailed  report  of  all  films  censored,  with  the 
complete  contextual  matter  of  the  deletions,  and  the 
reasons  for  such  eliminations. 


Exhibitors  Hail  New 
S-W  Booking  Practice 

Exhibitors,  generally,  have  placed  their 
stamp  of  approval  on  the  new  booking 
practice  recently  instituted  by  Stanley- 
Warner. 

Under  the  newer  system,  shows  receiving  first 
run  are  immediately  dated  in  all  over  the  cir¬ 
cuit  allowing  the  exchange  to  give  independents 
their  availabilities  as  well.  Previously,  the  sys¬ 
tem  has  been  to  wait  for  many  shows  to  col¬ 
lect  and  then  allot  time  to  them,  holding  up 
the  subsequents,  the  exchanges  and  the  indes. 
Now,  with  a  faster  booking  service  arranged  by 
Stanley-Warnerites  Schlesinger,  DavidofF,  Her- 
chenrider,  Capner,  etc.,  the  exchange  knows 
where  it  stands  on  the  show  and  immediately 
can  tell  when  the  inde  accounts  get  the  picture. 

That  this  is  a  new  evidence  of  S-W  co¬ 
operation  is  certain.  The  new  policy  benefits 
everyone  concerned  and  probably  will  be  fol¬ 
lowed  permanently. 


Such  publication  is  necessary  in  order  that  proper 
action  may  be  taken,  with  appropriate  consideration 
of  what  is  actually  being1  done  to  motion  pictures,  and 
in  the  light  of  all  the  facts. 

An  early  reply  is  requested  informing  us  if,  and  when, 
we  may  expect  this  information. 

Very  truly  yours, 

J.  V.  STANGER, 
Executive  Secretary. 


Boards  Still  Held  Up 

With  another  indefinite  delay  in  sight 
at  this  writing  (March  29),  official 
selections  of  the  Philadelphia  zoning  and 
grievance  boards  have  not  yet  been  an¬ 
nounced. 

Unofficially,  however,  it  was  expected 
that  the  grievance  board  would  find  M. 
E.  Comerford,  Lewen  Pizor,  Michael 
Landow,  Frank  McNamee  as  its  mem¬ 
bers.  Setup  of  the  zoning  board  has 
been  reported  unofficially,  but  since 
some  of  the  members  have  been  changed 
from  week  to  week,  during  the  constant 
bickering,  publication  of  these  names 
will  await  official  declaration. 

It  is  virtually  assured  that  the  boards 
will  be  functioning  here  by  the  middle 
of  April.  Philadelphia  and  New  York 
are  the  last  two  to  be  okayed  by  the 
code  committee  appointed  for  that  pur¬ 
pose.  Colonel  Harry  B.  Salter,  Trenton, 
is  expected  to  be  the  impartial  represent¬ 
ative  on  the  grievance  board. 


First  trade  paper  in  the  industry  to  bring 
to  the  fore  the  campaign  of  the  Church  against 
such  films,  The  Exhibitor  now  feels  that 
working  of  such  a  boycott  would  have  a  direct 
effect  on  every  box  office  in  the  territory. 

In  Philadelphia  area  alone,  70,000  members  of 
the  Holy  Name  Societies  would  be  affected,  a 
survey  shows. 

The  subject  was  recently  discussed  at  a  meet¬ 
ing  of  Catholic  leaders,  and  the  sentiment  here 
is  being  re-echoed  through  the  state. 

Monsignor  Hugh  L.  Lamb,  chancellor  of  the 
archdiocese  and  spiritual  director  of  the  Union, 
described  "the  filthiness  which  is  disseminated 
in  most  current  films." 

“All  of  the  work  of  our  Catholic  schools 
and  priests  can  be,  and  often  is,  undone  in  an 
hour  by  one  picture  seen  by  children,”  he  said, 
addressing  the  twenty-fifth  anniversary  meet¬ 
ing  of  delegates  from  societies  throughout  the 
city. 

“The  hierarchy  of  America,  and  through  it, 
one  out  of  three  of  the  citizens  in  our  larger 
metropolitan  centers,  are  mobilized  for  action, 
which  means,  apparently,  a  boycott  as  the  only 
immediate  remedy.” 

Edward  J.  Galhally,  editor  of  the  American 
Ecclesiastical  Review  Catholic  publication  for 
priests,  attacked  the  “block  booking’’  system, 
which,  he  said,  takes  from  theatre  owners  the 
privilege  of  selecting  films.  He  called  attention 
to  recent  sermons  preached  in  Catholic  churches 
and  to  Protestant  church  organizations  for 
movie  reforms. 

“The  Archbishop  of  Cincinnnati  has  declared 
that  a  moral  wrong  is  committed  by  Catholics 
who  attend  immoral  movies,”  he  pointed  out. 
"As  members  of  the  Holy  Name  Society  we 
are  just  as  concerned  about  obscenity  on  the 
screen  as  we  are  and  have  been  about  obscenity 
of  speech.” 

Exhibitors  find  no  fault  with  any  campaign 
against  obscene  movies  but  theirs  is  a  difficult 
position,  inasmuch  as  under  present  buying 
conditions  they  are  compelled  to  play  everything 
they  buy,  with  little  cancellation  privileges 
given  them,  especially  in  this  department. 

In  Hershey 

“Parish  Notes,7  published  by  St.  Joan  of 
Arc  Church,  Hershey,  where  the  Hershey  Com¬ 
munity  Theatre  is  located,  contained  comment 
by  Father  Park  pertaining  to  cleaner  moving 
pictures,  which  prompted  publication  of  an  edi¬ 
torial  on  the  subject  in  The  Evening  Ncivs, 
Harrisburg  daily  newspaper. 

“Every  advocate  of  decency  in  moving  pic¬ 
tures  rejoices  in  the  recent  comment  in  Father 
Park’s  Parish  No'tes,”  the  editorial  states  in 
part.  “He  fortifies  his  own  appeal  for  cleanli¬ 
ness  on  the  silver  screen  with  a  brief  recital 
of  the  movement  under  way  in  his  church 
nationally  to  fumigate  the  movies.” 


a  ttonded  Guar¬ 


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Apr  1 T 3 4  pg.  6 

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THE  EXHIBITOR  Apr  1’34  7 


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CODE 

Code  Manual  Clear 
and  Definite 

Code  Authority  manual,  on  operations  of 
grievance  and  clearance  boards  as  presented 
by  John  C.  Flinn,  executive  secretary  of  the 
Code  Authority,  is  clear  and  definite,  enabling 
the  industry  to  properly  follow  the  instruc¬ 
tions  when  submitting  their  complaints  and  the 
procedure  thereof. 

Code  Changes 
In  Prospect 

Division  Administrator  Rosenblatt  is  con¬ 
vinced  that  certain  provisions  of  the  Code  must 
be  changed,  and  it  is  assumed  that  the  official 
government  observers  will  be  useful  in  prepar- 
ing  radical  changes  of  the  Code  when  it  is 
re-opened. 

Manuals,  Elections 
Next  Code  Matters 

With  manuals  on  operation  of  code  local 
boards  already  in  the  hands  of  the  various 
bodies,  election  of  secretaries  follows.  Secre¬ 
taries  will  be  paid.  Meanwhile,  exhibitors  kept 
watchful  eyes  on  how  many  Film  Board  secre¬ 
taries  might  be  local  board  secretaries. 

Union  Plans  to 
Include  All  Help 

According  to  reports  from  New  York,  at¬ 
tempts  will  be  made  to  unionize  all  theatre  help. 
Previously,  ushers  were  included,  but  the  move 
to  take  in  all  departments  is  linked  with  national 
expansion. 

EXHIBITION 

M.  P.  T.  O.  A.  Convention 
Plans  Tentatively  Set 

A  skeleton  program  for  the  Annual  Conven¬ 
tion  of  the  MPTOA  in  Los  Angeles  has  been 
arranged  by  the  Convention  Committee.  The 
entertainment  features  of  the  program  are  in 
charge  of  a  committee  headed  by  B.  N.  Bern¬ 
stein  of  Los  Angeles.  The  general  plan  is  to 
hold  business  sessions  in  the  forenoon  and  trips 
throughout  the  studios  in  the  afternoon,  and  the 
social  affairs  and  entertainment  in  the  evening. 

The  convention  banquet  is  planned  for  Thurs¬ 
day  evemng  at  the  Ambassador  Hotel  with  na¬ 
tionally  famous  speakers  and  entertainers. 

Many  exhibitors  will  no  doubt  stay  over  to  see 
more  of  the  city  and  make  side  trips  to  Caliente, 
San  Diego,  Catalina,  Tia  Juana,  Grand  Can¬ 
yon,  etc.,  following  the  convention. 

Because  of  the  proximity  of  the  convention 
to  the  centre  of  motion  picture  production,  the 
social  and  entertainment  features  that  are  being 
planned  far  surpass  anything  formerly  attempted 
at  similar  conventions. 


Catholic  Campaign 
Has  Box  Office  Effect 

Certain  to  have  an  effect  on  box  offices  is 
the  campaign  of  Catholic  laymen  against  salac¬ 
ious  pictures.  Committee  to  recommend  clean 
pictures,  denounce  those  offending  have  been 
organized,  with  priests  speaking  from  pulpits 
on  the  topic. 

Samuelson  Selects 
Allied  Vice  Prexies 

Sidney  Samuelson,  president,  Allied  States 
Association,  has  selected  several  regional  Allied 
vice-presidents  in  Walter  B.  Littlefield,  Boston, 
Mass.,  for  eastern  region;  Ray  Branch,  Hast¬ 
ings,  Mich.,  for  midwestern  region;  Harry  A. 
Cole,  Dallas,  Texas,  for  southern  region;  Aaron 
Saperstein,  Chicago,  Ill.,  for  central  region.  A 
meeting  of  Allied  chieftains  is  planned  this 
month.  Two  more  vice-presidents  are  to  be 
added. 

M.  P.  T.  O.  A.  Plan. 

Coast  Conference. 

The  M.  P.  T.  O.  A.  convention  at  Los 
Angeles,  April  10-12,  expects  to  see  round  table 
conferences  on  production  between  producers 
and  exhibitors.  M.  P.  T.  O.  A.  leaders  think 
that  this  will  help  the  situation. 

England  to  Get 
Its  Own  Roxy 

Roxy  now  takes  his  wares  across  the  sea. 
From  London  comes  reports  of  a  new  6,000 
seater,  along  the  lines  of  his  American  proposi¬ 
tions.  Londoners  await  the  house  with  interest. 


DISTRIBUTION 

Block  Booking 
Agitation  Everywhere 

Fights  against  block  booking  are  beginning 
in  all  parts  of  the  coutry.  What  is  seen  as  a 
new  line  of  attack  is  indicated  in  the  assertion 
that  it  is  not  the  individual’s  fault  that  salac¬ 
ious  pictures  are  current  but  rather  because 
the  theatreman  must  play  everything  he  buys, 
with  little  cancellation  privileges. 

Fox  Reports 
A  Nice  Profit 

Fox  shows  a  39-week  profit  of  $1,410,793 
after  all  charges.  This  is  contrasted  with  a  net 
loss  of  $7,595,100  for  a  40-week  period,  and 
another  loss  of  $557,122  for  a  quarter  following. 
The  profit  was  attributed  to  new  spirit,  and 
more  to  new  financial  structure. 


“Fox  Follies”  Now 
“Stand  Up  and  Cheer” 

After  exclusive  use  of  word  “Follies”  had 
been  given  to  Fox,  company  changes  the  name 
of  “Fox  Follies”  to  “Stand  Up  and  Cheer.” 
Meanwhile,  Warners’  “Fashions”  was  continued 
by  some  exhibitors  to  be  advertised  as  “Fashion 
Follies  of  1934.” 


PRODUCTION 

No  Dillin^er  Film 
From  Any  Major  Studio 

Will  H.  Hays,  president,  Motion  Picture 
Producers  and  Distributors  of  America,  Inc., 
announces  that  no  motion  picture  based  on  the 
life  or  exploits  of  John  Dillinger  will  be  pro¬ 
duced,  distributed  or  exhibited  by  any  company 
member.  This  embraces  all  the  major  com¬ 
panies  in  the  motion  picture  industry. 

This  decision,  Hays  stated,  is  based  on  the 
belief  that  such  a  picture  would  be  detrimental 
to  the  best  public  interest.  Action  supporting 
this  decision  was  taken  by  the  board  of  directors 
of  the  Motion  Picture  Producers  and  Distribu¬ 
tors  of  America,  Inc. 

Industry  Views  Academy 
Selection,  with  Interest 

Industry  has  viewed  the  selections  of  the 
Academy  of  Motion  Picture  Arts  and  Sciences 
with  a  great  deal  of  interest.  Acting  honors 
went  to  Katherine  Hepburn,  May  Robson, 
Charlie  Laughton,  Paul  Muni.  Picture  honors 
were  awarded  to  “Calvacade,”  “Farewell  to 
Arms.”  Short  honors  were  given  to  “Three 
Little  Pigs,”  “So  This  is  Harris.”  Other  hon¬ 
ors  went  to  Frank  Lloyd,  Charles  Lang,  Robert 
Lord,  Sara  Y.  Mason  and  Victor  Heerman, 
ERPI  and  RCA  Photophone. 

Mascot  Enters 
Feature  Field 

Mascot,  which  has  been  making  a  name  for 
itself  in  the  serial  field,  invades  the  feature 
realm,  with  a  group  of  20.  These  will  include 
four  exploitation  specials  to  be  released  one 
every  three  months,  starting  June  1,  8  westerns 
and  8  action  melodramas.  One  of  the  serials 
will  have  a  feature  version. 

No  Cut  in  ’34-’35 
Production  Apparent 

There  will  be  no  cut  in  production  next  sea¬ 
son  if  current  reports  may  be  credited.  Warners 
and  Metro  will  both  produce  about  the  same. 
Monogram  is  cutting  down  to  20.  No  company 
intends  to  make  less  than  in  this  season’s  quota. 


Apr  1'34  pg.  8 


IN  CHARGE  OF  PRODUCTION 


THE  AVENGER  Ralph  Forbes  and  Adrienne  Ames  in  an  Edwin  Marin  production  of 
the  famous  novel  by  John  Goodwin.  Dialog  by  Tristram  Tupper.  Directed  by  Edward  L.  Marin. 


Apr  1'34  pg.  9 


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BACKED  BY  SOLID  SHOWMANSHIP  EXPLOITATION 


10 


Apr  1 T  34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Review  Board  Reopens 
Movie  Industry  Code 

Darrow-Headed  Body  Asks  Sales 
Managers  to  Testify 


In  a  surprise  move,  the  National  Re¬ 
covery  Review  Board,  headed  by  Clarence 
Darrow,  held  a  hearing  on  the  motion 
picture  industry  code  this  week  and 
reopened  the  issue. 

The  hearing  was  to  be  followed  by  one  at 
which  company  sales  managers  were  to  be 
heard. 

Charges  that  it  promoted  discrimination 
against  “independent”  exhibitors  and  fostered 
monopoly  were  made  against  the  code  before 
the  National  Recovery  Review  Board,  which 
has  been  set  up  to  review  alleged  unfairness  to 
the  “little  fellow”  under  NRA  codes. 

Representatives  of  the  Allied  States  Asso¬ 
ciation  of  Motion  Picture  Exhibitors  charged 
that  the  code  spelt  extinction  to  exhibitors 
who  operated  their  theatres  independently  of 
the  producers. 

Abram  Myers,  counsel  for  the  association, 
under  questioning  by  Lowell  Mason,  counsel  for 
the  board,  said  that  the  independent  producers 
were  ignored  in  the  drafting  and  presentation 
of  the  code.  He  asserts  that  Sol  Rosenblatt, 
NRA  division  administrator  in  charge  of 
amusement  industries,  through  his  former  con¬ 
nection  with  Nathan  Burkan,  was  an  ex¬ 
counsel  for  many  of  the  large  producing  com¬ 
panies. 

Rosenblatt  refused  to  testify  when  Mason 
would  not  allow  him  to  make  a  statement  first. 
He  said  he  would  have  to  confer  with  General 
Johnson  before  he  submitted  to  questioning. 

No  members  of  the  movie  code  authority 
appeared,  although  what  Darrow  referred  to 
as  a  “subpoena”  had  been  issued  for  them. 
Darrow  said  that  in  spite  of  the  legal  method 
of  conducting  hearings  adopted  by  the  board, 
it  had  no  judicial  power. 

“I  will,  however,  report  to  the  President 
those  people  who  do  not  appear  to  defend  them¬ 
selves  in  answer  to  our  summons,”  he  said. 

The  hearing  was  adjourned  after  the  testi¬ 
mony  of  Russell  Hardy,  special  assistant  in 
the  Department  of  Justice,  although  a  protest 
was  made  that  the  date  conflicted  with  a  meet¬ 
ing  of  the  Code  Authority  in  New  York. 


Rosenzweig  With  FD 

Charles  Rosenzweig,  formerly  associated  with 
RKO,  announces  his  affiliation  with  First  Divi¬ 
sion  Exchanges.  He  will  take  up  his  duties  as 
general  sales  manager,  in  the  executive  offices 
of  the  organization,  April  2. 

Rosenzweig  acted  in  the  capacity  of  vice-presi¬ 
dent  and  general  sales  manager  during  his  asso¬ 
ciation  with  RKO.  More  recently  he  was  gen¬ 
eral  sales  manager  of  Columbia  Pictures. 

Harry  H.  Thomas,  president  of  First  Division 
announces  that  this  is  one  of  the  first  moves 
in  the  further  development  of  the  activities  of 
the  company.  A1  Friedlander  has  been  elevated 
to  the  position  of  assistant  to  Thomas. 


Harrisburg  Organ  Back 

Pipe  organ  music,  missing  from  Harrisburg 
theatres  since  the  advent  of  sound,  is  to  be 
revived  at  the  Victoria,  Harrisburg,  according 
to  Manager  Jack  O’Rear. 

Upon  receipt  of  instructions  from  the  New 
York  office  of  Wilmer  and  Vincent,  owners, 
Victoria,  Manager  O’Rear  engaged  an  organ 
specialist  to  put  the  idle  Victoria  pipe  organ 
in  playing  shape. 


A  point  of  interest  in  regard  to  the  10% 
cancellation  clause  came  to  light  recently  when 
P.  S.  Harrison,  in  his  reports,  revealed  that 
Sol  A.  Rosenblatt,  Deputy  Administrator,  had 
ruled  that  an  exhibitor  who  buys  United 
Artists  on  one  worksheet,  even  though  with 
individual  contracts,  is  entitled  to  a  10%  can¬ 
cellation. 

Film  men,  however,  were  of  the  impression 
that  the  distributors  would  fight  his  ruling  in 
regard  to  the  time  the  cancellation  privilege 
went  into  effect. 


RKO  Manager  Hits  on 
New  Idea  in  Date  Drives 

Names  Teams  After  Local 

Exhibitors 

Frank  McNamee,  local  Radio  chieftain, 
hit  on  a  new  idea  in  drives  when  he 
formed  three  teams  in  his  exchange,  each 
named  after  a  local  exhibitor. 

The  drive  is  for  dates  only,  on  singles,  two- 
reelers,  features,  etc.,  and  the  exhib  angle  makes 
it  a  natural  for  plenty  of  support  from  exhibi¬ 
tors. 

The  teams  have  been  named  after  David  Bar- 
rist,  Lewen  Pizor  and  Jay  Emanuel.  They 
line  up  as  follows : 

Barrist — John  Phelan,  Ely  Ep  stein,  Sam 
Lefko. 

Pizor — Vince  O’Donnell,  Jack  McFadden, 
Charles  Zagrans. 

Emanuel — Harry  Tyson,  Addie  Gottschalk, 
Mike  Shulman. 

In  each  case,  the  rest  of  the  office  staff  has 
been  divided  among  the  three  factions,  with 
everyone  working  for  the  success  of  each  other’s 
team. 

Drive  lasts  from  March  17-May  25.  That  it 
will  be  a  success  is  assured.  McNamee  deserves 
a  lot  of  credit  for  springing  a  new  one  on 
theatremen.  The  office  force  is  all  pepped  up 
and  it  looks  as  if  Philadelphia  should  win  the 
date  drive,  exhibitors  appreciating  Manager 
McNamee’s  fairness.  The  fact  that  RKO  is 
delivering  some  money  pictures  right  now  also 
seems  to  assure  success. 


Charlie  Goodwin  Offers  Gold  Primer 


For  the  information  of  those  exhibitors  who  are  contemplating  the  purchase 
of  a  gold-decorated  dinner  set  premium,  C  harlie  Goodwin,  Quality  Premiums,  offers 
the  following  primer: 

1. — There  are  no  bargains  in  gold.  Gold  prices  are  set  by  the  federal  govern¬ 
ment.  Ten  cent  china  contains  less  gold  than  thirteen  cent  china.  2. - Gold  din- 

nerware  as  a  premium  was  originated  by  Quality  Premium  Distributors  and  every 
set  of  22K  Gold  dinnerware  being  distributed  in  this  territory  is  sold  and  serviced 

by  Quality.  3 - Only  Quality’s  is  the  delicate,  thin  model  All-Square  style  and 

pattern  demanded  by  the  patrons.  Quality’s  22K  Gold  Dinner  Service  is  sold  only 

in  jewelry  shops  and  department  stores.  4 - Scores  of  theatres  are  now  using  the 

genuine  full-decorated  22K  Gold  dinnerware  sold  only  by  Quality.  5. - Only 

Quality’s  is  Full  Gold  Decorated  with  gold  handles,  gold  border  lines,  etc.  Less 
gold  on  the  china  means  less  gold  in  the  box  office.  6 — Consult  your  jeweler  and 
ask  him  the  values  of  Quality’s  22K  Gold  set. 


SENTRY  serviced  SAFETY  CONTROL 


Many  theatre  owners  weigh  the  matter  of  Safety  as  it  suits  them. 
PLAINLY  THIS  IS  ALL  WRONG.  In  Safety  there  is  no  half-way  meas¬ 
ure  with  the  Public.  The  Public  would  not  consider  it  safe  if  you  decide 
to  do  without  a  Serviced  Safety  Device  on  your  projectors.  The  Public 
would  think  with  horror  if  you  tried  to  economize  by  buying  Safety  equip¬ 
ment  without  a  service,  and  the  fact  that,  in  your  theatre,  the  Public 
has  not  yet  inquired  as  to  the  measure  of  Safety  that  you  are  giving  them — 
THAT  DOES  NOT  MEAN  THAT  THEY  CAN  BE  DECEIVED. 


SENTRY  SAFETY  CONTROL  CORP. 


10th  ST.  and  ALLEGHENY  AVE. 
PHILADELPHIA,  PENNA. 


Sentry  Safety  Controls  Listed  as  Standard  by  National  Fire  Underwriters  Laboratories 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Apr  1'34 


11 


Expect  Tilt  in  Operator  Scales 

as  Result  of  Code  Tightening 


Exhibitors  Who  Have  Been  Underpaying  Booth  Help 
May  Be  Forced  to  Raise  Wages — IATSE  Prices  Followed 
By  Theatres 

Gradual  lifting  of  operators  scales  in  this  territory  until  they  conform  to  the  code 
requirements  is  seen  by  local  film  men,  following  reports  that  such  a  move  may  be 
expected  in  all  parts  of  the  country. 


Blue  Advocates  Ready 


Friends  of  the  so-called  Blue  Laws, 
convinced  they  will  face  another  attack 
in  the  General  Assembly  of  Pennsylva¬ 
nia  next  year,  are  preparing  already  to 
defend  the  rigid  Sunday  rules  drafted  by 
their  sturdy  forefathers  back  in  1794. 

Leaders  of  civic  and  church  organiza¬ 
tions  which  carried  on  the  unsuccessful 
fight  against  Sunday  sports,  have  an¬ 
nounced  they  have  started  work  already 
on  a  program  designed  to  prevent 
further  liberalization  of  the  State  s  Sun¬ 
day  laws. 


LETTERS  TO  THE  EDITOR 


Protests  Distrib  Methods 

Dear  Sir: 

As  a  subscriber  to  THE  EXHIBITOR,  I  am  enclosing 
letter  which  has  been  sent  by  Columbia  to  various 
residents  in  Doylestown. 

This  matter  I  deem  is  cf  such  vital  importance  to 
the  exhibitors  that  the  widest  publicity  should  be  given 
same,  and  I  request  that  you  carry  the  letter  in  the  next 
issue  of  THE  EXHIBITOR. 

This  letter  was  sent  out  because  of  the  fact  that  I 
did  not  buy  Columbia  Pictures  tiiis  year,  and  it  looks 
to  me  as  if  the  “hidden  ghost”  of  Willematie,  Conn.,  lias 
been  resurrected,  and  Columbia  is  resorting  to  old  prac¬ 
tices  which  tile  exhibitor  compelled  to  be  discontinued. 

Very  truly  yours, 

JOSEPH  A.  WODOCK. 

THE  LETTER 

Columbia  Picture  Corporation 
729  Seventh  Avenue 
New  York 

Office  of  the 

Vice-President  February  28,  1934. 

Mrs.  Harry  P.  Baker, 

DoyleBtown,  Pa. 

Dear  Mrs.  Baker: 

Isn’t  it  a  fact  that  you  frequently  miss  seeing  pic¬ 
tures  which  you  hear  so  much  about — pictures  you 
really  want  to  see? 

I  am  writing  you  personally  because  I  am  sure  you 
will  want  to  see  such  outstanding  productions  as  “Lady 
For  a  Day”  which  has  been  hailed  by  our  foremost 
critics  as  one  of  the  greatest  ever  produced;  and  the 
Frank  Borzage  masterpiece,  "Man’s  Castle,”  which  they 
agree  is  the  greatest  love  romance  since  “Seventh 
Heaven.”  “Let’s  Fall  in  Love”  is  another  picture  that 
has  earned  glowing  comment  as  one  of  the  best  musicals 
ever  released. 

Among  the  other  fine  productions  included  in  Colum¬ 
bia’s  program  are  “It  Happened  G'ne  Night,”  in  which 
Clark  Gable  and  Claudette  Colbert  will  be  seen  together 
for  the  first  time;  “No  Greater  Glory,”  destined  to  be 
one  of  the  screen’s  mightiest,  soul  stirring  triumphs; 
“20th  Century,”  considered  Broadway’s  greatest  comedy 
hit  and  the  perfect  starring  vehicle  for  John  Barry¬ 
more;  “Sisters  Under  the  Skin”  with  Klissa  Landi  and 
Joseph  Schildkraut;  “Black  Moon,”  considered  one  cf 
the  best  stories  that  ever  appeared  in  the  “Cosmopoli¬ 
tan”  Magazine;  “F.og,”  easily  one  of  the  most  gripping 
stories  ever  to  be  published  in  the  “Saturday  Evening 
Post”;  “Once  to  Every  Woman,”  another  “Cosmopoli¬ 
tan”  success. 

Many  notables  appear  in  these  pictures.  Among  them 
are  John  Barrymore,  Warren  William,  Elissa  Landi, 
Clark  Gable,  Leslie  Howard,  Carole  Lombard,  Claudette 
Colbert,  Edmund  Lowe,  Mary  Brian,  Sue  Carol,  Ann 
Sothern,  Spencer  Tracy,  Guy  Kibbee.  May  Robson,  Helen 
Twelvetrees,  Jack  Holt,  Colleen  Moore,  Gregory  ltatoff, 
Fay  Wray,  Gene  Raymond^  Marian  Nixon,  Loretta  Young. 
Glenda  Farrell  and  Walter  Connolly,  to  mention  just  a 
few  of  them. 

After  all,  if  Mr.  Wodock  has  not  shown  some  of  the 
pictures  you  wanted  to  see  at  the  Strand  Theatre,  it 
has  probably  been  because  he  did  not  know  of  your 
wishes.  Why  not  get  in  touch  with  him  today,  and 
tell  him  you  would  like  to  see  these  fine  produc¬ 
tions.  He  will  no  doubt  be  glad  to  arrange  them  for 


Horlacher  Gets  High 
Recognition  from  State 

Delivery  Unit  Granted  Certificate 
by  Board 

Horlacher  Delivery  Service  has  been 
given  signal  recognition  by  the  Public 
Service  Commission. 


James  Clark 

Head  of  Horlacher  Delivery  Service  which 
has  been  given  signal  recognition  by  the  state. 

Certificate  of  Public  Convenience,  No.  23951, 
has  been  given  to  the  film  delivery  service  by 
the  Public  Service  Commission,  after  hearings 
at  Harrisburg. 

This  gives  the  company  right  to  carry  film 
and  theatrical  accessories,  as  well  as  other 
materials,  to  any  part  of  the  district,  and  is  said 
to  include  one  of  the  largest  districts  of  any 
trucking  concern. 

That  this  will  mean  added  service  to  film 
users  of  Horlacher  facilities  is  certain.  James 
Clark,  guiding  director  of  the  company,  is  re¬ 
ceiving  congratulations  because  of  the  state's 
recognition. 


your  entertainment,  provided  his  booking  arrangements 
permit. 

Cordially  yours, 

JACK  COHN,  Vice  President, 
JC:MG  Columbia  Pictures  Corporation. 


That  unionization  of  all  houses  will  follow  is 
not  expected,  inasmuch  as  the  code  does  not  call 
for  such  a  recognition,  but  the  code  does  pro¬ 
vide  that  the  scale  be  regulated  by  that  secured 
by  the  IATSE  local. 

Washington  advices  are  to  the  effect  that  the 
scales  will  be  set  by  that  followed  by  the 
IATSE  union  in  similar  situations. 

That  a  large  part  of  the  territory's  theatres 
are  not  manned  by  members  affiliated  with  the 
IATSE  is  well  known.  Hitherto,  a  lot  of 
the  smaller  exhibs  have  been  getting  away  with 
plenty  in  the  eyes  of  circuit  and  larger  inde¬ 
pendents  who  have  been  made  to  toe  the  line. 
That  this  will  end  is  inevitable,  inasmuch  as 
the  increase  in  scales,  in  accordance  with  labor 
demands  and  code  requirements,  will  force  the 
houses  which  have  been  underpaying  to  raise 
their  scales  to  normal. 

In  such  moves,  the  operators  will  get  the 
support  and  sympathy  of  those  theatres  which 
have  been  paying  standard  scales  for  many 
years  while  their  oppositions,  unmolested  by  the 
unions,  have  been  untouched  by  union  demands. 
The  MPTO  locally  is  in  favor  of  equallizing 
operator  salaries. 

Stanley-Warner  Breaks 
Down  Pre-Lenten  Bugaboo 

Business  Indicates  Usual  Trade 
Bogey  Is  Hollow 

Stanley-Warner  broke  down  the  pre- 
lenten  bugaboo  this  week. 

Called  Managers’  Week,  the  six  day  period 
marking  the  end  of  Lent  saw  a  varied  and  wide 
array  of  stunts,  tie-ups,  etc.,  to  help  business, 
and  the  results  were  exceedingly  gratifying. 

Zone  manager  Leonard  Schlesinger  kept  in 
close  touch  with  every  part  of  the;  field  during 
the  week,  and  he  reported,  at  press  time,  that  it 
looked  like  records  would  be  broken  during  the 
six  day  period.  Civic  leaders,  etc.,  were  used 
in  all  parts  of  the  district  to  help  boost  the 
Managers’* 1  Week,  and  spiecial  merchandising 
ideas  contributed  to  the  rising  gross. 

Schlesinger  hopped  to  York  and  Lancaster  at 
the  beginning  of  the  week  and  came  back  well 
convinced  that  the  week  would  be  extremely 
successful. 

Schlesinger  was  exceedingly  enthused  over 
co-operation  of  the  film  companies,  who  will 
benefit  from  the  increased  activity,  and  who 
will  probably  aid  in  the  banishment  of  the  pre- 
lenten  bugaboo  forever. 

The  drive  indicates  that  if  an  idea  is  sound 
and  is  properly  executed,  it  can  triumph  over 
all  conditions. 


12 


Apr  1 ' 34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


“A  Film  to 
Cheer  Over” 

Says — 

ERIC  M.  KNIGHT 

widely-read  critic 
of  the  Phila.  Ledger 
March  18,  1934 

The  film  is  “Dawn  To  Dawn,”  which 
I  am  tempted  to  call  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  attempts  in  independent 
cinematography  in  America. 

It  is  not  so  much  that  this  story  is 
far  removed  from  the  usual  sunshine- 
and-sugar  theme-structure  of  the 
screen,  but  rather  that  it  has  been 
produced  with  a  deep  understanding 
of  humanity  and  with  an  infinite  re¬ 
finement  of  detail  that  is  seldom 
exhibited  even  in  what  we  love  to 
call  our  “best  cinema.” 

Ugliness  and  pastoral  beauty  are 
jammed  together;  if  the  camera  goes 
lyric  over  the  curve  of  a  hill  and  the 
bow  of  a  tree,  it  is  no  less  eloquent 
when  it  speaks  of  the  slattern  home 
with  dirty  white-wash  and  soot- 
covered  lamp-chimneys. 

Here  is  an  American  film  of  remark¬ 
able  depth,  beauty  and  vigor,  talking 
of  the  soil  and  the  people  in  it  in  a 
manner  that  is  miles  above  the  usual 
picture-postcard  artiness  of  Holly¬ 
wood.  Intense,  compact  and  pro¬ 
duced  with  a  beautiful  feeling  for 
both  the  subject  and  the  medium  used 
to  express  it. 

.  .  .  and  you'll  cheer  too 
when  you  see  .  .  . 

“DAWN  to  DAWN” 

AND  IT’S  BACKED  BY  ROAD 
SHOW  ACCESSORIES,  OIL 
PAINTINGS  AND  PAPER 


2nd  of  13  Broadway  Gossips 

Featuring  SETH  PARKER 
EARL  CARROLL 
PATSY  RUTH  MILLER 
Now  Playing  Boyd,  Philadelphia, 
with  “Riptide” 


DISTRIBUTED  BY 

HERBERT  W.  GIVEN,  Inc. 

1239  Vine  Street  Philadelphia 


Branches  in: 

NEW  YORK  WASHINGTON 


Also  distributing  Exploitable 
Features  ...  and  Novelty 
Shorts  of  Outstanding  Merit. 

— 

Correction 


Contrary  to  recent  announcement,  I. 
Manoff  is  not  successor  to  Reliable 
Decorative  Company,  as  this  company  is 
undergoing  a  natural  liquidation. 

Each  of  the  partners  will  operate 
separately  under  newly  formed  com¬ 
panies. 


M.  P.  T.  0.  A.  Convention 
Plans  Practically  Set 


Coast  Committees  Fix  Up  Rousing 
Time  for  Delegates 


Plans  for  the  14th  annual  convention 
of  the  MPTOA  at  Los  Angeles,  April 
9-10-11-12,  are  nearly  set. 

Coast  committes  have  laid  the  foundations  for 
what  should  prove  to  be  an  interesting  and  valu¬ 
able  convention  period.  B.  N.  Berenstein  is 
chairman.  Convention  banquet  will  be  held  on 
the  last  day.  There  will  be  many  side  trips 
as  well  as  other  entertainment  features. 

Seven  standing  committees  have  been  named  to  func¬ 
tion  during  the  convention. 

The  committes  are  as  follows: 

(1)  Credentials  and  Rules:  M.  E.  Ccmerford,  Chair¬ 
man;  Jas  J.  McGuinness,  Benjamin  Pitts,  Charles  E. 
Williams,  A.  F.  Baker. 

(2)  Resolutions:  Edward  G.  Levy,  Chairman;  Oscar 
C.  Lam,  Ed  M.  Fay,  Harry  Hicks,  M.  A.  Lightman. 

(3)  Grievances:  Lewen  Pizor,  Chairman;  Nat  M.  Wil¬ 
liams,  J.  H.  Michael,  H.  W.  Harvey,  Sidney  Lust. 

(4)  NRA  Code — Trade  Practices:  Fred  S.  Meyer, 
Chairman;  R.  M.  Clark,  R.  B.  Wilby,  Edwin  Silverman, 
George  P.  Aarons,  L.  S.  Hamm. 

(5)  NRA  Code — Labor  Provisions:  Jack  Miller,  chair¬ 
man;  George  Fisher,  Morgan  A.  Walsh,  Love  B.  Harrell, 
Louis  Ansell. 

(6)  Legislation  and  Taxes:  M.  A.  Lightman,  Chair¬ 
man;  M.  E.  Comerford,  R.  B.  Wilby,  W.  H.  Lcllier. 

(7)  Public  Relations  and  Community  Affairs:  Fred 
Wehrenberg,  Chairman;  Nat  M.  Williams,  W.  L.  Ains¬ 
worth,  W.  S.  Butterfield,  Sidney  Lust. 


S-W  Buys  Beatty 

Mascot  Pictures  Corporation  announces  sev¬ 
eral  important  first-run  and  circuit  bookings  on 
“The  Lost  Jungle,’  starring  Clyde  Beatty,  and 
“The  Mystery  Squadron.”  Tony  Lucchese, 
president,  Gold  Medal  Film  Company,  has  also 
sold  the  Beatty  serial  to  the  entire  Warner 
Bros,  circuit  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania  and 
Southern  New  Jersey. 


Majestic  on  Own 


Majestic  will  terminate  all  dealings 
with  independent  producers  and  will  or¬ 
ganize  its  own  producing  unit  to  com¬ 
plete  the  balance  of  the  1933-34  pro¬ 
gram  and  for  the  further  continuation  of 
the  company’s  producing  schedule. 
Statement  to  this  effect  was  issued  by 
Herman  Gluckman,  president,  following 
a  series  of  meetings  of  the  company’s 
board  of  directors  and  franchise  hold¬ 
ers  held  in  New  York. 

Gluckman  leaves  for  the  coast  shortly 
to  put  the  company’s  new  plans  into 
effect. 


Facts! 

Gold  prices  are  set 
by  the  U.  S.  Gov¬ 
ernment,  not  by 
New  York  premi¬ 
um  dealers. 

There  Is  less  gold 
in  10-cent  China 
than  there  is  in 
13-cent  China. 

Quality's  22 -K 
Gold  Dinnerware, 
after  24  weeks,  is 
still  the 
most 

phenomen  at 
money  maker 
the  industry 
has  ever 
known . 

Every  22-K  Gold 
China  Premium 
distributed  during 
the  past  24  weeks 
in  this  territory 
was  sold  and  ser¬ 
viced  by 

QUALITY 

Premium  Distributors,  inc. 

1305  Vine  Street 

PHILADELPHIA 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Apr  1’34 


13 


Censors  Cracking  Down 

Examples  of  the  censor  board  crack¬ 
ing  down  have  arisen  recently  in  fines 
being  handed  out  to  exchanges  who  are 
alleged  not  to  have  made  eliminations 
called  for  in  prints. 

In  the  upstate  area  particularly,  fines 
have  been  requested,  within  the  last  fort¬ 
night,  for  alleged  violations  of  pictures 
censored  many  months  ago.  Several 
exchanges  are  in  receipt  of  letters  from 
the  upstate  courts  asking  for  fines  and 
costs  without  benefit  of  hearing. 

Some  exchanges  are  refusing  to  pay, 
claiming  eliminations  were  made.  Ob¬ 
servers  see  the  cracking  down  as  defi¬ 
nitely  linked  with  the  inability  of  the 
censors  to  take  it  in  the  matter  of 
criticism. 


'  Heard  In ' 


U 


P  -  S  T  A  T  E 

Majestic  Now 
Is  Reopening 


ERECTION  of  a  motion  picture  booth  and 
incidental  improvements  to  permit  showing 
sound  pictures  at  the  Majestic  Theatre,  Harris¬ 
burg,  on  and  after  April  1,  are  provided  for 
under  a  building  permit  taken  out  at  City  Hall 
March  20  by  the  Walnut  Street  Real  Estate 
Company.  .  .  .  Majestic,  Wilmer  and  Vincent, 
is  expected  to  open  its  doors  to  the  public  as  a 
motion  picture  theatre  (April  2).  .  .  .  situ¬ 
ated  in  the  business  section  of  Harrisburg,  the 
Majestic  has  been  a  liability  for  a  number  of 
years,  opening  its  doors  periodically  for  stock, 
road  shows  and  various  entertainments. 

ALTHOUGH  Miss  Ruth  Hale,  usher  at 
Colonial,  Harrisburg,  will  not  become  a  man 
when  she  reaches  her  twenty-first  birthday 
anniversary,  April  16,  fellow  employes  re¬ 
port  a  man  is  going  to  play  an  important  part 
in  her  life  by  presenting  her  with  an  engage¬ 
ment  ring.  .  .  .  Mary  Funk  Knot,  Colonial, 
Harrisburg,  cashier,  newlywed,  spent  another 
short  honeymoon  in  New  York  City.  . 

Mrs.  Mary  Ellinger  Carpenter,  former  usher, 
Victoria,  Harrisburg,  has  a  baby  boy  usher 
now.  ...  A  horse  and  sulky,  borrowed  from 
a  farmer  by  Manager  Jack  O’Rear,  Victoria, 
made  its  appearance  in  the  streets  of  Harris¬ 
burg  two  days  before  opening  at  Victoria 
of  “David  Harum.”  .  .  .  Two  “big”  features 
were  featured  at  Clifton,  Huntingdon.  .  .  . 

Idea  of  Strand,  Sunbury,  management,  in 
announcing  starting  times  of  shows  and  start¬ 
ing  times  of  features  in  newspaper  ads, 
should  be  followed  by  all  theatres.  .  .  .  Sun¬ 
day  midnight  showing  of  “Cat  and  the 
Fiddle”  was  presented  at  Legionaire,  Milton. 

EMPLOYES  of  Loew’s  Regent  Theatre, 
Harrisburg,  are  saddened  over  a  streak  of  bad 
luck  that  has  struck  among  them.  .  .  .  First, 
Mrs.  Mary  Belle  Zeiders,  cashier,  was  sent  to 
the  hospital  for  a  serious  operation,  then  Robert 
Etchberger,  assistant  manager,  received  word  of 
the  death  of  his  sister.  Mrs.  Margaret  Ander¬ 
son,  22,  in  Baltimore.  .  .  .  Mrs.  Katherine  Fry, 
who  was  Miss  Sheely  while  cashier  at  Loew’s 
several  years  ago,  has  returned  to  substitute  for 
Mrs.  Zeiders.  .  .  .  Etchberger  left  immediately 
for  his  home  in  Baltimore.  ...  It  was  a  tough 
blow  to  Bob  because  he  and  his  sister  were  real 
rals.  .  .  .  His  place  is  being  filled  by  Ski 
Yovanovich,  affable  Chief  usher,  Loew’s. 


First  Division  Employees  Inaugurate 

Annual  Thomas  Month  Date  Drive 

Fifteen  Exchanges  and  200  Workers  Take  Part 
in  Big  Push  for  Dates. 


He  Has  A  Month 


Harry  H.  Thomas 

The  efforts  of  Thomas,  as  president,  in 
guiding  and  building  First  Division  Exchanges 
from  a  lowly  staterighter  to  a  semi-national 
distributor  with  fifteen  branches,  is  being 
marked  by  the  annual  Harry  Thomas  Month. 


Copyright  Suits  Up 

Judge  George  A.  Welsh,  Eastern  District  of 
Pennsylvania,  has  entered  an  order  upon  Samuel 
H.  Stiefel  in  the  suits  instituted  against  him 
by  RKO  Distributing  Corporation  and  RKO 
Pathe  Pictures,  Inc.,  because  of  alleged  exhibi¬ 
tion  by  him  of  their  pictures  at  the  Elks 
Home,  here,  without  a  license  therefor.  Plain¬ 
tiffs  in  the  case  filed  a  list  of  questions  which 
they  demanded  Stiefel  to  answer.  He  filed 
objections  to  them  and  after  an  argument  be¬ 
fore  Judge  Welsh,  objections  were  dismissed 
and  Stiefel  directed  to  answer. 

Judge  Albert  Watson,  Middle  District  of 
Pennsylvania,  in  an  order  entered  on  March  27, 
dismissed  the  objections  of  Edward  Nanawvicz, 
John  Nanawvicz  and  Mrs.  John  Nanawvicz, 
operators,  Dreamland  Theatre,  Eynon,  to  suits 
instituted  by  World  Wide  Pictures,  Inc.,  and 
Universal  Pictures  Corporation,  and  Universal 
Film  Exchanges,  Inc.  Nanawviczs'1  attacked 
proprietry  of  the  suits  and  maintained  there  was 
no  cause  for  action.  Judge  Watson  after  hear¬ 
ing  argument,  dismissed  the  defendants’  excep¬ 
tions,  and  directed  them  to  file  answers  to  the 
bills  of  complamt  within  20  days. 

Frank  Fogel,  local  counsel,  and  Gabriel  L. 
Hess,  general  counsel,  represented  plaintiffs. 


Wolf  Booking  Hiltons 

Frank  Wolf,  live  wire  booker,  is  handling 
Daisy  and  Violet  Hilton,  Siamese  twins,  with 
their  own  show  for  several  months  to  come. 
Show  opened  in  Wheeling,  West  Virginia,  and 
is  routed  until  July,  when  troupe  hits  AC. 


Following  its  annual  practice,  First 
Division  Exchanges  have  set  aside  the 
month  of  May  to  honor  its  president, 
Harry  H.  Thomas.  This  means  that  the 
entire  force  of  nearly  200  employees  will 
give  their  best  efforts  in  obtaining  new 
business,  new  contracts  and  all  dates  that 
exhibitors  can  possibly  give  in  order  to 
make  this  month  the  most  successful  one 
in  the  year. 

The  slogan  during  Harry  Thomas  Month  is 
■‘Say  It  With  Dates.”  This  year  a  bonus  will 
be  awarded  to  the  office  bringing  in  the  most 
business  during  the  month  of  May. 

First  Division  Exchanges  has  risen  from  the 
ranks  of  a  single  exchange  in  New  York  City 
to  the  status  of  a  full-fledged  national  organ¬ 
ization  today.  More  than  ever  First  Division 
in  a  splendid  position  to  outdo  its  past  efforts 
with  such  powerful  attractions  as  “Forgotten 
Men,”1  which  ran  14  weeks  on  Broadway ; 
“Road  to  Ruin,”  film  on  modern  youth,  break¬ 
ing  box  office  records  throughout  the  country. 

In  addition  to  these,  First  Division  is  releas¬ 
ing  its  regular  line-up  of  Chesterfield  and  In¬ 
vincible  pictures  which  include  such  hits  as 
“Rainbow  Over  Broadway,”'  “In  the  Money,” 
“Murder  on  the  Campus,”  “I  Have  Lived,” 
“Notorious  but  Nice,”  “Dance,  Girl,  Dance,7 
“By  Appointment  Only,”  “Man  of  Sentiment,” 
“Cross  Streets,”  “The  Quitter,  ’*  “Stolen 
Sweets,”  “Twin  Husbands”  and  others  that  play 
the  Loew  and  other  chain  circuits.  First  Divi¬ 
sion  also  releases  Monogram  productions  in 
Philadelphia  and  New  York. 

“Young  Eagles,”  a  serial  glorifying  the  Boy 
Scouts  of  America  and  which  will  be  ready  for 
release  shortly,  is  First  Division’s  newest  ex¬ 
ploitation  special. 

Every  exhibitor,  booker  and  chain  buyer 
should  give  Harry  Thomas  a  great  big  handful 
of  dates  in  May. 


Dembow  to  Coast 

George  Dembow,  former  Vine  Streeter,  and 
now  with  National  Screen  Service,  is  to  attend 
the  MPTOA  convention  on  the  coast.  He  will 
also  attend  to  some  company  business. 


Hugh  McNamee  Up 

Hugh  McNamee,  brother  of  Frank  McNa¬ 
mee,  local  Radio  chieftain,  has  been  appointed 
assistant  U.  S.  District  Attorney  in  the  Cleve¬ 
land  district. 


LANCASTER 


JACK  FLYNN  and  Harry  Goldberg  were 
looking  over  the  three  Warner  houses  in  the 
city.  .  .  .  Miss  Agnes  Nichols,  for  five  years 
box  office  attendant  at  the  Capitol  Theatre,  has 
resigned  to  go  to  Philadelphia.  .  .  .  Lancaster 
department  stores  are  tying  up  their  spring 
advertisements  with  strong  picture  news.  .  .  . 
“Eskimo”  did  nice  business  for  Ray  O’Connell 
at  the  Grand. 


/ 


14 


Apr  1*34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Heard  In ' 


w 


ILMINGTON 

Manager’s  Week 
Big  Noise 


“LEW”  BLACK,  man¬ 
ager  of  the  Aldine  The¬ 
atre,  Wilmington,  and 
ranking  manager  of  the 
Warner  Bros.’  force  in  that 
city  celebrated  his  28th 
birthday,  March  23.  .  .  . 
Black  has  been  in  the  the¬ 
atre  business  in  Wilming¬ 
ton  for  5  years,  of  which 
4 34  years  have  been  with 
the  Warner  concern. 


MANAGER  LEVINE,  Opera  House,  put  on 
six  cartoon  films  for  the  first  three  days  of 
Manager’s  Week  and  the  Father  Coughlin 
film  the  last  three  days  of  the  week  as  special 
added  attractions.  .  .  .  Lew  Black,  man¬ 

ager,  Aldine,  had  all  of  the  high  school  ath¬ 
letic  teams  as  guests  of  the  theatre  Tuesday 
of  that  week.  .  .  .  Easter  lilies  and  spring 

flowers  burst  forth  in  the  Aldine  through 
Lew  Black’s  tie-up  with  the  Wilmington  Flor¬ 
ist  Club,  and  along  with  it  came  a  board 
showing  several  packages  of  seed  of  a  local 
florist.  .  .  .  All  Warner  show  programs  were 
announced  by  the  Master  of  Ceremonies  at 
the  big  Black  Cat  dance  hall.  .  .  .  Jimmy 

Kearney  was  all  smiles  and  blushes  the  other 
day  at  the  Queen  over  a  “blessed  event”  in 
his  new  household.  .  .  .  Jimmy,  of  course, 

wanted  a  boy  for  his  baseball  nine,  but  it  was 
a  girl.  .  .  .  The  Queen  has  a  very  affable, 

courteous  and  intelligent  doorman  in  R.  J. 
Beecher.  .  .  .  Spied  Edman  Devenney,  assist¬ 
ant  manager,  Aldine,  with  wife  on  arm,  off 
duty,  headed,  it  seems  for  a  shopping  tour. 

All  Warner  employes  of  Wilmington 
took  in  the  club  affair  of  the  company. 


A.  J.  BELAIR,  manager  New  Rialto,  seems 
very  happy  these  days.  .  .  .  Len  Schindler  got 
a  press  notice  for  the  Carnera-Loughran  fight 
pictures  on  the  sports  page  of  the  Evening 
Journal.  .  .  .  A.  J.  DeFiore,  Park,  was  adding 
some  Easter  hues  to  his  front  and  thereabouts. 
.  .  .  Everybody  is  commenting  on  the  improve¬ 
ment  to  the  interior  of  the  Strand,  A.  A.  Selig- 
man  made.  .  .  .  Ran  up  behind  William  Penn 
Frank,  Journal  reporter  and  former  Exhibitor 
correspondent  putting  up  a  mighty  worthy 
squawk  over  discovery  at  the  Aldine  box  office 
that  a  press  pass  that  he  had  presented  was 
good  only  on  Tuesdays  and  Thursdays. 

BRIGHTENING  UP  for  Easter  on  the  part 
of  all  theatre  managers  and  ballyhoo'ng  the 
town  for  Manager’s  Week,  by  the  Warner 
managers  stirred  the  theatre  world  of  Wilming¬ 
ton.  .  .  .  Warner  boys  were  pooling  their  bally¬ 
hoo  for  manager’s  week,  the  biggest  feature 
of  which  was  a  decorated  truck  float  done  up  in 
Easter  tints,  advertising  the  attractions  at  each 
of  the  three  theatres  and  letting  the  public 
know  about  such  a  week.  .  .  .  Besides  this 
15,000  heralds,  all  carrying  the  offerings  at 
each  of  the  theatres,  were  distributed.  .  .  . 

Morty  Levine,  who  looks  after  the  sign  shop 
where  my  good  friend  Charley  Albert  slings 


Position  Wanted 

BOOKER  —  Over  12  yrs.  exp. 

Booker,  Cashier,  Office  Manager, 
Traveling  Auditor. 

Box  XXX,  THE  EXHIBITOR 


Jackson’s  Bowling  Has  Film  Men  Talking 


If  John  T.  Jackson,  Lebanon  exhibitor,  were  on  Vine  Street  more  often,  some 
exchanges  could  make  good  use  of  him  as  a  member  of  their  bowling  teams.  His 
season’s  average  is  195,  and  that’s  stepping,  in  Lebanon  or  elsewhere.  Jackson, 
who  has  been  in  the  business  for  25  years,  started  with  a  house  in  York  and 
Lebanon.  Now  he  has  the  Colonial,  Jackson,  Capitol  in  the  latter  city.  A  showman 
to  his  finger  tips  (and  that  includes  225  pounds),  he  continues  to  be  one  of  the 
leading  exhibitors  of  the  territory,  and,  as  suggested  above,  a  swell  bowler. 


tints,  was  literally  thinking  in  terms  of  color. 
.  .  .  Each  Warner  manager  sent  out  500  Easter 
cards  to  regular  patrons,  all  signed.  .  .  .  Plans 
were  under  way  for  an  Easter  Egg  Hunt  Sat¬ 
urday  before  Easter  Sunday  by  the  Warner 
boys. 

DRYS  of  Holly  Oak  M.  E.  Church,  near 
Wilmington,  under  the  lash  of  the  Rev.  Dayton 
E.  McClain,  Antisaloon  League  superintendent, 
turned  from  a  tirade  against  the  diminutive  15- 
cent  bottles  of  booze  to  the  movies,  adopting 
a  resolution  asking  for  better  and  more  moral 
motion  pictures. 


TRICTLy  PERSONAL 

Plenty  Folks 
Still  Sick 


HIGHLIGHTING  the  social  season  was  the 
recent  performance  of  the  Clifford  Street  Fol¬ 
lies,  presented  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Nat  Abelove, 
...  A  review  in  3  acts  and  some  scenes.  .  .  . 
It  took  place  at  the  Strawberry  Mansion  Opera 
House,  March  18,  and  will  never  be  seen  again. 
.  .  .  The  fine  Italian  hand  of  Signor  Davido 
Barristo  was  seen  throughout,  especially  in 
such  highlights  as  “How  I  Killed  Rasputin/’ 
by  Prince  Smilowitz.  .  .  .  Ask  Davido  to  tell 
you  about  it.  .  .  .  Space  limits  us  here. 

LOUIS  COHEN,  beaming  exhibitor  at  the 
Wissahickon  Theatre,  upped  himself  and  got 
married.  .  .  .  The  bride  was  exceedingly 

popular. 

MARCUS  BENN  surprised  everyone,  hop¬ 
ped  away  for  Bermuda  for  a  spell.  .  .  .  A  lot 
of  the  local  boys  were  thinking  of  going  to 
Hollywood  for  the  MPTOA  convention.  .  .  . 


“Pop”  Korson  came  back  from  his  cruise,  re¬ 
ported  a  nice  time,  looks  well. 

ON  THE  SICK  LIST:  Harry  Blumberg, 
the  genius  of  National  Theatre  Supply  Com¬ 
pany.  .  .  .  Herman  Rubin,  the  man  who  looks 
like  a  mountain  and  Paramount  salesman,  lost  a 
tooth,  still  weighs  567.  .  .  .  Harold  Rodner, 
who  used  to  be  a  local  boy,  is  now  a  vice- 
president  of  NVA.  .  .  .  And  a  big  Mason, 
besides. 

FOLKS  WERE  SORRY  to  hear  of  the 
death  of  Jimmy  Martin,  a  member  of  the  Stan- 
ley-Warner  publicity  forces.  .  .  .  Albert  M. 
Cohen,  attorney,  has  offices  on  the  19th  floor 
of  the  P.  S.  F.  S.  building.  ...  He  knows 
what  heaven  is  like. 

KATHRYN  FOLEY,  Universal,  kept  her 
marriage  a  secret.  ...  It  took  place  last  Sep¬ 
tember,  and  was  everyone  surprised.  .  .  .  She’s 
now  Mrs.  Warren  Winterbottom.  .  .  .  The  P. 
A.  Blochs  finally  got  away  for  their  southern 
cruise.  .  .  .  Having  a  nice  time.  .  .  .  The  A1 
Davises  have  been  entertaining  friends  from 
Milwaukee.  .  .  .  Clara  Kraftsow  has  been  go¬ 
ing  out  of  town  almost  every  week-end  since 
her  return  from  Florida.  .  .  .  One  of  the  major 
film  exchanges  will  have  a  blessed  event  shortly. 

.  .  .  Ethel  Freedman  likes  opiera.  .  .  .  Harry 
Spiegel,  Johnny  Roberts,  Sam  Gross  hopping 
away  for  Bermuda.  .  .  .  Jack  Greenberg  needs 
those  gold  sticks.  .  .  .  Putting  on  weight.  .  .  . 
Harry  Freeman,  the  Fox  publicity  chieftain, 
getting  to  be  quite  a  social  lion.  .  .  .  Beverly 
West,  Mae’s  sister,  doing  nice  business  in  Jer¬ 
sey.  .  .  .  Mrs.  Izzy  Epstein  now  back  from 
Florida.  .  .  .  Hubby  very  happy. 

GEORGE  FINLESTEIN,  U  shipping  room, 
now  minus  his  appendix.  .  .  .  Doing  nicely 
at  Jewish  Hospital.  .  Ralph  Leonard 

understudying.  .  .  .  Blanche  Gerton  ill  with 
the  grippe.  .  .  .  Expected  back  at  U  soon. 

.  .  Mary  Shanholtz  in  love  again.  .  . 

Dot  Carson  trying  out  a  new  coiffure. 


66 Harold  Teen ”  Offers  Plenty  of  Fun 


Hal  LeRoy,  Rochelle  Hudson  and  others  are  current  in  the  Warner  picturization  of 

the  cartoon  strip. 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Apr  1'34 


15 


Heard  In 


V 


INE  STREET 


Herb  Given 
Has  Something 


STROLLING  DOWN  the  street,  Oscar 
Neufeld,  at  Peerless,  revealed  that  the  com¬ 
pany  is  handling  physical  distribution  for  lUO 
General  Electric  one  and  two-reel  subjects  for 
schools,  theatres,  with  plentiful  material  from 
which  to  pick.  .  .  .  Oscar  and  Bill  Heenan  plan 
interesting  news  about  the  exchange  soon.  .  .  . 
Harry  Goodman,  at  Metropolitan,  is  working 
on  a  new  idea,  will  have  more  to  say  about  it 
later.  .  .  .  Harry  Blumberg,  at  National  The¬ 
atre  Supply  Company,  was  glad  the  snow  was 
off  the  ground,  thought  business  might  pick 

up  a  bit  now . At  Quality  Premium, 

Dave  Barrist  and  Charlie  Goodwin  extolled  the 
virtue  of  gold  premiums,  promised  startling 
news  for  the  future. 

NATIONAL  KLINE  POSTER  COMPANY 
has  some  attractive  samples  to  show 
patrons.  .  .  .  New  paper.  .  .  .  Made  up  in 
forms  that  should  appeal  to  all  exhibitors. 

.  .  .  Ask  the  Libros  boys  or  George  Kline 

about  it.  .  .  .  Around  the  corner  in  Fox, 

the  big  news  was  that  Edgar  Moss  was  ex¬ 
pected  home  shortly,  a  lot  of  flowers  would 
be  on  hand,  and  that  Edgar  had  seen  “Stand 
Up  and  Cheer”  and  was  raving.  .  .  .  A1 

Davis,  the  sales  manager,  has  taken  several 
trips  through  the  territory,  has  been  meet¬ 
ing  old  friends  daily.  .  .  .  Upstairs,  in  RKO, 
the  drive  was  the  big  topic.  .  .  .  And  at 

Universal,  Prince  Rashi  Landow  thinks  “The 
Black  Cat”  may  be  a  surprise.  .  .  .  So  do 

others.  .  .  .  John  Bachman,  the  Education- 

alite,  hopped  out  of  town,  finds  things  pick¬ 
ing  up. 

DOWN  THE  STREET,  at  Herb  Given’s, 
the  rave  given  “Dawn  to  Dawn,’ 1  by  Eric 
Knight,  the  Public  Ledger  critic,  was  the  big 
event.  .  .  .  Not  only  did  Knight  rave  but  he 
also  commended  "The  Spy,”  another  Given 
short.  .  .  .  Herb  promises  that  “Dawn  to 

Dawn”  will  get  a  big  campaign,  and  that  exhib¬ 
itors  can  depend  on  him  to  supply  them  with  a 
big  exploitation  array.  .  .  .  “Dawn  to  Dawn,” 
incidentally,  is  a  choice  bit  for  any  house  to 
book,  and  would  be  a  commendable  picture  on 
any  program. 

EARLE  SWEIGERT  now  watches  all  comic 
sections  with  interest,  often  finds  bits  and 
portions  applicable  to  himself.  .  .  .  The 
Paramounteer  has  been  working  hard. 

JOHN  GOLDER,  at  Hollywood,  announced 
that  Stanley-Warner  had  thought  quite  a  bit 
of  “Cheaters,”  first  of  the  Hoffman  Lib¬ 
erty  pictures.  .  .  .  And  that  “Take  the  Stand” 
would  be  in  the  house  shortly.  .  .  .  Tony  Luc- 
chese,  at  Gold  Medal,  is  still  ill.  .  .  .  The  trade 
hopes  for  his  recovery  soon.  .  .  .  Jim  Clark, 
the  big  Horlacher  executive,  was  out  of  town 
for  a  few  days  on  business. 

GEORGE  WASHINGTON  LESSY,  the 
Cedar  and  Diamond  exhibitor,  is  now  a  full 
fledged  member  of  the  $6  clubs.  .  .  .  He 

joined  last  week  under  protest.  .  .  .  And  is 
sporting  a  gold  edge  membership  card. 

DUKE  ROGIN  now  at  the  Atlantic  Fox 
Riverside,  Riverside.  .  .  .  Sylvan  Deitz  hand¬ 
ling  the  Mt.  Holly  Fox.  .  .  .  Eppy  Epstein, 
now  that  the  snows  are  off  the  ground,  making 
plenty  trips  of  around  the  Atlantic  circuit.  .  .  . 
Thinks  there  ought  to  be  a  big  crop  this  year. 
...  Is  amateur  farmer  on  the  side. 


WHEN  THE  CODE  comes  into  effect  price 
of  Vine  Street-printed  showcards,  posters,  etc., 
goes  up.  .  .  .  All  companies  will  be  affected. 

.  .  .  Exhibs  will  have  to  co-operate,  as  present 
scale  is  lower  than  code  provides. 

THRONG  of  exhibitors  attended  the  show¬ 
ing  of  “Bottoms  Up”  at  the  Fox.  .  .  .  Those 
present  judged  it  a  nifty  comedy,  were  glad 
Fox  was  delivering  something  saleable  at  the 
box  office.  .  .  .  Apex  Garage  ready  to  serve 
you. 

“DANCING  MAN,”  from  Masterpiece,  got 
its  first  run  at  Keith’s.  .  .  .  Bennie  Harris  says 
he  is  all  out  of  cameo  souvenirs.  .  .  .  He  asks 
his  friends  to  wait  until  he  sends  them  to  him. 

.  .  .  Claire  Harris  is  now  a  bit  better  than  she 
was.  .  .  .  Mitzi-Dotzi  writing  stories  for 

teacher.  .  .  .  Starting  young.  .  .  .  Jack  col¬ 
lected  autograph  of  Arthur  Tracy.  .  .  .  Sara 
has  new  outfit.  .  .  .  Getting  thinner.  .  .  .  Lew 
Kellman  gave  Helen  diamond  studded  watch, 
also  a  ring.  .  .  .  Watch  out. 

PLANS  are  apparently  shaping  up  well  for 
Jim  Clark’s  clambake.  ...  A  horde  of 
assents  came  into  these  offices,  indicating  that 
the  time  is  ripe  for  a  Clark  supervised  sliding 
of  the  clams.  .  .  .  When  it  will  be  held  is 

a  mystery.  .  .  THE  EXHIBITOR  started 

the  ball  rolling.  .  .  .  It  is  up  to  the  local 

industry  to  do  the  rest. 

SAM  GROSS,  the  demon  Fox  branch  man¬ 
ager,  celebrated  his  third  anniversary  as  branch 
manager  here,  says  the  Fox  pictures  get  big¬ 
ger  and  better  with  every  breath.  ...  A  blessed 
event  is  expected  soon  in  the  Gross  family.  .  .  . 
Bets  are  now  being  taken  on  the  outcome. 

HIGH  UP  in  the  Columbia  salesman  ranks 
is  Bill  Bethell,  the  working  girl’s  friend.  .  .  . 
$25  came  to  him  as  a  week’s  bonus  during 
the  drive.  .  .  .  And  he  thanks  his  exhib 

friends  for  their  co-operation. 

EVELYN  LAYE,  Gaumont-British  star,  sailed 
on  the  Berengaria  for  London  where  she  will 
start  immediately  on  her  next  picture  “Even¬ 
song,”  to  be  made  at  the  G-B  studio  at  Shep¬ 
herd’s  Bush,  Sam  Rosen  advises. 

JOHN  GOLDER  hopped  to  Scranton, 
found  all  the  boys  well.  .  .  .  Exhibs  are 

expressing  a  lot  of  interest  in  “Take  the 
Stand”  and  the  other  Hoffmans.  .  .  .  A1 

Blofson  took  a  look  at  “Stolen  Sweets,” 
“Twin  Husbands,”  felt  optimistic.  .  .  .  The 

exchange  is  getting  behind  the  Harry  H. 
Thomas  month  of  May  drive.  .  .  .  Plenty  of 
dates  from  exhibitors.  .  .  .  Capitol  exchange 
is  getting  a  lot  of  time  on  “The  Fighting 
Priest,”  a  short,  depicting  the  progress  of 
Father  Coughlin.  .  .  .  Stanley-Warner  gave 
the  short  plenty  of  time  and  a  lot  of  inde 
exhibs  have,  too.  .  .  .  Harry  Weiner  all 

pepped  up  over  Columbia’s  “No  Greater 
Glory.”  .  .  .  Expects  a  lot  from  “Sisters 

Under  the  Skin,”  too.  .  First  Division 

may  hold  a  trade  show  shortly.  .  .  .  “Lost 

Patrol,”  from  RKO,  did  a  nice  business  at  the 
Stanton.  .  .  .  Who  is  the  leading  exhibitor 

who  is  behind  in  one  of  the  current  date 
drives  in  which  he  is  tremendously  inter¬ 
ested?  .  .  .  Sam  Kassay,  cartoonist,  receiving 
applause  for  his  Bellefonte  Center  Democrat 
series. 


Hits  Unions 

Theatrical  labor  unions  were  held  responsible 
for  the  “moribund”  state  of  the  legitimate  the¬ 
atre  by  J.  Howard  Reber,  a  lawyer  prominent 
in  amateur  theatrical  circles,  in  an  address  be¬ 
fore  3S0  members  of  the  Matinee  Musical  Club. 


wise 

bird! 


.  .  who  will  keep  his 
eye  on  this  line-up  .  . 


‘Cheaters’ 


By  Fanny 
Heaslip 
Lea 

With  a  Strong  Cast,  including: 
DOROTHY  MACKAILL, 
JUNE  COLLYER,  BILL  BOYD, 
WM.  COLLIER,  Sr.,  etc. 
Directed  by  Phil  Rosen 
Direct  from 

STRAND,  ATLANTIC  CITY 
SOLD  TO  WARNERS 
COMERFORD  and 
WILMER  &  VINCENT 

Followed  by: 

"When  Strangers  Meet" 

With  Richard  Cromwell,  Arline  Judge,  Lucien 
Littlefield,  Hale  Hamilton,  Sheila  Terry. 
Directed  by  Christy  Cabante 

"Ta he  the  Stand  " 

With  Jack  LaRue,  Thelma  Todd,  Gail  Patrick, 
Russell  Hopton,  Vince  Barnett,  Leslie  Fenton 
and  others. 


Directed  by  Phil  Rosen 


il 


The  Big  Mitten 


u 


/Temporary  \ 
l  Title  1 
With  Jack  LaRue,  Phillips  Holmes,  Leila 
Hyams,  Hedda  Hopper,  Vince  Barnett,  Eddie 
Nugent  and  others. 

and  four  other  specials 


"Woman  Unafraid" 

With  Lora  Andre,  Sheets  Gallagher,  Warren 
Hymer,  Lucille  Gleason,  Barbara  Weeks,  Eddie 
Phillips  and  others. 

Directed  by  Wm.  J.  Cowen 


HOLLYWOOn 

EXCHANGES,  Inc.  U 

Philadelphia  Branch 

1220  VINE  STREET 

John  Golder,  Manager 


FEATURES  AND  SHORTS  SOLD  WITH  OUR 
GUARANTEE  OF  BOX  OFFICE  QUALITY 


bULD  UUI  WttK  IN  ADVANCE!  All  re 

shattered  at  the  two-a-day ,$2  Astor  Theatre 


Apr  1  ’34  pg.  16 

Read  these  brief  excerpts  from 
the  marvelous  reviews  accorded 
“The  House  of  Rothschild ”  by 
the  New  York  newspaper  critics: 


SUPERB!  4  stars  (highest  ranking  possible)! 

_ Qaily  News  Arliss  has  never  equalled  his  playing  in 

this  picture.  Beautifully  mounted, 
masterfully  directed!”  — Kate  Cameron 

GRIPPING!  Not  only  motion  picture  entertain- 
—  N.Y  American  ment  but  significant  drama.  Arliss  at 
his  best.  Cast  gives  exquisite  support!” 

—  Regina  Crewe 

★  ★  ★  ★ 


"MAGNIFICENT!"  ‘‘This  brave  picture  is  the  most  impres- 
—  Daily  Mirror  sive  film  the  great  Arliss  ever  made. 

Forty  splendid  players  support  him.  A 
picture  of  genuine  importance,  stately 
beauty  and  stirring  dramatic  force!” 

—  Bland  Johaneson 

★  ★  ★  ★ 


BRILLIANT!  Filmed  with  a  magnificent  dignity. 

—  Evening  Journal  Should  prove  to  be  one  of  the  most  im¬ 
portant  and  talked-about  productions 
of  the  year.  Unfolded  with  absorbing 
clarity  and  a  richness  of  character¬ 
ization.”  —  Rose  Pelswick 


EXCELLENT!  Narrative  invariably  skillful  in  its 

—  Herald-Tribune  telling.  Arliss  decidedly  at  his  best  in 
this  excellent  cinema  adventure!” 

—  Richard  Watts,  Jr 

★  ★  ★  ★ 

GRAND!  ‘‘Arliss  outshines  any  performance  he 
—  N.  Y.  Times  has  contributed  to  the  screen!  Dialogue 
smart  and  witty,  direction  and  staging 
excellent!”  — Mordaunt  Hall 

★  ★  ★  ★ 

"VIVID  !  "  “A  smashing  good  picture!  High 
—  N.  Y.  Sun  dramatic  force  and  distinction  in  its 
presentation!”  — Eileen  Creelman 

★  ★  ★  ★ 

"FIERY  !  "  "Impressive  and  compelling,  beautifully 

_ World -Telegram  performed  and  directed!  A  timely  and 

fiery  document!  Played  by  a  company 
too  fine  to  single  out  any  one  player  for 
individual  praise !  ”  —  Wm .  Boehnel 

★  ★  ★  ★ 

"FASCINATING!"  ‘  Impressive  characterization  brought  I 
_ Evening  Post  vividly  to  life!  A  fascinating  study  skill¬ 
fully  cast!”  — Thornton  Delehanty 


JOSEPH  M.  SCHENCK  presents 


GEORGE  ARLISS 

in  a  DARRYL  F.  ZANUCK  production 

MOUSE  of  ROTHSCHILD 

BORIS  KARLOFF  •  LORETTA  YOUNG  •  ROBERT  YOUNG  .  HELEN  WESTLEY 

And  a  Distinguished  Supporting  Cast  of  One  Hundred 


Released  thru  UNITED  ARTISTS 


18 


Apr  1 ' 34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Heard  In 

R  OS  STOWN 

Two  H  ouses 
Decide  to  Close 


STANLEY- WARNER  HOUSES  are  no 
longer  plugging  the  idea  of  benefits  with  various 
organizations.  .  .  .  Lobby  and  screen  copy  have 
been  discontinued.  .  .  .  This  has  been  taken  to 
mean  that  the  circuit  is  not  encouraging  such 
benefit  tie-ups. 

MESSRS.  SOBEL  and  Frere  are  out  of  the 
Eureka  Theatre.  .  .  .  C.  Folk  Kline  now 

managing  for  owner  Rosinsky. 

LOTS  OF  PEOPLE  on  the  sick  list.  .  .  . 
Death  of  Ben  Loeb,  Capitol  manager,  was 
mourned  by  many  film  friends.  .  .  .  Europa 
will  be  altered  when  the  lease  expires.  .  .  . 
Arrival  of  Joe  Penner  at  Earle  big  news.  .  .  . 
Jack  Rose  out  of  Fay’s.  .  .  .  Assistant  manager 
Jeffries  now  helping  out  Sid  Stanley.  .  .  . 
Ledgerite  Harry  Murdock  a  real  authority  on 
the  old  sod.  .  .  .  Jeff  Keen,  of  the  News, 
still  staying  away  from  the  Shubert  shows, 
by  royal  command.  .  .  .  Lucky  fellow.  .  .  . 
Sunday  night  benefits  still  around  aplenty.  .  .  . 
Stanley-Warner  houses,  in  a  few  instances, 
doubled  “Passion  Play’’  with  Good  Friday 
show. 

NOTICE  went  up  at  the  Met  and  the 
Walnut.  .  .  .  Both  are  expected  to  close 
shortly.  .  .  .  Former  under  Edgar  Wolf 
management,  made  out  well  during  the  regu¬ 
lar  season,  thanks  to  his  energetic  super¬ 
vision. 

LENTEN  LULL  wasn’t  as  bad  as  the 
changeable  weather.  .  .  .  Park  Theatre  got 
in  a  condensed  version  of  “Rigoletto.”  .  .  . 
Show  was  presented  twice.  .  .  .  Seen  in 

Park  Central  cocktail  room.  New  York  City, 
Eddie  Sherman  and  Lou  Berman,  toasting, 
drinking,  etc.  ...  It  must  be  that  the  dove 
of  peace  hovers  over  everything. 

SOUTHERN  THEATRE,  which  has  to 
deal  with  the  bold,  bad  boys  of  South  Phila¬ 
delphia,  found  out  recently  that  an  organized 
crew  of  kids  had  set  up  a  box  office  in  back 
of  the  theatre  and  were  sneaking  in  children  for 
5  cents  a  head.  ...  A  checker  who  was  check¬ 
ing  the  house  happened  to  notice  that  a  lot  of 
kids  were  in  the  house.  .  .  .  And  didn’t  remem¬ 
ber  seeing  them  pay.  .  .  .  Investigation  revealed 
an  open  fence,  some  shrewd  kids,  and  a  final 
race  for  the  exits  before  they  were  grabbed. 
.  .  .  Narberth  houses  didn’t  feel  any  too  well 
toward  that  measles  epidemic.  .  .  .  Schools 


“Green  Eyes”  Nears 

Chesterfield  has  purchased  for  early  produc¬ 
tion  the  “Murder  of  Stephen  Kester’’  by  Har- 
riette  Ashbrook.  When  completed  the  story 
will  probably  bear  the  title  “Green  Eyes.’’ 


were  ordered  closed  and  children  were  barred 
from  theatres. 

SUPERIOR  AMUSEMENT  CORPORA¬ 
TION  has  the  Roxy,  Easton.  .  .  .  Astor, 
Anneville,  now  under  C.  E.  Piersol,  director. 
.  .  .  Kenney  and  Fessler  handling  the  Reading 
Park.  .  .  .  Henry  Rosinsky  has  the  Eureka 
back.  .  .  .  Louise  Pulosi  operating  the  Swoy- 
ersville  Strand.  .  .  .  Capitol,  Reading,  closing. 

MAESTRO  ARTIE  COHN,  at  the  Earle, 
worked  overtime  for  the  Joe  Penner  engage¬ 
ment.  .  .  .  Penner  played  here  a  year  ago  at 
$850.  .  .  .  Now  gets  nearly  10  times  that  much. 
.  .  .  Joe  Feldman,  managing  director,  says 
Mary  Pickford  follows.  .  .  .  Eric  M.  Knight, 
the  Public  Ledger  scribe,  had  his  first  book  pub¬ 
lished  by  Greenberg.  .  .  .  Name  is  “Invitation 
to  Life.”  ...  It  is  said  to  contain  lots  of 
picture  material. 

AFTER  A  LONG  RUN,  “Forgotten  Men" 
made  way  for  the  Cantor  Rosenblatt  film.  .  .  . 
“The  Ghoul”  is  expected  at  Europa  shortly.  .  .  . 
“Woman  Unafraid”  opens  at  Keith's  April  9. 

TEN  YEARS  AGO.  .  .  .  Opening  of  the 
Earle  Theatre  brings  Joe  Schenck,  John  Clark, 
Sidney  R.  Kent,  Adolph  Zukor  and  other  celeb¬ 
rities  to  Philadelphia.  .  .  .  Eclipse  Theatre, 
Eddystone,  re-opened.  .  .  .  EMO  joined  the 
Stanley  Company.  .  .  .  Comerford  planned  to 
build  in  Luzerne.  .  .  .  Bill  Doyle  started  to  sell 
for  Max  Milder.  .  .  .  May  was  Bill  Heenan 
month.  .  .  .  Harry  Blumberg  married  Miss 
Elsie  Stern.  .  .  .  The  Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 
merger  was  on  its  way. 

NINETEEN  YEARS  AGO.  .  .  .  Dave 
Sablosky,  Steve  Talbott  were  on  the  entertain¬ 
ment  committee  of  the  Reel  Fellows  who  gave 
an  entertainment  at  the  Alhambra  Theatre, 
Twelfth  and  Passyunk.  .  .  .  Theatre  loaned 
for  occasion  by  Stanley  Mastbaum.  .  .  .  Meyer 
Magill  bought  the  Imperial,  Sixtieth  below 
Walnut.  .  .  .  Lewis  Swaab  and  R.  V.  Carrick 
were  preparing  for  trip  to  Panama  Exposition 
and  Universal  City.  .  .  .  Joseph  W.  Gardiner 
bought  the  Empire  Theatre.  .  .  .  Mass  meet¬ 
ing  held  at  Forrest  Theatre  on  Broad  Street  to 
protest  censorship  was  sponsored  by  Motion 
Picture  Exhibitors’  League  of  which  Charles 
Segall  was  President.  .  .  .  Mr.  Segall  opened 
the  meeting  and  the  first  speaker  was  W. 
Stephen  Bush,  Moving  Picture  World.  .  .  . 
Other  speakers  were  Samuel  F.  Wheeler,  Jacob 
William  Binder,  National  Board  of  Censors. 


Monogram  All  Set 

As  this  was  being  written.  Mono¬ 
gram,  under  President  W.  Ray  Johnston, 
was  making  final  plans  for  the  annual 
convention,  4th  in  a  row,  at  the  Am¬ 
bassador,  Atlantic  City,  April  4-7. 

The  banquet  takes  place  April  7,  in 
conjunction  with  a  dinner-dance. 

A1  Blofson,  First  Division  manager, 
will  be  in  attendance  from  this  district. 


Waller  Fire  Checked 

Quick  action  on  the  part  of  Harold  Culver, 
projectionist,  and  other  employes  of  Waller 
Theatre,  Laurel,  Del.,  prevented  a  panic  and 
kept  the  flames  confined  to  the  booth,  March 
20. 

Hot  piece  of  carbon  which  accidentally  fell 
upon  one  of  the  films  caused  the  flare.  Culver, 
who  was  on  duty  in  the  booth,  quickly  closed 
doors  and  windows  of  the  fireproof  booth  to 
prevent  a  spread  of  the  flames,  while  firemen 
who  were  summoned,  stood  ready  to  fight  the 
blaze  should  it  have  gotten  beyond  the  booth. 

Waller  Theatre,  owned  by  T.  J.  Waller,  was 
recently  remodelled  and  is  a  thoroughly  modern 
house. 


Ii’ 


For 

Preferred 

Dates 

WRITE 

PHONE 

WIRE 


A  SPRING  TONIC  FOR 
YOUR  BOX  OFFICE 


smvtoa  noun  cohouhon 


REV.  CHAS-E.  COUGHLIN 


CAPITAL  FILM  EX.,  1314  Vine  St.,  Phila. 
Released  by 

INTER-AMERICAS  FILM  CORPORATION 
50  E.  42nd  Street,  New  York 


To  my  Exhibitor  Friends 

Contrary  to  what  has  been  printed  or  what  you  may  have 
heard,  I  have  not  retired  from  the  Decorating  and 
Drapery  business.  With  the  dissolution  of  the  Reliable 
Decorative  Company,  I  will  soon  be  established  and  in  a 
position  to  continue  to  render  the  same  personal  service 
and  advice  on  your  Decorating  Problems. 

Watch  for  my  coming  announcement! 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Apr  1 T  34 


19 


TRENTON 


GOVERNOR  A.  HARRY  MOORE  has 
signed  the  Waugh  Bill  to  confirm  the  State's 
authority  to  levy  against  industry  the  cost  of 
administering  State  industrial  recovery  codes. 
.  .  .  Authorizes  the  Governor  to  appoint  a 
board  to  administer  the  law.  .  .  Wilkinson’s 
State  Theatre  closed  March  26.  .  .  .  William 
Keegan,  general  manager,  W.  C.  Hunt  theatres, 
and  Mrs.  Keegan  enjoyed  a  trip  to  Miami. 

Delaware  Censor  Bill 
Proving  Big  Problem 

Full  Regulation  for  Board  Under 
State  Plan 


Wilmington  motion  picture  theatre 
owners  were  ready  to  try  to  present  a 
solid  front  at  Dover  to  fight  the  Hopkins 
Motion  Picture  Censorship  Bill  which  has 
already  been  favorably  reported  in  the 
House,  despite  the  ridiculous  provision 
for  banning  all  films  in  which  the  prin¬ 
cipal  actor  or  actress  have  been  divorced 
or  convicted  of  any  crime  involving  moral 
turpitude. 

When  Dr.  Robert  Hopkins,  Milton,  Del.,  first 
announced  he  would  introduce  such  a  bill  some 
of  the  exhibitors  were  inclined  to  take  it  as  a 
joke.  However,  when  it  was  introduced  in  due 
form  and  hastily  reported  favorably,  they  sat  up 
and  took  notice.  A.  J.  DeFiore,  president,  I.  M. 
P.  T.  O.  of  Delaware  and  the  Eastern  Shore  of 
Maryland,  conferred  with  the  four  independents, 
A.  B.  Seligman,  Benjamin  Schindler,  A.  J.  Be- 
lair  and  John  Hopkins  (colored),  and  finding 
that  they  generally  felt  that  the  “indes”  shouldn  t 
bear  the  whole  burden  of  the  fight  while  the 
Warner  and  Loews  managers  remained  aloof, 
took  up  the  matter  with  George  Jones,  Loew's 
manager,  and  Lyle  Trenchard,  Warner  district 
manager. 

The  bill  would  provide  three  members  for  a 
board  of  censorship  who  would  be  paid  $5  a  day 
for  each  day’s  service  and  board  meeting.  Board 
would  have  “full  and  complete  power  and 
authority  to  regulate  and  control  the  showing 
of  motion  picture  films  in  the  State  of  Dela¬ 
ware.’’  This  clause  alone  the  exhibitors  see  as 
“full  of  dynamite.”  The  bill  would  provide 
for  a  license  fee  of  ten  cents  a  100  feet  or  frac¬ 
tion  thereof  of  film  and  it  would  be  unlawful 
to  show  any  pictures  that  did  not  have  the 
approval  of  the  board.  Then  it  gets  into  the 
“nitro  glycerine”  class  with  the  proposal  that 
it  would  be  unlawful  to  show  any  picture  which 
is  “obscene  or  disrespectful  of  any  race,  class, 
or  person  or  professions”  or  to  show  any  pic¬ 
ture  “which  has  for  its  principal  actor  or  actress 
any  divorced  person  or  any  person  convicted  of 
any  infamous  crime  or  crimes  involving  moral 
turpitude.”  For  v’olating  any  section  of  the 
act  a  penalty  of  a  fine  of  not  more  than  $1,000 
would  be  imposed. 

Representative  Robert  P.  Elliott,  Wilming¬ 
ton,  is  said  to  be  preparing  an  amendment  which 
would  make  the  provision  of  the  Hopkins  bill 


regarding  the  divorcees  read  to  apply  to  any 
principal  actor  or  actress  “who  has  been  twice 
divorced.” 

DeFiore  has  written  to  each  Delaware  mem¬ 
ber  of  his  association  urging  them  to  con¬ 
tact  their  senators  and  representatives  to  oppose 
the  bill.  Already  he  has  been  assured  by  Oscar 
Gray,  of  Georgetown,  that  the  down-state 
lobby  is  being  well  organized. 

Radio  came  in  also  for  its  share  of  worries, 
too.  Rep.  Edgar  Minner,  Felton,  Del.,  has  in¬ 
troduced  a  bill  to  regulate  radio  broadcasting, 
requiring  stations  to  be  licensed  by  the  state  at 
$500  a  year,  and  banning  profane,  obscene,  con¬ 
temptuous  or  derogatory  language  on  the  air. 


New  Vitaphone  Fight 

A  new  fight  on  the  part  of  Vitaphone  Cor¬ 
poration  to  prevent  resumption  of  arbitration 
proceedings  in  New  York  as  suggested  in  the 
State  Supreme  Court’s  ruling  at  Dover  has  been 
launched  in  Chancery  Court,  Wilmington.  Vita¬ 
phone  has  filed  its  replication,  contending  that 
its  allegations  in  its  action  against  Electrical 
Research  Products,  Inc.,  to  the  effect  that  the 
arbitration  proceedings  in  New  York  had  broken 
down  and  that  ERPI’s  plea  that  the  State  court 
cannot  assume  jurisdiction  in  the  royalties  suit 
are  not  true  and  that  it  is  ready  to  submit  proof 
to  the  effect  of  both  allegations.  This  action 
brings  the  fight  back  to  Chancery  Court. 


The  hero  is  killing  the  villain— 
that’s  good! 


He  will  marry  the  girl — 
as  certain  he  should. 


Gee,  what  a  picture— it  would  be  a  treat 

If  I  could  get  set  in  this 
slithering  seat! 


But  say,  such  a  theatre! — how  often 
I’d  come 

To  see  pictures  here  —  but  I  really  get  numb. 
I  miss  all  the  thrills,  for  this  house  needs  repairs 
They’d  double  business  with  comfortable  chairs! 


Ask  Us, 

“How  can  I  reseat  and  pay 
for  new  chairs  conveniently?” 


American  Seating  Company 

Makers  of  Dependable  Seating  for  Theatres  and  Auditoriums 
General  Offices:  Grand  Rapids,  Michigan 
BRANCHES  IN  ALL  PRINCIPAL  CITIES 


WE  DO  OUR  PART 


20 


Apr  1 ' 34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


BETTER  TESTED  SUCCESSFUL 

MANAGEMENT  #  ideas  *  merchandising 


Joins  Select  Group 


“Forgotten  Men,”  which  ran  15  weeks  on 
Broadway,  and  six  here  at  the  Europa,  has 
joined  the  select  class  of  “Three  Little  Pigs” 
and  “She  Done  Him  Wrong,”  both  of  which 
played  return  engagements  at  better  houses, 
higher  admissions  and  bigger  percentages. 
“Forgotten  Men”  has  played  repeats  in  A 
houses  to  bigger  returns.  The  show  is  a 
clicker  everywhere. 


Reading  Sells  “Moulin” 

Bob  Suits,  manager,  Loew’s  Colonial,  Read¬ 
ing,  for  the  opening  of  “Moulin  Rouge,’’  put 
over  a  corking  series  of  tie-ups. 

A  tie-up  with  Maxwell  House  Coffee  re¬ 
sulted  in  having  50  window  streamers,  sets  of 
scene  stills  and  cut-outs  placed  in  37  stores. 
Berkshire  News  Company,  in  a  tie-up  with  the 
Silver  Screen  Magazine,  arranged  windows  con¬ 
taining  attractive  displays  and  the  song  num¬ 
bers  in  the  picture  were  the  means  of  gaining 
additional  windows  and  counters. 


“Palooka”  Opening 
Another  Perry  Hit 

The  Aldine’s  up-and-coming  P.  A. 
Charlie  Perry,  went  to  bat  for  “Palooka” 
and  the  result  was  a  neat  campaign. 

The  highlight,  illustrated,  was  the  manner  in 
which  Perry  got  a  group  of  the  boys  who  sold 
hot  dogs,  sandwiches,  etc.,  at  the  Bass-Locatelli 
fight  at  the  local  Arena,  with  about  10,000 
present,  to  wear  the  “Palooka”  sweatshirt.  In 
addition,  the  sweatshirt  was  worn  for  many 
events  following. 


Package  slips  were  distributed  by  Gimbel 
Brothers  department  store  to  the  tune  of  30,000. 
Gimbel’s  gave  a  window  for  a  display.  WIP 
announced  formation  of  a  Palooka  Boys  Club, 
with  membership  card  and  autographed  draw¬ 
ing  of  Joe  Palooka  by  Ham  Fisher. 

Ad  copy  in  the  dailies  concentrated  on  the 
Stieg  motif  and  show  got  off  to  a  swell  start. 


Nuts  for  “Six” 

Paul  E.  Glase,  Embassy  Theatre,  Reading, 
had  his  ushers  distribute,  at  shows  preceding 
the  dates  for  “Six  of  a  Kind,”  starring  six 
“nut”  actors,  small  bags  containing  nuts.  On 
the  bags  were  printed  : 

“Laugh  Week  at  the  Embassy  Theatre — If 
you  find  an  extra  nut  in  this  bag,  it's  my  little 
brother.  Gracie  Allen.” 


Selling  Tracy 


When  Arthur  Tracy,  “The  Street  Singer,” 
appeared  at  Fay’s  Theatre,  Sidney  Stanley, 
live  wire  manager,  tied  up  with  this  window 
on  Chestnut  Street  for  a  pippin  display. 
Exhibitors  playing  Universal’s  shorts  will 
probably  benefit  from  the  local  appearance. 


Jones  Has  Easter  Hunt 

When  George  Jones,  manager,  Loews  Park¬ 
way,  Wilmington,  happens  to  run  into  a  little 
opposition  to  his  plans  for  publicity,  he  usually 
has  an  “ace  in  the  hole.” 

George  was  planning  his  Easter  Egg  Hunt 
for  Easter  Monday,  and  was  getting  co-opera¬ 
tion  in  publicity  from  the  Morning  News,  but 
ran  into  opposition  on  The  Evening  Journal  and 
Every  Evening.  At  once  he  called  up  Mayor 
Speer  and  asked  him  how  he  would  like  to 
have  Loew’s  Parkway  sponsor  a  nice  munici¬ 
pal  Easter  Egg  Hunt  in  one  of  the  parks. 
Mayor  gave  George  permission  to  use  a  partic¬ 
ularly  attractive  little  grove  in  Brandywine 
Park,  well  out  of  the  way  of  traffic.  Therefore, 
Jones  simply  left  the  publicity  to  the  Mayor's 
office,  and  went  on  about  his  Easter  Egg  Hunt 
plans,  which  included  the  coloring  and  number¬ 
ing  of  several  dozen  eggs,  with  luck  numbers 
drawing  Easter  bunnies. 


The  FINEST  SERVICE  on  FILM  ROW  l 


SPECIAL  RATES  TO  FILM  PEOPLE: 

Parking  All  Day  ........  25c 

High  Pressure  Washing  (any  type  car)  85c 

TOW-CAR  SERVICE  —  ANY  PLACE  —  ANY  TIME 


APEX  OARAGE 

249-51-53  N.  JUNIPER  STREET  •  250-52-54  N.  CLARION  STREET 

Phone:  LOCUST  8604  -  -  PHILADELPHIA 
Becker  Bros.,  Props. 

Road  Service  to  Patrons  -  Mechanic  Always  on  Duty  -  Never  Closed 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Apr  1’34 


21 


In  our  last  issue  we  mentioned  the  elaborate,  comprehensive  and  complete 
special  bulletin  prepared  by  and  for  RKO  theatres  to  sell  Frank  Buck’s  new  picture, 
“Wild  Cargo.”  Since  then,  the  RKO-Radio  press-book  has  been  issued.  Bob  Sisk, 
Barrett  McCormick,  et  al,  are  deserving  of  the  resultant  credit  which  will  accrue. 

Aside  from  the  cutout  holder,  we  particularly  recommend  the  four-page  pink 
newspaper  special. 

I  THINK  I  would  get  in  touch  with  the  biggest  store  in  my  city,  preferably  a 
department  store.  Get  the  advertising  manager  and  propose  this  plan.  You  will 
give  him  the  last  three  columns  for  his  own  store  ad  if  he  will  contribute  $5  a  thou¬ 
sand  and  either  send  them  out  to  his  mailing  list  or  distribute  them  in  the  store. 
Without  any  co-operative  ads  it  will  cost  you  SI  2.50  for  the  first  thousand,  anyway. 
Assuming  that  you  are  considering  ten  thousand  the  total  cost  is  $85.  By  deducting 
$50  it  costs  you  much  less  than  if  you  had  no  co-operation. 

The  store  will  naturally  want  to  make  the  tie-up  complete  and  provide  a 
window  display  in  addition  to  a  similar  display  in  his  sporting  goods  department. 

The  name  of  Frank  Buck  is  not  only  a  good  box-office  attractor  but  will  help 
you  materially  in  getting  the  attentive  ear  of  the  department  store  executive  who 
may  have  been  aloof  in  the  past,  insofar  as  tie-ups  are  concerned. 

*  *  *  *  *  *  * 

Norma  Shearer  s  return  to  the  screen  is  a  natural.  The  cash  prices  for  the 
best  title  slogan  for  “ Riptide ”  lends  itself  to  many  commercial  opportunities.  In 
deciding  upon  your  advertising  text,  anywhere,  clarify  the  title  so  prospective  patrons 
will  get  its  meaning  quickly.  You  will  find  several  exceptionally  fine  lines  in  tivo  or 
three  “Riptide'’  ads  in  the  press-book  to  carry  out  this  thought.  Don’t  just  paste  up 
the  first  one  you  sec. 


these  Canny 
Show  -  shoppers 


Tell  Philadelphia  show-goers  what 
you  are  offering — or  else  how  are 
they  going  to  know  which  show  to 
pick  ? 

They  are  enthusiastic  show  fans, 
but  they  are  canny  show  shoppers. 
Cash  in  on  the  thought  and  con¬ 
sideration  you  take  of  what  you 
select  to  show  them  each  day. 


“Stand  Up  and  Cheer”  has  all  the  ear-marks  of  being  a  big  money-maker,  if 
merchandised  effectively.  On  page  eight  of  the  press-book,  you  will  find  five  teaser 
ads.  These  single  column  ads  may  be  utilized  in  so  many  ways  that  space  does  not 
permit  listing  them  all.  You’ll  get  my  angle  fast  if  you  chop  off  the  reverse  line 
under  each  one.  Then  ’phone  your  newspaper  advertising  manager. 

Show  him  the  proof  and  simultaneously  suggest  a  “Stand  Up  and  Cheer”  Day 
or  Week  or  Sale.  Merchants  have  tied-up  on  so  many  things  for  years  that  when 
the  depression  came  along  co-operative  pages  were  definitely  eliminated.  The  snow 

is  gone,  Spring  is  here,  a  new  season - merchants  are  hopeful  because  things  are 

picking  up.  That  “Stand  Up  and  Cheer”  title  is  box-office.  To  slap  the  picture 
on  the  screen  without  giving  them  a  real  advance  campaign  is  an  injustice  to  that 
piece  of  property  and  to  your  box  office. 

1  THINK  there  are  merchants  or  corporations  in  your  town,  whose  records 
show  a  proportional  increase  in  business  over  the  corresponding  period  of  last 
year.  I  THINK  they’re  searching  for  an  idea  through  which  to  herald  the  fact. 
What  better  lead,  what  is  more  appropriate  or  timely  than  “Stand  Up  and  Cheer.” 

*****  *  * 

For  the  exhibitors  playing  Monogram’s  “Mystery  Liner’  I  THINK  I  would 
prepare  an  inexpensive  card,  inserted  in  a  small  white  envelope.  Imprint  on  the 
envelope  K-7  and  directly  underneath  S-505.  K-7  is  a  weekly  thriller  of  war  spy 
stories  enjoying  a  tremendous  listening  audience  late  Sunday  nights.  On  the  card,  I 
would  print — If  you  enjoy  K-7  on  the  radio,  you’ll  be  thrilled  with  S-505  on  the 
screen  in  “ Mystery  Liner,”  etc.  etc. 


Tell  them  what  you  are  showing — 
Tell  them  the  quickest,  surest, 
most  economical  way — 

Tell  them  in 


The  RECORD 


Amusement  Directory 

A  listing  in  Philadelphia’s  best- 
known  and  most-consulted  direc¬ 
tory  costs  only  30  cents  a  day 
(longer  listings,  15  cents  per  line 
additional)  and  carries  your  show¬ 
ing  to  176,000  families  daily  and 
270,000  on  Sunday. 

To  place  your  listing  or  for  fur¬ 
ther  information  call  the 


PHILADELPHIA 

RECORD 

CLASSIFIED  DEPARTMENT 

WALNUT  2300 


Witness  Doug  Fairbanks,  Jr.,  Colleen  Moore,  Genevieve  Tobin  in  the  Radio  picture. 


22 


Apr  1 ' 34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Berny  Seamon,  at  the  Germantown  Theatre, 
offered  this  lobby  display  for  “Dinner  at 
Eight.” 


PROCLAMATION 

WHEREAS,  there  has  been  Inaugurated  a  "JOY  WEEK" 
in  York  from  March  23rd  to  March  30th,  inclusive 
and 

WHEREAS,  each  Manager  of  Warner  Bros.  Theatres 
has  selected  by  careful  consideration  and  thought¬ 
fulness  the  best  in  entertainment  for  your  enjoy¬ 
ment: 

I,  Harry  B.  Anstine,  Mayor  of  the  City  of  York, 
do  hereby  urge  the  Citizens  of  our  Community  to 


Harrisburg  Stores  Help 

The  two  leading  department  stores  of  Harris¬ 
burg  have  been  co-operating  with  Harrisburg 
theatre  managers  in  newspaper  ads  that  aim  to 
advertise  hats  and  frocks  worn  by  actresses  in 
current  motion,  pictures. 

During  showing  of  “Nana,"  Loew’s  Regent, 
copies  of  hats  worn  by  Anna  Sten  in  the  picture 
were  advertised  in  the  newspapers  and  shown 
exclusively  at  Pomeroy’s  derartment  store, 
which  maintains  a  “Cinema  Shop"  department. 
Another  department  store  advertised  “Fashions 
of  1934”  while  this  picture  was  running  at  the 
Colonial.  Ad  featured  pictures  of  Bette  Davis. 


participate  in  the  celebration  of  this  event  by 
joining  in  the  happy  throngs  attending  the  Theatres 
during  this  period. 


Politicians  are  usually  a  little  wary  of  encouraging  any  amusement  during  Holy 
Week,  but  when  a  delegation  of  five  theatre  men,  including  Bill  Israel,  district  man¬ 
ager,  invaded  the  office  of  Mayor  Harry  B.  Anstine,  York,  they  came  out  with 
the  proclamation  you  read  above. 


PHILADELPHIA 


NEW  YORK 


WASHINGTON 


BALTIMORE 


NATIONAL 

KLINE 

POSTER 

CO. 

1307  VINE  STREET 
PHILADELPHIA 


POSTER  RENTALS 


NATIONAL 

PENN 

PRINTING 

CO. 

1233  VINE  STREET 
PHILADELPHIA 

▲ 

PRINTING 


SIMON  LIBROS 


GEO.  H.  KLINE 


OSCAR  LIBROS 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Apr  1  ’  34 


23 


Around  the  Circuit 

STANLEY-WARNER 

_ _ By  Harry  Goldberg _ 

WARNER  ORGANIZATION  goes  into  the 
new  quarter  in  high  gear.  .  .  .  Lot  of  the  boys 
are  going  to  cut  into  the  Bonus  melon  for  their 
extra  effort.  .  .  .  Ace  attractions  are  breaking 
around  the  Warner  neighborhood  houses.  .  .  . 
Looks  as  though  Easter  week  is  going  to  be 
sensational.  .  .  .  Harry  Goldberg,  publicity 

chief,  tags  this  month  as  “April  B.  D.  S.”  .  .  . 
B.  D.  S.  means  “before  daylight  saving.”  .  .  . 
Itr’s  the  last  big  month  before  theatre  business 
begins  to  taper  off  as  the  result  of  longer  day¬ 
light  hours. 

BEN  BLUMBERG,  skipper,  Broadway, 
scored  a  real  bull’s-eye  with  his  30-store  A. 
and  P.  tie-up  on  “Dinner  at  Eight.”  .  .  . 
Got  both  window  and  inside  displays.  .  .  . 
As  well  as  heralds  in  every  package  that  left 
the  stores.  .  .  .  Bernie  Seaman  (German¬ 

town)  was  one  of  the  first  of  the  boys  to  wise 
up  to  the  fact  that  Joe  Penner  shorts  spell 
box-office. .  .  .  He  booked  an  old  one  while 
he  was  still  in  Wilmington.  .  .  .  Dave  Sea¬ 

man  (it’s  a  brother  act)  made  money  “while 
the  beards  grew”  for  the  Commodore.  .  .  . 
Persuaded  the  sponsors  of  the  recent  U.  of  P. 
whisker  “derby”  to  hold  the  final  judging  on 
the  stage  of  his  house.  .  .  .  Arthur  Block 

(Park  Theatre)  gave  the  Strawberry  Mansion 


residents  a  taste  of  grand  opera.  .  .  .  With 

a  30-minute  version  of  Verdi’s  “Rigoletto.” 
.  .  .  A1  Jolson’s  personal  appearance  on  the 
opening  night  of  “Wonder  Bar,”  preceded  by 
a  dinner  for  the  newspaper  scribes  at  the 
Warwick  Hotel,  got  a  swell  break.  .  .  .  Zone 
Manager  Schlesinger  is  having  the  Liberty 
(Tacony)  readied  up  for  its  re-opening.  .  .  . 
And  the  residents  and  merchants  of  the 
Northeast  are  tickled  to  death.  .  .  .  Man¬ 

ager’s  Week,  which  climaxed  the  month  of 
March,  had  the  Warner  men  putting  forth 
every  bit  of  showmanship  they  could  devise. 

AL  SCHWARTZ  (Warner,  West  Chester) 
had  the  Burgess  of  the  town  playing  host  to  his 
patrons  during  Manager’s  Week.  .  .  .  Manager 
Stutenroth,  Holme,  played  host  to  a  repre¬ 
sentative  group  of  Mayfair  and  Holmesburg 
business  men  recently.  .  .  .  Gave  them  a  pre¬ 
view  of  “Convention  City.”  .  .  .  Ed  Muehle- 
mann  (formerly  Alhambra)  panicked  the  kids 
at  the  Lindy  with  a  Mickey  Mouse  Matinee.  .  .  . 
It  was  old  story  to  Ed.  .  .  .  Marty  Golden- 
berg’s  herald  on  Manager's  Week  is  being  care¬ 
fully  preserved  by  patrons  of  the  Colonial.  .  .  . 
Front  cover  bears  a  swell  likeness  of  the  man¬ 
ager.  .  .  .  Boyd  Theatre-Daffy  News  “Riptide” 
slogan  contest  went  over  big.  .  .  .  Slogans  of 
every  deserption  poured  into  the  paper's  contest 
editor. 


Harrisburg  Psychic 

Answering  questions  from  the  stage  of  the 
Colonial  Theatre,  Harrisburg,  for  a  week,  start¬ 
ing  March  23,  Jane  Morley,  advertised  as  a 
woman  with  powers  of  “psycho-analysis,”  was 
an  excellent  box  office  attraction. 


Heard  In 

E  A  D  I  N  G 

Orpheum  Is 
Still  Available 

_ By  T.  R _ 

WELL,  LENT’S  OVER,  and  so  is  a  winter 
the  like  of  which  theatre  men  here  don’t  want 
to  see  again  for  the  rest  of  their  lifetime.  .  .  . 
Business  is  better,  in  most  houses,  but  matinee 
houses  are  very  small.  .  .  .  Astor  showed 

“Shuffle  Along,”  on  the  stage,  and  Embassy, 
screen  “Scandals.” 

ORPHEUM  THEATRE,  oldest  legit,  not 
yet  in  service  this  season,  has  been  rechrist¬ 
ened  “Masonic  Temple  Theatre.”  .  .  .  Les¬ 
see  is  wanted  for  the  house,  but  a  responsible 
man  is  looked  for. 

MANAGER  WILLIAM  O.  HECKMAN, 

back  again  at  the  Rajah,  Reading,  is  giving 
every  woman  patron  every  Tuesday  after¬ 
noon  one  piece  of  a  39-piece  set  of  dinner- 
ware.  .  .  .  Every  Thursday  night  at  Rajah  a 
German  comedian  holds  forth  on  the  stage, 
singing  and  wise  cracking,  at  a  “Musical 
Grocery”  show. 


Delaware  Charters 

United  Artist  Corporation  De  Colombia. 

Columbia  Pictures  of  Brazil,  Inc. 

Warner  Bros.  First  National  Films  of  Peru,  Inc. 
Raspin  Productions,  Inc.,  New  York. 


ON  MV  WAV  TO 
NEW  VORK  AND 
THE  PICCAD1LLV 


.  .  best  hotel  I  know! 
Near  everything,  just 
200  feet  from  Broad¬ 
way.  Modern,  hospit¬ 
able,  and  comfortable. 
Like  the  Manaser, 
like  the  rates  —  $2.50 
single,  $3.50  double, 
for  a  room  with  bath  ! 

THE  HOTEL  - 

PICCADILLY 

45th  St.  *  W.  of  Broadway  •  New  York 

WILLIAM  MADLUNG,  Mgr. 


CREATING  . 

an  atmosphere 


•  •  •  • 

of  richness 


Lobby  appearance  is  a  very  important 
part  of  theatre  showmanship.  TYL-A-MATS 
dress  up  your  lobby,  creating  an  atmosphere 
of  luxuriousness,  of  comfort  .  .  .  your  pa¬ 
trons  feel  that  you  have  their  interest  at  heart 
when  first  impressions  are  made  by  TYL-A- 
MAT  lobby  installation. 


ryi=A, 


O.  W.  JACKSON  CO.,  Inc. 

225  W.  34th  St.  New  York,  N.  Y. 


24 


Apr  1 T  34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Schindler’s  Young  Timers 

Maybe  everybody  wouldn’t  think  of  bringing 
small  town  ideas  to  larger  cities,  but  Ben 
Schindler,  manager,  Avenue,  Wilmington, 
doesn’t  see  why  they  wouldn't  work,  particularly 
in  a  section  where  the  patronage  is  largely 
of  one  element.  Schindler  has  fostered  the 
idea  of  having  the  young  p>eople  among  his 
patrons  organize  the  Young  Timers,  an  organiz¬ 
ation  for  fostering  interest  in  motion  pictures 
and  theatrical  affairs  among  the  young  people. 


Supplement  to  “Rothschild” 

UA  has  gotten  out  a  supplement  to  the  regu¬ 
lar  press  sheet  material  on  “The  House  of 
Rothschild.”  This  carries  the  New  York  ex¬ 
ploitation  campaign  and  backs  up  each  state¬ 
ment  with  a  sample  of  the  ad  or  stunt  men¬ 
tioned.  These  are  now  in  all  our  exchanges  and 
are  available  to  all  exhibitors  for  the  asking. 


you  CAN  SHOO 

Mr.  Sum.  R.  Blues 


Increase  your  income 
during  the 


HOT  WEATHER 


with  a 


BERLO 

CANDY  VENDOR 

“Ask  Your 
Fellow  Exhibitor ” 


Get  in  touch  with: 

GEO.  P.  AARONS 

301  N.  13th  Street 

LOCUST  4245 


OR  CALL  POPLAR  6109 

BERLO 

VENDING 

COMPANY 

1518  N.  Broad  St.,  Phila. 

Specializing  in  Candy 
Vending  Equipment 
for  the  Theatre  Trade! 


NEW  YORK  BALTIMORE 

SCRANTON  WASHINGTON 

ALLENTOWN  CLEVELAND 

PITTSBURGH  CINCINNATI 


Heard  In 


ILKES-BARRE 

Nabes  Get 
Break  Here 


By  Mac 


NEIGHBORHOODS  have  been  doing  very 
well  by  themselves  while  the  big  central  city 
houses  continue  to  struggle  for  business.  It  is 
the  old  story  of  price.  .  .  .  Children’s  Theatre, 
playing  Irem  Temple  Saturdays,  is  about  ready 
to  toss  in  the  sponge.  .  .  .  That  the  outlook 
for  business  is  better  in  these  parts  is  the  inter¬ 
pretation  placed  on  the  announcement  of  the 
Armory  A.  C.  that  it  will  resume  boxing  and 
wrestling  shows  shortly.  .  .  .  Bill  Roberts, 
Shawnee,  Plymouth,  and  Mrs.  Bill  have  been 
enjoying  the  sunshine  in  Florida  while  Joseph 
Swipes  was  carrying  on  in  his  boss’  absence. 
.  .  .  House  itself  was  specially  decorated  for 
their  return  and  there  was  a  community  cele¬ 
bration,  including  a  parade,  talks  and  even 
something  to  eat. 


WE  SEE  where  the  Capitol  has  extended 
its  matinee  prices  to  6  P.  M.  for  the  working 
girls.  .  .  .  Fred  Hermann  apparently  wants 

a  chunk  of  that  business.  .  .  .  Kingston  has 

been  featuring  a  Mystery  Tenor  with  its  film 
offerings.  .  .  .  Liberty,  Exeter,  is  offering 

ten  valuable  prizes  now  at  its  Saturday  Coun¬ 
try  Store  Night.  .  .  .  John  Galvin  secured 

some  extra  publicity  for  his  Penn  when  Mae 
West’s  sister,  Beverly,  played  on  the  vaude¬ 
ville  end  of  the  bill  there  last  week. 


For  “Riptide” 

For  “Riptide,”  Loew’s  Regent,  Harrisburg 
Manager  Charles  McLeary  covered  the  city  and 
vicinity  thoroughly  in  one  of  his  well  known 
exploitation  campaigns. 

Taxicabs  carried  banners  for  a  week  prior  to 
opening ;  an  interesting  contest  was  run  in  the 
Harrisburg  Telegraph,  daily  newspaper;  a 
sound  truck,  covered  with  large  banners, 
patrolled  the  city;  10,000  shopping  bags  were 
distributed  at  stores  and  market  houses ;  5000 
blotters  were  distributed  to  office  buildings ; 
10,000  tabloid  heralds  were  delivered  at  homes; 
100  window  cards  were  placed  in  leading  stores ; 
co-operative  advertising,  in  which  eight  merch¬ 
ants  commented  on  the  picture,  appeared  in 
newspaper ;  large  department  store  ran  special 
ad  on  hats  worn  by  Norma  Shearer,  with  win¬ 
dow  display,  and  a  radio  review  of  picture  was 
broadcast  over  Harrisburg  Station  WKBO 
Wednesday  night  preceding  opening. 

Booking  Theatres 
Everywhere 

Honest  ::  Reliable 
Conscientious 
Service 

EDWARD  SHERMAN 

VAUDEVILLE  AGENCY 

Real  Estate  Trust  Bldg. 

PHILADELPHIA 

Pennypacker  7595 

MAYFAIR  THEATRE  BLDG.,  NEW  YORK 
BR.  9-1905 


Charging  for  Broadcasts 

Loew’s  WKBO  Night  Owl  Jamboree,  to  be  a 
weekly  Saturday  night  feature  at  Loew's 
Regent  Theatre,  Harrisburg,  was  inaugurated 
on  the  Loew  stage,  night  of  March  24,  at  11 
o’clock,  immediately  following  regular  show. 

Program  includes  the  appearance  on  the  stage 
of  radio  artists  who  broadcast  over  Harrisburg 
Station  WKBO.  Music  is  furnished  by  the 
orchestra  engaged  by  the  broadcasting  company. 
The  program  is  put  on  the  air  from  the  theatre 
stage  just  as  it  would  be  broadcast  from  the 
studio.  An  admission  price  of  35  cents  is 
charged. 


Assistant  Wanted 


Wanted:  Assistant  manager  with  the¬ 
atre  experience.  Write  particulars. 
Box  AV,  THE  EXHIBITOR 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Apr  1'34 


25 


Spencer  Tracy  and  Jack  Oakie  have  Constance  Cummings  and  Arline  Judge  to  aid 
them  in  “Looking  for  Trouble.” 


Heard  In 

TLANTIC  CITY 

Ready  For 
Big  Easter 


ALTHOUGH  PALM  SUNDAY  itself  was 
fair  and  springlike,  surprise  snowstorm  of 
the  preceding  days  destroyed  the  chances  of 
a  big  day.  .  .  .  Steel  Pier  preparing  exten¬ 
sive  program  with  two  pictures,  one  in  Casino 
Hall  and  one  in  Ocean  Hall.  .  .  .  Eight  or  more 
acts  will,  shuttle  between  the  two  stages.  .  .  . 
Sally  Rand,  in  person.  .  .  .  Pier  also  has 
Atlantic  City  Automobile  Show  from  Easter 
Saturday  for  a  week.  .  .  .  Local  Warner 

managers  and  other  attaches  are  displaying 
great  activity  in  ballyhooing  current  attrac¬ 
tions.  .  .  .  L.  B.  Finn,  Stanley  manager,  is 
using  500  tabloids  on  “Wonder  Bar,’’  also  show¬ 
ing  evolution  of  the  dance  in  window  tie-ups ; 
has  candy  tie-up,  and  is  using  Modern  Screen 
Magazine  with  imprint  of  “Wonder  Bar;’’  is 
playing  a  ballyhoo  record  as  an  exit  march ;  has 
lined  up  a  parade  of  cars  bannered  with  "Won¬ 
der  Bar,”  and  has  a  tie-up  with  a  department 
store.  .  .  .  Finn  also  has  a  trailer  entitled 
“Spring  Festival  of  Hits.'”  ...  At  the  Vir¬ 
ginia,  Manager  Floyd  West  has  lobby  fixed  up 
like  a  gambling  den  with  roulette  wheels,  bird 
cages,  cards,  dice  and  other  sporting  parapher¬ 
nalia  for  “Gambling  Lady.”  ...  I.  Perlin, 
with  “Bolero”  at  his  Colonial  arranged  for  a 
dance  contest  at  the  Atlantic  City  Convention 
Hall  Ballroom,  named  “The  Colonial  Theatre’s 
‘Bolero Dance  Contest.”  .  .  .  For  “No  More 
Women”  E.  Strietfeld,  art  director,  Warner 
group,  created  a  realistic  diver’s  outfit  that 


Big  Dowling  Dinner 


At  current  writing,  dinner  to  be  tend¬ 
ered  to  Eddie  Dowling  by  Philadelphians 
is  expected  to  be  one  of  the  biggest  in 
years. 

April  4,  at  the  Penn  A.  C.,  it  will  be 
attended  by  many  film  men. 


Friends  Consider  Films 

Permission  to  adolescents  to  patronize  only 
desirable  photoplays,  it  was  agreed  at  the  yearly 
Meeting  of  Friends  at  Fifteenth  and  Race 
Streets,  represents  the  best  method  of  control¬ 
ling  presentation  of  immoral  pictures.  Discus¬ 
sion  was  precipitated  by  Anne  J.  F.  Hallowell, 
following  the  report  of  the  Committee  on 
Religious  Education. 


attracted  much  attention  on  the  streets.  .  .  . 
Spring  is  already  stirring  pulses  in  the  Warner 
outfit.  .  .  .  Fred  Montgomery,  assistant  man¬ 
ager,  Stanley,  is  reported  to  be  in  love;  James 
Newell,  Colonial  doorman,  seriously  considers 
becoming  engaged.  .  .  .  Report  Lou  Schienholz 
looking  around  for  a  mate  only  partly  correct ; 
his  goal  is  several  mates.  .  .  .  Peggy  Wood¬ 
ward,  Stanley  box,  doubled  at  the  Virginia  for 
Dot  Farley,  on  the  sick  list  for  nearly  two 
weeks.  .  .  .  Max  Schwartz,  owner,  Royal,  is 
just  getting  around  after  sustaining  injuries  in 
a  Philadelphia  subway  train  accident  some  three 
weeks  ago. 


“No  Greater  Glory 99  Is  an  Exploitation  Ace 


Lois  Wilson  and  a  cast  of  stars  are  seen  in  Frank  Borzage’s  production  of 
“No  Greater  Glory,”  for  Columbia. 


READY 

REFERENCE 

EACH  COMPANY  LISTED  IS  AN 
AUTHORITY  IN  ITS  FIELD  AND 
IS  RELIABLE  AND  TRUSTWORTHY 


AIR  CONDITIONING 


T 


UPHOON 

CONDITIONING  CO. 


AIR  C 


COOLING 

VENTILATING 


BLOWERS  -  FANS 
AIR  WASHERS 
252  West  26th  St.,  New  York 


ARCHITECT 


THEATRE  DESIGN 


Remodeling  »  Building 

LATEST  COMPLETED 

BROADWAY  CAYUGA 

Philadelphia  Philadelphia 

Penna.  Penna. 


DAVID  SUPOWITZ 

REGISTERED 

ARCHITECT 

246  S.  15th  St.,  Phlla.,  Pa.  Pennypacker  2291 


BUSINESS  BROKER 


THEATRES 

BOUGHT  •  SOLD  •  LEASED 

Partnerships  Negotiated 

M.  H.  GOODIS.  Inc. 

1201  CHESTNUT  STREET 
Rictenhouse  4595  Rittenhouse  9077 

OSCAR  NEUFELD,  Mgr.  Theatre  Dept. 


INTERIOR  DECORATORS 


Theatrical 

Decorating 

OUR  SPECIALTY 
Phone 

Rittenhouse  7828 
2315  Walnut  St. 
Philadelphia 


I.  Manoff  Reliable  Decorating  Co. 

INTERIOR  DECORATORS 

Draperies,  Carpets,  Painting 

1316  Vine  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

WE'VE  TURNED  NUMEROUS  NON-PAYING 
THEATRES  INTO  MONEY  MAKING  PROPOSITIONS 
ASK  US  HOW! 


20I-N-BK0AD-ST- 


iiivin 

DECORATOR 


•RIT*5S75 


Apr  1 T 34  pg.  26 


Look  over  your  equip¬ 
ment  .  .  .  your  carpets 
.  .  .  draperies  .  .  .  seats 
.  .  .  walls  .  .  .  lobby 
frames  .  .  .  marquee 
.  .  .  screen  .  .  . 
ticket  booth. 


ANNUAL 
SPRING 
CLEANING 
ISSUE 

Articles  by  leading 
Theatre  Architects 
Charts  of  Building  and 
Renovating  Costs 
Actual  photographs 
and  sketches 

Out  April  15th 


What  do  you  need  .  . 
What  will  it  cost  .  .  ■ 
Must  you  close  down  . 
Who  is  an  expert  .  .  . 

? 

♦ 


I  V/ould  Like  Information  on: 


Architects  who  know  theatres  ....  □ 

Artificial  flowers  .  □ 

Banners  and  Flags .  □ 

Carpet  for  the  aisles  and  foyer. . .  □ 

Chairs  and  chair  repairs .  □ 

Chair  covers  .  □ 

Decorating:  lobby — marquee — 

auditorium .  □ 

Dry  cleaning .  □ 

Electric  signs  .  □ 

Horns  and  Speakers  .  .  . .  .  □ 

Lighting  Equipment  and  Elec¬ 
trical  Work .  □ 

Lighting  Fixtures .  □ 

Lobby  Frames  and  Ticket  Booth.  .  □ 

Marquee  and  Ballyhoo  Front .  □ 

Premiums .  □ 

Printing  and  Posting .  □ 

Safes — both  Money  and  Film .  □ 

Safety  Devices .  □ 

Screens  .  □ 

Slides  .  □ 

Sound  Equipment  and  Repairs.  ...  □ 

Special  Trailers .  □ 

Stage  Scenery .  □ 

Summer  Draperies  .  □ 

Tickets  and  Ticket  Registers .  □ 

Uniforms  and  Costumes  .  □ 

Vaudeville  and  Stage  Presenta¬ 
tions  .  □ 

Vending  Machines  .  □ 


Tear  out  and  mail  to: 

JAY  EMANUEL  PUBLICATIONS 
219  N.  Broad  Street,  Philadelphia 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Apr  1 T  34 


27 


Walter  Huston,  Frances  Dee  are  in  “Keep  ’Em  Rolling,”  from  Radio,  a  story  of 

men  and  horses. 


Heard  In 

O  R  K 

Managers  All 
So  Busy 


ALL  ACTIVITY  during  the  past  two  weeks 
has  been  centered  around  manager’s  week.  .  .  . 
First  they  invaded  the  sanctuary  of  the  city 
Mayor  and  talked  him  into  issuing  a  proclama¬ 
tion  setting  aside  the  week  of  March  23  to 
March  30  as  the  dates  of  the  contest,  and  as 
“Joy  Week/’  and  then  managed  to  have  a  fac¬ 
simile  of  that  proclamation  printed  in  a  local 
newspaper.  .  .  .  Then  they  arranged  with  the 
local  street  railways  company  to  transport  free 
of  charge  their  patrons  to  the  evening  shows. 
.  .  .  They  showed  special  trailers  announcing 
the  contest  and  urging  the  patrons  to  attend  the 
theatre  managed  by  the  manager  they  liked 

best . Harry  Goldberg,  head  publicity  and 

advertising  department,  and  Jack  Flynn,  assist¬ 
ant  zone  manager,  for  Warner  Brothers,  were 
visitors  in  the  city  March  23. 

IRVING  MIRISCH,  manager,  Majestic 
Theatre,  Gettysburg,  had  as  his  guests  more 
than  100  members  of  the  Adams  county  safety 
patrols  organized  at  the  various  schools  by  the 
Gettysburg  Motor  Club.  .  .  .  Travis  capitalized 


Still  Want  Cuts 

Reading  theatre  owners  have  their  eyes  turned 
towards  the  Court  House,  and  for  very  good 
reasons.  The  courts  are  still  hearing  appeals 
from  high  tax  assessments  on  houses  that 
haven’t  paid  dividends  for  some  years  and  on 
other  theatres  that  are  not  in  operation. 


on  the  popularity  of  Father  Coughlin,  when  he 
played  a  short,  “The  Fighting  Priest.’’  .  .  .  He 
sent  letters  to  ministers!  and  priests  throughout 
the  city  calling  their  attention  to  the  picture 
and  asking  them  to  mention  its  showing  from  the 
pulpit.  ...  A  prominent  hosiery  shop  in  the 
city  joined  with  Harry  to  plug  “Moulin  Rouge,” 
by  giving  him  a  full  window  display  on  the.  pic¬ 
ture  replete  in  stills  and  cutouts.  .  .  .  Harry 
did  a  nice  business  on  “Eskimo.”  .  .  .  He  con¬ 
ducted  a  special  newspaper  campaign  on  the 
picture,  got  out  heralds,  and  sent  letters  to  the 
school  teachers  telling  them  of  the  picture.  .  .  . 
For  manager’s  week  he  had  his  employes  send 
out  under  their  own  signatures  letters  calling 
attention  to  the  significance  of  the  week  and 
asking  them  to  attend  the  Capitol  during  that 
week.  .  .  .  He  also  instituted  a  system  of 

call  cards  for  physicians  who  attend  the  show, 
giving  them  slips  to  hand  the  usher  to  be  filled 
out  giving  the  location  of  their  seats  in  the 
theatre. 


Universal  Has  Several  New  Ones 


Paul  Lukas,  Constance  Cummings  in  “Glamour”;  Genevieve  Tobin  in  “Uncertain 
Lady”  and  Lee  Tracy  and  Isobel  Jewell  are  the  Universal  folk  currently  seen  in 

pictures  playing  around. 


PREMIUMS 

There  are  many  imitations  but  there  is  only  one 

22  KARAT  GOLD  DINNER  SET 

with  a  success  record 

It’s  the  Dainty  Thin  Square  Model! 

QUALITY  PREMIUM  DIST. 

1305  VINE  ST.  PHILA. 

SOUND  SERVICE 


GA.McCrork 

SOUND  ENGINEER 

262  N.  13TH  ST. 
PHILADELPHIA 
Day  Phone:  RIT  4529 
Night  Phone:  SHE  0805 


THEATRE  EQUIPMENT 


ft 

PEJVIV  THEATRE 

EQUIPMENT  CO 

309  North  13th  Street 

mm 

PHILADELPHIA 

Phone,  Rittenhouse  3273 

■A 

GENERAL  THEATRE  EQUIPMENT 

Specialists  in  Repairs 

CLEM'S 

MOTION  PICTURE  SUPPLY  HOUSE 

'The  Most  Complete  Independent 

Supply  House  in  the  Territory! 

255  North  13th  Street  -  Philadelphia 

SPRUCE  1884  EXPERT  REPAIRING 


National  Theatre  Supply  Company 


Service  and  courtesy  from  men  you  know  .  .  . 
Plus  equipment  of  known  and  guaranteed  quality 
.  .  .  are  at  your  service  at  our  local  branch 


UNIFORMS 


American  Uniform  Co. 

134  So.  11th  Street,  Philadelphia 

Styled  Right  ® 

Serviced  Right 

Priced  Right 

NO  ORDER  TOO  SMALL  OR  TOO  LARGE 


VAUDEVILLE  AGENCIES 

• _ 


FRANK  WOLF 

Booking  Vaudeville 
and  Picture  Theatres 

307  REAL  ESTATE  TRUST  BLDG. 
Philadelphia  -  -  PENnypacker  0792 


WORK  WANTED 

A  young,  conscientious  man  who  is  not 
afraid  of  work  desires  a  position  in  ship¬ 
ping  room,  advertising  department  or 
around  a  theatre.  5  years’  experience  this 
business.  Will  start  low. 

Box  717,  THE  EXHIBITOR 


28  THE  EXHIBITOR 


1 -April-34 

6-Point  Reviews  i 

J  1  Who  made  it  ?  4  Is  it  family  or  adult  type  ? 

2  Who's  in  it ?  5^  What's  it  about ? 

^  3»> How  good  is  it ?  6 Running  Time  ? 

COLUMBIA 


The  Lady  Is  Willing  Comedy  Drama 

76m. 

Leslie  Howard,  Binnie  Barnes,  Claude  Allister, 
Cedric  Hardwicke. 

English  made  picture  with  Howard  as  a 
romantic  French  detective  who  eventually  steals 
the  heroine.  Show  doesn't  attain  the  tempo  of 
American  pictures  but  where  the  class  angle  and 
Howard  can  be  sold  it  may  take  care  of  itself 
nicely.  Otherwise,  it  may  be  a  problem. 

Estimate:  Sell  Howard 


Family 

The  Social  Register  Comedy  Drama 

74m. 


Colleen  Moore ,  Charles  Winninger,  Pauline  Fred¬ 
erick,  Alexander  Kirkland,  Margaret  Livingston* 
Robert  Benchley,  Ross  Alexander. 

Comedy  about  a  chorus  girl  who  wants  to 
marry  the  hero,  is  scorned  by  the  wealthy 
mother  but  liked  by  the  father.  Picture  has 
some  names  to  sell,  doesn’t  hit  a  fast  pace  all 
the  way  but  still  offers  plenty  of  opportunity 
for  exploiteers.  Audiences  will  be  satisfied. 

Estimate:  Fair. 


FIRST  NATIONAL 


20  Million 

Sweethearts 


Family 
Comedy  with  Music 
88m. 


Pat  O’Brien,  Dick  Powell,  Ginger  Rogers,  Allen 
Jenkins,  Four  Mills  Brothers,  Ted  Fio  Rito  and  Band, 
Grant  Mitchell,  Joseph  Cawthorne,  Johnny  Arthur, 
Joan  Wheeler,  Henry  O’Neill,  Radio  Rogues. 

Musical  with  a  radio  background,  plenty  of 
comedy  and  the  things  that  make  for  box  office 
hits.  Cast  is  one  of  the  name-studded  Warner 
efforts  with  the  direction  speedy,  a  love  story 
that  never  gets  in  the  way  of  the  lot  and  a  nice 
tempo  throughout.  Picture  has  lots  of  selling 
possibilities. 

Estimate:  Radio  hit. 


FOX 


Three  on  a 

Honeymoon 


Family 
Comedy  Drama 
66m. 


Zasu  Pitts,  Sally  Eilers,  Charles  Starrett,  Henrietta 
Crosman,  Irene  Hervey,  John  Mack  Brown. 


Action  takes  place  on  shipboard  with  the  hero¬ 
ine  getting  into  a  mess  to  save  the  reputation  of 
a  school  girl  chum  and  the  hero  trying  not  to 
believe  that  his  love  isn’t  all  he  wants  her  to 
be.  Zasu  Pitts  provides  comedy,  and  show  gen¬ 
erally  falls  into  program  category. 


Estimate:  Program 


RADIO 


Adult 

The  Crime  Doctor  Mystery  Melodrama 

73m. 

Otto  Kruger,  Karen  Morley,  Nils  Asther,  Judith 
Wood,  William  Frawley,  Donald  Crisp,  J.  Farrell 
MacDonald,  Fred  Kelsey. 

Very  well  produced  murder  mystery  melo¬ 
drama  with  Kruger  contributing  a  corking  char¬ 
acterization.  Show  is  cleverly  devised  and 
with  a  surprise  twist  at  the  finish  should  send 
the  patrons  out  talking.  Picture  will  deliver 
everything  that  any  exhibitor  can  promise  in 
the  mystery  melodrama  field. 

Estimate:  Ace  mystery. 


WARNERS 


Upper  World  Melodrama 

72m. 

Warren  William,  Ginger  Rogers,  Mary  Astor,  Ted 
Newton,  Henry  O’Neill,  Robert  Barrat,  Andy  Devine. 

Tale  of  a  wife  whose  social  activities  cause 
her  to  neglect  the  husband,  a  chorine  who 
attracts  the  latter,  a  murder,  a  trial  and  the 
eventual  understanding  between  the  hubby  and 
frau.  Picture  is  composed  of  familiar  ingredi¬ 
ents,  has  some  names  that  may  appeal  but  is 
generally  lacking  in  which  it  takes  to  make  a 
standout  show. 

Estimate:  Average. 


FIRST  DIVISION 


Family 

The  Quitter  Comedy  Drama 

68m. 

Emma  Dunn,  William  Bakewell,  Charles  Grapewin, 
Barbara  Weeks ,  Hale  Hamilton,  Glen  Boles,  Mary 
Kornman. 

Human  story  of  a  family  with  a  lot  of  heart 
interest  and  promise  of  satisfaction  to  all  types 
of  audiences.  A  father  leaves  his  family,  comes 
back  to  save  the  day  when  a  crisis  arrives. 
Piece  has  been  directed  in  a  leisurely  manner, 
has  clean  appeal,  is  of  family  rating  throughout. 
Estimate:  Pleasant. 


Family 

The  Ferocious  Pal  Dog  Story 

50m. 

Kazan  dog  story. 

Another  of  the  Kazan  dog  series  with  the 
dog  accused  of  being  a  killer.  Eventually,  the 
blame  is  placed  where  it  rightfully  belongs  but 
not  before  a  lot  of  dog  fights,  man  fights,  etc., 
have  been  recorded.  Show  may  please  the 
kiddies  and  dog  tale  lovers. 

Estimate:  Just  exactly. 


What  Do  You  Think? 

It  is  the  aim  of  this  publication  to  give  its  readers 
every  possible  service.  Revision  of  the  page  is  an 
attempt  to  offer  a  concise  reviewing  form  that 
will  help  every  exhibitor.  Your  suggestions  and 
oriticisms  are  welcomed.  Write  in  now  and  tell 
us  whether  you  like  this  or  not. 


STATE  RIGHTS 


Family 

Fantomas  Mystery 

61m. 

Jean  Gallant,  Tania  Fedor,  Georges  Rigaud. 

French  made  film  dubbed  English.  A  mys¬ 
tery  story  it  has  lavish  settings,  interest  all  the 
way.  While  the  dubbed  version  may  detract  a 
bit  from  the  general  attraction,  show  has  an 
intriguing  plot,  should  be  a  nice  picture  to  sell. 
Estimate:  Holds  interest. 


Back  Page 


Family 
Action  Drama 
65m. 


Peggy  Shannon,  Russell  Hopton,  Claude  Gilling- 
water,  Edwin  Maxwell,  Sterling  Holloway,  Rockcliff 
Fellows. 

This  time  the  story  is  about  a  newspaper 
woman  who  saves  the  day.  Picture  rates  the 
usual  action  background  of  a  newspaper  office 
in  a  small  town,  the  scheming  villain,  and  the 
final  last  minute  win  for  love  and  honesty. 
Shannon  name  may  help  a  bit. 

Estimate:  Inde  newspaper  stuff. 


Family 

Girl  in  the  Case  Comedy 

60m. 

Jimmy  Savo,  Eddie  Lambert,  Dorothy  Lambert. 

Picture,  made  by  Dr.  Eugene  Frenke,  with 
three  principals,  introduces  a  new  picture  name 
in  Jimmy  Savo.  Show  gives  him  opportunity 
to  emote  and  act  a  la  Chaplin,  with  some  ex¬ 
ceedingly  funny  results.  Piece  is  in  the  nature 
of  an  artistic  success,  but  once  the  audience  is 
inside,  it!  should  get  plenty  of  laughs.  Camera 
work,  etc.,  out  of  the  ordinary. 

Estimate:  Something  different. 


Family 

The  Moth  Comedy  Drama 

64m. 

Sally  O’Neill,  Paul  Page,  Fred  Kelsey,  Wilfred 
Lucas,  Duncan  Renaldo. 

Average  independent  effort  with  the  heroine 
a  wild  debutante  who  is  constantly  getting  into 
trouble.  Involved  with  a  dancer  with  a  record, 
the  story  continues  along  until  the  ultimate 
clinch. 

Estimate:  So-so. 


Adult 

Trapeze  Foreign:  dubbed  English 

64m. 

Anna  Sten  and  foreign  cast. 

German  film  now  being  circulated  with  dubbed 
English  to  cash  in  on  the  current  Sten  agita¬ 
tion.  Show  has  Dupont  direction  and  its  success 
will  depend  entirely  on  the  Sten  reaction.  Other¬ 
wise  it  isn't  much. 

Estimate:  Sten. 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Apr  1  ’  34 


29 


VAUDEVILLE  AGENCIES 


HARRY  BIBEN 

VAUDEVILLE  AGENCY 

(603-4  COLONIAL  BUILDING) 

N.  E.  Cor.  13th  and  Market  Sts. 

Phone,  Rittenhouse  9494-5 

PHILADELPHIA 

▼ 

Booking 

STANLEY- WARNER 
THEATRES,  Philadelphia 


TICKET  REGISTERS 


Shots  from  “It  Happened  One  Night”  and  “The  Lineup”  are  current  here. 


'  Heard  In 


L 


EHIGH  VALLEY 


Cooper  Wears  a 
Big  Smile 


By  Jack 


A.  “JERRY”  COOPER,  Easton  Transit,  is 
wearing  a  big  spring  smile,  thanks  to  "Shadows 
of  Sing  Sing”  which  broke  all  existing  house 
records  for  Tuesday  business.  .  .  .  Main  St. 
and  Chambers  St.  theatres  across  the  river  in 
N.  J.,  have  been  doing  well  with  Sunday  shows. 
.  .  .  Newly  opened  Roxy  is  giving  the  double¬ 
feature  idea  a  try-out. 

BROAD  STREET  THEATRE,  Nazareth  ad¬ 
mitted  ten  children  free  for  “Massacre.”  .  .  . 
Manager  George  C.  Meeser  had  the  kids  com¬ 
pete  for  free  tickets  by  dressing  in  Indian 
costumes  including  war  paint,  etc.  .  .  .  Fire 
at  the  Palace,  Lansford,  caused  about 
$25,000  damage.  .  .  .  During  course  of  re¬ 
pairs  scheduled  pictures  have  been  shown  at 
the  Victoria.  .  .  .  Jack  Van,  Wilmer  and 

Vincent’s  State,  Allentown,  had  a  good  stage 
attraction  to  go  with  “16  Fathoms  Deep.” 
.  .  .  Mysterious  Clifford,  famous  deep  sea 

diver  failed  to  appear  as  scheduled  owing  to 
an  accident. 

LYRIC,  United  Chain’s  big  house,  has  new 
low  spring  prices  of  10  to  20  cents  for  matinees 


Marquee  Stuff 

Today:  “After  Tomorrow.” 
Tomorrow:  “Only  Yesterday.” 

(“Daily  News.”) 


Europa  Building  Sold 

Europa  Theatre  building  has  been  sold  to 
Aaron  Roth,  New  York  lawyer,  for  investors. 

Property  is  assessed  at  $178,000.  The  pres¬ 
ent  lease  has  two  years  to  run. 


New  RCA  Sales  Policy 

RCA  Photophone  is  contacting  exhibitors  on 
a  new  revised  sales  policy. 

It  covers  the  outright  sale  of  High  Fidelity 
motion  picture  sound  reproducing  equipment. 


and  15  to  25  evenings,  with  big  stage  shows 

still  going  strong  Saturdays . Transit,  N. 

Apter,  has  a  new  scale  of  15  cents  for  after¬ 
noons,  evenings  20,  and  kiddies  always  at  10. 
.  .  .  Roxy,  Northampton,  Andy  Anderson, 

continues  to  draw  Sunday  patrons  through 
American  Legion  benefits.  .  .  .  United  Chain's 
Colonial,  Bethlehem,  Dick  Shamus,  has  an¬ 
nounced  new  spring  prices  for  25  and  35 
cents  during  the  week. 


i6 Registered  Nurse 99  Has  a  Hospital  Background 


Bebe  Daniels,  John  Halliday,  Lyle  Talbot  may  be  seen  in  the  Warner  show. 


Be  Modern — 


Protect  your 
Cash  Receipts 
with  the 
LATEST, 
IMPROVED 
Ticket  Registers 
REASONABLE  PRICES 
SPECIAL  TERMS 


Buy 

America  || 

SILENT  H 

TICKET 

REGISTERS 


Write  Us  for  Special  Spring  Offer 


National  Ticket  Register  Co- 

341  WEST  44th  ST.  NEW  YORK 

J.  C.  Enslen,  Gen.  Mgr. 


• 

Official  Letter 
Service  to  the 
Motion  Picture 
Industry 

Accurate  List 
of  all  Theatres 
and  Executives 

Mimeographing 
Multigraphing 
Public  Stenography 

Addressing  -  Folding 
Enclosing  -  Mailing 

Advertising 

Publicity 

Printing 

WM.  Z. 

PORTER 

Advertising  and  Letter  Service 

1208  Vine  Street 

(Second  Floor) 

BELL  TELEPHONE 

:  RITTENHOUSE  7195 

yyyyyy  ww  u  iyyifyyyt 


ST.  CHARLES 

AN  ENTIRE  BLOCK  ON  THE  BOARDWALK 

•  ATLANTIC  CITY  • 

A  Smart  Hotel  in  America’s  Smartest  R esort 

Atlantic  city— Healthful — 

Restful- — Affording  complete  relaxation  so 
welcome  after  intensive  work — Where  the 
St.  Charles  offers  the  maximum  in  hotel 
comfort  and  service — Spacious  Sun  Deck 
occupying  one  entire  block  overlooking 
Boardwalk  and  Sea — Ocean  view  Lounge. 

IDEAL  CONVENTION  FACILITIES 
RATE S  GREATLY  RED UCED 


30 


Apr  1 1 34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


For  your  convenience,  this  publication  furnishes  this  guide  to  reviews  of  pictures  which  have  appeared 
in  regular  review  department.  Before  dating  in  your  show,  consult  this  page,  find  out  when  the  review  appeared 
and  then  look  it  up.  Key:  For  example,  2-Jan.  means  the  second  issue  of  this  publication  in  that  month. 
1-Feb.  would  mean  the  first  issue,  and  so  on. 


Columbia 


Master  of  Men . 

Fog  . 

Fury  of  the  Jungle  .  .  . 

Before  Midnight  . 

Shadows  of  Sing  Sing  . 

Straightaway  . 

Once  to  Every  Woman 
Let’s  Fall  in  Love  .  .  . 
The  Fighting  Code 
It  Happened  One  Night 
No  Greater  Glory 
The  Song  You  Gave  Me 

The  Lineup  . 

The  Ninth  Guest  . 

Speed  Wings  . 

The  Lady  is  Willing 
The  Social  Register 


1- Dec. 

2- Jan. 
2-Jan. 
2-Jan. 
2-Jan. 
1-Feb. 
1-Feb. 
1-Feb. 

1- Feb. 

2- Feb. 
1-Mar. 

1- Mar. 

2- Mar. 
2-Mar. 
2-Mar. 
1-Apr. 


The  Late  Christopher  Bean 

(Her  Sweetheart)  . 

The  Prizefighter  and  the  Lady . 

Eskimo  . 

Should  Ladies  Behave  (The  Vinegar  Tree) 

Dancing  Lady  . 

Sons  of  the  Desert . 

Women  in  His  Life  . 

Going  Hollywood  . 

Queen  Christina  . 

Fugitive  Lovers  . 

You  Can't  Buy  Everything  . 

This  Side  of  Heaven  . 

Men  in  White  . . 

Cat  and  the  Fiddle  . 

Mystery  of  Mr.  X  . . 

Lazy  River  . 

The  Showoff  . 


1-Apr. 


2-Nov. 

2-Nov. 

2-Nov. 

2-Nov. 

1-Dec. 

1-Dec. 

1-Jan. 

1-Jan. 

1- Jan. 

2- Jan. 
1-Feb. 

1- Feb. 

2- Feb. 
1-Mar. 

1- Mar. 

2- Mar. 
2-Mar. 


First  National — Warners 


Monogram 

DISTRIBUTED  BY  FIRST  DIVISION 


Spitfire  . 

Success  at  Any  Price 
This  Man  Is  Mine  .  . 
The  Crime  Doctor  . 


United  Artists 


The  Bowery  . 

Broadway  Thru  Keyhole . 

Emperor  Jones . 

Henry  the  Eighth . 

Blood  Money  . 

Roman  Scandals . 

Advice  to  the  Lovelorn . 

Gallant  Lady  . 

Moulin  Rouge  . 

Nana  . 

Palooka  . 

Sorrell  and  Son . 

Looking  for  Trouble . 

Catherine  the  Great . 

House  of  Rothschild  . 


Ever  in  My  Heart .  2-0ct. 

Kennel  Murder  Case  . 1-Nov. 

College  Coach  . .  1-Nov. 

House  on  56th  Street .  2-Nov. 

Female  .  1-Nov. 

Havana  Widows  . 1-Nov. 

From  Headquarters  . 2-Nov. 

Son  of  a  Sailor .  2-Nov. 

Dark  Hazard  .  1-Dec. 

Lady  Killer  .  1-Dec. 

Convention  City  .  2-Dec. 

The  Shakedown  .  .  „ .  1-Jan. 

Massacre  . 2-Jan. 

Fashions  of  1934  .  2-Jan. 

Hi  Nellie  . 1-Feb. 

Easy  to  Love  .  1-Feb. 

Mandalay  .  1-Feb. 

As  the  Earth  Turns . 2-Feb. 

Bedside  .  2-Feb. 

Heat  Lightning  .  2-Feb. 

I’ve  Got  Your  Number .  2-Feb. 

Wonder  Bar  .  2-Feb. 

Gambling  Lady  .  1-Mar. 

Harold  Teen  .  1-Mar. 

Journal  of  a  Crime .  2-Mar. 

Registered  Nurse  .  2-Mar. 

Jimmy  the  Gent  .  ,  2-Mar. 

Twenty  Million  Sweethearts . 1-Apr. 

Upper  World  .  1-Apr. 


Fox 


Good  Companions  . 1-Nov. 

Charlie  Chan’s  Greatest  Case  .  2-Sept. 

□  r.  Bull  .  2-Sept. 

My  Weakness  .  1-Oct. 

Power  and  the  Glory .  2-July 

Walls  of  Gold  .  2-0ct. 

Worst  Woman  in  Paris . 1-Nov. 

Berkeley  Square  .  2-July 

My  Lips  Betray  .  2-Nov. 

This  Mad  Game . 1-Nov. 

Oleson’s  Big  Moment .  1-Nov. 

Hoop-La  .  2-Nov. 

As  Husbands  Go . 2-Nov. 

Frontier  Marshal  . 2-Nov. 

Jimmy  and  Sally . 1-Dec. 

Smoky  . 2-Dec. 

I  Was  A  Spy . 2-Dec. 

Mr.  Skitch  . 1-Jan. 

I  Am  Suzanne . 1-Jan. 

Orient  Express  .  2-Jan. 

Sleepers  East  . 1-Feb. 

Cominq  Out  Party . 1-Feb. 

Ever  Since  Eve  .  1-Feb. 

Carolina  .  2-Feb. 

Devil  Tiger  2-Feb. 

Hold  That  Girl  .  2-Feb. 

I  Believed  in  You .  1-Mar. 

David  Harum  .  .  .  1-Mar. 

Bottoms  Up  .  2-Mar. 

Scandals  . .  2-Mar. 

Three  on  a  Honeymoon .  1-Apr. 


Metro 


Night  Flight  .  1-Sept. 

Bombshell  . 2-0ct. 

The  Chief  2-Oct. 

Day  of  Reckoning . 1-Nov. 

Meet  the  Baron .  2-Oct. 

Dinner  at  Eight .  2-June 


The  Avenger  . 2-Nov. 

Sweetheart  of  Sigma  Chi .  1-Nov. 

Broken  Dreams  .  1-Nov. 

He  Couldn't  Take  It .  2-Dec. 

Sensation  Hunters  . 1-Jan. 

The  Sagebrush  Trail  .  2-Jan. 

Lucky  Texan  . 2-Jan. 

Woman’s  Man  . 2-Jan. 

16  Fathoms  Deep  .  1-Feb. 

West  of  Divide  .  1-Feb. 

Mystery  Liner  .  2-Feb. 

Beggars  in  Ermine .  1-Mar. 


Paramount 


Torch  Singer  . 

To  the  Last  Man . 

Golden  Harvest  . 

Too  Much  Harmony  . 

I’m  No  Angel 

Tillie  and  Gus  . 

Way  to  Love  . 

Take  a  Chance  . 

Hell  and  High  Water . 

White  Woman  . 

Design  for  Living  . 

Cradle  Song  . 

Duck  Soup  . 

Lone  Cowboy  . 

Thundering  Herd 

Sitting  Pretty  . 

Girl  Without  a  Room . 

Alice  in  Wonderland  . 

Miss  Fane’s  Baby  Is  Stolen . 

His  Double  Life . 

8  Girls  in  a  Boat  . 

The  Last  Roundup  . 

Search  for  Beauty . 

Four  Frightened  People  . 

All  of  Me . 

Death  Takes  a  Holiday  (Strange  Holiday) 

Good  Dame  . 

Six  of  a  Kind . 

Bolero  . 

No  More  Women . 

Come  On  Marines  . 

She  Made  Her  Bed . 

Wharf  Angel  . 


2-Sept. 

1-Oct. 

1- Oct. 

2- Sept. 
2-Oct. 
2-Oct. 
2-Oct. 

1- Nov. 

2- Nov. 

1- Nov. 

2- Nov. 
2-Nov. 
2-Nov. 
2-Nov. 
2-Nov. 
1-Dec. 

1- Dec. 

2- Dec. 
1-Jan. 
1-Jan. 

1- Jan. 

2- Jan. 
2-Jan. 
2-Jan. 
2-Jan. 
1-Feb. 
1-Feb. 

1- Feb. 

2- Feb. 
2-Feb. 
2-Mar. 
2-Mar. 
2-Mar. 


Radio 


One  Man’s  Journey . 

Midshipman  Jack . 

A  Chance  at  Heaven 

Ann  Vickers  . 

Ace  of  Aces  . 

Aqoie  Appleby  . 

Little  Women 

After  Tonight  (Woman  Spy) 

Right  to  Romance . 

If  I  Were  Free  . 

Flying  Down  to  Rio  . 

Man  of  Two  Worlds 
Meanest  Gal  in  Town  . 

Son  of  Kong  . 

Two  Alone  . 

Hips  Hips  Hooray  . 

Keep  ’Em  Rolling . 

Long  Lost  Father . 

The  Lost  Patrol . 

Sing  and  Like  It . 


2-Sept. 

1- Oct. 

2- Oct. 
2-Oct. 
2-Oct. 
2-Oct. 
2-Nov. 
2-Oct. 

1- Dec. 

2- Dec. 

1- Jan. 

2- Jan. 
2-Jan. 
2-Jan. 
2-Jan. 

1- Feb. 

2- Feb. 
2-Feb. 
2-Feb. 
1-Mar. 


Universal 


Only  Yesterday  . 

Myrt  and  Marge  . 

Invisible  Man . 

King  for  a  Night  . 

Counsellor  at  Law  . 

Horse  Play  . 

Beloved  . 

By  Candlelight  . 

Bombay  Mail  . 

Madame  Spy  . 

The  Poor  Rich 
Cross  Country  Cruise  .  . 
I  Like  It  That  Way 
Wheels  of  Destiny  .  .  .  . 

The  Crosby  Case . 

Love  Birds  . 

Midnight  . 

Gun  Justice  . 

Countess  of  Monte  Cristo 

Honor  of  the  West . 

Let’s  Be  Ritzy . 


First  Division 

(CHESTERFIELD) 

Dance,  Girl,  Dance . 

I  Have  Lived  . 

A  Man  of  Sentiment  . 

Rainbow  Over  Broadway . 

Notorious  But  Nice  . 

Murder  On  the  Campus  . 

Cross  Streets  . 

Eat  ’Em  Alive  . 

The  Road  to  Ruin . 

He  . 

Throne  of  the  Gods  . 

Under  Secret  Orders . 

Forgotten  Men  . 

Texas  Tornado  . 

The  Quitter  . 

The  Ferocious  Pal  . 


Gold  Medal 

Sing,  Sinner,  Sing  . 

The  Big  Bluff . 

Important  Witness  . 

Laughing  at  Life  . 

Curtain  at  Eight . 

You  Made  Me  Love  You  . 

The  Charming  Deceiver  . 

Sin  of  Nora  Moran . 

Big  Time  or  Bust . 

Enlighten  Thy  Daughter  . 

The  Morning  After . 


Masterpiece 

Her  Forgotten  Past  . 

Riot  Squad  . 

Secret  Sinners  . 

Wine,  Women  and  Song  . 

What's  Your  Racket? . 

Dancing  Man  . 

Back  Page  . 


1-Mar. 

1- Mar. 

2- Mar. 
1-Apr. 


2-Oct. 

1-Nov. 

1-Oct. 

1-Oct. 

.  1-Dec. 

1- Dec. 

2- Dec. 
2-Dec. 
1-Jan. 

2-Jan. 

1- Feb. 

2- Feb. 
2-Feb. 

1- Mar. 

2- Mar. 


2-Nov. 

1- Sept. 

2- Nov. 
2-Nov. 

1- Dec. 

2- Dec. 
1-Jan. 

1- Jan. 

2- Jan. 
2-Jan. 
2-Jan. 
2-Jan. 
2-Jan. 

1- Feb. 

2- Feb. 
2-Feb. 
1-Mar. 

1- Mar. 

2- Mar. 
2-Mar. 
2-Mar. 


1-Nov. 

1- Aug. 

2- Nov. 

1- Dec. 

2- Nov. 
2-Feb. 

1- Mar. 

2- Dec. 
2-Dec. 
2-Jan. 
2-Jan. 

1- Jan. 

2- June 
2-Mar. 
1-Apr. 
1-Apr. 


2-Aug. 

2-Oct. 

2-Aug. 

2-June 

1-Dec. 

1-Dec. 

1-Jan. 

1- Jan. 

2- Jan. 
2-Jan. 
2-Feb. 


2-Nov. 

2-Aug.. 

1- Jan. 

2- Jan. 
2-Feb. 
2-Mar. 
1-Apr. 


THE  FACTS 

1.  Name  of  organization:  Motion  Picture 
Theatre  Owners  of  America  National 
Headquarters:  1600  Broadway,  New 
York,  N.  Y. 

2.  Affair:  14th  Annual  Convention. 

3.  Place  and  Date:  Los  Angeles,  April 
10th  to  12th,  1934. 

4.  Convention  at:  The  Ambassador  Hotel, 
Los  Angeles,  Cal. 

5.  Minimum  rates:  $5.00  single,  $7.00 
double. 

6.  For  hotel  reservations  communicate 
with  Ben  Berenstein,  Chairman,  Ar¬ 
rangements  Committee,  1914  South 
Vermont  Ave.,  Los  Angeles,  Cal. 

7.  Lowest  fares  ever  offered  due  to  special 
convention  rates.  For  railroad  infor¬ 
mation  and  reservations  communicate 
with  M.  P.  T.  O.  A.  National  Head¬ 
quarters,  1600  Broadway,  New  York 
N.  Y. 

8.  Convention  Specials  from  Chicago, 
and  New  Orleans,  arriving  Monday, 
April  9th. 

9.  Arrange  for  return  trip  and  route  you 
want,  rail  or  boat. 

10. Convention  is  for  M.P.T.O.A.  mem¬ 
bers,  their  friends  arid  guests. 

1 1.  Access  to  the  studios  is  assured  for  con¬ 
vention  delegates  and  their  guests. 

12.  Forenoons  will  be  devoted  to  business 
sessions,  afternoons  to  trips  through 
the  studios  and  evenings  to  social  af¬ 
fairs,  banquet  and  entertainment. 


Apr  1 T34  b.c. 


The  Slum  's  Gone 
Waleh  Our  Smoke  Now! 

THESE  RED  LETTER 

DAYS  ARE  MONEY  DAYS 

Coming  Releases 

ki  AD  OA _ DIDTint  NORMA  SHEARER,  ROBERT  MONT- 

JU  IMrilUC  GOMERy,  HERBERT  MARSHALL 

ADD  kiCkl  Ikl  lA/UITET  clark  gable,  myrna 

MrRi  O  lYltn  IIH  VtmI  I  C  loy,  jean  hersholt 

APR.  13“Tarzan  and  his  Mate  MAUREEN  O'SULLIVAN 

APR.  20— LAUGHING  BOY 

APR.  27—Hollywood  Party  alclasstar 

MAY  4— SADIE  McKEE  ;?AA^RoATWFTrE 

METRO-GOLD  WYY-MAYER,  of  course 

BOB  LYNCH, 

Manager 


VOL  16-No.  8 


PHILADELPHIA,  APRIL  15, 1934 


Price,  15  Cents 


George  Raft  in 
THE  TRUMPET  BLOWS 
with  Adolphe  Menjou 
. . . Frances  Drake  . . . 
A  Paramount  Picture 

Directed  by  Stephen  Roberts 


i 


K4 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  September  11,  1924,  at  the  post  office  at  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  under  the  Act  of  March  3,  1879. 
PUBLISHED  SEMI-MONTHLY  AT  219  N.  BROAD  STREET.  PHILADELPHIA 


ROMANTIC  COMEDY  that  You  Will  Enjoy  Yourself  and  Be  Proud  to  Show 

Forbidden  Embraces!  Cautious  Kisses!  Secret  Moments! 
A  Midnight  Party!  A  Soft  Caress!  A  Whispered  Promise! 

STOLEN  SWEETS 

(A  CHESTERFIELD  PICTURE) 

With  SALLY  BLANE  »  CHARLES  STARRETT 

JAMESON  THOMAS  «  CLAUDE  KING  «  JOHNNY  HARRON 

Another  Important  Picture  From  the  World's  Leading  Independent 

FIRST  DIVISION  EXCHANGES,  Inc.  HAmM^OMAS 

Executive  Offices:  RKO  BUILDING,  RADIO  CITY,  N.  y. 

NEW  YORK  CLEVELAND  DETROIT  CHARLOTTE  NEW  HAVEN 

R  r  n  r  h  e  S  in  ALBANY  ATLANTA  BOSTON  PHILADELPHIA  CINCINNATI 

U  °  BUFFALO  WASHINGTON  PITTSBURGH  LOUISVILLE  NEW  ORLEANS 

.  .  _ _ _ _ ..... 


Aprl5'34  pg.  2 


Apr  15' 34  pg.  3 


R  PASSE 


L:MEN 


SI  NESS  BEYOND 


HOW  WONDER  BAR”  TOP 

PED  ALL  PREVIOUS  WARNER  MUSICALS  IN  FIRST 
NATIONAL  RELEASE  DATES  LAST  WEEK!  .  .  .  . 


a*  ■»**  «  .  %.  %  ■'% 

WONDER  BAR"  BUSI- 


TOPPED  "42nd  STREET" 


Aprl5'34  pg.  4 


FIGURES  BY  14.2% 


GROSSES  BY  18.3% 

SWAMPED  "FOOTLIGHT 


PARADE"  BY  31.3% 


NESS  IN  KEY  HOUSES 

BEAT  "GOLD  DIGGERS" 


Aprl5'34  pg.  5 


AS  THESE  SHOWMEN  TELL 


YOU  HOW  THEY  BLASTED  THE  BITTEREST  OPPOSITION 
OF  THE  SEASON  INS  GREAT  SHOW  CENTERS!  .  .  . 


ApriO'«54  pg.  D 


Aprl5'34  pg.  7 


T  H  E 


EDITOR'S  PAGE 


Vol. 


16,  No.  8  April  IS,  1934 


Two-A-Day  Mirage 


The  Exhibitor 


_  A  SIGNIFICANT  feature  of  the 
•  sound  revolution  in  motion  pictures 
has  been  the  inability  of  the  Hollywood 
picturemakers  to  supply  two-a-day  road¬ 
shows  that  might  approximate  the  strength 
of  the  silent  epics.  In  the  pre-talkie  days, 
a  real  roadshow  could  make  money  in  its 
two-a-day  run,  continue  its  gross-getting 
ability  in  the  first  runs  and  make  money 
for  exhibitor  and  distributor  all  the  way 
down  to  the  last  run. 

Since  sound  came  in  there  have  been  very 
few,  if  any,  real  two-a-day  films,  features 
that  cleaned  up  in  every  conceivable  kind 
of  run  or  situation.  Metro,  which  has  been 
one  of  the  main  advocates  of  roadshows, 
probably  found  out  that  whatever  profits 
it  may  have  made  on  the  two-a-day  pres¬ 
entations  of  “Grand  Hotel”  and  “D.nner 
at  Eight”  were  more  than  offset  by  the  lack 
of  business  encountered  by  the  subsequent 
runs,  even  with  higher  percentage. 

Of  course,  it  is  the  privilege  of  any  com¬ 
pany  to  pull  out  a  show  and  make  a  two- 
a-day  proposition  out  of  it,  but  when  one 
considers  the  restrictions  placed  on  the 
number  of  people  who  are  able  to  pay 
higher  prices  to  see  it  and  the  accompany¬ 
ing  lessening  of  the  throngs  who  feel  keen 
about  it  when  it  comes  around  again,  one 
wonders  whether  it  really  is  woi’th  while 
to  adopt  a  two-a-day  policy. 

Sound  seems  to  have  brought  with  it  a 
restraining  effect.  What  might  be  big  at 
the  moment  is  forgotten  easily  when  an¬ 
other  so-called  “big  picture”  comes  along. 

Warners  could  have  roadshowed  “42nd 
Street,”  “Gold  Diggers,”  “Footlight  Par¬ 
ade”  and  “Wonder  Bar”  at  two-a-day 
prices.  But  they  chose  to  deliver  the  mer¬ 
chandise  all  down  the  line  while  it  was 
“hot.”  They  knew  that  other  musicals 
might  come  along,  dim  the  lustre  of  their 
pictures.  They  and  the  exhibitors  profited. 

True,  there  are  prestige  pictures  like 
“House  of  Rothschild,”  which  won’t  suffer 
from  two-a-daying  in  big  towns  like  New 
York  City.  A  New  York  City  roadshow, 
anyway,  is  a  show-window  for  the  industry. 

Generally,  however,  the  idea  of  two-a- 
daying  most  pictures  has  been  proved  of 
little  value  to  distributor  or  exhibitor. 


Convention  Season 


Circulating  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware.  Issued  on  the  1st  and  15th 
of  each  month  by  Jay  Emanuel  Publications,  Inc.  Publishing  office.  219  North  Broad  Street,  Philadelphia. 
Branches  at  1600  Broadway,  New  York  City;  Washington,  D.  C.  Jay  Emanuel,  publisher;  Paul  J. 
Greenhalgh,  advertising  manager;  Herbert  M.  Miller,  managing  editor.  Subscription  rates:  $2  for  one 
year,  $5  for  three  years.  Single  copies,  15c  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware. 
Publishers,  also,  of  THE  NATIONAL  EXHIBITOR  of  Washington  and  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  EXHIBITOR. 
Official  organ  of  the  Motion  Picture  Theatre  Owners  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and 
Delaware.  Address  all  communications  to  the  Philadelphia  office. 


Science  Offers  a  Lesson 


A  200-INCH  (16  ft.  8  in.)  telescope  mirror  is  poured  for 
the  California  Institute  of  Technology.  In  about  ten 
months,  after  proper  cooling,  it  will  reach  room  temperature. 
Then,  if  it  passes  optical  tests,  it  is  to  be  shipped  to  laboratories  in 
Pasadena.  Three  years  of  grinding  and  cleaning  with  blasts  of 
electrons  will  produce  a  concave  paraboloid  surface  true  to  within 
two  millionths  of  an  inch,  following  which  the  mirror  will  be 
sprayed  with  vaporized  aluminum. 

In  1938,  if  everything  turns  out  satisfactorily,  it  will  be 
mounted  on  steel  fingers  fitted  into  a  grooved  back  at  the  bottom 
of  a  60-foot  skeleton  steel  tube  in  an  observatory.  If  all  goes  as  it 
should,  astronomers  will  be  able  to  look  three  times  farther  into 
space  than  they  can  see  now. 

It  would  take  more  than  a  200-inch  mirror  for  some  of  the 
members  of  this  industry  to  attain  the  foresight  which  this  busi¬ 
ness  needs  but  which  it  lacks.  The  manner  in  which  scientists 
grope  into  the  beyond  to  discover  new  mysteries,  benefit  humanity 
and  open  up  new  fields  for  research  and  development  makes  some 
members  of  this  business  look  puny  and  diminutive.  Scientists 
live  for  generations  to  come.  Some  of  the  industry  folk  think  not 
of  tomorrow,  only  of  today. 

It  will  be  interesting  to  find  out  in  1938,  when  the  200-inch 
mirror  unveils  new  wonders  for  the  world,  whether  or  not  there 
will  be  any  change  in  the  relationships  in  this  industry,  whether 
or  not  the  pettiness  which  is  gradually  destroying  the  rights  of 
the  little  fellow  will  be  existent  or  whether  there  will  be  a  new 
spirit. 

Code  battles,  arguments  between  exhibitor  and  distributor, 
etc.,  these  fade  into  insignificance  when  one  thinks  of  the  scope 
included  in  the  story  of  the  telescope  mirror  that  may  or  may  not 
be  a  success  in  1938.  The  men  who  run  this  industry  today  will 
be  gone  tomorrow,  but  the  vision  that  gives  science  its  ever 
unceasing  desire  for  more  and  more  knowledge  will  live  forever. 

Of  such  stuff  is  real  bigness  made.  Unfortunately,  it  is  not 
present  in  this  business. 


#  IN  ANOTHER  MONTH  or  so,  the 
®  convention  season,  traditional  period 
for  producer  and  distributor  enthusiasm, 
will  be  upon  us.  From  the  sacred  citadels 
of  the  sales  forces,  meeting  in  session,  will 
pour  forth  glorious  stories  of  what  the 
season  will  bring. 

Forgotten  will  be  the  weak  sisters  of  last 
year.  Those  must  be  relegated  to  the  past. 

The  motion  picture  business  has  no  mem¬ 
ory.  Always,  in  the  future,  are  the  big 
pictures.  They  represent  big  box  office  op¬ 
portunities  for  exhibitor,  huge  returns  for 
the  distributor.  And  if  they  do  not  pan 
out,  there  are  others. 

The  motion  picture  industry  looks  ahead, 
never  behind. 


8 


Aprl5'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Censor  Board  Quotes  Section  Six  in 
Answer  to  Request  for  Deletion  Data 


Pennsylvania  Civil  Liberties  Committee  Gets  Vague 
Response  —  Hint  Legal  Action  as  Next  Step  - —  Board 
Unanimous 


Pennsylvania  exhibitors  can  stop  blaming  the  Pennsylvania  State  Board  of 
Censors  for  failure  of  eliminations  to  be  released  for  publication. 

It  isn’t  the  fault  of  the  censors.  It’s  all  because  of  Section  Six  of  the  Act  of 
Assembly  approved  May  15,  1915,  P.  L.  534. 


According  to  a  letter  sent  by  Samuel  D. 
Schwartz,  chairman,  to  the  Pennsylvania  Civil 
Liberties  Committee,  that’s  where  the  trouble 
lies. 

And  what  does  Section  6  say?  Well,  here 
’tis : 

“The  board  shall  examine  or  supervise  the 
examinations  of  all  films,  reels  or  views  to  be 
exhibited  in  Pennsylvania ;  and  shall  approve 
such  films,  reels,  or  views  which  are  moral 
and  proper;  and  shall  disapprove  such  as  are 
sacrilegious,  obscene,  indecent  or  immoral,  or 
such  as  trend,  in  the  judgment  of  the  board,  to 
debase  or  corrupt  morals.  This  section  shall 
not  apply  to  announcement  or  advertising 
slides.’’ 

And  that’s  the  reason  why  eliminations  can’t 
be  released. 

What  was  that,  Rollo?  You  say  that  the 
paragraph  doesn’t  mention  anything  about  re¬ 
leasing  information?  Quite  so,  qmte  so.  But, 
apparently,  it  is  the  best  answer  the  censor 
board  can  think  of.  Perhaps  the  same  brilliant 
minds  which  are  making  300-400%  more  elim¬ 
inations  in  pictures  in  Pennsylvania  also 
thought  of  the  brilliant  answer  to  the  letter  of 
the  Pennsylvania  Civil  Liberties  Committee. 

The  correspondence  with  the  Committee  fol- 


Quotes  Section  6 


Samuel  D.  Schwartz 

Smiling  chairman  of  the  Pennsylvania  State 
Board  of  Censors,  quoted  Section  6  when  the 
Pennsylvania  Civil  Liberties  Union  wanted 
to  know  why  no  eliminations  were  released 
publicly  by  the  board. 


lows : 

COMMONWEALTH  OF  PENNSYLVANIA 
DEPARTMENT  OF  PUBLIC  INSTRUCTION 
Pennsylvania  State  Board  of  Censors. 

1225  Vine  Street 
Philadelphia 
March  28,  1934 

Pennsylvania  Civil  Liberties  Committee 
321  South  11th  Street. 

Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania. 

Attention  of  Mr.  J.  V.  Stanger,  Executive  Secretary. 


“The  Board  shall  examine  or  supervise  the  ex¬ 
aminations  of  all  films,  reels  or  views  to  be 
exhibited  in  Pennsylvania;  and  shall  approve  such 
films,  reels,  or  views  which  are  moral  and  proper; 
and  shall  disapprove  such  as  are  sacrilegious, 
obscene,  indecent,  or  immoral,  or  such  as  tend,  in 
the  judgment  of  the  Board  to  debase  or  corrupt 
morals.  This  section  shall  not  apply  to  announce¬ 
ment  or  advertising  slides.” 

Respectfully  yours, 

SAMUEL  D.  SCHWARTZ, 

SDS:K  Chairman. 


Dear  Sir; 

Please  be  advised  that  the  Pennsylvania  State  Board 
of  Censors,  in  its  discretion,  is  unanimously  opposed 
to  the  publication  of  eliminations,  made  in  accordance 
with  the  provisions  of  Section  Six  of  the  Act  of  Assembly 
approved  May  15,  1915  P.  L.  534; 


PENNSYLVANIA  CIVIL  LIBERTIES  COMMITTEE 
OPEN  LETTER  TO 

April  2,  1934. 

Mr.  Samuel  D.  Schwartz,  Chairman 
Pennsylvania  State  Board  of  Censors 
Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania. 


WV  Take  Drive-In  Theatre 


Wilmer  and  Vincent  are  reported 
taking  over  national  rights  to  all  the 
Drive-In  Theatres  on  a  percentage 
arrangement. 

Chain  also  takes  the  Camden  Drive- 
In  Theatre,  and  is  expected  to  operate 
it  in  the  spring  and  summer. 

Local  exhibs  looked  upon  the  propo¬ 
sition  as  direct  competition  last  year, 
and  some  Jerseyites  claimed  they 
wouldn’t  play  pictures  after  the  theatre. 
It  is  not  known  what  their  attitude  will 
be  this  year.  Proposition  is  said  to 
have  had  a  fair  season. 


Dear  Mr.  Schwartz: 

This  will  acknowledge  your  letter  ef  March  28th, 
in  which  you  inform  us  that  your  Board,  in  its  discre¬ 
tion,  is  unanimously  opposed  to  publication  of  all 
eliminations  and  deletions  of  films,  citing  Section  6 
of  the  Act  of  Assembly,  approved  May  15,  1915,  P.  L. 
534,  apparently  as  the  basis  for  the  Board’s  refusal. 

We  fail  to  understand  how  this  section  of  the  Act 
even  remotely  applies  to  the  object  of  our  request; 
namely,  the  making  available,  as  a  matter  of  public 
record,  all  deletions  and  the  reason  therefor. 

Insofar  as  we  can  gather  from  reading  Section  6  of 
the  Act,  it  applies  only  to  approval  and  disapproval  of 
films  to  be  exhibited.  Certainly  it  does  not  give  your 
Board  authority  to  censor  public  records,  or  to  abridge 
the  right  of  freedom  of  the  press  in  publishing  these 
records. 

Your  duty  as  a  public  body  is  to  keep  public  records 
of  your  activities  as  provided  under  Section  8  of  the 
Act,  which  reads  as  follows: 

Section  8 — -“The  Board  shall  keep  a  record  of 
all  examinations  made  by  it  of  films,  reels  or 
views;  noting  on  the  record  all  films,  reels  or 
views  which  have  been  approved,  and  those  which 
have  not  been  approved,  with  reason  for  such 
disapproval.” 


Hits  Unfair  Censorship 

Professor  A.  M.  Drummond,  Cornell, 
took  a  crack  at  unfair  censorship  at  the 
recent  convention  of  the  Eastern  Public 
Speaking  Conference  at  the  Atlantic 
City  Ambassador. 

He  said  that  producers  were  hamp¬ 
ered  by  silly  ideas  on  the  part  of  people 
not  even  connected  with  the  industry 
and  who  don’t  know  what  it  is  all 
about. 


Consequently,  we  again  call  upon  your  Board  to 
make  your  records  available  for  general  public  use  as 
is  required  of  other  lawfully  constituted  bodies. 

May  we  have  your  reply  within  the  new  few  days? 

Very  truly  yours, 

J.  V.  STANGER, 
Eexecutive  Secretary. 

Film  men  now  wonder  what  the  next  step 
will  be.  Those  in  the  know  think  it  will  take 
the  form  of  a  legal  tilt  in  the  courts  to  test  the 
powers  of  the  board  as  regards  release  of  elim¬ 
inations  on  the  basis  of  the  right  of  the  censors 
to  withhold  public  information,  one  of  the 
keynotes  in  the  platform  of  the  American  Civil 
Liberties  Lhiion. 

Generally,  however,  the  attitude  of  film  men 
revolves  about  the  opinion  that  the  fall  election 
may  see  a  new  state  setup  and  that  there  will, 
in  all  probability,  be  a  new  state  board  of 
censors. 

And  maybe  when  Samuel  D.  Schwartz  rests 
from  his  real  estate  work  and  goes  to  the 
movies;  and  Mrs.  Davenport  rests  from  her 
clubwork  in  Wilkes-Barre;  and  Mrs.  Kerr 
takes  time  off  from  her  daily  duties,  and  they 
all  go  to  the  movies  and  see  clipped  films  which 
look  worse  in  their  eliminated  state  than  they 
did  before — perhaps  then  they’ll  turn  to  the 
folks  sitting  next  to  them  and  say ;  “It  really 
isn’t  the  fault  of  the  picture — you  see  we  have 
a  state  board  of  censors  and  three  people  are 
trying  to  protect  the  minds  of  millions  of  Penn¬ 
sylvanians  from  salacious  bits,  etc.  You  can  see 
for  yourself  that  such  a  system  is  useless  and 
silly.  And  the  reason  the  picture  hops  around 
is  because  the  censors  take  out  what  they  think 
isn’t  fit  to  be  seen  or  heard.  So,  really,  some¬ 
times  it  makes  it  seem  worse  than  it  really 
is.  I'm  certain  it's  not  the  operator’s  fault, 
either.” 

Perhaps. 


Masterpiece  Nearly  Set 

With  the  return  of  Louis  “Pop”  Kor- 
son  from  a  trip,  Masterpiece  is  in  the 
midst  of  completing  arrangements  for 
next  season’s  distribution. 

Deals  are  expected  to  be  completed 
within  a  month. 

Exchange  released  15  on  this  year’s 
schedule,  with  several  more  to  come. 

In  addition,  Masterpiece  distributes 
12  new  westerns. 

Exchange  expects  to  reveal  complete 
plans  soon. 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Aprl5'34 


9 


M.  P.T.O.  Holds  Meeting  on  Code,  Censors; 
Local  Board  Procedure  to  be  Outlined 


Session  Open  Only  for  Paid-up  Members — Long  Shows 
Also  Factor — Civil  Liberties  Union  Activity  Under 
Discussion 

A  meeting  of  the  MPTO  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and 
Delaware,  open  only  to  paid-up  members,  will  he  held  April  17.  The  meeting  is 
called  for  10.30  A.  M.,  with  no  one  admitted  after  11.00  A.  M.  sharp,  in  view  of  the 
importance  of  the  subjects  to  be  discussed.  A  complete,  detailed  report  on  code 
procedure  will  be  given  to  members  at  that  time.  This  will  include  information  on 
how  to  file  complaints  and  what  to  do  and  will  outline  every  step  necessary  to  seek 
redress  from  the  local  committees. 


No.  1.  For  Grievance 

One  of  the  first  questions  to  be 
brought  before  the  grievance  boards 
will  be: 

If  a  picture  is  heavily  mutilated  be¬ 
cause  of  censor  eliminations,  will  it  have 
to  be  run  and  will  it  have  to  be  paid  for 
at  contract  price? 

Film  Men  Expected  to 
be  Active  in  Politics 

Survey  Indicates  Sentiment  Is 
Rising 

Film  men  of  this  territory  are  expected 
to  play  a  prominent  part  in  the  state 
elections  to  be  held  this  fall. 

That  the  campaign  is  expected  to  bring 
issues  vitally  affecting  film  men  to  the  fore  is 
certain. 

Already,  film  men  are  actively  interested  in 
the  candidacy  of  William  A.  Schnader  for 
governor.  A  committee,  headed  by  Jay  Eman¬ 
uel,  is  being  formed  to  work  for  his  nomina¬ 
tion.  Seldom  have  theatremen  interested  them¬ 
selves  in  politics  but  upon  a  canvass  made  a 
change  in  the  situation  is  apparent. 

It  is  thought  possible  that  Schnader  may 
come  out  with  a  stand  on  the  question  vitally 
affecting  theatremen. 

One  of  these  is  expected  to  be  that  of  state 
censorship.  Film  men,  generally,  do  not  look 
with  favor  upon  the  present  form  of  censor¬ 
ship  by  a  group  of  three,  but  think  that  censor¬ 
ship  at  the  source,  as  advocated  by  various 
community  groups,  Catholic  organizations  and 
others,  is  the  logical  solution  to  the  censor 
problem. 

This  would  entail  a  check  on  production  at 
the  source,  with  censorship  of  scripts  a  likely 
result.  In  this  manner,  state  censorship  would 
not  be  necessary,  although  the  revenues  com¬ 
ing  to  the  state  could  be  retained  in  part. 
A  small  tax  on  each  foot  of  film,  without  cen¬ 
sorship,  could  keep  the  revenue  feature  but 
eliminate  the  delay  in  release  and  other  prob¬ 
lems  that  come  with  the  present  system  of 
censorship. 

Further  details  on  the  Schnader  candidacy 
are  expected  soon. 

Bachman  Announcement  Soon 

John  A.  Bachman,  for  many  years  Educa¬ 
tional  branch  manager  here,  and  recently  with 
Fox-Educational,  will  have  an  announcement 
to  make  soon  regarding  his  new  affiliation. 

Bachman,  one  of  the  most  popular  film  men 
in  the  Philadelphia  and  Washington  territories, 
was  an  Educational  veteran,  and  for  the  past 
few  months  has  been  district  manager  for  Edu¬ 
cational  in  Washington,  Philly  and  Pittsburgh 
territory. 

His  friends  in  the  territory  wish  him  luck  in 
any  enterprise  in  which  he  enters. 


Labor  Board  Orders 
Employees’  Reinstatement 

Hearing  Sees  Earle  Aide  Getting 
Post  Back 


The  Philadelphia  Regional  Labor 
Board  has  ordered  reinstatement  of 
Nathan  Snyder,  an  Earle  employee. 

The  action  followed  a  hearing  held  April 
9,  at  which  time  John  Slavin,  president,  The¬ 
atre  Ushers,  Doormen,  Cashiers’  Union,  ap¬ 
peared  before  the  board.  Lessing  J.  Rosen- 
wald,  Frank  Schlenzig  heard  the  complaint 
and  gave  a  decision  which  ordered  Snyder  to 
be  re-employed  at  once  at  same  salary  as  when 
he  was  discharged,  and  ordered  salary  to  start 
morning  of  April  10,  to  be  cumulative  from 
that  date. 

Union  claimed  Snyder  was  discharged  be¬ 
cause  he  tried  to  organize  employees  of  the 
Earle  into  the  union.  Joseph  Feldman,  man¬ 
aging  director,  Earle,  failed  to  put  in  an  ap¬ 
pearance.  Board  then  made  its  decision. 

Stanley  Root  is  executive  secretary  of  the 
Philadelphia  labor  board. 


Harrisburg  Improvements 

Improvements  have  been  made  and  others 
are  being  planned  by  Isaac  Marcus  for  his 
two  neighborhood  theatres  in  Harrisburg, 
Rialto  and  National.  An  aluminum-woven 
silver  screen  was  installed  recently  at  the 
Rialto  at  a  cost  of  $300. 

Profiting  by  the  experience  he  gamed  as  a 
result  of  the  Rialto  painting  Marcus  had 
the  screen  at  his  National  house  re-silvered. 

Plans  are  being  made  now  to  have  installed 
at  the  Rialto  a  new  ventilating  system.  Later 
a  new  ventilating  system  will  be  installed  at  the 
National,  Marcus  announced.  He  is  also  con¬ 
sidering  new  seats  to  be  installed  in  the  future. 


No  Sunday  Pottsville  Shows 

1  here  will  be  no  Sunday  shows  in  Potts¬ 
ville.  Mayor  Claude  A.  Lord,  speakmg  for 
council  and  theatre  managers,  said  he  couldn't 
do  anything  but  enforce  the  laws  on  the  sub¬ 
ject.  He  stated  that  if  shows  were  run  on 
Sunday,  licenses  would  be  revoked  on  Monday, 
under  power  given  Council  in  1913. 


It  is  expected  that  MPTO  members  of  the 
local  boards  will  be  present  as  well. 

Another  pertinent  problem  to  be  taken  up 
will  be  that  of  long  shows.  Tendency  to  give 
four  or  five  hour  shows  as  well  as  triple  feat- 
urmg  will  be  discussed  by  the  body,  with  some 
definite  action  expected. 

Highlighting  the  meeting  will  be  a  discus¬ 
sion  of  censorship.  Position  of  the  body  in 
regard  to  the  campaign  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Civil  Liberties  Union  on  dissemination  of  in¬ 
formation  concerning  eliminations  is  expected 
to  be  made  clear.  Attitude  of  exhibitors  on 
all  angles  of  the  censorship  question  is  ex¬ 
pected  to  be  clarified. 

The  meeting,  to  be  presided  over  by  Presi¬ 
dent  Lewen  Pizor,  will  also  take  up  other 
problems  affecting  the  organization. 

Other  questions  to  be  considered  are  sales 
policies  of  the  major  companies  during  the  new 
season,  Sunday  opening  and  daylight  saving. 

The  Broadwood  Hotel,  usual  MPTO  meet¬ 
ing  place,  will  again  be  the  scene  of  action. 


John  S.  Evans  Dies 

Death  of  John  S.  Evans,  one  of  the  real 
pioneers  in  the  picture  business  here,  came  as 
a  shock  to  his  many  friends  and  acquaintances 
in  the  trade. 

Evans,  who  served  as  the  leader  of  exhibitor 
organizations  here  for  many  years,  had  been  in 
ill  health  for  some  time,  and  his  death  in 
Florida  occurred  last  week.  He  was  the  first 
president  of  the  MPTO  after  it  was  incor¬ 
porated,  and  although  he  had  not  been  active 
of  late,  retained  his  friendships  in  the  business. 
He  will  be  missed. 


86,000  Wanna  Buy  Ducks 

Joe  Penner  broke  all  records  during 
his  personal  at  the  Earle. 

House  played  to  86,000  people,  did 
a  gross  of  about  $40,000,  with  Pen¬ 
ner,  who  was  in  for  $3750  and  a  split 
over  $21,000,  walking  out  with  nearly 
$13,000  for  his  share. 

Gross  was  more  than  that  of  Eddie 
Cantor. 

And  the  funny  part  of  it  is  that  Pen¬ 
ner  gets  only  $1750  for  his  weekly 
radio  broadcast  and  a  few  years  ago 
used  to  play  the  Earle  and  Mastbaum 
and  even  the  S-W  nabes  without  mak¬ 
ing  the  people  break  the  doors  down. 

Credit  the  radio. 


10 


Aprl5'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


At  Your  Service 

KNOW  YOUR  COMMITTEE 

MEN 

Larry  Dailey 

Popular  Horlacherite,  is  a  Vine  Street  not¬ 
ary.  Exhibitors  will  have  to  have  papers 
notarized  in  connection  with  code  and  other 
matters  and  Larry’s  office  is  always  open 
for  such  details.  For  many  years  with  Hor- 
lacher  Delivery  Service,  he  is  one  of  the 
most  agreeable  fellows  on  the  street. 


TRICTLY  PERSONAL 

Schlesinger  Goes 
On  Vacation 


MISS  MARY  COOGAN,  Warner  stenog¬ 
rapher,  was  operated  on  for  appendicitis  at  St. 
Joseph’s  Hospital.  .  .  .  She  is  coining  along 
nicely  and  many  of  her  friends  have  been 
calling  on  her.  .  .  .  When  Marcus  Benn.  the 
West  Philly  exhib  went  to  Bermuda,  A1  Licht- 
man  was  on  the  same  boat.  .  .  .  They  didn’t 
come  back  together  however,  the  UA  sales 
chief  extending  his  visit.  .  .  .  Married  re¬ 

cently  were  Jules  Curley,  formerly  Stanley- 
Warner  publicity  chief  here,  and  Miss  Ger¬ 
trude  Smith.  .  .  .  Wedding  took  place  here. 

LENNY  SCHLESINGER,  Stanley-Warner 

zone  manager,  leaves  for  a  vacation  in 
St.  Louis.  .  .  .  He  will  be  gone  two  weeks, 

effective  April  30.  .  .  He  will  visit  his 

father  and  brothers  in  the  mid-west  city 
before  returning  to  his  duties  here. 

PARAMOUNT  exchange  challenges  all 
other  exchanges  to  beat  its  latest  record.  .  .  . 
Mrs.  Si  Lewis,  nee  Lillian  Rubin,  presented 
her  husband  with  twin  boys,  April  3.  .  .  . 

Paramount  claims  supremacy  until  another  ex¬ 
change  produces  triplets.  .  .  .  This  is  one  in¬ 
stance  where  Paramount  approves  a  double 
feature  policy. 

ROSE  FORMAN,  First  Divisionite,  had  a 
birthday  April  4,  went  to  New  York  City 
with  a  lothario,  had  a  nice  time.  .  .  .  Such 

popularity.  Rose  Gimbel,  Warners, 

feeling  much  better  after  her  recent  illness. 


THE  EXHIBITOR  presents,  for  the  benefit 
of  exhibitors  who  may  not  know  the  personnel 
of  the  local  zoning  and  grievance  boards,  short 
biographies  of  the  men  in  question. 

LEONARD  SCHLESINGER — 13  years  in  show  busi¬ 
ness,  with  experience  from  usher  to  zone  manager.  .  .  . 
Started  at  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  Theatre.  .  Went 

from  usher  to  doorman,  to  publicity  department,  to 
assistant  manager.  Became  publicity  director 

when  Skouras  took  house.  .  .  .  Made  manager.  .  .  . 

Ran  several  nabes  as  well.  In  December.  1928, 

entered  booking  and  buying  department  of  Skouras 
chain.  .  .  Remained  until  Warners  took  over  Skouras 
interests.  .  Became  assistant  to  Charlie  Skouras. 

.  Later  in  charge  of  houses  in  seven  cities  in  mid¬ 
west.  .  Became  general  manager  of  Warners’  St. 

Louis  Amusement  Company  in  1931.  .  Sent  to 

Cleveland  to  be  assistant  zone  manager  in  charge  of 
booking  and  buying.  .  .  Came  to  Philadelphia  as 

booker  and  buyer.  .  .  Became  zone  manager  here 

in  November  1933.  .  In  charge  of  Philadelphia  area 
with  130  houses,  largest  single  Warner  unit,  under 
his  command.  Single.  “Schles”  is  fond  of  golf, 

sports,  etc.,  but  likes  work  best. 


LEWEN  PIZOR — Has  been  in  business  over  18  years. 
One  of  charter  members  of  MPTO.  Instru¬ 

mental  in  elimination  of  deposits  on  contracts. 
Tendered  a  testimonial  dinner  in  June,  1923.  by  dis- 
tribs  and  exhibs  for  efforts  in  establishing  arbitration. 

.  .  .  President  of  MPTO  for  seven  years.  .  .  .  Chair¬ 

man  of  many  arbitration  boards  many  years. 

Has  been  on  many  legislative  and  other  committees  of 
importance,  vital  to  exhibs’  interests.  .  Operates 

circuit  of  9  houses.  Lyric.  Opera  House,  Miners- 

ville.  Broad  Street,  Royal,  Nazareth. 

Colonial.  Rialto.  Phoenixville.  Hip.  Pine  Grove. 

.  .  .  Hollywood,  Pottsville.  .  .  .  Penn,  Royersford. 


MICHAEL  S.  LANDOW — Entered  business  in  1914 
in  Bristol  as  exhibitor.  .  .  .  Left  there  in  1920,  be¬ 

came  associated  with  Paramount  for  five  years.  . 

Was  with  Universal  for  year  as  manager.  .  Re¬ 

turned  to  Paramount  for  four  me  re.  .  .  Became  asso¬ 
ciated  with  Appell  Amusement  Company,  York,  as 
exhib.  .  Returned  to  Universal  in  1930.  . 

Was  district  manager  over  Philly.  Pittsburgh,  Wjtrfi- 
ington  offices.  .  .  .  Now  manager  here.  .  .  Single, 

likes  golf,  one  of  street’s  most  popular  bachelors. 


HARRY  E.  WEINER — Started  in  business  as  sales¬ 
man  fer  Universal  in  1922.  .  .  Left  there  after  two 

years  to  go  into  state  right  business.  Joined 

Vitagraph,  Inc.,  as  Phillv-Jersey  salesman.  Be¬ 

came  branch  manager  for  company  in  Washington 
office.  .  .  Sam  Morris  made  promotion.  .  Came 

back  to  Philly  as  branch  manager  for  Associated  Exh  bi- 
tors  under  E.  J.  Smith.  .  .  .  Went  to  franchise  holder 

of  Columbia  pictures.  .  When  franchise  was  sold 

to  Columbia  became  branch  manager.  .  .  .  First  office 
that  Columbia  opened  under  its  own  direction  and 
beginning  of  national  distribution.  .  .  .  Married,  likes 

golf  and  plenty  of  work. 


FRANK  L.  McNAMEE — Born  in  Butler,  February  3, 
1892.  .  Graduated  from  W.  and  J..  Washington, 

1915.  .  Member  of  Phi  Gamma  Delta  fraternity. 

.  .  Graduated  Pittsburgh  law  in  1918.  .  .  .  Went 

to  Officers’  Training  Camp  at  Louisville,  Ky.,  as  mem¬ 
ber  of  field  artillery.  .  .  .  Went  to  Universal  as  city 

salesman  in  Pittsburgh.  .  Worked  for  company  as 

special  representative  in  9  mid-western  cities. 

Became  branch  manager  at  Salt  Lake  City  for  Universal. 
Went  to  FBG’  in  Washington  in  192  3.  Twice 

president  of  Film  Board  there  and  member  of  arbi¬ 
tration  board.  .  Belonged  to  Press  Club  there. 

.  .  Transferred  to  Philly  as!  RKO  manager  in  1932. 

married,  has  no  children,  likes  to  work. 


CHARLES  SEGALL — Started  in  business  in  1908  as 
exhibitor.  Operated  various  houses  at  various 

times,  including  Hip,  Princess.  .  .  .  Baltimore,  Ham¬ 
ilton.  Apollo,  5  2nd  Street.  Franklin. 

.  .  56th  Street  Theatre.  .  .  .  Air  dromes.  .  .  . 

Atlantic,  Wildwood,  N.  J.  .  .  Wynne.  .  .  .  Erlen. 

.  .  .  Arcadia.  .  .  .  Keith’s.  .  .  .  Connected  with 

Principal  Theatres  Corporation.  .  .  .  Company  is  linked 

with  coast  chain,  controlled  by  Sol  Lesser.  .  .  Always 

active  in  exhibitor  circles.  President  of  first 

Exhibitors’  League.  Associated  with  Stanley 

Company  of  America  for  some  time.  .  Active  now 

in  exhibitor  work.  .  .  .  Interested  in  Apollo,  Arcadia, 

Erlen  and  other  houses. 


M.  E.  COMERFORD — One  of  the  most  prominent 
theatremen  in  the  entire  country.  .  .  .  Operates  largest 
circuit  of  independent  houses.  ...  Is  one  of  oldest 
exhibitors  in  territory.  .  Active  in  philanthropic, 

political  circles.  First  vice-president  of  the 

MPTO  A,  Chain  operates  theatres  in  Bloomsburg, 

Carlisle,  Danville,  Dickson  City,  Duryea,  Forest  City, 
Hazleton,  Honesdale,  Jersey  Shore,  Mauch  Chunk,  Mil- 
ton,  Northumberland,  Old  Forge,  Olyphant,  Parsons, 
Pittston,  Plymouth,  Pottsville,  Sayre,  Scranton,  Shen¬ 
andoah.  Sunbury,  Towanda,  Wilkes-Barre,  Williamsport. 

Also  several  theatres  in  New  York  State.  . 

Was  partner  with  Publix  in  Comerford-Publix  after 
sale  to  Publix  chain.  .  .  .  Now  operates  independently. 

.  .  Ranks  high  in  national  film  and  political  circles. 

Started  in  business  in  nickelodeon  days  and 
has  progressed  far  and  high  since.  .  .  Leader  in 

motion  picture  industry. 

LOUIS  LINKER — Veteran  in  business.  .  .  .  For  30 

years  connected  with  Campbell  Soup  Company.  .  .  . 

Was  buyer  of  tomatoes.  .  Bought  millions  annu¬ 
ally.  .  On  word.  .  No  contract.  .  New 

operating  two  theatres  in  Bridgeton,  N.  J..  and  one  in 
Philadelphia.  Actively  interested  in  MPTO  work 

having  served  on  board  of  managers  for  many  years. 

Well  known  and  popular  in  territory  with  ex¬ 
changes  and  exhibitors. 

COLONEL  HARRY  B.  SALTER — Born  in  New  Jersey 
in  1873.  .  .  .  Worked  as  reporter  in  New  York  and 

Philadelphia.  .  .  .  Assistant  city  clerk  of  Trenton  from 

1894-1904.  .  .  .  Elected  city  clerk  in  1904.  .  .  . 

Served  until  1917.  Appointed  chief  auditor  and 

assistant  to  comptroller  of  state.  .  .  .  Aide  de  camp 

to  Governor  Moore.  .  .  Lt.  Col.  in  Department  of 

Quartermaster  General.  .  .  .  Appointed  in  1905.  .  .  . 
Served  in  Dept,  of  Adjutant  General  of  State  of  New 
Jersey  during  war.  .  Identified  as  a  Republican. 

.  .  .  Not  active  politically. 

PERCY  A.  BLOCK — Before  entering  picture  indus¬ 
try  was  a  rice  buyer  and  grader  in  Texas.  .  .  .  Started 
in  movie  field  in  1914,  selling  state  rights,  in  New 
York,  on  commission  basis.  .  .  .  First  exchange  experi¬ 
ence  under  Felix  Feist,  as  manager  of  Cleveland  World 
Film  Corporation  office.  .  .  .  Went  to  General  Film 

under  Sidney  Kent,  in  Philly.  .  Left  General  Film 

to  join  Army  and  was  in  Ordnance  Department.  .  .  . 

Worked,  after  war,  in  Kansas  City  exchange  for  Gold- 
wvn,  under  Feist.  .  .  .  Went  to  Cleveland  office.  .  .  . 
Resigned  in  1920  and  went  with  Famous  Players  Lasky 
Corporation.  .  Managed  exchanges  in  Chicago, 

Cleveland,  Philadelphia.  In  Philadelphia  for  past 

1 2  years.  Made  district  manager,  covering  local 

and  Washington  territories,  in  June,  1932.  .  .  In  that 
post  since. 


MILTON  ROGASNER — Has  been  in  exhibition  for  20 
years.  .  Started  in  1914  at  old  Logan  Theatre, 

4  800  N.  Broad.  Has  handled  Susquehanna,  Belle¬ 

vue,  Star.  Lafayette,  Iris,  Somerset,  Grand,  Grove 
(Vineland)  in  his  time.  .  Now  operates  local  Iris. 

Always  a  member  of  MPTO.  on  board  of  man¬ 
agers.  .  .  .  Active  in  exhibitor  circles.  At  one 

time  had  chain  of  12  theatres.  .  Likes  to  drive 

and  play  golf. 


DEATH  of  Hector  Turnbull,  former  Para¬ 
mount  producer,  at  New  Hope,  came  as  a  shock 
to  the  trade.  .  .  .  He  was  a  brother-in-law 
of  Jesse  Lasky.  .  .  .  He  was  ill  several  years. 
.  .  .  Artie  Cohn,  the  Earle  impressario  of  pub¬ 
licity  and  hideho,  denies  that  there  are  any 
more  h’ttle  Cohns  on  the  way  or  here.  .  .  .  His 
first  and  only  is  still  the  favorite.  .  .  .Mr. 
and  Mrs.  P.  A.  Bloch  returned,  all  tanned,  from 
ocean  voyage.  .  .  .  P.  A.  then  hopped  out  to 
Chicago  on  business. 

SAM  SCHWARTZ,  censor  chairman,  an 
AC  vis:tor.  .  .  .  Mike  Landow  may  move 

back  to  central  city.  .  .  .  Lonely.  .  .  .  Ro¬ 
mance  in  the  major  exchange  is  still  flourish¬ 


ing.  .  .  .  Joe  Varbalow  gave  the  street  a  visit 
.  .  .  West  Philly  exhib  still  buying  lunches  for 
Vine  Street  lassies.  .  .  .  Moe  Verbin  got  a 
new  car.  .  .  .  Helen  Suskin  missed  her  meals 
at  the  Rustic  Inn  but  was  there  bright  and 
early  Monday.  .  .  .  Jack  Greenberg  had 

sniffles.  .  .  .  Billy  Wolf,  Bandbox,  expecting 
blessed  event.  .  .  .  Handsome  Joe  Burke,  the 
Fox  auditor,  always  thrilling  the  lassies.  .  .  . 
Sam  Gross  taking  books  to  read  on  the  trip. 
.  .  .  Hope  his  wife  reads  this.  .  .  .  Joe  Sloane 
the  Warnerite,  visited  PI  and  H  with  Bob 
Mochrie.  .  .  .  Party  was  given  to  Catherine 
Foley  Winterbottom.  .  .  .  Marriage  was  an¬ 
nounced  recently.  .  .  .  Joe  Engel  can’t  speak 
above  a  whisper.  .  .  .  Laryngitis. 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Aprl5'34 


11 


Code  Authority  Picks  Local  Boards; 

Finances,  Secretary  Being  Arranged 


Philadelphia  Group  Last  to  Be  Named  By  CA — Selec¬ 
tions  of  Impartials  Set — National  Cost  Set  at  $360,000 
— Body  Meets  for  Organization 


The  Code  Authority  has  finally  picked  the  local  zoning  and 
Announcement  was  made  last  week. 

The  local  boards  are : 


grievance  boards. 


Ledger  Shakeup 

Dropping  the  “Public  Ledger”  and 
“Sunday  Public  Ledger”  proved  a  sur¬ 
prise  to  the  trade.  Sheets  had  good 
movie  departments,  always  gave  the 
trade  a  break. 

Local  field  is  hoping  Eric  M.  Knight, 
“Public  Ledger”  scribe,  stays  on  with 
either  the  “Inquirer”  or  the  “Evening 
Ledger.” 

Both  he  and  Harry  Murdock,  “Even¬ 
ing  Ledger’s”  Ollie  Wood,  have  many 
friends  in  the  trade  and  have  good  fol¬ 
lowing.  “Inquirer”  becomes  morning 
Curtis-Martin  sheet  as  well  as  on  Sun¬ 
day.  Leaves  “Inquirer”  and  “Record” 
only  morning  sheets.  Mildred  Martin  is 
“Inquirer”  movie  scribe.  “Evening 
Ledger”  stays  as  is. 

Delaware  Exhibitors 
Ready  for  Tax  Fight 

Measure  Would  Put  Tariff  on 
Each  100  Feet 


The  Hopkins  censorship  bill  in  the 
Delaware  General  Assembly  may  be  dead 
as  Hector's  pup,  but  the  same  thing  can 
not  he  said  for  House  bill  No.  149  of 
Representative  Elliott,  Wilmington, 
which  provides  in  puzzling  and  somewhat 
vague  wordings  for  a  tax  of  ten  cents  per 
100  feet  of  film  or  “fraction  thereof," 
shown  in  the  state. 

Puzzling  feature  is  the  first  paragraph  which 
leaves  a  lot  of  doubt  and  loopholes  as  to 
whether  the  tax  is  intended  to  apply  to  first  run 
films  only.  Information  obtained  by  the  legis¬ 
lative  correspondents  concerning  the  bill  from 
Elliott  himself  is  that  it  is  intended  to  apply  to 
the  first  showing  of  a  film.  However  a  studv 
of  the  clause,  it  can  be  easily  seen,  leaves  a 
lot  of  room  for  speculation  as  to  whether  it 
shall  apply  to  the  one  picture  or  to  all  of  the 
duplicates  given  first  showing  in  the  state. 

The  bill  exclusive  of  the  preamble  reads  as 
follows : 

Section  T .  There  is  hereby  levied  a  tax  of  ten 
cents  (.10)  for  each  one  hundred  (100)  feet  of  motion 
picture  film  or  fraction  thereof  shown  in  any  motion 
picture  theatre  in  the  State  of  Delaware.  The  tax 
herein  imposed  and  assessed  shall  be  collected  by  and 
paid  to  the  State  of  Delaware  but  once  in  respect  to 
any  film.  The  tax  herein  levied  shall  be  collected  in 
the  manner  hereafter  provided. 

Section  2.  The  owner,  lessee  or  exhibitor  of  any 
motion  picture  film  which  is  to  be  shown  in  the  State 
of  Delaware  shall,  before  such  film  is  shown  in  this 
State,  file  with  the  State  Treasurer  upon  a  form  to  be 
prescribed  by  the  State  Treasurer,  a  report  setting 
forth  the  name  of  the  owner,  lessee,  or  exhibitor  of  the 
film  to  be  shown;  the  name  of  the  film  and  the  total 
number  of  feet  of  the  film.  Said  report  shall  be  veri¬ 
fied  by  a  person  resident  of  this  State.  Said  report 
shall  be  accompanied  by  the  amount  of  tax  due  and 
payable  on  said  film,  computed  in  accordance  with  the 
provisions  of  this  Act.  The  State  Treasurer  shall,  upon 
payment  of  the  tax  issue  to  the  owner,  lessee  or  exhibi- 


Impartial 


When  the  impartial  representatives  for  the 
local  boards  were  picked,  these  two  men 
were  chosen  to  fill  the  places.  On  the 
left:  Raymond  M.  Rau,  prominent  Philadel¬ 
phian,  assistant  vice-president  of  the  Integ¬ 
rity  Trust  Company,  and  a  director  of  Cen¬ 
tral  Airport.  On  the  rmht:  Colonel  Harry 
B.  Salter,  Trenton. 


tor  a  receipt  showing  the  payment  of  said  tax,  which 
receipt  must  be  made  a  part  of  the  film  or  one  of  the 
reels  thereof  and  shown  upon  the  screen  each  time  the 
film  is  shown  in  Delaware. 

Section  3.  It  shall  be  unlawful  for  any  person  to 
file  a  false  report  or  one  which  is  not  true  and  correct. 
Any  person  filing  a  false  report  or  one  which  is  not 
true  and  correct  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  misde¬ 
meanor  and  punishable  in  accordance  with  the  penal 
provisions  of  this  Act. 

Section  4.  It  shall  be  unlawful  for  any  person,  firm 
or  corporation  owning  or  controlling  a  motion  picture 
theatre  located  in  the  State  of  Delaware  to  show  or 
permit  to  be  shown  any  film  which  does  net  show  the 
receipt  of  the  State  Treasurer  as  provided  in  Section  2 
hereof  or  on  which  the  tax  has  not  been  paid. 

Section  5.  Any  person,  firm  or  corporation,  or  any 
agent  cr  employee  thereof,  violating  any  of  the  pro¬ 
visions  of  this  Act,  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  misde¬ 
meanor,  and  upon  conviction  lie  sentenced  to  pay  a  fine 
of  not  more  than  One  Thousand  (1000.00)  Dollars,  or 
imprisoned  for  a  term  not  to,  exceed  one  year,  or 
both  in  the  discretion  of  the  Court. 

Section  6.  This  Act  shall  become  effective  for  the 
purposes  herein  set  forth,  July  1st,  A.  D.,  1934. 

Lew  Black,  manager,  Aldine,  Warner  The¬ 
atre,  and  contact  man ;  George  Jones,  manager, 
Loew’s  Parkway  and  A.  J.  DeFiore,  president, 
Independent  Motion  Picture  Theatre  Owners 
of  Delaware  and  Maryland,  had  been  keeping 
their  fingers  on  the  legislative  pulse.  Stories 
reached  DeFiore  that  the  bills  were  the  result 
of  cutting  down  on  season  passes  by  some  of 
the  exhibitors.  Anyhow,  it  looks  like  there 
will  be  a  solid  front  if  there  is  a  hearing. 

One  of  the  unusual  features  of  the  situation 
is  that  the  club  women,  usually  anxious  for 
censorship,  are  said  to  be  opposed  the  censor¬ 
ship  in  Delaware,  feeling  that  they  can  best 
accomplish  their  purpose  along  their  present 
line  of  educating  parents  as  to  the  proper  kind 
of  pictures  to  send  their  children  to  see. 


GRIEVANCE — Frank  McNamee,  RKO; 
Mike  Landow,  Universal;  M.  E.  Comerford, 
Scranton;  Lewen  Pizor,  Philadelphia. 

CLEARANCE - Percy  A.  Bloch.  Para¬ 

mount;  Harry  Weiner,  Columbia;  Leonard 
Schlesinger,  Warners;  Lou  Linker,  Bridge- 
ton  and  Philadelphia;  Charles  Segal,  Phila¬ 
delphia;  Milt  Rogasner,  Philadelphia. 

Enforcement  of  code  provisions  will  be  left 
to  the  grievance  board. 

It  was  expected  that  Colonel  Harry  B.  Salter, 
Trenton,  would  be  one  impartial  representative. 
This  was  later  confirmed  with  Raymond  Rau 
getting  the  other  place. 

The  boards  met  April  13  in  first  organization 
meeting. 

Code  secretaries  can  hold  no  other  job,  ac¬ 
cording  to  an  announcement  from  executive 
secretary  John  C.  Flinn.  A  resolution  passed 
by  the  CA  states  that  no  secretary  shall  be 
engaged  directly  or  indirectly  by  any  Film 
Board  of  Trade  or  by  any  local  exhibitor  or¬ 
ganization  or  association. 

$360,000  Budget 

The  budget  of  the  CA  is  expected  to  reach 
$360,000  with  an  assessment  for  each  theatre. 

Another  meeting  of  the  CA  was  expected 
to  take  place  April  13,  at  which  time  secre¬ 
taries  and  finances  were  to  be  discussed. 

Sol  A.  Rosenblatt  has  been  granted  a  second 
extension  of  time  for  the  filing  of  his  long- 
awaited  report  on  his  findings  of  conditions  in 
the  motion  picture  industry.  Rosenblatt  was 
directed  by  NRA  Administrator  Hugh  S. 
Johnson  on  November  27  to  make  the  investi¬ 
gation  and  file  a  report  by  February  28.  An 
extension  of  time  was  subsequently  granted 
until  April  7. 


Two  for  RCA 

RCA  reports  installation  of  equipment  in  the 
Majestic,  Harrisburg,  as  well  as  the  new 
John  R.  W.  Richley  house  being  completed  in 
York. 


Biben  Busy 

Harry  Biben  has  booked  in  split  week  and 
full  week  at  the  local  State.  House  will  play 
radio  and  screen  names. 

Biben  is  also  booking  all  Stanley-Warner  the¬ 
atres  in  Pennsylvania,  Jersey  and  Delaware. 


Elliott  bill  was  reported  favorably  by  the 
house  committee,  April  5,  the  same  day  that 
a  statement  from  a  committee  of  the  Ameri¬ 
can  Civic  Liberties  Union  condemning  the 
Hopkins  bill  as  “dangerous”  brought  a  state¬ 
ment  in  defense  from  the  author  of  the  bill,  Dr. 
Robert  B.  Hopkins,  a  delegate  from  Milton, 
Del. 


Aprl5'34  pg.  12 


WIDE  RAN  GE 


WID  E  RAN  GE*  emphasizes 

the  recognized  leadership 
of  Western  Electric  in  sound 
recording  and  reproduction. 


^  WIDE  RANGE,  as  applied  to  sound 
recording  and  reproduction,  was  origin¬ 
ated  by  Western  Electric  and  is  by  all  tests 
unmatched  in  quality  and  performance. 


Electrical  Research  Products  fttc. 

250  West  57th  Street,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

Northern  Electric  in  Canada 

/ 

THE  EXHIBITOR 


Aprl5'34 


13 


Data  on  Censor  Eliminations  Open 

to  All  Subscribers  of  “The  Exhibitor” 


Slash  Data  Available  for  First  Time — Theatremen  Can 
Tell  What’s  Cut  from  Pictures — Publicity  May  Bring 
Better  Understanding 

For  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  Pennsylvania  moviedom,  a  trade  journal 
offers  a  service  that  has  been  barred  by  a  state  agency  and  refused  by  a  part  of  the 
film  world,  itself. 

THE  EXHIBITOR,  due  to  the  fact  that  it  definitely  knows  that  in  Pennsyl¬ 
vania  200-400%  more  eliminations  are  made,  effective  immediately,  will  offer  a 
complete  service  on  censor  eliminations  to  all  subscribers.  Inasmuch  as  the  Penn¬ 
sylvania  State  Board  of  Censors  has  gone  on  record  as  being  opposed  to  such  in¬ 
formation  being  released  (they  seem  to  fear  the  spotlight  on  their  work),  and  the 
exchanges  have  refused  to  release  the  information,  THE  EXHIBITOR  feels  that 
it  can  perform  a  real  service  to  theatremen.  THE  EXHIBITOR  does  not  favor 
indecent  pictures  nor  smut  on  the  screen,  but  a  sane  and  sensible  censorship. 

It  takes  this  attitude  because  of  the  fact  that  many  exhibitors  have  been  getting 
films  so  heavily  cut  that  it  is  impossible  to  tell  whether  the  exchange  is  giving  the  house 
a  poor  print  or  whether  the  picture  is  deleted.  Likewise,  when  there  are  complaints 
from  patrons,  the  exhibitor  cannot  tell  what  the  real  cause  is. 

THE  EXHIBITOR  feels  that  such  publicity  will  create  a  better  understand¬ 
ing  between  exhibitor  and  patrons  and  also  may  cause  a  use  of  better  prints  by  ex¬ 
changes.  It  is  no  secret  that  during  the  economy  era  many  exchanges  have  been 
working  their  prints  to  death. 

THE  EXHIBITOR  will  continue  to  receive,  bv  a  circuitous  method,  elimina¬ 
tions  made  by  the  Pennsylvania  board.  As  such  information  is  made  available,  it 
will  be  used  for  the  benefit  of  subscribers.  Even  though  a  picture  may  have  played 
a  house,  it  will  be  to  tbe  advantage  of  exhibitors  to  find  out  what  the  real  circum¬ 
stances  are. 

Either  call  at  THE  EXHIBITOR  office,  in  person,  or  write  in  for  such  infor¬ 
mation  on  the  letterhead  of  your  theatre.  No  phone  calls  will  be  answered.  THE 
EXHIBITOR  will  attempt  to  answer  all  questions.  In  cases  where  there  are  de¬ 
lays  it  will  be  because  the  information  has  not  yet  reached  the  office. 


Hint  Keith’s  Opening 


There  was  a  rumor  around  this  week 
that  Iz  Rappaport,  Baltimore  exhibitor, 
would  take  over  Keith’s  and  install  a 
big  time  vaudeville  picture  policy. 

Rappaport  has  made  a  success  of  the 
Baltimore  Hip  and  is  well  known  locally. 
Operation  would  start  in  Fall. 


STATE,  West  Phi%,  has  gone  in  for 
vaudeville  on  full  week  and  split  week  stands. 

.  .  .  Will  buck  Fay  s,  which  has  been  doing 
a  whale  of  a  business  with  Eddie  Sherman's 
vaudeville  and  Sid  Stanley’s  management.  .  .  . 
The  Joe  Penner  shorts  have  been  doing  a  mar¬ 
velous  business  in  the  S-W  houses  as  well  as 
others.  .  .  .  Allegheny  Theatre  is  running 

vaude  Saturdays  only.  .  .  .  The  Wilmington 
Savoy  re-opens  April  14.  .  .  “House,  of 
Rothschild”  follows  “Catherine  the  Great  at 
the  Aldine.  ...  No  two-a-day  ing  here.  .  .  . 
All  the  Warner  houses  are  plugging  the  April 
Shower  of  Hits.  .  .  .  Opening  of  the  Liberty, 
Tacony,  was  greeted  by  the  merchants  of  the 
section  and  business  the  first  week  was  very 
good. 

THEATRE  in  Runnemede,  N.  J.,  which 
has  had  a  hectic  history,  will  no  longer  be 
open  and  closed.  .  .  .  House  is  being  dis¬ 

mantled,  in  preparation  for  a  new  era  in  its 
operation  as  a  combined  restaurant,  taproom 
and  what  have  you.  .  .  .  House  never  was 

a  success  from  the  start.  .  .  .  Morris  Wax 

is  associated  with  Harry  Slatko  in  the  opera¬ 
tion  of  the  Pearl.  .  .  .  Michael  Felt  is  now 
the  operator  of  the  Bluebird  Theatre,  on  a 
long  term  lease  from  Elliott  J.  Goldman,  who 
gives  all  of  his  time  to  his  automobile  enter¬ 
prise. 

ART  ALLIANCE  had  its  third  and  final 
showing  of  “different”  pictures  Sunday  night. 
.  .  .  Highlights  were  “Dawn  to  Dawn"  and 
"The  Spy,”  both  of  which  are  distributed  by 
Herb  Given.  .  .  .  Shorts  got  a  big  hand  from 
the  crowd.  .  .  .  Main  Line  theatre  had  a 

special  Sunday  show  for  the  benefit  of  a  county 
hospital. 

HOSTS  of  film  men  attended  the  dinner 
given  here  April  4  to  Eddie  Dowling.  .  .  . 
M.  E.  Comerford,  Mike  O’Toole  down  from 
Scranton.  .  .  .  Frank  C.  Walker,  Comerford 
counsel  and  National  Recovery  Board  chair¬ 
man,  took  a  bow.  .  .  .  Prominent  Democrats 
were  there  as  well  as  many  prominent  movie 
chieftains. 

ROXY,  HAZLETON,  formerly  Liberty, 
now  a  Tannenbaum  and  Sager  possession.  .  .  . 
New  Allen,  Allentown;  Neutral,  Simpson,  re¬ 
opening.  .  .  .  Felts  reported  taking  theatre  in 
Audubon,  N.  J.  .  .  .  Magician  show  goes  in 
Walnut. 


JOE  MURPHY,  the  kidder,  brings  in  a 
program  which  list  these  shows  in  the  fol¬ 
lowing  order:  “Hold  that  Girl,”  “1  Like  It 
That  Way,”  and  “It  Happened  One  Night.” 
.  .  .  Heavens. 

ABE  EINSTEIN  was  at  the  Pen  and  Pencil 
Club  dinner  in  all  his  glory.  .  .  .  He  was  a 
vital  factor  in  the  success  of  the  event.  .  .  . 
Other  film  men  there  were  William  Goldman 
and  others. 

CLOSED:  Keith’s,  Walnut,  Met.  .  .  .  Re¬ 
ports  have  parties  dickering  for  the  latter.  .  .  . 
Locust.  .  .  .  Moe  Verbin  had  a  nice  front  for 
the  Europa  showing  of  “The  Ghoul.”  .  .  .  Sam 
Rosen  all  enthused  over  the  GB  picture.  .  .  . 
Says  “Channel  Crossing”  and  “Dick  Turpin'’ 
will  be  even  better.  .  .  .  Artie  Cohn,  at  the 
Earle,  thrilled  because  of  the  Penner  engage¬ 
ment.  .  .  .  A  lot  of  houses  around  town  need 
cleaner  screens,  better  lighting  and  more  atten¬ 
tion  to  sound.  .  .  .  Some  of  them  are  slipping 
badly. 

C.  C.  SPINK,  at  New  Holland.  .  .  .  Jack 
Rose,  ex-Fayite,  hopped  into  town  for  a  spell. 
.  .  .  Has  been  with  Arthur  Tracy.  .  .  .  Herb 
Hustler  doing  great  things  at  the  Grant  The¬ 
atre.  .  .  .  Always  working  hard. 

AT  THAT  DOWLING  DINNER,  Abe 
Sablosky  and  John  McGuirk  came  in  for  some 
mention  when  Eddie  Dowling  gave  them  a  big 
hand. 

PASSING  of  the  Europa  Theatre  property 
to  Playhouse  Operating  Company,  Inc.,  of  New 


York,  was  for  $27,500,  as  indicated  by  revenue 
stamps  on  the  deed  subject  to  mortgage  of 
$80,000.  ...  It  is  assessed  at  $178,000. 

BILL  WEINSTEIN,  assistant  at  Palace, 
now  at  Victoria.  .  .  .  M.  Gable  doing  double 
duty  at  Palace.  .  .  .  That  was  some  wed¬ 

ding  when  Willie  Friedman’s  son,  Eddie,  got 
married.  .  .  .  Exhib  Lowe,  Westville,  N.  J., 
took  over  Laurel  Springs,  N.  J.  .  .  .  Albert 
M.  Cohen,  attorney,  asks  everyone  in  trade 
to  visit  new  offices,  19th  floor  P.  S.  F.  S. 
building.  .  .  .  Good  view  of  city.  .  .  .  And 
the  trip  is  worth  anybody’s  time.  .  .  .  Come 
and  see  him  some  time.  .  .  .  He’ll  be  glad 

to  see  you. 

EDDIE  CAPNER  has  a  separate  office  over 
at  S-W  to  take  care  of  bookings.  .  .  .  John 
Roberts  hopped  into  town.  .  .  .  Marty  Gold- 
enberg  got  his  name  on  the  program  for  giv¬ 
ing  the  Germantown  Boys’  Club  a  show.  .  .  . 
Also  cheers.  .  .  .  Lee  Kline  still  making  good 
at  Logan.  .  .  .  Ray  Myers  at  Ogontz.  .  .  . 
Park  raised  admission  a  nickel.  .  .  .  Joe 

Glazner  managing  Blackwood,  N.  J.  .  .  .  Lew 
Kellman  back  from  a  NY  trip  with  Helen. 

NINETEEN  YEARS  AGO.  .  .  .  “Even 
under  the  present  censorship  there  is  too  much 
laxity,  but  we  must  support  the  law,  in  fact, 
lend  our  influence  in  making  the  law  more  dras¬ 
tic,’1  said  Bishop  McCort  before  246  delegates 
at  the  quarterly  meeting  of  the  Diocesan  Holy 
Name  Union  of  Philadelphia.  .  .  .  M.  Effin- 
ger,  Leader  theatre,  planned  to  have  the  play¬ 
house  redecorated.  .  .  .  Fight  to  repeal  censor¬ 
ship  in  state  was  being  waged  in  Harrisburg 
in  the  House  of  Delegates. 


14 


Aprl5'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


.  .  .  No  smart 
business  man 
expects  to  buy 
a  ‘Stetson  for 
the  price  of  a 
cheaper  hat 

QUAUTY 

!  PREMIUMS! 

Itiiiii  ■  ■ ■  ■  ■  mill  ■  ■  inn  ■  ■ini nr 

Make  more  money 
for  exhibitors  than 
any  others  .  .  . 

Keeause 

movie  patrons  know 
values  and 

Wont  Be 
Chiseled ! 


Announcing  the  most 
sensational  Premium 
Value  ever  offered  .  . 


QUALITY 

Premium  Distributors,  Inc. 

1305  Vine  Street 

PHILADELPHIA 

Representatives  in  Key  Cities 


EMPTY  VICTORY 


The  exhibitors  who  proclaimed  the  merits  of  the  10%  cancellation  ruling 
by  Deputy  Sol  A.  Rosenblatt  and  the  succeeding  incident  whereby  the  Code 
Authority  upheld  the  ruling  can  now  look  back  upon  an  empty  victory.  For 
it  is  nothing  more  than  that. 

The  ruling  allows  the  cancellation  clause  on  contracts  signed  before 
December  7,  but  effective  on  pictures  released  following  that  date. 

The  ruling,  however,  applies  only  where  the  exhibitor  has  purchased  all 
the  pictures  and  has  no  weight  where  the  average  price  is  $250  or  more. 

The  distributors  seem  to  have  lost  a  point,  but,  in  reality,  they  have  so 
many  methods  of  getting  around  the  issue  that  the  10%  cancellation  clause 
is  of  no  value  as  it  stands. 

Many  programs  include  English  pictures  of  a  type  not  suited  to  American 
houses.  Many  programs  include  westerns.  Most  houses  cannot  use  this  type 
of  show.  Are  these  to  be  excluded  from  the  contract  when  the  deal  is  made 
or  will  the  exhibitor  have  to  use  his  10%  cancellation  to  get  rid  of  these 
pictures?  When  the  exhibitor  buys  a  full  product,  but  doesn’t  include  west¬ 
erns,  does  that  exclude  him  from  the  cancellation  ruling?  If  he  excludes 
several  English  pictures  on  the  order  of  “Good  Companions”  or  “Constant 
Nymph”  does  that  mean  that  he  has  not  made  a  full  buy  and  that  he  can’t 
cancel  any  others? 

A  ruling  from  the  Code  Authority  first  would  be  necessary,  but  if  pre¬ 
vious  incidents  may  be  used  as  a  guide,  well? 

Thus,  the  exhibitor  may  find  himself  up  a  tree  and  the  10%  cancellation 
clause  may  be  of  no  value. 

If  an  exhibitor  never  used  westerns  or  foreign  pictures,  they  should  be 
automatically  excluded  when  he  makes  his  buy.  This  has  been  the  custom  of 
the  business.  It  should  be  continued,  otherwise  the  cancellation  clause  is  a 
farce. 

JAY  EMANUEL 


Heard  In 

1LMINGTON 

No  Lenten 
Blues  Here 


LENTEN  BLUES  much  lighter.  .  .  . 

Easter  week  vacation  with  plenty  of  students' 
sheckles  burning  their  pockets,  and  up  goes  the 
first  box  office  quotation  in  Wilmington.  .  .  . 
"Morty”  Levine,  Grand  Opera  House,  and  dis¬ 
trict  manager  Lyle  Trenchard  decided  to  hike 
the  price  of  admission  after  2  o’clock  from 
25  to  30  cents,  with  no  extra  boost  on  chil¬ 
dren’s  rates.  .  .  .  “Morty”  had  a  neat  looking 
frame  listing  his  April  shows  in  the  lobby.  .  .  . 
Seeking  Lew  Black  at  the  Aldine  twice  I  found 
him  each  time  “in  the  air.”  .  .  .  Just  happened 
to  be  on  top  of  the  roof  of  the  theatre  direct¬ 
ing  the  repair  to  the  large  frame  electric  sign 
and  other  physical  features  of  the  roof.  .  .  . 
He  had  enough  banners  streaming  from  the 
roof  to  the  marquee  to  decorate  a  battleship. 
.  .  .  Front,  all  built  up  and  decorated  with 
stills  from  “Wonder  Bar,”  was  being  torn 
down  for  the  Wheeler  and  Woolsey  trappings. 
.  .  .  Assortment  of  spring  flowers  were  per¬ 
fuming  the  lobby.  .  .  .  Ben  Schindler,  man¬ 
ager,  Avenue,  was  having  an  anniversary  week. 
.  .  .  Dick  Kilshire,  manager,  Queen,  Warner 
house,  started  Saturday  morning  matinees  in 
competition  with  George  Jones,  Loew’s  Park¬ 
way,  April  7.  .  .  .  Matinee  starts  at  9.30 
A.  M.  and  house  is  emptied  before  the  regular 
show  starts.  ...  Of  Jimmy  (“New  Daddy”) 
Kearny,  who  I  found  out  of  uniform,  all 
dressed  up  in  a  new  spring  suit,  I  hear  some¬ 


one  sent  him  a  toy  streamlined  baby  coach, 
raspberry  in  shade.  .  .  .  A.  J.  Delair,  New 
Rialto,  was  winding  up  his  third  week  with 
"David  Harum,”  advertising  “capacity  crowds.” 
.  .  .  A.  J.  DeFiore,  manager  of  Park,  says 
he  was  set  back  considerably  in  his  spring 
painting.  .  .  .  New  order  of  the  Delaware 
Liquor  Commission  banning  the  sale  of  two- 
ounce  bottles  of  liquors  was  welcomed  by  most 
of  the  theatre  men. 

GEORGE  JONES,  Loew  manager,  person¬ 
ally  hid  700  eggs  for  his  Easter  hunt,  in¬ 
cluding  fifty  marked  for  prizes  including 
bunnies  and  tickets.  .  .  Charley  Albert 

has  got  a  lot  of  room  to  himself  to  sling 
paint. 

SAVOY  THEATRE  is  to  be  reopened  in  a 
short  while,  according  to  Lyle  Trenchard.  .  .  . 
Trenchard  said  the  house  would  play  strictly 
to  the  family  trade.  .  .  .  District  meetings  of 
Warner  Theatre  managers  for  the  Wilmington- 
Chester-West  Chester-Darby  area  are  being 
held  now  in  Chester,  instead  of  Wilmington. 
.  .  .  Lyle  Trenchard,  the  district  manager,  has 
his  office  in  the  Grand  Opera  House. 


Del-Mar-Va  Fire 

Second  theatre  fire  on  the  Del-Mar-Va 
peninsula  to  occur  within  the  last  month  gave 
firemen  of  Snow  Hill,  Md.,  a  real  scare  as 
the  flames  spread  from  the  fire-proof  projec¬ 
tion  booth  in  Masons  Opera  House,  April  7, 
just  as  Paul  Hales,  the  operator  was  getting 
films  ready  for  showing.  Damage  was  over 
$500  before  the  flames  were  extinguished.  “Mr. 
Skitch”  was  burned.  C.  W.  Outten  is  half 
owner  and  manager  of  the  Opera  House. 


A  lorn  inti  Attraction 

Aprl5'34  pg.  15 

BUSTER  CRABBE 


f  n 


// 


Badge  of  Honor 

With  RUTH  HALL 


Full  of  Action,  Suspense,  Romance,  and  Thrills! 
Well  cast,  well  staged,  well  written  and  well  directed. 

1/  T/rti/  1st 


// 


N  O  W  It  O  O  K  1  X  G  : 

"DANCING  MAN" 

with  REGINALD  DEMY,  JUDITH  ALLEN 

ami  a  strong  supporting  cast 

An  exploitable  title  and  a  production  that  received  the  commendation  of  the  critics 

at  its  First  Run  at  Keitf/s,  Philadelphia 

"BACK  PAGE" 

with 

PEGGY  SHANNON  RUSSELL  HOPTOA  EDWIN  MAXWELL 

anil  a  host  of  other  featured  players 

A  newspaper  story  crammed  with  action  and  comedy  .  .  .  that  will  satisfy 

the  big  and  small  patrons 


FROM  PHILADELPHIA'S  LEADING  INDEPENDENT,  OF  COURSE 

Masterpiece  Film  Attractions,  Inc. 

L.  KORSON,  President 


1329  VINE  STREET 


PHILADELPHIA 


16 


Aprl5'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


- Heard  In 

INE  STREET 

Burke  Has 
Hard  Luck 


HERB  GIVEN  has  added  some  new  product. 
Among  them  are  ‘‘The  Death  Parade,  a  new 
war  picture  by  Albert  Rule ;  Taming  the 
Jungle,”!  an  animal  picture,  and  also  several 
westerns.  ...  These  are  in  addition  to  the 
exploitation  natural  ‘‘Dawn  to  Dawn.  •,,•.• 
Art  Alliance  included  that  and  ‘  The  Spy  m 
its  last  Sunday  night  show  and  audience  was 
thrilled.  .  .  .  Herb  intends  to  give  them  a  big 
campaign.  .  .  .  Messrs.  Sussman,  Grainger 

visited. 

JIM  CLARK,  the  Horlacherite,  hopped 
over  to  the  big  town  for  a  day  or  so.  .  .  . 

All  the  trucks  now  carry  the  official  state 
number.  .  .  .  That  clambake  should  be 

along  soon,  what  with  the  weather  getting 
normal.  .  .  .  Earle  Sweigert,  Paramount’s 

cherubic  exchange  manager,  awaits  coming 
of  ‘‘We’re  Not  Dressing,”  with  Bing  Crosby. 

.  ‘‘No  one  can  croon  like  Bing,”  says 
Earle. 

JOHN  GOLDER  has  “Cheaters”  working 
around.  .  .  .  Show  got  a  deal  over  the  ^  S  \\ 
circuit.  .  .  .  And  “When  Strangers  Meet”  and 
“Take  the  Stand”  as  well  as  “No  Ransom” 
are  expected  in  soon.  ...  “I  Hate  Women’  is 
also  a  new  one.  .  •  •  “Mission  frails,  a 
color  reel,  got  a  Karlton  booking.  .  .  .  George 
W.  Lessy’s  brother,  Perry,  has  Lincoln  for  his 
middle  name. 

WHEN  A  VINE  STREET  tap  room  was 
robbed,  police  were  called.  .  .  .  As  a  result, 
corner  was  cleaned  and  two  suspects  were  held. 

.  Developed  that  the  suspects  were  sent 
down  from  a  Jersey  town  to  pick  up  film  so 
they  were  released.  .  .  .  Now,  officers  of  the 
law  want  corners  kept  clean.  .  .  .  But  it  will 
be  a  tough  job.  .  .  .  Store  on  n.  w.  corner 
had  windows  cleaned. 

MASTERPIECE  will  have  two  new  pic¬ 
tures  in  soon.  .  .  .  ‘‘Badge  of  Honor,  with 

Buster  Crabbe  and  Ruth  Hall,  and  I  Can  t 
Escape”,  with  Onslow  Stevens,  Williams 
Jennings,  Lila  Lee  are  the  new  ones  from 
Mayfair.  .  .  .  And  “Dancing  Man,”  “Back 

Page”  and  “Wine,  Women  and  Song”  are 
working  around.  .  .  .  Also  “What  s  Your 

Racket?”  is  getting  plenty  of  bookings. 

SAM  ROSEN  has  five  ready  for  dating 
right  now.  .  .  .  “Channel  Crossing,”  with  Con¬ 
stance  Cummings.  .  .  .  “The  Ghoul,”  with 
Boris  Karloff.  .  .  .  “Dick  Turpin,”  with  Vic 
McLaglen.  .  .  .  “Waltz  Time,”'  with  Evelyn 
Laye.  .  .  .  And  “Orders  is  Orders,”  with 
Charlotte  Greenwood  and  James  Gleason.  .  .  . 
“The  Ghoul”  opened  at  the  Europa.  .  .  .  Sam 
is  screening  all  around  these  days. 

FIRST  DIVISION  all  het  up  for  Harry  H. 
Thomas  Month  of  May.  .  .  .  Plenty  of  dates 
coming  in  and  Manager  A1  Blofson  deter¬ 
mined  to  make  a  good  showing.  .  .  New 

pictures  in  the  house  include  “Stolen 
Sweets,”  “Twin  Husbands,”  “House  of 
Mystery.”  .  .  “Forgotten  Men”  doing  a 

whale  of  a  business  in  all  spots  and  looks 
like  an  exploitation  natural.  .  .  .  Manager 

Blofson  back  from  AC  Monogram  conven¬ 
tion  and  feeling  just  dandy  about  next  year. 

TONY  LUCCHESE  still  confined  to  his 
bed.  .  .  .  Gold  Medal  proprietor  has  been  ill 
several  weeks  now.  .  .  .  Nat  Levine  drop¬ 
ped  around.  .  .  .  Meanwhile,  exchange  has 
several  prints  of  “The  Lost  Jungle,”  new 
Clyde  Beatty  serial,  working.  .  .  .  Stanley 


Warner  has  given  the  serial  plenty  of  time  and 
houses  playing  it  are  doing  a  swell  business. 

.  .  .  Mike  Katz  supervising  while  Tony  is 
out.  .  .  .  The  ComiColor  cartoons  are  com¬ 
ing  along  nicely.  .  .  .  Plenty  of  runs  on  them. 

.  .  .  And  exchange  is  waiting  for  “The  Un¬ 
known  Blonde,”  from  Majestic. 

LOCAL  RKO  OFFICE  going  great  guns 
on  the  current  date  drive.  .  .  More  than 

11,000  dates  have  come  in  and  it  looks  as 
if  for  the  first  time  the  RKO  office  is  going 
to  get  first  place.  .  .  There’s  a  week’s 

salary  in  it  for  all  the  folks.  .  .  .  And  under 
Frank  McNamee’s  direction  and  with  three 
teams  working  hard,  it  appears  as  if  RKO 
is  going  to  find  Philly  in  first  place.  .  .  . 

Drive  is  a  great  success,  anyway. 

Pickets  on  Vine  Street,  arranged  by  Charles 
Zagrans,  were  a  great  help.  Auditor 

MacShea  in  town  for  a  spell  at  RKO.  .  .  . 

Sam  Gross,  Johnny  Roberts,  Harry  Spiegel 
finally  getting  away  to  Bermuda. 

BOYS  ON  the  street  were  surprised  to  note 
the  Washington  in  George  W.  Lessy's  name. 

.  .  .  They  ask  whether  he  could  be  a  de¬ 

scendant  of  George  Washington.  .  .  .  Benny 
Fertl  all  okay  now  after  the  operation. 

IF  AUDITOR  BURKE,  who  was  in  town 
for  quite  a  spell  in  connection  with  Fox 
duties,  decides  to  travel  in  this  vicinity,  he 
ought  to  use  a  train.  .  .  .  During  his  stay 

here  he  joined  the  $6  club,  had  an  experi¬ 
ence  with  car  thieves,  and  topped  it  all  by 
breaking  his  key  in  the  lock  and  having  the 
car  towed  in  by  an  AAA  truck.  .  .  .  His 

run  of  hard  luck  hasn’t  stopped  for  some 
time.  .  .  .  Harry  Denbow,  Warners’  bril¬ 

liant  contribution  to  film  salesmanship,  is 
quite  a  ribber  in  addition.  .  .  .  Ask  Bill 

Madison,  the  man  who  makes  the  trade 
Quality  premium-conscious.  .  .  .  Now  that 

Joe  Penner  is  the  trend  of  the  moment  and 
the  local  Warner  office  is  re-selling  his 
shorts,  the  exchange  has  some  ducks  on 
display  to  remind  exhibs  about  it. 

LOUIS  “POP"  KORSON,  Masterpiece, 
under  observation  at  Jewish  Hospital.  .  .  . 

Trade  hopes  he  gets  well  soon.  .  .  .  Became 
ill  on  boat  trip.  .  .  .  And  went  to  hospital 

within  a  few  days  of  return  here. 

WALT  WOODWARD  back  from  a  ten- 
week  trip  down  South.  .  .  .  Did  a  lot  of  ERPI 
work  while  there.  .  .  .  Charlie  Zagrans,  the 
RKO  ribber,  may  get  a  few  himself  if  the 
boys  who  were  given  publicity  via  the  sand¬ 
wich  man  route  decide  to  do  something  about 
it. 

LOU  BRENNER,  formerly  with  Warners, 
is  covering  Scranton  and  upstate  for  Gold 
Medal-Majestic.  .  .  Ted  Aber  is  now  a 

member  of  the  $6  club.  .  .  .  He  joined  this 

week.  .  .  .  P.  A.  Bloch,  Paramount  district 

chief,  is  hopping  to  Chicago  for  a  district 
managers  convention  soon. 

DAVE  RABUCK  is  going  into  the  equip¬ 
ment  and  accessory  business.  .  .  .  Jess  Abel 
a  visitor  on  the  street.  .  .  .  Clem  Rizzo 

thinks  the  upturn  has  come.  .  .  .  Business 
is  picking  up.  .  .  .  Harry  Blumberg  glad 
because  the  snow  is  off  the  ground.  . 

Jake  Berison  likes  cider. 

SHOWMENS  PICTURES,  INC.,  has  se¬ 
cured  the  world’s  distribution  rights  of  Harry 
Schenck’s  dramatic  jungle  thriller,  “Beyond 
Bengal.” 

A  GENT  WHO  SIGNS  himself  “An  MPTO 
member”  drops  a  line  into  this  column  re¬ 
garding  a  young  good  looking  fellow  who 
books  the  Cedar  and  Diamond  theatres  with 


ABOUT  SINGLE  REELS 


(Ed.  Note:  An  exhibitor  sent  in  this  analysis  of 
single  reels  which  play  his  theatre.  Do  you  agree 
with  him?  THE  EXHIBITOR  will  be  pleased  to  reprint 
further  opinions  from  t.heatremen.  It  presents  this 
survey  as  the  report  of  an  exhibitor,  not  this  publica¬ 
tion.) 

Series  Audience  Reaction  Personal  Opinion 
FOX 

Baby  Burlesks,  excellent,  very  good. 

Battle  for  Life,  fair,  generally  tiresome. 

Romantic  Journeys,  poor,  tiresome. 

Song  Hit  Stories,  good,  okay. 

Treasure  Chest,  fair,  just  fair. 

A  Newsreel  Cameraman,  excellent,  swell. 

Magic  Carpets,  poor,  tiresome. 

Tintypes,  good,  okay. 

METRO 

Fitzpatrick  Travels,  poor,  tiresome. 

Goofy  Movies,  good,  okay. 

Oddities,  good,  okay. 

Willie  Whoppers,  good,  okay. 

PARAMOUNT 

Betty  Boops,  excellent,  okay. 

Headliners,  excellent,  okay. 

Hollywood  on  Parade,  excellent,  very  good. 

Pictorials,  good,  okay. 

Popeyes,  good,  okay. 

Screen  Songs,  good",  okay. 

Souvenirs,  excellent,  swell — old  time. 

Spotlights,  fair,  just  fair. 

RADIO 

Vagabond  Adv.,  poor,  tiresome. 

Pathe  Reviews,  fair,  fair. 

U.  A. 

Mickey  Mouses,  good,  good — but  slipping. 

Silly  Symphonies,  excellent,  better  than  Mouses. 

WARNERS 

Looney  Tunes,  fair,  okay. 

Melody  Masters,  good,  okay. 

Merrie  Melodies,  fair,  okay. 

Pepper  Pots,  excellent,  very  good. 

Newman  Traveltalks,  poor,  tiresome. 

COLUMBIA 

Krazy  Kats.  fair,  fair. 

March  of  Years,  varies,  fair. 

Minute  Mysteries,  fair,  tiresome. 

Scrappy,  weak,  weak. 

Travelaughs,  fair,  tiresome. 

World  of  Sports,  fair,  tiresome. 

UNIVERSAL 

Oswald,  fair,  fair. 

Strange  as  Seems,  good,  excellent. 

Goofytone  News,  good,  fair. 

Opinion:  All  travel  pictures  should  be  dispensed 
with,  if  possible.  I  do  not  class  Paramount  pictorials 
and  Pathe  Reviews  as  scenics,  as  they  have  diversity. 
Sport  reels  are  generally  tiresome.  Women  do  not 
like  them.  Warner  cartoons  are  not  as  good  as 
Paramount.  Mickey  Mouse  of  late  seems  to  have 
been  slipping.  Silly  Symphonies  have  improved.  Best 
reels  seem  to  be  Newsreel  Cameraman,  Souvenirs, 
Baby  Burlesks,  Hollywood  on  Parade,  Symphonies  and 
Paramount  headliners. 


Big  Met  Proposition 

Wm.  Smith,  Sunset  Hotel,  is  reported  to 
have  taken  over  the  Met.  He  is  reputed  in¬ 
stalling  dance  hall  and  will  have  bridge  games, 
vaudeville  and  pictures  and  serve  coffee  and 
cake.  He  may  change  name  to  Rendezvous. 
It  is  expected  that  the  nut  of  the  theatre  will 
be  $6000  a  week.  It  is  said  house  may  open 
around  August. 


George  Lessy.  .  .  .  The  note  goes  on  to 

say  that  his  initials  are  W.  H.  E.  P.  and  that 
the  lassies  in  one  exchange  on  the  south  side 
of  Vine  Street  between  13th  and  Broad,  are 
just  crazy  about  him. 

MIKE  LANDOW  went  up  to  York  for  a 
visit.  .  .  .  Had  a  nice  time.  .  .  .  Looked 
around.  .  .  .  Thinks  Universal  is  going  to 
finish  the  old  season  with  a  bang.  .  .  .  Re¬ 
members  “Moonlight  and  Pretzels”  last  year. 

BEN  HARRIS  gave  his  usual  motion  pic¬ 
ture  show  for  Deaf  and  Dumb  Institute.  .  .  . 
Silent  picture.  .  .  .  Big  success.  .  .  .  Does 
it  every  Easter.  .  .  .  It’s  a  pleasure.  .  .  . 
Claire  much  better.  .  .  .  Back  to  school.  .  .  . 
Jack  got  in  to  see  Joe  Penner,  drew  him.  .  .  . 
Joe  liked  it.  .  .  .  Wrote  personal  letter  of 
thanks.  .  .  .  Mitzi  and  Dotzi  in  a  play.  .  .  . 
Sara  getting  thin.  .  .  .  Claims  sylphlike  form. 


Aprl5'34  pg.  17 


Look  over  your  equip¬ 
ment  .  .  .  your  carpets 
.  .  .  draperies  .  .  .  seats 
.  .  .  walls  .  .  .  lobby 
frames  .  .  .  marquee 
.  .  .  screen  .  .  .  and 
ticket  booth. 


ANNUAL 
SPRING 
CLEANING 
ISSUE 

Articles  by  leading 
Theatre  Architects 
Charts  of  Building  and 
Renovating  Costs 
Actual  photographs 
and  sketches 

Out  May  1st 


What  do  you  need  .  . 
What  will  it  cost  .  .  . 
Must  you  close  down  . 
Who  is  an  expert  .  .  . 


I  Would  Like  Information  on: 


Architects  who  know  theatres  ....  □ 

Artificial  flowers  .  Q 

Banners  and  Flags .  □ 

Carpet  for  the  aisles  and  foyer.  .  .  □ 

Chairs  and  chair  repairs .  □ 

Chair  covers  .  □ 

Decorating:  lobby — marquee — 

auditorium  .  □ 

Dry  cleaning .  □ 

Electric  signs .  □ 

Horns  and  Speakers  .  □ 

Lighting  Equipment  and  Elec¬ 
trical  Work .  □ 

Lighting  Fixtures .  .  □ 

Lobby  Frames  and  Ticket  Booth.  .  □ 

Marquee  and  Ballyhoo  Front .  □ 

Premiums .  □ 

Printing  and  Posting  ....  .  □ 

Safes — both  Money  and  Film .  □ 

Safety  Devices .  Q 

Screens  .  □ 

Slides  .  □ 

Sound  Equipment  and  Repairs.  .  .  .  □ 

Special  Trailers .  □ 

Stage  Scenery  .  □ 

Summer  Draperies  .  □ 

Tickets  and  Ticket  Registers.  .  ...  □ 

Uniforms  and  Costumes  .  □ 

Vaudeville  and  Stage  Presenta¬ 
tions  .  □ 

Vending  Machines  .  □ 


Tear  out  and  mail  to: 

JAY  EMANUEL  PUBLICATIONS 
219  N.  Broad  Street,  Philadelphia 


Aprl5'34  pg.  18 


Distributed  GOLD  MEDAL  FILM  CO. 

by  A.  LUCCHESE,  President 


c^>AIat  Levine 


THE  GREATEST 
AGGREGATION  OF 
WILD  BEASTS  EVER 
ASSEMBLED  FOR  A 
MOTION  PICTURE 

In  77>  ree  Ve  rsions:- 


•  AS  A  7  REEL  FEATURE 

•  AS  A  7  REEL  FEATURE  FOLLOWED 
BY  10  2-REEL  CHAPTERS 

•  AS  A  12  EPISODE  SERIAL 

Separate  Advertising  Accessories 

on  Each  Version 

SOLD  TO  THE  WARNER  CIRCUIT  IN 
PHILA.  AND  27  LOEW  THEATRES 
IN  NEW  YORK 

The  World's  Greatest  Animal  Trainer  and  a 


Aprl5'34  pg.  19 


1236  VINE  STREET,  PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 


20 


Aprl5'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


BETWEEN  THE  PARAGRAPHS 


PRE-LENTEN  MYTH  BEATEN  IN  SOME  SPOTS 

Reports  from  various  sectors  indicate  that  pre-Lenten  business  did  not  result 
in  a  general  letdown.  In  some  districts,  business  either  held  its  own  or  topped  that 
of  the  week  before.  Poor  weather  was  responsible  for  a  greater  toll  at  the  box 
office  than  the  pre-Easter  bugaboo.  This  indicates  that  if  there  is  less  booking  of 
slough  pictures  during  the  pre-holiday  period  there  will  be  more  returns  for 
exhibitor  and  exchange. 


AVERAGE  EXHIBITOR  MINDS  OWN  BUSINESS 

Regardless  of  Washington  hearings,  exhibitor  fights,  etc.,  the  average  exhibitor 
prefers  to  play  the  game  alone.  Although  no  exhibitor’s  setup  is  a  perfect  one, 
most  of  the  theatremen  prefer  to  mind  their  own  business,  figuring  that  in  the 
long  run  the  exchangeman  knows  he  has  to  stay  in  the  field  in  order  that  the 
distributor  might  benefit.  Rank  and  file  of  showmen  prefer  to  tend  to  their  own 
affairs  rather  than  mix  in  something  of  which  they  know  little  or  nothing. 


NOTHING  EQUALS  RADIO  FOR  QUICK  BUILDUP 

Movies  may  bring  draws  to  the  front  in  a  hurry,  but  nothing  equals  the  radio 
for  taking  a  performer  and  increasing  his  worth  overnight.  Joe  Penner  is  an 
example.  The  radio  comic,  who  made  a  whole  series  of  shorts  for  Warners  without 
causing  any  explosions,  is  now  a  household  favorite.  Of  course,  the  radio  can  kill 
its  favorites  as  fast  as  they  build  them,  but  while  they’re  hot  they  benefit  not  only 
themselves  but  theatres  which  can  play  shorts  or  features  in  which  they  appear. 


LONGER  FEATURES  OUGHT  TO  BE  VOGUE 

If  there  are  to  be  less  shorts,  either  there  will  have  to  be  longer  features  or 
more  double  features.  Patrons,  generally,  won’t  protest  because  there  will  be  a 
decrease  in  the  single  reel  and  two-reel  subjects.  Sound  proved  conclusively  that 
making  good  shorts  was  either  too  expensive  or  too  difficult  a  proposition.  If  the 
code  restricts  buying  of  shorts,  it  will,  of  course,  be  no  guarantee  that  the  quality 
will  be  any  better.  Unfortunately,  in  the  short  line,  quality  seems  to  have  nothing 
to  do  with  quantity. 


INDEPENDENTS  PROVED  THEY  CAN  MAKE  GOOD  FEATURES 

If  for  nothing  else,  the  dying  season  can  be  noted  in  film  history  as  the  year 
in  which  the  independents  proved  that  it  is  possible  to  make  pleasing,  entertaining 
features  at  a  low  cost.  Leading  independents  kept  within  their  budgets,  turned  out 
satisfactory  pictures.  Unfortunately,  however,  some  of  them  lacked  name  strength 
for  A  houses,  but,  on  the  whole,  the  independents  proved,  with  the  help  of  exhibi¬ 
tors  everywhere,  that  they  could  more  than  hold  their  own  in  the  matter  of  making 
good  pictures. 


THIS  BUSINESS  NEEDS  A  NEW  CYCLE 


Catch 

them 

WHEN 

THEY'RE 

"SHOW 
i  SHOPPING" 


Nowadays,  people  shop  for  amuse¬ 
ments.  They  know  what  movie 
they  want  to  see.  They  know 
what  star  they  want  to  see.  And 
in  Philadelphia,  they  do  their 
shopping  in  The  Record’s  Amuse¬ 
ment  Directory. 

This  first  and  only  complete 
amusement  guide  in  Philadelphia 
reaches  more  than  182,000  people 
daily,  more  than  288,000  on  Sun¬ 
day.  For  only  30  cents  a  day  you 
can  tell  them  who’s  playing  in 
what  at  your  theatre.  A  longer 
listing  costs  but  15  cents  a  line 
more. 


The  RECORD 

Amusement  Directory 


offers  you  the  most  economical 
form  of  advertising  ever  presented 
to  Philadelphia  theatre-owners. 
Today  it  carries  the  listings  of 
more  than  160  theatres  in  the 
Philadelphia  district.  Does  it 
carry  yours?  If  not,  you’re  miss¬ 
ing  an  unequalled  opportunity  to 
place  your  attraction  before  actual 
amusement  buyers  at  the  very 
moment  when  they  are  choosing 
their  amusement.  To  insert  your 
ad,  just  call 


It  is  beginning  to  look  as  if  this  business  could  stand  a  new  cycle.  The  past 
season  saw  “inside”  stories,  costume  pictures,  musicals,  etc.,  with  the  usual  results. 
First  ones  in  made  money,  while  the  others,  if  almost  as  good,  took  in  a  little  less. 
The  costume  cycle  is  probably  not  as  successful  as  some  of  the  others,  with  the 
overhead  bringing  in  another  disadvantage.  It  will  be  interesting  to  note  which 
studio  brings  forth  a  new  idea  that  will  make  money  for  distributor  and  exhibitor. 


PHILADELPHIA 


CENSORSHIP  FIGHTS  ON  ALL  FRONTS 


RECORD 


Fights  against  the  censor  boards  are  proceeding  in  many  states.  These  are 
taking  the  form  of  court  tussles,  introducing  of  bills,  etc.  Generally,  attitude  of 
the  opponents  of  censorship  seems  to  be  that  if  there  is  to  be  a  new  deal  all  around, 
censorship  may  as  well  be  included.  The  advocates  of  the  abolition  of  censor  boards 
are  opposed  to  the  present  form  of  deleting  pictures.  And  if  they  proceed  along 
the  lines  indicated,  they  may  be  successful. 


CLASSIFIED  DEPARTMENT 

WALNUT  2300 


HOBART  MANN. 


Gaaran^ee  : 


•  QUALITY 

•  DELIVERY 

•  IMLt/£ 

•  SATISFACTION 

Ask  any  of  these  Phila¬ 
delphia  territory 
showmen: 

GRANT,  Philadelphia 
VIOLA,  Philadelphia 
RIVOLI,  Hammonton,  N.  J. 
CRITERION, 

Moorestown,  N.  J. 

BLACKWOOD, 

Blackwood,  N.  J. 


.  .  .  all  of  whom  have 
contracted  during  the 
past  few  weeks  for 
the  business  boosting 


Cherry  Blossom  Glass  Dinnerware  St 


Announcing  ! 

Our  New  Philadelphia  Office 
1316  VINE  STREET 
DAVE  STARKMAN,  Mgr. 


m  LAST  MINUTE  EXTRA 

Grant,  Ph  i  la.,  and  Rivoli,  Hammonton, 
opened  to  terrific  business,  far  evceeding 
their  expectancy  and  were  forced  to 
resort  to  shortage  slips  in  great  numbers. 

ASK  THEM! 


I 

;  FOR  FURTHER  INFORMATION  MAIL  THIS  COUPON  TO 

STREIMER  AD  SERVICE 

DIRECT  FACTORY  REPRESENTATIVES 

352  West  44th  St.,  New  York  City  Phone — LAckawanna  4-5045 

3  NAME  _ THEATRE _ 


ADDRESS 


CITY 


STATE 


WASHINGTON  GOLD  BANDED  DINNERWARE  □ 

SILHOUETTE  PLATINUM  LINED  DINNERWARE  □ 
CHERRY  BLOSSOM  GLASS  DINNERWARE  □ 

MARINE  BLUE  (22k.)  GOLD  SPRAY  DINNERWARE  □ 

■  Check  Item  (X) 

ALL  MADE  IN  U. 


REPEAL  OR  BEVERAGE  SET 
TWO  TONED  GLASSWARE 
JADITE  KITCHENWARE 
CRYSTAL  GLASSWARE 

s  A>Aprl5’34  pg.  21 


22 


Aprl5'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


BETTER  TESTED  SUCCESSFUL 

MANAGEMENT  *  ideas  #  merchandising 


“Wonder  Bar” 

Smashes  All  Records 

Set  for  national  release  over  the  Easter 
week-end,  Warner  Bros.’  all-star  show, 
“Wonder  Bar."  opened  in  over  225  situa¬ 
tions  over  the  country  to  business  way 
beyond  the  company’s  greatest  expecta¬ 
tions. 

In  addition,  to  opening  during  what  has  been 
generally  conceded  one  of  the  worst  week-ends 
in  show  business,  “Wonder  Bar’’  was  released 
in  competition  with  the  strongest  box-office  at¬ 
tractions  of  other  major  companies. 

Despite  these  facts,  the  picture  came  through 
with  smash  receipts,  topping  in  many  of  the 
spots,  the  record  business  recorded  on  the  com¬ 
pany’s  previous  musical  hits,  “42nd  Street, f 
“Gold  Diggers,”  and  “Footlight  Parade.” 

An  indication  of  the  “Wonder  Bar”  business 
was  forecast  in  the  few  test  runs  held  on  the 
picture  two  and  three  weeks  before  the  March 
31  release  date,  at  which  time  the  picture  en¬ 
joyed  highly  successful  runs.  However,  these 
test  engagements  did  not  play  against  the  big 
opposition  as  met  the  pictures  national  release 
date. 

In  many  of  the  Easter  dates,  “Wonder  Bar” 
actually  set  new  house  records,  among  them 
being  such  spots  as  Portland,  Altoona,  Los 
Angeles. 

Other  situations  where  the  picture  did  tre¬ 
mendous  business  include :  Strand,  Albany ; 
Stanley,  Utica ;  Fox,  Atlanta ;  Capitol,  Spring- 
field  ;  Hippodrome,  Buffalo ;  Century,  Roches¬ 
ter  ;  Hippodrome,  Cleveland ;  Strand,  Akron ; 
Warner,  Youngstown;  Empire,  San  Antonio; 
Circle,  Indianapolis ;  Warner,  Milwaukee ; 
Saenger,  New  Orleans ;  Stanley,  Jersey  City ; 
Shubert-Rialto,  St.  Louis ;  and  Stanley,  Phila¬ 
delphia. 

Hold  over  engagements  have  been  set  on 
“Wonder  Bar”  in  89  per  cent  of  these  Easter 
dates,  with  many  more  hold-overs  expected 
soon. 


Safety  in  Numbers 


Joe  Murphy,  the  historian  of  the 
Ritz,  Oaklyn,  N.  J.,  drops  a  note  to  this 
department  alleging  that  we  seem  to  be 
suffering  from  a  number  of  things, 
namely  such  titles  as  “One  Year  Later,” 
“Two  Heads  on  a  Pillow,”  “Three  on  a 
Honeymoon,”  “Four  Frightened  Peo¬ 
ple,”  “East  of  Fifth  Avenue,”  “Six  of 
a  Kind,”  “Shepherd  of  the  Seven  Hills,” 
“Private  Life  of  Henry  the  Eighth,” 
“Curtain  at  Effiht,”  “Eight  Girls  in  a 
Boat,”  “Ninth  Guest,”  “Ten  Nights  in  a 
Barroom,”  “Friday  the  13th,”  “Opera¬ 
tor  13,”  “Thirteenth  Guest,”  “Sixteen 
Fathoms  Deep,”  “Sweet  Sixteen,”  “20th 
Century,”  “20  Million  Sweethearts,” 
“30  Day  Princess,”  “Woman  in  Her 
Thirties,”  “42nd  Street,”  “H  ouse  on 
56th  Street,”  “Girl  in  419,”  “Fashions 
of  1934”  and  “Saturday’s  Millions.” 


Selling  “ Wonder  Bar ”  in  York 


A  view  of  th<;  lobby  of  the  Capitol  Theatre,  York,  illustrating  the  manner  in  which 
the  house  pre-sold  “Wonder  Bar.”  from  Warners. 


“Riptide”  Contest 

Many  inches  of  valuable  space  in  the  regular 
news  columns  of  the  Harrisburg  Telegraph, 
daily  Harrisburg  newspaper,  much  of  it  front¬ 
page,  were  devoted  to  a  “  ‘Riptide’  Title-slogan 
Contest’’  conducted  by  Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 
and  newspapers  throughout  the  country  and 
sponsored  in  Harrisburg  by  the  Harrisburg 
Telegraph. 


Contest  was  announced  in  the  Harrisburg 
newspaper  four  days  before  “Riptide”  opened 
at  Loew’s  Regent  Theatre,  Harrisburg.  Run¬ 
ning  for  six  days,  the  contest  was  conducted 
simultaneously  in  thirty  cities  throughout  the 
country  where  “Riptide”  was  showing  at  as 
many  Loew  theatres. 

As  explained  in  the  Harrisburg  newspaper, 
first  prize  in  the  contest  amounts  to  $500;  sec¬ 
ond  prize,  $250;  third,  $150,  and  fourth,  $100. 


"STOLEN 

SWEETS" 

First  Division  re¬ 
leases  the  produc¬ 
tion,  which  in¬ 
clude  Charles 
Starrett,  Sally 
B  1  a  n  e,  Johnny 
Harron  and  oth¬ 
ers  in  the  Ches¬ 
terfield  cast. 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Apr  15'34 


23 


Selling  Penner 


Artie  Cohn,  Earle  publicity  chief,  thought  of 
this  display  for  Joe  Penner’s  personal  appear¬ 
ance.  The  star,  now  appearing  in  Warner 
shorts,  liked  it  so  much  that  he  bought  it. 


Plugging  “Digest”  Plug 

Literary  folks  who  shop  around  for  movies 
got  a  two-column  line  of  bait  from  Paul  E. 
(Peg)  Glase,  manager,  Wilmer  &  Vincent's 
Embassy  Theatre,  Reading,  who  was  fishing 
for  business  for  “Six  of  a  Kind.'’  Glase  placed 
a  large  newspaper  ad  quoting  in  full  a  com¬ 
mendatory  article  from  the  Literary  Digest  for 
“Six  of  a  Kind.” 


Scores  Twice 


Joe  Conway,  who  operates  the 
Egyptian  Theatre  on  the  main  line,  de¬ 
serves  some  sort  of  a  hand  for  keeping 
in  touch  with  the  public  pulse. 

Before  “Three  Little  Pigs”  was  re¬ 
vived  and  repeated,  Joe  had  played  the 
short  three  times.  Then  came  the  na¬ 
tional  deluge. 

And  three  months  ago,  he  picked  up 
Joe  Penner  short  and  billed  it  above  the 
feature. 

Now,  Warners  are  re-issuing  all  the 
Penner  shorts. 

Exhibs  ought  to  watch  Joe  and  see 
what  else  he  has  up  his  sleeve. 


Loew’s  Colonial,  Robert  H.  Suits  manager, 
had  a  red  ink  imprint,  “Norma  Shearer  in 
‘Riptide’,”  run  across  the  first  page  in  bill¬ 
board  type,  of  a  large  number  of  copies  of 
the  Reading  “Times,”  for  city  distribution. 


Boosting  Local  Angle 

When  the  Hollywood,  Pottsville,  played 
“Social  Register,”  theatre  plugged  the  local 
angle.  Picture  was  backed  in  production  by  a 
former  Pottsville  citizen. 


Manager  Alfred  Nowitski,  State,  Reading, 
built  up  an  effective  Asiatic  jungle  setting 
for  “Devil  Tiger.”  It  covered  the  entire 
front  of  the  theatre  and  compelled  attention, 
whether  the  passerby  wanted  to  take  notice 
or  not. 


ON  MV  WAY(TO 
NEW  YORK  AND 
THE  PICCADILLY 


.  .  best  hotel  I  know! 
Near  everything,  just 
200  feet  from  Broad¬ 
way.  Modern,  hospit¬ 
able  ,  and  comfortable. 
Like  the  Manager, 
ike  the  rates  —  $2.50 
single,  $3.50  double, 
for  a  room  with  bath  ! 

THE  HOTEL  - 

CC ADILLY 

45th  St.  •  W.  of  Broadway  ♦  New  York 

WILLIAM  MADLUNG,  Mjr. 


20th  Century’s  1st 


Messrs.  Schenck,  Lichtman,  Zanuck  cut  cake. 


The 

BEST  SERVICE 

to  all 

SHORE  POINTS 

Now  that  spring  is  here  and 
summer  is  on  its  way,  film 
men  can  make  use  of  our 
efficient  service  to  carry 
their  possessions  to  their 
summer  shore  apartments. 
This  has  been  a  part  of  our 
service  for  years. 

.. .  Jersey  Exhibitors 
are  Always  Happy 

They  know  they  can  go 
!  away  on  trips,  completely 
sold  on  New  Jersey  Mes¬ 
senger  Service.  For  the 
record  of  this  company  is 
one  that  shows  no  missouts 
i  at  any  time.  The  service 
satisfies. 

T 

NEW  JERSEY 

MESSENGER  SERVICE 

MYER  ADLEMAN 
250  N.  Juniper  Street 
PHILADELPHIA 

Spr.  9355  Loc.  8787  Race  9444 


24 


Aprl5'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


“Fighting  Priest ” 


View  of  Capitol  exchange  which  is  distrib¬ 
uting  “The  Fighting  Priest,”  the  Father 
Coughlin  short,  throughout  the  territory. 


Plugging  French  “Pigs” 

Belmont  Theatre  ran  French  “Three  Little 
Pigs,”  tied  up  with  French  teachers  in  city 
schools.  Result  was  that  teachers  appeared  at 
theatres  with  groups  of  students  who  wanted 
to  see  if  they  could  understand  French  version. 


Harrises  Wedding 


Cashier  at  Barrist  and  Goodwin’s 
Mayfair  Theatre  was  married  in  the 
theatre  a  fortnight  ago.  Bride  and 
groom  stood  in  the  lobby,  met  all  the 
patrons,  and  the  Italian  hand  of  Barrist 
came  in  when  it  was  noticed  that  di¬ 
rectly  behind  the  couple  there  was  a 
display  on  “Fugitive  Lovers.” 

Business  was  good. 


Selling  “Tarzan  and  Mate” 

One  of  those  familiar  "no  stones  unturned” 
campaigns,  which  have  become  so  familiar  to 
Flarrisburg  residents,  since  Charlie  McLeary 
came  to  town,  was  put  on  by  McLeary,  man¬ 
ager,  Loew's  Regent  Theatre,  Flarrisburg,  and 
his  able  assistant,  Bob  Etchberger,  to  exploit 
“Tarzan  and  His  Mate.” 

Amplifiers  atop  the  Loew  marquee  told  the 
populace  in  no  uncertain  terms  how  excellent 
Tarzan  would  be.  Sound  truck  patrolled  the 
streets  telling  the  same  tale.  A  roaring  lion, 
borrowed  from  the  Municipal  Zoo,  paraded 
throughout  the  city  in  a  cage  on  a  huge  flat 
truck  to  remind  the  curious  of  the  Tarzan 
picture.  Picture  was  reviewed  over  a  Harris¬ 
burg  radio  station.  More  than  5000  shopping 
bags,  each  bearing  the  title  of  the  picture 
were  distributed  by  merchants.  At  least  10,000 
tabloid  heralds,  telling  all  about  it,  were  dis¬ 
tributed  at  homes  in  the  city  and  vicinity.  More 
than  100  window  cards  on  display  in  show  win¬ 
dows  of  leading  business  houses.  Taxicabs 
carried  banners  directing  the  public  to  see  the 
picture. 


“City  Park”  Nears 

George  R.  Batcheller  has  started  production 
at  Universal  Studios  on  “City  Park,”  eighth 
picture  of  present  program  of  nine.  Sally 
Blane,  Henry  B.  Walthall  share  the  leads  sup¬ 
ported  by  Hale  Hamilton,  Matty  Kemp,  Johnny 
Harron,  Edmund  Breese,  Gwen  Lee,  Wilson 
Benge  and  Lafe  McKee. 


Lobby  Appearance 

is  a  very  important  part 
of  theatre  showmanship. 

TYL  -  A  -  MATS 

dress  your  lobby,  creating 
an  atmosphere  of  luxurious¬ 
ness,  of  comfort  ....  your 
patrons  feel  that  you  have 
their  interest  at  heart  when 
first  impressions  are  made 
by  a  lobby  installation  of 

TYL  -  A  -  MATS 


O.W.  JACKSON  CO.,  Inc. 

225  W.  34th  St.  New  York,  N.  Y. 


PHILADELPHIA 


HEW  YORK 


WASHINGTON 


BALTIMORE 


NATIONAL 

KLINE 

POSTER 

CO. 

1307  VINE  STREET 
PHILADELPHIA 

A 

POSTER  RENTALS 


NATIONAL 

PENN 

PRINTING 

CO. 

1233  VINE  STREET 
PHILADELPHIA 

A 

PRINTING 


SIMON  LIBROS 


GEO.  H.  KLINE 


OSCAR  LIBROS 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Aprl5'34 


25 


Around  the  Circuit 

with 

STANLEY-WARNER 

_ By  Harry  Goldberg - 

MANAGERS  of  Stanley-Warner  theatres 
are  all  set  to  knock  old  man  daylight  saving  for 
loop.  .  .  .  On  the  news  along  the  front  with 
the  Warner  boys  there  are  many  big  things 
planned  and  still  bigger  things  happening.  .  .  . 
Bernie  Seamon,  Germantown,  used  Captain 
Earl  Hammond  to  help  him  sell  “Eskimo.” 
.  .  .  Hammond  talked  to  the  members  of  the 
Germantown  Boys’  Club  before  the  opening  of 
the  picture.  .  .  .  Manager  Amos,  Strand  The¬ 
atre,  Pottstown,  used  the  local  papers,  civic- 
activities  and  a  personal  message  from  himself 


you  CAN  SHOO 

Mr.  Sum.  R.  Blues 


Increase  your  income 
during  the 

HOT  WEATHER 

with  a 

BERLO 

CANDY  VENDOR 

“Ask  Your 
Fellow  Exhibitor” 


Get  in  touch  with: 

GEO.  P.  AARONS 

301  N.  13th  Street 

LOCUST  4245 


OR  CALL  POPLAR  6109 

BERLO 

VENDING 

COMPANY 

1518  N.  Broad  St.,  Phila. 

Specializing  in  Candy 
Vending  Equipment 
for  the  Theatre  Trade! 


NEW  YORK  BALTIMORE 

SCRANTON  WASHINGTON 

ALLENTOWN  CLEVELAND 

PITTSBURGH  CINCINNATI 


to  his  patrons  in  helping  to  put  over  Manager's 
Week.  ...  At  the  Stanley,  flagship  of  the 
Jersey  fleet,  an  unusual  campaign  was  used  in 
selling  “Roman  Scandals.”  .  .  .  Ushers  were 
dressed  in  Roman  costumes,  with  playdates 
across  the  front  of  the  jackets;  an  enlargement 
of  Cantor  riding  in  a  chariot  pursued  by  a 
bevy  of  cuties,  were  just  a  few  of  the  things 
that  were  used  to  put  this  picture  over  in 
Camden.  .  .  .  On  "Dinner  at  Eight,”  Manager 
Murdock  had  a  tie-up  with  one  of  the  largest 
department  stores  in  South  Jersey  by  having 
a  dining-room  set  in  one  of  their  windows  giv¬ 
ing  promient  display  to  the  title  of  the  picture 
and  the  playdates.  .  .  .  Public  Service  buses 
were  also  used. 

A  VERY  NOVEL  LETTER  was  used  in  ex¬ 
ploiting  “Men  in  White”  for  its  engagement 
at  the  Stanley.  .  .  .  Letter  was  sent  to  the 

members  of  the  medical  profession,  although 
the  medical  angle  was  not  given  precedence 
over  the  love  angle.  .  .  .  There  is  a  lot  of 

activity  in  Bill  Haynes’  district  for  the  month 
of  April.  .  .  Haynes  called  his  men  to¬ 

gether  and  they  worked  out  what  looks  to  be 
a  very  effective  campaign  to  beat  daylight 
saving.  ...  In  this  district,  the  managers 
will  use  a  pamphlet  to  ask  the  patrons  the 
type  of  pictures  they  want  to  see  at  their 
theatre.  .  .  .  Second  step  in  the  campaign 

will  be  the  use  of  a  trailer,  in  which  the 
patrons  will  be  told  of  the  activity  and  asked 
to  select  the  pictures  they  would  like  to  see. 

MANAGER  LEWIS  used  a  parade  through 
the  business  district  surrounding  the  Leader  to 
call  attention  to  “Fugitive  Lovers’’  and  a 
Mickey  Mouse  Matinee.  .  .  .  Parade  featured 
a  Greyhound  bus,  similar  to  the  one  used  in 
the  picture,  and  was  enhanced  by  the  presence 
of  the  boys’  drum  and  bugle  corp  of  the  McCall 
Post  of  the  American  Legion.  .  .  .  One  of  the 
most  concentrated  distributions  of  heralds  ever 
undertaken  was  successfully  completed  under 
the  supervision  of  Manager  Phillips,  Strand, 
Reading,  in  selling  Manager's  Week  to  his 
patrons.  .  .  .  Pocket  programs  were  put  into 
payroll  envelopes  at  all  mills,  plants,  hotels, 
restaurants  and  clubs  in  the  city.  .  .  .  Proved 
to  be  immensely  popular  with  patrons,  many  of 
whom  called  up  for  them.  .  .  .  “PopiP  Graver, 
Grove,  used  a  special  envelope  to  carry  an  im¬ 
portant  message  concerning  Manager’s  Week 
.  .  .  Envelope  shows  a  picture  of  a  natty  bell¬ 
hop  offering  a  letter,  and  a  line  at  the  bottom 
reads:  “Let’s  open  it,  quick.”  .  .  .  Tom  Man- 
gan,  Washington,  Chester,  worked  out  a  classi¬ 
fied  ad  contest  with  local  paper,  to  sell  “Six  of 
a  Kind.”  .  .  .  Offered  50  free  tickets  to  read¬ 
ers  who  were  successful  in  finding  misspelled 
words  spotted  in  ten  different  advertisements. 


Booking  Theatres 
Everywhere 

Honest  ::  Reliable 
Conscientious 
Service 

EDWARD  SHERMAN 

VAUDEVILLE  AGENCY 

Real  Estate  Trust  Bldg. 
PHILADELPHIA 

Pennypacker  7595 

MAYFAIR  THEATRE  BLDG.,  NEW  YORK 

BR.  9-1905 


Heavy  Competition 


It  is  beginning  to  look  as  if  some  of 
the  exhibitors  are  working  overtime,  in 
the  competition  field. 

Over  the  river  in  Jersey,  Hunt’s 
Crescent,  West  Collingswood,  has 
double  features  at  15  cents  top  a  couple 
of  days  a  week.  Mt.  Ephraim  replied 
by  installing  a  15  cent  admission  in  the 
early  part  of  the  evening.  The  move  is 
likely  to  spread. 

Up  in  Glenside,  the  Glenside  offered 
three  features,  only  one  of  which  was  a 
western,  on  a  Saturday  matinee. 


. is  the  order 

of  the  day  at  ...  . 


SERVICE,  Inc. 

1228  Vine  Street 

PHILADELPHIA 


New  York  Washington 

Scranton  Baltimore 


HORLACHER’S  never  fails! 


26 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


2- April-34 


A  A 

J  1  -►Who  made  it? 

4 -►Is  it  family  or  adult  type? 

h-rnmt  Hpvipmk 

2  -►Who's  in  it? 

5  »►  What's  it  about? 

V  1  Ullll  ■ivwIvffO 

\  3-^ How  good  is  it ? 

6  >►  Running  Time  ? 

COLUMBIA 

1 

FOX 

Id 

MAJESTIC 

Adult 

One  Is  Guilty  Mystery  Murder 

62m. 

Ralph  Bellamy,  Shirley  Grey.  Rita  LaRoy,  Warren 
Hymer,  J.  Carrol  Naish,  Wheeler  Oakman. 

Well  directed  murder  mystery  melo  of  the 
program  variety  and  apt  to  satisfy  where  they 
like  that  sort  of  picture.  Show  attains  nothing 
in  the  way  of  originality  that  hasn’t  been  seen 
before  in  similar  stories,  but  it  will  pass 
through  easily  as  a  programmer.  Heroine  is 
suspected  and  hero,  a  detective  clears  her,  solves 
the  mystery. 

Estimate:  Holds  interest. 


Men  . 

A  ,  Romantic  Drama 

Are  enemies  90m. 

Hugh  Williams,  Helen  Twelvetrees,  Mona  Barrie, 
Henry  Stephenson,  Herbert  Mundin,  Walter  Byron, 
Una  O'Connor. 

Programmer  of  the  man  who  married  the 
wrong  girl,  and  without  any  name  strength  or 
lustre  to  help.  Hero  wants  to  marry  the  other 
girl,  loses  track  of  her,  weds  the  father's 
choice,  but  it  all  rights  in  the  end.  Williams  is 
a  new  face  for  stardom,  turns  in  a  pleasing 
performance. 

Estimate:  So-so. 


Voice  in  the  N  jqht  Action  Drama 

60m. 

Tim  McCoy,  Billie  Seward,  Ward  Bond,  Kane 
Richmond. 

Action  drama  with  a  telephone  background 
and  satisfactory  for  the  action  houses.  Pic¬ 
ture  has  fights,  thrills,  etc.,  and  will  please  the 
McCoy  followers  generally. 

Estimate:  Fights. 


The  Whirlp  Ool  Melodrama 

80m. 

Jack  Holt,  Lila  Lee,  Jean  Arthur,  John  Miljan, 
Don  Cook,  Allen  Jenkins. 

This  time  Jack  Holt  is  a  father  with  a 
prison  record  who  makes  the  supreme  sacri¬ 
fice  to  insure  the  happiness  of  his  former  wife 
and  the  daughter.  Show  has  enough  action 
and  dramatic  punches  to  please  any  audiences 
and  Holt  followers  will  be  satisfied,  even  if 
ending  finds  him  killing  himself. 

Estimate:  Dramatic. 


FIRST  NATIONAL 


A  Very  Honorable  Guy  Comedy 

61  m. 

Joe  E.  Brown,  Alice  White,  Robert  Barrat,  Irene 
Frank' in,  Alan  Dinehart,  Hobart  Cavanaugh,  Arthur 
Vinson. 

Not  the  best  of  the  Browns,  but  probably  sat¬ 
isfactory  where  his  name  means  mazumeh. 
Brown’s  grosses  have  been  slipping  a  bit  but 
the  story  is  clean,  there  is  plenty  of  action. 
Lots  of  laughs  are  found  in  the  story  of  a  fel¬ 
low  who  agrees  to  deliver  his  body  within  a 
month  to  a  doctor  in  return  for  a  loan,  then 
suddenly  comes  into  a  lot  of  money. 

Estimate:  Plug  Brown. 


A  Woman  in  Her  Thirties  Drama 

69m. 

Aline  MacMahon,  Paul  Kelly,  Ann  Dvorak.  Patricia 
Ellis,  Helen  Lowell,  Dorothy  Tree,  Mayo  Methot, 
Marjorie  Gateson,  Marjorie  Peterson. 

Aline  MacMahon  in  a  woman’s  story  and  a 
fair  grosser  where  the  combination  can  be  built 
up.  As  a  lady  with  a  big  heart,  she  makes  the 
show  a  one-woman  performance,  aided  by  a 
cast  of  well  known  feature  players. 

Estimate:  Sellez  le  femmes. 


Murder  in  Trinidad  Mystery  Drama 

75m. 

Victor  Jory,  Nigel  Bruce,  Heather  Angel,  Murray 
Kinnell,  Douglas  Walton,  J.  Carrol  Naish,  Claude 
King,  John  Davidson,  Nobel  Johnson. 

Intriguing  mystery  murder  drama  that  should 
be  able  to  hold  its  own  despite  lack  of  marquee 
names.  Picture  has  an  engrossing  story,  will 
appeal  to  followers  of  thrill  films.  Background 
is  a  great  aid  and  story,  generally,  is  a  melo¬ 
drama  with  plenty  of  interest. 

Estimate:  Find  the  criminal. 


Stand  Up  and  Cheer  Musical 

80m. 

Warner  Baxter,  Madge  Evans,  James  Dunn,  Sylvia 
Froos,  John  Boles,  Arthur  Byron,  Shirley  Temple, 
Ralph  Morgan,  Jimmy  Dallas,  Mitchell  and  Durante, 
Stepin  Fetchit. 

Outstanding  musical  that  should  react  as  a 
box  office  natural.  Picture  comes  late  in  the 
musical-revue  cycle,  but  has  enough  entertain¬ 
ment  of  its  own  on  which  to  stand.  Piece  has 
songs,  spectacles,  story,  names,  comedy,  ro¬ 
mance,  all  the  elements  necessary  to  sell.  With 
an  optimistic  feeling  about  it,  money  possibili¬ 
ties  are  apparent. 

Estimate:  Dough  show. 


The  Constant  Ny  mph  Romantic  Drama 

85m. 

Brian  Ahern  and  English  cast. 

English  made  picture  that  may  appeal  where 
the  books’  reputation  carries  weight  but  gener¬ 
ally  not  suitable  for  most  American  audiences. 
Ahern  was  seen  in  “Song  of  Songs”  but  doesn’t 
mean  anything.  Music  is  splendid,  acting  of 
high  standard,  but  foreign  tone  limits  it  for 
domestic  box  offices. 

Estimate:  For  some. 


What  Do  You  Think? 

It  is  the  aim  of  this  publication  to  give  its  readers 
every  possible  service.  Revision  of  the  page  is  an 
attempt  to  offer  a  concise  reviewing  form  that 
will  help  every  exhibitor.  Your  suggestions  and 
oriticisms  are  welcomed.  Write  in  now  and  tell 
us  whether  you  like  this  or  not. 


The  Unknown  Blonde  Drama 

69m. 

Dorothy  Revier,  Edward  Arnold,  Helen  Jerome 
Eddy,  Barry  Norton,  John  Miljan,  Claude  Gilling- 
water,  Franklyn  Pangborn,  Esther  Muir,  Barbara 
Marondess,  Walter  Catlett,  Leila  Bennett,  Arietta 
Duncan. 

So-called  “expose”  of  the  correspondent 
frameup  system,  and  with  plenty  of  meat  for 
exploiteers.  Cast  contams  some  saleable  names, 
story  offers  a  load  of  opportunities,  and  gener¬ 
ally  show  will  depend  on  the  manner  in  which  it 
is  offered  to  the  public.  Picture’s  strength  de¬ 
pends  on  the  campaign  behind  it. 

Estimate:  Saleable. 


METRO 


Rip  Tide 


Adult 

Drama 

93m. 


Norma  Shearer,  Robert  Montgomery,  Herbert  Mar¬ 
shall,  Mrs.  Patrick  Campbell,  Ralph  Forbes,  George 
K.  Arthur,  Sheets  Gallagher. 

Well  cast,  well  mounted,  well  produced  re¬ 
turn  vehicle  for  Norma  Shearer  and  certain  to 
do  business  in  the  better  classes  of  houses.  Pic¬ 
ture,  however,  is  of  English  background,  which 
may  handicap  it  in  theatres  which  play  to  the 
mobs.  Story  is  draggy  at  times,  never  achieves 
anything  like  an  action  pace,  becomes  a  per¬ 
sonal  triumph  rather  than  one  of  general  pro¬ 
duction. 


Estimate:  It  should  do. 


The  Hollywood  Party  Musical 

75m. 

Lupe  Velez,  Laurel  and  Hardy,  Jimmy  Durante, 
Polly  Moran,  Charles  Butterworth,  Jack  Pearl,  Rich¬ 
ard  Carle,  George  Givot,  Mickey  Mouse,  Eddie 
Quillan. 

Plenty  of  names  are  present  even  if  the  musi¬ 
cal  doesn’t  move  along  at  whirlwind  speed  all 
the  way.  So  “Hollywood  Party”  becomes  a 
marquee  attraction  and  something  to  be  ex¬ 
ploited.  Picture  has  a  few  hilariously  funny 
scenes  with  others  that  aren’t  so  funny.  In 
the  long  run,  however,  names  may  overcome 
disadvantages. 

Estimate:  Names. 


Viva  Villa  Historical  Drama 

110m. 

Wallace  Beery,  Fay  Wray,  Leo  Carrillo,  Henry  B. 
Walthall,  Don  Cook,  Katherine  Dc  Mille,  Stuart 
Erwin,  Joseph  Schildkraut,  George  E.  Stone,  David 
Durand,  Henry  Armetta,  Francis  X.  Bushman,  Jr. 

Impressive,  sweeping  work,  based  on  a  cele¬ 
brated  Mexican  bandit's  life  and  likely  to  be  as 
impressive  at  the  box  office.  Show  is  produced 
on  lavish  scale,  is  responsible  for  some  swell 
performances  from  Beery,  Walthall,  Erwin  and 
others.  Picture  is  human,  heavy  on  pathos, 
carries  all  the  elements  that  make  for  grand 
box  offices.  Regardless  of  its  advantages,  how¬ 
ever,  it  will  need  intensive  selling. 

Estimate:  Big. 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


27 


MONOGRAM 


Family 

City  Limits  Comedy 

66m. 

Ray  Walker,  Frank  Craven,  Sally  Blane,  Claude 
Gillingwater,  James  Burke,  James  Conlon,  George 
Hayes. 

Comedy  of  a  railroad  president  who  becomes 
a  tramp,  a  hero  who  is  a  reporter,  the  daughter 
and  a  fight  for  possession  of  the  company.  Show 
has  plenty  of  laughs,  doesn’t  take  itself  too 
seriously,  and  is  ideal  entertainment  for  family 
audiences.  Picture  moves  along  nicely  and 
should  satisfy. 

Estimate:  Laughs. 


Manhattan 
Love  Song 


Family 

Comedy  Drama  with  Songs 
69m. 


Robert  Armstrong,  Dixie  Lee,  Franklin  Pangborn, 
Nydia  Westman,  Helen  Flint,  Cecil  Cunningham, 
Harold  Waldridge,  Herman  Bing. 

Well-made  independent,  backed  by  some 
songs,  lots  of  comedy  and  a  novel  idea.  Plot 
deals  with  some  rich  sisters  who  lose  their 
money,  permit  the  servants  to  live  in  the  house 
because  of  pay  owed  them.  From  then  on,  de¬ 
velopments  allow  for  comedy,  music,  etc.  Pic¬ 
ture  boasts  some  nice  feature  faces'  and  can  be 
sold. 


Estimate:  Credit. 


PARAMOUNT 


Family 

Melody  in  Spring  Comedy  with  Songs 

75m. 

Lanny  Ross,  Charlie  Ruggles,  Mary  Boland,  Ann 
Sothern,  George  Meeker,  Herman  Bing,  Norma 
Mitchell,  Helen  Lynd,  Gale  Sisters. 

Ross’  radio  draw,  the  comedy  elements  and 
the  air  publicity  should  overcome  deficiencies  in 
story.  As  Ross’  first,  backed  by  intensive  plug¬ 
ging,  this  comedy  of  a  singing  lover  who  wants 
to  marry  the  daughter  of  Boland  and  Ruggles, 
will  do  until  a  stronger  vehicle  is  needed.  The 
laughs  are  plenty,  even  if  yarn  gropes  around  a 
bit. 

Estimate:  Radio  backing. 


The  Trumpet  Blows  Drama 

72m. 

George  Raft,  Frances  Drake,  Adolphe  Menjou, 
Sidney  Toler,  Edward  Ellis,  Nydia  Westman,  Douglas 
Wood,  Katherine  dcMille. 

Tale  of  a  bull  fighter,  brother  of  a  rancher 
who  was  a  bandit,  and  who  is  called  upon  to 
prove  his  courage  in  the  bull  ring.  Show  has 
all  the  elements  but  misses  fire  somewhere,  and 
must  be  classified  as  just  another  picture.  Fea¬ 
ture  boasts  some  names  to  sell. 

Estimate:  Fair. 


You’  re  Telling  Me  Comedy 

71m. 

W.  C.  Fields,  Joan  Marsh,  Buster  Crabbe,  Adrienne 
Ames,  Kathleen  Howard,  Louise  Carter,  George  Irving, 
Del  Henderson. 

Comedy  that  will  stand  or  fall  on  the  Fields 
angle.  Show  has  many  gags,  some  good,  some 
bad.  However,  audiences  should  generally  be 
pleased  with  the  Fields  brand  of  humor  and 
there  is  a  romance  to  boot.  As  a  program 
comedy,  it  shouldn't  cause  much  complaint. 

Estimate:  Funny  in  spots. 


RADIO 


Family 

Finishing  School  Drama 

72m. 


2- April-34 


CHESTERFIELD 


Stolen  Sweets 


Family 
Comedy  Drama 
71m. 


Billie  Burke,  Ginger  Rogers,  Bruce  Cabot,  Frances 
Dee,  Beulah  Bondi,  Sara  Haden,  Irene  Franklin, 
John  Holliday. 

This  one  is  just  about  what  one  would  guess 
from  the  title.  It  seeks  to  reveal  the  inside  of 
finishing  schools  for  girls  and  has  saleable  ex¬ 
ploitation  material.  Picture,  however,  never 
reaches  any  heights,  most  of  the  punches  are 
telegraphed  ahead  and  cast  lacks  star  lustre. 

Estimate:  Familiar. 


Sally  Blane ,  Charles  Starrett,  Jameson  Thomas , 
Claude  King,  Johnny  Harron,  Polly  Ann  Young, 
Phillips  Smalley,  Aggie  Herring. 

Best  dressed  independent  in  a  long  while  and 
a  romantic  comedy  of  the  poor  but  upright 
young  man  who  falls  in  love  with  the  beautiful 
heiress.  Love  and  youth,  of  course,  conquer  all. 
Show  is  nicely  handled  with  good  dialogue.  Sets 
are  handsome  and  piece  is  well  cast. 

Estimate:  Ladies  will  love  it. 


Wild  Cargo  Animal  Thrills 

96m. 

Frank  Buck  in  a  wild  animal  picture. 

Exploitation  opportunity,  with  the  picture, 
itself,  a  bit  better  than  “Bring  ’Em  Back  Alive.” 
Feature/s  novelty,  however,  is  no  longer  there 
so  authenticity  and  Buck  must  be  sold.  Show 
will  stand  up  on  its  merits,  but  it  will  need  a 
circus  ballyhoo  all  the  way.  The  picture  prom¬ 
ises  and  delivers.  It  will  be  up  to  showmen 
to  get  the  most  out  of  it. 

Estimate:  Exploitation  natural. 


UNIVERSAL 


Adult 

mOlir  Drama 

89m. 

Constance  Cummings,  Paul  Lukas,  Philip  Reed, 
Joseph  Cawthorn,  Doris  Lloyd,  Olaf  Hytten,  Alice 
Lake. 

Edna  Ferber  story,  well  handled,  excellently 
cast  and  a  show  for  the  women.  Tale  of  a 
woman  who  wanted  to  reach  the  heights,  and 
who  played  two  men  to  do  it,  it  has  emotional 
appeal  and  should  account  for  itself  nicely  at  the 
box  office. 

Estimate:  Woman’s  picture. 


I’ll  Tell  the  World  Comedy  Drama 

72m. 

Lee  Tracy,  Gloria  Stuart,  Roger  Pryor,  Onslow 
Stevens,  Alex  B.  Francis,  Herman  Bing,  Lawrence 
Grant,  Leon  Waycoff,  Willard  Robertson. 

Fast  moving  comedy  drama  with  Tracy  as  a 
foreign  correspondent  and  a  plot  revolving 
around  the  pseudo  queen  of  a  mythical  king¬ 
dom.  Role  is  typical  of  Tracy  and  audiences 
will  find  lots  of  entertainment  in  the  intrigue, 
etc.  Picture  shapes  up  as  a  satisfactory  pro¬ 
grammer. 

Estimate:  All  Tracy. 


WARNERS 


A  Modern  Hero  Drama 

71m. 

Richard  Barthelmess,  Dorothy  Burgess ,  Jean  Muir, 
Marjorie  Rambeau ,  Ted  Newton,  William  Janney, 
Florence  Eldridge,  Hobart  Cavanaugh,  Veree  Teas - 
dale,  Arthur  Hold. 

Film  version  of  a  well  known  literary  work 
won't  help  Barthelmess  and  shapes  up  as  just 
average  film  fare.  Attempt  was  made  to  fol¬ 
low  the  novel  but  content  didn't  make  for  big 
movie  stuff.  Story  of  a  circus  performer  who 
rises  to  the  top  but  who  loses  all  and  who  re¬ 
turns  to  the  big  top  at  the  conclusion,  it  doesn’t 
attain  a  pace  for  any  length  of  time. 

Estimate:  Might  have  been  better. 


LIBERTY 


Family 

No  Ransom  c  omedy  Drama 

72m. 

Jack  La  Rue,  Leila  Hyams,  Phillips  Holmes,  Robert 
McWade,  Hedda  Hopper,  Vince  Barnett,  Carl  Miller, 
Eddie  Nugent,  Christian  Rub. 

Well  produced  independent  picture  with  a 
family  yarn  backed  by  some  names  to  sell.  A 
father  lacks  attention  from  his  family  because 
of  their  wealth  and  hires  a  gangster  to  kill  him. 
Gunman  takes  pity  on  him,  helps  work  things 
out  so  that  eventually  everyone  is  reconciled. 
Parts  are  well  taken  and  show  is  handsomely 
mounted.  Damon  Runyon  wrote  the  story. 
Estimate:  Deserves  hand. 


When  Strangers  Meet  Drama 

72m. 

Richard  Cromwell,  Arline  Judge,  Hale  Hamilton, 
Ray  Walker,  Sara  Padden,  Arthur  Hoyt,  Lucien 
Littlefield,  Bryant  Washburn,  Vera  Gordon. 

Inde  show  will  have  to  depend  upon  its  name 
draw  to  keep  them  coming  in.  Picture’s  story 
is  rather  heavy,  with  the  young  lover  unable 
to  get  thej  girl  he  loves  because  of  his  father’s 
drinking.  Eventually,  a  murder  takes  place 
and  the  father’s  guilt  is  uncovered.  However, 
show  isn't  any  too  happy  so  names  will  have 
to  be  mainstay. 

Estimate:  Heavy. 


STATE  RIGHTS 


I  Hate  Women  Action  Drama 

70m. 

June  Clyde,  Wally  Ford,  Alex  Carr,  Bradley  Page, 
Eleanor  Hunt,  Fuzzy  Knight. 

A  newspaper  man  tries  to  find  out  who  killed 
the  big  banker,  protects  a  girl  and  gets  the 
story.  Show  is  crammed  full  of  action,  rates  a 
nice  hand  for  an  independent  picture.  As  a 
feature  for  those  who  like  their  action  and 
comedy,  this  one  should  prove  satisfactory. 

Estimates:  Keeps  moving. 


Orders  Is  Orders  Comedy 

58m. 

James  Gleason,  Charlotte  Greenwood,  Cyril  Maude, 
Finlay  Currie,  Cedric  Hardwicke,  Ian  Hunter,  Ray 
Milland,  Jane  Carr. 

English  made  picture  that  has  some  Ameri¬ 
can  names  to  sell  as  well  as  some  comedy  angles 
that  are  international.  Story  deals  with  the 
making  of  a  film  by  an  American  with  the  aid 
of  the  British  army,  and  the  accompanying  de¬ 
velopments.  Where  Gleason  and  Greenwood 
can  be  sold,  the  show  should  get  by  nicely. 

Estimate:  Gleason  and  Greenwood. 


28 


Aprl5'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Those  W ho  Attended  the  Monogram  Atlantic  City  Convention 


Left  to  right,  top:  Eddie  Golden,  Irving  Mandel,  Sam  Seplowin,  Harry  Berkson,  Norton  Ritchey,  Nat  Lefton,  A.  C.  Bromberg,  J.  S. 
Jossey,  Jack  Berkowitz,  A1  Thomas,  Jake  Flax,  Jess  T.  Sheffield,  Sam  Flax,  Jim  Alexander,  Harry  H.  Thomas.  Bottom:  Murray 
Rosenbluh,  Ed  Finney,  J.  L.  Saxe,  Barney  Rosenthal.  Trem  Carr,  W.  Ray  Johnston,  Nat  Steinberg,  John  S.  Harrington,  Herman 
Rifkin,  Floyd  St.  John,  Bernie  Mills,  Myron  Mills,  Howard  Stubbins,  Robert  Withers. 


Monogram  Plans  Banner 
’34  Production  Schedule 

Johnson  Re-Elected  President 

of  Company 

With  W.  Ray  Johnston  re-elected 
president,  Monogram  Pictures  Corpora¬ 
tion,  fresh  from  its  fourth  annual  con¬ 
vention  at  Atlantic  City,  prepares  for  a 
progressive  future. 

At  the  annual  stockholders’  meeting,  Trem 
Carr,  vice-president,  production,  stated  that  the 
company  had  already  completed  fifteen  of  the 
twenty  dramas  and  six  of  the  eight  westerns 
on  the  current  seasons  program  and  that  the 
entire  program  would  be  completed  before  the 
end  of  June  and  a  short  time  ahead  of  sched¬ 
uled  release  date. 

In  the  annual  report,  W.  Ray  Johnston,  stated 
to  the  stockholders,  also  the  franchise  holders, 
that  the  net  earning  for  the  past  twelve  months 
from  March  1,  1933  to  February  28,  1934 


showed  a  net  profit  more  than  double  the  pre¬ 
vious  year's  earnings  and  that  he  would  recom¬ 
mend  placing  the  stock  on  a  dividend  basis  at 
one  of  the  later  sessions  of  the  present  meeting. 
He  also  stated  that  the  gross  billings  of  the 
corporation  exceeded  those  of  the  previous 
twelve  months  by  $577,021  and  that  the  com¬ 
bined  film  rentals  of  the  thirty-seven  affil'ated 
exchanges  for  the  fiscal  year  of  1933  amounted 
to  slightly  in  excess  of  four  million  dollars. 

Johnston  commented  that  fifteen  Monogram 
managers  and  district  managers  had  been 
placed  on  the  various  Code  Boards  throughout 
the  United  States. 

Election  of  directors  for  the  coming  year 
resulted  in  the  following  ten:  W.  Ray  John¬ 
ston,  Trem  Carr,  Robert  F.  Withers,  Irving 
Mandel,  Herman  Rifkin,  Jack  S.  Jossey,  Floyd 
St.  John,  Sam  Seplowin,  Norton  Ritchey, 
Arthur  Bromberg. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  newly-elected  board  of 
directors,  following  officers  were  elected  for 
the  ensuing  year :  W.  Ray  Johnston,  president ; 
Trem  Carr,  vice-president  in  charge  of  pro¬ 
duction  :  J.  P.  Friedhoff,  treasurer ;  Madeleine 
S.  White,  secretary. 

Executive  Committee  elected  for  the  follow¬ 
ing  year  consists  of  the  following:  W.  Ray; 


Johnston,  Trem  Carr,  Herman  Rifkin,  Norton 
Ritchey,  Irving  Mandel. 

Next  year,  company  makes  20  features,  with 
budget  of  $2,500,000.  Convention  closed  Sat¬ 
urday  with  the  banquet. 

At  the  Banquet 

PLENTY  i  f  Pennsylvanians  at  Hie  Monogram  ban- 
i|Urt.  Dave  Barrist,  Lewen  Pizor,  Johnny  Roberts, 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Herb  Given,  Jay  Emanuel,  A1  Blofson, 
Censor  chairman  Sam  Schwartz.  Some  made 

speeches.  .  -  Others  took  bows.  .  Dinner  a  big 

success.  Barrist  praised  inde  shows.  .  Ray 

Johnston  given  a  new  car.  Trem  Carr  given  a 

set  of  silver.  .  Harry  H.  Thomas  made  a  speech. 

John  C.  FI  inn.  Pete  Harrison  others  there.  .  .  . 
Lew  Pizor  praised  Monogram. 


Selling  Starts 

Selling  for  next  year  has  begun. 

Fox  is  selling  away  from  Stanley- 
Warner  for  the  second  consecutive  year. 
Exchange  is  offering  practically  the 
same  deal  as  last  year  with  the  excep¬ 
tion  of  a  few  more  percentage  pictures. 

Radio  closed  with  Warners  quite  a 
while  ago.  It  is  reported  Paramount 
and  Metro  deals  for  the  new  season  are 
practically  completed. 


SENTRY  serviced  SAFETY  CONTROL 


Many  theatre  owners  weigh  the  matter  of  Safety  as  it  suits  them. 
PLAINLY  THIS  IS  ALL  WRONG.  In  Safety  there  is  no  half-way  meas¬ 
ure  with  the  Public.  The  Public  would  not  consider  it  safe  if  you  decide 
to  do  without  a  Serviced  Safety  Device  on  your  projectors.  The  Public 
would  think  with  horror  if  you  tried  to  economize  by  buying  Safety  equip¬ 
ment  without  a  service,  and  the  fact  that,  in  your  theatre,  the  Public 
has  not  yet  inquired  as  to  the  measure  of  Safety  that  you  are  giving  them — 
THAT  DOES  NOT  MEAN  THAT  THEY  CAN  BE  DECEIVED. 


SENTRY  SAFETY  CONTROL  CORP. 


10th  ST.  and  ALLEGHENY  AVE. 
PHILADELPHIA,  PENNA. 


Sentry  Safety  Controls  Listed  as  Standard  by  National  Fire  Underwriters  Laboratories 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


29 


Aprl5'34 


Heard  In' 


U 


P  -  $  T  A  T  E 

Some  of  the  Seats 
Are  Terrible 


RICHARD  J.  BEAMISH,  Secretary,  Com¬ 
monwealth  of  Pennsylvania,  like  Governor  Gif¬ 
ford  Pinchot.  is  an  ardent  movie  fan.  .  .  . 
Only  the  Secretary  leans  toward  a  bit  of 
vaudeville  with  his  pictures.  .  .  .  He  was  so 
far  front  at  the  State  a  recent  night  that  it 
appeared  at  times  as  though  he  was  going  to 
play  Art  Thorne’s  piano.  .  .  .  Skipper  Charles 
Bierbaur,  State,  Harrisburg,  saw  the  Sally 
Rand  show  at  the  Hippodrome,  Baltimore,  a 
recent  Sunday.  .  .  .  Since  nothing  comes 

closer  to  the  theatregoer  than  the  seat,  would 
it  not  be  a  good  idea  for  certain  theatre  man¬ 
agers  to  check  the  condition  of  seats  in  their 
houses?  .  .  .  Some  are  broken,  some  minus  the 
hat  hooks,  many  with  faulty  arm  rests,  numer¬ 
ous  uncomfortable.  .  .  .  Isaac  Marcus  has  the 
right  idea  in  searching  for  new  seats  for  the 
Rialto  and  National,  Harrisburg.  .  .  .  Three 
cheers,  Mrs.  Mary  Belle  Zeiders,  cashier, 
Loews  Regent,  Harrisburg,  pulled  through  that 
operation  okay  at  the  Harrisburg  hospital,  and 
she  has  been  removed  to  her  home.  ...  In 
the  meantime,  Mrs.  Katherine  Fry  continues 
to  carry  on  for  Mrs.  Zeiders. 


PETE  MAGARO,  one  of  the  pioneer 
motion  picture  theatre  owners  in  Harrisburg, 
is  now  a  politician.  .  .  .  He  is  a  candidate 

for  State  assemblyman.  .  .  .  C.  Floyd  Hop¬ 

kins,  general  manager  of  Wilmer  and  Vin¬ 
cent  interests  in  Harrisburg,  has  been  men¬ 
tioned  for  the  post  in  Harrisburg  City  Coun¬ 
cil,  made  vacant  by  the  death  of  Councilman 
Hassler.  .  .  .  It  is  rumored  Jack  D.  O’Rear, 
manager  Victoria,  Harrisburg,  is  to  pilot 
the  Majestic,  Harrisburg,  if  it  opens  under 
management  of  Wilmer  and  Vincent.  . 
Another  special  children’s  show  was  pro¬ 
moted  by  Manager  McLeary  at  Loew’s, 
Harrisburg,  Saturday  morning.  .  Harry 

Lambert,  manager,  Colonial,  Harrisburg,  ran 
half-page  ads  in  daily  newspapers  to  adver¬ 
tise  opening  follownig  day  of  “Flying  Down 
to  Rio.”  .  .  .  Unique  newspaper  stunt  was 

run  by  management  of  Academy,  Lebanon, 
for  “Death  Takes  a  Holiday.”  .  .  .  On 

every  other  page  of  a  daily  newspaper  there 
appeared  over  the  face  of  a  man  in  silhou¬ 
ette  the  words  “The  most  fascinating  lover 
the  world  has  ever  known.” 


Heard  In ' 


L 


EHIGH  VALLEY 


Andy  Anderson 
Has  Paper 


By  Jack 


ANDY  ANDERSON  is  no  longer  manager 
of  the  Roxy,  Northampton,  but  is  instead  the 
publisher  of  The  Lehigh  Valley  Times.  .  .  . 
Host  of  his  friends,  including  prominent  busi¬ 
ness  men  and  the  town  council  of  Northampton 
made  a  formal  protest  to  Jack  Greenberg  when 
it  was  learned  that  Anderson  was  released. 
.  .  .  William  Sage,  formerly  connected  with 
the  Earle  Theatre,  Allentown,  is  his  succes¬ 
sor.  .  .  .  Andy  came  to  the  Roxy  last  fall  and 
made  local  history.  .  .  .  First  issue  of  the 

L.  V.  Times  took  the  Valley  by  storm.  .  .  . 
Andy  has  a  column  headed  by  “So  They  Tell 
Me.”  .  .  .  His  brother,  John  B.  Anderson,  is 
an  associate  and  was  formerly  an  advertising 
and  publicity  man  for  RKO.  .  .  .  New  paper 
has  all  the  earmarks  of  a  potential  success, 


but  it  is  no  secret  that  Andy  would  not  turn 
down  a  decent  opportunity  to  get  back  into  the 
show  business. 

A.  JERRY  COOPER,  manager,  Transit, 
Easton,  gave  away  a  dozen  rabbits  to  lucky 
kiddies  as  Easter  presents.  .  .  .  Two  little 

mechanical  men  attracted  a  lot  of  attention 
in  the  lobby  of  the  Boyd  Theatre  until  some¬ 
one  appropriated  one  of  their  dice.  . 

Penlo,  Emaus,  gave  the  mid-night  show  idea 
a  tryout  on  Easter  Sunday.  .  Colonial, 

Palmerton,  had  an  American  Legion  benefit. 

.  .  .  State,  Allentown,  Jack  Van  manager, 

has  been  drawing  the  kids  on  Saturday  with 
the  “Mystery  Squadron.”  .  Three  W. 
and  V.  houses  are  running  spring  bargain 
matinees.  .  .  .  Lyric  has  a  15  cent  rate 

until  1  o’clock.  .  .  .  Moe  Goodman,  United 

Chain’s  district  manager,  has  been  resident 
manager  of  the  Lyric.  .  With  Dick 

Shamus  back  at  the  Colonial  Theatre,  Beth¬ 
lehem,  big  Saturday  kiddy  shows  are  again 
in  order  and  going  strong.  Nile, 

Charles  E.  Moyer,  manager,  observed  Good 
Friday  by  having  no  matinee. 

STEPS  to  legalize  Sunday  sports  within  the 
borough  limits  under  the  State  law  passed  by 
the  last  Pennsylvania  Legislature  were  taken 
April  5  by  the  Mountville  Borough  Council. 
.  .  .  An  ordinance  was  approved  authorizing 
all  clubs,  associations  or  groups  of  persons 
desiring  to  play  baseball  or  football  on  Sundays 
between  2  and  6  P.  M.,  within  the  borough 
limits,  to  obtain  from  the  town  clerk  a  license. 


Heard  In ' 


w 


ILLIAMSPORT 

Radio  Broadcast 
Fills  H  ouse 


JOHN  J.  McFADDEN,  owner  and  manager 
of  the  Rialto  Theatre,  Renovo,  suffered  a 
broken  leg  while  ejecting  a  young  man  from 
his  theatre  recently.  .  .  .  Capitol  here  was 
filled  to  capacity  for  a  radio  broadcast  from 
the  stage  Sunday.  .  .  .  Police  were  called  to 
handle  the  crowd  that  surged  into  the  street 
and  delayed  traffic.  .  .  .  Stage  shows  seem  to 
be  earning  their  way  at  the  Capitol.  .  .  .  Mid¬ 
night  shows  also  seemed  to  have  a  revival  with 
the  return  to  warmer  weather.  .  .  .  Keystone, 
Park  and  Capitol  marked  the  end  of  Lent  witli 
largely  attended  Sunday  midnight  shows.  .  .  . 
Afternoon  newspaper  co-operated  with  the  the¬ 
atres  for  the  event  and  carried  over  a  page 
of  motion  picture  news.  .  .  .  Keystone  now 
starts  its  Saturday  shows  at  11  in  the  morning. 

A  LETTER  written  by  a  prominent  Wil¬ 
liamsport  woman  to  the  morning  newspaper 
recommended  that  at  least  one  theatre  ar¬ 
ranged  a  special  show  Saturday  morning  just 
for  children.  .  .  .  Bill  Updegraff,  who  was 

one  of  the  artists  at  the  Park  for  some  time, 
is  now  working  in  Cleveland.  .  .  .  An  entire 
camp  of  CCC  workers  attended  the  Capitol 
as  guests  of  their  commander.  .  Byron 

Lynn  and  Warren  Girton,  managers,  re¬ 
ported  they  were  orderly.  .  Byron,  by 

the  way,  seems  to  enjoy  stopping  in  the 
newspaper  office  Sunday  afternoon  and  chat¬ 
ting  for  a  while.  .  .  .  He  is  talking  of  hav¬ 

ing  one  of  the  service  clubs,  probably  the 
Rotary,  of  which  he  is  a  member,  meet  on 
the  stage  of  theatre,  instead  of  at  the  hotel 
for  its  noon-day  luncheon.  Oscar  Lynn, 

Byron’s  brother,  and  former  manager  of  a 
theatre  in  Bloomsburg,  is  now  head  of  the 
advertising  department  of  the  local  radio 
station.  .  .  .  New  theatre  at  Milton  is  pro¬ 
gressing  rapidly.  .  .  .  The  brick  work  is 

moving  along. 


READY 

REFERENCE 

EACH  COMPANY  LISTED  IS  AN 
AUTHORITY  IN  ITS  FIELD  AND 
IS  RELIABLE  AND  TRUSTWORTHY 


AIR  CONDITIONING 


T 


AIR  C 


COOLING 

VENTILATING 


PHOON 

CONDITIONING  CO. 

BLOWERS  -  FANS 
1  AIR  WASHERS 
252  West  26th  St.,  New  York 


ARCHITECT 


THEATRE  DESIGN 

Remodeling  »  Building 


LATEST  COMPLETED 

BROADWAY  CAYUGA 

Philadelphia  Philadelphia 

Penna.  Penna. 


DAVID  SUPOWITZ 

REGISTERED 

ARCHITECT 

246  S.  15th  St.,  Phi  la.,  Pa.  Pennypacker  2291 


BUSINESS  BROKER 


T  H  E  A  T  It  I  S 

BOUGHT  •  SOLD  •  CEASED 

Partnerships  Negotiated 

M.  H.  4*00  DIS,  Inc. 

1201  CHESTNUT  STREET 
Rittenhouse  4595  Rittenhouse  9077 

OSCAR  NEUFELD,  Mgr.  Theatre  Dept. 


INTERIOR  DECORATORS 


Theatrical 

Decorating 

OUR  SPECIALTY 
Phone 

Rittenhouse  7828 
2315  Walnut  St. 
Philadelphia 


I.  Manoff  Reliable  Decorating  Co. 

INTERIOR  DECORATORS 

Draperies,  Carpets,  Painting 

1316  Vine  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

WEVE  TURNED  NUMEROUS  NON-PAYING 
THEATRES  INTO  MONEY  MAKING  PROPOSITIONS 
ASK  US  HOW! 


'AIRMANOOTOCCB 

■HlTlItAIKL 

EMM  decorator 

201-N-BRQAD-ST-  ■RIT<»75 


30 


Aprl5'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


LETTERS  TO  THE  EDITOR 


Explains  Premiums 

Dear  Mr.  Emanuel: 

I  wish  to  take  exception  to  a  statement  by  Mr. 
Charles  Goodwin  which  you  carried  ou  page  10  in  t  lie 
April  1st  issue  of  your  paper.  I  am  particularly  sur¬ 
prised  that  as  an  advertiser  I  am  exposed  to  statements 
of  this  sort  carried  in  your  publication  very  evidently 
without  cost.  A  write-up  of  this  sort  is  nothing  but 
an  ad.  and  any  statements  made  in  it  should  have  only 
the  strength  of  an  advertising  statement,  and  not  the 
apparent  approval  of  your  editorial  staff. 

I  take  exception  to  it  for  two  reasons.  First,  because 
it  is  an  attempt  to  belittle  our  merchandise,  for  the 
fact  is  that  1  am  the  only  one  at  the  present  time 
advertising  and  selling  22  carat  gold  Dinnerware  Sets 
in  the  Philadelphia  territory  in  addition  to  the  firm  m 
which  Mr.  Goodwin  is  interested.  This  alone  makes  it 
unfair  and  poor  business  for  you  to  carry  such  a  state¬ 
ment  particularly  without  cost. 

Second,  the  statements  made  by  Mr.  Goodwin  in  his 
primer  and  in  his  ad  in  the  same  issue  are  either 

deliberately  untrue  or  misinformed.  Untrue  neverthe¬ 
less.  1  agree  with  Mr.  Goodwin  that  there  is  no  such 

thing  as  a  bargain  in  gold,  gold  prices  are  set  by  the 

government.  However,  for  the  information  of  Mr.  Good¬ 
win  yourself,  or  any  other  exhibitor,  I  wish  to  state 
the  following.  All  gold,  either  22  carat  or  24  carat, 
purchased  bv  American  potteries  is  secured  at  the  tlan- 
ovia  Chemical  Co.  of  Newark.  N.  J.,  or  one  other 

concern.  There  is  no  difference  between  the  price  ot 
the  two  carat  grades.  The  total  amount  of  gold  used 
in  any  premium  Dinnerware  Set  would  not  exceed  one 
cent  per  Plate,  and  would  average  far  below  this  sum. 
Therefore,  the  hue  and  cry  over  gold  prices  is  senseless. 

I  also  take!  exception  to  the  statement  that  only  Mr. 
Goodwin's  firm  is  the  delicate  thin  model  demanded  by 
patrons.  We  would  like  to  say  that  in  the  Metropoli¬ 
tan  East  we  are  serving  many  more  theatres  than  they 
have  ever  secured.  This  alone  is  the  reason  why  oui 
price  can  be  and  is  lower.  Merchandise  for  merchan¬ 
dise  I  will  make  a  sporting  proposition  of  a  bet  ot 
$1000,  or  any  part  of  it.  that  the  gold  or  other  mater¬ 
ials,  workmanship  included,  in  our  sets  is  the  equal  if 
not  the  superior  to  any  sets  on  the  premium  market. 
1  will  leave  this  up  to  any  qualified  pottery  expert  to 
decide. 

In  your  city  at  the  Lorraine  Theatre.  1030  Fair- 
mount.  Avenue,  Dave  Milgrim  is  successfully  distribut¬ 
ing  a  gold  Dinnerware  Set  of  ours,  and  on  the  back  of 
any  of  the  pieces  you  will  find  stamped  ''22  carat  gold 
warranted.”  You  know  under  the  law  that  stamp  could 
not  be  there  if  it  was  not  so.  We  are  prepared  to  place 
a  bond  in  your  keeping,  or  in  the  keeping  of  any  promi¬ 
nent  Philadelphia  bank,  that  our  merchandise  will 
always  he  delivered  as  we  represent  it.  and  rye  will 
never  increase  a  price  on  any  contract  in  effect,  _  as 
well  as  guaranteeing  delivery  of  merchandise  to  exhibi¬ 
tors  before  play  date.  As  a  matter  of  fact  in  recent 
years  we  have  serviced  mere  than  one  hundred  Penn¬ 
sylvania  exhibitors  under  the  above  policy,  and  if 
we  have  fallen  down  you  know  they  will  be  quick 
to  say  so. 

It  is  not  our  intention  to  enter  into  a  fight  with 
Mr.  Goodwin  or  any  other  premium  distributer.  We 
wish  to  be  let  alone',  and  let  our  merchandise  compete 
on  its  own  feet  without  malice.  We  are  writing  this 
simply  to  right  a  wrong. 

As  you  published  the  “primer,”  I  certainly  expect  to 
see  a  copy  of  this  letter  in  ycur  next  issue  as  a  reply 
to  it  and  equally  as  prominent  as  it  was. 

Very  truly  yours, 

STREIMER  AD-SERVICE, 

By  CHARLES  H.  STREIMER, 

Per  M.  M. 

CHS  AIM 


Hits  Daylight  Saving 

Editor: 

From  editorials  being  written  in  the  daily  press,  it 
appears  as  if  a  large  number  of  Philadelphia  res'dents 
are  against  daylight  saving.  Last  issue  THE  EXHIBI¬ 
TOR  revived  the  subject.  It  is  up  to  theatremen  to 
take  the  initiative  and  try  to  prevent  the  resumption 
of  a  custom  which  is  not  needed  but  which  vitally 
affects  our  business.  How  about  some  action  from  the 
antis? 

AN  EXHIBITOR. 


Together  Again 

Editor: 

A  patron  came  to  me  the  other  day  and  said:  “I 
am  certainly  glad  this  is  one  picture  in  which  some¬ 
body  isn’t  together  with  someone  else  for  the  first  time. 
Practically  every  picture  is  advertised  with  that  line.” 

My  patron  certainly  hit  it  on  the  nose.  Somebody 
ought  to  tell  the  boys  who  make  up  the  press-books 
that  so  many  players  have  been  “together  for  the  first 
time”  that  it  is  becoming  a  joke. 

READER. 


One  Way  To  Get  Community  Good  Will 


Only  under  the  heading  of  “Better  Management”  could  come  the  copy  included 
on  a  recent  herald  distributed  by  a  theatre  in  the  suburban  area.  THE  EXHIBITOR 
reprints  the  copy  without  including  name  of  house.  It  wonders  what  idea  rests 
behind  such  a  verbal  broadside.  Here’s  thej  copy: 

“Please  read  this  sincere  message  from  the  management  of  the . 

theatre.  During  the  month  of  March  we  were  unfortunate  in  not  being  able  to 
present  to  you  the  consistently  good  photoplays  which  we  had  heretofore  shown, 
because  of  a  monopoly  on  these  better  films.  Despite  the  fact  that  we  were  starved 
for  pictures  we  managed  to  stay  ‘above  board’  through  the  splendid  support  of  our 
loyal  patrons.  BUT  NOW  THE  MONOPOLY  IS  BROKEN  and  we  bring  to  you 
for  the  month  of  April  one  of  the  greatest  selections  of  motion  pictures  ever  shown 
on  any  screen,  any  time,  anywhere!  etc.,  etc.”  It  is  to  be  wondered  what  the 
folks  who  paid  good  dough  to  see  the  pictures  in  March  think  when  they  are  told 
that  the  merchandise  wasn’t  so  hot! 

Ho,  hum. 


Stanley-Warner  Drive 
Deemed  a  Big  Success 

54  Out  of  97  Houses  Finish  in 

Money 

The  Stanley-Warner  bonus  drive  was 
a  big  success. 

Early  figures  indicate  that  54  out  of  97  houses 
finished  in  the  money,  and  zone  manager  Leon¬ 
ard  Schlesinger  is  gratified  at  the  returns. 

Managers1’  week  was  also  a  big  success. 

As  the  result  of  the  drive  some  promotions 
and  changes  have  been  made.  They  follow : 

Irving  Mirisch  from  the  Majestic,  Gettys¬ 
burg,  to  the  local  Model ;  Charles  Cox,  from 
the  Model  to  the  Capitol;  Robert  Miller,  to 
the  York  Ritz  as  manager,  Irving  Dunn  from 
the  Ritz,  York,  to  the  Capitol,  York;  Harry 
Travers  to  the  Majestic,  Gettysburg. 


Heard  In 


M 


I  D  -  J  E  R  $  E  Y 

Rogin  Thrills 
The  Country 


WHO  WAS  the  handsome  gentleman  seen 
with  Miss  Flink,  Warners,  AC,  on  the  board¬ 
walk?  Warnite  Scheinholz,  AC,  re¬ 

ported  contemplating  a  merger  with  a  mil¬ 
lion  dollar  baby  from  the  5  and  10  cent 
store.  .  .  .  Recently  executed  a  lot  of  pub¬ 
licity  stunts.  .  Seen  on  the  boardwalk 

at  AC,  Misses  Forman,  Kraftsow,  Luber, 
Weiss.  Iz  Perlin,  Colonial,  AC,  and 

Floyd  Wesp,  Virginia,  AC,  thinking  of  buy¬ 
ing  new  tuxedos.  .  .  .  Ann  Lane,  usherette, 

Astor,  AC,  claims  to  be  originator  of  expres¬ 
sion  “Look  at  him.”  .  .  .  Gertrude  Casey, 

with  her  dad  an  AC  fireman,  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  usherettes  in  territory.  .  .  . 

At  the  Astor.  .  Jack  Waxman,  Astor, 

AC,  feeling  much  better.  .  .  .  Myer  Adle- 

man,  the  demon  exec  of  New  Jersey  Mess¬ 
enger,  had  grippe,  feels  a  bit  improved,  back 
on  the  job  buying  lunches  again. 

DUKPI  ROGIN,  pride  of  Connecticut,  did 
well  with  “Eskimo,'’  at  Fox,  Riverside.  .  .  . 
Sold  it  to  countryside.  .  .  .  Epry  Epstein  still 
traveling  around  the  Atlantic  chain. 


Libros  Presides 


The  National  Poster  Service  Associa¬ 
tion  held  ci  two-day  session  in  St.  Louis. 
Simon  Libros,  National  Kline  Poster, 
presided. 

Developments  were  not  made  public. 


Paramount  Decorating  Opens 

Newly  formed  Paramount  Decorating  Com¬ 
pany,  located  at  311  N.  13th  Street,  will  be 
headed  by  Jack  Seidman,  Abe  Weinberg  and 
Dave  Brodsky. 

Seidman,  formerly  one  of  the  two  partners 
of  Reliable  Decorative  Company,  which  was 
one  of  the  most  successful  of  the  theatre  deco¬ 
rating  and  drapery  companies  in  the  east  for 
over  ten  years,  has  associated  himself  with 
Weinberg  and  Brodsky,  both  of  whom  were 
identified  with  that  company  for  several  years. 

All  three  men  enjoy  a  wide  friendship,  among 
exhibitors  in  the  Philadelphia  and  Washing¬ 
ton  territories  and  will  continue  to  render  the 
same  personal  satisfaction  in  the  future.  Para¬ 
mount  gives  exhibitors  a  service  combining 
painting  and  decorating,  stage  work,  draperies, 
carpets  and  all  allied  crafts  by  experts  in  each 
field. 


New  “Pagliacci”  Technique 

“Pagliacci,”  a  short  feature,  in  which  Henry 
LIull  appears  as  Canio,  the  tragic  clown  of  the 
famous  opera,  will  be  released  by  Educational 
Pictures,  according  to  an  announcement  by  E. 
W.  Hammons,  president.  Film,  produced  and 
directed  by  William  C.  DeMille  for  Audio 
Productions,  Inc.,  is  offered  as  an  innovation, 
introducing  an  entirely  new  technique  in  the 
presentation  of  grand  opera  on  the  screen.  Go¬ 
ing  on  the  assumption  that  the  screen  must  al¬ 
ways  be  visually  attractive,  and  that  acting 
should  be  in  the  hands  of  actors,  and  in  view 
of  the  fact  that  the  worlds  most  brilliant  sing¬ 
ers  are  often  lacking  in  acting  ability,  the  pro¬ 
ducers  of  “Pagliacci”  have  developed  this  new 
technique. 


Operator  Wants  Job 


Experienced  and  capable  young  man 
desires  position  as  operator  or  as  an 
assistant.  Has  city  and  state  license. 
Address:  Box  OP,  THE  EXHIBITOR. 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Aprl5'34 


31 


Heard  In 

Heard  In 

TRENTON 

HEADING 

J  Bill  Keegan 

Doc  Schad 

Quite  a  Hero 

Has  Tax  Tiff 

Bv  T.  R. 

TWO  PER  CENT  sales  tax  measure, 
progress  of  which  was  halted  in  the  New  Jer¬ 
sey  Legislature  last  month,  is  again  being  lined 
up  for  enactment.  .  .  .  Republican  majority 

leader  William  Albright  has  declared  that  the 
tax  measure  is  necessary.  .  .  .  Assembly  Bill 
260  to  prohibit  dance  marathons  and  walka- 
thon  contests  meets  with  strong  opposition  on 
the  part  of  seashore  members  of  tbe  Legisla¬ 
ture  and  it  is  doubtful  if  it  is  reported  by  the 
Miscellaneous  Business  Committee  of  the  House 
for  a  vote.  .  .  .  Another  bill  of  interest  to  the¬ 
atre  managers,  Assembly  Bill  261  to  license 
itinerant  carnivals,  traveling  outdoor  shows,  is 
opposed  by  veterans  organizations  and  fraternal 
societies  and  has  not  been  reported  by  the  com¬ 
mittee  for  a  vote.  .  .  .  Senate  Woodruff  Bill, 
109,  to  allow  use  of  State  and  local  officials 
to  administer  the  National  Recover)'  Act  codes 
is  opposed  by  the  Allied  Theatre  Owners  of 
New  Jersey,  Inc.,  and  has  not  been  rerorted 
for  a  vote. 

WILLIAM  KEEGAN,  general  manager. 
Hunt’s  Trenton  theatres,  and  Richard 
Whitby,  manager,  Hightstown  Theatre, 
rescued  a  14-year-old  negro  boy  from 
drowning  in  Potomac  river,  Washington, 
D.  C.,  while  enroute  home  from  Florida. 

Not  desiring  any  praise  or  notoriety 
Keegan  and  Whitby  declined  to  reveal  their 
identity  to  a  traffic  patrolman  who  was  at¬ 
tracted  to  the  scene.  .  Policeman  then 

noted  the  license  number  of  the  Keenan 
automobile  and  wired  Trenton  authorities. 

.  .  .  John  Bodley,  Gaiety  Theatre  manager, 
is  boosting  business  at  that  house  with  kid¬ 
dies’  clubs,  screen  tests  of  movie  aspirants 
and  making  pictures  on  the  stage. 

Heard  In 

1LKES-  BARRE 

Joe  Penner 
Big  Noise 

_ By  Mac _ 

EASTER  brought  a  new  deal  for  the  the¬ 
atres  of  Wilkes-Barre  and  its  miffing  suburbs. 
.  .  .  Joe  Penner  captured  the  town  this  week, 
thanks  to  the  enterprise  of  John  Galvin  at  the 
Penn.  .  .  .  Result,  Penn  jammed  them  to  the 
sidewalk  even  at  the  matinee.  .  .  .  Like  his 
former  boss,  A!  Cox,  now  at  the  Irving,  also 
went  vaude  during  the  week,  devoting  himself 
principally  to  the  promotion  of  Punjab,  the 
Indian  mystic. 


DAYLIGHT  SAVING  from  the  latter  part 
of  April  until  early  next  Fall  is  practically 
certain  in  Reading.  .  .  .  Embassy  Theatre  ad¬ 
vertised  “Death  Takes  a  Holiday”  as  “the  pic¬ 
ture  with  the  most  audacious  theme  ever 
filmed.’'’  .  .  .  Loew’s  Colonial  and  State  are 
splitting  the  patronage  of  adventure  and  thrill 
seekers  with  “Tarzan  and  His  Mate”  and 
“Pirate  Gold,”  respectively.  .  .  .  Warner’s 

Strand  is  featuring  dime  matinees  for  kids.  .  .  . 
Stage  shows  at  the  Astor,  Warners’,  are  the 
only  vaudeville  offerings  in  Reading  at  present. 

THUS  FAR  mild  weather  has  failed  to 
cut  in  on  theatre  receipts.  .  .  .  One  of  the 

long-expected  and  long-prayed-for  bank  re¬ 
openings  has  come  to  pass  here.  .  .  .  Open¬ 

ing  of  the  doors  of  the  new  City  Bank  and 
Trust  Company,  successor  to  a  semi-closed 
institution  which  passes  off  the  map,  re¬ 
leased  $2,602,000,  part  of  the  old  bank’s 
frozen  assets,  on  April  9,  and  there  was  a 
grand  rush  for  spending  money  thus  freed 
for  business  in  general.  .  Some  one  in 

Reading  with  an  easy-action  typewriter - 

no  one  knows  whether  his  dope  is  right  or 
not- — has  calculated  that  the  number  writing 
race  betting  and  other  small-amount  daily 
betting  rackets  cost  Reading  $4,860,000 
yearly  or  more. 

IF  UNCLE  SAM  wants  to  collect  $2,431 
1930-1  back  income  tax  from  Dr.  Harry  J. 
Scbad,  Reading,  a  claim  which  Doc  Schad  has 
appealed,  he  wdll  have  the  time  of  his  life  prov¬ 
ing  the  claim.  .  .  .  Charge  is  based  on  a 

$600,000  mortgage  held  by  Schad  against 
Reading  theatre  properties,  later  sold  by  the 
sher-ff.  .  .  .  Schad  has  introduced  proof  that 
one  bank  rated  the  $600,000  mortgage  as  worth 
onlv  $360,000,  and  another  bank  at  only 
$300,000.  .  .  .  Uncle  Sam  contends  it  is  worth 
$600,0000,  but  what  the  red  tape  experts  at 
Washington  think  and  what  Dr.  Schad  knows 
are  two  entirely  different  things. 


YORK 


AFTER  A  SIEGE  of  several  months  with 
no  managerial  changes,  four  were  made  in  the 
York  district  just  as  soon  as  the  manager’s 
week  was  ended.  .  .  .  Harry  Travis,  manager, 
Capitol  Theatre,  was  sent  to  Gettysburg  to 
manage  the  Majestic,  and  Irving  Dunn,  Ritz, 
two  years,  was  transferred  to  the  Capitol.  .  .  . 
Irving  Mirisch,  manager,  Majestic,  was  moved 
into  the  Philadelphia  district  to  manage  the 
Model.  .  .  .  And  Robert  Miller,  brother, 

Cleon,  manager  Strand,  took  Dunn’s  place  at 
the  Ritz. 


AT  THE  CAPITOL  Fred  Hermann 
divided  his  attention  between  “Death  Takes 
a  Holiday,”  and  some  renovating. 

George  Bittinger,  Kingston,  has  been  featur¬ 
ing  Phil  Cusick  at  the  organ.  .  .  .  Ph’l  was 

one  of  the  attractions  at  the  midnight  Easter 
show.  .  Orpheum  again  is  keeping  its 

bills  for  a  week.  .  Children’s  theatre, 

an  independent  venture,  at  Irem  Temple, 
did  surprisingly  well  with  adults  last  Sat¬ 
urday. 

LINCOLN.  Plains,  is  on  a  full  schedule.  .  .  . 
Staff  at  the  Shawnee  in  Plymouth  honored  Bill 
Roberts  after  his  return  from  the  South  with 
a  special  party. 


AN  ATTRACTIVE  FLOAT  was  used  by 
the  York  boys  to  herald  the  April  Celebra¬ 
tion  month.  .  .  .  Float  was  driven  over  the 

down  town  streets  throughout  the  second 
week  of  the  month.  .  .  .  On  the  sides  were 

the  current  attractions  at  each  of  the  four 
theatres.  .  .  .  Sid  Poppay,  Rialto,  used  the 

old  gag  of  a  boy  riding  about  the  city  on  a 
horse  to  plug  his  latest  western  and  it  sure 
worked  wonders.  ...  A  moving  miniature 
of  the  two  stars,  doing  the  “Bolero,”  was 
displayed  in  the  lobby  of  the  Strand  a  week 
prior  to  the  opening  of  the  picture  and  then 
was  moved  out  in  front.  ...  It  was  Miller’s 
idea.  .  .  .  Special  Saturday  morning  shows 

for  kiddies  are  the  rule  now  at  the  Rialto. 


PREMIUMS 

There  are  many  imitations  but  there  is  only  one 

22  KARAT  GOLD  DINNER  SET 

with  a  success  record 

It’s  the  Dainty  Thin  Square  Model! 

QUALITY  PREMIUM  DIST. 

1305  VINE  ST.  PHILA. 


SOUND  SERVICE 


WE  SOLVE  YOUR  SOUND  PROBLEMS 


S  ■kaa£; 
#•  " 


HOLIES 


C.A.McCrork 

SOUND  ENGINEER 

262  N.  1 3TH  ST. 
PHILADELPHIA 
Day  Phone:  RIT  4529 
Night  Phone:  SHE  0805 


THEATRE  EQUIPMENT 


PE1VN  THEATRE 
EQUIPMENT  CO. 

309  North  13th  Street 
PHILADELPHIA 
Phone,  Rittenhouse  3273 

GENERAL  THEATRE  EQUIPMENT 

Specialists  in  Repairs 


CLEM’S 

MOTION  PICTURE  SUPPLY  HOUSE 

The  Most  Complete  Independent 

Supply  House  in  the  ‘Territory! 

255  North  13th  Street  -  Philadelphia 

expert  repairing 


spruce  leea 


National  Theatre  Supply  Company 


OFF.CES  IN  ALL  f 

WiW 

=  l  PRINCIPAL  OTIC  S 

Service  and  courtesy  from  men  you  know  .  .  . 
Plus  equipment  of  known  and  guaranteed  quality 
.  .  .  are  at  your  service  at  our  local  branch 


UNIFORMS 


American  Uniform  Co. 

134  So.  11th  Street,  Philadelphia 

Styled  Right  ® 

Serviced  Right 

Priced  Right 

NO  ORDER  TOO  SMALL  OR  TOO  LARGE 


VAUDEVILLE  AGENCIES 


HARRY  BIBEN 

VAUDEVILLE  AGENCY 

(603-4  COLONIAL  BUILDING) 

N.  E.  Cor.  13th  and  Market  Sts. 

Phone,  Rittenhouse  9494-5 

PHILADELPHIA 

▼ 

Booking 

STANLEY-  WARNER 
THEATRES,  Philadelphia 


THE  LOST  PATROL  IS  THE 


Aprl5'34  pg.  32 

b'  . 


SENSATION  OF  THE  HOUR 

*  ‘  '  '  Ws 

IN  /  aX-  NEW  YORK! 


FROM  THE 

DAILY  NEWS 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Aprl5'34 


33 


Easter  Egg  Competition  Hot  In  Wilmington 


Old  adage  “He  who  laughs  last,  laughs  best,”  seems  to  have  applied  rather 
appropriately  to  the  two  Easter  Egg  Hunts  in  Wilmington  of  the  two  rival  organ¬ 
izations,  Warner  Brothers  and  Loew’s,  at  least  to  those  who  had  inside  information 
about  the  affair. 

Whether  Lew  Black  of  Warners  or  George  Jones  of  Loew’s  was  the  first  to  think 
of  the  Easter  Egg  Hunt  is  a  question.  However,  it  seems  that  Jones  stole  a  march 
at  first  by  tieing  up  Mayor  Speer  with  his  egg  hunt  for  Easter  Monday.  Warners 
determined  to  go  through  with  their  plans,  decided  upon  Saturday  before  Easter  for 
their  hunt,  and  to  say  it  rained  cats  and  dogs  on  that  particular  day  would  be  put¬ 
ting  it  modestly.  Laugh  No.  2  for  Jones.  Came  Easter  Monday,  bright  sunshine, 
balmy  air,  everything  playing  right  into  the  old  Jones  luck,  that  is  all  except  a  half 
a  dozen  or  so  mischievous  boys  who  happened  to  be  out  in  the  park  as  early  as 
8.30  A.  M.,  not  far  from  the  very  place  where  Jonesey’s  egg  hiders  were  busily 
engaged  in  secreting  the  hen  fruit  about  the  park.  They  connived  with  some  larger 
boys,  divulging  their  secret.  Soon  the  conspiracy  was  on.  Then  there  was  a  shrill 
police  whistle,  blown  by  one  of  the  larger  boys,  which  every  child  mistook  for  the 
signal  to  go  egg  hunting.  Those  in  the  “know”  were  on  the  scene,  grabbing  up 
eggs,  a  long  time  before  the  scheduled  time.  The  onrush  was  too  great  to  stop, 
so  mayor  or  no  mayor,  Jones  and  his  fellow  city  co-ordinators,  just  had  to  let  the 
kiddies  go  to  it.  By  the  time  the  mayor  arrived  to  open  the  hunt,  most  of  the  eggs 
had  been  found,  and  shells  aplenty  covered  the  ground  thereabouts. 

But  about  the  laugh?  Why  it  so  happened  that  the  Warner  boys  postponed 
their  hunt  until  Tuesday,  with  an  assembly  at  a  given  point,  and  from  all  reports 
some  2,000  kiddies  with  holidays  and  fine  weather  had  their  hunt  without  any 
irregularities. 


Kuykendall  Re-elected 
President  of  M.  P.T.  0.  A. 

Exhibitor  Leader  Returned  for 
Second  Term 

Ed  Kuykendall  has  been  re-elected 
president  of  the  MPTOA. 

Meeting  in  Los,  Angeles,  the  board  of  direc¬ 
tors,  April  10,  returned  the  leader  for  the  sec¬ 
ond  consecutive  term. 

Other  officers  were  M.  E.  Comerford,  first 
vice-president;  A.  Julian  Brylawski,  fifth  vice- 
president;  Fred  S.  Meyer,  secretary;  Fred 
Wehrenberg,  chairman  of  the  board;  Edward 
G.  Levy,  counsel.  New  faces  among  the  offi¬ 
cers  included  W.  S.  Butterfield,  second  vice- 
president  ;  M.  A.  Lightman,  third  vice-presi¬ 
dent ;  Ben  Berinstein,  fourth  vice-president. 

Jules  Michael,  Buffalo,  is  chairman  of  the 
Grievance  Committee,  in  place  of  Lewen  Pizor, 
local  MPTO  head,  who  didn't  make  the  trip. 

The  executive  board  praised  M.  J.  O’Toole, 
Scranton,  for  his  work  while  he  was  secre¬ 
tary. 

There  were  few  exhibitors  present  from  the 
local  territory.  M.  E.  Comerford  attended  with 
members  of  his  family,  but  outside  of  him,  it 
was  thought  that  representation  from  this  dis¬ 
trict  was  nil. 


Majestic,  Harrisburg,  Remodeling 

A  change  in  building  regulations  in  Har¬ 
risburg,  beneficial  to  theatre  operators,  was 
brought  about  through  the  efforts  of  C.  Floyd 
Hopkins,  general  manager  of  Wilmer  and  Vin¬ 
cent  interests  in  Harrisburg  and  Reading. 

When  it  was  discovered  that  plans  to  remodel 
the  marquee  at  the  Majestic  Theatre,  Harris¬ 
burg,  to  open  soon  as  a  motion  picture  house, 
would  not  agree  with  the  city’s  building  regula¬ 
tions,  an  ordinance  was  passed  by  City  Council 
that  permits  erection  of  marquee  awnings  to 
extend  upward  five  feet  instead  of  three.  The 
change  permits  theatres  to  use  more  lighting 
effects  in  displays  of  current  engagements. 


Exhibs  50%  on  Checking 


Exhibitors  can  look  forward  to  the 
time  when  they  may  pay  50%  of  the 
checking  costs  incurred  by  exchanges 
checking  the  house. 

A  tipoff  can  be  taken  from  the  fol¬ 
lowing  conversation: 

Sam  Gross:  Say,  Herb,  I  think  you 
should  pay  half  of  our  cost  of  checking 
your  show. 

Herb  Effinger:  Why? 

Sam  Gross:  Well,  now  you  know  you 
have  honest  employees  because  the 
count  was  honest. 

Herb  Effinger  swung  hard  but  he 
missed. 

Exhibs  can  ponder  if  such  a  trend 
may  become  national. 

Mystery  in  Wilmington 
Sound  Suit  Postponement 

Considerable  mystery  lies  behind  the 
postponement  of  the  anti-trust  suit  of  the 
Stanley  Company  of  America,  Duovac 
Radio  Corporation  and  General  Talking 
Pictures  Corporation  against  ERPI, 
Western  Electric  and  A.  T.  &  T.,  in  the 
U,  S.  Court  in  Wilmington,  heralded  as 
being  a  move  toward  an  amicable  settle¬ 
ment. 

Trial,  had  it  started  Wednesday,  April  4, 
would  have  lasted  at  least  a  month  and  would 
have  involved  one  of  the  biggest  controversial 
issues  in  the  motion  picture  industry  of  the 
nation. 

Judge  Nields  sitting  in  the  case  postponed 
the  case  indefinitely  as  to  exact  date  but  some¬ 
time  in  the  fall  when  lawyers  for  both  sides 
appeared  and  asked  that  the  case  be  continued 
until  about  that  time. 

Plaintiffs  charge  violation  of  the  Clayton 
and  Sherman  anti-monopoly  and  anti-trust  acts, 


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• 

Official  Letter 
Service  to  the 
Motion  Picture 
Industry 

Accurate  List 
of  all  Theatres 
and  Executives 

Mimeographing 
Multigraphing 
Public  Stenography 

Addressing  -  Folding 
Enclosing  -  Mailing 

Advertising 

Publicity 

Printing 

WM.  Z. 

PORTER 

Advertising  and  Letter  Service 

12011  Vine  Street 

(Second  Floor) 

BELL  TELEPHONE 

:  RITTENH0USE  7195 

ST.  CHARLES 

AN  ENTIRE  BLOCK  ON  THE  BOARDWALK 

•  ATLANTIC  CITY  • 

A  Smart  Hotel  in  America's  Smartest  Hesort 

Atlantic  city — Healthful— 

Restful — Affording  complete  relaxation  so 
welcome  after  intensive  work — Where  the 
St.  Charles  offers  the  maximum  in  hotel 
comfort  and  service — Spacious  Sun  Deck 
occupying  one  entire  block  overlooking 
Boardwalk  and  Sea — Ocean  view  Lounge. 

IDEAL  CONVENTION  FACILITIE S 


RATES  GREATLY  REDUCED 


WORK  WANTED 

A  young,  conscientious  man  who  is  not 
afraid  of  work  desires  a  position  in  ship¬ 
ping  room,  advertising  department  or 
around  a  theatre.  5  years’  experience  this 
business.  Will  start  low. 

Box  717,  THE  EXHIBITOR 


in  the  enforcement  by  the  defendants  of  re¬ 
strictive  clauses  on  leases  for  the  replacement 
of  equipment.  Exhibitors  are  required  by  the 
present  leases,  to  obtain  repair  and  replacement 
parts  exclusively  from  ERPI.  The  plaintiffs 
asked  for  a  preliminary  injunction.  Attack¬ 
ing  the  validity  of  its  theatres  reproducing 
equipment  agreement  with  ERPI  and  asking 
the  court  to  rule  that  the  reproducing  sound 
equipment  now  is  its  possession  and  supplied 
by  the  defendants,  be  decreed  its  exclusive 
property.  They  charged  that  the  defendants 
were  endeavoring  to  monopolize  the  business. 


34  Aprl5'34  THE  EXHIBITOR 


v — 

A  Concise 
National  Survey 

2 - 

• 

TRADE  l\  REVIEW 

• 

- ^ 

Glances  Outside 
the  Territory 

—  4 

CODE 

Three  Forms  for 
Filing  Code  Complaints 

Three  forms  are  available  for  exhibitors  fil¬ 
ing  code  complaints.  Only  those  who  assented 
to  the  code  can  file  any  complaints.  The  forms 
are  white,  blue  and  pink.  First,  No.  1,  includes 
complaints  for  one  of  the  four  reasons  con¬ 
tained  in  Article  VI,  Part  2,  Section  1,  Para¬ 
graphs  (a)  or  (b),  or  (c)  or  (d). 

No.  2  (blue),  is  used  exclusively  for  filing 
complaints  under  provisions  of  Article  VI, 
Part  2,  Section  4.  Local  board  either  dis¬ 
misses  the  complaint  or  certifies  it  for  deter¬ 
mination  by  the  Code  Authority. 

No.  3  (pink),  is  used  for  filing  any  complaint 
under  provisions  of  the  Code  outside  of  Article 
VI,  Part  2. 

Blanks  have  been  sent  to  those  filing  com¬ 
plaints.  These  will  be  turned  over  to  local 
boards  for  determination  when  they  all  begin 
to  function. 

Cancellation  Ruling 
Effective  with  All 

All  companies  are  obeying  the  ruling  of 
De  uty  Sol  A.  Rosenblatt  to  the  effect  that  the 
10%  cancellation  clause  dates  back  to  contracts 
made  before  December  7  and  applying  to  pro¬ 
duct  released  after  that  date.  Vote  of  the  Code 
Authority  was  8-2,  but  all  companies  are  honor¬ 
ing  the  ruling. 

Boards  Get  to  Work 
All  Over  Country 

Local  zoning  and  grievance  boards  have  gone 
to  work  in  various  parts  of  the  country.  With 
the  New  York  and  Philadelphia  bodies  the  last 
to  be  okayed,  the  industry  now  has  a  chance 
to  see  how  the  whole  setup  works.  Generally, 
until  developments  indicate  otherwise,  the  busi¬ 
ness  is  ready  to  give  the  board  the  best  of 
chances. 

Exhibitors  Post 
Labor  Provisions 

Exhibitors  have  received  post  cards  from 
the  Code  Authority  regarding  posting  of  labor 
provisions.  Cards  must  be  filled  out  and  re¬ 
turned  before  the  provisions  will  be  sent  them. 

PRODUCTION 

Paramount  Schedules 
Coast  Convention 

Paramount  holds  its  coast  convention  for 
sales  purposes  at  the  Ambassador,  Los  Angeles, 
June  18-20.  A  district  managers’  meeting  to 
discuss  policies  precedes  the  session.  It  takes 
place  in  Chicago  this  month. 

Majestic  Makes  Plans 
For  the  New  Season 

Majestic  franchise  holders  have  met  to  make 
plans  for  the  new  season.  Following  the  con¬ 
fab,  president  Herman  Gluckman  went  west 
to  take  care  of  production  arrangements.  Com¬ 
pany  will  make  its  own  pictures. 


Mrs.  Belmont 
Speaks  to  Trade 

Mrs.  August  Belmont  will  speak  to  more 
than  one  thousand  persons  of  the  motion  pic¬ 
ture  industry  including  executives  and  leading- 
producers  at  the  annual  dinner  of  the  Associated 
Motion  Picture  Advertisers,  in  the  Hotel  Astor 
Ballroom,  April  21.  Upon  taking  the  duties 
as  president  of  the  Motion  Picture  Research 
Council,  vice-presidents  of  which  are  Dr. 
Henry  Sloane  Coffin,  Prof.  Edwin  R.  A.  Sehg- 
man,  Dr.  Henry  Fairfield  Osborn  and  Dr. 
Rabbi  Stephen  Wise,  Mrs.  Belmont,  recently,  in 
an  address  which  was  broadcast  throughout  the 
nation,  stated  the  policy  of  the  council  was  to 
gain  the  co-operation  of  the  organized  motion 
picture  industry  in  the  endeavor  to  lift  the 
standard  of  motion  picture  production. 

Features  Hold,  Shorts 
Cut  in  New  Season 

There  will  be  as  many  if  not  more  features 
made  in  the  new  season,  but  it  can  be  said  defi¬ 
nitely  that  shorts  will  be  cut.  The  code  and 
overbuying  of  shorts  during  the  current  season 
are  reasons  for  the  slash  in  the  single-  and 
double-reels.  Rumors  of  increased  feature  pro¬ 
duction  are  heard. 

Quota  Up  In 
British  Market 

With  the  British  quota  going  up  to  the  extent 
of  two  and  one-half  percent,  domestic  film  pro¬ 
ducers  will  have  to  handle  or  make  25  more 
pictures  there  this  year  than  last.  This  should 
bring  the  total  to  about  115  for  the  new  season. 

Naked  Truth  Dinner 
Revived  by  Trade 

The  Naked  Truth  Dinner,  long  an  estab¬ 
lished  industry  event,  is  revived  April  21  in 
New  York  City  when  the  AMPA,  trade  adver¬ 
tising  body,  and  the  Motion  Picture  Club  help 
in  putting  over  the  dinner.  Receipts  go  to  film 
charitable  bodies. 

Report  Suit  Against 
Electrics  is  Settled 

Litigation  involving  Stanley  Company,  Duo- 
vac  Radio,  General  Talking,  A.  T.  and  T., 
Western  Electric  and  ERPI  is  reported  in  the 
settling  process.  Anti-trust  law  violation  was 
hinted.  Delaware  advices  are  to  the  effect  that 
suit,  which  threatened  to  be  long  and  costly, 
may  now  be  in  the  compromise  era. 

Rowland  Radio 
To  Produce 

Richard  A.  Rowland,  old  timer,  is  now  with 
Radio.  He  has  signed  a  contract  to  produce. 
Rowland  bears  a  fine  reputation,  should  help 
the  company. 

Hays’  Report  Show 
Everything  Fine 

Optimistic  report  on  films  and  their  effect  on 
national  life  was  contributed  by  Will  H.  Hays 
in  his  annual  report  at  the  meeting  of  the 
MPPDA.  Hays  was  reelected  to  the  presidency 
of  the  body. 


EXHIBITION 

55%  Using  Doubles, 

Golden  Claims 

Approximately  55%  of  the  theatres  in  the 
country  are  using  double  features,  Edward 
Golden,  sales  manager  of  Monogram,  claims. 
This  figure  includes  chain  and  inde  houses. 

Triple  Feature  Threat 
H  eard  in  Many  Sectors 

Reports  of  triple  features  are  heard  in  the 
trade.  There  have  been  instances  of  seeing 
four  features  for  one  admission.  That  griev¬ 
ance  boards  may  check  such  practices  is  cer¬ 
tain.  Meanwhile,  contract  clauses  may  restrict 
such  a  procedure. 

Allied  States 
H  as  Production  Tieup 

Trade  reports  assert  that  Allied  States  Asso¬ 
ciation  will  effect  a  production  deal  whereby 
more  than  20  features  will  be  offered  to  mem¬ 
bers  of  the  organization.  Group  will  benefit 
from  the  financial  tie-up.  Idea  was  suggested 
some  time  ago,  but  nothing  ever  came  of  it. 

DISTRIBUTION 

Film  Boards  May 
Now  Pass  On 

It  is  believed  with  the  organization  of  local 
zoning  and  grievance  boards  that  the  Film 
Boards  of  Trade  throughout  the  country  may 
pass  on.  In  a  lot  of  cases,  the  secretaries  of 
the  boards  will  be  former  secretaries  of  Film 
Boards. 

Columbia  Rumor 
Still  Floats  Around 

Rumors  have  been  current  in  the  trade  of 
changes  in  Columbia  ownership.  All  have  been 
denied  by  executives.  Report  would  have 
Dupont  money  interested  in  the  new  setup. 
Other  rumors  floating  around  in  the  trade  in¬ 
clude  the  annual  RKO-Fox  merger,  but  noth¬ 
ing  has  developed. 

Salesmen  All  Set 
For  Selling  Battles 

Distributor  units  have  been  vacationing,  get¬ 
ting  their  health  back  in  readiness  for  the  an¬ 
nual  selling  battles.  Fox  is  selling  already. 
Others  are  just  beginning.  Independent  ac¬ 
counts  have  increased  during  the  past  year, 
making  more  work  for  salesmen. 

No  Cuts  Given 
Back  to  Employees 

Outside  of  United  Artists,  most  distributors 
have  failed  to  restore  cuts  made  during  depres¬ 
sion  periods.  No  inkling  of  when  this  may 
take  place  is  evident,  but  employees  hope  that 
the  new  deal  may  work  to  their  advantage  as 
well  as  others. 


Aprl5'34  pg.  35 


Everything- 


pertaining  to  the  motion  picture 
industry  can  be  found  in— 


The  Recognized 
Standard  Reference 
Book  of  the  Motion 
Picture  Industry 


The  1934  FILM  DAILY 
YEAR  BOOK  now  being 

distributed  to  all  subscribers 

to  THE  FILM  DAILY 


Here  is  a  volume  which  has  no  equal.  Everything  pertaining  to  the 
motion  picture  industry  can  be  found  within  its  covers.  This  important 
volume  which  runs  well  over  1,000  pages  each  year  contains  a  complete 
showman's  manual  of  ideas  which  are  practical.  The  ideas  are  not  just 
theory,  they  are  ideas  which  have  been  used  to  satisfaction.  They  are 
so  grouped  and  arranged  so  that  no  matter  what  type  of  picture  an 
exhibitor  is  playing,  he  can  find  stunts  which  will  help  him  sell  his  picture 
to  the  public.  The  Year  Book  contains  a  complete  list  of  theatres  through¬ 
out  the  country,  circuit  or  individually  owned.  Wired,  silent,  open  and 
closed  are  indicated.  A  list  of  more  than  thirteen  thousand  features 
released  since  1915  together  with  review  dates  and  distributors'  names 
A  complete  list  of  all  features  released  during  the  year  with  all  data,  such 
as  players'  names,  directors,  etc.  A  buying  guide  that  is  unsurpassed, 
giving  names  and  addresses  of  all  important  equipment  venders  listed 
under  products  handled  by  them.  Personnel  of  all  major  producing  and 
distributing  companies.  Addresses  and  officers  of  important  societies. 
Full  texts  of  the  NRA  Codes  of  Fair  Competition  for  the  Motion  Picture, 
Laboratory,  Legitimate  Stage  and  Radio  Broadcasting  industries.  The 
ten  best  pictures  of  the  year.  A  financial  section  showing  the  financial 
structure  of  the  major  companies.  A  foreign  section  which  gives  you  a 
survey  of  the  foreign  _ _ 


field.  These  are  only  a 
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FILM  DAILY  YEAR 
BOOK  is  given  free  with 
a  year's  subscription  to 
THE  FILM  DAILY. 


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I  enclose  check  for  $10.00.  Foreign  $15.00. 


Name 


I 


Address 


|  City .  State . 


che*. 


. AT  HOTEL  ANCHOVY 

FOR  ONE  OF  THE  BIGGEST 
LAUGH  HITS  IN  YEARS! 


.....  As  a  high  spot  in  Educational  s 
record-smashing  season  of  BIG  NAME 
comedies,  E.  W.  Hammons  now  presents  .  .  . 


i^lhDS  ARE  o,,,^ 


mailt 


V, 


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K  .  '  ‘ 

.*  VV  Co° 1 


ANCHOVY 


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SA  Coronet  Comedo 

Produced  by  AL  CHRISTIE 


Wow i  V  iA'sS‘ 

w  -  uoWL 

ONE  CONTINUOUS  SER,ESh0,h»HG  like 

^  ^  ^  ^  ^  •  •  • 

Fast,  Original  xT*  NeV# 

and  filled  with'  tb***  v»ove 
uproarious  '£*>**&. 


Distributed  in  U.  S.  A.  by  FOX  Film  Corporation 

Aprl5'34  b.c. 


ituations.. 

*•  r::;U  * bc 


VoO<" 

r*e' 


\o  »' 
en 


'•<,us  ° 


'•““a  Goofy  Riot 


eLLauahs . 


n  this 
Issue: 


Exhibitors  Begin  Spring  Renovation  Program 


A  Jay  Emanuel  Publication 


VOL  16-No.  9 

PHILADELPHIA,  MAY  1, 1934 

Price,  15  Cents 

CRITICS 
RAVED: 

Actual  photog¬ 
raphy  of  World 
War  reeks  with 
realism  and 
preaches  potent 
sermon  against 
conflict  .  .  . 
throngs  welcome 
production. 

— Record. 


“Forgotten 
Men”  records 
vivid  scenes  of 
war  .  .  .  authen¬ 
tic  combat  pic¬ 
tures — Ledger. 


Horrors  of  war 
explained  in  full 
.  .  .  Audience 

impressed. 

— News. 


War  grim  visas 
.  .  .  war  stripped 
of  all  parades  and 
panoply  of  glory. 

— Bulletin. 


UNCENSOREDr 

WAR  FILMS 

MORE  SENSATIONAL  THAN 
X$HOWN\  IN  PUBLICATION* 

^  \\  MWtoJ/  /  /  ' 


fbROOTl EH 
r  MEN 


\ 


LIKE  A  BLAST 
FROM  HELL* 


AND  THEATRE  OWNERS  EVERYWHERE  APPLAUD  IT! 

14  Big  Weeks  on  Broadway 
8  Big  Weeks  at  Europa,  Phila. 

1  Big  Week  at  State,  Allentown 
1  Big  Week  at  State,  Reading 
1  Big  Week  at  Ritz,  Scranton 

Broadway,  Camden — 5  Days  to  a  Holdover.  Capital,  Shamokin — New  Record. 
Stacy,  Trenton — 7  Days  to  a  Holdover.  Victoria,  Harrisburg — One  Big  Week. 
Hippodrome,  Pottsville — 4  Big  Days.  Benson,  Philadelphia — New  Record 
and  doing  tremendously  from  coast  to  coast. 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  September  11,  1924,  at  the  post  office  at  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  under  the  Act  of  March  3,  1879. 
PUBLISHED  SEMI-MONTHLY  AT  219  N.  BROAD  STREET.  PHILADELPHIA 


Sold 

Nationally  by 


INTERNATIONAL  SEAT  CORPORATION 

SUBSIDIARY  OF  UNION  CITY  BODY  COMPANY 


PARAMOUNT  BUILDING 

NEW  YORK 


Philadelphia  Representative :  L.  E.  STONE,  219  North 

Reoresent stiver  in  <•  AH  Principal  Cities 


Broad  Street 


tically  received  by  thousands  of  exhibitors'  who  inspected  and 
ae  new  chair  in  our  showrooms — and  awarded  numerous  orders 
ount-Publix,  Balaban  &  Katz,  M.  E.  Coiherford  Circuit,  Tony 
and  many  others  of  the  industry’s  shrewdest  buyers — U  16 — 
vJG  COMFORT— IS  A  SUCCESS!  / 


Enthusiast 
admired  tr 
by  Paramc 
Sudekum 
FLOATI  ' 


That  judgment 


of  the  judgment  which  dictated  m 


venture. 


I m  prouc 
has  been 


(infirmod  h-ir  a  nrnurpssivp  industrv 


I  11  carry 


on 


sh  the  assurance  of  every  exhibi/for,  large  and  small,  that  he  11 
tftie  new  U  16— Floating  Comfort  Theatre  Chair— before  buying. 


I  only  w 
examine  1 


VICE- PR  Bo  IDE  N 
in  Char  A  of  S ah  H 


«  AN  APPRECIATION  >» 


unce  himself 


He  11  con 


34 


May 


Pg 


May  1'34  pg.  3 


•  •  •  and  here's  the  chair  I'm 
selling  —  the  choir  you'll  even¬ 
tually  buy. 


II -16  with  FLOATING  COMFORT 

<*■ - 


•  NO  HINGES -with  their  usual  trouble  of  sagging 
and  breaking. 

•  NO  VENEERS  —  to  warp,  peel  or  split. 

•  ALL  STEEL  —  interlocking  parts.  No  nuts,  bolts 
or  screws  — the  strongest  construction. 

•  CANTILEVER  SPRING  CONSTRUCTION- 

No  sagging  in  the  seat. 

•  COMFORT — Most  comfortable  chair  in  the  market. 

AND  SOLD  AT  A  RIGHT  PRICE 
WITH  STONE'S  GUARANTEE  OF  SERVICE 


L.  E.  STONE 

Theatre  Chairs 

801  FLINT  BUILDING 

219  North  Broad  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


THEATRE  SEATING  SINCE  1095 


l  & 

SEEmM  A  .  A 


CWFPT 

I#  VV  A*  Ail  A 

HEARTS 


DICK  POWELL 
k  GINGER  ROGER 
PAT  O’BR 
4  MILL! 
UWjK  TED  FIO| 


f  Because  Film  ' 
Daily  calls  it  "grand 
entertainment  for 
anybody.. .easily  the 
best  picture  thus 
far  in  a  broad- 
L  casting  back-  a 
ground". 


Because  M.  P. 
Daily  says  it  “is 
sparkling  show  en¬ 
tertainment  all  the 

way . Should  bring 

them  in  and  send 
Lthem  outi 


Because  Variety 
Daily  deda  res  it"off- 
ers  a  double  box-off¬ 
ice  lure. ..ace  radio 
names. ..and  distin¬ 
guished  perfor- 
kmances  and 
^  direction".  /I 


BROS. 

TO  &  BAND  iS  WMfifM 

ADIO  ROGUES  IjiSlirj'fB 
4E  3  DEBUTANTES 

MUZZY  MARCELLINO  £ 

ALLEN  JENKINS  ^ 
—  WARREN  &  DUBIN 

RAY  ENRIGHT 


Directed  by 


A  First  National  Picture.  Vitagrapiv,  Inc.,  Distributor! 


WRECKING 
RECORDS 

Everywhere ! 


Sr 


h 


I  V 


'/ 


A. 

Smashing 
Indictment 
of  Parental 

Prudery  / 


& 


WITH 

Herbert  Rawlinson 
Miriam  Battista 
Wesley  Barry 

and  a  Cast  of  Broadway  Stars 

BROKE  ALL  RECORDS  AT- 

FAMILY,  Scranton,  Pa.  1  Week  to  terrific  business 

And  breaking  all  existing  records  in  Boston 
and  other  leading  cities 


•II 


£ 


y 


> 


/ 


X? 


AT 


VKjh 


Not  a  Sex  "Quickie" 

but  a  legitimate,  well-cast, 
quality  production  with  an 
exploitable  title  I 


May  1 T  34  pg.  6 

ad  Show  Accessories 

AND 

Circus  Ballyhoo 


DISTRIBUTED  WITH  PRIDE  BY 

GOLD  MEDAL  FILM  COMPANY 

A.  LUCCHESE,  President 

1236  Vine  Street  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Phone!  «  Write! 
Wire! 

FOR  DATES 


May  1'34  pg.  7 


THE 


EDITOR’S  PAGE 


Vol.  16,  No.  9 


May  1,  1934 


One  Good  Thought 

^  OUT  OF  the  maze  of  resolutions, 
*  parties  and  social  events  which  marked 
the  14th  annual  convention  of  the  MPTOA 
at  Los  Angeles,  at  least  one  constructive 
idea  emerged,  one  which  had  been  presented 
to  the  trade  many  times  before  but  which, 
apparently,  was  brought  to  the  fore  only 
because  someone  might  have  remembered 
reading'  it  somewhere. 

This  was  the  suggestion  that  exhibitor 
leaders  confer  with  studio  heads  on  pro¬ 
duction  plans,  on  desires  of  audiences,  on 
what  might  be  liked  and  what  might  not 
be  liked  by  patrons.  Such  meetings  should 
be  held  occasionally. 

It  wasn’t  so  long  ago  that  these  columns 
advanced  the  same  idea,  but  like  so  many 
other  constructive  suggestions,  it  was 
passed  by  the  wayside. 

That,  largely,  is  the  trouble  with  this 
business.  When  someone  thinks  of  some¬ 
thing  that  might  help  the  industry,  few 
care.  A  couple  of  years  later  the  same  idea 
might  be  advanced  by  someone  else  and  the 
bands  come  out,  the  flags  fly  and  another 
miracle  brain  is  heralded  by  the  industry. 

Of  course,  it  remains  to  be  seen  if  the 
idea  of  co-operation  between  exhibitors  and 
producers  is  really  carried  out.  It  should 
be.  But  knowing  the  after-effects  of  even 
the  best  of  suggestions  and  conventions,  it 
wouldn’t  be  surprising  if  it  weren’t.  If  it 
does  work  out  it  will  prove  one  of  the  most 
outstanding  constructive  pieces  of  work  of 
any  convention  for  the  best  interests  of  the 
whole  industry. 


To  Mr.  Quigley 

#  IT  HAS  REMAINED  for  Martin  Quig- 
^  ley,  esteemed  contemporary,  to  uncover 
a  new  menace.  The  ogre  that  explorer 
Quigley  reveals  is  the  practice  of  this  busi¬ 
ness  in  not  advertising  starting  times  of 
features,  of  allowing  patrons  to  walk  in  on 
the  middle  of  a  picture,  of  taking  an  atti¬ 
tude  which  he  calls  “the  public  be  damned.” 

He  makes  three  points  which  err  (1) 
that  with  the  coming  of  feature  length  pic¬ 
tures  and  talkies,  old  continuous  perform¬ 
ance  arrangement  was  following  mechani¬ 
cally  “in  virtually  all  theatres,”  (2)  that 
Hollywood  does  not  realize  the  existence  of 
the  new  evil,  that  if  they  did,  they  would 
wonder  less  why  certain  features  are  flops, 
(3)  that  performances  should  start  at 
stated  hours,  a  practice  which  could  be 
regulated  by  adding  or  dropping  short  sub¬ 
jects  to  make  uniform  shows. 

He  errs  (1)  because  at  least  60%  of  the 
houses  of  the  country  do  not  run  continu¬ 
ous,  have  educated  their  patrons  to  know 
their  programs,  whether  shorts  come  first 
or  last  and  when  feature  usually  begins, 
(2)  because  no  picture  ever  proved  a  flop 
as  he  reasons,  (3)  that  if  he  were  experi¬ 
enced  he  would  realize  the  folly  of  this 
statement.  With  very  few  exceptions, 
patrons  never  refuse  to  buy  tickets  for  pic¬ 
tures1  they  want  to  see,  even  after  the  fea¬ 
ture  has  started,  and  patrons  do  not  buy 
tickets  for  weak  sisters  merely  because  they 
can  arrive  just  before  the  feature  begins. 

Mr.  Quigley  may  be  supplying  a  field  for 
discussion  but  the  ogre  he  has  discovered, 
we  believe,  is  as  ferocious  as  Mickey  Mouse. 


The  Exhibitor 

Circulating  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware.  Issued  on  the  1st  and  15th 
ot  each  month  by  Jay  Emanuel  Publications,  Inc.  Publishing  office,  219  North  Broad  Street,  Philadelphia. 
Branches  at  1600  Broadway,  New  York  City;  Washington,  D.  C.  Jay  Emanuel,  publisher;  Paul  J. 
Greenhalgh,  advertising  manager;  Herbert  M.  Miller,  managing  editor.  Subscription  rates:  $2  for  one 
year,  $5  for  three  years.  Single  copies,  15c  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware. 
Publishers,  also,  of  THE  NATIONAL  EXHIBITOR  of  Washington  and  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  EXHIBITOR. 
Official  organ  of  the  Motion  Picture  Theatre  Owners  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and 
Delaware.  Address  all  communications  to  the  Philadelphia  office. 


Protect  the  10%  Cancellation 

JUDGING  from  the  cool  reaction  to  the  10%  cancellation 
ruling  by  Divisional  Administrator  Sol  A.  Rosenblatt, 
it  is  easy  to  foresee  that  certain  distributor-producer  elements  on 
the  Code  Authority  may  not  enter  into  the  spirit  that  should  domi¬ 
nate  the  efforts  of  the  board.  From  all  parts  of  the  country  come 
reports  that  distributors  are  resisting,  through  varied  explanations 
and  interpretations,  the  right  of  the  exhibitor  to  cancel  10%  of  his 
contract  on  a  straight  buy.  Exhibitors,  too,  are  afraid  that  the 
new  season  will  see  a  number  of  foreign  pictures  as  well  as  outdoor 
films  on  each  program,  these  to  take  care  of  10%  cancellation.  In 
other  words,  the  exhibitor  will  cancel  these  pictures,  which  cost 
the  producers  little,  and  be  compelled  to  take  all  the  rest,  guaran¬ 
teeing,  at  least,  negative  cost  on  the  domestic  crop  and  defeating 
the  very  purpose  of  the  10%  cancellation  clause. 

It  is  up  to  Divisional  Administrator  Sol  A.  Rosenblatt  to  pro¬ 
tect  the  exhibitors  against  such  a  practice.  He  should  give  imme¬ 
diate  evidence  that  such  a  policy  on  the  part  of  the  distributors 
will  not  be  tolerated.  He  has  upheld  the  10%  cancellation  ruling. 
He  should  also  see  to  it  that  its  benefits  are  not  circumvented. 

True,  the  producer  has  a  problem  in  the  10%  cancellation 
clause.  The  possibility,  however,  is  that  with  this  elimination 
feature  now  a  fact  the  producer  will  exert  a  more  careful  influence 
in  what  he  will  deliver  as  product.  This  publication  has  always 
felt  the  elimination  of  block  booking  will  not  guarantee  better 
product  but  is  certain  to  increase  costs  of  selling  which  the  ex¬ 
hibitor  must  absorb  and  which  creates  a  more  competitive  situation 
between  competing  theatres  which  is  definitely  certain  to  raise 
film  costs.  A  fair  cancellation  privilege  is  necessary.  The  theatre 
in  a  closed  situation  does  not  have  to  buy  them  all;  and  usually 
does  not,  but  in  competitive  spots  exhibitors  are  at  the  mercy  of 
certain  individuals  who  are  in  a  position  to  force  100%  buys.  If  the 
exhibitor  gets  a  fair  10%  cancellation,  it  is  part  of  his  duties  to  help 
assume,  with  the  producer,  the  expense  of  pictures  which  he  would 
like  to  cancel  after  his  cancellation  privilege  has  been  used  up.  If 
the  producer  is  fair,  the  exhibitor  should  be  fair,  too. 


Cut  the  rope  and  make  everybody  happy. 


8 


May  1'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Exhibitors  Must  Pay  Assessments  or 

Film  Service  Stops,  Authority  Rules 


Body  Okays  Secretary  for  Territory — 30  Days’  Leeway 
on  Obligation  Allowed — Local  Groups  Functioning — 
Select  Quarters 

If  code  assessments  are  not  paid  within  30  days,  theatres  may  not  lie  served  with 
film,  according  to  a  vote  of  the  Code  Authority,  approved  by  Divisional  Administrator 
Sol  A.  Rosenblatt. 


Assessments  have  been  sent  out.  They  must 
be  paid. 

A  fine  of  $500  a  day  as  long  as  the  theatre 
holds  out  is  also  another  feature. 

Localites  Meet 

In  the  second  meeting  of  the  body,  organiz¬ 
ation  matters  came  up.  A  committee  to  secure 
offices  was  appointed  and  the  budget  was  con¬ 
sidered. 

Name  Ziegler 

Basil  Ziegler  has  been  appointed  secretary 
of  the  local  board.  He  is  a  lawyer. 

The  local  secretary  will  attend  a  meeting  of 
regional  board  secretaries  to  be  held  in  New 
York  shortly. 


Air  Cooled 

The  new  offices  of  the  local  zoning 
and  grievance  boards  in  the  Philadel¬ 
phia  Savings  Fund  Society  will  be  air 
cooled. 

Reason  is  not  the  personal  comfort  of 
the  hard  working  board  members  but 
the  fact  that  air  may  tone  down  force  of 
arguments. 

National  survey  indicates  Philly  board 
will  be  only  air  cooled  group  in  country. 


Secretary  of  Boards 


Basil  Ziegler,  Esq. 

recently  appointed  secretary  of  the  local 
zoning  and  grievance  boards. 

Temporary  quarters  will  be  on  the  8th  floor 
of  the  Philadelphia  Savings  Fund  Society  until 
permanent  quarters  can  be  secured  on  the  4th 
floor. 

Exhibitors  wishing  to  register  complaints 
will  have  to  fill  out  definite  blanks  which  may 


Grievance  Complaint  Up 

One  of  the  first  cases  expected  to  be 
heard  by  the  grievance  board  is  that  of 
Lou  Linker,  Bridgeton,  N.  J.,  exhibitor 
and  a  member  of  the  zoning  board, 
against  the  Stanley  Theatre,  Bridgeton, 
N.  J.,  on  charges  of  overbuying  pic¬ 
tures.  Exchanges  as  well  as  theatre 
will  appear  when  hearing  comes  up. 
Linker  is  believed  to  be  ready  to  assume 
contracts  of  excess  pictures  if  the  board 
so  rules. 


be  obtained  from  the  secretary  of  the  local 
boards.  Such  complaints  must  be  notarized. 

Forms 

The  papers  are  divided  as  follows : 

White — Complaint  under  Article  6,  Part  2. 
Section  1,  before  the  grievance  board,  agauist 
competing  exhibitor. 

Pink — Special  complaint  before  the  griev¬ 
ance  board,  involving  non-theatricals,  refusal 
of  fair  adjustment,  designation  of  percentage 
playdates,  reduced  admissions,  theatre  transfers, 
premature  advertising  and  other  similar  matters. 

Yellow — Before  the  clearance  zoning  board, 
protest  under  Article  6,  Part  1,  Section  7. 

Blue — Before  the  grievance  board,  complaint 
under  Article  6,  Part  2,  Section  4. 

During  the  absence  of  Lenny  Schlesinger, 
affiliated  member  on  the  zoning  board,  it  is  ex¬ 
pected  that  M.  B.  Comerford,  affiliated  mem¬ 
ber  of  the  grievance  board,  will  be  his  alter¬ 
nate.  Code!  rules  so  prescribe. 

No  new  zoning  will  be  undertaken  by  the 
zoning  board.  Body  will  merely  hear  com¬ 
plaints  on  zoning  and  render  decisions. 


Who’s  Who  on  the  Boards 


BASIL  ZIEGLER — Born  in  Cleveland  31  years  ago. 

Appointed  secretary  of  the  local  zoning  and 
grievance  hoards.  .  .  .  Graduated  from  Dickinson  Law 

School,  1924.  .  .  Managed  theatres  in  this  terri¬ 
tory  during  1922-1923-1924.  .  .  Was  in  production 

in  New  York  in  1931.  .  Wrote  music  for  Texas 

Guinan  show  and  others.  .  Has  been  practicing 

law  in  Camden  since  1926.  .  .  .  Intends  to  continue 

law  work.  .  .  Has  been  active  in  bankruptcy  cases 

as  well  as  a  murder  trial,  recently.  ...  Is  single. 

M.  B.  COMERFORD,  grievance  board  affiliated  mem¬ 
ber.  .  General  manager,  treasurer  Comerford  circuit. 

Born  in  Larksville.  .  Educated  at  Plymouth 

school,  Stroudsburg  Normal,  Wharton  School,  Scranton. 

Built  many  roads.  .  Taught  school.  . 

Has  been  associated  in  operation  of  Comerford  circuit 
for  many  years.  .  .  .  Well-known,  popular  in  territory, 
one  of  real  veterans. 


Here  Are 

the  Costs  Under  the 

Code 

Population 

Up  to  25,000 

Number  Theatres 

With  seating  capacity  under 
500 — 2,387 — basic  rate 

With  seating  capacity  over 

500 — 1,794 basic  rate 

Amount 

$12  yr. — $28,644 

$18  yr. —  32,292 

25,000-100,000 

1st  run — 676 

Subsequent  run - 448 

$24  yr. —  16,224 
$18  yr. —  8,064 

100,000-300,000 

1st  run — 266 

Subsequent  run — 553 

$36  yr. —  9,576 

$24  yr. —  13,272 

300,000-500^000 

1st  run — 74 

Subsequent  run — 282 

$42  yr. —  3,108 

$30  yr. —  8,490 

500,000-700,000 

1st  run — 75 

Subsequent  run — 153 

$48  yr. —  3,600 

$36  yr. —  5,508 

700,000-1,000,000 

1st  run — 88 

Subsequent  run — 134 

$72  yr.—  6,336 
$42  yr. —  5,628 

1,000,000  and  over 

1st  run — 120 

2nd  run — 178 

Subsequent  run - 571 

$96  yr. —  11,520 
$48  yr. —  8,544 

$36  yr. —  20,556 

Total  $181,362 

Cost  of  the  code  is  expected  to  be  $360,000  annually,  with  the  producers  and 
distributors  paying  the  rest.  Assessment  blanks  have  been  mailed  out.  Once  they 
are  paid,  receipts  will  be  returned.  It  is  necessary  to  pay  the  assessment,  under 
an  executive  order  of  the  President. 


Hearings  Begin  Soon 

Hearings  before  the  local  grievance 
boards  are  expected  to  begin  as  soon  as 
quarters  are  set. 

It  looks  as  if  the  first  cases  will  be 
heard  this  week  or  next. 

Cases  already  sent  in  to  the  Code 
Authority  have  been  sent  back  to  the 
local  hoards  and  will  be  taken  up  in 
order  of  receipt. 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


May  1 T  34 


M.  P  .T.  O.  A.  Includes  Industry  Ills 

in  Discussions  at  Coast  Convention 

Kuykendall  Again  Re-elected  to  Organization’s  Presi¬ 
dency  —  Guests  Entertained  by  Studios  —  Many  Resolu¬ 
tions  Passed — Mayer  Hits  Indes 


Publix  Houses  Shitt 

The  latest  rumor  regarding  the 
Tower,  Nixon,  Roosevelt  and  Frankford 
was  that  the  quartet  was  to  go  to 
either  A1  Boyd  or  the  Comerford 


The  MPTOA  met  at  Los  Angeles,  had  five  days  of  meetings,  studio  sessions 
and  touched  on  practically  all  the  problems  of  the  business. 


interests. 

Both  rumors  were  around  before  but 
they  seemed  hot  last  week-end. 


Heard  In 


V 


INE  STREET 


Please  Tell 
Who  He  Is 


A  READER  send 
photograph.  .  .  .  He 
...  It  seems  that  he 


Who  Is  He? 

arise,  he  is  johnny 
goes  to  show  what 


s  in  the  accompanying 
would  like  identification, 
found  it  among  some  old 
papers  dating  back  to 
1905  and  thinks  this 
might  be  a  picture  of 
Ichabad  T.  Aspyrin, 
who  used  to  be  a  star 
for  Moment  Pictures 
back  in  the  first  days  of 
the  industry.  .  .  . 

Others  were  of  the 
opinion  that  this  might 
be  a  member  of  the 
exhibition  fraternity. 
...  At  any  rate,  this 
department  offers  a 
prize  to  the  fellow  who 
guesses  it.  .  .  .  One  of 
the  exhibs  who  gets  on 
the  street  quite  often 
certainly  is  a  great  help 
to  his  employees.  .  .  . 
He  helps  supply  new 
teeth  to  those  who  need 
it  and  when  worries 
i  the  spot,  also.  ...  It 
od  will  means. 


MPTO  members  in  good  standing  now 
have  cards  which  indicate  whether  dues  are 
paid.  .  .  .  Cards  also  give  paid-up  members 

right  to  use  the  facilities  of  the  organization 
in  code  hearing  matters. 


On  Local  Board 


M.  B.  Comerford 

is  the  affiliated  representative  on  the  local 
grievance  board.  M.  B.,  who  is  one  of  the 
active  heads  of  the  Comerford  chain,  will 
function  in  the  affiliated  capacity.  His  ap¬ 
pointment  was  greeted  by  exhibitors  in 
general  throughout  the  territory. 


APEX  GARAGE'S  Shorty  is  putting  on 
weight.  .  .  .  Meanwhile,  the  garage  offers 

spring  services.  .  .  .  Herman  Rubin  getting 
thinner.  .  .  .  Worrying  when  the  Mae  West 
picture  will  come  along.  .  .  .  Joe  Suskind,  the 
dynamo  of  Quality  Print,  always  getting  up 
interesting  ideas. 


That  is  the  record  accomplished  by  theatre- 
members  and  invited  guests  during  the  period 
from  April  10-14. 

Highlights  included  a  resolution  asking  for 
15%  cancellation  privileges  instead  of  10% 
under  the  code ;  one  asking  for  abolition  of 
score  charges ;  another  asking  for  a  revamping 
of  insurance  rates  for  theatres  downward; 
others  pledging  support  of  clean  advertising ; 
opposition  to  free  radio  shows  in  halls ;  call¬ 
ing  for  conferences  on  production  with  pro¬ 
ducers  ;  revising  clauses  in  code  on  non-the¬ 
atricals  ;  and  other  matters. 

Will  Hays  led  the  speakers  at  the  convention 
banquet,  urging  ethics  in  production  and  in 
advertising.  Other  industry  leaders  also  spoke. 

Louis  B.  Mayer,  Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 
drew  a  lot  of  attention  when  he  said  there  was 
no  place  for  the  makers  of  cheap  pictures.  He 
also  tried  to  discredit  the  alleged  block  booking 
bugaboo  by  saying  that  exhibs  all  like  to  play 
money  pictures,  regardless  of  content. 

Ed  Levy  spoke  on  legal  matters.  Ed  Kuy¬ 
kendall  again  hit  publication  of  box  office  fig¬ 
ures.  Mrs.  Thomas  G.  Winter  spoke  on 
women’s  clubs.  Cecil  D.  DeMille  spoke  against 
censorship. 

The  M.  P.  T.  O.  A.  took  credit  for  the  10% 
cancellation  clause.  Ed  Kuykendall  and  Fred 
Meyer  hit  Allied  in  their  reports.  Report  of 
secretary  Mike  O'Toole  was  read.  Kuyken¬ 
dall  praised  Sol  A.  Rosenblatt,  who  wasn’t 
there,  but  who  sent  a  telegram. 


Broadway,  Camden,  Burns 

Fire  of  unknown  origin  burned  the  new 
Broadway,  Camden,  last  week-end,  leaving  only 
four  walls  standing.  House  had  been  converted 
from  a  bank  into  a  model  theatre. 

House  will  undoubtedly  be  rebuilt  immedi¬ 
ately.  Loss  was  placed  at  $25,000. 


tion  in  Atlantic  City.  .  .  .  Most  of  them  co¬ 
operated. 


FRANKIE  DARRO  has  been  signed  by 
Mascot  Pictures  Corporation  for  a  feature  role 
in  “Burn  ’Em  Up  Barnes,”  one  of  four  serials 
planned  by  Mascot  for  1934-35  release,  Gold 
Medal  asserts. 

GOLD  MEDAL  has  “The  Lost  Jungle” 
working  throughout  the  territory  and  exhibs 
proclaim  the  merits  of  the  serial.  ...  It 
is  available  in  several  versions.  .  .  .  Tony 

Lucchese  is  still  ill,  is  expected  hack  within 
a  few  weeks.  .  .  .  Meanwhile,  the  current 

hit  at  the  exchange  is  ‘‘Enlighten  Thy  Daugh¬ 
ter,”  which  made  Harry  Spiegel,  Family, 
Scranton,  wire  that  he  had  played  the  picture 
to  capacity  business  and  that  civic  leaders 
had  called  the  picture  a  second  ‘‘What  Price 
Innocence.”  .  .  .  Spiegel  said  it  was  great 

for  any  theatre  and  should  get  a  lot  of  money 
anywhere.  .  .  .  Which  speaks  mighty  well 

for  it.  .  .  .  “Little  Tin  Soldier,”  a  Corni- 

Color  cartoon,  is  getting  an  S-W  play. 


MASTERPIECE  will  have  ‘‘The  Fighting 
Rookie,”  with  Jack  LaRue,  in  shortly.  .  .  . 
Pop  Korson  is  resting  at  home.  .  .  .  Due 

credit  must  be  given  Dr.  Lownes  who  helped 
pull  him  through. 

SAM  BLATT  is  now  with  Quality  Premium. 
.  .  .  Sam  is  a  real  oldtimer  and  knows  all  the 
exhibitors  of  the  territory.  .  .  .  As  a  veteran 
MPTO  member  and  a  manager,  he  will  add 
much  to  Quality.  .  .  .  He  will  act  as  special 
representative. 

CHARLES  ROSENZWEIG,  First  Division 
sales  manager,  a  visitor  on  the  street.  .  .  .  Les¬ 
ter  Whelan,  Harold  Lloyd  aide-de-camp,  also 
hopped  in  for  a  spell.  .  .  .  Auditor  Burke 

still  here,  but  no  car  trouble  of  late.  .  .  .  C. 
C.  Pippin,  Metro,  no  longer  advance  man  for 
“Eskimo”  dog  team.  .  .  .  Ducking  since  he 
heard  hippo  bally  on  “Tarzan  and  His  Mate.” 
.  .  .  Exchanges  on  the  street  lent  prints  to  the 
SMPE  for  showing  during  the  unit’s  conven- 


LOCAL  RKO  EXCHANGE  expects  to  cut 
itself  a  piece  of  cake  following  the  comple¬ 
tion  of  its  drive.  .  .  .  Manager  Frank  Mc- 

Namee  has  been  working  night  and  day 
assisted  by  the  entire  office  and  plenty  of 
dates  have  come  in.  .  .  .  It  looks  like  Philly 
will  finally  bring  home  the  proverbial  bacon. 
.  .  .  Folks  at  Warners  have  already  cut 

their  cake,  the  local  office,  thanks  to  the 
good  work  of  Manager  Bob  Mochrie  and  the 
support  of  exhibitors,  having  been  in  the 
money.  .  .  .  Over  at  Fox,  A1  Davis  has  been 
getting  the  local  force  functioning  more  effi¬ 
ciently  than  ever  before,  which  means  added 
service  for  exhibitors. 

DAVID  BARRIST  tells  the  one  about  the 
exhibitor  who  was  so  religious  he  wouldn’t 
play  “Three  Little  Pigs.”  .  .  .  Harry  Dembow 
said  “Eight  Girls  in  a  Boat”  was  cut  so  badly 
there  were  only  six  girls  when  he  got  the  print. 

(See  page  16) 


10 


May  1 1 34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


Heard  In ' 


C 


ROSSTOWN 

FD  Trade  Show 
at  Fays. 


A  LARGE  NUMBER  of  exhibitors  attended 
the  First  Division  tradeshow  at  Fay’s  Theatre, 
recently,  with  “Beggars  in  Ermine''  and  “Stolen 
Sweets”  the  two  pictures  that  were  unveiled 
as  well  as  travel  reel.  .  .  .  Hoot  Gibson  was 
a  guest  and  Manager  A1  Blofson  was  there 
greeting  all  exhibs  in  person.  .  .  .  Harry 

Slatko  is  back  at  the  Lincoln  after  being  at  the 
Pearl  for  a  spell.  .  .  .  When  the  theatre  in 
Emaus  ran  Sunday  shows,  a  minister  of  a 
Polish  church,  associated  in  the  Sunday  show, 
paid  the  fine. 

HOWARD  S.  CULLMAN,  managing  direc¬ 
tor,  Roxy,  New  York  City,  addressed  the 
Consumers’  League  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania 
on  the  question  of  ‘  Workman’s  Compensa¬ 
tion”  last  week.  .  .  .  Wissahickon  Theatre, 

assessed  at  $10,000,  has  been  transferred 
from  P.  S.  F.  S.  to  B.  Cohen.,  for  $10,000. 

WILLARD  PATTERSON  is  no  longer 
connected  with  the  Warner  theatres  here  and 
in  New  York.  ...  He  has  resigned  to  go 
into  exhibition  in  Detroit.  ...  He  is  succeeded 
by  Frank  Phelps,  formerly  with  Warners  in 
the  midwest.  .  .  .  Patterson  was  well  liked 

and  will  be  missed  in  the  territory.  .  .  .  Leon 
J.  Bamberger,  sales  promotion.  Radio,  addressed 
the  Federation  of  Clubwomen  here.  .  .  .  Frank 
McNamee,  Radio  chieftain,  also  spoke.  .  .  . 
ERPI  gave  a  demonstration  at  Franklin  Insti¬ 
tute  last  week.  .  .  .  Some  interesting  develop¬ 
ments  in  sound  were  observed  by  those  invited 
to  attend. 

FAY’S  may  stay  open  all  summer  if  busi¬ 
ness  warrants.  .  .  .  House  gets  new  seats, 

renovation,  etc.,  and  new  ventilating  system. 
.  .  .  Sid  Stanley  still  working  hard.  .  .  . 

Vogue  threatening  to  re-open  again.  .  .  . 

Mary  Pickford  didn’t  do  the  business  she 
might  have.  .  .  .  Act  received  swell  pub¬ 

licity,  but  apparently  it  was  the  wrong  house 
for  the  star  even  though  she  was  well  sold 
here.  .  .  .  Earle  down  to  four  acts.  .  .  . 
Fay’s  still  giving  eight  but  going  to  unit 
shows  occasionally.  .  .  .  Sid  Stanley  still 

selling  them  in  a  terrific  manner.  .  .  .  Looks 
like  another  tough  summer  for  theatres. 


ONE  EXHIBITOR  says  that  another  ex¬ 
hibitor  was  giving  out  two  premiums  that  cost 
him  11  cents  each,  with  the  admission  two  bits. 
.  .  .  And  that  another  double  features  until 
nine,  and  at  the  nine  o’clock  show  gives  otr 
premiums.  .  .  .  Sounds  rather  impossible,  but 
he  says  it  is  so. 


As  they  met  for 
the  first  time. 


LOCAL  ZONING 
BOARD  —  Harry 
Weiner,  Leonard 
Schlesinger,  Mil- 
t  o  n  Rogasner. 
Seated:  Charles 

Segal,  Percy 
Bloch,  Lou 
Linker. 


LOCAL  GRIEV¬ 
ANCE  BOARD — 
Frank  McNamee, 
Michael  Landow. 
Seated:  L  e  w  e  n 
Pizor,  M.  B.  Com- 
erford. 


TEN  YEARS  AGO.  .  .  .  Stanley  was  cele¬ 
brating  its  tenth  anniversary.  .  .  .  Joined  the 
MPTO.  .  .  .  Jules  Mastbaum  pledged  support. 
.  .  .  Offices  of  Stanley  Company  were  opened 
in  New  York.  .  .  .  Green  and  Altman  took 
over  the  Avon.  .  .  .  Metro  combined  with 

Goldwyn.  .  .  .  S.  Wittman  joined  Universal, 
resigning  from  De  Luxe.  .  .  .  Bill  Heenan 
month  exceeded  expectations. 


EDDIE  SHERMAN  as  busy  as  ever  book¬ 
ing  big  shows  into  Fay’s  as  well  as  into  plenty 
of  other  good  houses.  .  .  .  He  has  spotted 
Helen  Kane  upstate  in  Wilkes-Barre  and 
Scranton  for  Comerford  and  plans  other  big 
bookings.  .  .  .  His  Hip,  Baltimore,  bookings 
include  all  the  headliners  of  stage,  screen  and 
radio. 

(See  page  35) 


10%  Cancellation  Privilege  Is  Yours 


OSCAR  L.  GRAY  has  sold  his  interest,  a 
partnership,  to  Thomas  E.  Ayres,  a  former 
partner,  in  the  Sussex  Theatre,  Georgetown, 
Delaware,  and  Palace,  Seaford,  Delaware.  .  .  . 
He  is  now  with  Warners  in  Hagerstown.  .  .  . 
Ayres  will  manage  both  houses. 

THE  GLENSIDE  HOUSE  which  adver¬ 
tised  3  features  says  it  was  a  mistake.  .  .  . 
House  never  intended  to  show  three  and  daily 
made  an  error,  report  says.  .  .  .  Harold  D. 
Cohen,  Rialto,  Lewistown,  conducts  a  column 
in  the  paper  up  there.  .  .  .  Talks  about  movies. 

STANLEY  PODSIALIK  has  the  Garden, 
Buttonwood.  .  .  .  Chestnut  Opera  House, 

Sunbury,  closed.  .  .  .  Alex  Chervinsky  has 

the  Middleburg  Keystone.  .  .  .  A  lot  of  houses 
seem  to  be  going  in  for  double  premiums. 


Regardlessl  of  what  any  exchange  may  tell  you,  the  10%  cancellation  privilege 
is  the  right  of  the  exhibitor  who  is  in  good  standing  who  has  signed  thet  code,  who 
has  not  signed  the  code  but  who  has  paid  his  assessment,  and  who  bought  product 
of  a  company  100%. 

At  least  one  exchange  oi^  the  street  is  working  under  a  misinterpretation.  No 
exchange  can  refuse  to  honor  the  10%  cancellation  if  the  exhibitor  is  entitled  to  it. 
If  an  exhibitor  wishes  to  cancel  a  picture,  notify  the  exchange.  The  exchange  finds 
out  from  the  local  board  secretary  whether  the  exhibitor  is  entitled  to  the  can¬ 
cellation. 

NO  EXCHANGE  CAN  FAIL  TO  HONOR  THE  CANCELLATION  PRIVILEGE, 

regardless  of  what  may  be  told  the  exhibitor  by  the  booker,  office  manager  or 
anyone  else.  If  an  exhibitor  still  is  reticent  about  taking  advantage  of  the  privilege, 
it  is  his  own  fault  if  he  doesn’t  benefit. 

An  exhibitor  who  signs  the  code  and  pays  his  assessment  is  entitled  to  all 
privileges  of  the  code.  An  exhibitor  who  hasn’t  signed  the  code  doesn’t  have  to 
pay  an  assessment.  But  an  exhibitor  who  hasn’t  signed  the  code  but  who  has  paid 
the  assessment  can  get  the  benefits  of  thef  cancellation  ruling.  He  cannot,  however, 
bring  action  against  anyone  through  the  boards,  but  has  the  right  to  defend  himself 
in  any  such  actions. 


May  1'34  pg.  11 


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12 


May  1 T  34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


A  Concise 
National  Survey 

TRADE  IX  REVIEW 

m 

Glances  Outside 
the  Territory 

2 _ 

■i  ^ 

PRODUCTION 

Fox  Elects  Directors 
and  Offi  cers  for  Year 

Stockholders  of  Fox  re-elected  the  following 
directors : 

Sidney  R.  Kent,  W.  C.  Michel,  John  D. 
Clark,  Harley  L.  Clark,  H.  Donald  Campbell, 
Richard  F.  Hoyt,  Hon.  Daniel  O.  Hastings, 
Arthur  W.  Loasby,  Ernest  W.  Niver,  Herman 

G.  Place,  Seton  Porter  and  Sydney  Towell. 
Directors  re-elected  the  following  officers : 

Sidney  R.  Kent,  president ;  William  C. 
Michel,  executive  vice-president ;  Winfield 
Sheehan,  vice-president  in  charge  of  produc¬ 
tion;  Sydney  Towell,  treasurer:  Felix  A. 
Jenkins,  secretary;  John  P.  Edmondson  and 
J.  H.  Lang,  assistant  secretaries ;  W.  S.  Bell 
and  R.  B.  Simonson,  assistant  treasurers. 

Ferguson  Leads 
AMPA,  Advertising  Body 

William  Ferguson,  Metro  exploitation  head, 
has  been  elected  president  of  the  AMPA,  trade 
ad  and  publicity  body.  Monroe  Greenthal,  UA, 
is  vice-president ;  Paul  Benjamin,  National 
Screen,  treasurer,  and  Harry  N.  Blair,  trade 
writer,  secretary.  Board  of  directors  includes 
Messrs.  Ferguson,  Greenthal,  Benjamin,  Blair, 
John  B.  Flinn,  Louis  Goldberg,  Rutgers  Neil- 
son,  Marvin  Kirsch,  Paul  Gulick.  Walter 
Eberhardt  is  trustee  for  three  years,  with  Hal 
Horne,  representative,  LA  Chamber  of  Com¬ 
merce.  Ed  McNamee,  Vin  Trotta,  Martin 
Starr  are  on  auditing  committee. 

New  body  made  official  bow  at  trade’s 
"Naked  Truth’’  dinner,  held  in  New  York,  with 
1000  attending. 

Federation  Plans 
Check  On  Its  Ads 

The  Federation  of  the  Motion  Picture  Indus¬ 
try  will  check  its  ads  and  pictures,  according 
to  a  ruling  recently  made.  President  Harry 

H.  Thomas  was  given  authority  to  appoint  a 
committee  to  censor  all  ads  of  the  body  and 
regulate  practices. 

Metro  to  Have 
Own  Newsreel  in  Fall 

Metro  will  have  its  own  Hearst  newsreel  in 
the  fall,  breaking  the  Metro-Fox  arrangement. 
New  reel  is  expected  around  October.  Fox 
Movietone  will  continue  to  make  its  own. 

Majestic  Sets  Plans 
For  New  Season 

Majestic  plans  to  complete  its  schedule. 
Larrv  Darmour  is  the  new  producer.  Fran¬ 
chise  holders  are  enthusiastic  over  the  future 
and  intend  to  deliver  everything  promised. 

Horne  Praised 
For  “Palooka”  Copy 

Hal  Horne,  UA  ad  and  publicity  chief,  came 
in  for  praise  from  The  American  Spectator 
when  that  publication  gave  him  honor  for  the 
best  advertising  copy  of  the  year,  according 
to  their  judgment.  ‘‘Palooka"  was  the  picture. 


CODE 

Code  Appoints 
Various  Committees 

The  Code  Authority  has  appointed  various 
committees.  Here  they  are  ; 

Supervising  Code  Compliance — Sidney  Kent, 
chairman;  Ed  Kuykendall,  Nicholas  M. 
Schenck. 

Finance — Nate  Yamins,  chairman ;  Sidney  R. 
Kent,  H.  M.  Warner. 

Legal — Austin  C.  Keough,  chairman;  J.  Rob¬ 
ert  Rubin,  Willard  McKay. 

Production — W.  Ray  Johnston,  chairman;  J. 
Robert  Rubin,  H.  S.  Bareford. 

Unfair  Competition  from  Outside  Industry- — 
Ed  Kuykendall,  chairman ;  Charles  L.  O’Reilly, 
George  Skouras. 

Labor — Charles  L.  O’Reilly,  chairman;  Wil¬ 
lard  Patterson,  Major  L.  E.  Thompson. 

Vaudeville — Charles  Moskowitz,  chairman; 
Sam  Dembow,  Major  L.  E.  Thompson. 

Administration  of  Local  Grievance  Boards — 
R.  H.  Cochrane,  chairman,  Nate  Yamins,  H.  S. 
Bareford. 

Administration  of  Local  Zoning  Boards — 
George  J.  Schaefer,  chairman ;  Charles  L. 
O'Reilly,  M.  FI.  Aylesworth. 

Code  Cancellation 
Requested  to  Be  Checked 

Before  an  exhibitor  can  get  the  cancellation 
benefits  under  the  code,  his  record  will  be 
checked  by  the  CA  secretary  to  see  whether  or 
not  he  has  complied  with  the  code. 

Flinn  Meets  Board 
Secretaries  of  Country 

John  C.  Flinn,  Code  Authority  secretary, 
hopped  out  to  California,  planned  to  hold  four 
regional  meetings  with  local  board  secretaries. 

Premium  Vote  Up 
To  Grievance  Board 

Vote  on  whether  or  not  territories  will  keep 
premiums  will  be  in  the  hands  of  local  griev¬ 
ance  boards.  Formal  application  for  suchj  vote 
must  be  made.  If  75%  of  the  territory  votes 
against  them,  they  will  be  dropped. 

DISTRIBUTION 

Convention  Season 
Begins  In  All  Sections 

The  convention  season  begins.  Paramount 
district  managers  scheduled  April  28-29  for  a 
pre-convention  session  in  Chicago.  Annual 
sales  meet  is  to  be  held  at  the  Ambassador, 
Los  Angeles,  June  18-20. 

Radio  holds  a  Chicago  meeting  June  18-20 
at  the  Drake. 

Columbia  intends  to  meet  in  May  in  East 
and  West.  UA  may  not  have  a  big  session. 

Fox  meets  in  New  York  May  31,  June  1  and 
2  in  New  York.  A  series  of  meetings  will  be 
held. 

Universal  has  its.  session  in  New  York  City, 
June  5-7.  Carl  Laemmle  will  attend. 


Metro  to  Distribute 
Its  Own  Trailers 

Metro  plans  to  distribute  its  own  trailers 
beginning  in  1935.  Warners  is  the  other  major 
company  making  and  handling  its  own  trailers. 

EXHIBITION 

Employees’  Unions 
Stirring  Industry 

Organizations  of  employees’  unions  through¬ 
out  the  country  have  been  strengthened  con¬ 
siderably  since  their  organization.  In  New 
York  City  strike  menace  grew.  In  Philadel¬ 
phia,  expansion  of  organization  is  beginning. 
The  movement  is  spreading,  and  eventually,  it 
is  expected,  all  corners  of  the  country  will  be 
touched. 

Fewer  and  Better, 

Cry  of  MPTOA 

Make  them  fewer  and  better  seems  to  be  the 
cry  of  the  MPTOA.  Those  who  shout,  how¬ 
ever,  offer  no  formula.  It  has  been  proved  so 
many  times  in  this  business  that  quantity  has 
nothing  to  do  with  quality  that  one  wonders. 

MPTOA  Dual  Stand 
Not  Taken  Seriously 

Stand  of  the  MPTOA,  discrediting  dual  bills, 
wasn’t  taken  seriously  by  the  trade.  Body 
afterwards  endorsed  independent  pictures  of 
merit.  Antics  of  the  MPTOA  in  the  whole 
affair  provided  lots  of  laughs  to  trade  in  gen¬ 
eral.  While  doubles  stand  was  surprise,  effect 
was  virtually  nil. 

NVA  Week  Observed 
In  Many  Theatres 

Once  again  NVA  Week,  beginning  May  4, 
holds  attention  of  industry.  Metropolitan  com¬ 
mittee,  with  Harold  Rodner  active,  supervised 
details.  Funds  go  toward  NVA  work. 

Exhibs  Generally 
Favor  Code  Success 

Exhibitors  throughout  the  country  generally 
favor  the  success  of  the  code.  It  is  felt  that 
if  the  boards  are  honest,  everything  that  will 
result  from  their  operation  must  help  the  indus¬ 
try.  First  decision  of  the  boards,  in  mid-west, 
resulted  in  favor  of  an  inde,  in  a  dispute  with  a 
circuit. 

Price  Boosts 
Sought  in  Sectors 

Organized  price  boosts  have  been  instituted 
in  many  spots.  In  Detroit,  for  example,  all 
theatres  got  together,  with  the  exception  of  one. 
It  is  felt  that  such  a  system  would  be  a  success 
where  buying  power  of  patrons  can  stand  the 
increase. 

Co-Op  Buying 
Increases  in  Mid-West 

From  the  mid-west  come  reports  of  increase 
in  buying  combines.  In  the  east,  too,  such  ideas 
have  been  discussed,  with  indes  ready  to  buck- 
chains’  power.  Where  such  units  are  organ¬ 
ized,  invariably  they  help  the  exhibitor. 


battle  Via  Man  summer  Slump  will 
a  Timely  Premium  Deal !  ^  13 

Start  now  with  a  strong  premium  that  will 
carry  on  through  the  summer. 

PIECES  THAT  FIT  THE  HOUSEWIVES'  SUMMER 
REQUIREMENTS 


Hand  Blown  and  Hand  Cut 

TWO  TONE 

Crystal  Glassware!  Set 

Of  a  standard  of  excel¬ 
lence  that  you  will  recognize 
immediately.  Perfect  in  every 
detail.  A  sure  hit  with  the 
best  type  of  patronage. 


36  Pieces  •  All  Flash 


Priced  Right 


Must  be  seen  to  be  appreciated! 

Repeal  or  Beverage  Se 


IN  GREEN 

Wines  and  Drinks,  and  how 
to  serve  them,  are  timely 
topics  to  every  housewife. 
Cash  in  on  it  with  this 
exquisite  set. 


20  or  28  Pieces 


Priced  Within  Your  Limit 


By  Any  Standard  of  Comparison  You  Get  the  Most  for  the  Least  in 

STREIMER  PREMIUMS 


SEE 

These  Sets! 

NOW  ON  DISPLAY 

AT  OUR  PHILADELPHIA 
SHOWROOM 

1316  Vine  Street 

DAVE  STAIIK. M\> 
3fanttf/er 


FOR  FURTHER  INFORMATION  MAIL  THIS  COUPON  TO 

STREIMER  AD  SERVICE 

DIRECT  FACTORY  REPRESENTATIVES 

352  West  44th  Stv  New  York  City  Phone — LAckawanna  4-5045 

NAME  _ THEATRE _ 

ADDRESS  _ CITY _ STATE _ 

; 

WASHINGTON  GOLD  BANDED  DINNERWARE  □  REPEAL  OR  BEVERAGE  SET 
SILHOUETTE  PLATINUM  LINED  DINNERWARE  □  TWO  TONED  GLASSWARE 
CHERRY  BLOSSOM  GLASS  DINNERWARE  □  JADITE  KITCHENWARE 

MARINE  BLUE  (22k.)  GOLD  SPRAY  DINNERWARE  □  CRYSTAL  GLASSWARE 

Check  Item  (X) 

ALL  MADE  IN  U.  S.  A. 


14 


May  1*34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


New  Hershey  Policy 

Hershey  Community  Theatre,  Hershey,  in¬ 
augurated  a  new  policy,  beginning  April  19, 
which  includes  eight  selected  acts  appearing  in 
the  stage  presentations.  With  admission  prices 
remaining  unchanged,  the  stage  acts  will  be 
shown  Thursdays,  Fridays  and  Saturdays  with 
short  subjects,  such  as  news,  colortones,  trave¬ 
logues,  comedies,  Silly  Symphonies  and  Mickey 
Mouse,  on  the  screen  to  round  two  and  one- 
half  hours  of  entertainment. 


1934-35 

First  in  the  field  to  announce  a  com¬ 
plete  program  of  Eight  Liberty  Specials 
for  1934-35. 

NOW  COMPLETED 

"CHEATERS" 

starring 
BILL  BOYD 
DOROTHY  MACKAILL 
JUNE  COLLYER 

"WHEN  STRANGERS  MEET" 

starring 

RICHARD  CROMWELL 
ARLINE  JUDGE 

"TAKE  THE  STAND" 

starring 
JACK  LARUE 
THELMA  TODD 
GAIL  PATRICK 
RUSSELL  HOPTON 

"NO  RANSOM" 

starring 

PHILLIPS  HOLMES 
LEILA  HYAMS 
JACK  LARUE 
ROBERT  McWADE 

• 

IN  PRODUCTION 

"STRANGE  HONEYMOON" 

starring 

MARION  NIXON 
NEIL  HAMILTON 

• 

IN  PREPARATION 

"TWO  HEADS  ON  A  PILLOW" 

"SCHOOL  FOR  GIRLS" 

"WITHOUT  CHILDREN" 

• 

LIBERTY  PICTURES  CORPORATION 

M.  H.  HOFFMAN,  Pres. 

BUDD  ROGERS,  Gen.  Sales  Mgr. 

1776  BROADWAY,  N.  Y,  C.  COL.  5-1784 

Distributed  by 

Hollywood  Film  Exchanges,  Inc. 

PHILADELPHIA 


Give  Him  Dates 


A1  Blofson 


manager,  First  Division  exchange,  deserves 
the  co-operation  of  all  exhibitors  during  the 
current  First  Division  date  drive  for  the 
month  of  May.  Blofson  has  a  sweet  lineup 
of  features  of  all  kinds  and  asks  inde  sup¬ 
port.  That  he  will  get  it  is  certain  as  FD 
has  delivered  dough  films  to  exhibitors  this 
season. 


Heard  In 


ILKE5-BARRE 

Penner  Big 
News  Here 


By  Mac 


JOHN  GALVIN,  Penn,  seems  to  be  leading 
the  field  in  the'  way  of  promotion.  .  .  .  After 
the  way  Joe  Penner  jammed  the  South  Main 
Street  playhouse,  thanks  to  some  salesmanship 
that  has  not  been  equalled  in  the  show  business  in 
these  parts  in  years,  John  has  a  real  mark  to 
shoot  at.  .  .  .  A1  Cox,  Irving,  gave  the  town  a 
thrill  during  the  week  with  a  midnight  spook 
show,  featuring  an  Indian  mystic.  .  .  . 

Orpheum  returned  to  the  split  week.  .  .  .With 
its  lower  admission,  it  should  give  the  larger 
central  city  places  some  real  competition.  .  .  . 
Fred  Hermann  is  still  busy  with  his  renovations 
at  the  Capitol.  .  .  .  “It  Happened  One  Night,” 
was  the  talk  of  the  town.  .  .  .  Zimmerman 
apparel  shop  had  a  lobby  display  of  styles. 

FORTY  FORT  now  seems  determined  to 
have  its  own  theatre.  .  .  .  West  Side  town 

is  dickering  with  the  officials  of  Wilkes-Barre 
Institute  for  the  use  of  the  auditorium  and 
equipment  at  the  school. 


THROUGH  THE  COURTESY  of  John 
Galvin,  Penn,  Benny  Meroff  and  his  orchestra 
appeared  at  the  Boston  Store.  .  .  .  Improve¬ 
ment  in  local  mining  conditions  is  showing  in 
the  small  houses.  .  .  .  Capitol  had  an  adver¬ 
tising  display  at  the  gathering  of  University 
of  Pennsylvania  students  during  the  week. 


Joe  Rossheim  Resigns 

Joe  Rossheim,  veteran  theatre  operator,  and 
for  many  years  assoc:ated  with  Lou  Berman 
and  United  Chain,  has  resigned. 

He  was  booker  for  the  circuit  and  an  impor¬ 
tant  factor  in  the  buying. 


Majestic,  Harrisburg,  Opens 

Majestic  Theatre,  Harrisburg,  opened  as  a 
first-run  motion  picture  house,  April  20. 

A  Wilmer  and  Vincent  theatre,  the  Majestic, 
closed  most  of  the  time  in  recent  years,  never 
had  shown  motion  pictures  until  the  last  mo¬ 
ment  because  outside  interests  had  been  dick¬ 
ering  with  Wilmer  and  Vincent  at  their  New 
York  offices  for  control  of  the  Harrisburg 
theatre. 

John  D.  O’Rear,  manager,  Victoria,  Harris¬ 
burg,  for  the  last  few  years,  was  appointed 
manager  of  the  Majestic.  Girard  Wollaston, 
former  ticket  taker,  Victoria,  and  assistant 
manager,  State,  Harrisburg,  has  been  made 
manager,  Victoria.  Francis  A.  Deverter  has 
become  assistant  manager,  State. 

While  manager  of  the  Victoria,  O’Rear  was 
shifted  to  the  Majestic  occasionally. 


. is  the  order 

of  the  day  at  ...  . 


SERVICE,  Inc. 


1228  Vine  Street 
PHILADELPHIA 

New  York  Washington 

Scranton  Baltimore 


HORLACHER’S  never  fails! 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


May  1  ’34 


15 


Hint  National  Film  Buyers’  Meeting 

To  Combat  Predicted  Film  Cost  Boost 


N.  V.  A.  Drive  Set 

Scope  of  this  year’s  NVA  Drive, 
which  runs  for  seven  days  beginning 
May  4,  has  been  greatly  broadened 
through  the  co-operation  of  the  eight 
major  distributing  companies,  follow¬ 
ing  a  luncheon  given  to  their  sales 
managers  by  Major  L.  E.  Thompson, 
RKO,  chairman  of  the  drive. 

Thirty-two  zone  chairmen  were  set  up, 
covering  the  entire  United  States, 
through  the  appointment  of  four  of  their 
branch  managers  by  each  of  the  eight 
companies.  Each  zone  chairman  is 
forming  a  committee  composed  of 
branch  managers  and  outstanding  exhib¬ 
itors  in  his  territory.  They  are  inviting 
the  more  enterprising  exhibitors  to  par¬ 
ticipate  in  the  NVA  Drive  in  associa¬ 
tion  with  Publix,  RKO,  Loew,  Warner 
Bros.,  Fox-West  Coast,  Skouras  Bros., 
and  the  United  Artists  circuits.  These 
circuits  have  already  agreed  to  show  the 
one  reel  all-star  short,  which  is  the 
basis  of  the  drive,  in  all  their  theatres. 

Bob  Lynch,  at  Metro,  is  chairman  for 
this  zone. 

Stanley-Warner  as  well  as  all  circuits 
and  indes  are  co-operating.  The  reel 
available  free  for  all  houses  includes 
Walter  Huston,  Lanny  Ross,  Bob  Mont¬ 
gomery,  Block  and  Sully  and  Schnozzle 
Durante.  A  collection  will  be  made  in 
theatres. 


Definite  Trend  to 
Schnader  Seen  by  Trade 

Definite  trend  to  William  A.  Schnader 
as  Republican  nominee  for  governor  of 
the  state  is  meeting  with  approval  of  the 
film  faction  of  the  state’s  industry. 

Schnader  also  is,  at  present,  president  of  the 
Attorney  Generals’  Association  of  the  United 
States. 

Schnader  has  always  been  known  as  a  friend 
of  small  industry,  a  principle  that  will  find  him 
many  followers  among  exhibitors  throughout 
the  state.  During  his  two  careers  as  Attorney 
General  he  gave  evidence  of  his  desire  to  aid 
the  small  man. 

It  is  generally  expected,  when  the  results  of 
the  May  IS  primary  are  announced,  that 
Schnader  will  be  selected  as  the  Republican 
standard  bearer.  While  he  has  not  yet  made 
any  comment  on  problems  that  vitally  affect 
the  motion  picture  industry,  it  is  expected  that 
he  will  shed  light  on  these  matters  if  he  is 
victorious  in  the  primaries. 

A  survey  of  theatrical  men  indicates  a  strong 
approval  for  Schnader.  This  is  expected  to 
weigh  heavily  in  his  favor  when  the  primary 
day  arrives.  Observers  point  out  that  it  is 
high  time  the  motion  picture  industry  took  an 
active  interest  in  the  political  situation. 


MPTO  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey, 
Delaware  Active — Seeking  Reaction  from  Trade — Defi¬ 
nite  Plan  Indicated — Mass  Protest 

Sectional  film  buyers’  conventions  in  New  York,  Chicago  and  the  West  Coast 
are  planned  by  the  MPTO  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Dela¬ 


ware  to  combat  reported  higher  film  prices. 


Gets  Film  Support 


William  A.  Schnader 


Postpone  York  Strike 

Ushers,  doormen,  cashiers  and  other 
employes,  Warner  Brothers’  theatres, 
York  and  Red  Lion,  decided  at  a  meet¬ 
ing  April  29,  at  the  behest  of  federal 
conciliator  Rose  Forrester,  sent  to  York 
by  Secretary  of  Labor  Perkins,  to  hold 
their  strike  in  abeyance  until  May  2,  by 
which  time  Miss  Forrester  hopes  to 
arrange  wage  conferences  with  officials 
of  the  theatre  organization. 

There  were  hopes  of  a  speedy 
settlement.  Meanwhile,  taking  cog¬ 
nizance  of  the  strikers’  demands,  Leon¬ 
ard  Schlessinger,  zone  manager,  issued 
a  statement  answering,  under  eight 
heads,  allegations  made  by  the  union 
officials. 

Statement  said  chain  used  union 
operators,  union  stage  hands,  main¬ 
tained  standards  under  industry  code, 
made  no  cuts  in  salaries  when  industry 
code  was  adopted,  applied  code  scale  to 
new  employees,  indicated  benefits  of 
Warner  Club,  said  chain  was  first  to 
sign  NRA  in  industry,  and  that  company 
had  never  refused  to  meet  with  em¬ 
ployes. 


A  letter  from  that  organization  to  exhibitor 
units  asks  for  co-operation  on  a  definite  plan  of 
relief. 

Unit  recommends  three  meetings,  each  organ¬ 
ization  to  be  represented  by  two  delegates, 
qualified  to  speak  on  behalf  of  constituents, 
non-partisan,  non-political. 

Mass  protest  idea  is  believed  necessary  to 
convince  distributors  of  the  seriousness  of  the 
situation. 

S.  M.  P.  E.  Meets  in 
Convention  at  Shore 

Harry  Blumberg  Active  During 
Technicians'  Session 

The  Spring  Convention  of  the  Society 
of  Motion  Picture  Engineers  at  Atlantic 
City,  last  week,  saw  the  organization 
taking  up  technical  problems  of  the 
industry. 

Harry  Blumberg,  National  Theatre  Supply 
Company,  was  chairman  of  the  local  commit¬ 
tee,  with  J.  Frank,  Jr.,  H.  Walters,  M.  C. 
Batsel,  M.  L.  Swaab,  W.  R.  Baker,  Ben  Blum¬ 
berg,  J.  0.  Baker  and  C.  Treen  associated. 

Many  papers  on  industry  problems  were 
read. 

Highlights  included  an  address  by  Sol  A. 
Rosenblatt,  Divisional  Administrator ;  Presi¬ 
dent  A.  K.  Goldsmith  and  others.  Rosen¬ 
blatt  over  the  air  paid  tribute  to  Lou 
Krouse,  president,  operators’  local  307,  and 
assistant  to  IATSE  president,  for  his  co-oper¬ 
ation  in  labor  matters.  This  was  a  high  honor 
for  Krouse. 

A  new  system  of  noiseless  recording  was 
described  by  RCA  engineers ;  opposition  to  the 
1700-foot  reel,  as  proposed,  was  recorded; 
papers  on  increased  illumination,  etc.,  were  dis¬ 
cussed  ;  possibility  of  color  talkies  was  men¬ 
tioned  ;  a  complete  program  of  entertainment 
was  laid  out  for  guests,  and  the  convention 
ended  with  a  record  of  time  well-spent. 


Charlie  Bayer  Passes 

The  trade  lost  one  of  its  most  respected 
members  when  Charlie  Bayer,  veteran  Lehigh- 
ton  exhibitor,  passed  away.  Charlie  was  one 
of  the  real  old-timers  and  carried  one  of  the 
highest  reputations  in  the  business. 

Attending  the  funeral  were  Moe  Sherman, 
Jesse  Levine,  Dave  Korson,  Cy  Pearlsweig, 
Jeff  Davis,  George  Fishman,  George  Beatty, 
among  others. 

The  deceased  leaves  a  wife,  five  children,  his 
mother,  five  brothers  and  a  sister. 


16 


May  1'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


VINE  STREET 

( Continued  from  page  9) 

FIRST  DIVISION  is  making  a  play  for 
dates.  .  .  .  A1  Blofson  deserves  support  and 
another  reason  is  Etta  Segal  1,  one  of  the  most 
popular  and  capable  bookers  on  the  street. 
.  .  .  Not  only  does  Etta  always  have  a  smile 

ready  for  ex¬ 
hibitors,  but 
she  has  been 
largely  respon¬ 
sible  for  con¬ 
genial  relations 
o  f  exhibitors 
and  the  ex¬ 
change.  .  .  . 

As  office  man¬ 
ager  and  book¬ 
er  she  has  made 
an  enviable  re¬ 
cord.  .  .  .  The 
local  First  Di¬ 
vision  wants  to 
finish  first  in 
the  national 
First  Division 
playdate  drive 
during  May 
and  a  date  for 
the  exchange  will  go  a  long  way  toward  making 
this  possible.  .  .  .  The  entire  office  is  work¬ 
ing  to  get  all  the  dates  possible.  .  .  .  First 
Division  has  many  good  pictures  available,  some 
of  the  newer  crop  being  “Manhattan  Love 
Song,”  “Beggars  in  Ermine/’  “House  of  Mys¬ 
tery”  from  Monogram.  .  .  .  “In  Love  with 
Life,”  “Twin  Husbands,”  “The  Quitter,'1’  from 
Chesterfield.  ...  As  well  as  “Forgotten  Men,” 
“Woman  Condemned’1’  and  others.  .  .  .  “Young 
Eagles,7  the  new  serial,  is  starting  soon.  .  .  . 
Get  your  dates  in  now. 

SAM  PHALEN  is  now  associated  with  the 
“Record.”  .  .  .  He  takes  care  of  the  Amuse¬ 
ment  Guide  which  has  been  so  successful.  .  .  . 
Most  of  the  circuit  and  inde  houses  of  the 
territory  are  subscribers  to  the  Record 
Guide.  .  .  .  And  get  results. 

BEN  PERRY,  the  United  Newsreel  man, 
dropped  into  town.  .  .  .  Said  that  the  Gossips 
and  Explorer  reels,  distributed  by  Herb  Given, 
were  going  good  all  over  the  country.  .  .  .  Ben 
used  to  be  an  Exhibitorite. 

POP  KORSON  went  home  after  a  suc¬ 
cessful  operation,  but  the  Masterpiece  chief¬ 
tain  will  have  to  undergo  another  within  a 
few  weeks.  .  .  .  Meanwhile,  Masterpiece  has 
“Badge  of  Honor,”  with  Buster  Crabbe  avail¬ 
able  for  dating  as  well  as  other  action  pic¬ 
tures. 

LOU  KROUSE,  as  assistant  to  the  presi¬ 
dent,  is  in  charge  of  a  national  checkup  of 
operators  and  stage  employees  to  see  what 
effect  the  code  has  had.  ...  A  special  showing 
of  “20  Million  Sweethearts”  was  arranged  by 
Warners  at  WCAU  for  radio  and  music  people. 
.  .  .  Later,  the  songs  were  plugged  over  air. 

HERB  GIVEN  will  have  an  important  an¬ 
nouncement  to  make  soon.  .  .  .  His  “Death 
Parade”  will  begin  to  work  soon.  .  .  .  “Dawn 
to  Dawn”  played  at  the  shore,  in  the  Strand. 
.  .  .  And  he  has  the  Tom  Tyler  westerns  as 
well.  .  .  .  Jim  Clark,  the  brilliant  Horlacher 
executive,  was  almost  cornered  on  the  clam¬ 
bake  proposition  the  other  day.  .  .  .  But  there 
is  still  a  possibility  of  its  taking  place. 

JOHN  GOLDER  screened  “Take  the  Stand” 
for  exhibitors,  got  a  good  reaction.  .  .  .  Show 
is  a  swell  mystery  murder  drama  that  can  stand 
up  in  any  house  and  will  satisfy  any  audience. 
•  •  •  It  is  to  be  the  second  Hoffman  from 

Hollywood,  following  “Cheaters, ’’’  which  is  al¬ 
ready  playing  around.  .  .  .  Quite  a  lot  of  the 
boys  have  been  playing  the  tracks  a  visit  of 
late. 


To  Be  Honored 


Lou  Krouse 

President  of  Local  307,  operators’  union. 


Ricci  at  Shore 

Armand  T.  Ricci,  well-known  interior  deco¬ 
rator  and  designer,  is  supervising  that  division 
of  work  in  connection  with  the  remodelling  of 
the  Strand  Theatre,  Atlantic  City. 

Ricci  also  contributed  the  same  functions  to 
the  new  Apollo,  Atlantic  City. 


Local  307  Celebrates 
Its  21st  Anniversary 

Unit  Headed  by  Lou  Krouse  Hold 

Dinner-Dance 

Local  307,  operators’  union,  will  hold 
its  21st  anniversary  at  the  Broadwood 
Hotel,  May  6. 

At  7  P.  M.,  that  Sunday  evening,  a  crowd  of 
500  operators,  wives,  friends  and  invited  guests 
will  meet  at  the  hotel,  attend  a  dinner  dance 
and  listen  to  an  address  by  Divisional  Adminis¬ 
trator  Sol  A.  Rosenblatt,  the  guest  of  honor 
and  only  speaker. 

Committee 

The  committee  in  charge  consists  of  Harry 
Abbott,  Abe  (Baker)  Freedman  and  William 
Friedman. 

President  Lou  Krouse  will  be  honored  by  the 
members  for  his  constructive  work  and  the 
manner  in  which  he  has  maintained  amiable  and 
pleasant  relations  between  operator  and  exhib¬ 
itor  factions. 


Delaware  Bills  Dead 

Wilmington  theatre  men  were  resting  on 
their  oars,  feeling  assured  that  the  Elliott  tax 
on  film  bill  was  dead,  at  presstime. 

Bill,  which  supplanted  in  favor  in  the  Plouse 
the  Hopkins  bill  with  its  proposed  ban  against 
divorced  or  scandal-scorched  actors  or  actress, 
was  favorably  reported,  but  never  came  up  for 
a  hearing. 


ON  MV  WAYcTO 
NEW  YORK  AND 
THE  PICCADILLY 


.  .  best  hotel  I  k  now! 
Near  everything,  just 
200  feet  from  Broad¬ 
way.  Modern,  hospit¬ 
able  ,  and  comfortable. 
Like  the  Manager, 
ike  the  rates  —  *2.50 
single,  *3.50  double, 
for  a  room  with  bath ! 

THE  HOTEL  - 

ICC  ADILLY 

45th  St.  •  W.  of  Broadway  •  New  York 

WILLIAM  MADLUNG,  Mjr. 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


May  1'34 


17 


Looking  At  Your  Theatre 
Thru  Other  Fellows*  Eyes 

ONCE  UPON  A  TIME  there  was  an  exhibitor  who  had  an  800-seat  house.  The 
theatre  was  one  of  the  best  in  the  territory,  when  it  was  built  15  years  before,  but  the 
passage  of  time  had  seen  practically  no  improvements  other  than  those  absolutely  needed, 
few  coats  of  paint,  no  new  seats,  no  redecoration  or  anything  which  might  help  in 
bringing  the  house  up  to  date.  And  to  make  a  long  story  short,  business  was  bad. 

IT  STAYED  BAD,  too,  until  an  architect,  friend  of  the  owner,  happened  to  be 
passing,  dropped  in  and  took  a  look  at  the  house.  What  was  intended  to  be  a  drop-in 
visit  turned  out  to  be  a  four-hour  stay.  At  the  end  of  that  period,  the  architect  went 
into  the  office  with  his  friend  and  said:  “How  do  you  expect  to  do  any  business  at  all 
if  you  make  your  house  as  inviting  as  a  chicken  coop?”  The  exhibitor,  who  knew  all 
the  answers  for  salesmen,  was  completely  stumped.  In  fact,  he  was  so  stumped  and 
depressed  by  business  that  he  even  asked  the  architect  to  make  an  estimate  on  what 
complete  renovation  and  redecoration  would  cost.  And  his  amazement  continued  along 
a  different  line  when  the  architect  brought  in  the  figures.  So  amazed  was  he  that  he 
told  the  architect  to  go  ahead. 

WELL,  THE  RESULT  was  that  within  a  few  months,  the  exhibitor  had  practically  a 
new  house  and  business  hopped  so  much  that  the  peak  gross  of  the  pre-restoration  era 
is  now  low  for  the  present  period.  The  exhibitor  is  easily  able  to  meet  all  notes  out 
of  his  weekly  receipts,  the  people  of  the  neighborhood  are  proud  of  their  new  theatre,  the 
architect  has  further  cemented  a  friendship  and  a  moral  that  has  been  presented  to 
theatremen  time  and  time  again  has  been  further  proven. 

THE  STORY  of  this  exhibitor  is  the  story  of  every  exhibitor. 

LET  THE  OTHER  FELLOW  look  at  your  theatre.  Bring  in  an  architect,  designer 
or  technician.  Let  him  inspect  your  house.  Let  him  make  suggestions  for  improvements 
and  when  he  has  completed  his  work  you’ll  be  surprised  to  see  how  cheap  and  how 
easily  the  improvements  can  be  completed.  Soft  seats,  attractive  lighting,  pleasant  sur¬ 
roundings  can  overcome  even  the  weakest  of  pictures. 

ANOTHER  POINT.  The  modern  house)  is  the  best  answer  in  the  world  to  an  oppo¬ 
sition  theatre.  The  exhibitor  who  operates  an  up-to-date  movie  palace  has  no  need  to  be 
depressed.  The  other  fellow  will  think  twice  before  entering  the  zone. 

ARCHITECTS  everywhere  are  ready  to  serve  you.  All  the  other  allied  divisions  of 
the  equipment  business  are  prepared  to  co-operate.  Financing  is  no  longer  the  headache 
or  the  bugaboo  it  used  to  be.  A  new  theatre  is  a  guarantee  of  better  business.  The 
theatreman  who  overlooks  this  point  deserves  the  grosses  that  only  a  rundown,  antiquated 
house  can  bring. 


18 


May  1'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


General  Comfort — 

The  Patron's  Sixth  Sense 

By  JOHN  EBERSON 

Theatre  Architecrnow  in  charge  of 
Theatre  Reconstruction  Department 
National  Theatre  Supply  Company 


WITH  THE  RETURN  of  better  business 
— and  FOR  the  return  of  better  business, 
genuine  showmanship  must  make  itself  felt. 
Lack  of  courage,  vision  and  probably  cash, 
has  allowed  the  average  theatre  to  deteri¬ 
orate  in  its  high  standard  of  service  and 
management,  and  our  “flickeries”  have  been 
reduced  to  a  dangerous  minimum.  Many 
of  our  theatres — and  I  say  a  great  many, 
are  thread-bare,  and  I  warn  you,  the  patron 
feels  this  neglect.  However,  the  real  show¬ 
man  will  not  dodge  his  responsibility  to¬ 
wards  the  theatre-goer  and  his  own  box 
office.  Delayed  and  put  off,  considered  and 
forgotten — the  time  to  remodel  and  recon¬ 
dition  without  further  delay  has  arrived. 

YOU  HAVE  NEGLECTED  the  appear¬ 
ance  of  your  premises  and  ignored  require¬ 
ments  for  the  comfort  of  your  patrons.  The 
experienced  theatre  operator  and  theatre 
architect  realizes  the  prime  requisites  of 
the  modern  motion  picture  theatre  as  being: 

Convenient  and  practical  box  office 
and  seat  approach — by  safe  and  ade¬ 
quate  lighting,  and  demarcation  of 
foyers  and  aisles — spacious  and  prop¬ 
erly  constructed  seating — eye  and  ear 
comfort — proper  ventilating,  and  neat, 
clean  and  properly  located  retiring- 
rooms. 

THE  ISLAND  BOX  OFFICE  with  open 
and  unobstructed  sales  window,  prominently 
and  conveniently  displayed  admission  price, 
is  still  popular.  The  foyer  and  aisle  en¬ 
trance  arrangement  with  with  easy  inviting 
wide  stairs  to  balcony  supplied  with  electric 
direction  signs,  void  of  cross  traffic,  add  to 
patrons’  comfort  and  convenience.  Aisles 
should  be  floor-lighted  and  covered  with 
carpet  with  heavy  underlining — aisle  chair 
standards  should  be  finished  in  light  ivory, 
and  thus  will  form  color  demarcation  and 
helpful  seat-finding  direction  to  daylight 
blinded  patrons.  We  are  inclined  to  recom¬ 
mend  the  use  of  self-closing  seats  for  all 
opera  chairs — the  average  theatre  should 
have  seats  with  box  spring,  or  spring  edge 
seat  construction  with  ventilated  bottom 
boards. 

TO  AVOID  EYE  STRAIN  and  make  pic¬ 
ture  reading  a  pleasure,  the  auditorium 
should  be  decorated  in  a  dull  and  sombre 
color  scheme  void  of  mirror  panels,  gold 
and  glitter.  Illumination  should  be  general 
and  not  spotty,  and  a  practical  theatre 
architect  can  recommend  a  lighting  scheme. 
Sponsoring  ear  comfort,  you  should  check 


the  acoustical  quality  of  your  auditorium. 
If  you  will  allow  an  expert  to  analyze  your 
situation  and  make  recommendations,  the 
average  improvement  will  easily  fall  in  the 
fifty  per  cent  class. 

BUSINESS  has  suffered  and  you  have 
alienated  many  of  your  patrons  because 
theatres  have  been  neglected,  and  in  fair¬ 
ness  to  yourself  and  in  fairness  to  the  cus¬ 
tomers  in  your  community,  and  in  justice 
to  your  property,  intelligent  remodeling  and 
rehabilitation  should  be  undertaken  at 
once.  Do  this  with  the  advice  and  assist¬ 
ance  of  an  experienced  theatre  architect 
specializing  in  this  work,  and  get  a  good 
theatre  decorator.  Clean  out  your  plenum 
chambers  and  ventilating  ducts;  check  over 
your  motors;  check  your  registers  and  the 
distribution  of  air;  check  for  noise  and 
draft;  change  your  lamp  shades  and 
draperies.  Repaint  service  rooms  and 
toilets;  replace  worn-out  fittings  on  your 
plumbing  fixtures,  avoid  deodorants  with 
properly  designed  plumbing  fixtures,  fresh 
air  and  cleanliness.  Check  hardware;  door 
checks  and  weather  strips  and  replace 
broken  glass;  let  your  theatre  architect 
survey  your  property  for  you. 

Let  your  architect  budget  your  remodel¬ 
ing  plans  with  you  and  let  a  specialized 
expert  theatre  supply  house  quote  you  on 
your  requirements. 


THE  MICROPHONE  .  .  . 
HOW  IT  CAN  BE  USED 
TO  ADVANTAGE 

By  C.  A.  McCRORK 

THE  MICROPHONE  is  often  misunder¬ 
stood  and  not  appreciated  by  theatre  man¬ 
agers.  If  the  theatre  has  vaudeville  acts 
interspersed  with  pictures  those  in  the  rear 
of  the  house  and  balcony  will  hear  every 
word  as  clearly  as  those  in  the  first  few 
rows.  Musical  comedy,  or  drama,  the 


theatre  will  profit  by  the  microphone  equip¬ 
ment,  aid  to  hearing. 

AMPLIFICATION  in  the  lobby  is  the 
greatest  advantage  of  the  microphone  to  the 
theatre.  People  of  this  modern  world  hate 
to  spend  tedious,  monotonous  minutes  wait¬ 
ing  in  a  crowded  lobby.  By  amplification 
and  microphone  this  can  be  avoided.  Every 
joke,  song  and  form  of  entertaining  music 
can  be  given  to  those  waiting,  thus  the 
patron  is  put  in  a  pleasant  frame  of  mind. 
Secondly,  the  microphone  makes  auditions 
possible. 

LASTLY,  the  microphone  has  a  great 
civic  value.  Thus  in  general  the  micro¬ 
phone  and  amplification  aids  hearing, 
creates  new  fields  for  added  revenue  and 
adds  to  the  comfort  of  the  patron.  The 
human  contact  and  pleasure  derived  by  you 
and  your  patrons  spell  success  for  you 
financially  and  will  be  an  aid  to  your  repu¬ 
tation  as  a  servant  to  the  public. 


WHO’S  WHO  AMONG  THE  CONTRIBUTORS: 

W.  H.  LEE,  who  writes  on  AN  OLD  HOUSE  MADE  NEW,  is  a  registered 
architect  and  theatre  specialist,  with  headquarters  in  Philadelphia.  His  list  of 
theatres  and  buildings  includes  some  of  the  finest  in  the  east.  A  veteran,  he  has 
made  a  national  reputation  for  himself  in  the  theatre  field. 

JOHN  EBERSON,  who  contributes  GENERAL  COMFORT — THE  PATRON’S 
SIXTH  SENSE,  is  a  New  York  theatre  architect  of  international  repute  now  in  charge 
of  Theatre  Reconstruction  Department  of  National  Theatre  Supply  Company. 

HARRISON  G.  WISEMAN,  whose  article  on  YOUR  STAGE  IS  THE  FOCAL 
POINT  should  prove  of  interest  to  all  exhibitors,  is  a  New  York  architect  (who  has 
made  a  specialty  of  this  particular  phase  of  architecture. 

DAVID  SUPOWITZ,  who  talks  about  THE  MIRACLE  OF  THE  CAMDEN 
BANK,  is  an  architect  of  high  regard  in  Philadelphia  and  eastern  district.  Of  late, 
he  has  been  very  successful  in  the  remodelling  of  old  theatres  into  new  houses. 
Many  of  the  leading  houses  in  the  territory  have  been  designed  by  him. 

C.  A.  McCRORK,  whose  interesting  discourse  on  the  values  of  the  microphone 
to  a  house  is  presented  here,  is  a  specialist  in  sound  and  electrical  work  in  Phila¬ 
delphia.  He  is  particularly  a  sound  expert  having  devoted  much  attention  to  it 
since  its  beginnings.  He  is  a  graduate  of  Drexel  Institute. 


May  1 T 34  pg.  19 


k 


DP  IT  HOW! 

•  General  business  conditions  have 
improved  and  are  rapidly  becoming  better. 
Materials  are  slightly  higher  but  labor  has 
not  appreciably  increased.  •  Join  the 
upswing  .  .  .  Get  in  on  the  rise  .  .  .  Don't 
wait  until  bad  business  forces  you  to  act  .  .  . 

Bri  ng  your  theatre  up-to-date  NOW! 

DAVID  SUPOWITZ 

Architect 

SMA.MIEH  BGROER  •  Asso. 
WILLIAM  LOWEATHAL  •  C.  E. 
Theatre  Specialists 


2.‘IO  South  15th  Street 


Philadelphia,  Penna. 


SOME  OUTSTANDING  EXAMPLES 

OF  OUR  ABILITY  .  .  . 

Philadelphia 

Iris  Theatre 
j  Avenue  Theatre 

Mayfair  Theatre 
Diamond  Theatre 
Cedar  Theatre 

Jumbo  Theatre 
Cameo  Theatre 
Towne  Theatre 
Cayuga  Theatre 

Embassy  Theatre 

Jackson  Theatre 

Venice  Theatre 

Regis  Theatre 

Montgomery  Theatre 

Lenox  Theatre 

Ridge  Avenue  Theatre 

Penn  Theatre 

Benson  Theatre 

Brunswick  Theatre 

• 

Collingswood  Theatre, 
Collingswood,  N.  J. 

New  Broadway, 

Palmyra,  N.  J. 

Fox  Circuit 

Burlington,  N.  J. 
Riverside,  N.  J. 

Mt.  Holly,  N.  J. 
t  Bordentown,  N.  J. 

Maple  Shade,  N.  J. 

New  Hippodrome, 
Baltimore,  Md. 

Globe,  Marcus  Hook 

Roxy,  Northampton 

Broadway,  Camden  i 

• 

We  Invite  Your  Inquiries  ! 

20 


May  1 T  34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


READY 

REFERENCE 

EACH  COMPANY  LISTED  IS  AN 
AUTHORITY  IN  ITS  FIELD  AND 
IS  RELIABLE  AND  TRUSTWORTHY 


AIR  CONDITIONING 


PHOON 

ONDITIONING  CO. 

BLOWERS  -  FANS 
AIR  WASHERS 
252  West  26th  St.,  New  York 

ARCHITECT 


THEATRE  DESIGN 

Remodeling  »  Building 

LATEST  COMPLETED 

NEW  BROADWAY  CAYUGA 

Camden,  Philadelphia 

New  Jersey  Penna. 

DAVID  SUPOWITZ 

REGISTERED 

ARCHITECT 

246  S.  15th  St.,  Phi  la..  Pa.  Pennypacker  2291 


BUSINESS  BROKER 


THEATRES 

BOUGHT  •  SOLD  •  LEASED 

Partnerships  Negotiated 

M.  H.  GOOD1S,  Inc. 

1201  CHESTNUT  STREET 
Rittenhouse  4595  Rittenhouse  9077 


FLAGS  AND  BANNERS 


It  Theatre  Marquee  Valances 
E  Wall  Banners 

N  Net  and  Road  Banners 

T  Attractive  Colors — Sewed  or  Painted 

Letters — Featuring  All  Shows, 
w  Burgees — Pennants — Decorations 

**  Above  Also  Sold  Outright.  Order  Direct  From 

NATIONAL  FLAG  &  BANNER  CO. 

251-253  N.  13th  St.  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


INTERIOR  DECORATORS 


BEFORE  THE  MIRACLE 


Interior  of  the  Apollo,  Atlantic  City,  N.  J., 
before  rebuilding. 


AN  OLD  HOUSE 
MADE  NEW 


By  W.  H.  LEE 

Theatre  Specialist  and 
Registered  Architect 


THE  APOLLO  ig  not  just  a  few  improve¬ 
ments  which,  as  in  most  cases  during  the 
past  several  years,  exhibitors  were  forced 
to  do,  but  is  a  virtual  rebuilding  of  an 
antiquated  theatre.  Posts,  balconies,  boxes, 
ceiling,  proscenium  and  every  other  vestige 
of  days  gone  by  fell  before  the  march  of 
progress  in  this  Atlantic  City  house. 

DUE  TO  THE  FACT  that  the  patrons  of 
the  Apollo  would  be  drawn  from  all  sec¬ 
tions  of  the  country  it  was  decided  that  a 
traditional  style  was  safer  than  an  adven¬ 
ture  in  modernism.  Preference  was  a  modi¬ 
fied  Adam  with  which  most  theatre  audi¬ 
ences  in  all  parts  of  the  country  are  fa¬ 
miliar  and  should,  therefore,  feel  at  home 
with.  One  conspicuous  departure  from  the 
usual  Adam  sidewall  treatment  was  made, 
however,  in  the  use  of  the  two  prodigious 
mural  paintings,  the  subjects  of  which  were 
carefully  selected  for  their  appropriateness. 
The  one  is  tied  to  the  name  of  the  theatre 
by  portrayal  of  the  mythical  god  “Apollo” 
and  the  other  to  the  stage  by  a  composition 
suggesting  the  evolution  of  Dance. 

ANOTHER  BIT  OF  MODERNISM  is  to 
be  found  in  the  marquise  and  treatment  of 
the  entrance  in  order  to  keep  the  exterior 
in  line  with  the  modern  tendency  of  recent 


improvements  on  the  boardwalk.  Marquise 
is  constructed  of  Allegheny  metal  with  hand 
hammered  design.  For  the  usual  attraction 
sign  the  new  silhouette  letter  was  used 
which  is  as  effective  and  readable  in  the 
day  time  as  at  night. 

THE  PHYSICAL  CHANGES  to  the 
structure  entailed  the  removal  of  the  old 
30'  wide  proscenium  arch,  reducing  the  un¬ 
necessarily  large  stage  to  a  depth  of  28' 
and  erecting  a  new  proscenium  with  an 
opening  of  45'.  Old  dressing  rooms,  grid¬ 
iron  and  other  stage  facilities  were  retained 
so  that  productions  of  any  character  can 
be  accommodated. 

REDUCING  THE  SIZE  of  the  stage, 
elimination  of  the  boxes  and  the  old  useless 
inner-foyer  produced  an  increase  of  612 
seats  on  the  orchestra  floor  over  the  old 
arrangement.  A  new  mezzanine  balcony 
with  easy  stairway  approaches  was  con¬ 
structed  containing  close  to  400  seats  mak¬ 
ing  an  approximate  total  of  1700  desirable 
seats.  Due  to  the  great  height  of  the  old 
structure,  which  was  necessary  to  accom¬ 
modate  the  two  old  balconies,  it  was  pos¬ 
sible  to  place  the  new  ceiling  at  an  ideal 

(See  page  25) 


AFTER  THE  MIRACLE 


Theatrical 

Decorating 

OUR  SPECIALTY 
Phone 

Rittenhouse  7828 
2315  Walnut  St. 
Philadelphia 


I.  Manoff  Reliable  Decorating  Co. 

INTERIOR  DECORATORS 

Draperies,  Carpets,  Painting 

1316  Vine  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

WE’VE  TURNED  NUMEROUS  NON-PAYING 
THEATRES  INTO  MONEY  MAKING  PROPOSITIONS 
ASK  US  HOW! 


Interior  of  the  Apollo,  Atlantic  City,  N.  J., 
after  rebuilding. 


May  1'34  pg.  21 


Satisfaction! 


•  and  hundreds  of  other 
satisfied  owners  have 
voiced  their  appreciation 

•  a  job  worth  doing  is 
worth  doing  well.  A 
Ricci-decorated  theatre  has 
the  benefit  of  our 
training,  art  and  ability 


ARMANDO  T.  RICCI 

Theatre  Decorator 


201  NORTH  BROAD  STREET 


. '  PHILADELPHIA 


22 


May  1 ' 34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


'AIRMANDO-TOUCCB 

|HiTll[ATPL 

MEM  lUdATti 

20IN-BRQAD-ST-  >(RIT»5575 


THE  MIRACLE  OF 
THE  CAMDEN  BANK 


By  DAVID  SUPOWITZ 
ARCHITECT 


J.  SEIDMAN  :  A.  WEINBERG  :  D.  BRODSKY 

Paramount  Decorating  Qo  |nc. 


STAGE  SETTINGS  :  DRAPERIES 

CARPETS  :  PAINTING  AND  DECORATING 

311  North  13th  Street  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


PREMIUMS 


There  are  many  imitations  but  there  is  only  one 

22  KARAT  GOLD  DINNER  SET 

with  a  success  record 

It’s  the  Dainty  Thin  Square  Model! 


QUALITY  PREMIUM  DIST. 

1305  VINE  ST.  PHILA. 


SOUND  SERVICE 


WE  SOLVE  YOUR  SOUND  PROBLEMS 

^1!  CA.McCrorl< 

SOUND  ENGINEER 

262  N.  13th  ST. 
PHILADELPHIA 
Day  Phone:  RIT  4529 
Night  Phone:  SHE  0805 


& 

'  hol^es 


THEATRE  EQUIPMENT 


PENN  THEATRE 
EQUIPMENT  CO. 

309  North  13th  Street 
PHILADELPHIA 
Phone,  Rittenhouse  3273 

GENERAL  THEATRE  EQUIPMENT 

Specialists  in  Repairs 


CLEM’S 

MOTION  PICTURE  SUPPLY  HOUSE 

The  Most  Complete  Independent 

Supply  House  in  the  Territory! 

255  North  13th  Street  -  Philadelphia 


spruce  iee4 


EXPERT  REPAIRING 


National  Theatre  Supply  Company 


Service  and  courtesy  from  men  you  know  .  .  . 
Plus  equipment  of  known  and  guaranteed  quality 
.  .  .  are  at  your  service  at  our  local  branch 


UNIFORMS 


American  Uniform  Co. 

134  So.  11th  Street,  7  hiladelphia 

Styled  Right  ® 

Serviced  Right 

Priced  Right 

NO  ORDER  TOO  SMALL  OR  TOO  LARGE 


Changing  a  building  that  couldn't  pay  off 
into  an  enterprise  of  handsome  profits 


( One  of  the  most  widely  discussed  theatres  in  the  Philadelphia  territory  is  the 
New  Broadway,  Camden,  N.  J.  Situated  at  one  of  the  principal  intersections  of 
the  town,  it  has  been  a  successful  enterprise  since  the  day  it  opened  its  doors 
several  months  ago,  and  has  startled  a  lot  of  old-timers  by  its  success  with  last 
runs  and  independent  product  in  this  otherwise  virtually  closed  situation.  Here’s 
the  whole  story)  : 


BROADWAY  MERCHANTS  Trust  Com¬ 
pany  building,  Camden,  was  actually  two 
buildings  40  and  20  respectively,  and  120 
feet  deep,  situated  on  one  of  Camden’s 
main  streets  and  built  of  the  massive  fin¬ 
ancial  institution  type  of  architecture,  with 
Vermont  marble  and  granite,  with  large 
circular  finestras  or  windows  high  above 
the  ground.  In  other  words,  it  was  just  a 
typical  new  bank  building  of  the  prosperity 
era.  when  A.  M.  Ellis,  owner,  decided  to 
change  it  to  theatre  uses,  the  problem  was 
difficult,  but  when  solved,  changes  were 
made  at  a  reasonable  cost  and  the  result  is 
really  remarkable. 

GRANITE  FRONT  of  the  old  building 
actually  rose  7  feet  higher  than  the  roof, 
with  the  result  that  the  entire  building  was 
razed  to  this  full  7  feet,  thereby  affording 
the  additional  space  necessary  for  the  add¬ 
ing  of  a  300-seat  balcony,  ladies’  and  mens’ 
rest  rooms,  a  fountain  display  and  a  big 
lounge.  Additional  steel  was  added  to  sup¬ 
port  this  extra  feature.  A  stage  and  sev¬ 
eral  dressing  rooms,  manager’s  quarters, 
etc.,  were  added  at  the  rear  and  because  the 
building  was  originally  of  a  reinforced  con¬ 
crete  construction,  lots  of  storage  space  was 
available  in  the  basement. 

(In  the  construction  of  any  theatres  in 
cities  of  the  third  class  and  small  towns, 
the  basement  possibilities  should  not  be 
forgotten  by  the  theatre  owners.  Taprooms, 
restaurants,  etc.,  with  entrances  from  the 
front  street,  afford  possibilities  of  addi¬ 
tional  revenue  and  are  permissible  in  every¬ 
thing  except  large  cities.) 

Openings  were  made  through  the  marble 


Exterior  of  the  Broadway,  Camden,  N.  J., 
before  remodelling. 


and  granite  on  the  sides  of  the  theatre  for 
exit  doors. 

TREATMENT  of  the  auditorium  inter¬ 
ior  is  modern,  using  the  best  materials  to 
give  the  proper  acoustical  and  decorative 
effects.  All  walls  were  furred  out  to  allow 
for  wiring,  heating,  etc.  Heating  system 
was  entirely  rehabilitated  and  new  unit 
heaters  added  to  supply  more  even  distri¬ 
bution.  Color  scheme  is  silver,  gold  and 
mission  walnut  with  just  enough  ornamen¬ 
tation  to  give  contrast  to  the  smooth  wall 
appearance.  A  novel  arrangement  of 
stepped-up  treatment  between  the  side 
walls  and  ceiling  is  one  of  the  outstanding 
features. 

PROSCENIUM  ARCH  and  stage  work 
is  highly  decorative  to  focus  attention  on 
the  point  of  entertainment.  A  center  orna¬ 
mental  plaster  panel  runs  practically  the 
entire  length  of  the  theatre  ceiling  and  is 
high-lighted  with  silver  and  gold. 

BALCONY  FASCIA  and  paneling  be¬ 
tween  the  big  pilasters  are  treated  in  a 
whipcord  material  depicting  a  hunting 
scene,  extending  completely  around  the  en¬ 
tire  side  walls.  In  the  side  wall  panels  are 
murals  painted  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Harvey 
Hawley,  of  New  York,  which  gives  a  par¬ 
ticularly  rich  effect.  The  lighting  effects 
are  a  massive  treatment  absolutely  modern 
and  very  attractive,  and  far  greater  than 
the  ordinary  theatre  scale.  Hanging 
brackets  on  the  side  walls  are  treated  in 
stainless  steel  and  etched  glass.  One  of  the 
outstanding  features  of  the  decorative 
scheme  is  that  little  polychrome  is  used  to 
high-light  the  ornamental  plaster. 

( Continued  on  page  25) 


Exterior  of  the  Broadway,  Camden,  N.  J., 
after  remodelling. 


May  1  ’34  pg.  23 


NEW  BROADWAY,  Camden,  N.  J. 

DAVID  SUPOWITZ,  Architect 


Cooled  and  Ventilated  for  Summer  Profit 

You  too — for  so  little  money  that  it  will  surprise  you — 
can  have  your  theatre  equipped  for  ALL-YEAR  service 

Don't  Be  Licked  by  the  Summer  Slump  Bogey! 

LET  US  ESTIMATE  WITHOUT  OBLIGATION 

^ptPHOON 


COOLING 

VENTILATING 


CONDITIONING  CQ 

BLOWERS  -  FANS 
AIR  WASHERS 
252  West  26th  St.,  New  York 


Plan  for  a  Good  Summer 

MR.  M.  B.  ELLIS  did  when  he  built  the  New  Broadway, 
Camden,  N.  J.  He  realized  the  folly  in  restricting  his  [earn¬ 
ings  to  eight  months  of  the  year  when  for  an  additional  5 
per  cent  he  can  make  those  four  other  warm  months  pay. 


A  Partial  List  of 

TYPHOON 

Ventilating 

Installations 


ICEDAIRE  CONDITIONING  AND 
MECHANICAL  REFRIGERATION 

U.  S.  Theatre,  Paterson  (Para¬ 
mount)  1800  seats. 

Pickwick  Theatre,  Greenwich,  Conn. 
(RKO)  2100  seats. 

Newark  Theatre,  Newark  (Para¬ 
mount)  2000  seats. 

Rivoli  Theatre,  Baltimore,  1800 
seats. 

Midway  Theatre,  Phi  la.,  (Warner) 
2500  seats. 

Arcadia  Theatre,  Phi  la.,  (Para¬ 
mount  2100  seats. 

Stanley  Theatre,  N.  Y.  City,  800 
seats. 

City  Hall  Theatre,  N.  Y.  City,  800 
seats. 

86th  St.  Theatre,  N.  Y.  City,  500 
seats. 

Baldwin  Theatre,  Long  Island  (Cen¬ 
tury)  800  seats. 

Broadway  Picture  House,  Camden, 
N.  J.,  900  seats. 

Arden  Theatre,  876  Columbus  Ave., 
N.  Y.  City,  600  seats. 

St.  Albans  Theatre.  Long  Island 
(Artesian  Well)  800  seats. 

Far  Rockaway  Theatre,  Lona  Island 
(Artesian  Well)  600  seats. 

Bayshore  Theatre,  Long  Island 
(Artesian  Well)  1500  seats. 

Broadway  Theatre,  Camden,  N.  J., 
900  seats. 

Stoddard  Theatre,  Broadway  and 
90th  St.,  N.  Y.  City,  1500  seats. 


BREEZEAIRE  COOLING 

Winthrop  Theatre,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y., 
600  seats. 

Northport  Theatre,  Long  Island, 
750  seats. 

Smithtown  Theatre.  Long  Island, 
600  seats. 

Crescent  Theatre,  Bronx,  N.  Y., 
1800  seats. 

Dover  Playhouse,  Dover,  N.  J.,  800 
seats. 

Greenport  Theatre,  Greenport,  650 
seats. 

Westhampton  Theatre,  Westhamp- 
ton  Beach,  L.  I.,  650  seats. 

Venice  Theatre,  N.  Y.  City.,  700 
seats. 

Jerome  Theatre,  Long  Island,  700 
seats. 


HYDRO  COOLING 
(Air  Washing) 

Park  Lane  Theatre,  Palisade  Park, 
1800  seats. 

Garden  Theatre,  Jamaica,  1250 
seats. 

Williamsburgh  Playhouse,  Brooklyn, 
600  seats. 

Cameo  Theatre,  Ossininq,  N  Y 
600  seats. 

Harlem  Grand  Theatre,  125th  St 
N.  Y.  City,  1800  seats. 

Heights  Theatre,  181st  St.,  N.  Y. 
City,  600  seats. 

Empress  Theatre,  181st  St.,  N.  Y. 
City,  600  seats. 

25  Warner  Theatres  up  to  2500 
throughout  their  circuit. 
Fleetwood  Theatre,  Mt.  Vernon, 
N.  Y.,  650  seats. 

Beacon  Theatre,  Beacon,  N.  Y. 
1500  seats. 


and  nearly  a  thousand 
others 


24 


May  1'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


VAUDEVILLE  AGENCIES 


HARRY  BIBEN 

VAUDEVILLE  AGENCY 

(603-4  COLONIAL  BUILDING) 

N.  E.  Cor.  13th  and  Market  Sts. 

Phone,  Rittenhouse  9494-5 

PHILADELPHIA 

Booking 

STANLEY-  WARNER 
THEATRES,  Philadelphia 


TICKET^  REGISTERS 


TICKET  MACHINE  BARGAINS 


ALL  MAKES.  .  . 
ELECTRICALLY  OP¬ 
ERATED  .  .  .  REBUILT 
.  .  .  GOOD  AS  NEW 
.  .  .  MECHANICALLY 
PERFECT  .  .  .  GUAR¬ 
ANTEED. 

Write  for  Prices! 


Write  Immediately  lor  Our  New  Introductory  Offer 

STANDARD  TICKET  REGISTER  CORP. 

1600 BroadwaY.NewYork  •  Geo.  Mead. c.en  mob 


m 

SAVING 


• 

Official  Letter 
Service  to  the 
Motion  Picture 
Industry- 

Accurate  List 
of  all  Theatres 
and  Executives 

Mimeographing 
Multigraphing 
Public  Stenography 

Addressing  -  Folding 
Enclosing  -  Mailing 

Advertising 

Publicity 

Printing 

WM.  Z. 

PORTER 

Advertising  and  Letter  Service 

12011  Vine  Street 

(Second  Floor) 

BELL  TELEPHONE 

:  RITTENHOUSE  7195 

I  ST.  CHARLES 

AN  ENTIRE  BLOCK  ON  THE  BOARDWALK 

•  ATLANTIC  CITY  • 

A  Smart  Hotel  in  America’s  Smartest  Resort 

Atlantic  city — Healthful — 

Restful — Affording  complete  relaxation  so 
welcome  after  intensive  work — Where  the 
St.  Charles  offers  the  maximum  in  hotel 
comfort  and  service — Spacious  Sun  Deok 
occupying  one  entire  block  overlooking 
Boardwalk  and  Sea — Ocean  view  Lounge. 

IDEAL  CONVENTION  FACILITIES 

RATES  GREATLY  REDUCED 


YOUR  STAGE  IS 
THE  FOCAL  POINT 

By  HARRISON  G.  WISEMAN 


“KEEPING  UP  WITH  THE  JONESES” 
and  high  pressure  salesmanship  have  in  the 
past  entailed  the  expenditure  of  far  too 
much  money  in  theatres  for  sumptuous  in¬ 
teriors  and  expensive  decorations  rarely 
seen  by  the  audience.  Fully  ninety  per  cent 
of  the  patrons  who  attend  the  average 
theatre  never  really  see  and  certainly  have 
little  opportunity  to  appreciate  much  of  the 
decorations  because  the  auditorium  is  dark. 
In  modernizing  and  renovating  your  audi¬ 
torium,  why  spend  money  for  lavish  orna¬ 
ment,  gold  leaf  and  briliant  colors  to  be 
placed  where  they  will  never  be  seen?  Why 
not  plan  and  choose  your  system  of  decora¬ 
tion  intelligently  and  arrange  and  place  it 
so  that  it  will  not  only  be  seen  and  count 
for  something,  but  will  also  cost  much  less? 

THE  CENTER  OF  INTEREST  is  the 
stage  or  screen.  It  has  more  to  do  with 
the  appearance  of  your  house  than  any 
other  feature,  and  better  still,  whatever  you 
do,  can  be  seen.  Here  then,  is  the  starting 
point.  If  the  proscenium  is  old  fashioned, 
too  small,  or  otherwise  unsatisfactory,  it  is 
not  necessary  to  incur  the  expense  of  a 
structural  alteration  to  transform  it.  This 
can  be  accomplished  for  much  less  by  plac¬ 


ing  a  new  frame  in  front  of  the  old  one, 
made  up  of  specially  designed  drapes,  ar¬ 
ranged  to  completely  conceal  the  old  open¬ 
ing  and  made  as  large  as  you  want  it.  See 
Figure  1.  Or  the  new  frame  can  be  con¬ 
structed  of  plaster  board,  wood  mouldings 


and  skillfully  painted  ornament  as  shown 
in  Figure  2.  In  the  hands  of  a  skillful 
designer,  either  method  will  be  equally 
effective. 

THE  GENERAL  EFFECT  can  be  fur¬ 
ther  enhanced  by  extending  the  stage  or 
platform  and  stepping  it  up  as  shown  in 
Figure  3.  This  helps  to  fill  the  space  in 


front  of  first  row  of  seats  and  gives  a  better 
setting  for  the  picture.  Boxes  and  other 
treatment  flanking  the  proscenium  can  also 
be  transformed  by  special  drapes,  concealed 
lighting  or  ornamental  lighting  fixtures 
which,  if  handled  artistically,  the  combined 
result  will  leave  little  to  be  done  to  the 
rest  of  the  house. 

IN  ADDITION,  the  side  walls  can 
be  changed  by  new  arrangements  of  panel- 
ling,  or  the  use  of  wall  covering  of  various 
kinds.  Decoration  of  the  main  ceiling  need 
not  be  expensive.  If  skill  is  used  in  utiliz¬ 
ing  the  reflected  light  from  the  screen  to 
bring  out  the  effect,  little  need  be  done  to 
other  parts  beyond  painting.  When  the 
ornamental  plaster  conflicts  with  the  pro¬ 
posed  change,  much  of  it  can  be  concealed 
by  festoons  of  fabric,  tinsel  or  other  mate¬ 
rial,  radiating  from  the  center  to  the  cor¬ 
ners  and  sides.  Aside  from  this,  little  need 
be  done  to  transform  it,  if  the  auditorium 
is  kept  dark. 

NEW  STANDING  RAILS,  carpets  and 
new  seating  all,  of  course,  contribute  to  the 
general  result,  but  the  really  important  and 
impressive  change  in  the  appearance  is 
effected  by  the  change  in  the  proscenium 
and  the  treatment  of  the  parts  adjacent  to 
it;  all  else  is  secondary.  To  follow  this  rule 
is  the  easiest  and  cheapest  way  of  giving 
the  impression  of  complete  renovation. 


Fig.  2. 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


May  1 ' 34 


25 


An  Old  House  Made  New 

( Continued,  from  page  20) 

distance  from  the  floor.  The  auditorium  is, 
therefore,  exceptionally  attractive  in  its 
proportions  and  provides  almost  50%  more 
cubic  content  per  seat.  While  it  was  real¬ 
ized  that  first  floor  toilet  facilities  are  more 
desirable  from  the  patrons  standpoint,  it 
was  necessary  on  account  of  space  limita¬ 
tions,  to  place  the  ladies  room  in  the  base¬ 
ment. 

VERY  NEWEST  and  latest  ideas  in 
seats,  projection  equipment,  electrical  ap¬ 
paratus  and  ventilation  were  incorporated 
throughout.  The  first  remote  control  system 
manufactured  by  the  Westinghouse  Electric 
Company  was  installed  whereby  the  stage 
switch  board  can  be  operated  from  the  pro¬ 
jection  booth.  The  use  of  cold  water  drawn 
from  a  series  of  wells  made  possible  an 
ideal  summer  cooling  system  at  an  amaz¬ 
ingly  small  cost. 

DECORATING  of  the  Apollo  Theatre 
was  an  accomplishment  of  Armand  Ricci, 
one  of  the  east’s  leading  interior  decorators 
and  designers.  Many  have  commented 
upon  the  brilliance  of  his  work. 

American  Seating  Company  furnished 
the  chairs,  while  Novelty  Scenic  Studios 
was  also  an  Allied  unit. 


Miracle  of  Camden  Bank 

( Continued  f  rom  page  22) 

AIR  CONDITIONING  and  cooling  have 
been  added  and  even  temperature  both 
summer  and  winter  is  an  accomplished  fact. 
Typhoon  Air  Conditioning  Company  is  re¬ 
sponsible  for  this  particularly  capable  job. 
Much  of  the  interior  beauty  is  a  result  of 
the  skill  of  the  Novelty  Scenic  Studios,  who 
completed  the  stage  work,  draperies  and 
murals  under  the  architect’s  supervision, 
and  of  Harry  Brodsky,  painting  decorator. 


S 

A 

L 

E 


One  Pair  UNIVERSAL  (Economy  Model) 
SOUND  HEADS  for  Powers  Proj. 

Reconditioned  .  .  .  Good  as  New 
Complete  with  Drives,  Lamp 
House,  Brackets  and  Motors. 

WIDE  RANGE  OPTICAL  SYSTEM 
List  Price.  $525  Sale  Price  $250.00 
C.  A.  McCRORK 

262  N.  13th  St.  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


The  smart  theatre  owner  will  find  listed 
here  numerous  services  which  will 
interest  him  during  the  successful 
operation  of  his  showhouse.  Each  com¬ 
pany  is  an  authority  in  its  field  and 
through  long  experience  has  proved 
reliable  and  trustworthy. 

Tell  Our  Advertisers 
You  Saw  It  In 

THE  EXHIBITOR 


EXTERIOR  PERFORCE  had  to  follow 
the  original  lines  of  the  old  building,  but 
was  changed  to  the  following  extent.  Large 
high  finestras  were  closed  with  stucco 
panels  to  match  the  original  Vermont 
marble.  This  gave  the  building  the  appear¬ 
ance  of  straight  lines  rather  than  the  origi¬ 
nal  ornamental  effect.  A  huge  electric  mar¬ 
quee  and  sign  display  was  mounted  on  the 
front,  the  display  being  different  to  the 
extent  that  the  indentations,  etc.,  are  of 
stainless  steel.  Colorful  display  poster 
frames  furnish  an  extraordinary  attraction. 
The  ticket  booth  is  of  stainless  steel  and 
laminated  vericolite  glass  with  satin  chrome 
finish.  American  Display  Corporation, 
New  York,  deserves  a  particular  hand  for 
completing  this  work  under  the  architect’s 
direction. 


ENTIRE  OPERATION  affords  an  air  of 
richness  and  comfort,  yet  is  as  serviceable 
and  useful  as  it  is  possible  to  accomplish. 
The  cost  was  little  as  compared  to  theatre 
remodeling  costs  in  the  past.  The  owner’s 
judgment  has  been  vindicated  by  the  accep¬ 
tance  of  his  patrons. 

AMONG  the  other  firms  which  helped 
contribute  to  the  remodeling  of  the  New 
Broadway  was  National  Theatre  Supply 
Company,  which  supplied  booth  equipment 
and  other  materials. 

( Since  the  above  was  written,  the  theatre 
was  burned  by  a  fire  of  unknown  origin, 
leaving  only  four  walls  standing.  Exhibi¬ 
tors  interested  in  seeing  the  transformation 
at  first  hand  will  have  to  wait  until  the 
rebuilding  process  is  completed.) 


IRWIN  SEATING  COMPANY 

GRAND  RAPIDS,  MICH. 

Distributed  by:  NATIONAL  THEATRE  SUPPLY  CO. 

ALL  PRINCIPAL  CITIES 


SOLID  COMFORT 

Beauty  -  Durability 


As  comfortable  as  your  favor¬ 
ite  chair  at  home — beautifully 
designed  —  sturdily  built  — 
quiet  in  operation  and  offered 
in  a  wide  range  of  attractive 
coverings.  This  is  just  one  of 
a  great  number  of  IRWIN 
chairs  which,  because  of  their 
all-around  excellence,  are  win¬ 
ning  first  place  in  the  choice 
of  wise  theatre  owners  who 
realize  that  thorough  comfort 
and  beauty  of  surroundings 
are  just  as  vital  to  box  office 
receipts  as  the  character  of 
the  attraction  offered. 

Don’t  delay — 
re-seat  NOW 


No.  6870 


Write  today  for  your 
Free  Copy  of  our 
beautifully  illustrated 
catalog.  In  it  you  will 
find  just  the  chair  to  fit 
your  purse  and  purpose. 


26 


May  1  ’  34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


MOST  OF  THEM 

are  PICKERS 

and  CHOOSERS 

THESE  DAYS  .  .  . 

They  shop  for  amusements  nowa¬ 
days.  The  pickers  and  choosers 
want  to  know  what  they’re  going 
to  see  and  where  they  can  see  it, 
and  there’s  a  lot  of  pickers  and 
choosers!  Catch  them  when  they’re 
show  shopping,  tell  them  what  you 
have  to  tell  them  where  they  will 
be  sure  to  see  it. 

In  Philadelphia  they  do  their  show 
shopping  in  the  Record’s  Amuse¬ 
ment  Directory,  reaching  182,000 
people  daily  and  288,000  on  Sun¬ 
day.  For  only  30  cents  a  day  you 
can  tell  them  who’s  playing  in 
what  at  your  theatre.  A  longer 
listing  costs  but  15  cents  a  line 
more. 

The  RECORD 

Amusement  Directory 

offers  you  the  most  economical 
form  of  advertising  ever  pre¬ 
sented  to  Philadelphia  theatre- 
owners.  To  place  your  listing 
just  call 


PHILADELPHIA 

RECORD 

CLASSIFIED  DEPARTMENT 

WALNUT  2300 


Units  for  Mascot 


Unit  production,  heretofore  confined, 
in  the  main,  to  major  film  companies, 
will  be  an  integral  part  of  the  feature 
film  producing  plans  of  Mascot  Pictures 
Corporation,  it  has  been  stated  by  Nat 
Levine,  president. 

Mascot,  long  a  leader  in  the  produc¬ 
tion  of  serials,  has  a  program  of  ten 
feature  films  and  two  exploitation  spe¬ 
cials  planned  for  1934-1935  release. 
Because  of  Mascot’s  expansion  in  pro¬ 
duction  activity,  Levine  has  found  it 
necessary  to  split  up  actual  production 
among  four  unit  producers,  each  of 
whom  will  be  assigned  a  definite  number 
of  pictures. 

Producers  signed  by  Mascot  are  Sig 
Neufeld,  who  will  produce  four  of  the 
Mascot  program;  Martin  G.  Cohn,  who 
also  will  handle  a  quartette  of  Mascot 
features;  Lou  Sarecky  who  has  been 
assigned  two  features  and  Louis  Baum, 
who  will  guide  the  destinies  of  the  two 
exploitation  specials  from  camera  to 
cutting  room. 


LETTERS  TO  THE  EDITOR 


Old  Timer  Asks  Break 

Editor: 

What  Price  Popularity? 

What  Price  Experience? 

It  seems,  the  film  industry  in  Philly,  as  a  whole,  is 
easily  forgetful  of  old  friends  and  colleagues.  A  man, 
who  in  the  early  days  of  Vine  Street  was  active,  not 
only  as  an  exhibitor,  but  also  as  an  organizer  of  what 
is  now  the  MPTO.  For  four  years  he  was  vice-president 
to  the  grand  old  president  of  the  “Exhibitors’  League,” 
.Judge  John  O’Donnell,  as  well  as  chairman  of  the  enter¬ 
tainment  committee,  chairman  of  the  house  committee, 
that,  constructed  the  only  headquarters  the  organization 
ever  had,  at  13th  and  Vine  Streets,  second  floor,  which 
at  its  opening  was  honored  by  the  presence  of  the  one 
and  only  Jimmy  Walker,  and  where  the  present  MPTO 
was  originated.  This  same  man,  who  under  unfortunate 
circumstances  recently  lost  hid  theatre,  is  very  much  in 
need  cf  a  job.  Either  house  manager  or  selling  film 
or  some  capacity  connected  with  the  industry  would  be 
capably  handled  by  him. 

If  past  associations  with  the  members  of  this  city’s 
film  men,  helping  other  exhibitors,  salesmen  or  exchange 
managers  mean  consideration,  it’s  just  too  bad  if  some 
one  cannot  offer  a  job  to  a  man  who  always  held  the 
welfare  of  his  fellowmen  sacred  and  would  greatly  appre¬ 
ciate  an  opening  being  made  to  make  a  living  in  the 
business  that  he  understands. 

(Signed)  AN  EXHIBITOR  of  25  years’  standing. 


About  Single  Reels 

Editor: 

As  so  aptly  said  by  ‘‘Puddin’  Head  Wilson”— “a  dif¬ 
ference  of  opinion  makes  boss  racin’.” 

In  your  excellent  issue  of  April  15  an  exhibitor  ex¬ 
presses  the  opinion  that  all  travel  pictures  should  be 
dispensed  with  if  possible. 

I  must  take  exception  to  this  as  travel  pictures  of 
all  kinds  are  thoroughly  enjoyed  by  my  patrons.  To 
such  an  extent  is  this  true  that  one  man  upon  leaving 
the  theatre  after  a  recent  matinee  asked  if  I  managed 
the  house.  Upcn  affirming  that  I  did  he  said,  “Well,  I 
want  to  tell  you  how  much  I  enjoy  your  varied  pro¬ 
grams,  especially  the  travel  pictures’.  I  come  fourteen 
blocks  to  your  theatre,  passing  several  others  on  the 
way.  because  you;  programs  always  contain  something 
of  interest  for  intelligent  people.” 

Personally  I  feel  that  the  majority  of  exhibitors  under¬ 
estimate  the  mental  calibre  of  their  patrons.  Of  course 
I  realize  that  there  are  certain  neighborhoods  in  which 
a  travel  or  educational  reel  would  be  a  bore  and  that  a 
manager  must  gauge  the  desires  of  his  patrons  but 
because  some  folks  do  not  like  ham  is  no  reason  for 
farmers  to  stop  raising  pigs 

A  few  weeks  ago  I  received  a  letter  siged  “The  Mat¬ 
inee  Girls”  in  which  I  was  told  that  a  certain  picture 
did  not  come  up  to  their  expectations  but  that  the 
South  Sea  travel  picture,  in  color  was  worth  the  price 
of  admission. 

I  buy  all  that  I  can  get. 


Explains  Actions 

Editor: 

Upon  reading  The  Exhibitor,  issue  of  April  15,  I 
noticed  an  article  on  page  30  captioned  “One  Way  to 
Get  Community  Good  Will.” 

In  this  particular  article  you  quote  from  a  certain 
herald  which  I  had  printed  and  distributed  throughout 
the  Glenside  territory. 

From  your  remarks  and  comments  on  the  herald  in 
question,  I  feel  that  you  deem  an  explanation  necessary 
in  order  to  justify  my  stand  in  this  matter.  In  the 
following  paragraph  I  will  endeavor  to  enlighten  you 
as  to  why  such  bold  copy  was  used. 

To  begin  with,  my  March  availabilities  were  far 
below  par,  consequently  I  expected  bad  business.  As 
an  exhibitor,  I  am  not  in  the  habit  of  plastering  big 
advertising  campaigns  on  so-called  “turkeys,”  mainly 
because  eighty-five  per  cent  of  my  patrons  are  of  the 
“steady”  variety,  who  live  in  Glenside,  and  who  are 
not  fooled  by  bunk  advertising.  (I  tried  twice — I 
learned.)  Therefore,  during  March  I  was  resigned  to 
my  fate.  But — the  reason  for  the  herald  is  this: 

MY  STEADY  PATRONS  DO  NOT  PRACTICE  THE 
HABIT  OF  ATTENDING  OTHER  THEATRES  IN  THIS 
TERRITORY,  AND  FEARING  THAT  I  MIGHT  LOSE 
THEM,  I  DID  ON  THE  OUTSIDE  WHAT  I  HAVE 
BEEN  DOING  FOR  OVER  A  YEAR  ON  THE  SCREEN 
OF  THIS  THEATRE;  DELLYERED  A  FRANK,  FOR¬ 
WARD,  AND  OUTSPOKEN  MESSAGE  OF,  AS  SOME 
CALL.  AN  APOLOGETIC  NATURE. 

Please  remember  I  did  not  print  this  herald  until 
my  patrons  positively  demanded  an  explanation  for  the 
pictures  that  were  being  presented  to  them  during 
March.  And,  after  much  thought  and  deliberation,  I 
finally  decided  to  gamble  on  our  patrons’  integrity. 

I  don’t  mind  stating  that  the  reaction  to  this  bold 
advertising  was  most  gratifying. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  explain  the  MONOPOLY'  situa¬ 
tion  of  this  herald;  the  downtown  first -run  theatres 
were  playing  my  pix  during  late  February  and  early 
March,  making  them  available  for  me  during  April, 
and  I  feel  that  in  the  same  predicament  any  other 
exhibitor  with  “guts”  (no  ego  on  my  part),  would 
have  sent  cut  a  message  similar  to  mine. 

Kindest  regards  and  best  wishes. 

Very  truly  yours, 

SIDNEY  A.  BLOOMFIELD. 


Corrects  Drive-In  Report 

Editor: 

It  has  been  called  to  our  attention  that  in  your  very 
last  issue  of  The  Exhibitor,  there  was  a  statement 
reading  that  “Wilmer  and  A'incent  Company  have  taken 
over  the  operation  of  the  Camden  Drive-In  Theatre,  and 
also  the  national  royalty  rights  for  the  Park-In  Theatres, 
Inc.” 

This  being  in  error,  we  are  sure  that  you  will  re¬ 
tract  this  in  your  next  issue. 

The  fact  is,  that  Wilmer  and  Vincent  Company  are 
taking  over  the  operation  of  the  Camden  Drive-In 
Theatre,  but  do  not  in  any  way,  shape  or  form  have  an 
interest  in  the  Park-In  Theatres  in  the  United  States. 

Will  you  kindly  make  this  correction,  mailing  to  us 
a  tear  sheet  of  same. 

Thanking  you  in  advance,  and  also  asking  for  an 
acknowledgment  of  this  letter,  we  remain, 

Yours  very  truly, 

PARK-IN  THEATRES,  Inc., 

R.  M.  Hollingshead,  Jr., 

Vice-President. 


“The  Lost  Jungle ” 


If  the  rest  of  the  episodes  of  “The 
Lost  Jungle’’  contain  the  thrills  and 
punches  of  the  first  three,  Mascot  has 
delivered  one  of  the  best  serials  of  all 
time. 

And  there  is  reason  to  believe,  with 
the  Clyde  Beatty  name  and  cats  to  sell, 
that  “The  Lost  Jungle”  will  reach  a  new 
peak. 

Others  in  the  cast  include  Cecilia 
Parker,  Syd  Saylor,  Wheeler  Oakman, 
Harry  Holman,  Mickey  Rooney,  Wally 
Wales. 

Action  takes  place  on  a  strange 
island  where  animals  abound.  Tie  in  a 
city  of  hidden  treasure,  mutinous  crew 
and  the  hero  and  heroine.  All  in  all, 
“The  Lost  Jungle”  has  the  goods. 


READER. 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


May  1 T  34 


27 


Exhibitor 

Support  in 


Daylight  Back 

Daylight  saving  is  again  to  be  the 
bane  of  the  business  this  summer. 

Most  of  the  towns  and  cities  which 
have  been  observing  it  continue  the 
practice.  Philadelphia  also  observes  it. 
Efforts  to  retain  standard  time  came  to 
naught. 


‘ Heard  In 


w 


ILMINGTON 

All  Waiting 
For  Hot  Wave 


WILMINGTON  THEATRE  managers 
were  brightening  up  their  property.  .  .  .  Dick 
Hilshire  (not  Kilshire)  new  manager,  Queen, 
who  has  taken  well  in  Wilmington,  recalled 
that  there  had  been  ten  bad  weather  Saturdays. 
.  .  .  Lew  Black,  manager,  Aldine,  was  plan¬ 
ning  to  have  his  front  rebuilt,  including  the 
removal  of  the  pipe  organ-like  trappings  at  the 
entrance.  .  .  .  Lew  hasn’t  heard  about  any 

plans  for  a  modern  air-cooling  system  this 
summer.  .  .  .  Buttonholed  Lyle  Trenchard, 

district  manager,  hustling  to  his  office  in  the 
Opera  House,  and  find  him  well  satisfied  with 
the  way  the  Savoy  started  off.  .  .  .  Joe 

DeEiore  has  repainted  his  front  green  and 
white  with  red  and  gold  trimmings  for  the 
summer.  .  .  .  Joe  is  going  in  bigger  for  news¬ 
paper  “ads.”  .  .  .  Recently  I  spied  one  of  his 
neat  looking  hand-painted  placard  “ads”  tied 
up  with  a  gasoline  “adv  over  in  A.  B.  Selig- 
man's  Strand  territory. 

STOCKHOLDERS  of  Universal  came  to 
Wilmington  the  other  day ;  held  their  meeting 
and  got  out  of  town  without  any  heralded  fire¬ 
works  or  even  publicity.  .  .  .  C.  Oscar  Gray, 
Palace  Theatre,  Seaford,  Del.,  has  given  up 
management  of  that  theatre  to  accept  a  posi¬ 
tion  as  manager  of  a  theatre  for  Warner 
Brothers  in  Hagerstown,  Md. 

I  LIKE  Wilmer  Highfield’s  elevation  to 
manager  of  the  Savoy.  .  .  .  He  is  a  high 

class  young  man  with  ideas.  .  .  .  Hoped  to 

put  on  a  special  shoppers’  morning  matinee 
with  doors  open  at  ten  o’clock.  .  .  .  Jimmy 
Kearny  steps  up  as  assistant  manager, 
Queen,  as  a  result  of  this  change.  .  .  . 

Found  both  he  and  Manager  Hilshire  pouring 
over  B.  O.  figures  wishing  Christmas  was 
near.  .  .  .  Jimmy’s  new  baby  is  a  ‘‘silent 

oil  burner.”  .  .  .  Another  new  daddy  in  the 
Warner  family  is  William  Lynch,  porter, 
Aldine,  who  is  proud  of  the  newly  arrived 
Miss  Barbara  Ann  Lynch.  .  .  .  Harry  Bru¬ 
baker,  treasurer,  New  Rialto,  was  the  only 
member  of  a  little  summer  colony  on  the 
Delaware  whose  pier  wasn’t  demolished  by 
the  ice.  .  .  .  Harry  is  having  a  new  motor 

put  in  his  swanky  outboard.  .  .  .  Genial 

Jimmy  Olwell,  same  house,  helped  brighten 
up  the  front  of  the  theatre.  .  .  .  Found  a 

man  dressed  up  like  a  Foreign  Legion  mem¬ 
ber,  gun  over  shoulder,  patroling  front  of 
Aldine  for  “Lost  Patrol.”  .  .  .  Dick  Hilshire 
was  planning  a  dressed  up  “ape”  on  the 
street  for  “Son  of  Kong,”  wise  cracks  about 
the  theatre  and  lobby  for  “Jimmy  the  Gent,” 


Promises  Full 
Elimination  Publicity  Fight 


Praises  Pennsylvania  Civil  Liberties  Committee  for  Work 
— Sunday  Opening  Possibility,  Poster  Rental  Situation, 
High  Film  Discussed 


Definite  support  for  the  Pennsylvania  Civil  Liberties  Committee  featured  the 
meeting  of  members  of  the  MPTO  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey 
and  Delaware,  held  April  17,  at  the  Broadwood  Hotel. 


Mascot  Ad  Chief 


A1  Sherman 

has  been  appointed  advertising  and  publicity 
chief  for  Mascot  Pictures  Corporation.  The 
new  Nat  Levine  lieutenant  has  had  a  wide 
experience  in  the  field. 


and  a  lot  of  window  cards  for  “Wonder  Bar.” 
.  .  .  Maybe  the  Joe  Penner  shorts  of  War¬ 

ner  Bros.,  help  the  Warner  box  office,  at  least 
at  the  offset,  for  the  Aldine  ballied  the  first 
one  aplenty,  but  from  all  sides  I  hear  they 
are  not  helping  the  “duck  salesman”  one  bit. 
.  .  .  I’ve  heard  at  least  a  dozen  persons  say 
they  have  lost  interest  in  his  broadcast  since 
seeing  him  im  these  shorts,  apparently  taken 
a  right  long  time  ago. 


Bus-Ticket  Tieup  Upheld 

Question  involving  sale  of  special  bus 
tickets  to  which  are  attached  coupons 
admitting  bearers  to  certain  motion  pic¬ 
ture  theatres  was  ruled  favorably  to  the 
bus  company  recently  by  the  Public 
Service  Commission  in  Harrisburg. 

Commission  ruled  that  the  Schuylkill 
Valley  Lines,  Inc.,  which  operates  bus 
service  in  Norristown  and  nearby  points, 
may  sell  special  round-trip  bus  tickets 
to  which  are  attached  free  admission 
tickets  to  Norristown  moving  picture 
houses,  stating,  however,  that  the  deci¬ 
sion  must  not  be  construed  as  implying 
approval  of  special  or  combination 
rates. 

Ruling  stated:  “Each  rate  of  this 
character  must  be  considered  on  its 
merits  and  its  reasonableness  deter¬ 
mined  by  the  Commission  in  the  light  of 
particular  circumstances  involved.” 


The  body  went  on  record  as  endorsing  the 
actions  of  the  committee. 

Resolutions  passed  included : 

One  condemning  the  attitude  of  the 
state  board  of  censors  in  refusing  to  re¬ 
lease  eliminations  on  pictures;  giving 
support  to  all  measures  necessary  to 
bring  about  such  publication;  that  all 
publicity  possible  be  given  to  the  resolu¬ 
tion;  and  that  a  copy  be  sent  to  Gov¬ 
ernor  Pinchot,  secretary  of  the  common¬ 
wealth  Richard  Beamish  and  the  chair¬ 
man  of  the  state  board  of  censors. 

One  giving  the  fullest  aid  and  co¬ 
operation  to  National  Kline  Poster  Com¬ 
pany  in  its  effort  to  fight  any  increased 
overhead  in  the  matter  of  advertising 
and  leased  paper,  and  pledging  full  sup¬ 
port  to  National  Kline  Poster  Company 
in  the  matter  of  advertising  accessories. 

One  urging  THE  EXHIBITOR  to  use 
all  means  possible  to  obtain  eliminations 
of  the  state  board  of  censors  and  give 
the  eliminations  the  widest  publicity  in 
every  issue  of  THE  EXHIBITOR. 

One  endorsing  the  actions  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Civil  Liberties  Committee 
and  that  the  fullest  co-operation  be 
given  the  body  in  having  eliminations  of 
the  state  board  of  censors  publicized. 

Sentiment  in  regard  to  the  censor  situation 
was  unanimous. 

The  part  played  by  THE  EXHIBITOR,  as 
the  official  organ  of  the  organization,  was 
stressed.  In  addition,  it  was  announced  that 
membership  to  the  organization  would  also  in¬ 
clude  a  subscription  to  the  publication. 

Following  a  few  words  by  David  Barrist  on 
the  question  of  censorship,  John  V.  Stanger, 
Pennsylvania  Civil  Liberties  Committee,  ad¬ 
dressed  the  body. 

Others  matters  taken  up  included  possibility 
of  Sunday  opening  being  linked  with  the  fall 
elections,  passage  of  a  resolution  mourning  the 
death  of  John  S.  Evans,  some  words  on  day¬ 
light  saving,  discussion  of  exhibitor  rights  in 
connection  with  the  American  Society  of 
Musicians,  Authors  and  Composers,  discussion 
of  rights  in  the  matter  of  adjustments  from 
ERPI  following  a  Wilmington  decision,  and  an 
address  by  David  Barrist. 

Barrist  touched  on  all  industry  problems  and 
asked  for  action  on  high  rentals. 

Barrist  also  praised  all  the  local  printing 
companies  for  endeavoring  to  protect  the  exhib¬ 
itors  in  the  matter  of  increased  printing  costs. 
This  includes  all  the  Vine  Street  printers. 

He  said  resolutions  would  not  solve  the  prob¬ 
lem. 

The  meeting  was  attended  by  nearly  100  ex¬ 
hibitors.  President  Lewen  Pizor  presided. 

Code  matters  were  also  discussed. 


28 


May  1'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


We  HAVE 


CHEAPER 


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the  only  ones  who  have 

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remarkable  values: 


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of  our  three  grades  of  22  K. 
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you  may  learn  the  truth! 


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Here  365  Days  in  the  Year  to  Serve  You 


BETWEEN  THE  PARAGRAPHS 


MPTOA  CONVENTION  MUST  HAVE  BEEN  WHIRL 

The  coast  MPTOA  convention  must  have  provided  a  dizzy  whirl  of  activity 
for  all  delegates.  No  other  explanation  could  be  offered  for  the  action  of  the  con¬ 
vention  in  rapping  the  independent  producers  as  well  as  double  features.  Every 
one  of  those  MPTOA  conventioneers,  if  he  is  a  thinker,  knows  that  in  independent 
production  there  rests  a  protection  for  the  exhibitor.  Most  major  producers  started 
as  independents  and  to  scoff  at  the  companies  labelled  independent  at  this  time  is 
to  forget  the  history  of  the  trade.  Perhaps  the  rounds  of  entertainments  which 
seemed  to  be  so  dominant  at  the  convention  caused  the  action  on  double  features 
and  independents.  There  can  be  no  other  sensible  explanation. 


COSTUME  PICTURES  STILL  PROBLEM 

Regardless  of  their  other  assets,  costume  pictures  are  still  headaches  for  most 
houses.  There  have  been  few  which  have  been  money-makers  all  the  way  down 
the  line.  Garbo  suffered.  ‘‘Henry  the  Eighth”  did  better  than  generally  expected, 
but  was  spotty.  "Catherine”  won’t  equal  “Henry’s”  grosses.  Now,  “Scarlet 
Empress”  and  ‘‘Affairs  of  Cellini”  will  try  to  beat  the  old  bugaboo.  For  some  reason, 
epics  which  cover  generations  and  costume  shows  are  troublesome. 


MARY  PICKFORD  WANTS  A  COMEBACK 

There  is  no  question  but  that  Mary  Pickford  would  like  to  make  a  big  come¬ 
back  in  pictures.  Her  stage  engagements  gave  evidence  that  the  public  is  ready 
to  welcome  her  if  she  appears  in  the  right  type  of  story.  While  it  is  finally  expected 
that  UA  would  release  her  pictures,  the  sentimental  values  that  would  result  from 
a  Paramount  release  would  make  for  good  publicity. 


TRADE  KEEPS  EYE  ON  ELECTIONS 

The  trade  is  keeping  an  eye  on  the  fall  elections.  In  various  parts  of  the 
country  state  issues  such  as  censorship,  taxes,  etc.,  are  linked  with  the  elections. 
Usually  the  trade  keeps  clear  of  political  entanglements,  but  some  of  the  questions 
are  so  hot  it  will  be  difficult. 


METRO  BEGINS  TO  HIT  ITS  STRIDE 

After  a  season  which  saw  it  far  below  its  accustomed  place  among  the  head¬ 
liners,  Metro  is  beginning  to  deliver  some  pictures  that  may  help  it  in  its  attempt 
to  get  back  to  the  top.  “Tarzan  and  His  Mate,”  “Riptide,”  and  “Viva  Villa”  should 
turn  in  nice  grosses.  There  are  some  other  star  vehicles  on  the  way.  The  trouble 
with  Metro  was  that  the  feature-run  of  the  mill  pictures  broke  in  a  row,  without  the 
star  vehicles  to  help  out.  Things  may  change,  however. 


MORE  PERCENTAGE  PICTURES  CERTAIN 

Most  of  the  distributors,  undeterred  by  some  returns  as  low  as  $1.19  on  per¬ 
centage  engagements,  will  ask  for  more  in  the  percentage  category  when  the  sell¬ 
ing  season  gets  under  way.  The  distributors  who  sold  for  a  flat  rental  were  gen¬ 
erally  better  off  during  the  past  season.  Unheard  of  lows  on  some  of  the  specials 
proved  that  while  an  outright  buy  looks  smaller,  it  brings  more  to  the  exchange 
when  the  so-called  big  ones  prove  to  be  duds. 


LESS  RESOLUTIONS  FROM  TRADE 

The  passing  season  seems  to  be  marked  by  a  decrease  in  resolutions  by  exhibi¬ 
tor  organizations.  Even  the  MPTOA,  which,  during  its  convention,  passed  quite  a 
few  of  the  resolutions,  didn’t  equal  the  output  of  former  years,  while  exhibitor  meet¬ 
ings  in  various  parts  of  the  country  have  been  resolving  less  and  trying  to  act  more. 
Gradually,  the  exhibitors  are  beginning  to  learn  that  most  resolutions  can’t  get 
results.  A  bite  is  far  more  impressive  than  a  bark. 


RIOT  SCENES  INTEREST  EXHIBITORS 

Exhibitors  are  wondering  why  newsreels  are  including  so  many  riot  scenes  of 
strikes  in  their  newsreels.  With  the  fact  known  that  newsreels  keep  out  material 
which  might  displease  audiences'  (Hitler  publicity  is  an  example),  it  is  to  be  won¬ 
dered  why  riots  are  allowed  to  remain.  True,  they  are  real,  but  in  some  situations 
they  may  cause  trouble. 


HOBART  MANN. 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


May  1  ’  34 


29 


Inde  Supply  Men  Meet 

Independent  Theatre  Supply  Dealers’ 
Association  holds  its  4th  annual  conven¬ 
tion  in  Chicago,  May  26-28. 

Clem  Rizzo  is  the  member  from  this 
territory  who  will  attend  the  session. 


YORK 


WITH  A  TURNOUT  of  more  than  200 
members  and  guests  of  the  Warner  Club,  York 
district,  including  Lancaster,  York,  Red  Lion, 
Hanover  and  Gettysburg,  a  good  time  was  had 
by  all  at  the  semi-annual  party  and  get-together 
of  the  club  held  Sunday,  April  22,  at  the  Grand 
View  Country  Club.  .  .  .  Prizes,  novelties, 

lunch,  entertainment  and  everything  to  mak. 
for  an  enjoyable  evening  was  provided  by  the 
committee  in  charge  with  Harry  Travis  pre¬ 
siding  over  the  proceedings  as  master  of  cere- 
mon'es.  .  .  .  Highlight  of  the  evening  was 
the  appearance  of  a  man  made  horse,  with  A1 
Holmes  and  Bob  Miller,  in  the  front  and  rear 
compartments  respectively,  in  a  three  ring  cir¬ 
cus  act,  with  Travis  this  time  as  the  ring 
master.  .  .  .  Evening  started  off  in  great  style 
when  all  the  ladies  present  placed  one  of  their 
shoes  in  a  pile  in  the  center  of  the  ballroom  and 
then  at  a  given  signal  the  men  made  a  wild 
scramble  to  pick  out  a  dainty  shoe  and  then 
started  on  a  quest  for  the  lady  whose  foot  fit  it. 

.  .  .  Program  of  entertainment  included  De 
Carlos  and  Granada,  dance  team  which  ap¬ 
peared  in  “Flying  Down  to  Rio,”  in  the  head¬ 
line  spot,  and  local  luminaries  of  the  stage. 

.  .  .  Pit  band  of  the  Capitol  Theatre,  Lan¬ 
caster,  accompanied  the  entertainers.  . 

Dance  contests,  with  worthwhile  prizes  for  the 
winners  brought  out  some  mean  steppers,  and 
Cleon  Miller  was  disappointed  when  he  was 
the  first  eliminated  in  the  waltz  contest. 

CLEON  MILLER,  Strand,  put  on  the  same 
newspaper  campaign  on  “Nana”  used  in 
Philadelphia  and  New  York  papers.  . 

Also  distributed  5,000  small  eight-page 
heralds.  .  .  .  Guests  of  honor  at  the  Warner 
party  included  John  Roach  and  wife,  Stan¬ 
ley  Smithers  and  wife,  and  A1  Plough  and 
wife.  .  George  Morangelo,  assistant, 

Lion,  Red  Lion,  and  Oliver  Kinard,  assistant, 
Rialto,  York,  have  changed  places.  . 
Change  was  a  very  agreeable  one,  Kinard’s 
home  being  in  Red  Lion  and  Morangelo  stay¬ 
ing  in  York  while  working  in  Red  Lion. 

SIDNEY  POPPAY,  Rialto,  is  staging  a  big 
revival  week  during  which  time  he  will  show 
s;x  pictures.  .  .  .  Poppay  distributed  ballots  to 
his  patrons  a  month  in  advance  of  the  revival 
week.  .  .  .  Poppay  put  on  an  extensive  cam¬ 
paign  on  “Harold  Teen”  which  included  the 
mtroduction  at  one  of  the  popular  soda  foun¬ 
tains  of  a  special  Harold  Teen  soda.  .  .  .  Man¬ 
aged  a  radio  tie-up  on  the  picture.  .  .  .  Sold 
"Man  of  Two  Worlds”  from  the  Eskimo  angle, 
at  the  suggestion  of  Bill  Israel,  district  man¬ 
ager,  and  did  a  big  business. 


Wilmington  Savoy  Opens 

Savoy,  Wilmington,  under  Warner  lease,  re¬ 
opened  at  prices  of  15  and  20,  with  10  for  chil¬ 
dren.  Wilmer  J.  Highfield,  former  assistant 
manager,  Queen,  and  for  several  years  em¬ 
ployed  at  the  Aldine,  manages. 

A  complete  staff  of  employees  including  some 
brought  down  from  the  Opera  House  were  in¬ 
stalled  as  follows :  Charles  Cusack,  usher ; 
Charles  Gallagher,  relief  doorman ;  Miss  Bertha 
Sterling,  box  office ;  Miss  Margaret  Kinsley, 
relief  box  office  ;  Dick  Hayden,  doorman  ;  John 
Gibbs,  Opera  House,  and  Wilson  Jones,  ushers. 


Heard  In 

P  -  $  T  A  T  E 

Majestic  Opening 
Causes  Shifts 


ANNOUNCEMENT  in  Harrisburg  news¬ 
papers,  when  Jack  O’Rear  was  transferred  from 
his  managerial  post  at  the  Victoria  to  a  simi¬ 
lar  position  at  the  Majestic,  that  he  is  an  eli¬ 
gible  bachelor  has  resulted  in  most  of  Har¬ 
risburg’s  young  (some  of  them  not  so  young) 
female  movie  fans  choosing  the  Majestic  as 
their  favorite  rendezvous,  according  to  Harry 
Beck,  Majestic  maintenance  man.  .  .  .  Man¬ 
ager  O’Rear,  Majestic,  Harrisburg,  keeps  him¬ 
self  fit  on  the  volleyball  courts  at  the  Y.  M.  C. 
A.  .  .  .  Nicholas  Todorov,  former  assistant 

manager  at  Loew’s  Regent,  Harrisburg,  is 
printing  the  programs  and  handling  publicity" 
for  Manager  Charles  Bierbauer  at  the  State, 
Harrisburg.  .  .  .  William  Hoffman,  new 

organist  at  Victoria,  Harrisburg,  is  a  mechan¬ 
ical  and  electrical  engineer.  .  .  .  He  is  the 
father  of  blue-eyed  girl,  just  ten  weeks  old, 
named  for  Mrs.  Roosevelt,  wife  of  the  Presi¬ 
dent. 

SYMPATHIES  and  best  wishes  for  an  early 
recovery  for  Miss  Genevieve  Funk,  cashier, 
Victoria,  Harrisburg,  who  underwent  a  seri¬ 
ous  operation.  .  Miss  Mary  Ellen  Hat¬ 

field,  Victoria  usher,  has  been  taking  Miss 
Funk’s  place.  .  .  .  Admiration  for  Miss 

Thelma  Miller,  cashier,  Loew’s  Regent,  Har¬ 
risburg,  who  suffered  a  severe  sprain  of  the 
leg  in  a  fall  and  refused  to  leave  her  post. 

Happiness  over  reports  that  Mrs.  Mary 
Bell  Zeiders,  cashier,  Loew’s  Regent,  Har¬ 
risburg,  is  recovering  rapidly. 

THAT  THE  NEW  Pennsylvania  Men’s 
Dry  League  will  strive  for  repeal  of  the  Sun¬ 
day  Sports  Act  in  the  1935  session  of  Legis¬ 
lature  was  revealed  recently  by  Dr.  O.  Bruce 
Poulson,  Huntingdon,  secretary  of  the  league. 
.  .  .  Stated  the  league  also  will  fight  against 
further  liberalization  of  the  Sabbath  to  allow 
other  sports  and  shows  on  Sundays.  .  .  . 

Dauphin  County  Court  has  been  informed  that 
terms  of  settlement  have  been  agreed  upon  in 
the  claim  of  William  M.  and  Ruth  Elizabeth 
Power  and  their  father,  Nicholas  F.  Power, 
Doylestown,  formerly  of  Middletown,  against  a 
Harrisburg  baking  company.  ...  A  jury  in 
the  January  sessions  of  civil  court  had  awarded 
the  Power  children  and  their  father  $4795  for 
the  death  of  Mrs.  Ethel  M.  Power,  fatally  in¬ 
jured  when  struck  by  a  truck  near  her  Middle- 
town  home,  November  17,  1932.  .  .  .  Counsel 
for  the  baking  company"  had  moved  for  a  new 
trial  but  withdrew  the  motion.  .  .  .  Nicholas 
Power  was  operating  the  Elks’  Theatre,  Mid¬ 
dletown,  at  the  time  of  his  wife's  death. 

“DEATH  TAKES  A  HOLIDAY,”  that 
ran  preceding  week  at  the  Ritz  Theatre,  Dan¬ 
ville,  was  taken  as  the  theme  for  a  sermon 
preached  at  Trinity  Lutheran  Church,  Danville, 
April  22,  by"  the  Rev.  E.  L.  Leisey.  .  .  .  Meet¬ 
ing  of  Democrats  of  Marysville  was  held  at  the 
Galen  Theatre,  Marysville. 


Pottsville  Hits  Bad  Films 

Board  of  Education  of  First  Presby¬ 
terian  Church,  Pottsville,  has  gone  on 
record  rapping  salacious  films  and  fav¬ 
oring  block  booking. 

Body  also  asks  people  of  city  to  stay 
away  from  indecent  features. 


Manager  Available 

Manager  who  knows  community  good 
will,  experienced  in  booking,  buying, 
advertising,  is  available.  Will  go  any¬ 
where.  Can  furnish  best  of  references. 
Box  BK. 


LEHIGH  VALLEY 


"PERFORMING  worldly  labor  or  business 
on  Sunday",  commonly  called  the  Lord’s  Day, 
contrary  to  the  Act  of  April  22,  179-!;,”  was  the 
charge  on  five  warrants  issued  with  the  inten¬ 
tion  of  terminating  Sunday  movies  at  the  Penlo 
Theatre,  Emaus.  .  .  .  Served  on  William 

Knake,  Allentown,  manager,  Penlo,  Harold 
Longenbach,  Kutztown,  Henry"  Strohl,  Bethle¬ 
hem,  projectionist,  Robert  Longenbach,  Emaus, 
theatre  employee  and  Rev.  Paul  Kekarik  rector 
St.  AmVJs  Catholic  Church,  Emaus.  .  .  .  Pas¬ 
tors’  Association  of  Emaus  and  Vicinity  lodged 
the  complaint  formally  through  District  Attor¬ 
ney  John  H.  Diefenderfer  who  gave  Detective 
Herbert  M.  Bachman  authority  to  attend  the 
Sunday  night  show,  April  11,  secure  the  neces- 
;ary  names  and  proceed  with  the  arrests.  .  .  . 
Emaus  A.  C.  were  originally  scheduled  as  the 
sponsors  of  this  benefit,  but  according  to  the 
allegation,  when  it  became  known  that  prose¬ 
cution  would  follow,  the  management  of  the 
theatre  cancelled  the  engagement  and  secured 
St.  Ann’s  Catholic  Church  for  the  tie-up. 

VALLEY  lost  one  of  its  most  prominent 
theatrical  men  with  the  death  of  Charles  H. 
Bayer,  Lehighton,  April  21.  Bayer,  bet¬ 

ter  known  as  “Charley”  had  been  ill  for  sev¬ 
eral  months  but  the  immediate  cause  of  death 
was  a  sudden  heart  attack.  .  He  was 

vice-president  Bayer  Theatre  Company, 
operators.  Park,  Lehighton.  .  .  .  Bayer  was 

also  a  member  of  the  Holy  Name  Society,  the 
hlks  Lodge  and  the  Loyal  Order  of  Moose. 

No  Sunday  movies  in  Allentown,  yet, 
but  the  Lyric  was  used  for  a  Sunday  joint 
concert  by  the  Marine  Band  and  Legion 
Bugle  and  Drum  Corps. 

19TH  STREET  THEATRE  staged  the 
third  annual  presentation  of  the  Church  of  the 
Redeemer’s  Minstrels.  .  .  .  George  C.  Meeser. 
manager,  Broad,  Nazareth,  is  no  longer  the 
lonesome  bachelor.  .  .  .  Mrs.  Meeser  returned 
with  the  warm  weather  together  with  her  son 
Nathaniel.  .  .  .  Strand,  Easton,  ran  continu¬ 
ous  from  9.30  A.  M.  so  the  kiddies  could  have 
a  Saturday  morning  chance  to  see  “Wild 
Cargo."  ...  A.  Jerry  Cooper,  Easton  Transit, 
has  big  kiddy  shows  each  Saturday. 


Wilmington  Baseball  Up 

Warner  theatre  employees  of  Wilmington  arc 
beginning  to  make  plans  for  entering  a  base¬ 
ball  team  or  probably  more  than  one  in  a  divi¬ 
sion  league  which  is  under  consideration. 

Jimmie  Kearney,  assistant  manager,  Queen, 
and  star  pitcher,  Wilmington  bass  tossers  has 
already  had  the  men  out  for  practice.  It  is 
possible  that  the  Queen  and  Savoy  forces  may 
join  into  a  rival  team  against  the  Aldine  and 
Opera  House  staffs’  nine. 


Fred  Bitner  Passes 

Suffering  a  heart  attack  while  riding  in  his 
automobile  Fred  C.  Bitner,  well  known  theatre 
man  of  Hanover,  died  April  22.  Bitner  who 
resided  in  Hanover  for  the  past  15  years  was 
a  native  of  Harrisburg. 


30 


May  1'34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


TRENTON 


ALLIED  THEATRE  OWNERS  of  New 
Jersey,  inc.,  meeting  at  the  Stacy,  Trenton, 
April  23,  went  on  record  for  clean  motion 
pictures,  maintaining  that  clean  pictures  means 
uetter  results  to  the  industry.  .  .  .  Activity  of 
the  national  organizations  of  Catholic  Women, 
Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution  and 
,.  trier  societies  and  organizations  prompted  the 
action  of  the  Allied.  .  .  .  National  censorship 
measure  introduced  in  Congress  by  Represent¬ 
ative  Patmon,  of  Texas,  is  opposed  by  the 
Allied.  .  .  .  Allied  members  discussed  code. 

.  .  .  Organization  plans  to  continue  to  work 
tor  the  interests  of  the  independent  with  view 
of  obtaining  a  better  product,  more  protection 
and  lower  prices  for  buying  of  pictures. 

ASSEMBLYMAN  SIRACUSA’S  measure  to 
reduce  the  flat  tax  of  three  cents  a  square 
foot  on  billboards  in  New  Jersey  with  a  new 
schedule  ranging  from  50  cents  to  $2  was 
bitterly  opposed  at  a  public  hearing  on  the 
bill  at  the  State  House,  Trenton.  .  .  .  Allied 
lavors  enactment  of  the  bill  but  Republican 
majority  leaders  maintain  that  the  measure 
will  not  be  brought  to  an  open  vote.  .  .  . 

Labor  differences  of  long-standing  in  the 
Rialto,  Victory  and  Princess  neighborhood 
theatres  have  been  settled.  .  .  James 

Brennan,  J.  Norris  Dakin,  and  James  Fee 
representing  Local  Motion  Picture  Operators 
Union  359  and  James  Lamont,  Mrs.  Helen 
Hildinger  and  Phillip  Blaustein,  theatre-own¬ 
ers  reached  an  agreement  to  employ  recog¬ 
nized  union  operators  affiliated  with  Amer¬ 
ican  Federation  of  Labor.  .  Six  opera¬ 

tors  of  Motion  Pictures  Operators  Union  359 
replace  three  projectionists,  members  of  In¬ 
ternational  Projectionists  and  State  Em¬ 
ployees  Union. 

STACY  has  changed  from  Friday  to  Satur¬ 
day.  .  .  .  Assemblyman  Edward  M.  Gurk, 
Gloucester'  introduced  in  the  Legislature  a  new 
sales  tax  measure  for  two  per  cent  levy  on  all 
sales  including  theatre  admissions  but  action 
on  the  bill  has  been  deferred  until  after  the 
primary  election  this  month. 


MID- JERSEY 


ALLIED  JERSEY  will  hold  its  convention 
in  June  or  July.  .  .  .  Spot  is  being  selected. 
.  .  .  President  Sidney  Samuelson  has  been 

meeting  with  regional  vice-presidents. 

MEL  KOFF  now  managing  the  Drive-In 
Theatre  for  Wilmer  and  Vincent.  ...  Si 
Myers,  Moorestown,  took  to  golf,  got  a 
wrenched  back  for  his  trouble. 

EDDIE  O’KEEFE  is  Democratic  candidate 
for  state  assembly  to  represent  the  Atlantic 
City  area.  .  .  .  He  is  one  of  the  best  known 
exhibitors  in  the  area  and  enters  politics  for 
the  first  time.  .  .  .  He  was  long  active  in 
MPTO  circles.  .  .  .  Several  theatre  safes  have 
been  looted  in  the  shore  area.  .  .  .  Capitol, 
Colonial,  Stanley  have  been  affected. 

KEYSTONE  State  Moving  Picture  Opera¬ 
tors'  Association  have  opened  offices  in  Camden. 


Ten  Years  Ago 

Just  ten  years  ago,  arrangements 
were  made  to  demonstrate  Phonofilm,  a 
talking  device,  at  the  Stanley.  It  was 
the  first  Philadelphia  exhibition. 


Trade  Asks  Why  on 
Free  Trailer  Space 

Screen  Time  Given  Gratis  to 
Dailies 

Theatres  of  the  territory  are  giving 
away  thousands  of  dollars  worth  of  free 
space  on  the  screen  weekly. 

That  is  the  charge  made  by  several  of  the 
important  executives  in  the  local  industry  who 
have  been  making  a  survey  of  chain  and  neigh¬ 
borhood  advertising  in  Philadelphia  newspapers. 
These  observers  claim  that  theatres,  in  running 
free  ads  for  the  newspapers  on  their  screen,  are 
handing  out  space  that  is  worth  thousands  of 
dollars  to  any  advertiser. 

"Why  should  a  theatre  give  a  free  ad  to  a 
newspaper  on  its  screen?"  asks  these  executives. 
"Granted  that  some  of  the  papers  give  a  re¬ 
duced  rate  to  theatres,  but  there  is  no  reason 
in  the  world  why  a  free  trailer  should  be  thrust 
on  the  screen.  That  space  is  worth  plenty  of 
money.  Advertisers  would  gladly  pay  for  it. 
Regardless  of  whether  or  not  there  is  a  special 
rate,  the  trailer  comes  under  the  head  of  adver¬ 
tising.” 

It  has  also  been  pointed  out  that  all  theatres 
in  the  city  should  get  together  on  the  directory 
idea,  on  a  cheap  rate  for  a  directory  on  the 
amusement  page  and  allow  all  theatres  to  ad¬ 
vertise  in  all  papers  for  a  low  rate.  Then  they 
could  offer  a  free  ad  on  the  screen  to  news¬ 
papers  co-operating.  This  would  encourage  cir¬ 
culation,  aid  the  theatres  and  work  out  gener¬ 
ally  for  all  concerned.  This  same  plan  has 
been  put  in  effect  in  many  cities  throughout 
the  country  satisfactorily. 

The  local  Record,  which  started  the  direc¬ 
tory  idea,  has  placed  the  directory  on  the  classi¬ 
fied  pages.  Some  maintain  this  ought  to  be1  on 
the  amusement  page  or  at  least  a  bold  face  type 
for  the  name  of  the  theatres  could  be  used. 
The  Evening  Ledger  has  adopted  the  directory 
idea,  has  placed  it  on  the  amusement  page.  The 
rock-bound  Bulletin  has  a  directory,  but  at  no 
saving.  The  News  and  Inquirer  do  not  get 
much  of  the  neighborhood  advertising.  This 
plan  should  receive  the  co-operative  support  of 
all  the  Philadelphia  and  surrounding  theatres 
when  the  plan  is  put  into  operation. 

Many  neighborhood  exhibitors  have  refrained 
from  advertising  in  the  newspapers  on  the  basis 
that  rates  are  prohibitive.  In  addition  many 
feel  the  possibility  of  the  ad  is  restricted  to 
their  local  neighborhood  and  that  they  do  not 
get  the  value  of  the  newspaper  circulation  in 
other  sections  of  the  city. 

Department  stores  and  other  lines  of  busi¬ 
ness  can  draw  from  the  entire  city.  Some  news¬ 
papers  feature  the  fact  that  they  carry  the 
ads  of  all  department  stores  as  a  possible  cir¬ 
culation  builder.  The  same  would,  no  doubt,  be 
true  of  the  newspaper  carrying  all  the  movie 
theatre  ads. 

Observers  point  out  that  baseball  gets  col¬ 
umns  of  space,  with  practically  no  advertising 
for  the  paper.  They  say  that  a  well-built 
amusement  page,  with  directory,  will  mean 
added  circulation. 

It  is  possible  that  a  committee  may  be  formed 
to  take  up  the  question  with  local  newspapers. 
1 1  a  rate  for  all  theatres  can  be  worked  out, 


Wise  to  Speak 

Rabbi  Stephen  Wise  is  to  speak  in 
Bridgeton,  N.  J.,  May  10,  on  the  subject 
of  ‘Jew  and  Christian,  Agreements 
and  Disagreements.” 

Anyone  wishing  to  attend  should  get 
in  touch  with  Michael  Steinbrook, 
Bridgeton,  N.  J.,  or  the  Criterion  The¬ 
atre,  Bridgeton,  N.  J.,  where  Lou  Linker 
will  be  able  to  take  care  of  requests. 

Appearance  will  be  at  the  Criterion. 


WILLIAMSPORT 


GREGORY  BECK,  who  started  his  career 
as  a  theatre  man  at  the  Keystone,  was  trans¬ 
ferred,  April  16,  to  manage  the  Comerford 
theatre,  Danville.  .  .  .  Elwood  L.  Rubin,  Shen¬ 
andoah,  in  the  theatre  business  for  15  years, 
was  moved  here  to  succeed  Beck.  .  .  .  Beck 
succeeds  George  A.  Nevin.  .  .  .  Nevin  has  been 
named  manager  of  the  Capitol,  Hazleton.  .  .  . 
Hazleton  manager  was  shifted  to  Shenandoah. 

.  .  .  Beck  started  in  as  usher  when  Frank 

Keeney  owned  the  theatre,  and  worked  his  way 
up.  .  .  .  Rubin,  before  serving  at  the  Strand, 
Shenandoah,  was  at  Wilkes-Barre  for  four 
years. 

POOR  CHILDREN  of  the  city  are  attend¬ 
ing  special  Wednesday  afternon  shows  free  at 
the  Park.  .  .  .  Jack  Browell,  manager.  .  .  . 
Mayor  George  K.  Harris  arranged  to  distribute 
tickets  to  the  needy  children  through  the  schools 
of  the  city.  .  .  .  Ministers  and  delegates  at- 
t  nd  ng  Methodist  Conference  were  admitted  to 
Capitol  free.  .  .  .  Local  Newspaper  Boys’ 

Band  was  guest  at  Capitol  after  giving  pro¬ 
gram  on  streets  during  Window  Display  Night. 
.  .  .  Keystone  hooked  up  with  the  South  Wil¬ 
liamsport  Legion  post  in  a  benefit  show  while 
showing  a  war  picture.  .  .  .  Theatre  parties 
seem  to  be  coming  back  again.  .  .  .  Capitol 
used  a  big  display  board  on  top  of  marquee  for 
first  time  in  over  a  year  to  announce  “Wild 
Cargo.” 


RCA  Makes  Changes 

Edward  Wallerstein,  manager,  Record  Sales, 
has  been  placed  in  charge  of  all  Victor  record 
and  RCA  Victor  Photophone  film  recording 
activities,  in  addition  to  his  other  duties. 

Wallerstein  will  now  supervise  the  licensing 
for  Photophone  High  Fidelity  sound-on-film 
recording,  and  the  electrical  transcription  de¬ 
partment  activities,  as  well  as  all  Victor  disc 
recording  and  sales,  the  announcement  stated. 

Frank  B.  Walker  will  be  in  direct  charge  of 
electrical  transcription  sales.  James  E.  Francis 
will  be  directly  in  charge  of  Photophone  High 
Fidelity  recording  and  studio  activities. 


Block  Booking  Condemned 

Central  Pennsylvania  Conference  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  meeting  recently, 
I  assed  a  resolution  in  which  it  protests  against 
movies  featuring  sex  suggestive  situations, 
criminal  acts  and  vicious  practices.  It  con¬ 
demned  the  “block-booking  and  blind-booking 
systems”  that  make  ineffective  any  protest  by 
any  local  groups  the  type  of  pictures  shown. 


it  is  probable  that  the  idea  may  be  adopted  by 
all  concerned. 

Meanwhile,  many  are  advocating  dropping 
the  trailer  from  the  screens. 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


May  1'34 


31 


TRICTLy  PERSONAL 

New  Houser 
Baby  Here 


HOUSER  PRODUCTION  _ COMPANY 
announces  the  1934  Houser  “Baby  Girl,  ’ 
Model  No.  1,  to  be  known  as  Shirley  Ray.  .  .  . 
Robert  M.  Houser  is  designer  and  chief  engi¬ 
neer,  Roberta  E.  Houser,  production  manager, 
with  credits  to  the  doctor  who  was  technical 
assistant.  Model  includes  two  lung  rower, 

free  squealing,  scream  line  body,  economical 
feed,  water  cooled  exhaust,  changeable  seat 
covers.  .  .  .  Management  says  there  will  oe 
no  new  models  during  the  rest  of  the  year. 
.  .  .  Proud  dad  is  at  the  Steelton  Strand. 


RALPH  BINNS,  who  is  with  Warners  in 
China,  would  like  friends  to  drop  him  a  line. 

.  .  .  Addressing  him  at  Warner  Brothers 

Films,  136  Embankment  Building,  Shanghai, 
China.  .  .  .  P.  O.  1652. 

BACK  from  the  warmer  climes  came  Sam 
Gross,  Johnny  Roberts,  Harry  Spiegel.  .  .  . 
If  all  is  true  that  the  first  says  of  the  second 
someone  has  been  hiding  under  the  proverbial 
bushel.  .  .  .  Percy  Bloch  hopped  out  to  Chi¬ 
cago  for  the  once-postponed  Paramount  district 
convention.  .  .  .  Holding  the  fort  during  his 
absence  is  genial  Earle  Sweigert,  who  is  losing 
weight  because  of  hard  work.  .  .  .  Another 
ex-filmite  who  is  back  is  Jake  Fox,  the  ex- 
Jerseyite,  who  looks  hale  and  hearty  after  a 
trip  to  the  Holy  Land. 

LENNY  SCHLESINGER,  Stanley- Warner 
zone  chief,  goes  to  St.  Louis  for  a  vacation 
May  7-21.  .  .  .  He  has  been  working  hard, 
needs  a  rest. 

RAY  MYERS,  manager  of  the  Ogontz,  had 
a  birthday.  .  .  .  He  is  still  under  30  years 

of  age.  .  .  .  Celebrated.  .  .  .  Ollie  Guil- 

foil,  Jersey  booker  for  Warners,  was  seen  in 
Trenton  with  the  Mrs.  .  .  .  Charlie  Beilin, 

Warner  booker,  wasn’t  seen  in  Trenton. 

IT’S  A  BOY  at  the  William  Wolfs.  .  .  . 
Mrs.  Wolf  was  Josephine  Gillespie.  .  .  .  A1 
Cohen,  attorney,  got  smiles  when  he  visited  the 
street  recently.  .  .  .  Esther  Diamond,  attended 

round  of  parties  when  she  visited  the  big 
city.  .  .  .  Joe  Burke  still  dazzling  the  dames. 
.  .  .  Hannah  Resnick  latest  charmer  at  Fox. 
.  .  .  Quite  attractive.  .  .  .  Who  was  the  red- 
haired  lassie  with  Sol  Hanken.  .  .  .  Mel  Koff 
and  Jack  Engel  always  ready  to  buy  lunches 
for  the  girls.  .  .  .  Mrs.  Charles  Hooper, 

Shickshinny,  had  a  birthday.  .  .  .  Young  Smith 
successor  also  due  for  one  next  week.  .  .  .  Joe 
Sloan  got  himself  a  new  tailor.  .  .  .  Who  is 
he?  .  .  .  To  see  Edgar  Moss  lap  cream  puffs 
is  a  treat. 


ARTIE  COHN,  Earle,  had  a  cold.  .  .  . 

Feels  better,  now.  .  .  .  Mike  Landow  will 

stay  where  he  resides  now.  .  .  .  It’s  cooler. 

HARRY  LEVINE  was  on  a  leave  of  absence 
from  UA.  .  His  health  has  been  poor 

and  he  needed  some  time  to  regain  his  lost 
strength.  But  he  came  back  with 

plenty  of  UA  pep. 

WHO  WAS  the  mysterious  exhibitor  who 
gave  Etta  Segall,  First  Division  booker,  flow¬ 
ers?  .  .  .  And  who  is  the  favorite  boy  friend 
of  Rose  Forman,  the  FDer?  .  .  .  Lunches,  too. 
.  .  .  Rae  Weiner,  FD  poster  clerk,  hopped  to 
NY  for  a  week-end. 

DAUGHTER  of  Jake  Berison,  Berio  Vend- 
:ng,  operated  on  for  appendicitis.  ...  12  years 
old  and  getting  better  rapidly. 


Forecaster  Clicks 


Pete  Harrison  claims  that  his  ‘Fore¬ 
caster,”  which  predicts  the  values  of 
pictures  as  far  as  box  office  is  concerned 
before  they  are  made,  came  within  90 c/o 
of  perfection.  In  his  recent  issue,  he 
reviews  the  “Forecaster”  predictions, 
points  out  his  mistakes  and  also  his 
virtues. 

It  would  seem  that  if  producers,  as 
well  as  exhibitors,  took  a  look  at  the 
“Forecaster,”  they  might  be  able  to  save 
themselves  and  customers  some  head¬ 
aches. 


READING 


WITH  AN  AMBULANCE  parked  outside 
of  one  of  Reading’s  largest  department  stores 
on  Penn  Street,  main  business  thoroughfare, 
where  it  would  do  most  good  in  attracting 
the  passersby,  Manager  A1  Nowitsky,  State 
Theatre,  Reading,  had  a  crowd  estimated  at 
8,000  to  9,000  people  interested  in  one  of 
his  publicity  stunts.  .  Dr.  Robert  J.  Paul¬ 
ine,  French  psychologist  and  mental  wizard, 
put  a  girl  to  sleep  at  1  o’clock  in  the  after¬ 
noon  in  window  of  Read’s  department  store. 
.  .  .  For  ‘  The  Ghoul,”  opening  at  the  State, 
May  9,  Manager  Notwisky  borrowed  a  casket 
from  a  Reading  undertaker,  put  a  wax  figure 
of  a  man  in  it  and  placed  it  in  a  Penn,  Street 
store  window,  with  appropriate  theatre 
cards.  .  .  .  This  is  being  kept  in  the  window 
for  two  weeks  or  more,  the  realistic  appear¬ 
ance  of  the  ‘‘dead  man”  attracting  a  surpris¬ 
ing  amount  of  attention. 

PAUL  E.  GLASE,  Wilmer  &  Vincent,  was 
given  good  space  in  the  New  York  Daily  News 
for  a  story  about  Will  Marion  Cook,  noted 
negro  composer  and  violinist.  .  .  .  Daylight 
time  went  into  effect  here  on  Sunday.  .  .  . 
Rajah  Theatre  closed.  .  .  .  New  York  theatre 
firm  had  taken  a  lease  on  the  building.  .  .  . 
Wilmer  &  Vincent  theatres  here  have  revived 
the  parking  service  at  their  houses.  .  .  . 

Stench  bombs  have  been  thrown  in  several  the¬ 
atres  here  recently.  .  .  .  Embassy  Theatre  here 
got  good  results  from  running  the  title,  in  its 
ads,  of  “Bottoms  Up,”  upside  down. 


SCRANTON 


HARRY  SPEIGEL  and  John  Roberts  have 
just  returned  from  Bermuda.  .  .  .  George 

Nevins,  manager,  Ritz,  Danville,  has  been  just 
transferred  to  hold  the  reins  of  the  Capitol 
Theatre,  Hazleton.  .  .  .  Ellwood  Rubin,  man¬ 
ager,  Strand,  Shenandoah,  goes  to  the  Key¬ 
stone,  Williamsport.  .  .  .  Gregory  Beck,  man¬ 
ager,  Keystone,  Williamsport,  goes  to  the  Ritz, 
Danville.  .  .  .  Liberty,  Hazleton,  now  oper¬ 
ates  under  a  new  monica,  Roxy.  .  .  .  Our  deep¬ 
est  sympathy  is  extended  to  James  and  Christie 
Armstrong,  projectionists,  Riviera  and  Globe, 
Scranton,  respectively,  for  the  recent  loss  of 
their  mother.  .  .  .  Manager  Joe  Slicker, 

Riviera,  Scranton,  has  instituted  organ  pro¬ 
logues.  .  .  .  For  the  showing  of  “Fashions  of 
1934, 1’  manager  Seibling,  Feeley,  Hazleton,  made 
an  excellent  tie-up  for  a  fashion  and  corset 
revue.  .  .  .  Jess  Blanchard,  manager,  Strand, 
Sunbury,  is  mighty  interested  in  David  Harum. 
.  .  .  The  setting  of  the  story  is  laid  in  his 
home  town  and  written  by  his  cousin.  .  .  . 
He  was  well  acquainted  with  Dave  Harum  and 
Ike  Finn.  .  .  .  Local  minister  in  Sunbury  was 
so  impressed  by  the  showing  of  “Death  Takes 
a  Holiday”  that  he  preached  a  sermon  on  it. 


CROSSTOWN 

( Continued  from  page  10’ 

“EVENING  LEDGER”  is  latest  paper  to  go 
into  directory  type  of  neighborhood  advertising. 

.  .  .  Paper  now  gives  a  special  rate.  .  .  .New 
setup  looks  cleaner,  is  more  useful.  .  .  .Prac¬ 
tically  all  papers  in  town  now  have  the  direc¬ 
tory  idea.  .  .  .  Retention  of  Henry  Murdock 
and  Eric  Knight  on  Evening  Ledger  gives  sheet 
an  A-l  dramatic  and  movie  staff  with  the 
changes  favored  by  trade  in  general.  .  .  .  Mil¬ 
dred  Martin  remains  a  movie  critic  on  Inquirer. 

.  .  .  Observers  rate  Ledger  top  as  far  as 

criticism  of  movies  is  concerned  with  both 
Murdock  and  Knight  knowing  what  it  is  all 
about.  .  .  .  Trade  uncertain  about  the  others. 

.  .  .  This  doesn't  include  William  Gleason  on 
Bulletin,  long  one  of  the  fairest  reviewers, 
even  though  the  paper's  policy  doesn't  allow 
for  much  fanfare  on  films,  and  Jeff  Keen,  on 
News,  who  is  rated  high  as  an  analyst  and 
commentator. 

CENT  RAL  PARK,  Allentown,  opening.  .  .  . 
State,  Allentown,  closing.  ...  If  movies  are 
shown  in  the  Sesqui  .Stadium,  local  exhibitors 
are  liable  to  protest  against  it  as  a  non-theatri¬ 
cal  competition.  .  .  .  Harry  Goren,  former 

manager,  is  westward  ho.  .  .  .  Theatre  in 
Laurel  Springs  is  expected  to  change  hands 
soon.  .  .  .  Moe  Goodman  now  general  district 
manager  for  United  Chain.  ...  All  the  Har¬ 
rises,  Ben,  Claire,  Sara,  Mitzi,  Dotzi  well. 

.  .  .  Albert  M.  Cohen  holding  down  the  fort 
in  the  PSFS  while  Jack  is  west  making  “Sweet 
Adeline.” 

WALT  ER  W.  LEACH  is  now  house  man¬ 
ager,  in  charge  of  stage  and  general  operation, 
at  the  Earle.  .  .  .  He  used  to  be  at  the  New¬ 
ark  Branford  and  is  experienced. 

A\  ENUE  THEATRE  has  been  sold  by  J. 
K.  Willing  and  Pennsylvania  Company  to  M. 
Milgram  for  $70,000.  .  .  .  $48,000  mortgage 
remains.  .  .  .  Assessed  at  $75,000.  .  .  .  The 
old  Frolic  Theatre,  52nd  and  Wyalusing,  is  be¬ 
ing  reclaimed.  .  .  .  House  is  being  completely 
rebuilt,  after  many  years  of  darkness,  a  garage 
next  door  will  give  more  room  to  build  and 
after  it  reopens,  the  Felts  and  Is  Schwartz  will 
be  associated  in  the  direction. 

DAN  KATLIN  is  out  of  the  Lyric,  Chester. 
.  .  .  Leo  Posel  has  taken  the  house  over. 

ACTION  was  expected  this  week  on  a  writ 
of  mandamus  which  the  Pennsylvania  Civil 
Liberties  Committee,  with  the  co-operation  of 
the  MPTI  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  was  ex¬ 
pected  to  ask.  .  .  .  John  V.  Stanger,  executive 
secretary,  the  PCLC,  is  active  in  the  matter. 
.  .  .  Date  of  mandamus  request  was  uncertain. 
.  .  .  Trade  gossip  had  another  tiff  coming  up 
between  UA  and  Stanley-Warner.  .  .  .  Not 
known  what  next  year’s  deal  would  be. 

NINETEEN  YEARS  AGO.  .  .  .  Libertv 
Bell  Slides  were  being  sent  to  exhibitors  ask- 
mg  patrons  to  fight  censorship.  ...  I.  Louis 
Breitinger,  chief  censor,  threatened  to  have 
exhibitors  arrested  for  showing  them. 

They  were  not  censored  and  exhibitors  claimed 
censors  had  no  jurisdiction  over  slides.  .  .  . 
Gustave  Frohman,  president,  Frohman  Amuse¬ 
ment  Co.,  addressed  City  Business  Club  in 
Hotel  Adelphia  and  urging  strict  movie  censor¬ 
ship  said:  “Although  I  am  a  producer  of  mov¬ 
ing  picture  films  1  am  firmly  convinced  that  the 
films,  and  particularly  those  depeting  social 
problems,  should  be  subjected  to  a  strict  cen¬ 
sorship.  .  .  .  Stand  by  your  censorship  law, 
and,  in  fact  make  them  more  drastic.  ...  I 
regret  to  admit  that  several  producers,  if  given 
a  free  hand  would  flood  the  chy  with  foul, 
immoral  pictures  that  would  demoralize  youth.” 
.  .  .  Charles  E.  Futcher  was  building  a  the¬ 
atre  at  6149  Larchwood  Avenue,  West  Philly 
costing  $15,000. 


32 


May  1 1 34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


BETTER  TESTED  SUCCESSFUL 

MANAGEMENT  #  ideas  #  merchandising 


Warners  Announce 
Huge  Philco  Tieup 

Arrangements  have  been  concluded  be¬ 
tween  Warner  Bros,  and  Philco  for  a 
national  exploitation  tie-up  on  the  pro¬ 
ducers’  production  of  “20  Million  Sweet¬ 
hearts.” 

Highlights  include : 

Campaign  is  scheduled  to  start  with  extensive  adver¬ 
tising  including  full  page  ads  in  the  “Saturday  Evening 
Post”  and  “Colliers.”  and  six  column  and  full  page  ads 
in  167  newspapers  covering  129  cities. 

These  newspaper  ads  will  include  plenty  of  space  for 
local  theatre  names  and  play  dates. 

All  Philco  dealers  will  display  a  large  window  card 
and  window  strip  with  the  imprint  of  local  theatre 
name  and  play  date  on  it.  Dealers  will  also  distribute 
1,000,000  handbills  with  local  theatre  name  and  play 
date  on  it.  They  will  receive,  in  addition  to  the  rest  of 
this  paper,  25,000  reprints  of  the  national  ads.  As 
prizes  for  co-operative  contests  conducted  by  local  Philco 
dealers  and  local  theatres,  the  Philco  organization  will 
supply  free  radios;  it  is  understood  that  these  radios 
will  only  be  supplied  where  local  theatres  co-operate, 
with  exhibitors  to  work  out  the  details  of  the  contest 
with  the  local  Philco  distributer.  A  radio  log  listing 
the  world’s  most  important  radio  stations  and  carrying  a 
break  for  the  picture,  as  well  as  theatre  name  and 
play  date,  will  be  available  as  throwaways  for  both  the 
theatre  and  the  local  Philco  dealer. 

Philco’s  chartered  liner  “Queen  of  Bermuda,”  carry¬ 
ing  Philco  executives,  salesmen  and  distributors  on  a 
West  Indies  cruise,  will  have  the  world’s  first  “seagoing 
premiere”  showing  “20  Million  Sweethearts.”  Warner 
representatives  on  board  will  work  out  with  Philco 
men  the  most  practical  methods  of  making  tie-ups  be¬ 
tween  theatres  and  Philco  dealers. 

In  addition  to  the  above,  there  will  be  radio  broad¬ 
casts  by  Boake  Carter,  local  dealers  ads,  which  will 
be  placed  by  Philco  dealers — particularly  chain  radio 
stores — and  who  may  be  approached  for  co-op  ads  and 
lobby  displays  in  which  the  exhibitor,  by  co-operating 
with  the  local  Philco  dealer,  can  arrange  a  real  radio 
show  in  his  lobby'  showing  the  different  types  of  Philco 
receivers. 


Selling  Pictures 

One  local  house  gave  out  groceries  including 
meal,  soap  chips,  cracker  meal,  candy  mints, 
coupon  for  2  lbs.  of  flour,  coupon  for  glass  of 
beer,  besides  usual  feature,  shorts,  etc. 

Tie-up  with  refrigerator  concern. 


Perry  Scores 

Charlie  Perry,  at  the  Aldine,  revamps  the 
press  books1’  ads  on  UA  shows  and  modifies 
them  to  the  local  angles. 

Seems  to  work  out  okay. 


Elicker’s  Style 


■. 


Style  of  theatre  fronts  that  Manager  Joe 
Elicker  has  inaugurated  at  the  Riviera, 
Scranton 


Organ  in  Harrisburg 

Return  to  the  Victoria  Theatre,  Harrisburg, 
of  organ  music,  silenced  with  the  advent  of 
talking  pictures  five  years  ago,  has  met  with 
approval  among  theatregoers. 

Melodic  strains  of  the  console  at  the  Victoria 
were  restored  with  William  A.  Hoffman,  of 
New  York  City,  at  the  instrument. 

Manager  Girard  Wollaston  has  inaugurated 
afeature  that  seems  to  be  interesting  Victoria 
patrons.  He  has  had  printed  a  number  of 
papers,  distributed  at  the  entrance  of  the  the¬ 
atre,  that  enable  patrons  to  designate  requests 
for  songs  to  be  played  by  Hoffman. 


Attractive  float  pictured  above  was  used  by 
the  York  Warner  Brothers  theatres  to  plug 
the  April  Celebration  month.  It  was  driven 
about  the  center  of  the  city. 


“House  of  Rothschild” 
Campaign  Covers  Field 

Campaign  put  on  by  Charlie  Perry  and 
the  Aldine  for  opening  of  “House  of 
Rothschild”  didn’t  miss  a  trick. 

Here  are  some  of  the  highlights : 

Extra  space  in  all  dailies,  including  Jewish  language 
papers.  Extra  advance  publicity. 

175  2 4 -sheets  posted  one  week  in  advance. 

25000  book  marks  distributed  public  libraries. 

Tie-up  with  local  department  stores  to  include  special 
book  marks  and  package  slips,  stuffed  into  every  pack¬ 
age  wrapped  for  delivery.  Special  window  displays. 
Special  Cinema  Shcp  tie-ups. 

Window  displays  in  book  stores,  department  stores, 
drug  stores  on  book  angle.  Window  cards  in  lending 
libraries. 

Jumbo  telegrams  in  Western  Union  tie-up. 

Serialization  of  the  story  in  “Daily  News.” 

Tie-up  with  bakeries  on  200,000  slips.  Window 
streamers  in  bakery  and  grccery  windows. 

Letters  to  Jewish  organizations,  rabbis,  etc. 

And  the  result  saw  a  swell  opening. 


Movie  columnist  of  a  Harrisburg  daily 
newspaper  co-operated  with  Charles  Mc- 
Leary,  manager,  Loew’s  Regent  Theatre, 
Harrisburg,  in  calling  attention  of  the  pub¬ 
lic  to  United  Artists’  “House  of  Rothschild.” 
Columnist  wrote  in  his  column  that  some¬ 
where  he  had  misspelled  a  word.  To  the 
first  ten  notifying  him  personally  or  by  let¬ 
ter,  Manager  McLeary  would  give  tickets  to 
“The  House  of  Rothschild.” 


Free  Tickets  with  Lux 

One  of  the  last  exploitation  stunts  of  Man¬ 
ager  Jack  D.  O’Rear  at  the  Victoria,  Harris¬ 
burg,  before  he  was  made  manager  of  the 
Majestic,  Harrisburg,  was  an  unusual  tie-up 
with  a  leading  department  store  of  the  city. 

Department  store  ran  in  all  daily  newspapers 
of  Harrisburg  a  two-column  ad,  the  entire 
length  of  the  page,  containing  a  large  picture  of 
the  face  of  Claire  Dodd  and  explanation  that 
she  was  featured  in  “The  Journal  of  a  Crime” 
to  open  at  the  Victoria  Theatre.  At  the  top  of 
the  ad  it  stated,  “Ticket  to  Victoria  without 
charge  with  each  purchase  of  ten  cakes  of  Lux 
Toilet  Soap.”  Under  the  picture  of  Miss  Dodd 
it  stated,  “Miss  Dodd  says,  ‘I’m  certainly  en¬ 
thusiastic  about  the  way  Lux  Toilet  Soap  keeps 
the  skin  always  soft  and  smooth’.”1 


The  FINES 


T  SERVICE  on  FILM  ROW  t 


SPECIAL  RATES  TO  FILM  PEOPLE: 

Parking  All  Day  ........  25c 

High  Pressure  Washing  (any  type  car)  85c 

TOW-CAR  SERVICE  —  ANY  PLACE  —  ANY  TIME 

APEX  GARAGE 

240-51-53  X.  JUNIPER  STREET  •  250-52-54  X.  CLARION  STREET 

Phone:  LOCUST  8604  -  -  PHILADELPHIA 
Becker  Bros.,  Props. 

Road  Service  to  Patrons  -  Mechanic  Always  on  Duty  -  Never  Closed 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


May  lf 34 


33 


“Palooka”  Gets  Prize 

Advertising  campaign  prepared  by  the  United 
Artists  advertising  department  on  the  presenta¬ 
tion  of  Reliances  motion  picture,  “Palooka, ” 
has  been  adjudged  the  best  advertising  copy  of 
the  year  by  the  editors  of  The  American  Spec¬ 
tator,  which,  in  the  May  issue,  announced  selec¬ 
tions  of  the  best  play,  fiction,  prose,  cartoon, 
news  reporting  and  advertising  that  have  been 
brought  out  in  America  during  the  last  twelve 
months. 

In  the  selection  of  the  “Palooka”  advertising, 
not  only  were  advertisements  of  other  motion 
pictures  of  the  year  considered  but  also  those  of 
all  other  advertisers —  those  of  automobiles, 
perfumes,  cigarettes  or  what-not. 


“Forgotten  Men” 

His  first  exploitation  stunt  as  manager  of  the 
Victoria  Theatre,  Harrisburg,  was  launched 
by  Girard  Wollaston  for  the  film  “Forgotten 
Men,”  which  opened  at  the  Victoria. 

“Gerry”  started  with  the  distribution  of  5000 
tabloid  heralds  and  worked  up  to  increased  ad¬ 
vertising  space.  Learning  the  Veterans  of  For¬ 
eign  Wars  were  in  convention,  he  plastered  the 
walls  and  windows  of  the  convention  hall  with 
"Forgotten  Men”  literature  and  distributed  cir¬ 
culars  among  the  1500  delegates  attending  the 
convention.  Circular  letters  were  sent  to  clubs 
and  other  organizations. 


For  “Death” 

Lew  Black,  Aldine,  Wilmington,  played  up 
the  idea  of  serious  accidents  with  “no  lives  lost” 
for  “Death  Takes  a  Holiday.”  In  a  hook-up 
with  the  Delaware  Safety  Council  a  wrecked 
car  was  put  on  the  street  with  warning  signs  of 
“Stop,  Look  and  Listen.”  with  the  label  “No 
Lives  Lost,”  “Death  Takes  a  Holiday.”  An¬ 
other  gag  was  a  picture  of  a  steamship  going 
down  with  “no  lives  lost.” 


Plugging  “Teen” 

Morton  Levine,  manager,  Grand  Opera 
House,  Wilmington  and  assistant  manager 
Prague,  worked  out  a  series  of  ballyhoos  and 
tie-ups  that  put  “Harold  Teen”  over  in  a  big 
way.  Various  drug  stores  were  tied  up  for 
Harold  Teen  sundae  gags.  Announcement  of 
the  ficture  and  some  musical  selections  from  it 
were  brought  out  at  the  Black  Cat  dance  hall 
the  night  Ozzie  Nelson  and  his  orchestra  were 
there.  Lew  Katz'  orchestra,  duPont  grill, 
played  music  from  the  film  with  references  to 
the  film.  Old  flivver  was  put  on  the  street  on 
collegeate  style.  A  man  with  a  yellow  deco¬ 
rated  slicker  gave  out  2,000  copies  of  the  Sun¬ 
day  Public  Ledger  funnies.  Extra  newspaper 
campaign  was  put  on  and  5,000  regular  heralds 
were  put  out. 


Nurse  Maids  for  “Tarzan” 

Roles  of  nurse  maids  were  assumed  by  Man¬ 
ager  Charlie  McLeary  and  his  assistant  Bob 
Etchberger,  Loew’s  Regent  Theatre,  Harris¬ 
burg,  during  showing  at  Loew’s  of  “Tarzan 
and  His  Mate.” 

“There  were  children,  children  everywhere,” 
Mac  declared,  “and  it  was  a  man’s — not  a  nurse 
maid’s  job — to  root  them  out  of  the  theatre 
after  they  had  seen  the  picture  several  times.” 
Irate  parents  descended  upon  the  theatre  and 
let  loose  their  wrath  upon  the  wobbly  heads  of 
Mac  and  Bob  who  spent  much  of  their  time 
accompanying  parents  through  the  theatre  aisles 
in  search  of  little  loved  ones. 


Block’s  Stunt 

A  stunt  that  helped  immeasurably  towards 
building  up  the  good-will  of  the  theatre  was 
that  pulled  by  Artie  Block,  manager,  Park. 
Block  distributed  a  folder,  in  which  he  asked 
his  patrons  to  choose  the  forthcoming  attrac- 
t’ons  at  his  house,  to  all  local  movie-goers. 


Selling  “Nana” 

In  ushering  in  the  premiere  of  “Nana”  Bob 
Suits,  manager,  Loew’s  Colonial,  Reading,  put 
over  an  effective  exploitation  campaign. 

Both  local  radio  stations  participated  in  the 
campaign  and  gave  the  picture  many  swell 
breaksi  over  the  air.  Station  WEEU  arranged 
a  playlet  on  the  picture  which  was  enacted  by 
their  local  stock  company  and  put  on  the  air 
three  days  before  the  opening.  Station  WRAW 
also  gave  the  picture  mention  on  its  many  pro¬ 
grams.  Through  a  tie-up  with  station  WEEU, 
a  “Lucky  Listener’s  Contest”  was  arranged  in 
which  names  were  selected  from  the  local  direc¬ 
tory  and  free  tickets  offered. 


Booking  Theatres 
Everywhere 

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Real  Estate  Trust  Bldg. 
PHILADELPHIA 

Pennypacker  7595 

MAYFAIR  THEATRE  BLDG.,  NEW  YORK 
BR.  9-1905 


PHILADELPHIA 


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WASHINGTON 


BALTIMORE 


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34 


May  1’34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


YOU  CAN  SHOO 

Mr.  Sum.  R.  Blues 


Increase  your  income 
during  the 


HOT  WEATHER 


with  a 


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CANDY  VENDOR 

66 Ask  Your 
Fellow  Exhibitor ? 


Get  in  touch  with: 

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OR  CALL  POPLAR  6011 

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NEW  YORK  BALTIMORE 

SCRANTON  WASHINGTON 

ALLENTOWN  CLEVELAND 

PITTSBURGH  CINCINNATI 


Around  the  Circuit 

with 

STANLEY-WARNER 

- By  Harry  Goldberg _ 


NOW  THAT  the  Warner  boys  have  stepped 
out  and  knocked  the  pre-Lenten  bugaboo  into 
a  cocked  hat,  they’re  ready  to  battle  Mr.  Sum¬ 
mer  Slump  to  a  standstill.  .  .  .  Iz  Wernik 
(Sedgwick)  has  already  fired  the  first  gun  to 
defeat  the  hot  weather.  .  .  .  Effected  a  sweet 
tie-up  that  will  provide  his  lobby  with  cool, 
summer  furniture.  .  .  .  Roland  Haynes,  form¬ 
erly  Forum,  but  now  Colney,  had  the  merchants 
of  his  sector  working  for  the  theatre.  .  .  . 

Tied-up  with  the  Olney  Business  Men's  Asso¬ 
ciation  to  plug  “April  Celebration  Month.”  .  .  . 
Of  all  the  unusual  lobby  stunts  on  “Eskimo,” 
Haynes  had  one  of  the  best.  .  .  .  Igloo  of 
papier  mache  and  a  huge  stuffed  Polar  bear  lent 
Arctic  realism  to  Colney  lobby.  .  .  .  Credit 
Warner  executives  with  alert  showmanship  in 
following  up  the  recent  personal  appearance  of 
Joe  Penner  by  booking  his  shorts  around  the 
circuit.  .  .  .  Live  ducks  ballyhoos  did  plenty 
of  “quacking’’’  for  Penner.  .  .  .  Aldine  framed 
a  corking  letter  to  sell  “Catherine  the  Great” 
to  teachers  and  others  engaged  in  educational 
work.  .  .  .  District  Manager  Plough  has  ex¬ 
tended  the  cartoon  carnival  idea  to  regular 
programs  during  the  week  to  increase  adult 
attendance.  .  .  .  Cartoon  review's  were  first 
inaugurated  at  Saturday  kid  matinees.  .  .  . 
Plough  also  has  his  boys  in  certain  spots  start¬ 
ing  a  serial  on  Monday  nights  for  grown-ups. 

.  .  .  Idea  is  taking  hold  in  the  less  ritzy  neigh¬ 
borhoods.  .  .  .  Marty  Goldenberg  (Colonial) 
always  has  a  gag  or  tw'o  up  his  showman's 
sleeve.  .  .  .  Exploited  “Hips,  Hips,  Hooray” 
by  awarding  “laugh  passes”  to  the  prize  win¬ 
ners  in  the  pet  show  recently  staged  by  the 
Germantown  Boys’  Club.  .  .  .  Marty  pre-sold 
Disney’s  “Funny  Little  Bunnies"  by  digging  up 
a  shot  of  a  real  rabbit  going  through  antics  and 
having  operator  fade  into  slide  effect  announc¬ 
ing  date  of  Disney  cartoon.  .  .  .  Artie  Block, 
Park  Theatre,  tricked  up  novel  stunt  on  “I  ve 
Got  Your  Number.”  .  .  .  Set  up  40x60  with 
a  list  of  neighborhood  telephone  numbers,  with 
copy  informing  patrons  that  surprise  awaited 
them  if  number  was  listed.  .  .  .  Joe  Riley, 
Liberty,  Columbia  Avenue,  cooked  up  co-oper¬ 
ative  news  herald  with  local  merchants.  .  .  . 
Fifty-six  shopkeepers  contributed  ads.  .  .  . 

Joe  cemented  popularity  with  kid  patrons  by 
distributing  2000  Easter  Eggs  to  the  young¬ 
sters.  .  .  .  Warners  are  under  full  steam 

ahead  for  May.  .  .  .  Plug  for  “20  Million 
Sweethearts”  in  tie-up  with  WCAU  drew  a  lot 
of  attention.  .  .  .  Picture  got  off  to  a  big  start. 

.  .  .  And  plenty  of  publicity,  too. 


TIIFATFI 

M 

vVlLrlS  LI 

f{  ATuR.nG 

Ilf 

DIU  DOYD 

DOROTHY  NACKAIU 

JllNf  COLLYER 

The  “Los  Angeles  Examiner”  says: 

“  ‘CHEATERS’  has  all  the  qualities  of 
any  picture  coming  from  the  best  of  the 
so-called  major  producers.  It  is  a  beauti¬ 
fully  mounted  production  with  an  intrigu¬ 
ing  story  about  a  group  of  crooks.  A  bit 
different  from  the  big  outdoor  stuff  Bill 
Boyd  usually  does,  it  gives  him  the  role  of 
a  polo-playing  confidence  man.  Very  good 
performances  by  Bill,  June  Collyer,  Doro¬ 
thy  Mackaill,  William  Collier,  Sr.,  and 
Alan  Mowbray.” 


Distributed  by 

Hollywood  Film  Exchanges,  Inc. 

PHILADELPHIA 


SENTRY  serviced  SAFETY  CONTROL 


Many  theatre  owners  weigh  the  matter  of  Safety  as  it  suits  them. 
PLAINLY  THIS  IS  ALL  WRONG.  In  Safety  there  is  no  half-way  meas¬ 
ure  with  the  Public.  The  Public  would  not  consider  it  safe  if  you  decide 
to  do  without  a  Serviced  Safety  Device  on  your  projectors.  The  Public 
would  think  with  horror  if  you  tried  to  economize  by  buying  Safety  equip¬ 
ment  without  a  service,  and  the  fact  that,  in  your  theatre,  the  Public 
has  not  yet  inquired  as  to  the  measure  of  Safety  that  you  are  giving  them — 
THAT  DOES  NOT  MEAN  THAT  THEY  CAN  BE  DECEIVED. 


SENTRY  SAFETY  CONTROL  CORP. 


10th  ST.  and  ALLEGHENY  AVE. 
PHILADELPHIA,  PENNA. 


Sentry  Safety  Controls  Listed  as  Standard  by  National  Fire  Underwriters  Laboratories 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


May  1*34 


35 


Bruise  Reels 

One  local  exhibitor  says  there  are  so 
many  scenes  of  riots  in  newsreels  that 
they  ought  to  be  called  “Bruise  Reels. 


LANCASTER 


A  TOUCH  OF  BEAUTY  is  to  be  added  to 
the  front  of  the  Hamilton.  .  .  .  Color  scheme 
in  front  of  the  lobby  is  to  be  changed  and 
brightened.  .  .  .  Herbert  Thatcher  is  manager. 

Flickering  sign  helped  boost  business  for 
"Palooka.”  .  .  .  Huge  0’s  that  flickered  on  and 
off  carried  the  message  “Oo,  Look  Palooka  / 

.  .  .  Capitol,  managed  by  Douglas  George, 

has  adopted  a  new  policy.  .  .  .  Pictures  change 
Monday  and  Thursday  under  the  new  plan  in¬ 
stead  of  Saturday  and  Wednesday.  .  .  .  Vau¬ 
deville  holds  the  boards  one  day  a,  week.  .  .  . 
Bob  Lynch  and  A1  Boyd  dropped  in  for  a  visit 
and  chatted  with  old  friends.  .  .  .  Ray  O’Con¬ 
nell,  manager,  Grand,  apparently  has  some  ad¬ 
vance  dope  on  prosperity.  .  .  .  Has  boosted 
the  price  of  his  matinees  from  25  to  30  cents. 
.  .  .  Opposition,  working  with  a  split  on  Para¬ 
mount  and  Metro  feature  films,  is  holding  to 
25  cents  for  matinees. 

CHARLES  M.  HOWELL,  manager,  Col¬ 
onial,  held  over  “David  Harum.”  .  .  .  Lan¬ 

caster  was  well  represented  at  the  Warner 
Bros,  party  held  in  York.  .  .  .  Was  the  first 
annual  meeting  and  banquet  held  in  this 
area. 

RAY  O’CONNELL,  manager,  Grand,  dis¬ 
played  a  24-sheet  to  advertise  “Eskimo.”  .  .  . 
Firemen  said  the  sign  violated  fire  regulations. 
.  .  .  Police  were  doubtful.  .  .  .  Both  depart¬ 
ments  put  it  up  to  the  mayor's  office  and  down 
came  the  sign. 

FULTON  OPERA  HOUSE  is  to  be  re¬ 
modelled.  .  .  .  New  improvements,  to  tune  of 
$8,000,  will  include  new  seats,  new  interior, 
etc.  .  .  .  House  is  one  of  oldest  in  the  city. 


Chase  Agreement  Up 

Creditors  and  stockholders  of  General  The¬ 
atres,  Inc.,  were  to  be  given  a  chance  to  voice 
their  approval  or  disapproval  of  the  compro¬ 
mise  agreement  with  the  Chase  National  Bank 
of  New  York,  May  1,  in  the  Court  of  Chancery 
in  Wilmington  on  an  order  signed  by  Chief 
Justice  Daniel  J.  Layton. 

This  agreement  provides  that  the  bank  will 
reduce  its  claim  against  the  corporation  from 
an  excess  of  $20,000,000  to  $15,310,832  and  that 
in  return  the  bank  will  assist  in  the  reorgan¬ 
ization  of  the  company  and  will  give  the  cor¬ 
poration  right  to  purchase  325,000  shares  of 
Fox  Film  stock,  Class  A,  at  $15  a  share. 


“City  Park”  Ready 

“City  Park,”  Chesterfield  picture,  will  be 
released  by  First  Division  exchanges.  Story 
centers  around  the  activities  of  three  penniless 
old  men  who  provide  home  and  food,  and  even 
play  matchmaker  for  a  destitute  young  girl. 

Cast  includes  Sally  Blane,  Henry  B.  Wal¬ 
thall,  Matty  Kemp,  Johnny  Harron,  Hale 
Hamilton,  Claude  King,  Owen  Lee  and  others. 


Charters 

Adelphia  Amusement  Company,  Philadelphia.  Incor¬ 
porators:  Morris  Wax  and  L.  E.  Kamp,  both  Philadel¬ 
phia  and  Philip  Rosenberg,  Roxbury,  Mass.  Capital 
stock  is  listed  at  $5000. 


Printers  Oppose  Any 
Rise  in  Exhibitor  Prices 

Poster,  Window  Card  Units  Pro¬ 
tecting  Trade 

Poster  and  window  card  printers  of 
this  territory  will  use  every  possible 
method  to  prevent  a  wholesale  increase 
in  price  of  these  items  to  exhibitors. 

This  much  was  indicated  following  a  meeting 
of  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore  members  of  the 
National  Poster  Printers’  Association  of  the 
United  States  and  Canada  with  representa¬ 
tives  of  the  New  York  district  members. 

The  attitude  of  the  minority  of  the  Philadel¬ 
phia  unit  is  that  the  rise  in  price  as  suggested 
by  other  members  in  Zone  No.  1  would  prove 
a  hardship  upon  the  exhibitor. 

The  organization  was  formed  in  Chicago, 
March  22,  1934.  The  administrative  agency 
of  the  code  for  National  Product  Group  (pos¬ 
ter  and  window  card  printers)  is  the  executive 
committee  of  the  National  Poster  Printers' 
Association. 

Under  that  plan  the  country  has  been  divided 
into  zones.  In  each  zone  there  is  a  regional 
administrative  agency,  which  sees  that  the  pro¬ 
visions  of  the  code  are  carried  out.  In  Zone 
No.  1  is  included  New  York,  New  Jersey, 
Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  Maryland,  District  of 
Columbia  and  New  England  states.  On  March 
30,  the  Poster  Printers’  Association  was  formed 
in  New  York.  This  regional  association  is 
part  of  the  national  body  and  is  the  adminis¬ 
trative  agency  of  the  code  in  Zone  No.  1. 

At  the  first  Chicago  meeting,  a  cost  list  was 
adopted  for  posters  and  window  cards  (based 
on  the  available  cost  findings  in  various  poster 
printing  establishments).  The  list  was  sub¬ 
mitted  to  the  code  administration  in  Washing¬ 
ton.  If  it  is  approved,  it  will  become  manda¬ 
tory  upon  all  the  poster  and  window  card  print¬ 
ers  in  the  United  States.  All  charges  below 
this  cost  list  become  illegal.  Books  of  the 
poster  and  window  card  companies  are  to  be 
kept  open  for  inspection  by  the  zone  enforce¬ 
ment  committee.  Violators  are  subject  to  pen¬ 
alties. 


Harrisburg  Shifts 

Assuming  his  new  managerial  duties  at  the 
Victoria  Theatre,  Harrisburg,  April  23,  Girard 
(Gerry)  Wollaston,  who  entered  the  motion 
picture  business  four  years  ago  when  he  became 
a  doorman  at  the  Colonial  Theatre,  two  doors 
from  the  Victoria,  is  the  youngest  theatre  man¬ 
ager  in  Harrisburg.  He  celebrated  his  24th 
birthday  anniversary  only  recently,  succeeding 
John  D.  O’Rear,  under  whom  he  had  worked 
as  a  doorman  and  assistant  until  last  October. 
Wollaston  was  assistant  manager  to  Charles 
Bierbauer  at  the  State,  Harrisburg,  when  he 
received  his  present  appointment. 

Joseph  (Paddy)  Ryan,  veteran  minstrel  man 
and  the  stage  manager  at  the  State,  returned 
with  Manager  Wollaston  to  the  Victoria  where 
he  had  been  made  general  maintenance  man. 
Harry  Fornwalt,  Victoria  operator,  was  trans¬ 
ferred  to  the  Majestic  as  head  operator.  Harry 
Michaels  was  made  an  operator  at  the  Victoria, 
succeeding  Fornwalt. 


For  “Trumpet” 

Embassy  Theatre,  Reading,  Paul  E.  Glase 
manager,  staged  a  worthwhile  stunt  to  publi¬ 
cize  “The  Trumpet  Blows,”  with  George  Raft. 
An  airplane,  carrying  a  trumpeter,  flew  all  over 
Reading  and  suburbs,  the  trumpet  notes  being 
amplified  by  electric  apparatus  in  the  airplane. 
Trumpeting  could  clearly  be  heard  wherever 
the  plane  passed,  and  a  long  streamer,  carrying 
the  name  of  the  picture  in  letters  the  size  of  a 
barn  door,  told  skygazers  what  the  Embassy 
attraction  was.  Idea  was  original  with  Glase. 


Love  for  “Rothschild” 

Harrisburg  Telegraph,  Harrisburg  daily 
newspaper,  devoted  considerable  space  daily  to 
a  "Love  or  Riches?”  contest  for  Charles 
McLeary,  manager  of  Loew’s  Regent  Theatre, 
Harrisburg,  for  a  week  prior  to  opening  at 
Loew’s  of  20th  Century,  “The  House  of 
Rothschild." 


Opposition  to  the  standardized  cost  list  came 
from  the  Philadelphia  minority  because  this 
would  necessitate  more  than  100%  rise  in 
prices,  an  added  expense  the  exhibitors  and 
trade  in  general  cannot  stand. 

A  meeting  is  scheduled  for  the  near  future. 
Its  outcome  will  be  watched  with  interest. 


"BADGE 

OF 

HONOR" 


Buster  Crabbe 
and 

Ruth  Hall 
are  featured  in 
“Badge  of  Honor” 
from  Masterpiece 


36 

I -May-34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


61%  ■  _  1%  ■  J  1  ■►  Who  made  it  ?  4  ■►  Is  it  family  or  adult  type  ? 

-PAIIlt  H  AVIAUfC  II  2  ■►Who's  in  it?  5  *  What's  it  about? 

I  Villi  livilVVIO  %  3  m- How  good  is  it?  6  ■►  Running  Time  ? 


COLUMBIA 

1 

FOX 

i 

METRO 

The  Fighting  Ranger  Western 

60m. 

Buck  Jones,  Dorothy  Revier,  Bradley  Page,  Ward 
Bond,  Mozelle  Brittone. 

Our  Buck  is  a  ranger  who  has  to  find  the 
Cougar.  After  his  brother  is  killed  by  the 
Cougar,  there  isn’t  any  question  of  how  it  will 
end.  Buck  gets  the  girl  and  kills  the  Cougar. 

Estimate:  Zowie,  wham. 


Family 

The  Man  Trailer  Western 

62m. 

Buck  Jones,  Cecilia  Parker,  Arthur  Vinton. 

This  time  our  Buck  is  an  outlaw  who  turned 
straight.  But  when  his  former  pals  throw  a 
holdup,  well,  it  looks  like  our  Buck  might  be 
involved.  Of  course  he  isn’t,  but  it  takes  6 
reels  to  clear  him  and  lead  the  sheriff  to  the 
layout  as  well  as  win  the  girl. 

Estimate:  Yesiree. 


Sisters  Under  the  Skin  Drama 

82m. 

Elissa  Landi,  Frank  Morgan,  Joseph  Schildkraut, 
Doris  Lloyd,  Clara  Blandick,  Shirley  Grey,  Samuel 
Hinds,  Henry  Kolker. 

Story  of  a  successful  business  man  who 
reaches  middle  age  with  a  desire  for  romance 
and  renewed  youth.  He  falls  in  love  with  an 
actress,  but  upon  the  scene  comes  a  young  com¬ 
poser.  Eventually,  the  business  man  goes  back 
to  the  wife.  Outside  of  some  casting  faults, 
show  should  hold  interest  for  the  women.  It’s 
adult  throughout. 

Estimate:  Names  to  sell. 


Family 

The  Party’s  Over  Comedy 

68m. 

Ann  Sothern,  Stuart  Erwin,  Arline  Judge ,  Chic 
Chandler,  Patsy  Kelly,  Henry  Travers,  William  Bake- 
well,  Esther  Muir,  Rollo  Lloyd. 

Tale  of  an  accountant  who  wants  to  be  a 
painter  and  who  has  his  entire  family  to  sup¬ 
port.  Family  is  made  up  of  weaklings  and  the 
plot  allows  for  plenty  of  laughs  as  well  asi  the 
eventual  walkout  with  the  girl. 

Estimate:  Light  and  airy. 


20th  Century  Comedy 

90m. 

John  Barrymore,  Walter  Connolly,  Carole  Lombard, 
Rosco  Earns,  Charles  Levison,  Etienne  Girardot, 
Ralph  Forbes,  Gigi  Parrish,  Edgar  Kennedy,  Herman 
Bing,  Ed  Gargan. 

Satire  on  the  theatrical  world,  and  along 
the  same  order  as  “Once  In  a  Lifetime”  was 
to  the  movies.  Show  is  well  produced,  has 
name  strength  but  may  be  a  bit  above  the  heads 
of  the  folks  out  in  the  hinterlands.  For  the 
cities  it  packs  plenty  of  laughs  and  punches, 
but  it  carries  a  type  of  humor  that  may  hamper 
it  in  other  spots. 

Estimate:  Different. 


Now  I’ll  Tell  Melodrama 

90m. 

Spencer  Tracy,  Helen  T welvetrees,  Henry  O'Neill, 
Hobart  Cavanagh,  G.  P.  Huntley,  Jr.,  Ray  Cooke, 
Shirley  Temple,  Ted  Newton,  Vince  Barnett. 

Yarn  of  a  gangster  who  does  the  noble  thing 
in  the  end  and  well  cast.  Picture,  however,  will 
have  to  depend  on  Tracy’s  personality  and  the 
name  aids  rather  than  story,  which  falls  into 
a  familiar  category.  Piece  is  said  to  have 
been  written  by  Mrs.  Arnold  Rothstein,  which 
gives  an  idea  of  its  theme.  Where  they  still 
love  gangster  yarns,  it  may  suffice. 

Estimate:  Gangster  stuff. 


Springtime  for  Henry  Comedy 

92m. 

Otto  Kruger,  Nancy  Carroll,  Heather  Angel,  Nigel 
Bruce,  Herbert  Mundin,  Geneva  Mitchell,  Arthur 
Hoyt. 

Class  product  that  may  prove  confusing  to 
those  who  don’t  grasp  the  type  of  humor.  Pic¬ 
ture  is  taken  from  a  stage  play  and  includes  a 
bachelor,  a  wife  on  the  make,  a  secretary  who 
turns  out  to  have  murdered  her  husband,  a 
husband  and  dumb  friend. 

Estimate:  Class. 


Such  Women  Adult 

Ap.  Drama 

re  Dangerous  85m. 

Warner  Baxter,  Rochelle  Hudson,  Rosemary  Ames, 
Herbert  Mundin,  Henrietta  Crosman,  Mona  Barrie. 

Tale  of  an  author  who  finds  himself  in¬ 
volved  with  several  women  who  are  just  crazy 
about  him.  Developments  become  brisk  when 
a  murder  enters  and  he  is  accused.  Just  as  it 
looks  bad,  a  letter  reveals  that  the  woman  killed 
herself  and  all  is  forgiven.  Show  will  un¬ 
doubtedly  appeal  to  the  women  and  should  do 
a  fair  business. 

Estimate:  Woman’s  yarn. 


Wild  Gold  Comedy  Drama 

74m. 

John  Boles,  Harry  Green,  Roger  Imhof,  Claire 
Trevor,  Monroe  Owsley,  Ed  Gargan. 

Programmer  that  misses  out  somewhere  along 
the  line.  Piece  has  a  modern  gold  rush  for 
its  background,  carries  a  lot  of  dancing  girls, 
includes  a  romance  between  the  hero  and  the 
married  heroine,  and  winds  up  with  a  murder 
and  a  dam  break  that  gets  rid  of  the  husband, 
allowing  for  the  usual  clinch. 

Estimate:  Missout. 


What  Do  You  Think? 

It  is  the  aim  of  this  publication  to  give  its  readers 
every  possible  service.  Revision  of  the  page  is  an 
attempt  to  offer  a  concise  reviewing  form  that 
will  help  every  exhibitor.  Your  suggestions  and 
orlticisms  are  welcomed.  Write  in  now  and  tell 
us  whether  you  like  this  or  not. 


Manhattan  Melodrama  Melodrama 

1 00m. 

Clark  Gable,  Myrna  Loy,  William  Powell,  Leo 
Carrillo,  Nat  Pendleton,  George  Sidney,  Isobel  Jewell, 
Muriel  Evans,  Noel  Madison,  Jimmy  Butler,  Mickey 
Rooney. 

Whale  of  a  good  melodrama,  with  Van  Dyke 
direction,  stars  and  the  Metro  production  to 
sell.  Although  with  a  gangster  background, 
the  picture  is  so  written,  handled  and  directed 
that  it  should  bring  top  dough  at  all  box  offices. 
This  time  Gable  is  a  gangster  who  offers  to 
make  the  supreme  sacrifice  to  save  the  reputa¬ 
tion  of  his  former  pal,  the  man  who  must  send 
him  to  the  chair.  Picture  ought  to  go  any¬ 
where. 

Estimate:  Okay. 


Tarzan  and  His  Mate  Action  Drama 

105m. 

Maureen  O’Sullivan,  Johnny  Weismuller,  Neil 
Hamilton,  Paul  Cavanaugh,  Forrester  Harvey. 

Cleanup  and  likely  to  equal  and  top  the 
grosses  of  the  first  Tarzan.  Show  has  been 
built  with  an  eye  to  all  angles  and  the  result 
is  a  dough  film  that  should  delight  all  the- 
atremen.  Thrill  and  animal  stuff  is  certain 
to  bring  in  the  shekels  and  women  haven’t  been 
overlooked  either.  Picture  is  a  money  entrant. 
With  romantic  appeal  also  a  large  part  of  the 
show,  picture  can  be  sold  to  all  groups.  Some 
of  the  realistic  fight  scenes  were  censored  after 
production  but  picture  packs  a  punch  for  any 
house. 

Estimate:  Big. 


MONOGRAM 


Monte  Carlo  Nights  Mystery  Action 

60m. 

Mary  Brian,  John  Harrow,  Yola  D’Avril,  Astrid 
Allyn,  George  Hayes,  Kate  Campbell. 

E.  Phillips  Oppenheim  story  about  the  young 
man  who  is  wrongly  accused  of  murder,  escapes 
and  eventually  finds  the  real  murderer.  Show 
is  nicely  dressed,  has  some  feature  faces  to 
sell  and  will  appeal  to  family  audiences.  Action 
takes  place  in  Monte  Carlo. 

Estimate:  Up  to  Monogram  standard. 


The  House  of  Mystery 


Family 

MysterJ 

61m. 


Ed  Lowry,  Verna  Hillie,  Brandon  Hurst,  Joyzelle, 
George  Hayes,  Clay  Clement,  John  Sheehan,  Fritzi 
Ridgeway. 

This  has  an  ape,  the  claimants  to  the  for¬ 
tune  who  have  to  spend  some  time  in  the  mys¬ 
tery  house,  a  nautch  dancer,  a  wise  cracking 
hero  and  what  have  you.  Material  is  familiar 
and  there  are  some  laughs.  Title  is  intriguing, 
but  lack  of  feature  name  strength  will  handi¬ 
cap  the  show. 

Estimate:  Nothing  new. 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


37 

l-May-34 


PARAMOUNT 

1! 

RADIO 

1! 

CHESTERFIELD 

Adult 

Double  Door  Melodrama 

75m. 

Mary  Morris,  Evalyn  Venable,  Sir  Guy  Standing, 
Ann  Revere,  Kent  Taylor. 

Based  on  the  show  of  the  same  name, 
“Double  Door’’  emerges  as  a  different  sort  of 
picture,  bordering  on  melodrama.  A  sister, 
one  of  two  who  rule  a  young  brother  who  has 
married  against  the  sister’s  will,  tries  to  destroy 
the  will  of  the  young  bride.  The  strength  of 
the  picture  rests  in  the  direction  and  atmos¬ 
phere  created. 

Estimate:  Hisssssssss. 


The  Scarlet  Empress  Costume  Drama 

103m. 

Marlene  Dietrich ,  Sam  Jaffe,  John  Lodge,  Louise 
Dresser,  Olive  Tell,  C.  Aubrey  Smith,  Gavin  Gordon, 
Jameson  Thomas,  Erville  Anderson,  Edward  Van 
Sloan,  Harry  Woods,  John  Davidson. 

Here  is  Paramount’s  “Catherine’’  with  Von 
Sternberg  giving  Dietrich  his  personal  atten¬ 
tion.  Show  is  well  mounted,  excellent  cast, 
looks  expensive,  scores  in  all  departments  but 
must  be  likely  to  suffer  from  the  costume  han- 
cap.  Story  treats  of  the  German  princess  who 
marries  the  half-crazy  grand  duke  and  ensuing 
developments. 

Estimate:  Probably. 


The  Witching  Hour  Mystery  Drama 

63m. 

Sir  Guy  Standing,  John  Holliday,  Tom  Brown, 
Judith  Alien,  William  Frawley,  Olive  Tell. 

Talkie  version  of  celebrated  stage  hit,  and 
with  plenty  of  thrills.  Picture  suffers  from 
lack  of  name  strength  but  for  the  mystery 
lovers  will  carry  lots  of  weight.  A  hypnotist 
unconsciously  causes  the  young  lover  to  com¬ 
mit  a  murder  and  at  the  trial  hypnotism  is  used 
to  secure  an  acquittal.  Piece  is  well  handled. 

Estimate:  Mystery  stuff. 


We’re  Not 

Dressing 


Family 

Comedy  with  Songs 
80m. 


Bing  Crosby,  Carole  Lombard,  George  Burns, 
Grade  Allen,  Leon  Errol,  Ethel  Merman. 

Comedy  with  songs  that  will  do  business  on 
the  names  even  if  the  story  has  sagging  spots. 
No  showman  can  miss  with  the  collection  of 
talent  Paramount  has  given  the  yarn.  Crosby 
sings  some  pleasing  songs,  Burns  and  Allen 
contribute  comedy,  and  there  are  other  names 
as  well.  Crosby  is  a  sailor. 

Estimate:  Good  grosser. 


WARNERS 


Smarty 


Adult 
Comedy  Drama 
63m. 


Warren  William,  Joan  Blondeil,  Frank  McHugh, 
Edward  Everett  Horton,  Claire  Dodd,  Virginia  Sale. 

Husband  and  wife  drama  that  has  comedy 
elements  but  which  doesn’t  make  for  sustained 
laughs.  However,  the  Warner  stock  company 
cast,  with  a  couple  of  names  to  boot,  will  help 
the  show  a  lot.  The  third  member  of  a  tri¬ 
angle  marries  the  wife. 

Estimate:  Some  laughs. 


Where  Sinners  Meet  Comedy 

62m. 

Clive  Brook,  Diana  Wynyard,  Billie  Burke,  Reginald 
Owen,  Alan  Mowbray,  Phil  Barry,  Gilbert  Emery, 
Vernon  Steele. 

“The  Dover  Road’’  in  movie  guise,  with  an 
English  background  and  drawing  room  English 
accents  to  boot.  Show  is  okay  for  smart  houses 
but  how  the  masses  will  go  for  it  is  a  question. 

Estimate:  Smart. 


Strictly  Dynamite  Comedy 

67^m. 

Jimmy  Durante,  Marian  Nixon,  Norman  Foster, 
Lupe  Velez,  William  Garg an,  Leila  Bennett ,  Sterling 
Halloway. 

Comedy  about  a  fellow  who  writes  radio 
material.  With  such  a  cast  of  comedians  thing 
has  a  headstart,  and  even  though  there  are 
lapses,  it  is  saleable  as  a  laugh  picture.  Dur¬ 
ante  stands  out  and  others  help.  There  is 
plenty  of  satire,  as  well. 

Estimate:  Laughs  to  sell. 


UNITED  ARTISTS 


The  Affairs  of  Cellini  Costume  Drama 

90m. 

Fredric  March.  Fay  Wray,  Constance  Bennett, 
Frank  Morgan,  Vince  Barnett,  Jessie  Ralph,  Louis 
Calhern. 

Costume  comedy  drama  with  many  names  to 
sell.  Show  is  handsomely  produced  but  may 
have  the  costume  handicap.  It  deals  with  the 
loves  of  Benvenuto  Cellini  with  the  lassies  and 
ladies  of  the  period. 

Estimate:  For  the  ladies. 


UNIVERSAL 


_  _  Family 

Doomed  to  Die  Western 

62m. 

Ken  Maynard,  Walter  Miller,  Gloria  Shea,  Harold 
Goodwin,  Jack  Rockwell. 

Our  hero  poses  as  an  officer  long  enough  to 
clear  himself  of  a  murder  charge,  finds  his  long 
lost  father  and  wins  the  girl. 

Estimate:  Outdoor  drama. 


Half  a  Sinner  Comedy 

78m. 

Berton  Churchill,  Sally  Blane,  Joed  McCrea,  Guinn 
Williams,  Russell  Hopton,  Mickey  Rooney. 

“Alias  the  Deacon”  in  new  guise  and  a  honey 
of  a  show  for  family  audiences.  Picture  has 
all  the  elements  that  satisfy  patrons  and  with 
a  fine  performance  from  Churchill  is  a  nice 
piece  of  merchandise. 

Estimate:  Nice. 


The  Uncertain  Lady  Farce 

65m. 

Edward  Everett  Horton,  Genevieve  Tobin,  Paul 
Cavanaugh,  Mary  Nash,  George  Meeker,  Don  Reed, 
Dorothy  Peterson,  James  Durkin,  Arthur  Hoyt. 

A  husband  wants  a  divorce.  Wife  agrees  if 
hubby  can  get  her  a  new  one.  Eventually,  she 
brings  in  her  own,  an  old  friend,  and  the 
windup  sees  her  falling  for  the  new  love,  leav¬ 
ing  the  hubby  with  the  woman  who  vamped 
him  originally. 

Estimate:  Light  comedy. 


In  Love  with  Life  Comedy  Drama 

70m. 

Onslow  Stevens,  Dickie  Moore,  Claude  Gillingwater. 
Lila  Lee,  Tom  Ricketts. 

Pleasant  picture  that  will  bring  tears  from 
the  women,  and  which  will  appeal  strongly  to 
the  family  trade.  A  young  professor  becomes 
a  tutor  for  the  grandchild  of  a  crusty  old  mil¬ 
lionaire  who  prevents  his  daughter  from  see¬ 
ing  her  son.  Love  enters,  the  panic  of  1929 
brings  them  down  to  the  same  level  and  all 
ends  happily. 

Estimate:  Well  done. 


Twin  Husbands  Action  Drama 

69m. 

John  Miljan,  Shirley  Grey,  Monroe  Owsley,  Hale 
Hamilton,  Robert  Elliott,  Maurice  Black. 

The  hero  is  forced  to  impersonate  another 
man,  falls  in  love  with  the  wife  and  after 
exposing  the  crooks,  eventually  wins  her.  Show 
has  plenty  of  action,  contains  some  angles  to 
sell  and  has  an  attractive  title. 

Estimate:  Entertains. 


STATE  RIGHTS 


Adult 

Ariane  Drama 

64m. 

Percy  Marmont,  Elizabeth  Bergner,  Warwick  Ward, 
Diana  Ross,  Edna  Vaughn. 

Picture  will  stand  or  fall  on  the  reputation 
being  built  up  by  Elizabeth  Bergner,  star  of 
“Catherine  the  Great.”  Outside  of  that,  show 
has  little  which  will  satisfy  audiences. 

Estimate:  Only  Bergner. 


Dick  Turpin 


Family 
Action  Drama 
82m. 


Victor  McLaglen,  James  Finlayson,  English  sup¬ 
porting  cast. 

This  GB  production  has  enough  action  in  it 
to  please  any  thrill  seeking  audience.  Victor 
McLaglen,  as  the  celebrated  English  Robin 
Hood,  does  plenty  of  hard  riding  and  dialogue 
is  easy  to  follow. 

Estimate:  Plenty  hard  riding. 


_  Adult 

Guilty  Parents  Melodrama 

65m. 

Glen  Boles,  John  St.  Polls,  Jean  Lacy,  Donald 
Keith,  Robert  Frazer,  Gertrude  Astor. 

Attempt  at  a  sensational  sex  yarn  which 
seems  outmoded.  The  old,  old  story  of  a  girl 
who  did  wrong  and  who  finally  winds  up  in  a 
death  leap  has  been  seen  around  before. 

Estimate:  Another  sexer. 


Beyond  Bengal  Jungle  Drama 

70m. 

Animal  picture  showing  adventures  of  Harry 
Schenck  and  an  English  scientist. 

Well  produced  jungle  picture,  with  the  theme 
revolving  around  the  adventures  of  Harry 
Schenck  and  an  English  scientist,  hunting  ani¬ 
mals  not  with  gun  but  with  camera.  There  are 
many  thrills  in  the!  film  and  houses  which  play 
that  sort  of  picture  will  be  satisfied. 

Estimate:  Thrills. 


38 


May  1  ’  34 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


For  your  convenience,  this  publication  furnishes  this  guide  to  reviews  of  pictures  which  have  appeared 
in  regular  review  department.  Before  dating  in  your  show,  consult  this  page,  find  out  when  the  review  appeared 
and  then  look  it  up.  Key:  For  example,  2-Jan.  means  the  second  issue  of  this  publication  in  that  month. 
1-Feb.  would  mean  the  first  issue,  and  so  on. 


Columbia 


The  Fighting  Code  . . 1-Feb. 

It  Happened  One  Night .  2-Feb. 

No  Greater  Glory .  1-Mar. 

The  Song  You  Gave  Me  .  1-Mar. 

The  Lineup  .  .  2-Mar. 

The  Ninth  Guest  .  2-Mar. 

Speed  Wings  2-Mar. 

The  Lady  is  Willing  .  .  1-Apr. 

The  Social  Register  .  1-Apr. 

One  is  Guilty  .  2-Apr. 

Voice  in  the  Night  .  2-Apr. 

The  Whirlpool  .  2-Apr. 

The  Fighting  Ranger  .  1-May 

The  Man  Trailer  .  1-May 

Sisters  Under  the  Skin  1-May 

The  Party’s  Over  .  1-May 

20th  Century  .  1-May 


First  National — Warners 


Female  1-Nov. 

Havana  Widows  . 1-Nov. 

From  Headquarters  .  2-Nov. 

Son  of  a  Sailor . 2-Nov. 

Dark  Hazard  .  1-Dec. 

Lady  Killer  . 1-Dec. 

Convention  City  .  2-Dec. 

The  Shakedown  .  .  _ . 1-Jan. 

Massacre  .  2-Jan. 

Fashions  of  1934  .  2-Jan. 

Hi  Nellie  . 1-Feb. 

Easy  to  Love  . 1-Feb. 

Mandalay  .  1-Feb. 

As  the  Earth  Turns . 2-Feb. 

Bedside  . 2-Feb. 

Heat  Lightning  2-Feb. 

I’ve  Got  Your  Number .  2-Feb. 

Wonder  Bar  2-Feb. 

Gambling  Lady  .  1-Mar. 

Harold  Teen  1-Mar. 

Journal  of  a  Crime  .  2-Mar. 

Registered  Nurse  .  2-Mar. 

Jimmy  the  Gent  .  2-M?r. 

Twenty  Million  Sweethearts . 1-Apr. 

Upper  World  .  1-Apr. 

A  Very  Honorable  Guy  .  2-Apr. 

Side  Streets  .  2-Apr. 

A  Modern  Hero .  2-Apr. 

Smarty  1-May’ 


Fox 

My  Lips  Betray  . 

This  Mad  Game  . 

Oleson’s  Big  Moment . 

Hoop-La  . 

As  Husbands  Go . 

Frontier  Marshal  . 

Jimmy  and  Sally  . 

Smoky  . . 

I  Was  A  Spy . 

Mr.  Skitch  . 

I  Am  Suzanne . . 

Orient  Express  . 

Sleepers  East  . 

Coming  Out  Party  . 

Ever  Since  Eve  . 

Carolina  . 

Devil  Tiger  . . 

Hold  That  Girl  . 

I  Believed  in  You . 

David  Harum  . 

Bottoms  Up  . 

Scandals  . 

Three  on  a  Honeymoon . 

All  Men  Are  Enemies . . 

Murder  in  Trinidad  . 

Stand  Up  and  Cheer  . 

The  Constant  Nymph . 

Now  I’ll  Tell 

Springtime  for  Henry  . 

S''oh  Women  Are  Dangerous 
Wild  Gold 


2-Nov. 

1-Nov. 

1- Nov. 

2- Nov. 
2-Nov. 
2-Nov. 

1- Dec. 

2- Dec. 
2-Dec. 
1-Jan. 

1- Jan. 

2- Jan. 
1-Feb. 
1-Feb. 

1- Feb. 

2- Feb. 
2-Feb. 
2-Feb. 
1-Mar. 

1- Mar. 

2- Mar. 
2-Mar. 

1- Apr. 

2- Apr. 
2-Apr. 
2-Apr. 
2-Apr. 
1-May 
1-May 
1-May 
1-May 


Metro 


Dinner  at  Eight  .  2-June 

The  Late  Christopher  Bean 

(Her  Sweetheart)  .  2-Nov. 

The  Prizefighter  and  the  Lady  .  2-Nov. 

Eskimo  2-Nov. 

Should  Ladies  Behave  (The  Vinegar  Tree)  2-Nov. 


Dancing  Lady  . 

Sons  of  the  Desert . 

Women  in  His  Life  . 

Going  Hollywood  . 

Queen  Christina  . 

Fugitive  Lovers 

You  Can’t  Buy  Everything 

This  Side  of  Heaven  .  .  .  . 

Men  in  White  . 

Cat  and  the  Fiddle  .  . 

Mystery  of  Mr.  X  . 

Lazy  River  . 

The  Showoff . 

Riptide  . 

The  Hollywood  Party 
Viva  Villa 

Manhattan  Melodrama 
Tarzan  and  His  Mate 


Monogram 

DISTRIBUTED  BY  FIRST  DIVISION 


1-Dec. 

1-Dec. 

1-Jan. 

1-Jan. 


Finishing  School 
Wild  Cargo 
Where  Sinners  Meet 
Strictly  Dynamite 


1-Jan. 


2-Jan. 

1-Feb. 

1-Feb. 


United  Artists 


2-Feb. 

1-Mar. 

1- Mar. 

2- Mar. 
2-Mar. 
2-Apr. 
2-Apr. 
2-Apr. 
1-May 
1-May 


Broadway  Thru  Keyhole . 

Emperor  Jones . 

Henry  the  Eighth . 

Blood  Money  . 

Roman  Scandals . 

Advice  to  the  Lovelorn  . . 

Gallant  Lady  . 

Moulin  Rouge  . 

Nana  . 

Palooka  . 

Sorrell  and  Son  . 

Looking  for  Trouble  . 

Catherine  the  Great . 

House  of  Rothschild  . 

The  Affairs  of  Cellini . 


Sensation  Hunters  . 1-Jan. 

The  Sagebrush  Trail  . 2-Jan. 

Lucky  Texan  .  2-Jan. 

Woman’s  Man  . 2-Jan. 

16  Fathoms  Deep  .  1-Feb. 

West  of  Divide  .  1-Feb. 

Mystery  Liner  .  2-Feb. 

Beggars  in  Ermine  .  1-Mar. 

City  Limits  .  2-Apr. 

Manhattan  Love  Song .  2-Apr. 

Monte  Carlo  Nights  1-May 

House  of  Mystery  . 1-May 


Paramount 


Take  a  Chance  .  1-Nov. 

Hell  and  High  Water . 2-Nov. 

White  Woman  . 1-Nov. 

Design  for  Living  . 2-Nov. 

Cradle  Song  . 2-Nov. 

Duck  Soup  .  2-Nov. 

Lone  Cowboy  .  2-Nov. 

Thundering  Herd  .  2-Nov. 

Sitting  Pretty  . 1-Dec. 

Girl  Without  a  Room  .  1-Dec. 

Alice  in  Wonderland .  2-Dec. 

Miss  Fane’s  Baby  Is  Stolen .  1-Jan. 

His  Double  Life  .  1-Jan. 

8  Girls  in  a  Boat  .  1-Jan. 

The  Last  Roundup  .  2-Jan. 

Search  for  Beauty  2-Jan. 

Four  Frightened  People  2-Jan. 

All  of  Me  2-Jan. 

Death  Takes  a  Holiday  (Strange  Holiday)  1-Feb. 

Good  Dame  . 1-Feb. 

Six  of  a  Kind  1-Feb. 

Bolero  .  2-Feb. 

No  More  Women  .  2-Feb. 

Come  On  Marines  2-Mar. 

She  Made  Her  Bed  .  2-Mar. 

Wharf  Angel  2-Mar. 

Melody  in  Spring  .  2-Apr. 

The  Trumpet  Blows  .  2-Apr. 

You’re  Telling  Me  .  2-Apr. 

Double  Door  1-May 

The  Scarlet  Empress  1-May 

The  Witchinq  Hour  .  1-May 

We're  Not  Dressing  ......  1-May 


Universal 


Horse  Play  . 

Beloved  . 

By  Candlelight  . 

Bombay  Mail 

Madame  Spy  . 

The  Poor  Rich  . 

Cross  Country  Cruise 
I  Like  It  That  Way 
Wheels  of  Destiny  ... 

The  Crosby  Case . 

Love  Birds  . 

Midnight  . 

Gun  Justice . 

Countess  of  Monte  Cristo 

Honor  of  the  West . 

Let's  Be  Ritzy  . 

Glamour  . 

I’ll  Tell  the  World  .  . 
Doomed  to  Die 
Half  a  Sinner 
The  Uncertain  Lady 


First  Division 

(CHESTERFIELD) 

Rainbow  Over  Broadway  . 

Notorious  But  Nice  . 

Murder  On  the  Campus  . 

Cross  Streets  . 

The  Quitter  . -r? . 

Stolen  Sweets  . 

In  Love  with  Life  . 

Twin  Husbands . 


Eat  ’Em  Alive 
The  Road  to  Ruin 
He 

Throne  of  the  Gods 
Under  Secret  Orders 
Forgotten  Men  . 
Texas  Tornado 
The  Ferocious  Pal 


Gold  Medal 


Radio 


Ace  of  Aces  . 2-0ct. 

Aggie  Appleby  .  2-Oct. 

Little  Women  . 2-Nov. 

After  Toniqht  (Woman  Spy) . 2-Oct. 

Right  to  Romance .  1-Dec. 

If  I  Were  Free  .  2-Dec. 

Flying  Down  to  Rio . 1-Jan. 

Man  of  Two  Worlds  . 2-Jan. 

Meanest  Gal  in  Town  . 2-Jan. 

Son  of  Kong  . 2-Jan. 

Two  Alone  2-Jan. 

Hips  Hips  Hooray  .  1-Feb. 

Keep  ’Em  Rolling  .  2-Feb. 

Long  Lost  Father  .  2-Feb. 

The  Lost  Patrol  .  2-Feb. 

Sino  and  Like  It . 1-Mar. 

Spitfire  1-Mar. 

Success  at  Any  Price . 1-Mar. 

This  Man  Is  Mine  .  2-Mar. 

The  Crime  Doctor . 1-Apr. 


Sing,  Sinner,  Sing  . 

The  Big  Bluff  . 

Important  Witness  . 

Laughing  at  Life  . 

Curtain  at  Eight . 

You  Made  Me  Love  You  . 

The  Charming  Deceiver . 

Sin  of  Nora  Moran . 

Big  Time  or  Bust . 

Enlighten  Thy  Daughter  . 

The  Mornino  After . 

Unknown  Blonde  . 


Masterpiece 

Her  Forgotten  Past  . 

Riot  Squad  . 

Secret  Sinners  . 

Wine,  Women  and  Song  . 

What's  Your  Racket? . 

Dancinq  Man  . 

Back  Page  . 


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May  1  ’ 34  pg.  39 


WEAK 

KNEED 


or  an  alert ,  constructive  force 1 

PUT  yourself  in  Mr.  Theatre  Owner’s  chair!  Would 
you  rather  devote  your  Trade  Reading  Hours  to 
ponderous  treatises  of  nation-wide  problems  and  aca¬ 
demic  studies  of  appalling  trade  practices  violations  in 
Peoria — or  would  you  rather  devote  those  same  T.  R.  H.’s 
to  a  decided,  two-fisted  attack  on  your  local  ills — a  pat 
on  the  back  for  a  local  job  well  done — all  garnished  with 
a  flowing,  breezy,  newsy  chatter  about  the  fellows  you 
know  and  situations  with  which  you  are  familiar? 

Professor  Einstein  has  the  world’s  greatest  modern 
mind,  but  if  you  wanted  understandable  interesting 
news,  you’d  rather  listen  to  Lowell  Thomas. 

Take  advantage  of  Mr.  Theatre  Owner’s  T.  R.  H.’s 
through  the  columns  of  his  local  Regional. 


JAY  EMANUEL 
PUBLICATIONS 

HOMETOWN  TRADE  PAPERS 
OF  4600  THEATRE  OWNERS 


Birnbaum-Jackson  Co..  Printers.  Phila. 


*  Synonym  ous 


May  1’34  b.c. 


When  a  picture  does  business  .  .  . 

that's  News 

. . .  but  when  a  picture  does  sensational 
business  and  holds  over - 

thaVs  Metro 

and  Here  are  Some  of  the  Record  Rreakers 

1 .  TARZAN  and  HIS  MATE 

With  Johnny  Weismuller  and  Maureen  0/Sullivan 
Extended  Playing  Time  Everywhere 

2.  VIVA  VILLA 

With  Wallace  Beery  and  a  cast  of  thousands 

A  $2.00  Attraction  on  Broadway 
Ash  About  the  Hippo  Exploitation 

3.  RIPTIDE 

With  Norma  Shearer  »  Robert  Montgomery 
Ask  the  Boys  Who  Played  It 

4.  SADIE  McKEE 

With  Joan  Crawford,  Gene  Raymond,  Franchot  Tone 
Watch  for  Bigger  Grosses  than  "Dancing  Lady" 

5.  LAUGHING  ROV 

With  Ramon  Navarro  «  Lupe  Velez 
The  Preview  Talk  of  the  Industry 

And  the  Spring  and  Summer  Brings  Better  Pictures  from 

METRO  -  GOLDWYN  -  MAYER 

1233  Summer  Street,  Philadelphia 

BOB  LYNCH 


A  Jay  Emanuel  Publication 


VOL.  16-No.  10 


PHILADELPHIA,  MAY  15, 1934 


Price,  15  Cents 


A  Regal  Bit  of  Entertainment! 


SYLVIA  SIDNEY 


“THIRTY-DAY 

PRINCESS 


with 


CARY GRANT 


Directed  by  MARION  GERING 

AB.  P.  SCHULBERG 

Production 

i 


If  it’s  a  PARAMOUNT  PICTURE  it’s  the  best  show  in  town! 


Mayl5'34  pg.  2 


LOVE 


WITH  LIFE 


AN  INVINCIBLE  PICTURE 


FEATURING— 


ait  'll  you  see 
Dickie!  He's  bet¬ 
ter^  he  was  with 
Ann  Harding  in 
"Gallant  Lady" 

You'll  love  him 


DICKIE  MOORE 
LILA  LEE 


CLAUDE  GILLLiNG- 
WATER,  ONSLOW 

STEVENS  and  the  famous 

MEGLIN  KIDDIES 


No  w  Playing : 
Broadway's  New 

Casino 

Theatre 


John  Barrymore 
k  "20th  Century" 


warole  Lombard  \ 

Walter  Connolly  —  Roscoe  Karns  \a 

From  the  notable  New  York  Stage  Success  by  Ben  Hecht 
i  Charles  MacArthur — Chas.  B.  Milholland 

\  A  HOWARD  HAWKS  Production 


Now  playing  to  record  crowds 
at  Radio  City  Music  Hall 

W  “ Should  cop  the  Academy  award  for  1934 ”  a 

— Picture  Play 


GOOD  PICTURES 
MAKE  GREAT 


HERE  ARE  FOUR 
MORE  NOW 


irst  reel  and  ends  when 


Sothern 


Mayl5'34  pg.  3 


M 

Precious 


Thing  in 


Life 


with 

JEAN  ARTHUR 
DONALD  COOK 
IICHARD  CROMWELL 

From  the  McCall  Magazine  story 

by  Travis  Ingham  A 

Jm 

>irected  by  Lambert  Hillyer  Jjj|| 


’he  powerful  drama  of 
i  woman  who  loved  a 


ind  lost  — only  to 
ind  a  greater  A 


The  glamor  of  Landi  .  .  . 

The  brilliance  of  Morgan. .  . 
The  romance  of  Schildlcraut! 


Elissa  Landi 


Sisters  Undei 
The  Skin 

with 

Frank  Morgan 

Joseph  Schildkrau 


Story  by  S.  K.  LAURE 
Adaptation  and  Screen  Play 

by  JO  SWERLING 

Directed  by 

DAVID  BURTOb 


Opens  soon  at 
Radio  City 
l  Mn  sic 
Sk  Hall! 


Mayl5'34  pg.  4 

To  the  Exhibitors  of  the 
United  States  and  Canada: 


On  Monday ,  June  4th ,  Carl 
Laemmle  will  release  LITTLE 

MAN,  WHAT  NOW? 

with  Margaret  Sullavan  and 
Douglass  Montgomery,  the  most 
important picture  Frank  Borzage 
has  directed  since  the  immortal 

SEVENTH  HEAVEN. 


J.  R.  GRAINGER 


Pg.  5 


THE 


EDITOR'S  PAGE 


Vol.  16,  No.  10 


May  15,  1934 


Unusual  Letdown 

-  GLANCING  at  some  of  the  current 
®  release  schedules,  one  begins  to  wonder 
by  what  herculean  methods  exhibitors  will 
be  able  to  entice  customers  into  their  the¬ 
atres.  Not  that  there  are  many  poorly 
made  pictures  around,  but  the  usual  tail- 
end  drop  finds  an  assortment  of  all-feature, 
non-star  productions  from  most  companies 
that  will  test  the  abilities  of  even  the  most 
capable  exploiteers,  managers  and  show¬ 
men.  Not  only  are  the  pictures  devoid  of 
many  selling  qualities  but  they  are  hover¬ 
ing  close  to  the  G0-70  minute  line,  some 
going  under. 

It  is  only  natural  to  expect  that  the  tail- 
end  of  the  year  would  find  a  rush  of  low 
cost  pictures,  but  a  succession  of  these  dur¬ 
ing  the  summer  months  will  provide  un¬ 
usual  demands  for  aspirin  on  the  part  of 
exhibitors. 

It  would  have  been  far  better  for  some 
studios  to  have  cut  their  schedules  and 
deliver  the  usual  leaders  on  the  1934-1935 
programs  earlier  than  to  toss  so  many  also- 
rans  into  the  laps  of  exhibitors  all  at  one 
time. 

In  all  justice  to  those  companies  which 
may  deliver  standouts,  let  them  be  credited, 
but  examination  of  release  schedules  and 
production  guides  reveals  little  over  which 
to  enthuse. 


Watch  All  Cases 

-  AS  AN  ADDED  FEATURE,  this  pub- 
®  lication  will  attempt  to  keep  its  read¬ 
ers  informed,  briefly,  of  cases  coming  up  be¬ 
fore  zoning  and  grievance  boards  in  all 
parts  of  the  country,  so  that  theatremen 
can  get  an  idea  on  what  is  going  on  in 
other  parts. 

It  is  significant  that  the  first  decision, 
one  involving  two  independent  chains  in  the 
midwest,  was  appealed  to  the  Code  Author¬ 
ity.  From  this  point,  there  can  be  further 
appeals  to  the  Divisional  Administrator  and 
then  General  Johnson  and  President  Roose¬ 
velt,  we  suppose.  Should  the  appealing- 
parties  then  continue  to  get  the  wrong  an¬ 
swer,  in  their  opinion,  they  have  recourse 
to  the  courts,  six  or  seven  steps  in  all. 

It  would  be  well  for  exhibitors  to  follow 
the  activities  of  all  the  boards.  Cases  of 
a  type  which  may  later  involve  them  may 
come  up  for  action.  Points  that  may  be 
invaluable  may  be  discussed.  This  business 
is  national.  Problems  are  the  same,  save 
for  local  application.  Only  by  making  use 
of  the  boards  can  any  exhibitor  benefit. 


Two  Reeler  Cut 

—  EXHIBITORS  have  already  viewed 
®  with  alarm  the  decision  of  Paramount 
not  to  make  two  reel  comedies  during  the 
new  season.  Good  two  reelers  were  scarce 
enough.  A  shortage  in  the  total  number 
will  provide  more  headaches  for  theatremen 
trying  to  arrange  attractive  programs. 

Paramount  probably  made  its  change  be¬ 
cause  the  revenue  didn’t  meet  the  overhead. 
Unfortunately,  as  in  most  cases  of  this 
kind,  it  is  the  exhibitor  who  suffers.  Per¬ 
haps  some  other  company  will  fill  the  void 
but  it  doesn’t  look  likely. 


The  Philadelphia 

EXHIBITOR 

Circulating  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware.  Issued  on  the  1st  and  15th 
of  each  month  by  Jay  Emanuel  Publications.  Inc.  Publishing  office.  219  North  Broad  Street.  Philadelphia. 
Branches  at  1600  Broadway.  New  York  City;  Washington,  D.  C.  Jay  Emanuel,  publisher;  Paul  J. 
Greenhalgh,  advertising  manager;  Herbert  M.  Miller,  managing  editor.  Subscription  rates:  $2  for  one 
year,  $5  for  three  years.  Single  copies.  15c  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware. 
Publishers,  also,  of  THE  NATIONAL  EXHIBITOR  of  Washington  and  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  EXHIBITOR. 
Official  organ  of  the  Motion  Picture  Theatre  Owners  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and 
Delaware.  Address  all  communications  to  the  Philadelphia  office. 


Right  Problem;  Wrong  Answer 


PETE  HARRISON,  who  rightfully  may  be  called  the 
watchdog  for  the  independent  exhibitor,  has  a  new  plan 
to  curb  rising  film  rentals.  He  takes  issue  with  the  mass  protest 
plan  advocated  by  at  least  one  exhibitor  body.  This  last,  he  main¬ 
tains,  will  result  in  a  lot  of  resolutions  and  have  no  beneficial 
effects.  Pete  says  the  idea  should  be  to  take  away  the  theatres 
from  the  producer-distributors.  For  example,  his  plan  would  work 
out  like  this:  If  producer  A  has  a  strong  chain  in  one  zone,  let  the 
exhibitors  refrain  from  buying  his  pictures  there.  If  producer  B 
has  a  circuit  that  dominates  in  another  territory,  let  theatremen 
buy  everything  except  B’s  pictures  in  that  district.  In  such  a  way, 
the  exchange  losses  will  offset  the  theatre  profits,  if  any,  and  the 
producer-circuit  will  go  back  to  the  independents. 


Unfortunately,  Pete  is  dealing  with  exhibitors.  An  exhibitor, 
if  there  had  been  any  in  Webster’s  time,  would  be  defined  as  a  man 
who  tries  to  buy  the  best  pictures  for  the  least  money  to  make  the 
most  money  with  the  smallest  overhead.  Therefore,  if  producer 
A’s  pictures  look  good  to  an  exhibitor,  he  will  rush  to  buy  them 
even  if  A  has  a  monopolistic  hold  on  the  territory.  If  B  has  a  nice 
looking  line-up,  exhibitors  will  want  B’s  pictures,  regardless.  The 
trouble  with  exhibitors  in  general  is  that  each  figures  he  is  in  the 
best  position  to  make  his  own  deals.  Organizations  may  be  okay 
for  general  purposes,  but  in  the  final  analysis,  according  to  exhibi¬ 
tor  reasoning,  it  is  better  to  play  the  lone  wolf. 


That,  unfortunately,  is  the  reason  for  weak  organizations,  for 
rising  film  prices  and  the  improbability  of  Pete  Harrison’s  plan  ever 
working  out.  The  first  important  requisite  should  be  to  effect  a 
strong  local  exhibitors’  organization  with  a  national  body,  including 
representatives  from  each  zone  with  a  leader,  paid  a  good  salary, 
who  would  make  it  his  business  to  protect  exhibitor  interest  with¬ 
out  fear  or  favor. 


6 


Mayl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Official  Rulings 


re:  Emanuel  vs  Fox  Film  Corp  G  No.  4 

Ruling  of  the  Board: 

In  accordance  with  a  resolution  of  the 
Grievance  Board  dated  May  8,  1934,  to 
wit:  Resolved  that  non-theatrical  ac¬ 
counts  be  not  served  until  six  (6) 
months  subsequent  to  the  release  date; 
Fox  Film  Corporation  is  prohibited  from 
serving  Penn  A.  C.  prior  to  such  period. 
Grievance  Board  Resolution  No.  1. 

Resolved  that  non-theatrical  accounts 
be  not  served  until  six  months  subse¬ 
quent  to  the  release  date  for  the  City 
of  Philadelphia. 

Dated  May  8,  1934. 


Exhibitors  Keeping 
Protests  in  Pockets 


ADVICE  ON  CODE  PROCEDURE 


(Ed.  Note — Basil  Ziegler,  local  code  board  secretary,  has  written  the 
following  in  order  to  give  exhibitors  some  tips  on  how  to  go  about 
filing  cases.  Save  this  for  future  reference.) 

THE  FILING  of  the  first  complaints  before  the  boards  set  up  under  the  code 
makes  it  necessary  to  bring  out  some  important  points  in  the  drawing  of  the 
complaints. 

THE  MAIN  WEAKNESS  seems  to  lie  in  the  failure  to  be  concise,  and  to  ask 
for  a  definite  form  of  relief.  The  complainant  frequently  feels  that  he  has  been 
hurt  and  generally  knows  fairly  well  in  his  own  mind  just  how  and  why  he  is  being 
hurt.  He  just  as  frequently  fails,  however,  to  state  the  situation  clearly  on  paper. 
Unless  he  does  this,  he  is  likely  to  come  before  the  board  with  one  idea  in  his  mind 
and  discover  that  the  board  has  guessed  at  something  entirely  different.  The 
result  is  that  he  either  does  not  get  the  relief  he  expected,  or  suffers  a  delay  until 
he  does  draw  his  complaint  properly. 

FOR  EXAMPLE:  A  Theatre  complains  that  B  Theatre  is  running  double 
features,  and  lets  the  matter  rest  there.  Actually,  the  situation  may  be  that  B  has 
purchased  so  many  pictures  that  A  is  left  without  sufficient  pictures  to  operate  his 
theatre.  The  board,  hearing  the  complaint,  may  rule  that  B  is  within  his  rights 
to  run  double  features,  and  A  is  still  without  the  relief  he  really  wanted,  that  of 
getting  enough  pictures  to  meet  his  requirements.  Had  A  been  concise  in  his 
complaint,  and  asked  for  the  relief  he  was  entitled  to,  the  board  would  have  ruled 
on  the  actual  difficulty.  Apparently  B  was  only  running  double  features  to  use  up 
the  product  he  had  contracted  for. 


Plenty  of  Squawks  But  All  Wait 

for  Champions 

If  all  the  coat  pockets,  vest  pockets  and 
pants  pockets  of  the  exhibitors  of  this 
territory  were  emptied,  a  huge  deluge  of 
cases  for  the  local  grievance  and  zoning 
boards  would  be  visible  to  the  naked  eye. 
That  is  the  opinion  of  local  observers  who 
are  in  direct  touch  with  the  exhibitors  of 
this  district. 

Potential  cases  are  being  carried  around  by 
exhibitors.  Charges  of  price  cutting,  unfair 
advertising,  improper  passes  are  heard.  But 
as  yet  the  local  boards  have  not  been  buried 
beneath  a  heap  of  protests. 

Frankly,  the  situation  shapes  up  like  this.  The 
majority  of  exhibitors  who  have  been  accus¬ 
tomed  to  having  a  few  film  men  take  up  the 
cudgel  on  everything  expect  the  same  thing  to 
happen. 

Apparently  the  exhibitors  have  been  out  of 
town  during  the  time  when  a  mass  of  informa¬ 
tion  regarding  code  matters  was  relayed  to  them 
through  press,  addresses  and  mail. 

The  exhibitor  who  wants  relief  on  any  sub¬ 
ject  has  to  file  a  complaint.  Unless  he  does 
he  can  shout  his  head  off  and  nothing  will 
happen.  Local  exchanges  are  not  as  concerned 
with  direct  attention  to  complaints  as  they 
used  to  be.  They  expect  the  local  boards  to 
settle  all  problems,  a  correct  attitude. 

Regardless  of  the  attitude  of  exhibitors,  a 
word  of  warning  is  in  order.  Unless  the  assess¬ 
ments  to  the  code  are  paid,  film  service  stops 
within  30  days  of  receipt  of  the  bills. 

Perhaps  some  of  the  exhibitors  who  are  ver¬ 
bal  goliaths  of  denunciation  will  like  to  test  out 
the  strength  of  this  assertion. 


THE  BOARD,  of  course,  will  not  be  arbitrary  in  its  attitude,  and  if  it  appears 
that  A,  in  opening  his  case,  is  really  complaining  about  the  lack  of  sufficient  pictures 
and  not  about  the  double  featuring,  it  will  allow  A  to  amend  his  complaint  immedi¬ 
ately,  and  proceed  along  the  lines  of  the  actual  difficulty.  A  new  situation  arises 
now,  however.  B  has  come  prepared  to  defend  along  the  lines  set  forth  in  the 
complaint  filed,  of  which  he  has  received  a  copy.  He  now  pleads  surprise  because 
he  is  not  prepared  to  defend  this  new  complaint.  Moreover,  under  the  new  com¬ 
plaint,  there  are  undoubtedly  several  distributors  directly  involved  because  of  the 
contracts  they  made  with  B.  They  also  must  have  an  opportunity  to  prepare  them¬ 
selves.  A  has  therefore  brought  about  an  unavoidable  delay,  and  through  his  own 
failure  to  set  his  difficulties  down  clearly  has  defeated  himself. 

THE  PROPER  METHOD  to  follow  is  to  set  each  fact  down  in  a  separate  para¬ 
graph,  and  keep  them  in  consecutive  order.  All  paragraphs  concerning  the  same 
series  of  facts  should  be  grouped  together.  Finish  a  subject  before  you  go  on  to  the 
next.  If  the  first  three  paragraphs  concern  one  subject  matter  and  the  next  three 
another,  do  not  put  something  into  the  seventh  that  belongs  with  the  first  three. 
Put  it  where  it  belongs.  If  it  happens  to  be  a  vague  paragraph  that  could  just  as 
easily  have  fitted  in  w4th  the  last  group  it  may  mislead  the  board,  and  work  to  the 
complainant’s  disadvantage.  After  all  the  facts  have  been  stated  clearly,  setting 
forth  what  acts  have  been  committed,  and  how  the  complainant  has  been  hurt, 
then  ask  for  the  relief  you  believe  yourself  entitled  to. 

IT  IS  ADVISABLE  to  draw  up  the  Statement  of  Facts  on  scrap  paper  first. 
Then  reduce  it  to  the  simplest  language  possible,  using  only  as  many  words  as  are 
actually  necessary  to  clearly  convey  the  thought.  In  this  way,  vague  and  ambiguous 
expressions  are  eliminated.  Consider  it  carefully,  checking  back  to  see  whether 
you  have  made  out  an  actual  case  of  complaint,  and  if  you  have  asked  for  the 
relief  you  desire.  Then  write  it  out  in  the  finished  state.  This  may  sound  like 
extra  work,  but  a  few  minutes  spent  that  way  is  better  than  possibly  several  weeks’ 
delay,  in  addition  to  time  wasted  sitting  around  the  Board  room  while  other  cases 
are  heard  before  yours  is  called. 

BEFORE  DRAWING  up  your  complaint,  be  sure  that  you  have  used  the  proper 
form.  Careful  examination  of  the  forms  will  usually  answer  any  question  as  to 
which  is  the  proper  form.  If  there  is  still  any  doubt  whatsoever  in  your  mind, 
consult  the  Secretary  either  in  person,  or  if  you  are  at  a  distant  point,  by  mail, 
at  the  Philadelphia  Saving  Fund  Building,  12  South  12th  Street,  Philadelphia.  You 
are  also  entitled  to  be  represented  by  attorney  if  you  do  not  care  to  try  the  case 
yourself.  However,  your  attorney  cannot  testify  for  you;  any  allegations  you  make 
must  be  made  on  the  witness  stand  by  yourself,  as  in  any  court. 

IN  FILLING  OUT  the  forms,  the  word  “Respondent”  means  the  same  as 
“Defendant,”  a  word  with  which  you  are  probably  more  familiar.  It  comes  from 
the  word  “respond,”  meaning  “to  answer.” 

BASIL  M.  ZIEGLER. 


11  A.  M.  Start 


The  first  meeting  of  the  grievance 
board  began  with  a  few  of  the  members 
coming  in  late. 

This  was  forgiven,  but  after  this  all 
meetings  will  start  at  11  A.  M. 


Varbalow  District  Judge 

Joseph  A.  Varbalow,  well  known  to  exhibi¬ 
tors  and  the  trade  in  general,  has  been  made 
a  district  court  judge  in  Camden  County. 

At  the  ceremony,  District  Court  Judge  Frank 
F.  Meutze,  Judge  Samuel  M.  Shay,  Justice 
Frank  T.  Lloyd  were  present,  as  well  as  friends 
and  other  well  wishers.  Varbalow  has  been 
active  in  Jersey  circles  for  many  years. 


No  Delaware  Meeting 

While  double  features  seems  to  be  the  only 
matter  bothering  the  members  of  the  IMPTO 
of  Delaware  and  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Mary¬ 
land,  A.  J.  DeFiore,  Wilmington,  president, 
after  a  talk  with  Reese  Harrington,  Harrington, 
George  Schwartz  of  Dover  and  others,  decided 
not  to  call  a  meeting  of  the  organization  for  a 
couple  of  weeks  or  so. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Mayl5'34 


7 


Expect  Ruling  on  Question  of  Contract 
Discrimination  at  May  1 7  Board  Meeting 


Board  Schedule 


Here  is  the  schedule  for  the  local 
boards: 

Zoning  and  Clearance — -Wednesdays, 
11  A.  M. 

Grievance - Thursdays,  1 1  A.  M. 

Permanent  quarters  will  be  estab¬ 
lished  shortly  in  the  Philadelphia  Sav¬ 
ings  Fund  Society  Building,  4th  floor. 
Sessions  are  open  to  the  industry. 

Basil  Ziegler,  secretary,  is  always  on 
hand  to  give  advice  and  information  to 
members  of  the  industry.  His  tele¬ 
phone  number  is  Lombard  4742. 


Statement  of  Position 


THE  SUIT  brought  by  the  Grand-Jackson 
Theatre  Company  against  the  Venice  The¬ 
atre  involves  a  question  of  contract  discrim¬ 
ination  and  alleged  lowering  of  admission. 
It  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  question  of 
whether  there  should  or  should  not  be  double 
features.  As  far  as  double  features  are  con¬ 
cerned,  my  position  was  made  clear  in  the 
issue  of  March  15,  when  I  came  out  in  favor 
of  a  modified  double  feature  system,  to  be 
applied  on  an  intelligent  basis  by  a  govern¬ 
ing  committee.  My  sentiments  on  the  sub¬ 
ject  are  expressed  there.  They  have  not 
changed  since. 

EVERY  EXHIBITOR  in  this  territory 
knows  that  there  are  exhibitors  who  violate 
contracts  as  a  general  practice.  They  also 
know  that  these  same  exhibitors  only  make  it 
tougher  for  the  theatremen  who  feel  that  the 
best  interests  of  the  business  are  served  when 
everyone  shoots  square.  It  was  as  an  exhibi¬ 
tor  that  the  suit  in  question  was  started  by 
me.  THE  EXHIBITOR  is  not  concerned 
with  the  suit,  except  as  to  its  news  angle. 
No  one  else  is  concerned  with  my  end  of  the 
argument,  no  major  producers,  no  premium 
dealers,  no  women’s  clubs,  no  reformers.  I 
told  Eddie  Golden  and  others,  four  weeks 
ago,  I  was  going  to  bring  this  important  ques¬ 
tion  up  for  settlement  before  the  grievance 
board  just  as  soon  as  it  began  to  function. 

UNTIL  THE  SUIT  is  settled  definitely  there 
should  be  no  change  in  the  local  situation. 
Those  who  have  been  double  featuring  and 
who  think  they  may  be  affected  by  a  decision 
have  no  reason  to  change.  It  is  unfortunate 
that  certain  exchanges  along  the  street  have 
had  dates  pulled  on  them  by  exhibitors  who 
never  play  fair  with  an  exchange  or  a  fellow 
exhibitor.  Until  the  case  is  settled,  local  the¬ 
atres  have  every  reason  to  proceed  along 
original  lines.  Regardless  of  the  current  agi¬ 
tation,  there  is  no  reason  to  change  book’ng 
policies,  to  drop  the  second  half  of  a  twin  bill 
or  decide  to  play  good  boy  for  a  change 
unless  an  exhibitor  is  specifically  forbidden 
by  contract  to  do  so. 

THE  REAL  ISSUES  in  the  case  have  been 
so  clouded  by  the  false  rumors  spread  around 
concerning  everyone  that  it  is  difficult  to 
believe  whether  those  doing  the  agitating 
really  know  why  they  are  agitating.  The 
suit  was  brought  not  as  a  purely  local  issue 


Local  Grievance  Body  Hears  First  Cases — Six  Months’ 
Clearance  Decision  in  Non-Theatrical  Protest — Double 
Feature  Issue  Highlight 

Exhibitors  of  this  territory  will  have  to  wait  until  May  17  to  find  out  the  attitude 
of  the  local  grievance  board  on  a  question  of  alleged  double  feature  discrimination 
brought  before  the  body  at  the  first  session  of  any  local  code  unit  held  May  8.  at 
1 1  A.  M.,  in  the  assembly  room  of  the  Philadelphia  Savings  Fund  Society  Build¬ 
ing,  12th  and  Market  streets. 


Final  disposition  of  a  question  that  is  of  vital 
importance  to  the  territory  is  expected  to  be 
made  at  the  May  17  meeting. 

Complaint  in  question  is  that  of  the  Grand- 
Jackson  Theatre  Company,  operating  the  Grand 
and  Jackson  Theatres,  South  Philadelphia, 
against  the  Venice  Theatre,  South  Philadelphia. 
Complaint  alleges  that  there  is  discrimination 
by  two  exchanges,  Fox  and  Uirted  Artists,  in 
the  matter  of  enforcement  of  clauses  in  con¬ 
tracts  barring  those  company’s  pictures  from 
being  double-featured  with  other  film.  Com¬ 
plaint  also  says  that  double  feature  practice 
amounts  to  a  cut  in  admission  prices. 

When  the  case  came  up,  Charles  Stiefel, 
Venice  Theatre,  asked  for  a  postponement  in 
view  of  the  fact  that  his  attorney,  Michael 
Egnol,  was  out  of  town.  This  resulted  ;n  a 
confab  which  brought  a  ruling  from  the  board 
that  no  postponement  could  be  allowed  in  view 
of  the  fact  that  all  present  were  sacrificing 
time  to  attend  code  affairs  and  that  postpone¬ 
ments  would  defeat  the  ends  of  the  code. 

Testimony  in  the  case  came  from  Jay 
Emanuel,  representmg  the  Grand-Jackson  The¬ 
atre  Company ;  Samuel  Gross,  Fox  branch  ex¬ 
change  manager ;  Harry  Bodkin,  United  Artists 
exchange  manager;  Charles  Stiefel,  Venice 
Theatre. 

All  stated  their  case,  w:th  the  exception  of 
Stiefel,  who  refused  to  testify  in  view  of  the 
fact  that  his  attorney  was  not  present. 

Case  was  then  continued  until  May  17,  at 
11  A.  M. 

It  is  expected  that  the  case  will  bring  the 
question  of  double  features  into  the  open. 
Many  houses  have  been  double  featuring  in 
violation  of  contract  and  a  ruling  from  the 


local  grr'evance  board  is  expected  to  set  the 
matter  straight. 

Observers  are  of  the  opinion  that  should  an 
appeal  be  taken  to  the  Code  Authority,  re¬ 
gardless  of  the  decision,  the  industry’s  highest 
body  may  have  to  rule  on  not  only  the  question 
of  discrimination  in  enforcement  of  double 
features  but  also  the  right  of  distributors  to 
bar  double  featuring  of  their  pictures. 

It  is  a  known  fact  that  Emanuel  favors 
modified  double  features.  Testimony  also 
brought  this  out. 

Another  case  to  come  up  was  that  of  the 
Grand-Jackson  Theatre  Company  against  Fox. 
Jay  Emanuel,  appearing  for  the  theatre  unit, 
brought  up  the  matter  of  Fox  serving  the 
Penn  A.  C.,  a  non-theatrical  account,  with  film 
two  weeks  after  second  run,  Phdadelphia.  Sam¬ 
uel  Gross,  appearing  for  Fox,  said  the  practice 
would  be  stopped.  In  order  to  get  a  ruling, 
however,  and  to  put  the  matter  in  the  record, 
it  was  decided  to  go  through  with  the  case. 

Ruling  of  the  board  was :  That  non-theatrical 
accounts  be  not  served  until  six  months  subse¬ 
quent  to  the  release  date  for  the  city  of  Phila¬ 
delphia.  It  was  assented  to  unanimously. 

Case  of  Lou  Linker,  Bridgeton,  N.  J.,  agahist 
the  Stanley  Theatre,  Bridgeton,  N.  J.,  was 
postponed  at  request  of  both  parties  and  with 
the  consent  of  the  board.  Charges  concern 
overbuying. 

The  next  hearing  of  the  grievance  committee 
will  be  May  17,  11  A.  M. 

Present  on  the  board  were  Lewen  Pizor, 
Mike  Landow,  Frank  McNamee,  Monte  Sal¬ 
mon,  an  alternate  for  M.  B.  Comerford,  Ray¬ 
mond  Rau,  impartial  member,  as  alternate  for 
Colonel  Salter. 


but  as  a  test  case  to  find  out,  eventually,  for 
once  and  for  all,  what  restrictions  may  be 
made  in  contracts  in  regard  to  this  certain 
question  and  whether  they  are  arbitrary,  to 
be  enforced  by  the  exchange  at  will,  and 
whether  an  added  feature  on  a  bill  consti¬ 
tutes  lowering  of  admission  prices. 

THOSE  WHO  ARE  double  featuring 
should  continue  to  double  feature,  if  they 
have  been,  until  there  is  a  final  ruling.  The 
exhibitors  who  are  clouding  the  real  issues 
were  probably  the  first  to  pull  out  dates  on 
a  few  exchanges.  The  case  can  only  be  heard 
by  the  code  committees.  It  will  never  be  set¬ 
tled  on  the  corner  of  13th  and  Vine  Streets. 
In  addition,  I  offered  to  contribute  to  any  fund 
which  might  help  in  bringing  this  case  out 
into  the  open.  This  offer  still  stands. 

JAY  EMANUEL. 


N.  Y.  Case  Here 


Three  exchange  managers  were  sub¬ 
poenaed  last  week  to  appear  before  the 
Jersey  advisory  committee  of  the  New 
York  code  zoning  board  regarding  a 
matter  involving  a  theatre  in  Washing¬ 
ton,  N.  J.,  and  the  Wilmer-Vincent  the¬ 
atre  in  Easton. 

Clearance  is  the  topic.  Presence  of 
the  local  exchange  chiefs  was  necessary 
because  clearance  involved  Easton,  part 
of  this  territory,  although  Washington 
is  not. 


8 


Mayl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Wilkes-Barre  Law  Up 


Wilkes-Barre  may  have  a  new  ordi¬ 
nance  on  the  licensing  of  motion  picture 
theatres  soon.  Present  regulations, 
drafted  in  1915,  before  the  State  en¬ 
acted  legislation,  differs  in  many  ways 
with  the  Pennsylvania  law.  City  Solici¬ 
tor,  Edwin  B.  Morgan,  has  been  in¬ 
structed  to  review  the  ordinance  now  in 
effect  and  the  State  code,  so  that  he 
might  draft  a  new  ordinance,  suitable 
for  conditions  of  today. 

Handicap,  imposed  by  the  law  in 
Wilkes-Barre  now,  was  brought  to  the 
attention  of  the  city  council  by  H.  A. 
Smith,  representing  Kiwanis  Club.  He 
pointed  out  that,  under  regulations, 
service  clubs,  schools  and  other  organ¬ 
izations,  using  projecting  machines  for 
demonstrations  or  educational  purposes, 
were  in  constant  difficulty.  Members 
of  the  Motion  Picture  Operators  Union 
indicated  that  they  were  not  in  accord 
with  the  proposed  program  of  revision. 
It  was  pointed  out  that  the  ordinance 
was  passed  to  reduce  the  fire  hazard. 
Council,  incidentally,  granted  Kiwanis 
permission  to  show  pictures  later  in  the 
month,  thus  hurdling  the  immediate 
barrier. 


Golden  Says  Doubles 
Are  Asset  to  Industry 

Claims  Two  Feature  Idea  Imper¬ 
ative  in  Business 

The  double  feature  program  is  neces¬ 
sary  and — 

Between  6,000-7,000  houses  are  using  double 
features;  success  of  American  films  in  the  Brit¬ 
ish  market  depends  largely  on  expansion  of 
such  practice  in  this  country ;  use  of  double 
features  by  large  circuits  is  an  indication  of 
their  worth ;  large  companies  derive  a  lot  of 
benefit,  Metro  getting  60%  of  its  returns  from 
other  than  single  feature  programs  and  barring 
of  double  features  is  collusion,  restraint 
of  trade  and  monopoly  such  were  the  state¬ 
ments  made  by  Eddie  Golden,  sales  manager  of 
Monogram  Pictures,  during  his  recent  visit  to 
this  city. 


Herald  Ban 


Local  theatre  owners  who  have  been 
circulating  heralds  and  other  handbills 
will  be  interested  in  an  announcement 
that  there  is  a  fine  for  those  who  violate 
a  city  ordinance  regarding  their  distri¬ 
bution. 

Such  material  must  be  placed  in  an 
envelope,  addressed  to  someone,  (it  can 
be  “To  the  Lady  of  the  House”)  and 
must  be  placed  underneath  the  door. 

Overwhelming  number  of  such  forms 
of  advertising  material  caused  the  deci¬ 
sion.  Consult  your  printer  about  it. 


RUDE  AWAKENING 


There  were  only  six  spectators,  including  interested  observers  and  those 
concerned  directly  with  cases,  at  first  session  of  the  local  grievance  board. 
It  would  have  been  well  if  all  members  of  the  industry,  especially  the  inde¬ 
pendents  had  been  there.  Because  the  board  served  notice  that  the  code  for 
the  motion  picture  industry  will  not  be  handled  in  the  same  manner  as  have 
been  a  lot  of  other  important  institutions  and  problems. 

It  would  be  well  for  the  summer  tenants  of  the  northwest,  southwest, 
northeast  and  southeast  corners  of  Vine  street  to  have  witnessed  the  session. 
They  would  have  gotten  an  eyeful.  They  would  have  seen  six  responsible 
members  of  this  business  attacking  problems  and  issues  at  hand  with  a 
directness  which  would  have  astounded  the  corner  gentlemen.  Let  it  be 
said  now  for  once  and  for  all  that  the  local  code  boards  will  not  stand  for 
the  tactics  of  some  of  the  other  gentlemen  in  the  film  business.  In  the  first 
place,  there  will  be  no  postponements.  There  will  be  no  oratorical  demon¬ 
strations.  There  will  be  nothing  that  does  not  affect  the  cases.  In  other 
words,  the  boards  will  stand  for  no  fooling.  It  is  about  time  that  some  of 
the  exhibitors  realized  that  a  code  board  is  not  a  cardboard  institution. 
Regardless  of  whether  or  not  codes  become  permanent,  at  the  present  time 
they  are  governing  bodies.  If  they  hand  down  a  decision,  that  decision 
becomes  a  law  unto  the  theatremen,  with  chances  of  appeal,  of  course. 

It  is  also  about  time  that  some  of  the  gentlemen  who  have  been  hiding 
their  ability  to  pull  fast  ones  under  the  proverbial  bushel  realized  that 
eventually  they  will  be  ferreted  out.  The  courts  of  the  City  of  Philadelphia 
are  now  demonstrating  that  it  is  quite  possible,  with  the  right  kind  of  men 
in  charge,  to  bring  the  “numbers  situation”  into  the  open.  This  gives 
added  incentive  to  the  belief  that  even  some  of  the  practices  current  in  this 
business  can  be  made  public. 

Let  the  scoffers  scoff.  But  the  gentlemen  who  hold  their  tongues  in 
their  cheeks  will  have  another  guess  coming. 

JAY  EMANUEL. 


Golden  apreared  before  a  gathering  of  exhib¬ 
itors  at  the  Broadwood  Hotel.  The  body  met 
to  take  some  action  in  connection  with  the  hear¬ 
ing  of  the  Grand-Jackson  Theatre  Company  vs. 
Venice  Theatre  as  it  affected  their  houses. 

Later,  during  an  interview,  he  made  the  asser¬ 
tions  above. 

In  addition,  he  praised  Jay  Emanuel  for 
bringing  the  local  double  feature  situation  out 
into  the  open  and  said  he  was  doing  the  industry 
a  service. 

The  question  to  be  settled,  he  stated,  was  not 
the  case  in  hand  but  whether  or  not  companies 
could  carry  a  clause  in  their  contract  barring 
double  featuring  of  their  pictures.  The  issue, 
he  avowed,  was  whether  the  exhibitor  had  the 
right  to  run  his  theatre  as  he  saw  fit. 

Golden  further  stated  that  through  success 
of  double  features  Monogram  had  been  en¬ 
couraged  to  go  ahead  with  production  of  bigger 
pictures,  with  the  result  that  the  new  season’s 
lineup  would  be  the  best  in  the  company’s 
history. 

He  predicted  success  in  the  current  ag:tation 
for  double  features. 


Operator-Councilman 

City  Councilman  Otto  E.  Miller,  of  Wilming¬ 
ton,  owner  of  a  film  projector  and  several  thou¬ 
sand  feet  of  films  he  has  made  of  this  and  that 
subject,  together  with  other  reels  that  he  bought, 
entertained  the  Ninth  Ward  Business  Mm’s 
Association  in  the  City  Bank  and  Trust  Build¬ 
ing,  recently.  Miller  is  well  known  to  the 
theatre  men,  is  proud  of  his  ability  as  an  oper¬ 
ator. 


York  Strike  On 

York’s  theatre  strike  is  on. 

Employes  of  the  Warner  Brothers  theatres 
there  walked  out  at  the  close  of  business  May 
9.  Later  on,  they  appeared  all  day  in  front 
of  the  theatres,  entreating  theatregoers  not  to 
patronize  the  theatres. 

With  the  exception  of  about  five  employes  the 
strike  was  unanimous,  cashiers,  ushers,  door¬ 
men  and  general  help  walking  out.  The  strike 
was  called  by  the  York  union  after  two  of  its 
representatives  visited  the  Philadelphia  office 
of  the  Warner  company. 

Strikers  themselves  resorted  to  peaceful 
picketing.  Sympathizers,  however,  were  not  so 
peaceful.  They  stood  in  little  groups  in  front 
of  the  theatres  and  booed  anybody  who  pre¬ 
sented  themselves  to  see  the  current  attractions. 


Sayre  Closing  Issue 

Wishes  of  20  persons  in  the  borough  of  Sayre 
may  result  in  the  closing  of  Sayre’s  only  movie 
house  on  Sunday.  Deputy  Attorney  General 
O'Hara  of  Wilkesbarre  has  served  notice  on 
the  Comert’ord  Company,  owners  of  the  theatre, 
of  the  receipt  of  the  petition  askuig  for  a  writ 
of  quo  warranto  agahist  the  company.  If  the 
action  is  successful  it  will  result  in  the  com¬ 
pany  losing  its  state  charter. 

Theatre  was  opened  on  Sunday  bv  Comerford 
on  the  request  of  the  merchants  of  the  borough 
and  others  and  has  been  enjoying  a  large  Sun¬ 
day  attendance. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Mayl5'34 


9 


Long  Saturday  Matinee  Shows  Barred 

from  All  Stanley- Warner  Theatres 


Protest  Meeting  Silent 

No  statements  emerged  from  the  pro¬ 
test  meeting  held  in  New  York  City  at 
which  time  a  delegation  of  MPTO  mem¬ 
bers  traveled  to  the  big  town  to  discuss 
problems  with  exhibitors  of  other  states. 

It  was  believed  likely  that  some  sort 
of  general  meeting  idea  would  be  used. 
David  Barrist  headed  the  local  delega¬ 
tion. 


Praise  Krouse  for 
Work  at  Annual  Dinner 

Rosenblatt  and  Others  Credit 
Local  307 ’s  Leader 


Praise  for  the  co-operation  of  Local 
307  and  appreciation  for  the  work  of  the 
MPTO  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  South¬ 
ern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware  high¬ 
lighted  the  address  of  Divisional  Admin¬ 
istrator  Sol  A.  Rosenblatt  before  the 
assembled  members  and  guests  of  the 
Philadelphia  Moving  Picture  Machine 
Operators  Union,  Local  307,  IATSE,  at 
the  21st  anniversary  dinner  dance  at  the 
Broadwood  Hotel,  May  6. 

Rosenblatt  gave  srecial  praise  to  Lon  Krouse, 
president  of  the  union,  for  his  work  in  Wash¬ 
ington. 

600  Present 

The  dinner,  attended  by  about  600  members, 
wives  and  invited  guests,  heard  addresses  by 
Lou  Krouse,  president;  William  C.  Elliott,  na¬ 
tional  president ;  Fred  Dempsey,  national  treas¬ 
urer,  and  others. 

Elliott  paid  tribute  to  Krouse  and  the  local. 
He  stated  Krouse  had  been  with  the  IATSE 
official  family  for  17  years  and  called  him  his 
“little  boy  friend.”  Fred  Dempsey,  IATSE 
official,  praised  Rosenblatt  and  said  he  had 
always  gotten  a  square  deal. 

Legendre  Talks 

Morris  Legendre,  aide  to  Rosenblatt,  spoke, 
said  he  worked  with  Krouse,  praised  his  fair¬ 
ness  and  trust. 

Rosenblatt  followed,  repeated  the  praise  for 
Krouse,  enjoyed  working  with  him,  said  he 
dealt  in  over  200  crafts,  found  no  one  more 
willing  to  co-operate.  He  said  he  would  rather 
appear  before  Local  307  than  any  other  labor 


Delaware  Assembly 


Delaware  General  Assembly  ad¬ 
journed  sine  die  after  a  hectic  78-day 
session  of  bickering  about  relief  bills 
that  they  never  passed  and  leaving  two 
important  bills  affecting  the  motion  pic¬ 
ture  business  abandoned  like  the  rest  of 
the  measures. 


Two-Three  Feature  Bills  To  Be  Dropped  for  More  Shorts, 
Etc. — Test  Lasts  Until  September— Length  Depends 
Upon  Inde  Co-operation 


Two-  and  three-feature,  four-hour  shows,  long  a  practice  in  this  territory,  re¬ 
ceived  a  death  blow  last  week  when  Joseph  Bernhard,  managing  director  of  all 
Warner  theatres,  ruled  that  Stanley- Warner  would  cut  out  the  practice. 


CAII  _ Joseph  M.  Schenck,  presi- 

dent,  20th  Century  Pic¬ 
tures,  welcomes  his  million  dollar  production 
chief,  Darryl  F.  Zanuck,  vice-president  and 
production  chief,  20th  Century  and  Mrs. 
Zanuck  upon  their  arrival  in  New  York  en- 
route  to  a  three  months’  business  and  hunting 
trip  in  Europe  and  Africa. 


organization.  Lie  said  Krouse  worked  with 
him  in  many  ways  and  was  always  eager  to 
serve  for  the  interests  of  the  NRA  and  the 
country  in  general.  He  revealed  that  if  any 
local  had  any  complaint,  it  was  always  referred 
to  Krouse  who  gave  it  immediate  attention.  Lie 
then  praised  the  local  MPTO  for  co-operation 
and  said  it  was  a  pleasure  to  be  there. 

At  Head  Table 

At  the  head  table  were :  Rosenblatt.  Legendre. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Krouse,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Abott 
Oliver,  Willie  Friedman,  A.  Baker  Freeman, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Harry  Abbott,  Ben  Green,  Joe 
Abrams,  B.  F.  Bache,  Fred  Dempsey,  and  Wil¬ 
liam  Elliott  among  others. 

Gift 

A  big  basket  of  flowers  was  given  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Krouse  by  the  stage  hands  union.  Willie 
Friedman  saved  the  day  when  he  got  a  picture 
of  President  Roosevelt  from  Jack  Kelly,  local 
Democratic  leader.  This  graced  the  head  table. 

Film  Men,  Too 

Others  from  the  exhibition  field  included 
George  Gravenstine,  Leonard  Schlesinger,  Lou 
Goldsmith,  Larry  Graver,  S.  Seidenberg,  Tony 
Capriotti,  Jules  Seltzer.  Fire  marshal  Mulhern 
and  Captain  Clinton  were  also  present.  Enter¬ 
tainment  was  contributed  by  Earle,  Fay’s,  Car¬ 
man,  Fox  and  other  houses  as  well  as  by  A1 
Boyd,  Frank  Buhler,  Eddie  Sherman,  Lip- 
shutz  and  Mazer,  Harry  Biben  and  Joe  Feld¬ 
man.  Floral  and  electrical  decorations  were 
a  beautiful  revelation.  Event  voted  by  all  the 
most  outstanding  affair  in  years. 


Leonard  Schlesinger,  managing  director  of 
this  zone,  concurred  in  the  decision  before  he 
left  for  St.  Louis  for  a  vacation,  with  the  result 
that  S-W  sent  out  notices  to  all  district  man¬ 
agers  as  well  as  managers  informing  them  of 
the  ban. 

It  was  expected  that  Stanley-Warner  houses 
would  use  other  means,  plenty  of  shorts,  etc.,  to 
keep  the  kiddie  trade  in  their  houses,  but  no 
avalanche  of  features  would  be  seen.  Test  will 
last  until  September. 

Whether  or  not  the  policy  will  be  permanent 
defends  on  the  independents.  Should  the  indes 
keep  up  the  long  show  policy,  then  Stanley- 
Warner  will  go  back  to  the  old  form.  How¬ 
ever,  it  is  thought  likely  that  indes  would  also 
make  a  move  in  S-W's  direction. 

At  the  same  time,  a  movement  to  provide 
special  kiddie  shows  for  Saturday  afternoon 
has  been  started.  Advocates  want  the  privi¬ 
lege  of  dropping  the  regular  feature,  when  it 
is  of  sexy  or  unfavorable  nature,  and  substi¬ 
tuting  an  action  show  or  something  more  suit¬ 
able.  Some  houses  have  been  doing  this  for 
years.  In  some  cases,  it  has  resulted  in  squawks 
from  the  kiddies  who  want  to  see  the  regular 
show,  no  matter  what  it  may  be. 

Trade  folk  point  out  that  there  are  very 
few  children  at  theatres  during  the  week  but 
that  the  deluge  descends  on  Saturday.  If  all 
theatres  co-oferate,  the  long  show  menace  may 
be  curbed  for  once  and  for  all. 

Stanley-Warner’s  attitude  was  accepted  for 
its  sincerity  by  most  of  the  trade.  It  remains 
to  be  seen  whether  or  not  the  inde  element  will 
be  as  sincere  in  its  co-operation.  There  have 
been  many  comf  laints  on  the  part  of  independent 
theatre  operators  on  the  four  hour  show.  It 
will  therefore  be  of  interest  to  the  industry 
to  watch  their  actions  now  that  the  chain  oper¬ 
ated  theatres  have  eliminated  the  practice. 


John  J.  Grelis  Passes 

Passing  of  John  J.  Grelis,  magistrate  and  a 
former  exhibitor,  was  mourned  by  exhibitors 
who  knew  him  as  a  real  veteran.  Grelis  used 
to  operate  the  York  Palace  and  built  up  a  refu¬ 
tation  for  sincerity  and  square  shooting.  Al¬ 
though  he  retired  and  closed  the  house  some 
time  ago,  he  kept  in  touch  with  many  friends 
in  the  trade.  He  was  also  a  partner  in  the 
Interstate  Film  Company,  with  V.  R.  Carrick 
and  Mike  Lessy. 

Honorary  pallbearers  included  Mayor  Moore, 
Judge  John  E.  Walsh,  Judge  Frank  Smith, 
Roland  S.  Morris,  Charles  F.  Kelley,  James 
A.  Flaherty,  John  B.  Kelly,  Magistrate  John 
J.  O'Malley,  Benjamin  H.  Green,  Dr.  Thomas 
S.  Boone,  Dr.  Louis  B.  Heimer,  Patrick  J. 
Howard,  Benjamin  F.  Jones,  N.  Lowenthal, 
John  K.  Loughlin,  Joseph  J.  Tunney,  A.  Lincoln 
Acker  and  Francis  S.  Cantrell. 


10 


Mayl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Code  Authority  Outlines 
Procedure  in  Premium  Vote 

Highest  Body  Instructs  Trade  on 

Way  to  Determine  Desire 

Committee  on  Administration  of  Local 
Grievance  Boards  has  presented  a  resolu¬ 
tion  to  the  Code  Authority  which  outlines 
the  procedure  on  definition  of  areas  in 
connection  with  the  premium  vote. 

The  committee  included  Robert  H.  Cochrane, 
Nathan  Yamins,  Harold  S.  Bareford  and  the 
resolution  was  adopted  by  the  Code  Authority 
ifnanimously. 

Here  is  the  resolution  as  adopted  : 

WHEREAS  Section  2,  Part  3  of  Article  5 
of  the  Code  of  Fair  Competition  for  the  Motion 
Picture  Industry  prohibits  the  giving  of  rebates 
such  as  premiums  in  the  form  of  gifts  or  other 
things  of  value  in  those  areas  as  shall  be  defined 
by  each  local  Clearance  and  Zotiing  Board  where 
the  exhibitors  operating  not  less  than  75%  of 
the  number  of  the  then  actively  and  continuously 
operating  theatres  not  affiliated  with  distribu¬ 
tors  or  producers  and  the  exhibitors  operating 
not  less  than  75%  of  the  number  of  the  then 
actively  and  continuously  operated  theatres  affil¬ 
iated  with  distributors  and  producers  have  both 
declared  in  writing  that  the  giving  of  rebates 
in  such  form  shall  not  be  permitted,  and 


PETE  HARRISON  says:  “A 
good  picture,  produced  skilfully. 
Should  entertain.”  .  .  M.  P. 

DAILY:  “A  big  name  cast.” 


Distributed  by 


Hollywood  Film  Exchanges.  Inc. 

PHILADELPHIA 


Catholic  Drive  Hits  Biz 

Appeals  by  priests  in  various  Catholic 
parishes  to  congregations  to  stay  away 
from  the  movies  is  affecting  business. 

One  theatre,  alone,  estimates  a  $200 
drop  in  business  to  that  influence. 
Priest  admits  that  the  exhibitor  is  being 
made  to  suffer  for  something  not  his 
fault  but  doesn’t  offer  any  solution. 


WHEREAS,  the  question  has  been  raised  as 
to  the  procedure  for  effectuating  the  provisions 
of  such  Section  2,  Part  3  of  Article  5,  now 
therefore,  it  is 

RESOLVED :  That  upon  written  request 
made  to  any  local  Clearance  and  Zoning  Board 
for  the  definition  of  areas  as  provided  in 
Section  2,  Part  3,  Article  5  of  the  Code  of  Fair 
Competition  for  the  Motion  Picture  Industry, 
such  local  Clearance  and  Zoning  Board  shall 
forthwith  define  the  area  in  which  exhibitors 
may  declare  in  writing  their  desire  to  prohibit 
the  giving  of  rebates  as  in  such  Section  2,  Part 
3,  Article  5,  defined.  The  local  Clearance  and 
Zoning  Boards  shall  forthwith  and  within  seven 
(7)  days  after  receipt  of  such  written  request 
define  such  area  and  file  their  definition  thereof 
with  the  local  Grievance  Board  and  also  com¬ 
municate  such  definition  to  the  petitioning  ex¬ 
hibitors.  The  giving  of  rebates  such  as  premiums 
in  the  form  of  gifts  or  other  things  of  value 
shall  be  prohibited  from  and  after  ninety  (90) 
days  from  the  date  of  filing  with  the  local  Griev¬ 
ance  Board  of  a  written  statement  so  declaring, 
signed  by  not  less  than  the  required  number  of 
exhibitors  iff  such  defined  area,  which  state¬ 
ment  shall  be  invalid  if  not  filed  with  the  Griev¬ 
ance  Board  within  sixty  (60)  days  after  the 
first  signature  is  placed  thereon. 


First  Appeal  Upheld 

Code  Authority  upheld  the  overbuying  award 
of  the  Milwaukee  grievance  board  last  week 
when  the  appeal  in  the  case  of  the  Saxe  Amuse¬ 
ment  Management,  Inc.,  operating  the  Capitol, 
Madison,  Wisconsin,  Ashley  Theatre  Corpora¬ 
tion  and  Vitagraph  came  up.  Saxe  was  awarded 
30  Warner  pictures.  He  had  won  in  the  case 
when  it  was  heard  by  the  local  grievance  board 
in  Milwaukee. 

New  RCA  Contact 

E.  A.  Timulty,  formerly  assistant  to  E.  O. 
Heyl,  manager  Photophone  division,  has  been 
appointed  special  representative  of  the  national 
office  of  the  Photophone  Division  with  head¬ 
quarters  at  the  Fifth  Avenue  offices  of  the  RCA 
Victor  Company,  New  York. 

Timulty’s  new  duties  will  now  include  con¬ 
tacting  out-of-town  exhibitors  visiting  New 
York,  arranging  for  special  demonstrations  of 
Photophone  High  Fidelity  sound  and  inspec¬ 
tion  trips  to  important  RCA  Victor  Photo¬ 
phone  equipment  installations  in  Rockefeller 
Centre  and  elsewhere  in  the  midtown  theatrical 
district. 


No  Premium  Vote 

Contrary  to  general  expectations,  there  has 
been  no  vote  set  on  the  matter  of  prem’ums. 
Indications  were  at  one  time  that  an  exhibitor 
would  send  in  a  letter  requesting  such  vote,  the 
necessary  procedure,  but  no  letter  has  been 
received  by  the  local  board  secretary. 


Civil  Liberties  Unit 
Asks  Opinion  on  Censors 

Questions  Atty.  Gen.  Schnader 
Regarding  Elimination  Data 

The  Pennsylvania  Civil  Liberties  Com¬ 
mittee  is  seeking  the  opinion  of  William 
A.  Schnader,  attorney  general,  regarding 
the  matter  of  elimination  publicity. 

The  letter  sent  to  the  attorney  general 
follows : 

May  2,  1934. 

William  A.  Schnader,  Esquire 

Attorney  General  of  Commonwealth  of  Penna., 

Harrisburg,  Pa. 

Re:  Penna.  State  Board  of  Censors 

Dear  Sir : 

Jn  accordance  with  its  declared  policy  and  purpose 
of  protecting  the  civil  rights  of  citizens,  the  Pennsyl¬ 
vania  Civil  Liberties  Committee  has  undertaken  to  bring 
out  into  the  open  the  activities  of  the  Board  of  Censors 
of  Pennsylvania. 

A  careful  survey  of  the  field  has  convinced  me  that 
this  Board  is  conducting  its  work  in  a  tyrannical  man¬ 
ner,  and  that  its  deletions  of  moving  pictures  are  not 
only  unwarranted,  under  the  most  broad  definition  of 
the  word  “Discretion"  but  are  more  numerous  than 
made  by  similar  Boards  in  almost  every  other  state 
in  the  Union.  It  cannot  be  that  the  morals  of  Penn¬ 
sylvanians  are  more  tender  and  wispy  than  those  of 
residents  of  other  states  and  therefore  require  the 
eliminations  ordered  by  an  arrogant  bureaucracy  whose 
methods,  reasons,  and  results  are  secret  and  beyond 
public  appraisement.  It  is  this  latter  element  that  has 
aroused  the  liberal  opinion  in  this  State,  and  our  Com¬ 
mittee  is  determined  to  ascertain  on  what  principle  of 
free  government  a  Board,  maintained  by  public  funds, 
can  refuse  to  permit  an  examination  of  its  work. 

This  form  of  “star  chamber"  proceedings  is  obnox¬ 
ious,  and  must  be  stamped  out.  It  can  have  but  one 
result,  and  that  is,  to  intimidate  producers  and  exhibi¬ 
tors  into  silence  for  fear  of  reprisals  in  the  form  of 
more  rigid  censorship,  resulting  from  the  pique  of 
supersensitive  members  of  the  Board,  who  refuse  to  per¬ 
mit  their  judgments  to  be  made  public. 

A  recent  communication  by  the  Pennsylvania  Civil 
Liberties  Committee  to  the  Board  brought  forth  a 
reply  signed  by  Samuel  D.  Schwartz,  Chairman,  that 
Section  6  of  the  Act  of  Assembly  approved  May  15, 
1915,  P.  L.  5  34,  prohibits  the  publication  of  elimina¬ 
tions  made  by  it,  and  the  examination  of  the  deletions 
by  interested  citizens.  A  reference  to  the  section 
relied  upon  will  show  that  it  merely  defines  the  duties 
of  the  Board.  I  beg  to  call  to  your  attention  Section  8 
of  the  same  Act,  which  reads  as  follows: 

“The  Board  shall  keep  a  record  of  all  examina¬ 
tions  made  by  it  of  films,  reels,  or  views;  noting 
on  the  record  all  films,  reels,  or  views  which  have 
been  approved  and  those  which  have  not  been 
approved,  with  reason  for  such  disapproval." 

This  being  so,  it  is  a  clear  legal  direction  to  the 
Board  to  keep  a  complete  record  of  its  actions. 

Our  objection  is  that  the  Board  refuses  to  permit 
anyone  as  a  member  of  the  public  to  see  this  record. 
Of  course,  we  realize  the  fact  that  people  differ  in  their 
moral  judgments.  Our  objection  is  to  the  secrecy  of 
this  Board  which  issues  moral  judgments  from  the  inner 
sanctuary  of  its  hidden  recesses. 

We  propose  to  test  the  right  of  this  Board  to  refuse 
to  make  public  its  deletions,  or  to  permit  examination 
of  its  records,  which  are,  undoubtedly,  public  prob- 
erty.  No  public  body  should  have  such  vast  power 
without,  at  the  same  time,  being  subjected  to  the 
acids  of  public  opinion.  So  that  the  criteria  of  their 
moral  judgments  should  not  become  atrophied  and 
warped,  the  members  of  the  Board  should  welcome 
hostile  as  well  as  friendly  criticisms. 

Our  Committee  has  been  advised  by  counsel  that 
mandamus  proceedings  should  be  brought,  and  that 
since  the  duty  owed  is  a  public  one  you,  as  attorney 
general,  are  the  only  one  who  can  bring  the  action. 
Will  you  be  so  kind  as  to  advise,  as  soon  as  is  con¬ 
venient,  whether  the  Act  of  1915,  above  cited 

1.  Prohibits  the  publication  of  deletions; 

2.  Permits  examinations  of  deletions  by  interested 
parties; 

3.  Gives  rise  to  a  duty  by  implication  of  law  to  make 
public  the  activities  and  eliminations  of  the  Board; 

4.  Will  you  be  party  plaintiff  in  a  mandamus  proceed¬ 
ings  against  the  Board  of  Censors,  if  you  conclude 
that  no  public  body  should  be  permitted  to  con¬ 
ceal  its  actions,  and  intimidate  distributors  and 
exhibitors  so  that  they  are  fearful  to  make  public 
the  autocratic  conduct  of  this  Board? 

Very  truly  yours, 

J.  V.  STANGER, 
EXECUTIVE  SECRETARY. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Mayl5'34 


11 


YOU  CAN  SHOO 

Mr.  Sum.  R.  Blues 


Increase  your  income 
during  the 


HOT  WEATHER 


with  a 


BEBLO 

CANDY  VENDOR 

66 Ask  Your 
Fellow  Exhibitor ” 


Get  in  touch  with: 

GEO.  P.  AARONS 

301  N.  13th  Street 

LOCUST  4245 


OR  CALL  POPLAR  6011 

BERLO 

VENDING 

COMPANY 

1518  N.  Broad  St.,  Phila. 

Specializing  in  Candy 
Vending  Equipment 
for  the  Theatre  Trade! 


NEW  YORK  BALTIMORE 

SCRANTON  WASHINGTON 

ALLENTOWN  CLEVELAND 

PITTSBURGH  CINCINNATI 


WILKES-BARRE 


MANAGER  Bittinger,  Kingston,  gave  the 
paying  customers  a  vaudeville  treat.  .  .  .  Ex¬ 
periment  is  believed  just  another  bid  for  gen¬ 
eral  Wyoming  Valley  patronage  since  the 
Kingston  decided  to  step  out  of  its  local  field. 
.  .  .  Although  the  Children’s  Theatre  took  it 
on  the  chin  during  the  season  just  closed,  it  was 
indicated  that  another  try  will  be  made  next 
year.  .  .  .  A1  Cox  was  so  sold  on  “Bottoms 
Up”  that  he  offered  the  customers  their  money 
back  if  they  were  not  “entirely  satisfied/’  .  .  . 
Fred  Hermann,  Capitol,  also  comes  through 
with  a  personal  word  on  “Gallant  Lady.’’  .  .  . 
John  Galvin,  Penn,  is  wearing  the  smile  that 
won’t  come  off.  .  .  .  Strand,  Swoyerville,  ad¬ 
mitted  the  folks  for  a  dime  and  a  newspaper 
coupon  last  week.  .  .  .  That  was  a  nice  tribute 
that  Eddie  Dowling  paid  to  M.  E.  Comerford 
at  the  dinner  given  by  Wilkes-Barre  Democrats. 
.  .  .  Bill  Roberts,  Shawnee,  Plymouth,  step¬ 
ped  into  line  with  a  stage  show.  .  .  .  Although 
the  kiddies  were  invited,  there  were  no  dime 
tickets  available  after  6  P.  M. 

STATE,  Nanticoke,  provided  an  unex¬ 
pected  thrill  for  its  patrons  last  week  when 
it  screened  the  Democratic  convention  of 
1924  as  a  special  feature.  .  .  .  Next  time 

that  Joseph  Quinn,  19,  Pittston,  decides  to 
take  in  a  show,  he’s  going  to  lay  his  cash  on 
the  line.  .  .  .  Last  week,  after  breaking  a 

window  at  the  Penn  in  an  alleged  effort  to 
crash  the  show,  he  was  trapped  on  a  roof  of 
a  nearby  building  by  the  combined  Penn  and 
Orpheum  staffs. 


LEHIGH  VALLEY 


New  manager  of  the  new  manager  of  Wilmer 
&  Vincent’s  Rialto,  Allentown,  is  Miss  Grace 
Anne  Maury,  who  arrived  at  the  residence  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  James  H.  Maury,  April  27,  weigh¬ 
ing  seven  pounds.  .  .  .  Rialto,  James  Maury, 
and  Colonial,  Lee  Levy,  are  featuring  special 
bargain  matinees.  .  .  Wilmer  and  Vincent’s 
State,  Jack  Van,  dark.  .  .  .  19th  Street  theatre 
ran  a  special  ad  in  the  Morning  Call  for 
"Wonder  Bar,’’  signed  by  theatre  personnel. 
.  .  .  Of  the  196  prize  winning  ads  in  the  first 
week  of  the  Allentown  Morning  Call — Zain  ad 
contest,  five  were  written  for  the  Embassy  and 
Strand 

LYRIC,  United  Chain,  has  resumed  policy  of 
big  stage  and  screen  shows  Saturdays.  .  .  . 
Nile,  Bethlehem,  Charles  E.  Moyer,  had  Hindu 
mystic  as  a  stage  attraction.  .  .  .  Numerous 
Community  Night  moving  picture  programs,  St, 
John’s  Church,  Allentown,  have  been  brought 
to  a  close. 


Up  HUh 

and  Down  ~ 


never  failing  ar¬ 
teries  of  the  local  industry 

^carrying  the  box  office 
lifeblood  of  more  than 
1 200  theatres 

carrying  the  "show" 
safely  and  on  time 

Horlacher’s 


Trucks  Roll! 


HORLACHER 

DELIVERY  SERVICE,  Inc. 

1228  VineSt.,  Philadelphia 
NEW  YORK 
SCRANTON 
BALTIMORE 
WASHINGTON 


SENTRY  serviced  SAFETY  CONTROL 


Many  theatre  owners  weigh  the  matter  of  Safety  as  it  suits  them. 
PLAINLY  THIS  IS  ALL  WRONG.  In  Safety  there  is  no  half-way  meas¬ 
ure  with  the  Public.  The  Public  would  not  consider  it  safe  if  you  decide 
to  do  without  a  Serviced  Safety  Device  on  your  projectors.  The  Public 
would  think  with  horror  if  you  tried  to  economize  by  buying  Safety  equip¬ 
ment  without  a  service,  and  the  fact  that,  in  your  theatre,  the  Public 
has  not  yet  inquired  as  to  the  measure  of  Safety  that  you  are  giving  them — 
THAT  DOES  NOT  MEAN  THAT  THEY  CAN  BE  DECEIVED. 


SENTRY  SAFETY  CONTROL  CORP. 


10th  ST.  and  ALLEGHENY  AVE. 
PHILADELPHIA,  PENNA. 


Sentry  Safety  Controls  Listed  as  Standard  by  National  Fire  Underwriters  Laboratories 


12  Mayl5'34  THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


A  Concise 
National  Survey 

TRADE  IN  REVIEW  • 

- • 

Glances  Outside 
the  Territory 

!  .  -----  — • 

PRODUCTION 

Trustees  Sue  Para 
For  $12,237,071  Total 

Trustees  in  bankruptcy  have  sued  Paramount 
board  of  directors  during  1931-1932  for 
$12,237,071.  Those  named  are  Adolph  Zukor, 
Sam  Katz,  Sidney  Kent,  Jess  Lasky,  Ralph 
Kohn,  Austin  Keough,  John  Hertz,  Jules  Bru- 
latour,  Frank  Bailey,  William  English  (de¬ 
ceased),  Daniel  Frohman,  Felix  Kahn,  Gilbert 
Kahn,  Elck  Ludvigh,  Sir  William  Wiseman, 
Donald  S.  Stralem,  as  executor  for  estate  of 
Casimir  I.  Stralem,  deceased,  and  executors  for 
estate  of  E.  S.  Bauer,  deceased.  Figure  is 
said  to  represent  amount  expended  for  repur¬ 
chase  of  stock  issued  for  acquisition  of  theatres. 

See  End  of 
WE-Warners  Warfare 

Settlement  of  the  long  dispute  between  War¬ 
ners  and  ERP1  is  seen  close  at  band.  Reported 
that  millions  would  go  to  the  theatremen,  fol¬ 
lowing  a  compromise. 

Meanwhile,  a  new  suit  started  when  Biophone 
Corporation  instituted  a  $15, 000,000  action 
against  A.  T.  and  T„  WE  and  ERPI,  alleging 
violations  of  Sherman  and  Clayton  anti-trust 
acts.  Suit  is  for  $5,000,000  but  calls  for  treble 
damages. 

Kohn  Resignation 
Stirs  the  Trade 

Resignation  of  Ralph  A.  Kohn  as  vice-presi¬ 
dent  and  a  director  of  Paramount  Publix  and 
subsidiaries  came  as  a  surprise  to  the  trade. 
Kohn  had  been  with  the  company  since  the 
Famous  Players  Film  Company  era.  No  reason 
was  given.  His  successor  was  not  announced. 

More  Foreign  Pictures 
Expected  Next  Season 

With  the  improvement  in  British  production, 
it  is  expected  that  more  British  films  will  in¬ 
vade  the  local  hemisphere.  Use  of  American 
stars,  production  with  an  eye  toward  American 
values  have  aided  the  films  in  that  country. 
Quota  regulations,  politics  may  also  result  in 
American  companies  getting  more  imports. 

Profits  of  Companies 
Go  On  Upward  Turn 

Profits  of  various  companies,  Loew,  RKO, 
Fox,  showed  big  increases  for  the  quarter.  Ex¬ 
hibitors  looked  at  their  own  balance  sheets, 
wondered  how  such  miracles  were  accom¬ 
plished. 

Newsreel  Activity 
May  Bring  Improvement 

Changes  in  newsreel  hookups  may  see  a  vast 
improvement.  Next  season  sees  Pathe,  Para¬ 
mount,  Hearst  Metrotone,  Universal  and  Fox 
Movietone  all  working  on  individual  lines.  No 
one  denies  newsreels  have  been  slipping.  More 
use  of  silent  clips,  with  less  talk,  is  advocated 
as  method  of  bringing  reels  up  to  former  place. 


Eastern  Production 
Gets  a  Spurt 

Production  in  the  eastern  sector  boomed  when 
it  was  announced  that  Paramount  would  make 
four  in  Astoria.  Exhibitors,  remembering  that 
few,  if  any,  dough  pictures  has  come  out  of  the 
east,  waited  until  passing  judgment. 

Schaefer,  Agnew  Up 
in  Paramount  Changes 

George  J.  Schaefer,  vice-president  and  gen¬ 
eral  manager,  Paramount  Pictures  Distributing 
Corporation,  has  been  named  president  and 
elected  a  member  of  the  board  of  directors  of 
Famous  Theatres  Corporation  and  Paramount 
Theatres  Service  Corporation.  He  succeeds 
Ralph  Kohn  in  those  two  spots. 

Neil  Agnew  has  been  named  general  sales 
manager  for  Paramount.  He  has  been  a  divi¬ 
sion  manager. 

EXHIBITION 

Federation  Publicizes 
Fight  for  Doubles 

Federation  of  the  Motion  Picture  Industry  has 
sent  out  a  booklet  plugging  the  double  feature 
idea.  It  is  called  “The  Truth  About  Double 
Features.1’  Eddie  Golden,  Monogram  sales 
manager,  is  the  author  of  an  article.  Pictures 
of  double  feature  marquees  are  shown. 

Exhibitor  Groups 
Schedule  Protest  Meets 

At  behest  of  the  Eastern  Pennsylvania  unit, 
exhibitor  leaders  are  scheduled  to  get  together 
to  do  something  about  rumored  increase  in  film 
prices  for  next  season.  Allied  units  apparently 
will  have  little  to  do  with  such  a  move. 
Neither  will  a  lot  of  other  exhibitors  who  re¬ 
member  similar  affairs  of  the  past. 

Dailies  All  Give 
Better  News  Breaks 

Gradually,  most  papers  throughout  the  coun¬ 
try  are  tearing  down  old  attitudes  and  arc  using 
movie  news  as  circulation  builders.  Some 
sheets  still  stick  to  old  routines  but  more  pro¬ 
gressive  papers  are  boosting  movie  news,  using 
features,  giving  films  a  break.  In  a  lot  of 
spots,  this  includes  a  real  deal  on  rates. 

Zohbel  Elected  Head 
of  RKO  Possessions 

Herman  Zohbel  has  been  elected  president  of 
all  RKO  theatres  excepting  the  KAO  affilia¬ 
tions.  He  is  also  vice-president  of  RKO  Radio 
Pictures  and  vice-president  of  RKO  Distrib¬ 
uting. 

CODE 

Daily  Check  Seen 
On  All  Board  Work 

All  boards  throughout  the  country  are  send¬ 
ing  in  daily  reports  on  activities  to  Divisional 
Administrator  Sol  A.  Rosenblatt.  This  will 
give  the  latter  a  complete  picture  of  the  code 
situation  and  be  invaluable  in  cases  that  may 
come  up  later  for  decision. 


Kuykendall  Says  Code 
Will  Be  Revised 

Ed  Kuykendall,  fresh  as  a  daisy  from  the 
Los  Angeles  rounds  of  speeches  and  conven¬ 
tions,  is  reported  as  having  said  that  the  code 
could  not  help  be  reopened  in  the  near  future. 
Meantime,  the  trade  wondered  what  the 
MPTOA  prexy  intended  to  do  about  the  15% 
cancellation  request,  rap  against  double  feature 
moves  that  came  out  of  the  convention. 

First  Case  Appealed 
To  Code  Authority 

The  first  decision  before  a  local  board,  that 
involving  a  Milwaukee  chain  which  lost  a 
decision  to  another  inde  group,  was  appealed 
to  the  Code  Authority.  This,  possibly,  can  be 
taken  as  a  tipoff  on  most  of  the  cases  involv¬ 
ing  topics  of  discussion.  It  looks  like  a  busy 
session  for  the  CA. 

Protests  Against 
Theatre  Assessments 

In  many  parts  of  the  country,  theatres  are 
protesting  against  the  assessment  system.  Many 
maintain  rentals  should  be  a  dominant  factor. 
Unofficially,  there  are  reasons  to  believe  that 
there  may  be  adjustments  when  the  second  half 
of  the  bills  are  sent  out. 

DISTRIBUTION 

Paramount  Drops 
Some  Two  Reelers 

Paramount  is  cutting  its  shorts  quota  next 
season.  The  two  reelers,  which  weren't  any 
godsend,  will  be  dropped  during  the  new  year. 
100  single  reels,  exclusive  of  the  news,  will  be 
distributed. 

Convention  Season 
Breaks  This  Month 

Fox  will  hold  its  meeting  May  30-June  1  in 
New  York  City.  260  delegates  will  be  present. 
Company  will  probably  make  50  next  year. 

RKO  holds  its  annual  session  in  Chicago, 
June  18-20. 

Paramount  gets  underway  the  same  day  at 
the  Ambassador  Hotel,  Los  Angeles. 

Warners  are  not  set  yet. 

Metro  the  same. 

United  Artists  may  not  have  a  general  meet¬ 
ing. 

Plenty  of  Shifts 
In  Ranks  of  Managers 

There  have  been  a  lot  of  shifts  of  late  in  the 
ranks  of  exchange  managers.  Many  companies 
have  brought  in  new  faces,  others  have  been 
promoted. 

In  one  spot,  when  the  exchange  manager  was 
removed,  exhibitors  signed  a  petition  asking 
for  his  reinstatement. 

It  didn’t  look  like  this  was  going  to  happen. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Mayl5'34 


13 


BETWEEN  THE  PARAGRAPHS 


HAYS  ORGANIZATION  EXERTING 
PRESSURE  AS  PROTESTS  GROW 

It  was  in  March  that  this  publication  became  the  first  in  the  industry  to  point 
to  the  campaign  against  salacious  and  indecent  pictures  that  was  to  be  started  by 
Catholic  laymen  and  others.  About  a  month  later,  the  industry  awoke  to  the  fact 
that  this  was  not  to  be  a  campaign  of  paper  talk  but  one  of  action.  In  various  districts, 
organized  campaigns  are  under  way.  They  have  taken  pains  to  indicate  to  exhibi¬ 
tors  that  such  moves  are  not  directed  against  them  but  that  the  intention  is  to 
influence  the  producers  eventually. 

The  Hays  organization,  by  banning  a  couple  of  books  (amidst  a  torrent  of 
publicity),  and  forcing  finished  pictures  to  go  through  the  censoring  mill  before 
release,  has  given  indication  that  it  will  do  its  best  to  ^heck  the  production  minds 
responsible  for  the  pictures.  Such  moves,  however,  will  not  be  enough.  The  scope 
of  the  organized  campaign  against  undesirable  films  indicates  that  it  will  not  be 
stopped  in  a  hurry,  but  rather  will  continue  indefinitely  as  a  governing  force.  It 
may  prove  a  severe  box  office  blow  to  the  industry  buti  eventually  it  will  react  to  its 
benefit.  No  one  is  to  blame  but  the  picture-makers,  themselves. 


MAE  WEST  MAY  PROVE 
CENTRE  OF  CONFLICT 

If,  as  has  been  intimated,  ‘I’m  No  Angel” 
is  to  be  the  centre  of  current  fights  on  block¬ 
booking,  it  will  be  interesting  to  see  the  re¬ 
action.  “I’m  No  Angel”  is  the  highest 
grosser  on  the  Paramount  list,  will  probably 
run  up  a  total  of  between  $1,500,000- 
$2,000,000  when  all  the  returns  are  in,  and 
as  far  as  is  known,  no  cancellations  have 
been  reported.  Thus,  if  an  exhibitor  uses 
local  community  groups  to  work  against 
block  booking,  he  ought  to  have  an  answer 
ready  if  someone  asks  if  the  West  show  was 
cancelled.  From  the  trade  angle,  such  a  can¬ 
cellation  would  be  poor  business  judgment, 
inasmuch  as  the  picture  has  done  very  nicely 
in  most  spots,  but  just  the  same,  its  cancel¬ 
lation  would  have  been  in  line  with  women’s 
clubs  ideas  about  block  booking. 

MOVIE  INDUSTRY  NOW 
FAVORITE  FOR  OUTSIDERS 

There  is  no  question  but  that  tiie  film  industry 
has  become  the  logical  selection  when  women's 
clubs,  reform  movements,  etc.,  look  around  for 
something  on  which  to  concentrate.  Other 
fields  may  seem  more  difficult  to  analyze,  but  in 
the  case  of  the  films,  with  movies  part  of  every¬ 
day  life,  it  only  seems  natural  that  the  outsiders 
decide  to  try  to  correct  all  the  so-called  evils. 
Once  it  was  liquor,  then  a  weak  attempt  against 
the  cigarette  and  now,  the  movies.  Unfortu¬ 
nately,  in  none  of  the  movements  is  there  the 
remotest  possib-lity  of  anything  which  can  be 
used  to  better  business. 

SOME  PRIZE  IS  DUE 
THESE  SMART  SHOWMEN 

The  prizes  peculiar  to  the  trade  should  be 
awarded  to  the  exhibitor  who  has  double 
featured  “The  House  of  Rothschild,”  as  well 
as  ‘  Viva  Villa.”  Both  of  these  events  have 
already  been  marked  up.  Of  course,  the 
argument  on  the  first  may  be  that  a  lot  of 
people  never  went  for  Arliss  and  that  a  sec¬ 
ond  feature  is  protection.  The  question  here 
isn  t  one  of  double  features.  It’s  whether  or 
not  an  industry  can  get  anywhere  when  it 
has  1  showmen”  in  it  who  take  such  pieces  of 
property  out  of  the  can  and  throw  it  to  the 
audience  that  way.  The  Greeks  probably 
have  a  name  for  it  that  this  column  can’t 
reprint.  On  ‘‘Viva  Villa,”  without  attempt¬ 
ing  to  analyze  the  alibi,  one  wonders  how 
long  a  show  was  given.  “Villa”  runs  almost 
two  hours.  Another  feature  would  make  for 
plenty  excess  time.  And  they  call  such  oper¬ 
ators  showmen. 


ALL  COMPANIES  AIM  FOR 
PRESTIGE  IN  FOREIGN  MARKETS 

Glancing  at  some  of  the  plans  for  next  sea¬ 
son,  some  of  the  companies  are  making  exten¬ 
sive  plans  to  gain  a  strong  foothold  in  foreign 
markets.  Even  the  independents  are  shaping 
their  ideas  accordingly.  No  exhibitor  can  find 
fault  with  a  picture  that  is  well  made  and 
which  brings  credit  to  the  industry  either  here 
or  abroad.  The  argument  is  that  the  domestic 
exhibitor  who  plays  a  film  foreign  in  atmos¬ 
phere  shares  in  none  of  the  profits  resulting 
from  the  foreign  market.  “Cavalcade”  is  an 
outstanding  example.  Some  exhibitors  may 
have  made  money  with  the  show  in  the  country 
but  a  lot  of  them  took  a  licking.  “Cavalcade” 
cleaned  up  in  Britian,  but  none  of  the  profit  was 
passed  back  to  the  American  exhibitor  in  the 
form  of  cheaper  film  or  big  adjustments. 

Granted  that  the  foreign  market  has  demands 
of  its  own,  but  as  far  as  the  American  exhibitor 
is  concerned,  be  doesn't  see  why  any  picture 
made  more  for  the  other  side  than  this  should 
be  forced  upon  him. 

LLOYD  COMEBACK  SHOULD 
BE  INTERESTING  EVENT 

Harold  Lloyd’s  first  release  for  Fox,  “The 
Cat’s  Paw,”  will  mark  the  return  of  a  favor¬ 
ite  whose  talkie  grosses  hit  new  lows.  They 
say  now  that  Lloyd  will  make  more  pictures 
in  order  to  regain  his  favor.  It  would  be  bet¬ 
ter  to  wait  what  the  reaction  is  when  the  first 
gets  around.  Then  it  will  be  easier  to  tell 
whether  or  not  the  Lloyd  of  yesterday  can 
ever  be  the  same. 

FIRST  FEW  MONTHS  WILL 
GIVE  LINE  ON  THE  CODE 

Exhibitors  will  have  a  fair  view  of  the  code 
workings  within  a  few  months.  By  that  time, 
problems  involving  all  industry  questions  will 
have  been  met  by  boards  or  passed  up  to  the 
Code  Authority.  Disposition,  by  the  CA,  of 
these  cases,  will  also  give  a  line  on  how  the 
body  will  meet  these  problems. 

Votes  on  premiums  in  various  parts  of  the 
country  will  also  be  instituted.  Thus  far,  most 
of  the  decisions  which  weren’t  liked  have  been 
passed  up  to  the  CA.  It  looks  like  a  busy  sea¬ 
son  for  these  gentlemen. 

It  is  up  to  the  CA. 

A  few  bad  moves  will  destroy  all  the  good 
will  the  code  is  building  in  every  zone.  Han¬ 
dled  properly  the  code  can  be  a  big  success. 

HOBART  MANN. 


Legal  Tilt  Will  Seek 
Ruling  on  Twin  Bill  Clause 

Has  any  company  a  right  to  place  a 
clause  in  its  contract  barring  its  pictures 
from  being  doubled  and  does  the  practice 
of  all  companies  using  such  a  clause  re¬ 
sult  in  restraint  of  trade,  monopoly,  col¬ 
lusion  and  other  trust  practices  ? 

That  is  the  question  that  may  eventually  have 
to  be  decided  by  the  courts  should  the  plan  of 
campaign  laid  down  at  a  meeting  of  46  exhibi¬ 
tors  at  the  Broadwood  Hotel,  May  10,  reach 
its  objectives.  A  war  fund  was  collected  from 
those  preseint  with  the  promise  also  made  that 
further  financing  would  be  available. 

Originally  the  meeting  was  to  be  an  indigna¬ 
tion  session  revolving  about  the  action  brought 
by  the  Grand-Jackson  Theatre  Company  vs. 
Venice  Theatre  before  the  grievance  board.  A 
plan  of  action,  however,  brought  the  other 
issue  to  the  fore,  with  the  exhibitors  deter¬ 
mined  to  find  out  what  their  rights  may  be. 

That  the  legal  case  in  question  would  affect 
every  exhibitor  in  the  country  is  certain.  Phila¬ 
delphia  will  be  the  scene  of  the  court  tilt  which 
has  long  been  pending  in  this  business. 

Only  exhibitors  directly  affected  attended  the 
meeting.  Louis  Berger  acted  as  temporary 
chairman  with  Morris  Wax,  permanent  chair¬ 
man,  Morris  Nemez,  treasurer.  It  was  also 
agreed  that  everyone  present  should  attend  the 
code  hearing,  May  17. 


“Rates  High  as  Film  Entertain¬ 
ment”—^ VARIETY  .  .  .  “Swell 
picture  .  .  .  will  keep  audiences  in 
suspense” — M.  P.  DAILY  .  .  . 
“Outstanding  mystery  story” — 
BILLBOARD  .  .  .  “One  of  the  top- 
notch  independent  productions  of 
the  year”— N.  Y.  ST  A  TE  EXHIB¬ 
ITOR. 


Distributed  by 


Hollywood  Film  Exchanges,  Inc. 

PHILADELPHIA 

Wmmmmmmmmmmmmm 


14 


Mayl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


BETTER  TESTED  SUCCESSFUL 

MANAGEMENT  #  '»eas  *  merchandising 


C  I  Kl  kl  CDC  are  s^own  the  right  road  in  “Where  Sinners  Meet,”  from  RKO,  with  Diana 
J  ■  IN  IN  Ll\  J  Wynyard,  Clive  Brook  and  others. 


“Viva  Villa”  Argument 

A  crowd  gathered  to  hear  a  heated  argument 
in  front  of  the  box  office  of  Loew’s  Regent 
Theatre,  Harrisburg,  during  showing  of  “Viva 
Villa.”  Young  woman  in  the  ticket  office  had 
protested  because  a  gentleman  had  produced  a 
Mexican  greenback,  printed  in  Villa’s  time,  in 
payment  for  a  ticket  to  see  the  motion  picture. 

To  settle  the  argument,  management  permit¬ 
ted  the  stranger  to  pay  for  his  admission  ticket 
with  the  worthless  greenback.  Manager  Mc- 
I.eary  posted  the  currency  on  a  window. 

The 

BEST  SERVICE 


Hits  Vulgarity 

“An  absolutely  unbalanced  diet  of  vulgarity, 
in  the  name  of  recreation"  has  been  given  the 
motion-picture  audiences  in  this  country,  Mrs. 
August  Belmont,  noted  philanthropist  and  civic 
worker,  president  of  the  Motion-Picture  Re¬ 
search  Council,  declared  in  an  address,  here. 

“This  vulgarity,’’  she  said,  “is  chiseling  at 
the  moral  fiber  of  not  only  our  own  people, 
but  over  the  whole  world,  going  out  with  the 
stamp  ‘Made  in  America.’  ” 

The  Conncil  held  an  organizing  meeting  at 
the  Bellevue-Stratford  in  an  effort  to  form  a 
Philadelphia  committee. 


“Love  or  Riches”  ? 

A  "Love  or  Riches”  contest  to  exploit  “The 
House  of  Rothschild,"  Loew’s  Regent  Theatre, 
Harrisburg,  was  run  by  Charles  McLeary,  man¬ 
ager,  for  a  full  week  prior  to  its  opening,  in 
the  Harrisburg  Telegraph. 


Marines  Invited 

Morton  Levine,  manager,  Grand  Opera 
House,  W.  S.,  Wilmington,  for  the  opening 
of  “Come  On  Marines”  had  the  whole  cont'n- 
gent  of  engineers,  or  as  many  as  could  come, 
from  Fort  DuPont,  Delaware  City,  with  the 
fort  band,  march  into  the  house  to  see  the  show. 


For  “Earth  Turns” 

Many  school  teachers  and  their  scholars  vis¬ 
ited  the  lobby  of  the  Colonial  Theatre,  Harris¬ 
burg,  during  showing  of  “The  Earth  Turns" 
as  the  result  of  an  open  letter  published  in  Har¬ 
risburg  newspapers  and  mailed  to  schools 
throughout  the  city  and  vicinity  by  Manager 
Harry  Lambert.  A  copy  of  the  letter  follows : 

“Starting  now  and  continuing  throughout  the  engage¬ 
ment  of  “The  Earth  Turns”  at  the  Colonial  Theatre, 
the  management  extends  to  all  school  children  and  their 
teachers  an  invitation  to  view  the  inside  lobby  display 
of  the  earth  turning.  The  display  illustrates  just  how 
one  side  of  the  earth  is  flooded  with  light  as  it 
turns  towards  the  sun  while  the  opposite  side  remains 
in  darkness,  which  we  call  night.  Teachers  may  find 
the  display  valuable  as  an  illustration  by  which  they  can 
explain  to  their  classes  just  how  the  sphere  upon 
which  we  live  operates.” 


Praise  for  “Rothschild” 

Other  theatre  managers  were  wondering  how 
Charles  McLeary,  manager,  Loew’s  Regent, 
Harrisburg,  does  it,  when  there  appeared  in 
the  Harrisburg  Telegraph,  daily  Harrisburg 
newspaper,  on  day  following  opening  at  Loew's 
of  “House  of  Rothschild”  an  editorial  contain¬ 
ing  flowery  words  of  praise.  Not  only  did  the 
editorial  praise  the  film,  but  it  mentioned  the 
name  of  the  theatre  at  which  it  was  showing. 
It  called  the  film  a  “superior  moving  picture” 
and  reviewed  part  of  the  story. 


to  all 

SHORE  POINTS 

Now  that  spring  is  here  and 
summer  is  on  its  way,  film 
men  can  make  use  of  our 
efficient  service  to  carry 
their  possessions  to  their 
summer  shore  apartments. 
This  has  been  a  part  of  our 
service  for  years. 

..  .Jersey  Exhibitors 
are  Always  Happy 

They  know  they  can  go 
away  on  trips,  completely 
sold  on  New  Jersey  Mes¬ 
senger  Service.  For  the 
record  of  this  company  is 
one  that  shows  no  missouts 
at  any  time.  The  service 
satisfies. 


T 

NEW  JERSEY 

MESSENGER  SERVICE 

MYER  ADLEMAN 
250  N.  Juniper  Street 
PHILADELPHIA 

Spr.  9355  Loc.  8787  Race  9444 


I  \  /  r  conquers  all  in  “20  Million  Sweethearts”  from  Warners  with  Dick  Powell,  Ginger 
I-  V  L  Rogers,  Pat  O’Brien. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Mayl5'34 


15 


MOST  OF  THEM 


are  PICKERS 

and  CHOOSERS 

THESE  DAYS  .  .  . 


They  shop  for  amusements  nowa¬ 
days.  The  pickers  and  choosers 
want  to  know  what  they’re  going 
to  see  and  where  they  can  see  it, 
and  there’s  a  lot  of  pickers  and 
choosers!  Catch  them  when  they’re 
show  shopping,  tell  them  what  you 
have  to  tell  them  where  they  will 
be  sure  to  see  it. 


In  Philadelphia  they  do  their  show 
shopping  in  the  Record’s  Amuse¬ 
ment  Directory,  reaching  182,000 
people  daily  and  288,000  on  Sun¬ 
day.  For  only  30  cents  a  day  you 
can  tell  them  who’s  playing  in 
what  at  your  theatre.  A  longer 
listing  costs  but  15  cents  a  line 
more. 


The  RECORD 

Amusement  Directory 


offers  you  the  most  economical 
form  of  advertising  ever  pre¬ 
sented  to  Philadelphia  theatre- 
owners.  To  place  your  listing 
just  call 


PHILADELPHIA 

I  RECORD 

I  CLASSIFIED  DEPARTMENT 

1  WALNUT  2300 


Heard  In 

READY 

yy/ILMINGTON 

REFERENCE 

Y  Daylight  Hits 

EACH  COMPANY  LISTED  IS  AN 

Biz  Here 

AUTHORITY  IN  ITS  FIELD  AND 

IS  RELIABLE  AND  TRUSTWORTHY 

DICK  H  I  L  S  H  I  R  E, 
formerly  an  assistant 
manager  for  Warner 
Brothers  at  Chester  is 
pushing  forward  on  his 
first  managerial  position  in 
Wilmington.  .  .  .  Man¬ 
ager  of  the  Queen,  second 
run  house,  he  is  making  a 
good  job  of  it. 

DAYLIGHT  SAVING  ushered  in  the  same 


old  hobgoblin.  .  .  .  “We  might  just  as  well  not 
oren  up  ’till  sundown,’’  said  Harry  Brubaker, 
New  Rialto.  .  .  .  Warner  managers  had  the 


same  complaint.  .  .  .  Only  George  Jones, 

Loew’s  Parkway,  started  off  well  with  advanced 
time,  and  well  should  he  with  such  a  drawing 
card  as  “Rothschild.”  .  .  .  Morris  Winter, 

United  Artists,  was  in  town  preceding  the  pic¬ 
ture.  .  .  .  Jones  was  taken  ill  with  a  throat 
ailment  and  was  laid  up.  .  .  .  Assistant  Man¬ 
ager  Martin  looked  after  things.  .  .  .  “Morty’’ 
Levine,  who  hiked  prices  up  at  the  Opera 
House,  Warner  house,  when  the  Savoy,  third 
runner,  was  opened  up,  to  30  cents,  soon  found 
out  how  much  a  nickel  meant  to  his  following, 
apparently,  for  he  yanked  it  down  to  25  within 
a  few  weeks.  .  .  .  Now  Wilmer  Highfield, 
manager  of  the  Savoy  is  wondering  how  the  re¬ 
duction  will  affect  him.  .  .  .  “Morty"  took  on 
a  cashier,  Miss  Marie  Baker,  and  an  usher,  John 
Buckley.  .  .  .  Morty  had  a  girl  passing  out 
bits  of  candy  in  the  lobby  one  day. 

LEW  BLACK  and  his  assistant  Edman 
Devenney  were  supervising  the  arrangement 
of  a  gorgeous  display  of  flowers  and  designs 
in  the  lobby  for  Mother’s  Day.  .  .  .  Joe 

DeFiore,  has  his  inde  house  all  repainted 
in  front.  .  .  .  A.  J.  Belair,  New  Rialto,  has 

placed  a  chair,  lamp  and  mirror  in  his  lobby. 
.  .  .  I’m  told  there  have  been  a  lot  of  agents 
for  ventilating  systems  calling  upon  him 
lately.  .  .  .  Jimmy  dwell  is  kept  busy  these 
days  putting  up  Rialto  window  cards  all 
over  town.  .  .  .  George  Jones,  Loew’s  Park¬ 
way  hooked  up  a  Rothschild  ‘‘ad’’  with  a 
Delaware  Power  &  Light  Co.  electric  refrig¬ 
erator  “ad”,  and  also  the  Persian  Rug  Co. 
put  on  a  rug  making  demonstration  in  tha 
lobby. 

ALL-COMIC  programs  Saturday  morning 
for  children  has  now  spread  to  the  Warner 
Bros,  in  that  city.  .  .  Dick  Hilshire,  man¬ 

ager,  Queen,  has  tried  out  a  show.  .  .  .  Lew 
Black,  manager,  Aldine  (SW)  Wilmington, 
ballyhooing  “Wild  Cargo/’  gave  a  lot  of 
thought,  probably  not  so  serious,  to  the  idea  of 
making  a  play  on  the  Delaware  Legislature 
with  some  kind  of  a  slogan  like  “Buck  Brings 
’Em  Back  Alive,"  (the  Governor  of  Delaware 
being  named  Buck  and  much  harassed  by  the 
do  nothing  legislature  which  just  wouldn't 
adjourn)  but  couldn’t  get  very  far  with  the 
idea.  .  .  .  Playhouse  gettmg  ready  to  close 

for  the  season. 


“Green  Eyes”  Starts 

George  R.  Batcheller  has  started  production 
on  the  ninth  picture  for  Chesterfield  list,  en¬ 
titled  “Green  Eyes’’  and  has  in  its  cast  Shirley 
Grey,  Charles  Starrett,  Claude  Gillingwater, 
John  Wray,  William  Bakewell,  Dorothy  Revier, 
Ben  Hendricks,  Jr. 


AIR  CONDITIONING 

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Ta|Rc 


COOLING 

VENTILATING 


CONDITIONING  CO. 

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I  AIR  WASHERS 
252  West  26th  St.,  New  York 

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ARCHITECT 


THEATRE  DESIGN 

Remodeling  »  Building 

LATEST  COMPLETED 

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Camden,  Philadelphia 

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REGISTERED 

ARCHITECT 

246  S.  15th  St.,  Phi  la..  Pa.  Pennypacker  2291 


BUSINESS  BROKER 


THEATRES 

BOUGHT  •  SOLD  •  LEASED 

Partnerships  Negotiated 


M.  II .  GOODIS,  Inc. 

1201  CHESTNUT  STREET 
Rittenhouse  4595  Rittenhouse  9077 


FLAGS  AND  BANNERS 


B  Theatre  Marquee  Valances 
E  Wall  Banners 

N  Ket  and  Road  Banners 

X  Attractive  Colors — Sewed  or  Painted 

Letters — Featuring  All  Shows. 

■  Burgees — Pennants — Decorations 

Above  Also  Sold  Outright.  Order  Direct  From 

NATIONAL  FLAG  &  BANNER  CO. 

251-253  N.  13th  St.  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


INTERIOR  DECORATORS 


Theatrical 

Decorating 

OUR  SPECIALTY 
Phone 

Rittenhouse  7828 
2315  Walnut  St. 
Philadelphia 


I.  Manoff  Reliable  Decorating  Co. 

INTERIOR  DECORATORS 

Draperies,  Carpets,  Painting 

1316  Vine  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

WE'VE  TURNED  NUMEROUS  NON-PAYING 
THEATRES  INTO  MONEY  MAKING  PROPOSITIONS 
ASK  US  HOW! 


16 


Mayl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


UPSTATE 


COLONIAL,  Victoria  and  Majestic,  Wilmer 
and  Vincent  Theatres  in  Harrisburg,  admitted 
free,  Saturday  morning,  every  child  in  Harris- 


Your  lobby  is  your  theatre  show  window 
— cracked  and  worn  floors  drive  your 
patrons  away.  TYL-A-MATS  create  a  wel¬ 
come  atmosphere  and  brighten  your  lobby 
with  colorful  patterns  to  harmonize  with 
your  decorative  scheme.  They  can  be  set 
over  your  present  floor  at  low  cost. 

O.W.  JACKSON  CO., Inc. 

WORLD'S  LARGEST  MAT  HOUSE 

225  W.  34th  St.  New  York,  N.  Y. 


burg  who  was  on  the  Dental  Honor  Roll.  .  .  . 
Strand,  Steelton,  ran  ads  in  Harrisburg  news¬ 
papers  for  "The  Bowery.”  .  .  .  "Lost  Jungle” 
opened  at  Rialto,  Harrisburg.  .  .  .  Williams 
Grove  Park  opened.  .  .  .  Park  will  show  free 
movies  Sundays.  .  .  .  "We're  in  the  Money 
Now”  was  shown  at  the  Little  Theatre,  Her- 
shey,  at  meeting  of  Food  and  Beverage  Indus¬ 
tries.  .  .  .  Broad,  Harrisburg,  going  in  strong 
for  double  features.  .  .  .  Jack  D.  O’Rear  con¬ 
tinues  to  receive  "mash”  notes  since  his  picture 
appeared  in  a  Harrisburg  newspaper.  .  .  . 

Practice  at  the  Victoria,  Harrisburg,  of  Wil¬ 
liam  Hoffman,  organist,  leading  audiences  in 
song  has  met  with  such  popular  approval  among 
audiences  that  Manager  Jerry  Wollaston  will 
continue  it. 

VANCE  C.  McCORMICK,  publisher,  The 
Patriot,  The  Evening  Ncivs,  daily  morning  and 
evening  newspapers,  respectively,  in  Harrisburg, 
has  been  named  a  director  of  the  Motion  Pic¬ 
ture  Research  Council.  .  .  .  Repeal  of  the  Sun¬ 
day  sports  law  will  be  asked  of  the  next  Penn¬ 
sylvania  Legislature,  Dr.  O.  B.  Poulson,  sec¬ 
retary  of  the  Pennsylvania  Men's  Dry  League, 
stated  at  a  meeting. 

A  LOTTA  FUN  Charlie  McLeary,  manager, 
Loewi's  Regent  Theatre,  Harrisburg,  is  having 
with  the  family  automobile.  .  .  .  With  fifteen 
minutes  to  spare,  which  was  plenty  of  time, 
Charlie  was  driving  his  mother-in-law  to  the 
railroad  station  to  get  her  train  for  her  home 
in  St.  Louis.  .  .  .  Charlie  was  driving  slowly. 
.  .  .  In  the  hood  of  the  car  is  a  ventilator 
which  has  a  nasty  habit  of  sticking.  .  .  .  Grasp¬ 
ing  what  he  bejieved  was  the  handle  of  the 
ventilator,  Charlie  gave  handle  a  mighty  jerk. 

.  .  .  The  car  came  to  a  sudden  stop  and  its 
hood  burst  into  flames.  ...  A  passing  motorist 
with  a  fire  extinguisher  put  out  the  fire.  .  .  . 
He  told  Charlie  he  had  pulled  a  wire,  instead  of 


t lie  ventilator  handle,  which  caused  a  short  cir¬ 
cuit. 

RECUPERATING  rapidly  from  that  opera¬ 
tion  is  Mrs.  Mary  Belle  Zeiders,  cashier, 
Loews  Regent,  Harrisburg.  .  .  Henry 

Pohn,  Loew  artist,  radio  enthusiast  and 
stamp  collector,  is  under  the  care  of  a  physi¬ 
cian.  .  .  .  Rhinoceros  that  whooped  things 

up  in  “Tarzan  and  His  Mate”  at  Loew’s  Re¬ 
gent,  Harrisburg,  was  on  display  in  front  of 
the  theatre.  .  .  .  Manager  McLeary  loaned 

him  to  an  automobile  firm  for  use  in  a  parade 
in  which  McLeary  had  a  truck  covered  with 
signs  advertising  ‘‘Viva  Villa.” 


Booking  Theatres 
Everywhere 

Honest  ::  Reliable 
Conscientious 
Service 

EDWARD  SHERMAN 

VAUDEVILLE  AGENCY 

Real  Estate  Trust  Bldg. 
PHILADELPHIA 

Pennypacker  7595 

MAYFAIR  THEATRE  BLDG.,  NEW  YORK 
BR.  9-1905 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Mayl5'34 


17 


Heard  In' 


C 


ROSSTO  WN 

“Rothschild”  Does 
Big  Business 


“HOUSE  OF  ROTHSCHILD”  has  been 
doing  a  whale  of  a  business  at  the  Aldine.  .  .  . 
Eric  Knight,  the  wiz  of  the  critical  world,  is 
now  a  horseman.  .  .  .  Reported  major  produc¬ 
ers  will  make  more  horse  pictures  as  a  result. 
.  .  .  Eric  ought  to  find  a  run  of  "Keep  ’Em 
Rolling”  somewhere.  .  .  .  That’s  a  horse  pic¬ 
ture. 

ONE  THEATRE  in  city  finally  put  in  a 
men’s  room.  .  .  .  Seemed  that  house  used  to 
let  men  pass  out  for  the  purpose,  discovered 
many  who  were  not  paying  were  getting  in 
for  nothing  when  adjusting  clothing.  .  .  . 

Vogue  still  closed.  .  .  .  Reports  of  reopen¬ 
ing  still  around. 

EDWIN  T.  EMERY  has  been  appointed 
director  of  public  relations  for  tbe  New  York 
Hippodrome.  .  .  .  He  was  once  at  the  State, 
Allentown. 

FRANK  FOGEL  running  for  representa¬ 
tive  on  the  Republican  ticket.  .  .  .  Popular 
lawyer.  .  .  .  C.  Folk  Kline  running  for  repre¬ 
sentative  on  tbe  Dcmocrat'c  ticket.  .  .  .  34th 
ward.  .  .  .  Popular  manager.  .  .  Ritz,  form¬ 
erly  Strand,  Muncy,  now  a  H.  W.  Larned  oper¬ 
ation.  .  .  .  Morris  Wax  out  of  Pearl.  .  .  . 
Cinema  League  entertaining  amateur  movie¬ 
makers  this  week. 

CHARLIE  COX  now  at  the  Capitol  .  .  . 
Lester  Stallman  at  the  Circle.  .  .  .  Kerns  at 
the  Palace.  .  .  .  Nick  Power  is  operating  the 
American,  Tower  City.  .  .  .  Also  has  the 
Opera  House  but  is  keeping  it  closed.  .  .  . 
Means  the  return  of  one  of  the  real  oldtimers 
in  the  business. 

GEORGE  JESSEL  dropped  into  the  Earle 
for  week.  .  .  .  House  has  been  having  trouble 
getting  big  names,  despite  Artie  Cohn's  wh-rl- 
wind  exploitation  on  all  shows.  .  .  .  Fay’s  still 
going  merrily  along  despite  weather,  heat,  etc. 

.  .  Eddie  Sherman's  booking  of  unit  shows 
helping  a  lot.  .  .  .  And  keeping  the  gross  up. 

.  .  .  Sid  Stanley  still  selling  heavily.  .  .  .  House- 
closed  March  15  last  year.  .  .  .  State  reported 
dropping  vaudeville. 

FAMILY  THEATRE,  Mahanoy  City,  has 
been  taken  over  by  Victoria  Amusement  Enter¬ 
prises.  .  .  .  Herbert  Effinger  is  general  man¬ 
ager.  .  .  .  M.  E.  Comerford  formerly  had  it. 

.  .  .  Balcony  at  the  Venice  Theatre  has  been 
an  added  incentive  since  its  opening.  .  .  . 

Shipwreck  Kelly  is  expected  to  sit  on  top  of  the 
Met  until  the  new  entertainment  policy  opens. 

.  .  .  Frank  B.  Murdock  running  for  place  in 
Congress.  .  .  .  Popular  operator-lawyer. 

A  RESOLUTION  criticising  the  moving  pic¬ 
tures  and  urging  their  improvement  was 
adopted  at  the  150th  annual  convention  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Diocese  of  Pennsylvania. 

.  .  .  Meeting  asked  that  the  General  Conven¬ 
tion  of  the  Church  throw  its  full  weight  to  im¬ 
prove  pictures.  .  .  .  Philadelphia  committee 

of  the  Motion  Picture  Research  Council  held  a 
luncheon  conference  at  the  Bellevue  Stratford 
Hotel,  May  11.  .  .  .  Mrs.  August  Belmont, 
Dr.  Bernard  Sachs,  William  FI.  Short  and  Mrs. 
Morey  V.  Kerns  were  active. 

TEN  YEARS  AGO.  .  .  .  MPTO  held  its 
convention  in  Boston.  .  .  .  Fire  marshal  threat¬ 
ened  drastic  action  on  careless  film  handling. 


New  Attitude 


Sidney  R.  Kent  announces  for  Fox 
that  the  company  will  distribute  a  series 
of  O’Brien  westerns  on  a  separate  con¬ 
tract  to  anyone  desiring  them.  The 
exhibitor  will  not  be  forced  to  take  them 
if  he  doesn’t  want  them. 

This  sincere  attitude  is  in  line  with 
the  attitude  of  this  publication  and  lead¬ 
ing  exhibitors  who  claim  that  westerns 
should  be  apart  from  the  regular  con¬ 
tract  and  should  not  be  included  when 
the  10%  cancellation  privilege  is 
brought  up. 

Fox  has  set  the  pace.  Other  com¬ 
panies  may  follow  with  profit  to  them¬ 
selves  as  well  as  illustrating  their  sense 
of  fairness. 


TRIPLY  PERSONAL 

Eddie  Sherman 
Adopts  Baby  Girl 


WHO  WAS  the  ex-city  official  that  Misses 
Diamond  and  Freedman  were  riding  with?  .  .  . 
Why  the  interest  in  politics?  .  .  A  traveling 

auditor  has  been  going  out  with  a  blonde.  . 

The  romance  is  still  in  bloom,  referring  to  an¬ 
other  situation.  .  .  .  Harry  Freeman,  George 
Scher  visitors.  .  .  .  Joe  Burke  quite  a  golfer. 
.  .  .  Basil  Ziegler,  the  unattached  board  ■-<-'> 
rctary,  looks  attractive  to  Vine  Street  lassies. 
.  .  .  George  Lessy  has  a  smile . Why  ? 

.  .  Who  were  the  blondes  Messrs.  Diamond 
and  Engel  were  with?  .  .  .  Tbe  A1  Fishers  are 
expecting. 

EDDIE  SHERMAN  has  adopted  a  little 
girl.  .  .  .  He  adopted  a  little  boy  more  than 
a  year  ago  and  is  he  happy  now.  .  .  .  Joe 

Engel  threw  away  the  old  cold,  got  a  new 
one. 

THE  TRADE  was  sorry  to  hear  of  the 
death  of  the  mother  of  George  P.  Aarons, 
general  counsel  for  the  MPTO.  .  .  .  She  had 
been  ill  for  quite  a  while. 


YORK 


WITH  A  STRIKE  of  employes  brewing, 
managers  here  have  been  too  busy  to  do  much 
in  the  way  of  exploitation  or  promotion.  .  .  . 
Sydney  Poppay,  Rialto,  however,  found  time 
to  get  out  a  special  herald,  something  unusual, 
for  “Wharf  Angel.”  .  .  .  Porpay  is  us-ng  a 
three  sheet,  which  he  displays  all  week  in  front 
of  the  theatre  to  plug  his  Saturday  morning 
kiddies  show. 

TRAFFIC  was  blocked  in  front  of  the 
Strand  when  Cleon  Miller  brought  "Little 
Mary,’’1  the  rhinoceros  star  of  “Tarzan  and 
His  Mate”  to  this  city.  .  .  .  Spring  house 

cleaning  at  the  four  York  theatres  included  new 
drapes  and  curtains. 


.  .  .  Stanley  stock  was  offered  pubkcly.  .  .  . 
Phillip  sburg  planned  a  new  theatre.  .  .  .  Vine 
Street  exchanges  were  playing  baseball. 


&IRMANDC-TO1CCI 

TUIATRl 
DECORATOR 


2CH-N-BE0AD-ST- 


■  *(RIT*  5575 


J.  SEIDMAN  A.  WEINBERG 

:  D.  BRODSKY 

Paramount  Qecoratin 

g  Co.,  |nc. 

STAGE  SETTINGS  : 

DRAPERIES 

CARPETS  :  PAINTING  AND  DECORATING 

311  North  13th  Street  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

PREMIUMS 


There  are  many  imitations  but  there  is  only  one 

22  KARAT  GOLD  DINNER  SET 

with  a  success  record 

It’s  the  Dainty  Thin  Square  Model! 

QUALITY  PREMIUM  DIST. 

1305  VINE  ST.  PHILA. 


SOUND  SERVICE 


WE  SOLVE  YOUR  SOUND  PROBLEMS 

C.A.McCrork 


SOUND  ENGINEER 

262  N  13th  ST. 
PHILADELPHIA 
Day  Phone:  RIT  4529 


^HOLMES  Day  Phone:  RIT  4529 

C Ni9ht  Phone:  SHE  0805 


STATIONERY 


THEATRE  EQUIPMENT 


PEHHV  THEATRE 
EQUIPMENT  CO. 

309  North  13th  Street 
PHILADELPHIA 
Phone,  Rittenhouse  3273 

GENERAL  THEATRE  EQUIPMENT 

Specialists  in  Repairs 


CLEM'S 


MOTION  PICTURE  SUPPLY 

The  Most  Complete  Independent 

Supply  House  in  the  Terri  tors  . 

255  North  13th  Street  -  Philadelphia 


HOUSE 


SPRUCE  18H4 


EXPERT  REPAIRING 


National  Theatre  Supply  Company 


Service  and  courtesy  from  men  you  know  .  .  . 
Plus  equipment  of  known  and  guaranteed  quality 
.  .  .  are  at  your  service  at  our  local  branch 


18 


Mayl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


CODE  CASES 


(Ed.  Note:  For  the  convenience  of  exhibitors,  brief 
reports  on  cases  involving  exhibitors  in  various  sec¬ 
tions  of  the  country  are  included.  These  have  been 
culled  from  various  sources.  Theatremen  reading 
these  will  get  an  idea  of  how  boards  are  meeting 
situations  in  other  sections.) 

Overbuying 

Milwaukee — Saxe  Amusement  Company  filed 
protest  against  Ashley  Theatre  Corporation  and 
Vitagraph.  Former  charged  product  booked 
for  Capitol,  Madison,  upon  acquisition  from 
Warners  by  Saxe,  was  disposed  of  to  Ashley, 
which  operates  three  houses  in  town.  Saxe 
claimed  this  sale  left  them  without  enough  pic¬ 
tures  for  Capitol  for  entire  season.  Decision : 
Ashley  to  be  released  from  contract.  Exchange 
sells  30  pictures  to  Saxe  at  same  terms  and  con¬ 
ditions  as  given  to  Ashley.  (Decision  upheld 
by  Code  Authority.) 

Chicago — One  overbuying  case  is  reported 
here. 

Los  Angeles — Independent  theatre  claimed 
two  chains  had  combined  to  keep  it  from  get¬ 
ting  product.  Grievance  board  ruled  in  favor 
of  single  exhibitor.  Appeal  by  two  chains  was 
expected. 

This  case  has  also  been  appealed  to  the  Code 
Authority  by  the  losing  party. 

Clearance 

Cleveland — Exhibitors  here  complaining  of 
clearance.  Claim  when  schedule  was  set  up, 
first  runs  had  higher  admissions.  Now  say  some 
subsequents  charge  more  than  first  runs.  No 
decision. 

Kansas  City — Subsequent  run  here  com¬ 
plaining  about  clearance.  First  run  pictures 
shown  at  25  cents  top.  No  decision. 

Cut  Rate  Pa  sses 

Cleveland — Grievance  board  put  three  exhibi¬ 
tors  on  six  months’  probation  after  finding  them 
guilty  of  distributing  10-passes  in  quantities. 
This  was  ruled  a  violation  of  minimum  contract 
price  of  15  cents. 

Two  For  Ones 

Los  Angeles — Pacific  Theatres,  Inc.,  charged 
National  Theatre,  National  City,  with  distribut¬ 
ing  two-for-ones.  Board  ordered  end  of  the 
practice  in  48  hours,  threatening  stoppage  of 
film  or  shutdown  if  practice  kept  up. 


OFFICIAL  CODE  NEWS 


Following  has  been  made  public  to  the 
trade  as  official  news  of  the  Code  Authority: 

CODE  AUTHORITY  selected  Major  J.  O. 
Donovan,  former  secretary  Vaudeville  Man¬ 
agers  Protective  Association,  to  act  as  the  paid 
secretary  in  Hollywood,  California,  and  to  act 
as  assistant  to  John  C.  Flinti,  executive  secre¬ 
tary,  in  the  handling  of  Hollywood,  California, 
Code  Authority  matters. 

ACCORDING  to  the  Code  Authority,  as  of 
May  15,  1934,  3,179  exhibitors  had  paid  assess¬ 
ments  for  the  first  half  of  1934,  allocation  of 
Code  Authority  expenses  in  the  amount  of 
$31,755. 

COMMITTEE  on  Unfair  Competition  of 
the  Code  Authority,  Messrs.  Ed  Kuykendall, 
Charles  L.  O'Reilly  and  George  Skouras,  was 
authorized  by  the  Code  Authority  to  investigate 
necessary  legal  steps  to  he  taken  to  safeguard 


^TRIKINIfn  indeed  is  this  front  on  “The 
JIIMIMMtJ  Death  ParatJe»  distributed 

by  Herb  Given  exchange  here.  Front  covers 
entire  building. 


exhibitor  interests  throughout  the  country 
against  the  practice  of  baseball  parks  and  other 
places  of  popular  amusement  of  giving  away 
premiums  such  as  automobiles  and  other  prizes, 
which  is  a  practice  prohibited  Under  the  code. 

CODE  AUTHORITY  will  apply  immedi¬ 
ately  to  the  National  Recovery  Administration 
for  approval  to  set  up  divisional,  regional  or 
local  agencies  of  the  Code  Authority  of  the 
Motion  Picture  Industry  to  adjust  its  own 
labor  complaints,  pursuant  to  provisions  out¬ 
lined  in  National  Recovery  Bulletin  No.  7. 
Matter  is  in  charge  of  the  labor  committee,  con¬ 
sisting  of  Messrs.  Charles  L.  O’Reilly,  Willard 
Patterson  and  Leslie  E.  Thompson. 


Manoff  Reliable  Busy 

I.  Manoff  Reliable  Decorative  Company  has 
completed  many  contracts  recently. 

Louis  Rome,  Capitol,  Baltimore,  is  pleased 
with  the  job  on  the  theatre;  draperies  and  deco¬ 
rations  were  taken  care  of  for  Columbia,  Bal¬ 
timore;  Palace,  Newport  News,  Va.,  was  en¬ 
tirely  redraped. 


Thompson  in  Sea  Isle  City 

Charlie  Thompson,  well  known  film  man  and 
former  manager,  has  taken  over  the  Pier,  Sea 
Isle  City,  N.  J.,  for  the  summer. 

He  is  installing  new  RCA  sound. 


502  Sign  Code 


502  theatres  have  signed  the  code 
for  the  motion  picture  industry  in  the 
local  zone. 

This  is  considered  a  good  record. 


TRENTON 


GURK  ASSEMBLY  sales  tax  measure,  pro¬ 
viding  for  a  two  per  cent  levy  on  sales  is  bit¬ 
terly  opposed  by  Allied  Theatre  Owners  of 
New  Jersey,  Inc.,  will  likely  be  shelved  when 
the  New  Jersey  Legislature  re-convenes,  June 
4.  .  .  .  Naughright  Measure  Assembly  75  met 
defeat  during  the  session.  .  .  .  Charlie  Sweet 
Stacy,  manager,  made  a  tie-up  with  local  radio 
dealers  during  the  showing  of  “20  Million 
Sweethearts.’’  .  .  .  John  Bodley  is  scoring 

success  with  local  amateur  productions  at  the 
Gayety.  .  .  .  Muir,  Assembly  Bill  175,  to  limit 
the  issuance  of  injunctions  in  labor  disputes, 
permitting  peaceful  picketing,  measure  opposed 
by  motion  picture  and  theatre  owners  was  passed 
by  the  House  of  Assembly  but  shelved  in  Senate 
Committee. 


Two  Houses  Conveyed 

2715-19  Germahtown  Avenue,  two-story  brick 
motion  picture  theatre  building,  assessed  at 
$75,000,  has  been  conveyed  by  M.  Milgram  to 
the  Marglim  Realty  Corp.,  subject  to  a  mort¬ 
gage  of  $48,000.  Stamps  worth  $4.50  were 
attached  to  the  deed.  1028-32  Fairmount  Ave¬ 
nue,  one-story  theatre  building,  lot  62  feet  by 
an  irregular  depth  to  Melon  Street,  has  been 
transferred  from  M.  Milgram  to  the  Lorraine 
Theatre  Amusement  Co.  Assessed  at  $19,500. 


American  Uniform  Scores 

American  Uniform  Company  has  just  deliv¬ 
ered  some  new  English  mess  jackets  for  the 
summer  to  the  Parkside,  Camden,  and  the  New 
Highland,  Audubon,  N.  J. 

Company  has  been  adding  many  theatres  to 
its  lists  of  late  and  all  exhib-users  are  plenty 
satisfied. 


Allied  Sets  Counsel 

David  P.  Wilentz,  attorney  general, 
state  of  New  Jersey,  is  now  general 
counsel  for  Allied  Jersey  to  represent 
organization  and  members  in  code  mat¬ 
ters,  including  operation  of  and  adjust¬ 
ment  of  disputes  before  clearance  and 
zoning  board  and  code  authority. 


TDI  AKICI  P  yarn  is  “Smarty,”  with  Warren  William,  Joan  Blondell,  Edward  Everett 
■  IM/MNvJLL  Horton  in  the  Warner  show. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Mayl5'34 


19 


11  ear  a  in 


INE  STREET 

Eddie  Golden 
Visits  Here 


IRVING,  Wilkes-Barre,  has  booked  "En¬ 
lighten  Thy  Daughter”  for  June.  .  .  .  Gold 
Medal  now  distributing  ten  features  made  by 
World  Wide.  .  .  .  Re-issues  include  “Great 

Gabbo,’1’  "Rainbow  Man,’’  “Blaze  o’  Glory,’’ 
“Reno,”  among  others.  .  .  .  Preferred  having 
a  playdate  drive.  .  .  Mitzi  and  Dotzi  feeling 
fine.  .  .  .  Sara,  too.  .  .  .  Bennie  had  a  head¬ 
ache.  .  .  .  jack  still  drawing.  .  .  .  Claire  okay, 
too. 

HERB  GIVEN  giving  lots  of  attention  to 
“The  Death  Parade.”  .  .  .  Had  a  big  front 
on  it.  .  .  .  Drew  interest.  .  .  .  Exhibs  ought 
to  get  a  flash  of  it.  .  .  .  Also  doing  nicely 

with  “Dawn  to  Dawn.”  .  .  .  And  others. 

.  .  .  John  Golder  went  upstate.  .  .  .  “Take 
the  Stand,”  “Cheaters,”  “No  Ransom,” 
“When  Strangers  Meet”  leading  the  way. 

EARLE  SWEIGERT  still  waiting  for  “The 
Scarlet  Empress.”  .  .  .  Paramount  manager 
getting  thinner.  .  .  .  Bob  Mochrie  talking 

about  “20  Million  Sweethearts,”  says  Warners 
will  have  the  hits  this  summer.  .  .  .  C.  C. 
Pippin  greeted  Mary,  the  hippo,  likes  to  handle 
Eskimo  dogs  better.  .  .  .  All  the  boys  golf 
conscious.  .  .  .  But  still  keeping  their  noses 
to  the  grindstone  during  working  hours.  .  .  . 
Harry  Weiner  enthused  about  “20th  Century.- 
.  .  .  And  “Sisters  Under  the  Skin.”  .  .  . 
Edgar  Moss  having  new  offices  built.  .  .  .  Still 
won’t  be  soundproof.  .  .  .  Sam  Gross  getting 
old.  .  .  .  Tells  stories  about  10-15  years  back. 

.  .  .  J.  Howard  Smith  commuting  to  the  shore. 

.  .  .  Others  looking  shoreward  as  well.  .  .  . 
Percy  Bloch  hopped  down  to  Washington  Para 
office  for  a  look.  .  .  .  Mike  Landow  busy  on 
the  grievance  board.  .  .  .  So  is  Frank  Mc- 
Namee.  .  .  .  When  he  isn't  addressing  women's 
club. 

EDDIE  GOLDEN  came  to  town,  invited  the 
boys  to  lunch,  had  to  borrow  money  from 
A1  Blofson.  .  .  .  Didn’t  think  he  would  be 

in  town  that  long.  .  .  .  Eddie  renewed  old 

acquaintances.  .  .  .  Moe  Verbin  and  George 
Schorr  dropped  in  to  Fox  exchange  to  take 
a  look  at  “Heart  Song.”  .  .  Thought  it 

rather  nice. 

SOMEONE  anonymous  is  sending  in  notes 
about  W.  P.  .  .  .  This  department  doesn't  run 
such  notes.  .  .  .  Tony  Lucchese  is  still  con¬ 
valescing.  .  .  .  But  that  doesn’t  stop  the  ex¬ 
change  from  getting  in  plenty  of  new  product, 
including  the  feature  version  of  “The  Lost 
Jungle.”  .  .  .  Meanwhile,  the  serial  is  working 
around  aplenty.  .  .  .  And  “Unknown  Blonde” 
will  gets  its  premiere  here  soon.  .  .  .  As  well 
as  “Enlighten  Thy  Daughter.'1’  .  .  .  Mike  Katz 
is  taking  care  of  things. 

SAM  ROSEN  has  a  telegram  saying  State, 
Reading,  broke  all  records  with  “The  Ghoul,” 
.  .  .  A  two-week  bally  helped  a  lot.  .  .  . 

In  addition,  show  made  out  fine  in  Lebanon. 
.  .  .  And  Comerford  circuit  made  a  buy  of 

it.  . 


INTER-CONTINENT  Film,  headed  by 
M.  D.  Strong,  has  taken  over  the  distribution 
rights  for  the  entire  state  of  New  York  and 
the  southern  part  of  New  Jersey  to  the  one  reel 
short  entitled  “Two  Hard  Workers”  and  featur¬ 
ing  Molasses  and  January,  “Showboat”  radio 
stars. 


Delaware  Charters 

Major  Film  Producing  Co.,  Inc.,  take  motion  pictures. 

Lowenstein  Theatres,  Inc.,  operate  theatres,  opera 
houses,  motion  picture  theatres. 

Photo  Process  Research  Corporation,  deal  in  photo¬ 
color  films. 

Saga  Theatres  Corporation.  Operate  theatres,  music 
halls,  etc. 

Change  in  Name 

Public  Virginia,  Inc.,  to  Lynchburg-Perry  Theatres, 
Inc.,  N.  Y. 


Jones  Raps  Censors 

George  Jones,  manager,  Loew’s  Parkway, 
Wilmington,  denied  motion  pictures  were  cor¬ 
rupting  the  morals  of  youth  in  a  talk  before 
the  Exchange  Club  at  a  luncheon  in  the  Hotel 
duPont.  “Censorship  has  ruined  many  poten¬ 
tially  great  pictures,”  said  Jones.  “The  Pennsyl¬ 
vania  Board  of  Censors  is  an  example.” 


No  Price  Boost  Here 

New  scale  of  prices  in  printing  and  poster 
trades,  effective  May  14,  won’t  affect  local  sit¬ 
uation,  it  is  understood. 

Vine  Street  frinters  and  poster  companies  are 
to  stick  to  usual  scale. 


UNIFORMS 


English  Mess  Jackets 

for  Ushers  -  «pOi7) 

Cool - Snappy - Inexpensive 

Any  Color  Gabardine 
WRITE  FOR  INFORMATION 

AMERICAN  UNIFORM  CO. 

134  So.  11th  St.  Phila.,  Pa. 


VAUDEVILLE  AGENCIES 


HARRY  BIBEN 

VAUDEVILLE  AGENCY 

(603-4  COLONIAL  BUILDING) 

N.  E.  Cor.  13th  and  Market  Sts. 

Phone,  Rittenhouse  9494-5 

PHILADELPHIA 

Booking 

STANLEY  -  WARNER 
THEATRES,  Philadelphia 


Mancall  Resigns 

Boone  Mancall  has  resigned  as  advertising 
and  publicity  director  of  Majestic. 

J.  H.  Tomlinson  Passes 

John  H.  Tomlinson,  business  man  and  presi¬ 
dent,  Arcade  Theatre  Company,  Salisbury,  Md., 
died  at  his  home  in  that  city  May  5. 


BEN  LICHTENFELD,  son-in-law  of  Louis 
Korson,  has  rassed  his  bar  examinations  and 
now  can  practice  in  this  state. 

MISS  BLANCHE  GERTON  has  left  Univer¬ 
sal.  .  .  .  Mrs.  Ethel  Poole  replaces.  . 

U  has  a  new  billing  machine,  .  .  .  Operated 
by  Mrs.  Beulah  Myers.  .  .  .  Miss  Bert  Mes- 

singer  back  at  the  old  grind.  .  .  .  Had  ton- 

silitis.  .  U  splurged,  added  two  easy 

chairs  and  a  lounge  in  the  projection  room. 

ETTA  SEGALL,  popular  FD  booker,  says 
that  the  dates  FD  is  giving  out  to  exhibitors 
contributing  are  excelled  only  by  the  quality 
of  pictures  First  Division  is  distributing.  .  .  . 
Anyway,  the  dates  tasted  good.  .  .  .  William 
Mack,  who  used  to  be  Pathe  branch  manager 
here,  is  UA  exchange  head  in  Cincinnati. 

MISS  EVELYN  FORMAN,  now  Mrs.  Sam 
Pennock,  entertained  at  the  apartment  for  her 
former  First  Division  associates.  ...  A  good 
time  was  had  by  all. 

“BADGE  OF  HONOR,”  with  Buster  Crabbe 
is  in  at  Masterpiece.  .  .  .  Ed  Boreth  taking 

plenty  trips  to  New  York.  .  .  .  “Gow”  is 

being  distributed  by  the  exchange.  . 
Comes  in  six  and  four-reel  versions.  . 
Played  at  the  Europa  and  drew  a  nice  hand. 
.  .  .  Has  plenty  of  action.  .  .  .  A1  Cohen 

a  visitor  on  the  street.  .  .  .  Attorney  drew 

lots  of  attention.  .  .  .  Pop  Korson  is  a  bit 

better.  .  .  .  Glad  to  have  friends  visit. 

MIKE  LEVINSON  was  ill  but  got  back  into 
harness  to  help  make  the  First  Division  drive 
a  success.  .  .  .  Exchange  going  great  guns 

on  the  big  push.  .  .  Plenty  of  good  news 
shows  in.  .  .  .  “In  Love  with  Life”  got  a  nice 
hand.  .  .  .  “The  Loudspeaker,”  from  Mono¬ 
gram,  greeted  by  applause  by  critics.  .  .  .  Moe 
Sherman  busy  upstate.  .  .  .  Apex  Garage  still 
ready  to  serve  you. 


TICKET  REGISTERS 


TICKET  MACHINE 

BARGAINS 

ALL  MAKES.  .  . 
ELECTRICALLY  OP¬ 
ERATED  .  .  .  REBUILT 
.  .  .  GOOD  AS  NEW 
.  .  .  MECHANICALLY 
PERFECT  .  .  .  GUAR¬ 
ANTEED. 

Write  for  Prices! 

m 

SAVING 

Write  Immediately  for  Our  New  introductory  Offer 

STANDARD  TICKET  REGISTER  CORP. 

1600  Broadway,  New  York  *  Geo.  MCao.  gem. 

• 

Official  Letter 
Service  to  the 
Motion  Picture 
Industry- 

Accurate  List 
of  all  Theatres 
and  Executives 

Mimeographing 
Multigraphing 
Public  Stenography 

Addressing  -  Folding 
Enclosing  -  Mailing 

Advertising 

Publicity 

Printing 

WM.  Z. 

PORTER 

Advertising  and  Letter  Service 

1208  Vine  Street 

(Second  Floor) 

BELL  TELEPHONE 

:  RITTENHOUSE  7195 

MID- JERSEY 


BILL  THOMSON,  AC  Strand,  all  thrilled 
because  Governor  Buck  attended  the  house  with 
his  wife.  .  .  .  Theatre  has  a  new  front,  is 
doing  a  nice  business.  .  .  Hy  Jacobs,  AC 

Embassy,  doi(ng  plenty  fishing.  .  .  .  Buying- 

all  kinds  of  fish.  .  .  .  Claire  Fineman,  who 
used  to  be  with  New  Jersey  Messenger,  had 
a  birthday,  treated  everyone  to  cake,  etc. 


20 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


2-May-34 


6-Point  Reviews  ( 


J  I  Who  made  it  ?  4  Is  it  family  or  adult  type  ? 

2  Who's  in  it ?  5  What's  it  about? 

3 How  good  is  it ?  6 •*- Running  Time? 


COLUMBIA 

1 

METRO 

v\ 

PARAMOUNT 

j  of  M  .  F.amily 

.  —  .  Melodrama 

elen  Stanley  58m. 

Shirley  Grey,  Ralph  Bellamy,  Bradley  Page,  Vincent 
Sherman,  Arthur  Rankin. 

A  movie  star  is  murdered.  Ralph  Bellamy 
is  the  inspector.  Folks  who  like  murder  mys¬ 
tery  stories  will  be  intrigued.  Story  is  as  in¬ 
teresting  as  the  general  run  of  mystery  murder 
pictures.  There  is  a  slight  romance. 

Estimate:  Average. 


FOX 


Family 

Change  of  Heart  Romantic  comedy 

3  76m. 

Janet  Gaynor,  Charles  Farrell,  Fiske  O’Hara, 
James  Dunn,  Ginger  Rogers,  Beryl  Mercer,  Gustav 
von  Seyffertitz,  Irene  Franklin,  Shirley  Temple. 

A  return  to  the  old  Gaynor-Farrell  and  this 
time  it  won’t  fail  because  case  is  fortified  by 
Dunn  and  Rogers,  a  clean,  entertaining  romantic 
story  and  a  pleasant  picture  throughout.  Four 
youngsters  try  to  conquer  a  big  city  and  the 
story  includes  all  the  pathos,  etc.,  such  a  yarn 
usually  offers.  Name  strength  is  of  topmost 
importance.  Fox  has  a  dough  picture  in  this 
one. 

Estimate:  Welcome. 


Family 

Handy  Andy  c  omedy 

80m. 

Will  Rogers,  Peggy  Wood,  Conchita  Montenegro. 
Mary  Carlisle,  Robert  Taylor,  Roger  Imhof ,  Helen 
Flint,  Richard  Tucker,  Frank  Melton. 

This  time  Rogers  is  the  small  town  druggist 
whose  wife  wants  him  to  travel  around  against 
his  wishes.  Story  allows  the  usual  Rogers  drol¬ 
leries  and  should  please  his  followers.  Romance 
between  his  daughter  and  a  young  fellow  of 
his  choice  helps  attract  the  younger  element. 
Estimate:  Okay  Rogers. 


MONOGRAM 


Family 

Blue  Steel  Western 

60m. 

John  Wayne,  Eleanor  Hunt,  Yakima  Canutt,  Lafe 
McKee,  George  Hayes. 

The  outlaws  want  to  take  away  the  land  from 
the  homesteaders.  Our  John  hears  about  it,  has 
a  tough  time,  but  wins  out.  In  addition,  he  gets 
a  wife.  It’ll  do. 

Estimate:  It’ll  do. 


The  Loudspeaker  Comedy 

70m. 

Ray  Walker,  Jacqueline  Wells,  Spencer  Charters, 
Charles  Grapewin ,  Noel  Francis,  Mary  Carr . 

Comedy  about  the  lad  who  got  a  break  in 
the  radio  field  and  became  a  big  star.  Success 
goes  to  his  head  and  he  takes  the  eventual  slide 
until  the  gal  who  believes  picks  him  up  and 
starts  him  back  on  the  right  track.  Show  has 
comedy  angles  and  is  a  fair  entrant. 

Estimate:  Fair. 


Adult 
Drama 
75m. 

Ramon  Novarro,  Dupe  Velez,  William  Dickenson, 
Chief  Thunderbird,  Catalina  Rambula,  Deer  Spring, 
Pellicana. 

Picturization  of  a  well  known  book  and 
not  likely  to  hit  home  in  a  lot  of  spots.  Metro 
has  given  the  story  Van  Dyke  direction  but 
few  people  will  be  interested  in  the  troubles 
and  sex  life  of  the  red  man.  Picture  was  not 
good  movie  material  in  the  first  place.  Novarro 
does  well  enough,  Velez  may  be  of  some  draw, 
but,  generally,  show  won’t  hit. 

Estimate:  Difficult. 


Laughing  Boy 


Sadie  McKee  D  rama 

97m. 

Joan  Crawford,  Gene  Raymond,  Franchot  Tone, 
Edward  Arnold.  Esther  Ralston,  Jean  Dixon,  Helen 
Ware,  Gene  Austin. 

Dough  show  with  the  insurance  a  sexy  yarn, 
three  names  to  sell  and  the  usual  Metro  stand¬ 
ard.  Crawford  is  a  gal  who  played  three  men 
before  she  finds  the  one  she  loves.  This  should 
be  sufficient  at  most  box  offices.  Vilma  Dclmar 
wrote  the  story  and  the  rest  goes  without  say¬ 
ing. 

Estimate:  Money. 


UNITED  ARTISTS 


Bulldog  Drummond 
Strikes  Back 


Family 
Melodrama  comedy 
80m. 


Ronald  Colman,  Loretta  Young,  Charles  Butter- 
worth,  Warner  Gland,  Una  Merkel,  C.  Aubrey  Smith, 
Arthur  Hold,  Halliwell  Hobbes,  Mischa  Auer. 

Ace  melodrama  with  comedy  that  should  be 
one  of  the  best  moneygetters  Colman  has  ever 
turned  out.  Picture  has  action,  love,  romance, 
comedy,  thrills  and  is  handsomely  mounted. 
20th  Century  has  contributed  a  sequel  which 
should  do  better  than  the  original  Drummond. 
Colman  is  again  the  amateur  sleuth  who  outwits 
the  Oriental  and  wins  the  girl.  Picture  has 
plenty  of  cross-currents  and  should  be  a  heavy 
favorite  everywhere. 

Estimate:  Triumph. 


The  Last  Gentleman  Comedy 

80m. 

George  Arliss,  Edna  May  Oliver,  Charlotte  Henry, 
Janet  Beecher,  Edward  Ellis,  Ralph  Morgan,  Frank 
Albertson,  Joseph  Cawthorn. 

One  man  performance  by  Arliss  with  the 
story  revolving  around  an  old  gent  who  calls 
his  family  together  at  a  niece’s  memorial  serv¬ 
ice  to  get  one  look  at  them  before  he  passes 
on.  There  is  a  romance  and  some  neat  Arliss 
acting  tricks.  Performance,  as  usual,  is  A-l, 
but  show,  generally,  is  in  the  class  division. 

Estimate:  One  man  picture. 


Little  Miss  Marker  Comedy 

74m. 

Shirley  Temple,  Dorothy  Dell,  Adolphe  Menjou, 
Charles  Bickford,  Lynne  Overman,  Jack  Sheehan, 
Sam  Hardy,  Warren  Hymer. 

Story  of  a  little  girl  who  is  left  as  collateral 
on  an  I.  O.  U.  with  a  track  bookie  by  her  father 
who  kills  himself.  Mix  in  a  hard  boiled  heroine 
who  sings  in  a  cabaret,  a  tough  guy  and  a  gang 
and  that’s  the  background  for  the  Damon  Run¬ 
yon  story.  Little  girl  eventually  straightens 
the  affair  out. 

Estimate:  Sweet  show. 


Many  Happy  Returns 


Family 

Farce 

67m. 


Burns  and  Allen,  Joan  Marsh,  George  Barbier,  Ray 
Milland,  Egon  Brecher,  William  Demurest,  F rankly n 
Pangborn,  Stardey  Fields,  Guy  Lombardo  and  His 
Royal  Canadians. 

Farce  that  is  a  treat.  Burns  and  Allen  have 
a  hand  made  vehicle  that  allows  them  to  run 
through  amidst  a  torrent  of  laughs.  In  addi¬ 
tion  there  are  some  good  songs,  Guy  Lombardo 
and  plenty  of  action. 


Estimate:  Funny. 


Murder  at 
the  Vanities 


Adult 

Murder  Mystery  with  Songs 
93m. 


Vic  McLaglen,  Jack  Oakie,  Kitty  Carlisle,  Gail 
Patrick,  Carl  Brisson,  Gertrude  Michael,  Toby  Wing. 
Lona  Andre,  Donald  Meek,  Dorothy  Stickney. 

Screen  version  based  on  a  stage  hit,  with 
plenty  of  chorus  numbers,  a  murder  mystery,  a 
couple  of  comedy  detectives  and  names  to  boot. 
Picture  has  some  entrancing  chorus  numbers, 
nearing  some  sort  of  a  peak  for  nudeness  but, 
side  from  the  chorus  angle,  has  little  in  the  way 
of  novelty.  Picture,  however,  looms  as  more 
of  an  exploitation  entrant  than  most. 


Estimate:  Has  the  elements. 


Private  Scandal 


Family 

Comedy 


63m. 


Mary  Brian,  Zasu  Pitts ,  Phillips  Holmes,  Ned 
Sparks,  Lew  Cody,  Olin  Howland,  June  Brewster, 
Jed  Prouty,  Charles  Sellon,  Harold  Waldridge. 

Programmer  that  will  be  relegated  to  the  so- 
so  class  but  which  deserves  a  better  fate  because 


it  has  a  capable  cast,  plenty  of  laughs  and  an 
interesting  yarn  to  back  it  up.  A  man  is  mur¬ 
dered.  The  comedy,  strange  to  say,  comes  dur¬ 
ing  the  investigating. 


Estimate:  Laughs. 


Thirty  Day  Princess  Romantic  Comedy 

74m. 

Sylvia  Sidney,  Cary  Grant,  Edward  Arnold,  Henry 
Stephenson,  Vince  Barnett,  Edgar  Norton,  Robert 
McWade,  Ray  Walker,  Lucien  Littlefield. 

Romantic  comedy  about  the  girl  who  took  the 
place  of  the  princess  of  the  mythical  king¬ 
dom  who  was  supposed  to  make  a,  tour  of  this 
country  in  order  to  get  an  American  loan. 
Princess  gets  the  mumps.  Pseudo-princess  falls 
in  love  with  the  newspaper  publisher. 

Estimate:  Pretty. 


21 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


2-May-34 


RADIO 


Family 

Stinqaree  Romantic  Drama  with  Songs 
3  75m. 

Richard  Dix,  Irene  Dunne,  Andy  Devine,  Conway 
Tearle,  Mary  Boland,  Henry  Stephenson,  Una 
O’Connor. 

The  Dix-Dunne  combination  is  back  in  a 
story  which  hasn’t  the  guts  of  “Cimarron  ’  but 
which  should  be  welcome  at  any  box  office.  Dix 
is  a  Robin  Hood  of  Australia  who  kidnaps 
the  opera  singer  (Dunne),  and  eventually  wins 
her.  There  are  several  songs,  a  plot  which 
sags  in  f  laces  and  plenty  of  comedy. 

Estimate:  Dix  and  Dunne. 


UNIVERSAL 


Affairs  of  a 

Gentleman 


Adult 
Mystery  Drama 
60m. 


Paul  Lukas,  Lillian  Bond,  Leila  Hyams,  Patricia 
Ellis,  Onslow  Stevens,  Richard  Carle,  Dorothy  Bur¬ 
gess,  Sara  Hadcn. 

Average  entrant  with  little  to  sell  other  than 
the  yarn  about  the  gentleman  who  had  a  lot  of 
lady  friends.  Include  his  murder  and  after 
sixty  minutes  most  audiences  will  be  unim¬ 
pressed.  Picture  must  be  classified  as  just 
one  of  the  many. 

Estimate:  One  of  the  many. 


Dangerous  to  Women  Mystery  Drama 

•  64m. 

Paul  Kelly ,  Nils  Asther ,  Alan  Dinehart,  Gloria 
Stuart,  Russ  Brown,  Robert  Greig. 

A  hypnotist  mixes  love  with  his  business. 
The  climax  finds  the  hypnotist  putting  the 
husband  of  one  of  the  women  in  the  intrigue 
under  a  spell  before  a  committee  to  prove  the 
extent  of  his  power.  During  the  test,  which 
seeks  to  prove  whether  the  subject  would  shoot 
against  his  will,  the  hypnotist  is  murdered  by 
the  husband. 

Estimate:  Intriguing. 


The  Black  Cat  Mystery  melodrama 

66m. 

Bela  Lugosi,  Boris  Karloff,  Jacquelyn  Wells,  David 
Manners,  Lucille  Lund ,  Egon  Vrecher ,  Ann  Duncan, 
Henry  Armetta,  Albert  Conti. 

This  should  be  a  master  thriller,  but  it  misses 
fire  some  where  along  the  line.  The  two  Rover 
boys  of  melodrama,  Lugosi  and  Karloff,  get  in¬ 
to  action  but  it  doesn’t  quite  seem  to  come  off. 
Murdering  women  is  the:  topic  of  the  day,  but, 
eventually,  the  fiend  is  outwitted.  Inasmuch  as 
this  kind  of  picture  has  madq  money  in  its  day, 
it  is  safe  to  assume  that  it  can  repeat  part  of 
the  process. 

Estimate:  Depends  on  selling. 


WARNERS 


Merry  Wives  of  Reno  Farce 

64m. 

Guy  Kibbee,  Hugh  Herbert,  Ruth  Donnelly,  Hobart 
Cavanagh,  Frank  McHugh,  Glenda  Farrell,  Margaret 
Lindsay,  Donald  Woods,  Rosco  Ates. 

Here  :s  the  Warner  stock  company,  back  in 
action.  After  the  success  of  “Havana  Widows” 
and  1  Convention  City,’  this  farce  with  a  Reno 
background  should  do  business  at  the  same  box 
offices.  I  imagine  the  story. 

Estimate:  Stock  company  in  sock  comedy. 


STATE  RIGHTS 


Family 

Anthony  of  Padua  Religious 

87m. 

Produced  in  Italy,  film  is  story  of  St.  Anthony  and 
intended  generally  for  Catholic  audiences. 

Religious  film,  best  suited  for  such  bodies, 
with  a  good  score,  nice  photography  but  lim¬ 
ited  appeal.  Picture  was  made  in  Italy  has 
English  titles  and  accompaniment  includes  voice 
and  music.  It  may  appeal  in  some  spots. 
Estimate:  Limited. 


Hitler's  Reign  of  Terror  News  Drama 

65m. 

Production  is  a  compilation  of  newsreel  material, 
posed  shots,  etc.,  on  anti-Nazi  matters. 

No  question  but  that  this  picture  is  most  val¬ 
uable  because  of  its  title  and  its  selling  angles. 
Show,  itself,  doesn’t  convey  much  that  will 
startle.  Picture  has  newsreel  clips,  talks  by 
prominent  citizens  against  Hitler  regime,  dis¬ 
cussions,  posed  shots,  all  on  Nazi  question. 
Where  the  question  is  hot,  picture  can  do  busi- 
nesss. 

Estimate:  To  be  sold. 


Just  Smith 


Family 

Farce 

68m. 


Tom  Walls  and  all-English  cast. 

Farce  that  may  not  seem  overwhelmingly 
funny  to  domestic  audiences  but  which  carries 
laughs.  None  of  the  players  is  known  in  this 
country  so  show  will  have  to  be  sold  on  comedy 
angles. 

Estimate:  English  humor. 


No  Funny  Business  Comedy 

60m. 

Gertrude  Lawrence,  Jill  Esmond,  Laurence  Olivier, 
Gibb  McLaughling,  Edmund  Breon. 

English  made  comedy  that  misses  quite  a  bit 
and  which  fails  to  get  its  message  across.  Show 
isn’t  up  to  the  standard  set  by  other  foreigns, 
and  although  it  has  some  names  that  might 
prove  attractive,  can't  be  rated  much.  Story 
deals  with  husband  and  wife  and  their  corre¬ 
spondents  who  fall  in  love.  Songs  are  included. 

Estimate:  Misses. 


Prince  of  Wales  Biography 

56m. 

Compilation  of  various  pictures  of  the  Prince  of 
Wales  throughout  his  life. 

This  collection  of  pictures  showing  life  of 
the  Prince  of  Wales  will  be  most  important 
where  there  are  English  people  interested  in 
such  a  biography.  Picture  is  well  handled,  with 
dignity,  includes  a  short  talk  by  the  prince  and 
is  well  edited. 

Estimate:  Different. 


What  Do  You  Think? 

It  is  the  aim  of  this  publication  to  give  its  readers 
every  possible  service.  Revision  of  the  page  is  an 
attempt  to  offer  a  concise  reviewing  form  that 
will  help  every  exhibitor.  Your  suggestions  and 
oriticisms  are  welcomed.  Write  in  now  and  tell 
us  whether  you  like  this  or  not. 


Family 

The  Death  Parade  War  Action  Drama 

77m. 

Compilation  of  war  shots,  land  and  sea. 

This  companion  picture  to  “The  Big  Drive” 
can  stand  up  where  such  films  still  are  the 
vogue.  In  addition,  publication  of  war  pictures 
in  dailies  will  help.  In  its  nature,  “The  Death 
Parade”  is  along  lines  similar  to  other. 
Estimate:  Tie-up  possibilities. 


The  End  of  the  World  Novelty 

54m. 

French  picture,  with  English  subtitles,  with 
French  cast. 

The  world  has  ten  days  in  which  to  live. 
After  that  it  will  end.  The  picture  deals  with 
the  10  days,  has  marvelous  camera  work,  pho¬ 
tography,  etc.,  should  interest. 

Estimate:  Novel. 


Tomorrow’s  Children  Moral  Play 

— m. 

Diane  Sinclair,  Sterling  Holloway,  John  Preston , 
Sara  Padden,  Donald  Douglas. 

Topical  treatise  on  sterilization  with  the  pic¬ 
ture  containing  pro  and  con  talks  by  laymen  and 
priests  as  well  as  a  story  about  a  girl  who 
almost  underwent  the  treatment.  Picture  has 
exploitation  angles  and  can  be  sold.  Show  is 
well  treated,  although  heavy  at  times. 

Estimate:  Exploitation  opportunity. 


Family 

Tracy  Rid  es  Western 

60m. 

Tom  Tyler,  Virginia  Faire,  Charles  K.  French, 
Ed  Cobb.  Lafe  McKee. 

Action  yarn  with  our  hero  the  sheriff  who  has 
to  arrest  the  brother  of  the  heroine.  Add  a 
conflict  between  cattlemen  and  sheepherders,  a 
rip  roaring  battle-  and  the  result  is  an  entertain¬ 
ing  satisfactory  western. 

Estimate:  Action  all  way. 


The  Blue  Light  Romantic  Tragedy 

89m. 

Leni  Riefenstahl  and  native  cast. 

Foreign  picture  with  German,  Italian  and 
local  dialect  but  a  triumph  of  photograph,  beauty 
etc.  Best  for  art  houses,  it  tells  the  story  of  a 
mountain  girl  who  is  regarded  as  a  sort  of  a 
witch.  A  stranger  comes  from  the  city  and 
solves  the  mystery  of  ‘The  Blue  Light,’  a  crys¬ 
tal  defosit  with  the  moon  shining  on.  The  girl 
loses  desire  to  live  and  kills  herself. 

Estimate:  Art. 


FIRST  DIVISION 


Young  Eagles  Action  serial 

12  episodes 

Twelve-episode  serial  with  a  three-reel  first  episode. 


It  looks  as  if  this  is  a  real  novelty  in  the  serial 
line.  Two  boy  scouts,  chosen  to  fly  to  their 
South  American  boy  scout  brethern,  crash  in 
the  Central  American  jungles.  The  aviator  is 
iniured,  but  the  boys  make  the  most  of  their 
opportunity  to  show  the  value  of  their  scout- 
craft.  Succeeding  episodes  should  allow  for 
lots  of  action.  Serial  has  no  names  to  sell,  but 
is  clean,  a  great  tieup  opportunity  with  the  Boy 
Scouts  and  other  organizations. 


Estimate:  Top  notch  serial. 


22 


Mayl5’34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


THE  CHECKUP 


For  your  convenience,  this  publication  furnishes  this  guide  to  reviews  of  pictures  which  have  appeared 
in  regular  review  department.  Before  dating  in  your  show,  consult  this  page,  find  out  when  the  review  appeared 
and  then  look  it  up.  Key:  For  example,  2-Jan.  means  the  second  issue  of  this  publication  in  that  month. 
1-Feb.  would  mean  the  first  issue,  and  so  on. 


Columbia 


It  Happened  One  Night  .  2-Feb. 

No  Greater  Glory  .  1-Mar. 

The  Song  You  Gave  Me  .  1-Mar. 

The  Lineup  2-Mar. 

The  Ninth  Guest  .  2-Mar. 

Speed  Wings  .  2-Mar. 

The  Lady  is  Willing  1-Apr. 

The  Social  Register  1-Apr. 

One  is  Guilty  2-Apr. 

Voice  in  the  Night  .  2-Apr. 

The  Whirlpool  .  2-Apr. 

The  Fighting  Ranger  .  1-May 

The  Man  Trailer  .  1-May 

Sisters  Under  the  Skin  .  1-May 

The  Party’s  Over  .  1-May 

20th  Century  .  1-May 

The  Crime  of  Helen  Stanley  2-May 


First  National — Warners 


Women  in  His  Life . 1-Jan. 

Going  Hollywood  . 1-Jan. 

Queen  Christina  .  1-Jan. 

Fugitive  Lovers  . . . 2-Jar.. 

You  Can't  Buy  Everything . 1-Feb. 

This  Side  of  Heaven  .  1-Feb. 

Men  in  White  .  2-Feb. 

Cat  and  the  Fiddle . 1-Mar. 

Mystery  of  Mr.  X .  1-Mar. 

Lazy  River  .  2-Mar. 

The  Showoff  .  2-Mar. 

Riptide  . .  2-Apr. 

The  Hollywood  Party  .  2-Apr. 

Viva  Villa  .  2-Apr. 

Manhattan  Melodrama  .  1-May 

Tarzan  and  His  Mate  . .  1-May 

Laughing  Boy  .  .  2-May 

Sadie  McKee  . . 2-May 


Monogram 

DISTRIBUTED  BY  FIRST  DIVISION 


Wild  Cargo 
Where  Sinners  Meet 
Strictly  Dynamite  . 
Stingaree 


United  Artists 

Henry  the  Eighth  . 

Blood  Money  . 

Roman  Scandals  . 

Advice  to  the  Lovelorn  . 

Gallant  Lady  . 

Moulin  Rouge  . 

Nana  . 

Palooka  . 

Sorrell  and  Son . 

Looking  for  Trouble  . 

Catherine  the  Great . 

House  of  Rothschild  . 

The  Affairs  of  Cellini . 

Bulldog  Drummond  Strikes  Back  . 

The  Last  Gentleman  . 


Merry  Wives  of  Reno  .  2-May 

Havana  Widows  . 1-Nov. 

From  Headquarters  . 2-Nov. 

Son  of  a  Sailor  . 2-Nov. 

Dark  Hazard  . 1-Dec. 

Lady  Killer  .  1-Dec. 

Convention  City  .  2-Dec. 

The  Shakedown  . 1-Jan. 

Massacre  .  2-Jan. 

Fashions  of  1934  . 2-Jan. 

Hi  Nellie  .  1-Feb. 

Easy  to  Love  . 1-Feb. 

Mandalay  .  1-Feb! 

As  the  Earth  Turns  .  2-Feb. 

Bedside  .  2-Feb. 

Heat  Lightning  .  2-Feb. 

I've  Got  Your  Number  .  2-Feb. 

Wonder  Bar  .  2-Feb. 

Gambling  Lady  .  1-Mar! 

Harold  Teen  .  1-Mar. 

Journal  of  a  Crime  .  2-Mar. 

Registered  Nurse  .  2-Mar. 

Jimmy  the  Gent  2-Mar. 

Twenty  Million  Sweethearts  .  1-Apr. 

Upper  World  1-Apr! 

A  Very  Honorable  Guy  .  2-Apr. 

Side  Streets  . 2-Apr! 

A  Modern  Hero .  2-Apr! 

Smarty  .  1-May 


Fox 


Oleson’s  Big  Moment 
Hoop-La 

As  Husbands  Go 
Frontier  Marshal 
Jimmy  and  Sally 

Smoky  . 

I  Was  A  Spy  . 

Mr.  Skitch 

I  Am  Suzanne  . 

Orient  Express 

Sleepers  East  . 

Coming  Out  Party 

Ever  Since  Eve  . 

Carolina  . 

Devil  Tiger  .  .  .  . 

Hold  That  Girl  . 

I  Believed  in  You 

David  Harum  . 

Bottoms  Up 
Scandals 

Three  on  a  Honeymoon . 

AM  Men  Are  Enemies . 

Murder  in  Trinidad  . 

Stand  Up  and  Cheer  .  . 
The  Constant  Nymph 
Now  I'll  Tell 

Springtime  for  Henry  . 
Such  Women  Are  Dangerous 
Wild  Gold 
Change  of  Heart 
Handy  Andy 


1- Nov. 

2- Nov. 
2-Nov. 
2-Nov. 

1- Dec. 

2- Dec. 
2-Dec. 
1-Jan. 

1- Jan. 

2- Jan. 
1-Feb. 
1-Feb. 

1- Feb. 

2- Feb. 
2-Feb. 
2-Feb. 
1-Mar. 

1- Mar. 

2- Mar. 
2-Mar. 

1- Apr. 

2- Apr. 
2-Apr. 
2-Apr. 
2-Apr. 
1-May 
1-May 
1-May 

1- May 

2- May 
2-May 


Metro 


The  Prizefighter  and  the  Lady .  2-Nov. 

Eskimo  2-Nov. 

Should  Ladies  Behave  (The  Vinegar  Tree)  .  .  .  .  2-Nov. 

Dancing  Lady  1-Dec. 

Sons  of  the  Desert  . 1-Dec. 


Lucky  Texan  ....... 

Woman’s  Man 
16  Fathoms  Deep 

West  of  Divide  . 

Mystery  Liner  ...... 

Beggars  in  Ermine 

City  Limits  . 

Manhattan  Love  Song 
Monte  Carlo  Nights 
House  of  Mystery  .  . 

Blue  Steel 
The  Loudspeaker 


Pa  ramount 


Duck  Soup  . 

Lone  Cowboy  . 

Thundering  Herd  . 

Sitting  Pretty  . 

Girl  Without  a  Room . 

Alice  in  Wonderland . 

Miss  Fane’s  Baby  Is  Stolen . 

His  Double  Life . 

S  Girls  in  a  Boat  . 

The  Last  Roundup  . 

Search  for  Beauty  . 

Four  Frightened  People  . 

All  of  Me  . 

Death  Takes  a  Holiday  (Strange  Holiday) 

Good  Dame  . 

Six  of  a  Kind . 

Bolero  . 

No  More  Women . 

Come  On  Marines  . 

She  Made  Her  Bed  . 

Wharf  Angel  . 

Melody  in  Spring  . 

The  Trumpet  Blows  . . 

You're  Telling  Me  . 

Double  Door  . 

The  Scarlet  Empress  .  . 

The  Witching  Hour  . 

We’re  Not  Dressing  . 

Little  Miss  Marker  . 

Many  Happy  Returns 
Murder  at  Vanities 

Private  Scandal  . 

Thirty  Day  Princess  . 


Radio 


Aggie  Appleby  . 

Little  Women 

After  Tonight  (Woman  Spy) 

Right  to  Romance . 

If  I  Were  Free  . 

Flying  Down  to  Rio . 

Man  of  Two  Worlds  .  .  . 

Meanest  Gal  in  Town  . 

Son  of  Kong  . 

Two  Alone  . 

Hips  Hips  Hooray  . 

Keep  'Em  Rolling  . 

Long  Lost  Father . 

The  Lost  Patrol  . 

Sing  and  Like  It  . 

Spitfire  . 

Success  at  Any  Price . 

This  Man  Is  Mine . 

The  Crime  Doctor . 

Finishing  School  . 


2-Jan. 

2-Jan. 

1-Feb. 

1- Feb. 

2- Feb. 

1- Mar. 

2- Apr. 
2-Apr. 
1-May 

1- May 

2- May 
2-May 


2-Nov. 

2-Nov. 

2-Nov. 

1-Dec. 

1- Dec. 

2- Dec. 
1-Jan. 
1-Jan. 

1- Jan. 

2- Jan. 
2-Jan. 
2-Jan. 
2-Jan. 
1-Feb. 
1-Feb. 

1- Feb. 

2- Feb. 
2-Feb. 
2-Mar. 
2-Mar. 
2-Mar. 
2-Apr. 
2-Apr. 
2-Apr. 
1-May 
1-May 
1-May 

1- May 

2- May 
2-May 
2-May 
2-May 
2-May 


Universal 


Bombay  Mail  . 

Madame  Spy  . 

The  Poor  Rich 
Cross  Country  Cruise 
I  Like  It  That  Way 
Wheels  of  Destiny  .... 

The  Crosby  Case . 

Love  Birds  . 

Midnight  . 

Gun  Justice  . 

Countess  of  Monte  Cristo 

Honor  of  the  West . 

Let’s  Be  Ritzy . 

Glamour  . 

I'll  Tell  the  World 
Doomed  to  Die 
Half  a  Sinner 
The  Uncertain  Lady 
Affairs  of  Gentleman 
Dangerous  to  Women 
The  Black  Cat 


First  Division 

(CHESTERFIELD) 

Rainbow  Over  Broadway  . 

Notorious  But  Nice  . 

Murder  On  the  Campus  . 

Cross  Streets  . 

The  Quitter  . 

Stolen  Sweets  . 

In  Love  with  Life  . 

Twin  Husbands  . 

The  Road  to  Ruin  . 

He  . 

Throne  of  the  Gods  . 

Under  Secret  Orders . 

Forgotten  Men  . 

Texas  Tornado  . 

The  Ferocious  Pal  . 

Young  Eagles  . 


Gold  Medal 


2-Oct. 

2-Nov. 

2-0ct. 

1- Dec. 

2- Dec. 

1- Jan. 

2- Jan. 
2-Jan. 
2-Jan. 
2-Jan. 


Sing,  Sinner,  Sing 
The  Big  Bluff 
Important  Witness  .  . 
Laughing  at  Life  ... 
Curtain  at  Eight 
You  Made  Me  Love  You 
The  Charming  Deceiver 
Sin  of  Nora  Moran  , 
Big  Time  or  Bust 
Enlighten  Thy  Daughter 
The  Morning  After  . 
Unknown  Blonde  .  . 


1- Feb. 

2- Feb. 
2-Feb. 


Masterpiece 


2-Feb. 

1-Mar. 

1-Mar. 

1- Mar. 

2- Mar. 

1- Apr. 

2- Apr. 


Her  Forgotten  Past  .  .  . 

Riot  Squad  . 

Secret  Sinners  . 

Wine,  Women  and  Song 
What's  Your  Racket? 

Dancing  Man  . 

Back  Page  . 


2-Apr. 

1-Mav 

1- May 

2- May 


1-Oct. 

1-Dec. 

1- Dec. 

2- Dec. 
2-Dec. 

1- Jan. 

2- Jan. 

1- Feb. 

2- Feb. 
2-Feb. 

1- Mar. 

2- Mar. 

1- May 

2- May 
2-May 


2-Jan. 

2-Jan. 

2-Jan. 

2-Jan. 

2-Jan. 

1- Feb. 

2- Feb. 
2-Feb. 
1-Mar. 

1- Mar. 

2- Mar. 
2-Mar. 
2-Mar. 
2-Apr. 
2-Apr. 
1-May 
1-May 

1- May 

2- May 
2-May 
2-May 


1- Dec. 

2- Nov. 
2-Feb. 
1-Mar. 

1- Apr. 

2- Apr. 
1-May 

1- May 

2- Dec. 
2-Jan. 
2-Jan. 

1- Jan. 

2- June 
2-Mar. 

1- Apr. 

2- May 


2-Aug. 

2-0ct. 

2-Aug. 

2-June 

1-Deo. 

1-Dec. 

1-Jan. 

1- Jan. 

2- Jan. 
2-Jan. 
2-Feb. 
1-Apr. 


2-Nov. 

2-Aug. 

1- Jan. 

2- Jan. 
2-Feb. 
2-Mar. 
1-Apr. 


Mayl5'34  pg.  23 


WEAK 

KNEED 


or  an  alert,  constructive  force ? 

PUT  yourself  in  Mr.  Theatre  Owner’s  chair!  Would 
you  rather  devote  your  Trade  Reading  Hours  to 
ponderous  treatises  of  nation-wide  problems  and  aca¬ 
demic  studies  of  appalling  trade  practices  violations  in 
Peoria — or  would  you  rather  devote  those  same  T.  R.  H.’s 
to  a  decided,  two-fisted  attack  on  your  local  ills — a  pat 
on  the  back  for  a  local  job  well  done — all  garnished  with 
a  flowing,  breezy,  newsy  chatter  about  the  fellows  you 
know  and  situations  with  which  you  are  familiar? 

Professor  Einstein  has  the  world’s  greatest  modern 
mind,  but  if  you  wanted  understandable  interesting 
news,  you’d  rather  listen  to  Lowell  Thomas. 

Take  advantage  of  Mr.  Theatre  Owner’s  T.  R.  H.’s 
through  the  columns  of  his  local  Regional. 


JAY  EMANUEL 
PUBLICATIONS 

HOME  TOWN  TRADE  PAPERS 
OF  4600  THEATRE  OWNERS 


Mayl5'34  b.c. 

Out  of  the  wilderness  rides 
“  Stingaree”  who  feared 
neither  death  nor  devil . .  a 
price  on  his  head . .  a  song 
in  his  heart . .  a  girl  in  his 
dreams.. to  fire  your  blood 
with  leaping  thrills  in  a 
rash  romance  of  danger! 


MARY  BOLAND 

CONWAY  TEARLE  .  .  ANDY  DEVINE 
HENRY  STEPHENSON  .  .  UNA  O’CONNOR 
DIRECTED  BY  WILLIAM  A.  WELLMAN 

RKO  RADIO  PICTURE 

BASED  ON  STORIES  BY  E.  W.  HORNUNG 
A  MERIAN  C.  COOPER  PRESENTATION 
PANDRO  S.  BERMAN,  Executive  Producer 


IRENE  DU 
RICHARD 


CIMARRON'S" 
GLORIOUS  STARS 
UNITED 
AGAIN  IN 


nFrnPATION _ DAY _ R  E  L  E  A  $  E 


VOL  16-No.  11 


PHILADELPHIA,  JUNE  1, 1934 


Price,  15  Cents 


PARK 


The  Cream  of  the  Independent  Market  from  the  World's  Leading  Independent 


FIRST  DIVISION  EXCHANGES,  Inc. 


HARRY  H.  THOMAS 

President 


Executive  Offices:  RKO  BUILDING,  RADIO  CITY,  N.  Y. 


Branches  in: 


NEW  YORK 

ALBANY 

BUFFALO 


CLEVELAND 

ATLANTA 

WASHINGTON 


DETROIT 

BOSTON 

PITTSBURGH 


CHARLOTTE 

PHILADELPHIA 

LOUISVILLE 


NEW  HAVEN 
CINCINNATI 
NEW  ORLEANS 


You’ll  I 
love  it! 


With  HENRY  B.  WALTHALL,  SALLY  BLANE 
MATTY  KEMP,  Gwen  Lee,  Johnny  Harron, 
Hale  Hamilton,  Lafe  McKee  and  others. 


A  Chesterfield  Picture 


Directed  by  Richard  Thorpe 


Test  Suit  on  Double  Features  Filed 


n  this 
ssue: 


2  -  ■  .s 


SB 


A  Jay  Emanuel  Publication 


The  rendezvous  of 
lovers  . . .  the  meeting 
place  of  thieves  . . .  the 
home  of  the  homeless 
.  .  .  haven  of  the  rich 
and  poor . .  . 

ci 


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FAMOUS  BOOKS  IN  MONOGRAMS 
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BEST  SELLERS  BY  FAMOUS  AUTHORS  PRE  SOLD  TO  AUDIENCES  EVERYWHERE 

MILLIONS  OF  READERS  ARE  WAITING  TO  SEE  THESE  OUTSTANDING  PICTURES 


The  Positive  Answer  to  the  Critics 


of  the  Famous  U~l6  Theatre  Chaird 


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801  Flint  Building,  219  North  Broad  Street,  Philadelphia 

Sold  Nat  ionally  by  INTERNATIONAL  SEAT  CORPORATION,  Paramount  Rldg.,  New  York— Subsidiary  of  Union  City  Body  Cq 


Jun  1'34  pg.  4 


THE  MOST  WIDELY 
PUBLICIZED  CHARACTER 
EVER  SEEN  ON  ANY 
MOTION  PICTURE 
SCREEN  -  IN 


74ostJun9* 

“Plenty  of  thrills  .  .  .  the  grown-ups  will  get  a  kick  out  of  it.” — Film  Daily. 

“Good  exploitation  values  and  should  attract  adults  as  well  as  children.” 

— Motion  Picture  Daily. 

“Beatty’s  ability  to  handle  the  animals  provides  plenty  of  action  and  numerous 
thrills.” — Motion  Picture  Herald. 

Distributed  htj 

Gold  Medal  Film  Company 

A.  EUCCHESE,  Proprietor 

1230  Vine  Street,  Philadelphia 


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Pg.  5 


THE 


EDITOR’S  PAGE 


Vol.  16,  No.  11 


June  1,  1934 


The  Philadelphia 


Too  Perfect 

NO  ONE  can  discredit  the  sincerity 
•  with  which  various  independent  exhibi¬ 
tor  factions  are  meeting  to  perfect  some 
method  whereby  reported  rising  film 
rentals  for  the  new  season  may  be  checked. 
That  the  bodies  are  firm  in  their  resolution 
that  once  and  for  all  tendency  toward  in¬ 
creased  prices  each  year  must  be  discour¬ 
aged  is  indicated. 

Unfortunately,  the  problem  is  one  that 
finds  its  solution  in  an  economic  law.  When 
one  looks  at  the  endless  and  unceasing  war¬ 
fare  between  buyer  and  seller  the  former  is 
handicapped  when  the  buying  market  is  re¬ 
stricted  while  the  seller  is  hindered  when 
the  buying  market  is  wide  open.  In  this 
case,  it  appears  as  if  the  sellers  have  placed 
themselves  in  a  position  where  many  of  the 
exhibitors  need  their  pictures,  no  substitute 
will  do. 

No  one  encourages  a  boycott.  Rather 
one  may  seek  to  throw  more  business 
toward  those  companies  which  give  fairer 
terms.  But  these  producers  do  not  neces¬ 
sarily  make  the  best  pictures.  It  is  not 
just  the  question  of  getting  enough  pictures 
to  keep  theatres  open.  Rather,  the  exhibi¬ 
tor  wants  the  product  which  can  deliver 
him  a  certain  number  of  hits  and  which 
makes  up  for  the  losses  he  sustains  on  the 
weak  pictures. 

It  has  been  said  also  that  a  governing 
committee  in  each  zone  will  give  the  right 
to  exhibitors  in  situations  where  their  pres¬ 
ent  product,  regardless  of  terms,  is  a  neces¬ 
sity,  to  again  close  for  these  pictures,  even 
at  high  terms.  This  opens  up  the  way  for 
exceptions.  There  may  be  too  many  of 
these  situations.  The  result  would  find  the 
protesting  exhibitors  holding  a  weapon 
which  cannot  be  brought  into  play. 

If  there  were  not  the  human  element  to 
be  considered,  one  might  easily  predict  suc¬ 
cess  in  the  move  to  combat  higher  rentals. 
But  where  the  success  of  the  plan  depends 
upon  individuals,  it  is  too  much  to  expect 
that  it  will  succeed  along  the  suggested 
lines. 


EXHIBITOR 

Circulating  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware.  Issued  on  the  1st  and  15th 
of  each  month  by  Jay  Emanuel  Publications,  Inc.  Publishing  office.  219  North  Broad  Street,  Philadelphia. 
Branches  at  1600  Broadway,  New  York  City;  Washington,  D.  C.  Jay  Emanuel,  publisher;  Paul  J. 
Greenhalgh,  advertising  manager;  Herbert  M.  Miller,  managing  editor.  Subscription  rates;  $2  for  one 
year,  $5  for  three  years.  Single  copies,  15c  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware. 
Publishers,  also,  of  THE  NATIONAL  EXHIBITOR  of  Washington  and  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  EXHIBITOR. 
Official  organ  of  the  Motion  Picture  Theatre  Owners  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and 
Delaware.  Address  all  communications  to  the  Philadelphia  office. 


Almost  a  Miracle 

SOMETHING  unimaginable  is  happening  in  this  in¬ 
dustry.  It  is  of  a  nature  so  terrifying  that  it  deserves 
the  undivided  co-operation  of  all  elements,  all  factions,  all  divi¬ 
sions  of  the  business. 

Believe  it  or  not,  regardless  of  everything  that  has  been  said 
to  the  contrary,  it  is  beginning  to  look  as  if  the  code  for  the  motion 
picture  industry  is  working  out  exactly  as  planned. 

If  that  doesn’t  call  for  an  investigation,  a  wave  of  resolutions, 
a  torrent  of  protests,  something  must  be  wrong  with  the  allegedly 
radical  elements  within  the  industry. 

True,  everyone  gave  a  lot  of  time  to  the  code.  Many  people, 
many  groups,  spent  time,  money,  effort  to  formulate  a  code.  But 
who  would  think  that  anyone  ever  had  the  faintest  idea  that  the 
code  would  ever  get  to  the  stage  where  it  would  seem  to  be 
working? 

Cases  are  being  heard  in  all  parts  of  the  country.  Decisions 
are  being  handed  down.  Either  because  they  are  sold  on  the  code 
or  they  feel  their  presence  on  the  guiding  bodies  to  be  a  solemn 
duty,  members  of  the  boards  are  performing  their  functions  in  a 
rather  sincere  manner. 

When  first  the  inkling  of  this  fairness  and  sincerity  was  seen 
it  was  only  natural  to  believe  that  the  scoffers  might  still  point  to 
the  Code  Authority  as  a  place  where  the  terrible  things  said  about 
what  was  going  to  happen  would  happen.  But  the  Code  Authority 
heard  a  case,  upheld  the  decision  that  had  been  handed  down  by 
the  local  group. 

If  this  succession  of  fair  decisions  continues,  it  looks  as  if  the 
COMMITTEE  TO  DO  SOMETHING  ABOUT  SOMETHING 
is  going  to  have  a  busy  session.  The  code  may  not  be  the  last 
word  in  perfection  but  it  certainly  hasn’t  pulled  as  many  boners 
up  to  this  time  as  many  predicted  for  it. 


Withhold  Judgment 

_  ANY  MOVE  which  seeks  to  bring  more 
*  pictures  of  higher  quality  into  the  field, 
should  be  encouraged.  For  that  reason 
alone,  the  reported  production  hookup  be¬ 
tween  Allied  and  unnamed  parties  is  to  be 
welcomed  because  of  its  initiative. 

Final  commendation,  however,  must  be 
withheld  until  one  sees  the  type  of  product 
that  will  result. 

Reports  have  it  that  there  is  plenty  of 
money  ready  to  make  good  pictures.  Should 
these  result  in  box  office  hits,  not  only  Allied 
but  exhibitors  everywhere  will  be  glad  to 
play  them. 

If,  however,  the  results  should  not  be  so 
rosy,  one  might  look  for  a  duplication  of 
the  Tiffany  experience. 

Until  the  finished  product  is  available, 
then,  one  should  withhold  judgment. 


“Great  heavens,  it  looks  as  if  it  is  working.’’ 


6 


Jun  1  ’  34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


ACTIVE  IN  NEW  ORGANIZATION  CIRCLES:  IK  ’TZSS? ^ 

Shapiro,  George  Resnick,  Henry  Rosinsky,  Louis  Berger,  A.  Waldman,  Morris  Nemez,  treasurer,  and  Morris  Gerson  are  reported 
among  those  leading  formation  of  Independent  Exhibitors’  Protective  Association.  Above  men  have  been  linked  with  first  meetings. 


LEAVING  SP£°a“b“,Pnhc“h 

manager  for  Universal,  Mike  Lan- 
dow  enters  the  pottery  business  in 
York. 


PROMOTED  m'anaeer*  "for 

manager  tor 
Universal,  Joe  Engel  takes  his  post 
officially  in  July. 


D  CTT  CD  understanding 
of  movies  and  movie 
problems  resulted  when  George  P. 
Aarons,  counsel  and  secretary  for 
the  MPTO,  addressed  the  Pottstown 
Parents’  and  Teachers’  Association 
on  the  problems  of  the  films.  His 
talk  was  well  received  Aarons  has 
done  a  lot  of  good  work  in  this  divi¬ 
sion  of  oratory  and  his  services  are 
in  demand  in  all  parts  of  the  terri¬ 
tory.  Exhibitors  who  have  requested 
him  to  speak  to  community  groups 
in  their  territory  report  added  good 
will  from  their  towns  following  his 
address.  This  has  added  to  his 
enviable  record  since  he  has  been 
with  the  MPTO.  His  aid  on  code 
cases  has  been  especially  valuable 
to  all. 


PROMINENT  ygf 


ind 


cles,  ex-congressman  Ben  Golder  has 
filed  a  legal  test  on  double  features. 


PRODUCER  RrobenrTaE. 

Welsh,  comes  to  his  duties  with  wide 
experience. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Jun  1 T  34 


7 


Pizor  Calls  Most  Important  Session 

in  History  of  Theatre  Owners’  Group 


Dual  Membership  Seen 


That  exhibitors  can  belong  to  both 
the  MPTO  and  the  IEPA  is  believed  pos¬ 
sible. 

Observers  point  out  that  the  new  or¬ 
ganization  will  probably  function  as  a 
more  aggressive  liberal  wing.  In  other 
districts,  there  are  dual  organizations. 
A  similar  instance  occurs  in  New  York 
City  where  the  TOCC  and  the  ITOA 
operate. 


Doubles  Test  Suit 
Reveals  New  Exhib  Unit 

Independent  Exhibitors’  Protec¬ 
tive  Association  Formed  Here 

Filing  of  the  long  awaited  test  suit  on 
double  features  revealed  the  formation  of 
a  new  exhibitor  unit  for  the  territory, 
the  Independent  Exhibitors’  Protective 
Association. 

The  preliminary  officers’  board  of  the  new 
organization,  prior  to  actual  election  of  perma¬ 
nent  officers  includes :  Morris  Wax,  president ; 
Morris  Neniez,  treasurer ;  Ray  Schwartz,  sec¬ 
retary.  Directors :  Columbus  Stamper,  Louis 
Berger  and  the  three  officers. 

After  the  charter  has  been  secured,  it  is 
thought  likely  that  ex-Congressman  Ben  Golder 
may  be  elected  president  of  the  body. 

The  long-awaited  test  case  on  double  features 
was  begun  this  week. 

Harry  Perelman,  West  Allegheny  and  Lehigh 
Theatres,  filed  a  petition  in  United  States  Dis¬ 
trict  Court  against  Warners,  First  National, 
Vitagraph,  RKO,  Paramount,  Metro,  Fox, 
United  Artists.  He  asks  that  the  court  adjudge 
and  decree  that  the  defendants  have  engaged  in 
a  conspiracy  in  restraint  of  interstate  trade  and 
commerce  and  that  they  be  enjoined  from  carry¬ 
ing  out  this  alleged  conspiracy  as  well  as  be 
restrained  from  inserting  or  enforcing  a  pro¬ 
vision  barring  the  use  of  their  pictures  on 
double  feature  programs. 

Perelman’s  attorney  is  ex-congressman  Ben 
Golder. 

Statement  includes  claims  that  exhibitor  does 
not  receive  pictures  until  circuit  theatres  have 
shown  them  and  people  are  tired  of  them.  Also 
claims  that  another  feature  is  necessary  to  make 
shows  attractive. 

A  statement  released  by  Golder  rapped  the 
Hays  organization  and  trust  practices. 

Date  for  argument  on  the  motion  was  set  as 
June  7. 

The  case  in  question  is  the  test  argument  for 
which  many  local  exhibitors  pledged  a  war 
chest.  The  case  revolves  about  the  question  of 
whether  or  not  an  exhibitor  has  the  right  to 
operate  his  theatre  as  he  sees  fit. 

Golder,  who  is  prominent  in  political  and 
legal  circles,  has  a  varied  record  in  these  fields. 
He  has  appeared  before  the  United  States 


June  5  Meeting  at  Broadwood  Hotel  Scheduled  as  Big 
Gathering — President  Makes  Personal  Appeal  to  All 
Exhibitors  for  Attendance 


What  is  believed  to  be  the  most  important  meeting  ever  called  in  the  history  of 
the  MPTO  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware  has  been 
scheduled  for  the  Broadwood  Hotel,  June  5,  at  11  A.  M. 


MFPTIK1G  of  MPTO  June  5  at 
IVltLIIMVJ  Broadwood  Hotel 

is  deemed  most  important  in  organ¬ 
ization’s  history  by  Lewen  Pizor, 
president.  He  asks  a  record  turnout. 


Supreme  Court  and  other  high  courts  of  the 
state  and  land.  He  has  been  an  important  fac¬ 
tor  in  the  Philadelphia  and  Pennsylvania  politi¬ 
cal  field  and  has  scored  important  victories. 

He  served  in  Congress  8  years  and  the  state 
assembly  for  8  years.  He  was  elevated  to 
Congress  at  the  age  of  31  and  assembly  at  the 
age  of  23. 

When  he  broke  with  the  Vare  organization 
he  fought  them  single  handed  and  retains  politi¬ 
cal  control  in  his  district.  He  is  known  to 
love  a  fight  and  isn’t  afraid  of  the  big  fellows. 

Recently,  he  represented  Harry  Perelman, 
in  an  action  brought  against  Perelman  by  the 
Copyright  Protection  Bureau.  Perelman  scored 
a  victory  in  the  case. 

In  a  statement  to  THE  EXHIBITOR  Golder 
said : 

“There  are  two  kinds  of  racketeers,  one  who 
wears  a  cap  and  the  other  who  wears  a  high 
hat.  But  it  is  just  as  important  to  destroy  high 
hat  racketeers  as  the  tough  cap  racketeer. v 

Examination  of  the  papers  in  the  suit  reveals 
the  double  feature  clause  in  the  Fox,  RKO, 
United  Artists,  Warner  Brothers,  Paramount 
and  Metro  contracts  are  included. 

The  bill  also  asks  that  the  companies  be  re¬ 
strained  from  maintaining  the  alleged  con¬ 
spiracy  as  well  as  inserting  the  provisions  com¬ 
plained  of  in  the  contracts,  and  also  requests 
that  the  said  provisions  be  declared  null  and 
void. 


President  Lewen  Pizor,  in  calling  the  ses¬ 
sion,  points  out  that  the  nature  of  the  subjects 
to  be  considered  are  of  such  vital  importance 
that  he  personally  makes  a  plea  of  every  exhibi¬ 
tor  to  attend. 

The  meeting,  a  special  one,  will  begin 
promptly  at  11  A.  M.  Attendance  is  expected 
to  top  all  those  ever  recorded  at  an  MPTO 
session. 

Not  only  will  the  regulars  of  the  organization 
be  present,  but  it  is  reported  that  personal  solici¬ 
tation  will  result  in  an  100%  turnout  or  the 
nearest  thing  possible  to  it. 


Papers  reveal  that  in  some  of  the  contracts, 
violation  of  the  double  feature  clause  provides 
for  cancellation  as  well  as  for  recovery  of 
amount  of  license  fees  for  films  yet  undelivered 
as  liquidated  damages. 

1  hat  the  defendants  produce  and  distribute 
75-80%  of  all  features  exhibited  to  the  public 
was  also  indicated,  without  which  it  was  said  it 
would  be  impossible  for  the  independent  ex¬ 
hibitor  to  continue  in  business. 

Later  it  was  learned  that  six  separate  suits 
were  filed  involving  Harry  Perelman,  Charlie 
Stiefel,  Columbus  Stamper,  Sam  Waldman,  H. 
M.  Phillip,  Dave  Shapiro  of  the  Lehigh  and 
West  Allegheny,  Venice,  Tioga,  Garbo,  Upsal 
and  Oaklyn  and  Penn  Theatres  respectively. 

Bill  asks  for  an  injunction  in  equity. 

The  application  for  membership  in  the  new 
Independent  Exhibitors’  Protective  Association 
follows : 

APPLICATION  FOR  MEMBERSHIP  TO  THE 
INDEPENDENT  EXHIBITORS  PROTECTIVE 
ASSOCIATION 

I  hereby  take  pleasure  in  being-  among  the  first  to 
apply  for  membership  in  the  organization  about  to  be 
formed  which,  T  believe,  is  destined  to  bring’  about  a 
new  deal  for  the  truly  independent  exhibitor,  big  or 
little,  in  this  territory;  and  to  set  an  example  to  be 
followed  by  all  independent  exhibitors  throughout  the 
nation. 

I  further  take  pleasure  in  pledging  my  full  and  whole 
hearted  support  to  this  movement,  morally  and  finan¬ 
cially,  and  agree  to  abide  by  the  rules  and  regulations 
prescribed  by  its  duly  elected  governing  body,  and  to 
uphold  its  constitution  and  by-laws  when  I  am  admitted 
to  membership. 

It  is  understood  that  the  amount  of  dues  to  be  paid  is 
to  be  determined  after  the  organization  is  formed  and 
shall  meet  with  the  approval  cf  the  majority  of  the 
membership.  Anyone  dissatisfied  with  the  amount 
assessed  shall  not  be  bound  by  this  application. 

Formation  of  the  new  association  is  believed 
to  be  the  outgrowth  of  a  demand  for  a  new 
deal  on  the  part  of  many  of  the  exhibitors  of 
the  district.  This  wing  of  the  exhibitor  faction 
is  of  the  opinion  that  new  policies  are  neces¬ 
sary  if  the  independent  exhibitor  is  to  be  pro¬ 
tected  against  higher  rentals  and  an  added  bur¬ 
den  upon  him. 

While  this  spirit  has  been  smouldering  for 
quite  a  while,  it  broke  out  following  the  recent 
double  feature  case  before  the  grievance  board. 

Meanwhile,  the  local  industry  is  looking  at 
the  picture  with  a  lot  of  interest. 


8 


Jun  1 T  34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Darrow  Report  Highlight  of 
Exhibitor  Organization 

Doubles  Also  Scheduled  as  Topic  When  Body  Meets — 
Plans  for  Annual  Convention  Being  Completed — Har¬ 
rington  Session  Scene 


Whether  independent  motion  picture  exhibitors  should  side  with  the  Darrow 
report  on  the  NRA  and  urge  either  abolition  of  the  code  or  changes  that  would  be 
more  favorable  to  the  independent  exhibitor  was  the  question  scheduled  for  discus¬ 
sion  at  the  meeting  of  the  Independent  Motion  Picture  Owners  of  Delaware  and  the 
Eastern  Shore  of  Maryland  which  was  set  to  take  place  May  31,  at  Harrington. 


A.  J.  DeFiore,  Wilmington,  president,  said 
he  felt  that,  inasmuch  as  the  Darrow  report 
sides  definitely  with  the  independent  and  partic¬ 
ularly  points  out  so-called  unfairness  and  fav¬ 
oritism  in  the  administration  of  the  motion  pic¬ 
ture  code,  it  was  highly  necessary  for  the 
organization  to  voice  its  views  on  the  matter. 

If  it  is  decided  to  favor  the  Darrow  code, 
the  matter  will  be  laid  before  authorities  in 
Washington,  DeFiore  declared. 

Double  features  may  also  be  discussed,  as  well 
as  plans  for  the  regular  annual  convention  of 
the  organization. 


YORK 


AFTER  A  WEEK  of  picketing,  employees 
of  the  York  Warner  Brothers  theatres  called 
off  their  strike.  .  .  .  Strikers  returned  to  work 
on  May  17.  .  .  .  William  Israel,  district  man¬ 
ager,  who  was  kept  busy  during  the  week  of 
the  strike  meeting  with  employees’  delegations 
and  department  of  labor  conciliator,  put  into 
effect  several  changes  immediately  necessitated 
by  the  seniority  ruling.  ...  No  effort  was 
made  on  the  part  of  the  Warner  Brothers  man¬ 
agement  to  break  the  strike,  other  than  to  deny 
in  the  daily  newspapers  the  allegations  of  un¬ 
fair  treatment  of  union  labor  made  by  the 
picketing  strikers. 

IRVING  DUNN  made  a  bid  for  the  Kiddie 
Business  on  “Wild  Cargo,”  at  the  Capitol. 

.  .  Decorated  his  lobby  with  black  and 

white  cutouts  of  animals  which  were  sure  to 
catch  the  eye  of  the  kiddies.  .  .  Cleon 

Miller,  made  an  appeal  to  the  “select”  the¬ 
atregoers  when  he  staged  a  special  preview 
on  “House  of  Rothschild,”  to  which  he  in¬ 
vited  the  ministers  of  the  city,  the  city  offi¬ 
cials  and  physicians  and  other  professional 
men.  .  .  .  Theatres  gave  the  policemen  a 

plug  on  their  Field  Day. 

YORK,  York’s  new  theatre,  is  rapidly  near¬ 
ing  completion.  .  .  .  J.  William  Richley, 

builder,  hopes  to  open  it  within  the  next  sev¬ 
eral  weeks.  .  .  .  Auditorium  itself  has  been 
completed  with  the  exception  of  the  installa¬ 
tion  of  chairs  and  other  fixtures.  .  .  .  New 

theatre  will  seat  1,000  and  will  be  equipped 
with  four  projection  machines.  ...  A  stage, 
24  by  48  is  provided  and  it  is  Richley’s  in¬ 
tention  to  present  vaudeville  in  addition  to 
the  screen  entertainment.  .  .  .  Sydney  Pop- 
pay,  Rialto,  is  planning  on  showing  two 
serials  a  week.  .  .  .  He  now  has  a  special 

show  Saturday  mornings  with  a  serial  as  a 
side  attraction  and  he  plans  another  for  Mon¬ 
days  and  Tuesdays.  .  .  Because  of  the 

strike  schedules  at  the  Strand  and  Capitol 
theatres  were  disrupted.  .  .  .  Both  holding 

over  the  pictures  they  showed  during  the 
picketing. 


Heard  In 

1LMINGTON 

Vacations  For 
All  This  Year 


LYLE  TRENCHARD,  Warner  district 
manager,  Wilmington-Chester  area,  believes  it 
is  bad  business  to  take  a  picture  off  the  board 
before  its  time  is  up.  .  .  .  Another  idea  I  get 
from  Trenchard  concerns  such  events  as  week 
and  month  celebrations.  .  .  .  He  believes  in 
selling  pictures  rather  than  anniversaries.  .  .  . 
Dick  Hilshire,  manager,  Queen,  is  putting  on 
first  runs  occasionally.  .  .  .  ‘‘Two  Alone’’  was 
the  first.  .  .  .  To  do  this  Dick  had  a  40  by  60 
display  on  a  sound  truck.  .  .  .  When  I  called 
on  him  he  was  nursing  a  finger  blistered  by 
beaver  board  and  wondering  where  he  was 
going  to  find  old  fashioned  horse  and  buggy  for 
Parker  “bally.”'  .  .  .  All  Warner  employes  are 
going  to  get  vacations  this  year.  .  .  .  Wilmer 
Highfield,  new  manager,  Savoy,  S-W,  continues 
to  find  business  good. 

RAN  INTO  Charley  Albert,  sign  artist,  War¬ 
ners,  with  a  shirt  on  and  cigar  in  his  mouth. 
.  .  .  Lew  Black,  manager,  Aldine,  W-S,  cer¬ 
tainly  was  in  top  gear  for  “20  Million  Sweet¬ 
hearts.”  .  .  .  George  Jones  was  going  strong 
with  “Hollywood  Party.”  .  .  .  A.  J.  Belair, 
New  Rialto,  well  pleased  with  “Stand  Up  and 
Cheer.”  .  .  .  John  Hopkins,  colored  theatre, 
National,  put  on  “Harlem  After  Midnight.” 
.  .  .  Joe  DeFiore,  manager,  Park,  was  stretch¬ 
ing  out  his  ads  for  “Looking  For  Trouble.” 
.  .  .  Joe  had  the  curb  in  front  of  his  theatre 
painted  yellow  giving  a  novel  appearance.  .  .  . 
Warner  ushers  were  in  new  summer  uniforms, 
looking  spiffy.  .  .  .  Merritt  Pragg,  assistant 

manager,  Opera  House,  was  looking  for  a 
live  duck  to  put  in  the  lobby  for  the  Joe 
Penner’s  “Making  Good.”  .  .  .  Lyle  Trench¬ 
ard  tells  me  that  the  Warner  houses  in  Wil¬ 
mington  are  in  the  best  physical  shape  of  any 
theatre  property  in  this  section  of  the  coun¬ 
try,  even  though  one  or  two  of  them  are 
closed.  .  .  .  Jimmy  Olwell,  Rialto  all-round 
man  tells  me  his  hobby  is  collecting  news¬ 
papers  from  all  parts  of  the  world,  while 
Donald  Hendrichs,  same  theatre,  collects 
rare  coins  and  umbrellas  and  Harry  Bru¬ 
baker,  treasurer,  collects  stamps. 

WHEN  THE  CIRCUS  came  to  town  the 
other  day,  Irving  Martin,  assistant  manager, 
Loew’s  Theatre,  doffed  his  tuxedo  that  he 
wears  around  the  theatre  and  went  looking  for 
wire  and  wire  walkers.  .  .  .  Wire  walking  is 
one  of  young  Martin's  hobbies.  .  .  .  He 
learned  wire  walking  from  his  grandfather. 
.  .  .  He  is  a  friend  of  Con  Colleano,  world- 
renowned  wire  walker,  the  greatest  of  them 
all,  and  other  wire  walkers. 


Delaware 
Get  -T  oge  ther 


Arbitration  Clause  Up 

A  notice  from  George  P.  Aarons, 
MPTO,  says: 

Each  exhibitor  should  give  notice  in 
writing  to  each  distributor  with  whom 
he  has  an  optional  standard  license 
agreement  that  such  exhibitor  agrees  to 
arbitrate  all  claims  and  controversies 
arising  under  such  existing  agreement. 


Heard  In 


ILKES-BARRE 

Vaude  Dropped 
at  Penn 


By  Mac 


VAUDE  dropped  at  the  Penn.  .  .  .  Season 
was  the  best  in  years.  .  .  .  Penn,  incidentally, 
will  continue  open  for  the  Summer,  under  pres¬ 
ent  arrangements.  .  .  .  Some  of  the  better  pic¬ 
tures  have  been  lined  up.  .  .  .  Bill  Roberts, 
Shawnee,  Plymouth,  made  the  most  of  his 
Ninth  Anniversary  Week.  .  .  .  Week  previ¬ 
ously,  vaude  was  offered  for  two  days  with  a 
special  kiddie  matinee.  .  .  .A1  Cox  grabbed 

himself  some  publicity  for  "Spitfire,”  when  he 
tied  up  with  The  Evening  N czvs  in  a  contest. 
.  .  .  Drawing  of  Miss  Hepburn  was  published 
fur  two  days  and  readers  were  asked  to  color 
it.  .  .  .  Fred  Hermann,  Capitol,  had  reason 
to  believe  that  he  will  have  a  good  week  with 
“Men  in  White.”  .  .  .  Luzerne  County  W.  C. 
T.  U.,  at  its  convention  here,  adopted  a  reso¬ 
lution,  calling  for  federal  censorship. 


FRED  HERMANN  took  advantage  of  the 
hot  spell  to  remind  the  public  that  the  Capi¬ 
tol  Theatre  is  “carefully  cooled.”  . 
Dupont  schools  have  arranged  to  hold  gradu¬ 
ation  exercises  at  the  Lincoln,  June  15.  .  .  . 
Comerford  workers  are  taking  no  small 
amount  of  pride  in  their  prowess  as  baseball 
players.  .  .  .  Forty  Fort  Progressive  Club 

has  decided  to  drop  the  move  to  show  pic¬ 
tures  at  the  Wilkes-Barre  Institute. 

Capitol  had  a  lucky  break  when  there  were 
shots  of  the  late  President  Theodore  Roose¬ 
velt  on  his  visit  to  Wilkes-Barre  in  1905  when 
he  was  a  guest  of  Monsignor  J.  J.  Curran.  .  .  . 
There  was  a  special  matinee  at  the  Kingston 
for  the  benefit  of  the  needy,  proceeds  being 
turned  over  to  the  Dorranceton  M.  E. 
Church.  .  .  .  Kingston  is  showing  the  pic¬ 

tures,  requested  by  its  patrons  in  a  special 
appeal  to  the  public  to  select  its  own  pro¬ 
grams.  .  .  .  Newport  is  making  a  specialty 

of  gifts  on  Wednesday  nights. 


THERE  WAS  PLENTY  of  joy  in  the 
Warner  camp  when  the  announcement  of 
increase  in  pay  for  all  employes,  except 
managers,  was  made  by  district  manager 
Lyle  Trenchard.  All  employes  who 

work  under  the  code  rate  are  given  an  in¬ 
crease  of  five  cents  an  hour  or  $2  a  week, 
while  assistant  managers,  those  exclusive  of 
managers,  were  given  a  straight  increase  of 
$1  a  week.  .  .  .  Warner  employes  of  Wil¬ 

mington  have  decided  not  to  link  up  with  the 
Philadelphia  men  for  baseball  due  to  the  ex¬ 
pense  involved,  but  are  expecting  to  put  out 
a  good  team  of  their  own. 


Jun  1  ’  34  pg.  9 


“STINGAREE” 

History’s  most  fascinating 
scoundrel  is  loose  and  out  to 
steal  box-office  records! 

He  has  taken  the  public  of  three  cities 
by  storm  with  his  charm  and  daring 
and  packed  houses  are  rewarding  New 
York,  San  Francisco  and  Washington. 


WARNING! 

TO  THEATRE  MANAGERS 

Buckle  on  your  advertising  hardware 
and  go  after  him  — the  big  money  is 
waiting ! 

IRENE  DUNNE  and  RICHARD  DIX 

co-starred  for  the  first  time  since  “Cimarron”  have  brought 
real  romance  and  adventure  back  to  the  screen  in  another 
great  big  RKO- Radio  Money  Show. 


“STINGAREE” 


10 


Jun  1 T  34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


The  Darrow  Report 


MONOPOLISTIC  PRACTICES  in  this  industry  are  bold 
and  aggressive  and  its  small  enterprise  is  cruelly 
oppressed.  The  industry  includes  the  making,  the  dis¬ 
tributing  and  the  exhibiting  in  theatres  of  film  pictures. 
The  producing  and  distributing  is  chiefly  in  the  hands 
of  eight  powerful  companies,  commonly  known  in  the 
business  as  the  “Big  Eight.” 


THERE  ARE  in  the  country  18,321  theatres,  of 
which  4  800  are  designated  as  circuit  or  chain  theatres. 
Of  these  circuit  theatres  195  4  are  affiliated  with  the 
Bi°'  Eight  companies  and  2846  are  net  so  affiliated. 
There  are  left  13,571  theatres  that  as  classified  as 
independent. 

It  appears  that  the  code  for  this  industry  was  made 
by  representatives  of  the  large  producing  companies. 
It  contained,  with  other  unusual  and  unjust  features, 
provisions  that  named  the  members  of  the  code  author¬ 
ity  to  administer  the  code  and  other  previsions  to  make 
the  authority  so  constituted  self-perpetuating. 


IN  CASE  of  the  retirement  of  any  member  he  is  to 
designate  his  successor,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the 
rest  of  the  authority,  or  failing  to  do  so,  the  authority 
is  to  name  the  successor.  The  authority  consists  of  10 
members,  of  whom  eight  are  shown  to  be  directly  or 
indirectly  with  the  eight  large  companies.  These  com¬ 
panies  are  distributors  of  pictures  as  well  as  producers. 
They  are  also  interested  in  certain  theatres  that  are  in 
competition  with  independent  theatres.  At  the  hearing 
before  this  board  March  26,  29,  April  3  and  4.  repre¬ 
sentatives  of  the  independent  theatres  presented  definite 
complaints  of  the  operation  of  the  code  under  the 
authority  thus  constituted.  The  deputy  administrator 
of  the  code  was  present  at  the  first  hearing  and  was 
invited  to  testify,  but  refused  to  do  so  Subsequently, 
seven  of  the  eight  companies  implicated  by  the  testi¬ 
mony  of  independent  theatre  owners  filed  a  brief  at¬ 
tempting  to  discredit  the  testimony  given  against  them. 
This  brief,  because  of  its  unsubstantiated  nature  and  the 
preponderance  of  testimony  against  it,  the  board  deems 
to  be  of  small  moment  in  this  issue. 


THE  CHIEF  COMPLAINTS  of  maladministiation 
under  the  code  for  the  benefit  of  the  large  producers 
and  distributors  and  against  the  smaller  enterprises  are 
as  follows: 


1.  That  they,  although  constituting  numerically 
much  the  greater  part  of  the  industry,  were  not 
allowed  to  share  in  the  making  of  the  code. 


2.  Unfair  practices,  in  that  the  large  producers  and 
distributors  insist  independent  exhibitors  shaU  buy 
also  a  certain  number  of  what  are  called  “short 
subjects”  (meaning  short  reels)  and  of  news  reels 
in  order  to  obtain  the  great  and  vital  feature  pictuies 
from  which  profits  are  mostly  derived 

It  was  averred  that  some  of  these  independent 
theatres  have  in  this  way  been  forced  to  buy  and 
store  away  more  “short  subjects”  and  news  reels 
than  they  could  show  in  a  year.  They  must  pay  for 
them,  nevertheless,  whether  they  exhibit  them  or 
not.  By  this  practice  also  small  producers  that 
produce  only  “short  subjects’  and  news  reels  are  put 
at  a  disadvantage. 

3.  The  large  producers  require  a  large  percentage  of 
the  gross  receipts,  sometimes  35  per  cent.,  or  more, 
for  the  use  of  popular  pictures  and  then  dictate  the 
days  upon  which  they  are  to  be  shown. 

In  the  business  generally,  Saturday,  Sunday  and 
holidays  are  the  best  days,  but  it  was  pointed  out 
that  this  arrangement  deprives  the  independent  the¬ 
atre  of  any  control  over  its  pictures,  as  the  large 
producer  dictates  the  day  the  picture  is  to  be  shown, 
whereas  it  may  not  be  suitable  for  certain  localities 
upon  such  days. 

4.  The  theatre  owner  is  deprived  of  any  choice  in  the 
presentation  of  pictures,  since  he  must  show  what 
is  allotted  to  him.  This  works  in  practice  to  shut 
from  the  theatre  the  pictures  of  other  than  the  large 
producers,  since  they  can  choose  all  the  best  days 
for  themselves. 

5.  The  code  gives  to  the  distributors  (generally  the 
Big  Eight)  the  right  to  fix  admission  prices  through 
the  provision  that  allows  them  to  insist  upon  a 
minimum  admission  price  for  their  own  pictures. 

It  was  brought  out  that  such  a  control  might 
cause  to  a  theatre  the  less  of  a  large  part  of  its 
clientele  through  resentment  against  what  would  be 
deemed  an  unjustifiable  advance  in  prices,  while  the 
theatre  owner  would  be  powerless  to  meet  such  an 
attack. 

6.  That  the  large  distributors  are  allowed  to  insert 
into  their  contracts  with  the  theatres,  provisions 
that  are  not  authorized  by  the  code,  and  are 
detrimental  to  the  independent  theatres.  These 
extra-legal  provisions,  it  was  set  forth,  were  often 
in  the  shape  of  an  agreement  against  the  showing 
of  two  feature  pictures  on  the  same  program. 

The  courts  have  held  this  stipulation  to  be  unfair. 
In  practice  it  deprives  the  independent  theatre  of 
one  means  to  meet  the  competition  of  the  affiliated 


theatre,  which  are  the  theatres  affiliated  with  or  con¬ 
trolled  by  the  big  Eight. 

7.  The  code  set  up  boards  to  classify  theatres  in  the 
order  in  which  they  can  have  the  use  of  popular  and 
desirable  pictures,  and  these  boards,  it  is  averred,  are 
controlled  by  or  in  the  interest  of  the  large  pro¬ 
ducers  and  distributors.  The  result  is  that  in  many 
instances  independent  theatres  cannot  get  the  popu¬ 
lar  pictures  until  their  competitors  have  largely 
exhausted  the  drawing  power  therein. 

FINDINGS. — It  is  the  opinion  of  this  board  that  the 
code  adopted  for  this  industry  should  be  amended  in 
accordance  with  an  attached  brief. 

IN  THE  OPINION  of  the  board,  if  this  code  is  not 
changed  in  many  parts  the  small  independent  theatre 
owner  and  operator  “will  be  either  forced  out  of  busi¬ 
ness  entirely  or  his  business  will  be  so  dominated  and 
controlled  by  the  large  producers,  distributors  and  affili¬ 
ated  theatre  owners  that  he  will  only  be  able  to  con¬ 
duct  his  business  in  the  way  and  manner  prescribed  and 
desired  by  these  large  interests.” 

THE  BOARD  based  its  recommendation  that  Deputy 
Administrator  Rosenblatt  be  removed  on  the  ground 
that  he  had  defied  the  board  by  refusing  to  testify  and 
because  of  testimony  “to  the  effect  that  he  is  prejudiced 
against  independent  producers,  distributors  and  exhibi¬ 
tors.”  Rosenblatt  is  described  as  a  lawyer,  formerly  in 
practice  in  New  York  City,  where  he  was  associated 
with  an  attorney  many  of  whose  clients  were  and  are 
now  engaged  in  the  theatrical  and  motion  picture 
industry. 

THE  BOARD  suggested  to  the  President  the  formation 
of  a  committee  to  work  cut  the  problems  of  block 
booking  and  of  the  buying  of  films  in  free  and  open 
competition,  two  highly  controversial  problems  of  the 
motion  picture  industry. 


Rosenblatt’s  Answer 


SOL  A.  ROSENBLATT,  commenting  on  the  Darrow 
board’s  report  on  the  motion  picture  industry,  asserted 
that  the  conclusions  were  “wholly  unwarranted,  unjust, 
prejudiced  and  ignorantly  contrived.”  The  recommenda¬ 
tions,  he  said,  were  “unscientific,  inaccurate,  unfair 
and  inequitable,”  frequently  based  on  “flagrant  mis¬ 
conception  of  the  provisions  of  the  code.” 


HE  ALSO'  ASSERTED  that  there  was  no  justification 
for  the  recommendation  that  he  be  removed  as  deputy 
administrator,  which  recommendation  was  “totally  un¬ 
supported  by  even  the  slightest  proof  of  any  kind  and 
is  based  solely  upon  the  vicious  mouthings,  innuendoes 
and  conjectures  of  a  few  disgruntled  and  disappointed 
enemies  of  the  NRA  and  particularly  of  the  Motion 
Picture  Code.  After  contrasting  the  seventy-nine  days 
and  nights  of  labor  preceding  the  submission  of  the 
Motion  Picture  Code  with  the  Darrow  board’s  hearings 
of  less  than  fifteen  hours,  Rosenblatt  pointed  out  that 
206  witnesses  had  offered  testimony  at  the  NRA  hearings 
while  only  twenty-one  had  made  statements  before  the 
Review  Board. 


“THE  HEARING  before  the  National  Recovery  Review 
Board  was  not  even  a  ‘star  chamber’  proceeding,”  he 
maintained.  “It  was  no  proceeding  at  all.  The  state¬ 
ments  of  a  few  discredited  and  disgruntled  witnesses, 
some  of  whom  have  been  found  guilty  by  the  Supreme 
Court  of  New  York  of  being  violators  of  the  code  pro¬ 
visions  with  respect  to  labor,  and  who,  it  will  be  demon¬ 
strated  later,  brazenly  misstated  facts,  constitute  the 
basis  of  the  report.  None  but  complaining  witnesses 
were  heard,  and  of  7,500  theatre  operators  in  this  coun¬ 
try  only  fifteen  appeared  before  the  board  to  give  un¬ 
sworn  statements. 

“THROUGHOUT  THE  HEARINGS  before  the  National 
Recovery  Review  Board,  counsel  for  an  exhibitor  asso¬ 
ciation  which  had  from  the  first  instant  insisted  that  the 
NIRA  did  not  apply  to  its  members  and  which  has 
attacked  the  NRA  in  the  courts,  and  which  has  used 
every  despicable  means  to  obstruct  and  sabotage  the 
President’s  program,  sat  beside  counsel  for  the  National 
Recovery  Review  Board  and  virtually  engineered  the 
entire  proceedings.  It  was  he  who  urged  and  probably 
wrote  the  recommendations  for  changes  in  the  code — 
recommendations,  many  of  which  after  careful  considera¬ 
tion  had  been  rejected  by  independent  exhibitors  them¬ 
selves. 

“FLAGRANT  misstatements  of  fact  were  anxiously 
devoured  by  the  review  board,  ex  parte  accusations  were 
accepted  as  the  solemn  truth  despite  volumes  of  testi¬ 
mony  at  hand  to  disprove  them.  Prejud’ce  and  faction¬ 
alism  were  poured  into  the  ears  of  the  board  and  were 
accepted  in  lieu  of  the  impartial  findings  of  months  of 
investigation  made  by  the  National  Recovery  Administra¬ 
tion  on  the  same  subjects.” 


THE  NRA  Deputy  Administrator  charged  the  Darrow 
oard  with  deliberately  ignoring  an  important  brief  pre- 
ared  by  the  major  producers-distributors  and  alleged 
hat  the  board  had  also  avoided  comment  on  the  state- 
nents  of  the  complaining  witnesses  “because  such  state- 
sents  were  proven  to  be  fabricated  and  untruthful.”  It: 
upport  of  this  assertion  Rosenblatt,  adduced  detailed 
estimony  of  witnesses,  affidavits  made  by  them  in 
ourt.  comments  of  the  court  and  excerpts  from  trade 
ublications. 

ON  THE  CONTENTIOUS  QUESTION  of  block  broking 
tosenblatt  said  that  there  has  been  only  one  decision  in 


the  United  States  on  that  subject  and  that  decision  had 
declared  block  booking  to  be  legal.  False  testimony 
by  a  witness  before  the  Darrow  board,  he  said,  had 
alleged  block  booking  to  be  illegal.  Although  the 
opinion  of  the  United  States  Circuit  Court  of  Appeals 
which  held  that  block  booking  was  legal  had  been  sent 
to  the  Darrow  board  and  its  counsel,  “neither  made 
the  correction  on  the  record,”  and  “silence  was  resorted 
to  to  cover  up  the  falsity  of  the  testimony,”  said  Rosen¬ 
blatt. 

“AS  IF  THIS  LACK  of  mental  integrity  were  not 
sufficient,  the  report  of  the  NRRB  affirmatively  recom¬ 
mends  a  clause  abolishing  block  booking  unless  a  com¬ 
mittee  to  be  especially  appointed  submits  a  report  prior 
to  a  certain  day,”  he  continued.  “In  other  words,  the 
NRRB  overrules  the  Circuit  Court  of  Appeals  and  holds 
that  to  be  illegal  which  the  court  found  after  careful 
judicial  proceedings  to  be  legal.  All  this,  without  re¬ 
vealing  the  incorrect  statement  of  its  chief  witness  that 
block  bookings  had  been  held  to  be  illegal  by  the 
courts.” 

DEFENDING  himself  against  the  charge  that  he  had 
been  derelict  in  his  duties  and  should  therefore  be  dis¬ 
missed,  Rosenblatt  referred  to  the  general  acclaim  by 
the  motion  picture  industry  that  had  greeted  the  com¬ 
pletion  of  the  code.  Despite  slanders  which  he  alleged 
had  been  circulated  by  a  “defiant  small  group”  the 
deputy  administrator  said  that  he  worked  twenty  hours 
a  day  to  bring  all  contending  factions  together.  When 
the  code  was  finally  completed  he  said  that  this  small 
group  had  charged  him  with  bias  and  prejudice.  These 
charges  had  been  fully  investigated  by  Colonel  Robert 
F.  Lea,  Assistant  NRA  Administrator,  who  reported  that 
they  were  unfounded  and  unwarranted,  said  Rosenblatt. 

ROSENBLATT  maintained  that  instead  of  ignoring 
suggestions  by  the  independent  exhibitors,  as  alleged 
in  the  Darrow  report,  he  had  accepted  more  than  76 
per  cent  of  the  proposals  submitted  by  this  group.  As 
to  the  fact  that  he  had  been  associated  with  an  attorney 
handling  theatrical  cases,  the  deputy  administrator  said 
that  he  had  completely  severed  all  connection  with  his 
law  firm  on  July  14,  1933,  upon  taking  a  post  with 
the  NRA.  In  conclusion,  Rosenblatt  maintained  that  the 
Motion  Picture  Code  was  not  designed  to  promote  mon¬ 
opolies  or  to  oppress  small  enterprises. 


Richberg's  Answer 


THE  RECORD  of  this  hearing  by  the  Review  Board 
is  a  revelation  of  its  methods.  The  board  reports  that 
the  deputy  administrator  “was  invited  to  testify,  but 
refused  to  do  so.”  The  record,  including  a  letter  from 
the  deputy  administrator,  shows  that  he  not  only  offered 
to  testify,  but  to  make  all  his  records  available  to  the 
Board. 

THE  CODE  was  assented  to  in  writing  by  9039  mem¬ 
bers  of  the  industry;  21  complaining  witnesses  were 
heard  by  the  Board,  including  15  out  of  7500  theatre 
operators.  In  contrast  to  14  hours  and  20  minutes  of 
"hearings”  by  the  board,  NRA  spent  over  1200  hours 
on  the  drafting  of  the  code,  heard  206  witnesses  and 
obtained  a  code  acceptable  not  only  to  the  industry,  but 
approved  by  all  the  advisory  boards  of  NRA  represent¬ 
ing  industry,  labor,  consumers,  economic  research  and 
law. 

THE  BOARD  acted  solely  on  the  basis  of  a  disorderly 
mess  of  unsworn  and  largely  false  testimony  of  a  few 
malcontents  (many  of  them  discredited  by  previously 
illegal  practices),  covering  only  eight,  out  of  288  sub¬ 
divisions  of  the  code,  and  arrived  at  sweeping  conclusions 
upon  the  entire  code  founded  on  obvious  ignorance  of 
the  cede,  of  the  industry  and  the  law. 

THE  DETAILED  ANALYSIS  of  the  board’s  action 
shows  conclusively  that  the  investigation  was  carried  on 
with  utter  disregard  for  fair  play  and  that  the  con¬ 
clusions  of  the  board  are  unworthy  of  the  slightest 
consideration. 

ANYONE  ADEQUATELY  INFORMED  concerning  the 
industry  could  learn  without  difficulty,  as  is  evident 
from  the  volume  of  support  given  the  code  and  the  small 
volume  of  complaint,  that  the  code  is  of  incalculable 
benefit  to  the  small  enterprises  of  the  inquiry  and  affords 
great  relief  from  the  monopolistic  effects  of  the  copy¬ 
right  laws  and  other  property  rights  which  give  legal 
advantages  of  an  oppressive  character  to  large  enter¬ 
prises,  which  they  are  required  under  the  code  to 
forego  to  a  considerable  extent. 

A  RETURN  to  the  “savage,  wolfish”  competition 
advocated  by  the  board  would  mean  simply  an  enlarge¬ 
ment  of  monopolistic  power  sanctioned  by  law. 

THE  REFUSAL  of  the  board  even  to  receive  correct 
information  is  shewn  in  its  rejection  of  the  brief  filed 
by  seven  producing-distributing  companies.  The  board 
specifically  agreed  to  the  presentation  of  testimony 
through  this  brief — since  all  other  testimony  was  un¬ 
sworn — and  then  disregarded  it  on  the  announced  basis 
that  since  these  major  producers-distributors  “could  have 
appeared  and  testified,”  their  brief  should  not  be  given 
serious  consideration. 

THUS  BY  GIVING  no  attention  to  the  vast  files  of 
information  of  the  NRA  or  the  principal  testimony 
offered  in  support  of  the  code,  and  by  refusing  to  listen 
to  the  exceptionally  well-informed  deputy  administra¬ 
tor.  the  board  was  able  to  arrive  at  findings  contrary  to 
fact  and  conclusions  contrary  to  any  intelligent  opinion. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Jun  1 ' 34 


11 


Industry  Speculates  on  Manner  in 
Which  Darrow  Report  Affects 


Code 

Rosenblatt  Won’t  Leave  Post,  Belief — Johnson,  Richberg 
Answer  Advisory  Group’s  Analysis — Divisional  Admin¬ 
istrator  Also  Replies 

Not  entirely  surprised  by  the  contents  of  the  Darrow  report  on  industry  codes, 
the  motion  picture  world  is  now  speculating  on  how,  if  at  all,  the  report  will  affect 
the  business’s  new  form  of  regulation. 


WHEN  MIKE  LANDOW  steps  out  of 
Universal,  every  exhibitor  in  this  terri¬ 
tory  is  taking  a  personal  loss.  The  in¬ 
dustry  is  losing  a  valued  member,  a 
veteran  who  knew  all  the  angles, 


That  Sol  A.  Rosenblatt,  divisional  adminis¬ 
trator,  will  not  be  removed  from  his  post  is 
evident. 

Meanwhile,  Administrator  Hugh  S.  Johnson 
and  Donald  Richberg,  legal  department  NRA, 
answered  the  Darrow  report. 


Sunday  Poll  Light 

Exhibitor  apathy  or  laxity - one  or 

both - is  responsible  for  amazingly  poor 

returns  in  a  recent  poll  of  theatres  of 
the  territory  on  the  Sunday  opening 
question. 

Poll  was  taken  at  request  of  a  few 
exhibitors  who  wanted  to  sound  out 
opinion  on  the  matter. 

A  postcard,  to  be  checked  three  times, 
was  to  be  filled  out.  A  20%  return  indi¬ 
cates  that  exhibitors  do  not  care  or  were 
too  lazy  to  answer  the  questions.  Vote 
was  50  for;  30  against;  but  in  view  of 
the  light  returns  actual  sentiment  could 
not  be  gauged. 

Mike  Landow  Leaves 
Industry  for  Pottery 

Universal  Branch  Manager  Had 
Enviable  Record 

Michael  Landow,  one  of  the  real  vet¬ 
erans  in  the  local  industry,  is  resigning 
from  Universal’s  branch  managership 
here. 

He  will  be  associated  with  a  pottery  manu¬ 
facturing  organization  which  does  a  national 
business  with  various  retail  outlets,  including 
department  stores,  etc. 

After  a  short  training  in  the  business,  he  is 
expected  to  become  sales  manager.  In  his  new 
work  he  will  be  allied  with  Louis  Appell,  with 
whom  he  was  in  the  York  exhibition  field  re¬ 
cently. 

Landow’s  experience  in  the  business  includes 
a  varied  range  of  posts,  but  his  most  prominent 
connections  were  with  Paramount  and  Uni¬ 
versal. 

His  resignation  takes  effect  July  1.  His 
friends  in  the  industry  wish  him  well  in  his 
new  endeavor. 


Monogram  Meets 

W.  Ray  Johnston  announces  that  over  175 
men  will  be  in  attendance  at  the  three  regional 
meetings  to  be  conducted  by  Monogram  Pic¬ 
tures  over  the  next  three  weeks  starting  May 
26.  First  meeting  was  in  Salt  Lake  City,  sec¬ 
ond  in  Cincinnati  and  the  third,  June  9,  in  New 
York  City. 

Three  meetings  will  be  conducted  by  Edward 
Golden,  general  sales  manager. 

In  New  York  there  will  be  New  York,  Bos¬ 
ton,  Albany,  Philadelphia,  New  Haven,  Wash¬ 
ington  and  Pittsburgh  offices  in  attendance.  In 
addition  to  Messrs.  Golden  and  Johnston,  the 
meeting  will  be  presided  over  by  Harry  Thomas, 
Herman  Rifkin,  B.  H.  Mills,  Sam  Flax  and 
Jim  Alexander.  Members  of  the  sales  force 
who  will  be  present  are:  Sam  Flax,  M.  Edward 
Morey,  Steve  Broidy,  Robert  Cobe,  A1  Fecke, 
Charles  Wilson,  George  Collins,  Sam  Fineberg, 


WHEN  MIKE  LANDOW  steps  out  of 
Universal,  every  exhibitor  in  this  terri¬ 
tory  is  taking  a  personal  loss.  The  in¬ 
dustry  is  losing  a  valued  member,  a 
veteran  who  knew  all  the  angles, 
played  fair,  handled  every  job  he  has 
had  in  the  business  on  the  same  prin¬ 
ciples - sincerity,  honesty,  fair  play. 

1  CAN  REMEMBER  Mike’s  first  job 
in  the  business,  when  he  played  the 
violin  in  a  Phoenixville  house.  Then 
he  operated  the  Forrest,  Bristol,  and 
later  became  associated  with  Para¬ 
mount  and  Universal  in  various  posts. 
Mike  is  the  sort  of  person  the  indus¬ 
try  can  ill  afford  to  lose.  He  had  a 
faculty  of  looking  ahead.  He  knows 
how  to  hand  it  out  and  how  to  take  it. 
There  are  too  few  people  in  this  field 
who  can  do  that. 

IT  ISN’T  RIGHT  that  a  person  has 
to  pass  out  before  he  can  be  appreci¬ 
ated.  That’s  the  reason  for  this  send- 
off  for  Mike.  Whatever  is  being  writ¬ 
ten  here  will  be  re-echoed  by  all  his 
friends  and  film  people  everywhere. 
Here’s  hoping  he  has  plenty  of  time 
to  play  golf,  tune  up  his  flute  and  get 
in  condition  to  stand  up  under  any¬ 
thing.  I  know  everybody  wishes 
“Mike”  well. 

IT  WOULD  BE  a  good  idea  if  Mike’s 
departure  from  the  industry  took  the 
form  of  a  dinner  to  him.  At  such  a 
time,  all  his  friends  and  former  custom¬ 
ers  could  show  him  what  they  really 
think  of  him.  In  addition,  if  members 
of  the  pottery  industry  were  invited,  it 
could  well  convey  to  them  what  sort  of 
a  man  they  are  getting  into  their  field. 

JAY  EMANUEL. 


New  Harrisburg  Policy 

New  policy,  including  a  change  in  prices  and 
programs,  effective  June  1,  has  been  announced 
by  Girard  Wollaston,  manager,  Victoria  The¬ 
atre,  Harrisburg.  New  prices  will  be  15  cents 
all  over  the  theatre  from  11  A.  M.  opening 
until  1.30  P.  M. ;  20  cents  all  seats  from  1.30 
until  5.30  P.  M.,  and  25  cents  all  seats  after 
5.30  P.  M.  Old  prices  were  25  cents  all  seats 
before  5.30  P.  M.  and  25  and  40  cents  after  5.30 
P.  M. 


Morris  Epstein,  William  Benson,  Dick  Perry, 
Harry  Carlock,  Myron  Starr,  Albert  Glau- 
binger,  Otto  Lederer,  Jules  Chatman,  Charles 
Rosenzweig,  Claire  Simon,  Joe  Joel,  A1  Fried- 
lander,  Al  Blofson,  Maurice  Sherman,  M.  J. 
Levenson  and  the  Misses  Etta  Segall,  Molly 
Shear  and  Pearl  Goldstein. 


Review  Group  Dies 

It  was  believed  likely  that  the  National  Re¬ 
covery  Review  Board  would  depart  after  its 
legal  term  expires. 

Ed  Kuykendall,  president,  MPTOA,  came 
out  with  a  sweeping  denunciation  of  the  Dar¬ 
row  report.  He  backed  the  NRA  and  Divi¬ 
sional  Administrator  Sol  A.  Rosenblatt  to  the 
hilt. 

Advisory  Board 

Formation  of  an  advisory  council  of  the 
NRA  to  pass  on  all  codes  was  announced  by 
General  Hugh  S.  Johnson.  Labor,  consumer 
and  industry  advisory  boards  will  be  repre¬ 
sented. 

General  review  of  the  report,  the  answers, 
will  be  found  on  page  10. 

Engel  Moves  Up  to 
Universal  Managership 

Salesman  Takes  Landow* s  Place 
as  Chief 

Joe  Engel,  with  Universal  eight  years, 
is  the  new  Universal  branch  manager, 
succeeding  Mike  Landow,  who  resigns,  as 
of  July  1. 

Engel  is  popular  with  the  film  folk,  having 
a  varied  experience. 

He  started  in  the  business  with  Fox  in  1921, 
and  later  became  associated  with  Goldwyn,  PDC 
and  later  with  Universal,  where  he  began  as 
a  salesman. 

Fie  is  popular  with  all  exhibitors  and  steps 
into  the  new  post  with  the  good  wishes  of  the 
trade. 

A  shift  in  the  Universal  sales  ranks  brings 
Jack  Engel  in  from  the  Harrisburg  sector  and 
moves  him  to  Jersey  as  salesman  for  that  terri¬ 
tory. 


Comerford  on  Board 

M.  E.  Comerford  has  been  appointed 
a  member  of  Paramount’s  national  ad¬ 
visory  committee  by  Sam  Dembow,  Jr. 

M.  B.  Comerford  was  named  alter¬ 
nate. 


12 


Jun  1 1 34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


THE  CODE  •  CASES  •  HEARINGS  •  BOARD  RULINGS  *  DEVELOPMENTS 


SCHEDULE: 

GRIEVANCE— May  31 

Great  Northern  vs.  Strand,  Philadelphia 
(overbuying). 

Camden  Drive-In  Theatre  vs.  RKO  (spe¬ 
cific  performance  of  contract). 

ZONING  AND  CLEARANCE — June  1 

Narberth  vs.  Ardmore  and  Bala. 

Benson  vs.  Orient  and  Lindy,  Philadel¬ 
phia. 

GRIEVANCE - June  7 

Riant,  Conshohocken  vs.  Norris  Amuse¬ 
ment  Company,  Norristown  (reduced 
admission) . 

Double  Case  Dismissed 
by  Local  Grievance  Board 

Local  exhibitors  were  compelled  to 
await  the  long  advertised  doubles  court 
test  to  find  out  what  their  rights  are  in 
the  matter  of  the  clause  in  many  con¬ 
tracts  restricting  double  features. 

The  local  grievance  board  dismissed  the  case 
of  the  Grand  Jackson  Theatre  Company  vs.  the 
Venice  Theatre  after  two  days  of  hearings. 
Here  is  the  board’s  decision : 

In  the  case  of  the  Grand-Jackson  vs. 
Venice  Theatre: 

“The  testimony  of  the  complainant  in 
effect  amended  his  complaint  and  in  the 
judgment  of  the  board  placed  the  com¬ 
plaint  outside  the  jurisdiction  of  the  board.” 
Complaint  dismissed.  Assent:  Unanimous. 

Testimony  in  the  case  the  second  day,  May 
17,  was  merely  a  review  of  the  first  day’s  hear¬ 
ings  except  for  the  fact  that  100  exhibitors 
were  in  evidence  and  ex-Congressman  Ben 
Golder  acted  as  attorney  for  the  Venice 
Theatre. 

IN  THE  CASE  of  the  Broadway  Theatre, 
Bridgeport,  against  the  Norris  Amusement 
Company,  Norristown,  on  an  unfair  clearance 
charge,  the  decision  of  the  board  reads  as  fol¬ 
lows  : 

“Second  run  to  play  28  days  after  the 
first  run.  Each  succeeding  run  to  have  7 
days’  clearance.  Under  no  circumstances 
shall  a  subsequent  run  play  before  28  days 
after  the  first  run  unless  the  prior  runs  and 
distributors  consent.  Bridgeport  is  to  be 
considered  in  the  Norristown  run.  First 
run  in  Norristown  to  have  14  days’  clear¬ 
ance  over  Conshohocken.” 

TESTIMONY  in  the  Broadway  Theatre, 
Bridgeport,  unfair  clearance  case,  against  the 
Norris  Amusement  Company,  Norristown,  was 
presented  by  Michael  Egnol,  attorney  for  James 
Egnol,  his  father,  and  Dave  Sablosky,  for  the 
Sablosky  brothers,  Abe,  Nate  and  Lou. 

Subsequent  run  Norristown  theatres  were 
also  present.  Testimony  was  heard  from  James 
Egnol,  the  Sabloskvs,  Lou  Felt,  exchange  man¬ 
agers.  Follow-'ng  a  lengthy  session  at  which 
nothing  was  being  accomplished,  a  recess  was 
declared.  Following  the  recess,  the  case  was 
heard  within  ten  minutes. 


IN  THE  CASE  of  Criterion  Theatre, 
Bridgeton,  N.  J.,  vs.  Stanley  Theatre,  Bridge- 
ton,  N.  J.,  on  charge  of  overbuying,  Albert 
Cohen  appeared  as  attorney  for  Ben  Amster¬ 
dam,  Atlantic  Theatres,  Inc.,  which  operates  the 
Stanley,  while  Michael  Egnol  appeared  for  Lou 
Linker,  operating  Criterion. 

Various  exchange  managers,  Linker,  Am¬ 
sterdam,  Iz  Epstein  and  others  were  heard  dur¬ 
ing  the  testimony. 

Following  the  decision,  it  was  understood 
that  an  appeal  to  the  Code  Authority  was  being 
made. 

IN  THE  CASE  of  Criterion  Theatre, 
Bridgeton,  N.  J.,  vs.  Stanley  Theatre,  Bridge- 
ton,  N.  J.,  decision  was : 

“The  board  finds  that  the  Stanley  The¬ 
atre,  Bridgeton,  has  contracted  for  more 
feature  motion  pictures  than  are  reason¬ 
ably  required,  and  directs  that  the  Atlantic 
Theatres,  Inc.,  operating  the  Stanley  The¬ 
atre,  Bridgeton,  New  Jersey,  release  to  the 
Criterion  Theatre,  Bridgeton,  one  picture 
a  week  of  the  feature  motion  pictures 
under  contract  with  Paramount,  Fox,  Uni¬ 
versal,  Columbia,  Vitagraph  and  Metro- 
Goldwyn-Mayer,  starting  June  4  until  Sep¬ 
tember  29th,  being  a  total  of  seventeen 
pictures. 

“Further,  the  pictures  to  be  released 
shall  be  determined  in  the  following  man¬ 
ner: 

“The  Atlantic  Theatres,  Inc.,  shall  sub¬ 
mit  to  Louis  Linker,  Inc.,  two  groups  of 
seventeen  pictures  each  available  to 
Bridgeton  in  the  period  aforementioned, 
and  each  group  shall  consist  of  four  fea¬ 
ture  motion  pictures  from  Paramount,  four 
from  Fox,  two  from  Universal,  two  from 
Columbia,  four  from  Vitagraph,  and  one 
from  Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. 

“Such  lists  shall  be  submitted  to  Louis 
Linker  within  three  days  from  the  date 
hereof,  and  Louis  Linker  shall  make  his 
election  of  one  group  within  three  days 
after  it  is  submitted.” 

IN  THE  CASE  of  Palm  Theatre,  Palmer- 
ton,  vs.  the  Colonial,  Palmerton,  on  charge  of 
unfair  competition  and  failing  to  maintain 
prices  as  called  for  in  contract,  testimony  was 
heard  from  Joe  Weiner,  who  operates  the 
Colonial,  and  Jack  Ungerfeld,  who  runs  the 
Palm. 

Weiner  admitted  he  ran  5  cent  movies  on  Sat¬ 
urdays  but  announced  that  he  already  had  stop¬ 
ped  the  practice. 

Decision  was : 

“Colonial,  Palmerton,  is  ordered  forth¬ 
with,  to  cease  and  desist  from  maintain¬ 
ing  a  policy  of  5  cent  admissions.” 


RULINGS 


IN  ACCORDANCE  with  a  written  request 
signed  by  Samuel  Somerson  of  the  Palm  The¬ 
atre  and  on  motion  of  Harry  Weiner,  seconded 
by  Milton  Rogasner,  the  following  resolution 
was  adopted: 


"All  that  area  contained  within  the  cor¬ 
porate  limits  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia  is 
thereby  designated  as  the  zone  in  which  ex¬ 
hibitors  shall  vote  upon  the  question  of  the 
use  of  premiums.” 

ON  MOTION  made  by  Percy  Bloch,  sec¬ 
onded  by  Louis  Linker,  it  was  resolved  that 
the  clearance  and  zoning  board  begin  work  on 
a  tentative  clearance  and  zoning  schedule  to 
take  effect  at  such  times  as  the  Code  Authority 
shall  authorize  and  the  board  shall  commence 
such  work  on  June  1,  1934. 

(Ed.  Note — A  telegram  sent  from  the  CA 
to  the  local  board  ordered  it  to  stop  all  work 
on  such  schedule  until  advised  further.) 

ON  MOTION  made  by  Harry  Weiner,  sec¬ 
onded  by  Percy  Bloch,  this  motion  passed : 

"Resolved  that  the  meeting  day  of  the  clear¬ 
ance  and  zoning  board  be  changed  to  Friday 
of  each  week  and  that  the  board  shall  meet 
at  2  P.  M.  for  the  general  transaction  of  busi¬ 
ness  and  that  hearings  on  cases  commence  at 
2.30  P.  M.” 

CASE  involving  local  exchange  managers 
and  which  concerned  protection  of  Easton 
theatres  over  Washington,  N.  J.,  was  dismissed 
by  the  New  York  board. 

Sidelights 

HEARING  on  the  case  of  the  Great  Northern  Theatre 
vs.  t lie  Strand  Theatre  cn  an  overbuying  charge  had  to 
he  postponed — was  held  May  31.  M.  B.  Comer- 
ford,  affiliated  representative  on  the  grievance  board, 
could  not  be  present.  The  board  secretary  learned  this 
too  late  to  get  an  alternate.  It  is  believed  likely  that 
the  board  will  ask  the  Code  Authority  to  okay  a  per¬ 
manent  alternate  who  will  sit  for  M.  B.  Comerford  when 
the  latter  can’t  make  the  trek  from  Scranton,  most 
observers  generally  agreeing  that  such  a  trip  is  really 
too  much  of  a  burden  when  it  has  to  be  made  weekly. 

AFTER  A  COUPLE  of  bad  starts,  both  boards  look 
as  if  they  are  getting  into  the  routine.  The  grievance 
board  started  very  well,  the  zoning  board  waddling 
around  before  it  finally  got  into  the  right  groove.  Ro¬ 
tating  chairmanships  are  used  in  each  board’s  work. 

LEONARD  SCHLESINGER  presided  over  a  business 
meeting  of  the  zoning  board  at  which  some  resolutions 
were  passed. 

IT  IS  GENERALLY  expected  that  the  dockets  will 
clear  soon.  Many  exhibitors  are  still  carrying  cases 
around  in  their  pockets.  This  is  a  positive  method  of 
not  getting  relief. 

WHILE  THE  BOARDS  cannot  act  as  arbitration  bodies, 
settlement  of  cases  where  the  issues  are  clear  are  advo¬ 
cated.  In  one  instance,  this  resulted  when  both  parties 
came  to  an  amicable  understanding. 

ATTENDANCE  at  meetings  has  been  light,  with  the 
exception  of  the  Grand  vs.  Venice  case.  The  hearings 
have  been  averaging  about  four  hours  each. 


Open  for  Assessment 

Theatres  in  this  zone  which  did  not  sign  the 
code  but  which  are  open  for  assessment  be¬ 
cause  they  took  advantage  of  the  cancellation 
clause  are : 

Park,  Allentown;  Roxy,  Ashland;  Park,  Ashley; 
Victoria,  Blossburg;  Wait  Whitman,  Camden;  Strand, 
Doylestown;  Wilbor,  Easton;  Victoria,  Frackville;  New¬ 
port,  Glen  Lyon;  Favini,  Jessup;  Imperial,  Kulpmont; 
Rialto,  Mansfield;  Globe,  Marcus  Hook;  Media,  Media; 
Fox,  Mifflinburg;  Victoria.  Mt.  Carmel;  Carman,  Cayuga, 
Crescent.  Doris,  Ideal,  New  Colonial,  Penn  and  Walton. 
Philadelphia;  Favini,  Peckville;  Grand,  Scranton;  Capi¬ 
tol,  Shenandoah;  Victoria,  Tama  qua ;  Thomas,  Taylor; 
Lyric,  Throop;  Greenwood,  'Princess.  R:altn.  Stacy, 
Trenton;  Community,  Tuckerton;  Embassy,  Westville; 
Auditorium,  Blaker,  Casino,  Nixon,  Regent,  Strand. 
Wildwood. 


Two  Dismissed 

Grievance  Board  heard  two  cases  May  31. 
Hearing  resulted  in  dismissal  of  Great  North¬ 
ern  complaint  against  Strand  and  that  of 
Drive-In  Theatre,  Camden,  against  RKO. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Jun  1’34 


13 


THE  SECRETARY  OF 
THE  LOCAL  BOARDS 
SPEAKS 


(In  order  to  clarify  various  Code  Authority  rulings, 
THE  EXHIISITOR  has’ offered  this  space  to  the  secretary 
of  the  local  board  in  order  that  exhibitors  may  under¬ 
stand  such  rulings.  In  such  manner,  board  work  will 
be  facilitated.) 

WE  HAVE  in  this  exchange  territory  the 
unwieldy  condition  wherein  there  are  five  or 
six  different  zoning  schedules.  This  situa¬ 
tion,  together  with  the  fact  that  almost  every 
zone  overlaps,  makes  it  difficult  to  settle  any 
local  condition  without  affecting  adjoining 
theatres. 

IN  ADDITION  to  hearing  clearance  pro¬ 
tests  in  the  manner  already  used,  it  is  appar¬ 
ently  the  intention  of  the  Code  Authority  to 
reverse  the  original  procedure.  As  first  set 
forth  in  the  code,  the  board  was  to  formu¬ 
late  a  schedule  of  its  own  accord  and  then 
hear  protests  for  the  purpose  of  perfecting 
the  schedule.  It  now  appears  that  the  pro¬ 
cedure  should  be  one  whereby  the  exhibi¬ 
tors  lay  the  basis  for  the  uniform  schedule 
by  mass  protests. 

TO  FACILITATE  THIS,  I  SUGGEST 
THAT  ALL  EXHIBITORS  WHO  WISH  ANY 
RELIEF  WHATEVER  IN  THE  MATTER  OF 
CLEARANCE,  WHETHER  IT  BE  AS  TO 
CLEARANCE  IN  GENERAL  OR  ONLY  AS 
TO  ONE  OR  TWO  CONTRACTS,  IMMEDI¬ 
ATELY  WRITE  ME  A  SHORT  LETTER 
STATING  THEIR  DIFFICULTY,  AND  IF  IT 
APPEARS  THAT  THERE  IS  ANY  GREAT 
nice  atisfattion  IN  ANY  ZONE  OR 
GROUP  OF  ZONES,  I  WILL  IMMEDIATELY 
CALL  A  MASS  MEETING  TO  CLARIFY 
THE  SITUATION. 

FOR  THIS  PURPOSE,  it  is  not  necessary 
to  file  a  formal  protest;  a  short  letter  will  be 
enough  to  If*  me  know  the  advisability  of 
calling  a  meeting.  THESE  LETTERS  MUST, 
HOWEVER,  BE  SENT  TO  ME  IMMEDI¬ 
ATELY. 

THE  RULING  by  the  Code  Authority  defi¬ 
nitely  sets  the  ’34-’35  product  as  the  date  of 
effect  of  the  clearance  and  zoning  board 
rulings. 

THE  PROCEDURE  on  premium  voting,  in 
simplified  form,  is  as  follows: 

1.  Exhibitor  writes  letter  to  clearance  and 
zoning  board  requesting  that  a  vote  be 
taken  in  a  definite  territory. 

a.  This  territory  is  not  limited  to  zones. 
It  can  be  a  zone,  a  city,  a  county, 
or  the  whole  exchange  district,  but 


Code  Authority  Instructs 
on  All  Clearance  Cases 

The  Code  Authority  has  issued  the  fol¬ 
lowing  instructions  to  all  local  clearance 
and  zoning  boards : 

In  order  to  clarify  the  existing  misunder¬ 
standing  with  reference  to  the  jurisdiction  and 
procedure  of  the  clearance  and  zoning  boards, 
you  are  advised  that  you  are  permitted  to  fol¬ 
low  only  the  procedure  outlined  below  disre¬ 
garding  all  previous  instructions  in  this  matter, 
to  wit : 

You  will  continue  to  receive  protests  from  exhibi¬ 
tors  who  have  assented  to  the  code  in  regard  to 
existing  clearance  and  zoning,  and  after  you  receive 
several  protests  you  will  determine  whether  or  not 
the  entire  clearance  and  zoning  of  a  given  territory 
would  be  affected  by  any  decision  rendered  as  a  result 
of  protests  received.  In  the  event  that  you  decide 
that  the  entire  clearance  and  zoning  in  any  territory 
or  definite  part  thereof  is  not  affected  by  the  protests 
received  you  will  notify  only  those  exhibitors  specifi¬ 
cally  affected  to  come  in  and  be  heard  on  the  protests. 
If  you  decide  that  the  entire  clearance  and  zoning  of 
any  territory  or  definite  part  thereof  will  he  affected 
by  your  decision,  you  will  thereupon  notify  every 
exhibitor  (including  those  who  have  not  assented 
to  the  code)  in  the  territory  affected  of  the  date  of  a 
hearing  on  the  clearance  and  zoning  for  the  affected 
territory  so  that  all  exhibitors  will  have  an  oppor¬ 
tunity  to  come  in  and  be  heard. 

Thereafter  the  procedure  will  be,  that  if  any  exhib¬ 
itor  is  dissatisfied  with  the  clearance  and  zoning 
established  by  your  board  he  is  permitted  to  appeal 
direct  to  the  code  authority  under  the  procedure 
outlined  in  the  code  and  within  the  time  therein 
specified. 

You  will  immediately  give  publicity  to  this  wire 
and  will  set  your  meetings  to  hear  the  protests  not 
later  than  .June  10.  You  will  then  proceed  as  rapidly 
as  possible  to  hear  the  protests  and  make  your  deci¬ 
sions  so  that  all  decisions  will  be  made  not  later  than 
July  1. 

All  such  changes  in  existing  clearance  and  zoning 
are  to  be  effective  with  the  first  releases  of  the 
1934-35  season,  and  not  before. 


the  exhibitor  must  definitely  bound 
the  territory  in  which  he  wishes  the 
vote  taken. 

2.  The  clearance  and  zoning  board,  within 
seven  days  of  the  receipt  of  the  letter, 
will  officially  designate  that  territory. 

3.  The  exhibitor  then  circulates  a  petition 
through  the  territory  designated.  It 
must  bear  the  signatures  of  75%  of  the 
affiliated  theatres  in  one  group,  and 
75%  of  the  unaffiliated  theatres  in  the 
Other  group.  THE  VOTE  IS  TAKEN 
AS  TO  THEATRES,  NOT  EXHIBI¬ 
TORS. 

4.  The  required  number  of  names  must  be 
placed  on  the  petition  within  sixty  days 
after  the  first  name  placed  thereon. 


Two  to  Fill 


Resignation  of  Mike  Landow  from 
Universal  leaves  two  positions  to  fill. 

It  is  expected  that  Joe  Engel  will  take 
his  place  on  the  local  grievance  board 
and  that  Bob  Mochrie,  Warners,  now 
vice-president,  will  become  president  of 
the  Film  Board. 

Premium  Vote  Begins 
in  City  of  Philadelphia 

A  vote  on  premiums  has  been  started 
in  the  local  territory.  It  will  include  only 
those  houses  within  the  corporate  limits 
of  the  city  of  Philadelphia. 

Plea  for  a  vote  was  made  by  Sam  Somer- 
son,  Palm  Theatre. 

It  has  been  taken  for  granted  that  the  affili¬ 
ated  vote  against  premiums  in  the  city  will 
easily  reach  the  75%  figure. 


ERPI  Scores 

Fox  Movietonews  and  Heart  Metrotone 
News  have  each  contracted  for  the  new  type 
single  channel  news  reel  recording  apparatus 
introduced  by  Electrical  Research  Products. 
Movietonews  has  ordered  twelve  equipments 
on  which  delivery  has  already  begun.  Delivery 
of  the  eight  equipments  contracted  for  by 
Metrotone  News  will  start  in  the  near  future. 


Suit  End  Seen 

Date  for  settlement  of  the  long  pending  in¬ 
junction  and  royalties  suit,  in  Chancery  Court, 
Wilmington,  involving  about  $40,000,000  and 
brought  by  The  Vitaphone  Corporation,  a 
Warner  subsidiary,  against  ERPI  is  drawing- 
near.  It  is  also  reliably  reported  that  the  suit 
of  the  Stanley  Company  of  America,  another 
Warner  subsidiary,  against  ERPI,  pending  in 
U.  S.  Court  in  Wilmington,  will  be  settled 
simultaneously. 


5.  If  the  required  number  of  theatres  sign 
the  petition,  the  grievance  board  orders 
the  discontinuance  of  the  use  of 
premiums. 

This  is  the  ONLY  OFFICIAL  RULING  con¬ 
cerning  premiums. 


The  FINEST  SERVICE  on  FILM  ROW  l 


SPECIAL  RATES  TO  FILM  PEOPLE: 

Parking  All  Day  ........  25c 

High  Pressure  Washing  (any  type  car)  .  .  .  85c 

TOW-CAR  SERVICE  —  ANY  PLACE  —  ANY  TIME 


APEX  GARAGE 

249-51-53  N.  JUNIPER  STREET  •  250-52-54  N.  CLARION  STREET 

Phone:  LOCUST  8604  -  -  PHILADELPHIA 
Becker  Bros.,  Props. 

Road  Service  to  Patrons  -  Mechanic  Always  on  Duty  -  Never  Closed 


14 


Jun  1  ’  34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


BETTER  TESTED  SUCCESSFUL 

MANAGEMENT  *  ">eas  0  merchandising 


For  “Sadie” 

“Movie  Loewdowns,’’  tabloid  herald,  made 
its  appearance  in  the  streets  of  Harrisburg  prior 
to  the  opening  of  “Sadie  McKee1’  at  Loew  s 
Regent,  Harrisburg.  10,000  of  the  unique 
heralds  were  distributed  throughout  the  city  and 
neighboring  communities. 

In  addition  to  the  heralds,  a  co-operative  tie- 
up  was  arranged  by  Manager  McLeary  with 
the  city's  leading  department  store  for  women. 
Harrisburg  Telegraph  ran  a  story  for  three 
days,  entitled  “Love  Affairs  of  Joan  Crawford.” 

Ten  thousand  special  heralds  were  distributed 
by  Liberty  carriers  to  their  customers,  calling 
attention  of  customers  that  "Sadie  McKee' 
film  play  at  Loew’s  was  same  story  that  ran  in 
serial  form  in  Liberty.  One  of  the  most  attrac¬ 
tive  displays  was  that  in  a  music  store  show 
window  in  which  the  songs  sung  in  the  picture 
were  featured,  particularly  the  number,  “All 
I  Do  Is  Dream  of  You.  ’  Taxicabs  carried 
banners. 


“Forgotten  Men” 

“Morty”  Levine,  manager  of  the  Opera 
House.,  Wilmington,  plugging  for  “Forgotten 
Men,”  had  the  Volunteers  of  Foreign  Wars 
bugle  corps  "drum”  up  a  lot  of  patrons  in  a 
parade  to  the  theatre  opening  night.  Besides 
the  war  veterans,  the  Boy  Scouts  were  given  a 
party  as  well.  Levine  and  his  assistant, 
Merritt  Pragg,  had  a  nice  lobby  layout. 


BACHILOK 


with 

MARIAN  NIXON 
NEIL  HAMILTON 

Aileen  Pringle  William  Austin 

Raymond  Hatton  Bradley  Page 

“Well  spiced  comedy-drama  of  a  madcap 
honeymoon,  with  a  hired  bride  and  a  mil¬ 
lionaire  bridegroom  the  central  figures. 
William  Nigh  directed  this  laugliter-and- 
teavs  story,  suggested  by  Eleanor  Gates’ 
‘Search  for  the  Spring.’  A  tonic  for  any 
box-office.” 


Distributed  by 

Hollywood  Film  Exchange!,  Inc. 

PHILADELPHIA 


Larger  Floors ,  Desks 

If  some  of  the  press  books  come  any 
larger,  exhibitors  will  need  bigger  desks 
or  larger  floors  on  which  to  lay  them. 

It  goes  without  saying  that  bigger 
wastebaskets  were  needed  quite  a  while 
ago. 

Norris  Sells  “Stand 
Up  and  Cheer”  to  City 

Dave  Sablosky,  at  the  Norris,  Norris¬ 
town,  put  on  a  gigantic  campaign  for  the 
opening  of  “Stand  Up  and  Cheer.” 

He  tied  up  with  the  chamber  of  commerce 
and  the  merchants  association,  which  sponsored 
a  mammoth  three-day  "Stand  Up  and  Cheer  ’ 
bargain  carnival,  with  the  merchants  paying 
for  40  canvas  banners,  attached  to  both  sides 
of  the  Schuylkill  Valley  buses,  traversing  a 
radius  of  15  miles.  In  addition,  there  were 
streamers  on  baking  trucks,  79  in  number ;  on 
21  ice  trucks,  10  laundry  trucks,  30  brewing 
trucks,  grocery  trucks  and  other  delivery 
machines.  A  bakery  supplied  a  sound  auto 
with  sale  and  theatre  ads  on  both  sides. 

Four  hundred  window  streamers  were  used 
by  merchants  on  their  windows ;  cards  were 
placed  on  electric  light  poles,  window  cards 
were  used,  20,000  inserts  were  inserted  in  all 
loaves  of  bread,  gummed  stickers  were  placed 
on  packages,  each  window  had  an  8  x  10  photo 
of  a  scene  from  the  picture,  big  newspaper 
space  was  used,  merchants  committee  speakers 
plugged  the  idea  between  shows  at  the  Norris, 
Grand  and  Garrick  theatres. 

A  parade  ushered  in  the  campaign  w:th  mili¬ 
tary  units,  etc.,  all  joining  in.  Sixty-eight  mer¬ 
chants  participated  in  the  sale.  Trailer  on  the 
screen  gave  the  merchants  credit. 

Theatre  used  10-24  sheets,  100  pictorial  3- 
shcets,  60  block  3-sheets,  100  pictorial  1 -sheets, 
100  block  1 -sheets,  300  14x22  pictorial  window 
and  tack  cards,  10  sets  11  x  14  photos  in  neon 
frames,  -0  8  x  10  photos  in  windows,  10,000 
stirring  heralds,  5,000  take  a  peek  novelties, 
5,000  i  reclamations,  3  sheets  on  electrical  rail¬ 
road  station  boards,  and  ads  on  buses. 


George  Jones,  manager,  Loews,  Wilming¬ 
ton,  landed  a  serial  in  three  chapters  in  the 

“Evening  Journal,”  entitled  “Love - and  Joan 

Crawford,”  by  Beatrice  Faber,  during  the 
showing  of  “Sadie  McKee.” 


Lee  Kline  Progress 

Lee  Kline,  Logan  Theatre,  is  pulling  a  lot 
of  stunts.  Fom  “Jimmy  the  Gent,"  he  had  a 
big  fellow  dressed  up  in  a  12-year-old  tuxedo, 
much  too  small.  He  wore  a  black  derby,  too 
large  for  him.  Carried  a  black  bag,  lettered 
in  white,  selling  the  show.  Rode  the  subways, 
caused  no  end  of  comments. 

For  “Modern  Hero,”  had  a  large  compo 
board  book  placed  in  lobby  with  heads  of 
Muir  and  Barthelmess.  Front  carried  line:  “For 
information  just  open  the  cover  of  the  book.” 
Ins’de  had  a  live  blonde  who  gave  folks  play 
date  and  cast  of  “Modern  Hero." 


Marty  Goldenberg  Active 

Marty  Goldenberg  has  been  getting  through 
some  low  cost  campaigns  at  the  Colonial,  Ger¬ 
mantown,  two  of  which  are  reprinted  here 
very  briefly. 

WILD  CARGO — Used  a  mechanical  lion  and 
chimpanzee  with  large  elephant,  backed  up  by 
special  jungle  foh'age  background,  lighted  in 
blue  and  green  in  lobby ;  masked  electric  sign 
with  cutout  24  sheet  display  of  wild  animals  and 
Frank  Buck,  flanked  by  palms  and  jungle 
grass ;  used  mechanical  animals :  displayed  pen 
and  ink  drawings  in  lobby  as  teaser ;  wrote  spe¬ 
cial  letter  to  public  and  Ir'gh  schools,  announc¬ 
ing  wild  animal  drawing  contest  for  passes, 
plugged  matinees;  distributed  illusion  wild  ani¬ 
mal  cards ;  used  circus  type  handbill ;  had  sev¬ 
eral  windows  on  books,  etc.,  also  daily  broad¬ 
cast. 

20  MILLION  SWEETHEARTS  —  Had 
special  cutout  microphone  display  with  stills, 
etc.,  in  lobby:  arranged  special  Hollywood 
opening  with  all  angles ;  used  electrical  tran¬ 
scription  over  station  WTEL;  used  fake  money 
with  suitable  copy ;  made  use  of  Philco  ticup  on 
picture :  arranged  a  movie-star  similarity  con¬ 
test  on  tie-up  with  Chevrolet,  winner  to  he 
selected  by  applause  after  cars  drove  through 
Germantown. 


Capitol,  Lancaster,  put  on  “gedunking 
bibs”  in  local  restaurants  when  “Harold 
Teen”  played  the  house.  Napkins  got  a  good 
circulation  throughout  the  city. 


SEND  US  YOUR  DATES  ! 


HORRIBLE  NAZI  TRUTH 


In  spite  of  extraordinary  caution  to  prevent  these 
terrifying  conditions  to  be  shown  to  the  outside 
world — “at  the  risk  of  his  life" 

CORNELIUS  VANDERBILT,  JR. 

has  succeeded  in  personally  photographing  the 
amazing  scenes  in  Austria  and  Germany — 
Dialogue  and  comments  by  Edwin  C.  Hill,  radio's 
outstanding  personality  and  journalist. 

Jewel  Productions,  Inc. 

723  7th  Ave.,  New  York 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Jun  1  ’  34 


15 


Production  Views  •  Exploitation  •  Personalities 


w/  A  MPA  ^  baby  stars>  beine 

y VAIYirnO  signed  by  Nat 


Levine  (seated  in  center),  who  will 
produce  “Young  and  Beautiful,” 
first  and  only  feature  photoplay, 
based  on  and  presenting  the  famous 
1934  Wampas  Baby  Stars.  Picture 
will  reveal  the  workings  of  the 
Wampas  and  election  of  the  baby 


stars. 


HIGH  UP  K?„/ Vid^r  1 

rects  action  in  “Our  Daily  Bread,” 
with  Karen  Morley  and  Tom  Keene. 
UA  distributes. 


STRIKING 

musical  hit. 


was  this  front  of  the  Astor,  Reading,  on  “20  Million  Sweet¬ 
hearts,”  when  the  Stanley- Warner  house  played  the  Warner 


MERRY  WIVES  OF  RENO  \  GLENDA  FARRELL 
GUY  KIBBEE  MARGARET  LINDSAY  FRANK  MC  HUGH 
HUGH  HERBERT  RUTH  DONNELLY  DAN ALO  WOODS 


R’S  FND"  °Pene<^  >ts  Philadelphia  engagement  at  the 
*  '  Stanton  Theatre  recently  as  may  be  seen  from 

the  above  photograph.  Capitol  exchange  is  handling  this  short  feature 
devoted  to  scenes  from  actual  engagements. 


FAREWELL 


as  20th  Cen- 
t  u  r  y  and 
United  Artists  officials  wish  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Darryl  F.  Zanuck  a  nice  trip  to 
Europe.  Reading  clockwise,  Joseph 
Moskowitz,  A1  Lichtman,  Harry 
Buckley,  William  Phillips,  Harry 
Goetz,  Joseph  M.  Schenck  and 
Darryl  F.  Zanuck.  In  the  center 
William  Goetz  and  Mrs.  Zanuck. 


"IN  LOVE 
WITH 
LIFE" 


is  distributed  by 
First  Division  with 
Dickie  Moore, 
Claude  Gilling- 
water,  Lila  Lee 
and  Onslow  Stev¬ 
ens  in  the  cast. 


16 


Jun  1*34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


you  CAN  SHOO 

Mr.  Sum.  R.  Blues 


Increase  your  income 
during  the 


HOT  WEATHER 


with  a 


BERLO 

CANDY  VENDOR 

“Ask  Your 
Fellow  Exhibitor ” 


Get  in  touch  with: 

GEO.  P.  AARONS 

301  N.  13th  Street 

LOCUST  4245 


OR  CALL  POPLAR  6011 

BERLO 

VENDING 

COMPANY 

1518  N.  Broad  St.,  Phila. 

Specializing  in  Candy 
Vending  Equipment 
for  the  Theatre  Trade! 


NEW  YORK  BALTIMORE 

SCRANTON  WASHINGTON 

ALLENTOWN  CLEVELAND 

PITTSBURGH  CINCINNATI 


Stanley-Warner  Boys 
on  Toes  for  Summer 

With  summer  almost  here,  Warner 
managers,  Philadelphia  zone,  are  “perk¬ 
ing”  up  to  make  this  a  banner  season. 

General-manager  Leonard  Schlesinger  ex¬ 
pects  big  things,  and  by  the  looks  of  things  in 
the  past  few  weeks,  the  boys  are  going  to  come 
through  for  him. 

During  the  recent  engagement  of  “It  Hap¬ 
pened  One  Night”  at  the  Logan  Theatre, 
Greyhound  bus  was  promoted  and  used  between 
1  P.  M.  and  11  P.  M.  in  the  streets  of  the 
northern  part  of  the  city.  Bus  was  bannered  on 
both  sides.  Iz  Wiernik,  Sedgwick,  recently  sup¬ 
plied  the  answer  to  the  vexing  question  of  effi¬ 
cient  herald  distribution  with  a  recent  tie-up 
for  his  theatre.  He  contacted  his  local  laundry 
and  sold  its  operators  the  idea  of  placing  a 
herald  in  each  bundle  that  left  the  plant  for 
Mount  Airy  and  Chestnut  Hill.  Arrangements 
were  also  made  with  the  newsboys  and  maga¬ 
zine  stands  in  the  Sedgwick  territory  for  addi¬ 
tional  distribution. 

Every  so  often  the  local  dailies  plug  their 
own  features  with  big  display  ads.  Marty 
Annisman  took  advantage  of  a  recent  adver¬ 
tisement  which  the  Record  published  to  boost 
the  column  of  its  movie  critis,  Elsie  Finn. 
Record  pointed  to  the  fact  that  Metro  had  used 
Elsie  Finn's  review  of  “Dinner  at  Eight”  in 
its  press  book.  Paper  published  pictures  of  the 
original  manuscript  of  "Dinner  at  Eight,”  and 
Marty  gets  credit  for  edging  into  the  ad  with 
his  theatre's  name  and  playdates  of  the  film.  It 
was  a  plug  exclusively  for  the  Lindley. 

Marty  Goldenberg,  manager,  Colonial,  came 
across  with  a  bang  in  his  opening  of  “Come  On, 
Marines.”  He  contacted  the  Marine  Corps, 
stationed  at  the  Navy  Yard,  and  invited  the 
officers  and  the  enlisted  men  to  be  his  guests 
at  the  opening  of  the  picture.  These  men  met 
at  a  designated  place  and  marched  to  the  theatre 
led  by  several  troops  of  boy  scouts  and  followed 
by  ushers  carrying  banners  with  the  playdates 
and  title  of  the  film. 

Manager  Amos,  Strand  Theatre,  Pottstown, 
really  “went  to  town”  on  his  campaign  on 
“Bolero. v  He  obtained  the  co-operation  of  the 
Sunnybrook  Ballroom.  Following  through, 
Amos  arranged  with  the  famous  band  of  Noble 
Sissle,  which  was  the  current  band  at  the  ball¬ 
room,  to  play  the  “Bolero”  music  and  had  a 
local  couple  demonstrate  the  “Raftero"  before 
the  2500  dancers  who  flocked  to  the  hall.  Sup¬ 
plementing  his  ballroom  tie-up  Amos  promoted 
windows  from  all  the  local  music  stores  to  plug 
the  picture  from  the  music  angle. 

For  his  exploitation  on  “Ive  Got  Your  Num¬ 
ber,”  Roland  Haynes,  Colney,  used  a  40x60 
head  of  Joan  Blondell  plus  an  arrow  that 
pointed  to  a  panel  at  the  bottom  of  the  board. 


Up  Hills 

and  Down - 


^the  never  failing  ar¬ 
teries  of  the  local  industry 

carrying  the  box  office 
lifeblood  of  more  than 
1 200  theatres 

^carrying  the  "show" 
safely  and  on  time 

Horlacher’s 
1  rucks  Roll! 


HORLACHER 

DELIVERY  SERVICE,  Inc. 

1228  Vine  St. ,  Philadelphia 
NEW  YORK 
SCRANTON 
BALTIMORE 
WASHINGTON 


SENTRY  serviced  SAFETY  CONTROL 


Many  theatre  owners  weigh  the  matter  of  Safety  as  it  suits  them. 
PLAINLY  THIS  IS  ALL  WRONG.  In  Safety  there  is  no  half-way  meas¬ 
ure  with  the  Public.  The  Public  would  not  consider  it  safe  if  you  decide 
to  do  without  a  Serviced  Safety  Device  on  your  projectors.  The  Public 
would  think  with  horror  if  you  tried  to  economize  by  buying  Safety  equip¬ 
ment  without  a  service,  and  the  fact  that,  in  your  theatre,  the  Public 
has  not  yet  inquired  as  to  the  measure  of  Safety  that  you  are  giving  them — 
THAT  DOES  NOT  MEAN  THAT  THEY  CAN  BE  DECEIVED. 


SENTRY  SAFETY  CONTROL  CORP. 


10th  ST.  and  ALLEGHENY  AVE. 
PHILADELPHIA,  PENNA. 


Sentry  Safety  Controls  Listed  as  Standard  by  National  Fire  Underwriters  Laboratories 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Jun  1 T  34 


17 


“Sweethearts”  Off  to 
Big  Wilmington  Start 


A  ten-day  campaign  in  the  advance  of 
showing  “20  Million  Sweethearts’  by 
Lew  Black,  manager,  Aldine,  Wilming¬ 
ton,  with  the  co-operation  of  District 
Manager  Lyle  Trenehard  set  a  record 
ballyhoo  drive  for  the  Warner  boys  of 
that  city. 

A  seven-chapter  serial  in  the  Morning  Ncivs, 
vvitli  stories  about  Dick  Powell,  Ginger  Rogers 
and  the  film,  combined  with  "ad”  hook-ups  with 
Philco  dealers,  and  a  group  of  merchants  for 
full-page  exploitation  started  the  ball  rolling. 
Lobby  was  dressed  up  with  a  large  head  of 
Powell  using  a  mike  and  a  cut-out  of  Ginger 
w*ith  a  silhouette  of  Fiorita’s  band  across  the 
front,  a  combination  radio  and  phonograph 
doing  show  numbers  and  an  adogram  machine 
Hashing  shoots.  WDEL  radio  station  made 
announcements  three  times  a  day  for  a  week. 
On  the  opening  night  a  "Hollywood  Opening” 
was  put  on  with  kleig  lights,  banners  and  a 
3,000  candle  power  army  spotlight  casting  rays 
over  a  ten-mile  radius  in  the  air.  Mavor 
Speer,  Governor  Buck,  and  a  score  of  other 
prominent  citizens  were  invited,  including  Libby 
Holman  Reynolds.  Ushers  wore  special  but¬ 
tons  for  a  week.  Cards  were  on  the  trolley 
cars.  Window  tie-ups  were  numerous.  Chry¬ 
sler  cars  paraded  with  banners  two  days  in 
advance.  5,000  heralds  were  distributed,  with 
a  cost  lifting  "ad”  on  them.  Trailers  were  on 
all  Warner  screens.  Even  the  perpendicular 
unused  sign  in  front  of  the  abandoned  Garrick 
was  plastered  with  piosters.  Special  display 
was  in  the  duPont  Hotel  lobby.  Jumbo  tele¬ 
grams  were  in  windows  of  the  railroad  stations 


Allocation  Complaint 

Several  local  exhibitors  have  regis¬ 
tered  complaint  against  the  manner  in 
which  some  exchanges  do  not  give  spe¬ 
cific  information  on  allocation  of  pic¬ 
tures  until  after  show  is  booked. 

Exhibitors  claim  that  such  informa¬ 
tion  is  necessary  before  the  shows  are 
dated  in  and  lack  of  knowledge  entails 
a  hardship. 


Good  Teeth  for  “Sorrell” 

Management  of  the  Clinton  Theatre,  Hunt¬ 
ingdon,  entertained  at  the  matinee  showing  of 
"Sorrell  and  Son”  500  school  children  of  Hunt¬ 
ingdon  who  were  duly  qualified  under  the  den¬ 
tal  health  program  of  Huntingdon  schools. 

Picture  inspired  many  of  these  children  to 
enter  a  contest  on  "What  I  Think  of  My  Dad,  ’ 
sponsored  by  The  Daily  Neivs,  Huntingdon 
newspaper.  Subject  for  the  essay  was  sug¬ 
gested  by  “Sorrell  and  Son.” 


For  “Unknown  Soldier” 

John  Hopkins,  manager,  National  Theatre, 
Wilmington,  colored  theatre,  co-operated  with 
the  Brandywine  Post  No.  12,  American 
Legion,  in  showing  the  7-reel  film,  "The  Un¬ 
known  Soldier  Speaks,”  portraying  scenes  in 
the  World  War  of  Negro  troops  in  action. 

Stunt  went  over. 


and  telegraph  offices.  The  opening  day,  May 
26,  was  designated  as  "Sweetheart’s  Day,” 
with  merchants  slugging  their  ads  with  them. 


with 

LEILA  HYAMS 
PHILLIPS  HOLMES 

Jack  La  Rue  Robert  McWade 

Hedda  Hopper  Vince  Barnett 


“Amusing  travesty  .  developed  with 

freshness  and  having  an  excellent  story  basis 
for  its  comedy’’ — VARIETY.  “Unique 

situations  and  clever  dialogue  sustain  inter¬ 
est  throughout” — M.  P.  DAILY.  “Very 
splendid  photoplay  for  any  theatre.” — 
F1LMOGRAPH.  “Handsomely  mounted” — 
EXHIBITOR. 


Distributed  by 

Hollywood  Film  Exchanges,  Inc. 

PHILADELPHIA 


PHILADELPHIA 


NEW  YORK 


WASHINGTON 


BALTIMORE 


NATIONAL 

KLINE 

POSTER 

CO. 

1307  VINE  STREET 
PHILADELPHIA 


POSTER  RENTALS 


Genuine 

Friendliness 


Distinctive 

Craftsman¬ 

ship 


Unexcelled 

Service 


Straight 

Dealing 


NATIONAL 

PENN 

PRINTING 

CO. 

1233  VINE  STREET 
PHILADELPHIA 

A 

PRINTING 


SIMON  LIBROS 


GEO.  H.  KLINE 


OSCAR  LIBROS 


18  Jun  1 f 34  THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


A  Concise 
National  Survey 

If  -J 

• 

TRADE  IN  REVIEW 

• 

- « 

Glances  Outside 
the  Territory 

— • 

CODE 

General  Release  Dates 
to  Be  Posted  in  Exchanges 

Exhibitors  who  want  to  know  the  general 
release  date  of  a  picture  will  have  to  wait  until 
the  exchange  posts  them  or  ask  their  code 
boards’  secretary  for  information.  A  CA  rul¬ 
ing  says  that  a  picture  running  a  minimum  of 
three  consecutive  days  in  a  first  run  in  any 
given  situation  establishes  the  general  release 
dates  as  the  final  day  of  the  run. 

What  might  happen  if  a  first  run  holds  back 
dating  of  certain  pictures  until  months  after 
general  release  date  wasn’t  considered. 

Mrs.  Brokaw  Gets 
Place  in  Authority 

Mrs.  Clare  Boothe  Brokaw  has  been  named 
second  government  representative  on  the  Code 
Authority.  There  is  still  one  vacancy  open. 
It  is  not  known  who  will  fill  the  tlurd  place. 
Sol  A.  Rosenblatt,  divisional  administrator,  is 
the  first  government  representative. 

Time  for  Paying 
Assessments  Extended 

Exhibitors  will  have  some  more  time  to  pay 
their  code  assessments.  Local  grievance  boards 
will  be  the  governing  factors  in  all  such  cases. 
2500  theatres  are  still  delinquent. 

Many  exhibitors  who  sent  in  checks  have  had 
them  returned  because  they  had  not  signed 
assents  to  the  code.  Provision  regarding  these 
may  be  made  by  the  Code  Authority. 

Code  Payments  Not 
Coming  in  Fast 

Last  report  of  the  Code  Authority  indicated 
that  4197  exhibitors  have  paid  in  a  total  of 
$42,279  to  the  CA.  This  represents  about  half 
the  signers.  Second  notices  have  gone  out. 

Code  May  Be 
Reopened  for  Assents 

It  is  believed  likely  that  the  industry  code 
may  allow  those  who  did  not  sign  to  file  assents. 
Action  by  the  CA  indicates  that  those  now 
willing  to  get  in  line  may  so  be  favored. 

Protesting  Board  Members 
Get  Notice  of  Their  Oath 

Board  members  who  have  complained  about 
the  time  they  have  been  devoting  to  board  work 
are  reminded  of  their  oath  in  a  Code  Authority 
resolution.  This  is  believed  likely  to  stop  pro¬ 
tests  of  gentlemen  who  find  themselves  over¬ 
worked. 

Seek  Clearing  of 
Slates  Before  New  Season 

It  is  the  desire  of  the  Code  Authority  that  all 
cases  be  disposed  of  before  the  new  season 
starts  so  that  dockets  will  be  clear  when  selling 
begins.  Speed  in  handling  cases  is  noticed 
everywhere.  Full  publicity  on  all  hearings  is 
also  desired  by  the  CA. 


EXHIBITION 

ERPI  To  Protect 
Exhibs  on  Patent  Matters 

ERPI  has  sent  out  a  letter  to  exhibitors  de¬ 
claring  that  the  patent  protection  clause,  which 
is  to  be  incorporated  in  any  new  agreement 
providing  for  continued  use  of  Western  Elec¬ 
tric  equipment  after  expiration  of  the  present 
agreements  with  the  company  will  include 
complete  protection  for  the  exhibitor.  This 
indicates  that  ERPI  will  protect  the  exhibitor 
in  all  infringement  suits  as  well  as  replace 
the  equipment  with  a  non-infringing  equipment 
if  necessary.  The  clause  goes  on  to  amplify 
all  the  angles. 

Levine  Believes  in 
Individual  Operation 

Nat  Levine,  president,  Mascot,  has  come  out 
with  an  open  letter  endorsing  the  stand  that 
the  exhibitor  should  be  allowed  to  operate  with 
any  policy  which  he  deems  fit  and  proper. 
Double  features,  he  maintains,  should  be  left 
to  the  discretion  of  the  people  involved. 

Employees’  Strikes 
Spread  in  Country 

Strikes  of  theatre  employees  have  cropped  up 
in  New  York,  Philadelphia,  mid-west,  and  other 
spots.  In  most  situations,  especially  in  the 
smaller  towns,  the  employee  unions  have  been 
successful.  Although  the  industry  has  been 
paying  code  wages,  right  to  unionize,  union 
recognition  are  points  that  bring  up  the  strike 
issue. 

Test  on  Double 
Clause  Stirs  Trade 

Test  looming  on  the  right  of  major  film  dis¬ 
tributors  to  insert  clauses  in  some  contracts 
barring  their  pictures  from  being  doubled  is 
certain  to  hold  the  interest  of  the  trade.  At 
this  writing,  the  scene  of  the  tilt  will  be  in  the 
eastern  Pennsylvania  territory  but  developments 
will  affect  exhibitors  throughout  the  country. 
Right  of  the  exhibitor  to  operate  the  theatre  as 
he  sees  fit  is  also  involved. 

Legion  of  Decency 
Bans  63  Pictures 

63  pictures,  including  most  of  the  releases 
during  the  past  month  or  more,  were  included 
on  a  ban  list  set  up  by  the  Legion  of  Decency 
of  Detroit,  a  Catholic  organization,  sponsored 
by  Bishop  Michael  J.  Gallagher,  in  a  drive  for 
cleaner  movies. 

325,000  have  signed  in  support  of  the  Legion. 

Film  Buying  Protest 
Groups  Continue  to  Meet 

Independent  groups  representing  nearly  75% 
of  the  inde  buying  power  of  the  country  con¬ 
tinue  to  meet  in  New  York  City  to  formulate 
plans  to  combat  reported  higher  film  costs  in 
the  new  season.  A  plan  for  encouraging  fair 
producers  to  make  more  pictures  is  being  con¬ 
sidered,  it  is  said. 


Walker  To  Be  Honored 
By  Two  Universities 

Frank  C.  Walker,  prominent  industry  mem¬ 
ber  and  leader  in  the  NRA,  will  be  honored 
by  two  universities. 

Notre  Dame,  of  which  he  is  a  member  of 
the  board  of  trustees,  will  confer  a  degree 
upon  him  as  well  as  take  recognition  of  the 
25th  anniversary  of  his  graduation  from  the 
school.  L'niversity  of  Montana,  his  native 
state  until  his  removal  to  Pennsylvania,  will 
also  honor  him. 

Allied  Holds  Up 
Okay  on  Production 

Allied,  apparently,  is  not  going  to  step  into 
production  without  a  careful  survey  of  the  sit¬ 
uation.  Body,  at  its  Chicago  leaders’  meeting, 
decided  to  look  into  the  production-tie-up  angle 
a  bit  more  carefully  and  take  it  up  again  later. 
Allied  leaders  also  voted  to  favor  clean  pictures. 

MPTOA  Head  Opines  On 
Contract  Doubles  Clause 

Ed  Kuykendall,  obviously  speaking  for  the 
MPTOA,  sent  out  a  statement  to  exhibitors 
which  asks  why  distributor  shouldn’t  have  the 
right  to  license  exhibition  as  he  wills. 

Kuykendall  makes  no  mention  of  giving  dis¬ 
tributors  the  right  to  include  plenty  of  per¬ 
centage  pictures,  minimum  Saturday,  Sunday 
dates,  etc. 

PRODUCTION 

Para,  Warners  to 
Shoot  During  Hot  Spell 

Paramount  and  Warners  are  breaking  prece¬ 
dent,  will  produce  during  the  summer  instead  of 
shutting  down.  Warners  are  almost  six  months 
ahead  of  schedule,  will  be  further  ahead  through 
adoption  of  the  new  practice.  With  the  arrival 
of  Adolph  Zukor,  Paramount  will  have  no  let¬ 
down,  either. 

Metro  Net  Goes 
Way  Up  in  28  Weeks 

Metro-Goldwyn-Maver,  for  the  28  weeks 
ending  March  15,  reports  an  increase  of 
$2,071,525  in  net  profits  over  the  identical  period 
last  year.  Net  was  $3,037,698  comparing  with 
$966,173  last  year. 

Another  happy  note  was  the  announcement 
that  Columbia  is  beginning  payment  of  divi¬ 
dends  on  common  stock. 

Columbia  reported  a  net  of  $739,338  after 
Federal  taxes  and  all  charges  for  the  39  weeks 
to  March  31  were  paid.  This  compares  with 
$546,778  for  the  same  rer>°d  last  year. 

Meanwhile,  the  receivers’  report  on  RKO 
indicated  a  betterment  in  business,  the  loss 
having  gone  down  quite  a  bit. 

DISTRIBUTION 

Sales  Managers  To 
Decide  Film  Board  Future 

Sales  managers  have  been  conferring  regard¬ 
ing  the  future  of  the  Film  Boards.  A  com¬ 
mittee  to  decide  their  fate  has  been  appointed 
and  will  make  its  report  soon. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Jun  1'34 


19 


Out  of  the  Red 


With  this  issue  THE  EXHIBITOR 
comes  out  of  the  red  and  into  the  green. 

Following  a  custom  begun  last  year, 
the  red  usually  seen  on  the  cover  will 
depart,  to  be  followed  by  green  for  the 
summer  months. 

The  green  looks  cooler  and  also  gives 
theatremen  a  chance  to  think  of  some¬ 
thing  else  besides  going  into  the  red. 


Heard  In 


EHIGH  VALLEY 

Andy  Anderson 
In  Harness 


_ By  Jack _ 

RECENT  VERDICT  of  a  Northampton 
county  jury  before  Judge  McKeen  awarding 
Bee  Inc.,  Allentown  and  New  York  the  amount 
of  $2,098.94  will  be  appealed.  .  .  .  Suit  was 
brought  against  the  defendant,  Lewen  Pizor, 
trading  as  the  Broad  Street  Theatre,  Nazareth, 
alleged  to  be  due  for  sound  equipment  installed 
in  the  theatre.  .  .  .  Original  order  for  the 

equipment  involved  in  the  litigation  was  placed 
with  L.  P.  Clark  and  Son,  Philadelphia,  in 
1929  who  later  turned  over  their  accounts  to  the 
plaintiff.  .  .  .  Defense  disclaims  having  ever 
received  the  material  ordered  and  experienced 
difficulty  in  attempting  to  enlighten  a  lay  jury 
regarding  the  difference  between  syncronized 
and  non-syncronized  tables. 

MISS  FANNIE  STANARD,  cashier,  Broad 
St.,  announced  her  wedding  intentions.  .  .  . 
Mary,  the  MGM  Rhino,  accompanied  by  a 
caravan  of  several  cars  attracted  a  crowd  of 
1500  people  in  front  of  the  Nazareth  The¬ 
atre.  .  .  .  Old  1794  blue  law  statute  has 

again  been  used  as  the  basis  of  a  charge 
against  a  theatre  manager.  .  .  .  William 

Haggerty,  manager,  Savoy,  Catasauqua,  was 
arrested  May  22  by  Chief  of  Police  Dugan, 
given  a  hearing  before  J.  of  the  P.  Earl 
Hutsch  and  fined  four  bucks,  plus  costs, 
which  made  a  total  of  $6.50.  .  Picture 

was  shown  on  May  20.  .  .  .  Previously  a 

special  meeting  of  the  Catasauqua  Ministerial 
Association  had  been  called  to  consider 
action.  .  .  .  Burgess  H.  L.  Baker  is  openly 

opposed  to  Sunday  movies,  a  sentiment  not 
shared  by  most  of  the  Savoy  patrons.  .  .  . 

Andy  Anderson,  who  made  Sunday  movies 
a  regular  occurrence  at  the  near-by  Roxy, 
Northampton,  and  later  became  manager  of 
the  Lehigh  Valley  “Times,”  is  back  in  the¬ 
atre  harness.  .  .  .  Paper  continues  but  Andy 
has  a  group  of  theatres  under  his  wing  on  the 
Warner  Bros,  circuit  in  eastern  Kentucky  and 
western  Tennessee,  with  headquarters  at 
Owensboro,  Kentucky.  .  .  .  Lee  Levy,  city 

manager,  Wilmer  and  Vincents  Allentown 
theatres  and  resident  manager,  Colonial,  is  in 
a  hospital  at  Wilkes-Barre  undergoing  an 
operation  for  double-  hernia.  .  .  .  Assistant 

Clark  is  in  charge  and  has  attracted  a  lot  of 
attention  with  the  “Hollywood  Zoo”  in  the 
lobby.  .  .  .  Lyric,  United  Chain,  closed  for 
the  summer.  Embassy  and  Strand, 

Boyd  theatres  sponsor  five  prizes  each  week 
for  advertisements  submitted  in  the  Call- 
Zain  ad  contest. 


Free  Park  Movies 

Outdoor  motion  pictures  Sunday  nights  will 
be  a  feature  at  Hershey  Park,  Hershey,  which 
opened  May  27.  Movies  will  be  free. 


’Heard  In 


U 


P-ST  ATE 

Street  Exploitation 
Picks  Up 


GOOD  NEWS.  .  .  .  Mrs.  Mary  Belle  Zeid- 
ers  to  return  within  two  weeks  to  her  cashier 
post  at  Loewis  Regent;  Miss  Genevieve  Funk, 
Victoria  cashier,  expected  to  return  within  a 
month  ;  also  anxious  to  return  to  her  duties  as 
usher  at  Colonial  is  Miss  Ruth  Hale.  .  .  . 
Improved  appearance  of  Victoria,  Harrisburg, 
winning  favorable  comment  for  manager,  Jerry 
Wollaston.  .  .  .  False  fronts  for  which  Jerry 
has  a  hankering,  also  have  been  used  for  every 
picture.  .  .  .  For  “You're  Telling  Me1'  Jerry 
did  some  excellent  exploitation  work.  .  .  .  One 
tie-up  was  with  a  furniture  store  where  a  pretty 
girl  lay  in  bed  in  a  display  window,  resting  on 
a  popular  brand  of  mattress  “to  withstand  the 
laughs  in  ‘You’re  Telling  Me.”  ...  A  man 
disguised  to  represent  W.  C.  Fields  promen¬ 
aded  the  streets  to  exploit  the  picture.  .  .  . 
“Patty*'  Ryan,  Victoria  stage  hand  and  former 
vaudevillian,  is  Jerry’s  right-hand  man  on  ex¬ 
ploitation.  .  .  .  Messenger  boys  carrying  large 
messages  telling  about  "20,000,000  Sweethearts” 
showing  at  the  Colonial,  Harrisburg,  were  hired 
to  walk  the  streets  by  Manager  Harry  Lambert. 

ALTERATION  costing  approximately 
$1000  were  made  to  the  elaborate  cooling 
system  at  the  State,  Harrisburg.  .  .  .  More 

than  300  carriers  of  a  Harrisburg  newspaper 
were  the  guests  of  Manager  Charles  McLeary, 
Loews  Regent,  Harrisburg,  May  16.  . 
Theatre  parties  are  getting  to  be  the  rage  at 
the  Hershey  Theatre,  Hershey.  .  .  .  General 
C.  M.  Clement,  Sunbury,  was  the  Memorial 
Day  speaker  at  the  annual  exercises  in  the 
Stanley  Theatre,  Selinsgrove. 

WILLIAM  S.  McKAY,  JR.,  and  Lawrence 
J.  Katz,  both  employes  of  Loew’s  Regent  The¬ 
atre,  Harrisburg,  were  chosen  delegates  to  the 
biennial  convention  of  the  International  Alli¬ 
ance  Theatrical  Stage  Employes  and  Motion 
Picture  Operators.  .  .  .  Entire  cast  of  some 
sixty  actors  who  appeared  in  a  stage  presenta¬ 
tion  at  the  State  Theatre,  Harrisburg,  enlivened 
proceedings  on  day  before  the  opening  at  the 
State  at  a  Sunday  afternoon  baseball  game  in 
Harrisburg.  .  .  .  State  manager,  Charles  Bier- 
bauer,  arranged  the  added  attract'on  at  the  ball 
game  for  the  purpose  of  exploiting  his  stage 
show,  “World’s  Fair  Scandals.” 


New  Mike  from  RCA 

An  inconspicuous  little  microphone,  no  larger 
than  a  matchbox,  weighing  only  three  ounces, 
and  designed  to  be  fastened  to  the  coat  lapel 
of  a  public  speaker  or  entertainer,  was  the 
subject  of  a  joint  technical  paper  delivered  by 
Dr.  Harry  F.  Olsen  and  Richard  W.  Carlisle, 
research  engineers,  RCA  Victor  Company,  be- 
for  the  Institute  of  Radio  Engineers,  which 
held  a  three-day  session  at  the  Benjamin  Frank¬ 
lin  Hotel  this  week. 


Employee  Code  Reopening 

Hearings  on  the  reopening  of  the 
code  for  the  motion  picture  industry  in 
order  to  determine  whether  or  not  an 
amendment  shall  be  made  to  the  labor 
provisions  in  the  code,  defining  the  term 
“employee,”  will  begin  on  June  12,  it 
has  been  announced  by  divisional  ad¬ 
ministrator  Sol  A.  Rosenblatt. 


READY 

REFERENCE 

EACH  COMPANY  LISTED  IS  AN 
AUTHORITY  IN  ITS  FIELD  AND 
IS  RELIABLE  AND  TRUSTWORTHY 


AIR  CONDITIONING 

^SlPHOON 


T-  « 


COOLING 

VENTILATING 


CONDITIONING  CQ 

BLOWERS  -  FANS 
AIR  WASHERS 
252  West  26th  St.,  New  York 


ARCHITECT 


THEATRE  DESIGN 

Remodeling  »  Building 

LATEST  COMPLETED 

NEW  BROADWAY  CAYUGA 

Camden,  Philadelphia 

New  Jersey  Penna. 

DAVID  SUPOWITZ 

REGISTERED 

ARCHITECT 

246  S.  15th  St.,  Phi  la..  Pa.  Pennypacker  2291 


BUSINESS  BROKER 


THEATRES 

BOUGHT  •  SOLD  •  LEASED 

Partnerships  Negotiated 

M.  H.  <p  O  O  D  IS.  Inc. 

1201  CHESTNUT  STREET 
Rittenhouse  4595  Rittenhouse  9077 


FLAGS  AND  BANNERS 


R  Theatre  Marquee  Valances 
E  Wall  Banners 

N  Net  and  Road  Banners 

l!  Attractive  Colors — Sewed  or  Painted 

\  Letters — Featuring  All  Shows. 

■  Burgees — Pennants — Decorations 

Above  Also  Sold  Outright.  Order  Direct  From 

NATIONAL  FLAG  &  BANNER  CO. 

251-253  N.  13th  St.  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


INTERIOR  DECORATORS 


Theatrical 

Decorating 

OUR  SPECIALTY 
Phone 

Rittenhouse  7828 
2315  Walnut  St. 
Philadelphia 


I.  Manoff  Reliable  Decorating  Co. 

INTERIOR  DECORATORS 

Draperies,  Carpets,  Painting 

1316  Vine  St.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


WE'VE  TURNED  NUMEROUS  NON-PAYING 
THEATRES  INTO  MONEY-MAKING  PROPOSITIONS 
ASK  US  HOW! 


20  Jun  1 T 34  THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


F 

>ET 

E  HARRISON  WRITES  ON 

"THE  WRONG  ROOSTER  CROWS" 

(Ed.  Note:  The  place  of  Pete  Harrison  in  the  motion  picture  field  is  too  well  known  to  need  explanation.  In  the  following,  he  tells  the  boys  just  where  they  can 
get  off.  His  comment  needs  no  clarification.  It  hits  the  nail  on  the  head.) 


RUBIN  FRELS,  an  independent  exhibitor  of  Texas,  has  two 
theatres  at  Victoria,  a  town  which,  according  to  the  1930  Federal 
Census,  has  7241  inhabitants.  He  has  been  in  that  town  for  several 
years. 

About  three  years  ago  the  Jefferson  Amusement  Company,  a 
pretty  powerful  Southern  circuit,  went  into  that  town  and  built  a 
theatre  and,  as  is  usually  the  case,  took  almost  the  entire  product 
away  from  Frels.  Frels  was  thus  compelled  to  shut  down  one  of  his 
two  theatres. 

The  first  case  that  was  heard  by  the  Grievance  Board  of  Dallas 
was  that  of  Frels  against  the  Jefferson  Amusement  Company  and  on 
May  1  1  that  Board  decreed  that  Frels  shall  have  an  equal  share  of 
all  products,  the  pictures  from  each  distributor  to  be  alternated 
between  the  two  competitors. 

ON  THIS  OCCASION  my  friend  Col.  H.  A.  Cole,  President  of 
Allied  Theatre  Owners  of  Texas,  tossed  his  hat  in  the  air  and 
screeched  for  joy. 

The  following  are  extracts  from  a  circular  headed,  “HEY,  FEL¬ 
LOWS,  LISTEN  TO  THIS  ’’  which  he  sent  to  every  exhibitor  in 
Texas: 

“H  ere  is  the  first  piece  of  really  good  news  the  independent 
exhibitor  has  heard  in  many  years! 

“Rubin  Frels  .  .  .  was  given  a  decision  yesterday  against  the 
Jefferson  Amusement  Company. 

“Frels’  case  was  the  first  one  heard  before  the  Dallas  Grievance 
Board,  and  the  decision  handed  down  yesterday  was  that  all  product, 
both  national  and  states  rights,  should  be  divided  between  the  two, 
alternate  pictures  from  each  company  going  to  each  exhibitor. 

“Do  you  know  what  that  means  to  YOU?  If  that  principle  is 
accepted  in  the  business,  it  means  that  you  can  go  home  and  sleep 
at  night  without  the  nightmare  that  a  chain  can  come  into  your  own 
town  and  take  it  away  from  you!  It  means  that  they  will  not  even 
TRY  to  take  it  hereafter,  because  they  will  not  dream  of  making 
the  investment  when  they  know  you  can  get  at  least  a  fifty-fifty 
break  with  them  on  product. 

“This  is  the  first  ray  of  sunshine  in  ten  years  of  battle  for  the 
independents.  This  is  the  first  time  the  industry  has  recognized  that 
the  independents  have  any  rights  whatsoever.  The  Association  has 
spent  thousands  of  dollars  and  months  of  time  in  this  fight,  and  this 
is  our  first  toehold  toward  real  independence.  Boy,  does  it  feel 
good!” 

MR.  COLE  then  goes  on  to  congratulate  the  Grievance  Board 
for  their  fairmindedness  and  thank  the  chairman  for  his  “fair  and 
efficient  handling  of  a  complicated  controversy,”  closing  that  para¬ 
graph  with  the  phrase,  “Altogether,  it  was  quite  a  day!” 

Congratulating  the  Grievance  Board  of  Dallas  for  having  rend¬ 
ered  a  just  decision  is  like  congratulating  an  honest  man  for  being 
honest. 

IT  IS  NOT  the  Grievance  Board  Col.  Cole  should  congratulate 

but  him  whose  vision  made  such  a  decision  possible - Mr.  Sol  A. 

Rosenblatt,  Division  Administrator.  Yes,  and  he  should  do  more 
than  congratulate  him;  he  should  send  a  letter  asking  his  forgive¬ 
ness  for  all  the  uncharitable  and  unkind  statements,  for  all  the 
unjustified  insinuations  and  remarks,  he  made  against  him  in  Chi¬ 
cago  as  well  as  in  Washington. 

IN  WASHINGTON  he  told  the  Darrow  Board  that  Mr.  Rosen¬ 
blatt  was  biased  against  everything  that  is  independent.  In  Chicago 
he  stated  that  a  lawyer,  with  whom  he  was  once  associated,  and  who 
is  handling  law  cases  for  the  majors,  is  influencing  his  actions.  I 
happen  to  know  Mr.  Rosenblatt  somewhat  well;  I  knew  him  before 
he  became  connected  with  the  Code  Administration  and  I  am  in  a 
position  to  assure  you  that  both  these  statements  are  inaccurate. 
Certainly  a  person  who  lives  close  to  Mr.  Rosenblatt  should  know 


about  him  better  than  persons  who  live  hundreds  of  miles  away 
from  him. 

COL.  COLE  SAYS:  “The  Association  has  spent  thousands  of 
dollars  and  months  of  time  in  this  fight,  and  this  is  our  first  toehold 
toward  real  independence.”  Let  me  see  if  I  understand  him  right: 
If  the  Association  of  which  he  is  president  had  not  spent  that  money, 
the  Grievance  Board,  according  to  his  theory,  would  not  have  ren¬ 
dered  a  just  and  fair  decision.  I  am  sure  he  did  not  wish  to  convey 
such  a  meaning. 

HOW  LITTLE  HE  or  the  exhibitor  leader  of  any  other  state, 
for  that  matter,  has  had  to  do  with  that  decision,  I  shall  prove  to 
you  by  citing  a  decision  the  Grievance  Board  of  the  New  York  Zone 
rendered  last  week  in  the  case  of  Herbert  Rogowsky,  of  Port  Ches¬ 
ter,  N.  Y.  vs.  the  Skouras  circuit.  The  Board,  consisting  of  repre¬ 
sentatives  of  Paramount,  RKO,  First  Division  and  Louis  J.  Geller, 
the  independent  exhibitor,  decreed  unanimously  that  the  powerful 
Skouras  circuit  shall  give  to  Herbert  Rogowsky,  an  independent 
exhibitor,  twentytwo  pictures.  The  importance  of  this  decision  lies 
in  the  fact  that  the  Board  took  away  from  Skouras  even  Fox  pic¬ 
tures,  which  it  has  tied  up  on  a  long-term  franchise. 

JUST  BY  WHAT  STRETCH  of  imagination  can  my  friend 
claim  credit  for  this  decision  is  beyond  my  understanding;  and  it 
will  be  beyond  yours,  too,  when  you  bear  in  mind  that  Col.  Cole 
has  been  one  of  the  leaders  who  tried  to  wreck  the  Grievance 
Boards,  leaving  no  stone  unturned  to  attain  his  objective.  He  re¬ 
minds  me  of  one  of  Aesop’s  fables,  which  relates  that  two  friends 
went  out  to  the  fields  in  search  of  food.  Before  departing  they 
made  an  agreement  to  share  equally  whatever  they  found.  One  of 
them  came  upon  some  delicious  dates  and  exclaiming  “Eureka”  (I 
have  found),  began  to  consume  them  without  giving  his  friend  a 
share.  Later  in  the  afternoon  they  came  upon  a  vicious  bear  and 
the  same  friend  began  yelling:  “We  are  lost!”  Had  the  decision 
been  adverse  to  the  exhibitor,  you  know,  I  am  sure,  what  kind  of 
circular  my  friend  Col.  Cole  would  have  sent  out;  but  since  it  was 
favorable  he  sought  to  appropriate  the  credit  for  it.  The  circular 
states  that  the  Jefferson  Amusement  Company  had  been  depriving 
Frels  of  product  for  three  years,  and  for  three  years  Col.  Cole  and 
his  association  had  been  battling  to  get  a  share  of  the  product  for 
him  unsuccessfully.  But  Mr.  Frels  did  not  get  it  until  the  Code 
came  along. 

WHEN  I  BRING  BACK  to  mind  the  frantic  efforts  he  and  some 
other  exhibitor  leaders  made  to  prevent  the  members  of  their  organ¬ 
izations  from  signing  the  Code,  the  only  instrument  that  could  ever 
bring  them  relief,  and  when  I  recall  to  my  mind  the  efforts  some 
leaders  exerted  to  have  Mr.  Rosenblatt  discredited,  going  so  far  as 
to  give  the  Darrow  Committee  inaccurate  information  or  informa¬ 
tion  based  merely  on  assumption,  it  makes  me  wonder  that  any  such 
leader  has  the  nerve  to  claim  credit  for  any  relief  independent  ex¬ 
hibitors  may  get  under  the  Code.  Where  would  Mr.  Frels  have 
been  had  he  not  signed  the  Code?  And  how  are  they  going  to  help 
those  whom  they  have  influenced  not  to  sign  it,  making  them  lose 
their  rights  to  file  complaints  against  distributors?  These  will  have 
to  use  the  courts,  waiting  three  years  for  results,  at  best  doubtful, 
and  spending  fortunes. 

THERE  IS  JUST  ONE  PERSON  who  deserves  credit  for  what¬ 
ever  relief  the  independent  exhibitors  have  begun  getting  and  will 
get  in  the  future — Division  Administrator  Sol  A.  Rosenblatt.  It 
was  due  to  his  perseverance  that  the  Code  machinery  began  func¬ 
tioning  so  early,  and  it  is  he  who  should  “crow.”  Next  to  Mr. 
Rosenblatt  should  be  Mr.  Charles  L.  O’Reilly,  who  gave  him  his 
whole-hearted  support  ever  since  the  Code  deliberations  began,  and 
next  to  Mr.  O’Reilly,  Mr.  Nathan  Yamins,  who,  ever  since  the  Code 
Authority  meetings  begant  gave  Mr.  Rosenblatt  the  same  kind  of 
support  as  Mr.  O’Reilly  gave  him  all  along. 


M  I  D  -  J  E  R  S  E  y 


CENSORSHIP  of  motion  pictures  for  New 
Jersey  asked  of  Governor  A.  Harry  Moore  and 
the  State  Legislature.  .  .  .  State  organization 
of  the  Knights  of  Columbus  is  the  latest  to 
go  on  record  for  film  censorship  in  New  Jer¬ 
sey.  .  .  .  Organization  adopted  a  resolution 

reading :  “We  condemn  motion  pictures  deal¬ 
ing  with  sex  problems  and  portraying  crime  and 
degeneracy  in  a  romantic  manner.  All  motion 


picture  concerns  are  in  a  contest  to  see  which 
can  produce  the  most  vicious  film.”  .  .  .  An 
effort  made  about  a  decade  ago  to  enact  a  film 
censorship  law  was  defeated  by  exhibitors 
throughout  New  Jersey.  .  .  .  Allied  Theatre 
Owners  of  New  Jersey,  Inc.,  at  a  recent  ses¬ 
sion  declared  for  clean  pictures.  .  .  .  Assem¬ 
blyman  William  C.  Hunt,  who  operates  three 
theatres  in  Trenton,  plans  to  fight  the  ruling  of 
the  City  Commission  of  Wildwood,  N.  J.,  to 
prevent  operation  of  theatres  and  amusement 
places  in  the  seashore  town  on  Sunday.  .  .  . 
Fight  looms. 


BILL  ROVNER,  Berlin,  N.  J.,  now  running 
Laurel  Springs.  .  .  .  Lots  of  luck.  .  .  .  Lew 
Rovner,  Highland,  Audubon,  N.  J.,  has  bought 
the  lot  in  back  of  the  theatre.  .  .  .  Intends  to 
add  more  scats  for  summer.  .  .  .  Doesn't  ex¬ 
pect  it  to  be  warm  this  summer. 

DRIVE-IN  Theatre  sent  out  invitations  to 
one  of  the  Sunday  night  performances.  .  .  . 

Camden  house  hasn’t  had  much  break  on  the 
weather.  .  .  .  W.  C.  Hunt  was  again  renomi¬ 
nated  for  his  assembly  post  from  the  shore 
district. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Jun  1'34 


21 


Wildwood  Sunday  Trouble 


'  Heard  In ' 


C 


ROSSTOWN 

ScHlesinger  Back 
From  St.  Louis 


WARNERS  showed  a  profit  of  $38,855  for 
the  26  weeks  ended  February  24.  .  .  .  This  was 
a  vast  improvement.  .  .  .  Allied  Jersey  will 
develop  its  production  plan  at  the  June  13  board 
meeting  in  New  York.  .  .  .  “Constant  Nymph  ' 
turned  out  to  be  a  surprise  at  the  Europa,  with 
Moe  Verbin  holding  it  over  after  the  show 
got  plenty  of  word  of  mouth  publicity. 

EARLE  THEATRE  still  has  pickets  parad¬ 
ing  up  and  down  in  front  of  the  house.  .  .  . 
For  a  while,  the  house  had  its  own  pickets 
out.  .  .  .  But  withdrew  them.  .  .  .  Bu  siness 
little  affected.  .  .  .  When  the  house  plays 

names.  .  .  .  Otherwise  it  doesn’t  make  any 

difference  who  pickets. 

PROCEEDINGS  begun  by  executors  to  stay 
foreclosure  of  the  Tioga  Theatre  building 
brought  out  some  interesting  angles.  .  .  .  The¬ 
atre  property  is  assessed  at  $66,000.  . 

According  to  the  petition,  William  Freihofer, 
deceased,  bought  the  Tioga  Theatre  for 
$200,000  in  1927.  .  .  .  House  was  subject  to  a 
$137,400  mortgage  held  by  John  S.  Evans, 
deceased.  .  .  .  This  was  reduced  to  $58,000. 
.  .  .  Mortgage  was  payable  in  installments  of 
$1000  a  month.  .  .  .  After  FreihofeCs  death,  his 
executors  paid  $22,760  in  principal  and  interest, 
leaving  a  balance  of  $50,000  due  on  mortgage. 
.  .  .  Payments  stopped  after  July,  1933.  .  .  . 
Rents  of  theatre  building,  $7,000  annually, 
were  turned  back  to  Evans  and  he  paid  back 
taxes  for  1931,  1932,  1933,  $7,200.  Property 
was  saved  from  forced  sales  by  attorneys' 
agreements.  ...  It  appeared  on  sheriff  sale 
lists  four  times.  ...  It  was  brought  out  in 
testimony  that  estate  has  gross  assets  of  nearly 
$12,000,000  but  couldn’t  raise  $50,000  to  pay 
overdue  mortgage. 

LENNY  SCHLESINGER,  Warner  zone 
chief,  hopped  back  to  town  faster  than  he  had 
scheduled.  .  .  .  All  tanned  up.  .  .  .  Had  a 
nice  time  in  St.  Louis  and  was  given  a  party 
by  the  boys  of  the  mid-west  area. 

ASTOR,  READING,  will  keep  up  its  Harry 
Biben-booked  vaudeville  throughout  the  sum¬ 
mer.  .  .  .  Cooler  weather  gave  houses  around 
town  a  real  break. 


Mayor  Doris  W.  Bradway,  Wildwood, 
N.  J.,  has  ordered  all  movie  houses  in 
the  town  to  remain  closed  Sundays. 

Mayor  said  order  was  prompted  by 
residents  of  the  town  who  wanted  ob¬ 
servance  of  the  blue  laws. 

Town  has  always  been  open  on  Sun¬ 
day. 


WHEN  THE  GIANT  BENEFIT  on  behalf 
of  the  local  musicians’  union  was  given  at  the 
Academy  of  Music,  Eddie  Sherman,  dynamic 
local  vaudeville  booker,  was  on  the  job  until 
3  A.  M.  .  .  .  Eddie  got  the  stage  shows  from 
all  local  theatres,  clubs,  even  brought  over  some 
stars  from  New  York,  secured  co-operation  of 
all  the  local  vaudeville  people  and  the  result 
was  a  big  success.  .  .  .  Eddie  is  also  boosting 
the  Jewish  Theatrical  Guild. 

INTEGRITY  FILM  CORPORATION  is 
handling  “The  Fascist  Parade.”  .  .  .  Motion 
picture  theatre  managers  were  exonerated  by 
the  motion  picture  committee  of  the  Philadel¬ 
phia  Federation  of  Women’s  Clubs  when 
charge  of  bad  influence  of  movies  upon  chil¬ 
dren  came  up.  .  .  .  Undiscriminating  parents 
were  blamed.  .  .  .  Mothers  should  be  educated, 
the  report  stated. 

JAMES  H.  LITTLEFIELD,  co-owner  of 
the  Newsreel  Laboratories,  passed  away  re¬ 
cently.  .  .  .  Harry  Gantz  is  now  managing  for 
Warners  in  Butler. 

HARRY  BIBEN,  who  books  a  lot  of  vaude¬ 
ville  houses  in  the  local  territory,  is  kept 
busy  these  days  getting  big  acts  for  the  State, 
which  continues  with  its  vaude  policy. 

TEN  YEARS  AGO:  .  .  .  M.  J.  O’Toole 
was  elected  president  of  the  MPTOA.  .  .  . 

Joe  Brandt  predicted  a  brilliant  future  for  the 
independent.  .  .  .  Exchange  can’t  cudgel  ex¬ 
hibitors,  says  Film  Board.  .  .  .  Masterpiece 
took  the  Chadwick  franchise  for  the  local  area. 
.  .  .  Vine  Street  beat  Stanley  at  baseball. 

NINETEEN  YEARS  AGO.  .  .  .  Censor¬ 
ship  bill  was  changed  by  amendment  offered  by 
Representative  James  H.  Maurer  and  the  clause 
“Or  prejudice  the  public  mind,”  was  dropped. 
...  It  was  claimed  that  if  it  had  been  left  in, 
the  censors  would  have  been  given  despotic 
powers.  .  .  .  Cross  Keys  Theatre  temporally 
gave  up  its  vaudeville  policy. 


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SOUND  ENGINEER 

262  N.  13TH  ST. 
PHILADELPHIA 
Day  Phone:  RIT  4529 
Night  Phone:  SHE  0805 


*  HOLME* 


STATIONERY 


THEATRE  EQUIPMENT 


PEJVN  THEATRE 
EQUIPMENT  CO. 

309  North  13th  Street 
PHILADELPHIA 
Phone,  Rittenhouse  3273 

GENERAL  THEATRE  EQUIPMENT 

Specialists  in  Repairs 


CLEM'S 

MOTION  PICTURE  SUPPLY  HOUSE 

The  Most  Complete  hi  dependent 

Supply  House  in  the  Territory  ! 

255  North  13th  Street  -  Philadelphia 

SPRUCE  18e4  EXPERT  REPAIRING 


22 


Jun  1 ' 34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Heard  In 

I  N  E  STREET 

New  Projection 
Room  Opens 


LOUIS  “POP'1’  KORSON,  Masterpiece  pro¬ 
prietor,  is  still  in  the  hospital.  .  .  .  After  he 
was  improved  he  suffered  a  relapse,  is  back 
for  treatment.  .  .  .  The  entire  trade  would 
like  to  see  him  get  well  quickly.  .  .  .  Mean¬ 
while,  Masterpiece  adds  new  product  in  the 
shape  of  “The  Fighting  Rookie,”  with  Jack 
LaRue.  .  .  .  Also  Mutt  and  Jeff  color  single 
reels.  .  .  .  And  a  musical  novelty  series  in 
color.  .  .  .  Preferred  is  in  the  midst  of  a  date 
drive.  .  .  .  Metropolitan  Printing  has  moved 
across  the  street  where  there  are  bigger  quar¬ 
ters  for  the  presses.  .  .  .  Office  stays  in  the 
same  spot. 

TONY  LUCCHESE  still  recuperating  at 
home.  ...  It  doesn’t  look  as  if  he  will  be 
back  for  many  weeks.  .  .  .  Everyone  hopes 

he  will  be  better  soon.  .  .  .  The  exchange 

has  received  “Puss  in  Boots,’  in  the  Corni- 
Color  series.  .  .  .  And  “Unknown  Blonde” 

is  starting  to  work  around.  .  .  .  “The  Lost 

Jungle”  is  in  its  10th  episode  in  spots.  .  .  . 
With  “Burn  ’Em  Up  Barnes”  following  as 
soon  as  the  preceding  series  expires.  .  . 

Mike  Katz  still  doing  nicely  in  charge.  .  .  . 

Charlie  Klang,  the  man  mountain,  spending 
much  time  in  Catasauqua  on  Sundays.  .  .  . 

H  is  theatre  has  been  open  on  Sundays,  with 
the  usual  blue  law  fine. 

JOHN  GOLDER  all  enthused  because 
Liberty  has  completed  six  features.  .  .  .  His 
Hollywood  exchange  reports  plenty  of  bookings 
on  all  product.  .  .  .  Herb  Given  is  booking 
some  of  the  outdoor  parks  upstate.  .  .  .  “Death 
Parade”  is  working  upstate  in  a  lot  of  spots. 
...  At  Radio,  the  big  drive  will  end  within 
a  week.  .  .  .  With  everyone  wondering  what 
the  outcome  will  be.  .  .  .  All  hands  working 
hard  to  put  it  across. 

AL  BLOFSON  has  received  “City  Park” 
from  Chesterfield.  .  .  .  As  well  as  “Money 

Means  Nothing”  from  Monogram.  .  .  .  His 

drive  is  ending  soon  and  it  looks  as  if  this 
First  Division  office  will  bring  home  the 
bacon.  .  .  .  “Manhattan  Love  Song”  played 
the  Steel  Pier,  AC.  .  .  .  And  “City  Limits,” 
too.  .  .  .  The  serial,  “Young  Eagles,”  be¬ 

gins  to  work  around.  .  .  .  Salesman  Levin¬ 
son  feeling  better. 

GIRLS  of  First  Division  office  celebrated  a 
double  birthday  in  honor  of  Lillian  Gimbel  and 
Claire  Fineman.  .  .  .  Fun,  laughter,  etc.  .  .  . 
Frances  Axler,  FD,  having  a  romance  with 
someone  in  Hartford.  .  .  .  Sammy  Diamond, 
Fox,  outwitted  by  one  Rose  Forman,  FD.  .  .  . 
Seems  he  gave  her  money  to  pay  his  check, 
to  lazy  to  stand  in  line.  .  .  .  She  paid  hers, 
too. 

S1G  WITTMAN  a  visitor  in  town.  .  .  . 

Vacations  starting  at  U  soon.  .  .  .  Univer- 

salite  Kuehler  may  hop  to  Germany.  .  .  . 

Mrs.  Waldman  will  be  the  new  name  for 
Hilda  Harris  when  she  gets  married.  .  .  . 

Stanley  ball  team  going  great  guns.  .  .  .  Lee 
Benham  injured. 

DEATH  of  William  H.  Smith  meant  the 
passing  of  a  pioneer  in  the  local  area.  .  .  .  He 
had  been  connected  with  Fox  and  Metro,  after 
operating  his  own  exchange.  .  .  .  He  is  sur¬ 
vived  by  his  widow. 


Protest  Meetings  Continue 


Another  in  the  series  of  meetings  be¬ 
ing  held  in  New  York  City  by  indepen¬ 
dent  exhibitor  leaders  to  formulate  plans 
for  combatting  higher  film  rentals  was 
scheduled  this  week.  A  method  is  being 
arranged. 

David  Barrist  and  Lewen  Pizor  have 
been  attending  as  representatives  from 
this  area. 


LEON  BEHALL  is  back  with  Eddie  Gabriel 
in  Capitol.  .  .  .  Exchange  has  the  "Molasses 
and  January”  short  as  well  as  “War’s  End,” 
which  gets  a  Stanley- Warner  deal.  .  .  .  Willie 
Friedman’s  projection  room  on  Vine  Street  fills 
a  long  felt  need.  .  .  .  Mrs.  Hildinger  was  a 
striking  figure  in  blue  when  she  visited  the 
street  recently.  ...  At  least  one  person  who 
saw  her  thought  she  was  a  movie  star.  .  .  . 
She  dropped  in  from  Trenton. 

DAVE  THOMAS’  new  producing  corpora¬ 
tion,  tentatively  announced  as  Major,  has 
signed  Rose  Hobart  for  the  title  role  in  the 
film  version  of  George  Boyle's  novel  "Con¬ 
vention  Girl.”  .  .  .  Other  players  who  have 
signed  to  take  direction  from  Luther  Reed  in 
“Convention  Girl”  are  Weldon  Heyburn,  Sally 
O'Neil,  Herbert  Rawlinson,  Shemp  Howard, 
former  Ted  Healy  stooge,  Billy  Reed,  Nancy 
Kelly  and  James  Spottswood. 

“GREEN  EYES”  has  been  completed  by 
Chesterfield.  .  .  .  “The  House  of  Strangers” 
is  the  last  to  come  from  Chesterfield  and 
Invincible  this  year.  .  .  .  Eric  Von  Stroheim 
leads  the  cast.  .  .  .  First  Division  will  dis¬ 

tribute  both. 

UNIVERSAL  OFFICE  all  glad  to  see  Joe 
Engel  getting  a  deserved  promotion  to  branch 
manager.  .  .  All  determined  to  make  the 

highest  record  possible  behind  him.  .  .  .  The 
Friedmans’  projection  room  above  Hollywood 
exchange,  got  going  this  week.  .  .  .  Willie 

and  “Baker”  associated.  .  .  .  And  another  out¬ 
let  for  local  exchanges.  .  .  .  Fox  exchange 
all  refinished  and  redecorated.  .  .  .  Edgar  Moss 
and  Sam  Gross  have  more  privacy  now.  .  .  . 
Jim  Clark  hops  out  to  Chicago  this  weekend 
to  attend  the  trucking  conference  there.  .  .  . 
National  Film  Carriers,  Inc.  .  .  .  No  clambake 
in  sight,  as  yet.  .  .  .  Lou  Krouse,  the  biblio¬ 
phile,  president  local  307,  hopped  to  Louisville 
for  the  annual  lATSE  convention.  .  .  .  Ac¬ 
companied  by  his  local  associates. 

NATIONAL  FILM  CARRIERS,  INC.,  of 
which  Jim  Clark,  Horlacher’s,  is  president, 
has  been  moving  along  nicely. 


Talkie  Text  Books 


Talkies  as  textbooks  were  introduced 
to  a  Harrisburg  audience  recently  in  a 
demonstration  sponsored  by  the  Civic 
Club  of  Harrisburg. 

Subjects  of  the  films,  released  by  Erpi 
Picture  Consultants,  Inc.,  a  subsidiary 
of  Western  Electric  Company,  included 
studies  of  infant  behavior,  developments 
in  transportation,  the  mechanism  of 
musical  instruments,  animal  habitats 
and  protective  coloration,  electrostatics 
and  a  new  method  for  teaching  reading. 


The  organization  has  made  progress  and 
contains  35  members. 

CONVENTION  TIME:  ...  Fox  office 
went  to  New  York  City  this  week  for  the 
annual  get-together.  .  .  .  Warners  have  a 

regional  meeting  in  AC,  June  4-5.  .  .  .  Mono¬ 
gram  will  have  a  regional  meeting.  .  .  .  Uni¬ 
versal  meets  in  New  York  June  5-7.  .  .  .  Harry 
Bodkin  et  al  went  to  Chicago  convention. 

FOX  CONTINGENT  at  the  convention  in¬ 
cluded  Edgar  Moss,  Sam  Gross,  F.  J.  Kelly, 
G.  Fleischman,  Sam  Diamond,  Bill  Hum¬ 
phries,  Ben  Tolmas,  Al  Davis.  .  .  .  Earle 

Sweigert  awaiting  his  convention.  .  .  .  The 

Paramounteer  says  Paramount  will  lead  them 
all  arrain  next  year.  .  .  .  He  says  “Little 

Miss  Marker”  will  do  surprising  business 
everywhere. 


Bernard  Englander  Passes 

Bernard  Englander,  projectionist  at  the  Royal 
Theatre,  passed  away  this  week  following  an 
attack  of  pneumonia.  Englander  was  well 
known  in  the  trade. 

The  case  was  particularly  sad  in  that  he  was 
to  have  been  married  June  3. 


Herald  Distribution  Unaffected 

Distribution  of  heralds  is  being  continued 
by  local  houses  using  that  means  of  advertis¬ 
ing. 

Survey  among  printing  companies  reveals  no 
let  down  in  such  production. 

Recently,  because  of  enforcement  of  a  local 
ordinance,  it  was  thought  likely  that  such  forms 
would  suffer. 

However,  indications  are  that  force  of  cam¬ 
paign  has  diminished. 


Wilmington  Catholic  Ban 

Baltimore  theatre  managers  got  the  severest 
jolt  they  have  ever  received  at  the  hands  of 
film  reformers  the  other  day  when  Bishop 
Edmond  J.  FitzMaurice,  Wilmington  diocese, 
addressing  a  confirmation  class  at  St.  Peter's 
Pro-Cathedral,  flayed  indecent  films  and  urged 
a  boycott  of  them  as  well  as  of  those  which 
“glorify  crime.v  There  have  been  few  utter¬ 
ances  of  this  kmd  by  members  of  the  Catholic 
clergy,  and  Bishop  FitzMaurice  has,  in  the  past, 
had  little  to  say  on  the  subject  for  rublication. 


Booking  Theatres 
Everywhere 

Honest  ::  Reliable 
Conscientious 
Service 

EDWARD  SHERMAN 

VAUDEVILLE  AGENCY 

Real  Estate  Trust  Bldg. 
PHILADELPHIA 

Pennypacker  7595 

MAYFAIR  THEATRE  BLDG.,  NEW  YORK 
BR.  9-1905 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Jun  1  ’  34 


23 


I 


DON’T 
LET  ’EM 
WANDER 
AROUND 

Philadelphians  are  enthusiastic 
!  i  show-goers  when  they  know  what 
I  they’re  going  to  see  and  where  to 
:  see  it!  Don’t  let  ’em  wander 

[  around  wondering  whether  or  not 
they  want  to  come  to  your  theatre ! 
Tell  ’em  what  you’re  showing. 
Snap  ’em  out  of  those  “maybes” 
I  and  “if  s”  and  up  to  your  box 
office. 

And  tell  ’em  the  quickest,  surest, 
most  economical  way — 

Tell  ’em  in 

The  RECORD 
Amusement 
Directory 

A  listing  in  Philadelphia’s  first 
and  only  complete  amusement 
directory  costs  only  30  cents  a  day 
(longer  listings,  15  cents  per  line 
additional)  and  carries  your  show- 
j  ing  to  182,000  families  daily  and 
288,000  on  Sunday. 

To  place  your  listing  or  for  fur- 
j  ther  information  call  the 


PHILADELPHIA 

RECORD 

I  |  CLASSIFIED  DEPARTMENT 
i  WALNUT  2300 


TRIPLY  PERSONAL 

More  Marriages 
On  the  Way 


JUNE  5  is  the  day  when  Betty  Redmond, 
Metro,  becomes  the  bride  of  Herman  Sher, 
Stroudsburg.  .  .  .  Everyone  wishes  them  well. 

.  .  .  Manager  Bob  Mochrie,  Warners,  was  all 
thrilled  when  his  wife  came  through  with  a 
golf  title.  .  .  .  Some  one  reported  that  he  was 
going  to  caddie  for  her. 

MANAGER  KEYS,  Apollo,  Gloucester, 
N.  J.,  found  out  about  Claire  Fineman’s  mar¬ 
riage  to  Jack  Segal  exactly  six  months  late. 
.  .  .  But  that  didn’t  stop  him  from  giving 

her  congrats. 

TWO  JUNE  BRIDES  this  month.  .  .  . 
Hilda  Harris,  Universal,  and  Marie  Savage, 
Paramount.  .  .  .  Leonard  Schlesinger  seen  re¬ 
laxing  at  one  of  the  local  n:ght  spots  recently. 
.  .  .  Vine  Street  Supper  and  Dance  was  a  big 
success.  .  .  .  Jack  Greenberg  was  host,  with 
Harry  Dembow  able  M.C.  .  .  .  Nice  speeches, 
much  applause.  .  .  .  Professional  entertain¬ 

ment.  .  .  .  A1  Davis  singing  “Man  on  Flying 
Trapeze.7  .  .  .  Messrs.  Dembow  and  Weiner  in 
Apache  dance.  .  .  .  Carioca  by  Iz  Hirshblond. 
.  .  .Joe  Engel  congratulated.  .  .  .  Cousin 
Carrie  also  present.  .  .  .  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ben 
Amsterdam  enjoyed  highlights.  .  .  .  Swell 

party.  .  .  .  Joe  Burke  will  be  missed  when 
he  goes  to  his  new  assignment.  .  .  .  Ethel 

Freedman  quite  a  golfer.  ...  So  are  Florence 
Weiner  and  Maybelle  Bond. 

THE  MARRIAGE  of  Jack  Blumberg, 
Venice  Theatre  manager,  and  Miss  Esther 
Weinberg,  South  Philadelphia,  was  received 
with  interest  by  his  friends  in  the  trade. 

PHILLIP  HIRSH,  son  of  Harry  Hirsh, 
will  be  more  active  in  exhibitor  ranks,  now  that 
lie  has  graduated  from  high  school.  .  .  .  Walt 
Potamkin,  with  the  Lessys,  will  be  saying  “I 
Do’’  soon. 

THE  HARRISES.  Ben,  Sara,  Jack,  Claire, 
twins,  all  hopped  to  the  boardwalk  for  a  ses¬ 
sion.  .  .  .  Dressed  to  kill.  .  .  .  What?  .  .  . 
Even  the  dog  was  there. 


Theatre  Changes 

Oxford  Theatre,  Burholme,  is  changing 
hands,  as  of  June  1. 

A1  Boyd  and  Theodore  Kirmse  will  handle 
the  theatre,  with  Charlie  La  Portes  associated 
in  management. 

Harry  Biben  will  book  in  the  vaudeville. 

Aldine  closes  June  9.  Reopens  in  August. 

Keith’s  will  remain  in  S-W  fold  until  end  of 
year,  at  least. 


National  Theatre  Supply  Company 


Service  and  courtesy  from  men  you  know  .  .  . 
Plus  equipment  of  known  and  guaranteed  quality 
.  .  .  are  at  your  service  at  our  local  branch 


UNIFORMS 


English  Mess  Jackets  a m 

for  Ushers  -  «pOa7) 

Cool - Snappy — Inexpensive 

Any  Color  Gabardine 
WRITE  FOR  INFORMATION 

AMERICAN  UNIFORM  CO. 

134  So.  11th  St.  Phila.,  Pa. 


VAUDEVILLE  AGENCIES 


HARRY  BIBEN 

VAUDEVILLE  AGENCY 

(603-4  COLONIAL  BUILDING) 

N.  E.  Cor.  13th  and  Market  Sts. 

Phone,  Rittenhouse  9494-5 

PHILADELPHIA 
B  ook  i  n  9 

STANLEY  -  WARNER 
THEATRES,  Philadelphia 


TICKET  REGISTERS 


TICKET  MACHINE  BARGAINS 


ALL  MAKES.  .  . 
ELECTRICALLY  OP¬ 
ERATED  .  .  .  REBUILT 
.  .  .  GOOD  AS  NEW 
.  .  .  MECHANICALLY 
PERFECT  .  .  .  GUAR¬ 
ANTEED. 

Write  for  Prices! 


Write  Immediately  for  Our  New  Introductory  Offer 

STANDARD  TICKET  REGISTER  CORP. 

1600  Broadway/ New  York  •  Geo  McaD.gfn  m-:« 


• 

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Service  to  the 

Multigraphing 
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Motion  Picture 

Addressing  -  Folding 

Industry 

Enclosing  -  Mailing 

Accurate  List 

Advertising 

of  all  Theatres 

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and  Executives 

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SAVING 


24 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


1  -June-34 


6-Point  Reviews 


J  1  "►Who  made  it?  4 ■►Is  it  family  or  adult  type? 
2  *►  Who's  in  it  ?  5  ■►  What's  it  about  ? 

How  good  is  it  ?  6  ■►  Running  Time  ? 


COLUMBIA 

1 

FOX 

1 

MONOGRAM 

Family 

Hell  Bent  lor  Love  Action  Drama 

57  m. 

Tim  McCoy,  Lillian  Bond.  Lafe  McKee,  Vin  Sher¬ 
man,  Harry  Bradley,  Bradley  Page. 

The  cop  is  framed  by  the  jealous  racketeer, 
thrown  off  the  force,  eventually  wins  back  his 
job  and  the  girl.  Show  is  fast  moving  action 
picture,  should  satisfy  all  the  thrill  lovers. 

Estimate:  Speed. 


FIRST  NATIONAL 


Family 

Foq  Over  Frisco  Melodrama 

3  68m. 

Lyle  Talbot.  Bette  Davis.  Donald  Woods,  Hugh 
Herbert,  Margaret  Lindsay,  Robert  Barratt. 

Blood  and  thunder  meller  that  will  please 
non-discriminating  audiences.  Show  lacks  star 
strength  but  has  the  entertainment  and  inter¬ 
est  values.  Intriguing  title  has  a  mystery  and 
murder  atmosphere  as  well  as  a  gang  of  crooks 
for  general  interest. 

Estimate:  Fast. 


Midnight  Alibi 


Adult 

Melodrama 

60m. 


Richard  Barthelmess,  Ann  Dvorak,  Helen  Lowell, 
Helen  Chandler,  Henry  O’Neill,  Robert  Barrat,  Rob¬ 
ert  McWade,  Purnell  Pratt. 

Weak  entrant  with  Barthelmess  as  the  gang¬ 
ster  whose  life  is  saved  by  an  old  lady  whose 
broken  romance  resulted  in  a  40  year  period  of 
being  cloistered.  Show  won  t  add  to  Barthel¬ 
mess’  following  and  outside  of  Helen  Lowell’s 
performance  has  nothing  to  brag  about. 

Estimate:  Misses. 


Family 

The  Circus  Clown  Comedy 

79m. 

Joe  E.  Brown,  Dorothy  Burgess,  Patricia  Ellis,  Don 
DUlaway.  Gordon  Westcott,  Spencer  Charters,  Tom 
Dugan,  Harry  Woods. 

Brown  in  a  circus  story  and  with  a  dual  role 
should  be  able  to  turn  in  average  Brown  grosses. 
As  a  circusman  who  leaves  the  ring  and  wants 
to  keep  his  son  from  it,  Brown  takes  both 
parts.  Son  eventually  does  join  the  circus  and 
the  laughs  come  from  situations. 

Estimate:  Usual  Brown. 


Family 

The  Merry  Frinks  Farce 

67m. 

Alive  MacMahon,  Guy  Kibbee,  Allen  Jenkins,  Hugh 
Herbert,  Helen  Lowell,  Frankie  Darro,  Joan  Wheeler, 
Ivan  Lcbedcff,  Ethel  Wales,  Harold  Huber,  James 
Bush. 

Odd-titled  farce  that  will  have  to  depend  on 
cast  strength  to  pull.  Show  can  be  sold  as  a 
swell  comedy.  Picture  borders  on  burlesque  and 
fast  farce  and  depicts  a  crazy  family  with 
the  only  sane  person  the  mother,  head  of  the 
household.  Eventually,  all  come  to  senses  when 
she  is  about  to  take  a  walkout. 

Estimate:  Sell  laughs. 


Call  It  Luck 


Family 

Comedy 

65m. 


Money  Means 

Nothing 


Family 
Comedy  Drama 
64m. 


Pat  Patterson,  Herbert  M  undin  f  Charles  Starrett, 
Gordon  Westcott,  Theodor  Von  Eltz,  Reginald  Mason, 
Georgia  Caine,  Susan  Fleming. 

Weak  entrant  that  will  have  to  depend  on 
Mund’n’s  comedy  to  get  any  effect.  Picture 
lacks  names  to  sell,  revolves  about  a  cabby  who 
wins  in  a  derby,  falls  victim  to  crooks  who  sell 
him  an  old  horse.  Eventually,  he  outwits  the 
scorpions  and  there  is  a  comedy  finish. 

Estimate:  So-so. 


Wally  Ford.  Gloria  Shea,  Edgar  Kennedy,  Vivian 
Oakland,  Betty  Blythe,  Tenen  Holtz,  Ann  Brody, 
Richard  Tucker,  Ed  Tamblyn,  Maidel  Turner. 

This  is  the  one  about  the  wealthy  girl  who 
marries  the  struggling  young  shipping  clerk, 
but  the  picture  emerges  as  an  attractive  en¬ 
trant.  Cast  has  no  stars  to  sell  but  the  feature 
will  satisfy  all  audiences  who  crave  entertain¬ 
ment. 

Estimate:  Nice. 


The  Heart 
Song 


Family 

Romantic  Comedy  with  Songs 
82m. 


The  Man  from  Utah 


Family 

Western 

56m. 


Lilian  Harvey,  Charles  Boyer,  Mady  Christians. 

Pleasant  little  tidbit  made  abroad  but  which 
presents  Harvey  as  well  as  in  her  American  pro¬ 
ductions.  This  one  revolves  around  the  queen’s 
maid  who  sang  to  the  duke  while  he  was  uncon¬ 
scious  and  the  attempts  of  the  duke  to  find  out 
who  did  it.  Picture  is  nicely  handled,  has  many 
interesting  touches. 

Estimate:  Neat  production. 


METRO 


Family 

Operator  13  Period  Costume  Drama 

— m. 

Marion  Davies,  Gary  Cooper ,  Douglas  Dumbrille, 
Katherine  Alexander,  Ted  Hcaly,  Russell  Hardie, 
Four  Mills  Brothers,  Willard  Robertson,  Reginald 
Barlow,  Jean  Parker,  Sidney  Toler,  Walter  Lang. 

Good  casting,  star  names  and  some  nice  pro¬ 
duction  bits  can’t  disguise  the  fact  that  the  story 
about  the  girl  spy  and  the  man  spy  has  been 
seen  around  before.  Picture  may  get  along  on 
the  strength  of  names  as  well  as  Hearst  pub¬ 
licity  in  some  spots,  but  in  others  it  is  likely  to 
be  handicapped  by  the  costume  atmosphere. 

Estimate:  Well,  suh,  it’s  like  this. 


Family 

The  Thin  Man  Mystery  Drama 

89m. 

William  Powell.  Myrna  Loy,  Maureen  O’Sullivan, 
Nat  Pendleton,  Minna  Gombell,  Henry  Wadsworth, 
Harold  Huber,  Ed  Brophy,  Natalie  Moorhead,  Edward 
Ellis. 

Swell  transition  of  a  best  seller,  aided  by  ex¬ 
cellent  direction  from  Van  Dyke,  good  casting 
and  an  ace  pace.  Picture  is  a  treat  for  any 
box  office  and  should  do  a  neat  business  at  most 
houses.  Story  moves  rapidly,  keeps  the  audi¬ 
ence  guessing  and  with  Powell  as  a  sleuth 
should  find  word  of  mouth  everywhere. 

Estimate:  Excellent. 


What  Do  You  Think? 

It  is  the  aim  of  this  publication  to  give  Its  readers 
every  possible  service.  Revision  of  the  page  is  an 
attempt  to  offer  a  concise  reviewing  form  that 
will  help  every  exhibitor.  Your  suggestions  and 
orlticisms  are  welcomed.  Write  in  now  and  tell 
us  whether  you  like  this  or  not. 


John  Wayne,  Polly  Ann  Young,  Yakima  Canutt, 
George  Hayes,  Lafe  McKee. 

Fast  moving  western  with  a  rodeo  thrown  in 
for  more  thrills.  This  time  Wayne  tries  to 
uncover  the  doings  of  a  phony  racket  gang  who 
want  to  frame  results  in  the  big  rodeo. 

Estimate:  Spirited. 


UNIVERSAL 


Embarrassing  Moments 


Family 

Comedy 

74m. 


Chester  Morris,  George  E.  Stone,  Alan  Mowbray, 
Marion  Nixon,  Walter  Woolf,  Henry  Armetta,  John 
Wray,  Herman  Bing. 

Comedy  that  will  please  the  general  audience 
but  which  probably  won’t  be  a  standout  any¬ 
where.  A  practical  joker  gets  himself  into  a 
jam,  eventually  wins  the  girl.  Mix  in  a  police 
chase,  an  airplane  bit  and  some  gags,  old  and 
new,  and  the  result  is  apparent. 

Estimate:  Just  about. 


I  Give  My  Love  Heart  drama 

75m. 

Paul  Lukas,  Wynne  Gibson,  Eric  Linden,  John 
Darrow,  Tad  Alexander. 

Woman’s  show  that  should  do  an  average 
business.  A  woman  accidentally  kills  her  hus¬ 
band,  finds  her  son  opposed  to  her  when  she 
returns.  After  many  wanderings  she  winds 
up  as  a  model  with  the  son  painting  her. 
Eventually,  her  real  lover  tells  all  and  mother 
and  son  are  reunited. 

Estimate:  Women’s  angle. 


Adult 

Nn  Drama 

OW  f  88m. 

Margaret  Sullavan,  Douglas  Montgomery,  Alan 
Hale,  Christian  Rub,  Dc  Witt  Jennings,  Catherine 
Doucet,  Muriel  Kirkland. 

Well  produced  version  of  a  famed  novel  that 
shouldn’t  have  any  trouble  holding  its  own  in 
most  spots.  With  Sullavan  sold  through 
“Only  Yesterday’’  and  Frank  Borzage  direc¬ 
tion,  Universal  has  turned  out  a  picture  that 
will  appeal  to  the  women,  a  great  aid  to  box 
office  satisfaction.  Story  tells  of  the  problems 
of  young  love,  has  been  delicately  handled. 
Estimate:  Looks  good. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


25 


1  -June-34 


WARNERS 


Adult 

Doctor  Monica  Drama 

77m. 

Kay  Francis,  Warren  William,  Jean  Muir,  Verree 
Teasdale,  Philip  Reed,  Emma  Dunn,  Herbert  Bunston, 
Hale  Hamilton. 

Woman’s  picture  about  the  female  doctor 
who  couldrt't  have  a  child  but  finds  out  that 
another  woman  is  going  to  have  one  for  which 
hubby  is  responsible.  Picture  will  have  to  be 
handled  carefully  and  is  built  strictly  for 
women  and  adult  trade.  Warren  William 
hasn’t  much  to  do,  story  concentrating  on  two 
women.  Unwed  mother  eventually  takes  the 
airplane  crash  way  out. 

Estimate:  For  the  females. 


Adult 

He  Was  Her  Man  Melodrama 

70m. 

James  Cagney,  Joan  Blondcll,  Vidor  Jory,  Sarah 
Padde n,  Harohl  Huber,  Russell  Hopton,  Frank  Craven. 

Gang  drama  with  Cagney  passing  out  in  the 
finish.  Show  is  likely  to  hit  usual-Cagney- 
Blondell  grosses  in  spots  where  they  like  their 
mellers.  Picture  has  some  twists  usually  not 
seen  in  such  gang  pictures  but  when  all  the 
returns  are  in  will  probably  stand  or  fall  be¬ 
cause  of  the  shotgun  surroundings.  Where  they 
go  for  the  old-time  Cagney,  this  should  do  well. 

Estimate:  Meller. 


Adult 

The  Key  Drama 

70m. 

William  Powell,  Edna  Best,  Colin  Clive,  Hobart 
Cavanaugh,  Halliwell  Hobbes,  Donald  Crisp,  J.  M. 
Kerrigan,  Phil  Regan,  Henry  O'Neill,  Maxine  Doyle. 

Dramatic  tale  with  an  Irish  rebellion  at¬ 
mosphere  that  will  have  to  depend  upon  Powell 
to  pull  them  in.  Show  is  nicely  produced  but 
lacks  interest  for  all  types  of  audiences. 
Powell  is  r  resented  as  an  army  captain  whose 
previous  romance  with  the  wife  of  another 
officer  crops  up  with  the  wife  thinking  the  old 
love  is  still  warm.  When  she  finds  out  it  isn’t, 
hubby  is  in  a  jam  and  Powell  does  the  heroic 
thing  to  untangle  events.  Piece  looks  authentic. 
Estimate:  Powell. 


STATE  RIGHTS 


Badge  of  Honor  Action 

67  m. 

Buster  Crabbe,  Ruth  Hall,  Ralph  Lewis,  Betty 
Blythe,  John  Trent. 

Pleasant  little  action  story  that  should  please 
mass  audiences.  Rich  young  man  poses  as  a 
newspaperman,  sides  with  the  girl  whose  father 
owns  one  of  the  two  local  papers.  Thanks  to 
the  young  love,  the  tide  against  the  dad  is 
turned  and  the  young  man  wins  the  girl  and 
the  fight  against  the  opposition. 

Estimate:  Pleasant. 


Drums  O’VoodoO  Melodrama 

69m. 

J.  Augustus  Smith  and  all-Negro  cast. 

All-negro  cast  in  a  picture  that  is  best  suited 
to  the  negro  neighborhoods.  Outside  of  its 
limited  appeal,  it  carries  some  dramatic 
moments  that  will  intrigue  some  film  follow¬ 
ers.  Picture  includes  voodoo  worship  and  clash 
with  religion  as  basis. 

Estimate:  Strictly  limited. 


Family 

I  Can’t  Escape  Drama 

60m. 

Lila  Lee,  Onslow  Stevens,  Russell  Gleason,  Otis 
Harlan,  Hooper  Atchley,  Clara  Kimball  Young,  Nat 
Carr,  Eddie  Gribbon,  Kane  Richmond. 

Impressive  inde  number  about  a  paroled  con¬ 
vict  and  a  lady  with  a  past  who  decide  to  make 
a  straight  go  of  it.  Former  gets  back  into 
the  old  racket  when  no  other  jobs  appear,  but 
is  saved  in  the  nick  of  time  by  a  pal.  Picture 
shapes  us  as  a  nice  entrant  from  the  indepen¬ 
dent  market  and  has  a  story  that  will  interest. 

Estimate:  Okay. 


Marrying  Widows  Comedy  Drama 

64m. 

John  Mack  Brown,  Judith  Allen,  Minna  Gombell, 
Lucien  Littlefield,  Bert  Roach,  Sarah  Padden. 

Entertaining  independent  entrant  with  some 
names  to  sell  and  with  a  story  that  won’t 
cause  any  complaints.  Picture  revolves  about 
an  heiress  who  gets  involved  in  domestic 
troubles,  eventually  straightens  out  all  her  prob¬ 
lems.  Picture  will  slip  in  satisfactorily  where 
they  aren’t  particular. 

Estimate:  Fair  inde. 


Foreign 

Romance  in  Budapest  Family 

92m. 

Foreign  cast  in  Hungarian  with  some  titles  to  ex- 
plairi  action. 

Foreign  picture  that  may  prove  of  interest 
where  audiences  are  cosmopolitan  or  in  artie 
houses  that  cater  to  a  special  trade.  Show  is 
entirely  in  native  tongue,  with  action  taking 
I  lace  in  Hungary,  but  contains  some  nice  music 
and  laughs  for  those  who  can  understand  the 
action.  Picture  has  been  well  produced  but 
appial  is  strictly  limited. 

Estimate:  Foreign. 


Shame  of  a  Nation 


Adult 

Foreign 

74m. 


Gustav  Diesel,  Charles  Clausen,  Harry  Mobis,  Frank 
Campers,  Jackie  Monnier. 

Propaganda  picture  with  limited  appeal  that 
may  prove  of  interest  to  the  art  houses.  Show 
was  made  abroad,  has  English  dialogue  that 
is  difficult  to  understand.  Story  revolves  about 
the  effects  of  war  on  combatants  and  civilians, 
includes  a  romance  but  is  generally  for  re¬ 
stricted  groups. 

Estimate:  Restricted. 


War’s  End  Compilation 

42m. 

A  compilation  of  shots  showing  troops  in  action 
as  well  as  other  scenes  of  the  World  War. 

Here  is  another  of  the  seemingly  endless 
string  of  pictures  showing  the  work  done  by 
American  doughboys  in  the  World  War.  Shots 
have  nothing  that  hasn’t  been  seen  before,  but 
narration  is  good.  These  pictures  depend  on  the 
selling  and  on  most  bills  this  will  make  an  okay 
added  attraction.  Not  long  feature  material,  it 
can  be  used  to  boost  a  program.  Its  appeal, 
however,  is  limited. 

Estimate:  War  stuff. 


Family 

The  Lost  Jungle  Action 

70m. 

Clyde  Beatty,  Cecilia  Parker,  Syd  Saylor,  Wheeler 
Oakman,  Warner  Richmond,  Lloyd  Whitlock,  Harry 
Holman. 

All  Beatty  and  an  action  thriller  that  all 
thrill  lovers  will  like.  Full  length  feature  gives 
Beatty  plenty  of  opportunities  to  work  with  his 
cats  and  in  addition  there  is  an  action  story 
that  satisfies.  Picture  goes  from  a  circus  to  a 
desert  isle  with  plenty  of  dangers,  of  course. 

Estimate:  Thrills. 


LIBERTY 


Once  to  Every 

Bachelor 


Adult 
Comedy  Drama 
71m. 


Neil  Hamilton,  Marion  Nixon,  William  Austin , 
Aileen  Pringle,  Raymond  Hatton,  Kathleen  Howard, 
Ralf  Harolde,  Bradley  Page,  George  Irving,  Don 
Alvarado. 

Another  nice  independent  accomplishment, 
with  nice  sets,  good  direction,  etc.,  making  an 
attractive  piece  out  of  a  familiar  story.  A 
bachelor  marries  a  pickup  to  get  out  of  being 
a  divorce  co-respondent,  finds  out  she  is  in¬ 
volved  in  a  murder,  grows  to  love  her  and  the 
developments  include  the  third  woman  trying 
to  throw  the  whole  thing  off.  Players  are  well 
cast,  picture  should  please. 

Estimate:  Nice  bet. 


GAUMONT  BRITISH 


Adult 

Channel  Crossing  Drama 

69m 

Constance  Cummings,  Anthony  Bushell,  Nigel  Bruce , 
Matheson  Lang,  Dorothy  Dickson,  Edmund  Gwenn. 

Well  paced  English  picture  that  has  names  to 
sell  as  well  as  an  intriguing  story.  Action 
takes  place  on  a  channel  steamer  with  Cum¬ 
mings  as  a  secretary  to  a  big  financier.  Her 
fiance  gets  jealous,  a  fight  takes  place,  he  is 
thrown  overboard  but  all  ends  well. 

Estimate:  Good  production. 


Adult 

Friday  the  13th  Drama 

73m. 

Sonnie  Hale,  Edmund  Gwenn,  Cyril  Smith,  Ursula 
Jeans,  Frank  Lawton,  Gordon  Harker,  Jessie  Mat¬ 
thews,  Ralph  Richardson,  Ivor  McLaren. 

Well  made  English  production  that  can  stand 
up  with  the  best  of  them  as  far  as  production 
values  are  concerned.  However,  show  is  all- 
English,  can’t  mean  much  at  most  domestic 
box  offices.  Story  surrounds  the  death  of  many 
people  when  lightning  strikes  a  bus,  shows  what 
their  lives  had  been  up  to  the  point  of  accident. 
Picture  holds  interest  all  the  way. 

Estimate:  Well  done. 


EXPERTS . . . 

in  every  field 

of 

theatre  design 

and 

maintenance  will  be 

found  listed  on 

the 

READY  REFERENCE 

PAGES 

26 


Jun  1'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


1934-1935 

PRODUCTION 


Mascot 

MASCOT  PICTURES  will  produce  a  series 
of  ten  feature  films  and  two  specials  for  release 
during  1934-1935,  it  is  announced  by  Nat 
Levine,  president.  More  than  $1,250,000  has 
been  budgeted  by  Mascot  and  work  on  the 
feature  program  now  is  under  way  at  the 
Mascot  studios  in  Hollywood.  An  all-time 
record  for  independent  producers  was  set  by 
Levine  with  the  signing  of  thirty  writers,  in¬ 
cluding  some  of  the  best-known  writing  talent  in 
Hollywood,  to  fashion  Mascot  story  material 
into  suitable  film  material. 

IN  ADDITION  to  the  writing  staff,  the 
production  activities  will  be  supervised  by  three 
important  producers.  The  trio  are  Louis  Baum, 
Martin  G.  Cohn  and  Sigmund  Neufeld.  Baum 
will  be  responsible  for  the  two  exploitation  spe¬ 
cials,  “Young  and  Beautiful"  and  “Harmony 
Lane.’’ 

Neufeld  will  supervise  “Along  Came  a 
Woman,’’  “Anything  Once,’’  “The  Man  from 
Headquarters’’  and  “One  Frightened  Night." 
Cohn  will  oversee  production  on  “Crimson 
Romance,’’  “Streamline  Express,"  “Confiden¬ 
tial,”  “Headlines”  and  others. 

ACTUAL  PRODUCTION  on  the  1934-1935 
program  of  Mascot  Pictures  now  is  under  way, 
with  “Burn  ’Em  Up  Barnes,”  an  auto-racing 
serial,  and  “Along  Came  a  Woman.” 

ONE  OF  THE  MORE  important  features 
on  the  Mascot  production  schedule,  “Young  and 
Beautiful,”  is  being  readied.  This  film  will  star 
the  Wampas  Baby  Stars  of  1934.  The  other 
“special’1’  on  the  Mascot  program  will  be  “Har¬ 
mony  Lane,”  based  on  the  life  of  Stephen  Fos¬ 
ter.  This  will  be  an  elaborate  musical. 

TLIE  TEN  FEATURE  productions  planned 
are : 

“Crimson  Romance,”  a  dramatic  tale  of  the 
late  World  War,  picturing  a  romantic  story 
based  on  a  background  of  heroic  struggle; 
“Waterfront  Lady,”  a  story  of  life  along  the 
waterfront;  “Along  Came  a  Woman,”  in 
which  laughs  and  pathos  are  intertwined  in 
the  serio-comic  story  of  two  women  whose 
sons  are  rivals  for  the  same  girl ;  “Confiden¬ 
tial,”  a  story  of  the  Secret  Service,  culled 
from  the  archives  of  this  most  famous  govern¬ 
mental  detective  body;  “One  Frightened 
Night,”  a  mystery  comedy  based  on  the  play, 
“The  Skeleton  in  the  Closet,”  by  John  Stew¬ 
art  Twist  and  William  Worthington. 

“Streamline  Express”  will  mark  the  first 
time  that  the  most  famous  of  all  modern 
trains  will  be  the  background  for  a  romantic 
and  dramatic  story;  “Man  From  Headquar¬ 
ters,1’  based  on  a  story  by  John  Rathmell  and 
William  A.  Grew ;  “Headlines,”  revealing 
for  the  first  time  the  news  “behind  the  news,”’ 
is  being  written  by  Ford  Beebe ;  “The 
Marines  Have  Landed,”  is  being  written  by 
John  Rathmell  and  Colbert  Clarke ;  “Any¬ 
thing  Once,”  based  on  a  story  by  Wyndham 
Gittens,  A1  Martin  and  Sherman  Lowe. 

IN  ADDITION  to  the  above  program  of 
feature  film,  four  serials  are  being  set  for 
1934-1935  release.  Included  in  this  quartette  of 
chapter  pictures  are  “The  Lost  Jungle,”  “Burn 
’Em  Up  Barnes,’"  now  in  production  and  “Law 
of  the  Wild,”  co-starring  Rex,  King  of  Wild 
Horses,  and  Rin-Tin-Tin,  Jr.,  famous  dog  star. 
Ken  Maynard,  one  of  the  more  popular  cowboy 
stars,  has  been  signed  to  star  in  a  serial,  as  yet 
untitled.  He  will  also  be  starred  in  a  feature 
production,  based  on  Western  life. 


BETWEEN  THE  PARAGRAPHS 


WEST,  TEMPLE  HAVE 
ONE  THING  IN  COMMON 

IT  IS  AN  ODD  BUSINESS  indeed  that  can  bring  out  two  box 
office  satellites  of  decidedly  different  temperament  and  make-up  in 
the  same  season.  Mae  West  and  Shirley  Temple  have  nothing  in 
common,  except  that  both  are  of  the  same  sex.  Yet,  both  may  be 
classified  with  the  best  bets  of  the  passing  season.  Mae  West  has 
already  demonstrated  her  prowess  while  the  little  Temple  girl  indi¬ 
cates  that  with  a  couple  of  more  pictures  under  her  belt  she  will  be 
strong  box  office  material. 

TOO  MANY  SO-AND-SO 
PICTURES  BEING  DISTRIBUTED 

COAST  REPORTS  that  at  least  one  studio  has  made  special 
attempt  to  turn  out  pictures  for  double  feature  programs  indicate  that 
the  majors  do  not  intend  to  make  any  place  for  other  than  their  own 
interests.  Glancing  at  some  of  the  recent  releases,  one  might  believe 
that  some  of  the  pictures  now  being  distributed  were  made  with  twin 
bills  in  mind.  While  they  bear  entertainment  values  of  some  account 
they  are  decidedly  nil  as  marquee  attractions.  The  pity  of  it  all  is 
that  the  industry  has  so  encouraged  values  of  names  and  stars  that 
pictures  which  bear  bigger  entertainment  values  are  neglected  because 
of  lack  of  star  lustre. 

GENERAL  VIEW  ON  CODE 
NOW  AVAILABLE  TO  TRADE 

SEVERAL  OBVIOUS  CONCLUSIONS  may  be  drawn  from  the 
workings  of  code  boards  throughout  the  United  States. 

Briefly  they  may  be  summarized  as  follows: 

1.  Cases  which  involve  overbuying  are  often  being  settled  by  giving  the 
offended  party  some  pictures. 

2.  Cases  between  independents  are  about  as  numerous  as  those  between 
circuit  and  independent. 

3.  The  boards  have  shown  no  tendency  to  favor  one  side  or  the  other. 
Most  of  the  cases  seem  to  be  decided  on  their  merits. 

4.  Appeals  to  the  Code  Authority  will  be  frequent.  The  trouble  with  this 
method  of  appeal  is  that  any  case  can  be  brought  up  again.  This 
should  prove  a  bother  to  the  Code  Authority. 

5.  The  local  board  secretary  should  be  given  some  conciliatory  power. 
If  a  case  of  similar  nature  has  been  decided  in  another  part  of  the 
country,  the  board  secretary  ought  to  be  given  power  to  tell  each  of 
the  exhibitors  about  it.  In  this  manner,  dockets  can  be  cleared  much 
faster. 

6.  Use  of  lawyers  in  hearings  seems  to  retard  the  hearings  and  has  not  yet 
come  to  be  any  sort  of  advantage. 

7.  Full  publicity  on  all  cases  is  working  out  for  the  best  interests  of  the 
industry. 

8.  A  large  number  of  exhibitors  are  still  afraid  to  file  cases.  The  old 
idea  in  the  business  that  filing  a  case  may  result  in  some  sort  of  a 
penalty  later  from  someone  seems  to  hang  over  into  the  code  workings, 
as  far  as  this  is  concerned. 

ASK  FOR  CO-OPERATION 
ON  THE  CLEAN  PICTURES 

THE  DRIVE  of  the  Catholic  church  against  allegedly  salacious 
pictures  seems  to  be  reaching  its  peak.  Whether  or  not  it  is  affecting 
business  to  any  great  degree  is  a  debatable  point.  In  some  sections, 
it  is  of  more  strength  than  in  others. 

There  seems  to  be  no  way,  because  of  the  nature  of  the  campaign, 
to  fight  it  directly.  However,  one  angle  has  appeared  which  may  be 
used  by  exhibitors. 

If  some  pictures  should  not  be  seen  because  of  their  nature,  then, 
certainly,  the  Church  should  give  endorsement  to  pictures  which  it 
recommends.  If  exhibitors  who  have  been  affected  request  this  sort 
of  co-operation  it  should  be  forthcoming.  If  not,  then,  obviously 
there  must  be  some  prejudice  that  ought  to  be  explained. 

HOBART  MANN. 


i 


Iexhibhor^  is  the  only  efficient. 


authentic  medium  of  covering  ALL 


local  code  activities  .  .  .  instructing 


its  readers  on  all  code  and  griev¬ 


ance  board  methods  .  .  .  carrying 


in  detail  each  issue  all  complaints. 


decisions  and  news  of  local  code 


boards  .  .  .  Just  another  local 


personal  service  of  value  to  you. 


Subscribe  Now! 


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JAY  EMANUEL  PUBLICATIONS,  Inc. 

219  North  Broad  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Gentlemen: — 

Your  services  are  useful  to  me  in  the  operation  of  my  business.  I  want  to  be  sure  of 
receiving  a  copy  of  each  issue.  Enclosed  find  my  check. 

Name 


Theatre 


Adrlrpec 


1 


BOYS/ 

/ 

If  Ws  Names 
you  want  .  • 

Take  a  look 
at  the  exhibits 
on  the  right 
and  then  be 
convinced  that 
METRO  intends 
to  deliver  the 
hits  throughout 
the  summer  as 
well  as  in  every 
other  season. 

BOB  LYNCH 

★ 

Metro  -  Goldwyn  -  Mayer 

1233  Summer  Street 
PHILADELPHIA 


Jun  1  ’ 34  b.c. 

Exhibit  No.  1 

THE  HOLLYWOOD 
PARTY 

With 

Lupe  Velez  Laurel  &  Hardy 
Jimmy  Durante  Polly  Moran 
Jack  Pearl  Charles  Butterworth 
George  Givot  Mickey  Mouse 

A  musical  travesty  that  will  deliver 
loads  of  laughs  as  well  as  plenty 
of  mazumeh  to  your  box  office. 


Exhibit  No.  2 

THE  THIN  MAN 

With 

William  Powell  Myrna  Loy 

Maureen  O'Sullivan 
Minna  Gombell  Nat  Pendleton 

Directed  by  W.  S.  VANDYKE 

A  sensational  version  of  a  novel 
that  is  still  on  the  "best  selling"  lists. 


n  this 
ssue: 


Clean  Film  Drive  Stirs  Exhibitors 


VOL.  16  No.  12 


PHILADELPHIA,  JUNE  15, 1934 


Price,  15  Cents 


Adolph  Zukor  presents  MAE  WEST  in  "IT  AIN’T  NO  SIN"  with  Roger  Pryor 
John  Mack  Brown  •  Duke  Ellington  &  Band  •  A  Paramount  Picture  •  Directed  by  Leo  McCarey  dSl 


PUBLISHED  SEMI-MONTHLY  AT  219  N.  BROAD  STREET.  PHILADELPHIA 
Entered  4s  second-class  matter  September  11,  1924,  at  the  post  office  at  Philadelphia,  Pa,,  under  the  Act  of  March  3,  1875, 


A  Comedy-Drama  o£  a  man  who  died 
^because  he  married  •  •  • 


15  WIVES 


An  In  vincible  Production 


Featuring  CONWAY  TEARLE 
RAYMOND  HATTON,  NOEL  FRANCIS 
NATALIE  MOOREHEAD,  JOHN  WRAY 
RALF  HAROLDE  and  others 

Directed  by  Frank  Strayer 


Distributed  with  the  usual 

Guaranteed  Satisfaction 

by  the 

World’s  Leading  Independent  .  . 

FIRST  DIVISION 
EXCHANGES,  Inc. 


SOLOMON  . 

—had  1000  I 

BLUEBEARD  . 

—  had  9  ♦ 

but  they  didn’t  provoke 
nearly  as  many  belly 
laughs,  titters,  thrills 
and  chills  as  these  15. 


HARRY  H.  THOMAS.  President 


Executive  Offices: 

RKO  BUILDING,  RADIO  CITY,  N.  Y. 


Branches  in: 

ATLANTA 

WASHINGTON 

DETROIT 

BOSTON 


NEW  YORK 

ALBANY 

PITTSBURGH 

CHARLOTTE 

PHILADELPHIA 

LOUISVILLE 


BUFFALO 
CLEVELAND 
NEW  HAVEN 
CINCINNATI 
NEW  ORLEANS 


.J 


Junl5  34 


INTRODUCE  THE  ERA  OF 


PRODUCTIONS  THAT  COST  MORE 


PROSPERITY  PICTURES 


ATTRACTIONS  THAT  ARE  WORTH  MORE 


SHOWS  THAT  WILL  GET  MORE  THAN 


THEIR  SHARE  OF  NEW  DEAL  DOLLARS 


-BEHEMOTH  OF  BEST-SELLERS,  WHICH  WILL  BE  PRODUCED 


WITH  15  PRINCIPAL  STARS  AND  THE  LARGEST  CAST  OF 


.  V 


MOTION  PICTURE. 


Junl5'34  pg.  4 


mm 


"I  AM  A  FUGITIVE'  WAS  A  WARM¬ 
UP  FOR  THIS  STORY  OF  THE 
WAR  AMERICA  IS  IN  TODAY 


Junl5'34  pg.  5 


FROM  THE  PRODUCERS  OF 
"GOLD  DIGGERS  OF  1933"! 


IT’S  TIME  FOR  ANOTHER  "DAWN 
PATROL"— BY  THE  SAME  AU¬ 
THOR,  JOHN  MONK  SAUNDERS 


THE  ADVENTURER  EVERY  MAN 
WOULD  LIKE  TO  BE  .  .  .  THE 
MAN  EVERY  WOMAN  WOULD 
LIKE  TO  LOVE,  PICTURED  BY 
THE  MOST  POPULAR  ROMAN¬ 
TIC  WRITER  SINCE  DUMAS- 
THE  AUTHOR  OF  "THE  SEA 
HAWK",  RAFAEL  SABATINI 


Junl5'34  pg.  6 


THE  BIG  STAR  PRODUCTION  HE 
EARNED  WITH  "WONDER  BAR 


A  RESPLENDENT  MUSICAL 
ALL  THEIR  OWN,  SCIENTIFI¬ 
CALLY  DESIGNED  TO  SHOW 
OFF  THE  TREMENDOUSLY  POP¬ 
ULAR  PERSONALITIES  OF- 


Junl5'34  pg.  7 


■F' 


AFTER  63  WEEKS  ON  BROADWAY,THIS 
WORLD-FAMOUS  MUSICAL  BY  JEROME 
KERN  AND  OTTO  HARBACH,  AUTHORS 
OF  A  SCORE  OF  HIT  SHOWS— A  HUN¬ 
DRED  HIT  SONGS,  WILL  BE  BROUGHT 
TO  THE  SCREEN  BY  WARNER  BROS. 


Junl5'34  pg.  8 


AN  EXOTIC  LOVE  STORY  SO 
UNUSUAL  THAT  IT  DEMANDS 
THIS  UNUSUAL  STAR  TEAM 


Junl5'34  pg.  9 


WARNER  BROS.  WILL  PROVIDE  YOUR  BOX  OFFICE  WITH  THE  ASSURED  DRAWING-POWER  OF 


A  FEW  OF  WHICH  ARE  SHOWN  HERE— PLUS  SUCH  CELEBRATED  STAGE  HITS  AS 


BIG-HEARTED  HERBERT"  •  "THE  FIREBIRD 
APPLESAUCE"  •  "A  PRESENT  FROM  MARGATE 


Junl5'34  pg.  10 

improving  condition^nvit^expansion^hi^industrymust 
get  its  rightful  share iofincreasedcons^^ 
in  the  coming  season  WARNER  BROS.  WILL  TAKE  THE  LEAD 
IN  ATTRACTING  A  DUEPROPORTION^ 

THE  THEATRES  OF  THE  NATION  »  »  »  Pictures  such  as  those 
just  presented,  producedonamoreelabo^ 

. 

been  attempted  in  the  past  four  years,  will  enable  show  business 
to  compete  victoriously  with  all  other  luxury  attractions  -  not 
by  ruinous  price-cutting,  but  on  a  sound  financial  basis  of  reason- 
able  admission  scales  »  »  »  We  believe  that  these  spectacular 
shows,  and  38  others  Jik^hennmnnhi^omjan^jilMea^he 
industry  back  to  the  gmatday^nji^caleshow^ 
years  of  forced  economy.  We  know  that  only  the  most  reckless 
of  exhibitors  will  want  to  run  their  theatres  next  year  without 


WARNER  BROS.’  and  FIRST  NATIONAL’S 
60  PICTURES  FOR  1934-1935 


pg.  11 


THE 


EDITOR'S  PAGE 


The  Philadelphia 


Selective  Buying  Trouble 

#  THE  SELECTIVE  BUYING  head- 
®  ache,  which  cropped  up  with  the 
growth  of  the  chains  and  which  has  con¬ 
tinued  since,  will  cause  many  a  grievance 
board  to  take  aspirin.  It  is  a  question  that 
should  be  decided  by  the  industry,  not  by  a 
few  individuals. 

There  is  no  reason  why  one  theatre 
should  tie  up  three  times  the  number  of 
pictures  it  needs  in  order  to  get  the  cream 
of  the  product.  Granted  that  it  is  to  the 
interests  of  the  distributor,  in  cases  where 
a  larger  house  is  opposed  by  a  smaller,  to 
try  to  get  the  most  for  his  pictures  from 
one,  but  there  should  be  a  fair  provision  for 
the  protection  of  the  other. 

The  code  provides  that  a  theatre  that 
buys  less  than  85%  of  the  product  must 
give  notice  within  21  days  after  the  picture 
becomes  available  whether  or  not  it  is  to 
be  played.  Other  than  that  time,  no  men¬ 
tion  is  made  of  the  selective  buying  evil. 

There  have  been  instances  where  a  dis¬ 
tributor  has  given  an  account  the  right  to 
pick  out  as  little  as  four  pictures  from  a 
season’s  output.  The  opposition  theatre 
would  gladly  play  all,  but  must  wait  for 
the  other  house  to  make  up  its  mind.  The 
evil  of  this,  though  not  always  intentional, 
is  apparent. 

It  is  to  be  doubted  whether  the  local 
boards  can  decide  such  a  question. 

Once  again,  it  looks  like  a  busy  day  for 
the  Code  Authority. 


Too  Polite 

^  CONTACT  WITH  cases  before  local 
*  boards  in  various  parts  of  the  country 
reveals  that  some  exhibitors  are  treating 
hearings  with  the  same  lack  of  attention  as 
they  have  paid  to  exhibitor  organizations, 
etc.  Some  of  the  hearings  have  become 
farces  because  of  the  lack  of  preparation 
on  the  part  of  those  concerned  with  them. 

One  would  think  that  if  an  exhibitor  were 
interested  enough  to  file  a  case  he  would 
take  the  trouble  to  outline  his  testimony 
and  prepare  to  present  it  in  the  briefest 
and  best  manner.  Unfortunately,  this  does 
not  result.  Lawyers  clutter  up  the  pro¬ 
ceedings,  technicalities  which  have  no  place 
are  brought  up. 

It  seems  odd  that  a  business  which  is 
based  on  frankness  and  forcefulness  has  to 
get  so  darned  polite  at  the  board  meetings. 
Some  exhibitors  would  be  far  better  off  to 
speak  the  film  language  before  the  boards 
rather  than  to  have  their  cases  presented 
by  a  lot  of  lawyers  who  clutter  up  proceed¬ 
ings  and  who,  in  a  great  many  instances, 
know  nothing  of  film  tactics  and  mechanics. 


Nothing  But  Appeals 

^  NO  ONE  can  question  the  right  of  any 
party  to  appeal  from  a  decision,  but 
the  avalanche  of  cases  has  resulted  in 
plenty  of  work  for  the  Code  Authority. 

It  is  quite  evident  that  the  gentlemen  on 
the  industry’s  main  body  will  have  to  form¬ 
ulate  some  plan  to  check  the  appeals  so 
that  the  calendars  aren’t  cluttered. 

Otherwise,  the  local  boards  will  become 
mere  rehearsal  grounds. 


EXHIBITOR 

Circulating  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware.  Issued  on  the  1st  and  15th 
of  each  month  by  Jay  Emanuel  Publications,  Inc.  Publishing  office.  219  North  Broad  Street,  Philadelphia. 
Branches  at  1600  Broadway,  New  York  City;  Washington,  D.  C.  Jay  Emanuel,  publisher;  Paul  J. 
Greenhalgh,  advertising  manager;  Herbert  M.  Miller,  managing  editor.  Subscription  rates:  $2  for  one 
year,  $5  for  three  years.  Single  copies,  15c  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware. 
Publishers,  also,  of  THE  NATIONAL  EXHIBITOR  of  Washington  and  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  EXHIBITOR. 
Official  organ  of  the  Motion  Picture  Theatre  Owners  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and 
Delaware.  Address  all  communications  to  the  Philadelphia  office. 


First  Error 

IT  WAS  only  a  question  of  time  before  the  Code  Author¬ 
ity  would  hand  down  a  ruling  with  which  even  the 
most  co-operative  members  of  the  motion  picture  industry  would 
find  fault.  In  all  fairness  to-  the  Code  Authority,  it  might  be  said 
that  its  actions  exceed  the  most  optimistic  predictions.  This, 
however,  does  not  excuse  the  fact  that  the  body  has  just  made  its 
first  error,  one  of  judgment,  not  actual  performance. 

When  the  Code  Authority  decided  that  the  manner  of  publi¬ 
cizing  the  “general  release  dates”  of  a  picture  in  a  zone  would  take 
in  two  methods  (1)  posting  such  information  in  the  exchange 
affected,  and  (2)  having  the  local  board’s  secretary  release  that 
data  to  anyone  who  might  desire  it,  the  CA  placed  the  burden 
upon  the  exhibitor. 

There  are  a  lot  of  exhibitors  who  never  have  occasion  to  visit 
an  exchange.  Many  never  come  to  a  film  center.  It  is  to  be  taken 
for  granted  that  they  would  probably  not  write  to  the  local  boards’ 
secretary  for  information. 

But  that  is  not  the  argument.  The  error  of  the  Code  Author¬ 
ity  rested  in  the  fact  that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  distributor  to  advise 
the  exhibitor  when  a  picture  has  been  “generally  released”  in  order 
that  the  exhibitor  may  decide  whether  or  not  he  will  exercise  his 
cancellation  privilege.  Posting  on  bulletin  boards  places  the 
burden  on  the  exhibitor.  The  Code  Authority  also  disregarded 
the  co-operation  extended  to  it  by  trade  journals  which  are  more 
than  ready  to  publish  such  release  dates. 

No  posy  should  be  handed  to  Division  Administrator  Sol  A. 
Rosenblatt  in  this  matter.  It  should  have  been  his  duty  to  reverse 
the  Code  Authority,  to  have  rendered  a  decision  that  is  not  as 
unfair  as  the  one  handed  down.  It  appears  as  if  Umpire  Rosen¬ 
blatt  has  also  made  his  first  error.  By  reversing  the  Code  Author¬ 
ity  he  would  have  saved  it  from  making  a  faux  pas.  By  failing  to  •’ 
do  so,  he  made  one  himself. 


And  everyone  thought  the  umpire  was  going  great. 


12 


Junl5’34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Showdown  Meeting  Results  in  Wild 

Convention  of  District  Exhibitors 


Two  Organizations  Certain  to  Result  from  Present  Con¬ 
troversy — Dropping  Hays  Group,  Expelling  Affiliated 
Houses,  Changing  Name  Big  Points 

Definite  indication  that  the  Philadelphia  territory  would  have  to  support  two 
exhibitor  organizations  was  given  at  the  open  meeting  of  theatremen  of  this  division, 
held  June  5,  at  the  Broadwood  Hotel,  under  the  auspices  of  the  MPTO. 


After  the  wildest  meeting  in  local  history, 
two  points  became  apparent : 

1.  There  would  be  two  organizations,  the 
Motion  Picture  Theatre  Owners  of  Eastern 
Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Del¬ 
aware  and  the  Independent  Exhibitors’  Pro¬ 
tective  Association. 

2.  Efforts  to  co-ordinate  the  two  organiza¬ 
tions  cr  combine  them  into  one  group  seems 
impossible. 

The  June  5  session  was  preceded  by  a  meet¬ 
ing  of  the  IEPA,  with  the  group’s  membership 
marching  into  the  MPTO  scene  in  a  body.  Fol¬ 
lowing  addresses  and  verbal  debates,  four 
points  were  considered : 

1.  Withdrawal  from  the  MPTOA. 

2.  Dropping  the  affiliated  theatres  from  the 

MPTO  ranks. 

3.  Changing  the  name  of  the  organization. 

4.  Election  of  officers. 

However,  before  these  could  be  taken  up  con¬ 
structively  and  calmly  the  meeting  almost  took 
up  the  nature  of  a  riot.  Sentiment  favored  all 
of  the  above  points,  but  in  view  of  the  con¬ 
flict  and  the  general  noise,  many  refused  to 
vote  under  such  conditions. 

The  upshot  was  that  it  was  plain  that  the 
two  organizations  could  not  get  together. 

Lewen  Pizor  opened  the  meeting,  announcing 
it  as  an  open  session.  He  reviewed  organiza¬ 
tion  work,  efforts  of  Rome  Copyright  Bureau, 
asked  closer  co-operation,  suggested  formation 
of  a  defense  committee  for  clearance  and  griev¬ 
ances,  indicated  that  sentiment  was  against 
double  features,  told  of  a  special  form  being 
used  for  members  relating  to  10%  cancellation 
clause,  voiced  opinion  against  non-theatricals, 
discussed  the  music  tax  and  wound  up  by  ask¬ 
ing  all  to  join  the  organization  and  pay  dues. 

Following  this  speech,  discussion  arose  re¬ 
garding  divorcing  the  organization  frcm  the 
MPTOA.  Dave  Barrist,  local  exhibitor,  spoke 
in  favor  of  this  move  with  Jay  Emanuel  oppos¬ 
ing  until  all  the  facts  were  brought  into  the 
open. 

This  debate  was  followed  by  vctes  on  with¬ 
drawing,  elimination  of  affiliated  houses,  elect¬ 
ing  new  officers.  Present  group  offered  to  re¬ 
sign  at  a  regular  meeting.  The  present  offi¬ 
cers  were  defended,  but  vote  was  pushed  any¬ 
way.  By  this  time  the  meeting  became  unman¬ 
ageable,  many  walking  out. 

Following  the  meeting,  a  caucus  of  MPTO 
members  indicated  that  the  body  desired  to  stay 
with  the  MPTOA  and  retain  affiliated  theatres 
since  they  had  only  one  vote.  A  meeting  to  be 
held  shortly  will  decide  all  these  points. 

Present  upheaval  centres  largely  on  double 
features  and  premiums,  with  two  issues  influ¬ 
encing  members  of  both  organizations.  Many 
exhibitors  of  both  organizations  contributed  to 
a  fund  to  engage  Ben  Golder  on  the  theory,  it 
would  be  well  to  ascertain,  once  and  for  all — if 
distributors  had  a  right  to  insert  the  anti-double 


BANNER  HITS  for  summer  are 
predicted  by  Robert  Mochrie,  War¬ 
ners’  branch  manager  here,  follow¬ 
ing  his  return  from  the  Atlantic 
City  Warner  convention.  Among 
these  are  “Dr.  Monica.”  with  Kay 
Francis,  “Madame  Du  Barry,” 
with  Dolores  Del  Rio;  “Dames,” 
musical  hit;  “Flirtation  Walk,”  an¬ 
other  musical;  “British  Agent,” 
with  Leslie  Howard;  “Here  Comes 
the  Navy,”  with  James  Cagney, 

Pat  O’Brien  and  others.  These  will 
be  the  leads,  but  the  others  also 
will  satisfy,  says  Mochrie. 

Samuelson,  Brandt  to 
Attend  Open  Exhib  Meet 

I.  E.  P.  A.  Bringing  Inde  Leaders 

Here  June  19 

Sidney  Samuelson,  president,  Allied 
States  Association,  and  Harry  Brandt, 
president,  ITOA,  New  York  City  inde¬ 
pendent  unit,  are  to  be  speakers  at  an 
open  meeting  of  exhibitors,  apparently 
sponsored  by  the  IEPA,  the  new  local 
inde  unit. 

Some  secrecy  surrounded  the  meeting  with  all 
exhibitors  invited. 


feature  clause.  Many  of  the  contributors 
were  against  dcuble  features  but  paying  on  the 
theory  they  would  like  a  legal  opinion. 


Pizor  Chairman,  Too 


Lewen  Pizor,  president  of  the  MPTO, 
also  becomes  chairman  of  the  board, 
following  the  election  of  the  board  of 
managers  held  June  13. 

Pizor’s  election  amounts  to  a  vote  of 
confidence  on  the  part  of  the  board 
members,  the  move  having  been  taken 
to  indicate  that  they  have  full  faith  in 
his  leadership  during  the  current  crisis. 

Removal  of  Barrist  from  the  chair¬ 
manship  is  said  to  revolve  largely  about 
the  desire  of  the  board  to  have  a  chair¬ 
man  with  purely  exhibition  interests  at 
heart.  This  is  said  to  have  motivated 
them  in  their  selection  of  Pizor.  Whether 
Pizor  will  continue  to  hold  the  two 
posts  indefinitely  is  uncertain,  but  for 
the  present  time  he  will  be  sole  direct¬ 
ing  force  of  the  organization. 


Two  Organizations?  No, 
Says  Unofficial  Observer 

New  Group  Will  Merely  Overthrow 

Present  Regime,  Report 

Two  organizations  for  the  exhibitors? 
Not  a  chance,  says  the  Unofficial  Ob¬ 
server,  the  man  who  has  his  ear  close  to 
the  ground. 

Regardless  of  the  fact  that  the  new  organ¬ 
ization,  the  Independent  Exhibitors'  Protective 
Association,  has  been  announced,  Philadelphia 
will  remain  a  one-organization  territory,  accord¬ 
ing  to  the  report  circulated  this  week. 

Here's  what  the  Unofficial  Observer  says 
will  happen : 

At  the  next  meeting  of  the  MPTO  those 
who  demand  a  change  in  setup  will  be  present 
and  carry  a  majority  vote  on  all  the  questions 
in  issue.  They  will  then  proceed  to  direct  the 
MPTO,  or  rather,  the  former  MPTO,  along 
the  lines  suggested. 

Therefore,  there  will  still  be  one  organiza¬ 
tion. 

What  will  happen,  however,  if  the  other 
faction,  the  current  MPTO  stalwarts,  carries 
the  meeting  is  another  question. 

IEPA  recently  applied  for  a  charter  at 
Harrisburg. 


Samuelson  is  believed  likely  to  explain  the 
progress  of  the  several  film  buying  meets  which 
have  been  held  in  New  York  City  and  which 
advocate  lower  film  rentals  as  well  as  abolition 
of  certain  industry  evils.  Brandt  has  also 
been  active. 

Whether  or  not  Samuelson’s  presence  indi¬ 
cates  an  interest  of  IEPA  with  Allied  or 
whether  Allied  would  like  to  have  a  friendly 
unit  here  is  uncertain  IEPA  heads  apparently 
have  been  keeping  their  movements  shrouded 
in  secrecy. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Junl5'34 


13 


GROUP  OF  HOME  OFFICE  EXECUTIVES  attending  the  opening  session  of  the 
United  Artists  annual  meeting  of  branch  managers,  Chicago.  Standing  from  left 
to  right:  Hal  Horne,  director  of  advertising  and  publicity;  Earl  Kramer,  Paul 
Burger,  home  office  assistant;  Joseph  Moskowitz,  vice-president;  A1  Lichtman, 
vice-president  and  general  manager  in  charge  of  distribution;  Harry  Buckley, 
vice-  president;  C.  Ericksen,  London  Films;  Harry  Gold,  assistant  to  Lichtman; 
Moe  Streimer,  New  York  branch  manager  and  Charles  Stern,  home  office. 


LOOKING  FORWARD  to  a  busy 
season,  Harry  Levine,  United 
Artists  sales  representative  here, 
thinks  UA  will  deliver  another  ban¬ 
ner  season  and  that  exhibitors  will 
once  again  profit  at  the  box  office. 


CONGRATULATIONS.  Leonard 
Schlesinger,  local  Stanley-Warner 
zone  chief,  wishes  Larry  Graver, 
manager,  S-W  ball  club,  lots  of 
luck  when  the  team  opened  its  sea- 
son  here.  Graver  manages  the 
Stanley,  used  to  be  secretary  of  the 
Red  Sox  for  ten  years.  The  sport¬ 
ing  outfit  worn  by  Schlesinger  was 
especially  designed  for  him  by  a 
famous  tailor. 


AT  CLAM  BAKE— Them  were  the 
days  when  Jim  Clark,  genial  exec¬ 
utive  of  Horlacher’s  Delivery  Serv¬ 
ice,  used  to  officiate  at  clambakes 
and  baseball  games.  Above  he  is 
seen  with  brothers  Bill  and  Tom, 
Dan  Heenan,  Jimmy  Keating. 


PROMOTED  TO  sales  manager  of 
local  Paramount  exchange,  Ulrich 
Smith  receives  the  congratulations 
of  entire  industry.  ( Page  18) 


AT  THE  WARNER  CONVENTION  in  Atlantic  City:  Left  to  right,  top  to  bottom:  Mort 
Blumenstock,  A.  W.  Schwalberg,  Harold  Bareford,  Moe  Silver,  Arthur  Sachson,  Robert 
Mochrie,  Leonard  Schlesinger,  Norman  Moray,  Major  Albert  Warner,  A.  W.  Smith,  Jr., 
H.  M.  Warner,  Grad  Sears,  S.  E.  Morris,  A.  Mooney.  First  bench  line:  H.  Copelan,  Ted 
Schlanger,  Joe  Bernhard,  S.  C.  Einfeld,  Harry  Seed,  Harry  Rosenquest.  Second  line: 
Harry  Hummel,  J.  Wilk,  I.  J.  Hoffman,  I.  Levinson,  Gus  Solomon,  I.  F.  Dolid,  Harry 
Decker,  F.  E.  North,  Charles  Rich,  Nat  Furst,  Sam  Lefkowitz.  Top  line:  Tom  Spry,  Carl 
Lesserman,  Bob  Smeltzer,  Roy  Haines,  Joe  Hummel,  Paul  Swift,  M.  White,  A.  Shmitkin, 
R.  Smith.  ( Page  16) 


14  Junl5'34  THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 

5-Territory  Survey  on  Product  Reveals 
Industry  Taste  in  1933-1934  Pictures 


More  Than  150  Exhibitors  of  Albany,  Buffalo,  New  York, 
Philadelphia,  Washington  Areas  Queried — 16  Features 
Enter  Select  Class 

Belief  that  product  is  generally  getting  better  is  indicated  in  the  reports  received 
from  more  than  150  showmen  in  the  Albany,  Buffalo,  New  York,  Philadelphia  and 
Washington  territories,  according  to  a  survey  recently  made  by  Jay  Emanuel  Pub¬ 
lications,  Inc.,  publishing  The  Philadelphia  Exhibitor,  The  National  Exhibi¬ 
tor  and  The  New  York  State  Exhibitor. 


Sixteen  pictures  entered  select  class  of  box 
office  record  holders,  high  number,  with  nearly 
all  companies  having  an  entrant  in  the  big 
money  division.  The  150  exhibitors  represented 
a  cross-section  of  opinion,  independents,  circuits, 
large,  small  cities,  buyers,  bookers,  etc. 

“Flying  Down  to  Rio,’’  “Little  Women,” 
“Footlight  Parade”  were  tied  for  first  place  with 
60  votes  each.  “I’m  No  Angel”  pushed  them 
closely  with  56  votes.  Next  in  importance 
came  “Dancing  Lady”  with  42;  “Gold  Diggers” 
with  34;  “Tug  Boat  Annie”  with  33;  “David 
Harum”  with  31;  “Carolina'1’’  with  26;  “Paddy 
the  Next  Best  Thing”  and  “Roman  Scandals” 
tied  with  22;  “It  Happened  One  Night"  with 
21;  “Going  Hollywood”  with  18;  and  “Only 
Yesterday”  and  “42nd  Street’’  and  “Wonder 
Bar”  tied  with  17  each. 

According  to  the  survey,  these  1.6  pictures 
held  greater  percentage  of  box  office  records 
for  the  year  than  any  others. 

Pictures  that  polled  closest  to  these  16  were 
“Dinner  at  Eight,7  “The  Bowery,”  “Mr. 
Skitch,”  “Dr.  Bull,”  “Riptide,”  “Invisible 
Man,”  “Too  Much  Harmony,”  “Duck  Soup," 
“Moonlight  and  Pretzels,”  “Henry  the  8th,” 
“George  White’s  Scandals,”  “Lady  for  a  Day,” 
“Eskimo,”  and,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  “Alice 
In  Wonderland.”  A  remarkable  reaction  was 
that  the  owners  who  named  “Alice  In  Wonder¬ 
land”  explained  for  the  remarkable  coincidence 
by  writing  into  their  ballot  “believe  it  or  not.” 
It  seems  proof  enough  that  while  they  hadn't 
expected  it  to  do  business,  some  particular 
exploitation  job  made  it  click. 

Another  remarkable  result  of  the  survey  is 
the  fact  that  in  several  small  town  town  houses 
western  and  action  pictures  hold  the  house 
records,  even  though  extravaganzas  and  epics 
are  played.  In  all,  some  129  features  were 
named  including  several  independent  shows  such 
as  “Sweetheart  of  Sigma  Chi,”  “Road  to  Ruin” 
and  “Tarzan  the  Fearless.” 

In  age  choices  ran  from  “I  Am  a  Fugitive” 
to  ‘House  of  Rothschild,”  which  is  just  begin- 
n'ng  to  be  generally  released. 

In  the  shorts  field,  the  most  popular  of  all 
were,  as  usual,  the  Disney  subjects,  but  strange 
as  it  may  seem  Silly  Symphonies  passed  Mickey 
Mouse  by  56  to  49.  In  the  cartoon  field  there 


Indes  Up 

Improvement  in  independent  produc¬ 
tion  was  especially  noticeable. 

Standouts  among  the  independent 
pictures  were  “Sweetheart  of  Sigma 
Chi,”  “The  Road  to  Ruin”  and  “Tar¬ 
zan,  the  Fearless.” 

Among  the  companies,  Monogram 
came  in  for  special  attention. 


Shorts  Vote  Indicates 
Need  for  Star  Values 

Survey  Proves  Standouts  Help 
Business 


Investigation  of  the  returns  of  the  sur¬ 
vey  indicate  that  the  public  is  impressed 
by  the  standout  shorts,  fail  to  pay  atten¬ 
tion  to  the  general  run  of  the  mill  product. 

Generally,  it  was  shown  that  shorts  of  qual¬ 
ity  pay  at  the  box  office,  but  that  others  just  eat 
up  time  on  programs. 

That  Silly  Symphonies  passed  Mickey  Mouse 
was  not  entirely  unexpected,  the  first  named 
receiving  a  terrific  boost  as  the  result  of  the 
“Three  Little  Pigs.”  Since  then,  Disney  has 
not  been  able  to  top  that  selection. 

That  Paramount  has  something  in  “Popeye” 
was  also  indicated.  The  series  built  on  its 
own,  finally  wound  up  as  one  of  the  real 
screen  creations  of  the  season. 

Among  the  two-reelers,  Laurel  and  Hardy 
held  their  own,  although  the  series  was  not  as 
impressive  as  in  former  seasons.  Metro  twi- 
reelers  were  believed  the  best  in  that  field. 

Novelty  single  reels,  such  as  the  MGM  Pete 
Smith  series,  the  Fox  Newsreel  Cameraman 
adventures,  Paramount’s  Screen  Souvenirs  all 
aided  in  building  strong  programs. 

Failure  of  new  ideas,  such  as  Soglow  car¬ 
toons  and  the  Amos  and  Andy  series  indicated 
that  the  cartoon  versions  of  these  popular 
mediums  of  entertainment  had  not  been  pre¬ 
sented  properly. 

What  caused  surprise  was  the  fact  that  only 
a  few  short  series  were  mentioned. 

Apparently,  a  lot  of  shorts  made  no  impres¬ 
sion  at  all. 


was  no  challenger  with  the  exception  of  Para¬ 
mount’s  Popeye  and  the  UB  I-Werks  Comi- 
Colors.  In  the  star  comedies  Laurel  and 
Hardy  still  held  first,  but  were  closely  followed 
by  the  Pitts-Todd  and  Charlie  Chase  series. 
In  the  vote  by  companies,  Vita  phone  seemed 
most  popular  and  all  specialties  got  strong 
support.  MGM’s  Pete  Smith  sport  subjects, 
Fox’s  Adventures  of  a  News-Reel  Cameraman, 
Educational’s  Baby  Burlesks  and  Tintypes,  and 
Paramount's  Screen  Souvenirs  all  received  a 
strong  vote.  It  is  surprising  to  note  that  the 
“Our  Gang”  comedies,  “Amos  n’  Andy”  and 
Joe  Penner  slid  into  little  importance. 

Among  the  shorts  the  only  serial  which  re¬ 
ceived  mention  was  Mascot’s  “Whispering 
Shadow.” 


Serial  Draw  Heard 


That  serials  were  to  be  reckoned  with 
in  arranging  programs  was  indicated  by 
the  votes  for  this  type  of  picture.  Mas¬ 
cot’s  “Whispering  Shadow”  came  in  for 
praise. 


Another  question  asked  in  the  survey  was 
which  news-reel  received  best  audience  reac¬ 
tion.  Here  again  there  was  a  wide  variance  of 
opinion  with  only  12  votes  out  of  a  total  of  126 
cast  separating  the  first  from  the  last.  Hearst 
Metrotone  managed  to  get  its  nose  out  in  front. 

In  reply  to  the  question  as  to  which  product 
showed  the  greatest  improvement  during  the 
year  in  the  minds  of  exhibitors  who  played  it, 
RKO  and  Warner  Bros,  in  a  tie  far  outdis¬ 
tanced  Fox  and  Paramount  who  took  up  the 
next  two  places  in  the  order  named.  Universal 
and  Columbia,  considering  the  size  of  their 
companies,  polled  a  strong  vote,  while  Mono¬ 
gram  was  the  only  independent  company  named. 
It  received  a  very  nice  hand. 

Question  regarding  the  most  successful  pro¬ 
duct  at  their  respective  box  offices  again  re¬ 
ceded  a  wide  variance  of  opinion.  Metro  obvi¬ 
ously  was  sold  to  more  accounts  than  any  other 
product,  but  in  first  places  Warners  were 
supreme.  60%  of  the  theatre  owners  who  gave 
the  Warner  product  a  place  considered  it  in 
number  one  position,  46%  of  those  giving  the 
Radio  product  place  put  it  in  first  position ;  40% 
gave  Metro  the  top  spot;  35%  gave  Fox;  22% 
to  Paramount  and  the  rest  trailed  in.  Once 
again  Monogram  scored. 

It  is  difficult  to  give  a  complete  detailed  sum¬ 
mary. 

It  is  the  belief  of  this  publication  that  if  the 
production  executives  would  study  carefully  the 
theatre  owners’  replies  they  could  more  accu¬ 
rately  gauge  box  office  values.  As  usual,  there 
is  a  wide  variance  of  opinion  and  few  theatre 
owners  voted  alike  on  any  one  subject.  It  is 
only  by  a  wide  survey  and  a  cross-check'ng 
of  opinions  that  any  definite  trend  can  be 
noticed.  The  survey  can  do  nothing  but  indi¬ 
cate  to  the  thoughtful  man  the  trend  of  public 
taste  and  indication  of  the  box  office  reaction 
to  different  product. 


“Popeye”  Standout 


Fastest  buildup  of  the  year  can  be 
awarded  to  Paramount’s  “Popeye.” 
Series  clicked  in  a  hurry  with  the 
patrons  going  for  it  in  a  big  way. 

The  Disney  Mickey  Mouse  and  Silly 
Symphony,  of  course,  held  peak  posi¬ 
tion  in  the  field,  with  the  Silly  Symphony 
idea,  on  the  strength  of  “Three  Little 
Pigs”  topping  the  rodent. 

It  was  also  noticed  that  some  of  the 
newer  entrants  in  the  cartoon  field  didn’t 
shape  up  so  well  although  the  Corni- 
Color  series  made  a  good  bid  for  atten¬ 
tion  on  the  strength  of  its  material  and 
the  novelty. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Junl5'34 


15 


Glancing  Everywhere  in  the  Territory 


HIGHLAND  THEATRE,  Audubon, 
N.  J.,  held  a  First  Division  Week 
recently,  playing  double  features 
daily,  both  consisting  of  First  Divi¬ 
sion  releases. 


VISITOR  in  this  territory, 
Harry  Brandt,  president, 
ITOA,  New  York  City  exhib¬ 
itor  unit,  is  scheduled  to 
speak  to  assembled  theatre- 
men  here  June  18  {Page  12) 


WARNERS’  THEATRE  DEPARTMENT  poses  for  a 
picture.  Mort  Blumenstock,  Herb  Copelan,  Ted 
Schlanger,  I.  J.  Hoffman,  Moe  Silver  and  Leonard 
Schlesinger,  zone  manager,  Philadelphia  district. 


FIRST  OFFICIAL  appearance  in 
some  years  will  be  made  by  Sid¬ 
ney  Samuelson,  president,  Jersey 
Allied  and  Allied  States  Associa¬ 
tion,  at  June  18  meeting  of  ex¬ 
hibitors  here.  Trade  speculated 
whether  Allied  will  expand  into  this 
territory.  {Page  12) 


STRIKING  TIE-UP  on  “Wild 
Cargo”  was  arranged  by  Marty 
Goldenberg,  manager,  Colonial, 
Germantown.  Local  variety  store 
used  a  cage  full  of  rubber  animals 
with  a  litho  3-sheet  for  atmosphere. 


HOME  OFFICE  FOLK  TAKING  A  STROLL  at  the 
Warner  convention  in  Atlantic  City.  Norman  Moray, 
S.  Charles  Einfeld,  Major  Albert  Warner.  Andy  Smith, 
Jr.,  Harry  M.  Warner,  Grad  Sears  and  Sam  Morris. 


JOINS  UNIVERSAL.  Bill  Doyle, 
veteran,  has  joined  the  Universal 
sales  force  and  will  cover  upstate. 


CHARGES  INTIMIDATION— Sen¬ 
sation  was  provided  at  meeting  of 
zoning  board  June  8  when  David 
Barrist  appeared  before  it.  Barrist 
started  to  make  charges  of  intimi¬ 
dation  and  coercion  but  was 
checked  by  chairman  for  the  day, 
Harry  Weiner,  who  declared  that 
such  a  matter  was  one  for  the 
grievance  board.  Further  light  on 
the  charges  was  expected  at  the 
meeting  of  the  latter  group  this 

week.  {Page  20) 


16 


Junl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Warners-First  National  Enters  Its 

Selling  Season  with  Sixty  Pictures 


Company  Statement  Indicates  Big  Preparation  for  New 
Program — 19  Stars,  38  Featured  Players,  18  Directors 
in  Line-up — Big  Ones,  Too 

Sixty  full-length  feature  pictures  will  be  released  by  Warner  Bros,  and  First 
National  during  the  season  of  1934-35,  said  Major  Albert  Warner,  vice-president  in 
charge  of  distribution  for  the  affiliated  companies,  at  the  Warner  Bros. -First  Na¬ 
tional  regional  sales  meeting  in  Atlantic  City. 


This  is  the  same  number  of  feature  films 
released  for  1933-34.  Thirty  of  the  pictures 
will  be  produced  by  Warner  Bros,  and  thirty 
by  First  National. 

“The  coming  season's  line-up  of  product 
represents  the  most  ambitious  program  in  the 
history  of  the  two  companies,”  declared  Major 
Warner.  “We  have  never  been  so  fully  pre¬ 
pared  in  advance  of  a  new  selling  season  as  we 
are  this  year.  Already  we  have  a  total  of 
forty-seven  stories  ready  for  early  production, 
with  casts  that  will  include  the  strongest  array 
of  acting  talent,  and  of  ‘names,’  in  the  annals 
of  Warner  Bros,  and  First  National. 

“We  believe  that  our  impending  product’ons 
represent  the  widest  range  of  screen  material 
ever  included  in  the  schedule  of  a  producing 
organization.  We  have  sought  and  found  sub¬ 
jects  of  universal  appeal,  having  had  in  mind 
not  merely  the  diversified  interests  of  American 
audiences  but  those  of  all  the  world,  which  is 
now  the  field  of  talking  pictures.  The  forty- 
seven  stories  already  prepared  for  the  new  sea¬ 
son  include  published  novels  and  stories  of 
recognized  merit,  original  stories  written  di¬ 
rectly  for  the  screen  and  based  upon  actual  life 
as  it  is  lived  today,  and  the  most  successful 
plays  of  the  international  stage. 

“The  list  includes  such  important  productions 
as  ‘Anthony  Adverse,’  ‘Sweet  Adeline,’  ‘Oil 
for  the  Lamps  of  China,’  ‘Firebird,’  ‘Gold  Dig¬ 
gers  of  1935,’  ‘War  Lord’  and  many  others. 

“Painstaking  care  will  be  exercised  in  the 
casting  of  all  these  pictures.  We  have  aug¬ 
mented  every  department  in  our  West  Coast 
studios.  The  Warner  Bros. -First  National 
production  roster  now  includes  nineteen  stars, 
thirty-eight  featured  players,  many  of  whom 
will  be  the  stars  of  tomorrow,  eighteen  directors 
and  seventy-three  writers  whose  works  will  be 
presented  on  the  screen  in  our  pictures  of  the 
1934-35  season.” 

The  following  detailed  production  program 
was  announced  by  Major  Warner: 

The  forty-seven  screen  stories,  including 
originals,  stage  plays,  novels  and  short  stories 
published  and  unpublished,  which  Warner  Bros.- 
First  National  now  have  ready  for  the  new 
season  comprise  the  following : 

“Firebird,”  based  on  the  international  stage 
success ;  “Men  Against  Death,”  which  will  bring 
to  the  screen  the  inspiring  and  romantic  story 
of  the  famous  scientist,  Louis  Pasteur ;  “Gold 


18  Directors 


18  directors  are  ready  to  shoot  War 
ner-FN  pictures. 

The  list  includes  some  of  the  indus¬ 
try’s  topnotchers. 


Diggers  of  1935,”  a  brand-new  musical  comedy 
spectacle  with  an  all-star  cast ;  “Roadhouse,” 
adapted  from  the  two  stories  by  Arthur  Somers 
Roche ;  “The  Magnificent  Ambersons,”  from 
the  memorable  American  novel  by  Booth  Tark- 
ington;  “Sweet  Music,”  a  sequel  to  the  suc¬ 
cessful  musical,  “20  Million  Sweethearts,”  “I’m 
Back  in  the  Chain  Gang,”  a  sequel  to  one  of 
the  screen's  most  famous  productions,  “I  Am 
a  Fugitive  from  a  Chain  Gang”;  “Ride  'Em, 
Jockey,”  a  thrilling  comedy-drama  of  the  race 
track;  “War  Lord,”  the  story  of  an  entirely 
new  screen  character,  a  Chinese  War  Lord, 
with  a  background  of  the  modern  Orient ;  “The 
Cinch, v  with  the  huge  Boulder  Dam  project  as 
the  setting  for  an  exciting  story ;  “The  Six-Day 
Bike  Race,”  a  Joe  E.  Brown  comedy  picture 
with  the  star  as  a  swell-headed  bicycle  rider ; 
“Halfway  to  Heaven,”  a  comedy-  romance  by 
Lawrence  Hazard,  the  author  of  “Man's 
Castle” ;  “Babbitt,”  from  the  famous  novel  by 
Sinclair  Lewis,  which  will  team  Aline  Mac- 
Mahon  and  Guy  Kibbee  in  the  leading  roles ; 
“The  Little  Big  Shot,”  humorous  story  of  a 
small-timer  with  big  ambitions ;  “Anthony 
Adverse,”  from  the  most  sensationally  success¬ 
ful  novel  of  modern  times ;  “Sweet  Adeline,” 
a  musical  based  on  the  great  Broadway  stage 
hit;  “Border  Town,”  starring  Paul  Muni  in  a 
vivid  romance  of  the  dividing  line  between  the 
United  States  and  Mexico;  “Farewell  to  Shang¬ 
hai,”  co-starring  Dolores  Del  Rio  and  Franchot 
Tone  in  a  romance  of  the  Far  East;  “Earth¬ 
worm  Tractors,”  another  Joe  E.  Brown  comedy, 
with  Joe  as  Alexander  Botts,  a  character  known 
to  millions  of  readers  of  the  Saturday  Evening 
Post;  “Air  Devils,”  an  aviation  thriller  team¬ 
ing  James  Cagney  and  Pat  O’Brien;  “Go  Into 
Your  Dance.”  from  a  story  by  Bradford  Ropes, 
author  of  “42nd  Street,”  probably  starring  A1 
Jolson ;  “I’ll  Sell  Anything, ’■’  a  comedy-drama 
which  will  lift  the  lid  from  the  phony  auction 
sale  business ;  “The  Story  of  a  Country  Boy,” 
from  the  best-seller  by  Dawn  Powell;  “Trav¬ 
eling  Saleslady,”  a  spicy  bit  of  present-day 
Americana ;  “A  Present  from  Margate,” 
adapted  from  the  London  stage  hit  of  this 
season  by  Ian  Hay  and  A.  E.  W.  Mason ;  “The 
Skipper  of  the  Ispahan,”  an  adventure  story 
which  unfolds  on  the  high  seas  off  the  Ch:na 
Coast ;  “Kansas  City  Princess,”  a  comedy  now 
in  production  with  Joan  Blondell,  Glenda  Far¬ 
rell,  Osgood  Perkins,  Hugh  Herbert  and  Rob¬ 
ert  Armstrong  heading  an  all-star  cast;  “Lafay¬ 
ette  Escadrille,”  a  romance  of  love  and  aerial 
warfare  by  the  author  of  “The  Dawn  Patrol,” 
John  Monk  Saunders;  “King  of  the  Ritz,”  the 
comical  and  picturesque  adventures  of  a  chef 
and  his  press-agent ;  “Window  Panes,”  the 
story  of  a  “mugg”  and  a  millionairess,  how  they 
met  and  what  strange  and  entertaining  things 
befell  them;  “Glorious,”  which  will  star  Jean 


Big  On  es 


Among  the  big  ones  on  which  War¬ 
ners  are  pinning  faith  are  “Anthony 
Adverse,”  “Sweet  Adeline,”  “Oil  for 
Lamps  of  China,”  “Firebird,”  “Gold 
Diggers  of  1935,”  “War  Lord”  and 
others. 


Muir,  newest  screen  discovery,  in  a  colorful 
comedy-romance;  “The  Perfect  Weekend,” 
starring  James  Cagney  in  an  entirely  new  char¬ 
acterization,  based  on  a  Collier's  Weekly  story 
of  big-town  and  small-town  people  and  happen¬ 
ings  ;  “A  Lady  Surrenders,”  in  which  the  lead¬ 
ing  roles  will  probably  be  played  by  Jean  Muir, 
George  Brent  and  Verree  Teasdale;  “Big 
Hearted  Herbert,'1'  from  the  Broadway  smash 
hit,  with  Aline  MacMahon  and  Guy  Kibbee; 
“Black  Hell,”  a  daring  story  of  the  coal  mines 
which  is  to  be  a  vehicle  for  Paul  Muni ;  “Cap¬ 
tain  Blood,”  from  the  famous  sea  romance  by 
Rafael  Sabatini ;  "A  Lost  Lady,”  adapted  from 
Willa  Cather's  great  novel,  with  Barbara  Stan¬ 
wyck  as  the  star  and  Ricardo  Cortez  as  lead¬ 
ing  man ;  “Applesauce,”  the  down-to-earth 
comedy  story  of  the  belle  of  a  small  town  and 
her  two  suitors ;  “The  Case  of  the  Howling 
Dog,”  from  Erie  Stanley  Gardner’s  exciting 
Liberty  Magazine  detective  thriller,  introducing 
an  entirely  new  kind  of  sleuth,  Perry  Mason, 
and  an  entirely  new  kind  of  mystery ;  “The 
Case  of  the  Curious  Bride,”  another  by  Mr. 
Gardner  with  further  adventures  of  Perry 
Mason ;  “Concealment,”  a  highly  unusual  prob¬ 
lem  play ;  “Just  Out  of  College,”  the  adven¬ 
tures  of  five  graduates  when  they  are  tossed 
into  the  maelstrom  of  modern  life;  “Lost 
Beauty,”  an  ultra-modern  love  story ;  “Oil  for 
the  Lamps  of  China,”  based  on  the  best-seller 
by  Alice  Tisdale  Hobart;  “Casino  de  Paree,” 
with  A1  Jolson  heading  an  all-star  cast  in  a 
musical  comedy-drama;  and  “School  Days,”  a 
story  of  youth. 

The  Warner  Bros. -First  National  star  roster 
for  the  coming  season  includes  Paul  Muni,  Joe 
E.  Brown,  Barbara  Stanwyck,  Ruby  Keeler, 
Warren  William,  Rudy  Vallee,  Kay  Francis, 
A1  Jolson,  Edward  G.  Robinson,  Ricardo  Cor¬ 
tez,  Joan  Blondell,  Franchot  Tone,  Bette  Davis, 
Leslie  Howard,  James  Cagney,  Dick  Powell, 
Dolores  Del  Rio,  Jean  Muir  and  Claudette  Col¬ 
bert.  New  additions  to  the  list  are  Miss  Del 
Rio,  who  was  signed  to  a  longterm  contract 
recently,  Franchot  Tone  and  Claudette  Colbert; 
Joan  Blondell  and  Jean  Muir  were  raised  to 
stardom  during  the  past  season. 

Featured  players  include  Mary  Astor,  Patricia  Ellis, 
Lyle  Talbot,  George  Brent,  Philip  Faversliam,  Helen 
Lowell,  Hal  LeRoy,  Arthur  Aylesworth,  Philip  Regan, 
Guy  Kibbee,  Frank  McHugh,  Virginia  Pine.  Robert  Arm¬ 
strong,  Verree  Teasdale,  Pat  O’Brien,  Hugh  Herbert, 
Margaret  Lindsay,  Robert  Barrat,  Hobart  Cavanaugh, 
Phillip  Reed,  Ann  Dvorak.  Donald  Woods,  Mary  Russell, 
Allen  Jenkins,  Enrico  Caruso,  Jr.,  Terry  LaFranconi, 
Josephine  Hutchinson,  Harry  Tyler,  Al'ne  MacMaln.n, 
Claire  Dodd,  Ruth  Donnelly,  Gordon  Westcott,  Dorothy 
Tree,  Henry  O’Neill,  John  Eldredge,  Helen  Trenholme, 
Paul  Gould,  Glen  Boles  and  Dorothy  Dare. 

The  eighteen  directors  under  the  Warner 
Bros. -First  National  banner  are  Lloyd  Bacon, 
Mervyn  LeRoy,  William  Dieterle,  Michael 
( Continued  on  page  28) 


Junl5'34  pg.  17 


The  Year. . . 

Another  great 
t  r  i  nm  pit  for  the 
glamorous  star  of 

“ ONLY 
YESTERDAY” 

A  FRANK  BORZAGE  'PRODUCTION 


Laemmle  has  the  honor  to  present  — 

MARGARET 

SULLAVAN 


in 


LITTLE  MAN, 
WHAT  NOW? 

with  DOUGLASS  MONTGOMERY 

Fred  Kohler,  Alan  Hale,  Mae  Marsh,  George  Meeker,  Muriel  Kirk¬ 
land,  De  Witt  Jennings,  Hedda  Hopper,  Catherine  Doucet,  Bodil  Rosing. 
From  the  novel  by  Hans  Fallada.  Screenplay  by  William  Anthony 
McGuire.  Directed  by  Frank  Borzage, 


18 


Junl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Heard  In 

1NE  STREET 

Conventions  Hold 
All  Attention 


EDDIE  KAPNER  has  a  new  car.  .  .  . 
Stanley  Smithers  traded  his  in,  too.  .  .  .  Lou 
Davidoff  starting  out  with  bicycles.  .  .  . 

Bought  them  for  his  twins.  .  .  .  Frank  Jordan 
still  at  West  Philly  Colonial.  .  .  .  Walter 

Yost  a  street  visitor  from  Harrisburg.  .  .  . 
Joe  Weiner  going  into  the  cabaret  business  in 
Easton.  .  .  .  Has  a  house  in  Palmerton.  .  .  . 
Otto  Miller,  Lyric,  St.  Clair,  running  open  air 
shows  in  the  Park.  .  .  .  Herb  Given  booking 
in  Lancaster  and  Allentown.  .  .  .  Denny  Berk- 
ery  out  again  with  the  circus.  .  .  .  Willy  Fried¬ 
man  lost  his  suitcase  when  he  got  back  from 
Louisville.  ...  A  neighbor  saw  the  ad,  re¬ 
turned  it  to  him.  .  .  .  Joe  Abrams,  Stanton, 
celebrated  his  boy's  birthday.  .  .  .  Lew  Kell- 
man  and  Helen  visited  Skytop.  .  .  .  A1  Cohen 
still  a  sartorial  delight.  .  .  .  Ben  Harris  busy. 

.  .  .  Screening  “Gow'’’  and  technicolor  reels  at 
Masterpiece.  .  .  .  Also  “Fighting  Rookie.’’  .  .  . 
Sara  still  getting  thinner.  .  .  .  New  outfit.  .  .  . 
Change  umbrella.  .  .  .  All  family  having  birth¬ 
days  scon.  .  .  .  Apex  Garage,  with  new  staff, 
ready  to  serve  you. 

ULRICH  SMITH,  before  leaving:  for  the 
coast  convention,  saw  his  father  off  on  a  4 
months’  trip  to  foreign  parts. 

SAM  ROSEN  announces  a  trade  show  of 
two  new  pictures,  “Channel  Crossing,”  with 
Constance  Cummings  and  “Along  Came  Sally,” 
June  24.  .  .  .  Both  have  been  received  highly 
by  the  trade.  ...  In  addition,  Sam  has  a 
dozen  pictures  ready  for  release  in  this  terri¬ 
tory.  .  .  .  Europa  plays  one  July  15.  .  .  .  The 
new  Vine  Street  projection  room  is  picking  up 
business.  ...  It  is  above  John  Golder’s  Holly¬ 
wood  exchange. 

SAM  WALDMAN  wants  the  trade  to  know 
that  Deborah  Sanitarium,  Browns  Mills,  N.  J., 
is  in  the  midst  of  a  drive  for  funds  and  he 
would  like  the  co-operation  of  the  trade. 

.  .  .  The  drive  is  for  a  worthy  cause  and 

many  Philadelphians  are  taken  care  of  there. 

.  .  .  A  Vine  Street  committee  is  co-operat¬ 

ing. 

DAVE  MILLER,  formerly  of  the  street,  but 
now  with  Universal  in  the  Buffalo  zone,  was  a 
visitor  on  the  street,  following  the  Universal 
convention.  .  .  .  Convention  contingents  which 
returned  included  those  headed  by  Edgar  Moss, 
Sam  Gross  and  A1  Davis,  Fox ;  by  Bob 
Mochrie,  Warners ;  Mike  Landow  and  Joe 
Engel,  Universal;  A1  Blofson  (Monogram  and 
First  Division)  ;  Harry  Bodkin,  United  Artists. 
...  On  the  way  are  Earle  Sweigert.  P.  A. 
Bloch,  Ulrich  Smith,  Paramount,  to  the  coast ; 
Bob  Lynch  and  party  to  the  west  for  Metro ; 


Frank  McNamee  et  al  to  Chicago  for  Radio; 
Harry  Weiner  to  parts  yet  unknown  for 
Columbia. 

SAM  ROSEN  reports  a  booking  of  35 
houses  over  the  Comerford  circuit  on  “The 
Ghoul.”  .  He  is  preparing  to  present 

some  new  Gaumont-British  pictures  soon. 

JOHN  COLDER,  at  Hollywood,  has  “To¬ 
morrow’s  Children”  beginning  to  work.  .  .  . 
Herb  Effinger  opens  his  remodelled  Victoria. 
Mahanoy  City,  with  it.  .  .  .  Show  has  been 
doing  a  nice  business  in  many  spots.  .  .  .  “No 
Ransom’'  and  “Take  the  Stand”  are  current 
Liberty  releases  at  Hollywood.  .  .  .Jim  Clark, 
the  genial  executive  at  Horlachers,  went  to  the 
Chicago  National  Film  Carriers,  Inc.,  conven¬ 
tion,  reports  progress,  then  went  to  the  Film 
Daily  golf  tournament.  .  .  .  John  Bachman 

and  Harold  Cohen  also  attended  the  FD  fest. 

TONY  LUCCHESE  is  still  ill  at  his  home 
but  convalescing  slowly.  Mike  Katz 

reports  that  “Burn  ’Em  Up  Barnes,”  second 
Mascot  serial,  is  beginning  to  work  around 
within  a  week  or  so.  .  .  .  Clyde  Beatty,  the 

lion  man  of  “The  Lost  Jungle,”  was  in  town 
with  the  circus  this  week.  .  .  .  The  Corni- 

Color  cartoons  are  also  coming  along  nicely. 
.  .  .  And  “Unknown  Blonde”  should  begin 

to  work  around  soon.  .  .  .  Preferred  is  still 

in  the  midst  of  its  playdate  drive. 

AL  BLOFSON  entertained  Al  Friedlander 
for  a  day  last  week.  .  .  .  The  First  Division 
executive  dropped  into  town  for  a  spell.  .  .  . 
Blofson  is  concentrating  on  more  engagements 
of  “Forgotten  Men.”  .  .  .  “Chandu,”  a  serial, 
will  be  released  by  First  Division,  making  two, 
together  with  “Young  Eagles.”  ...  New  pic¬ 
tures  include  “Fifteen  Wives,”  “House  of 
Strangers,”  “City  Park”  and  “Green  Eyes,’’ 
from  Chesterfield  and  Invincible,  and  “Shcck,” 
from  Monogram.  .  .  .  Al  expects  a  lot  from 
“Jane  Eyre.1’  .  .  .  His  entire  crew  went  over 
to  the  Monogram  convention. 

LOUIS  “POP”  KORSON  is  still  in  the  hos¬ 
pital.  .  .  .  His  friends  hope  for  a  speedy 

recovery.  .  .  .  “The  Fighting  Rookie”  is 

being  worked  around  the  territory.  . 
Masterpiece  also  expected  to  start  its  color 
carton  series  soon.  .  .  .  “The  Sweetest 

Story  Ever  Told,”  which  Capitol  is  distribut¬ 
ing  is  technicolor.  .  .  “War’s  End”  got 

a  lot  of  bookings.  ...  It  runs  less  than  30 
minutes. 

BILL  DOYLE  is  now  selling  for  Universal 
up  state.  ...  He  has  Jack  Engel’s  former 
territory.  .  .  .  His  return  is  welcomed.  .  .  . 
Clem  Rizzo  is  now  secretary  and  treasurer  of 
the  Independent  Equipment  Dealers^  Supply 
Association.  ...  He  got  the  post  at  the  Chi¬ 
cago  convention.  .  .  .  Capitol  has  sold  “War’s 
End,”  28  minute  version,  to  Wilmer  and  Vin¬ 
cent  as  well  as  SW.  There  is  a  42  minute 

version  as  well.  .  .  .  RKO  office  chiefs,  sales¬ 
men  and  bookers  got  together  with  manager 
Frank  McNamee,  the  other  night,  at  the 


THE  WOMAN  PAYS  in  “Vergie  Winters”  as  Radio  presents  Ann  Harding  and  John  Boles 
in  the  leading  roles. 


Adelphi,  to  celebrate  completion  of  the  recent 
drive.  ...  A  visitor  was  Ed  McEvoy,  who  told 
a  lot  of  Jewish  jokes  complete  with  accent,  for¬ 
eign  tongue  and  everything.  .  .  .  McEvoy  can 
sling  it  with  the  best  of  them. 

J.  V.  SCHRECK  a  visitor  on  the  street.  .  .  . 
So  was  Johnny  Roberts.  .  .  .  Much  corner  dis¬ 
cussion  these  days  on  organizations  and  other 
things.  .  .  .  Larry  Jacobs  in  town  with  “Be¬ 
yond  Bengal.’  .  .  .  Charley  Klang,  at  Principal, 
will  handle  it.  .  .  .  Jacobs  is  popular  here. 


Ulrich  Smith  Appointed 
Paramount  Sales  Manager 

Popular  Booking  Chief  Moved 
Up  to  New  Post 


Ulrich  Smith,  one  of  the  street’s  real 
veterans,  is  the  new  Paramount  sales 
manager  for  the  local  exchange. 

He  fills  the  place  last  held  by  John  Kirby, 
who  was  promoted  to  a  branch  managership 
a  few  seasons  ago. 

Smith  has  been  on  Vine  Street  for  nearly  two 
decades  and  has  an  unexcelled  record. 

He  will  be  succeeded  by  Ralph  Garman. 

Smith  started  with  Famous  Players  Lasky 
Company  in  November,  1915,  as  a  cleaner  of 
motion  pictures.  Later,  he  was  advanced  to  the 
head  of  the  shipping  department.  13  years  ago, 
he  was  made  booking  manager  and  in  1926  he 
was  elected  a  member  of  the  100%  club.  He 
was  again  elected  in  1933. 

Smith  is  the  oldest  employee  in  point  of 
service  in  the  local  exchange.  He  is  one  of  the 
oldest  in  point  of  service  with  the  company, 
having  started  when  Paramount  was  3  years 
old. 

He  is  capable,  knows  the  territory,  is  popular 
with  exhibitors. 

He  attends  the  convention  on  the  coast  with 
P.  A.  Bloch  and  Earle  Sweigert. 


WILKES-BARRE 


IRVING  is  down  to  30  cents  matinees  and 
40  cents  evenings.  .  .  .  Children  afternoons  get 
by  with  15  cents.  .  .  .  Penn  has  scaled  the 
matinee  down  to  30  cents  until  5  P.  M.,  and  40 
cents  from  then  until  closing.  .  .  .  Orpheum 
schedule  calls  for  20  cent  matinees  until  6  and 
30  cents  thereafter.  .  .  .  Capitol  is  plugging 
its  35  cent  matinee  until  6  P.  M.  .  .  .  If  the 
circus  is  any  criterion,  there’s  plenty  of  money 
in  town.  .  .  .  Local  press  has  not  taken  a  hand 
in  the  national  move  to  clean  up  the  movies. 
.  .  .  One  cr  two  stories  have  been  printed  but 
these  haven’t  been  stressed.  .  .  .  Industry,  inci¬ 
dentally,  got  by  with  a  good  story  when  the 
three  dailies  gave  plenty  of  space  to  a  talk  by 
M.  E.  Comerford  who  came  to  the  defense  of 
the  pictures.  .  .  .  “House  of  Rothschild”  was 
boosted  by  M.  E.  Comerford  and  had  a  run¬ 
ning  start  on  exploitation,  Fred  Hermann  go¬ 
ing  so  far  as  to  have  blotters  printed  and  dis¬ 
tributed  in  every  office  and  business  establish¬ 
ment.  .  .  .  Scenes  of  Wyoming  Valley,  taken 
as  a  part  of  the  anniversary  program,  attracted 
attention  at  the  Kingston.  .  .  .  Phil  Cusick, 
who  soothes  the  customers  at  the  Kingston,  has 
rounded  out  twenty  years  as  an  organist.  .  .  . 
Larksville  high  school  commencement  was  held 
at  the  Shawnee,  Plymouth. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Junl5’34 


19 


Federal  Censorship  Threat  Looms 

on  Heels  of  Clean  Picture  Drive 


Religious  Bodies  Take  Action — Catholic  Boycott  to  be 
Interpreted  This  Week — Exhibitor  Committee  Visits 
High  Churchfolk 

The  most  serious  threat  of  federal  censorship  since  the  beginning  of  the  motion 
picture  industry  looms  before  every  exhibitor. 


Onslaughts  of  church  bodies,  religious 
groups,  women's  clubs,  and  various  associa¬ 
tions  against  salacious  films  have  reached  a 
peak.  Mechanisms  set  up  by  the  motion  pic¬ 
ture  industry  to  regulate  production  are  scored 
by  these  bodies  with  no  further  conciliation 
likely. 

On  top  of  all  this,  organizations  which  have 
been  clamoring  for  federal  regulation  are  again 
in  the  thick  of  the  fight. 

Locally,  the  beginning  of  a  boycott  campaign 
against  all  pictures  has  been  seen  affecting  busi¬ 
ness.  The  order  was  issued  by  Cardinal  Dough¬ 
erty  in  a  “united  protest  against  immoral  and 
indecent  films.’’  Pledges  of  the  Legion  of 
Decency,  a  nation-wide  organization  are  now 
being  circulated. 

The  Dougherty  order  came  in  the  form  of 
a  letter  to  all  parishes.  The  pledge  against 
salacious  pictures  was  compared  to  the  pledge 
against  drinking  which  the  Total  Abstinence 
Society  inaugurated  many  years  ago. 

The  Cardinal  asks  all  Catholics  to  refrain 
from  going  to  movies  in  order  that  the  boycott 
may  bring  about  cleaner  pictures. 

In  one  part  of  his  letter,  he  says : 

“Experience  has  shown  that  one  hour  spent 
in  the  darkened  recesses  of  a  moving  picture 
theatre  will  often  undo  years  of  careful  train¬ 
ing  on  the  part  of  the  school,  the  church  and 
the  home.’’ 

Exhibitors,  while  refraining  from  comment¬ 
ing  generally  on  the  ban,  pointed  out  that  the 
above  paragraph  is  decidedly  unfair,  from  all 
angles.  Branding  the  motion  picture  as  such  a 
strong  force  is  out  of  all  reason,  they  declare. 

Interpretation  of  the  Cardinal's  letter  is  ex¬ 


pected  June  17,  when  all  parishes  will  hear 
addresses  on  the  subject.  It  was  thought  likely 
the  ban  would  extend  at  least  two  months. 

Meanwhile,  other  religious  bodies  have  joined 
with  the  Catholics  in  their  fight  for  clean 
movies. 

Methodist  clergymen  at  their  weekly  meeting 
here  indorsed  unanimously  the  stand  taken  by 
Cardinal  Dougherty  against  indecent  motion 
pictures. 

Similar  action  suggested  at  the  meeting  of 
Presbyterian  preachers  in  the  Witherspoon 
Building,  Juniper  and  Walnut  Streets,  was  de¬ 
layed  pending  a  report  from  the  Executive 
Committee  on  the  action  taken  at  a  recent  meet¬ 
ing  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Church. 
“We  commend  most  heartily,’’  a  resolution 
adopted  at  the  Methodist  meeting  read,  “Car¬ 
dinal  Dougherty  in  his  heroic  stand  against  the 
corrupting  motion  pictures  of  our  day,  and  join 
with  him  in  requesting  our  young  people  to 
join  the  Legion  of  Decency.” 

A  committee  of  local  exhibitors  had  a  con¬ 
ference  with  Monsignor  Lamb  this  week  in  an 
effort  to  explain  the  position  of  the  independent 
exhibition  in  the  matter.  While  the  effects  of 
the  conference  are  difficult  to  determine,  the 
industry  thought  beneficial  effects  might  come 
from  it. 

Meanwhile,  the  industry  awaits  the  interpre¬ 
tation. 

Votes  to  “boycott”  motion  pictures  that  are 
“salacious,  obscene  and  indecent”  and  contrary 
to  the  rules  and  moral  teachings  of  the  church 
were  cast  in  Lancaster  June  5  by  eighty  dele¬ 
gates  to  a  convention  of  the  Pennsylvania  Cath¬ 
olic  Beneficial  League. 


ERPI  Gets  Judgment 

Electrical  Research  Products  has  been 
awarded  a  judgment  for  $792.48  and 
interest  against  the  Norris  Amusement 
Company  of  Philadelphia.  Judgment 
represents  delinquencies  and  liquidated 
damages  on  a  Western  Electric  instal¬ 
lation  in  the  Susquehanna  Theatre,  here, 
and  marks  the  first  action  of  this  kind 
in  this  territory.  Action  was  heard  in 
Municipal  Court. 

Ray  Schwartz  is  now  managing  the 
Susquehanna. 


The  Cardinal’s  Letter 


May  25,  1934. 

Reverend  and  dear  Father: 

Perhaps  the  greatest  menace  to  faith  and  morals  in 
America  today  is  the  motion  picture  theatre  attended 
every  week  by  almost  seventy-seven  million  persons; 
of  whom  some  twenty-three  millions  are  young  people 
less  than  twenty-one  years  of  age. 

A  very  great  proportion  of  the  screen  productions 
deal  largely  with  sex  or  crime,  and  present  in  alluring 
form  a  false  philosophy  of  life  which  is  rapidly  debas¬ 
ing  and  corrupting  the  minds  and  hearts  of  our  people. 

The  usual  theme  of  these  moving  pictures  is  divorce, 
free  love,  marital  infidelity,  and  the  exploits  of  gangsters 
and  racketeers.  A  vicious  and  insidious  attack  is  being 
made  on  the  very  foundations  of  our  Christian  civiliza¬ 
tion,  namely,  the  sacrament  of  marriage,  the  purity  of 
womanhood,  the  sanctity  of  the  home,  and  obedience  to 
lawful  authority. 

This  sinister  influence  is  especially  devastating  among 
our  children  and  youth.  In  vain  shall  we  struggle  to 
build  Catholic  schools,  and  in  vain  shall  we  labor  to 
keep  the  minds  and  hearts  of  our  boys  and  girls  pure 
and  unsullied,  unless  some  adequate  measure  be  taken 
to  save  them  from  this  flood  of  filth  which  is  now 
sweeping  over  the  country.  Experience  has  shown  that 
one  hour  spent  in  the  darkened  recesses  of  a  moving 
picture  theatre  will  often  undo  years  of  careful  training 
on  the  part  of  the  school,  the  church  and  the  home. 

Many  remedies  have  been  suggested  for  this  evil. 
Appeals  have  been  made  to  the  film  producers,  and  a 
certain  amount  of  censorship  has  been  in  force  for 
many  years;  but  all  have  been  in  vain.  The  programs 
in  most  of  the  theatres  have  gone  from  bad  to  wcrse, 
and  many  of  the  screen  productions  now  openly  flaunt 
the  laws  of  God  and  man.  Those  responsible  for  this 
condition  have  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  all  the  pleas  of  the 
decent,  clean  minded  people  of  our  country. 

The  only  argument  likely  to  be  heard  new  is  that 
which  affects  the  box  office.  We  can  hope  for  no 
improvement  until  the  producers  learn  that  it  does 
not  pay  to  exhibit  films  offensive  to  Christian  modesty 
and  decency. 

Nothing  is  left  for  us  except  the  boycott,  and  this 
we  must  put  in  force  if  we  should  hope  to  achieve 
success.  The  Catholic  people  of  this  diocese  are,  there¬ 
fore,  urged  to  register  their  united  protest  against  im¬ 
moral  and  indecent  films  by  remaining  away  entirely 
from  all  motion  picture  theatres. 

Long  ago  the  Catholic  Church  in  this  country  attacked 
the  evil  of  intoxicating  drink  by  urging  its  members  to 
join  the  Total  Abstinence  Society.  Today  it  again 
begins  a  campaign  against  a  similar  evil,  and  requests 
all  the  faithful,  especially  the  young  people,  to  join  the 
Legion  of  Decency  which  is  pledged  to  boycott  the 
motion  picture  theatres. 

Since  a  very  large  proportion  of  the  present  screen 
plays  are  dangerous  to  faith  and  morals,  they  are  a 
proximate  occasion  of  sin,  and  as  such  must  be  avoided 
at  any  cost.  To  stay  away  from  them,  therefore,  is 
not  merely  a  counsel  but  a  positive  command,  binding 
all  in  conscience  under  pain  of  sin.  Our  Reverend 
Clergy  are  urged  most  earnestly  to  explain  to  their 
respective  flocks  the  doctrine  of  the  Church  on  this 
important  subject. 

Pledges  are  now  being  mailed  to  each  parish,  and  all 
the  faithful,  including  the  school  children,  are  to  be 
urged  to  sign  them.  These  pledges  should  be  kept  in 
the  parish  archives  and  a  report  on  the  exact  number 
signed  is  to  be  sent  to  the  Chancery  Office  before  July 
30,  1934. 


Trade  Gives  Dinner  to 
Veteran  Michael  Landow 

The  local  motion  picture  industry  will 
pay  homage  to  Michael  Landow,  Univer¬ 
sal  branch  manager,  who  resigned,  as  of 
July  1,  to  enter  the  pottery  business,  at  a 
dinner  July  9. 

Time,  place  and  further  definite  details  will 
be  announced  soon. 

Meanwhile,  a  committee  consisting  of  Jack 
Greenberg,  chairman;  Jay  Emanuel,  Iz  Epstein, 
Harry  Weiner,  Jim  Clarke,  Joe  Leon  will 
handle  details  of  the  affair. 

The  event  is  expected  to  be  one  of  the  big¬ 
gest  in  years. 


The  Reverend  Clergy  are  also  requested  to  urge  the 
members  of  their  various  parish  societies,  such  as 
the  Holy  Name  and  the  Sodality,  to  give  their  co-opera¬ 
tion  and  to  enlist  in  this  crusade  of  the  Legion  of 
Decency. 


Boyd  to  Build  New 
Theatre  in  Chester 

House  Will  Be  Completed  by 

Labor  Day 

A1  Boyd  will  build  a  theatre  in  Chester. 

Official  announcement  came  last  week  when 
plans  for  a  new  house,  costing  $150,000,  seat¬ 
ing  750,  were  disclosed  in  that  city.  A.  R. 
Boyd  Enterprises,  Inc.,  will  operate. 

Has  Fox 

Erection  is  largely  influenced  by  the  fact  that 
Stanley-Warner  and  Fox  have  been  at  odds  for 
two  seasons.  Boyd  will  have  first  run  Fox  in 
the  city. 

Location  is  in  the  northern  section  of  the 
city,  with  the  expectation  be:ng  that  it  will 
help  develop  that  district. 

Theatre  will  be  opened  Labor  Day,  it  is 
believed. 


20 


Junl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


THE  CODE  •  CASES  •  HEARINGS  •  BOARD  RULINGS  •  DEVELOPMENTS 


SCHEDULE: 

Grievance 

June  14 - Westmar  Theatre,  Norristown, 

vs.  Norris  Amusement  Company  (reduced 
admissions  involving  free  bus  tickets). 

June  21 — No  cases  scheduled. 

Clearance  and  Zoning 

June  15 - No  cases  scheduled. 

June  22 - Fern  Rock  Theatre  vs.  Colney, 

Felton,  Lindley,  Oxford,  Rockland. 

Ambassador  Theatre  vs.  Stanley-Warner 
and  all  theatres  in  zone. 

June  29 - Boulevard  Theatre,  Brooklyn, 

vs.  Tower,  Ardmore,  69th  Street. 

Byrd  Theatre  vs.  Stanley-Warner  and 
others  in  district. 

HEARINGS 

GRIEVANCE  BOARD,  MAY  31 

Camden  Drive  In  Theatre  vs. 

RKO  Distributing  Corporation 
on  specific  performance  of  contract 

Complainant  held  that  company  should  be 
forced  to  deliver  product  to  it.  Presented  evi¬ 
dence  to  indicate  that  it  thought  it  had  right  to 
product  after  dealing  with  local  exchange. 

Decision : 

In  the  opinion  of  the  board  based  upon  the 
evidence  presented,  there  was  no  contract  exist¬ 
ing  between  the  Camden  Drive-In  Theatre  and 
the  RKO  Distributing  Corpcration.  (Unani¬ 
mous.) 


Great  Northern  Theatre  vs. 

Strand  Theatre,  Philadelphia 
on  charge  of  overbuying 

Great  Northern,  through  its  attorney,  sought 
to  show  that  the  Strand  Theatre  had  prevented 
it  from  securing  first  run  product  for  the  house. 
Attorney  for  the  house  brought  exchangemen 
to  the  stand  and  questioned  them  on  Strand’s 
buys  for  the  year. 

Strand’s  attorney,  Joe  Sloane,  asked  ex¬ 
changemen  whether  they  had  sat  in  on  product 
deals,  whether  the  Strand  had  prevented  them 
from  selling  to  the  Great  Northern. 

Decision: 

It  is  the  opinion  of  the  board  from  the  evi¬ 
dence  submitted  that  the  Strand  Theatre  has 
not  contracted  for  more  feature  pictures  than 
are  reasonably  required  for  the  operation  of 
the  Strand  Theatre,  based  on  the  number  of 
weekly  changes  now  being  made,  to  wit  (two). 
The  evidence  indicated  that  the  Strand  Theatre 
used  104  feature  motion  pictures  a  year  and 
that  the  balance  of  feature  motion  pictures 
available  from  major  distributors  constituted 
a  larger  number  than  the  requirements  of 
the  156  feature  motion  pictures  necessary  for 
the  Great  Northern  Theatre.  (Unammous.) 

CLEARANCE  BOARD,  JUNE  1 

Narberth  Theatre,  Narberth,  asked  for 
change  in  clearance  of  the  Ardmore 
Theatre  over  it  from  14  days  to  7  days 
on  specific  product.  Territory  involved 
covered  also  Bala,  Bryn  Mawr,  Wayne, 
Berwyn 


Zoning  Falls  Back 

While  the  local  grievance  board 
hasn’t  been  so  busy  of  late,  it  looks  as 
if  the  zoning  board  is  going  to  fall 
behind. 

It  is  necessary  that  zoning  arguments 
be  cleared  up  before  the  new  season 
starts.  Otherwise,  it  will  interfere  with 
next  season’s  buying. 

The  zoning  board,  which  is  on  a 
leisure  schedule  of  P.  M.  sessions  only, 
ought  to  start  work  in  the  morning  until 
it  gets  the  bulk  of  the  cases  under  way. 


Board  heard  testimony  cf  Messrs.  Fried, 
Conway,  exhibitors  in  the  territory  involved. 
Fried  showed  that  he  had  been  receiving  pro¬ 
duct  7  days  after  Ardmore  up  to  this  season. 
Now  he  has  been  forced  to  follow  14  days  after 
Ardmcre.  He  asked  for  a  return  to  the  old 
schedule. 

Joe  Sloane  appeared  as  counsel  for  Stanley- 
Warner,  with  Warner  executives  and  exchange- 
men  taking  the  stand. 

Decision : 

Ardmore  to  play  a  maximum  of  7  days  ahead 
of  Bala,  Narberth,  Bryn  Mawr,  Wayne,  Ber¬ 
wyn.  Bala  and  Wynne  overlap.  The  following 
theatres  overlap:  Bala,  Narberth,  Bryn  Mawr, 
Wayne,  Berwyn.  The  above  is  effective  with 
the  1934-1935  contracts  as  provided  by  the  code. 
(Unanimous.) 


JUNE  8 

Benson  Theatre,  Philadelphia,  vs. 

Benn  and  Orient  Theatres,  on  question 
of  rezoning 

Benson,  through  Morris  Handle,  represented 
by  Gecrge  P.  Aarons,  sought  clarification  of 
zone  as  it  affects  the  Benson.  Handle  sought 
to  prove  he  could  not  get  first  run  pictures  in 
the  zone.  Testimony  was  given  by  him  and 
Leonard  Schlesinger,  S-W  zone  chief,  through 
counsel  Joe  Sloane. 

Decision: 

Benn  and  Benson  overlap.  Benn  and  Benson 
to  have  7  days  minimum  clearance  on  Lindy, 
Orient,  Embassy,  Doris.  Lindy  and  Embassy 
overlap. 

(Ed.  Note — Decision  places  Benson  in  first 
run  category  for  first  time  in  several  seasons 
and  clears  up  that  district  before  buying  for 
new  season  starts.) 


Stonehurst  Theatre  vs. 
Lansdowne,  on  question  of  69th  Street 
clearance 

Stonehurst  was  ready  to  present  its  case,  but 
upc  n  explanation  of  Leonard  Schlesinger,  S-W 
zone  chief,  who  was  present,  judgment  by  con¬ 
sent  was  entered. 

Decision: 

Lansdowne  is  to  have  7  days  clearance  maxi¬ 
mum  over  Stonehurst.  (By  consent.) 

Sidelights 

ALTERNATES  came  into  their  own  at  the  June  8 
meeting  of  the  board.  These  included  Messrs.  Brennan 
(Trenton),  Pizor,  Applegate  for  Messrs.  Schlesinger, 


Linker  and  Bloch.  First  of  the  latter  trio  was  inter¬ 
ested  in  both  cases,  Linker  was  in  New  York  on  the 
Atlantic  appeal  and  Bloch  wasn’t  around.  Others  were 
Charles  Segall,  Harry  Weiner,  chairman,  and  Raymond 
Rau,  impartial. 

FOLLOWING  the  session,  when  premium  zoning  dis¬ 
cussion  came  up,  David  Barrist,  local  exhibitor,  appeared 
before  the  beard.  He  started  to  make  charges  of 
intimidation  and  coercion  but  was  checked  by  chairman 
Weiner  who  pointed  out  that  the  grievance  board  was 
the  place  for  such  charges.  It  was  believed  likely  that 
his  charges  dealt  with  the  premium  question.  He  is 
interested  in  Quality  Premium  Distributors. 

SARTORIAL  EMINENCE  palm  must  be  awarded  to 
Leonard  Schlesinger,  dapper  Stanley-Warner  zone  man¬ 
ager  and  a  member  of  the  clearance  board.  Schlesinger, 
attired  in  a  white  su't,  drew  all  eyes.  Second  came 
Charles  Segall  in  a  more  conservative  outfit,  while 
Harry  Weiner,  Columbia  manager,  was  also  nattily 
attired. 

First  woman  to  appear  before  the  board  was  Betty 
McCaffrey,  UA  booker.  She  appeared  in  the  absence  of 
Harry  Bodkin,  Chicagoward. 

Thus  far,  Raymond  Rau,  impartial,  lias  been  doing 
all  the  alternating.  Colonel  Salter  appeared  a  couple 
of  times. 

What  with  the  conventions  and  everything,  the  griev¬ 
ance  board  hearing  set  for  June  7  was  postponed. 

Attendance  at  the  meeting  has  been  light.  The  only 
ones  showing  up  have  been  those  interested  in  cases.  A 
lot  of  exhibitors  ought  to  come  up  and  learn  something. 
Exchange  managers  have  been  kept  busy  also,  being 
subpoenaed  in  practically  all  cases. 


New  Premium  Votes 

Two  more  premium  votes  were  authorized  by 
the  local  clearance  board  this  week. 

One  includes  as  an  area  Bridgeport,  Norris¬ 
town,  Conshohocken.  It  was  believed  likely 
that  the  vote  of  75%  of  the  theatres  against 
premiums  would  be  certified  tlrs  week  by  the 
grievance  board. 

The  other  area  includes  Camden,  Gloucester, 
Salem,  Cumberland  and  Bridgeton  counties  in 
New  Jersey,  upon  application  of  the  Victoria 
Amusement  Company.  This  leaves  Atlantic, 
Cape  May  and  Mercer  as  the  only  counties  in 
this  film  zone  which  were  untouched  in  the 
Jersey  vote. 


Bridgeton  Appeal  Up 

Appeal  of  the  Stanley  Theatre,  Bridgeton, 
N.  J.,  from  the  decision  handed  down  by  the 
grievance  board  here  ordering  it  to  release  17 
pictures  to  the  Criterion  Theatre,  Bridgeton,  N. 
J.,  was  heard  by  the  Code  Authority  last  week. 
A  decision  was  due  this  week. 


Riant  Didn’t  Sign 

Case  of  the  Riant  Theatre,  Conshohocken, 
against  the  Norris  Amusement  Company,  Nor¬ 
ristown,  was  withdrawn  by  the  Riant  when  it 
developed  that  the  house  hasn’t  signed  the  code 
and  didn’t  have  the  privilege  of  complaining. 


Aarons  Active 

George  P.  Aarons,  secretary  and  general 
counsel  MPTO,  is  active  on  behalf  of  members 
in  board  hearing  matters. 

Aarons  has  four  cases  up  to  be  heard.  His 
representations  are  part  of  the  services  given 
by  the  MPTO  to  dues-paying  members. 


Code  Offices  Move 


Code  rooms  and  office  of  the  secre¬ 
tary  will  now  be  found  at  Room  411, 
P.  S.  F.  S.  Building. 

Move  was  made  last  week. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Junl5'34 


21 


The  First  Two  Fast  Ones 


THE  FIRST  TWO  FAST  ONES  of  the  new  selling  season  have  just  cropped  up. 
In  both  instances,  the  cases  themselves  do  not  lend  themselves  to  protest  as  much 
as  the  effect  they  seek  to  gain.  Both  seem  to  seek  to  get  around  the  10%  cancellation 
clause.  Both  will  succeed  unless  nipped  in  the  bud. 

HERE  THEY  ARE: 

1.  A  company  sells  an  exhibitor  a  complete  product.  BUT  WESTERNS 
ARE  INCLUDED  IN  THE  COMPLETE  PRODUCT  ANNOUNCEMENT.  If  an 
exhibitor  does  not  play  westerns,  perhaps  these  can  be  dropped.  BUT  IN  NOT 
BUYING  THE  WESTERNS  THE  EXHIBITOR  DOES  NOT  MAKE  A  100%  BUY 
and  CANNOT  TAKE  ADVANTAGE  OF  THE  10%  CANCELLATION 
CLAUSE. 

(The  unfairness  of  such  a  procedure  is  apparent.  Westerns  cost  little  to 
make,  are  low  cost  shows.  To  ask  that  exhibitors  buy  such  a  type  of  picture 
which  obviously  can  make  a  profit  when  only  regular  western  houses  play 
them  is  unfair.  If,  instead  of  westerns,  the  group  included  pictures  costing 
as  much  as  the  others  and  on  which  companies  ought  to  get  back  costs,  at  least, 
then  such  a  policy  might  be  excused,  but  such  is  not  the  case.  The  circuits, 
too,  do  not  have  to  worry,  being  allowed  to  pick  only  those  pictures  which  they 
desire,  a  privilege  which  the  independent  exhibitor  never  had,  but  which  the 
chains  always  exercised.) 

2.  A  company  sells  an  exhibitor  a  complete  product.  In  that  group  is 
a  40  or  a  50%  er,  or  perhaps  an  unusually  high  priced  picture.  THE  EXHIBI¬ 
TOR  DOES  NOT  HAVE  TO  BUY  THAT  PICTURE  IF  HE  DOES  NOT  WANT 
TO,  BUT  IF  HE  DOES  NOT  HE  LOSES  HIS  10%  CANCELLATION  PRIVI¬ 
LEGE  BECAUSE  HE  EXCLUDES  ONE  SHOW  WHICH  IS  INCLUDED  ON 
THE  REGULAR  CONTRACT. 

IN  OTHER  WORDS,  it  looks  as  if  someone  is  beginning  to  pull  fast  ones.  And 
they  will  continue  to  do  so,  unless  they  are  checked  either  by  the  Code  Authority, 
the  Divisional  Administrator  or  exhibitor  organization  strength. 

JAY  EMANUEL. 


MIRIAM  JORDAN 

HARDIE  ALBRIGHT  HENRY  ARMETTA 
DOROTHY  APPLEBY  EDWARD  MARTINDEL 
“A  truly  brilliant  comedy-drama  of  the 
first  .  .  .  the  second  .  .  .  the  third  year; 
its  chuckles  and  chagrins,  smiles  and  sighs, 
triumphs  and  tears!  Suggested  by  Dorothy 
Canfield’s  best  seller,  ‘The  Eternal  Masculine,’ 
directed  by  William  Nigh.  Screen  story  by 
Albert  De  Mond.” 


Distributed  by 

Hollywood  Film  Exchanges,  Inc. 

PHILADELPHIA 


Two  Code  Tests 


Two  test  cases  on  the  code  have  been 
filed  recently  in  other  territories. 

One  revolves  about  the  right  of  a 
non-assenter  to  file  a  case  with  the  local 
boards.  The  other  questions  the  right 
of  a  board  to  bar  service  of  film  to  an 
exhibitor  who  fails  to  obey  a  ruling  of 
the  board. 

Both  were  due  for  hearing  this  week¬ 
end. 


State  Closes,  Hershey  Open 

When  the  State  Theatre,  Harrisburg,  closed 
its  doors  for  the  summer  June  2,  Manager 
John  B.  Sollenberger,  Hershey  Theatre,  Her¬ 
shey,  announced  the  Hershey  Theatre,  Hershey, 
will  be  open  all  summer. 

Three-day-a-week  stage  show  policy  with 
eight  acts  and  short  subjects  on  the  screen  will 
be  continued  throughout  the  summer  at  the 
Hershey  Theatre. 


Assent  Reopening  Seen 

Reopening  of  the  code  so  that  the 
period  for  filing  assents  be  extended  45 
days  was  seen  likely  to  be  approved  by 
the  Code  Authority  at  the  June  15 
meeting. 

One  of  the  restrictions  would  have 
the  exhibitor  wanting  to  sign  get  the 
recommendation  of  two  exhibitors  of  the 
zone  who  have  assented.  Code  Author¬ 
ity  will  then  pass  on  all  permissions  to 
assent. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


22 


Junl5'34 


BETTER  TESTED  SUCCESSFUL 

MANAGEMENT  #  ideas  *  merchandising 


3 -Way  Tieup  on 
Warners  “Adverse’  ’  Plug 

In  a  tie-up  with  Photoplay  Magazine , 
Farrar  and  Rinehart  and  Postal  Tele¬ 
graph,  Warner  Bros,  have  completed 
plairs  for  the  launching  of  a  national 
casting  contest  on  their  picturization  of 
“Anthony  Adverse.” 

$10,000  in  prizes,  including  gifts  and  cash, 
will  be  given  the  260  winners  of  one  of  the 
most  extensive  contests  of  this  sort  ever  con¬ 
ducted. 

Complete  details  of  the  contest  will  be  an¬ 
nounced  in  the  August,  September  and  October 
issues  of  Photoplay  Magazine,  and  the  selection 
of  the  cast  is  to  be  made  from  the  list  of  stars 
to  be  included  in  those  issues  of  the  fan  maga¬ 
zine.  Four  principals  in  this  tie-up  are  dona¬ 
tions  an  aggregate  of  260  prizes,  totaling 
$10,000  in  value.  They  will  also  co-operate  in 
exploiting  same,  along  the  following  lines : 

Special  ballots  for  the  use  of  the  entrants  in 
the  “Anthony  Adverse'’  contest  will  be  supplied 
by  Postal  Telegraph,  distributing  to  them  for 
all  of  their  branch  offices  for  circulation  to  the 
public  during  the  months  of  July,  August  and 
September.  This  will  mark  the  first  time 
Postal  Telegraph  ever  issued  special  ballots  of 
any  kind.  A  copy  of  this  blank  will  be  posted 
in  every  Postal  Telegraph  station  during  these 
months.  In  addition  to  a  window  card  announc- 


SEND  US  YOUR  DATES  ! 


HORRIBLE  NAZI  TRUTH 


In  spite  of  extraordinary  caution  to  prevent  these 
terrifying  conditions  to  be  shown  to  the  outside 
world — “at  the  risk  of  his  life” 

CORNELIUS  VANDERBILT,  JR. 

has  succeeded  in  personally  photographing  the 
amazing  scenes  in  Austria  and  Germany — 
Dialogue  and  comments  by  Edwin  C.  Hill,  radio's 
outstanding  personality  and  journalist. 

Jewel  Productions,  Inc. 

723  7th  Ave.,  New  York 


Mascot  Announces 

Mascot  has  released  its  1934-1935 
announcement  book.  Product  is  easily 
outlined,  should  prove  most  attractive 
to  exhibitors.  A1  Sherman  planned  it 
under  supervision  of  Nat  Levine,  presi¬ 
dent. 


ing  the  contest,  Postal  Telegraph  messengers 
will  also  distribute  the  blanks  in  the  more  popu¬ 
lated  areas. 

Farrar  and  Rinehart,  publishers  of  the  novel, 
will  co-operate  by  creating  special  windcw  dis¬ 
play  material  for  announcing  the  contest  for 
distribution  through  their  book  dealers ;  pay 
part  of  the  cost  of  a  folder  cn  the  contest  which 
will  be  distributed  at  all  Warner  Bros,  theatres, 
book  dealers  and  Postal  Telegraph  stations. 
They  will  insert  a  special  announcement  in 
every  copy  of  the  book  sold  during  the  three 
months  of  the  duration  of  the  contest  and  take 
a  co-operative  ad  in  Photoplay  magazine  with 
the  producers  of  the  picture;  promote  the  con¬ 
test  over  the  radio  on  their  own  radio  pro¬ 
grams;  and  furnish  still  pictures  illustrating 
a  scene  from  "Anthony  Adverse”  to  be  offered 
over  the  air  through  Emo’s  Movie  Hour,  which 
will  announce  the  contest  over  130  radio  stations 
in  41  states. 

Photoplay  Magazine  will  carry  the  details  of 
the  contest  in  at  least  four  full  pages,  in  each 
of  their  August,  September  and  October  issues ; 
reproduce  the  Postal  Telegraph  ballot  in  a  full 
page  during  these  months  and  devote  a  wagon 
poster  with  a  newsstand  card  announcing  same. 

Warner  Bros,  will  create  three  different  trail¬ 
ers  announcing  the  contest  on  the  screens  of  all 
of  the  company’s  theatres,  each  release  con¬ 
cluding  with  an  issue  of  Photoplay  Magazine; 
and  co-operate  in  all  the  ads  and  prizes  offered. 


Selling  “Hollywood” 

Cliff  Jenkins,  popular  Negro  porter,  Loews, 
Harrisburg,  walked  the  streets  in  his  long 
undies,  carrying  with  expertness,  a  cane  and 
wearing  a  high  hat  on  opening  day  of  "Holly¬ 
wood  Party.” 


Free  Menus 

Another  stunt  was  originated  by  Manager 
Charlie  McLeary  to  advertise  feature  attrac¬ 
tions  weekly  at  Loew’s  Regent  Theatre,  Harris¬ 
burg.  Stunt  consists  of  a  blank  menu  sheet 
for  use  at  restaurants.  Manager  McLeary  fur¬ 
nishes  the  menu  blanks  to  the  restaurants  free 
of  charge,  thereby  saving  the  proprietors  the 
price  of  the  menu  paper  on  which  is  typewritten 
daily  the  menu  for  the  day. 

Here’s  where  Charlie  and  his  theatre  come  in. 
At  the  bottom  of  the  menu  blanks  appear  the 
words,  “Look  for  these  specials  every  day.” 
Beneath  is  an  attractive  cut  with  appropriate 
wording,  advertising  the  current  picture  at 
Loew’s.  To  date  Manager  McLeary  has  ar¬ 
ranged  tie-ups  to  use  the  menu  blanks  at  three 
prominent  restaurants.  He  is  negotiating  to 
have  the  blanks  used  at  ether  restaurants  and 
hoping  to  tie-up  every  prominent  restaurant  in 
the  city.  _ _ 

For  “Ghoul” 

Uncanny  it  was,  that  stunt  Manager  Jerry 
Wollaston  enacted  at  the  Victoria,  Harrisburg, 
at  opening  of  “The  Ghoul.” 

To  exploit  “The  Ghoul,”  Jerry  had  on  dis¬ 
play  in  a  large  show  window  several  blocks 
from  his  theatre  for  a  week  prior  to  opening  of 
picture  a  nice  coffin,  tombstone  and  all  the  fix- 
in’s.  A  dummy,  representuig  Boris  Karloff,  lay 
in  the  nice  coffin. 

Jerry  designated  eight  of  his  most  trusted 
employes  as  pallbearers,  who,  with  bowed  heads 
and  faltering  steps,  carried  through  city  streets 
to  the  Victoria  Theatre  on  night  of  opening  of 
“The  Ghoul,”  the  nice  casket  and  its  contents. 
Walking  half  way  down  the  center  aisle  of  the 
theatre,  lighted  with  sickening,  dim  lights,  to 
the  strains  of  weird  music,  pallbearers  stopped 
suddenly,  dropped  the  nice  casket  and  fled  when 
their  dummy  corpse  came  suddenly  to  life  and 
strode  onto  the  stage. 


Two  very  attractive  women,  one  an  employe 
of  the  theatre,  and  the  other,  a  very  close  friend 
of  the  management,  appeared  among  thousands 
of  bathers  at  the  Municipal  Bathing  Beach  on 
opening  day  wearing  across  their  dainty  bath¬ 
ing  suits  banners  bearing  the  words,  “Holly¬ 
wood  Party.” 


What  happens 
when  a  man 
marries  too 
many  women  is 
depicted  in 

“FIFTEEN 
WIVES” 
from  First 
Division  and 
Invincible. 
Conway  Tearle, 
John  Wray,  Noel 
Francis  and 
Rolf  Harolde  are 
prominent  in  the 
cast  of  the 
action  drama. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Junl5'34 


23 


PLENTY  OF  ACTION  with  Gloria  Stuart,  Messrs.  Lugosi  and  Karloff  in  “The  Black  Cat” 
and  June  Knight  sketching,  all  for  Universal. 


Heard  In 

ROSSTOWN 

Steifel  Gives 
Some  Philosophy 


CHARLES  STEIFEL,  the  South  Philadel¬ 
phia  philosopher,  recently  gave  an  interesting 
talk  over  the  luncheon  table  on  the  difference 
between  the  tavern  business  and  the  movie  busi¬ 
ness.  .  .  .  Steifel  says  that  in  the  first,  the 
brewers  bend  over  backwards  to  keep  their  cus¬ 
tomers  happy,  but  in  the  movie  business,  they 
don’t  bend  at  all.  .  .  .  The  tavern  business,  as 
a  result,  prospers,  but  the  movie  business,  well. 
.  .  .  Steifel  also  says  his  operators  have  in¬ 
structions  never  to  show  newsreels.  ...  By 
the  time  his  house  gets  them,  they  become  his¬ 
torical  reviews. 

MOE  VERBIN  proved  a  genial  host  re¬ 
cently  when  the  Europa  threw  a  luncheon 
at  the  Warwick  for  Harry  Schenck,  who 
filmed  “Beyond  Bengal.”  .  .  Press  and 

trade  were  invited.  .  .  .  Schenck  is  a  well 

known  explorer,  told  some  of  the  feats.  .  .  . 
As  a  result,  “Beyond  Bengal”  got  off  to  the 
good  start,  thanks  to  the  Verbin  bally.  .  .  . 

Moe  is  bringing  “Constant  Nymph”  back, 
the  picture  having  gotten  a  great  word  of 
mouth  buildup. 

PAUL  SCHREINER,  Academy,  Williams- 
town,  has  the  American  and  Opera  House, 
Tower  City.  .  .  .  Theatres  are  beginning  to 
close.  .  .  .  List  includes  Astor,  Allentown ; 

Palace,  Topton;  Dillsburg,  Dillsburg.  .  .  . 

Report  is  current  that  Glassboro  Theatre  will 
change  hands  shortly.  .  .  .  Rialto,  Mt.  Carmel, 
dark.  .  .  .  Capitol,  Milton,  opening,  after  re¬ 
building. 

M.  B.  COMERFORD  and  M.  E.  Comerford 
will  attend  the  Paramount  coast  sessions  as  the¬ 
atre  department  representatives.  .  .  .  Allied 

Jersey  will  hold  its  meet  in  August  at  the 
shore. 

EARLE  THEATRE  strike  ended  when  the 
ushers  got  a  raise.  .  .  .  This  was  preceded  by 
a  display  of  emotion  on  the  part  of  the  Young 
Communists,  who  didn’t  help  the  cause  any. 


FD  Month  Scores 


Harry  H.  Thomas,  president,  First 
Division,  points  with  pride  to  the  suc¬ 
cess  of  Harry  Thomas  Month,  and  takes 
this  means  of  thanking  exhibitors,  sales¬ 
men  and  bookers  for  their  hearty  co¬ 
operation  during  the  May  drive  for 
dates.  “May  is  Harry  Thomas  Month” 
has  become  a  tradition  among  all  First 
Division  exchanges,  and  this  year  proved 
to  be  the  most  successful.  Plans  for 
continuing  the  expansion  policy  of  the 
organization  are  being  developed  con¬ 
stantly. 


EARLE  now  going  in  for  an  m.c.  policy,  if 
it  clicks.  .  .  .  Wesley  Eddy  with  the  usual 
stage  show.  .  .  .  Ccmes  in  from  Roxy,  New 
York.  .  .  .  House  will  try  to  get  names  for 
summer  shows  when  available,  but  will  depend 
on  new  policy  to  hold  its  own.  .  .  .  Recent 
Cohn  fronts  also  helped  a  bit. 

CLOSING:  Fay's.  .  .  .  Closed:  Aldine. 
...  At  Fay's,  Sid  Stanley  made  a  swell  record 
and  turned  in  the  best  season  the  house  has  had 
since  anybody,  even  the  old  timers,  can  remem¬ 
ber.  .  .  .  He'll  be  back  in  the  fall,  with  the 
house  redecorated  and  repainted.  .  .  .  Earle 

is  on  a  week-to-week  basis.  .  .  .  John  Latimer, 
secretary  to  Leonard  Schlesinger,  S-W  zone 
chief,  has  been  ill. 

NINETEEN  YEARS  AGO.  .  .  .  Catholic 
Theatre  Movement  which  computed  a  white 
list  of  plays  for  the  stage,  began  to  turn  its 
attention  to  the  movies  and  the  white  list  for 
movies  would  be  for  films  rather  than  for 
pictures.  .  .  .  Jack  Delmar,  Jefferson  Theatre 
manager,  was  ill.  .  .  .  Dr.  Oberholtzer  was 
appointed  to  Pennsylvania  State  Censor  Board. 

TEN  YEARS  AGO.  .  .  .  Tax  repeal  be¬ 
came  effective.  .  .  .  Sun,  Aurora  and  Ontario 
Theatres  closed.  .  .  .  Bill  Mansell  was  married 
June  18.  .  .  .  Len  Berman  returned  from  Los 
Angeles.  .  .  .  MPTO  convention  was  to  be 
held  in  Atlantic  City.  .  .  .  Exhibs  stopped  car¬ 
nival  competition.  .  .  .  Tom  Bible  was  booking 
for  Clayton  Busse.  .  .  .  American,  Pittston, 
opened. 


COCKEYED  INDEED  are  Wheeler  and  Woolsey  in  “Cockeyed  Cavaliers,”  with  Thelma 
Todd  and  others,  from  Radio. 


DON'T 
LET  'EM 
WANDER 
AROUND 

Philadelphians  are  enthusiastic 
show-goers  when  they  know  what 
they’re  going  to  see  and  where  to 
see  it!  Don’t  let  ’em  wander 
around  wondering  whether  or  not 
they  want  to  come  to  your  theatre! 
Tell  ’em  what  you’re  showing. 
Snap  ’em  out  of  those  “maybes” 
and  “if  s”  and  up  to  your  box 
office. 

And  tell  ’em  the  quickest,  surest, 
most  economical  way — 

Tell  ’em  in 

The  RECORD 
Amusement 
Directory 

A  listing  in  Philadelphia’s  first 
and  only  complete  amusement 
directory  costs  only  30  cents  a  day 
(longer  listings,  15  cents  per  line 
additional)  and  carries  your  show¬ 
ing  to  182,000  families  daily  and 
288,000  on  Sunday. 

To  place  your  listing  or  for  fur¬ 
ther  information  call  the 


PHILADELPHIA 

RECORD 

CLASSIFIED  DEPARTMENT 

WALNUT  2300 


24 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


2-June-34 


C  D  1  i  D 

J  1  ■►Who  made  it? 

4  *►  Is  it  family  or  adult  type  ? 

b-roint  Reviews 

2 •►Who's  in  it? 

5  »►  What's  it  about  ? 

W  ■  Villi  llvVIyWv 

3  ■►  How  good  is  it  ? 

6 •►Running  Time? 

COLUMBIA  B  PARAMOUNT 


OnC  Night  of  Love  Romantic  Drama 

83m. 

Grace  Moore,  Tullio  Carminati,  Lyle  Talbot,  Mona 
Barrie,  Luis  Alberni,  Jessie  Ralph,  Nydia  Westman. 

Light  comedy  drama  with  operatic  back¬ 
ground  that  has  a  new  name  to  sell  as  well  as  a 
tinsel  story.  Picture  is  handled  in  the  manner 
that  it  should  have  been,  but  show  is  adapted 
more  for  the  class  houses  than  the  general  run. 

Estimate:  Light. 


The  Hell  Cat  Action  Drama 

68m. 

Ann  Sothern,  Robert  Armstrong,  Benny  Baker, 
J.  Carroll  Naish,  Irving  Bacon,  Henry  Kolker. 

Plenty  of  action  and  some  laughs  make  this 
entrant  a  nice  programmer.  Names  are  lacking 
but  audiences  will  be  well  satisfied.  The  old, 
old  story  of  the  rich  gal  who  is  rebuffed  by  the 
hero  and  who  tries  to  frame  him  to  get  even 
is  well  handled,  seems  bright  and  fresh. 

Estimate:  Well  handled. 


The  Most  Precious  Family 

Tl  •  •  |  .  e  Drama 

Ihing  in  Life  68m. 

Jean  Arthur,  Don  Cook,  Richard  Cromwell,  Anita 
Louise,  Mary  Forbes,  Ben  Alexander ,  John  Wray. 

Emotional  drama  built  for  the  neighborhood 
trade  and  a  picture  that  should  appeal  to  women. 
Story  is  one  of  the  mother,  the  college  scrub 
woman,  whose  romance  is  thwarted  by  her  hus¬ 
band's  wealthy  family.  Years  later,  the  same 
situation  arises  and  she  saves  the  day  for  the 
collegiate  son,  who  doesn't  know  she’s  the 

mother  at  all. 

Estimate:  Suitable. 


FIRST  NATIONAL 


Kiss  and  Make  Up  Comedy  with  Music 

80m. 

Cary  Grant,  Genevieve  Tobin,  Edward  Everett 
Horton,  Lucien  Littlefield,  Mona  Maris,  Doris  Lloyd, 
Milton  Wallace,  Toby  Wing,  Judith  Allen,  Lucille 
Lund,  Henry  Armetta . 

Triangle  comedy  of  husbands  and  wives  with 
some  music.  Piece  is  generally  light  in  makeup, 
and  burlesque  some  of  the  beauty  racket  angles. 
Comedy  is  plentiful  and  there  are  lots  of  good 
looking  girls.  Strength  of  the  show  will  depend 
upon  the  selling  as  star  strength  isn’t  any  too 
impressive. 

Estimate:  Summery. 


Adult 
Comedy  Drama 
68m. 

Adolphe  Menjou,  Lynn  Overman,  Elissa  Landi, 
David  Manners,  Raymond  Walburn,  Adrian  Rosley. 

Comedy  drama  about  a  couple  of  emotional 
stage  people  and  with  enough  laughs  to  satisfy 
most  audiences.  Picture  hasn’t  much  that  will 
cause  them  to  stampede  the  box  office  but  as 
light  summer  stuff  it  will  satisfy. 

Estimate:  Airy. 


The  Great  Flirtation 


RADIO 


Cockeyed  Cavaliers 


Family 
Farce 
81  m. 


Wheeler  and  Woolsey,  Thelma  Todd,  Dorothy  Lee, 
Noah  Beery,  Robert  Gregg,  Franklin  Pangborn. 

Riotous  Wheeler  and  Woolsey  that  should 
equal  or  top  their  former  pictures.  With  a  set¬ 
ting  in  merry  old  England  in  the  good  days  and 
a  cast  of  comedians  that  knows  how,  the  two 
lunatics  are  a  bit  better  than  usual.  In  addi¬ 
tion,  two  songs  will  help  the  proceedings. 

Estimate:  Laughs. 


Man  with  Two  Faces  Mystery 

73m. 

Edward  G.  Robinson,  Mary  Astor,  Ricardo  Cortez, 
Louis  Calhern,  Mae  Clarke,  Arthur  Byron,  John 
Eldredge,  David  Landau,  Henry  O'Neill,  Virginia 
Sale. 

Twin  role  for  Robinson  and  not  one  of  his 
best.  Picture’s  weakness  lies  in  story.  It  might 
have  been  an  intriguing  play  but  despite  good 
casting,  the  screen  version  doesn’t  quite  hit  the 
mark.  However,  picture  has  angles  to  sell. 

Estimate:  Depends  on  selling. 


Murder  on  the  Blackboard  Mystery 

85m. 

Edna  May  Oliver,  James  Gleason,  Bruce  Cabot, 
Gertrude  Michael,  Regis  Toomey,  Edgar  Kennedy, 
Tully  Marshall,  Jackie,  Searles. 

Well  produced  and  intriguing  mystery  mur¬ 
der  drama  that  won't  have  any  trouble  satisfy¬ 
ing.  Show  is  light  on  angles  with  which  to 
make  them  come  in  but  it  packs  as  much  enter¬ 
tainment  and  more  than  a  lot  of  other  shows. 

Estimate:  Well  done. 


Return  of  the  Terror 


Family 
Murder  Mystery 
65m. 


John  Holliday,  Lyle  Talbot,  Mary  Astor,  Frank 
McHugh,  Robert  Barrat,  Irving  Pichel,  J.  Carrol 
Naish,  Maude  Eburne,  Charles  Grapewin,  Edmund 
Breese. 


Well  paced,  directed  mystery  murder  drama 
that  will  satisfy  thrill  lovers.  Show  falls  into 
the  program  category  with  lack  of  star 
strength,  but  with  a  cast  that  milks  every  situa¬ 
tion  for  laughs  and  punches.  Developments  in¬ 
clude  several  murders,  an  insane  asylum  and  a 
touch  of  romance.  Comedy  is  plentiful. 


Vergie  Winters 


Adult 

Drama 

83m. 


Ann  Harding,  John  Boles,  Helen  Vinson,  Betty 
Furness,  Molly  O’Day,  Creighton  Chaney,  Sara 
Haden,  Dorothy  Sebastian,  Wesley  Barry,  Donald 
C  risp. 

Woman’s  story  of  the  third  member  of  the 
triangle  who  suffers  and  finally  gets  her  child 
back.  Picture  is  emotionally  strong,  will  at¬ 
tract  the  females,  should  do  a  nice  business  on 
that  basis.  Cast  has  some  standout  names  and 
performances  and  if  properly  sold  can  be  made 
to  bring  in  good  returns. 


Estimate:  Thrills. 


Estimate:  Finely  produced. 


UNITED  ARTISTS 


Born  to  Be  Bad  Drama 

61m. 

Loretta  Young ,  Cary  Grant,  Jackie  Kelk,  Harry 
Green,  Henry  Travers,  Paul  Harvey,  Marion  Burns, 
Geneva  Mitchell,  Russell  Hopton. 

Drama  of  a  mother  with  a  bad  reputation 
whose  attitude  on  life  results  in  her  young  son 
becoming  incorrigible.  Picture  has  angles  that 
might  appeal  to  the  family  trade  but  is  so 
handled  that  it  is  adult  material.  Outside  of 
the  name  strength,  the  story  has  little  to  recom¬ 
mend  it  and  in  the  final  analysis  will  probably 
not  satisfy  patrons  because  of  its  unsympathetic 
part  for  Miss  Young. 

Estimate:  Missout. 


UNIVERSAL 


Let’s  Talk  It  Over  Comedy  Drama 

70m. 

Chester  Morris,  Mae  Clarke,  Frank  Craven,  Irene 
Ware,  Andy  Devine,  Anderson  Lawlor,  Russ  Brown, 
Henry  Armetta. 

One  man  picture  with  Chester  Morris  turn¬ 
ing  in  a  neat  performance  as  the  talkative  gob 
who  makes  good.  An  heiress  is  saved  from 
drowning  by  a  sailor,  bets  she  can  make  a  suc¬ 
cess  out  of  him.  Eventually,  he  becomes  a 
real,  big  shot  and  she  falls  for  him  in  reality. 
Picture  has  plenty  of  laughs  and  should  do  as  a 
programmer. 

Estimate:  Adequate. 


WARNERS 


Friends  of  Mr.  Sweeney 


Family 

Comedy 

70m. 


Charles  Ruggles,  Berton  Churchill,  Ann  Dvorak, 
Eugene  Pallette,  Harry  Beresford,  William  Davidson, 
Robert  Barrat,  Dorothy  Burgess,  Maurice  Black. 

Well  played  comedy  based  on  the  familiar 
story  of  the  underling  turning  and  becoming 
a  giant.  Ruggles  milks  the  role  dry,  has  good 
support  and  some  nice  situations  but  in  the  long- 
run  show  will  suffer  from  a  poor  title  and  lack 
of  name  strength.  Picture  will  satisfy  once 
they  come  in  but  to  get  them  in  will  be  a 
problem. 

Estimate:  Funny. 


Mfldime  Du  Barry  Costume  Drama 

- m. 

Dolores  Del  Rio,  Reginald  Owen,  Veree  Teasdale, 
Helen  Lowell,  Osgood  Perkins,  Victor  Jory,  Henry 
O'Neill,  Ferdinand  Gottschalk,  Virginia  Sale,  Hobart 
Cavanaugh. 

Costume  drama  that  will  have  to  depend  on 
Del  Rio’s  draw  and  comedy  angles  to  bring 
them  in.  Picture  is  lavishly  mounted,  well  cast 
but  as  far  as  sticking  to  history  is  concerned, 
it  just  doesn't.  Showmen  will  find  plenty  to 
sell  to  overcome  the  costume  angle.  Some  of 
the  lines  are  spicy.  Supporting  players  are 
especially  good.  However,  picture  depends  on 
how  the  costume  handicap  is  overcome. 

Estimate:  High. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


25 


2-June-34 

Family 

The  Personality  Kid  Action  Drama 

67m. 

Pat  O'Brien,  Glenda  Farrell,  Claire  Dodd,  Henry 
O'Neill,  Thomas  Jackson,  Robert  Gleclcler,  Arthur 
Vinton,  Clarence  Muse,  George  Cooper. 

Action  drama  about  the  boxer  who  finally 
pulls  through  to  make  good  and  an  attractive 
programmer  for  the  houses  that  go  for  the 
action  stuff.  Pat  O’Brien  plays  the  role  of  the 
fighter,  turns  in  a  good  job,  has  nice  support. 
Direction  turns  a  familiar  plot  into  an  inter¬ 
esting  entrant  in  the  fight-drama  division. 

Estimate:  Action. 


GAUMONT  BRITISH 


The  Woman 

In  Command 


Family 

Comedy  with  Music 
71m. 


Edward  Everett  Horton,  Anthony  Bushcll,  Cicely 
Courtneidge,  Dorothy  Hyson,  Frank  Collier. 

English  comedy  with  nice  music  that  will 
appeal  to  limited  audiences  on  this  side.  Assets 
consist  of  a  couple  of  names  familiar  to  Amer¬ 
ican  audiences,  some  laughs  and  light  touches. 
Show  is  British  in  character,  may  seem  odd  to 
patrons  here.  Production  values  are  on  par 
with  many  American  shows. 


Estimate:  For  some. 


STATE  RIGHTS 


High  School  Girl  Moral  Drama 

62m. 

Cecilia  Parker,  Helen  MacKellar,  Crane  Wilbur, 
Carlyle  Moore,  Jr.,  Noel  Warwick,  Mahlon  Hamilton. 

Problem  picture  about  the  girl  who  didn't 
know  the  answers  and  which  will  have  to  depend 
upon  the  selling.  Cast  is  adequate  for  type  of 
production  but  can’t  be  depended  upon  to  bring 
them  in.  As  a  picture  with  a  strong  sex  angle, 
it  is  obviously  better  fitted  for  some  spots  than 
for  others. 

Estimate:  Sex  drama. 


wn  „  .,Ad.ult 

.  I  War  Compilation 

ier  bpeaks  74m. 

Compilation  of  war  scenes  along  lines  seen  before. 

Once  again,  scenes  of  the  world  war  have 
been  joined  together  and  the  result  is  the  pres¬ 
ent  applicant  for  box  office  honors.  Shots  have 
a  running  talk,  peace  propaganda  is  inserted, 
but  generally  box  office  returns  will  depend 
upon  men  folks. 

Estimate:  War  stuff. 


MASTERPIECE 


The  Fighting  Rookie  Action 

60m. 

Jack  La  Rue,  Ada  Ince,  Dewitt  Jennings,  Matthew 
Betz,  Arthur  Belasco,  Tom  Brewer. 

Action  drama  about  the  patrolman  who  was 
dismissed  from  the  force  in  order  to  get  the 
goods  on  the  gang.  Show  has  the  necessary 
fights  and  will  get  the  necessary  okay  from  the 
blood  and  thunder  crew.  Picture  falls  into  the 
melodrama  classification  which  explains  every¬ 
thing. 

Estimate:  Fights. 


BETWEEN  THE  PARAGRAPHS 


CODE  BOARD  EFFICIENCY  FORCES 
AGITATORS  TO  CHANGE  PLANS 

Apparent  success  of  the  code  boards  throughout  the  country  has 
resulted  in  a  concentration  of  attention,  by  unsympathetic  bodies,  on 
other  elements.  The  agitators  apparently  thought  that  the  code  would 
be  inefficient,  open  to  attack.  As  it  is,  it  appears  as  if  the  code  is 
working  out  rather  well,  with  the  usual  number  of  missouts  likely  to 
happen  in  any  such  system.  As  a  result,  agitators  have  directed 
attention  on  the  old  evils  of  the  business.,  These  include  score 
charges,  block  booking,  alleged  circuit  domination,  high  film  rentals, 
percentage  pictures  and  general  oppression.  No  one  will  argue  that 
there  isn’t  room  for  improvement  in  every  one  of  these  issues,  but, 
on  the  other  hand,  it  would  seem  a  pity  that  the  code’s  operation 
doesn’t  offer  opportunity  for  more  verbal  bombs  for  a  few. 

Pete  Harrison,  who  is  perhaps  the  code’s  best  friend,  told  a  militant 
unit  where  to  get  off  in  a  recent  issue.  Relief  was  given  in  a  certain 
case  by  the  local  board.  The  organization  in  question  immediately 
took  credit.  Pete  pointed  out  that  the  code  was  responsible.  And 
Pete  was  right. 

NO  SCHEDULE  EVER  INCLUDES 
THE  REALLY  SURPRISING  HITS 

Examination  of  product  announcements  by  various  companies 
indicates  the  usual  variety  of  pictures.  As  in  every  other  year  there 
is  a  balance  between  action,  society,  costume,  etc.,  dramas,  but  the 
stand-out  pictures  can  never  be  predicted. 

“It  Happened  One  Night,”  “Little  Miss  Marker,”  “Flying  Down 
to  Rio,”  to  mention  a  few,  never  looked  like  the  big  numbers  on  paper. 

More  and  more,  it  appears  as  if  exhibitors  are  buying  reputations, 
stars,  and  a  company’s  flair  for  delivering,  rather  than  a  definite  pre¬ 
diction  of  what  was  going  to  happen. 

IMPORTS  ARE  OKAY  BUT 
THEY  JUST  DON’T  COME  IN 

Some  of  the  importations  during  the  past  season  from  England 
were  deserving  of  the  praise  they  received.  “I  Was  a  Spy,”  “Henry 
the  Eighth,”  “Catherine,”  “The  Constant  Nymph”  drew  critical  praise, 
but  of  the  entire  group  of  foreign  pictures  only  “Henry”  can  be  said 
to  have  done  a  fair  business. 

It  is  quite  evident  that  the  British  producers  are  catching  up  to 
the  Americans  and  in  some  cases  passing  them.  Of  course,  only  the 
best  of  the  British  product  is  introduced  here,  but  their  progress  is 
encouraging. 

The  big  bar  against  more  time  for  foreign  pictures  here,  of  course, 
is  lack  of  names  and  failure  to  educate  patrons.  Except  in  the  class 
houses,  movie  patrons  won’t  go  for  the  pictures.  It  may  seem  like  a 
long  process  but  the  only  way  to  increase  such  patronage  is  to  educate 
the  public  to  the  fact  that  some  of  the  features  from  the  other  side 
aren’t  so  bad. 

CLEANLINESS  ISN’T  THE 

ONLY  NECESSARY  BOX  OFFICE  VIRTUE 

Exhibitors  who  thought  that  clean  pictures  would  result  in  real 
box  office  attractions  because  of  the  attention  directed  toward  the 
allegedly  salacious  variety  have  been  disappointed.  It  seems  that  if 
a  picture  lacks  the  elements  to  which  religious  bodies  object  that  isn’t 
enough. 

In  other  words,  to  satisfy  those  who  want  a  new  deal  in  film,  pro¬ 
duction,  pictures  must  be  100%  pure  and  100%  in  entertainment. 
100%  pure  and  35%  in  entertainment  won’t  do. 

That’s  the  result.  Will  someone  supply  the  ingredients? 


HOBART  MANN. 


26 


Junl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Brown  Heads  I.  A.  T.  S.  E. 

George  E.  Browne  is  new  president 
of  the  IATSE.  A  move  to  unionize 
exchange  employees  was  defeated  by  the 
body  in  session  in  Louisville. 

Vice-presidents  are  Messrs.  Nick, 
Covert,  Holmden,  Walsh,  Buck,  Billings¬ 
ley,  McGrath,  Brennan,  Kennedy.  Fred 
Dempsey  is  secretary  and  treasurer. 

Resolutions  passed  included  one  lim¬ 
iting  locals  to  20  apprentice  mem¬ 
bers  in  an  effort  to  abolish  the  permit 
system;  demanding  enforcement  of 
National  Labor  Board  decision  of  August 
23,  1933;  to  work  against  the  “racket” 
known  as  dual  organizations;  asking  for 
an  investigation  of  labor  policies  of  in¬ 
dependent  motion  picture  theatre  own¬ 
ers  and  their  alleged  violation  of  Sec¬ 
tion  7-A,  NRA. 

Lou  Krouse,  president,  local  307, 
gave  the  NRA  a  lot  of  credit  in  his  talk 
before  the  IATSE.  He  is  assistant  to 
the  president. 

Krouse  was  given  a  new  car  recently 
by  the  union.  He  was  also  voted  a  vaca¬ 
tion  by  the  IATSE.  Browne  will  be  the 
fifth  president  to  whom  he  has  been 
assistant.  In  addition.  Krouse  will  have 
charge  of  the  Washington  office  of  the 
union. 


1934-1935 

PRODUCTION 


Warners 

SIXTY  full-length  pictures  will  be  re¬ 
leased  by  Warner  Bros.  Pictures,  Inc.  and  First 
National  Pictures,  Inc.,  during  the  season  of 
1934-35.  Thirty  of  the  feature-length  pictures 
will  be  produced  by  Warner  Bros,  and  thirty  by 
First  National. 

FORTY-SEVEN  screen  stories,  including 
originals,  stage  plays,  novels  and  short  stories 
published  and  unpublished,  are  ready  for  the 
new  season ; 

“Firebird,”  “Men  Against  Death,”  “Geld 
Diggers  of  1935,”  “Roadhouse,”  “The  Magnifi¬ 
cent  Ambersons,”  “Sweet  Music,”  “I’m  Back 
in  the  Chain  Gang,”  “I  Am  A  Fugitive  from 
a  Chain  Gang,”  “Ride  ’Em,  Jockey,”  “War 
Lord,”  “The  Cinch,”  “The  Six-Day  Bike 
Race,”  “Halfway  to  Heaven,”  “Babbitt,”  “The 
Little  Big  Shot,”'  “Anthony  Adverse,”  “Sweet 
Adeline,”  “Border  Town,”  “Farewell  to  Shang¬ 
hai,”  “Earthworm  Tractor,”  “Air  Devils,”  “Go 
Into  Your  Dance,”  “I'll  Sell  Anything,”  “The 
Story  of  a  Country  Boy,”  “Traveling  Sales¬ 
lady,”  “A  Present  from  Margate,"  “The  Skip¬ 
per  of  the  Ispahan,”  “Kansas  City  Princess,” 
“Lafayette  Escadrille,”  “King  of  the  Ritz," 
“Window  Panes,”  “Glorious,”  “The  Perfect 
Weekend,”  “A  Lady  Surrenders,”  “Big  Hearted 
Herbert,”  “Black  Hell,”  “Captain  Blood,”  “A 
Lost  Lady,”  “Applesauce,”  “The  Case  of  th; 
Howling  Dog,”  “The  Case  cf  the  Curious 
Bride,”  “Concealment,”  “Just  Out  of  College,'^ 
“Lost  Beauty,”  “Oil  for  the  Lamps  of  China,” 
“Casino  de  Paree,”  and  “School  Days.” 

Fox 

FOX  will  make  52  features  during  the  new 
season,  including  a  series  of  6  George  O  Brien 
westerns.  The  company  will  release  112  shorts 
as  well  as  104  issues  of  the  news. 


Universal 

UNIVERSAL  will  make  42  features,  4 
serials,  26  2-reel  sherts,  58  1-reelers  and  104 
issues  of  the  news  in  the  new  season,  it  has 
been  announced. 


Granite  in  Wilmington 

George  Jones,  manager,  Lcew’s  Theatre, 
Wilmington,  got  a  surprise  and  it  wasn't  long 
before  those  who  gave  him  the  surprise  got  a 
surprise  too,  when  workmen  started  drilling 
for  an  artesian  well  for  a  ventilating  system 
for  the  theatre.  Jones  said  he  didn't  know  he 
was  going  to  get  a  system  until  the  man  started 
to  work  on  the  drilling,  the  arrangements  hav- 


Joe  Varbalow  Feted 

Joe  Varbalow,  recently  appointed  a 
city  judge  in  Camden,  was  tendered  a 
testimonial  dinner  recently,  attended  by 
400  friends  and  guests.  About  50  film 
men,  including  exhibitors  and  exchange- 
men,  were  present. 

The  affair  was  voted  one  of  the  most 
successful  in  years. 


ing  been  made  in  the  home  office.  However, 
after  drilling  forty  feet,  a  bed  of  granite  was 
struck  which  made  it  impossible  to  continue. 


will  he 

come  back  to 
YOUR  THEATRE  AGAIN ? 

A  pain  in  the  back  doesn’t  help  your  box 
office.  People  won’t  endure  uncomfortable 
chairs.  Easy,  restful  seating  builds 
"come-back-again”  patronage. 

Ask  Us, 

“How  can  I  reseat  and  pay 
for  new  chairs  conveniently?” 

American  Seating  Company 

Makers  of  Dependable  Seating  for  Theatres  and  Auditoriums 
General  Offices:  Grand  Rapids,  Michigan 


BRANCHES  IN  ALL  PRINCIPAL  CITIES  W ^ 

Wt  DO  OUR  PART 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Junl5'34 


27 


Boyd  in  Wilmington 


'Heard  In ' 


W 


ILMINGTON 

Highfield  Gets 
Married  Soon 


“MORTY”  LEVINE,  manager,  Grand 
Opera  House,  Wilmington,  Warner  house,  got 
a  natural  of  self-advertising  on  “No  Greater 
Glcry,”'  with  all  of  its  munitions  angles.  .  .  . 
Among  them  was  a  tie-up  with  the  Sunday  Star 
which  ran  a  full-page 
article  about  the  him 
written  by  none  other 
than  Pierre  S.  duPont. 

.  .  .  DuPont  Hotel 
also  afforded  him  a 
t:e-up.  .  .  .  For  “Let’s 
Be  Ritzy,”  Levine  tied 
up  with  a  motor  com¬ 
pany  for  a  brand  new 
automobile  for  a 
street  ballyhoo  in 
which  an  overdressed 
couple  “putting  on  the 
dog”  appeared.  .  .  . 

Lew  Black  has  the  Aldine  all  draped  up  with 
strings  of  pennants.  .  .  .  Lew  was  playing  up 
the  girlie  angle  in  “Murder  in  the  Vanities,” 
with  a  full-page  newspaper  advertising  tie-up 
and  a  daily  radio  program. 

FOUND  DICK  MILSHIRE  arranging  to 
have  the  Warner  truck  for  wild  animal  bally¬ 
hoo  for  “Wild  Cargo”  on  the  street,  and  a 
radio  in  the  lobby  for  “20,000  Sweethearts.” 

.  New  Rialto’s  new  cooling  system  is 
working  like  a  charm.  .  .  .  A.  J.  Belair  is 

tickled  pink  with  the  system.  .  .  .  Wilmer 

Highfield,  Savoy,  is  due  to  marry  Miss  Nancy 
Moran  at  Christ  Our  King  rectory  June  25. 
.  .  .  Iced  tea  is  being  served  again  in  the 

Aldine  lobby.  .  Merrit  Pragg,  assistant 

manager,  Opera  House,  helped  plan  a  nice 
clock  layout  for  the  lobby  for  “The  Witching 
Hour.”  All  the  ushers  of  Warner 

Theatres  were  agog  over  the  coming  base¬ 
ball  game  with  the  Warner  boys  of  Philly. 


Wilmington  theatre  men  are  stirred 
up  by  the  report  that  a  nationally 
known  film  company  is  negotiating  for 
the  purchase  of  property  at  Delaware 
Avenue  and  Tatnall  Street  for  a  new 
theatre. 

It  is  believed  that  if  any  concern  is 
coming  to  Wilmington  with  a  new  the¬ 
atre  it  may  be  A1  Boyd. 


JOE  DF.  FIORE,  president,  IMPTO  of  Del¬ 
aware  and  Eastern  Shore  of  Maryland,  is 
marking  time.  .  .  .  George  Jones  has  painted 
up  Lc  ew’s  Parkway  with  snappy  summer 
colors.  .  .  .  Dark  Arcadia  joins  the  Garrick 
both  under  Warner  leases,  with  orange  and 
banana  offerings.  .  .  .  Still  they  rumor  that 
a  big  film  concern  is  trying  to  buy  a  lot  to 
build  a  new  theatre  on  in  town.  .  .  .  Business 
generally  speaking  in  the  theatres  is  not  so  hot. 
.  .  .  John  Hopkins,  colored,  manager,  National 
showed  “Bubbling  with  Music.  ’ 

GEORGE  JONES,  manager  Loew’s  Parkway, 
suffered  painful  injuries  while  swimming  at 
Oak  Orchard.  .  .  This  makes  the  second 

accident  he  has  had  recently,  the  first  when 
he  injured  his  leg. 


HAZLETON 


ED  PASH,  formerly  Capitol,  now  at  Shen¬ 
andoah  Strand.  .  .  .  George  Nevins  now  at 
Capitol.  .  .  .  Chris  Weber  at  Grand  having 

some  nice  campaigns.  .  .  .  Henry  Steibing, 

Feeley,  also  working  hard.  .  .  .  Capitol  had 
seme  good  tie-ups  recently.  .  .  .  With  a  free 
ad  for  “Viva  Villa”  in  the  baseball  program. 
.  .  .  Vaude  now  being  used  every  other  week. 
.  .  .  Theatre  parties  for  graduating  classes, 
.  Tie-ups  with  conventions,  including 
Eagles.  .  .  .  And  some  nifty  fronts. 


Here’s  a  Thought  for  Your  Newspaper  Advertising 


An  outstanding  advertising  help  at  a  cheap  price  has  been  furnished  theatre 
owners  of  Philadelphia  and  vicinity  by  the  Philadelphia  “Record”  for  more  than  a 
year.  This  help,  in  the  form  of  an  “Amusement  Directory”  carried  in  the  center 
of  the  classified  page  in  panel  form,  allows  theatre  advertising  at  as  little  as  15c 

per  line - and  because  they  have  secured  the  advertising  of  practically  every  first 

class  neighborhood  and  suburban  theatre  in  the  area  it  furnishes  the  shopping  public 
with  a  reference  department  for  their  daily  show  needs.  Another  outstanding  advan¬ 
tage  is  the  fact  that  theatres  are  separated  into  their  various  localities  and  a  patron 
in  West  Philadelphia  can  see  what  shows  are  in  his  section  without  combing  the 
entire  town. 

The  “Record,”  under  the  direction  of  Dave  Stern,  has  taken  the  position  of 
Philadelphia’s  outstanding  liberal  newspaper  and  is  making  a  strong  bid,  with  its 
aggressive  policies,  for  becoming  one  of  the  city’s  most  influential  leaders.  An  example 
of  their  aggressiveness  was  demonstrated  in  the  handling  of  their  Amusement  Direc¬ 
tory.  In  four  or  five  prominent  spots  throughout  each  day’s  paper  they  directed 
the  reader’s  attention  to  the  Directory.  Cards  on  their  trucks,  window  cards  in 

their  dealers’  windows  and  24-sheet  boards  around  town  ballyhooed  it - and  every 

theatre  advertiser  was  furnished  with  a  trailer  directing  the  patron’s  attention  to  the 
“Record”  Amusement  Directory  for  future  shows.  All  this  for  a  15c  line  rate  for 
188,000  daily  circulation. 

The  department  has  worked  out  to  everyone’s  satisfaction.  The  theatre  owner 
getting  an  exceptional  advertising  buy - and  the  paper  getting  a  circulation  stimu¬ 

lator  and  some  good  screen  publicity. 

Naturally  the  other  papers  took  notice  and  there  have  been  numerous  efforts 
to  duplicate  its  attractiveness.  Each  effort  brought  better  terms  than  theatre  owners 
ordinarily  receive.  The  “Record”,  however,  still  leads  and  with  an  established 
department  should  be  able  to  hold  its  advantage. 

Theatre  owners  in  oth^r  communities  should  give  some  thought  to  this  form 
of  advertising  and  contact  their  newspapers  in  an  effort  to  sell  them  the  idea.  The 
paper  which  will  carry  such  a  classified  directory  in  conjunction  with  their  regular 
amusement  and  review  page  will  be  even  more  valuable. 


READY 

REFERENCE 

EACH  COMPANY  LISTED  IS  AN 
AUTHORITY  IN  ITS  FIELD  AND 
IS  RELIABLE  AND  TRUSTWORTHY 


AIR  CONDITIONING 

^ftlPHOON 


Tam 


COOLING 

VENTILATING 


CONDITIONING  CO. 

BLOWERS  -  FANS 
AIR  WASHERS 
252  West  26th  St.,  New  York 


ARCHITECT 


THEATRE  DESIGN 

Remodeling  »  Building 

LATEST  COMPLETED 

NEW  BROADWAY  CAYUGA 

Camden,  Philadelphia 

New  Jersey  Penna. 

DAVID  SUPOWITZ 

REGISTERED 

ARCHITECT 

246  S.  15th  St.,  Phi  la.,  Pa.  Pennypacker  2291 


BUSINESS  BROKER 


THEATRES 

BOUGHT  •  SOLD  •  LEASED 

Partnerships  Negotiated 

M.  H.  bOOIIIS,  Inc. 

1201  CHESTNUT  STREET 
Rittenhouse  4595  Rittenhouse  9077 


FLAGS  AND  BANNERS 


It  Theatre  Marquee  Valances 
E  Wall  Banners 

IV  Net  and  Road  Banners 

X  Attractive  Colors — Sewed  or  Painted 

\  Letters — Featuring  All  Shows. 

•  Burgees — Pennants — Decorations 

Above  Also  Sold  Outright.  Order  Direct  From 

NATIONAL  FLAG  &  BANNER  CO. 

251-253  N.  13th  St.  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


INTERIOR  DECORATORS 


Theatrical 

Decorating 

OUR  SPECIALTY 
Phone 

Rittenhouse  7828 
2315  Walnut  St. 
Philadelphia 


I.  Manoff  Reliable  Decorating  Co. 

INTERIOR  DECORATORS 

Draperies,  Carpets,  Painting 

1316  Vine  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

WE’VE  TURNED  NUMEROUS  NON-PAYING 
THEATRES  INTO  MONEY-MAKING  PROPOSITIONS 
ASK  US  HOW! 


28 


Junl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


SALES  FORCES  from  all  the  eastern  offices  of  the  Monogram  company  attended 
the  last  of  a  series  of  regional  meetings  at  the  Park  Central  Hotel,  New  York, 
recently.  Seated  in  the  front  row  are  president  W.  Ray  Johnston,  general  sales 
manager  Edward  Golden,  Norton  V.  Ritchey,  head,  foreign  department  and  Ralph 
Poucher,  Consolidated  Films.  Others  present  include:  James  Alexander,  Bernhard 
Mills,  Sam  Flax,  Jake  Flax,  M.  Edward  Morey,  Steve  Broidy,  Robert  Cobe,  A1 
Fecke,  Charles  Wilson,  George  Collins,  Sam  Fineberg,  Morris  Epstein,  William 
Benson,  Dick  Perry,  Albert  Glaubinger,  Otto  Lederer,  Charles  Rosenzweig,  Joe 
Joel,  AI  Friedlander,  A1  Blofson,  Ed  Finney,  Russell  M.  Bell,  John  Harrington, 
Edward  Diamond,  Claude  Hopkins,  Sam  Milberg,  Harry  Berkson,  Misses  Etta 
Segall,  Molly  Shear  and  Mary  Hawkins. 


Double  Test  Case  Seen 
as  Exhib  Attention  Centre 

Hearing  on  the  double  feature  test 
case  inaugurated  by  Harry  Perelman 
against  six  distributors  was  scheduled  to 
be  beard  in  U.  S.  District  Court  here, 
June  15. 

With  many  exchangemen  actively  interested 
and  a  war  chest  pledged  by  many  theatremen,  a 
huge  throng  was  looked  for  at  the  scene  of 
action. 

Ex-ccngressman  Ben  Golder  is  attorney  for 
Perelman. 

Morris  Wolf  is  counsel  for  the  distributors. 
In  a  public  statement,  he  decried  double  features 
and  pointed  out  that  the  MPTOA  had  gone  on 
record  against  such  practice. 

Meanwhile,  use  of  doubles  continues  in  vari¬ 
ous  parts  of  the  territory.  This  is  believed  the 
result  of  the  test  suit,  most  distributors  waiting 
to  see  how  the  court  case  goes  before  taking 
definite  steps  on  the  practice. 

More  use  of  two  independent  features  on 
double  bills  has  also  been  noticed. 


Stanley  Waite  Passes 


WARNERS 

( Continued  from  page  16) 

Curtiz,  Alan  Crosland,  Alfred  E.  Green,  Frank 
Borzage,  Ray  Enright,  H.  Bruce  Humberstone, 
William  Keighley,  Busby  Berkeley,  Archie 
Mayo,  Robert  Florey,  Frank  McDonald, 
Daniel  Reed,  Arthur  G.  Collins,  Stanley  Logan 
and  Edward  Logan. 

Stories  and  plays  both  dramatic  and  musical 
by  the  following  authors  will  be  in  Warner 
Bros. -First  National  releases  for  1934-35 : 

Earl  Baldwin,  Bertram  Milhauser,  Charles  Kenyon, 
Lillie  Hayward,  F.  Hugh  Herbert,  Ben  Markson,  Pierre 
Collins,  Sheridan  Gibney,  John  Monk  Saunders.  Harry 
Sauber,  Harry  Warren,  Sammy  Fain,  Barry  Conners, 
John  Van  Druten,  Ian  Hay,  William  Hazlett  Upson,  Willa 
Cather,  Sigmund  Romberg,  Booth  Tarkington,  Ralph 
Block,  Cy  Bartlett,  Laird  Doyle,  Carl  Erickson,  Paul 
G.  Smith,  Doris  Malloy,  Frank  McDonald.  Manuel  Seff, 
Dan  Templin,  Abem  Finkel,  Mort  Dixon,  Carroll  Graham, 
Erie  Stanley  Gardner,  Harrison  Jacobs.  A.  E.  W.  Mason, 
Frederick  Hazlett  Brennan,  Sinclair  Lewis,  Rida  John¬ 
son  Young,  Niven  Busch,  Edward  Chadorov,  Warren 
Duff,  Gene  Markey,  Sidney  Sutherland,  Erwin  Gelsey, 
Lawrence  Hazard,  Brian  Marlow,  Robert  T.  Shannon, 
Robert  Lord,  Allie  Wrubel,  Mary  McCall,  Jr.,  Leonard 
Ide.  Hervey  Allen.  Dawn  Powell.  Sophie  Kerr,  Maxwell 
Anderson,  Lajos  Zilahy,  Al  Cohen,  Tom  Buckingham, 
Brown  Holmes,  Robert  N.  Lee,  Kathryn  Scola.  Peter 
Milne,  Tom  Reed,  Delmar  Daves,  Jerry  Wald,  Al  Dubin, 
Irving  Kabal,  Robert  Lee  Johnson,  Bradford  Ropes.  Alice 
Tisdale  Hobart,  Frank  Howard  Clark,  Rafael  Sabatini 
and  Arthur  Somers  Roche. 


TRICTLY  PERSONAL 

Bodkin  Plants 
Some  Trees 


TREE  PLANTING  in  Chicago  went  Harry 
Bodkin.  .  .  .  His  spade  is  pretty  well  worn, 
needs  its  valves  or  its  carbon  removed.  .  .  . 
Esther  Diamond  takes  one  of  those  cruises 
soon.  .  .  .  Golf  intrigued  all  the  boys,  what 
with  the  tournaments  and  local  issues. 

JOE  SLOAN  and  Leonard  Schlesinger 
went  golfing.  .  .  .  For  business.  .  .  .  Jack 
Engel  certainly  a  shiek.  .  .  .  Dorothy  Burre- 
son  still  hiding  behind  those  dark  glasses. 


.  .  .  Who  is  the  exec  who  is  fond  of 
blondes?  .  .  .  Ray  O’Rourke  visited  Camden 
with  his  best  girl.  .  .  Certain  bachelor 

shows  a  preference  for  brunettes.  . 
George  Lessy  still  going  around  in  100.  .  .  . 
That  romance  is  still  in  bloom. 

THE  GIRLS  threw  a  party  for  Betty  Red¬ 
mond,  MGM.  .  .  .  Held  at  the  Walton,  it 
was  m.c.’d  by  glorious  Dcrothy  Burison, 
MGM’s  own  little  starlet  and  secretary  to  Bob 
Lynch. 

MRS.  BEN  AMSTERDAM  underwent  an 
operation  recently.  .  .  .  Morris  Spiers  turn¬ 
ing  fisherman.  .  .  .  Has  a  new  outfit.  .  .  . 

Goes  fishing  with  Ben  Amsterdam.  .  .  . 

Eleanor,  daughter  of  Will  Cohen,  gets  mar¬ 
ried  June  24  to  a  non-pro. 

MISS  HILDA  HARRIS,  Universal,  mar¬ 
ried  Charles  Waldman  at  Jefferson  Manor.  .  .  . 
Motoring  through  Canada.  .  .  .  Everyone 

wishes  them  well. 

ETTA  SEGALL,  popular  First  Division 
booker,  recovering  from  an  appendix  opera¬ 
tion.  .  .  .  Best  wishes  for  a  speedy  recov¬ 
ery.  .  .  .  Ray  Weiner,  FD  poster  clerk, 
threw  a  house  warming.  .  .  .  Paramount 

office  all  agog  because  of  marriage  of  Yetta 
Weiss  to  Harry  Leiberman,  June  17. 


June  24  Trade  Show 

Sam  Rosen,  Gaumont  British,  trade  shows 
“Channel  Crossing”  and  “Along  Came  Sally” 
at  the  Rivoli,  West  52nd  Street,  June  24. 

Get  your  tickets  from  Sam. 


Delaware  Charters 

tlnited  Radio  Artists,  Inc.  To  operate  radio  broad- 
casting1  stations. 

Lowenstein  Theatres,  Inc.,  change  of  name  to  Western 
States  Theatres,  Inc.,  Wilmington,  Del.,  Corporation 
Service  Co. 


Stanley  B.  Waite,  divisional  sales  manager, 
Paramount  Pictures  Distributing  Corp.,  drop¬ 
ped  dead  in  his  office,  June  13,  victim  of  an 
attack  of  acute  indigestion.  He  was  to  have  de¬ 
parted  that  night  for  the  Paramount  national 
sales  convention  in  Los  Angeles. 


World  Wide  Deal 

World  Wide  Educational  Pictures  has  made 
an  agreement  with  Fox  withdrawing  all  feature 
length  pictures  previously  released  by  World 
Wide  Pictures,  Inc.,  and  will  distribute  them 
through  state  right  exchanges.  Th:s  will  in  no 
way  interfere  with  Educational  shorts. 

R.  N.  Savini  has  been  appointed  general  sales 
manager,  World  Wide  Pictures,  Inc.,  and  he  is 
at  the  present  time  contacting  state  right  dis¬ 
tributors  in  all  territories,  allotting  World  Wide 
franchises  in  all  the  exchange  centers. 

Company  has  closed  deal  for  its  distribu¬ 
tion  franchises  at  Philadelphia  and  Washington 
with  J.  A.  Bachman,  who  will  immediately  open 
exchanges  in  both  cities. 

Bachman  was  formerly  associated  with  Edu¬ 
cational  as  district  manager. 


Secrecy  Lifts 

Secrecy  surrounding  June  18  meet¬ 
ing  of  exhibitors  lifted  this  weekend 
when  it  developed  that  the  IEPA  was 
sponsoring  the  meeting  to  discuss  clean 
pictures  and  the  film  rental  problem. 

It  was  also  thought  likely  that  ex¬ 
congressman  Ben  Golder  would  be 
elected  president  of  the  unit. 


THEATRE  FOR  SALE  OR  LEASE 

500  Seat  House,  fully  eauipped,  with  all  equipment  paid  for,  no  service  charge  on  sound.  Most 
desirable  location  in  Philadelphia.  Do  not  apply  unless  you  are  ready  to  invest  $10,000.  Theatre  must 
be  disposed  of  within  2  weeks.  House  has  always  been  open.  Equipped  for  hot  weather  with  cooling  system. 

Weekly  overhead  ranges  from  $250-$275.  Top  business  has  been  $750.  Average  is  $400.  Low  is 
$325.  Proper  management  will  double  top  figure. 

A  REAL  OPPORTUNITY.  Apply  Box  JF,  THE  EXHIBITOR 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Junl5'34 


29 


FUN  IN  THE  AIR  as  Buster  Keaton  frolics  around  in  “Allez  Oop,”  from  Educational, 
with  a  cast  of  popular  favorites. 


National  Theatre  Supply  Company 


v'4v  OFFICES  IN  ALL 

P  PRINCIPAL  CITIES 

Jjf  Tijp  [f 

|  ‘  — 

Service  and  courtesy  from  men  you  know  .  .  . 
Plus  equipment  of  known  and  guaranteed  quality 
.  .  .  are  at  your  service  at  our  local  branch 


UNIFORMS 


English  Mess  Jackets  +  « r 
for  Ushers  - 

Cool — Snappy - Inexpensive 

Any  Color  Gabardine 
WRITE  FOR  INFORMATION 

AMERICAN  UNIFORM  CO. 

134  So.  11th  St.  Phila.,  Pa. 


The 

BEST  SERVICE 

to  all 

SHORE  POINTS 

Now  that  spring  is  here  and 
summer  is  on  its  way,  film 
men  can  make  use  of  our 
efficient  service  to  carry 
their  possessions  to  their 
summer  shore  apartments. 
This  has  been  a  part  of  our 
service  for  years. 

.. .  Jersey  Exhibitors 

are  Always  Happy 

They  know  they  can  go 
away  on  trips,  completely 
sold  on  New  Jersey  Mes¬ 
senger  Service.  For  the 
record  of  this  company  is 
one  that  shows  no  missouts 
J  at  any  time.  The  service 
satisfies. 

V 

NEW  JERSEY 

MESSENGER  SERVICE 

MYER  ADLEMAN 
250  N.  Juniper  Street 
PHILADELPHIA 

Spr.  9355  Loc.  8787  Race  9444 


Heard  In 

O  R  K 

Big  Bid 
For  Kids 


BILL  ISRAEL  and  the  boys  in  the  York 
district  will  make  a  bid  for  the  kiddie  business 
this,  summer  by  staging  special  matinee  shows 
for  them.  .  .  .  Bill  plans  to  bring  back  some 
of  the  pictures  which  have  kiddie  appeal  and 
add  a  few  westerns.  .  .  .  Israel  has  outlined  for 
himself  a  b:g  job  for  the  summer.  .  .  .  He 
plans  to  attend  the  meetings  of  the  theatre  per¬ 
sonnel  in  the  theatres.  .  .  .  Bill  also  counts 
on  instilling  a  new  spirit  into  the  employes.  .  .  . 
Matinee  shows  at  the  Lion,  Red  Lion,  have  been 
discontinued.  .  .  .  York’s  new  theatre,  the 

York,  built  by  J.  W.  Richley,  was  scheduled 
to  open  June  15. 

2,964  CHILDREN  attended  special  show 
presented  in  the  Strand  and  Capitol  theatres 
June  2,  as  a  reward  for  winning  a  place  on 
the  dental  honor  roll.  .  .  .  Manager  Miller, 

Strand,  invited  the  ministers  of  the  city  to 
a  special  showing  of  “House  of  Rothschild.” 
.  .  .  Then  asked  them  for  comments  on  the 

picture,  and  securing  them,  made  those  of 
the  most  prominent  a  part  of  his  newspaper 
advertising  campaign  and  displayed  the 
others  on  a  40  by  60  in  front  of  the  theatre. 
.  .  .  Irving  Dunn,  Capitol,  had  as  his  guests 
35  little  inmates  for  “Wild  Cargo.”  ...  It 
was  a  little  far  fetched  but  manager  Sydney 
Poppay  tied  in  the  wide  publicity  on  the 
death  of  Bonnie  Parker  with  his  campaign 
on  “The  Crime  of  Helen  Stanley.’ 

SUNDAY  MOVIES  were  inaugurated  in 
Gettysburg  by  Harry  Travis,  manager,  Warner 
Brothers  Majestic,  June  10.  .  .  .  Travis  started 
his  shew  at  8.45  o’clock  so  as  not  to  interfere 
with  any  Gettysburg  or  Adams  County  church 
services  and  is  contributing  a  percentage  of  the 
gross  receipts  monthly  to  county-wide  charit¬ 
able  organizations. 


ATLANTIC  CITY 


SHORE  RENTS  are  highest  in  years.  .  .  . 
Harry  Waxman,  regularly  comes  from  At¬ 
lantic  City  to  Philly  to  find  a  place  to  swim.  .  .  . 
Warner  Theatre  reopening.  .  .  .  Conventions 
held  a  lot  of  attention  here  with  Warners  hav¬ 
ing  the  monopoly  during  its  session.  .  .  .  The¬ 
atre  departments  of  Philadelphia  and  AC  played 
host,  with  Herb  Copelan  plenty  on  the  job. 


VAUDEVILLE  AGENCIES 


HARRY  BIBEN 

VAUDEVILLE  AGENCY 

(603-4  COLONIAL  BUILDING) 

N.  E.  Cor.  13th  and  Market  Sts. 

Phone,  Rittenhouse  9494-5 

PHILADELPHIA 

Booking 

STANLEY  -  WARNER 
THEATRES,  Philadelphia 


TICKET  REGISTERS 


TICKET  MACHINE  BARGAINS 


ALL  MAKES.  .  . 
ELECTRICALLY  OP¬ 
ERATED  .  .  .  REBUILT 
.  .  .  GOOD  AS  NEW 
.  .  .  MECHANICALLY 
PERFECT  .  .  .  GUAR¬ 
ANTEED. 

Write  for  Prices! 


Write  Immediately  lor  Our  New  Introductory  Offer  f 

STANDARD  TICKET  REGISTER  CORP. 

1600  Broadway/ New  York  •  Geo.  Mead. gen.  moh 


60% 

SAVING 


• 

Official  Letter 
Service  to  the 
Motion  Picture 
Industry 

Accurate  List 
of  all  Theatres 
and  Executives 


WM.  Z.  PORTER 

Advertising  and  Letter  Service 

1208  Vine  Street 

(Second  Floor) 

Bell:  RITtenhouse  7195  Keystone:  RACE  8666 


Mimeographing 
Multigraphing 
Public  Stenography 

Addressing  -  Folding 
Enclosing  -  Mailing 

Advertising 

Publicity 

Printing 


30 


Junl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


A  Concise 
National  Survey 

TRADE  IN  REVIEW  • 

Glances  Outside 
the  Territory 

1 - 

CODE 

Too  Many  Appeals 
Coming  to  CA 

Too  many  appeals  are  coming  up.  That 
doesn’t  question  the  merit  of  the  appeals,  but 
the  Code  Authority  will  probably  have  to  find 
some  way  to  regulate  flood  of  cases.  With  the 
appealing  process  so  easy,  the  CA  will  have  its 
hands  full  re-hearing  a  lot  of  cases  that  the 
local  boards  decide. 

Admission  Changes  Not 
in  Authority’s  Scope 

Code  Authority  won't  allow  price  fixing  on 
part  of  local  boards,  decisions  in  current  cases 
indicate.  Body  reversed  an  appeal  of  the 
Charlotte  board,  which  gave  an  exhibitor  the 
right  to  reduce  prices  below  contract  provisions. 
CA  held  it  has  no  jurisdiction  and  prices  are 
matter  for  individual  barter. 

5519  Exhibitors  Pay 
Total  of  $57,500 

5519  exhibitors  have  paid  a  total  of  $57,500 
in  assessments.  The  remarkable  part  of  these 
figures  is  that  the  number  of  exhibitors  who 
paid  exceeds  half  the  number  who  signed  the 
code  by  1000. 

Code  Assessments  Can 
Be  Deducted  From  Tax 

The  Internal  Revenue  Bureau  has  held  that 
the  amount  paid  by  a  retail  establishment  as  its 
assessment  for  the  necessary  expenses  of  the 
National  Retail  Code  Authority  is  deductible  as 
a  business  expense.  (I.  T.  2275,  April  23,  1934. 

Boards  Can’t  Stop 
Overbuilding  of  Theatres 

A  local  board  can’t  stop  any  theatre  from 
coming  into  a  theatre  in  opposition  to  a  cur¬ 
rent  house,  the  Code  Authority  has  decided. 
Issue  came  up  in  a  southern  case. 

Votes  on  Premiums 
Start  in  Territories 

Votes  on  question  of  premiums  are  begin¬ 
ning  in  various  parts  of  the  country.  Phila¬ 
delphia  and  New  Orleans  are  first  affected. 
Exhibitors  who  file  petitions  must  get  signa¬ 
tures.  Whether  first  territories  ban  practice 
will  be  watched  by  industry.  Legal  test  may 
follow. 

PRODUCTION 

Newsreels  Go  In 
For  Big  Names 

The  newsreels,  virtually  admitting  their  lack 
of  news  in  the  past,  are  making  a  bid  for  in¬ 
creased  playing  time  through  names.  Laurence 
Stallings,  E.  C.  Hill,  Lowell  Thomas  will  be 
used.  Graham  MacNamee,  who  started  with 
Universal,  continues  with  that  company.  Uni¬ 
versal,  apparently,  struck  the  right  idea  first, 
must  have  pleasure  in  watching  the  others  fel¬ 
low. 


Hays  Speaks  in  Defense 
of  Film  Production 

All  films  can't  be  made  for  children  was  a 
highlight  of  the  address  of  Will  H.  Hays, 
president,  MPPDA,  before  Wabash  College 
alumni.  Hays  went  on  to  say  that  shows  must 
contain  adult  appeal.  He  did  not  directly  reply 
to  current  attacks  on  films.  He  reviewed  the 
work  of  the  MPPDA. 

Inde  Production  Unit 
H  as  All  Pictures  Complete 

Liberty  Pictures  has  started  something  new 
in  production.  Company  is  selling  its  lineup 
of  8  pictures  with  every  one  complete.  In 
other  words,  if  account  wants  to  take  a  look 
at  product,  he  can,  as  all  have  been  finished. 
First  time  this  stunt  has  been  perfected  in  this 
business.  Company  distributes  through  inde¬ 
pendent  exchanges. 

Kent  Comes  Out 
For  Clean  Pictures 

Sidney  R.  Kent,  president,  Fox,  came  out  in 
convention  for  clean  pictures.  Fox,  he  main¬ 
tains,  will  only  produce  clean  pictures  during 
the  new  season.  This  is  the  first  public  state¬ 
ment  on  the  clean  picture  question  since  the 
issue  came  to  the  fore. 

Anti-Trust  Law 
Suit  Is  Dismissed 

Suit  charging  Warners  with  vioation  of  anti¬ 
trust  laws  when  company  acquired  First  Na¬ 
tional  was  dismissed  in  U.  S.  District  Court  on 
motion  of  Federal  Government.  Lack  of  evi¬ 
dence  reason. 

EXHIBITION 

Effect  of  Film 
Campaign  Still  Indefinite 

Showmen  in  various  parts  of  the  country  are 
still  trying  to  determine  the  effect  of  cam¬ 
paigns  against  alleged  salacious  films.  In  some 
spots,  banned  pictures  did  good  business.  In 
others,  fare  which  might  well  be  recommended 
didn’t  do  at  all.  It’s  a  question. 

Independent  Film  Buyers’ 

Protective  Group  Forms 

Meetings  of  inde  exhib  leaders  led  to  the 
formation  of  the  Independent  Film  Buyers’ 
Protective  Group.  Body  claims  to  represent 
73%  of  all  independent  buying.  Committee  in 
charge  will  explore  all  sources  of  new  pro¬ 
duct  for  fair  terms,  seek  definite  tie-ups  with 
existing  companies  whereby  additional  product 
will  be  made  available,  organize  and  formu¬ 
late  protective  measures  against  unfair  rentals, 
percentages,  preferred  playing  time,  etc. 

Robin  Heads  Inde 
Supply  Dealers 

Joe  Robin  is  the  president  of  the  Independent 
Theatre  Supply  Dealers’  Association.  Joe  Horn- 
stein  is  vice-president ;  Clem  Rizzo,  secretary 
and  treasurer ;  K.  R.  Douglas,  Max  Rub  n,  Ray 
Smith,  Harry  Graham,  B.  F.  Shearer,  are 
directors  in  addition  to  officers. 


Allied  Opposes  Producers 
in  the  Trailer  Business 

Allied  States  Association  has  gone  on  record 
as  opposing  entrance  of  producers  into  the 
trailer  business.  Support  against  spread  of  such 
practice  is  sought  as  well  as  asking  exhibitors 
not  to  co-operate  with  producers  who  make 
their  own  trailers  as  far  as  proper  conduct  of 
their  theatres  will  permit. 

Ed  Kuykendahl  also  came  out  recently  re¬ 
garding  trailers.  The  MPTOA  president 
analyzed  the  dangers  which  might  ensue  should 
all  producers  and  distributors  make  their  own 
trailers. 

DISTRIBUTION 

Convention  Flurry  Not 
As  Big  As  Usual 

Conventions  are  coming  and  going.  Mono¬ 
gram,  United  Artists,  Warners,  Fox,  Universal 
headed  the  procession.  Metro  gets  going  at 
Cleveland  and  Chicago,  Paramount  at  Los 
Angeles,  Radio  at  Chicago.  Columbia  has  its 
soon,  also. 

Conventions  were  business-like  this  year,  less 
of  the  glorification,  more  of  efficiency.  Indi¬ 
cations  were  that  the  number  of  pictures  from 
the  majors  would  remain  the  same  if  not  in¬ 
creased. 

Trade  Showings  to 
Be  Continued  in  ’35 

United  Artists,  which  made  exhibitors  trade- 
show  conscious,  continues  that  policy  during 
the  new  season.  UA  product  will  be  shown  in 
advance  of  playing  in  order  that  exhibitors  may 
get  an  eyeful. 

Probable  that  Warners  will  continue  the  same 
policy  as  well. 

Film  Boards  May 

Take  Collection  Function 

Reports  have  sprung  up  which  indicate  that 
film  board  units  throughout  the  country  may 
assume  some  collection  functions.  These  may 
be  patterned  after  the  New  York  City  board 
activity,  through  which  judgments  are  secured 
against  delinquent  exhibitors.  The  New  York 
City  method  is  exceedingly  efficient,  resulting 
in  about  81%  of  collections  through  the  system. 

Higher  Rentals  Certain 
When  Selling  Starts 

It  is  rather  certain  that  when  the  salesmen 
begin  to  make  their  calls,  exhibitors  will  be 
asked  to  pay  more  than  they  did  this  season. 
Privately,  it  probably  means  that  exchanges 
will  be  glad  to  get  as  much  as  they  did  this 
season. 

Still  No  Returns 
of  Distribution  Cuts 

As  yet,  there  has  been  no  concerted  rush  to 
restore  the  cuts  in  salaries  once  handed  out  to 
exchange  folk. 

UA  gave  it  back  quite  a  while  ago  but  the 
others  still  don't  follow. 

The  NRA  doesn’t  cover  this  angle,  and 
neither  does  the  cede,  but  looking  at  some  of 
the  profit  statements  make  one  wonder  why 
not? 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Junl5’34 


31 


YOU  CAN  SHOO 

Mr.  Sum.  R.  Blues 


Increase  your  income 
during  the 

HOT  WEATHER 

with  a 

BERLO 

CANDY  VENDOR 

“Ask  Your 
Fellow  Exhibitor ” 

Get  in  touch  with: 

GEO.  P.  AARONS 

301  N.  13th  Street 

LOCUST  4245 


OR  CALL  POPLAR  6011 

BERLO 

VENDING 

COMPANY 

1518  N.  Broad  St.,  Phila. 

Specializing  in  Candy 
Vending  Equipment 
for  the  Theatre  Trade! 


NEW  YORK  BALTIMORE 

SCRANTON  WASHINGTON 

ALLENTOWN  CLEVELAND 

PITTSBURGH  CINCINNATI 


‘ Heard  In' 


U 


P  ■  S  T  A  T  E 

Everyone  Is 
Getting  Better 


HOPE  is  being  expressed  round  about  the 
Colonial,  Harrisburg,  that  “it'"  will  be  quin¬ 
tuplets.  .  .  .  Colonial  staff  is  proud  of  its 

cashier,  Mrs.  Henrietta  Arnold.  .  .  .  After 
seven  years’  faithful  service  at  Colonial,  Mary 
Funk  Knol,  bride  of  not  many  months,  has  an¬ 
nounced  her  intention  of  relinquishing  position 
as  cashier.  .  .  .  They  were  asking  Jerry  Wol¬ 
laston,  manager,  Victoria,  Harrisburg,  whether 
he  was  paying  fcr  riding  lessons  for  that  man 
dressed  like  a  cowboy  who  rode  a  horse  over 
city  streets  to  advertise  “The  Man  Trailer.” 
.  .  .  Every  boy  wearing  a  cowboy  suit  will 
be  admitted  free  to  see  “Gun  Justice”  opening 
at  Victoria. 

HARRISBURG  neighborhoods  are  furnish¬ 
ing  keen  competition.  .  .  .  Mrs.  “Jo”  Geary, 
cashier,  Majestic,  Harrisburg,  returned  this 
week  from  a  short  visit  to  her  home,  Lisbon, 
Ohio.  .  .  .  Bill  Manahan,  ticket  taker  at 

Majestic,  Harrisburg,  missed  his  first  fire¬ 
men’s  convention  and  parade  in  ten  years. 

CHARLES  BIERBAUER  will  become  a 
traveling  manager  for  Wilmer  and  Vincent 
theatres.  .  .  .  He  is  expected  to  be  a  frequent 
visitor  in  Harrisburg  during  the  summer  sea¬ 
son  as  his  duties  will  keep  him  on  the  jump 
between  Harrisburg,  Reading,  Allentown, 
Easton  and  Johnstown. 


LEHIGH  VALLEY 


WHEN  WILLIS  ABEL,  dcorman,  United 
Chains  Colonial,  Bethlehem,  reported  for  duty 
June  11  he  found  the  office  of  the  theatre  in  a 
state  of  chaos.  .  .  .  Sometime  during  the  night 
the  safe  had  been  dynamited  by  yeggs.  .  .  . 
Picture  playing  at  the  Colonial  was  "Strictly 
Dynamite.”  .  .  .  Sunday  movies  at  the  Savoy 
Catasaqua  are  cut.  .  .  .  Manager  William 
Haggerty  and  other  supporters  of  the  idea  have 
conceded  a  moral  victory  to  the  opposition. 
.  .  .  Walter  J.  Hurley,  recently  manager,  Wil¬ 
mer  and  Vincent  theatres,  Allentown,  was  one 
of  the  three  judges  in  the  Allentown  Call  Zain-ad 
contest  during  its  fifth  week.  .  .  .  Lee  Levy, 
Wilmer  and  Vincent's  Colonial,  Allentown  is 
recuperating.  .  .  .  Luke  Clark,  acting  manager 
during  Levy''s  absence.  .  .  .  Mrs.  Ida  Kem- 
merer,  treasurer,  James  A.  Buckalew,  and 
Nathan  Hess,  Allentown,  were  among  those 
who  visited  him  at  the  hospital. 


Up  Hills 

and  Doll'll ' 


-%.the  never  faiiins  ar¬ 
teries  of  the  local  industry 

-^carrying  the  box  office 
lifeblood  of  more  than 
1  200  theatres 

carrying  the  ''show" 
sa  fely  and  on  time 

Horlacher’s 


Trucks  Roll! 


HORLACHER 

DELIVERY  SERVICE,  Inc. 

1228  Vine  St.,  Philadelphia 
NEW  YORK 
SCRANTON 
BALTIMORE 
WASHINGTON 


SENTRY  serviced  SAFETY  CONTROL 


Many  theatre  owners  weigh  the  matter  of  Safety  as  it  suits  them. 
PLAINLY  THIS  IS  ALL  WRONG.  In  Safety  there  is  no  half-way  meas¬ 
ure  with  the  Public.  The  Public  would  not  consider  it  safe  if  you  decide 
to  do  without  a  Serviced  Safety  Device  on  your  projectors.  The  Public 
would  think  with  horror  if  you  tried  to  economize  by  buying  Safety  equip¬ 
ment  without  a  service,  and  the  fact  that,  in  your  theatre,  the  Public 
has  not  yet  inquired  as  to  the  measure  of  Safety  that  you  are  giving  them — 
THAT  DOES  NOT  MEAN  THAT  THEY  CAN  BE  DECEIVED. 


SENTRY  SAFETY  CONTROL  CORP. 


10th  ST.  and  ALLEGHENY  AVE. 
PHILADELPHIA,  PENNA. 


Sentry  Safety  Controls  Listed  as  Standard  by  National  Fire  Underwriters  Laboratories 


32 


Junl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Delaware  Exhibitors 
Discuss  Darrow,  Duals 

Del-Mar -V a  Theatremen  See  Or¬ 
ganization  Growing 


Independent  Motion  Picture  Theatre 
Owners  of  Delaware  and  the  Eastern 
Shore  of  Maryland,  at  luncheon  meeting, 
May  31,  at  Harrington,  discussed  the 
Darrow  report  and  expressed  the  hope 
that  some  good  results  would  come  of  it. 

Meeting  was  enthusiastic.  It  was  decided  to 


hold  the  next  meeting  June  28  at  the  same 
place.  It  was  also  decided  that  meetings  would 
be  held,  alternatively  in  Eastern  Shore  centers 
so  that  more  of  the  Maryland  members  might 
be  able  to  attend.  Considerable  time  was  de¬ 
voted  to  the  discussion  of  the  Darrow  report 
and  the  sentiment  was  expressed  that  the  report 
had  about  pictured  conditions  as  they  exist  to¬ 
day  in  the  industry.  Another  important  matter 
and  action  taken  was  the  adoption  of  a  reso¬ 
lution  that  the  independent  exhibitors  should 
co-operate  with  the  various  church  and  women’s 
organizations  in  their  campaign  for  better  films. 

Double  feature  problem  was  brought  up  and 
discussed  but  it  was  seen  at  once  that  this  was 
a  tough  nut  to  crack. 

Among  the  exhibitors  besides  Miss  Ulman, 
Messrs.  Todd,  Howard  and  DeFiore,  whc  at¬ 


tended  were  Cornelius  Marshall,  Lewes,  Del. ; 
Carl  Schwartz,  Denton,  Md. ;  R.  M.  Christo¬ 
pher,  secretary-treasurer,  Federalsburg,  Md. ; 
1  om  Ayers,  Georgetown  and  Seaford,  Del. ; 
Reese  Harrington,  Harrington,  Del. ;  H.  B. 
Conway,  Ocean  City,  Md. ;  A.  B.  Seligman 
and  Benj.  Schindler,  Wilmington.  Bryant 
Dashiells,  Cambridge,  Md.,  started  but  his  car 
broke  down.  Charles  Horn,  Rehoboth,  and 
George  Schwartz,  Dover,  telephoned  that  they 
were  with  the  organization  on  anything  it  did. 
Seligman  was  delegated  to  get  A.  J.  Belair, 
Wilmington,  to  join  the  orgairzation. 


Booking  Theatres 
Everywhere 

Honest  ::  Reliable 
Conseientious 
Service 

EDWARD  SHERMAN 

VAUDEVILLE  AGENCY 

Real  Estate  Trust  Bldg. 
PHILADELPHIA 

Pennypacker  7595 

MAYFAIR  THEATRE  BLDG.,  NEW  YORK 
BR.  9-1905 


LOOKING  TOWARD  the  future,  UA  offers  Cary  Grant  in  “Born  to  Be  Bad,”  Sidney 
Howard  and  wife  and  Ethel  Merman,  all  UA  players. 


PHILADELPHIA 


NEW  YORK 


WASHINGTON 


BALTIMORE 


NATIONAL  ■ 

KLINE 

II 

|  1 
1  1 

II 

POSTER 

CO-  Distinctive 

1307  VINE  STREET  Craftsman 

PHILADELPHIA  Sh,P 

A  _ 

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POSTER  RENTALS  1 

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Dealing  til 

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PRINTING 

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1233  VINE  STREET 
PHILADELPHIA 

A 

PRINTING 


SIMON  LIBROS 


GEO.  H.  KLINE 


OSCAR  LIBROS 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Junl5'34 


33 


SHE  NEARLY  DONE  HIM  wrong  in  “He  Was  Her  Man,”  with  James  Cagney,  Joan 
Blondell,  Victory  Jory,  from  Warners. 


TRENTON 


TWO  SALES  TAX  measures  opposed  by 
Allied  Jersey  were  defeated  in  the  legisla¬ 
ture.  .  .  .  First  bill  met  with  such  bitter 

opposition  that  a  compromise  measure  was  in¬ 
troduced  some  weeks  ago  but  the  direct  tax  on 
theatre  admissions  caused  the  Allied  to  lodge 
vigorcus  protest  against  enactment,  President 
Sidney  E.  Samuelson  leading  the  fight.  .  .  . 
Two  state  code  recovery  measures  were  passed 
by  the  legislature,  giving  the  state  the  right  to 
levy  against  industry  the  cost  of  administering 
state  industrial  codes.  .  .  .  Assemblyman  Wil¬ 
liam  C.  Hunt,  Wildwood,  who  operates  three 
local  theatres,  strongly  opposed  the  bills.  .  .  . 
Before  adjourning,  the  legislature  named  a  com¬ 
mittee  to  investigate  the  workings  of  the  state 
code  laws  with  view  of  repealing  the  laws  so 
hastily  enacted.  .  .  .  Two  measures  to  increase 
bill  board  license  fee  opposed  by  Allied  of  New 
Jersey  were  defeated.  ...  A  measure  to  pro¬ 
hibit  marathon  dances  and  another  bill  to 
license  itinerant  carnival  shows  sponsored  by  W. 
C.  Hunt  were  not  reported  by  committee  for  a 
vote  in  the  House.  .  .  .  Proposed  motion  pic¬ 
ture  censor  bill  was  not  introduced. 


MID- JERSEY 


MEL  KOFF  is  giving  Drive  In  Theatre, 
Camden,  plenty  of  publicity.  .  .  .  Ads  all  over 
tc  wn.  .  .  .  William  Rovner  has  supplied  Berlin 
and  Laurel  Springs  with  new  uniforms.  .  .  . 
Colors  might  attract  people.  .  .  .  Lew  Rovner, 
Parkside,  finds  that  going  fishing  is  more  profit¬ 
able.  .  .  .  He  is  going  to  give  fish  away.  .  .  . 
Howard  L.  Davis,  New  Egypt,  is  opening  the 
'sis,  New  Egvpt,  June  20.  .  .  .  Myer  Adelman, 
New  Jersey  Messenger,  had  charge  of  distri- 


Ricci  Busy 

With  the  announcement  that  he  is  to  start 
decorating  the  Arcadia  Ballroom,  New  Ycrk 
City,  June  18,  A.  T.  Ricci,  Philadelphia,  inter¬ 
ior  decorator  and  painter,  states  that  he  is 
launching  on  one  of  the  busiest  seasons  that  he 
has  ever  experienced.  Ricci  has  just  completed 
the  grille  and  lounge  of  the  University  Club, 
Philadelphia,  and  the  rest  rooms  of  the  Arcadia 
Theatre. 

Ballroom  in  New  York  is  one  of  the  choice 
jobs  and  was  submitted  for  competitive  sketches 
to  all  decorators.  Riccis  sketches  won  out 
over  some  twenty.  Ballroom,  largest  in  the 
world,  was  decorated  some  ten  years  ago  by 
Gibelli  and  Company,  of  which  Ricci  was  form¬ 
erly  a  partner. 

Ricci  states  that  he  has  estimated  more  the¬ 
atre  work  during  the  last  few  months  and  has 
more  approved  sketches  than  at  any  time  since 
the  wild  theatre  building  era,  and  has  reason  to 
believe  that  he  will  get  the  majority.  Equip- 


bution  of  Philadelplra  distribute  n  of  tickets  for 
the  Joe  Varbalow  dinner.  .  .  .  Allen  Rappa- 
port,  Vineland,  has  promoted  a  landscaper  to 
beautify  his  pavement.  .  .  .  Herb  Lubin,  Mill¬ 
ville,  installed  a  radio  in  his  car.  .  .  .  Now 
uses  it  for  a  ballyhoo.  .  .  .  Mrs.  Lubin  doesn’t 
like  the  idea. 

WILDWOOD’S  MAYOR  chanced  her 
mind  and  Sunday  movies  won’t  be  restricted 
there.  .  .  .  Local  political  fuss  started  all 

the  trouble.  .  Pleasantville  opened  on 

Sunday  and  the  townspeople  made  the  most 
of  it.  .  Warners  Theatre,  AC,  is  fin¬ 

ally  getting  underway  for  the  hot  season. 


TROUBLE  IN  IRELAND  heads  the  idea  behind  “The  Key,”  from  Warners,  with  William 
Powell,  Edna  Best,  Colin  Clive.  Bette  Davis  in  “Fog  Over  Frisco”  is  also  seen. 


^IRML4ND<D¥-IRICCI] 

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34 


Junl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


THE  CHECKUP 


For  your  convenience,  this  publication  furnishes  this  guide  to  reviews  of  pictures  which  have  appeared 
in  regular  review  department.  Before  dating  in  your  show,  consult  this  page,  find  out  when  the  review  appeared 
and  then  look  it  up.  Key:  For  example,  2-Jan.  means  the  second  issue  of  this  publication  in  that  month. 
1-Feb.  would  mean  the  first  issue,  and  so  on. 


Columbia 


The  Ninth  Guest  .  2-Mar. 

Speed  Wings  .  2-Mar. 

The  Lady  is  Willing  . 1-Apr. 

The  Social  Register .  1-Apr. 

One  is  Guilty  .  2-Apr. 

Voice  in  the  Night .  2-Apr. 

The  Whirlpool  .  2-Apr. 

The  Fighting  Ranger .  1-May 

The  Man  Trailer  . 1-May 

Sisters  Under  the  Skin  .  1-May 

The  Party’s  Over  .  1-May 

20th  Century  . 1-May 

The  Crime  of  Helen  Stanley  2-May 

Hell  Bent  for  Love  .  1-June  | 

One  Night  of  Love . 2-June 

The  Hell  Cat .  2-June 

The  Most  Precious  Thing  in  Life  .  2-June  , 


Queen  Christina  .  1-Jan. 

Fugitive  Lovers  . 2-Jan. 

You  Can't  Buy  Everything  .  1-Feb. 

This  Side  of  Heaven  . 1-Feb. 

Men  in  White .  2-Feb. 

Cat  and  the  Fiddle  . 1-Mar. 

Mystery  of  Mr.  X . 1-Mar. 

Lazy  River  .  2-Mar. 

The  Showoff  .  2-Mar. 

Riptide  . 2-Apr. 

The  Hollywood  Party  . 2-Apr. 

Viva  Villa  .  2-Apr. 

Manhattan  Melodrama  . 1-May 

Tarzan  and  His  Mate  .  1-May 

Laughing  Boy  . 2-May 

Sadie  McKee  .  2-May 

Operator  13  .  1-June 

The  Thin  Man  . 1-June 


First  National — Warners 


As  the  Earth  Turns .  2-Feb. 

Bedside  .  2-Feb. 

Heat  Lightning .  2-Feb. 

I’ve  Got  Your  Number .  2-Feb. 

Wonder  Bar .  2-Feb. 

Gambling  Lady  .  1-Mar. 

Harold  Teen  .  1-Mar. 

Journal  of  a  Crime  .  2-Mar. 

Registered  Nurse  .  2-Mar. 

Jimmy  the  Gent  2-Mar. 

Twenty  Million  Sweethearts .  1-Apr. 

Upper  World  . 1-Apr. 

A  Very  Honorable  Guy  .  2-Apr. 

Side  Streets  .  2-Apr. 

A  Modern  Hero .  2-Apr. 

Smarty  1-May 

Merry  Wives  of  Reno  2-May 

Fog  Over  Frisco  1-June 

Midnight  Alibi  .  1-June 

The  Circus  Clown  .  1-June 

The  Merry  Frinks  . 1-June 

Dr.  Monica  . 1-June 

The  Key  . .  1-June 

He  Was  Her  Man  1-June 

Man  With  Two  Faces  2-June 

Return  of  the  Terror  2-June 

Friends  of  Mr.  Sweeney  2-June 

Madam  Du  Barry  . 2-June 

The  Personality  Kid .  2-June 


Fox 


As  Husbands  Go .  2-Nov. 

Frontier  Marshal  . 2-Nov. 

Jimmy  and  Sally  .  1-Dec. 

Smoky  . 2-Dec. 

I  Was  A  Spy .  .  2-Dec. 

Mr.  Skitch  . 1-Jan. 

I  Am  Suzanne  . 1-Jan. 

Orient  Express  2-Jan. 

Sleepers  East  .  1-Feb. 

Coming  Out  Party  .  1-Feb. 

Ever  Since  Eve  .  1-Feb. 

Carolina  2-Feb. 

Devil  Tiger  .  2-Feb. 

Hold  That  Girl  .  2-Feb. 

I  Believed  in  You .  1-Mar. 

David  Harum  . 1-Mar. 

Bottoms  Up  .  2-Mar. 

Scandals  . 2-Mar. 

Three  on  a  Honeymoon . 1-Apr. 

All  Men  Are  Enemies .  2-Apr. 

Murder  in  Trinidad  . 2-Apr. 

Stand  Up  and  Cheer  . 2-Apr. 

The  Constant  Nymph  . 2-Apr. 

Now  I’ll  Tell  1-May 

Springtime  for  Henry  . 1-May 

Such  Women  Are  Dangerous  . 1-May 

Wild  Gold  .  1-May 

Change  of  Heart  . 2-May 

Handy  Andy  .  .  .  2-May 

Call  It  Luck  .  1-June 

Heart  Song  . 1-June 


Metro 


Should  Ladies  Behave  (The  Vinegar  Tree)  2-Nov. 

Dancing  Lady  .  1-Dec. 

Sons  of  the  Desert  .  1-Dec. 

Women  in  His  Life .  1-Jan. 

Going  Hollywood  . 1-Jan. 


Monogram 

DISTRIBUTED  BY  FIRST  DIVISION 


j  16  Fathoms  Deep  . 1-Feb. 

'  West  of  Divide  . 1-Feb. 

Mystery  Liner  . 2-Feb. 

Beggars  in  Ermine . 1-Mar. 

j  City  Limits  . 2-Apr. 

Manhattan  Love  Song . 2-Apr. 

Monte  Carlo  Nights  ,  .  .  1-May 

j  House  of  Mystery  . 1-May 

j  Blue  Steel  . 2-May 

The  Loudspeaker  . 2-May 

Money  Means  Nothing  . 1-June 

The  Man  from  Utah  . 1-June 


Paramount 

Thundering  Herd  .  2-Nov. 

j  Sitting  Pretty  . 1-Dec. 

j  Girl  Without  a  Room  . 1-Dec. 

Alice  in  Wonderland  . 2-Dec. 

i  Miss  Fane’s  Baby  Is  Stolen .  .  .  1-Jan. 

His  Double  Life . 1-Jan. 

8  Girls  in  a  Boat  . 1-Jan. 

|  The  Last  Roundup  . 2-Jan. 

i  Search  for  Beauty  2-Jan. 

Four  Frightened  People  . 2-Jan. 

All  of  Me  .  2-Jan. 

I  Death  Takes  a  Holiday  (Strange  Holiday)  1-Feb. 

'  Good  Dame  . 1-Feb. 

Six  of  a  Kind .  1-Feb. 

Bolero  . 2-Feb. 

No  More  Women . 2-Feb. 

Come  On  Marines  . 2-Mar. 

I  She  Made  Her  Bed  . 2-Mar. 

Wharf  Angel  .  2-Mar. 

Melody  in  Spring  . 2-Apr. 

The  Trumpet  Blows  .  2-Apr. 

You're  Telling  Me  . 2-Apr. 

,  Double  Door  .  .  .  .  .  1-May 

The  Scarlet  Empress  .  1-May 

The  Witching  Hour .  1-May 

We're  Not  Dressing  .  1-May 

Little  Miss  Marker  . 2-May 

Many  Happy  Returns  . 2-May 

Murder  at  Vanities  .  2-May 

Private  Scandal  . 2-May 

Thirty  Day  Princess  .  2-May 

Kiss  and  Make  Up  2-June 

The  Great  Flirtation .  2-June 


Radio 


Right  to  Romance .  1-Dec. 

If  I  Were  Free .  2-Dec. 

Flying  Down  to  Rio  . 1-Jan. 

Man  of  Two  Worlds  . 2-Jan. 

Meanest  Gal  in  Town  .  2-Jan. 

Son  of  Kong  .  2-Jan. 

Two  Alone  2-Jan. 

Hips  Hips  Hooray  .  1-Feb. 

Keep  ’Em  Rolling .  2-Feb. 

Long  Lost  Father  .  2-Feb. 

The  Lost  Patrol .  2-Feb. 

Sing  and  Like  It . 1-Mar. 

Spitfire  . 1-Mar. 

Success  at  Any  Price  . 1-Mar. 

This  Man  Is  Mine  .  2-Mar. 

The  Crime  Doctor . 1-Apr. 

Finishing  School  .  2-Apr. 

Wild  Cargo  2-Apr. 

Where  Sinners  Meet  .  1-May 

Strictly  Dynamite  . 1-May 


Stingaree  . . 

Cockeyed  Cavaliers  . 

Murder  on  Blackboard . 

Vergie  Winters  . 

United  Artists 


2-May 

2-June 

2-June 

2-June 


Blood  Money  . 1-Dec. 

Roman  Scandals . 1-Dec. 

Advice  to  the  Lovelorn .  2-Dec. 

Gallant  Lady  .  2-Dec. 

Moulin  Rouge  . 1-Jan. 

Nana  . 2-Jan. 

Palooka  .  1-Feb. 

Sorrell  and  Son  . 2-Feb. 

Looking  for  Trouble  .  2-Feb. 

Catherine  the  Great . 1-Mar. 

House  of  Rothschild  . 2-Mar. 

The  Affairs  of  Cellini  . 1-May 

Bulldog  Drummond  Strikes  Back  . 2-May 

The  Last  Gentleman  . 2-May 

Born  to  Be  Bad  .  2-June 


Universal 


I  Like  It  That  Way  . 2-Jan. 

Wheels  of  Destiny  .  1-Feb. 

The  Crosby  Case  .  .  2-Feb. 

Love  Birds  . 2-Feb. 

Midnight  .  1-Mar. 

Gun  Justice  1-Mar. 

Countess  of  Monte  Cristo  .  2-Mar. 

Honor  of  the  West  .  2-Mar. 

Let’s  Be  Ritzy  .  2-Mar. 

Glamour  2-Apr. 

I’ll  Tell  the  World  .  2-Apr. 

Smoking  Guns  (Doomed  to  Die)  1-May 

Half  a  Sinner  .  1-May 

The  Uncertain  Lady .  1-May 

Affairs  of  Gentleman  2-May 

Dangerous  to  Women  (The  Love  Captive) . 2-May 

The  Black  Cat  2-May 

Embarrassing  Moments  .  1-June 

Little  Man,  What  Now?  .  1-June 

I  Give  My  Love  .  1-June 

Let’s  Talk  It  Over  .  2-June 


First  Division 

(CHESTERFIELD) 

Rainbow  Over  Broadway  . 

Notorious  But  Nice  . 

Murder  On  the  Campus . 

Cross  Streets  . 

The  Quitter  . 

Stolen  Sweets  . 

In  Love  with  Life  . 

Twin  Husbands  . 

The  Road  to  Ruin . 

He  . 

Throne  of  the  Gods  . 

Under  Secret  Orders . 

Forgotten  Men  . 

Texas  Tornado  . 

The  Ferocious  Pal  . 

Young  Eagles  . 


1- Dec. 

2- Nov. 
2-Feb. 
1-Mar. 

1- Apr. 

2- Apr. 
1-May 

1- May 

2- Dec. 
2-Jan. 
2-Jan. 

1- Jan. 

2- June 
2-Mar. 

1- Apr. 

2- May 


Gold  Medal 


Sing,  Sinner,  Sing .  2-Aug. 

The  Big  Bluff  .  2-0ct. 

Important  Witness  .  2-Aug. 

Laughing  at  Life  . 2-June 

Curtain  at  Eight  .  1-Dec. 

You  Made  Me  Love  You  . 1-Dec. 

The  Charming  Deceiver  .  1-Jan. 

Sin  of  Nora  Moran . 1-Jan. 

Big  Time  or  Bust . 2-Jan. 

Enlighten  Thy  Daughter . 2-Jan. 

The  Morning  After . 2-Feb. 

Unknown  Blonde  . 1-Apr. 

The  Lost  Jungle . 1-June 


Masterpiece 

Her  Forgotten  Past  . 

Riot  Squad  . 

Secret  Sinners  . 

Wine,  Women  and  Song . 

What’s  Your  Racket? . 

Dancing  Man  . 

Back  Page  . 

The  Fighting  Rookie . 


2-Nov. 

2-Aug. 

1- Jan. 

2- Jan. 
2-Feb. 
2-Mar. 

1- Apr. 

2- June 


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HER  STORY  THROBS  WITH  A  HEART-BEAT  TOO 
SELDOM  HEARD  FROM  THE  SCREEN  ...  HER  STORY 
MAKES  ONE  OF  THE  GRAND  PICTURES  OF  ALL  TIME. 


RADIO 

Picture 


Junl5'34  b.c. 


Directed  by  Alfred  Sontell  from 
the  story  by  Louis  Bromfield.  A 
Pandro  S.  Berman  production 


HELEN  VINSON 


In  this 

ssue: 


Exhibitor  Organization  Rivalry  Holds  Attention 


VOL  16— No.  13 

PHILADELPHIA,  JULY  1, 1934 

Price,  15  Cents 

The  FIRST  PRODUCTION  ever  to  be  Officially  Endorsed  by  the 


BOY  SCOUTS  of  AMERICA 


A  MIGHTY  SERIAL  IN 
12  SMASHING  EPISODES 

Booked  by  the  Warner  and  RKO  Circuits  and  hun¬ 
dreds  of  Class  "A"  Theatres  everywhere,  including 

COLONIAL  LAWNDALE  PHILADELPHIA  LEADER  RIDGE 

OGONTZ  PARK  ASTOR  MODEL  CROSS  KEYS  BENN  ROYAL 

SEDGWICK  COLUMBIA  BROADWAY  EARL  69TH  STREET  WYNNE  LIBERTY 

FELTON  FAIRMOUNT  ALHAMBRA  AVON  IMPERIAL  LINDY  RICHMOND 

LINDLEY  LIBERTY  PLAZA  STATE  COMMODORE  GRAND-JACKSON  HARROWGATE 

MANOR,  NORWOOD,  PA.  KEYSTONE  ROYAL,  BRONX 

LANSDOWNE,  LANSDOWNE,  PA.  LION,  RED  LION,  PA.  REGENT,  BROOKLYN 

WAVERLY,  DREXEL  HILL  MAJESTIC,  SHAMOKIN,  PA.  REGENT,  KEARNEY,  N.  J. 

COLLINGSWOOD,  N.  J.  JACKSON,  LEBANON,  PA.  CENTRAL,  ROCKVILLE  CENTER,  L.  I. 

PARKER,  DARBY,  PA.  LYRIC,  SHENANDOAH,  PA.  STRAND,  EAST  ORANGE,  N.  J. 

CLEMENTON,  N.  J.  MAJESTIC,  TAMAQUA,  PA.  PALACE,  EAST  ORANGE,  N.  J. 

VINELAND,  N.  J.  DYCKER,  BROOKLYN  EUREKA,  HACKENSACK,  N.  J. 

MILLVILLE,  N.  J.  GREENPOINT,  BROOKLYN  ROOSEVELT,  NEWARK,  N.  J. 

HAMILTON,  LANCASTER,  PA.  PROSPECT,  BRONX  EMBASSY,  PORT  CHESTER,  N.  Y. 

BUSHWICK,  BROOKLYN  EMPIRE,  BRONX  RIVOLI,  WEST  NEW  YORK,  N.  J. 

RIALTO,  YORK,  PA.  WHITE  PLAINS,  N.  Y.  COLUMBIA,  GUTENBERG,  N.  J. 

STATE,  HANOVER,  PA.  FLUSHING,  N.  Y.  STAR,  CLIFFSIDE,  N.  J. 

MAJESTIC,  GETTYSBURG,  PA. 

PACKED  WITH  EXPLOITATION  HELPS  / 

From  the  World's  Leading  Independent 

FIRST  DIVISION  EXCHANGES,  Inc. 

HARRY  H.  THOMAS,  President 

Executive  Offices:  RKO  BUILDING,  RADIO  CITY,  N.  Y. 

NEW  YORK  BUFFALO  ATLANTA  PITTSBURGH  NEW  HAVEN 

Branches  in:  Albany  Cleveland  Washington  charlotte  Cincinnati 

PHILADELPHIA  DETROIT  NEW  ORLEANS  BOSTON  LOUISVILLE 


— 


REMEMBER  DOUGLAS  FAIRBANKS’  EARLY  HITS  .  .  . 
"THE  AMERICANO"  - - 


Jul  1’34  pg.  2 

You’ve  Got  The 
Same  Box-Office 
Values  All  Over 
Aga i n  in  This 
Fast  Moving 
Modern  Com¬ 
edy  -  Romance 

MONOGRAM  PICTURES 

presents 


with 


RAY 


JACQUELINE 


WALKER 
WELLS 


noah  BEERY 

Wl  LLI  AM  FARNUM 


Directed  by  R.  N.  Bradbury 

A  PAUL  MALVERN  PRODUCTION 
Story  by  Stuart  Anthony 
Screen  play  by  Gordon  Rigby 
Dialogue  by  Frances  Hyland 


'RAY  WALKER  IS  EXTREMELY  PERSONABLE 


// — Photoplay 


Magazine 


,  a; 


Distributed  bv  FIRST  DIVISION  EXCHANGES.  INC.-1240  Vine  Street.  Philadelphia 


Jul  1 T 34  pg.  3 


Buy  Pictures  f 

Not  Promises  / 

^AUMONT  BRITISH  neither  asks  nor  expects  exhibitors  to  buy  its 
pictures  ''sight  unseen".  We  are  selling  pictures,  not  promises.  It 
is  our  desire  to  first  screen  each  of  our  productions  and  then  market 
them  unreservedly  on  their  merits  and  entertainment  value. 


On  Sunday  evening,  June  24,  "ALONG  CAME  SALLY"  and  "CHAN¬ 
NEL  CROSSING"  were  previewed  before  a  thousand  exhibitors  and  their 
guests  at  the  Rivoli  Theatre,  Philadelphia,  and  both  pictures  were  re¬ 
ceived  with  the  same  enthusiastic  applause  and  acclaim  with  which  they 
have  been  welcomed  in  every  key  city  in  which  they  have  been  shown. 

GAUMONT  BRITISH  PICTURE 
CORPORATION  OF  AMERICA 

TAKES  ESPECIAL  PRIDE  IN  ANNOUNCING  THE  RELEASE  OF 

THE  SELECT  TWELVE 

ALL  OF  WHICH  ARE  AVAILABLE  FOR  IMMEDIATE  SCREENING 
In  addition  to  "ALONG  CAME  SALLY"  and  " CHANNEL  CROSSING"  this  group  includes: 


ORDERS  IS  ORDERS 

James  Gleason  Charlotte  Greenwood 

FRIDAY  THE  13th 

Jessie  Matthews  Edmund  Gwenn 

Gordon  Harker 

THE  MURDER  PARTY 

Leslie  Banks  Muriel  Aked 


DICK  TURPIN  (Outlaw) 

Victor  McLaglen  Jane  Carr 

STRIKE! 

Leslie  Banks  Carol  Goodner 

THE  WOMAN  IN  COMMAND 

“CICELY”  (Cicely  Courtneidge) 
Edward  Everett  Horton 


JUST  SMITH 

Tom  Walls  Anne  Grey 

SLEEPING  CAR 

Madeleine  Carroll  Ivor  Novello 

WHAT!  A  BOY? 

Edward  Everett  Horton  *' 

Leslie  Henson  Albert  Burdon 


THE  ARSON  RING 

Leslie  Banks  Anne  Grey 


(jacirDont  British 

hctore  Corporation  of  dmeriQa 


PHILADELPHIA  OFFICE 

1321  VINE  STREET 

SAM  ROSEN,  Manager 
Telephone,  RITtenhouse  4595 


HOME  OFFICE 

1600  BROADWAY 
New  York  City 

Telephone,  LOngacre  5-6561 


Here’s  your  chance  to  match  your  skill  with  history’ 
greatest  showman— because  you're  in  the  CIRCUS  busi 
ness  the  minute  you  book  “Circus  Clown"! 

Packed  with  a  tent-full  of  real  big-top  attractions,  it  give 
you  the  wherewithal  for  one  of  the  classic  circus  cam1 
paigns  of  all  times!  So  many  extra  values  that  a  little 


HERE’S  WHAT  YOU  HAl 


JOE  E.  BROWN  as  a  Circus 
Clown 


THE  FLYING  CODONAS- 
World-Famous  Aerialists 


“POODLES”  HANNE- 
FORD’S  Astounding  Eques¬ 
trian  Troupe 


40  PONDEROUS  PACHY¬ 
DERMS  and  other  marvels 
of  the  menagerie 


Ready-made  imprinted  balloon: 

- one  of  scores  of  helpft 

suggestions  in  the  press  shec 


FIGURE  WHAT  YOU  CAN  DO  WITH 


FOLLOW  THESE  EASY  RULES 

$250.00  in  prizes  will  be  awarded  by  Warner  Bros. 
Pictures,  Inc.,  to  the  Theatre  Owners  or  Managers 
submitting  the  best  all-around  promotion  campaigns 
on  Joe  E.  Brown  in  “The  Circus  Clown.’’  All  phases 
oi  the  campaign,  including  newspaper  advertising, 
publicity,  lobby  display,  exploitation  stunts,  etc.,  will 
be  considered  in  determining  the  awards. 

Proofs  of  advertising,  tear  sheets  of  publicity,  photos 
of  lobby,  and  photos  or  samples  of  exploitation  stunts 
rnu^t  b^  submitted  by  each  contestant.  These  should 
be  accompanied  by  a  brief  typewritten  description  of 
the  campaign  as  a  whole 

Campaigns  based  on  Warner  Bros.’  Merchandising 
Flan  for  this  picture  are  as  eligible  for  the  awards  as 
are  original  ideas. 

Contest  begins  immediately  and  all  entries  must 
be  in  the  mails  not  later  than  midnight,  Saturday. 
Sept.  1st. 

The  judges  will  be  A-Mike  Vdgel,  Chairman  Mana- 
ger  s  Round  Table  Club  of  the  Motion  Picture  Herald: 
Major  Albert  W.  Warner,  Vice-President  of  Warner 
Bros.  Pictures,  Inc. ;  and  Charles  E.  (Chick)  Lewis. 
Editor  of  Showmen  s  Round  Table.  Their  decision  will 
be  final. 

"Dus  contest  is  open  to  everyone  except  employees 
lamiHe™"  Br°S'  Plc,ures’  Inc-  and  members  of  their 

Warner  Bros,  cannot  be  responsible  for  the  return 
of  any  material  submitted. 

In  case  of  a  tie,  each  contestant  will  receive  the  full 
amount  of  the  prize  tied  for. 

Address  all  entries  to  "Circus  Clown”  Campaign 
Contest,  Warner  Bros.,  321  West  44th  Slreet,  N.vlc. 


can  be  yours! 


1st  PRIZE  .  .  .$100.1 
2nd  PRIZE  .  .  .  50. 

3rd  PRIZE  .  .  .  25.00 

4th  to  7th  PRIZES  .  10.00 

8}h  to  14th  PRIZES  5.00 


Jul  1'34  pg.  4 


DERN  BARNUM  0 

Warner  Bros,  will  p 

14  CASH  PRIZES  FOI 


One  of  these 

14  CASH  PRIZES 


SHOW  BUSINESS? 

out' 

BEST  CAMPAIGNS  ON 


BROWN 

"THE 

CLOWN 


jxtra  effort  selling  them  will  put  you  well  over  aver- 
ige  Brown  grosses. 

lust  to  point  out  it’s  exceptional  possibilities,  WARNER 
5ROS.  OFFER  $250.00  IN  CASH  PRIZES  for  the  best  all- 
iround  campaigns  —  but  that’s  a  mere  fraction  of  the 
jxtra  dough  that  good  promotion  will  bring  into  your  till! 


TO  SELL 

THE  PICCHIANI  FAMILY 
—  Tumblers  Extraordinary 

FIRST  NATIONAL  STARS 

'ike  Patricia  Ellis,  Dorothy  Burgess 
—Donald  Dilloway — Gordon  West- 
:ott,  under  Ray  Enright’s  direction. 


Use  This  Tip  From 
M.  P.  Herald 

“The  circus  comes  to  town  ...  in  this 
latest  Joe  E.  Brown  picture  .  .  .  The 
whole  melange — big  tents, clowns, freaks, 
acrobats,  barkers  and  roustabouts,  ani¬ 
mals  and  parades  .  .  .  Sell  it  with  all  the 
color  and  excitement  utilized  by  the  cir¬ 
cus  advance  men— circus  music,  clowns, 
special  fronts.’’—  McCarthy,  M.  P.  Herald 


flective  use  of  press  sheet  material  will  count  just  as  strongly  in  this  contest  as 
riginal  ideas.  Get  your  copy  today  and  start  making  your  selection  from  the  wealth 
f  accessory  and  exploitation  suggestions  such  as:  — 

.  Kiddie  Klown  Parade  Trick  Peanut  Give-away  40-inch  Clown  Photo  of  Brown 

lircus  Front  Inexpensive  Imprinted  Balloons  Circus  Lobby  Accessories 

ircus  Tickets  15  Posed  Tie-up  Stills  And  6  Ideas  for  Clown  Ballys 


CLOWN 

the  uproar  when  he  outroars 

uJliJli  l^e  ^on* . 

See  him  as  the  easy  mark  for 
a  bull-throwing  knife  thrower! 
With  those  pulchritudinous 
favorites  of  the  talking  screen— 

PATRICA  ELLIS 
DOROTHY  BURGESS 


A1c3A  the  flying 

dhXXMW  CODONAS  \ 

in  their  astounding  act  on  the  fly* 
mg  trapeze .  ^ 

POODLES 

THE  PICCHIANI 

HANNEFORD 

FAMILY  .... 

and 'troupe  in  death- 

in  the  most  sensa* 

defying  equestrian* 

tional  tumbling  act 

feats  . 

on  earth . 

40-P0NDER0US  PACHYDERMS-40 
1,000  FLABBERGASTING  GAGS 


Pg-  6 


THE  EDITOR'S  PAGE 


Vol.  16,  No.  13 


July  1,  1934 


The 


Philadelphia 


The  Heel  of  Achilles 

ANY  EXHIBITOR  BODY  which  can 
®  come  forward  with  a  constructive  idea 
regarding  the  present  boycott  of  salacious 
pictures  on  the  part  of  certain  organiza¬ 
tions  in  some  areas  and  a  complete  boycott 
of  films  in  others  must  be  given  plenty  of 
attention.  But  when  a  group  does  nothing 
constructive  but  merely  hacks  away  at  the 
foundations  of  its  own  business,  there  can 
be  little  attention  paid  to  it. 

Allied  States  Association,  in  calling  upon 
heads  of  organizations  seeking  motion  pic¬ 
ture  reform  not  to  aim  their  wrath  at  in¬ 
dependent  exhibitors  but  advocating  a  boy¬ 
cott  on  producer-controlled  theatres  as  a 
means  of  cleaning  up  pictures,  has  taken 
a  stand  that  brings  it  only  deserved  scorn 
of  intelligent-thinking  members  of  this 
business.  Allied  calls  the  producer-affili¬ 
ated  houses  especially  vulnerable  because  of 
revenues  which  go  back  into  production. 
It  says  the  independents  are  helpless. 
Allied  really  means  to  say:  “The  producers 
did  it.  Let  them  have  it.  Save  us  the 
penalty.” 

Since  the  inception  of  this  business,  some 
very  odd  bulletins  have  been  issued  by 
various  factions  but  none  is  as  despicable 
as  this  one  of  Allied. 

The  fight  of  those  opposed  to  salacious 
pictures  is  not  against  circuit  houses  or 
independent  theatres.  It  is  against  that 
kind  of  features  to  which  objections  are 
filed.  Years  ago,  when  first  the  agitation 
arose,  did  any  exhibitor  body  go  on  record 
for  clean  pictures?  Did  independents, 
Allied  or  MPTOA,  rush  forward  with  a 
prediction  that  the  day  would  come  when 
a  movie  boycott  would  result?  Did  at¬ 
tempts  on  the  part  of  the  MPTOA  to  insti¬ 
tute  family  nights  receive  100%  co-opera¬ 
tion?  Did  exhibitors  protest  when  sex-laden 
pictures  made  money  at  their  box-offices? 
They  did  not.  And  if  anyone  had  gone  to 
independent  houses  several  years  ago  and 
told  them  to  stop  showing  pictures  which 
might  offend  groups,  does  anyone  believe 
that  these  shows  would  have  been  taken  off 
the  screens?  The  industry  is  being  taught 
a  lesson  that  it  may  profit  by. 

Those  who  are  opposing  salacious  pic¬ 
tures  found  the  heel  of  Achilles.  They 
pierced  it.  The  box  office  is  now  feeling  it. 
Regardless  of  the  losses,  the  industry  must 
have  respect  for  a  job  well  done. 

Perhaps  from  this  expensive  lesson,  ex¬ 
hibitors  will  realize  that  it  is  best  to  keep 
one’s  ear  to  the  ground.  Maybe  the  lesson 
will  also  include  a  paragraph  that  it  pays 
to  take  advice  from  the  other  fellow.  In 
the  final  analysis,  it  comes  down  to  a  ques¬ 
tion  of  organization.  Single-handedly,  no 
one  can  run  the  industry.  A  proper  com¬ 
bination  of  exhibitors,  working  for  each 
others’  interests,  would  have  saved  the 
current  situation.  But  the  exhibitors  didn’t 
see  the  handwriting  on  the  wall.  Some  pay 
their  dues  and  believe  their  work  is  accom¬ 
plished,  others  do  not  even  pay  dues,  merely 
criticize  their  organization  for  what  it 
does  not  accomplish. 

It  is  a  lesson  that  cannot  be  discarded 
lightly. 


EXHIBITOR 

Circulating  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware.  Issued  on  the  1st  and  15th 
of  each  month  by  Jay  Emanuel  Publications,  Inc.  Publishing  office.  219  North  Broad  Street,  Philadelphia. 
Branches  at  1600  Broadway,  New  York  City;  Washington,  D.  C.  Jay  Emanuel,  publisher;  Paul  J. 
Greenhalgh,  advertising  manager;  Herbert  M.  Miller,  managing  editor.  Subscription  rates:  $2  for  one 
year,  $5  for  three  years.  Single  copies,  15c  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware. 
Publishers,  also,  of  THE  NATIONAL  EXHIBITOR  of  Washington  and  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  EXHIBITOR. 
Official  organ  of  the  Motion  Picture  Theatre  Owners  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and 
Delaware.  Address  all  communications  to  the  Philadelphia  office. 


10%  That  Equals  0% 

TN  Kansas  City,  exhibitors  demand  a  25%  cancellation 
A  privilege.  The  MPTOA  seeks  an  increase  to  15-20%. 
A  survey  of  pictures  by  religious  groups  indicates  that  25%  are  of 
salacious  nature.  In  all  parts  of  the  country,  exhibitors  are  refus¬ 
ing  to  date  in  shows  that  are  on  banned  lists,  challenging  the 
exchanges  to  take  their  cases  in  court. 

Yet  on  top  of  all  this,  some  distributors  have  the  nerve  to  try 
to  get  around  the  10%  cancellation  clause,  a  concession  that  in 
view  of  the  current  agitation  appears  as  an  even  smaller  fish 
thrown  to  exhibitors  than  it  originally  was.  These  distributors  are 
of  the  sort  who  include  westerns  and  foreign  pictures  on  regular 
contracts  so  that  by  the  time  the  exhibitor  exercises  his  cancella¬ 
tion,  he  has  no  privilege  left.  Another  current  move  is  that  of 
including  a  very  high-priced  picture  or  one  of  outrageous  per¬ 
centage  terms  in  the  contract. 

In  either  case,  of  course,  the  exhibitor  does  not  have  to  buy 
westerns,  foreigns,  or  high-priced  pictures.  He  can  drop  them  if 
he  chooses.  But  if  he  doesn’t  buy  them  all,  he  can’t  use  the  10% 
cancellation  privilege,  and  if  he  does  it  is  of  no  value  to  him 
anyway. 

It  looks  as  if  the  boys  who  are  willing  to  fight  it  out  in  the 
courts  have  hit  upon  the  right  idea.  Unless  the  Code  Authority 
steps  in  and  stops  the  current  practice,  court  cases  will  arise, 
unless  local  boards  see  the  light  and  give  the  exhibitor  the  rights 
due  him.  No  court  in  any  part  of  the  country  will  force  an 
exhibitor  to  pay  for  pictures  which  recognized  groups  say  are 
salacious  or  on  banned  lists.  When  the  court  issue  arises,  it  be¬ 
comes  a  burden  for  the  distributor.  He  can  save  himself  a  lot  of 
trouble  by  seeing  the  light  now. 


Don’t  Kill  the  Cow. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Jul  1 1 34 


7 


Boycott  on  Salacious  Pictures  Growing 
in  Territory  as  Exhibs  Stand  Helpless 


Legion  of  Decency  Enrolls  Millions  Nationally — Kid 
Business  Badly  Affected — Up-state  Situation  Most 
Serious — Other  Religious  Groups  Join 

Boycott,  advocated  by  the  Catholic  clergy,  against  salacious  pictures  has  gained 
support  and  co-operation  of  other  religious  denominations  with  the  result  that  busi¬ 
ness  has  been  greatly  affected,  a  survey  bv  The  Exhibitor  shows. 


Censors  Tougher 

Apparently  because  of  the  boycott 
agitation,  censor  boards  everywhere  are 
getting  tougher. 

Result  has  been  that  more  pictures 
are  being  held  up  currently  than  for  a 
long  while. 

IEPA  Raises  $2500  in 
10  Minutes  at  Session 

Members  Back  Pledges  with 
Checks  for  Fund 


The  Independent  Exhibitors  Protec- 
tice  Association  secured  financial  support, 
June  26,  when  at  a  meeting  members 
present  pledged  $2500  to  carry  on  the 
work. 

Twenty-five  men  were  invited  to  the  session 
with  35  attending.  When  a  call  for  financial 
support  came,  $2500  was  pledged  with  the  ex¬ 
pectation  that  it  will  reach  $3500  by  the  end  of 
this  week. 

Quarters  at  1313  Vine  Street  will  be  op  ned 
soon. 

A  secretary  has  not  been  appointed,  but  one 
will  be  secured  shortly.  A  bulletin  for  mem¬ 
bers  will  also  be  issued  at  stated  periods. 

A  good  will  committee  to  combat  current 
alkged  propaganda  and  to  visit  exchanges  has 
been  appointed  consisting  of  Morris  Wax,  Herb 
Elliott,  Bill  Butler,  Norman  Lewis,  David  Bar- 
rist  and  George  Naudascher. 

Members  of  the  IEPA  who  were  in  good 
standing  with  the  MPTO  planned  to  attend  the 
June  28  meeting  of  that  body. 

No  action  was  taken,  at  the  June  26  session, 
regarding  the  Catholic  boycott,  members  dif¬ 
fering  on  what  should  be  done.  Evidence  that 
Saturday  business  was  badly  affected,  with  cur¬ 
rent  mid-week  business  off  was  given  by  all 
members. 

A  luncheon  was  served  in  connection  with  the 
meeting.  _ 

Industry  Still  Awaits 
Decision  in  Doubles  Tilt 

Judge  Welsh  Expected  to  Hand 
down  Verdict 


The  local  industry  (June  28)  was  still 
awaiting  Judge  Welsh’s  decision  on  the 
application  for  a  temporary  injunction  to 
restrain  major  companies  from  enforcing 
a  double  feature  clause  in  the  contracts 
of  Harry  Perelman,  local  exhibitor. 

Following  legal  argument  at  a  hearing,  June 
15,  between  Ben  Colder,  for  plaintiff,  and 
Morris  Wolf,  for  defendants,  a  decision  was 
soon  expected. 


Landow  Dinner  Will 
Attract  200  Film  Men 

Testimonial  to  Popular  Universa- 

lite  Acclaimed  by  Trade 

At  least  200  film  men  are  expected  to 
attend  the  testimonial  dinner  to  Mike 
Landow,  retiring  Universal  exchange 
manager  at  the  Bellevue-Stratford, 
July  9. 

The  committee  in  charge  reports  that  accept¬ 
ances  to  invitations  are  pouring  in  fast. 

A  delegation  of  New  Yorkers  from  Uni¬ 
versal  home  office  and  other  points  is  also  ex¬ 
pected. 

Final  details  are  now  being  completed  and 
it  looks  like  the  last  official  appearance  of 
Landow  in  the  local  industry  will  go  down  as 
a  record-breaking  affair. 

As  a  preliminary  gesture,  salesmen  and  office 
employees  of  local  Universal  branch  gave  Lan¬ 
dow  a  dinner  this  week  end  and  presented  him 
with  a  gift.  They  wished  him  well  in  his  new 
endeavor. 

Week  to  Week 

Following  houses  were  recently  added  to  the 
week  to  week  list,  notice  having  been : 

Boyd,  Karlton,  Stanton,  Avon,  Imperial  (2nd 
Street),  Victoria,  Felton,  Harrowgate,  Rich¬ 
mond,  Clementon,  N.  J. 

Notices  also  went  up  at  the  Stanley,  Colum¬ 
bia,  Grand  (Camden),  Collingswood,  N.  J.,  333 
Market,  Lawndale,  Lindley,  Allegheny,  Wis- 
hart  and  Orient. 

Theatres  closing  this  week  included  Avon, 
Imperial  (2nd  Street),  and  Harrowgate. 


In  his  argument,  Golder  indicated  that  he 
would  ask  for  a  Federal  investigation  of  the 
activities  of  the  alleged  motion  picture  trust 
with  a  view  toward  its  indictment  on  anti¬ 
trust  law  violation. 

Wolf  sought  to  show  that  the  MPTOA  had 
gone  on  record  against  double  features,  and  in 
other  ways  decried  the  practice.  Finally,  he 
insisted  that  granting  of  an  injunction  would 
op '  n  the  territory  wide  and  that  it  would  be 
difficult  to  get  the  house  in  order  again. 

After  hearing  argument,  Judge  George  A. 
Welsh  said  he  didn’t  want  to  hand  down  a  hasty 
decision,  but  suggested  that  Wolf  waive  en¬ 
forcement  of  the  doubles  clause  temporarily. 
Wolf  stated  he  could  not  as  this  would  amount 
to  granting  the  injunction.  Decision  was  then 
reserved. 


In  this  territory,  the  boycott  of  the  Catholic 
is  complete,  and  while  other  religious  groups 
are  sympathetic  in  spirit,  none  has  gone  on 
record  as  advocating  a  stay-away-from-all- 
movies  policy. 

Saturday  kid  business  has  dropped  about  80% 
and  while  mid-week  business  has  been  affected, 
the  effect  of  the  ban  has  been  more  complete 
in  some  situations  than  in  others.  Presbyteri¬ 
ans,  Methodists  and  other  religious  groups  have 
endorsed  the  fight  on  salacious  pictures. 

Here,  in  Philadelphia,  the  boycott  of  the 
Catholics  includes  all  films.  Elsewhere,  the 
fight  is  against  a  restricted  list  of  pictures 
issued  by  church  leaders. 

Upstate,  the  situation  in  sections  where 
Catholics  predominate  is  very  serious,  with  a 
watchful  eye  on  the  theatre  entrance  held  re¬ 
sponsible  for  a  terrific  drop  in  business. 

As  far  as  any  exhibitor  activity  is  concerned, 
nothing  tangible  has  resulted.  Two  meetings 
between  IEPA  representatives  and  the  clergy 
resulted  in  a  sympathetic  attitude  and  nothing 
more.  It  is  not  known  when  the  complete  boy¬ 
cott  will  be  lifted  and  a  restricted  attendance 
allowed. 

Meanwhile,  signers  of  the  Legion  of  Decency 
are  totalling  millions.  After  the  pledge  is 
signed,  it  becomes  a  sin  to  go  to  the  movies. 

While  it  is  estimated  that  Catholics  are  not 
staying  away  from  the  movies  100%,  there  has 
been  almost  a  complete  stay-away  from  those 
types  of  films  which  might  be  termed  decidedly 
objectionable. 

A  conference  between  industry  leaders  and 
Catholic  clergy  in  the  middle  west  resulted  in 
an  announcement  that  while  the  industry  was 
probably  intending  to  clean  house,  the  boycott 
would  continue  until  a  complete  job  was  done. 

Hollywood  has  decided  to  put  a  heavy  censor¬ 
ship  on  production,  with  a  positive  assurance 
of  clean  pictures. 

But  during  the  current  boycott,  the  exhibitor, 
victim,  is  suffering  and  there  isn’t  anything 
being  done  about  it. 

Some  have  advocated  formation  of  a  com¬ 
mittee  of  leading  citizens,  educators,  club¬ 
women,  laymen,  religious  leaders,  etc.,  who 
would  see  all  pictures  and  give  their  stamp 
of  approval  to  them,  but  nothing  has  actually 
been  accomplished  along  those  lines. 


Masterpiece  Announcement 

Masterpiece  exchange  will  announce 
its  1934-1935  product  within  the  next 
two  weeks. 

Preliminary  advices  are  to  the  effect 
that  the  exchange  will  have  new  series 
of  melodramas,  westerns,  shorts  and 
single  reels  of  all  kinds. 

Deals  are  being  completed  now. 


8 


Jul  1 T  34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Segall  Elected  President  of  M.  P.T.  O. 

As  Kuykendall  Scores  with  Address 


Harmony  Meeting  at  Adelphia,  June  28,  Sees  New 
Officers  Slate — M.  E.  Comerford  Speaks  to  Assembled 
Theatremen  _ 

Charles  Segall,  veteran  local  exhibitor,  was  elected  president  of  the  MPTO  of 
Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware  at  a  meeting  of  dues- 
paying  members  held  June  28  at  the  Adelphia  Hotel,  here. 


Segall  succeeded  Lewen  Pizor,  president  for 
the  past  7  years  and  generally  credited  with 
having  been  largely  responsible  for  the  high 
standing  of  the  local  unit. 

The  meeting,  attendance  to  which  was  limited 
to  dues-paying  theatremen,  included  65  local 
exhibitors  with  Pizor  having  proxies  and  vot¬ 
ing  rights  for  25  upstate  members  who  dele¬ 
gated  him  to  vote  for  them.  They  were  kept 
upstate  by  local  conditions  and  issues. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  meeting,  Pizor  an¬ 
nounced  that  he  had  received  resignations  of 
all  officers  with  elections  to  follow.  He  made 
a  plea  for  organization  co-operation  and  wound 
up  by  introducing  Ed  Kuykendall,  president  of 
the  MPTOA,  national  exhibitor  body  to  which 
the  local  unit  is  affiliated. 

Kuykendall  received  a  nice  hand,  reviewed 
the  work  of  the  MPTOA  in  regard  to  the  code 
and  also  told  of  the  MPTOA  setup  regarding 
affiliated  theatres.  His  talk  received  much  at¬ 
tention  and  he  received  much  applause. 

It  was  when  he  touched  on  code  matters  that 
he  drove  to  a  point  which  concerned  the  part 
local  leaders  played  in  the  code  proceedings. 
He  made  several  allegations  which  he  asked 
David  Barrist,  who  represented  the  local  unit 
in  code  matters  at  that,  to  answer.  Kuyken¬ 
dall  said  that  the  problem  for  the  industry  at 
the  present  time  was  external  and  that  a  united 
exhibition  faction  was  essential.  He  touched 
on  the  boycott  and  said  that  with  a  combined 
exhibitor  group  working  together,  all  problems 
could  be  solved. 

He  said  this  was  no  time  for  hatreds  in  the 
business  and  internal  fights  but  rather  all  should 
work  for  a  common  good. 

Kuykendall  told  of  his  civic  work  throughout 
the  country  and  said  that  the  MPTOA  was 
working  for  reforms  all  the  time.  He  said 
currently  they  were  advocating  a  10%  in¬ 
crease  in  cancellation  privilege,  combatting  at¬ 
tempts  of  distributors  to  circumvent  the  bene¬ 
fits  of  the  10%  cancellation  clause  as  it  stands. 
He  said  the  industry's  menace  was  from  the 
outside  more  than  the  inside. 

Upon  the  conclusion  of  Kuykendall’s  address, 
David  Barrist  asked  for  the  floor  privilege  to 
answer  certain  charges.  He  was  given  permis¬ 
sion  and  gave  his  explanation  of  certain  state¬ 
ments  that  had  been  made.  For  a  while,  it 
looked  as  if  100%  harmony  was  coming  back 
to  the  local  exhibition  fold. 


Comerford  Attends 


M.  E.  Comerford’s  attendance  at  the 
meeting  was  a  surprise  to  the  exhibitors 
present. 

The  meeting  felt  signally  honored  that 
this  prominent  independent  leader  drop¬ 
ped  in  to  the  goings-on. 


President  Pizor  announced  that  new  quarters 
were  being  secured  for  the  organization  on 
Vine  Street,  that  a  committee  was  being  ap¬ 
pointed  to  work  for  the  music  tax  revision, 
defended  presence  of  affiliated  theatres  in  the 
organization  for  tax  and  other  purposes,  ridi¬ 
culed  any  attempts  at  affiliated  control. 

An  amendment  to  the  by-laws  increased  the 
board  of  managers  to  12  members,  four  of 
whom  will  be  elected  annually  for  a  three  year 
term. 


TESTIMONIAL 

(As  read  to  MPTO  members  at  the  June  28  meeting 
by  Charles  Segall,  new  president.) 

THIS  ORGANIZATION  is  now  confronted  with  one  of 
the  most  serious  and  yet  pleasant  duties  that  has  ever 
befallen  it,  but  yet  at  the  same  time  a  very  sad  one. 

FOR  MANY  YEARS  we  have  been  led  by  one  of  the 
hardest  and  most  conscientious  workers  who  has  ever 
been  a  part  of  this  industry.  He  has  been  unstinted 
in  his  efforts  on  behalf  of  every  exhibitor  whether  small 
or  large.  He  has  acquired  a  wealth  of  information  cov¬ 
ering  the  most  intricate  phases  of  this  complicated  in¬ 
dustry,  has  never  been  found  wanting  and  suffered  in 
his  work  for  the  exhibitors. 

LEW  PIZOR  has  seen  fit  because  of  the  stress  of  his 
personal  business  to  step  down  from  the  leadership  of 
this  organization.  It  is  a  loss  that  can  never  be  re¬ 
placed  under  any  circumstances.  It  is  our  loss  and  a 
mighty  big  one. 

THERE  IS  but  one  way  in  which  we  can  show  our 
appreciation  for  his  untiring  zeal  and  unselfish  work, 
and  that  is  by  extending  to  him  the  only  honor  possible 
that  is  a  vote  of  confidence  in  his  honesty  of  purpose, 
his  integrity  of  effort,  for  no  man  can  point  the  finger 
of  scorn  at  him. 

IT  IS  MY  PLEASURE  to  nominate  Lew  Pizor  as  an 
Honorary  Member  of  the  Beard,  with  the  right  to  vote, 
in  order  to  insure  us  of  his  continued  effort  and  endeavor 
for  the  best  principles  and  interests  of  this  organiza¬ 
tion  and  every  exhibitor. 


M.  E.  Comerford.  who  had  walked  into  the 
meeting  shortly  after  it  started,  was  then  given 
a  hand  by  the  assembled  body.  He  spoke  for 
co-operation  for  all  exhibitors,  said  that  the  cur¬ 
rent  boycott  would  eventually  work  for  the 
benefit  of  the  entire  industry,  mentioned  that 
he  had  been  the  first  president  of  the  local 
MPTO,  and  said  the  MPTO  ought  to  go  on 
record  with  every  producer  for  cleanliness  in 
production  and  the  same  spirit  in  advertising. 

He,  like  Kuykendall,  concluded  his  brief 
address  with  a  bit  of  poetry. 

Following  this,  a  vote  was  taken,  by  ballot, 
on  three  questions  involving  withdrawal  of  the 
local  unit  from  the  MPTOA,  dropping  affili¬ 
ated  theatres  and  changing  the  name  of  the 
organization. 

A  luncheon  recess  then  occurred  at  which 
time  it  was  announced  that  the  sentiment  of  the 
exhibitor  body  was  to  stay  in  the  MPTOA, 
retain  affiliated  theatres  and  keep  the  same 
name.  Vote  was  almost  unanimous. 

Election  of  new  officers  followed,  with  these 
results : 


Pizor  Thanked 


Praise  given  to  Lewen  Pizor,  retiring 
president  of  the  MPTO,  was  one  of  the 
highlights  of  the  meeting. 

After  seven  years  of  faithful  work,  the 
group  showed  it  appreciated  his  efforts. 


President — Charles  Segall 

1st  Vice-president - Harold  D.  Cohen 

2nd  Vice-president — Michael  Egnal 

Treasurer - Michael  Lessy 

Secretary — George  P.  Aarons 

Financial  Secretary  (new  office) — Marcus 
Benn 

Board  of  Managers - Ed  Jeffries,  Marcus 

Benn,  Morris  Gerson,  Luke  Gring,  Leonard 
Schlesinger,  Abe  Sablosky,  Morris  Spiers, 
Lou  Felt,  Joseph  Conway,  1.  Hoffman,  Fred 
Leopold,  Morris  Handle. 

Lewen  Pizor  was  voted  an  honorary  member 
of  the  board  of  managers  with  the  right  to  vote. 

The  meeting  wound  up  with  a  signal  note  of 
thanks  to  Pizor  for  the  good  work  he  had  done 
in  keeping  the  organization  on  the  right  track 
for  the  past  7  years.  The  body  not  only 
applauded  his  efforts  but  stood  and  paid  him 
homage  for  several  minutes. 

It  was  the  intent  of  the  body  that  there  be 
an  installation  of  officers  at  the  next  meeting. 

Each  officer,  on  being  elected,  gave  a  brief 
talk  indicating  his  belief  in  the  future  wel¬ 
fare  of  the  organization.  All  signified  their 
intention  of  serving. 

Before  the  elections,  George  Dembow,  an¬ 
other  Vine  Street  veteran  but  now  associated 
with  National  Screen  Service,  was  given  the 
floor  and  addressed  the  body  on  the  subject  of 
the  trailer  situation.  He  asked  co-operation  of 
the  exhibitors  in  this  district  against  trend  of 
producers  wanting  to  make  their  trailers. 
He  predicted  another  grievous  problem  along 
lines  of  the  score  charge  if  exhibitors  did  not 
take  steps  to  fight  this  alleged  evil. 

He  said  that  thousands  of  exhibitors  through¬ 
out  the  country  were  supporting  National 
Screen  and  indicated  that  such  support  might 
also  be  expected  from  this  territory. 

He  reviewed  the  growth  of  trailers,  gave 
some  details  as  to  inside  workings  of  the  trailer 
business  and  undoubtedly  influenced  exhibitors 
with  the  seriousness  of  the  problem. 

The  MPTO  recently  went  on  record  as 
opposed  to  entrance  of  Metro  in  the  trailer 
business,  because  of  economic  conditions.  Pro¬ 
test  was  sent  to  Felix  Feist,  sales  manager,  at 
Chicago. 

Sidelights 

FOR  A  WHILE  it  looked  like  complete  harmony  was 
assured  lor  the  territory.  Seeing  members  of  the  IEPA 
eat  with  the  MPTO  folk  was  a  delight  for  sore  eyes. 

HAROLD  COHEN  made  a  nice  impression  on  the  boys. 
He  looked  as  if  he  will  be  a  big  asset. 

ED  KUYKENDALL  made  a  lot  of  friends  here.  Every¬ 
one  thought  he  was  just  the  man  to  head  the  MPTOA. 

THE  MEETING  was  very  orderly  except  that  on  one 
occasion,  two  non-dues  paying  members  tried  to  get  in, 
and  went  out. 


Jul  1 T 34  pg.  9 


DELEGATES  to  RKO  Radio  Pictures’  1934-35  sales  convention  at  the  Drake  Hotel, 
Chicago.  At  the  dais  are,  left  to  right:  Robert  Trillo,  Ralph  R.  Doyle,  Sol  G.  Newman, 
Phil  Reisman,  Lee  Marcus,  Ned  E.  Depinet,  Jules  Levy,  Robert  F.  Sisk,  Cresson  E.  Smith 
and  E.  L.  McEvoy. 


TO  BE  FETED.  Record  turnout  is 
expected,  July  9,  when  industry 
pays  homage  to  Michael  Landow, 
retiring  Universal  exchange  man¬ 
ager.  Leading  film  men,  exchange- 
men,  exhibitors,  are  to  attend. 


NEW  PRESIDENT.  Ben  Golder  is 
the  new  president  of  the  IEPA, 
exhibitor  unit.  He  succeeds  Morris 
Wax,  temporary  president,  who 
becomes  chairman.  ( Page  23) 


MOVING  UP.  Alexander  Gottlieb  (left), 
has  been  promoted  to  advertising  man¬ 
ager  for  UA  under  the  supervision  of 
Hal  Horne.  Kenneth  O’Brien,  publicity 
department,  is  now  working  as  assistant 
to  Horne. 


BOOST  FILMS.  M.  E.  Comerford, 
president,  Comerford  Theatres, 
Inc.,  has  been  doing  valuable  com¬ 
munity  good  will  work  upstate  in 
addresses  before  leading  civic 
groups.  He  has  been  speaking  on 
industry  problems.  ( Page  10) 


ADDRESSES  MPTO.  Ed  Kuy¬ 
kendall,  president,  MPTO  A, 
was  a  leading  speaker  at  the 
meeting  of  the  MPTO  of  East¬ 
ern  Pennsylvania,  Southern 
New  Jersey  and  Delaware, 
held  here  June  28.  ( Page  8) 


FINISHES  FOURTH.  Local  Radio 
exchange,  headed  by  Frank  Mc- 
Namee,  finished  fourth  in  recent 
"*  Radio  national  drive,  largest  ex¬ 
change  to  finish  in  the  money. 
(Page  29) 


10 


Jul  1 T  34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Heard  In ' 


ROSSTOWN 

Max  Baer 
In  Town 


MAX  BAER  in  person  at  the  Earle,  July  6. 
.  .  .  Giving  Artie  Cohn  plenty  more  to  do.  .  .  . 
Wesley  Eddy  leaving  the  local  fold.  .  .  .Fox 
did  very  well  on  the  fight  pictures,  standing 
them  up.  .  .  .  Moe  Verbin  brought  back  “Con¬ 
stant  Nymph"  to  good  business.  .  .  .  Sid  Stan¬ 
ley  at  the  Strand,  Scranton,  and  a  recent  visi¬ 
tor  in  town.  .  .  .  Fay's  Theatre  to  get  an 
overhauling.  .  .  .  Vogue  still  closed  with  an 
“opening  Monday”  sign  up.  .  .  .  S-W  neigh¬ 
borhood  houses  starting  special  mid-week  mati¬ 
nees  for  children  with  selected  westerns,  shorts, 
etc.  .  .  .  The  Record  has  inaugurated  a  Screen 
and  Radio  weekly  with  plenty  of  plugs  for  pic¬ 
tures.  .  .  .  Figures  on  the  circulation  angle. 
.  .  .  Sunday  Inquirer  followed  in  with  a  page 
of  film  stars,  rotogravure.  .  .  .  Business  every¬ 
where  generally  off  on  account  of  hot  weather 
and  Catholic  ban. 

SOME  EXFIIBITORS  are  complaining  be¬ 
cause  local  schools  have  been  showing  health 
movies  to  kiddies  at  5c  a  head.  .  .  .  Overbrook 
installed  Photophone  High  Fidelity  sound.  .  .  . 
Morris  Gerson  operates.  .  .  .  Sid  Stanley,  the 
man  who  put  Fays  over,  hopped  to  Scranton 
for  Comerford  when  the  house  closed.  .  .  . 
Lester  Jeffries  advised  him  to  bring  back 
enough  coal  to  guarantee  a  warm  winter. 

CASE  which  was  of  interest  to  theatremen 
resulted  in  a  verdict  for  William  J.  Dunn  vs. 
William  F.  Dunn  for  $1903.62.  .  .  The 

Dunns  were  formerly  local  exhibitors. 

GEORGE  KLINE  has  the  Lyric,  Boyertown. 
.  .  .  York,  York,  doing  a  neat  business  since 
opening.  .  .  .  Frolic,  West  Philly,  expects  to 
open  next  month.  .  .  .  Yorktown,  S-W,  open¬ 
ing  soon,  too.  ...  21  S-W  houses  now  on 
a  week-to-week  basis. 

PASSING  of  Mort  Harris,  valued  S-W  em¬ 
ployee,  was  a  shock  to  all  those  who  knew  him. 

.  .  .  He  was  a  member  of  the  treasurer’s  depart¬ 
ment. 

TEN  YEARS  AGO.  .  .  .  Local  exhibitors 
decided  to  drop  the  tax  from  admission  prices. 
...  A  trend  toward  unity  and  harmony  on  the 
part  of  various  national  exhibitor  factions  was 
reported.  .  .  .  Harry  Brandt  was  active  in  this 
regard.  ...  A  Film  frolic  was  to  be  held. 

.  .  .  Stanley  employees  had  a  picnic.  ...  Jim 
Clark  was  manager  and  pitcher  of  the  ex- 
changemen's  nine.  .  .  .  (Ed.  Note:  He  can  still 
hand  it  out  (pitcher)  but  can  he  take  it?  (catch¬ 
er). 

APEX  THEATRE,  51st  and  Haverford, 
has  been  leased  by  Joseph  Delia  and  John 
De  Paul. 


STARS  TEAM  AGAIN  in  “He  Was  Her  Man,’ 
Cagney  share  honors  with  Victor  Jory. 


YMCA,  Carney’s  Point,  N.  J.,  has  also 
closed.  .  .  .  Neptune,  Richland,  has  been 

taken  over  by  the  fire  department. 
Practically  all  shore  theatres  are  open  or  will 
be  by  the  4th  of  July.  .  .  .  There  have  been 
few  changes  in  management.  .  .  .  Wildwood 
will  stay  open  on  Sunday  as  will  most  shore 
points  except  Ocean  City,  N.  J.,  still  closed. 

ABE  EINSTEIN,  the  veteran  Stanley-War- 
ner  exec,  comes  forth  with  the  information 
that  Milton  C.  Work,  bridge  expert  who  died 
recently,  was  a  former  “great”  in  the  busi¬ 
ness.  .  .  .  Used  to  be  general  counsel  for 

World  Film  and  had  many  friends  in  the 
trade.  .  .  .  Handled  George  Beban  for  a 

while.  .  .  .  Einstein  also  divulged  that  it  was 
just  20  years  ago  that  Stanley  V.  Mastbaum 
and  W.  E.  Smith  had  “John  Barleycorn”  at 
the  Garrick.  .  .  .  And  it  is  just  35  years 

since  Sig  Lubin  posed  a  couple  of  local  fight¬ 
ers  as  Jim  Jeffries  and  Bob  Fitzsimmons  in 
the  battle  of  that  century  after  the  two  pugs 
wouldn’t  let  him  take  pictures  of  the  fight. 
.  .  .  Films  were  ballyhooed  as  actual  fight 

pictures. 

CASTLE  closed  for  two  days  the  beginning 
of  this  week.  .  .  .  After  running  some  swell 
trailers  on  “It  Ain't  No  Sin,”  “Hollywood 
Party”  went  in,  instead.  .  .  .  Stanton  had  a 
swell  front  on  “The  Black  Cat.”  .  .  .  Much 
up-and-down-the-street-gazing  done  these  days 
by  some  of  the  children  who  buy  tickets  to  the 
movies.  .  .  .  New  Colonial  closing  for  repairs. 
.  .  .  Cooling  systems  coming  in  handy  these 
days.  .  .  .  State,  Bethlehem,  closed. 

“DOC”  SCHAD,  not  active  in  the  business 
any  more,  but  still  one  of  Reading’s  leading 
citizens,  dropped  into  town.  .  .  .  “Doc”  is  a 
director  in  several  of  the  big  banks  there,  is  a 
guiding  light  in  the  Reading  Fair,  and  finds 
time  to  attend  to  several  other  civic  matters 
as  well.  .  .  .  As  a  veteran  exhib  who  made 
a  name  for  himself,  he  gained  the  respect  of 
one  and  all.  .  .  .  And  he’s  in  the  pink  of  con¬ 
dition. 


RADIO  BACKGROUND  is  dominant  note  in  “The  Loudspeaker,”  from  Monogram,  with 
Ray  Walker,  Spencer  Charters,  Jacqueline  Wells  and  outstanding  cast. 


from  Warners,  as  Joan  Blondell  and  James 


Raps  Sunday  Benefits 

In  an  editorial  comment  on  the  open¬ 
ing  of  movie  houses  at  Gettysburg  and 
in  a  few  other  localities  Sunday,  “The 
Morning  Patriot,”  Harrisburg  daily 
newspaper  stated  “the  most  irritating  of 
these  Sunday  movies  and  other  commer¬ 
cialized  amusements  is  the  pretense  that 
they  are  being  conducted  in  the  name  of 
charity.” 

“It  is  surprising  at  times,”  the  edi¬ 
torial  stated,  “that  reputable  charitable 
organizations  will  lend  themselves  to 
such  enterprises,  especially  since  it  is 
widely  suspected  that  these  Sunday 
shows  are  mere  entering  wedges  for  a 
wholesale  commercialization  of  the 
Sabbath.  The  same  sort  of  sophistry 
was  used  to  get  the  Sunday  sports  bill 
into  law.” 


M.  E.  Comerford  Speaks 
on  Industry  Problems 

M.  E.  Comerford,  president,  Comer¬ 
ford  Theatres,  Inc.,  and  leading  indepen¬ 
dent  exhibitor,  has  been  addressing  civic 
bodies  on  problems  of  the  films. 

In  a  recent  talk  before  the  Scranton  Rotar- 
ians,  he  reviewed  the  motion  picture  industry 
and  told  some  of  the  problems  of  the  past  and 
present  and  the  plans  for  the  future. 

Comerford  stated  that  the  theatre  is  not 
essentially  a  religion  institution — it  must  depict 
life  in  all  of  its  phases  to  survive,  but  in  doing 
this  it  must  also  stick  to  the  fundamentals  of 
common  decency  and  good  taste. 

He  pointed  out  that  the  theatre  can  not  cater 
exclusively  to  the  child  nor  nonadult  mind.  It 
must  entertain  all  ages  and  all  types  and  classes. 
It  is  essentially  the  entertainment  of  the  masses. 
Because  of  this,  a  movement  for  establishing 
certain  days  of  the  week  to  be  designated  as 
Family  Day  is  becoming  very  popular  in  the 
theatres  of  the  country. 

Comerford  continued  by  saying  that  the 
motion  picture  theatre  is  an  essential  industry 
entitled  to  all  the  consideration  that  any  legi¬ 
timate  business  gets.  It  should  not  be  discrim¬ 
inated  against  in  taxes  or  regulations. 

“We  know  that  we  are  not  perfect,  and  our 
faults  are  many,  but  we  are  sincerely  and  earn¬ 
estly  working  to  correct  them.  With  your  help 
we  will  accomplish  this,"  he  said. 


WHEN  YOU  NEED  THEM  MOST! 

Jul  1’34  pg.  11 

RKO  RADIO  KNOWS  THAT  THERE  ARE  12  MONTHS  IN 
THE  YEAR  .  .  .  and  some  are  hot  months  .  .  .  WHEN  YOUR 
BOX-OFFICE  NEEDS  PRODUCTIONS  .  .  .  NOT  PREDICTIONS 


K  >  \ 
/lj  / 


ANN  HARDING 
JOHN  BOLES 

in 

‘THE  LIFE  OF 
VERGIE  WINTERS” 

With  HELEN  VINSON 

Directed  by  ALFRED  SANTELL 


WHEN  YOU 
NEED  THEM 
MOST . . . 


RKO-RADIO  WILL  DELIVER  BIG  SHOWS 
AND  NOT  WAIT  TILL  THE  SNOW  FLIES! 


12 


Jul  1*  1 2 3 4 5 6 34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


THE  CODE  •  CASES  •  HEARINGS  •  BOARD  RULINGS  •  DEVELOPMENTS 


SCHEDULE: 

CLEARANCE  AND  ZONING 
JUNE  29 

Boulevard  Theatre  on  clearance  in 
district. 

Cameo  Theatre  on  clearance  in  district. 
(Case  of  Byrd  Theatre  on  its  clearance 
withdrawn  pending  the  clearance  con¬ 
ference  of  West  Philadelphia  theatres.) 

HEARINGS 

GRIEVANCE 
JUNE  14 

Louis  M.  Felt,  Westmar  Theatre,  Nor¬ 
ristown,  vs.  Norris  Amusement  Com¬ 
pany,  on  reduced  admission  charge. 

Plaintiff,  whose  entire  case  was  presented  by 
Michael  Egnal,  attorney,  sought  to  prove  that 
by  a  current  bus  tie-up  with  a  district  traction 
line,  the  theatre  was  guilty  of  violation  of 
Article  V-E,  part  3,  reducing  admissions. 
Testimony  consisted  chiefly  of  presentation  of 
evidence  by  attorneys  for  both  sides. 

Decision: 

The  evidence,  both  as  to  the  bus  complaint 
and  as  to  benefit  tickets,  indicated  that  no  rebate 
was  given  to  the  patron,  and  the  complaint  is 
thereby  dismissed  on  the  ground  that  the  pro¬ 
visions  of  the  code  require  that  the  patrons  be 
admitted  to  the  theatre  for  a  sum  less  than  the 
announced  admission  price.  Complaint  dis¬ 
missed. 

CLEARANCE 
JUNE  22 

Fern  Rock  Theatre  vs.  Colney  Theatre 
(SW)  on  clearance. 

Fern  Rock,  Herb  Elliott,  through  attorney 
George  Aarons,  sought  to  show  that  it  should 
not  be  compelled  to  wait  for  Felton  and  Lind- 
ley.  Testimony  was  given  also  by  Stanley- 
Warner  executives.  The  zoning  plan  formu¬ 
lated  a  few  seasons  back  was  introduced  as  part 
of  the  evidence.  Joe  Sloane  was  Warners’ 
attorney. 

Decision: 

Colney  and  Fern  Rock  overlap.  Colney  or 
Fern  Rock  to  have  a  maximum  of  seven  days’ 
clearance  on  following  theatres :  Felton,  Lind- 
ley.  Where  the  Fern  Rock  or  Colney  repeat 
on  each  other  the  maximum  clearance  to  be 
seven  days. 

Ambassador  Theatre  vs.  Benn  Theatre 
(SW)  and  others  so  affected. 

Ambassador  Theatre,  through  attorney 
Arthur  S.  Arnold  and  Joe  Forte,  sought  to 
show  that  house  used  to  receive  pictures  7  days 
after  52nd  Street  but  was  now  compelled  to 
wait  14  days.  Leonard  Schlesinger  testified  for 
Stanley- Warner,  with  Joe  Sloane  attorney. 

Decision: 

Final  decision  in  this  matter  was  reserved 
and  the  board  will  formulate  a  schedule  for 
the  West  Philadelphia  zones.  (Ed.  Note: 
Facts  are  now  being  secured  and  meeting  of 
West  Philadelphia  houses  will  be  called  within 
10  days.) 


Few  Consult  Dales 


Few  exhibitors  have  come  up  in  per¬ 
son  to  the  local  board  rooms  to  find  out 
when  a  picture  is  general  released.  Most 
of  the  exchanges  send  letters  regularly 
to  the  board  telling  when  a  show  has 
gotten  its  release  in  the  territory. 


Sidelights 

THREE  LOCAL  EXHIBITORS  have  written  to  the 
local  secretary  asserting  that  they  signed  the  local  peti¬ 
tion  against  premiums  under  a  misapprehension.  They 
ask  that  their  signatures  be  dropped.  Board  secretary 
has  advised  them  that  this  power  is  not  included  under 
the  code  provisions  and  it  is  a  question  whether  any 
names  can  be  dropped  when  once  signed. 

GRIEVANCE  BOARD  is  expected  to  pass  on  petition 
for  banning  of  premiums  in  Norristown,  Conshohocken 
and  Bridgeport  area  soon. 

REZONING  of  West  Philadelphia  is  expected  to  result 
in  a  big  turnout  inasmuch  as  several  of  the  clearance 
complaints  affect  theatres  in  that  district. 

LOU  LINKER  was  chairman  at  the  Fern  Rock  hear¬ 
ing,  with  Harry  Weiner  taking  the  toga  during  the  Am¬ 
bassador  case. 

ARTHUR  S.  ARNOLD,  prominent  lawyer,  scored  sev¬ 
eral  times  with  what  were  considered  to  be  some  neat 
observations. 

NO.  1  MAN  sartorially  is  still  Leonard  Schlesinger. 
The  white  suit  seems  to  get  the  preference.  Charles 
Segall  has  now  taken  second  place,  disposing  Harry 
Weiner  who  drops  to  third.  Runners-up  include  Lewen 
Pizor,  who  always  wears  the  same  suit,  and  Charlie 
Zagrans,  a  dark  horse. 

C.  FLOYD  HOPKINS,  Wilmer  and  Vincent,  was  an 
alternate  at  the  June  22  hearing.  He  entered  into  the 
discussion  several  times. 

A  CROWDED  HOUSE  attended  the  June  22  session, 
with  the  meetings  attracting  more  and  more  attention. 


More  Impartials  Named 

Additional  alternates  named  for  the  local 
boards  include:  Alfred  Sayres,  West  Jersey 
Trust  Company,  Camden,  N.  J.;  Carroll  H. 
Deshon,  Philadelphia,  and  Henry  August,  CPA, 
Philadelphia. 

All  prominent  locally. 


Engel  on  Board 

Joe  Engel,  Universal  branch  manager,  suc¬ 
ceeds  Mike  Landow  as  a  member  of  the  griev¬ 
ance  board. 

Landow  has  resigned,  owing  to  his  departure 
from  the  industry. 


THE 

BOARD  SECRETARY’S 
CORNER 

■— i— I,.  —  By  Basil  M.  Ziegler  ■ 

(All  material  included  here  has  been  written  by 
the  secretary  of  the  local  boards  for  the  benefit  of 
exhibitor  readers.  His  clarification  will  help  under- 
stand  the  workings  of  the  local  boards. — Editor.) 

New  Procedure  For  Relief 

THE  APPOINTMENT  of  the  members  of 
the  grievance  board  to  act  as  a  Local  Indus¬ 
trial  Adjustment  Agency  now  supplies  an 
opportunity  for  relief  and  adjustment  of  diffi¬ 
culties  by  a  more  rapid  procedure  than  has  been 
possible  in  the  past  in  such  cases  as  were  re¬ 
served  for  certification  to  the  Code  Authority 
for  determination. 

The  procedure,  until  now,  could  be  roughly 
divided  into  four  groups.  Matters  pertaining 
to  clearance  and  zoning  were,  and  still  are, 
brought  upon  a  special  form  and  heard  by  the 
clearance  and  zoning  board,  which  also  hears 
petitions  to  set  up  zones  for  premium  voting. 

The  grievance  board  heard,  and  continues  to 
hear,  complaints  where  exhibitors  are  deprived 
of  a  sufficient  number  of  pictures  to  operate  his 
theatre.  This  complaint  is  brought  upon  the 
“white”  form. 

The  “pink”  form  specifically  covers  six  other 
code  violations,  to  wit : 

(1)  Unfair  competition  concerning  non-the¬ 
atrical  enterprises, 

(2)  Refusal  of  fair  adjustment  of  license 
fees  by  distributors, 

(3)  Adjustment  of  designated  percentage 
dates, 

(4)  Reduced  admissions,  both  as  to  an¬ 
nounced  prices,  and  prices  specified  in  license 
contract, 

(5)  Transfering  of  theatre  ownership  or 
operation, 

(6)  Premature  advertising. 

All  the  foregoing  complaints  and  methods  of 
relief  are  definitely  specified  in  the  code.  Article 
VI,  part  2,  section  4,  however,  is  the  “catch-all” 
clause  in  the  sense  that  it  provides  for  all  other 
complaints  of  exhibitors  or  distributors.  Gener¬ 
ally  speaking,  anything  else  which  might  be 
deemed  as  unfair  competition,  comes  before  the 
grievance  board  on  the  “blue”  form.  What 


Impartial  Representative  Thinks  Boards  Fair 


(How  do  the  impartial  representatives  feel  about  the  code?  This  question,  placed  before  the 
local  federal-appointed  members  of  the  boards,  has  received  the  following  answer.  Exhibitors 
would  do  well  to  analyze  the  reaction .) 

Raymond  Rau  (clearance  and  zoning) - 

As  an  impartial  representative  of  the  government,  it  has  been  my  privilege 
to  attend  all  the  regularly  scheduled  meetings  of  the  local  clearance  and  zoning 
board,  and  upon  several  occasions  to  act  in  a  similar  capacity  for  the  local 
grievance  board.  My  associations  with  the  members  of  both  boards  and  their 
alternates  have  been  most  interesting  and  pleasant,  and  their  deliberations  and 
decisions  have  convinced  me  of  their  sincerity  of  purpose  and  desire  to  be  fair 
at  all  times. 

These  men  are  continuously  mindful  of  their  duties  and  oaths  of  office, 
and  from  my  observations,  I  feel  they  are  playing  an  important  part  in  the 
motion  picture  industry.  Any  exhibitor,  large  or  small,  need  feel  no  hesi¬ 
tancy  in  presenting  a  complaint,  whether  it  be  grievance  or  clearance  as  he 
will  be  given  every  opportunity  to  state  his  case  and  can  rest  assured  that  he 
will  be  accorded  fair  and  just  treatment. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Jul  1  ’ 34 


13 


Catch 

them 

WHEN 

THEY'RE 

"SHOW 

SHOPPING" 

Nowadays,  people  shop  for  amuse- 
1  ;  merits.  They  know  what  movie 
!  they  want  to  see.  They  know 
j  what  star  they  want  to  see.  And 
!  in  Philadelphia,  they  do  their 
shopping  in  The  Record’s  Amuse- 
I  ment  Directory. 

This  first  and  only  complete 
amusement  guide  in  Philadelphia 
reaches  200,000  people  daily, 
300,000  on  Sunday.  For  only  30 
cents  a  day  you  can  tell  them 
who’s  playing  in  what  at  your 
theatre.  A  longer  listing  costs 
but  15  cents  a  line  more. 


these  complaints  may  be  I  will  not  here  enum¬ 
erate,  but  they  are  varied  and  fairly  large  in 
number.  The  grievance  board,  however,  does 
not  determine  them,  but  after  a  hearing  sends 
the  complaint  to  the  code  authority  in  New 
York  for  determination,  unless  the  board  be¬ 
lieves  the  complaint  without  merit,  and  dismisses 
it.  An  appeal  can  be  taken,  however. 

This  may  mean  a  delay,  in  view  of  the  fact 
that  the  Code  Authority  is  swamped  with  appeals. 

To  overcome  this  delay,  such  miscellaneous 
complaints  other  than  those  specifically  set 
forth  in  the  preceding  paragraphs,  (those 
brought  on  the  “blue”  form  for  certification  to 
New  York)  may  now  be  brought  on  the  new 
B-4  form  as  an  adjustment  agency  matter.  Al¬ 
though  the  grievance  board  sits  on  these  cases, 
it  is  not  to  be  assumed  that  the  new  form  super¬ 
sedes  or  replaces  the  old  “blue”  form.  The 
complainant  can  choose  whichever  procedure 
he  desires. 

Under  the  new  form  and  procedure,  the 
board  effects  an  adjustment  somewhat  similar  to 
arbitration.  If  the  adjustment  cannot  be  made, 
the  matter  is  then  sent  to  New  York,  with  the 
recommendation  of  the  board.  In  any  event, 
the  same  right  of  appeal  exists  as  in  other 
complaints. 

The  main  object  is  that  it  is  now  possible 
to  get  prompt  adjustment  of  any  difficulty  be¬ 
fore  the  local  board  with  the  exception  of  labor 
disputes  and  practices  concerning  production  or 
vaudeville  presentation.  These  latter  still  go 
to  the  Code  Authority  in  New  York  for  original 
hearing.  _ 

Grievance  Picks  Up 

Business  with  the  grievance  board  picked  up 
this  weekend  when  five  grievance  cases  were 
scheduled.  One  exhibitor  filed  three  grievance 
issues  and  one  clearance  protest. 

Two  other  exhibitors  filed  grievance  contests 
as  well. 

First  will  probably  be  heard  July  5. 


The  RECORD 

Amusement  Directory 


offers  you  the  most  economical 
form  of  advertising  ever  presented 
to  Philadelphia  theatre-owners. 
Today  it  carries  the  listings  of 
most  theatres  in  the  Philadelphia 
district.  Does  it  carry  yours? 
If  not,  you’re  missing  an  un¬ 
equalled  opportunity  to  place  your 
attraction  before  actual  amuse¬ 
ment  buyers  at  the  very  moment 
when  they  are  choosing  their 
amusement.  To  insert  your  ad, 
just  call 


PHILADELPHIA 

RECORD 

CLASSIFIED  DEPARTMENT 

WALNUT  3  3  0  0 


Hays  on  Clean  Films 


Will  H.  Hays,  president,  Motion  Pic¬ 
ture  Producers  and  Distributors  of 
America,  Inc.,  has  made  the  following 
statement: 

“At  the  quarterly  meeting  of  the 
board  of  directors  of  the  Motion  Picture 
Producers  and  Distributors  of  America, 
Inc.,  action  was  taken  to  amend  its  sys¬ 
tem  of  self-regulation  in  order  to  elimi¬ 
nate  appeals  from  the  decisions  of  the 
production  code  administration  to  the 
jury  of  producers  in  Hollywood.  Addi¬ 
tional  local  authority  has  been  assigned 
to  the  production  code  administration  in 
Hollywood,  of  which  Joseph  I.  Breen  is 
the  director,  and  the  personnel  will  be 
amplified.  Any  appeal  from  the  deci¬ 
sion  of  the  production  code  administra¬ 
tion  rests,  only  with  the  board  of  direc¬ 
tors  of  the  Motion  Picture  Producers 
and  Distributors  of  America  in  New 
York,  which  assumes  final  responsibility 
for  the  character  of  the  pictures  to  be 
made. 

“There  is  but  one  answer  and  one 
answer  only  to  reasonable  objections  to 
pictures,  and  that  is  the  pictures  them¬ 
selves.  It  is  recognized  that  the  solution 
of  the  problem  of  the  right  kind  of  screen 
entertainment  rests  solely  with  the 
quality  of  the  product  and  these 
strengthened  arrangements  are  directed 
to  discharging  that  responsibility  more 
effectively.” 


PHOTOPHONE 


OFFERING  YOU: 


•  A  Sound  Box  Office 
Attraction 

•  Complete  Ownership 

•  A  Self-Liquidating 
Investment 


★ 


PHOTOPHONE  DIVISION 

RCA  VICTOR  COMPANY,  Inc. 

Camden,  N.  J. 

A  Radio  Corporation  of  America  Subsidiary 


14 


Jul  1’34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


FAMILIAR  FACES  ARE  SEEN  in  “Orders  is  Orders,”  with  Jimmy  Gleason  and  Charlotte 
Greenwood,  “Channel  Crossing,”  with  Constance  Cummings  and  Anthony  Bushell,  and 
“Friday  the  13th,”  all  from  Gaumont  British.  Sam  Rosen  is  the  local  representative. 


Heard  In 

O  R  K 

York  Theatre 
Is  Picketed 


HARRY  TRAVIS’  Sunday  movies  at  the 
Majestic,  Gettysburg,  were  short  lived.  .  .  . 
He  was  “requested1'  by  the  borough  burgess  to 
discontinue  them.  .  .  .  Sky  Beam,  powerful 
projector,  was  introduced  to  Yorkers  June  23, 
plugging  “Manhattan  Melodrama.”  .  .  .  Huge 
projector  operated  by  a  400,000,000  candle 
power  light  projects  pictures  on  tall  office  build¬ 
ings,  and,  if  cloudy,  on  the  clouds.  .  .  .  Bill 
Israel,  district  manager  and  Cleon  Miller, 
Strand,  who  were  instrumental  in  bringing  the 
projector  to  York,  got  the  run  of  the  city 
with  it,  when  they  promised  the  mayor  to  plug 
his  safety  campaign  being  conducted  in  contest 
with  13  other  communities.  .  .  .  Bob  Miller, 
Ritz,  left  an  indelible  impression  on  his  audi¬ 
ences  with  his  novelty  trailer  on  the  start  of 
“The  Vanishing  Shadow.” 

OPEN  LESS  than  a  week,  J.  W.  Richley 
got  into  trouble  with  the  unions  at  his  York, 
and  ran  into  picketing  and  newspaper  ads 
announcing  to  the  theatre  patrons  of  the  city 
that  the  York  was  unfair  to  union  labor.  .  .  . 
Richley  went  into  the  papers  with  a  denial  of 
any  labor  troubles  at  the  theatre,  but  theatre 
is  still  being  picketed.  .  .  .  Rickley  employs 
no  union  members  at  his  theatre. 

YORK  THEATRE  turned  them  away  on 
June  15,  when  it  was  opened  to  the  public  by 
J.  W.  Richley.  .  .  .  He  stressed  to  his  public 
the  fact  that  he  has  first  run  Fox  pictures,  and 
his  prices  are  scaled  below  those  of  first  run 
houses.  .  .  .  Richley  presented  special  show¬ 
ings  for  prominent  citizens  and  newspaper  men. 
.  .  .  Sidney  Poppay,  Rialto,  got  the  local  post 
of  the  American  Legion  in  back  of  “War’s 
End/’’  and  the  drum  corps,  in  full  uniform 
staged  a  short  street  parade,  ending  at  the  the¬ 
atre  the  first  night  the  picture  was  shown. 


Younger  Managers  and 
Assistants  to  Organize 

Rising  Generation  Seeks  Exchange 

of  Ideas,  Methods 

Organization  of  younger  theatre  man¬ 
agers  and  assistants  into  a  group  which 
can  exchange  ideas  and  methods  is  being 
advocated  by  several  of  rising  theatre 
generation  around  town. 

THE  EXHIBITOR  has  been  asked  to  help 
advance  the  idea  as  a  common  forum  for  such 
exchange.  It  is  planned  also  to  have  get- 
togethers  and  other  meetings  for  common  pur¬ 
pose. 

Among  those  helping  further  the  cause  are 
Perry  Lessy,  Diamond ;  Jack  Litto,  Eureka ; 
Walt  Potamkin,  Cedar. 

Those  interested  are  asked  to  get  in  touch 
with  any  of  the  trio  or  this  office  for  further 
details. 

Such  evidence  of  a  desire  to  teach  each 
other  is  certainly  to  be  encouraged. 


THE  HIRSH  FAMILY  was  present  at  the 
bar  mitzvah  held  June  24  at  the  home  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Caplan  in  honor  of  their  son  Joseph. 
.  .  .  Dave  Hirsh  was  an  outstanding  light  with 
others  of  the  Hirsh  Amusement  Company 
plenty  in  evidence.  .  .  .  Even  Esther  Diamond 
hopped  in  with  her  boy  friend.  .  .  .  And  the 
only  question  that  hasn’t  been  answered  is  who 
is  going  to  teach  brother  Martie  how  to  dance 
the  Carioca? 

GEORGE  KLINE  and  the  wife  are  going 
to  Hollywood  and  California  for  4  weeks. 
.  .  .  Who  is  the  exchange  manager’s  assist¬ 
ant  who  parked  herself  in  the  lap  of  a  promi¬ 
nent  downtown  manager? 


Heard  In 


M 


I  D  -  J  E  R  S  EY 


Boycott  Hurts 
the  Biz 


BOYCOTT  is  in  force  in  Trenton.  .  .  . 
Managers  aver  that  business  has  dropped  amaz¬ 
ingly.  .  .  .  New  Brunswick  Presbyterian 

General  Assembly,  representing  forty-three 
churches  of  Trenton  district,  adopted  resolu¬ 
tions  of  protest  against  showing  of  salacious 
pictures.  .  .  .  State,  Trenton,  operated  last 

season  by  O.  D.  Wilkinson,  is  scheduled  for 
re-opening  in  September  with  dramatic  stock. 
.  .  .  Gaiety,  Trenton,  is  picketed,  managers 
and  operators  union  being  unable  to  reach 
agreement. 

GLASSBORO  THEATRE,  Glassboro,  N.  J., 
has  been  leased  to  the  Pitman  Amusement 
Company.  .  .  .  S.  C.  McRee  is  no  longer 
connected  with  the  theatre.  .  .  Change 
is  effective  now. 


QUITE  A  NUMBER  of  exhibitors  are  dick¬ 
ering  for  the  Atlantic  City  Aldine.  .  .  .  Exhib¬ 
itors  from  Harrisburg  and  Atlantic  City  have 
been  interested.  ...  In  the  middle  of  July,  the 
news  will  be  divulged.  .  .  .  Alterations  start 
at  that  time.  .  .  .  One  AC  exhib  is  in  the  lead, 
on  an  option.  .  .  .  Iz  Hirschblond,  Toms  River, 
N.  J.,  was  host  to  Ocean  City  kids  when  he 
brought  them  to  the  A  s  ball  park  to  see  the 
ball  game.  .  .  .  Lew  Rovner  supporting  the 
fights.  _ 

Stanley  Suit  Dismissed 

Anti-monopoly  suit  of  the  Stanley  Company 
of  America  against  Electrical  Research  Pro¬ 
ducts,  Inc.,  was  dismissed  on  stipulation  of 
counsel  without  prejudice  by  Judge  John  P. 
Nields  in  United  States  District  Court,  Wil¬ 
mington.  It  was  expected  that  the  royalties 
suit  of  Vitaphone  Corporation  against  Erpi, 
pending  in  Chancery  Court  and  which  has  been 
settled,  would  be  dismissed  later. 


IT’S  A  BOY  at  the  Dick  Belbers  (Walt 
Whitman).  .  .  .  Dancing:  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wil¬ 
liam  Wolf,  Esther  Diamond  and  a  non-pro.  .  .  . 
Leonard  Schlesinger  knocking  the  ball  around. 
.  .  .  Jack  Greenberg  to  Stone  Harbor  quite 
often.  ...  Si  Cohen,  Roxy,  hooked  for  a  lunch 
by  two  ladies.  .  .  .  Jack  Howard  Smith,  Jr., 
gave  his  old  man’s  office  the  once  over.  .  .  . 
Charmed  all  the  lassies.  .  .  .  J.  V.  Schreck 
brought  his  son  down.  .  .  .  Iz  Hirshblond  a 
semi-nudist.  .  .  .  Joe  Sloan  parading  Chest¬ 
nut  Street  with  a  faraway  look.  .  .  .  Clara 
Kraftsow  hiding  behind  dark  glasses.  .  .  .  Too 
much  AC  sun.  .  .  .Eleanor  Cohen,  daughter  of 
Cohen,  married  last  Sunday.  .  .  .  A1  Cohen  an 
usher.  .  .  .  Lillian  Rosentoor  and  Rita  Kandel 
going  on  the  water-way  soon. 


TRIPLY  PERSONAL 

Vacation  Season 
Starts  Here 


ELWOOD  RUBIN,  manager,  Comerford'‘s 
Keystone,  Williamsport  was  married,  June  24, 
in  Jefferson  Manor,  Eroad  Street,  to  Miss  Doris 
Rubinsky,  sister  of  Mark  Rubinsky.  .  .  .  Latter 
is  manager  of  Tremont,  Tremont,  and  also 
Roxy,  Nesquehoning.  .  .  .  They  will  live  in 
Williamsport.  .  .  .  Rubin  has  worked  in  Shen¬ 
andoah,  Wilkes-Barre  and  Williamsport. 


OFFSTAGE  THEY  REST  on  the  Universal  lot,  with  Russ  Columbo,  Margaret  Sullavan, 
Frank  Morgan  and  others. 


to  all  of  our  Exhibitor 
Friends  in  the  territory 


Through  your  loyal  support,  coopera¬ 
tion  and  friendship,  the  Philadelphia  Office  was  right  up  among 
the  leaders  in  our  recent  National  Date  Drive.  We  know  we 
couldn’t  have  won  our  prizes  without  you  and  we’re  grateful. 
We  know  you  feel  pretty  good  about  it,  too  —  for  you  made 
money  with  the  “Ace”  Product  we  delivered. 


We’re  just  back  from  the  Convention  and  well  be  around  to 
show  you  the  biggest  line-up  that  our  company  ever  attempted. 
Clean,  entertaining  pictures  with  a  big  BOX  OFFICE  “SOCK.” 
Pictures  like  " The  Little  Minister "  " The  Forsyte  Saga"  "The  Age 
of  Innocence"  "The  Last  Days  of  Pompeii"  "She"  "Anne  of  Green 
Gables"  "Alien  Corn" 

"Roberta"  "The  Fountain" 

"The  Gay  Divorce"  Frank 
Buck’s  "Jungle"  "Laddie" 

"Freckles" and  many  others. 


Frank  McNamee 

and  the  RKO  Gang 


Jul  1’34  pg.  16 


WILL  OPEN  ITS  1934-35  SEASON 
WITH  THESE  TWO  BIG  , 


DARRYL  F.  ZANUGK  PRODUCTIONS 

PRESENTED  BY  JOSEPH  M .  S  C  H  E  N  C  K 


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JULY  20 


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18 


Jul  1 T  34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


BETTER  TESTED  SUCCESSFUL 

MANAGEMENT  *  ideas  *  merchandising 


Warners  Offer 
Prizes  on  “Clown” 

Who  is  the  modern  Barnum  of  the 
show  business?  Warner  Bros,  are  going 
to  pay  $250  to  find  out !  They  are  offer¬ 
ing  this  amount  of  prize  money  for  the 
best  campaigns  on  “The  Circus  Clown,” 
starring  Joe  E.  Brown. 

Because  the  picture  is  really  a  circus  in  itself 
and  features  a  group  of  prominent  circus  per¬ 
formers  led  by  “Poodles”  Hanneford,  Warners 
feel  it  will  put  the  exhibitors  in  the  Big-Top 
business  for  the  duration  of  the  run.  The  com¬ 
pany  offers  an  unusual  opportunity  for  real 
circus  ballyhoo  and  exploitation,  with  the  fea¬ 
ture  to  be  sold  more  as  a  circus  than  as  a  film. 
Awards  will  be  made  to  theatre  owners  or  man¬ 
agers  who  take  the  best  advantage  of  these 
novel  promotion  possibilities  in  their  campaigns. 

“The  Circus  Clown”  was  nationally  released 
June  30  and  the  prize  money  will  be  split  up  as 
follows:  First  prize,  $100;  second,  $50;  third, 
$25 ;  fourth  to  seventh,  $10  each,  and  eighth  to 
fourteenth,  $5  each. 


S-W  Midiveeks  Click 

Special  mid-week  kid  shows  at  S-W 
nabes  have  been  clicking. 

Circuit  has  been  receiving  a  lot  of 
phone  calls  from  parents  wanting  to 
know  where  shows  were  and  what  was 
playing.  Westerns,  shorts,  etc. 


Crime  for  “Rookie” 

“How  would  you  deal  with  the  Crime  Prob¬ 
lem?’’  was  the  subject  of  a  contest  for  movie 
fans  run  by  Girard  Wollaston,  manager  of  the 
Victoria  Theatre,  Harrisburg,  to  direct  atten¬ 
tion  to  “Fighting  Rookie.” 

Through  the  newspapers,  Manager  Wollas¬ 
ton  directed  contestants  to  explain  in  a  letter 
containing  no  more  than  100  words  how  they 
would  deal  with  the  crime  problem. 


Selection  of  judges  in  the  contest  is  A.  Mike 
Vogel,  Major  Albert  Warner,  vice-president, 
Warner  Bros.,  Charles  E.  (Clyck)  Lewis. 


Nowitsky  Entertains 

Manager  Nowitsky,  State,  Reading,  was  host 
to  1,600  people,  mostly  boys,  at  his  annual 
newsboys’  party.  Youngsters,  every  one,  re¬ 
quired  to  show  he  has  a  bank  account,  are 
rounded  up  every  year  by  Charles  E.  Kirlin, 
a  merchant  and  county  official  who  is  interested 
in  getting  youngsters  who  sell  papers  to  save 
their  money  and  to  start  bank-accounts. 


Penner  Imitations 

Harry  Lambert,  manager,  Colonial,  Harris¬ 
burg,  probably  had  more  fun  than  anyone  else 
out  of  a  Joe  Penner  contest  he  ran  recently 
for  children  between  the  ages  of  4  and  14  years. 

The  children  were  instructed  through  the 
newspapers  to  register  at  the  theatre  for  the 
contest  in  which  they  were  to  appear  on  the 
Colonial  stage  and  give  their  best  imitations  of 
Joe  Penner. 


Teaser  “Thin  Man” 

An  unusual  bit  of  advertising  appeared  in 
Harrisburg  newspapers  during  run  at  Loews’ 
Regent,  Harrisburg,  of  “The  Thin  Man."  Man¬ 
ager  Charles  McLeary,  author  of  the  ad, 
aroused  the  curiosity  of  theatregoers  with  the 
following : 

“Please  Don’t  Tell.  We  want  to  ask  two 
favors  of  you  .  .  .  please.  After  you  have  seen 
'The  Thin  Man’  at  Loew’s,  there  are  two  things 
we  ask  you  not  to  do,  etc.” 


G-B  Drive 


Gaumont-British,  with  Sam  Rosen  in 
charge  here,  is  distributing,  currently, 
a  series  of  12  pictures,  some  with  Amer¬ 
ican  stars.  The  list  includes  “Orders  is 
Orders,”  “Channel  Crossing,”  “Along 
Came  Sally,”  “Dick  Turpin,”  “Just 
Smith,”  “Friday  the  13th,”  “The  Mur¬ 
der  Party,”  “The  Woman  in  Command,” 
“The  Arson  Ring,”  “What!  A  Boy?” 
“Sleeping  Car,”  “Strike.”  In  addition, 
four  others  include  “The  Ghoul,”  “Live 
in  Morocco,”  “Waltz  Time,”  and  “The 
Ghost  Train.” 


PLENTY  OF 
PUNCH.  Endors¬ 
ed  by  leading  or¬ 
ganizations  every¬ 
where,  “Y  o  u  n  g 
Eagle  s,”  new 
serial  from  First 
Division,  is  a  grip¬ 
ping  action  tale 
that  will  pull  in 
old  and  young. 


The  FINEST  SERVICE  on  FILM  ROW ! 


SPECIAL  RATES  TO  FILM  PEOPLE: 

Parking  All  Day  ........ 

High  Pressure  Washing  (any  type  car)  85c 

TOW-CAR  SERVICE  —  ANY  PLACE  —  ANY  TIME 


APEX  GARAGE 

249-51-53  I*.  JUNIPER  STREET  •  250-52-54  N.  CLARION  STREET 

Phone:  LOCUST  8604  -  -  PHILADELPHIA 
Becker  Bros.,  Props. 

Road  Service  to  Patrons  -  Mechanic  Always  on  Duty  -  Never  dosed 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Jul  1’34 


19 


YOU  CAN  SHOO 

Mr.  Sum.  R.  Blues 


Increase  your  income 
during  the 


HOT  WEATHER 


with  a 


BERLO 

CANDY  VENDOR 

“Ask  Your 
Fellow  Exhibitor ” 


Get  in  touch  with: 

GEO.  P.  AARONS 

301  N.  13th  Street 

LOCUST  4245 


OR  CALL  POPLAR  6011 

BERLO 

VENDING 

COMPANY 

1518  N.  Broad  St.,  Phila. 

Specializing  in  Candy 
Vending  Equipment 
for  the  Theatre  Trade! 


NEW  YORK  BALTIMORE 

SCRANTON  WASHINGTON 

ALLENTOWN  CLEVELAND 

PITTSBURGH  CINCINNATI 


“Young  Eagles”  Has 
Endorsement  of  Mayors 

“Young  Eagles,”  new  serial  distributed 
by  First  Division,  is  being  launched  with 
endorsement  of  mayors  in  practically  all 
cities  where  it  is  being  shown. 

Owing  to  these  endorsements,  a  special 
trailer,  plugging  the  personal  okay  of  the 
mayor,  is  run  in  advance  of  the  first  episode, 
with  a  letter  from  the  mayor. 

These  endorsement  trailers  are  being  supplied 
by  the  local  First  Division  exchange  upon 
receipt  of  approval  from  the  mayor. 

Civic  heads  are  going  for  the  tie-up  because 
the  show  has  Boy  Scout  endorsement  and  is 
100%  clean. 

The  tie-up  should  prove  of  enormous  value  to 
all  theatres  who  intend  to  play  the  serial  as  it  is 
a  pre-selling  idea  that  benefits  the  community 
and  the  theatre. 


Selling  Audio 

G.  R.  O’Neill,  well  known  in  the  trade,  is 
responsible  for  an  attractive  and  convincing 
salesbook  on  the  possibilities  of  commercial 
films  produced  by  Audio  Productions,  Inc., 
sponsored  by  Western  Electric,  the  organization 
lists  among  its  customers  some  of  the  leading 
commercial  units  in  the  country. 

The  advertising  book  deserves  a  lot  of  credit. 


Delaware  Charters 

William  Goldman  Theatres,  Inc.  Operate 
theatres  and  places  of  amusement.  100  shares, 
no  par  value. 

United  Artists’  Corporation  de  Venezuela. 
Deal  in  motion  picture  films  and  etc.  1,000 
shares,  no  par  value. 


Permanent  Print 


The  story  is  going  the  rounds  that  a 
print  of  “House  of  Rothschild,”  from 
United  Artists,  is  assigned  permanently 
to  Atlantic  City.  Shore  resort  has  re¬ 
peated  the  show  several  times  on  the 
Avenue  and  on  the  walk  with  business 
nearly  approaching  the  sensational. 
What  with  the  throngs  coming  there 
during  the  summer  and  the  turnover,  it  is 
believed  likely  that  the  show  will  set  a 
new  record  for  repeat  engagements  to 
big  business. 


Up  Hills 

and  Down - 


^.the  never  failing  ar¬ 
teries  of  the  local  industry 

^carrying  the  box  office 
lifeblood  of  more  than 
1 200  theatres 

carrying  the  ''show" 
safely  and  on  time 

Horlacher’s 
Trucks  Roll! 


HORLACHER 

DELIVERY  SERVICE,  Inc. 

1228  Vine  St.,  Philadelphia 
HEW  YORK 
SCRANTON 
BALTIMORE 
WASHINGTON 


SENTRY  serviced  SAFETY  CONTROL 


Many  theatre  owners  weigh  the  matter  of  Safety  as  it  suits  them. 
PLAINLY  THIS  IS  ALL  WRONG.  In  Safety  there  is  no  half-way  meas¬ 
ure  with  the  Public.  The  Public  would  not  consider  it  safe  if  you  decide 
to  do  without  a  Serviced  Safety  Device  on  your  projectors.  The  Public 
would  think  with  horror  if  you  tried  to  economize  by  buying  Safety  equip¬ 
ment  without  a  service,  and  the  fact  that,  in  your  theatre,  the  Public 
has  not  yet  inquired  as  to  the  measure  of  Safety  that  you  are  giving  them — 
THAT  DOES  NOT  MEAN  THAT  THEY  CAN  BE  DECEIVED. 


SENTRY  SAFETY  CONTROL  CORP. 


10th  ST.  and  ALLEGHENY  AVE. 
PHILADELPHIA,  PENNA. 


Sentry  Safety  Controls  Listed  as  Standard  by  National  Fire  Underwriters  Laboratories 


20 


Jul  1 T  34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


WIFE  HAS  A  PROBLEM  in  “Dr.  Monica,”  what  with  Warren  William,  as  the  husband, 
and  Jean  Muir,  as  the  other  woman,  tangling  up  Kay  Francis,  from  Warners. 


With  the  MPTO  and  IEPA 


(Editor’s  Note — With  the  local  territory  apparently  in  for  a  permanent  two-organization  set-up , 
it  behooves  each  and  every  exhibitor  to  follow  the  movements  of  each  group.  The  Exhibitor  holds 
no  brief  for  either  side.  Although  it  is  the  official  organ  of  the  MPTO ,  its  columns  are  open 
equally  to  both.  The  Exhibitor  feels  that  if  one  organization,  in  the  past,  has  accomplished  so 
much,  perhaps  two  will  accomplish  double.) 


MPTO 

Issued  a  statement  attacking  a  recent  circu¬ 
lar  announcing  an  open  meeting  of  the  IEPA. 

Announced  a  few  months  ago  its  intention 
to  secure  permanent  quarters  and  club  rooms. 

Held  a  caucus  meeting  of  some  leading  MPTO 
members. 

Scheduled  June  28  session  of  all  paid-up 
members  at  Adelphia  Hotel,  with  Ed  Kuy¬ 
kendall,  MPTO  A  president,  as  leading 
speaker 

Announced  leasing  of  new  quarters  in  Vine 
Street. 

Elected  new  officers  for  the  new  season. 
(See  page  8.) 

Announced  possibilities  of  new  action  on 
the  music  tax. 


IEPA 

Held  an  open  meeting  at  the  Broadwood 
Hotel,  June  18.  Elected  officers. 

Placed  a  sign  in  front  of  the  old  Tiffany- 
Stahl  building,  Vine  Street,  announcing  it  as 
future  home  of  organization. 

Held  a  meeting  of  its  members  at  Broadwood 
Hotel,  June  26. 

Held  at  least  two  meetings  with  Catholic 
clergy  here  to  explain  position  of  indepen¬ 
dent  theatres  in  ban. 

Raised  $2500  in  cash  to  help  finance  future 
movements  of  body. 

Again  conferred  on  Catholic  boycott. 

Appointed  exhibitor  committee  to  visit  ex¬ 
changes  to  confer  on  aims  of  the  organiza¬ 
tion. 


UPSTATE 


MAJESTIC  was  the  principal  point  of  con¬ 
centration  among  moviegoers  when  Manager 
Jack  O’Rear  had  the  fight  pictures.  .  .  .  Man¬ 
ager  Charlie  McLeary,  Loew’s  Regent,  Harris¬ 
burg,  had  the  Club  Lido  floor  show  transferred 
to  the  Loew  stage  for  one  performance.  .  .  . 
Manager  McLeary  held  his  annual  party  for 
marble  shooters  who  took  part  in  the  tourna¬ 
ment. 

WEEKS  ARE  BEING  split  by  managers  of 
the  Majestic,  Victoria  and  Colonial,  Harris¬ 
burg.  .  .  .  Closing  of  State  for  the  summer 
was  partially  responsible  for  surplus.  . 
Patrons  of  Rialto,  Harrisburg  neighborhood, 
are  enjoying  newly  installed  cooling  system. 
.  .  .  Miss  Genevieve  Funk  returned  to  her 


duties  as  cashier  at  the  Victoria,  Harrisburg. 
.  .  .  Mrs.  Paul  Weaver,  secretary  to  C. 

Floyd  Hopkins,  head,  Wilmer  and  Vincent 
interests,  Harrisburg,  left  this  week  on  vaca¬ 
tion. 


ATLANTIC  CITY 


SID  BLUMENSTOCK  with  Warner  houses 
in  Atlantic  City.  .  .  .  Warner  Theatre  opened 
with  “Dr.  Monica.”  .  .  .  Falcon  exploitation 
stunts  on  Steel  Pier  in  connection  with  “Con¬ 
vention  Girl”  a  tribute  to  A1  Thomas,  son  of 
Dave,  president,  Falcon.  .  .  .  Tryouts  crashed 
the  dailies,  thanks  to  the  interest  of  one  of  the 
district's  heiresses.  .  .  .  But  plenty  of  space 
was  realized.  .  .  .  Helped  Pier  business,  too. 
.  .  .  AC  daily  starting  EMO's  daily  broad¬ 
cast  in  script  form.  .  .  .  Probably  a  circula¬ 
tion-getter. 


WHO  DID  IT  is  the  problem  in  “Murder  on  the  Blackboard,’  from  Radio,  with  Edna  May 
Oliver,  James  Gleason,  Joel  McCrea  and  others. 


Around  the  Circuit 

with 

STANLEY-WARNER 

_ By  Harry  Goldberg _ 

WHO  SAID  “summer  slump?”  .  .  .  War¬ 
ner  boys  are  asking  no  quarter.  ...  Nor  are 
they  giving  any.  .  .  .  “Twenty  Million  Sweet¬ 
hearts”  is  rolling  up  swell  grosses  in  the  neigh¬ 
borhoods.  .  .  .  Stanley,  Camden,  for  "Twenty 
Million,”  tied  up  with  the  Camden  Courier  on 
a  Dick  Powell-Ginger  Rogers  “voice  contest” 
to  unearth  promising  radio  talent.  .  .  .  Marty 
Goldenberg  (Colonial)  dusted  off  the  fake 
money  stunt  and  passed  out  plenty  of  the  spur¬ 
ious  greenbacks  with  copy  reading  “20  Million 
Dollars  Worth  of  Fun  in  20  Million  Sweet¬ 
hearts.”  .  .  .  A1  Blumberg  played  up  broad¬ 
casting  angle  of  “20  Million”  at  Midway  with 
real  "mike”  hooked  up  in  lobby  so  patrons  could 
broadcast  their  own  voices.  .  .  .  Lee  Stahl- 
man  had  the  customers  around  the  Circle  com¬ 
menting  on  his  street  ballyhoo  on  “Viva  Villa.” 
.  .  .  four  huskies  dressed  as  caballeros  dis¬ 
tributing  heralds  as  they  rode  through  the 
Frankford  section  on  horseback.  .  .  .  And  on 
the  other  hand  don’t  think  that  Ben  (Broad¬ 
way)  Blumberg  didn’t  get  plenty  of  reaction 
from  his  patrons  with  a  jar  of  Mexican  jump¬ 
ing  beans  appropriately  tagged  with  “Villa" 
copy.  .  .  .  Earl  Bailey  (Uptown)  plugged  the 
Beery  film  with  a  classy  display  of  Mexican 
sombreros,  pottery,  woodwork.  .  .  .  School 

children  of  West  Philly  haven’t  forgotten  the 
thrill  that  “Mary”  the  rhino  of  “Tarzan  and 
His  Mate”  gave  them  when  Larry  Graver 
(Stanley)  exhibited  her  in  a  specially  con¬ 
structed  truck.  .  .  .  Lyric,  Camden,  trans¬ 

ferred  its  lobby  into  a  zoo  of  live  animals 
when  “Wild  Cargo”  played  its  initial  Jersey 
engagement.  .  .  .  Marty  Goldenberg  tied  the 
Colonial  in  on  a  “Wild  Cargo”  drawing  con¬ 
test  held  in  the  schools  in  his  neighborhood. 
.  .  .  Manager  Schaeffer  (Richmond)  brought 
extra  dollars  to  his  box-office  with  a  corking 
letter  to  his  Jewish  patrons  plugging  Molly 
Picon.  .  .  .  Roland  Haynes  made  Colney  kids 
happy  with  1500  jungle  games  he  promoted  for 
“Wild  Cargo.”  .  .  .  Roland  captains  the  War¬ 
ner  Club  baseball  team.  .  .  .  Larry  Graver 
does  the  master-minding  on  the  field.  .  .  .  He’s 
a  former  Boston  Red  Sox  executive.  .  .  . 

Marty  Aninsman  (Lindley)  effected  a  fine  tie- 
up  with  the  Evening  Ledger.  .  .  .  Paper  gave 
him  10,000  heralds  it  used  to  plug  its  “Harold 
Teen”  comic  strip.  .  .  .  Wilbur  Grant  has 

“sold”  himself  thoroughly  to  the  patrons  of  the 
Manor  Theatre.  .  .  .  Getting  editorial  praise 
for  his  good  work  on  the  Chester  pike.  .  .  . 
Credit  Manager  Stutenroth  (Holme)  with  a 
box-office  idea  in  arranging  to  have  the  gradu¬ 
ation  exercises  of  the  local  school  held  on  the 
stage  of  the  theatre.  .  .  .  Date  coincided  with 
the  opening  of  “Wild  Cargo’’’  and  the  school 
principal  urged  the  youngsters  to  see  the  film. 

.  .  .  Liberty  (Tacony)  has  a  great  “in”  with 
the  factories  of  the  Northeast  through  the 
efforts  of  Manager  Huffman.  .  .  .  Arranged 
with  factory  executives  for  the  insertion  of  a 
small  program  into  each  payroll  envelope 
weekly.  “Sweetened”  the  stunt  by  giving  sev¬ 
eral  passes  to  be  slipped  in  different  envelopes. 

.  .  .  Now  all  the  employees  look  forward  to 
getting  the  program.  .  .  .  Iz  Weirnik  (Sedg¬ 
wick)  crashes  through  with  the  first  June  wed¬ 
ding  to  he  held  on  the  stage  of  a  Warner  house. 

.  .  .  Valuable  gifts  for  both  bride  and  groom 
w  re  presented  to  the  lucky  couple.” 

MID-WEEK  matinees  getting  lots  of  atten¬ 
tion  from  mothers  in  the  neighborhoods.  .  .  . 
Special  programs  being  arranged  with  attend¬ 
ance  encouraging.  .  .  .  Boys  starting  to  go  on 
vacations.  ...  To  get  set  for  the  big  push  in 
the  fall. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Jul  1'34 


21 


Heard  In 

ILKES-BARRE 

Elliger  Here 
For  Galvin 

_ By  Mac _ 

J.  E.  ELLIGER  has  been  assigned  to  manage 
the  Penn  while  John  Galvin  is  on  leave  of 
absence.  .  .  .  Elliger  came  to  Wilkes-Barre 
from  Scranton  where  he  was  in  charge  of  the 
Riviera.  .  .  .  Before  joining  the  Comerfords, 
he  was  with  Stanley  Theatre  Company.  .  .  . 
He  claims  Harrisburg  for  a  birth  place  and 
launched  his  career  as  publicity  director  of  the 
Wilmer  and  Vincent  Theatres.  .  .  .  Motion 
pictures  have  been  launched  on  the  playgrounds 
with  regular  talkie  equipment  and  have  been 
well  received,  according  to  indications  at  Frank¬ 
lin  Field,  where  the  first  program  was  given 
with  1,000  present.  .  .  .  Nuangola  is  to  have  a 
new  theatre  early  in  July.  .  .  .  William  Bal- 
lient,  the  contractor,  is  rushing  work,  so  it  will 
be  complete  for  Independence  Day  crowds  that 
are  expected  at  the  resort.  .  .  .  Theatre,  which 
is  owned  by  Perry  and  Foster  Storm,  resort 
merchants,  will  have  a  seating  capacity  of  350. 
.  .  .  “Harold  Teen’’  played  at  the  Rex,  Nan- 
ticoke,  for  the  benefit  of  the  kiddies.  .  .  . 
Children  of  St.  Stanislaus  orphanage  were 
guests.  ...  A  Pop  Eye  Club  has  been  organ¬ 
ized  by  Bill  Roberts  at  the  Shawnee,  Plymouth, 
with  the  co-operation  of  the  Plymouth  depart¬ 
ment  of  The  Evening  Neivs. 

ONE  OF  THE  MOST  novel  tie-ups  here 
is  the  offer  of  free  theatre  tickets  by  a  local 
dentist  to  children  whose  teeth  are  found 
perfect  upon  examination.  .  Luzerne 

County  Democratic  League  has  entered  into 
a  lease  with  the  Comerford  Amusement  Com- 


READING 


WILMER  &  VINCENT'S  EMBASSY, 
Reading,  was  the  first  to  show  fight  pictures. 
.  .  .  Feature  of  the  showing  was  the  large 
number  of  women  admirers  of  Baer  who 
wanted  to  see  the  pictures.  ...  It  gave  Man¬ 
ager  Paul  E.  Glase  an  idea  that  hereafter 
women  patrons  may  be  just  as  much  interested 
in  seeing  screening  of  fights  as  men  are,  espe¬ 
cially  if  one  of  the  big  slappers  is  a  ladies’  man. 
.  .  .  Thus  far  Reading  theatres  have  not  been 
under  fire  by  the  Catholic  clergy  or  pastors  of 
other  churches,  on  charges  of  showing  salacious 
pictures.  .  .  .  One  reason  for  quiet  in  the  dis¬ 
trict  is  that  managers  have  refrained  from 
playing  up  features  of  this  kind  in  advertising. 


LEHIGH  VALLEY 


LEE  LEVY  returned  to  his  duties  at  Wilmer 
and  Vincent’s  Colonial,  Allentown,  after  an 
absence  of  about  four  weeks  due  to  an  opera¬ 
tion.  .  .  .  Charles  Bierbauer,  W.  and  V.  cir¬ 
cuit,  together  with  Luke  Clark,  pinch-hitted. 
.  .  .  Bierbauer  was  manager  of  the  State  22 
years  ago.  .  .  .  Colonial,  Bethlehem,  United 
Chain,  has  joined  the  closed  ranks.  .  .  .  Fight 
pictures  lost  no  time  getting  into  the  Valley. 
.  .  .  Several  parks  are  running  free  movies 
but  calibre  of  same  isn’t  hurting  much. 


pany  to  take  over  quarters  above  the  Irving 
Theatre.  .  .  .  When  “Coming  Out  Party” 

played  the  Kingston  last  week,  the  theatre 
stressed  the  appearance  of  a  local  boy.  .  .  . 
Richard  McGowan,  Larksville,  former  the¬ 
atre  owner,  died  last  week. 


Hopkins  Entertains 

Civic  and  political  leaders  of  Harrisburg 
and  Dauphin  County  and  State,  county  and  city 
officials  were  the  guests  recently  of  C.  Floyd 
Hopkins,  manager,  Wilmer  and  Vincent  the¬ 
atre  interests,  Harrisburg,  at  a  lawn  party 
in  honor  of  County  Commissioner  M.  Harvey 
Taylor,  new  Republican  State  Chairman  and 
nominee  for  Secretary  of  Internal  Affairs. 

Motion  pictures  of  the  Baer-Carnera  fight 
and  several  reels  of  comedy  were  shown  to 
the  guests. 

A  fine  time  was  had  by  all. 


Booking  Theatres 
Everywhere 

Honest  ::  Reliable 
Conscientious 
Service 

EDWARD  SHERMAN 

VAUDEVILLE  AGENCY 

Real  Estate  Trust  Bldg. 
PHILADELPHIA 

Pennypacker  7595 

MAYFAIR  THEATRE  BLDG.,  NEW  YORK 
BR.  9-1905 


HILADELPHIA 


NEW  YORK 


WASHINGTON 


BALTIMORE 


NATIONAL 

KLINE 

POSTER 

CO. 

1307  VINE  STREET 
PHILADELPHIA 

A 

POSTER  RENTALS 


NATIONAL 

PENN 

PRINTING 

CO. 

1233  VINE  STREET 
PHILADELPHIA 

▲ 

PRINTING 


SIMON  LIBROS 


GEO.  H.  KLINE 


OSCAR  LIBROS 


Jul  1 ' 34  pg.  22 


WEAK 

KNEED 


or  an  alert ,  constructive  force? 

PUT  yourself  in  Mr.  Theatre  Owner’s  chair!  Would 
you  rather  devote  your  Trade  Reading  Hours  to 
ponderous  treatises  of  nation-wide  problems  and  aca¬ 
demic  studies  of  appalling  trade  practices  violations  in 
Peoria — or  would  you  rather  devote  those  same  T.  R.  H.’s 
to  a  decided,  two-fisted  attack  on  your  local  ills — a  pat 
on  the  back  for  a  local  job  well  done — all  garnished  with 
a  flowing,  breezy,  newsy  chatter  about  the  fellows  you 
know  and  situations  with  which  you  are  familiar? 

Professor  Einstein  has  the  world’s  greatest  modern 
mind,  but  if  you  wanted  understandable  interesting 
news,  you’d  rather  listen  to  Lowell  Thomas. 

Take  advantage  of  Mr.  Theatre  Owner’s  T.  R.  H.’s 
through  the  columns  of  his  local  Regional. 


JAY  EMANUEL 
PUBLICATIONS 

HOME  TOWN  TRADE  PAPERS 
OF  4600  THEATRE  OWNERS 


* Synonymous 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Jul  1'34 


23 


Golder  Elected  President 
of  New  Exhibitor  Group 

Wax  Heads  Board,  Nemez  Re¬ 
mains  as  Treasurer 


Ex-Congressman  Ben  Golder  is  the 
president  of  the  Independent  Exhibitors 
Protective  Association. 

His  election,  for  a  six  months’  period,  was 
voted  at  the  June  18  meeting  of  that  body. 

The  meeting  was  called  as  an  open  session 
of  all  exhibitors,  but  wound  up  with  election  of 
officers  by  those  in  the  group  who  constituted 
the  membership. 

About  100  exhibitors  were  present  at  the 
Broadwood  Hotel  session,  with  Morris  Wax 
welcoming  all  those  present  and  introducing 
Sidney  Samuelson,  president,  New  Jersey  Allied 
and  Allied  States  Association,  the  first  speaker. 
At  the  speakers’  table  were  David  Barrist, 
Harry  Brandt,  Wax  and  Samuelson. 

Praise 

Samuelson  praised  the  new  group,  said  he  had 
never  been  able  to  get  together  with  the  MPTO 
on  an  arrangement  concerning  Jersey  members 
of  the  latter  group,  advised  the  IBP  A  to  re¬ 
strict  its  efforts  to  Philadelphia  and  immediate 
vicinity,  excluding  Jersey  exhibitors  and  have 
a  working  arrangement  with  Jersey  Allied,  said 
a  real  independent  group  could  not  accept  affil¬ 
iated  dues,  and  wound  up  by  saying  that  it 
would  be  foolish  to  state  that  Allied  would  not 
welcome  the  new  group  into  its  ranks  if  the 
latter  met  financial  and  other  requirements. 

Samuelson  said  the  cause  of  dirty  pictures 
was  filthy,  dirty  commercial  methods ;  rapped 
block  booking,  said  Allied  wanted  a  showdown 
on  the  salacious  film  questions,  warned  exhibi¬ 
tors  of  what  might  happen  on  the  protection 
questions,  refused  to  commit  himself  on  the 
double  feature  question,  saying  it  was  a  local 
question  for  Allied  units  to  solve ;  predicted 
that  Jersey  would  have  a  state  law  regulating 
films  within  90  days ;  commended  the  Delaware 
exhibitor  unit  for  co-operating  with  Allied. 

Brandt  Scores 

Harry  Brandt,  president  of  the  ITOA,  New 
York  City  exhibitor  unit,  was  the  next  and  best 
speaker.  Pie  took  issue  with  Lewen  Pizor, 
president,  MPTO,  and  after  relating  some  de¬ 
tails  of  some  incidents  in  connection  with  the 
recent  film  buying  conferences,  accused  Pizor 
of  inconsistency  and  questioned  Pizor's  truthful¬ 
ness. 

This  was  too  much  for  Michael  Egnal,  one 
of  the  assembled  exhibitors,  who  immediately 
went  to  the  defense  of  Pizor.  Egnal  made  a 
stirring  speech  which  was  received  with  some 
applause.  The  chairman,  Morris  Wax,  allowed 
him  two  minutes  to  talk,  but  the  incident  threat¬ 
ened  to  start  an  uproar.  Egnal,  however,  sub¬ 
sided,  and  the  meeting  went  on. 

Brandt  didn’t  mince  words,  spoke  frankly  and 
directly  with  his  talk  including  such  informa¬ 
tion  as  the  fact  that  he  regarded  the  trade  press 
as  subsidized  and  that  the  ITOA  had  never 
given  out  an  official  statement  to  it  since  it  was 
organized.  Other  points  discussed  by  Brandt 
included  a  rap  against  distributors  who  were 
trying  to  include  westerns  and  foreign  pictures 
on  regular  contracts  so  that  10%  cancellation 
clause  would  be  evaded  and  also  that  the  clear¬ 


ance  setup  in  New  York  City  was  the  best  in 
the  country. 

1934  was  the  exhibitors’  last  stand  and  if  they 
didn't  do  something  about  it  this  year,  they 
could  kiss  their  business  goodbye,  he  stated. 

He  said  he  was  going  to  Washington  to  see 
Clarence  Darrow  and  to  retain  him  to  fight  for 
the  independents  if  necessary.  He  asserted  that 
he  would  like  to  get  away  from  the  New  Deal 
and  that  the  motion  picture  industry  was  the 
only  industry  which  had  a  code  thrust  on  it. 
The  code  handed  down  was  different  from  the 
code  agreed  upon  in  conference,  he  alleged,  and 
he  challenged  Sol  A.  Rosenblatt,  divisional  ad¬ 
ministrator,  to  refute  that.  The  ITOA,  he  said, 
had  not  signed  the  code  and  “we’ll  go  to  hell 
before  we  do,”  he  declared  dramatically.  (He 
made  no  reference  to  the  suit  filed  by  the  ITOA 
to  test  the  right  to  file  complaints  without  sign¬ 
ing  the  code.) 

Referring  to  the  chance  of  getting  justice 
from  the  Code  Authority,  he  said  one  would 
have  as  much  chance  as  a  bootlegger  with  a 
hijacker,  only  in  this  case  the  CA  was  both. 

Details 

He  revealed  details  of  one  of  his  Washing¬ 
ton  trips  when  after  a  conference  with  Senators 
Wagner  and  Copeland  and  Clarence  Darrow, 
in  the  belief  that  they  would  take  him  to  see  the 
President,  he  wound  up  in  a  conference  with 
Charlie  Pettijohn,  who,  he  said,  agreed  to  arbi¬ 
tration  of  problems  not  covered  in  the  code, 
such  as  score  charges,  right  to  buy.  Pettijohn, 
he  alleged,  later  said  “he  didn't  know  what  the 
general  would  think  about  the  idea.”  Later, 
Brandt  declared  he  had  an  interview  with  Will 
Hays  (the  general),  but  nothing  came  of  it. 

Barrist  Speaks 

David  Barrist,  recently  deposed  chairman  of  the  board 
of  managers  of  the  MPTO,  then  spoke,  attacked  stories 
on  the  June  5  meeting  which  appeared  in  the  Motion 
Picture  Daily  and  Film  Daily,  trade  journals,  asserted 
that  he  thought  the  decisions  of  the  June  5  were  to 
have  governed  later  developments,  said  that  he  had 
heard  on  good  authority  that  a  recent  visit  made  by 
Lewen  Pizor  to  New  York  had  resulted  in  the  decision 
that  Barrist  should  be  deposed  as  chairman  of  the 
board  of  the  MPTO.  He  didn’t  attack  Pizor  but  pointed 
out  that  the  deposing  was  done  in  a  great  hurry. 

Once  again,  Egnal  took  the  floor  and  started  to  make 
charges  against  Wax  in  regard  to  the  recent  Warner 
“Gold  Diggers”  camnaign.  Wax  refused  to  lend  any 
dignity  to  the  charges  with  any  comment.  Barrist 
then  said  he  didn’t  know  why  “anybody  should  want  to 
fight  for  the  old  MPTO.”  He  also  stated  that  a  repre¬ 
sentative  committe  would  meet  with  all  exchangemen 
soon  to  disprove  any  reports  that  the  new  group  was 
composed  of  a  bunch  of  insurgents  and  that  the  body 
was  made  up  cf  a  fair  cross  section  of  exhibitors. 

Barrist  then  presented  an  officers  slate  for  a  six 
months’  period.  Golder  accepted  the  presidency  on  one 
condition,  that  the  boys  work  with  him.  He  reserved 
the  right  to  walk  out  at  any  time  if  they  did  not. 
Regarding  the  reported  changing  of  minds  on  the  part 
cf  the  IFPA  leaders  when  they  were  negotiating  a  peace 
settlement  with  MPTO  men,  Golder  said  he  didn’t  know 
whether  they  had  done  right  or  wrong  but  that  they 
should  stick  to  what  they  thought  right.  Golder  said 
if  they  all  worked  together  they  could  march  shoulder 
to  shoulder  with  Allied. 

Morris  Nemez  was  elected  treasurer,  with  the  secre¬ 
taryship  temporarily  left  epen.  Morris  Wax  was  named 
chairman  of  the  board.  Barrist  refused  any  officer’s  place 
or  any  official  pest,  saying  he  preferred  to  work  in  the 
ranks. 

The  Catholic  ban  came  up  for  discussion  with  Bar¬ 
rist  tellin^  the  details  of  the  recent  meeting  with  local 
church  folk.  He  said  he  thought  the  conferences  had  a 
beneficial  effect. 

Bill  Butler  then  asked  for  some  action  on  the  situa¬ 
tion.  with  a  resolution  being  passed  commending  the 
Catholic  action.  This  was  later  amended  to  apply 
p  gainst,  salacious  pictures,  after  a  few  pointed  remarks 
by  Golder. 

The  meeting  included  in  its  attendance  leaders  in  the 
TFPA,  others  who  had  pledged  money  in  the  double 
foatm-os  fight.  some  interested  MPTO  observers,  some 
unaffiliatcd  with  either  organization  and  t.radepapermen. 

Another  meeting',  not  oren  to  any  but  IEPA 
members,  was  held  June  26. 

A  few  days  following  the  meeting  a  large 
sign  placed  on  the  front  of  the  old  Tiffany- 
Stahl  offices  read :  New  Home  of  the  Indepen¬ 
dent  Exhibitors’  Protective  Association. 


READY 

REFERENCE 

EACH  COMPANY  LISTED  IS  AN 
AUTHORITY  IN  ITS  FIELD  AND 
IS  RELIABLE  AND  TRUSTWORTHY 


AIR  CONDITIONING 

PHOON 

CONDITIONING  CO. 

'  BLOWERS  -  FANS 
AIR  WASHERS 

_  252  West  26tti  St.,  New  York 

ARCHITECT 

THEATRE  DESIGN 

Remodeling  »  Building 

I  LATEST  COMPLETED 

NEW  BROADWAY  CAYUGA 

Camden,  Philadelphia 

New  Jersey  Penna. 

DAVID  SUPOWITZ 

REGISTERED 

ARCHITECT 

246  S.  15th  St.,  Phi  la..  Pa.  Pennypacker  2291 


AIR  C 


COOLING 

VENTILATING 


BUSINESS  BROKER 


THEATRES 

BOUGHT  •  SOI.B  .  TEASED 

Partnerships  Negotiated 

M.  II.  GOODIS.  Inc. 

1201  CHESTNUT  STREET 
Rittenhouse  4595  Rittenhouse  9077 


DECORATIVE  GLASS 


We  specialize  in  GLASS  for  Theatres 

Specify:  VARICOLITE 

See  the  new  mirror  booth  at  the 
IRIS  THEATRE,  Kensington  and  Allegheny 
Write  for  particulars  and  samples 

M.  KRAKOVITZ  AND  SONS,  CO. 

4TH  AND  MORRIS  STREETS,  PHILA. 
Dewey  8600  Main  2301 


FLAGS  AND  BANNERS 


II  Theatre  Marquee  Valances 
E  Wall  Banners 

X  Net  and  Road  Banners 

X  Attractive  Colors — Sewed  or  Painted 

Letters — Featuring  All  Shows. 

■  Burgees — Pennants — Decorations 

*'■  Above  Also  Sold  Outright.  Order  Direct  From 

NATIONAL  FLAG  &  BANNER  CO. 

251-253  N.  13th  St.  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


INTERIOR  DECORATORS 


Theatrical 

Decorating 

OUR  SPECIALTY 
Phone 

Rittenhouse  7828 
2315  Walnut  St. 
Philadelphia 


24 

1 -July-34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


6-Point  Reviews  ( 


'J  1  Who  made  it  ?  4  Is  it  family  or  adult  type  ? 

2  Who's  in  it  ?  5  What's  it  about  ? 

3  How  good  is  it  ?  6  Running  Time  ? 


FOX 

1 

PARAMOUNT 

1 

MONOGRAM 

Baby  Take  a  Bow 


Family 

Comedy 

73m. 


Here  Comes  the  Groom 


Family 

Comedy 

75m. 


Randy  Rides  Alone 


Family 

Western 

53m. 


Shirley  Tem-ple,  James  Dunn ,  Claire  Trevor,  Alan 
Dinehart,  Ray  Walker,  Dorothy  Libaire,  Rolf 
Haro’.de,  Richard  Tucker,  Olive  Tell,  James  Flavin. 

In  the  money  because  of  Shirley  Temple, 
“Baby’'’  shapes  up  as  a  neat  comedy  with  melo¬ 
drama  offering  and  a  good  grosser  where  the 
kid  has  built  a  following.  Action  is  centred  on 
a  couple  of  ex-convicts,  one  the  tot’s  father, 
who  try  to  go  straight  but  find  a  detective  on 
their  trail. 

Estimate:  Kid  will  help. 


Adult 
Drama 
80m. 

Warner  Baxter,  Madge  Evans,  Marjorie  Rambeau, 
Zita  Johann,  Roger  Imhof,  H.  B.  Warner,  Barry 
Norton,  Juliette  Compton,  Gilbert  Emery. 

Story  of  a  doctor  who  falls  from  the  heights 
of  fame  into  oblivion  but  who  comes  back 
through  regeneration  and  love.  Performances 
of  principals  almost  make  the  whole  thing  be¬ 
lievable  but  yarn  is  so  constructed  that  play¬ 
ers  are  handicapped.  Parts  are  particularly 
unsympathetic,  with  the  actors  doing  their 
utmost  to  overcome  this  disadvantage. 

Estimate:  Handicapped. 


Mary  Boland,  Jack  Haley,  Patricia  Ellis,  Neil 
Hamilton,  Isobel  Jewell,  Larry  Gray,  Sidney  Toler, 
E.  H.  Calvert,  Ward  Bond,  Snowflake. 

Fast  moving  farce  that  should  stand  up  wher¬ 
ever  the  laughs  mean  money.  Jack  Haley  scores 
as  a  weak  burglar  who  finds  himself  forced  to 
impersonate  a  crooner.  Mix  in  a  jealous  wife, 
the  real  crooner  and  some  good  gags. 

Estimate:  Fair  comedy. 


RADIO 


Bachelor  Bait  Comedy 

80m. 

Stuart  Erwin,  Rochelle  Hudson,  Pert  Kelt  on , 
Skeets  Gallagher,  Berton  Churchill. 

Well  cast,  well  played  comedy  that  lacks  star 
strength.  Otherwise  it  will  please  everywhere. 
Picture  centres  itself  in  a  matrimonial  bureau 
with  lots  of  chances  for  Erwin  and  a  capable 
cast.  However,  show  hasn’t  the  strength  to 
become  an  ace  draw,  so  must  fit  into  the  so-so 
category  as  far  as  box  office  is  concerned. 

Estimate:  Average. 


Grand  Canary 


She  Learned 

About  Sailors 


Family 

Comedy 

83m. 


Alice  Faye,  Harry  Green,  Lew  Ayres,  Mitchell  and 
Durante. 

Comedy  about  sailors  that  is  not  only  funny 
but  clean.  Someone  deserves  a  hand  for  turn¬ 
ing  in  a  script  which  avoids  all  the  pitfalls  but 
which  still  milks  the  situations.  Plot  is  familiar, 
the  one  about  the  sailor  who  worked  fast  but 
who  fell  in  love  with  the  girl  and  vice  versa. 

Estimate:  Certain  to  satisfy. 


His  Greatest  Gamble  Drama 

73m. 

Richard  Dix,  Dorothy  Wilson,  Bruce  Cabot,  Erin 
O'Brien  Moore,  Shirley  Grey,  Leonard  Carey. 

Story  of  father  love  that  will  appeal  mostly 
to  Dix  fans.  There  is  a  strong  play  for  women 
in  the  tale  of  a  father  who  wishes  to  protect 
his  young  daughter  from  the  wife  who  wishes 
to  harm  her.  Picture  is  well  directed  but  title 
and  some  elements  will  prove  confusing. 

Estimate:  Dix. 


GAUMONT  BRITISH 


Along  Came  Sally  Comedy  with  songs 

70m. 

Sam  Hardy,  Cicely  Courtneidge,  Phyllis  Clare ,  Billy 
Milton,  Ivor  McLaren,  Hartley  Power. 

English  made  musical  with  one  American 
name  that  will  get  plenty  of  laughs  in  the 
neighborhoods  and  elsewhere.  Dance  numbers, 
songs  and  Courtneidge  clowning  is  a  guarantee 
of  mass  satisfaction.  Picture  winds  up  with  a 
punch  that  will  send  them  out  satisfied. 

Estimate:  Will  please. 


What!  A  Boy?  Farce 

74m. 

Edward  Everett  Horton,  Leslie  Henson,  Albert 
Burdon,  Heather  Thatcher,  Al  Drayton. 

Farce  that  will  probably  score  better  on  the 
other  side  than  this.  Outside  of  Horton’s  name, 
show  hasn’t  much  with  which  to  draw  although 
situations  are  often  very  funny. 

Estimate:  Only  Horton. 


i  *  Adult 

Let’s  Try  Again  Drama 

67m. 

Clive  Brook,  Diana  Wynyard,  Ted  Newton,  Helen 
Vinson,  Irene  Hervey,  Arthur  Hoyt. 

Adult  drama  about  a  couple  who  fall  out  of 
love  after  ten  years  of  married  life  but  who 
reconciliate.  Between  the  two  points  are  affairs 
on  each  side,  misunderstandings  and  the  usual 
goings  on.  Smart  audiences  will  take  to  it 
better  than  the  masses.  In  the  latter's  strong¬ 
holds,  the  show  won’t  mean  much. 

Estimate:  Spotty. 


We’  re  Rich  Ag  din  Comedv 

78m. 

Marian  Nixon,  Edna  May  Oliver,  Billie  Burke, 
Reginald  Denny,  Buster  Crabbe,  Gloria  Shea,  Grant 
Mitchell,  Edgar  Kennedy,  Lenita  Lane,  Ottoa  Yamo- 
aka,  Joan  Marsh. 

Fair  little  comedy  that  will  probably  please 
but  won’t  impress  on  its  own.  Once  again,  a 
family,  with  plenty  of  faults,  is  mothered  by 
the  sweet  heroine  who  straightens  things  out. 

Estimate:  Programmer. 


John  Wayne,  Alberta  Vaughn ,  George  Hayes, 
Yakima  Canutt,  Tex  Phelps. 

Well  directed  western  with  pace  and  action 
that  will  appeal  everywhere.  Our  hero  is  falsely 
accused  of  murder,  gets  in  with  a  gang,  routs 
the  crooks,  saves  the  day,  wins  the  girl. 

Estimate:  Okay. 


STATE  RIGHTS 


Are  We  Civilized  ?  Historical 

70m. 

William  Farnum,  Anita  Louise,  Frayik  McGlynn, 
Leroy  Mason,  Oscar  Apfel,  Stuart  Holmes. 

Production  apparently  built  to  fight  all 
oppression  and  filled  with  flashbacks  from  the 
library.  Picture  has  a  timely  theme  but  devel¬ 
opment  isn’t  any  too  good.  However,  where 
ballyhoo  can  be  made  to  count,  show  might 
click.  Story  revolves  around  a  man  who  seeks 
liberty  for  all  and  his  death  when  forces  of 
oppression  carry  all  before  them. 

Estimate:  Topical. 


Mystery  Ranch 


Family 

Western 

57m. 


Tom  Tyler,  Roberta  Gale,  George  Cheseboro,  Jack 
Gable,  Charles  King,  Tom  London. 

Action  western  that  will  please  the  thrill¬ 
hunting  fans  anywhere.  Picture  has  more  plot 
than  usual,  has  plenty  of  opportunity  for  the 
usual  Tyler  stunts.  Western  advocates  will  be 
satisfied. 


Estimate:  Moves  right  along. 


The  World 

in  Revolt 


Adult 

Revolution  Compilation 
68m. 


Newsreel  shots  of  the  political  disturbances  in  the 
various  European  countries  as  well  as  the  United 
States. 


Film  goes  in  for  the  spectacular.  It  shows  the 
highlights  of  political  revolutions  in  Russia, 
Italy,  Germany,  China,  Austria,  featuring  shots 
of  Mussolini,  Dolfus,  Hitler,  Stalin  and  other 
luminaries  of  world  affairs.  Public  is  given 
personal  views  of  executions  and  general  tur¬ 
moil.  Graham  McNamee  does  the  narrating  of 
the  story  which  is  authored  by  Emil  Lengyel 
with  a  musical  accompaniment  under  the  direc¬ 
tion  of  Milton  Schwarzwald. 


Estimate:  Timely. 


White  Heat  Melodrama 

62m. 

David  Newell,  Mona  Maris,  Virginia  Cherrill, 
Hardie  Albright,  Arthur  Clayton,  Naomi  Childers. 

Familiar  tropic  madness  story  but  handled 
and  acted  in  such  manner  that  picture  stands 
out  above  usual  run  of  such  features.  A  plan¬ 
tation  foreman  goes  native,  later  brings  back  his 
white  wife.  Latter’s  sweetheart  enters  to  bring 
additional  confusion. 

Estimate:  Tropical. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Jul  1  ’  34 


25 


BETWEEN  THE  PARAGRAPHS 


FIGHT  FILMS  BIG  CLEAN-UP 
BECAUSE  OF  BAER  ANGLE 


I.  Manoff  Reliable  Decorating  Co. 

INTERIOR  DECORATORS 

Draperies,  Carpets,  Painting 

1316  Vine  St.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

WE'VE  TURNED  NUMEROUS  NON-PAYING 
THEATRES  INTO  MONEY-MAKING  PROPOSITIONS 
ASK  US  HOW! 


The  fight  picture,  Baer  vs.  Camera,  is  more  than  an  added  attrac¬ 
tion  this  time.  Because  of  the  fight  itself,  Baer  and  the  general 
atmosphere,  the  film  is  proving  a  sensation  in  most  spots  and  will 
return  a  gross  running  into  hundreds  of  thousands.  As  usual,  despite 
the  federal  laws,  the  film  is  being  shown  in  practically  all  states. 
Eventually,  it  is  believed  that  the  law  may  be  changed.  In  that  event, 
it  is  quite  possible  that  a  major  producer  may  tie-up  the  rights  and 
turn  in  a  complete  product,  a  bit  higher  in  quality  than  the  current 
versions. 

One  observer,  who  knows  whereof  he  speaks,  says  that  if  the  law 
is  changed  and  the  majors  are  interested,  eventually  the  film  execs 
may  become  interested  in  boxing  as  a  method  of  further  revenue. 
There  should  be  enough  profit  in  pictures  of  a  championship  bout  to 
pay  the  expenses  of  the  fight  and  have  a  lot  left  over. 

Incidentally,  in  this  fight  it  is  stated  that  it  is  one  of  the  few  in 
which  no  bootleg  prints  are  being  peddled  around. 


rAIRNAND€-I-IRICC[ 

f  JLVIlt 


DICORATOU 

20hN-feHCAD-$T-»'  •RIT-3375 


J.  SEIDMAN  :  A.  WEINBERG  :  D.  BRODSKY 

Paramount  Qecorating  (Jo.,  |nc. 

STAGE  SETTINGS  :  DRAPERIES 

CARPETS  :  PAINTING  AND  DECORATING 

311  North  13th  Street _ Philadelphia,  Pa. 


SHOWMANSHIP  CONTESTS  STIR 
UP  RIVALRY  IN  EXHIBITORS 

Contests  based  on  exploitation  and  sales  campaigns  for  certain 
pictures  are  always  to  be  encouraged.  Whenever  there  is  dough  in  it, 
exhibitors  can  be  expected  to  go  to  bat  to  sell  the  particular  picture 
involved.  Warners  are  starting  the  ball  rolling  with  an  ace  on  “Circus 
Clown,”  in  addition  to  a  big  tie-up  on  “Anthony  Adverse.”  There 
ought  to  be  some  method  whereby  the  local  exchange  encourages  its 
accounts  to  enter  such  a  contest.  There  is  no  question  but  that  both 
will  benefit. 

NEW  COMPETITION  DEVELOPS 
IN  RANKS  OF  SERIAL  MAKERS 

Nat  Levine,  still  No.  1  man  as  far  as  serial  manufacturing  is  con¬ 
cerned,  is  being  given  a  strong  tussle  this  season.  Influenced,  un¬ 
doubtedly,  by  the  number  of  bookings  and  success  of  the  Levine- 
Mascot  product,  two  other  companies,  Universal  and  First  Division, 
are  making  a  bold  attempt  to  take  the  crown  away  from  Levine.  First 
Division,  newcomer  in  serial  field,  has  already  acquired  rights  to 
distribution  of  two,  while  Universal  plans  to  give  exhibitors  names 
as  well. 

There  is  no  question  but  that  Nat  Levine  has  had  a  big  start.  The 
competition  should  help  the  serial  market  and  benefit  the  exhibitor. 
Competition  of  this  kind  is  healthy,  and  it  will  be  interesting  to  watch 
developments. 

DRIVE  FOR  CLEAN  PICTURES 

RAP  AGAINST  EVERY  CENSOR  BOARD 

The  censor  boards  shouldn’t  feel  any  too  happy  these  days,  what 
with  organized  groups  in  states  where  censors  have  been  functioning 
rapping  films  passed  by  the  boards.  Never  once  has  any  of  these 
groups  come  forth  to  say  that  the  censors  have  been  of  any  value,  but 
rather  the  request  is  for  a  new  deal  all  around. 

Never  before  has  the  censor  set-up  looked  as  political  as  in  the 
present  turmoil,  with  no  one  even  considering  the  boards  as  of  any 
value  when  the  clean  picture  problem  is  up  for  attention. 

Regardless  of  what  the  final  determination  is,  the  censor  boards 
won’t  have  gained  any  prestige.  Who  knows  but  that  this  present 
movement  may  eventually  result  in  their  permanent  downfall. 

HOBART  MANN. 


LIGHTING  FIXTURES 


VOIGT 


NEW 

DECORATIVE  LIGHTING 

FOR  YOUR  THEATRE 

DRINKING  FOUNTAINS  DIRECTION  SIGNS 


I2™6r  Monhqomery  Ave.  Phila.PA 


PREMIUMS 


There  are  many  imitations  but  there  is  only  one 

22  KARAT  GOLD  DINNER  SET 

with  a  success  record 

It’s  the  Dainty  Thin  Square  Model! 

QUALITY  PREMIUM  DIST. 

1305  VINE  ST.  PHIL  A. 


SOUND  SERVICE 


&**<&*! 


C.A.McCrork 

SOUND  ENGINEER 

262  N.  13th  ST.  I 
PHILADELPHIA 
Day  Phone:  RIT  4529 
Night  Phone:  SHE  0805 


SUPPLIES 


THEATRE  EQUIPMENT 

AV'rr  -  Used  -  Rebuilt 


Projectors,  Screens. 
Soon  dh  ends.  Amplifiers. 
Chairs,  Portable  Projcetors, 
Are  Lamps,  Rectifiers 
and  Generators. 

REPAIRING  AT  I.OWBST  KATES 


S.O.S.CORP.  ,  1600  Broadway,  New  York 


Equipment  Bought  at  Highest  Prices 


26 


Jul  1 1 34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Heard  In 


V 


INE  STREET 


Harry  Blumberg 
Is  Better 


FRIENDS  of  Harry  Blumberg  will  be  glad 
to  know  that  his  operation  was  successful  and 
that  he  is  recovering  rapidly  at  the  Jewish  Hos¬ 
pital.  .  .  .  The  operation  came  as  a  surprise  to 
his  friends  who  wish  him  well.  .  .  .  Ben  Kas- 
soy,  Quality  Premium,  goes  on  a  business  trip 
soon  in  the  middle  west. 

P.  A.  BLOCH,  Earle  Sweigert  and  Ulrich 
Smith  came  back  from  the  coast  Paramount 
convention,  prepared  to  attend  a  regional  meet¬ 
ing  with  salesmen  and  other  district  men  at 
Washington,  July  2.  .  .  .  Harry  Weiner  and 
his  Columbians  will  be  present  at  the  shore 
next  week  when  Columbia’s  eastern  conference 
takes  place.  .  .  .  Metromen  Bob  Lynch,  S.  E. 
Applegate  and  others  hied  to  Chicago,  came 
back  full  of  MGM  enthusiasm. 

ANNOUNCEMENT  of  the  leasing  of  quar¬ 
ters  for  the  IEPA  on  the  street  came  as  a 
surprise.  Expectation  was  that  the 

MPTO,  which  had  announced  its  intentions 
along  similar  lines,  months  ago,  would  be 
the  first  to  open  quarters.  .  .  .  Harry  Bar- 

rist  was  the  broker  in  the  leasing  deal.  .  .  . 

The  IEPA,  apparently,  has  been  realizing  on 
the  value  of  publicity.  .  The  organiza¬ 

tion  cracked  local  dailies  several  times  in 
connection  with  its  meetings  with  Catholic 
clergy  as  well  as  concerning  its  own  ses¬ 
sions.  .  .  .  Lou  Berman  is  back  from  a  trip 
to  the  coast. 

JOHN  BACHMAN  getting  set  for  distribu¬ 
tion  of  World  Wide  pictures  out  of  Preferred 
exchange.  .  .  .  He  has  the  good  wishes  of  the 
trade.  .  .  .  Sam  Rosen  put  on  a  trade  show  of 
“Along  Came  Sally”  and  “Channel  Crossing,” 
received  some  nice  hands  from  those  who  at¬ 
tended  the  Rivoli  previews.  .  .  .  Sam  has  a 
list  of  12  pictures  all  ready  for  inspection.  .  .  . 
“The  Ghoul”  made  money  for  exhibitors.  .  .  . 
Willy’s  restaurant  closed  up.  .  .  .  He  is  inter¬ 
ested'  in  a  North  Philadelphia  enterprise.  .  .  . 
The  fight  pictures  resulted  in  some  good  busi¬ 
ness  for  exhibitors.  .  .  .  Picture  was  sensa¬ 
tional  in  spots,  with  some  new  highs  for  rentals. 

MASTERPIECE  is  pushing  “The  Fighting 
Rookie,”  with  Jack  La  Rue.  .  .  .  Will  have 

more  to  say  on  pictures  later.  .  .  .  Pop  Kor- 
son  is  improving  fast  and  is  expected  back  in 
the  exchange  in  September.  .  .  .  His  recov¬ 

ery  is  expected  to  be  rapid  from  now  on. 

.  .  .  Mutt  and  Jeff  color  cartoons  are  ex¬ 

pected  in  soon.  .  .  .  Booking  now. 

TONY  LUCCHESE  improving  slowly.  .  .  . 
Exchange  plugging  the  new  Mascot  lineup  of 
features  as  well  as  the  serials,  “Burn  'Em  Up 
Barnes”  and  “The  Lost  Jungle.”  ...  A  new 
Comicolor  is  expected  in  shortly.  .  .  .  Mike 
Katz  still  as  busy  as  ever. 

SELECT  12  from  Gaumont-British  include: 
“Along  Came  Sally,”  “Channel  Crossing,” 
“Orders  is  Orders,”  “The  Murder  Party,” 
“Friday  the  13th,”  “Dick  Turpin,”  “Strike,” 
“The  Woman  in  Command,’”  “Sleeping  Car,” 
“Just  Smuth,”  “It’s  a  Boy,”  “The  Arson  Ring.” 
.  .  .  Company’s  announcement  of  12  pictures 
is  impressive. 

WALT  POTAMKIN  vs.  Jerry  Lessy  still 
on.  .  .  .  Johnny  Ehrlich  wants  his  name  in. 

George  Lessy  around  in  90.  . 

Young  Managers’  Communist  League  spring¬ 
ing  up. 


WE  Up 


Wide  Range  installations  have  shown 
a  vast  increase  during  recent  weeks  and 
furnish  a  barometer  of  box  office  busi¬ 
ness,  C.  W.  Bunn,  general  sales  man¬ 
ager,  Electrical  Research  Products, 
stated  this  week. 

“We  have  completed  almost  200 
Western  Electric  Wide  Range  installa¬ 
tions  lately,  a  tremendous  increase  over 
last  year  and  over  any  previous  period 
of  time,”  he  said.  “This  exhibitor  de¬ 
mand  for  the  latest  refinement  assuring 
the  highest  quality  of  sound  indicates  to 
us  that  theatre  men  are  expecting  im¬ 
proving  patronage  and  are  preparing  to 
obtain  their  share  of  it.” 


THE  RKO  BOYS  were  plenty  happy  when 
they  learned  at  the  Chicago  convention  that 
the  office  was  the  only  big  office  to  win  a  prize 
in  the  recent  drive.  .  .  .  Philly  came  in  4th. 
which  speaks  well  for  the  McNamee  clan.  .  .  . 
Lee  Marcus,  in  a  telegram  to  this  office,  said : 
“I  have  been  in  all  parts  of  this  business  and 
finally  connected  with  studio,  life's  ambition.” 

.  .  .  As  short  subject  producers  for  Radio, 
believe  we  have  strongest  diversified  program 
to  be  made  by  industry.  .  .  .  We  value  most 
highly  audience  reaction  on  players,  situations, 
gags,  etc.  .  .  .  Hope  I  am  not  imposing  when 
asking  you  to  invite  exhibitor  comments  and 
criticisms  to  enable  Radio  to  continue  strides.” 

HOLLYWOOD,  Jack  Bellman,  president,  is 
distributing  the  Bob  Steele  series  of  8  westerns 
made  by  Supreme  Pictures.  .  .  .  First  in  the 
series  is  "Demon  for  Trouble,”  with  Gloria 
Shea,  Don  Alvarado,  Nick  Stuart,  Walter  Mc- 
Grail,  Carmen  LaRouz,  Lafe  McKee.  .  .  . 
John  Colder  handles  the  series  here. 

FIRST  of  the  local  gentry  to  crack  the 
Kentucky  Colonel  brigade  is  Bob  Mochrie, 
Warners  manager.  .  .  .  He  became  a  Kentucky 
Colonel  recently.  .  .  .  This,  of  course,  has 
nothing  to  do  with  “Kentucky  Kernels,”  the 
new  Wheeler-Woolsey  comedy.  .  .  .  Bob  kept 
his  elevation  a  secret,  but  it  leaked  out. 

EDMUND  SPIERS,  son  of  Morris  Spiers, 
was  graduated  from  U.  of  P.  Law  School. 

.  .  .  He  was  an  honor  student.  .  .  .  Jack 
Cohen  flew  back  to  the  coast  after  attending 
his  sister’s  wedding.  .  .  .  He  is  making  three 
for  Columbia  with  Bill  Rowland,  “The  Girl 
Friend,”  “The  Gay  Nineties,”  and  “Mask  and 
Wig”  (tentative).  .  .  .  J.  Becker,  who  has 
the  Apex  Garage,  the  street’s  leading  automobile 
rest  place,  has  taken  over  Girard  Service  Gar¬ 
age,  5155-59  Girard  Avenue,  where  the  same 
service  is  available.  .  .  .  Exhibs  who  live  near 
that  spot  can  make  a  deal  for  both. 

JOSEPH  SCHWARTZ  has  joined  the 
MPTO  as  a  member.  .  .  .  He  operates  the 
Unique  Theatre.  .  .  .  Schwartz  is  also  inter¬ 
ested  with  Morris  Wax  in  the  operation  of  an 
Atlantic  City  house. 

AL  DAVIS  is  way  up  in  front  in  the  Fox 
sales  ranks.  .  .  .  Activity  centers  now  on 

“Cat’s  Paw,”  from  Harold  Lloyd.  .  .  .  Local 
exchange  ranks  9th  nationally.  ...  It  used  to 
be  1st  always.  .  .  .  M.  B.  Comerford  back 
from  the  coast  this  week. 

ALLIED  JERSEY  will  have  its  convention 
in  Atlantic  City  July  22.  .  .  .  Joe  Leon  is 
now  city  salesman  for  Universal,  moving  in 
from  the  Jersey  sector. 


JACK  SEGAL  celebrated  a  birthday.  .  .  . 
Wifie  handed  him  a  gift.  .  .  .  Frances  Axler 
took  a  weekend  trip  to  the  shore.  .  .  .  Etta 

Segall,  FD,  getting  along  nicely.  .  .  .  Who 

is  the  good  looking  salesman  who  was  seen 
with  an  FDite?  .  .  .  George  Finkelstein, 

chief  U  assistant  shipper,  now  back  at  his 
duties  after  illness.  .  .  .  Hilda  (Harris) 

Waldman  came  back.  .  .  .  Put  on  weight. 

.  .  .  Dick  Brown  returned  from  Canadian 

trip.  .  Knows  new  French  words.  .  .  . 

Betty  Haggerty  recently  married,  now  tour¬ 
ing.  .  .  .  Congrats.  .  .  Marion  Mellon 

hopping  to  midwest  on  auto  trip. 

HARRIS  CLAN,  Ben,  Sara,  Jack,  Claire, 
twins  all  promoted.  .  .  .  They  all  promote 

Bennie  and  school  promotes  the  kids.  .  .  . 

Hasn’t  been  decided  who  promotes  Sara.  .  .  . 
Happy  days. 

MIKE  LAN  DOW  hopped  up  to  Scranton 
for  a  few  days.  .  .  .  Johnny  Roberts  a  recent 
visitor  in  town.  .  .  .  J.  V.  Schreck  also  in  town. 

.  .  .  Metropolitan  Printing  going  in  for  bill¬ 
board  advertising  in  a  big  way.  .  .  .  Local 

herald  distribution  ordinance  still  a  headache  to 
local  exhibitors.  .  .  .  Plenty  of  free  movies 
at  upstate  parks  proving  headaches  as  well  to 
exhibitor-competition.  .  .  .  Wilson  boats, 

locally,  showing  free  films. 

MUCH  INTEREST  when  Marcus  Benn, 
Charles  Segall  and  Mike  Lessy  put  their  heads 
together  in  H  and  H.  .  .  .  Wonder  what  the 
topic  was? 

CHARLES  BEILAN,  Warner  booker,  on 
the  vacation  list.  .  .  .  Atlantic  City  for  two 
weeks.  .  .  .  Johnny  Bachman  back  from  a  trip 
to  Washington.  .  .  .  Edgar  Moss  to  Altoona. 
.  .  .  Moe  Goodman  back  with  Stanley-Warner 
.  .  .  S-W  managers  beginning  vacations,  with 
pay.  .  .  .  Barnett  Cohen,  the  demon  manager 
of  the  Benson  Theatre,  still  prolific  with  those 
exploitation  stunts.  .  .  .  But  not  duplicating 
the  pavement  pounding  stunt  at  Market  Street 
post. 

Heard  In 

1LM1NGTON 

New  Theatre 
Talk  Dies  Down 


WITH  HOT  SUMMER  DAYS  at  hand, 
and  the  New  Rialto  coupled  with  the  Delaware 
Power  and  Light  Company  and  Westinghouse 
breaking  forth  in  “streamline’1  ads  concerning 
the  only  “Westinghouse  air-conditioned  theatre 
in  Delaware,”  rival  exhibitors  suddenly  showed 
signs  of  being  “air  conditioned”  conscious.  .  .  . 
Morton  Levine,  Opera  House,  went  his  limit 
with  “Many  Happy  Returns,”  putting  out  20 
window  displays,  tieing  up  on  broadcasts  from 
the  Hotel  duPont  grill.  .  .  .  Lew  Black  was 
just  a  little  puzzled  how  to  sell  "Little  Miss 
Marker.”  .  .  .  Realizing  that  the  Temple  child 
would  attract  children  but  with  knowledge  that 
it  was  an  adult  picture,  he  stuck  to  straight 
selling  on  the  strength  of  popularity  the  child 
worked  up  in  her  Fox  picture.  .  .  .  George 
Jones,  Parkway,  is  advertising  in  bold  type  a 
“9.15  show’’  to  combat  daylight  saving.  .  .  . 
A.  B.  Schindler,  Avenue,  caught  the  Baer-Car- 
nera  fight  film  while  it  was  hot  and  did  very 
well.  .  .  .  Warner  men  are  thinking  in  terms 
of  vacation  now.  .  .  .  Wilmer  Highfield  was 
taking  a  honeymoon  trip  for  his.  .  .  .  Dick 
Hilshire  was  next  to  go.  .  .  .  Morty  Levine 
was  straining  at  the  post  for  July  6.  .  .  .  Lew 
Black  leaves  July  23.  .  .  .  Lyle  Trenchard,  dis¬ 
trict  manager,  is  just  finishing  his.  .  .  .  Talk 
about  the  theatre  concern  going  to  put  a  new 
house,  reported  sponsored  secretly  by  a  real 
estate  dealer  has  died  down. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Jul  1'34 


27 


1934-1935 

PRODUCTION 


Metro 

The  1934-1935  program  of  Metro-Goldwyn- 
Mayer  will  include  52  features  and  104  shorts. 

Some  of  the  features  announced  are  “The 
Merry  Widow,”  “David  Copperfield,”  “The 
Good  Earth,”  “Chained,’’'  “Barrets  of  Wimpole 
Street,”  “Mutiny  on  the  Bounty,”  “Naughty 
Marietta,”  “Marie  Antoinette,”  “Biography,’'' 
“In  Old  Vienna,”  “lndo-China,”  “West  Point 
of  the  Air,”  “His  Brother's  Wife,”  “Movie 
Queen,”  “Sequoia,”  “A  Lady  Comes  to  Town,” 
for  which  stars  are  set.  There  will  be  other  im¬ 
portant  short  stories  and  books  used  for  future 
vehicles,  casting  for  which  isn't  completed. 

Short  subject  list  includes  3  Laurel  Hardys, 
8  Charley  Chases,  7  starring  Irving  Cobb,  8 
Todd-Kellys,  6  Our  Gangs,  6  musical  revues 
in  addition  to  musical  cartoons,  Oddities,  Goofy 
Movies,  Traveltalks,  single  reels,  and  the  news. 

Paramount 

APPROXIMATELY  64  feature  pictures 
and  a  total  of  204  short  subjects  will  be  released 
by  Paramount  during  the  1934-35  season.  Here 
are  some  on  the  schedule  for  next  year : 

Mae  West  will  star  in  two  productions  during 
the  new  season,  “Gentlemen’s  Choice1”  and  “Me 
and  the  King” ;  Marlene  Dietrich  in  “The  Scar¬ 
let  Empress”;  Cecil  B.  DeMille’s  production, 
“Cleopatra’’ ;  “The  Lives  of  a  Bengal  Lancer” ; 
“College  Rhythm'” ;  “R.  U.  R.” ;  “She  Loves 
Me  Not”;  “The  Gilded  Lily’’ ;  “Limehouse 
Nights'”;  “Desire”’;  “20  Hours  by  Air”; 
“Sailor,  Beware”;  “Pursuit  of  Happiness”; 
“Mississippi”  ;  “Love  Thy  Neighbor”  ;  “Her 
Master’s  Voice”;  “People  Will  Talk”;  “Ladies 
Should  Listen”;  “Mrs.  Wiggs  of  the  Cabbage 
Patch” ;  “Now  and  Forever.” 

“Rhumba”;  “Are  Men  Worth  It?”;  “Tar¬ 
get”  ;  “The  Glory  of  the  Damned” ;  “Here  Is 
My  Heart  ’ ;  “Ruggles  of  Red  Gap" ;  “The  Big 
Broadcast  of  1935”;  “The  Case  Against  Mrs. 
Ames”;  “One  Night  Stand."  Three  westerns, 
“Wagon  Wheels”  and  “Home  on  the  Range,” 
one  other  Zane  Grey  story. 

Four  Paramount  releases  will  be  produced  by 
Ben  Hecht  and  Charles  MacArthur ;  Cecil  B. 
DeMille’s  spectacular  “Buccaneer” ;  Marlene 
Dietrich  will  star  in  another  as  yet  untitled  pro¬ 
duction ;  “You  Belong  to  Me”;  “Ready  for 
Love’';  “Enter  Madame”;  “Back  Porch”; 
“Lemon  Drop  Kid’ ;  “The  Yellow  Bargain” ; 
“McFadden’s  Flat7 ;  “Lovers  in  Quarantine.” 

“Evening  Star” ;  “Eyes  of  the  Eagle” ;  “All 
the  King’s  Horses’1’ ;  “The  Milky  Way” ;  “Shoe 
the  Wild  Mare.” 

In  the  short  subject  field,  Paramount  offers 
the  same  wide  variety  of  entertainment  as  is 
planned  in  the  feature  production.  In  addition 
104  issues  of  the  news,  there  will  be  26  Para¬ 
mount  Varities,  18  Paramount  Headliners,  13 
Paramount  Pictorials,  13  Grantland  Rice  Sport- 
lights,  12  “Popeye  the  Sailor”  cartoons,  12 
“Betty  Boop”  cartoons,  and  6  Color  Classic 
Cartoons. 

Radio 

RKO  RADIO  will  produce  and  release  50 
features,  200  short  subjects  and  continue  the 
release  of  Pathe  News  during  the  coming  sea¬ 
son. 

Important  in  the  group  of  films  is  the  pres¬ 
ence  of  two  specials  produced  by  Merian  C. 
Cooper ;  Bulwer-Lytton’s  “The  Last  Days  of 
Pompeii”  and  H.  Rider-Haggard’s  “She.” 

Program  will  feature  ten  stars.  Katharine 
Hepburn  heads  the  list  including  Irene  Dunne, 


Ann  Harding,  Wheeler  and  Woolsey,  William 
Powell,  John  Boles,  Francis  Lederer,  Ginger 
Rogers  and  Fred  Astaire.  At  the  moment  more 
than  thirty  of  the  new  season's  productions  are 
either  in  preparation  or  definitely  planned,  in¬ 
cluding  “Joan  of  Arc”’;  “The  Forsythe  Saga”; 
“The  Little  Ministerv;  “Radio  City  Revels”; 
“The  Fountain’1;  “Alien  Corn”;  “Roberta”; 
“The  Age  of  Innocence.” 

“The  Three  Musketeers” ;  “Romance  in  Man¬ 
hattan”;  “El  Dorado”;  “The  Gay  Divorce”; 
“Kentucky  Kernels.” 

William  Powell  joins  the  RKO  ranks  for  the 
first  time  and  will  be  starred  in  two  produc¬ 
tions,  “Ho  to  Shanghai”;  “Jungle’1’;  “Adventure 
Girl” ;  “Three  Stand  Alone” ;  “Anne  of  Green 
Gables”;  “By  Your  Leave”;  “Freckles”; 
“Laddie.” 

“Hide  in  the  Dark”;  “The  World  by  the 
Tail";  “The  Richest  Girl  in  the  World’;  “The 
Sea  Girl”;  “Wednesday’s  Child”;  “False 
Dreams  Farewell" ;  “Hudson  River.” 

200  RKO  Radio  short  subjects  cover  a  wide 
diversity  of  film  entertainment.  Leading  per¬ 
sonalities  will  be  featured  in  the  two  reel  come¬ 
dies  of  which  there  will  be  eight  series,  total¬ 
ling  fifty-two  subjects.  There  will  be  fifty- 
three  single-reel  subjects. 

Vitaphone  Shorts 

Norman  H.  Moray,  Vitaphone  executive  in 
charge  of  shorts  and  trailers,  announces  that  his 
company  will  release  a  total  of  130  short  sub¬ 
jects  for  the  1934-35  selling  season.  This  in¬ 
cludes  2  three-reel  specials ;  50  two-reel  sub¬ 
jects  and  78  single-reel  numbers. 

Vitaphone  will  release  32  “Broadway  Brevi¬ 
ties”  musical  comedies,  which  will  be  split  up 
as  follows: 

Nine  two-reel  Technicolor  Shorts  will  be  produced  at 
the  Warner  Bros.’  Burbank  studios,  under  the  super¬ 
vision  of  Jack  L.  Warner;  two  three-reel  specials,  one  of 
which  will  feature  Roxy  and  His  Gang;  Nine  Radio-Star 
two-reelers  which  will  star  such  famous  names  of  radio 
as  Harry  Richman,  Ruth  Etting,  Georgie  Price,  Nick 
Lucas,  Vera  Van,  Merton  Downey  and  others;  Nine  2-reel 
“Broadway  Headliners,”  which  will  include  such  “names” 
as  Hal  LeRov,  Dorothy  Dare,  Jeanne  Aubert,  Lillian 
Roth,  Donald  Novis,  Fifi  D’Orsay  and  others;  and  three 
two-reel  condensed  versions  of  such  popular  Broadway 
musical  stage  hits  as  “Song  of  the  Flame,”  starring 
Bernice  Claire  and  J.  Harold  Murray,  “Sunny,”  star¬ 
ring  Dorothy  Stone,  and  “50  Million  Frenchmen,”  star¬ 
ring  Loi6  Moran. 

Vitaphone’s  twenty  two-reel  “Big  V”  comedies  will 
include  3  Ben  Blue  comedies;  two  co-starring  Shemp 
Howard  and  Daphne  Pollard;  six  Blue  Ribbon  come¬ 
dies,  to  be  produced  at  the  Warner  Bros.’  West  Coast 
studios,  with  the  Three  Ritz  Brothers;  and  seven  more 
to  be  announced. 

A  decided  innovation  in  short  subject  entertainment 
is  Vitaphone’s  forthcoming  series  of  thirteen  “See 
America  First”  one-reel  novelties  based  on  the  found¬ 
ing  and  growth  of  America. 

This  series  of  thirteen  one-reel  shorts  will 
present  the  greatest  array  of  stage  and  radio 
bands  of  the  hour,  each  reel  featuring  singing 
and  dancing  specialties  of  established  fame.  The 
following  nationally  known  orchestras  have  al¬ 
ready  been  signed  for  this  series :  Jack  Denny 
and  His  Hotel  Pierre  Orchestra,  Phil  Spitalny 
and  His  Musical  Sweethearts,  Borrah  Minevitch 
and  His  Harmonica  Rascals,  Freddie  Rich  and 
Band,  Charlie  Davis  and  His  Hotel  New 
Yorker  Band,  the  A.  &  P.  Gypsies,  with  James 
Melton,  popular  tenor  of  The  Revelers,  Will 
Osborne  and  His  Columbia  Broadcasting  Or¬ 
chestra,  Dave  Apollon  and  Band,  Dick  Himber 
and  His  Hotel  Ritz  Carlton  Band,  and  four 
more  to  be  announced. 

Vitaphone’s  new  series  cf  twenty-six  “Pepper  Pot’’ 
one-reel  novelties  will  include  the  following  sub-divi¬ 
sions:  5  “Movieland  Reviews,”  each  number  presenting 
intimate  behind-the-scenes  doings  of  the  Hollywood 
stars,  to  be  directed  in  Hollywood  by  Ralph  Staub, 
originator  of  “Screen  Snapshots” ; 1  5  “Rambling  ’Round 
Radio  Row”  presentations,  each  reel  offering  a  score  of 
radio  headliners,  the  first  featuring  Baby  Rose  Marie, 
The  Harmonians,  Frank  Novak,  Jr.,  Harriet  Lee.  Roy 
Atwell  and  others;  5  “Famous  Song  Composers,  novel¬ 
ties,  featuring  a  famous  song  composer  in  each  number. 


STATIONERY 


National  Stationers 

J  INC* 


Walnut  1760-1761  1028  ARCH  STREET 

Race  4911-4912  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


THEATRE  EQUIPMENT 


PENN  THEATRE 
EQUIPMENT  CO. 

309  North  13th  Street 
PHILADELPHIA 
Phone,  Rittenhouse  3273 

GENERAL  THEATRE  EQUIPMENT 

Specialists  in  Repairs 


CLEM’S 

MOTION  PICTURE  SUPPLY  HOUSE 

The  Most  C.nn; filete  / i/i/c/h  ncJrtzt 

S//JiJily  House  in  the  Tin  zloty  .' 

255  North  13th  Street  -  Philadelphia 

SPRUCE  ISS4  EXPERT  REPAIPINC 


National  Theatre  Supply  Company 


Service  and  courtesy  from  men  you  know  .  .  . 
Plus  equipment  of  known  and  guaranteed  quality 
.  .  .  are  at  your  service  at  our  local  branch 


UNIFORMS 


English  Mess  Jackets 

for  Ushers  -  «p6i95 

Cool - Snappy - Inexpensive 

Any  Color  Gabardine 
WRITE  FOR  INFORMATION 

AMERICAN  UNIFORM  CO. 

134  So.  11th  St.  Phila.,  Pa. 


VAUDEVILLE  AGENCIES 


HARRY  BIBEN 

VAUDEVILLE  AGENCY 

(603-4  COLONIAL  BUILDING) 

N.  E.  Cor.  13th  and  Market  Sts. 

Phone,  Rittenhouse  9494-5 

PHILADELPHIA 

Booking 

STANLEY  -  WARNER 
THEATRES,  Philadelphia 


supported  by  well-known  singers,  dancers,  etc.,  the  first 
three  to  star  Little  Jack  Little,  Billy  Hill  and  Gus- 
Edwards;  6  Novelty  Specials,  to  feature  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Jesse  Crawford,  Edgar  Bergen,  the  Radio  Ramblers  and 
others;  and  5  “Vaudeville  Shows,”  each  release  com¬ 
prising  a  complete  vaudeville  show  with  well-known 
variety  headliners,  condensed  into  ten  minutes  of  enter¬ 
tainment. 

The  twenty-six  single  reel  cartcons,  to  be  produced 
by  Leon  Schlesinger  for  release  through  Vitaphone,  will 
include  13  “Looney  Tunes”  laugh  cartoons  and  13 
“Merrie  Melodies”  song  cartoons,  the  latter  series  to 
feature  a  screen  color  process  that  has  been  the  stand¬ 
ard  for  years. 


28 


Jul  1 1 34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


w 

A  Concise 
National  Survey 

TRADE  IX  REVIEW  - 

w 

^  Glances  Outside 
the  Territory 

± - 

J.  _ 1 

CODE 

Appeals  Taking  Up 
Code  Authority’s  Time 

A  plan  to  regulate  appeals  coming  to  the  Code 
Authority  in  such  a  deluge  is  being  considered 
by  that  body.  Obviously,  something  is  wrong 
with  the  present  system  through  which  all  cases 
can  immediately  be  appealed  to  the  highest 
body  from  the  local  boards.  Organization 
committees  composed  of  CA  members  to  recom¬ 
mend  specific  action  to  the  body  may  be  formed. 
Meanwhile,  use  of  alternates  grows. 

Local  Boards  Meeting 
Every  10  Days  Now 

Local  boards  are  meeting  other  than  weekly. 
Average  would  seem  to  be  about  every  ten  days 
except  in  cases  where  cases  piling  up  demand 
better  service.  Zoning  protests  seem  to  pre¬ 
dominate  over  grievance  claims,  currently,  in 
view  of  the  opening  of  the  buying  season. 

Premium  Votes  Spread 
In  Entire  Country 

Votes  on  premiums  are  spreading  throughout 
various  section  of  the  country.  Already  some 
zones  have  gone  on  record  against  the  practice. 
Disposition  of  such  matters  is  expected  to 
facilitate  zoning  procedure. 

6266  Exhibitors  Pay 
$67,164  to  Code  Financing 

Producers  and  distributors  will  soon  be  asked 
to  pay  their  share  of  the  code  financing. 

Code  assessments  now  paid  up  amounts  to 
$67,164.  This  is  collection  made  from  6,266 
exhibitors  up  to  June  15.  This  shows  a  gain  of 
300  exhibs. 

Code  Assent  Period 
Reopened  Until  August  15 

Period  for  filing  assents  to  the  code  is 
being  reopened  until  August  15.  Code  Author¬ 
ity  so  passed  on  a  recommendation  to  Division 
Administrator  Sol  A  Rosenblatt.  Those  desir¬ 
ing  to  sign  must  get  endorsement  of  two  exhibi¬ 
tors  who  signed  the  code  and  who  have  paid 
dues.  Dues  must  be  paid  immediately. 

PRODUCTION 

Companies  Going  in 
For  Foreign  Production 

More  foreign  production  on  the  part  of  pro¬ 
ducers  is  expected  in  the  new  season.  It  is 
not  known  whether  or  not  units  intend  to  dis¬ 
tribute  any  of  the  foreign  pictures  in  this  coun¬ 
try.  Practice  hasn’t  been  so  in  the  past. 

Allied  Drops  Its 
Production  Ideas 

Allied  will  not  sponsor  production  this  sea¬ 
son.  Lack  of  time  as  well  as  failure  of  all 
Allied  units  to  co-operate  on  the  matter  are 
believed  reasons  for  dropping  the  plan.  Body 
also  did  not  go  on  record  regarding  double 
features,  leaders  stating  that  policies  of  various 
units  differ. 


EXHIBITION 

Catholic  Boycott 
Spreads  Over  Country 

A  unified  Legion  of  Decency  is  now  fighting 
salacious  and  indecent  pictures.  Pledges  are 
being  signed  by  Catholics  throughout  the  coun¬ 
try,  with  one  district  having  a  complete  boycott 
of  movies.  Methodist,  Presbyterian  bodies  have 
also  endorsed  the  Catholic  stand. 

Exhibitors,  generally,  have  taken  no  action 
except  to  confer  with  Catholic  bodies  pointing 
out  that  exhibitors  are  innocent  victims  and 
blame  rests  in  Hollywood. 

Allied,  in  a  bulletin,  suggested  placing  blame 
on  circuit  theatres,  a  suggestion  generally  de¬ 
cried  by  leading  exhibitors. 

Hollywood  is  believed  ready  to  enforce  a 
strong  reproduction  system  to  check  all  indecent 
portions  of  film.  Rotating  committees,  with 
Hays  supervision  are  being  suggested. 

Eventually,  it  is  believed  Hollywood  will 
regulate  itself  to  satisfaction  of  all. 

MPTOA  Leaves  Trailer 
Issues  to  Local  Units 

The  MPTOA  is  leaving  the  issue  of  trailer 
service  to  local  units.  Spread  of  the  idea  of 
companies  making  their  own  has  resulted  in 
current  litigation,  with  the  MPTOA  letting 
home  rule  decide.  Allied  has  gone  on  record 
against  companies  making  their  own.  Ed  Kuy¬ 
kendall,  MPTOA  head,  also  has  rapped  the 
practice,  but  local  rule  will  govern  affiliates 
of  his  body. 

Theatre  Pooling 
Starts  in  New  York 

Theatre  pooling,  happy  habit  of  the  pros¬ 
perity  days,  has  cropped  up  again.  Capitol  and 
Paramount,  New  York  City,  both  of  which  felt 
the  depression,  are  rumored  in  a  year’s  agree¬ 
ment  through  which  Capitol  will  have  pick  of 
combined  Metro-Paramount  pictures  while  Para¬ 
mount  will  have  stage  shows.  Capitol  will  be 
all  sound. 

New  deal  gave  evidence  of  practical  view 
point  of  theatremen  involved,  also  indicated  that 
such  a  move  might  possibly  spread  as  in  the 
past. 

25%  Cancellation 
Asked  by  KC  Indes 

Kansas  City  independents  ask  25%  cancel¬ 
lation  privileges.  MPTOA  leaders  seek  an  in¬ 
crease  from  10%.  Salacious  picture  ban  would 
seem  to  merit  an  increase  in  cancellation.  Dis¬ 
tributors,  however,  will  probably  fight  all  such 
ideas. 

Buyers  Group  Continues 
With  Its  Conferences 

Conferences  of  Independent  Film  Buyers’ 
Protective  Group,  sponsored  by  ITOA,  con¬ 
tinue.  Harry  Brandt,  president,  latter  body, 
has  gone  on  record  as  saying  that  he  will  secure 
Clarence  Darrow  to  protect  indes’  interests,  if 
necessary. 


Congress  Adjourns  Without 
Passing  Industry  Legislation 

Congress  adjourned  without  passing  any 
legislation  affecting  the  motion  picture  industry 
directly.  Several  censorship  and  regulation  bills 
were  introduced  but  no  headway  was  made. 

George  Browne  Elected 
President  of  IATSE 

George  Browne  is  the  new  president  of  the 
IATSE  for  the  coming  year.  He  succeeds  Wil¬ 
liam  C.  Elliott.  Lew  Krouse  remains  as  assist¬ 
ant  to  the  president. 

Allied  Expands  in 
Other  Territories 

Allied  States  Association  is  in  the  midst  of 
an  expansion  program.  New  Allied  units  have 
been  formed  in  various  sections  and  others  are 
expected.  In  most  of  the  spots,  there  are  exhib¬ 
itor  units,  but  other  factions  have  caused  organ¬ 
ization  of  rival  theatremen  bodies. 

Check  on  Doubles 
Undecided  by  Distribs 

Whether  or  not  contracts  will  contain  checks 
on  doubles  bills  hasn’t  been  decided  by  sales 
managers.  Most  of  the  companies  prefer  to  go 
it  alone,  handling  situations  in  various  terri¬ 
tories  as  they  arise. 

MPTOA  Sounding  Out 
Members  on  Dual  Policy 

MPTOA  is  sounding  out  members  of  its 
organization  on  double  features.  Survey  is 
expected  to  be  completed  soon. 

Allied,  as  a  national  body,  has  taken  no  side 
in  the  matter. 

Fox  Patents  Upheld 
In  Circuit  Appeals  Court 

Flywheel  patents  controlled  by  American 
Tri-Ergon,  headed  by  William  Fox,  have  been 
infringed  by  Publix,  Altoona,  and  Wilmer  and 
Vincent,  U.  S.  Circuit  Court  of  Appeals,  Phila¬ 
delphia.  Appeal  is  expected.  Sound  patents 
are  involved. 

DISTRIBUTION 

Bankruptcy  Law  Aids 
Companies  Out  of  Rut 

The  new  bankruptcy  law  which  permits  re¬ 
organization  with  the  consent  of  the  majority, 
has  resulted  in  the  hope  that  both  RKO  and 
Paramount  will  soon  drop  the  receiverships. 
Present  Paramount  trustees,  Hilles,  Leake  and 
Richardson,  have  been  re-appointed  pending 
final  plans.  Paramount  report  showed  a  much 
better  cash  position. 

Last  Conventions 

Wind  Up  Pre-Selling  Meets 

With  Paramount,  RKO  and  Metro  having 
their  conventions,  and  Columbia  completing  the 
list,  the  last  of  the  sales  conventions  has  been 
recorded.  Expectations  met  official  announce¬ 
ments  with  the  result  being  that  major  com¬ 
panies  will  make  as  many  pictures  as  last  year, 
if  not  more. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Jul  1*34 


29 


$4,000,000  Given  to 
Warners  in  Suit  End 

The  following  statement  was  given  out 
recently  by  Electrical  Research  Products, 
Inc.,  and  Warner  Bros.  Pictures,  Inc. : 

A  settlement  has  been  reached  on  the  long 
standing  controversy  between  Warner  Bros., 
Inc.,  and  Electrical  Research  Products,  Inc. 
This  controversy  began  early  in  1928  when 
arbitration  proceedings  were  initiated  relat.ng 
primarily  to  the  amount  of  participation  of 
Warner  Bros.  Pictures,  Inc.’s  subsidiary,  the 
Vitaphone  Corporation,  in  the  royalties  received 
by  Electrical  Research  Products,  Inc.,  from 
its  motion  picture  licensees.  The  controversy 
has  continued  in  various  forms  ever  since  and 
has  resulted  in  extensive  court  proceedings. 

Settled 

The  settlement  clears  accounts  of  the  parties 
outstanding  at  various  dates  and  in  addition, 
provides  for  the  surrender  by  the  Vitaphone 
Corporation  to  Electrical  Research  Products, 
Inc.,  of  its  right  to  participation  in  future  royal¬ 
ties.  In  addition  to  clearing  accounts,  Electrical 
Research  Products,  Inc.,  pays  Warner  Bros. 
Pictures,  Inc.,  $2,500,000  in  cash,  $1,300,000  in 
negotiable  promissory  notes  and  an  amount  not 
to  exceed  $200,000  payable  on  certain  contin¬ 
gencies. 

The  agreement  disposes  of  the  arbitration  and 
all  litigation  between  the  parties  and  provides 
that  Warner  Bros.  Pictures,  Inc.,  shall  remain 
a  licensee  of  Electrical  Research  Products,  Inc. 

Terms 

Complete  terms  of  the  settlement  were  an¬ 
nounced  this  week  by  H.  M.  Warner,  presi¬ 
dent,  Warner  Brothers,  in  a  letter  to  stock¬ 
holders. 

$2,500,000  Cash 

In  addition  to  receiving  $2,500,000  in  cash, 
notes  totaling  $1,300,000,  and  a  contingent  pay¬ 
ment  of  $200,000,  Warner  Brothers  books  and 
those  of  its  subsidiaries  show  a  net  financial 
benefit  of  approximately  $2,1000,000  from  the 
exchange  of  mutual  releases,  before  provision 
for  Federal  and  State  taxes,  legal  fees  and 
minor  adjustments. 

“Your  company,”  Warner  said,  “remains  a  licensee  of 
Electrical  Research  Products,  Inc.,  to  produce  and  dis¬ 
tribute  talking-  motion  pictures,  and  to  use  reproduc¬ 
ing  equipments  installed  in  its  theatres  by  Electrical 
Research  Products,  Inc.  Your  company  believes  that 
it  will  be  enabled  to  operate  most  advantageously  under 
the  various  agreements  entered  into  in  connection  with 
the  settlement. 

“The  right  of  the  Vitaphone  Corporation  (a  Warner 
subsidiary)  to  participate  in  royalties  collected  and  to 
be  collected  by  Electrical  Research  Products,  Inc.,  has 
been  surrendered.  By  the  exchange  of  mutual  releases 
between  the  parties  all  claims  for  indebtedness  and  dam¬ 
ages  to  your  company  and  its  subsidiaries  against  Elec¬ 
trical  Research  Products,  Inc.,  Western  Electric  Co., 
Inc.,  and  the  American  Telephone  and  Telegraph  Com¬ 
pany  have  been  discharged.  Likewise  claims  of  Electrical 
Research  Products  against  your  company  and  its  subsid¬ 
iaries  are  discharged,  except  that  as  to  certain  claims  the 
release  runs  to  January  1,  1934,  and  to  certain  other 
claims  to  April  1,  1934.  All  litigation  between  the 
parties  has  been  terminated. 

“At  the  same  time  your  company  also  wishes  to  in¬ 
form  you  of  a  matter  which  has  no  connection  with  the 
foregoing.  The  anti-trust  suit  brought  by  the  govern¬ 
ment  against  us  arising  out  6f  our  acquisition  of  First 
National  Pictures,  Inc.,  has  been  dismissed.” 

“Young  Eagles”  Buy 

“Young  Eagles,’’  twelve  episode  Boy  Scout 
serial,  and  First  Division  release,  has  been 
booked  into  43  theatres  of  the  Warner  circuit 
in  Philadelphia,  and  also  into  twelve  Greater 
New  York  and  New  Jersey  Theatres  on  the 
RKO  circuit.  Serial  will  be  released  July  1. 


“Sin”  Returned 


Paramount  has  announced  that  after 
a  review  of  “It  Ain’t  No  Sin,”  by  the 
New  York  Board  of  Regents  and  by  the 
officials  of  the  company  at  New  York, 
and  officials  of  the  Motion  Picture  Pro¬ 
ducers  and  Distributors  of  America,  Inc., 
eastern  executives  of  the  producers  and 
the  studio  heads  have  jointly  decided  to 
withdraw  the  application  for  a  license 
in  New  York  and  to  return  the  picture  to 
the  studio  for  thorough  revision.  It 
will  then  be  presented  to  the  public 
under  a  new  title.  The  picture  will 
not  be  submitted  to  censor  boards 
or  exhibited  to  the  public  until  after  it 
has  been  revised. 


Bachman  Handles 
World  Wide  Pictures 

John  A.  Bachman,  well-known  Vine 
Streeter,  is  now  handling  World  Wide 
pictures  in  this  territory,  as  well  as  in 
Washington. 

List  includes  “Hypnotized,”  “Constant  Wo¬ 
man,”  “The  Death  Kiss,”  “A  Study  in  Scar¬ 
let,”  “Uptown  New  York,”  "Breach  of  Prom¬ 
ise,”  “False  Faces,”  “The  Last  Mile,’'  “Race¬ 
track,”  “Those  We  Love,”  "Bachelor's  Folly” 
and  “The  Sign  of  Four”  as  well  as  “Trailing 
the  Killer’1’  and  8  Ken  Maynard  westerns. 

Physical  arrangements  are  through  Preferred 
Pictures,  1316  Vine  Street,  with  A.  II.  Shoe¬ 
maker  associated. 

McNamee  Thanks  Exhibs 
for  Support  in  Drive 

Frank  McNamee,  local  Radio  chief¬ 
tain,  has  returned  from  the  Chicago  con¬ 
vention  with  a  message  of  sincere  thanks 
for  exhibitors. 


TICKET  REGISTERS 


TICKET  MACHINE  BARGAINS 

ALL  MAKES  .  .  , 
ELECTRICALLY  OP¬ 
ERATED  .  .  .  REBUILT 
.  .  .  GOOD  AS  NEW 

AT 

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PERFECT  .  .  .  GUAR¬ 
ANTEED. 

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SAVING 

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|  Write  Immediately  lor  Our  Nc 

w  '  nl  fml  net  or  \  Oil*  f  1 

STANDARD  TICKET  REGISTER  CORP. 

1600  Broadway/ New  York  •  Geo  M  r  a  o  w 

• 

Mimeographing 

Official  Letter 
Service  to  the 

Multigraphing 
Public  Stenography 

Motion  Picture 

Addressing  -  Folding 

Industry 

Enclosing  -  Mailing 

Accurate  List 

Advertising 

of  all  Theatres 

Publicity 

and  Executives 

Printing 

WM.  Z. 

PORTER 

Advertising  and  Letter  Service 

12011  Vine  Street 

(Second  Floor) 

Bell:  RITtenhouse  7195  Keystone:  RACE  8666 

He  wanted  to  thank  them  all  for  the  support 
in  the  recent  drive  which  saw  the  local  ex¬ 
change  finish  first  among  the  big  city  exchanges 
and  fourth  nationally.  Every  exchange  employe 
gets  a  half-week’s  salary  as  a  prize. 

In  addition.  Harry  Tyson  got  a  $50  prize 
for  100%  newsreel  sales. 

Other  prizes  were  awarded  as  well. 

McNamee  promises  that  RKO  will  deliver 
again  this  season  to  exhibitors  and  he  hopes 
the  exchange  will  again  have  100%  support 
during  the  new  year. 


HONESTY  c  o  n- 
quers  all  in  “The 
Fighting  Rookie,” 
with  Jack  LaRue, 
an  action  melo¬ 
drama,  from  Mas¬ 
terpiece. 


30 


Jul  1 ' 34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


For  your  convenience,  this  publication  furnishes  this  guide  to  reviews  of  pictures  which  have  appeared 
in  regular  review  department.  Before  dating  in  your  show,  consult  this  page,  find  out  when  the  review  appeared 
and  then  look  it  up.  Key:  For  example,  2-Jan.  means  the  second  issue  of  this  publication  in  that  month. 
1-Feb.  would  mean  the  first  issue,  and  so  on. 


Columbia 


The  Ninth  Guest  . 

Speed  Wings  . 

The  Lady  is  Willing 

The  Social  Register . 

One  is  Guilty  . 

Voice  in  the  Night  . 

The  Whirlpool  . 

The  Fighting  Ranger . 

The  Man  Trailer . 

Sisters  Under  the  Skin  . 

The  Party's  Over  . 

20th  Century  . 

The  Crime  of  Helen  Stanley  . 

Hell  Bent  for  Love  . 

One  Night  of  Love . 

The  Hell  Cat 

The  Most  Precious  Thing  in  Life 


2-Mar. 

2-Mar. 

1-Apr. 

1- Apr. 

2- Apr. 
2-Apr. 
2-Apr. 
1-May 
1-May 
1-May 
1-May 

1- May 

2- May 

1- June 

2- June 
2-June 
2-June 


Queen  Christina  . 

Fugitive  Lovers  . 

You  Can’t  Buy  Everything  . 

This  Side  of  Heaven  . 

Men  In  White  . 

Cat  and  the  Fiddle . 

Mystery  of  Mr.  X . 

Lazy  River  . 

The  Showoff  . 

Riptide  . 

The  Hollywood  Party  . 

Viva  Villa  . 

Manhattan  Melodrama  . 

Tarzan  and  His  Mate  . . 

Laughing  Boy  . 

Sadie  McKee  . 

Operator  13  . 

The  Thin  Man  . 


1- Jan. 

2- Jan. 
1-Feb. 

1- Feb. 

2- Feb. 
1-Mar. 

1- Mar. 

2- Mar. 
2-Mar. 
2-Apr. 
2-Apr. 
2-Apr. 
1-May 

1- May 

2- May 
2-May 
1-June 
1-June 


First  National — Warners 


As  the  Earth  Turns . 

Bedside 

Heal  Lightning 

I've  Got  Your  Number  .  .  . 

Wonder  Bar  . 

Gambling  Lady  . 

Harold  Teen 

Journal  of  a  Crime . 

Registered  Nurse 

Jimmy  the  Gent 

Twenty  Million  Sweethearts 

Upper  World 

A  Very  Honorable  Guy 

Side  Streets  . 

A  Modern  Hero . 

Smarty  . . 

Merry  Wives  of  Reno  . 

Fog  Over  Frisco  . 

Midnight  Alibi  . 

The  Circus  Clown  . 

The  Merry  Frinks  . 

Dr.  Monica  . 

The  Key  . 

He  Was  Her  Man  . 

Man  With  Two  Faces 
Return  of  the  Terror 
Friends  of  Mr.  Sweeney  . 
Madam  Du  Barry 
The  Personality  Kid 


2-Feb. 

2-Feb. 

2-Feb. 

2-Feb. 

2-Feb. 

1-Mar. 

1- Mar. 

2- Mar. 
2-Mar. 
2-Mar. 
1-Apr. 

1- Apr. 

2- Apr. 
2-Apr. 
2-Apr. 

1- May 

2- May 
1-June 
1-June 
1-June 
1-June 
1-June 
1-June 

1- June 

2- June 
2-June 
2-June 
2-June 
2-June 


Fox 


I  Was  A  Spy .  *-uoc. 

Mr.  Skltch  .  1-Jan. 

I  Am  Suzanne  .  1-Jan. 

Orient  Express  .  2-Jan. 

Sleepers  East  .  1-Feb. 

Coming  Out  Party  .  1-Feb. 

Ever  Since  Eve  . 1-Feb. 

Carolina  . .  2-Feb. 

Devil  Tiger  .  2-Feb. 

Hold  That  Girl  . 2-Feb. 

I  Believed  in  You .  1-Mar. 

David  Harum  1-Mar. 

Bottoms  Up  . 2-Mar. 

Scandals  .  2-Mar. 

Three  on  a  Honeymoon .  1-Apr. 

All  Men  Are  Enemies .  2-Apr. 

Murder  in  Trinidad  .  2-Apr. 

Stand  Up  and  Cheer  .  2-Apr. 

The  Constant  Nymph  .  2-Apr. 

Now  I'll  Tell  .  1-May 

Springtime  for  Henry  .  1-May 

Such  Women  Are  Dangerous  .  1-May 

Wild  Gold  1-May 

Change  of  Heart  .  2-May 

Handy  Andy  .  .  2-May 

Call  It  Luck  .  1-June 

Heart  Song  .  1-June 

Baby  Take  a  Bow  1-July 

Grand  Canary  .  1-July 

She  Learned  About  Sailors .  1-July 


Metro 

Should  Ladies  Behave  (The  Vinegar  Tree)  .  2-Nov. 

Dancing  Lady  .  1-Dec. 

Sons  of  the  Desert .  1-Dec. 

Women  In  His  Life .  1-Jan. 

Going  Hollywood  .  1-Jan. 


Monogram 

DISTRIBUTED  BY  FIRST  DIVISION 


West  of  Divide  . 1-Feb. 

Mystery  Liner  . 2-Feb. 

Beggars  in  Ermine  .  1-Mar. 

City  Limits  . . 2-Apr. 

Manhattan  Love  Song .  2-Apr. 

Monte  Carlo  Nights  .  1-May 

House  of  Mystery  .  1-May 

Blue  Steel  .  2-May 

The  Loudspeaker  . 2-May 

Money  Means  Nothing  .  1-June 

The  Man  from  Utah  .  1-June 

Randy  Rides  Alone  .  1-July 


Paramount 


Sitting  Pretty  . 1-Dec. 

Girl  Without  a  Room . 1-Dec. 

Alice  in  Wonderland  . 2-Dec. 

Miss  Fane’s  Baby  Is  Stolen . 1-Jan. 

His  Double  Life . 1-Jan. 

8  Girls  in  a  Boat  . 1-Jan. 

The  Last  Roundup  . 2-Jan. 

Search  for  Beauty  . 2-Jan. 

Four  Frightened  People  . 2-Jan. 

All  of  Me  . 2-Jan. 

Death  Takes  a  Holiday  (Strange  Holiday) .  1-Feb. 

Good  Dame  . 1-Feb. 

Six  of  a  Kind . 1-Feb. 

Bolero  . 2-Feb. 

No  More  Women  2-Feb. 

Come  On  Marines  . 2-Mar. 

She  Made  Her  Bed .  2-Mar. 

Wharf  Angel  2-Mar. 

Melody  in  Spring  . . . 2-Apr. 

The  Trumpet  Blows  .  2-Apr. 

You’re  Telling  Me  .  2-Apr. 

Double  Door  .  1-May 

The  Scarlet  Empress  .  1-May 

The  Witching  Hour  .  1-May 

We're  Not  Dressing  .  1-May 

Little  Miss  Marker  .  2-May 

Many  Happy  Returns  .  2-May 

Murder  at  Vanities  . 2-May 

Private  Scandal  .  2-May 

Thirty  Day  Princess  .  2-May 

Kiss  and  Make  Up .  2-June 

The  Great  Flirtation .  2-June 

Here  Comes  the  Groom  .  1-July 


Radio 


Meanest  Gal  in  Town 

Son  of  Kong  . 

Two  Alone  . 

Hips  Hips  Hooray 
Keep  ’Em  Rolling 
Long  Lost  Father 

The  Lost  Patrol . 

Sing  and  Like  It . 

Spitfire  . 

Success  at  Any  Price 
This  Man  Is  Mine 
The  Crime  Doctor  .  . 
Finishing  School  .  .  . 

Wild  Cargo  . 

Where  Sinners  Meet  . 
Strictly  Dynamite  .  . 

Stingaree  . 

Cockeyed  Cavaliers 
Murder  on  Blackboard 
Vergie  Winters  . 


2-Jan. 

2-Jan. 

2-Jan. 

1- Feb. 

2- Feb. 
2-Feb. 
2-Feb. 
1-Mar. 
1-Mar. 

1- Mar. 

2- Mar. 

1- Apr. 

2- Apr. 
2-Apr. 
1-May 

1- May 

2- May 
2-June 
2-June 
2-June 


Bachelor  Bait  .  1-July 

His  Greatest  Gamble .  1-July 

Let's  Try  Again .  1-July 

We’re  Rich  Again  .  1-July 


United  Artists 


Blood  Money  . 1-Dec. 

Roman  Scandals . 1-D#c. 

Advice  to  the  Lovelorn .  2-Dec. 

Gallant  Lady  . 2-Dec. 

Moulin  Rouge  . 1-Jan. 

Nana  .  2-Jan. 

Palooka  .  1-Feb. 

Sorrell  and  Son .  2-Feb. 

Looking  for  Trouble .  2-Feb. 

Catherine  the  Great . 1-Mar. 

House  of  Rothschild  .  2-Mar. 

The  Affairs  of  Cellini . 1-May 

Bulldog  Drummond  Strikes  Back  .  2-May 

The  Last  Gentleman  .  2-May 

Born  to  Be  Bad  .  2-June 


Universal 


I  Like  It  That  Way  .  2-Jan. 

Wheels  of  Destiny  .  1-Feb. 

The  Crosby  Case .  2-Feb. 

Love  Birds  . 2-Feb. 

Midnight  . 1-Mar. 

Gun  Justice  . 1-Mar. 

Countess  of  Monte  Cristo .  2-Mar. 

Honor  of  the  West .  2-Mar. 

Let's  Be  Ritzy  .  2-Mar. 

Glamour  . 2-Apr. 

I’ll  Tell  the  World .  2-Apr. 

Smoking  Guns  (Doomed  to  Die) .  1-May 

Half  a  Sinner  .  1-May 

The  Uncertain  Lady  .  1-May 

Affairs  of  Gentleman  2-May 

Dangerous  to  Women  (The  Love  Captive) .  2-May 

The  Black  Cat  .  2-May 

Embarrassing  Moments  .  1-June 

Little  Man,  What  Now?  .  1-June 

I  Give  My  Love  .  1-June 

Let's  Talk  It  Over .  2-June 


First  Division 

(CHESTERFIELD) 

Rainbow  Over  Broadway . 

Notorious  But  Nice  . 

Murder  On  the  Campus . 

Cross  Streets  . 

The  Quitter  . 

Stolen  Sweets  . 

In  Love  with  Life  . 

Twin  Husbands  . 

The  Road  to  Ruin . 

He  . 

Throne  of  the  Gods  . 

Under  Secret  Orders . 

Forgotten  Men  . 

Texas  Tornado  . 

The  Ferocious  Pal  . 

Young  Eagles  . 


1- Dee. 

2- Nov. 
2-Feb. 
1-Mar. 

1- Apr. 

2- Apr. 
1-May 

1- May 

2- Dec. 
2-Jan. 
2-Jan. 

1- Jan. 

2- June 
2-Mar. 

1- Apr. 

2- May 


Gold  Medal 


Sing,  Sinner,  Sing . 2-Aug. 

The  Big  Bluff  . 2-0ct. 

Important  Witness  . 2-Aug. 

Laughing  at  Life  . 2-June 

Curtain  at  Eight .  1-Dee. 

You  Made  Me  Love  You  .  1-Dec. 

The  Charming  Deceiver  .  1-Jan. 

Sin  of  Nora  Moran  .  1-Jan. 

Big  Time  or  Bust .  2-Jan. 

Enlighten  Thy  Daughter .  2-Jan. 

The  Mornina  After .  2-Feb. 

Unknown  Blonde  .  1-Apr. 

The  Lost  Jungle .  1-June 


Masterpiece 


Her  Forgotten  Past  .  2-Nov. 

Riot  Squad  .  2-Aug. 

Secret  Sinners  .  1-Jan. 

Wine,  Women  and  Song . 2-Jan. 

What's  Your  Racket? .  2-Feb. 

Dancing  Man  . 2-Mar. 

Back  Paqe  1-Apr. 

The  Fighting  Rookie .  2-June 


is  the  only  efficient. 


authentic  medium  of  covering  ALL 
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JAY  EMANUEL  PUBLICATIONS,  Inc.  LJ  ONE  yEAR-“-°° 

219  North  Broad  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa.  THREE  YEARS— $5.00 

Gentlemen: — 

Your  services  are  useful  to  me  in  the  operation  of  my  business.  I  want  to  be  sure  of 
receiving  a  copy  of  each  issue.  Enclosed  find  my  check. 

Name _ 

Theatre 


Boys: 

Metro  is  ready  with 
another  one  that  will 
please  every  movie 
fan  everywhere  .  .  . 


fp AND  IT  WILL  PLEASE 
EVERY  EXHIBITOR 
VvjWHEN  HE  PLAYS  XllJ) 


TREASURE  ISLAND 

Adapted  from  the  classic  by  ROBERT  LOUIS  STEVENSON 


WITH 


WALLACE  BEERY 
LIONEL  BARRYMORE 
OTTO  KRUGER 
DOROTHY  PETERSON 


JACKIE  COOPER 
LEWIS  STONE 
CHIC  SALE 
CORA  SUE  COLLINS 


DIRECTED  BY  VICTOR  FLEMING 

I 


A  1934  Production  Made  for  Posterity! 


A  Big  Summer  Hit 

FROM 

METRO-GOLD WYN-MAYER 

1233  Summer  St.,  Philadelphia 

BOB  LYNCH,  Manager 


In  this  Industry  Plans  Testimonial  Dinner  to  Lewen  Pizor 

ssue: 


VOL  16— No.  14 


PHILADELPHIA,  JULY  15, 1934 


Price,  15  Cents 


Jul  15’34  pg.  2 


PRAIXEDBV  SCOUT, CHURCH  AND  CIVIC  AUTHORITIEJ*  •,< 
CLEAN, WHOLESOME  ENTERTAINMENT  -WELCOMED  BV  ALL  PARENTS 


THE  COMPANY  WILL  APPRECIATE  SUGGESTIONS  P 


3  PATRONS  CONCERNING  ITS  SI 


J  \ 

Class  of  Service 

WESTERN 

SIGNS 

This  li  a  full-rate 

DL  —  D»r  Letter 

T  V  m  **  A.  1  J  M.  X.  A 

NM  —  Nlshl  Mrioff 

pram  unless  Its  de- 

UNION  y 

NL-NtsK.  Lcn.r 

ferred  character  Is  In¬ 
dicated  by  a  suitable 

LC  -  Dclerrsd  CabU 

Ins  the  address. 

Ship  Radtoena 

U  STANDARD  TIME. 


”  2S  AM  2 


MINUTES  IN  TRANSIT 


DA4  120  NL=0KL  AHOMACI TY  OKLA  24 
GEORGE  ST0UT= 

ROMANCE  PRODUCTIONS  MACK  SENNETT  STUDIOS  HOLLYWOOD 
CAL IF= 

YOUNG  EAGLES  OPENED  THURSDAY  AT  THE  LIBERTY  THEATRE  WITH  A 
SPECIAL  MORNING  SHOW  STOP  BEFORE  TEN  OCLOCK  CROWDS  TO  THE 
DOORS  TURNED  PEOPLE  AWAY  AND  MORE  THAN  ONE  THOUSAND  BOY 
SCOUTS  AND  CAMP  PIRE  GIRLS  ATTENDED  THE  FIR.ST  SHOW  WHICH  WAS 
GIVEN  ROUNDS  OF  APPLAUSE  STOP  AFTER  THE  FIRST  DAYS  SHOWING 
YOUNG  EAGLES  WAS  PRAISED  BY  SCOUT  CHURCH  AMD  CIVIC 
AUTHORITIES  FOR  ITS  CONSTRUCTIVENESS  AND  CLEAN  WHOLESOME 
ENTERTAINMENT  VALUE  STOP  IN  MY  OPINION  YOUNG  EAGLES  WILL  BE 
WELCOMED  WITH  OPEN  ARMS  BY  ALL  PARENTS  IN  EVERY  COMMUNITY  IT 
IS  SHOWN  STOP  IT  MAY  PLEASE  YOU  TO  KNOW  THAT  YOUNG  EAGLES  IS 
THE  FIRST  CHAPTER  PRODUCTION  TO  PLAY  A  DELUXE  THEATRE  IN 
OKLAHOMACITY  SINCE  THE  INCEPTION  Or  TALKIES  GOOD  LUCK  REGARDS^ 
JOE  SILVERMAN. 


—  says  the  live-wire 
manager  of  the  Ace  1st  run 

PARAMOUNT-PUBLIX' 

Liberty  Theatre ,  Oklahoma  City 


ijcmX  a  uAuich  to 
the  jQexjion  o§3)eamcy- 

fflWBClfi 

Officially  Endorsed  by  the  Boy  Scouts  of  America 


A  MIGHTY  SERIAL  IX  12  SMASHING  EPISODES 

•  •  •  BOOKED  BY  THE  WARMER,  RKO,  BltAXPT, 

PAKAMOUIVT.PUKHX,  KXOBEL,  WALTER  REAPE, 

LEO  BRECHER,  ABE  LEFF,  FAXK1  AND  MARGOLIS 

CIRCUITS  AXD  MORE  THAX  1200  CLASS  “A” 

THEATRES  FROM  COAST  TO  COAST. 

Hacked  by  Exploitable  ideas  and 
Roadshow  Accessories l 

DATE  IT  NOW! 


From  the  World's  Leadiny  Independent 

FIRST  DIVISION  EXCHANGES,  Inc. 

HARRY  H.  THOMAS,  President 


EXECUTIVE  OFFICES:  RKO  BLDG.,  RADIO  CITY,  N.  Y. 

Branches  in  — 


PITTSBURGH 

NEW  YORK 

ALBANY 

BOSTON 

PHILADELPHIA 

LOUISVILLE 

BUFFALO 

CLEVELAND 

CHARLOTTE 

DETROIT 

NEW  HAVEN 

ATLANTA 

WASHINGTON 

CINCINNATI 

NEW  ORLEANS 

Jul  15' 34  pg.  3 


THAT  LION 
IS  ON  THE 
LOOSE  AGAIN! 


Particularly  bright  with  personalities  is  the  STAR-SPANGLED  BANNER  of 
Metro -Goldwyn -Mayer  for  1934-1935.  Not  even  M-G-M  in  all  its  past 
glorious  years  has  ever  unfurled  a  banner  so  brilliant  with  the  stars  whom  your 
public  eagerly  awaits  on  your  screen.  Comforting  thought  to  exhibitors  in  these 
times  is  the  sturdy  record  of  the  Star-Company,  whose  stability  over  the  years  is 
based  on  an  unswerving  policy  of  giving  idols  to  an  idol-worshipping  nation  ...  in 
pictures  that  are  BIG !  These  are  the  times  to  play  safe  . . .  and  there  is  only  one 
safety  in  film  business  .  .  .  Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. 


( next  page  please ) 


Jul  1 5 1 34  pg.  4 


8  SPECIALS 


M e tro  -  Gold wyn 'M ay er 
gleefully  unfurls  its 


THE  MERRY  WIDOW 

Walt:  down  your  aisles  and  vision  your  packed  theatre  spell-bound  as 
MAURICE  CHEVALIER  with  delicious  gayety  flirts,  sings,  conquers  the  rich 
and  merry  widow,  exquisitely  portrayed  by  JEANETTE  MacDONALD. 

ERNST  LUBITSCH,*  sly  maestro  of  love's  magic,  makes  a  glorious  screen 
holiday  of  this  beloved  romance,  now  at  last  on  the  talking  screen.  Its  viva¬ 
cious  Franz  Lehar  melodies  are  brought  to  audiences  by  six  different  symphony 
orchestras.  Additional  cast  names  are:  Edward  Everett  Horton,  Una  Merkel, 

George  Barbier,  Minna  Gombell.  And  the  genius  of  Thalberg  guides  it  to  glory! 

*Emst  Lubitsch,  courtesy  Paramount  Pictures 

DAVID  COPPERFIELD 

1934-35  will  be  known  as  “The  year  of  David  Copperfield!”  The  heart  of 
humanity  beat  faster  when  the-  news  was  flashed  that  M-G-M  would  bring  its 
unlimited  resources  of  talent  and  physical  equipment  to  the  production  of 
Charles  Dickens’  beautiful  soul-stirring  novel.  A  special  trip  abroad  was 
made  by  Producer  David  O.  Selznick  with  director  George  Cukor  (he  made  \  ~  / 

“Little  Women!”)  and  Howard  Estabrook.  scenarist.  Thousands  of  tests  '  / 

were  made  of  characters,  architectural  details  copied  and  research  such  as  no 
picture  ever  enjoyed  has  been  under  way  for  months  here  and  abroad.  A  cast 
of  sixty-eight  characters  will  bristle  with  big  names!  A  final  master  stroke  was  ■ 
the  signing  of  Hugh  Walpole,  noted  author  and  Dickens  authority,  to  lend 
counsel  during  the  filming.  A  monumental  enterprise  is  under  way.  Only 
M-G-M  could  attempt  it! 

THE  GOOD  EARTH 

No  other  story  property,  whether  a  novel  or  stage  play,  was  ever  so  desired  by 
all  producers!  M-G-M  is  honored  to  be  the  means  whereby  Pearl  S.  Buck's 
thrilling  novel  is  to  be  brought  to  the  screen.  It  is  an  honor  because  “The 
Good  Earth”  is  the  most  widely  read  book  of  our  times  ...  an  obligation  to 
far-flung  millions  whose  heart-throbs,  smiles  and  tears  were  showered  on  its 
unforgettable  pages.  Such  humanity-in-fiction  requires  the  unmatchable  pro¬ 
duction  genius  of  a  Thalberg,  the  screen-writing  talents  of  a  Frances  Marion, 
the  directorial  flair  of  a  George  Hill  (a  combination  that  gave  you  “The  Big 
House”  and  “Min  and  Bill”).  For  four  months  Director  Hill  and  a  huge  staff 
traveled  in  little  known  parts  of  China,  accumulating  materials,  backgrounds, 
facts  ...  to  make  this  heart-drama  real,  vibrant,  true! 

CHAINED 


SPANGLEL 
BANNER* 

52  PKtures 

1934-1935 


THE  BARRETTS  OF  WIMPOLE  STREET 


It  is  an  occasion  for  dancing  in  the  streets  when  JOAN  CRAWFORD  and 
CLARK  GABLE  unite  their  magnetic  personalities  to  tell  a  screen  story  of 
glamor  and  allure!  Picture  audiences  recalling  with  delight  the  romantic 
sweep  of  “Dancing  Lady”  will  be  there  when  you  announce  their  new  co- 
starring  love  story.  The  director  is  Clarence  Brown  who  guided  these  two 
stars  to  triumph  in  “Possessed.”  He  also  directed  “Sadie  McKee”  and  “Lett 
Lynton”  among  many  others.  In  the  cast  are  Otto  Kruger  and  Stuart  Erwir 
Hunt  Stromberg  is  the  showman-producer! 


NORMA  SHEARER’S  popularity,  heightened  by  absence,  flamed  into 
office  brilliance  in  “Riptide”.  .  .  but  that  was  just  the  beginning!  A  vehicle 
that  most  nearly  approximates  the  tenderness  of  “Smilin’  Through"  is  that 
romance  which  has  given  Broadway  its  most  glorious  stage  thrill  of  the  decade 
“The  Barretts  of  Wimpole  Street.”  NORMA  SHEARER  and  FREDRIC 
MARCH*  (weren’t  they  incomparable  in  “Smilin'  Through’’!)  are  the 
Elizabeth  Barrett  and  Robert  Browning  of  the  stage  hit.  CHARLES 
LAUGHTON,  Academy  Prize  Winner,  star  of  "Henry  the  VIII ’ ’  has  come 
from  abroad  especially  for  this  picture!  Sidney  Franklin  of  “Smilin’  Through" 
fame  is  the  director.  Thalberg  is  producer!  What  a  screen  audience  awaits 
this  biggest  stage  hit  of  15  years  which  played  Broadway  for  two  solid  seasons 
arid  presold  America  with  two  unbroken  years  on  the  road! 

*Fredric  March ,  courtesy  20th  Century  Pictures 


Be  tk 


ken  tke  fire-works 


MUTINY  ON  THE  BOUNTY 


Norma  Shearer 


Davies 


Marie  Dressier 


CLARK  GABLE,  WALLACE  BEERY,  ROBERT  MONTGOMERY  head 
the  pageant  of  box-office  stars  who  are  making  an  entertainment  that  will 
rank  at  the  very  top  of  next  season’s  amusement  calendar!  The  popular 
appeal  of  “Mutiny  on  the  Bounty”  is  reflected  in  its  long  listing  as  best-seller 
and  its  subsequent  serial  story  fame  in  the  Hearst  newspapers.  Frank  Lloyd 
will  direct  this  mighty  romantic  spectacle.  Thalberg  is  producer. 

MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

Why  did  M-G-M  purchase  this  many-edinoned  best-seller  by  Stefan  Zweig 
as  a  starring  vehicle  for  NORMA  SHEARER?  Because  no  book  of  recent 
years  gave  its  public  such  a  soul-thrill!  Because  this  book  tells  Marie’s  queenly 
story  with  new  sympathy  .  .  .  not  that  of  the  baby  doll  queen, but  the  youthful 
beauty  starved  of  her  rightful  heritage  of  love  . . .  seeking  in  profligate  grandeur 
an  outlet  for  heart-hunger  .  .  .  finding  romance  in  one  of  the  deathless  devo¬ 
tions  of  history!  Because  this  book  gives  CHARLES  LAUGHTON  a  role 
equal  to  his  brilliant  “Henry  the  VIII”.  .  .  because  this  book  gives  HERBERT 
MARSHALL*  opportunity  for  his  most  appealing  charms.  Three  big  stars! 
A  production  of  magnificence  unparalleled  in  talkies!  Thalberg  is  producer. 
* Herbert  Marshall,  courtesy  Paramount  Pictures 

NAUGHTY  MARIETTA 

It  has  been  the  privilege  of  M-G-M  to  immortalize  famed  musical  comedies 
and  operettas  .  .  .  most  recently  “Cat  and  the  Fiddle”.  .  .  and  notably  next 
season's  “The  Merry  Widow.”  How  fitting  that  M-G-M  selects  Victor 
Herbert’s  deathless  love  songs  in  “Naughty  Marietta”  for  the  singing  star 
JEANETTE  MacDONALD  who  with  handsome  operatic-favorite  NELSON 
EDDY  brings  this  drama  of  Old  New  Orleans  to  the  screen.  “Ah — Sweet 
Mystery  of  Life”  and  “I’m  Falling  In  Love  With  Some  One".  .  .  typical  songs 
of  infinite  heart-thrill!  Robert  Z.  Leonard  is  director.  Hunt  Stromberg  is 
producer. 


Clark  Gable 


Loretta  Young 


Jean  Harlow 


Maurice  Chevalier 


Gloria  Swanson 


Lionel  Barrymore 


Myrna  Loy 


Ann  Harding 

in  1  picture,  courtesy 

R.K.O. 


Jul  1 5 1 34  pg.  5 


[STAR  PICTURES 

ONE  JOAN  CRAWFORD 


ONE  CONSTANCE  BENNETT* 

in  Michael  Arlen’s  famed  novel  of  the  strange  love  life  of  Iris  March.  (Title 
to  come.)  As  a  best-seller,  as  a  Katharine  Cornell  stage  triumph,  as  a  road¬ 
show  .  .  it  fascinated  millions.  What  a  cast  for  its  luxury-laden  talkie  pro¬ 

duction.  CONSTANCE  BENNETT,  HERBERT  MARSHALL  fresh  from 
his  “Riptide”  acclaim,  Elizabeth  Allan,  exquisite  in  “Men  in  White,”  Mrs. 
Patrick  Campbell,  Henry  Stephenson  and  many  more.  Directed  by  Robert 
Z.  Leonard. 

* Constance  Bennett,  courtesy  20th  Century  Pictures 


TWO  JEAN  HARLOW 

TWO  WALLACE  BEERY 

ONE  CLARK  GABLE 

ONE  ROBT.  MONTGOMERY 

ONE  JEAN  PARKER 

TWO  WILLIAM  POWELL 

ONE  WARNER  BAXTER-MYRNA  LOY 

ONE  RAMON  NOVARRO 

ONE  GLORIA  SWANSON 

TWO  MARION  DAVIES 

ONE  JEANETTE  MacDONALD 

ONE  MARIE  DRESSLER-WALLACE  BEERY 

ONE  HELEN  HAYES 

TWO  LIONEL  BARRYMORE 


Joan  Crawford 


Robt.  Montgomery 


William  Powell 


Constance  Bennett 

in  i  picture,  courtesy 
20th  Century 


Wallace  Beery 


Helen  Hayes 


Jackie  Cooper 


Jean  Parker 


Garbo 


Laurel  &.  Hardy 

Complete  list 
of  STARS, 
FEATURED 
PLAYERS, 
DIRECTORS, 
AUTHORS  on 
next  page. 


ONE  ANN  HARDING*  &  ROBT.  MONTGOMERY 

in  “Biography  of  a  Bachelor"  based  on  the  stage  hit  “Biography”  by  S.  N. 
Behrman.  Modern  showmanship  knows  of  its  sensational  success  on  Broad¬ 
way  and  on  the  road  .  its  intriguing  story  of  a  woman  artist  and  her  loves 
is  what  your  public  wants!  Cast  so  happily  before  in  “When  Ladies  Meet” 
Ann  Harding  and  Robert  Montgomery  perfectly  fit  their  roles,  and  that 
splendid  pair  of  screen  writers  Anita  Loos  and  John  Emerson  again  flash 
brilliant  writing  for  the  screen.  E.  H.  Griffith  is  director. 

*Ann  Harding,  courtesy  R.  K.  O.  Pictures 

TWO  LAUREL- HARDY 

FEATURE  LENGTH  COMEDIES 

TWO  ALL-STAR  COMEDIES 

M-G-M  unites  the  two  most  successful  comedy  producers  of  today,  Charles 
Reisner  and  Jack  Cummings  to  make  these  special  comedy  attractions.  And 
here  are  the  top  laugh  names  that  will  conspire  in  fun  films  to  challenge  the 
hilarity  records  of  “Caught  Short"  and  “Politics”  (both  directed  by  Reisner!) 

.  .  .  Jimmy  Durante,  Charles  Butterworth,  Louise  Fazenda.  Stuart  Erwin,  Ted 
Healy,  Una  Merkel  and  others! 

FOUR  COSMOPOLITAN  PRODUCTIONS 

Just  an  idea  of  the  Cosmopolitan  hits  of  past  months  “Penthouse,”  “Man¬ 
hattan  Melodrama”  and  “Thin  Man."  Cosmopolitan  Productions  get 
nationwide  advertising  and  publicity  through  the  Hearst  chain  of  newspapers. 

FOURTEEN  MARQUEE  PICTURES 

Showmanship  ideas,  new  slants  in  production,  with  casts  of  top-notch  names 
.  .  .  Marquee  Pictures  over  a  period  of  several  years  have  won  a  high  rating 
for  consistent  entertainment  delivery! 


M-G-M  PROPERTIES 


Listing  just  a  few  out  of  Leo’s  vast  resources  of  stage  plays, 
novels  and  original  stories— 

“MARIE  ANTOINETTE”  by  Stefan  Zweig,  best-seller;  “BIOGRAPHY” 
by  S.  N.  Behrman,  stage  hit;  “THE  GOOD  EARTH”  by  Pearl  S.  Buck,  biggest 
book  success  of  years;  "THE  BARRETTS  OF  WIMPOLE  STREET”  by 
Rudolf  Besier,  stage  triumph;  “MUTINY  ON  THE  BOUNTY”  by  Charles 
Nordhoff  and  James  Norman  Hall,  best-selling  novel;  MICHAEL  ARLEN’S 
story  of  Iris  March,  book  and  play  sensation;  “CHINA  SEAS”  by  Crosbie 
Garstin,  romantic  book  hit;  "SOVIET”  by  Jules  Furthman,  daring  screen 
original;  “WHAT  EVERY  WOMAN  KNOWS”  by  Sir  James  M.  Barrie,  inter¬ 
national  stage  classic;  “TISH”  by  Mary  Roberts  Rhinehart,  magazine  and 
book  favorite  for  years;  “THE  MERRY  WIDOW”  by  Victor  Leon  &.  Leo 
Stein,  Music  by  Franz  Lehar,  famed  operetta;  “DAVID  COPPERFIELD”  by 
Charles  Dickens,  one  of  the  world's  eternal  books;  “TIMBERLINE”  by  Gene 
Fowler,  current  best-selling  book;  “VANESSA”  by  Hugh  Walpole,  celebrated 
international  novel  triumph;  “THE  WIND  AND  THE  RAIN”  by  Merton 
Hodge,  stage  success;  “NAUGHTY  MARIETTA”  by  Victor  Herbert  and 
Rida  Johnson  Young,  immortal  operetta;  “NO  MORE  LADIES”  by  A.  E. 
Thomas,  New  York’s  great  current  play  success;  “FORSAKING  ALL 
OTHERS”  by  Edward  Roberts  and  Frank  Morgan  Carett,  stage  hit;  “HER 
EXCELLENCY’S  TOBACCO  SHOP”  by  Lezlo  Bus  Fekete,  notable  European 
stage  triumph;  “THE  CASINO  MURDER  CASE”  by  S.  S.  Van  Dine,  his 
lastest  mystery  novel  success;  “WICKED  WOMAN”  by  Anne  Austin,  popu¬ 
lar  novel;  “EVELYN  PRENTICE”  by  W.  E.  Woodward,  successful  novel; 
“MALIBU”  by  Vance  Hoyt,  unusual  current  book;  “THE  GRAVY  GAME” 
by  Harry  Stuhldreher  (Notre  Dame  star)  and  W.  Thornton  Martin,  Saturday 
Evening  Post  story;  “ANY  PORT  IN  A  STORM”  by  Guy  Gilpatric,  popular 
story  series;  “THE  BUGLE  SOUNDS”  by  Major  Zinovi  Pechkoff,  novel  of 
the  Foreign  Legion;  “JUNGLE  RED  MAN”  by  Harold  Noice,  adventure 
novel;  “REPEAL”  by  Charles  Francis  Coe,  Saturday  Evening  Post  serial; 
“LIVING  IN  A  BIG  WAY”  by  Louis  Bromfield,  popular  novelette;  “MAN 
CRAZY”  by  Vina  Delmar,  Liberty  Magazine  novel;  “PAMELA  THORN- 
DYKE”  by  Moss  Hart,  author  of  “As  Thousands  Cheer”;  “DEATH  ON 
THE  DIAMOND”  by  Courtland  Fitzsimmons,  popular  novel.  A  few  out 
of  a  group  of  original  stories  include  “THE  WINNING  TICKET”  by  Robert 
Hopkins;  “HIS  BROTHER’S  WIFE”  by  George  Auerbach;  “LADY  COMES 
TO  TOWN”  by  Clements  Ripley;  “MOVIE  QUEEN”  by  Sidney  Skolsky; 
“INDO-CHINA”  by  Arthur  Richman;  “WEST  POINT  OF  THE  AIR”  by 
Phillip  Dunne;  “IN  OLD  VIENNA”  by  Oscar  Hammerstein,  2nd,  and  Sig¬ 
mund  Romberg;  “BLACK  CHAMBER”  by  Herbert  Yardley  and  many  more. 

(over  please ) 


Jul  1 5 ’ 34  pg.  6 


UM-M-M! 


Among  those  who  are  making  M-Q-M’s 
Star-Spangled  Banner  of  1934'35 

(Listed  Alphabetically) 

STARS — LIONEL  BARRYMORE  •  WALLACE  BEERY 
MAURICE  CHEVALIER  •  JACKIE  COOPER  •  JOAN 
CRAWFORD  •  MARION  DAVIES  •  MARIE  DRESSLER 
CLARK  GABLE  •  GRETA  GARBO  •  JEAN  HARLOW 
HELEN  HAYES  •  LAUREL  -  HARDY  •  MYRNA  LOY 
JEANETTE  MacDONALD  •  ROBERT  MONTGOMERY 
RAMON  NOVARRO  •  JEAN  PARKER  •  WILLIAM 
POWELL  •  NORMA  SHEARER  •  GLORIA  SWANSON 
LORETTA  YOUNG 


FEATURED  PLAYERS  -  Brian  Aheme  Katharine  Alexander  •  Ross  Alexander  •  Tad  Alexander 
Elizabeth  Allan  •  Virginia  Bruce  Ralph  Bushman  •  Charles  Butterworth  •  Mrs.  Patrick  Campbell 
Mary  Carlisle  •  Leo  Carrillo  •  Ruth  Channing  •  Mady  Christians  •  Mae  Clarke  •  Jimmy  Durante 
Nelson  Eddy  •  Stuart  Erwin  •  Madge  Evans  •  Muriel  Evans  •  Louise  Fazenda  •  Preston  Foster 
Betty  Furness  •  Gladys  George  •  C.  Henry  Gordon  •  Russell  Hardie  •  Ted  Healy  •  Louise  Henry 
Jean  Hersholt  •  Irene  Hervey  Jean  Howard  •  Isabel  Jewell  •  Otto  Kruger  •  Evelyn  Laye 

Willard  Mack  •  Una  Merkel  •  Frank  Morgan  Karen  Morley  •  Maureen  O’Sullivan 

Nat  Pendleton  •  Rosamond  Pinchot  •  Esther  Ralston  •  Donald  Reed  •  May  Robson 
Shirley  Ross  •  Maurice  Schwartz  •  Martha  Sleepei  •  Mona  Smith  •  Lewis  Stone  •  Franchot  Tone 
Henry  Wadsworth  •  Lucile  Watson  •  Johnny  Weissmuller  ■  Diana  Wynyard  •  Robert  Young 

DIRECTORS  -  Harry  Beaumont  •  Monta  Bell  •  Richard  Boleslavsky  •  Charles  Brabin 
Clarence  Brown  •  Jack  Conway  •  George  Cukor  •  Victor  Fleming  •  Tay  Garnett  •  Edmund 

Goulding  •  George  Hill  •  William  K.  Howard  •  Gregory  La  Cava  •  Fritz  Lang  •  Robert  Z.  Leonard 

E.  Lubitsch  •  Rouben  Mamoulian  •  Edwin  L.  Marin  •  Harry  Pollard  •  Charles  Riesner 

Richard  Rosson  •  Edgar  Selwyn  •  W.  S.  Van  Dyke  •  William  Wellman  •  Sam  Wood 


AND  THE  GREATEST  LINE-UP  OF  1934-35 


SHORTS 

in  the  entire  industry! 


(Two  Reels) 

HAL  ROACH  M-G-M 
COMEDIES 
3  LAUREL-HARDY 
8  CHARLEY  CHASE 

7  IRVIN  S.  COBB 

8  TODD-KELLY 
6  OUR  GANG 

6  M-G-M  MUSICAL 
REVUES  IN 
TECHNICOLOR 


( One  Reel) 

12  PETE  SMITH  ODDITIES 

6  PETE  SMITH  GOOFY 
MOVIES 

13  M-G-M  MUSICAL  CAR¬ 
TOONS  IN  COLOR 

8  FITZPATRICK  TRAVEL- 
TALKS  inTECHNICOLOR 

1 04  ISSUES  HEARST  METRO- 
TONE  NEWS  WITH 
EDWIN  C.  HILL  AS  THE 
GLOBE  TROTTER 


pg.  7 


THE 


EDITOR'S  PAGE 


Vol.  16,  No.  14 


July  15,  1934 


The  Philadelphia 


Let  There  Be  Light 

_  GENERALLY,  full  publicity  has  been 
®  given  by  local  boards  as  well  as  the 
Code  Authority.  In  some  instances,  there 
have  been  attempts  to  evade  the  full  glare 
of  the  news  journals  but  these  have  been 
few  and  far  between. 

In  the  matter  of  Code  Authority  voting, 
however,  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  one 
publicity  channel  has  been  left  closed. 

Owing  to  the  fact  that  alternates  are  con¬ 
stantly  sitting  on  the  Code  Authority,  it 
should  be  made  a  part  of  trade  record  how 
the  votes  stand  on  all  appeals  to  the  body. 
Thus,  the  trade  can  analyze  for  itself  each 
decision. 

In  some  cases,  minority  votes  have  been 
announced  but  seldom  the  majority  opinion. 
It  is  not  even  to  be  considered  that  those 
who  vote  in  the  majority  have  ruled  that 
their  votes  not  be  made  public,  but  such  an 
idea  can  easily  be  championed  by  those  who 
wish  to  discredit  the  CA. 

Let  all  the  names  of  those  voting  on  ap¬ 
peals  be  published.  Let  it  be  told  how  each 
votes.  In  such  manner,  the  trade  can  gain 
a  fuller  respect  for  each  individual.  No 
one  should  be  ashamed  to  let  the  world 
know  how  he  stands  on  an  issue  if  he’s 
right.  Keep  the  spotlight  burning. 


Peak  of  Brilliance 

_  NO  FURTHER  WORD  need  be  said 
®  against  the  gentlemen  who  are  think¬ 
ing  up  ways  and  means  whereby  the  ex¬ 
hibitor  loses  the  effect  of  his  10%  cancel¬ 
lation  privilege. 

The  prize  can  now  be  awarded  to  the 
exchange  which  said  that  an  exhibitor  who 
otherwise  has  completed  all  of  his  obliga¬ 
tions  cannot  exercise  the  10%  cancellation 
privilege  because  of  the  fact  that  the  same 
exhibitor  did  not  buy  mats  or  sufficient 
paper  from  the  exchange. 

In  the  case  in  question,  the  exhibitor  used 
the  service  of  a  program-printing  concern, 
which  included  certain  mat  service  as  well. 
Because  the  exhibitor  did  not  buy  the  mats 
directly  the  exchange  now  declares  the  ex¬ 
hibitor  not  to  be  in  good  standing. 

It  must  have  taken  several  nights  of  study 
to  have  thought  of  that  evasion.  If  this  is 
to  be  the  spirit  of  the  distributors  in  work¬ 
ing  out  the  code  for  the  benefit  of  all,  any¬ 
thing  is  likely  to  happen. 


New  Season 

_  NOW  THAT  the  last  of  the  conven- 
*  tions  is  over,  the  industry  may  be  con¬ 
sidered  as  officially  entering  the  1934-1935 
year. 

There  is  no  doubt  but  that  the  season 
past  will  go  down  as  one  of  the  most  hectic 
in  the  history  of  the  business. 

Just  the  same,  it  would  seem  safe  to 
wager  that  many  of  the  reforms  that  are 
bound  to  come  in  this  industry  will  be  traced 
back  to  the  hectic  days  of  1933-1934. 

One  rarely  appreciates  anything  when  it 
happens.  1934-1935  gave  this  business  the 
code.  That,  in  itself,  is  one  reason  why  it 
should  be  entered  as  one  of  the  historic 
periods  of  this  industry. 


EXHIBITOR 

Circulating  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware.  Issued  on  the  1st  and  15th 
of  each  month  by  Jay  Emanuel  Publications,  Inc.  Publishing  office,  219  North  Broad  Street,  Philadelphia. 
Branches  at  1600  Broadway,  New  York  City;  Washington,  D.  C.  Jay  Emanuel,  publisher;  Paul  J. 
Qreenhalgh,  advertising  manager;  Herbert  M.  Miller,  managing  editor.  Subscription  rates:  $2  for  one 
year,  $5  for  three  years.  Single  copies,  15c  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware. 
Publishers,  also,  of  THE  NATIONAL  EXHIBITOR  of  Washington  and  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  EXHIBITOR. 
Official  organ  of  the  Motion  Picture  Theatre  Owners  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and 
Delaware.  Address  all  communications  to  the  Philadelphia  office. 


Important  Decision 


'THE  Code  Authority  is  leaving  itself  open  to  criticism 
and  plenty  of  discussion. 

Specifically,  in  the  case  of  the  Criterion  Theatre,  Bridgeton, 
N.  J.,  against  the  Stanley  Theatre,  Bridgeton,  N.  J.,  the  grievance 
board  found  that  there  was  an  overbought  situation  and  com¬ 
manded  the  Stanley  to  give  17  pictures,  including  some  of  major 
companies,  to  the  complainant.  The  grievance  board  based  its 
overbought  decision  on  the  reasoning  that  in  the  case  of  two  com¬ 
panies  the  Stanley  Theatre  had  a  minimum  commitment  and  that 
inasmuch  as  its  selective  deal  tied  up  all  product,  all  pictures 
should  be  considered  as  belonging  to  the  Stanley. 

The  Code  Authority,  in  modifying  the  local  decision,  held  that 
the  Stanley,  in  its  selective  buy,  could  only  be  credited  with  the 
minimum  number  it  was  obligated  for  and  found  that  there  was 
not,  therefore,  an  overbought  situation.  However,  it  went  further 
than  that  and  ordered  that  the  Stanley  Theatre,  in  the  case  of  its 
selective  deal,  “forthwith”  (immediately)  choose  its  pictures  and 
release  the  others  to  the  Criterion;  all  this  in  spite  of  code  clauses 
as  well  as  those  in  contracts  to  the  contrary. 

The  Code  Authority,  in  ruling  that  a  house  making  a  selective 
buy  can  only  be  held  to  have  committed  itself  for  the  minimum, 
is  setting  a  dangerous  precedent.  It  is  asserting  that  a  theatre 
needing  225  pictures  a  year  can  legally  tie  up  450  on  selective  buys. 

The  Code  Authority,  in  ordering  a  theatre  buying  on  selective 
plan  to  make  its  choice  of  pictures  “forthwith”  (immediately),  is 
not  only  destroying  the  principle  of  selective  buying  but  inter¬ 
fering  with  the  contractual  obligations  between  buyer  and  seller. 

Further  developments  will  be  watched  with  interest. 


8 


Jul  15'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


fchmonial  Simur 
JHikc  Xjnn^au 
Juki  Sth,  1934 
Belleirue  •Sfrrcilfor&'K'oM. 


AT  MIKE  LANDOW  DINNER.  150  exhibitors,  film  men  pay  homage  to  retiring  Universal 
manager  at  Bellevue-Stratford  affair,  July  9.  ( Page  9) 


HEADS  MPTO.  Charles  Segall, 
veteran  exhibitor,  is  the  new  presi¬ 
dent  of  the  MPTO  of  Eastern  Penn¬ 
sylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and 
Delaware.  (Page  12) 


PARAMOUNT’S  GUESTS.  Adolph  Zukor,  president,  Paramount  Publix,  and 
Emanuel  Cohen,  vice-president  in  charge  of  production,  pose  with  theatre  opera¬ 
tors  who  attended  Paramount’s  23rd  convention  at  Los  Angeles. 


MEN  OF  COLUMBIA  assembled  in  convention  at  Atlantic  City.  Get-together  was  the 
last  one  of  any  major  company  and  officially  wound  up  the  convention  season  for  the 
industry. 


AL  LICHTMAN,  vice-president  and 
general  manager  in  charge  of  dis¬ 
tribution  for  United  Artists,  con¬ 
gratulating  Herbert  Wilcox,  pro¬ 
duction  chief  and  director  of  “Nell 
Gwyn,”  the  British  &  Dominion 
production,  released  through  United 
Artists. 


AT  PARA  MEETING.  Clayton 
Eastman,  Albany;  Chet  Bell,  De¬ 
troit;  Randolph  Scott;  Percy  Bloch, 
Philadelphia;  Don  Woods,  Minne¬ 
apolis;  Herman  Lorber,  New  York; 
Richard  Arlen;  James  J.  Oulahan, 
Washington;  Kenneth  Robinson, 
Buffalo;  Oscar  Morgan,  Atlanta, 
and  Louis  Phillips,  New  York, 
shown  as  they  golfed  between  ses¬ 
sions  at  Paramount’s  23rd  conven¬ 
tion  at  Los  Angeles. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Jul  15'34 


9 


Appeal  to  Divisional  Administrator 

Looms  After  Linker-Stanley  Decision 


Trade  Hears  Bridgeton,  N.  J.,  Independent  May  Be  First 
Bringing  Case  Past  Code  Authority  Heads — Body 
Upheld  Local  Ruling  with  Changes 

An  appeal  to  Divisional  Administrator  Sol  A.  Rosenblatt  from  the  decision  of 
the  Code  Authority  in  the  case  of  the  Criterion  Theatre,  Bridgeton,  N.  J.,  vs.  the 
Stanley  Theatre,  Bridgeton,  N.  J.,  is  believed  likely. 


Jersey  Allied  Meets 

Jersey  Allied  will  meet  in  annual 
convention  at  the  Ritz-Carlton,  Atlantic 
City,  August  22-24. 


Trade  Turns  Out  to 
Wish  Landow  Farewell 


150  Film  Men  Attend  Bellevue- 
Stratford  Dinner 

Mike  Landow,  retiring  Universal 
branch  manager  here,  and  now  headed 
for  the  pottery  business  in  York,  re¬ 
ceived  a  triumphant  testimonial  at  the 
Bellevue-Stratford,  July  9,  when  150  film 
men,  friends  and  associates,  turned  out 
to  wish  him  godspeed  in  his  new  work. 

The  dinner,  first  in  nearly  two  years  in  the 
local  hemisphere,  topped  many  similar  events 
and  was  a  credit  to  the  committee  headed  by 
Jack  Greenberg  who  worked  to  put  it  over. 

Landow  was  praised  on  every  hand  and  took 
it  all  modestly. 

Among  those  at  the  speakers’  table  were 
Percy  Bloch,  Judge  Joe  Varbalow,  Lewen 
Pizor,  Con  McCool,  Charles  Segall,  Leonard 
Schlesinger,  Jack  Kelly,  M.  E.  Comerford,  Bob 
Mochrie,  toastmaster,  Landow,  Sig  Wittman, 
Joe  Engel,  Harry  Schwalbe,  Lou  Appell,  Ben 
Amsterdam,  Morris  Wax,  Marcus  Benn,  A1 
Cohen,  C.  Floyd  Hopkins,  Doc  Schad. 

Speakers  included  Max  Baer,  Benny  Rubin, 
Leonard  Schlesinger,  M.  E.  Comerford,  Morris 
Wax,  Jack  Kelly,  Charles  Segall,  Percy  Bloch, 
Stanton  Samson,  Sig  Wittman,  Judge  Varba¬ 
low,  Con  McCool,  Jay  Emanuel  and  Joe  Engel. 

Entertainment  was  furnished  through  the 
courtesy  of  Stanley-Warner,  Joe  Feldman, 
Harry  Biben,  with  Stewart  Sisters,  Johnny 
Pastine,  Stanley  Brothers  and  Frankie  Rich¬ 
ardson  predominating. 

Landow  was  presented  with  a  watch,  while 
Joe  Engel  gave  him  a  parchment  scroll  with 
tribute  from  his  former  Universal  employees. 

Max  Baer  surprised  the  audience  by  his  quick  wit. 

.  He  urged  all  exhibitors  to  buy  and  boost  any 
pictures  in  which  he  appeared.  .  .  Benny  Rubin  fol¬ 
lowed  and  ribbed  a  bit.  .  .  Bob  Mochrie  was  in  rare 
form  as  M.  C.  .  -  He  hopped  in  just  like  a  profes¬ 
sional.  .  .  .  Edgar  Mess  and  Sam  Gross  were  trying 
to  sell  Fox  to  unsuspecting  exhibitors.  .  .  .  Leonard 

Schlesinger,  making  his  first  official  trade  appearance  at 
an  all-industry  dinner,  praised  the  independents,  ex- 
changemen,  and  made  a  plea  for  co-operation.  Joe 

Engel,  new  Universal  exchange  chief,  got  a  nice  hand 
from  every  speaker.  .  .  .  They  wished  him  well.  .  .  . 
M.  E.  Comerford  also  gave  Mike  a  hand,  extended  good 
wishes  of  northeastern  theatremen.  .  .  Jack  Kelly, 

Democratic  city  chairman,  turned  in  a  few  nice  stories. 

.  Charles  Segall,  MPTO  prexy,  added  to  Landow’s 
praises.  .  .  .  Percy  Bloch  did  the  same.  .  So  did 

Stanton  Samson  and  Sig  Wittman.  .  .  Judge  Varba¬ 

low  told  some  funny  stories,  asked  fer  co-operation 
within  the  industry.  .  .  .  Con  McCool  stole  the  dinner 
by  turning  in  4  5  minutes  of  stories  that  topped  some 
of  the  headliners  on  every  stage.  He  made  the 

trip  for  his  friend,  M.  E.  Comerford.  .  Jay 
Emanuel  handed  Mike  a  book  of  knowledge.  .  .  .  Joe 

Engel  thanked  Mike  for  alj  he  had  done  for  him,  pre¬ 
sented  him  with  a  scroll.  .  .  .  Then  Landow  was  given 
his  watch,  made  a  brief  speech  and  the  dinner  was 
over.  .  .  .  Lou  Berger  enjoyed  the  acts  very  much.  . 

So  did  Is  Hirschblond. 


Following  the  handing  down  of  the  decision 
of  the  Code  Authority,  which  saw  the  local 
grievance  board’s  ruling  upheld  with  some 
changes,  wheels  were  set  in  motion  to  bring  the 
case  past  the  Code  Authority'  to  Rosenblatt. 
This  was  not  definitely  assured  at  press  time, 
but  looked  quite  likely. 

The  local  board's  decision  in  the  overbuying 
charge  resulted  in  awarding  17  pictures  to  the 
Louis  Linker  house,  the  Criterion.  Two  lists 
were  to  be  made  up  of  remaining  1933-1934  pic¬ 
tures  by  the  Stanley  with  Linker  making  his 
choice. 

The  Code  Authority  revised  this  ruling  to 
allow  Linker  only  Columbia  and  Universal  pic¬ 
tures.  Stanley  Theatre  was  committed  to  its 
minimum  on  a  selective  buy,  with  Linker  being 
allowed  to  deal  for  the  rest.  This  changes 
the  sense  of  the  local  decision,  which,  inci¬ 
dentally,  was  not  unanimous.  The  Code  Author¬ 
ity  decision  was  also  not  unanimous. 

The  Code  Authority  decision  follows : 

Louis  Linker,  Criterion  Theatre,  Bridgeton,  N.  J., 

vs.  Atlantic  Theatres,  Inc.,  Stanley  Theatre,  Bridge- 
ton,  N.  J. 

OPINION: 

The  respondent  appeals  from  a  determination  of  the 
Philadelphia  grievance  board  which  directed  that  the 
respondent  release  to  the  complainant  17  feature  motion 
pictures  comprised  of  motion  pictures  released  by  six 
major  distributors  with  whom  the  respondent  has  license 
agreements.  The  complaint  upon  which  the  determina¬ 
tion  was  based  was  made  under  Article  VI,  Part  2, 
Section  1  of  the  Code.  The  complainant  charged  the 
respondent  with  (a)  licensing  more  motion  pictures  than 
are  reasonably  required;  and  (b)  the  adoption  of  an 
unfairly  competing  operating  policy  of  unnecessary  and 
too  frequent  changes  of  motion  pictures. 

In  its  statement  of  facts  the  complaint  charged  that 
the  respondent  had  contracted  for  in  excess  of  260 
feature  motion  pictures  for  the  season  1933-34,  and  that 
the  respondent’s  operating  policy  provided  for  four 
changes  per  week  with  the  use  of  five  features. 

The  complainant  operates  two  theatres  in  the  town  of 
Bridgeton,  N.  J.  The  policy  of  one  of  the  theatres 
in  behalf  of  which  this  complaint  is  brought  is  first  run; 
the  policy  of  the  other  theatre  is  second  run.  The  re¬ 
spondent  operates  one  theatre. 

The  grievance  board’s  determination  was  not  unani¬ 
mous  Olie  member  of  the  board  dissented  in  an  opinion 
to  the  effect  that  the  respondent  has  not  contracted  for 
more  feature  motion  pictures  than  are  reasonably  re¬ 
quired  to  operate  its  theatre  based  upon  the  number  of 
weekly  changes  which  are  now  being  made,  which  has 
been  the  established  policy  for  that  theatre  for  the  last 
three  years;  and  that  the  respondent  has  not  contracted 
for  an  excessive  number  of  feature  motion  pictures  with 
the  intention  of  depriving  the  complainant  of  a  suffi¬ 
cient  number  of  feature  motion  pictures  to  operate  this 
theatre. 

The  majority  opinion  of  the  grievance  board  was 
written  after  an  independent  investigation  of  the  facts 
made  by  the  board. 

The  majority  opinion  of  the  board  also  concluded 
“that  the  complainant  did  not  completely  make  out  a 
case  supporting  his  contention  that  the  respondent  had 
bought  more  pictures  than  were  reasonably  required  to 
operate  the  Stanley  Theatre  with  the  intention  of  de¬ 
priving  the  complainant  of  a  sufficient  number  of  motion 
pictures  to  operate.” 

The  majority  opinion  states:  “The  board  found  upon 
its  investigation  that  the  Stanley  Theatre  had  commit¬ 
ted  and  reserved  2  62  feature  motion  pictures  from  the 
following  companies:  Paramount,  Fox,  Universal,  Colum¬ 
bia,  Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer  and  Vitagraph.” 

The  respondent  contended  that  it  had  contracted  for 
232  motion  pictures. 

It  is  plain  from  a  reading  of  the  opinion  of  the  board 
and  from  the  brief  of  the  complainant’s  counsel  in 


support  of  the  board’s  determination,  that  the  foundation 
for  the  board’s  determination  in  this  finding  of  fact 
that  the  respondent  had  contracted  for  262  feature 
motion  pictures  and  its  rejection  of  the  respondent’s 
claim  that  it  had  contracted  for  only  232. 

We  have,  therefore,  carefully  examined  the  evidence 
on  this  disputed  fact  which  forms  the  basis  of  the  local 
board’s  determination. 

We  find  that  not  computing  pictures  announced  which 
will  not  be  released  by  distributors,  the  license  agree¬ 
ments  of  the  respondent  with  distributors  are  as  fellows: 


Warner-First  National  60 

Fox  48 

Paramount  5  9 

Metro  1 5 


Columbia — a  selection  of  26  out  of  36 
Universal — a  selection  of  23  out  of  36 

The  total  is  231  pictures. 

The  difference  between  the  number  as  set  forth  above 
and  the  number  as  found  by  the  grievance  board  is  due 
to  these  differences: 

1.  The  releases  by  Paramount  are  59  instead  of  65,  as 
found  by  the  grievance  board. 

2.  The  pictures  of  Fox  Film  are  48  instead  of  54,  (the 
branch  manager  of  Fox  Film  testified  that  the  balance 
of  6  pictures  from  Fox  were  available  to  the  com¬ 
plainant’s  theatre  if  he  wanted  them.) 

3.  The  grievance  board  computed  as  the  number  under 
contract  between  the  respondent  and  Universal  and 
Columbia,  all  of  the  pictures  available  under  such 
contracts  although  the  respondent’s  obligation  under 
such  contracts  was  to  play  as  a  minimum,  the  number 
indicated  in  the  tabulation  above. 

Preliminary  to  our  determination,  therefore,  is  the 
conclusion  of  fact  we  must  make  as  to  the  number  of 
pictures  for  which  the  respondent  has  contracted  for, 
bearing  in  mind  the  selective  contracts  with  Columbia 
and  Universal. 

True  it  is  that  the  respondent  may  exercise  the  privi¬ 
lege  under  these  selective  contracts  of  playing  all  the 
pictures  covered  by  the  contract  and  in  excess  of  its 
obligation  to  play  the  minimum  number.  On  the  other 
hand,  we  cannot  without  some  basis  of  fact  in  the  evi¬ 
dence,  conclude  that  such  is  the  respondent’s  intention; 
presumptively  the  respondent  desires  to  play  and  pay 
for  only  its  minimum  obligation. 

By  Article  VE,  Part  1,  of  the  code  it  is  provided 
that  under  selective  contracts  such  as  are  in  question 
here  notice  of  rejection  must  be  given  within  twenty-one 
days  of  the  date  of  availability  in  the  exchange  terri¬ 
tory  of  each  picture.  In  fact  the  contract  of  Columbia 
provides  that  notice  of  rejection  must  be  given  within 
fourteen  days  after  availability. 

Theoretically,  with  each  rejection  given  by  the  re¬ 
spondent  in  conformity  with  the  code  or  with  the  con¬ 
tract,  which  ever  is  sooner,  such  picture  becomes  avail¬ 
able  to  the  plaintiff  for  negotiation.  That,  however, 
does  not  take  care  of  the  situation  if  the  respondent 
accepts  every  picture  under  the  selective  contract  and 
continues  to  accept  pictures  even  after  its  minimum 
obligation  under  such  contract  has  been  performed. 

To  meet  the  situation  we  decided  that  if  the  respond¬ 
ent  uses  all  of  the  pictures  under  the  selective  contracts 
it  will  have  more  pictures  than  it  reasonably  requires. 
In  the  event  that  it  takes  more  than  its  minimum  obli¬ 
gations  under  the  contracts,  it  would  be  a  fair  infer¬ 
ence  that  it  took  those  pictures  with  the  intent  and 
effect  of  depriving  its  competitor,  the  complainant,  of 
those  pictures. 

Under  Article  VI,  Part  2,  Section  .3  the  grievance 
hoard  may  grant  such  relief  as  it  deems  appropriate  upon 
its  finding  of  fact  that  the  respondent  lias  committed 
any  of  the  acts  specified  in  paragraph  (a),  (b),  (c),  and 
(d)  of  Section  1. 

We  think  that  if  the  respondent  took  all  the  pictures 
under  these  selective  contracts  the  grievance  board 
would  be  justified  with  finding  that  the  respondent  has 
violated  Section  1  (a).  It  is  therefore  appropriate  for 
the  grievance  board,  or  for  us  upon  appeal,  to  grant 
relief  bv  ordering  that  the  respondent  forthwith  make 
his  selection  up  to  the  minimum  obligation  of  motion 
pictures  under  contract  with  Universal  and  Columbia, 
thereby  releasing  motion  pictures  above  that  number  for 
availability  to  the  complainant’s  theatre. 

As  to  the  respondent’s  operating  policy.  The  evidence 
is  clear  that  the  respondent’s  operating  policy  existed 
for  a  period  of  three  years  before  the  complainant 

(Continued  on  page  32) 


Jul  15*34  pg.  10 

THIS  BEAUTIFUL  BOOK  IS  ON 

♦  ♦We  are  proud  ol 
this  book  .  .  .  and  prouder  of  tht 
great  attractions  it  announces. 


It  tells  why  RKO-RADIO’S  message  foi 
1934'35  can  be  told  in  FIVE  words 


ITS  WAY  TO  YOU 


RKO-RADIO  PICTURES 


WITH  PRIDE  WE  ANNOUNCE 

x  ^  j/, 

VY*  tS*  ■Vv' 

THE  LITTLE  MINISTER  by  Sir  James  Barrie  star¬ 
ring  Katharine  Hepburn  .  .  .  ROBERTA,  queen  of 
musical  romances  .  .  lilting  melodies  by  Jerome 
Kern  .  .  .  FRECKLES,  Gene  Stratton  Porter's 
enduring  classic  .  .  .  THE  AGE  OF  INNO¬ 
CENCE,  Edith  Wharton’s  Pulitzer  Prize  Novel 
co-starring  Irene  Dunne  and  John  Boles  .  .  . 
RADIO  CITY  REVELS  dazzling  cavalcade  of 
screen  and  radio  stars  in  one  mighty  show  .  .  . 
BY  YOUR  LEAVE  WEDNESDAY’S  CHILD  . 
THE  FORSYTE  SAGA,  John  Galsworthy's  great 
epic  starring  Katharine  Hepburn  .  .  .  WHEELER 
AND  WOOLSEY  in  two  shows  .  .  .  the  first 
"Kentucky  Kernels".  .  .  THE  FOUNTAIN  starring 
Ann  Harding  .  .  .  Menan  C.  Cooper's  produc¬ 
tion  of  SHE  .  .  THE  ENCHANTRESS  .  .  .  H.  Rider 
Haggard’s  world's  thrilling  book  .  .  .  FALSE 
DREAMS  FAREWELL  HO!  FOR  SHANGHAI, 
produced  by  Lou  Brock  .  .  .  LADDIE,  Gene 
Stratton  Porter's  most  belove  d  book  .  .  .  THREE 
STAND  ALONE  starring  Johnny  Weissmuller  .  . . 
THE  GAY  DIVORCE  with  Fred  Astaire  and 
Ginger  Rogers  .  .  .  ANNE  OF  GREEN  GABLES, 
"Little  Women"  of  this  new  season  .  .  .  FRANK 
BUCK’S  "JUNGLE".  .  .  "THE  THREE  MUS¬ 
KETEERS"  starring  Francis  Lederer  .  .  .  HIDE  IN 
THE  DARK,  best  mystery  story  since  "Bellamy 
Trial"  .  .  EL  DORADO  starring  Francis  Lederer, 
great  lover  of  "Autumn  Crocus".  .  TWO  GREAT 
STORIES  starring  William  Powell  .  .  .  RICHEST 
GIRL  IN  THE  WORLD  .  .  .  ALIEN  CORN 
starring  Ann  Harding  in  the  Pulitzer  Prize  Play 
by  Sidney  Howard  ...  THE  WORLD  BY  THE 
TAIL  with  Fred  Astaire  and  Ginger  Rogers  .  .  . 
Merian  C.  Cooper's  gigantic  Spectacle  Drama 
THE  LAST  DAYS  OF  POMPEII. 


GREAT  PR 


MAKE 


12 


Jul  15’ 34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Record  Turnout  of  Industry  Leaders 

Expected  for  Lew  Pizor  Testimonial 


Retiring  MPTO  President  To  Be  Honored  at  July  16 
Dinner — Bellevue-Stratford  Scene — Marks  Thanks  Fol¬ 
lowing  Constructive  Efforts  During  Term 

Leaders  of  the  motion  picture  industry  and  the  city  and  state  are  expected  to 
attend  the  testimonial  dinner  to  be  given  to  Lewen  Pizor,  retiring  president  of  the 
MPTO  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware  at  the  Belle¬ 
vue-Stratford  Hotel,  July  16.  _ 


Pizor,  who  steps  down  from  his  post  as  presi¬ 
dent  with  a  record  that  has  never  been  equalled 
in  exhibitor  organization  history,  will  be  hon¬ 
ored  by  an  invited  group  of  exhibitors,  ex- 
changemen,  city  and  state  leaders,  press  and 
others  identied  with  the  motion  picture  industry. 

The  dinner  promises  to  be  the  biggest  and 
most  important  in  many  seasons. 

First  mention  of  the  dinner  came  a  few  weeks 
ago  and  took  tangible  form  at  the  recent 
MPTO  session  when  a  committee  was  appointed 
to  formulate  plans.  The  idea  took  hold  so 
rapidly  that  the  dinner  turned  out  to  be  more 
than  an  industry  matter  but  one  for  city  and 
state  officials  as  well  to  attend. 

ft  is  expected  that  Mayor  Moore,  City  Solici¬ 
tor  Smythe  and  other  leaders  will  attend  as  well 
as  the  film  gentry. 

Charles  Segall,  new  president  of  the  MPTO, 
and  Abe  Einstein,  Stanley-Warner,  are  heading 
the  committee  on  arrangements. 

At  press  time,  the  dinner  appeared  to  be  top¬ 
ping  all  previous  expectations. 

Pizor’s  record  during  his  seven  years  as  presi¬ 
dent  of  the  MPTO  has  been  strongly  endorsed 
by  this  vote  of  confidence.  As  an  honorary 
member  of  the  board  of  managers,  he  will  con¬ 
tinue  to  work  for  the  organization  and  the 
industry. 

Those  close  to  Pizor  say  that  he  puts  interests 
of  the  industry  before  everything  and  that  as  a 
member  of  the  organization  he  will  continue  to 
serve  in  the  splendid  manner  as  in  the  past. 

The  dinner  promises  to  be  an  important  and 
gala  testimonial  that  will  go  down  in  film  his¬ 
tory  as  something  to  be  remembered  always. 

Segall  Plans  Active 
Campaign  as  President 

New  MPTO  Head  Announces 
Building  of  Theatre 

Charles  Segall,  new  president  of  the 
MPTO  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  South¬ 
ern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware,  plans  an 
active  term  as  head  of  that  body. 

Segall,  who  has  been  affiliated  with  exhibitor 
organization  activity  since  its  beginning  here, 
started  in  this  business  in  1908  as  an  exhibitor. 
He  operated  many  local  theatres  including  the 
Hip,  Princess,  Baltimore,  Hamilton,  Apollo, 
52nd  Street,  Franklin,  52nd  Street  Theatre, 
Atlantic,  Wildwood,  N.  J.,  and  others. 

Now,  he  is  interested  in  the  Apollo,  Erlen, 
Arcadia,  is  connected  with  Principal  Theatres 
Corporation  as  well  as  with  other  enterprises. 

President  of  the  first  Exhibitors’  League,  he 


Federal  Court  Judge 
Refuses  Doubles  Injunction 

All  Angles  of  Case  Due  to  Be 
Covered  at  Trial 

A  petition  for  a  preliminary  injunction 
against  six  nationally  known  motion  pic¬ 
ture  distributors  sought  by  a  Philadelphia 
movie  operator  to  prevent  their  interfer¬ 
ence  with  double- feature  programs  was 
denied,  July  11,  by  Federal  Judge  George 
A.  Welsh,  in  United  States  District 
Court. 

The  opinion,  which  consisted  of  sixty  words, 
was  written  by  the  jurist  at  his  Summer  home 
in  Bermuda,  where  he  is  vacationing,  and  mailed 
to  the  court  here. 

The  court’s  ruling  said : 

The  motion  for  preliminary  injunction 
argued  for  in  this  case  is  refused. 

The  case  is  so  fraught  with  problems 
that  require  consideration  and  which  re¬ 
quire  the  taking  of  testimony  that  such 
preliminary  injunction  by  the  court  would 
be  premature.  Every  phase  of  the  case 
will  be  gone  into  by  the  court  at  a  later 
date  before  any  decisive  action  is  taken 
thereon. 

Case  involved  action  of  Harry  Perelman, 
operating  West  Allegheny  and  Lehigh  Theatres, 
against  six  distributors  and  charged  anti-trust 
law  violation  among  other  things. 

The  petition  for  a  permanent  injunction  will 
be  heard  in  the  Fall,  when  testimony  will  be 
taken,  Judge  Welsh  indicated. 

Morris  Wolf  represented  distributors  in  the 
hearing  while  Ben  Golder  was  counsel  for 
Perelman. 


was  associated  with  the  Stanley  Company  for 
a  time. 

He  plans  to  begin  where  Lewen  Pizor  left 
off,  to  move  for  constructive  organization  poli¬ 
cies  and  intends  to  build  up  the  membership  to 
a  new  peak.  Already,  he  has  started  the  wheels 
turning. 

There  is  no  question  but  that  his  selection 
has  been  hailed  by  exhibitors  throughout  the 
territory  who  know  the  MPTO  will  be  well 
directed  during  his  term  as  president. 

Segall,  also,  made  public  last  week  the  news 
that  he  will  operate  a  new  theatre  to  be  built 
at  Broad  Street,  on  the  west  side,  north  of 
Grange  Avenue.  He  has  leased  the  1500  seat 
structure  for  a  term  of  years.  House  will  be 
a  showplace  and  architects  are  Thalheimer  and 


IEPA  Housewarming 

Housewarming  for  the  IEPA  at  1313 
Vine  Street  is  scheduled  for  July  16. 

All  exhibitors  invited  to  partake,  eat 
and  inspect. 

Local  equipment  firms  aiding  in  mak¬ 
ing  the  quarters  last  word  in  such 
things. 

Goldman’s  Announcement 
Stirs  All  Local  Industry 

Former  S-W  Chieftain  Organizing 
Independent  Chain 

William  Goldman,  nationally  known 
filmman  and  recently  managing  director 
for  Stanley-Warner  in  this  local  district, 
has  stirred  the  trade  with  a  preliminary 
announcement  of  the  formation  of  a  new 
enterprise  called  William  Goldman 
Theatres,  Inc. 

Corporation,  of  which  Goldman  has  been 
elected  president  and  general  director,  will  oper¬ 
ate  a  circuit  of  theatres  in  Philadelphia,  East¬ 
ern  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  Maryland  and 
other  eastern  states.  Announcement  says  group 
will  be  well  financed,  powerfully  supported, 
active,  aggressive,  progressive  and  independent. 

Report  also  has  the  chain  operating  a  central 
downtown  first  run  with  a  new  policy,  with 
others  in  the  city.  All  products  will  be  played. 

Announcement  is  the  first  official  report  from 
Goldman’s  office  in  the  WCAU  building.  Since 
his  retirement  from  Stanley-Warner,  he  has 
been  active  in  Philadelphia  on  the  new  project. 
During  his  term  as  Stanley-Warner  managing 
director  here,  he  became  a  civic  leader  and  took 
an  active  part  in  city  affairs.  He  was  a  member 
of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  Commercial 
Museum  and  Municipal  Convention  Hall. 

Trade  immediately  began  to  speculate  on  what 
houses  are  now  under  the  Goldman  wing.  While 
no  official  announcement  has  been  forthcoming, 
one  is  expected  soon.  Several  local  theatres 
have  been  rumored  as  hopping  to  the  Goldman 
banner  but  no  verification  has  been  made  from 
any  source. 

Goldman’s  presence  on  Vine  Street  a  fort¬ 
night  ago  confirmed  rumors  that  he  was  about 
set  to  start  the  new  venture.  Exchanges  and 
film  men  will  welcome  his  return  to  active 
erhibition  as  the  reputation  he  made  with  Stan¬ 
ley-Warner  and  elsewhere  will  stand  him  in 
good  stead.  There  is  no  doubt  but  that  he  will 
become  a  strong  factor  in  exhibitor  organiza¬ 
tion  circles  as  well. 


Weitz,  well  known  in  the  territory. 

The  Broad-Olney  section  has  been  deemed  a 
good  spot  for  a  house  for  many  seasons,  with 
Segall  finally  stepping  in  and  making  the  dream 
a  reality. 

House  will  be  opened  Thanksgiving  Day. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Jul  15*34 


13 


BOY  SCOUTS  GET  OUT  for  “Young  Eagles,”  new  First  Division  serial  which  opened  at 
the  Cross  Keys  Theatre,  on  a  mid-week  day  recently.  Howard  C.  McCall  Post  Junior 
Bugle  and  Drum  Corps  of  the  American  Legion  and  Troop  102  Richardson  Memorial 
Church,  Boy  Scout  group,  combined  to  give  the  serial  an  authentic  sendoff.  In  addition, 
an.  exhibit  of  Indian  craft  was  placed  in  the  lobby  by  the  manager. 


VISITING  WARNERS.  Some  of  the 
exhibitors  with  execs  who  visited 
Warner-First  National  lot  recently. 
John  Balaban,  Lou  Lipstone,  R.  J. 
O’Donald,  Grad  Sears,  Mervyn  Leroy, 
Major  Albert  Warner,  E.  V.  Richards, 
Karl  Hoblitzelle,  Mrs.  John  Balaban, 
Jack  Warner,  Sam  Dembow,  J.  J. 
Rubens,  Harry  Rubens. 


ORGANIZES  CIRCUIT.  William 
Goldman,  formerly  division  man¬ 
ager  for  Stanley-Warner,  has  made 
official  announcement  of  the  or¬ 
ganization  of  William  Goldman 
Theatres,  Inc.,  a  new  independent 
theatre  chain.  ( Page  12) 


ACTIVE.  Joseph  Sloane,  at¬ 
tached  to  the  law  offices  of  Wolf, 
Block,  Schorr  and  Solis-Cohen,  is 
legal  counsel  for  Stanley-Warner 
these  days  in  all  cases  coming 
before  the  local  grievance  and  zon¬ 
ing  boards  in  which  S-W  is  in¬ 
volved.  Sloane  has  been  making 
a  nice  impression.  ( Page  16) 


IN  HARRISBURG.  Sam  Gilman  is 
the  new  manager  of  Loew’s  Regent 
Theatre,  Harrisburg.  He  comes 
from  Baltimore.  ( Page  21) 


TO  BE  FETED.  Lewen  Pizor,  re¬ 
tiring  president  of  the  MPTO,  will 
be  guest  of  honor  at  a  testimonial 
dinner  to  be  tendered  to  him  July 
16,  at  the  Bellevue-Stratford,  in 
recognition  of  his  work  for  the 
local  industry.  (Page  12) 


WELCOME  BACK.  Miss  Lillian 
Gimbel,  Rae  Weiner,  Rose  Forman, 
Claire  Fineman,  Frances  Axler  are 
pictured  with  Etta  V.  Segall  at  the 
“welcome  back”  luncheon  given 
her  by  her  First  Division  employee- 
friends  at  the  Bellevue-Stratford, 
July  7,  coincident  with  her  return 
to  work  after  an  operation. 


14 


Jul  1 5 T  34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Theatremen  Await  Action  on  Lifting 

of  Boycott  as  Closing  Threat  Arises 


Issues,  Statements  Become  Involved — Rival  Groups 
Differ  in  Opinions — See  Little  Hope  for  Relief  Until 
Cardinal  Dougherty  Returns  from  Europe 

With  no  change  in  the  boycott  likely  until  the  return  of  Dennis  Cardinal  Dough¬ 
erty  from  Europe,  in  August,  theatremen  of  the  Philadelphia  district  affected  by 
the  drive  against  salacious  pictures  which  saw  a  complete  ban  on  the  part  of  the 


church  against  all  theatres  stand  helpless. 

Following  four  weeks  of  inactivity,  the  cam¬ 
paign  reached  front  pages  here  when  an  an¬ 
nouncement  in  the  local  papers,  July  3,  indi¬ 
cated  to  the  public  and  trade  that  Stanley- 
Warner  houses  and  those  affiliated  with  the 
MPTO  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New 
Jersey  and  Delaware  would  close  within  two 
weeks  unless  the  ban  were  modified.  Spokes¬ 
men  for  the  two  groups  were  Leonard  Schles- 
inger,  zone  chief  for  Stanley-Warner,  and 
Lewen  Pizor,  then  president  of  the  MPTO. 

This  was  followed  by  an  announcement  by 
Morris  Wax,  chairman  of  the  board  of  the 
Independent  Exhibitors’  Protective  Association, 
which  disclaimed  any  intention  of  closing. 
Wax’s  statements  followed  a  wire  sent  by  the 
group  to  the  Cardinal  in  Rome  protesting 
against  the  ban  and  hinting  at  closing  if  it 
continued. 

Following  this,  the  dailies  began  a  battle  of 
the  headlines  with  the  Church,  exhibitor  lead¬ 
ers,  etc.,  all  coming  to  the  fore. 

Briefly,  agitation  here  and  elsewhere  included : 

HERE 

July  3 — Leonard  Schlesinger  and  Lewen 
Pizor,  heads  of  Stanley-Warner,  Philly  dis¬ 
trict,  and  the  MPTO  respectively,  announce 
closing  of  theatres  within  two  weeks  if  com¬ 
plete  ban  against  theatres  is  not  lifted. 
Notice  of  closing  is  given  to  2500  union  and 
non-union  workers  in  theatres  of  Warners. 
More  than  10,000  persons  to  be  affected. 

July  3 - Joseph  Bernhard,  head  of  Warner 

theatres,  in  statement  to  press  in  New  York 
City,  denies  that  company  planned  to  close 
all  houses. 

July  3 — Pope  Pius  gives  special  apostolic 
blessing  upon  the  campaign  against  indecent 
motion  pictures  initiated  in  archdiocese  of 
Philadelphia.  Cardinal  Dougherty  receives 
blessing  during  an  audience  with  the  Pope. 

July  3 - Local  exhibitor  organizations  send 

cables  to  the  Cardinal  asking  for  lifting  of 
complete  ban. 

July  5 - Morris  Wax,  chairman  of  board 

of  managers  of  Independent  Exhibitors  Pro¬ 
tective  Association,  says  members  of  his 
association  have  no  intention  of  closing  their 
theatres.  Wax  asserts  members  seek  to  co¬ 
operate  with  churches  in  campaign  against 
salacious  films. 

July  5 - Joseph  Bernhard  says,  in  New 

York,  that  closing  of  theatres  will  be  averted 
as  long  as  possible  in  hope  that  church  boy¬ 
cott  will  be  eased.  Bernhard  reveals  that  in 
a  letter  to  the  Cardinal  he  has  offered  use 
of  a  projection  room  to  see  all  pictures  be¬ 
fore  being  released. 

July  6 - A  spokesman  for  the  Catholic 

Archdiocesan  offices  here,  replying  to  a 
compromise  offer  by  Stanley-Warner,  says 
there  is  no  intention  of  lifting  the  ban  and 
that  the  industry  has  not  yet  been  taught  a 


Approved 

Immoral 

Spotty 

Indecent 

(Ed  Note — Here  is  the  list  ot  recent  motion  pictures 
classified  as  immoral,  indecent,  offensive  in  spots  and 
suitable,  as  issued  by  a  Catholic  group  in  Chicago.) 


Immoral  and  Indecent 

“The  Life  of  Vergie  Winters,”  “Enlighten  Thy  Daugh¬ 
ter,”  “Affairs  of  a  Gentleman,”  “Side  Streets,”  “To¬ 
morrow’s  Children,”  “Dr.  Monica,”  “Unknown  Blonde,” 
“Ariane.” 

“Narcotic,”  “Road  in  Ruin.”  “Laughing  Boy,”  “Lit¬ 
tle  Man  WJiat  Now?”  “Madame  Du  Barry,”  “Born 
to  Be  Bad,”  “Uncertain  Lady,”  “Girls  for  Sale.” 

“Manhattan  Melodrama,”  “Wharf  Angel.”  “Merry 
Wives  of  Reno,”  “Notorious  But  Nice,”  “A  Modern 
Hero,”  “The  Trumpet  Blows,”  “Finishing  School,”  “Sis¬ 
ters  Under  the  Skin.” 

“Springtime  for  Henry,”  “Jimmy  the  Gent,”  “He 
Was  Her  Man,”  “Sadie  McKee,”  “Fog  Over  Frisco,” 
“Playthings  of  Desire,”  “It  Ain’t  No  Sin.” 

Offensive  in  Spots 

“Twenty  Million  Sweethearts,”  “Stand  Up  and  Cheer,” 
“Where  Sinners  Meet,”  “Double  Door,”  “Here  Comes  the 
Groom,”  “The  Crime  of  Helen  Stanley,”  “You  Made  Me 
Love  You,”  “Shoot  the  Works,”  “Three  on  a  Honey¬ 
moon,”  “Sing  and  Like  It.” 

“This  Man  Is  Mine,”  “The  Thin  Man,”  “Let’s  Try 
Again,”  “The  Constant  Nvmph,”  “It  Happened  One 
Night.”  “All  Men  Are  Enemies,”  ' 'Tar /.an  and  His  Mate,” 
“Whirlpool,”  “Many  Happy  Returns,”  “The  Merry 
Frinks,”  “Cockeyed  Cavaliers.” 

“The  Party’s  Over,”  “Private  Scandal,”  “The  Crosby 
Case,”  “We’re  Not  Dressing,”  “Murder  on  the  Black¬ 
board,”  “The  Crime  Doctor,”  “Beggars  in  Ermine,” 
“Little  Miss  Marker,”  “Stingaree,”  “The  Song  You  Gave 
Me,”  “The  Ninth  Guest,”  “Looking  for  Trouble,”  “I’ve 
Got  Your  Number,”  “Come  on,  Marines,”  “As  the  Earth 
Turns,”  “The  Cat  and  the  Fiddle.” 

Suitable 

“Operator  Number  Thirteen,”  “The  Last  Gentleman,” 
“The  Witching  Hour,”  “Orders  Is  Orders,”  “His  Greatest 
Gamble,”  “I  Give  My  Love,”  “A  Man’s  Game,”  “The 
Loudspeaker,”  “Honor  of  the  Range,”  “Baby  Take  a 
Bow.’ 

“Murder  in  the  Private  Car.’  “The  Poor  Rich,”  “David 
Harum,”  “One  Is  Guilty,”  “Straightaway,”  “The  Mad 
Age.”  “Keep  ’Em  Rolling,”  “Voice  in  the  Night,” 
“The  Man  Trailer,”  “The  House  cf  Rothschild.” 

“Wheels  of  Destiny,”  “Bulldog  Drummond  Strikes 
Back,”  “Most  Precious  Thing  in  Life,”  “The  Fighting 
Ranger,”  “You’re  Telling  Me,”  “Circus  Clown,”  “No 
Greater  Glory,”  “In  Love  With  Life,”  “Wild  Cargo,” 
“Melody  in  Spring,”  “Bottoms  Up.” 

“Sorrell  and  Son,”  “Harold  Teen,”  “The  Quitter,” 
“City  Limits,”  “Thirty-day  Princess,”  “The  Mystery  of 
Mr.  X.”  “Change  of  Heart,”  “Hell  Bent  for  Love,”  “A 
Yerv  Honorable  Guy,”  “Ever  In  Mv  Heart,”  “The  Show- 
off.” 

“The  Lost  Patrol,”  “I’ll  Tell  the  World,”  “Six  of  a 
Kind,”  “Secret  of  the  Blue  Room,”  “The  Hell  Cat,” 
“Condemned  to  Death,”  “The  Man  from  Utah,”  “Stolen 
Sweets,”  “The  World  in  Revolt,”  “The  Ferocious  Pal.” 


lesson.  He  says  the  boycott  will  not  be 
modified  until  there  is  a  permanent  change 
in  character  of  pictures.  Offer  of  a  projec¬ 
tion  room  in  which  films  may  be  previewed 
and  a  black  and  white  list  named  will  not 
be  accepted,  such  a  list  only  advertising  ob¬ 
jectionable  films,  it  is  stated.  The  statement 
also  says  that  10,000  people  will  not  be 
affected  by  the  ban.  Closing  is  called  only 
a  temporary  disadvantage  to  the  employees. 


Release  Information  Ready 

Information  on  general  release  dates 
of  pictures  with  notice  of  right  of  can¬ 
cellation  is  being  distributed  to  MPTO 
members  by  George  Aarons,  secretary. 

As  soon  as  exchanges  make  known 
this  information  it  will  be  forwarded  in 
time  to  take  advantage  of  code  provi¬ 
sions. 


July  6 - Monsignor  Hugh  Lamb,  Chancel¬ 

lor  of  the  Archdiocese,  denies  saying  that 
he  would  cable  Cardinal  Dougherty  in  Rome 
to  ask  for  lifting  of  the  boycott,  in  a  state¬ 
ment  issued  by  the  official  office.  The  Mon¬ 
signor  does  not  have  such  authority,  state¬ 
ment  asserts.  He  states  that  if  Morris  Wax 
or  his  organization  desires  to  present  any 
arguments  on  this  subject  to  Cardinal 
Dougherty,  he  would  forward  same  to  the 
Cardinal. 

July  6 - “Catholic  Standard  and  Times” 

says  in  an  editorial  that  threat  of  closing  is 
less  real  than  the  statement  of  the  theatre 
owners  indicates.  Summer  closings,  the  of¬ 
ficial  Catholic  paper  asserts,  are  a  usual 
practice  in  this  business. 

July  8 - Pope  Pius  grants  to  the  Cardinal 

the  privilege  of  using  his  name  as  a  whole¬ 
hearted  supporter  of  the  campaign  of  Ameri¬ 
can  bishops  against  indecent  motion  pictures. 

July  9 — MPTO  and  1EPA,  rival  exhibitor 
units,  hold  meetings  on  Catholic  question. 
Appoint  committees  to  confer  with  Stanley- 
Warner  and  exchanges  regarding  boycott. 
No  definite  action  taken. 

ELSEWHERE 

July  10 - Catholics,  Protestants  and  Jewish 

leaders  vote  at  meeting  in  New  York  City 
to  co-operate  in  nation-wide  Legion  of  De¬ 
cency  campaign  against  undesirable  motion 
pictures.  Conference  with  motion  picture 
producers  is  sought. 

July  9 — New  York  City  church  leaders 
include  stage,  dance  halls  as  well  as  movies 
in  clean-up  drive. 

July  9 - Mrs.  Eleanor  Roosevelt  praises 

voluntary  censorship  on  part  of  motion  pic¬ 
ture  industry  in  national  radio  address. 

July  9 - Will  Hays  arrives  in  Hollywood 

to  confer  with  Joe  Breen,  former  Philadel¬ 
phian,  who  heads  self-censoring  board  of 
producers.  Hays  says  he  welcomes  criticism. 

July  9 — Sol  A.  Rosenblatt,  divisional  ad¬ 
ministrator,  denies  any  censorship  by  the 
NRA. 

July  9 — Darryl  Zanuck,  UA  producer, 
hopes  to  see  Pope  in  Rome  regarding  the 
campaign. 

July  6 - Federal  Council  of  Churches 

asks  for  distribution  of  pledges  asking 
Protestants  to  stay  away  from  objectionable 
films. 

July  6 - Rev.  Dr.  S.  Parkes  Cadman  and 

Rt.  Rev.  Michael  J.  Curley  rap  salacious  films 
as  they  sail  for  Europe. 

July  6 - Fall  River,  Mass.,  bishop  asks  for 

Will  Hays’  resignation. 

( Continued  on  page  31) 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Jul  15'34 


15 


Film  Companies  Give  Right  to  Cancel  if 
There  is  Real  Protest  on  Moral  Grounds 


Shorts  with  Dinners 


When  Arthur  H.  Padula  reopens  the 
Arcadia  Theatre,  in  September,  as  a  new 
kind  of  restaurant,  shorts  are  reported 
to  be  one  of  the  main  attributes.  Trans¬ 
lux  projector  will  be  used  for  newsreels 
and  travelogues. 

Outside  of  the  fact  that  such  a  prac¬ 
tice  may  come  under  non-theatrical 
division  of  the  code,  some  point  out  that 
such  showing  will  conflict  with  the  fire 
laws,  one  having  to  do  with  a  building 
over  the  auditorium  part  of  a  theatre 
and  the  other  regarding  fire  exits  when 
capacity  runs  over  1000. 

Operator  runs  the  Anchorage.  He 
is  two  years  out  of  Penn. 


Recommendations 


(Ex-president  Lewen  I’izor  of  the  MPTO  made  the 
following  recommendations  as  he  handed  over  his  office 
to  Charles  Segal  1.  It  represents  his  idea  on  what  the 
organization  should  do.) 

That  the  organization  invite  all  those  without  to 
come  within  in  order  to  build  a  strong  body  for  con¬ 
structive  purposes. 

That  very  firm  and  effective  Steps  be  taken  to  meet 
the  threatened  position  of  some  distributors  who  will 
demand  50%  contracts  for  the  ’34-’35  sea. on.  This 
can  only  be  done  by  solidarity  of  front. 

Combat,  increased  cost  of  film  and  t..eatre  operation  In¬ 
sane  and  sound  methods. 

Continue  activity  against  unwarranted,  arbitrary,  un¬ 
just  and  unreasonable  censorship. 

A  closer  co-operative  understanding  with  opera  tors’ 
union  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  rejief. 

The  urging  of  all  exhibitors  to  sign  the  assent  to  the 
code,  and  at  this  point,  I  would  advise  you  that  the 
deputy  administrator  has  signed  permission  for  the  re¬ 
opening  of  the  code  in  order  that  all  exhibitors  may  n<  w 
become  a  part  of  the  code,  or  during  the  past  few 
weeks  operation  of  the  Cede  Authority  committees  has 
been  clearly  demonstrated  that  the  a  de  is  of  the  utmost- 
benefit  to  the  small  independent  exhibitor. 

That  there  should  be  regular  meetings  of  the  organ¬ 
ization;  at  least  once  a  month,  and  I  would  suggest 
that  such  meeting  be  held  cn  the  first  Tuesday  of  each 
month. 

That  your  board  of  managers  arrange  to  meet  twice 
a  month. 

That  there  be  appointed  a  strong  defense  committee 
for  the  purpose  of  preparing  cases  to  go  before  the 
zoning  and  clearance  beard,  as  well  as  grievance  board 
of  the  code,  so  that  they  will  be  in  the  proper  form 
and  proper  advice  given  to  the  exhibitors  in  order  that 
they  may  properly  present  their  claims. 

That  a  committee  be  immediately  appointed  for  the 
study  of  double  features,  and  that  this  committee  file 
a  brief  with  the  board  of  managers  in  order  that  the 
board  of  managers  may  recommend  to  the  organiza¬ 
tion  its  findings  on  this  question. 

Establishment  of  an  arbitration  committee  within 
our  own  ranks  for  the  purpose  of  making  adjustments 
between  exhibitors  as  well  as  between  exhibitors  and 
distributors,  as  to  product,  etc.,  in  competitive  spots  in 
order  to  help  the  exhibitor  to  keep  his  theatre  open  and 
solve  some  of  the  problems  under  the  code  without  the 
necessity  cf  filing  a  formal  complaint  with  the  code 
committees. 

That  a  committee  be  appointed  for  the  purpose  of 
safe-guarding,  watching  and  seeing  that  the  producers 
live  up  to  the  decision  of  the  code  committee  wherein 
it  was  decided  that  non -theatricals  should  not  show 
pictures  until  six  (6)  months  after  their  first  city  release. 

That  a  carnival  and  daylight  committee  be  appointed 
for  the  purpose  of  meeting  these  problems. 

That  a  committee  be  appointed  to  go  further  into 
the  question  of  music  license  fee  with  the  thought  in 
mind  of  eliminating  score  charges  and  music  license 
fees  on  talking  pictures. 

That  a  committee  be  appointed  for  the  purpose  of  lay¬ 
ing  plans  for  the  elimination  of  score  charges  on  all 
percentage  engagements. 


Privilege  Includes  All  Pictures  Released  Before  July  15 
When  New  System  Begins — Major  Producers  Identified 
as  Willing  _ 

Amplifying  Will  H.  Hays’  statement  of  two  weeks  ago,  which  concerned  the 
action  taken  to  amend  and  strengthen  the  system  of  industry  self-regulation  estab¬ 
lished  by  the  Motion  Picture  Producers  and  Distributors  of  America,  the  following 
companies,  members  of  that  association,  have  announced  that  each  would  grant  to 
exhibitors  the  right  to  omit  the  exhibition  of  any  of  their  motion  pictures  released 
prior  to  July  15,  1934,  against  which  there  is  a  genuine  protest  on  moral  grounds: 
Columbia,  Educational,  First  National,  Fox,  Metro-Goldwyn-Maver,  Paramount, 
RKO.  United  Artists.  Universal,  Warner  Bros. 


Churches  Will  Be  Fair 
with  All  of  This  Industry 

So  Says  M.  E.  Comerford  in  Local 
Address 


That  churches  will  he  entirely  fair  is 
the  opinion  of  M.  E.  Comerford.  who 
presented  that  attitude  to  exhibitors  when 
lie  addressed  the  recent  meeting  of  the 
MPTO  here  June  28. 

He  said  in  part : 

Af  no  time  in  the  history  of  the  motion  picture  busi¬ 
ness  has  there  been  as  great  a  need  for  unified  and  solid 
exhibitor  organization  as  at  present.  Exhibitor  bodies 
have  been  and  are  of  much  service  to  our  Industry  as 
we  form  the  direct  contact  with  the  public. 

.  I  was  president  of  the  first  exhibitor  body  formed  in 
Pennsylvania  and  was  glad  to  be  associated  at  all  times 
with  (lie  fine  men  who  freely  gave  of  their  time  and 
money  to  advance  motion  picture  interests.  Much  excel¬ 
lent  wc  rk  was  done  in  this  relation  in  Pennsylvania. 
Here  exhibitor  organizations  kept  us  free  from  special 
taxation. 

A  great  many  major  difficulties  now  confront  the 
motion  picture  business.  Much  of  the  production  end 
is  troubled  financially.  Few  theatres  are  making  any 
real  money  and  now  we  have  a  boycott  of  the  clerev 
to  contend  with.  Yet  if  fault  is  to  be  found  with 
motion  pictures  1  am  satisfied  to  have  that  done  by  the 
Churches  rather  than  by  less  responsible  people.  The 
clergy  are  disposed  to  be  entirely  fair  and  sensible 
understandings  can  be  reached  with  them. 

Let  us  handle  our  affairs  in  a  fair  and  reasonable 
way  all  the  time,  free  from  internal  quarrels  so  that 
we  can  work  out  our  problems  mutually  and  for  the 
best  interests  of  all  concerned.  We  need  district, 
state  and  national  organization.  We  need  co-operation 
on  all  sides  and  in  every  division  of  the  business. 

When  we  take  into  consideration  the  wide  scope  of 
the  motion  picture  and  the  many  subjects  covered  by  it, 
and  the  large  number  of  pictures  made  annually  its 
objectionable  features  are  pitifully  small  as  compared 
with  any  other  industry.  Improvements  are  being  made 
all  of  the  time. 

Let  ,us  hope  that  we  will  as  exhibitors  speed  the  day 
when  sensible  understandings  will  be  the  rule  in  our 
business.  Our  code  may  help  this  as  it  is  intended 
to  help  such  matters  along.  Our  exhibitor  organizations, 
our  MPTOA  and  the  district  bodies  can  do  much  in 
bringing  harmony  and  constructive  good  will  into  all 
divisions  cf  the  business. 


That  a  committee  be  appointed  to  lay  plans  for  the 
elimination  of  unjust,  unfair  and  unreasonable  percent¬ 
age  and  preferred  playing  time. 

That  a  committee  be  appointed  to  be  known  as  a 
business  relations  committee  for  the  purpose  of  carry¬ 
ing  out  policies  of  this  organization  in  the  protection 
of  the  individual  members. 

That  a  committee  be  appointed  to  be  known  as  griev¬ 
ance  committee,  which  committee  should  meet  regularly 
and  should  entertain  and  consider  all  grievances  of 
exhibitors  of  any  nature,  whatsoever.  It  might  be  said 
that  this  grievance  committee  should  work  in  co-opera¬ 
tion  with  the  business  relations  committee. 


This  means  that  in  any  community  in  which 
there  is  genuine  concerted  objection  to  the 
showing  of  a  particular  picture  on  moral 
grounds  an  exhibitor  who  has  contracted  to  ex¬ 
hibit  that  picture  will  be  given  the  right  to  omit 
its  exhibition  without  obligation  for  its  rental. 

The  reason  for  the  limitation  of  this  cancella¬ 
tion  privilege  to  pictures  generally  releasv  d 
prior  to  July  15  is  because  that  is  the  date 
upon  which  the  new  regulatory  provisions  go 
in‘o  effect.  After,  that  date  the  Association’s 
Production  Code  Administration  will  function 
with  increased  authority  and  the  board  of  direc¬ 
tors  of  the  association  will  assume  final  respon¬ 
sibility  for  all  future  motion  pictures  distrib¬ 
ute  d  by  members  of  the  association. 

To  identify  all  films  bearing  the  approval  of 
the  Association’s  Production  Code  Administra¬ 
tion,  a  distinctive  seal  has  been  adopted  and 
will  be  shown  on  the  screen  directly  after  the 
main  title  of  all  pictures.  This  seal,  which 
every  picture  released  after  July  15  by  mem¬ 
bers  of  the  association  will  bear,  will  be  evi¬ 
dence  of  the  industry’s  pledge  that  every  pre¬ 
caution  has  been  taken  to  insure  compliance  with 
the  production  code  of  the  Motion  Picture  Pro¬ 
ducers  and  Distributors  of  America. 


That  a  committee  be  appointed  for  the  purpose  of 

making  personal  contact  with  all  exhibitors  in  order 
to  carry  to  them  personally  the  message  of  this  organ¬ 
ization  and  to  notify  all  exhibitors  to  become  a  part 
of  this  organization. 

That  a  committee  should  be  appointed  to  investigate 
the  radio  broadcast  situation. 

That  a  committee  be  appointed  for  the  purpose  of 

endeavoring  to  secure  a  lessening  of  fire  insurance  rates, 

as  well  as  public  liability  rates. 

That  a  committee  be  appointed  for  the  purpose  of 

seeing  that  the  cancellation  privileges  of  the  exhibitors 
under  the  code  be  preserved  and  in  this  connection,  I 
will  advise  you  that  the  secretary’s  office  has  in  the  mail 
at  the  present  time  a  notice  to  the  members  that  they 
will  be  advised  regularly  of  the  name  and  date  of  the 
release  of  pictures  in  this  territory  in  accordance  with 
the  rules  of  the  code  authority. 


40  Week  Season 

Several  exhibitors  are  advocating  a 
40-week  season  for  theatres,  in  such 
manner  that  carrying  charges  be 
charged  against  40  weeks,  leaving  sum¬ 
mer  business  protected  against  drops  in 
business,  etc. 

A  p  ominen:  chain  has  always  had 
a  40-week  season  with  increased  rental, 
etc.,  in  that  period.  When  hot  spell 
comes  as  well  as  other  factors,  daylight 
saving,  etc.,  at  least  it  takes  away  part 
of  the  burden. 


16 


Jul  1 5 T  34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


THE  CODE  •  CASES  •  HEARINGS  •  BOARD  RULINGS  •  DEVELOPMENTS 


CALENDAR: 

GRIEVANCE 
July  19 

RKO  Distributing  Corporation  vs.  Fred 
Wood,  Palace,  Wilkes-Barre,  on  charge 
of  fraudulent  transfer  of  theatre  to 
avoid  contract. 

HEARINGS 
GRIEVANCE 
JULY  12 

Joe  Schverha,  State  Theatre,  vs.  Dan 
Negley,  Opera  House,  both  in  Colum¬ 
bia,  on  charge  of  reduced  admission. 

State  claimed  that  Opera  House  has  been 
running  5  cent  matinees  for  kids.  Also  said 
house  cut  prices  one  day  a  week.  Negley 
asserted  he  had  sounded  out  exchange  in  ques¬ 
tion  regarding  policy  and  exchange  had  said  it 
did  not  interfere  with  operation  of  any  theatre. 
Testimony  given  by  Schverha  and  Negley. 

Decision:  5-cent  admissions  ordered 

stopped. 

Grand-Jackson  Theatre  Company  vs. 
Morris  Theatre,  on  charge  of  evasion 
of  admissions  through  excess  of  adver¬ 
tising  passes. 

Grand-Jackson,  through  Jay  Emanuel, 
claimed  Morris  was  flooding  neighborhood  with 
excess  of  advertising  passes  of  two  kinds,  5-10c 
tax.  Emanuel  said  he  had  no  protest  against 
legitimate  advertising  passes,  but  felt  that  any 
other  kind  was  an  evasion.  Schleifer,  for  the 
Morris,  said  that  only  one  store  was  giving  out 
5c  tax  as  a  courtesy  to  customers. 

Decision:  Morris  was  ordered  to  restrict 
its  advertising  passes,  date  each  and  have 
them  signed  only  by  the  manager  of  theatre 
and  issued  only  by  the  theatre. 

July  5 

Seville  Theatre,  Bryn  Mawr,  vs.  Ard¬ 
more  Theatre  on  overbuying  charge. 

Seville,  through  Harry  Fried  and  attorney 
Ben  Golder,  sought  to  prove  that  Ardmore  The¬ 
atre  had  overbought.  Testimony  was  taken 
from  Leonard  Schlesinger,  through  attorney 
Joe  Sloane.  Golder  had  some  arguments  with 
the  board  but  all  were  ironed  out. 

Decision:  Dismssed. 

Seville  Theatre,  Bryn  Mawr,  and  Wayne 
Theatre,  Wayne,  against  Quaker  The¬ 
atres  Corporation  on  reduced  admission 
charge. 

Seville  and  Wayne  brought  out  tie-up  of 
Tower  Theatre  with  traction  company  whereby 
admission  to  theatre  was  included.  Testimony 
was  heard  from  Harry  Fried  as  well  as  from 
Tower  operators. 

Decision:  Dismissed. 


No  Zoning  Now 

Clearance  and  zoning  board  is  tak¬ 
ing  a  rest  these  days.  Board  won’t 
meet  until  Code  Authority  clarifies  a 
point  which  involves  the  right  of  the 
board,  in  re-zoning,  to  specify  whether 
a  theatre  should  be  a  first  run  or 
whether  re-zoning  includes  general 
clearance. 


Premiums  Out  in  Norristown 

Premiums  have  been  banned  in  the 
Norristown,  Conshohocken,  Bridgeport 
area,  effective  October  5,  upon  vote  of 
theatres  in  that  area. 

Vote  on  premiums  in  Philadelphia 
and  adjacent  Jersey  area  continues 
meanwhile. 


CLEARANCE  AND  ZONING 
July  6 

Palm  Theatre  vs.  Wishart,  Richmond, 

Diamond  Theatres,  on  unfair  clearance. 

Samuel  Somerson  presented  his  own  case  for 
the  Palm  Theatre.  He  said  he  desired  that  pic¬ 
tures  be  made  available  earlier  for  him  and 
that  he  did  not  want  to  follow  Wishart  or 
Richmond.  Testimony  was  taken  from  George 
Lessy,  Diamond  Theatre,  and  Leonard  Schles¬ 
inger,  latter  represented  by  Joe  Sloane. 

Decision:  Board  decided  that  re-zoning  of 
North  Philadelphia  sector  would  be  neces¬ 
sary  and  indicated  that  hearing  on  such 
would  be  called. 

June  29 

Case  of  Byrd  Theatre  on  West  Phila¬ 
delphia  zoning  deferred  pending  re¬ 
zoning  hearing  in  territory. 

Cameo  Theatre  vs.  Harrowgate  Theatre 
on  charge  of  unfair  clearance. 

Sam  Hyman,  represented  by  George  Aarons, 
wanted  Cameo  Theatre  to  be  booked  clear  of 
Harrowgate.  Testimony  was  taken  from  him 
and  from  Leonard  Schlesinger,  Stanley-War- 
ner  represented  by  Joe  Sloane. 

Decision:  Case  dismissed. 

Boulevard  Theatre,  Brookline,  vs.  Ard¬ 
more  Theatre  (S-W),  on  clearance  and 
zoning. 


George  Aarons,  appearing  for  plaintiff  Joseph 
Hebrew,  sought  to  prove  that  clearance  of  Ard¬ 
more  over  Brookline  was  excessive,  28  days, 
whereas  the  Tower,  69th  Street,  allowed  Brook¬ 
line  to  play  7  days  following  it  on  Fox.  Testi¬ 
mony  was  heard  from  Hebrew,  Leonard  Schles¬ 
inger,  S-W  chieftain.  Miles  between  theatres 
were  discussed.  It  was  also  brought  in  that 
Lansdowne  had  7  days  over  Brookline  but  ex¬ 
changes  did  not  observe  it. 

Decision: 

Case  dismissed.  Clearance  of  Ardmore 
over  Brookline  upheld.  (Likely  that  case 
will  be  appealed  to  Code  Authority.) 

Sidelights 

ATTENDANCE  still  light.  Only  ones  appearing  are 
those  with  cases  or  indirectly  involved. 

GRIEVANCE  BOARD  proceeding  the  best  of  the  two 
groups.  Cleans  up  its  cases  rapidly  as  well. 

CODE  AUTHORITY  appeals  committee  recently  heard 
the  appeal  from  the  decision  of  the  local  grievance  board 
of  the  Camden  Drive-In  Theatre,  Inc.,  Camden,  N.  J., 
against  RKO  on  breach  of  contract  complaint.  W.  E. 
Egan  and  Willard  Younger  appeared  for  Drive-In  and 
RKO  respectively. 

ANOTHER  APPEAL  up  from  the  local  territory  con¬ 
cerns  the  case  of  the  Fern  Rock  and  Stanley-Warner 
with  Stanley  taking  the  appeal. 

HUNT  THEATRES,  INC.,  July  6,  presented  a  petition 
to  have  Atlantic  County  and  Cape  May  County,  New 
Jersey,  take  a  vote  on  premium  question.  This  was 
granted  by  grievance  board. 

GRIEVANCE  HEARING  on  July  12  was  first  in 
which  S-W  was  not  involved.  Leonard  Schlesinger  was 
a  visitor  at  the  board,  but  only  to  watch.  Some  called 
the  absence  of  S-W  cases  a  miracle. 

AL  BOYD  served  as  alternate  for  M.  B.  Comerford  at 
July  12  hearing. 

JUST  AS  a  matter  of  information,  Stanley-Warner  pays 
$5200  yearly  as  its  share  of  the  code  financing,  apply¬ 
ing  to  the  territory  supervised  by  Leonard  Schlesinger. 

JOE  SLOANE  still  the  legal  mainstay  for  Stanley-War¬ 
ner.  Outside  of  holding  the  record  for  the  most  number 
of  cases,  he  is  also  the  quickest  on  the  delivery.  Result 
is  that  board’s  work  is  speeded  up  and  less  time  is 
wasted.  Other  attorneys  ought  to  take  notice. 


ALTERNATES  at  June  29  hearing  included  Fred 
Osterstock,  Lou  Segall,  Frank  McNamee,  Lou  Pizor. 


Impartial  Representative  Thinks  Boards  Unselfish 


( How  do  the  impartial  representatives  feel  about  the  code?  This  question,  placed  before .  the 
local  federal-appointed  members  of  the  boards,  has  received  the  following  answer.  Exhibitors 
would  do  well  to  analyze  the  reaction.) 

Colonel  Harry  B.  Salter  (grievance) - 

During  the  period  I  have  been  a  member  of  the  Philadelphia  District  Com¬ 
pliance  Board  for  the  moving  picture  industry,  I  have  watched  carefully  the  opera¬ 
tion  and  workings  of  the  two  boards  and  I  am  pleased  to  say  that,  in  my  judgment, 
both  the  industry  and  the  public  will  be  greatly  benefited  and  fully  protected  if  all 
the  boards  act  with  the  care  and  unselfishness  which,  I  have  observed,  has  been 
shown  by  the  Philadelphia  board.  I  cannot  conceive  how  these  boards,  set  up  as 
they  are,  can  do  anything  but  be  of  assistance  to  the  independent  or  “little  fellow,” 
if  complaints  of  unfairness  are  lodged  with  the  proper  board. 

I  have  had  occasion,  once  or  twice,  to  compliment  the  members  of  the  Code 
Board,  in  the  Philadelphia  district,  for  their  unselfish  attitude  in  voting  in  a  way 
which  must,  in  some  instances,  do  some  damage  to  their  own  business.  Fortunately 
for  our  district,  few  complaints  have  been  filed  with,  the  compliance  board  and  I  am 
quite  sure  that  those  brought  before  said  board  have  been  settled  fair  and  equitably. 
Thus  far  it  has  not  been  necessary  for  the  impartial  member  to  cast  a  vote,  the 
members  of  the  industry  themselves  settling  their  own  cases.  My  observation  is 
that  the  workings  of  these  particular  boards,  under  the  code,  will  produce  the 
greatest  good  to  the  greatest  number. 

There  never  yet  has  been  formulated  any  set  of  rules  or  regulations  which  did 
not  meet  with  opposition  from  some  of  the  minority  of  those  affected,  and  it  is  not 
to  be  expected  that  the  motion  picture  code  would  be  in  a  class  by  itself.  Given 
sufficient  time  to  function  under  its  provisions,  I  see  no  reason  why  there  should 
be  any  just  complaint. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Jul  15'34 


17 


BETWEEN  THE  PARAGRAPHS 


COOLING  SYSTEMS  AREN’T 
FULL  BLAST  THIS  SEASON 

Although  it  is  quite  evident  that  there  is  a  difference  in  tempera¬ 
ture  between  the  street  and  the  interior  of  refrigerator-cooled  theatres, 
it  is  also  noticed  that  a  lot  of  houses  aren’t  giving  as  much  cause  for 
pneumonia  as  in  the  past.  When  first  the  cooling  idea  arose,  it  was 
like  entering  an  ice  box.  This  year,  either  because  of  economy  or 
minor  improvements,  the  theatres’  temperatures  are  a  bit  more  com¬ 
fortable  than  usual. 

BOYCOTT  WILL  CONTINUE 
UNTIL  IMPROVEMENT  IS  NOTICED 

The  boycott  on  salacious  pictures  apparently  will  be  permanent 
as  far  as  certain  religious  and  social  organizations  are  concerned. 
Those  opposed  to  certain  types  of  Hollywood  films  will  not  back 
out  or  down  when  the  first  crop  of  clean  pictures  comes  through. 
Evidence  that  there  will  be  permanent  watchdogs  in  this  regard  has 
already  been  given. 

While  it  is  quite  likely  that  a  total  boycott  will  be  dropped  where 
it  has  begun,  the  check  on  objectionable  pictures  will  be  permanent, 
all  Hollywood  intentions  notwithstanding. 

TRAILER  SITUATION  GRIEVOUS 
TO  MANY  EXHIBITOR  GROUPS 

Sentiment  from  all  parts  of  the  country  indicates  that  exhibitors 
generally  are  against  the  idea  of  producers  going  into  the  trailer 
business.  The  exhibitor  is  not  so  much  worried  about  the  quality  of 
the  trailer  at  this  time  as  he  is  with  the  prospect  of  all  the  distributors 
entering  their  own  trailer  manufacturing  and  making  such  a  practice 
in  the  nature  of  a  racket. 

The  movie  industry  happens  to  be  one  of  the  few  in  which  the 
manufacturer  charges  the  seller  for  advertising  which  helps  both.  In 
other  lines,  the  merchandising  departments  of  manufacturers  load  the 
sellers,  their  clients,  with  plenty  of  good,  free  advertising.  In  the 
movies,  however,  the  exhibitor  has  to  pay  for  all  ad  materials.  In  the 
case  of  a  percentage  engagement,  there  is  an  apparent  flaw  in  the 
producers’  reasoning. 

COMPANIES  BENDING  OVER 
BACKWARDS  TO  CHANGE  WAYS 

Hollywood  is  sincere  in  its  effort  to  change  its  type  of  production 
and  restrict  the  pictures  which  might  be  termed  objectionable. 

But  on  the  other  hand,  the  new  type  of  product  which  is  being 
prepared  is  certain  to  result  in  an  experiment  both  at  the  box  office 
and  in  the  production  field,  as  well.  It  remains  to  be  seen  whether  or 
not  those  groups  which  have  been  arguing  for  a  new  deal  in  production 
will  support  that  same  new  deal. 

Costume  pictures  and  others  which  have  been  spotty  as  far  as 
grosses  are  concerned  highlight  the  1934-1935  schedules.  Will  they 
prove  what  proponents  of  objectionable  films  are  saying:  that  the 
moviemakers  can  turn  to  new  fields  and  reap  the  benefits? 

SELECTIVE  BUYING  STILL 
BIG  HEADACHE  FOR  EXHIBS 

With  many  of  the  other  alleged  industry  evils  being  taken  care 
of  by  local  boards,  it  will  be  interesting  to  watch  whether  or  not  the 
selective  buying  evil  is  curbed.  Always  one  of  the  business’  toughest 
problems,  it  is  not  precisely  named  in  the  code  and  thereby  becomes 
a  tough  case  to  probe.  The  recent  decision  of  the  Code  Authority 
in  the  Linker-Stanley,  Bridgeton,  N.  J.,  case  may  open  up  the  issue, 
but  it  will  take  some  smart  reasoning  to  make  it  stick. 

HOBART  MANN. 


OFFERING  YOU: 


•  A  Sound  Box  Office 
Attraction 

•  Complete  Ownership 

•  A  Self-Liquidating 
Investment 


PHOTOPHONE  DIVISION 

RCA  VICTOR  COMPANY,  Inc. 

Camden,  N.  J. 

A  Radio  Corporation  of  America  Subsidiary 


18 


Jul  1 5 ' 34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


•  PLAYING  MARBLES  • 


IT  IS  UNFORTUNATE  but  not  entirely  surprising  that  at  a 
time  when  the  industry  needs  a  united  front,  the  exhibitor  ranks 
have  never  been  more  divided.  Knowing  the  exhibitor  mind  and 
looking  back  at  the  antics  of  the  past,  it  is  to  be  wondered  that 
there  are  only  two  exhibitor  organizations  in  the  local  field,  not 
ten  or  twenty. 

Faced  with  an  issue  which  called  for  undivided  action,  and  a 
unanimous  feeling  of  opinion,  the  Philadelphia  exhibitor  group 
has  so  confused  the  issue  that  it  is  to  be  wondered  that  anyone  can 
make  head  or  tail  out  of  the  entire  situation. 

ACTION  OF  THE  Catholic  church  is  calling  for  a  complete 
boycott  upon  all  theatres  was  an  action  that  no  right-thinking 
tolerant  member  of  any  creed  could  ever  justify.  Fair-minded 
people  know  that  such  an  evidence  of  religious  reasoning  is  de¬ 
cidedly  out  of  step  with  anything  and  everything  in  these  times. 

This  territory  was  singled  out.  Whereas  in  other  districts,  a 
boycott  against  salacious  pictures  alone  was  instituted,  the  local 
Cardinal  went  one  step  further,  stopped  theatre-going  for  all 
Catholics.  Not  for  one  moment  is  it  to  be  expected  that  such  a 
step  received  universal  commendation  even  from  the  members  of 
that  faith.  Priests,  important  laymen  who  know  what  theatres 
have  been  doing  in  communities  and  parishes  realize  well  that  a 
complete  boycott  is  a  slap  in  the  face  to  men  who  have  always 
co-operated  100%  with  churches. 

Granted  that  this  was  the  state  of  affairs,  what  happened? 
For  four  weeks,  the  boycott  persisted,  nothing  was  done.  Hot 
weather,  legal  taprooms  for  the  first  time,  other  competition,  poor 
grade  of  product  added  to  the  toll  of  bad  business  and  losses 
increased. 

THEN  SUDDENLY,  out  of  a  clear  sky,  July  3,  the  exhibitor 
faction  learned,  not  through  their  leaders  or  at  a  meeting,  but 
through  the  daily  papers  that  the  theatres  of  the  territory  were 
going  to  close.  The  statements  shocked  not  only  the  press  and 
public,  but  also  the  trade.  The  jump  into  the  headlines  had  been 
made. 

AND  THEN  THE  BATTLE  of  the  headlines  started. 

NOW  BETWEEN  THE  IEPA  and  the  MPTO,  the  war  of  the 
headines  is  raging.  It  is  confusing  the  public,  irritating  the  trade 
and  providing  the  industry  in  general  with  a,  spectacle  partly  funny 
and  totally  serious. 

No  outbreak  of  meetings  is  going  to  help  the  situation.  No 
wild  passage  of  resolutions  is  going  to  cause  any  change. 

It  may  be  said  definitely  that  nothing  will  be  done  about  the 
boycott  until  the  return  of  the  Cardinal  next  month.  What  happens 
then  is  a  question  that  none  of  the  Cardinal’s  official  family  will 
answer. 

IT  IS  DOUBTFUL  if  wholesale  closing  of  houses  will  solve  the 
question.  After  all,  there  are  still  a  few  people  outside  of  the 
scope  of  the  Legion  of  Decency  who  might  want  to  see  pictures, 
who  feel  that  there  is  no  reason  why  the  exhibitor  should  be  placed 
in  the  same  category  with  a  racketeer,  hi-jacker  and  man  of  shady 
reputation. 

From  all  the  headline  passing  one  would  think  that  theatres 
have  been  exhibiting  a  lot  of  smoker  reels,  not  a  brand  of  films 
that  differs  little  from-  those  of  last  or  any  other  season. 

No  movement  that  is  based  on  unreasonable  prejudice  can 
survive  very  long.  For  that  reason,  it  is  to  be  expected  that  such 
a  fair-minded  faction  as  the  Catholic  church  will  deal  with  the 
situation  in  a  tolerant  manner.  The  Philadelphia  diocese  felt  the 
blow  with  an  iron  fist. 


When  the  Church  sees  the  sincerity  of  the  exhibitor,  the 
producers  and  all  others  in  the  business,  there  can  be  no  other 
answer  than  a  lifting  of  the  100%  boycott. 

BUT  THAT  STILL  will  not  remove  another  unfortunate  con¬ 
dition  in  this  business,  the  two-organization  idea. 

Hollywood  should  send  a  scenarist  and  director  to  Vine  Street. 
There  is  plenty  of  material  for  a  swell  farce,  with  many  leading 
characters. 

Thus  far,  the  IEPA  has  been  polling  more  men  at  their  open 
meetings,  primarily  because  the  IEPA  doesn’t  seem  to  care  whether 
all  attending  pay  dues  or  not.  The  MPTO  has  decided  on  a  dues- 
paying  policy  only,  limiting  attendance  to  those  who  think  enough 
of  organization  to  pay  dues  to  it. 

The  MPTO  claims  it  represents  more  buying  power  than 
the  IEPA,  but  the  IEPA  contains  exhibitors  who  need  relief  as 
much  if  not  more  than  the  MPTO. 

Having  two  organizations  attack  such  problems  as  high  per¬ 
centage,  illegal  competition,  unfair  selling  terms,  etc.,  will  only 
provide  a  sorry  spectacle  to  exchangemen  and  the  rest  of  the  trade. 

ONE  WONDERS  what  the  outcome  wiil  be.  The  IEPA  seems 
determined  to  continue  on  its  own.  Following  an  olive  branch 
hint  dropped  by  Dave  Barrist  at  the  June  14  meeting  of  the  MPTO, 
nothing  has  been  done. 

“The  Exhibitor”  has  no  brief  to  file  for  the  MPTO  or  the 
IEPA.  Each  may  have  a  full  attendance  at  meetings.  Each  may 
try  to  do  things,  but  the  chances  are  against  each  unless  there  is  a 
united  exhibitor  front. 

NOW  THAT  THE  SHOOTING  is  practically  over,  one  won¬ 
ders  why  there  was  a  split  in  the  first  place.  Did  certain  interests 
have  an  ulterior  motive  in  helping  to  create  this  unsound  condition? 
Both  organizations  seem  to  be  doing  work  along  the  same  lines. 
Both  have  auspicious  plans.  Both  will  probably  really  accomplish 
little  as  lone  as  the  two-organization  idea  holds.  And  many  will 
sit  on  the  sidelines  and  pay  dues  to  neither;  alibiing  they  are  trying 
to  make  up  their  minds  which  organization  to  join. 

The  IEPA  shoots  at  the  MPTO  by  saying  that  it  is  controlled 
by  the  Hays  organization,  which  is  so  old  and  silly  an  argument 
that  even  Dave  Barrist,  who  knows  all  the  answers,  ought  to  be 
afraid,  to  pull  it  out  of  the  bae  by  the  whiskers,  it’s  so  old  and  weak. 
The  MPTO  says  that  the  IEPA  represents  the  littler  fellows  who 
don’t  represent  the  buying  power  that  they  do,  an  argument  which 
easily  defeats  itself  because  the  little  fellows  help  keep  this  busi¬ 
ness  going  as  much  as  the  big  ones.  The  IEPA  throws  out  the  old 
fishing  lines  such  as  strictly  independent,  unattached  to  producer 
strings,  moving  along  new  lines,  which  have  been  a  part  of  every 
exhibitor  platform  since  any  exhibitor  platform  was  built. 

THE  BOYS  OUGHT  TO  STOP  PLAYING  MARBLES.  One 
of  th  ese  days  they  will  be  in  the  same  position  as  the  couple  who 
came  back  to  the  station  house  with  the  seat  of  their  car  and 
complained  the  car  was  stolen  while  they  weren’t  looking. 

AND  IF  THE  MEMBERS  OF  MPTO  AND  IEPA  don’t  look 
out,  someone  will  take  away  their  theatres  while  they’re  playing 
marbles  and  holding  all  these  open  and  closed  meetings. 

“THE  EXHIBITOR”  is  calling  upon  all  exhibitors,  IEPA  or 
MPTO,  to  stop  their  silly  competition.  It’s  the  rank  and  file  who 
make  up  exhibitor  bodies.  Let  the  rank  and  file  restore  the  pic¬ 
ture  as  it  should  be.  Throw  out  the  politicians,  those  who  never 
pay  dues  and  criticize  and  any  of  those  that  have  selfish  interests 
instead  of  complaining  on  the  corners.  Do  it  at  meetings,  do  it 
constructively,  and  do  it  now. 

JAY  EMANUEL 


ATLANTIC  CITY 


OFFICIAL  OPENING  of  summer  season  at 
shore  saw  all  theatres  going  heavy  on  space  and 
exploitation.  .  .  .  Particularly  enterprising  was 
Weilland-Lewis  announcement  for  Apollo, 
Strand,  Ventnor,  Capitol,  Embassy.  .  .  .  Cir¬ 
cuit  ran  big  institutional  ad  plugging  coming 
attractions  of  Metro,  United  Artists,  Fox,  etc., 
and  also  plugged  movies.  .  .  .  Told  visitors 


to  see  pictures  at  their  own  home  town  theatre 
if  they  had  to  leave  before  shows  got  around. 
.  .  .  Nice  spirit  for  rest  of  industry  to  follow. 
.  .  .  Interviews  with  Weilland  and  Lewis  also 
indicated  that  chain  might  expand  in  the  new 
season.  .  .  .  Circuit  has  also  five  world  pre¬ 
mieres  scheduled,  first  two  of  which  were  “Bull¬ 
dog  Drummond”  and  “Affairs  of  Cellini.”  .  .  . 
Good  bit  of  showmanship  throughout. 

CHAMBERLAIN  BROWN  stock  and  Pur¬ 
cell  musicals  have  given  up  the  fight  to  make 
the  shore  legit-conscious.  .  .  Burlesk  still 


continuing.  Steel  Pier  still  showing 

three  movies  besides  other  hits.  .  .  .  Million 

Dollar  Pier  also  showing  films.  .  .  .  Miriam 

March  puest  star  at  opening  of  Chelsea  Grill. 

Hollywood  Theatre  being  remodelled. 
.  .  .  Formerly  Aldine.  .  .  .  Dave  Supowitz 
architect. 

HERB  COPELAND,  managing  director.  AC 
Warner  house,  enthused  about  opening  of  “Of 
Human  Bondage”  at  Warrers.  .  .  .  Claimed 
biggest  opening  at  the  house  in  the  last  two 
years.  .  ,  .  Speaks  well  for  the  show. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Jul  1 5 T  34 


21 


Heard  In ' 


u 


1 

CL 

S  T  A 

T 

E 

'  Sam 

Gilman 

H  ere  Now 


IT  WAS  GOOD  NEWS  that  Sam  Gilman, 
new  manager  Loews  Regent,  Harrisburg,  had 
for  his  employes  on  the  day  he  assumed  his 
new  duties.  .  .  .  They  were  informed  each 

would  be  granted  a  week's  vacation.  .  .  .  That 
grand  old  man  of  Harrisburg  movies,  Herman 
Fehleisen,  Loew  doorman,  was  first  to  start. 
.  .  .  Skee  Yovanovich,  chief  usher,  is  substitut¬ 
ing  for  Fehleisen.  .  .  .  Manager  Girard  Wol¬ 
laston,  Victoria,  Harrisburg,  led  off  the  vaca¬ 
tion  neriods  at  his  house.  .  .  .  Joined  Mrs.  Wol¬ 
laston  for  a  week  at  his  old  home  in  the  moun- 


ATLANTIC 

CITY’S 

Newest 

Boardwalk  Hotel 


^President 


FIVE  Hundred  Rooms 
with  Sea  Water  Baths 
— American  and  European 
Plans.  Also  Beautifully 
Furnished  Housekeeping 
Apartments  with  Com¬ 
plete  Hotel  Service  by 
the  week,  month  or  y.ar. 

Cocktail  Lounge 
and  Bar 

SEA  WATER 
SWIMMING  POOL 

MARINE 
SUN  DECK 

TURKISH  BATHS 


tains  of  St.  Marys.  During  Wollaston’s  ab¬ 
sence  Harry  Lambert,  manager  Colonial,  will 
manage  both  theatres.  .  .  .  Jerry  will  do  the 
same  when  Harry  takes  his  week  in  the  latter 
part  of  August.  .  .  .  C.  Floyd  Hopkins,  gen¬ 
eral  manager  for  Wilmer  and  Vincent  interests 
in  Harrisburg,  returned  from  a  week's  fishing 
expedition  in  Canada.  .  .  .  Declaring  he  was 
out  to  book  the  “best  possible”  stage  enter¬ 
tainment  for  the  State,  Harrisburg,  when  it 
re-opens  in  September,  manager  Charles  Bier- 
bauer  stopped  in  Harrisburg  enroute  from  Al¬ 
lentown  to  Altoona,  Johnstown,  Pittsburgh, 
Richmond  and  New  York.  .  .  .  Sam  Gilman 
probably  will  be  at  a  loss  to  know  what  to 
do  with  his  Sundays  since  he  came  from  Bal¬ 
timore  to  take  over  the  reins  at  Loew’s  Regent, 
Harrisburg.  ...  At  the  Parkway,  Baltimore, 
he  worked. 

WRESTLING  GAME  is  beginning  to  fasci¬ 
nate  Manager  John  B.  Sollenberger,  Hershey 
Theatre,  Hershey.  .  .  .  His  interest  is  con¬ 
fined  to  the  side-lines,  however.  .  Long 

lines  of  children  waited  daily  at  the  Majestic, 
Harrisburg,  to  see  the  Joe  E.  Brown  picture, 
“Circus  Clown.”  ...  A  masked  horseman 
was  used  in  the  streets  of  Harrisburg  by 
Jack  D.  O’Rear  to  exploit  “Stingaree”  when 
it  played  his  Majestic  Theatre.  .  .  .Too 

many  hamburger  sandwiches  were  blamed 
by  Manager  O’Rear  for  the  illness  of  his 
doorman-fireman,  “Bill”  Manahan. 

“THE  SHOW  MUST  GO  ON”  is  what 
“Bill”  McKay,  former  football  star,  thought 
following  an  accident  last  week  while  on  duty 
at  Loew’s  Theatre,  Harrisburg,  where  he  is 
maintenance  man.  .  .  .  McKay,  president  of 
Harrisburg  Local,  No.  98,  International  Alli¬ 
ance  Theatrical  Stage  Employes  and  Moving 
Picture  Operators  of  the  United  States  and 
Canada,  suffered  a  fracture  of  the  right  arm, 
severe  laceration  of  the  scalp  and  sprain  of  the 
knee  when  he  fell  from  a  ladder  he  had  climbed 
to  replace  light  bulbs  in  the  Loew  marquee.  .  .  . 
"Less  than  a  half-hour  later,”  said  Mar.ager 
Samuel  Gilman,  “I  was  amazed  to  see  Bill  re¬ 
turn  to  the  theatre,  and  with  his  good  hand, 
start  to  paint  a  picture  sheet.” 


THE  BAD  NEWS  that  Charlie  McLeary, 
manager,  Loew’s  Regent  Theatre,  was  to  be 
transferred  to  another  city,  spread  throughout 
Harrisburg  and  vicinity  last  week  with  no  less 
calamity  than  word  of  an  approaching  pesti¬ 
lence  would  have  excited.  .  .  .  McLeary  came 
to  Loew’s,  Harrisburg,  on  the  anniversary  of 
his  birthday,  May  13,  last  year.  .  .  .  When  the 
bad  news  came  that  Charlie  McLeary  was  to 
leave  Loew’s  his  friends  at  first  refused  to 
believe  it.  .  .  .  So  Charlie  McLeary,  who  had 
learned  to  love  Harrisburg  and  Harrisburgers 
as  well  as  they  loved  him,  left  for  Baltimore 
on  a  gloomy  morning  to  become  manager  of 
Loew’  Parkway  Baltimore.  .  .  .  Employes  of 
Harrisburg’s  Lo  w  theatre,  who  had  presented 
him  and  Mrs.  McLeary  with  an  electric  clock 
as  a  parting  token  of  esteem,  actually  shed 
tears  over  his  departure.  .  .  .  Samuel  Gilman, 
whom  McLeary  succeeds  in  Baltimore,  suc¬ 
ceeds  McLeary  at  Loew’s  Regent,  Harrisburg. 
.  .  .  Manager  Gilman  entered  the  theatrical 
business  fourteen  years  ago  when  he  became 
an  usher  at  Loew’s  Liberty  Theatre,  Cleveland. 


YORK 


SID  POPPAY,  Rialto,  tied  up  with  the  big¬ 
gest  news  dealer  in  the  city  to  distribute  a  comic 
weekly  to  his  kiddie  patrons  at  the  second  of 
his  summer  matinee  shows.  .  .  .  Special  mati¬ 
nees  featuring  a  special  serial  and  numerous 
shorts  designed  to  appeal  to  the  kids  are  being 


held  in  four  theatres  in  the  York  district,  Rialto, 
York ;  State,  Hanover,  Majestic,  Gettysburg 
and  Lion,  Red  Lion.  .  .  .  Cleon  Miller  used 
direct  mail  and  telephone  to  plug  “Little  Miss 
Marker,”  sending  1,000  hand  addressed  post¬ 
cards  to  the  New  York  office  for  mailing  to  a 
selected  list  of  names  taken  from  the  York 
Telephone  directory.  ...  A  girl  employe  at 
the  theatre  called  others  not  covered  by  the 
cards.  .  .  .  Colored,  enlarged  stills  used  “When 
Murder  at  the  Vanities”  played  the  Paramount, 
New  York,  were  secured  by  Miller  and  used  to 
advantage  in  plugging  the  picture  at  the 
Strand. 

J.  W.  RICHLEY,  York  Theatre,  says  22,000 
people  attended  his  theatre  during  the  first  week 
it  was  open.  .  .  .  Richley  is  spending  consid¬ 
erable  money  for  exploitation.  .  .  .  Joseph  L. 
Chadwick,  and  James  Gladfelter,  former  em¬ 
ployes,  Warner  Brothers’  theatres  here,  have 
leased  the  Albion,  Albion. 


The 

BEST  SERVICE 

to  all 

SHORE  POINTS 

Now  that  spring  is  here  and 
summer  is  on  its  way,  film 
men  can  make  use  of  our 
efficient  service  to  carry 
their  possessions  to  their 
summer  shore  apartments. 
This  has  been  a  part  of  our 
service  for  years. 

.. .  Jersey  Exhibitors 
are  Always  Happy 

They  know  they  can  go 
j  away  on  trips,  completely 
>  sold  on  New  Jersey  Mes- 
j  senger  Service.  For  the 
record  of  this  company  is 
one  that  shows  no  missouts 
|  J  at  any  time.  The  service 
satisfies. 

T 

NEW  JERSEY 

MESSENGER  SERVICE 

MYER  ADLEMAN 
250  N.  Juniper  Street 
PHILADELPHIA 

Spr.  9355  Loc.  8787  Race  9444 


FRANK  U 


U 


The  first  of  which  . 

BROADWAY  BILL  feat* 


Screen  play  by  Robert  Riskin,  from  "5! 

MADE  BY  THE  DIRECTOR  WHO  GAVE  YOU  “L 


dward  G. 
Robinson 


Howard 

Hawks 


Gene 

taymond 


m 


EDWARD  G.  ROBINSON 

A  HOWARD  HAWKS  PRODUCTION 

Distinguished  star  of  a  score  of  outstanding  successes,  in  a  special 
production,  directed  by  the  man  who  made 
" 20th  Century” 

■■  -  •  •  ••  ■'  ;v‘ A'  j 

GRACE 

in  ONE  NIGHT  OF  LOVE  with  Tul 

Directed  by  Viet 

A  great  star  comes  into  her  own!  A  Sensation  at  Hoi 

story  by  dorothy  speare  "A  credit  to  the  industry.  Showmen  may  now 

and  CHARLES  BEAHAN  J  * 


Lyle  Talbot 


THE  GIRL  FRIEND 

A  musical  extravaganza  with  JACK  HALEY  and  LUPE  VELEZ.  Book,  lyrics  and  music 
by  America's  musical  comedy  kings,  Fields,  Rodgers  and  Hart. 

BORIS  KARLOFF  in  THE  BLACK  ROOM  MYSTERY 

The  Man  They  Love  To  Hale  in  a  powerful  mystery  romance. 

THAT'S  GRATITUDE 

Frank  Craven's  Broadway  success  brought  to  new  life  on  the  screen. 

EIGHT  BELLS 

The  celebrated  international  stage  success  by  Percy  G.  Mandley. 


Opening  triumphs  in  Columbia’s  48 


Jul  1 5 T34  pg.  22 


IMACUGW 


- 


,PRA  Productions 

now  in  production 

g  Warner  Baxter  -  Myrna  Loy 

ctly  Confidential”  by  Mark  Hellinger 

Y  FOR  A  DAY"  and  "IT  HAPPENED  ONE  NIGHT" 

CLAUDETTE  COLBERT 

PRODUCTION 

Beautiful  star  of  "It  Happened  One  Night”  in  a  lavish  production 
that  will  give  her  marvelous  talents  greater  scope  and  offer  exhibitors 
one  of  the  season’s  finest  box-office  attractions 


MOORE 


o  Carminati-Lyle  Talbot-Mona  Barrie 

Schertzinger 

vood  Previews !  Unanimously  acclaimed  by  all  critics! 

dd  it  to  Columbia’s  hit  roster  .  — Motion  Picture  Daily  Screen  play  LAy^EN’ 

J  James  Gow  and  Edmund  North 


$25  AN  HOUR 

From  the  sensational  Broadway  stage  success  by  Glady's  Unger  and  Leyla  Georgi. 

A  FEATHER  IN  HER  HAT 

One  of  today's  best-selling  novels  by  I.  A.  R.  Wylie  brought  to  the  screen. 


CUPP  T  T  T|  17  with  GENE  RAYMOND 
OUAL  JT  1  XI  Hi  and  ANN  SOTHERN 

Delightful  comedy  romance  from  Ralph  Murphy's  brilliant  play. 

MAID  OF  HONOR 

By  Katharine  Brush,  author  of  the  famous  "Red-Headed  Woman"  and  "Young  Man  of  Manhattan" 

For  1934-35  —  many  more  to  follow 


.Claudette 

Colbert 


Jul  1 5 T 34  pg.  23 


Lupe  Velez 


24 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


2-July-34 

6-Point  Reviews 

J  1  »►  Who  made  it  ?  4  Is  it  family  or  adult  type  ? 

2 -Who's  in  it?  5  What's  it  about  ? 

3  How  good  is  it  ?  6  *►  Running  Time  ? 

COLUMBIA 


Adult 

Black  Moon  Melodrama 

68m. 

Jack  Holt,  Dorothy  Burgess,  Fay  Wray,  Arnold 
Korff,  Cora  Sue  Collins,  Clarence  Muse,  Lumsden 
Hare. 

Melodrama  of  the  voodoo  country  that  should 
do  fairly  in  the  neighborhoods  as  well  as  sup¬ 
plying  thrill-lovers  with  satisfying  entertain¬ 
ment.  Holt  is  married  to  a  girl  who  feels  the 
call  of  native  rib  s.  Secretary  warns  him  of 
impending  disaster  and  he  saves  their  child  but 
not  the  wife.  Suspense  is  well  handled  and  if 
this  type  of  show  is  popular,  it  will  fill  the  bill. 

Estimate:  Spotty. 


LIBERTY 


Two  Heads  „  ,  Family 

P. II  Comedy  Drama 

IIIOW  60m. 

Neil  Hamilton,  Miriam  Jordan,  Henry  Armetta, 
Hardie  Albright,  Dorothy  Appleby,  Mary  Forbes, 
Edward  Martindel,  Claude  King,  Lona  Andre,  Betty 
Blythe,  Claire  McDowell,  Dorothy  Granger. 

Nicely  produced  independent  with  an  intrigu¬ 
ing  title  that  should  take  care  of  itself  well 
anywhere.  Cast  has  names  that  guarantee  act¬ 
ing  perfection,  with  a  couple  of  good  leads. 
Story  revolves  about  the  poor  young  man  who 
loses  the  rich  young  girl  and  later  winds  up 
against  her  in  court  as  her  rival  attorney.  Action 
holds  interest. 

Estimate:  Creditable. 


PARAMOUNT 


The  Notorious  _  ,  Adult 

a  |  .  |  Comedy  Drama 

bophie  Lang  72m. 

Gertrude  Michael,  Paul  Cavanagh,  Alison  Skip- 
worth,  Arthur  Byron,  Leon  Errol,  Ferdinand  Gotts- 
chalk.  Jack  Mulhall,  Arthur  Hoyt,  Norman  Ainsley, 
Edward  McWade,  Del  Henderson. 

Story  of  a  crack  woman  thief  that  will  suffer 
because  of  lack  of  names  and  any  star  strength. 
Taken  from  Satevepost  stories,  picture  is  enter¬ 
taining  enough,  but  is  weak  on  the  marquee 
angles.  Players  are  all  good,  with  story  moving 
along  speedily.  As  a  crook  drama  it  will  take 
its  place  as  one  of  the  many. 

Estimate:  Average. 


CHESTERFIELD 


Family 

City  Park  Comedy 

72m. 

Henry  B.  Walthall,  Sally  Blane,  Matty  Kemp,  Hale 
Hamilton,  Gwen  Lee,  Lafe  McKee,  Judith  Voselli. 

Clean  human  interest  story  that  shouldn't  find 
any  objections  in  the  neighborhoods.  Three  old 
men  take  care  of  a  young  girl  who  wants  to 
forget  all.  Developments  include  the  usual 
romantic  story,  misunderstandings,  etc.  Picture 
moves  along  nicely,  bears  lots  of  pleasant 
moments. 

Estimate:  Pleasant. 


FOX 


Family 

Charlie  Chan’s  Courage  Mystery  Drama 

75m. 

Wa  ner  Oland,  Drue  Layton,  Donald  Woods,  Paul 
Harvey,  Murray  Kinnell,  Harvey  Clark. 

Another  of  the  Charlie  Chans  but  not  too 
auspicious  an  ntrant.  Charlie  Chan  followers 
v,  id  pr  bablv  be  satisfied,  but  picture  generally, 
i'.c  esn’t  bold  same  interest  as  some  of  the 
others.  Char  is  commissioned  to  hand  over 
some  pearls  to  the  owner,  delays  his  work  unt  1 
he  can  find  ut  who  the  disturbing  element  is. 

Estimate:  So-so. 


METRO 


Murder  in  the 

Private  Car 


Family 
Comedy  Mystery 
70m. 


Charlie  Ruggles,  Mary  Carlisle,  Russell  Hardie,  Una 
Merkel,  Porter  Hall,  Willard  Robertson,  Berton 
Churchill,  Snowflake. 

Programmer  remake  of  a  silent  with  the  big 
punch  coming  when  a  railroad  car  dashes  madly 
down  a  mountainside  out  of  control.  Picture  is 
a  programmer,  but  is  old  fashioned  movie  and 
satisfactory  as  far  as  audience  values  are  con¬ 
cerned.  Ruggles,  as  a  crime  deflector,  carries 
the  comedy  with  plenty  of  assistance  and  for 
those  who  aren't  too  critical,  show  will  be  okay. 


Estimate:  Typical. 


Adult 

Stamboul  Quest  Spy  Drama 

87m. 

Myrna  Loy,  George  Brent,  C.  Henry  Gordon,  Lionel 
At  will,  Mischa  Auer,  Rudolph  Amendt. 

Spy  picture,  well  handled  and  directed  so  that 
familiar  material  seems  fresh  and  all-inter¬ 
esting.  With  Myrna  Loy  as  the  spy  and  George 
Brent  as  the  medical  student  who  gets  into  jams 
because  he  follows  her,  show  has  a  couple  of 
names.  Feature  parts  are  well  taken  and  show 
should  be  a  suitable  entrant  in  program  class. 
Production  values,  as  always  from  Metro,  are 
A-l. 


Estimate:  Okay  program. 


The  Old  Fashioned  Way  Comedy 

72m. 

W.  C.  Fields,  Joe  Morrison,  Judith  Allen,  Jane 
Duggan,  Nora  Cecil,  Babe  Leroy,  Jack  Mulhall, 
Richard  Carle,  Otis  Harlan,  Clarence  Wilson. 

Farce  comedy  that  will  keep  the  laughs  com¬ 
ing  even  though  the  show  is  light  on  names. 
Fields  turns  in  another  excellent  performance, 
monopolizes  the  piece  with  the  help  of  Baby 
Leroy  but  in  the  final  analysis,  show  must  fall 
into  the  programmer  class.  As  light  summer 
entertainment  it  has  its  merits  with  Fields  again 
the  head  of  a  band  of  troupers. 

Estimate:  Laughs. 


Adult 

She  Loves  Me  Not  Comedy 

85m. 

Bing  Crosby,  Miriam  Hopkins ,  Kitty  Carlisle,  Ed¬ 
ward  Nugent,  Henry  Stephenson,  Warren  Hymer, 
Lynne  Overman,  Judith  Allen,  George  Barbier ,  Ralf 
Harolde,  Matt  McHugh,  Vince  Barnett,  Henry  Kolker. 

Knockout  version  of  a  stage  hit  and  a  comedy 
entrant  that  should  turn  in  a  nice  gross  at  the 
box  office.  Crosby  scores  again  as  the  college 
lad  who  takes  care  of  the  chorus  lassie  who  runs 
away  from  a  murder  trial  and  lands  in  a 
Princeton  dorm.  Casting  is  ideal,  songs  entranc¬ 
ing  and  the  whole  thing  shapes  up  as  real  sum¬ 
mer  entertainment.  With  the  Crosby  name,  the 
entertaining  story  and  list  of  aids,  picture 
should  click. 

Estimate:  Click. 


The  World  Moves  On 


Adult 

Drama  Treasure  Island 

90m. 


Family 
Romantic  Classic 
1 15m, 


Franchot  Tone,  Madeleine  Carro’l,  Reginald  Denny, 
Siegfried  Rumann,  Louise  Dresser,  Raoul  Roulien, 
Lumsden  Hare,  Dudley  Digges,  Frank  Melton,  Russell 
Simpson,  Walter  McGrail ,  Barry  Norton,  Stepin 
Fetch'd,  Claude  King. 

Epic  type  of  the  progress  of  an  international 
family,  well  produced  on  an  impressive  scale 
but  lik  ly  to  be  a  better  bet  in  the  class  houses 
than  in  others.  Show  covers  a  lot  of  ground, 
is  well  acted,  but  appeal  is  restricted  to  more 
intelligent  group  of  movie-goers.  Not  another 
‘  Cavalcade  ‘  in  depth,  it  retains  the  same  limits 
regarding  appeal. 


Wallace  Beery,  Jackie  Cooper,  Lionel  Barrymore, 
Otto  Kruger,  Lewis  Stone,  Nigel  Bruce,  Chic  Sale, 
William  V.  Mong,  Charles  McNaughton,  Dorothy 
Peterson,  Douglas  Dumbrille,  Edmund  Breese,  Olin 
Howland. 

Excellent  screen  version  of  a  classic  and  a 
;  roduction  that  will  not  only  make  money  for 
h  bitors  but  which  will  prove  a  credit  to  the 
rdustry.  Metro  has  contributed  ar.  ace  cast, 
the  reading  public  is  ready  to  see  it  and  the 
result  should  be  rosy  all  around.  No  showman 
will  want  for  names  or  angles  with  which  to 
sell. 


Estimate:  Impressive. 


Estimate:  Splendid. 


Shoot  the  Works  Comedy 

85m. 

Ben  Bernie,  Jack  Oakie,  Dorothy  Dell,  Lew  Cody, 
Arline  Judge,  Alison  Skipworth,  Roscoe  Kama,  Wil¬ 
liam  Frawley,  Paul  Cavanagh. 

Well  produced  comedy  of  show  people  with 
Ben  Bernie  aid  a  list  of  good  players  that 
should  turn  in  a  more  than  average  gross  at 
the  box  office.  Production  is  well-knit,  clean, 
should  appeal  to  every  audience.  Paramount 
has  cast  the  piece  in  such  manner  that  all  audi¬ 
ences  should  be  attracted.  Plot,  itself,  is  none 
too  original,  but  everything  else  is  there. 

Estimate:  Good  show. 


25 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


2-July-34 


MONOGRAM 


Family 

JanC  Eyre  Romantic  Drama 

70m. 

Virginia  Bruce,  Colin  Clive,  Aileen  Pringle,  Beryl 
Mercer,  Jameson  Thomas,  David  Torrence,  Lionel 
Belmore,  Joan  Standing,  Claire  DuBrey. 

Creditable  production  by  Monogram  of  a 
story  that  lias  millions  of  readers  and  a  picture 
that  is  clean  as  a  whistle.  Cast  has  name 
strength  besides  a  good  looking  production. 
Show  has  been  directed  along  the  same  leisurely 
lines  which  predominate  the  book  and  the  net 
result  is  a  picture  that  should  build  nicely  on 
its  own.  No  question  but  that  Monogram  and 
exhibitors  should  benefit. 

Estimate:  Well  done. 


The  Star  Packer  Western 

60m. 

John  Wayne,  Verna  Hillie,  Yakima  Canutt,  George 
Hayes,  Ed  Parker,  George  Cleveland. 

Another  okay  western  from  Monogram  and 
certain  to  find  the  same  favor  as  the  ones  be¬ 
fore  it.  A  gang  is  threatening  a  town.  Our 
John  is  appointed  sheriff  finally  cleans  out  the 
entire  crew.  Before  this,  however,  there  are 
plenty  of  fights,  thrills,  etc. 

Estimate:  Quite  satisfactory. 


RADIO 


Of  Human  Bondage  Drama 

83m. 

Leslie  Howard.  Bette  Davis,  Frances  Dee,  Reginald 
Denny,  Kay  Johnson,  Alan  Hale,  Reginald  Owen. 

Worthy  screen  version  of  Somerset  Maug¬ 
ham’s  novel  with  a  superb  performance  by 
Leslie  Howard.  Picture  shapes  up  as  a  class 
entrant  but  has  the  angles  that  should  attract 
masses  as  well.  Bette  Davis,  as  the  girl  who 
flaunted  the  man's  faithful  love,  turns  in  a  peak 
performance.  Picture  is  of  such  nature  that 
should  allow  for  plenty  of  word-of-mouth  build¬ 
ing. 

Estimate:  Fine. 


UNITED  ARTISTS 


Our  Daily  Bread  Drama 

90m. 

Karen  Motley,  Tom  Keene,  John  Qualen,  Lloyd 
Ingraham ,  Addison  Richards,  Harry  Brown,  Henry 
Semels,  Billy  Engle. 

Sincere  story  of  the  return  of  city  folk  to  the 
soil  but  likely  to  be  restricted  to  the  class  type 
of  audience.  King  Vidor,  who  directed,  has 
turned  in  another  “Crowd,”  with  the  direction, 
camera  work,  etc.,  all  of  the  highest  order. 
Picture,  however,  is  of  such  nature  that  it  may 
click  in  some  spots  and  make  no  impression  in 
others.  Regardless,  from  the  artistic  and  direc¬ 
torial  side,  Vidor  and  cast  have  scored. 

Estimate:  Question. 


What  Do  You  Think? 

It  is  the  aim  of  this  publication  to  give  its  readers 
every  possible  service.  Revision  of  the  page  is  an 
attempt  to  offer  a  concise  reviewing  form  that 
will  help  every  exhibitor.  Your  suggestions  and 
oriticisms  are  welcomed.  Write  in  now  and  tell 
us  whether  you  like  this  or  not. 


WARNERS 


Here  Comes  the  Navy  Comedy 

86m. 

James  Cagney,  Pat  O’Brien,  Gloria  Stuart,  Dorothy 
Tree,  Maude  Eburne,  Frank  McHugh,  Robert  Barrat, 
Willard  Robertson. 

Well  paced  navy  picture  that  should  get  good 
returns  where  they  go  for  the  guffaws  and 
action  comedies.  Cast  is  well  chosen,  with  the 
conflict  between  Cagney  and  O’Brien  predomi¬ 
nating.  As  summer  fare,  it  will  hold  its  own 
nicely  as  well  as  satisfy  the  Cagney  fans.  Navy 
background  is  an  added  inducement. 

Estimate:  Okay. 


STATE  RIGHTS 


Catch 

them 

WHEN 

THEY'RE 

"SHOW 

SHOPPING" 


Burn  ’m  Up  Barnes  Serial 

12  Episodes 

Frankie  Darro,  Jack  Mulhall,  Lola  Lane,  Edwin 
Maxwell,  Jason  Robards. 

New  serial  from  Mascot  in  12  2-reel  epi¬ 
sodes  and  likely  to  uphold  the  high  standard  set 
by  that  company.  First  three  episodes  as  re¬ 
vealed  to  the  trade  indicate  entire  action  is 
around  racing  cars  and  race  tracks  with  a  girl 
interested  in  autos  as  a  business  venture.  From 
the  looks  of  things,  there  are  enough  smashups, 
etc.,  to  satisfy  the  most  discriminating  of  serial 
audiences. 

Estimate:  Roaring. 


Hollywood  Hoodlum  Comedy 

61m. 

June  Clyde,  Frank  Albertson,  Jose  Crespo,  Tenen 
Holtz,  John  Davidson,  Cyril  Ring,  Stanley  Price, 

Thrill  feature  that  shapes  up  nicely  for  an 
inde.  Cast  doesn’t  contain  any  stars  but  on  the 
whole  picture  will  satisfy  in  the  neighborhoods. 
Hollywood  background  is  an  added  lure  while 
entrance  of  gangsters  into  the  story  makes  for 
added  punch. 

Estimate:  Fair  inde. 


Murder  in 

the  Museum 


Family 
Murder  Mystery 
60m. 


Henry  B.  Walthall,  Phyllis  Barrington,  Johnny 
Harron,  Joseph  Girard,  John  Elliott,  Donald  Kerr. 

Inde  mystery  murder  yarn  that  will  prove 
most  pleasing  in  the  neighborhoods.  Suspense 
elements  are  built  up  and  even  though  the  plot 
includes  the  reporter  who  solves  all,  show  has 
some  original  notes. 


Estimate:  Average  murder  stuff. 


Nowadays,  people  shop  for  amuse¬ 
ments.  They  know  what  movie 
they  want  to  see.  They  know 
what  star  they  want  to  see.  And 
in  Philadelphia,  they  do  their 
shopping  in  The  Record’s  Amuse¬ 
ment  Directory. 

This  first  and  only  complete 
amusement  guide  in  Philadelphia 
reaches  200,000  people  daily, 
300,000  on  Sunday.  For  only  30 
cents  a  day  you  can  tell  them 
who’s  playing  in  what  at  your 
theatre.  A  longer  listing  costs 
but  15  cents  a  line  more. 


The  RECORD 

Amusement  Directory 


offers  you  the  most  economical 
form  of  advertising  ever  presented 
to  Philadelphia  theatre-owners. 
Today  it  carries  the  listings  of 
most  theatres  in  the  Philadelphia 
district.  Does  it  carry  yours? 
If  not,  you’re  missing  an  un¬ 
equalled  opportunity  to  place  your 
attraction  before  actual  amuse¬ 
ment  buyers  at  the  very  moment 
when  they  are  choosing  their 
amusement.  To  insert  your  ad, 
just  call 


S.  A.  Mann  Brand  Drama 

85m. 

Nazi  propaganda  film  made  in  Germany. 

Nazi  propaganda  film  that  may  do  business 
in  German  spots  but  which  is  out  as  far  as  the 
general  trade  is  concerned.  Picture  sells  the 
Nazi  idea  in  as  many  ways  as  possible  and 
won’t  appeal  to  anyone  who  isn’t  interested. 
Production  is  up  to  German  standard,  but  as 
a  piece  of  film,  it  will  be  worth  something  only 
where  they  ask  for  it. 

Estimate:  Propaganda. 


PHILADELPHIA 

RECORD 

CLASSIFIED  DEPARTMENT 

WALNUT  2300 


26 


Jul  1 5 T  34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


THE  CHECKUP 


For  your  convenience,  this  publication  furnishes  this  guide  to  reviews  of  pictures  which  have  appeared 
in  regular  review  department.  Before  dating  in  your  show,  consult  this  page,  find  out  when  the  review  appeared 
and  then  look  it  up.  Key:  For  example,  2-Jan.  means  the  second  issue  of  this  publication  in  that  month. 
1-Feb.  would  mean  the  first  issue,  and  so  on. 


Columbia 


Speed  Wings  .  2-Mar. 

The  Lady  is  Willing  . 1-Apr. 

The  Social  Register .  1-Apr. 

One  is  Guilty  .  2-Apr. 

Voice  in  the  Night .  2-Apr. 

The  Whirlpool  .  2-Apr. 

The  Fighting  Ranger  .  1-May 

The  Man  Trailer  .  1-May 

Sisters  Under  the  Skin  .  1-May 

The  Party’s  Over  .  1-May 

20th  Century  .  1-May 

The  Crime  of  Helen  Stanley  .  2-May 

Hell  Bent  for  Love  .  1-June 

One  Night  of  Love .  2-June 

The  Hell  Cat  . 2-June 

The  Most  Precious  Thing  in  Life .  2-June 

Black  Moon  ,2-July 


First  National — Warners 


I've  Got  Your  Number .  2-Feb. 

Wonder  Bar .  2-Feb. 

Gambling  Lady  . 1-Mar. 

Harold  Teen  .  1-Mar. 

Journal  of  a  Crime .  2-Mar. 

Registered  Nurse  .  2-Mar. 

Jimmy  the  Gent  .  2-Mar. 

Twenty  Million  Sweethearts .  1-Apr. 

Upper  World  .  1-Apr. 

A  Very  Honorable  Guy  .  2-Apr. 

Side  Streets  .  2-Apr. 

A  Modern  Hero .  2-Apr. 

Smarty  . 1-May 

Merry  Wives  of  Reno  .  2-May 

Fog  Over  Frisco  .  1-June 

Midnight  Alibi  .  1-June 

The  Circus  Clown  .  1-June 

The  Merry  Frinks  .  1-June 

Dr.  Monica  .  1-June 

The  Key  .  .  .  . .  1-June 

He  Was  Her  Man  .  1-June 

Man  With  Two  Faces .  2-June 

Return  of  the  Terror .  2-June 

Friends  of  Mr.  Sweeney .  2-June 

Madam  Du  Barry . 2-June 

The  Personality  Kid  .  2-June 

Here  Comes  the  Navy  2-July 


Fox 


I  Believed  in  You  .  .  . 

David  Harum 

Bottoms  Up  . 

Scandals  . 

Three  on  a  Honeymoon 
All  Men  Are  Enemies  . 

Murder  in  Trinidad 
Stand  Up  and  Cheer 

The  Constant  Nymph  . 

Now  I'll  Tell  . 

Springtime  for  Henry 
Such  Women  Are  Dangerous 

Wild  Gold  . 

Change  of  Heart  . 

Handy  Andy  . 

Call  It  Luck  . 

Heart  Song  . 

Baby  Take  a  Bow 
Grand  Canary 
She  Learned  About  Sailors 
Charlie  Chan’s  Courage  . 
The  World  Moves  On 


1-Mar. 

1- Mar. 

2- Mar. 
2-Mar. 

1- Apr. 

2- Apr. 
2-Apr. 
2-Apr. 
2-Apr. 
1-May 
1-May 
1-May 

1- May 

2- May 
2-May 
1-June 
1-June 
1-July 
1-July 

1- July 

2-  July 
2-July 


Liberty 


Cheaters  .  1-May 

No  Ransom  2-Apr. 

When  Strangers  Meet  . 2-Apr. 

Take  the  Stand  .  2-Mar. 

Once  to  Every  Bachelor  1-June 

Two  Heads  on  a  Pillow  2-July 


Metre 


Women  in  HI*  Life .  1-Jan. 

Going  Hollywood  . 1-Jan. 

Queen  Christina  .  1-Jan. 

Fugitive  Lovers  . 2-Jan. 

You  Can’t  Buy  Everything  .  1-Feb. 


This  Side  of  Heaven .  1-Feb. 

Men  in  White  2-Feb. 

Cat  and  the  Fiddle  1-Mar. 

Mystery  of  Mr.  X  .  1-Mar. 

Lazy  River  .  2-Mar.  j 

The  Showoff .  2-Mar. 

Riptide  2-Apr. 

The  Hollywood  Party  .  2-Apr. 

Viva  Villa  2-Apr. 

Manhattan  Melodrama  1-May 

Tarzan  and  His  Mate  . 1-May 

Laughing  Boy  .  .  2-May 

Sadie  McKee  2-May 

Operator  13  1-June 

The  Thin  Man  1-June  j 

Murder  in  Private  Car  ...  2-July 

Stamboul  Quest  2-July 

Treasure  Island  2-July 


Monogram 

DISTRIBUTED  BY  FIRST  DIVISION 


Beggars  in  Ermine  1-Mar. 

City  Limits  . 2-Apr. 

Manhattan  Love  Song  . 2-Apr. 

Monte  Carlo  Nights  1-May 

House  of  Mystery  .  1-May 

Blue  Steel  2-May 

The  Loudspeaker  2-May 

Money  Means  Nothing  .  1-June 

The  Man  from  Utah  1-June 

Randy  Rides  Alone  1-July 

ijane  Eyre  .  2-July 

Star  Packer  2-July 


Pa  ramount 


His  Double  Life .  1-Jan. 

8  Girls  in  a  Boat  1-Jan. 

The  Last  Roundup  2-Jan. 

Search  for  Beauty  2-Jan. 

Four  Frightened  People  2-Jan. 

All  of  Me  .  2-Jan. 

Death  Takes  a  Holiday  (Strange  Holiday)  1-Feb. 

Good  Dame  . 1-Feb. 

Six  of  a  Kind . 1-Feb. 

Bolero  2-Feb.  I 

No  More  Women .  2-Feb.  I 

Come  On  Marines  . 2-Mar.  I 

She  Made  Her  Bed  2-Mar. 

Wharf  Angel  2-Mar. 

Melody  in  Spring  . 2-Apr. 

The  Trumpet  Blows  . 2-Apr. 

You're  Telling  Me  .  2-Apr. 

Double  Door  .  1-May 

The  Scarlet  Empress  .  1-May 

The  Witching  Hour  1-May 

We're  Not  Dressing  1-May 

Little  Miss  Marker  .  2-May 

Many  Happy  Returns  2-May 

Murder  at  Vanities  2-May 

Private  Scandal  2-May 

Thirty  Day  Princess .  2-May 

Kiss  and  Make  Up . 2-June 

The  Great  Flirtation  2-June  | 

Here  Comes  the  Groom .  1-July 

Notorious  Sophie  Lang  .........  2-July 

Old  Fashioned  Way  2-July 

She  Loves  Me  Not  .  2-July 

Shoot  the  Works  .  2-July 


Radio 


Son  of  Kong  . 

Two  Alone 
Hips  Hips  Hooray 
Keep  'Em  Rolling 
Long  Lost  Father 
The  Lost  Patrol  .  . 
Sing  and  Like  It 
Spitfire 

Success  at  Any  Price 
This  Man  Is  Mine 
The  Crime  Doctor 
Finishing  School  .  . 

Wild  Cargo 
Where  Sinners  Meet 
Strictly  Dynamite  .  . 

Stingaree  . 

Cockeyed  Cavaliers 
Murder  on  Blackboard 

Vergie  Winters  . 

Bachelor  Bait  . 


2-Jan. 

2-Jan. 

1- Feb. 

2- Feb. 
2-Feb. 
2-Feb. 
1-Mar. 
1-Mar. 

1- Mar. 

2- Mar. 

1- Apr. 

2- Apr. 
2-Apr. 


1-May 

1- May 

2- May 
2-June 
2-June 
2-June 
1-July 


His  Greatest  Gamble . 

Let's  Try  Again. . 

We're  Rich  Again  . 

Of  Human  Bondage 

United  Artists 


Roman  Scandals . 

Advice  to  the  Lovelorn  . 

Gallant  Lady  . 

Moulin  Rouge  . 

Nana  . 

Palooka  . 

Sorrell  and  Son  . 

Looking  for  Trouble  . 

Catherine  the  Great . 

House  of  Rothschild  . 

The  Affairs  of  Cellini . 

Bulldog  Drummond  Strikes  Back 

The  Last  Gentleman  . 

Born  to  Be  Bad  . 

Our  Daily  Bread . 


Universal 


I  Like  It  That  Way  . 

Wheels  of  Destiny  . 

The  Crosby  Case . 

Love  Birds  . 

Midnight  . 

Gun  Justice  . 

Countess  of  Monte  Cristo . 

Honor  of  the  West . 

Let's  Be  Ritzy  . 

Glamour  . 

I'll  Tell  the  World  . 

Smoking  Guns  (Doomed  to  Die) . 

Half  a  Sinner  . 

The  Uncertain  Lady  . 

Affairs  of  Gentleman  . 

Dangerous  to  Women  (The  Love  Captive) 

The  Black  Cat  . 

Embarrassing  Moments  . 

Little  Man,  What  Now?  . 

I  Give  My  Love  . 

Let’s  Talk  It  Over . 


First  Division 

(CHESTERFIELD) 

Notorious  But  Nice  . 

Murder  On  the  Campus  . 

Cross  Streets  . 

The  Quitter  . 

Stolen  Sweets  . 

In  Love  with  Life  . 

Twin  Husbands  . . 

City  Park  . 

The  Road  to  Ruin  . 

He  .  . 

Throne  of  the  Gods  . 

Under  Secret  Orders  . 

Forgotten  Men  . 

Texas  Tornado  . 

The  Ferocious  Pal  . 

Young  Eagles  . 


Gold  Medal 

The  Big  Bluff  . 

Important  Witness  . 

Laughing  at  Life  . 

Curtain  at  Eight . 

You  Made  Me  Love  You  . 

The  Charming  Deceiver  . 

Sin  of  Nora  Moran  . 

Big  Time  or  Bust . 

Enlighten  Thy  Daughter . 

The  Morninq  After . 

Unknown  Blonde  . 

The  Lost  Jungle . 

Burn  ’Em  Up  Barnes  . 

Masterpiece 

Her  Forgotten  Past  . 

Riot  Squad  . 

Secret  Sinners  . 

Wine,  Women  and  Song . 

What’s  Your  Racket? . 

Dancing  Man  . 

Back  Page  . 

The  Fighting  Rookie . 


1-July 

1-July 

1- July 

2- July 


1- Dec. 

2- Dec. 
2-Dec. 
1-Jan. 

2-Jan. 

1- Feb. 

2- Feb. 
2-Feb. 
1-Mar. 

.  2-Mar. 

1- May 

2- May 
2-May 
2-June 
2-July 


2-Jan. 

1- Feb. 

2- Feb. 
2-Feb. 

1- Mar. 

.  1-Mar. 

2- Mar. 
2-Mar. 
2-Mar. 
2-Apr. 
2-Apr. 
1-May 
1-May 

1- May 

2- May 
2-May 
2-May 
1-June 
1-June 

1- June 

2- June 


2-Nov. 

2-Feb. 

1-Mar. 

1- Apr. 

2- Apr. 
1-May 

1- May 

2- July 

2-Dec. 

2-Jan. 

2-Jan. 

1- Jan. 

2- June 
2-Mar. 

1- Apr. 

2- May 


2-0ct. 

2-Aug. 

2-June 

1-Deo. 

1-Dec. 

1-Jan. 

1- Jan. 

2- Jan. 
2-Jan. 
2-Feb. 
1-Apr. 

1- June 

2- July 


2-Nov. 

2-Aug. 

1- Jan. 

2- Jan. 
2-Feb. 
2-Mar. 

1- Apr. 

2- June 


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28 


Jul  1 5 T  3  4 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


•  — 

A  Concise 

National  Survey 

TRADE  IN  REVIEW  * 

- • 

Glances  Outside 
the  Territory 

W 

CODE 

Exhibitors  Can  Now 
Sign  Until  August  15 

Exhibitors  now  can  sign  the  code  up  until 
August  15,  the  assent  to  the  code  having  been 
reopened.  There  are  certain  requirements  and 
modifications  that  will  have  to  be  met.  Local 
boards  and  exhibitor  organizations  will  supply 
necessary  information. 

Code  Authority  Hits 
Evasions  in  Other  Industries 

The  Code  Authority  has  gone  on  record  as 
rapping  violations  by  members  of  other  indus¬ 
tries  of  their  respective  codes  of  fair  competi¬ 
tion  regarding  prohibition  of  rebates,  lotteries, 
prizes,  etc.,  to  the  detriment  of  and  loss  of 
revenue  by  exhibitors. 

CA  Passes  UA  Case 
Back  to  Local  Board 

The  Code  Authority  delayed  a  ruling  on  the 
UA  issue  involving  the  right  of  the  exhibitor  to 
exercise  his  10%  cancellation  clause  against  UA 
product  by  handing  the  case  back  to  the  local 
board  for  further  study.  UA  says  cancellation 
doesn’t  apply  because  of  company’s  distribution 
setup.  Exhibitors  claim  it  should. 

CA  Appoints  Some 
Committees  to  Hear  Appeals 

Code  Authority  finally  figured  out  a  way  to 
dispose  of  appeal  cases. 

Ten  committees  have  been  appointed  to  take 
care  of  appeals  before  the  body  in  order  that  the 
group  can  get  back  to  normal  schedule. 

Committees  pass  up  recommendations  to  main 
body. 

Meanwhile,  the  CA  itself  goes  under  a  bi¬ 
weekly  schedule. 

Fai'ure  to  Pay 
Assessments  Means  Loss 

Failure  to  pay  assessment  will  lead  to  loss  of 
privilege  of  filing  complaints,  the  Code  Author¬ 
ity  has  decreed.  Exhibitors  who  fail  to  pay 
lose  benefits  therefore. 

289  Grievance  Cases 
460  Clearance  Filed 

Recent  report  of  the  Code  Authority  indi¬ 
cates  that  a  total  of  289  complaints  have  been 
heard  by  local  grievance  boards,  with  57  ap¬ 
pealed  to  the  CA.  460  clearance  protests  were 
heard  with  37  appealed  to  the  CA.  This  in¬ 
cludes  activity  of  the  boards  into  half  of  June. 

Open  Meetings  Ordered 
In  New  Orleans  Zone 

Open  meetings  will  be  the  rule  in  the  New 
Orleans  zone. 

The  Code  Authority  secretary  has  so  ruled. 
Previous  to  this  time,  boards  have  been  having 
closed  hearings.  Wonder  is  why  they  got  away 
with  such  a  practice  as  long  as  they  did. 


PRODUCTION 

Seal  to  Indicate 
Okiyed  Productions 

According  to  current  Hollywood  reports,  pro¬ 
ductions  which  have  been  approved  by  the  Pro¬ 
duction  Code  Administration  will  carry  seal 
and  serial  number.  Under  the  system  only  ap¬ 
peals  from  the  decisions  of  the  Production  Code 
Administration  will  be  to  the  heads  of  the  com¬ 
panies. 

Meanwhile,  a  great  many  productions  are 
being  revised  or  withheld  from  actual  shooting. 

Unit  Producers  Branch 
Out  On  Their  Own 

Several  unit  producers  have  been  beginning 
to  branch  out  on  their  own. 

Walter  Wanger  is  making  some  pictures.  So 
is  Charles  Rogers.  Future  of  B.  P.  Schulberg 
is  also  uncertain. 

Meanwhile,  reports  of  new  national  distribu¬ 
tion  units  beginning  are  being  thrown  about. 
Prominent  names  are  associated  with  them. 
One,  along  the  lines  of  the  First  National  hook¬ 
up,  has  been  in  the  works  for  some  time. 

French  Restrictions 
Hurt  Distribs  Abroad 

Restrictions  placed  by  the  French  govern¬ 
ment  on  American  pictures  include : 

Dubbed  films  may  be  given  public  showing 
only  within  the  limit  of  94  films  during  six 
months  ending  December  31,  1934.  Original 
films  may  be  shown  in  not  more  than  5  theatres 
in  Paris  area,  and  in  not  more  than  two  theatres 
in  other  departments  in  France.  Cartoons  not 
included. 

Joseph  Kennedy 
Back  in  the  Limelight 

Joseph  Kennedy,  formerly  active  in  Radio 
and  Pathe,  is  the  new  head  of  the  five-man  com¬ 
mission  to  regulate  exchanges,  appointed  by  the 
President. 

This  marks  the  first  time  that  Kennedy  has 
appeared  in  the  spotlight  actively  since  his 
movie  days. 

Consolidated  Buys  Into 
RKO  Affairs  Through  Notes 

Consolidated  Film  Industries  has  acquired 
$1,825,208  of  six  per  cent  gold  notes  of  RKO, 
all  secured  by  stock  owned  by  RKO  in  its 
subsidiaries. 

Voting  of  stocks  pledged  as  collateral  may  be 
exercised  by  Consolidated  in  certain  cases. 

Boycott  Against  Salacious 
Pictures  Continues  Everywhere 

Following  a  conference  of  bishops  with  Hay’s 
organization  representatives,  the  ban  on  salac¬ 
ious  movies  continues. 

In  Rome,  the  Pope  is  said  to  have  expressed 
pleasure  over  the  drive. 

Kid  business  has  been  badly  affected  every¬ 
where,  although  theatremen  feel  that  new  type 
of  Hollywood  product  will  help  bring  back  in¬ 
dustry  into  good  graces  of  groups  now  working 
against  industry. 


EXHIBITION 

President  Looks  at 
41  Features  on  Trip 

While  President  Roosevelt  is  traveling  to 
Hawaii,  he  will  see  41  pictures  contributed  by 
leading  producers.  His  list  includes  a  wide 
array  with  comedies  and  family  pictures  pre¬ 
dominating. 

Attempts  to  Regulate 
Duals  Tough  Job 

Attempts  to  regulate  dual  bills  in  all  parts 
of  the  country  are  tough  jobs.  In  many  sit¬ 
uations,  where  practice  was  considered  checked, 
twin  bills  cropped  up  again. 

MPTO  asks  local  units  to  take  steps  to  curb 
the  practice. 

Heat,  Boycott  Take 
Toll  of  Theatres 

Abnormal  heat,  combined  with  the  drive 
against  salacious  pictures,  etc.,  result  in  plenty 
of  closing  houses  throughout  the  country.  Busi¬ 
ness  has  dropped  off  more  than  it  usually  does, 
with  everything  being  blamed.  Run  of  weaker 
picture  fare  also  has  affected  houses. 

Fight  on  Catholic 
Ban  Threatens  Closing 

First  definite  action  on  the  Catholic  ban  came 
from  Philadelphia  where  indes  and  chain  houses 
threatened  to  close  within  two  weeks  if  com¬ 
plete  boycott  were  not  lifted. 

Philadelphia  situation  differs  from  others  in 
that  ban  is  extended  to  all  theatres  despite  pic¬ 
ture.  Catholics  signing  Pledge  of  Decency  com¬ 
mit  a  sin  if  they  attend  any  movie  theatre. 

Mrs.  August  Belmont 
Resigns  from  MP  Group 

Mrs.  August  Belmont  has  resigned  from  the 
presidency  of  the  Motion  Picture  Research 
Council  because  of  ill  health.  A  national  meet¬ 
ing  of  research  workers,  organizers,  etc.,  was 
called  recently  in  Washington  to  discuss  films. 

Eastern  Allied  Units 
to  Hold  AC  Convention 

Eastern  Allied  groups  will  attend  the  conven¬ 
tion  of  Allied  New  Jersey  at  Atlantic  City, 
August  22-24.  Albany,  Baltimore,  Boston,  New 
England  bodies  will  attend,  with  at  least  200 
expected. 

DISTRIBUTION 

Local  Exchanges  May 
Handle  Film  Board  Work 

A  plan  whereby  local  exchange  manager  may 
handle  film  board  work  in  some  spots  is  being 
considered  by  distributors.  In  these  territories, 
exchange  chiefs  would  carry  the  same  func¬ 
tions  as  the  secretaries  in  the  past. 

UA  and  Warners  On 
Good  Terms  Again 

Warners  theatres  will  play  UA  product  again 
this  year.  Companies  did  not  have  a  complete 
understanding  last  year. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Jul  15*34 


29 


THE  TRIANGLE  becomes  a  quadrangle  in  “Let’s  Try  Again,”  from  RKO  with  Diana 
Wynyard,  Ted  Newton,  Clive  Brook  and  others. 


READY 

REFERENCE 

EACH  COMPANY  LISTED  IS  AN 
AUTHORITY  IN  ITS  FIELD  AND 
IS  RELIABLE  AND  TRUSTWORTHY 


AIR  CONDITIONING 

^KtPHOON 


Ta,< 


COOLING 

VENTILATING 


CONDITIONING  CO. 

BLOWERS  -  FANS 
^  AIR  WASHERS 
252  West  26th  St.,  New  York 


ARCHITECT 


LETTERS  TO  THE  EDITOR 


From  Mrs.  Owens 

Dear  Sir: 

THE  EXHIBITOR  lias  just  come,  and  I  have  read  it 
from  cover  to  cover,  as  I  always  do,  for  I  find  it  a  most 
interesting-  magazine.  I  only  regret  not  having  had 
THE  EXHIBITOR  years  ago,  and  that  each  of  my  chair¬ 
men  does  not  have  it,  because  it  certainly  gives  a  differ¬ 
ent  picture  from  the  one  which  many  of  them  do  get 
from  the  exhibitors  with  whom  they  come  in  contact. 

Perhaps  it  will  interest  you  to  know  that  for  a  number 
of  years,  Federated  Women,  and  the  D.  A.  R.  (whose 
Better  Films  Chairman  I  was  prior  to  this  Federation 
Chairmanship)  have  tried  and  tried  and  TRIED  to 
have  Family  Nights — and  Junior  Matinees — either  Satur¬ 
day  morning  or  afternoon,  as  suits  the  various  communi¬ 
ties  best.  HAD  THE  EXHIBITORS  co-operated  with 
these  various  chairmen  in  every  instance,  and  if  once 
each  week  Pennsylvania  HAD  100%  Family  Nights — 
there  would  be  no  boycott  now.  Your  editorial  in  the 
July  1  EXHIBITOR  certainly  “hits  the  nail  on  the 
head.”  “Did  any  exhibitor  go  on  record  for  clean  pic¬ 
tures?  Years  ago?”  “Did  attempts  to  institute  family 
nights  receive  100%  co-operation?”  “Did  exhibitors 
protest  when  sex-laden  pictures  made  money  at  their 
box  offices?  They  did  not.” 

BUT  T  know  from  sad  experience  what  these  same 
exhibitors  did  do — they  told  the  motion  picture  chair¬ 
men  who  went  to  them  and  asked  for  Family  Night  pro¬ 
grams — once  a  week — that  if  they  could  they  would,  but 
that  block-booking  was  the  reason  for  their  having  to 
show  the  pictures  they  were  showing.  I  have  often  won¬ 
dered  if  it  were  possible  for  block-booking  to  have 
been  responsible  for  Adam’s  eating  the  apple  and  all  the 
other  epoch  making  sins  ever  since.  We  have  had  very 
splendid  and  intelligent  co-operation,  and  helpfulness, 
from  MANY  of  the  theatremen — both  exhibitors  and 
1 HSTRTBUTORS — and  the  PRODUCERS — and  HAVE 
WOMEN  who  have  had  a  vision  of  the  movie  as  the  great 
community  asset,  and  Better  Films  Councils  as  the 
answer  to  support  of  finer  films,  and  box-office  success 
of  these,  (and  consequently  more  produced) — and  a  gen¬ 
uine  community  center  in  the  neighborhood  theatre — 
have  these  women  been  accused  of  being  paid  by  the 
industry,  being  meddlars,  being  busy-bodies,  being  in 
fact  everything  except  what  they  are — the  most  far¬ 
sighted  public-spirited  people  in  the  neighborhoods. 

When  T  see  tremendous  activity  these  days.  I  am 
rather  glad  for  it  is  a  healthy  condition — IF  the  the¬ 
atre  exhibitors  will  “see  the  light.”  The  General  Feder¬ 
ation  of  Women’s  Clubs  and  the  State  Federation  of 
Pennsylvania  Women  have  had  a  program  of  constructive 
co-operation,  and  so  far  as  I  know  or  can  find  out,  ours 
is  the  most  comprehensive  constructive  program  so  far 
advanced.  I  have  heard  much  that  is  destructive,  and 
talk  about  “planning  a  program,”  hut  WE  HAVE  A 
PROGRAM,  and  so  anxious  was  I  to  have  this  followed, 
that  this  past  winter,  a  number  of  us  went  into  a 
huddle,  and  invited  civic-minded  leaders  to  a  series  of 
Motion  Picture  Forums,  held  at  the  B'ellevue-Stratford 
Hotel  in  Philadelphia. 

These  forums  were  well  attended,  and  many  active 
groups  were  the  result — for  with  truthful  knowledge, 
not  propaganda,  these  intelligent  women  learned  that 
there  is  much  we  can  do,  and  much  we  must  learn.  It 
is  rather  amusing  to  us  to  know  we  must  “fight”  both 
the  exhibitor  in  many  theatres,  and  the  reform-citizen 
groups,  who  want  to  clean  up  the  movies — but  have  no 
idea  of  any  of  the  difficulties  that  the  right  minded  the¬ 
atre-man  has  to  contend  with. 

We  have  a  group  in  Los  Angeles,  and  one  in  New 
York — which  preview  and  evaluate  pictures,  and  these 
lists  are  published,  and  circulated  freely,  and  we  have 
urged  our  women  to  use  these  lists,  and  attend  the 
movies  according  to  these  lists.  That  is,  when  the 
family  goes,  to  go  to  a  family  film,  and  to  go  to  the 
neighborhood  theatre  when  at  all  possible.  Then  if  an 
adult  evening  is  desired,  chose  that — thus  it  is  easily 
agreed  that  if  there  is  a  regular  family  night  in  the 


neighborhood  theatre,  there  would  be  a  fine  tie-up  for 
family  and  theatre. 

We  have  passed  resolutions  placing  the  responsibility 
on  parents  for  child  attendance,  we  have  tried  to  educate 
the  public  to  know  what  its  children  go  to  see — not  just 
letting  them  go  to  get  them  out  of  the  way,  or  because 
somebody  else  goes,  etc. 

Here  is  our  15  Point  Plan: 

1.  Give  accurate  information  about  picture  industry. 

2.  Emphasize  parents’  responsibility  in  picture  selec- 
l  ion. 

3.  Praise  AND  SUPPORT  FINE  ACCOMPLISHMENTS. 

4.  Watch  advertising  and  publicity,  and  report  viola¬ 
tions  of  good  taste. 

5.  LTrge  booking  of  more  educational  and  travel  shorts. 

(».  WORK  AGAINST  DOUBLE  FEATURE  POLICY. 

7.  Watch  short  comedies,  music  and  newsreels. 

8.  KNOW  THEATRE  MANAGERS. 

9.  BROADCAST  PUBLICITY  FOR  RECOMMENDED 
PICTURES. 

10.  Work  for  Junior  Matinees  and  FAMILY  NIGHTS. 

11.  Promote  use  of  films  in  Departmental  work  of 
Federation. 

12.  Secure  educational  slides  and  films  for  schools. 

13.  Keep  abreast  of  international  film  problems. 

14.  Keep  informed  on  proposed  legislation  and  censor¬ 
ship. 

15.  Establish  Better  Filni  Councils. 

We  urge  women  who  control  85%  of  the  purchasing 
power  of  the  U.  S.  to  “extend  their  rights  of  selection 
and  discrimination  to  the  box  office  of  the  motion  picture 
theatres  of  America.  Study  the  films  as  carefully  as 
other  merchandise  purchased  for  the  family.  A  concerted 
buying  movement  for  Moral  and  Artistic  Films  for  Fam¬ 
ily  Entertainment  is  our  aim  for  this  year.  To  give  this 
helpful  information  about  film  values  is  the  duty  of 
everv  motion  picture  chairman.  USE  O'UR  PREVIEW 
LIST  AS  YOUR  SHOPPING  GUIDE  FOR  BETTER 
MOTION  PICTURES.” 

It  is  our  desire  to  continue  the  Philadelphia  Motion 
Picture  Forums  next  winter,  and  we  will  be  glad  to 
have  representatives  from  the  Exhibitors  at  every  one 
of  our  meetings,  and  will  be  pleased  to  have  them 
speak  whenever  they  have  anything  constructive  to  say. 
The  only  way  to  be  a  FORCE  FOR  GOOD  in  any  com¬ 
munity  is  to  KNOW  all  possible  about  the  job  in  band, 
and  then  go  ahead,  and  try  to  do.  It  is  for  this  knowl¬ 
edge  that  this  Motion  Picture  Forum  is  conducted.  Gen¬ 
erally  speaking,  women  are  very  much  interested  in  sup¬ 
porting  the  outstanding  films,  when  the  matter  is  called 
to  their  attention,  and  their  interest  in  a  constructive 
plan  is  solicited.  But  the  theatre  manager  who  “refuses 
to  sign  his  rights  away”  as  one  has  just  told  me  over  the 
phone,  and  cannot  see  that  double  feature  policy  is 
ONE  of  the  things  which  has  caused  the  boycott — and 
the  man  who  blames  everything  on  blockbooking,  and 
the  alibi -artist — these  have  brought  the  boycott  on — 
just  as  much  as  has  the  producer  who  has  made  the  sex¬ 
laden  film,  and  the  salacious  film — for  if  they  were 
net  bought  and  exploited  by  the  theatres,  they  would 
not  be  made  and  re-made.  No  doubt  this  boycott  will 
he  well  worthwhile,  and  the  great  public  which  has  never 
gone  to  the  movies  will  get  all  the  joy  from  movies 
in  the  future  that  many  of  us  have  been  getting  be¬ 
cause  we  chose  our  film-fare. 

Best  wishes  to  THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR. 

Sincerely, 

MARY  GWYNN  O’WENS. 

P.S. — We  want  to  introduce  Photoplay  Appreciation 
Classes  in  all  schools  and  colleges  this  winter  under 
English — that  will  help  us  all  considerably,  and  I  DO 
HOPE  the  exhibitors  will  one  and  all  co-operate  with  the 
teachers  and  schools  when  they  are  approached — no 
matter  how  timidly. 


Harrisburg  Reseating 

Majestic  Theatre,  Harrisburg,  is  expected 
to  close. 

Plans  are  being  discussed  for  the  installation 
of  new  seats  before  re-opening  of  the  Majestic 
next  September. 


THEATRE  DESIGN 

Remodeling  »  Building 

LATEST  COMPLETED 

NEW  BROADWAY  CAYUGA 

Camden,  Philadelphia 

New  Jersey  Penna. 

DAVID  SUPOWITZ 

REGISTERED 

ARCHITECT 

246  S.  15th  St.,  Phi  la..  Pa.  Pennypacker  2291 


BUSINESS  BROKER 


THEATRES 

BOUGHT  •  SOLD  •  LEASED 

Partnerships  Negotiated 

HI.  II.  OOODIS,  Inc. 

1201  CHESTNUT  STREET 
Rittenhouse  4595  Rittenhouse  9077 


DECORATIVE  GLASS 


We  specialize  in  GLASS  for  Theatres 

specify:  VARICOLITE 

See  the  new  mirror  booth  at  the 
IRIS  THEATRE,  Kensington  and  Allegheny 
Write  for  particulars  and  samples 

M.  KRAKOVITZ  AND  SONS,  CO. 

4TH  AND  MORRIS  STREETS,  PHILA. 
Dewey  8600  Main  2301 


DRAPERIES 


The  Larger  and  Greater — 

NOVELTY  SCENIC  STUDIOS 

- INC - 

INTERIOR  DECORATIONS  DRAPERIES 

SCENERY  ■■  ACC0USTICAL  TREATMENTS1  RIGGING 

611-625  W.  43rd  St.  New  York,  N.  Y. 


FLAGS  AND  BANNERS 


D  Theatre  Marquee  Valances 
E  Wall  Banners 

N  Net  and  Road  Banners 

X  Attractive  Colors — Sewed  or  Painted 

^  Letters — Featuring  All  Shows. 

.  Burgees — Pennants — Decorations 

*•“  Above  Also  Sold  Outright.  Order  Direct  From 

NATIONAL  FLAG  &  BANNER  CO. 

251-253  N.  13th  St.  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


30 


Jul  15'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


YOU  CAN  SHOO 

Mr.  Sum.  R.  Blues 


Increase  your  income 
during  the 


HOT  WEATHER 

with  a 


BERLO 

CANDY  VENDOR 

“Ask  Your 
Fellow  Exhibitor ” 


Get  in  touch  with: 

GEO.  P.  AARONS 

301  N.  13th  Street 

LOCUST  4245 


OR  CALL  POPLAR  6011 

BERLO 

VENDING 

COMPANY 

1518  N.  Broad  St.,  Phila. 

Specializing  in  Candy 
Vending  Equipment 
for  the  Theatre  Trade! 


NEW  YORK  BALTIMORE 

SCRANTON  WASHINGTON 

ALLENTOWN  CLEVELAND 

PITTSBURGH  CINCINNATI 


ARRIVING.  Emanuel  Cohen,  Para¬ 
mount  production  head,  greets 
George  J.  Schaefer,  Adolph  Zukor 
and  Mrs.  Zukor,  Neil  F.  Agnew, 
upon  their  arrival  at  Los  Angeles 
to  attend  the  Paramount  conven¬ 
tion. 


WILKES-BARRE 


IT’S  GOING  to  take  more  than  cooling  sys¬ 
tems  to  drag  the  cash  customers  into  the  show 
houses  these  warm  nights.  .  .  .  J.  E.  Elliger, 
Penn,  has  been  devoting  his  time  to  improving 
the  house’s  appearance.  .  .  .  Even  the  familiar 
scales  on  the  inner  vestibule  disappeared.  .  .  . 
Elliger  celebrated  with  a  gala  “reopening”  with 
Carroll’s  “Murder  at  the  Vanities.”  ...  A 
pair  of  men  in  grotesque  costume  ballyhooed 
“Looking  for  Trouble”  at  the  Penn.  .  .  . 

Speaking  of  the  Penn  brings  to  mind  that  John 
Galvin  was  back  in  town  for  a  few  days.  .  .  . 
His  proposed  trip  to  Japan  with  a  college  base¬ 
ball  team  is  off.  ...  So  he’ll  have  to  pay  the 
penalty  for  being  a  bachelor  and  be  satisfied 
with  the  good  old  U.  S.  A.  until  the  Fall.  .  .  . 
Fred  Hermann,  Capitol,  had  a  tie-up  with  the 
Times-Leader,  afternoon  daily,  publicizing 
"Little  Miss  Marker.”  .  .  .  Fred  is  taking  ad¬ 
vantage  of  his  free  Sundays  to  visit  his  old 
pals  in  Scranton  and  vicinity.  .  .  .  A1  Cox, 
Irving,  continues  his  jovial  self  despite  the 
weather,  his  summer  home  at  the  Lake  being 
the  envy.  .  .  .  New  Nuangola  Theatre  is  going 
to  play  stock.  .  .  .  Bill  Roberts,  Shawnee, 
Plymouth,  received  the  baseball  that  Mickey 
Noonan,  local  star,  slammed  for  a  homer  while 
playing  with  Zanesville,  Ohio.  .  .  .  The  ball 
was  presented  to  a  lucky  boy  at  the  matinee. 
.  .  .  State,  Nanticoke,  is  distributing  $900  in 
prizes  to  the  customers  during  July.  .  .  .  George 
Horlacher,  assistant  manager,  Kingston,  nar¬ 
rowly  escaped  injury  while  on  his  way  to  Sun- 
bury  with  a  friend  when  their  machine  figured 
in  a  crash. 


Up  Hills 

and  Down- 


-%-the  never  failing  ar¬ 
teries  of  the  local  industry 

^carrying  the  box  office 
lifeblood  of  more  than 
1 200  theatres 

^carrying  the  ''show" 
safely  and  on  time 

Horlacher’s 


Trucks  Roll! 


HORLACHER 

DELIVERY  SERVICE,  Inc. 

1228  Vine  St.,  Philadelphia 
NEW  YORK 
SCRANTON 
BALTIMORE 
WASHINGTON 


SENTRY  serviced  SAFETY  CONTROL 


Many  theatre  owners  weigh  the  matter  of  Safety  as  it  suits  them. 
PLAINLY  THIS  IS  ALL  WRONG.  In  Safety  there  is  no  half-way  meas¬ 
ure  with  the  Public.  The  Public  would  not  consider  it  safe  if  you  decide 
to  do  without  a  Serviced  Safety  Device  on  your  projectors.  The  Public 
would  think  with  horror  if  you  tried  to  economize  by  buying  Safety  equip¬ 
ment  without  a  service,  and  the  fact  that,  in  your  theatre,  the  Public 
has  not  yet  inquired  as  to  the  measure  of  Safety  that  you  are  giving  them — 
THAT  DOES  NOT  MEAN  THAT  THEY  CAN  BE  DECEIVED. 


SENTRY  SAFETY  CONTROL  C0RP. 


10th  ST.  and  ALLEGHENY  AVE. 
PHILADELPHIA,  PENNA. 


Sentry  Safety  Controls  Listed  as  Standard  by  National  Fire  Underwriters  Laboratories 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Jul  15*34 


31 


BOYCOTT 

( Continued  from  page  14) 

July  6 - Hollywood  announcement  reveals 

seif-regulation  in  the  business  is  scheduled 
to  begin  July  15,  with  all  pictures  to  pass 
a  censoring  body. 

MPTO  Meets 

A  committee  to  confer  with  other  organiza¬ 
tions  regarding  the  Catholic  boycott  on  all  the¬ 
atres  was  appointed  at  the  July  9  meeting  of  the 
MPTO. 

installation  of  officers  was  one  of  the  main 
activities  at  the  session.  Lewen  Pizor,  presi¬ 
dent,  gave  up  the  chair  to  Charles  Segall.  Pizor 
passed  a  hst  of  recommendations  for  the  body 
to  consider  at  a  latter  date.  A  committee  was 
aiso  appointed  to  make  arrangements  for  a  testi¬ 
monial  dinner  to  De  given  to  Pizor. 

Abe  Sablosky,  Fred  Leopold,  Mike  Lessy 
were  appointed  to  the  committee  which  will 
collier  regarding  illegal  competition  from  un¬ 
licensed  taprooms  which  present  entertainment 
and  door  snows.  Later,  it  was  announced  that 
the  idea  would  not  be  pressed  any  further,  leav¬ 
ing  the  situation  status  quo. 

Lewen  Pizor,  Morris  Spiers  and  Luke  Gring 
were  appointed  to  confer  with  the  operators’ 
un. on  regarding  wage  scales. 

it  was  announced  that  an  opening  meeting  of 
the  body  would  be  held  the  fourth  Friday  of 
each  month  with  the  board  of  managers  meet¬ 
ing  the  first  and  third  Fridays. 

Brief  addresses  were  made  by  M.  E.  Comer- 
ford,  Harold  D.  Cohen,  Marcus  Benn,  Charles 
Segall,  Harry  Schwalbe,  Morris  Spiers,  Michael 
Egnol  and  a  Coatesville  exhibitor. 

About  50  exhibitors  attended  the  session  at 
the  Adelphia  Hotel. 

IEPA  Meets 

About  65  exhibitors  attended  the  open  meet¬ 
ing  called  by  the  IEPA  at  the  Broadwood 
Hotel,  July  9. 

Morris  Wax,  in  opening  the  session,  said 
the  purpose  of  the  meeting  was  to  discuss  ex¬ 
hibitor  relief,  question  of  being  relieved  from 
showing  disapproved  films,  securing  extra  play¬ 
ing  time  on  some  pictures,  picking  up  repeats, 
reducing  high  percentage. 

High  percentage  pictures  came  up  for  dis¬ 
cussion  when  it  was  reported  that  one  exchange 
was  asking  50%  for  several  of  its  1934-1935 
shows.  A  resolution  condemning  such  a  sell¬ 
ing  plan  was  brought  up  with  the  exhibitors 
requested  to  sign.  The  petition  will  be  used 
at  the  home  office  if  local  arbitration  fails. 

The  organization  expressed  itself  as  against 
50%  pictures,  unfair  percentage,  guarantee  with 
percentage  and  preferred  playing  time. 

Action  on  illegal  competition  such  as  enter¬ 
tainment  in  unlicensed  taprooms  resulted  in 
the  declaration  that  city  authorities  were  being 
contacted. 

Morris  Wax,  in  touching  on  the  boycott,  said 
that  taprooms  and  the  heat  wave  were  as  re¬ 
sponsible  for  the  falling  off  in  business  as  the 
boycott. 

A  resolution  in  favor  of  no  service  whatso¬ 
ever  on  the  part  of  exchanges  to  non-theatricals 
led  to  a  discussion,  with  the  final  determination 
being  that  a  committee  be  appointed  to  contact 
exchanges  and  explain  the  situation  to  them 
and  secure  co-operation. 

When  the  topic  of  the  Catholic  boycott  was 
reached,  it  was  the  sentiment  that  attempts  be 
made  to  present  the  theatres’  side  to  the  local 
papers  in  the  hope  of  securing  co-operation  from 
that  source.  Individual  theatremen  were  asked 
to  do  their  part  in  securing  such  help. 


It  was  revealed  also  that  Stanley-Warner  was 
taking  a  poll  of  patrons  asking  how  they  stood 
on  the  boycott. 

Finally,  after  a  lengthy  discussion  it  was  de¬ 
cided  that  a  committee  to  meet  with  representa¬ 
tives  of  other  film  groups  be  appointed.  This 
included  George  Gravenstine,  A1  Fisher,  Harry 
Freed,  Herb  Elliott,  Clarence  Hexter,  Bill  But¬ 
ler,  Columbus  Stamper,  David  Barrist. 

A  circular  to  be  printed  and  issued  by  indi¬ 
vidual  theatres  was  read,  but  final  action  on 
this  was  tabled.  It  concerned  the  individual 
theatre’s  position  in  the  boycott. 

Morris  Wax  reviewed  the  work  of  the  organ¬ 
ization  in  the  boycott  matter  and  explained 
some  statements  that  had  been  misinterpreted. 

It  was  announced  also  that  headquarters  of 
the  IEPA  would  be  opened  June  16,  at  1313 
Vine  Street,  when  another  open  meeting  would 
be  held.  Meetings  will  be  held  regularly,  and 
David  Barrist  announced  that  the  group  had 
auspicious  plans. 

Wilmington 

A.  J.  DeFiore,  president,  Independent  Theatre 
Owners  of  Delaware  and  Eastern  Shore  of 
Maryland,  representing  46  houses  on  the 
peninsula,  including  Wilmington,  is  consider¬ 
ably  worried  over  the  boycott  talk. 

“Unless  something  is  done,”  DeFiore  said, 
“we  will  be  compelled  to  close  most  of  the 
theatres  in  this  state  and  on  the  Eastern  Shore. 
While  the  church  people  may  be  right  to  some 
degree  in  their  protests,  they  are  killing  our  in¬ 
vestments  in  our  theatres.  We  are  helpless  in 
the  matter  because  we  have  no  say  in  the  selec¬ 
tion  of  films  that  are  shown  in  our  theatres. 
We  are  compelled  under  our  contracts  to  show 
the  pictures  the  producers  send  us.” 

The  association  has  already  ordered  a  com¬ 
mittee  to  send  a  letter  to  the  producers  asking 
that  something  be  done  about  the  matter. 

Defiore’s  principal  fear  is  that  closing  of 
houses  in  Philadelphia  would  result  in  Wilming¬ 
ton  second  run  theatres  being  unable  to  get 
products  due  to  the  fact  that  the  city  is  in  the 
Philadelphia  area  and  required  to  play  films 
after  they  are  played  in  the  Quaker  City. 

C.  A.  McCork,  sound  engineer,  2  North  13th 
Street,  announces  that  he  has  acquired  a  series 
of  recordings  attempting  to  give  the  theatre’s 
side  of  the  current  boycott.  These  recordings 
are  in  a  persuasive,  reasoning  voice  of  nation¬ 
ally  known  announcers  and  are  for  use  at  the 
break  of  the  show.  McCork  reasons  that  they 
will  get  the  attention  of  those  in  the  audience. 
He  is  also  in  a  position  to  furnish  professional 
recordings  for  any  local  campaign  or  exploita¬ 
tion  stunt. 


LANCASTER 


CHARLES  M.  HOWELL,  manager,  Col¬ 
onial,  has  been  named  Lancaster  postmaster. 
.  .  .  Howell  has  had  a  long  career  in  the 

amusement  business.  .  .  .  He  served  in  the 

State  Legislature  and  City  Council  as  part  of 
his  public  career.  ...  It  is  rumored  in  theatre 
circles  that  Wilmer  and  Vincent  is  interested  in 
obtaining  the  Colonial.  .  .  .  Capitol  has  been 
closed  for  the  summer.  .  .  .  John  Marks,  vet¬ 
eran  maintenance  man,  Capitol,  has  been  trans¬ 
ferred  to  the  Grand.  .  .  .  Grand  and  Hamil¬ 
ton  will  split  the  feature  pictures  of  the  Capitol 
Theatre  because  the  latter  playhouse  has  closed. 
.  .  .  Ray  O’Connell,  manager,  Grand,  brought 
a  bit  of  Broadway  to  Lancaster  to  boost  Earl 
Carroll’s  “Murder  at  the  Vanities.”  .  .  .  One 
of  the  displays  of  a  Broadway  theatre  was 
brought  here.  .  .  .  Mrs.  Marvell  O’Connell, 


INTERIOR  DECORATORS 


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1316  Vine  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

WE’VE  TURNED  NUMEROUS  NON-PAYING 
THEATRES  INTO  MONEY-MAKING  PROPOSITIONS 
ASK  US  HOW! 


'ARMANDO-T-RICCI 

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:  D.  BRODSKY 

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LIGHTING  FIXTURES 


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DECORATIVE  LIGHTING 

FOR  YOUR  THEATRE 

DRINKING  FOUNTAINS  DIRECTION  SIGNS 


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PREMIUMS 


There  are  many  imitations  but  there  is  only  one 

22  KARAT  GOLD  DINNER  SET 

with  a  success  record 

It’s  the  Dainty  Thin  Square  Model! 

QUALITY  PREMIUM  DIST. 

1305  VINE  ST.  PHIL  A. 


SUPPLIES 


THEATRE  EQUIPMENT 


New 


Used  -  Rebuilt 


Projectors,  Screens, 
Soundheads,  Amplifiers, 
Chairs,  Portable  Projectors, 
Arc  Lamps,  Rectifiers 
and  Generators. 

ItKI’AllUi'VG  AT  LOWEST  KATES 


S.O.S.  CORP.#  1600  Broadway,  New  York 


Equipment  Bought  at  Highest  Trices 


wife  of  Ray  O’Connell,  manager,  Grand,  knows 
a  bit  about  the  amusement  business  in  her  own 
right.  .  .  .  Mrs.  O'Connell  appeared  before 
the  microphone  of  radio  station  WGAL  and 
sang  hit  numbers  of  “Murder  at  the  Vanities” 
in  advance  of  the  show. 


32 


Jul  1 5 T  34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


'Heard  In 


w 


ILMINGTON 

Air  Cooling 
Argument  Here 


“AIR  COOLING”  argument  still  rages  in 
Wilmington.  .  .  .  Now  comes  the  story  that 
Loew’s  Parkway  will  be  air-cooled  in  at  least 
three  weeks.  .  .  .  Jack  Mulhall,  manager,  one 
of  the  Warner  theatres,  Chester,  is  pinch-hitting 
for  Lyle  Trenchard,  district  manager,  while 
the  latter  is  on  a  six-week  recuperation  leave. 
.  .  .  Jack  was  formerly  manager  of  the 

Arcadia.  .  .  .  “Morty”  Levine,  Opera  House, 
is  in  New  York  on  his  vacation.  .  .  .  Lew 
Black  is  looking  after  his  house  while  Merritt 
Pragg,  assistant,  buzzes  about.  .  .  .  Merritt 
fixed  up  a  nice  layout  consisting  of  a  paste¬ 
board  double  door  in  the  lobby  for  “Double 
Door.”  .  .  .  Warner  employes  attended  the 

picnic  at  Eddington  100  per  cent.  .  .  .  “Cool” 
signs  together  with  an  Eskimo  scene  over  the 
door  at  the  Aldine  assures  the  patrons.  .  .  . 
Inside  the  lobby  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Lewes,  the 
genial  matron  pours  iced  tea.  .  .  .  W.  R.  Mc- 
Clintock,  doorkeeper  nearby,  has  to  take  tickets, 
look  after  bundles,  tell  people  where  they  can 
find  the  coolest  seats  and  otherwise  do  a  good 
job  making  Warner  friends.  .  .  .  When 

“Little  Miss  Marker”  was  playing  there  the 
other  day,  Lew  Black's  little  niece,  as  pretty  as 
Shirley  Temple  sat  by  Mrs.  Lewes  stand 
while  her  mother  saw  the  picture,  causing  many 
to  believe  she  was  a  ballyhoo  for  the  film. 


GEORGE  JONES,  manager,  Loew’s  Park¬ 
way,  has  taken  a  cottage  at  Indian  River,  for 
his  vacation.  .  .  .  Wilmer  Highfield  is  back 


from  his  honeymoon  trip  looking  none  the 
worse.  .  Dick  Hiltshire  is  just  waiting 

for  his  vacation  to  begin.  .  .  .  Bill  Kearney 
is  mighty  quiet  about  his  baseball  team  after 
two  drubbings,  7  to  1  by  the  Warners,  of 
Philly,  and  8  to  4  by  the  Circle. 


LINKER  CASE 

( Continued  from  page  9) 


started  its  operation.  The  majority  opinion  of  the  board 
makes  its  computations  on  a  basis  of  an  avei’age  change 
by  the  respondent  of  one  picture  in  1  %  days,  which 
means  4  pictures  a  week,  yet  it  condemns  the  respond¬ 
ent’s  operating  policy  on  the  basis  that  it  is  5  pictures 
a  week.  In  fact,  from  a  tabulation  of  feature  motion 
pictures  played  by  the  respondent’s  theatre  from  May 
1,  1933,  to  May  1,  1934,  in  which  is  shown  the  total 
number  of  pictures  played  and  paid  for,  we  find  that 
the  respondent  played  223  pictures  in  a  total  number  of 
313  calendar  days  and  that  the  average  pictures  per 
week  were  4%  (4.286). 

We  cannot  upon  all  the  circumstances  as  disclosed  by 
the  record  say  that  this  is  an  unfairly  competing  operat¬ 
ing  policy  of  unnecessary  and  too  frequent  changes  of 
motion  pictures  and  was  adopted  with  the  intention 
of  depriving  without  just  cause  the  complaining  exhibi¬ 
tor  of  a  sufficient  number  of  motion  pictures  to  operate 
such  exhibitor’s  theatre. 


Indeed,  the  finding  upon  that  subject  in  the  majority 
opinion  falls  far  short  from  the  definite  finding  of  fact 
to  that  effect  required  by  the  code. 

There  remains  one  other  consideration.  The  majority 
opinion  of  the  board  states:  “The  board  especially  con¬ 
sidered  the  matter  brought  to  its  attention  on  page  218, 
pamphlet  No.  124,  the  Code  of  Fair  Competition  for 
the  Motion  Picture  Industry,” — ‘The  creation  of  these 
boards  is  intended  particularly  to  care  for  the  buying 
problems  of  exhibitors,  and  so  that  they  may  be  assured 
to  the  greatest  degree  possible  of  a  sufficiency  of  motion 
picture  product  with  which  to  operate  their  theatres’  ”. 

That  quoted  sentence  is  from  the  letter  of  the  Admin¬ 
istrator  of  the  National  Recovery  Administration  with 
which  the  code  was  transmitted  for  the  approval  of  the 
President  of  the  United  States. 

The  statement  is  merely  descriptive  of  the  various 
powers  granted  to  the  local  grievance  boards  and  the 
local  clearance  and  zoning  boards  and  to  the  Code 
Authority  proceeding  in  conformity  with  apolicable  pro¬ 
visions  of  the  code. 

It  is  not  a  statement  which  authorizes  local  grievance 
boards  to  determine  proceedings  before  such  boards 


otherwise  than  in  strict  accordance  with  the  applicable 
provisions  of  the  code  governing  such  proceedings. 

The  determination  of  the  Philadelphia  Grievance  Board 
is  modified  so  as  to  include  the  finding  that  the  re¬ 
spondent  has  not  adopted  an  unfairly  competing  operat¬ 
ing  policy  of  unnecessary  and  too  frequent  changes  of 
motion  pictures  and  to  include  in  place  and  stead  of 
the  direction  made  by  the  Philadelphia  Grievance  Board 
the  direction  that  the  respondent  forthwith  make  its 
selection  under  its  selective  contracts  with  distributors 
of  the  minimum  number  of  motion  pictures  which  it  is 
obliged  to  play  under  such  license  agreements,  and  there¬ 
by  release  the  remainder  to  the  complainant  for  nego¬ 
tiation  therefor. 

Messrs.  O’Reilly,  Yamins  and  Kuykendall  dissent  from 
the  determination  and  vote  for  affirmance  of  the  deter¬ 
mination  of  the  Local  Board.  Mr.  Bernhard  did  not 
vote. 

JOHN  C.  FLINN, 
Executive  Secretary. 


Booking  Theatres 
Everywhere 

Honest  ::  Reliable 
Conscientious 
Service 

EDWARD  SHERMAN 

VAUDEVILLE  AGENCY 

Real  Estate  Trust  Bldg. 
PHILADELPHIA 

Pennypacker  7595 

MAYFAIR  THEATRE  BLDG.,  NEW  YORK 
BR.  9-1905 


PHILADELPHIA 


NEW  YORK 


WASHINGTON 


BALTIMORE 


NATIONAL 

KLINE 

POSTER 

CO. 

1307  VINE  STREET 
PHILADELPHIA 


POSTER  RENTALS 


Genuine 

Friendliness 


Distinctive 

Craftsman¬ 

ship 


Unexcelled 

Service 


Straight 

Dealing 


NATIONAL 

PENN 

PRINTING 

CO. 

1233  VINE  STREET 
PHILADELPHIA 

A 

PRINTING 


SIMON  LIBROS 


GEO.  H.  KLINE 


OSCAR  LIBROS 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Jul  15*34 


33 


BULLDOG  DRUMMOND  is  back  again,  and  Ronald  Colman  heads  the  cast  in  the  United 
Artists  show,  aided  by  Loretta  Young,  Warner  Oland,  Charles  Butterworth. 


Heard  In 

ROSSTOWN 

They’re  Still 
Closing  Down 


51ST  STREET  THEATRE  new  name  for 
the  Apex.  .  .  .  Allen  Theatre  announces  new 
cooling  system.  .  .  .  Joe  Murphy,  the  student, 
says  the  murder  stories  are  plentiful  these  days. 
....  Oaklyn  satellite  points  to  ‘‘Murder  at 
Rexford  Arms,”  ‘‘Murder  at  the  Vanities," 
“Murder  in  Trinidad,”  “Murder  in  the  Studio,” 
“Murder  on  the  Campus,”  “Murder  on  the 
Blackboard,”  “Murder  in  the  Museum.” 

BOYD  AND  VICTORIA  joined  the  down¬ 
town  closing  list.  .  .  .  Fred  Orth,  long  time 
at  the  Marietta  Theatre,  Marietta,  died  recently. 
Joe  Rosshcim  has  taken  over  the  Transit  The¬ 
atre,  Allentown.  .  .  .  House  was  formerly  a 
United  Chain  proposition  and  Rossheim  once 
used  to  be  with  United  Chain  circuit. 

VIOLA,  LINDLEY.  .  .  .  Closed.  .  .  . 

Ritz,  Coaldale;  Allegheny,  Rialto,  Allentown. 

.  Avon,  Harrowgate.  .  Yorktown 

Theatre  scheduled  to  open  soon.  .  .  .  Larry 

Graver  on  vacation.  .  .  .  A1  Reh  relief  S-W 

manager.  .  .  .  Ed  Capner  on  vacation.  .  .  . 
Moe  Goodman  at  the  Allegheny.  .  .  .  Frank 
Seltzer  a  visitor  in  town.  Johnny 

Roberts,  Floyd  Hipkins,  too.  .  .  .  Bell  closed. 

.  Eagle  open  two  days  a  week.  .  .  . 

Same  for  Shenandoah.  .  John  Latimer, 

S-W,  still  sick.  .  Stanley-Warner  picnic 

a  big  success.  .  .  .  Everybody  had  a  good 

time.  .  Artie  Cohn  on  vacation  from 

Earle  duties. 

MARTY  GOLDENBERG  selected  Brigan¬ 
tine  Beach  as  his  vacation  place.  .  .  .  Manager 


of  the  Colonial,  Germantown,  earned  a  well- 
deserved  rest.  .  .  .  Among  the  theatremen  go¬ 
ing  collegiate  are  Herb  Elliott,  Fern  Rock,  who 
is  now  a  member  of  the  no-garters  brigade. 
.  .  .  Quite  becoming. 

ERED  LEOPOLD  is  closing  the  Locust  to 
reseat  and  redecorate.  .  .  .  Sam  Lobron,  form¬ 
erly  a  real  estate  man,  is  taking  over  the  Spiel- 
mont  and  Globe,  Marcus  Hook,  September  1. 
.  .  .  Bud  Hissner,  who  hopped  into  town  for 
the  MPTO  meeting  and  Landow  dinner,  is  clos¬ 
ing  his  Lebanon  Academy  in  August  to  reseat 
and  redecorate.  .  .  .  Clem  Rizzo  has  a  large 
part  of  the  contract. 

RIALTO,  Germantown  and  Tulpehocken, 
have  been  conveyed  by  R.  Pressman  to  F.  A. 
Altman.  .  .  .  Assessed  at  $40,000.  .  .  .  Old 
Tivoli,  Fairmount  Avenue,  to  become  a  church. 
.  .  .  Leased  to  Arthur  Price.  .  .  .  Has  been 
closed  a  long  time. 

CARTER  BARRON  is  now  Loew  district 
manager  for  the  territory  including  Reading, 
Wilmington,  Harrisburg,  Washington,  Balti¬ 
more,  Richmond,  Norfolk.  .  .  .  He  was  last 
in  Washington  as  manager.  .  .  .  Embassy, 

Easton,  closed. 

TEN  YEARS  AGO.  .  .  .  Comerford  and 
Poli  made  upstate  deal.  .  .  .  Stanley  made 
deal  for  Colney  Theatre.  .  .  .  Jersey  exhibi¬ 
tors  gave  Pete  Woodhull  a  dinner.  .  .  .  Carr 
and  Schad  held  a  picnic  for  their  employees. 
.  .  .  Bennie  Harris  became  the  father  of  twins. 
.  .  .  He  gave  two  cigars  instead  of  one.  .  .  . 
Manhattan,  Scranton,  opened.  .  .  .  A1  Fisher 
was  at  the  Mammoth.  .  .  .  The  baseball  league 
included  such  players  as  Bigley,  McCarthy, 
Stiefel,  Bodine,  Goodwin,  Rosenberger,  Wood¬ 
ward,  Power,  Pettit,  Ridgeway,  Gottschalk, 
Burns,  Glenn,  Clark,  Given,  Perlswig,  Keating, 
Stief,  Lau,  Binns  and  Tyson. 


name  include  Arline  Judge,  Richard  Cromwell,  Lucien  Littlefield  in  the  cast. 


SOUND  SERVICE 


WE  SOLVE  YOUR  SOUND  PROBLEMS 

;^f  C  A  McCrork 

SOUND  ENGINEER 

262  N. 13th  ST. 
PHILADELPHIA 
Day  Phone:  RIT  4529 
Night  Phone:  SHE  0805 


^  holmes  ^ 


STATIONERY 


THEATRE  EQUIPMENT 


PEjNN  THEATRE 
EQUIPMENT  CO. 

309  North  13th  Street 
PHILADELPHIA 
Phone,  Rittenhouse  3273 

GENERAL  THEATRE  EQUIPMENT 

Specialists  in  Repairs 


CLEM'S 

MOTION  PICTURE  SUPPLY  HOUSE 

The  Most  Complete  independent 

Supply  House  in  the  Territory! 

255  North  13th  Street  -  Philadelphia 

SPRUCE  iee4  EXPERT  REPAIRING 


National  Theatre  Supply  Company 


Service  and  courtesy  from  men  you  know  .  .  . 
Plus  equipment  of  known  and  guaranteed  quality 
.  .  .  are  at  your  service  at  our  local  branch 


UNIFORMS 


English  Mess  Jackets  +  A  r 
for  Ushers  -  -  -  -  «pOi75 

Cool - Snappy - Inexpensive 

Any  Color  Gabardine 
WRITE  FOR  INFORMATION 

AMERICAN  UNIFORM  CO. 

134  So.  11th  St.  Phila.,  Pa. 


TICKET  REGISTERS 


years  experience— 
behind  every  register 


For  50  years  General  Register  Corpo¬ 
ration  and  associated  companies  have 
been  designing  and  building  cash  con¬ 
trol  equipment  for  the  theatre,  carrying 
an  unqualified  two  year  guarantee  on 
all  registers. 


Representation  in  all  key  cities. 


GENERAL  REGISTER 
CORPORATION 

1540  Broadway,  New  York 


34 


Jul  1 5T  34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


TICKET  REGISTERS 


PLENTY  OF  LAUGHS  are  seen  in  “Bachelor  Bait,”  from  RKO,  with  Stuart  Erwin,  Pert 
Kelton  and  others  in  the  cast. 


Heard  In ' 


V 


INE  STREET 


“Jane  Eyre” 
Gets  Deal 


AL  BLOFSON  announces  that  there  is  a 
Warner  deal  for  Monogram’s  “Jane  Eyre.”  .  .  . 
Picture  drew  a  nice  hand  in  previews  and  should 
get  a  gooii  downtown  run.  .  .  .  First  Division 
not  set  on  1934-1935  product  yet.  .  .  An¬ 
nouncement  soon.  .  .  .  “Young  Eagles  com¬ 
ing  along  nicely.  .  .  Begun  to  work  the  terri¬ 
tory  already.  .  .  .  Miss  Segall  back  and  feel¬ 
ing  much  better. 

BATTLE  of  the  signs  between  1EP A  and 
MPTO  very  interesting.  .  .  .  And  funny. 

.  .  Many  houses  closing  for  alteration,  or 

for  any  possible  reason.  .  .  Few  cool  days 

saw  business  pick  up  a  bit.  .  .  .  Mike  Lan- 

dow  officially  goes  to  York  in  September. 
.  .  Bud  Hissner  dropped  in  the  street. 

.  .  .  Between  meetings  and  dinners  and  such 
exhibitor  faction  plenty  busy. 

JERRY  SAFRON,  formerly  a  Vine  Streeter, 
recently  became  the  father  of  twin  girls.  .  .  . 
It  must  be  that  coast  climate.  .  .  .  Some  of 
the  local  exchanges  are  forgetting  that  there 
is  a  six  months'  check  on  servicing  non-the¬ 
atricals.  .  .  .  Some  of  the  local  country  clubs 
have  been  showing  some  new  films. 

BACK  from  the  Paramount  convention, 
Paramounteers  P.  A.  Bloch  and  Earle  Swei- 
gert  took  Ulrich  Smith,  Herman  Rubin,  Red 
Aber,  George  Beattie,  T.  R.  Moore  to  Wash¬ 
ington  for  a  confab.  .  .  .  J.  J.  Unger,  H.  J. 
Lorber,  G.  K.  Haddow,  W.  A.  Waters  there 
from  home  office. 

POP  KORSON  out  of  the  hospital.  .  .  . 
Won't  be  back  at  Masterpiece  for  a  while.  .  .  . 
“Heart  Shop,”  color  feel,  got  nice  booking.  .  .  . 
Johnny  Bachman  plugging  westerns  as  well  as 
other  World  Wide  product.  .  .  .  Harry  Blum- 
berg  lost  20  lbs.  in  the  hospital  but  looks  the 
b  tter  for  it.  ...  New  restaurant  due  on  the 
street  at  1335  Vine.  .  .  .  National  Penn  Pos¬ 
ter  Company  new  building  coming  along  nicely. 

ONE  OF  THE  ritziest  exchanges  on  Vine 
Street  is  the  one  which  charges  a.  local  print¬ 
ing  concern  more  than  the  standard  price 
for  ad-cuts  which  would  result  in  exhibitors 
having  to  buy  the  cuts  themselves  at  regular 
price  if  the  exchange  insists  on.  it.  .  .  .  The 

exchange  in  question  has  performed  as  bril¬ 
liant  feats  before.  .  .  .  Passing  of  Waynite 

Riley,  an  old-timer  in  this  business,  was 
mourned  by  his  friends  in  the  field. 

SOME  of  the  local  exhibitors  have  been  tre¬ 
mendously  busy  these  days  hopping  from  one 
meeting  to  another.  .  .  .  Some  of  them  want  to 


join  everything  and  everything.  .  .  .  Not  saying 
whether  they  pay  dues  to  all.  .  .  .  Esther  Dia¬ 
mond  on  vacation.  .  .  .  The  game  of  chance 
which  followed  a  local  dinner  resulted  in  one 
of  the  local  gentry  dropping  aplenty,  ’tis  said. 
.  .  .  Happy  days. 

DOG  DAYS  on  the  street.  .  Tony 

Lucchese  still  away  from  the  exchange.  .  .  . 

Mike  Katz  plugging  product  as  well  as  “Burn 
’Em  Up  Barnes,”  Mascot  serial.  .  .  .  “The 

Scarlet  Letter,”  from  Majestic,  is  due  soon. 

MAX  GILLIS,  Columbia’s  star  salesman, 
was  awarded  a  prize  at  the  Columbia  conven¬ 
tion  at  Atlantic  City.  .  .  .  He  was  rated  fourth 
in  the  pre-convention  campaign.  .  .  .  And 

roundly  applauded.  .  .  .  Harry  Weiner  re¬ 

turned  full  of  that  old-time  pep  and  confidence. 

JACK  ROSE,  well  known  on  the  street, 
is  featuring  “Crazy  People,”  a  revue.  .  .  . 

Includes  Diana,  fanless  dancer,  and  a  com¬ 
pany  of  comedy  leaders.  .  .  .  Singing, 

dancing,  etc. 

! 

ROBERT  BROWER,  Ferd  Fortunate,  Uni¬ 
versal,  vacationing  at  Wildwood.  .  .  .  Paul 
Kuehler  going  to  Schwenksville.  .  .  .  V.  R. 
Carrick,  Universal,  went  fishing.  .  .  .  Dick 

Brown  won  a  police  pup  in  a  contest.  .  .  . 
Ethelbert  Walter  Potamkin  seen  riding  recently 
with  a  Fox  damsel  in  a  pony  carriage  on  the 
beach  at  Atlantic  City.  .  .  Pony  apparently 
happy  at  prospect  of  pulling  Ethelbert. 


THE  HARRIS  TWINS  ten  years  old.  .  .  . 
All  the  family  getting  bronzed  and  tanned  in 
the  back  yard.  .  .  .  Bennie,  Sara,  Mitzi,  Dotzi, 
Jack,  Claire.  .  .  .Jim  Clark,  the  Horlacher 
executive,  gets  in  some  golf  between  those  hard 
working  sessions.  .  .  .  Early  evening  recreation. 
.  .  .  And  travels  to  Boyertown  a  lot.  .  .  . 
Apex  Garage  still  coming  along  nicely.  .  .  . 
Always  ready  to  serve. 


TICKET  MACHINE  BARGAINS 

ALL  MAKES.  .  . 
ELECTRICALLY  OP¬ 
ERATED  .  .  .  REBUILT 
.  .  .  GOOD  AS  NEW 

AT  | 
C  fieri 

.  .  .  MECHANICALLY 
PERFECT  .  .  .  GUAR¬ 
ANTEED. 

oo/o 

SAVING 

Write  for  Prices! 

Write  Immediately  for  Our  New  Introductory  Ofli-r  ' 

STANDARD  TICKET  REGISTER  CORP. 

1600  Broadway*  New  York  •  Geo.  Mead,  c.fn  mt.*, 


• 

Mimeographing 

Official  Letter 
Service  to  the 

Multigraphing 
Public  Stenography 

Motion  Picture 

Addressing  -  Folding 

Intlustry 

Enclosing  -  Mailing 

Accurate  List 

Advertising 

of  all  Theatres 

Publicity  | 

and  Executives 

Printing 

WM.  Z. 

PORTER 

Advertising  and  Letter  Service 

1208  Vine  Street 

(Second  Floor) 

Bell:  RITtenhouse  7195  Keystone:  RACE  8666 

Tell  Our  Advertisers 
“/  so  w  it  in 

THE  EXHIBITOR ”! 


NINETEEN  YEARS  AGO.  .  .  .  Walter 
Jacobs,  proprietor  Imperial  Theatre,  was  elected 
president  of  the  South  60th  Street  Business 
Men’s  Association.  .  .  .  Joseph  Sannit  bought 
a  film  theatre  at  2907-11  North  5th  Street  from 
Alexander  Berman.  .  .  .  Eugene  L.  Keefe 

started  a  theatre  supply  and  film  exchange  busi¬ 
ness  at  1325  Vine  Street.  .  .  .  Frank  Benjamin 
was  appointed  assistant  manager  of  the  Victoria 
Theatre,  and  the  prices  were  reduced  for  the 
summer  from  10  and  20  cents  to  5  cents.  .  .  . 
M.  Harmad  took  over  the  Chelton  Auditorium 
from  M.  Kiefer. 


LURE  OF  THE  RING  tells  in  “The  Circus  Clown,”  from  Warners,  with  Joe  E.  Brown 
heading  the  laugh  cast. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Jul  1 5’  34 


35 


BETTER  TESTED  SUCCESSFUL 

MANAGEMENT  #  «»eas  *  merchandising 


Sane  Censoring 

In  the  midst  of  all  the  talk  about 
“cleaner  motion  pictures,”  Rev.  C.  W. 
Clodfelter,  fiery  evangelist  and  pastor 
of  an  upstate  church,  decided  to  do  a 
bit  of  censoring  on  his  own  part.  Un¬ 
announced  he  sat  through  “Little  Man, 
What  Next?”  After  the  showing,  the 
evangelist,  unsolicited,  wrote  a  brief  re¬ 
view  giving  the  picture  a  clean  bill  of 
health. 


“Du  Barry”  Book  Off 

Warner  Bros.’  merchandising  plan  on 
‘‘Madame  DuBarry”  is  off  the  press.  It's  thirty- 
four  page  book,  including  a  special  process 
cover  to  give  the  effect  of  an  oil-painting  to  the 
Dolores  Del  Rio  picture  on  the  front.  Acces¬ 
sories  on  the  picture  are  also  prepared  on  heavy, 
canvas  type  stock  in  a  special  pebbled  effect, 
and  varnished  to  look  like  oil  paintings.  Entire 
press  book  has  been  handled  in  dignified  fashion 
in  keeping  with  the  importance  of  the  produc¬ 
tion.  In  addition  to  seven  pages  of  publicity 
material,  seven  pages  of  ads,  eight  pages  of  ex¬ 
ploitation  suggestions,  this  merchandising  plan 
contains  a  ten-chapter  newspaper  serialization 
available  to  exhibitors  in  mat  form,  with  illus¬ 
trations. 


Displays  used  by  Ray  O’Connell,  man¬ 
ager,  Grand,  Lancaster,  certainly  boosted 
business  for  “Murder  at  the  Vanities.” 


New  Ad  Series 

First  in  Warner  Bros.’  series  of  advertise¬ 
ments  scheduled  for  the  Saturday  Evening  Post 
is  set  for  the  magazine’s  July  28  issue,  with 
"Dames”  the  initial  picture  to  be  advertised 
thusly.  Series  of  ads  will  plug  the  leading 
productions  in  the  new  season’s  releases  from 
Warner  Bros. -First  National,  including  ‘‘An¬ 
thony  Adverse,”  “Gold  Diggers  of  1935,”  Paul 
Muni  in  “Black  Hell,”  “Lafayette  Escadrille,” 
“Captain  Blood,”  A1  Jolson  in  “Casino  De- 
Paree,”  Dolores  Del  Rio  and  Frar.chot  Tone  in 
“Farewell  to  Shanghai,”  and  “Sweet  Adeline.” 


Middletown  Busy 

Elks  Theatre,  Middletown,  busy  with  com¬ 
munity  work  these  days. 

Janet  Rudolph  School  of  Dancing  presented 
second  edition  of  “Dolls  from  Danceland”  on 
the  stage  of  the  theatre  two  days.  Also  ran 
midnight  show  before  Fourth  of  July. 

Manager  Doug  Carpenter  also  announces  new 
prices:  matinees,  20c  and  10c;  evenings,  25c 
and  10c. 


“Laughing  Boy” 

Irving  Martin,  assistant  manager,  Loew’s 
Parkway,  Wilmington,  during  the  vacation  of 
Manager  George  Jones,  made  some  nice  tie-ups 
on  “Laughing  Boy.”  A  window  display  in  the 
duPont  building  of  Indian  relics  and  book 
markers  in  the  library  helped  considerably. 


1934-1935 

PRODUCTION 


Columbia 

COLUMBIA  offers  for  the  coming  year  a 
line  up  of  48  feature  length  productions  which 
will  include  8  outdoor  dramas.  They  will  be 
supplemented  by  a  diversified  program  of  short 
subjects,  consisting  of  a  series  of  8  single  reel 
attractions  and  26  two-reel  shorts. 

They  include:  “Broadway  Bill”  a  Frank 
Capra  production;  Another  Frank  Capra  pro¬ 
duction  (untitled)  ;  “One  Night  of  Love,” 
“Feather  in  Her  Hat,’’  by  I.  A.  R.  Wylie ;  an 
Edward  G.  Robinson-Howard  Hawks  produc¬ 
tion  (untitled)  ;  “Party  Wire,’1’  from  the  current 
best  seller  by  Bruce  Manning ;  a  Claudette 
Colbert  production  (untitled). 

“Maid  of  Honor,”  from  the  Cosmopolitan 
Magazine  story  by  Katharine  Brush;  “Carni¬ 
val,”  by  Robert  Riskin ;  “The  Girl  Friend,”  a 
musical  extravaganza  by  Herbert  Fields,  Rich¬ 
ard  Rodgers  and  Lorenz  Hart ;  One  Jack  Holt- 
Edmund  Lowe  production  (untitled)  ;  “Lady 
Beware,”  “Black  Room  Mystery”  starring  Boris 
Karloff ;  “Sure  Fire,”  from  the  play  by  Ralph 
Murphy ;  “Mills  of  the  Gods,"  “Depths  Below,” 
starring  Jack  Holt;  Two  Additional  Jack 
Holt  productions  (untitled),  “Breakfast  for 
Two,”  “Eight  Bells,”  the  stage  drama  of  the 
sea  by  Percy  C.  Mandley ;  “Once  a  Gentleman,” 
from  the  story  by  Bradley  King;  “That's  Grati¬ 
tude,”  the  stage  comedy  success  by  Frank 
Craven ;  “Spring  3100,”  a  melodrama  from  the 
stage  success  by  Argyll  Campbell. 


Black  Cat  Ban 


It  was  a  superb  idea  of  Jerry  Wol¬ 
laston’s — that  black  cat  stunt  for  the 
picture,  “The  Black  Cat.”  But  it  wasn’t 
appreciated  by  the  Humane  Society  of 
Harrisburg.  Jerry  Wollaston  is  man¬ 
ager  of  the  Victoria,  Harrisburg.  When 
“The  Black  Cat”  opened  he  conceived 
the  idea  of  letting  children  see  the  show 
free  if  accompanied  by  a  black  feline. 

Overjoyed,  children  who  had  been 
taught  by  their  elders  to  shun  black  cats 
because  they  were  supposed  to  bring 
bad  luck,  pooh-poohed  the  superstition 
and  started  an  immediate  search  for 
black  cats.  Borrowing,  begging  and 
stealing,  the  kids  were  getting  a  good 
supply  of  black  cats  in  shape  for  the 
big  occasion  when  officials  of  the  Hu¬ 
mane  Society,  getting  wind  of  the  stunt, 
conveyed  to  Manager  Wollaston  their 
severe  thoughts  on  the  idea. 

The  day  was  saved  when  Jerry,  an¬ 
nouncing  he  had  abandoned  his  original 
black-cat  idea,  told  the  children  they 
would  be  admitted  free  with  notes  from 
their  mothers  stating  they  owned  black 
cats.  It  was  surprising,  the  number  of 
children  who  owned  black  cats,  accord¬ 
ing  to  the  notes  presented  at  the  box 
office. 


Mochrie ,  Mansell  Up 

Vine  Street  was  interested  to  hear 
late  this  week  that  Bob  Mochrie,  War¬ 
ner  exchange  chief  here  for  several 
years,  and  a  veteran,  has  been  pro¬ 
moted  to  become  assistant  to  Andy 
Smith,  Jr.,  executive  in  charge  of  east¬ 
ern  and  Canadian  distribution. 

Mochrie  will  be  at  the  home  office  in 
New  York  City. 

He  will  be  succeeded  in  the  local 
exchange  by  William  Mansell,  at  present 
salesman  for  the  company  here. 

Vine  Street  was  pleased  to  hear  of 
the  two  promotions  as  both  men  have 
been  highly  regarded.  Each  had  made 
a  lot  of  friends  in  the  territory  and  it 
is  certain  that  their  advancements  bear 
the  good  will  of  exhibitors  throughout 
the  territory. 

Change  takes  effect  July  16. 

Mochrie’s  post  is  a  new  one. 

Mansell  is  one  of  Vine  Street’s  oldest 
film  men  in  point  of  service.  He  has 
many  friends  throughout  the  district 
who  wish  him  well  in  his  new  place. 


For  “Clown” 

For  “Circus  Clown,”  Manager  Jack  D. 
O'Rear,  Majestic  Theatre,  Harrisburg,  in¬ 
creased  newspaper  advertising,  erected  circus 
front  with  banners,  standards  and  pennants ; 
used  Neon  frames  in  prominent  store  windows, 
placed  tire  covers  on  taxicabs  and  bumper  ban¬ 
ners  on  private  automobiles  and  distributed  2000 
circus  heralds  through  Liberty  and  magazine 
boys.  For  their  co-operation,  sixty-five  Liberty 
boys  were  the  guests  of  the  management  at  a 
theatre  party. 


Selling  News  Reels 

Lew  Black,  manager,  Aldine,  Wilmington,  is 
“selling”  every  feature  of  interest  locally  in  the 
news  reels  these  hot  days.  Richard  duPont’s 
feat  with  a  glider  went  to  the  members  of  the 
duPont  family.  All  of  the  managers  of  tire 
shops  and  heads  of  duPont  Company  were  noti¬ 
fied  about  the  synthetic  rubber  making  feature 
A  good  fishing  feature  was  referred  to  an 
angling  fan  who  passed  it  on  to  the  rest  of 
the  Walton  fraternity. 


For  “Drummond” 

Apollo,  Atlantic  City,  had  four  girls  in  chairs 
on  the  boardwalk,  reading  copies  of  Atlantic 
City  Press  with  bold  headlines  telling  of  world 
premiere  of  “Bulldog  Drummond  Strikes  Back” 
at  the  theatre.  Effective. 


Hershey  Films — Shows 

Beginning  July  6,  Hershey  Theatre,  Hershey, 
returned  to  its  former  policy  of  presenting 
feature  pictures  with  stage  shows.  Part  of  the 
massive  cooling  system  being  installed  in  the 
Hershey  Theatre  was  put  in  operation  by  Man¬ 
ager  John  B.  Sollenberger. 


36 


Jul  15*34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


“Select  12” 


Announcing  the  release  of  a  special 
group  of  pictures  which  have  been 
designated  as  “The  Select  Twelve,” 
Arthur  A.  Lee,  vice-president,  Gaumont 
British  Picture  Corporation  of  America, 
has  stressed  the  fact  that  these  produc¬ 
tions  are  available  for  booking  now  and 
are  not  to  be  confused  with  the  com¬ 
pany’s  1934-35  product.  “All  of  these 
pictures  are  completed  and  available  for 
immediate  screening  for  exhibitors, 
says  Lee.  “We  are  in  entire  accord 
with  the  contention  of  exhibitors  gener¬ 
ally  that  they  should  not  be  expected 
to  contract  for  pictures  they  have  not 
seen,  and  we  feel  that  this  policy  is  of 
outstanding  importance  just  at  this  time 
when  the  majority  of  theatre-owners  are 
irrevocably  determined  to  present  only 
such  pictures  as  measure  up  fully  to  the 
standards  demanded  by  the  millions  of 
patrons  who  have  enlisted  in  the  cam¬ 
paign  for  decency  in  screen  entertain¬ 
ment.  There  is  but  one  way  in  which 
exhibitors  can  safeguard  their  interests 
in  this  regard  and  that  is  by  seeing  each 
picture  before  they  book  it.” 


Novelty  Scenic  Passes 
5000th  Contract  Mark 

Probably  the  best  reason  for  celebra¬ 
tion  heard  in  the  industry  in  a  long  while 
is  that  Novelty  Scenic  Studios,  well- 
known  scenery  and  drapery  house,  has 
found  it  necessary  to  move  into  larger 
and  better  located  factory  at  611-625  W. 
43rd  Street,  New  York  City. 

Occupation  of  the  new  premises  coincided 
with  the  completion  of  their  5,000th  contract 
since  starting  in  business  some  16  years  ago. 

In  discussing  their  attainments,  A.  I.  Kessler, 
general  manager,  Novelty  Scenic  Studios, 
pointed  out  that  while  this  figure  included  all 
jobs  large  and  small,  there  were  some  excep¬ 
tionally  prominent  ones  in  the  list.  For  in¬ 
stance,  they  are  particularly  proud  of  their 
achievements  at  the  Atlantic  City  Convention 
Hall  and  Cleveland  Public  Auditorium,  two  of 
the  world’s  largest  public  assembly  rooms. 
Among  the  major  contracts  was  an  order  from 
the  King  of  Siam  to  decorate  the  Bangkok 
Royal  Theatre. 

Another  distant  customer  was  the  Singapore 
Capitol  Theatre.  There  were  some  20  installa¬ 
tions  for  Famous  Players  Canadian  Corpora¬ 
tion  distributed  through  Canada's  key  cities.  In 
the  home  field  the  super  Fox,  Brooklyn:  Fox, 
Detroit:  Academy  of  Music.  New  York: 
Atlantic  City  Apollo:  Roosevelt,  Frankford, 
Tower  Theatres,  Philadelphia ;  Embassy  The¬ 
atre  (W.  and  V.)  Reading:  Durfee,  Fall  River. 
Mass.;  Lincoln,  Marion,  Va.,  are  but  a  few 
of  their  outstanding  jobs. 

Current  work  includes  the  new  Broadway. 
Camden ;  Prudential  theatres  in  Bayshore  and 
Easthampton,  L.  I. ;  Granada,  Roanoke  Va. ; 
Green  Gables  ballroom,  Hazleton ;  Steel  Pier 
ballroom,  Atlantic  City :  Harris’  Alvin  The¬ 
atre.  Pittsburgh ;  Attica  Prison  Theatre,  Attica 
N.  Y.  _  1 

Novelty  Scenic  takes  this  list,  sufficient  for  a 
small  studio  for  a  year,  in  stride. 

“We  were  cramped  up  a  bit  for  room,”  ad¬ 
mitted  Kessler,  “and  that’s  one  of  the  reasons 


for  taking  over  the  new  plant.  Working  con¬ 
ditions  are  better  and  added  space  provides  for 
greater  efficiency  and  comfort.  I’m  not  being 
sentimental  about  those  5000  contracts.  We  had 
to  be  good  to  get  them,  but  that’s  water  over 
the  dam,  now.  We’re  going  to  stay  good  and 
keep  constantly  trying  to  furnish  better  ideas, 
better  craftsmanship  and  better  service  in  order 
to  keep  the  dominant  position  we  have.”  Kess¬ 
ler  also  extended  an  invitation  to  members  of 
the  industry  to  inspect  the  plant. 

Liberty  Has  Shows 
for  Exploitation  Exhibs 

Liberty  is  preparing  showmen’s  pic¬ 
tures. 

With  the  completion  of  camera  work  on 
“School  for  Girls,”  Liberty  has  only  one  more 
feature  to  be  made  to  complete  its  announced 
program  of  eight  for  the  season  1934-35.  This 
independent  organization,  M.  H.  Hoffman  presi¬ 
dent,  has  already  received  encouraging  response 
from  exhibitors  approving  the  Liberty  policy. 

Following  its  New  York  premiere  “Cheaters” 
was  shown  over  the  entire  Loew  circuit.  Pro¬ 
duction  boasts  a  cast  headed  by  Bill  Boyd, 
Dorothy  Mackaill,  June  Collyer,  Alan  Mow¬ 
bray  and  William  Collier,  Sr.  “When  Strangers 
Meet,”  set  for  July  20th  release,  features  Rich¬ 
ard  Cromwell  and  Arline  Judge. 

Jack  LaRue  and  Thelma  Todd  head  the  ros¬ 
ter  of  players  in  “Take  the  Stand,”  suggested 
by  Earl  Derr  Biggers'  baffling  thriller.  Damon 
Runyon’s  “The  Big  Mitten”  provided  the  theme 
for  the  fourth  attraction,  “No  Ransom,”  in 
which  Leila  Hyams,  Phillips  Holmes,  Jack 
LaRue  and  Robert  McWade  are  featured. 

“Once  to  Every  Bachelor”  has  Marion 
Nixon  and  Neil  Hamilton  in  important  roles. 
Neil  Hamilton  is  again  prominent  in  the  cast 
of  the  sixth  production.  “Two  Heads  on  a 
Pillow,”  with  Miriam  Jordon,  Henry  Armetta, 
Hardie  Albright  and  Dorothy  Appleby  in  out¬ 
standing  roles. 

Sidney  Fox,  Paul  Kelly  and  Lois  Wilscn 
head  the  cast  in  the  recently  completed  “School 
for  Girls.”  Final  production  on  the  program 
is  “Without  Children,”  suggested  by  Mrs.  Wil¬ 
son  Woodrow’s  “Eyes  of  Youth.” 


What  It  May  Come  To 

The  following  letter  from  a  reader 
to  “The  Record”  indicates  what  may  be 
in  store  for  exhibitors: 

Sir: - While  the  public  is  cleaning  up 

the  movies  and  theatres,  may  1  ask  why 
we  cannot  clean  out  all  indecent  ones 
for  keeps?  Their  demands  for  censor¬ 
ship,  which  never  has  censored  under 
Will  Hays  or  anyone  else,  leads  me  to 
ask  why  cannot  the  public  schools  oper¬ 
ate  pictures  free - or  at  a  nominal  cost 

of  five  cents  each  in  their  costly  halls - 

every  night  in  the  week  and  require  all 
children  in  public  schools  to  attend  two 
nights  each  week  and  forbid  attendance 
elsewhere  under  the  age  of  16? 

Perhaps  “The  Record”  and  readers 
can  suggest  a  better  plan.  The  large 
schoolyards  can  seat  thousands  out  of 
doors  six  months  in  summer. 

While  we  are  cleaning  up  the  movies 

and  theatres - let  us  do  it  right  and  get 

decent,  dependable,  wholesome  enter¬ 
tainment  for  aduts  as  well  as  children. 

MINISTER. 

Hebron,  Md. 


1900  at  S-W  Picnic 


1900  S-W  employees  and  friends  at¬ 
tended  the  recent  picnic  held  by  the 
Warner  Club. 

Affair,  held  near  Philadelphia,  was  a 
triumph  in  all  departments. 

Everyone  had  a  swell  time,  athletic 
events  scored  and  lunch  was  grand. 
Leonard  Schlesinger,  zone  manager, 
oversaw  the  flock. 

Event  is  an  annual  one  and  does 
much  to  cement  the  good  fellowship 
and  feeling  between  all  Warner  factions 
and  divisions. 


“Drummond”  World 
Premiere  Shore  Hit 

World  premiere  of  “Bulldog  Drum¬ 
mond  Strikes  Back,”  from  United 
Artists,  was  ushered  in  at  the  Apollo 
Theatre,  Atlantic  City,  with  an  extensive 
exploitation  campaign  arranged  by  P.  M. 
Lewis  and  George  Weilland. 

A  few  days  in  advance  of  the  opening  all 
local  newspapers  broke  with  considerable  ad¬ 
vance  and  special  stories,  each  stressed  the  pic¬ 
ture's  world  premiere.  A  full  page  in  the 
Press-Union  devoted  to  the  summer  theatrical 
season  planned  by  Lewis  &  Weilland  carried  a 
large  ad  on  “Bulldog  Drummond  Strikes  Back” 
which  dominated  the  entire  page. 

Supplementing  the  newspaper  campaign  were 
the  distribution  of  5,000  tabloids,  3,000  special 
announcement  cards  which  were  placed  in  all 
hotel  mail  boxes  and  parked  autos.  Besides  the 
tabloids  and  cards,  special  displays  of  8x10  stills 
were  placed  in  the  lobbies  of  the  leading  hotels 
and  four  40x60  display  posters  were  used  in 
front  of  four  other  local  theatres  plugging  the 
engagement  of  “Drummond”  at  the  Apollo. 

Inasmuch  as  local  ordinances  forbid  any 
ballyhoo  or  advertising  on  the  boardwalk,  the 
managers  had  painted  on  the  front  page  of  one 
of  the  local  newspapers  the  title,  theatre’s  name 
and  mentioned  the  world  premiere.  Then  they 
secured  six  girls  and  had  them  wheeled  up  and 
down  the  boardwalk  in  wheel  chairs.  Each  girl 
held  the  paper  as  though  she  were  reading  the 
back  page  with  the  front  page  getting  over  the 
message  of  the  picture’s  engagement  at  the 
Apollo  Theatre.  Radio  station  WPG  put  on  a 
five-minute  broadcast  of  a  synopsis  of  the  pic¬ 
ture  and  mentioned  the  opening.  Another  plug 
for  the  picture  over  the  air  was  arranged 
through  a  tie-up  on  the  Tidewater  Oil  program. 


TRICTLY  PERSONAL 

There  Isn’t  Much 
This  Time 


FLORENCE  WEINER  and  Maybelle  Bond 
golf  addicts.  .  .  .  Doing  it  aplenty.  .  .  . 

Sam  Wheeler,  Fox  Washington  manager,  met 
many  localities  on  the  boardwalk  when  he 
vacationed  there  with  his  family.  .  .  .  Doro¬ 

thy  Burreson,  Metroite,  also  a  boardwalk 
traveler.  .  .  .  Likewise  the  Harry  Dembows, 
Benny  Fertl,  Charlie  Segall  and  practically 
everyone  else. 


Jul  1 5 ’ 34  pg.  37 


Too  Hardboiled  to  be  quoted! 


•  •  •  unbiased, 
honest,  able. 

•••  calling  a 
spade  a  spade 
without  fear  or 
favor. 

•  •  •  reviewing 
pictures,  not  to 
praise  the  mak¬ 
ers  but  to  fur¬ 
nish  our  exhib¬ 
itor  readers 
with  — 


22 


1  -July-34 

6-1 

Point  Rei 

■  J  1  *Wh#  made  it? 

IflAUfC  1  2  Who's  in  it? 
MU  WO  %  3  How  good  is  it ? 

4  Is  it  family  or  adult  type  ? 

5  *»  What's  it  about  ? 

6 Running  Time? 

FOX 

PARAMOUNT 

MONOGRAM 

Baby  Take  a  Bow  Comedy 

73m. 

Shirley  Temple,  Jamra  Dunn,  Claire  Trevor,  Alan 
Dinehart,  Huy  Walker,  Dorothy  Libaire,  Rolf 
llaio'de,  Richard  Tucker,  Olive  Tell,  Jarnca  Flavin. 

In  the  money  because  of  Shirley  Temple, 
“Baby''  shapes  up  as  a  neat  comedy  with  melo¬ 
drama  offering  and  a  good  grosser  where  the 
kid  has  built  a  following.  Action  is  centred  on 
a  couple  of  ex-convicts,  one  the  tot’s  father, 
who  try  to  go  straight  but  find  a  detective  oil 
their  trail. 

Estimate:  Kid  will  help. 


Grand  Canary 


Adult 

Drama 

80m. 


Warner  Baxter,  Madge  Fvana,  Marjorie  Rambcau, 
Zita  Johann,  Roger  Imhof,  H.  li.  Warner,  Barry 
Norton,  Juliette  Compton,  Gilbert  Emery. 

Story  of  a  doctor  who  falls  from  the  heights 
of  fame  into  oblivion  but  who  comes 'back 
through  regeneration  and  love.  Performances 
of  principals  almost  make  the  whole  thing  be¬ 
lievable  but  yarn  is  so  constructed  that  play¬ 
ers  are  handicapped.  Parts  are  particularly 
unsympathetic,  with  the  actors  doing  their 
utmost  to  overcome  this  disadvantage. 

Estimate:  Handicapped. 


Here  Comes  the  Groom  Comedy 
75m. 

Mary  Boland.  Jack  Raley,  Patricia  Ellis,  Neil 
Hamilton,  Isabel  Jewell,  Larry  Gray.  Sidney  Toler, 
E.  H.  Calvert,  Ward  Bond,  Snowflake. 

Fast  moving  farce  that  should  stand  up  wher¬ 
ever  the  laughs  mean  money.  Jack  Haley  scores 
as  a  weak  burglar  who  finds  himself  forced  to 
impersonate  a  crooner.  Mix  in  a  jealous  wife, 
the  real  crooner  and  some  good  gags. 

Estimate:  Fair  comedy. 


RADIO 


Bachelor  Bait 


Family 

Comedy 

80m. 


Stuart  Erwin,  Rochelle  Hudson,  Pert  Helton, 
Skeets  Gallagher,  Berton  Churchill. 

Well  cast,  well  played  comedy  that  lacks  star 
strength.  Otherwise  it  will  please  everywhere. 
Picture  centres  itself  in  a  matrimonial  bureau 
with  lots  of  chances  for  Erwin  and  a  capable 
cast.  However,  show  hasn’t  the  strength  to 
become  an  ace  draw,  so  must  fit  into  the  so-so 
category  as  far  as  box  office  is  concerned. 

Estimate:  Average. 


Family 

Comedy 

83m. 

Mitchell  and 


She  Learned 

About  Sailors 

Alice  Faye,  Harry  Green,  Lew  Ayrt 
Durante. 

Comedy  about  sailors  that  is  not  only  funny 
but  clean.  Someone  deserves  a  hand  for  turn¬ 
ing  in  a  script  which  avoids  all  the  pitfalls  but 
which  still  milks  the  situations.  Plot  is  familiar, 
the  one  about  the  sailor  who  worked  fast  but 
who  fell  in  love  with  the  girl  and  vice  versa. 

Estimate:  Certain  to  satisfy. 


GAUMONT  BRITISH 


Along  Came  Sally  Co 


Family 
nedy  with  songs 
70m. 

Billy 


English  made  musical  with  one  American 
name  that  will  get  plenty  of  laughs  in  the 
neighborhoods  and  elsewhere.  Dance  numbers, 
songs  and  Courtneidge  clowning  is  a  guarantee 
of  mass  satisfaction.  Picture  winds  up  with  a 
punch  that  will  send  them  out  satisfied. 

Estimate:  Will  please. 


What!  A  Boy? 


Family 
Farce 
74m. 

Edward  Everett  Horton,  Leslie  Henson,  Albert 
Bur  don.  Heather  Thatcher,  Al  Drayton. 

Farce  that  will  probably  score  bettor  on  the 
other  side  than  this.  Outside  of  Horton’s  name, 
show  hasn’t  much  with  which  to  draw  although 
situations  are  often  very  funny. 

Estimate:  Only  Horton. 


His  Greatest  Gamble  Drama 

73m. 

Richard  Dix,  Dorothy  Wilson,  Bruce  Cabot.  Erin 
O’Brien  Moore,  Shirley  Grey,  Leonard  Carey. 

Story  of  father  love  that  will  appeal  mostly 
to  Dix. fans.  There  is  a  strong  play  for  women 
in  the  talc  of  a  father  who  wishes  to  protect 
his  young  daughter  from  the  wife  who  wishes 
to  harm  her.  Picture  is  well  directed  but  title 
and  some  elements  will  prove  confusing. 

Estimate:  Dix. 


.  ,  T  A  Adult 

Lets  I ry  Again  Drama 

67m. 

Clive  Brook,  Diana  Wynyard,  Ted  Newton,  Helen 
Vinson,  Irene  Hervcy,  Arthur  Hoyt. 

Adult  drama  about  a  couple  who  fall  out  of 
love  after  ten  years  of  married  life  but  who 
reconciliate.  Between  the  two  points  are  .affairs 
on  each  side,  misunderstandings  and  the  usual* 
goings  on.  *  Smart  audiences  will  take  to  .it 
better  than  the  masses.  In  the  latter's  strong¬ 
holds,  the  show  won’t  mean  much. 

Estimate:  Spotty. 


We're  Rich  Again  CoS 

78m. 

Marian  Nixon,  Edna  May  Oliver,  Billie  Burke. 
Reginald  Denny,  Buster  Crabbe.  Gloria  Shea.  Grant 
Mitchell,  Edgar  Kennedy,  Lenita  Lane,  Ottoa  Yapio - 
aka,  Joan  Marsh. 

Fair  little  comedy  that  will  probably  please 
but  won't  impress  on  its  own.  Once  again,  a 
family,  with  plenty  of  faults,  is  mothered  by 
the  sweet  heroine  who  straightens  things  out. 

Estimate:  Programmer. 


Randy  Rides  Alone  We.tem 

53m. 

John  Wayne,  Alberta  Vaughn,  George  Hayes. 
Yakima  Canutt,  Tex  Phelps. 

Well  directed  western  with  pace  and  action 
that  will  appeal  everywhere.  Our  hero  is  falsely 
accused  of  murder,  gets  in  with  a  gang,  routs 
the  crooks,  saves  the  day,  wins  the  girl. 

Estimate:  Okay. 


STATE  RIGHTS 


Are  We  Civilized? 


Family 

Historical 

70m. 


William  Farnum,  Anita  Louise,  Frank  McGlynn, 
Leroy  Mason.  Oscar  Apfcl,  Stuart  Holmes. 

Production  apparently  built  to  fight  all 
oppression  and  filled  with  flashbacks  from  the 
library.  Picture  has  a  timely  theme  but  devel¬ 
opment  isn^t  any  too  good.  However,  where 
ballyhoo  can  be  made  to  count,  show  might 
click.  Story  revolves  around  a  man  who  seeks 
liberty  for.  all  and  his  death  when  forces  of 
oppression  carry  all  before  them. 

Estimate:  Topical. 


Mystery  Ranch 


Family 

Western 

57m. 


Action  western  that  will  please  the  thrill¬ 
hunting  fans  anywhere.  Picture  has  more  plot 
than  usual,  has  plenty  of  opportunity  for  the 
usual  Tyler  stunts.  Western  advocates  will  be 
satisfied. 


Estimate:  Moves  right  along. 


The  World 

in  Revolt 


Adult 

Revolution  Compilation 
68m. 

Newsreel  shots  of  the  political  disturbances  in  the 
States3  *‘uropcan  courllr,'e*  as  welt  us  the  United 


Film  goes  in  for  the  spectacular.  It  shows  the 
highlights  of  political  revolutions  in  Russia, 
Italy,  Germany,  China,  Austria,  featuring  shots 
of  Mussolini,  Dolfus,  Hitler,  Stalin  and  other 
luminaries  of  world  affairs.  Public  is  given 
personal  views  of  executions  and  general  tur¬ 
moil.  Graham  McNamee  does  the  narrating  of 
the  story  which  is  authored  by  Emil  Lengyel 
with  a  musical  accompaniment  under  the  direc¬ 
tion  of  Milton  Schwarzwald. 


Estimate:  Timely. 


White  Heat 


Adult 

Melodrama 

62m. 


David  Newell,  Mona  Maris.  Virginia  CherrUl, 
Hardie  Albright.  Arthur  Clayton,  Naomi  Childers. 

Familiar  tropic  madness  story  but  handled 
and  acted  in  such  manner  that  picture  stands 
out  above  usual  run  of  such  features.  A  plan¬ 
tation  foreman  goes  native,  later  brings  back  his 
white  wife.  Latter’s  sweetheart  enters  to  bring 
additional  confusion. 


Estimate:  Tropical. 


a  True  Picture  of  All  Pictures 


a  Regular 
Service  of 


THE  EXHIBITOR 


A  Jay  Emanuel  Publication 


Jul  1 5 1 34  b.c. 


Among  the  world’s  prominent 
structures  completed 

Convention  Hall,  Atlantic  City.  N.  J. 
Public  Auditorium,  Cleveland.  Ohio. 

Public  Auditorium.  Columbus.  0. 

Gen.  Elec.  Auditorium,  Schenectady,  N.  Y. 
Ford  Motor  Exhibit, 

Madison  Square  Garden.  New  York  City. 
Royal  Theatre,  Bangkok,  Slam. 

Capitol  Theatre,  Singapore. 

Hunter  College,  New  York  City. 

Columbia  University,  New  York  City. 
Wilberforce  College.  Wilberforce,  Ohio. 
Famous  Players  Canadian  Corporation  (20 
theatres) . 

Fox  Theatre,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Fox,  Detroit,  Mich. 

Academy  of  Music,  New  York  City. 

Apollo,  Atlantic  City,  N.  J. 

Roosevelt.  Tower,  Frankford, 

Philadelphia.  Pa. 
W.  &  V.'s  Embassy,  Reading,  Pa. 

Durfee,  Fall  River,  Mass. 

Broadway,  Camden,  N.  J. 

Bayshore.  Bayshore,  L.  I. 

Easthampton,  Easthampton,  L.  I. 

Steel  Pier,  Atlantic  City,  N.  J. 

Alvin,  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 

Majestic,  Gettysburg,  Pa. 

Loew's,  167th  St.,  New  York  City. 

Capitol,  Dover,  Del. 
lemple,  Dover,  Del. 

Ambler,  Ambler,  Pa. 

Palace,  Danbury.  Conn. 

Rialto,  Danbury,  Conn. 

Lyric,  Cameo,  Rialto,  Regal,  State, 

Hartford,  Conn. 

Strand,  Westfield,  Mass. 

Franklin,  Franklin,  Mass. 

Strand,  Niagara  Falls,  N.  Y. 

Palace,  St.  Johnsbury,  Vt. 

Oxford,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Wilkinson,  Wallingford,  Conn. 

Crewe,  Crewe,  Va. 

porter  Square,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

Plymouth,  Leominster,  Mass. 

Strand,  Clifton,  N.  J. 

Howard,  New  Haven,  Conn. 

Lawrence,  New  Haven  Conn. 

State,  Manchester,  N.  H. 

Strand.  Capitol,  Ventnor, 

Atlantic  City,  N.  J. 

Eagle,  Albany,  N.  Y. 

Park,  Hudson,  N.  Y. 

Arcade.  Springfield,  Mass. 

Pastime,  Lewistown,  Pa. 

Capitol,  Lyric,  Mischler, 

Olympic,  Penn,  State,  Strand, 

Altoona,  Pa. 

Granada,  Beaver  Falls,  Pa. 

Lyric,  Oil  City,  Pa. 

Civic,  Kalamazoo,  Mich. 

Guild  Hall,  Easthampton,  L.  I. 

Broadway,  Palmyra,  N.  J. 

Black  Rock,  Bridgeport,  Conn. 
Hippodrome,  Bridgeport,  Conn. 

Casino,  Narragansett  Pier,  R.  I. 
Metropolitan,  Providence,  R.  I. 

Lafayette,  Buffalo,  N.  Y. 

Shea's  Buffalo,  Buffalo,  N.  Y. 

Kenmore,  Kenmore,  N.  Y. 

Empire,  Fall  River,  Mass. 

Rahway,  Rahway,  N.  J. 

Pickwick,  Greenwich,  Conn. 

Englewood,  Englewood,  N.  J. 

Merrick,  Jamaica,  N.  Y. 

Savoy,  Jamaica,  N.  Y. 

Rialto,  Farragut,  Albemarle, 

Brooklyn.  N.  Y. 

Cove,  Glen  Cove,  N.  Y. 

Capitol,  Bayside,  N.  Y. 

Culver,  Roland,  Ambassador,  Empire, 
Beverly,  Windsor,  Tivoli,  Court,  Empress, 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
Empress,  North  Bergen,  N.  J. 

Mayfair,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Strand,  Hopewell,  Va. 

Uptown,  Union  Square,  Hippodrome, 

Cleveland,  0. 

Grand  Opera  House,  New  York  City. 

Byrd,  Richmond,  Va. 

Granby,  Norfolk,  Va. 

State,  Easton,  Pa. 

Hermanus  Bleeker  Hall,  Albany,  N.  Y. 
Rivoli,  Baltimore,  Md. 

— and  thousands  of  others! 


The  completion  of  the  decorative  scheme  of 
the  beautiful,  new  State  Theatre,  Middletown, 
N.  Y.  marks  the  5000th  completed  contract  by 
Novelty  Artists.  This  is  without  equal  in  our  field. 

Step  by  step,  our  consistent  success  has 
been  built  on  merit. 

The  very  nature  of  our  work,  the  importance 
of  the  buildings  in  the  public  eye  and  the  satis¬ 
faction  of  the  purchasers  is  the  best  measure  of 
our  success. 

We7re  confident  of  our  future. 


NEWER  AND  LARGER  QUARTERS 

Our  new  factory  and  show  rooms  afford  not  only  a  greater  amount 
of  floor  space,  but  give  our  artists  and  workmen  improved  working 
facilities.  Their  skill  unhampered  by  artificial  light  or  the  dust 
and  confusion  in  heavily  trafficked  areas  will  lift  their  work  to 
new  heights  of  perfection. 

We  welcome  the  inspection  of  our  theatre  owner  friends  and 
customers. 


The  Larger  and  Greater 

NOVELTY  SCENIC  STUDIOS 

- INC. - 

INTERIOR  DECORATIONS  •  DRAPERIES 

SCENERY  •  ACCOUSTICAL  TREATMENTS  •  RIGGING 

611-625  West  43rd  Street 

NEW  YORK,  N.  Y. 


T"e 
1  # 


n  this  United  Artists  Starts  Year  With  Banner  Line-Up 

Issue:  ' 


A  Jay  Emanuel  Publication 


VOL  16— No.  15 

PHILADELPHIA,  AUGUST  1,  1934 

Price,  15  Cents 

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The  Biggest  ‘Kid  Serial’ 

Ever  Made—'  but  appeal- 

ing  to  the  adults  too! 


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S^BY  THE  W* 


It  had  to  be  good  to  be 
playing  theatres  such  as: 

Warner  Bros.  Circuit,  RKO  Circuit,  Brandt 
Circuit,  Paramount- Publix  Circuit,  Walter 
Reade  Circuit,  Leo  Breeher  Circuit,  Abe 
Left  Circuit,  Margolis  Circuit  .  .  .  and 
more  than  1500  Class  "A"  Independents. 


INCLUDING: 


Sacked  by  a  ready-made  audience  of  904,000 
Boy  Scouts  and  more  than  200,000  Camp  Fire 
Girls  —  dean  — -wholesome — entertaining  —  full 
of  action  and  wild  animals- — and  backed  by  a 
two-fisted  exploitation  campaign  and  road¬ 
show  accessories. 


From  the  World's  Leading  Independent 

FIRST  DIVISION  EXCHANGES,  Inc, 

HARRY  H.  THOMAS,  President 
Executive  Offices:  RKO  Building,  Radio  City,  N.  Y. 

Branches  in 


PITTSBURGH  NEW  YORK 
LOUISVILLE  BUFFALO 
NEW  HAVEN  ATLANTA 


ALBANY 

CLEVELAND 

WASHINGTON 


BOSTON 

CHARLOTTE 

CINCINNATI 


PHILADELPHIA 
DETROIT 
NEW  ORLEANS 


Dycker,  Brooklyn 
Greenpoint,  Brooklyn 
Prospect,  Bronx 
Empire,  Bronx 
Keith’s,  White  Plains,  N.  Y. 
Keith’s,  Flushing,  N.  Y. 

Royal,  Bronx 
Regent,  Brooklyn 
Regent,  Kearney,  N.  J. 

Central,  Rockville  Center,  L.  I. 
Strand,  East  Orange,  N.  J, 
Palace,  East  Orange,  N.  J. 
Eureka,  Hackensack,  N.  J. 
Roosevelt,  Newark,  N.  J. 
Embassy,  Port  Chester,  N.  Y. 
Rivoli,  West  New  York,  N.  J. 
Columbia,  Gutenberg,  N.  J. 

Star,  Cliffside,  N.  J. 

Bushwick,  Brooklyn 
Colonial,  Philadelphia 

and  "clicking" 


Ogontz,  Philadelphia 
Sedgwick,  Philadelphia 
Felton,  Philadelphia 
Lindley,  Philadelphia 
Earl,  Philadelphia 
State,  Philadelphia 
69th  St.,  Philadelphia 
Imperial,  Philadelphia 
Commodore,  Philadelphia 
Wynne,  Philadelphia 
Lindy,  Philadelphia 
Parker,  Darby,  Pa. 
Hamilton,  Lancaster,  Pa. 
Rialto,  York,  Pa. 

State,  Hanover,  Pa. 
Majestic,  Gettysburg,  Pa. 
Majestic,  Shamokin,  Pa. 
Jackson,  Lebanon,  Pa. 
Lyric,  Shenandoah,  Pa. 
Majestic,  Tamaqua,  Pa. 

in  every  spot ! 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  September  11.  1924,  at  the  post  office  at  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  under  the  Act  of  March  3,  1879. 
■  -  PUBLISHED  SEMI-MONTHLY  AT  219  N.  BROAD  STRFFT  PHH  AffFl  fifliA. 


A  Hit  at  Its  World  Premiere  at  Stanley,  Atlantic  City 


WITH 


BERYL  MERCER 
DAVID  TORRENCE 
AILEEN  PRINGLE 
LIONEL  BELMORE 
JAMESON  THOMAS 

Directed  by 

CHRISTY  CABANNE 

A 

BEN  VERSCHLEISER 

PRODUCTION 

Screen  Play  by  ADELE  COMANDINI 


THE  MOST  endearing  and  touching  character 
in  all  fiction  ...  the  most  appealing  love 
story. . .  steps  out  of  the  book  on  to  the  screen 
and  into  your  heart! 

YOU  THRILLED  ...  as  millions  of  readers 
have  ...  at  this  most  poignantly  dramatic 
revelation  of  a  young  girl’s  inner  life  and 
love  experiences. 

DISTRIBUTED  BY 

FIRST  DIVISION  EXCHANGES,  Inc. 


Aug  1  *34  pg.  3 


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THE 


EDITOR’S  PAGE 


Vol.  16,  No.  15  August  1,  1934 


Watch  Clearance 

WITH  NO  FURTHER  APPEALS 
•  possible  on  zoning  for  the  1934-1935 
season  unless  cases  were  entered  before 
July  1,  exhibitors  will  have  to  be  doubly 
careful  to  safeguard  their  interests.  It  has 
recently  been  a  habit  in  this  business  to 
state  clearance  by  mentioning  certain  fol¬ 
lowing  theatres  ignoring  runs  before.  In 
other  words,  if  a  theatre  buys  a  product, 
the  contracts  might  read :  7  days  before 
the  Blank,  Doe  and  Etcetera  Theatres. 
Nothing  is  said  of  the  runs  before  the 
house.  Therefore,  one  fine  day  the  exhibi¬ 
tor  might  awake  to  find  out  that  another 
run  has  been  set  in  ahead  of  him,  making 
him  wait  longer  for  the  pictures  in  question. 

The  exhibitor  can  have  little  redress. 
The  zoning  board  is  closed  to  him.  Contact 
with  exchange  managers  is  an  indefinite 
manner  to  secure  relief.  Partly,  the  ex¬ 
hibitor  is  to  blame  because  he  failed  to 
protect  himself.  Let  the  theatremen  be 
specific  in  his  contract.  Let  him  include 
all  the  theatres  before  and  all  those  after. 
In  that  manner,  nothing  will  be  left  to 
chance,  nothing  will  be  changed. 


Bar  Unfair  Shows 

m  A  THEATREMAN  has  a  right  to  de- 
9  mand  that  anyone  showing  motion  pic¬ 
tures  be  placed  in  the  same  classification 
as  himself  as  regards  taxes,  overhead,  in¬ 
vestment,  etc. 

No  non-theatrical  has  the  right  to  cut 
into  the  exhibitor’s  business  any  more  than 
an  exhibitor  has  a  right  to  cut  into  another 
merchant’s  investment. 

Any  exchange  which  sells  film  to  anyone 
who  exhibits  it  for  nothing  to  large  audi¬ 
ences  ought  to  get  its  head  examined.  There 
can  be  no  justification  for  such  a  policy  on 
the  part  of  a  distributor. 

While  non-theatricals  can  be  regulated 
under  the  code,  free  movies  is  another  kind 
of  headache.  Check  it  now. 


Sane  Middle  Course 

#  ONE  OF  THE  INDUSTRY’S  leading 
®  orators,  Louis  Nizer,  in  an  address, 
the  other  day,  pleaded  for  a  safe,  middle 
course  in  production. 

He  pointed  out  the  dangers  of  swinging 
the  pendulum  away  from  spice  and  sex  too 
close  to  goodness,  sticky  sentiment  and 
pollyanna  productions.  In  its  haste  to  sat¬ 
isfy  those  who  are  militant  against  current 
styles  in  pictures,  he  cautioned  the  producers 
not  to  forget  a  satisfied  group  of  patrons 
who  are  willing  to  see  pictures  that  reflect 
the  times. 

Granted  that  some  studios  have  a  tendency 
to  insert  material  that  is  entirely  too 
smoker-roomish  in  tone.  These  gentlemen 
should  be  checked. 

But  no  exhibitor  wants  to  exhibit  pic¬ 
tures  that  are  made  for  the  child  mind  and 
which  insult  adult  intelligence.  It  must  be 
possible  to  find  a  sane,  middle  course,  one 
which  will  satisfy  the  crusaders  and  yet 
protect  the  box  office. 

Let  the  producer  refrain  from  haste. 
Let  them  consider  well  the  type  of  product 
necessary.  But  avoid  a  headlong  rush  to¬ 
ward  a  product  that  is  not  desired. 


The  Philadelphia 

EXHIBITOR 

Circulating  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware.  Issued  on  the  1st  and  15th 
of  each  month  by  Jay  Emanuel  Publications.  Inc.  Publishing  office,  219  North  Broad  Street,  Philadelphia. 
Branches  at  1600  Broadway,  New  York  City;  Washington,  D.  C.  Jay  Emanuel,  publisher;  Paul  J. 
Greenhalgh,  advertising  manager;  Herbert  M.  Miller,  managing  editor.  Subscription  rates;  $2  for  one 
year,  $5  for  three  years.  Single  copies,  15c  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware. 
Publishers,  also,  of  THE  NATIONAL  EXHIBITOR  of  Washington  and  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  EXHIBITOR. 
Official  organ  of  the  Motion  Picture  Theatre  Owners  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and 
Delaware.  Address  all  communications  to  the  Philadelphia  office. 


Stand  Together 


NOTWITHSTANDING  the  fact  that  some  of  the  criti¬ 
cism  directed  against  the  move  may  be  justified,  one 
can  not  entirely  ignore  the  sincerity  with  which  members  of  the 
MPPDA,  Hays-producer  body,  initiated  the  cancellation  privilege 
for  exhibitors  who  find  agitation  against  salacious  pictures  so 
strong  that  playing  of  such  films  is  not  possible. 

The  producer  announcement,  it  cannot  be  denied,  placed  the 
exhibitor  in  an  embarrassing  position.  Many  theatremen  who 
have  attempted  to  use  agitation  against  salacious  pictures  for  their 
own  advantage  will  now  have  to  be  on  the  level  with  their  patrons 
and  exercise  the  cancellation  privilege  if  necessary.  No  longer 
will  they  be  able  to  say  that  it  is  impossible  to  drop  a  show  because 
of  producer  contracts. 


Most  exhibitors  are  sincere.  Many  of  them  will  exercise  the 
cancellation  privilege  to  drop  pictures  which  will  not  be  tolerated 
by  militant  reform  groups  in  their  district.  Some  of  the  pictures 
to  be  dropped,  no  doubt,  will  have  few  objectionable  features,  but 
the  producer  announcement  says  that  if  there  is  a  strong  protest 
on  moral  grounds,  the  cancellation  will  be  allowed. 

Rumors  arise  that  some  exhibitors  do  not  wish  to  cancel  out 
shows  but  rather  play  them  when  the  emphasis  now  current  passes. 
This  is  hardly  believable.  It  would  be  poor  practice  on  the  part  of 
the  exhibitor  to  lose  either  his  patrons’  confidence  or  his  run. 

It  has  been  said  in  these  columns  before  that  the  industry  must 
stand  united  in  the  current  agitation.  There  is  no  doubt  but  that 
there  will  be  continued  onslaughts  by  those  outside  the  business 
even  after  Hollywood  cleans  up.  At  current  writing,  it  appears 
as  if  block  booking  is  going  to  be  the  target  for  all.  Regardless 
of  how  various  exhibitor  units  may  feel  toward  the  block  booking 
practice,  there  should  be  no  division  at  the  present  time.  The 
business  stands  in  danger  of  attack  from  professional  reformers. 
Though  there  are  some  who  wish  to  discredit  everything  that  is 
being  done  by  anyone  to  ease  the  situation,  the  industry  in  general 
appreciates  any  aid  it  can  secure.  There  should  be  nothing  but 
co-operation  at  this  time. 


Saved  in  the  nick  of  time  but  look  out  for  the  boys  behind  the  trees. 


12 


Aug  1'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Glancing  Everywhere  in  the  Territory 


AT  IEPA  HOUSEWARMING.  Assembled  exhibitors  who  met  at  July  24  open¬ 
ing  of  Independent  Exhibitors  Protective  Association  housewarming  at  new 
1313  Vine  Street  headquarters  are  pictured.  Approximately  100  attended. 
An  exterior  shot  of  the  new  home  is  also  shown.  ( Page  35) 


IS  TO  CERTIFY  THAI 


Certificate  No. 

NAME  OF  moovccn 


in  the  production  of . 

TITLK  OF  PICTURE 


has  complied  with  the  self-imposed  regulations  of  the  industry  as  administered  by  the 
Production  Code  Administration  of  the  Motion  Picture  Producers  and  Distributors 
of  America,  Inc.,  to  maintain  right  standards  in  the  production  of  morion  pictures  as 
a  form  of  entertainment. 


In  Witness  Whereof,  I,  Josefh  I.  Breen,  Director  of  the 
Production  Code  Administration  of  the  Motion  Picture  Producers 
and  Distributors  of  America,  Inc.,  have  hereunto  sec  my  hand  and 
caused  the  seal  of  the  Production  Code  Administration  to  be  hereunto 

yijtfclt/K,  ^  Wilt*- 

O'  OIAICTO*.  FKOOUCTION  COOS  A»»»tl#TAATION 


affixed  this 


OFFICIAL  SEAL.  Certificate,  shown  above,  is  sample  of  kind  issued  by 
Joseph  I.  Breen,  director  of  the  Production  Code  Administration.  Under 
the  producers’  agreement,  possession  of  this  certificate  is  necessary  for 
general  release  of  all  motion  pictures  made  by  members  of  the 
association. 


NEW  WARNER  CHIEF.  Bill  Man¬ 
sell  is  the  new  branch  manager  for 
Warners-First  National  exchange  in 
the  Philadelphia  zone.  {Page  13) 


TO  SPEAK  HERE.  Abe  Montague, 
Columbia  sales  manager,  has  prom¬ 
ised  to  address  exhibitors  here  when 
he  makes  a  trip  to  the  territory 
in  the  near  future.  {Page  35) 


HONORED.  Recipient  of  a  special 
drive  is  Jimmy  Grainger,  sales  man¬ 
ager  for  Universal,  whose  period  of 
intensive  selling  covers  July  23- 
September  1.  Support  from  exhibs 
will  be  sought  by  Universal  sales¬ 
men  everywhere. 


WITH  MUNDUS.  Earl  W.  Kramer 
is  general  manager  of  Mundus  Dis¬ 
tributing  Corporation  which  has  a 
program  of  27  films  for  release 
throughout  the  United  States,  begin¬ 
ning  July  23.  Physical  distribution 
will  be  handled  through  United 
Artists. 


ANNOUNCES  PRODUCT.  Harry 
H.  Thomas,  president,  First  Division 
Exchanges,  Inc.,  this  week  an¬ 
nounced  the  local  exchange’s  line¬ 
up  for  the  coming  season.  The 
schedule  includes  leading  indepen¬ 
dent  product.  {Page  8) 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Aug  1  ’  34 


13 


Big  Boost  in  Music  Tax  Seen  as 

Society  Announces  Its  New  Rates 


Payment  To  Be  Based  on  Gross  of  Theatre  For  Single 
Performance  at  Highest  Prices  —  Graduated  Scale 
Indicated  _ 

Motion  picture  theatres  everywhere  face  a  big  boost  in  payments  to  be  made  to 
the  American  Society  of  Composers,  Authors  and  Publishers,  following  announce¬ 
ment  of  the  new  rates  to  be  asked  by  that  society,  effective  October  1. 


No  Profit 


State  Department  of  Public  Instruc¬ 
tion’s  Music  Fund  is  failing  to  earn  any 
money  from  Sunday  concerts.  At  act 
permitting  Sunday  concerts  was  passed 
at  the  1933  session  of  the  Legislature. 

It  provides  that  admission  charges  to 
Sunday  concerts  be  based  on  estimates 
covering  all  costs  of  staging  the  concert, 
including  light,  heat  and  compensation 
to  ushers,  janitors  and  musicians.  To 
date  no  musical  organization  conducting 
a  Sunday  concert  has  made  more  than 
expenses. 

Code  Authority,  Local 
Bodies  Buck  Tax  Rise 

Film  Units  Announce  Intention 
of  Fighting  Increase 

The  motion  picture  business,  exhibition 
division,  isn't  going  to  watch  the  ASCAP 
try  to  get  an  increase  in  fees  for  music 
tax  without  trying  to  do  something 
about  it. 

That  was  indicated  following  announcement 
of  the  increase  in  license  charges,  effective 
October  1. 

The  Code  Authority  has  already  formed  a 
committee  which  will  investigate  the  music  tax 
business.  Steps  will  be  taken  to  protect  the 
business. 

Concerted  action  will  be  taken  by  other  or¬ 
ganizations,  exhibitor  bodies,  circuits,  etc. 

Morris  Wax,  chairman  of  the  board,  IEPA, 
stated  that  the  organization  would  do  everything 
in  its  power  to  protect  its  members.  He  hinted 
at  legal  action,  led  by  president  Ben  Golder,  if 
other  means  were  not  successful. 

The  MPTO  is  committed  to  a  policy  which 
sees  it  working  with  the  MPTOA,  its  parent 
body. 

Local  Organizations 
Ready  for  New  Season 

IEPA  and  MPTO  Outline  Plans 
During  Coming  Year 

The  two  local  exhibitor  organizations 
are  getting  ready  for  the  new  season. 

The  IEPA  plans  to  hold  a  meeting  this  week 
at  which  time  problems  will  be  discussed  and  a 
permanent  program  outlined. 

Charles  Segall,  president,  MPTO,  in  a  letter 
to  members  this  week  asked  for  co-operation, 
said  that  the  body  was  preparing  plans  in  con¬ 
nection  with  the  music  tax,  legislation,  code 
work,  etc. 

It  looks  like  a  busy  season. 


Mansell  Steps  in  as  Head 
of  Local  Warner  Exchange 

Johnny  Bachman  Joins  Selling 

Contingent  Here 

William  Mansell,  one  of  the  real  vet¬ 
erans  on  Vine  Street,  is  the  new  Warner 
exchange  manager  here,  succeeding  Boh 
Mochrie,  promoted  to  the  home  office  as 
assistant  to  Andy  Smith. 

Mansell’s  promotion  has  already  received  the 
commendation  of  the  trade.  An  experienced 
film  man  in  all  divisions,  he  bears  the  respect 
that  comes  from  fair  dealing  and  a  good  grasp 
of  the  territory. 

Johnny  Bachman  has  been  added  to  the  War¬ 
ner  sales  force  here  to  take  the  place  left  open 
by  Mansell.  Bachman  was  formerly  attached 
to  Educational  and  Educational-Fox.  He  is 
also  an  old  timer  here  and  his  entrance  into  the 
Warner  organization  is  also  pleasing  to  the 
trade. 

Mochrie  is  now  actively  at  work  in  the  home 
office.  He  wishes,  through  these  columns,  to 
send  his  regards  to  all  his  friends  in  the  terri¬ 
tory.  Asked  about  his  work  in  the  home  office, 
he  praised  Smith  to  the  skies  and  compared  his 
former  position  with  his  new  one  as  follows : 

“In  terms  of  golf,  I  used  to  go  around  in  100 
when  some  of  the  other  fellows  used  to  go 
around  in  1 10.  Over  here  everybody  goes 
around  in  90  while  I  am  going  around  in  100. " 


Berwick  Rebuilding 

Strand  Theatre,  Berwick,  is  being  rebuilt 
with  Berwick  capital  and  under  Berwick  man¬ 
agement.  J.  N.  Harry,  receiver,  for  P.  S.  of 
A.  Hall  Association,  is  receiving  bids. 

Theatre  plans  to  reopen  in  November. 


On  “Vergie  Winters” 

Ned  E.  Depinet,  vice-president,  RKO 
Radio,  has  sent  a  letter  to  exhibitors 
explaining  the  company’s  position  in 
connection  with  “Vergie  Winters.” 

Despite  the  fact  that  the  picture  has 
appeared  on  some  “disapproved  lists,” 
he  defends  it  as  a  clean,  fine  picture  with 
a  moral.  He  quotes  favorable  reports 
from  clubwomen  on  it.  He  says  the 
company  has  definite  convictions  on  the 
show  and  is  prepared  to  stand  behind 
them. 


Payment  would  be  for  public  performance  of 
copyrighted  music,  for  which  most  theatres  now 
pay  a  tax  of  10  cents  per  seat. 

The  new  tax  is  as  follows  : 

It  is  based  on  the  gross  of  a  theatre  for  a 
single  performance  calculated  at  the  highest 
prevailing  admission  prices.  This  sum  will  be 
paid  as  an  annual  license  fee  by  theatres  operat¬ 
ing  throughout  the  year  and  giving  20  or  more 
performances  weekly. 

To  explain : 

A  1000  seat  house  operating  20  or  more 
performances  a  week  now  pays  10  cents 
per  seat  or  $100.  Under  new  plan,  the 
house,  if  it  charged  25  cents  top  for  its 
seats,  would  compute  its  payment  as  fol¬ 
lows: 

100  x  25  cents  equals  $250. 

If  the  house  gave  only  18  performances 
weekly,  then  the  payment  would  equal 
90%  of  $250. 

For  each  performance  under  20,  5%  is 
deducted.  A  house  playing  ten  perform¬ 
ances  would  pay  50%  of  $250  and  so  on. 

Theatres  playing  less  than  7  perform¬ 
ances  weekly  and  operating  less  than  7 
days  will  pay  10  cents  a  seat,  the  old  rate. 
Theatre  operating  3  days  a  week  or  less 
will  pay  5  cents  a  seat.  Theatre  operating 
irregularly  will  be  required  to  pay  1-1 2th 
of  the  basic  rate  for  each  month  or  part  of 
month  it  stays  open.  Theatres  open  all 
year  around  must  pay  monthly  in  advance. 
If  any  section  is  closed  off,  these  seats 
may  be  deducted  from  house’s  capacity.  If 
price  changes  during  the  year,  Society  will 
adjust. 

No  increase  is  provided  for  the  average  small 
theatre,  according  to  E.  C.  Mills,  general  man¬ 
ager,  ASCAP,  who  admits  that  the  new  tariffs 
provides  a  “substantial"  increase  to  be  charged 
to  large  and  important  theatres  which  make  a 
"major  use”  of  music. 

“In  the  past,"  Mills  says,  “there  has  been 
much  criticism  of  ASCAP’s  tariffs,  because  of 
the  previous  rule  that  fixed  the  fee  at  10  cents 
a  seat  annually,  regardless  of  the  size  or  oper¬ 
ating  capacity  of  the  house.  The  new  tariffs 
remedy  this  situation  and  fix  the  fee  to  be 
charged  in  relation  to  the  size  of  the  theatre, 
the  price  of  its  tickets  and  the  number  of  per¬ 
formances  it  presents  per  week. 

“The  necessity  for  increasing  the  rates  arises 
from  the  financial  hazardous  position  of  the 
music  creating  and  publishing  art  and  industry. 
Revenues  previously  had  from  sales  of  sheet 
music  and  phonograph  royalties  have  practi¬ 
cally  disappeared  and  in  order  to  support  reason¬ 
ably  the  creative  art  of  music,  rates  charged 
under  the  copyright  law  for  licenses  to  publicly 
perform  it  are  being  substantially  increased  in 
all  fields.” 

The  local  representative  of  the  society  is 
Hillary  A.  Brown,  with  offices  at  1638  Lincoln- 
Liberty  Building.  He  has  been  in  the  local  field 
for  11  years  and  will  be  pleased  to  explain  any 
provisions  of  the  increases  to  local  exhibitors. 


BEST  FUN 

AND  THE 

BIGGEST  STAR  NAMES 


ARE  IN 


F  0  X  -  C^diLcatioruit 

SHORT 
SUBJECTS 


ERNEST 
T  R  U  E  X 


Aug  1'34  pg.  14 


Fox  short  subjects  are  the  ^ 
ideal  embellishment  for  a  fine 
feature,  the  perfect  finishing 
touch  for  a  good  show.  Short 
subjects  from  Fox  are  the 
product  of  the  industry’s  fore¬ 
most  specialists  in  this  field, 
Educational  Pictures  and 
Movietone  News,  Inc.Through 
big  star  name  values,  timeli¬ 
ness  and  high  entertainment 
quality,  they  build  the  kind  of 
program  that  makes  for  more 
satisfied  audiences  and  big¬ 
ger  theatre  profits. 


BUSTER 

KEATON 


Aug  1  ’34  pg.  15  * 


52  TWO -J1EEL  COMEDIES  FROM  EDUCATIONAL 


* 


12  STAR  PERSONALITY  8  CORONET  COMEDIES 


COMEDIES 

Every  month  a  Big  Comedy  featurette, 
with  a  name  ranking  with  your  better 
feature  attractions.  Starring  Ernest 
Truex  and  Buster  Keaton. 


The  series  of  star  comedy  hits  that  last 
season  featured  such  a  long  list  of  stage, 
radio  and  screen  favorites.  Starting  the 
new  year  with  Tom  l’atricola  and  Buster 
West  in  "Hi,  Hi,  Sailor." 


★ 

12  MUSICAL  COMEDIES 

Another  deluxe  series,  featuring  stars 
famous  for  successes  on  stage  and  radio 
.  . .  new  song  hits  . . .  snappy  amusement 
in  the  modern  mode. 

★ 


★ 

6  YOUNG  ROMANCE 

Sparkling  episodes  of  the  younger  set’s 
romantic  interludes.  A  series  about 
"charming  young  people"  who  can  love 
and  laugh.  Refreshingly  different. 

★ 


e  FROLICS  OF  YOUTH 

The  unbroken  record  of  big  first-runs  for 
the  first  series  of  "Frolics,"  featuring 
Junior  Coglilan  and  Shirley  Temple, 
proves  their  universal  popularity. 


8  MARRIAGE  WOWS 

Homely,  down-to-earth  comedies  that 
America  loves  because  they  are  America. 
Featuring  a  young  married  couple  in  the 
humor  of  the  modern  home. 


and 

SPECIAL  EXTRA 


BING  CROSBY 


Singing  The  Songs 
Thai  Made  Him  the 
Radio  Idolof  Millions 


4  SHORT  SUBJECT 

SPECIALS 


Offering  Big 

Feature  Profits 


"I  SURRENDER, 

DEAR” 
"ONE  MORE 

CHANCE” 

"DREAM  HOUSE” 

"BILLBOARD 

GIRL” 


jji 

A 


Presented  by 


58  ONE-REEL  GEMS  of  Music,  Mirth,  Thrills  and  Novelty 


10 


6 


26 


6 


10 


16 


Aug  1'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


All  Quiet  on  Boycott  Front  as  Exhibs 
Await  Modification  of  Philadelphia  Ban 


Cardinal’s  Return  May  Clear  Atmosphere — Decency 
Legion  Growing  Everywhere — Issue  Drops  Off  Front 
Pages  First  Time 


All  is  quiet  on  the  Philadelphia  boycott  front.  Following  the  announcement  at 
the  testimonial  dinner  given  Lewen  Pizor,  retiring  MPTO  president,  July  16,  that 
Stanley- Warner  and  independent  houses  would  not  close,  there  has  been  no  apparent 
change  in  the  local  situation.  The  return  of  Cardinal  Dougherty  may  clear  the 
atmosphere. 


Business  with  the  theatres,  as  soon  as  the 
first  hot  wave  broke,  picked  up  a  bit.  Daily 
papers  are  shoving  the  issue  inside  the  issues, 
instead  of  plastering  every  statement  on  the 
front  page. 

Announcement  of  the  new  cancellation  privi¬ 
lege  as  well  as  begining  of  the  coast  censor  ad¬ 
ministration  has  served  notice  that  Hollywood 
is  sincere  in  its  efforts  to  clean  up.  Attention 
of  the  Legion  of  Decency  is  now  directed  along 
all  fronts,  with  New  York  City  a  centre  of 
attention. 

The  Legion  of  Decency  campaign  is  contin¬ 
uing  but  the  initial  publicity  splurge  is  over. 
Calmly,  exhibitors  believe  that  an  evidence  of 
a  new  production  deal  will  result  in  a  lifting 
of  the  total  boycott  on  theatres  here. 

Answer  to  a  statement  by  Harry  M.  Warner, 
president,  Warners-First  National,  that  the  total 
boycott  is  un-American  brought  a  reply  here. 

Cardinal  Dougherty's  admonition  to  members 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  in  the  Arch¬ 
diocese  of  Philadelphia  to  refrain  frorp  attend¬ 
ing  "present  screen  plays  .  .  .  dangerous  to 
faith  and  morals”  was  vigorously  defended  by 
Right  Rev.  Gerald  P.  O’Hara,  Auxiliary  Bishop 
of  the  Archdiocese,  in  a  statement  in  which  he 
replied  to  an  address  made  previously  by  the 
movie  head. 

Warner,  in  a  speech  which  he  delivered  on  the 
West  Coast,  said  that  Cardinal  Dougherty’s 
"edict  .  .  .  making  it  a  sin  to  go  to  the  theatre 
is  un-American  because  it  endangers  the  live¬ 
lihood  of  many  people.” 

Bishop  O’Hara’s  response  was  that  the  advice 
to  stay  away  from  indecent  motion  pictures  is 
inherent  in  Catholic  morality,  and  that  “Car¬ 
dinal  Dougherty  has  merely  pointed  out  a  fact 
held  true  long  before  any  campaign  of  decency 
was  inaugurated.” 

As  to  the  suggestion  that  Catholics  abstain 
from  patronizing  any  theatres,  the  Auxiliary 
Bishops’  comment  was  that  “such  a  measure  is 
the  only  one  likely  to  prove  effective  in  bring¬ 
ing  about  a  wholesome  change  in  the  product 
r  f  the  motion  picture  industry  and  in  bringing 
it  about  quickly.” 

“He  is  perfectly  aware,”  he  said,  referring 
to  the  absent  prelate,  “of  the  solemn  promises 
made  and  brokrn  time  and  time  again  in  the 
'ist  bv  those  in  control  of  the  motion  picture 
output.” 

Local  musicians’  unions  also  went  on  record 
against  complete  boycott  of  theatres. 

Public  opinion  marshaled  against  objection¬ 
able  films,  rather  than  censorship,  is  favored 
by  the  Most  Rev.  John  T.  McNicholas,  Arch¬ 
bishop  of  Cincinnati,  in  a  report  on  “The  Prob¬ 
lem  of  Evil  Motion  Pictures”  appearing  in  the 
August  issue  of  The  Ecclesiastical  Revieiv. 

Dr.  McNicholas’s  report  is  made  as  chair¬ 
man  of  the  motion  picture  committee  of  the 


CODE 


GRAPHIC  ARTS  INDUSTRY 


-  REGISTRATION  NO. 

A-237-01824 


1934 


OKAYED.  The  above  emblem  has 
been  issued  to  JAY  EMANUEL  PUB¬ 
LICATIONS,  INC.,  by  the  Code 
Authority  for  the  periodical  publish¬ 
ing  and  printing  industry  as  a  symbol 
of  compliance  with  the  Graphic  Arts 
Code.  It  is  the  government’s  ap¬ 
proval  of  the  compliance  by  this  or¬ 
ganization  with  all  the  provisions  of 
the  Graphic  Arts  Code,  including  such 
matters  as  wages,  hours,  etc.,  as  well 
as  maintaining  a  high  standard  of 
operation.  Such  standard  means  a 
fair  and  honest  deal  for  all  adver¬ 
tisers,  strict  adherence  to  advertising 
rates,  circulation  and  print  number 
registered  with  the  Code  Authority 
and  free  editorial  independence.  JAY 
EMANUEL  PUBLICATIONS,  INC.,  is 
proud  of  this  emblem  as  a  further 
indication  of  its  high  standard  of 
magazine  publishing  for  more  than 
16  years. 


Roman  Catholic  Bishops,  which  inaugurated 
the  Legion  of  Decency.  In  urging  the  exten- 
tion  of  the  legion  he  says : 

"Public  opinion  must  now  be  aroused  and 
sustained  everywhere  as  the  strongest  barrier 
against  the  immoral  cinema.  Public  opinion, 
if  governed  by  good  sense  and  relentless  in  its 
opposition  to  the  evil  motion  picture,  has  many 
advantages  over  censorship  that  may  be  politi¬ 
cally  controlled  or  corrupted  or  may  become 
utterly  indifferent  to  the  common  weal. 

“All  this  calls  for  ceaseless  vigilance  and 
courage  and  prudence  that  must  make  the  posi¬ 
tion  of  the  church  respected.  It  may  be  well 
to  make  clear  that  the  church  is  not  asking  for 
a  solemn  type  of  picture  that  gives  no  real 


Position  Available 

WANTED — A  big  man  for  a  big  job. 
Applicants  should  be  able  to  prove 
ability  to  bring  together  MPTO  and 
IEPA  into  one  strong  local  organiza¬ 
tion. 

Do  not  apply  unless  you  have  high 
reputation,  sincere  interest  in  future  of 
independent  exhibitor. 

BOX  INDE,  care  of  THE  EXHIBITOR. 


amusement  and  no  opportunity  for  a  hearty 
laugh.  The  Catholic  Church,  in  a  true  sense, 
is  broad  and  liberal,  and  no  legitimate  recreation 
need  fear  her  opposition.” 

As  a  result  of  the  campaign  being  waged 
for  cleaner  movies,  the  writer  of  a  movie  col¬ 
umn  in  The  Harrisburg  Telegraph,  Harrisburg 
daily  newspaper,  printed  a  list  of  the  ten  best 
box-office  pictures  of  the  past  year  at  the  Col¬ 
onial,  Harrisburg. 

A  charter  was  granted  recently  by  the 
Dauphin  County  Court  for  "The  Clean  Amuse¬ 
ment  Association  of  America,”  which  plans 
to  promote  clean  amusement  in  Harrisburg  and 
to  direct  its  efforts  particularly  against  unde¬ 
sirable  motion  pictures,  stage  shows  and  liter¬ 
ature.  Headquarters  of  the  corporation  will 
be  maintained  in  Harrisburg  at  the  home  of 
J.  J.  Moore. 

Recent  organization  of  a  vigilance  committee 
sponsored  by  several  reform  and  church  or¬ 
ganizations  of  Wilmington  and  headed  by  Mrs. 
Edmund  Barsham  has  at  least  had  the  effect 
of  bringing  together,  in  the  Delaware  metrop¬ 
olis,  both  independent  and  chain  exhibitors  for 
co-operative  action. 

This  was  brought  about  largely  by  the  vol¬ 
untary  action  of  the  Warner  managers  and  A. 
I.  DeFiore,  president,  I  MPTO  of  Del,  and 
Eastern  Shore  of  Maryland.  Jack  Flynn,  divi¬ 
sion  manager,  Warners,  with  Jack  Mulhall, 
acting  district  manager,  and  Lew  Black  made 
the  overtures  to  the  independents,  including 
DeFiore,  Ben  Seligman,  Strand;  A.  J.  Belair, 
New  Rialto,  and  Ben  Schindler,  Avenue  ;  George 
Jones,  Loew’s.  One  of  the  first  conferences  they 
had  was  with  Clarence  J.  Pyle,  business  man¬ 
ager  of  the  New-Journal  company. 

So  far,  in  the  Wilmington  and  the  Del-Mar- 
Va  peninsula  district,  there  have  been  two 
church  organizations  to  definitely  call  a  partial 
ban  on  so-called  “bad  movies.”  These  are  the 
Wilmington  district  of  the  Wilmington  M.  E. 

' 'n-iference  and  the  Del-Mar-Va  Lutheran  Pas¬ 
tors’  Association. 

Wilmington  Plan 

A.  J.  DeFiore  manager,  Park  Theatre, 
Wilmington,  mindful  of  the  nation-wide  agita¬ 
tion  for  better  films  among  churchmen  and  re¬ 
formers,  has  introduced  an  innovation  in  his 
organization. 

DeFiore  expects  to  flare  a  woman,  probably 
a  resident  of  the  west  end  neighborhood  in 
which  his  house  is  located,  and  it  will  be  h  r 
business  to  contact  women’s  organizations, 
church  leaders  and  other  reform  and  educa¬ 
tional  organizations  to  keep  them  posted  on  his 
offerings  so  that  parents  of  children  may  be 
informed  of  the  nature  of  the  films  shown. 


Aug  1'34  pg.  17 


, . . 


& 


& 


$ 


# 


BOOKING 

LIKE 

WILDFIRE! 


d^ftck  JOfl  ES 


T L  RED  RIDER 


From  the 
story  by 
W.  C. 
Tuttle 


First  of  Universal’s  4  BIG  SERIALS  for  ’34-35! 

—  the  others: 

TAILSPIN  TOMMY 
RUSTLERS  of  RED  DOG 

CALL  of  the  SAVAGE 


STEP  OUT  WITH  UNIVERSAL  SERIALS! 


18 


Aug  1'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Rumblings  of  Fight  on  Open  Sunday 

Already  Heard  in  Upstate  District 


Blue  Law  Organizations  Fear  Onslaught  Is  Due  — 
WCTU,  Dry  League  Preparing — Legislature  Certain  To 
Be  Scene — Baseball  Held  Wedge 


Fearing  a  movement  is  under  way  to  rip  Sunday  wide  open  in  Pennsylvania, 
church,  civic  and  political  organizations  already  are  mustering  their  forces  for  what 
presages  to  he  in  the  1935  Legislature  the  most  hitter  battle  ever  waged  over  the 
State’s  so-called  blue  laws  of  1794.  _ 

Seven  months  in  advance  of  the  next  regular 
sessions  of  legislature,  the  forces  that  lost  a 
bitter  fight  last  year  to  prevent  Sunday  after¬ 
noon  baseball  and  football,  already  are  planning 
their  campaign  of  opposition  against  anticipated 
attempts  at  further  liberalization  of  the  Sabbath 
laws. 

Leaders  of  these  forces  assert  that  a  move¬ 
ment  has  been  started  to  “throw  Pennsylvania 
wide  open  after  1  P.  M.  on  Sundays,”  and  that 
“several  bills  designed  to  do  this  already  are 
being  drafted.”  One  of  these  alleged  bills,  they 
declare,  would  “merely  legalize  Sunday  amuse¬ 
ments.” 

“The  Pennsylvania  Women’s  Christian 
Temperance  Union  will  not  only  join  with 
other  advocates  of  the  old  Sabbath  law  to  block 
any  effort  to  further  change  the  act  of  1794,” 

Mrs.  Ella  B.  Black,  president  of  the  union,  an¬ 
nounced,  “but  will  fight  for  repeal  of  the  Sun¬ 
day  football  and  baseball  law.” 

Any  attempt  to  liberalize  further  the  old 
blue  laws  will  be  opposed  with  all  the  force  at 
the  command  of  the  New  Pennsylvania  Men’s 
Dry  League,  it  was  announced  recently  by  the  AT  FIRST  DIVISION.  Sam  Rosen 

executive  committee.  is  the  new  branch  manager  for 

-  First  Division  here. 


Operator  Available 

An  experienced  motion  picture  pro¬ 
jectionist  is  available  for  any  spot. 

Non-union,  he  can  operate  any  type 
machine. 

Address  Jesse  Abel,  2453  N.  54th  St. 


Rosen  Succeeds  Blofson 
in  First  Division  Post 

Veteran  Vine  Streeter  Now  Heads 

Local  Exchange 

Sam  Rosen  is  the  new  First  Division 
exchange  manager  for  the  Philadelphia 
territory,  succeeding  A1  Blofson,  resigned. 

Rosen  is  an  experienced  enchangemen,  having 
at  one  time  been  RKO  branch  manager  for  the 
local  district.  He  was  promoted  from  the 
ranks  into  that  post  after  serving  as  salesman. 

Following  his  resignation  from  that  place  he 
later  became  associated  with  Gaumont-British 
and  has  lately  been  handling  those  pictures  in 
the  local  territory. 

He  will  officially  take  over  his  new  duties 
August  6,  at  which  time  Blofson  enters  National 
Penn. 

First  Division’s  choice  of  Rosen  will  be  hailed 
by  exhibitors  who  have  dealt  with  him  during 
his  many  years  on  the  street. 


Independent  Theatre  First  Division  Announces  Its  Product  for 
Managers  Organize  Here  1934-1935  Season;  45  Features,  8  Westerns 


Body  Elects  Officers,  Plans 

Permanent  Home 

A  new  exhibitor  body  has  been  organ¬ 
ized  in  the  local  territory. 

Composed  of  younger  theatre  managers  who 
want  to  exchange  ideas  for  mutual  benefit,  the 
Independent  Theatres  Managers  was  born  at  a 
meeting  held  July  17. 

Barney  Cohen,  Benson  Theatre,  is  the  presi¬ 
dent,  with  Walt  Potamkin,  Cedar  Theatre,  sec¬ 
retary.  Other  officers  will  be  elected  later. 

The  organization  announces  that  it  is  not 
affiliated  with  any  other  exhibitor  group  and 
that  it  will  work  independently  along  new  lines. 

Another  meeting  was  scheduled  for  July  31, 
at  which  time  anouncement  of  permanent  quar¬ 
ters  was  to  be  made.  All  those  interested  can 
get  in  touch  with  either  of  the  officers  of  THE 
EXHIBITOR. 


Camden  House  Off 

Latest  advices  were  to  the  effect  that  the 
theatre  r  ported  to  be  built  at  5th,  Federal  and 
Arch,  Camden,  would  not  be  erected. 

A  hitch  in  getting  city  approval  on  leasing 
of  the  city-owned  ground  was  reported. 


Monogram,  Chesterfield  Head  List 
in  New  Year  —  11  Companies 
Represented  Nationally 

First  Division  will  release  45  features 
and  8  westerns  in  the  Philadelphia  terri¬ 
tory  during  the  season,  1934-1935. 

Announcement  of  the  company’s  product  was 
made  this  week. 

Harry  H.  Thomas,  president,  presenting  the 
lineup  to  exhibitors,  indicated  that  he  believes 
that  First  Division  will  top  everything  in  de¬ 
livering  a  real  showmanship  lineup  to  exhibitors. 

Nationally,  the  company  will  handle  the  pro¬ 
duct  of  11  independent  producing  companies, 
including  63  features. 

Twenty  Monogram  features  will  be  released 
in  New  York,  Philadelphia  and  eastern  Penn¬ 
sylvania,  Delaware  and  Northern  New  Jersey. 
They  include:  “Girl  of  the  Limberlost,”  “Girl 
of  My  Dreams,”  “Great  God  Gold,”  “Redhead,” 
“Honeymoon  Limited,”  “Sing  Sing  Nights.” 
“The  Nut  Farm,”  “The  Mystery  Man,”  “The 
Hoosier  Schoolmaster,”  “Women  Must  Dress,” 
“Murder  in  the  Stratosphere,”  “Keeper  of  the 
Bees,”  “A  Successful  Failure,”  "Reckless 
Romeos,”  “Mysterious  Mr.  Wong,”  “Million 


Dollar  Baby,”  “Tomorrow  s  Youth,"  “Cheers  of 
the  Crowd,”  “The  Healer.” 

Fight  Imperial  features  will  be  distributed  in 
Philadelphia,  Washington,  Atlanta,  Charlotte, 
and  New  Orleans.  They  are  eight  Wally  Wales 
Westerns. 

One  Goldsmith  production,  “I  Hate  Women,” 
will  be  handled  in  Boston  exchange  only.  One 
Willis  Kent  picture,  “Murder  in  the  Museum," 
will  be  handled  in  the  Washington  exchange 
only. 

National  coverage  will  be  given  three  First 
Division  productions,  one  of  which  is  “Convi  n- 
tion  Girl”;  two  Principal  films:  “Little  Dam- 
ozel”  and  “Chandu” ;  one  Du  World  feature 
entitled  “Bride  of  Samoa” ;  and  one  Romance 
production. 

First  Division  will  handle  also  the  18  Chester¬ 
field-Invincible  features  in  New  York,  Philadel¬ 
phia,  Buffalo,  Washington,  Albany,  Pittsburgh, 
Cleveland,  Cincinnati,  Detroit  and  Louisville. 

Eight  Liberty  productions  will  be  distributed 
in  Pittsburgh,  Cincinnati,  Cleveland,  Boston 
and  Louisville  exchanges.  They  are:  “No  Ran¬ 
som,”  “Cheaters,”  “When  Strangers  Meet," 
“Take  the  Stand,”  “Once  to  Every  Bachelor," 
“Two  Heads  on  a  Pillow,”  “School  for  Girls,1' 
"Without  Children.” 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Aug  1 T  34 


19 


FRIENDS  HONOR  PIZOR  AT  TESTIMONIAL.  Almost  200  friends,  film  men  and  civic  leaders  turned  out,  July  16,  to  tender  their 
respects  to  Lewen  Pizor,  retiring  president  of  the  MPTO.  The  dinner,  held  at  the  Bellevue-Stratford,  was  a  success.  ( Page  26) 


HELPING  THE  STORY.  Jeanette 
Porter  Meehan  discusses  “A  Girl  of 
the  Limberlost”  with  Marian  Marsh 
and  Louise  Dresser.  The  daughter 
of  Gene  Stratton  Porter  is  helping 
Monogram  film  the  famous  novel. 


REPRESENTS  ASCAP  HERE. 
Hillary  A.  Brown  is  local  repre¬ 
sentative  for  the  American  Society 
of  Composers,  Authors  and  Pub¬ 
lishers,  whose  increase  in  music 
rates  goes  into  effect  October  1. 
(Page  13) 


FRIENDS.  Carl  Laemmle,  Univer¬ 
sal  president,  chats  with  the  late 
Chancellor  Dolfuss,  Austria,  dur¬ 
ing  a  visit  he  recently  made  in  that 
country. 


JOINS  NATIONAL  PENN.  A1  Blof- 

son  has  resigned  as  manager  of 
First  Division  to  join  National  Penn 
Printing  Company.  ( Page  35) 


STUDIO  GUEST.  Jack  Warner  en¬ 
tertains  postmaster  general  James 
A.  Farley  on  a  set  at  the  Warner 
studio,  during  the  latter’s  visit  to 
to  the  coast. 


20 


Aug  1'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


THE  CODE  •  CASES  *  HEARINGS  •  BOARD  RULINGS  •  DEVELOPMENTS 


SCHEDULE: 

GRIEVANCE 
August  2 

William  Wolf  vs.  William  Goldman  and 
Integrity  Trust  Company  on  charge  of 
illegally  negotiating  for  lease  on  Band- 
box  Theatre. 

Harry  Freed  vs.  Stanley-Warner  on 
charge  of  illegally  negotiating  for  lease 
on  Seville  Theatre,  Bryn  Mawr. 

HEARINGS 
GRIEVANCE 
July  19 

RKO  Distributing  Corporation  vs. 
Fred  Wood,  Palace  Theatre,  Wilkes- 
Barre,  on  charge  of  fraudulent  transfer 
to  avoid  film  contracts. 

With  the  Palace  Theatre  making  no  appear¬ 
ance,  hearing  rested  after  attorney  Quinn  for 
RKO  presented  his  case.  Company  sought  to 
prove  that  after  difficulty  on  getting  dates,  the¬ 
atre  did  not  pick  up  pictures  and  corporate 
transfer  was  made.  Four  letters  sent  by  the 
board  to  Wood  remained  unanswered. 

Decision: 

The  evidence  presented  to  the  board  indicated 
conclusively  that  the  possession  of  the  Palace 
was  transferred  for  the  purpose  of  avoiding 
uncompleted  contracts  with  RKO  for  exhibition 
of  pictures.  Failure  of  Fred  Wood,  Joseph 
Zima,  William  Brown,  Arthur  Brown,  parties 
in  defense,  although  notified  to  appear,  was  con¬ 
strued  by  the  board  as  substantiating  testi¬ 
mony  of  complaint.  Palace  is  hereby  ordered 
and  directed  to  submit  necessary  play  dates  to 
RKO  with  21  days  of  date. 

ZONING 

July  20 

Wayne  Theatre  vs.  Ardmore  Theatre  on 
Unfair  clearance. 

Wayne,  through  attorney  Golder,  sought  to 
prove  that  the  Ardmore  was  not  entitled  to 
current  protection  over  it. 

Decision: 

Ardmore  to  play  7  days  ahead  of  Bala,  Nar- 
berth,  Bryn  Mawr,  Berwyn.  Ardmore  and 
Wayne  overlap.  Bala,  Narberth,  Bryn  Mawr, 
Wayne,  Berwyn  overlap.  Bala  and  Wynne 
overlap. 

Roxy  Theatre,  Northampton,  vs.  Savoy 
Theatre,  Catasaqua,  on  determination  of 
clearance. 

Decision: 

Northampton  and  Catasaqua  are  competitive 
and  theatre  buying  first  run  shall  have  7  days 
clearance  over  the  other.  Northampton  and 
Coplay  are  competitive  and  theatre  buying  first 
run  shall  have  14  days  clearance  over  the  other. 

Ambassador  Theatre,  regarding  rezon¬ 
ing  of  West  Philadelphia  sector. 

Decision: 

Due  to  the  fact  that  numerous  theatres  in  and 
aroui  d  West  Philadelphia  are  involved  and  due 
further  to  the  selling  season  being  so  far  ad- 


Sign  Assents  Now 

Although  a  lot  of  theatres  indicated 
that  they  would  like  to  have  a  further 
chance  to  re-open  the  code,  few  have 
taken  advantage  of  the  opportunity  to 
sign.  Local  board  secretary  Ziegler  asks 
all  theatres  to  write  in  and  let  him  know 
if  they  wish  to  take  advantage  of  the 
new  assent  privilege. 


vanced,  it  is  impractical  and  impossible  at  the 
present  time  to  rezone  the  above  territory  in¬ 
volved.  (Not  unanimous.) 

ZONING 

Revisions 

In  the  case  of  Narberth  vs.  Ardmore, 
heard  June  1. 

Revised: 

Ardmore  to  have  a  maximum  of  7  days  clear¬ 
ance  over  Narberth  on  such  pictures  that  play 
both  theatres. 

July  20 

In  the  case  of  Wayne  vs.  Ardmore. 

Ardmore  and  Wayne  are  overlapping  and  the 
theatre  buying  first  run  shall  have  7  days  clear¬ 
ance  over  the  other. 

July  27 

Astor  Theatre,  Atlantic  City,  vs.  Colon¬ 
ial  Theatre,  Atlantic  City,  on  excessive 
clearance  charge. 

Astor  Theatre  wanted  a  reduction  from  pres¬ 
ent  clearance  of  14  days.  Messrs.  Coplan  and 
Sloane  appeared  for  the  Colonial,  with  Messrs. 
Waxman  and  Aarons  for  the  Astor. 

Decision: 

Colonial  Theatre  to  have  a  minimum  of  7 
days  clearance  of  Astor  Theatre  in  such  pic¬ 
tures  that  play  both  theatres.  (Not  unanimous.) 

Appealed  to  Code  Authority 

Stanley-Warner  is  appealing  from  decision 
in  Astor-Colonial  case. 

Savoy,  Catasaqua,  is  appealing  from  de¬ 
cision  in  Roxy,  Northampton-Savoy  case. 

Ambassador,  West  Philadelphia,  is  appeal¬ 
ing  from  zoning  decision  on  West  Philadel¬ 
phia. 

Sidelights 

CODE  AUTHORITY  has  ruled  that  all  appeals  from 
local  zoning  board  decisions  will  be  held  in  the  zone  in 
which  cases  will  be  filed.  A  member  of  the  Code  Author¬ 
ity  will  be  delegated  to  sit  with  a  committee  to  be 
appointed. 

APPEAL  of  Camden  Drive-In  Theatre  from  decision 
of  local  beard  to  Code  Authority  in  case  involving  RKO 
was  dismissed  by  the  Code  Authority. 


Reopening  the  Code 

There  is  much  talk  these  days  of  re¬ 
opening  the  code. 

THE  EXHIBITOR  requests  its  readers 
to  declare  their  opinion  on  the  matter. 

Do  you  want  the  code  reopened? 
Drop  a  line  to  this  office  and  give  your 
reactions  to  this  problem !  It  is  one  that 
is  certain  to  face  the  industry  in  a  few 
months. 


Zoning  Board  Setting 
Odd  Policies  in  District 

So  It  Seems  at  Least  to 

Trade  Observers 

The  zoning  and  clearance  board  for  the 
local  territory  is  setting  some  new 
precedents. 

In  the  first  place,  the  board  has  gone  on 
record  as  refusing  to  rezone  West  Philadelphia, 
giving  reasons  cited  in  the  code  reports  here. 

In  the  second  place,  the  board  has  changed 
the  wording  of  two  decisions  handed  down 
weeks  ago.  Both  cases  were  accepted  by  both 
parties  involved  with  no  appeals  being  taken. 

The  zoning  board,  however,  changed  the 
wording,  an  act  which  is  certainly  setting  a  new 
precedent  in  zoning  matters. 

West  Philadelphia  won't  be  rezoned,  if  the 
local  board  has  its  way,  and  exhibitors  desiring 
a  change  will  have  to  wait  until  the  1935-1936 
season  to  get  it.  Regarding  the  changes  in 
wording  on  two  decisions  involving  Main  Line 
theatres,  the  decisions  now  conform  but  inas¬ 
much  as  participants  didn’t  squawk,  it  is  to  be 
wondered  why  such  changes  were  made. 

Code  Authority  Releases 
Report  on  Its  Finances 

Setup  in  Good  Condition,  Survey 

Shows 

It  has  cost  the  motion  picture  industry 
$70,846.59  to  finance  its  code  in  the  first 
six  months  of  its  existence,  according  io 
a  report  released  for  publication  by  John 
C.  Flinn,  executive  secretary  of  the  Code 
Authority. 

A  balance  of  $36,098.41  is  now  on  hand. 

The  period  covered  in  the  statement  is  from 
January  1,  to  June  30.  This  period  was  a 
formative  one  for  the  Code  Authority  aid  the 
mean  average  monthly  expense,  a  little  over 
$10,000,  is  smaller  than  the  amount  which  is 
being  expended  monthly  now  that  all  Regional 
Boards  have  been  set  up,  which  is  about  $25,000 
a  month. 

A  summary  of  the  report  shows  that  in 
the  period  covered  a  total  of  $107,145  was 
received.  Of  this,  the  advances  made  by  pro¬ 
ducer-distributor  members  to  be  applied  against 
the  assessments,  which  were  only  recei  tly  de¬ 
termined,  was  .81^700-  assessments  paid  by  ex- 

i  tors  totaled  $70,245  and  there  was  also  listed 
“loans  from  Nathan  Yamins.” 

The  actual  disbursements  amounted  to 
870,846.59,  but  the  repayment  of  the  Yamins 
loan  brought  this  figure  to  $71,046.59. 

Of  this  $34,184.74  was  spent  for  salaries, 
$6,336.02  for  transportation  and  hotel  expenses, 
$3,073.75  for  printing  and  $5,840.97  for  rent. 

( See  next  page ) 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Aug  1 ' 34 


21 


Catch 

THEM 

WHEN 

THEY’RE 

"SHOW 

SHOPPING" 


Nowadays,  people  shop  for  amuse¬ 
ments.  They  know  what  movie 
they  want  to  see.  They  know 
•what  star  they  want  to  see.  And 
in  Philadelphia,  they  do  their 
shopping  in  The  Record’s  Amuse¬ 
ment  Directory. 

This  first  and  only  complete 
amusement  guide  in  Philadelphia 
reaches  200,000  people  daily, 
300,000  on  Sunday.  For  only  30 
cents  a  day  you  can  tell  them 
who’s  playing  in  what  at  your 
theatre.  A  longer  listing  costs 
but  15  cents  a  line  more. 


The  RECORD 

Amusement  Directory 


offers  you  the  most  economical 
form  of  advertising  ever  presented 
to  Philadelphia  theatre-owners. 
Today  it  carries  the  listings  of 
most  theatres  in  the  Philadelphia 
district.  Does  it  carry  yours? 
If  not,  you’re  missing  an  un¬ 
equalled  opportunity  to  place  your 
attraction  before  actual  amuse¬ 
ment  buyers  at  the  very  moment 
when  they  are  choosing  their 
amusement.  To  insert  your  ad, 
just  call 


PHILADELPHIA 

RECORD 

CLASSIFIED  DEPARTMENT 

WALNUT  2300 


Sum  of  $4,053.82  was  spent  on  hotel  and 
transportation  expenses  by  various  executives. 

Collected  $107,145 

The  report  shows  that  for  the  six  months’ 
period  above  referred  to  the  Code  Authority 
collected  $107,145.  During  the  month  of  July 
producer-distributor  members  made  further  ad¬ 
vancements  to  be  applied  to  the  assessments  for 
the  first  half  of  the  year  1934,  when  such  as¬ 
sessments  are  determined,  of  an  additional  sum 
of  $13,000.  During  the  month  of  July  exhibi¬ 
tors  paid  further  assessments  amounting  to 
$7,428. 

Assessments  for  distributors  and  producers 
were  released  recently,  with  the  following  pay¬ 
ments  due : 

PRODUCERS 

$20,000  annually — Warners,  Paramount, 
Metro,  Fox,  UA,  RKO. 

$15,000  annually— Universal,  Columbia. 

Group  1 — independents  (annually)  :  $1500 — 
Monogram;  $900 — Majestic,  Mascot;  $600 — 
Liberty,  Invincible,  Chesterfield,  Walt  Disney, 
Educational,  International  Newsreel,  Sol  Les¬ 
ser,  Movietonews,  National  Screen,  Pathe 
News,  Hal  Roach,  Charles  Rogers,  Van 
Beuren. 

Group  2 — independents  (annually)  :  Auten, 
Beecroft,  Berke,  Bray,  Chaplin,  Cinelog,  Clif¬ 
ton,  Doane,  Fairbanks,  F.  and  M.,  Futter,  Gen¬ 
eral,  Halperin,  Hollywood,  Ideal,  Layman,  Lew- 
ens,  Lloyd,  Moser-Terry,  Premier,  Raspin, 
Remington,  Rice,  Screenart,  Sistrom,  West 
Coast,  WAfilms,  Chenowith,  Edwards,  Lang, 
Shores,  Mentone,  National  Cinema,  Marci, 
Photocrom,  Strickland. 

Importers,  miscellaneous,  exporters — National 
Screen,  Ameranglo,  Principal,  Amity,  Astor. 
Celebritv,  Edited,  Educational,  German  Ameri¬ 
can,  Goldman,  Ideal,  Mayfair,  Modern,  UFA, 
Vogel,  Von  Bechtalshein. 

EXCHANGES 

(Monthly) — Interstate  (Universal),  $24; 
Capitol,  First  Division,  Gold  Medal,  Hollywood, 
Majestic,  Masterpiece,  Preferred,  $12;  Neu- 
feld,  Peerless,  $6. 

Code  Authority  Refuses 
to  Reopen  Linker  Case 

Two  Other  Decisions  Also  Receive 

Same  Treatment 


The  Code  Authority,  in  a  unanimous 
decision,  has  refused  to  reopen  three 
cases  on  which  it  had  already  handed 
down  an  opinion. 

Included  in  the  trio  was  the  anneal  of  Louis 
Linker,  Ire.,  through  attorney  Michael  Egnal, 
from  the  Code  Authority  cV^sion  ir  the  case 
of  Linker  against  Stanley  Theatre,  Bridgeton, 
N.  J. 

Appealed 

Linker  filed  an  appeal  past  the  Code  Authority 
with  Divisional  Administrator  Sol  A.  Rosen¬ 
blatt,  but  when  the  later,  in  another  case,  said 
that  the  Code  Authority  was  the  final  court  of 
authority,  the  LinkerStanley  hearing  went  back 
to  the  Code  Authority. 

Ends  It 

The  body’s  refusal  to  reopen  the  case  ends 
the  matter. 


INSTALL 


RCA  VICTOR 
PHOTOPHONE 

OFFERING  YOU: 

•  A  Sound  Box  Office 
Attraction 

•  Complete  Ownership 

•  A  Self-Liquidating 
Investment 

PHOTOPHONE  DIVISION 

RCA  VICTOR  COMPANY,  Inc. 

Camden,  N.  J. 

A  Radio  Corporation  of  America  Subsidiary 


22 


Aug  1 '34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


A  Concise 
National  Survey 

• - 


TRADE  IN  REVIEW 


- • 

Glances  Outside 
the  Territory 


CODE 


Salary  Report  Gives 
Some  Interesting  Data 

Inquiry  into  the  salaries  of  film  stars,  di¬ 
rected  by  Divisional  Administrator  Sol  A.  Ros¬ 
enblatt,  ordered  by  the  President  when  he  sus¬ 
pended  provisions  of  the  code  making  payment 
of  unreasonably  excessive  inducements  to  talent 
an  unfair  trade  practice,  reveals  some  interest¬ 
ing  data,  statistically: 

Though  the  industry  suffered  a  loss  of  $19,589,393 
in  1933,  110  people  had  larger  salaries  than  President 
Roosevelt;  three  others  equalled  $75,000  annually,  the 
President’s  salary. 

One  actor  got  $315,000  for  the  year;  another 
$296,250.  Of  the  113  persons  receiving  high  salaries, 
51  were  actors,  28  directors,  22  executives,  9  pro¬ 
ducers,  2  writers  and  1  a  counsel. 

A  composite  of  all  production,  distribution  and  exhi¬ 
bition  showed: 

Assets  of  $938,158,000  and  net  profits  of  $21,59,000 
in  1931;  assets  of  $762,115,000  and  a  loss  of 
$41,364,000  in  1932;  assets  of  $667,785,000  and  a 
loss  of  $19,589,000  in  1933. 

It  showed,  also,  a  regular  payroll  of  $133,240,587  to 
48,275  employes  in  1931  and  a  payroll  of  $109,616,000 
to  47,422  employes  in  1933. 

In  1933  there  were  28,055  actors  and  actresses  who 
received  $25,834,977.  In  1931  there  were  20,503 
who  received  $37,077,527. 

Clerical,  office  and  service  employes  numbering  24,468 
last  year  received  more  than  7  per  cent  of  the  gross 
receipts,  the  highest  percentage  paid  any  single  classifi¬ 
cation  of  employes. 

The  performers  came  next  with  6.6  per  cent. 

The  industry  employed  287,661  extras  in  1933  and 
paid  them  an  average  of  $9.58  for  each  employment. 
This  compared  with  220,945  and  an  average  of  $11.03 
in  1931. 

The  highest  weekly  wage  reported  was  $25,000  to 
two  actors,  but  these  received  in  the  entire  year  of 
1933,  at  this  rate,  only  $76,666  and  $91,666,  respec¬ 
tively. 

Rosenblatt  recommended  in  his  report  to  Gen¬ 
eral  Hugh  S.  Johnson  continued  indefi¬ 
nite  suspension  of  the  code  provisions  dealing 
with  salaries.  He  suggested  the  creation  of  a 
committee  to  report  on  whether  film  artistic 
talent  should  not  work  for  a  minimum  salary 
base  and  a  percentage  of  receipts  on  their 
pictures.  The  committee  also  would  make 
recommendations  on  other  employment  and 
salary  problems. 

Zoning  Cases  Being 
Disposed  of  Quickly 

With  deadline  for  all  zoning  cases  set  as  July 
1,  and  any  cases  received  after  that  time  unable 
to  be  heard,  it  is  expected  that  zoning  boards 
will  be  completely  dormant  until  the  latter  part 
of  this  year  when  the  bodies  will  begin  hearing 
zoning  complaints  applicable  to  the  1935-1936 
deals. 

Selling  Held  Up 
By  Zoning  Work 

Selling  for  the  1934-1935  season  has  been 
held  up  in  many  sectors  because  certain  situa¬ 
tions  had  to  be  rezoned.  While  a  ruling  of  the 
Code  Authority  stops  any  more  zoning  cases 
from  being  filed,  present  controversies  have  to 
be  settled  immediately. 

Expect  to  Pass  500 
Mark  on  New  Assents 

With  the  re-opening  of  the  code  for  signing, 
it  is  expected  that  at  least  500  exhibitors  will 
take  advantage  of  the  privilege  and  sign.  The 
10%  cancellation  privilege  looms  as  one  big- 
reason  for  signing. 


Denver  Exhibitors 
Up  in  Arms 

Denver  exhibitors,  who  had  been  ordered  to 
stop  certain  practices,  while  one  of  the  larger 
chains  continued  to  have  a  drawing  for  an  auto¬ 
mobile  every  week,  has  threatened  to  disregard 
all  local  board  work  unless  radical  changes 
are  made.  Discrimination  by  the  local  board 
is  charged. 

Code  Authority  Clearing 
Up  Most  of  Appeals 

Thanks  to  the  new  appeal  system  installed, 
the  Code  Authority  is  clearing  its  docket  in 
preparation  for  the  new  system.  All  appeals 
before  the  board  are  expected  to  be  heard  within 
a  short  time. 

PRODUCTION 

Studios  Drop  Stories 
As  Purity  Reigns  Throughout 

Many  of  the  studios  have  either  dropped  or 
shelved  certain  properties  on  which  they  had 
placed  great  hopes.  Action  is  attributed  to  cur¬ 
rent  purity  drive.  Properties  are  valued  at 
at  least  $1,000,000. 

Check  on  Ad  Copy 
Also  Part  of  Drive 

There  will  be  a  direct  check  on  all  ad  copy 
sent  out  by  various  film  companies,  following 
a  conference  of  Carl  Milliken  of  the  Hays 
organization  with  various  heads  of  advertising 
and  publicity  departments. 

This  is  believed  a  direct  result  of  the  Holly¬ 
wood  censorship  progress. 

Production  Picks  Up 
After  Slight  Letdown 

Following  a  slight  letdown  in  projection 
caused  by  the  boycott  flurry,  production  is 
picking  up  on  the  coast.  While,  for  a  short 
time,  it  was  believed  likely  that  release  dates 
would  be  affected,  such  is  not  the  case.  Holly¬ 
wood  will  deliver  on  time. 

Universal  Shows 
Profit  in  Report 

Universal  Pictures  Company,  Inc.,  and  sub¬ 
sidiaries  show  a  profit  of  $31,001.27  for  the  six 
months  ending  April  28.  This  compares  with 
a  loss  in  the  same  period  a  year  ago. 

EXHIBITION 

MPTOA  Protests  Against 
Proposed  Screen  Guild  Plan 

The  MPTOA,  in  a  special  bulletin,  protests 
against  proposed  plan  by  which  the  Screen 
Actors’  Guild,  Hollywood,  plans  to  broadcast 
a  radio  program  weekly,  using  stars  of  the 
films.  Idea  would  be  commercial  with  a  spon¬ 
sor  and  proceeds  would  go  to  the  Guild. 
MPTOA  points  out  that  such  a  program  would 
be  unfair  to  the  present  time  and  would  keep 
people  from  the  movies.  It  asks  for  protests 
to  the  Guild. 


MPTOA  Fights  Unfair 
Non-Theatrical  Competition 

Ed  Kuykendall,  president,  MPTOA,  asks  all 
exhibitors  to  write  to  him,  regardless  of  affilia¬ 
tion,  in  order  that  he  may  take  steps,  as  chair¬ 
man  of  the  Unfair  Trade  Practice  Committee 
of  the  Code  Authority,  to  check  growing  non¬ 
theatrical  competition.  Free  shows  in  parks, 
etc.,  are  cited  to  show  how  the  evil  is  growing. 

Rev.  Tippy  Has 
Church  Movie  Plan 

Reverend  Dr.  Worth  M.  Tippy,  Federal 
Council  of  Churches,  has  a  plan  whereby 
churches  will  give  shows  on  Sunday,  showing 
suitable  pictures. 

He  estimates  that  5,000-100,000  churches  will 
be  affected,  if  plan  is  inaugurated. 

Allied  Asks  Cancellation 
For  All  Blacklist  Films 

Allied  States,  in  a  bulletin,  says  that  cancella¬ 
tion  privilege  should  include  all  pictures  con¬ 
demned  by  the  Legion  of  Decency,  not  just 
those  against  which  there  is  a  strong  public 
protest. 

Seek  Clarification  of 
Attitudes  on  Censorship 

National  Council  on  Freedom  from  Censor¬ 
ship,  unit  of  the  American  Civil  Liberties 
Union,  has  issued  a  statement  calling  on  the 
organizations  which  have  engendered  the  pub¬ 
licity  to  clarify  their  attitude  towards  state 
and  federal  censorship  of  the  movies  and  their 
plans  regarding  the  stage,  the  book  and  mag¬ 
azine  publications,  the  radio,  and  the  news¬ 
papers. 

Fights  on  Salacious 

Films  Continues  Everywhere 

The  fight  by  many  denominations  against 
salacious  films  continues  everywhere.  Catholics, 
Protestants,  Jews  all  have  united  against  ob¬ 
jectionable  films.  Complete  boycott  still  holds 
in  Philadelphia  territory,  affecting  all  Catholics. 
Pledges  to  support  fight  against  objectionable 
films  are  being  secured  by  all  faiths. 

Meanwhile,  in  Hollywood,  the  Censor  Code 
Administration  has  been  giving  certificates  to 
approved  films.  The  system  went  into  effect 
July  15.  A  fine  of  $25,000  against  any  pro¬ 
ducer  belonging  to  the  coast  association  who 
releases  a  picture  not  approved  by  the  censor 
code  had  been  provided  for. 

DISTRIBUTION 

Metro  Appeal  on 
“Rasputin”  Lost  Abroad 

Appeal  in  the  libel  suit  of  Princess  Yous- 
soupoff  in  England,  taken  by  attorneys  for 
Metro,  was  lost  by  the  company,  which  re¬ 
cently  dropped  a  $125,000  verdict  to  her.  She 
claimed  she  was  libelled  in  “Rasputin.”  Ex¬ 
hibitors  wondered  whether  there  would  be  any 
civil  suits  started  here. 


Aug  1'34  pg.  23 


CORRECTING  A  WRONG  IMPRESSION! 


The - 

“SCORE  CHARGE” 


ASCAP  is  informed  that  many  exhibitors  are  under  the  impression 
that  payments  made  by  them  to  film  exchanges  or  Producers  under  the 
above  heading  are  for  the  account  or  credit  of  ASCAP. 

Any  such  impression  is  entirely  erroneous. 

ASCAP  has  never  received,  does  not  now  receive,  and  will  not  in  the 
future  receive,  one  single  cent  of  the  monies  collected  from  exhibitors 
under  that  heading. 

ASCAP  has  no  connection  whatever,  directly  or  indirectly,  and  never 
has  had,  nor  any  dealings  with,  any  film  producer  or  exchange,  except  as  it 
may  have  licensed  the  performance  in  producer-owned  theatres  of  the 
music  copyrighted  by  its  members. 

ASCAP  will  be  grateful  to  any  exhibitor  who  will  promptly  inform  it 
of  any  instance  in  which  the  statement  is  made  that  “score  charges”  are 
collected  for  its  benefit — and  it  will  immediately  require  a  retraction  of 
such  misinformation  or  falsehood. 

ASCAP  hopes  that  the  producers  of  sound-pictures  who  have  billed 
exhibitors  for  so-called  “score  charges”  will  promptly  now  make  a  clear 
public  statement  to  exhibitors  of  just  what  this  item  covers.  We  think  this 
should  be  done : 

First:  Because  we  are  sure  the  producers  do  not  officially  desire  that 
their  object  in  making  this  charge  shall  be  camouflaged  under  false  colors, 
and 

Second:  Because  we  understand  the  exhibitors  generally  believe  that 
under  this  heading  they  have  been  the  victims  of  excessive  profiteering,  and 

Third:  All  concerned  should  know  the  actual  truth  of  the  reasons  for 
collecting  this  charge  and  where  the  money  goes  after  it  is  collected. 

Finally — ASCAP  collects  but  one  fee — and  will  never  collect  but  one 
— for  a  given  use  of  the  product  of  its  members — the  public  performance 
for  profit  of  their  copyrighted  musical  works. 


AMERICAN  SOCIETY  OF  COMPOSERS, 
AUTHORS  AND  PUBLISHERS 
1501  Broadway 
New  York 


July  25,  1934. 


Aug  1 1 34  pg.  24 


Paramount  Prepares  for  New  Season 


PRESIDENT.  Adolph  Zukor,  presi¬ 
dent,  is  one  of  the  main  reasons 
why  Paramount  has  progressed  so 
far. 


PRODUCTION  CHIEF.  Emanuel 
Cohen  guides  production  for  Para¬ 
mount  at  the  Hollywood  studios. 


DISTRICT  HEAD.  P.  A.  Bloch  is 
district  chieftain  for  Paramount  in 
the  Philadelphia  and  Washington 
area. 


SALES  MANAGER.  Besides  being 
sales  manager  for  Paramount, 
George  Schaefer  is  also  general 
manager  for  the  company. 


SUPERVISES  ZONE.  Joe  Unger 
is  divisional  manager  for  Para¬ 
mount  over  the  eastern  sector 
which  includes  the  local  office. 


BRANCH  LEADER.  Earle  Sweigert 
is  branch  manager  for  Paramount 
in  the  Philadelphia  territory. 


THEY  SELL  AND  BOOK.  Members 
of  the  local  Paramount  exchange’s 
selling  and  booking  forces,  pictured 
with  exchange  manager  Earle  Swei¬ 
gert.  Left  to  right:  Jack  Holman, 
Ulrich  Smith,  Mathew  Judge,  Her¬ 
man  Rubin,  Earle  Sweigert,  Ralph 
Garman,  Tom  Moore,  Ted  Aber. 
George  Beattie,  salesman,  and  B. 
Slaughter,  booking  department, 
were  absent  when  picture  was 
taken. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Aug  1'34 


25 


Paramount  Strong  on  Stars  and  Stories 

in  1934-1935;  Big  Names  Lead  Schedule 


“Popeye”  Outstanding 


Manpower  Strong  Point 
of  Paramount  Organization 


In  a  recent  survey  made  by  Jay 
Emanuel  Publications,  Inc.,  “Popeye” 
was  given  terrific  endorsement  by  ex¬ 
hibitors  as  a  business  builder.  It  was 
voted  one  of  the  outstanding  shorts  of 
this  or  any  other  season. 


Exchange  Chief  Sweigert  Tells  of 
Plans — No  Two  Reelers  But  Good 
Singles 

“To  completely  describe  the  product  to 
he  released  by  Paramount  during  the 
coming  season  would  really  be  impossible 
at  this  time,  hut  enough  of  the  production 
plans  are  now  available  to  outline  it  per¬ 
haps  more  fully  than  it  is  portrayed  and 
described  in  the  product  announcement 
book  which  is  already  in  the  hands  of 
most  exhibitors  in  the  territory,”  says 
Earle  Sweigert,  local  Paramount  exchange 
manager,  in  a  statement  to  The  Exhib¬ 
itor. 

Sweigert  went  on  to  say  that  during  the  past 
year  Paramount  has  discovered  and  developed 
some  of  the  outstanding  personalities  of  the 
entire  screen  world.  He  continued:  “This,  I 
am  sure,  will  not  be  denied  when  we  mention  a 
few — Mae  West,  Bing  Crosby,  Ben  Bernie, 
Burns  and  Allen,  Carl  Brisson,  Kitty  Carlisle, 
and  many  others. 

“Paramount’s  production  plans  propose  the 
following  lineup,  which  is  quite  formidable 
when  by  comparison  with  the  past  or  previous 
years,  you  notice  that  you  will  have  not  three 
or  four  or  perhaps  a  half  dozen  of  the  big  box 
office  attractions,  but  a  series  of  each  of  those 
attractions  which  have  already  proven  them¬ 
selves  at  the  box  office. 

“Analyzing  these  production  plans,  there  are 
(Mi  schedule  the  following : — 

2  Mat*  Wests — Gent  linen's  Choice,  Me  and  the  King. 

2  Marlene  Dietrichs — The  Scarlet  Empress,  One  to  be 

announced  (directed  by  Josef  von  Sternberg). 

3  Bing’  Crosbys — She  Loves  Me  Not,  Miriam  Hopkins 

and  Kitty  Carlisle:  Sailor  Beware,  New  York  stage 
hit;  Here  Is  My  Heart. 

2  Cecil  B.  DeMille  Specials — Cleopatra,  Claudette  Col- 

bert-Warren  Williams,  Henry  Wilcoxon;  The  Cru¬ 
sader  (tentative). 

3  Claudette  Colberts — The  Gilded  Lily,  Cary  Grant; 

Are  Men  Worth  It?  One  to  be  announced. 

4  George  Rafts — Limehouse  Nights.  Sylvia  Sidney-Anna 

May  Wong;  Rhumba;  two  more  to  be  announced. 

4  Gary  Coopers — Now  and  Forever,  Shirley  Temple- 
Carole  Lombard-Sir  Guy  Standing;  Lives  of  a 
Bengal  Lancer,  Cary  Grant-Frances  Drake-Richard 
Arlen-Sir  Guy  Standing;  Twenty  Hours  by  Air, 
Carole  Lombard;  one  to  be  announced. 

10  Special  All-Star  Productions — College  Rhythm.  Joe 
Penner-Lanny  Ross-Richard  Arlen-Lyda  Roberti- 
Jaek  Oakie-Geo.  Barbier;  Mrs.  Wiggs  of  the  Cab¬ 
bage  Patch,  Pauline  Lord-W.  C.  Fields-Zasu  Pitts- 
Evelyn  Venable-Kent  Taylor;  Ruggles  of  Red 
Gap,  Charles  Laughton-Mary  Bcland-Charles  Rug- 
gles-Sir  Guy  Standing-Fiances  Drake;  Love  Thy 
Neighbor.  Burns  and  Allen-Charles  Ruggles-Mary 
Boland- W.  C.  Fields- Alison  Skipworth  (the  “Six  of 
a  Kind”  sextette) ;  Mississippi,  Lanny  Ross-W.  C. 


Company  Always  Built  From 
Within  Ranks 

Manpower  has  always  been  one  of  the 
reasons  why  Paramount  has  progressed. 

With  Adolph  Zukor,  president,  one  of  the 
organizers  of  the  company  and  others  setting 
records  for  long  time  service  with  the  organiza¬ 
tion,  Paramount  has  always  built  from  the 
ranks. 

The  present  leaders,  Emanuel  Cohen,  produc¬ 
tion  head;  George  Schaefer,  general  manager; 
Joe  Unger,  eastern  division  manager,  have  all 
given  many  years  to  Paramount. 

Within  the  branches,  too,  one  finds  that  the 
company  has  always  taken  care  to  boost  the 
men  who  are  worthy. 

As  a  result,  one  finds  that  Paramount’s  roll 
is  made  up  of  men  who  have  grown  up  with  the 
company.  They  are  all  sold  on  Paramount  and 
they,  too,  manage  to  convey  their  confidence  to 
the  exhibition  faction. 


Fields-Evtdvn  Yenable-Grace  Bradley;  Big  Broad¬ 
cast  of  1935,  Cast  not  complete.  In  addition  to 
Joe  Penner-Ben  Bernie-Joe  Morrison-Jessica  Drag- 
onette  it  will  include  only  the  most  popular  radio 
artists:  All  the  King’s  Horses,  successful  stage 
show,  Carl  Brisson  and  Kitty  Carlisle;  The  Milky 
Way,  prize  fight  story — might  feature  Max  Baer; 
One  Night  Stand,  Ben  Bernie-Jack  Oakie-Gertrude 
Miehael-Joe  Morrison-Grace  Bradley-Alison  Skip- 
worth;  Pursuit  of  Happiness,  most  sought  after 
stage  hit.  Francis  Lederer-John  Bennett-Charles 
Ruggles-  M  a  r  y  B  c  land. 


Paramount  Building 

Paramount  is  building  toward  the 
future.  In  its  feature  lists,  it  includes 
many  new  faces  who  will  be  stars  in  the 
years  to  come. 

As  an  organization  which  has  given 
the  industry  some  of  its  biggest  names, 
it  has  always  tried  to  attract  new  faces, 
new  stars. 

Result  is  that  Paramount  can  always 
be  depended  upon  to  present  new  draws 
to  the  industry. 


“Above  you  see  listed  thirty  (30)  sure  fire 
box  office  attractions,  or  practically  half  of  the 
proposed  total  of  64  features  announced.  Ex¬ 
tensive  plans  are  under  way  to  make  this  beyond 
a  doubt  Paramount’s  banner  year.  Some  addi¬ 
tional  pictures  in  preparation  are  the  following, 
and  many  of  these  will  undoubtedly  prove  to 
be  outstanding  when  ready  for  release — 

Shoe  the  Wild  Mare — Most  sought  after  book  of  tie- 
year,  Henry  Wilcoxon-Charles  Bickford-Roscoi- 
Karns-Sir  Guy  Standing. 

Desire — Sylvia  Sidney. 

The  End  of  the  World — Cast  later. 

Case  Against  Mrs.  Ames — Carole  Lombard-Lee  Tracy. 

Back  Porch — W.  C.  Fields. 

People  Will  Talk — Charles  Ruggles-Mary  Boland-Ida 
Lupino-Kent  Taylor. 

You  Belong  to  Me — Helen  Mack-Lee  Tracy. 

Ladies  Should  Listen — Cary  Grant-Frances  Drake- 
Edward  Everett  Hortcn-Geo.  Barbier-Nydia  West 
man. 

Enter,  Madame — Cast  later. 

Crime  Without  Passion — A  Ben  Hecht-Chas.  Mac- 
Arthur  production. 

A  Second  Hecht-MacArthur — With  Jimmy  Savo. 

Wagon  Wheels — Randolph  Scott-Baby  LeRoy. 

Home  on  the  Range — Special  Western. 

“Our  short  subject  plans  this  year  do  not  in¬ 
clude  any  two-reel  subjects  and  the  various 
series  of  one-reelers  allow  us  to  improve  this 
important  part  of  the  Paramount  program  by 

ding  to  it  outstanding  headliners  and  varieties. 
A  most  important  addition  is  the  six  Color 
Classics,  the  first  of  which  is  Cinderella.  These 
color  classics,  in  three  to  five  colors,  feature 
a  new  process,  which  has  been  patented  by  the 
Fleischer  studio.  This  gives  the  pictures  a  third 
dimension,  something  never  before  shown  in 
cartoons.  Popeye’s  popularity  and  also  Betty 
Boop’s  is  gaining  by  leaps  and  bounds  with 
each  new  release.  Paramount’s  Pictorials  and 
fhe  G  rantland  Rice  Sportlights  round  out  the 
100  proposed  single-reel  releases. 

“Of  course  two  issues  of  Paramount  News, 
the  best  in  the  field,  will  continue  each  week 
and  Paramount  News  will  enjoy  wider  distri¬ 
bution  this  year  than  ever  before. 

“Paramount,  of  course,  reserves  the  right  to 
make  such  changes  in  its  schedule  as  are  for  the 
best  interests  of  the  exhibitors.  These  changes, 
generally,  are  made  because  of  changing  trends 
but  in  all  cases,  they  are  for  the  best.  Para¬ 
mount  believes  that  such  flexibility  helps  the 
exhibitors  and  gives  greater  protection.” 


SOME  OF  THE  PARAMOUNT  HIGHLIGHTS.  Shots  from  forthcoming  Paramount  pictures  of  the  new  season,  including  Claudette 
Colbert  as  “Cleopatra”;  Henry  Wilcoxon;  Miriam  Hopkins  in  “She  Loves  Me  Not”;  Warren  William  in  “Cleopatra”;  Marlene  Dietrich 
in  “The  Scarlet  Empress,”  and  Bing  Crosby  and  Kitty  Carlisle  in  “She  Loves  Me  Not.” 


26 


Aug  1'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Advice  on  Booking 

Bob  Lynch,  Metro  manager,  asks  co¬ 
operation  of  all  exhibitors  on  a  booking 
matter. 

When  an  exhibitor  is  getting  a  date 
changed,  please  remind  the  bookers  to 
move  the  dates  of  the  theatres  that  fol¬ 
low.  With  bookers  handling  so  many 
houses,  it  isn’t  always  possible  to  re¬ 
member  everything.  If  an  exhibitor  will 
make  it  his  business  to  remind  the 
booker  of  changing  the  runs  following, 
all  troubles  will  be  averted.  Lynch 
asks  exhibitors  to  co-operate. 


The  American  public  loves  entertainment,  and  dur¬ 
ing  t lie  depressed  times,  this  industry  stood  up  and 
bore  the  brunt  of  the  burden.  The  theatres  were  kept 
open  against  great  odds — they  were  kept  open  in  order 
to  preserve  the  community — they  were  kept  open  in 
order  for  the  exhibitors  to  try  to  build  up  and  re¬ 
establish  the  thought  in  the  minds  of  the  American 
public  to  take  away  the  sombre  aspect  of  the  de¬ 
pression,  and  to  re-create  in  their  minds  appreciation 
in  the  stability  of  the  American  government  in  its 
protection  of  its  people. 

Hut  the  exhibitor  nas  been  the  target  at  which  all 
forces  have  directed  their  onslaught.  The  exhibi¬ 
tor  is  like  any  other  citizen;  he  has  his  family;  his 
children;  he  does  not  cater  to,  strive  for,  nor  encour¬ 
age  the  showing  cf  anything  on  his  screen  that  would 
not  be  permissible  for  his  family  to  witness.  The 
hue  and  cry  for  cleaner  pictures,  the  criticism  of  the 
screen,  the  boycott  of  the  theatre,  is  unjust  towards 
the  exhibitor. 

The  exhibitor  has  at  all  times  endeavored  to  main¬ 
tain  a  theatre  in  answer  to  the  demands  of  the 
patrons — the  great  American  public.  It  is  unfair 
for  any  force  to  say  that  the  exhibitor  is  only  inter¬ 


ested  in  the  sound  of  the  “shekels”  in  the  box-office. 

The  theatre  man  is  interested  in  the  development 
of  the  community.  He  takes  much  pride  in  all  civic 
activities. 

I  offer  no  criticism  on  any  movement  that  has  been 
made  towards  the  so-called  purification  of  the  screen, 
but  I  do  say  publicly,  it  is  unfair  to  say  that  the 
exhibitor  or  the  theatre  is  a  sinner,  is  a  criminal; 
and  is  guilty  of  the  violations  of  all  moral  codes, 
without  giving  that  exhibitor  a  fair,  unbiased  and 
unprejudiced  trial. 

My  friends,  it  was  not  my  purpose  to  go  into 
lengthy  discourse  on  the  subject  of  clean  pictures, 
but  1  do  want  to  emphasize  one  fact,  and  that  is, 
that  I,  as  an  exhibitor,  know  and  I  am  speaking  on 
behalf  of  every  exhibitor,  that  an  exhibitor  wants 
that  which  is  clean;  that  the  exhibitor  will  co-oper¬ 
ate  along  constructive  and  sane  methods  with  every 
force  to  bring  about  a  cleaner  screen.  The  exhibi¬ 
tor  does  not  make  pictures,  and  I  firmly  believe,  that 
the  producer  is  not  in  business  for  the  purpose  of 
making  bad  pictures,  or  unclean  pictures  and  feel 
certain  no  one  will  have  any  cause  to  complain  in 
the  future  with  the  new  production  code. 


Local  Industry  Honors 
Lewen  Pizor  at  Banquet 

Lewen  Pizor,  retiring  president  of  the 
MPTO,  was  paid  signal  honor  at  a  testi¬ 
monial  dinner  given  him  at  the  Bellevue- 
Stratford,  July  16. 

150  friends  and  civic  leaders  turned  out  to 
make  the  occasion  a  memorable  affair.  Besides 
leaders  in  the  industry,  those  attending  included 
women’s  club  leaders  and  state  figures.  The 
meeting  also  served  notice,  through  various 
spokesmen,  that  despite  the  ban  there  would  be 
no  closing  of  theatres  by  either  Stanley-War- 
ner  or  the  independents.  Joseph  Bernhard,  head 
of  Warner  theatres,  made  the  statement. 

Louis  Nizer,  secretary  of  the  New  York  Film 
Board  of  Trade  and  prominent  attorney,  was 
imported  as  toastmaster  for  the  affair  and  made 
a  signal  impression.  It  was  his  first  industry 
appearance  here  and  he  scored. 

Speakers  at  the  dinner  included  Charles 
Segall,  Judge  John  W.  Kephart,  State  Supreme 
Court,  Joseph  Bernhard,  Ed  Kuykendall,  presi¬ 
dent,  MPTOA.  On  the  dais  were  Eric  M. 
Knight,  Leonard  Schelesinger,  Mike  Lessy, 
Charles  Segall,  Lewen  Pizor,  Ed  Kuykendall, 
Louis  Nizer,  Abe  Sablosky,  invited  clubwomen 
guests  and  others. 

Bernhard  made  a  stirring  address,  stating  the 
position  of  the  industry  and  indicating  that  hun¬ 
dreds  of  organizations,  individuals,  etc.,  wanted 
houses  to  stay  open.  In  keeping  them  open,  he 
was  acceding  to  their  demands. 

He,  too,  denounced  the  boycott  as  a  reflec¬ 
tion  on  the  Pennsylvania  Board  of  Censors, 
described  by  him  as  “one  of  the  strictest  in 
existence.” 

“We  feel,”  he  said,  “that  the  board  has 
leaned  over  backwards  to  condemn  objectionable 
pictures.  Any  action  condemning  motion  pic¬ 
tures  as  a  whole  necessarily  condemns  the  board, 
ar.d  we  wish  to  assure  the  members  of  the  board 
that  we  defend  them  from  this  unwarranted 
attack.” 

Mrs.  Gustav  Ketterer  also  disapproved  of 
closing  theatres.  Justice  John  W.  Kephart  said 
probably  10%  of  pictures  were  objectionable. 
He  agreed  a  boycott  of  everything  was  unfair. 

Pizor  made  a  brief  sp  ech,  thanking  everyone. 
He  was  presented  with  a  watch,  suitably  en¬ 
graved,  a  wardrobe  case  from  the  IATSE, 
local  307,  and  some  flowers  from  Jack  Berison, 
Berio  Vending. 

Pizor,  in  his  addre  s,  said,  in  part : 

My  friends,  this  is  a  peculiar  industry  in  which 

we  are  engaged.  We  feel  the  effects  of  every  little 

turn,  both  economically,  politically,  civically  and 

otherwise. 


THAT 


WOULD 

YOU 

BUY  A  CAR 
HAD  NO  SPRINGS 

•  If  your  seats  are  hard,  lumpy,  and 
uncomfortable,  you’ve  just  about  as 
much  chance  of  getting  and  holding 
patronage  as  a  manufacturer  who 
turns  out  a  springless  car.  Get  the 
jump  on  your  competition  by  reseating 
with  comfortable,  upholstered  chairs. 


Ask  Us, 

“How  can  I  reseat  and  pay 
for  new  chairs  conveniently?” 


American  Seating  Company 


Makers  of  Dependable  Seating  for  Theatres  and  Auditoriums 
General  Offices:  Grand  Rapids,  Michigan 
BRANCHES  IN  ALL  PRINCIPAL  CITIES 


Wl  DO  OUH  fAHT 


m 


"WE’LL  STRING  A 


Leading  exhibitors  of  the  United  States  and  Canada,  representing  1500  theatres,  tell  Paramount 
executives  of  their  confidence  in  forthcoming  product.  In  this  group  are: 

First  Row:  Nathan  Goldstein,  Springfield,  Mass.;  Ralph  Branton,  Omaha;  John  Bafaban,  Chicago; 
M.  A.  Lightman,  Memphis;  Adolph  Zukor;  Emanuel  Cohen;  Carl  Hoblitzelle,  Dallas;  Sam  Dembow, 
Jr.;  N.  L.  Nathanson,  Canada;  M.  B.  Comerford,  Scranton;  Harry  Nace,  Phoenix. 

Second  Row:  H.  L.  Kincey,  Charlotte;  J.  R.  Blank,  Des  Moines;  George  Zeppos,  Wheeling;  Bob 


LEADING  EXHIBITO 
STATES  AND  CANADA 


Aug  1’ 34  pg.  29 


Wilby,  Alabama  &  Tennessee;  Bob  O'Donnell,  Dallas;  George  J.  Schaefer;  P.  K.  Johnston,  Dallas; 

Hunter  Perry,  Charlottesville;  J.  Cfemmens,  Beaumont;  Louis  Marcus,  Salt  Lake  City. 

Third  Row:  W.  K.  Jenkins,  Atlanta;  Col.  Lucas,  Savannah;  Barney  Balaban,  Chicago;  E.  V.  Richards, 

New  Orleans;  John  Friedl,  Minneapolis;  A.  H.  Blank,  Des  Moines;  Marty  Mullin,  Boston;  Sam 
Pinanski,  Boston;  Harold  Robb,  Dallas;  M.  Ruben,  Chicago;  Carl  Linz,  Dallas;  E.  Rowley,  Little  Rock. 

Back  Row:  Carl  Bamford,  Asheville. 

RS  OF  THE  UNITED 
TELL  PARAMOUNT 

•  •  •  for  they  know  that 


PARAMOUNT’S 

Aug  1  34  pg.  30  Only  players  that  are  reaching 

and  PARAMOUNT  STARS  will 


•  "Gentlemen’s  Choice"  •  •  •  and  one  other 


pictures  •  •  ♦"The  Scarlet  Empress,"  with  John  Lodge,  Sam 
Jaffe,  Louise  Dresser.  Directed  by  Josef  Von  Sternberg  •  •  • 
and  one  other  as  yet  untitled 


pictures,  including  Cecil  B.  De  Mille’s  "Cleopatra"#  #"Are  Men 
.  Worth  It?"#  #"The  Gilded  Lily",  with  Cary  Grant  and  a  star  cast 


GARY  COOPER 


BING  CROSBY 


W.  C. 


pictures,  including  "Now  and  Forever,"  with  Carole  Lombard 
and  Shirley  Temple  •  •  •  "Lives  of  a  Bengal  Lancer,"  with 
Richard  Arlen,  Katherine  De  Mille,  Cary  Grant  and  Sir  Guy 
Standing  •  •  •  "20  Hours  by  Air,"  with  Carole  Lombard  and 
another  picture  to  be  announced 

pictures,  including  "She  Loves  Me  Not,"  with  Miriam  Hopkins, 
Kitty  Carlisle,  Lynne  Overman,  Warren  Hymer#  •  #"Here  Is  My 
Heart,"  with  Kitty  Carlisle  •  •  #"Sailor  Beware"  with  a  star  cast 

pictures,  including  "Mississippi,"  with  Lanny  Ross  and  Evelyn 
Venable  •  •  •  "Love  Thy  Neighbor"  •  #  •  "Back  Porch" 
with  a  cast  to  be  selected 


4  pictures,  including  "Ladies  Should  Listen,"  with  Frances  Drake, 
Edward  Everett  Horton,  George  Barbier,  Charles  Ray  •  •  • 
"Lives  of  a  Bengal  Lancer,"  •  •  •  "Eyes  of  the  Eagle,"  with 
Frances  Drake  •  •  •  and  one  other 

•  ••"She  Loves  Me  Not,"  with  Bing  Crosby/ and  other  pictures 


Charles 

LAUGHTON 


picture  •  •  •  Harry  Leon  Wilson’s  hilarious  classic  "Ruggles  of 
Red  Gap,"  with  Charlie  Ruggles,  Mary  Boland.  Directed  by 
Leo  McCarey 


if  it’s  a  PARAMOUNT  PICTURE 


STAR  LIST  U  HOT 


the  peak  of  popularity. 


Aug  1'34  pg.  31 


make  these  Pictures  in  1934-35 


pictures,  including  '-Now  and  Forever, "with  Gary  Cooper  and 
Shirley  Temple  •  •  •"Rhumba,"  with  George  Raft  •  •  «"Case 
Against  Mrs.  Ames,"  with  Lee  Tracy  •  •  •  "20  Hours  by  Air," 
with  Gary  Cooper 


■J  "College  Rhythm,"  with  Lanny  Ross,  Richard  Arlen,  Joe 
Morrison,  Lyda  Roberti.  Directed  by  Elliott  Nugent 


GEORGE  RAFT 


pictures,  including  "Limehouse  Nights,"  with  Anna  May 
Wong  and  Montague  Love  •  •  •"Rhumba, "with  Carole  Lombard 
•  •  •  "One  Night  Stand,"  with  Ben  Bernie  and  one  other 
picture  to  be  announced 


pictures,  including  "College  Rhythm,"  with  Joe  Penner,  Jack 
Oakie,  Lyda  Roberti,  George  Barbier  •  •  •  "Mississippi,"  with 
W.  C.  Fields  •  •  •  "Big  Broadcast  of  1935" 

pictures,  including  "Desire".  •  •  and  two  others  to  be  announced 


pictures,  including  "Case  Against  Mrs.  Ames,"  with  Carole 
Lombard  •  •  *"You  Belong  to  Me," with  Helen  Mack  and  Lynne 
Overman  •  •  •  "Lemon  Drop  Kid,"  a  Damon  Runyon  story 


CHARLIE  RUGGLES 
&  MARY  BOLAND 


^  pictures  including  "The  Pursuit  of  Happiness"*  •  •  "People 
Will  Talk,"  with  Ida  jLupino&  KentTaylor..."LoveThyNeighbor" 
with  George  Burns,  Grade  Allen,  W.  C.  Fields  &  Alison  Skipworth 


BETTY  B 


box  office  cartoons  from  the  Little  Sweetheart  of  the  Screen 


it’s  the  best 


show 


i  n 


town! 


Aug  1 1 34  pg.  32 


PARAMOUNT  H 
and  the  people 


v  tiofe* 

pa*3'? 

tt*&  ** 


TheCASE  AGAINST 
MRS.  A  M  E  S' 


20  HOURS  BY  AIR 


LEMON  DROP  KID' 


THE 

MARE 


Novels  and  Stories 

Alice  Hegan  Rice's  famous  story  and  play.  One  of  the 
world’s  most  popular  and  best-loved  books.  With  Pauline 
Lord,  W.  C.  Fields,  ZaSu  Pitts,  Evelyn  Venable  and  Kent 
Taylor.  Directed  by  Norman  Taurog. 

Francis  Yeats-Brown’s  best-selling  book.  Filmed  as  a 
gigantic  panorama  of  life,  love  and  thrilling  odventure 
in  mysterious  India.  With  Gary  Cooper,  Cary  Grant, 
Richard  Arlen,  Frances  Drake  and  Sir  Guy  Standing. 
Directed  by  Henry  Hathaway. 

Harry  Leon  Wilson’s  hilarious  classic,  read  by  millions  of 
Saturday  Evening  Post  readers  and  favorite  novel  of 
thousands.  With  a  cast  headed  by  Charles  Laughton, 
Charlie  Ruggles,  Mary  Boland  and  Sir  Guy  Standing. 
Directed  by  Leo  McCarey. 

Arthur  Somers  Roche’s  famous  story  that  5,000,000 
people  avidly  read  in  the  recent  issues  of  Collier’s.  With 
Lee  Tracy  and  Carole  Lombard.  Director  to  be  selected. 

By  Frank  Dazey  and  Bogart  Rogers,  famous  war  ace  and 
flyer.  This  story  will  soon  be  read  by  millions  of  people 
as  a  sensational  serial  in  Liberty  Magazine.  Gary  Cooper 
and  Carole  Lombard  will  co-star  in  this  picture. 

By  Damon  Runyon,  the  most  popular  writer  in  motion 
pictures  today.  With  Lee  Tracy  and  Helen  Mack. 

Gene  Fowler's  best-selling  novel.  With  Henry  Wilcoxon, 
Roscoe  Karns  and  a  cast  of  skilled  players  to  be  selected. 

The  exciting  McCall’s  Magazine  story  by  Stephen 
Morehouse  Avery.  The  interest  of  thousands  of  enthusi¬ 
astic  readers  caused  us  to  purchase  this  story  and  put  it 
on  the  screen.  A  large  cast  of  stellar  players  will  be 
headed  by  Sir  Guy  Standing. 


AS  (jheaf  STORIES 

to  put  in  them! 


SHE  L  O 
ME  N 


THE  PURSUIT 
OF  HAPPINESS' 


SAILOR  BEWARE 


ALL  THE 
KING'S  HORSES' 


THE  MILKY  WAY' 


HER 

MASTER'S  VOICE' 


Broadway’s  Biggest  Plays 

Unanimously  chosen  as  the  year’s  most  hilarious  comedy. 
300  performances  to  date,  and  all  of  them  S.  R.  O.l  As 
a  picture  it  will  star  Bing  Crosby  and  Miriam  Hopkins, 
with  Kitty  Carlisle,  Lynne  Overman,  George  Barbier 
Warren  Hymer.  Directed  by  Elliott  Nugent. 


Another  big  Broadway  hit.  28  weeks,  250  performances 
—  all  of  them  capacity.  With  Francis  Lederer,  Joan 
Bennett,  Charlie  Ruggles,  Mary  Boland,  Walter 
Kingsford,  Grace  Bradley,  Miner  Watson.  Directed  by 
Ralph  Murphy. 

30  weeks,  290  performances.  One  of  the  most  uproar¬ 
ious  comedies  of  all  times.  This  will  be  seen  on  the  screen 
as  a  comedy  with  music,  starring  Bing  Crosby. 


One  of  the  most  successful  musical  comedies  of  the 
year.  Enjoyed  long  runs  both  in  New  York  and  Chicago. 
Recently  bought  for  Jack  Oakie,  Carl  Brisson,  and  Kitty 
Carlisle,  the  combination  that  scored  such  a  big  success 
in  Earl  Carroll’s  "Murder  at  the  Vanities". 


Broadway’s  Spring  sensation  —  the  play  that  made  an 
overnight  success  in  New  York.  Just  purchased  as  a 
special  vehicle  for  Jack  Oakie  who  will  be  supported  by 

Helen  Mack,  Grace  Bradley,  Fred  MacMurray. 

Karel  Capek’s  brilliant  play  which  scored  such  a  hit  in 
New  York  when  produced  by  the  Theatre  Guild  several 
years  ago.  Made  into  an  amazing  spectacular  produc¬ 
tion.  With  an  all-star  cast.  Directed  by  Mitchell  Leisen. 

'There’s  a  laugh  in  practically  every  line',  says  Robert 
Benchley  in  the  New  Yorker.  Played  220  performances 
to  packed  houses  this  year.  Cast  to  be  selected. 


. 


i  with  CLAUDETTE  COLBERT,  WARREN  WILLIAM 
HENRY  WILCOXON 

Ion  Keith.  Joseph  Schildkrout,  C.  Aubrey  Smith, 
Gertrude  Michoel  and  8000  supporting  ployers 


Aug  1  ’34  pg.  33 


Aug  1'34  pg.  34 


Jjfe  ^dMembers 

Jacob  P.  Adler  * 
Belle  Baker 
A.  J.  Balaban 
Leonard  Bergman 
Irving  Berlin 
Nat  Bernard 
Sam  Bernard  * 

Wm.  Block 
Paul  Block 
Paul  Block,  Jr. 
Frederick  Brown 
David  Bernstein 
Eddie  Cantor 
Jimmie  Cooper 
Henry  Dazian 
Felix  F.  Feist 
Leo  Feist  * 

Donald  Flamm 

H.  B.  Franklin 
Samuel  Forrest 
Wm.-  Fox 
Daniel  Frohmin 

I.  J.  Fox 
Morris  Gest 
A.  S.  Gilbert 
Francis  Gilbert 
I.  N.  Gilbert 
Sallie  S.  Goldsmith 
Maurice  Goodman 
Bessie  Gottlieb 
Abraham  Greenberg 
Samuel  H.  Golding 
Nan  Halperin 

Sam  H.  Harris 
Marcus  Heiman 
Fanny  Henning  * 
Houdini  * 

Mrs.  Harry  Houdini 
Arthur  H.  Jacobs 


Nathan  H.  Jonas 
Aaron  J.  Jones 
Otto  H.  Kahn  * 

Sam  Katz 
Wm.  Klein 
Eugene  B.  Kline 
Joe  Leblang  * 

Benny  Leonard 
Asher  Levy 
Ted  Lewis 
Hamilton  Loeb 
Jacob  Loeb 
Lavid  L.  Loew 
Marcus  Loew  * 

Mrs.  Marcus  Loew 
Louis  B.  Mayer 
William  Morris  * 

B.  S.  Moss 
George  E.  Price 
Molly  Picon 
Adolph  Ramish 
Walter  Reade 
Hugo  Riesenfeld 
Rose  Rosoff 
Jos.  M.  Schenck 
E.  A.  Schiller 
Lillian  Shaw 
Chas.  Zig  Shye 
Geo.  Sydney 
Mrs.  Sime  Silverman 
Max  D.  Steuer 
Mrs.  Max  D.  Steuer 
Oscar  S.  Strauss  * 
Louis  Sterling 
Sophie  Tucker 
Sol  Tekulsky 
Billy  Watson 
Mrs.  Billy  Watson 
Mrs.  Wm.  Degen 
Weinberger 
Beniamin  Winter 
A1  H.  Woods 
Ed.  Wynn 
Bella  N.  Zilberman 


r  • 

J<ywi 

TODAY 


*rWt  take  fiwm  oufi  own 
to  Adwe  Auaianitw'J 

<7fce  JEWISH 
TH  EATRICAL 
GUILD 

WILLIAM  MORRIS,  Founder 

is  launching  it’s  First  membership  appeal  in  its  10  years  of  unselfish 
service  •  Every  man  and  woman  of  Jewish  faith,  connected  with 
the  theatrical  profession  or  any  other  business,  should 

JOIN  AT  ONCE. 


CUTTHI5  OUT 
PIN  CHECK 
TO  IT 

Mail  both 

TODAY 


c. Application ->  Blanks 

Phone  BRyant  9-o49« 

Jewish  Theatrical  <juild  of  America 

INCORPORATED 
WILLIAM  MORRIS,  Founder 
SUITE  1104  1560  BROADWAY  NEW  YORK  CITY 

I  hereby  apply  for  membership  in  the  Theatrical  Guild . here  is  my  ten  dollars 

'Flame _ 


Address- 


Jewish  Theatrical  £uild  of  America,  Inc . 

EDDIE  CANTOR.  Pres. 

DUES:  $10.00  snoually —  DAVE  FERGUSON.  Exec.  Sec  y. 

Life  membership  $250.00 

Make  all  checks  payable  co  the  Jewish  Theatrical  Guild  of  America.  Inr 


ABC  LASTFOGEL.  Chairman 
Membership  Drive 

Eddie  Cantor  . President 

George  Jessel  .  1st  Vice-President 
Julius  Tannen  .  .  .  Vice-President 
Sam  H.  Harris  .  .  .  Vice-President 
Wm.  Morris,  Jr.  .  .  Vice-President 


Mrs.  SIME  SILVERMAN. 
Chairlady  Women's  Division 
OFFICERS 

Wm.  Decfn  Weinberger, 

Chairman  Board  of  Trustees 
Dr.  Hugo  Riesenfeld  .  Treasurer 
Fred  Block  .  .  Financial  Secretary 


Mrs.  WM  MORRIS 
Honorary  Chairlady 


Harry  Cooper, 

Corresponding  Secretary 
Dave  Ferguson, 

Executive  Secretary 
Dr.  Leo  Michel . Relief 


We  co-operate  with  the  activities  of  The  Actors  Fund  of  America; 
National  Variety  Artists;  Catholic  Actors  Guild;  and  Episcopal  Actors  Guild. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Aug  1 T  34 


35 


Montape  Expected  to 
Meet  with  Exhibs  Here 

Columbia  Sales  Manager  Thinks 
Company  Will  Have  Banner  Year 

Abe  Montague,  general  manager  for 
Columbia  Pictures,  bas  promised  to  come 
to  Philadelphia  soon  to  address  a  meeting 
of  exhibitors  and  to  contact  theatremen 
of  the  territory  personally. 

This  was  indicated  early  this  week  following 
a  conversation  with  Montague  in  New  York. 

Montague,  who  has  never  made  a  trade  ap¬ 
pearance  here  officially,  indicated  his  desire  to 
"’eet  exhibitors  of  this  territory.  Long  an  ex¬ 
hibitor  and  experienced  in  distribution  as  well 
as  in  exhibition,  he  confidently  believes  that 
Columbia  will  top  its  high  record  of  last  sea¬ 
son  this  year.  With  such  hits  as  “Lady  For  a 
Day,"  “It  Happened  One  Night”  and  “Twen¬ 
tieth  Century”  making  money  for  exhibitors, 
Columbia  won’t  let  the  grass  grow  under  his 
feet,  he  says,  but  will  continue  to  deliver  dough 
shows  in  such  pictures  as  “Whom  the  Gods 
Destroy,”  “Broadway  Bill"  and  others  coming 
along. 

He  also  expects  a  lot  from  Grace  Moore  in 
“One  Night  of  Love.” 

He  also  pointed  out  that  the  circuit  had  been 
given  25%  of  the  playing  time  at  Radio  City 
Music  Hall  and  that  Loew  had  made  a  buy  on 
the  product. 

Montague,  who  has  an  engaging  personality, 
is  proving  a  vital  factor  in  the  progress  of 
Columbia.  Under  his  direction,  the  sales  or¬ 
ganization  has  been  built  to  the  peak  of  effi¬ 
ciency  and  with  topnotch  pictures,  Columbia 
has  made  a  fine  record.  His  appearance  here 
will  be  welcomed  by  exhibitors. 


Hershey  Sole  Flesh 

Installation  of  a  mammoth  cooling  system  has 
been  completed  at  the  Hershey  Community  The¬ 
atre,  Hershey.  Manager  John  B.  Sollenberger 
announced  that  the  Hershey  Theatre  now  is  the 
only  theatre  in  Central  Pennsylvania  having 
stage  shows. 


New  Wilmington  Cooling 

Second  theatre  in  Wilmington  to  install  a 
modern  cooling  system  this  summer  is  Loew's 
Parkway,  which  plant  is  scheduled  to  be  put 
in  operation  August  3.  The  other  theatre  to 
have  an  air  conditioning  and  cooling  plant  in¬ 
stalled  was  the  New  Rialto. 


Dough  to  Dogs 

Shore  exhibitors  are  complaining  be¬ 
cause  of  dog  racing  competition.  AC 
boardwalk  houses  as  well  as  others  claim 
circulation  of  free  admissions  to  dog 
racing  is  unfair  and  cuts  into  business. 
Betting  is  lure  at  the  resort,  with  merch¬ 
ants  also  said  to  be  kicking. 

Pensauken  dog  racing  across  the  river 
has  also  seen  a  lot  of  money  change 
hands  but  as  yet  exhibs  aren’t  blaming 
races  for  bad  business.  Hot  weather, 
boycott  and  usual  seasonal  reasons  are 
sufficing  for  present. 


Popular  Pictures  Hinted 

Trade  reports  from  New  York  City 
indicate  that  Lou  Berman,  local  exhibi¬ 
tor,  may  be  associated  with  Sam  Spring, 
New  York  attorney,  and  Joe  Brandt, 
formerly  with  Columbia,  in  a  new  pro¬ 
duction  venture  to  be  called  Popular 
Pictures,  Inc. 

Names  of  various  producers  have  been 
linked  with  the  company. 

Berman  recently  made  a  trip  to  the 
coast.  Several  weeks  following  his  re¬ 
turn,  the  story  broke  on  the  coast  and  in 
New  York  City. 

Blofson  Leaves  First 
Division;  Joins  Nat.  Penn 

Veteran  Film  Man  Enters 
Printing  Business 


A1  Blofson.  for  several  years  manager 
of  the  Philadelphia  First  Division  ex¬ 
change,  and  before  that  time  associated 
with  Universal  and  Tiffany  in  an  execu¬ 
tive  capacity,  has  resigned  from  the  dis¬ 
tribution  field  to  enter  National  Penn 
Printing  Company  in  an  executive 
capacity. 

His  change  from  distribution  to  the  printing 
division  of  the  film  business  was  made  public 
by  Simon  Libros,  National  Penn  Printing  Com¬ 
pany.  Blofson’s  entrance  into  National  Penn  is 
co-incident  with  the  completion  of  a  remodelled 
home  for  the  organization  at  1233  Vine  Street. 
At  the  cost  of  many  thousands  of  dollars.  Na¬ 
tional  Penn  has  also  added  to  its  equipment  and 
now  stands  ready  to  take  care  of  all  the  print¬ 
ing  needs  of  the  industry,  here  and  elsewhere. 
New  presses  have  been  added  as  well  as  other 
printing  equipment. 

Blofson  brings  with  him  to  National  Penn  an 
experience  gained  with  three  leading  companies, 
Universal,  Tiffany  and  First  Division.  The 
record  rise  of  First  Division  in  this  district  is 
testimony  to  his  popularity  and  the  person, al  con¬ 
fidence  exhibitors  have  placed  in  him. 

It  is  to  be  expected  that  this  good  will  and 
reputation  will  be  increased  in  his  new  associa¬ 
tion  as  a  printing  executive. 

The  industry,  in  general,  when  learning  of 
his  change,  mourned  his  passing  from  distribu¬ 
tion  but  welcomed  his  entrance  into  a  sphere 
where  he  could  convey  to  them  guarantee  of 
further  service  and  satisfaction. 


Warner  Loss  Down 

Warner  Brothers’  financial  statement  for  39 
weeks  ended  May  26  showed  a  net  operating 
loss  of  $558,836.69  as  compared  with  an  oper¬ 
ating  loss  of  $5,021,774.78  in  the  same  period 
last  year.  Monies  received  from  the  ERPI 
settlement  were  not  included  in  the  report. 


Mackey  Better 

Larry  Mackey,  Arcadia  manager,  played 
tennis,  hurt  his  foot,  now  feels  better. 


IEPA  Holds  Formal  Opening 
of  New  Vine  St.  Quarters 

Colder,  Barrist,  Wax  Address  at 
Open  House 


The  Independent  Exhibitors  Protec¬ 
ts  e  Association  took  official  possession 
of  its  new  quarters  at  1313  Vine  Street, 
July  24,  when  an  official  house  warming 
was  attended  by  100  exhibitors. 

Those  who  visited  the  home  and  attended  the 
ceremonies  saw  an  entirely  renovated  structure 
with  a  permanent  meeting  place  for  the  body’ 

At  a  dedication  ceremony,  President  Ben 
Colder,  chairman  of  the  board  Morris  Wax  and 
David  Barrist  made  short  addresses. 

Colder  Speaks 

Golder  outlined  the  lines  along  which  the  unit 
will  proceed  and  stressed  co-operation  with 
everyone  in  the  industry.  Wax  made  a  short 
speech  and  paid  tribute  to  Dave  Barrist  whose 
wwk  in  forming  the  new  group  was  acknowl¬ 
edged. 

The  headquarters  was  the  scene  of  exhibitor- 
attendance  all  day,  with  evervone  voting  the 
quarters  as  decidedly  suited  to  the  needs  of  the 
organization. 

Several  \  ine  Street  houses  helped  equip  the 
radquarters.  They  included : 

International  Seat  Company,  L.  E.  Stone : 
National  Penn  National  Kline,  Voigt  Co., 
National  Theatre  Supply  Co.,  Philadelphia 
Enameling  Works,  National  Flag  and  Banner 
Co.,  Clem  Rizzo,  Majestic  Press,  Quality  Print 
Shop,  Horlachers,  Beckett's  Cigar  Store. 

A  clown  band  was  furnished  by  Peerless 
exchange. 


Voigt  Busy 

Voigt  Company,  prominent  light  fixture 
house,  reports  plenty  of  business  these  days. 

Some  of  the  contracts  being  installed  by  that 
company  include : 

Yorktown  Theatre,  Elkins  Park,  for  Eugene 
Stopper,  architect.  Illumination  here  is  main 
item  of  decorative  interest. 

York  Theatre,  York,  operated  by  W.  J. 
Richley. 

Broadway  Theatre,  Camden,  and  new  Holly¬ 
wood  Theatre,  Atlantic  City,  both  Dave  Supo- 
witz  supervised. 

Frolic  Theatre,  52nd  and  Wyalusing,  being 
constructed  by  Charles  Dingleman  for  Messrs. 
Felt,  Handle  and  Lewis. 

Republic  Theatre,  Washington,  for  Lichtman 
interests ;  and  Strand  Theatre,  Covington,  Va., 
for  H.  W.  Robertson. 


New  Hershey  Tax 

An  assessment  of  $55,000  has  been  placed  on 
the  theatre  portion  of  the  Hershey  Community 
Building,  Hershey,  by  the  Dauphin  County 
commissioners.  Counsel  for  the  Hershey  Estates 
was  advised  that  the  commissioners  would  sit 
August  1  to  hear  any  appeal  from  the  assess¬ 
ment.  Additional  assessment  resulted  after  one 
of  the  commissioners  discovered  that  the  new 
theatre,  opened  last  September,  had  not  been 
assessed  because  it  was  part  of  the  Community 
Building. 


Aug  1 T 34  pg.  36 


United  Artists  Is  Ready  for  1934-35 


LOCAL  MANAGER.  Harry  Bod- 
kin  is  the  Philadelphia  branch 
manager  for  United  Artists.  A  con¬ 
firmed  bachelor,  he  has  made  a 
high  record  with  his  organization. 


PROMINENT.  Harry  D.  Buck- 
ley,  a  vice-president  of  United 
Artists,  is  another  important  fac¬ 
tor  in  the  advance  of  that  organ¬ 
ization. 


THE  LEADER.  Joseph  M.  Schenck 
is  president  of  United  Artists  and 
Twentieth  Century.  Under  his  lead¬ 
ership,  United  Artists  has  grown  to 
the  strong  position  it  now  holds. 
Confidence  in  the  future  is  largely 
confidence  in  his  production  ideals. 


VITAL.  Darryl  Zanuck,  20th  Cen¬ 
tury  Pictures,  is  not  only  one  of  the 
leading  figures  in  that  company  but 
considered  one  of  the  most  im¬ 
portant  in  the  entire  business. 
Zanuck’s  record  of  hits  stands  high. 


AD  CHIEF.  Hal  Horne  is  advertis¬ 
ing  and  publicity  chief  for  United 
Artists.  Under  his  direction  the 
trade  and  world  is  made  UA  con¬ 
scious. 


HE’S  ACTIVE.  Arthur  Kelly  is 
a  vice-president  of  United  Art¬ 
ists,  having  been  with  the  com¬ 
pany  a  long  time. 


MEN  BEHIND  THE  GUNS.  Those  associated  in  UA  endeavors  include  such  leaders  as  (left  to  right)  Walt  Disney  (Mickey 
Mouse  and  Symphonies);  Alexander  Korda  (London  Films);  Edward  Small  (Reliance);  Samuel  Goldwyn  (Goldwyn  produc¬ 
tions);  Herbert  Wilcox  (British  and  Dominion);  King  Vidor  (Vidor  productions). 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Aug  1  ’34 


37 


Lichtman  Sees  United  Artists  in  Best 

Position  Since  Company  Was  Organized 


Tells  of  Organization’s  Plan  for 
New  Season — Release  Dates  Set 


SAMUEL  GOLDWYN 

“We  Live  Again” — With  Fredric  March 
and  Anna  Sten. 

“Kid  Millions” - With  Eddie  Cantor,  Ethel 

Merman,  Ann  Sothern,  Block  and  Sully. 
“Romance  in  Moscow” - With  Anna  Sten. 


RELIANCE— HARRY  M.  GOETZ 
AND  EDWARD  SMALL 


“The  Count  of  Monte  Cristo” - With  Rob¬ 

ert  Donat,  Elissa  Landi,  Louis  Calhern,  O.  P. 
Heggie,  Sidney  Blackmer,  Irene  Hervey. 

“Trans- Atlantic  Merry-Go-Round”- — With 
Jack  Benny,  Nancy  Carroll,  Gene  Raymond, 
Sydney  Howard,  Sid  Silvers,  Sidney  Blackmer, 
Ralph  Morgan,  Patsy  Kelly. 


20TH  CENTURY 

“The  Affairs  of  Cellini” - With  Constance 

Bennett,  Fredric  March,  Frank  Morgan,  Fay 
Wray. 

“Bulldog  Drummond  Strikes  Back” - With 

Ronald  Colman,  Loretta  Young,  Warner 
Oland,  Charles  Butterworth,  Una  Merkel,  C. 
Aubrey  Smith. 

“The  Last  Gentleman” — With  George 
Arliss,  Edna  May  Oliver,  Charlotte  Henry, 
Ralph  Morgan,  Janet  Beecher,  Frank  Albert¬ 
son,  Donald  Meek. 

“The  Mighty  Barnum” — With  Wallace 
Beery  and  Fredric  March. 

“The  Red  Cat.” 

“Cardinal  Richelieu” - With  George  Arliss. 

“Clive  of  India” - With  Ronald  Colman. 

“It  Had  to  Happen” - With  Clark  Gable 

and  Constance  Bennett. 

“Forward  March.” 

“The  Call  of  the  Wild” - From  Jack  Lon¬ 

don’s  Story. 


“United  Artists,  for  the  coming  season, 
is  in  the  best  position  the  company  has 
ever  been  as  regards  the  product  and  pic¬ 
tures  available,”  says  A1  Lichtman,  vice- 
president  and  general  manager  in  charge 
of  distribution. 

“Of  the  four  pictures  completed,  three  are 
20th  Century  productions,  namely  ‘Bulldog 
Drummond  Strikes  Back,’  ‘The  Affairs  of  Cel¬ 
lini,’  and  ‘The  Last  Gentleman.’  The  other 
production  completed  is  the  Douglas  Fairbanks 
spectacle,  ‘The  Private  Life  of  Don  Juan.’ 


ALEXANDER  KORDA— 

LONDON  PRODUCTIONS 

“The  Private  Life  of  Don  Juan” - With 

Douglas  Fairbanks,  Merle  Oberon,  Benita 
Hume,  John  Gardner,  Binnie  Barnes. 

“100  Years  From  Now” — From  H.  G. 
Wells’  story. 

“The  Scarlet  Pimpernel” — With  Leslie 
Howard. 

“Congo  Raid” - From  Edgar  Wallace’s 

story. 

KING  VIDOR  PRODUCTION 

“Our  Daily  Bread” — With  Tom  Keene  and 
Karen  Morley. 

BRITISH  AND  DOMINION 

“Nell  Gwyn” — With  Anna  Neagle  and 
Cedric  Harwicke. 

“The  Queen’s  Affair” — With  Anna  Neagle 
and  Fernand  Graavey. 

WALT  DISNEY  PRODUCTIONS 
Silly  Symphonies — 9  in  color. 

Mickey  Mouse — 9  in  color. 


PRODUCTION  NEWS  REEL.  From 
UA  during  the  new  season  come 
(reading  from  top  to  bottom)  “Bull¬ 
dog  Drummond  Strikes  Back,”  “The 
Last  Gentleman,”  “The  Count  of 
Monte  Cristo,”  “The  Affairs  of  Cel¬ 
lini,”  “We  Live  Again,”  “Our  Daily 
“Bread,”  “Transatlantic  Merry-Go- 
Round,”  “Don  Juan.” 


A1  Lichtman 

vice-president  and  general  manager 
in  charge  of  distribution. 

“Among  other  pictures  are:  ‘We  Live 
Again,’  the  Samuel  Goldwyn  screen  version  of 
Tolstoy’s  ‘Resurrection,’  in  which  Anna  Sten 
is  co-starred  with  Fredric  March ;  “The  Count 
of  Monte  Cristo,’  a  Reliance  production  co- 
starring  Robert  Donat,  and  Elissa  Landi.  And 
King  Vidor’s  ‘Our  Daily  Bread,’  will  soon 
be  ready  for  release. 

“Both  Samuel  Goldwyn  and  another  Reliance 
unit  are  busily  engaged  in  preparing  two  addi¬ 
tional  features  for  immediate  filming.  Samuel 
Goldwyn  is  about  to  place  in  production  the 
fifth  Eddie  Cantor  musical  ‘Kid  Millions.’ 
Reliance  is  well  into  the  work  on  ‘Transatlantic 
Merry-Go-Round.’ 

“Darryl  F.  Zanuck,  vice-president  in  charge 
of  production  for  20th  Century  will  soon  place 
in  work  a  group  of  pictures  headed  by  ‘The 
Mighty  Barnum,’  in  which  Wallace  Beery  will 
play  the  leading  role. 

Releases  Set 

With  the  national  release  of  “Bulldog  Drummond 
Strikes  Back’  Lichtman  announced  the  company’s  re¬ 
lease  schedule  on  the  next  nine  feature  productions  up 
to  November  9.  Following  “Bulldog  Drummond  Strikes 
Back.”  the  next  United  Artists  releases  in  order  are: 
“Our  Daily  Bread,”  August  10;  “The  Affairs  of  Cellini,” 
August  24;  “The  Count  of  Monte  Cristo,”  September  7; 
“We  Live  Again,”  September  21;  “The  Queens  Affair,” 
September  28;  “The  Last  Gentleman,”  October  5; 
“The  Private  Life  ,  of  Don  Juan,”  October  19;  “Trans¬ 
atlantic  Merry-Go-Round,”  November  2 ;  and  “Nell 
Gwyn,”  November  9. 


United  Artists  Releases 


PILING  UP  THE  BIGGEST  GROSSES 
IN  MONTHS  AND  THE  GREATEST 
AVALANCHE  OF  PRAISE  ACCORD¬ 
ED  APICTURE  IN  YEARS. 


Aug  1 T 34  pg.  38 


*R  STARS 


N.  V.  DAILY  NEWS 


RKO-RADIO  PICTURE 

Pandro  S.  Barman,  Exacutlva  Producer 


STARRING 


LESLIE  HOWARD 

with 


BETTE  DAVIS 

Frances  Dee,  Kay  Johnson,  Reginald  Denny  •  Directed  by  John  Cromwell 


BOSTON  POST 

"SEASON’S  BEST  FILM  .  .  .  one  of  the  finest  films  of  the  new 
season,  or  any  season  .  .  .  definitely  one  of  the  films  which  should 
be  seen  by  the, legion  of  discriminating  picturegoers." 

DETROIT  EVENING  TIMES 

“Mr.  Howard  gives  his  most  magnificent  portrayal  .  .  .  Miss  Davis 
gives  a  remarkable  performance  don't  miss  'Of  Human 
Bondage.’  It’s  one  of  the  really  fine  films  of  the  year.’’ 


SYRACUSE  POST-STANDARD 

"...  a  remarkably  fine  piece  of  work  has  been  done  in  bringing  to 
life  .  .  .  'Of  Human  Bondage’  ...  a  picture  worth  seeing  ...  the 
picture  is  not  one  you  will  forget  in  a  hurry  . . .” 

MEMPHIS  PRESS  SCIMITAR 

"I  do  not  know  how  to  tell  you  about  'Of  Human  Bondage’  .  .  . 
extravagant  praise  would  be  an  offense  to  its  delicacy,  and  anything 
less  would  be  inadequate.  Nothing  so  sensitive  and  so  personally 
real  has  ever  been  put  on  the  screen.’’ 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Aug  1'34 


39 


BETTER  TESTED  SUCCESSFUL 

MANAGEMENT  #  ideas  *  merchandising 


New  Racket 


Exhibitors,  who  are  always  offered  an 
amazing  number  of  propositions  in  offer 
for  screen  advertising,  now  have  a  new 
one  with  which  to  contend. 

In  return  for  a  trailer,  lobby  adver¬ 
tising  and  other  considerations,  a  con¬ 
cern  is  giving  away  face  powder  to 
women  on  specified  nights. 

Trailer  shows  how  to  put  powder  on 
the  face. 

There  will  probably  be  some  theatres 
who  figure  the  giveaway  might  be  worth 
something,  but  smart  showmen  don’t 
commercialize  their  screens. 


“Circus  Clown”  Contest 
Big  Lure  for  Exhibitors 

Warners’  contest  for  the  best  campaign 
on  “The  Circus  Clown”  is  still  the  talk 
of  the  business. 

Following  the  announcement  of  prizes  of 
$100,  $50,  $25,  $10,  $5  for  the  best  results,  the 
industry  turned  toward  selling  the  picture  in 
its  best  manner.  While  many  key  runs  have 
played  the  show,  there  are  still  a  lot  of  subse¬ 
quent  runs  who  are  preparing  ace  methods  by 
which  to  attract  theatregoers. 

The  judging  committee,  A.  Mike  Vogel, 
Major  Albert  Warner,  Chick  Lewis  expects 
to  be  flooded  with  entrants. 

Show  has  all  the  angles  with  which  to  sell 
and  in  its  first  engagements  has  been  respon¬ 
sible  for  excellent  business,  largely  because  of 
the  interest  started  by  the  campaign. 

Contest  is  open  to  all  houses,  no  matter  what 
size  or  run. 

There’s  still  a  chance  to  win. 


De  Fiore’s  Flesh 

Joe  DeFiore,  manager,  Park,  Wilmington, 
billed  Mrs.  Aloha  Wanderwell,  woman  explorer 
for  a  two-day  personal  appearance  and  illus¬ 
trated  lecture  on  her  wanderings. 

It  was  the  first  flesh  there  in  a  long  time. 


“Jane  Eyre ”  Pressbook 

Ed  Finney  and  the  Monogram  pub¬ 
licity  department  have  turned  in  the 
company’s  best  press  book  thus  far  in 
that  devoted  to  “Jane  Eyre.” 

Larger  than  the  usual  Monogram 
press  book,  it  has  an  attractive  cover, 
contains  a  hundred  and  one  angles 
through  which  to  publicize  the  show.  In 
addition,  there  is  a  newspaper  serializa¬ 
tion  available. 

The  press  book  looks  like  the  result  of 
hard  work  and  should  aid  showmen 
everywhere. 


Songwriter  Black 

Lew  Black,  manager,  Aldine,  Wilmington, 
turned  to  song  writing  for  a  ballyhoo  for  “The 
Circus  Clown.’’  He  burst  forth  into  verse, 
(which  incidentally  goes  on  ballyhoo  cards  to 
be  distributed)  like  this,  to  the  tune  of  “The 
Young  Man  on  the  Flying  Trapeze’’: 

At  the  Aldine  next  week 
You  will  see  a  great  clown. 

His  features  are  such 

That  he  never  can  frown. 


His  name  is  no  secret, 

They  call  him  Joe  Brown 
And  he’ll  give  you  the  laugh  of  your  life. 

This  man  is  not  tall,  dark  and  handsome, 

But  the  girls^  young  and  old,  he  does  please. 

You  will  get  such  a  thrill  and  your  heart  will  stand  still 
When  he  swings  on  the  flying  trapeze. 

Chcrus 

O-O-O-O-o-o-o-o-o-  .  .  .  .  ! 

He  floats  thru  the  air  with  the  world’s  broadest  grin, 
He  hangs  by  his  toes,  heels,  elbows  and  chin. 

If  he  opened  his  mouth,  the  whole  tent  would  fall  in. 
He’s  the  funniest  clown  of  them  all. 


National  Penn 
Printing  Co. 

Is  PLEASED  TO 

Announce  the  affiliation 

OF 

AL  BLOFSON 

(RECENTLY  PHILADELPHIA  MANAGER 
FOR  FIRST  DIVISION) 

IN  AN  EXECUTIVE  CAPACITY 
WITH  ITS  ORGANIZATION 

The  entrance  of  Mr.  Blofson  into  National  Penn 
Printing  Company  means  a  continuance  of  the 
high  principles  which  motivated  his  direction 
of  First  Division  Exchanges,  Inc.,  here. 

With  the  completion  of  its  new  home,  National 
Penn  Printing  Company  has  added  new  facili¬ 
ties  with  which  to  take  care  of  all  the  printing 
needs  of  the  exhibition  field.  It  invites  exhibi¬ 
tors  to  take  advantage  of  its  modern  methods 
and  it  stands  ready  to  serve  with  the  highest 
quality. 

SIMON  LIBROS 
OSCAR  LIBROS 

NATIONAL  PENN  PRINTING  CO. 

1233  VINE  STREET,  PHILADELPHIA 
PHILADELPHIA  NEW  YORK  WASHINGTON  BALTIMORE 


40 


Aug  1'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


you  CAN  SHOO 

Mr.  Sum.  R.  Blues 


Increase  your  income 
during  the 


HOT  WEATHER 

with  a 


BERLO 

CANDY  VENDOR 

“Ask  Your 
Fellow  Exhibitor ” 


Gel  in  touch  witki 

GEO.  P.  AARONS 

301  N.  13th  Street 

LOCUST  4245 


OR  CALL  POPLAR  6011 

BERLO 

VENDING 

COMPANY 

1518  N.  Broad  St.,  Phila. 

Specializing  la  Candy 
Vending  Eqnlpnent 
for  the  Theatre  Trade! 


NEW  YORK  BALTIMORE 

SCRANTON  WASHINGTON 

ALLENTOWN  CLEVELAND 

PITTSBURGH  CINCINNATI 


Gilman  Gets  Behind 
Drummond  in  Harrisburg 

For  “Bulldog  Drummond  Strikes 
Back,”  at  Loew’s  Regent  Theatre,  Harris¬ 
burg,  Manager  Samuel  Gilman  obtained 
the  co-operation  of  the  Telegraph. 

Newspaper  carried  a  picture  of  “The  Mys¬ 
terious  Bulldog  Drummond,”  masked,  announc¬ 
ing  his  arrival  in  Harrisburg  three  days  before 
opening  of  picture  and  offering  a  reward  for 
his  capture.  It  was  announced  he  would  mingle 
with  the  crowds  of  the  city  for  three  days  and 
anyone  capturing  him  on  the  first  day  would 
receive  $5;  if  he  remained  at  liberty  until  the 
second  day  his  captor  would  receive  $10,  and 
the  third  day,  $15. 

To  receive  the  reward  it  would  be  necessary 
for  his  captor,  with  a  copy  of  The  Harrisburg 
Telegraph  in  his  possession,  to  approach  him 
and  say :  “You  are  the  Bulldog  Drummond  of 
the  Telegraph  and  Loew’s  Theatre.  I  am  put¬ 
ting  you  on  the  spot  and  claim  the  reward  for 
your  capture.” 

On  the  third  day  he  was  captured  by  a  12- 
year-old  girl  and  her  cousin,  a  13-year-old  boy, 
between  whom  the  reward  of  $15  was  divided. 


In  addition  to  a  search  Manager  Samuel  Gil¬ 
man,  Loew’s  Regent,  Harrisburg,  used  various 
other  means.  An  unusual  feature  of  his  cam¬ 
paign  was  the  display  of  seven  large  electric 
clocks  in  front  of  his  theatre,  arranged  through 
a  tie-up  with  the  Postal  Telegraph.  Each  of 
these  clocks  revealed  the  time  in  a  different 
part  of  the  world,  one  designating  the  time 
in  Harrisburg.  A  sound-truck  traversed  city 
streets  for  two  days.  Five  thousand  tabloids 
were  distributed.  Menus,  on  the  bottom  of 
which  the  theatre  announcement  was  printed, 
were  furnished  to  three  leading  restaurants. 
Taxicabs  carried  cards. 


Up  Hills 
and  Down- 


^the  never  failing  ar¬ 
teries  of  the  local  industry 

^carrying  the  box  office 
lifeblood  of  more  than 
1 200  theatres 

carrying  the  ''show" 
safely  and  on  time 

Horlacher’s 


Trucks  Roll! 


HORLACHER 

DELIVERY  SERVICE,  Inc. 

1228  Vine  St.f  Philadelphia 

NEW  YORK 
SCRANTON 
BALTIMORE 
WASHINGTON 


SENTRY  serviced  SAFETY  CONTROL 


Many  theatre  owners  weigh  the  matter  of  Safety  as  it  suits  them. 
PLAINLY  THIS  IS  ALL  WRONG.  In  Safety  there  is  no  half-way  meas¬ 
ure  with  the  Public.  The  Public  would  not  consider  it  safe  if  you  decide 
to  do  without  a  Serviced  Safety  Device  on  your  projectors.  The  Public 
would  think  with  horror  if  you  tried  to  economize  by  buying  Safety  equip¬ 
ment  without  a  service,  and  the  fact  that,  in  your  theatre,  the  Public 
has  not  yet  inquired  as  to  the  measure  of  Safety  that  you  are  giving  them — 
THAT  DOES  NOT  MEAN  THAT  THEY  CAN  BE  DECEIVED. 


SENTRY  SAFETY  CONTROL  C0RP. 


10th  ST.  and  ALLEGHENY  AVE. 
PHILADELPHIA,  PENNA. 


Sentry  Safety  Controls  Listed  as  Standard  by  National  Fire  Underwriters  Laboratories 


is  the  >  o  n  I  y  efficient. 


authentic  medium  of  covering  ALL 
local  code  activities  .  .  .  instructing 
its  readers  on  all  code  and  griev¬ 
ance  board  methods  .  .  .  carrying 
in  detail  each  issue  all  complaints, 
decisions  and  news  of  local  code 
boards  .  .  .  Just  another  local 
personal  service  of  value  to  you. 


Subscribe  Now! 


JAY  EMANUEL  PUBLICATIONS,  Inc.  l_l ONE  yEAR-*-“ 

219  North  Broad  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa.  THREE  YEARS— $5.00 

Gentlemen: — 

Your  services  are  useful  to  me  in  the  operation  of  my  business.  I  want  to  be  sure  of 
receiving  a  copy  of  each  issue.  Enclosed  find  my  check. 

Name _ _ 

Theatre 


42 


Aug  lf34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


ATLANTIC 

CITY’S 

Newest 

Boardwalk  Hotel 


President 


J7IVE  Hundred  Rooms 
with  Sea  Water  Baths 
American  and  European 
Plans.  Also  Beautifully 
Furnished  Housekeeping 
Apartments  with  Com¬ 
plete  Hotel  Service  by 
the  week,  month  or  year. 


Cocktail  Lounge 
and  Bar 

SEA  WATER 
SWIMMING  POOL 

MARINE 
SUN  DECK 

TURKISH  BATHS 


SELLING  “CIRCUS  CLOWN.”  Here’s  how  the  Pastime,  Lewistown,  sold  “Circus 
Clown,”  from  Warners.  H  ouse  plastered  the  town  with  window  and  other  type 
cards,  increased  newspaper  space  by  70%,  carried  personal  stories  on  circus 
acts  and  on  Brown,  decorated  marquee  of  house  with  flags,  bunting,  circus  ban¬ 
ners,  etc.,  advertised  this  and  gave  away  pink  lemonade  free,  organized  burlesque 
parade  (see  above),  preceded  by  “little  German  band,”  distributed  heralds  all 
over  town  and  used  loudspeakers  and  amplifiers  on  street.  Result  was  that  house 
did  a  tremendous  business,  best  in  a  long  time,  which  indicated  that  selling  pays. 


Gilman  Writes 

Samuel  Gilman,  manager,  Loew’s  Regent 
Theatre,  Harrisburg,  wrote  a  letter  to  a  Har¬ 
risburg  movie  columnist.  The  letter  appeared 
in  the  movie  column  of  a  Harrisburg  daily  news¬ 
paper  as  follows : 

“Is  there  a  midget  in  town?  I  am  looking 
for  a  'Little  Man’  about  4  feet,  5  or  10  inches 
in  height  for  a  street  ballyhoo  to  help  us  adver¬ 
tise  ‘Little  Man,  What  Now’  opening  here  this 
coming  Friday.  (Boy,  what  a  picture.)  Maybe 
one  of  your  many  readers  happens  to  be  a 
midget.  If  so,  all  he  must  do  is  report  to  me 
at  the  theatre  (Loew’s)  and  he  will  have  a 
job,  thank  you.  I  assure  you  ‘Little  Man,  What 
Now,  is  a  picture  the  adults  will  enjoy  ai  d 
appreciate.  A  friend  of  Bob’s,  my  assistant, 
told  him  he  had  seen  the  picture  while  on  vaca¬ 
tion  and  the  way  this  chap  raved  about  it  I 
am  looking  forward  to  a  nice  crowd,  regardless 
of  the  heat.  Nuf  ced!” 


Mechanical  Man  Here 

“The  World’s  Most  Famous  Mechnical  Man" 
dropped  into  THE  EXHIBITOR  office  this 
week  with  a  record  of  engagements  from  coast 
to  coast. 

Available  to  all  theatres  at  a  reasonable  sum, 
the  mechanical  man  carries  trailers,  etc.,  and 
is  asserted  he  says  he  has  satified  wherever  he 
has  played. 


“Handy  Andy” 

Harry  Lambert,  manager,  Colonial  Theatre, 
Harrisburg,  gave  the  “Handy  Andys,”  as  he 
termed  them,  a  break  during  filming  at  Colonial 
of  "Handy  Andy.” 

Booking  Theatres 
Everywhere 

Honest  ::  Reliable 
Conscientious 
Service 

EDWARD  SHERMAN 

VAUDEVILLE  AGENCY 

Real  Estate  Trust  Bldg. 
PHILADELPHIA 

Pennypacker  7595 

MAYFAIR  THEATRE  BLDG.,  NEW  YORK 
BR.  9-1905 


The  FINEST  SERVICE  on  FILM  ROW  l 


SPECIAL  BATES  TO  FILM  PEOPLE: 

Parking  All  Day  ........  25c 

High  Pressure  Washing  (any  type  car)  .  .  .  85c 

TOW-CAR  SERVICE  —  ANY  PLACE  —  ANY  TIME 


APEX  GARAGE 

249-51-53  N.  JUNIPER  STREET  •  250-52-54  N.  CLARION  STREET 

Phone:  LOCUST  8604  -  -  PHILADELPHIA 
Becker  Bros.,  Props. 

Road  Service  to  Patrons  -  Mechanic  Always  on  Duty  -  Never  Closed 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Aug  1'34 


43 


In  Memoriam 

AC  Weilland-Lewis  theatres  ran  an  ad 
in  shore  dailies  mourning  the  loss  of 
Marie  Dressier. 

A  telegram  was  read  from  the  stage 
when  she  died,  and  managers  asked 
everyone  to  bow  in  memory  of  her. 
Lights  turned  down  low  and  lots  of  com¬ 
plimentary  remarks  were  made. 

Nice  touch. 


Around  the  Circuit 

STANLEy.  WARNER 

_ _ .By  Harry  Goldberg - 

ZONE  MANAGER  SCHLESINGER  con¬ 
fident  that  August  will  see  a  decided  upward 
trend.  .  .  .  Men  in  the  field  are  prepared  to 
cut  loose  with  a  barrage  of  box-office  stunts. 

.  .  .  August  will  wind  up  all  the  vacations  of 
the  S-W  men.  .  .  .  And  then  watch  the  boys 
go  into  “high.”  .  .  .  Speaking  of  vacations 
District  Manager  Haynes  returned  from  his  to 
find  the  entire  personnel  of  his  district  engaged 
in  a  short  but  concentrated  “drive”  for  grosses. 

.  .  .  Manager  Murdock  (Stanley,  Camden) 
causes  a  furore  among  the  gals  across  the  river 
with  the  beauty  contest  he  staged  in  connec¬ 
tion  with  “Murder  at  the  Vanities.”  .  .  .  Ben 
Blumberg  (Broadway)  gave  the  serial  “Young 
Eagles”  such  a  publicized  opening  that  his  kid¬ 
die  business  took  a  gratifying  jump.  .  .  .  He 
had  complete  co-operation  from  the  Boy  Scouts, 
who  allowed  him  to  plug  the  serial  at  Treasure 
Island,  the  scout  camp  on  the  Delaware.  .  .  . 
Les  Stahlman,  Circle  skipper,  writes  effective 
sales  letters  for  his  mailing  list.  .  .  .  Two  of 
the  best  were  on  “The  Key”  and  "House  of 
Rothschild.”  .  .  .  The  boys  are  eagerly  await¬ 
ing  the  neighborhood  appearance  of  “The  Thin 
Man.”  ...  A  film  with  box-office  stamped  all 
over  it.  .  .  .  Women  patrons  of  the  Colonial 
(Germantown)  will  find  time  passing  pleasantly 
before  the  start  of  the  show  since  Marty  Gold- 
enberg  tied  up  with  the  distributors  of  "Merry- 
Go-Round,1'  swank  periodical  being  published 
in  that  section.  .  .  .  Goldenberg  had  the  wires 
humming  with  a  telephone  teaser  campaign  on 
“Sadie  McKee.”  .  .  .  Members  of  the  staff 
made  the  calls,  asking  for  Sadie  McKee.  .  .  . 
To  the  negative  response,  they  answered, 
“Sorry,’  I  thought  this  was  the  Colonial.”  .  .  . 
Marty  used  a  blurb  from  the  Will  Hayes 
Monthly  Booklet  on  a  postal  card  to  plug  “Viva 
Villa,”  and  listed  the  women's  organizations 
that  have  endorsed  the  film. 

CHARLIE  MOYER  (State,  Hanover),  em¬ 
ployed  a  star-identification  contest  in  a  local 
window  to  sell  “Manhattan  Melodrama.”  .  .  . 
Store  bought  tickets  to  award  to  winners.  .  .  . 
Manager  Poppay  sold  the  war  reel,  “War’s 
End,”  directly  to  the  American  Legion  in 
York.  .  .  .  Manager  Frank  (Lyric,  Camden) 
cashed  in  on  the  Damon  Runyon  column  that 
appears  in  the  Camden  “Courier,”  in  selling 
“Little  Miss  Marker.”  .  .  .  He  planted  ad 

slugs  at  the  end  of  the  column.  .  .  .  Kiddies 
from  a  local  orphanage  were  his  guests.  .  .  . 
An  attention-getting  display  of  Civil  War 
photos,  relics,  and  souvenirs  was  effectively 
used  by  Manager  Murdock  to  sell  “Operator 
13”  at  the  Stanley,  Camden.  ...  A  novel 
“yell”  contest  was  staged  by  Manager  Moyer, 
State,  Hanover,  in  ballyhooing  Joe  E.  Brown’s 
“The  Circus  Clown.”  .  .  .  Local  department 
store  sponsored  the  contest,  and  awarded  the 
winners  with  complete  outfits  of  wearing  ap- 


LETTERS  TO  THE  EDITOR 


Berwick  Rebuilding 

July  28,  1934 

The  Philadelphia  Exhibitor, 

Jay  Emanuel  Publications,  Ine., 

219  N.  Broad  Street, 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Dear  Sirs: 

The  Strand  Theatre  was  destroyed  by  tire  last  Sep¬ 
tember  25th  and  I  am  pleased  to  state  we  are  now  ready 
to  rebuild.  I  am  enclosing  a  copy  of  our  advertisement 
which  is  self-explanatory. 

Notwithstanding  some  of  the  reports  that  have  been 
circulated,  I  can  positively  state  that  we  will  carry  out 
i  ur  building  program  and  the  Strand  Theatre,  Berwick’s 
old  institution,  will  be  rebuilt  with  Berwick  capital  and 
will  be  under  Berwick  management,  the  same  as  hereto¬ 
fore. 

1  am  pleased  to  state  that  we  have  retained  all  the 
past  copies  of  the  “Exhibitor”  and  I  know  it  will  aid 
me  very  materially  in  arranging  my  programs  when  open 
which,  according  to  our  building  program,  will  be  about 
November  1st. 

Wishing  the  “Exhibitor”  success  and  with  kind 
regards,  I  remain, 

Yours  truly, 

J.  N.  HARRY.  Receiver. 


YORK 


IRVING  DUNN  has  done  over  the  front  of 
the  Capitol.  .  .  .  125  from  York  district  at¬ 
tended  the  annual  picnic  of  the  Philadelphia 
Warner  Club.  .  .  .  Bob  Miller,  Ritz,  gathered 
himself  some  swell  exploitation  on  "The  Ghoul," 
securing  a  window  to  display  the  huge  shadow 
box.  .  .  .  Seashore  seems  to  hold  an  unusual 
attraction  for  the  York  managers.  .  .  .  Bob 
Miller  and  Sidney  Poppay,  Rialto,  have  been 
on  their  vacations.  .  .  .  Poppay  secured  several 
hundred  copies  of  a  movie  magazine  and  a  radio 
magazine  which  he  distributed  to  the  kids  at  his 
Tuesday  matinee  children's  show. 

BOB  MILLER  packed  them  in  to  such  ex¬ 
tent  for  “Forgotten  Men”  that  he  held  it  over. 
.  .  .  Usual  machine  gun  and  stacked  rifles 

were  used  on  the  outside  of  the  theatre.  .  .  . 
One  of  the  ushers  in  full  army  uniform  had 
a  hot  job  juggling  a  regulation  army  rifle. 

Doormen  and  ushers  were  in  army, 
navy  and  marine  uniforms  for  a  week  prior  to 
the  opening.  .  .  .  Bob  got  a  little  publicity 

in  the  local  papers  when  one  of  his  patrons 
asserted  he  saw  himself  on  the  films.  .  .  . 

Irving  Dunn,  Capitol,  spending  his  vacation 
in  Boston.  .  .  .  Sid  Poppay  has  become  an 

ardent  baseball  fan. 


Stanley's  New  Lobby 

Sid  Stanley,  at  the  Scranton  Strand,  amazed 
all  the  inhabitants  and  revivified  the  lobby  of 
the  theatre  when  he  introduced  a  lot  of  artificial 
flowers  and  made  it  seem  like  a  different  house. 
Stanley’s  management  has  helped  business  at 
the  Strand  quite  a  bit. 


For  “Whom  the  Gods  Destroy”  Herb 
Copeland,  Atlantic  City  Warner  Theatre,  had 
hotels  give  out  cards  recommending  the 
show. 


parel.  .  .  .  Broadway  Theatre  used  an  old- 

time  “spieler”  to  make  the  crowds  gather  in 
front  of  the  theatre  during  the  run  of  “Cir¬ 
cus  Clown.”  .  .  .  Warner  Club  picnic  was  a 
huge  success.  .  .  .  Nearly  2000  employees 

and  guests  were  on  hand.  .  Contests, 

games,  vaudeville,  baseball,  dancing.  . 

And  plenty  of  free  ice  cream.  .  And 

swell  prizes,  too !  .  .  .  The  Bobby  Joneses 
and  Gene  Sarazens  of  the  Warner  Club  are 
getting  in  their  final  practice  rounds  in  an¬ 
ticipation  of  the  club’s  forthcoming  golf 
tournament. 


READY 

REFERENCE 

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AUTHORITY  IN  ITS  FIELD  AND 
IS  RELIABLE  AND  TRUSTWORTHY 


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CONDITIONING  CQ 


A|R  C 


COOLING 

VENTILATING 


BLOWERS  -  FANS 
f  AIR  WASHERS 
252  Wast  26th  St.,  Naw  York 


ARCHITECT 


THEATRE  DESIGN 

Remodeling  »  Building 

LATEST  COMPLETED 

NEW  BROADWAY  CAYUGA 

Camden,  Philadelphia 

New  Jersey  Penna. 

DAVID  SUPOWITZ 

REGISTERED 

ARCHITECT 

246  S.  15th  St.,  Phi  la..  Pa.  Pennypacker  2291 


BUSINESS  BROKER 


THEATRES 

BOUGHT  •  SOLD  •  LEASED 

Partnerships  Negotiated 

M.  H.  GOODIS,  Inc. 

1201  CHESTNUT  STREET 
Rittenhouse  4595  Rittenhouse  9077 


CHAIRS  (used  theatre) 


LARGEST  DEALERS 

IN  USED  CHAIRS 

Re-Setting  Re-Upholstering 

Re-Conditioning 

“Servastone"  for  cracked  concrete 
floors 

Parts  for  all  chairs  Slip  Covers 

ALLIED  SEATING  COMPANY 

358  W.  44th  St.,  New  York,  N.  Y. 


DECORATIVE  GLASS 


We  specialize  in  GLASS  for  Theatres 

Specify:  VARICOLITE 

See  the  new  mirror  booth  at  the 
IRIS  THEATRE,  Kensington  and  Allegheny 
Write  for  particulars  and  samples 

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611-625  W.  43rd  St.  New  York,  N.  Y: 


44 


Aug  1’34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Stanley-Fox  Peace 

Stanley-Warner  Has  apparently  made 
its  peace  with  Fox. 

Local  exchange  is  reported  to  have 
completed  a  deal  with  the  circuit  which 
gives  S-W  Fox  product  in  certain  situa¬ 
tions. 

Two  didn’t  get  together  last  season. 


WILMINGTON 


I  AM  GOING  to  ask  the  U.  S.  Government 
to  put  Japanese  beetle  traps  in  at  least  two 
Market  Street  Theatres.  .  .  .  Lew  Black,  man¬ 
ager,  Aldine,  was  on  his  vacation  last  week. 
.  .  .  “Berney”  Seamon,  late  of  the  Queen, 

strutted  the  Atlantic  City  boardwalk.  .  .  . 

Lyle  Trenchard,  district  manager,  is  still  off 
with  Jack  Mulhall,  of  one  of  the  Chester 
houses,  pinch  hitting.  .  .  .  “Morty”  Levine  is 
planning  to  dress  up  his  veteran  lobby  in  a  new 
and  artistic  manner.  .  .  .  Sign  shop,  where 
Charley  Albert  presides,  is  busy.  .  .  .  “Morty” 
had  a  lot  of  ballyhoo  worked  out  for  "The 
Black  Cat.”  .  .  .  George  Jones,  manager, 

Loew’s  Parkway,  reports  he  has  a  new  district 
manager,  Carter  Barron,  ex-football  player 
for  Georgia  Tech,  who  has  taken  the  place  of 
Col.  Harry  E.  Long.  .  .  .  Ben  Seligman  is 
letting  the  public  know  in  “ads”  that  his  Strand 
is  “air-cooled.”  .  .  .  Ben  Schindler  has  hit  a 
dull  season  now  and  is  open  only  three  days  a 
week.  .  .  .  Joe  DeFiore  has  made  considerable 
improvements  to  the  Park’s  front.  .  .  .  Jimmy 
Olwell  worked  up  some  nice  “ads”  for  the  Shir¬ 
ley  Temple  picture  at  the  Rialto.  .  .  .  Jimmy 
Kearney  is  after  another  baseball  game  with 
the  Philadelphia  Warners’  team.  .  .  .  Dick 
Hiltshire,  manager,  Queen,  is  putting  in  new 
lobby  displays.  .  .  .  He  had  the  sound  truck 
out  to  trumpet  the  showing  of  “Little  Miss 
Marker.”  .  .  .  Business  was  helped.  .  .  .  And 
I  must  report  that  A.  J.  Belair,  manager,  New 
Rialto,  who  slipped  in  a  bathtub,  fracturing  two 
ribs,  is  out  again. 


TRICTLY  PERSONAL 

Back  From 
Ocean  Trip 


ANNE  KRAFTSOW  was  the  hit  of  the 
Mauretania.  .  .  .  Ethel  Freedman  and  Esther 
Diamond  did  not  sit  back,  either.  .  .  .  Where 
has  Joe  Sloane  been  lately?  .  .  .  Leonard 

Schlesinger  is  now  a  full  fledged  member  of  the 
Ashbourne  Country  Club.  .  .  .  Albert  Cohen 
is  a  crackerjack  tennis  player.  .  .  .  Jack  Green¬ 
berg  now  drives  a  very  nice  little  Chevrolet.  .  .  . 
Who  was  the  good  looker  Sam  Diamond  had 
with  him?  .  .  .  Dorothy  Burreson  is  a  frequent 
visitor  to  Atlantic  City.  .  .  .  That  romance  is 
still  in  bloom ;  in  fact  the  couple  were  down 
to  the  shore  last  week. 

FURTHER  DETAILS  on  the  Moss  party 
include:  53  years  old.  .  .  .  Visitors:  Frank 
Durkee,  Baltimore  exhibitor,  and  the  Mrs.  and 
daughter.  .  .  .  A1  Boyd,  George  F.  Weilland  and 
son ;  Iz  Hirschblond  and  wife,  Mort  Lewis, 
James  Baliner,  Pittsburgh.  .  .  .  Joe  and  Earle 
Forte,  the  Smith  family,  Ben  Tolmas,  A1  Davis, 
Sam  Gross,  Bill  Humphries,  Jack  Greenberg 
and  nephews,  Charles  Zagrans  and  associates. 


THINGS  BEGIN  TO  HAPPEN  “When  Strangers  Meet,”  a  Liberty  production,  with  Richard 
Cromwell,  Arline  Judge  and  others  in  the  cast. 


.  .  .  Victor  Moss,  St.  Louis.  ...  8  dozen  eggs, 
refreshments,  ham,  etc.  .  .  .  Happy  time  by 
all. 

MR.  AND  MRS.  HARRY  SCHWALBE 
announce  the  marriage  of  their  daughter  Marion 
Harriette  to  James  Farrell  Green,  July  13.  .  .  . 
Couple  will  live  in  Conshohocken  after  a  wed¬ 
ding  trip. 

Heard  In 

P.ST  ATE 

Big  Suit 
On  Here 


ALLEGING  NEGLIGENCE  on  the  part  of 
the  management  of  the  Colonial,  Harrisburg, 
counsel  for  Mrs.  Bessie  Schondorf,  Harrisburg, 
has  brought  suit  in  the  Dauphin  County  Com¬ 
mon  Pleas  Court  against  the  Wilmer  and  Vin¬ 
cent  Theatres  Company,  owners  of  the  Colonial, 
for  damages  amounting  to  $2500. 

ARM  in  a  sling,  Bill  McKay,  maintenance 
Loew’s  Regent,  Harrisburg,  busies  himself  about 
the  theatre  daily,  despite  the  objections  of  his 
chief,  Sam  Gilman.  .  .  .  Gilman  has  a  passion 
for  writing  letters.  ...  It  was  a  gala  day 
for  the  youngsters  at  the  Colonial  when  Ken 
Maynard  and  his  horse,  Tarzan,  appeared. 
.  .  .  Won’t  some  managers  ever  learn  there  is 
no  percentage  in  deceiving  their  customers  ?  .  .  . 
Some  moviegoers  vowed  never  to  return  to  a 
theatre  at  which  they  were  hoodwinked  last 
week  by  come-on  lobby  displays.  .  .  .  Jack 
O’Rear,  manager,  Majestic,  struck  out  for  parts 
unknown.  .  .  .  T.  B.  Heckard,  owner,  Broad 
Street,  Harrisburg,  isn't  worrying  about  the 
hot  weather  cutting  box  office  receipts. 

PERSONAL  STAGE  APPEARANCES  at 
the  Colonial  Theatre,  Harrisburg,  appealed  to 
the  children.  .  .  .  Ken  Maynard  was  at  the 
theatre  in  person  with  his  popular  horse.  Tar¬ 
zan.  .  .  .  Three  days  following,  "Popeye”  was 
presented. 


Grainger  Has  4 

Eddie  Grainger,  son  of  Jimmy,  U  sales 
manager,  is  coming  along  nicely  as  an 
associate  producer  for  Universal. 

He  has  four:  “The  Mystery  of  Edwin 
Drood,”  “Moon  Mullins,”  “The  Great 
Impersonation,”  and  “Robinson  Crusoe” 
lined  up  for  production. 


NORTHAMPTON 


ANDY  ANDERSON,  former  manager, 
Roxy,  Northampton,  recuperating  from  an 
operation  for  a  ruptured  appendix  after  two 
weeks  in  a  southern  hospital.  .  .  .  Judge  Wil¬ 
liam  H.  McKeen,  Northampton  County  courts, 
issued  a  citation  directing  the  defendants, 
Frank  Hammerman,  Broad  Street  Amusement 
Corporation,  to  show  cause  why  the  Colonial, 
Bethlehem,  should  not  be  delivered  to  Katharine 
B.  Smith.  .  .  .  Miss  Smith  had  started  eject¬ 
ment  proceedings  for  the  possession  of  the 
property. 


ITM  Meets 


Meeting  of  the  Independent  Theatre 
Managers  held  July  31  saw  Jack  Little 
elected  vice-president,  Johnny  Ulrich 
treasurer  and  Perry  Lessy  publicity 
manager. 

Dues  will  be  $1  monthly,  with  weekly 
meetings. 

There  are  about  25  members  in  the 
organization. 

Meeting  also  saw  discussion  of  cam¬ 
paigns  on  various  pictures,  with  ideas 
being  exchanged  mutually. 


PLENTY  OF  ACTION  in  two  from  Monogram,  “Shock,”  with  Ralph  Forbes,  and  “The 
Loudspeaker,”  with  Ray  Walker. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Aug  1  ’  34 


45 


Heard  In 

ROSSTOWN 

Joe  Rossheim 
Has  Three 


JOE  ROSSHEIM  has  taken  the  State,  Beth¬ 
lehem  ;  Transit,  Allentown ;  4th  Street,  Easton. 
.  .  .  Earn  Labron  has  the  Globe,  Spielmont, 
Marcus  Hook.  .  .  .  Colonial,  Palmerton,  is 
being  operated  by  Chester  LaBarre.  .  .  .  H.  A. 
Evans  has  the  American,  Tower  City.  .  .  . 
Closed:  Villa,  Allegheny,  Lindley.  .  .  .  Ritz, 
Coaldale ;  Hamilton,  Lancaster;  Rialto,  Park, 
Lyric,  Allentown.  .  .  .  Capitol,  Halstead. 

LOCUST  THEATRE  being  repaired.  .  .  . 
Fred  Leopold  hopped  off  to  Canada.  .  .  .  Char¬ 
lie  Segall  broke  ground  for  his  new  Broad- 
Olney  house.  .  .  .  Dave  Miller,  formerly  a 
Vine  Streeter,  is  sick.  ...  A  move  to  tender  a 
dinner  to  Bob  Mochrie,  who  used  to  be  Warner 
manager  here,  was  checked  by  Bob  himself.  .  .  . 
He  said  that  times  were  too  tough  to  be  spend¬ 
ing  money  that  way. 

FROLIC  THEATRE  due  to  open  late  next 
month.  ...  So  is  the  Broadway,  Camden. 
.  .  .  When  first  hot  weather  spell  broke, 

business  picked  up  a  trifle.  .  .  .  But  got  bad 
again  when  the  second  heat  wave  came  in.  .  .  . 
Wilson  Line  running  films  on  boats  all  summer. 
.  .  .  Sid  Stanley  still  up  in  Scranton. 

COLONIAL  THEATRE,  Morris  Gerson 
and  Benny  Fertl,  is  being  entirely  renovated. 
...  A  new  floor  is  being  put  in,  new  seats  are 
being  installed,  a  cooling  system  is  being  con¬ 
structed.  ...  In  addition,  place  is  entirely  being- 
redecorated.  .  .  .  House  will  reopen  within  6 
weeks  as  a  showplace  of  the  South  Philadelphia 
section. 

RCA  VICTOR  High  Fidelity  Sound  has  been 
installed  in  Hunt’s  Crescent,  West  Coll.ngs- 
wood,  N.  J.  .  .  .  Will  Gerst  manages.  .  .  . 
Walter  J.  Rothensies,  Duke  University  grad¬ 
uate  and  a  former  exhibitor  in  Red  Lion,  will 
be  the  next  Collector  of  Internal  Revenue  in 
the  1st  Pennsylvania  district  with  offices  here, 
if  reports  are  correct.  .  .  .  He  lives  in  York 
and  is  secretary  to  Congressman  Harry  Haines. 
.  .  .  Rothensies  was  prominent  in  exhibition 
circles  before  the  Appell  circuit  took  over  his 
possession.  .  .  .  Another  upstater  prominent  in 
politics  is  Elmer  Dietrich,  Tuppahannock. 

SUMMER  CLOSINGS  not  any  larger  or 
smaller  than  usual.  .  .  .  Many  of  the  houses 
are  repeating  clean  shows  that  made  money. 
.  .  .  Royal,  AC,  used  "the  picture  Dillinger 
died  to  see”  for  “Manhattan  Melodrama." 


EUROPA  THEATRE  closed  for  the  bal¬ 
ance  of  the  summer.  .  .  .  Moe  Verbin  still 

around.  .  .  .  Plans  to  open  in  the  fall.  .  .  . 
Artie  Cohn,  who  makes  the  world  Earle  con¬ 
scious,  just  back  from  his  vacation.  . 

Spent  it  at  Grossinger  Country  Club,  Fern- 
dale,  where,  in  addition  to  a  sun  tan,  he  ac¬ 
quired  plenty  of  pep  for  new  Earle  ideas. 
.  .  .  Artie  found  a  lot  of  Philadelphians  at 

Grossinger’s.  .  .  .  Names  included  Joan 

Abbott,  Mae  Questel,  Lillian  Roth,  Benny 
Leonard,  Louis  Sobol.  .  .  .  Cohn’s  animated 
cooling  banner  at  Earle  is  attracting  a  lot 
of  attention. 

RIVIERA,  MANAYUNK,  is  now  a  tab  cita¬ 
del,  having  dropped  movies  for  a  while.  .  .  . 
This  places  Jess  Abel,  veteran  operator,  in 
circulation,  so  if  anyone  wants  to  use  his 
services,  he  can  be  had. 

STANLEY-WARNER  DEALS  with  dis- 
tribs  practically  set.  .  .  .  District  managers 
will  see  5  new  pictures  a  week  under  new 
plan.  .  .  .  Aldine  opens  September  1  with 

“Cellini.”  .  .  Yorktown  opens  September  3. 
.  .  .  Boyd  may  reopen  August  20.  .  .  . 

Camden  business  picking  up.  .  .  Zone 

chief  Schlesinger  enthusiastic.  .  .  .  “Treas¬ 

ure  Island”  headed  for  the  Stanley.  .  .  .  Big 
campaign  planned  for  the  new  season. 

AL  LIDDMAN,  who  is  rumored  to  be  the 
only  Atlantic  Theatres,  Inc.,  manager  who  gets 
a  two  weeks’  vacation,  is  splitting  it  up  between 
friends  in  two  Jersey  towns.  .  .  .  The  towns 
could  be  named  but  that  might  prove  embar¬ 
rassing.  .  .  .  Duke  Rogin,  the  sage  of  the 
Jersey  hinterland,  is  spending  his  vacation  back 
on  the  farm  in  New  Britain,  Conn.  .  .  .  Duke 
was  champ  cow  milker  at  his  agricultural  school. 

NINETEEN  YEARS  AGO.  .  .  .  Joseph 
Berrier,  chief  clerk,  State  Board  of  Censors, 
returned  from  a  trip  through  the  state  claiming 
that  uncensored  prints  were  being  shown  outside 
of  Philadelphia  and  other  large  cities  where 
they  come  under  eyes  of  censors.  .  .  .  Chief 
Censor  Louis  Breitinger  said  that  to  exhibit 
any  likeness  of  Harry  K.  Thaw  in  films  would 
be  improper  and  influence  public  opinion  and 
the  censors  forbade  showing  or  displaying  any 
pictures  showing  likeness  of  Thaw.  .  .  . 

Aspasia  Carey  succeeded  M.  Schroeder  as  man¬ 
ager,  Lincoln  Theatre.  .  .  .  Second  annual  out¬ 
ing  of  the  Philadelphia  Exhibitors’  League  was 
held  at  Atlantic  City,  all  taken  there  by  special 
train.  *.  .  .  Dinner  and  supper  were  served  at 
the  Continental  Hotel.  .  .  .  Among  those  at¬ 
tending  were  Charles  Segal,  president ;  M. 
Crappel,  Simon  Libros,  H.  Powell,  M.  Clem, 
Louis  Hopkins,  Carl  Hess,  J.  H.  Butr.er,  M. 
Solomon,  M.  Green,  M.  Given,  M.  Jacobs, 
Marcus  Benn,  William  Alexander,  Edgar  Mels, 
Jim  Daley,  M.  Hebrew,  M.  Efinger,  S.  Hopkins, 
David  Corson  and  Wilson  F.  Bleloch. 


NEWCOMERS  ARE  PRESENT  from  Universal,  with  Patricia  Ziegfeld  and  William  Anthony 
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46 


Aug  1 '34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


AFFAIRS  ARE  PATCHED  UP  in  “Let’s  Try  Again,”  from  Radio,  with  Clive  Brook,  Diana 
Wynyard  and  others. 


Heard  In 

1NE  STREET 

New  Season 
Enthusiasm  Here 


ROSE  GIMBEL,  Stanley  Warner,  is  in  the 
hospital  recovering  from  an  appendix  operation. 

.  .  .  Frances  Axler,  First  Division,  vacation¬ 
ing.  .  .  .  Sid  Stanley  gets  down  every  week¬ 
end  for  Sundays  only. 

ROSE  FRANK,  Betty  McQuillen,  Univer¬ 
sal,  back  from  vacations.  .  .  .  Mrs.  W.  Win- 
terbottom  back  from  vacation.  .  .  .  Anne 

Schaeffer  went  on  a  Pocono  trip.  .  .  .  V.  R. 
Carrick  treated  the  staff  to  salt  water  taffy. 

.  .  .  Lou  Leiser  dropped  in.  .  .  .  Was  in 

Java.  .  .  .  Now  goes  to  Spain.  .  .  .  Joe 
Engel  got  a  card  from  Uncle  Carl  Laemmle 
in  Carlsbad.  .  .  .  Miss  Sherman  is  the  lassie 
who  sits  in  the  IEPA  offices  at  1313  Vine 
Street. 

MEL  KOFF  will  be  city  manager  for  the 
two  theatres  in  Marcus  Hook  that  recently 
changed  hands.  .  .  .  One  of  the  houses  will 
have  a  full  week  policy  with  the  other  re¬ 
stricted  to  two  days.  .  .  .  Edgar  Moss  had 
another  birthday  and  another  party.  .  .  .  All 
the  shore  film  folk  dropped  in  and  had  a  nice 
time.  .  .  .  Edgar  refuses  to  tell  how  old  he  is. 

LEWEN  PIZOR  has  removed  his  offices  to 
Suite  2011-2012,  12  S.  12th  Street,  PSFS 
building.  .  .  .  Makes  it  more  convenient  to 

attend  code  board  hearings.  .  .  .  Rube  Bren¬ 
ner  is  representative  in  the  local  territory 
for  Mundus  Distributing  Corporation  which 
will  release  a  group  of  27  feature  productions 
in  the  country.  .  .  .  First  is  “Cash.”  .  .  . 

UA  will  distribute. 

BILL  HUNT,  who  has  a  string  of  theatres 
in  Wildwood,  N.  J.,  as  well  as  in  other  spots, 
is  now  publishing  a  Wildwood  paper.  .  .  .  Hunt 
has  a  tie-up  with  the  sheet  whereby  those  clip¬ 
ping  a  coupon  are  allowed  something  off  on 
admissions  to  his  theatres.  .  .  .  First  Division 
all  enthused  because  of  the  runs  of  “Jane  Eyre’’ 
at  the  local  Karlton  as  well  as  at  the  Stanley 
Theatre,  Atlantic  City.  .  .  .  Harry  Bodkin 
went  to  New  York  to  an  eastern  division  man¬ 
agers’  meeting. 

MASTERPIECE  is  practically  set  for  the 
new  season  and  if  reports  are  correct  will  have 
a  really  startling  bit  of  news  for  all  exhibitors. 
.  .  .  Latest  current  release  is  “Oil  Raiders.” 
.  .  .  Larry  Crabbe  and  Gloria  Shea  in  the  cast. 
.  .  .  The  Mutt  and  Jeff  color  cartoons  will  be 
in  shortly.  .  .  .  Next  week.  .  .  .  Ed  Boreth 
on  deck  at  all  times.  .  .  .  Pop  Korson  expected 
back  in  September.  .  .  .  Bennie  Harris  an¬ 

nounces  release  dates  of  Claire  (6-26),  Mitzie 
(7-6),  Dotzie  (7-6).  .  .  .  Ben,  Sara,  Jack,  not 
available  yet. 


EXPANSION  of  business  has  caused  Qual¬ 
ity  Premium  Distributors  to  acquire  more  room. 
.  .  .  Company  has  now  edged  into  some 

space  next  door.  .  .  .  With  all  deliveries  made 
through  the  passage  way  in  the  rear  from  13th 
Street.  ...  New  offices  are  now  more  roomy 
with  inviting  displays  as  usual  in  front.  .  .  . 
Charlie  Goodwin  and  Dave  Barrist  both  have 
new  layouts.  .  .  .  Lewen  Pizor  hopped  over  to 
New  York  to  sit  as  a  member  of  the  Code 
Authority  for  Ed  Kuykendall. 

WHAT  WITH  VACATIONS,  etc.,  Vine 
Street  is  going  through  the  usual  summer. 

.  Tony  Lucchese  is  still  at  the  shore, 
vacationing  and  recovering  from  his  recent 
illness.  .  .  .  He  is  expected  back  shortly  to 

take  over  active  direction  of  the  exchange. 
.  .  .  Street  wonders  what  theatres  will  be  in 

William  Goldman’s  chain. 

COMPLETELY  REBUILT,  Apex  Garage 
stands  without  a  peer  as  far  as  service  and 
facilities  for  film  folk  are  concerned.  .  .  . 

Under  the  guidance  of  J.  Becker,  the  garage, 
with  an  efficient  staff,  has  come  along  fast 
since  he  took  over  the  management  with  capac¬ 
ity  prevailing  at  all  times.  .  .  .  Expansion  had 
to  follow,  so  now  a  rebuilt  garage  stands  ready 
to  serve  all  Vine  Street’s  needs.  .  .  .  Full  re¬ 
pair  equipment  is  available  as  well  as  the  usual 
washing,  greasing  services.  .  .  .  Give  it 

a  trial. 

DELUGE  of  tie  salesmen  still  current.  .  .  . 
Barnev  Cohen’s  summer  getup  attracted  Nor¬ 
man  Beckett’s  attention.  .  .  .  Independent  The¬ 
atre  Managers  will  have  headquarters  at  corner 
13th  and  Vine  Streets,  it  is  understood.  .  .  . 
Clem  Rizzo  busy  as  ever  these  days.  .  .  .  Harry 
Blumberg  looking  plenty  better  now.  .  .  .  Fol¬ 
lowing  his  operation.  .  .  .  John  Golder  screened 
“No  Ransom,”  had  plenty  calls  for  dates  on  it. 
.  .  .  Bill  Heenan’s  and  Oscar  Neufeld’s  Peer¬ 
less  exchange  about  a  year  old  now.  .  .  .  Ex¬ 
hibitors  much  impressed  by  RKO's  announce¬ 
ment  book.  .  .  Continental  h  adouarters  still 

empty.  .  .  .  Sig  Wittman  visits  often  at  Uni¬ 
versal  exchange.  .  .  .  Mike  Landow  snent 

some  time  at  Haddon  Hall.  AC.  .  .  .  RKO 
screened  a  two-reel  color  short  “La  Cura- 
chacha”  for  exhibs  and  trade. 

BOB  LYNCH,  when  told  that  Metro’s 
“Manhattan  Melodrama”  was  the  lure  for 
Dillinger  to  come  into  the  open,  regretted 
ffat  it  couldn’t  have  been  something  like 
“You  Can’t  Buy  Everything,”  a  remark  which 
doesn’t  need  any  explanation. 

JOE  ENGEL  points  out  that  Universal’s  big 
Grainger  drive,  in  honor  of  Jimmy  Grainger, 
sales  manager,  continues  until  Sentember  1. 
.  .  .  He  asks  all  exhibitors  to  flood  the  office 
with  dates  so  that  the  local  bovs  can  win. 
.  .  Engel  is  stepping  into  Mike  Landow’s 

shoes  ranidly  and  making  a  name  for  himself. 

.  .  U  hits  coming  along  are  “One  More 

River”  and  “Romance  in  the  Rain.” 


STATIONERY 


Ration  al  Stationers 


Walnut  1760-1761  1028  ARCH  STREET 

Race  4911-4912  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


THEATRE  EQUIPMENT 


PEJVIV  THEATRE 
EQUIPMENT  CO. 

309  North  13th  Street 
PHILADELPHIA 
Phone,  Rittenhoute  3273 

QENERAL  THEATRE  EQUIPMENT 

Specialist s  in  Repairs 


CLEM'S 

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SPRUCE  18P4  fXPror  •  i  I  a  i  •*  i  *, 


National  Theatre  Supply  Company 


Service  and  courtesy  from  men  you  know  .  . . 
Plus  equipment  of  known  and  guaranteed  quality 
.  .  .  are  at  your  service  at  our  local  braaea 


UNIFORMS 


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for  Ushers  -  «pOi95 

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Any  Color  Gabardine 
WRITE  FOR  INFORMATION 


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134  So.  11th  St.  Phila.,  Pa. 


SUPPLIES 


THEATRE  EQUIPMENT 


.Yfir  -  Used  -  HvbuiU 


Projectors,  Screens, 
Soundheads,  Amplifiers, 
Chairs,  Portable  Projectors, 
Arc  Lamps,  Rectifiers 
and  Generators. 
lIKIMlItl.Mi  AT  I.OWKST  HATES 


S.  O.  S.  CORP.  !  1600  Broadway,  New  York 


Equipment  Bought  at  Highest  Prices 


Tell  Our  Advertisers 
“/  saw  it  in 

THE  EXHIBITOR"! 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Aug  1  ’  34 


47 


MYSTERY  RUNS  RIOT  in  “Return  of  the  Terror,”  a  thriller  from  Warners,  with  Joe 
Halliday,  Lyle  Talbot,  Mary  Astor  and  others. 


WILKES-BARRE 


CHURCH  CAMPAIGN  is  beginning  to  cut 
in  locally.  .  .  .  Since  the  churches  have  a 
powerful  grip  in  Wilkes-Barre  and  vicinity, 
especially  when  united,  the  boys  have  plenty 
of  reason  for  sleepless  nights.  .  .  .  Ernie 

Schmidt  is  carrying  an  extra  load.  .  .  .  Schmidt 
reveals  that  the  Comerfords  are  going  to  built 
a  $75,000  house  at  Berwick  on  the  site  of  the 
old  Palace.  .  .  .  Strand,  Berwick,  also  will  be 
rebuilt,  bids  for  the  new  structure  calling  for 
a  house  with  a  capacity  of  800.  .  .  .  J.  E.  Elli- 
ger,  new  manager,  Penn,  is  holding  to  his  prom¬ 
ise  to  make  the  South  Main  Street  theatre  one 
of  the  most  attractive.  .  .  .  Matt  Saunders, 
who  used  to  be  in  charge  of  the  Penn  when 
it  was  the  Poli  back  in  the  good  old  days,  was 
in  town  with  the  wife  and  children.  .  .  A1 
Coxe  made  a  local  play  with  the  pictures  of 
the  Kehoe-Berge  breaker  dedication  at  Duryea. 
.  .  .  They  were  of  particular  interest  because 
of  the  mine  angle.  .  .  .  Louis  Pilosi  will  be  in 
charge  of  the  presentation  of  talking  pictures 
at  the  Wilkes-Barre  Institute  on  the  West  Side 
this  fall  and  winter.  .  .  .  Plans  have  been  com- 
rEted  with  the  Institute  authorities  to  offer  the 
big  attractions.  .  .  .  Lithuanian  song  festival 
was  in  the  Perm  newsreel  last  week. 


READING 


ORPHEUM  may  be  reopened  in  September. 
.  .  .  Theatre  interests  with  road  bookings  in 
mind,  burless  and  other  attractions,  are  look¬ 
ing  it  over.  .  .  .  R.  C.  Wall,  Spartanburg, 
N.  C.,  has  leased  Rajah  Theatre  for  a  four- 
year  period,  effective  September  1.  .  .  .  Wall 
will  present  pictures  only.  ...  It  will  be 
operated  as  a  union  house,  it  is  stated,  with 
various  dates  reserved  by  the  Mystic  Shriners, 
owners.  .  .  .  Ken  Maynard,  cowboy  star,  ap¬ 
peared  in  person  at  the  State  Theatre  here.  .  .  . 
He  made  a  big  hit,  thanks  to  some  good  exploi¬ 
tation  ballyhoo. 


M  I  D  -  J  E  R  S  E  y 


LEW  ROVNER,  Parkside,  Camden,  has  a 
new  chocolate  brown  suit.  .  .  .  Bud  Dillo, 

South  Jersey  driver  for  New  Jersey  Messen¬ 
ger,  found  a  child  asleep  in  a  movie  house  and 
turned  him  over  to  the  police.  .  .  .  Added  N.  J. 
Messenger  Service  .  .  .  Van  Meter  now  man¬ 
aging  AC  Virginia.  .  .  .  Formerly  at  Camden 
Grand.  .  .  .  Everett  Callow  seen  on  the  board¬ 
walk  in  AC.  .  .  .  Joe  Redanauer  proud  father 
of  a  daughter.  .  .  .  New  Jersey  Messenger  aide 
so  proud  he  had  the  mumps.  .  .  .  Harry  Volk 
plenty  busy  at  Steel  Pier  these  days.  .  .  .  Pub¬ 
licizing.  .  .  .  Lyric,  AC,  being  remodelled.  .  .  . 
Palace,  Atlantic  City,  getting  new  seats  and 
new  marquise.  .  .  .  Harry  Waxman  all  en¬ 

thused  over  the  Hollywood. 


TRENTON 


LEGISLATIVE  RULE  requiring  consent  of 
every  member  of  House  or  Senate  to  introduce 
a  new  bill  in  either  branch  of  the  New  Jersey 
legislature  prevented  offering  a  censorship  bill 
at  special  session,  July  2.  .  .  .  Boycott  causes 
house  managers  much  worry,  down  town  houses 
particularly.  .  .  .  William  Matthews  announces 
the  purchase  of  the  Hildinger  interests  in  the 
Auto  Messenger  Service.  .  .  .  Charles  Sweet, 
Stacy  manager,  is  associated  in  the  new  com¬ 
pany.  .  .  .  William  Keegan,  general  manager, 
Hunt’s  Trenton  theatres,  is  at  Wildwood  for 
the  summer.  .  .  .  John  Bodley,  Gaiety  house 
manager,  handling  the  Hunt  theatres. 


ATLANTIC  CITY 


WHEN  "BULLDOG  DRUMMOND  STRIKES 

BACK”  arrived  at  the  Strand  following  its 
Apollo  engagement,  business  almost  exceeded 
that  of  the  first  engagement.  .  .  .  Reason, 

according  to  George  F.  Weilland,  was  that  on 
the  second  engagement  the  word  “Bulldog” 
was  left  off.  .  House  seemed  to  think 

three  word  title  “Drummond  Strikes  Back” 
had  more  appeal. 


DAMON  RUNYON  AGAIN  has  come  to  the  screen  in  “The  Midnight  Alibi,”  from 
Warners,  with  Richard  Barthelmess,  Helen  Lowell,  Ann  Dvorak  in  cast. 


TICKET  REGISTERS 


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From  Sage  Woodin 


Larry  Woodin,  the  sage  of  Wellsboro, 
sends  in  the  following  from  the  Wells¬ 
boro  “Gazette.”  It  speaks  for  itself: 

Purge  the  Movies 

We  have  been  able  to  work  up  nothing 
more  resembling  enthusiasm  than  a  smould¬ 
ering  glow  of  antipathy  for  the  current  holy 
war  for  the  purification  of  the  films.  Trans¬ 
ference  of  the  industry  from  the  brothel  to 
the  nursery  standard  seems  to  us  to  be  hardly 
as  important  as  implanting  in  the  Great 
Minds  of  Hollywood  some  adequate  concep¬ 
tion  of  adult  entertainment.  No  celluloid 
mogul  would  attempt  the  filming  of  “Sailor 
Beware”  from  the  Broadway  play,  nor,  I  am 
informed,  will  Herb  Asbury's  thoroughly  en¬ 
joyable  history  of  a  phase  of  early  San 
Francisco  be  awarded  screen  immortality, 
since  it  depicts  scenes  scarcely  suitable  for 
murals  in  the  average  Kansas  City  Kindergar¬ 
ten.  Against  the  current  yard-stick  of  theatre 
values,  we  may  anticipate  such  ennobling  and 
elevating  subjects  in  subsequent  cinemas  as 
“The  Boy  Scout  Handbook,'  or  "Annual  Re¬ 
port  of  the  Treasury  Department  for  1898.” 


48 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


1  -August-34 


6-Point  Reviews 


1  ■►  Who  made  it  ?  4  -*►  Is  St  family  or  adult  type  ? 

2  Who's  in  it  ?  5 -►  What's  it  about  ? 

3 ■►  How  good  is  it ?  ©■►Running  Time? 


CHESTERFIELD 

MAJESTIC 

a 

MONOGRAM 

Fifteen  Wives  Melodrama 

66m. 

Conway  Tearle,  John  Wray,  Ralf  Harolde,  Noel 
Francis,  Natalie  Moorhead,  Oscar  Apfel,  Raymond 
Hatton,  Robert  Frazer,  Margaret  Dumont. 

Mystery  murder  story  that  is  of  credit  to  the 
independent  market.  A  man  married  to  15 
women  is  found  murdered.  Suspicion  rests  on 
a  lot  of  people.  Eventually  the  murder  is  solved. 
Murder  process  is  especially  interesting.  Show 
keeps  moving  all  the  time,  should  do  a  satisfac¬ 
tory  business  where  they  go  for  the  intrigue 
stuff. 

Estimate:  Thriller. 


The  Scarlet  Letter  Classic  Drama 

63m. 

Colleen  Moore,  Hardie  Albright,  Henry  B.  Walthall, 
Cora  Sue  Collins,  Alan  Hale,  Virginia  Howell,  Wil¬ 
liam  Farnum,  Betty  Blythe. 

Talkie  version  of  an  old  classic,  with  some 
modern  touches  in  the  dialogue,  that  can  be  made 
a  saleable  property  for  any  theatre.  Produc¬ 
tion  is  of  credit  to  the  independent  market  with 
the  cast  containing  some  familiar  names.  Treat¬ 
ment  is  close  to  the  story  except  that  comedy 
touches  bring  angles  down  into  the  present 
century.  Principal  parts  are  well  taken  and 
atmosphere  is  well  moded  as  of  that  period. 

Estimate:  Saleable. 


Happy  Landings 


Family 
Action  drama 
62m. 


Ray  Walker,  Jacqueline  Wells,  William  Farnum, 
Noah  Beery,  Hyram  Hoover,  Warner  Richmond, 
Donald  Reed. 


Action  drama  about  a  couple  of  flying  service 
lieutenants  in  the  border  patrol  and  a  natural 
for  the  thrill-lovers.  Picture  is  of  the  action- 
melodrama-keep  moving  school  with  a  good 
progam  rating  for  that  sort  of  thing.  Produc¬ 
tion  brings  in  chases,  a  bank  robbery,  a  liner  at 
sea  and  some  parachute  jumps. 

Estimate:  Moves  right  along. 


COLUMBIA 


A  Man’s  Game  Action  Drama 

59m. 

Tim  McCoy,  Evalyn  Knapp,  Ward  Bond,  DeWitt 
Jennings,  Wade  Boteler. 

Action  of  firefighters  with  Tim  McCoy  turn¬ 
ing  in  his  usual  good  performance.  As  a  rich 
man’s  son  who  turns  to  firefighting  for  the  thrill 
of  it  and  who  gets  mixed  up  with  a  girl  and  a 
gang  of  thieves,  McCoy  is  his  usual  self.  Show 
will  satisfy  the  action  lovers. 

Estimate:  Program  action. 


Whom  the  Gods  Destroy  Drama 

71m. 

Walter  Cannolly,  Doris  Kenyon ,  Robert  Young, 
Maidel  Turner ,  Hobart  Bosworth,  Hugh  Huntley, 
Gilbert  Emery. 

Programmer  with  an  excellent  performance 
by  Walter  Connolly  that  should  be  responsible 
for  fair  returns,  particularly  in  neighborhood 
houses.  The  story  of  a  theatrical  producer  who 
escapes  from  a  sinking  ship  in  women’s  clothes, 
then  finds  he  has  been  branded  a  hero  in  death 
and  who  can  not  return  to  his  wife  and  family 
because  of  that  lends  itself  to  a  splendid  char¬ 
acterization.  Those  who  like  their  drama  heavy 
will  be  pleased. 

Estimate:  One  man  show. 


FOX 


Servants’  Entrance 


Family 

Comedy 

85m. 


Janet  Gaynor,  Lew  Ayres,  Ned  Sparks,  Walter 
Connolly,  Louise  Dresser,  G.  P.  Huntley,  Jr.,  Astrid 
Allwyn,  Siegfried  Rumann,  Buster  Phelps. 

Pleasant  little  tidbit  with  Janet  Gaynor  the 
centre  of  attention  that  should  be  responsible 
for  fair  grosses.  Story  has  heroine  as  the  lassie 
who  hires  out  as  a  housemaid,  bent  on  getting 
experience  for  matrimony  later,  but  who  falls  in 
love  with  the  chauffeur.  Picture  should  be  at¬ 
tractive  in  most  spots.  Story,  genr rally  light,  is 
handled  in  the  same  manner. 

Estimate:  Entertaining. 


METRO 


The  Barretts  of 

Wimpole  Street 


Adult 
Drama 
— m. 


Norma  Shearer,  Charles  Laughton,  Fredric  March, 
Maureen  O'Sullivan,  Katherine  Alexander,  Marion 
Clayton,  Una  O'Connor,  Ralph  Forbes. 


High  rating  screen  transition  of  a  stage  hit, 
backed  by  names,  intelligent  acting  and  direction 
and  a  class  entrant  that  can’t  help  but  get  money 
in  all  types  of  houses.  Picture  is  especially 
valuable  coming  at  this  time  and  should  prove 
a  delight  to  showmen.  Show  is  a  triumph  for 
Metro,  is  labelled  class  but  should  do  with  the 
masses  as  well.  Shearer,  March,  Laughton  per¬ 
formances  are  superb.  The  love  story  of  Eliza¬ 
beth  Barrett  and  Robert  Browning  is  the  basis 
for  the  action  and  is  one  that  should  have  tre¬ 


mendous  appeal. 


Estimate:  Triumph. 


The  Girl  from  Missouri  Comedy 

75m. 

Jean  Harlow,  Lionel  Barrymore,  Franchot  Tone , 
Lew's  Stone,  Patsy  Kelly,  Alan  Mowbray,  Clara 
Blandick,  Hale  Hamilton,  Henry  Kolker,  Nat 
Pendleton. 

Sex-controlled  box  office  entrant  about  the 
lass  who  keeps  her  reputation  spotless  while  she 
aims  to  further  her  own  ambitions.  Story  gives 
Jean  Harlow  plenty  of  space  in  which  to  romp 
but  keeps  her  virtue  untouched.  Cast  contains 
some  swell  Metro  name  support  and  winds  up 
with  those  who  attempt  some  compromising 
being  compromised  themselves.  Picture  is 
totally  adult  in  appeal  but  has  so  been  handled 
that  it  should  not  offend. 

Estimate:  Should  do  business. 


Paris  Interlude 


Adult 
Comedy  Drama 
86m. 


Otto  Kruger,  Madge  Evans,  Ted  Heady,  Robert 
Young,  Una  Merkel,  George  Meeker,  Bert  Roach, 
Richard  Tucker. 


Program  entrant  about  Americans  in  Paris 
interwoven  with  a  love  story  of  the  pal  who 
takes  care  of  the  buddie’s  girl  and  not  likely 
to  cause  any  sensation  at  the  box  office.  Metro 
has  contributed  some  good  names  as  well  as 
interesting  production  but  angles  weren't  there 
in  the  first  place. 


Estimate:  Also-ran. 


Shock 


Family 

Drama 

68m. 


Ralph  Forbes,  Monroe  Owsley,  Gewnllian  Gill, 
Reginald  Sharland,  Bill  Bevan,  Clyde  Cook,  David 
John  Holt. 


Drama  with  a  war  background  about  the 
hero  who  suffered  shell  shock,  returned  from 
the  fry  and  falls  in  love  with  his  own  wife.  Pic¬ 
ture  covers  a  lot  of  familiar  angles,  includes 
amnesia  and  all  other  browbeaten  devices.  Show 
lacks  feature  name  strength  but  may  get  across 
on  war  appeal.  All  in  all,  however,  Monogram 
has  done  better. 

Estimate:  Average. 


PARAMOUNT 


Elmer  and  Elsie  Comedy  Drama 

81m. 

George  Bancroft,  Frances  Fuller,  Roscoe  Earns, 
George  Barbier,  Nella  Walker,  Charles  Sellen,  Albert 
Conti. 

Husband  and  wife  yarn  about  the  part  women 
play  in  advancing  their  men  and  a  programmer 
at  best.  Return  of  Bancroft  finds  him  in  a  role 
different  from  the  rest.  Story  deals  with 
domestic  problems  and  married  life  with  Ban¬ 
croft  getting  good  support  from  a  well-picked 
cast.  At  best,  however,  show  will  have  to  fall 
into  the  so-so  category  because  of  lack  of 
strength  that  should  be  a  tipoff  to  customers 
Estimate:  So-so. 


Lad  ies  Should  Listen  Comedy 

60m. 

Cary  Grant,  Frances  Drake,  Edward  Everett  Hor¬ 
ton,  Rosita  Moreno,  George  Barbier,  Nydia  Westman, 
Charles  Ray. 

Rapid  fire  comedy  of  a  man  who  is  pursued 
by  many  women  and  headed  for  fair  returns 
where  they  like  their  entertainment  tinted  with 
spice.  Story  is  adult  throughout,  with  just  the 
right  sort  of  direction  to  keep  interest  sus¬ 
tained  all  the  way.  Cast  includes  feature  name 
strength  that  should  be  a  tipoff  to  customers 
that  there  will  be  plenty  of  smart  laughs.  Direc¬ 
tion,  speed  both  okay. 

Estimate:  Smart  laughs. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 

l-August-34 


49 


RADIO 


Hat,  Coat  and  Glove  Melodrama 

66m. 

Ricardo  Cortez,  Barbara  Robbins,  John  Beal,  Mar- 
l/aret  Hamilton,  Sara  Haden,  Murray  Kinnell,  Samuel 
Hinds,  Dorothy  Burgess,  David  Durand,  Raul  Harvey. 

Well  paced  murder  melodrama  with  a  triangle 
to  boot  that  deserves  rating  as  a  fair  program¬ 
mer.  Picture,  which  sees  lawyer  husband  de¬ 
fending  lover  of  his  wife  on  a  murder  charge 
of  which  the  lover  is  innocent,  on  condition  that 
presence  of  the  lover  with  the  wife  on  the  night 
in  question  is  not  made  known,  contains  some 
good  court  room  tricks,  neat  bits  of  acting. 
Show  isn’t  strong  on  name  strength  but  has 
some  different  angles  with  which  to  sell.  Sex 
angles  are  handled  with  restraint. 

Estimate:  Tricky. 


Their  Big  Moment  Comedy 

80m. 

Slim  Summerville,  Zasu  Pitts,  Kay  Johnson,  Wil¬ 
liam  Gaxton,  Bruce  Cabot ,  Ralph  Morgan,  Julie 
Hay  don,  Huntley  Gordon,  Tamara  Geva. 

Summerville-Pitts  comedy  with  more  of  a 
dash  of  melodrama  than  usual  but  probably  the 
same  kind  of  a  grosser  at  the  box  office.  Comedy 
moments  aren’t  so  frequent  with  what  a  clair¬ 
voyant  story  being  mixed  in,  but  followers  of 
the  funny  pair  will  be  satisfied.  Team  has  some 
better  support  than  usual,  with  story  making 
them  a  mind  reading  act  which  unravels  a  mur¬ 
der  mystery. 

Estimate:  Usual  returns. 


UNITED  ARTISTS 


Nell  Gy  Wn  Costume  Drama 

75m. 

Anna  Neagle,  Cedric  Hardwicke,  Laurence  Ander¬ 
son,  Jeanne  de  Casalis,  Helena  Pickard,  Miles 
Malleson. 

English  picture  that  will  have  to  make  its 
best  impression  in  the  class  houses.  Picture  is 
typically  English  with  no  domestic  names  to 
sell  and  has  another  handicap  in  the  costume 
atmosphere.  However,  there  are  angles  to  plug 
which  may  overcome  some  of  these  disadvan¬ 
tages.  Historically,  film  is  okay  and  strictly 
for  adult  trade. 

Estimate:  Restricted. 


BETWEEN  THE  PARAGRAPHS 

— — — ■  ■  rr  ■  r  -n  „  g g  - » _ _  ■—  — g .r— ■  ■  ■  r 


CANCELLATION  ORDER  HAS 
CERTAIN  MODIFICATIONS 

Privilege  of  cancelling  out  at  any  time  any  picture,  short  or 
feature  length,  released  before  July  15,  against  which  there  may  be 
an  actual  protest  on  moral  grounds,  given  by  the  major  producers,  has 
certain  modifications.  The  cancellation  is  allowed  where  there  is  a 
recognized  protest.  In  case  of  any  dispute  on  these  grounds,  the  local 
grievance  board  will  hear  the  question. 

Again,  in  cancelling  pictures,  it  is  believed  that  the  exhibitor  must 
first  use  up  his  10%  privilege  under  the  code,  if  he  is  entitled  to  it, 
before  taking  advantage  of  the  additional  cancellation  order. 

How  the  code  bodies  become  linked  in  this  matter  is  one  question. 
The  trade  has  not  been  officially  advised  of  these  modifications,  the 
understanding  being  that  they  have  been  handed  out  to  exchanges. 
Thus  far,  there  is  no  record  of  disputes  on  what  the  pictures  might  be. 

MPTOA  COMMITTEE  ON  ENTERTAINMENT 
VALUES  MAY  TURN  OUT  TO  BE  VALUABLE 

The  MPTOA,  according  to  an  announcement  from  its  headquar¬ 
ters,  has  organized  a  committee  consisting  of  Walter  Vincent,  R.  B. 
Wilby,  E.  C.  Beatty,  Karl  Hoblitzelle,  Morgan  A.  Walsh  to  gather, 
correlate  and  forward  information  on  reactions  of  audiences  to  any¬ 
thing  in  pictures  and  to  determine  entertainment  values.  Contact 
between  the  committee  and  studio  heads  is  planned. 

The  idea  is  sound  if  handled  sincerely.  Apparently,  the  MPTOA 
intends  to  let  the  idea  be  more  than  a  news  story.  It  will  be  interesting 
to  note  whether  it  actually  gets  anywhere. 

BOYCOTT  TURNING  INTO 
A  MAD  PUBLICITY  SCRAMBLE 

Regardless  of  the  fact  that  those  who  initiated  the  boycott  against 
salacious  picures  were  and  most  certainly  still  are  sincere  in  their 
protests  and  ideals,  it  is  unfortunate  that  the  entire  issue  has  become 
a  mecca  for  headline  hunters.  In  all  parts  of  the  country,  individuals 
and  organizations  who  apparently  are  not  any  too  concerned  with  the 
question  as  a  question,  are  jumping  into  the  fray  in  order  to  get  some 
personal  publicity  out  of  it.  This,  of  course,  does  not  affect  the 
original  situation,  but  it  only  goes  to  show  that  some  folks  can  so 
muddle  anything  as  almost  to  lose  sight  of  the  problem  in  question. 

There  are  few  who  will  deny  that  eventually  the  answer  to  the 
problem  will  satisfy  everywhere,  but  while  the  publicity  seekers  hang 
around  no  one  can  benefit. 


STATE  RIGHTS 


The  Fighting  Hero  Western 

59m. 

Tom  Tyler,  Ed  Hearn ,  Renee  Borden,  Ralph  Lewis , 
Murdock  McQuarrie. 

Rapid  fire  western  with  the  hero  an  express 
agent  who  masks  as  an  outlaw  in  order  to  find 
out  who  the  bad  fellows  are.  Fie  helps  the  girl, 
saves  the  day  and  all  is  well. 

Estimate:  Nice  western. 


What  Do  You  Think? 

It  it  the  aim  of  thii  publication  to  glva  lit  raadart 
•vary  poailbla  tarvica.  Ravltlon  of  tha  paga  It  an 
attampt  to  oflar  a  concha  ravlawing  form  that 
will  halp  avary  exhibitor.  Your  tuggaationi  and 
•rltlolima  are  walcemad.  Wrlta  In  now  and  tall 
ua  whathar  yau  Ilka  this  or  net. 


INSTITUTIONAL  ADVERTISING 
WILL  HELP  ALL  BRANCHES 

Someone  ought  to  get  behind  a  revival  of  the  New  Movie  Season 
idea  that  used  to  be  repeated  nationally  a  few  years  back.  When 
September  rolls  around,  a  concerted  industry  campaign  to  sell  the 
movies  as  an  institution  would  prove  of  value  from  all  angles. 

SOME  ZONING  COMPLAINTS 
WON’T  BE  ANSWERED 

Regardless  of  whether  or  not  someone  has  decided  that  July  1  is 
the  deadline  for  filing  zoning  cases,  what  happens  to  the  people  who 
think  they  are  being  zoned  incorrectly  at  the  present  time  and  can’t 
do  anything  about  it?  It  would  seem  to  the  industry  in  general  that  a 
wrong  is  a  wrong,  regardless  of  time  limit.  Certainly,  zoning  boards 
were  appointed  for  the  purpose  of  hearing  complaints  and  ironing 
them  out.  If  a  fellow  is  being  hurt  now,  he  will  continue  to  be  hurt 
until  someone  takes  action  on  it.  No  doubt,  the  zoning  boards  didn’t 
want  to  hold  up  1934-1935  selling,  hut  that  July  1  limit  didn’t  help 
the  situation  any. 

HOBART  MANN 


50 


Aug  1’34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


THE  CHECKUP 


For  your  convenience,  this  publication  furnishes  this  guide  to  reviews  of  pictures  which  have  appeared 
in  regular  review  department.  Before  dating  in  your  show,  consult  this  page,  find  out  when  the  review  appeared 
and  then  look  it  up.  Key:  For  example,  2-Jan.  means  the  second  issue  of  this  publication  in  that  month. 
1-Feb.  would  mean  the  first  issue,  and  so  on. 


Columbia 

The  Social  Register . 

One  is  Guilty  . 

Voice  in  the  Night . 

The  Whirlpool  . 

The  Fighting  Ranger . 

The  Man  Trailer  . 

Sisters  Under  the  Skin  . 

The  Party’s  Over  . 

20th  Century  . 

The  Crime  of  Helen  Stanley  . 

Hell  Bent  for  Love  . 

One  Night  of  Love . 

The  Hell  Cat . 

The  Most  Precious  Thing  in  Life 
Black  Moon 

A  Man’s  Game  .  . 

Whom  the  Gods  Destroy 


1- Apr. 

2- Apr. 
2-Apr. 
2-Apr. 
1-May 
1-May 
1-May 
1-May 

1- May 

2- May 

1- June 

2- June 
.  2-June 

2-June 

2-July 

1-Aug. 

1-Aug. 


First  National — Warners 


Mystery  of  Mr.  X  . 

Lazy  River  . 

The  Showoff  . 

Riptide  . 

The  Hollywood  Party  . 
Viva  Villa 

Manhattan  Melodrama 
Tarzan  and  His  Mate 

Laughing  Boy  . 

Sadie  McKee  . 

Operator  13  . 

The  Thin  Man  . 

Murder  in  Private  Car 

Stamboul  Quest  . 

Treasure  Island 
Barretts  of  Wimpole  Street 
Girl  from  Missouri 
Paris  Interlude 


Monogram 

DISTRIBUTED  BY  FIRST  DIVISION 


1- Mar. 

2- Mar. 
2-Mar. 
2-Apr. 
2-Apr. 
2-Apr. 
1-May 

1- May 

2- May 
2-May 
1-June 

1- June 

2- July 
2- July 
2-July 
1-Aug. 
1-Aug. 
1-Aug. 


We’re  Rich  Again  . 

Of  Human  Bondage  . 

Hat,  Coat  and  Glove  . 

Their  Big  Moment  . 

United  Artists 

Advice  to  the  Lovelorn . 

Gallant  Lady  . 

Moulin  Rouge  . 

Nana  . 

Palooka  . 

Sorrell  and  Son . 

Looking  for  Trouble  . 

Catherine  the  Great . 

House  of  Rothschild  . 

The  Affairs  of  Cellini  . 

Bulldog  Drummond  Strikes  Back  . 

The  Last  Gentleman  . 

Born  to  Be  Bad  . 

Our  Daily  Bread  . 

Nell  Gwyn 


I've  Got  Your  Number .  2-Feb. 

Wonder  Bar  2-Feb. 

Gambling  Lady  . 1-Mar. 

Harold  Teen  1-Mar. 

Journal  of  a  Crime  .  2-Mar. 

Registered  Nurse  .  2-Mar. 

Jimmy  the  Gent .  2-Mar. 

Twenty  Million  Sweethearts . 1-Apr. 

Upper  World  1-Apr. 

A  Very  Honorable  Guy .  2-Apr. 

Side  Streets  . 2-Apr. 

A  Modern  Hero .  2-Apr. 

Smarty  . .  1-May 

Merry  Wives  of  Reno  .  2-May 

Fog  Over  Frisco  .  1-June 

Midnight  Alibi  .  1-June 

The  Circus  Clown  .  1-June 

The  Merry  Frinks  .  1-June 

Dr.  Monica  .  1-June 

The  Key  . .  1-June 

He  Was  Her  Man  .  1-June 

Man  With  Two  Faces .  2-June 

Return  of  the  Terror . 2-June 

Friends  of  Mr.  Sweeney .  2-June 

Madam  Du  Barry . 2-June 

The  Personality  Kid . 2-June 

Here  Comes  the  Navy  2-July 


Fox 

David  Harum  .  1-Mar. 

Bottoms  Up  .  2-Mar. 

Scandals  .  2-Mar. 

Three  on  a  Honeymoon .  1-Apr. 

All  Men  Are  Enemies .  2-Apr. 

Murder  in  Trinidad  .  2-Apr. 

Stand  Up  and  Cheer  .  2-Apr. 

The  Constant  Nymph  .  2-Apr. 

Now  I’ll  Tell  .  1-May 

Springtime  for  Henry  .  1-May 

Such  Women  Are  Dangerous  .  1-May 

Wild  Gold  . 1-May 

Change  of  Heart  .  2-May 

Handy  Andy  .  .  2-May 

Call  It  Luck  .  1-June 

Heart  Song  . . .  .  .  1-June 

Baby  Take  a  Bow  1-July 

Grand  Canary  . .  1-Julv 

She  Learned  About  Sailors  1-July 

Charlie  Chan’s  Courage  .  2-July 

The  World  Moves  On  2-July 

Servants’  Entrance  1-Aug. 


Liberty 

Cheaters  .  1-May 

No  Ransom  .  2-Apr. 

When  Strangers  Meet  .  2-Apr. 

T?ke  the  Stand  .  2-Mar. 

Once  to  Every  Bachelor  1-June 

Two  Heads  on  a  Pillow  2-July 


Metro 

Fugitive  Lovers  2-Jan. 

You  Can’t  Buy  Everything  . 1-Feb. 

This  Side  of  Heaven  1-Feb. 

Men  In  White  2-Feb. 

Cat  and  the  Fiddle  . .  .  1-Mar. 


Manhattan  Love  Song  . 2-Apr. 

Monte  Carlo  Nights  . 1-May 

House  of  Mystery  .  . . .  .  1-May 

Blue  Steel . . 2-May 

The  Loudspeaker  .  2-May 

Money  Means  Nothing  . 1-June 

The  Man  from  Utah  . 1-June 

Randy  Rides  Alone  . 1-July 

Jane  Eyre  .  2-July 

Star  Packer  .  2-July 

Happy  Landings  1-Aug. 

Shock  .  1-Aug. 

Paramount 

The  Last  Roundup  .  2-Jan. 

Search  for  Beauty  . 2-Jan. 

Four  Frightened  People  . 2-Jan. 

All  of  Me  2-Jan. 

Death  Takes  a  Holiday  (Strange  Holiday)  1-Feb. 

Good  Dame  . 1-Feb. 

Six  of  a  Kind .  1-Feb. 

Bolero  . 2-Feb. 

No  More  Women .  2-Feb. 

Come  On  Marines . 2-Mar. 

She  Made  Her  Bed . 2-Mar. 

Wharf  Angel  . 2-Mar. 

Melody  in  Spring  . . 2-Apr. 

The  Trumpet  Blows  . . 2-Apr. 

You’re  Telling  Me  .  2-Apr. 

Double  Door  .  1-May 

The  Scarlet  Empress  .  1-May 

The  Witching  Hour .  1-May 

We’re  Not  Dressing  .  1-May 

Little  Miss  Marker  .  2-May 

Many  Happy  Returns  .  2-May 

Murder  at  Vanities  .  2-May 

Private  Scandal  .  2-May 

Thirty  Day  Princess  .  2-May 

Kiss  and  Make  Up  .  2-June 

The  Great  Flirtation  .  2-June 

Here  Comes  the  Groom .  1-July 

Notorious  Sophie  Lang  .  2-July 

Old  Fashioned  Way  .  2-July 

She  Loves  Me  Not  .  2-July 

Shoot  the  Works  .  2-July 

Elmer  and  Elsie  .  1-Aug. 

Ladies  Should  Listen  .  1-Aug. 

Radio 

Hips  Hips  Hooray  .  1-Feb. 

Keep  'Em  Rolling  .  2-Feb. 

Long  Lost  Father  .  2-Feb. 

The  Lost  Patrol  .  2-Feb. 

Sing  and  Like  It .  1-Mar. 

Spitfire  1-Mar. 

Success  at  Any  Price  .  1-Mar. 

This  Man  Is  Mine  .  2-Mar. 

The  Crime  Doctor  .  1-Apr. 

Finishing  School  .  2-Apr. 

Wild  Cargo  .  2-Apr. 

Where  Sinners  Meet  .  1-May 

Strictly  Dynamite  .  1-May 

Stingaree  .  2-May 

Cockeyed  Cavaliers  .  2-June 

Murder  on  Blackboard .  2-June 

Verqie  Winters  .  2-June 

Bachelor  Bail  .  1-July 

His  Greatest  Gamble . .  1-July 

Let's  Try  Again. .  1-July 


Universal 

I  Like  It  That  Way  . 

Wheels  of  Destiny  . 

The  Crosby  Case  . 

Love  Birds  . 

Midnight  . 

Gun  Justice  . 

Countess  of  Monte  Cristo . 

Honor  of  the  West . 

Let’s  Be  Ritzy  . 

Glamour  . 

I’ll  Tell  the  World  . 

Smoking  Guns  (Doomed  to  Die) . 

Half  a  Sinner  . 

The  Uncertain  Lady  . 

Affairs  of  Gentleman . 

Dangerous  to  Women  (The  Love  Captive) 

The  Black  Cat  . 

Embarrassing  Moments  . 

Little  Man,  What  Now?  . 

I  Give  My  Love  . 

Let’s  Talk  It  Over . 

First  Division 

(CHESTERFIELD) 

Murder  On  the  Campus . 

Cross  Streets  . 

The  Quitter  . 

Stolen  Sweets  . 

In  Love  with  Life  . 

Twin  Husbands  . 

City  Park  . 

Fifteen  Wives  . 

The  Road  to  Ruin . 

He  . 

Throne  of  the  Gods  . 

Under  Secret  Orders . 

Forgotten  Men  . 

Texas  Tornado  . 

The  Ferocious  Pal . 

Young  Eagles  . 

Gold  Medal 

The  Big  Bluff  . 

Important  Witness  . 

Laughing  at  Life  . 

Curtain  at  Eight  . 

You  Made  Me  Love  You  . 

The  Charming  Deceiver  . 

Sin  of  Nora  Moran  . 

Big  Time  or  Bust . 

Enlighten  Thy  Daughter . 

The  Morning  After . 

Unknown  Blonde  . 

The  Lost  Jungle . 

Burn  ’Em  Up  Barnes . 

Masterpiece 

Her  Forgotten  Past  . 

Riot  Sguad  . 

Secret  Sinners  . 

Wine,  Women  and  Song . 

What’s  Your  Racket? . 

Dancing  Man  . 

Back  Page  . 

The  Fighting  Rookie  . 


1- July 

2- July 
1-Aug. 
1-Aug. 


2-Dec. 

2-Dec. 

1- Jan. 

2- Jan. 

1- Feb. 

2- Feb. 
2-Feb. 

1- Mar. 

2- Mar. 

1- May 

2- May 
2-May 
2-June 
2-July 
1-Aug. 


2-Jan. 

1- Feb. 

2- Feb. 
2-Feb. 
1-Mar. 

1- Mar. 

2- Mar. 
2-Mar. 
2-Mar. 
2-Apr. 
2-Apr. 
1-May 
1-May 

1- May 

2- May 
2-May 
2-May 
l-Jiihe 
1-June 

1- June 

2- June 


2-Feb. 

1-Mar. 

1- Apr. 

2- Apr. 
1-May 

1- May 

2- July 

1- Aug. 

2- Dec. 
2-Jan. 
2-Jan. 

1- Jan. 

2- June 
2-Mar. 

1- Apr. 

2- May 


2-Oct. 

2-Aug. 

2-June 

1-Dec. 

1-Dec. 

1-Jan. 

1- Jan. 

2- Jan. 
2-Jan. 
2-Feb. 
1-Apr. 

1- June 

2- July 


2-Nov. 

2-Aug 

1- Jan. 

2- Jan. 
2-Feb. 
2-Mar. 

1- Apr. 

2- June 


•  •  •  unbiased, 
honest,  able. 

••  •  calling  a 
spade  a  spade 
without  fear  or 
favor. 

•  •  •  reviewing 
pictures,  not  to 
praise  the  mak¬ 
ers  but  to  fur¬ 
nish  our  exhib¬ 
itor  readers 
with  — 


22 


1 -July-34 


6-Point  Reviews 


1  Who  made  il  ? 
2 •►Who's  in  it? 

3  *  How  good  is  it  ? 


4 •►Is  it  family  or  adult  type? 
5 •►What's  it  about? 

6 •►Running  Time? 


Baby  Take  a  Bow 


Family 
Comedy 
73m. 

Shirlcil  Temple,  James  Dunn,  Claire  Trevor,  Alan 
Din  e  hart.  Tiny  Walker,  Dorothy  Libaire,  Rolf 
Haro’.de,  Richard  Tucker,  Olive  Tell,  James  Flavin. 

In  the  money  because  of  Shirley  Temple, 
“Baby’’  shapes  up  as  a  neat  comedy  with  melo¬ 
drama  offering  and  a  good  grosser  where  the 
kid  has  built  a  following.  Action  is  centred  on 
a  couple  of  ex-convicts,  one  the  tot’s  father, 
who  try  to  go  straight  but  find  a  detective  on 
their  trail. 

Estimate:  Kid  will  help. 

Adult 


Grand  Canary 


80n 


What!  A  Boy? 


Family 

Farce 

74m. 


Farce  that  will  probably  score  better  on  the 
other  side  than  this.  Outside  of  Horton’s  name, 
show  hasn’t  much  with  which  to  draw  although 
situations  are  often  very  funny. 

^  Estimate:  Only  Horton. 


PARAMOUNT 


Here  Comes  the  Groom  Comedy 
75m. 

Mary  Boland.  Jack  Haley,  Patricia  Ellis,  Sell 
Hamilton,  Isobtl  Jewell.  Larry  Gray,  Sidney  Toler, 
E.  H.  Calvert,  Ward  Bond,  Snowflake. 

Fast  moving  farce  that  should  stand  up  wher¬ 
ever  the  laughs  mean  money.  Jack  Haley  scores 
as  a  weak  burglar  who  finds  himself  forced  to 
impersonate  a  crooner.  Mix  in  a  jealous  wife, 
the  real  crooner  and  some  good  gags. 

Estimate:  Fair  comedy. 


RADIO 


Bachelor  Bait 


Warner  Baxter,  Madge  Evans,  Marjorie  Ramheau, 
Zita  Johann,  Roger  Imhof,  H.  B.  Warner,  Barry 
Horton.  Juliette  Compton,  Gilbert  Emery. 

Story  of  a  doctor  who  falls  from  the  heights 
of  fame  into  oblivion  but  who  comes ‘back 
through  regeneration  and  love.  Performances 
of  principals  almost  make  the  whole  thing  be¬ 
lievable  but  yarn  is  so  constructed  that  play¬ 
ers  are  handicapped.  Parts  are  particularly 
unsympathetic,  with  the  actors  doing  their 
utmost  to  overcome  this  disadvantage. 

Estimate:  Handicapped. 


Family 

Comedy 

83m. 


She  Learned 

About  Sailors 

Alice  Faye,  Harry  Green,  Lew  Ayres,  Mitchell  and 
Durante. 

Comedy  about  sailors  that  is  not  only  funny 
but  clean.  Someone  deserves  a  hand  for  turn¬ 
ing  in  a  script  which  avoids  all  the  pitfalls  but 
which  still  milks  the  situations.  Plot  is  familiar, 
the  one  about  the  sailor  who  worked  fast  but 
who  fell  in  love  with  the  girl  and  vice  versa. 

Estimate:  Certain  to  satisfy. 


GAUMONT  BRITISH 


Along  Came  Sally  Comedy  with  songs 
70m. 

Sam  Hardy,  Cicely  Courtneidge.  Phyllis  Clare,  Billy 
Milton,  Ivor  McLaren,  Hartley  Power. 

English  made  musical  with  one  American 
name  that  will  get  plenty  of  laughs  in  the 
neighborhoods  and  elsewhere.  Dance  numbers, 
songs  and  Courtneidge  clowning  is  a  guarantee 
of  mass  satisfaction.  Picture  winds  up  with  a 
punch  that  will  send  them  out  satisfied. 

Estimate:  Will  please. 


His  Greatest  Gamble 


Story  of  father  love  that  will  appeal  mostly 
to  Dix  fans.  There  is  a  strong  play  for  women 
in  the  tale  of  a  father  who  wishes  to  protect 
his  young  daughter  from  the  wife  who  wishes 
to  harm  her.  Picture  is  well  directed  but  title 
and  some  elements  will  prove  confusing. 

Estimate:  Dix. 


I  »  T  A  Adult 

Lets  I ry  Again  Drama 

67m. 

Clivo  Brook,  Diana  Wynyard,  Ted  Newton,  Helen 
Pinson,  Irene  Hervcy,  Arthur  Hoyt. 

Adult  drama  about  a  couple  who  fall  out  of 
love  after  ten  years  of  married  life  but  who 
reconciliate.  Between  the  two  points  arc  .affairs 
on  each  side,  misunderstandings  and  the  usual* 
goings  on.*  Smart  audiences  will  take  to  .it 
better  than  the  masses.  In  the  latter's  strong¬ 
holds,  the  show  won’t  mean  much. 

Estimate:  Spotty. 


We’re  Rich  Again 


Family 
Comedy 
78m. 

Marian  Nixon,  Edna  May  Oliver,  Billie  Burke. 
Reginald  Denny,  Buster  Crabbe,  Gloria  Shea,  Grant 
Mitchell,  Edgar  Kennedy,  Lcnita  Lane,  Ottoa  Yapio * 
aka,  Joan  Marsh. 

Fair  little  comedy  that  will  probably  please 
hut  won't  impress  on  its  own.  Once  again,  a 
family,  with  plenty  of  faults,  is  mothered  by 
the  sweet  heroine  who  straightens  things  out. 

Estimate:  Programmer. 


MONOGRAM 


Randy  Rides  Alone  We.tern 

53m. 

John  Wayne,  Alberta  Vaughn,  George  Hayes, 
Yakima  Canutt,  Tex  Phelps. 

Well  directed  western  with  pace  and  action 
that  will  appeal  everywhere.  Our  hero  is  falsely 
accused  of  murder,  gets  in  with  a  gang,  routs 
the  crooks,  saves  the  day,  wins  the  girl. 

Estimate:  Okay. 


STATE  RIGHTS 


Are  We  Civilized? 


Family 

Comedy 


Family 

Historical 

70m. 


Well  cast,  well  played  comedy  that  lacks  star 
strength.  Otherwise  it  will  please  everywhere. 
Picture  centres  itself  in  a  matrimonial  bureau 
with  lots  of  chances  for  Erwin  and  a  capable 
cast.  However,  show  hasn’t  the  strength  to 
become  an  ace  draw,  so  must  fit  into  the  so-so 
category  as  far  as  box  office  is  concerned. 

Estimate:  Average. 


Production  apparently  built  to  fight  all 
oppression  and  filled  with  flashbacks  from  the 
library.  Picture  has  a  timely  theme  but  devel- 
opment  isn^t  any  too  good.  However,  where 
ballyhoo  can  be  made,  to  count,  show  might 
click.  Story  revolves  around  a  man  who  seeks 
liberty  for.  all  and  his  death  when  forces  of 
oppression  carry  all  before  them. 

Estimate:  Topical. 


Family 

Drama 

73m. 


Mystery  Ranch 


Family 

Western 

57m. 


Action  western  that  will  please  the  thrill¬ 
hunting  fans  anywhere.  Picture  has  more  plot 
than  usual,  has  plenty-  of  opportunity  for  the 
usual  Tyler  stunts.  Western  advocates  will  be 
satisfied. 

Estimate:  Moves  right  along. 


The  World 

in  Revolt 


Adult 

Revolution  Compilation 
68m. 

Srwsreel  shots  of  the  political  disturbances  in  the 
slate's8  Euro,,can  countrie8  as  well  ns  the  United 

.Film  goes  in  for  the  spectacular.  It  shows  the 
highlights  of  political  revolutions  in  Russia, 
Italy,  Germany,  China,  Austria,  featuring  shots 
of  Mussolini,  Dolfus,  Hitler,  Stalin  and  other 
luminaries  of  world  affairs.  Public  is  given 
personal  views  of  executions  and  general  tur¬ 
moil.  Graham  McNamee  does  the  narrating  of 
the  story  which  is  authored  by  Emil  Lengyel 
with  a  musical  accompaniment  under  the  direc¬ 
tion  of  Milton  Schwarzwald. 

Estimate:  Timely. 


White  Heat  Melodrama 

62m. 

David  Newell,  Mona  Maris,  Virginia  CherrUl. 
Hardic  Albright,  Arthur  Clayton.  Naomi  Childers. 

Familiar  tropic  madness  story  but  handled 
and  acted  in  such  manner  that  picture  stands 
out  above  usual  run  of  such  features.  A  plan¬ 
tation  foreman  goes  native,  later  brings  back  his 
white  wife.  Latter’s  sweetheart  enters  to  bring 
additional  confusion. 

Estimate:  Tropical. 


a  True  Picture  of  All  Pictures 


S:.;THE  EXHIBITOR 


A  Jay  Emanuel  Publication 


DEAR  MR.  EXHIBITOR: 

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fi'el  Possibility  of  I EPA-MPTO  Merger  Heard  by  Exhibs 


A  Jay  Emanuel  Publication 


VOL.  16— No.  16 


PHILADELPHIA,  AUGUST  15,  1934 


Wt  WON  HKI 


Price,  15  Cents 


It  beats  the  band  how  year  after 
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Augl5'34  pg.  4 


31  ^-STUDDED 

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FRANKLIN  PANGBORN  RAY  MAYER 
ED  LESTER’S  HOLLYWOOD  SINGERS 
THE  HUDSON -METZGER  DANCING  GIRLS 
Directed  by  JOSEPH  SANTLEY 
Personally  Supervised  by 
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PAGE 


THE  EDITOR'S 


Vol.  16,  No.  16 


August  15,  1934 


Why  Censors? 

_  THE  CENSOR  BOARDS,  who  were 
•  ignored  by  the  daily  press,  religious 
bodies  and  all  others  when  the  drive  against 
salacious  pictures  was  at  its  highest,  are 
now  apparently  trying  to  outdo  each  other 
by  taking  plenty  of  clips  out  of  pictures. 

The  boycott  against  allegedly  unclean 
films,  besides  causing  a  Hollywood  wave  of 
reform,  also  proved  once  and  for  all  that  a 
censor  body  may  be  defined  as  follows: 

A  body  appointed  to  provide  jobs  for 
political  persons  who  served  their 
organization  well. 

Not  once,  in  all  the  flurry,  did  a  censor 
board  member  raise  his  voice  to  say : 

“What  about  us?  We  have  been  cen¬ 
soring  pictures.  We  have  been  doing 
our  job.  Certainly,  since  we  are  so 
efficient,  why  this  agitation?” 

But  the  censors  didn’t  say  anything.  If 
they  did,  perhaps  the  answer  of  the  op¬ 
ponents  of  salacious  pictures  would  be: 

“Your  type  of  censoring  only  makes 
the  picture  seem  worse.  Reforms  in 
production  can’t  be  effected  by  a  few 
self-ordained  apostles  who  clip  with 
shears  and  think  they  are  protecting 
morals.  The  industry  and  the  patrons 
would  be  better  off  without  you.” 

Let  the  censors  keep  on  censoring.  Let 
them  try  to  convince  an  uninterested  public 
they  are  necessary.  But  they  would  not  be 
heard. 

The  censor  boards,  it  must  be  said  here, 
must  now  be  placed  in  the  category  to  which 
they  have  always  belonged: 

REWARD  FOR  POLITICAL 
SERVICES  ONLY. 


That  Score  Charge  Racket 

^  THE  THREAT  of  a  music  tax  increase 
*  for  the  ASCAP  has  again  turned  the 
spotlight  on  an  issue  that  this  industry 
loves  to  talk  about  and  no  one  does  any¬ 
thing  about — the  score  charge. 

ASCAP  tried  to  tell  its  story  to  the  trade 
in  such  manner  as  to  indicate  that  the 
producers  were  telling  exhibitors  that  the 
score  charge  was  part  payment  for  such 
royalties  that  ASCAP  might  collect. 

The  exhibitor,  frankly,  does  not  care  for 
any  explanation  about  the  score  charge. 
He  knows  that  it  is  nothing  but  a  racket, 
one  that  apparently  neither  MPTOA  or 
Allied  can  stop.  ASCAP  might  be  trying 
to  get  the  exhibitor’s  sympathy,  but  it  is 
merely  bringing  in  an  issue  which  means 
the  same  to  exhibitors  as  a  red  flag  to  a 
bull. 

One  very  prominent  distributor  admitted 
the  score  charge  was  unfair,  but  pointed  out 
how  much  his  company  would  lose.  There¬ 
fore,  he  reasoned,  it  should  not  be  done 
away  with  and  the  politicians  in  Washing¬ 
ton  agreed  with  him,  it  appears. 

Only  in  a  business  such  as  the  motion 
picture  industry  could  the  score  charge 
racket  exist.  Until  exhibitors  make  up  their 
minds  to  abolish  it  and  take  such  steps  that 
will  bring  about  this  abolition,  it  would  be 
well  to  lay  it  aside  as  a  topic  of  conversa¬ 
tion. 

Either  act  or  take  it  and  like  it. 

C Ju/Z* 


The  Philadelphia 

EXHIBITOR 

Circulating  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware.  Issued  on  the  1st  and  15th 
of  each  month  by  Jay  Emanuel  Publications,  Inc.  Publishing  office.  219  North  Broad  Street,  Philadelphia. 
Branches  at  1600  Broadway,  New  York  City;  Washington,  D.  C.  Jay  Emanuel,  publisher;  Paul  J. 
Greenhalgh,  advertising  manager;  Herbert  M.  Miller,  managing  editor.  Subscription  rates:  $2  for  one 
year,  $5  for  three  years.  Single  copies,  15c  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware. 
Publishers,  also,  of  THE  NATIONAL  EXHIBITOR  of  Washington  and  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  EXHIBITOR. 
Official  organ  of  the  Motion  Picture  Theatre  Owners  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and 
Delaware.  Address  all  communications  to  the  Philadelphia  office. 


ASCAP  Brings  Out  a  Big  Point 

TT  WOULD  be  silly  for  any  one  connected  with  the 
motion  picture  industry  to  try  to  reflect  any  credit  on 
the  American  Society  of  Composers,  Authors  and  Publishers  for 
the  increase  that  that  body  is  trying  to  effect.  Praise,  on  that 
account,  might  be  considered  a  sign  of  wavering  mentality. 

But,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  the  Society  should  be  given  a  vote 
of  thanks. 

Because  ASCAP,  through  its  exorbitant  demands,  has  again 
demonstrated  what  many  observers  always  thought  possible: 

All  factions  of  the  industry.  Allied,  MPTOA,  circuits, 
and  other  independent  exhibitor  units  can  and  are  brought 
together  by  issues  that  affect  their  well  being. 

The  Society’s  demand  for  an  increase  broke  at  a  time  when 
the  MPTOA  was  defending  the  code,  Allied  was  attacking  it,  some 
other  units  were  trying  to  ignore  it.  When  the  storm  of  threatened 
music  tax  increases  arose,  all  threw  down  their  arms,  rushed  into 
the  fray  to  defeat  the  Society’s  aims. 

There  is  no  question  that  ASCAP  is  not  entitled  to  an  in¬ 
crease  under  present  or  any  other  conditions.  There  is  no  doubt 
but  that  some  compromise  will  be  effected.  Even  ASCAP  knows 
there  are  limits  to  everything.  But  that  is  not  the  principal  issue. 

The  point  in  question  is  this:  If  it  is  possible  for  all  industry 
exhibitor  units  to  get  together  when  a  common  enemy  enters  the 
fray,  even  to  the  point  of  going  to  Congress  about  it,  why  is  it  not 
possible  for  these  same  units  to  work  together  on  questions  which 
are  just  as  important  and  even  more  important  to  them? 

Time  and  time  again,  foes  drop  their  arms  and  stand  side  by 
side  in  order  to  effect  reforms  or  protect  interests.  But  when  the 
battle  is  over,  the  various  factions  again  battle  among  themselves. 

Certainly,  if  a  common  enemy  can  be  defeated  by  co-operation, 
what  could  not  be  done  within  the  industry  through  the  same 
co-operation.  There  is  no  problem  more  important  to  anyone 
within  the  industry  than  that  problem  which  has  never  been  solved 
— harmonious  workings  between  all  factions. 


It’s  the  first  time  in  years  the  boys  have  stuck  together. 


6 


Augl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Glancing  Everywhere  in  the  Territory 

1 


LAYING  CORNERSTONE.  Charles 
Segal!,  president,  MPTO,  digs  the 
first  shovelful  at  the  breaking  of 
ground  for  the  new  Bromley  The¬ 
atre,  to  be  built  at  Broad  Street 
and  OIney  Avenue. 


WILL  BE  HOST.  Harry  Weiner, 
local  Columbia  exchange  chief,  will 
be  in  charge  when  local  exhibitors 
attend  the  Columbia  tradeshow  and 
luncheon,  August  20.  ( Page  8) 


BUSY  SEASON.  S.  E.  Applegate, 
local  Metro  sales  manager,  is  busy 
these  days  what  with  the  Metro  .hits 
coming  right  along. 


AT  BLOFSON  TESTIMONIAL.  A  view  of  the  175  assembled  exhibitors,  filmmen  and 
guests  who  attended  the  testimonial  giver  to  A1  Blofson  at  Belmont  Mansion,  Philadelphia, 
August  13.  The  retiring  First  Divisionite,  who  is  now  a  National  Penn  Printing  Company 
executive,  was  feted  and  presented  with  handsome  gifts.  On  the  dais  may  be  seen  Sam 
Rosen,  Murray  Rosenbluh,  I.  E.  Chadwick,  Morris  Wax,  Charles  Segall,  Ben  Golider,  A1 
Blofson,  Dave  Barrist,  Eddie  Golden,  Harry  H.  Thomas,  Charles  Rosenzweig,  Lou  Pizor 
and  Jay  Emanuel.  The  affair  was  a  huge  success.  (Quaker  Standard  Photo.) 


TO  BE  HONORED.  Bob  Mochrie, 
formerly  Warner  manager  here, 
and  now  assistant  to  Andy  Smith, 
Jr.,  Warners’  home  office,  will  be 
tendered  a  dinner  by  the  local  in¬ 
dustry  here  September  17.  (Page  13) 


SPEAKS  HERE.  Cecil  B.  DeMille, 
Paramount  producer,  will  be  guest 
of  honor  at  dinner  to  be  tendered 
him  at  Penn  A.  C.  (Page  13) 


AT  THE  FAIR.  Mary  Pickford,  UA 
star,  takes  a  look  at  one  of  the 
prominent  exhibits  at  the  Chicago 
World’s  Fair. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Augl5'34 


7 


Peace  Meeting  between  MPTO  and  IEPA 
Leaders  Scheduled  to  Consider  Merger 


Olive  Branches  Being  Extended  By  Both  Sides — One 
Point  Main  Obstacle — Observers  Feel  Consolidation 
Best  Thing  for  Exhibitors 

A  peace  meeting  between  leaders  of  the  Independent  Exhibitors  Protective  As¬ 
sociation  and  the  Motion  Picture  Theatre  Owners  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  South¬ 
ern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware  was  scheduled  this  week. 


Laedlein  on  Tour 

Laura  Laedlein  is  touring  the  South¬ 
ern  New  Jersey  territory  as  a  special 
representative  of  THE  EXHIBITOR, 
contacting  all  houses  and  making  a  sur¬ 
vey  of  trade  conditions.  She  is  ever 
ready  to  get  exhibitor  reactions  and  her 
reports  will  be  a  direct  influence  on 
future  policies  of  this  publication  as  re¬ 
gards  editorial  content,  services,  etc. 

Her  observations  are  carried,  in 
brief,  in  a  special  column  which  appears 
on  page  10. 

MPTO  Hits  Score  Charge, 
Asks  Standard  Contract 

Body  Protests  to  Code  Authority 
on  Exchange  Practice 


The  MPTO  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania, 
Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware, 
meeting  August  10,  went  on  record 
against  score  charges. 

A  resolution,  protesting  against  the  score 
charge,  was  passed  by  the  50  members  assembled 
at  the  Hotel  Adelphia. 

Other  work  completed  included  announcement 
of  a  committee  which  would  meet  with  the 
operators’  union  in  order  to  effect  relief  for 
some  members  who  might  be  in  need  of  it. 

Regarding  the  music  tax  increase,  the  body 
announced  that  the  parent  body,  the  MPTOA, 
would  handle  the  matter  for  the  local  unit, 
with  full  support  assured. 

It  was  also  announced  that  George  P.  Aarons, 
secretary  and  counsel,  will  make  a  trip  through¬ 
out  the  en'cire  territory  to  visit  all  exhibitors 
and  explain  the  MPTO'S  aims  to  theatremen. 
Aarons  will  be  away  for  a  few  weeks,  during 
which  time  all  exhibitors  will  be  contacted. 

A  resolution,  protesting  against  distributor 
contracts  which  see  different  forms  from 
every  exchange,  was  also  passed,  with  the  reso¬ 
lution  being  sent  to  the  home  offices  as  well  as 
to  the  Code  Authority. 

The  MPTO,  in  its  letter,  claims  that  certain 
distributors  are  not  using  the  uniform  con¬ 
tract  as  provided  for  in  the  code.  They 
also  included,  it  is  claimed,  in  the  contract, 
clauses  giving  them  the  privilege  to  allocate  pic¬ 
tures  after  use  of  cancellation  clause. 

This,  the  MPTO  claims,  is  a  direct  violation 
of  the  code  cancellation  privilege.  A  uniform 
cor, tract  from  all  distributors  was  asked. 

Other  matters  taken  up  included  protest 
against  the  Screen  Actors’  Guild  in  broad¬ 
casting  a  weekly  radio  program  of  screen  stars ; 
steps  to  stop  further  development  of  non-the¬ 
atricals  ;  discussion  of  the  boycott ;  increase  in 
film  rentals  and  other  problems. 

The  meeting  was  held  for  dues  paying  mem¬ 
bers  only.  Board  of  managers  meets  the  first 
and  third  Fridays  of  the  month. 


Boycott  Publicity  Drops 
As  Industry  Marks  Time 

Cardinal’s  Return  Still  Important 

Factor 

With  local  dailies  apparently  turning 
its  attention  toward  other  matters,  local 
boycott  against  all  theatres  has  remained 
out  of  the  publicity  sphere  for  the  time 
being. 

Local  clergymen  have  refrained  from  bringing- 
up  the  boycott  subject  and  generally  the  situa¬ 
tion  is  quiet. 

Absence  of  salacious  pictures  as  well  as  the 
new  Breen-Hollywood  publicity  system  has  ap¬ 
parently  had  its  effect. 

The  Legion  of  Decency  is  continuing,  how¬ 
ever,  and  will  keep  its  work  moving  in  the 
future. 

Locally,  the  complete  boycott  is  still  in  effect. 
Return  of  Cardinal  Dougherty  from  Europe 
is  expected  to  reopen  the  situation. 

A  better  break  in  the  weather,  improvement 
in  pictures,  etc.,  had  helped  business  a  trifle, 
with  less  crying  from  exhibitors  than  is  the 
usual  summer  policy. 

Number  of  theatres  closing  hasn't  increased 
any,  a  survey  indicates. 

Wilmington 

Rev.  Edward  F.  Haeks,  contributing  editor, 
Catholic  Standard  mid  Times  of  Philadelphia, 
speaking  before  the  Rotary  Club,  Wilmington, 
says  the  “Motion  picture  industry  must  adjust 
itself  to  a  common  sense  adjustment.” 

Allied  Eastern  Meeting 
Outlines  Several  Points 

District  Units  and  Others  to  Be 

Represented 

Meeting  of  Allied  eastern  units  at 
Atlantic  City,  August  22-24,  sees  a  defi¬ 
nite  plan  arranged. 

The  Ritz  Carlton  session  will  discuss  such 
topics  as  music  tax,  film  rentals,  clean  pictures, 
block  booking,  clearance  and  zoning,  legislature, 
the  code,  product. 

Allied  Jersey  will  be  host,  with  representa¬ 
tives  of  other  Allied  units  as  well  as  national 
officers  present. 

A  group  from  the  IEPA,  local  independent 
unit,  will  also  attend. 


At  press  time,  it  looked  as  if  representatives 
of  the  two  bodies  might  eventually  get  together 
to  try  to  effect  some  consolidation  between 
the  two. 

Generally,  the  trade  was  of  the  opinion  that 
only  through  one  independent  unit  could  the 
best  interests  of  exhibitors  be  served. 

One  stumbling  block  was  seen  checking  the 
amalgamation  move,  but  it  was  thought  pos¬ 
sible  that  even  this  could  be  overcome. 

Vine  Street  gossip  had  both  groups  anxious 
to  talk  things  over  that  a  united  exhibitor  front 
could  be  marshalled  on  all  occasions  when  ex¬ 
hibitor  questions  came  up. 

“Pop”  Korson  Returns 
Following  Long  Illness 

Masterpiece  Leader  on  Road  to 
Recovery 

Louis  “Pop”  Korson,  Masterpiece  ex¬ 
change  head,  returned  to  the  street  last 
week  after  a  lengthy  illness. 

Undergoing  several  operations,  Korson  is 
slowly  recovering  and  ventured  back  into  the 
exchange  for  a  visit.  Exhibitors  who  saw  him 
return  congratulated  him  upon  his  recovery  and 
expressed  the  hope  that  he  would  regain  his 
health  entirely. 

Masterpiece’s  announcement  for  the  new  sea¬ 
son  is  still  in  the  embryo  stage,  but  new  product 
deals  will  be  ready  shortly. 


New  Theatre  Developments 

Local  theatre  rumors  are  running  all 
kinds  of  ways. 

One  had  the  local  Fox  changing 
hands.  This  was  denied. 

Another  hinged  about  the  final  dis¬ 
position  of  the  local  Skouras-Publix 
quartet. 

A  third  revolved  about  a  change  in 
the  management  of  the  Wilmer  and 
Vincent  group. 

A  fourth  associated  the  new  William 
Goldman  chain  with  some  local  houses. 

A  fifth  was  to  the  effect  that  other 
interests  had  acquired  the  to-be-opened 
Frolic,  52nd  Street,  from  the  indepen¬ 
dent  exhibitors  now  remodeling  it. 

All  rumors,  of  course. 


8 


Augl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Friends  Honor  A1 
Blofson  at  Banquet 

Retiring  First  Division  Head 
Given  Testimonial 

A1  Blofson,  until  recently  First  Divi¬ 
sion  manager  here,  was  honored  by  his 
friends  and  film  men  at  a  dinner  tendered 
to  him  at  Belmont  Mansion,  August  13. 

The  affair  was  a  banner  one,  with  a  fine  turn¬ 
out  of  theatremen. 

Committee  in  charge  of  the  event  were  Mike 
Levenson,  Jack  Greenberg,  Lewen  Pizor,  Jay 
Emanuel,  Morris  Wax,  Harry  Weiner,  Dave 
Barrist. 

More  than  175  film  men  attended  with  many 
from  New  York  City.  The  metropolitan  con¬ 
tingent  included  Harry  H.  Thomas,  A1  Fried- 
lander,  Otto  Lederer,  Charles  Rosenzweig,  I. 
E.  Chadwick,  Jules  Chapman,  Eddie  Golden, 
Murray  Rosenbluh,  leaders  in  First  Division 
and  the  independent  exhibition  and  production 
fields. 

Eddie  Golden,  Monogram  sales  manager,  was 
toast  master,  and  made  a  swell  job  of  it.  He 
was  introduced  by  Dave  Barrist. 

Brief  talks  were  presented  by  Jay  Emanuel, 
Charles  Segall,  Lewen  Pizor,  Ike  Levy,  Morris 
Wax,  Simon  Libros,  Charles  Rosenzweig,  I.  E. 
Chadwick,  Ben  Colder,  Harry  Thomas  and 
Blofson. 

He  was  presented  with  some  handsome  gifts 
from  First  Division,  Harry  H.  Thomas  and 
the  assembled  guests,  whose  present  was  a  radio. 
Telegrams  from  Frank  P.  Gravatte,  Sam 
Schwartz,  Harry  Brown,  John  Munro  and  Ray 
Johnston  were  read. 

Harry  Biben,  who  has  furnished  entertain¬ 
ment  for  the  Landow  and  Pizor  dinners,  con¬ 
tributed  acts  for  this  as  well.  His  efforts  were 
appreciated. 

The  speakers,  generally,  made  a  plea  for  co¬ 
operation  between  independents  everywhere  and 
for  a  co-operative  industry  generally. 

Most  of  the  credit  for  the  turnout  should  be 
given  to  Mike  Levenson,  First  Division  sales¬ 
man,  who  worked  very  hard  to  put  it  over.  He 
directed  all  the  details  and  made  a  great  job 
of  it. 


Erlen-Keswick  Picnic 

Employees  of  the  Erlen  and  Keswick  The¬ 
atres  have  scheduled  a  picnic  for  August  19 
near  Boyertown. 

Other  film  men  intend  to  attend  as  well.  A 
happy  occasion  is  planned. 


“ Cleopatra ” 

Cecil  B.  DeMille  outdoes  h'mself  in 
“Cleopatra,”  with  Claudette  Colbert. 

Show  is  one  of  the  biggest  spectacles 
in  some  time  and  is  of  decided  credit 
to  Paramount  and  the  industry.  Pic¬ 
ture  is  clean  throughout,  contains  some 
great  scenes  of  splendor  and  has  been 
well  acted.  Supporting  cast,  headed 
by  Warren  William  and  Henry  Wil- 
coxon,  is  excellent.  Show  should  do 
well  everywhere.  It  is  an  ace  to  sell. 

J.  E. 


Race  for  Berman  Houses 


Several  local  indes  and  chains  were 
bidding  for  the  Lou  Berman-United 
Chain  circuit,  at  press  time. 

Five  house  circuit,  including  College 
and  Colonial,  Bethlehem;  Transit,  Eas¬ 
ton;  Lincoln,  here;  Roxy,  Roxborough, 
is  said  to  be  on  the  market,  with  Ber¬ 
man  going  to  give  more  time  to  produc¬ 
tion  affairs.  He  is  interested  in  a  new 
producing  company. 


Heard  In 

ROSSTOWN 

Theatres  Still 
Changing  Here 


A  LOT  OF  local  folk  hopped  down  to  the 
opening  of  Iz  Rappaport  s  Hippodrome,  Balti¬ 
more,  after  redecoration.  .  .  .  Morris  Gerson 
and  Mrs.  Ben  Fertl  attended  with  friends.  .  .  . 
Jules  Levy,  Radio  sales  manager,  was  there. 

.  .  .  Iz  Hirschblond  and  Sam  Frank,  the  Toms 
River  and  Hammonton  impressarios,  hopped 
into  town  as  is  their  usual  policy.  .  .  .  Nick 
Power  drapped  into  the  street.  .  .  .  Coplay 
house  now  reported  under  Catasauqua  direction. 

ALLAN  BPINN  took  a  trip  to  Marietta  to 
manage  the  house  for  a  spell  while  the  regular 
manager  took  a  vacation.  .  .  .  Ben  Cohen  took 
the  trip  to  Chicago,  to  yisit  the  Fair.  .  .  .  Five 
theatre  firms  are  included  in  the  Federal  Trade 
Commission’s  third  and  final  list  of  registration 
statements  filed  under  the  Securities  Act  of 
1933.  .  .  .  Among  the  group  are  William  Jack- 
son,  bond  holders'  committee.  Commodore,  here, 
$80,000;  Stanley  Theatre  Protective  Commit¬ 
tee,  _  Bridgeton.  N.  J.,  $137,500:  Villa  Theatre 
Protective  Committee,  Collingdale,  $33,750. 

THEATRE  at  Howard  and  York  has  been 
conveyed  by  H.  H.  Rosinsky  to  New  Broad¬ 
way  Theatres,  Inc.,  for  a  consideration  indicated 
by  stamps  on  the  deed  as  $75,000.  .  .  .  Charlie 
Goldfine,  East  Falls  Theatre,  was  complimented 
by  Democrats  of  that  district  at  a  dinner,  sur¬ 
prise,  given  to  him  in  his  home.  .  .  .  He  was 
given  a  zircon  as  a  reward. 

MARY  J.  RILEY  has  the  local  Wayne.  .  .  . 
Frolic,  here,  is  to  be  operated  by  Frolic  The¬ 
atre  Company.  .  .  .  Bowling  Green  Park  The¬ 
atre,  Sunbury,  is  operated  by  park  interests. 

AL  REH  is  now  managing  State.  .  .  .  Lyle 
Trenchard  out  as  district  manager,  Wilmington 
zone.  .  .  .  Jack  Mulhall  succeeds.  .  .  .  Joe 
Berger  manager  Parker.  .  .  .  Used  to  handle 
Orient.  .  .  .  Assistant  Maybee  now  manager  of 
Orient.  .  .  .  Fields  of  the  Parker  now  at  Ches¬ 
ter  State.  .  .  .  State  Manager  Jones  now  at 
Washington,  Chester.  .  .  .  Tom  Manger  from 
Washington,  Chester,  to  Stanley,  Chester. 


Columbia  Holds  Trade 
Show,  Luncheon  for  Exhibs 

“One  Night  of  Love ”  to  be 
Previewed  at  Fox  Locust 


Columbia  will  preview  “One  Night  of 
Love”  and  tender  a  luncheon  to  invited 
exhibitors  here  when  the  company  in¬ 
augurates  its  1934-1935  season. 

In  two  cities,  New  York  and  Boston,  simi¬ 
lar  occasions  have  resulted  in  raves  for  ‘‘One 
Night  of  Love,”  with  Grace  Moore. 

Locally,  Harry  Weiner,  Columbia  manager, 
has  made  arrangements  for  the  trade  show  at 
the  Fox  Locust,  with  a  luncheon  at  the  Belle- 
vue-Stratford,  North  Garden. 

Date:  August  20. 

Time:  11  A.  M. 

Place:  Locust  Street  Theatre. 

Picture:  “One  Night  of  Love.” 

Luncheon:  Bellevue-Stratford,  North 
Garden,  immediately  following  the  pic¬ 
ture. 

Abe  Montague,  Columbia  sales  manager,  will 
be  a  guest  at  the  screening  and  luncheon  as 
well. 


Ambassador  Decision  Appealed 

The  Code  Authority  will  soon  hear  the  appeal 
of  the  Ambassador  Theatre,  West  Philly, 
regarding  zoning. 

Local  board  went  on  record  as  opposed  to 
zoning  West  Philly  because  of  lateness  of  selling 
season.  Decision  was  postponed,  and  then  entire 
rezoning  postponed. 


Drew  with  General  Register 

Thomas  P.  Drew,  general  sales  manager, 
WE,  England,  is  the  new  general  representa¬ 
tive  in  this  country  for  General  Register  Cor¬ 
poration,  Percy  Phillipson,  president. 

Drew  is  an  experienced  veteran  in  the  field, 
having  joined  WE  in  1929  as  assistant  sales 
manager  during  the  regime  of  W.  A.  Bach. 


NINETEEN  YEARS  AGO.  .  .  .  Several 
new  members  were  announced  as  having  joined 
the  Film  Exchange  Club,  including  Messrs. 
Marcus,  Libros  and  Rochford  and  members 
were  urged  to  attend  special  meeting  and  lunch¬ 
eon  at  Bellevue-Stratford  Hotel.  .  .  .  German¬ 
town  Theatre  Company  of  Philadelphia  was  in¬ 
corporated.  .  .  .  Harry  Saunders,  Swaab  Film 
Service,  became  engaged  to  marry  Miss  Lillian 
Coats.  .  .  .  Several  managers  were  hauled  be¬ 
fore  the  court  charged  with  employing  girls 
under  21  years  of  age  after  9  P.  M.,  when  they 
did  not  know  such  a  law  had  been  passed.  .  .  . 
Judge  proved  lenient  and  dismissed  majority 
with  warnings  to  be  careful  in  the  future. 


Fox  Employees  Co-operate  in  Kent  Drive 


Local  Fox  exchange  is  sincere  in  its  endeavors  to  win  the  Sidney  R.  Kent  drive 
for  business.  In  this  issue,  an  ad  from  the  local  exchange  was  made  possible  through 
the  combined  efforts  and  support  of  the  local  exchange  folks,  who  wanted  to  tell 
their  message  to  exhibitors.  Such  sincerity  certainly  needs  a  lot  of  co-operation 
from  exhibitors,  and  with  such  support,  Philadelphia  ought  to  bring  home  the  bacon. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Augl5'34 


9 


Catch 

them 

WHEN 

THEY'RE 

"SHOW 

SHOPPING" 

j  Nowadays,  people  shop  for  amuse- 
:  merits.  They  know  what  movie 

they  want  to  see.  They  know 
j  what  star  they  want  to  see.  And 
in  Philadelphia,  they  do  their 
shopping  in  The  Record’s  Amuse¬ 
ment  Directory. 

|  This  first  and  only  complete 
I  j  amusement  guide  in  Philadelphia 
reaches  200,000  people  daily, 

!  300,000  on  Sunday.  For  only  30 

!  I  cents  a  day  you  can  tell  them 
who’s  playing  in  what  at  your 
theatre.  A  longer  listing  costs 
but  15  cents  a  line  more. 

The  RECORD 

Amusement  Directory 

offers  you  the  most  economical 
j  |  form  of  advertising  ever  presented 
!  j  to  Philadelphia  theatre-owners. 
Today  it  carries  the  listings  of 
most  theatres  in  the  Philadelphia 
district.  Does  it  carry  yours? 
i  If  not,  you’re  missing  an  un¬ 
equalled  opportunity  to  place  your 
attraction  before  actual  amuse- 
;  ment  buyers  at  the  very  moment 
when  they  are  choosing  their 
:  j  amusement.  To  insert  your  ad, 

\  just  call 


PHILADELPHIA 

RECORD 

;  CLASSIFIED  DEPARTMENT 

WALNUT  8300 


IEPA  Forms  Cabinet 
for  Aid  of  All  Members 

Board  of  Governors  Also  Elected 
by  Body 

A  staff  of  experts,  to  form  a  special 
cabinet,  is  being  organized  by  the  Inde¬ 
pendent  Exhibitors  Protective  Associa¬ 
tion  as  a  further  aid  to  members. 

Announcement  of  this  new  group,  to  include 
8  divisions,  was  made  at  the  August  13  meeting 
of  the  body.  Divisions  now  selected  are  Legal, 
Consulting  Electrical  Engineer,  Purchase  of 
Supplies  and  Equipment  and  Advertising.  Four 
others  will  be  selected  later.  Heads  of  the  divi¬ 
sions  will  be  outside  technical  experts,  well 
versed  in  this  work.  Savings  and  help  to  ex¬ 
hibitors  will  result,  the  IEPA  believes. 

The  board  of  governors  was  also  elected  at  the  session. 
The  group  includes  Morris  Wax,  chairman;  Harry  Fried, 
Columbus  Stamper,  Herb  Elliott,  Bill  Butler.  John 
Bagley,  Norman  Lewis,  Dave  Shapiro,  Clarence  Hexter, 
David  Barrist,  honorary  member. 

Alternate  board  includes  John  Munro,  Lou  Berger, 
Bay  Schwartz,  Leo  Posel,  Dave  Milgram.  George  Sohel. 
George  Naudascher,  Joe  Price,  Sam  Waldman,  Harry 
Perelman.  This  board  will  sit  in  at  all  board  meetings 
with  no  voting  power  unless  as  alternates  for  regular 
members  who  may  be  absent.  Mcnis  Wax  will  be  chair¬ 
man  of  both  boards. 

A  report  on  the  taproom  situation  was  read  which 
indicated  that  the  state  had  given  local  taprooms  with 
floor  shows  until  September  1  to  pay  the  $500  license 
fee  or  accept  an  additional  50&/r  penalty.  A  number  of 
taprooms  had  discontinued  the  shows,  it  was  declared. 
100-125  taprooms  are  liable  for  the  $500  fee,  it  was 
stated. 

At  a  meeting  held  last  week,  Miss  J.  Willen- 
sky,  a  member  of  the  Washington  bar,  was 
elected  secretary  of  the  body,  while  Oscar  Neu- 
feld,  prominent  Vine  Streeter,  was  made  busi¬ 
ness  manager. 

Miss  Willensky  will  represent  members  at 
grievance  and  zoning  hearings  as  well  as  handle 
other  secretarial  duties.  She  will  be  at  the 
Vine  Street  office  at  all  times. 

Fourteen  names  were  submitted  for  the  board 
of  governors,  ten  of  whom  were  to  be  selected 
for  places  on  the  board. 

Fifty-four  men  attended  the  session. 

It  was  also  announced  that  the  body  would 
go  by  bus  to  the  Allied  eastern  convention  at 
Atlantic  City,  August  22-24.  The  trip  will  be 
unofficial  in  character. 

Thanks  to  the  efforts  of  the  IEPA,  it  was 
announced,  taprooms  which  have  been  running- 
illegal  entertainment  will  now  have  to  pay  the 
$500  vaudeville  state  license  fee.  Attorney  Gen¬ 
eral’s  office  will  supervise  the  enforcement  of 
the  law. 

Ben  Golden,  president,  it  was  announced,  will 
file  an  intervening  petition  on  behalf  of  the 
IEPA  in  the  dissolution  suit  filed  by  local 
radio  broadcasters  a  year  ago  against  the 
ASCAP.  Further  developments  were  expected. 

David  Barrist,  it  was  voted,  would  be  an  hon¬ 
orary  member  of  the  board  of  managers,  with 
right  to  vote.  This  was  a  signal  honor  for 
the  work  he  had  done. 


Clark  on  Code  Board 

William  Clark,  Horlacher  Delivery  executive, 
has  been  made  a  member  of  the  local  trucking 
code  board  to  sit  on  code  cases  in  the  local 
area. 

His  appointment  attests  to  his  place  in  the 
local  trucking  field  and  is  a  distinct  honor. 


SEE  OUR  SHOWING  OF 
22  Premium  Deals 

During  Entire  Week  of 
August  1 3th 

QUALITY 

Premium  Distributors,  Inc. 

“Serving  Exhibitors  from 
Coast  to  Coast ” 

HOME  OFFICE: 

1305  Vine  St.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


THIS  IS  THE 

China  Lady 

COOKING  SET 

Newest  Sensation 
of  1934-35 


CHINA-LIKE  BODY 

m  OVEN  PROOF  - 
COLD  PROOF  W 

Every  Piece  a  Cooking  Item 
No  Cups  and  Saucers 


10 


Augl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


TOURING 

WITH 

LAURA  LAEDLEIN 


FIVE  YEARS  AGO  A1  Lidman,  present 
manager  of  Bordentown’s  Fox,  set  a  date  for 
a  vacation.  ...  He  hasn’t  had  it  yet.  .  .  . 
Now  he  has  a  new  date,  August  26,  when  he 
will  head  for  the  home  town  of  Norfolk,  Va. 

.  .  .  Some  people  don’t  even  have  dates.  .  .  . 
Sylvan  Dietz,  genial  manager,  Mt.  Holly  Fox, 
is  popular  with  the  Camp  Dix  boys.  .  .  He 
transports  them  twelve  miles  and  back  at  a 
nominal  bus  charge  and  admits  them  on  credit 
tickets.  .  .  .  Uncle  Sam  pays  the  monthly  bills 
direct.  .  ..That’s  faith  in  the  administration. 

.  .  .  Camp  Dix  bands  will  feature  a  coming 
presentation.  .  ..  .  Mt.  Holly  manager  is  strong 
for  exploitation  among  summer  colonists.  .  .  . 
At  Medford  Lakes  he  sends  out  canoe  fleets  for 
folder  distribution.  ...  No,  Dietz  wasn’t 
named  for  the  Sylvan  Theatre,  Washington,  D. 
C.,  his  old  stamping  ground :  theatre  was  named 
for  him.  .  .  .  Shocks  and  shivers  will  precede 
Lee  Harvey’s  showing  of  "The  Black  Cat," 
August  25,  when  the  Burlington  Fox  front  will 
be  bathed  in  green  floods,  all  white  lights  off. 

.  .  .  Dog  and  pony  show  booked  for  Joe  E. 
Brown’s  “Circus  Clown”  and  the  Black  Horse 
Pike’s  Golden  Slipper  Revue  will  also  be  fea¬ 
tures  of  this  house’s  August  third  anniversary 
of  Atlantic  management. 

JAMES  R.  CONKLIN,  manager,  Trenton 
RKO-Broad,  has  just  returned  from  an  Ocean 
City-Canadian  vacation.  .  .  .  RKO  execs 

and  staffs  rated  two-weeks-with  this  year. 

.  .  .  Trenton  Gaiety’s  Kiddie  Club,  organ¬ 

ized  by  Manager  John  Bodley,  now  numbers 
3000.  .  .  .  Bodley  is  featuring  Kiddie  Revues 
by  amateur  talent.  .  .  .  Mrs.  Helen  Hil- 

dinger,  Hildinger’s  theatres,  Trenton,  is  back 
in  the  office  after  a  week  at  the  Century  of 
Progress,  Chicago. 

HOLLYWOOD  OPENING  featured  the 
premiere  of  “Dames"  at  the  Warner,  AC,  with 
a  fake  radio  and  P.  A.  mike  drawing  a  crowd 
at  the  front  and  a  band  in  the  lobby.  .  .  . 
Opening  was  preceded  by  a  parade  of  “dames” 
in  wheelchairs,  reading  tabloids  plastered 
across  the  back  with  billing.  .  .  .  Harold  Van 
Meeker,  formerly  Camden,  is  getting  a  hand 
from  the  Warner  crowd  for  his  excellent  hand¬ 
ling  of  his  new  job  as  manager,  Warner’s  Vir¬ 
ginia.  .  .  .  Apollo  is  breaking  its  own  record 
for  a  string  of  world  premieres,  starting  with 
“Bulldog  Drummond  Strikes  Back"  and  in¬ 
cluding  the  recent  (8/9)  showing  of  George 
Arliss’  “The  Last  Gentleman.”  Braca’s  The¬ 
atre,  Sea  Isle  City,  is  a  family  affair,  with  Louis 
Braca,  Sr.,  owner,  Louis  Braca,  Jr.,  manager, 
Henrietta  ticket  seller  Mary,  ticket  collector 
and  Angelina,  usher. 

DOG  DAYS  are  a  managers’  headache  in 
the  sticks — dog  races  are  that  in  AC.  .  .  . 

Astor,  Harry  I.  Waxman’s  uptown  house, 
has  gone  modern  with  a  new  stainless  steel 
front  with  modernistic  door  mats.  .  „  .  Astor 
recently  added  super-wide-range  sound  equip¬ 
ment.  .  .  .  Manager  Sol  Altman,  Royal,  is 

repainting  his  front.  .  .  Remodelling  is 

scheduled  for  the  Palace  by  Sam  A.  Tannen- 
baum,  at  which  times  its  current  name  of  New 
Palace  will  be  incorporated  in  the  facade. 
.  .  .  But  the  newest  thing  about  the  Palace 

outfit  is  Charles  Robert  Tannenbaum,  born 
at  Mercy  Hospital,  Scranton,  July  21. 
...  I.  M.  Hirshblond,  manager,  Traco  The¬ 
atre,  Tom’s  River,  has  just  brought  ballyhoo 
down  to  date  with  a  sound  truck,  equipped 


New  Broad-Grange  House 

Stanley-Warner  is  reported  building  a 
new  house  at  Broad  and  Grange. 

Theatre  will  be  called  the  Grange 
and  is  scheduled  to  open  the  day  before 
Thanksgiving.  Work  will  begin  imme¬ 
diately. 

Segall  house,  Bromley,  at  Broad  and 
Olney,  is  in  process  of  construction. 


STRICTLY  PERSONAL 


DEATH  of  George  Morris,  Comerford  exec¬ 
utive,  was  a  shock  to  his  friends  and  associates 
in  the  trade.  .  .  .  Morris  was  an  old  timer  in 
the  business  and  as  engineer  for  the  Comer- 
ford  circuit,  made  a  lot  of  contacts  in  the 
business.  .  .  .  He  will  be  missed. 

IT’S  A  GIRL  at  the  Sam  Grosses.  .  .  . 

Edgar  Moss  fainted  when  they  told  him.  .  .  . 
Reported  that  the  first  thing  the  baby  said 
was:  “Pop,  better  give  the  exhibitors  a  break 
this  year.”  .  .  .  Bob  Lynch,  the  Ocean  City 
yachtsman,  did  the  rescue  act  for  Charlie 
KIr.ng  and  Charlie  Zagrans  recently.  .  .  . 

They  were  lost  in  a  fog.  .  .  .  Which  isn’t 

unusual  for  them,  anyone  knowing  them  will 
say. 

WHEN  LOU  NIZER,  New  York  Film 
Board  secretary  and  prominent  attorney,  was  a 
visitor  at  Stone  Harbor,  he  defeated  A1  Cohen 
at  tennis.  .  .  .  Latter  won  all  his  local  board 
cases  and  this  is  his  first  defeat  at  tennis  in 
some  time,  which  breaks  his  string  or  what  have 
you?  .  .  .  Rae  Weiner,  First  Division  poster 
clerk,  in  Atlantic  City. 

FLASH.  .  .  The  name  of  the  new 

Gross  addition  will  be  Barry  Alvin.  . 

Like  a  movie  star,  almost.  .  .  Sam  must 

have  been  happy.  .  .  He  bought  lunches. 

.  .  .  Ethel  Freedman  was  baching  it  on  the 
boardwalk.  .  .  .  Anna  Kraftsow  followed  up 
her  Mauretania  romance.  .  .  .  Helen  Harris, 
S-W,  recently  announced  her  engagement. 
.  .  .  Rose  Gimbel,  S-W,  recuperating.  .  .  . 
Harry  Freeman,  Fox,  certainly  is  the  well- 
dressed  man.  .  .  .  Harold  Seidenberg,  Fox, 

off  on  vacation  in  the  bushes.  .  .  .  Larry 
Mackey  has  his  knee  in  a  cast.  .  .  .  Anne 
Schaeffer,  Dorothy  Carson,  Richard  Brown, 
Joseph  Azarano,  U  folk,  back  from  vaca¬ 
tion.  .  .  Mike  Landow  paid  the  force  a 

visit  at  U. 


with  record,  radio  and  mike.  .  .  .  Truck 

operates  on  a  radius  of  70  miles  of  the  in¬ 
shore  resort. 

F.  K.  M.  PLESSNER,  Trenton  Park,  had 
vacation.  .  .  .  Frank  P.  Henry,  Trenton 

Strand,  was  ill.  .  .  .  Fred  W.  Widenor,  Bel- 
videre  Opera  House  has  been  sick,  too.  .  .  . 
Wilmot  Wilbury,  Frenchtown  Gem,  certainly 
goes  in  for  exploitation. 


Equity  Bows  In 

Equity  Film  Exchanges,  Inc.,  a  new 
organizat'on  for  the  distribution  of  mo¬ 
tion  pictures  in  the  Philadelphia  terri¬ 
tory,  has  been  formed  by  Martin  Mer- 
melstein  and  W.  J.  Heenan,  with  offices 
at  1321  Vine  Street.  Equity  plans  to 
open  a  branch  office  in  Washington 
during  the  next  few  months. 


SHORE 


MAE  WEST’S  “Belle  of  the  Nineties,”  gets 
a  Labor  Day  world  premiere  at  the  Steel  Pier. 

.  .  .  Goldbergs  also  back  at  the  same  date. 

.  .  .  Looks  like  a  banner  weekend.  .  .  .  EMO 
and  Eddie  Corcoran  behind  a  mammoth  West 
campaign. 

EMO  now  attached  to  Steel  Pier  as  well 
as  Lewis-Weilland  houses.  .  .  .  Ad  copy  and 
exploitation  are  right  up  his  alley,  having 
been  RKO  ad  and  publicity  chief  at  one 
time. 

ROYAL,  AC,  also  contemplating  a  bit  of 
remodeling.  .  .  .  Front  painted  up-to-date. 

.  .  .  Bergess,  formerly  assistant  at  Keswick, 
now  managing  Strand,  AC.  .  .  .  Tannenbaum, 
AC,  Palace,  vacationing  in  Scranton,  while 
house  is  being  rebuilt.  .  .  .  Bill  Keegan  busy 
in  Wildwood.  .  .  .  Mr.  and  Mrs.  S.  Frank 
doing  a  lot  of  boardwalk  parading.  .  .  .  Bill 
Rovner  still  crying  about  business.  .  .  .  Lew 
Rovner  still  afraid  to  wear  that  white-buttoned 
coat  on  the  street.  .  .  .  Iz  Hirschblond  still 
winning  baskets  of  fruit  at  Asbury. 

Gaumont  British  Will 
Open  Own  Exchanges  Here 

Company  Plans  National  Distri¬ 
bution  for  Pictures 

That  Gaumont  British  pictures  are  to 
become  an  important  factor  in  the  Ameri¬ 
can  motion  picture  field  is  the  assurance 
of  Jeffrey  Bernerd,  general  manager, 
Gaumont  British  Picture  Distributors 
Corporation,  Ltd.,  who  is  in  New  York 
for  the  purpose  of  establishing  a  nation¬ 
wide  chain  of  exchanges  for  the  distribu¬ 
tion  here  of  his  company’s  productions. 

“Various  news  commentators  have  described 
our  projected  activities  as  an  ‘invasion’  of 
America,”  Jeffrey  remarks.  “I  hardly  think  that 
this  is  the  word.  In  England  we  do  not  regard 
the  widespread  distribution  of  American  pic¬ 
tures  as  an  ‘invasion.’  On  the  contrary  they 
are  heartily  welcomed  and  well  patronized. 
After  all,  we  have  been  releasing  Gaumont  Brit¬ 
ish  pictures  in  a  small  way  in  America  for 
several  years,  but  we  have  not,  up  to  this  time 
made  any  determined  effort  to  achieve  the 
recognition  to  which  the  high  entertainment 
value  of  our  pictures  certainly  entitle  us.” 

"That  this  failure  on  our  part  to  attain  wider 
circulation  for  our  product  is  mainly  our  own 
fault,  we  freely  admit,  and  it  is  to  correct  this 
situation  that  we  are  opening  our  own  ex¬ 
changes  and  conducting  a  concentrated  drive  to 
make  the  American  public  Gaumon-British  con¬ 
scious.  We  have  an  exceptionally  fine  line-up 
of  pictures  either  completed,  in  production,  or 
in  preparation,  and  we  know  that  they  will  com¬ 
pare  most  favorably  with  the  best  which  are 
being  produced  in  America. 

“Among  others  scheduled  for  early  release 
here  are  ‘Power,’  ‘Chu  Chin  Chow,’  ‘Evergreen,’ 
‘Man  of  Aran,’  ‘Little  Friend,’  ‘My  Song  for 
You,’  and  ‘Princess  Charming,’  starring  Evelyn 
Laye.  We  recently  signed  George  Arliss  to 
star  in  ‘The  Iron  Duke.'  Conrad  Veidt  who 
has  given  a  marvelous  performance  in  ‘Power,’ 
will  be  starred  in  ‘King  of  the  Damned.’  Alto¬ 
gether  we  anticipate  making  available  better 
than  thirty  pictures  during  the  coming  year.” 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Augl5'34 


11 


BETWEEN  THE  PARAGRAPHS 

-  -  - 


DECENCY  DRIVE  STILL  ON 
BUT  OFF  THE  FRONT  PAGES 

Withdrawal  of  the  drive  against  allegedly  salacious  pictures  from 
the  front  pages  has  taken  a  lot  of  sting  out  of  the  whole  campaign. 
The  Legion  of  Decency  is  continuing  as  originally  scheduled,  but  the 
crop  of  reformers  and  space-grabbers  doesn’t  seem  to  be  as  successful 
in  getting  daily  attention  as  in  the  first  hectic  days. 

Because  the  newspapers  aren’t  taking  up  the  cudgel  at  present 
doesn’t  mean  that  the  danger  from  professional  reformers  is  over. 
When  legislatures  start  to  convene  and  Congress  goes  into  session,  the 
industry  will  no  doubt  find  that  there  will  be  plenty  of  trouble  ahead. 

The  new  production  code,  combined  with  a  lack  of  sympathy  for 
a  boycott  against  pictures  generally  from  the  public,  has  brought  about 
significant  results.  This,  too,  with  a  slackening  of  the  heat  wave  in 
the  east  and  a  few  better  pictures,  resulted  in  an  increase  in  grosses. 

CONGRESS  PROBABLY  FINAL 
RESORT  OF  SOCIETY’S  FOES 

Regardless  of  legal  fights,  etc.,  it  is  easy  to  see  that  a  direct  appeal 
to  Congress  will  be  the  strongest  point  in  the  fight  against  the  Ameri¬ 
can  Society’s  demand  for  higher  music  tax  fees.  The  struggle  will  be 
along  the  lines  of  finding  out  just  how  much  the  Society  can  charge 
and  when  it  becomes  a  trust.  It  was  significant  to  notice  that  stories 
of  compromises  arose  immediately  after  the  Society  asked  its  increase, 
an  indication  that  it  hardly  hoped  to  collect  everything  it  asked  for. 

Exhibitors  who  want  to  bring  the  matter  to  a  head  would  do  well 
to  contact  their  Congressman  to  investigate  the  Society  and  see  just 
how  far  it  can  go. 

Meanwhile,  undercurrent  charges  involving  bad  faith  in  the  indus¬ 
try  as  well  as  a  desire  to  keep  the  score  charge  out  of  the  mess  are 
being  circulated.  The  score  charge,  as  a  racket  that  has  stayed  too 
long  in  this  business,  might  need  some  investigating,  too. 

SUDDEN  TURN  TOWARD  BIG 
TIE-UPS  INDICATES  CONFIDENCE 

With  Warners  again  coming  to  the  front  with  another  big  tie-up, 
and  other  companies,  including  Mascot,  offering  prizes  to  energetic 
showmen,  it  looks  as  if  the  business  is  encouraging  some  of  the  big 
showmanship  campaigns  of  former  years.  The  tendency,  with  the 
coming  of  the  depression,  was  to  cut  down  the  purse  strings  and  limit 
ballyhoo.  Now,  with  the  big  companies  showing  the  way,  it  would  be 
well  for  circuits  as  well  as  individuals  to  go  for  ballyhoo  in  a  big  way. 

Metro’s  Traveling  Studio  and  big  national  campaign,  Warners 
tie-ups,  Mascot’s  bid  and  other  ideas  should  be  forerunners  of  other 
contributions  from  other  companies. 

SIGNS  OF  CIRCUIT  ACTIVITY 
MEANS  ANOTHER  KIND  OF  UPTURN 

Reports  from  New  York  and  other  sectors  that  circuits  have  been 
acquiring  independent  houses  and  adding  to  their  chains  well  illus¬ 
trate  what  others  have  been  predicting,  mainly,  that  when  conditions 
get  better,  the  national  circuits  will  increase  their  strength  along  the 
lines  of  the  pre-depression  days.  True,  there  may  be  a  bigger  turn 
toward  de-centralization,  with  partners  operating,  but,  in  toto,  the 
circuits  will  have  national  buying  power. 

Regardless  of  bad  pictures,  boycotts,  etc.,  this  still  isn’t  a  bad 
business  in  which  to  operate,  as  a  survey  of  any  territory  will  indicate. 
If  exhibitors  try  to  acquire  houses,  they  find  that  there  are  few  to  be 
gotten.  Unless  forced  out  by  pre-depression  mortgages  or  financial 
deals,  most  exhibitors  are  holding  on  to  what  they  have  and  looking 
for  more. 

HOBART  MANN. 


RCA  VICTOR 
PHOTOPHONE 


OFFERING  YOU: 

•  A  Sound  Box  Office 
Attraction 

•  Complete  Ownership 

•  A  Self-Liquidating 
Investment 

PHOTOPHONE  DIVISION 

RCA  VICTOR  COMPANY,  Inc. 

Camden,  N.  J. 

A  Radio  Corporation  of  America  Subsidiary 


12 


Augl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


THE  CODE  •  CASES  •  HEARINGS  •  BOARD  RULINGS  •  DEVELOPMENTS 


Expect  More  Cases 

Local  grievance  board  expects  busi¬ 
ness  to  pick  up  when  selling  starts. 

Reduced  admissions,  premature  ad¬ 
vertising  and  overbuying  are  expected 
to  be  chief  topics. 


SCHEDULE: 

GRIEVANCE 
August  23 

William  Wolf  vs.  William  Goldman  and 
Integrity  Trust,  (postponed  case). 

HEARINGS 
GRIEVANCE 
August  9 

Joseph  Shverha  vs.  Dan  Negley,  both 

from  Columbia,  on  charge  of  code  viola¬ 
tion  through  distribution  of  ice  cream 
cones  to  children  at  matinees. 

Testimony  sought  to  show  that  free  distri¬ 
bution  of  ice  cream  cones  violated  Article  VE, 
part  3. 

Decision: 

Board  finds  that  practice  falls  in  class  of 
premiums  and  board  therefore  dismisses  com¬ 
plaint  for  reason  that  terms  of  Article  VE, 
part  3,  section  2,  have  not  been  complied  with. 

David  Silver  vs.  Fox  Film  Company,  on 

charge  that  Fox  is  holding  back  features 
because  of  shorts  default. 

Exhibitor  sought  to  prove  that  he  had  had 
trouble  getting  dates  on  certain  shows  because 
he  was  behind  in  shorts’  dating.  Fox  denied  it. 
Feature  in  question  was  dated  to  the  satisfaction 
of  both  parties. 


Stopping  Service  Looms 

What  may  be  the  first  case  of  stopping  of 
film  because  of  a  violation  of  a  local  board 
order  may  result  after  notification  to  the  local 
grievance  board  by  RKO  that  the  Palace, 
Wilkes-Barre,  has  not  complied  with  the  deci¬ 
sion  of  the  board  handed  down  which  said  that 
dates  for  RKO  shows  should  be  given  to  the 
exchange.  RKO  asks  the  respondents  to  show 
cause  why  film  service  should  not  be  suspended 
by  all  distributors. 


Protest  Assessments 


Two  local  independent  exchanges 
have  sent  protests  against  the  allocation 
of  assessments  for  the  support  of  the 
Code  Authority  to  Sol  A.  Rosenblatt. 

The  duo  includes  Capitol  and  Peer¬ 
less  exchanges. 

United  Artists  and  Universal  were  the 
two  national  distributors  who  pro¬ 
tested.  In  all,  30  companies  squawked. 

It  was  suggested  by  UA  and  Universal 
that  assessments  be  made  on  a  basis  of 
gross  receipts. 


Protest  Looms  on 
Jersey  Premium  Vote 

Exhibitors  To  Say  Indes  Are 
Really  Affiliated 


A  protest  by  several  Jersey  exhibitors 
is  due  to  be  filed  against  the  certification 
of  the  vote  barring  premiums  in  several 
Jersey  counties. 

The  exhibitors  are  reported  protesting  against 
the  inclusion  of  the  Atlantic  Theatres,  Inc.,  in 
the  independent  group  on  the  grounds  that  it  is 
really  an  affiliated  chain.  Camden  Drive-In 
Theatre  vote  is  also  protested  for  the  same 
reason. 

Exhibitors  also  claim  that  the  Broadway, 
Camden,  is  closed  at  the  present  time  and  can¬ 
not  vote. 

Protest  was  expected  to  be  filed  very  soon. 

The  protest  will  also  bring  out  that  several 
houses  which  signed  against  premiums  have 
been  closed  for  some  time.  The  protesting 
exhibs  say  that  the  code  provides  for  a  vote 
by  houses  which  are  in  active  and  continuous 
operation. 

Indications  at  press  time  were  that  records 
of  Atlantic  Theatres,  Inc.,  as  well  as  Wilmer 
and  Vincent  might  be  subpoenaed  to  prove 
affiliated  ownership.  Also,  it  was  claimed  that 
one  of  the  exhibs  who  signed  against  premiums 
didn't  have  authority,  and  didn't  even  sign  for 
film. 

Regardless  of  the  determination  of  the  appeal, 
it  is  practically  certain  that  a  court  test  of  the 
entire  matter  will  result.  Inasmuch  as  so 
large  a  territory  is  involved,  it  will  prove  of 
national  interest. 

Along  with  the  other  charges,  threats  of  coer¬ 
cion  and  intimidation  were  also  heard. 


Delaware  Charters 

Fox  Flutchison  Theatre  Corporation.  Oper¬ 
ates  theatres,  music  halls.  $1,000. 

Warner  Brothers  First  National  Pictures 
(Java),  Inc.  Deal  in  motion  pictures  of  all 
kinds. 


BOARD  RESOLUTION: 

Resolved  tbat  an  unqualified  restriction 
shall  be  and  is  placed  against  the  serv¬ 
ice  of  motion  picture  films  by  any  dis¬ 
tributor  to  amusement  parks  wherein 
said  films  are  shown  or  intended  to  be 
shown  without  an  admission  charge  for 
such  hearing. 


No  Doubles  Check 


Code  Authority,  in  session,  August  9, 
passed  the  following  resolution: 

RESOLVED,  that  no  clearance  and 
zoning  board  should  establish  any 
clearance  policy  based  upon  whether  a 
theatre  operates  on  double  or  single 
feature  policy. 

Vote  was  6-4,  with  Messrs.  Cochrane, 
Golden,  Yamins,  Kent,  O’Reilly,  Rubin 
assenting,  with  Messrs.  Thompson,  Bare- 
ford,  Kuykendall,  Keough  dissenting. 

Code  Authority  Issues 
Its  Financial  Statement 

Monthly  Report  to  Be  Given  by 
Body 

The  Code  Authority  has  issued  its  half- 
year  financial  statement  as  well  as  two 
monthly  reports. 

From  January  1-July  31,  receipts  from  pro¬ 
ducers  was  $48,700,  from  exhibitors  $78  570. 
Disbursements  was  $94,436.75,  making  a  cash 
balance  of  $33,833.25. 

Operating  expenses  during  June  totaled 
$25,120.01,  and  in  July  $23,604.41.’ 

Latter  month  was  $1,362.09  under  budget, 
while  June  showed  $153.51  over  budget. 


Assents  Being  Signed 

Hildinger  circuit  has  requested  the  local  sec¬ 
retary  to  send  it  assents  to  the  code. 

Independent  Exhibitors’  Protective  Associa¬ 
tion  also  requested  the  local  board  for  blanks. 


City  Premium  Vote  Dies 

Because  a  sufficient  number  of  votes 
were  not  cast  in  favor  of  abolition  of 
premiums,  the  City  of  Philadelphia,  as 
outlined  in  the  certification  for  the 
premium  vote,  will  not  bar  premiums. 

The  vote  allowed  a  two-months  period 
in  which  those  opposed  to  premiums 
could  sign.  When  the  60  days  were  up, 
not  enough  signed. 

Premiums,  therefore,  will  continue, 
unchecked,  in  the  City  of  Philadelphia. 


UA  Plans  Suit  on  Cancellation  Clause 


A  suit  to  test  the  cancellation  clause  in  order  to  get  an  interpretation  is  planned 
by  United  Artists,  according  to  report. 

A  decision  of  the  Code  Authority,  in  a  recent  case,  held  that  UA  pictures, 
when  bought  in  bulk,  could  be  subject  to  the  10%  cancellation  clause.  UA  claimed 
each  picture  was  individual  and  that  the  clause  could  not  apply. 

UA  claims  that  only  the  Zanuck  group,  numbering  10,  could  be  held  subject 
to  the  cancellation  clause. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Augl5'34 


13 


Premiums  Out  in  So.  Jersey 

Through  vote  of  75%  of  theatres  in 
counties  of  Camden,  Gloucester,  Bur¬ 
lington,  Salem  and  Cumberland,  New 
Jersey,  against  practice  of  giving  prem¬ 
iums,  grievance  board  has  decided  that, 
in  accordance  with  code  provisions,  giv¬ 
ing  of  premiums  shall  be  prohibited  in 
such  zones  as  an  unfair  trade  practice. 

Victoria  Amusement  Company  orig¬ 
inated  the  petition. 


Exhibitors  Seek  To 
Misuse  Cancellations 

Pictures  Not  in  Salacious  Group 
Involved 


Some  exhibitors,  especially  in  the  up¬ 
state  sector,  are  apparently  trying  to  mis¬ 
use  the  producers’  cancellation  privilege 
for  their  own  advantage. 

The  cancellation  privilege  on  salacious  pic¬ 
tures  was  given  in  order  to  take  care  of  re¬ 
quests  of  exhibitors  who  could  not  exhibit  the 
same  because  of  religious  or  community  objec¬ 
tions. 

But  a  survey  of  some  of  the  objections  indi¬ 
cates  that  pictures  that  haven't  a  stitch  of  salac¬ 
iousness  in  them  are  being  asked  to  be  cancelled, 
backed  by  letters  signed  by  clergymen  or  com¬ 
munity  leaders.  The  exchanges,  naturally,  aren’t 
honoring  such  requests. 

Sincere  exhibitors  who  need  relief  will  get  it, 
hut  the  cancellation  privilege  does  not  cover  all 
requests. 


Wilmington  Quiet 

Clamor  of  the  church  groups  and  reformers 
in  the  Wilmington  area  in  unison  with  those 
of  other  sections  of  the  country,  for  cleaner 
pictures  seems  to  be  subsiding. 


Lichtman  Hits  Low  Scales 


A1  Lichtman,  vice-president  and  gen¬ 
eral  manager,  United  Artists,  in  a  state¬ 
ment,  says  that  after  an  extensive  and 
careful  check  on  attendance  in  the  mid¬ 
dle  west,  he  found  that  the  low  scale  of 
admission  prices  was  proving  hurtful  to 
the  industry.  Practice  of  so  many  ex¬ 
hibitors  charging  10  and  15  cents  was 
cheapening  the  industry.  In  Chicago 
there  are  275  theatres  charging  15  cents 
admission.  It  is  Lichtman’s  contention 
that  no  first  run  houses  should  pay  less 
than  50  cents  as  its  lowest  price  and  that 
the  cheaper  houses  should  not  drop  be¬ 
neath  the  25  cent  mark. 

As  a  solution  to  the  problem  Licht¬ 
man  thinks  that  the  competing  exhibs 
should  get  together.  Another  solution 
to  problem,  which  Lichtman  considers 
a  very  serious  one  for  the  industry  as  a 
whole,  is  for  distributors  to  charge  a 
legitimate  rental  high  enough  to  in  turn 
raise  the  price  of  admissions. 


“Record”  Refers  to  Sol  Rosenblatt 

The  Philadelphia  “Record,”  recently,  had  this  to  say  of  Sol  A.  Rosenblatt, 
divisional  administrator  for  the  industry  code: 

THE  THROW-’EM-OUT  PLAN 

The  energetic  Sol  Rosenblatt,  NRA  moving  picture  code  administrator,  has  hit 
on  a  unique  method  to  solve  unemployment  among  film  extras. 

He  will  exile  15,400  of  the  17,000  listed  extras  from  the  industry.  That  leaves 
plenty  of  work  for  the  remaining  1600 

Mr.  Rosenblatt’s  plan  doesn’t  go  nearly  far  enough.  Why  not  dump  the  little 
girls  into  the  Pacific,  with  weights  around  their  lovely  necks,  to  make  sure  they 
won’t  sneak  back  to  Hollywood  some  time  and  get  a  job  when  Mr.  Rosenblatt  isn’t 
looking. 

The  trouble  is  Mr.  Rosenblatt  doesn’t  realize  it’s  hard  to  plow  under  film  extras 
than  corn  or  cotton.  The  extras  have  to  be  fed  after  they’re  exiled,  a  point  Mr. 
Rosenblatt,  who  is  very  busy,  has  overlooked. 

All  things  considered,  it  might  be  better  to  change  just  one  detail  in  the  plan. 
How  about  exiling  Mr.  Rosenblatt,  and  letting  the  girls  remain  in  Hollywood? 


DeMille  Pays  Visit 
Here  with  “Cleopatra” 

Corcoran  Arranging  Details  of 

Local  Trip 

Cecil  B.  DeMille.  Paramount  producer, 
is  scheduled  to  deliver  an  address  in 
Philadelphia,  August  21,  in  the  ballroom 
of  the  Penn  Athletic  Club. 

DeMille's  visit  here  is  under  the  joint  spon¬ 
sorship  of  the  Penn  Athletic  Club,  American 
Theatre  Society  and  the  Motion  Picture  Com¬ 
mittee  of  the  Pennsylvania  Federation  of 
Women’s  Clubs.  Invitations  have  gone  out  to 
two  thousand  members  of  these  organizations 
and  it  is  anticipated  that  his  visit  here,  the 
first  one  in  a  number  of  years,  will  be  marked 
by  an  enthusiastic  reception. 

Broad  subject  of  motion  pictures  will  be 
taken  for  the  theme  of  DeMille’s  talk.  He  has 
just  recently  completed  work  on  his  latest 
picture,  “Cleopatra.” 

Jay  Emanuel  will  act  as  chairman  of  a  large 
and  representative  reception  committee  on  the 
occasion  of  DeMille’s  visit.  DeMille  started 
out  on  a  fourteen  city  flying  visit  from  Holly¬ 
wood  on  August  9,  accompanied  by  Bill  Pine, 
head  of  the  Paramount  exploitation  department. 
Eddie  Corcoran  is  arranging  local  details. 


SMPE  Nominates 

Homer  G.  Tasker,  United  Research  Corpor¬ 
ation,  Long  Island  City,  New  York,  was  nomi¬ 
nated  for  the  office  of  President  of  the  Society 
of  Motion  Picture  Engineers  for  the  year  1935 
at  the  recent  meeting.  Only  one  nominee  each 
was  chosen  for  the  offices  of  executive  vice- 
president,  editorial  vice-president,  convention 
vice-president,  secretary,  and  treasurer.  Nomi¬ 
nees  for  these  offices  were,  respectively,  Emery 
Huse,  J.  I.  Crabtree,  W.  C.  Kunzmann,  J.  H. 
Kurlander  and  T.  E.  Shea. 

Nominees  for  the  Board  of  Governors  were 
as  follows:  Max  C.  Batzel,  RCA  Victor;  Sid¬ 
ney  K.  Wolf,  Electrical  Research  Products ; 
Terry  Ramsaye,  and  Harry  Rubin,  Paramount 
Publix  Corporation. 


Golf  Tourney  Set 

Vine  Street  is  again  talking  about  a 
resumption  of  the  annual  golf  tourney 
series  which  was  discontinued  last  year. 

Some  have  suggested  holding  it  Sep¬ 
tember  28,  under  THE  EXHIBITOR 
auspices. 

While  details  have  not  been  arranged, 
it  is  not  known  whether  the  tourney  will 
come  before  or  after  the  Jim  Clark  clam¬ 
bake,  an  event  which  has  been  long 
heralded. 

Bob  Mochrie  To  Be 
Given  Dinner  Here 

Former  Warner  Manager  Honored 
September  17 

Robert  Mochrie,  recently  Warner  ex¬ 
change  chief  here  until  he  was  succeeded 
by  \\  illiam  Mansell,  will  be  tendered  a 
dinner  bv  the  local  film  industry,  Sep¬ 
tember  17. 

The  date  was  shoved  back  because  of  the  A1 
Blofson  dinner. 

Mochrie,  who  was  promoted  to  be  assistant 
to  Andy  Smith,  Jr.,  had  always  been  one  of 
the  most  popular  members  of  the  Philadelphia 
film  colony.  His  promotion  was  received  with 
plenty  of  acclaim  and  the  dinner  to  him  will 
no  doubt  see  a  record  turnout. 

A  committee  will  announce  further  details 
later. 


Dietrich  Running 

C.  Elmer  Dietrich,  Tunkhannock  ex¬ 
hibitor,  is  running  for  Congress  this  fall 
and  folks  up  there  say  he  has  a  good 
chance.  His  opponent  is  Congressman 
Louis  T.  McFadden.  Dietrich  has  sup¬ 
port  from  labor  organizations  and  the 
Legion. 

He  also  operates  a  house  in  Lacey- 
ville. 

Film  men  wish  him  well  in  his  15th 
district  campaign. 


Augl5'34  pg.  14 

To  All  Of  Our  Exhibitor  Friends  / 


4R  **» 


•  AVAILABLE 

during  KENT  drive:-- 

Aug.  17  THE  CAT'S  PAW 

HAROLD  LLOYD 

Aug.  24  PURSUED 

Rosemary  AMES  Pert  KELTON 

Aug.  31  THE  WORLD  MOVES  ON 

Madeleine  CARROLL  FranchotTONE 

Sept.  7  SERVANT'S  ENTRANCE 

JANET  GAYNOR 

Sept. 14  CHARLIE  CHAN  in  London 

WARNER  OLAND 

Sept. 21  LOVE  TIME 

Pat  PATTERSON  Nils  ASTHER 
Herbert  MUNDIN  Harry  GREEN 

Sept.21  THE  DUDE  RANGER 

GEORGE  O'BRIEN 

Sept.28  CARAVAN 

Charles  BOYER  Loretta  YOUNG 
Jean  PARKER 

Oct.  5  JUDGE  PRIEST 

WILL  ROGERS 

Oct.  12  THE  STATE 

|‘  vs.  ELINOR  NORTON 

[  Claire  TREVOR  Norman  FOSTER 

Oct.  26  MARIE  GALANTE 

SPENCER  TRACY 


EDGAR  MOSS  and  his  Gang  are  rarir/ 
to  go. 

The  Second  Annual  KENT  DRIVE  is  scheduled  for 
the  period  between  August  19th  November  17th. 

Our  studios  are  co-operating  by  turning  out  some 
of  the  season's  strongest  pictures  . . .  we've  guar¬ 
anteed  to  set  a  new  record  in  DATES  and  SALES. 
Help  us! 

EDGAR  MOSS  and  his  Gang  have  never  made  a 
promise  they  didn't  keep,  so  we're  counting  on 
you  and  your  aid  in  helping  us  keep  this  one. 

Take  that  old  Date  Book  NOW.  .  .  and  write  in 
FOX  Features  and  Shorts  for  those  13  weeks. 

A  new  record  for  us  will  mean  a  lot  of  new  records 
for  you,  too.  Be  smart! 

The  Fox  Gang 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Augl5'34 


15 


BETTER  TESTED  SUCCESSFUL 

MANAGEMENT  *  ideas  *  merchandising 


Mascot  Announces  $500 
for ‘Young  and  Beautiful’ 

Mascot  is  offering  $500  in  cash  prizes 
to  the  exhibitor  whose  exploitation  cam¬ 
paign  on  the  forthcoming  Mascot  produc¬ 
tion,  “Young  and  Beautiful,”  passes  the 
final  vote  of  a  committee  of  leading  trade 
paper  editors,  Nat  Levine,  president, 
announces. 

Among  the  trade  papers  experts  whose  talents 
will  be  devoted  to  picking  the  winners  of  this 
contest  are  Jay  Emanuel,  publisher.  Jay  Eman¬ 
uel  Publications;  A.  Mike  Vogel,  chairman; 
Epes  W.  Sargent,  Charles  “Chick”  Lewis,  Ben 
Shlven,  and  others. 

Contest  is  scheduled  to  get  under  way  August 
15  and  closing  entries  must  be  in  no  later  than 
midnight,  November  1.  First  prize  is  $250  in 
cash;  second  prize  is  $150  and  third  prize  is 
$100. 

All  exhibitors  booking  “Young  and  Beauti¬ 
ful’’  are  eligible  to  enter  this  contest  regardless 
of  runs  arid  all  entries  must  be  turned  in  to 
Mascot  Pictures  Corporation,  1776  Broadway, 
New  York  City,  or  Mascot  Pictures  Corpora¬ 
tion,  6001  Santa  Monica  Boulevard,  Hollywood, 
California. 

Some  ambitious  young  lady  who  photographs 
well  and  has  poise  and  beauty  will  be  given 
an  opportunity  to  win  a  free  trip  to  Holly¬ 
wood  as  well  as  a  week’s  engagement  in  a 
Mascot  picture  as  the  possible  winner  of  a 
nation-wide  contest  to  pick  the  one  who  best 
represents  American  womanhood. 

At  present  more  than  forty  leading  depart¬ 
ment  stores  and  photo  studios  throughout  the 
United  States  are  represented  in  the  contest. 
National  judges  of  the  contest  include  such 
well-known  personalities  as  Nat  Levine ;  Max 
Factor,  Melbourne  Spurr,  Joseph  Santley,  Phil 
Gersdorf,  Ben  Lyon,  and  Judith  Allen. 

'  Under  the  rules  of  the  contest  any  girl  of 
18  years  or  over  is  eligible  to  join.  Only 
requirement  is  her  photograph  and  a  signed 
entry  blank  which  is  available  at  any  contest 
headquarters. 


Comer  ford  Kid  Shows 

Comerfords  have  decided  upon  spe¬ 
cial  kiddies’  matinees  for  Saturday 
mornings  to  satisfy  the  church  element 
fur  cleaner  amusement.  In  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Orpheum,  John  Comerford,  has 
been  selected  for  the  experiment.  Pro¬ 
grams  will  be  two  hours  in  length  and 
will  start  at  9  A.  M. 

A  dime  is  charged  for  admission  to 
all  below  12. 

A  direct  appeal  has  been  made  to 
parents  to  send  their  children  for  the 
treat  with  the  knowledge  that  they  will 
see  only  those  pictures  that  are  suit¬ 
able.  M.  E.  Comerford  is  sponsor  of 
the  new  policy. 


“Young  and  Beautiful’’  will  go  to  exhibitors 
backed  by  most  extensive  and  intensive  national 
publicity  campaign  yet.  Twenty-two  national 
tie-ups  with  commercial  advertisers  have  been 
set  by  the  Mascot  publicity  department,  headed 
by  A1  Sherman,  publicity  director,  and  Lon 
Young,  in  charge  of  West  Coast  publicity. 

Among  the  tie-ups  set  for  the  picture  are 
such  outstanding  national  advertisers  as  Mal- 
linson’s  Silks;  Postal  Telegraph;  Ediphor.e; 
Chevrolet;  Cadillac;  United  States  Rubber 
Company;  Mobilgas;  United  Air  Lines;  Town- 
ley  Frocks,  which  will  feature  the  new 
“Zephroy”  sports  frock ;  Sherman  Brothers, 
manufacturers  of  raincoats;  Hilf  Bag  Manu¬ 
facturing  Company,  manufacturers  of  hand¬ 
bags;  Japanese  Silk  Underwear  Company; 
Goldstein-Milberg,  manufacturers  of  evening 
wraps;  Daniel  Green  Company,  which  will  fea¬ 
ture  evening  sandals ;  Dexdale  Hosiery  Com¬ 
pany  ;  Foremost  Sportswear ;  J.  Holsten  and 
I.  Milberg,  sport  suits;  Sussberg  and  Feinberg, 
lingerie;  Furst  and  Greenmail,  manufacturers 
who  will  feature  the  “Young  and  Beautiful” 
evening  dress ;  Ben-Hur  Hair  Ornaments, 
Norge  Refrigerator  and  Max  Factor,  world- 
famous  cosmetician  and  beauty  expert. 


MYSTERY  AND 
TERROR  RULE 
THE  RANGE. 
Scenes  from 
“Green  Eye  s,” 
produced  by  Ches¬ 
terfield  and  re¬ 
leased  by  First 
Division.  Charles 
Starrett,  Shirley 
Grey,  William 
Bakewell,  Dorothy 
Revier  are  fea¬ 
tured. 


Liberty  Announcement 

Liberty  Pictures  Corporation  has  released  its 
1934-1935  announcement.  All  Liberty  pictures 
have  been  completed,  a  new  idea  in  independent 
production.  Material  in  book  consists  of  stills, 
not  imaginative  interpretations. 

Book  was  printed  by  Consolidated  Film  In¬ 
dustries  in  photo-gelatin,  copy  being  prepared 
under  direction  of  Lou  Lifton,  Liberty  ad  and 
publicity  head,  with  George  Harvey's  agency 
assisting. 

The 

BEST  SERVICE 

to  all 

SHORE  POINTS 

With  summer  turning  to 
autumn  and  exhibitors  think¬ 
ing  of  moving  their  posses¬ 
sions  back  from  shore  points, 
once  again  our  service  comes 
to  the  fore.  Make  use  of  it 
now. 

.. .  Jersey  Exhibitors 
Always  Happy 

They  know  they  can  go 
away  on  trips,  completely 
sold  on  New  Jersey  Mes¬ 
senger  Service.  For  the 
record  of  this  company  is 
one  that  shows  no  missouts 
at  any  time.  The  service 
satisfies. 

▼ 

NEW  JERSEY 

MESSENGER  SERVICE 

MYER  ADLEMAN 
250  N.  Juniper  Street 
PHILADELPHIA 

Spr.  9355  Loc.  S7S7  Race  9444 


16 


Augl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Sam  Gilman  Startles 
Folks  in  Harrisburg 

Since  Sam  Gilman's  come  to  town 
There's  been  plenty  doing  all  around; 

His  exploitation  stunts  so  thrilling, 

Loew's  Regent  Theatre  keeps  filling. 

C.  W.  B. 

Since  Samuel  Gilman  came  from  Balti¬ 
more  to  become  manager  of  Loew's 
Regent  Theatre,  Harrisburg,  many  resi¬ 
dents  of  the  city  have  developed  stiff 
necks  in  their  efforts  to  follow  the  series 
of  interesting  events  Sam  has  been  stag¬ 
ing  to  attract  them  to  his  theatre. 

One  day  Sam  has  the  crowds  following  a 
movie  cameraman ;  next  day  they  are  thrilling 
at  the  sight  of  a  sky  projector;  another  day 
they  are  watching  the  antics  of  a  group  of 
pirates;  again  they  are  attracted  by  beautiful 
women  promenading  on  a  boardwalk  at  the 
edge  of  the  theatre  marquee  and  still  another 
day  in  amazement,  they  clamor  to  the  curbs  to 
see  a  gorgeous,  platinum  blonde,  resembling 
Jean  Harlow,  in  an  expensive  roadster  with 
private  chauffeur. 

Much  of  the  credit  for  the  success  of  these 
undertakings  Sam  graciously  attributes  to  his 
hard-working  assistant,  Bob  Etchberger. 

For  “Little  Man,  What  Now"  and  “Bulldog 
Drummond,”  Sam  and  Bob  obtained  more  than 
1000  free  lineage  in  excess  of  paid  lineage  on 
each  picture.  Learning  that  the  only  midget 
in  Harrisburg  was  away  on  vacation  an 
effort  was  made  to  procure  the  services  of  a 
midget  for  the  purpose  of  having  him  walk 
the  streets  to  exploit  “Little  Man,  What  Now.” 

Weekly  schedules  in  neat  frames  and  easels 
were  placed  in  hotel  and  apartment  house  lob- 


For  “Dames” 

Herb  Copelan,  AC  general  manager  for  Sea¬ 
shore  Properties,  Inc.,  went  the  limit  when 
“Dames”  opened  at  the  Warner.  Copelan  had 
a  Hollywood  opening,  and  the  result  was  the 
house  was  jammed. 

He  took  advantage  of  all  available  facilities 
for  ballyhoo,  with  the  world  premiere  to  boot, 
and  the  result  was  a  terrific  campaign. 

Copelan  has  been  putting  on  some  swell 
bally  hoo  this  summer. 


bies  or  with  telephone  switchboard  operators 
to  acquaint  occupants  of  the  building  with  the 
showing  times  of  “Little  Man,  What  Now.” 
Ten  thousand  heralds  and  1000  restaurant  menus 
were  distributed  together  with  24  auto  tire 
cards. 

For  “The  Girl  From  Missouri”  he  put 
a  stunning  platinum  blonde  in  an  expensive 
automobile.  An  attractive  Harrisburg  miss  was 
engaged  to  represent  “The  Girl  From  Mis¬ 
souri.”  Her  outfit  included  a  long-handled  um¬ 
brella.  A  roadster  was  borrowed.  Banners  call¬ 
ing  attention  to  the  current  picture  decorated 
the  roadster.  A  uniformed  chauffeur  sat  at  the 
steering  wheel.  Beside  him,  on  a  raised  seat, 
sat  the  platinum  blonde,  waving  and  smiling 
at  the  crowds  lining  sidewalks. 

Old  gag  was  resorted  to  for  “The  Girl  From 
Missouri”  when  an  usher,  with  a  borrowed 
motion  picture  camera,  set  up  the  machine  at 
busy  street  corners  and  played  the  lens  on  a 
third  or  fourth  story  window  until  a  large 
crowd  of  curious  spectators  had  gathered  to 
watch  the  focus  point.  Window  at  the  focus 
point  would  then  open  and  from  it  would  enroll 
a  banner  on  which  it  was  stated:  "See  Jean 
Harlow — the  Girl  From  Missouri — Loew’s 
Now.” 

Prior  to  opening  of  “Treasure  Island,”  small 
wooden  letters  spelling  the  title  of  the  picture 


were  distributed  among  counters  at  leading 
department  stores.  Each  counter,  or  department 
was  supplied  with  certain  letters.  Window  dis¬ 
plays  were  accompanied  by  instructions  ex¬ 
plaining  shoppers  could  ask  for  one  letter  only 
at  the  various  counters,  and  the  person  first  to 
bring  the  complete  set  of  letters  to  the  theatre 
would  receive  a  cash  prize.  A  prize  of  five 
pairs  of  theatre  tickets  were  offered  to  the  sec¬ 
ond  person.  Stores  also  carried  details  of  the 
contests  with  their  newspaper  advertising.  Four¬ 
teen  men  in  pirate  costumes,  each  carrying  a 
large  letter,  all  of  which  arranged  properly 
spelled  "Treasure  Island,”  walked  on  business 
streets  with  the  letters  out  of  their  proper 
order.  At  street  intersection  they  formed  so 
that  the  letters  they  carried  spelled  the  title 
of  the  picure.  A  fifteenth  man,  dressed  simi¬ 
larly,  carried  a  sign  stating,  “Now  at  Loew's.” 

A  pretty  girl,  clad  in  the  uniform  of  a  pirate, 
or  piratess,  distributed  glassine  bags  containing 
white  sand.  Instructions  of  the  bags  were 
“Lucky  sand  direct  from  Treasure  Island.  Bring 
it  to  Loew’s  and  put  it  in  the  lucky  treasure 
chest  in  the  lobby  and  assure  yourself  wealth 
and  happiness.” 

An  elaborately  decorated  float  with  a  public 
address  system  installed  traversed  the  streets 
of  the  city  announcing  the  showing  of  “Treas¬ 
ure  Island”  at  Loew’s.  Upon  its  return  to  the 
theatre,  1000  new,  shining  pennies  were  thrown 
to  the  waiting  crowd.  Float  depicted  a  scene 
from  the  picture.  For  the  first  time  Harris- 
burgers  were  given  an  opportunity  to  see  big- 
city  exploitation  when  three  pretty  girls  in 
pirate  costumes  promenaded  an  improvised 
boardwalk  along  the  edge  of  the  Loew  mar¬ 
quee  during  showing  of  “Treasure  Island.”  At 
night  each  girl  carried  a  torch.  Sidewalks 
throughout  the  city  were  stenciled  with  arrows 
pointing  in  the  direction  of  Loew's  and  the 
words,  “To  Treasure  Island.” 


PHILADELPHIA 


NEW  YORK 


WASHINGTON 


BALTIMORE 


NATIONAL 

KUNE 

POSTER 

CO. 

1307  VINE  STREET 
PHILADELPHIA 


POSTER  RENTALS 


Genuine 
Friendliness 


Distinctive 
Craftsman¬ 
ship 


Unexcelled 
Sei 


Straight 

Dealing 


NATIONAL 

PENN 

PRINTING 

CO. 

1233  VINE  STREET 
PHILADELPHIA 

A 

PRINTING 


SIMON  LIBROS 


AL  BLOFSON 


OSCAR  LIBROS 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Augl5'34 


17 


Washed  Air  for  345 

Herbert  N.  Laird,  manager,  Columbia  The¬ 
atre,  Hopewell,  N.  J.,  installed  a  National  The¬ 
atre  Supply  Company  air  washing  system  in  the 
house,  even  though  theatre  is  open  only  one 
night  a  week  and  capacity  is  3-15.  It  is  an  indi¬ 
cation  of  how  some  theatres  can  boost  through 
service  and  comfort. 


Olmstead  Up  with  Columbia 

George  Brown,  director,  Columbia’s  adver¬ 
tising,  exploitation  and  publicity,  has  ap¬ 
pointed  Ed  Olmstead  to  take  charge  of  the  ex¬ 
ploitation  division,  succeeding  Lou  Goldberg, 
who  recently  resigned.  Prior  to  joining  Colum¬ 
bia  a  year  ago  as  a  member  of  the  exploi¬ 
tation  staff,  Olmstead  was  with  Paramount  for 
thirteen  years. 


ATLANTIC 

CITY’S 

Newest 

Boardivalk  Hotel 


^President 


JhIVE  Hundred  Rooms 
with  Sea  Water  Baths 
— American  and  European 
Plans.  Also  Beautifully 
Furnished  Housekeeping 
Apartments  with  Com¬ 
plete  Hotel  Service  by 
the  week,  month  or  year. 

Cocktail  Lounge 
and  Bar 

SEA  WATER 
SWIMMING  POOL 

MARINE 
SUN  DECK 

TURKISH  BATHS 


Warners  Arrange  Huge 
$2 50,000-Brown  Tieup 

An  exploitation  tie-up  rivalling  the 
“42nd  Street  Special”  in  its  national  scope 
has  been  concluded  between  Warner  Bros, 
and  Quaker  Oats  on  Joe  E.  Brown’s 
forthcoming  comedy,  “Six  Day  Bike 
Rider.” 

Tie-up  arranged  with  Quaker  Oats  by  Charlie 
Einfeld,  Warners’  advertising  and  publicity 
chief,  is  valued  at  $250,000. 

Details  include  the  following :  Quaker  Oats 
will  distribute  1,000  bicycles  worth  $50  each 
to  boys  and  girls  (this  includes  adults)  who 
send  in  the  tops  of  two  of  their  cartons,  and 
write  the  best  20-word  essays  on  “What  my 
mother  says  about  Quaker  Oats.”  Joe  E. 
Brown  himself  will  give  away  the  prizes. 
Every  person  sending  in  the  two  carton  clips 
will  receive  a  Joe  E.  Brown  button,  making 
him  a  member  of  the  Joe  E.  Brown  Bicycle 
Club,  in  addition  to  a  30  page  booklet  contain¬ 
ing  funny  sayings  by  the  star,  stills  from  the 
picture  and  instructions  on  how  to  ride  a  bicycle. 
With  the  cost  of  two  packages  of  this  break¬ 
fast  food  set  at  seventeen  cents,  this  is  the 
cheapest  entry  price  for  a  contest  of  so  stu¬ 
pendous  a  scope,  giving  it  a  tremendous  mass 
appeal. 

In  addition  to  the  above,  the  Quaker  organ¬ 
ization  will  spend  $130,000  in  national  adver¬ 
tising  during  the  five  weeks’  duration  of  the 
contest,  taking  space  in  American  Weekly, 
Metropolitan  Weekly,  including  every  Sunday 
newspaper  in  the  country,  and  coverage  in  20  of 
the  nation’s  leading  magazines. 

Major  drive  in  the  campaign  will  take  place 
during  the  week  of  October  7,  which  has  been 
set  for  the  national  release  of  Joe  E.  Brown 
in  “Six  Day  Bike  Rider.”  Warners  are  plan¬ 
ning  on  300  to  400  simultaneous  release  dates  on 
the  picture  during  this  week,  to  take  full  ad¬ 
vantage  of  the  national  advertising. 

Over  70,000  stores  over  the  country,  includ¬ 
ing  chain  grocers,  in  addition  to  thousands  of 
independent  grocers,  will  be  tied  in  with  this 
contest. 

Quaker  Oats  organization  will  send  250  men 
on  the  road  to  co-ordinate  activities  between  ex¬ 
hibitors  booking  “Six  Day  Bike  Rider,”’  and 
local  grocery  stores.  These  men  will  be  aided 
by  exploitation  men  sent  out  by  Charlie  Einfeld 
from  the  Warner  home  office  to  handle  key  city 
situations.  Iver  Johnson,  manufacturers  of  the 
contest  bicycles,  will  supply  theatres  with 
bicycles  for  display  purposes  in  the  lobby. 


St.  Peter’s  Catholic  Club  held  a  benefit 
movie  at  the  Strand,  Steelton,  to  raise  funds 
for  financing  a  kittenball  team. 


Seaman’s  Organ  Tieup 

Bernard  Seaman,  manager,  Germantown  The¬ 
atre,  has  affected  a  tie-up  whereby  through 
station  WIBG,  the  house  will  broacast  over 
the  air  through  its  tirgan.  First  broadcast  is 
from  2-3.15  right  before  the  show  starts.  This 
allows  patrons  to  listen  to  good  organ  music. 
Station  is  paying  all  costs  for  both  broadcasts, 
including  salary  of  organist. 


Lambert,  Gilman  Judge 

Harry  Lambert,  manager,  Colonial,  and  Sam¬ 
uel  Gilman,  manager,  Loew’s  Regent,  both 
Harrisburg,  were  among  five  judges  who 
selected  for  radio  stardom  Harrisburg  and  Cen¬ 
tral  Pennsylvania's  candidate  for  participation 
in  the  regional  elimination  in  Pittsburgh  of  a 
national  contest  being  sponsored  by  the  Colum¬ 
bia  Network. 


Ad  “Interlude”  Tieup 

Fifty  pairs  of  guest  tickets  to  Loew  s  Regent 
Theatre,  Harrisburg,  for  showing  of  “Paris 
Interlude”  were  offered  in  an  interesting  ad 
contest  conducted  in  a  Harrisburg  daily  by 
Manager  Samuel  Gilman.  Each  day  for  a  week 
prior  to  opening  of  picture  there  appeared  con¬ 
spicuously  in  newspaper  a  scene  from  the  film 
play,  “Paris  Interlude.”  A  question  was  asked 
by  one  of  the  screen  characters  pictured  and 
a  suitable  answer  appeared  in  the  classified  ads 
on  the  same  day. 


“Clown”  Bally  Scores 

Lew  Black,  manager,  Aldine,  Wilmington, 
held  “The  Circus  Clown”  over  three  more  days, 
after  a  roaring  ballyhoo  brought  in  youngsters 
by  the  hundreds  every  afternoon.  First  Sat¬ 
urday,  Lew,  using  a  little  ice  cream,  pink  lemon¬ 
ade,  peanuts  and  other  circus  tid  bits  as  an 
extra  inducement,  lured  some  1600  kids  in  for 
the  morning  and  early  afternoon  matinee.  He 
had  Fredo,  Philadelphia  clown  down,  with  his 
saxaphone,  both  in  front  of  the  theatre  and  on 
decorated  truck  stirring  up  the  neighborhoods, 
with  kids  on  hand  to  pass  out  lurid  circus 
heralds. 


Selling  “Cavaliers” 

Lew  Black,  manager,  Aldine,  worked  an 
original  gag  for  prevues  of  “Cockeyed  Cava¬ 
liers,”  by  having  a  fat  woman  in  the  audience 
get  in  to  a  wild  fit  of  loud  and  contagious  laugh¬ 
ter  and  walk  out  with  the  audience  laughing 
both  at  and  with  her.  This  went  on  a  week 
before  the  showing  of  the  picture.  Lew  also 
had  two  crazy  mirrors,  borrowed  from  an 
amusement  park,  and  also  a  table  on  which 
there  were  several  hundreds  of  buttons,  sus¬ 
pender  buckles,  and  a  set  of  false  teethj  over 
which  was  a  sign  saying  that  they  were  col¬ 
lected  on  the  floor  of  the  Earle  Theatre,  Phila¬ 
delphia,  after  one  night's  showing  of  the  film. 


For  “Red  Rider” 

Girard  Wollaston  was  determined,  when  the 
first  chapter  of  “The  Red  Rider”  opened  at  the 
Victoria  Theatre,  Harrisburg,  to  persuade, 
coax  and  bribe  as  many  children  as  possible 
into  seeing  the  opener. 

Most  enticing  offer  Jerry  made  was  the  prom¬ 
ise  to  treat  every  boy  and  girl  leaving  the 
show  on  opening  day  to  a  Hershey  Banjo,  gifts 
from  the  management  of  the  Hershey  Ice 
Cream  Company.  Where  it  was  believed  the 
greatest  number  of  children  would  see  them, 
3  000  heralds  were  distributed  by  Jerry. 


Booking  Theatres 
Everywhere 

Honest  ::  Reliable 
Conscientious 
Service 

EDWARD  SHERMAN 

VAUDEVILLE  AGENCY 

Real  Estate  Trust  Bldg. 
PHILADELPHIA 

Pennypacker  7595 

MAYFAIR  THEATRE  BLDG.,  NEW  YORK 
BR.  9-1905 


18 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


YOU  CAN  SHOO 

Mr.  Sum.  R.  Blues 


Increase  your  income 
during  the 


HOT  WEATHER 

with  a 


BERLO 

CANDY  VENDOR 

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Fellow  Exhibitor ” 


Get  in  touch  with: 

GEO.  P.  AARONS 

301  N.  13th  Street 

LOCUST  4245 


OR  CALL  POPLAR  6011 

BERLO 

VENDING 

COMPANY 

1518  N.  Broad  St.,  Phila. 

Specializing  In  Candy 
Vending  Equipment 
for  the  Theatre  Trade! 


NEW  YORK  BALTIMORE 

SCRANTON  WASHINGTON 

ALLENTOWN  CLEVELAND 

PITTSBURGH  CINCINNATI 


Around  the  Circuit 

with 

STANLEY-WARNER 

_ By  Harry  Goldberg _ 

NEW  SHOW  SEASON  here.  .  .  .  With 
many  “ace”  films.  .  .  .  Grosses  on  the  up¬ 
grade.  .  .  .  And  the  men  in  the  field  are  set 
to  start  the  new  quarter  with  both  barrels.  .  .  . 
Bonus  checks  will  be  waiting  in  November  for 
those  who  qualify.  .  .  .  "Here  Comes  the 
Navy”  anchored  to  excellent  grosses  at  the 
Stanley.  .  .  .  Manager  Graver  planned  and 
executed  nice  campaign  to  launch  “Navy.”  .  .  . 
Crashed  society  columns  on  local  papers  with 
the  party  that  Captain  Foote,  navy  yard  chief 
of  staff,  gave  for  socially  prominent  Philadel¬ 
phians  on  opening  night.  .  .  .  Film  was  plug¬ 
ged  in  700  Yellow  and  Quaker  cabs  with  neat 
announcement  card.  .  .  .  Parkway  Baking 

Company  tie-up  good  for  distribution  of  15,000 
“Navy”  heralds  to  housewives.  .  .  .  Manager 
Abe  Frank  (Lyric,  Camden)  is  out  to  cop  a 
piece  of  the  Warner  Bros,  prize  money  for  best 
campaign  on  “The  Circus  Clown.”  .  .  .  Frank 
quadrupled  his  kid  business  and  more  than 
doubled  his  average  Saturday  gross.  .  .  .  Cam¬ 
paign  covered  all  sales  angles.  .  .  .  High  lights 
were  a  “circus”  street  parade,  a  circus  lobby  of 
mechanical  figures,  side-show  banners  and  con¬ 
cession  “stands.”  .  .  .  Manager  Mulhall  (Stan¬ 
ley,  Chester)  made  office-workers  of  Chester 
“Manhattan  Melodrama”  conscious  by  distribut¬ 
ing  blotters  with  Clark  Gable’s  photo  imprinted 
thereon.  .  .  .  Marty  Goldenberg  used  the  mail¬ 
ing  list  of  the  Germantown  Historical  Society 
in  plugging  “Operator  13.”  .  .  .  “The  Circus 
Clown”  proving  to  be  a  box-office  hit  in  neigh¬ 
borhoods.  .  .  .  Natural  for  ballyhoo  and  ex¬ 
ploitation.  .  .  .  A1  Schwartz  (Warner,  West 
Chester)  dug  up  a  calliope  to  remind  the  town 
that  “Clown”  was  playing.  .  .  .  It’s  “taboo” 
in  Philly.  .  .  .  Marty  Goldenberg  staged  im¬ 
promptu  show  with  clowns  and  acrobats  outside 
Colonial  while  40-piece  band  supplied  the  music 
gratis  for  “Clown.”  .  .  .  Les  Stahlmann 

(Circle)  dusted  off  the  old  peanut  guessing  con¬ 
test  to  work  up  interest  in  “Circus  Clown.”  .  .  . 
Huge  bowl  of  peanuts  on  display  in  promi¬ 
nent  Frankford  store  window — passersby  stop¬ 
ping  to  count  and  read.  .  .  .  Circle  sector  got 
no  end  of  laffs  from  clowns  doing  tricks  on 
midget  bicycles  near  prominent  corners.  .  .  . 
Effective  prologue  to  “Bulldog  Drummond 
Strikes  Back"  was  staged  by  Jack  Mulhall 
(Chester). 

Bob  Lynch  is  plugging  the  24-sheet  cam¬ 
paign  that  Metro  has  instituted  throughout 
the  country.  Metro  intends  to  get  behind 
all  of  its  pictures  this  way  this  year. 


Up  Hills 

and  Down- 


never  failing  ar¬ 
teries  of  the  local  industry 

carrying  the  box  office 
lifeblood  of  more  than 
1 200  theatres 

carrying  the  ''show" 
safely  and  on  time 

Horlacher’s 


Trucks  Roll! 


HORLACHER 

DELIVERY  SERVICE,  Inc. 

1228  Vine  St.,  Philadelphia 

NEW  YORK 
SCRANTON 
BALTIMORE 
WASHINGTON 


SENTRY  serviced  SAFETY  CONTROL 


Many  theatre  owners  weigh  the  matter  of  Safety  as  it  suits  them. 
PLAINLY  THIS  IS  ALL  WRONG.  In  Safety  there  is  no  half-way  meas¬ 
ure  with  the  Public.  The  Public  would  not  consider  it  safe  if  you  decide 
to  do  without  a  Serviced  Safety  Device  on  your  projectors.  The  Public 
would  think  with  horror  if  you  tried  to  economize  by  buying  Safety  equip¬ 
ment  without  a  service,  and  the  fact  that,  in  your  theatre,  the  Public 
has  not  yet  inquired  as  to  the  measure  of  Safety  that  you  are  giving  them — 
THAT  DOES  NOT  MEAN  THAT  THEY  CAN  BE  DECEIVED. 


SENTRY  SAFETY  CONTROL  C0RP. 


10th  ST.  and  ALLEGHENY  AVE. 
PHILADELPHIA,  PENNA. 


Sentry  Safety  Controls  Listed  as  Standard  by  National  Fire  Underwriters  Laboratories 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


19 


Shore  “Navy” 

Campaign  Big  Click 

One  of  the  most  effective  exploitation 
campaigns  ever  put  over  in  Atlantic  City 
was  that  engineered  by  Sid  Blumenstock, 
advertising  and  publicity  chief,  Seashore 
Amusement  Co.,  under  the  supervision 
of  Herb  Copelan,  Warner  zone  manager 
in  this  territory,  in  conjunction  with  the 
showing  of  “Here  Comes  the  Navy”  at 
the  Warner  Theatre. 

Advertising  and  publicity  campaign  was 
started  four  days  in  advance.  The  town  was 
thoroughly  papered  with  24-sheets  on  the  pic¬ 
ture  way  in  advance,  in  addition  to  an  extensive 
coverage  with  window  displays.  Beach  was 
covered  all  the  way  to  Ocean  City  by  the  effec¬ 
tive  use  of  a  bannered  airplane,  more  than 
200,000  people  on  the  local  beaches  viewed  this 
aerial  display.  Theatre  tied-up  with  Stanley 
Joy  Amusement  Hour  for  a  plug  over  the  radio 
a  week  in  advance. 

On  the  Boardwalk  and  Main  Street,  Sid  had 
a  mechanical  man  parade  in  a  wheel  chair. 
When  he  was  not  in  front  of  the  theatre,  he 
paraded  the  thoroughfares,  attracting  a  large 
crowd.  A  huge  blowup  of  a  ship  was  placed 
in  a  prominent  store  window  on  the  boardwalk. 
7,500  heralds  were  inclosed  in  Liberty  maga¬ 
zines  distributed  on  city  tour  buses,  and  placed 
in  hotel  lobbies  and  in  guest  boxes.  10,000  were 
given  out  at  trains,  buses,  and  to  autos  arriving 
in  the  city.  All  jitneys  carried  cards  in  win¬ 
dows,  while  30  carried  large  cards  on  front. 

Signal  flags,  anchors,  ropes,  etc.,  were  bor¬ 
rowed  from  the  local  Coast  Guard  for  advance 
lobby  and  used  in  current  front.  Flags  and  pen¬ 
nants  were  rented  for  the  marquee.  A  gold 
on  green  advance  reading  "World  Premiere" 
was  used.  Paper  napkins  imprinted  with  a  plug 
for  the  picture  were  supplied  to  Boardwalk 
restaurants  near  the  theatre.  Lively  and  color¬ 
ful  naval  atmosphere  featured  the  distinctive 
front  and  lobby  displays. 


“Navy”  in  Harrisburg 

“Admiral"  Harry  Lambert,  manager,  Colonial 
Theatre,  Harrisburg,  had  residents  of  the  city 
believing  it  was  Navy  Day  when  "Here  Comes 
the  Navy”  opened  for  a  week’s  run  at  the 
Colonial. 

Handsome  youths  in  immaculate  Navy  cos¬ 
tumes  paraded  the  business  streets  towing  five 
beautiful  ships,  each  with  five-foot  masts  and 
eight  feet  from  bow  to  stern,  mounted  on 
wheels,  on  day  of  opening  of  picture  and  fol¬ 
lowing  day.  To  that  master  of  all  trades,  “Ike” 
Davis,  Colonial  maintenance  man.  Admiral 
Lambert  gave  credit  for  the  appearance  of  his 
miniature  fleet,  each  ship  of  which  “Ike”  con¬ 
structed. 

For  same  picture,  Manager  Lambert  tried  a 
new  idea  that  attracted  much  favorable  com¬ 
ment.  Across  the  marquee,  where  bright  lights 
weekly  blazon  the  name  of  the  current  picture, 
card  board  on  which  were  painted  ships  in  a 
billowy  sea,  was  placed. 


Majestic  Book  Ready 

A  novelty  in  year  books  has  just  been  issued 
by  Majestic  in  announcing  the  twelve  features 
listed  in  its  1934-35  program.  Cut-out  cover 
has  the  appearance  of  a  large  brown  leather- 
bound  volume  with  Florentine  stamping  in  gold 
and  black.  Book  was  directed  by  E.  H.  Gold¬ 
stein,  executive  vice-president,  and  Raymond 
Cavanaugh,  advertising  director.  32  inside 
pages  in  black  and  red  on  buff  stock  are  mod¬ 
ern  in  arrangement  with  large  photographic 
illustrations  of  the  twelve  titles  included  in  the 
contents. 


Good  Man  Available 


A  veteran  manager,  married,  who  has 
made  his  mark  in  the  theatre  field  and 
who  has  managed  theatres  in  some  of 
the  most  important  key  towns  in  the 
area,  is  available. 

He  will  go  anywhere,  will  present 
character  and  ability  references  from 
leading  theatre  owners  of  the  territory 
and  id  available  immediately.  He  would 
particularly  like  a  house  which  has  been 
finding  the  sledding  tough,  so  he  can 
give  the  best  idea  of  his  ability.  Ad¬ 
dress:  Box  SH,  THE  EXHIBITOR. 


LEHIGH  VALLEY 


HAMILTON  STREET  THEATRE.  Allen- 
town,  was  the  subject  of  injunction  proceed¬ 
ings  brought  against  the  owners,  Hattie  and 
Herbert  Meeker  in  Lehigh  County  court, 
August  8,  by  Dr.  Frank  S.  Boyer.  .  .  .  Dr. 
Boyer,  58,  spent  over  two  hours  on  the  witness 
stand  in  support  of  the  allegation  that  noise 
from  the  projection  booth  interferes  with  his 
office  practice,  his  reading  and  sleep,  that  as  a 
sufferer  from  high  blood  pressure  his  condition 
is  aggravated  by  the  continual  irritation  result¬ 
ing  from  said  noise  and  that  his  son,  a  college 
student,  was  unable  to  concentrate  upon  his 
studies  prior  to  the  June  exams  at  Muhlenberg. 
...  It  was  further  alleged  that  existing  con¬ 
ditions  have  impaired  the  value  of  the  Dr.’s 
property,  rear  of  which  is  but  a  few  feet 
from  the  rear  of  the  theatre.  .  .  .  Despite  the 
admonition  of  Judge  Iobst  that  the  prolonged 
hearing  would  add  a  possible  $100  to  the  costs 
other  witnesses  were  heard  at  length,  among 
them  being  John  Koffler,  exhibitor,  former 
operator  of  the  theatre.  ...  It  was  brought 
out  by  Attorney  Orrin  Boyle  for  the  defense 
that  the  complainant  and  his  family  has  previ¬ 
ously  enjoyed  free  the  pictures  showing  at  the 
theatre  since  their  back  yard  afforded  them 
an  excellent  view  of  the  screen  and  that  after 
a  time  Dr.  Boyer  had  permitted  groups  of  chil¬ 
dren  to  do  likewise  which  resulted  in  the 
Meekers  erecting  a  large  curtain  at  the  rear  of 
their  property  cutting  off  the  “free  views.”  .  .  . 
It  was  not  until  after  the  curtain  had  been 
erected  that  complaint  was  made  regarding  the 
noises  emanating  from  the  projection  booth.  .  .  . 
Preliminary  injunction  was  continued  and  the 
final  hearing  will  be  held  at  some  future  date. 

CHILDREN  of  the  Jewish  Community 
Center  day  camp  attended  the  Embassy 
(Boyd)  Theatre  in  a  group  to  see  Shirley 
Temple  in  “Baby  Take  a  Bow.”  .  .  .  Roxy, 
Northampton,  exploited  the  baby  star  with 
placards  announcing  $1,000  reward  for 
identification.  .  .  Diamond  Jubilee  week, 

Emaus,  drew  crowds  to  that  vicinity  and 
Penlo  Theatre  accordingly  cashed  in.  .  .  . 

College,  Bethlehem,  had  reel  of  local  shorts. 


YORK 


IRVING  DUNN  returned  from  a  vacation. 
.  .  .  Immediately  got  out  heralds  and  arranged 
for  a  street  ballyhoo  on  “Circus  Clown.”  .  .  . 
Cleon  Miller,  Strand,  used  an  effective  ballyhoo 
on  "The  Black  Cat,”  giving  his  audiences  the 
week  prior  to  the  opening  an  added  thrill.  .  .  . 
All  house  lights  were  turned  down  when  the 
trailer  was  presented  and  a  girl  on  the  theatre 
staff  let  out  a  blood  curdling  scream  as  a  hand 
was  seen  reaching  across  the  screen.  .  .  .  Mil¬ 
ler,  incidentally,  is  the  last  of  the  boys  to  go  on 
his  vacation. 


READY 

REFERENCE 

EACH  COMPANY  LISTED  IS  AN 
AUTHORITY  IN  ITS  FIELD  AND 
IS  RELIABLE  AND  TRUSTWORTHY 


AIR  CONDITIONING 

^SlPHOON 


COOLING 

VENTILATING 


CONDITIONING  CO. 

BLOWERS  -  FANS 
AIR  WASHERS 
252  West  26th  St.,  New  York 


A  B/’LllTCrT 


THEATRE  DESIGN 

Remodeling  »  Building 

LATEST  COMPLETED 

NEW  BROADWAY  CAYUGA 

Camden,  Philadelphia 

New  Jersey  Penna. 

DAVID  SUPOWITZ 

REGISTERED 

ARCHITECT 

246  S.  15th  St.,  Phila.,  Pa.  Pennypacker  2291 


BUSINESS  BROKER 


THEATRES 

BOUGHT  •  SOLD  •  LEASED 

Partnerships  Negotiated 


M.  II.  GOODIS,  I ne. 

1201  CHESTNUT  STREET 
Rittenhouse  4595  Rittenhouse  9077 


CHAIRS  (used  theatre) 


LARGEST  DEALERS 
IN  USED  CHAIRS 

Re-Setting  Re-Upholstering 

Re-Conditioning 

“Servastone”  for  cracked  concrete 
floors 

Parts  for  all  chairs  Slip  Covers 

ALLIED  SEATING  COMPANY 

358  W.  44th  St.,  New  York,  N.  Y. 


DECORATIVE  GLASS 


We  specialize  in  GLASS  for  Theatres 

Specify:  VARICOLITE 

See  the  new  mirror  booth  at  the 
IRIS  THEATRE,  Kensington  and  Allegheny 
Write  for  particulars  and  samples 

M.  KRAKOVITZ  AND  SONS,  CO. 

4TH  AND  MORRIS  STREETS,  PHILA. 
Dewey  8600  Main  2301 


DRAPERIES 

The  Larger  and  Greater — 

NOVELTY  SCENIC  STUDIOS 

- INC. - 

INTERIOR  DECORATIONS  :  DRAPERIES 

SCENERY : ACCOUSTICAL  TREATMENTS :  RIGGING 

611-625  W.  43rd  St.  New  York,  N.  Y. 


20 


Augl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


A  Concise 
National  Survey 

mt 

TRADE  IN  REVIEW  • 

- - - m 

:  1 

Glances  Outside 
the  Territory 

- • 

CODE 

Zoning  Held  Up 
As  Boards  Are  Slow 

There  are  few  territories  in  the  country  which 
have  been  completely  zoned.  Laxity  of  boards, 
Code  Authority  regulations,  etc.,  have  com¬ 
bined  to  really  take  away  the  effectiveness  of 
the  zoning  setup. 

And  those  which  have  been  zoned  aren’t  sat¬ 
isfied. 

No  Code  Decisions 
Reviewed  by  Rosenblatt 

Divisional  Administrator  Sol  A.  Rosenblatt 
apparently  isn't  going  to  spend  any  time  re¬ 
viewing  Code  Authority  decisions.  When  some 
appeals  were  passed  on  to  him,  he  sent  them 
back  to  be  reviewed  by  the  Code  Authority. 
This  happened  and  the  CA  upheld  its  original 
decisions. 

Code  Appeals  on  Zoning 
Heard  Where  Filed 

The  Code  Authority  has  decided  that  all  ap¬ 
peals  from  decisions  of  clearance  and  zoning 
boards  will  be  heard  in  the  cities  where  the 
cases  were  originally  scheduled.  Members  of 
the  appeals  committee  will  be  delegated  to  sit 
and  hear  the  appeals  and  pass  on  recommenda¬ 
tions  to  the  CA. 

Code  Authority  Wins 
First  Court  Trial 

The  Code  Authority  came  out  a  victor  in 
New  York  City  recently  when  the  ITOA, 
exhibitor  body,  petitioned  for  a  mandatory  in¬ 
junction,  pending  a  trial,  to  require  the  CA 
to  accept  complaints  from  non-assentors  to  the 
code  against  code  signers  and  restrain  the  body 
from  accepting  complaints  against  non-assent¬ 
ors.  Petition  was  denied  in  Federal  Court. 

Provisions  of  Code 
Not  Retroactive,  Ruling 

Provisions  of  the  industry  code  do  not  allow 
for  their  having  effect  on  any  deals  before 
December  7,  1933.  Although  pictures  on  con¬ 
tracts  signed  before  that  date  may  come  under 
code  regulation,  the  code  took  effect  on  that 
date.  Code  Authority  so  held  in  a  Connecticut 
appeal  case. 

Objectors  to  Code  Have 
Until  August  15 

Those  who  wished  to  object  to  code  assess¬ 
ments  were  given  until  August  15  to  do  so 
under  an  NRA  ruling.  Originally,  this  was 
set  for  August  6  but  was  changed. 

PRODUCTION 

Produ  cers  Won’t  Go 
In  for  National  Advertising 

Rumors  that  there  would  be  a  big  war  chest 
to  take  institutional  ads  to  push  cleanliness  of 
the  movies  have  been  denied  and  effectually 
squelched.  The  producers  now  feel  that  the 
fight  onslaughts  against  bad  films  have  passed 
and  with  clean  pictures  coming  along,  some 
of  the  effects  will  wear  off.  The  Breen  code 
system  continues  to  insure  clean  films  all  the 
way. 


Gains,  Losses  Shown 
By  Various  Companies 

Reports  of  various  companies  show  a  general 
improvement.  Warners  Brothers  and  subsid¬ 
iaries  indicated  a  net  operating  loss  of 
$558,836.69  for  the  39  weeks  ended  May  26. 
This  compared  with  a  net  operating  loss  of 
$5,021,774.78  in  the  same  period  last  year. 

Loew’s,  Inc.,  showed  a  profit  of  $5,750,750 
for  the  40  weeks  ended  June  7.  Last  year,  the 
profit  for  the  same  period  was  $2,336,037. 

Fox  showed  a  profit  of  $1,199,241.77  for 
the  half  year.  This  compared  with  a  loss  of 
$482,406  in  the  first  half  of  1933. 

Culkin  Aims  at 
Federal  Legislation 

A  stiff  fight  to  enact  Federal  legislation 
placing  the  film  industry  under  the  direct 
control  of  a  U.  S.  Motion  Picture  Commission 
of  five  members  will  be  waged  at  the  next 
session  of  Congress  by  Rep.  Francis  D.  Cul¬ 
kin,  who  has  drafted  the  necessary  enabling 
bill. 

The  commission’s  membership  would  em¬ 
brace  two  women.  Commissioners  would  be 
named  by  the  President  for  six-year  terms. 
Bill,  as  prepared,  provides  further  that  “the 
appointments  shall  not  be  given  to  any  person 
who  at  any  time  during  the  five  years  next 
preceding  his  appointment  has  had  any  direct 
or  indirect  financial  interest  or  other  connec¬ 
tion  with  any  motion  picture  producing,  dis¬ 
tributing,  or  exhibiting  business,  or  any  cog¬ 
nate  or  related  business.”  Chairman’s  salary 
would  be  $10,000,  that  of  the  other  four  mem¬ 
bers,  $9,000.  Bill  provides  that  “the  commis¬ 
sion  shall  have  authority  to  employ  and  fix  the 
compensation  of  deputy  commissioners  and 
such  other  employes  as  it  may  find  necessary 
to  the  proper  performance  of  its  duties.” 

Big  Shows  Will 
Break  at  Same  Time 

From  the  looks  of  things,  all  companies  will 
bombard  the  trade  and  public  with  a  smash  of 
big  shows,  to  inaugurate  the  new  season. 

Some  of  the  big  ones  lined  up  are  “Treasure 
Island,”  “One  Night  of  Love,”  “Cleopatra,” 
“Down  to  Their  Last  Yacht,”  “Caravan,” 
"Dames,”  “Girl  of  the  Limberlost,”  “Cellini,” 
and  “Drummond,”  “Gift  of  Gab,”  etc.,  to  men¬ 
tion  one  of  each  company.  Shows  that  could 
have  been  released  during  the  middle  of  the 
summer  will  get  their  first  break  the  middle  of 
this  month,  with  patrons,  producers  and  exhib¬ 
itors  benefiting. 

DISTRIBUTION 

Selling  Slowed  Up 
For  Many  Reasons 

Selling  in  the  new  season  isn’t  proceeding 
with  any  degree  of  speed.  Code,  boycotts,  hot 
weather,  new  theatre  deals,  etc.,  have  influenced 
the  procedure  with  no  pickup  expected  before 
the  end  of  the  month.  New  York  City,  because 
of  the  theatre  situation,  is  especially  affected. 


Fights  In  This 
Business  Don’t  Last 

Reports  from  Philadelphia  indicate  that  Fox 
and  Warners  have  gotten  together  on  a  product 
deal.  Two  outfits  tiffed  last  season. 

It  brings  to  mind  the  thought  that  in  this 
business,  companies  don’t  keep  fighting  each 
other  where  their  financial  reports  might  be 
affected.  Regardless  of  annual  tiffs  on  deals, 
eventually  they  get  together. 

Gaumont  British  Plans 
National  Exchange  System 

Arrival  of  Gaumont  British  executives  in  this 
country  indicates  that  British  company  intends 
to  invade  U.  S.  on  a  big  scale.  Company  ex¬ 
pects  to  market  25  pictures  this  year  in  this 
country.  Many  of  them  have  American  names. 
Coast  to  coast  exchanges  would  be  set  up,  with 
a  big  sales  force  selling  the  pictures. 

EXHIBITION 

All  Factions  Take  Steps 
To  Buck  Music  Tax  Rise 

MPTOA,  Allied,  TOCC,  ITOA  and  other 
units  have  joined  in  a  fight  to  prevent  the 
American  Society  of  Composers,  Authors  and 
Publishers  from  instituting  an  increase  in  music 
tax,  to  take  effect  October  1.  Congressional 
action,  legal  measures  have  been  suggested  to 
stop  the  rise.  Rumors  of  compromise  on  the 
part  of  both  sides  have  been  heard. 

A  strike  against  payments  to  the  Society  was 
also  hinted.  This  was  deemed  a  final  resort, 
however. 

Paramount  Deals  with 
Partners  Continue 

Paramount  is  continuing  its  deals  with  oper¬ 
ating  partners.  This  was  indicated  when  the 
deal  between  company  and  Karl  Hoblitzelle, 
Texas,  was  continued  by  the  organization. 

Premiums  Banned  in 
Kansas  City  Area 

Kansas  City,  which  has  double  features  and 
10  cent  admissions,  has  banned  premiums 
through  vote  of  theatres  in  that  territory.  This 
is  the  first  large  city  which  went  on  record  in 
that  manner. 

Dog  Racing  Cuts 
Into  Grosses  of  Houses 

Dog  racing,  in  the  eastern  sector,  has  proved 
another  headache  with  which  houses  must 
reckon. 

In  Atlantic  City  as  well  as  in  other  Jersey 
tracks,  the  dogs  are  attracting  crowds,  with 
plenty  of  free  passes  around. 

Free  Movies  Being 
Checked  in  Some  Spots 

Free  movies  being  shown  by  parks  are  being 
checked  where  the  local  grievance  boards  have 
acted. 

In  some  situations,  the  free  films  have  cut 
into  revenues  heavily.  The  local  boards  usually 
rule  that  such  competition  is  unfair  and  should 
be  stopped. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Augl5'34 


21 


WILMINGTON 


REPORTS  of  peace  between  Warner  and 
Fox  again  is  causing  Wilmington  exhibitors  to 
wonder.  .  .  .  Joe  DeFiore,  Park,  swelling  his 
“ads”  a  bit  for  the  Shirley  Temple  pictures. 
.  .  .  Charley  Albert’s  art  work  for  the  Aldine 
front  for  "The  Circus  Clown”  was  the  best  I 
think  he  has  ever  done.  .  .  .  Hope  Lew  Black 
wins  the  prize  with  his  layout  and  ballyhoo 
pictures  on  this  picture.  .  .  .  Morty  Levine, 
manager,  Opera  House,  Warner  theatre,  had 
such  a  success  with  “The  Black  Cat,"  he  decided 
to  lay  off  of  ballyhoos  for  a  week  or  two.  .  .  . 
Dick  Hiltshire,  manager,  Queen,  is  at  the  Chi¬ 
cago  Fair  for  his  vacation.  .  .  .  Bill  Kearney 
pinch  hitting  in  his  place,  with  Wilmer  High- 
held,  manager  Savoy,  across  the  street,  keeping 
an  eye  on  the  situation.  .  .  .  W.  R.  McClintock, 
genial  door  keeper  of  the  Aldine,  is  back  all 
tanned  up  after  four  days  at  Virginia  Beach. 

A.  J.  BELAIR,  manager,  New  Rialto, 
doesn’t  believe  in  letting  people  stand  wait¬ 
ing  for  a  seat  if  they  are  impatient.  .  .  . 

Joe  DeFiore,  Park,  has  returned  from  a  few 
days’  stay  with  his  mother  at  Pleasantville, 
N.  J.  .  .  Lyle  Trenchard,  S-W  district 

manager,  who  has  been  on  a  six  weeks’  leave 
for  his  health  came  back  on  the  job.  .  .  . 

Lew  Black  was  ballyhooing  “Here  Comes  the 
Navy,”  a  couple  of  weeks  in  advance  with  a 
musical  prologue  “Anchors  Away,”  followed 
by  the  showing  of  the  prevue  with  two  flags 
on  either  side  of  the  stage  being  fluttered  in 
spotlight  by  an  electric  fan,  and  a  bugler 
blowing  taps.  .  .  .  George  Jones,  manager, 

Loew’s  Theatre,  seemed  to  have  been  the  first 
Wilmington  exhibitor  to  make  the  acquaint¬ 
ance  of  William  L.  Mapel,  new  executive  edi¬ 
tor  of  the  “Evening  Journal-Every  Evening” 
and  the  “Morning  News.” 

JACK  MULHALL,  formerly  manager  one 
of  the  Chester  theatres,  Warner  string,  has  been 
made  district  manager,  taking  the  place  of  Lyle 
Trenchard.  .  .  .  Mulhall  was  at  first  pinch  hit¬ 
ting  for  Trenchard  while  the  latter  was  on  a 
six  weeks'  leave.  .  .  .  Mulhall,  prior  to  going 
to  Chester,  was  manager  for  several  months  of 
the  Arcadia,  Wilmington,  now  closed. 


Position  Wanted 


Theatre  manager,  7  years’  experience, 
capable  showman,  can  produce  satisfac¬ 
tory  results  with  small  overhead.  Would 
like  to  tackle  small  house  on  percentage. 
References.  Box  AT,  THE  EXHIBITOR. 


UP-STATE 


ONE  OF  THE  most  beautiful  of  blondes 
was  discovered  by  the  writer  gracing  the 
chair  occupied  by  the  secretary  to  C.  Floyd 
Hopkins,  Wilmer  and  Vincent  head,  in  his 
office  at  the  Colonial,  Harrisburg.  .  .  .  She 

is  Miss  Laura  Parkhurst,  imported  from  Cam¬ 
den,  N.  J.,  to  take  over  temporarily  the  duties 
of  Mrs.  Minnie  Weaver.  .  .  .  Colonial,  Har¬ 
risburg,  is  sprucing  up.  .  .  .  Work  of  up¬ 

holstering,  padding  and  making  the  seats 
comfortable  has  been  started.  .  Harry’s 

chief,  “Hoppy”  Hopkins,  perspiration  flow¬ 
ing  profusely  from  his  brow,  intruded  with 
the  welcome  information  that  a  new  giant 
fan  just  arrived  also  for  installation  between 
balcony  floor  and  ceiling  to  improve  ventila¬ 
tion  system  at  Colonial. 

LAMBERT,  affable  Colonial  head  man. 
would  declared  to  you  with  much  emphasis  that 
“There  ain't  no  unemployment  sitchiashon  in 
Harrisburg.”  .  .  .  For  “Handy  Andy”  he 

promised  free  theatre  tickets  to  anyone  sup¬ 
plying  an  odd  job  for  an  unemployed  man.  .  .  . 
Men  out  of  work  were  requested  to  leave  their 
names  at  the  theatre.  .  .  .Not  one  Handy 
Andy  had  applied  for  a  single  job.  .  .  .  Mrs. 
Mary  Funk  Knol,  pretty  cashier,  Colonial,  Har¬ 
risburg,  for  nearly  eight  years,  has  tendered 
her  resignation.  .  .  .  Mary  left,  she  announced, 
to  devote  her  time  to  her  household  duties. 
.  .  .  Her  sister,  Miss  Genevieve  Funk,  cashier, 
Victoria,  Harrisburg,  has  been  transferred  to 
the  Colonial.  .  .  .  Mrs.  Bertha  Olson,  veteran 
cashier,  Wilmer  and  Vincent’s  Harrisburg  the¬ 
atres,  takes  the  place  of  Miss  Funk. 


Belair  Loses  in  Wilmington  Union  Tiff 


A.  J.  Belair,  New  Rialto,  Wilmington,  seemed  ready  to  go  to  the  mat  with  NRA 
authorities  and  the  local  projectionists’  union  after  a  special  referee,  following  a 
hearing,  ruled  that  he  should  adjust  his  wage  scale  and  hours  for  his  projectionists 
in  accordance  with  the  wage  scale  and  hours  which  were  in  force  by  the  August, 
1933,  agreement  with  the  Federation  of  Labor. 

It  was  the  first  code  case  of  importance  in  the  Wilmington  area  and  was  the 
result  of  a  long  and  drawn-out  feud  between  the  union  and  the  New  Rialto. 

Reports  in  Wilmington  theatrical  circles*  were  to  the  effect  that  Belair  was  pre¬ 
pared  to  take  an  appeal.  Charles  C.  Kurtz,  local  realtor,  who  had  been  designated 
under  Section  7,  Article  IV,  of  the  code,  to  hear  the  case  explained  his  inability 
to  discuss  the  case,  referring  The  Exhibitor  correspondent  to  the  Wilmington  NRA 
office  as  the  proper  authority  for  information.  At  this  office  James  J.  O’Neal  ex¬ 
plained.  that  on  complaint  of  the  projectionists’  union,  Kurtz  had  been  agreed  upon 
as  a  special  referee  and  heard  the  case,  and  that  upon  the  conclusion  had  cited  to 
counsel  for  Belair  part  (a)  of  Section  6,  which  stipulates  that  motion  picture 
machine  operators  “who  are  directly  and  regularly  employed  by  the  exhibitors, 
shall  receive  not  less  than  the  minimum  wage  and  work  no  longer  than  the  maximum 
number  of  hours  per  week  which  were  in  force  as  of  August  23,  1934,  as  the 
prevailing  scale  of  wages,  and  maximum  number  of  hours  of  labor  by  organizations 
of  any  such  employees  affiliated  with  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  with  respect 
to  their  respective  type  of  work  in  a  particular  class  of  theatre  or  theatres  in  a 
particular  location  in  a  particular  community  and  etc.” 

It  was  made  clear  at  the  NRA  office  that  no  stipulation  was  made  that  union 
men  should  be  hired,  but  that  wages  and  hours  should  be  maintained  in  accord¬ 
ance  with  theatres  of  its  class. 

Belair,  himself,  was  in  the  hospital  when  the  hearing  was  held,  and  the  case 
was  handled  by  his  attorney. 


FLAGS  AND  BANNERS 


R  Theatre  Marquee  Valances 
E  Wall  Banners 

N  Net  and  Road  Banners 

T  Attractive  Colors — Sewed  or  Painted 

Letters — Featuring  All  Shows. 

I  Burgees — Pennants — Decorations 

Above  Also  Sold  Outright.  Order  Direct  From 

NATIONAL  FLAG  &  BANNER  CO. 

251-253  N.  13th  St.  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


INTERIOR  DECORATORS 


Theatrical 

Decorating 

OUR  SPECIALTY 
Phone 

Rittenhouse  7828 
2315  Walnut  St. 
Philadelphia 


Reliable  Decorating  Co.,  Inc. 

INTERIOR  DECORATORS 

Draperies,  Carpets,  Painting 

1316  Vine  St.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


WE'VE  TURNED  NUMEROUS  NON-PAYING 
THEATRES  INTO  MONEY-MAKING  PROPOSITIONS 
ASK  US  HOW! 


5LRMANDC-1FRICCI 

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J.  SEIDMAN  :  A.  WEINBERG  :  D.  BRODSKY 

Paramount  Qecorating  (Jo.,  |nc. 

STAGE  SETTINGS  :  DRAPERIES 

CARPETS  :  PAINTING  AND  DECORATING 

311  North  13th  Street  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


LIGHTING  FIXTURES 


VOIGT 


•*-  NEW 

DECORATIVE  LIGHTING 

FOR  YOUR  THEATRE 

DRINKING  FOUNTAINS  DIRECTION  SIGNS 


I2™6r Montqomery  Ave.  Phila.Pa. 


PREMIUMS 


QUALITY  PREMIUM 

DISTRIBUTORS,  Inc. 

Serving  Exhibitors  From  Coast  to  Coast 
Home  Office:  1305  Vine  St.,  Phila.,  Pa. 


jNEWDEALSREADyil 


Tell  Our  Advertisers 
“/  saw  it  in 

THE  EXHIBITOR ”! 


22 


Augl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


SELLING  JEAN  HARLOW.  Reflection  from  the  sky  projector,  an  innovation  in 
Harrisburg,  which  Manager  Sam  Gilman  borrowed  and  used  to  advertise  “The  Girl 
from  Missouri,”  at  Loew’s  Regent  Theatre.  Scene  from  in  front  of  Loew’s  Regent 
Theatre,  Harrisburg,  during  showing  of  “The  Girl  from  Missouri,”  when  a  gorgeous 
platinum  blonde,  impersonating  Jean  Harlow,  instructed  her  liveried  chauffeur  to 
stop  to  have  this  picture  snapped  while  touring  the  city. 


SOUND  SERVICE 


WE  SOLVE  YOUR  SOUND  PROBLEMS 


C.A.McCrork 

SOUND  ENGINEER 

262  N.  I3TH  ST. 
PHILADELPHIA 
Day  Phone:  RIT  4529 
Night  Phone:  SHE  0805 


STATIONERY 


JSation  a  l  Stationers 


Walnut  1760-1761  1028  ARCH  STREET 

Race  4911-4912  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


WILKES-BARRE 


CIRCUS  shared  the  amusement  spotlight. 

J.  E.  Elliger,  Penn,  was  on  a  peculiar 
spot  with  “Circus  Clown.”  .  .  .  Elliger  pulled 
all  the  tricks  he  knew  out  of  the  bag  and  came 
out  better  than  he  would  if  he  had  thrown  up 
his  hands.  .  .  •  He  had  ballyhooed  Brown  for 
two  weeks  and  tied-up  with  a  jewelry  store  on 
a  theatre  party.  .  .  •  Morris  had  the  kids 
gather  at  the  Penn  to  see  the  parade  and  the 
distributed  tickets  for  the  theatre  performance 
itself.  ...  A  radio  broadcast  of  the  parade, 
as  seen  from  the  Penn,  also  was  made  for  those 
who  were  forced  to  remain  at  home.  .  .  •  A1 
Cox,  Irving,  was  back  in  a  familiar  role 
during  the  week,  was  busy  promoting  an  old 
time  fiddler’s  contest  for  an  evening’s  entertain¬ 
ment  at  the  South  Main  Street  house.  .  .  . 
Boil  made  things  awkward  for  him  for  a  couple 
of  weeks.  .  .  .  Irving  has  been  stressing  its 
lower  prices  at  the  matinee.  .  .  .  Fred  Her¬ 
mann  has  pepped  the  lobby  of  the  Capitol  up 
considerably.  .  •  •  Bill  Roberts  is  offering 

patrons  at  the  Shawnee,  Plymouth,  free  park¬ 
ing  space.  .  .  .  Shawnee  offered  a  revue  in  con¬ 
junction  with  its  screen  program.  .  .  .  Rex, 
Nanticoke,  was  host  to  the  children  of  St.  Stan¬ 
islaus  orphanage  for  “The  Man  Trailer.  .  .  . 
Local  shut-ins  were  guests  at  the  Penn  during 
the  week.  .  .  .  Phil  and  Theda  Cusick,  Kings¬ 
ton  Theatre,  were  guests  artists  at  the  Strand, 
Sunbury.  .  .  .  Under  the  new  arrangement, 

Fort  Durkee  hotel  is  operated  entirely  inde¬ 
pendent  of  other  Comerford  interests  here.  .  .  . 
Lincoln,  Plains,  was  closed  three  days.  .  .  . 
John  Comerford  drew  a  lot  of  visitors  and  some 
customers  to  the  Orpheum,  when  he  distributed 
5,000  numbered  keys.  .  .  .  Recipients,  whose 
numbers  matched  tho?e  in  the  lobby,  were  ad¬ 
mitted  free  to  the  house.  .  .  .  Carrier  boys 
of  The  Evening  News  and  Times-Leader  were 
guests  of  Fred  Hermann  at  the  Capitol  for 
“Here  Comes  the  Navy.” 


POTTSVILLE 


SAMUEL  FRIEDMAN,  Capitol,  is  chair¬ 
man  in  charge  of  publicity  on  the  new  NRA 
permanent  committee,  to  spread  information  and 
education  on  the  NRA.  .  .  .  Capitol  is  using 
silent  trailers.  .  .  .  House  ran  vaude  for  a 
while.  .  .  .  James  Matlia  is  assistant.  .  .  . 
Herwood  Hobbs  managing  the  Hip.  .  .  .  Took 
a  vacation.  .  .  .  Sam  Friedman  hopped  to  AC 
for  his.  .  .  .  Joseph  Krutal,  23,  is  the  art  and 
sign  painter,  a  fine  bowler,  and  may  get  hitched 
soon.  .  .  .  Born  in  Scranton.  .  .  .  House  will 
be  redecorated,  exterior,  in  fall. 


Operator  Available 

An  experienced  motion  picture  pro¬ 
jectionist  is  available  for  any  spot. 

Non-union,  he  can  operate  any  type 
machine. 

Add  ress  Jesse  Abel,  2453  N.  54th  St. 


Merger  Vote  Up 

Notice  of  a  stockholders’  meeting  of  the 
Stanley-Fabian  Company,  to  be  held  at  321 
West  44th  Street,  New  York  City,  August  23, 
at  10.15  o’clock  to  vote  on  an  agreement  entered 
into  by  the  boards  of  directors  of  the  Stanley- 
Fabian  Corporation,  the  Stanley-Crandall  Com¬ 
pany  of  Washington,  a  Delaware  corporation 
and  the  Stanley  Company  of  America,  also  a 
Delaware  corporation  for  a  proposed  merger  of 
the  first  two  mentioned  companies  with  the 
latter  concern  has  appeared. 

Hershey  Hearing  Due 

An  appeal  from  the  $250,000  assessment 
placed  on  the  new  Hershey  Community  The¬ 
atre  and  Hershey  Hotel,  Hershey,  by  the 
Dauphin  County  commissioners,  has  been  filed 
by  officials  of  the  Hershey  Estates.  Date  for 
a  hearing  was  set  by  the  commissioners  for 
August  13,  but  the  date  was  tentative. 

Quality  Holds  Exhibit 

During  the  week  of  August  13,  Quality 
Premium  Distributors,  Inc.,  is  holding  a  pre¬ 
view  of  its  new  fall  line  of  22  premium  deals. 
Showing  is  receiving  applause  from  exhibitors 
who  have  visited  the  remodeled  display  room  at 
1305  Vine  Street.  The  event  is  lending  a  touch 
of  color  to  the  activities  on  Film  Row.  Quality 
Premium  Distributors,  Inc.,  now  boasts  of 
representation  across  the  entire  United  States. 
Among  record  listing  of  22  distinct  theatre 
premium  deals  are  a  number  of  sets  manufac¬ 
tured  exclusively  for  them.  Three  sets  will  be 
given  away  free  at  noon  this  week. 


18,000  Kids  Lost 

Survey  of  about  100  neighborhood 
houses  here,  circuits  and  indes,  indicates 
that  kid  business,  because  of  the  ban 
and  other  reasons,  is  about  18,000 
short  of  normal  attendance  weekly. 


THEATRE  EQUIPMENT 


PEJ\N  THEATRE 
EQUIPMENT  CO. 

309  North  13th  Street 
PHILADELPHIA 
Phone,  Rittenhouse  3273 

GENERAL  THEATRE  EQUIPMENT 

Specialist s  in  Repairs 


CLEM'S 

MOTION  PICTURE  SUPPLY  HOUSE 

The  Mftit  Complete  hichfn  mi  rut 

S  it  plil )  linn  si  in  the  Tm/tmx 

255  North  13th  Street  »  Philadelphia 


SPRUCE  18*24 


t  X  Pffi  r  Pf  P  A  ft 


National  Theatre  Supply  Company 


Service  and  courtesy  from  men  you  know  .  .  . 
Plus  equipment  of  known  and  guaranteed  quality 
.  .  .  are  at  your  service  at  our  local  branch 


UNIFORMS 


English  Mess  Jackets  a  r 

for  Ushers  -  $Oa73 

Cool — Snappy — Inexpensive 
Any  Color  Gabardine 
WRITE  FOR  INFORMATION 

AMERICAN  UNIFORM  CO. 

134  So.  11th  St.  Phila.,  Pa. 


SUPPLIES 


THEATRE  EQUIPMENT 

New  -  Used  -  Itebuiit 


Projectors,  Screens, 
Soundheads,  Amplifiers, 
Chairs,  Portable  Projectors, 
Arc  Lamps,  Rectifiers 
and  Generators, 

.  ItKI'AI ItlX.  AT  LOW  EST  II  VTKS 


S.  O.  S.  CORP.,  1600  Broadway,  New  York 


Equipment  Bought  at  Highest  Prices 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Augl5'34 


23 


Heard  In ' 


V 


INE  STREET 

“Independent”  Arrive* 
on  Scene 


ALT-  THE  LOCAL  OPERATORS  have 
been  given  a  day  off  so  that  relief  men  might 
get  a  chance  to  get  some  work.  .  .  .  It's  a  good 
way  to  take  care  of  their  own  men. 

EARLE  SWEIGERT  all  enthused  over 
coming  of  Cecil  DeMille.  .  .  .  Latter  is  fly¬ 

ing  all  over  country  and  lands  here  August 
21.  .  .  Big  feed  at  Penn  A.  C.  .  .  .  Also 

Boyd  opens  with  it  Aug.  1 6.  .  .  .A.  Cecil  B. 
DeMille  night  is  being  arranged  by  Eddie 
Corcoran.  .  .  .  Show  opens  Steely  Pier 

August  17.  .  .  .  “The  Scarlet  Empress”  gets 
its  world  premiere  at  the  AC  Warner,  August 
17. 

WITH  OSCAR  NEUFELD  out  of  Peer¬ 
less,  Bill  Heenan  still  holds  the  fort.  ...  '1  he 
new  Bud  ’n’  Ben  releases  are  getting  a  good 
play  throughout  the  territory  and  Bill  expects 
to  have  some  new  product  soon.  .  .  .  Over  at 
Capitol,  Messrs.  Gabriel  and  Behai  have  ac¬ 
quired  distribution  of  “Are  We  Civilized,  a 
new  feature,  which  got  a  first  run  on  Broadway 
and  which  is  dated  in  for  a  downtown  run 
shortly.  .  .  .  The  cast  includes  William  Far- 
num  and  Anita  Louise,  show  was  directed  by 
Edwin  Carewe,  and  reports  are  promising. 

“THE  INDEPENDENT,”  official  bulletin 
of  the  IEPA,  arrived  last  week.  ...  It  con¬ 
tains  news  of  the  organization  for  all  mem¬ 
bers,  carries  sketches  of  Oscar  Neufeld  and 
Miss  J.  Willensky,  the  new  secretary.  .  .  . 

She  was  secretary  to  Ben  Golder  when  he 
was  in  Congress.  .  .  .  Bulletin  also  urges 

members  to  make  the  1313  Vine  address  the 
headquarters,  have  messages  delivered  there, 
do  booking  over  the  Horlacher  phone,  make 
business  appointments  there,  keep  in  touch 
with  THE  EXHIBITOR  files,  bring  trade 
problems  to  the  business  manager,  use  legal 
department  for  protection  and  all,  attend 
meetings.  .  .  .  Meeting  time  for  those  at¬ 

tending  the  Allied  August  22  session  will  be 
8  A.  M.,  August  23.  .  .  Bulletin  also 

announced  that  a  gong  would  announce 
meeting  time  for  all  exhibitors.  ...  It  will 
ring  at  1 1  A.  M.  at  meeting  day. 

JUSTIN  HERMAN,  an  ex-EXHIBITORITE, 
is  now  associated  with  Paramount  newsreel, 
working  on  Paramount  shorts,  Souvenirs 
and  others.  .  .  .  Herman,  who  was  formerly 
with  Warners,  working  on  Vitaphone  shorts, 
left  that  company  to  work  on  a  new  idea 
for  Paramount.  .  .  .  Shooting  is  scheduled 

to’  begin  soon.  .  .  .  Since  his  departure  from 
the  local  field,  he  has  made  quite  a  reputa¬ 
tion  for  himself  in  the  shorts  field.  .  .  .  In¬ 
cidentally,  it  wasn’t  until  last  week  that 
Herman,  who  has  been  with  Paramount  for 
about  a  month,  discovered  why  he  wasn’t 
receiving  any  mail  at  that  address.  ...  It 
seems  that  one  of  the  Paramount  cameramen 
at  the  South  Pole  is  named  Herman,  and  all 
the  Herman  mail  was  being  sent  to  Herman’s 
wife  in  South  Carolina  to  be  forwarded  to 
be  kept  for  him.  .  .  .  Wondering  why  he 

was  cut  off  from  civilization  as  far  as  letters 
were  concerned,  Justin  investigated  and 
found  out  the  above  reason. 

HERMAN  WOBBER  came  into  town,  gave 
the  Fox  force  a  pep  talk  on  the  S.  R.  Kent 
Drive  and  left  after  instilling  plenty  of  spirit 
into  the  ranks.  .  .  .  Edgar  Moss,  Sam  Gross, 
A1  Davis  all  beamed. 


ONCE  AGAIN  New  Jersey  Messenger  Serv¬ 
ice  scored  when  the  Bridgeton  flood  came  to 
pass.  .  .  Myer  Adleman,  head  of  the 

company,  worked  all  night  to  insure  the  film 
getting  through  to  the  Bridgeton  houses.  .  .  . 
Bridges  were  torn  down  in  back  and  front 
of  them,  but  the  company  couldn’t  be  stop¬ 
ped.  .  .  .  Which  goes  to  show  that  when 

you  are  served  by  New  Jersey  Messenger, 
you  really  are  served. 

JIM  CLARKE,  president,  National  Film 
Carriers,  Inc.,  as  well  as  Horlacher  Delivery, 
hops  to  Detroit,  October  1,  for  the  annual  con¬ 
vention.  .  .  .  He  will  probably  continue  as 

president. 

MASTERPIECE’S  “The  Oil  Raider,”  with 
Larry  Crabbe,  is  ready  for  booking  now. 
.  .  .  The  Mutt  and  Jeff  reels  are  also  avail¬ 

able.  .  .  .  Ed  Boreth  will  have  more  to  say 
later.  .  .  .  Down  at  Hollywood,  John  Golder 
points  out  that  the  Liberty  pictures  he  is 
distributing  are  all  completed  and  that  deals 
are  now  being  set.  .  .  .  His  new  Bob  Steele 
western  series  is  also  beginning  to  come 
through. 

SAM  ROSEN  looks  right  at  hime  in  his 
desk  in  First  Division  exchange.  .  .  .  He  points 
to  "Girl  of  the  Limberlost,”  from  Monogram, 
as  a  big  one  one  coming  along,  and  also  thinks 
“Green  Eyes,"  from  Chesterfield,  will  make  a 
name  for  itself.  .  .  .  "Young  Eagles,”  the 

new  serial,  is  also  getting  plenty  of  play.  .  .  . 
Mike  Katz,  at  Gold  Medal,  says  Tony  Luc- 
chese  is  still  convalescing  at  the  shore,  but  is 
expected  back  within  a  few  weeks  or  so.  .  .  . 
Dave  Molliver  proudly  announces  he  is  now 
the  Philadelphia  representative  for  Streimer 
Ad-Service,  with  a  line  of  premiums  that  will 
startle  the  industry.  .  .  .  He  has  his  office 

with  Metropolitan  Printing. 

OVER  AT  NATIONAL  PENN  A1  Blofson 
is  getting  to  be  a  printing  executive  and  can 
almost  speak  that  language.  .  .  .  The  new 

National  Penn  home  is  just  about  complete 
and  is  a  nifty  addition,  inside  as  well  as  out¬ 
side.  .  .  Other  constructions  news  of 

interest  includes  the  completion  of  the  new 
home  for  the  Apex  Garage,  which  is  the  best 
equipped  of  all  those  on  the  street.  .  .  . 

With  new  doors,  plenty  of  space,  and  an  effi¬ 
cient  staff,  J.  Becker  has  something  of 
which  to  be  proud. 

QUALITY  PREMIUM  is  having  a  fall  show¬ 
ing  of  premiums  this  week.  .  .  .  Several 

souvenir  sets  are  being  given  to  all  exhibitors 
who  register  during  the  period.  .  .  .  There 
was  also  a  drawing  arranged.  .  .  .  The  fall 
stocks  are  on  display  now. 


TICKET  REGISTERS 


years’ experience— 
behind  every  register 


For  50  years  General  Register  Corpo¬ 
ration  and  associated  companies  have 
been  designing  and  building  cash  con¬ 
trol  equipment  for  the  theatre,  carrying 
an  unqualified  two  year  guarantee  on 
all  registers. 

Representation  in  all  key  cities. 


GENERAL  REGISTER 
CORPORATION 

1540  Broadway,  New  York 


TICKET  MACHINE  BARGAINS 

ALL  MAKES.  .  . 
ELECTRICALLY  OP¬ 
ERATED  .  .  .  REBUILT 
.  .  .  GOOD  AS  NEW 

AT 

.  .  .  MECHANICALLY 
PERFECT  .  .  .  GUAR¬ 
ANTEED. 

bU  Jo 

SAVING 

Write  for  Prices! 

Write  Iminc  ili  itrlv  lor  Our  N« 

\  !"ti  <■  1  m  i .  r  •  t 

STANDARD  TICKET  REGISTER  CORP. 

1600  Broadway.  New  York  ■  Gfo  M  i  '(>  •  ■  '■ 

• 

Official  Letter 
Service  to  the 

Mimeographing 
Multigraphing 
Public  Stenography 

Motion  Picture 
Industry 

Addressing  -  Folding 
Enclosing  -  Mailing 

Accurate  List 
of  all  Theatres 
and  Executives 

Advertising 

Publicity 

Printing 

WM.  Z. 

PORTER 

Advertising  and  Letter  Service 

1208  Vine  Street 

(Second  Floor) 

Bell:  RITtenhouse  7195  Keystone:  RACE  8666 

THREE  NEW  ONES.  United  Artists  prepares  to  offer  “Count  of  Monte  Cristo,”  from 
Reliance;  “Bulldog  Drummond  Strikes  Back”  and  “The  Last  Gentleman”  from  20th 
Century. 


24 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


2-Aug.-34 


J  1  ■►Who  made  it? 

4>^ls  it  family  or  adult  type? 

h-rnmt  Hpvipwc 

Who's  in  it? 

5  ■►  What's  it  about  ? 

V  1  villi  ■IwwIvffO 

\  3  ■►  How  good  is  it  ? 

6 ■►Running  Time? 

COLUMBIA 

Ivl 

FIRST  NATIONAL 

H 

FOX 

Family 

Beyond  the  Law  Action 

7  59m. 

Tim  McCoy,  Shirley  Grey,  Addison  Richards,  Harry 
Bradley,  Mert  La  Verre. 

This  time  McCoy  is  a  railroad  detective  who 
has  the  girl's  father  convicted  for  a  murder 
during  a  robbery.  He  sees  the  girl,  learns 
he  has  made  a  mistake,  is  determined  to 
find  the  real  murderer.  This  gives  plenty  of 
room  for  action  and  a  good  action  picture. 
Show  should  please  where  they  love  the  thrills. 
Estimate:  Action  all  the  way. 


Family 

Blind  Date  Drama 

75m. 

Ann  Sothern,  Paul  Kelly,  Mickey  Rooney,  Spencer 
Charters,  Jean  Gale,  Neil  Hamilton,  Ted  Newton, 
Tyler  Brooke,  Geneva  Mitchell. 

Programmer  of  family  life  that  should  fit 
into  the  so-so  groove.  Show  revolves  around 
the  daughter  of  a  family  which  hasn’t  been  get¬ 
ting  the  breaks.  A  young  garage  hand  loves 
her  but  just  takes  her  for  granted.  On  the 
scene  comes  the  wealthy  man  who  doesn't  mean 
right  by  our  Nell.  Eventually  honor  is  placed 
before  everything  and  it  is  all  straightened  out. 
As  a  programmer  it  shouldn't  cause  any  com¬ 
plaints. 

Estimate:  Average. _ 

Family 

Name  the  Woman  Melodrama 

60m. 

Richard  Cromwell,  Arline  Judge,  Rita  LaRoy,  Brad¬ 
ley  Page,  Charles  Wilson,  Henry  Kollcer,  Thomas 
Jackson,  Crane  Wilbur,  Stanley  Fields,  Purnel  Pratt. 

Action  picture  of  the  young  reporter  who 
gets  mixed  up  with  the  murder  of  the  district 
attorney,  the  daughter  of  a  candidate  for 
mayor  and  who  eventually  straightens  things 
out.  Show  lacks  name  strength,  but  should 
prove  okay  for  the  neighborhood  houses.  As 
one  of  the  reporter  school  of  stories,  it  shouldn't 
have  any  trouble. 

Estimate:  Moves  along. 


Adult 

The  Defense  Rests  Melodrama 

68m. 

Jack  Holt,  Jean  Arthur,  Nat  Pendleton,  Raymon 
Walburn,  Harold  Huber,  Robert  Gleckler,  Shirley 
Grey,  Sara  Padden,  Donald  Meek,  Raymond  Hatton, 
John  Wray,  J.  Carrol  Naish,  Arthur  Hohl. 

Melodrama  of  a  lawyer  who  defends  gang¬ 
sters  and  certain  to  please  Holt  followers. 
Picture  is  suited  for  the  neighborhoods  and 
masses  and  contains  enough  action.  Holt  is  a 
shrewd  attorney  who  gets  guilty  people  acquit¬ 
ted.  Eventually  his  secretary  makes  him  see 
the  light  and  he  turns  over  a  new  leaf. 
Estimate:  Fair  Holt. 


What  Do  You  Think? 

It  is  the  aim  of  this  publication  to  give  Its  readers 
every  possible  service.  Revision  of  the  page  is  an 
attempt  to  offer  a  concise  reviewing  form  that 
will  help  every  exhibitor.  Your  suggestions  and 
criticisms  are  welcomed.  Write  in  now  and  tell 
ue  whether  you  like  thie  or  not. 


British  Agent  Drama 

72m. 

Leslie  Howard,  Kay  Francis,  William  Gargan, 
Philip  Reed,  Irving  Pichel,  Walter  Byron,  Ivan  Simp¬ 
son,  Halliwell  Hobbes,  Arthur  Aylesworth,  J.  Carrol 
Naish,  Cesar  Romero,  Tenen  Holtz,  Doris  Lloyd,  Paul 
Porcasi. 

Spy  story  with  two  ace  names  to  sell  that 
shouldn’t  have  any  trouble  at  any  box  office.  In 
addition,  story  is  interesting,  well  directed  and 
spy  background  is  meat  for  any  exhibitor.  War¬ 
ners  produced  a  picture  that  has  the  earmarks 
of  a  good  grosser  at  the  box  office.  Conflict 
finds  hero  and  heroine  on  different  sides  of  the 
spy  conflict,  with  love  winning  out  in  the  finish. 
Audience  will  be  plenty  satisfied. 

Estimate:  Ace. 


Family 

Caravan  Operetta 

102m. 

Charles  Boyer,  Loretta  Young,  Jean  Parker,  Phil¬ 
lips  Holmes,  Louise  Fazenda,  C.  Aubrey  Smith, 
Eugene  Pallette,  Charles  Grapewin,  Noah  Beery, 
Dudley  Digges,  Richard  Carle,  Billy  Sevan. 

Operetta  type  of  production  that  should  ap¬ 
peal  to  the  women  because  of  the  presence  of 
Charles  Boyer.  As  a  gypsy  who  marries  the 
countess  and  gives  her  up  when  he  sees  that 
the  gypsy  life  is  not  for  her,  he  should  score 
strongly  with  the  women.  Cast  has  a  plentiful 
comedy  aspect  but  story  is  tinselly  throughout. 
Picture  may  prove  to  be  a  surprise  attraction, 
but  on  the  surface  it  looks  like  it  won’t  break 
any  records  at  the  box  office. 

Estimate:  May  surprise. 


Kansas  City  Princess  Comedy 

60m. 

Joan  Blondell,  Robert  Armstrong,  Glenda  Farrell, 
Osgood  Perkins.  Hugh  Herbert,  Ivan  Lebedeff,  Renee 
Whitney,  Vince  Barnett,  Hobart  Cavanaugh,  Roy 
Barnes,  Arthur  Hoyt. 

Fast  moving  comedy  of  manicurists,  strong 
arm  men,  deceiving  wives,  phony  detectives 
amidst  a  Kansas  City  Paris  background  that 
should  do  a  gross  along  the  lines  of  “Convention 
City”  and  “Havana  Widows.”  Show  has  all  the 
ingredients  of  those  Warner  farces,  with  famil¬ 
iar  faces  and  a  well-chosen  cast.  Comedians, 
all,  they  carry  a  none-too-original  story  along 
at  a  fast  pace. 

Estimate:  Fast  moving  comedy. 


Family 

6  Priest  Comedy  Drama 

80m. 

Will  Rogers,  Tom  Brown,  Anita  Louise,  Henry  B. 
Walthall,  David  Landau,  Rochelle  Hudson,  Frank 
Melton,  Roger  Imhof.  Bcrton  Churchill,  Charley 
Grapewin,  Stepin  Fetehit,  Francis  Ford. 

Will  Rogers  becomes  Irvin  S.  Cobb’s  well- 
known  character  and  exhibitors  have  another 
pleasant  piece  of  property  to  exploit.  Show  is 
directed  by  John  Ford  in  his  best  style  and  re¬ 
sult  should  be  satisfying  especially  where 
Rogers  is  automatically  big  dough.  Several 
comedy  sequences  score  heavily  in  the  picture, 
and  dramatic  phases  are  also  well  handled. 

Estimate:  Good. 


The  Drag  on  Murder  Case  Mystery 

67  m. 

w  arren  William,  Margaret  Lindsay,  Helen  Lowell, 
Lyle  Talbot,  Eugene  Pallette,  Robert  Barratt. 

S.  S.  Van  Dine  story,  with  Warren  William 
as  Philo  Vance,  that  should  do  the  average 
business  usually  run  up  by  mystery  murder 
stories.  Direction,  casting,  treatment,  etc.,  is 
up  to  Warner  standard,  and  background  of 
story  deals  with  a  murder  in  a  dragon  swim¬ 
ming  pool  on  an  estate.  Once  folks  get  used 
to  William  as  Vance,  there  shouldn’t  be  any 
trouble.  Feature  parts  are  well  taken  care  of. 

Estimate:  Usual  mystery  stuff. 


She  Was  a  Lady  Drama 

69m. 

Helen  Twelvetrees,  Don  Woods,  Ralph  Morgan, 
Monroe  Owsley,  Irving  Pichel,  Doris  Lloyd,  Kitty 
Kelly,  Halliwell  Hobbes,  Jackie  Searl,  Barbara  Weeks. 

Weak  sister  that  has  little  to  recommend  it. 
Tale  of  a  lassie  who  finds  that  she  doesn’t  be¬ 
long  in  the  strata  of  her  relatives  after  her 
father  who  married  a  maid,  dies  and  send  her 
back,  the  show  drags  on  with  few  punches,  few 
new  touches.  Picture,  generally,  misses  fire 
all  the  way,  with  little  sympathy  for  any  of 
the  characters. 

Estimate:  Missout. 


MONOGRAM 


The  Moonstone 


Adult 
Mystery  Drama 
62m. 


David  Manners,  Phyllis  Barry,  Gustav  von  Seyffer- 
titz,  Jameson  Thomas,  Charles  Irwin,  Evelyn  Bostock. 

Mystery  drama  concerning  famous  Hindu 
gem  known  as  the  Moonstone  diamond  and 
certain  to  satisfy.  Jewel  is  hardly  delivered 
by  the  hero  to  his  fiancee  when  the  strange 
things  begin  to  happen.  The  gem  is  stolen, 
found  and  restolen  during  the  course  of  a  mys¬ 
tery  story  that  is  quite  well  executed.  Mono¬ 
gram  has  done  a  fine  job  with  this  well  known 
novel  written  long  ago  by  Wilkie  Collins.  Di¬ 
rection  is  sure,  acting  excellent. 


The  Cat’s  Paw  Comedy 

102m. 

Harold  Lloyd,  Una  Merkel,  George  Barbier,  Nat 
Pendleton,  Grace  Bradley,  Alan  Dinehart,  Warren 
Hymer,  Grant  Mitchell,  J.  Farrell  MacDonald,  Vince 
Barnett,  Fuzzy  Knight,  Edwin  Maxwell. 

New  pace  for  a  Lloyd  comedy  but  an  entrant 
that  shouldn’t  have  any  trouble  equalling  his 
other  talkie.  Comedy  basis  in  “Cat’s  Paw”  is 
along  new  lines,  but  with  a  strong  story  and  a 
good  pace,  picture  is  insured  for  laughs  most  of 
the  way.  Lloyd  is  the  son  of  a  Chinese  mission¬ 
ary  who  gets  elected  mayor  of  politics-ridden 
town  on  a  reform  ticket  and  eventually  do  s 
turn  .the  trick.  With  a  good  feature  cast,  one 
excellent  gag  and  a  knockout  finish,  the  picture 
looms  as  an  applicant  for  box  office  honors. 


Estimate:  Okay. 


Estimate:  Depends  on  Lloyd. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


25 

2-Aug.-34 


METRO 


Family 

Hideout  Comedy  Drama 

80m. 

Robert  Montgomery,  Maureen  O’Sullivan,  Edward 
Arnold,  Mickey  Rooney,  C.  Henry  Gordon,  Muriel 
Evans,  Edward  Brophy,  Elizabeth  Patterson,  Alex 
Carr,  Tene  Holtz. 

Familiar  story  of  a  gangster  who  hides  out 
on  a  farm  until  the  law  catches  up  with  him 
and  a  bit  better  than  the  usual  type  because  of 
W.  S.  Van  Dyke  direction.  Show,  probably, 
won’t  cause  any  flurry  at  the  box  office  but  it  is 
pleasant  entertainment  and  carries  home  a 
moral.  Montgomery  is  the  crook  in  question 
and  treatment  seems  fresh.  Audience  should 
like  it. 

Estimate:  Entertaining. 


Adult 

Straight  Is  the  Way  Melodrama 

62m. 

Franchot  Tone,  May  Robson,  Karen  Morley,  Nat 
Pendleton,  Jack  LaRue,  Gladys  Georye.  C.  Henry 
Gordon,  Raymond  Hatton,  William  Bakewell. 

Melodrama  of  a  tenement  boy  who  comes  out 
of  prison  after  a  five  year  term  and  is  torn 
between  the  straight  and  narrow  or  getting 
mixed  up  in  gangs  again  as  a  leader,  picture 
keeps  a  nice  pace  but  has  little  else  to  warrant 
its  doing  other  than  average  business.  Fran¬ 
chot  Tone  is  a  bit  out  of  place  as  the  gangster. 
Support  is  more  than  adequate.  Play,  “Four 
Walls,’’  was  done  once  before  in  the  films. 

Estimate:  So-so. 


MAJESTIC 


She  Had  to  Choose  Drama 

65m. 

Buster  Crabbe,  Isabel  Jewell,  Sally  Blane,  Reyis 
Toomey,  Fuzzy  Kniyht,  Arthur  Stone,  Ed  Gargan, 
Maidel  Turner,  Wallis  Clark. 

Inde  programmer  that  should  serve  passably 
in  the  neighborhood  houses.  Story  revolves 
around  a  girl  who  works  at  a  barbecue  stand 
run  by  a  wealthy  young  man.  His  mother  tries 
to  break  up  the  romance,  does  and  drives  the 
girl  into  the  arms  of  another  fellow  who  is 
killed.  It  is  all  straightened  out  in  the  end. 
Cast  contains  some  feature  names  and  there  is 
a  courtroom  scene  to  boot. 

Estimate:  Average. 


UNITED  ARTISTS 


For  Love  or  Money  Comedy 

64m. 

Robert  Donat,  Edmund  Gwenn,  Cliff  Weatherly, 
Wendy  Barry. 

British  production  that  picks  up  speed  and 
which  might  prove  entertaining  to  audiences 
generally.  A  young  man,  affected  by  the  de¬ 
pression,  works  as  an  electrician,  finds  a  lot 
of  money  in  his  working  bag.  Mix  in  the  hero¬ 
ine,  some  financiers  who  are  impressed  by  the 
money  and  an  interesting  plot  and  the  result 
is  an  engaging  little  comedy.  Exhibs  should 
bear  In  mind,  however,  that  actors  and  atmos¬ 
phere  are  British. 

Estimate:  Pleasant. 


PARAMOUNT 


Adult 

Cleopatra  Spectacle 

r  100m. 

Claudette  Colbert.  Warren  William,  Henry  Wil- 
coxon,  Gertrude  Michael ,  Joseph  Schildkraut ,  lan 
Keith,  Cl  Aubrey  Smith,  Ian  MacLaren.  Arthur  Hohl, 
Irving  Piehel,  Claudia  Dell,  Robert  Warwick,  Edwin 
Maxwell,  Harry  Beresford. 

Immense  spectacle  that  shouldn't  have  any 
trouble  drawing  and  which  should  be  a  show¬ 
man’s  paradise.  Paramount  shot  the  works  on 
the  show  and  the  result  is  a  magnificent  crea¬ 
tion,  done  in  topnotch  DeMille  style.  Picture 
is  beautiful,  well  acted,  carried  hordes  of  ex¬ 
tras  and  contains  all  the  old  time  angles  that 
used  to  make  DeMille  show  cleanups.  There 
isn’t  any  question  but  that  the  piece  will  do  a 
click  anywhere.  Showmen  can  get  behind  it 
like  nobody’s  business. 

Estimate:  Big. 


Crime  Without  Passion  Melodrama 

— m. 

Claude  Rains.  Stanley  Ridyes,  Leslie  Adams,  Whit¬ 
ney  Bourne,  Margot. 

Melodrama  that  contains  some  novel  twists 
but  will  be  badly  handicapped  because  of  lack 
of  names  strength.  Rains  is  man  who  wasn’t 
seen  in  "The  Invisible  Man.”  As  a  lawyer  who 
has  a  knack  of  getting  favorable  verdicts  when 
his  clients  are  guilty,  he  gets  in  a  mess  himself. 
Picture’s  interest  is  primarily  concerned  with 
his  plans  for  freeing  himself  from  guilt.  Show 
has  some  good  moments,  but  in  most  spots 
there  won’t  be  much  to  sell. 

Estimate:  Handicapped. 


Family 
Melodrama 
82m. 

Shirley  Temple,  Gary  Cooper,  Carole  Lombard,  Guy 
Standing,  Charlotte  Granville. 

Three-star  picture  that  has  trouble  giving 
meaty  parts  to  the  trio  of  names,  “Now  and 
Forever”  will  be  a  satisfactory  grosser  be¬ 
cause  of  the  name  appeal  and  little  else.  Coop¬ 
er,  as  a  crook  who  turns  in  just  one  last  job  and 
who  loses  his  life,  is  loved  by  a  society  girl  who 
gave  up  all,  and  his  daughter,  Temple.  Latter 
has  a  song  which  is  apparently  put  in  the  show 
just  to  exploit  the  kid’s  versatility.  On  the 
strength  of  the  stars,  however,  there  should 
be  no  trouble. 

Estimate:  Adequate. 


Now  and  Forever 


RADIO 


Adventure  Girl 


Family 

Adventure 

65m. 


Joan  Lowell,  Captain  Wagner  featured  in  a  sea 
expedition  which  sees  many  adventures  included. 

Exploitation  pictures  of  the  travels  of  the 
girl-adventurer  and  liable  to  attract  where  they 
love  the  action-thrill  stuff.  Joan  Lowell  sets 
out  with  her  father,  the  captain  and  some  sail¬ 
ors  and  the  picture  is  a  record  of  her  adven¬ 
tures.  Lost  treasure,  animal  fights,  etc.,  are  in¬ 
cluded.  Audiences  who  are  intrigued  by  the 
call  of  unknown  will  be  interested  especially. 
Show  has  exploitation  elements. 


Estimate:  To  be  sold. 


UNIVERSAL 


Million  Dollar  Ransom  Melodrama 

65m. 

Phillips  Holmes,  Edward  Arnold,  Mary  Carlisle, 
Wini  Shaw,  Robert  Gleckler,  Marjorie  Gateson,  Edgar 
Norton,  Andy  Devine. 

Another  Damon  Runyon  story  with  a  gang¬ 
ster  background  that  should  please  even  though 
handicapped  by  lack  of  names.  A  wealthy  young 
man  has  himself  kidnapped,  falls  in  love  with 
the  gangster's  daughter,  but  eventually  is  kid¬ 
napped  by  another  gang.  Father  of  the  girl 
sacrifices  his  life  to  restore  the  couple. 

Estimate:  Satisfactory. 


One  More  River  Drama 

87m. 

Diana  Wynyard,  Frank  Lawton ,  Mrs.  Patrick 
Campbell,  Lionel  At  will,  Alan  Mowbray,  Colin  Clive, 
Reginald  Denny,  Jane  Wyatt,  C.  Aubrey  Smith,  Gil¬ 
bert  Emery,  E.  E.  Clive,  Robert  Grieg. 

Class  picture  of  a  prestige  nature  and  an 
intelligent  transition  of  the  Galsworthy  novel 
that  is  best  suited  for  the  better  type  of  houses. 
Show  has  little  action,  with  the  English  divorce 
laws  taking  up  most  of  the  story.  Direction  is 
sensitive  and  show  has  been  given  good  pro¬ 
duction  by  Universal  but  appeal  is  restricted 
to  the  higher  kind  of  audience. 

Estimate:  Class. 


Family 

Comedy  with  Songs 
72m. 


Romance  in 

the  Rain 


Roger  Pryor,  Heather  Angel,  Victor  Moore,  Esther 
Ralston,  Ruth  Donnelly,  Paul  Kaye,  Big  Boy  Williams. 

Pleasant  entertainment  with  music  and  a  Cin¬ 
derella  background  that  should  prove  satisfac¬ 
tory  even  though  the  show  is  light  on  names.  A 
high  power  press  agent  arranges  a  contest  to 
find  a  Cinderella.  Eventually,  he  finds  out  he 
loves  the  gal.  None  of  the  leads  is  any  too 
strong  at  the  box  office  but  the  combination  is  a 
happy  one  and  it’s  all  clean. 


Estimate:  Neat. 


WARNERS 


Family 

Dames  Musical 

90m. 

Dick  Powell,  Ruby  Keeler,  Guy  Kibbee,  Hugh  Her¬ 
bert,  Zasu  Pitts,  Joan  Blondell. 

Another  musical  wonder  from  Warners  and 
a  paradise  for  showmen  who  remember  what 
they  did  with  “Footlight  Parade”  and  “Gold 
Diggers.”  With  one  of  those  ace  Warner 
comedy  casts,  backed  by  Dick  Powell  and  Ruby 
Keeler  singing  and  dancing,  “Dames”  looms  as 
an  important  applicant  for  top  gross  honors. 
Production  is  another  good  one  from  Busby 
Berkeley  with  backstage  sequences  and  trick 
formations  holding  the  centre  of  attention. 
Showmen  will  be  able  to  sell  it. 


Estimate:  Worthy  member  of  a  strong  line. 


Housewife 


Family 
Comedy  Drama 
68m. 


George  Brent,  Bette  Davis,  John  Halliday,  Ann 
Dvorak,  Ruth  Donnelly,  Hobart  Cavanaugh,  Robert 
Barrat,  Joe  Cawthorn,  Leila  Bennett,  Willard 
Robertson. 

Typical  production  of  the  husband  who  didn't 
appreciate  the  wife  who  stayed  by  his  side  and 
spurred  him  onward  but  who  was  attracted  by 
sophistication,  “Housewife”  is  program  fare 
livened  up  by  good  casting.  Usual  Warner 
featured  players  help  lift  an  unoriginal  story 
higher  than  it  would  ordinarily  go. 

Estimate:  Ordinary  program. 


26  Augl5'34  THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


For  your  convenience,  this  publication  furnishes  this  guide  to  reviews  of  pictures  which  have  appeared 
in  regular  review  department.  Before  dating  in  your  show,  consult  this  page,  find  out  when  the  review  appeared 
and  then  look  it  up.  Key:  For  example,  2-Jan.  means  the  second  issue  of  this  publication  in  that  month. 
1-Feb.  would  mean  the  first  issue,  and  so  on. 


Columbia 


The  Fighting  Ranger  .  1-May 

The  Man  Trailer  .  1-May 

Sisters  Under  the  Skin  . 1-May 

The  Party's  Over  .  1-May 

20th  Century  . 1-May 

The  Crime  of  Helen  Stanley  . 2-May 

Hell  Bent  for  Love  . 1-June 

One  Night  of  Love . 2-June 

The  Hell  Cat  2-June 

The  Most  Precious  Thing  in  Life . 2-June 

Black  Moon  . 2-July 

A  Man’s  Game  . .  1-Aug. 

Whom  the  Gods  Destroy  .  1-Aug. 

Beyond  the  Law  2-Aug. 

Blind  Date  . .  2-Aug. 

Name  the  Woman  . 2-Aug. 

The  Defense  Rests  . 2-Aug. 


First  National — Warners 


Registered  Nurse  . 2-Mar. 

Jimmy  the  Gent  . .  2-Mar.  | 

Twenty  Million  Sweethearts  . 1-Apr. 

Upper  World  1-Apr. 

A  Very  Honorable  Guy  .  2-Apr. 

Side  Streets  .  2-Apr. 

A  Modern  Hero .  2-Apr. 

Smarty  1-May 

Merry  Wives  of  Reno  .  .  2-May 

Fog  Over  Frisco  .  1-June 

Midnight  Alibi  . 1-June 

The  Circus  Clown  .  1-June 

The  Merry  Frinks  .  1-June 

Dr.  Monica  .  1-June 

The  Key  . . .  1-June 

He  Was  Her  Man  .  1-June 

Man  With  Two  Faces .  2-June 

Return  of  the  Terror .  2-June 

Friends  of  Mr.  Sweeney .  2-June 

Madam  Du  Barry  2-June  J 

The  Personality  Kid .  2-June 

Here  Comes  the  Navy  2-July 

British  Agent  2-Aug. 

Kansas  City  Princess  2-Aug.  [ 

Dragon  Murder  Case  2-Aug. 

Dames  . .  .  .  2-Aug. 

Housewife  .  2-Aug. 


Fox 


All  Men  Are  Enemies .  2-Apr. 

Murder  in  Trinidad  .  2-Apr. 

Stand  Up  and  Cheer  .  2-Apr. 

The  Constant  Nymph  .  2-Apr. 

Now  I’ll  Tell  .  1-May 

Springtime  for  Henry  .  1-May 

Such  Women  Are  Dangerous  1-May 

Wild  Gold  1-May 

Change  of  Heart  . 2-May 

Handy  Andy  . 2-May 

Call  It  Luck  . 1-June 

Heart  Song  . . 1-June 

Baby  Take  a  Bow  .  1-July 

Grand  Canary  . 1-July 

She  Learned  About  Sailors  1-July 

Charlie  Chan’s  Courage  . .  2-July 

The  World  Moves  On  .  2-July 

Servants'  Entrance  . 1-Aug. 

Caravan  . . . 2-Aug. 

Judge  Priest  2-Aug. 

She  Was  a  Lady  .  2-Aug. 

The  Cat’s  Paw  2-Aug. 


Liberty 


Cheaters  .  1-May 

No  Ransom  .  2-Apr. 

When  Strangers  Meet  . 2-Apr. 

Take  the  Stand  .  2-Mar. 

Once  to  Every  Bachelor .  1-June 

Two  Heads  on  a  Pillow .  2-July 


Metro 


This  Side  of  Heaven  .  1-Feb. 

Men  in  White  2-Feb. 

Cat  and  the  Fiddle . 1-Mar. 

Mystery  of  Mr.  X .  1-Mar. 

Lazy  River  .  .  2-Mar. 


The  Showoff  . 

Riptide  . 

The  Hollywood  Party  .  . 

Viva  Villa  . 

Manhattan  Melodrama  . 
Tarzan  and  His  Mate 

Laughing  Boy  . 

Sadie  McKee  . 

Operator  13  . 

The  Thin  Man  . 

Murder  in  Private  Car 

Stamboul  Quest  . 

Treasure  Island  . . 

Barretts  of  Wimpole  Street 

Girl  from  Missouri  . 

Paris  Interlude  ...... 

Hideout  . 

Straight  Is  the  Way 


2-Mar. 

2-Apr. 

2-Apr. 

2-Apr. 

1-May 

1- May 

2- May 
2-May 
1-June 

1- June 

2- July 
2-July 
2-July 
1-Aug. 
1-Aug. 

1- Aug. 

2- Aug. 
2-Aug. 


Monogram 

DISTRIBUTED  BY  FIRST  DIVISION 


Monte  Carlo  Nights  .  1-May 

House  of  Mystery  .  1-May 

Blue  Steel  . 2-May 

The  Loudspeaker  . 2-May 

Money  Means  Nothing  . 1-June 

The  Man  from  Utah  . 1-June  I 

Randy  Rides  Alone  . 1-July 

Jane  Eyre  .  2-July 

Star  Packer  . .  2-July 

Happy  Landings  1-Aug. 

Shock  1-Aug. 

The  Moonstone  2-Aug. 

Pa  ramount 

All  of  Me  . 2-Jan.  j 

Death  Takes  a  Holiday  (Strange  Holiday)  1-Feb. 

Good  Dame  . 1-Feb. 

Six  of  a  Kind .  1-Feb. 

Bolero  2-Feb, 

No  More  Women  2-Feb. 

Come  On  Marines  . . 2-Mar. 

She  Made  Her  Bed  . 2-Mar.  j 

Wharf  Angel  . 2-Mar. 

Melody  in  Spring  . 2-Apr. 

The  Trumpet  Blows  .  .  2-Apr. 

You're  Telling  Me  . 2-Apr. 

Double  Door  .  1-May 

The  Scarlet  Empress  .  1-May 

The  Witching  Hour .  1-May 

We're  Not  Dressing  .  1-May 

Little  Miss  Marker  .  2-May 

Many  Happy  Returns  2-May 

Murder  at  Vanities  .  2-May 

Private  Scandal  .  2-May 

Thirty  Day  Princess  .  2-May 

Kiss  and  Make  Up  .  2-June 

The  Great  Flirtation  .  2-June 

Here  Comes  the  Groom .  1-July 

Notorious  Sophie  Lang  ......  2-July 

Old  Fashioned  Way  .  2-July 

She  Loves  Me  Not  . .  .  .  2-July 

Shoot  the  Works  .  2-July 

Elmer  and  Elsie  .  1-Aug. 

Ladies  Should  Listen  .  1-Aug. 

Cleopatra  .  2-Aug. 

Crime  without  Passion  2-Aug. 

Now  and  Forever  .  2-Aug. 


Radio 


Hips  Hips  Hooray  .  1-Feb. 

Keep  ’Em  Rolling  .  2-Feb. 

Long  Lost  Father  .  2-Feb. 

The  Lost  Patrol  . 2-Feb. 

Sing  and  Like  It . 1-Mar. 

Spitfire  1-Mar. 

Success  at  Any  Price . 1-Mar. 

This  Man  Is  Mine  .  2-Mar. 

The  Crime  Doctor . 1-Apr. 

Finishing  School  . 2-Apr. 

Wild  Cargo  . 2-Apr. 

Where  Sinners  Meet  .  1-May 

Strictly  Dynamite  .  1-May 

Stingaree  .  2-May 

Cockeyed  Cavaliers  .  2-June 

Murder  on  Blackboard  .  2-June 

Vergie  Winters  . 2-June 

Bachelor  Bait  .  1-July 

His  Greatest  Gamble .  1-July 

Let's  Try  Again . 1-July 


We're  Rich  Again  . 

Of  Human  Bondage  . 

Hat,  Coat  and  Glove . 

Their  Big  Moment . 

United  Artists 


Gallant  Lady  . 

Moulin  Rouge  . 

Nana  . 

Palooka  . 

Sorrell  and  Son . 

Looking  for  Trouble . 

Catherine  the  Great . 

House  of  Rothschild  . 

The  Affairs  of  Cellini  . 

Bulldog  Drummond  Strikes  Back 

The  Last  Gentleman  . 

Born  to  Be  Bad  . 

Our  Daily  Bread  . 

Nell  Gwyn  . 

For  Love  or  Money 


Universal 


Love  Birds  . 

Midnight  . 

Gun  Justice  . 

Countess  of  Monte  Cristo . 

Honor  of  the  West . 

Let’s  Be  Ritzy  . 

Glamour  . 

I’ll  Tell  the  World . 

Smoking  Guns  (Doomed  to  Die) . 

Half  a  Sinner  . 

The  Uncertain  Lady  . 

Affairs  of  Gentleman  . 

Dangerous  to  Women  (The  Love  Captive) 

The  Black  Cat  . 

Embarrassing  Moments  . 

Little  Man,  What  Now?  . 

I  Give  My  Love  . 

Let’s  Talk  It  Over . 

Million  Dollar  Ransom  . 

One  More  River  . 

Romance  in  the  Rain  . . 

First  Division 

(CHESTERFIELD) 

Murder  On  the  Campus . 

Cross  Streets  . 

The  Quitter  . 

Stolen  Sweets  . 

In  Love  with  Life  . 

Twin  Husbands  . 

City  Park  . 

Fifteen  Wives  . 

The  Road  to  Ruin . 

He  . 

Throne  of  the  Gods  . 

Under  Secret  Orders . 

Forgotten  Men  . 

Texas  Tornado  . 

The  Ferocious  Pal  . 

Young  Eagles  . 


Gold  Medal 

The  Big  Bluff  . 

Important  Witness  . 

Laughing  at  Life  . 

Curtain  at  Eight . 

You  Made  Me  Love  You . 

The  Charming  Deceiver . 

Sin  of  Nora  Moran . 

Big  Time  or  Bust . 

Enlighten  Thy  Daughter . 

The  Morning  After . 

Unknown  Blonde  . 

The  Lost  Jungle . 

Burn  'Em  Up  Barnes . 

Masterpiece 

Her  Forgotten  Past  . 

Riot  Squad  . 

Secret  Sinners  . 

Wine,  Women  and  Song . 

What's  Your  Racket? . 

Dancing  Man  . 

Back  Page  . 

The  Fighting  Rookie . 


1- July 

2- July 
1-Aug. 
1-Aug. 


2- Dec. 

1- Jan. 

2- Jan. 
.  1-Feb. 

2-Feb. 

2-Feb. 

1-Mar. 

.  2-Mar. 

1- May 

2- May 
2-May 
2-June 
2-July 

1- Aug. 

2- Aug. 


2-Feb. 

1-Mar. 

1- Mar. 

2- Mar. 
2-Mar. 
2-Mar. 
2-Apr. 
2-Apr. 
1-May 
1-May 

1- May 

2- May 
2-May 
2-May 
1-June 
1-June 

1- June 

2- June 
2-Aug. 
2-Aug. 
2-Aug. 


2-Feb. 

1-Mar. 

1- Apr. 

2- Apr. 
1-May 

1- May 

2- July 

1- Aug. 

2- Dec. 
2-Jan. 
2-Jan. 

1- Jan. 

2- June 
2-Mar. 

1- Apr. 

2- May 


2-0ct. 

2-Aug. 

2-June 

1-Deo. 

1-Dec. 

1-Jan. 

1- Jan. 

2- Jan. 
2-Jan. 
2-Feb. 
1-Apr. 

1- June 

2- July 


2-Nov. 

2-Aug. 

1- Jan. 

2- Jan. 
2-Feb. 
2-Mar. 

1- Apr. 

2- June 


Augl5’34  pg.  27 


CONVENTION 

AND  EASTERN  REGIONAL  CONFERENCE  OF  INDEPENDENT  EXHIBITORS 


FIFTEEN  years  old  and  still  in  the 
first  line  trench  defending  and  pro¬ 
tecting  the  independent  exhibitors. 
Truly  a  record  to  be  proud  of! 

Serious  business  discussion — What  does 
the  future  hold  in  product?  What  is 
the  exhibitor  to  do  about  the  demands 
for  clean  movies?  The  code,  and  what 
next?  These  are  just  a  few  of  our 
problems. 

This  year  more  than  ever  you  should 
attend  the  Convention,  bring  the  family. 
There’ll  be  entertainment  as  well  as 
business. 

You  know  Jersey  is  noted  for  great 
conventions. 


ALLIED 

THEATRE  OWNERS  of  NEW  JERSEY 


•  ATLANTIC  CITY 

•  HOTEL 

RITZ  -CARLTON 
•AUGUST 

22nd  -  23rd  -  24th 


INCORPORATED 


#  Independent  exhibitors  in  all  terri¬ 
tories  are  invited  to  attend  and 
enjoy  full  convention  privileges. 


Augl5'34  b.c. 


“We  are  de- 
manding  fine 
stories,  fine  act¬ 
ing  and  intelligent 
direction.  Then, 
if  we  are  in  earn¬ 
est,  our  duty  is 
clearly  to  see  this 
masterpiece;* 


Ma^g'hamhe  year  is  w  ,°Vle  hits  I  strove*  u-  ~ - - - - - _ 

struzo-i-  1 s~~dePictin p.  "05t  Merisi-  whon  i»,e.?ess-  Watph  .  finer 

"ond®  ?  filr.  Jg  fcd  atte^  ‘"e  «S? 

«  mas-  /  1  WaVS1s“«S^n^f ^ich 
as  **’  10  tiiat ' 

""’cent  a«7„eetileart-  V’f  cre' 

Waj-ers.  acl,"e  on  part  ^  ^ 


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hands  0f  t  t,he 
Howard,  th^The 
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lts  fi^edairiaii  of 
UE  OeaS* 

has  been  a6-*  ever 
Perform*  a  SOul 


Mr-  Howard 


PerforCnce  Dh"‘ 

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J°ved  Milriv  i  have  seen  the 

fhvch  dewieaper  body,  *'"5!  and 
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onto fthi*  ade  a  lovd?  “**#*- 
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eV6n  «M  thi  P°*eSS- 
"’"cn  she 


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the  serin  i*  DaWs  ha! 

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/ 

*?5»  i5  *>t  a 1**°  r**mb£k  I 
anHB LC35t •  HJease^^in 
work  ofVoifn  I 

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deH>rnntv  Pfut  0VePJ$Wh  ud  See 
sensitive y  ot  Phiiip^^-foot 

8Teat  -ting 


,  • 

orv  r!"  *r» 


‘  - ;  * ,  , 

•  : 

-  W&h. 

'  c  «  H  « 
'  ’iSiiScisiasi: 


p  are  d  Jn  Ua 

»;aC^a”^4S„eta«es 

then  oS*;  f  »e  areSint  d"ec. 

t  Ot»l«e.iS  *“*  sr 

l&^^seen,, 
Mou,sa'v 

Now  at  t he^f^ 


★ 


.  :  i 

»y 


ESLIE 


In  W.  Somerset  Maugham’s  Great  Novel 


OF  HUMAN  BONDAGE 


; 


BETTE  DAVIS 


Frances  Dee,  Kay  Johnson,  Reginald  Denny  •  Directed  by  John  Cromwell 


Pandro  S.  Berman.Executive  Producer 


RKO-RADIO  PICTURE 


n  this 
ssue: 


New  Season  Starts  With  Optimism 


A  Jay  Emanuel  Publication 


VOL  16— No.  17 

PHILADELPHIA,  SEPTEMBER  1,  1934 

Price,  15  Cents 

IMNEW  MAJOR 


•  •  •  is  coming  down  your  street  with  a 

FIRST  BIG  ANNUAL  ANNOUNCEMENT 

•  •  •  24  Pages  of  Profit  •  •  •  Features 
of  Excellence  •  •  •  De  Luxe  Serials  •  •  • 
and  the  Year's  Outstanding  Shorts  Sensation 

with 


and  T  evhnifotor 


THE  INDUSTRY'S  BLUE  (ink)  BOOK 
WILL  BE  IN  YOUR  HANDS  SEPT.  10th 

Wail  for  i t! 

The  World's  Leading  Independent ! 


FIRST  DIVISION  EXCHANGES,  Inc. 


HARRY  H.  THOMAS,  President 
Executive  Offices:  RKO  Building,  Radio  City,  N.  Y. 


PITTSBURGH 

LOUISVILLE 


NEW  HAVEN 
BUFFALO 


ATLANTA 

ALBANY 


Branches  in 

CLEVELAND 

WASHINGTON 


BOSTON 

CHARLOTTE 


CINCINNATI 

PHILADELPHIA 


DETROIT 
NEW  ORLEANS 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  September  11,  1924.  at  the  post  office  at  Philadelphia.  Pa.,  under  the  Act  of  March  3,  1879. 


Sep  1'34  pg.  2 


X;.  / 


A  STORY  THAT 
HAS  TOUCHED 
THE  HEART  OF 
EVERY  READER 


AMERICAN 

FICTION! 


in 

GENE  STRATTON-PORTER’S 

'A  GIRL  OF  THE  UMBERLOSr 


DIRECTED  BY  CHRISTY  CABANNE 
A  WILLIAM  T.  LACKEY  PRODUCTION 
SCREEN  PLAY  BY  ADELE  COMANDINI 

DISTRIBUTED  BY 

FIRST  DIVISION  EXCHANGES,  INC. 

1240  Vine  Street,  Philadelphia 


MONOGRAM  PICTURES 

present 

LOUISE  DRESSER 
MARIAN  MARSH 
RALPH  MORGAN 


“GREAT  PROPERTIES  MAKE  GREAT  PICTURES” 


The  outstanding  best-seller  of  recent  years  ...  a  novel -powerful, 


human,  deeply  moving...  striking  the  understanding  heart  of  woman. 


A  GREAT  PROPERTY  THAT  HAS  BECOME  A  GREAT  PICTURE. 


WITH  IT  RKO-RADIO  PROUDLY  OPENS  ITS  NEW.  SEASON ! 


THE 


PAGE 


EDITOR’S 


Vol.  16,  No.  17 


September  1,  1934 


Lichtman's  Idea 

_  JUST  ABOUT  two  seasons  back,  A1 
*  Lichtman,  high  ranking  United  Artists 
sales  manager,  came  forth  with  a  defense 
of  “exclusives.”  Pictures,  said  Al,  should 
be  made  for  distinct  audiences.  Let  there 
be  two  classes  of  theatres,  with  separate 
admission  provisions  for  each. 

The  industry  tested  “exclusives,”  found 
something  wanting,  shelved  it  after  a  sea¬ 
son  of  experimentation. 

Now  Lichtman  comes  forth  with  two  new 
suggestions. 

1.  Raise  the  level  of  admissions 
through  exhibitor  agreement  so  that 
the  weekly  grosses  will  show  increase 
of  millions. 

2.  Pay  more  rental  to  the  distributor 
so  that  he  can  pour  it  back  into  bigger 
and  better  pictures. 

Exhibitors,  generally,  will  find  no  fault 
with  the  first,  if  it  can  be  done  by  agree¬ 
ment,  without  inciting  the  ire  of  the  popu¬ 
lace,  but  referring  to  the  second  part  of  the 
argument  theatremen  will  object  strenu¬ 
ously. 

Exhibitors  are  quite  content  to  let  dis¬ 
tributors  get  a  fair  share  of  the  receipts 
if  the  picture  does  the  business.  Therefore, 
if  admissions  increase,  the  distributor,  if 
his  pictures  stand  up,  will  get  a  better  re¬ 
turn  on  a  percentage  engagement.  But  if 
they  don’t,  well — . 

Al  deserves  a  vote  of  thanks.  At  least 
he  is  sincere  in  his  efforts  to  take  the  busi¬ 
ness  out  of  the  penny  arcade  classification. 
Lichtman  wants  to  put  it  on  a  higher  plane. 
Following  his  line  of  reasoning,  exhibitors, 
distributors,  producers  and  even  the  public 
would  benefit. 


On  Morals  and  Censors 


The  Philadelphia 

EXHIBITOR 

Circulating  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware.  Issued  on  the  1st  and  15th 
of  each  month  by  Jay  Emanuel  Publications,  Inc.  Publishing  office,  219  North  Broad  Street,  Philadelphia. 
Branches  at  1600  Broadway,  New  York  City;  Washington,  D.  C.  Jay  Emanuel,  publisher;  Paul  J. 
Greenhalgh,  advertising  manager;  Herbert  M.  Miller,  managing  editor.  Subscription  rates:  $2  for  one 
year,  $5  for  three  years.  Single  copies,  15c  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware. 
Publishers,  also,  of  THE  NATIONAL  EXHIBITOR  of  Washington  and  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  EXHIBITOR. 
Official  organ  of  the  Motion  Picture  Theatre  Owners  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and 
Delaware.  Address  all  communications  to  the  Philadelphia  office. 


A  Permanent  Answer  to  a  Lot  of  Problems 

JUST  a  few  years  back,  Nicholas  M.  Schenck,  president, 
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer,  let  fall  a  statement  that  for 
shortness  and  extreme  use  of  common  sense  will  rarely  be  equalled 
in  this  business. 

Schenck  said : 

“There  is  nothing  in  this  business  that  good  pictures 
will  not  cure.” 

Schenck’s  statement  held  good  when  he  made  it,  has  been 
supported  by  proof  ever  since  and  will  continue  to  stand  on  its 
own  as  long  as  this  business  is  a  business. 

Take  the  campaign  against  alleged  salacious  pictures,  for 
example.  Shrewdly,  it  was  planned  for  the  summer,  when  hot 
weather  sets  in,  when  grosses  drop,  when  weak  sisters  and  tail 
enders  are  contributed  by  every  company.  What  happened?  The 
campaign  started,  business  fell  off.  Psychologically,  the  drive  of 
the  reformers  looked  successful.  Aided  by  an  exaggerated  pub¬ 
licity  sense  contributed  by  the  dailies,  the  reform  campaign  ap¬ 
peared  tremendous,  had  the  industry  quaking. 

But  when  the  first  onslaughts  had  passed  and  the  dailies 
dropped  the  campaign  as  a  news-issue,  what  happened?  The  heat 
wave  subsided,  a  few  good  pictures  came  through,  the  public  de¬ 
veloped  an  appetite  for  the  movies  and  business  picked  up  every- 


^  ARE  THE  MORALS  of  states  whose 
*  movies  are  governed  by  censor  boards 
any  better  than  those  of  states  which  are 
free  from  such  strict  inspection? 

The  question  can  be  answered  in  only 
one  way — NO. 

Looking  at  Pennsylvania,  which  has  had 
15  years  of  censorship,  one  cannot  discern 
any  100%  moral  standing  of  its  residents 
and  citizens.  For  that  matter,  too,  there 
is  no  perfection  in  any  of  the  states  which 
do  not  have  a  censor  system. 

Morals  today,  and  the  agitators  for  cen¬ 
sorship  overlook  this  point,  are  as  good  if 
not  better  than  before  the  motion  picture 
became  popular.  If  these  agitators  wish 
to  agitate,  let  them,  for  example,  bar  the 
automobile  because  so  many  people  get 
killed  and  injured.  And  still  referring  to 
morals,  has  not  the  automobile  contributed 
to  laxity  in  this  department  as  much  as 
some  other  methods? 

It  would  be  hard  to  find  another  business 
that  has  done  as  much  good  as  the  motion 
picture  industry,  directly  and  indirectly. 

Why  don’t  the  people  who  are  agitating 
against  the  movies  consider  the  place  of 
the  censor  systems  in  all  the  controversy 
against  salacious  films?  Why  do  they  give 
the  boards  no  credit  at  all?  And,  consider¬ 
ing  everything  else,  why  censorship  at  all 
if  nothing  is  accomplished  by  it? 

If  anyone  has  a  good  reason,  this  depart¬ 
ment  will  be  glad  to  hear  it. 


where. 

Through  it  all,  too,  good  pictures  continued  to  show  good 
grosses.  True,  the  battle  of  the  reformers  is  not  over.  No  one  can 
find  fault  with  those  who  try  to  drive  salaciousness  from  the 
screen,  but,  as  always,  the  same  thing  is  happening  as  has  always 
happened  in  this  business.  People  will  choose  their  own  enter¬ 
tainment.  If  they  deem  a  picture  worthy  of  patronage,  they  will 
support  it.  Otherwise,  the  picture  will  die. 


The  only  safe  and  sane  remedy. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Sep  1'34 


5 


Peace  Merger  Between  IEPA  and  MPTO 
Fails;  Two  Organization  Setup  Stays 


Early  Hope  of  Compromise  Goes  Out  Window  When 
Stumbling  Blocks  Occur — Trade  Observers  Still  Feel 
Single  Body  Best 


Monroe  Corrects 


John  Monroe,  Forepaugh’s  Theatre, 
has  sent  in  a  communication  to  this 
office  declaring  that  he  is  a  member  of 
the  MPTO  and  as  such  could  hardly  be 
on  the  alternate  board  of  the  IEPA,  as 
carried  last  issue.  He  requested  such 
correction. 

At  the  IEPA  headquarters,  it  was  said 
that  it  was  believed  that  Morris  Wax, 
chairman  of  the  board,  had  spoken  to 
Monroe  and  had  found  him  friendly  to 
the  IEPA,  but  inasmuch  as  Wax  was  out 
of  town,  hayfevering,  no  one  could  defi¬ 
nitely  speak  for  him.  It  was  also  stated 
that  Monroe  had  made  a  recent  contri¬ 
bution  to  the  IEPA.  It  was  intimated 
that  Wax  might  clear  up  the  situation 
when  he  returned. 

Stanley-Warner  Promotes 
Men;  New  Drive  Starts 

Company  Announces  Beginning 
of  New  Big  Push 


Stanley-Warner  has  promoted  many  of 
its  men  preliminary  to  the  beginning  of 
the  new  Show  Season  and  the  new  bonus 
drive. 

Under  the  direction  of  zone  chief  Leonard 
Schlesinger,  the  following  promotions  and 
changes  have  taken  place : 

Harry  Tarrante  from  assistant  at  the  Boyd 
to  manager  Aldine;  Jack  O’Brien  to  the  Alle¬ 
gheny  ;  Elmer  Pickard  to  the  Ambler ;  Jay 
Minsky  from  the  Auditorium  to  the  Astor ; 
Fred  Saar  to  the  Auditorium;  Moe  Goodman 
to  the  Beim ;  Ray  O’Connell,  from  Grand,  Lan¬ 
caster,  to  Capitol,  Lancaster ;  Stanley  Benford 
from  the  Karlton  to  the  Colonial ;  Walter  Gui- 
bor  from  assistant  at  the  Plaza  to  manager  at 
the  Elite;  Elmer  Hollander  to  Forum,  Fred 
Montgomery  to  the  Germantown;  Harry  Travis 
from  the  Majestic,  Gettysburg,  to  Grand,  Lan¬ 
caster;  Lewis  Jordan  from  the  Astor  to  the 
Harrowgate;  Richard  Raisley  from  assistant  at 
the  Forum  to  manager  of  the  Holme ;  H.  Phil¬ 
lip  from  the  Reading  Strand  to  the  2nd  Street 
Imperial;  Mart  Goldenberg  from  the  Colonial 
to  the  Karlton;  E.  Stutenroth  from  the  Holme 
to  the  Lindley ;  Irving  Mirisch  from  the  Model 
to  Gettysburg  Majestic;  Martin  Anninsman 
from  the  Lindley  to  the  Model;  Berny  Seaman 
from  the  Germantown  to  the  Ogontz;  Ray 
Meyer  from  the  Ogontz  to  the  Orpheum  ;  Paul 
Harvey  to  the  Camden  Princess;  William  Huff¬ 
man  from  the  Liberty,  Tacony,  to  the  Stanton ; 
George  Jeffrey  from  Ambler  to  the  Reading 
Strand;  Irving  Blumberg  from  the  Stanton  to 
the  Victoria;  Jay  King  from  the  Harrowgate 
to  manager  of  the  Yorktown ;  Morris  Levin 
from  the  Northeastern  to  the  Tacony  Liberty; 
J.  Parker  from  the  Forum  to  the  Northeastern. 


The  Eastern  Pennsylvania  territory 
some  time  to  come. 

Columbia  “March  On” 
Luncheon  a  Big  Success 

300  Film  Men ,  Friends  Attend 

“ One  Night  of  Love ”  Showing 

Columbia’s  annual  “March  On"  lunch¬ 
eon,  held  in  conjunction  with  the  show¬ 
ing  of  “One  Night  of  Love,"  with  Grace 
Moore,  was  a  big  success. 

With  Manager  Harry  Weiner  acting  as  host, 
the  exchange  force  handled  all  details  smoothly. 
Locust  Theatre  was  the  scene  of  the  showing  of 
“One  Night  of  Love,”  with  Grace  Moore,  with 
all  exhibs  enthusiastic  over  the  possibilities  of 
the  picture. 

Following  this,  a  luncheon  was  held  at  the 
Bellevue-Stratford  for  300. 

Sales  Manager  Abe  Montague  was  unable  to 
attend,  as  scheduled,  but  sent  his  regrets. 

It  was  the  decided  consensus  of  opinion  that 
with  “One  Night  of  Love  ’  as  a  leader,  Colum¬ 
bia  could  look  forward  to  a  good  season. 


The  second  Stanley-Warner  bonus  drive  is 
now  on,  with  promotions  and  prizes  for  the 
winners.  Shifting  the  men  around  gives  them 
more  experience  and  makes  them  better  man¬ 
agers. 

A  big  campaign  is  now  on  for  the  New  Show 
Season. 

The  bonus  drive  takes  up  three  months,  be¬ 
gins  September  1.  If  over  his  quota,  the  man¬ 
ager  gets  an  increase  in  the  next  13  weeks.  25 
men  receive  a  bonus  if  in  the  first  group,  33  in 
the  second  and  54  in  the  third.  Started  by 
Joseph  Bernhard,  managing  director,  the  local 
drive  has  Schlesinger  all  set  to  make  everyone 
earn  a  bonus. 

Film  buyer  Lou  Davidoff  and  assistant  to 
Schlesinger  Jack  Flynn  are  both  set  for  a  ban¬ 
ner  period.  Morale  of  the  entire  organization 
is  at  its  highest. 


Laedlein  Upstate 

Traveling  representative  Miss  Laura 
Laedlein  has  just  completed  a  tour 
through  the  York,  Red  Lion,  Hanover, 
Lewistown  and  adjacent  districts.  Her 
travels  also  will  take  her  through  the 
rest  of  the  upstate  territory. 

As  she  moves  along  she  observes  and 
her  observations  are  recorded  in  a  sepa¬ 
rate  department  to  be  found  on  page  26. 


will  stay  a  two-organization  district  for 

This  much  was  certain  after  apparent  p  ace 
negotiations  between  the  Independent  Exhibi¬ 
tors'  Protective  Association  and  the  Motion  Pic¬ 
ture  Theatre  Owners  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania, 
Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware  collapsed 
following  an  encouraging  start. 

A  peace  parley  was  held  August  14,  at  which 
time  many  major  points  were  reported  cleared 
up.  It  was  reported  that  both  sides  were  to  re¬ 
port  back  to  their  organizations  and  work  from 
that  point  forward. 

No  organization  meetings,  however,  were 
held.  In  the  interim,  all  negotiations  were 
washed  up  and  at  the  present  time  there  does 
not  look  like  much  chance  of  the  two  bodies 
becoming  one. 

Trade  observers  were  hopeful  of  a  merger 
between  the  two,  but  those  who  know  the  inside 
story  think  otherwise. 

Harold  Lloyd  Here 
at  Trade  Luncheon 

Fox  Star  Attends  Gathering  of 
Press  and  Film  Folk 


Harold  Lloyd  came  to  town  and  at¬ 
tended  a  luncheon  as  a  guest  of  A1  Boyd, 
operator  of  the  Lox  Theatre. 

In  attendance  were  A1  Boyd,  Edgar  Moss, 
A1  Davis,  Sam  Gross,  Sam  Wheeler,  Mrs. 
Gugli  Goldsmith,  Mrs.  Gladys  Merritsch,  Eric 
Knight,  Mrs.  Goldsmith  of  The  Bulletin,  PI. 
Poser  of  Lloyd  company,  Henry  Murdock,  Frank 
Buhler,  Harry  Friedman,  S.  Seidenberg,  Lou 
Goldsmith,  Jay  Emanuel  and  others. 

Sam  Schwartz,  state  censor  chairman,  also 
attended. 

Lloyd  later  paid  a  visit  to  the  local  Fox 
exchange  where  he  thrilled  the  gals. 

Luncheon,  at  the  Warwick,  was  a  signal  suc¬ 
cess  with  Boyd  an  excellent  host.  Lloyd  met 
all  the  folks,  told  some  production  notes  of 
interest  and  made  a  neat  impression. 

His  “Cat’s  Paw”  is  currently  at  the  Fox. 


Vaude  in  Wilmington 

Warner  theatres  of  Wilmington  under  the 
district  management  of  Jack  Mulhall  seem  on 
the  threshold  of  one  of  the  biggest  changes  that 
has  been  contemplated  in  some  time  with  the 
opening,  August  31,  of  the  Arcadia,  which  has 
been  closed  several  months,  and  the  proposed 
return  of  vaudeville  to  the  Aldine. 

The  plans  for  the  Aldine  are  not  definite  but 
every  usher  in  the  group  knows  about  them  in 
a  general  way.  One  thing  is  known:  union 
musicians  have  already  been  in  negotiations  with 
the  management. 


6 


Sep  1 T  34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


New  Season  Begins  with  Industry 

Bearing  Optimistic  View  of  Future 


Sentiment  In  Trade  Indicates  Business  Faces  Upturn — 
Theatres  Changing  Hands  Everywhere — Few  Dark 
As  Summer  Passes 

The  new  season,  following  the  Labor  Day  holiday,  begins  with  the  trade,  exhi¬ 
bition  and  distribution,  bearing  a  most  optimistic  view  of  what  the  future  holds  in 


store. 

With  only  one  tough  hot  spell  recorded  up  to 
this  writing,  the  past  summer  was  not  looked 
upon  as  one  of  the  most  disastrous.  Institu¬ 
tion  of  the  Catholic  ban  occurred  at  the  same 
time  as  the  torrid  wave,  with  business  hit  bad. 
During  the  last  month,  however,  people  have 
been  movie  conscious  with  some  real  good  days. 

Lifting  of  the  ban  is  not  expected  until  Octo¬ 
ber,  but  already  there  are  signs  that  the  effect 
of  the  ban  is  not  what  it  first  may  have  been. 
Cardinal  Dougherty  landed  this  week  with  some 
action  expected.  Insiders  say  that  no  change 
may  come  until  October. 

Upstate  there  have  been  many  theatre  changes 
with  independent  circuits  in  the  making.  Few 
houses  of  any  value  are  closed  and  even  those 
may  be  re-opened. 

Locally,  few  exhibitors  dropped  houses,  but 
most  of  the  theatres  will  be  open  for  business 
as  usual. 

With  selling  getting  into  its  real  stride,  good 
pictures  coming  through  and  some  real  cool 
weather,  the  season  should  open  with  a  bang. 

Eddie  Sherman  Starts 
Season  with  Six  Weeks 

Live  Wire  Booker  Had  Headliners 

at  Steel  Pier 

After  a  summer  in  which  he  booked 
leading  stage,  radio  and  screen  names 
into  the  Steel  Pier,  Eddie  Sherman, 
leading  vaudeville  hooker,  begins  his  fall 
season  with  6  weeks. 

Eddie’s  list  includes  many  leading  indepen¬ 
dent  houses  of  the  territory  and  East,  with  Iz 
Rappaport’s  Hip,  Baltimore,  one  of  the  big 
ones. 

Sherman  plans  to  handle  some  of  the  biggest 
names  in  the  field  during  the  fall  and  winter 
season. 


DeMille  Visit  Helps 

Visit  of  Cecil  B.  DeMille  to  town  will 
probably  have  its  effect  on  the  Catholic 
situation. 

Invited  to  the  DeMille  Penn  A.  C.  ad¬ 
dress  were  Monsignor  Lamb  as  well  as 
head  of  the  Parochial  Schools  Bonner 
and  others. 

DeMille  contends,  incidentally,  that 
none  of  his  pictures  ever  contains  any¬ 
thing  that  might  come  under  the  ban. 
He  seems  to  concentrate  on  religious 
themes,  generally. 


DeMille  Visit  Here 
Recorded  As  Big  Success 

Producer  Honored  at  Two 
Special  Functions 


Cecil  B.  DeMille,  Paramount  producer, 
whose  latest  picture  is  “Cleopatra,”  came 
to  Philadelphia  August  21,  and  was 
honored  at  two  functions. 

In  the  early  afternoon,  he  was  guest  at  a 
luncheon  attended  by  the  press  and  trade 
leaders. 

In  atter  dance  at  the  luncheon  were  A1  Boyd, 
Paramount  local  manager  Earle  Sweigert,  Ted 
Aber,  Plerman  Rubin,  Henry  Murdoch,  Elsie 
Finn,  Dorothy  Love,  Ulrich  Smith,  Eddie  Cor¬ 
coran,  Jerry  Crowley,  Plarry  Goldberg,  Abe 
Einstein,  Mort  Blumenstock,  Jules  Seltzer. 

Corcoran  handled  the  local  details  on 
DeMille’s  visit,  with  Jay  Emanuel  chairman  of 
the  welcoming  committee. 

DeMille  described  some  of  his  production  ex¬ 
periences  and  pointed  out  that  while  some  critics 
thought  him  lavish,  it  would  be  impossible  to 
reproduce  the  actual  extravagance  of  the  Cleo¬ 
patra  period.  He  described  his  research  and 
astonished  his  listeners.  He  made  a  swell  im¬ 
pression  on  his  listeners. 

In  the  evening  he  was  heard  by  more  than 
1000  listeners  at  the  Penn  A.  C. 

The  debasement  of  any  art  by  vulgarity  and 
filth  was  declared  unpardonable  by  him. 

“I  am  definitely  against  vulgarity  whether  in 
the  motion  pictures,  painting,  literature  or 
wherever  we  may  see  it,"  DeMille  declared.  “It 
is  an  unpardonable  thing,  I  think. 

"All  the  social  forces  and  institutions  can  be 
of  great  benefit  in  showing  the  youth  of  the 
country  what  vulgarity  is  and  what  bad  taste 
is.” 

DeMille  made  no  reference  in  his  ad¬ 
dress  to  the  League  of  Decency,  organized 
under  Catholic  auspices  to  rid  motion  pictures 
of  objectionable  elements,  and  turned  aside 
questions  addressed  to  him  later  by  declaring  it 
a  matter  of  censorship  with  which  he  is  not 
concerned. 

Paul  Klinger,  Rialto,  Lewistown,  drove  165 
miles  to  hear  DeMille.  Earle  Sweigert,  Para¬ 
mount  manager,  introduced  him  to  DeMille  as 
an  enterprising  young  man,  with  DeMille  prais¬ 
ing  him  for  his  interest. 

A  representative  group  of  exhibitors  was 
present  at  the  evening  event. 

DeMille  also  visited  the  Boyd,  where  “Cleo¬ 
patra”  was  playing.  He  complimented  Leonard 
Schlesinger,  local  Warner  zone  manager,  on 


Mochrie  Dinner  Set 


The  dinner  to  Bob  Mochrie,  formerly 
Warner  manager  here,  is  set  for  Sep¬ 
tember  17. 

Dick  Powell,  who  will  be  appearing 
at  the  Earle  that  week,  will  be  brought 
to  the  dinner  by  Leonard  Schlesinger, 
who,  incidentally,  will  be  making  his 
first  try  as  toastmaster. 

If  Schlesinger  clicks,  and  those  who 
have  heard  his  bon  mots  say  he  will,  he 
will  have  a  permanent  job  as  toast¬ 
master.  Versed  in  poetry,  lore  and  other 
divisions  of  oratorical  display,  he  is 
training  day  and  night,  read'ng  various 
books  on  wit,  testimonial  dinners  and 
Hew  to  be  a  Successful  Toastmaster. 

Committee  in  charge  hopes  to  make  it 
the  biggest  this  season.  Jack  Greenberg 
is  treasurer. 


IEPA  Group  Attends 
Jersey  Allied  Meeting 

Barrist ,  Colder  Deliver  Speeches 

at  Session 

A  group  of  members  of  the  Indepen¬ 
dent  Exhibitors’  Protective  Association 
attended  the  convention  of  Jersey  Allied 
and  other  Allied  units  at  Atlantic  City 
last  week. 

David  Barrist,  member  of  the  body,  was 
quoted  as  saying  that  the  IEPA  was  not  join¬ 
ing  Allied,  but  was  working  with  it.  Barrist 
was  appointed  to  the  committee  on  resolutions 
for  the  convention  and  addressed  the  group  as 
well.  President  Ben  Golder  also  spoke  before 
the  body  and  urged  that  all  exhibitors  drop  the 
code.  He  urged  the  value  of  legislative  moves. 

Jersey  exhibitors  retain  two  memberships, 
some  belonging  to  the  MPTO  or  IEPA  and 
also  to  Jersey  Allied.  As  a  result,  one  finds 
Jersey  exhibitors  active  in  both  bodies. 

Approximately  28  members  of  the  IEPA  and 
the  local  exhibition  fraternity  attended  the 
Allied  sessions,  with  83  Philadelphians  and 
members  of  the  local  territory  at  the  banquet. 
Ben  Golder’s  address  was  a  highlight  at  this 
meeting. 


Boyd  Adds  Two 

A1  Boyd  has  added  two  houses  to  his  string. 
Colonial,  Bethlehem  ;  Strand,  Easton,  are  under 
lease. 

He  is  also  booking  the  York  Theatre,  York. 


the  excellence  of  the  theatre  as  well  as  its 
sound.  DeMille  attended  at  10.45,  with  the 
house  nearly  full  at  that  time. 

Show  has  been  doing  a  whale  of  a  business. 

Earle  Sweigert  was  busy  all  day,  acting  as 
host  to  DeMille  as  well  as  seeing  that  every¬ 
thing  worked  smoothly. 


Sep  1'34  pg.  7 


HANDLES  FOUR.  Bill  Heenan, 
Vine  Street  veteran,  is  now  general 
manager,  booking  and  buying  (or 
Cities  Theatre  Corporation. 

( Page  10) 


HAPPY  GRANDPA.  Edgar  Moss, 
Fox  district  manager,  poses  with 
his  grandch’ld,  Howard  Smith, 
Jr.,  while  resting  at  the  shore. 
Grandpop  is  the  one  holding  the 
child. 


RESIGNS.  Harry  Dembow,  well- 
known  Warner  salesman,  has  re- 
s'gned  to  undertake  operation  of  a 
circuit  of  six  houses,  including 
three  in  Columbia,  two  in  Marcus 
Hook  and  one  in  Media.  (Page  12) 


FOR  “NAVY.”  Camden’s  Stanley 
Theatre,  Joe  Murdock,  manager, 
Everett  Callow,  district  chief,  got 
together  this  bally  for  Warners’ 
“Here  Comes  the  Navy.”  The  mar¬ 
quee  sitter  attracted  a  lot  of  atten¬ 
tion. 


ALLIED  OFFICIALS  AT  CONVENTION.  Leaders  in  the  Allied  States 
Association  of  Motion  Picture  Exhibitors  were  Dresent  at  the  convention 
of  the  New  Jersey  Allied  Group  at  the  Ritz-Carlton,  Atlantic  City, 
August  22-24.  Lett  to  right,  front  row:  Herman  Blum,  Baltimore,  treas¬ 
urer;  Abram  F.  Myers,  Washington,  chairman  of  the  board  and  general 
counsel;  Sidney  E.  Samuelson.  Newton,  N.  J.,  president,  Allied  States  and 
Allied  of  New  Jersey;  Fred  J.  Herrington,  Pittsburgh,  director.  Back 
row:  Aaron  Saperstein.  Chicago,  vice-president  and  president  All’ed  of 
Illinois;  Walter  B.  Littlefield,  Boston,  vice-president;  Arthur  B.  Price, 
chairman  of  public  relations,  Eastern  Region  of  Allied  States  Association. 

( Page  8) 


WHAT  A  DIFFERENCE.  Front  of  the  Ritz,  Muncy,  before  and  after  good  front  was 
erected.  H.  W.  Lamed  is  booking  the  house  which  was  formerly  the  Strand,  and  attributes 
a  large  part  of  his  success  to  the  fronts.  Incidentally,  this  one  on  Warners’  “The  Circus 
Clown”  is  especially  attractive.  It  shows  what  live  wire  showmen  can  do. 


8 


Sep  1 ' 34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Myers  Asks  Exhibitors  to  Show  Their 

Strength  in  Address  at  Allied  Meet 


Reviews  Code,  ASCAP  Difficulty,  Organization  Progress 
— Eastern  Units  Attend  Atlantic  City  Convention — Good 
Turnout  Recorded  _ 

Abram  Myers,  chairman  of  the  board  and  general  counsel,  Allied  States  Asso¬ 
ciation.  called  upon  independent  exhibitors  everywhere  to  better  their  own  position 
through  show  of  the  strength  they  possess,  at  the  15th  annual  convention  of  Jersey 
Allied  and  other  Allied  eastern  units  at  Atlantic  City,  August  23. 


Seven  Allied  bodies  attended  from  Maryland, 
Rhode  Island,  New  England,  New  Hampshire, 
New  York,  Vermont  and  Jersey. 

Sidney  Samuelson,  president,  Jersey  Allied 
and  national  Allied  presided. 

In  his  address  Myers  urged  exhibitors  to 
attain  a  different  mental  attitude ;  to  show  their 
power  through  combined  action ;  to  throw  aside 
their  inferiority  complex.  He  commented  on 
polit:cal  hookups  of  some  producers  with  the 
parties  in  control,  said  that  the  newsreel  had 
become  a  source  of  political  propaganda ;  rap¬ 
ped  the  MPTOA  as  a  skeleton,  kept  alive  by 
contributions  of  the  producer-owned  chains 
through  the  Hays  organization  for  political 
purposes  ard  also  took  a  crack  at  the  indiffer¬ 
ence  of  certain  leaders  of  unaffiliated  regionals 
and  exhibitors  in  unorganized  territory.  He 
reviewed  the  work  of  the  body  on  the  code,  dis¬ 
cussed  the  proposed  ASCAP  increase  and  asked 
for  intelligent  buying  to  break  down  unfair 
practices. 

He  stated  that  the  answer  to  exhibitor’s 
problems  rested  with  the  exhibitor  and  his  lead¬ 
ers  and  wound  up  his  address  by  stating  that 
unless  “they  make  their  fight  this  year,  they 
may  never  have  another  chance.” 

Sidney  Samuelson  was  re-elected  president 
and  business  manager  of  Jersey  Allied  at  a  re¬ 
ported  salary  of  $5000  annually.  Jerome  Kridel, 
East  Orange,  was  named  a  fourth  vice-presi¬ 
dent  ;  Louis  Levin,  Newark,  assistant  treasurer. 
\V.  C.  Hunt,  Wildwood;  Ralph  Wilkins,  Pit¬ 
man,  were  re-elected  directors  for  three  years, 
with  Frank  P.  Gravatt,  Atlantic  City,  replac¬ 
ing  Mort  Lewis  on  the  directors'  board.  Julius 
Charnow,  Leonia,  was  re-elected  a  first  vice- 
president. 

Developments  included : 

A  resolution  calling  for  a  congressional  in¬ 
vestigation  of  the  code ;  another  for  revision  of 
the  copyright  laws ;  another  for  unified  support 
of  all  independent  units ;  another  that  further 
erection  of  dog-racing  tracks  be  stopped,  that 
no  giveaways  be  allowed,  that  season  be  lim¬ 
ited,  that  betting  be  restricted  and  racing  con¬ 
fined  to  afternoons. 

Another  resolution  hit  at  Philly  exchanges 
for  serving  Jersey  houses  with  cen:ored  prirts; 
exhibitors  were  asked  to  Lngthen  playing  time 
and  eliminate  one  change  of  program. 

An  analysis  of  product  was  given.  Protest 
was  made  against  reported  practice  of  ex¬ 
changes  seeking  to  sell  on  weekly  payment  plan ; 
speeches  were  delivered  by  Walter  Littlefield, 
Aaron  Saperstein,  Herman  Blum  P.  J.  Wood, 
Willis  Vance,  Tommy  Goldberg,  Abram  Myers, 
Ben  Golder,  Dave  Barrist.  At  the  banquet,  at- 
'  tended  by  200,  Eddie  Golden,  sales  manager. 
Monogram,  delivered  a  few  words  in  support  of 
independent  production. 

The  body  came  out  for  clean  pictures.  Action 
on  double  features  was  not  taken.  Announce- 


Jersey  Allied  Joins 
in  Dog-Racing  Fight 

Exhibitor  Group  Backs  Reade’s 
Challenge 

New  Jersey  Allied,  in  session  at  At¬ 
lantic  City,  has  come  forth  against  New 
Jersey’s  four  dog  racing  tracks. 

Decision  to  join  the  fight  was  announced  by 
Sidney  E.  Samuelson,  Newton,  president. 

In  joining  forces  with  Reade  to  fight  the 
dog-racing  tracks,  Allied  Theatre  Owners 
adopted  a  resolution  which  declared  the  races 
are  being  conducted  in  a  manner  unfair  to  the 
established  amusement  and  other  business  enter¬ 
prises  and  in  direct  contradiction  to  the  spirit 
of  the  National  Recovery  Act. 

“We  are  unalterably  opposed  to  the  erection 
or  licensing  of  any  further  dog  tracks  in  the 
State.  We  petition  the  present  Racing  Com¬ 
mission  to  forbid  free  tickets  or  giveaways ;  to 
limit  the  racing  season  to  a  period  not  exceeding 
four  weeks;  to  forbid  betting  until  the  total¬ 
izing  machines,  as  prescribed  by  law,  are  in¬ 
stalled  and  to  limit  dog  racing  to  afternoons 
only,”  the  resolution  said. 

The  special  morning  children's  program  at 
the  Convention  Hall  track,  in  Atlantic  City,  was 
bitterly  denounced  by  the  theatre  owners  as 
“an  education  of  the  young  in  gambling.” 

Walter  Reade,  New  York  and  New  Jersey 
circuit,  who  instituted  the  fight  against  dog 
racing,  intends  to  carry  his  complaint  directly 
to  Governor  Moore. 

Insisting  that  he  has  definite  evidence  of 
“illegal  practices  and  the  juggling  of  funds 
wagered”  at  the  dog-racing  tracks  in  Penn- 
sauken,  Atlantic  City,  Long  Branch  and  Linden, 
Reade  in  a  telegram  to  the  Governor  asks  for 
an  audience  “in  the  presence  of  the  Racing 
Commission.” 

It  is  reported  that  some  local  merchandising 
establishments  think  dog  racing  a  damper  on 
credit  expansion  with  the  result  that  install¬ 
ment  orders  from  Camden  folk  are  being 


ment  was  made  that  Allied  would  work  with 
Allied  units,  '  although  co-operation  would  be 
ext  nded  to  sympathetic  units. 

Jersey  body  went  on  record  for  clean  pic¬ 
tures,  with  Sidney  Samuelson  saying  theatre- 
men  know  it  is  best  to  stick  to  clean  films. 

Edward  Goldm,  general  sales  manager,  Mon¬ 
ogram  addressed  the  conference  at  the  opening 
session. 


High  Percentage  Rapped 


MPTO,  in  an  official  pronunciamento, 
comes  out  against  high  percentage.  It 
asks  members  not  to  sign  40-50%  con¬ 
tracts. 

New  Lamp  Makes  Bow 
in  the  Local  Territory 

National  Theatre  Supply  Handles 
Development 

A  new  lamp  has  made  its  debut  in  the 
local  territory. 

National  Theatre  Supply  Company  is  hand¬ 
ling  the  new  Peerless  Magnarc  lamp,  a  new 
type,  manufactured  by  the  J.  E.  McCauley 
Manufacturing  Company  of  Chicago. 

Lamp  produces  amost  twice  as  much  light  at 
low  current,  delivers  high  intensity  light,  mak¬ 
ing  a  big  improvement  at  no  additional  cost.  It 
also  saves  carbon  consumption. 

It  was  recently  installed  at  the  new  Capitol 
Theatre,  Milton.  Other  installations  are  the 
Capitol,  Pottsville;  Keystone,  Williamsport; 
new  Broadway,  Camden.  J.  E.  McCauley 
supervised  the  Milton  installation.  It  took 
two  years  to  perfect. 

Harry  Blumberg  is  very  enthusiastic  about 
the  economy  of  the  new  lamp  and  predicts  an 
immediate  popularity  among  exhibitors. 


watched  carefully.  It  is  also  reported  that 
specialty  store  and  good  store  business  in  the 
sretor  is  affected. 

Locally,  theatremen  haven’t  complained 
against  dog  racing  competition,  although  it  is 
apparent  that  money  that  goes  to  the  dogs 
doesn’t  go  to  the  theatres.  Atlantic  City  has 
beer,  especially  hard  hit,  with  the  entire  busi¬ 
ness  faction  protesting  against  distribution  of 
free  passes.  This  was  modified  recently  so 
that  the  free  distribution  was  cut  down. 

Weilland-Lewis  interests  are  preparing  to 
fight  dog  races  as  is  also  the  Warner  manage¬ 
ment  in  New  Jersey. 


Units  Quiet 

Both  IEPA  and  MPTO  are  quiet,  with 
only  board  of  managers  and  board  of 
governors  meeting  scheduled. 

Neither  organization  expects  to  have 
a  regular  meeting  until  after  the  Labor 
Day  holiday. 

IEPA  is  working  on  a  constructive 
idea  and  intends  to  announce  it  soon. 
President  Ben  Golder  and  chairman  of 
the  board  Morris  Wax  are  both  hay 
fever  sufferers,  and  are  away  for  a  spell. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Sep  1’34 


9 


Glancing  Everywhere  in  the  Territory 


AT  COLUMBIA  LUNCHEON.  Approximately  300  exhibitors  and  friends  attended  the  “March  On  with  Columbia”  luncheon  at  the 
Bellevue-Stratford,  August  20,  following  showing  of  “One  Night  of  Love”  at  the  Locust  Theatre.  The  picture  and  luncheon  were 
voted  overwhelming  successes.  (Page  5) 


BOOKS  HEADLINERS.  Eddie  Sher¬ 
man,  acknowledged  to  be  one  of 
the  leading  independent  vaudeville 
bookers  in  the  country,  is  just 
completing  a  successful  season  at 
the  Steel  Pier,  booking  in  biggest 
names,  and  has  lined  up  a  strong 
list  of  vaudeville  houses  for  the  fall 
and  winter.  (Page  6) 


BIG  TIE-UP.  Here  is  a  window  on 
Monogram’s  Agfa-Hollywood  con¬ 
test.  ( Page  16) 


MANAGING.  William  F.  Gerst  is 
manager  of  the  Crescent  Theatre, 
West  Collingswood,  N.  J.  (Page  26) 


IN  PERSON.  George  F.  Weilland 
greets  Harold  Lloyd,  while  Mort 
Lewis  looks  on.  The  film  star  at¬ 
tended  the  opening  and  world  pre¬ 
miere  of  “The  Cat’s  Paw”  at  At¬ 
lantic  City  Apollo  Theatre  and  was 
the  guest  of  Edgar  Moss  while  at 
the  shore. 


FOR  “THE  CIRCUS  CLOWN.”  Here’s  how  the  local  State  Theatre  got  behind  “The 
Circus  Clown,”  from  Warners,  when  the  show  played  the  house.  The  attractive  lobby 
piece  is  also  seen. 


10 


Sep  1'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


New  Understanding  Between  Church 
and  Industry  Seen  on  Clean-Up  Move 


Denies  Politics  in 
Wildwood-Hunt  Tiff 

Drive  Against  Theatre  Violation 
On  Aplenty 


Will  Hays-Archbishop  McNicholas  Correspondence  Indi¬ 
cates  Tolerance  Will  Regulate  Situation — Adult,  General 
Patronage  Distinctions  Loom 

A  new  understanding  between  the  industry  and  church  leaders  who  are  fighting 
for  cleanliness  in  pictures  is  indicated  in  the  release,  to  the  trade,  of  correspondence 
between  Will  H.  Hays,  president,  Motion  Picture  Producers  and  Distributors  of 
America,  and  John  T.  McNicholas,  Cincinnati,  chairman  of  the  Catholic  Bishops’ 
committee  on  motion  pictures. 

Hays  said  in  his  letter,  dated  August  10,  that 
his  organization  “is  happy  to  be  able  to  inform 
Your  Excellency  that  arrangements  which  are 
intended  more  effectively  to  influence  the  char¬ 
acter  of  motion  pictures  produced  by  members 
of  our  association  have  been  carried  into  effect.” 

He  stressed  the  fact  that  it  will  take  a  “reason¬ 
able  length  of  time  from  this  point  on  in  order 
that  the  result  of  our  efforts  may  become  known 
and  understood.”  Hays  listed  some  of  the  inci¬ 
dents  which  “if  eliminated  would  be  a  means 
toward  a  better  understanding  and  more  rapid 
progress  toward  our  common  objective.”  One 
of  these  was  the  fact  that  in  some  localities 
a  particular  picture  is  placed  on  a  recommended 
list  while  in  other  places  the  same  picture  is 
placed  on  a  condemned  list.  Declaring  that  the 
industry  is  glad  to  have  pictures  freely  dis¬ 
cussed,  Hays  said  “We  wish  not  to  discourage 
but  definitely  to  encourage  all  reasonable  criti¬ 
cism  and  comment  on  our  motion  pictures.” 

In  his  reply,  dated  August  14,  the  Arch¬ 
bishop  expressed  satisfaction  that  the  industry’s 
revised  plan  of  self-regulation,  of  which  the 
Committee  of  Bishops  was  informed  on  June 
21,  “has  now  been  carried  into  effect.” 

“From  many  sources,”  he  continued,  “the 
suggestion  has  been  received  by  the  Bishop's 
committee  that  in  giving  approval  to  moving 
pictures  certain  lines  of  distinction  be  drawn. 

One  recognizes  that  there  are  legitimate  dra¬ 
matic  values  in  life,  affording  themes  of  proper 
and  profound  interest  to  mature  minds,  which 
would  be  utterly  unfit  for  the  impressionable 
minds  of  youth.  Those  who  have  thought  the 
problem  through  are  convinced  that  many  pic¬ 
tures  should  bear  approval  for  adult  patron¬ 
age,  while  others  could  well  be  approved  for 
general  patronage,”  he  said. 


Aarons  Schedules  Talks 


George  P.  Aarons,  secretary  and  gen¬ 
eral  counsel  for  the  local  MPTO,  has  a 
busy  schedule  these  days. 

Recently  he  addressed  the  Kiwanis 
Club,  Elizabethtown,  on  the  movies  at 
the  request  of  Harry  Chertcoff,  who  has 
the  Moose,  there.  In  addition,  he  has 
scheduled  talks  in  Lock  Haven,  where 
Oscar  Steifel  exhibits  and  in  Ashland, 
where  J.  V.  Shreck  is  the  exhibitor. 

Aarons,  who  has  spent  many  years 
addressing  community  bodies,  offers  his 
services  to  MPTO  members  and  theatre- 
men  in  a  similar  capacity.  Wherever  he 
has  appeared  he  has  cemented  the  good 
will  between  exhibitor  and  community. 

Members  of  the  MPTO  are  urged  to 
take  advantage  of  his  forensic  ability. 


Denial  that  politics  has  entered  into  a 
sudden  enforcement  of  a  state  law  in 
Wildwood,  N.  J.,  has  been  made  by 
Mayor  Doris  W.  Bradway. 

Assemblyman  William  C.  Hunt,  operator  of 
a  shore  chain  as  well  as  the  local  Rockland,  is 
under  $250  bail  for  the  Cape  May  county  Grand 
Jury  on  account  of  his  arrest  for  permitting 
children  under  14  to  attend  his  theatres  unac¬ 
companied  by  adults.  This  is  a  misdemeanor 
under  a  State  law. 

Hunt  asserted  his  arrest  was  a  retaliation 
for  his  part  in  the  calling  of  an  investigation 
into  Wildwood  municipal  affairs,  which  he  fol¬ 
lowed  up  with  a  demand  for  Mayor  Bradway’s 
resignation. 

"Juvenile  delinquencies  have  increased  greatly 
during  the  recent  months,”  said  Mayor  Brad¬ 
way,  “and  when  a  group  of  boys  whose  aver¬ 
age  age  is  ten  years  confessed  to  several  rob¬ 
beries  last  week  and  said  they  got  their  inspira¬ 
tion  from  motion  pictures,  we  sought  methods 
to  control  them. 

“We  found  it  in  a  State  law  passed  in  1929. 
At  that  time,  the  present  Commissioner  of 
Streets,  Frederick  McMurray,  was  in  the  Leg¬ 
islature  and  Hunt  made  no  attempt  to  prevent 
the  passage  of  the  bill. 

“Now,  with  the  law  enforced,  Hunt  appar¬ 
ently  feels  his  position  as  an  Assemblyman 
places  him  above  other  citizens.  We  cannot 
agree  with  him.  The  Assemblyman,  like  any¬ 
one  else,  must  obey  the  law. 


Boyd  Story  Out 


They  are  telling  a  good  one  about 
A1  Boyd,  local  showman  and  veteran, 
during  the  market  crash  in  1929. 

Boyd,  who  has  always  had  a  swell 
reputation,  was  carrying  more  than 
20,000  shares  of  various  stocks.  A 
friend,  a  high  executive,  asked  him  if  he 
needed  cash  to  tide  him  over  and  in¬ 
sisted  that  he  take  some. 

When  A1  dropped  in  there  was  a 
check  for  $100,000  waiting  for  him. 

And  the  same  thing  can  be  said  for 
h:m  today.  All  of  which  indicates  that 
the  reputation  he  made  as  a  square 
shooter  is  still  worth  lots. 


"If  Mr.  Hunt  chooses  to  continue  the  policy 
he  instituted  last  night,  of  closing  his  theatres 
to  children,  even  if  accompanied  by  parent  or 
guardian,  that  is  entirely  his  action.  The  city 
has  no  interest  and  did  not  instigate  it.” 

Hunt  retaliated  by  filing  a  petition  in  U.  S. 
District  Court  in  Camden  demanding  $50,000 
for  damages  to  his  business  and  reputation. 

In  addition  to  the  above  incident,  Hunt’s  son 
Guy  was  arrested  for  ballyhooing  outside 
Hunt’s  dance  hall  in  Wildwood. 

Hunt’s  petition  also  charges  that  Mayor 
Bradway  ordered  lifeguards  not  to  patronize 
his  dance  halls,  that  she  staged  free  dancing 
nights  in  the  city-owned  Convention  Hall  to 
hurt  his  business,  and  that  she  declared  in  a 
public  address  at  the  Bradway  Republican  Club 
a  month  ago  that  “I  am  going  to  get  Hunt 
and  drive  him  out  of  Wildwood." 


Heenan  Operating  Four 

Bill  Heenan,  formerly  associated  with  Peer¬ 
less  exchange,  is  now  general  manager  for  the 
Cities  Theatres  Corporation,  operating  the  Col¬ 
lege,  Bethlehem;  Transit,  Easton;  Roxy,  Rox- 
borough,  and  Lincoln,  here.  Hal  Logenbach, 
Harlan  Woehrle,  Cy  Cohen  and  Harry  Slatko 
are  respective  managers. 

Houses  were  formerly  United  Chain  posses¬ 
sions.  Harry  Berman  has  gone  back  to  Wash¬ 
ington,  Frank  Hammerman  has  resigned  and 
Lou  Berman  is  in  production. 

Heer, an  looks  forward  to  a  busy  season.  It 
is  his  return  to  exhibition  after  many  years  in 
the  distribution  field.  Many  years  ago  he  was 
booker  for  Stanley  Company. 


Warner  Club  Elects  Officers  for  New  Year 


The  local  Warner  Club  has  elected  officers  for  the  new  season.  Slate  includes 
president,  Larry  Graver,  Stanley;  vice-president  in  charge  of  entertainment,  A1  Reh, 
State;  vice-president  in  charge  of  membership,  John  Roach,  former  president;  vice- 
president  in  charge  of  welfare,  Abe  Einstein;  secretary,  Helen  Mahoney.  Merrill 
Wolfe  is  chairman  of  contributions  and  loans;  Morris  Gable,  Palace  manager,  is 
chairman  athletic  committee;  A1  Cohn,  Wynne,  is  vice-chairman,  athletic  commit¬ 
tee.  Club  has  paid  off  all  debts  and  is  plenty  in  the  clear.  Membership  plan  is  as 
follows:  Dues,  $3  annually,  with  the  national  body  giving  back  $3  a  head  for  enter¬ 
tainment;  pass  money  goes  to  club  for  sick,  marriage,  birth  benefits;  contribution  of 
$350  is  given  to  family  of  deceased;  $50  for  marriage  and  birth  and  sick  benefits 
after  two  weeks;  board  of  governors  includes  two  from  each  district,  two  from  home 
office,  two  from  exchange;  body  contacts  members,  visits  sick,  sends  flowers,  etc., 
arranges  functions.  Club  looks  forward  to  a  busy  season. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Sep  1 ' 34 


11 


News  Review  Via  the  Picture  Route 


READY  TO  SERVE.  Here  is  the 
renovated  Apex  Garage,  Vine 
Street’s  leading  automobile  service 
establishment,  following  recent  re¬ 
modelling.  J.  Becker  is  the  pro¬ 
prietor. 


IN  MILTON.  W.  C.  Girton  is  man¬ 
ager  of  the  Capitol,  Milton,  which 
has  just  installed  new  Peerless  Mag- 
narc  Lamps.  Robert  Webster  is 
chief  projectionist  with  Will  Zach- 
mari  as  assistant.  View  of  the  booth 
is  shown  here.  ( Page  8) 


BREAKS  RULE,  Mary  Pickford 
broke  a  long  standing  rule  by  visit¬ 
ing  the  set  of  Anna  Sten,  UA  star. 


IN  PERSON.  Warner  Studio  Club  Frolic  held  on  one  of  huge  sound  stages  by 
4500  Warner  Club  members  and  their  friends.  Snapped  at  a  table  were, 
reading  from  left  to  right,  William  Koenig,  general  manager,  Warner  Bros.,  and 
president  Warner  Club,  Burbank;  Joe  E.  Brown,  Mrs.  Moe  Silver,  Jack  L.  War¬ 
ner.  Behind  Jack  Warner,  Joseph  Schnitzer  and  his, wife;  Daddy  Benjamin  Warner 
father,  and  beside  Daddy  Warner,  his  son  Harry  M.  Seated  diectly  behind 
Harry  Warner  is  his  sister,  Mrs.  Lou  Halper  and,  at  her  right,  is  seated  Mrs. 
Harry  M.  Warner.  Standing  in  the  background,  reading  left  to  right,  are  some 
of  the  Warner  stars,  Warren  William,  Jean  Muir,  Dick  Powell  and  Leon 
Schlesinger. 


“TREASURE  ISLAND’’ 
BALLY.  Here  is  a  bally¬ 
hoo  on  “Treasure  Is¬ 
land”  that  is  available 
to  all  exhibitors  playing 
the  picture.  The  local 
Metro  exchange  is  ready 
to  make  arrangements 
for  the  rental  of  the 
bally  before  or  during 
the  playing  of  the  Metro 
show. 


12  Sep  1 T 34  THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


THE  CODE  •  CASES  •  HEARINGS  •  BOARD  RULINGS  *  DEVELOPMENTS 


Harry  Dembow  Organizes  Circuit  of  Six 


Harry  Dembow  has  resigned  as  Warner  salesman  to  become  director  of  a 
string  of  six  independent  houses  Group  includes  one  in  Media,  three  in  Columbia 
and  two  in  Marcus  Hook.  Dembow  wants  to  take  this  method  to  thank  all  of  his 
friends  and  Warner  clients  for  their  co-operation  with  him  while  with  Warners. 
He  intends  to  be  active  in  exhibitor  ranks  and  plans  the  utmost  co-operation  with  the 
exhibition  fraternity.  He  is  a  veteran  in  the  field. 

Corporate  name  of  the  Columbia  possessions,  the  State,  Alto  and  Opera 
H  ouse  is  the  DeLob  Theatre  Enterprises,  Harry  L.  Dembow,  president,  and  Sam 
LaBron,  treasurer.  Marcus  Hook  operations  are  under  name  of  Marcus  Hook 
Amusement  Company,  Inc.,  while  the  Dembow  Media  house  is  operated  by  Dembow 
Amusement  Company.  Possession  of  the  Columbia  houses  passes  September  3. 


CA  Checks  Policy  Change 

The  Code  Authority,  in  New  York, 
has  sent  out  an  announcement  to  the 
effect  that  if  a  theatre,  accused  of  over¬ 
buying,  changes  policy  to  conform  with 
surplus  of  pictures  following  the  sched¬ 
uling  of  a  case,  it  shall  be  construed  as 
an  admission  of  guilt  and  shall  so  be 
considered  by  the  local  grievance  board 
hearing  it. 


HEARINGS: 

GRIEVANCE 
August  30 

S.  Waldman,  Garbo  Theatre,  vs.  Stanley- 
Warner  Parker  Theatre  and  distributors 
on  overbuying  charge. 

Case  was  postponed  when  Waldman  said  he 
couldn’t  find  his  attorney.  Postponement  came 
just  15  minutes  before  scheduled  time  after 
board  and  defendants  had  assembled. 

GRIEVANCE 
August  23 

William  Wolf,  Bandbox  Theatre,  vs.  Wil¬ 
liam  Goldman  and  Integrity  Trust  Com¬ 
pany,  on  charge  of  interference  in  lease 
negotiations. 

Case  was  heard  in  secret  session.  Goldman 
failed  to  put  in  an  appearance  but  was  repre¬ 
sented  by  counsel.  Local  grievance  board,  after 
hearing  the  case,  refused  to  dismiss  the  com¬ 
plaint,  as  requested  by  the  plaintiff,  but  certi¬ 
fied  it  to  the  Code  Authority,  who  will  render 
a  decision. 


Zoning  Reopening  Up 

If  enough  pressure  is  brought  to  bear 
by  exhibitor  groups,  zoning  boards  may 
reconvene  very  soon  to  hear  zoning 
cases  or  to  line  up  zoning  schedules. 

The  MPTOA  has  sent  out  wires  to  all 
units  to  sense  individual  reaction  to  such 
procedure.  Locally,  the  MPTO  is  said 
to  be  in  favor  of  such  re-opening. 


Premium  Situation  Quiet 

The  premium  situation,  regarding  appeals 
from  the  Jersey  vote,  is  quiet. 

As  yet,  there  has  been  no  action  on  reopen¬ 
ing  of  the  Jersey  vote,  according  to  the  local 
board  secretary. 


Authority  Considering 

Code  Authority  has  advised  the  local  MPTO 
that  it  has  sent  its  protest  on  evasion  of  the 
cancellation  privileges  by  certain  exchanges  to 
the  proper  committee  which  is  now  considering 
it. 

Board  Holiday 

Because  of  the  Jewish  holidays,  the  code 
board  office  will  be  closed  September  10  and  11. 


Ziegler’s  Plan 


Basil  Ziegler,  local  board  secretary, 
formulated  a  plan  for  appeal  boards  a 
few  months  ago,  which  was  seriously 
considered  by  the  Code  Authority.  Zieg¬ 
ler  wanted  regional  appeal  boards  or¬ 
ganized  who  would  serve  as  a  buffer  be¬ 
tween  the  Code  Authority  and  boards. 


Ruth  for  Assembly 

Frank  W.  Ruth,  a  minister  by  profession,  is 
candidate  for  the  Assembly  from  the  3rd 
district. 

In  addition  to  other  duties,  he  is  marager  of 
the  Bernville  Community  Theatre. 


Wilmington  Tiff  Before  Rosenblatt 


Tilt  between  the  New  Rialto  Theatre,  Wilmington,  Del.,  and  the  motion  picture 
projectionists’  union  of  that  city  in  which  a  third  impartial  arbitrator  recently  ruled 
that  the  theatre  should  pay  union  wages  to  projectionists,  has  been  appealed  by 
William  M.  Fook,  counsel  for  the  theatre.  A1  Williams,  secretary,  local  union,  has 
received  a  letter  from  Sol  Rosenblatt,  divisional  NRA  administrator,  asking  him  to 
submit  a  brief  of  the  case  for  review  before  September  10.  There  seems  to  be  some 
doubt  as  to  whether  there  are  any  minutes  of  the  hearing  conducted  by  Charles  C. 
Kurtz,  Wilmington  realtor,  who  was  designated  as  the  third  impartial  arbitrator. 
However,  Williams  has  a  letter  or  statement  from  Kurtz  containing  the  latter’s  find¬ 
ings  under  Section  7,  Article  IV  of  the  code  by  which  he  ruled  that  the  New  Rialto 
should  pay  wages  and  maintain  hours  in  accordance  with  prevailing  scale  in  force 
August  23,  1934,  between  the  Federation  of  Labor  and  the  particular  class  of 
theatres  to  which  the  New  Rialto  belongs.  The  point  at  issue  that  will  probably 
come  up  in  the  appeal  is  whether  the  New  Rialto,  a  downtown  theatre,  showing  first 
run  pictures,  should  be  classed  with  other  theatres  of  this  type  or  those  of  lesser 
seating  capacity  and  outside  of  the  downtown  area. 


The  FINEST  SERVICE  on  FILM  ROW  l 

SPECIAL  RATES  TO  FILM  PEOPLE: 

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1 

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Phone:  LOCUST  8604  -  -  PHILADELPHIA 

Becker  Bros.,  Props. 

Road  Service  to  Patrons  -  Mechanic  Always  on  Duty  -  Never  Closed 

Sep  1  ’ 34  pg.  13 


THE  SHADOW 


of  Mrs.  Housewife 

is  always  in  your  mine 


GIVE  HER: 


Articles  of  known  quality. 


Articles  of  beauty,  utility  or  economy  that  she  wants 
for  her  own  home. 


Articles  she’ll  be  proud  to  own  and  show  to  her 
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1 


14 


Sep  1'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


I.  T.  M.  NEWS 


PUBLICITY  STUNTS  were  discussed  at 
the  meeting  of  the  Independent  Theatre  Man¬ 
agers  held  August  21.  .  .  .  Free  offers  to  show¬ 
men  were  also  under  discussion.  .  .  .  Member¬ 
ship  campaign  now  in  full  swing.  .  .  .  Slogan 
is  “Every  Member  Bring  a  Member.”  .  .  .  Dis¬ 
cussion  of  novel  heralds  and  programs  also 
brought  before  group.  .  .  .  Members  learned 
Allan  Lewis,  Girard,  would  be  led  to  altar  by 
Hannah  Smeyne.  .  .  .  Members  wished  them 
happiness.  .  .  .  Watch  for  the  next  luncheon. 

ITM  now  meets  every  Thursday  at  1313 
Vine  Street  until  further  notice.  .  .  .  Here  is 
the  officers’  line-up:  president,  Barney  Cohen, 
Benson;  vice-president,  Jack  Litto,  Eureka; 
secretary,  Walt  Potamkin,  Cedar;  treasurer, 
John  Ehrlich,  Howard;  publicity  director, 
Perry  Lessy,  Diamond.  .  .  .  Members  in¬ 

clude  Morris  and  Irving  Phillips,  Upsal;  Mike 
Felt,  Bluebird;  Sid  Megan,  Brunswick;  Phil 
Hirsh,  Spruce;  Mort  Glass,  Lyric,  So.  Philly; 
Allan  Lewis,  Girard;  Sol  Lewis,  Edgemont; 
Nate  Milgram,  Lorraine;  Is  Segal),  Rivoli; 
Sam  Resnick,  Douglass;  Joe  Kane,  York;  Is 
Browsky,  Rex;  Sam  Peilerstein,  Forrest. 


WILMINGTON 


WILMINGTON  THEATRE  MANAGERS 
were  busy  as  the  traditional  dog  with  two  tails. 

.  .  .  Plans  for  opening  the  Arcadia  required 
many  of  the  numerous  parleys  Jack  Mulhall, 
district  manager  was  having.  .  .  .  More  money 
is  being  spent  by  the  Warners  than  in  years. 

.  .  .  New  carpets  for  the  Opera  House  and 
Aldine.  .  .  .  Dick  Hiltshire  was  working  on 
plans  for  a  new  front  display.  .  .  .  Dick  got 
some  new  ideas  at  the  World’s  Fair.  .  .  .  Ben 
Seligman,  Strand,  was  doing  some  fall  painting. 

.  .  .  He  was  busy  counting  the  sheckels  when 
I  dropped  in.  .  .  .  Joe  DeFiore  has  been  taking 
a  lot  of  little  trips  lately.  .  .  .  A1  Williams, 
projectionist,  Opera  House,  and  secretary  pro¬ 
jectionists’  union,  has  been  made  Wilmington 
representative  member  of  the  executive  board 
of  the  Warner  Club.  .  .  .  Edman  Devenney, 
assistant  manager,  Aldine,  is  back  from  a  vaca¬ 
tion  in  Atlantic  City.  .  .  .  Assistant  managers 
are  somewhat  agog  over  the  possibility  of  a  new 
step-up  as  the  Arcadia  opens.  .  .  .  Devenney, 
Pragg,  Opera  House,  and  Kearney,  Queen,  are 
all  good  capable  fellows  who  deserve  a  break. 
.  .  .  W.  R.  McClintock,  doorkeeper,  Aldine, 
ought  to  be  in  line  for  moving  up.  .  .  .  Double 
features  including  a  western  are  helping  build 
up  the  kiddie  trade  Saturdays  at  the  Opera 
House. 

ASSISTANT  MANAGER  PRAGG,  Opera 
House,  had  rigged  up  a  clever  lobby  display 
for  “Here  Comes  the  Groom.”  .  .  Lew 

Black  had  a  nice  entrance  display  for  “Whom 
the  Gods  Destroy.”  .  .  Ben  Schindler 

swinging  in  double  features  occasionally  at 
the  Avenue.  .  .  .  “Handy  Andy”  went  three 
weeks  at  the  New  Rialto.  .  .  .  Warners  are 

getting  second  run  Fox  pictures  and  all  first 
runs  turned  down  by  the  New  Rialto  now. 

Charley  Kane  who  runs  a  radio  ham 
column  in  the  latter  newspaper  swears  he 
called  up  Lew  Black’s  “jolly  sailor”  at  five 
o’clock  one  morning  and  the  operator  at  the 
Aldine  told  him  the  pole  sitter  was  out.  .  .  . 
Estelle  Taylor,  film  actress  and  erstwhile  Mrs. 
Jack  Dempsey  paid  her  Wilmington  family  a 
visit  the  other  day.  .  .  George  Jones, 

Loew’s  Parkway,  gave  a  prevue  of  “Treasure 
Island”  but  we  weren’t  there. 


GANGSTERS  DO  THINGS.  Liberty  offers  Jack  La  Rue,  Thelma  Todd,  Gail  Patrick,  Vince 
Barnett,  Russell  Hopton  and  others  in  “Take  the  Stand.” 


U  P  -  S  T  A  T  E 


MAJESTIC  scheduled  to  re-open  September 
7,  and  State,  ditto,  Wilmer  and  Vincent  the¬ 
atres,  to  re-open,  too.  .  .  .  Manager  Jack  D. 
O  Rear,  Majestic,  returned  to  Harrisburg  to  pre¬ 
pare  for  Majestic  opening.  .  .  .  Harry  Lam¬ 
bert,  manager,  Colonial,  Harrisburg,  had  many 
interesting  stories  to  relate  upon  his  return  from 
his  week’s  vacation  at  Winchester,  Va.,  with 
Mrs.  Lambert  and  the  baby.  .  .  .  When 

Majestic  re-opens  virtually  the  same  personnel 
wil  return  with  Manager  O’Rear.  .  .  .  One 
exception  will  be  the  former  Miss  Sally  Rob¬ 
inson,  usher,  for  whom  the  wedding  bells  rang 
three  weeks  ago.  .  .  .  Charlie  Bierbauer,  man¬ 
ager,  State,  when  it  closed  for  the  summer,  has 
been  in  Harrisburg  for  several  weeks  giving 
the  Wilmer  and  Vincent  houses,  particularly  the 
State,  the  once-over. 

MRS.  ESTELLA  HICKS,  Victoria  cashier, 
just  returned  from  a  week’s  vacation.  .  .  . 

At  the  same  time,  Miss  Jenny  Funk,  Colonial 
cashier,  returned.  .  Miss  Sally  First, 

usher,  Victoria,  substituted  for  Mrs.  Hicks. 
.  .  .  For  Mi  ss  Funk,  Mrs.  Pea  rl  H  ammaker, 
Colonial  usher,  substituted. 


First  Division  Starts 
Shorts  Department 

A  deal  has  been  completed  for  the  dis¬ 
tribution  in  the  United  States  of  the 
series  of  “Musical  Moods,”  according  to 
a  joint  statement  of  W.  A.  Bach,  presi¬ 
dent,  Audio  Productions,  Inc.,  and  Harry 
H.  Thomas,  president,  First  Division 
Exchanges,  Inc. 

These  films  are  the  latest  development  of 
recorded  musical  entertainment  with  visual 
accompaniment  and  are  the  first  three  color 
Technicolor  subjects  that  have  been  photo¬ 
graphed  out  of  doors.  Robert  C.  Bruce  recently 
returned  from  Europe  where  he  filmed  five  sub¬ 
jects  in  Ireland  and  Italy  with  a  three  color 
Technicolor  crew,  after  having  completed  a 
number  of  these  subjects  in  the  United  States. 

A  special  Short  Subject  Sales  Department 
will  be  organized  immediately  by  First  Divi¬ 
sion  Exchanges,  Inc.,  according  to  Harry  H. 
Thomas,  president. 


“Convention  Girl”  Premiere 


World  premiere  of  “Convention  Girl,” 
from  First  Division,  takes  place  at  At- 
lan  City  Steel  Pier,  Labor  Day  week-end. 

The  show,  made  in  Atlantic  City,  is 
considered  an  ace  musical  and  should  be 
a  cleanup.  With  a  cast  including  star 
names,  Isham  Jones’  band  and  plenty  of 
local  color,  it  will  have  a  terrific  cam¬ 
paign. 

A  complete  line  of  accessories,  etc., 
is  available  as  well  as  a  special  cam¬ 
paign.  The  show  should  be  worth  a  lot 
here  because  of  its  Atlantic  City  angle. 

Preview  indicates  it  has  the  goods. 

Broadway  stars,  songs,  etc.,  head  the 
selling  points,  with  FD  very  optimistic. 


Price  Premiums  Opens 
Its  Philadelphia  Office 

Price  Premiums  enters  the  territory  for 
exhibitors  to  view. 

Announcement  that  this  firm  had  elected  its 
local  distribution  outlet  was  made  this  week. 

Distribution  in  this  territory  will  be  through 
the  offices  of  Herb  Given,  Inc.,  with  Given 
active  in  the  sale  of  the  merchandise. 

With  Jacob  Price,  head  of  the  company,  pre¬ 
dicting  a  banner  year  for  the  premium  busi¬ 
ness,  it  looks  like  a  busy  season.  Those  who 
have  seen  the  Price  line,  now  on  display,  ac¬ 
claim  it  something  well  worth  looking  into. 


A  CLASSIC  RETURNS.  Monogram  presents  Eddie  Nugent,  Marian  Marsh,  Louise 
Dresser,  Henry  B.  Walthall,  Ralph  Morgan  in  “Girl  of  the  Limberlost.” 


Sep  1  ’ 34  pg.  15 


THE  WATCHTOWER 


OBSERVING  THE  REACTION  TO  THE 
INDUSTRY’S  PROBLEMS  BY  BIG 
MINDS  BOTH  WITHIN  AND  WITHOUT 


Sane  Middle  Course 

(A  Recent  Editorial  by  Jay  Emanuel) 

^  ONE  OF  THE  INDUSTRY’S  leading  orators,  Louis  Nizer,  in  an  address,  the  other  day,  pleaded 
w  for  a  safe,  middle  course  in  production. 

He  pointed  out  the  dangers  of  swinging  the  pendulum  away  from  spice  and  sex  too  close  to  good¬ 
ness,  sticky  sentiment  and  pollyanna  productions.  In  its  haste  to  satisfy  those  who  are  militant  against 
current  styles  in  pictures,  he  cautioned  the  producers  not  to  forget  a  satisfied  group  of  patrons  who  are 
willing  to  see  pictures  that  reflect  the  times. 

Granted  that  some  studios  have  a  tendency  to  insert  material  that  is  entirely  too  smoker-roomish 
in  tone.  These  gentlemen  should  be  checked. 

But  no  exhibitor  wants  to  exhibit  pictures  that  are  made  for  the  child  mind  and  which  insult  adult 
intelligence.  It  must  be  possible  to  find  a  sane,  middle  course,  one  which  will  satisfy  the  crusaders  and 
yet  protect  the  box  office. 

Let  the  producer  refrain  from  haste.  Let  them  consider  well  the  type  of  product  necessary.  But 
avoid  a  headlong  rush  toward  a  product  that  is  not  desired. 

Comments 


The  Clubwoman 

_  AS  FAR  AS  I  can  see,  the  great  problem 

^  is  to  get  the  producers  to  realize  the  im¬ 
portance  of  this  “Sane  Middle  Course"  and 
also  those  in  Hollywood  who  are  passing  on 
the  pictures.  It  is  true,  we  must  keep  mod¬ 
ern  and  up  to  date  in  all  things,  but  in  so 
doing,  we  do  not  wish  to  lower  the  morale 
of  our  citizens. 

Why  produce  pictures  of  crime  and  im¬ 
morality?  Of  course,  there  are  always 
people  who  will  wish  to  see  them  but  if  such 
pictures  are  not  produced  they  will  go  to 
the  movies  just  the  same  to  be  entertained. 
I  really  feel,  that  if  a  census  were  taken,  that 
the  majority  of  people  would  prefer  higher 
type  pictures.  So,  why  not  cater  to  the 
masses? 

I  was  horrified  to  see  Dillinger  glorified 
on  the  screen  and  from  comments  around 
me,  the  audience  felt  the  same  way.  So  you 
see  the  majority  of  people  want  to  be  enter¬ 
tained  but  they  do  not  wish  to  see  pictures 
in  any  way  degrading.  1  am  in  sympathy 
with  the  motion  picture  industry  and  would 
not  want  to  see  it  discontinued  because  of 
the  people  who  would  be  thrown  out  of  em¬ 
ployment  and  also  because  of  the  pleasure 
that  would  be  deprived  thousands.  But  can’t 
we  do  something  to  eliminate  the  cr.me 
and  the  immoral  side  of  motion  pictures? 

The  Industry  Leader 

q  YOUR  EDITORIAL  urging  a  “sane 
middle  course’’  in  the  production  of 
pictures  is  so  obviously  correct  that  it  needs 
no  comment.  I  do  not  agree  that  the  studios 
are  being  stampeded  into  making  milk  and 
water  pictures  entirely.  Furthermore,  I  think 
the  machinery  of  the  industry,  as  set  up  in 
Hollywood,  will  eliminate,  or  at  least  keep 
to  a  minimum,  displays  of  bad  taste  and  vul¬ 
garity  in  pictures.  At  the  same  time,  1  am 
confident  the  controls  we  have  established 
will  be  exercised  with  common  sense  and 


THE  CLUBWOMAN  is  Mrs.  Gustav  Ket- 
terer,  Philadelphia,  long  active  in  Pennsylvania 
women’s  circles. 

THE  INDUSTRY  LEADER  is  Sidney  R. 
Kent,  president,  Fox  Film  Corporation. 

THE  MOVIE  CRITIC  is  Chester  B.  Balm. 
Syracuse  “Herald,”  Syracuse,  N.  Y.  With  an 


sanity,  which  will  allow  the  production  of 
pictures  reflecting  the  drama  and  comedy  of 
real  life. 

The  Movie  Critic 

_  JAY  EMANUEL’S  excellent  editorial, 
^  “Sane  Middle  Course,’’  suggests  the 
further  thought  that  snap  judgment  has  long 
been  one  of  the  industry’s  evils.  Adoption 
of  a  “stop,  look,  listen’  policy  in  the  long 
ago  would  have  made  not  only  the  present 
decency  drive  unnecessary,  but  would  have 
saved  the  industry  untold  thousands.  Stories 
without  screen  possibilities  would  not  have 
been  purchased.  Circuits  would  not  have 
over-expanded. 

And - but  the  list  of  possible  additions  is 

virtually  endless. 

The  Layman 

IT  WOULD  BE  WELL  for  the  industry 
^  to  consider  the  matured  advice  in  Jay 
Emanuel’s  editorial,  and  to  refrain  from  hasty 
action  prompted  by  either  panic  or  an  “over- 
willingness  to  please.’  While  the  present 
pressure  upon  the  industry  is  unquestionably 
sincere  and  undoubtedly  well-deserved  and 
indeed  even  required  under  the  circum¬ 
stances,  undue  haste  at  this  time  by  the  pro¬ 
ducers  will  inevitably  tend  to  excite  and 
encourage  similar  pressure  from  different 
sources,  which  later  pressure  will  be  neither 
well-intentioned,  nor  desirable.  In  a  hetero¬ 
geneous  country,  such  as  ours,  with  war¬ 
ring  and  diametrically  opposed  cultures  and 
factions,  the  industry  must  be  on  guard 
against  the  pressure  of  militant  groups  be¬ 
cause  if  it  be  not  so  vigilant,  the  public  will 
suffer  from  pictures  that  not  only  do  not 
“offend,”  but  that  cannot  “please.”  Critics 
of  the  industry  must  realize  that  the  themes 
that  appeal  to  a  sophisticated  adult  audience 
are  not  always  the  best  consumption  for 
immature  and  unsophisticated  minds,  nor 
should  that  fact  alone  condemn  them.  As 
we  approach  the  border  line  between  what 


Who  They  Are: 

understanding  of  trade  problems,  he  ranks  in 
the  upper  sphere  when  motion  picture  editors  are 
considered. 

THE  LAYMAN  is  Manus  McHugh,  Phila¬ 
delphia,  member  of  the  Catholic  Church,  and  an 
attorney  associated  with  the  firm  of  Saul. 
Ewing,  Remick  and  Saul,  one  of  the  highest 
ranking  legal  groups  in  the  east. 


should  be  produced  for  adult  consumption 
and  what  should  not  be  produced,  we  will  of 
course  naturally  enter  into  a  highly  debatable 
ground  that  can  only  be  solved  by  the  good 
taste  and  tolerance  of  all  concerned,  and  as 
the  producers  should  heed  well  the  advice 
of  Cardinal  Newman  who  defined  a  “gentle¬ 
man  as  one  who  never  unnecessarily  caused 
another  pain,  the  critics  should  remember 
that  the  same  priest  also  stated  that  there 
could  not  be  a  sinless  literature  about  a  sin¬ 
ful  people. 

The  Churchman 

#  THE  ERRONEOUS  VIEW  seems  to  pre¬ 
vail  that  the  churches  want  dull,  insipid 
movies,  or  that  they  are  against  movies  in 
general.  Quite  the  contrary.  We  are  strong 
believers  in  the  right  kind  of  motion  pictures, 
and  fully  appreciate  their  value.  But  a  pic¬ 
ture  does  not  need  to  be  dirty  to  be  inter¬ 
esting.  Let’s  have  lively,  snappy,  inter¬ 
esting  films  with  the  dirt  eliminated. 

The  Producer 

-  THE  CONTENTION  that  the  film  pro¬ 
ducer  refrain  from  haste  in  following 
the  dictates  of  reformers  was  one  well- 
chosen.  As  a  producer  of  serials,  which  are 
intended  primarily  to  please  the  younger  ele¬ 
ment,  we  find  it  advisable  to  inject  a  certain 
amount  of  adult  appeal  into  this  product. 
We  find,  also,  in  our  production  of  features, 
that  it  is  advisable  to  make  feature  films  with 
the  realization  that  they  are  intended  to  en¬ 
tertain  all  classes  and  all  minds. 

I’ll  grant  that  there  is  such  a  thing  as 
overdoing  the  Pollyanna  sort  of  thing  but  if 
good  taste  is  used  in  making  motion  pictures, 
you  will  find  that  average  audiences  will  not 
object  to  a  picturization  of  life  as  it  is,  if 
that  picturization  is  honest,  forthright  and 
doesn’t  descend  to  a  low  level.  Honesty  in 
film  production  should  be  the  first  essential. 


THE  CHURCHMAN  is  Wilbur  LaRoe,  Jr., 
chairman,  Committee  on  Civic  Affairs,  Wash¬ 
ington,  D.  C.,  Federation  of  Churches,  and  a 
leader  in  the  drive  for  clean  pictures  in  that 
district. 

THE  PRODUCER  is  Nat  Levine,  president, 
Mascot  Pictures  Corporation. 


16 


Sep  1  ’34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


BETTER  TESTED  SUCCESSFUL 

MANAGEMENT  #  ">eas  #  merchandising 


29-Point  Campaign 
Sells  Brown  at  Circle 

Circle  Theatre,  here,  organized  a  29- 
point  campaign  to  put  over  Warners’ 
“The  Circus  Clown,”  with  Joe  E.  Brown. 

Due  credit  should  be  given  to  Manager 
Lester  Stallman  and  assistant  William  Yurasko, 
who  organized  the  different  divisions. 

Here  is  their  resume : 

A  special  teaser  trailer  was  used  one  month 
in  advance  of  playdate. 

20,000  grocer  bags  were  promoted  from  the 
leading  local  merchants.  These  were  then 
stamped  as  was  necessary  and  given  back 
to  merchants  for  distribution  with  purchases. 
This  stunt  had  been  done  before  but  the  bags 
had  been  imprinted.  However,  upon  discover¬ 
ing  that  line  cuts  could  be  duplicated  in  rubber 
stamps,  we  utilized  that  fact  and  as  a  result 
the  stunt  was  repeated  inexpensively  and  was 
more  valuable  since  we  could  stamp  as  many 
bags  as  possible  without  spending  more  than 
the  initial  cost  which  was  equal  to  the  cost  of 
imprinting  only  3,000  bags. 

Two  twenty-four  sheets  were  posted  on  the 
lobby  floor  three  weeks  in  advance.  It  caused 
many  patrons  to  query :  “When  do  you  play 
"The  Circus  Clown?” 

Two  weeks  in  advance  an  exceedingly  desir¬ 
able  empty  store  window  was  utilized  in  this 
manner.  A  four-foot  replica  of  a  Waterman’s 
Fountain  Pen  was  placed  so  that  it  appeared 
as  if  it  were  writing  the  following  copy :  ‘It 
takes  a  pen  this  big  to  tell  you  the  greatness  of 
"The  Circus  Clown7  featuring  that  big¬ 
mouthed  comedian,  Joe  E.  Brown  at  the 
Circle  ...”  I 

Ten  days  in  advance  a  novel  contest  was  in¬ 
augurated  in  a  leading  local  newspaper.  It  was 
announced  that  passes  would  be  given  to  the 
fifty  best  transcriptions  of  the  song  "The  Man 
on  the  Flying  Trapeze”  to  “The  Clown  on  the 
Flying  Trapeze”  with  a  story  in  the  revised 
words  about  Joe  E.  Brown  in  “The  Circus 
Clown.” 

One  week  in  advance  a  peanut  guessing  con¬ 
test  was  begun.  A  display  was  placed  in  store 
window  adjoining  the  theatre.  A  large  glass 
jar  was  filled  with  peanuts.  The  fifty  guesses 
which  were  most  accurate  would  entitle  the 
guessers  to  passes. 

In  conjunction  with  the  peanut  guessing  con¬ 
test  the  other  store  window  was  utilized  by  a 
display  consisting  of  a  panel  4  ft.  x  7  ft.  and 
stuffed  wild  animals.  A  circus  hurdy-gurdy 
was  attached  to  a  motor  and  placed  in  store. 

One  week  in  advance  all  ushers  wore  clown 
costumes  with  an  eight-inch  circle  attached  fur¬ 
nishing  the  title  and  play  dates  of  picture. 

A  mechanical  piano  was  used  in  lobby.  “The 
Man  on  the  Flying  Trapeze”  was  played  by  this. 

On  all  signwork  animal  crackers  and  circus 
clown  crackers  were  glued.  These  were  first 
dipped  in  water  color  and  then  pasted  on  suit¬ 
able  backgrounds. 

10,000  three-color  novelty  heralds  were  used 
and  distributed  by  men  dressed  in  clown  cos¬ 
tumes. 

On  day  before  opening  two  hundred  balloons 
were  released  from  the  roof  of  the  theatre. 
Attached  to  fifty  of  these  were  passes. 

On  night  before  opening  and  on  the  morning 
of  the  play  dates  a  half-hour  radio  program 
was  arranged  with  station  WTEL. 


Monogram  AGFA  Tieup 

Photographic  dealers  all  over  the  country 
are  arranging  special  window  displays  featur¬ 
ing  Monogram  stars  together  with  copy  stating 
the  opportunity  being  offered  entrants  in  the 
Monogram  Agfa  snapshot  contest  for  a  chance 
to  become  stars  in  Hollywood. 

Very  striking  was  a  store  in  Seattle,  where  a 
tie-up  was  effected  with  the  Liberty  Theatre. 

Copy  read :  “Monogram  needs  further  talent 
and  stars  for  their  coming  production  “Women 
Must  Dress.”  For  full  particulars  inquire  in¬ 
side.”  A  line  at  the  base  of  the  display  read : 
“See  all  these  stars  in  Monogram  Pictures  at 
the  Liberty  Theatre.” 

Similar  displays  have  been  arranged  in  every 
city  in  the  country.  Contest  runs  until  Septem¬ 
ber  15. 


Four  sets  of  bumper  strips  were  placed  on 
cars  of  employees  one  week  before  play  dates. 

Special  trailers  were  run  in  four  other  the¬ 
atres  of  the  same  district  two  weeks  in  advance 
of  play  dates. 

On  opening  day  all  children  received  lemon¬ 
ade.  peanuts  and  hydrogen-inflated  balloons. 
This  was  advertised  one  week  in  advance,  in¬ 
cluding  stage  announcements  Saturday  matinee. 

A  barker  was  used  on  front  during  play  days. 

A  large  10  ft.  head  of  Joe  E.  Brown  covered 
the  front  of  the  box-office. 

On  both  sides  of  the  box-office  cutout  head 
“Main  Entrance”  canvas  sections  were  placed  to 
make  the  theatre  entrance  appear  like  entrance 
to  large  sideshow. 

Pennants  were  strung  along  the  entire  square 
including  theatre  and  were  attached  to  elevated 
pillars. 

A  jackass  and  clown  ballyhoo  was  staged  cur¬ 
rently. 

Extending  down  from  each  end  of  marquee 
was  paced  a  trapeze.  Boys  in  clown  suits  per¬ 
formed  various  tricks  and  funny  motions  on 
them  during  the  showing  of  the  picture. 

One  week  in  advance  various  mechanical  dis¬ 
plays  were  used  in  lobby.  Consisted  of  a  four¬ 
sided  display  erected  on  a  turntable,  large  8  ft. 
clown  head  in  which  eyes,  brows,  etc.,  moved 
life-like,  clown  juggling  on  stilts,  and  clown 
juggling  a  jackass  on  his  feet. 

Clown  and  jackass  display:  A  clown  (cut¬ 
out)  appeared  to  juggle  a  jackass  on  his  feet. 
The  clown  was  dressed  in  real  clown  outfit.  A 
mechanical  rabbit  was  placed  so  that  it  ap¬ 
peared  that  as  the  rabbit  moved  his  hands  he 
pulled  the  donkey  by  his  rein  and  teased  him 
with  a  handful  of  hay. 

A  rotating  circus  tent  was  built.  This  con¬ 
sisted  of  a  platform  that  stood  two  feet  from 
the  lobby  floor  with  an  8  ft.  turntable  on  it. 

Clown- juggling-on-stilts  display:  The  clown, 
whose  height  was  eight  feet,  moved  in  rotating 
fashion  about  the  hips.  A  rubber  ball  was 
fastened  on  the  end  of  his  nose  which  made  it 
appear  that  he  was  balancing  the  ball  on  his 
nose. 

A  large  clown  head  eight  feet  tall  was  me¬ 
chanically  arranged  so  that  his  eyes  rotated  in 
cross-eyed  fashion  while  both  eyebrows  moved 
up  and  down. 

Six  authentic  side  show  banners  were  strung 
on  walls  of  lobby  one  week  in  advance. 

Four  polyrotas  were  placed  in  desirable  store 
window  locations.  Consisted  of  revolving  wheels 
on  which  copy  was  painted,  and  at  intervals  the 


wheels  stop  momentarily  and  the  copy  becomes 
legible.  Title  and  copy  was  painted  on  these 
wheels  in  such  a  way  that  during  the  complete 
revolution  of  the  small  wheels  a  trapeze  was 
seen  with  a  man  on  it. 

The  painting  of  this  was  timed  so  that  one 
would  see  a  man  on  trapeze  swing  gradually 
from  left  to  right  and  back  again.  The  trapeze 
was  painted  red  while  the  copy  was  white  on 
black  and  for  that  reason  was  easily  distinguish¬ 
able. 


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the  week,  month  or  year. 


Cocktail  Lounge 
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TURKISH  BATHS 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Sep  1 T  34 


17 


YOU  CAN  SHOO 

Box  Office  Blues 


Increase  your  income 
during 


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BERLO 

VENDING 

COMPANY 

1518  N.  Broad  St.,  Phila. 
POPLAR  6011 

Specializing  in  Candy 
Vending  Equipment 
for  the  Theatre  T  ade! 


NEW  YORK 
SCRANTON 
ALLENTOWN 
PITTSBURGH 


BALTIMORE 

WASHINGTON 

CLEVELAND 

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Sonotone  Equipment 
Offers  Opportunities 

Sonotone  Theatre  Equipment,  which 
enables  the  exhibitor  to  provide  in  con¬ 
junction  with  his  sound,  complete  equip¬ 
ment  so  that  all  may  hear.  Sonotone  is 
science’s  newest  hearing  technique,  intro¬ 
duced  by  the  Sonotone  laboratories.  Sono¬ 
tone  theatre  equipment  has  most  unique 
exploitation  possibilities  among  Leagues 
for  the  Hard  of  Hearing,  Schools  for  the 
Deaf  and  “Stay-at-homes”  in  every  com¬ 
munity. 

Sonotone  theatre  equipment  is  composed  of 
both  air  and  bone  conduction  receivers,  which 
may  be  individually  plugged  into  wired  seats. 
Both  types  of  receivers  have  individual  volume 
controls  attached  to  the  cord  which  terminates 
in  a  standard  radio  plug.  These  receivers  are 
held  by  listeners  on  a  telescopic  handle  or  at¬ 
tached  by  a  headband.  Jack  boxes  are  con¬ 
nected  in  multiple  in  twenty-five  unit  branches, 
terminating  on  the  output  transformer  of  the 
amplifier.  The  amplifier  itself  consists  of  a 
push-pull  power  stage,  usually  45’s  connected 
across  the  outut  of  its  main  amplifier  in  the 
booth  through  an  attenuator.  Approximately 
twenty-five  milliwatts  of  power  are  required 
per  outlet.  The  impedance  of  each  receiver, 
together  with  the  volume  control  is  approxi¬ 
mately  1 1  ohms  at  60  cycles. 

Advantages  of  the  Sonotone  are : 

1.  Addition  of  bone  conduction  receivers, 
which  are  effective  with  about  80%  of  the  hard 
of  hearing. 

2.  Individual  volume  control,  which  enables 
each  lister, er  to  adjust  the  volume  for  his  own 
comfort. 

3.  Light  weight  and  small  size  of  the  receiver, 
making  it  inconspicuous  in  its  use. 


For  “Terror” 

For  “Return  of  the  Terror”  Bob  Miller, 
York,  set  up  a  novel  display  which  attracted  the 
attention  of  everybody  passing  the  theatre.  In 
a  corner  under  the  marquee  he  constructed  a 
miniature  laboratory  and  with  the  use  of  dry 
ice,  in  beacons  filled  with  colored  water  created 
an  air  of  activity,  and  with  a  sign  over  it 
labeled  “Test  Your  Heart,”  he  called  on 
passersby  to  see  the  picture. 


Newsreel  House  Here 

A  Trans  Lux  newsreel  theatre  is  being  built 
at  1519-1521  Chestnut  Street.  House  will  seat 
500  and  will  be  open  January  1.  It  will  be  the 
first  venture  of  its  kind  in  town.  Thomas  W. 
Lamb,  Inc.,  is  architect. 


SERVING  theatre  needs  with 
a  knowledge  of  theatre 
business. 


A  SS 

A 

F 
E 
T 

y 


SSISTING  theatre  owners  with 
a  staff  of  trained  clerks  and 
office  files.  No  missouts. 


REEING  theatre  owners  of  the 
worry  that  they  |may|  have 
forgotten  part  of  their  show. 

FFICIENTLY  operating  the  larg¬ 
est  film  delivery  service  in 
the  world. 


ELETYPE  SERVICE  giving  in¬ 
stant  contact  between  all 
offices. 

IELDING  the  epitome  of 
safety,  service  and  effici¬ 
ency  at  a  minimum  cost. 


HORLACHER 

DELIVERY  SERVICE,  Inc. 

1228  Vine  Street,  Philadelphia 

NEW  YORK 
SCRANTON 
BALTIMORE 
WASHINGTON 


Another  Horlacher  Service 

LARRY  DAILY,  Notary  Public 

The  only  one  on  Vine  Street  .  .  At 
your  service  any  time  during 
business  hours. 


SENTRY  serviced  SAFETY  CONTROL 


Many  theatre  owners  weigh  the  matter  of  Safety  as  it  suits  them. 
PLAINLY  THIS  IS  ALL  WRONG.  In  Safety  there  is  no  half-way  meas¬ 
ure  with  the  Public.  The  Public  would  not  consider  it  safe  if  you  decide 
to  do  without  a  Serviced  Safety  Device  on  your  projectors.  The  Public 
would  think  with  horror  if  you  tried  to  economize  by  buying  Safety  equip¬ 
ment  without  a  service,  and  the  fact  that,  in  your  theatre,  the  Public 
has  not  yet  inquired  as  to  the  measure  of  Safety  that  you  are  giving  them — 
THAT  DOES  NOT  MEAN  THAT  THEY  CAN  BE  DECEIVED. 


SENTRY  SAFETY  CONTROL  CORP. 


10th  ST.  and  ALLEGHENY  AVE. 
PHILADELPHIA,  PENNA. 


Sentry  Safety  Controls  Listed  as  Standard  by  National  Fire  Underwriters  Laboratories 


18 


Sep  1 T  34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Houser  Helps 

William  Houser,  manager,  Strand  Theatre, 
Steelton,  permitted  free  use  of  the  theatre, 
films  and  operators  for  a  benefit  motion  picture 
show  sponsored  on  a  recent  afternoon  and  even¬ 
ing  by  the  Kiwanis  Club  of  Steelton  of  which 
Houser  is  a  member. 


Authentic  Wollaston 

Every  time  Jerry  Wollaston  goes  exploiting 
it  seems  he  gets  into  trouble.  Jerry  prom¬ 
ised  to  admit  free  to  see  Tom  Tyler  in  “Fight¬ 
ing  Hero,”  and  the  third  episode  of  “The  Red 
Rider”  showing  at  the  Victoria,  Harrisburg, 
every  boy  and  girl  appearing  at  the  ticket  office 
in  a  cowboy  or  cowgirl  suit. 

From  inside  the  theatre  came  the  reports  of 
revolver  shots.  Rushing  inside  the  excited  man¬ 
ager  found  several  men  of  the  wide  open  spaces 
shootin’  up  the  house.  Investigation  revealed 
these  fearless  westerners  were  three  of  Jerry’s 
cowboy  guests,  ranging  in  ages  from  7  to  11, 
discharging  cap  pistols. 


Daily  Takes  Houses 

For  the  eightieth  anniversary  celebration  of 
The  Patriot,  daily  morning  newspaper  in  Har¬ 
risburg,  publishers  took  over  the  State  Theatre, 
closed  for  the  summer,  and  the  Victoria,  Wil¬ 
der  and  Vincent  houses. 

With  any  purchase  made  on  the  date  of  the 
shows  at  the  State  and  Victoria  in  any  stores 
participating  in  the  celebration  customers  were 
presented  with  tickets  admitting  them  to  the 
two  theatres. 


Spiffy  Arcadia  Opening 

Preparations  for  the  opening  of  the  Arcadia, 
Wilmington,  called  for  official  opening  with  a 
lot  of  fanfare  at  8.30  P.  M.,  August  31,  with 
Mayor  Speer,  and  other  city  officials  to  talk 
from  the  stage.  WDEL  was  to  broadcast  the 
formalities.  Picture  was  to  be  “Man  With 
Two  Faces.”  Lobby  was  being  dressed  up;  the 
street  in  front  was  being  decorated  with  lights 
and  a  powerful  searchlight  was  to  be  put  in 
play.  A  new  battery  sound  system  was  being 
installed.  The  whole  house  inside  and  out  was 
being  aired,  painted  and  new  carpet  laid. 


Lucerne’s  Cake 

Alhambra  display  on  “Hollywood  Party”  was 
built  around  a  4  foot  square  cake.  Surrounding 
attractions  consisted  of  a  40  by  60  inch  covered 
with  telegrams,  supposedly  sent  to  the  Alhambra 
Theatre  by  the  stars  appearing  in  the  feature, 
expressing  opinion  of  the  picture,  also  a  3- 
sheet  cut-out  display  and  a  larger  placard  read¬ 
ing,  “You^re  cordially  invited  to  a  Hollywood 
Party  at  the  Alhambra  Theatre,  Saturday, 
August  18.”  Display  aroused  a  good  deal  of 
attention  and  comment  and  gave  business  a 
healthy  boost. 

Cake  was  “promoted"  from  a  neighboring 
baker,  who  in  turn  received  advertisement  from 
a  small  card.  D.  Lucente  is  manager. 


years’  experience— 
behind  every  register 


For  50  years  General  Register  Corpo¬ 
ration  and  associated  companies  have 
been  designing  and  building  cash  con¬ 
trol  equipment  for  the  theatre,  carrying 
an  unqualified  two  year  guarantee  on 
all  registers. 

Representation  in  all  key  cities. 


GENERAL  REGISTER 
CORPORATION 

1540  Broadway,  New  York 


Sitter  for  “Navy” 

Lew  Black’s  stunt  at  the  Aldine,  Wilmington, 
for  “Here  Comes  the  Navy”  in  which  he  had  a 
"jolly  sailor”  sitting  in  an  improvised  crows 
nest  at  the  base  of  the  flagpole  of  the  theatre 
from  Monday  until  Friday  is  reported  to  have 
made  the  whole  circuit  "pole  sitting”  conscious. 
Latest  reports  was  that  the  “jolly  tar"  was 
perched  on  top  of  the  Stanley,  Chester. 

“Tar”  had  to  take  some  rough  weather  on 
the  chin  but  he  did  it  like  a  sailor.  He  answered 
telephone  calls,  night  and  day.  In  the  “wee 
hours  it  became  a  fad  of  the  bon  vivants,  both 
male  and  female  to  call  him  up  to  kid  him, 
make  dates,  and  etc.,  but  he  never  failed  to 
put  in  a  good  word  for  the  show.  He  even  had 
a  birthday  “party,”  receiving  cards,  cake,  candy 
and  whatnot.  There  was  good  attendance  all 
during  the  week,  too,  indicating  that  it  must 
have  had  some  effect. 


Kisses  for  “Make  Up'’ 

"Morty”  Levine,  manager,  Grand  Opera 
House,  Wilmington,  put  on  an  unique  lip  print 
contest  for  “Kiss  and  Make  Up”  which  left 
him  with  some  200  cards  bearing  rouge  prints 
of  lips.  He  had  distributed  2,000  cards  bearing 
the  pictures  of  Genevieve  Tobin  and  Helen 
Mack  and  prints  of  their  lips.  Spaces  beneath 
were  for  the  lip  prints  of  the  fair  contestants, 
who  were  to  sign  their  names  and  turn  them 
into  the  box  office.  Those  found  having  lips 
with  prints  similar  to  either  of  the  two  film 
actresses  got  free  tickets  to  the  show. 


George  Jones,  manager,  Loew’s  Parkway, 
ballyhooing  “Treasure  Island,”  put  on  a 
scramble  for  nickles,  dimes  and  pennies  for 
the  benefit  of  a  drove  of  kiddies  in  the  spa¬ 
cious  area  of  the  oil  station  across  the  street. 


THE  FOLLOWING  STAGE  ATTRACTIONS 
WERE  BOOKED  INTO  THE 

STEEL  PIER 

Atlantic  City,  N.  J. 

THE  SUMMER  SEASON  OF  1934 


Rise  of  the  Goldbergs 
Vincent  Lopez  and  Orchestra 
Ken  Maynard  and  Tarzan 

C.  B.  S.  Show  with 
George  Jessel 
Do  Rei  Me 
Charles  Carlisle 
Gypsy  Nina 

Phil  Harris  and  Orchestra 

Spices  of  1934 

Ozzie  Nelson  and  Orchestra 


Guy  Lombardo  and  Orchestra 
Howard  Thurston 
Ted  Lewis  and  Band 
N.  B.  C.  Show  with 
James  Wallington 
Mary  Small 
Three  X  Sisters 
Sisters  of  the  Skillet 

Benny  Davis  and  Gang 
Voice  of  Experience 
Ted  Fio-Rito  and  Orchestra 


BY 


EDWARD  SHERMAN 

INC. 

VAUDEVILLE  AGENCY 


PHILADELPHIA  OFFICE 
REAL  ESTATE  TRUST  BLDG. 
Pennypacker  7595-7596 


NEW  YORK  OFFICE 
MAYFAIR  THEATRE  BLDG. 
Bryant  9-1904-1905 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Sep  1 T  34 


19 


Rothstein  Back 


Nat  Rothstein,  the  man  who  made 
exploitation  history,  is  back  in  activity 
again  with  “Tarzan  in  Guatemala,”  a 
new  Tarzan  presentation  in  which  Edgar 
Rice  Burroughs,  the  author,  is  inter¬ 
ested.  The  picture  is  now  in  produc¬ 
tion  stage  and  looms  as  another  worthy 
member  of  the  “Tarzan”  line.  With 
Rothstein  handling  the  exploitation,  ex- 
hibs  can  look  for  big  things. 

“Dames”  Campaign  Big 
Atlantic  City  Bally 

World  premiere  of  “Dames”  at  the 
Warner,  Atlantic  City,  was  ushered  in 
with  one  of  the  most  elaborate  ballyhoos 
ever  accorded. 

Campaign  was  planned  and  executed  by  Sid 
Blumenstock,  Warners’  advertising  and  public¬ 
ity  chief  for  the  Seashore  Amusement  Co.  The¬ 
atres,  under  the  personal  supervision  of  Her¬ 
bert  Copelan,  Warner  zone  manager. 

Campaign  started  four  days  in  advance  with 
huge  ads  in  the  local  dailies  and  weeklies.  A 
fifty-two  foot  launch,  carrying  a  banner  25x5 
feet  and  reading  ‘‘Dames  Warner  Now,”  plied 
up  and  down  the  beaches  four  hours  daily.  On 
the  beach,  itself,  twenty  boys  were  dressed  in 
old-fashioned  bathing  suits  with  ‘‘Dames  War¬ 
ner  Now”  stenciled  on  their  backs.  Also,  twenty 
rolling  chairs  were  promoted,  and  girls  from 
various  local  night  clubs  rode  in  them — the 
first  five  chairs  carrying  a  large  cutout  letter 
spelling  out  the  title  and  every  other  chair 
carried  four  foot  shield  reading  ‘‘Dames, 
the  National  Sensation,”  and  the  names  of 
the  stars  in  the  picture.  In  the  theatre  lobby, 
a  night  club  band  was  promoted  to  play  for  the 
first  three  nights.  With  them  appeared  a  singer, 
an  accompanist  and  an  announcer  from  station 
WPG.  Ten  thousand  heralds  were  distributed 
through  hotel  desks,  guest  letter  boxes,  beach 
chair  stands,  large  public  garages,  restaurants, 
buses,  etc.  1500  special  heralds  were  made  up 
to  fit  inside  Liberty  magazine  covers.  Forty 
Tidewater  Service  Stations  in  Atlantic  City  and 
its  vicinity  were  posted  with  28x28  signs.  One 
of  the  city's  largest  department  stores  co-oper¬ 
ated  with  a  large  front  window  given  over  to 
a  display  featuring  stories  of  Ruby  Keeler. 


Wilkes  Barre  Mardi  Gras 

Wilkes-Barre  is  going  to  launch  the  fall  and 
winter  theatrical  season  with  a  Mardi  Gras 
Week,  scheduled  September  10,  as  an  annual 
event. 

Co-operation  of  the  newspapers  and  business 
houses  has  been  enlisted. 

Program  called  for  the  selection  of  a  queen 
for  the  carnival. 

Due  to  the  restrictions  that  this  involved 
since  only  store  employes  would  be  eligible, 
leaving  all  other  girls  out,  however,  it  was  de¬ 
cided  to  make  the  contest  general,  with  other 
businesses,  clubs  and  individual  aspirants  eli¬ 
gible  The  stores  will  provide  a  court  for  the 
reigning  royalty. 

A  Personality  Girl  also  will  be  selected  on 
the  basis  of  votes.  The  theatres  and  the  stores, 
who  co-operate,  will  allow  votes  with  admis¬ 
sions  and  purchases. 

One  of  the  big  events  of  the  week,  aside 
from  the  contests,  will  be  the  parade. 

The  Mardi  Gras  will  include  only  the  larger 
central  city  houses  and  will  not  take  in  the 
smaller  suburban  theatres. 


Timely  “Quiet” 

When  William  Houser,  manager,  Strand 
Theatre,  Steelton,  presented  “All  Quiet  on  the 
Western  Front,”  he  demonstrated  he  was  tak¬ 
ing  advantage  of  a  situation  in  a  commendable 
manner.  With  his  advertisement  of  the  picture 
in  Harrisburg  newspapers,  Manager  Houser 
ran  the  following:  “Today  and  tomorrow  we 
present  at  a  time  when  the  whole  of  Europe  is 
seething  with  unrest,  when  threats  and  counter 
threats  of  war  are  the  order  of  the  day,  a  re¬ 
issue  of  the  greatest  war  picture  ever  made, 
“All  Quiet  on  the  Western  Front.” 


For  “Cellini” 

Through  co-operation  with  The  Harrisburg 
Telegraph,  daily  evening  newspaper  in  Harris¬ 
burg,  Samuel  Gilman,  manager  Loew’s  Regent 
Theatre,  Harrisburg,  has  been  able  to  get 
across  a  series  of  excellent  advertising  stunts. 


Godfrey  &  Linder  Here 

Godfrey  &  Linder  have  just  closed  negotia¬ 
tions  for  a  Philadelphia  office.  With  Jan 
Rudow,  they  have  opened  offices  at  1700  Walnut 
Street.  Rudow  will  represent  Godfrey  &  Lin¬ 
der  here. 

Rudow  is  a  well-known  Philadelphia  the¬ 
atrical  man.  Previous  activities  have  included 
vaudeville  bookings  and  also  bookings  for  the 
National  Opera  Company.  Godfrey  &  Linder 
have  also  arranged  to  resume  the  bookings  of 
the  Capitol  Theatre,  Shamokin.  They  also 
arranged  to  book  the  State  Theatre,  Nanticoke. 


Latest  of  these  was  a  classified  ad  contest  on 
“The  Affairs  of  Cellini.”  Prize,  awarded  by 
Manager  Gilman,  was  fifty  pairs  of  guest 
tickets  to  Loew’s  for  the  writers  of  the  fifty 
best  letters  telling  “What  a  Telegraph  ClassL 
fied  Ad  Did  For  Me.” 


PERFECTION 
EFFICIENCY 
FAIR  PRICE 

W HEN  Stanley-Warner  Company,  preparing  for  a 
New  Show  Season,  decided  to  use  the  printed  word  as 
a  direct  contact  betwen  patron  and  theatre,  it  looked 
about  for  a  printing  concern  that  could  do  the  work 
quickly,  efficiently,  at  fair  price  with  no  sacrifice  of 
quality.  That  it  chose  National  Penn  Printing  Com¬ 
pany  is  a  direct  indication  of  the  opinion  it  placed  upon 
us. 

The  Largest  Single  Order 
in  Local  Printing  History 

Thanks  to  huge  presses,  modern  equipment  and  good 
workmanship  in  all  departments,  National  Penn  Print¬ 
ing  Company  was  able  to  turn  out  the  order,  with  many 
changes  for  its  many  theatres,  in  record  time,  a  job  of 
which  it  is  well  proud  and  which  it  completed  without 
sacrifice  of  any  other  work. 

Thanks  io 
Our  Clients 

Through  co-operation  of  all  the  trade,  such  progress 
has  been  made  possible.  For  the  new  season,  we  prom¬ 
ise  the  best  of  everything  at  a  fair  price. 

NATIONAL  PENN  PRINTING  CO. 

1233  Vine  Street,  Philadelphia 

OSCAR  LIBROS  SIMON  LIBROS  AL  BLOFSON 


20 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


1  -Sept. -34 


6-Point  Reviews 


1  ■►Who  made  it  ? 
2 ■►Who's  in  it? 

3  ■►  How  good  is  it  ? 


4  ^  Is  it  family  or  adult  type  ? 

5  *►  What's  it  about  ? 

6 ■►Running  Time? 


CHESTERFIELD 

METRO 

1 

PARAMOUNT 

Green  Eyes 


Family 
Murder  mystery 
- m. 


Chained 


Adult 

Drama 

78m. 


Belle  of  the  Nineties 


Adult 

Melodrama 

75m. 


Shirley  Grey,  Charles  Starrett,  John  Wray,  David 
Manners,  Claude  Gillingwater,  Dorothy  Revier. 

Mystery  murder  story  about  who  killed  the 
girl’s  grandfather.  Fortunately,  there  is  a 
young  novelist  on  the  scene  who  solves  the 
crime.  Picture  contains  some  action,  sets  are 
better  than  usual  inde  and  show  has  angles 
with  which  to  sell.  All  in  all,  however,  it  is 
just  another  mystery  murder  melodrama. 

Estimate:  Usual  mystery  stuff. 


FIRST  DIVISION 


Family 

The  Little  Damozel  C  omedy 

- m. 

James  Rennie ,  Anna  N  eagle,  Benita  Hume,  Al 
Drayton,  Clifford  Heatherley,  Peter  Northcote. 

Pleasant  little  comedy  based  on  the  romance 
between  two  couples.  Or.e  couple  wants  to  get 
married,  but  the  woman  is  entangled  with  a 
young  fellow.  Latter  is  paid  to  fall  in  love  with 
a  cabaret  entertainer,  affections  are  exchanged, 
but  the  entertainer  finds  out  her  lover  was  paid 
to  do  it.  Eventually,  all  the  troubles  are  taken 
care  of. 

Estimate:  Pretty. 


FOX 


Adult 

Pursued  Melodrama 

72m. 

Rosemary  Ames,  Russell  Hardie,  Victor  Jory,  Pert 
Kelton,  George  Irving,  Torben  Meyer. 

This  is  the  one  about  the  cafe  dancer  who 
nurses  the  plantation  hero  back  to  health  after 
he  had  been  struck  down  by  the  mean,  half 
caste  heavy.  Despite  her  past,  love  conquers 
all  and  the  bad  fellow  is  shot  in  the  last  reel. 
Everytbmg  else  is  just  about  what  anyone 
might  think  it  to  be. 

Estimate:  Missout. 


LIBERTY 


School  for  Girls  Melodrama 

73m. 

Sidney  Fox,  Lois  Wilson,  Paul  Kelly,  Lucille  La 
Verne,  Tobby  Wing,  Dorothy  Lee,  Lona  Andre,  Russel 
Hopton,  Barbara  Weeks,  Kathleen  Burke,  Anna  Q. 
Nilsson,  Robert  Warwick,  William  Farnum,  Charles 
Ray,  Dawn  O’Day,  Mary  Foy,  Myrtle  Stedman, 
Helene  Chadwick,  Purnell  Pratt,  Fred  Kelsey,  Harry 
Woods. 

Independent  production  of  the  evils  of  reform 
school  that  will  have  to  rely  on  strong  feature 
Sames  to  sell  the  show.  Story  relates  how  a 
girl  is  sent  up  for  a  crime  she  didn’t  commit. 
A  member  of  the  school  board  falls  in  love  with 
her.  A  murder  is  committed.  She  is  accused 
falsely.  Eventually  she  marries  the  hero.  Piece 
has  a  load  of  names  to  sell  and  that  should 
help  its  grosses. 

Estimate:  Sell  feature  names. 


Joan  Crawford,  Clark  Gable,  Otto  Kruger,  Stuart 
Erwin,  Marjorie  Gateson,  Una  O’Connor. 

Made  to  order  for  the  box  office,  “Chained” 
presents  Crawford  as  the  lass  who  loved  a 
married  man,  goes  away  until  he  could  get  his 
divorce  and  finds  she  loves  someone  else  when 
the  divorce  is  granted.  She  goes  through  with 
the  bargain  but  all  comes  out  all  right  when 
the  last  reel  unwinds.  Combination  of  Craw- 
ford-Gable,  with  Clarence  Brown  directing, 
overcomes  a  weak  story.  Picture  should  do  a 
nice  business. 

Estimate:  No  trouble. 


Family 

Have  a  Heart  Comedy  Drama 

77m. 

Jean  Parker,  James  Dunn,  XJna  Merkel,  Stuart 
Erwin,  Ed  Brophy,  Willard  Robertson,  Paul  Page. 

Sweet,  sugary  tale  of  the  heroine,  a  cripple, 
who  saw  sunshine  through  it  all  and  who  turns 
gloom  into  joy.  “Have  a  Heart"  includes  all 
the  time-worn  angles.  The  heroine  becomes 
a  cripple  on  the  eve  of  her  wedding,  smiles  at 
fate,  a  “Have  a  Heart”  salesman  falls  in  love 
with  her,  he  is  accused  falsely  of  theft,  she 
gives  him  her  operation  money  to  make  good, 
he  misunderstands,  and  at  the  crucial  moment 
she  gets  up  and  walks  after  the  operation’s  suc¬ 
cess  is  in  doubt. 

Estimate:  Decidedly  sentimental. 


Adult 

Iris  March  Drama 

80m. 

Constance  Bennett,  Herbert  Marshall,  Hugh  Wil¬ 
liams,  Mrs.  Patrick  Campbell,  Elizabeth  Allan,  Henrye 
Stephenson,  Lumsden  Hare,  Alec  B.  Francis,  Ralph 
Forbes. 

Here  is  “The  Green  Hat,”  in  modified  ver¬ 
sion,  and  a  show  that  will  have  to  depend  on 
the  Bennett  and  Marshall  draw  to  do  a  good 
business.  Picture  is  definitely  for  the  class 
trade,  with  the  novel  considerably  altered  as  to 
characterizations  and  theme  so  that  present  con¬ 
ditions  could  be  satisfied.  Story  was  a  best 
seller  and  Metro  has  placed  a  good  cast  in  it. 
Definitely,  however,  appeal  is  limited  to  certain 
types  of  houses  whose  patrons  will  compare  the 
movie  version  with  the  book. 

Estimate:  Class. 


Family 

Student  Tour  Comedy 

80m. 

Jimmy  Durante,  Maxine  Doyle,  Charles  Butter- 
worth,  Douglas  Fowley,  Monte  Blue,  Betty  Grable. 

Musical  with  comedy  highlights  about  a 
round-the-world  cruise  that  is  projected  for  the 
box  office  through  the  presence  of  Durante  and 
Butterworth.  Where  the  pair  score,  the  picture 
will  do  likewise.  Otherwise,  it  is  just  a  contri¬ 
bution  to  the  girlv-girly  good  music  list.  Show 
has  some  song  hits  to  sell,  some  good  comedy 
moments  and  a  new  theme  as  well. 

Estimate:  Durante  and  Butterworth. 


Mae  West,  John  Miljan,  John  Mack  Brown,  Roger 
Pryor,  Katherine  DeMille,  James  Donlan,  Stuart 
Holmes,  Harry  Woods,  Ed  Gargan,  Bennie  Baker , 
Warren  Hymer,  Tyler  Brooke,  Duke  Ellington’s 
Orchestra. 

Here’s  the  picture  they  were  all  waiting  for, 
ard  as  far  as  the  box  office  is  concerned,  it  looks 
like  showmen’s  worries  are  over.  The  okayed 
censor  version  is  packed  with  the  entertainment 
that  made  “She  Done  ’Em  Wrong”  and  “I’m 
No  Angel”  dough  shows.  Mae,  as  usual,  is  the 
centre  of  attention,  with  plenty  of  attention 
from  plenty  of  men,  good  songs,  excellent  lines 
and  melodramatic  background  to  boot.  Picture 
won't  offend  anywhere,  and  from  the  looks  of 
things,  should  do  a  sweet  business. 

Estimate:  Swell. 


Mrs.  Wiggs  of  the 

Cabbage  Patch 


Family 
Comedy  Drama 
75m. 


Pauline  Lord,  Zasu  Pitts,  W.  C.  Fields,  Kent  Tay¬ 
lor,  Evelyn  Venable,  Charles  Middleton,  Donald  Meek, 
James  Butler,  Edith  Fellows,  George  Breakston, 
Arthur  Houseman,  Shaw  and  Lee,  Del  Henderson. 

Okay  entertainment  for  family  audiences  and 
especially  for  the  kid  trade,  “Mrs.  Wiggs”  is  a 
fair  transition  of  a  book  into,  a  movie.  Sticking 
to  the  original  rather  faithfully,  show  is  best 
suited  to  the  smaller  towns  where  the  book 
got  its  biggest  attention.  Cast  is  well  chosen, 
with  Fields,  however,  only  contributing  a  small 
bit.  Story  of  a  family  that  lived  in  a  shack  in 
a  patch,  it  has  had  a  tremendous  sale  that 
should  help  the  film. 


Estimate:  Okay  family. 


You  Belong  to  Me  Comedy  Drama 

68m. 

Lee  Tracy,  Helen  Mack,  David  Jack  Holt,  Helen 
Morgan.  Arthur  Pierson,  Lynne  Overman,  Irene 
Ware,  Eddie  Borden,  Wally  Albright,  Rev.  Neal  Dodd. 

Backstage  story  of  a  vaudevillian  who  makes 
a  pal  out  of  a  young  boy  of  seven,  son  of  a 
widowed  mother,  and  who  can’t  go  for  the  sec¬ 
ond  husband,  “You  Belong  to  Me”  is  best  de¬ 
serving  of  attention  because  of  the  performance 
of  David  Jack  Holt,  the  young  son.  He  looms 
as  a  good  b  t,  especially  for  the  neighborhood 
houses  and  audiences.  Lee  Tracy,  his  usual 
self,  turns  in  a  good  performance.  Cast  is  ade¬ 
quate,  story  intriguing.  Picture,  generally,  is 
suitable  family  material. 

Estimate:  Okay  program. 


What  Do  You  Think? 

It  is  the  aim  of  this  publication  to  give  its  readers 
every  possible  service.  Revision  of  the  page  is  an 
attempt  to  offer  a  concise  reviewing  form  that 
will  help  every  exhibitor.  Your  suggestions  and 
oriticisms  are  welcomed.  Write  in  now  and  tell 
u«  whether  you  like  this  or  not. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 

1  -Sept. -34 


21 


RADIO 


The  Fountain 


Adult 

Drama 

83m. 


Ann  Harding,  Paul  Lukas,  Brian  Aherne,  Jean 
Hcrsholt,  Ralph  Forbes,  Frank  Rcicher,  Violet 
Kemble  Cooper,  Sara  Haden,  J.  M.  Kerrigan. 

Triangle  drama,  with  the  background  of  war 
days,  but  too  heavy  for  the  average  audience 
and  no  great  help  to  Ann  Harding.  Book  may 
have  made  an  impression  but  picture  won’t 
cause  any  hurrahs.  While  the  story  has  been 
handled  well,  material  is  of  such  nature  that 
pace  seems  too  ponderous.  Players  do  their 
best  but  are  handicapped.  Generally,  picture 
may  do  its  best  in  smart  houses. 

Estimate:  Heavy. 


WARNERS 


Family 

Big  Hearted  Herbert  Comedy 

60m. 

Guy  Kibbee,  Aline  MacMahon,  Patricia  Ellis,  Helen 
Lowell,  Philip  Reed,  Henry  O'Neill,  Marjorie  Gate- 
son,  Robert  Barrat,  Hale  Hamilton,  Jay  Ward. 

Okay  comedy  about  the  father  who  boasted 
that  he  was  a  self-made  man  who  loved  simple 
ways  and  who  finally  was  put  in  his  place 
when  the  family  goes  him  one  better.  Show  is 
aimed  for  family  audiences  and  Kibbee  turns 
■in  a  delicious  characterization.  Picture  is  ideal 
for  the  smaller  houses  and  can  be  sold  heavily 
on  the  close-to-home  angles. 

Estimate:  Good  for  family  trade. 


Desirable 


Family 
Comedy  Drama 
65m. 


George  Brent,  Jean  Muir,  Verree  Teasdale,  John 
Halliday,  Charles  Starrett,  Joan  Wheeler,  Russel 
Hopton,  Virgiyiia  Hammond,  Pauline  True. 

Programmer  of  an  actress-mother  who  keeps 
her  daughter  hidden  away  until  the  man  who 
thinks  he  loves  the  mother  finds  out  about 
the  daughter  and  eventually  captures  her.  Piece 
doesn't  sound  like  much  but  carries  a  good 
brand  of  entertainment  and  is  of  better  calibre 
than  the  usual  run  of  such  pictures.  Plenty  of 
romance  also  helps  hold  interest. 

Estimate:  Well  played. 


UNIVERSAL 


The  Human  Side  Comedy  Drama 

60m. 

Adolphe  Menjou,  Doris  Kenyon,  Charlotte  Henry, 
Betty  Lawford,  Joe  Cawthorne ,  Reginald  Owen,  Dick 
Winslow,  George  Ernest,  Dickie  Moore. 

Nice  family  entertainment  about  a  producer 
with  a  wife  and  four  kids  whom  he  adores,  but 
who  is  ever  wandering  and  ne’er-do-well  to 
boot.  Interest  centres  around  the  efforts  of  the 
quartet  of  children  to  bring  husband  and  wife 
together.  Picture  has  been  handled  well  for 
sentimental  values  as  well  as  for  laughs  and 
should  shape  up  as  satisfactory  program  enter¬ 
tainment. 

Estimate:  Pleasant. 


STATE  RIGHTS 


Family 

A  Demon  for  Trouble  Western 

60m. 

Gloria  Shea,  Don  Alvarado,  Nick  Stuart,  Walter 
McGrail,  Lafe  McKee,  Jimmy  Aubrey. 

Our  hero  is  wrongfully  accused  of  the  mur¬ 
der  of  the  heroine’s  brother,  but,  fortunately, 
he  is  cleared  of  suspicion  before  he  gets  the 
gal.  As  a  western,  it  shapes  up  okay  and  has 
enough  action  and  plot  twists  to  satisfy  out¬ 
door  fans  in  any  spot. 

Estimate:  Hard  riding. 


Brides  of  Sulu  Travel  Drama 

62m. 

Adelina  Moreno,  Eduardo  de  Castro,  Gregoria 
Tisman. 

Travel  yarn  with  authentic  shots  of  Philippine 
Island  tied-up  with  a  dramatic  story  that  will 
be  best  suited  to  artie  type  of  houses.  Story 
isn’t  any  too  well  told  although  photographic 
phases  overshadow  all  the  other  angles.  Picture 
is  part  silent,  part  sound.  Native  voices  as  well 
as  running  talk  are  included. 

Estimate:  Interesting  in  spots. 


Family 

Ra-Mu  Travel 

60m. 

Adverture  travel  film  showing  trip  through  South 
Seas,  East  Indies,  India,  Africa. 

Well  made  travel  picture  with  running  talk 
that  should  suffice  where  audiences  like  this 
type  of  entertainment.  Locale  shifts  from 
South  Seas  to  Singapore,  Java,  Sumatra,  Cey¬ 
lon,  Bali,  Arabia,  Ethiopia  and  packs  some  in¬ 
teresting  scenes  and  episodes.  Well-edited,  it 
ranks  high  up  in  its  own  sphere. 

Estimate:  Suitable  travel. 


The  Tell  Tale  Heart  Mystery 

51m. 

Norman  Dryden,  John  Kelt,  James  Fleck,  Yolande 
Terrell,  Colonel  Cameron. 

Foreign  made  production  of  Edgar  Allen  Poe 
short  story  that  is  suited  for  the  art  type  of 
houses.  Picture  scores  in  direction,  cutting  and 
photography  and  can  be  made  to  stand  up  as  a 
novelty.  Show  is  of  British  origin,  but  enthu¬ 
siasts  of  the  artie  kind  of  movies  will  get  a 
kick  out  of  it. 

Estimate:  Restricted. 


MASTERPIECE 


The  Oil  Raider  Action  Drama 

65m. 

Buster  Crabbe,  Gloria  Shea,  George  Irving,  Wax 
Wagner,  Emmett  Vogan,  Harold  Minjir. 

Action  drama  of  the  oil  fields  that  should 
do  okay  in  the  action  loving  houses.  Plot  con¬ 
sumes  itself  following  attempts  to  get  posses¬ 
sion  of  an  oil  property  from  the  hero  and  his 
ultimate  success.  Thanks  to  some  fights  and 
the  usual  last  minute  chase,  action  lovers  won’t 
find  complaints. 

Estimate:  ’Twill  do. 


Amazing! 


THINK  OF  IT! 
This  7-pc.  Wine  Set 


Given  Away  with  ONE 
Admission  as  Part  of  Our 
Sensational  32-pc.  Deal  of 


QUALITY 

Premium  Distributors,  Inc. 

“Serving  Exhibitors  from  Coast  to  Coast ” 

HOME  OFFICE: 

1305  Vine  St.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

GENTLEMEN: — Please  send  me  addition¬ 
al  information  regarding  the  above  deal. 

Theatre _ 

City  and  State _ 


22 


Sep  1 T  34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


•  -  -  - 

A  Concise 
National  Survey 

TRADE  IN  REVIEW  » 

Glances  Outside 
the  Territory 

(1 

CODE 

Code  Authority  Will 
Hear  All  Complaints 

Original  idea  whereby  the  Code  Authority 
would  have  had  field  representatives  go  into  the 
hinterlands  and  hear  appeals  on  zoning  and 
other  grievances  is  apparently  in  the  discard, 
with  the  CA  hearing  everything  itself. 

Code  Bodies  Heard 
About  1000  Cases 

It  has  been  estimated  that  more  than  1000 
cases  involving  industry  problems  have  been 
heard  by  the  various  boards  since  the  code 
started.  This  is  in  the  period  beginning  May 
15. 

Indes  to  Work 
With  Breen  on  Seal 

Trem  Carr,  president,  Independent  Motion 
Picture  Producers’  Association,  announced  after 
a  two-  hour  session  of  the  board  of  directors 
that  the  independent  producers  have  agreed  to 
accept  the  Hays  Office  purity  seal,  and  have 
appointed  I.  E.  Chadwick  as  official  representa¬ 
tive  to  sit  with  the  Producers’  Code  Adminis¬ 
tration  on  all  matters  pertaining  to  independent 
productions. 

Statement,  authorized  by  Carr  after  the  meet¬ 
ing  held  in  his  office  at  Monogram,  follows: 

“To  carry  out  a  like  purpose,  as  expressed 
in  Part  2,  Article  VII  of  the  Code  of  Fair 
Competition  for  the  motion  picture  industry,  the 
Motion  Picture  Producers  and  Distributors  of 
America,  Inc.,  and  the  Independent  Motion  Pic¬ 
ture  Producers’  Association  have  agreed  to 
combine  their  strength  to  maintain  right  moral 
standards  in  the  production  of  motion  pictures 
as  a  form  of  entertainment. 

“To  that  end  the  Independent  Producers 
pledge  themselves  to  adhere  to  the  regulations 
promulgated  by  and  within  the  industry  to 
assure  the  attainment  of  that  purpose.  The  need 
of  solidarity  in  this  matter  to  assure  all  or¬ 
ganizations,  public  bodies  and  the  public  of 
the  purpose  herein  expressed,  is  evident.  There¬ 
fore,  that  all  may  know  that  our  industry  can 
and  will  regulate  itself  in  the  public  interest, 
the  Independent  Motion  Picture  Producers’ 
Association,  acting  in  conjunction  with  the 

’  otion  Picture  Producers  and  Distributors  of 
America,  Inc.,  will  from  this  date  have  all  pro¬ 
ductions  of  its  members  bear  the  certificate  of 
approval  issued  by  the  Producers’  Code  Admin¬ 
istration  in  association  with  our  duly  authorized 
representative  I.  E.  Chadwick.'’ 

No  Doubles  Check 
Gratifying  to  Indes 

Decision  of  the  Code  Authority  to  refrain 
from  interfering  in  the  double  feature  situation 
except  to  rule  that  no  penalties  can  be  made  in 
zoning  against  double  feature  houses  indicates 
that  the  CA  will  keep  its  hands  off  the  issue. 
Exhibitors  in  some  parts  of  the  country  are 
working  under  agreements  restricting  doubles, 
but  officially,  there  will  be  no  regulation. 


Protest  Against  Assessments 
May  Lead  to  Changes 

Protests  by  four  producers  and  many  inde  ex¬ 
changes  against  assessments  in  connection  with 
code  financing  may  influence  a  revision  of 
such  charges,  with  financing  to  be  made  on 
gross  business,  instead. 

PRODUCTION 

Knights  of  Columbus 
Urge  Clean  Movie  Fight 

The  K.  of  C.,  Catholic  fraternal  body,  urged 
a  continued  fight  on  vicious  films  that  are  being 
advertised  and  presented  for  the  entertainment 
of  the  public. 

Supreme  Knight  Martin  H.  Carmody  urged 
this  at  the  annual  meeting  in  Detroit. 

Metro  Shows  Big 
Profit  for  12  Weeks 

Metro  turned  in  one  of  the  most  optimistic 
reports  seen  in  a  long  time,  when  the  company 
reported  profit,  for  12  weeks,  of  $1,566,072, 
compared  with  $1,326,827  in  the  entire  fiscal 
year  before.  Loew’s  owns  all  the  common  stock 
of  the  company. 

Increase  was  attributed  to  lesser  overhead, 
paring  of  expenses. 

Paramount  showed  an  earning  of  approxi¬ 
mately  $3,000,000  for  the  second  quarter  of 
1934  before  payment  of  taxes  and  interest  on 
debts. 

Pathe  Exchange,  Inc.,  reports  for  the  six 
months  ended  June  30  net  profit  of  $42,642, 
after  charges  and  interest.  A  plan  of  reorgan¬ 
ization  will  be  voted  September  11. 

Chadwick  Asks  for 
Tariff  Bars  on  Shows 

I.  E.  Chadwick,  inde  producer,  has  asked  that 
exhibitors  seek  Congressional  legislation  against 
foreign  shows  coming  in.  He  say  that  quality 
competition  shouldn’t  be  checked,  but  that  steps 
should  be  taken  to  stop  the  market  from  being 
flooded. 


DISTRIBUTION 

SMPE  Electing 
Tasker  as  Head 

The  Society  of  Motion  Picture  Engineers 
will  elect  Homer  G.  Tasker  as  its  president.  A 
mail  ballot  was  sent  out,  with  only  one  nominee 
for  the  position. 

Lichtman  Plans 
Get  Lots  of  Reaction 

Plan  of  A1  Lichtman,  whereby  the  UA  sales 
chief  asked  for  higher  admissions  through  ex¬ 
hibitor  agreement  as  well  as  higher  rentals, 
received  a  lot  of  attention  in  the  trade.  The 
UA  sales  chief  aims  to  keep  the  business  from 
deteriorating  and  figures  an  admission  check 
will  help. 


Feist  Heads  Motion 
Picture  Club  Group 

Felix  Feist,  sales  manager,  Metro,  is  the  new 
president  of  the  Motion  Picture  Club.  Vice- 
presidents  are  John  W.  Alicoate,  David  Loew, 
Phil  Reisman.  Joe  Brandt  is  treasurer,  with 
Tom  Wiley  and  Arnold  Van  Leer  as  executive 
secretaries. 

Directors  include  Will  H.  Hays,  Jack  Cohn, 
Herbert  Yates,  Adolph  Zukor  and  Carl 
Laemmle,  Sr. 

The  club  is  the  A-l  gathering  of  motion  pic¬ 
ture  executives  in  the  country. 

EXHIBITION 

MPTOA  Takes  Two 
California  Units 

MPTOA  has  expanded,  taking  in  the  Inde¬ 
pendent  Theatre  Owners  of  Northern  Cali¬ 
fornia,  Morgan  Walsh,  president,  and  Asso¬ 
ciated  Exhibitors,  Inc.,  of  Los  Angeles.  Mean¬ 
while,  inde  groups  are  springing  up  in  all 
parts  of  the  country,  according  to  report. 

Business  Pickup  Seen 
In  All  Parts  of  Country 

That  business  has  taken  a  decided  upturn, 
especially  in  the  first  runs  where  the  fall  hits 
are  beginning  to  appear,  is  evident  from  a  sur¬ 
vey  of  business  conditions.  With  a  fair  weather 
period  of  more  than  usual  summer  duration, 
exhibitors  experienced  a  better  return  than 
usual  at  the  box  offices.  Labor  Day  expected 
to  mark  the  real  turning  point. 

MPTOA  Getting  Set 
For  Legislature  Battles 

With  legislatures  certain  to  try  to  penalize 
the  theatres  when  tax  matters  come  up, 
MPTOA  is  keeping  its  eye  on  all  develop¬ 
ments,  in  the  hope  of  protecting  its  member 
units.  A  brisk  legislative  season  is  expected. 

Exhibitors  Ask  End 
of  Premium  Votes 

Trade  reports  have  exhibitors  asking  an  end 
to  the  clause  in  the  code  which  allows  for  a 
vote  on  premiums.  Sentiment,  in  some  sec¬ 
tions,  seems  to  be  against  this  regulation. 

No  big  cities,  except  Kansas  City,  have  gone 
on  record  against  premiums. 

Exhib  Groups  Ask 

Members  to  Contact  Legislators 

That  exhibitors  make  a  point  of  keeping  in 
close  contact  with  the  state  and  national  repre¬ 
sentatives  from  their  district  is  requested  by 
all  exhibitor  groups. 

Inasmuch  as  the  industry  is  certain  to  be  the 
subject  of  plenty  of  attack  in  the  new  season, 
such  contact  is  a  necessity. 

Race  Between  Allied 
and  MPTOA  Apparent 

With  the  MPTOA  announcing  new  acquisi¬ 
tions  and  Allied  asking  co-operation  from  un¬ 
affiliated  independent  groups,  it  appears  as  if 
there  will  be  plenty  doing  in  the  organization 
field. 

Allied  met  at  Atlantic  City,  with  eastern 
groups  in  attendance,  with  Abram  Myers  de¬ 
livering  an  address  in  which  he  asked  for  the 
exhibitors  to  become  conscious  of  their  strength. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Sep  1  ’  34 


23 


Heard  In 

WINE  STREET 

DAVE  MOLLIVER  claims  he  has  a  swell 

line  of  Streimer-Ad  Service  premiums  for  ex- 
hibs  to  look  at . Fresh  back  from  the 

READY 

Jersey  Allied  convention,  where  he  conferred 
with  his  boss,  Charlie,  he  has  almost  twenty 

REFERENCE 

Plenty  of 

different  deals  for  exhibitors  to  gaze  at.  .  .  . 

EACH  COMPANY  LISTED  IS  AN 

New  Product 

His  offices  with  Metropolitan  printing,  are  being 

AUTHORITY  IN  ITS  FIELD  AND 

fixed  up  for  scrutiny  of  all  exhibitors.  .  .  . 
Some  of  the  sets  look  good. 

IS  RELIABLE  AND  TRUSTWORTHY 

W.  J.  PRATT  is  the  Gaumont  British  repre¬ 
sentative  here  now.  .  .  .  Dan  Heenan  hold.ng 
down  the  fort  at  Peerless  now  that  brother  Bill 
is  operating  a  quartet  of  houses.  .  .  .  Equity 
exchange  starting  soon.  .  .  .  Opening  of  the 
new  Broadway,  Camden,  attended  by  lots  of 
film  folk.  ...  A  dinner  preceded  the  opening. 
.  .  .  Martin  B.  Ellis  got  a  lot  of  good  wishes. 


JIM  CLARK,  Horlacher  executive,  proudly 
displays  an  article  about  the  Horlacher  sys¬ 
tem  in  this  month’s  “Commercial  Car  Jour¬ 
nal.”  .  .  .  Titled  “835,000  Miles — Three  Road 
Failures,”  it  tells  the  history  of  Horlacher’s 
and  the  problems  that  arise  in  delivery  of 
film.  .  .  .  Bill,  Jim  and  Tom  all  come  in  for 
a  big  hand. 


HERB  GIVEN  announces  that  he  has 
signed  up  the  Kermit  Maynard-James  Oliver 
Curwood  series  of  westerns  for  distribution. 
.  .  .  The  8  pictures  will  have  American  red- 
blooded  stories,  it  is  averred.  .  .  .  First  one 

will  be  ready  shortly.  .  .  .  Ben  Kassoy  was 

busy  at  the  Jersey  Allied  convention,  making 
the  exhibitors  Quality  premium-conscious. 
.  .  .  He  certainly  knew  how  to  attract  the 

theatremen. 

SAM  ROSEN  elatedly  showed  a  telegram, 
from  Ed  Golden,  Monogram,  plugging  “Girl  of 
the  Limberlost.”  .  .  .  When  the  Frolic  opened, 
Monogram's  “Shock"  was  the  attraction.  .  .  . 
Sam  also  thinks  First  Division's  new  series  of 
Western  Electric  shorts  are  honeys.  . 
Thinks  highly  of  "Happy  Landing,”  “Green 
Eyes”  and  other  recent  releases.  .  .  .  FD  is 
going  places,  he  says. 

JOE  ENGEL,  U  salesmanager,  reports  that 
the  Jimmy  Grainger  drive  has  been  extended 
a  bit  so  don’t  forget  to  give  plenty  of  dates. 
.  .  .  Philly  has  been  coming  along  nicely  in 

the  drive,  thanks  to  the  good  line  of  shows. 
.  .  “One  More  River”  is  dated  into  the 

Stanton,  “Romance  in  the  Rain”  for  the 
Earle. 

JOHN  S.  WOODROW  has  taken  the 
Manor,  Croydcn.  .  .  .  Paul  Gotshall  has  the 
Neptune,  Richland.  .  .  .  Clint  Weyer,  Theatre 
Underwriters,  Inc.,  a  visitor  in  town.  .  .  .  Mor¬ 
ris  Nunes  and  Harry  Swerdlow,  premium  men, 
also  popped  into  the  street.  .  .  .  Pop  Korson 
feeling  a  lot  better.  .  .  .  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dave 
Miller,  well  known  to  the  street,  visiting  at  AC. 

BEVERLY  GRIFFITH,  formerly  a  Vine 
Streeter,  is  coming  back  to  this  country 
after  three  and  a  half  years  in  China  for  Fox. 
.  .  .  He  sends  regards  to  all  of  his  friends, 

also  from  Ralph  Binns,  who  is  with  Warners. 
.  .  .  Beverly  says  three  and  a  half  years  is 

a  long  time  in  anybody’s  language  and  is 
anxiously  awaiting  the  boat  to  bring  him 
back.  .  .  .  Clarence  Hexter  dropped  down 

to  Williamstown,  North  Carolina,  for  a  two 
weeks’  vacation.  .  .  .  Morris  Wax  also  hop¬ 
ped  up  north  for  a  spell. 

LOU  LEISER  hopped  to  Universal’s  Albany 
office  where  he  is  selling.  .  .  .  John  Hendrick 
back  from  vacation.  .  .  .  Horse  back  riding 
still  popular  pastime.  .  .  .  And  the  femmes 
are  being  intrigued  by  it  as  well.  .  .  .  Bill 
Porter  issued  “Tips,”  which  contains  useful, 
miscellaneous  information. 


FOR  SALE 
20-40  Hertner  Generator 

ALMOST  NEW  Make  an  Offer 
Doris  Theatre  .  .  Philadelphia 


MASCOT'S  FIRST  EXPLOITATION 
SPECIAL  “Young  and  Beautiful  ’  had  its 
world  premiere  August  26  at  the  Steel  Pier, 
Atlantic  City.  .  .  .  Picture  was  booked  direct 
by  A.  Lucchese,  president,  Gold  Medal  Film 
Company.  .  .  .  An  intensive  publicity  cam¬ 

paign  was  planned  by  Eli  AT  Orowitz,  publicity 
director.  .  .  .  A1  Sherman,  Mascot  publicity 
director,  aided  in  the  publicity  campaign. 

GOLD  MEDAL  is  all  set  for  the  new  season. 
.  .  .  Announcement  comes  soon.  ...  In  addi¬ 
tion,  the  six  ComiColors  are  completed  and  are 
in  the  exchange.  .  .  .  Mascot’s  “Young  and 
Beautiful"  had  a  terrific  opening  at  the  shore, 
with  the  Pier  reporting  most  of  the  patrons' 
attention  centred  on  the  picture.  .  .  .  Nat 

Levine,  Mascot  president,  was  present  with  A1 
Sherman,  ad  and  publicity  director.  .  .  .  Also 
Jerry  Kessler.  .  .  .  Mike  Katz  was  down.  .  .  . 
They  all  visited  Tony  Lucchese,  who  is  conval¬ 
escing  there.  .  .  .  New  serial  from  Mascot 

starts  September  8. 

MASTERPIECE'S  “Mutt  and  Jeff7  series 
is  ready  for  dating.  .  .  .  The  color  is  said  to  be 
very  good.  .  .  .  “The  Oil  Raider  ’  is  also 

available  for  booking. 

MISS  VIOLA  PORRECA  back  from  Wild¬ 
wood  vacation.  .  .  .  Other  U  news  includes 
Miss  Marion  Mellon  touring  the  midwest.  .  .  . 
Miss  Mary  Farroni  marrying  September  22. 
.  .  .  Hilda  Harris  married  12  weeks  Sep¬ 

tember  2. 

RAY  DUPORT,  General  Register  repre¬ 
sentative  here,  hopped  to  New  York  to  attend 
a  dinner  to  Thomas  P.  Drew,  recently  appointed 
vice-president  and  general  manager,  General 
Register  Corporation.  .  .  .  Many  GR  execu¬ 
tives  and  friends  were  there.  .  .  .  GR  has  big- 
plans  for  the  future. 

JOHN  GOLDER  is  enthusiastic  over  “To¬ 
morrow’s  Children.”  .  .  .  State,  Reading, 

did  a  whale  of  a  business  with  it.  .  .  .  Open¬ 
ing  day  was  terrific. 

MIKE  LANDOW  can  now  be  found  in 

York . He  moved  up  there  last  week.  .  .  . 

Joe  Leon  plenty  busy  these  days  making  trade 
Universal  conscious. 

ZONE  MANAGER  SCHLESINGER  had  a 
sore  back.  .  .  .  From  too  much  work.  .  .  . 
RKO  vice-president,  Ned  Depinet,  sends  out 
encouraging  letters  in  “The  Gay  Divorcee,” 
which  must  be  some  stuff.  .  .  .  Mrs.  Ben 

Harris,  wife  of  the  Masterpiece  booker,  was 
seen  sewing  baby  garments.  .  .  .  Ask  Ben. 

JOE  FELDMAN,  Earle  impressario,  was  ill 
for  11  days.  .  .  .  Now  feels  better.  .  .  .  He 
hadn’t  been  right  for  about  four  months,  but 
is  actively  on  the  job  directing  the  big  fall 
splurge.  .  .  .  All  S-W  houses  going  in  for 
new  show  season  trailers. 


AIR  CONDITIONING 


T 


kIPHOON 

CONDITIONING  CO. 


A'*C 


COOLING 

VENTILATING 


BLOWERS  -  FANS 
AIR  WASHERS 

OCO  Woe*  OAth  St  Noui  Ynrlr 


ARCHITECT 

THEATRE  DESIGN 

Remodeling  »  Building 

LATEST  COMPLETED 

NEW  BROADWAY  COLONIAL 

Camden,  So.  Philly 

New  Jersey  Penna. 

DAVID  SUPOWITZ 

REGISTERED 

ARCHITECT 

246  S.  15th  St.,  Phila.,  Pa.  Pennypacker  2291 


BUSINESS  BROKER 


THEATRES  WANTED 

Philadelphia,  Up-State,  New  Jersey  and  Delaware 

Cash  no  object  if  priced  right 

Our  Dealings  Are  Strictly  Confidential 

M.  H.  GOODIS,  Inc.,  1201  Chestnut  St. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 


CHAIRS  (used  theatre) 


LARGEST  DEALERS 
IN  USED  CHAIRS 

Re-Setting  Re-Upholstering 

Re-Conditioning 

"Servastone”  for  cracked  concrete 
floors 

Parts  for  all  chairs  Slip  Covers 

ALLIED  SEATING  COMPANY 

358  W.  44th  St.,  New  York,  N.  Y. 


DECORATIVE  GLASS 


We  specialize  in  GLASS  for  Theatres 

specify:  VARICOLITE 

See  the  new  mirror  booth  at  the 
IRIS  THEATRE,  Kensington  and  Allegheny 
Write  for  particulars  and  samples 

M.  KRAKOVITZ  AND  SONS,  CO. 

4TH  AND  MORRIS  STREETS,  PHILA. 
Dewey  8600  Main  2301 


DRAPERIES 


The  Larger  and  Greater — 

NOVELTY  SCENIC  STUDIOS 

- INC. - ^ 

INTERIOR  DECORATIONS  :  DRAPERIES 

SCENERY  :  ACCOUSTICAL  TREATMENTS  :  RIGGING 

611-625  W.  43rd  St.  New  York,  N.  Y. 


24 


Sep  1’34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


BETWEEN  THE  PARAGRAPHS 

_ _ _ _ _ _ 


EXHIBITORS  TAKE  “MISSOURI” 

ATTITUDE  ON  FOREIGN  SHOWS 

American  exhibitors  can  prepare  to  receive  during  the  coming 
season  more  English  and  foreign  pictures  than  ever  before  in  the  busi¬ 
ness’  history.  What  will  be  the  calibre  of  the  films?  Will  audiences 
who  are  fearful  of  a  decided  English  accent  and  nature  of  story  turn 
toward  the  new  product  with  a  friendly  eye?  Can  the  new  brand  of 
pictures  succeed  where  others  have  failed? 

Those  are  some  of  the  questions  that  are  being  asked. 

Plans,  on  paper,  look  auspicious.  American  stars  are  promised, 
international  productions  are  assured.  Some  look  favorable.  The  ex¬ 
hibitor  can  only  wait  to  see  what  the  returns  will  be  at  the  box  office. 
Already,  there  are  some  fears  that  the  market  will  be  flooded  with 
inferior  pictures.  I.  E.  Chadwick,  speaking  recently,  declared  that 
no  one  could  fear  quality  competition  from  abroad,  but  rather  than  let 
a  flock  of  inferior  pictures  come  in,  Congress  should  put  up  tariff 
barriers  similar  to  those  erected  in  foreign  lands.  Chadwick  asks 
exhibitor  help  to  get  Congressional  action. 

The  exhibitor,  unfortunately,  looks  upon  such  a  request  with  that 
lethargy  which  usually  dominates  the  business.  He  feels  that  more 
competition  will  help  the  business.  If  more  pictures  come  in,  he  thinks, 
it  will  give  him  a  greater  selection.  If  they  are  good,  they  will  spur 
on  domestic  producers.  If  they  are  bad  they  will  automatically  take 
care  of  themselves. 

LAST  YEAR’S  PERCENTAGE 
LESSON  REMEMBERED  BY  DISTRIBS 

A  lot  of  companies  who  sold  on  straight  percentage  last  year  have 
changed  their  minds.  This  season,  more  deals  at  flat  prices  are  being 
secured  by  the  outfits  in  question  with  the  result  that  a  more  sub¬ 
stantial  gross  is  expected. 

Exhibitors  won’t  squawk  at  this,  if  they  feel  that  a  couple  of  hits 
may  develop  on  the  program.  The  trouble  is,  most  contracts  allow  the 
distributors,  when  a  hit  arises,  to  pull  it  out  and  rewrite  at  their  own 
terms. 

HARRISON  POINTS  OUT 
CANCELLATION  EVASIONS 

Pete  Harrison,  who  is  ever  a  watchdog  for  the  interests  of  the 
exhibitors,  recently  came  out  in  an  attempt  to  show  that  companies 
were  evading  the  intent  of  the  cancellation  provision  in  the  code. 
Harrison  analyzed  all  major  contracts  and  in  most  cases  tried  to  prove 
that  when  an  exhibitor  cancels,  in  accordance  with  code  provisions, 
the  distributor  retains  the  right  to  shift  the  contract  so  that  he  is  pro¬ 
tected  on  his  higher-allocated  pictures. 

Harrison,  incidentally,  was  one  of  the  strongest  boosters  for  the 
code.  If  he  keeps  on  finding  flaws  in  its  make-up,  however,  he  may 
withdraw  his  support,  a  move  that  might  have  serious  consequences. 

NEW  SEASON  HITS  GIVE 
SOMETHING  TO  RAVE  ABOUT 

There  is  no  question  but  that  the  fall  line-up  is  of  sock  calibre. 
Briefly,  some  of  the  big  numbers  are:  “One  Night  of  Love,”  “Broad¬ 
way  Bill,”  Columbia;  “The  Cat’s  Paw,”  “Servant’s  Entrance,”  Fox; 
“British  Agent,”  “Dames,”  Warners;  “One  More  River,”  Gift  of  Gab,” 
Universal;  “Cleopatra,”  “A  Belle  of  the  Nineties,”  “Scarlet  Empress,” 
Paramount;  “Down  to  Their  Last  Yacht,”  “The  Fountain,”  Radio; 
“Cellini,”  “Drummond,”  “Last  Gentleman,”  United  Artists;  “Treasure 
Island,”  “Barrets  of  Wimpole  Street,”  “Chained,”  Metro;  with  the 
indes,  “Girl  of  the  Limberlost,”  Monogram;  “Scarlet  Letter,”  Majestic, 
and  “Young  and  Beautiful,”  Mascot,  also  doing  their  share. 

HOBART  MANN. 


Catch 

them 

WHEN 

THEY'RE 

"SHOW 

SHOPPING” 


Nowadays,  people  shop  for  amuse¬ 
ments.  They  know  what  movie 
they  want  to  see.  They  know 
what  star  they  want  to  see.  And 
in  Philadelphia,  they  do  their 
shopping  in  The  Record’s  Amuse¬ 
ment  Directory. 

This  first  and  only  complete 
amusement  guide  in  Philadelphia 
reaches  200,000  people  daily, 
300,000  on  Sunday.  For  only  30 
cents  a  day  you  can  tell  them 
who’s  playing  in  what  at  your 
theatre.  A  longer  listing  costs 
but  15  cents  a  line  more. 


The  RECORD 

Amusement  Directory 


offers  you  the  most  economical 
form  of  advertising  ever  presented 
to  Philadelphia  theatre-owners. 
Today  it  carries  the  listings  of 
most  theatres  in  the  Philadelphia 
district.  Does  it  carry  yours? 
If  not,  you’re  missing  an  un¬ 
equalled  opportunity  to  place  your 
attraction  before  actual  amuse¬ 
ment  buyers  at  the  very  moment 
when  they  are  choosing  their 
amusement.  To  insert  your  ad, 
just  call 


PHILADELPHIA 

RECORD 

CLASSIFIED  DEPARTMENT 

i  WALNUT  2300 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Sep  1 T  34 


25 


Around  the  Circuit 

with 

STANLEY-WARNER 

_ By  Harry  Goldberg - 

NEW  BONUS  QUARTER  gets  under  way 
September  1.  .  .  .  Zone  Manager  Schlesinger's 
fondest  hope  is  to  have  the  boys  in  the  field 
participating  100  per  cent.  .  .  .  Boyd  got  a 
corking  plug  for  “Cleopatra"  through  an  an¬ 
nouncement  tie-in  with  the  recent  Borden  coast- 
to-coast  program  “45  Minutes  from  Holly¬ 
wood.”  .  .  .  Local  station,  WCAU,  announced 
the  Boyd's  re-opening.  .  .  .  Personal  appear¬ 
ance  of  Cecil  B.  DeMille,  Penn  A.  C.,  during 
film’s  engagement  got  additional  publicity  for 
“Cleo.”  .  .  .  Gimbel’s  store  contributed  window 
display  with  four  department  tie-up,  plugging 
“Cleo”  through  costume  jewelry,  cinema  shop, 
sandals,  and  Max  Factor  beauty  products.  .  .  . 
Close  scrutiny  is  being  given  all  advertising 
matter.  .  .  .  New  Show  Season  started  last 
week  in  all  Warner  theatres.  .  .  .  Heralds, 

trailers,  lobbies,  announcing  it  to  the  public. 
.  .  .  “Here  Comes  the  Navy”  breaks  in  the  key 
run  spots  over  Labor  Day  week-end.  .  .  .  Addi¬ 
tion  of  western  features  to  Saturday  kiddie  pro¬ 
grams  is  expected  to  boost  juvenile  attendance 
more.  .  .  .  Fine  campaigns  executed  for  “Cir¬ 
cus  Clown”  got  a  merry  echo  at  the  neighbor¬ 
hood  box-offices.  .  .  .  Jack  Flynn,  assistant 
zone  manager,  has  worked  out  a  comprehensive, 
practical  guide  to  proper  picture  analysis  and 
advertising  for  the  Philadelphia  zone.  ...  It 
covers  all  sales  angles  so  the  field  men  won't 
overlook  any  bets.  .  .  .  Manager  Larry  Graver 
(Stanley)  got  plenty  of  attention  for  “Treasure 
Island”  with  the  float  that  traversed  the  center 
city  sector  and  the  key  run  vicinities.  ...  It 
was  a  large  boat,  rigged  and  mounted  on  a 
trailer.  .  .  .  With  large  cut-out  heads  of  Beery 
and  Cooper  and  an  antique  treasure  chest.  .  .  . 
Loud  speakers  were  turned  on  in  the  outlying 
districts.  .  .  .  “Treasure  Island”  offered  nat¬ 
ural  tie-up  with  Free  Library  and  branches.  .  .  . 
Bookmarks  listing  pirate  and  adventure  stories 


J.  D.  Williams  Passes 

A  veteran  passed  when  J.  D.  Williams,  or¬ 
ganizer  of  First  National  Pictures,  died.  He 
was  a  leading  figure  in  distribution  and  pro¬ 
duction  in  this  country.  His  activities  were 
world  wide,  and  recently  he  had  organized 
J.  D.  Williams  Associates  in  New  York. 

His  funeral  was  attended  by  leaders  in  the 
film  world. 

His  last  release  here  was  “The  Viking,” 
handled  by  Masterpiece. 


were  distributed  to  thousands  of  readers.  .  .  . 
“Man  With  Two  Faces”  being  sold  in  some 
localities  as  melodrama,  capitalizing  on  past 
“tough”  characterizations  of  Robinson.  .  .  . 
In  other  spots  the  romantic  angle  is  emphasized. 

TOM  MANGAN  (Stanley,  Chester)  re¬ 
ports  good  results  with  “live”  list  of  readers 
actively  borrowing  books  from  local  circulat¬ 
ing  libraries.  .  .  .  Mangan  mails  them  pos¬ 

tals  plugging  shows  based  on  popular  novels. 
.  .  .  Joe  Minsky  (Felton)  tied  up  neighbor¬ 

hood  merchants  for  co-operative  herald  on 
“Rothschild.”  .  .  .  Manager  Murdock  (Stan¬ 
ley,  Camden)  worked  unique  tie-up  to  plug 
“Navy.”  .  .  .  Had  boat  from  Marine  Term¬ 
inals  plying  up  and  down  Delaware  bally- 
hooing  picture  with  huge  banners.  .  .  .  Got 

official  O.K.  to  banners  15  blocks  along 
Broadway,  main  stem  of  Camden,  for  en¬ 
gagement  of  “Navy.”  .  .  State  (West 

Philly)  promoted  Life  Saver  mints  for  give¬ 
away  to  kiddies  on  “Navy.”  .  .  .  Ben  Blum- 
berg  posted  “Navy”  announcements  on  bulle¬ 
tin  boards  and  in  recreation  halls  of  Navy 
Yard  in  advance  of  the  Broadway  showing 
and  extended  invitation  to  Yard  officers  to 
attend  opening  show.  .  Les  Stahlman 

(Circle)  promoted  2000  bags  of  candy  kisses 
for  “Navy”  giveaway.  .  .  Attached  tag 

read  “Here’s  a  Kiss  from  the  Navy.”  .  .  . 

Marty  Goldenberg’s  mechanical  rocking  gun¬ 
boat  got  plenty  of  attention  for  “Navy”  at  the 
Colonial.  .  .  .  John  Roach  (Ardmore)  won 
the  low  net  prize  at  the  recent  Warner  Club 
golf  tournament  at  Valley  Forge.  ...  A  29 
handicap  helped  reduce  a  gross  score  of  101. 


National  Penn  Scores  with  Record 

Order;  New  Plant  Nearly  Finished 


Stanley- Warner  Chooses  Organiza¬ 
tion  to  Complete  Outstanding  Job 

What  is  regarded  as  the  largest  single 
order  of  printing  placed  by  any  printing 
company  in  many  years  has  been  received 
and  delivered  in  record  time  by  the  Na¬ 
tional  Penn  Printing  Company,  Philadel¬ 
phia  and  Washington. 

Announcement  of  the  completion  of  this 
record  task  came  from  Messrs.  Simon  and 
Oscar  Libros  and  A1  Blofson,  National  Penn 
executives,  this  week. 

The  order,  which  ran  into  several  figures,  re¬ 
volved  around  the  New  Show  Season  campaign 
of  Stanley-Warner  and  marked  a  peak  step  in 
the  exploitation  and  advertising  plans  of  that 
organization. 

When  Stanley-Warner  first  evolved  its  plans 
for  the  huge  bombardment  of  printing  from 
theatre  to  customer,  it  looked  around  for  a 
plant  that  could  not  only  take  care  of  the 
number  of  changes  in  the  record  run  for  each 
theatre,  but  also  wanted  to  insure  a  quality  of 


printing  which  would  reflect  well  upon  the  repu¬ 
tation  of  each  individual  theatre.  In  other 
words  S-W  wanted  a  perfect  job,  speed  and 
efficiency. 

National  Penn,  in  the  midst  of  rebuilding  and 
expansion,  took  the  order  in  stride  and  is  proud 
to  have  received  from  many  Stanley-Warner 
managers  and  executives  plenty  of  commenda¬ 
tion  and  praise  for  the  manner  in  which  the 
job  was  completed.  The  remarks  were  highly 
complimentary  and  reflected  the  effort  and  hard 
work  National  Penn  put  in  to  insure  the  quality 
and  workmanship  of  the  job. 

Outside  of  the  fact  that  the  order  was  the 
largest  single  one  for  any  local  printer.  National 
Penn  thinks  such  a  step  to  be  an  indication  of 
confidence  on  the  part  of  such  a  large  circuit 
in  the  business  of  the  future.  With  the  entire 
circuit  going  in  for  plenty  of  circularizing  and 
ballyhoo,  other  theatres,  too,  National  Penn  be¬ 
lieves,  will  enter  into  a  similar  trend  of  mind 
and  become  ballyhoo  and  printing  conscious. 

With  about  a  month  more  to  go  on  the 
remodelling  of  the  plant.  National  Penn,  at  the 
present  time,  is  equipped  to  take  care  of  the 
biggest  and  smallest  jobs.  New  presses,  new 
ideas  all  are  available  for  the  use  of  theatremen 
everywhere. 


FLAGS  AND  BANNERS 


R  Theatre  Marquee  Valances 
E  Wall  Banners 

IV  Net  and  Road  Banners 

X  Attractive  Colors — Sewed  or  Painted 

\  Letters — Featuring  All  Shows, 

w  Burgees — Pennants — Decorations 

Above  Also  Sold  Outright.  Order  Direct  From 

NATIONAL  FLAG  &  BANNER  CO. 

251-253  N.  13th  St.  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


INTERIOR  DECORATORS 


Theatrical 

Decorating 

OUR  SPECIALTY 
Phone 

Rittenhouse  7828 
2315  Walnut  St. 
Philadelphia 


'ARMANDOTRICCI 

TltUII 

DECORATOR 


20 1- N-B  ROAD  •ST- 


— -BIT- 3573 


J.  SEIDMAN  :  A.  WEINBERG  :  D,  BRODSKY 

Paramount  Qecorating  (Jo.,  |nc. 

STAGE  SETTINGS  :  DRAPERIES 

CARPETS  :  PAINTING  AND  DECORATING 

311  North  13th  Street _ Philadelphia,  Pa. 


LIGHTING  FIXTURES 


VOIGT 


*»  NEW 

DECORATIVE  LIGHTING 

FOR  YOUR  THEATRE 

DRINKING  FOUNTAINS  DIRECTION  SIGNS 


I2™£r  Montoomery  Ave.  Phila.Pa. 


MARQUEES  AND  SIGNS 


c££eLecTRic  siGn  co 

Jov  1133-  50"’  LOnG  ISLRI1D  cuy  n.y. 
BUILDERS  OF  FIEOn  &  ELECTRIC 


ESTimRTGSe  SKETCHES  CHEERFULiy  GIV6n° 


PREMIUMS 


QUALITY  1*11  LM  HIM 

DISTRIBUTORS,  Inc. 

Serving  Exhibitors  From  Coast  to  Coast 
Home  Office:-  1305  Vine  St.,  Phiia.,  Pa. 


[HEWJDEALS_READ)M| 


26 


Sep  1 T  34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


TOURING 

WITH 

LAURA  LAEDLEIN 


COCK-EYED  EXPLOITATION  for 
“Cock-Eyed  Cavaliers"  at  Warners’  Warner, 
Westchester.  .  .  .  “Nutty  treats”  in  the  shape 
of  peanuts  and  a  safety-pin  “in  case  you  laugh 
your  buttons  off"  for  patrons.  .  .  .  Balloons 
and  candy  at  children’s  Saturday  matinee,  with 
Fredo  the  Clown  billed.  .  .  .  Wilmington’s 

flag-pole  sitter  will  ballyhoo  "Here  Comes  the 
Navy."  .  .  .  Manager  Alfred  C.  Schwartz 

reports  good  business.  .  .  .  Y.  M.  C.  A.  Audi¬ 
torium,  Coatesville,  has  enlarged  its  organ  into 
a  three-manual  instrument.  .  .  .  Silk  mill 
strikes  have  hit  Columbia  business.  .  .  .  No 
velvet  for  exhibitors.  .  .  .  Historical  Fulton 
Opera  House,  Lancaster,  has  added  new 
screen,  lamps  and  lens  to  its  excellent  equip¬ 
ment.  .  .  .  Union-bucking  Manager  Horace  C. 
Finch  has  also  installed  cooling  system  and  re¬ 
decorated  and  re-upholsterecl  interior.  .  .  .  All 
in  the  family,  brother  W.  S.  Finch  and  brother- 
in-law  R.  C.  Watt  will  re-open  the  Rajah  The¬ 
atre,  Reading,  September  1,  flickers  following- 
legitimate.  .  .  .  Lancaster’s  open-air  theater, 
Mt.  Gretna  Park,  closed  August  25.  .  .  .  Ham¬ 
ilton  and  Grand  business  picked  up  about  200 
per  cent  in  mid-August,  with  a  biggest  Friday 
in  fourteen  weeks.  .  .  .  Ray  O’Connell,  Grand, 
had  property  dicks  finger-printing  patrons  on 
regulation  police  forms  for  “Bulldog  Drummond 
Strikes  Back.”  .  .  .  Police  got  hot  and  bothered 
after  two  days.  .  .  .  Gag  created  much  popular 
interest  while  it  lasted.  .  .  .  The  Irishman  must 
have  a  way  with  him.  .  .  .  He's  wooed  and  won 
leading  shops  into  co-operative  news-advertis¬ 
ing  for  the  first  time.  .  .  .  Warners’  Capitol, 
Lancaster,  re-opens  September  1,  with  Ray 
O’Connell  moving  over  from  the  Grand  and 
Harry  Travers,  Gettysburg,  replacing  O'Con¬ 
nell.  .  .  .  York  district  manager  William  Israel 
believes  the  coming  season  will  make  last  year's 
grosses  look  like  a  closed  day.  ...  A  six-hour 
pow-wow  in  the  Strand  wigwam  had  the  War¬ 
ner  boys  on  their  toes  for  the  opening  of  the 
season.  .  .  .  Renewal  of  the  Warner  bonus  to 
start  September  1  didn’t  take  any  joy  out  of 
managerial  life.  .  .  .  Elaborate  lobby  displays 
and  press  campaign  heralded  the  new  pictures, 
which  look  good  to  Israel.  .  .  .  J.  W.  Richley, 
ex-auto  track  and  road  racer,  is  standing  them 
up  at  the  York,  which  opened  June  15. 

WILDWOOD,  N.  J.,  reports  good  summer 
business.  .  William  Keegan,  general 

manager,  Hunt’s  Theatres,  Trenton,  handled 
the  Regent  and  re-opened  Strand. 

What’s  Friday,  the  13th,  for  a  re-opening 
date?  .  .  .  Remodelled  and  redecorated,  the 

theatre  reports  good  business.  .  Hunt’s 

Auditorium  Plaza,  run  as  a  ball-room  in  con¬ 
junction  with  the  Plaza  Ball-room,  booked  big 
stage  names.  .  .  .  Jerry  Love,  8,  daughter 

Hunt’s  Cape  May  manager,  Halsey  Love, 
acted  as  hostess  to  the  Wildwood  and  Cape 
May  Queen  Coronation  and  Baby  Parade. 
.  .  .  Twenty-six  years  under  the  Hunt  ban¬ 

ner,  Love’s  family  boasts  seven  vaudeville, 
radio  and  concert  stage  entertainers.  . 

Alan  Rapeport,  manager,  Warners’  Grand, 
Vineland,  opened  “The  Circus  Clown”  with 
a  boy-and-girl  scream  contests.  .  .  .  Open¬ 

ing  was  preceded  by  truck  ballyhoo  with  two 
bands,  with  airplane  stunting  overhead  for 
the  crowd.  .  .  .  Lobby  had  sawdust,  peanuts 
and  balloons  with  passes  set  off  from  the 
markee.  .  .  .  Charles  M.  Rapaport,  Salem’s 
Fenwick,  has  repainted  theatre  and  installed 
new  screen  and  lamp. 


Oct.  1  ASCAP  Boost  Date 


The  proposed  increases  in  the  ASCAP 
music  license  fees  for  motion  picture 
theatres,  which  go  into  effect  October 
1,  will  only  affect  new  contracts  made 
after  that  date. 

Existing  contracts  will  be  permitted  to 
elapse  before  the  increased  rates  will 
be  applied. 

Despite  the  furore  raised  by  exhibi¬ 
tors  over  the  increase,  no  organized 
exhibitor  group  has  yet  communicated 
with  ASCAP  to  protest  or  seek  a  com¬ 
promise,  Mills  revealed. 

Meanwhile,  the  coalition  of  exhibitor 
groups  opposed  to  the  increase  has  re¬ 
tained  George  M.  Medalie,  former 
United  States  District  Attorney,  to  act 
as  counsel  for  them,  it  was  announced 
by  Walter  Vincent,  chairman  of  the 
committee.  A  war  chest  is  being  raised. 


GUS  HARTMAN,  youthful  manager,  War¬ 
ners’  Clementon  Theatre,  Clemonton,  N.  J.,  had 
a  floating  one-ring  circus  in  the  Boat  Carnival 
on  Clementon  Lake.  .  .  .  Clever  plug  for  Joe  E. 
Brown’s  "The  Circus  Clown.”  .  .  .  Clementon- 
Collingswood-Hammonton  and  neighboring  ter¬ 
ritory  is  giving  no  odds  to  the  short  resorts  on 
box-office.  .  .  .  Hunt's  Crescent,  West  Col- 
lingswood,  installed  new  RCA  Victor  High- 
Fidelity  sound  equipment,  which  has  drawn 
favorable  comment.  .  .  .  William  F.  Gerst, 
Crescent  manager,  is  one  of  the  few  theatre 
managers  who  doubles  in  brass.  .  .  .  Gerst  has 
a  top-deck  studio  in  the  theatre,  and  has  done  all 
its  display  signs,  art  posters  and  other  art  work 
for  five  years.  .  .  .  New  Laurel  Theatre, 

Laurel  Springs,  has  made  good  its  name  with 
complete  renovation,  decoration  and  canopy.  .  .  . 
Harry  A.  Meyers,  three-months’  manager,  Wil¬ 
liam  Rovner  ownership,  is  featuring  Saturday 
afternoon  Kiddie  Shows  of  amateur  talent,  with 
a  monthly  grand  finale  of  prizes.  .  .  .  Sam 

Frank,  owner-manager,  Hammonton’s  Rivoli, 
ran  a  Baby  Contest  in  connection  with  “Baby 
Take  a  Bow."  .  .  .  Full-page  merchants’  news 
ad  carried  Shirley  Temple  picture.  .  .  .  Kid¬ 
dies  completed  portrait  bv  adding  dress  seen 
in  either  of  the  baby  star  films  in  crayon.  .  .  . 
Rivoli  adds  a  cooling  system  this  fall.  .  .  . 
Ellis  Chalmers,  Philadelphia,  outfitting  its  fans 
with  new  silent  belts.  .  .  .  Harry  Brodsky, 
Philadelphia,  is  doing  a  complete  waterproofing 
paint  job  on  the  front.  .  .  .  Friends  of  this 
manager  east  and  west  will  be  glad  to  learn 
that  his  mother  is  recuperating  at  Ventnor  from 
a  fractured  shoulder  sustained  two  weeks  ago. 
.  .  .  Standard,  Camden,  doing  summer  busi¬ 
ness  again.  .  .  .  Dark  for  two  summers. 

WARNERS’  LION  has  felt  York  district 
pick-up.  .  .  .  Joseph  Wheeler,  manager,  re¬ 
ports  a  forty  per  cent  recent  increase.  .  .  . 
Independent  oposition  will  be  offered  with  the 
opening  September  10  of  the  Community  The¬ 
atre,  re-converted  silent  house,  under  the  man¬ 
agement  of  Charles  F.  Ramsay,  Red  Lion  and 
Dallastown  Auditorium.  .  .  .  Trail  Theatre, 
Shrewsbury,  and  Glen,  Glen  Rock,  under  father- 
a,nd-son  management  of  F.  S.  and  Chalmers 
Sechrist,  will  re-open  after  summer  closing, 
September  8.  .  .  .  Harry  L.  Bubb’s  New  Free¬ 
dom  house,  Sylvar.ian,  had  its  first  summer  sea¬ 
son  in  twelve  years.  .  .  .  Warners’  State,  Han¬ 
over,  had  its  biggest  week  in  ten  in  mid-August. 

LABOR  DAY  opening  of  “Here  Comes  the 
Navy"  at  Warners’  Strand,  Pottstown,  pre¬ 
ceded  by  elaborate  ballyhoo.  .  .  .  Supplement 
to  Pottstovyn  Herald  and  news  scene  guessing 


contest.  .  .  .  Lyric,  Boyertown,  re-opened  as 
State.  .  .  .  House  completely  re-vamped,  with 
new  sound  equipment,  screen  and  heating  plant. 

.  .  .  Large  electric  sign  in  front  and  new 

murals  transform  the  theatre.  .  .  .  Owner 

George  Kline  rumored  moving  from  Philly  to 
be  on  the  spot.  .  .  .  Embassy,  Reading,  adding- 
neon  lights  to  its  modernistic  lobby  frames.  .  .  . 
A1  Nowitsky’s  spook  shows  at  the  State  as 
tffective  as  five  years  ago  when  he  started  a 
Western  wave  of  popularity.  .  .  .  Vaudeville 
re-opened  at  Warners’  Astor,  with  "Dames.” 

.  .  .  Stage  re-equipped  for  presentation  by  new 
sound  horn  which  lift  with  screen.  .  .  .  Big- 
front  display  and  two-van  20-truck  parade  with 
bands  ushered  in  Loew’s  September  Parade  of 
Hits  at  the  Colonial.  .  .  .  Park  re-opened 

strong  after  new  Western  Electric  and  Beli 
wide  range  installation.  .  .  .  Pennsylvania  pre¬ 
miere  of  Ann  Harding’s  “The  Fountain.” 

IRVING  MIRSCH,  formerly  Warners’ 
Gettysburg  Majestic,  returns  to  that  theatre 
from  the  Model,  Philadelphia,  replacing  Harry 
Travers.  .  .  .  Town  buried  under  flags  and 
Elks  of  State  Convention  during  last  week  of 
Manager  Travers’  stay,  with  Majestic  staff  do¬ 
ing  the  hospitable  during  Elk  morning  sessions 
there.  .  .  .  Expoitation  note :  personal  notes 
from  management  handed  by  cashier  to  patrons 
on  special  attractions.  .  .  .  New  screen,  new 
gold  syks  and  borders  at  the  Arcade,  Waynes¬ 
boro  Warner  house,  with  new  sound  equipment 
to  be  installed  shortly.  .  .  .  Manager  Henry  A. 
Clark  reports  best  summer  for  several  years,  on 
par  with  winter  business.  .  .  .  Baseball  just 
naturally  crops  out  of  anything  managed  by 
Don  Seasholtz,  ex-big  time  baseball  and  foot¬ 
ball  star.  .  .  .  His  Capitol  team  at  Chambers- 
hurg,  managed  by  right-hand  Walter  Ward,  has 
been  taking  all  comers  in  a  successful  season. 

.  .  .  Manager  Seasholtz  has  changed  the  size 
of  his  own  halls.  .  .  .  He’s  swatting  them  on 
the  local  courses,  winner  in  recent  tournament 
between  Chambersburg  Golf  Club  and  Hanover 
Country  Club.  .  .  .  Warner  manager  likes  the 
picture  line-up  for  new  season,  and  so  do 
patrons  looking  over  lobby  display. 

WILMER  AND  VINCENT'S  Majestic, 
Harrisburg,  to  re-open  September  7,  with  John 

D.  Orear  hack . C.  Floyd  Hopkins,  W 

and  V  chief,  had  Harrisburgers  guessing  last 
month.  .  .  .  Phone  calls  to  theatre-goers.  .  .  . 
"This  is  Gladys.”  ...?...-  “Gladys?” 

.  .  .  Gladys  girl  in  town,  because  Leslie  How¬ 
ard  is  at  the  Colonial  in  ‘Of  Human  Bondage.’  ” 
.  .  .  Some  folks  never  did  find  out  who  Gladys 
was — a  pretty  usher  in  the  centre-city  house. 
.  .  .  August  26  wound  up  one  of  the  Colonial’s 
best  weeks  in  two  years.  .  .  .  “Hoppy"  Hop¬ 
kins’  reason  :  “real  pictures,  after  turnips."  .  .  . 
State,  too,  will  re-open  with  pictures  or  vaude¬ 
ville  latter  part  of  month,  with  Charles  Bier- 
baum  in  charge.  .  .  .  Colonial’s  assistant  man¬ 
ager,  Bob  Etchberger,  at  Chicago  for  vacation. 
.  .  .  Sam  Gilman,  manager  Loew’s  Regent,  “all 
enthused”  over  coming  season.  .  .  .  “Will  be 
best  theatres  have  seen  for  a  long  time.”  .  .  . 
I-aac  Marcus’  Rialto  re-seated  and  re-deco¬ 
rating,  National  re-seating.  .  .  .  More  than  the 
old  Empire’s  69  seats,  Mr.  Marcus?  .  .  .  New 
ventilating  systfm  at  the  Rialto  much  approved. 
.  .  .  I.  L.  Shiftman,  manager,  National,  re¬ 
ports  excellent  summer  runs.  .  .  .  Mitchell 
Garfinkle,  manager,  Moose  Theatre,  Elizabeth¬ 
town,  made  local  Rotary  movie-minded  with 
address  August  24  by  George  Aarons,  secretary 
M.  P.  T.  A.  .  .  .If  it’s  necessary  to  say.  .  .  . 
Topic,  "Relation  of  Small  Town  Theatre  to 
Community.”  .  .  .  Nearly  100  p  r  cent  attend¬ 
ance.  .  .  .  Owner  of  Moose  and  Lancaster 

Strand,  Harry  H.  Chercoff,  made  the  introduc¬ 
tion.  .  .  .  William  F.  Kr.eller,  Manheim  exhibi¬ 
tor,  on  the  sick  list  for  a  week ;  now  out.  .  .  . 
A.  R.  Glaser,  Comerford’s  Carlisle  Strand, 
plugging  “Handy  Andy”  big  for  Labor  Day 
opening.  .  .  .  Manager  Glaser,  too,  says  “it’s 
all  in  the  pictures.” 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Sep  lf 34 


27 


STRICTLY  PERSONAL 


THE  EDGAR  MOSSES  go  to  St.  Davids  in 
the  fall.  .  .  .  Ritzy.  .  .  .  Miss  Clara  Kraftsow 
has  been  ill.  .  .  .  The  opening  of  the  George 
Kline  house  in  Boyertown  was  also  a  social 
event.  .  .  .  Jack  Segal,  formerly  NJ  Messen¬ 
ger,  now  with  J.  J.  Fay  Company.  .  .  .  Lillian 
Gimbel,  ED,  on  vacation. 

DEATH  of  J.  D.  Williams,  Mrs.  Warner, 
mother  of  the  Warner  brothers,  and  Mrs. 
Felix  Feist,  wife  of  the  Metro  sales  manager, 
saddened  the  local  industry.  .  .  .  They  had 

many  friends  here. 

MISS  NORMA  MOLITSCH  celebrated  her 
first  birthday.  .  .  .  Time  flies.  .  .  .  Miss  Dor¬ 
othy  Burreson  likes  fish.  .  .  .  Allan  Lewis 

and  Hannah  Smeyne  were  married  recently 
and  have  been  honeymooning. 

JACK  MYERS,  Bloomsburg  exhibitor, 
passed  away  and  the  trade  mourned.  . 

He  was  well  known.  .  .  .  The  Molitsch  party 
is  September  8  and  Whitey  will  receive  all 
cakes  at  Horlacher’s.  ...  A  special  Hor- 
lacher  truck  has  been  reserved  to  cart  the 
presents  up. 

ROSE  GIMBEL,  secretary  to  booker  Herch- 
enrider,  S-W,  ill  with  appendicitis.  .  .  .  Pass¬ 
ing  of  Charles  Kneale,  sound  department,  Stan- 
ley-Warner,  after  a  4  weeks’  illness,  was 
mourned  by  all.  .  .  .  He  leaves  a  wife  and 
child.  .  .  .  He  was  formerly  an  exhibitor  in 

Hanover . Poison  set  in  from  an  abscessed 

tooth.  .  .  .  The  Warner  Club  fund  contributed 
$350  to  the  widow. 

MRS.  EDGAR  MOSS  came  to  town,  was 
hostess  at  H  and  H  lunch,  took  Mrs.  Sam 
Gross  and  baby  son  back  to  the  shore.  .  .  . 

Incidentally,  Edgar  had  Harold  Lloyd  as  his 
dinner  guest  at  the  shore,  supplied  some 
material  for  comedy.  ...  It  seems  that 
Edgar  couldn’t  work  the  maid’s  buzzer  and 
when  he  explained  this  difficulty,  discovered 
that  his  false  teeth  were  dropping  out.  .  .  . 

They  did,  broke  in  half  on  the  floor.  .  .  . 

Lloyd  got  a  good  laugh  out  of  it,  thought 
that  he  might  make  use  of  it. 

TRADE  was  sorry  to  hear  of  the  death  of 
the  wife  of  Fire  Marshal  Mulhern.  ...  It 
came  as  a  shock  to  all. 

t 

WHEN  DICK  POWELL  comes  to  town  he 
will  act  as  godfather  to  the  new  baby  son  at 
the  home  of  S-Wite  Earle  Bailey  and  wife. 
.  .  .  The  baby  is  Dick  Powell  Bailey.  .  .  . 
Bailey  used  to  work  with  Powell  in  Indian¬ 
apolis.  .  Christening  takes  place  Sep¬ 

tember  16. 

MISS  ADELINE  LORBER,  Paramount, 
went  to  the  shore  on  vacation.  .  .  .  So  did 

Miss  Bettty  McCaffrey,  guardian  of  the  books 
at  United  Artists. 


TRENTON 


GOVERNOR  A.  HARRY  MOORE  talks  of 
issuirg  a  call  for  a  special  session  of  the  New 
Jersey  Legislature  during  September  to  con¬ 
sider  emergency  relief  measures  and  state  codes. 
.  .  .  Allied  Theatre  Owners  of  N.  J.,  Inc.,  are 
opposed  to  any  censor  proposition.  .  .  .  Allied 
members  are  not  enthusiastic  about  the  State 
codes  legislation  or  the  proposed  plan  to  im¬ 
pose  a  tax  to  raise  funds  for  poor  relief.  .  .  . 


Three  Exhibs  Win 

As  a  fitting  finale  to  its  fall  showing  entire 
week  of  August  13,  Quality  Premium  Dis¬ 
tributors,  Inc.,  awarded  three  sets  to  lucky 
exhibitors. 

First  prize,  complete  set  of  Gloria  22 
Karat  Gold  Dinnerware  was  won  by  Joseph 
Kane,  manager,  York  Theatre.  Second  prize, 
complete  service  of  a  dainty  Holland  Windmill 
Luncheon  Set  went  to  Lew  Felt,  Westmar 
Theatre,  Norristown,  and  the  lucky  number  for 
third  prize,  a  complete  Cutlery  set  was  held 
by  Columbus  Stamper. 

Committee  in  charge  of  the  drawing  consisted 
of  Morris  Wax,  Leo  Posel,  Joe  Price,  Harry 
Perelman,  Harry  Freed,  Harry  Rush  and  Bill 
Spiegel,  and  the  drawing  made  by  Am  e  Dono¬ 
hue. 


Paramount  Decorating  Busy 

A  very  satisfactory  and  busy  summer  season 
has  just  been  experienced  by  Paramount  Deco¬ 
rating  Company,  311  N.  13th  Street,  according 
to  Jack  Seidman,  one  of  its  partners.  Para¬ 
mount  completed  the  Hippodrome,  Leader  and 
Howard  Theatres,  Baltimore ;  Strand,  Coving¬ 
ton,  Va. ;  Booker  T.,  Richmond,  Va.,  and 
Spruce  Theatre,  Philadelphia,  and  is  at  present 
occupied  with  the  Colonial,  Philadelphia,  Hip- 
pi  drome  and  Republic,  Washington. 

Seidmar.  states  that  conditions  are  much  bet¬ 
ter  and  that  they  anticipate  a  good  finish  of 
their  year  because  of  several  important  con¬ 
tracts  which  they  have  signed  but  are  not  at 
liberty  to  divulge  at  present. 


Heard  In 


L 


ANCASTER 


Rumors  of  New 
Theatre  Here 


RAY  O’CONNELL  has  been  shifted  from 
the  Grand  to  the  Capitol,  replacing  Douglas 
George.  .  .  .  Ivan  L'tt  r  becomes  assistant  man¬ 
ager,  Capitol.  .  .  .  Harry  Travers,  Gettysburg, 
will  take  over  the  Grand,  assisted  by  Harold 
Miller.  .  .  .  Herbert  Thatcher  remains  as  man¬ 
ager,  Hamilton.  .  .  .  Irving  Mirsch,  Philadel¬ 
phia,  shifted  from  Philadelphia  to  Gettysburg. 


FU  1’URE  of  the  Colonial  Theatre  is  yet  to 
be  determined.  .  .  .  Charles  M.  Howell,  long 
manager  of  the  house,  now  presides  in  the 
office  of  the  postmaster.  .  Rumors  say 

that  several  chains  are  bidding  for  the  house. 
.  .  .  Colonial  did  a  n  ee  piece  of  promotion 

work  on  “Treasure  Island.”  Capitol 

reopens  its  doors  September  1  after  a  summer 
shut  down.  .  .  .  House  opened  with  a  vaude¬ 
ville  show  and  pictures.  .  .  .  Present  plans 

call  for  vaudeville  each  Saturday.  .  .  .  Scott 
Players  at  the  Mount  Gretna  summer  theatre 
have  had  the  most  successful  season  in  recent 
years.  .  .  Lyle  Trenchard,  former  execu¬ 

tive  of  the  Warner  chain,  was  a  visitor  to 
Lancaster.  .  .  .  More  rumors  of  a  new  the¬ 
atre  in  Lancaster.  .  Ray  O’Connell, 

Grand,  did  a  nice  piece  of  ballyhoo  for  “Here 
Comes  the  Navy.”  .  .  .  He  dolled  up  his  at¬ 
tendants  in  naval  uniforms. 


WARNER  HOUSES  have  reopened  their 
art  shop  here.  .  .  .  Jack  Roberts  has  been 
added  to  the  staff.  .  .  .  Ray  O’Connell  put  on 
a  clever  stunt  in  which  he  displayed  finger 
prints  to  demonstrate  modern  crime  detection 
methods.  .  .  .  Police  asked  Ray  to  soft  pedal 
the  display  and  go  easy. 


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28 


Sep  1 T  34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


OFFERING  YOU: 


•  A  Sound  Box  Office 
Attraction 

•  Complete  Ownership 

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PHOTOPHONE  DIVISION 

RCA  VICTOR  COMPANY,  Inc. 

Camden,  N.  J. 

A  Radio  Corporation  of  America  Subsidiary 


DISPLAY.  Here  is  how  the  Warner 
circuit  of  houses  in  the  company’s 
eastern  sector  is  displaying  the 
Price  premiums.  The  McKee  Kitchen¬ 
ware  on  display  has  been  one  of  the 
big  numbers. 


Heard  In 

ROSSTOWN 

Theatres  Re-opening 
Aplenty 


LOCUST  reopening  with  “Caravan”  billed. 
.  .  .  Europa  re-opening  soon  as  well.  .  .  . 
Elite  open.  .  .  .  Fay’s  re-opening  September  15 
with  Sid  Stanley  at  helm.  .  .  .  House,  thanks 
to  good  direction  and  excellent  stage  shows, 
scored  heavily  last  year.  .  .  .  Theatre  is 

putting  in  new  seats  for  the  coming  season. 
.  .  .  Local  S-VV  and  Fox  houses  going  heavily 
on  daily  space.  .  .  .  Earle  going  in  for  stage 
names  in  September,  with  Steel  Pier  attrac¬ 
tions  of  summer  especially  prominent.  .  •  . 

Dick  Powell  also  due  in  person.  .  .  .  Artie 
Cohn  on  publicity  job  as  usual. 

LOCAL  REPORTS  have  the  Arcadia,  new 
night  spot,  booking  Guy  Lombardo  at 
$15,000  for  9  days.  .  .  .  Minimum  cover 

will  be  $2.50,  it  is  reported.  .  .  .  Place  will 

have  a  big  nut.  .  .  .  When  “Cleopatra” 

played  at  the  Boyd,  audience  stood  up  and 
cheered.  ...  It  took  a  year  to  get  the  right 
people  for  the  show. 

FROLIC  re-opens  during  holiday  period. 
.  .  .  Report  around  that  the  old  Sunset,  52nd 
Street,  may  again  take  its  place  as  a  theatre. 
.  .  .  Venice  Theatre  re-opened  after  being  en¬ 
larged  again.  .  .  .  Thanks  to  Charlie  Stei  f el's 
energetic  direction. 

OPENING  of  the  Broadway  Theatre,  Cam¬ 
den,  which  was  practically  destroyed  by  fire 
several  months  ago,  was  a  big  event.  .  .  .  The 
trade  turned  out  to  wish  best  of  luck  to  Martin 
B.  Ellis.  .  .  .  House  was  a  success  and  looks 
like  it  will  top  its  former  record.  .  .  .  When 
two  thugs  waylaid  her,  Mrs.  Mary  A.  Jeffries, 
wife  of  the  owner  of  the  Jeffries'  Roxborough 
Theatre,  Manayunk,  was  robbed  of  $150,  the 
day’s  receipts. 

NEW  COLONIAL  THEATRE,  So.  Philly, 
opened  August  29  after  complete  remodelling. 
.  .  .  Incidentally,  the  name  is  Ben  Fertel, 

which  sees  it  spelled  correctly,  for  once.  .  .  . 
51st  Street  Theatre  was  being  operated  as  a  col¬ 
ored  house  for  a  spell. 

NO  MIDNITES  for  Stanton  until  daylite 
goes  out.  .  .  .  Abe  Einstein  the  dashing  im- 
pressario  of  S-W,  looks  forward  to  busy  sea¬ 


son  as  welfare  chieftain  of  Stanley-Waruer 
Club.  .  .  .  Big  as  life  at  all  dinners,  too.  .  .  . 
Local  S-W  boys  active  on  "Circus  Clown.”  .  .  . 
Reading  gets  S-W  vaudeville  in  September. 

PAUL  O.  KLINGER,  manager,  and  Mary 
Check,  owner,  have  installed  new  RCA  sound 
into  the  Rialto,  Lewistown. 

SEASIDE,  Somers  Point,  N.  J.,  owned  by 
Ed  Skyrm,  has  installed  Photophone  sound.  .  .  . 
W.  W.  Love  is  manager.  .  .  .  All  S-W  houses 
using  special  trailers  plugging  the  new  hits  of 
the  new  season.  .  .  .  Incidentally,  S-W  men 
are  now  working  for  big  dough  in  a  new  bonus 
drive  which  begins  with  the  fall  season.  .  .  . 
John  Latimer,  secretary  to  Leonard  Schlesinger, 
is  now  back  at  his  post  after  having  been  ill 
for  quite  some  time.  .  .  .  Henry  Murdock, 
Ledger  scribe,  back  from  vacation.  .  .  .  Eric 
Knight,  ditto. 

CHARLES  SEGALL  hopped  to  New  York. 
.  .  .  Lehigh  is  new  name  for  Joe  Rossheim’s 
State,  Bethelehem.  .  .  .  Acquisition  of  Wil- 
Bor,  Easton,  by  A1  Boyd  denied.  .  .  .  Stanley 
Podlialik  has  taken  the  Palace,  Wilkes-Barre. 
....  Exhibitor  of  the  Bulls  Head,  Scranton, 
has  taken  the  Crystal,  Miners  Mills.  .  .  .  New 
interests  have  gone  into  Shillington,  taking  the 

Roxy . Knaake  and  Longenbach  have 

taken  the  Park,  Allentown.  .  .  They  have 
theatres  in  Emaus  and  Kutztown.  .  .  .  O.  J. 
Heckman  has  taken  the  Laurel,  Laureldale.  .  .  . 
Benny  Freed  has  the  Keystone,  Weatherly.  .  .  . 
Neptune,  Richland,  has  changed  hands.  .  .  . 
Wilmer  and  Vincent  re-opening  the  Rialto, 
Allentown.  .  .  .  Larksville  Stanley,  Auditorium, 
Fleetwood,  re-opening.  .  .  .  POSA,  Berwick,  re¬ 
opening  soon,  too.  .  .  .  Europa,  re-opening  soon, 
with  Moe  Verbin  again  at  the  helm.  .  .  .  Reports 
of  Arcadia  and  San  Toy,  Reading,  re-opening 
denied. 

ELITE  re-opens  September  3.  .  .  .  York- 
town  gets  under  way  same  day,  with  40  cent 
top.  .  .  .  Orpheum,  Germantown,  bows  in  again 
September  14.  ...  Lindley,  Harrowgate, 

Northeastern,  Avon,  Imperial  (2nd  Street), 
open  September  3.  .  .  .  Victoria  opened  this 
week-end.  .  .  .  Arcadia,  Wilmington,  re-opens 
September  1.  .  .  .  New  Grange  Theatre  is 
scheduled  to  open  November  2. 


RKO-Photophone  Deal 

Final  arrangements  have  been  completed  by 
RKO  subsidiary  corporation  for  the  immediate 
replacement  of  the  sound  equipment  in  thirty- 
one  RKO  houses  located  in  fifteen  principal 
cities  throughout  the  country  with  the  latest 
type  of  Photophone  High  Fidelity  sound  appa¬ 
ratus,  according  to  an  announcement  by  E.  O. 
Heyl,  manager,  Photophone  Division. 


Supowitz  Scores  Again 


Reopening  of  the  New  Broadway  The¬ 
atre  and  the  New  Colonial,  South  Philly, 
in  two  days  is  a  tribute  to  David  Supo¬ 
witz,  leading  architect. 

Supowitz  supervised  the  remodelling 
of  the  Colonial  and  the  rebuilding  of  the 
New  Broadway  following  the  disastrous 
fire,  and  those  who  attended  both  open¬ 
ings  voted  them  new  theatres  in  design 
as  well  as  in  facilities. 

Supowitz  has  created  a  reputation  for 
himself  as  an  architect  of  new  houses 
as  well  as  converting  old  ones  into  at¬ 
tractive  structures.  The  new  Broadway, 
Camden,  was  rebuilt,  while  the  Colonial 
house  had  some  structural  as  well  as 
internal  improvements  made. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Sep  1 T  34 


29 


Write  Immediately  lor  Our  New  Introductory  Oiler  ' 

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m 

SAVING 


SHIPS  ARE  IN.  “Here  Comes  the  Navy,”  from  Warners,  gives  James  Cagney,  Pat  O’Brien, 
Frank  McHugh,  Gloria  Stuart  a  chance  to  cavort. 


IRVING  DUNN  interrupted  his  split  week 
schedule  to  show  “Of  Human  Bondage”  for  a 
full  week.  .  .  .  Tie-ups  were  arranged  with 
bookstores,  lending  libraries  and  other  stores  in 
the  city  with  miniature  window  cards  placed 
on  the  counters.  .  .  .  Used  the  public  address 
system  to  add  to  the  regular  trailer  a  personal 
endorsement  of  the  picture  and  distributed  50 
one-sheets  in  advance  of  the  picture.  .  .  .  He 
stenciled  the  sidewalks.  .  .  .  For  "The  Old 
Fashioned  Way”  Dunn  stopped  traffic  in  fact 
and  not  in  fiction  when  he  sent  out  an  ancient 
one-horse  shay  pulled  by  a  decrepid  old  nag 
over  the  busiest  streets  in  the  city.  .  .  .  Advent 
of  “New  Show  Season”  has  caused  unusual 
activity.  .  .  .  Special  lobby  displays  were  be¬ 
ing  erected.  ...  At  the  Rialto,  Sid  Poppay 
erected  one  of  the  most  attractive  presented. 
.  .  .  He  placed  it  just  inside  the  entrance  where 
it  was  impossible  to  pass  without  seeing.  .  .  . 
Cleon  Miller,  known  for  his  attractive  lobby 
displays  has  scored  again  with  the  one  he  put 
up  for  “Dames.”  .  .  .  Entire  one  side  of  the 
huge  lobby  at  the  Strand  was  used  and  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  lobby  living  models  were 
placed  on  a  pedestal  to  distribute  hand  bills  to 
the  audiences  a  week  in  advance  of  the  opening. 

WORK  of  remodeling  the  municipal  building, 
Red  Lion,  near  York,  to  comply  with  the  state 
requirements  for  movie  houses  is  rapidly  nearly 
completion.  .  .  .  Plans  call  for  the  opening  of 
the  place  as  a  motion  picture  theatre  soon 
after  September  1.  .  .  .  Former  Red  Lion 

Opera  House  was  sold  to  the  borough  several 
years  ago  by  J.  A.  Miller.  .  .  .  Ramsay,  owner 
and  operator  of  a  theatre  at  Stewartstown,  will 
lease  the  theatre. 

HARRY  TRAVIS,  former  manager,  Capitol, 
but  lately  managing  the  Majestic,  Gettysburg, 
has  been  transferred  to  the  managerial  post  at 
the  Grand,  Lancaster.  .  .  .  Travis  assumed  his 
new  duties  August  27,  relieving  Irving  Mirsch, 
who  returned  to  the  Majestic.  .  .  .  Sid  Poppay, 
Rialto,  has  uncorked  several  good  gags  lately 
among  them  being  the  placing  of  an  amateur 
cartoonist  on  the  streets  with  a  big  blackboard 
to  sketch  anything  he  saw.  .  .  .  When  he  saw 
a  crowd  gathered  he  wrote  on  the  slate,  "Mur¬ 
der  on  the  Blackboard.”  .  .  .  For  “Murder  in 
the  Private  Car,”  Poppay  gave  his  audier.ee  a 
week  in  advance  of  the  opening,  an  extra  thrill, 
dropping  the  house  lights  and  playing  a  green 
spot  on  the  screen  during  the  trailer.  .  .  . 

Matinee  prices  at  the  Rialto  and  Ritz  The¬ 
atres  have  been  dropped  from  20  cents  to  15 
cents.  .  .  .  Poppay  has  inaugurated  a  kiddie 
bargain  show  Saturdays.  .  .  .  Show  starts  at 
12  noon  with  special  shorts  and  a  western  fea¬ 
ture  and  swings  right  into  the  regular  show 
giving  the  kids  in  the  neighborhood  of  four 
hours  of  entertainment.  .  .  .  Special  trailer  on 
“Dames,”  was  shown  in  the  Strand  by  Cleon 
Miller,  as  a  part  of  the  program  two  weeks 
prior  to  the  opening  of  the  picture. 


TALK  is  heard  of  a  general  revival  of  closed 
theatres.  .  .  .  Rajah  is  to  open  September  1. 
.  .  .  Reports  have  it  that  burlesque,  with 

occasional  legitimate  shows,  is  to  be  featured 
at  the  old  Orpheum.  .  .  .  Wilmer  and  Vincent 
interests  are  talking  of  re-opening  the  Capitol. 
.  .  .  Warners  are  reported  to  be  ready  to  re¬ 
open  the  Arcadia  and  the  San  Toy.  .  .  .  Park 
Theatre  lease  taken  over  for  the  new  season  by 
Cornelius  G.  Keeney,  manager  for  several 
years,  and  his  associate,  William  R.  Fessler,  re¬ 
opened  for  the  new  season,  after  many  improve¬ 
ments.  .  .  .  House  was  redecorated  and  other 
improvements  made.  .  .  .  Keeney  has  Radio 
for  the  season,  and  will  occasionally  present 
stage  shows,  musical  comedy,  vaudeville  or 
other  attractions.  .  .  .  Keeney  gave  souvenirs 
to  all  women  and  girl  patrons  at  the  opening 
shows.  .  .  .  Manager  Nowitskv,  State,  drew 
capacity  houses  with  “Tomorrow’s  Children,” 
through  use  of  exploitation  matter. 


GABBY,  INDEED,  Edmund  Lowe,  Ruth  Etting,  Hugh  O’Connell  may  be  seen  in  “Gift  of 
Gab.”  The  child  star  is  Patricia  Quigley,  Universalite. 


ads  would  not  be  cut  in  size.  .  .  .  A1  Cox,  inci¬ 
dentally,  worked  up  considerable  enthusiasm  for 
the  “Human  Bondage.”  .  .  .  J.  E.  Elliger,  who 
has  been  subbing  for  John  Galvin  at  the  Penn 
during  the  summer,  went  in  for  ballyhoo  in  a 
big  way. 

JOHN  COMERFORD,  Orpheum,  is  press¬ 
ing  down  to  put  his  kid  shows  on  Saturday 
mornings  over.  .  .  .  Kingston  is  offering  a 

special  radio  minstrel  attraction.  .  .  .  George 
Bittinger,  manager,  took  his  family  to  New 
York  for  a  vacation  last  week.  .  .  .  George 

Horlacher,  his  assistant,  carried  on.  . 

B.  F.  O’Rourke,  city  building  inspector,  has 
ruled  that  card  and  muslin  signs  are  out  at 
the  theatres.  .  .  .  William  Kierle,  Edwards- 

ville,  who  died  last  week,  once  operated  the 
Sterling. 


M.  B.  COMERFORD  was  in  New  York 
during  the  week.  .  .  .Was  accompanied  by 
John  Roberts,  film  booker,  and  John  Galvin, 
manager,  Penn.  .  .  .  As  a  starter,  Mills  Broth¬ 
ers  will  be  the  stage  attraction  at  the  Penn.  .  .  . 
Ad  dispute  between  the  theatres  and  the  news¬ 
papers  has  been  adjusted.  .  .  .  For  two  years 
houses  had  an  arrangement  that  permitted  them 
to  buy  display  space  at  fifty  cents  an  inch  as 
long  as  they  did  not  cut  down  on  their  regular 
contracts  which  called  for  $1.50  on  the  amuse¬ 
ment  page.  .  .  .  When  the  dailies  were  asked 
to  permit  the  use  of  more  of  the  cheaper  space 
and  less  of  the  regular,  they  eliminated  the 
fifty  cent  rate  entirely.  ...  A  conference 
was  arranged  whereby  they  restored  the  privi¬ 
lege  with  the  understanding  that  the  regular 


Official  Letter 
Service  to  the 
Motion  Picture 
Industry- 

Accurate  List 
of  all  Theatres 
and  Executives 


Mimeographing 
Multigraphing 
Public  Stenography 

Addressing  -  Folding 
Enclosing  -  Mailing 

Advertising 

Publicity 

Printing 


WM.  Z.  PORTER 

Advertising  and  Letter  Service 

1208  Vine  Street 

(Second  Floor) 

Bell:  RITtenhouse  7195  Keystone:  RACE  8666 


30 


Sep  1'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


For  your  convenience,  this  publication  furnishes  this  guide  to  reviews  of  pictures  which  have  appeared 
in  regular  review  department.  Before  dating  in  your  show,  consult  this  page,  find  out  when  the  review  appeared 
and  then  look  it  up.  Key:  For  example,  2-Jan.  means  the  second  issue  of  this  publication  in  that  month. 
1-Feb.  would  mean  the  first  issue,  and  so  on. 


Columbia 


The  Fighting  Ranger .  1-May 

The  Man  Trailer  .  1-May 

Sisters  Under  the  Skin  .  1-May 

The  Party's  Over  .  1-May 

20th  Century  .  1-May 

The  Crime  of  Helen  Stanley  .  2-May 

Hell  Bent  for  Love .  1-June 

One  Night  of  Love . 2-June 

The  Hell  Cat  .  2-June 

The  Most  Precious  Thing  in  Life .  2-June 

Black  Moon  2-July 

A  Man’s  Game  .  1-Aug. 

Whom  the  Gods  Destroy  . 1-Aug. 

Beyond  the  Law .  2-Aug. 

Blind  Date  .  2-Aug! 

Name  the  Woman .  2-Aug. 

The  Defense  Rests . 2-Aug. 


Manhattan  Melodrama  . 1-May 

Tarzan  and  His  Mate  . 1-May 

Laughing  Boy  . 2-May 

Sadie  McKee  . 2-May 

Operator  13  . 1-June 

The  Thin  Man  . 1-June 

Murder  in  Private  Car  .  2-July 

Stamboul  Quest  .  2-July 

Treasure  Island  . 2-July 

Barretts  of  Wimpole  Street .  1-Aug. 

Girl  from  Missouri  .  1-Aug. 

Paris  Interlude  . 1-Aug. 

Hideout  2-Aug. 

Straight  Is  the  Way  . .  2-Aug. 

Chained  .  1-Sept. 

Have  a  Heart  .  1-Sept. 

Iris  March  .  1-Sept. 

Student  Tour  .  1-Sept. 


First  National — Warners 


Twenty  Million  Sweethearts  .  1-Apr. 

Upper  World  .  1-Apr. 

A  Very  Honorable  Guy . 2-Apr. 

Side  Streets  2-Apr! 

A  Modern  Hero .  2-Apr. 

Smarty  .  1-May 

Merry  Wives  of  Reno  .  2-May 

Fog  Over  Frisco  .  1-June 

Midnight  Alibi  .  1-June 

The  Circus  Clown  .  1-June 

The  Merry  Frinks  . 1-June 

Dr.  Monica  .  1-June 

The  Key  . 1-June 

He  Was  Her  Man  . 1-June 

Man  With  Two  Faces . 2-June 

Return  of  the  Terror .  2-June 

Friends  of  Mr.  Sweeney  . 2-June 

Madam  Du  Barry . 2-June 

The  Personality  Kid . 2-June 

Here  Comes  the  Navy .  2-July 

British  Agent  . 2-Aug. 

Kansas  City  Princess  2-Aug. 

Dragon  Murder  Case  2-Aug. 

Dames  ,  2-Aug. 

Housewife  . . . 2-Aug. 

Big  Hearted  Herbert  .  1-Sept. 

Desirable  . . 1-Sept! 


Fox 


Murder  in  Trinidad  2-Apr. 

Stand  Up  and  Cheer  .  2-Apr. 

The  Constant  Nymph  . ,  2-Apr. 

Now  I'll  Tell  .  1-May 

Springtime  for  Henry  .  1-May 

Such  Women  Are  Dangerous  . 1-May 

Wild  Gold  .  1-May 

Change  of  Heart  .  2-May 

Handy  Andy  . 2-May 

Call  It  Luck  .  1-June 

Heart  Song  . . 1-June 

Baby  Take  a  Bow .  1-July 

Grand  Canary  . 1-July 

She  Learned  About  Sailors . 1-July 

Charlie  Chan’s  Courage  . 2-July 

The  World  Moves  On .  2-July 

Servants’  Entrance  . 1-Aug. 

Caravan  . . 2-Aug! 

Judge  Priest  . 2-Aug. 

She  Was  a  Lady  . .  2-Aug. 

The  Cat’s  Paw .  2-Aug. 

Pursued  .  1-Sept". 


Liberty 

Cheaters  . 1-May 

No  Ransom  .  2-Apr. 

When  Strangers  Meet  . . 2-Apr. 

Take  the  Stand  .  2-Mar. 

Once  to  Every  Bachelor  . 1-June 

Two  Heads  on  a  Pillow . 2-July 

School  for  Girls  .  1-Sept. 


Metro 


Lazy  River  . 

The  Showoff . 

Riptide  . 

The  Hollywood  Party 
Viva  Villa  . 


2-Mar. 

2-Mar. 

2-Apr. 

2-Apr. 

2-Apr. 


Monogram 

DISTRIBUTED  BY  FIRST  DIVISION 


Monte  Carlo  Nights  .  1-May 

House  of  Mystery  . 1-May 

Blue  Steel  . 2-May 

The  Loudspeaker  . 2-May 

Money  Means  Nothing  . .  .  1-June 

The  Man  from  Utah  . 1-June 

Randy  Rides  Alone  . 1-July 

Jane  Eyre  . 2-July 

Star  Packer  . 2-Jyly 

Happy  Landings  . 1-Aug. 

Shock  . 1-Aug. 

The  Moonstone  .  2-Aug. 


Paramount 


Six  of  a  Kind . 

Bolero  . 

No  More  Women  . 

Come  On  Marines . 

She  Made  Her  Bed . 

Wharf  Angel  . 

Melody  in  Spring  . 

The  Trumpet  Blows  .  .  .  . 
You’re  Telling  Me 

Double  Door  . 

The  Scarlet  Empress  . 

The  Witching  Hour . 

We’re  Not  Dressing  . 

Little  Miss  Marker  . 

Many  Happy  Returns 

Murder  at  Vanities  . 

Private  Scandal  . 

Thirty  Day  Princess  . 

Kiss  and  Make  Up . 

The  Great  Flirtation . 

Here  Comes  the  Groom... 
Notorious  Sophie  Lang  .  .  . 

Old  Fashioned  Way  . 

She  Loves  Me  Not  . 

Shoot  the  Works  . 

Elmer  and  Elsie . 

Ladies  Should  Listen  .  .  .  . 

Cleopatra  . 

Crime  without  Passion  .  .  . 

Now  and  Forever  . 

Belle  of  the  Nineties  . 

Mrs.  Wiggs,  Cabbage  Patch 
You  Belong  to  Me . 


1- Feb. 

2- Feb. 
2-Feb. 
2-Mar. 
2-Mar. 
2-Mar. 
2-Apr. 
2-Apr. 
2-Apr. 
1-May 
1-May 
1-May 

1- May 

2- May 
2-May 
2-May 
2-May 
2-May 
2-June 
2-June 

1- July 

2- July 
2-July 
2-July 
2-July 
1-Aug. 

1- Aug. 

2- Aug. 
2-Aug. 
2-Aug. 
1-Sept. 
1-Sept. 
1-Sept. 


Radio 


Keep  ’Em  Rolling  .  . 
Long  Lost  Father.  .  . 

The  Lost  Patrol . 

Sing  and  Like  It . 

Spitfire  . 

Suocess  at  Any  Price 
This  Man  Is  Mine  ... 
The  Crime  Doctor .  .  . 
Finishing  School  .  .  . 

Wild  Cargo  . 

Where  Sinners  Meet  . 
Strictly  Dynamite  .  .  . 

Stingaree  . 

Cockeyed  Cavaliers  .  . 
Murder  on  Blackboard 

Vergie  Winters  . 

Bachelor  Bait  . 

His  Greatest  Gamble 

Let’s  Try  Again . 

We’re  Rich  Again  .  .  . 


2-Feb. 

2-Feb. 

2-Feb. 

1-Mar. 

1-Mar. 

1- Mar. 

2- Mar. 


1- Apr. 

2- Apr. 
2-Apr. 
1-May 

1- May 

2- May 
2-June 
2-June 
2-June 
1-July 
1-July 
1-July 
1-July 


Of  Human  Bondage  . 2-July 

Hat,  Coat  and  Glove . 1-Aug. 

Their  Big  Moment . 1-Aug. 

The  Fountain  . 1-Sept. 


United  Artists 


Gallant  Lady  . 2-Dec. 

Moulin  Rouge  . 1-Jan. 

Nana  . 2-Jan. 

Palooka  . 1-Feb. 

Sorrell  and  Son . 2-Feb. 

Looking  for  Trouble . 2-Feb. 

Catherine  the  Great . 1-Mar. 

House  of  Rothschild  . 2-Mar. 

The  Affairs  of  Cellini . 1-May 

Bulldog  Drummond  Strikes  Back  . 2-May 

The  Last  Gentleman  . 2-May 

Born  to  Be  Bad  . 2-June 

Our  Daily  Bread  .  2-July 

Nell  Gwyn  . 1-Aug. 

For  Love  or  Money  (Cash)  (Mundus)  .  .  2-Aug. 


Universal 


Midnight  .  1-Mar. 

Gun  Justice  . 1-Mar. 

Countess  of  Monte  Cristo .  2-Mar. 

Honor  of  the  West .  2-Mar. 

Let’s  Be  Ritzy  .  2-Mar. 

Glamour  . 2-Apr. 

I’ll  Tell  the  World .  2-Apr. 

Smoking  Guns  (Doomed  to  Die) .  1-May 

Half  a  Sinner  .  1-May 

The  Uncertain  Lady  .  1-May 

Affairs  of  Gentleman  . 2-May 

Dangerous  to  Women  (The  Love  Captive) . 2-May 

The  Black  Cat  . 2-May 

Embarrassing  Moments  . 1-June 

Little  Man,  What  Now?  . 1-June 

I  Give  My  Love  . 1-June 

Let’s  Talk  It  Over .  2-June 

Million  Dollar  Ransom  . 2-Aug. 

One  More  River  .  2-Aug. 

Romance  in  the  Rain  . 2-Aug. 

The  Human  Side  .  1-Sept. 


First  Division 

(CHESTERFIELD) 


Cross  Streets  .  1-Mar. 

The  Quitter  .  1-Apr. 

Stolen  Sweets  .  2-Apr. 

In  Love  with  Life  . 1-May 

Twin  Husbands  .  1-May 

City  Park  . . 2-July 

Fifteen  Wives  .  1-Aug. 

Green  Eyes  .  1-Sept. 


He  . 2-Jan. 

Throne  of  the  Gods  . 2-Jan. 

Under  Secret  Orders . 1-Jan. 

Forgotten  Men  . 2-June 

Texas  Tornado  .  2-Mar. 

The  Ferocious  Pal .  1-Apr. 

Young  Eagles  .  2-May 

Little  Damozel  . 1-Sept. 


Gold  Medal 

The  Big  Bluff  . 

Important  Witness  . 

Laughing  at  Life  . 

Curtain  at  Eight .  .  . 

You  Made  Me  Love  You . 

The  Charming  Deceiver . 

Sin  of  Nora  Moran . 

Big  Time  or  Bust . 

Enlighten  Thy  Daughter . 

The  Morning  After . 

Unknown  Blonde  . 

The  Lost  Jungle . 

Burn  ’Em  Up  Barnes . 

Masterpiece 

Riot  Squad  . 

Secret  Sinners  . 

Wine,  Women  and  Song . 

What’s  Your  Racket? . 

Dancing  Man  . 

Back  Page  . 

The  Fighting  Rookie . 

The  Oil  Raider . 


2-0ct. 

2-Aug. 

2-June 

1-Deo. 

1-Dec. 

1-Jan. 

1- Jan. 

2- Jan. 
2-Jan. 
2-Feb. 
1-Apr. 

1- June 

2- July 


2-Aug. 

1- Jan. 

2- Jan. 
2-Feb. 
2-Mar. 

1- Apr. 

2- June 
1-Sept. 


Sep  1  ’  34  pg.  31 


NAT  LEVINE  present/  ^lilG 

WAMPAS  BABY  STARS 


•  SONG  HITS  • 
“A  PRETTY  GIRL— 

A  LOVELY  EVENING1' 
"HUSH  YOUR  FUSS" 


WILLIAM  HAINES  JUDITH  ALLEN 

JOHN  MILJAN  JOSEPH CAWTHORN 

TED  FIO-RITO  and  HIS  ORCHESTRA 
SHAW  AND  LEE  WARREN  HYMER 

VINCE  BARNETT  ANDRE  BERANGER 

FRANKLIN  PANGBORN  RAY  MAYER 
ED  LESTER’S  HOLLYWOOD  SINGERS 
THE  HUDSON -METZGER  DANCING  GIRLS 
Directed  by  JOSEPH  SANTLEY 
Personally  Supervised  by 
NAT  LEVINE 


DISTRIBUTED  BY 

GOLD  MEDAL  FILM  COMPANY 

1236  Vine  Slreet  PHILADELPHIA  A.  LUCCHESE,  President 


Sep  1'34  b.c. 


WELL,  BOYS: 

I  HAVE  JUST  COME  FROM  THE  PROJECTION 
ROOM  WHERE  I  SAW  A  COUPLE  OF  PICTURES 
THAT  SHOULD  MAKE  YOUR  BOX  OFFICE  BULGE 

THEY  ARE: 

"CHAINED" 

with  JOAN  CRAWFORD 
and  CLARK  GABLE 

(BETTER  than  "DANCING  LADY") 

THE  BARRETTS  of  WIMPOLE  STREET 

with 

NORMA  SHEARER 
HERBERT  MARSHALL 
CHARLES  LAUGHTON 

BOTH  OF  THESE  PICTURES  will  make  new 

RECORDS  AND  NEW  FRIENDS  FOR  YOUR  THEATRES. 


AND  ON  THE  WAY: 


H 

n 

u 


/#  MAURICE  CHEVALIER 

JEANNETTE  MacDONALD 


THE  MERRY  WIDOW 

DAVID  COPPERFIELD  "  with  AN  ALL  STAR  CAST 
DEATH  on  the  DIAMOND77  A  Thriller  for  Any  Theatre 


JUST  A  FEW  OF  THE  HITS  FROM 

METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER 

1233  SUMMER  STREET 

PHILADELPHIA  Bob  Lynch,  MSt. 


VOL  16— No.  18  PHILADELPHIA,  SEPTEMBER  15,  1934  Price,  15  Cents 


Sepl5’34  pg.  2 


Featuring 

WELDON  HEYBURN 
SALLY  O’NEILL 
HERBERT  RAWLINSON 

NED  WAYBURN  DANCING  GIRLS 
ISHAM  JONES  and  HIS  ORCHESTRA 


Directed  by 
LUTHER  REED 


Director  of 

"HELL'S  ANGELS" 
"RIO  RITA"and  "DIXI  AN  A" 


A  Falcon  Picture 

Produced  and  Supervised  by 

DAVID  M.  THOMAS 


Direct  from  its  World  Premier  at  the  Steel  Pier! 


Sepl5'34  pg.  3 

A  Box-Office  Story  Without  Words! 


DARRYL  ZANUCK 


PRODUCTIONS 


Presented  by 

JOSEPH  M.  SCHENCK 


i *$$!&$*&&&■ 
rSZ ;.-,.  •  '  -•■  ■  - 


Spl^ 


'  •'  .Y  v-  "  “  -i¥ 


•V.''* 


Sepl5'34  pg.  5 


r. 


5  >ViV. .  - 


'*Vf .  Afc 


CENTURY 

PICTURES 


/ 


ff 


W- 


if 

^UAhiTlr  r-,*  I  DENVER  1 
Doubled"TL  .  TY  f  Opened  bigger 
°f  *oth  e,House  I  than  ''Rothschild" 
r<?co  rdf  S°h  i  Id "  I  "Second  wee 

1  aoinri  f ino  F" 


% 


SgtotfAia 


week 
going  fine/"  writes 
Variety. 


Imagine!  B.gger  |gg 
than  "Rothschild 

in  its  first  two  pre- 

release  ©09®g® 

ments!  Hit  No.  3'. 


ik;  •v.-t*'*! 


"c 

J;^s 

Im°*e 

On**111 
'OQq 


VA*/er\ 


I  ''GaHoping 

■  °  n  g  ;n 

TChH>CA9Gol 

Thre e  week 


//. 


es$ion!  " 


'CINCINNATI 
critics  raked  through 
the  superlatives! 

Sparkling!$12,500!" 

—  VARIETY 


And  that’s  the  way 
it’s  clicking  every¬ 
where!  Hit  No.  2 
in  20th  Century’s 
parade  of  hits! 


tZuV* 


a* 


Set  ^ 

]^CB! 

10  }QQ  J'f 


lery 


From  coast  tp  coast 
.  .  .  20th  Century 
flies  high  with  its  Hit  l**®?**^^ 

gr&kSi&»*'  ^  >| 

No.  1 1 


Sepl5'34  pg.  6 


t 


BOY,  OH,  BOYI  IS 

UNIVERSAL 

STEPPING  OUT! 


cl  <jat> 


A  30-Star  musical  screenshow,  with  EDMUND  LOWE,  RUTH  ETTING, 
Gloria  Stuart,  Phil  Baker,  Chester  Morris  and  dozens  of  other  famous 
names  of  screen,  stage  and  radio. 


'T/te  Human  Side 

Starring  ADOLPHE  MENJOU,  with  Doris  Kenyon,  Dickie  Moore, 
Joseph  Cawthorn,  Reginald  Owen,  Betty  Lawford,  Charlotte  Henry. 
Directed  by  Edward  Buzzell. 

(Hemanee  in  tfte  Jiaitt 

With  ROGER  PRYOR,  HEATHER  ANGEL,  Esther  Ralston,  Victor  Moore, 
Ruth  Donnelly,  Paul  Kaye.  Directed  by  Stuart  Walker.  A  Stanley 
Bergerman  Production. 


Sepl5'34  pg.  7 


There’*  Ciiwatj*  'Tumor run' 

With  FRANK  MORGAN  and  the  radiant  new  star,  BINNIE  BARNES; 
Lois  Wilson,  Elizabeth  Young,  Louise  Latimer,  Alan  Hale.  Story  bv 
URSULA  PARROTT.  Directed  by  Edward  Sloman. 

imitation  of  *£ife 

FANNIE  HURST’S  novel.  Starring  CLAUDETTE  COLBERT,  with  WAR¬ 
REN  WILLIAM,  ROCHELLE  HUDSON,  Ned  Sparks,  Henry  Armetta. 
A  JOHN  M.  STAHL  PRODUCTION. 

One  IT! etc  Mirer 

JOHN  GALSWORTHY’S  NOVEL.  Starring  DIANA  WYNWARD,  with 
Colin  Clive,  Frank  Lawton,  Jane  Wyatt,  Mrs.  Patrick  Campbell,  Lionel 
Atwill,  Reginald  Denny,  C.  Aubrey  Smith,  Henry  Stephenson,  Alan 
Mowbray.  A  JAMES  WHALE  PRODUCTION. 

Jliqltt  idif’c  of  the  fjod.s 

THORNE  SMITHE'S  novel.  A  Great  Novelty  Comedy.  A  LOWELL 
SHERMAN  PRODUCTION,  with  Alan  Mowbray,  Florine  McKinney, 
Peggy  Shannon,  Henry  Armetta  and  many  others. 

IMliCCion  dboCCar  Hansom 

DAMON  RUNYON’S  Cosmopolitan  Magazine  story.  With  PHILLIPS 
HOLMES,  EDWARD  ARNOLD,  MARY  CARLISLE,  Andy  Devine,  Wini 
Shaw.  Directed  by  Murray  Roth. 

'ICuhe  tip  and  dtheam 

With  RUSS  COLUMBO,  ROGER  PRYOR,  JUNE  KNIGHT,  Catherine 
Doucet,  Henry  Armetta,  Andy  Devine,  Wini  Shaw.  Story  by  John 
Meehan,  Jr.  Directed  by  Kurt  Neumann.  A  B.  F.  Zeidman  Production. 


THE 


EDITOR'S  PAGE 


Vol.  16,  No.  18  September  15,  1934 


Both  Being  Hurt 

_  IT  IS  ONE  THING  to  delay  selling  be- 
®  cause  of  zoning  controversies  or  code 
problems,  but  it  is  entirely  apart  from  those 
questions  when  an  exchange  deliberately 
allows  its  product  to  remain  gathering  dust 
on  the  shelves  because  the  distributor  and 
exhibitor  cannot  get  together. 

The  annual  buying  tussle  is  an  age-old 
controversy  between  buyer  and  seller.  One 
does  not  expect  that  there  should  be  any¬ 
thing  but  plenty  of  haggling  on  both  sides. 
But,  after  a  certain  point,  an  economic  ques¬ 
tion  arises.  Granted  that  an  exchange  is 
entitled  to  what  it  thinks  it  can  get.  But 
on  the  other  hand  the  exhibitor  usually 
wants  to  pay  only  what  he  thinks  he  is  able 
to  pay.  Somewhere  between  those  two  points 
there  must  be  a  spirit  of  compromise.  The 
more  accounts  a  distributor  services,  the 
better  it  is  for  the  industry. 

If  a  distributor  fails  to  get  together  with 
an  exhibitor  and  keeps  his  pictures  idle 
rather  than  give  them  away  at  a  figure  he 
thinks  too  cheap,  he  is  depriving  himself  of 
revenue,  keeping  the  exhibitor  from  earn¬ 
ing  profits  on  the  picture.  After  he  does 
buy  them  at  a  reduction  the  value  of  the 
picture  has  been  lessened  and  neither  party 
gains  yet  the  distributor  would  probably  be 
in  a  better  position  the  next  time  if  the 
exhibitor  were  sold  earlier  and  had  a  chance 
to  “cash  in.” 

Common  sense  should  govern  this  course. 


Good  Building  Spurt 

#  EVERYONE  IS  QUITE  AWARE 
^  these  days  that  there  has  been  a  de¬ 
cided  increase  in  renovation,  reconstruction 
and  rebuilding  fields.  Not  only  has  the  gov¬ 
ernment  turned  its  attention  toward  more 
construction,  but  there  has  been  a  natural 
impetus  in  the  theatre  division  as  well. 

Theatremen  who  can  scrape  up  the  money 
are  putting  it  into  their  theatres,  modern¬ 
izing  and  renovating  them.  They  have 
learned  their  lesson  from  watching  other 
houses  turn  the  same  trick  and  benefit  their 
box  offices.  Somehow,  patrons  prefer  com¬ 
fortable  theatres,  even  if  the  pictures  on 
two  competitive  screen  may  be  the  same.  It 
is  well  that  exhibitors  are  pouring  money 
into  renovation  and  reconstruction.  It  is 
indicative  of  the  faith  they  have  in  the 
future  of  this  business  and  their  vision  must 
be  re-echoed  by  the  Hollywood  producers 
who  are  pouring  more  and  more  money  into 
their  productions. 

There  is  reason  for  rejoicing,  too,  in  the 
fact  that  fewer  palatial,  de  luxe  palaces 
are  being  built.  After  all,  the  essentials 
of  a  successful  theatre  are  three.  A  house 
must  be  comfortable,  must  contain  all  mod¬ 
ern  devices  and  methods,  seats.  A  house 
must  have  good  projection  and  sound.  A 
house  must  have  good  pictures. 

The  first  two  can  be  bought,  the  last  is 
and  always  will  be  a  problem.  But  com¬ 
fort  and  good  projection  and  sound  will  help 
overcome  the  handicap  of  weaker  pictures. 
The  smart  theatreman  is  the  one  who  keeps 
his  theatre  up  to  the  minute  and  ahead  of 
it.  Let  the  renovating  and  rebuilding  boom 
continue. 


The  Philadelphia 

EXHIBITOR 

Circulating  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware.  Issued  on  the  1st  and  15th 
of  each  month  by  Jay  Emanuel  Publications,  Inc.  Publishing  office,  219  North  Broad  Street,  Philadelphia. 
Branches  at  1600  Broadway,  New  York  City;  Washington,  D.  C.  Jay  Emanuel,  publisher;  Paul  J. 
Greenhalgh,  advertising  manager;  Herbert  M.  Miller,  managing  editor.  Subscription  rates:  $2  for  one 
year,  $5  for  three  years.  Single  copies,  15c  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware. 
Publishers,  also,  of  THE  NATIONAL  EXHIBITOR  of  Washington  and  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  EXHIBITOR. 
Official  organ  of  the  Motion  Picture  Theatre  Owners  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and 
Delaware.  Address  all  communications  to  the  Philadelphia  office. 


A  House  Divided 


ANNOUNCEMENT  of  the  collection  of  a  war  fund  to 
fight  the  attempt  of  the  American  Society  of  Com¬ 
posers,  Authors  and  Publishers  illustrates  once  again  in  what  a 
sorry  state  the  exhibitor  factions  of  this  country  find  themselves. 

In  any  line  of  business,  if  a  common  enemy  arose,  there  would 
be  contributions  from  various  organizations  in  all  branches  of  that 
division  of  endeavor.  Here,  there  is  no  organization,  no  financial 
treasuries  that  can  be  tapped,  nothing  but  an  unorganized  group 
of  exhibitors  who  have  been  so  busy  fighting  for  something  they 
never  seem  to  be  able  to  define  that  they  appear  unable  to  combine 
against  a  common  enemy.  Even  the  projectionists  have  a  big  war 
chest. 

In  the  final  analysis,  regardless  of  internal  squabbles,  this  busi¬ 
ness  is  an  entity,  should  remain  that  way,  with  a  strength  that 
comes  from  a  complete  understanding  among  all  of  its  divisions. 
Let  the  distributor  and  exhibitor  haggle,  let  various  groups  of 
exhibitors  differ  on  policies,  let  some  like  double  features,  let 
others  object,  let  some  prefer  premiums,  let  others  protest,  but, 
finally,  there  ought  to  be  a  common  bond  that  brings  them  all 
together. 

There  should  be  nothing  so  serious  in  the  differences  that 
could  not  be  laid  aside  in  order  that  one  enemy,  attempting  to  hurt 
them  all,  could  not  be  met  and  defeated. 

It  does  not  seem  possible  that  men  who  have  such  huge 
amounts  invested  in  theatre  properties  can  not  reach  a  unanimity 
of  opinion  instead  of  always  wrangling  among  themselves. 

Some  day  a  Messiah  will  step  out  of  the  ranks  and  gain  the 
good  will  of  all  the  exhibitors.  But  until  that  time,  it  won’t  be 
pleasant  to  watch  the  useless  and  continual  squabbling. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Sepl5'34 


9 


Special  Session  Being  Watched  by 

Exhibs  as  State  Seeks  More  Funds 


West  Phila.  Will  Be  Rezoned 


From  a  reliable  source  it  is  under¬ 
stood  that  the  Code  Authority  will  re¬ 
commend  that  West  Philadelphia  be 
re-zoned.  Such  a  recommendation  on 
the  part  of  the  National  Board  will  act 
as  a  virtual  command  to  the  local  Board 
to  fulfill  its  plans  of  several  months  ago 
and  actually  go  to  work  on  the  re-zon¬ 
ing  job. 

Such  a  recommendation  will  obviate 
the  necessity  of  a  ruling  on  the  petition 
now  before  the  Board  of  Earl  M.  Forte’s 
Ambassador  Theatre,  Philadelphia, 
against  Stanley-Warner’s  Benn  Theatre. 


Film  Men  Invited  to 
Gross  Address  at  Forum 

Fox  Branch  Manager  Talks  on 

Block  Booking 

Film  men  as  well  as  interested  club 
women  are  invited  to  attend  the  Septem¬ 
ber  17  meeting  of  the  Forum  of  Women’s 
Clubs,  at  the  Chamber  of  Commerce 
Building,  12th  and  Walnut,  at  2  P.  M. 

Highlight  of  the  day  will  be  an  address  on 
"Pricking  the  Block  Booking  Bubble,"  by  Sam 
Gross,  local  Fox  exchange  manager. 

Several  hundred  are  expected,  with  Gross’ 
ability  as  a  speech-maker  very  well  known. 

The  clubwomen  invite  all  to  come. 

Plans  are  being  made  for  an  address  on 
"Trade  Gossip  on  the  NRA”  by  Jay  Emanuel 
at  the  October  meeting. 


Local  MPTO  Protests  Courtesy  Tickets 

George  P.  Aarons,  Secretary  of  the  MPTO 
of  Eastern  Pennsylvania  has  filed  a  complaint 
with  the  Theatre  Code  against  the  Broad  Street 
Theatre  (legitimate)  on  the  issuance  of  cut-rate 
courtesy  tickets  at  reduced  admission  prices. 
The  protested  tickets  are  good  at  any  perform¬ 
ance  at  a  50%  reduction  from  the  advertised 
price,  plus  a  10%  Federal  admission  tax. 

Issued  under  the  flimsy  pretense  of  a  cour¬ 
tesy  of  the  Publicity  Department,  the  tickets 
are  exchangeable  at  the  box  office  for  regular 
seats  and  are  considered  by  local  theatremen 
to  be  unfair  competition. 


“Wandering  Jew ”  Held  Up 

It  is  popular  belief  that  the  English 
import  “Wandering  Jew”  will  never  be 
generally  released  by  MGM.  A  loud  and 
sustained  protest  has  been  heard  from 
Rabbis  of  the  Jewish  faith  and  heads  of 
other  religions  that  the  picture  will  cause 
more  harm  than  good  because  of  the 
extremely  controversial  nature  of  the 
subject. 


Relief  Revenue  Big  Problem  for  Lawmakers — MPTO 
Keeping  Ear  to  Ground  —  Financial  Problem  Faces 
Commonwealth 


As  the  special  session  of  the  legislature  convenes  in  Harrisburg  for  relief  pur¬ 


poses,  theatremen  are  keeping  their  ears  cl 

"BURTON  HOLMES" 


ON  BLOCK  BOOKING.  Sam  Gross, 
local  Fox  manager,  addresses  ex¬ 
hibitors  and  clubwomen  September 
17  on  the  block  booking  problem. 


Steifel’s  New  Venice 

Charlie  Steifel’s  latest  addition  to  the  Venice 
makes  the  theatre  a  900  seat  house  and  a  show 
place  of  South  Philly.  National  Th  atre  Sup- 
pis-  Company  handled  a  large  part  of  the  con¬ 
tract. 

Steifel's  success  with  the  Venice  is  indica¬ 
tive  of  his  flair  for  good  management.  He  has 
set  himself  in  solidly  with  the  populace  there. 


Sam  Dembow  Leaves  Paramount 

Considerable  surprise  was  expressed  in  the 
local  industry  at  the  announcement  of  the 
resignation  of  Sam  Dembow,  Jr.,  of  the  promi¬ 
nent  local  Dembow  family,  from  his  position  as 
general  manager  of  the  Paramount-Publix 
Theatres. 

Dembow  who  was  president  of  the  Theatre 
Management  Corporation  and  a  member  of  the 
Paramount  Board  of  Directors  for  a  number  of 
years  gained  the  widest  national  prominence 
in  his  association  with  that  company.  Due  to 
his  start  in  the  local  business,  he  has  many 
friends  in  this  territory. 

The  reason  given  for  his  resignation,  which 
takes  effect  October  1st,  was  a  tempting  propo¬ 
sition  to  become  associated  with  National 
Screen  Service. 

It  is  reported  locally  that  such  a  move  would 
indicate  his  purchasing  a  share  in  the  latter 
company. 

Frank  Freeman  has  been  appointed  as  his 
successor. 


dsc  to  the  ground. 

Whether  or  not  taxation  on  admissions  of 
theatres  is  being  considered  is  unknown,  but  at 
any  rate,  the  local  MPTO  is  keeping  in  touch 
w  th  the  situation. 

With  business  conditions  in  many  theatres  in 
pretty  tough  straits,  further  taxation  would  be 
a  calamity.  The  exhibs’  policy  is  one  of  watch¬ 
ful  waiting. 

Banner  Turnout  Expected 
for  Bob  Mochrie  Dinner 

Warner  Executive  Honored 
at  Testimonial 


Robert  Mochrie,  recently  appointed 
assistant  to  Andy.  Smith,  Jr.,  Warners1’ 
sales  manager,  will  he  guest  of  local  film 
men  at  a  dinner  to  be  tendered  him  Sep¬ 
tember  17. 

The  dinner,  sponsored  by  his  friends,  is  ex- 
pecfed  to  be  a  highlight  of  the  local  season. 

Mochrie  used  to  be  Warners'  manager  here 
until  succeeded  by  Bill  Mansell.  Warner  home 
office  executives  will  attend  as  will  industry 
leaders  here. 

Dick  Powell,  picture  star,  will  be  a  feature  of 
the  evening. 

Leonard  Schlesinger,  S-W  zone  manager,  will 
be  toastmaster.  At  last  reports,  he  weighed  in 
at  198  and  was  ready  to  go. 


State,  Boyertown,  Opens 

George  Kline's  State  Theatre,  Boyertown, 
opened  Labor  Day.  The  house  was  redeco¬ 
rated,  re-draped  and  had  a  new  marquee,  new 
heating  and  ventilating  system,  new  carpets 
and  electrical  fixtures  installed.  National  The¬ 
atre  Supply  Company  was  one  of  the  principal 
contractors. 

The  State  will  be  operated  on  a  2-2-1-1  change 
policy.  George  P.  Aarons,  secretary  of  the  local 
MPTO,  delivered  the  opening  address  in  the 
absence  of  the  mayor. 


Delaware  Charters 

Transcontinental  Amusement  Corporation.  General 
financial  business. 

Lichtman  Theatres,  Inc.  Manage  and  operate  theatres 
and  amusement  enterprises. 


Warners  Welcome  Boost 

According  to  a  statement  recently 
made  by  Joe  Bernhard,  general  manager, 
Warner  Theatres  stand  ready  to  raise 
admission  prices  provided  independent 
competitors  will  go  along  on  the  plan. 
Bernhard  pointed  to  the  increase  in  costs 
due  to  NRA  and  admission  taxes  as  a 
substantial  reason  for  such  an  increase. 


10 


Sepl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Bernhard  Promises  Fair  Play  for 

All  Exhibitors  of  the  Territory 


Perfectly  Willing  at  Any  Time  to  Meet  and  Discuss 
Grievances  with  Each  Theatreman,  He  States  in 
Interview 

Joseph  Bernhard,  general  manager,  Warner  Theatres,  is  willing  and  ready  to  meet 
and  discuss  any  grievance  which  any  exhibitor  may  have  against  the  company,  he 
states  in  an  interview  with  a  representative  of  The  Exhibitor. 

Bernhard  was  asked  the  company’s  attitude  _ 


on  problems  affecting  the  circuit  and  the  indi¬ 
vidual  independent  exhibitor  and  replied  in  part : 

“If  any  exhibitor  feels  that  he  has  any  com¬ 
plaint  against  our  operation  of  theatres  in  the 
Philadelphia  territory,  he  is  perfectly  free  to 
come  and  discuss  the  matter  with  me.  Should  I 
think  he  is  right,  I  will  endeavor  to  remedy  the 
situation,  but  if,  in  my  opinion,  I  think  he  is 
wrong.  I  will  not  hesitate  to  tell  him  so.  So 
there  can  be  no  misunderstanding,  I  will  not 
agree  to  take  any  grievance  before  a  commit¬ 
tee,  but  am  perfectly  willing  at  any  time  to  meet 
and  discuss  with  any  exhibitor  his  grievance.’’ 


Heard  In 


V 


INE  STREET 

Betty  McCaffrey  Kicks — 
Labor  Day  Doings 


JOE  ENGEL  is  very  enthusiastic  about 
BINNIE  BARNES’  first  Universal  picture, 
"There’s  Always  Tomorrow.” 

RUSS  COLOMBO'S  last  picture,  “Wake  Up 
and  Dream,”  will  be  released  by  Universal  on 
October  1. 

EDGAR  MOSS  had  to  ask  SAM  GROSS  the 
name  of  that  first  picture  on  the  Fox  line-up 
about  which  he  enthuses  to  exhibitors. 

BEN  TOLMAS  tried  to  drive  his  car  through 
a  creek  near  Boyertown  recently,  but  found 
his  car  did  not  have  floating  power.  It  cost 
him  eleven  dollars  to  find  out. 

BILL  CLARK,  Horlacher  executive,  spent 
Labor  Day  in  the  company’s  garage.  He  took 
the  name  of  the  day  literally. 

DOROTHY  DENNIS,  secretary  to  JIM 
CLARK,  spent  the  Labor  Day  week-end  at 
Alexandria  Bay  in  the  Thousand  Islands. 
Sounds  ritzy. 

BETTY  McCAFFREY,  popular  UA  booker, 
complained  that  she  was  never  asked  for  local 
news.  When  she  was  asked  she  couldn't  think 
of  any.  Nice  girl,  though. 

GOLD  MEDAL-MAJESTIC  adds  to  local 
sales  staff.  PHIIL  DUFFY,  former  First 
Nationalise  covering  Scranton  and  up-state ; 
BILL  DEVONSHIRE  formerly  of  Metro, 
covering  Harrisburg;  BILL  KARRER,  one 
of  the  real  old-timers,  covering  Jersey  and 
Delaware. 

NEWSREEL  SHOTS  of  the  Morro  Castle 
disaster  appeared  in  all  five  reels.  The  news 
reel  companies  of  the  industry  deserve  a  big 
hand  in  giving  early  releases.  Fox  had  the 
most  footage. 

EARLE  SWEIGERT  boasts  of  four  big  Para¬ 
mount  pictures  for  seasonal  kick-off.  “Now 
and  Forever,”  “She  Loves  Ale  Not,"  “Cleo¬ 
patra"  and  “Belle  of  the  90’s"  are  doing  ter¬ 
rific  business  everywhere.  The  Mae  West 
opus  was  held  over  for  a  second  week  at 
Steel  Pier,  Atlantic  City. 


JOE  ENGLE,  local  Universal  branch  man¬ 
ager,  announces  that  his  Warner  deal  is 
completed  for  the  new  season’s  product. 

LEONARD  SCHLESINGER,  the  Warner 
theatre  chief  instructed  ENGLE  to  call  THE 
EXHIBITOR  office  and  tell  them  about  it, 
knowing  that  he  would  do  so  anyway. 

UNIVERSAL  also  closed  for  the  Comerford 
circuit  recently  and  is  set  in  key  cities  every¬ 
where. 

BILL  MANSELL  advises  that  the  local  War¬ 
ner  office  has  15  features  ready  for  release 
now. 

BEN  BACHE,  formerly  with  MGM,  now 
handling  Conshohocken  for  Schwalbe. 

MEYER  ADELMAN  reports  less  headaches. 
Most  Vine  Streeters  are  now  back  from  their 
summer  sojourns  at  the  various  seashores. 

MIKE  LANDOW,  according  to  reports  from 
York,  is  very  happy  in  his  rose-covered  cot¬ 
tage  at  Marion  and  Arlington  Roads  in  that 
city.  He  likes  his  new  job  and  is  very  busy. 
Incidentally,  Mike  has  a  private  phone,  York 
2921  which  is  not  private  any  more.  His 
friends  should  call  him. 

RUBE  BRENNER  is  now  with  UA  in  a  sales 
capacity.  Originally  hired  as  special  repre¬ 
sentative  for  Mundas,  he  has  been  trans¬ 
ferred  to  the  regular  sales  force,  as  the  for¬ 
eign  product  will  be  handled  by  all  UA  sales¬ 
men. 

DICK  POWELL.  Warner  star,  will  be  god¬ 
father  for  EARL  BAILEY’S  new  baby. 

HARRY  WIENER  raves  about  “One  Night 
of  Love,"  the  first  Columbia  picture  of  the 
new  season  and  points  to  its  hold-overs  in 
New  York,  Los  Angeles  and  San  Francisco. 

"THE  COUNT  OF  MONTE  CRISTO”  the 
UA  opus  opens  September  15,  at  the  Aldine, 
Philadelphia. 

EDGAR  MOSS  points  with  pride  to  the  record 
which  “Handy  Andy”  set  at  Richely’s  York 
Theatre,  York,  Pa.  12,190  people  paid  to  see 


Jim  Clark’s  Clam  Bake 

According  to  Jim  Clark,  prominent 
local  figure  and  executive  of  the  Hor¬ 
lacher  Delivery  Service,  the  clam  bake 
held  at  his  summer  residence  above  Boy¬ 
ertown  on  Labor  Day  was  a  big  success. 
Numerous  prominent  film  executives  and 
theatre  owners  were  among  the  large 
group  that  attended. 

Many  of  the  invitations,  however, 
were  reported  lost  in  the  mail. 


the  picture  in  six  days,  setting  a  new  record, 
which  is  nearly  500  over  any  past  business. 

ED  BORETH,  at  Masterpiece,  reports  s’gnal 
success  with  the  new  Mutt  and  Jeff  reels. 
S-W  has  booked  it  around  the  circuit.  Ed  is 
looking  for  more  product  and  expects  to  have 
a  real  announcement  soon. 

BEN  HARRIS  wants  a  retraction  of  the  item 
that  his  wife  is  sewing  baby  garments.  It  seems 
that  the  garments  are  for  Bennie,  an  easy 
mistake  to  make. 

SOL  LEWIS,  Edgemont  Theatre,  was  taken  to 
the  Mt.  Sinai  Hospital  in  a  hurry  when  an 
appendix  attack  got  him.  He  is  a  brother  to 
Norman,  well-known  exhib. 

CHARLIE  IvLANG  lost  his  brother-in-law 
rec  ntlv,  when  the  latter  died  at  Jefferson 
Hospital.  The  street  mourns. 

JOHN  GOLDER  plans  a  big  campaign  on  “To¬ 
morrow's  Children.”  HERB  EFFINGER  is 
going  strong  for  it  upstate  in  his  entire  cir¬ 
cuit.  MOE  VERBIN,  at  the  Europa,  here,  is 
also  going  to  give  it  a  big  campaign.  The 
show  is  an  ace  from  Hollywood. 

SAM  BLATT,  popular  salesman  for  Quality 
Premium,  has  closed  11  deals  for  the  company 
in  the  fall  business  drive. 

ETTA  V.  SEGALL,  FD  booker,  received  a 
50-lb.  watermelon  from  a  Delaware  exhibitor. 
Who  was  he  ? 

GEORGE  NAUDASCHER,  fresh  from  a  trip 
to  California,  visited  the  Fox  lot,  says  that 
some  of  the  others  were  closed. 

LOU  PIZOR,  who  hasn't  been  fe  ling  so  well, 
picked  up  a  bit  recently. 

MIKE  KATZ,  the  Gold  Medal  leader  while 
Tony  Lucchese  is  away,  is  all  enthused  over 
his  new  season's  product. 


In  the  battle  for  the  front  spot  being  staged  by  the  two  local  theatre  owners’ 
associations,  the  score  is  now  one-one. 

When  the  IEPA  opened  its  new  elaborate  Vine  Street  headquarters  with  flags, 
banners  and  ringing  bells,  plans  were  set  afoot  by  the  MPTO  for  similar  headquar¬ 
ters.  It  is  understood  at  present  that  quarters  have  been  leased  and  even  more* 
striking  furnishings  and  larger  flags  will  be  hung.  IEPA  was  first,  so  the  score 
stood  1-0. 

On  September  1st  the  MPTO  issued  a  four-page,  one-color  weekly  bullet-'n 
entitled  “Contact,”  edited  by  George  P.  Aarons,  Secretary,  and  carrying  organ¬ 
ization  messages,  general  release  dates  and  biographies  of  members. 

On  September  11th  the  IEPA  followed  with  a  two-color  weekly  bulletin  entitled 
“Independent  Exhibitors’  Film  Bulletin”  of  which  Mo  Wax,  brother  of  Morris  Wax, 
an  officer  in  their  organization,  was  editor  and  publisher.  The  latter  contains  a 
bombastic  manifesto  in  a  familiar  style,  an  account  of  organization  activities,  release 
dates  and  a  reviewing  service,  also  some  advice  on  the  handling  of  trailers,  which 
was  Mo  Wax’s  most  recent  connection. 

Because  of  the  eleven  days’  interval,  the  MPTO  gets  the  point. 

Score  now  1-1. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Sepl5'34 


ll 


FLASHES  FROM 
COAL  FIELDS 

By  BIDU 


MRS.  EDGAR  SIMONIS  back  in  town  after 
spending  the  summer  in  Connecticut  and  Long 
Island. 

MANY  EXHIBITORS  in  the  anthracite  region 
anxiously  waiting  for  the  date  set  for  the 
Golf  Tournament. 

PETE  MARONIS  of  Wyoming  is  expected 
back  from  Greece  in  the  very  near  future. 

MRS.  JOHN  FAVINI  of  Jessup  and  Peck- 
vi lie  has  returned  after  spending  the  summer 
at  her  lake  home. 

MATT  CAREY  of  the  Comerford  office  re¬ 
cently  returned  from  Washington  where  he 
called  on  MATT,  JR.,  who  underwent  an 
operation. 

THE  TWO  outstanding  pitch  players  of 
Wyoming  Valley,  EDDIE  CONNELLY, 
State,  Nanticoke,  and  the  new  postmaster, 
STANLEY  JANOSKI. 

SAM  SEARO  who  operates  the  Home  The¬ 
atre,  Old  Forge,  has  just  opened  up  one  of 
the  finest  beer  gardens  in  the  state. 

THE  BOWLING  LEAGUE  will  soon  be 
under  way  here  in  Scranton. 

JIMMY  ROBERTS  was  one  of  the  judges  in 
selecting  Miss  Anthracite. 

CAP  MURRAY,  for  many  years  at  the  Rialto, 
Providence,  is  now  manager  of  the  State. 

JIM  EDWARDS  is  now  at  the  Capitol. 

LEO  BARRETT  of  the  Park,  Ashley,  re¬ 
cently  had  a  bad  case  of  the  jitters  waiting 
for  his  show  to  come  in  from  Hawley,  which 
arrived  about  6.15. 

AL  FARRELL  of  Carbondale,  from  present 
indications,  will  be  crowned  tbe  champion  at 
the  Golf  Shooting  Club  here. 

ELMER  DIETRICH,  our  old  friend,  of  the 
Savoy,  Tunkhannock,  will  soon  be  going  to 
the  post  against  Louis  McFadden  for  Con¬ 
gressman.  So  we,  as  film  salesmen,  feel 
Elmer  cannot  lose. 

CHARLIE  HOOPER  at  Shickshinny  is  instal¬ 
ling  new  seats  and  draperies. 

MISS  ANTHRACITE  appeared  on  the  Ritz 
stage  and  was  put  over  in  great  style  by 
EDDIE  MURTAUGH. 

MISS  ANTHRACITE  was  a  student  of  the 
Tracey  Dancing  School.  MR.  TRACEY  was 
for  many  years  manager  of  the  Universal 
Exchange  branch  when  in  Wilkes-Barre. 

WE  WOLT.D  like  to  know  the  date  of  JIM 
CLARK’S  Clam  Bake. 

LOUIS  PILOSI  will  soon  get  his  theatre  in 
Forty-Fort  under  way. 

THE  LYRIC,  Throop,  is  now  running  full 
time. 

THE  GRAND,  Archbald,  will  re-open  in  the 
very  near  future. 

AT  THE  dedication  of  the  new  Post  Office 
in  Wilkes-Barre,  at  which  JIM  FARLEY 
was  the  principal  speaker,  we  found  BILL 
QUIGLEY,  EDDIE  CONNELLY  and 
ELMER  DIETRICH. 


Laedlein  Tours 


Laura  Laedlein,  THE  EXHIBITOR 
representative,  has  been  completing  her 
tour  through  the  upstate  Pennsylvania 
district.  She  reports  increased  optimism 
on  the  part  of  exhibitors  in  all  the  towns 
and  hamlets. 

Her  observations  will  be  found  on 
page  25. 


Sam  Friedman  Celebrates 


Samuel  Friedman,  manager,  Pottsville 
Capitol  and  chairman  publicity,  NRA 
permanent  committee,  celebrated  his 
twenty-seventh  year  with  the  Comer- 
ford  organization  September  9.  Dean 
of  the  Potts- 
v  i  1  1  e  exhibi¬ 
tors,  Manager 
Friedman  was 
the  recipient 
o  f  statewide 
c  o  n  g  r  atula- 
tions. 

Starting  as 
an  usher  in 
Scranton, 
Friedman  has 
worked  every 
branch  of  the 
Come  rford 
chain,  from 
stage-hand  and  operator  to  management, 
and  has  hundreds  of  friends.  He  has 
held  his  present  post  seven  years. 


Heard  In 


E  A  D  I  N 


Bu  siness  Better 
Strike  Worries 


G 


_ By  T.  R _ 

THEATRE  MANAGERS  report  a  pickup  in 
business  with  the  close  of  the  outdoor  recre¬ 
ation  and  park  season.  The  only  park  re¬ 
maining  open  in  the  Reading  district  after 
Labor  Day  was  Carsonia,  which  advertised 
half  prices  on  all  attractions  to  everybody, 
adults  as  well  as  children. 

SUNDAY  NIGHT  benefit  shows  are  contin¬ 
uing  at  numerous  houses  here,  with  commit¬ 
tees  of  members  of  various  military  and  vet¬ 
erans'  socities  in  charge  of  “collections"  at 
the  doors.  No  tickets  are  sold  at  box  offices. 

MANAGER  NOWITSKYJ  State  Theatre,  is 
a  great  believer  in  changing  the  entire  front 
of  his  house  for  every  picture.  He  redeco¬ 
rates  the  display  fixtures,  not  only  changing 
the  pictures  in  the  panels,  for  every  new  show. 

THE  READING  FAIR'S  night  shows  hurt 
picture  houses  in  the  second  week  of  the 
month.  Regardless  of  protests  by  church  or¬ 
ganizations,  the  fair  not  only  arranged  for 
one  Sunday,  as  it  did  last  year,  but  for  two, 
cutting  out  the  free  admission  preliminary 
Sunday.  In  other  years  the  fair  started  Tues¬ 
day  morning,  closing  Friday  night  or  contin¬ 
uing  on  Saturday  with  automobile  races.  This 
year  collecting  paid  admissions  started  Sun¬ 
day  morning,  continued  Monday,  all  week, 
and  the  second  Sunday,  eight  days  in  all.  The 
grounds  are  cut  of  the  city  and  the  city  poice 
authorities  had  no  control  over  the  situation, 
for  which  they  appeared  thankful.  The  ad¬ 
mission  cut  from  fifty  cents  to  thirty-five 
helped  the  fair. 

REPORTED  DF2ALS  by  a  Philadelphia  man 
to  lease  the  Temple  Theatre,  formerly  the 
Orpheum,  for  musical  or  dramatic  stock  are 
reported  to  have  fallen  through. 

MANAGER  CORNELIUS  G.  KEENEY, 
Park  Theatre,  is  giving  gold-decorated  dinner 
sets  in  22  pieces,  one  piece  every  Monday,  to 
women  patrons,  and  single  pieces  of  glass 
lustreware  as  well. 

NEWS  THAT  the  national  hosiery  strike  be¬ 
ginning  September  10,  in  full-fashioned  and 
seamless  mills,  is  to  be  centred  in  Reading, 


Peak  of  Something 


Something  was  reached  in  the  matter 
of  showmanship  or  what  have  you  when 
a  theatre  in  Chicago,  according  to 
Variety,  cut  its  admission  to  two  chil¬ 
dren  for  5c,  cut  to  regular  5c  admission, 
gave  away  ice  cream  cones,  hamburgers, 
etc. 

Show  business. 


becau  e  50  or  more  mills  are  in  Reading  and 
nearby,  was  bad  news  to  Reading  theatre 
managers.  Hosiery  workers  are  free  spend¬ 
ers  and  a  very  large  part,  almost  half,  of  the 
movie-going  population.  A  long  and  bitter 
struggle  is  forecast.  Most  Philadelphia  mills 
are  unionized  and  will  stay  in  operation?;-^,, 

WILLIAM  O.  HECKMAN,  formerly  man¬ 
ager  of  various  Reading  theatres,  has  leased 
and  opened  a  small  naborhood  house  in 
Laureldale,  hosiery  mill  district  north  of 
Reading  and  has  fixed  a  scale  of  15  to  25 
cents,  night  rates.  HECKMAN  has  a  lot  of 
friends  in  Reading  who  hope  he  will  do  well 
in  his  new  move. 

WARNER  BROS.'  Astor  Theatre,  Reading, 
has  established  a  seven-piece  orchestra  and 
changed  from  a  straight  picture  policy  to 
vaudeville  and  pictures  in  combination.  Effec¬ 
tive  on  Labor  Day,  the  change  is  attracting 
capacity  business.  Manager  CALVIN  LIE- 
BERM  AN  is  putting  on  five  acts,  the  result 
being  a  program  of  about  two  and  one-half 
hours’  length. 

THREE  Wiltner  &  Vincent  employes  in  Read¬ 
ing  were  on  the  sick  list  at  one  time  this 
month.  They  were  Electrician  DAVID  COL- 
DREN,  who  went  to  Atlantic  Citv  to  recup¬ 
erate;  CATHARINE  BRIGHTBILL,  re¬ 
lief  cashier,  who  underwent  a  tonsil  opera¬ 
tion,  with  complications,  and  HIESTER 
ROTH,  doorman,  all  at  the  Embassy. 

LOEWS  COLONIAL  THEATRE,  ROBERT 
H.  SLUTS  manager,  tied  up  with  the  Capital 
Bakers,  Harrisburg  and  Reading,  in  a  distri¬ 
bution  of  “Treasure  Island"  gold  and  silver 
cake  at  the  theatre  during  the  engagement 
of  Jackie  Cooper’s  “Treasure  Island”,  MGM 
feature. 

A.  E.  SCOTT  and  his  Gretna  Players  closed  a 
successful  season  at  the  theatre  at  Mt.  Gretna 
Park,  on  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  south  of 
Lebanon.  The  Scott  Company  has  been  signed 
up  again  for  next  summer. 

THE  HIPPODROME,  Pottstown,  Pa.,  has 
been  leased  by  WILLIAM  GOLDMAN.  As 
the  house  has  been  closed  for  some  time,  it 
will  probably  be  remodeled. 


Francis  Replaces  Heyl  at  RCA 

James  E.  Francis  has  been  appointed 
manager  of  the  Photophone  Division  of 
the  RCA  Victor  Company,  replacing  E. 

O.  Heyl,  resigned,  according  to  a  recent 
announcement  by  the  company. 

Mr.  Francis  had  wide  experience  in 
sound  on  film  recording  and  reproduc¬ 
tion  dating  back  to  the  silent  days  of  the 
theatre.  When  RCA  entered  the  sound 
motion  picture  equipment  field  he  was 
placed  in  charge  of  installation  and  serv¬ 
ice. 

Mr.  Heyl’s  announcement  of  future 
connection  will  be  awaited  with  interest 
by  the  many  friends  he  has  made  in  the 
industry. 


Sepl5'34  pg.  12 

Brilliantly  to  open  the  new  picture  season! 


From  the  noted 
novel  by  Charles 
Morgan  that  has 
thrilled  two  mil¬ 
lion  readers !  .  .  • 


.  .  .  A  woman’s 
heart  torn  be¬ 
tween  love  of 
one  man  and 
devotion  to 
another! 


Once  in  years  —  a  story  too  fine  for  superlatives  .  .  .  Once  in  years 
a  love  too  great  for  words  .  .  .  This  is  a  picture  from  such  a  story  .  .  . 
flooded  with  such  a  love  ...  A  picture  that  shows  how  brave  and 
beautitul  human  life  can  be  1  .  .  . 


• 

BRIAN  AHERNE 
PAUL  LUKAS 
JEAN  HERSHOLT 

A  Pandro  S.  Berman  Production 
Directed  by  JOHN  CROMWELL 

RKO  RADIO 
PICTURE 


wmm  ^ 

N  Y.  A'nerican 

s'jsu  •*— '"  --"£,«,  -*r;. 

lk  „  ShO««  n°H  Y.  «>’“*  Ne 

WnU  there  hasbeC  ,ohn  ChaP"130’  pRtfS* 

FOB 


THE  LITTLE  FEATURE 
THAT  IS  THE  YEAR’S 
BIG  SENSATION! 


gf^fittle  Feature  hailed  as 
^Jr  a  gem  of  music,  drama 
and  the  dance! 

Scenes  created  in  color  by 

ROBERT  EDMOND  JONES 

World’s  Foremost  Designer  of  Stage  Settings 
with  STEFFI  DUNA 
DON  ALVARADO  •  PAUL  PORCASI 
EDUARDO  DURAND  &  His  Orchestra 

Produced  by  Kenneth  Macgowan  Directed  by  Lloyd  Corrigan 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


14 


Sepl5'34 


VETERAN  PASSES.  J.  D.  Williams, 
one  of  the  pioneer  figures  in  the 
motion  picture  industry,  passed 
away  recently.  His  death  marked 
the  removal  from  the  trade  picture 
of  a  man  whose  foresight  and  whose 
industrial  ability  caused  changes  in 
practice  in  the  field.  As  an  advo¬ 
cate  of  new  trends  in  production 
and  distribution  he  became  one  of 
the  leaders  in  First  National  Pic¬ 
tures.  He  will  be  missed. 


BIG  TIE-UP.  Here  is  a  window  on 
Monogram’s  Agfa-Hollywood  con¬ 
test. 


Judge  Nields  Credits  Germans 

Judge  John  P.  Nields,  United  States  District 
Court,  Wilmington,  has  handed  down  an  opinion 
after  15  years  of  litigation  in  which  he  agrees 
that  the  three  German  inventors,  Josef  Engel, 
Joseph  Massolle  and  Hans  Vogt,  and  not  Dr. 
Lee  DeForest,  first  invented  the  glow  lamp, 
which  helped  revolutionize  the  motion  picture 
industry  with  sound  recording. 

Judge  Nields  ruled  that  the  Patent  Office  in 
Washington  had  erred  in  refusing  the  Germans 
a  patent  on  their  device  which  had  been  applied 
for  prior  to  the  aplication  of  Dr.  DeForest,  re¬ 
garded  as  the  "father  of  the  talkies.”  Judge 
Nields  said  in  his  oinion :  "The  testimony  and 
evidence  produced  in  the  District  Court  carry 
through  conviction  that  the  patent  office  erred 
in  granting  the  patmt  to  Lee  DeForest  and  in 
refusing  to  grant  the  patent  to  Joseph  Engel 
et  al.” 


PRODUCTION  HIGH  LIGHTS 


VERY,  VERY  GAY.  Radio  offers  “The  Gay  Divorcee,”  with  Ginger  Rogers,  Fred  Astaire, 
Edward  Everett  Horton  and  a  lightning  cast  in  a  good  musical. 


MOTHER  AND  DAUGHTER.  Interesting  conflict  is  shown  in  “Desirable,”  from  Warners, 
with  Jean  Mu'r,  Veree  Teasdale  and  George  Brent. 


UNITED  ARTISTS  SCORES.  Company  has  “Our  Daily  Bread,”  Elissa  Landi  in  “Count  of 
Monte  Cristo”  and  Anna  Sten  in  “We  Live  Again”  ready. 


ROMANCE  AND  SUCH.  Shots  from  “Romance  in  the  Rain,”  “One  More  River”  and 
“Imitation  of  Life”  are  shown,  all  from  Universal. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Sepl5'34 


15 


m 

A  Concise 
National  Survey 

TRADE  IN  REVIEW  « 

Glances  Outside 
the  Territory 

”  — 

CODE 

Code  Authority  Works 
On  New  Assessment  Plan 

The  Code  Authority  is  working  on  a  new 
assessment  plan,  which  will  be  announced  to  the 
trade  shortly.  Protests  from  producers  as  well 
as  some  distributors  resulted  in  the  appointment 
of  a  committee  to  modify  the  assessment  system 
as  far  as  distribution  and  production  units  were 
concerned. 

Code  Authority  Checks 
Change  in  Policies 

If  a  house,  called  as  a  defendant  in  an  over¬ 
buying  case,  changes  its  policy  to  conform  with 
alleged  overbuying,  it  should  be  recognized  as  a 
subterfuge,  according  to  a  recent  CA  decision. 

CA  acted  when  it  appeared  that  such  a  course 
might  be  possible  in  a  number  of  cases. 

Bank  Nights  Come 
Under  Code  Ban 

The  Code  Authority  has  handed  down  a  de¬ 
cision  against  bank  nights  or  any  form  of  bank 
nights.  When  an  appeal  was  taken  from  a  de¬ 
cision  of  a  Chicago  board  involving  “Screeno," 
the  CA  acted.  Previously,  the  CA  had  allowed 
the  issue  to  be  a  local  matter. 

Zoning  Plans  Now 
include  Re-opening 

According  to  latest  reports,  zoning  boards 
will  reponvene  to  hear  zoning  protests  where 
local  boards  did  not  prepare  schedules  of  clear¬ 
ance  and  zoning  for  the  entire  territory  or  parts 
thereof.  Appeals  from  individual  cases  will  be 
taken  to  the  Code  Authority. 

A  special  CA  committee  has  been  organized 
to  analyze  zoning  plans  and  schedules  which 
have  already  been  formulated  to  determine 
whether  they  exceeded  legal  limitations. 

Code  Authority  Rapidly 
Clearing  Up  Appeals 

The  Code  Authority  isn't  wasting  any  time  in 
hearing  appeals  from  local  boards.  The  appeals 
calendar  is  rapidly  being  cleared  up  with  the 
result  that  soon  the  docket  will  be  empty.  In 
most  of  the  cases,  the  appeals  resulted  in  the 
local  boards  being  upheld. 

Assents  to  Code 
Reach  8525  Mark 

About  8525  exhibitors  have  signed  the  code. 
Total  received  up  to  August  15  reached  that 
figure,  highest  yet.  123  distributor  assents  and 
72  from  producers  are  included  in  the  totals. 

PRODUCTION 

Production  Continues  at 
Better  than  Average  Pace 

Production  among  the  majors  still  continues 
at  good  pace.  Some  of  the  shows  shooting  and 
recently  completed  include : 

COLUMBIA — “Orchids  and  Onions,”  “The 
Captain  Hates  the  Sea,”  ‘Til  Fix  It.”  FOX — 
“Marie  Galante,”  “The  White  Parade,”  “Man 
Lock,”  “Hell  in  Heavens,”  “Music  in  the  Air,” 


“State  vs.  Elinor  Norton,”  “365  Nights  in 
Hollywood,”  “Lottery  Lover.”  METRO — 
"Babes  in  Toyland,”  “West  Point  of  Air,” 
“Sequoia,”  “David  Copperfield,”  “Biography 
of  a  Bachelor,”  “The  Painted  Veil,”  “What 
Every  Woman  Knows.”  PARAMOUNT — 
"Ready  for  Love,”  “Enter  Madame,”  “Lemon 
Drop  Kid,”  “Ruggles  of  Red  Gap,”  “Here  is 
My  Heart,”  “College  Rhythm,”  “Menace,” 
“Limehouse  Nights,”  “Lives  of  a  Bengal 
Lancer.”  RADIO — “Dangerous  Corner,” 
“By  Your  Leave,”  “Anne  of  Green  Gables,” 
“Wednesday's  Child,”  “Kentucky  Kernels.” 
UA— “Kid’  Millions.”  WARNERS— “Bor- 
dertown,”  “Perfect  Weekend,”  “Gentlemen 
Are  Born,”  ‘  ‘Babbitt,”  “Flirtation  Walk.  ’ 
UNIVERSAL— “Night  Life  of  the  Gods,” 
“Imitation  of  Life,”  “Great  Expectations.” 
MONOGRAM — -“Stratosphere.” 

Passing  of  J.  D.  Williams 
Mourned  by  Trade 

Death  of  J.  D.  Williams,  one  of  the  real  lead¬ 
ers  in  the  business,  was  mourned  by  his  many 
friends  and  associates.  Williams  was  a  pioneer. 
Not  only  was  he  in  the  business  early  but  he  was 
responsible  for  some  of  its  most  revolutionary 
development.  As  a  prophet  as  well  as  a  keen 
student  of  the  future  of  the  business,  his  deal¬ 
ings  had  far  reaching  effects. 

Ostrer  Here  On 
Gaumont  British  Deal 

Mark  Ostrer,  head  of  Gaumont  British,  is  in 
this  country  to  make  final  arrangements  for 
distribution  of  GB  pictures  throughout  the 
United  States.  During  his  several  weeks’  stay 
he  intends  to  decide  on  the  company’s  own  sys¬ 
tem  or  make  a  deal  for  physical  handling  with 
GB  salesmen. 

Company  Profits  Go 
Up,  Wall  Street  Reports 

Reports  from  Wall  Street  indicate  that  Loew 
will  show  a  profit  of  about  $3.75  a  share,  com¬ 
pared  with  $2.15  a  share  the  year  before.  Even 
Fox  is  going  to  show  an  increase  in  profits,  the 
reports  say. 

RKO  bank  balance  is  also  scheduled  for  a 
rise,  'tis  said.  Columbia  profit  passed  a  million. 

13  Inde  Producers 
Under  Breen  Censor  Plan 

13  independent  producers  are  now  subject  to 
the  Joe  Breen  coast  censor  system.  Companies 
agreeing  to  this  plan  are  Monogram,  Mascot, 
Mayfair,  Majestic,  Liberty,  Goldsmith,  Invinc¬ 
ible,  Chesterfield,  Darmour,  Chadwick,  Berk, 
Beacon  and  Adventure. 

The  action  was  voluntary. 

EXHIBITION 

Publix  Circuit  Down 
To  1230  Total 

Number  of  houses  controlled  by  Paramount 
Publix  and  affiliated  is  down  to  1230  from  a 
peak  of  about  1800,  the  trustees-’  report  indicate. 

The  drop  indicates  those  turned  back  and 
those  sold. 


Dual  Issue  Still 

Hot  Point  in  Some  Spots 

Double  features,  which  can't  be  checked  under 
the  code,  are  still  disputed  in  some  circles. 
MPTOA  is  still  continuing  its  fight  against 
the  practice,  while  in  some  sectors,  agreements 
between  houses  are  being  sought  to  check  it. 

Meanwhile,  use  of  doubles  increases  in  some 
territories,  slackens  in  others. 

Increase  in  Building 
and  Renovation  Noted 

An  increase  in  building  and  remodelling  of 
old  theatres  is  noted  in  the  business.  Reports 
from  all  parts  of  the  country  indicate  theatre- 
men  have  put  plenty  of  money  into  moderniza¬ 
tion  of  houses. 

Trend  away  from  the  big  de  luxers  toward 
smaller  comfortable  houses  is  noted. 

ASCAP  Fight  Continues 
With  Local  Assessments 

The  fight  against  the  American  Society  of 
Composers,  Authors  and  Publishers  on  the  part 
of  exhibitors  continues,  with  assessments  on  all 
theatres  at  the  rate  of  one  cent  a  seat.  The 
Exhibitor  Emergency  Committee  seeks  such 
support  in  order  to  take  all  steps  to  check  the 
proposed  October  increase.  George  Z.  Medalie 
is  counsel. 

Meanwhile,  the  government  had  started  trust 
action  against  the  ASCAP  and  other  bodies. 
This  action  is  apart  from  the  movie  plan. 

The  music  boost,  'tis  said,  is  on  new  contracts 
only.  As  old  ones  expire,  they  will  be  renewed 
at  higher  prices,  if  the  drive  against  ASCAP  is 
unsuccessful. 

Paramount  Reorganization 
Expected  in  October 

Reorganizing  Paramount  Publix  by  October 
appeared  possible,  with  latest  reports  making  it 
look  as  if  the  company  would  be  in  such  posi¬ 
tion  that  satisfactory  deals  could  be  made  with 
creditors. 

RKO,  in  the  same  position,  also  is  expectant 
that  it  will  get  out  of  its  present  financial  cate¬ 
gory  in  the  near  future. 

DISTRIBUTION 

Selling  Picks  Up 
But  Isn’t  at  Peak  Yet 

Selling  on  the  part  of  distributors  still  hasn't 
reached  the  zenith  of  former  years.  Diffi¬ 
culties  in  setting  major  deals  as  well  as  zoning 
and  clearance  troubles  have  combined  to  check 
the  usual  speed  of  selling  procedure. 

Higher  prices  being  asked  by  exchanges  is 
another  reason. 

Metro  Takes  Foreign 
Picture  for  Country 

Metro  went  out  into  the  foreign  market  and 
acquired  “The  Wandering  Jew"  from  England. 

Show  is  first  since  “The  Outsider”  that  the 
company  is  handling  here.  It  is  being  distrib¬ 
uted  immediately. 


16 


Sepl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Columbia  Peak  Profit 

Columbia  reports  net  earnings  of 
$1,008,834.58  for  the  year,  equivalent 
to  approximately  $5.19  per  share  on 
168,177  shares  of  common  stock  out¬ 
standing  after  deducting  preferred  divi¬ 
dends  and  provisions  for  Federal  Income 
and  other  taxes.  This  compares  with 
$740,240.97  for  the  fiscal  year  ended 
July  1,  1933,  or  approximately  $4.10 
per  share  on  167.885  shares  of  common 
stock  outstanding  as  of  that  date. 


A.  P.  Waxman  Busy 

Jeffrey  Bernerd,  managing  director  of  G.  B. 
Pictures,  closed  contracts  yesterday  with  A.  P. 
Waxman’s  Bureau  to  handle  the  openings  of 
“Power”  at  the  Radio  City  Music  Hall,  and 
“Chu  Chin  Chow”  at  the  Roxy.  “Power” 

opens  at  the  Music  Hall  on  Thursday,  October 
4th.  “Chu  Chin  Chow”  opens  at  the  Roxy  on 
Friday,  October  5th. 

Waxman,  who  was  formerly  advertising  man¬ 
ager  of  Radio  City  and  of  the  Roxy,  is  plan¬ 
ning  two  openings  comparable  to  those  for 

which  he  earned  celebrity  when  advertising  man¬ 
ager  for  Warner  Bros.  Those  premieres 

under  his  direction,  at  the  Warner,  Winter 

Garden,  Hollywood,  Central  and  Strand,  made 
motion  picture  history. 


Seven  Suits  on  Wilmington  Docket 

Seven  suits  involving  motion  pictures  and 
radio  are  listed  on  the  docket  of  the  United 
States  District  Court  for  the  September  term 
in  Wilmington.  Besides  these  there  are  two 
cases  listed  for  argument. 

The  following  suits  are  listed  for  trial : 

General  Talking  Pictures  Corporation,  repre¬ 
sented  by  Hugh  M.  Morris,  Wilmington,  against 
A.  T.  &  T.,  Western  Electric  and  Erpi,  repre¬ 
sented  by  Marvel,  Norford,  Ward  &  Logan, 
Wilmington. 

Harry  Koplar,  represented  by  Richards,  Lay- 
ton  and  Finger,  Wilmington,  against  Warner 
Bros.  Pictures,  Inc.,  represented  by  Hugh  M. 
Morris. 

Duovac  Radio  Corporation,  represented  by 
Hugh  M.  Morris  against  A.  T.  &  T.,  Western 
Electric  and  Erpi,  represented  by  Marvel,  Nor¬ 
ford,  Ward  &  Logan. 

Max  Goldberg,  Salem,  Mass.,  represented  by 
Haring  &  Morris,  Wilmington,  against  War¬ 
ner  Bros.  Pictures  Inc.,  and  Harry  M.  War¬ 
ner,  et  al.,  represented  by  Hugh  M.  Morris. 

International  Research  Corporation,  repre¬ 
sented  by  E.  E.  Berl,  Wilmington,  against 
United  States  Radio  and  Television  Corpora¬ 
tion,  represented  by  Hugh  M.  Morris. 

Radio  Patents  Corporation,  represented  by 
Hugh  M.  Morris,  against  Westinghouse  Elec¬ 
tric  Supply  Company,  represented  by  E.  E. 
Berl. 

Westinghouse  Electric  and  Manufacturing 
Company,  represented  by  Hugh  M.  Morris, 
against  The  Hammond  Clock  Company,  repre¬ 
sented  by  E.  E.  Berl. 

The  following  were  listed  for  argument : 

News  Projection  Corporation,  represented  by 
Ward  &  Gray,  Wilmington,  against  Trans  Lux 
Daylight  Picture  Screen  Corporation,  repre¬ 
sented  by  John  Biggs,  Jr.,  Wilmington. 

Helen  May  Fessenden,  admx.  of  estate  of  Reg¬ 
inald  A.  Fessenden,  represented  by  E.  E.  Berl. 
against  Radio  Corporation  of  America,  repre¬ 
sented  by  William  G.  Mahaffey,  Wilmington. 


IEPA  Plans  to  Take 
Its  Fight  to  Public 

Figures  Patrons  May  Do  Some 
About  It 


The  Independent  Exhibitors  Protec¬ 
tive  Association  is  planning  to  take  its 
fight  against  high  film  rentals  to  the 
public. 

Screens,  newspapers,  etc.,  will  be  used  to  pre¬ 
sent  their  case  to  their  patrons  in  the  hope  that 
something  may  be  done  about  it  from  that  end. 

IEPA  also  announces  ten  new  members  and 
cautions  members  to  watch  their  contracts  be¬ 
fore  they  sign. 

Charlie  Beilan  New 
Salesman  for  Warners 

Popular  Booker  Moves  Into  Dem- 

bow’s  Shoes 

Charlie  Beilan,  popular  booker,  is  the 
new  Warner  salesman,  replacing  Harry 
Deni  bow. 

Leo  Hanan  takes  Beilan’s  place  as  booker. 

Beilan  is  well  experienced  in  sales  and  book¬ 
ing  matters,  having  had  an  extended  experience 
in  both  divisions.  He  enters  upon  his  new  work 
with  the  good  wishes  of  the  entire  exhibition 
and  distribution  fraternity. 

Hanan  was  formerly  in  the  W arners’  book¬ 
keeping  department. 

Beilan  started  in  1920  as  booker  for  Pathe 
and  was  transferred  to  Charlotte,  N.  C,  as  head 
booker  there  for  3  years.  He  went  to  Cleve¬ 
land  for  Pathe,  and  joined  Warners  there. 
Later  he  came  to  Philly  where  he  was  booker 
for  3  years.  Then  he  turned  into  a  salesman  in 
the  Harrisburg,  Shamokin,  Tamaqua  territory 
and  later  became  booker.  He  is  married  and  lias 
one  child. 


Fair  Play 

A  good  indication  of  How  a  circuit 
and  an  independent  can  get  along  may 
be  seen  in  the  fact  that  Luke  Gring, 
Erlen  Theatre,  and  Jack  Brown,  Em¬ 
bassy,  Kensington,  released  12  Warner 
pictures  to  the  Yorktown  Theatre  so 
that  that  house  could  have  product. 

Indes  had  the  pictures  under  contract 
but  co-operated. 


STRICTLY  PERSONAL 


LOOKS  LIKE  there  is  romance  budding 
between  a  West  Philadelphia  exhibitor  and 
one  of  the  girls  who  works  in  a  major 
exchange. 

SAM  GROSS  has  given  up  commuting  and 
is  now  residing  in  Philadelphia  again. 

ALBERT  COHEN,  ESQ.,  at  last  took  a  vaca¬ 
tion. 

JACK  GREENBERG  and  HERMAN 
RUBIN  are  comparing  notes  about  hay  fever. 

JOHNNY  TURNER,  Stanley  Co.,  was  re¬ 
cently  a  visitor  to  Vine  Street  and  gave  the 
lassie  a  thrill. 

SEEN  AT  A  New  Jersey  tap  room,  RAY 
O’ROURKE  and  his  girl  friend. 

GEORGE  FELT  threw  a  big  party  the  night 
the  Frolic  Theatre  opened.  Among  the 
notables  who  attended  were  Harry  Weiner 
and  Iz  Epstein. 

A  CERTAIN  Vine  Street  bachelor  certainly 
goes  for  the  blondes. 

HARRY  TYSON,  RKO,  is  refusing  offers  for 
lunch  Wednesday,  September  19th — it's  Yom 
Kippur. 

LOU  LINKER,  impressario  from  Bridgeton, 
is  a  keen  fisherman.  Get  him  to  tell  you  the 
storv  about  catching  two  fish  on  one  line. 

VIOLA  PORRECA  is  to  be  MARY  FEOR- 
ONI’S  bridesmaid  on  September  22. 


Delaware  Charters 

Cambria  Theatres  Company,  Inc.  Operate  theatres 
and  places  of  amusement  of  all  kinds.  $25,000.  Emile 
Bonnot,  L.  M.  Taby,  T.  A.  Lauretsen,  New  York  City. 
(ITentices-Hall,  Inc.,  of  Delaware.) 


Warner  Bros.,  Productions  Incorporated,  a  Delaware 
corporation  and  subsidiary  of  Warner  Bros.,  Pictures, 
Inc.,  was  declared  dissolved  by  the  Delaware  Secretary 
of  State.  Charles  E.  Grantland,  at  Dover,  Del. 


CLEM  RIZZO  is 
proud  of  this  installa¬ 
tion  at  Gerson’s  Col¬ 
onial  Theatre,  Phila¬ 
delphia,  of  his  Strong 
Utility  Hi-Low  45 
AMP  DC  lamps.  He 
also  installed  a  new 
screen,  curtain  con¬ 
trol  and  rectifiers 
when  the  theatre  was 
recently  remodeled. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Sepl5'34 


17 


BETTER  TESTED  SUCCESSFUL 

MANAGEMENT  *  ideas  *  merchandising 


A  Tarzan 
Contest  Idea? 

Mr.  Exhibitor — can  you  find  a  Tarzan  ? 

According  to  an  announcement  made  recently 
by  the  newly-formed  Burroughs-Tarzan  Enter¬ 
prises  of  8476  Sunset  Boulevard,  Hollywood, 
Calif.,  they  are  scouring  the  country  for  a 
young  man  who  can  most  nearly  fill  the  follow¬ 
ing  description : 

Fine  athletic  build  (at  least  6  ft.  2in.) 

Good-looking. 

Good  Swimmer  (need  not  be  a  champion). 

Intelligent. 

They  promise  a  five-year  contract  at  a  big 
salary  to  the  right  one  to  play  Tarzan,  the 
celebrated  screen  and  fiction  character  created 
by  Edgar  Rice  Burroughs,  in  a  series  which 
they  plan  producing  shortly.  The  company 
owns  the  exclusive  rights  to  all  Burroughs’ 
shorts  and  has  a  very  ambitious  program  plan¬ 
ned  for  the  first  picture,  which  is  tentatively 
titled  “Tarzan  In  Guatemala”  and  will  be 
filmed  in  the  actual  jungles  of  Central  Amer¬ 
ica.  It  will  be  a  twelve  episode  serial  with 
a  feature  version. 

The  idea  which  will  present  itself  to  live- 
wire  showmen  is  to  tie  up  their  search  with 
a  local  contest.  Most  young  men  who  can 
fill  that  description  would  have  lots  of  friends 
and  a  silent  test  clip  of  local  contestants  should 
pack  ’em  in. 

Any  theatre  owner  or  manager  with  an  idea 
for  which  they  would  like  to  complete  arrange¬ 
ments  should  communicate  with  Nat  Rothstein 
at  the  Hollywood  address.  He’s  the  Rothstein 
of  the  old  Universal  and  F.  B.  O.  circus-ad 
days  ;  so  he  can  be  relied  upon  to  know  some¬ 
thing  about  showmanship  himself. 


York  Full  of  Stunts 

Bob  Miller,  at  the  Ritz,  York,  Pa„  is  putting- 
on  quite  a  campaign  for  the  opening  of  his  new 
serial,  “Red  Rider”  in  the  next  couple  of  weeks. 
He  has  special  displays  about  the  theatre,  handed 
out  special  heralds,  and  has  done  special  posting- 
in  advantageous  spots  throughout  the  city,  and 
plans  street  ballyhoos  just  before  the  picture 
starts.  The  new  matinee  price  schedule  is  build¬ 
ing  up  the  afternoon  attendance  at  the  theatre 
Bob  reports.  When  “Circus  Clown"  played 
repeat  at  his  theatre  Bob  staged  a  special  Kid¬ 
die  matinee  and  handed  out  pink  lemonade  and 
peanuts  to  his  kiddie  attendance.  The  only 
trouble  was  cleaning  the  theatre  after  the  show. 
A  special  ballyhoo  proclaimed  the  showing  of 
the  picture  and  the  special  kiddie  show. 

Irving  Dunn,  Capitol  broke  into  the  news¬ 
papers  and  the  radio  with  his  campaign  on 
“Housewife.”  He  admitted  all  recent  house¬ 
wives — those  who  took  the  vows  since  June  1, 
free  on  one  day  the  picture  played — and  in¬ 
serted  an  ad  in  a  full  page  advertisement  a 
local  department  store  placed  in  the  local 
papers  on  a  Housewives  Sale.  The  department 
store  then  placed  stills  on  his  picture  in  the 
special  windows  they  devoted  to  the  sale.  The 
window  of  a  local  haberdashery,  in  Continental 
Square,  was  used  to  plug  “Hat,  Coat  and  Glove.” 

When  “The  Friends  of  Mr.  Sweeney”  came  to 
the  Rialto,  Sid  Poppay  had  his  cashier  call  all 
the  local  hotels  and  have  them  paged.  In  one 
of  the  local  stores  he  had  a  counter  reserved 
for  “The  Friends  of  Mr.  Sweeney.”  Poppay 


“La  Cucaracha ”  Trailer 


What  is  said  to  be  the  first  time  that 
a  trailer  has  been  put  out  on  regular 
service  on  a  two-reel  short  became  a 
fact  when  RKO  arranged  with  National 
Screen  Service  to  get  up  a  trailer  on  “La 
Cucaracha,”  their  Technicolor  short. 

While  this  subject  is  said  to  be  an 
unusual  piece  of  entertainment  it  must 
do  a  lot  of  short  subject  folks  good  to 
hear  of  such  recognition  given  to  their 
little  entertainment  gems.  How  often 
it  happens  that  the  shorts  are  the  out¬ 
standing  attractions  on  a  mediocre  bill. 


attracted  considerable  attention  to  "Black  Moon" 
with  his  unusual  street  ballyhoo  in  front  of  the 
theatre  and  on  the  streets  of  the  city.  Fie 
hired  a  coal  black  negro,  attired  him  in  the 
costume  fitting  of  a  jungle  brute  and  put  him 
in  front  of  the  theatre  to  beat  a  steady  tatoo 
on  the  tom-toms. 

When  he  played  “Dames”  Cleon  Miller, 
Strand,  tied  in  his  outside  advertising  with  the 
Old  Gold  people  to  plaster  the  town  with  pic¬ 
tures  of  the  stars  smoking  that  brand  of  cigar¬ 
ettes  and  labelled  the  pcitures  with  a  now 
playing  sign.  A  local  hosiery  store  gave  him 
an  entire  window  to  plug  the  picture  and  then 
inserted  a  special  ad  in  the  local  newspapers 
plugging  the  picture  for  him.  "Treasure  Is¬ 
land”  brought  a  big  float,  representing  the 
treasure  ship  to  the  streets  of  York,  and  at¬ 
tracted  considerable  attention.  A  treasure  chest, 
with  a  "pirate”  on  guard  was  placed  in  a  promi¬ 
nently  located  window.  The  chest  was  filled 
with  peanuts  and  passes  were  given  the  twenty 
persons  guessing  the  closest  the  number  of  pea¬ 
nuts  in  it. 


“Convention  Girl”  Has 
Big  Steel  Pier  Premiere 

“Convention  Girl,”  new  contribution 
front  First  Division,  had  a  real  world’s 
premiere  at  Steel  Pier. 

A1  Thomas,  son  of  Dave  Thomas,  producer, 
was  active  in  the  arrangements. 

Some  of  the  stars  were  also  at  the  showing. 

First  Division  went  for  24-sheet  boards  in  a 
big  way  on  the  show,  which  received  a  com¬ 
mendable  hand. 


Selling  Shirley  Short 

Capitalizing  on  the  intrinsic  box-office  value 
of  Shirley  Temple,  a  short  “Pardon  My  Pups” 
in  which  she  has  a  prominent  part,  was  used  to 
bolster  a  weak  picture  at  the  local  Commodore. 
Backing  this  short  it  was  given  40%  of  the  pro¬ 
gram,  a  short  trailer,  and  a  life  like  cut-out, 
made  from  exchange  paper  on  “Baby  Take  a 
Bow”  all  used  in  advance. 

From  the  comment  and  interest  shown  on  the 
part  of  the  patrons  and  additional  box-office 
returns  during  its  play  date  was  convincing- 
proof  that  it  is  sure  fire  and  a  positive  help  as 
a  support  to  an  ordinary  picture,  says  Dave  Sea¬ 
man,  manager. 


QFUFIIDCR  "Eskimo"  and  "Tarzan 
nCMCIKIDCn  and  His  Mate" 

‘TREASURf ISLAND’ Float 

35  Ft.  Long — Action  &  Sound 

It'll  wake  up  your  neighborhood 

For  dates  —  EARL  HAMMOND 
Stephen  Girard  Hotel  Rit  9700 


SELLING  “DAMES.”  Harry  Travis  is  manager  of  the  Capitol,  Lancaster,  which 
got  up  this  stunt  for  “Dames,”  from  Warners.  William  Israel  is  district 
manager.  Stunt  attracted  a  lot  of  attention  and  helped  the  show  do  a  big  business. 


18 


Sepl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Bob  Sisk  to  the  Coast 


Robert  Sisk  has  resigned  as  advertis¬ 
ing  director  of  RKO  to  become  assistant 
to  J.  R.  McDonough,  president  of  RKO 
Radio  Pictures.  His  new  headquarters 
will  be  at  the  RKO  Studios  in  Hollywood. 

S.  Barrett  McCormack,  whose  out¬ 
standing  work  has  been  noticeable  in 
Radio  Picture’s  press  books,  trade  and 
fan  paper  ads  and  accessories  for  a 
number  of  years,  succeeds  him  as  adver¬ 
tising  manager  for  the  picture  company. 


Novel  “Navy”  Middletown  Tieup 

An  interesting  tie-up  on  “Here  Comes  the 
Navy,”  Warner  Bros.’  picture  with  James 
Cagney,  is  reported  from  the  Elks  Theatre, 
M  iddletown. 

Doug  Carpenter,  manager  of  the  theatre,  dug 
up  a  certain  Andrew  N.  Lang,  a  resident  of  the 
town,  who  happens  to  be  one  of  the  nine  still 
living  survivors  of  the  Battleship  Maine  of 
“Remember  the  Maine”  fame. 

Carpenter  had  Mr.  Lang  broadcast  some  of 
his  speeches  and  make  several  addresses.  In 
addition  to  this  he  had  him  in  full  uniform 
wearing  his  various  decorations  greet  his  patrons 
in  the  lobby  where  he  was  the  center  of 
interest. 

A  large  public  address  system,  which  is 
ordinarily  used  on  their  sound  truck,  was  put 
in  the  marquee  where  it  played  naval  numbers 
and  stirring  martial  airs  between  regular  an¬ 
nouncements  about  the  greatness  of  the  picture. 

It  sounds  like  a  good  job. 


Morro  Castle  Tieup 

Schlesinger  used  the  news  of  the  Morro 
Castle  disaster  as  tie-up  with  the  Columbia 
picture  “Whom  the  Gods  Destroy”  which  hap¬ 
pened  to  be  playing  in  their  theatres,  which 
resulted  in  unusually  large  receipts  at  these 
theatres. 

Schlesinger  also  reports  big  business  over 
their  entire  circuit  during  the  Rosh  Hashonna 
holidays. 


Newspaper  Tieups 

Harrisburg  newspaper  editors  have  found  that 
Samuel  Gilman,  new  manager  of  Loew's  Regent 
Theatre,  Harrisburg,  realizes  fully  the  power¬ 
ful  influence  of  the  press.  Hardly  a  day  passes 
on  which  Gilman  does  not  have  a  tie-up  of  some 
kind  with  a  newspaper. 

For  the  picture  “Chained,”  with  Joan  Craw¬ 
ford,  Gilman  broke  into  the  fashion  page  of  the 
Harrisburg  Telegraph,  evening  daily.  On  the 
fashion  page  during  showing  of  the  picture 
there  appeared  a  6-inch,  2-column  cut  of  Joan 
Crawford,  beneath  which  it  was  stated,  “A  beau¬ 
tiful  fall  ensemble  with  suit,  hat,  bag  and  shoes 
in  complete  harmony,  designed  by  Adrian,  MGM 
stylist,  for  Joan  Crawford,  now  at  Loew’s  in 
“Chained.” 

Also  for  “Chained”  Manager  Gilman  ar¬ 
ranged  a  newspaper  tie-up  in  which  a  scene 
from  the  picture  ran  daily  for  a  week  prior  to 
opening  at  theatre  and  twenty  gu  st  tickets 
were  offered  daily  to  the  ten  “nearest  correct" 
answers  to  a  series  of  questions.  Rules  of  the 
ci  ntest  were  stated  as  follows  : 

“In  today’s  classified  section  are  ten  an¬ 
swers  to  the  questions  listed  below.  Locate 
the  advertisements  which  solve  the  questions. 
Attach  the  list  of  advertisements  to  one  side  of 
a  sheet  of  paper — paste  the  correct  ads,  in 
proper  order,  on  the  reverse  side. 

“Ten  pairs  of  guest  tickets  will  be  mailed  to 
those  who,  in  the  opinion  of  the  judges,  submit 


the  ten,  nearest  correct  solutions.  Answers  to 
today’s  questions  must  be  received  not  later 
than  5  P.  M.  tomorrow.  Tickets  will  be  mailed 
Saturday.” 

A  sample  of  the  questions,  a  different  set  of 
which  appeared  every  day,  follows : 

“1.  What  is  the  address  of  he  who  offers  for 
sale  Chinese  Chovy  pups? 

2.  Who  says  ’Exceptional  Values  at  low 
prices  ?’ 

3.  Which  advertiser  is  located  at  200-202 
State  Theatre  Building? 

4.  Who  has  a  house  for  rent  on  S.  24th  Street 
at  $28. 

5.  Which  real  estate  dealer  is  located  at  Front 
and  Chestnut  Streets? 

6.  Who  says  ‘Your  satisfaction  guaranteed?’ 

7.  What  auto  dealer  is  at  311  S.  Cameron 
Street  ? 

8.  Which  taproom  is  for  rent  or  sale  ? 

9.  Who  is  advertising  South  Dakota  horses? 

10.  Who  offers  moving  service  anytime,  any¬ 
where?” 

For  “Hide-Out”,  a  week  prior  to  opening  at 
Loew’s,  there  appeared  daily  a  scene  from  the 
picture  beneath  which  was  written  the  follow¬ 
ing  : 

"Robert  Montgomery  invites  10  guests  to  see 
his  funniest  picture,  ‘Hide-Out,’  coming  to 
Loew’s  on  Friday. 

“Scattered  throughout  the  classified  columns 
of  today's  Telegraph  N ezes papers  are  the  names 
and  addresses  of  five  individuals,  picked  at  ran¬ 
dom  from  the  city  and  telephone  directories. 
Each  of  them  is  entitled  to  two  guest  tickets 
to  see  Robert  Montgomery  in  ‘Hide-Out’  on 
Friday.  To1  secure  tickets,  clip  your  name 
and  address  and  mail  or  bring  it  to  the  classified 
manager  of  the  Telegraph  Nezvs papers.” 

Loew’s  Cadet  Band 

A  Loew’s  Lady  Cadet  Band  is  being  formed 
by  Capt.  J.  B.  McKenzie,  the  flying  band  leader, 
in  Harrisburg,  under  the  auspices  of  Loew’s 
Regent  Theatre,  Harrisburg. 

At  the  first  call  for  rehearsal  last  Saturday 
morning  more  than  100  girls  were  present,  rang¬ 
ing  from  5  to  17  years.  A  5-year-old  miss  who 
answered  the  first  call  will  play  a  baby  saxa- 
phone. 

The  response  to  the  first  call  was  so  pleasing 
to  Samuel  Gilman,  manager  of  Loew’s  Regent, 
that  he  predicted  a  band  of  250  girls  will  be  or¬ 
ganized. 

It  is  the  plan  of  Captain  McKenzie,  who 
travels  by  plane  from  city  to  city  throughout 
the  East,  where  he  will  attempt  to  organize 
similar  bands  in  every  Loew  city,  to  admit 
without  charge  to  membership  in  the  bands  girls 
between  the  ages  of  6  and  24.  They  will  receive 
free  training  under  the  competent  direction  of 
Captain  McKenzie. 

Manager  Gilman  said  the  interest  shown  in 
Harrisburg  in  the  band  idea  has  exceeded  the 
fondest  expectations  of  both  himself  and  Cap¬ 
tain  McKenzie.  The  theatre  telephones  have 
been  kept  busy  answering  queries  concerning 
eligibility  for  membership  in  the  band. 

It  is  planned  to  have  the  band  rehearse  once 
a  week  and  to  have  the  members  make  their 
own  uniforms.  The  band  will  be  used  for  ex¬ 
ploitation,  parades  and  for  participation  in  civic 
enterprises. 


HARRY  B1BEN,  live  wire  vaude  booker, 
handling  acts  for  S-W  Aldine,  Wilmington, 
as  well  as  Astor,  Reading,  and  other  places. 
Harry  also  has  15  other  houses  under  his 
wing.  Screen,  radio,  stage  stars  are  included 
and  the  dynamic  Biben  plans  a  terrific  season. 

MARCUS  BENN,  veteran  theatreowner  and 
operator  of  the  Belmont,  plans  a  busy  season. 
The  grand  old  man,  who  looks  real  youthful, 
has  been  real  busy  preparing  plans  for  an 
active  winter  season. 


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Every  Piece  22-K.  Gold  Decorated 
and  Stamped  ,,22-K.  Gold” 


NOT  SOLD  IN  THE  5  &  10! 


QUALITY 

Premium  Distributors,  Inc. 

“Serving  Exhibitors  from  Coast  to  Coast ” 

HOME  OFFICE: 

1305  Vine  St.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

GENTLEMEN: — Please  send  me  addition¬ 
al  information  regarding  the  above  deaf. 

Theatre _ 

City  and  State _ 


Sepl5'34  pg.  19 


// 


// 


Everybody  Has  Good  Pictures  but 

LETS  LOOK  AT  THE  RECORD 

Says  TONY  LUCCHESE 


_ .... 


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A  Half-Page  Ad. 
in  Atlantic  City 
Daily  Newspapers 


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lfZ9!>NG  AND 


Tony  Lucchese  .  .  .  the  Independent  Exchangeman 

Deals  in  Facts  Because  He  is  Primarily  Interested  in 

the  Independent  Exhibitors  Welfare  and  Box  Office! 


Sepl5'34  pg.  20 


you  realize  that  it's  the 


. . .  then,  HEBE  ABE  THE  28  PICTU 


GOLD  MEDAL  FILM  CO.,  Inc. 

Presents:— 


|NG  A  1^ n  DC  A  IJ7IPIJI  Current  restrictions  placed  on  film  fan  magazines 

"  WIIVJ  **  *■•’»  H  liwb  for  glamorous  tales  makes  this  story  very  timely. 

It’s  the  inside  of  Hollywood  and  its  studios.  William  Haines,  Judith  Allen,  Joseph  Cawthorn,  John  Mil- 

jan,  Franklin  Pangborn,  Warren  Hymer,  Otis  Harlan,  Ted  Fio-Rito  and  his  Cocoanut  Grove  Orchestra 

and  Wampas  Baby  Stars  of  ’34.  1 


♦"HARMONY  LANE 

ably  with  the  major’s  big  hits. 


// 


The  life  story  and  music  of  Stephen  Foster  with  his  immortal 
compositions  as  a  background  of  a  romance  that  compares  favor- 


// 


THE  MARINES  HAVE  LANDED 

depicting  the  man’s  struggle  for  the  woman  he  loves. 


// 


Starring  William  Haines.  The  title  is 
self-explanatory  with  plenty  of  action 


// 


ALONG  CAME  A  WOMAN 


// 


Written  by  Adele  Buffington.  The  proprie¬ 
tress  of  a  gas  station  doesn’t  like  the  pro¬ 
prietress  of  the  lunch  wagon  and  comedy  runs  riot  intermingled  with  the  forbidden  romance  between  their 
respective  children.  You  can  advertise  this  one  as  a  night  of  fun. 


// 


ANYTHING  ONCE 


// 


What  makes  News-Reel  men  so  brave  and  daring?  Is  it  merely 
the  satisfaction  of  the  job  or  is  there  a  woman  lurking  in  the 
background?  This  one  is  a  great  dare-devil  story  that  has  no  limitations  insofar  as  thrills  are  concerned. 


// 


CRIMSON  ROMANCE" 


Sari  Maritza,  Eric  von  Stroheim, 
Albright,  William  Bakewell,  James 
Barnett,  Jason  Robard,  Herman  Bing.  For  brevity,  we  refer  to  it  as  Flight’s  End. 


// 


f  ’’  Millions  of  people  buy  detective  magazines;  millions  listen  to  mystery 

stories  on  the  air.  This  expose  of  a  gigantic,  diabolic  plot,  culled  from 
the  archives  of  the  American  Secret  Service  coupled  with  the  participation  of  lovely  women  will  bring 
them  in. 


// 


WATERFRONT  LADY 


// 


A  young,  beautiful  girl  takes  it  upon  herself  to  correct  the 
social  errors  of  the  toughest  populace  in  the  world — right 
on  the  waterfront — where  even  the  brave  policemen  looked  the  other  way  when  crimes  were  committed. 


// 


STREAMLINE  EXPRESS 


// 


The  story  of  speed.  As  modern  as  the  streamline  from 
which  it  takes  its  name.  The  love  saga  of  a  sweet, 
simple  girl  and  a  man  who  battles  the  forces  of  Wall  Street  titans  to  win  his  goal  and  his  gal. 


// 


ONE  FRIGHTFUL  NIGHT 


// 


A  hurricane  of  chills,  thrills  and  howls.  Made  to 
order,  with  every  piece  of  dirty  work  climaxed  with 
a  laugh-shriek.  Shadowy  figures  slithering  through  secret  panels  and  sinister  shapes  that  pass  in  the  night. 


// 


HEADLINES 


// 


The  newest  angle  of  a  newspaper  story  yet  filmed.  It’s  really  the  inside 
facts  of  and  about  hot  news  that  rarely  becomes  public  property.  Melo¬ 
drama  with  action  and  mystery;  newshawks  and  sleuths  baffled  by  crooks — and  WOMEN. 


// 


MAN  FROM  HEADQUARTERS 


// 


The  true  life  story  and  experience  of 
Captain  Valentine  Willemsie,  former 
New  York  police  force  detective.  His  book  “Behind  the  Green  Lights”  enjoyed  a  tremendous  success 
because  of  its  accuracy,  authenticity  and  hair-raising  thrills  and  is  the  basis  of  “Man  From  Headquarters.” 


// 


^  SANTA  FE  Ken  MaYnard  and  Tarzan,  with  Gene  Autry.  This  is  NOT 

I  it  one  of  those  Westerners  where  you  know  the  climax  after 

seeing  the  first  reel.  Maynard  as  a  peddler  of  cowboy  clothes  to  exhibitionist  Easterners  is  fraught  with 
the  ingredients  of  a  big  picture. 


// 


TUE  IflCT  JUNGLE7'  Starring  Clyde  Beatty,  the  world’s  greatest  animal  trainer  with 
B  1  Cecilia  Parker,  Warner  Richmond,  Wheeler  Oakman,  Mickey 

Rooney  and  the  Hagenback-Wallace  Wild  Animals. 


A. 

A1 

O 


Distri 

MAJESTIC 


GOLD  MED/ 

(Tony 


1236  V 

PHIL/ 


916  G  St., 

WASHIN 


[ 


Tentative 
better  ones 


★mascot  specials 


Sepl5'34  pg.  21 


Story  that  counts,  plus  Names 

ES  THE  PAYING  PUBLIC  WANTS  YOU  TO  PLAY 


MAJESTIC  PICTURES,  Inc. 

Presents 


vd  hy 

TURES,  Inc. 
ILM  CO.,  Inc. 

chese) 

Street 

LPHIA 

Mather  Bldg. 
>N,  D.  C. 


s  only  —  if 
tally  selected 


"I  CAN'T  ESCAPE"  With  Lila  Lee,  Onslow  Stevens,  Clara  Kimball  Young,  etc. 

The  appropriateness  of  the  subject  evidenced  in  pre-release  showings  in  the  territory. 

"LAWBREAKERS"  It  is  not  necessary  to  build-up  curiosity  for  this  feature  be¬ 
cause  newspapers  headline  it  on  page  one,  daily.  v 


// 


>// 


MADONNA  IN  BLUE'  A  story  of  a  young  girl  lured  by  modern  rhythm, 

romance  and  ultra-modernisms  which  pushes  her  on  the  brink  of  oblivion  until  the  real  man 
happens  along. 

"THE  OWL  HOOTS"  One  of  those  mystery  stories  the  public  is  eager  to  see. 

The  title  alone  reveals  the  type  of  melodrama  in  the  background. 

"SUPPRESSED"  People  have  a  very  good  conception  and  understanding  that  the  sup¬ 
pressed  news  is  more  thrilling,  interesting  and  sensational  than  what  is  published. 


// 


ill 


STOP,  LOOK  AND  LISTEN  This  one  offers  unlimited  exploitation  pos¬ 
sibilities  in  tie-ups  with  Safety  Councils,  Accident-Prevention  departments  and  safety  cam¬ 
paigns. 


// 


i// 


HOUSE  OF  DANGER  The  thrilling  story  of  the  place  where  brave  men  and 

women  fear  to  enter  but  one  girl  didn’t  know  its  dangers  and  sauntered  inside. 

"ON  PROBATION"  Violations  of  parole  is  perhaps  the  direct  cause  of  criminals 

becoming  arch-murderers  because  of  the  constant  fear  of  being  picked  up  and  returned  to  jail. 

"PORTIA'S  DAUGHTER"  The  young  female  barrister  who  earns  the  sobri¬ 
quet  of  the  famous  Shakespeare  character  because  of  her  relentless  prosecution  of  law-breakers. 

"NIGHT  CARGO"  A  gripping  story  of  hi-jackers,  on  sea  and  on  land  and  a  revela¬ 
tion  of  the  perfection  of  their  organization  in  robbing  the  country-at-large. 

"FLAMING  TIMBERS"  A  forest  story  with  young  love  about  to  perish  in  the 

ravishing  flames  of  a  great  woodland  and  the  courageous  fighting  of  real  he-men. 


it 


,// 


GIRL  WANTED  The  nefarious  tricks  employed  by  unscrupulous  men  who  used 
the  medium  of  a  newspaper  to  lure  unsuspecting  girl  victims. 

"ALIMONY  LODGE"  More  like  a  honeymoon  hotel,  where  wives  must  spend 

weeks  awaiting  the  court’s  severance  of  their  marital  ties,  but  collecting  all  the  time. 

"SEA  SERPENT"  The  revelations  of  the  shipping  industry  racket  and  the  mon¬ 
strous  tentacles  of  its  power  infesting  the  business  world  even  at  the  expense  of  human  lives. 


Sepl5'34  pg.  22 


The  People  Want  Action  Pictures  ■  ■  ■  That's 

Why  the  Majors  are  Rushing  to  Make  Them. 

The  Dependable  Source  of  Supply— Tony  Lucchese 


SERIALS 


"TUT  I  ACT  IllUni  F7/  Starring  CLYDE  BEATTY  and  all 

|  nC  LUO  I  uUMlLC  of  the  HAGENBACK-WALLACE  Wild  Animals 

//mmy  fru  iin  D  ADAS  ETC"  with  frankie  darro,  jack  mulhall, 

du n ii  Lifi  ur  Dunn co  lolalane  — Feature  Picture  Names  in  a  Great  Story 

"Tiir  I  AUI  AC  TUC  Ilf  II  A"  With  REX  (King  of  Wild  Horses) 
IIIC  LHIV  Ur  IIIC  VVILU  RIN-TIN-TIN,  Jr.  -  LUCILLE  BROWN 

KEN  MAYNARD’S  SURPRISE  SERIAL 


13  Famous  Comi-Color  Cartoons  u.  b.Vwerks 


WESTERN  FEATURES 


6  WXRSN  Starring  BIG  BOY  (Guinn)  WILLIAMS 

A  MAJESTIC  PRESENTATION 


I  wish  every  exhibitor  a  very  prosperous  1934-35  Season.  On 
the  premise  that  if  you  give  the  public  what  it  wants,  they  will 
come  frequently  to  your  theatre — I  ask  you  to  consider  the 
attractions  listed  on  these  four  pages.  I  am  proud  of  their 
potential  possibilities  and  you  will  be  profitably  pleased  with 
them.  I  make  no  colossal  claims,  but  I  think,  twenty  years  of 
association  with  you  qualifies  me  to  merit  your  confidence. 
Good  luck. 


TONY  LUCCHESE 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Sepl5'34 


23 


Gold  Medal  Majestic  1934-1935 

Program  Impressive  Layout 


Heard  In 


U 


P  -  $  T  A  T  E 

Mrs.  Weaver  Back 
Majestic  Opens 


SAM  GILMAN  expressed  amazement  over 
unusual  attendance  at  his  Loew  Regent  1  he- 
atre,  Harrisburg,  for  “Chained.”  “The  pic¬ 
ture  did  not  offer  much  in  the  way  of  exploi¬ 
tation,”  he  said,  “which  was  not  necessary, 
for  it  sold  itself.  They  even  stood  in  line  in 
the  rain  to  see  it.”  No  wonder  Sam  is  in  a 
jovial  mood.  “Treasure  Island,”  which  pre¬ 
ceded  “Chained”  did  even  better  than  “Tug¬ 
boat  Annie,”  previous  high  financial  scorer 
at  Loew’s,  Sam  announced. 

THE  EXPERT  equestrienne  ability  of  MRS. 
HENRIETTA  ARNOLD,  modest  cashier  at 
the  Colonial  Theatre,  Harrisburg,  continues 
to  win  her  laurels  for  which  we  congratulate 
her.  At  a  recent  horse  show  at  the  Lebanon 
Country  Club,  Lebanon,  she  participated  in 
four  events,  riding  winners  in  two.  That 
makes  nine  ribbons  she  won  this  summer. 

MRS.  MINNIE  WEAVER  returned  to  her 
duties  as  secretary  to  C.  FLOYD  HOPKINS, 
Wilmer  and  Vincent  chief  in  Harrisburg, 
after  a  glorious  vacation  of  three  months. 
And  so  farewell  to  her  pretty,  blonde  sub¬ 
stitute,  MISS  LAURA  PARKHURST, 
Camden,  N.  J.,  who  will  resume  her  studies  at 
State  College.  Welcome  home  MRS. 
WEAVER. 

MANAGER  LAMBERT  was  all  pleased  with 
new  cooling  fan  for  his  Colonial  Theatre, 
Harrisburg,  which  is  ready  for  operation. 

CLOSED  for  the  summer,  Wilmer  and  Vin¬ 
cent's  Majestic,  Harrisburg,  re-opened  Sep¬ 
tember  7  with  “Servants’  Entrance.”  Jack 
D.  O'REAR,  back  at  the  helm  with  his  old 
staff,  was  preparing  to  put  across  the  second 
picture,  “Dames.”  “Won’t  be  my  fault  if 
they  don’t  know  it's  coming  to  town,”  he 
declared. 

A  BEAUTIFUL  parrot  was  on  exhibition  in 
the  lobby  of  the  Victoria,  Harrisburg,  during 
showing  of  “Charlie  Chan's  Courage.”  At¬ 
tracted  large  crowds  who  were  amused  at  its 
ability  to  use  the  English  language.  "This 
parrot  talks  Chinese  and  knows  who  threw 
the  deadly  knife  that  killed  a  faithful  serv¬ 
ant.  Will  CHARLES  CHAN  learn  the 
parrot’s  secret?”  This  appeared  on  a  sign 
placed  near  the  parrot  by  Manager  JERRY 
WOLLASTON,  who  gets  into  so  much 
trouble  with  his  innocent  exploitation  stunts 
that  he  determined  the  parrot  was  swear-proof 
before  exhibiting  it. 

CHARLIE  ESLINGER,  Victoria  doorman, 
under  treatment  for  sinus  trouble,  although 
sticking  to  his  post,  has  the  sympathy  of  the 
column.  He  is  mustering  his  courage  for  a 
tonsil  operation. 

SPECULATION  over  re-opening  date  of 
State,  Harrisburg,  W.  and  V.  vaudeville  and 
movie  house,  which  was  closed  for  the  sum¬ 
mer,  was  started  this  week  when  FRANCIS 
DEVERTER,  of  the  State  staff,  changed  a 
sign  in  front  of  the  Playhouse,  which  he 
placed  there  after  the  theatre  closed,  from 
"So  Long  Till  September”  to  “It  Won't  Be 
Long  Now.” 

CHARLIE  B1ERBAUER,  will  return  to  man¬ 
age  the  State,  according  to  his  chief,  HOP- 
PIE  FTOPKINS. 


Mascot  Features  and  Serials  Form  Backbone  of  Money 
Makers  —  Comi-Color  Cartoons  Also  Prominent  in 
Announcement 

According  to  an  announcement  made  to  a  representative  of  The  Exhjbitor 
recently  by  Tony  Lucchese,  proprietor  of  both  the  Gold  .Medal  Film  Co.,  Inc.,  and 
.Majestic  Pictures,  Inc.,  with  offices  in  Philadelphia  and  Washington,  he  will  re¬ 
lease  34  features,  4  serials  and  13  one-reel  shorts  during  the  current  season.  The 
detailed  titles,  some  of  the  casts  and  summaries  will  be  found  in  advertising-  form 


elsewhere  in  this  issue. 


NINETEEN  YEARS  AGO 


THE  FIRST  Baird  motor-driven  projection 
machine  installed  in  this  territory  was  placed 
in  the  Liberty  Theatre,  managed  by  M. 
JOHN  SMITH  and  furnished  by  the  Swaab 
Film  Service. 

LEASES  on  the  Amber  Theatre,  Amber  and 
Front  Streets,  and  the  West  Allegheny  The¬ 
atre,  Twenty-fifth  and  Allegheny,  by  KOR- 
SON  and  AMSTERDAM,  of  the  Amsterdam 
Feature  Company. 

M.  DOYLE,  proprietor  of  the  Comique  Theatre 
took  temporary  charge  of  the  Avoca  Theatre, 
Sixteenth  and  McKean  Streets,  which  was 
placed  in  hands  of  receivers. 

ROSE  KF.NIN  bought  the  film  theatre  at  456 
60  North  Sixtieth  Street  from  ISRAEL  G. 
W ASM  AN. 

WORK  ON  the  film  theatre  then  being  built  by 
Gouker  and  Son  at  Fifty-sixth  and  Pine 
Streets. 

M.  MORGANSTEIN  became  manager  of  the 
Spruce  Theatre.  Sixtieth  and  Spruce  Streets. 

THE  VICTOR  THEATRE,  Eleventh  and  Mc¬ 
Kean  Streets  was  leased  to  MRS.  E.  SMITH. 


Levine  on  Survey 

Recent  survey  held  by  Jay  Emanuel 
Publications  which  indicates  that  more 
than  100  neighborhood  theatres  in  the 
Philadelphia  territory  have  suffered  a 
loss  of  juvenile  attendance  of  about 
18,000  weekly  could  be  minimized  to  a 
great  extent  with  the  proper  use  of  short 
subjects  of  juvenile  appeal,  according  to 
Nat  Levine,  president,  Mascot. 

“Despite  the  fact  that  so-called  bans 
may  have  caused  a  loss  in  juvenile  at¬ 
tendance,  this  loss  could  be  minimized 
if  theatre  managers  would  make  it  a 
point  to  choose  proper  film  attractions 
designed  to  appeal  to  the  juvenile  mind, 
stated  Levine.  “Amusing  comedies,  ad¬ 
venture  stories  and  serials  have  their 
place  on  film  theatre  programs.  It  is  this 
type  of  entertainment  that  not  only  en¬ 
gages  the  attention  of  youth  but  holds 
that  attenion  and  makes  the  average 
youngster  come  back  for  more. 

“So-called  sophisticated  drama  has 
little  place  in  those  neighborhood  the¬ 
atres  where  a  large  proportion  of  the 
audience  is  juvenile.  The  wise  theatre 
manager  will  pick  the  proper  feature 
product  and  surround  that  product  with 
a  strong  short  subject  program.” 


Mr.  Lucchese  is  particularly  proud  of  the 
Mascot  line-up  and  points  to  their  first  presen¬ 
tation  “Young  and  Beautiful'  which  opened  to 
very  satisfactory  business  and  rave  reviews  at 
the  Steel  Pier  in  Atlantic  City.  This  picture, 
which  has  merited  one  of  the  most  consistently 
big  hands  from  critics  ever  afforded  an  inde¬ 
pendent  production,  is  claimed  to  be  the  equal 
of  any  comedy  ever  produced  by  a  major  com¬ 
pany. 

The  fact  that  William  Haines,  Judith  Allen, 
John  Mil jan,  the  Wampas  Baby  Stars  and 
a  host  of  other  featured  players  form  a  capable 
cast  with  box  office  values  and  the  picture  has 
been  produced  with  such  speed  and  smooth¬ 
ness,  is  pointed  to  by  Mr.  Lucchese  as  a  sample 
of  what  may  be  expected  from  the  feature 
efforts  of  Nat  Levine,  the  Mascot  president, 
and  serial  wizard. 

Air.  Lucchese  also  drew  attention  to  a  num¬ 
ber  of  other  prominent  pictures  in  the  line¬ 
up  as  well  as  to  the  Corni-colored  cartoon  series 
by  U.  B.  Iwerks. 


Voigt  Scores 

One  of  the  most  striking  features  of  the  new 
Broadway  I  heatre.  Camden,  is  the  unique  and 
novel  design  of  the  decorative  lighting  equip¬ 
ment.  David  Supowitz,  architect,  is  the  first  to 
bring  to  this  section  of  the  country  this  newest 
development  in  lighting  fixture  design.  In  his 
search  for  new  ideas,  Supowitz,  in  conjunction 
with  the  lighting  engineers,  originated  extraor¬ 
dinary  designs  and  styles  that  are  magnificent  in 
their  beauty. 

Two  fixtures  on  the  main  ceiling  are  64  feet 
long  and  contain  240  lamp  bulbs ;  the  auditorium 
wall  brackets,  of  which  there  are  four,  are 
each  10  feet  long.  The  unusual  size  of  these 
lighting  fixures  made  it  essential  to  give  con¬ 
sideration  to  safety  and  permanent  installation. 
To  insure  this  safety,  aluminum  metal  was 
used ;  because  it  is  light  in  weight,  yet  struct¬ 
urally  strong  enough  to  carry  all  stress  and 
strain  safely. 

All  of  the  decorative  lighting  fixtures  for  the 
Broadway  were  designed  and  made  by  Voigt 
Company,  Philadelphia. 


Marriage  Epidemic  at  Paramount 

Earle  Sweigert,  local  Paramount  manager, 
reports  an  epidemic  of  weddings  has  swept 
the  branch  and  has  left  the  mark  of  its  ravages 
on  a  good  percentage  of  the  force. 

Within  the  last  few  months  Miss  Savage  has 
become  Mrs.  McBride;  Miss  Weiss,  Mrs. 
Lieberman ;  and  Tom  Moore,  the  ad  sales  man¬ 
ager,  has  taken  a  Mrs.  Moore.  Catherine  Camp¬ 
bell  is  due  to  be  married  in  about  a  week 
and  there  are  rumors  about  George  Beattie  of 
the  sales  department. 


24 


Sepl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


THE  CODE  •  CASES  •  HEARINGS  •  BOARD  RULINGS  •  DEVELOPMENTS 


SCHEDULE: 

GRIEVANCE 
September  13 

Colonial,  Palmerton,  vs.  Palm,  Palmer- 
ton,  on  charge  of  overbuying. 

HEARINGS 

September  6 

Garbo  Theatre  vs.  Parker,  Darby,  and 
exchanges. 

Case  was  withdrawn  by  the  plaintiff  and  so 
noted  in  the  records. 

Ritz  Theatre  vs.  Century  and  Pike  The¬ 
atres,  on  charge  of  evasion  of  admission 
through  cut  rate  tickets. 

Ritz  claimed  that  Century  and  Pike  were  cut¬ 
ting  prices  in  violation  of  the  code.  Century 
and  Pike  admitted  it  and  promised  to  cut  out 
practice. 

Decision: 

Consent  decree  for  Ritz. 


LETTERS  TO  THE  EDITOR 


The  Exhibitor 
219  N.  Bread  St. 

Phila..  Penna. 

Dear  Sir : — 

I  have  been  instructed  by  the  Executive  Committee 
of  this  organization  to  request  that  you  publish  the 
following  letter  in  your  next  issue  of  THE  EXHIBITOR. 
A  statement  was  issued  by  the  Independent  Exhibitors’ 
Protective  Association  which  appeared  in  the  print  of 
a  certain  trade  journal  listing  as  new  members  in  the 
said  Independent  Exhibitors’  Protective  Association  fol¬ 
lowing  theatres  and  owners: 

Roxy  Theatre,  Northampton.  Jim  Clark  and  Jack 
Greenberg. 

Parkway  Theatre,  Stone  Harbor,  N.  J..  Jack  Greenberg. 

Casino  Theatre,  S.  Langhorne,  Eddie  Gabriel. 

Carmen  Theatre,  Phila.,  Pa.,  George  T.  Gravenstine. 

In  a  personal  interview  by'  the  writer  with  Jim 
Clark,  he  emphatically  denied  that  he  was  a  member 
of  the  IEPA  for  the  Roxy  Theatre,  Northampton,  that  he 
has  never  paid  any  dues  into  that  organization,  and 
that  no  one  had  any  authority  from  him  whatsoever, 
to  publish  his  name  as  a  member  of  the  IEPA. 

In  a  personal  interview  with  Jack  Greenberg,  he 
was  very  indignant  that  his  name  had  been  published 
as  a  member  of  the  Independent  Exhibitors’  Protective 
Association,  he  has  never  paid  any  dues  in  that  organ¬ 
ization,  and  that  at  no  time  had  he  ever  contemplated 
becoming  a  member  of  that  organization,  and  that  the 
publication  of  his  name  covering  both  the  Roxy  and 
Parkway  Theatres,  as  a  member  of  the  IEPA  was  un¬ 
warranted  and  was  without  authority  whatsoever  from 
him. 

In  an  interview  with  George  T.  Gravenstine,  of  the 
Carmen  Theatre,  by  telephone,  Mr.  Gravenstine  advised 
this  writer  that  he  was  not  a  member  of  the  IEPA. 
and  that  he  had  never  paid  any  dues  in  that  organiza¬ 
tion,  and  as  a  matter  of  fact,  at  this  time,  he  is  not 
a  member  of  any  exhibitor  organization. 

In  a  letter  addressed  to  the  writer  as  Secretary  of 
this  organization  over  the  signature  of  Eddie  Gabriel, 
it  is  therein  stated  that  Eddie  Gabriel  has  nothing 
whatsoever  to  do  with  the  operation  of  the  Casino  The¬ 
atre,  S.  Langhorne,  that  he  is  not  a  member  of  the 
IEPA  nor  has  he  ever  paid  any'  dues  to  that  organiza¬ 
tion,  and  that  the  publication  cf  his  name  as  a  mem¬ 
ber  was  without  any  authorization  and  was  done  without 
his  knowledge,  and  such  a  statement  that  he  is  a  mem¬ 
ber  of  the  IEPA  is  a  misstatement. 

Very  truly  yours, 

GEO.  P.  AARO'NS, 

Secretary 

GA:TG  MPTO  E.  Penna.,  etc. 


Board  Closed  Yom  Kippur 

Offices  of  the  local  Code  Authority  boards 
will  be  closed  September  19,  Yom  Kippur,  a 
Jewish  holiday. 


Showmanship  on  a  Grand  Scale 

The  old  Arcadia  Cafe  on  Philadelphia’s 
Chestnut  Street,  will  open  September  20  as 
Arcadia,  the  International  Restaurant,  under 
the  management  of  Joe  Padula,  heading  a  cor¬ 
poration  in  which  Harrison  Frazier  and  P.  A. 
B.  Widener  are  principals. 

The  restaurant  will  open  with  Guy  Lombardo 
and  his  orchestra  for  two  weeks,  followed  by 
other  nationally  known  named  bands,  and  the 
talent  and  floor  show  will  be  booked  from  the 
National  Broadcasting  Company. 

The  restaurant  is  equipped  with  full  stage- 
lighting  appliances  capable  of  producing  effects 
that  have  never  been  seen  outside  the  largest 
legitimate  theatres.  A  number  of  side  rooms 
are  decorated  and  furnished  in  strict  adherence 
to  the  art  of  various  nations. 

A  Cocktail  Lounge  for  the  afternoon  clientele 
will  show  the  Arcadia's  own  newsreel  of  local 
events,  such  as  horse  races,  football  games, 
society  weddings,  etc.  An  up  to  the  minute 
16  MM.  sound  camera  will  consistently  travel 
around  Philadelphia  and  its  suburbs,  and  these 
films  will  eventually  be  shown  with  sound  in¬ 
terspersed  with  cartoons  and  musical  subjects 
from  standard  libraries. 

Most  of  the  work  has  been  done  by  men 
known  in  the  local  industry,  Armand  Carroll, 
associated  with  W.  H.  Lee,  was  the  architect. 
Armando  T.  Ricci  did  the  actual  painting  and 
worked  in  an  advisory  capacity  on  the  furnish¬ 
ings.  Bill  McAvoy  laid  out  and  installed  the 
Major  Frank  Adam  stage  lighting  equipment. 
The  local  news  cameraman  and  supervisor  of 
booking  and  projection  will  be  C.  A.  McCrork, 
the  Vine  Street  sound  engineer  who  also  sold 
and  installed  the  necessary  equipment. 

Showmanship  on  such  a  large  scale  with  the 
nut  which  must  be  carried  amazes  local  the- 
atremen.  It  will  be  interesting  to  watch  devel¬ 
opments. 


NEW  SALESMAN.  Charlie  Beilan, 
formerly  a  booker,  is  the  new  War¬ 
ner  salesman  replacing  Harry  Dem- 
bow.  Beilan  is  experienced,  was 
formerly  an  exchangeman  in  an¬ 
other  sector,  and  bears  the  good 
wishes  of  the  trade.  Leo  Hanan  is 
the  new  booker,  replacing  him. 


Philly  Exhibs  Attend 
Campi  Hearing 

Hearing  on  Fern  Rock-Warner 

and  Waxman -Warner  Appeals 

A  delegation  of  Philadelphia  theatre 
owners,  including  Lewen  Pizor,  George 
P.  Aarons,  David  Barrist  and  Harry 
Waxman  attended  a  hearing  before  the 
Code  Authority  in  New  York,  on  Wed¬ 
nesday,  September  12,  at  which  the  Ap¬ 
peals  Committee  heard  a  complaint  insti¬ 
tuted  bv  the  Fern  Rock  Theatre,  operated 
by  Herbert  J.  Elliott,  against  Warners 
Logan,  Colney,  Lindley  and  Felton 
Theatres. 

Other  Philadelphia  territory  cases  were  those 
of  Earl  M.  Forte’s  Ambassador  Theatre,  Phil¬ 
adelphia,  against  Stanley-Warners’  Benn  The¬ 
atre,  and  Harry  Waxman’s  Astor  Theatre,  At¬ 
lantic  City,  against  Warners’  Colonial. 


The  following  resolution  was  unanimously 
adopted  by  the  Code  Authority  at  the  meet¬ 
ing  held  on  Thursday,  August  23 : 

RESOLVED:  That  Clearance  for  any  the¬ 
atre  established  by  a  clearance  and  zoning 
board  in  any  decision  affecting  a  schedule  of 
clearance  and  zoning  for  a  territory  or  part 
thereof,  shall  supersede  any  clearance  speci¬ 
fied  in  any  license  agreement  between  distribu¬ 
tors  and  exhibitors,  irrespective  of  whether 
such  license  agreement  was  executed  prior 
to  the  decision  of  the  local  clearance  and  zon¬ 
ing  board. 


Sue  to  Force  Registration 

Recounting  that  registration  has  been  refused 
a  petition  has  been  filed  in  the  office  of  the 
prothonotary,  Harrisburg,  requesting  that 
Richard  J.  Beamish,  Secretary  of  the  Common¬ 
wealth,  register  the  Keystone  Moving  Pictures 
Association  under  the  Non-Profit  Corporation 
Law  or  show  reason  why  he  will  not  do  so. 

Stressing  that  registration  is  “mandatory  on 
the  Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth,  not  discre¬ 
tionary,”  the  petition  was  filed  by  Maurice  R. 
Metzger,  Harrisburg  attorney,  on  behalf  of 
Benjamin  Horwitz,  Philadelphia,  treasurer  of 
the  Keystone  Moving  Pictures  Association. 


Harry  Dembow  Circuit  Plans  Set 

The  circuit  of  theatres  built  up  by  Harry 
Dembow,  brother  of  Sam  and  George,  and 
former  salesman  for  Warners,  as  announced 
in  last  issue,  is  now  running  smoothly.  The 
policy  is  as  follows : 

Media  Theatre,  Media  6  days  a  week  as 
usual ;  in  Columbia,  the  State  Theatre,  6  days 
a  week;  Alto  Theatre,  Friday  and  Saturday 
only ;  Opera  House,  tab  house  and  legitimate 
road  shows  whenever  possible:  in  Marcus  Hook, 
the  Globe,  six  days  a  week,  and  the  Spielmont 
Friday  and  Saturday  only. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Sepl5'34 


25 


Penn  Theatre  Busy 

Penn  Theatre  Equipment  Company  has  been 
exceptionally  busy  lately  with  sizeable  instal¬ 
lations  at  the  Morris  Theatre,  Philadelphia, 
and  Stonehurst  Theatre,  Stonehurst,  in  addition 
to  the  complete  stage  and  booth  installation  at 
the  Roxy  Theatre,  Weatherly,  Pa.  They  point 
with  pride  to  a  recent  situation  where  the  Lin¬ 
coln  Theatre,  Philadelphia,  which  had  con¬ 
templated  spending  $1400  to  improve  projec¬ 
tion,  accomplished  the  same  result  for  a  little 
over  one-tenth  of  that  sum  letting  Penn  Theatre 
Equipment  Company  modernize  their  old  equip¬ 
ment  by  the  use  of  practical  experience. 

The  same  occurred  at  the  Avenue  Theatre, 
Philadelphia,  and  this  firm  feels  that  through 
their  service  small  houses  can  enjoy  the  bene¬ 
fits  of  high  intensity  light  at  low  intensity  cost. 


Booking  Theatres 
Everywhere 

Honest  ::  Reliable 
Conscientious 
Service 

EDWARDSHERMAN 

VAUDEVILLE  AGENCY 

Real  Estate  Trust  Bldg. 
PHILADELPHIA 

Pennypacker  7595 

MAYFAIR  THEATRE  BLDG.,  NEW  YORK 
BR.  9-1905 


years  experience— 
behind  every  register 


For  50  years  General  Register  Corpo¬ 
ration  and  associated  companies  have 
been  designing  and  building  cash  con¬ 
trol  equipment  for  the  theatre,  carrying 
an  unqualified  two  year  guarantee  on 
all  registers. 

Representation  in  all  key  cities. 


GENERAL  REGISTER 
CORPORATION 

1540  Broadway,  New  York 


• 

Official  Letter 
Service  to  the 

Mimeographing 
Multigraphing 
Public  Stenography 

Motion  Picture 
Industry 

Addressing  -  Folding 
Enclosing  -  Mailing 

Accurate  List 
of  all  Theatres 
and  Executives 

Advertising 

Publicity 

Printing 

WM.  Z. 

PORTER 

Advertising  and  Letter  Service 

1208  Vine  Street 

(Second  Floor) 

Bell:  RITtenhouse  7195  Keystone:  RACE  8666 

First  Division  Plans 
Novel  Trade  Showing 

“Girl  of  the  Limherlost "  and 

Shorts  Scheduled 

First  Division,  under  the  direction  of 
Sam  Rosen,  is  planning  a  novel  trade 
show  September  16,  at  Fay’s  Theatre. 

Main  attraction  is  “A  Girl  of  the  Limberlost,” 
from  Monogram,  with  a  cast  including  Louise 
Dresser,  Marian  Marsh  and  Ralph  Morgan, 
which  has  been  heralded  by  the  trade. 

Another  special  feature  will  be  a  showing  of 
Technicolor  and  novelty  shorts,  considered  the 
dream  of  the  market,  and  being  distributed  by 
FD.  The  shorts  are  new  departures  and  have 
scored  mightily  with  the  critics  as  well  as  with 
color  and  sound  experts. 

Other  special  features  have  been  arranged 
for  (he  showing. 

Fay’s  Th  atre,  under  management  of  Sid 
Stanley,  will  be  the  show-place  for  the  event, 
with  a  big  evening  planned. 


TOURING 

WITH 

LAURA  LAEDLEIN 


OSCAR  W.  ALTHOFF  opens  new  season  for 
Elks  Theatre,  Mahanoy  City  with  "Dames.” 

J.  L.  THOMAS,  Alt.  Carmel’s  State,  char¬ 
tered  a  trolley  car  full  of  singing  girls  to 
ballyhoo  midnight  show  of  “Dames"  Septem¬ 
ber  2. 

DR.  W.  R.  BUCKLEY,  Mt.  Carmel,  has 
addded  Rialto  to  his  chain  and  will  operate 
four  nights  a  week.  His  Shamokin  Capitol 
now  houses  a  Sunbury  WKOK  studio,  used 
extensively  by  MANAGER  THOMAS  C. 
WALSH  in  exploitation. 

WILLIAM  DABB,  Shenandoah  Lyric,  vaca¬ 
tioning  at  World's  Fair.  House  was  repainted 
in  and  out. 

MANAGER  SHUGAR,  Pottsville’s  Holly¬ 
wood,  says  walkathon  operators  there  this 
summer  came  in  expecting  a  coal  mine  but 
found  a  gold  mine. 

GEORGES  SKUTCHES,  Pottsville.  now  con¬ 
nected  with  Warner  chain  in  Hagerstown, 
Md.,  through  good  offices  of  MANAGER 
HERRWOOD  E.  HOBBS,  Pottsville  Hip¬ 
podrome,  and  an  EXHIBITOR  ad.  Right  up 
your  “alley”  Mr.  Hobbs? 

J.  DONALD  EDWARDS  changing  Miners- 
ville  house  Karlton  to  Edwards  with  new 
marquee  and  other  improvements. 

“DODY”  BURCH,  manager  FRIEDMAN’S 
chief  usher  and  right-hand  man  at  the  Potts¬ 
ville  Capitol,  is  winning  incidental  laurels  as 
second  baseman  of  the  Mechanicsville  team, 
which  won  first  half  of  the  Pottsville  Sub¬ 
urban  League  pennant. 

VICTORIA,  Mt.  Carmel,  has  installed  wide 
range  and  new  booth  equipment  and  new  in¬ 
terior  decorations.  MISS  MAE  QUIRK, 
manager  is  back  from  vacation. 

WILLIAM  HISSNER’S  Academy,  Lebanon, 
scheduled  for  this  month. 

ROOSEVELT,  Downingtown,  schedules  new 
seat  and  interior  decoration  this  month. 

ASTOR,  Annville,  now  under  management  of 
C.  E.  PIERSOL. 


READY 

REFERENCE 

EACH  COMPANY  LISTED  IS  AN 
AUTHORITY  IN  ITS  FIELD  AND 
IS  RELIABLE  AND  TRUSTWORTHY 


AIR  CONDITIONING 

PHOON 

ONDITIONINGCO. 

BLOWERS  -  FANS 
AIR  WASHERS 

252  West  26th  St.,  New  York 


ARCHITECT 


THEATRE  DESIGN 

Remodeling  »  Building 

LATEST  COMPLETED 

NEW  BROADWAY  COLONIAL 

Camden,  So.  Philly 

New  Jersey  Penna. 

DAVID  SUPOWITZ 

REGISTERED 

ARCHITECT 

246  S.  15th  St.,  Phi  la..  Pa.  Pennypacker  2291 


BUSINESS  BROKER 


THEATRES  WANTED 

Philadelphia,  Up-State,  New  Jersey  and  Delaware 

Cash  no  object  if  priced  right 

Our  Dealings  Are  Strictly  Confidential 

M.  H.  GOODIS,  Inc.,  1201  Chestnut  St. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 


CHAIRS  (used  theatre) 


LARGEST  DEALERS 
IN  USED  CHAIRS 

Re-Setting  Re-Upholstering 

Re-Conditioning 

“Servastone”  for  craoked  concrete 
floors 

Parts  for  all  chairs  Slip  Covers 

ALLIED  SEATING  COMPANY 

358  W.  44th  St.,  New  York,  N.  Y. 


DECORATIVE  GLASS 


Wc  specialize  in  GLASS  for  Theatres 

Specify:  VARICOLITE 

See  the  new  mirror  booth  at  the 
IRIS  THEATRE,  Kensington  and  Allegheny 
Write  for  particulars  and  samples 

M.  KRAKOVITZ  AND  SONS,  CO. 

4TH  AND  MORRIS  STREETS,  PHILA. 
Dewey  8600  Main  2301 


DRAPERIES 

The  Larger  and  Greater — 

NOVELTY  SCENIC  STUDIOS 

- INC. - 

INTERIOR  DECORATIONS  :  DRAPERIES 

SCENERY  =  ACCOUSTICAL  TREATMENTS  :  RIGGING 

611-625  W.  43rd  St.  New  York,  N.  V. 


26 


Sepl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Heard  In ' 


W 


ILMINGTON 

Earl  Finney  Returns 
Business  Good 


VAUDEVILLE  at  the  Aldine  and  opening  of 
the  Arcadia  has  seemed  to  add  new  life  to 
Market  Street,  Wilmington's  “Broadway.” 
The  day  “vaud”  started  there  were  almost  as 
many  people  on  the  street  as  the  average  Sat¬ 
urday,  despite  the  sprinkling  of  rain.  The 
other  theatres  caught  the  overflow  of  the 
Aldine  including  those  who  decided  to  wait 
when  it  was  less  crowded.  The  tap  rooms 
were  doing  a  lively  business,  too.  JACK 
MULHALL,  district  manager,  said  he  hadn’t 
had  a  wink  of  sleep  in  two  nights. 


SERVING  theatre  needs  with 
a  knowledge  of  theatre 
business. 


A 

F 
E 
T 

y 


SSISTING  theatre  owners  with 
a  staff  of  trained  clerks  and 
office  files.  No  missouts. 


REEING  theatre  owners  of  the 
worry  that  they  may  have 
forgotten  part  of  their  show. 

FFICIENTLY  operating  the  larg¬ 
est  film  delivery  service  in 
the  world. 


AKING  CARE  of  every 
possible  need  in  the  delivery 
of  film. 

IELDING  the  epitome  of 
safety,  service  and  effici¬ 
ency  at  a  minimum  cost. 


HORLACHER 

DELIVERY  SERVICE,  Inc. 

1228  Vine  Street,  Philadelphia 

NEW  YORK 
SCRANTON 
BALTIMORE 
WASHINGTON 


Another  Horlacher  Service 

LARRY  DAILY,  Notary  Public 

The  only  one  on  Vine  Street  .  .  At 
your  service  any  time  during 
business  hours. 


W.  R.  McCLINTOCK,  new  assistant  manager 
at  the  Arcadia,  and  former  doorman  at  the 
Aldine,  was  brought  back  to  the  Aldine  for 
two  days  to  handle  the  crowd.  The  way  he 
handled  the  large  crowd  at  the  Arcadia  its 
opening  day  impressed  MULHALL  and  oth¬ 
ers  higher  up,  I  am  told. 

MARTIN  PRAGG  of  the  Opera  House  and 
EDM  AN  DEVANNEY  of  the  Aldine,  both 
assistant  managers,  went  fishing  the  other 
Sunday  and  caught  an  even  half  dozen. 

A  GROOVED  marble  column  effect  at  the  in¬ 
side  entrance  of  the  Opera  House  blends 
well  with  the  tempo  of  the  ancient  house. 

ARCADIA  certainly  looks  snappy  with  new 
permanent  cut-out  shadow  frames  for  stills 
near  the  front,  and  framed  24-sheets  under 
lighting  effect  for  view  at  exit. 

JOHN  BYRLE,  new  doorman  at  the  Aldine, 
looks  like  he  might  be  nearer  seven  than  six 
feet. 

ALDINE  had  a  nice  front  built  up  for  “vaud.” 

MRS.  C.  DOUGLASS  BUCK,  wife  of  the 
Governor,  MAYOR  AND  MRS.  SPEER, 
all  of  the  members  of  the  city  council  and 
their  wives  as  well  as  fire,  police  and  civic 
dignitaries  were  on  hand  for  the  opening  of 
the  Arcadia. 

HARRY  JARRELL,  an  old  favorite  with  regu¬ 
lar  theatre  patrons  is  on  the  door  of  the 
Arcadia  now  after  having  been  laid  up  with 
a  bad  leg  for  several  months. 

MORTY  LEVINE  worked  a  number  of  win¬ 
dow  tie-ups  for  “Cleopatra”  coming  to  the 
Arcadia. 

GLAD  TO  SEE  EARLE  FINEY,  old  Play¬ 
house  manager  of  years  back,  in  local  har¬ 
ness  again  as  manager  of  the  Queen.  He  ought 
to  make  a  good  job  of  it  with  his  experience. 
JIMMY  KEARNE,  his  assistant  is  trying  to 
work  up  a  good  basketball  team  among  the 
boys. 

GEORGE  JONES’  cooling  plant  at  Loew’s 
Parkway  is  at  last  on  the  job,  after  several 
weeks’  delay.  It  serves  in  both  hot  and  cold 
weather.  He  had  them  standing  every  night 
for  “Chained.” 

MISS  HELEN  TINDALL,  box  office  cashier 
Savov,  has  been  shifted  to  the  Arcadia. 

M  ISS^PAULINE  JOYCE  is  a  new  cashier 
at  the  Opera  House. 

MISS  MARIE  ELLIS,  former  part  time  cash¬ 
ier  at  the  Opera  House  gets  full  time  at  the 
Savoy. 

MISS  MINERVA  RICHARDSON,  relief 
cashier  at  Aldine  goes  to  Arcadia. 

SEE  RALPH  BEECHER  on  the  job  at  the 
Queen  door  more  now. 

LEON  TEBBINS  shifts  with  him. 

JOE  DeFIORE,  Park,  is  finished  with  his  vaca¬ 
tion,  taken  in  two-day  trips  and  is  soon  going 
to  call  that  Delmarva  IMPTO  of  his  for  a 
meeting. 

BEN  SCHINDLER  at  the  Avenue  puts  on 
kiddies’  shows  Saturdays  now. 

OPENING  OF  the  Arcadia  in  Wilmington 
brought  about  several  changes  in  shifts  in 
that  city  among  the 

Warner  employes,  the 
most  important  o  f 
which  was  the  installa¬ 
tion  of  EARLE  G. 

FINNEY,  veteran  Wil¬ 
mington  theatre  man, 
as  manager  of  the 
Queen,  the  company’s 
second-run  house. 
FINNEY  was  with  the 
Playhouse,  legitimate, 
Wilmington,  nine  years, 
most  of  the  time  as 
manager ;  the  Eleventh  Avenue  Opera  House 
in  Altoona,  which  burned  down,  and  the 
Mishler  which  was  built  in  its  place;  the 

Moreland  at  Cleveland ;  the  Fulton  Opera 
House  at  Lancaster,  and  on  the  road  two 
years.  A  little  over  a  year  ago  he  took  over 
the  Community  Theatre  at  Ridgely,  Md„ 


which  had  had  several  profitless  managements. 
He  gave  it  up  earlv  this  summer. 

THE  MANAGEMENT  of  the  newly  op  ned 
Arcadia  is  still  in  the  air,  with  MORTON 
LEVINE,  manager  of  the  Opera  House  act¬ 
ing  manager. 

W.  R.  McCLINTOCK,  formerly  doorman  at 
the  Aldine,  was  moved  up  as  assistant  man¬ 
ager  of  the  Arcadia. 

MARTIN  PRAGG  looks  after  the  Opera 
House  while  LEVINE  is  at  the  Arcadia. 

MORTON  LEVINE,  manager  of  the  Grand 
Opera  House,  Warner  theatre,  Wilmington, 
made  a  tie-up  deal  with  Coca  Cola  Company, 
Fleer  and  the  Black  Crow  Company  for  give¬ 
aways  for  kiddies  for  three  Saturday  matinees. 

JOE  DeFIORE,  manager  of  the  Park  Theatre, 
Wilmington,  is  the  first  manager  to  go  in  for 
Neon  lighting.  He  has  had  his  front  done 
over  with  flashy  marquee  lights  and  a  large 
sun-burst  top  vertical  neon  sign  showing  the 
name  of  the  theatre. 


ATLANTIC 

CITY’S 

Newest 

Boardwalk  Hotel 


^President 


JpiVE  Hundred  Rooms 
with  Sea  Water  Baths 
American  and  European 
Plans.  Also  Beautifully 
Furnished  Housekeeping 
Apartments  with  Com¬ 
plete  Hotel  Service  by 
the  week,  month  or  year. 


Cocktail  Lounge 
and  Bar 

SEA  WATER 
SWIMMING  POOL 

MARINE 
SUN  DECK 

TURKISH  BATHS 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Sepl5'34 


27 


BETWEEN  THE  PARAGRAPHS 


HIGHER  PRICES  BEING  ASKED 
NOT  BEING  PLEASANTLY  RECEIVED 

Reports  from  all  parts  of  the  country  indicate  that  higher  prices 
are  being  asked  uniformly  by  practically  all  producers.  Not  only  does 
this  take  the  form  of  more  percentage  pictures  and  higher  percentages, 
but  even  in  the  flat  rental  categories,  the  amounts  being  asked  are 
higher.  Of  course,  many  of  the  companies  are  showing  bigger  profits 
in  their  statements,  but  until  this  is  reflected  in  the  exhibition  end  as 
well,  one  wonders  what  the  end  will  be.  Business  conditions,  gen¬ 
erally,  throughout  the  country,  aren’t  any  too  encouraging,  which 
would  lead  trade  observers  to  wonder  whether  or  not  the  distributors 
have  some  private  information  that  everything  is  going  to  be  rosy. 

BREEN  AIR  VISIT  GOOD  CONTACT 
WITH  THE  GENERAL  PUBLIC 

Use  of  the  air  by  Joseph  Breen,  industrial  production  censor, 
should  have  beneficial  results  everywhere.  The  drive  against  salacious 
pictures  is  apparently  receding  as  the  general  public  realizes  that  most 
pictures  are  wholesome  or,  at  least,  bear  little  that  might  be  termed 
offensive.  Institutional  advertising  and  plugging  of  the  broadcast 
type  reaches  a  large  group  of  listeners,  with  plenty  of  good  will 
resulting. 

EXHIBITORS  INTERESTED  IN 
NATIONAL  HOUSING  ACT  PROVISIONS 

Exhibitors  should  investigate  their  ability  to  secure  credit  for 
improvements  to  their  theatres  under  the  National  House  Act,  devised 
for  that  purpose.  Theatres  were  not  specifically  mentioned  but  the 
question  arises  whether  or  not  theatres  would  come  under  this  heading. 
Of  course,  smart  theatremen  appreciate  the  benefits  that  come  from 
modernization  but  in  some  of  the  smaller  hamlets  money  has  been  so 
scarce  as  to  preclude  any  possibility  of  renovation  coming.  Asking 
for  the  money  or  credit  isn’t  any  guarantee  of  getting  it  but  there  is 
nothing  like  trying. 

AMUSEMENT  CODES  IN 
SERVICE  INDUSTRIES 

New  set-up  of  the  NRA  will  find  the  amusement  codes  in  the 
classification  of  Service  Industries  Group,  under  plan  announced. 
This  does  not  affect  the  code  in  any  way  except  as  to  co-ordinate  the 
various  code  divisions  now  in  operation. 

INDES  FINALLY  COME  IN 
UNDER  BREEN  CENSOR  SYSTEM 

The  inde  companies  finally  agreed  to  have  Joe  Breen,  industry 
censor,  pass  on  their  productions  and  issue  seals,  thus  clearing  up  a 
matter  that  threatened  to  become  a  definite  point  of  argument.  In¬ 
cidentally,  throwing  the  seal  on  the  screen  means  nothing  in  any 
theatre,  although  it  might  have  an  effect  on  those  who  persist  in  think¬ 
ing  salaciousness  is  ever  rampant. 

PRICE  BOOST  MUST  WAIT 
FOR  BUSINESS  BETTERMENT 

All  reports  to  the  contrary,  it  is  useless  to  predict  that  theatremen 
will  go  in  for  a  price  boost  in  a  big  way  until  business  conditions  get 
better.  Most  theatremen  will  be  lucky  if  they  can  get  by  without  more 
slashes.  What  with  the  strikes,  wage  cuts  and  the  usual  winter  hard¬ 
ships,  anyone  who  tries  to  get  more  money  out  of  his  patrons  ought 
to  think  twice. 

A  boost  would  be  nice,  but  only  if  it  is  received  pleasantly. 

HOBART  MANN. 


FLAGS  AND  BANNERS 


It  Theatre  Marquee  Valances 
K  Wall  Banners 

IV  Net  and  Road  Banners 

X  Attractive  Colors — Sewed  or  Painted 

Letters — Featuring  All  Shows. 

■  Burgees — Pennants — Decorations 

Above  Also  Sold  Outright.  Order  Direct  From 

NATIONAL  FLAG  &  BANNER  CO. 

251-253  N.  13th  St.  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


INTERIOR  DECORATORS 


Theatrical 

Decorating 

OUR  SPECIALTY 
Phone 

Rittenhouse  7828 
2315  Walnut  St. 
Philadelphia 


J.  SEIDMAN  :  A.  WEINBERG  :  D.  BRODSKY 

Paramount  Qecorating  (]oM  |nc. 

STAGE  SETTINGS  :  DRAPERIES 

CARPETS  :  PAINTING  AND  DECORATING 

311  North  13th  Street  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


'AIRMANDCIFIRICCI 

IltUlt 

DICtmTOP 


20t-N-fcE0AD-ST- 


»RIT» 


LIGHTING  FIXTURES 


VOIGT 


NEW 

DECORATIVE  LIGHTING 

FOR  YOUR  THEATRE 

DRINKING  FOUNTAINS  DIRECTION  SIGNS 


I2TH6  Montoomery  Ave.  Phila.Pa. 


MARQUEES  AND  SIGNS 


C  £  £  6L6CTRIC  SIGI1  CO 

Jov  ii33-  so1" w?  LonG  iSLflnD  cuy  n.y. 
BUILDERS  OF  136011  &  ELECTRIC 


ESTimflTESe  SKETCHES  CHEERFULLy  GIVEfl* 


PREMIUMS 


A  CHEAP  PREMIUM 
MAY  HE  EXPENSIVE 
AT  ANY  PRICE! 

Use  QUALITY  PREMIUMS 

AND  PE  AY  SAFE! 

1305  VINE  STREET  -  PHILA.,  PA. 


28 


Sepl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Vaudeville  Success 
in  Wilmington 

Policy  Looks  Permanent  at 

Aldine ;  Business  Better 

Big  time  vaudeville  came  back  to  Wil¬ 
mington  after  three  years’  absence  with 
a  bang.  So  impressive  was  the  “bang” 
in  the  line  at  the  box  office  on  rainy 
Friday,  September  7th,  the  opening  day 
for  the  innovation  at  the  Aldine,  that 
Leonard  Schlessinger,  general  manager 
of  the  Philadelphia  zone,  said  it  looked 
permanent. 

Jack  Flynn,  assistant  to  Schlesinger :  Harry 
Biben,  Warner  booking  manager,  and  Jack 
Mulhall,  in  charge  of  the  Wilmington-Chester- 
West  Chester  area,  who  were  down  for  the 
opening  were  equally  as  favorably  impressed. 
And  Lew  Black,  the  manager,  although  too 
tired  to  smile  over  the  initial  success,  was 
tickled  pink. 

Ample  publicity  was  obtained  on  all  of  the 
local  papers  not  only  in  news  columns  but  in 
increased  ads.  New  curtain,  standing  scenery, 
and  lighting  equipment  were  installed.  George 
Kelly,  a  local  favorite  baton  wielder,  was  in  the 
restored  pit  with  an  eleven  piece  orchestra. 
The  opening  program  included  the  film  feature, 
"Dames,"  with  shorts  and  the  vaudeville. 

The  opening  crowd  was  something  that  hadn't 
been  seen  on  upper  Market  Street  since  the 
days  when  "Pop"  Peacock  used  to  pack  them 
into  the  Opera  House  for  first  run  Gaynor- 
Farrell  films  for  a  quarter.  At  the  opening 
the  crowd  was  lined  up  as  far  as  the  Opera 
House  in  the  rain.  The  first  show  many  stood 
in  the  lobby.  Lew  Black  estimates  that  at  least 
2,500  saw  the  show  the  opening  afternoon. 

The  last  experiment  with  vaudeville  in  Wil¬ 
mington  was  at  the  Queen  about  three  years 
ago.  Barn  y  Seamon  was  managing  the  house 
then.  The  talent  began  to  run  down  a  bit, 
and  soon  the  crowds  dropped  away.  It  was 
eventually  abandoned. 


M  I  D  -  J  E  R  S  E  y 


MISS  FISHER  of  Rialto,  Woodbury,  seems  to 
be  one  of  the  busiest  managers  in  Jersey. 
With  her  new  theatre  season  opening  up, 
she  is  changing  entire  front  displays  and  is 
out  for  new  business.  She  is  joining  social 
organizations  in  order  to  bring  in  new  busi¬ 
ness. 

SALEM  has  an  epidemic.  PETERSON  of 
Palace  is  sick  in  bed.  RAPPAPORT  has  to 
go  under  operation.  Speedy  recovery  for  both. 

HOOT  GIBSON  was  visitor  to  Criterion, 
Bridgeton.  Bridgeton  still  going  strong  as 
one  of  the  leading  show  towns  of  South 
Jersey. 

ALL  THEATRES  along  coast  line  seem  to 
be  closing  one  by  one.  After  a  successful 
season. 

HI  WALTERS  of  Whelan  &  Lewis  Chain  was 
a  visitor  to  New  York  for  some  new  ideas 
in  projection. 

RILL  FORD  of  Lyric.  AC,  is  a  lucky  exhibitor 
to  have  an  operator  like  JOSEPH  GRASSO. 
Not  only  is  he  a  good  operator,  but  an  in¬ 
ventor.  He  has  invented  a  Carbon  holder 
called  “The  Grasso  Carbon  Saver.”  It  burns 
carbons  down  to  almost  nothing. 


HARRY  WAXMAN  is  one  of  the  busiest 
men  in  AC  trying  to  make  the  Hollywood 
Theatre  a  pretty  one. 

IZ  HIRSCHBLOND  one  of  the  heroes  in 
the  Morro  Castle  disaster.  Lie  helped  a  great 
deal. 

BILL  ROVNER  is  taking  up  horse  back  rid¬ 
ing  as  his  car  is  eating  up  too  much  gas,  and 
he  can’t  afford  it. 


TRENTON 


HOUSE  MANAGERS  declare  that  the  boy¬ 
cott  on  local  houses  has  lifted  considerably 
since  the  showing  of  cleaner  pictures  and 
elimination  of  sordid  features  of  gangster 
and  racketeer  films. 

SIDNEY  E.  SAMUELSON,  President  of 
Allied  N.  J.  Theatres,  Inc.,  has  been  active 


in  the  fight  to  ban  greyhound  dog  tracks  in 
New  Jersey,  spurring  the  members  of  the 
Allied  to  action  in  the  various  counties. 

THE  ALLIED  is  also  opposed  to  State  Recov¬ 
ery  Codes  figuring  the  theatres  have  enough 
difficulty  to  keep  their  houses  going. 

THE  PROPOSAL  of  North  Jersey  members 
of  the  New  Jersey  Legislature  for  enactment 
of  a  law  for  a  direct  2  per  cent  sales  tax  for 
poor  relief  is  also  opposed  by  the  Allied 

A  BATHING  BEAUTY  CONTEST  at  the 
Gayety  promoted  by  JOHN  BODLEY, 
house  manager  added  to  the  popularity  of 
that  theatre. 

ALL  DOWN-TOWN  houses  cater  to  the  kid¬ 
dies  with  ten  cent  admission. 

CAPITOL  attracts  business  with  radio  stars 
featuring  vaudeville  program. 

BROAD,  Strand,  Bijou,  Orpheum,  Center 
houses  program  double  features  and  shorts. 

TRENT  and  Orpheum  now  popular  priced 
houses,  find  favor  with  movie  goers. 


PERFECTION 
EFFICIENCY 
FAIR  PRICE 

HEN  Stanley- Warner  Company,  in  the  Philadel¬ 
phia  zone,  decided  to  use  the  printed  word  as  a  direct 
contact  between  patron  and  theatre,  it  looked  about  for 
a  printing  concern  that  could  do  the  work  quickly, 
efficiently,  at  fair  price  with  no  sacrifice  of  quality. 
That  it  chose  National  Penn  Printing  Company  is  a 
direct  indication  of  the  opinion  it  placed  upon  us. 

The  Largest  Single  Order 
in  Local  Printing  History 

Thanks  to  huge  presses,  modern  equipment  and  good 
workmanship  in  all  departments,  National  Penn  Print¬ 
ing  Company  was  able  to  turn  out  the  order,  with  many 
changes  for  its  many  theatres,  in  record  time,  a  job  of 
which  it  is  well  proud  and  which  it  completed  without 
sacrifice  of  any  other  work. 

Thanks  to 
Our  Clients 

Through  co-operation  of  all  the  trade,  such  progress 
has  been  made  possible.  For  the  new  season,  we  prom¬ 
ise  the  best  of  everything  at  a  fair  price. 

NATIONAL  PENN  PRINTING  CO. 

1233  Vine  Street,  Philadelphia 

OSCAR  LIBROS  SIMON  LIBROS  AL  BLOFSON 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Sepl5'34 


29 


The 

BEST  SERVICE 

to  all 

SHORE  POINTS 

With  summer  turning  to 
autumn  and  exhibitors  think¬ 
ing  of  moving  their  posses¬ 
sions  back  from  shore  points, 
i  once  again  our  service  comes 
!  to  the  fore.  Make  use  of  it 
|  now. 

.. .  Jersey  Exhibitors 
are  Always  Happy 

They  know  they  can  go 
away  on  trips,  completely 
sold  on  New  Jersey  Mes¬ 
senger  Service.  For  the 
record  of  this  company  is 
one  that  shows  no  missouts 
at  any  time.  The  service 
satisfies. 

▼ 

NEW  JERSEY 

MESSENGER  SERVICE 

MYER  ADLEMAN 
250  N.  Juniper  Street 
PHILADELPHIA 

Spr.  9355  Loc.  8787  Race  9444 


TICKET  REGISTERS 


A  New  Creai 

MODEL  X 
TICKET  MACH 

“ The  Silent  Sen 

Noiseless 

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Write  Immediately  lor  Our  New  Introductory  Offer  I 

STANDARD  TICKET  REGISTER  CORP. 

1600  Broadway.  New  York  •  Geo.  Mead.genmgr. 

Heard  In 

y  °  R 


K 


Ad  Valences  at  Strand 
Red  Lion  Opens 


CLEON  MILLER,  at  the  Strand,  capitalized 
on  fast  service  on  the  Morro  Castle  disaster 
pictures  to  break  into  the  newspapers  with 
free  copy  and  special  advertising  when  the 
story  was  still  hot.  A  40  by  60  bearing  the 
newspaper  headlines  and  pictures  of  the 
catastrophy  was  placed  in  front  of  the  theatre. 

CLEON  MILLER,  manager,  Strand,  received 
the  congratulations  of  all  the  boys  on  Septem¬ 
ber  6,  the  occasion  of  his  12th  anniversary, 
all  the  feeling  was  for  his  wife,  BERTIE. 

DISTRICT  MANAGER  BILL  ISRAEL  has 
secured  a  rotating  fund  to  supplement  the 
regular  advertising  budget  of  the  theatres  in 
the  district.  The  fund  is  used  here  and  there 
as  the  picture  or  the  occasion  warrants  after 
BILL  has  -conferred  with  his  managers. 
BILL  also  has  been  granted  permission  to 
snipe  24  sheets  on  “Chained"  put  out  by  Para¬ 
mount  in  this  district  with  a  line,  Coming, 
Strand. 

A  CONTRACT  has  been  closed  with  a  Phila¬ 
delphia  concern  to  furnish  valence  for  every 
picture  playing  the  Strand  Theatre.  The  val¬ 
ences,  under  the  contract  are  received  sev¬ 
eral  weeks  in  advance  so  that  it  can  be  used 
in  the  lobby  displays  and  during  the  week  of 
the  showing  on  the  marquee.  They  are  dis¬ 
tributed  throughout  the  district  following  the 
pictures  into  the  smaller  theatres. 

THE  FRONTS  of  all  houses  in  the  district 
with  the  exception  of  the  Majestic  in  Gettys¬ 
burg  are  being  retouched. 

WITH  THE  PASSING  of  Labor  Day  all 
hot  weather  copy  on  the  fronts  has  been 
removed. 

THE  NEW  Community  Theatre  in  Red  Lion, 
opened  on  September  13,  to  give  added  oppo¬ 
sition  to  JOE  WHEELER'S  Lion.  The  new 
house,  conducted  by  MR.  RAMSEY,  who  also 
operates  independent  houses  in  Stewartstown 
and  Dallastown  in  the  same  section  will  be 
open  Thursday,  Friday  and  Saturday. 


LANCASTER 


SOUND  SERVICE 


WE  SOLVE  YOUR  SOUND  PROBLEMS 


m 

*  HOLMES 


GA.McCrork 

SOUND  ENGINEER 

262  N.  13th  ST. 
PHILADELPHIA 
Day  Phone:  RIT  4529 
Night  Phone:  SHE  0805 


STATIGNERy 

JSa'iionai, Stationers 


Walnut  1760-1761  1028  ARCH  STREET 

Race  4911-4912  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


THEATRE  EQUIPMENT 


PE JV7 IV  THEATRE 
EQUIPMENT  CO. 

309  North  13th  Street 
PHILADELPHIA 
Phone,  Rittenhouse  3273 

GENERAL  THEATRE  EQUIPMENT 

Specialists  in  Repairs 


CLEM'S 

MOTION  PICTURE  SUPPLY  HOUSE 

The  Most  Corn/) lete  Inc/c/wne/ent 

Supply  Home  in  //:e  'Terutor\ 

255  North  13th  Street  -  Philadelphia 


SPRUCE  1684 


EXPFRT  Pf  PAIRING 


National  Theatre  Supply  Company 


Twincipal. ciTies 


Service  and  courtesy  from  men  you  know  .  .  . 
Plus  equipment  of  known  and  guaranteed  quality 
.  .  .  are  at  your  service  at  our  local  branch 


HARRY  CHERTCOFF,  operator  of  the 
Strand  Theatre,  this  city,  and  the  Elizabeth¬ 
town  theatre,  has  purchased  the  Sturgis  hotel 
property,  Lititz,  for  $17,150.  CHERTCOFF 
is  considering  opening  a  new  theatre  in  the 
old  hotel  property  but  has  not  made  a  definite 
decision.  An  attorney,  said  to  have  repre¬ 
sented  other  theatre  interested,  entered  into 
spirited  bidding  for  the  property. 

HARRY  TRAVERS  made  his  bow  as  man¬ 
ager  of  the  Grand  Theatre  by  presenting 
“Dames.”  HARRY  gave  Lancaster  an  eye- 
full  by  having  a  squadron  of  beautiful  dames 
astride  bicycles  tour  the  city.  They  wore 
shorts. 

INTRODUCING  a  mind  reader  to  hard-headed 
business  men  may  be  a  good  idea  but  don’t 
try  it.  PRINCESS  ZULIEKA,  who  ap¬ 
peared  at  the  Capitol  was  presented  to  the 
Lancaster  Kiwanis  Club  and  got  mixed  up 
with  a  couple  of  college  brain  trusters. 
Kiwanians  are  still  laughing. 

RAY  O’CONNELL  is  booming  things  at  the 
Capitol.  Llis  once-a-week  vaudeville  is  a 
winner.  Lancaster  can  stand  a  stage  show 
at  least  three  times  a  week. 

THE  MILLER  FAMILY  of  the  Warner  string 
are  uncles.  RALPH  MILLER,  not  in  the 
theatre  business,  is  the  father  of  a  boy. 


UNIFORMS 


English  Mess  Jackets  a- 

for  Ushers  -  «POi7) 

Cool - Snappy - Inexpensive 

Any  Color  Gabardine 
WRITE  FOR  INFORMATION 

AMERICAN  UNIFORM  CO. 

134  So.  11th  St.  Phila.,  Pa. 


SUPPLIES 


S.O.S.  Buys  Lquipment  at  Highest  Prices 


30 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


2-Sept. -34 


6-Point  Reviews 


I  ■►Who  made  it  ?  4' 

2 ■►Who's  in  it?  5 
3  ■►  How  good  is  it  ?  6 1 


Is  it  family  or  adult  type? 
What's  it  about? 

Running  Time  ? 


^  COLUMBIA 

1 

FOX 

M 

METRO 

Among  the 

Missing  (4029) 


Adult 
Action  Drama 
65m. 


Richard  Cromwell, 
Hohl,  Billie  Seward, 
Wade  Boteler,  Harry 
Paul  Hurst. 


Henrietta  Crosman,  Arthur 
Ivan  Simpson,  Ben  Taggart, 
C.  Bradley,  Claire  Du  Brey, 


Programmer  about  a  lad  who  keeps  going 
astray  and  an  aged  woman  who  tries  to  reform 
him.  ’  Eventually  she  does,  but  not  before  she 
almost  gets  in  a  jam  herself.  Show  has  little 
to  recommend  it  above  the  usual  mass  of  such 
productions  and  it  is  definitely  relegated  to  the 
program  division. 


Estimate:  Not  so  much. 


Family 

Girl  in  Danger  (4037)  Action  Drama 


Ralph  Bellamy,  Shirley  Grey  J.  ('‘lrrf  £,alSh 
Charles  Sabin,  Arthur  Hohl,  Ward  Bond,  Ed  L 
Saint,  Vin  Sherman,  Francis  MacDonald,  l  at 
O’Malley. 


Action  picture  with  Bellamy  again  an  inspec¬ 
tor  who  saves  the  girl.  1  his  time  the  heroine  is 
a  bored  society  lass  who  gets  mixed  up  with 
crooks  and  is  kidnapped.  Bellamy  straightens 
out  the  mess,  finally  gets  the  girl  to  admit  she 
has  been  doing  the  wrong  thing  and  she  prom¬ 
ises  to  be  good.  Before  this  happens,  however, 
there  are  the  usual  mystery-action  developments. 


Estimate:  Familiar. 


That’s  Gratitude 


Family 

Comedy 

69m. 


Frank  Craven,  Mary  Carlisle,  John  Buckler, 
Byron,  Sheila  Manners,  Charles  Sabin,  Helen 
Franklin  Pangborn. 


Arthur 

Ware, 


Fair  programmer  for  the  family  that  should 
get  its  share  of  attention  in  the  popular  houses. 
Picture  lacks  names  with  which  to  sell,  al¬ 
though  Craven  lure  may  be  of  advantage.  Stage 
play  has  been  well  adapted  with  Craven  still  the 
centre  of  attention.  As  a  programmer,  it  will 


do  well  enough. 


Estimate:  Fair. 


MONOGRAM 


Chari  ie  Ch  an 

in  London  (505) 


Family 

Mystery 

78m. 


Warner  Oland,  Drue  Layton,  Ray  MiUand,  Doug 
Walton,  Mona  Baine,  Murray  Kimell,  E.  E.  Clive, 
Madge  Bellamy. 

Another  of  the  Charlie  Chan  series  and 
probably  up  to  average  business  wherever  the 
idea  has  strength.  Oland  contributes  his  usual 
characterization  and  the  Earl  Derr  Biggers 
story  rates  as  much  attention  as  the  others. 
Where  the  Chan  angle  hasn’t  clicked,  show  will 
be  handicapped,  because  cast  is  not  of  attractive 
name  material. 


Estimate:  Typical  Chan. 


Family 

Peck’s  Bad  Boy  Comedy 

70m. 

Jackie  Cooper,  Thomas  Meighan.  Dorothy  Peterson, 
Jackie  Searle,  O.  P.  Heggie,  Charles  Evans,  Gertrude 
Howard. 

Looks  like  Sol  Le;ser  has  turned  in  another 
big  exploitation  opportunity.  "Peck’s  Bad  Boy’’ 
has  been  modernized,  directed  with  an  eye  to  the 
box  office  where  it  certainly  will  make  a  neat 
impression.  With  a  picture  destined  to  get 
100%  family  co-operation,  the  show  has  been 
well  cast,  contains  some  names  to  sell  as  well  as 
a  nationally-adopted  story.  In  the  hinterland, 
it  should  be  a  cleanup. 

Estimate:  Money. 


FIRST  NATIONAL 


Adult 

A  Lost  Lady  (862)  Drama 

62m. 

Barbara  Stanwyck,  Ricardo  Cortez,  Frank  Morgan, 
Lyle  Talbot,  Hobart  Cavanaugh,  Phil  Reed,  Henry 
Kolker,  Raphaela  Ottiano,  Ed  McWade,  Walter 
Walker. 

Woman’s  show  of  a  girl  who  can’t  find  her¬ 
self  but  eventually  learns  that  the  man  she  mar¬ 
ried  for  security  is  really  best.  Stanwyck  turns 
in  a  good  performance,  is  supported  by  some 
good  male  names.  Plot  gives  her  plenty  of 
chance  to  emote,  more  to  wear  beautiful  gowns. 
With  the  woman’s  angle  and  the  names,  in  addi¬ 
tion  to  the  Willa  Cather  story,  this  should  take 
care  of  itself  nicely. 

Estimate:  Okay. 


Girl  of  the 

Limberlost  (3001) 


Family 
Comedy  Drama 
86m. 


Louise  Dresser,  Marian  Marsh,  Ralph  Morgan, 
Henry  B.  Walthall,  Edward  Nugent,  Gigi  Parrish, 
Helen  Jerome  Eddy,  Betty  Blythe,  Barbara  Bedford, 
Robert  Ellis. 


Literal  transition  of  the  Gene  Stratton  Porter 
book  and  probably  a  good  grosser  in  the  smaller 
towns  and  cities.  Story  is  clean  throughout,  a 
selling  point  anywhere,  but  the  big  cities  may 
not  be  attracted  by  the  sugary  atmosphere.  Mon¬ 
ogram’s  production  is  worthy  of  more  than 
passing  attention.  Picture  would  be  of  credit 
to  any  company.  With  the  popularity  of  the 
novel  and  the  production  itself,  the  show  is  an 
ace  for  the  company  as  well  as  for  certain 
types  of  houses. 

Estimate:  Well  done. 


UNITED  ARTISTS 


Count  of 

Monte  Cristo 


Family 

Melodrama 

110m. 


Robert  Donat,  Elissa  Landi,  Louis  Calhern,  Sidney 
Blackmer,  O.  P.  Heggie ,  Ray  Walburn,  Lawrence 
Grant,  Luis  Alberni,  Georgia  Caine,  Irene  Hervey, 
Doug  Walton,  William  Farnum ,  Holmes  Herbert , 
Juliette  Compton. 

Faithfully  adapted  spectacle  that  should  do  a 
good  business  at  most  box  offices  because  of 
appeal  of  the  original.  Show  contains  some 
good  names  to  sell  as  well  as  a  new  leading 
man  who  will  need  a  personal  campaign.  Pro¬ 
duction  is  a  high  spot.  Everyone  knows  the 
story  of  the  count  of  Monte  Cristo.  Properly 
sold,  picture  should  account  for  itself  nicely. 

Estimate:  Should  do. 


Death  on  the 

Diamond  (539) 


Mystery 


Family 

Murder 

72m. 


Robert  Young,  Ted  Healy,  Madge  Evans,  Nat 
Pendleton,  C.  Henry  Gordon,  Paul  Kelly,  David 
Landau,  DeWitt  Jennings,  Ed  Brophy,  Willard  Rob¬ 
ertson,  Mickey  Rooney,  Joe  Sauers. 


Mystery  melodrama  of  who  killed  the  star 
ball  players  and  an  ace  to  sell.  Men  trade  will 
be  easy  so  the  question  will  be  one  of  bringing 
in  the  women.  Picture  has  all  the  ingredients, 
moves  along  fast,  is  timed  splendidly  for  the 
tail  end  of  the  baseball  season.  Cast  is  A-l. 
Show  rates  high  as  an  action  mystery  melo¬ 
drama. 


Estimate:  Fast. 


The  Merry  NX^idoW  Musical  Romance 

110m. 

Maurice  Chevalier,  Jeanette  MacDonald,  Edward 
Everett  Horton,  Una  Merkel,  George  Barbier,  Minna 
Gombell,  Sterling  Halloway,  Donald  Meek,  Herman 
Bing. 

Well  produced,  admirably  directed  production 
with  star  names  as  well  as  a  click  story  to  sell 
that  should  more  than  account  for  itself  at  the 
box  office.  Lubitsch  direction  concentrates  more 
on  the  comedy  and  smart  notes  than  the  heavy 
love  division,  with  Chevalier  contributing  songs 
and  his  usual  amusing  mannerisms.  Metro’s  pro¬ 
duction  is  again  an  ace  for  the  company.  Show, 
with  new  music  as  well  as  the  never-dying 
pieces  from  the  original,  should  be  a  good  busi¬ 
ness  at  anybody’s  box  office.  Piece  shapes  up 
as  a  real  clicker. 

Estimate:  Big. 


MASCOT 


Family 
Comedy 
65m. 

William  Haines,  Judith  Allen,  Wampas  Baby  Stars, 
Joe  Cawthorn,  John  Miljan,  Franklin  Pangborn, 
Andre  Beranger,  Warren  Hymer,  Shaw  and  Lee, 
Ted  Fio  Rito  and  Band. 

The  first  independent  picture  from  Nat 
Levine  in  the  new  Mascot  series,  “Young  and 
Beautiful"  is  a  worthy  entrant  and  should  do  a 
good  business.  A  swell  production,  a  new  Wil¬ 
liam  Haines  and  plenty  of  comedy  should  com¬ 
bine  to  provide  a  happy  box  office  applicant. 
Show  is  made  well,  hasn’t  too  original  a  story, 
but  is  a  great  selling  opportunity.  With  the 
names,  the  songs,  the  girls  and  movie  back¬ 
ground  it  should  warrant  plenty  of  attention. 

Estimate:  Okay. 


What  Do  You  Think? 

It  Is  the  aim  of  this  publication  to  giva  Its  readers 
every  possible  service.  Revision  of  the  page  Is  an 
attempt  to  offer  a  conoise  reviewing  form  that 
will  help  every  exhibitor.  Your  suggestions  and 
orltlcisms  are  welcomed.  Write  in  now  and  tell 
us  whether  you  like  this  or  not. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 

2-Sept. -34  _ 


31 


PARAMOUNT  ■  UNIVERSAL 


Family 

Wagon  Wheels  (3408)  Western 

56m. 

Randy  Scott,  Kay  Hatton,  Gail  Patrick,  Monte  Blue, 
Jan  Duyyan,  Leila  Bennet,  Olin  Howland,  James 
Marcus. 

Good  western,  with  a  good  title  and  plenty  of 
the  usual  western  epic  angles  to  sell,  that  should 
more  than  satisfy  the  thrill  lovers.  Tale  re¬ 
volves  about  the  opening  of  the  first  trails 
across  the  country  by  wagon  train.  Indians, 
villains,  etc.,  are  all  present,  with  the  hero  again 
the  victor.  Show  has  been  given  class  of 
Paramount  westerns. 

Estimate:  Good  western. 


Family 

Rocky  Rhodes  (8081)  Western 

60m. 

Buck  Jones,  Sheila  Terry,  Stanley  Fields,  Paul  Fix, 
Walter  Miller. 

Looks  like  Buck  Jones’  first  western  in  his 
new  Universal  series  is  a  click  and  certain  to 
equal  and  pass  his  others.  Show  has  all  the 
angles,  a  little  more  to  the  plot  than  in  the  usual 
open  air  stories,  but  with  plenty  of  concen¬ 
tration  on  the  fight  and  heavy  divisions.  Comedy 
angle  hasn’t  been  overlooked  either. 

Estimate:  Okay. 


RADIO 


Adult 

Age  of  Innocence  (503)  Drama 

8 1  m. 

John  Boies,  Irene  Dunne,  Lionel  At  will,  Laura 
Hope  Crews,  Helen  Westley,  Julie  Hayden,  Theresa 
Maxwell  Conover. 

Class  production  of  a  well  known  novel  and 
a  treat  for  smart  audiences  if  a  little  slow. 
Whether  or  not  it  will  find  the  same  satisfaction 
with  mass  audiences  is  questionable.  Under 
direction  of  Philip  Moeller.  Theatre  Guild, 
Rad’o  has  contributed  an  excellent,  well  chosen 
cast  that  performs  creditably.  Picture  moves 
along  with  a  certain  charm  that  will  help  a  lot. 
Story  tells  of  an  old  family  that  has  pride  in 
its  lineage  and  which  seeks  to  suffer  rather  than 
let  scandal  touch  its  name. 

Estimate:  Creditable. 


Down  to  Their  Family 

Last  Yacht  (4138) 

Mary  Boland,  Sydney  Fox,  Polly  Moran,  Sidney 
Blackmer,  Marjorie  Gateson,  Sterling  Holloway,  Tom 
Kennedy.  Irene  Franklin,  Ned  Sparks,  Gigi  Panush, 
Dot  Farley,  Warner  Black,  Charles  Coleman. 

Burlesque  musical  that  might  have  gotten 
further  than  it  did  and  will  have  to  be  sold  on 
comedy  angles  and  one  big  production  number. 
Picture  had  big  possibilities  that  were  muffed 
somewhere.  Cast  is  A-l  comedy,  with,  how¬ 
ever,  no  standout  names  to  draw.  Players  over¬ 
come  some  of  the  deficiencies.  Showmen  will 
get  the  most  out  of  this  by  concentrating  on  the 
music  and  production  rather  than  what  it  is  all 
about. 

Estimate:  To  be  sold. 


There’s  Always  5.amily 

Tomorrow  (8035)  92m! 

B'nnie  Barnes.  Frank  Morgan,  Lois  Wilson,  Louise 
La.time  Elizabeth  Young,  A  ’si n  Hale,  Robert  Taylor, 
Richard  Winslow,  Maurice  Murphy,  Helen  Parrish. 

Well-p’ayed  family  yarn  of  the  father  who 
was  neglected  by  his  own  family  and  whose 
relationship  with  a  former  sweetheart  is  mis¬ 
understood,  “There's  Always  Tomorrow”  is  of 
credit  to  Universal.  Picture  tends  a  bit  toward 
the  class  trade  although  it  has  angles  that  should 
appeal  to  all.  Clean,  with  a  story  that  will  be 
understood  anywhere,  picture  car.  be  sold  to  the 
hilt.  Show  lacks  star  names,  but  should  please 
otherwise. 

Estimate:  Pleasing. 


Wake  Up  Family 

and  Dream  (8021)  ^Tm* 

Russ  Columbo,  June  Knight,  Roger  Pryor,  Andy 
Devine,  Russ  Brown,  Henry  Armetta,  Spencer  Char¬ 
ters,  Catherine  Doucet,  Gavin  Gordon. 

Tinselly  yarn  about  a  trio  which  comes  to 
Hollywood  to  make  good,  but  fortified  with 
plenty  of  comedy,  good  songs,  good  singing  and 
a  rapid  pace  throughout.  Result  is  an  enter¬ 
taining  picture  that  should  more  than  satisfy 
the  patrons.  Show  doesn’t  concentrate  any  too 
much  on  story,  but  lets  the  laughs  fall  where 
they  may.  Columbo's  singing  is  his  best,  and 
supporting  cast  contributes  more  than  able  sup¬ 
port. 

Estimate:  Laugh  satisfyer. 


WARNERS 


Richest  Girl  in  Family 

the  World  (504)  CTS 

Miriam  Hopkins,  Joel  McCrea,  Fay  Wray,  Reginald 
Denny,  Hen^y  Stephenson,  George  Becker,  Beryl 
Mercer ,  Herbert  Bunston,  Wade  Boteler,  Burr  Mc¬ 
Intosh,  Edgar  Norton. 

Comedy  with  some  smart  moments  that  should 
satisfy.  Cast  is  admirably  suited  to  a  story 
which  finds  an  heiress  allowing  her  secretary  to 
masquerade  as  her  in  order  to  get  away  from 
fortune  hunters.  Eventually  the  right  man 
comes  along,  but  not  before  plenty  of  twists. 
Show  moves  along  briskly,  is  well  directed. 
Names  help  a  lot. 

Estimate:  Smart  comedy. 


The  Case  of  the  Jamily 

Howling  Dog  (822)  y78my 

Warren  William,  Mary  Astor,  Allen  Jenkins,  Grant 
Mitchell,  Helen  Lowell,  Dorothy  Tree,  Gordon  West- 
cott,  Harry  Tyler,  Frank  Reicher,  Helen  Trenholme. 

Murder  mystery  yarn  that  isn’t  any  great  im¬ 
provement  on  the  usual  run  of  such  stories,  but 
which  will  get  by  where  they  like  their  crime 
and  clue  tales.  Cast  is  adequate,  with  a  couple 
of  comedy  standouts  and  William  doing  the 
deducting  as  a  criminal  attorney  of  great  repu¬ 
tation.  Title  is  an  especially  good  one  to  sell 
and  lends  itself  to  ballyhoo.  Too  many  ex- 
ploiteers,  however,  will  be  tempted  to  have  a 
lot  of  howling  dogs  around  the  lobby. 

Estimate:  Saleable. 


RCA  VICTOR 
PHOTOPHONE 
OFFERING  YOU: 


•  A  Sound  Box  Office 
Attraction 

•  Complete  Ownership 

•  A  Self-Liquidating 
Investment 

PHOTOPHONE  DIVISION 


RCA  VICTOR  COMPANY,  Inc. 

Camden,  N.  J. 

A  Radio  Corporation  of  America  Subsidiary 


32 


Sepl5’34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Heard  In 

rRQSSTQWN 

.  Joe  Conway’s  Horse 

Fay’s  Remodeled 


SECOND  RUN  news  houses  were  scrambling 
around  Vine  Street  on  Monday  following  the 
Morro  Castle  disaster  trying  to  pick  up  can- 
news  shots  for  immediate  showing.  Lots  of 
trick  deals  cooked  up. 

JOE  CONWAY.,  popular  manager  of  the 
Egyptian,  Bala-Cynwyd,  who  never  wears  a 
hat,  is  planning  on  buying  a  horse  and  be¬ 
coming  a  country  gentleman. 

ARTIE  COHEN,  Earle  publicity  chief,  put  on 
a  big  exploitation  campaign  for  the  personal 
appearance  of  DICK  POWELL  during  the 
week  of  the  14th.  He  is  going  to  have  an¬ 
other  one  the  following  week  when  the  house 
plays  "The  Rise  of  the  Goldbergs.” 

“SHOOEY”  SHOEMAKER  and  CHARLIE 
DONAHUE  are  enthusiastic  about  their  re¬ 
spective  Western  revivals.  "SHOOEY"  about 
the  KEN  MAYNARDS  from  World-Wide, 
and  DONAHUE  about  the  BOB  STEELS 
from  Preferred.  Both  are  doing  unusually 
good  business. 

WORLD-WIDE  is  releasing  12  Mack  Sennett 
comedies,  which  have  been  considered  as  the 
best  12  out  of  an  available  64  which  were 
originally  released  in  1929-30.  The  comedies 
are  being  sold  as  a  group  and  cover  a  variety 
of  subjects  including  baseball,  golf  and  foot¬ 
ball.  Either  ANDY  CLYDE  or  HARRY 
GRIBBON  appear  in  most  of  them. 

MARIE  KANN,  wife  of  RED  ICANN,  Motion 
Picture  Daily  editor,  died  in  an  automobile 
accident  Labor  Day.  She  was  well  known 
here  and  was  the  guest  of  WILLIAM 
GOLDMAN  with  her  husband  while  the  two 
were  touring  through  the  territory.  Her  pass¬ 
ing  came  as  a  shock  to  everyone  who  have  ex¬ 
pressed  their  condolences  to  her  husband. 
Kann,  himself,  was  injured. 

SID  STANLEY,  who  is  back  at  the  helm  of 
Fay’s,  was  tendered  a  dinner  by  Scranton 
film  folk,  when  he  left  his  Strand,  Scranton, 
job  to  come  back  here.  30  attended,  including 
civic  leaders.  Sid  opened  Fay’s  here  Septem¬ 
ber  14,  with  a  banner  show.  House  has  new 
seats,  has  been  renovated  and  reconstructed 
under  his  direction.  House  will  play  Univer¬ 
sal  and  pick  up  some  Columbia,  Fox,  RKO, 
and  inde  pictures.  Units  will  be  the  main 
stage  fare.  LESTER  JEFFRIES  assists 
him. 

CHARLIE  KLANG  handling  "Ra-Mu"  here. 

JOHN  LEVY,  manager,  Kent  Theatre  (S-W), 
escaped  death  Labor  Day  when  gangsters  shot 
up  his  car,  killed  a  detective,  stole  the  Labor 
Day  receipts.  Detective  was  a  substitute  for 
the  day,  but  killers  apparently  had  studied 
layout  for  days.  Levy  was  bruised  by  flying 
glass. 

MONTY  SALMON  reports  that  MR. 
GEORGE  SKOURAS  has  decided  not  to 
change  the  policy  of  the  Tower  Theatre  at 
this  time.  It  was  previously  reported  that 
probably  vaudeville  would  be  re-introduced. 
SALMON  is  very  enthusiastic  about  the  new 
season’s  product  and  has  hopes  of  a  very 
successful  season. 

MORRIS  HANDLE  is  home  sick  with  the 
grippe. 

THE  GRANGE  opens  first  week  in  Novem¬ 
ber. 

SCHLESINGER  very  optimistic  regarding  the 
future  of  the  Yorktown  Theatre.  The  open¬ 
ing  was  tremendous.  He  claims  it  looks 
like  a  natural  and  will  prove  one  of  the  best 
grossers  of  their  circuit.  House  charges  40 
cents. 


LESTER  JEFFRIES,  dapper  assistant  at 
Fay's,  is  chairman  of  the  lighting  committee 
of  the  40th  and  Market  Business  Men’s  Asso¬ 
ciation.  He  was  tendered  a  luncheon  recently 
by  them. 

FAY'S  re-opening  schedule  a  big  treat.  Pit 
band  still  being  handled  by  Ralph  Dalton, 
internationally  known  violinist.  House  crew 
still  the  same.  All  under  direction  of  SID 
STANLEY.  House  is  completely  new. 

AFTER  CONTINUED  negotiations  between 
Warner-Stanley  and  the  Skouras  interests, 
including  the  efforts  of  various  exchange 
managers  appealing  to  the  Skouras  circuit  to 
eliminate  the  "early  bird  15c  matinee”  at  the 
Nixon,  Tower  and  Roosevelt,  it  was  learned 
today  from  a  reliable  source  that  Warner- 
Stanley  has  definitely  established  an  “early 


bird  matinee”  up  to  1.30  at  15c  at  the  Circle, 
69th  Street  and  State  theatres.  This  will 
probably  result  in  some  difficulty  with  the 
succeeding  runs. 

JOE  FELDMAN  of  the  Earle  reports  the 
coming  of  BLANCHE  CALLOWAY,  BEN 
BERNIE  and  the  GOLDBERGS  among 
others.  DICK  POWELL  caused  a  tremend- 
our  increase  in  the  business  on  opening  day. 

DIFFICULTY  between  the  musicians  and  the 
Earle  Theatre  has  been  amicably  adjusted. 
The  neighborhood  situation  remains  unsettled 
with  the  great  possibility  that  Warners  will 
not  use  vaudeville  on  Saturday  in  view  of 
the  union’s  demand  for  payment  for  two  days 
instead  of  one. 

EARLE  THEATRE,  Atlantic  City,  reported 
opening  as  subsequent  run. 


LOBBY  PLUG  FOR  “DAMES.”  Lobby  display  Cleon  Miller  constructed  in  the 
Strand,  York,  in  advance  of  the  opening  of  “Dames.”  Unusual  touch  was  the 
revolving  platform  shown  to  the  left  on  which  were  mounted  four  living  models, 
who  distributed  heralds  on  the  picture  to  outgoing  patrons.  When  the  picture 
opened  the  flesh  and  blood  part  of  the  exhibit  was  placed  in  the  window  of 
York’s  biggest  night  club  and  the  models  were  on  hand  two  hours  in  the  after¬ 
noon  and  two  hours  in  the  evening  on  Friday  and  Saturday  nights,  the  big 
nights  at  the  club  which  is  on  the  main  thoroughfare. 


MAUVE  DECADE  PIECE.  Irene  Dunne  and  John  Boles  head  the  cast  in  “The  Age  of 
Innocence,”  from  Radio. 


A  NEWCOMER  ARRIVES.  Guy  Robertson  makes  his  debut  in  “King  Kelly  of  the  USA,” 
from  Monogram,  with  Edgar  Kennedy  and  others  in  support. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Sepl5'34 


33 


Around  the  Circuit 

WITH 

STANLEY-WARNER 

_ By  Harry  Goldberg _ 

WITH  THE  passing  of  Labor  Day  into  cal¬ 
endar  history,  theatre  grosses  she  w  a  marked 
upward  trend.  The  wholesale  exodus  of  Phila¬ 
delphians  to  shore  and  mountain  resorts  over 
week-ends  has  stopped,  and  entertainment 
seekers  are  looking  to  the  theatres  once  more. 

ONE  OF  THE  BEST  first-run  campaigns  ever 
conceived  was  put  into  execution  for  “Dames.” 
new  Warner  musical,  by  LARRY  GRAVER 
at  the  Stanley.  GRAVER  tied  up  700  Yel- 
low-Quaker  cabs  with  cards,  package  inserts 
at  Gimbels,  sponsored  contests  at  Snellen- 
berg’s,  Lit’s,  and  Strawbridge’s  to  select  10 
girls  from  each  store  to  be  guests  of  theatre 
at  opening  of  “Dames.”  The  stunt  plugged 
the  film  to  more  than  17,000  employees  in  the 
four  stores.  Crashed  the  newspapers  with  a 
number  of  good  stunts  including  the  Court  of 
Beauty,  composed  of  cuties  from  local  swim¬ 
ming  pools  who  welcomed  the  Dick  Powell- 
Ruby  Keeler  opus  to  the  city.  Studio  beauty 
from  Warner  lot  made  tour  of  night  clubs 
under  supervision  of  JULES  SELTZER 
and  GRAVER.  Was  introduced  and  sang  hit 
numbers  from  film.  She  later  toured  the  key 
spots  with  EARL  BAILEY,  copping  addi¬ 
tional  publicity.  The  “Dames”  float,  adorned 
with  cuties,  who  distributed  heralds,  had  the 
downtown  shoppers  goggle-eyed.  One  of  the 
best  N.  C.  stunts  in  the  campaign  was  the 
tie-in  with  Borden  Milk  Company's  coast- 
to-coast  broadcast,  “45  Minutes  from  Holly¬ 
wood,”  whereby  WCAU  announced  the  open¬ 
ing  of  “Dames”  at  the  end  of  the  broadcast. 
Borden’s  also  arranged  for  the  distribution  of 
5,000  posters  to  their  dealers. 

ASSISTANT  ZONE  MANAGER  FLYNN 
complimented  the  men  in  the  field  on  the 
splendid  results  achieved  with  “Circus  Clown” 
and  “Navy.”  One  of  the  best  of  the  "Navy” 
stunts  was  the  flagpole  sitter  perched  on  top 
of  theatres  waiting  for  the  film’s  opening. 

THE  CLOSE  scrutiny  of  all  advertising  matter 
used  in  the  Warner  houses  is  paying  dividends. 

THE  CIRCUIT  is  becoming  campaign  con¬ 
scious.  Managers  are  selling  films  with  com¬ 
plete  campaigns,  covering  every  angle  of  a 
picture. 

ASSISTANT  HOUSE  MANAGERS  are  be¬ 
ing  groomed  for  more  responsibilities  and  en¬ 
couraged  to  develop  their  picture-selling  abil¬ 
ity. 

LIVE  WIRE  managers  are  bringing  the  young¬ 
sters  back  to  the  theatres  with  all  sorts  of 
favors — rulers,  pencils,  pens — that  the  kiddies 
can  use  in  school. 


WITH  SCLIOOL  opening  this  month  many 
neighborhood  houses  will  inaugurate  late 
matinee  shows  for  after-school  hours. 

RAY  O’CONNELL  (Capitol,  Lancaster)  had 
the  unusual  experience  of  devising  “Drum¬ 
mond”  display  that  was  so  good  that  local 
police  ordered  it  removed  from  lobby.  Dis¬ 
play  consisted  of  blowups  of  finger  print 
records  with  interesting  facts.  Police  insisted 
that  display  was  warning  to  criminals  to  be 
more  cautious.  O'CONNELL  also  made  tie- 
up  with  local  dailies  for  “capture"  of  “Drum¬ 
mond,”  offering  reward  to  lucky  individual. 
Paper  splashed  stunt  on  front  page. 

STATE  (West  Philly)  used  Claude  the  Me¬ 
chanical  Man  to  sell  “The  Man  With  Two 
Faces.”  Make-up  represented  Robinson 
“straight”  and  in  character. 

COLONIAL  (STAN  BENFORD)  got  great 
reaction  from  beautician  working  in  lobby, 
changing  appearance  of  patient’s  face  while 
giving  cleverly  worded  sales  talk  on  film. 
BENFORD  also  used  expression  from  detec¬ 
tive  captain  to  effect  that  criminals  can  be 
detected  despite  skillful  plastic  surgery. 
BENFORD  also  got  indorsement  of  "Two 
Faces”  from  prominent  plastic  surgeon. 

THE  STANTON'S  letter  to  attorneys  on  “De¬ 
fense  Rests”  was  a  corker.  Theme  was 
“Would  you  defend  a  man  if  you  knew  he 
was  guilty?” 

LARRY  GRAVER  was  elected  president  of 
Warner  Club,  employees’  welfare  organiza¬ 
tion.  He  goes  to  New  York  to  attend  con¬ 
clave  of  all  Warner  Club  prexys,  to  exchange 
ideas  and  broaden  scope  of  the  club’s  work. 


I.  T.  M.  NEWS 


FREE  GIFTS  to  the  kids  was  discussed  at  the 
last  several  meetings.  Some  of  the  boys  gave 
kids  free  rulers,  pencil  kits,  ice  cream,  etc., 
in  order  to  build  up  the  kids’  matinees. 

NATE  MILGRAM  (Lorraine)  introduced  a 
novel  chinaware  set  for  children  with  a  great 
build-up  stunt. 

MANY  PUBLICLITY  stunts  are  being- 
worked  out. 

ALL  THE  houses  are  running  “greater  show 
season”  advertising  and  publicity.  All  seem 
to  be  benefiting  bv  it. 

MEMBERSHIP  DRIVE  still  on  with  the  fol¬ 
lowing  as  members :  KAY  KATZ,  Gem  The¬ 
atre;  JACK  BLUMBERG,  Venice  Theatre; 
MAX  KAAR,  New  Penn  Theatre,  and 
PAUL  RESNICK  of  the  Douglas  Theatre. 

A  PRIVATE  Sunday  night  show  for  members 
and  their  wives  will  be  held  September  30 
at  the  Benson  Theatre.  The  affair  is  prom¬ 
ised  by  the  committee  in  charge  to  be  a  gala 
event.  It  is  understood  that  the  feature  pic¬ 
ture  will  be  a  brand  new  one  from  one  of 
the  major  companies. 

MEETINGS  held  every  Thursday. 


YOU  CAN  SHOO 

Box  Office  Blues 


Increase  your  income 
during 


ANY  WEATHER 


with  a 


BERLO 

CANBY  VENDOR 


“Ask  Your 
Fellow  Exhibitor ” 


BERLO 

VENDING 

COMPANY 

1518  N.  Broad  St.,  Phila. 
POPLAR  6011 

Sp  ecializing  in  Candy 
Vending  Equipment 
Cor  the  Theatre  Trade! 


NEW  YORK 
SCRANTON 
ALLENTOWN 
PITTSBURGH 


BALTIMORE 

WASHINGTON 

CLEVELAND 

CINCINNATI 


SENTRY  servwed  SAFETY  CONTROL 


Many  theatre  owners  weigh  the  matter  of  Safety  as  it  suits  them. 
PLAINLY  THIS  IS  ALL  WRONG.  In  Safety  there  is  no  half-way  meas¬ 
ure  with  the  Public.  The  Public  would  not  consider  it  safe  if  you  decide 
to  do  without  a  Serviced  Safety  Device  on  your  projectors.  The  Public 
would  think  with  horror  if  you  tried  to  economize  by  buying  Safety  equip¬ 
ment  without  a  service,  and  the  fact  that,  in  your  theatre,  the  Public 
has  not  yet  inquired  as  to  the  measure  of  Safety  that  you  are  giving  them — 
THAT  DOES  NOT  MEAN  THAT  THEY  CAN  BE  DECEIVED. 


SENTRY  SAFETY  CONTROL  CORP. 


10th  ST.  and  ALLEGHENY  AVE. 
PHILADELPHIA,  PENNA. 


Sentry  Safety  Controls  Listed  as  Standard  by  National  Fire  Underwriters  Laboratories 


34 


Sepl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Heard  In 


ILKES-BARRE 

Good  Bye,  Joe 
Vaude  in  Nanti 


By  Mac 


M.  E.  COMERFORD  launched  his  new  deal 
in  entertainment  for  Wilkes-Barre  and  vicin¬ 
ity  with  typical  success.  With  the  able  assist¬ 
ance  of  his  general  manager,  M.  B.  COMER- 
FORD.  and  the  assistant  general  manager, 
W-  E.  SCHMIDT,  the  veteran  exhibitor  pro¬ 
vided  the  most  spectacular  Fall  opening  in 
years.  The  gala  show  season  opened  with  a 
bang  and  any  fear  that  this  section  is  not 
theatre-conscious  now  has  been  dispelled 
effectively. 

MOST  IMPORTANT  in  the  scheme  of  things, 
the  managers  themselves  were  sold  and  they 
went  after  business  with  a  vigor  that  was  not 
to  be  denied.  M.  E.  believes  firmly  that  the 
anthracite  field  is  due  for  a  comeback  and  he 
is  going  to  supply  its  amusement  needs  as 
he  did  in  the  days  of  old. 

JOHN  GALVIN,  back  at  the  Penn  after  his 
Summer  vacation,  started  off  with  a  bang, 
thanks  to  his  combination  vaude  and  picture 
offering.  The  stage  programs  were  headlined 
by  the  MILL  BROTHERS  and  RAE  SAM¬ 
UELS.  The  Penn  orchestra  has  been  in¬ 
creased  to  nine  pieces  under  DONALD  Mac- 
LUSKIE  and  the  house  has  undergone  ex¬ 
tensive  improvements.  Approximately  $10,000 
was  spent.  The  changes  include  new  light¬ 
ing,  new  stage  scenery,  carpeting  of  the  entire 
lobby,  new  display  frames  and  new  furniture. 
The  attendance  was  back  to  the  1929  levels 
and  was  JOHN  happy!  JOHN,  by  the  way, 
returned  from  his  vacation  with  plenty  of  ex¬ 
cess  weight,  but  the  pace  he  has  hit  for  the 
first  two  weeks  indicates  that  he  soon  will 
lose  all  of  it  and  some  more,  also. 

AL  COX  at  the  Irving  ran  a  midnight  show 
to  usher  in  Labor  Day.  AL  also  plugged  a 
special  Saturday  morning  matinee  at  a  dime 
for  the  kiddies  last  week,  in  connection  with 
the  showing  of  "You  Belong  to  Me." 

FRED  HERMANN  has  been  letting  no  grass 
grow  under  his  feet  at  the  Capital.  His  tie- 
up  with  The  Evening  News  on  the  Shirley 
Temple  coloring  contest  brought  more  than 
300  answers  in  two  days.  FRED  gave  away 
four  passes  to  the  winner  and  a  pair  to  the 
next  fifteen. 

JOHN  COMERFORD  at  the  Orpheum  has  the 
South  Main  Street  house  looking  its  best  in 
years.  JOHN  arranged  a  news  scoop  for 
himself  by  rushing  pictures  of  the  Morro 
Castle  burning  into  his  house  Monday  be¬ 
fore  the  local  dailies  were  able  to  show  them 
to  their  readers. 

THE  POST  OFFICE  dedication  in  Wilkes- 
Barre  was  on  last  week's  Orpheum  bill. 

PICTURES  of  the  beauty  contest  at  Newtown 
Lake,  at  which  MISS  MARY  MAHON,  a 
Wilkes-Barre  girl,  won  a  trip  to  Hollywood, 
were  featured  at  the  Irving. 

JOE  ELICKER  who  filled  in  for  JOHN  GAL¬ 
VIN  at  the  Penn  during  the  Summer,  went 
to  the  Strand  at  Scranton,  September  10. 
JOE  did  a  great  job  in  Wilkes-Barre  and 
the  big  Lackawanna  house  is  his  boss’  way  of 
expressing  his  gratitude.  JOE  remained  here 
for  an  extra  week  to  help  out  with  the  launch¬ 
ing  of  show  week.  During  his  brief  stay  he 
became  a  popular  figure.  Good  luck,  JOE, 
and  your  forgiveness  for  misspelling  your 
name. 

VAUDEVILLE,  scheduled  for  the  Nanticoke 
State,  was  delayed  a  week.  It  will  be  a  Fri¬ 
day  and  Saturday  feature  for  the  Fall. 

BUCK  JONES  of  Hollywood  fame  sent  special 
greetings  to  the  children  at  St.  Stanislaus 
orphanage  who  see  all  his  pictures  at  the 
State  as  guests  of  the  management. 


THE  COUNT  OF  MONTE  CRISTO.  Robert  Donat,  Elissa  Landi.  Louis  Calhern  are  to 
be  seen  in  the  United  Artists’  picture,  a  Reliance  production. 


WHEN  A  transformer  burned  out  at  the 
Kingston  Theatre  last  week,  the  second  night 
show  was  halted.  There  was  no  confusion, 
GEORGE  BITTINGPIR,  manager,  returning 
tickets  to  the  300  in  the  audience  who  filed 
out  in  orderly  fashion  after  it  was  discovered 
that  immediate  repairs  could  not  be  made. 

THE  STANLEY  at  Larksville  has  been  re¬ 
opened  with  JOE  REED,  formerly  of  Scran¬ 
ton,  at  the  helm.  REED  is  well  known  at 
Bangor  and  Allentown  where  he  ran  houses. 


HARRISBURG 


FOR  "The  Cat’s  Paw,”  MANAGER  LAM¬ 
BERT  planned  to  introduce  an  innovation  in 
exploitation  to  Harrisburgers.  It  was  to 
consist  of  a  special  microphone  in  the  theatre 
auditorium  which  would  transmit  the  sounds 
of  laughing  from  among  the  audience  during 
the  picture  to  the  outside  of  the  theatre  where 
passersby  would  hear  the  sounds  through  an 
amplifier.  A  large  sign,  stating,  "Hear  them 
laugh,”  has  been  prepared  for  erection  above 
the  amplifier  outside  the  theatre. 

C.  FLOYD  HOPKINS,  general  manager  of 
Wilmer  and  Vincent  interests  in  Harrisburg, 
is  planning  a  series  of  weekly  entertainments 
for  children  that  were  expected  to  start  Sat¬ 
urday  morning,  September  15,  at  the  Majestic 
Theatre. 

“SAM”  GILMAN,  manager  Loew’s  Regent 
Theatre,  Harrisburg  didn't  mind  being  called 
out  of  bed  early  Monday  morning  because, 
as  he  put  it,  “We  scooped  the  city  on  the 
Morro  Castle  ship  disaster.”  The  picture 
had  been  rushed  to  the  Flarrisburg  theatre 
from  New  York  City.  By  the  time  the  first 
show  was  ready  to  open,  signs  announcing  the 
showing  of  the  pictures  were  in  front  of  the 
theatre  and  copy  was  ready  for  first  editions 
of  Harrisburg’s  newspapers. 

DR.  C.  R.  PHILLIPS,  president  of  the  Tuber¬ 
culosis  and  Health  Society  of  Harrisburg  and 
Dauphin  County,  announced  Monday  the  selec¬ 
tion  as  chairman  of  the  annual  Christmas 
Seal  campaign  of  the  societv  this  year,  C. 
FLOYD  HOPKINS. 


Heard  In 


EHIGH  VALLEY 

Lehigh  Plays  Host 


Meeker’s  Case 


_  By  Jack  _ 

MONDAY  EVENING,  September  10,  about 
11.45  an  operator  at  the  P.  P.  and  L.  build¬ 
ing  saw  three  men  on  the  roof  of  the  Em¬ 
bassy  Theatre,  ( Boyd  circuit )  Allentown. 
The  police  were  informed  and  officers  Ken¬ 
nedy  and  McCurley  made  a  thorough  search 
of  the  roof  and  premises.  They  found  a  screen 
had  been  removed  from  a  window  but  no 
trace  of  the  would-be  intruders. 

LEHIGH  THEATRE,  Bethlehem,  recently 
remodeled,  was  host  to  600  underprivileged 
children  selected  by  Police  Superintendent 
FRED  TRAFFORD  from  the  rolls  of  the 
Boys’  Club,  Family  Welfare,  Salvation  Army 
and  other  similar  agencies.  Another  free 
performance  is  tentatively  planned. 

TAKING  OF  testimony  before  Judge  R.  W. 
Iobst  in  Lehigh  county  courts  in  the  injunc¬ 
tion  proceedings  involving  the  Hamilton 
Street  Theatre,  Allentown,  was  completed 
at  a  continued  hearing  held  Monday,  Sep¬ 
tember  10.  Most  of  the  witnesses  called  were 
for  the  defense,  including  HERBERT 
MEEKER,  manager  of  the  theatre,  his  wife 
and  son;  GENERAL  F.  D.  BEARY,  com¬ 
missioner  of  the  department  of  public  safety  ; 
several  police  officers  and  the  REV.  WAYNE 
T.  HARNER,  pastor  of  Christ  Reformed 
Church,  the  substance  of  the  testimony 
offered  being  that  the  sound  effects  of  the 
theatre  and  other  noises  incident  to  its  opera¬ 
tion  were  not  abnormally  loud.  A  tempor¬ 
ary  court  order  compelled  MANAGER 
MEEKER  to  close  the  rear  doors  of  the 
theatre  during  the  summer  after  complaint 
was  made  by  a  neighbor,  DR.  FRANK  S. 
BOYER,  who.  it  is  alleged,  formerly  enjoyed 
free  movies  from  the  rear  of  his  residence 
and  started  the  injunction  proceedings  after 
the  erection  of  a  large  curtain  by  MAN¬ 
AGER  MEEKER  put  an  end  to  the  free 
shows.  An  opinion  by  the  court  will  be 
handed  down  later. 


COMEDY  THROUGHOUT.  Ernest  Truex  is  the  lead  in  “His  Lucky  Day,”  from  Educa¬ 
tional  and  Fox. 


Sepl5’34  pg.  35 


Too  Hardboiled  to  be  quoted  f 


•  •  •  unbiased, 
honest,  able. 

••  •  calling  a 
spade  a  spade 
without  fear  or 
favor. 

•  •  •  reviewing 
pictures,  not  to 
praise  the  mak¬ 
ers  but  to  fur¬ 
nish  our  exhib- 
itor  readers 
with  — 


— 


22 


1  -July-34 


6-Point  Reviews 


1  *►  Who  made  il  ? 
2** Who's  in  it? 

3  How  good  is  it  ? 


4  *►  Is  it  family  or  adult  type  ? 

5  What's  it  about? 

6 Running  Time? 


Baby  Take  a  Bow 


Grand  Canary 


80n 


Family 

Comedy 

83m. 


She  Learned 

About  Sailors 

Alice  Faye,  Harry  Green,  Lew  Ayres,  Mitchell  and 
Durante. 

Comedy  about  sailors  that  is  not  only  funny 
but  clean.  Someone  deserves  a  hand  for  turn¬ 
ing  in  a  script  which  avoids  all  the  pitfalls  hut 
which  still  milks  the  situations.  Plot  is  familiar, 
the  one  about  the  sailor  who  worked  fast  but 
who  fell  in  love  with  the  girl  and  vice  versa. 

Estimate:  Certain  to  satisfy. 


GAUMONT  BRITISH 


Along  Came  Sally  Comedy  with  songs 
70m. 

Sam  Hardy,  Cicely  Courtneidge,  Phyllis  Clare,  Billy 
Milton,  Ivor  McLaren,  Hartley  Power. 

English  made  musical  with  one  American 
name  that  will  get  plenty  of  laughs  in  the 
neighborhoods  and  elsewhere.  Dance  numbers, 
songs  and  Courtneidge  clowning  is  a  guarantee 
of  mass  satisfaction.  Picture  winds  up  with  a 
punch  that  will  send  them  out  satisfied. 

Estimate:  Will  please. 

Family 
Farce 
74m. 

Edward  Everett  Horton,  Leslie  Henson,  Albert 
Burdon,  Heather  Thatcher,  Al  Drayton. 

Farce  that  will  probably  score  better  on  the 
other  side  than  this.  Outside  of  Horton’s  name, 
show  hasn’t  much  with  which  to  draw  although 
situations  are  often  very  funny. 

Estimate:  Only  Horton. 


What!  A  Boy? 


PARAMOUNT 


Family 
Comedy 
73m. 

Shirtey  Temple,  James  Dunn,  Claire  Trevor,  Alan 
Dinchart,  Ray  ' Walker ,  Dorothy  Libairc,  Rolf 
Haro'.dc,  Richard  'Tucker,  Olive  Tell,  James  Flavin. 

In  the  money  because  of  Shirley  Temple, 
“Babyv  shapes  up  as  a  neat  comedy  with  melo¬ 
drama  offering  and  a  good  grosser  where  the 
kid  has  built  a  following.  Action  is  centred  on 
a  couple  of  ex-convicts,  one  the  tot’s  father, 
who  try  to  go  straight  but  find  a  detective  on 
their  trail. 

Estimate:  Kid  will  help. 


Here  Comes  the  Groom 


RADIO 


Bachelor  Bait 


Family 

Comedy 


Warner  Baxter,  Madge  Evans,  Marjorie  Rambcau, 
Zila  Johann,  Royer  Imhof,  H.  B.  Warner,  Barry 
Norton,  Juliette  Compton,  Gilbert  Emery. 

Story  of  a  doctor  who  falls  from  the  heights 
of  fame  into  oblivion  but  who  comes ’back 
through  regeneration  and  love.  Performances 
of  principals  almost  make  the  whole  thing  be¬ 
lievable  but  yarn  is  so  constructed  that  play¬ 
ers  are  handicapped.  Parts  are  particularly 
unsympathetic,  with  the  actors  doing  their 
utmost  to  overcome  this  disadvantage. 

Estimate:  Handicapped. 


Well  cast,  well  played  comedy  that  lacks  star 
strength.  Otherwise  it  will  please  everywhere. 
Picture  centres  itself  in  a  matrimonial  bureau 
with  lots  of  chances  for  Erwin  and  a  capable 
cast.  However,  show  hasn’t  the  strength  to 
become  an  ace  draw,  so  must  fit  into  the  so-so 
category  as  far  as  box  office  is  concerned. 

Estimate:  Average. 


His  Greatest  Gamble 


Family 

Drama 

73m. 


Story  of  father  love  that  will  appeal  mostly 
to  Dix  .fans.  There  is  a  strong  play  for  women 
in  the  tale  of  a  father  who  wishes  to  protect 
his  young  daughter  from  the  wife  who  wishes 
to  harm  her.  Picture  is  well  directed  but  title 
and  some  elements  will  prove  confusing. 

Estimate:  Dix. 


I  »  T  A  Adult 

Lets  I ry  Again  Drama 

67m. 

Clive  Brook,  Diana  Wynyard,  Ted  Newton,  Helen 
Vinson,  Irene  Hcrvcy,  Arthur  Hoyt. 

Adult  drama  about  a  couple  who  fall  out  of 
love  after  ten  years  of  married  life  but  who 
reconciliate.  Between  the  two  points  are^affairs 
on  each  side,  misunderstandings  and  the  usual’ 
goings  on.*  Smart  audiences  will  take  to  .it 
better  than  the  masses.  In  the  latter’s  strong¬ 
holds,  the  show  won’t  mean  much. 

Estimate:  Spotty. 


We'  re  Rich  Again 


Family 
Comedv 
78m. 

Marian  Nixon,  Edna  May  Oliver,  Billie  Burke, 
Reginald  Denny,  Buster  Crabbc,  Gloria  Shea,  Grant 
Mitchell,  Edgar  Kennedy,  Lcnita  Lane,  Ottoa  Yapio- 
aka,  Joan  Marsh. 

Fair  little  comedy  that  will  probably  please 
hut  won’t  impress  on  its  own.  Once  again,  a 
family,  with  plenty  of  faults,  is  mothered  by 
the  sweet  heroine  who  straightens  things  out. 

Estimate:  Programmer. 


MONOGRAM 


Family 
Comedy 
75m. 

Mary  Boland,  Jack  Haley,  Patricia  Ellis,  Neil 
Hamilton,  lsobcl  Jewell,  Larry  Gray.  Sidney  Toler, 
E.  H.  Calvert,  Ward  Bond,  Snowflake. 

Fast  moving  farce  that  should  stand  up  wher¬ 
ever  the  laughs  mean  money.  Jack  Haley  scores 
as  a  weak  burglar  who  finds  himself  forced  to 
impersonate  a  crooner.  Mix  in  a  jealous  wife, 
the  real  crooner  and  some  good  gags. 

Estimate:  Fair  comedy. 


Randy  Rides  Alone 


Family 

Western 

53m. 

George  Hayes, 


John  Wayne,  Alberta  Vaughn, 

Yakima  Canutt,  Tex  Phelps. 

Well  directed  western  with  pace  and  action 
that  will  appeal  everywhere.  Our  hero  is  falsely 
accused  of  murder,  gets  in  with  a  gang,  routs 
the  crooks,  saves  the  day,  wins  the  girl. 

Estimate:  Okay. 


STATE  RIGHTS 


Are  We  Civilized  ? 


Family 
Historical 
70m. 

William  Farnum,  Anita  Louise,  Frank  McGlynn, 
Leroy  Mason.  Oscar  Apfel,  Stuart  Holmes. 

Production  apparently  built  to  fight  all 
oppression  and  filled  with  flashbacks  from  the 
library.  Picture  has  a  timely  theme  but  devel¬ 
opment  isn’t  any  too  good.  However,  where 
ballyhoo  can  be  made  to  count,  show  might 
click.  Story  revolves  around  a  man  who  seeks 
liberty  for.  all  and  his  death  when  forces  of 
oppression  carry  all  before  them. 

Estimate:  Topical. 


Mystery  Ranch 


Family 
Western 
57m. 

Torn  Tyler,  Roberta  Gale,  George  Chcseboro,  Jack 
Gable,  Charles  King,  Torn  London. 

Action  western  that  will  please  the  thrill¬ 
hunting  fans  anywhere.  Picture  has  more,  plot 
than  usual,  has  plenty^  of  opportunity  for  the 
usual  Tyler  stunts.  Western  advocates  will  be 
satisfied. 

Estimate:  Moves  right  along. 

The  World  Adult 

•  I.  Revolution  Compilation 

m  Revolt  p  68m. 

Newsreel  shots  of  the  political  disturbances  in  the 
various  European  countries  as  well  as  the  United 
States. 

Film  goes  in  for  the  spectacular.  It  shows  the 
highlights  of  political  revolutions  in  Russia, 
Italy,  Germany,  China,  Austria,  featuring  shots 
of  Mussolini,  Dolfus,  Hitler,  Stalin  and  other 
luminaries  of  world  affairs.  Public  is  given 
personal  views  of  executions  and  general  tur¬ 
moil.  Graham  McNamee  does  the  narrating  of 
the  story  which  is  authored  by  Emil  Lengyel 
with  a  musical  accompaniment  under  the  direc¬ 
tion  of  Milton  Schwarzwald. 

Estimate:  Timely. 


White  Heat 


Adult 
Melodrama 
62m. 

David  Newell,  Mona  Maris,  Virginia  Chcrrill, 
Hardie  Albright.  Arthur  Clayton,  Naomi  Childers. 

Familiar  tropic  madness  story  but  handled 
and  acted  in  such  manner  that  picture  stands 
out  above  usual  run  of  such  features.  A  plan¬ 
tation  foreman  goes  native,  later  brings  back  his 
white  wife.  Latter’s  sweetheart  enters  to  bring 
additional  confusion. 

Estimate:  Tropical. 


a  True  Picture  of  All  Pictures 


a  Regular 

"The 


Service  of  .  .  . 

Philadelphia 


EXHIBITOR 


A  Jay  Emanuel  Publication 


Sepl5'34  b.c. 


oiwi 

book 


'  *?•  Sudd  o 
i£?** 

Cear  *Uddi 

&  io°ied  eatS  ta^04  in  th 

«».  nZ'tl***-  ST’  •^S.*** 

biiair,  *as  a  n]«  0  8©eo 

3lnc*reiy  ’  ranaia 
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*°eSH'£°*K 

•  1 934 


1954-55  FEA1 

O^/  //i  NewYork  Circuit 


'  WHEN  STRANGERS  MEET" 

j  Directed  by  W.  Christy  Cabanne 

{  with 

RICHARD  CROMWELL— ARLINE  JUDGE— LUCIEN  LITTLEFIELD 


P*H 


ONCE  TO  EVERY  BACHELOR" 

* 

"•9" 

>N  —  AILEEN  PRINGLE 


uirecreo  by  wniiam  Nign 
with 

MARION  NIXON  —  NEIL  HAMILTON  —  AILEEN  PRINGLE 


\\ 


TAKE  THE  STAND" 


w 


NO  RANSOM 


Directed  by  Phil  Rosen 
with 

JACK  LA  RUE  —  THELMA  TODD  —  GAIL  PATRICK 


"''Mk:' 

' 


Directed  by  Fred  Newmeyer 
with 

LEILA  HYAMS  — PHILLIPS  HOLMES 
Jack  La  Rue  Robert  McWade  j 


\\ 


CHEATERS" 


Directed  by  Phil  Rosen 
,  with 

BILL  BOYD  —  DOROTHY  MACKAILL  —  JUNE  COLLYER 


TWO  HEADS  ON  A  PILLOW' 

Directed  by  William  Nigh 
with 

NEIL  HAMILTON  —  MIRIAM  JORDAN- 
Hardie  Albright  —  Lon  a  Andre 


\\ 


>n 


SCHOOL  FOR  GIRLS' 

\  Directed  by  William  Nigh 
\  with 

SIDNEY  FOX  PAUL  KELLY  LOIS  WILSON 


u 


WITHOUT  CHILDREN 


n 


Directed  by  William  Nigh  / 

MARGUERITE  CHURCHILL  BRUCE  CABOT  EVELYN  BRENT 


LIBERTY  PICTURES  CORP. 


1776  Broadway,  N.  Y.  COlumbus  5-1784 


Home  Office  and  Studios,  Culver  City,  Cal. 


VOL  16-No.  19 


PHILADELPHIA,  OCTOBER  1,  1934 


Price,  15  Cents 


SHORT  ENOUGH  FOR  DOUBLE  FEATURE 
LONG  ENOUGH  FOR  SINGLE  FEATURE 


FIRST  DIVISION  EXCHANGES,  Inc. 

HARRY  H.  THOMAS,  President 

Executive  Offices:  RKO  Building,  Radio  City,  N.  Y. 
Branches  in 

Pittsburgh  New  Haven  Atlanta  Cleveland  Boston  Cincinnati  Detroit 
Louisville  Buffalo  Albany  Washington  Charlotte  Philadelphia  New  Orleans 


jflood fL 


Produced  by 


AUDIO  PRODUCTIONS,  INC. 

win 


Westerned  Electric 


SOI’  N  1,1  _.-_l  SVSTE 


TECHNICOLOR 


4 

BLACK  &  WHITE 


WALTZ  IN  A  FLAT  MAJOR 
DANCE  OF  THE  HOURS 
AIR  FOR  THE  G  STRING 
LIEBESTRAUM 


ITALIAN  CAPRICE 
VOICES  OF  SPRING 
IRISH  MELODY 

COUNTRYSIDE 

MELODIES 

MELODIES  OF  NAPLES 
BARCAROLLE 
IN  A  MOUNTAIN  PASS 
FINGAL'S  CAVE 


6 

THRILLING 

JOURNEYS 


OLD  FAITHFUL  SPEAKS 
REALM  OF  GHOSTS 
CITY  OF  PROUD 
MEMORIES 

CRATERS  OF  THE  MOON 
RIDE  ALONG  DUDE 
DEEP  SEA  HARVEST 
inelog  Pictures] 


IN  A  MONASTERY 
GARDEN 

MEXICAN  IDYL 

BY  THE  WATERS  OF 
MINNETONKA 

HYMN  TO  THE  SUN 

SCHUBERT'S  UNFIN¬ 
ISHED  SYMPHONY 

LES  PRELUDE 


A  GIRL  OF  THE  LIMBERLOST 

WINS  MEDAL  FOR  THE  BEST  PICTURE  OF  THE  MONTH 


based  on  GENE  STRATTON  ■  PO  RTER’S  great  novel 


WITH 

LOUISE  DRESSER 

< 

i 

MARIAN 

MARSH 

gl 

V 

■ 

RALPH 

MORGAN 

W.  RAY  JOHNSTON 


rH 


President 


directed  by  CHRISTY  CABANNE 
A  WM.  T.  LACKEY  Production 
SCREEN  PLAY  BY  ADELE  COM ANDINI 


TREM  CARR  vice-prolidont  in  chargo  of  production 

.^Wine  OUM  Anr.DU.A  _ 


Oct  1 ' 34  pg.  3 


AND  NOW— Two  Outstanding  Exploit¬ 

ation  Pictures  are  Added  to  the  Season's 
Announcement  by  TONY  LUCCHESE 

EXPLOITATION  PICTURES 

Backed  by  Road  Show  Accessories 

"BROKEN  LIVES" 

A  DARING,  POWERFUL  DRAMA  OF  DIVORCE 

A  brilliant  expose  of  the  racketeering  lawyers 
and  detectives  of  the  Divorce  business.  Amaz¬ 
ing  and  laughable  happenings  in  the  huge 
industry  that  has  been  allowed  to  flourish  and 
grow  fat  on  the  miseries  of  their  clients.  Built 
for  the  Box  Office. 

V  _ 4 

"BLIND  FOOLS" 

A  TRAGIC  LESSON  IN  LOVE  .  .  .  AND  NEGLECT 

with 

CLAIRE  WHITNEY 
RUSSELL  HICKS 
HERBERT  RAWLINSON 
WESLEY  BARRY 
MIRIAM  BATTISTA 
JACK  ARNOLD 
EUNICE  REED 
and  others 

V  _ J 

2  Big  Box  Office  Pictures  . .  Watch  Them  Go! 

Distributed  by 

MAJESTIC  PICTURES,  INC.  (A.  Lucchese) 

1236  VINE  STREET,  PHILADELPHIA 


A  gripping  human  drama  of  everyday  people 
in  an  everyday  setting  that  is  bound  to  exert 
a  powerful  moral  influence.  It  builds  a  strong 
case  against  the  parents  who  through  prudery 
or  indifference  neglect  to  instruct  their  children 
in  the  facts  of  life. 


with 

WALTER  CATLETT 
LEILA  BENNETT 
EDWARD  ARNOLD 
JOHN  MILJAN 
DOROTHY  REVIER 
HELEN  JEROME  EDDY 
ESTHER  MUIR 
BARRY  NORTON 
and  others 


Oct  1 T 34  pg.  4 

FROM  COAST  TO  COAS1 


SEATTLE 


Mopping  up  at  Music 
Hall,  topping  pre¬ 
vious  week  of  a 
.  big  opposition  a 
special. 


PORTLAND 


" 'British  Agent'  big... 
gaining  b.  o.  altitude 
at  the  Broad¬ 
way,"  chirps  a 
Variety. 


"Wham  biz!  Looks 
like  a  cinch  for  an¬ 
other  record  week," 

.  raves  trade 
press. 


I'M  CLEANING  UP  II 


WARNER  BROS.'  DRAMATIC  SUCCESS  STAI 


ACE  SHOWMEN  BOAST 


"Aces  at  the  Met!"  first 
week-end  beat  first  3 
days  of 'Dames' 
l  by  exactly  . 
$342.  A 


British  Agent'  open- 
n  g  broke  every 
week-day  record  in 
history  of  Strand 
Theatre!  A 


'British  Agent'  topped 
th  e  town  at  the 
Chicago  Theatre 
,  with  $9,400  over 
Hk  par! 


"Kay  Francis  and 
Leslie  Howard  the  biz 
bringers  for  fast 
>  gross  at  Keith’s"  , 
—Variety.  JM 


'British  Agent'  out- 
grossed  'Here  Comes 
The  Navy'  in  sea- 
l  son’s  worst  a 
Ik  weather.  .Ja 


[TH  BRITISH  AGENT 


ING  KAY  FRANCIS  AND  LESLIE  HOWARD 


Oct  1 T  34  pg.  6 


The  Producers  of  MASCOT  PICTURES  and 
the  personnel  of  GOLD  MEDAL  FILM  CO., 

Inc.  and  MAJESTIC  PICTURES,  Inc.:  — 

INVITE  you 

and  all  other  theatre  man¬ 
agers,  bookers  and  exhibitors 
to  spend  a  most  delightful 
hour  to  welcome  back  to 
health  and  to  the  “Street” — 

TONY  LUCCHESE 

— who  will  be  your  host  at  a 
most  unique  Italian  luncheon 
prepared  for  the  most  fastid¬ 
ious  palate  —  complete  with 
choice  liquors  at — 

PALUMBO'S  CAFE 

8th  and  CATHERINE  STS.,  PHILADELPHIA 

This  is  the  only  invitation 
to  be  issued  .  .  .  R.  S.  V.  P. 
therefore  is  not  necessary. 

The  time — 

MONDAY,  OCTOBER  8th 

at  12.30  Noon,  Sharp 

Your  identification  ticket  is 
waiting  for  you  at  the  ex¬ 
change,  1236  Vine  Street.  The 
rest  is  enjoyment. 

A  FLEET  OF  TAXICABS 

— will  take  you  from  the  ex¬ 
change  and  bring  you  back. 

Etc  there  to  welcome 

Tony  back! 

Tear  out  this  page  and  paste  it  on  your  wall. 
DON'T  MISS  IT!  P.  S. — No  Speeches,  either! 


"Shop"  will  positively  not  be  discussed! 


PAGE 


THE  EDITOR'S 


Vol.  16,  No.  19 


October  1,  1934 


The 


Philadelphia 


A  Year  of  the  Code 

JUST  ABOUT  THIS  TIME  last  year 
®  the  industry  was  agog  at  the  prospect 
of  a  code.  Reservations  were  being  made  in 
Washington,  all  eyes  were  turned  there,  this 
and  that  body  were  busy  formulating  a  code 
or  what  was  deemed  a  code.  The  usual  one 
about  a  lot  of  water  passing  under  the 
bridge  can  be  used  again  this  time.  But  it  is 
still  too  early  to  pass  on  the  value  of  the 
code  as  an  instrument  to  bring  to  this  busi¬ 
ness  the  reforms  it  has  long  sought. 

True,  the  code  is  taking  care  of  some 
urgent  and  immediate  problems,  but  observ¬ 
ers  long  have  felt  that  a  good  code  may  be¬ 
come  a  permanent  institution.  They  are  of 
the  opinion  that  if  the  body  can  get  behind 
a  good  code,  such  a  magna  charta  will  be 
valuable  in  more  than  one  way,  especially 
if  the  Code  Authority  insists  on  immediate 
fair  zoning  and  clearance  schedules. 

Some  of  the  gentlemen  who  have  been 
long  boosting  the  code  are  wavering  in  their 
loyalty.  Others  say  that  everything  will 
come  out  all  right  regardless  of  temporary 
difficulties.  Years  from  now  the  value  of 
the  code  will  be  easier  to  decide.  At  the 
present  time,  it  is  difficult  to  approximate 
what  it  really  has  done  for  the  business. 


Contact  Your  Legislators 

EXHIBITORS  ARE  ADVISED  to 
®  keep  in  close  touch  with  their  local  leg¬ 
islators  as  well  as  their  state  and  national 
representatives.  It  should  be  the  duty  of 
every  theatreman  to  know  personally  each 
one  of  the  men  who  are  responsible  for  the 
city,  state  and  national  laws  which  might 
affect  them.  Outside  of  the  fact  that  it 
wouldn’t  be  a  bad  idea  at  any  time,  now, 
such  a  suggestion  is  especially  timely. 

Owing  to  general  conditions  and  depleted 
treasuries,  the  movie  business  is  certain  to 
be  subject  to  plenty  of  inquiry  from  legis¬ 
lators  who  are  tax-minded.  There  is  no 
doubt  but  that  once  a  legislator  gets  a  real 
picture  of  what  state  the  business  is  in,  he 
may  not  continue  to  retain  an  idea  that  the 
movie  field  is  a  gold  mine  for  revenue.  The 
intelligent  exhibitor  keeps  his  eyes  wide 
open.  Part  of  that  process  includes  close 
contact  with  the  men  whom  he  helps  elect. 


EXHIBITOR 

Circulating  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware.  Issued  on  the  1st  and  15th 
of  each  month  by  Jay  Emanuel  Publications,  Inc.  Publishing  office.  219  North  Broad  Street,  Philadelphia. 
Branches  at  1600  Broadway,  New  York  City;  Washington,  D.  C.  Jay  Emanuel,  publisher;  Paul  J. 
Qreenhalgh,  advertising  manager;  Herbert  M.  Miller,  managing  editor.  Subscription  rates;  $2  for  one 
year,  $5  for  three  years.  Single  copies,  15c  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware. 
Publishers,  also,  of  THE  NATIONAL  EXHIBITOR  of  Washington  and  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  EXHIBITOR. 
Offiolal  organ  of  the  Motion  Picture  Theatre  Owners  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and 
Delaware.  Address  all  communications  to  the  Philadelphia  office. 


The  Indes  Pick  Up 


THE  indes  are  being  heard  from  these  days. 

From  the  coast  come  reports  that  there  has  been  an 
impetus  in  independent  production,  especially  in  the  western  field, 
and  that  this  time  it  looks  as  if  most  of  the  announced  schedules 
won’t  just  be  paper  myths. 

The  industry  knows  now  that  it  can  depend  upon  at  least  five 
companies  among  the  independents  to  deliver  all  they  promise. 
Chesterfield,  Monogram,  Majestic,  Mascot  and  Liberty  give  evi¬ 
dence  of  plenty  of  permanence.  It  is  well  that  exhibitors  can 
depend  upon  these  units.  Not  only  is  the  above  quintet  raising  the 
standard  of  the  independent  field,  but  they  are  paving  the  way  for 
other  independents  to  make  better  pictures. 

That  there  should  be  increase  in  westerns  and  action  pictures 
is  also  desirous.  These  fall  into  the  classification  of  family  enter¬ 
tainment,  an  insurance  of  regular  theatregoing.  True,  many  of  the 
westerns  and  action  fodder  never  reach  Broadway  or  big  city  first 
runs,  but  they  provide  a  lot  of  theatres  in  the  smaller  towns  with 
dependable  merchandise.  A  western  in  some  spots  is  far  more 
valuable  than  some  of  the  bigger  society  dramas.  Another  indica¬ 
tion  of  the  value  of  the  independent  pictures  is  that  the  larger 
circuits,  Warners,  RKO,  Publix,  Fox,  Loew,  are  buying  the 
product.  This  well  illustrates  that  big  film  buyers  realize  that 
there  is  an  improvement. 

Independents  have  always  been  urged  to  support  the  inde¬ 
pendents.  This  holds  good  now  as  well  as  always,  and  the  inde¬ 
pendent  distributors  should  remember  well  that  their  support,  in 
the  past,  has  come  from  the  independents  and  that  such  support 
should  always  be  encouraged. 

Once  the  independent  grosses  increase,  more  attention  can  be 
paid  to  building  their  own  stars  by  independent  producers. 

Five  more  dependable  production  companies  will  mean  a  50% 
increase  in  the  number  of  producers  who  can  be  depended  upon. 
What  value  this  is  for  the  exhibition  division  does  not  have  to  be 
explained  here.  The  business  suffered  when  producers  started  to 
dwindle.  Now,  with  an  increase  in  sight,  the  trade  will  benefit, 
from  the  biggest  house  down  to  the  smallest  shooting  gallery. 


Thanks  to  the  Air 

_  THOUGH  A  LOT  of  exhibitors  may 
®  call  the  radio  unfair  competition,  the 
industry  has  made  good  use  of  it  as  a  means 
of  explaining  what  the  Hollywood  censor- 
system  is  doing.  Thanks  to  the  co-opera¬ 
tion  of  NBC,  Joe  Breen,  industry  censor, 
has  explained  to  the  public  what  the  indus¬ 
try  intends  to  do  about  clean  pictures. 

This,  once  more  brings  to  mind  that  the 
radio  and  motion  pictures  have  something  in 
common.  Each,  as  a  division  of  entertain¬ 
ment,  should  have  more  than  competitive  re¬ 
spect  for  each  other. 


Oct  1 1 34  pg.  8 


WITH  METRO.  Sam  Katz,  form¬ 
erly  Paramount  executive,  is  re¬ 
ported  becoming  a  Metro  producer 
soon.  In  addition,  he  is  rumored 
marrying  Sari  Maritza,  screen 
actress. 


JUST  OPENED.  Front  of  the  new 
Capitol  Theatre,  Milton,  Comerford 
theatre.  House  was  opened  this 
past  summer  with  Warren  Girton, 
formerly  Williamsport,  manager. 


BACK  IN  HARNESS.  Louis  “Pop”  Korson, 
president,  Masterpiece  Film  Attractions,  Inc., 
fully  recovered  in  health,  is  entering  actively 
into  the  new  season,  aided  by  Manager  Ed 
Boreth.  The  new  Masterpiece  lineup  is  excit¬ 
ing  interest  among  the  exhibition  fraternity. 


TO  COAST.  Eric  Knight,  “Even¬ 
ing  Ledger”  movie  critic,  is  now  a 
member  of  the  Fox  coast  writing 
department. 


SALES  MANAGER.  L.  J.  Schlaifer 

has  been  appointed  sales  manager 
for  Gaumont  British  by  George 
Weeks,  general  manager  for  that 
company  in  this  country. 


AT  TRADE  SHOW.  Sid  Stanley, 
manager,  Fay’s,  Sam  Rosen,  First 
Division  chieftain  here,  and  Lester 
Jeffries,  assistant  to  Stanley,  pose 
at  the  trade  show  held  under  First 
Division  auspices  at  Fay’s,  Septem¬ 
ber.  16.  The  lobby  was  decorated 
with  plenty  of  flowers,  thanks  to 
Stanley. 


SELLING  “HERE  COMES  THE  NAVY.”  A1  Reh,  manager,  Stanley-Warner  State  Theatre,  used  the  old  bean  when  Warners’  “Here 
Comes  the  Navy”  came  to  the  house  and  the  result  is  the  above  assembly  of  exploitation  ideas  and  stunts.  Naturally,  the  box  office 
benefitted. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Oct  1 T  34 


9 


Penny-A-Seat  Assessment 
To  Insure  Music 


Necessary 
Fight  Success 


PWA  Competition 

Motion  picture  theatre  men  will  soon 
find  themselves  up  against  new  forms  of 
competition,  financed  by  the  federal 
government,  and  possibly  by  state  edu¬ 
cational  bureaus  as  well.  Reading,  for 
example,  is  erecting  three  new  schools, 
not  only  to  modernize  its  system,  but 
also  to  provide  employment  relief, 
the  three  structures  to  cost  nearly 
$2,400,000,  including  sites  for  two  of 
the  three  and  a  PWA  allowance  of 
$315,000.  Government  is  inviting  the 
Reading  school  board  to  install  sound 
picture  equipment  in  the  three  new 
buildings  and,  moreover,  is  indirectly 
offering  financial  aid  in  installing  the 
wiring,  if  not  the  sound  apparatus  itself. 

This  will  make  each  large  public 
school  a  potential  rival,  and  free  admis¬ 
sion  rivals  at  that,  of  every  privately 
owned  theatre. 


Heard  In ' 


V 


INE  STREET 


Herb  Given 
with  GB 


All  Exhibitors  Called  Upon — Amount  Small  in  View  of 
Possible  Savings  —  Issue  Immediate  Despite  Govern¬ 
ment’s  Suit 

Co-operation  from  all  exhibitors  is  necessary  if  the  fight  against  the  proposed 
music  tax  increase  is  to  be  a  success. 

-  An  assessment  of  1  cent  a  seat  has  been 

made  with  voluntary  contributions  now  to  be 
accepted  from  all  exhibitors. 

These  checks  must  be  made  out  to  Walter 
Vincent-Milton  C.  Weisman,  Special,  and  funds 
will  be  used  to  cover  legal  and  incidental 
expenses. 

Despite  the  fact  that  the  government  has 
started  a  case  against  the  ASCAP  and  asso¬ 
ciates,  the  movie  men  also  must  protect  their 
interests.  Important  counsel  has  been  retained 
to  aid  the  work. 


Applegate  New  Head 
of  Local  Film  Board 


Sam  Gross  Moves  Into  Vice  Presi¬ 
dent  Post 


Louis  Weber,  Skouras  attorney,  was  a  visi¬ 
tor  in  town  last  week. 

Ed  Boreth,  Jim  Clark  were  New  York  City 
visitors  last  week. 

Some  localities  were  planning  to  attend  the 
dinner  to  be  given  Louis  Nizer  in  New 
York  City,  October  I.  The  brilliant  at¬ 
torney  and  secretary  of  the  New  York 
Flm  Board  of  Trade  recently  returned 
from  a  European  trip. 

George  W.  Weeks,  Gaumont  British,  ap¬ 
pointed  Herb  Given  local  branch  man¬ 
ager  when  he  came  to  town. 

Charlie  Goodwin,  John  Bagley,  Herb  Elliott, 
Dave  Shapiro  and  George  Kline  made  up 
a  quintet  and  went  to  the  races. 

John  Clark,  Fox  executive,  and  a  former 
Vine  Streeter,  thinks  he  is  getting  old.  Five 
days  of  illness  gave  him  the  idea.  Ask  him 
about  it. 

Frank  McShea,  RKO  auditor,  balanced  his 
family  August  1  6.  Now  it  consists  of  2 
boys  and  2  girls.  ‘‘We’re  just  starting,” 
says  Frank. 

Charlie  Zagrans,  RKO,  thinks  that  Detroit 
will  win  the  pennant.  Joe  Leon,  favors 
the  National  League  entrant.  Joe  Engel, 
u  exchange  manager,  thinks  Universal  will 
win.  Of  course,  that  doesn’t  make  sense 
but  it  shows  how  much  his  work  means  to 
him. 

A  bunch  of  the  Vine  Street  fraternity  hopped 
down  to  the  races  by  train.  They  bought 
return  tickets  which  was  to  insure  their 
getting  back  home  on  time. 

Myer  Adleman,  New  Jersey  Messenger  Serv¬ 
ice  executive,  was  host  to  his  organization 
at  the  annual  summer  get  together  and 
outing  at  Atlantic  City.  A  dinner  at 
Hackney’s,  followed  by  a  visit  to  the  Steel 
Pier,  with  Rock  as  host,  was  the  program 
for  the  day.  Myer  proved  a  gracious  host 
and  a  good  time  was  had  by  all. 


S.  E.  Applegate,  genial  Metro  sales 
manager,  is  the  new  president  of  the 
Philadelphia  Film  Board  of  Trade. 

He  fills  a  vacancy  of  several  months’  stand¬ 
ing. 

Sam  Gross,  Universal  branch  manager,  is  the 
new  vice-president. 


Ed  Boreth,  Masterpiece,  working  like  a 
beaver.  So  is  Ben  Harris  and  the  rest  of 
the  staff.  New  product  lineup  is  the 
reason. 

J.  Becker,  Apex  Garage,  does  a  good  simon- 
izing  job,  so  say  those  who  have  made  use 
of  this  division. 

Charles  Goodwin,  Quality  Premium,  looking 
at  travel  booklets.  Plans  to  hop  to  the 
West  Indies  with  the  Mrs.  in  the  winter. 

Harry  Goodman,  Metropolitan  Printing,  says 
business  is  getting  better.  Points  with 
pride  to  his  new  equipment. 

Myer  Adelman,  New  Jersey  Messenger,  says 
exhibs  in  Jersey  need  fear  no  storms  or 
zero  temperatures.  NJMS  is  ready  to  bat¬ 
tle  all  the  elements  this  winter. 

Dorothy  Burrison,  secretary  to  Bob  Lynch, 
Metro,  is  sorry  to  see  the  summer  go,  but 
awaits  the  football  season. 

Harry  Levine,  the  UAer,  advises  this  depart¬ 
ment  never  to  read  a  paper  when  crossing 
the  street. 

Sam  Diamond  figures  that  his  accessories 
department  at  Fox  should  win  the  com¬ 
pany  drive.  Asks  exhibs  to  buy  more  paper 
and  accessories. 

Basil  Ziegler,  the  Code  Authority  secretary, 
had  a  visit  from  Don  Mayfield,  leading 
bandmaster.  They  went  to  school  to¬ 
gether. 

Charles  Anspach,  assistant  to  Bill  Clark, 
Horlacher's,  is  plenty  busy.  So  much  that 
another  typewriter  desk  is  necessary. 

Jim,  Bill  Clark  and  others  going  to  National 
Film  Carriers’  convention  at  Detroit.  Jim 
will  probably  be  re-elected  president  and 
Bill  make  a  speech. 

Sam  Gross,  dapper  Fox  manager,  proved  a 
sensation  at  the  recent  meeting  of  the 
local  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs, 
Motion  Picture  Committee.  When  Sam 
was  finished  speaking,  block  booking  was 
a  simple  problem  to  those  in  attendance. 
He  will  undoubtedly  be  asked  to  speak 
again  at  a  later  date. 

Eddie  Rossoff,  formerly  with  Metro,  is  now 
with  First  Division  in  the  shipping  depart¬ 
ment.  Eddie  is  very  well  known  on  the 
street. 


Earle  Sweigert,  Paramount  branch  manager, 
and  Eddie  Corcoran,  publiciteer,  will  hop 
to  Pittsburgh,  October  I  4,  for  the  Variety 
Club  dinner  there.  There  are  distinct  pos¬ 
sibilities  of  a  Variety  Club  being  formed 
here. 

W.  C.  Hunt,  Wildwood  exhibitor,  is  running 
for  assembly  again  on  the  Republican 
ticket.  Observers  call  his  chances  good. 
He  is  receiving  the  best  wishes  of  all  in 
the  trade. 

Harry  Bodkin,  the  UA  exchange  manager 
and  the  tree  planter,  has  had  his  spade  put 
in  good  shape,  now  is  planting  trees  with 
plenty  of  vigor.  He  is  rapidly  catching 
up  on  his  quota. 

Harry  LeVine,  UA  salesman,  is  an  honorary 
life  member  of  the  Kiwanis  Club,  one  of 
the  very,  very  few  in  this  business. 

Charlie  Stiefel,  Venice  operator,  reports  that 
his  seating  capacity  has  not  been  enlarged. 
He  only  has  500  seats,  which  came  out  as 
900  last  issue.  However,  he  wishes  he 
had  900  so  that  he  could  do  more  business. 

Sam  Rosen  all  enthused  over  the  showing  of 
A  Girl  of  the  Limberlost”  at  Fay’s.  A 
record  turnout  of  exhibitors  attended,  with 
everyone  proclaiming  the  merits  of  the 
picture. 

Bill  Mansell,  local  Warner  branch  head,  an¬ 
nounces  the  popularity  of  the  new  style  of 
1 -sheets  for  15c  each.  The  exchange  gives 
the  exhibitor  buying  the  1  -sheet  a  free 
8x  I  0  still  on  every  short  played.  This  ap¬ 
plied  to  single  reels  only.  This  is  a  new 
innovation,  according  to  Bill,  and  the  photo¬ 
graphic  reproduction  is  of  an  actual  scene. 
The  1 -sheets  are  attractive  and  are  good 
selling  pieces. 

Warner  Brothers  thank,  through  these  col¬ 
umns,  all  exhibitors  who  helped  them  win 
the  short  subject  drive  in  the  recent 
national  contest.  Co-operation  of  the  trade 
made  the  winning  possible. 

Frank  Loftus,  Ray  Smith  and  Chief  Powell 
are  selling  for  John  Golder  in  the  local 
territory,  making  exhibitors  Hollywood 
conscious. 

Sam  Rosen  is  raving  over  the  new  John 
Wayne  westerns.  He  held  a  special  show¬ 
ing  for  about  30  local  exhibitors  last 
week  in  the  Fox  projection  room  and  also 
unreeled  Old  Faithful,"  one  of  the  new 
First  Division  shorts. 

Ralph  Jordan  plenty  on  the  job  for  National 
Kline. 


( See  page  34) 


10 


Oct  1'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Local  Clearance  Group  to 

West  Philadelphia  Zoning  Complaints 


Exhibitors  Can  File  Now,  Board  Says— 
Notified — November  Sees  Beginning 
Every  District 


All  Theatres  Are 
of  Hearings 


on 


West  Philadelphia  theatremen  can  file 
he  heard  immediately  by  the  code  group  in 

That  was  indicated  last  week-end  follow¬ 
ing  a  meeting  of  the  board.  Its  makeup  in¬ 
cludes  Messrs.  Schlesinger,  Segall,  Rogasner, 
Weiner,  Bloch  and  Linker. 

Exhibitors  will  be  notified  individually  as  to 
time  of  their  hearing.  Meeting  rooms  of  the 
Code  Authority,  12  South  12th,  will  be  used, 
as  usual. 

The  tentative  schedule  is  now  being  dis¬ 
cussed  and  plans  made  for  a  permanent  clear¬ 
ance  arrangement. 

In  November,  all  zoning  will  be  considered, 
with  hearings  on  individual  cases  and  districts. 


Heard  In' 


c 


ROSSTOWN 

Sid  Stanley 
Is  Host 


Arcadia  restaurant  features  local  sound 
movies  taken  on  I  6  mm.  and  projected 
daily  in  the  place.  Idea  has  been  making 
a  hit.  Club  has  Buddy  Rogers  booked. 

Artie  Cohn,  dynamic  Earle  publiciteer,  all 
het  up  over  coming  of  Guy  Kibbee  as  well 
as  other  acts.  Cohn  has  been  selling  names 
with  a  vengeance,  with  Joe  Feldman  as 
busy  as  ever. 

Moe  Verbin,  after  a  big  campaign  on  "To¬ 
morrow’s  Children,”  shifted  to  English 
fare  with  “Friday  the  13th”  going  in. 

Charlie  Perry,  as  usual,  put  on  a  big  cam¬ 
paign  for  “The  Count  of  Monte  Cristo’ 
and  show  stayed  over  at  the  Aldine.  Perry 
is  again  big  as  life  and  promises  plenty  of 
exploitation. 

Sunday  night  screenings  at  the  Boyd  for  S-W 
folk  have  seen  a  new  idea  inaugurated. 
Trailer  for  each  show  is  flashed  on  before 
feature,  thus  giving  managers  chance  to 
get  familiar  with  selling  copy. 

Return  of  college  folk  to  town  will  help 
grosses  a  bit,  especially  on  week-ends. 
Football  atmosphere  also  of  assistance. 

J.  R.  Elicker,  Wilkes-Barre  Penn;  Hadden 
Matthews,  Upper  Darby  69th  Street  The¬ 
atre;  Abe  Frank,  Camden  Lyric,  all  won 
prizes  in  Warners'  “Circus  Clown”  con¬ 
test.  Honorable  mention  went  to  J.  L. 
Stallman,  local  Circle;  Marty  Goldenberg, 
Germantown  Colonial;  Tommy  Mangin, 
Chester  Stanley;  Lyric,  Camden;  State, 
Hanover. 

Jack  Ungerfeld,  Palm  Theatre,  Palmerton, 
has  jo  ned  the  MPTO,  “Contact,”  the 
group’s  bulletin  announces. 

Charlie  Rappaport  feeling  a  bit  better  after 
his  operation. 

Dog  races  cropped  up  again  in  Brookline 
where  a  local  fire  company  ran  them. 

J.  A.  Kraker,  local  Ross  Federal  representa¬ 
tive,  states  that  any  employee  ever  found 
guilty  of  trading  information  would  be  in¬ 
stantly  dismissed.  This  is  in  answer  to 
any  current  rumors. 


zoning  complaints  now.  All  protests  will 
order  that  all  may  be  satisfied. 

Delaware  Clubwomen 
Plan  a  Busy  Season 

October  17  Conference  Sees  Films 
as  Highlight 


Delaware  State  Federation  of  Women’s 
Clubs,  Motion  Picture  Committee,  plans 
a  busy  season. 

Highlights  will  be  a  round  table  discussion  at 
the  state  conference,  October  17. 

One  woman  from  each  county  will  be  re¬ 
sponsible  for  motion  picture  work  in  each 
county.  A  Better  Films  Council  is  functioning. 

It  is  also  urged  to  make  friends  with  exhibi¬ 
tors  wherever  possible. 

Mrs.  Edmund  M.  Barsham  is  chairman. 


Harry  M.  Warner,  president,  Warner  Bros., 
Joseph  Bernhard  and  Ted  Schlanger  were 
in  town  discussing  booking  and  operation 
with  Leonard  Schlesinger.  The  flying  trip 
included  a  visit  to  Wilmington. 

A1  Boyd  got  his  Locust  underway  here  with 
a  premiere  of  “Caravan.”  House  will  be 
on  2-a-day  with  attractions  holding  up  as 
long  as  possible.  Theatre  has  been  dark 
for  several  months. 

ITM  managers  and  wives  attended  a  special 
Sunday  night  showing  September  30  as 
part  of  a  membership  drive.  Only  inde¬ 
pendent  managers  are  allowed  to  join  the 
group,  which  has  been  strengthening  its 
lines  considerably.  The  membership  is 
growing  fast. 

Stanton  Theatre  picked  up  its  midnight  show 
schedule,  September  30.  Reported  that 
the  Poplar  Theatre  is  re-opening. 

Sid  Stanley,  genial  manager  of  Fay’s  Theatre, 
was  host  to  his  staff,  including  assistant 
Lester  Jeffries,  on  a  sailboat  ride,  picnic, 
clambake  and  athletic  afternoon  at  Asbury 
Park,  recently.  Sid  threw  the  party  be¬ 
cause  the  staff  had  worked  so  hard  for  the 
opening.  He  has  promised  the  staff  a  ban¬ 
quet  when  the  season  closes. 

Allen  Benn,  local  exhibitor,  went  on  a  South 
America,  West  Indies  cruise.  He  left  Sep¬ 
tember  16,  returned  September  29.  Many 
ports  were  touched.  S.  S.  Pennsylvania 
was  the  boat. 

Early  bird  matinees  still  in  vogue  in  52nd 
Street,  69th  Street  sector,  15  cents  to  1.30 
P.  M. 

Sedgewick  held  its  gala  6th  anniversary  week 
with  special  features. 

Lloyd  Seiber,  managing  new  Hip,  Pottstown, 
William  Goldman  house,  which  opened  Sep¬ 
tember  2  7.  New  manager  is  veteran,  hav¬ 
ing  been  with  Stanley-Warner  in  ace  the¬ 
atres  here. 


Wilmington  Cuts  Space 

Problem  of  free  news  space  to  adver¬ 
tisers  seems  to  have  bobbed  up  again  in 
Wilmington.  W.  L.  Mapel,  new  execu¬ 
tive  editor  of  the  two  publications  of  the 
News  -  Journal  Publishing  Company, 
Journal-Every  Evening  and  the  Morning 
News,  has  let  it  be  known  that  he  is 
strong  for  curbing  free  publicity  in  the 
news  column. 

At  the  time  of  this  writing  the  matter 
had  not  been  threshed  out  or  fully  set¬ 
tled  but  it  was  observed  that  readers  of 
the  theatrical  page  during  off  week¬ 
days  had  been  cut  down  to  a  paragraph 
each  for  each  of  the  major  theatres  ad¬ 
vertising,  whereas  in  the  past,  the  space 
given  theatres  often  exceeded  the  space 
of  the  advertisement.  Whether  Mapel’s 
views  will  prevail  are  uncertain,  al¬ 
though  he  has  been  given  unusual  pow¬ 
ers  over  both  papers  since  his  installa¬ 
tion  as  executive  editor. 


From  IEPA 

To  The  Editor  of  The  Exhibitor; 

2111  North  Broad  Street, 

Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania. 

Dear  Sir: — 

In  the  September  13th  issue  of  the  Motion  Picture 
Daily  there  appeared  a  story  signed  by  Mr.  George 
I’.  Aarons  questioning  the  correctness  of  a  list  of  new 
members  recently  included  in  one  of  our  weekly  bulle¬ 
tins. 

When  convinced  that  he  was  in  error,  Mr.  Aarons 
agreed  to  correct  his  statement  attacking  the  veracity 
of  the  list  in  question.  Although  he  did  so  in  a  half¬ 
hearted  way  in  the  Motion  Picture  Daily  of  September 
loth,  there  appeared  in  the  issue  of  The  Exhibitor  of 
September  15th,  a  letter  to  the  Editor  again  misstating 
the  facts. 

We  feel  that  the  continuance  of  the  use  of  such 
tactics  to  try  tc.  impress  outside  exhibitors  with  the  fact 
that  we  are  trying  to  claim  a  greater  membership  than 
we  actually  have  would  be  of  no  avail  since  our  mem¬ 
bership  files  are  open  to  the  inspection  of  any  inde¬ 
pendent  exhibitor  who  desires  to  convince  himself  of 
tile  membership  of  any  ether  exhibitor  in  the  organiza¬ 
tion. 

Very  truly  yours, 

JEANNETTE  WILLENSKY, 

Secretary. 

Independent  Exhibitors  Protective  Association,  Inc. 


Aarons  Speaks 

George  P.  Aarons,  secretary  and  counsel  for 
the  MPTO,  addressed  the  Rotary  Club  of 
Bristol,  September  27. 

He  spoke  on  the  problem  of  the  movies  as 
they  affect  the  community. 

Aarons  is  also  booked  for  several  other 
speaking  engagements  and  is  available  at  all 
times  for  such  work. 


Operator  Available 

An  experienced  projectionist  is  avail¬ 
able.  He  can  operate  any  type  of 
machine. 

Address  Jack  Bajeart,  1413  Adams 
Avenue,  Philadelphia. 


( Sec  page  34) 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Oct  1’34 


11 


Code  Authority  Issues  Principles  to  be 
Considered  in  Zoning  Schedule  Work 


Boards  Must  Consider  All  Angles — Clears  Up  Horizon 
First  Time — Doubles  or  Stage  Shows  Should  Not  Affect 
Clearance 

The  Code  Authority  has  recently  issued  a  list  of  principles  to  be  followed  in 
preparing  clearance  and  zoning  schedules. 


Knight  to  Coast 

Eric  Knight,  “Evening  Ledger”  movie 
critic,  went  out  to  the  coast  for  vacation 
purposes,  will  stay  at  least  six  months. 
His  wife  follows. 

Fox  took  one  look  at  him  and  grab¬ 
bed  him  for  its  writing  department. 

Announcement  of  Knight’s  entry  into 
Fox  will  be  greeted  by  exhibitors  who 
are  hoping  for  the  best. 

If  Knight  writes  for  the  films  like 
he  did  for  the  “Ledger,”  well - 

Film  Men  Honor  Bob 
Mochrie  at  Big  Dinner 

Warner  Home  Office  Executive 
Feted  Here 


Robert  Mochrie,  recently  Warner 
branch  manager  here  and  now  assistant 
to  Andy  Smith,  Jr.,  Warner  sales  execu¬ 
tive,  was  feted  at  a  testimonial  given  him 
by  local  film  men,  September  17,  at  the 
Bellevue-Stratford  Hotel. 

About  125  attended  the  affair,  which  ranked 
with  the  best  of  the  season. 

Leonard  Schlesinger,  Stanley- Warner  zone 
chief,  was  toastmaster  and  acquitted  himself 
creditably.  Indications  are  that  his  service  wdl 
be  called  upon  many  times  in  the  future. 

Bows  and  speeches  came  from  Charles  Segall, 
Lewen  Pizor,  Morris  Wax,  David  Barrist, 
Patsy  Flick,  Bill  Mansell,  Andy  Smith,  Jr.,  S. 
Charles  E'nfeld,  Joseph  Bernhard,  Sam 
Schwartz,  Roy  Haines  and  others. 

Mochrie  was  presented  with  a  beautiful  wrist 
watch. 

CHARLIE  SEGALL  spoke  of  Mochrie’s  fairness.  . 
Morris  Wax  felt  local  managers  should  have  full  power. 

Jack  Greenberg  should  be  given  a  hand  for  his 
handling  of  the  affair.  He  had  an  even  division 

between  MPTG'  men  and  1EPA  men.  Patsy  Flick 

ribbed  a  bit,  spoke  Or  ek.  .  .  Bill  Mansell  came  in 

for  a  big  hand,  paid  tribute  to  Bob.  .  Telegrams 

came  from  Grad  Seal's,  Mike  Landcw,  Lou  Appell,  Bob’s 
mother,  Jake  Fox,  Frank  Gravatt,  Allan  Benn,  George 
Schwartz,  Albert  Warner.  .  .  .  Mayor  Moore  walked 

in  with  Abe  Einstein,  got  a  hand.  Jack  Cohen 

hopped  in  from  the  coast.  .  .  .  Dick  Powell  was  present, 
autographed  everything  except  checks.  .  .  Myer  Adel- 

man  started  the  parade,  was  joined  by  Is  Hirsehblond, 
Eli  Epstein,  Jack  Flynn.  ...  It  looked  like  a  riot, 
Powell  tried  to  escape,  ran  into  Norman  Lewis,  auto¬ 
graphed  his  shirt.  .  .  .  Norman  will  hang  it  in  the 

lobby  as  a  bally  and  have  to  buy  another.  .  .  Andy 

Smith,  Jr.,  gave  Bob  a  hand,  said  lie  was  establishing  a 
record  for  credits  and  reductions,  told  a  couple  of  gags, 
praised  Bob.  .  .  .  Censor  Sam  Schwartz  paid  his  respects 
as  well.  .  .  .  Many  S-W  district  chiefs  were  present. 

.  .  .  Bob  thanked  all  for  the  affair  and  for  the  decent 

treatment  of  him,  praised  Andy  Smith,  Jr.  .  .  .  It  was 
a  grand  affair. 

Goldman  in  Pottstown 

Hippodrome,  Pottstown,  becomes  the  first  in 
the  chain  being  built  up  by  William  Goldman 
Theatres,  Inc.  House  has  been  closed  a  long 
time  and  alteration  amounting  to  about  $25,000 
was  made  in  remodelling  and  renovating  the 
structure  which  re-opened  last  week. 

House,  on  lease,  will  be  opposition  to  the 
Stanley-Warner  circuit. 


Here  is  the  approved  announcement : 

1.  Members  of  local  clearance  and  zoning 
boards  should  familiarize  themselves  thoroughly 
with  the  provisions  of  Article  VI,  Part  I,  Sec¬ 
tion  of  the  Code  of  Fair  Competition  for  the 
Motion  Picture  Industry,  as  follows : 

“Each  board  when  making  any  classification  of 
theatres,  or  when  fixing  the  maximum  period  or 
area  of  clearance  in  respect  of  any  theatre  shall, 
among  other  things,  consider  and  give  due  regard 
to  the  following  factors : 

(a)  that  clearance  to  a  very  considerable  extent 
determines  the  rental  value  of  motion  pictures  ; 

(b)  that  exhibitions  of  the  same  motion  picture 
within  the  same  competitive  area  at  too  short  an 
interval  after  the  conclusion  of  a  preceding  run  or 
runs  thereof  by  unduly  restricting  the  competitive 
area  in  which  clearance  is  limited,  depreciates  the 
rental  value  of  motion  pictures  ; 

(c)  that  all  such  depreciations  of  the  rental 
values  of  motion  pictures  tend  to  reduce  the  num¬ 
ber  of  motion  pictures  produced,  discourages  the 
production  of  motion  pictures  of  quality  involving 
large  investments  of  capital,  labor,  skill,  and  enter¬ 
prise  and  thereby  tend  to  reduce  employment. 

(d)  that  unreasonable  clearance  to  a  consider¬ 
able  extent  affects  the  value  of  motion  pictures  for 
subsequent-run  theatres. 

(e)  that  unreasonable  clearance  depreciates  the 
potential  return  from  motion  pictures  to  subse¬ 
quent-run  theatres. 

(f)  that  unreasonable  clearance  as  to  time  and 
area  diminishes  the  potential  revenue  to  the  dis¬ 
tributor  from  the  subsequent-run  exhibitor.” 

2.  The  competitive  geographical  area  included 
in  schedules  should  be  clearly  defined  both  as 
to  first  run  in  cities  and  suburban  districts.  In 
defining  geographical  areas  affecting  first  runs, 
clearance  should  be  given  not  only  against  the¬ 
atres  in  the  particular  city  but  also  against  com¬ 
petitive  theatres  within  a  trading  area  or  within 
a  metropolitan  district.  First  run  theatres  should 
have  clearance  over  nearby  towns  and  cities 
which  are  considered  competitive. 

3.  No  prohibition  may  be  placed  upon  the  run 
which  an  exhibitor  may  be  able  to  buy  or  a  dis¬ 
tributor  may  be  able  to  sell  to  any  theatre,  and 
no  theatre  shall  be  designated  by  name  as  first 
run,  as  second  run,  or  as  any  other  run  in  a  city 
or  in  a  zone  area.  Schedules  including  state¬ 
ments  to  the  effect  "The  Blank  Theatre  may 
purchase  no  clearance”  cannot  be  approved.  It 
is  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  local  board, 
however,  to  state  that  a  theatre  is  not  in  compe¬ 
tition  with  any  other  theatre. 

4.  Geographical  areas  of  competition  which 
shall  be  designated  as  zones  shall  be  established 
by  the  local  board.  Such  zones  shall  be  estab¬ 
lished  by  dividing  the  territory  affected  into 
groups  of  competitive  theatres.  Any  theatre 
shall  have  the  right  without  restriction  to  buy 
any  run  it  is  able  to  negotiate  for  with  any  dis¬ 
tributor,  and  any  distributor  shall  have  the  right 
without  restriction,  to  sell  any  run  he  desires. 

5.  Maximum  periods  of  clearance  shall  be 
established  between  the  various  runs  which  may 
exist.  For  instance,  the  board  shall  define  the 
maximum  clearance  between  the  first  run  in  a 
city  and  the  second  run  in  a  city  and  also  the 
maximum  clearance  between  the  second  run,  if 
there  be  one,  and  the  first  run  in  any  competi¬ 
tive  geographical  zones.  The  local  board  may 
make  provision  for  the  booking  of  any  extraor¬ 
dinary  picture  which  may  play  first  run  at  sub¬ 
stantially  increased  admission  prices,  which  sub¬ 


stantial  increase  in  admission  prices  shall  en¬ 
title  a  theatre  to  additional  clearance  unless  the 
next  subsequent  run  also  increases  its  admis¬ 
sion  prices  in  the  same  proportion;  and  this 
principle  shall  apply  to  all  other  subsequent 
runs. 

6.  In  establishing  maximum  clearance  for 
first  run,  consideration  may  be  given  to  the  dif¬ 
ferential  between  the  first  run  admission  prices 
and  the  admission  prices  charged  by  the  second 
run  and/or  subsequent  runs  in  the  respective 
competitive  cities  or  zones. 

7.  Provision  may  be  made  for  the  revision  of 
clearance  of  subsequent  runs  where  a  prior  run 
reduces  admission  prices,  and  of  clearance  of 
prior  runs  where  a  subsequent  run  reduces  its 
admission  prices.  Notwithstanding,  any  theatre 
which  purchases  a  specified  run  shall  retain 
such  run  irrespective  of  any  increase  in  admis¬ 
sion  prices  of  subsequent  runs. 

8.  In  the  event  that  two  theatres  are  in  sepa¬ 
rate  zones  which  overlap  and  are  in  competi¬ 
tion,  the  maximum  period  of  clearance  between 
such  theatres  shall  be  established  by  the  board. 

9.  The  period  of  clearance  shall  not  be  affected 
by  reason  of  any  theatre  using  a  double  bill 
policy  or  stage  shows. 

10.  The  schedule  shall  provide  that  in  the 
event  of  the  building  or  opening  of  a  new  the¬ 
atre  or  the  re-ppening  of  a  closed  theatre  the 
clearance  and  zoning  board  shall  immediately 
meet  and  determine  the  zone  in  which  such  the¬ 
atre  shall  be  placed.  Such  theatre  shall  of 
course  have  the  opportunity  of  purchasing  such 
run  as  it  is  able  and  which  the  distributor  may 
desire  to  sell. 

11.  It  shall  be  provided  that  if  any  first  run 
theatre  permits  an  earlier  exhibition  than  pro¬ 
vided  in  the  schedule  by  a  waiver  of  clearance 
or  by  any  other  means  with  respect  to  any  sec¬ 
ond  run  theatre,  then  third,  fourth  and  subse¬ 
quent  run  theatres  shall  also  move  up  and  re¬ 
ceive  a  like  benefit  from  the  above  mentioned 
earlier  exhibition  in  accordance  with  the  clear¬ 
ance  period  established  between  the  runs  in¬ 
volved.  If  any  second,  third  or  subsequent  run 
theatre  permits  an  earlier  exhibition  than  pro¬ 
vided  in  the  schedule  with  respect  to  any  theatre 
in  the  following  run,  then  the  same  principle  as 
set  forth  above  with  respect  to  the  first  and 
second  run  shall  be  applicable  in  accordance 
with  the  clearance  period  established  between 
the  runs  involved  and  any  runs  thereafter. 

12.  The  following  resolution  was  unani¬ 
mously  adopted  by  the  Code  Authority  on 
August  23 : 

“RESOLVED :  That  clearance  for  any 
theatre  established  by  a  clearance  and  zoning 
board  in  any  decision  affecting  a  schedule  of 
clearance  and  zoning  for  a  territory  or  part 
thereof,  shall  supersede  any  clearance  speci¬ 
fied  in  any  license  agreement  between  dis¬ 
tributors  and  exhibitors,  irrespective  of 
whether  such  license  agreement  was  executed 
prior  to  the  decision  of  the  local  clearance 
and  zoning  board.” 


Oct  1 1 34  pg.  12 


A  SHOWMAN'S  PICTURE!  MADE  FOR  CIRCUS 

Rny.nFFir.F  postfrs.  i  drry  nispi  ays 


A  young  and  beautiful  girl  setting  out  to  sea  . . .  herself  the  captain  of  a  48  foot 
sailing  schooner  .  .  .  seeking  adventure,  looking  for  thrills  . . .  eager  to  risk 
her  life  to  prove  that  she's  not  the  biggest  liar  in  the  world ! 


But  she  never  turned  back!  Ahead  lay  a  strange  land  and  treasure!  Savages  to 
fight!  Perils  to  face!  Sharks  to  harpoon!  Fierce  animals  to  meet!  A  lost  city  to 
explore  and  reveal  its  wonders! 

IMAGINE! ...  a  weird  lost  temple  ...  a  priceless  jewel  in  an  idol’s  heart 
. . .  her  capture  by  natives  . . .  hand  to  hand  battles  . . .  condemned  to  be  burned 
at  the  stake  . . .  escape  in  a  frail  craft  on  a  jungle  river  . . .  pursued  by  hundreds 
of  savages  in  war  canoes  .  .  .  and  the  only  escape  to  set  the  river  on  fire  and 
swim  under  the  flames! 


THE  MOST  PUBLICIZED  GIRL  IN  THE  WORLD! 

Her  every  move  is  NEWS  to  the  great  newspapers 
of  the  land!  Thousands  of  columns  have  been 
written  about  her!  Her  book,  "The  Cradle  of  the 
Deep",  read  by  millions! — Joan  Lowell  is  always 
News  .  .  .  her  adventures,  incredible  to  some  . .  . 
but  interesting  to  all  and  now,  at  last ,  her  camera 
proves  that  the  unbelievable  exists! 


PRODUCED  BY  THE 

VAN  BEUREN 

CORPORATION 

RKO-RADIO  PICTURE 


IMAGINE  !  That  tiny  schooner  buffeted  by  a  90  mile  gale,  tossed  like  a  chip 
on  a  mad  sea  in  a  Caribbean  hurricane  . . .  decks  awash  . . .  mast  cracking  like  a 
match  stick  .  .  .  water  tank  empty  .  .  .  the  beginning  of  another  wild  adventure 
that  is  meat  and  drink  to  Joan  Lowell,  daughter  of  daring,  who  has  sailed  the 
seven  seas  since  childhood  and  fascinated  the  world  with  her  tales  of  adventure! 


Imagine  these  and  you  imagine  but  a  few  of 
the  thrills  that  await  your  audiences  with . . . 


MAGINE!.. 


Oct  1'34  pg.  13 


AND  A  CRITICS  SHOW  TOO! 


“Proves  itself  an  exciting  and  colorful  yarn  .  .  . 
you  can  depend  upon  it,  there  are  plenty  of  thrills 
in  'Adventure  Girl'."  — Boston  Eve.  American 

“Unusual  among  thrillf  films  is  ‘Adventure  Girl' 
...  a  unique  offering."  — Boston  Daily  Record 

“Unusual  adventure  film  with  good  exploitation 
values.  "  —Film  Daily 

"'Adventure  Girl'  brings  thrills  to  the  screen.  Joan 


Lowell  scores  as  star  of  jungle  story." 

— New  York  American 
"Filled  with  thrills.  The  photography  is  good  and 
the  scenery  is  pictorially  effective." 

— New  York  Evening  Journal 
"The  photography  is  excellent  and  the*  effect  of  a 
fire  scene  is  heightened  by  the  hand-coloring  pro¬ 
cess  used  on  the  flames."  — New  York  Daily  News 
"An  interesting  tale.  Scenically  and  photographi¬ 


cally  Miss  Lowell's  first  film  is  highly  interesting." 

—New  York  Daily  Mirror 
"As  amusing  and  exciting  an  hour  as  you  can  imagine 
in  the  cinema.  I  think  you  will  find  it  an  amusing  and 
diverting  entertainment."  — N.  Y.  World-Telegram 
"An  adventure  thriller  that  should  cash  in  heavily. 
Plenty  of  opportunity  for  drog-'em-in  exploitation 
and  can  be  sold  in  almost  any  house  catering  to 
family  trade."  —The  Hollywood  Reporter 


EXPLOITATION!  ..  ,  SENSATIONAL  LINE  OF 


*  *  r»  jin  i 


*  i>wr  OT  *  CIAI  a  r  r  atu 


Oct  1  ’ 34  pg.  14 


Glancing  Everywhere  in  the  Territory 


PROMOTED.  S.  Barret  McCor¬ 
mick  is  now  in  executive  control  of 
Radio  advertising  and  publicity. 


MOVES  UP.  Robert  F.  Sisk  has 
been  promoted  to  become  assist¬ 
ant  to  J.  R.  McDonough,  president, 
RKO  Radio. 


APPOINTED  AD  HEAD.  G.  K. 
Throckmorton,  executive  vice- 
president,  RCA  Victor  Company, 
has  announced  the  appointment  of 
T.  F.  Joyce  as  manager  of  advertis¬ 
ing  and  sales  promotion,  succeed¬ 
ing  Pierre  Boucheron,  resigned. 


AT  PREMIERE.  Breathtakingly 
beautiful  Wampas  Baby  Stars  ac¬ 
company  sisters  and  John  Miljan  to 
the  RKO  Hillstreet,  Hollywood, 
premiere  of  Mascot’s  “Young  and 
Beautiful.’’ 


BY  BRAZILIAN  ADMIRERS.  Lat¬ 
est  tribute  to  the  creative  genius  of 
Walt  Disney — a  bronze  statue  of 
Mickey  Mouse — comes  from  Brazil. 


BIG  PLANS.  Sam  Dembow,  Jr., 
general  manager  for  National 
Screen  Service,  promises  some  big, 
new,  startling  developments  in  the 
trailer  line  soon.  Since  his  joining 
the  company,  his  entrance  has  been 
greeted  by  exhibitors  everywhere 
and  the  trade  in  general. 


GENERAL  MANAGER.  George 
Weeks  is  general  manager  in 
charge  of  distribution  of  Gaumont 
British  Pictures  in  this  country. 


AWARDED  MEDAL.  W.  Ray 
Johnston,  president.  Monogram,  is 
shown  receiving  the  Parents  Maga¬ 
zine  medal  for  the  family  audience 
movie  of  the  month  for  “Girl  of  the 
Limberlost.” 


HEADS  FILM  BOARD.  S.  E.  Ap¬ 
plegate,  Metro  sales  manager,  is 
the  new  head  of  the  local  Film 
Board. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Oct  1'34 


15 


Industry  Awaits  Introduction  of 

New  Hearst  Metrotone  News,  Oct.  1 


Edwin  C.  Hill,  Radio  Commentator,  Becomes  Interpre¬ 
tive  Voice — International  Line-up  Promises  Peak  Cover¬ 
age-Globe  Trotter  Already  Famous 

The  motion  picture  industry  as  well  as  patrons  throughout  the  country  are  anx¬ 
iously  awaiting  the  first  Hearst  Metrotone  News,  with  Edwin  C.  Hill  as  the  inter¬ 


pretive  Voice  of  the  Globe  Trotter,  to  be 


COMMENTATOR.  Edwin  C.  Hill 
is  the  new  Voice  of  the  Globe  Trot¬ 
ter  for  Metrotone  News. 


Dauphin  County  at  its  first  fall  meeting  in  Pine 
Street  Presbyterian  Church,  Harrisburg. 

The  advisability  of  organizing  what  would 
he  known  as  the  Better  Films  Council  “to  bring 
about  co-operation  between  the  public  and 
motion  picture  exhibitors  in  the  interest  of  bet¬ 
ter  pictures”  will  be  determined  by  the  welfare 
committee  of  the  association  which  was  author¬ 
ized  to  consult  with  other  civic  bodies  for  this 
purpose. 

Cardinal  Dougherty  has  taken  steps  to  inten¬ 
sify  the  boycott  by  obtaining  additional  signers 
of  Legion  of  Decency  pledges,  according  to  a 
message  Msgr.  John  J.  Bonner,  superintendent 
of  Catholic  Schools  in  the  Philadelphia  Diocese, 
gave  to  more  than  100  members  of  the  Clerical 
Brotherhood  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church,  at  Holy  Trinity  Church,  Nineteenth 
and  Walnut  Streets. 

Msgr.  Bonner  had  been  invited  to  explain 
Cardinal  Dougherty’s  ideas  on  the  motion-pic¬ 
ture  clean-up.  For  more  than  half  an  hour 
he  described  conditions  he  had  observed  here 
and  in  Ho’lywood.  Later  he  answered  questions 
from  the  audience. 


eleased  this  week. 

When  first  the  announcement  of  the  signing 
of  Hill  was  made,  it  became  apparent  that 
Metro  had  made  a  ten  strike  in  its  efforts  to 
assure  exhibitors  of  a  newsreel  that  would  have 
feature  value.  Hill  is  a  radio  ace  news  com¬ 
mentator  and  writer  and  has  made  an  excellent 
impression  with  his  “Human  Side  of  the  News” 
radio  time.  Hill  does  more  than  read  the  news. 
He  interprets  it  and  with  such  a  radio  backing 
should  deliver  a  peak  newsreel  to  theatres. 

He  will  deliver  crisp  dialogue  for  the  Metro¬ 
tone  News,  all  issues. 

An  experienced  newspaper  man,  he  has  spent 
much  time  in  newsreel  and  scenario  depart¬ 
ments.  He  has  been  a  syndicate  feature  writer 
and  has  had  a  varied  experience. 

In  addition,  Hearst  Metrotone  news  has  a 
complete  and  world-wide  newsreel  coverage  to 
take  care  of  all  the  events  that  happen  every¬ 
where.  Forty  are  used  in  this  country.  In  addi¬ 
tion,  International  News  Service  headquarters 
and  facilities  are  available  to  the  news  service. 

The  Hearst  Metrotone  news  is  also  fully 
publicized  in  all  Flearst  papers  as  well  as 
through  other  media. 

With  the  addition  of  Edwin  C.  Hill,  the  news 
takes  its  place  as  one  of  the  leaders  in  the  field. 
Exhibitors  everywhere  have  signed  up  for  the 
news  in  great  numbers,  an  indication  of  its 
worth.  With  five  features,  Hill,  greater  news¬ 
reel  coverage,  showmanship  and  exploitation, 
exclusive  newsreel  events  and  Hearst  publicity 
and  advertising,  Metrotone  news  has  advan¬ 
tages  that  are  important. 


Gaumont  British  Launches 

Gaumont-British  Pictures  made  its  entrance 
into  New  York  with  a  bang  September  21. 
Gala  premiere  of  “Chu  Chin  Chow”  opened  at 
the  Roxy  Theatre  for  a  two-week  engagement. 

“Power,”  screen  version  of  Lion  Feucht- 
wanger’s  novel  with  Conrad  Veidt,  Benita 
Hume  and  Sir  Cedric  Hardwicke,  opens  at  the 
Radio  City  Music  Hall  October  4.  A  triple 
international  premiere  will  be  celebrated,  with 
“Power"  opening  simultaneously  in  New  York, 
London  and  Toronto. 

Arriving  September  21  were  Robert  J. 
Flaherty,  director  of  “Man  of  Aran,”  with  a 
group  of  natives  from  the  primitive  Isle  of 
Aran  off  the  west  coast  of  Ireland.  “Man  of 
Aran”  is  the  first  photographic  record  ever 
made  of  this  unique  Celtic  tribe.  David  Flah¬ 
erty  is  in  charge  of  the  natives,  who  have  never 
before  come  in  contact  with  modern  civilization. 


Masterpiece  Promises  Surprise 

Masterpiece  Film  Attractions,  Inc., 
promises  another  surprise  for  exhibi¬ 
tors. 

The  company,  already  with  a  strong 
lineup  of  new  product,  is  angling  for  a 
series  of  pictures  that  will  cause  a  lot  of 
comment  in  the  trade. 

More  details  will  be  available  later. 


Lifting  of  Catholic 
Ban  Not  Yet  in  Sight 

Chicago  Cardinal  Differs  from 
Local  Head 


Hopes  of  movie  men  that  there  would 
he  a  lifting  of  the  complete  boycott 
against  pictures  were  smashed  when  it 
was  indicated  recently  that  the  campaign 
would  continue  in  the  local  territory. 

This  indication  came  on  top  of  reports  from 
Rome  that  Catholics  were  willing  to  hold  up 
future  action  in  the  clean  film  campaign  until 
they  see  how  producers  handle  the  issue  in  the 
future.  Cardinal  Mundelein,  Chicago,  in  a 
statement  to  the  Associated  Press,  said  that 
they  did  not  intend  to  put  the  movies  out  of 
business,  but  were  taking  no  chances.  It  was 
indicated  that  the  drive  would  remain  organized. 

Locally,  Reverend  John  J.  McKenna,  diocesan 
director  of  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of 
the  Faith,  spoke  on  the  air  on  the  Legion  of 
Decency.  Most  Reverend  Philip  R.  McDevitt, 
D.  D.,  Bishop  of  Harrisburg,  also  urged  his 
followers  to  avoid  salacious  pictures. 

At  a  rally  in  Scranton,  Most  Reverend 
Thomas  C.  O’Reilly,  D.  D.,  Bishop  of  Scran¬ 
ton,  spoke. 

When  local  priests  contact  their  parishioners, 
it  was  indicated  that  pledges  to  the  Legion  of 
Decency  would  be  col’ected  at  the  same  time. 
In  all  pulp'ts,  it  was  asserted  that  the  fight 
was  just  beginning. 

As  far  as  business  is  concerned,  children’s 
grosses  are  still  off  but  adult  grosses  have 
picked  up  sharply. 

“For  the  moment  at  least  the  crusade  of 
decent  movies  seems  to  have  produced  results,” 
according  to  an  editorial  which  appeared  in  a 
Harrisburg  newspaper,  September  22.  “Here  in 
Harrisburg,  as  elsewhere,  movie  patrons  are 
greeted  by  offerings  much  more  in  tune  with  the 
proprieties  than  once  was  the  case.  Whether 
the  result  or  not  of  the  protest  against  unsuit¬ 
able  fi’ms,  the  programs  seem  better.” 

Boycott  of  “motion  pictures”  which  offend 
decency  and  Christian  morals  will  be  asked  of 
churchgoers  of  Harrisburg  and  vicinity  under 
action  taken  recently  by  the  Ministerial 
Association  of  Greater  Harrisburg  and 


The  boycott  in  this  diocese,  he  said,  undoubt¬ 
edly  would  be  continued  until  the  desired  end 
was  attained. 

After  revealing  the  Cardinal’s  action,  he  said 
that  290,000  had  signed  Legion  of  Decency 
pledges  in  the  Philadelphia  Archdiocese — 
115,077  adults  and  64,000  school  chiiren. 


Stuart  with  Columbia 

Herschel  Stuart,  farmer  general  manager  of 
RKO  theatres,  is  the  new  director  of  public 
relations  for  Columbia.  He  will  have  charge 
of  the  advertising,  exploitation,  publicity,  art 
and  radio  departments. 


16 


Oct  1'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Charles  Segall  Not  in  Line  for  Re-' 
to  Presidency  of  District  Exhibitor  Group 


MPTO  Head  Feels  He  Was  Drafted  for  Job  and  Can’t 
Give  Enough  Time — Announcement  Made  at  September 
28  Meeting 

Charles  Segall,  president  of  the  MPTO  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern 
New  Jersey  and  Delaware,  will  not  be  a  candidate  for  re-election  to  that  post  when 
the  annual  vote  is  taken  in  January. 


New  Quarters 


The  MPTO  has  leased  quarters  at 
13th  and  Vine  taking  the  entire  second 
floor  in  which  George  P.  Aarons,  sec¬ 
retary,  is  located.  Remodelling  will  fol¬ 
low  and  the  opening  set  for  a  few  weeks 
hence. 


Tony  Lucchese  Host 
to  Local  Film  World 


He  indicated  as  much  at  the  September 
28  meeting  of  the  organization  held  at  the 
Hotel  Adelphia. 

Segall  feels  that  he  has  not  enough  time  to 
devote  to  the  job  and  that  another  should  step 
in.  He  asserted  that  he  was  drafted  for  the 
job  and  that  someone  with  more  time  should 
succeed  him. 

The  meeting  also  discussed  the  current  Cath¬ 
olic  ban,  the  question  of  dual  membership,  the 
penny  a  seat  tax  in  connection  with  the  music 
tax  and  other  matters. 

The  organization  went  on  record  as  pledg¬ 
ing  unanimous  support  to  the  Emergency  Com¬ 
mittee  in  its  fight  against  the  ASCAP  and  the 
sentiment  indicated  that  there  would  be  a  com¬ 
plete  turnout,  financially,  for  the  committee. 
Checks  were  urged  to  be  sent  to  the  MPTO 
secretary  and  later  handed  to  the  committee. 

Other  routine  matters  were  also  discussed. 

A  GOOD  TURNOUT  attended  with  about  50  present 
James  Dukas,  Edwardsville,  came  all  the  way 
down  .  .  Arthur  B.  Smith,  Salem,  had  an  infected 

foot  .  .  .  Marcus  Benn,  chatting  with  the  hoys,  paid 

high  tribute  to  A1  Lichtman  and  UA  ...  It  isn’t  often 
that  an  exhibitor  praises  a  distributor  but  in  this  case, 
coming  from  Marcus,  it  was  worthy  of  mention  .  .  . 

During  the  meeting  several  of  the  points  which  were 
discussed  brought  forth  a  lot  of  argument  among  those 
attending  ...  It  looks  like  the  organization  is  going 
to  be  plenty  busy  .  .  .  CONTACT,  the  new  bulletin, 

came  in  for  a  lot  of  praise  .  .  .  Members  were  urged 

to  take  any  dating  problems  to  the  secretary  .  .  He 

has  been  instructed  to  act  where  pictures  don’t  be¬ 
come  available  fast  enough  ...  A  luncheon  was  served. 


HOST.  Tony  Lucchese  will  be  host 
at  the  October  8  luncheon  at 
Palumbo’s  restaurant. 


First  Division  Expansion  Set  With 

Ludington,  Fiske  Buying  Into  Unit 


Harry  Thomas  Closes  Deal  Which 
Gives  “World’s  Leading  Indepen¬ 
dent”  Dominating  Position 

Nicholas  Ludington  and  William  M.  L. 
Fiske,  III,  have  purchased  all  outstand¬ 
ing  stock,  with  the  exception  of  Harry  H. 
Thomas,  president,  of  First  Division 
Exchanges,  Inc.,  world’s  largest  distribu¬ 
tors  of  independent  productions. 

First  Division  will  immediately  undertake  an 
extensive  expansion  program,  opening  offices  in 
all  the  key  cities  of  southern  and  western  terri¬ 
tories  where  it  is  not  now  directly  represented. 
Plans  for  complete  nationalization  and  interna¬ 
tionalization  will  begin  immediately. 

Since  Ludington  is  best  known  for  his 
important  pioneering  operations  in  American 
aviation,  his  name  is  of  particular  interest  be¬ 
cause  his  association  with  First  Division  is 
his  first  important  step  in  the  motion  picture 
industry. 

Fiske  is  the  son  of  the  well-known  inter¬ 
national  banker,  and  is  not  new  to  motion  pic¬ 
tures,  having  been  interested  in  production  for 


the  past  year  and  a  half.  Although  his  home 
has  been  Paris,  France,  he  has  traveled 
throughout  the  producing  centers  of  the  world. 
It  is  believed  that  these  connections  which  he 
has  will  lead  towards  an  international  organ¬ 
ization  of  First  Division  Exchanges,  Inc.  For 
the  past  three  years,  Fiske  has  been  study¬ 
ing  production  and  distribution  activities  on  an 
international  scale. 

First  Division  Exchanges,  Inc.,  now  covers 
60  per  cent  of  the  territory  of  the  United 
States.  With  this  new  plan  and  recapitaliza¬ 
tion,  it  is  the  plan  of  the  new  stockholders  to 
open  offices  immediately  in  the  entire  south  and 
west. 

Harry  H.  Thomas  increases  his  interests  in 
First  Division,  and  continues  in  the  capacity  of 
president  and  chief  executive  of  the  organiza¬ 
tion. 

First  Division,  with  its  new  alignment  of 
associates,  will  have  the  most  youthful  set-up 
of  any  major  organization  of  its  kind  in  Amer¬ 
ica.  Immediate  steps  will  be  taken  to  foster  a 
high  type  of  class  entertainment. 

J.  A.  Curtis  negotiated  the  deal  on  be¬ 
half  of  Messrs.  Ludington  and  Fiske,  and 
(See  page  22) 


Gold  Medal-Majestic  Proprietor 
Honored  Luncheon 

The  local  film  world  has  been  invited 
to  a  luncheon  in  honor  of  Tony  Lucchese. 

The  affair,  to  be  held  at  Palumbo’s  Res- 
turant,  8th  and  Catherine,  October  8,  at  12.30 
P.  M..  will  mark  the  return  of  Tony  Lucchese 
to  active  participation  in  the  local  industry 
after  an  illness  of  nearly  a  year. 

The  affair  will  he  open  to  the  entire  business 
and  all  that  is  needed  is  a  ticket  of  identification 
which  can  be  secured  at  the  local  Gold  Medal 
Majestic  exchange,  1236  Vine  Street. 

Taxis  will  convey  film  folk  to  the  restaurant. 

There  will  be  no  sales  talks,  no  speeches,  just 
a  good  luncheon  with  liquid  refreshment  and  a 
lot  of  good  fellowship. 

The  affair  is  the  first  of  its  kind  ever  he'd 
and  is  quite  in  line  with  Tony  Lucchese’s  pol¬ 
icy  of  being  first  in  a  lot  of  things. 

Remember  the  day — October  8. 

Remember  the  place — Palumbo’s. 

Remember  the  time — 12.30  P.  M. 

Go  to  the  exchange,  get  a  ticket  and  don’t 
forget  to  drop  into  a  taxi  at  the  exchange  that 
clay  and  ride  to  the  restaurant.  There  are  no 
strings. 

The  local  trade  is  fortunate  in  having  in  its 
midst  a  real  host  who  is  happy  to  be  back, 
active  in  his  field. 


Copyright  Charge  Up 

Frank  Fogel,  on  behalf  of  Paramount,  is  in¬ 
stituting  suit  in  the  United  States  District  Court 
of  the  Middle  District  of  Pennsylvania  against 
William  H.  Voight.  Latter  operates  the  Sho- 
hola  Casino  Theatre  and  Opera  House,  Nar- 
rowsburg,  N.  Y.  Charge  is  made  that  he  has 
been  bicycling  pictures  from  one  town  to 
the  other. 

He  is  specifically  charged  with  having  used 
“Come  On  Marines”  and  “Bolero”  at  the 
Opera  House,  Narrowsburg,  when  he  only  had 
them  under  contract  for  the  Shohola  Casino. 


First  Chesterfield  Shooting 

George  R.  Batcheller  has  started  production 
on  his  first  release  on  the  1934-35  program, 
“The  Curtain  Falls.”  starring  Henretta  Cros- 
man.  Supporting  Miss  Crosman  are  Dorothy 
Lee  John  Darrow,  Natalie  Moorehead,  William 
Bakewel1,  Dorothv  Revier,  Jameson  Thomas 
and  Holmes  Herbert. 


Oct  1’34  pg.  17 

HELD  OVER!  Three  weeks!  Keith’s  Theatre,  Boston! 
HELD  OVER!  Three  weeks!  United  Artists  Theatre,  Chicago! 
HELD  OVER!  Three  weeks!  Aldine  Theatre,  Philadelphia! 

HELD  OVER!  Threeweeks!  Keith’s  Theatre,  Washington! 


0 


A  Re  I  ia  nee  Pi  cturS 

Produced  by 

EDWARD  SMALL 

Directed  by 
Rowland  V.  Lee 


with  ROBERT  DONAT 
ELISSA  LANDI 


jj 

i 


HELD  OVER! 
HELD  OVER! 
HELD  OVER! 


Two  weeks!  Keith’s  Theatre,  Baltimore! 
Two  weeks!  Fulton  Theatre,  Pittsburgh! 


Two  weeks!  Capitol  &  Grand,  Cincinnati! 


J^eletu-ed  tit 


tit 


UNITED  ARTIST 


18 


Oct  1 r  34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


• - 

A  Concise 
National  Survey 

TRADE  IN  REVIEW  - 

- • 

Glances  Outside 
the  Territory 

W 

• 

CODE 

Code  Authority  Changes 
Its  Zoning  Reasoning 

The  Code  Authority,  after  invoking  the 
wrath  of  everyone  in  general,  issued  a  new  set 
of  principles  of  zoning  that  should  be  able,  if 
handled  properly,  to  take  care  of  a  lot  of  objec¬ 
tions  of  the  present  zoning  systems. 

In  addition,  the  Code  Authority  issued  a 
schedule  of  zoning  appeals,  hearings,  individuals 
and  districts. 

The  whole  action  seems  to  have  returned 
faith  in  the  code  to  a  lot  of  sincere  exhibitors 
who  were  beginning  to  doubt  the  whole  setup. 

Regional  Labor 
Boards  Now  Effective 

Organization  of  20  regional  labor  boards  has 
been  made  effective.  There  will  be  a  director 
and  two  men  in  each  large  city  in  redefined 
territories.  The  three,  the  other  two  be  impar¬ 
tial,  will  sit  as  a  board  with  authority  to  act. 

Assents  to  Code 
Again  Reopened 

A  proposed  amendment  to  the  code  would 
allow  reopening  of  the  code  for  assents  with¬ 
out  restriction  as  to  time.  This  was  generally 
predicted  some  time  ago,  but  becomes  official 
only  after  a  10-day  period  for  objections. 

The  list  of  those  signing  the  code  grows 
longer  daily  and  chances  are  that  most  of  the 
exhibitors  will  be  in  line  when  the  last  pen  dries. 

Some  Revisions  in 
Assessments  Expected 

That  there  will  be  some  revisions  in  the  sec¬ 
ond  half  payments  under  the  code  is  thought 
likely.  Revisions  of  schedules  of  expenses  will 
result  in  a  slight  downward  trend.  These  will 
be  noted  as  the  second  half  bills  go  out.  The 
code  boards,  generally,  have  been  working  a  bit 
under  their  budgets. 

EXHIBITION 

Ivan  Abramson,  Inde 
Leader,  Passes  Away 

Ivan  Abramson,  who  was  one  of  the  most 
prominent  of  the  independent  leaders,  passed 
away  recently.  William  Randolph  Hearst  was 
a  partner  in  one  of  his  first  companies. 

Some  Higher  Admissions 
Noted  Through  Country 

There  have  been  some  higher  admissions  re¬ 
ported  but  the  general  trend  is  toward  retention 
of  the  present  scale.  This  much  is  indicated  in 
a  survey  of  the  country. 

Ed  Kuykendall,  MPTOA  president,  has  taken 
up  the  speaking  cudgel  for  the  tariff  increases, 
but  general  exhibitors  are  shieing  from  such  a 
procedure. 

Francis  Succeeds 
Heyl  at  RCA  Victor 

J.  E.  Francis  is  the  new  general  manager  for 
Photophone  Division  of  RCA.  He  succeeds  E. 
O.  Heyl.  Photophone  has  combined  recording 
and  reproducing  divisions. 


Federal  Housing  Drive 
A  Boon  to  Exhibitors 

Exhibitors  who  haven’t  been  able  to  arrange 
financing  for  theatre  improvements  may  get  de¬ 
sired  relief  through  the  Federal  Housing  Act. 
Equipment  manufacturers  also  are  prepared  to 
do  their  part  and,  incidentally,  benefit  their 
business. 

Each  theatre  may  spend  as  much  as  $2000  for 
remodelling. 

A  huge  publicity  campaign,  in  which  the  the¬ 
atres  are  being  asked  to  play  a  big  part,  is  also 
beginning. 

The  federal  loans  are  applicable  only  to  perma¬ 
nent  improvements,  a  decision  which  will  neces¬ 
sitate  individual  interpretation  whenever  the  ex¬ 
hibitor  desires  his  loan. 

Theatres  Urged  to 

Help  Better  Housing  Campaign 

Community  campaigns,  with  theatres  aiding, 
are  being  urged  by  the  Federal  Housing  Ad¬ 
ministration.  Goodwill  for  the  campaign  as 
well  as  increased  attendance  for  theatres  are 
expected  to  result.  Lobby  displays,  use  of  slides, 
speakers  are  asked  by  the  administration  in 
order  that  the  utmost  publicity  be  given  the 
campaign. 

Frank  Freeman  Succeeds 
Sam  Dembow  at  Paramount 

Frank  Freeman  is  the  new  vice-president  and 
general  manager  of  Paramount  Theatre  Serv¬ 
ice  Corporation.  He  succeeds  Sam  Dembow, 
Jr.,  who  becomes  general  manager  at  National 
Screen  Service,  a  new  post  created  by  Herman 
Robbins. 

Reports  Indicate 
Business  Increases 

Early  season  surveys  from  all  parts  of  the 
country  indicate  that  business  is  decidedly  on 
the  upgrade.  There  would  naturally  be  a  spurt 
following  the  hotter  season,  but  part  of  the  im¬ 
provements  must  be  credited  to  a  better  grade 
of  pictures. 

PRODUCTION 

A.  J.  Balaban  Joins 
RKO  Production  Force 

A.  J.  Balaban,  a  familiar  name  in  exhibition 
circles,  is  now  associated  with  RKO.  He  will 
become  an  associate  producer  with  RKO  Radio 
Pictures.  Balaban  was  formerly  with  Balaban 
and  Katz,  Chicago  circuit. 

Profits  for  Film 
Companies  Get  Higher 

Profits  for  the  distributors  and  producers  are 
apparently  increasing.  Paramount’s  net  for  the 
second  quarter  of  this  year  was  about  $1,280,000. 
Columbia  showed  over  a  million  profit. 

Moose  Magazine 
Credits  Cleanup  Drive 

The  Moose  Magazine,  official  fraternal  pub¬ 
lication,  has  come  out  praising  the  Hollywood 
censor  system  for  the  cleanup  in  pictures.  A 
recent  issue  gives  credit  to  the  industry  for 
washing  its  hands  and  doing  the  job  success¬ 
fully. 


Production  Continues 
At  a  Normal  Pace 

Review  of  pictures  in  production  and  recently 
completed  shows  the  list  including :  COLUM¬ 
BIA — The  Captain  Hates  the  Sea,  Police  Am¬ 
bulance;  FOX — Music  in  the  Air,  Marie  Gal- 
ante,  State  vs.  Elinor  Norton,  365  Nights  in 
Hollywood,  Hell  in  Heaven,  White  Parade, 
Man  Lock,  Lottery  Lover;  METRO — Painted 
Veil,  Sequoia,  What  Every  Woman  Knows, 
Biography  of  a  Bachelor.  David  Copperfield, 
Evelyn  Prentice;  PARAMOUNT  —  Enter 
Madame,  College  Rhythm,  Ready  for  Love, 
Limehouse  Nights,  Lives  of  Bengal  Lancer, 
Here  Is  My  Heart,  Menace,  Ruggles  of  Red 
Gap;  RADIO — Anne  of  Green  Gables,  Wednes¬ 
day’s  Child,  Kentucky  Kernels,  Kickoff,  By 
Your  Leave;  LIBERTY — Without  Children; 
LA — Kid  Millions;  ROACH — Babes  in  Toy- 
land;  WARNERS — Babbitt,  Murder  in  Clouds, 
I’m  a  Thief,  Border  Town;  UNIVERSAL— 
Night  Life  of  Gods,  Great  Expectations,  Imi¬ 
tation  of  Life. 

Swope  Chairman  of 
Keith- Albee-Orpheum  Board 

Herbert  Bayard  Swope  is  the  new  chairman 
of  the  board  of  directors  of  Keith-Albee-Or- 
pheum  Corporation.  He  succeeds  Merlin  Hall 
Ay’esworth,  president  of  RKO,  and  also  be¬ 
comes  chairman  of  the  board  of  B.  F.  Keith 
Corporation,  subsidiary.  Major  L.  E.  Thomp¬ 
son  is  president  of  the  two  corporations  and 
also  of  RKO  Proctor  Corporation,  Stadium 
Theatres  Corporation,  RKO  Midwest  Corpora¬ 
tion  and  RKO  Service  Corporation.  Other 
RKO  officers  are  Malcolm  Kingsberg,  vice- 
chairman,  board ;  I.  E.  Lambert,  vice-president 
and  general  counsel ;  Leon  Goldberg,  vice- 
president  and  treasurer ;  A.  E.  Roach,  vice- 
president  in  charge  of  real  estate ;  Nate  Blum- 
berg,  vice-president  in  charge  of  theatres ;  O. 
R.  MacMahon,  comptroller. 

J.  R.  McDonough  devotes  his  entire  time  to 
the  picture  division  as  president  of  RKO  Radio 
and  other  companies.  B.  B.  Kahane  is  vice- 
president  of  Radio.  William  Mallard  is  vice- 
president  and  general  counsel  for  Radio. 

DISTRIBUTION 

Fox  to  Handle 
Gaumont-British  Physically 

Fox  exchanges  will  act  as  physical  outlets 
for  distribution  of  Gaumont-British  pictures, 
with  GB  salesmen  doing  the  actual  selling. 
George  Weeks,  veteran,  is  general  manager  of 
Gaumont-British  in  this  country.  He  is  a  film 
veteran  of  excellent  record. 

Selling  Now  Hitting 
On  All  Eight 

After  a  slow  start,  selling  is  proceeding 
rapidly.  In  New  York  City,  usually  a  trouble¬ 
some  area,  agreements  between  the  circuits  have 
been  ironed  out  and  what  threatened  to  be  a 
bitter  war  has  been  averted  by  arrangements  on 
pictures  and  handling  of  houses. 


Oct  1 T 34  pg.  19 


Because  of  the  number  of  Exhibitors 
whom  it  aff ects.  Majestic  Producing 
Corporation  believes  this  announce- 
ment  to  be  of  real  importance. 


T 

HIS  is  official  notice  to  all  whom  it 
may  concern  that  Majestic  Producing 


Corporation  of  New  York  has  granted  a 
Franchise  for  the  booking  and  delivery 
of  its  pictures  in  the  city  and  territory  of 
Philadelphia  to  Masterpiece  Film  At¬ 
tractions,  Inc.  We  ask  every  exhibitor 
who  sees  this  announcement  to  read  the 
two  following  pages  and  to  welcome  the 
Masterpiece  organization  into  the  ranks 
of  independent  exchanges  that  deal  with 
worth  while  product. 


(guaranty 

w 

IKtunu  all  iflnt  btj  tljrar  prrantta :  | 

1.  Unit  iHairatir  Producing  (Corporation, 

a  Corporation  organized  and  existing  under  P 
the  laws  of  the  State  of  New  York  is  firmly  fji 
held  and  bound  unto  Mr.  Exhibitor  for  the  fft 
production  and  delivery  of  (Btnrlur  jfpatnrr 

illation  JHrturrs,  during  the  season  of  [f 
1034-35.  | 

2.  That  iMaU'stir  jfrobnriitg  (Corporation's 

Tw'dve  Pictures  will  be  of  the  highest  quid- 
ity,  and  that  the  subjects  selected  will  pro- 
vide  a  wide  variety  of  entertainment.  P 

3.  That  since  the  Corporation's  success  is  p 

based  primarily  upon  the  Exhibitor's  sue-  || 
cessful  showing  of  its  pictures,  we  further  rj» 

guarantee  the  heartiest  co-operation  at  all  || 
times  m  the  matter  of  high-powered  adver-  lq 
tising  and  exploitation  and  all  necessary  f|i 

helpful  accessories.  (i| 

liitnrss  our  hanb  anb  sral  If 

tigs  first  ban  of  3/uly,  ^ 

A.0.1B34  | 

fUajraitr  Praiiurtng  M 

(Corporation  i 

w 

Herman  Gluckman,  President  « 


MAJESTIC  PRODUCING  CORP’A 

RKO  RUILDING,  1270  SIXTH  AYE..  NEW  YORK 


EXCHANGES  EVERYWHERE 


3ook  Now 

he  very  Pick  of  the  New  Inde- 
endent  Crop  .  .  .  CLASSED  as 
4AJOR  productions  by  ALL 

Oct  1 T 34  pg.  20  Reviewers ! 


WE  HAVE  PRINTS 

ready  for  screening 
COME  IN  and  SEE  THEM 


9  MORE 

GUARANTEED 


"THE  PERFECT  CLUE" 

"SAY  IT  WITH  FLOWERS" 
"STRANDED  YOUTH" 

"SECRET  AGENT  'X'" 

"A  BACHELOR'S  ESTABLISHMENT" 
"THUNDER  IN  THE  STREETS" 
"ENSLAVED  " 

"MOTHERS  OF  THE  WORLD" 
"THE  MAN  MARKET" 


MASTERPIECE 

FILM  ATTRACTIONS,  Inc. 

1329  VINE  STREET  •  PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 


COLLEEN  MOORE 

in 

"THE  SCARLET  LETTER" 

with 

HARDIE  ALBRIGHT 

Directed  by  ROBERT  VINGOLA 
A  Majestic  SPECIAL 


“Capable  direction  gives  an 
old  classic  modern  appeal 
a  credit  to  independent  production.” 


BOX  OFFICE 


HOLLYWOOD  FILMOGRAPH— 


“A  real  bet  for  any  exhibitor  .  .  .  definitely  in  the 
major  class  ...” 


MOTION  PICTURE  DAILY  — 


“All  the  earmarks  of  a  major  production  .  .  .  able  to 
stand  alone  on  any  bill.  All  performances  good.” 

‘‘Moves  with  dignified 
“tempo  background 

authentic  .  .  .  spirit  of  times  maintained  to  the  letter.” 


PHOTOPLAY 


MOTION  PICTURE  HERALD— 

“Atmosphere  faithfully  reflects  Hawthorne’s  story 
.  .  .  picture  has  showmanship  values.” 


SHOWMEN’S  ROUND  TABLE— 


“Fine  entertainment  .  .  .  picture  faithfully  done  .  .  . 
Moore-Albright  excel  Welcome  relief  from 

modern  sophisticated  stories.” 


VARIETY  DAILY 

bid  for  box  office  attention  . 
farcical  humor.” 


“Competent  cast  .  .  . 
"picture  makes  strong 
.  wisely  larded  with 


FIRST  3  OF  MA 


"NIGHT  ALARM" 

SPECTACULAR  FIRE  THRILLER 

with 

BRUCE  CABOT  •  JUDITH  ALLEN  .  H.  B.  WARNER 

Directed  by  SPENCER  BENNETT 


Oct  1  ’ 34  pg.  21 

"She  Had  To  Choosi 


COMEDy  DRAMA  WITH  MUSiq 

with 

LARRY  "BUSTER"  CRABBE  and  ISABEL  JEWEL 

Directed  by  RALPH  CEDER 


A  Majestic  SPECIAL 

SHOWMEN’S  ROUND  TABLE— 

“Good  acting,  splendid  direction,  beautiful  photogra¬ 
phy  .  .  .  big  variety  of  sets  .  .  .  Music  entrancing 
.  .  .  film  has  all  thrills.” 


BOX  OFFICE 


“Fast  moving  fire  story 
.  .  .  brim  full  of  thrills 
and  action.  Exceptionally  well  produced  ...  A  credit 
to  the  independent  field  .  .  .  Bruce  Cabot  does  well 
.  .  .  Judith  Allen  is  easy  on  the  optics.  Fire  Se¬ 
quences  the  real  stuff.” 


MOTION  PICTURE  HERALD— 

“Plenty  of  potential  showmanship  .  .  .  also  entertain¬ 
ment  with  romance,  drama,  comedy,  action  and  the 
thrill  of  spectacular  fires  ...  of  unusual  interest  to 
both  adults  and  children.” 


VARIETY  DAILY— “Chock.fu11  °1 thrills 

.  .  .  above  the  aver¬ 
age  independent  .  .  .  love  interest  offsets  the  thrill 
angles  .  .  .  Cabot  and  Allen  turn  in  registering  per¬ 
formances  .  .  .  Fuzzy  Knight  screamingly  funny.” 


THE  BILLBOARD— 


“Packed 
thrills  .  .  .” 


with 


A  Majestic  PICTURE 


THE  BILLBOARD 


BOX  OFFICE 


“A  dandy  program 
picture  for  the  en¬ 
tire  family  .  .  .  Will  please  almost  any  type  ...” 

MOTION  PICTURE  HERALD— 

“One  of  the  potential  showmanship  features  ...  is 
a  choral  musical  number  .  .  .  Climax  works  out  in  a 
whirlwind  of  action  with  a  surprise  punch  ...” 

“Definitely  proves  a  simple 
down-to-earth  story  can  be 
made  highly  entertaining  through  treatment,  settings 
and  excellent  direction  ...” 

\/ADII7TV  HAII  V  “Good  direction  and 
VAKitl  I  DAILI - first  ciass  entertain¬ 

ment  .  .  .  Excellent  performances  .  .  .  ample  laughs 
.  .  .  well  produced  ...” 

MOTION  PICTURE  DAILY  — 

“Worth  while  program  attraction  appealing  to  family 
audiences  Ceder’s  direction  skilfully  blends 

romance,  drama,  comedy.” 

SHOWMEN’S  ROUND  TABLE— 

“A  picture  the  average  patron  will  love  .  .  .  loaded 
with  amusing  situations  .  .  .  abundance  of  good 
scenes,  a  lively,  clean  romance  .  .  .” 


ESTIC'S  GUARANTEED  1 2  si 


22 


Oct  1*34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


PLENTY  OF  SUSPENSE.  “British  Agent,’’  from  Warners,  includes  Leslie  Howard  and 
Kay  Francis  in  the  leads. 


Masterpiece  To  Distribute  12  Pictures 

from  Majestic  Producing  Corporation 


New  Affiliation  Marks  Distinct 
Triumph  for  Company — ’34-’35 
Plans  Optimistic 

Masterpiece  Film  Attractions,  Inc., 
enters  the  1934-1935  season  with  what 
it  considers  to  be  the  most  important 
line-up  in  its  history.  Heading  the  list  is 
a  group  of  12  productions  from  Majestic 
Producing  Corporation. 

Masterpiece  will  distribute  these  pictures  with 
a  guarantee  to  exhibitors  of  delivery  of  the 
entire  dozen. 

Three  are  in  the  house  at  this  writing.  They 
include  “The  Scarlet  Letter,”  with  Colleen 
Moore,  Alexander  Kirkland  and  an  all-star 
cast;  “She  Had  to  Choose,”  with  Isobel  Jew¬ 
ell,  Buster  Crabbe,  Regis  Toomey  and  others; 
and  “Night  Alarm,”  with  Bruce  Cabot  and 
Judith  Allen. 

Others  on  the  list  are  “Stranded  Youth," 
“Secret  Agent  X,”  “Say  It  With  Flowers," 
“Thunder  in  the  Streets,”  “A  Bachelor’s  Es¬ 
tablishment,”  “Mothers  of  the  World/’  "En¬ 
slaved,”  “The  Man  Market,"  “The  Perfect 
Clue.” 

Louis  ‘Pop’  Korson,  president  of  Masterpiece, 
is  particularly  enthused  over  the  new  distribu¬ 
tion  franchise  as  it  places  the  company  in  a 
leading  position  in  the  independent  market. 
Ful'y  regained  in  health,  he  will  be  aided  in  the 
direction  of  the  exchange  by  Ed  Boreth,  who 


is  acting  manager  and  upon  whom  will  be  placed 
a  large  part  of  the  responsibility  for  the  pro¬ 
gress  of  the  exchange. 

Believing  that  its  Majestic  distribution  calls 
for  an  entire  new  deal,  Masterpiece  plans  to 
renovate  the  exchange  and  also  create  an  entire 
new  front.  Exhibitors  are  invited  to  attend  the 
new  exchange  when  it  is  completed. 

The  organization  is  full  of  pep  and  optimistic 
over  new  season  plans  and  those  who  have  seen 
the  reviews  of  the  new  Majestic  pictures  believe 
there  is  good  reason  for  this  optimism. 


Appeals  Scheduled 


Code  Authority  has  set  up  a  schedule 
for  hearing  individual  appeals  and  other 
appeals  from  local  grievance  board  deci¬ 
sions  and  local  clearance  and  zoning 
groups. 

Individual  appeals — September  24, 
25,  October  2,  8,  16,  22,  30. 

Appeals  from  districts  and  cities - 

October  3,  4,  9,  10,  17,  18,  23,  24. 

Several  cities  were  ordered  to  redraft 
schedules  according  to  the  new  prin¬ 
ciples  of  clearance  and  zoning. 

Code  Authority  has  disposed  of  140 
individual  appeals  from  local  board  de¬ 
cisions. 


y  O  R  K 


Irving  Dunn,  Capitol,  invaded  the  city’s  de¬ 
partment  stores  with  his  campaign  on 
Desirable.  A  blow  up  of  the  opinions 
of  Philadelph.a  critics  of  the  picture  was 
used  in  the  lobby.  Got  himself  some  word 
of  mouth  advertising  in  beauty  parlors,  by 
inviting  operators  and  their  assistants,  to 
a  special  preview. 

Cleon  Miller,  Strand,  attracted  added  busi¬ 
ness  for  She  Loves  Me  Not’’  by  staging 
an  early  shoppers’  show  at  9.30  o’clock. 

George  Ziegler,  Capitol  staff,  is  proud  father 
of  a  bouncing  baby  boy. 

Bob  Miller,  Ritz,  d  isplayed  a  stretcher  outside 
his  box  office  when  the  Wheeler  and  Wool- 
sey  laugh  hit  played  there. 

Lighted  Enlargements  of  the  stars  are  be¬ 
coming  common  as  a  part  of  the  lobby 
displays. 

At  Bill  Israel’s  suggestion,  managers  of  the¬ 
atres  in  York  district  which  have  three 
changes  a  week  or  less,  are  building  up  a 
calling  list  of  their  patrons,  whom  they  will 
call  to  inform  of  their  current  attraction 
and  coming  features.  Patrons  are  being 
invited  through  a  special  trailer  to  leave 
their  names  and  addresses  and  telephone 
number  with  the  cashier  if  interested  in 
the  service. 

Miss  Kathryn  DeHuff,  Strand  cashier,  has 
bee  n  transferred  to  the  Rialto. 

S:d  Poppay’s  Saturday  afternoon  kiddie 
shows  get  bigger  every  week. 

Helen  Nace,  former  cashier.  Strand  and  Cap¬ 
itol,  and  lately  Rialto,  has  left  Warner 
Brothers. 

Bob  Miller,  Ritz,  had  2,500  paper  bags  im¬ 
printed  with  an  announcement  of  "Bull 
Dog  Drummond  Strikes  Back,"  and  gave 
the  m  to  four  grocery  stores,  in  widely 
separated  sections  of  the  city.  Passes  were 
given  the  patrons  who  saved  the  lucky 
tags. 

Cleon  Miller,  Strand,  is  plugging  his  news 
reels  with  a  one-sheet  on  the  outside, 
telling  of  the  news  scoops  to  be  seen  in 
pictures. 


New  Quality  Deal 

With  Quality  Premium  Distributors,  Inc.,  re¬ 
porting  an  increase  in  business  in  all  parts  of 
the  country  it  covers,  announcement  of  the 
entrance  of  a  new  deal,  "Rose  Bud.”  is  espe¬ 
cially  timely.  This  new  deal  has  a  number  of 
added  features  which  makes  it  superior  to  any 
pink  glass  set  offered,  it  is  said. 

With  a  54  oz.  pitcher  and  a  7-piece  beverage 
set,  the  set  is  cut  in  dainty,  appealing  design. 

This  is  an  exclusive  number  with  Quality. 


NEW  FACES.  Universal  offers  Cesar  Romero  in  “Cheating  Cheaters”;  Warren  William 
and  Claudette  Colbert  in  “Imitation  of  Life”  and  the  late  Russ  Columbo  in  Wake  Up 
and  Dream.” 


FIRST  DIVISION 

{Continued  from  page  16) 

under  the  plans  of  reorganization  will  be  a 
stockholder  of  the  company. 

Only  a  short  memory  is  required  to  go  back 
to  the  comparatively  humble  beginning  of 
Harry  Thomas  and  his  gang  as  a  state  right 
exchange  in  New  York. 

Their  high-powered  exploitation  and  adver¬ 
tising  campaigns  of  “Road  to  Ru  n,”  “Goona- 
Goona,”  etc.,  are  history.  The  slow  but  steady 
expansion  followed.  Year  by  year  they  added 
more  offices  until  they  were  in  a  dominating 
enough  position  to  be  noticed  by  big  interests. 

This  publication,  as  one  which  has  carried 
the  backbone  of  its  advertising  since  those  early 
years,  can  fondly  and  proudly  say,  "Success  to 
First  Division.” 


When  EDWIN  C. 

news 


In  thousands  of  homes^all  activity  ceases 
♦♦♦the  magic  voice  of  EdwinCXHill  electrh 
fies  the  nation*„bring  that  voice  with  its 
millions  of  followers^.into  your  theatre! 


Bring  those 


EDWIN  C.  HILL  FANS 


Oct  1'34  pg.  24 

INTO  YOUR  THEATRE! 


Adding 


STAR  VALUE 

Oct  1 T 3 4  pg.  25 

to  the  NEW 
and  GREATER 


METROTONE 


EDWIN  C.  HILL 

THE  GLOBE  TROTTER 


EDWIN  C.  HILL 

Radio  STAR,  Newspaper  STAR  and  now 
adding  STAR  value  to  the  mighty  Hearst 
Metrotone  Newsreel.  He  interprets  and 
dramatizes  news  events  giving  them  an  in¬ 
formative  and  thrilling  background. 

★  HEARST  PUBLICITY  AND  ADVERTISING 

Backed  by  the  tremendous  power  of  twenty-five  Hearst  newspapers  located  in  principal  cities 
of  the  United  States  with  a  total  paid  circulation  of  8,450,000  and  an  approximate  reader 
circulation  of  40,000,000,  Hearst  Metrotone  News  is  brought  daily  to  the  attention  of  this  vast 
movie-going  public.  Here  is  priceless  publicity  which  only  the  Hearst  Metrotone  News  enjoys. 

★  EXCLUSIVE  NEWSREEL  EVENTS 

Hearst  Metrotone  News  will  operate  independently  of  any  previous  association.  This  means 
that  when  you  see  an  “exclusive”  news  event  in  the  Hearst  Metrotone  News  it  will  not  be 
duplicated  in  any  of  the  other  newsreels.  The  extensively  augmented  news-gathering  organ¬ 
ization  of  Hearst  Metrotone  News  is  your  positive  guarantee  of  “exclusive”  news  scoops. 

it  GREATER  NEWSREEL  COVERAGE 

The  most  extensive  and  complete  news-gathering  network  in  the  world  has  been  organized  for 
the  new  Hearst  Metrotone  News.  Affiliations  have  been  made  with  foreign  newsreel  organiza¬ 
tions  making  it  possible  to  reach  hitherto  inaccessible  places.  Accomplishing  the  greatest 
newsreel  coverage  of  any  newsreel  on  the  market  today,  Hearst  Metrotone  News  is  ready  at  a 
moment’s  notice  to  bring  the  world’s  news  to  your  screen. 

it  EDWIN  C.  HILL  AS  THE  GLOBE  TROTTER 

In  thousands  of  homes  all  activity  ceases  when  Edwin  C.  Hill  interprets  the  human  side  of 
the  news.  The  magic  voice  that  electrifies  the  nation  has  now  been  captured  by  Hearst  Metro¬ 
tone  News.  Now  you  will  bring  that  voice,  with  its  millions  of  followers  into  your  theatre. 
Mr.  Hill  continues  his  celebrated  radio  broadcasts  as  well  as  his  newspaper  syndication, 
thereby  keeping  his  name  before  your  public  on  the  air,  on  the  screen  and  in  the  press. 

it  M-G-M  SHOWMANSHIP  and  EXPLOITATION 

The  unparalleled  showmanship  and  exploitation  resources  of  the  vast  Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 
organization  is  behind  every  issue  of  the  Hearst  Metrotone  News.  M-G-M  believes  that  its 
new  and  greater  newsreel  merits  the  same  type  of  high  powered  intelligent  selling  to  the  public 
as  any  other  STAR  property  which  it  exploits.  Hence,  watch  M-G-M’s  newsreel  showmanship. 

FIRST  ISSUE  COMMENCING  WEEK  OF  OCTOBER  1st 


Oct  1'34  pg.  26 


DON’T  WAIT  FOR 
YOUR  PATRONS  TO 


TELL  YOU! 


“  -wes  us 


*e  \^e  your 

>  v\,\\°Y  ’  vo  see  Youv 

«vkx.v/'  a  cP«*  \Me  ask  you 

V  0  >e^ar  V  0>e  Heavst 

Jk  Sf  VJC  te\.ev= 

S,'°o  vc()b'-f,  m  J- ’rf' " ' ' 

'tf.C  '*  we*s  r  w>\\  ui 

**>  '1  V  A  o$  ^  f  V\ca^S 

VO&^Vd  "tau 

Ov  v  v 

?n  Vvsfc*'  SC^  t01  «vocV  y"° 

ro^a  1 


FIRST  ISSUE  OF  THE  NEW 


HEARST  METROTONE 
NEWS  COMMENCING 
Week  of  OCT.  1st 

(Be  there  ivhen  it  happens!) 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Oct  1'34 


27 


10  DAY  SPECIAL! 

_ L 


GENTLEMEN: — Please  send  me  addition¬ 
al  information  regarding  the  above  deal. 

Th  ®atr@  _ _ _ _ 


City  and  State _ 


DINNERWARE 


THIS  BEAUTIFUL,  COLORFUL  SET 

includes 

Gorgeous  Sugar 
and  Creamer 
will  show 

RESULTS 

at  your  BoxOffices 


QUALITY 

Premium  Distributors,  Inc. 

“Serving  Exhibitors  from  Coast  to  Coast’’ 

HOME  OFFICE: 

1305  Vine  St.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


A  T ruly  Sensational 
Offer! 


'Arabian  Rose' 


READING 


Manager  A1  Nowitsky,  State,  started  Murray 
Livingston  on  his  third  straight  season  by 
staging  a  flock  of  side  attractions  for  Liv¬ 
ingston’s  opener. 

Paul  M.  Frailey,  Philadelphia,  has  leased  the 
Orpheum  Theatre  for  five  weeks,  with  the 
privilege  of  taking  the  whole  year,  for 
dramatic  stock. 

Christopher  Eagan,  resident  manager,  Or¬ 
pheum  Theatre,  Reading,  about  25  years 
ago,  dropped  into  Wilmer  &  Vincent's 
Embassy  to  meet  Paul  E.  Glase,  resident 
manager  of  all  W-V  houses  here. 

Bob  Suits,  Loew’s  manager,  is  going  after  the 
highbrow  movie  shoppers  twice  in  suc¬ 
cession  with  "Barretts  of  Wimpole  Street” 
and  'The  Last  Gentleman." 


A1  Nowitsky,  State,  scored  with  the  folks 
when  he  gave  the  use  of  his  house  for  a 
Sunday  afternoon  musical  benefit  for  the 
benefit  of  a  blind  aid  society  and  an  or¬ 
phanage. 

Cal  Lieberman,  Astor,  is  packing  them  in 
with  double  bills,  five  acts  of  vaudeville 
and  a  feature  picture. 

George  D.  Haage,  starting  his  26th  Reading 
concert  program,  leased  Rajah  Theatre  for 
five  nights. 

Rajah,  rented  by  Spartanburg,  S.  C„  theatre 
men  for  pictures,  switched  temporarily  to 
musical  comedy,  35  cents,  then  back  to 
films,  with  “Ten  Cents,  One  Dime,  Any 
Seat,  Any  Time"  as  its  ad  slogan. 

Michael  Stolz,  former  Perth  Amboy,  N.  J., 
man  who  was  assistant  manager  at  the 
Park  Theatre  for  several  years,  has  been 
made  assistant  manager  of  the  Daniel 
Boone  Hotel. 


Produced  by  FOY  PRODUCTIONS,  INC. 

PRODUCERS  ALSO  OF  “WHAT  PRICE  INNOCENCE” 

Distributed  by  HOLLYWOOD  FILM  EX.,  INC.  John  Golder,  Prop. 
1220  Vine  Street,  Philadelphia 


A  VITAL,  Drama  of 
Human  Sterilization 

with  Diane  Sinclair,  Crane  Wilbur,  Sterling 
Halloway  and  other  featured  players. 

ROADSHOW  ACCESSORIES  AND 
BIG  BALLYHOO  EXPLOITATION 

Direct  from  Two  Big  Weeks 
EUROPA  THEATRE,  Philadelphia 


A 

Showmanship 

Special 

f 

• 

A  FRANK, 
TIMELY 
STORY  THAT 
WILL  FILL 
YOUR  TILL 

...  YET 
BEAUTIFUL, 
ROMANTIC, 
AND  CLEAN 
ENOUGH  TO 
SEND  'EM 
AWAY 
PLEASED 

• 

Wilmer  &  Vincent's 
STATE,  READING 

“Biggest  Summer  Business" 
then  booked  to  the  rest 
of  the  circuit 

A  Big  Success  in 
Herb  Effinger's 
VICTORIA, 
MAHANOY  CITY 

and  booked  to  the  rest 
of  his  circuit 

DATE  IT  NOW! 


28 


Oct  1 1 34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Annual  Golf  Tournament  Likely  to  Break 
All  Records  as  Interest  in  Event  Grows 


1934  Affair  Again  Sponsored  by  “The  Exhibitor” — 
Committee  Stresses  Need  for  Early  Entry — Lulu,  Place 
— October  12,  Day 

The  1934  annual  handicap  golf  tournament  and  dinner  dance,  to  be  held  under 
the  auspices  of  The  Philadelphia  Exhibitor,  promises  to  be  a  record-breaking 
event. 


Lulu  Temple  Country  Club  will  again  be 
the  scene  of  the  affair  with  the  selected  time 
Columbus  Day,  October  12. 

Committee 

The  golf  tourney  committee  includes  Jack 
Bachman,  Jim  Clark,  Jay  Emanuel,  Milt  Ro- 
gasner,  Leonard  Schlesinger,  Harry  Weiner, 
Charlie  Zagrans  and  Jack  Greenberg,  chairman. 

Those  who  have  attended  previous  affairs 
held  under  the  auspices  of  this  publication  will 
welcome  the  resumption  of  the  tourney,  which 
is  admittedly  the  peak  affair  of  its  kind. 

In  addition  to  the  tourney,  as  usual,  there  will 
be  a  dinner  dance  with  a  good  orchestra,  good 
food  and  all  the  attendant  necessities.  A  morn¬ 
ing  practice  round,  the  18-hole  play  and  a  driv¬ 
ing  contest  are  also  scheduled.  A  good  toast¬ 
master  will  be  secured  for  the  affair. 

$10  Fee 

Entry  fee  is  $10  with  the  fee  hopping  to 
$12  the  day  of  the  tournament.  While  the  $12 
has  never  been  insisted  upon  in  the  past,  this 
year,  the  committee  says,  it  will  be  compulsory 
and  the  only  way  to  avoid  the  increase  will  be 
to  get  the  entry  in  before  October  12. 

Prizes  are  expected  from  leading  companies 
and  individuals  as  in  the  past. 

Holiday 

October  12  is  a  ho'iday.  Daylight  saving  will 
not  be  in  effect.  The  first  foursome  will  begin 
at  11  A.  M.  with  the  last  not  later  than  1.30 
P.  M.  It  is  dark  at  4.30  P.  M.,  which  necessi¬ 
tates  an  efficient  and  accurate  schedule. 

Visitors  from  nearby  cities,  Washington,  New 
York,  etc.,  are  expected  to  help  increase  the 
roster  of  those  attending. 

At  present  writing,  the  affair  looks  like  a 
huge  success. 


First  Division  Holds 
Its  First  Annual  Meet 

Local  Staff  Attends  New  York 
Session 


First  Division  is  holding  its  first  annual 
convention  in  New  York  City,  September 
28,  29,  30,  and  October  1. 

Primary  purpose  of  this  convention  is  to  have 
the  salesmen  from  the  various  exchanges  meet 
the  new  men  who  have  associated  themselves 
with  First  Division,  namely,  Nicholas  Luding- 
ton,  William  Fiske,  III,  and  J.  A.  Curtis.  First 
Division  plans  to  have  a  better  line-up  and  bet¬ 
ter  product  than  ever  before  in  its  history,  be¬ 
cause  it  will  be  financially  equipped  to  carry 
out  its  idea.  New  offices  will  be  opened  in 
territories  where  the  organization  is  not  now 
represented. 

Those  who  will  attend  the  convention  are 
Manager  J.  L.  Rose,  Eddie  Hochstim  Peggy 
Hawkins  from  Albany;  Manager  Elmer  Lux, 
Brady,  Schoenfeld,  Minna  Gold,  Buffalo;  Man¬ 
ager  M.  A.  Lebensburger,  Chapman,  Mae  Vin¬ 
cent,  Cleveland ;  Manager  Sam  Rosen,  Mike 
Levinson,  John  Schaffer,  E.  V.  Segall,  Moe 
Sherman,  Philadelphia ;  Manager  Morris  Ep¬ 
stein,  Dick  Perry,  Bill  Benson,  A1  Blaubinger, 
Sydney  Kulick,  Mollie  B.  Shear,  Pearl  Gold¬ 
stein,  Myron  Starr,  Joseph  Joel,  Elias  Barkey, 
New  York;  Manager  Joe  Skirboll,  David  Selz- 


Early  Bird  Trouble 

When  zoning  of  West  Philadelphia 
arises,  one  question  to  be  settled  will  be 
the  early  bird  matinees  in  some  of  the 
theatres,  starting  before  1.30.  Exhibs 
will  probably  insist  that  the  house  using 
such  a  policy  receive  protection  only  in 
their  immediate  zone. 

Action,  Western  Films 
Also  from  Masterpiece 

Single  Reel  Color  Series  Already 
Working 

Masterpiece  Film  Attractions,  Inc., 
will  have  a  strong  group  of  action  and 
western  features  in  the  new  season. 

8  action  yarns  from  Richard  Talmadge  have 
been  contracted  for  and  there  will  be  14  west¬ 
erns,  some  with  Noah  Beery,  Jr. 

In  addition,  there  will  be  10  other  action  films 
suited  for  the  action-type  and  other  kinds  of 
houses. 

In  the  single  reel  division,  12  Mutt  and  Jeff 
cartoons  and  12  Musical  Romances,  all  in  color 
are  available  for  booking. 

Stars  will  be  featured  in  all  of  the  action 
and  western  attractions. 


nick,  E.  Skirboll,  Wheeler,  Pittsburgh;  Man¬ 
ager  La  Sance  Burns,  McCabe,  Cincinnati ; 
Manager  Carl  Crawford,  Robert  Wolf,  Meyer 
Gruber,  Mike  Thomas,  Miss  McLaughlin,  Bos¬ 
ton  ;  Manager  Harry  Brown,  Pete  Rosian,  Miss 
Cunningham,  Washington ;  in  addition  to  most 
of  the  home  office  officials  and  representatives 
from  the  southern  territories. 


THE  1934  ANNUAL  MOTION  PICTURE  HANDICAP 

GOLF  TOURNAMENT  and  DINNER  -  DANCE 


LULU  TEMPLE  C.  C. 
Philadelphia 

Friday,  Oct.  12th 


under  the  uuspiees  of  *•  THE  EXHiBMTfPH  99 

GENTLEMEN: 

Here’s  my  entry  and  $10.00  for  the  Gala  Festivities  on  Friday,  October  12th. 
My  club  handicap  is 

My  five  best  scores  are  . 

SIGNED 

ADDRESS 

FIRM 

Make  checks  payable  to  Golf  Tournament  Committee  c/o  “THE  EXHIBITOR",  219  North  Broad  Street,  Philadelphia 


DON'T  DELAY — Entrance  Fee  on  the  Day  of  the  Tournament,  $12.00 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Oct  1'34 


29 


THE  ORDER 
OF  THE  PAY! 

J.  Morning  Practice  Round  (if 
desired)  .  .  .  but  get  out  early. 

2.  The  1934  Handicap  Golf  Tour¬ 
nament  at  11  A.  M. — 18  holes  of 
medal  play  with  handicaps.  More 
cups,  prizes  and  trophies  than 
ever.  Anyone  who  can  swing  a 
golf  stick  is  eligible.  Scores  70 
to  270,  and  how! 

3.  Driving  Contest — the  best, 
second  best  and  lousiest  drives. 

zgw  The  Magic  Carpet  of  Mugs — A 
hot  shower  outside,  a  cold  drink 
inside  and  hot  air  on  all  sides. 
— The  19th  Hole. 

3.  The  Annual  Dinner-Dance — The 
social  affair  of  the  local  industry. 
Bring  your  own  lady — every¬ 
thing  else  provided.  A  hot  Jazz 
Orchestra.  An  excellent  meal. 
Informal  and  Country  Clubby. 

Presentation  of  the  Prizes — 
Satyrical  humor.  Wisecracking 
par  excellence.  Presentation  of 
the  prizes  to  the  winners — and 
if  they  haven’t  been  on  the  “up 
and  up,”  they’ll  wish  they  had. 


fflO  COVERS 
EVERYTHING 


— 

PERFECTION 
EFFICIENCY 
FAIR  PRICE 

HEN  Stanley-Warner  Company,  in  the  Philadel¬ 
phia  zone,  decided  to  use  the  printed  word  as  a  direct 
contact  between  patron  and  theatre,  it  looked  about  for 
a  printing  concern  that  could  do  the  work  quickly, 
efficiently,  at  fair  price  with  no  sacrifice  of  quality. 

That  it  chose  National  Penn  Printing  Company  is  a 
direct  indication  of  the  opinion  it  placed  upon  us. 

The  Largest  Single  Order 
in  Local  Printing  History 

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30 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


l-Oct.-34 


a  n  1  ■  n 

J  1  •►Who  made  it? 

4  Is  it  family  or  adult  type  ? 

h. Pmnt  Iipvipm k 

2 -Who's  in  it? 

5  What's  it  about  ? 

w  I  Ullll  llvWIvWWO 

3  How  good  is  it  ? 

6— Running  Time? 

FIRST  NATIONAL 


Family 

Happiness  Ahead  (867)  Co^ody 

Dick  Powell,  Josephine  Hutchinson,  John  Halliday, 
Frank  McHugh,  Allen  Jenkins,  Ruth  Donnelly,  Doro¬ 
thy  Dare,  Marjorie  Gate  son,  Gavin  Gordon,  Russell 
Hicks,  Mary  Forbes,  J.  M.  Kerrigan. 

Musical,  with  a  romantic  background  and  an 
excellent  performance  by  Dick  Powell,  that 
should  result  in  good  attention  at  all  box  offices. 
Story  allows  Powell  to  plug  a  couple  of  good 
numbers,  is  the  one  about  the  rich  girl,  the  poor 
boy  and  the  misunderstanding.  Powell,  with 
some  good  aid,  makes  it  sound  a  bit  believable 
and  the  take  should  show  the  result.  Exhibs 
will  be  satisfied. 

Estimate:  Okay. 


FOX 


Family 

The  Dude  Ranger  (507)  Western 

65m. 

George  O’Brien,  Irene  Hervey,  LeRoy  Mason,  Sid 
Saylor,  Henry  Hall,  Alma  Chester,  James  Mason. 

Zane  Grey  story  and  George  O’Brien — be¬ 
tween  the  two  of  them  they  should  be  respon¬ 
sible  for  the  usual  gross  on  such  things.  A 
young  easterner  comes  to  claim  his  mountain 
ranch,  left  him  by  a  relative.  When  the  job 
is  done,  he  wins  the  girl,  saves  her  father  and 
gets  his  ranch  okay.  O’Brien  turns  in  a  good 
job  and  western  devotees  will  be  pleased. 

Estimate:  Suitable  western. 


GAUMONT  BRITISH 


Chu  Chin  Chow  Spectacle 

95m. 

Anna  Mae  Wong,  Fritz  Kortner,  George  Robey, 
John  Garrick,  Denis  Hoey,  Sidney  Fairbrother,  Pearl 
Argyle. 

Spectacle  that  is  of  amazing  selling  propor¬ 
tions.  With  all  the  scenes  of  the  Arabian 
Nights  to  unfold,  the  picture,  of  English  origin, 
is  of  international  appeal.  As  a  spectacle,  it  has 
had  few  of  similar  size  in  recent  years.  It  has 
all  the  elements  of  popularity  with  some  good 
performances.  However,  the  spectacle  angles 
are  of  most  importance.  There  are  a  few  names 
familiar  to  American  audiences  but  the  vast¬ 
ness  of  the  picture  and  its  scope  are  dominant. 

Estimate:  Impressive. 


What  Do  You  Think? 

it  is  the  aim  of  this  publication  to  give  its  readers 
every  possible  service.  Revision  of  the  page  is  an 
attempt  to  offer  a  concise  reviewing  form  that  will 
help  every  exhibitor.  Your  suggestions  and  criticisms 
are  welcomed.  Write  in  now  and  tell  us  whether 
you  like  this  or  not. 


MAJESTIC 


Family 

Night  Alarm  Action 

3  63m. 

Bruce  Cabot,  Judith  Allen,  H.  B.  Warner,  Sam 
Hardy,  Harry  Holman,  Fuzzy  Knight. 

Ace  fire  story  that  will  satisfy  action  lovers 
everywhere.  The  hero,  a  reporter,  tracks  down 
the  firebugs,  almost  loses  the  girl,  saves  the 
day.  Direction  is  speedy,  keeps  the  story  hop¬ 
ping  all  the  way  and  there  is  a  night  club 
sequence  as  well.  Majestic’s  action  entrant  will 
more  than  fill  the  bill.  Names  to  sell  also  are 
of  major  calibre. 

Estimate:  High  rating  fire  yarn. 


MASCOT 


Family 

Crimson  Romance  Drama 

68m. 

Ben  Lyon,  Sari  Maritza,  Eric  Von  Stroheim,  James 
Bush,  WVliam  Bakewell,  Hardie  Albright,  Herman 
Bing,  Bodil  Rosing,  'Vince  Barnett,  Purnell  Pratt, 
Jason  Robards,  Crauford  Kent. 

War  story  of  two  buddies  who  love  the  same 
girl  with  the  allegiance  between  pals  surmount¬ 
ing  all  obstacles.  An  American  joins  the  Get  • 
man  side  of  the  conflict  because  his  buddy  is  a 
German.  When  we  get  into  the  war  he  refuses 
to  fight  against  his  own  people.  His  German 
buddy  allows  him  to  escape.  Piece  is  packed 
with  action,  falls  into  the  good  melodrama  de¬ 
partment.  Audiences  who  still  tingle  at  the 
war  background  will  be  plenty  satisfied. 

Estimate:  Fair. 


MONOGRAM 


King  Kelly  of 
the  USA  (1086) 


Family 
Comedy  with  Music 
66m. 


Guy  Robertson,  Irene  Ware,  Edgar  Kennedy,  Ferdi¬ 
nand  Gottschalk,  Joyce  Compton,  Franklin  Pang- 
born,  William  von  Brincken,  Otis  Harlan,  Bodil 
Rosing. 

Comedy  with  good  satire  elements,  a  mythical 
kingdom,  princess  and  everything  that  goes  with 
it  and  a  partial  musical  comedy  background  to 
boot.  Guy  Robertson  .making  his  talkie  debut, 
looks  like  he  can  be  sold.  Story  is'  one  of  the 
beautiful  princess  and  the  hero  with  a  sense  of 
humor  who  saves  the  day.  Picture  is  okay  pro¬ 
gram  anywhere. 

Estimate:  Satisfactory. 


Redhead 


Family 

Drama 

73m. 


Bruce  Cabot,  Grace  Bradley,  Berton  Churchill, 
Regis  Toomey,  Monte  Carter,  Ed  Brady,  Leroy  Mason. 

Good  title  to  sell  but  the  picture,  itself,  is 
rather  light.  However,  show  has  some  enter¬ 
tainment  angles  that  are  bound  to  prove  profit¬ 
able.  Cast  leads  are  of  major  calibre,  which 
helps.  Plot  includes  regeneration  of  the  hero 
by  the  girl  with  a  past  herself,  accompanied  by 
the  usual  developments.  Exploitable  depart¬ 
ments  shouldn’t  be  overlooked. 

Estimate:  To  be  exploited. 


PARAMOUNT 


Pursuit  of  Adult 

Happiness  (3409)  °85my 

Joan  Bennett,  Francis  Lederer,  Charles  Ruggles, 
Mary  Boland,  Walter  Kingsford,  Minor  Watson,  Bar¬ 
bara  Barondess,  Adrian  Morris,  Spencer  Charters, 
Holmes  Herbert. 

High  rating  comedy  based  on  a  successful 
stage  play,  with  rib  tickling  throughout.  Centre 
of  attention  is  the  bundling  process  in  Revolu¬ 
tionary  War  days  and  a  spicy  bit  for  showmen 
on  which  to  centre  their  attention.  Picture  is 
lined  with  star  names  that  should  draw  in  the 
patrons.  Paramount  has  delivered  something  in 
the  picture  and  where  they  plug  the  angles,  it 
will  do  a  more  than  satisfactory  business.  Led¬ 
erer  clicks  in  this  and  should  be  a  factor  from 
now  on. 

Estimate:  Good  comedy. 


The  Lemon 

Drop  Kid  (3411) 


Family 
Action  Drama 
68m. 


Lee  Tracy,  Helen  Mack,  Baby  Leroy,  Minna  Gom- 
be’.l,  William  Frawley,  Henry  B.  Walthall,  Bob  Mc- 
Wade,  Charles  Wilson,  Kitty  Kelly,  Eddie  Peabody. 

Damon  Runyon  story  with  a  satisfactory  cast 
and  result.  Pathos  elements  are  strong  and  role 
is  fitted  for  Lee  Tracy,  as  a  race  track  fol¬ 
lower  whose  love  for  his  mother’ess  baby  brings 
him  back.  Characters  are  Runyonese.  As  a 
programmer,  picture  will  do  a  fair  business. 
Success  of  other  Runyon  stories  on  the  screen 
should  prove  ©f  assistance. 

Estimate:  Program  Runyon. 


UNIVERSAL 


Family 

Gift  of  Gab  (8030)  Musical 

70m. 

Edmund  Lowe,  Gloria  Stuart,  Ruth  Etting,  Phil 
Baker,  Ethel  Waters,  Gene  Austin,  Candy  and  Coco, 
Alex  Woolcott,  Paul  Lukas,  Victor  Moore,  Alice 
White,  Hugh  O'Connell,  Helen  Vinson,  Henry  Ar- 
metta,  Andy  Devine,  Graham.  MacNamee,  Sterling 
Halloway,  Roger  Pryor,  Gus  Arnheim  and  orchestra. 

Good  musical  with  plenty  of  stage  and  radio 
names  to  sell  and  an  ace  attraction  for  the  ex- 
ploiteers.  Lowe  is  an  air  news  name  who  pulls 
a  boner  and  then  goes  to  drink  to  forget.  The 
girl  straightens  him  out.  Among  these  develop¬ 
ments  are  strewn  names  and  bits  that  should 
provide  plenty  of  reason  for  box  office  attention. 
There  are  a  lot  of  good  scenes  and  the  picture 
is  packed  with  laughs.  Universal  has  handed 
exhibs  something. 

Estimate:  Ace  to  sell. 


Secret  of  the 

Chateau  (8033) 


Family 
Mystery  Murder 
70m. 


Alice  White,  Claire  Dodd,  Jack  LaRue.  George  E. 
Stone,  Ferdinand  Gottschalk,  Osgood  Perkins,  Helen 
Ware. 

Mystery  murder  yarn  of  a  familiar  pattern 
that  won’t  cause  much  of  a  stir.  The  murderer 
eventually  turns  out  to  be  a  book  collector  who 
wants  his  books,  no  matter  what  the  cost.  The 
cast  is  not  of  ace  calibre,  but  where  they  double 
feature  this  suits  the  purpose. 

Estimate:  Weak. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 

1 -Oct. -34 


31 


RADIO 


Adult 

Dangerous  Corner  (506)  Drama 

83m. 

Conrad  Nagel,  Virginia  Bruce,  Melvyn  Douglas, 
Erin  O’Brien-Moore,  lan  Keith,  Betty  Furness,  Henry 
Wadsworth,  Doris  Lloyd. 

Drama  with  plenty  of  talk  that  will  get  most 
of  its  attention  in  the  houses  where  they  go  for 
the  drama  style  of  talkie.  Cast  has  a  couple  of 
names  to  sell,  but  generally  show  is  handicapped 
by  lack  of  action.  Plot  has  a  suicide  of  a  few 
years  back  coming  up  as  a  topic  for  conversa¬ 
tion  when  friends  of  the  deceased  get  together 
and  the  ensuing  developments.  As  a  play  it 
caused  a  little  stir. 

Estimate:  Spotty. 


STATE  RIGHTS 


Family 

Beggar’s  Holiday  Comedy  Drama 

58m. 

Hardie  Albright,  Sally  O’Neil,  J.  Farrell  Mac¬ 
Donald,  Barbara  Barondess,  William  Franklin,  George 
Grandee, 

New  note  in  an  inde,  with  a  story  of  regen¬ 
eration  through  a  young  orphan’s  love  that 
should  interest  family  houses.  The  girl  is  helped 
by  a  crook  who  falls  in  love  with  her.  Event¬ 
ually,  she  learns  that  he  is  a  thief  but  by  that 
time  his  complete  makeup  has  changed  for  the 
better.  He  goes  to  jail  and  she  waits  for  him 
as  he  reforms. 

Estimate:  Pleasant. 


Fighting  Through  Western 

54m. 

Reb  Russell,  Lucille  Lund,  Ed  Hearn,  Fred  Mc- 
Carrol,  Wally  Wales,  Yakima  Canutt. 

Plenty  of  action  in  this  western  makes  it  an 
okay  entrant  where  they  go  for  the  horse  and 
hard  riding  stuff.  Russell  is  a  former  football 
star  and  new  name  in  this  field.  Little  time  is 
wasted  on  the  plot  which  helps  a  lot  and  the 
action  note  is  dominant  throughout.  Story 
allows  for  punches  all  the  way. 

Estimate:  Yippee. 


The  Last  Wilderness  Wild  Animal 

52m. 

Wild  life  film. 

Authentic  wild  animal  picture  of  American 
game  that  looks  it  and  that  should  prove  satis¬ 
factory  where  audiences  crave  the  original. 
Plot  allows  plenty  of  play  between  animals,  in¬ 
cluding  fights  and  the  human  angle,  comedy  and 
the  like.  Howard  Hill,  world’s  champion 
archer,  is  included  and  provides  some  thrills  as 
well.  Showmen  can  sell  this  as  authentic. 

Estimate  Impressive  animal  film. 


The  Mystic  Hour  Action 

60m. 

Montagu  Love,  Lucille  Powers,  Charlie  Hutchin¬ 
son,  Charles  Middletown,  Eddie  Phillips. 

Rough  and  tumble  action  yarn  that  fit  the 
twin  bill  houses.  Picture  is  below  the  usual 
inde  average,  contains  the  bank  robbery,  fights, 
kidnappings,  etc.,  that  are  all  so  familiar.  Cast 
contains  no  names  of  saleable  quality.  Show 
must  be  consigned  to  the  so-so  quarter. 

Estimate:  So-So. 


BETWEEN  THE  PARAGRAPHS 


REVISION  OF  ZONING  SCHEDULES 
GREETED  BY  ALL  EXHIBITORS 

Called  a  Magna  Charta  by  some  friends  of  the  code  and  admittedly 
a  change  for  the  better  by  most  of  the  trade,  the  new  schedule  of 
zoning  as  outlined  by  the  Code  Authority  is  a  direct  about  face  from 
the  last  order  which  saw  July  1  as  the  final  day  for  zone  changes.  The 
overwhelming  number  of  protests  against  the  last  order  caused  the 
new  attitude  on  the  part  of  the  CA. 

Whether  or  not  the  new  principles  will  take  care  of  the  difficulties 
is  to  be  seen.  At  any  rate,  it  is  a  change  for  the  better,  for  the  present, 
at  least. 

MUSIC  TAX  MATTERS  SEEM 
A  BIT  CONFUSING  TO  TRADE 

With  the  American  Society  of  Composers,  Authors  and  Publishers 
all  ready  to  collect  its  new,  higher  rates  for  use  of  copyright  music, 
October  1,  in  cases  where  the  old  agreements  expire,  the  entire  situation 
as  far  as  the  exhibitor  is  concerned,  seems  confusing.  Allied  has  ad¬ 
vised  its  members  to  pay  the  first  installment  only,  hoping  that  by  the 
time  the  second  rolls  around  the  government’s  case  in  connection  with 
the  radio  broadcasters  against  the  Society  may  have  reached  legal 
argument. 

Meanwhile,  it  is  to  be  wondered  how  many  exhibiors  turned  in  a 
penny  a  seat  assessment  to  retain  legal  counsel  to  fight  the  increase. 
It  would  be  interesting  to  see  how  many  dug  down  and  sent  money  in 
order  that  their  interests  might  be  protected.  Unless  the  music  tax 
increase  had  an  effect  most  industry  developments  do  not  attain, 
chances  are  that  few  individuals  paid.  Some  organizations  may  have 
contributed,  but  it  would  not  be  playing  a  long  shot  to  assert  that  the 
individual  exhibitor  retained  his  usual  apathy  in  this  matter  as  well 
as  in  a  lot  of  others. 

The  Department  of  Justice  suit,  which  includes  an  action  under 
the  Sherman  Act  to  declare  illegal  and  void  all  contracts  between  the 
American  Society  of  Composers,  Authors  and  Publishers,  Music  Pub¬ 
lishers’  Protective  Association  and  Music  Dealers’  Service,  Inc.,  and 
respective  members  should  come  up  soon  and  have  a  direct  bearing  on 
the  moviemen’s  case.  The  supposition  is  that  until  the  government’s 
progress  is  noted,  a  new  suit  will  achieve  no  particular  purpose. 

The  final  solution  undoubtedly  must  come  from  the  legislative 
division  of  our  government.  It  will  be  necessary,  when  Congress  con¬ 
venes,  to  introduce  some  sort  of  legislation  which  will  protect  the 
business  from  the  sort  of  law  which  seems  to  have  the  possibilities  of 
becoming  a  racket. 

WIDER  BUYING  MARKET 
SEEN  FOR  EXHIBITORS 

With  First  Division  becoming  a  national  company  and  Gaumont 
British  bringing  in  a  comprehensive  list  of  pictures,  the  buying  market 
is  increasing. 

Introduction  of  new  money  and  financing  into  First  Division  makes 
possible  national  coverage  with  the  probability  of  some  production  by 
that  company  when  it  takes  care  of  the  present  expansion  problems. 
Gaumont  British,  with  “Chu  Chin  Chow”  as  a  leader  and  some  other 
pictures  that  have  international  appeal,  also  has  an  impressive  looking 
line-up  of  films. 

Apparently,  for  the  first  time  in  several  years,  the  buying  market 
has  enlarged,  affording  some  relief  for  exhibitors  who  have  to  buy  a 
lot  of  shows  for  their  screens.  The  above  progress,  with  the  general 
increase  of  independent  production,  can  be  greeted  only  with  acclaim 
by  all  exhibitors. 


HOBART  MANN. 


32 


Oct  1'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


BETTER  TESTED  SUCCESSFUL 

MANAGEMENT  *  IDEAS  *  MERCHANDISING 


“World  Today”  Scores 
in  Harrisburg  House 

Enthusiasm  with  which  the  move  of 
Wilmer  and  Vincent  to  present  at  the 
Majestic  Theatre,  Harrisburg,  the  “World 
Today’’  programs  has  been  received  by 
both  children  and  adults  leaves  little 
doubt  that  the  programs  will  become  a 
permanent  attraction  in  Harrisburg. 

According  to  C.  Floyd  Hopkins,  innumerable 
expressions  of  approval  from  civic  organiza¬ 
tions  and  individual  citizens  have  been 
received. 

Experimental  series  of  shows  were  scheduled 
to  be  held  every  Saturday  morning  at  10  o’clock 
at  the  Majestic  for  ten  consecutive  Saturdays. 
The  length  of  each  performance  is  one  hour  and 
thirty  minutes.  Selected  short  subjects  will  be 
shown. 

Special  invitations  were  issued  for  the  first  of 
the  series  of  programs  to  members  of  civic 
groups  such  as  parent-teacher  associations, 
ministers,  educators  and  press  representatives. 

Prizes  will  be  given  at  the  final  program  of 
the  series  as  follows : 

For  the  best  essay  (not  less  than  200  words 
nor  more  than  500  words)  on  the  subject,  “The 
Film  I  Liked  Best  in  the  ‘World  Today’  Series 
and  Why,”  to  the  winning  contestant  over  fif¬ 
teen  years  of  age,  $5,  second,  $2.  To  winning 
contestant  under  15  years,  $3,  second,  $1. 

Teachers  of  composition  in  the  school  system 
are  invited  to  assist  their  jrnpils  in  writing  these 
essays.  It  is  suggested  they  may  be  made  part 
of  the  school  work.  The  judges  who  will  pass 
on  the  es  ays  will  consist  of  two  teachers  from 
the  school  system,  to  be  named  by  the  superin¬ 
tendent,  and  one  member  of  the  Civic  Club, 
to  be  named  by  the  president.  Prizes  will  be 
awarded  from  the  stage  at  the  tenth  showing, 
November  24. 

Course  tickets  which  are  transferable  and 
good  for  the  entire  series  were  sold  at  $2  for 
adults  and  $1  for  children.  Holders  of  season 
tickets  are  eligible  to  join  a  harmonica  band 
being  organized.  Suitable  prizes  will  be  awarded 
for  the  best  work  in  the  band  which  will  be 
most  entertaining  for  the  younger  people. 


Pushing  “Cellini” 

Radio  and  newspaper  publicity  played  out¬ 
standing  roles  in  campaign  arranged  by  Charlie 
Perry,  UA  publicity  representative,  for  the 
opening  of  “The  Affairs  of  Cellini"  at  the 
Aldine  Theatre.  Three  weeks  before  the  open¬ 
ing  of  the  picture,  special  feature  stories  and 
photos  broke  in  all  local  newspapers. 

A  tie-up  with  the  Gimbel  department  store 
resulted  in  the  distribution  of  20,000  package 
inserts  and  a  co-operative  ad  placed  in  all  local 
papers  on  “Cellini"  jewelry.  Ten  thousand  stock 
heralds  were  circulated  at  the  theatre  and  sur¬ 
rounding  localities.  Book  displays  were  ar¬ 
ranged.  One  hundred  and  seventy-five  24- 
sheets,  1,000  one-sheets  and  500  three-sheets 
were  posted.  All  local  radio  stations  plugged 
the  engagement.  Front  of  the  theatre  contained 
a  50  foot  sik  transparent  valance  entirely  sur¬ 
rounding  the  marquee.  A  ten-foot  shadow  box, 
containing  two  sets  of  llxl4’s  as  well  as 
one  and  three-sheet  cut-outs  were  placed  in  the 
foyer  a  week  in  advance. 


Again  Cohen  Scores 

Again  Barney  Cohen,  manager,  Ben¬ 
son  Theatre,  has  come  to  the  fore  with 
some  good  stunts.  He  billed  the  Morro 
Castle  wreck  pictures  several  days  in 
advance,  got  out  special  heralds,  billed  it 
as  a  special  added  attraction,  exclusive 
in  the  neighborhood,  sold  burning  at 
sea,  passengers  fighting  for  lives,  rescue, 
thriling  tales  and  ruins  like  nobody’s 
business. 

Bu  siness  hopped  tremendously. 


Klinger's  Big  Reopening 

Re-opening  of  the  Lewistown  New  Rialto, 
Paul  O.  Klinger,  manager,  with  RKO  Victor 
Photophone  High  Fidelity  sound  was  a  real  civic 
event.  Theatre  was  completely  done  over  and 
the  new  Greater  Movie  Season  launched  as 
well. 

Dailies  went  for  the  idea  in  a  big  way  with 
Klinger  selling  all  the  angles.  Earle  Sweigert, 
local  Paramount,  Ted  Aber,  Paramount  sales¬ 
man,  were  among  those  sending  flowers  to  the 
opening. 

Helped  business  and  meant  a  lot  of  com¬ 
munity  good  will. 


New  Wilmington  Art  Setup 

Two  important  changes  have  been  made  in 
the  art  work  of  the  Warner  Bros.’  theatres  in 
Wilmington.  Charley  Albert  has  been  shifted 
to  Chester  while  the  Wilmington  work  will  be 
done  by  Eddie  West  and  John  Reeder.  Other 
change  is  the  abandonment  of  boiler  plate  art 
for  newspaper  advertising  layouts. 

West  becomes  head  of  the  sign  shop  in  Wil¬ 
mington  with  Reeder,  a  former  Wilmington 
sign  shop  man  back  to  take  care  of  the  extra 
work  caused  by  the  opening  of  the  Arcadia, 
and  Alberts  becomes  head  of  the  Chester  sign 
shop. 

Jack  Mulhall,  district  manager,  and  Dwight 
Van  Meter,  who  are  undertaking  the  change 
from  production  company’s  mats  to  hand  drawn 
art,  have  engaged  Rube  Saltzman,  Philadelphia 
and  Camden,  to  handle  the  work  in  Philadel¬ 
phia. 


“Jungle”  Lure 

Prior  to  opening  at  his  theatre  of  “The  Lost 
Jungle,”  “Jerry"  Wollaston  hid  throughout 
Harrisburg’s  largest  park  several  toy  animals 
to  which  was  attached  tags  on  which  it  stated, 
“You  have  captured  one  of  Clyde  Beatty’s  ani¬ 
mals.  Present  it  at  the  Victoria  and  you  will 
be  admitted  free  to  see  ‘The  Lost  Jungle’." 

It  looked  like  an  Easter  egg  hunt  after  chil¬ 
dren  on  their  way  from  school  discovered  some 
of  the  toys  and  word  spread  over  the  city  that 
they  were  hidden  throughout  the  park,  Jerry 
said.  “The  following  day  was  Saturday.  I  had 
about  fifty  of  the  toys  left  and  decided  to  take 
them  to  the  park  again  and  hide  them.  Going 
to  the  park  bright  and  early,  to  avoid  the  chil¬ 
dren,”  he  continued,  “I  was  surprised  to  find 
they  had  beaten  me  there.  They  were  hiding 
in  the  bushes,  in  trees  and  everywhere  conceiv¬ 
able,  making  it  impossible  for  me  to  repeat  the 
hiding  act.” 


“Monte  Cristo”  Selling 

Upon  the  strong  shoulders  of  "Bob”  Etch- 
berger,  assistant  manager,  Loew’s  Regent  The¬ 
atre,  Harrisburg,  fell  the  task  of  obtaining 
from  a  circulating  library  the  names  of  1000 
book  readers. 

This  wasn’t  all  of  Bob’s  work.  To  each  of 
his  chosen  thousand,  he  addressed  and  mailed 
a  card  on  which  was  printed,  “The  World  Is 
Mine!  I  am  richer  than  kings!  More  powerful 
than  gods !  .  .  .  I  yearn  to  crush  her  in  my 
arms  and  smother  her  with  kisses.  I  shall  crush 
those  blackguards  who  damned  me  .  .  .  who 
sent  me  to  a  living  hell !  Come !  Live  the  loves 
and  hates  of  ‘The  Count  of  Monte  Cristo,’ 
Loew’s,  week  beginning  September  14.”  Ad¬ 
vance  showings  of  “The  Count  of  Monte 
Cristo”  were  given  by  Manager  Gilman  to  the 
children  of  Sylvan  Heights  Orphanage  and  the 
Children's  Home  of  Harrisburg. 


Wollaston’s  Club 

A  fast  growing  organization  has  been  cre¬ 
ated  by  “Jerry”  Wollaston,  manager,  Victoria 
Theatre,  Harrisburg. 

It  was  only  several  weeks  ago  that  “Jerry” 
conceived  the  idea  to  start  a  Victoria  Theatre 
Junior  Club  for  children  under  13  years  of  age. 
Each  member  furnished  his  name,  address  and 
birthday  anniversary  and  receives  a  membership 
card.  Meetings  are  held  Saturday  morning  at 
the  Victoria  Theatre. 

Benefits  derived  by  the  members,  which  is 
responsible  for  rapid  growth  of  the  organiza¬ 
tion,  include  a  birthday  present  of  a  guest  ticket 
to  the  theatre  on  the  anniversary  of  every  mem¬ 
ber,  which  is  mailed  to  his  home,  and  a  guest 
ticket  to  each  member  after  he  has  attended 
ten  Saturday  shows  at  the  Victoria.  Each  mem¬ 
bership  card  is  punched  every  time  a  member 
attends  a  Saturday  show. 


Phones  for  “Moments” 

“Jerry”  Wollaston,  manager,  Victoria  The¬ 
atre,  Harrisburg,  had  a  good  stunt  on  “Em¬ 
barrassing  Moments.”  They  were  embarrassing 
moments  for  “Jerry”  as  well  as  a  number  of 
ambitious  swains  when  he  engaged  two  of  his 
sweetest-voiced  ushers  to  assist  him  in  his 
efforts  to  exploit  the  picture. 

Said  ushers,  following  instructions,  went  to 
work  at  telephones  and  called  nice  men  at  their 
homes  and  offices,  merely  warning  them  to 
"Watch  out  for  embarrassing  moments.”  To 
the  startled  questions  of  the  swains,  the  ushers 
furnished  them  with  a  street  address,  making 
certain  not  to  inform  them  that  the  address 
was  that  of  the  Victoria  Theatre. 


“Agent”  Plug 

For  “British  Agent,”  Colonial  Theatre,  Har¬ 
risburg,  Manager  Harry  Lambert  put  across  a 
stunt  with  a  Harrisburg  newspaper  movie 
columnist.  It  was  announced  in  the  newspaper 
that  a  British  agent  would  walk  the  streets, 
visit  stores  and  ride  in  street  cars  and  buses 
and  attempt  to  overhear  conversations.  Bits  of 
conversation  he  overheard  was  published  in  the 
newspaper  column.  Prizes  of  a  one-dollar  bill 
and  guest  tickets  to  see  “British  Agent”  at  the 
Colonial  were  offered  to  anyone  who  came  to 
the  theatre  and  named  the  time  and  place  where 
the  published  conversation  took  place. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Oct  1  ’  34 


33 


Movies  and 

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Still  the  same  thrill  supreme 
to  young  and  old 

Keep  it  so — By  giving  them 

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through  a 

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BERLO 

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Vending  Equipment 
for  the  Theatre  Trade! 


NEW  YORK  BALTIMORE 

SCRANTON  WASHINGTON 

ALLENTOWN  CLEVELAND 

PITTSBURGH  CINCINNATI 


6  for  Mickey 

On  October  1,  Mickey  Mouse  celebrates  his 
sixth  birthday.  On  that  day,  in  1928,  he  looked 
past  the  impertinent  nose  that  adorns  his  face 
and  first  saw  whatever  light  there  was  to  be 
seen.  On  that  day  each  year,  he  looks  back  and 
sees  a  very  strange  and  satisfying  development. 

Infant  chess  masters  and  child  prodigies 
who  make  the  grade  at  Harvard  have  nothing 
on  Mickey  Mouse.  For  none  of  them,  young  as 
they  are,  can  claim  Mickey’s  distinction.  At 
the  age  of  six,  he  rules  the  emotions  of  young 
and  old,  rich  and  poor,  highbrow  and  lowbrow, 
American,  English,  French,  Chinese,  Siamese, 
Indian,  African,  Australian — people  of  all  sta¬ 
tions  and  of  all  countries. 


For  “Agent” 

Cleon  Miller,  Strand,  York,  promoted  a  let¬ 
ter  writing  contest  to  plug  “British  Agent.” 
Contest  was  plugged  in  advance  and  required 
that  contestants  see  the  picture,  in  order  to 
write  150  words  on  what  they  considered  a 
greater  love  sacrifice  than  that  depicted  in  the 
picture.  Local  newspapermen  acted  as  judges 
with  two  cash  prizes  and  a  third  prize  of  two 
theatre  tickets.  Miller  used  enlargements  from 
stills  on  the  front  instead  of  the  usual  paper. 


SOME  BOOK.  This  is  said  by 
Samuel  Gilman,  manager,  Loew’s 
Regent  Theatre,  Harrisburg,  to 
have  been  the  largest  ever  con¬ 
structed  in  Harrisburg.  Standing 
eight  feet  high  and  equipped  with 
wheels  for  easy  moving  to  business 
corners  of  the  city  and  hinges  to 
permit  turning  its  pages,  it  was 
used  to  exploit  “The  Count  of 
Monte  Cristo”  while  showing  at  the 
Loew  theatre. 


SERVING  theatre  needs  with 
a  knowledge  of  theatre 
business. 

Jl  SSISTING  theatre  owners  with 
mJL  a  staff  of  trained  clerks  and 
f  %  office  files.  No  missouts. 

FREEING  theatre  owners  of  the 
worry  that  they  may  have 
forgotten  part  of  their  show. 

FFICIENTLY  operating  the  larg¬ 
est  film  delivery  service  in 
the  world. 

AKING  CARE  of  every 
possible  need  in  the  delivery 
of  film. 

IELDING  the  epitome  of 
safety,  service  and  effici¬ 
ency  at  a  minimum  cost. 

HORLACHER 

DELIVERY  SERVICE,  Inc. 

1228  Vine  Street,  Philadelphia 
NEW  YORK 
SCRANTON 
BALTIMORE 
WASHINGTON 

MEMBER  NATIONAL  FILM  CARRIERS,  INC. 


Another  Horlacher  Service 
LARRY  DAILY,  Notary  Public 

The  only  one  on  Vine  Street  .  .  At 
your  service  any  time  during 
business  hours. 


SENTRY  serviced  SAFETY  CONTROL 


Many  theatre  owners  weigh  the  matter  of  Safety  as  it  suits  them. 
PLAINLY  THIS  IS  ALL  WRONG.  In  Safety  there  is  no  half-way  meas¬ 
ure  with  the  Public.  The  Public  would  not  consider  it  safe  if  you  decide 
to  do  without  a  Serviced  Safety  Device  on  your  projectors.  The  Public 
would  think  with  horror  if  you  tried  to  economize  by  buying  Safety  equip¬ 
ment  without  a  service,  and  the  fact  that,  in  your  theatre,  the  Public 
has  not  yet  inquired  as  to  the  measure  of  Safety  that  you  are  giving  them — 
THAT  DOES  NOT  MEAN  THAT  THEY  CAN  BE  DECEIVED. 


SENTRY  SAFETY  CONTROL  CORP. 


10th  ST.  and  ALLEGHENY  AVE. 
PHILADELPHIA,  PENNA. 


Sentry  Safety  Controls  Listed  as  Standard  by  National  Fire  Underwriters  Laboratories 


34 


Oct  1'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


VINE  STREET 

( Continued  from  page  9) 

John  Golder  has  Liberty  prints  of  “No  Ran¬ 
som,"  "Once  to  Every  Bachelor,"  "When 
Strangers  Meet,"  "Take  the  Stand”  as  well 
as  "1  Hate  Women"  in  the  house.  He 
reported  plenty  of  business. 

Tony  Lucchese  has  a  big  surprise  in  store  for 
exhibitors.  H  e  is  adding  to  his  list  of  pic¬ 
tures  with  some  unannounced  specials. 

A1  Blofson  plenty  busy  at  National  Penn.  He 
is  working  on  some  new,  original  ideas 
that  will  help  exhibitors  bring  in  the  cus¬ 
tomers. 

Etta  Segall  all  enthused  over  First  Division 
product.  She  has  just  added  a  new  girl 
to  the  office  force  and  the  office  space 
has  to  be  moved  around.  They  must  be 
busy. 

Joe  Hebrew  kept  pretty  busy  at  his  Boule¬ 
vard,  Brookline,  and  things  should  be  pick¬ 
ing  up  soon,  he  thinks. 

Miss  Gallagher,  secretary  to  Jack  Greenberg, 
Film  Board,  still  talks  about  her  vacation. 

All  exhibs  still  talking  about  the  First  Divi¬ 
sion  tradeshow  at  Fay's.  The  shorts 
scored  heavily  as  did  the  feature.  Visitors 
were  A1  Friedlander,  FD  home  office,  and 
Gar  O’Neill,  from  Audio  Productions,  Inc., 
and  an  Ardmoreite. 

Herb  Given  says  that  the  Price  premiums 
are  moving  fast.  A  couple  of  the  numbers 
recently  displayed  have  been  grabbed  by 
exhibitors.  "The  Fighting  Trooper,"  a 
Kermit  Maynard,  is  the  first  Oliver  Cur- 
wood  story  in  soon. 

Miss  Mary  Ferroni  was  given  a  wedding 
dinner  by  Universal  employees.  She  was 
presented  with  silverware  and  married 
September  22.  New  York  honeymoon. 

Miss  Marian  Mellon  back  at  the  U  switch¬ 
board  after  an  auto  trip. 


years’  experience— 
behind  every  register 


For  50  years  General  Register  Corpo¬ 
ration  and  associated  companies  have 
been  designing  and  building  cash  con¬ 
trol  equipment  for  the  theatre,  carrying 
an  unqualified  two  year  guarantee  on 
all  registers. 

Representation  in  all  key  cities. 


GENERAL  REGISTER 
CORPORATION 

1540  Broadway,  New  York 


Booking  Theatres 
Everywhere 

Honest  ::  Reliable 
Conscientious 
Service 

EDWflRDSHERMAN 

VAUDEVILLE  AGENCY 

Real  Estate  Trust  Bldg. 
PHILADELPHIA 

Pennypacker  7595 

MAYFAIR  THEATRE  BLDG.,  NEW  YORK 
BR.  9-1905 


CROSSTOWN 

( Continued  from  page  10) 

Martin  B.  Ellis  has  taken  over  the  Liberty, 
Camden,  N.  J.  Other  interests  reported 
interested  as  well.  Ellis  has  the  New 
Broadway,  Camden,  N.  J. 

Leon  Behall  is  booking  the  Apex  Theatre, 
George  W.  Colley  operates  it  and  Sess  E. 
Green  is  general  manager. 

Arthur  Dickenson,  Hays  transportation  con¬ 
tact,  hopped  into  town  to  visit  Jim  Clark, 
Horlacher’s.  He  went  to  the  Detroit  con¬ 
vention  with  him. 

Dorothy  Dennis  hopped  out  to  Detroit  to  aid 
her  boss,  Jim  Clark,  in  National  Film 
Carrier  convention  work. 


Humphries  and  Klang  have  the  State,  Cop¬ 
lay,  formerly  the  Pastime. 

H.  B.  Hurley  has  the  Lyric,  Shippensburg. 


NINETEEN  YEARS  AGO 


Globe  Theatre,  under  management  of  M. 
Cunningham,  was  re-opened. 

Colored  People  in  Philly  became  tired  of 
protesting  about  the  portrayal  of  their 
ancestors  in  D.  W.  Griffith’s  "The  Birth  of 
a  Nation"  and  decided  to  make  a  picture 
of  their  own  in  reply. 

Mark  L.  Swaab,  Swaab  Film  Service,  planned 
a  trip  through  the  Pennsylvania  territory. 


Must  They  Bring  Cushions  Along? 


•  Theatre  goers  are  comfort  lovers.  If  they  drive 
to  your  theatre  in  automobile  comfort,  will  they 
sit  contentedly  on  hard,  lumpy,  worn-out  chairs? 

ASK  US, 

"How  can  I  reseat  my 
theatre  economically?" 


American  Seating  Company 


Makers  of  Dependable  Seating  for  Theatres  and  Auditoriums 
General  Offices:  Grand  Rapids,  Michigan 
BRANCHES  IN  ALL  PRINCIPAL  CITIES 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Oct  1*34 


35 


Inaugurated 


Hollywood  Begins 

Around  the  Circuit 

READY 

New  Advertising  Plan 

with 

STANLEY-WARNER 

REFERENCE 

EACH  COMPANY  LISTED  IS  AN 
AUTHORITY  IN  ITS  FIELD  AND 

Group  Plugging  of  First  Runs 

By  Horry  fZnldherg 

IS  RELIABLE  AND  TRUSTWORTHY 

John  Colder,  Hollywood  exchange,  is 
experimenting  with  a  new  plan  for  ad¬ 
vertising  his  pictures. 

He  plans  to  have  clay  and  date  first  runs 
throughout  the  city  with  one  ad  of  large  size 
appearing  in  local  dailies.  Copy  would  be  de¬ 
voted  to  picture  with  theatres  playing  it  listed 
heneath. 

In  this  way,  the  theatres  would  have  the 
benefit  of  the  first  run  and  the  copy  would  be 
of  such  size  as  to  attract  readers  of  the  papers. 

The  idea  is  an  experiment,  with  various 
houses  contributing  part  of  the  cost,  but  if 
successful  it  will  be  tried  out  on  all  of  the  big¬ 
ger  pictures.  “Take  the  Stand”  is  the  first 
picture  in  question. 


STRICTLY  PERSONAL 


Mrs.  Elsie  Elliott  is  leaving  Fox  exchange 
soon.  An  arrival  is  expected  via  the  stork 
route. 

George  Beattie,  Paramount,  announced  his 
engagement  and  is  wearing  a  broad  grin. 

Vine  Street  brunette  was  seen  lunching  with 
two  attorneys  the  other  day. 

Dave  Barrist  is  a  student  of  futuristic  art. 

Jack  Hexter  thinks  his  stories  are  funny. 

Rita  Kandel’s  sore  foot  is  getting  better. 

Ethel  Freedman  has  gone  Spanish. 

Ben  Fertl  and  George  Lessy  seen  hitting  the 
night  life  spots. 

Edgar  Moss  had  a  bad  cold. 


Jack  Waxman  is  a  fight  fan.  He  is  seen  at 
the  Arena  every  Friday  night. 

Milt  Russell,  formerly  at  the  Aldine,  AC, 
was  on  the  street  looking  for  a  new  con¬ 
nection. 

Si  Tannenbaum  remodelled  his  theatre  and 
put  new  seats  in.  Now  he  wears  a  tux 
every  night. 

Bill  Ford  was  a  recent  visitor  to  Virginia. 

Harvey  Anderson  is  at  the  Apollo,  AC, 
quite  a  bit.  He  must  sleep  there. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Orloff,  Egg  Harbor,  were  seen 
on  the  boardwalk  looking  for  the  Morro 
Castle. 

Sam  Franks  is  always  in  a  hurry  when  he 
comes  to  Philadelphia.  He  is  always  late 
for  his  wife’s  appointment. 

Bill  Rovner  is  planning  to  give  Berlin  a  big 
Hallowe’en  parade. 

Charlie  Dutkin  is  now  booking  the  Liberty, 
Camden.  In  addition,  he  manages  the 
Parkside,  Camden. 

Princess.  Camden,  had  a  fire,  but  New  jer¬ 
sey  Messenger  was  right  on  the  job  and 
the  performance  went  on  uninterrupted, 
with  a  new  print. 

Manager  Belber,  Walt  Whitman,  joined  the 
Rocco  and  Keyes  duet  and  they  sing  “The 
Man  on  the  Flying  Trapeze.’’  Rocco 
Police,  Victoria,  is  still  the  official  collec¬ 
tor  for  the  Hyman  B.  Varbalow  B.  &  L. 
on  Vine  Street. 


Outstanding  among  recent  good  grossers  is 
“Dames,”  now  beginning  to  break  the 
neighborhoods.  Exceptional  business  was 
reported  with  this  Warner  musical  in  Lan¬ 
caster,  York,  Reading  and  Pottstown. 
Local  campaigns  were  set  well  in  advance 
and  the  grosses  on  "Navy”  are  likely  to 
topple. 

Manager  Murdock  (Stanley,  Camden)  made 
the  town  “Dames"  conscious  with  the 
bevy  of  cuties  who  appeared  at  the  lead¬ 
ing  Camden  department  stores.  He 
crashed  the  ‘‘Courier-Post’’  with  his  stunt 
of  releasing  100  balloons  tagged  with 
passes  from  the  Mayor’s  office. 

A1  Schwartz’s,  Warner  (West  Chester)  has 
plenty  of  "ins”  with  all  the  schools  in  that 
section.  He  had  the  college  prexys  an¬ 
nounce  the  coming  of  "Dames”  at  chapel 
sessions. 

Les  Stahlmann  (Circle)  reached  the  cigarette 
smokers  in  his  section  by  "sniping"  pack¬ 
ages  of  Old  Gold  smokes  with  stickers  on 
"Dames.” 

Aldine  (Wilmington)  planted  a  serializa¬ 
tion  of  "Dames"  in  the  Wilmington 
"Morning  News”  ten  days  in  advance  of 
the  Powell-Keeler  tune  romance.  Another 
publicity  stunt  was  the  delivery  of  the 
"Dames"  print  to  the  Mayor  of  Wilming¬ 
ton  by  a  pair  of  debutantes  who  brought 
it  from  N.  Y.  by  plane. 

Downtown  Lancaster  rubbed  its  eyes  when 
1  0  cute  girls  rode  through  the  business 
section  on  bicycles.  It  must  have  been 
the  "shorts"  that  did  it.  Banner  read: 

On  our  way  to  see  “Dames.” 

Few  publicity  stunts  have  been  better  than 
the  Crosby  crooner  contest  staged  by 
Larry  Graver  in  connection  with  WIP  on 
“She  Loves  Me  Not."  Contest  was  open  to 
crooners  who  sang  in  the  popular  Crosby 
style.  Auditions  were  held  daily  at  WIP. 
Finals  had  to  be  held  in  Gimbel  auditor¬ 
ium  to  accommodate  throng  of  spectators. 
Winner  got  week’s  engagement  at  one  of 
local  Warner  houses.  Announcement  of 
giveaway  of  1000  photos  of  Crosby  to  first 
thousand  to  write  in  to  WDAS  deluged 
station  with  requests. 

Manager  Barutio  (Boyd)  brought  in  many 
of  the  city’s  lawyers  with  his  letter  describ¬ 
ing  the  powerful  courtroom  scene  in  “One 
More  River.”  Copy  was  sent  to  every  one 
of  the  barristers  listed  in  City  Hall. 
Author  Galsworthy  was  plugged  in  the 
Free  Library  and  all  lending  branches  by 
means  of  book-marks. 

Educators  were  appraised  of  "Monte  Cristo” 
at  the  Aldine  by  letter. 

Another  golf  tourney  for  Warner  Club  mem¬ 
bers  will  take  place  over  the  links  of  the 
Valley  Forge  Club,  October  7.  Winner 
will  be  recognized  as  the  club's  champ. 


Musician  Union  Pickets 

A  campaign  to  bring  back  ‘‘living  music”  to 
Philadelphia  movie  theatres  has  been  launched 
by  the  Musicians’  Union,  Local  77. 

Pickets  have  been  stationed  at  the  Stanley 
and  Stanton  Theatres,  and  officers  of  the  union 
said  they  intend  to  picket  all  the  city. 


F.  E.  West  now  managing  the  Virginia,  AC, 
with  the  Warner  closed. 

Seashore  Properties,  Inc.,  re-opening  the 
Earle,  AC,  same  day  as  Hollywood. 


AIR  CONDITIONING 

KPHOON 

CONDITIONING  COL 


T 


AIR  C 


COOLING 

VENTILATING 


BLOWERS  -  FANS 
AIR  WASHERS 


252  West  26th  St.,  New  York 

ARCHITECT 


THEATRE  DESIGN 

Remodeling  »  Building 


» 

LATEST  COMPLETED 

NEW  BROADWAY  COLONIAL 

Camden,  So.  Phi lly 

New  Jersey  Penna. 


DAVID  SUPOWITZ 

REGISTERED 

ARCHITECT 

246  S.  15th  St.,  Phila.,  Pa.  Pennypacker  2291 


BUSINESS  BROKER 


THEATRES  WANTED 

Philadelphia,  Up-State,  New  Jersey  and  Delaware 

Cash  no  object  if  priced  right 

Our  Dealings  Are  Strictly  Confidential 

M.  H.  GOODIS,  Inc.,  1201  Chestnut  St. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 


CHAIRS  (used  theatre) 


LARGEST  DEALERS 

IN  USED  CHAIRS 

Re-Setting  Re-Upholstering 

Re-Conditioning 

“Servastone”  for  cracked  concrete 
floors 

Parts  for  all  chairs  Slip  Covers 

ALLIED  SEATING  COMPANY 

358  W.  44th  St.,  New  York,  N.  Y. 


DECORATIVE  GLASS 


We  specialize  in  GLASS  for  Theatres 

Specify:  VARICOLITE 

See  the  new  mirror  booth  at  the 
IRIS  THEATRE,  Kensington  and  Allegheny 
Write  for  particulars  and  samples 

M.  KRAKOVITZ  AND  SONS,  CO. 

4TH  AND  MORRIS  STREETS,  PHILA. 
Dewey  8600  Main  2301 


DRAPERIES 

The  Larger  and  Greater — 

NOVELTY  SCENIC  STUDIOS 


■INC.- 


INTERIOR  DECORATIONS  :  DRAPERIES 

SCENERY  :  ACCOUSTICAL  TREATMENTS  =  RIGGING 

611-625  W.  43rd  St.  New  York,  N.  Y. 


36 


Oct  1 1 34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Co-operation  of  Industry  Essential 

to  Success  in  Better  Housing  Drive 


All  Theatres  Being  Enrolled  as  Aides — Federal  Agency 
Calls  Upon  Exhibitors — Special  Material  Available — 
Government  Optimistic 


Motion  picture  exhibitors  throughout  the  country  are  opening  wide  the  doors  of 

Programs,  according  to  James  A.  Moffett,  Federal 


their  theatres  for  Better  Housing 
Housing  Administrator. 

Such  programs  are  essentially  local  in  their 
nature.  More  than  1300  of  them  now  are 
underway. 

Reports  received  to  date  at  the  offices  of 
the  Federal  Housing  Administration  in  Wash¬ 
ington  indicate  that  theatre  owners  everywhere 
are  working  with  enthusiasm  for  Better  Hous¬ 
ing  Programs. 

As  the  result  of  arrangements  made  with 
various  motion  picture  organizations,  Federal 
Housing  Administrator  Moffett  has  sent  to 
15,000  motion  picture  theatre  owners  a  letter 
suggesting  a  plan  of  co-operation,  together  with 
one-sheets  and  other  material  dealing  with  the 
National  Housing  Act.  The  letter  is  as  fol¬ 
lows  : 

“The  organized  motion  picture  industry  is 
extending  its  help  to  the  Federal  Housing  Ad¬ 
ministration  to  further  the  Better  Housing  Pro¬ 
gram.  It  is  important  that  all  home  owners 
have  their  attention  directed  to  the  aid  that  is 
being  offered  by  the  banks  in  co-operation  with 
the  Government  to  enable  them  to  remodel,  re¬ 
pair  and  improve  their  homes.  To  aid  in  mak¬ 
ing  readily  available  essential  information  con¬ 
cerning  the  housing  plan  the  local  motion  pic¬ 
ture  theatre  can  render  a  valuable  service  to  the 
community. 

“The  importance  of  this  effort  and  its  value 
to  all  home  owners  makes  it  news  for  the 
newsreels.  These  news  items  will  no  doubt 
shortly  appear  on  the  screen  of  your  theatre. 
We  have  prepared  a  one-sheet  announcement 
for  display  in  the  lobby  of  your  theatre,  tying 
in  your  theatre  with  the  Better  Housing  Pro¬ 
gram,  which  is  being  forwarded  to  you,  together 
with  official  literature  describing  the  plan  and 
its  operation  which  you  can  display  in  your 
lobby  and  distribute  to  inquirers.  Additional 
supplies  of  this  material  may  be  secured  as 
needed  through  the  local  Better  Housing  Com¬ 
mittee  or  from  the  Federal  Housing  Adminis¬ 
tration,  Washington,  D.  C.  From  this  the  man¬ 
agement  can  learn  the  elemental  features  and 
procedure  and  be  in  a  position  to  answer  ini¬ 
tial  inquiries  and  direct  interested  parties  to 


the  local  banks  from  which  these  loans  can  be 
secured. 

“You  should  immediately  ascertain  from  the 
local  Better  Housing  Committee  chairman, 
newspaper  office,  or  your  own  bank,  the  names 
and  addresses  of  the  financial  institutions  near¬ 
est  your  theatre,  approved  by  the  Federal  Hous¬ 
ing  Administration  to  make  these  loans.  This 
will  enable  you  to  supply  specific,  correct  direc¬ 
tions  to  the  patrons  of  your  theatre  as  they  re¬ 
quest  such  information.  In  addition  you  may 
want  to  list  these  local  institutions  underneath 
the  one-sheet  in  your  lobby. 

“We  trust  that  you  will  undertake  to  do 
this  for  your  community  and  for  the  success  of 
the  housing  program,  which  will  be  a  big  factor 
in  increasing  employment  and  payroll  in  your 
own  community. 

“Yours  very  truly, 

“JAMES  A.  MOFFETT, 

“Federal  Housing  Administrator.” 

Enclosed  with  the  one-sheets  were  a  “Ques¬ 
tion  and  Answer  Poster”  (Form  FHA  208)  ; 
copies  of  a  pamphlet  “How  Owners  of  Homes 
and  Business  Property  Can  Secure  the  Benefit 
of  the  National  Housing  Act”  (Form  FHA 
101 )  :  another  pamphlet,  addressed  to  “Archi¬ 
tects,  Contractors,  Building  Suppply  and  Other 
Merchants”  and  a  leaflet  entitled  “A  Financing 
P  an  to  Repair  and  Modernize  Your  Property” 
( FHA  Form  8). 

In  a  communication  to  the  Better  Housing 
Committee  Chairmen,  Ward  M.  Canaday,  Di¬ 
rector  of  Public  Relations  for  the  Federal 
Housing  Administration  says : 

“We  are  advising  the  theatre  owners  in  your 
town  that  they  may  secure  additional  supplies 
of  literature  to  be  distributed  at  the  theatre 
through  you  and  we  believe  that  this  co-opera¬ 
tion  will  develop  a  very  considerable  amount  of 
useful  help  in  putting  over  your  program.  Will 
you  kindly  get  in  touch  with  the  theatre  owners 
immediately  upon  receipt  of  this  letter  and 
make  sure  that  they  have  the  answers  to  any 


INTEREST  ALL  THE  WAY.  Liberty  presents  “No  Ransom,”  with  Jack  LaRue,  Vince 
Barnett,  Leila  Hyams  and  an  ace  cast. 


Exhibs  Pleased 


Local  exhibitors  are  pleased  because 
some  distributors  will  not  sell  houses 
using  early  bird  matinees  after  6  P.  M. 
The  distribs  claim  it  to  be  a  violation  of 
the  cut  admission  clause  in  the  code. 


Organization  of  Variety 
Club  Looms  as  Certainty 

Localites  Travel  to  October  14 

Pittsburgh  Dinner 

Organization  of  a  Variety  Club  in  this 
district  looks  probable  in  the  near  future. 

Several  Vine  Streeters  are  traveling  to  Pitts¬ 
burgh,  October  14,  to  attend  the  annual  ban¬ 
quet  of  the  Variety  Club  of  that  territory  and 
get  a  line  on  the  Variety  Club  idea. 

The  Pittsburgh  Club  is  the  pioneer  in  the 
national  string  and  members  will  play  hosts  to 
Philadelphians  at  that  time. 

Further  developments  are  expected. 


Liberty  to  12 

Liberty  will  increase  its  current  season  pro¬ 
gram  by  four  features,  bringing  the  total  to 
twelve  productions,  definite  arrangements  to 
this  end  having  been  concluded  by  N.  H.  Hoff¬ 
man,  president,  during  the  series  of  conferences 
held  in  New  York  with  Budd  Rogers,  general 
sales  manager,  and  other  associates. 

One  of  the  stipulations  in  the  negotiations 
provides  for  a  substantially  increased  negative 
cost  on  each  production.  Hoffman  and  his  asso¬ 
ciates  believing  that  independently-made  product 
is  destined  to  play  a  larger  part  than  ever  be¬ 
fore  in  suppplying  the  film  requirements  of  the 
nation’s  theatres. 


questions  that  may  be  prompted  by  our  com¬ 
munication  to  them. 

“They  will  particularly  want  to  know  the 
names  of  financial  institutions  in  your  town 
who  are  co-operating  and  are  making  loans 
under  the  Housing  Plan.  You  perhaps  should 
also  provide  them  with  a  card  or  some  other 
notification  which  they  can  display  in  their 
lobbies  indicating  where  Campaign  Headquar¬ 
ters  are,  or  will  be,  so  that  those  who  are  in 
need  of  more  information  than  they  will  pro¬ 
cure  at  the  theatre  will  know  where  to  go  to 
get  it. 

“If  the  local  financial  institutions  who  are 
co-operating  will  approve,  this  card  should  per¬ 
haps  include  a  list  of  those  financial  institu¬ 
tions  so  that  interested  parties  can  go  directly  to 
the  source  of  a  loan. 

“We  have  no  doubt  but  that  you  have  in¬ 
vited  one  or  more  of  the  leading  motion  picture 
exhibitors  in  your  town  to  participate  in  your 
Community  Campaign  as,  of  course,  their  co¬ 
operation  in  that  direction  is  equally  valuable.” 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Oct  1'34 


37 


Metropolitan  Printing  Company  Prepares 

for  Busiest  Season  in  Unit’s  History 


Harry  Goodman  Promises  Excel¬ 
lent  Service  to  All  Exhibitors 

Metropolitan  Printing  Company,  with 
the  largest  printing  establishment  on  Vine 
Street,  plans  a  record  year. 

So  says  Harry  Goodman,  executive,  who  re¬ 
cently  supervised  the  expansion  of  headquar¬ 
ters  and  plant  into  the  Goodman  building,  Vine 
Street.  Present  offices  will  also  be  retained. 

Gold  Medal-Majestic 
Set  with  Many  New  Filins 

Four  from  Mascot  Expected 

in  House 

With  four  pictures  from  Mascot 
scheduled  to  be  in  the  house  very  shortly, 
Gold  Medal-Majestic  is  forging  ahead 
rapidly. 

The  Mascot  four  are  “Young  and  Beautiful.” 
“Crimson  Romance,”  available  now,  with  “Old 
Santa  Fe,”  with  Ken  Maynard,  and  “The 
Marines  Have  Landed,”  with  William  Haines 
due  in  soon. 

In  addition,  the  two  hits,  “Blind  Fools” 
and  “Broken  Lives”  are  available  for  booking 
everywhere  at  this  time. 

"I  Can't  Escape”  and  “House  of  Danger" 
are  also  a  couple  of  new  ones. 

From  Mascot,  also,  come  “Law  of  the  Wild,” 
with  Rin  Tin  Tin,  and  a  new  Ken  Maynard 
serial. 

Tony  Lucchese  is  now  in  active  charge  of 
the  exchange  following  his  return  after  an  8 
months’  illness  and  things  are  humming. 

Gold  Medal  d’stributes  the  Mascot  features 
and  :erials  while  Majestic  Pictures,  Inc.,  dis¬ 
tribute  the  other  features  and  westerns. 


No  Hershey  Cut 

Dauphin  County  Commissioners  on  Septem¬ 
ber  21  announced  they  had  declined  to  cut  the 
aggregate  assessment  of  $250,000  on  the  new 
Hershey  Community  Building,  which  houses  the 
Hershey  Theatre,  Hershay,  and  the  new 
Hershey  Hotel. 


“We  are  ready  for  all  kinds  of  work,”  says 
Goodman,  “from  block  paper  to  heralds,  in  all 
sizes,  including  programs,  novelties  and  all 
types  of  printed  matter.  Color  work  will  be 
our  specialty,  also.” 

Metropolitan  has  a  lot  of  new  equipment  and 
it  promises  a  speedy  job  and  efficient  service. 

It  invites  exhibitors  to  investigate  its  facili¬ 
ties  and  take  advantage  of  its  equipment  and 
organization.  The  p’ant  covers  14,000  square 
feet,  a  record  for  theatrical  printing  establish¬ 
ments. 


WILKES-BARRE 


Greater  Show  Season  saw  business  off  in 
central  city  houses. 

Fred  Hermann  pulled  all  of  the  tricks  out  of 
the  bag  for  "Treasure  Island"  at  the  Capi¬ 
tol.  Among  other  things,  he  had  a  special 
ad  tie-up  with  a  bakery,  a  street  ballyhoo 
float,  a  strip  in  the  morning  daily  and  the 
youngsters  from  the  Children  s  Home  as 
guests  of  the  theatre. 

John  Galvin  is  reviving  Amateur  Night  at  the 
Penn  Thursday. 

John  Comerford  is  finding  the  building  up  of 
that  special  kiddie  Saturday  morning  mati¬ 
nee  slow  job. 

A1  C  ox,  Irving  manager,  ought  to  be  able  to 
knock  off  some  of  that  surplus  weight, 
now  that  the  new  Y.  M.  C.  A.  is  opened. 

Lincoln,  Plains,  is  back  on  its  fall  schedule, 
with  Tuesday  the  only  idle  day.  Custom¬ 
ers  received  photos  of  Shirley  Temple. 

Children’s  Theatre  is  going  to  resume  its  Sat¬ 
urday  afternoon  shows  at  lrem  Temple, 
according  to  a  note  to  your  correspondent. 

Local  houses  rushed  to  the  screen  pictures  of 
the  Lindbergh  kidnap  break,  emulating  the 
success  of  the  Morro  Castle  scoop. 

Joe  Reed  is  doing  things  at  the  Stanley, 
Larksville.  He  is  sponsoring  amateur  night 
Wednesdays. 

Comerfords  have  gone  to  their  home  town, 
Larksville,  and  signed  Dan  Roan,  Tom 
Fogarty  and  Tom,  Jr.,  for  a  vaudeville 
tour. 

Bill  Roberts,  Shawnee,  is  sponsoring  Greater 
Show  Season  in  the  West  Side  town,  to  be 
launched  October  8.  There  will  be  a  vote 
tie-up  with  the  merchants  to  select  the 
queen  who  will  receive  as  a  prize  a  loge 
seat  for  an  entire  year  at  the  Shawnee. 

Shawnee  is  undergoing  extensive  improve¬ 
ments.  Both  the  interior  and  exterior  are 
being  repainted.  Shawnee  will  have  a  1  0 
A.  M.  Saturday  matinee  on  the  days  when 
the  high  school  football  team  is  playing  at 
home. 

Irving  added  a  stage  revue  for  this  week's 
show. 


Elsie  Finn  Turns  in  Some  Odd  Reviewing 


Elsie  Finn,  comely  movie  critic  of  THE  RECORD,  turned  in  one  of  the  odd 
reviews  for  which  she  is  rapidly  becoming  famous,  recently,  when  she  devoted  her 
column  to  “Belle  of  the  Nineties.”  Not  that  she  slammed  the  show,  but  rather  she 
claimed  the  piece  was  plenty  cut.  Actually,  the  picture  had  25  feet  deleted  from 
it  with  the  total  length  6500.  Footage  was  added  following  the  Breen  review,  rather 
than  cut.  Elsie’s  review  isn’t  bad  but  she  persists  in  carrying  out  the  impression  that 
the  Breen-censor-system  changed  the  entire  complexion  of  the  picture.  What  Elsie 
fails  to  consider  is  that  the  audience  is  interested  in  what  is  being  given  them,  not 
what  might  have  been.  Her  reviews  are  generally  so-so,  but  some  times  if  the  name 
of  the  picture  weren’t  mentioned  at  the  top  of  her  column,  one  would  never  know 
what  Elsie  is  talking  about. 


FLAGS  AND  BANNERS 


R  Theatre  Marquee  Valances 
E  Wall  Banners 

N  Net  and  Road  Banners 

X  Attractive  Colors — Sewed  or  Painted 

\  Letters — Featuring  All  Shows. 

—  Burgees — Pennants — Decorations 

Above  Also  Sold  Outright.  Order  Direct  From 

NATIONAL  FLAG  &  BANNER  CO. 

251-253  N.  13th  St.  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


INTERIOR  DECORATORS 


Theatrical 

Decorating 

OUR  SPECIALTY 

“hunt 

Rittenhouse  7828 
2315  Walnut  St. 
Philadelphia 


FltAM 


J.  SEIDMAN  :  A.  WEINBERG 

:  D.  BRODSKY 

Paramount  flecorating  (Jo.,  |nc. 

STAGE  SETTINGS  :  DRAPERIES 

CARPETS  :  PAINTING  AND  DECORATING 

311  North  13th  Street _ Philadelphia,  Pa. 


LIGHTING  FIXTURES 


VOIGT 


NEW 

DECORATIVE  LIGHTING 

FOR  YOUR  THEATRE 

DRINKING  FOUNTAINS  DIRECTION  SIGNS 


I2™£r Montqomery  Ave.  Phila.Pa. 


MARQUEES  AND  SIGNS 


cc£eLecTRic  siGn  co 

Jov  ii33-  50'" loug isLflno  cuy  n.y. 
BUILD6RS  OF  neon  Si  6LGCTRIC 


CSTimATESe  SKGTCHGS  CH€eRfULiy  Given ° 


PREMIUMS 


A  CHEAP  PREMIUM 
MA  I  BE  EXPENSIVE 
AT  AAV  PRICE! 

Use  QUALITY  PREMIUMS 

AX  IP  PLAY  SAFE! 

1305  VINE  STREET  -  PHILA.,  PA, 


38 


Oct  1 T  34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


SELLING  “NAVY.”  Ed  Jeffries,  at  the  Jeffries  Roxborough  Theatre,  Philadelphia,  used 
this  band  as  an  effective  ballyhoo  for  “Here  Comes  the  Navy,”  from  Warners.  The  bally 
helped  business  quite  a  bit. 


Position  Wanted 


Young  man,  with  7  years’  chain  expe¬ 
rience,  wants  a  position  as  manager  or 
assistant.  Phone  Gladstone  1521.  Box 
B,  THE  EXHIBITOR. 


Warner,  Bernhard  Visit 

Wilmington  Warner  theatre  staffs  were 
swept  off  their  feet  by  surprise  last  week  by 
an  unexpected  call  of  Harry  Warner,  president, 
Warner  Bros.,  and  Joseph  Bernhard,  general 
manager,  with  offices  in  New  York. 

So  far  as  could  be  learned  the  two  officials 
wanted  to  take  a  look  over  the  property  and  in 
addition  Warner  had  some  business  in  the 
duPont  Building. 


Sincere  Praise 


FIRST  DIVISION  is  going  places. 
With  the  announcement  that  Nicholas 
S.  Ludington  and  William  M.  Fiske,  3rd, 
have  purchased  a  substantial  block  of 
stock  in  First  Division  Pictures,  national 
expansion  at  last  comes  to  an  indepen¬ 
dent  exchange  system  which  has  a  high 
record  of  progress  because  it  has  had 
the  good  will  and  respect  of  exhibitors 
everywhere. 

HARRY  H.  THOMAS  is  one  of  the 
main  reasons  why  First  Division  has 
reached  its  present  peak,  and  congratu¬ 
lations  are  due  Messrs.  Ludington  and 
Fiske  for  having  the  foresight  and  good 
will  of  continuing  First  Division  under 
Harry  Thomas’  direction.  With  a  record 
that  has  always  been  high,  with  the 
good  will  and  good  wishes  of  theatre- 
men  in  all  parts  of  the  country,  Harry 
Thomas  will  make  the  national  First 
Division  a  national  leader. 

TO  THIS  ORGANIZATION  the 
growth  of  First  Division  is  a  reason  for 
double  happiness.  Jay  Emanuel  Publi¬ 
cations,  Inc.,  has  always  counted  First 
Division  as  its  firm  friend  since  First 
Division  first  entered  the  field.  At  that 
time,  First  Division  was  a  one  office  ex¬ 
change.  Backed  by  consistent  advertis¬ 
ing,  punch  campaigns,  exploitation  spe¬ 
cials  and  salesmanship  behind  every 
picture,  First  Division,  under  Harry 
Thomas’  direction,  expanded  until  it 
covered  practically  the  whole  east.  Dur¬ 
ing  the  entire  time,  it  has  been  a  con¬ 
sistent  member  of  the  advertising  col¬ 
umns  of  this  publication. 

PRAISE  is  indeed  due  Harry  Thomas 
for  his  significant  direction,  his  faith  in 
showmanship,  in  playing  fair  with  ex¬ 
hibitors  and  giving  them  money  making 
pictures.  With  his  new  associates,  Lud¬ 
ington  and  Fiske,  he  will  certainly  de¬ 
liver  new  hits  to  exhibitors,  make  all 
First  Division  conscious. 

GOOD  WORK  rewarded  is  always  a 
pleasant  sight  to  see.  First  Division  is 
high  in  the  film  world.  It  will  continue 
to  prosper.  With  its  new  setup  and  a 
continuation  of  its  high  principles  of 
business,  it  will  travel  even  higher. 

JAY  EMANUEL. 


U  P  -  S  T  A  T  E 


“Sa  m”  Gilman  and  “Bob”  Etchberger,  man¬ 
ager  and  assistant  manager,  respectively, 
Loew  s  Regent  Theatre,  continue  jubilant 
over  the  fortunate  breaks  they  have  been 
getting  in  Harrisburg  newspapers  since 
Gilman  became  skipper  at  Loew  s.  Most 
recent  reason  for  the  rejoicing  of  these 
two  enterprising  young  men  was  the  ap¬ 
pearance  in  two  Harrisburg  newspapers  of 
editorials  dealing  with  the  current  feature 
picture  at  their  theatre. 

Edward  Rosenbaum,  exploitation  depart¬ 
ment,  United  Artists,  arrived  from  New 
York  City  to  supervise  exploitation  for 
The  Last  Gentleman,  at  Loew  s  Regent 
Theatre,  Harrisburg,  Friday.  Exploitation 
for  the  picture  included  distribution  of 
15,000  paper  napkins  at  three  large 
restaurants  for  use  of  customers. 

Bob  Etchberger  says  he  has  found  out  during 
his  short  period  of  service  under  his  new 
manager  at  Loew’s  Regent  Theatre,  Har¬ 
risburg,  Sam  Gilman,  that  there  was  much 
he  didn’t  know  about  exploitation. 

Jerry  Wollaston,  manager,  Victoria,  Harris¬ 
burg,  is  pleased  with  publicity  he  is  obtain¬ 
ing  over  radio  station  WKBO. 

Sam  Gilman,  Loew’s  skipper,  Harrisburg, 
went  to  the  movies  on  a  recent  visit  to 
Baltimore,  his  old  camping  grounds. 

Harry  Lambert  celebrated  his  fifth  year  as 
manager  of  Colonial,  Harrisburg,  Septem¬ 
ber  I  5. 

Mrs.  Henrietta  Arnold,  efficient  cashier- 
sportswoman,  won  another  ribbon  Sunday 
for  excelling  in  horsemanship  at  Lititz, 
Lancaster  County. 


VanMeter  Clicking 

Dwight  VanMeter  has  been  made  manager  of 
the  recently  re-opened  Arcadia  Theatre,  Wil¬ 
mington,  having  been  brought  there  from  the 
Virginia,  Atlantic  City. 

With  the  arrival  of  VanMeter,  Morton  Le¬ 
vine,  who  had  been  acting  as  manager  and  at 
the  same  time  looking  out  for  his  own  assign¬ 
ment,  the  Opera  House,  returned  to  the  latter 
house.  VanMeter  comes  to  Wilmington  unus¬ 
ually  well  qualified  to  make  the  Arcadia  a  suc¬ 
cess.  He  broke  the  ice  with  “She  Loves  Me 
Not,”  tucking  away  some  5,000,  many  standing, 
during  a  Saturday. 

VanMeter  is  a  native  of  Toledo,  Ohio. 


Strayer  Directs  All 

Maury  M.  Cohen,  Invincible  Pictures,  has 
signed  Frank  Strayer  to  direct  the  Invincible 
pictures  for  the  1934-35  program. 

The  first  of  these  pictures,  “The  Port  of  Lost 
Dreams,”  is  now  in  work. 


Manager  Jack  O’Rear,  Majestic,  receives 
many  inquiries  concerning  excellent  sound 
at  his  theatre. 

Two  monkeys  in  lobby  of  Victoria,  Harris¬ 
burg,  helped  Manager  Jerry  Wollaston  put 
across  "The  Lost  Jungle.” 

Pete  A.  Maggazu  opened  his  remodeled  Ritz, 
Coaldale,  September  24  with  a  gala  cele¬ 
bration.  House  was  entirely  made  over 
and  stands  as  one  of  the  gems  of  the  coal 
regions.  Maggazu  is  a  veteran  in  the  field 
having  been  in  Hazleton  for  many,  many 
years. 


RKO  ENTRANTS.  Shots  from  “The  Fountain,”  “Age  of  Innocence”  and  “The  Gay 
Divorce”  are  shown  here. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Oct  1'34 


39 


Heard  In ' 


w 


ILMINGTON 


Vaude  Clicks 
Here 


Lew  Black,  manager,  Aldine,  tells  me  that 
three  weeks  of  vaudeville  has  been  marked 
by  patronage  enough  to  brand  it  a  success 
so  far  as  it  has  gone. 

Dwight  VanMeter  and  his  assistant  W.  R.  Mc- 
Clintock  drove  to  Atlantic  City  Sunday  a 
week  ago  to  see  if  they  could  get  some 
Steel  Pier  props  and  other  material  for 
ballyhooing  "Scarlet  Empress,”  “Cleo¬ 
patra"  and  "Belle  of  the  Nineties"  which 
Van  expects  to  put  over  in  big  style  at  the 
Arcadia. 


ATLANTIC 

CITY’S 

Newest 

Boardwalk  Hotel 


^President 


J7IVE  Hundred  Rooms 
with  Sea  Water  Baths 
— American  and  European 
Plans.  Also  Beautifully 
Furnished  Housekeeping 
Apartments  with  Com¬ 
plete  Hotel  Service  by 
the  week,  month  or  year. 


Cocktail  Lounge 
and  Bar 

SEA  WATER 
SWIMMING  POOL 

MARINE 
SUN  DECK 

TURKISH  BATHS 


Kenneth  Shelin,  Park  usher,  went  to  At¬ 
lantic  City. 

Jimmy  Kearney  has  been  made  chairman  of 
the  Athletic  Committee  of  the  Warner 
Club,  Wil  mington. 

Ben  Seligman,  whom  I  caught  just  closing 
up  his  Strand  the  other  Saturday  night, 
says  business  has  been  rotten. 

Joe  DeFiore,  Park,  feels  about  the  same  way 
about  it.  Joe  is  going  down  on  the  penin¬ 
sula  soon  to  look  over  theatres  of  his 
Del-mar-va  IMPTO. 

Mi  ss  Minerva  Richardson,  ticket  seller,  Ar¬ 
cadia,  is  my  nomination  for  the  fairest  of 
Warner  ticket  sellers. 

Benny  Ross,  with  his  own  company  at  the 
Aldine,  had  the  pleasure  of  renewing  ac¬ 
quaintances  with  Dwight  VanMeter,  Ar¬ 
cadia  manager. 

Nello  V.  Nai,  chief  of  service,  Park,  went  to 
Baltimore. 

Bayard  Barnes,  secretary  and  office  man, 
Aldine,  I  hear,  is  slated  for  a  job  in  Jack 
Mulhall’s  office  when  it  is  opened  in  the 
Queen  Theatre  building. 

Ben  Schindler,  manager.  Avenue,  seldom 
overlooks  a  trick. 

W.  R.  McClintock,  new  assistant  manager, 
Arcadia,  once  a  well  known  landscape 
engineer,  is  going  to  turn  his  professional 
skill  loose  on  the  elevated  balcony  lobby 
over  the  entrance. 

John  McCraig  has  been  made  doorman  at  the 
Aldine,  and  a  mighty  polite,  well-bred, 
young  man  he  seems  to  be. 

Morty  Levine  seems  glad  to  get  back  to  the 
Ope  ra  House  on  full  time. 

Arthur  Davies,  publicity  man,  Playhouse  and 
news  editor  for  the  "Journal-Every  Even¬ 
ing”  looks  a  b  t  worried  these  days  as  he 
hears  a  lot  of  talk  about  cutting  down 
press  space. 

George  Jones,  manager,  Loew  s  Parkway,  is 
probably  worrying  a  little  bit  about  the 
same  thing. 

Earle  Finney  seems  to  be  getting  accli¬ 
mated  to  Warner  routine  at  the  Queen. 

Jimmy  Kearney  rates  as  his  assistant  now. 

New  Rialto  quotes  an  early  price  now  of  20 
cents  until  one  o’clock  in  the  afternoon, 
25  after  that  until  six  and  35  in  the  even¬ 
ing. 

Arcadia  box  office  boasts  a  phonograph, 
with  horn  on  top  for  music  hooking  up 
with  picture. 

Dominick  DeFrancis,  doorman,  Park,  went 
to  New  York. 

Mischievous  boys  are  a  nuisance  in  theatres, 
despite  their  dimes.  Talking  to  Morton 
Pragg,  assistant,  Opera  House,  an  usher 
came  up  and  told  him  a  boy  on  the  back 
seat  was  lighting  matches. 


HAZLETON 


Henry  Stiebing  is  assistant  to  George  Nevins, 
Capitol,  Hazleton. 

Louis  Hartman  is  now  at  the  Capitol,  Hazle¬ 
ton. 

Anniversary  Week  was  a  big  hit  at  the  Capi¬ 
tol,  Hazleton.  Special  features  were 
planned. 

Chris  Weber  went  to  Atlantic  City  for  a 
vacation.  Eddie  Krupf,  assistant,  was  in 
charge.  Bill  Weber  helped. 

George  Nevins  making  a  good  job  at  the 
Hazleton  Capitol.  Has  been  with  Comer- 
ford  1  5  years. 

Ann  Goren  broadcasts  over  WAZL.  Birthday 
features  at  Capitol  scored  in  Hazleton. 
September  1  the  house  became  a  one-price 
establishment. 

Ritz,  Coaldale,  is  being  reseated  and  reno¬ 
vated. 


SOUND  SERVICE 


WE  SOLVE  YOUR  SOUND  PROBLEMS 

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PHILADELPHIA 
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40 


Oct  1  '34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


RCA  VICTOR 
PHOTOPHONE 


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A  Radio  Corporation  of  America  Subsidiary 


THE  CODE  •  CASES  •  HEARINGS  •  RULINGS 


Johnson  Resignation  Discussed 

Resignation  of  Admin-'strator  Hugh 
Johnson  led  to  discussion  in  the  local 
film  world  of  the  chances  of  Deputy 
Administrator  Sol  A.  Rosenblatt  re¬ 
maining  as  movie  code  administrator. 

It  was  believed  Rosenblatt  would  stay 
for  a  while,  at  least,  until  it  was  appar¬ 
ent  what  the  successor  plan  mipht  be. 
Donald  Richberg  heads  new  NRA. 

HEARINGS 
Grievance 
September  20 

Jack  Ungerfeld,  Palmerton,  vs.  Chester 
LeBarre,  on  reduced  admission  charge. 

Decision: 

Board  finds  that  issuing  of  cards  for  reduced 
admissions  to  high  school  students  constitutes  a 
device  for  reducing  admissions  unfairly,  and 
the  board  orders  the  respondent  to  cease  and 
desist  from  the  practice. 

September  27 

Grand  Jackson  Theatre  Company  vs. 
Standard  Theatre,  on  charge  of  viola¬ 
tion  of  premature  advertising  clause. 

Decision; 

Standard  Theatre  ordered  to  stop  violating 
code  clause  regarding  premature  advertising. 


Two  Appeals  Decisions  Handed  Down 

Code  Authority,  in  New  York,  September  13, 
handed  down  two  decisions  in  local  appea's. 

Determination  of  local  clearance  and  zoning 
board  in  case  of  Astor  Theatre,  Atlantic  City, 
N.  J.,  vs.  Colonial  Theatre,  Atlantic  City,  N.  J., 
was  upheld,  with  the  Colonial  retaining  7  days’ 
protection  instead  of  14  on  Astor. 

Zoning  of  West  Philadelphia  loomed  after 
the  decision  on  the  appeal  of  the  Ambassador 
Theatre.  CA  held  that  local  clearance  and  zon¬ 
ing  board  should  convene  for  consideration  of 
complaint.  A  schedule  must  now  be  set  up  to 
rezone  entire  district. 


Fern  Rock  Hearing 

Code  Authority,  in  New  York  City,  will  soon 
hand  down  a  decision  in  the  Fern  Rock  appeal. 

Case  was  sent  back  to  the  local  board  for 
clarification  and  then  returned  to  New  York, 
which  will  make  known  the  final  decision  from 
the  appeal. 


Serials  Not  Shorts 


The  following  resolution  was  unani¬ 
mously  adopted  by  the  Code  Authority 
at  the  meeting  held  September  13: 

“RESOLVED:  That  serial  motion  pic¬ 
tures  shall  not  be  classified  as  short  sub¬ 
jects  and  be  regarded  as  such  within  the 
provisions  of  Article  V-D,  Part  5,  of 
the  Code  of  Fair  Comoetition  for  the 
Motion  Picture  Industry.” 


Code  Dissatisfaction 
Hinted  by  IEPA  Group 

Organ  of  Body  Indicates  Some 

Aren’t  Happy 

Local  bulletin  of  the  IEPA,  in  a  recent 
issue,  hints  at  dissatisfaction  among  ex¬ 
hibitors  when  local  code  hoards  are 
discussed. 

Statement  in  the  bu'letin  came  as  a  sur¬ 
prise  to  the  general  film  fraternity,  which  has 
been  more  or  less  apathetic  regarding  code 
matters.  Few  ever  discuss  the  code  as  a  code, 
and  rare'y  find  fault  with  the  local  bodies. 

Generally,  it  is  believed  the  boards  are  do¬ 
ing  a  good  job  of  it  and  any  appeals  from  local 
decisions  have  been  upheld  in  most  cases. 

C.  J.  Keeney  was  recently  elected  a  director 
of  the  body.  He  operates  the  Park,  Reading. 

14  new  members  were  recent'y  added. 

Body  now  claims  42  members,  representing  75 
theatres. 

Announcement  of  the  special  campaign  to 
educate  the  public  in  the  fight  against  high  fi'm 
rentals  is  expected  shortly,  with  details  avail¬ 
able  at  that  time. 

West  Philly  Complaints 
to  Get  Lot  of  Attention 

Benn- Ambassador  Completion 

Settles  Issue 


Basil  Ziegler,  local  code  hoard  secre¬ 
tary,  has  the  following  announcement  to 
make : 

With  the  completion  of  the  Benn- 
Ambassador  case,  it  is  agreeable  to  the 
clearance  and  zoning  board  that  any 
West  Philadelphia  exhibitor  having  a 
complaint  can  file  the  compliint  w'thin 
30  days  and  the  board  will  hear  the 
individual  case. 

In  the  Benn-Ambassador  case: 

The  board  finds  that  a  competitive 
situation  exists  between  the  Benn  and 
Ambassador  Theatres,  taking  into  con¬ 
sideration  the  fact  that  the  Lenox  is  in 
the  affected  territory  and  in  direct 
competition  to  both  the  Benn  and  Am¬ 
bassador  Theatres  and  its  availability 
is  the  same  as  the  Ambassador  Theatre 
and  the  board  further  finds  that  the 
run  of  the  Benn  Theatre  is  7-14  days 
after  first-run  West  Philadelphia. 

It  is  the  decision  of  the  board  that 
the  Benn  Theatre  shall  have  a  maximum 
clearance  of  7  days  over  the  Ambassa¬ 
dor  Theatre  and  that  in  no  case  shall 
the  Ambassador  Theatre  be  compelled 
to  play  later  than  21  days  after  first- 
run  West  Philadelphia. 

Betty  McCaffrey  sat  on  the  board  in  place 
of  Harry  Weiner.  It  marked  her  first  appear¬ 


ance. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Oct  1'34 


41 


TRENTON 


Mrs.  Helen  Hildinger,  treasurer,  Hildinger 
Corporation  operating  Victory  and  Prin¬ 
cess  Theatres,  attended  the  hearing  at 
Washington,  D.  C.,  by  the  National  Labor 
Relations  Board  on  complaint  that  the  the¬ 
atres  had  discharged  three  employees  in 
violation  of  the  Recovery  Act.  Newark 
regional  board  ruled  in  July  that  the  three 
discharges  were  justified.  Operators,  mem¬ 
bers  of  Independent  Projectionists  and 
Stage  Employees’  Union  were  discharged 
with  one  week’s  pay  in  April  after  the 
theatre  owners  had  signed  a  contract  with 
the  Local  Union  of  International  Alliance 
of  Theatrical  Stage  Employees,  affiliated 
with  American  Federation  of  Labor.  Mrs. 
Hildinger  testified  that  the  signing  of  the 
contract  necessitated  the  discharge  of  the 
employees  who  were  members  of  the  other 
Union.  The  three  operators  then  appealed 
the  case  to  the  National  Labor  Relations 
Board  which  reserved  decision. 

Sidney  Samuelson,  president  Allied,  New 
Jersey,  materially  aided  in  defeat  of  state 
codes  measure  at  special  session  of  the 
New  Jersey  Legislature,  September  12. 
The  code  measure  provided  for  penalties 
for  failure  to  pay  assessments  and  other 
drastic  provisions. 

William  Keegan,  general  manager.  Hunt’s 
Trenton  theatres,  has  returned  to  Tren¬ 
ton  after  a  summer  at  Wildwood,  N.  J. 

John  Bodley,  manager  Gaiety,  inaugurated 
Saturday  afternoon  weekly  broadcasting 
children's  hour  over  WTNJ  from  theatre, 
first  radio-theatre  tie-up  in  town. 

“Uncle  Jack’’  Bodley  in  addition  to  discov¬ 
ering  clever  singers,  dancers,  musical  acts, 
at  the  Wednesday  audition  started  a  Birth¬ 
day  Club,  sending  cards  to  kiddies  and 
"Happy  Birthdays’’  over  the  radio  w.th 
fine  box-office  results. 


Plug  Westerns 


Sam  Rosen,  manager,  First  Division, 
asks  exhibitors  to  get  away  from  the 
idea  of  playing  westerns  just  on  Satur¬ 
days.  Some  of  the  new  FD  westerns 
which  are  coming  through  are  worthy 
of  single  feature  attention  on  a  mid¬ 
week  date.  Rosen  says  that  westerns 
have  appeal  in  practically  all  types  of 
houses  and  they  are  audience  builders. 

He  recently  addressed  the  1TM, 
young  managers’  group,  on  the  subject. 


FLASHES  FROM 
COAL  FIELDS 

By  BIDU 


Scranton  theatrical  bowling  league  gets  under 
way  October  2.  Johnny  Gibbins,  Doc 
Spiegel,  A1  Spiegel,  Nat  Sherman,  Bob 
Farrell,  Harold  Sohns,  Willard  Matthews, 
Bill  Kays,  Tommy  Jones,  Bill  Gallagher, 
Dick  Dickson,  Francis  Ell.'e,  Sam  Cap, 
Sam  Fidiam,  Sam  Colangelo,  Edgar  Sim- 
cnis,  George  Heisner,  Vine  Constanzi, 
James  Gaelon. 

Joe  McKenna,  Horlacher's  Delivery  Service, 
is  the  man  of  the  hour  in  this  territory, 
working  day  and  night. 

Stanley  Janoski,  new  postmaster  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,  got  a  good  sendoff  at  the  Fort  Dur- 
kee  Hotel,  September  26.  Lots  of  film 
folk  there. 

Manny  Tannerbaum,  Roxy,  Olyphant,  and 
Roxy,  Hazleton,  is  always  on  the  go  be¬ 
tween  the  two  towns. 

Mrs.  Jack  McCue,  Grand  Theatre,  Scranton, 
is  recovering  very  nicely  after  her  recent 
operation. 

Bob  Smith,  Temple  Theatre,  Berwick,  has  put 
this  town  on  the  map,  due  to  his  exploita¬ 
tion  on  a  recent  list  of  pictures. 

Miss  Jean  Lowell  made  a  personal  appear¬ 
ance  at  the  Ritz,  Scranton,  where  she  was 
the  guest  of  Eddie  Murtaugh.  He  showed 
her  through  the  coal  mines  as  well. 

Sam  Scavo,  Home  Theatre,  Old  Forge,  is 
going  to  have  a  big  time  in  his  beer  gar¬ 
den,  October  3. 

Grand  Theatre,  Scranton,  had  its  front  re¬ 
painted. 


Wilmington  Deadheads  Cut 

Most  drastic  reduction  in  free  press  and  ad¬ 
vertising  passes  and  the  most  rigid  ru'e  on  pass¬ 
ing  persons  through  the  door  on  business  that 
has  ever  been  undertaken  among  the  Warner 
theatres  in  Wilmington  exist  now. 

Any  person  entering  the  theatre  without  a 
bought  ticket,  press  pass  or  advertising  pass 
must  sign  a  registry  the  doorman  keeps.  The 
hour  must  follow  the  name  and  also  the  busi¬ 
ness  of  the  person  passing.  Even  employees  of 
the  theatre  going  from  one  theatre  to  another 
must  sign  up  just  like  any  person  whose  interest 
in  seeing  the  manager  might  be  superseded  by 
his  desire  to  tarry  and  see  the  show.  Even 
merchants  who  have  tie-ups  are  feeling  the  curb 
and  limitation  on  passes. 


TICKET  REGISTERS 


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42 


Oct  1  ’  34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


THE  CHECKUP 


For  your  convenience,  this  publication  furnishes  this  guide  to  reviews  of  pictures  which  have  appeared 
in  regular  review  department.  Before  dating  in  your  show,  consult  this  page,  find  out  when  the  review  appeared 
and  then  look  it  up.  Key:  For  example,  2-Jan.  means  the  second  issue  of  this  publication  in  that  month. 
1-Feb.  would  mean  the  first  issue,  and  so  on. 


Columbia 


The  Party’s  Over  . 

20th  Century 

The  Crime  of  Helen  Stanley 

Hell  Bent  for  Love  . 

One  Night  of  Love . . 

The  Hell  Cat 

The  Most  Precious  Thing  in  Life 

Black  Moon  . 

A  Man’s  Game  ...... 

Whom  the  Gods  Destroy  . 

Beyond  the  Law 

Blind  Date  . 

Name  the  Woman  . 

The  Defense  Rests  . 

Among  the  Missing 

Girl  in  Danger  . 

That’s  Gratitude  . 


1-May 

1- May 

2- May 

1- June 

2- June 
2-June 
2-June 
2-July 
1-Aug. 

1- Aug. 

2- Aug. 
2-Aug. 
2-Aug. 
2-Aug. 
2-Sept. 
2-Sept. 
2-Sept. 


First  National — Warners 


2-Apr. 

2-Apr. 

1-May 

,  2-May 

.  .  1-June 

1-June 

The  Circus  Clown  . 

1-June 

1-June 

1-June 

1-June 

.  2-June 

2-June 

Friends  of  Mr.  Sweeney 

2-June 
...  2-June 

The  Personality  Kid 

Here  Comes  the  Navy 

. 2-June 

2-July 
. 2-Aug. 

.  2-Aug. 

Dragon  Murder  Case 

.  2-Aug. 

2-Aug. 

.  2-Aug. 

Big  Hearted  Herbert  . 

1-Sept. 

1-Sept. 

A  Lost  Lady  . 

2-Sept. 
.  2-Sept. 

Happiness  Ahead 

1-Oct. 

Fox 


Now  I'll  Tell  . 

Springtime  for  Henry 
Such  Women  Are  Dangerous 
Wild  Gold 

Change  of  Heart  . 

Handy  Andy  . 

Call  It  Luck  . 

Heart  Song  . 

Baby  Take  a  Bow . 

Grand  Canary 
She  Learned  About  Sailors 
Charlie  Chan's  Courage 
The  World  Moves  On 
Servants’  Entrance 

Caravan  . . .  .  .  . 

Judge  Priest  . 

She  Was  a  Lady 
The  Cat’s  Paw 
Pursued 

Charlie  Chan  in  London 
Peck's  Bad  Boy 
Dude  Ranger 


Liberty 


Cheaters  . 

No  Ransom  . 

When  Strangers  Meet  . 
Take  the  Stand 
Once  to  Every  Bachelor 
Two  Heads  on  a  Pillow 
School  for  Girls 


1-May 

1-May 

1-May 

1- May 

2- May 
2-May 
1-June 
1-June 
1-July 
1-July 

1- July 

2- July 
2-July 

1- Aug. 

2- Aug. 
2-Aug. 
2-Aug. 
2-Aua. 

1- Sept. 

2- Sept. 
2-Sept. 
1-Oct. 


1- May 

2- Apr. 
2-Apr. 
2-Mar. 

1- June 

2- July 
1-Sept. 


Metro 


Riptide 

The  Hollywood  Party 
Viva  Villa 

Manhattan  Melodrama 
Tarzan  and  His  Mate 


2-Apr. 

2-Apr. 

2-Apr. 

1-May 

1-May 


Laughing  Boy  . 

2-May 

Sadie  McKee  . 

2-May 

Operator  13  . 

1-June 

The  Thin  Man  . 

1-June 

Murder  in  Private  Car  . 

2-July 

Stamboul  Quest  . 

2-July 

Treasure  Island  .  . 

2-July 

Barretts  of  Wimpole  Street  . 

1-Aug. 

Girl  from  Missouri  . 

1-Aug.  ’ 

Paris  Interlude  . . . 

1-Aug. 

Hideout  . 

2-Aug. 

Straight  Is  the  Way  . 

2-Aug. 

i  Chained  . 

1-Sept. 

Have  a  Heart  . 

1-Sept. 

!  Iris  March  . 

1-Sept. 

Student  Tour  . 

1-Sept. 

Death  on  Diamond  . 

2-Sept. 

The  Merry  Widow  . 

2-Sept. 

Monogram 

DISTRIBUTED  BY  FIRST  DIVISION 

The  Loudspeaker  . 

2-May 

Money  Means  Nothing  . 

1-June 

The  Man  from  Utah  . 

1-June 

Randy  Rides  Alone  . 

1-July 

{  Jane  Eyre  . .  .  . 

2-July 

|  Star  Packer  . . 

2-July 

Happy  Landings 

1-Aug. 

Shock  . 

The  Moonstone  . 

2-Aug. 

|  Girl  of  Limberlost  . 

2-Sept. 

King  Kelly  of  U.  S.  A.  . 

1-Oct. 

Redhead  . 

1-Oct. 

Paramount 

Come  On  Marines . 

2-Mar. 

She  Made  Her  Bed  . 

2-Mar. 

Wharf  Angel  . 

2-Mar. 

Melody  in  Spring  . .  .  .  . 

2-Apr. 

The  Trumpet  Blows  . 

2-Apr. 

You’re  Telling  Me  . 

2-Apr. 

Double  Door  . 

1-May 

The  Scarlet  Empress  . 

1-May 

i  The  Witching  Hour  . 

1-May 

We’re  Not  Dressing  . 

1-May 

Little  Miss  Marker  . . 

2-May 

Many  Happy  Returns  . 

2-May 

Murder  at  Vanities  . 

.  2-May 

Private  Scandal 

2-May 

Thirty  Day  Princess  . 

2-May 

1  Kiss  and  Make  Up . 

2-June 

The  Great  Flirtation . 

2-June 

Here  Comes  the  Groom . 

1-July 

!  Notorious  Sophie  Lang  . 

2-July 

Old  Fashioned  Way  . 

2-July 

|  She  Loves  Me  Not  . 

2-July 

|  Shoot  the  Works  . 

2-July 

Elmer  and  Elsie . . . 

1-Aug. 

Ladies  Should  Listen  . 

1-Aug. 

Cleopatra  .  . . 

2-Aug. 

Crime  without  Passion  . . . 

2-Aug. 

Now  and  Forever 

2-Aug. 

|  Belle  of  the  Nineties  .  . . 

1-Sept. 

!  Mrs.  Wiggs,  Cabbage  Patch  . 

1-Sept. 

You  Belong  to  Me  . 

1-Sept. 

Wagon  Wheels  . 

2-Sept. 

Pursuit  of  Happiness  . 

1-Oct. 

Lemon  Drop  Kid  . 

1-Oct. 

Radio 

Spitfire  . 

Success  at  Any  Price . 

This  Man  Is  Mine  . 

2-Mar. 

The  Crime  Doctor . 

1-Apr. 

Finishing  School  . 

2-Apr. 

Wild  Cargo  . 

Where  Sinners  Meet  . 

1-May 

Strictly  Dynamite  . 

1-May 

Stingaree  . 

Cockeyed  Cavaliers  . 

2-June 

Murder  on  Blackboard  . 

Vergie  Winters  . 

Bachelor  Bait 

1-July 

His  Greatest  Gamble . 

1-July 

Let’s  Try  Again . 

1-July 

We’re  Rich  Again  . 

1-July 

Of  Human  Bondage  . 

2-July 

Hat.  Coat  and  Glove . 

Their  Big  Moment  .  . 

The  Fountain  . 

.  1-Sept. 

Age  of  Innocence  . 

Down  to  Last  Yacht . 

Richest  Girl  in  World . 

Dangerous  Corner  . 

United  Artists 

Moulin  Rouge  . 

Nana  . 

Palooka  . 

Sorrell  and  Son . 

Looking  for  Trouble  . 

Catherine  the  Great . 

House  of  Rothschild  . 

The  Affairs  of  Cellini  . 

Bulldog  Drummond  Strikes  Back  . 

The  Last  Gentleman  . 

Born  to  Be  Bad  . 

Our  Daily  Bread  . 

Nell  Gwyn  . . 

For  Love  or  Money  (Cash)  (Mundus).  .  . 
Count  of  Monte  Cristo  . 

Universal 

Glamour  . 

I’ll  Tell  the  World . 

Smoking  Guns  (Doomed  to  Die) . 

Half  a  Sinner  . 

The  Uncertain  Lady  . 

Affairs  of  Gentleman  . 

Dangerous  to  Women  (The  Love  Captive) 

The  Black  Cat  . 

Embarrassing  Moments  . 

Little  Man,  What  Now?  . 

I  Give  My  Love  . 

Let’s  Talk  It  Over . 

Million  Dollar  Ransom  . 

One  More  River  . 

Romance  in  the  Rain  . 

The  Human  Side  . 

Rocky  Rhodes  . 

There’s  Always  Tomorrow  . 

Wake  Up  and  Dream  . 

Gift  of  Gab  . 

Secret  of  Chateau  . 

First  Division 

(CHESTERFIELD) 

Cross  Streets  . 

The  Quitter  . 

Stolen  Sweets  . . 

In  Love  with  Life  . 

Twin  Husbands  . 

City  Park  . 

Fifteen  Wives  . 

Green  Eyes  . 

He  . . . 

Throne  of  the  Gods  . 

Under  Secret  Orders . 

Forgotten  Men  . 

Texas  Tornado  . 

The  Ferocious  Pal  . 

Young  Eagles  . 

Little  Damozel  . 


Gold  Medal 


Laughing  at  Life  . 

Curtain  at  Eight 
You  Made  Me  Love  You 
The  Charming  Deceiver 

Sin  of  Nora  Moran . 

Big  Time  or  Bust 
Enlighten  Thy  Daughter 

The  Morning  After . 

Unknown  Blonde  . 

The  Lost  Jungle . 

Burn  'Em  Up  Barnes  .  .  . 
Young  and  Beautiful  .  .  . 


Masterpiece 


What’s  Your  Racket? 

Dancing  Man  . 

Back  Page  . 

The  Fighting  Rookie. 

The  Oil  Raider . 

The_Scarlet  Letter 
She  Had  to  Choose  . 
Night  Alarm  . 


2-Sept. 

2-Sept. 

2-Sept. 

1-Oct. 


1-Jan. 

2-Jan. 

1- Feb. 

2- Feb. 
2-Feb. 

1- Mar. 

2- Mar. 

1- May 

2- May 
2-May 
2-June 
2-July 

1- Aug. 

2- Aug. 
2-Sept. 


2-Apr. 

2-Apr. 

1-May 

1-May 

1- May 

2- May 
2-May 
2-May 
1-June 
1-June 

1- June 

2- June 
2-Aug. 
2-Aug. 
2-Aug. 

1- Sept. 

2- Sept. 
2-Sept. 
2-Sept. 
1-Oct. 
1-Oct. 


1-Mar. 

1- Apr. 

2- Apr. 
1-May 

1- May 

2- July 
1-Aug. 

1- Sept. 

2- Jan. 
2-Jan. 

1- Jan. 

.  2-June 

2- Mar. 

1- Apr. 

2- May 
1-Sept. 


2-June 

1-Deo. 

1-Dec. 

1-Jan. 

1- Jan. 

2- Jan. 
2-Jan. 
2-Feb. 
1-Apr. 

1- June 

2- July 
2-Sept. 
1-Oct. 


2-Feb. 

2-Mar. 

1- Apr. 

2- June 
1-Sept. 

1- Aug. 

2- Aug. 
1-Oct. 


Oct  1  ’ 34  pg.  43 


in-tra-DU-CING/ 

The  Biggest  Event 
in  Show  Business 


THE  VARIETY  CLUB 


6th  ANNUAL  BANQUET 

( Our  First  National  Banquet ) 

WM.  PENN  HOTEL  .  .  .  PITTSBURGH 
SUNDAY  NIGHT,  OCT.  14  1934 

COMPRISING  Variety  clubs  of  Pittsburgh  .  .  .  Columbus  .  .  .  Cincinnati  .  .  . 
St.  Louis  .  .  .  Detroit  .  .  .  Cleveland  .  .  .  Buffalo  .  .  .  Albany  .  .  .  Kansas  City  .  .  . 
Indianapolis  and  Washington  .  .  .  and  friends  from  Chicago  .  .  .  Philadelphia 
Milwaukee  .  .  .  Boston  .  .  .  California  and  New  York. 


/ 


HARRY  GOLDSTEIN 


PRESENTED  IN  HONOR  OF  RETIRING 
CHIEF  BARKERS  .  .  .  HARRY  GOLDSTEIN 
OF  PARAMOUNT,  AND  HARRY  KALMINE 
OF  WARNERS  AND  ASSOCIATE  OFFICERS! 


Note :  A  Paramount  and  Warner  feature  on  a 
DOUBLE  BILL  .  .  .  either  attraction  worthy  of  a 
single  booking  .  .  .  BUT  NO  TWO-FOR-ONES ! 


HARRY  KALMINE 


World's  Greatest  Show — 40  Big  Acts 

VARIETY  &  VARIETY .  .  .  COMBINED  CIRCUS 


Make  it  a  real  week-end 
PITT  vs.  CALIFORNIA 
Football  game  Sat.,  Oct. 
13th  .  .  .  and  banquet  the 
next  night ! 


WRITE  FOR  RESERVATIONS  IMMEDIATELY 

To  Secretary  Variety  Club  Banquet,  Room  106  Wm.  Penn 
Hotel,  Pittsburgh,  Pa.  We  will  also  make  your  football 
reservation  for  you  .  .  .  Banquet  $10  per  ticket;  Football 
$4.95  down. 


Oct  1 f 34  b.c. 


Mr.  Exhibitor: 

EVERY  TIME  your  theatre  shows  a  METRO  PICTURE 

your  patrons  have  been  pre-sold  on  the  show. 

METRO  has  not  only  one  of  the  most  efficient  Publicity 
Departments  in  the  business,  as  far  as 

Newspapers  Weeklies  Magazines 

Syndicates  Dailies  Other  Periodicals 

are  concerned,  but  [the  company,  during  the  present  season,  plans  to  spend 
more  than  $1,000,000  to  reach  the  general  public. 

THIS  WILL  TAKE  the  form  of 

Billboard  Advertising  General  Magazine  Advertising 

Newspaper  Advertising  Special  Magazine  Advertising 

,  .  .  and  other  Printed  Media 

ALL  THIS  is  just  part  of  the  reason  why 

METRO  Pictures  are  doing  the  BIGGEST  BUSINESS  in  history  ! 

NO  WONDER  that  Exhibitors  are  flocking  to  be  METRO  Customers 
in  the  coming  season. 

MOST  COMPANIES  would  be  satisfied  if  they  could  deliver  Hit  Pictures, 
but  METRO  believes  in  doing  the  job  right. 

YOUR  CUSTOMERS  ARE  PRE-SOLD  and  waiting  for  you  to  show 
the  pictures  WHEN  THEY  COME  FROM  METRO  -GOLDWYN-  MAYER. 


Boh  Lynch 

MGM 


VOL  16— No.  20  PHILADELPHIA,  OCTOBER  15,  1934  Price,  15  Cents 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  September  11,  1924.  at  the  post  office  at  Philadelphia,  Pa„  under  the  Act  of  March  3,  1879. 
PUBLISHED  SEMI-MONTHLY  AT  219  N.  BROAD  STREET.  PHILADELPHIA 


BUNDLING 


enrietta 


CROSMAN 


Renowned  actress  of  the  American 

^taqe  ....  last  seen  in  I  lie  !  ox 

Epic,  "PILGRIMAGE,”  and 

star  o  f  100  Broadwarj  J~  uccesses 


n  "THE  CURTAIN  FALLS 

With  DOROTHY  LEE,  WM.  BAKEWELL,  JOHN  DARROW,  NATALIE  MOOREHEAD, 

DOROTHY  REVIER,  HOLMES  HERBERT,  BRYANT  WASHBURN,  ROBT.  FRAZER 


// 


A  CHESTERFIELD  SPECIAL 


The  World’s 
Dumb-bells 


Qctl5'34  pg.  3 


made «•»  -  luxe-co 


sZ?/n  Cihi^lss1,  tuf’hb9J(ei  *8 

I'd*}, 

r°und 

ly  l^9h 


the  funniest 


ever 


6[/ Qf  v‘Gsf 

>w-? • . . and,nad?  r 

to  bust  a  f  Cialdeliv  Very  o„e 

«*/a//ao)  fl  ence*hun 

Q£NUINFt?0oz*s  fr„ 

j*t££  b^ZID/ Sfig**  ***  ar 

.* ;  e"^ofc 

•  l>  scte*^  ‘‘leuVa 

f3?^aa>es 

'  m  **ot,e  //  ^es  anf^  i-o// 
the^taJ^dWe^im 


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ers 


mode .. 


,.  „  Pu6feft 

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'ell 

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Corpo;j.  ^ks  " 

'/^u’re'°0','rf«fr*t,f2d«ce<J  j, 

^  afcouf  ?** 


en?/ 


Octl5'34  pg.  4 


WATCH  MARIE  GAL  ANTE 


Secret  councils  of  great  nations  dispatched  this  grim  com¬ 
mand  .  .  .  and  hidden  "eyes”  saw  danger  in  every  move  of 
this  lonely  girl  .  .  .  too  innocent  to  know  her  own  allure. 

WATCH  KETTI  GALLIAN" 


Industry  insiders  privileged  to  witness  the  completely  fascinating 
performance  of  this  magnetic  personality  have  tipped  the  word 
to  fellow  showmen.  Soon  the  word  will  spread  to  all  the  world! 


KETTI  GALLIAN 


NED  SPARKS  •  HELEN  MORGAN 
SIEGFRIED  RUMANN 
LESLIE  FENTON  •  ARTHUR  BYRON 
JAY  C.  FLIPPEN  &  STEPIN  FETCHIT 


Produced  by  Winfield 
Sheehon.  Directed  by 
Henry  King.  Screen  ploy 
by  Reginald  Berkeley. 
Based  on  a  novel  by 
Jacques  Deval 


THE  FACTS  about  Short  Subject 
leadership  are  as  simple  as 


&  P  Gypsies,  Armida,  A1  Trahan, 
Arthur  Boran,  Allen  Jenkins, 
Roscoe  Ates,  Roscoe  Ails 


en  Blue,  Borah  Minneviich,  Baby 
Rose  Marie,  Bernice  Claire, 
Billy  Hill,  Bob  Hope,  Babs  Ryan 

has.  Davis  &  Band,  Chaz  Chase, 
Cross  &  Dunn,  Chas.  Ahearn, 
Carl  Emmy  &  His  Mad  Wags 


orothy  Stone,  Daphne  Pollard, 
Dave  Apollon,  Dick  Himber, 
Don  Redmon,  Dorothy  Dare 


asy  Aces,  E.  M.  Newman,  Edgar 
Bergen,  El  Brendel,  Ed  Lowry* 
Edith  Murray 

rank  Parker,  Freddie  Rich,  Fifl 
D'Orsay,  Frank  Novak,  Jr. 
Freddy  Coots 


eorgie  Price,  Gus  Edwards, 
Graumann's  Stepping  Stars, 
Gene  &  Glenn 


al  LeRoy,  Harriet  Lee,  Harry  Von 
Tilzer,  Herb  Williams,  Hartman 
Sisters,  Honey  Family 


lomay  Bailey,  Irene  Taylor 


ack  Denny,  Janet  Reade,  Jeanne 
Aubert,  J.  Harold  Murray,  John 
B.  Kennedy,  Johnny  Green 


Ralph  Kirberry 


eon  Errol,  Lillian  Roth,  Little  Jack 
Little,  Lois  Moran,  Lee  Sims, 
Land!  Trio,  Lillian  Shade 


THE  LESSON  EVERT  SUCCESSF 

It’s  not  “Who  made  it?”  but  “Who’s  in  it?”  that  brings 
cash  to  the  box-office!... That’s  why  the  biggest  film 

Octl5'34  pg.  6 

buyers  select  Vitaphone  Shorts.They  know  Vitaphone 
leads  in  sales  and  audience  satisfaction  because  Vita- 

VITAPHONE  S  193 

MtE  THE  BEST  ON  TH 


orton  Downey,  Maxine  Doyle, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jesse  Crawford, 
Mary  Small,  Marie  Nordstrom 


ick  Lucas,  Donald  Novis 


Baclanova 


emp  Howard,  Shirley 
Howard,  Buster  Shave  &  His 
Midgets,  Sylvia  Froos 


ito  Guizar,  The  Rimacs,  Toney 
Hughes 


incent  Lopez,  Vera  Van, 
Vernon  Dent 


uth  Etting,  Roy  Atwell,  Radio 
Ramblers,  Ramona,  Reis 
&  Dunn,  Ruth  Dbnnelly 


Octl5'34  pg.  7 


phone  leads  in  Stars ! . . .  Look  at  this  amazing  list  of  fay 
orites  already  delivered  or  signed  for  this  season.  Com 
pare  it  calmly  and  coldly  with  the  names  others  offer. . 
You’ll  understand  why  scores  of  showman  letters  say— 


E  MARKET  TODAY 


i  I 


J 


at  Barnes,  Pat  Rooney  &  Pat 
Rooney,  Jr.,  Phil  Spitalny, 


ill  Osborne  &  Band,  Wini 
Shaw,  Gordon  Westcott 


v.F.W.MPT.tf  AMimcAmsn 

WARN  W  BWS 'SETirfkwa  FIRST'JWfl 

W*W'  . rnM&iALK  IlIVtfaC 


lAUXUtAW 


SPECIAL 


«•» ,  ■  >  -  -  s  -  .-isssKsm  -  i-v 

EXPL‘OI»T^D 


rakbei  BllUf  j 


AND  NOW  WARNER  BROS.  PRESENT  TO  POSTERITY 


THE  MOST  IMPORTANT  NOVELTY  SERIES  IN  A  DECADE 


i  SELLING  LIKE  WILDF 


...  >JS^  x  .  ? 


1 3  Thrilling  Film- 
Trips  Through 
American  History. 
Conducted  by 
E.  M.  Newman. 
Dialogue  by 
John  B.  Kennedy. 


: 


Here’s  just  one  sample  of  the  nation-wide  promotion  that 
will  make  audiences  everywhere  demand  the  “See  America 
First”  series.  Official  bulletins  from  the  American  Legion,  Veterans  of  Foreign 
Wars,  Boy  Scouts,  Girl  Scouts,  Department  of  Interior,  National  Educational 
Association,  and  other  great  organizations  will  urge  every  American  to  see  them! 
Full-page  publicity  in  leading  newspapers  will  spread  the  word!  A  pre-sold  attrac¬ 
tion  if  there  ever  was  one.  But  it’s  just  one  of  the  famous  series  you  get  from 


“BROADWAY  BREVITIES"  “MERRIE  MELODIES" 

"BIG  V  COMEDIES"  "PEPPER  POTS" 

"MELODY  MASTERS"  "SEE  AMERICA  FIRST" 

"LOONEY  TUNES"  WARNER  BROS.  TRAILERS 


Octl5'34  pg.  8 


THE 


pg.  9 

EDITOR'S  PAGE 


Vol.  16,  No.  20 


October  15, 


The 


Philadelphia 


Worthy  Praise 

_  DR.  LEON  LEVY,  president,  Columbia 
®  Broadcasting  Company,  ought  to  re¬ 
ceive  a  vote  of  thanks  from  the  entire  indus¬ 
try  for  a  service  which  he  has  rendered. 

Those  who  are  responsible  for  the  mate¬ 
rial  which  goes  over  the  air  should  be  men 
of  principle  with  foresight  as  well.  Dr. 
Levy  possesses  both.  Through  his  efforts, 
the  motion  picture  industry  was  saved  em¬ 
barrassing  consequences,  further  attacks 
when  it  could  little  afford  to  stand  them. 

The  service  in  question  must  remain  a 
secret  for  a  time,  but  when  it  is  revealed 
the  industry  can  well  appreciate  what  a 
friend  it  has  in  Dr.  Leon  Levy. 

Once  before  these  columns  had  occasion 
to  comment  on  the  co-operative  spirit  that 
should  exist  between  radio  and  the  screen. 
Truly,  by  such  action,  the  radio  has  given 
every  desire  of  its  sincerity  in  helping  its 
brother  amusement. 


Whither  Rosenblatt? 

_  THE  DEPARTURE  of  General  Hugh 
®  Johnson  means  a  revision  of  the  NRA. 
With  a  revision  of  the  NRA  must  come  a 
new  set  of  faces. 

Departure  of  Sol  A.  Rosenblatt  from  the 
post  of  Deputy  Administrator  must  be  ac¬ 
companied  by  plenty  of  regret  from  a  large 
flock  of  exhibitors  who  never  for  one  mo¬ 
ment  have  questioned  his  motives.  Rosen¬ 
blatt  has  been  ridiculed,  criticized,  rapped 
aplenty,  but  the  records  show  that  under 
his  direction  a  formidable  motion  picture 
industry  code  started,  began  to  function 
and  is  gradually  getting  the  good  will  and 
support  of  the  entire  industry. 

Whatever  the  future  of  Rosenblatt,  his 
record  is  one  that  can  be  shown  as  nothing 
but  high. 

One  prominent  observer  points  out,  that, 
he  would  make  an  ideal  leader  for  a  unified 
exhibitor’s  organization,  knows  all  the 
answers  and  angles  and  if  supported  by  the 
exhibitor  rank  and  file,  eliminating  politics, 
could  accomplish  much  good  in  the  interests 
of  the  exhibitor. 


Distributor  Help  Needed 

^  FEW  EXHIBITORS  want  to  cut  prices 
w  of  their  own  accord.  Unfortunately, 
however,  there  have  been  cases  in  which 
a  competitive  theatreman  who  pays  a  higher 
price  for  pictures  in  order  to  get  a  certain 
protection,  has  been  compelled  to  cut  his 
admission  because  he  has  not  been  given 
that  protection. 

The  result  is,  as  might  be  expected,  a 
cheaper  admission  and  a  cheaper  rental  for 
the  exchange.  The  distributor  might  some¬ 
times  infer  that  rentals  in  such  cases  are 
so  small  they  are  not  worth  haggling  about, 
but  multiplying  this  incident  throughout 
the  country  would  reveal  that  there  is  more 
than  one  small  rental  at  stake.  Distribu¬ 
tors  should  work  for  a  higher  admission 
and  a  higher  return  for  themselves.  It  is 
only  when  the  exchange  is  shortsighted  that 
another  policy  must  result. 


EXHIBITOR 

Circulating  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware.  Issued  on  the  1st  and  15th 
of  each  month  by  Jay  Emanuel  Publications,  Inc.  Publishing  office.  219  North  Broad  Street,  Philadelphia. 
Branches  at  1600  Broadway,  New  York  City;  Washington,  D.  C.  Jay  Emanuel,  publisher;  Paul  J. 
Greenhalgh,  advertising  manager;  Herbert  M.  Miller,  managing  editor.  Subscription  rates:  $2  for  one 
year,  $5  for  three  years.  Single  copies,  15c  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware. 
Publishers,  also,  of  THE  NATIONAL  EXHIBITOR  of  Washington  and  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  EXHIBITOR. 
Official  organ  of  the  Motion  Picture  Theatre  Owners  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and 
Delaware.  Address  all  communications  to  the  Philadelphia  office. 


Welcoming  the  British 


'  I  ’HERE  can  be  no  question  but  that  the  entrance  of 
British  pictures  into  the  American  market  is  now  being 
made  on  such  scale  that  calls  for  the  immediate  attention  of  every 
domestic  theatre-owner  and  operator. 

Tired  of  unsatisfactory  distribution,  the  British  are  deter¬ 
mined  to  reach  every  theatre  and  to  try  to  make  every  screen  carry 
some  type  of  British  product. 

With  a  couple  of  leaders  that  have  impressed  not  only  on  the 
basis  of  quality  but  also  as  regards  the  box  office  returns,  it  must 
be  admitted  that  every  exhibitor  ought  to  examine  the  wares  being 
presented  to  determine  whether  the  pictures  are  suitable  for  his 
house.  The  current  pictures  are  not  English,  but  international. 
No  longer  can  it  be  said  that  the  pictures  are  foreign  in  nature 
and  too  far  removed  for  American  audiences  to  enjoy.  True,  there 
are  still  some  typically  British  pictures,  both  in  make-up  of  names 
and  atmosphere.  But  exhibitors  should  be  able  to  pick  out  enough 
pictures  to  insure  a  regular  program  of  such  features  for  his  screen. 

As  has  been  said  before  here,  if  the  pictures  are  good,  they 
merit  support.  If  not,  they  should  not  be  given  any  more  consid¬ 
eration  than  that  accorded  other  weak  fare.  But  the  fact  of  the 
matter  is,  also,  that  entrance  of  the  new  product  makes  for  a  larger 
market. 

With  American  names,  American  directors,  international 
appeal,  the  shows  hit  the  same  plane  as  much  of  the  Hollywood 
productions.  Probably  the  entrance  of  new  faces  on  the  screen 
will  help. 

Entrance  of  good  pictures  is  always  to  be  welcomed.  More 
excellent  films  makes  for  better  pictures  here,  greater  competition. 
In  that  light,  then,  the  English  invasion  is  to  be  greeted. 


And  it  looks  like  it  won’t  be  a  dream  this  time. 


10 


Octl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


IEPA  Completes  Deal 
for  New  Short  Service 

Tieup  Will  Benefit  Organization 

and  Members 

The  Independent  Exhibitors  Protective 
Association  has  completed  a  new  short 
deal  which  will  benefit  members. 

The  organization  has  granted  an  exclusive 
contract  to  the  Alexander  Film  Company,  a 
western  unit,  which  results  in  company  paying 
members  to  use  a  short  film,  in  which  are  in¬ 
cluded  five  advertising  clips,  local  and  national. 
The  film  runs  about  2J4  minutes. 

The  tie-up  sees  the  revenue  going  to  the  or¬ 
ganization,  with  one-half  being  credited  to  each 
member’s  dues  and  the  other  half  going  back  to 
the  exhibitor. 

Alexander  Film  had  deposited  $1000  bond  to 
fulfill  its  part  of  the  contract. 

The  film  comes  in  cartoon  form,  with  ad 
clips.  It  is  estimated  by  IEPA  leaders  that  the 
revenue  will  approximate  about  $600  a  month. 

IEPA  recently  received  its  charter  and  to 
conform  with  the  requirements  held  a  meeting 
at  which  regular  officers  were  elected.  Other 
corporate  matters  were  taken  up. 

Body  plans  a  mammoth  trade  show  later, 
according  to  the  body’s  bulletin. 

Members  are  being  added  at  the  rate  of  5  a 
week,  it  is  reported  by  IEPA  leaders. 

Clark  Re-elected  Head 
of  National  Film  Carriers 

Detroit  Meeting  Sees  Endorse¬ 
ment  by  Body 

A  progressive  program  for  the  new 
season,  with  plans  for  a  legislative  con¬ 
tact  at  Washington  and  a  plea  for  an 
amendment  to  the  trucking  code  to  allow 
special  provisions  for  working  hours  and 
labor  conditions  for  the  film  division  has 
resulted  from  the  annual  convention  of 
National  Film  Carriers,  Inc.,  held  at 
Detroit,  recently. 

James  Clark,  president,  Horlacher  Delivery 
Service,  was  re-elected  president,  the  assembly 
unanimously  endorsing  his  reign. 

The  body,  which  met  in  constructive  session, 
heard  other  addresses  on  various  problems,  one 
of  which,  on  service,  was  delivered  by  William 
Clark,  another  Horlacher  executive. 

National  Film  Carriers,  Inc.,  which  includes 
the  leading  film  delivery  units  of  the  country,  is 
constantly  working  toward  greater  economies 
and  efficiency  in  film  transportation.  Its  mem¬ 
bers  promise  the  utmost  of  service  to  exhibi¬ 
tion  and  distribution  divisions  alike. 

President  Clark  plans  further  moves  to 
strengthen  the  association  and  increase  its  worth 
to  the  transportation  as  well  as  the  film  world. 

The  organization  has  adopted  an  insignia,  to 
be  painted  on  each  truck.  All  trucks  will  be 
uniform  as  to  color,  clive  green  and  gold  let¬ 
ters.  National  advertising  space  will  also  be 
provided. 


Statement  of  Position 


A  few  months  ago,  when  first  the 
vision  of  two  organizations  in  the  Phila¬ 
delphia  territory  began  to  appear,  THE 
EXHIBITOR  set  forth  its  views  in  the 
matter  and  took  the  position  that  differ¬ 
ences  should  be  settled  and  one  organ¬ 
ization,  no  matter  the  make-up,  repre¬ 
sent  the  independent  exhibition  faction. 

Now,  because  of  new  angles  which 
have  arisen,  it  becomes  necessary  to  re¬ 
state  the  position  of  this  publication. 

The  columns  of  THE  EXHIBITOR  are 
open  to  exhibitor  reaction,  news  of  the 
trade  and  any  material  which  would 
prove  of  real  service,  value  and  interest 
to  the  exhibitor.  The  columns  of  THE 
EXHIBITOR  are  closed  to  mud  slinging, 
childish  name  calling  and  other  infantile 
practices. 

If  THE  EXHIBITOR  offends,  it  is 
ready  to  correct  its  mistake.  If  it  steps 
on  toes,  it  is  sorry,  but  only  in  the  case 
of  unintentional  errors  or  similar  cir¬ 
cumstances  does  it  stand  ready  to  re¬ 
trace  its  steps. 

Currently,  an  article  writing  contest  is 
on  between  the  bulletins  of  the  two  or¬ 
ganizations,  individuals  of  both  groups 
and  others  interested. 

The  contest  began  in  the  columns  of 
the  two  organizations.  THE  EXHIBI¬ 
TOR  is  content  to  let  it  stay  there. 

At  the  present  time,  THE  EXHIBI¬ 
TOR  has  received  a  letter  from  one  of 
the  organizations  which  it  is  asked  to 
reprint.  The  letter  touches  upon  the 
controversy  in  which,  up  to  this  time, 
THE  EXHIBITOR  has  taken  no  part.  If 
THE  EXHIBITOR  were  linked  with  the 
issues  directly  from  the  beginning,  it 
could  do  nothing  but  publish  all  and 
every  letter  pertaining  to  the  subject. 
Fortunately,  however,  the  affair  has  not 
been  presented  in  this  publication  be¬ 
cause  at  no  time  did  THE  EXHIBITOR 
feel  that  the  incident  would  prove  of 
service  or  of  vital  benefit  to  the  trade. 

THE  EXHIBITOR,  therefore,  takes 
the  stand  that  the  issue  should  remain 
where  it  began,  in  the  ranks  and  bulle¬ 
tins  of  the  two  organizations. 

16  years  of  publishing  in  this  terri¬ 
tory  has  made  friends  for  this  publica¬ 
tion  everywhere. 

THE  EXHIBITOR  thanks  its  friends 
in  both  organizations  who  appreciate  its 
position  and  defend  its  viewpoints.  With 
these  gentlemen  as  its  counsellors,  THE 
EXHIBITOR  feels  that  the  middle  road 
is  always  the  best  in  a  case  of  this  kind. 
THE  EXHIBITOR  never  straddles  an 
issue,  but  in  this  case,  it  is  not  an  issue, 
but  something  which  threatens  to  be¬ 
come  an  unpleasant  mud  slinging  con¬ 
test. 


Through  the  legislative  contact  at  Washing¬ 
ton,  recently,  the  Explosives  Bill  was  defeated. 
This  would  have  put  film  carriers  in  the  same 
category  as  other  truckers  handling  explosives. 
Carriers  would  have  had  to  carry  colored  lights 
on  their  trucks,  rear  would  have  had  to  carry 
the  word  “explosives,”  if  the  bill  succeeded. 
This  would  have  entailed  greater  hardship. 


Segall  Appoints  1934 
Committees  for  MPTO 

President  Lists  Leading  Exhibitors 
in  Bodies 


Charles  Segall,  president,  MPTO,  has 
announced  MPTO  committees  for  the 
new  year. 

They  follow: 

Labor  Committee — Ben  Amsterdam,  chairman;  H.  D. 
Cohe,  Lewistown;  S.  Myers,  Moorestown,  N.  J.;  Martin 
Ellis^  Camden,  N.  J.;  P.  Mortimer  Lewis,  Atlantic  City, 
N.  J.;  A.  J.  Fischer,  Jr.,  Glenside;  J.  Brown,  Jenkin- 
town;  J.  A.  Jackson,  Lebanon;  I.  Marcus,  Harrisburg; 
Stanley  Peters,  Summit  Hill;  H.  Effinger,  Shamokin; 
Wm.  Dabb,  Shenandoah;  0.  Stiefel,  Lock  Haven;  Luke 
Gring,  Wm.  L.  Woodin,  Towanda. 

Entertainment  Committee — M.  Rogasner,  chairman; 
M.  Spiers,  vice-chairman;  I.  Borowskv,  S.  Hyman,  Louis 
Segall,  Frank  P.  Gravatt,  Ben  Fertel,  Geo.  Lessy,  Norman 
Lewis,  Geo.  H.  Kline,  Morris  Handle. 

Publicity  and  Propaganda  Committee — Lewen  Pizor, 
chairman;  Geo.  P.  Aarons,  Sam  Hyman,  L.  Felt,  Norris¬ 
town;  Jay  Emanuel. 

Membership  Committee — M.  Lessy,  chairman;  A. 
Sablosky,  Ed  A.  Jeffries.  H.  Waxman.  Atlantic  City,  N. 
J.;  J.  Schwartz,  Allen  M.  Benn,  M.  H.  Egnal,  Esq.,  I. 
Yaffee. 

Legislative  Committee — C.  Segall,  chairman;  H.  D. 
Cohen,  Lewistown;  I.  Marcus,  Harrisburg;  J.  G.  Beilin, 
Bethlehem;  E.  M.  Connelly,  Nanticoke;  Jos.  Hebrew, 
Brookline;  Jos.  Wodock,  Doylestown;  J.  F.  Corbett, 
Chambersburg;  I).  C.  Atkinson,  Easton;  G.  Floyd  Hop¬ 
kins,  Harrisburg. 

Philadelphia  Operators  Committee — Luke  Gring, 
chairman;  L.  Pizor,  M.  Rogasner,  Morris  Spiers,  A. 
Sablosky,  Norman  Lewis,  S.  Somerson,  M.  Gerson,  Jay 
Emanuel. 

Censor  Committee — Jay  Emanuel,  chairman;  Luke 
Gring,  L.  Pizor,  L.  Schlesinger. 

Posters  and  Supplies — Ben  Fertel,  chairman;  Frederick 
Leopold,  Wm.  Rovner,  Berlin;  L.  Linker,  Morris  Fine- 
man,  L.  Felt,  Norristown;  Aron  Palmer,  Middletown; 
Geo.  P.  Aarons. 

Fire  Marshall’s  Committee — A.  Sablosky,  chairman; 
M.  H.  Egnal,  Geo.  Lessy,  Marcus  Benn,  J.  Monroe. 

Public  Relations  Committee — Geo.  F.  Weilland,  chair¬ 
man;  C.  Rappaport,  F.  Leopold,  H.  Dembow,  H.  Lewis, 
(Jewel);  P.  Mortimer  Lewis,  L.  I.  Hoffman,  M.  E.  Com- 
erford,  Lewen  Pizor,  Chas.  Segall,  A.  Sablosky,  Jay 
Emanuel,  J.  F.  Osterstoek. 


Social  Season  Perks  Up 
As  Events  Are  Scheduled 


Lunches,  Golf,  Trade  Show 
on  List 


The  social  season  is  picking  up  a  bit. 

Following  the  Tony  Lucchese  affair,  October 
8,  a  special  luncheon  for  press  and  others  was 
held  in  conjunction  with  the  showing  of 
“Power,”  October  11,  at  the  Warwick. 

October  14,  Frank  McNamee,  Radio  exchange 
chief,  sponsored  a  showing  of  “The  Gay  Di¬ 
vorcee”  at  the  Stanley  Theatre  for  the  trade. 
Tickets  were  distributed  by  the  exchange. 

And  the  peak  attraction  was  the  October  12 
golf  tourney  under  the  auspices  of  THE 
EXHIBITOR. 


Drissell  Replaces  Jones 

George  Jones,  manager,  Loew’s  Theatre, 
Wilmington  since  December  1931,  has  been 
shifted  to  New  Haven,  Conn.,  where  he  was 
slated  to  take  charge  of  a  de  luxe  house.  He 
is  succeeded  by  Roscoe  Drissell,  former  man¬ 
ager  of  the  Columbia  Theatre,  Washington, 
D.  C.  Drissell  who  succeeds  Jones  acted  as 
manager  this  summer  when  Jones  went  on  two 
weeks’  vacation. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Octl5'34 


11 


Compromise  on  Music  Tax  Won’t  Affect 
Government’s  Suit  Against  the  Society 


New  Schedule  Under  Former  Demands — Exhibitor  Com¬ 
mittee  Seeks  Support  from  Theatremen — Changes  Due 
in  Future 

Compromise  effected  between  the  Exhibitors  Emergency  Committee  and  the 
American  Society  of  Composers,  Authors  and  Publishers  regarding'  the  music  tax 
increase  doesn't  affect  the  government  anti-trust  action  against  the  Society. 


Society  Reorganization  Hinted 

Reports  that  the  American  Society 
may  have  a  reorganization  were  current 
recently. 

It  was  said  that  at  least  three  officers 
are  in  at  very  big  salaries  while  the 
rank  and  file  of  members  are  not  re¬ 
ceiving  much  after  all  the  expenses  are 
paid. 

Future  of  the  anti-trust  action  of  the 
government  would  also  affect  the  body, 
it  was  hinted. 

Sale  of  Local  Quartet 
Stirs  Interest  in  Trade 

But  Denial  by  Harry  M .  Warner 
Clears  Situation 

Reported  sale  of  the  lower,  Frank- 
ford,  Roosevelt  and  Nixon  Theatres  to 
Warner  interests  proved  a  local  sensation 
when  it  broke  in  the  local  dailies  a  fort¬ 
night  ago  and  a  denial  from  Harry  M. 
Warner  caused  the  same  amount  of 
interest. 

Price  was  said  to  be  $1,645,000. 

The  dailies’  story,  immediately  denied  by 
Warner,  said  the  houses  were  purchased  by  the 
company  president  personally.  Albert  M.  Green¬ 
field  was  reported  as  real  estate  agents  for 
Warner  with  Lionel  Friedman,  Inc.,  acting  for 
the  Freihofer  and  Nixon-Nirdlinger  estates. 

The  sale  was  to  go  through  the  Orphans 
Court.  Settlement  was  said  to  be  due  in  60 
days.  Tower,  Roosevelt  and  Frankford  were 
owned  outright  by  the  Freihofer  estate,  with 
Nixon-Nirdlinger  having  a  40  per  cent  interest 
in  the  Nixon.  Mortgages  are  said  to  total 
$1,285,000  on  the  Tower. 

Since  the  denial  (see  box)  by  Harry  M.  War¬ 
ner  of  his  personal  interest  in  the  case  as  re¬ 
ported,  no  new  developments  have  appeared. 

That  acquisition  of  the  quartet  would  be  a 
strategic  achievement  for  Stanley-Warner  is 
admitted. 

The  houses  have  been  reported  sold  to  many 
interests  in  the  past,  such  names  as  M.  E. 
Comerford,  Skouras,  A1  Boyd,  William  Gold¬ 
man,  Stanley  Warner  having  been  included  in 
various  rumors. 


Crime  Drive  Up 

A  resolution,  designed  to  enlist  hundreds  of 
Pennsylvania  women’s  clubs  in  the  drive  to 
eliminate  crime  exploiting  films  from  the  the¬ 
atres,  will  be  presented  at  the  annual  conven¬ 
tion  of  the  State  Federation  of  Pennsylvania 
Women,  Harrisburg,  October  15. 

According  to  the  text  of  the  resolution,  which 
will  be  presented  by  Mrs.  Stephen  M.  Byers, 
Washington,  and  Mrs.  Gustav  Ketterer,  Phila¬ 
delphia,  “The  motion  picture  is  one  of  the 
greatest  factors  in  the  training  and  education 
of  future  citizens.” 


Segall  Says  He  Is 
Uncertain  on  Re-election 

MPTO  Head  Thinks  January 

Too  Far  Off  to  Decide  Now 

Charles  Segall,  president,  MPTO,  isn’t 
ready  to  step  out  as  head  of  that  body — 
yet. 

So  he  indicates  in  a  letter  to  THE  EXHIB¬ 
ITOR  denying  an  article  in  the  October  1  issue 
in  which  it  was  stated  that  he  would  not  be  a 
candidate  for  re-election. 

“January,”  writes  Segall,”  is  too  far  off  for 
me  to  make  up  my  mind  at  this  time  to  say 
whether  I  will  or  will  not  be  a  candidate  for 
re-election.” 

The  local  exhibition  fraternity  will  be  inter¬ 
ested  to  hear  of  his  position  in  the  matter.  As 
president  of  the  MPTO  he  has  made  an  impres¬ 
sive  record. 


500 

Charlie  Steifel,  operator  of  the  Venice,  feels 
that  some  people  still  are  under  the  impression 
that  the  Venice  was  enlarged  to  900  seats. 

The  figure  still  stays  at  500  and  he  hopes  this 
second  correction  will  reach  those  who  didn't 
believe  the  first. 

The  seating  capacity  is  500,  500,  500,  500, 
to  make  it  emphatic. 


Warner  Denies 

The  following  statement  was  issued 
by  H.  M.  Warner,  president,  Warner 
Bros.  Pictures,  Inc.: 

“1  wish  to  deny  emphatically  the  dis¬ 
patch  from  Philadelphia  published  in 
Tuesday’s  New  York  “Times,”  to  the 
effect  that  I  have  purchased  four  the¬ 
atres  in  and  near  that  city.  The  state¬ 
ment  in  the  dispatch,  and  also,  I  under¬ 
stand,  in  Philadelphia  newspapers,  to 
the  effect  that  ‘it  was  said  that  Mr.  War¬ 
ner  bought  the  theatres  for  himself 
rather  than  for  Warner  Bros,  and  that 
he  would  operate  them  independently  of 
the  Warner  chain’,  is  utterly  untrue. 

“Neither  I,  nor  either  of  my  brothers, 
nor  any  executive  of  our  organization, 
has  bought  or  will  buy  any  theatres  for 
personal  operation  independently  of  the 
theatre  operations  of  Warner  Bros,  or 
its  subsidiaries. 

“I  will  greatly  appreciate  publication 
of  this  denial.” 


Whether  or  not  the  exhibitor  committee  will 
be  active  in  its  support  of  the  government’s 
suit  was  not  apparent.  It  was  thought  it  would 
not  be  affected. 

Meanwhile,  the  settlement  clears  up  the  im¬ 
mediate  problem  of  payments. 

Details  of  the  new  tax  pact  between  the 
American  Society  of  Composers,  Authors  and 
Publishers  and  the  Exhibitors  Emergency  com¬ 
mittee,  approved  by  the  ASCAP  board  of  di¬ 
rectors  at  a  special  meeting,  were  released  by 
E.  C.  Mills,  ASCAP  general  manager. 

Under  the  new  schedule,  the  former 
annual  rate  of  10  cents  a  seat  will  still 
stand  for  theatres  with  seating  capaci¬ 
ties  up  to  800  seats. 

For  theatres  with  from  801  to  1,599 
seats,  a  tax  of  15  cents  will  be  charged 
per  annum. 

Theatres  with  a  seating  capacity  of 
1,600  or  more  will  be  assessed  20  cents 
a  seat. 

The  new  schedule  will  run  from  October  1, 
1934,  until  September  30,  1935.  Adjustments 
will  be  made  to  exhibitors  who  have  already 
paid  their  assessments  on  the  basis  of  the  previ¬ 
ously  announced  rate. 

Both  sides  were  apparently  pleased  by  the 
compromise.  The  emergency  committee,  headed 
by  Walter  Vincent,  issued  a  statement,  terming 
the  deal  a  “fair  and  constructive  solution  of  a 
vexing  question.”  The  statement  also  urged  ex¬ 
hibitors  to  support  the  committee’s  agreement, 
pointing  out  that  without  the  committee’s  efforts 
the  exhibitors  would  have  had  to  pay  much 
higher  rates. 

ASCAP,  on  the  other  hand,  claimed  that  by 
signing  the  agreement  the  theatre  men  had  ad¬ 
mitted  for  the  first  time  in  twenty  years  of 
controversy  that  the  copyright  owner  had 
a  right  to  collect  for  his  work. 


Warner  Wilmington  Changes 

Warner  Brothers,  Wilmington,  has  just  had 
another  shake-up  of  managers,  with  a  new 
manager  brought  in  from  the  St.  Louis  district 
for  the  Queen.  He  is  E.  I.  Lewis,  who  has  been 
with  the  Warner  Brothers  ten  years.  G.  Earle 
Finney,  who  had  only  been  manager  of  the 
Queen  for  about  three  or  four  weeks,  was 
shifted  to  the  second  and  third  run  Savoy,  re¬ 
lieving  young  Wilmer  Highfield. 

Lew  Black  was  shifted  to  the  newly  opened 
Arcadia,  while  Dwight  VanMeter,  recently 
brought  down  to  the  Arcadia  from  Atlantic 
City,  sent  up  to  the  Aldine  where  vaudeville  is 
now  on  the  stage. 


Delaware  Charters 

Color  Films,  Inc.  Deal  in  photographic  film  and  pic¬ 
tures  of  all  kinds.  $250,000. 

Columbia  Films  of  India,  Ltd.  Deal  in  motion  pic¬ 
ture  films,  and  etc.,  $10,000. 


Octl5'34  pg.  12 


THE  NEW  LEADERS.  Here  are 
some  of  the  leading  figures  in  the 
new  expansion  of  First  Division  ex¬ 
change.  Top,  left  to  right:  Nich¬ 
olas  Ludington  and  Harry  H. 
Thomas,  president.  Seated:  Wil¬ 
liam  Fiske,  3rd,  and  John  Curtis. 


AT  FIRST  DIVISION’S  CONVEN¬ 
TION.  Some  shots  taken  at  the 
first  annual  First  Division  conven¬ 
tion  in  New  York  City,  September 
28-29.  Top,  left  to  right,  Frank 
Look,  Jules  Chapman,  AI  Fried- 
lander,  Harry  H.  Thomas,  Charles 
Rosenzweig,  Nicholas  Ludington,  *" 
John  Curtis.  Below:  Group  of  rep¬ 
resentatives  from  all  over  the  coun¬ 
try  attending  the  meeting.  Below: 
The  convention  dinner,  at  the  Cafe 
de  Paree,  following  the  completion 
of  the  convention. 


NOT  TWINS.  Etta  V.  Segall,  local 
booker  for  First  Division,  and  Mae 
Vincent,  Cleveland  booker,  pose  at 
the  First  Division  New  York  City 
convention. 


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MOHEL  -  /'LL  3/INK < 
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TAILSPIN  TOMl 


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QUOTED  O  VER 
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Hush  above: 

If  THE  LUPE 
FOUNTAINS  A 
T/py  CRAFT 
IS  FL  Y/A/S  -  - 
IN  /T  /S  SHEETS?, 
DE  TERM /NED  TO 
POLLOLO  THE 
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UNSEEN  - UNHEARD 

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ALL  THAT  MONEY 


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Octl5’34  pg.  13 


UNIVERSAL’S 


SMASH  SERIAL! 


The  favorite  cartoon  heroes  of  millions  come  to 
life  on  the  screen  in  a  mighty  chapter  play . . .  It 
blazes  a  new  thrill -trail  across  the  skyways  of 
the  country! ...  It  sets  a  new  mark  in  speed,  sus¬ 
pense,  mystery  and  the  sort  of  action  that  actually 
pulls  the  fans  out  of  their  seats!  •  •  .With  Maurice 
Murphy,  Patricia  Farr,  Noah  Beery,  Jr.  Directed 
by  Louis  Friedlander  in  TWELVE  TERRIFIC  EPISODES. 


FAN  TOHTLE 


WBOVE 


'SH/H6  FOP  FoeE  AT, 


HAL  FORR1 


/  SO  COOULC 

p  TOTJP/NS, 

S  WOULD  BE 
TO  MY  N/eL, 
TP/ED  TO 


THEM  - 


'PAL  ; 


HAL  FORRES 


&V"‘N 


w 


WHE  SUN  IS  S/NH/Ti 
w THE  HILLS"  FAR  UP  H 
UNSEEN  3Y  MORTAL  S 
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jri 


14 


Octl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


MPTO  Quarters  Soon 

New  quarters  of  the  MPTO  at  13th 
and  Vine  Streets  will  soon  be  completed. 
Two  weeks  time  will  see  a  complete 
renovation  of  the  second  floor  offices 
and  meeting  rooms. 

200  Attend  Luncheon 
with  Lucchese  as  Host 

Occasion  Marks  Return  to  Health 
of  Exchange  Chief 

Vine  Street  and  the  local  industry 
turned  out,  October  8,  to  pay  its  respects 
to  Tony  Lucchese,  proprietor  of  Gold 
Medal-Majestic  exchange. 

The  occasion  was  marked  by  the  official  re¬ 
turn  to  activity  on  the  street  of  Lucchese,  who 
has  been  ill  for  almost  a  year.  Not  yet  com¬ 
pletely  recovered,  he  has  assumed  active  charge 
of  the  exchange. 

The  luncheon,  at  Palumbo’s  cafe,  was  at¬ 
tended  by  local  leaders.  At  the  head  table  were 
such  figures  as  Leonard  Schlesinger,  Frank 
Gravatt,  A1  Boyd,  Lewen  Pizor,  Jerry  Kessler, 
Jay  Emanuel,  David  Barrist,  Morris  Spiers, 
William  Pizor,  Morris  Wax,  Jeff  Keen,  Dr. 
Lucchese  and  others. 

Entertainment  was  presented  through  Harry 
Biben,  with  special  dances,  songs  and  numbers. 
An  Italian  luncheon  was  served. 

Lucchese  made  a  short  address  and  welcomed 
his  friends.  He  was  affectionately  greeted  by 
all  present. 

Through  the  good  graces  of  Roth  Buick,  the 
film  contingent  was  delivered  to  and  from  the 
meeting  places.  George  Fishman  was  active  in 
the  arrangements. 

A  wire  from  Nat  Levine,  Mascot  Pictures 
Corporation,  said : 

Dear  Tony,  you  don’t  know  how  sorry  I  am 
to  miss  your  luncheon  today  as  I’m  sure  it  will 
be  a  gala  occasion.  If  I  weren’t  in  the  middle 
of  so  much  production  activity  I’d  hop  on  a 
plane  and  be  there.  In  my  absence  I  am  send¬ 
ing  Jerome  Kessler  who  will  persona'ly  repre¬ 
sent  me.  Mascot  Pictures  are  honored  to  be 
among  your  guests  and  all  of  the  West  Coast 
organization  join  in  sending  you  our  heartiest 
greetings  and  to  welcome  you  back.  Best  wishes 
for  your  health  and  prosperity. 


Wonder  About  Fox 


Street  reaction  to  the  Fox  victory  in 
the  patents  case  was  of  several  different 
hues. 

One  said  that  it  wasn’t  healthy  to  have 
such  power  in  the  hands  of  one  man; 
another  said  that  it  was  a  victory  for  in¬ 
dependent  effort  while  a  third  said  Wil¬ 
liam  Fox  had  always  been  a  friend  of  the 
little  fellow  and  that  the  small  exhibitor 
probably  wouldn’t  suffer. 

At  any  rate,  the  Supreme  Court  re¬ 
fusal  hit  home  and  until  the  horizon  is 
cleared,  the  trade  will  be  wondering  and 
worrying. 


THE  CODE  •  CASES  •  HEARINGS  •  RULINGS 


SCHEDULE 
Clearance 
October  18 

Hile  Theatre,  Bethlehem,  vs.  Palace 
Theatre,  Bethlehem,  on  unfair  clearance 
charge. 

Grand  Theatre,  Edwardsville,  vs.  Com- 
erford  theatres  in  Wilkes-Barre  and 
Kingston  on  excessive  clearance. 


Byrd  Case  Postponed 

Hearing  of  the  Byrd  Theatre  case  will  not  be 
scheduled  until  the  Ambassador  Theatre  appeal 
is  settled  by  the  Code  Authority.  The  apppeal 
is  now  before  the  body. 


No  Grievances 

Grievance  board  isn’t  busy  these  days  but 
there  is  a  rumor  around  that  a  local  circuit  is 
to  file  many  cases  against  competitive  theatres. 
More  information  later. 


YORK 


Sid  Poppay  has  found  a  way  to  keep  his  early 
patrons  pleased  during  the  wait  between 
the  opening  of  the  doors  and  the  start  of 
the  show.  He  has  installed  a  radio.  He 
has  also  made  some  neat  tie-ups,  and  has 
several  business  houses  clambering  for  the 
imprinted  paper  bags  he  has  turned  out  on 
two  pictures.  One  of  the  stores  put  the 
ad  for  “Romance  in  the  Rain”  on  candy 
bags,  and  then  gave  it  a  plug  in  the  win¬ 
dow,  and  the  manager  said  he  sold  more 
candy  than  at  any  time  since  Christmas. 
He  also  supplemented  his  trailer  on  "Here 
Comes  the  Navy”  by  having  a  bugler 


Rezoning  in  November 

Next  month  should  see  the  resump¬ 
tion  of  new  zoning  schedule  work  for 
the  1935-1936  season. 

All  territories  will  be  considered. 


Quality  Scores 

Quality  Premium  Distributors,  Inc.,  announce 
a  tremendous  scoop  in  securing  United  States 
rights  for  the  patented  22  Karat  Etched  Gold 
Dinnerware.  Heretofore  etched  gold  has  only 
been  sold  in  the  high  price  range  market  and 
for  the  first  time,  Quality  brings  this  expensive 
dinnerware  to  exhibitors  at  a  price  that  per¬ 
mits  its  offering  in  the  premium  field.  Quality 
Premium  Distibutors,  Inc.,  are  happy  in  secur¬ 
ing  exclusive  sa’es  rights  for  the  entire  country, 
with  the  manufacturers  who  hold  a  patent  for 
etching  their  china,  which  cannot  be  imitated. 

Although  samples  have  just  been  received, 
this  deal  has  already  been  purchased  by  the 
following  theatres ;  Roxy,  Maple  Shade,  N.  J. ; 
Grant,  Philadelphia ;  Glenside,  Glenside ;  Roose¬ 
velt,  Downingtown,  and  Kantor  Circuit,  New 
York. 


sound  assembly  from  the  stage  just  before 
it  flashed  onto  the  screen. 

Bill  Israel,  district  manager,  is  working  hard 
to  have  York  included  on  the  vaudeville 
circuit.  Vaudeville,  if  it  materializes,  will 
be  added  to  the  Strand  program,  for  three 
days,  probably,  Thursday,  Friday  and  Sat¬ 
urday. 

Cleon  Miller,  Strand,  got  a  break  when  Old 
Gold  put  out  one  sheets,  on  "Cleopatra,” 
just  before  the  picture  opened  in  York.  He 

sniped  them  with  a  line - Now  Playing 

Strand. 


Tri-Ergon  Ruling  of  Interest  to  Exhibitors 


Exhibitors  everywhere  may  be  affected  by  the  recent  refusal  of  the  United 
States  Supreme  Court  to  review  decisions  made  by  the  Circuit  Court  of  Appeals  in 
litigation  concerning  Tri-Ergon  patents.  In  so  doing,  it  is  thought  that  it  gave 
William  Fox,  who  owns  the  patents,  the  power  to  sue  almost  every  company  for 
infringement. 

Fox  controls  the  American  Tri-Ergon  Corporation,  having  acquired  the  patents 
from  the  three  German  inventors,  Hans  Vogt,  Joseph  Massolle,  and  Josef  Engl. 
Devices  invented  by  these  three  Germans  are  an  intrinsic  part  of  the  motion  picture 
sound  production  and  reproduction,  and  according  to  Daniel  G.  Rosenblatt,  Fox’s 
attorney,  are  valued  at  anywhere  from  $100,000,000  up. 

The  patents  involved  cover  the  invention  of  the  “double  print”  principle  in 
sound  picture  production,  and  the  “flywheel’’  principle  in  production. 

Rosenblatt  said  recently  that  he  would  probably  file  suit  for  an  accounting 
from  the  whole  industry  within  a  short  time,  although  he  could  not  say  just  what 
procedure  would  be  followed.  The  suits,  if  filed,  would  be  brought  in  Federal  Court, 
on  the  basis  of  the  Supreme  Court  decision.  Only  the  big  circuits  and  producers 
would  be  named  in  the  suit,  according  to  Rosenblatt,  the  attorney  figuring  that  the 
smaller  outfits  would  probably  fall  in  line  as  a  result  of  Fox’s  probable  victory. 

The  Supreme  Court  action  was  defended  by  Paramount,  representing  both  the 
producing  angle  of  the  suit  and  the  exhibitors  and  by  Wilmer  and  Vincent,  theatre 
operators.  Paramount,  in  addition,  was  also  helped  in  its  cause  by  ERPI. 

The  case  was  carried  to  the  Supreme  Court  by  the  theatre  owners  using  the 
patents.  Contending  that  the  judges  of  the  lower  courts  had  had  a  sharp  conflict 
of  opinion  regarding  the  validity  of  the  patents,  the  exhibitors  poined  out  that  “as 
construed  by  the  courts  below,  the  patents  are  so  broad  as  to  permit  the  respondents 
(Fox  and  Tri-Ergon)  to  claim  tribute  from  practically  every  one  who  has  produced 
or  exhibited  talking  motion  pictures  or  has  manufactured  equipment  for  recording 
or  reproducing  sound  with  motion  pictures,  or  has  done  the  developing  and  printing 
of  sound  and  motion  picture  records.” 

Meanwhile,  the  trade  wonders. 


Octl5'34  pg.  15 


DEAD  WHAT  THEYilE  SWING  ABOUT 

dS)k.  EDWIN  C  HILL 


No.l 

of  many 
rave  notices! 


The  Globe  Trotter'-The  Mafic  Voice  of 

HEARST  METROTONE  NEWS 


wwmmsmm**- 

Edwin  C.  Hill  to  Paint  Word  Pictures  of  News 

FIOIIS  Ml  'SWn'DF  MUST  METROTONE 


By  REGINA  CREWE, 

Motion  Picture  Editor,  N.  Y.  American. 

When  Mr.  Brisbane’?  Chinese 
sage  made  that  remark  about 
one  picture  being  worth  so  many 
words,  he  didn’t  mean  the  words 
of  Edwin  C.  Hill.  For  every 
syllable  uttered  by  the  world 
famous  news  commentator  is 
like  the  stroke  of  an  artist’s 
brush,  painting  in  brilliant, 
vivid  colors  a  word  picture  that 
reconstructs  in  the  minds  of  his 
hearers  the  tragedy,  the  drama, 
the  comedy,  the  human  interest 
of  his  subject.  And,  beginning 
Oct.  2,  this  is  precisely  what 
he  is  going  to  do  in  his  latest 
and  greatest  role  of  "Globe 
Trotter”  for  Hearst  Metrotone 
News! 

If  you  unwittingly  faced  the 
Mona  Lisa  in  the  Paris  Louvre, 
chances  are  you’d  see  only  the 
portrait  of  a  somewhat  plump, 
complacent  lady,  and  pass  her 
by.  But  if  the  thrilling  voice, 
the  voice,  for  instance,  of  Edwin 
C.  Hill,  were  to  whisper  in  your 
ear  the  drama  of  La  Gioconda, 
which  is  Mona’s  other  name, 
the  romance  of  her  creator, 
Leonardo  da  Vinci,  in  brief,  the 
story  lurking  behind  the 
lady’s  enigmatic  smile,  you’d 
linger  longer  in  the  great  gal¬ 
lery,  and  leave  with  a  fuller  ap¬ 
preciation  and  understanding  of 
the  masterpiece. 

So  it  is  to  be  from  October  2 
on,  when  Edwin  C.  Hill  tells  you 
on  the  screen  the  significance 
of  the  pictorial  scoops  presented 
by  Hearst  Metrotdne  News. 

Of  course,  all  the  beats  of  the 
Hearst  Metrotone  News  won’t 
come  from  the  cameramen  cov¬ 
ering  Germany,  Fiance,  Eng¬ 
land.  Spain,  indeed  all  Europe 
and  the  Far  East  beside.  The 
half  hundred  pictorial  reporters 
on  the  job  where  things  happen 
throughout  America  will  con¬ 
tribute  their  scoops,  too.  And 
the  rich,  dynamic  voice  of  the 
new  "Globe  Trotter”  will  color 
the  sceen  shots  with  the  graphic 
verbiage  of  a  reporter  so  keen, 
so  talented  that  his  stories  are 
legends  wherever  writers  gather. 

The  personality  of  the  “Globe 
Trotter”  radiates  romance  in  it¬ 
self.  Tall,  dark  ’n’  handsome, 
Ed  Hill,  who  prefers  to  be  called 
"Bill,”  was  a  Park  Row  beau 
ideal.  His  specialty,  from  the 
first,  has  been  the  arresting  type 
Of  journalism  called  the  “color 
story.”  Such  a  character  could 
have  nothing  drab  associated 
with  it. 

Later  be  became  a  real  "Globe 


Trotter,”  covering  the  world  as 
his  reportorial  assignment.  And 
his  office  walls  today  are  plast¬ 
ered  with  pictures  of  presidents, 
princes  and  potentates,  the 
page-one  persons  of  the  age, 
proud  to  autograph  their  photo¬ 
graphs  to  Edwin  C.  Hill.  Now 
of  his  new  news  medium,  he 
says: 

"It’s  a  thrill  to  tell  the  story 
of  the  news,  and  the  story  be¬ 
hind  the  news,  to  the  world’s 
greatest  audience,  the  fifty  mil¬ 
lion  followers  of  Hearst  Metro¬ 
tone  News.  It’s  a  thrill  to  be  a 
reporter  practically  telephoning 
his  story  from  the  X  that  marks 
the  spot  of  its  occurrence  while 
the  news  is  still  red  hot.  And 
it’s  a  thrill  to  be  associated  in  a 
news  gathering  enterprise  with- 
m.v  old,  persuasive  and  esteemed 
friend,  Edward  B.  Hatrick,  and 
the  Hearst  Metrotone  News  or¬ 
ganization. 

“Engagement  as  the  ‘Globe 
Trotter’  puts  me  in  the  spot  of 
a  triple-threat  man.  I’m  an  In¬ 
terpreter,  a  re-write  man  and 
an  editorial  writer.  And  I’m 
going  to  give  the  Metrotone  au¬ 
dience  my  best  efforts  as  a  news¬ 
paperman  with  the  proverbial 
nose  for  news. 

“Hearst  Metroptone  News  is 
the  most  effective  medium  for  the 
dissemination  of  news  that  has 
been  evolved  sinee  the  doings  of 
the  day  were  spread  by  word  of 
mouth  in  the  market-place.  On 
the  screen  the  daily  drmaa  and 
its  comedy  relief,  too,  is  pictor- 
ially  re-enacted  with  all  the 
vital,  pulsating  life  attendant 
upon  the  actual  happening.  And 
these  vivid  pictures  must  be  ac¬ 
companied  by  words  just  as 
vivid’  just  as  vital  as  the  scenes 
they  caption. 

"With  all  due  modesty  I  feel 
I  can  say  that  the  ‘human  side 
of  the  news’  has  about  top  ‘cir¬ 
culation’  figures  for  a  feature  of 
its  kind.  But  association  with 
Hearst  Metrotone  News,  tied  up 
with  thirty-eight  of  the  coun¬ 
try’s  leading  newspapers  and 
some  fifteen  radio  stations,  will 
certainly  bring  the  ‘Globe  Trot¬ 
ter’  the  most  colossal  public  in 
history.” 

So,  with  the  great  day  dawn¬ 
ing,  the  promise  of  Hearst 
Metrotone  New,s  is  to  be  fulfilled 
by  Edwin  C.  Hill,  who,  according 
to  Alexander  Woollcott  and  a 
million  who  agree,  is  the  best  re¬ 
porter  in  America.  And  that, 
ladies  and  gentlemen,  means  the 
best  reporter  in  the  whole  wide 
world. 


EDWIN  CHILL  -THE  NEW  STAR  OF  THE  SCREEN  ! 


16 


Octl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


A  Concise 
National  Survey 


TRADE  IN  REVIEW 


Glances  Outside 
the  Territory 


CODE 

Donald  Richberg  Head 
Man  in  New  NRA  Lineup 

Donald  Richberg  is  the  new  head  man  in  the 
NRA.  What  will  become  of  Sol  A.  Rosenblatt 
doesn’t  appear  any  too  clear  although  it  is  be¬ 
lieved  that  he  will  soon  resign  his  position.  He 
is  one  of  the  last  of  the  Deputy  Administrators 
to  stay. 

Code  Slaps  at 
Price  Cutting  Deals 

The  Code  Authority  recently  took  a  rap  at 
agreements  between  exhibs  and  distribs  author¬ 
izing  exhibs  to  reduce  admission  prices  below 
the  minimum  specified  in  the  contract  when  a 
complaint  is  filed  against  the  offending  exhibitor 
in  a  code  case.  The  ruling  also  indicates  a 
stopping  of  film  service  if  such  a  deal  is  made. 

Code  Authority  to  Get 
After  Delinquents 

The  Code  Authority  doesn’t  intend  to  let 
exhibs  get  away  from  paying  their  assessments. 

Hints  of  legal  action  have  been  made  where 
the  bills  have  not  been  paid.  In  some  sections 
of  the  country,  exhibs  who  find  fault  with  the 
code  board  setup  have  threatened  to  stop  pay¬ 
ment  of  assessments. 

EXHIBITION 

Allied,  MPTOA  Still 
Acquiring  New  Units 

Both  Allied  and  MPTOA  are  either  sponsor¬ 
ing  organization  of  new  affiliates  or  acquiring 
old  ones.  Allied  recently  took  on  the  new 
Georgia,  Florida,  Tennessee,  Alabama  Indepen¬ 
dent  Theatres  Association. 

Allied  is  also  sponsoring  a  new  unit  in  Maine 
and  Connecticut. 

It  is  believed  that  MPTOA  may  sponsor 
new  units  in  territories  where  Allied  is  strong, 
with  Allied  taking  the  same  attitude  regard¬ 
ing  MPTOA. 

Attempts  Being  Made 
To  Increase  Prices 

Independents  and  chains  in  various  parts  of 
the  country  are  seeking  to  work  together  in 
raising  prices. 

In  the  far  west  as  well  as  in  the  south,  the¬ 
atres  are  tipping  the  ante  a  bit,  while  in  other 
situations,  if  conditions  improve  at  all,  the  same 
practice  will  be  put  into  effect. 

SMPE  Meets  in  Its 
Regular  Fall  Convention 

The  Society  of  Motion  Picture  Engineers 
will  meet  in  New  York  City,  October  29,  in 
regular  fall  convention. 

Body,  which  is  of  extreme  importance  to  the 
industry,  will  have  Ed  Kuykendall,  president 
MPTOA,  and  Mrs.  Frances  Taylor  Patterson, 
director  of  Photoplay  Appreciation,  Columbia 
University,  as  speakers. 


Movable  Objects  Not 
Under  Federal  Housing 

Chairs,  carpets  and  draperies  cannot  come 
under  the  benefits  of  the  Federal  Housing 
Administration  ruling  because  they  are  movable, 
but  repairs  to  heating  plant,  floors  and  build¬ 
ing  proper  are  included.  Amounts  range  up 
to  $2000. 

Film  Carriers  Desire 
Separate  Provision 

Members  of  the  National  Film  Carriers,  Inc., 
which  met  in  convention  in  Detroit  will  seek 
a  separate  amendment  to  the  trucking  code  cov¬ 
ering  specialized  activity  of  film  truckers,  re¬ 
garding  hours  and  labor  conditions.  The  meet¬ 
ing  re-elected  James  Clark,  Philadelphia,  as 
president. 

“Little  Women”  Gets 
The  Photoplay  Medal 

Annual  medal  given  to  the  finest  production 
of  each  year  has  been  handed  to  “Little 
Women”  this  time,  says  Photoplay  Magazine. 
Vote  of  the  readers  decides  the  issue. 

PRODUCTION 

Pictures  Keep  Up 
Normal  Production  Pace 

Reports  from  the  coast  indicate  that  produc¬ 
tion  is  about  normal. 

Survey  of  pictures  being  prepared,  filming 
and  recently  completed  includes:  COLUMBIA 
— Stake  Out,  Fugitive  Lady,  White  Lies,  Burnt 
Ranch;  METRO — Wicked  Woman,  Repeal, 
Forsaking  All  Others,  David  Copperfield,  The 
Night  is  Young,  Sequoia;  FOX — Lottery 
Lover,  Helldorado,  Bachelor  of  Arts,  East 
River ;  RADIO — Little  Minister,  Girl  of  the 
Islands,  Silver  Streak,  Lightning  Strikes  Twice, 
West  of  the  Pecos,  Romance  of  Manhattan, 
Portrait  of  Laura  Bayles ;  PARAMOUNT— 
Lives  of  a  Bengal  Lancer,  College  Rhythm, 
It’s  a  Gift,  Here  is  My  Heart,  Ruggles  of  Red 
Gap,  Code  of  the  West,  Father  Brown,  Detec¬ 
tive,  One  Hour  Late,  Red  Woman,  The  Gilded 
Lily,  Caprice  Espagnole ;  WARNERS — Sweet 
Adeline,  Concealment,  The  Right  to  Love, 
White  Cockatoo,  Skipper  of  the  Ispahan,  Fly¬ 
ing  Marines  Racing  Luck,  Sweet  Music,  Casino 
de  Paree,  Gold  Diggers  of  1935,  Bordertown ; 
UNIVERSAL— The  Good  Fairy,  Night  Life 
of  the  Gods,  When  a  Man  Sees  Red;  UNITED 
ARTISTS— The  Mighty  Barnum ;  MASCOT 
— In  O'd  Santa  Fe;  ROACH — Babes  in  Toy- 
land;  CHESTERFIELD— The  Port  of  Lost 
Dreams. 

MONOGRAM— Flirting  with  Danger,  Girl 
of  Mv  Dreams,  Sing  Sing  Nights,  Mysterious 
Mr.  Wong,  The  Healer,  Murder  in  the  Strato¬ 
sphere. 

Warners,  Paramount  and  Radio  were  most 
active. 

Paramount  Claims  Reach 
$154,047,735  Total 

Claims  filed  in  Paramonni  Pnblix  bank¬ 
ruptcy  proceedings  and  deemed  filed  under  Sec¬ 
tion  77B  of  the  Bankruptcy  Act  and  new  claims 


filed  in  the  latter  proceedings  up  to  September 
15  reached  $154,047,735.82  according  to  an  esti¬ 
mate  recently  made 

It  is  believed  some  of  the  claims  are  high 
and  the  total  does  not  represent  the  final  pay¬ 
ments  that  have  to  be  made. 

Plenty  of  Americans 
In  English  Pictures 

The  number  of  Americans  who  are  being 
engaged  for  English  productions  is  mounting. 
Recent  additions  are  John  Barrymore,  Phil.ips 
Holmes,  Bessie  Love,  Nils  Asther  and  plenty 
of  others.  This  well  indicates  the  desire  of  the 
British  to  deliver  pictures  for  the  American 
market. 

Technicolor  Total 
Reaches  8  Next  Year 

There  will  be  about  8  Technicolor  pictures, 
according  to  Dr.  Herbert  T.  Kalmus,  head  of 
the  organization. 

More  shorts  will  be  produced  next  season  in 
color,  he  said,  with  the  8  features  distributed 
among  several  companies. 

Production  Total  Drops 
In  1933  Season 

Government  reports  indicate  that  the  pro¬ 
duction  total  for  1933  was  way  under  that  of 
1931,  22%  to  be  exact.  The  first  statistical 
survey  and  census  report  so  showed.  Total  was 
$119,342,866  compared  to  $154,435,688. 

Columbia  Re-elects 
Its  Directors 

Business  of  Columbia  Pictures  Corp.  in  the 
first  quarter  of  its  current  fiscal  year — three 
months  ended  September  30 — would  compare 
favorably  with  that  in  the  corresponding  time 
a  year  ago,  A.  Schneider,  treasurer,  told  stock¬ 
holders  at  the  annual  meeting. 

Contracts  for  services  of  Harry  and  Jack 
Cohn,  president  and  vice-president  respectively, 
and  extension  of  their  options  to  purchase  stock 
— both  for  a  period  of  three  years  as  of  July 
1,  1934 — were  unanimously  ratified  at  the  meet¬ 
ing. 

Dr.  A.  H.  Giannini,  who  recently  was  elected 
a  voting  trustee  of  Columbia  Pictures  Corp., 
in  place  of  Joe  Brandt,  resigned,  was  present 
at  the  meeting. 

At  the  meeting  stockholders  re-elected  the 
following  directors :  Harry  Cohn,  Jack  Cohn, 
Leo  M.  Blancke,  Nathan  Burkan,  A.  Schneider, 
S.  Bornstein  and  J.  Kerner. 

Sam  Katz  Joins 
Metro  as  Producer 

Sam  Katz,  formerly  with  Paramount,  is  now 
a  producer  for  Metro.  Since  his  departure 
from  Publix  he  has  not  been  active. 

Warners  Sign  Max 
Reinhardt  for  Films 

Max  Reinhardt  has  signed  a  long  term  con¬ 
tract  with  Warners  to  produce  pictures.  His 
first  will  be  “Midsummer  Night’s  Dream,”  re¬ 
cently  produced  by  him  on  the  coast. 

The  signing  was  marked  by  plenty  of  inter¬ 
est  among  the  tradesmen. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Octl5'34 


17 


Glancing  Everywhere  in  ihe  Territory 


PRESIDENT.  James  Clark,  racon¬ 
teur  and  leader  of  the  Horlacher 
Delivery  Service,  Inc.,  is  again  the 
president  of  the  National  Film  Car¬ 
riers,  Inc.  He  was  re-elected  at  the 
Detroit  meeting. 


NEW  SALESMAN.  John  Shaffer  is 
selling  for  First  Division  in  the 
local  territory.  He  is  a  veteran  in 
the  business. 


DOESN’T  KNOW.  Charlie  Segall, 
president,  MPTO,  hasn’t  made  up 
his  mind  regarding  his  position  on 
re-election  to  the  leadership  of  that 
body. 


VINELAND  KIDDIE  SHOWS.  Allan  Rappaport,  manager,  Grand  Theatre,  Vine- 
land,  N.  J.,  and  district  manager  Everett  Callow  are  responsible  for  the  success 
of  the  kiddie  show  held  at  the  house  every  Friday  afternoon,  starting  at  4.30 
and  lasting  one  hour.  Membership  has  reached  the  800  figure  in  3  weeks,  each 
youngster  signing  and  pledging  membership.  Local  officials  also  address  the 
body.  The  shot  above  shows  them  lined  up  before  they  went  in  to  see  “Dames,” 
from  Warners.  Rappaport  and  Callow  also  give  free  drinks  at  matinees. 


AT  THE  LUCCHESE  LUNCHEON.  Tony  Lucchese,  Charles  Segall,  Leonard  Schlesinger, 
A1  Boyd  and  Lewen  Pizor  were  some  of  those  seated  on  the  dais  October  8. 

(News  Photo) 


NOVEL  BALLYHOO.  Under  the 
direction  of  Captain  Earle  Ham¬ 
mond,  this  float,  plugging  Para¬ 
mount’s  “The  Scarlet  Empress,” 
paraded  the  streets  of  Bethlehem. 
A1  Boyd’s  new  Boyd  Theatre  may 
be  seen  in  the  background. 


Octl5'34  pg.  18 


WHY  HAS  M  G  M  LED  THE  FIELD 
COHSISTENTLY  FOR  MAHY  YEARS  ? 

IT  IS  NOT  GUESSWORK  —  IT  IS  NOT  ACCIDENTAL  / 

There  are  4  Good  Reasons 

for  Metro’ s  Steady  Stream  oi  Bor  Office  Hits — 

1  —  OUR  OUTSTANDING  STARS 

2  ”  THE  INDUSTRY'S  GREATEST  DIRECTORS 

3“  WRITERS  WHO  KNOW  WHAT  THE  SCREEN  NEEDS 

4“  A  VETERAN  ORGANIZATION  OF  MEN  WHO 

KNOW  HOW  TO  MAKE  PICTURES  FOR  SHOWMEN 

Look  Over  Pietro  for  1934-1935 .  • . 

LOOK  AT  THE  LINE-UP .  .  .  COMPARE  STARS-STORIES- 
DIRECTORS- WRITERS -PERSONNEL  .  .  . 

/ud^e  Each  Feature  •  •  •  SEE  IF  YOU  CAN'T 
MAKE  MORE  MONEY  BY  EXTENDING  YOUR  PLAYING 
TIME-A  GOOD  PICTURE  IS  WORTH  ALL  THE  TIME  AND 
EFFORT  PLACED  BEHIND  IT  .  .  . 

THINK  THAT  OVER  .  . . 

AND  NOW.  .  . 

TAKE  A  LONG  LOOK  AT  THESE  REVIEWS  ^ 


Octl5'34  pg.  19 


HIT  AFTER 
HIT  FROM 

M 


NOT  ONLY  A  TRIUMPH 

BUT  WORTHY  OF  EXTRA 

PLAYING  TIME 

EVERYWHERE 


PROTECT  your 

INVESTMENT  WITH 


EXTRA  DAYS 


HERE'S  WHAT 

FILM  DAILY 


SUPERLATIVES  FOR  “BARRETTS" 

The  most  glowing  parade  of  superla¬ 
tives  bestowed  on  a  film  in  years  was 
marched  out  by  the  New  York  critics 
for  “Barretts  of  Wimpole  Street,”  M-G-M 
production,  which  opened  Friday  at  the 
Capitol,  Reviews  were  unanimously  laud¬ 
atory  in  the  highest  degree,  and  most  of 
them  were  actually  dizzy  with  adjectives. 


YOURS  FOR 
BIGGER  BUSINESS, 


1 Bob  Lynch 

MGM 


Manager 


JUST  ONE  TRIUMPH 
AFTER  ANOTHER/ 


20 


Octl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Etched  Gold  Sets  are  sold  in  de¬ 
partment  stores  np  to  $50.00  per 
set  and  are  absolutely  the  finest 
r  \Premium  Sets  Ever  Offered  % 


A  "Bonanza77 
For  Higher 
Admission 
Priced  Theatres 


Vt\f 


JUST  OPENED  AT  THE  FOLLOW 
ING  THEATRES 

ROXY,  MAPLE  SHADE,  N.  J. 

GLENSIDE,  GLENSIDE,  PA. 

GRANT,  PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 
ROOSEVELT,  DOWNINGTOWN,  PA. 
KANTOR  CIRCUIT  IN  NEW  YORK 

Watch  It  Make  Box-Office  History! 


QUALITY 

Premium  Distributors,  Inc. 

“Sewing  Exhibitors  from  Coast  to  Coast ” 

HOME  OFFICE: 

1305  Vine  St.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


A  Deal  So  FINE — It 
CAN’T  Be  Imitated 


22K.  Etched  Gold 

DINMERWARE 

Is  made  by  a  patented  process 
and  controlled  for  the  entire 
United  States  by  us 


BETWEEN  THE  PARAGRAPHS 

-  — 


RACE  BETWEEN  MPTOA  AND 
ALLIED  DOESN’T  HELP  SITUATION 

The  national  industry  is  now  getting  a  not-so-pretty  picture  of 
the  MPTOA  and  Allied  in  a  race  for  more  units  so  that  a  complete 
national  coverage  can  be  attained. 

No  one  questions  the  advantages  of  having  units  in  all  parts  of 
the  country,  if  there  were  one  national  organization,  but  what  advan¬ 
tages  will  be  gained  by  having  competitive  units  in  all  spots  are  not 
apparent. 

If  the  two  organizations  learn  to  co-operate  in  matters  of  legisla¬ 
tive,  tax,  etc.,  importance,  perhaps  the  effect  of  one  organization  will 
be  achieved  in  this  respect. 

That  there  is  no  chance  of  one  single  national  organization  of 
exhibitors  is  quite  apparent.  What  may  eventually  result  from  this 
twin  competition,  however,  doesn’t  look  any  too  happy.  In  many  spots, 
the  bodies  will  be  weak  in  make-up  because  of  split  in  membership, 
and  in  each  case,  where  a  combined  front  might  effect  relief,  such  a 
step  will  not  be  possible. 

DRIVE  AGAINST  FILMS 
TAKES  A  NEW  TURN 

With  the  Legion  of  Decency  passing  from  the  front  pages,  al¬ 
though  continuing  its  work  as  a  force  against  unclean  pictures,  new 
bodies  are  coming  to  the  fore,  having  for  their  purpose  such  standard 
platforms  and  principles  as  opposition  to  block  bookings,  etc.  The 
Legion  of  Decency  movement  may  be  recorded  as  one  of  the  few  in 
the  past  few  years  which  attained  its  goal.  One  of  the  reasons  for 
this  is  because  it  was  not  sponsored  by  professional  reformers. 

Whether  the  new  movements  will  be  carried  along  on  the  same 
wave  which  helped  the  other  is  to  be  doubted.  A  reformer’s  war  is 
not  always  noteworthy  for  its  sincerity. 

It  will  be  interesting  to  note. 

NEWSREEL  IMPROVEMENT 
SHOULD  AID  THE  BOX  OFFICE 

Improvement  in  at  least  two  newsreels,  Metro  and  Fox,  should  be 
of  aid  to  the  box  office.  While  it  can  hardly  be  expected  that  people 
will  base  their  selection  of  an  evening’s  entertainment  on  a  newsreel, 
still  a  higher  type  reel  helps  the  surrounding  program. 

Fox  makes  the  greatest  change  in  its  Movietone  reel,  with  depart¬ 
mental  idea  predominant.  Hearst  Metrotone  had  a  better  snap,  with 
the  general  idea  the  same  as  before. 

With  less  moralizing  and  propaganda  in  the  reels  and  a  closer 
approach  to  the  news  ideas  of  the  silent  days,  newsreels  have  a  chance 
to  come  into  their  own.  Both  the  Morro  Castle  and  Lindbergh  beats 
came  at  a  good  time  and  both  added  to  the  reputation  of  all  the  reels. 

There  is  still  room  for  improvement. 

INDUSTRY  AWAITS  ADVENT 
OF  NEW  “TIME”  IDEA 

When  “Time,”  the  news  magazine,  does  anything,  it  produces  a 
finished  job.  Announcement  that  “Time”  is  going  into  the  short  sub¬ 
ject  field  with  a  type  of  dramatized  newsreel  should  be  greeted  by  all 
exhibitors  everywhere. 

Releasing  arrangements  are  being  set  now  and  the  new  reel  should 
break  within  the  near  future. 

It  can  be  said,  without  any  further  information,  that  what  “Time” 
will  present  will  be  a  credit  to  the  field. 

HOBART  MANN. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Octl5'34 


21 


Delaware  Body  Quiet 


Independent  Motion  Picture  Theatre 
Owner*  of  Delaware  and  the  Eastern 
Shore  of  Maryland  seems  headed  for  a 
quiet  state  this  winter  unless  some  larger 
problems  than  now  faces  them  arises. 

A.  J.  DeFiore,  president,  has  found 
that  the  rural  theatre  men  feel  that  it 
is  too  much  of  a  tax  upon  them  to  hold 
monthly  meetings  that  require  them  to 
travel  long  distances,  as  long  as  every¬ 
thing  is  going  along  smoothly. 

DeFiore  let  it  be  known  that  this  was 
not  to  be  taken  as  any  indication  that 
the  association  was  headed  the  “easiest 
way  out.” 


Who's  Afraid 
of  the 

Bold  Bad  Winter? 

Not  New  Jersey  exhibitors 
because  they  know  that  New 
Jersey  Messenger  Service  has 
made  good  its  promises.  Even 
in  last  year’s  terrific  cold,  not 
one  exhibitor  was  inconveni¬ 
enced  and  none  had  to  worry. 
They  knew  their  shipments 
were  protected. 

Never  a  Missout 
Always  on  Time 

The  record  of  New  Jersey 
Messenger  Service  speaks  for 
itself.  Ask  their  customers 
what  they  think  and  there  is 
only  one  answer.  NEVER  A 
MISSOUT.  ALWAYS  ON 
TIME.  And  when  emergencies 
arise,  New  Jersey  Messenger 
Service  is  on  the  job  to  take 
care  of  all  problems. 


NEW  JERSEY 

MESSENGER  SERVICE 

250  N.  Juniper  St.  Myer  Adleman 
PHILADELPHIA  Prop. 

Spr.  9355  Loc.  8787  Race  9444 


Majestic  Pictures 
Involved  in  Court  Action 

Localities  Prominent  as  New 

York  City  Case  Is  Filed 

The  local  industry  views  with  interest 
starting  of  a  suit  in  New  York  City  which 
involves  members  of  the  local  film  world. 

Majestic  Pictures  Corporation  has  been 
served  with  a  bill  of  complaint,  in  which  an 
injunction  as  well  as  appointment  of  a  receiver 
is  asked.  The  comp'ainant  is  Majestic  Pictures, 
Inc.,  of  which  Anthony  Lucchese  is  president. 

Bill  of  complaint  charges  that  Herman  Gluck- 
man,  while  president  of  Majestic  Pictures  Cor¬ 
poration,  caused  Majestic  Producing  Corpora¬ 


tion  to  be  formed,  for  the  purpose  of  having  it 
reap  the  benefits  of  the  good  will  and  distri¬ 
bution  organization  which  Majestic  Pictures 
Corporation  had  built  up,  at  great  expense.  It 
further  charges  that  the  use  of  the  name 
“Majestic'’  by  this  new  company  is  illegal,  and 
without  the  consent  of  all  stockholders.  The 
court  is  asked  to  appoint  a  receiver,  and  enjoin 
the  use  of  the  name  and  assets  of  Majestic  Pic¬ 
tures  Corporation  by  this  new  company. 

Action  was  brought  by  Frank  Fogel,  Phila¬ 
delphia  attorney  for  the  comp’ainant,  in  associa¬ 
tion  with  the  firm  of  Otterbourg,  Steindler 
and  Plouston,  New  York.  When  interviewed, 
Fogel  stated  that  an  examination  of  the 
books  of  the  company  disclosed  many  irregu¬ 
larities,  and  that  the  acts  about  which  complaint 
is  made  are  particularly  reprehensible,  because 
they  took  place  when  Lucchese  was  seriously 
ill,  away  from  his  business  and  under  constant 
care  of  physicians. 


ONLY  EXPERIENCE, 
PRIDE  IN  WORK  AND 
REPUTATION  INSURE 

.  .  .  .  PERFECTION 

It  takes  more  than  a  lot  of  modern  equipment  to 
turn  out  a  finished  work.  Only  a  plant  with  repu¬ 
tation,  with  years  of  fair  dealing  and  good  will 
behind  it,  with  a  record  for  accomplishing  things 
can  really  serve.  National  Penn  Printing  Company 
not  only  has  equipment  that  few  theatrical  print¬ 
ing  shops  in  the  country  can  equal,  but  it  has  the 
other  above  named  advantages  as  well. 

Exhibitors  Are  Sold  on  Our  Service 

No  more  need  be  said  but  that  some  of  the  ex¬ 
hibitors  now  being  served  by  us  have  been  on  our 
books  as  long  as  we  have  been  in  business.  And 
exhibitors  who  are  being  lined  up  daily  by  us 
testify,  immediately,  that  the  National  Penn  type 
of  printing  fits  their  every  need.  In  this  age  of 
perfection  and  service.  National  Penn  is  in  a  posi¬ 
tion  to  guarantee  not  only  speedy  delivery  but 
perfection  performance. 

NATIONAL  PENN  PRINTING  CO. 

1233  Vine  Street,  Philadelphia 

OSCAR  LIBROS  SIMON  LIBROS  AL  BLOFSON 


22 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


2-Oct.-34 


6-Point  Reviews 


1 1  -►Who  made  it  ?  4  ■►  Is  it  family  or  adult  type  ? 

[2 -►  Who's  in  it?  5  >►  What's  it  about? 

3 ■►  How  good  is  it ?  6 -►Running  Time? 


1/ 

COLUMBIA 

1  i 

GAUMONT  BRITISH 

! 

FIRST  DIVISION 

Lady  by  Choice 


(4010) 


Family 
Comedy  Drama 
86m. 


May  Robson,  Carol  Lombard,  Roger  Pryor,  Arthur 
Hold,  Walter  Connolly,  Ray  W  alburn,  Kathleen 
Howard,  William  Faversham,  Snowflake,  James 
Burke. 

Successor  to  “Lady  for  a  Day”  looms  as 
another  important  Columbia  contribution  and 
standing  a  good  chance  to  touch  grosses  of 
the  first  picture.  A  hot  dancer  adopts  an  old 
woman  as  her  mother  for  publicity  purposes. 
What  started  as  a  stunt  ends  in  a  real  friend¬ 
ship  between  the  two  with  the  stage  mother 
trying  to  prevent  the  stage  daughter  from  mak¬ 
ing  a  mess  of  things.  Show  is  nicely  handled, 
has  all  the  elements  that  make  for  good  box 
office. 


Estimate:  Nice. 


FOX 


Family 

Love  Time  (505)  Musical  Romance 

73m. 

Nils  Asther,  Pat  Patterson,  Herbert  Mundin,  Harry 
Green,  Henry  B.  Walthall,  Lucien  Littlefield,  Henry 
Kolker,  Roger  Imhof,  Herman  Bing,  Albert  Conti, 
Georgia  Caine. 

Musical  operetta  romance  type  of  story  with 
Franz  Schubert’s  love  for  a  woman  of  royal 
birth  the  central  theme.  He  loses  her  later 
when  the  King  decrees  that  she  cannot  marry 
him.  Picture  aims  at  something  that  it  doesn't 
quite  attain  although  it  contains  some  p’easant 
music,  lovely  photographs  and  interesting  per¬ 
formances.  Show  has  no  big  names  to  sell 
although  it  is  studded  with  feature  players. 
Where  they  like  light  and  airy  musical  ro¬ 
mances,  this  will  please. 

Estimate:  Probably  spotty. 


365  Nights  in 
Hollywood  (514) 


Family 

Comedy  with  Music 
74m. 


James  Dunn,  Alice  Faye,  Mitchell  and  Durant, 
Frank  Melton,  Grant  Mitchell,  John  Qualen,  John 
Bradford. 

Familiar  Hollywood  background  story  that 
concentrates  on  an  expose  of  fake  movie 
schools,  “365  Nights”  has  some  names  to  sell, 
some  good  ensemble  numbers  and  lots  of 
comedy.  Whi’e  the  show  doesn’t  rise  to  any 
great  heights,  the  inside  stuff  is  of  most  impor¬ 
tance.  Dunn,  as  a  fake  school  teacher  who 
eventually  does  make  good  for  the  girl,  is  his 
usual  self  and  there  is  good  support,  as  well. 

Estimate:  Program  Hollywood  stuff. 


What  Do  You  Think? 

it  is  the  aim  of  this  publication  to  give  its  readers 
every  possible  service.  Revision  of  the  page  is  an 
attempt  to  offer  a  concise  reviewing  form  that  will 
help  every  exhibitor.  Your  suggestions  and  criticisms 
are  welcomed.  Write  in  now  and  tell  us  whether 
you  like  this  or  not. 


Adult 

PoWCr  Drama 

105m. 

Conrad  Veidt,  Cedric  Hardwicke,  Benita  Hume, 
Pamela  Ostrer,  Mary  Claire,  Sir  Gerald  du  Maurier, 
Haidee  Wright,  Eva  Moore. 

Based  on  a  novel  by  Lion  Feuchtwanger  that 
had  a  big  sale,  this  story  of  a  Jew  who 
strove  onward  to  aid  his  oppressed  people  is 
strong  drama,  with  some  excellent  perform¬ 
ances.  In  some  sectors,  no  doubt,  it  will  im¬ 
press  more  than  in  others,  but  there  can  be  no 
denying  that  the  production,  action  and  scope 
make  the  picture  worthy  of  playing  time  any¬ 
where.  It  is  adult  in  appeal. 

Estimate:  Impressive. 


FIRST  NATIONAL 


Six  Day  Bike  Rider  (864)  Comedy 

89m. 

Joe  E.  Brown ,  Gordon  Westcott,  Frank  McHugh , 
Maxine  Doyle ,  Arthur  Aylesworth,  Dorothy  Christy, 
Lottie  Williams. 

Typical  Joe  Brown  show,  with  the  star  as  a 
bike  rider  this  time,  that  should  get  the  same 
return  as  his  other  shows  in  most  spots.  Pic¬ 
ture  is  no  great  change  from  his  others,  but  is 
so  produced  that  it  includes  angles  that  make 
for  plenty  of  exploitation.  In  addition,  the 
national  tie-up  on  the  show  will  help  insure 
good  grosses.  Picture  is  all  Brown  and  clean. 

Estimate:  All  Brown. 


CHESTERFIELD 


The  Curtain  Falls  Comedy  Drama 

66m. 

Henrietta  Crosman,  Jameson  Thomas,  Natalie 
Moorhead,  Dorothy  Lee,  William  Bakewell,  Holmes 
Herbert,  John  Darrow,  Tom  Ricketts,  Ed  Kane, 
Dorothy  Revier,  Bryant  Washburn,  Robert  Frazer, 
Aggie  Herring. 

Well  played  inde  production  of  an  old  time 
actress  who  impersonates  an  English  lady 
rather  than  accept  charity  and  who  eventually 
straightens  out  the  family  into  which  she  has 
entered  as  their  aunt,  “The  Curtain  Falls” 
passes  off  as  pleasant  program  entertainment. 
Henrietta  Crossman’s  presence  is  the  one  bright 
spot  and  she  carries  along  the  entire  picture. 

Estimate:  Pleasing. 


Fugitive  Road 


Adult 

Drama 

65m. 


Eric  Von  Stroheim,  Leslie  Fenton,  Wera  Engels, 
Harry  Holman,  Hank  Mann,  George  Humbert. 


Drama  of  action  near  a  border  station  in  a 
foreign  land  with  Von  Stroheim  again  the 
heavy  and  commander  in  charge.  An  Ameri¬ 
can,  an  escaped  convict,  assists  a  girl  upon 
whom  Von  Stroheim  has  designs.  After  turn¬ 
ing  the  tables  on  the  commander,  he  marries  the 
girl  to  give  her  American  protection.  There 
are  some  dramatic  moments  and  story,  though 
a  bit  slow,  should  interest. 

Estimate:  Fair  inde. 


Return  of  Chandu  Mystery 

— m. 

Bela  Lugosi,  Maria  Alba,  Clara  Kimball  Young, 
Lucien  Prival,  Murdock  McQuarrie,  Wilfred  Lucas, 
Joel  Swickard. 

New  12-episode  serial  with  a  feature  version 
as  well,  or  as  a  feature  with  episodes  to  follow 
this  new  Chandu  will  deliver  all  its  promises. 
Chandu  background  has  the  radio  plugging  to 
aid  it  and  as  a  serial,  it  contains  all  the  thrills, 
fights,  punches,  etc.  Kids  will  love  it  and  the 
grown  folks  will  probably  be  intrigued  by  it  as 
well. 

Estimate:  Okay. 


METRO 


What  Every  _  ,  Adult 

Woman  Knows  (419)  Co""d1,  D£”* 

Helen  Hayes,  Brian  Aherne,  Lucille  Watson,  Madge 
Evans,  Dudley  Digges,  David  Torrence,  Donald  Crisp, 
Henry  Stephenson. 

Well  made,  well  produced  picturization  of  a 
successful  stage  play  and  another  in  the  class  of 
“The  Barretts  of  Wimpole  Street.”  Metro’s 
A-l  casting,  direction  and  production  values 
make  this  invaluable  for  the  class  houses  and 
even  those  catering  to  general  audiences  will 
have  plenty  to  sell.  Sir  James  M.  Barrie  wrote 
the  story  and  the  other  elements  and  character¬ 
izations  lend  themselves  to  plenty  of  exploiting. 

Estimate:  High. 


PARAMOUNT 


Menace  (3413)  Mystery 

60m. 

Paul  Cavanagh,  Gertrude  Michael,  Henrietta  Cros¬ 
man,  John  Lodge,  Raymond  Milland,  Halliwell 
Hobbes ,  Berton  Churchill,  Forrester  Harvey,  Robert 
Allen. 

Mystery  murder  that  will  please  the  thrill 
followers  and  a  suitable  programmer  for  any 
house.  Show  lacks  star  lustre  but  makes  up 
for  it  in  the  creeps  division.  An  inmate  of  an 
insane  asylum  goes  to  avenge  the  death  of  his 
brother.  Well  produced,  with  an  eye  toward 
screens  and  thrills,  the  picture  will  deliver 
everything  promised. 

Estimate:  Thrills  aplenty. 


Ready  lor  Love 


(3412) 


Family 
Comedy  Drama 
65m. 


Richard  Arlen,  Marjorie  Rambeau,  Ida  Lupino, 
Junior  Durkin,  Henry  Travers,  Beulah  Bondi,  Esther 
Howard,  Charles  Sel'on,  Louise  Carter,  Ralph  Lewis. 

Comedy  drama  of  small  town  life  aimed  espe¬ 
cially  for  family  audiences.  A  vaudevillian’s 
daughter  is  mistakenly  given  a  notorious  repu¬ 
tation.  The  young  newspaper  editor  helps 
build  her  into  a  big  name  and  attraction  in  the 
large  city  dailies  but  almost  loses  her  in  the 
process.  Picture  is  well  cast,  has  some  good 
moments.  All  in  all,  it  is  a  show  that  will  fit  in 
especially  in  the  smaller  towns. 

Estimate:  Program. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


23 


2-Oct.-34 


RADIO 


Family 

By  Your  Leave  Comedy 

'  79m. 

Genevieve  Tobin,  Frank  Morgan,  Marion  Nixon, 
Neil  Hamilton,  Glenn  Anders,  Lona  Andre,  Charles 
Lane,  Betty  Grable,  Gene  Lockhart,  Addie  McPhail. 

Comedy  of  a  wife  and  husband  who  decide 
to  take  week-end  flings,  “By  Your  Leave”  is 
important  because  of  the  presence  of  Frank 
Morgan  who  cops  the  acting  honors.  Both  the 
husband  and  wife  find  out  that  their  love  is 
the  true  love  and  attempt  at  sowing  wild  oats 
is  something  other  than  they  had  imagined  it 
to  be.  Picture  is  well  cast  and  where  they 
don’t  demand  names  will  be  accepted  as  a 
breezy  comedy. 

Estimate:  Some  laughs. 


____  __  Family 

The  Gay  Divorcee  (505)  Musical 

106m. 

Fred  Astaire,  Ginger  Rogers,  Edward  Everett  Hor. 
ton,  Erik  Rhodes,  Eric  Blore.  ■  ■ 

Well  produced  musical  comedy  with  consid¬ 
erable  emphasis  on  the  comedy  and  dances  that 
should  turn  in  a  satisfactory  gross  in  most 
spots.  Picture  is  in  the  hands  of  capable  come¬ 
dians  with  the  result  more  than  satisfying.  In 
addition,  a  new  dance,  the  Continental,  can  be 
sold  as  was  the  Carioca.  Production,  costumes, 
etc.,  are  first  rate.  Plot  doesn't  amount  to  much 
but  doesn’t  get  in  the  way. 

Estimate:  Ace  musical. 


Wednesday’s  Child  (510)  Drama 

70m. 

Edward  Arnold,  Karen  Morley,  Shirley  Grey, 
Frankie  Thomas,  Sr.,  David  Durand,  Paul  Stanton, 
Robert  Sliayne. 

Study  of  an  11-year-old  child  who  finds  him¬ 
self  caught  between  father  and  mother  when 
divorce  enters  the  picture,  “Wednesday’s 
Child”  has  angles  to  sell  but  lacks  marquee 
lustre.  The  problem  it  presents  will  hit  home 
in  a  lot  of  spots,  but  unfortunately  is  of  such 
nature  that  some  audiences  will  disagree  right 
from  the  start.  Frankie  Thomas  is  the  child 
in  question,  a  new  name,  and  turns  in  a  fair 
performance.  Otherwise,  picture  has  little  that 
is  outstanding. 

Estimate:  To  be  sold. 


UNIVERSAL 


One  Exciting 

Adventure  (8027) 


Family 
Comedy  Drama 
89m. 


Binnie  Barnes,  Paul  Cavanagh,  Grant  Mitchell, 
Eugene  Pallett.e,  Jason  Robards,  Ferdinand  Gott - 
schalk,  Edward  McWade,  Henry  Ko'.ker,  Neil  Hamil¬ 
ton,  Dorothy  Christy. 

Light  comedy  about  a  girl  kleptomaniac  who 
is  constantly  in  hot  water  and  the  developments 
which  result  from  this  affliction.  Piece  doesn’t 
aim  for  anything  more  than  the  program  divi- 
s:on  and  in  that  category  does  well  enough. 
Comedy  elements  are  played  for  all  they  are 
worth.  Binnie  Barnes  is  still  building  and  this 
won’t  hurt  her. 


Estimate:  Comedy  program. 


UNITED  ARTISTS 


The  Private  Life 

of  Don  Juan 


Adult 

Romantic  Drama 
- m. 


Douglas  Fairbanks ,  Merle  Oberon,  Benita  Hume, 
Binnie  Barnes,  Owen  Nares,  Gina  Malo,  Heather 
Thatcher,  Claude  Allister,  Lawrence  Grossmith, 
Gibson  Gowland. 

Produced  as  a  big  spectacle  with  all  the  re¬ 
sources  of  London  Films  behind  it,  Doug  Fair¬ 
banks’  return  to  the  screen  finds  a  glamorous 
production  to  sell.  Production  division  sur¬ 
mounts  story  and  individual  characterizations, 
which  may  affect  the  grosses.  Fairbanks  is 
again  Don  Juan,  brought  back  into  action 
when  he  is  being  ridiculously  characterized  in 
Seville.  Yarn  allows  for  introduction  of  many 
women  and  some  of  Fairbanks’  athletic  cavort¬ 
ing.  At  a  big  attraction  for  showmen,  it  has 
immense  possibilities.  Fairbanks’  absence  from 
the  screen  will  not  help,  though. 


Estimate:  Plenty  to  sell. 


Transatlantic 

Merry-Go-Round 


Family 

Mystery  with  Songs 
90m. 


Jack  Benny.  Nancy  Carroll,  Gene  Raymond,  Sydney 
Blackmer,  Ralph  Morgan,  Sam  Hardy,  Shirley  Grey, 
Mitzi  Green,  Frank  Parker,  William  Boyd,  Jean  Sar¬ 
gent,  Boswell  Sisters,  Robert  Elliott. 

With  the  cast  studded  with  air  and  screen 
names,  a  story  which  combines  murder  mystery 
with  musical  comedy  and  the  atmosphere  of  a 
transatlantic  liner,  showmen  won’t  have  to 
worry  on  angles  with  which  to  sell  this  entrant. 
If  the  whole  idea  doesn’t  seem  to  fit  part  of 
the  way  it  won’t  be  noticed  because  the  audi¬ 
ence  will  have  plenty  to  hold  its  attention  until 
the  plot  starts  to  move  smoothly.  Cast  offers 
tie-up  opportunities.  In  short,  show  ought  to 
get  the  money. 

Estimate:  Big  possibilities. 


We  Live  Ag  a  in  Drama 

84m. 

Anna  Sten,  Fredric  March,  C.  Aubrey  Smith,  Jane 
Baxter,  Mary  Forbes,  Jessie  Ralph,  Sam  Jaffe,  Fritzi 
Ridgeway,  Cecil  Cunningham,  Morgan  Wallace,  Edgar 
Norton,  Dale  Fuller. 

“Resurrection,”  the  Tolstoi  classic  in  new 
guise,  comes  to  the  screen  as  a  worthy  addition 
to  the  list  of  high  rating  class  productions. 
Thanks  to  the  Reuben  Mamoulian  direction, 
the  playing  of  Sten  and  March  and  some  ex¬ 
cellent  choral  work,  show  should  be  an  impor¬ 
tant  applicant  for  box  office  honors.  Picture, 
however,  may  be  restricted  to  certain  classes 
although  it  contains  everything  smart  showmen 
need  to  attract  trade.  Goldwyn  has  given  the 
picture  plenty  of  support  in  the  matter  of  set¬ 
ting  s  taste,  etc.,  with  the  result  that  the  new 
version  tops  all  before. 

Estimate:  Impressive. 


WARNERS 


The  Firebird  Mystery 

65m. 

Veree  Teasdale,  Ricardo  Cortez ,  Lionel  Atwill, 
C.  Aubrey  Smith,  Dorothy  Tree,  Russell  Hicks,  Anita 
Louise,  Helen  Trenholme,  Hobart  Cavanaugh,  Robert 
Barrat. 

Interesting  entertainment  with  a  mystery 
background  but  light  on  names,  “The  Firebird” 
will  have  to  be  sold  all  the  way.  Folks  will  be 
more  than  satisfied  once  they  come  in.  Mother 
love  has  been  mixed  in  with  the  mystery  murder 
motif  with  a  satisfactory  cast  turning  in  some 
competent  performances.  Moral  of  problems 
of  modern  youth  is  also  introduced. 

Estimate:  Well  done. 


MONOGRAM 


A  Successful  Failure  Comedy  Drama 

62m. 

William  Collier,  Sr.,  Russell  Hopton,  Lucille  Glea¬ 
son,  Gloria  Shea,  William  Janney,  Jamestown 
Thomas,  Richard  Tucker,  George  Breakston,  Clarence 
Wilson. 

Story  of  a  father  who  loses  his  job  and  who 
becomes  a  radio  personality  unknown  to  his 
family,  “A  Successful  Failure”  is  nothing  to 
write  home  about  but  neither  will  it  cause  any 
complaints.  Show  is  just  another  entrant,  but 
in  spots  where  they  go  for  the  homey  type  of 
stuff  will  prove  pleasing.  Willie  Collier,  as  the 
father  who  loses  his  job  and  then  makes  good, 
leads  the  cast. 

Estimate:  Programmer. 


Tomorrow’s  Youth  (3021)  Drama 

63m. 

Martha  Sleeper,  Dickie  Moore,  John  Miljan,  Frank- 
lyn  Pangborn,  Gloria  Shea,  Barbara  Bedford,  Ed 
LeSaint,  Niles  Welch,  Paul  Hirst. 

Problem  story  of  a  child  whose  parents  sepa¬ 
rate  and  who  eventually  brings  them  together 
again.  Subject  matter  is  of  family  audience 
appeal,  but  pace  is  so  slow  that  it  may  handi¬ 
cap  the  picture’s  appeal.  Show’s  strength  is 
largely  Dickie  Moore,  who  turns  in  a  good  per¬ 
formance.  With  his  appeal  the  dominant  note, 
film  may  cash  in  on  plenty  of  selling. 

Estimate:  Fair. 


The  Trail  Beyond  Action 

55m. 

John  Wayne,  Verna  HUlie,  Noah  Beery,  Sr„  Noah 
Beery,  Jr.,  Robert  Fraser,  Iris  Lancaster. 

Western  that  is  up  to  the  usual  Wayne 
standard  and  which  will  satisfy  outdoor  fans. 
This  one  includes  the  hero,  the  girl  and  a  mine. 
The  story  is  by  James  Oliver  Curwood,  which 
might  help. 

Estimate:  Average  western. 


STATE  RIGHTS 


The  Man  from  Hell  Western 

58m. 

Reb  Russell,  Ann  Darcy,  Yakima  Canutt,  Fred 
Kohler. 

Punch  action  western  with  a  new  name  that  is 
bound  to  attract  some  attention.  Russell  was  a 
football  hero  and  even  has  a  horse  called  Rebel. 
Story  of  this  one  finds  him  railroaded  to  jail, 
coming  back,  vindicating  his  honor,  exposing  the 
crooked  mayor  and  winning  the  girl.  Exhibs 
will  have  a  new  western  hero  to  sell. 

Estimate:  Keeps  moving. 


Bride  of  the  Lake  Melodrama 

69m. 

John  Garrick,  Gina  Malo,  Stanley  Holloway,  Sara 
Allgood,  Dennis  Hoey,  Dorothy  Boyd. 

Melodrama  from  England  that  contains 
plenty  of  action  moments.  Cast,  however,  is 
generally  unknown  on  this  side,  a  handicap  that 
will  be  difficult  to  overcome.  Irish  background 
may  be  of  advantage  in  some  spots,  though. 

Estimate:  Question. 


rhe  very  Pick  of  the  New  Inde¬ 
pendent  Crop  . . .  CLASSED  as 
MAJOR  productions  by  ALL 

Reviewers ! 


WE  HAVE  PRINTS 

ready  for  screening 

COME  IN  and  SEE  THEM 


9  MORE 

GUARANTEED 

"THE  PERFECT  CLUE" 

"SAY  IT  WITH  FLOWERS" 

"STRANDED  YOUTH" 

"SECRET  AGENT  'X'  " 

"A  BACHELOR'S  ESTABLISHMENT" 

"THUNDER  IN  THE  STREETS" 

"ENSLAVED" 

"MOTHERS  OF  THE  WORLD" 

"THE  MAN  MARKET" 


Octl5'34  pg.  24 

MASTERPIECE 

FILM  ATTRACTIONS,!!™. 


COLLEEN  MOORE 

"THE  SCARLET  LETTER 

with 

HARDIE  ALBRIGHT 

Directed  by  ROBERT  VINGOLA 

A  Majestic  SPECIAL 

DAV  _ "Capable  direction  gives  an  old  classic 

^ ^ modern  appeal  ...  a  credit  to  inde¬ 
pendent  production." 

HOLLYWOOD  FILMOGRAPH— 

"A  real  bet  for  any  exhibitor  .  .  .  definitely  in  the  major  class 
..." 

MOTION  PICTURE  DAILY — 

duction.  .  .  able  to  stand  alone  on  any  bill.  All  performances 
good." 

DLJ/^Tf'iPI  AY _ "Moves  with  dignified  fempo  .  .  . 

mUIUTLAI - background  authentic  .  .  .  spirit  of 

times  maintained  to  the  letter." 

MOTION  PICTURE  HERALD— i'*;h7jipyh"' 

fleets  Hawthorne's  story  .  .  .  picture  has  showmanship  values." 

SHOWMEN'S  ROUND  TABLE— 

"Fine  entertainment  .  .  .  picture  faithfully  done  .  .  .  Moore- 
Albright  excel.  .  .  .  Welcome  relief  from  modern  sophisticated 
stories." 

X/ADICTV  n  A  II  V  "Competent  cast  .  .  .  picture 
VAKIL  I  T  L/AILT  makes  strong  bid  for  box  office 
attention.  .  .  wisely  larded  with  farcical  humor." 


FIRST  3  OF  M 


"NIGHT  ALARM" 

SPECTACULAR  FIRE  THRILLER 

with 

BRUCE  CABOT  -  JUDITH  ALLEN  -  H.  B.  WARNER 

Directed  by  SPENCER  BENNETT 

A  Majestic  SPECIAL 


"She  Had  To  Choose 

COMEDY  DRAMA  WITH  MUSIC 

with 

LARRY  "BUSTER"  CRABBE  and  ISABEL  JEWELL 

Directed  by  RALPH  CEDER 

A  Majestic  PICTURE 


SHOWMEN'S  ROUND  TABLE— 

"Good  acting,  splendid  direction,  beautiful  photography  .  .  . 
big  variety  of  sets.  .  .  .  Music  entrancing  .  .  .  film  has  all 
thrills." 

DAV  "Fast  moving  fire  story  .  .  .  brim  full 

v-rrnlv^C  cf  thr;||s  and  action.  Exceptionally  well 
produced.  ...  A  credit  to  the  independent  field  .  .  .  Bruce 
Cabot  does  well  .  .  .  Judith  Allen  is  easy  on  the  optics.  Fire 
Sequences  the  real  stuff." 

MOTION  PICTURE  HERALD— ^  ■?,,£ 

manship  .  .  .  also  entertainment  with  romance,  drama,  comedy, 
action  and  the  thrill  of  spectacular  fires  ...  of  unusual  interest 
to  both  adults  and  children." 


V  A  P  I CT  Y  n  All  V  "Chock  full  of  thrills  .  .  .  above 
V/M\ICI  I  L//AI L.  I  the  average  independent  .  .  .  love 

interest  offsets  the  thrill  angles  .  .  .  Cabot  and  Allen  turn  in 
registering  performances  .  .  .  Fuzzy  Knight  screamingly  funny." 


THE  BILLBOARD  "Packed  with  thrills  .  . 


BOX  OFFICE- 


THE  BILLBOARD-;* 

almost  any  type  .  . 

MOTION  PICTURE  HERALD— 

showmanship  features  ...  is  a  choral  musical  number.  .  .  . 
Climax  works  out  in  a  whirlwind  of  action  with  a  surprise 
punch  .  . 

"Definitely  proves  a  simple  down-to- 
earth  story  can  be  made  highly  enter¬ 
taining  through  treatment,  settings  and  excellent  direction  .  .  ." 

VAPICTY  HAM  V  "Good  direction  and  first  class 
YA\MCI  I  UAILI - entertainment.  .  .  .  Excellent  per¬ 

formances  .  .  .  ample  laughs  .  .  .  well  produced  .  . 

MOTION  PICTURE  DAILY- «°/lk  ™ 

tion  appealing  to  family  audiences.  .  .  .  Ceder’s  direction  skil¬ 
fully  blends  romance,  drama,  comedy." 

SHOWMEN'S  ROUND  TABLE— 

"A  picture  the  average  patron  will  love  .  .  .  loaded  with  amus¬ 
ing  situations  .  .  .  abundance  of  good  scenes,  a  lively,  clean 
romance  .  . 


Octl5'34  pg.  25 

ESTIC'S  GUARANTEED  1 2  ™  ~ 


26 


Octl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


BETTER  TESTED  SUCCESSFUL 

MANAGEMENT  #  ideas  #  merchandising 


Smash  Campaigns  Lift 
Norristown  Grosses 

David  R.  Sablosky,  at  the  Norris 
Amusement  Company  Norris,  Grand  and 
Garrick  Theatres,  Norristown,  has 
started  off  his  new  season  with  a  terrific 
bang  and  has  kept  up  the  good  work 
since. 

A  special  8-page  section  in  the  leading  daily 
plugged  coming  attractions,  was  full  of  institu¬ 
tional  copy  and  ads,  indicating  what  the  home 
folks  were  to  see,  contained  messages  from 
Hollywood  stars,  cortimending  the  theatre  as 
well  as  praising  the  150th  anniversary  of  Mont¬ 
gomery  county,  an  item  which  helped  make  the 
tieup  more  important. 

Each  company  selling  the  theatre's  product 
had  a  page  devoted  to  its  1934-35  lineup. 

For  “The  World  Moves  On,”  Dave  didn’t 
miss  a  trick.  Some  of  the  more  striking  tieups 
included  merchants’  hookups;  a  parade  of  old 
autos,  buggies,  wagons,  including  Conestoga 
wagon,  tallyho,  from  1893  up,  with  cars  parked 
near  the  theatre;  a  Century  and  a  Half  of  Prog¬ 
ress  exhibit  in  the  lobby  with  big  institutional 
tieups  from  leading  companies,  the  idea  being 
to  show  how  the  world  moves  on ;  broadcasting ; 
plenty  of  one  sheets,  24  sheets,  3  sheets,  win¬ 
dow  cards,  heralds,  all  heralding  the  attraction 
and  the  county’s  anniversary. 

For  "Treasure  Island,’  Dave  arranged  a  treas¬ 
ure  hunt  with  merchants  tieups  which  got  4,000 
men,  women  and  children  out  to  look  for  the 
treasure.  Business  men  benefitted  through  ar¬ 
rangement  of  the  hunt.  Windows  throughout 
town  plugged  the  attraction.  Heralds,  slips  in 
packages  containing  bread,  full  page  ads,  maga¬ 
zine  deliveries,  etc.,  all  aided.  Dailies  gave 
front  page  stories  as  well. 

There  were  a  lot  of  details,  too  numerous  to 
mention  here,  but  it  can  be  said  that  the  results 
must  have  been  terrific,  thanks  to  a  lot  of  sense 
in  exploiting  the  picture. 


Theatre  Score  Board 

Score  board  was  used  at  Loew’s  Regent  The¬ 
atre,  Harrisburg,  during  the  World  Series,  to 
exploit  the  current  picture,  "Death  On  the 
Diamond.” 

Believed  the  only  theatre  manager  in  the 
country  to  have  taken  advantage  of  the  exploita¬ 
tion  possibilities  offered  by  the  World  Series  in 
this  manner,  Loew’s  pilot,  Sam  Gilman,  per¬ 
sonally  directed  operation  of  the  board  with  his 
assistant,  Bob  Etchberger,  equipped  with  ear 
phones,  doing  the  heavy  work. 

A  loud-speaking  radio  gave  accounts  of  the 
games  while  Bob,  assisted  by  several  ushers, 
operated  the  board  which  Manager  Gilman 
was  fortunate  enough  to  obtain  gratis  through 
the  kind  efforts  of  The  Harrisburgh  Telegraph, 
daily  Harrisburg  newspaper. 


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Cohen  Gag  Again 

Barney  Cohen,  Benson  manager,  who 
used  to  be  called  the  terror  of  Market 
Street  because  of  his  bum  gags,  is  living 
up  to  his  reputation.  He  submits  this: 

Scene:  A  barber  shop. 

George  Sobel:  “Hell,  Barney — how’s 
it?” 

Barney  “Hi-George,  okeh.” 

George:  “How’s  business  in  Siberia?” 

Barney:  “Not  bad,  still  getting  it  on 
the  line  every  week.” 

George:  “Say,  I  understand  Moe 
Goodman  is  out  there.  How  is  the 
Benn  doing?  1  guess  Moe  keeps  you 
stepping.” 

Barney:  “IS  THE  BENN  OPEN?” 


“Gentleman”  in  Harrisburg 

Sam  Gilman,  manager,  Regent  Theatre,  Har¬ 
risburg,  put  over  a  number  of  effective  stunts 
which  attracted  considerable  attention  for  the 
opening  of  “The  Last  Gentleman.” 

A  few  days  before  the  opening,  local  news¬ 
papers  gave  the  attraction  a  number  of  breaks 
with  stories  and  photos  and  the  Telegraph  ran  a 
classified  ad  contest  which  kept  “The  Last  Gen¬ 
tleman”  before  its  readers  during  the  entire 
engagement.  In  the  local  Studebaker  car  parade, 
Gilman  had  a  sound  truck  bannered.  Murphy 
store  distributed  15,000  imprinted  napkins,  had 
their  employees  wear  special  silk  badges  plug¬ 
ging  “The  Last  Gentleman”  and  devoted  an 
entire  window  to  an  attractive  display. 

Graver’s  Shirley 

Larry  Graver,  manager,  Stanley-Warner’s 
Stanley  Theatre,  arranged  a  Shirley  Temple 
contest  in  conjunction  with  Gimbel’s  and  W1P. 
Idea  was  that  the  winner  should  be  closest  to 
Shirley  Temple.  Eventually  they  selected  one 
of  the  girls  but  Larry  had  to  run  for  dear  life 
after  the  other  irate  mothers  got  after  him. 


“World  Today”  Ends 

Unable  to  arouse  sufficient  interest  in  the 
“World  Today”  series  of  motion  pictures,  first 
of  which  was  presented  at  the  Majestic,  Har¬ 
risburg,  September  15,  Herbert  Y.  McMullen, 
New  York  City,  announced  last  week  that  the 
plan  had  been  abandoned. 

McMullen,  obtaining  the  co-operation  of  C. 
Floyd  Hopkins,  Wilmer  and  Vincent  head  in 
Harrisburg,  had  worked  industrially  for  more 
than  a  month  to  create  interest  in  the  programs, 
designed  especially  for  the  entertainment  and 
education  of  children.  It  had  been  intended 
to  give  a  series  of  ten  Saturday  morning  pro¬ 
grams.  Course  tickets  for  children  or  adults 
were  sold  for  the  series. 


Using  Series 

George  Jones,  Loew’s,  Wilmington,  had  a 
large  sign  24  by  five  feet  placed  over  the 
World  Series  score  board  of  the  News-Journal 
office,  which  was  seen  by  thousands  who 
watched  the  board.  Ballyhoo  was  for  “Outcast 
Lady.” 


“Dames”  in  Mt.  Carmel 

A  novel  and  clever  exploitation  stunt  to  put 
across  the  song  numbers  in  “Darpes”  was  de¬ 
vised  by  J.  L.  Thomas,  State  Theatre,  Mt. 
Carmel.  Thomas  promoted  a  street  car  for 
three  hours  each  day  for  three  days  before  the 
opening  and  filled  it  with  girls.  Street  car 
itself  was  bannered  with  “Dames,”  theatre 
name  and  play  date,  plus  the  usual  picture  and 
co-operative  copy.  As  the  street  car  went 
through  the  streets  of  Mt.  Carmel,  the  girls 
who  filled  the  car  all  sang  "Dames”  and  “Eyes 
For  You,”  two  of  the  hit  numbers  from  the 
show. 


Tootsie  Rolls 

Tootsie  rolls,  from  the  Frankie  Darro  Picture 
Stamp  Club  and  Mascot  pictures  were  sent 
into  this  office.  It  seems  the  Frankie  Darro 
members  like  tootsie  rolls  best. 


A  NEW  STAR 
RISES.  Henrietta 
Crosman  is  the 
lead  in  Chester¬ 
field’s  “The  Cur¬ 
tain  Falls,”  with 
Holmes  Herbert, 
Dorothy  Lee, 
William  Bakewell, 
Jameson  Thomas, 
Natalie  Moorhead 
and  others.  First 
Division  distrib¬ 
utes. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Octl5'34 


27 


Around  the  Circuit 

with 

STANLEY-WARNER 

_ By  Harry  Goldberg - 

“The  Count  of  Monte  Cristo”  caught  the 
popular  fancy  and  clicked  off  a  nice  run  at 
the  Aldine.  It  received  tremendous  word 
of  mouth  boosting  after  the  opening.  It 
had  both  class  and  mass  appeal. 

Aldine  is  cashing  in  on  the  previous  Arliss 
hit,  “House  of  Rothschild. 

Manager  Tarrante  sent  a  letter  to  more  than 
14,000  women  on  “The  Last  Gentleman, 
stressing  the  idea  that  the  film  was  a  treat 
for  "connoisseurs  of  fine  shows. 

“Death  on  the  Diamond’’  proved  to  be  a  film 
with  a  timely  theme,  coming  as  it  did  just 
prior  to  the  World  Series. 

Manager  Huffman,  Stanton,  played  host  to 
the  members  of  the  Phillies  and  Cubs  at  a 
preview  of  the  picture  at  the  Earle  build 
ing.  Next  day  Hans  Lobert,  coach  of  the 
Phillies,  was  interviewed  over  a  local  radio 
station,  giving  his  reaction  to  the  film,  a 
swell  plug  for  the  picture.  Huffman  had 
1400  window  streamers  with  photos  of 
Ted  Healy  and  Nat  Pendleton  and  copy  on 
"Death  on  the  Diamond"  distributed  to 
retail  candy  stores.  Heralds  were  distrib¬ 
uted  at  all  ball  parks  and  other  sporting 
centers  and  wherever  the  followers  of 
baseball  gather.  Huffman  took  advantage 
of  a  news  story  about  an  attempt  to  kid¬ 
nap  Schoolboy  Rowe  by  inserting  ads  in 
the  sport  pages  with  copy  reading:  Did 


Booking  Theatres 
Everywhere 

Honest  ::  Reliable 
Conscientious 
Service 

EDWARDSHERMAN 

VAUDEVILLE  AGENCY 

Real  Estate  Trust  Bldg. 
PHILADELPHIA 

Pennypacker  7595 

MAYFAIR  THEATRE  BLDQ.,  NEW  YORK 
BR.  9-1905 


years’ experience— 
behind  every  register 


For  50  years  General  Register  Corpo¬ 
ration  and  associated  companies  have 
been  designing  and  building  cash  con¬ 
trol  equipmenlTor  the  theatre,  carrying 
an  unqualified  two  year  guarantee  on 
all  registers. 

Representation  in  all  key  cities. 


GENERAL  REGISTER 
CORPORATION 

1540  Broadway,  New  York 


You  Read  What  They  Tried  to  Do  to 

Schoolboy  Rowe?’ - see  a  picture  as  true 

as  the  news!" 

Huffman’s  window  display  dramatizing  the 
caustic  pens  of  Ben  Hecht  and  Charles 
MacArthur,  authors  of  “Crime  Without 
Passion,”  was  unique.  It  consisted  of  a 
giant  compo-board  pen  from  which  water 
dripped  into  a  pan  of  dry  ice,  giving  the 
effect  of  steam.  It  was  on  view  in  a  prom¬ 
inent  stationery  store  window.  The  invis¬ 
ible  ink  stunt  was  worked  with  the  her¬ 
alds  used  on  the  film,  tieing  up  Claude 
Rains  with  bis  previous  screen  role  in  the 
Invisible  Man.”  A  little  heat  applied  to 
the  lemon  juice  head’  of  Rains  brought 
it  into  view. 

Users  of  phone  booths  in  the  downtown  sec¬ 
tion  of  the  city  were  confronted  with  a 
herald  on  “Ladies  Should  Listen."  In  the 
form  of  collars  for  the  phone  transmitters. 
It  was  Marty  (Karlton)  Goldenberg's  idea. 

Manager  Murdock  (Stanley,  Camden)  had 
treasure  hunters  scrambling  for  $50  in  a 
tie-up  with  the  Sears  Robuck  store  across 
the  river.  Coin  was  buried  in  a  lot  near 
the  store.  Plenty  of  newspaper  publicity 
for  “Treasure  Island,"  of  course. 

Irv  Blumberg  (Victoria)  staged  one  of  the 
neatest  exploitation  stunts  on  Treasure 
Island.  He  had  a  float  on  the  street  with 
a  cameraman  taking  shots  of  youngsters 
coming  out  of  various  schools.  The  kid¬ 
dies  were  invited  to  come  to  the  theatre 
and  see  themselves  in  the  movies. 

Score  another  for  the  Blumberg  boys — 
brother  Ben  (Broadway)  set  an  all  time 
record  for  youngsters  at  a  Saturday  mati¬ 
nee  when  he  played  the  Beery-Cooper  film. 
Nearly  5,000  children  were  on  hand  when 
the  projectionists  started  the  film. 

Iz  Wiernik  (Sedgwick)  sponsored  a  gala 
week's  celebration  in  honor  of  the  sixth 
anniversary  of  the  theatre  recently.  All 
the  local  merchants  installed  congratula¬ 
tory  windows. 

Maurice  Gable  (Palace)  is  the  golf  champ  of 
the  Warner  Club.  He  captured  the  crown 
with  a  nice  round  in  a  half  gale  at  Valley 
Forge,  October  7.  Wonder  what  he’s  go¬ 
ing  to  do  with  a  decanter  and  a  half  dozen 
glasses? 


Lindbergh  Tieup 

Person  who  forecasts  with  the  greatest  ac¬ 
curacy  the  fate  of  the  accused  recipient  of  the 
Lindbergh  ransom  money  will  be  paid  $10  by 
the  management  of  the  Victoria  Theatre,  Har¬ 
risburg,  according  to  the  terms  of  a  stunt  an¬ 
nounced  by  Manager  Girard  Wollaston  during 
the  showing  at  the  Victoria  of  “The  Defense 
Rests.” 


Secret  for  Arliss 

Almost  everywhere  one  went  in  Harrisburg 
during  the  showing  of  “The  Last  Gentleman," 
at  Loew  s  Regent  Theatre,  Harrisburg,  he  was 
handed  a  handbill  containing  the  heading,  “Can 
You  Keep  a  Secret?”  Stacks  of  the  handbills 
were  seen  on  tables  and  desks  in  hotel  lobbies, 
on  counters  in  stores  and  on  tables  or  desks  in 
offices  and  other  buildings. 

“We  Doubt  That  You  Can  Keep  This  One” 
was  the  sub-title  on  the  handbills,  the  text  of 
which  follows : 

We’re  going  to  ask  you  to  do  something 
for  us  .  .  .  but  we  doubt  that  you  will  do  it. 

“When  you  see  George  Arliss  in  “The  Last 
Gentleman”  at  Loew’s,  you  are  going  to  be  sur¬ 
prised  and  emotionally  shocked  by  the  unusual 
climax  of  the  story.  George  Arliss  contrives  a 
scene  that  you’ve  never  viewed  on  any  screen 
before.  A  tricky,  cunning,  startling  idea,  etc.” 


RCA  VICTOR 
PHOTOPHONE 


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•  A  Sound  Box  Office 
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Investment 

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A  Radio  Corporation  of  America  Subsidiary 

. 


28 


Octl5’34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


6th  Annual  Golf  Tournament  Recorded 
as  Greatest  in  Philadelphia  History 


Affair  Sponsored  by  “THE  EXHIBITOR  ’  Attracts 
Filmmen  from  All  Parts  of  East — Lulu  Event  Social 
Highlight — Important  Executives  Present 

The  1934  golf  tourney  and  dinner  dance,  held  at  Lulu  Country  Club,  under  the 


auspices  of  The  Exhibitor,  October  1 
of  six. 

From  the  first  tee  down  to  Home  Sweet 
Home,  the  affair  ran  off  smoothly,  attracted  a 
crowd  of  250  and  was  a  social  and  friendship 
success. 

With  golf  in  the  afternoon  and  the  dinner 
dance  in  the  evening,  the  affair  was  a  complete 
round  of  good  fellowship  and  sociability. 

Vine  Street,  the  local  district,  New  York, 
Washington  and  other  territories  contributed 
entrants  and  attendants. 


SIDELIGHTS 


,  can  now  be  recorded  as  the  ace  in  a  series 

The  prizes  drew  immense  attention. 

A  lot  of  the  folks  went  on  to  Pittsburgh  for 
the  Variety  Club  tourney. 

Visitors  came  from  New  York  City,  Washing¬ 
ton,  Baltimore,  upstate  and  other  parts. 

Ross  Federal  Service  apparently  could  have 
gotten  a  lot  of  business  checking  golf 
courses. 

When  Dorothy  Dennis  won  her  china  set, 
everyone  applauded.  Ditto  Miss  Schiff- 
man  on  the  glassware. 

Lew  Pizor  and  daughter  had  a  glad  time 
of  it,  and  so  did  everyone,  in  fact. 

Joe  Hebrew,  Ted  Schlanger  couldn’t  make  it. 
Wrote  in  and  sent  regrets. 


M.  E.  Comerford  couldnt’  make  it,  a  bad  cold 
holding  him  up.  Ditto  M.  B.  Johnny  Rob¬ 
erts  was  down  though. 

New  York  contingent  included  Harry  M. 
Warner,  Eddie  McEvoy,  Jules  Levy, 
Mitchell  May,  S.  Charles  Einfeld,  Harvey 
Day,  Louis  Nizer,  Sam  Saxe,  Joseph  Bern- 
hard,  among  others. 

The  big  hit  of  the  evening  was  Louis  Nizer’s 
toastmastering.  He  scored  with  every  sen¬ 
tence  and  with  the  assistance  of  the  wh  istle 
and  hammer  idea,  checking  windy  speak¬ 
ers,  he  kept  the  assemblage  in  constant 
uproar. 

The  evening  was  started  off  by  Jules  Levy 
who  introduced  Jay  Emanuel,  who  intro¬ 
duced  Louis  Nizer.  Other  talks  were  con¬ 
tributed  by  David  Barrist,  Charles  Segall, 
Walter  Vincent,  Sam  Saxe,  Jules  Levy, 
Joseph  Bernhard,  Eddie  McEvoy,  Charlie 
Einfeld,  Harvey  Day,  Jack  Greenberg, 
Harry  M.  Warner,  Percy  Bloch  and  others. 
Barrist,  Segall,  Vincent,  Levy  were  inter¬ 
rupted  by  the  bell. 

Especially  social  during  the  evening  Harry 
Weiner,  Baltimoreite  Henderson,  Bill 
Clark,  Frank  Fogel,  Elarle  Sweigert,  Harry 
Dembow,  Jim  Clark,  Allen  Benn  and 

femmes. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  A1  Blofson  came  in  a  bit  tardy 
as  did  a  few  others  and  enjoyed  themselves 
immensely. 

All  the  girls  liked  Lou  Nizer’s  curly  hair. 

Hillary  Brown,  ASCAP,  won  a  prize,  and  the 
exhibitors  didn’t  say  a  word. 

Eddie  Sherman  and  Harry  Biben  were  both 
happy.  The  affair  didn’t  call  for  any  acts 
to  be  borrowed. 

Whoever  thought  of  ice  cream  on  the  menu 
picked  out  the  wrong  night.  It  was  3  5 
above  outside  and  just  a  bit  warmer  in¬ 
side. 

A1  Davis  was  determined  to  do  the  Carioca. 
Charlie  Zagrans,  who  is  an  RKOer,  had 
more  right  to  because  he  sold  the  picture. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ted  Sullivan,  from  New  York, 
enjoyed  themselves. 

Jimmie  Cron,  another  trade  paper  fellow, 
also  had  a  good  time. 

The  Blumbergs,  Harry  and  Ben,  listened  in¬ 
tently  to  the  words  on  the  patent  situation. 


THE  WINNERS 


Prizes  Won  By 

M.  E.  Comerford, 

Chest  of  Silver . Johnny  Bachman 

Ned  Depinet, 

Electric  Mixmaster . Hillary  Brown 

Horlacher,  Silver  Cocktail  Set.  .John  Monroe 
Phil  Reisman, 

Large  Silver  Tray . Ray  Silverstein 

Warner  Pictures, 

Silver  Clothes  Brush . Jim  Clark 

A1  Lichtman,  Silver  Tray.  .  .Jack  Greenberg 
Harry  Thomas, 

Onyx  Desk  Set  and  Clock.  .  .George  Lessy 
Harry  M.  Warner,  Silver  Cup.  .  .Jules  Levy 


Jimmy  Grainger, 

Silver  Percolator  Set . Harry  Weiner 

John  Golder, 

Liberty  Electric  Clock ....  Doc  Steumpfig 
Bob  Lynch,  Silver  Tray . Eddie  McEvoy 


On  Patents 

Harry  M.  Warner,  speaking  at  the 
golf  tourney,  touched  briefly  on  the  Fox 
victory  in  the  patents  case.  While  he 
did  not  make  any  personal  references, 
he  said  the  future  would  be  a  serious 
one  for  exhibitors  unless  there  were 
some  new  developments. 

He  even  predicted  changes  in  the 
present  sound  set-up  were  possible. 


RCA  Photophone,  Radio  Set. Jack  McFadden 

Masterpiece,  Book  Ends . Mitchell  May 

Harvey  Day-Terry  Toons, 

Cocktail  Set . Lou  Segall 

John  Clark, 

Silver  Glass  Beverage  Set ....  Percy  Bloch 
Wilmer  and  Vincent, 

Beverage  Set . William  Wolf 

Ross  Federal, 

Hors  D’Oeuvre  Dish.... Paul  Greenhalgh 
Gaumont  British, 

Bronze  Figure  Lamp  .  .  .  S.  Charles  Einfeld 
Carl  Laemmle,  Electric  Clock .  .  .  Harvey  Day 
Warner  Theatres  Club,  Bag.  .Oscar  Neufeld 
Western  Electric,  Golf  Bag.  .  .  J.  Victor  Duffy 
Jules  Levy,  Toastmaster  Set .  George  Schwartz 
National  Theatre  Supply, 

Vegetable  Dish . A1  Levy 

Lou  Appell, 

Cracker  and  Cheese  Dish  .  .  Eddie  Sherman 

Monogram  Pictures,  Golf  Balls . A1  Davis 

Columbia  Pictures,  Clock.  .Milton  Rogasner 
New  Jersey  Messenger, 

Silver  Humidor . Harry  M.  Warner 

Apex  Garage,  (10)  Car  Washes.  Harry  Biben 
National  Screen  Service, 

Clock  . Dave  Milgram 

Quality  Premium  Distributors, 

Glass  Set . Miss  Dennis 

Streamer  Ad  Service, 

Dinner  Set . Mrs.  Shipman 

THE  EXHIBITOR, 

Booby  Prize . Murray  Beier 


Improper  Films  Hit 

Members  of  Methodist  congregations 
whose  pastors  belong  to  the  Harrisburg 
Methodist  Ministerial  Association  are 
urged  to  refrain  from  attending  im¬ 
proper  motion  pictures  in  a  resolution 
adopted  by  the  association  on  October 
8  at  a  meeting  in  the  West  Fairview 
Methodist  Church.  The  resolution 
stated: 

“Be  it  resolved  that  the  Harrisburg 
Methodist  Ministerial  Association  go  on 
record  as  being  in  hearty  sympathy  with 
every  movement  to  bring  real  reform  in 
the  motion  picture  industry. 

“And  be  it  further  resolved  that  we 
urge  our  people  to  refrain  from  attend¬ 
ing  all  pictures  which  are  in  any  way 
unwholesome.’’ 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Octl5'34 


29 


HERE  THEY  ARE  BEFORE  THE  GOLFING  FUN  STARTED.  Top,  left  to  right:  Earle  Sweigert,  Ben  Fertel,  Jesse  Douglas,  Charlie  Zagrans;  George  Schwar 
Salem  E.  Applegate,  Jeff  Davis,  Jack  Ungerfeld;  (seated)  S.  Charles  Einfeld,  A1  Levy,  Mitchell  May,  Harry  M.  Warner,  (standing)  J.  Hazen,  Sam  Saxe, 
Manheimer,  Charlie  Segall. 

Below,  left  to  right:  Joe  Eagan,  Jim  Clark,  Walter  Vincent,  Harry  Weiner;  David  Milgram,  George  Lessy,  Louis  Segall,  Jimmy  Cron;  Jules  Levy,  Harv 
Day,  Johnny  Bachman,  Eddie  McEvoy. 

Below,  left  to  right:  Sam  Lefko,  Herbert  Hustler,  Frank  Fogel,  Allen  Benn;  J.  Victor  Duffy,  William  Wolf,  Jack  McFadden,  Joe  Schaeffer;  Hillary  BrovV 
Frank  Glenn,  Walter  Stuempfig,  Milton  Rogasner. 

Below,  left  to  right:  Paul  Greenhalgh,  Larry  Daily,  J.  A.  Kraker,  Ted  Sullivan,  Oscar  Neufeld,  A1  Davis;  Edgar  Harmy,  Joe  Leon,  Edward  Sherman,  Haij 
Biben;  Murray  Beier,  Stanley  Hathen,  Charlie  Donahue,  Sam  Schwartz. 


30 


Octl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Movies  and 

CANDY- 

Still  the  same  thrill  supreme 
to  young  and  old 

Keep  it  so - By  giving  them 

"America's  Best  Candy" 
through  a 

BERLO 

CANIIY  VENDOR 

Your  patrons  expect 
this  convenience 

DO  NOT  DISAPPOINT  THEM 

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Berio  Installations  Made  in 
Finishes  to  Harmonize  with 
Your  Interior 


BERLO 

VENDING 

COMPANY 

1518  N.  Broad  St.,  Phila. 

POPLAR  6011 

Specializing  in  Candy 
Vending  Equipment 
for  the  Theatre  Trade! 


NEW  YORK  BALTIMORE 

SCRANTON  WASHINGTON 

ALLENTOWN  CLEVELAND 

PITTSBURGH  CINCINNATI 


State  Exhibs  Help 

Motion  picture  division  of  the  Federal 
Housing  Administration  is  receiving  let¬ 
ters  from  many  exhibitors  expressing  an 
interest  in  the  Better  Housing  programs, 
and  not  only  offering  co-operation  but 
making  valuable  suggestions.  H.  M. 
Meeker,  manager,  Hamilton  Theatre, 
Allentown,  writes: 

“I  deem  it  my  duty  to  aid  every  move¬ 
ment  by  my  government  for  the  pur¬ 
pose  of  helping  the  people  of  this  com¬ 
munity,  and  I  am  always  at  your  call. 
I  am  very  much  interested  in  this  pro¬ 
gram,  and  hope  I  may  be  of  service  to 
you  at  any  time  you  may  request.” 

Frederick  Leopold,  proprietor  and 
manager,  Locust  Theatre,  Philadelphia, 
was  so  enthused  over  the  Better  Hous¬ 
ing  movement  that  he  prepared  a  sample 
trailer  which  he  suggested  be  distributed 
to  exhibitors.  This  copy  he  sent  to  the 
Federal  Housing  Administration. 


Chesterfield  Stars  Second 

George  R.  Batcheler  has  started  shooting  ‘‘The 
World  Accuses,”  from  an  original  story  by 
Charles  Belden. 

Vivienne  Tobin  has  been  signed  for  the  fea¬ 
tured  role  for  this  production.  Following  well- 
known  players  will  support  Miss  Tobin:  Russell 
Hopton,  Dickie  Moore  and  Cora  Sue  Collins, 
two  of  Hollywood’s  most  famous  screen  chil¬ 
dren;  Jameson  Thomas,  Harold  Huber,  Mary 
Carr,  Barbara  Bedford,  Robert  Elliot,  Bryant 
Washburn,  Jane  Keckley,  Paul  Fix,  Sarah 
Edwards,  Robert  Fraser,  Lloyd  Ingraham,  Rob¬ 
ert  O’Farrell. 


Allied’s  Plan 


Allied  States  Association,  in  a  bulle¬ 
tin,  says: 

Independent  exhibitor  associations 
should  concentrate  on  three  points: 

A  congressional  investigation  of  the 
code. 

A  modification  of  the  copyright  law 
regarding  ASCAP. 

Enactment  of  an  anti-block  booking 
law. 


SERVING  theatre  needs  with 
a  knowledge  of  theatre 
business. 


A  SS 

A 

F 
E 
T 

y 


SSISTING  theatre  owners  with 
a  staff  of  trained  clerks  and 
office  files.  No  missouts. 


REEING  theatre  owners  of  the 
worry  that  they  may  have 
forgotten  part  of  their  show. 

FFICIENTLY  operating  the  larg¬ 
est  film  delivery  service  in 
the  world. 


AKING  CARE  of  every 
possible  need  in  the  delivery 
of  film. 

IELDING  the  epitome  of 
safety,  service  and  effici¬ 
ency  at  a  minimum  cost. 


HORLACHER 

DELIVERY  SERVICE,  Inc. 

1228  Vine  Street,  Philadelphia 
NEW  YORK 
SCRANTON 
BALTIMORE 
WASHINGTON 

MEMBER  NATIONAL  FILM  CARRIERS,  INC. 


Another  Horlacher  Service 

LARRY  DAILY,  Notary  Public 

The  only  one  on  Vine  Street  .  .  At 
your  service  any  time  during 
business  hours. 


SENTRY  serviced  SAFETY  CONTROL 


Many  theatre  owners  weigh  the  matter  of  Safety  as  it  suits  them. 
PLAINLY  THIS  IS  ALL  WRONG.  In  Safety  there  is  no  half-way  meas¬ 
ure  with  the  Public.  The  Public  would  not  consider  it  safe  if  you  decide 
to  do  without  a  Serviced  Safety  Device  on  your  projectors.  The  Public 
would  think  with  horror  if  you  tried  to  economize  by  buying  Safety  equip¬ 
ment  without  a  service,  and  the  fact  that,  in  your  theatre,  the  Public 
has  not  yet  inquired  as  to  the  measure  of  Safety  that  you  are  giving  them — 
THAT  DOES  NOT  MEAN  THAT  THEY  CAN  BE  DECEIVED. 


SENTRY  SAFETY  CONTROL  CORP. 


10th  ST.  and  ALLEGHENY  AVE. 
PHILADELPHIA,  PENNA. 


Sentry  Safety  Controls  Listed  as  Standard  by  National  Fire  Underwriters  Laboratories 


HOOT  GIBSON 

Don  Juan  of  the  West 

Octl5’34  pg.  31 


Octl5'34  pg.  32 


HOOT  GIBSON 

DARE-DEVIL  HERO  OF  20  MILLION  FANS 

THE  SUPREME  ACHIEVEMENT 
IN  ACTION  DRAMA 


THRILLING  OUTDOOR  CLASSICS 


Produced  for  America's  Finest  Theatres 

MAJOR  ATTRACTIONS  THAT  SET  THE  PACE 
FOR  QUALITY  AND  ENTERTAINMENT 

“SIERRA  NEVADA” 
“SUNSET  RANGE” 
“TOMBSTONE  KID” 

“OH,  SUZANNA” 

The  World's  Leading  Independent 

FIRST  DIVISION  EXCHANGES,  Inc. 

HARRY  H.  THOMAS,  President 

EXECUTIVE  OFFICES:  RADIO  CITY,  N.  Y. 

Branches  in 

PITTSBURGH  NEW  YORK  ALBANY  BOSTON  PHILADELPHIA 

LOUISVILLE  BUFFALO  CLEVELAND  CHARLOTTE  DETROIT 

NEW  HAVEN  ATLANTA  WASHINGTON  CINCINNATI  NEW  ORLEANS 

Franchises  available  for  all  territories  not  covered  by  above  offices 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Octl5'34 


33 


NEW  FACES.  Will  Mahoney,  Billy  Gilbert,  Vince  Barnett,  Tom  Patricola  are  in  Educa¬ 
tional  shorts. 


Heard  In ' 


w 


ILMINGTON 


Ball  Games 
Big  Hit 


Warner  Brothers’  theatres  Wilmington, 
showed  box  scores  of  the  World  Series,  a 
flash  light  being  thrown  on  the  board  be¬ 
tween  innings  for  the  benefit  of  the  audi¬ 
ences  in  all  of  the  theatres,  an  idea  of 
Jack  Mulhall,  district  manager. 

Morty  Levine,  Grand,  found  the  kiddies  made 
so  much  noise  Saturday  that  he  had  to 
shift  his  score  board  to  the  front  of  the 
theatre. 

Martin  Pragg,  assistant,  Grand,  was  keeping 
a  check  on  the  series  scores  in  the  office, 
and  right  in  front  of  him  was  another 
score  board.  He  had  charge  of  showing 
the  amount  of  space  given  each  theatre 
of  the  city  by  the  "Journal-Every  Even¬ 
ing”  and  the  “Morning  News,”  appar¬ 
ently  for  "ammunition"  in  the  theatre- 
news-paper  war. 

Dwight  VanMetre  has  acclimated  himself 
to  the  Aldine. 

Jack  Kelleher  is  the  electrician  and  stage 
manager  at  the  Aldine. 

A1  Wilson  is  his  assistant. 

E.  I.  Lewis,  new  manager,  Queen,  has  a  num¬ 
ber  of  irons  in  the  fire. 

Jimmy  Kearney  is  as  prosperous  looking  as 
ever. 

George  Jones,  Loew  manager,  moving  to  a 
New  Haven  deluxer,  got  no  tearful  fare¬ 
well  from  the  Warner  boys. 

Lew  Black,  Arcadia,  had  the  ballyhoo  truck 
out,  and  several  good  window  and  adver¬ 
tisement  tie-ups  for  “Cleopatra.” 

W.  R.  McClintock,  assistant,  has  brightened 
up  the  two  rest  rooms,  and  has  given  a 


lounge  to  the  men’s  room  which  was  badly 
needed. 

William  Penn  Frank  started  his  column  off 
“under  the  guns”  of  the  Theatre-news¬ 
paper  warfare  and  got  a  chance  to  devote 
a  third  of  a  column  to  one  of  his  one-time 
“little  theatre"  ideals.  “Bill”  used  to  write 

for  THE  EXHIBITOR. 

Neighborhood  theatres,  some  of  whom  never 
get  readers,  shared  in  the  final  round  up 
of  the  readers  when  they  were  cut  down 
to  a  paragraph  in  local  papers. 

A.  B.  Schindler,  manager,  Avenue,  got  a  cut 
of  h:s  house,  two  column  head,  and  story 
about  his  improvements,  including  RCA 
High  Fidelity  system. 

John  Saylor,  editor,  “Labor-Herald”  gave 
George  Jones,  retiring  Loew  manager,  a 
farewell  kiss  in  the  same  issue. 

Leonard  Howard,  office  man  for  the  Arcadia 
now,  seems  to  be  getting  a  good  break 
now. 

George  Sapna,  young  usher  with  an  unusu¬ 
ally  pleasing  personality,  seems  to  be  the 
official  greeter  in  the  Aldine  now. 

Joe  DeFiore  is  taking  things  a  little  quieter 
now  after  a  strenuous  summer. 

AI  Williams,  projectionist  nabob,  is  waiting 
to  find  out  how  A.  J.  Belair,  new  Rialto 
manager,  made  out  with  his  NRA  appeal. 

“Cleopatra”  trailer  at  the  Stanley,  Chester, 
was  accompanied  by  organ  solo  “Song  of 
the  Nile”  and  burning  incense.  Manager 
T.  A.  Mangan’s  tribute  to  the  lady’s  fam¬ 
ous  nose,  maybe. 

Warners’  State,  Chester,  repainting. 

Dwight  Van  Meter,  from  Atlantic  City 
Boardwalk  house  Virginia  by  way  of  Wil¬ 
mington’s  Arcadia,  to  Wilmington’s  Aldine. 
Vaudeville  at  this  house  well  received  by 
the  town  after  several  years’  lapse. 

Ballyhoo  for  Six-Day  Bike  Rider”  included 
stationary  pedallers  on  the  marquee,  with 
prize  guessing  contest  on  mileage. 

E.  I.  Lewis  at  the  Queen  after  ten  years  in 
the  wide  open  spaces  of  St.  Louis. 


KID  MILLIONS.  The  new  Eddie  Cantor-Sam  Goldwyn  production  has  Ethel  Merman  in 
the  cast.  UA  distributes. 


READY 

REFERENCE 

EACH  COMPANY  LISTED  IS  AN 
AUTHORITY  IN  ITS  FIELD  AND 
IS  RELIABLE  AND  TRUSTWORTHY 


AIR  CONDITIONING 


Ta.. 


KXPHOON 

CONDITIONING  CO. 


COOLING 

VENTILATING 


BLOWERS  -  FANS 
AIR  WASHERS 


_ ARCHITECT _ 

THEATRE  DESIGN 

Remodeling  »  Building 

LATEST  COMPLETED 

NEW  BROADWAY  COLONIAL 

Camden,  So.  Phi lly 

New  Jersey  Penna. 

DAVID  SUPOWITZ 

REGISTERED 

ARCHITECT 

246  S.  15th  St.,  Phi  la..  Pa.  Pennypacker  2291 


BUSINESS  BROKER 


THEATRES  WANTED 

Philadelphia,  Up-State,  New  Jersey  and  Delaware 

Cash  no  object  if  priced  right 

Our  Dealings  Are  Strictly  Confidential 

M.  H.  GOODIS,  Inc.,  1201  Chestnut  St. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 


CHAIRS  (used  theatre) 


LARGEST  DEALERS 
IN  USED  CHAIRS 

Re-Setting  Re-Upholstering 

Re-Conditioning 

“Servastone”  for  cracked  concrete 
floors 

Parts  for  all  chairs  Slip  Covers 

ALLIED  SEATING  COMPANY 

358  W.  44th  St.,  New  York,  N.  Y. 


DECORATIVE  GLASS 


We  specialize  in  GLASS  for  Theatres 

Specify:  VARICOLITE 

See  the  new  mirror  booth  at  the 
IRIS  THEATRE,  Kensington  and  Allegheny 
Write  for  particulars  and  samples 

M.  KRAKOVITZ  AND  SONS,  CO. 

4TH  AND  MORRIS  STREETS,  PHILA. 
Dewey  8600  Main  2301 


DRAPERIES 


The  Larger  and  Greater — 

NOVELTY  SCENIC  STUDIOS 

- INC. - 

INTERIOR  DECORATIONS  :  DRAPERIES 

SCENERY  =  ACCOUSTICAL  TREATMENTS  >  RIGGING 

611-625  W.  43rd  St.  New  York,  N.  V. 


Octl5'34  pg.  34 


THANKS 
BOYS  •  •  • 


Thanks  (or  your  sincerity  and  your  turnout  at  the 
Luncheon  given  me  October  8th. 

A  sincere  wish  deserves  the  same  spirit  in  response. 

Therefore,  I  pledge  all  my  resources  and  those  of  the 
Gold  Medal-Majestic  Exchanges  to  deliver  you  show¬ 
manship  pictures  during  1934-1935. 

I  promise  that  the  many  years  of  experience  that  I  have 
had  in  this  field  shall  be  devoted  toward  one  purpose, 
one  goal 


AJESTIC 
ASCOT 
ONEY- 
AKERS 


Good  Pictures,  Fair  Dealing  and  Prosperity  to  All 

A.  LUCCHESE 

GOLD  MEDAL  FILM  CO. 
MAJESTIC  PICTURES,  Inc. 

1236  VINE  STREET 
PHILADELPHIA 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Octl5'34 


35 


Hollywood,  Atlantic 
City,  Building  Triumph 

Ultra  Modern  Features  Combined 
in  Shore  Cinema  Palace 

Opening  of  the  Hollywood  Theatre, 
Atlantic  City,  the  end  of  this  month  adds 
another  ultra-modern  house  to  this  dis¬ 
trict’s  list. 

The  theatre,  operated  by  the  Hollywood 
Amusement  Corporation,  with  Harry  Waxman 
general  manager,  assisted  by  Jack  Waxman, 
will  have  1200  seats  and  contain  features  not 
seen  in  any  theatre  in  the  country. 

Air  conditioned  throughout,  the  house  will 
stagger  its  seats  and  introduce  a  new  feature, 
love  seats.  The  seats,  to  hold  two  people,  will 
be  350  in  number  and  are  patented  by  Waxman. 
They  are  being  constructed  by  American  Seating 
Company  and  will  probably  be  a  sensation  in 
the  trade. 

An  air  cooling  system  which  is  one  of  the 
most  modern  in  the  field  has  been  installed. 
The  marquee  is  said  to  be  the  largest  in  the 
country.  There  are  five  rows  of  2  size  letters, 
4x5  feet.  Three  rows  of  neon  and  three  rows 
of  lamps  are  included.  Apex  Sign  made  the 
sign. 

David  Supowitz  was  the  architect  on  the  job 
and  he  did  a  swell  job  of  things. 

The  mezzanine  balcony  is  of  immense  size 
with  love  seats  around  a  centre  column.  11 
murals,  10x12  to  14x24  ft.  are  said  to  be  last 
words  in  design.  Front  of  the  theatre  has  20 
doors. 

The  interior  of  the  theatre  has  been  con¬ 
structed  from  the  newest  materials  and  metals 
so  that  to  clean  it  will  be  a  simple  proposition. 
Even  the  posts  are  especially  designed. 

The  stage,  equipped  to  play  anything  is  43  ft. 
by  53  ft.  and  is  fully  equipped  with  every  inno¬ 
vation.  National  Theatre  Supply  Company  in¬ 
stalled  the  booth  and  projection  equipment, 
with  everything  new,  and  modern,  here,  as  well. 
An  effect  machine  is  included. 


Doubles  at  IS  Cents 


Double  features  at  15  cents  nights  are 
now  current  in  Allentown. 

The  practice  is  spreading  in  the  dis¬ 
trict. 

Boycott  Front  Still 
Silent;  Exhibs  Mark  Time 

Philadelphia  Zone  Remains 
Single  Total  Ban  Spot 

The  boycott  on  all  motion  picture 
theatres  continues  in  the  Philadelphia 
zone  and  there  have  been  no  new  devel¬ 
opments. 

That,  in  brief,  is  a  review  of  the  Catholic 
ban  situation. 

From  time  to  time,  a  member  of  the  Catholic 
clergy,  in  an  address,  praises  the  boycott  but 
from  the  exhibition  faction  nothing  is  heard. 

The  Cardinal  Dougherty  district  remains  the 
lone  complete  boycott  territory  of  the  country. 

While  adult  business  is  generally  little 
affected,  kid  business,  Saturday  matinees,  is  off. 


Ornamental  plaster  is  from  Miller  Studios, 
carpets  from  Snellenberg. 

A  large  artesian  well,  91  feet  down  was  dug, 
with  325  gallons  a  minute  being  used  in  the  air 
conditioning  system.  The  heating  system,  from 
American  Heating  and  Ventilating  as  well,  is 
modern  and  the  last  word. 

Waxman  estimates  the  cost  of  the  job  at 
$150,000.  There  is  no  question  but  that  the 
theatre  is  one  of  the  biggest  to  be  introduced 
in  the  last  few  years  and  it  will  be  a  worthy 
addition  to  the  shore’s  theatrical  acquisitions. 

House,  on  picture  policy  at  first,  will  open  the 
end  of  the  month.  A  civic  gala  opening  is  being- 
arranged  with  many  film  men  in  attendance. 


STATEMENT  OF  OWNERSHIP.  MANAGEMENT,  CIRCULATION,  ETC. 

-Required  by  the  Act  of  Congress  of  August  24.  1912,  of  “The  Philadelphia  Exhibitor,”  published 
semi-monthly  at  Philadelphia.  Pennsylvania,  for  October  1,  1934. 

State  of  Pennsylvania,  County  of  Philadelphia,  ss. — Before  me,  a  notary  public  in_  and  for  the 
State  and  County  aforesaid,  personally  appeared  Jay  Emanuel,  who,  having-  been  duly  sworn  according 
to  law,  deposes  and  says  that  he  is  the  Publisher  of  “The  Philadelphia  Exhibitor,”  and  that  the  following 
is,  to  the  best  of  his  knowledge  and  belief,  a  true  statement  of  the  ownership,  management,  etc.,  of  the 
aforesaid  publication  for  the  date  shown  in  the  above  caption,  required  by  the  Act  of  August  24,  1912, 
embodied  in  Section  411,  Postal  Laws  and  Regulations,  1924,  to  wit: 

1.  That  the  names  cf  the  publishers,  managing  editor  are: 

Publishers — Jay  Emanuel  Publications,  Inc.,  219  North  Broad  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

2.  That  the  owners  are: 

Jay  Emanuel,  219  North  Broad  Street,  Philadelphia. 

3.  That  the  known  bondholders,  mortgagees  and  other  security  holders  owning  or  holding 
1  per  cent,  or  more  of  the  total  amount  of  bondholders,  mortgages,  or  other  securities  are:  Belle 
Emanuel,  5219  Wynnefield  Avenue,  Philadelphia;  Joseph  Birmingham,  219  North  Broad  Street, 
Philadelphia. 

4.  That  the  two  paragraphs  next  above,  giving  the  names  of  the  owners,  stockholders,  and 
security  holders,  if  any,  contain  not  only  the  list  of  stockholders  and  security  holders  as  they  appear 
upon  the  books  of  the  company,  but  also  in  cases  where  the  stockholders  or  security  holder  appears 
upon  the  books  of  the  company  as  trustee  or  in  any  other  fiduciary  relation,  the  name  of  the  person  or 
corporation  for  whom  such  trustee  is  acting,  is  given;  also  that  the  said  two  paragraphs  contain  statements 
embracing  affiant’s  full  knowledge  and  belief  as  to  the  circumstances  and  conditions  under  which  stock¬ 
holders  and  security  holders  who  do  not  appear  upon  the  bocks  of  the  company  as  trustees,  hold  stock 
and  securities  in  the  capacity  other  than  that  of  a  bona  fide  owner;  and  this  affiant  has  no  reason  to 
believe  that  any  interest  direct  or  indirect  in  the  said  stock,  bonds,  dr  other  securities  than  as  so  stated 
by  her. 

5.  That  the  avertage  number  of  copies  of  each  issue  of  this  publication  sold  or  distributed,  through 
the  mails  or  otherwise,  to  paid  subscribers  during  the  six  months  preceding  the  date  shown  above  is 
—  (This  information  is  required  from  daily  publications  only). 

JAY  EMANUEL,  Publisher. 

Sworn  to  and  subscribed  before  me  this  8th  day  of  October,  1934. 

(My  commission  expires  March  9,  1935.)  (Seal)  HARRY  COHEN. 


FLAGS  AND  BANNERS 


R  Theatre  Marquee  Valance* 

E  Wall  Banner* 

N  Net  and  Read  Banner* 

T  Attractive  Colors — Sewed  or  Painted 

J ^  Letters — Featuring  All  Shows. 

_  Burgees — Pennants — Decorations 

“  Above  Also  Sold  Outright.  Order  Direct  From 

NATIONAL  FLAG  &  BANNER  CO. 

251-253  N.  13th  St.  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


INTERIOR  DECORATORS 

Theatrical 
Decorating 

OUR  SPECIALTY 


Phone 

Rlttenhouie  7828 
2315  Walnut  St. 
Philadelphia 


APMANOOTOICCfl 

TUIAM 


J.  SEIDMAN  :  A.  WEINBERG 

:  D.  BRODSKY 

Paramount  Qecorating 

Go,  |nc. 

STAGE  SETTINGS  :  DRAPERIES 

CARPETS  :  PAINTING  AND  DECORATING 

311  North  13th  Street  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


LIGHTING  FIXTURES 


VOIGT 


«  new 

DECORATIVE  LIGHTING 

FOR  YOUR  THEATRE 

DRINKING  FOUNTAINS  DIRECTION  SIGNS 


I2™6r  Monlqomery  Ave.  Phila.Pa. 


MARQUEES  AND  SIGNS 


CcC,  €L€CTRIC  SIGH  CO 

Juv  1133-  50’" A*  L0I1G  ISLRI1D  CM  117. 
BUILD6RS  OF  HGOn  &  6LGCTRIC 


esTimfiTess  SKeTCHes  CH6£RFULLy  Given » 


PREMIUMS 


A  CHEAP  PREMIUM 
MAY  BE  EXPENSIVE 
AT  ANY  PRICE! 

Use  QUALITY  PREMIUMS 

A  NO  PEA\  SAEEl 
1305  VINE  STREET  -  PHILA.,  PA. 


36 


Octl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Heard  In 


V 


INE  STREET 


Changes  in 
the  Street 


Bill  Mansell,  Wa  rner  manager,  has  one  o  f  the 
best  trailers  his  company  has  yet  released 
in  that  for  Big  Hearted  Herbert.  Idea 
uses  Warner  stars  plugging  the  picture  on 
location.  It  is  very  effective. 

Gustave  G.  Amsterdam,  son  of  Ben  Amster¬ 
dam,  Atlantic  Theatres,  Inc.,  operator,  is 
now  associated  with  Sundheim-Folz  and 
Sundheim,  legal  firm.  News  of  his  con¬ 
nection  with  that  organization  brought 
much  commendation  to  him  from  his 
friends  in  the  trade. 

Harry  Perelman,  Dave  Barrist,  Ray  Schwartz, 
Herb  Elliott,  Morris  Wax,  Milton  Rogas- 
ner,  Harry  Rush,  Dave  Milgram,  Martin 
Ellis,  Harry  Freed  are  some  of  the  exhibi¬ 
tors  who  are  in  the  day  and  date  adver¬ 
tising  deal  arranged  by  John  Golder,  Holly¬ 
wood,  for  "Take  the  Stand.  I  8  jo.ned 
in  the  first  run  advertising  proposition. 

Erasmus  Schaffer,  former  manager,  Victor, 
Allentown,  committed  suicide  recently. 

Johnny  Eckhardt,  veteran  Stanley  Company 
manager,  who  died  in  New  York  City  hos¬ 
pital  recently,  was  a  real  veteran.  He 
worked  for  W.  C.  Hunt  at  Wildwood  re¬ 
cently.  He  was  well  known  in  sporting 
circles. 

Sam  Hochfeld  is  selling  for  Masterpiece,  re¬ 
placing  Joe  Singer,  who  went  with  Gau- 
mont  British. 

William  Z.  Porter  is  back  in  the  active  film 
distribution  end,  as  booker  for  Gold  Medal. 
He  has  entered  upon  his  new  duties  and 
exhibitors  will  be  pleased  to  learn  of  his 
new  connection.  Since  his  departure  from 
the  booking  field,  when  he  was  with 
Tiffany,  he  has  had  an  allied  business,  but 
will  now  devote  his  time  to  Gold  Medal 
booking.  The  William  Z.  Porter  service 
will  be  continued  by  his  wife. 

George  P.  Aarons,  MPTO  secretary,  has  ad¬ 
dresses  scheduled  in  Mahanoy  City  before 
the  Rotary  Club;  Lock  Haven  and  Easton. 
Dates  aren’t  set  yet.  Aarons  is  qu.te  ex¬ 
perienced  in  talking  to  community  groups. 

Fox  office,  deluged  by  business,  says  no 
bookings  will  be  taken  after  4  P.  M. 

Sam  Rosen  announces  that  the  Park, 
Reading,  has  dated  in  Girl  of  the  Lim- 
berlost.”  In  addition,  Sam  is  quite  en¬ 
thusiastic  over  the  new  Western  Electric 
color  shorts.  They  are  not  only  honeys, 
says  Sam,  but  exhibitors  ask  about  them 
daily.  New  product  in  the  house  includes 
“The  Curtain  Falls,”  “Green  Eyes,”  “To¬ 
morrow's  Youth,”  “Chandu,  and  others. 
“Chandu”  is  in  feature,  feature  and  serial 
and  serial  form.  It  has  received  raves 
where  previewed. 

Ed  Boreth,  Masterpiece,  says  that  exhib.tors 
have  greeted  the  announcement  of  Majes¬ 
tic  pictures  being  distributed  by  that  ex¬ 
change.  “She  Had  to  Choose,”  “The 
Scarlet  Letter”  and  "Night  Alarm"  are  the 
first  trio  and  bookings  are  now  being  ac¬ 
cepted.  Pop  Korson,  president,  took  a 
business  trip  to  Baltimore  recently.  In 
addition,  Ed  announces  that  the  exchange 
is  lining  up  plenty  more  product  and  ex¬ 
hibitors  can  depend  upon  the  exchange 
coming  through. 

Harry  Goodman,  at  Metropolitan,  thinks 
business  should  get  better.  His  company 
is  doing  its  part,  he  avers. 

Whitey  Molitsch,  the  Baedecker  of  Vine 
Street,  says  the  baby’s  party  was  a  success 
and  they  are  going  to  have  another,  a 
party,  he  means. 


NEW  SEASON  STUFF,  Anna  Sten,  UA-Goldwyn  star,  visits  Boulder  Dam,  Ethel  Merman 
of  “Kid  Millions”  poses  for  her  picture  and  Anna  Sten  and  Fredric  March  are  seen  in 
“We  Live  Again,”  all  UA  stuff. 


J.  Becker,  demon  impressario  of  Apex 
Garage,  has  his  assistants  all  attired  in 
striking  new  uniforms.  They  are  the  clas¬ 
siest  looking  crew  on  the  street.  Just 
another  sample  of  Apex  service. 

Herb  Bloomfield  is  now  a  layout  aid  at  Na- 
t.onal  Penn  Printing  Company. 

MPTO  board  meets  October  19. 

IEPA  met  this  week  in  regular  session. 

Dave  Barrist  feeling  a  bit  better  after  a  cold 
which  laid  him  up. 

Fire  Prevention  Week  in  the  exchanges  found 
fire  drills  and  plenty  of  inspection.  A 
prize  is  awarded  annually  to  the  cleanest 
exchange. 

M.  J.  Given  is  ha  ndling  the  former  Herb 
Given  exchange  as  Action  Pictures.  The 
exchange  is  distributing  the  James  Oliver 
Curwood  series  of  action  pictures,  first  of 
which  is  “The  Fighting  Trooper."  Sec¬ 
ond  is  “The  Northern  Frontier." 

A1  Blofson  and  the  Libros  brothers,  Oscar 
and  Simon,  opine  that  the  best  way  to  sell 
the  fall  hit  attractions  is  to  make  use  of 
the  facilities  of  National  Penn  Printing. 
Th  ere  is  no  medium  as  important  and  pow¬ 
erful  as  the  printed  word,  they  claim. 

Captain  Earle  Hammond,  the  bally  expert, 
has  two  new  floats  working  around.  One 
is  on  “The  Scarlet  Empress,”  with  the 
captain  playing  the  part  of  a  Russian  count 
and  the  other  is  on  “Peck's  Bad  Boy."  In 
the  latter  Hammond  is  not  the  bad  boy. 
Both  are  available  for  leasing. 

Tony  Lucchese,  happy  because  the  luncheon 
was  a  big  success,  is  all  set  to  go  on  the 
new  season.  His  specials,  Mascot  produc- 
t’ons  and  serials  are  clicking  all  the  way 
down  the  line.  The  entire  force  is  up  on 
its  toes  and  everything  should  be  rosy. 


Herb  Given  was  host  at  a  showing  of 
“Power"  to  invited  exh.bitors.  The  pic¬ 
ture  impressed  tremendously.  Newspaper 
people  and  invited  guests  were  also  pres¬ 
ent.  Following  the  showing  a  special  lunch¬ 
eon  was  held  at  the  Warwick. 

Luke  Farrell  and  M.  B.  Comerford  both  sick 
with  colds. 

Abe  Franks  has  just  redecorated  the  front 
of  his  theatre.  He  is  still  working  hard  at 
the  Camden  Lyric. 

Manager  Murdock,  Stanley,  Camden,  has 
promised  to  take  managers  of  that  dis¬ 
trict  for  a  spaghetti  dinner. 

Everett  Callow  ought  to  watch  his  step  speed¬ 
ing  from  Camden  to  Millville.  Some  one 
says  the  cops  along  the  way  are  beg.nning 
to  know  him. 

Mike  Landow  was  a  visitor  in  town. 

Looks  like  there  are  a  lot  of  romances  bloom¬ 
ing  on  the  street  between  bachelors  and 
girls  in  the  exchanges. 

Jack  Engel  now  going  in  for  blondes. 

Esther  Diamond  still  does  the  boardwalk. 

Fox  now  has  3  blondes. 

Helene  Harris,  S-W,  becomes  a  Missus  in  No¬ 
vember. 

John  Turner,  S-W,  as  handsome  as  ever. 

Oscar  Neufeld  is  still  the  working  girls’  hero. 
He  takes  North  Phillly  girls  home. 


Goldberg  In  Drive 

Harry  Goldberg,  Stanley  Warner  advertis¬ 
ing  chief,  has  been  appointed  to  the  publicity 
committee  of  the  Jewish  Welfare  Drive. 

All  theatres  are  co-operating  in  showing  trail¬ 
ers  and  trade,  generally,  is  doing  its  part. 


A  LOST  LADY.  Barbara  Stanwyck  is  the  lady  in  question  and  Ricardo  Cortez  and  Frank 
Morgan  are  the  Warner  aides. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Octl5'34 


37 


WILKES-BARRE 


LANCASTER 


American  Tragedy  trial  furnished  too  much 
competition  for  the  theatres  last  week,  to 
say  nothing  of  the  world’s  series. 

Greater  Show  Week  in  Plymouth  was 
launched  with  a  bang,  thanks  to  the  tie-up 
Bill  Roberts  had  with  the  newspapers  and 
stores.  In  addition  to  the  annual  pass  to 
the  young  woman,  who  became  Miss 
Shawnee,  there  were  loge  seat  tickets  for 
six  months  to  the  two  next  popular. 

Forty. Fort, has  not  given  up  its  hope  of  secur¬ 
ing  a  theatre  for  this  West  Side  town. 

Nanticoke  has  been  impressed  by  the  calibre 
of  the  stage  shows  at  the  State. 

Little  Theatre,  Wilkes-Barre,  has  enrolled 
500  members  in  a  drive. 

State,  Nanticoke,  garnered  for  itself  no  little 
publicity  in  a  tie-up  with  the  Nanticoke 
department  of  “The  Evening  News”  on 
“Treasure  Island.” 

John  Galvin  had  State  Kiwanis  delegates  as 
his  guests  at  the  Penn. 

Fred  Hermann,  Capitol,  has  dressed  his  ticket 
office  girl  in  a  uniform. 

A1  C  ox  gave  Irving  patrons  orchestra  enter¬ 
tainment. 


HARRISBURG 


Those  two  handsome  Roman  soldiers  Skip¬ 
per  Jack  O’Rear,  Majestic,  Harrisburg, 
had,  for  exploitation  purposes,  at  the  en¬ 
trance  of  the  theatre  looked  like  they  had 
just  stepped  out  of  “Cleopatra.” 

Bob  Etchberger,  assistant  pilot  at  Loew’s 
Regent,  Harrisburg,  is  glad  the  World 
Series  is  over.  John  J.  Ash,  auditor,  ar¬ 
rived  from  Loew  s  N.  Y.  office. 

Sam  Gilman,  to  that  party  employed  several 
doors  from  his  theatre,  has  become  an 
ardent  Harrisburg  booster  since  he  as¬ 
sumed  his  managerial  duties  at  Loew’s 
Regent,  Harrisburg.  Sam  bought  a  classy 
car  to  replace  the  old  bus. 

Madeline  Lambert,  wife,  manager  Harry,  Vic¬ 
toria,  Harrisburg,  is  rehearsing  for  an  im¬ 
portant  role  in  a  serial  radio  play,  “The 
Blue  Menace." 

Ten  patrons  who  wrote  best  criticisms  on 
picture,  "Jane  Eyre,”  while  playing  Vic¬ 
toria,  Harrisburg,  received  “Jane  Eyre" 
books  from  book  stores  through  an  ar¬ 
rangement  of  manager  Jerry  Wollaston. 

Charlie  Bierbauer,  traveling  exploitation 
agent  in  Pennsylvania  for  Wilmer  and  Vin¬ 
cent,  was  a  visitor. 


Ray  O’Connell  did  some  nice  promotion 
work  in  boosting  "Affairs  of  Cellini.”  Ray 
had  advertising  signs  frozen  in  250-pound 
cakes  of  ice.  The  cakes  were  deposited 
on  busy  street  corners  and  attracted  much 
attention. 

Warner  Bros.’  club  members  will  hold  their 
meeting  at  Hotel  Brunswick. 

Herbert  Thatcher  stood  them  up  with  a  sec¬ 
ond  run  of  “Here  Comes  the  Navy”  at  the 
Hamilton  Theatre. 

Holidays  are  just  around  the  corner  with 
local  theatre  men.  Civic  clubs  are  pre¬ 
paring  plans  fqr  annual  parties  at  Thanks¬ 
giving  and  Christmas. 

Ray  O  Connell  crashed  page  one  of  the  local 
dailies  with  an  advertisement  offering  $25 
reward  for  the  return  of  a  valuable  pic¬ 
ture  of  the  Dionne  babies  stolen  from  the 
lobby  of  the  theatre.  Police  read  the  ad¬ 
vertisement  and  offered  service  of  the  de¬ 
tective  bureau.  Ray  declined  the  aid  with 
thanks. 


BACK  AGAIN.  William  Fox,  once 
a  power  in  this  business,  is  again 
actively  back  in  the  limelight,  fol¬ 
lowing  the  Supreme  Court  refusal 
to  review  the  Tri-Ergon  patent 
case. 


SOUND  SERVICE 


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Day  Phone:  RIT  4529 
Night  Phone:  SHE  0805 


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309  North  13th  Street 
PHILADELPHIA 
Phone,  Rittenhouse  3273 

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Specialists  in  Repairs 


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38 


Octl5’34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Wilmington  Sunday  Benefit 
Stopped  by  City’s  Mayor 

Hospital  Had  Bought  Out 
Loew’s  for  Evening 


The  biggest  sensation  in  Wilmington 
theatrical  circles  broke  October  7,  when 
Mayor  Speer,  without  warning,  clamped 
down  on  the  Sunday  night  benefit  prevue 
at  Loew’s  Parkway,  while  part  of  a  crowd 
of  700  or  more  persons  who  had  con¬ 
tributed  funds  to  the  Homeopathic  Hos¬ 
pital  waited  to  get  in  to  see  the  show  on 
free  tickets  given  them  for  contributions. 

The  incident  was  made  even  more  sensational 
the  next  morning  when  the  Morning  Nezvs  came 
out  with  about  six  columns  of  news  apiece,  the 
picture  of  the  theatre,  a  cut  of  Mayor  Speer 
as  the  "Warnor”  and  a  cut  of  George  Jones, 
manager  of  the  theatre  as  the  “Warnee”  on  the 
first  page  under  an  eight-column  streamer,  and 
plenty  of  continuances  of  the  stories  on  the  in¬ 
side  pages. 

Special  story  from  Rehoboth  said  that  C.  S. 
Horn,  manager.  Blue  Hen  show  at  that  resort, 
had  been  showing  Sunday  movies  for  eight 
years  without  opposition. 

The  Ancillor  Board  of  the  hospital  had  en¬ 
tered  into  an  agreement  with  the  theatre  by 
which  they  leased  the  new  George  Arliss  film, 
“Last  Gentleman,”  the  theatre  and  employes 
for  the  evening.  No  contributions  were  taken 
after  midnight  Saturday. 

Performance  was  to  have  been  begun  at  8 
o’clock.  A  large  crowd  gathered  in  the  lobby. 
Then  a  theatre  attendant  said  he  was  sorry, 
that  Mayor  Speer  had  ordered  them  to  call  the 
show  off.  There  were  many  protests. 

Warning  against  holding  the  show  was  ac¬ 
companied  by  the  threat  that  the  license  of 
the  theatre  would  be  revoked  if  the  performance 
was  held. 

Localities  Hop  to 
Pittsburgh  Variety  Event 

Prospect  of  Tent  Organized 

Here  Seen 


A  Variety  Club  Tent  for  the  local  dis¬ 
trict  may  result  from  the  visit  of  several 
Philadelphians  to  the  October  14  annual 
dinner  of  the  first  Variety  Club  in  Pitts¬ 
burgh. 

Among  those  traveling  were  Eddie  Corcoran, 
Earle  Sweigert  and  Jay  Emanuel.  Some  New 
Yorkers  attending  THE  EXHIBITOR  golf 
tournament  also  went  on  a  special  car  follow¬ 
ing  the  local  affair. 

A  contingent  from  the  censer  board  also  went. 

It  is  believed  that  the  organization  of  a  Va¬ 
riety  Club  will  follow  here  if  there  is  enough 
interest  among  the  film  fraternity.  The  Pitts¬ 
burgh  dinner  was  attended  by  about  1000,  with 
the  elect  of  the  city,  state  and  industry  present. 


Price  Cutting  Arises 

Admissions  are  being  slashed  in  some 
of  the  class  sections  of  the  city.  Ex- 
changemen,  who  weren't  concerned  at 
first,  are  worried  because  of  the  trend. 

Exhibs  blame  the  cuts  on  poor  re¬ 
ceipts  and  lower  quality  pictures,  but 
at  any  rate,  the  slash  is  cutting  into  per¬ 
centage  engagements. 


OPENS  NEW  HOUSE.  A1  Boyd,  leading 
showman,  opened  up  another  addition  to  his 
chain  last  week  when  the  new  Boyd  Theatre, 
Bethlehem,  opened  its  doors  with  the  good 
wishes  of  the  trade. 

Wilmington  Dailies  and 
Exhibitors  Begin  Battle 

Coming  of  New  Executive  Editor 

Results  in  Changes 

Wilmington  theatre  men  “locked  horns” 
with  the  J ournal-Every  Evening-  over  the 
new  news  space  policy  of  William  L. 
Mapel,  new  executive  editor  of  the  two 
papers.  Morning  News  and  Evening 
Journal,  resulting  in  one  of  the  sharpest 
breaks  that  has  ever  occurred. 

The  theatre  men,  after  two  conferences  in 
which  Mapel,  backed  by  the  owners  of  the 
paper,  insisted  that  he  would  purge  his  news 
columns  of  publicity,  spurned  the  shift  from 
the  running  of  readers  to  the  publisher’s  propo¬ 
sition,  and  threatened  to  reduce  “ads.” 

The  first  clash  came  when  readers  were  cut 
to  a  mere  paragraph  apiece.  At  a  conference, 
it  was  agreed  that  such  a  plan  was  of  little 
benefit  to  either  the  newspaper  or  the  theatre 
men.  Jack  Mulhall,  Warner  district  manager; 
Dwight  VanMeter,  Aldine  manager;  and  other 
Warner  men,  together  with  A.  J.  DeFiore,  Park, 
and  other  independents,  conferred  with  the  pub¬ 
lishers.  Mapel  finally  submitted  a  proposition 
by  which  he  offered  to  give  the  theatre  men  a 
bang-up  page  for  new  shows  Thursday ;  a 
schedule  of  the  time  of  features  every  day ;  a 


FLASHES  FROM 
COAL  FIELDS 

By  BIDU 

Miss  Anthracite,  Miss  Mary  Mahon,  received 
a  screen  test  with  Paramount.  Local  daily 
was  in  on  tie-up  at  Newton  Lake.  M.  B. 
Comerford,  Johnny  Roberts,  Ernie  Schmidt 
aided  on  the  test.  On  her  return  from  the 
coast,  her  test  was  shown,  with  personal 
appearance,  at  the  Wilkes-Barre  Capitol. 
Joe  Elicker,  Scranton  Strand,  with  Ernie 
Schmidt  and  Eddie  Cochran,  Paramount, 
billed  her  return  as  special  envoy  from 
Mae  West  with  mayors  of  Wilkes-Barre 
and  Scranton  visited.  An  elaborate  re¬ 
ception  was  arranged  with  horse  drawn 
carriage  of  the  ’90’s,  a  letter  for  the  mayor 
of  Scranton,  etc.  Piece  broke  front  page 
in  the  dailies,  a  real  achievement. 

Eddie  Murtaugh,  Ritz,  put  on  a  good  cam¬ 
paign  for  "Death  on  the  Diamond,”  tieing 
up  the  world  series. 

Edgar  Simonis  had  his  hands  full  with  auto¬ 
graph  seekers  pounding  the  doors  to  get 
Burns  and  Allen  to  sign.  Capitol,  Scran¬ 
ton,  did  good  business. 

Willard  Mathews,  thin  man  of  Olyphant, 
Granada,  has  a  redecorated  lobby.  Comer- 
ford  paint  crew  did  the  job  and  then  went 
to  the  Pottsville  Capitol. 

Ernie  Schmidt  has  instituted  group  advertis¬ 
ing  in  Scranton,  as  he  did  in  Wilkes-Barre. 

Wilmena  Weikel,  Star  Theatre  criterion  of 
Scranton  “Republican”  is  doing  a  nice  job 
with  the  theatre  page. 

Joe  Elicker,  Strand  Theatre,  promoted  a  tie- 
up  with  Scranton  "Republican"  classified 
page.  Gave  away  tickets. 

Phil  Moore,  manager,  Riviera,  used  big  news¬ 
paper  display. 

Harry  Spiegel  used  an  electric  score  board 
in  Scranton. 

Billy  Cosgrove,  Globe,  is  using  plenty  of 
displays. 

Walter  Dynan  still  rings  the  bell  at  the  Bell 
Theatre.  Business  is  good,  says  Waddy. 

Eddie  Superko,  State  Theatre,  was  ill. 

Henry  Negosh  is  manager  of  the  Rex. 

Willis  Close,  lately  at  Clark  Summit,  has  a 
business  in  Scranton. 

One  of  the  film  salesmen  a  double  for  post¬ 
master  Farley,  they  say.  Who  can  it  be? 

Nick  Scartelli  has  re-opened  the  Minoka 
Magnet  Theatre,  with  alterations. 

E.  D.  English  is  re-opening  the  Capitol,  Hall- 
stead,  with  new  sound,  chairs,  draperies. 

Charlie  Hooper,  People’s  Theatre,  Shick- 
shinny,  altered  this  theatre  and  has  a  swell 
house,  now. 

Manny  Tannerbaum,  Roxy,  Olyphant,  and 
Roxy,  Hazleton,  is  now  operating  the  Al¬ 
lentown  Astor. 

Bob  Schmidt,  Temple,  Berwick,  certainly 
made  the  town  treasure  conscious  for 
“Treasure  Island.”  His  banners  across 
the  street  stirred  up  the  local  council. 

Jerome  Engel,  Family,  Glen  Lyon,  is  coming 
along  rapidly.  Alert  to  new  ideas,  he  is 
fast  becoming  an  experienced  showman. 
His  welcome  smile  is  his  ad. 


column  written  by  a  specially  engaged  expert  to 
contain  chatter  and  film  gossip  in  which  names 
of  the  plays  and  players  on  current  screens 
would  appear. 

Theatremen  were  adamant  in  their  conten¬ 
tion  for  regular  advertising  rates  unless  they 
could  have  their  readers  and  publicity  of  the 
kind  they  had  been  accustomed  to  get,  but  the 
publishers  declined,  standing  on  their  proposi¬ 
tion,  which  was  put  into  effect. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Oct.15'34 


39 


HE  SOLVES  IT.  Warren  William,  in  Warners’  “Case  of  the  Howling  Dog,”  has  aid  from 
Mary  A3tor,  Allen  Jenkins  and  others. 


Hays  Optimistic 

Public  approval  of  the  new  pictures 
and  the  nature  of  the  product  planned 
for  winter  and  spring  indicate  a  year  of 
high  entertainment  levels,  Will  H.  Hays, 
president,  Motion  Picture  Producers  and 
Distributors  of  America,  told  his  board 
of  directors  at  their  regular  quarterly 
meeting. 

He  surveyed  279  feature  productions 
announced  for  the  new  season,  exclu¬ 
sive  of  westerns  and  other  productions 
not  yet  titled,  and  was  optimistic  about 
the  future. 


Heard  In 

ROSSTOWN 

Myers  Got  a 
Promotion 


Charlie  Goldfine,  Falls  Theatre  exhibitor,  is 
also  interested  in  the  River  Drive  Cafe, 
Ridge  Avenue.  Place  is  worthy  of  more 
than  passing  attention. 

Frank  Buhler,  Fox  Theatre  manager,  did  a 
nice  job  of  introducing  concert  artists 
during  a  recent  stage  show.  Frank  was 
present  at  every  performance  and  scored 
an  instantaneous  hit. 

Dick  Powell  is  the  new  “Evening  Ledger” 
scribe  on  movies  and  such.  He  assists 
dynamic  Harry  T.  Murdock,  drama  and 
movie  editor. 

Sid  Stanley,  the  man-mountain  of  Fay’s  The¬ 
atre,  aims  to  present  first  run  films  when¬ 
ever  possible.  Business  is  good  and  so  is 
Lester  Jeffries,  his  assistant. 

Fire  Hall,  Newmanstown,  is  re-opening. 

Auditorium,  Honey  Brook,  also  re-opening. 

Ray  Myers,  former  manager  Ogontz,  has 
been  transferred  to  the  Orpheum  Theatre, 
Bill  Haines,  district  manager,  caused  the 
change,  which  has  already  been  hailed  by 
residents  of  the  sector.  Not  only  does  Ray 
know  everyone  by  the  first  name  but  the 
debutantes  of  the  section  have  made  the 
house  their  headquarters.  Others,  too, 
have  commended  the  move,  especially  the 
leading  business  men  of  the  area. 

Artie  Cohn,  dynamo-impressario  of  the  pen 
and  pencil  at  the  Earle,  is  continuing  his 
good  work  with  his  campaigns  and  his 
fronts.  “The  Earle  will  continue  to  knock 
’em  dead,”  states  Artie. 

Basil  Ziegler,  code  secretary,  longs  for  No¬ 
vember  when  he  will  be  up  to  his  neck  in 
work.  He  spent  the  week-end  with  Don 
Mayfield. 

Jerome  Harrison  is  the  new  publicity  man¬ 
ager  for  the  Europa. 


Lester  Stallman  is  now  district  manager  for 
North  Philadelphia  district. 

Eric  Knight,  who  is  now  a  Fox  scrivener,  was 
assigned  to  a  Janet  Gaynor  picture  as  his 
first  step.  Gaynor  must  have  been  en¬ 
thused. 

Harry  Waxman,  who  has  love  seats  in  his 
new  shore  Hollywood,  was  asked  if  a  love 
seat  would  count  for  two  when  the  music 
tax  was  to  be  paid.  He  didn’t  reply. 


READING 


Police  Commissioner  John  S.  Giles,  presi¬ 
dent,  Reading  Fair,  reports  a  margin  in  the 
black  for  the  fair  this  year. 

Paul  M.  Frailey,  who  has  leased  the  old  Or¬ 
pheum  Theatre  for  dramatic  stock,  has  en¬ 
gaged  Addison  Pitt,  former  manager  stock 
companies  here,  as  director. 

Peg  Glase,  Embassy,  got  the  jump  on  his 
rivals  by  showing  a  recent  fight  picture 
first. 

Bob  Suits,  Loew’s  Colonial,  had  the  world’s 
series  results  announced  from  the  stage. 

Rajah  Theatre,  with  1  0  cents  as  the  gate 
charge  matinee  or  night,  any  part  of  the 
house,  is  reported  doing  a  profitable  busi¬ 
ness. 

Cornelius  G.  Keeney  is  drawing  well  at  his 
uptown  Park  theatre. 

Manager  A1  Nowitsky  and  Frank  Porter 

stage  director,  turned  the  tables  on  Murray 
Livingston,  “barrel  of  fun”  entertainer  at 
the  State,  and  an  inveterate  joker,  in  neat 
fashion. 

Capitol,  Wilmer  &  Vincent  house,  still  closed 

Astor  stage  shows,  plus  feature  films,  are 
drawing  good  houses  for  manager  Cal 

Lieberman. 


LEHIGH  VALLEY 


David  Murphy  is  the  new  manager  of  Wilmer 
and  Vincent’s  Rialto,  Allentown.  Murphy 
was  affiliated  with  the  W.  and  V.  circuit 
at  his  former  residence. 

New  Boyd  Theatre,  Bethlehem,  is  the  latest 
addition  to  the  A.  R.  Boyd  enterprises  in 
the  valley.  House  was  formerly  the  Col¬ 
onial.  It  is  under  the  direction  of  district 
manager  Harry  Gammett,  resident  man¬ 
ager,  Globe,  Bethlehem.  Other  three  are 
Boyd,  Easton,  and  Strand  and  Embassy, 
Allentown.  New  lessees  have  redecorated 
the  entire  front  of  the  building. 

Paul  Allendar,  formerly  of  Strand,  Allen¬ 
town,  has  the  New  Boyd  under  his  wing. 

George  C.  Meeser,  manager.  Broad  Street 
Theatre,  Nazareth,  secured  the  co-opera¬ 
tion  of  the  staff  and  treated  the  house  to  a 
new  coat  of  paint. 


TICKET  REGISTERS 


Announcing  the 

At 

NEW 

Silent- Automatic 
Ticket  Register 

50 

1935  Noiseless  Model  X 

Saving 

Write  for  Details 

A  MODERN  ELECTRICAL  PRODUCT 

STANDARD  TICKET  REGISTER  CORP. 

1600  Broadway,  New  York  •  Geo  Mead,  gen  mgr. 

VAUDEVILLE  AGENCIES 


HARRY  BIBEN 

VAUDEVILLE  AGENCY 

(603-4  COLONIAL  BUILDING) 

N.  E.  Cor.  13th  and  Market  St*. 

Phone,  Rittenhouse  9494-5 

PHILADELPHIA 

Booking 

STANLEY  -  WARNER 
THEATRES,  Philadelphia 


• 

Official  Letter 

Mimeographing 

Multigraphing 

Public  Stenography 

Service  to  the 

_ 

Motion  Picture 

Addressing  -  Folding 

Industry 

Enclosing  -  Mailing 

Accurate  List 

Advertising 

of  all  Theatres 

Publicity 

and  Executives 

Printing 

WM.  Z. 

PORTER 

Advertising  and  Letter  Service 

1208  Vine  Street 

(Second  Floor) 

Bell:  RITtenhouse  7195  Keystone:  RACE  8666 

Nineteen  Years  Ago  in  Philadelphia 


Imperial  Amusement  Company  took  over  the 
American  Theatre. 

Board  of  Censors  ordered  twenty  eliminations 
in  "The  Fatal  Card,”  a  Paramount  picture 
and  this  was  strongly  protested  by  a  num¬ 
ber  of  theatre  owners.  They  threatened 
court  action  and  eighteen  of  the  cuts  or¬ 
dered  were  allowed  to  remain. 

Apollo,  Armingo,  Central  and  Lincoln  The¬ 
atres  were  put  up  at  auction  for  sale. 

M.  Resnick,  manager.  Casino,  was  having 
the  playhouse  renovated  and  improved. 


40 


Octl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


For  your  convenience,  this  publication  furnishes  this  guide  to  reviews  of  pictures  which  have  appeared 
in  regular  review  department.  Before  dating  in  your  show,  consult  this  page,  find  out  when  the  review  appeared 
and  then  look  it  up.  Key:  For  example,  2-Jan.  means  the  second  issue  of  this  publication  in  that  month. 
1-Feb.  would  mean  the  first  Issue,  and  so  on. 


Columbia 


20th  Century  .  1-May 

The  Crime  of  Helen  Stanley  . 2-May 

Hell  Bent  for  Love  . 1-June 

One  Night  of  Love . 2-June 

The  Hell  Cat  .  2-June 

The  Most  Precious  Thing  in  Life .  2-June 

Black  Moon  .  2-July 

A  Man’s  Game . 1-Aug. 

Whom  the  Gods  Destroy  .  1-Aug. 

Beyond  the  Law  .  2-Aug. 

Blind  Date  . 2-Aug. 

Name  the  Woman  . 2-Aug. 

The  Defense  Rests  . 2-Aug. 

Among  the  Missing  .  2-Sept. 

Girl  in  Danger  . 2-Sept. 

That’s  Gratitude  .  .  .  . .  2-Sept. 

Lady  by  Choice  . 2-Oct. 


First  National — Warners 


Smarty  . 

Merry  Wives  of  Reno  . 

Fog  Over  Frisco  . 

Midnight  Alibi  . 

The  Circus  Clown  .  .  .  . 
The  Merry  Frinks  .... 

Dr.  Monica  . 

The  Key  . . 

He  Was  Her  Man  .... 
Man  With  Two  Faces  . 
Return  of  the  Terror 
Friends  of  Mr.  Sweeney 
Madam  Du  Barry  .  .  . 
The  Personality  Kid 
Here  Comes  the  Navy 

British  Agent  . 

Kansas  City  Princess 
Dragon  Murder  Case  .  . 

Dames  . 

Housewife  . . 

Big  Hearted  Herbert 

Desirable  . 

A  Lost  Lady . 

Case  of  Howling  Dog  . 

Happiness  Ahead  . 

Six  Day  Bike  Race 
The  Firebird  . 


1- May 

2- May 
1-June 
1-June 
1-June 
1-June 
1-June 
1-June 

1- June 

2- June 
2-June 
2-June 
2-June 
2-June 
2-July 
2-Aug. 
2-Aug. 
2-Aug. 
2-Aug. 
2-Aug. 
1-Sept. 

1- Sept. 

2- Sept. 
2-Sept. 

1- Oct. 

2- Oct. 
2-Oct. 


Fox 


Such  Women  Are  Dangerous  .  1-May 

Wild  Gold  .  1-May 

Change  of  Heart  .  2-May 

Handy  Andy  . .  2-May 

Call  It  Luck  .  1-June 

Heart  Song  . 1-June 

Baby  Take  a  Bow .  1-July 

Grand  Canary  . 1-July 

She  Learned  About  Sailors . 1-July 

Charlie  Chan’s  Courage  .  2-July 

The  World  Moves  On .  2-July 

Servants’  Entrance  .  1-Aug. 

Caravan  . . . .  .  .  .  2-Aug. 

Judge  Priest  .  2-Aug. 

She  Was  a  Lady  .  2-Aug. 

The  Cat’s  Paw  . 2-Aug. 

Pursued  .  1-Sept. 

Charlie  Chan  in  London  .  2-Sept. 

Peck’s  Bad  Boy  . 2-Sept. 

Dude  Ranger .  1-Oct. 

Love  Time  . 2-Oct. 

365  Nights  in  Hollywood  2-Oct. 

Liberty 

Cheaters  .  1-May 

No  Ransom  . . 2-Apr. 

When  Strangers  Meet  . . 2-Apr. 

Take  the  Stand  .  2-Mar. 

Once  to  Every  Bachelor  .  1-June 

Two  Heads  on  a  Pillow .  2-July 

School  for  Girls  . .  1-Sept. 


Metro 


The  Hollywood  Party  .  2-Apr. 

Viva  Villa  .  2-Apr. 

Manhattan  Melodrama  1-May 

Tarzan  and  His  Male  .  ]-May 

Laughing  Boy  . 2-May 


Sadie  McKee  . 

Operator  13  . 

The  Thin  Man  . 

Murder  in  Private  Car  . 

Stamboul  Quest  . 

Treasure  Island  . 

Barretts  of  Wimpole  Street 

Girl  from  Missouri  . 

Paris  Interlude  .  . 

Hideout  . 

Straight  Is  the  Way 

Chained  . 

Have  a  Heart  . 

Iris  March  . 

Student  Tour  ....... 

Death  on  Diamond  . 

The  Merry  Widow  . 

What  Every  Woman  Knows 


Monogram 

DISTRIBUTED  BY  FIRST  DIVISION 


2-May 

1-June 

1- June 

2- July 
2-July 
2-July 
1-Aug. 
1-Aug. 

1- Aug. 

2- Aug. 
2-Aug. 
1-Sept. 
1-Sept. 
1-Sept. 

1- Sept. 

2- Sept. 
2-Sept. 
2-Oct. 


Dangerous  Corner  . 

By  Your  Leave  . 

The  Gay  Divorcee  . 

Wednesday’s  Child  . 

United  Artists 

Sorrell  and  Son  . V.  . 

Looking  for  Trouble . . 

Catherine  the  Great . 

House  of  Rothschild  . 

The  Affairs  of  Cellini . 

Bulldog  Drummond  Strikes  Back  . 

The  Last  Gentleman  . 

Born  to  Be  Bad . 

Our  Daily  Bread  . 

Nell  Gwyn  .  . 

For  Love  or  Money  (Cash)  (Mundus)  .  .  . 

Count  of  Monte  Cristo  . 

Private  Life  of  Don  Juan  . 

Transatlantic  Merry  Go  Round 
We  Live  Again  . 


Randy  Rides  Alone  .  . 

Jane  Eyre  . 

Star  Packer  ........ 

Happy  Landings  .  . 

Shock  . 

The  Moonstone  .  . 
Girl  of  Limberlost 
King  Kelly  of  U.  S.  A. 
Redhead 

A  Successful  Failure  . 
Tomorrow's  Youth  .  . 
The  Trail  Beyond 


1- July 

2- July 
2-July 
1-Aug. 

1- Aug. 

2- Aug. 
2-Sept. 
1-Oct. 

1- Oct. 

2- Oct. 
2-Oct. 
2-Oct. 


Paramount 


Wharf  Angel  . 

Melody  in  Spring  . 

The  Trumpet  Blows  .  .  .  . 

You're  Telling  Me  . 

Double  Door . 

The  Scarlet  Empress  . 

The  Witching  Hour  . 

We’re  Not  Dressing  . 

Little  Miss  Marker  . 

Many  Happy  Returns  .  . 

Murder  at  Vanities  . 

Private  Scandal 

Thirty  Day  Princess  . 

Kiss  and  Make  Up . 

The  Great  Flirtation  .  . 
Here  Comes  the  Groom... 
Notorious  Sophie  Lang 

Old  Fashioned  Way  . 

She  Loves  Me  Not  . 

Shoot  the  Works  . 

Elmer  and  Elsie  . 

Ladies  Should  Listen 

Cleopatra  . 

Crime  without  Passion  .  .  . 

Now  and  Forever  . 

Belle  of  the  Nineties  . 
Mrs.  Wiggs,  Cabbage  Patch 
You  Belong  to  Me 

Wagon  Wheels  . 

Pursuit  of  Happiness  . 

Lemon  Drop  Kid  . 

Menace 

Ready  for  Love  . 


2-Mar. 

2-Apr. 

2-Apr. 

2-Apr. 

1-May 

1-May 

1-May 

1- May 

2- May 
2-May 
2-May 
2-May 
2-May 
2-June 
2-June 

1- July 

2- July 
2-July 
2-July 
2-July 
1-Aug. 

1- Aug. 

2- Aug. 
2-Aug. 
2-Aug. 
1-Sept. 
1-Sept. 

1- Sept. 

2- Sept. 
1-Oct. 

1- Oct. 

2- Oct. 
2-Oct. 


Radio 


The  Crime  Doctor .  1-Apr. 

Finishing  School  .  2-Apr. 

Wild  Cargo  . 2-Apr. 

Where  Sinners  Meet  .  1-May 

Strictly  Dynamite  .  1-May 

Stingaree  . 2-May 

Cockeyed  Cavaliers  . 2-June 

Murder  on  Blackboard . 2-June 

Vergie  Winters  . 2-June 

Bachelor  Bait  . 1-July 

His  Greatest  Gamble . 1-July 

Let’s  Try  Again .  1-July 

We’re  Rich  Again  .  1-July 

Of  Human  Bondage  .  2-July 

Hat,  Coat  and  Glove . 1-Aug. 

Their  Big  Moment .  1-Aug. 

The  Fountain  . 1-Sept. 

Age  of  Innocence  .  2-Sept. 

Down  to  Last  Yacht  .  2-Sept. 

Richest  Girl  in  World . 2-Sept. 


Universal 


I’ll  Tell  the  World . 

Smoking  Guns  (Doomed  to  Die) . 

Half  a  Sinner  . 

The  Uncertain  Lady  . 

Affairs  of  Gentleman  . 

Dangerous  to  Women  (The  Love  Captive) 

The  Black  Cat  . 

Embarrassing  Moments  . 

Little  Man,  What  Now?  . 

I  Give  My  Love  . 

Let’s  Talk  It  Over . 

Million  Dollar  Ransom  . 

One  More  River  . 

Romance  in  the  Rain  . 

The  Human  Side  . 

Rocky  Rhodes  . 

There’s  Always  Tomorrow  . 

Wake  Up  and  Dream  . 

Gift  of  Gab  . 

Secret  of  Chateau  . 

One  Exciting  Adventure  . 

First  Division 

(CHESTERFIELD) 

In  Love  with  Life  . 

Twin  Husbands  . 

City  Park  . 

Fifteen  Wives  . 

Green  Eves  . 

The  Curtain  Falls  . . 

Fugitive  Road  . 

Return  of  Chandu  . 


He  . 

Throne  of  the  Gods 
Under  Secret  Orders 
Forgotten  Men  .... 
Texas  Tornado  .  . 
The  Ferocious  Pal 

Young  Eagles  . 

Little  Damozel  .... 


Gold  Medal 

Laughing  at  Life  . 

Curtain  at  Eight . 

You  Made  Me  Love  You  . 

The  Charming  Deceiver . 

Sin  of  Nora  Moran . 

Big  Time  or  Bust . 

Enlighten  Thy  Daughter . 

The  Morning  After . 

Unknown  Blonde  . 

The  Lost  Jungle . 

Burn  ’Em  Up  Barnes . 

Young  and  Beautiful  . 

Crimson  Romance  . 

Masterpiece 

What’s  Your  Racket? . 

Dancing  Man  . 

Back  Page  . 

The  Fighting  Rookie . 

The  Oil  Raider  . 

The_Scarlet  Letter  . 

She  Had  to  Choose  . 

Night  Alarm  . 


1- Oct. 

2- Oct. 
2-Oct. 
2-Oct. 


2-Feb. 

2-Feb. 

1-Mar. 

.  2-Mar. 

1- May 

2- May 
2-May 
2-June 
2-July 

1- Aug. 

2- Aug. 
2-Sept. 
2-Oct. 
2-Oct. 
2-Oct. 


2-Apr. 

1-May 

1-May 

1- May 

2- May 
2-May 
2-May 
1-June 
1-June 

1- June 

2- June 
2-Aug. 
2-Aug. 
2-Aug. 

1- Sept. 

2- Sept. 
2-Sept. 
2-Sept. 
1-Oct. 

1- Oct. 

2- Oct. 


1-May 

1- May 

2- July 
1-Aug. 

1- Sept. 

2- Oct. 
2-Oct. 
2-Oct. 

2-Jan. 

2-Jan. 

1- Jan. 

2- June 
2-Mar. 

1- Apr. 

2- May 
1-Sept. 


2-June 

1-Deo. 

1-Dec. 

1-Jan. 

1- Jan. 

2- Jan. 
2-Jan. 
2-Feb. 
1-Apr. 

1- June 

2- July 
2-Sept. 
1-Oct. 


2-Feb. 

2-Mar. 

1- Apr. 

2- June 
1-Sept. 

1- Aug. 

2- Aug. 
1-Oct. 


Octl5'34  pg.  41 


Too  Hardboiled  to  be  quoted  f 


•  •  •  unbiased, 
honest,  able. 

•  •  •  calling  a 
spade  a  spade 
without  fear  or 
favor. 

•  •  •  reviewing 
pictures,  not  to 
praise  the  mak¬ 
ers  but  to  fur¬ 
nish  our  exhib¬ 
itor  readers 
with  — 


22 


1 -July-34 


1  ■»  Who  made  it  ?  4  Is  it  family  or  adult  type  ? 

2  Who's  in  it  ?  5  What's  it  about  ? 

3  How  good  is  it  ?  ©•►Running  Time? 


PARAMOUNT 


Take  a  Bow 


Shirley  Temple.  James  Dunn.  Claire  Trevor,  Alan 
Dinrliart,  Ray  Walker,  Doioihy  Libuire,  Rolf 
Uaro'dc,  Richard  Tucker,  Olive  Tell,  James  Flavin. 

In  the  money  because  of  Shirley  Temple, 
"Baby”  shapes  up  as  a  neat  comedy  with  melo¬ 
drama  offering  and  a  good  grosser  where  the 
kid  has  built  a  following.  Action  is  centred  on 
a  couple  of  ex-convicts,  one  the  tot's  father, 
who  try  to  go  straight  but  find  a  detective  on 
their  trail. 

Estimate:  Kid  will  help. 


Here  Comes  the  Groom 


Grand  Canary 


She  Learned 

About  Sailors 


What!  A  Boy? 


Family 
Farce 
74m. 

Edward  Everett  Horton,  Leslie  Henson,  Albert 
Burdon ,  Heather  Thatcher,  At  Drayton. 

Farce  that  will  probably  score  better  on  the 
other  side  than  this.  Outside  of  Horton’s  name, 
show  hasn’t  much  with  which  to  draw  although 
situations  are  often  very  funny. 

Estimate:  Only  Horton. 


Family 
Comedy 
75m. 

Mary  Boland.  Jack  Haley,  Patricia  Ellis,  Neil 
Hamilton.  Isobel  Jewell,  Larry  Gray,  Sidney  Toler, 
E.  H.  Calvert,  Ward  Bond,  Snowflake. 

Fast  moving  farce  that  should  stand  up  wher¬ 
ever  the  laughs  mean  money.  Jack  Haley  scores 
as  a  weak  burglar  who  finds  himself  forced  to 
impersonate  a  crooner.  Mix  in  a  jealous  wife, 
the  real  crooner  and  some  good  gags. 

Estimate:  Fair  comedy. 


RADIO 


Adult 
Drama 
80m. 

Warner  Baxter,  Madge  Evans,  Marjorie  Rambcau, 
Zita  Johann,  Roger  Imhof,  If.  B.  Warner,  Barry 
Norton,  Juliette  Compton,  Gilbert  Emery. 

Story  of  a  doctor  who  falls  from  the  heights 
of  fame  into  oblivion  but  who  comes  back 
through  regeneration  and  love.  Performances 
of  principals  almost  make  the  whole  thing  be¬ 
lievable  but  yarn  is  so  constructed  that  play¬ 
ers  are  handicapped.  Parts  are  particularly 
unsympathetic,  with  the  actors  doing  their 
utmost  to  overcome  this  disadvantage. 

Estimate:  Handicapped. 


Bachelor  Bait 


Well  cast,  well  played  comedy  that  lacks  star 
strength.  Otherwise  it  will  please  everywhere. 
Picture  centres  itself  in  a  matrimonial  bureau 
with  lots  of  chances  for  Erwin  and  a  capable 
cast.  However,  show  hasn’t  the  strength  to 
become  an  ace  draw,  so  must  fit  into  the  so-so 
category  as  far  as  box  office  is  concerned. 

Estimate:  Average. 


Family 
Comedy 
83m. 

Alice  Faye,  Harry  Green,  Lew  Ayres.  Mitchell  and 
Durante. 

Comedy  about  sailors  that  is  not  only  funny 
but  clean.  Someone  deserves  a  hand  for  turn¬ 
ing  in  a  script  which  avoids  all  the  pitfalls  but 
which  still  milks  the  situations.  Plot  is  familiar, 
the  one  about  the  sailor  who  worked  fast  but 
who  fell  in  love  with  the  girl  and  vice  versa. 

Estimate:  Certain  to  satisfy. 


GAUMONT  BRITISH 


Along  Came  Sally  Comedy  with  songs 
70m. 


English  made  musical  with  one  American 
name  that  will  get  plenty  of  laughs  in  the 
neighborhoods  and  elsewhere.  Dance  numbers, 
songs  and  Courtneidge  clowning  is  a  guarantee 
of  mass  satisfaction.  Picture  winds  up  with  a 
punch  that  will  send  them  out  satisfied. 

Estimate:  Will  please. 


His  Greatest  Gamble 


Family 

Drama 

73m. 


Story  of  father  love  that  will  appeal  mostly 
to  Dix  fans.  There  is  a  strong  play  for  women 
in  the  tale  of  a  father  who  wishes  to  protect 
his  young  daughter  from  the  wife  who  wishes 
to  harm  her.  Picture  is  well  directed  but  title 
and  some  elements  will  prove  confusing. 

Estimate:  Dix. 


I  »  T  A  Adult 

Lets  I ry  Again  Drama 

67m. 

Clive  Brook.  Diana  Wynyard.  Ted  Newton,  Helen 
Vinson,  Irene  Hcrvcy,  Arthur  Hoyt. 

Adult  drama  about  a  couple  who  fall  out  of 
love  after  ten  years  of  married  life  but  who 
reconciliate.  Between  the  two  points  are.affairs 
on  each  side,  misunderstandings  and  the  usual* 
goings  on.*  Smart  audiences  will  take  to  .it 
better  than  the  masses.  In  the  latter's  strong¬ 
holds,  the  show  won’t  mean  much. 

Estimate:  Spotty. 


We'  re  Rich  Again 


Family 
Comedy 
78m. 

Marian  Nixon.  Edna  May  Oliver,  Billie  Burke. 
Reginald  Denny.  Buster  Crabbe.  Gloria  Shea,  Grant 
Mitchell.  Edgar  Kennedy,  Lenita  Lane.  Ottoa  Yapio- 
aka,  Joan  Marsh. 

Fair  little  comedy  that  will  probably  please 
but  won't  impress  on  its  own.  Once  again,  a 
family,  with  plenty  of  faults,  is  mothered  by 
the  sweet  heroine  who  straightens  things  out. 

Estimate:  Programmer. 


MONOGRAM 


Randy  Rides  Alone  Wester^ 

53m. 

John  Wayne,  Alberta  Vaughn,  George  Hayes, 
Yakima  Canutt,  Tex  Phelps. 

Well  directed  western  with  pace  and  action 
that  will  appeal  everywhere.  Our  hero  is  falsely 
accused  of  murder,  gets  in  with  a  gang,  routs 
the  crooks,  saves  the  day,  wins  the  girl. 

Estimate:  Okay. 


STATE  RIGHTS 


Are  We  Civilized? 


Family 

Comedy 


Family 
Historical 
70m. 

William  Farnum,  Anita  Louise,  Frank  McGlynn, 
Leroy  Mason.  Oscar  Apfel,  Stuart  Holmes. 

Production  apparently  built  to  fight  all 
oppression  and  filled  with  flashbacks  from  the 
library.  Picture  has  a  timely  theme  but  devel¬ 
opment  isnlt  any  too  good.  However,  where 
ballyhoo  can  be  made  to  count,  show  might 
click.  Story  revolves  around  a  man  who  seeks 
liberty  for.  all  and  his  death  when  forces  of 
oppression  carry  all  before  them. 

Estimate:  Topical. 


Mystery  Ranch 


Family 

Western 

57m. 


Action  western  that  will  please  the  thrill- 
hunting  fans  anywhere.  Picture  has  more  plot 
than  usual,  has  plenty  of  opportunity  for  the 
usual  Tyler  stunts.  YVestern  advocates  will  be 
satisfied. 

Estimate:  Moves  right  along. 

The  World  Adult 

in  Revolt  Compil68°n 

Newsreel  shots  of  the  political  disturbances  in  ths 
various  European  countries  as  well  as  the  United 
States. 

Film  goes  in  for  the  spectacular.  It  shows  the 
highlights  of  political  revolutions  in  Russia, 
Italy,  Germany,  China,  Austria,  featuring  shots 
of  Mussolini,  Dolfus,  Hitler,  Stalin  and  other 
luminaries  of  world  affairs.  Public  is  giv«n 
personal  views  of  executions  and  general  tur¬ 
moil.  Graham  McNamee  does  the  narrating  of 
the  story  which  is  authored  by  Emil  Lengyel 
with  a  musical  accompaniment  under  the  direc¬ 
tion  of  Milton  Schwarzwald. 

Estimate:  Timely. 


White  Heat 


Adult 
Melodrama 
62m. 

David  Newell,  Mona  Maris,  Virginia  Cherrill, 
Hardie  Albright,  Arthur  Clayton,  Naomi  Childers. 

Familiar  tropic  madness  story  but  handled 
and  acted  in  such  manner  that  picture  stands 
out  above  usual  run  of  such  features.  A  plan¬ 
tation  foreman  goes  native,  later  brings  back  his 
white  wife.  Latter’s  sweetheart  enters  to  bring 
additional  confusion. 

Estimate:  Tropical. 


a  True  Picture  of  All  Pictures 


a  Regular  Service  of  .  .  . 

"The  Philadelphia 


EXHIBITOR 


A  Jay  Emanuel  Publication 


FOOTBALL 


-AND  JUST  IN  TIME  FOR  YOU I...A 

THRILLING  ROUSING  MUSICAL  FEATURE  IN  THE  COLLEGE 
SPIRIT  WHEN  THE  WHOLE  COUNTRY  IS  IN  FEVER-HEAT 
PLAYING,  PRACTISING  AND  TALKING  FOOTBALL! 


SONGS 


CO  L  L  t&EW, 


[Octl5'34 


A  Jay  Emanuel  Publication 


In  this 

ssue: 


Variety  Club  Formed  in  Local  Territory 


VOL.  16-No.  21 


PHILADELPHIA,  NOVEMBER  1,  1934 


Price,  15  Cents 


The  Latest 
Addition  to 

First  Division's  I 

BIG  PICTURES  / 


Released  by  the  World's  Leading  Independent 


FIRST  DIVISION  EXCHANGES,  Inc 


HARRY  H.  THOMAS.  President 


Executive  Offices :  R  K  O  Building,  Radio  City,  N.  Y. 

EXCHANGES  IK  PRINCIPAL  CITIES 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  September  11,  1924,  at  the  post  office  at  Philadelphia,  P<i„  under  the  Act  nf  Mair.h  s  p„muiw  ^ 


MAJESTIC 

Productions 


Nov  1 ' 34  pg.  2 


MORE&TO  COME 


EM 
HOW 


SCARLET  LETTER 

With  COLLEEN  MOORE  ★  HARDIE  ALBRIGHT 
HENRY  B.  WALTHALL  and  capable  support 

A  gripping  picturization  of  a  story  that  has  enthralled  millions,  a  picture 
for  the  entire  family,  a  showman’s  show  for  all  houses. 

A  /lumnirt n%  #peciaB 


NIGHT  ALARM 

With  BRUCE  CABOT  *  JUDITH  ALLEN 
H.  B.  WARNER  ★  FUZZY  KNIGHT  ★  SAM  HARDY 

The  action  hit  of  the  new  season,  replete  with  thrills,  an  exploitation  oppor¬ 
tunity  that  will  rarely  be  equalled. 

Action  At  Sts  Best 


SHE  HAD  TO  CHOOSE 

With  BUSTER  CRABBE  *  SALLY  BLANE  *  REGIS  TOOMEY 

Young  love  and  young  life  in  a  comedy  drama  of  young  hearts.  A  family 
picture  that  will  bring  new  faces  into  your  theatre. 

A  Comedy  Biot  off  fnn 

THE  PERFECT  CLUE 

With  DAVID  MANNERS  *  DOROTHY  LIBAIRE 
SKEETS  GALLAGHER  *  ROBERT  GLECKLER 


tt yre  have  told  you  this 
rr  title  again  and  again; 
you  might  as  well  familiar¬ 
ize  yourself  with  it; you  will 
hear  it  again  and  again. 


SCREEN  PLAY: — Gives  it  AAAA  and  says  “A 
great  picture,  amazingly  dramatic  and  delightful 

comedy . drama  in  a  logical  plot  to  a  happy 

fadeout.” 

PHOTOPLAY: — “Better  see  this  film  soon  and 
spare  yourself  the  ordeal  of  having  all  your  friends 

tell  you  the  story . human . compelling 

naturalness  and  humor.” 

SCREENLAND: — “LADY  BY  CHOICE”  eclipses 
LADY  FOR  A  DAY — and  is  THAT  an  achieve¬ 
ment?  You  had  better  not  miss  this.” 

MOVIE  CLASSIC : — “Entertaining  from  start  to 
finish;  a  banisher  of  blues;  all  kinds  of  praise  can 
be  heaped  on  the  stars  for  their  performances.” 

SCREEN  BOOK: — “May  Robson  repeats  the  suc¬ 
cess  of  her  famous  hit:  ‘A  LADY  FOR  A  DAY’; 
highly  dramatic  .  .  .  excellent  comedy  touches.” 


with 

CAROLE  LOMBARD 
MAY  ROBSON 
ROGER  PRYOR 
WALTER  CONNOLLY 

Story  by  Dwight  Taylor 
Screen  play  by  Jo  Swerling 

Directed  by  David  Burton 


Nov  1 '34  pg.  4  Mm 

MK  BROOKLYN  BOOK!  POWER 

RKO  BOSTON  GETS 
"CHU  CHIN  CHOW" 


ilTTlE  FRIEND  RIOT  AT  ROXT  NY- 

SET  FOR  RUN,  LOCUST,  PHIM 


/# 


MAN  OP  ARAN  JAMMING 

THEM  IN  2‘AW  CRITERION, 


NY.  ROBERT  FLAHERTY  TOPS 
Hlf'NANOOK  OF  THE  NORTH 


THE 


pg.  5 

EDITOR'S  PAGE 


Vol.  16,  No.  21 


November  1,  1934 


The 


Philadelphia 


Shortsighted  Here 

AN  EXPERIENCED  MEMBER  of 
*  this  industry,  Louis  Nizer,  returning 
from  abroad,  brings  the  information  that 
admission  prices  in  England  are  two  to  four 
times  higher  than  in  this  country.  While 
conditions  are  not  rosy  across  the  big  pond, 
there  seems  to  be  more  unity  among  ex¬ 
hibitors  in  that  part  of  the  world  than  here. 

There  may  be  internal  factionalism  there 
of  the  same  type  as  here,  but  apparently  it 
does  not  affect  their  sense  of  business 
judgment. 

In  such  a  vital  problem  as  retaining  ad¬ 
mission  prices  at  a  sensible  level,  the  British 
work  together,  regardless  of  what  their 
competitive  opinions  may  be. 

Such  an  attitude  is  rarely  to  be  found 
on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean. 

The  trouble  here  is  that  not  only  do  they 
differ  in  politics  and  argument  but  they 
allow  their  differences  to  affect  their  busi¬ 
ness  judgment.  In  England,  apparently, 
they  are  not  so  shortsighted. 


EXHIBITOR 

Circulating  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware.  Issued  an  the  1st  and  ISth 
ot  each  month  by  Jay  Emanuel  Publications,  Inc.  Publishing  ofRoe.  219  North  Broad  Street,  Philadelphia. 
Branches  at  1600  Broadway,  Nerw  York  City;  Washington,  D.  C.  Jay  Emanuel,  publisher;  Paul  J. 
Qreenhalgh,  advertising  manager;  Herbert  M.  Miller,  managing  editor.  Subscription  rates:  $2  for  one 
year,  $5  for  three  years.  Single  copies,  15c  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware. 
Publishers,  also,  of  THE  NATIONAL  EXHIBITOR  of  Washington  and  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  EXHIBITOR. 
Offioial  organ  of  the  Motion  Picture  Theatre  Owners  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and 
Delaware.  Address  all  communications  to  the  Philadelphia  office. 


Whither  William  Fox? 


VWHAT  is  William  Fox  going  to  do? 

Several  years  ago,  the  same  question  was  on  every¬ 
one’s  lips.  Now,  with  startling  effect,  the  man  who  was  pushed 
into  the  background  emerges  into  the  limelight  so  quickly  that  the 
entire  industry  is  astounded. 

The  quesion  now  is  not  whether  the  departure  of  William  Fox 
from  the  picture  was  undeserved  reward  for  the  industry  pioneer 
or  whether  or  not  he  was  fortunate  or  wise  that  he  left  the  business 
when  he  did.  The  point  which  must  be  settled  is:  What  does  the 


Supreme  Court  action  on  the  Tri-Ergon  patents  mean  to  the 


No  Victory 

_  EXHIBITORS,  to  a  large  degree,  may 
®  save  themselves  something  in  the  com¬ 
promise  effected  by  the  Emergency  Commit¬ 
tee  with  the  American  Society  of  Com¬ 
posers,  Authors  and  Publishers,  but  the 
settlement  can  hardly  be  called  a  victory. 
The  exhibition  faction,  in  the  compromise, 
not  only  pays  an  increase  but  recognizes 
the  society’s  right  to  an  increase. 

While  the  Society  may  have  come  down 
from  its  original  demands,  it  apparently 
did  so  to  save  itself  further  litigation.  With 
the  government  interested  in  an  anti-trust 
action  against  the  body  there  will  be  enough 
court  work  for  the  music  group. 

Exhibitors,  however,  should  not  rest  on 
their  oars.  The  monopolistic  demands  of 
the  Society  can  be  repeated  at  any  time. 
Until  the  exhibition  faction  combines  to 
fight  this  constant  threat  and  defeat  it, 
theatremen  will  be  subject  to  exorbitant 
demands.  The  compromise  is  not  a  victory. 
When  every  exhibitor  writes  out  his  check 
to  pay  the  Society’s  increase,  he  should 
make  a  permanent  record  of  it.  Placing 
this  on  his  wall  will  give  him  a  daily  re¬ 
minder  of  what  lack  of  organization  and 
fighting  power  has  cost  him. 


Movies  As  Debate  Talks 

^  THIS  DEPARTMENT  is  being  be- 
*  sieged  daily  for  information  on  the 
movies.  Discussion  groups,  community 
clubs,  fraternal,  religious  organizations  are 
making  the  movies  a  standard  topic  for 
verbal  argument. 

It  is  well  that  such  a  trend  grows.  Smart 
exhibitors  will  encourage  more  talk  on  the 
subject,  seeing  that  the  interests  of  the 
industry  are  well  protected.  People  are 
realizing,  more  and  more,  that  the  motion 
picture  is  a  tremendous  force.  Proper  dis¬ 
cussion  can  do  nothing  but  help  the  business. 


business? 

The  producers  pray  that  it  will  not  mean  terrific  royalty  or 
annual  payments.  The  electrics  hope  that  there  will  not  be  litiga¬ 
tion.  The  exhibitor,  usually  the  one  to  bear  the  brunt  of  additional 
expenses  to  the  business,  wonders  if  he  will  not  have  to  carry  an 
additional  burden. 

Will  the  producers  return  to  the  disc  system?  Will  there  be 
new  patents  which  will  make  the  Tri-Ergon  properties  lose  some 
of  their  monopolistic  value?  Will  Fox  return  to  production? 
Will  there  be  royalty  payments  from  individual  producers  and 
theatres?  Will  Fox  enter  the  newsreel  division,  as  has  been 
hinted?  No  one  is  expected  to  answer  these  questions.  No  one  can. 

Meanwhile,  the  exhibitor  hopes  and  waits.  Just  emerging 
from  one  battle  filled  with  confusing  issues,  that  with  the  American 
Society,  socked  in  his  pocketbook  as  well,  he  now  finds  himself 
confronted  with  something  so  big  that  at  the  present  moment  its 
scope  is  hardly  understandable. 

The  only  thing  to  do,  apparently,  is  to  wonder. 

Perhaps  this  isn’t  the  ogre  it  appears  to  be.  But,  unfortunately, 
it  is  not  a  matter  which  can  be  dismissed  lightly. 


6 


Nov  1'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Exhibitors  Ready  to  Co-operate  with 
Cardinal  in  Special  Kiddie  Show  Move 


Boycott  Break  Follows  Penn  A.  C.  Bookings — Endorse¬ 
ment  of  Catholic  Leader  Praised  by  Industry — Theatre- 
men  Can  Exhibit  Same  Pictures 

Exhibitors  throughout  the  city  are  unanimous  in  their  praise  of  Cardinal  Dough¬ 
erty’s  endorsement  of  special  kiddie  programs  for  children  and  those  of  younger 
ages.  _ 


First  news  that  the  Cardinal  was  willing  to 
endorse  special  children’s  programs  came  a  fort¬ 
night  ago  when  he  wrote  to  the  Junior  Cinema 
Guild  and  the  Junior  League  of  Philadelphia, 
saying : 

“You  may  advertise  that  movies  such  as 
yours  presented  at  the  Penn  Athlet'c  Club 
are  not  included  in  the  Catholic  boycott 
and  that  our  children  will  be  permitted  to 
attend  these  films.” 

Theatremen,  interpreting  the  Cardinal’s  state¬ 
ment  are  of  the  opinion  that  “such  as  yours” 
gives  the  Cardinal’s  endorsement  to  all  pro¬ 
grams  based  on  the  same  idea  as  the  Penn  A.  C. 
showing. 

The  Penn  A.  C.  showings  are  for  profit  of 
those  operating  them  and  have  been  quite  suc¬ 
cessful.  The  club  participates  in  all  profits. 

Exhibitors,  therefore,  are  fashioning  their 
Saturday  matinee  showings  along  the  lines  of 
the  Penn  A.  C.  programs.  Exchanges  along 
Vine  Street,  it  is  believed,  are  ready  to  book 
similar  shows  into  regular  theatres. 

The  first  break  in  the  boycott  is  interesting 
also  for  the  fact  that  it  applies  to  films  which 
can  be  shown  only  not  less  than  6  months  after 
last  run  in  town.  These  pictures,  generally, 
were  produced  at  the  time  when  most  of  the 
allegedly  objectionable  pictures  were  a'so  made. 

At  press  time  THE  EXHIBITOR  was 
able  to  secure  full  program  of  the  first 
Penn  A.  C.  showing,  November  3. 

The  opening  show  consists  of  a  group  of 
Walt  Disnev’s  Mickev  Mouse  and  Silly  Sym¬ 
phony,  including  “The  Pied  Piper  of  Mamelin,” 
“Jack  and  the  Beanstalk,”  and  “The  Bird 
Store.”  In  addition  there  will  be  Popeye  the 
Sailor  and  one  of  the  re-issued  Charlie  Chaplin 
comedies. 

On  the  stage  the  Haines  Marionettes  will 
present  “Hansel  and  Gretel.” 


On  Legits  Only 

Local  “Record”  editorially  came  to 
the  assistance  of  the  five  legit  theatres 
and  asked  patrons  to  attend  the  shows 
and  keep  Ph'lly  in  the  legit  limelight. 

But  there  is  still  a  singular  lack  of  co¬ 
operation,  editorially,  from  the  local 
dailies  regarding  going  to  the  movies. 

When  the  S-W  classification  story 
broke,  most  of  the  papers  hid  it  on  the 
inside  pages,  in  contrast  with  the  sen¬ 
sational  front  page  handling  of  the  boy¬ 
cott  yarns.  The  dailies  apparently  think 
a  boycott  news  while  a  direct  result  of 
the  boycott,  the  adult  and  family  classifi¬ 
cation,  publicity  for  the  theatres. 

Some  city  desks  must  be  slightly 
screwy. 


Stanley-Warner  Classifies 
Shows  on  Selective  Basis 

Family  and  Adult  Pictures 
Separated  Under  Plan 


Visit  of  Harry  M.  Warner  to  this  dis¬ 
trict,  a  fortnight  ago,  resulted  in  the 
announcement  that  Stanley-Warner  neigh¬ 
borhood  shows  would  henceforth  be 
classified  as  to  adult  or  family  appeal. 

This  step,  which  is  intended  to  act  as  a  guide 
for  family  heads  in  selecting  entertainment,  was 
accompanied  by  a  large  announcement  by  S-W 
in  the  local  dailies  telling  of  the  step.  It  was 
done  as  a  convenience  for  theatregoers. 

“All  pictures  shown  in  Warner  neighborhood 
theatres,”  Warner  said,  “will  hereafter  be 
classified  as  to  their  suitability  for  adult  or 
family  consumption. 

“We  have  found  that  family  heads  are  not  as 
well  acquainted  with  the  contents  of  all  pic¬ 
tures  as  we  are  so  we  will  guide  them  in  the 
future  in  the  selection  of  their  screen  fare.  Our 
ads  will  show  a  large  ‘A’  designating  entertain¬ 
ment  suitable  for  adults,  and  an  ‘F’  for  those 
pictures  which  we  feel  the  family  as  a  whole 
should  see. 

“In  producing  as  many  pictures  as  this  indus¬ 
try  does  a  year,”  he  declared,  “many  stories 
with  mature  themes  find  their  way  to  the  screen 
in  the  natural  course  of  our  selection  of  fit 
material.  We  know  grown-up  people  want  to 
see  grown-up  pictures,  but  pictures  should  be 
c’assified  for  parents  so  that  they  know  how 
to  choose  entertainment  for  their  families.” 

Locally,  the  press  commented  favorably  and 
editorially  on  the  idea  asserting,  however,  that 
the  responsibility  for  decency  and  good  taste 
still  rests  with  the  producer.  Responsibility  for 
seeing  that  children  do  not  attend  adult  enter¬ 
tainment  is  still  in  the  hands  of  the  parents,  it 
was  averred. 


The  general  boycott,  however,  has  not  yet 
been  lifted. 

Arrival  of  Joe  Breen,  industry  censor,  in  town 
last  week  gave  some  hope  that  there  might  be 
a  change  in  the  situation. 

Use  of  the  S-W  adult-family  system  (ex¬ 
plained  elsewhere)  was  the  on’y  new  note. 

That  exhibitors  will  be  ready  to  co-operate 
with  Cardinal  Dougherty  in  his  endorsement  of 
spec'al  children’s  shows  looked  certain. 

That  the  Legion  of  Decency  wou'd  fight  for 
the  boycott  was  indicated  Sunday  when  the 
Holy  Name  Society  marched  to  a  meeting  at 
which  the  boycott  was  encouraged.  Buttons  are 
now  being  worn  by  the  Legion’s  members. 


Had  Been  Suggested 


The  plan  whereby  S-W  is  classifying 
shows  for  adults  and  families  is  in  line 
with  policy  advocated  by  THE  EXHIB¬ 
ITOR  for  some  time. 

For  many  months,  all  6-Point  Re¬ 
views  have  been  carrying  the  Family  or 
Adult  classification  and  THE  EXHIBI¬ 
TOR  has  always  editorially  urged  a  dis¬ 
tinction  between  pictures  for  the  entire 
audience  faction  and  those  for  adult 
groups. 

In  1933,  THE  EXHIBITOR  advocated 
the  same  idea,  intimating  that  a  pink 
slip  policy  on  the  part  of  the  censors 
would  achieve  similar  results.  The  cen¬ 
sors,  however,  did  not  have  the  power 
to  do  so,  it  was  intimated. 

Success  of  the  S-W  plan  will  no  doubt 
be  watched  by  the  entire  industry, 
with  others  certain  to  follow,  if  effective. 

The  trade  waits. 

New  Lamp  Scores  with 
Territory’s  Exhibitors 

Smaller  theatres  throughout  the  terri¬ 
tory  are  unanimous  in  their  praise  of  the 
new  Peerless  Magnarc  lamp,  a  new  type 
manufactured  by  the  J.  E.  McCauley 
Manufacturing  Company,  of  Chicago. 

The  lamp,  which  gives  almost  twice  as  much 
light  as  the  present  one,  delivers  a  higher  in¬ 
tensity,  with  hardly  any  increase  in  cost,  allows 
the  smaller  houses  to  offer  projection  that  is  on 
a  par  with  the  biggest  de  luxe  house.  Actual 
tests  of  the  apparatus  in  several  houses  have 
resulted  in  immediate  sales  for  National  The¬ 
atre  Supply  Company,  which  handles  the  device 
here. 

Improved 

The  improved  projection  is  being  made  a 
sales  angle  to  patrons  by  exhibitors  who  have 
purchased  it.  To  see  the  difference  has  re¬ 
sulted  in  a  revelation  to  exhibitors. 

Economy 

The  economy  features,  with  the  improved 
projection,  makes  the  lamp  a  necessity,  Harry 
Blumberg  states. 


Sound  Note 


Exhibitors  who  contract  for  new 
sound  equipment  ought  best  make  cer¬ 
tain  that  the  contract  for  the  mach'ne 
specifies  new  equipment.  There  have 
been  cases  where  good  equipment,  al¬ 
though  used  before,  has  been  sent  to  be 
installed,  with  the  exhibitor  having  no 
redress  unless  the  contract  specifies 
equipment  that  hasn’t  been  used  in  a 
theatre. 

Make  certain. 


Nov  1'34  pg.  7 


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“ Dumb-Bell  Letters 
had  their  premiere 
showing  our  Boston 
Theatre  were  not 
only  exceptionally 
,,  -^BT  pleasing  but  received 
solid  and  genuine  ap¬ 
plause  after  each  show¬ 
ing,  which  is  greatly 
unusual.” 

— C.  W.  Koerner 
Boston 


1  was  a 


“dumb-bell  letters 

,  , witb  our  audiences 

tinct  hit  ,  a  very/ 

,  cubiect  outstanding  * 

'  W1  Audience  reaction  ^ 

strong  bill-  Au  0  nt  ,be  end 

marvelous,tbeapplaus  ^ny 

was  genuinely  ®Ponta"  way  out 

r;:ru- 

ktodoiab:"c«™ui.u* 

Lawlor  Theatres  Corf.. 

Greenfield,  Mass. 


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RKO 

RADIO 

PICTURE 


“Congratulations,  Dumb-Bell 
Letters,  the  smartest,  brightest, 
short  that  has  hit  the  screen  in  years.  We  have 
never  played  any  subject  that  has  received  such  howls 
and  laughs.  It  has  taken  Los  Angeles  and  Hollywood  by 
storm  and  is  destined  to  become  a  box-office  attraction, 

—Cliff  Work — Los  Angeles 


“Just  to  let  you  know  of  our  patrons'a^b^ggflj|Pr  reaction  as  well  as  my  own  to 
‘DUMB-BELL  LETTERS.’  These  letters  actually  evoked  uproarious  laughter  and 
at  the  finish  of  the  subject  brought  a  round  of  applause,  something  very  unusual 
for  any  shorts.  This  series  is  destined  to  be  very  popular  and  it  is  my  earnest  be¬ 
lie!  laughs  will  emanate  from  the  most  solemn  faces.  Congratulations!” 

— Orpheum  Theatre,  Minneapolis 


^DUMB-BELL  LETTERS,  the  reel  of  lalla- 
paloozas  from  the  morning  mail  that’s 
got  the  whole  land  S'C-r-e'W^yvT.collected 
by  Juliet  Lowell,  produced  by 
VAN  BEUREN  CORPORATION 


Nov  1'34  pg.  8 


I’VE  NEVER  SEEN  ANYTHING  LIKE  IT! 


THE  AUDIENCE  YELLED  AND  CHEERED! 


says  ARTHUR  MAYER 


Managing  Director 
Rialto  Theatre 
New  York  City 


and  the  New  York  critics 

join  in  acclaiming 

KING 

Exciting! 

VIDOR’S 

"Brilliant! 

Absorbing!" 

EPIC  OF  A  MILLION  HEARTS! 

Amazing!" 

—  Daily  News 

—  N.  V.  Times 

"Distinguished  and 
exciting!  Brilliantly 
acted!" 

—  Daily  Mirror 

As  stirring  a  climax 
as  the  screen  can 
boast  this  season!" 

—  N.  V.  Sun 


'Terrific  climax!  I  re¬ 
commend  it  with¬ 
out  reservation!" 

—  World-Telegram 

Stirring  drama!  The 
cast  is  excellent!" 

—  Eve.  Journal 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Nov  1*34 


9 


Local  Filmmen  Organize  Tent  No.  13 

in  National  Variety  Club  Organization 


Earle  Sweigert  Chief  Barker — Restricted  Membership 
Nearly  Filled — Enthusiasm  Grows — All  Theatrical  Divi¬ 
sions  Represented 


The  Philadelphia  area  received  Tent  No.  13  of  the  Variety  Club,  October  24, 
when,  at  a  meeting  at  the  Arcadia  Restaurant,  the  local  unit  of  the  national  Variety 
Club  organization  was  formed,  with  Earle  W.  Sweigert,  branch  manager  for  Para¬ 
mount  here,  as  chief  barker  (president). 


Other  officers  included  Leonard  Schlesinger, 
S-W  zone  chief,  first  assistant  chief  barker ; 
Frank  W.  Buhler,  Fox  Theatre  manager,  2nd 
assistant  chief  barker;  Jack  H.  Greenberg,  Fi'm 
Board  secretary,  property  master  (secretary)  ; 
Sam  O.  Schwartz,  chairman  of  the  censor 
board,  chairman  of  the  membership  committee, 
and  Jay  Emanuel,  wagon  man  (treasurer). 

The  club,  exclusively  for  theatremen  and  affil¬ 
iated  divisions,  is  the  direct  outgrowth  of  meet¬ 
ings  held  here  and  in  Pittsburgh  between  local 
leaders  and  representatives  of  the  National 
Variety  Club,  which  started  in  Pittsburgh  a  few 
years  ago.  John  H.  Harris  is  president,  nation¬ 
ally. 

The  Arcadia  meeting  was  attended  also  by 
such  men  as  James  Clark,  Eddie  Corcoran,  Mil- 
ton  Rogasner,  Lewen  Pizor,  Jerry  Crowley, 
Herb  Elliott,  Harry  Weiner,  A1  Davis,  Eddie 
Sherman  and  A1  Cohen.  Charles  Buddy  Rogers 
was  a  guest.  Permanent  quarters  are  being 
arranged  and  the  membership  will  be  limited  to 
50.  Non-resident  memberships,  including  those 
living  25  miles  from  Philadelphia,  will  also  be 
arranged. 

Charter  and  incorporation  papers  have  al¬ 
ready  been  applied  for.  Schwartz's  membership 
committee  includes  Leonard  Schlesinger,  Frank 
Buh'er,  and  Herb  Elliott  with  Messrs.  Corcoran 
and  Crowley  the  committee  on  headquarters  and 
publicity.  In  a  brief  address  Schwartz  praised 
the  idea,  said  that  the  club  would  become  the 
Union  League  of  the  industry  and  would  be  a 
great  factor  in  rebuilding  whatever  prestige 
might  have  been  lost  by  the  industry.  He  prom¬ 
ised  100%  co-operation. 


The  Variety  Club  is  an  outgrowth  of  a  Pitts¬ 
burgh  idea.  There  are  12  other  units  in  the 
club,  including  Pittsburgh,  Columbus,  Cincin¬ 
nati,  St.  Louis,  Detroit,  Cleveland,  Buffalo, 
Kansas  City,  Albany,  Indianapolis,  Washing¬ 
ton  and  Milwaukee.  Purpose  of  the  club 
is  to  combine  members  of  the  amusement  busi¬ 
ness  into  one  group,  fraternally,  and  establish 
amicable  relationship  in  a  group  of  all  divi¬ 
sions  for  the  good  of  the  business.  It  aims  to 
make  the  city  a  better  town,  aid  civic  develop¬ 
ments,  etc. 

In  the  past  it  has  been  so  successful,  charit¬ 
ably  and  otherwise,  that  every  Variety  Club 
is  always  included  in  important  civic  matters, 
celebrations  and  campaigns  where  now  located. 

Dues  are  $25  yearly,  with  a  $25  initiation  fee. 
A  permanent  clubhouse  will  be  available.  Mem¬ 
bers  traveling  from  one  city  to  another  are  wel¬ 
comed  at  each  tent.  Names  of  officers  and 
other  angles  are  based  on  circus  language,  for 
color. 

During  the  year  there  are  weekly  or  bi¬ 
weekly  luncheons,  dinners,  dances,  other  affairs. 

Messrs.  Schlesinger  and  Corcoran  have  al¬ 
ready  laid  plans  for  a  gala  event  which  promises 
to  outdo  the  nationally  known  affair  given  in 
Pittsburgh. 

Canvasmen  are  A1  Davis,  Lew  Pizor,  Jim 
Clark,  Harry  Weiner,  Milt  Rogasner,  Eddie 
Sherman.  Clowns,  delegates  to  the  April  na¬ 
tional  convention,  are  Herb  Elliott  and  Sam 
Schwartz.  A1  Cohen  is  counsellor. 

A  house  steward  will  be  appointed  when 
permanent  headquarters  are  arranged.  A  house 
is  being  secured. 


Mastbaum- Roxy  Rumor 

There  is  a  strong  story  around  that 
the  Mastbaum  Theatre  may  re-open 
with  Roxy  concerned  in  the  direction. 

Tip  flew  around  the  trade  in  record 
time  last  week  following  the  visit  to  the 
local  area  of  Harry  M.  Warner,  Warner 
head. 

The  Mastbaum  has  been  closed  for 
many  months,  with  the  house  kept  idle 
because  of  overseating  in  the  downtown 
area  and  general  business  conditions. 

Warner  Club  Dance  and 
Party  Hits  a  New  High 

Hallowe’en  Dominates  Broadwood 
Hotel  Affair 


Eight  hundred  Stanley- Warner  em¬ 
ployees  and  friends  made  a  great  time  of 
it  at  the  annual  Warner  Club  of  Philadel¬ 
phia  party  and  dance  at  the  Broadwood 
Hotel,  October  28. 

About  100  came  in  costume  with  prizes  for 
the  best  showing. 

In  addition,  “St.  Louis  Kid,”  with  James 
Cagney,  was  unveiled,  as  were  several  vaude¬ 
ville  acts,  furnished  through  courtesy  of  Harry 
Biben. 

A  concert  organist,  a  buffet  luncheon,  mask 
march,  two  orchestras  and  dancing  were  high¬ 
lights.  The  picture  scored  as  well. 

Harold  Rodner,  national  Warner  Club,  at¬ 
tended  with  some  New  Yorkers. 

Committees  in  charge  included : 

Leonard  Schlesinger,  honorary  chairman ;  A1 
Reh,  chairman  of  entertainment. 

Hall  committee — Abe  Einstein,  J.  Ellis  Ship- 
man,  Larry  Graver.  Prize  committee — Steve 
Barutio,  Dorothy  Burd,  Robert  Lehr.  House 
committee — Robert  Lehr,  Dave  Rosen,  John 
Roach,  William  Balkenhol.  Advertising  and 
decorating — Maurice  Gable,  Larry  Graver, 
Dave  Rosen,  Robert  Lehr.  Ticket  committee — 
Maurice  Gable,  J.  Ellis  Shipman.  Music  Com¬ 
mittee — Jack  Flynn,  Maurice  Gable.  Stage  show 
committee — A1  Cohen,  Jack  Lexey,  Earl  Bailey, 
Abe  Goldsmith,  Larry  Graver.  Refreshment 


Doubles  Case  Due 

Hearing  on  a  permanent  injunction 
against  Warners  and  other  distributors 
to  restrain  them  from  enforcing  the 
doubles  feature  clause  in  their  contracts 
will  be  held  November  12  in  U.  S.  Dis¬ 
trict  Court  before  Judge  Welsh. 

Harry  Perelman  is  the  plaintiff.  Con¬ 
spiracy  and  violation  of  Sherman  Anti- 
Trust  Act  and  Clayton  Act  is  charged. 

Application  for  a  temporary  injunc¬ 
tion  was  denied  several  months  ago. 


committee — Agnes  Hecht,  Nancy  Brucker, 
Doris  Winder,  Fred  Boas.  Awarding  of  prizes 
■ — Leonard  Schlesinger,  Jack  Flynn,  Ellis  Ship- 
man,  Lou  Davidoff,  Harry  Biben,  Joe  Feldman. 
Hostesses — Helen  Mahoney,  Mildred  Henry, 
Silvya  Yanesse,  Mae  Langhorne,  Edythe  Etch- 
ells,  Marion  Buckley,  Frances  Lepoton,  Sonia 
Sheinfeldt,  Sonia  Rogalsky,  Helen  Daley,  Polly 
Morse,  Frances  Shewed. 

Officers  of  the  club  are — Larry  Graver,  presi¬ 
dent  ;  A1  Reh,  vice-president  in  charge  of  enter¬ 
tainment ;  John  Roach,  vice-president  in  charge 
of  membership ;  Abe  Einstein,  vice-president  in 
charge  of  welfare;  Helen  Mahoney,  secretary, 
and  J.  Ellis  Shipman,  treasurer. 


Carl  Schwarz  Dies 

Carl  Schwarz,  54,  owner  and  operator  Den- 
tonia  Theatre,  Denton,  Md.,  died  in  the  office 
of  Dr.  E.  Paul  Knotts,  October  25  after  being 
stricken  with  a  heart  attack  while  driving  his 
automobile.  He  was  a  native  of  Bridgeville, 
Del.,  and  moved  to  Denton  where  he  took  over 
the  theatre  there.  He  is  survived  by  his  wife 
and  a  son,  Myer  Schwarz. 


John  Bethell  Active 

John  Bethell,  who  has  charge  of  the  RCA 
Photophone  High  Fidelity  installations  in  this 
area,  reports  one  of  the  busiest  seasons  ever. 

Bethell,  who  has  been  with  RCA  since  the 
beginning  of  sound  in  this  territory,  has  a  com¬ 
prehensive  list  of  theatres  of  all  sizes  and 
classes  in  which  he  has  installed  RCA  Photo¬ 
phone. 

With  the  two  new  improved  models  of  RCA 
Photophone  available,  many  theatres  are  care¬ 
fully  weighing  the  advantages  of  using  the 
equipment. 


Early  Birds  Pass 

Through  co-operation  of  Stanley- 
Warner,  Skouras  and  the  MPTO,  the 
early  bird  performances  which  were  be¬ 
coming  a  West  Philadelphia  headache 
have  disappeared.  Companies  decided 
to  drop  the  idea,  which  saw  a  15  cent 
admission  up  to  certain  times. 


10 


Nov  1 T  34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Industry  Leaders  Still  Silent  as  Fox 

Institutes  Suits  Against  22  Groups 


Alleged  Double  Printing  Patent  Infringement  Highlight 
in  Most  Actions — ERPI  and  RCA  Protecting  Customers’ 
Interests 

With  William  Fox  already  having  instituted  22  suits  against  various  companies 
and  individuals  on  grounds  of  alleged  infringement  of  the  double  printing  patent  and 
flywheel  patent,  industry  leaders  still  remain  silent  on  what  steps  they  are  taking. 


MPTO  Nearly  Ready 

The  MPTO  new  headquarters  will 
soon  be  ready  at  the  corner  of  13th  and 
Vine  Street,  2nd  floor. 

It  is  expected  that  open  house  will 
result  when  the  improvements  have  been 
completed.  Date  is  due  in  a  few  weeks. 


Companies  against  which  actions  have  started 
include  Amer-Anglo  Corporation,  Columbia, 
Consolidated  Film  Industries,  First  Division, 
Metro,  MGM  Distributing,  Monogram,  Reli¬ 
ance,  Talking  Picture  Epics,  20th  Century,  Uni¬ 
versal,  Warners  and  Vitaphone. 

Five  additional  suits  against  laboratories, 
alleging  infringement  of  the  double  print  pro¬ 
cess  patent,  were  filed  later.  Du  Art,  Cinelab, 
Filmab,  HER,  Melcolm  and  Producers  Lab¬ 
oratories  are  included. 

ERPI  has  told  users  of  its  equipment  that  it 
will  protect  their  interests  in  accordance  with 
terms  of  the  contract 

A  letter  from  that  company  to  users  of  its 
equipment  says : 

To  All  Users  of  Western  Electric  Sound 
Reproducing  Equipment : 

Under  dates  of  November  20,  1933  and 
January  25,  1934,  we  wrote  you  with  respect 
to  the  matter  of  the  suit  brought  by  the 
American  Tri-Ergon  Corporation  against 
Altoona  Publix  Theatres  and  Wilmer  and 
Vincent  Corporation  involving  the  so-called 
“fly-wheel”  patent.  The  recent  action  of  the 
United  States  Supreme  Court  relating  to  this 
suit  has  been  followed  by  many  inaccurate 
and  misleading  statements. 

We  wish,  therefore,  again  to  advise  you 
that  the  suits  in  question  do  not  relate  to  our 
equipment  instal'ed  in  your  theatre.  No  action 
is  called  for  at  the  present  time  relative  to 
this  equipment.  We  shall  advise  you  if  there 
should  be  any  court  decision  affecting  our 
equipment  installed  in  your  theatre. 

If,  however,  you  shou’d  be  interfered  with 
in  the  use  of  our  equipment,  or  should  be 
threatened  with  any  such  interference,  it  is  im¬ 
portant  that  you  communicate  with  us  imme¬ 
diately  by  telegraph  and  give  us  at  the  earliest 
possible  opportunity  full  written  detai's  by 
maih  Any  such  communications  should  be 
addressed  to  our  New  York  office,  at  250 
West  57th  Street. 

As  you  have  been  previously  advised,  we 
will  protect  you  in  strict  compliance  with  the 
provisions  of  our  contractual  agreement  with 
you  in  the  event  of  a  patent  infringement 
suit  based  upon  our  reproducing  equipment 
being  brought  aga:nst  you  and  provided,  of 
course,  that  you  are  not  in  default  under 
your  agreement  with  us. 

Fox  filed  in  the  United  States  District  Court, 
Wilmington,  through  the  American  Tri  Ergon 
Corporation,  suit  against  Loew’s  Incorporated, 
and  Metro-Goldwyn  Pictures,  Inc.,  and  Warner 
Bros.  P'ctures,  Inc.  Tri-Ergon  Corporation, 
patent  holding  company  and  the  Tri-Ergon 
Holding  A.  G.,  charge  the  defendants  with  in¬ 
fringement  of  patent  devices  for  phonographs 
with  linear  phonogram  carriers,  intrinsic  part 
of  mot'on  picture  sound  production  and  repro¬ 
duction. 

The  following  letter  was  sent  out  under  the 
signature  of  E.  T.  Cunningham,  president,  RCA 
Victor  Company. 


October  25,  1934. 

To  Exhibitors  and  Others 
Licensed  to  use  RCA  Photophone 
and  RCA  Victor  Sound  Film 
Reproducing  Apparatus. 

To  reassure  all  users  of  RCA  Photophone 
and  RCA  Victor  Sound  reproducing  equipment 
in  view  of  the  decisions  in  the  American  Tri- 
Ergon  suits  with  respect  to  the  so-called  “Fly¬ 
wheel”  patent,  we  reaffirm  that  we  assume  the 
full  measure  of  responsibility  undertaken  by  us 
under  our  contracts. 

Accordingly,  we  are  preparing  to  modify  all 
infringing  soundheads  installed  in  theatres  oper¬ 
ated  by  our  customers  so  that  they  will  not 
infringe.  The  expense  involved  in  this  work 
will  be  borne  by  the  RCA  Victor  Company. 

Some  replacement  parts  are  now  avai'able  and 
additional  quantities  are  being  manufactured. 
To  insure  prompt  installation  our  service  force 
is  being  increased.  District  service  managers 
will  contact  all  customers  operating  infringing 
devices  and  arrange  for  necessary  modification 
promptly. 

We  request  you  to  give  us  prompt  notice  by 
wire,  with  full  information  thereafter  by  mail, 
of  any  action,  by  suit  or  otherwise,  affecting 
the  use  of  reproducing  equipment  furnished  by 
us. 

Meanwhile,  engineers  for  all  companies  and 
the  electrics  are  working  on  new  ways  and 
methods  to  get  around  the  patents.  If  these 
succeed  they  will  supplant  current  methods, 
but  Fox  can  still  collect  for  the  past  infringe¬ 
ment,  it  is  thought  likely. 

Meanwhile,  the  industry,  exhibitors,  distribu¬ 
tors  and  producers,  wonders  what  the  extent  of 
damages  and  infringement  will  be. 

William  Fox  added  two  more  victories  when 
the  Appellate  Division  decision  handed  down  in 
New  York,  permitting  him  to  examine  Wil¬ 
liam  E.  Atkinson,  president  of  Fox  Theatres 
Corporation,  in  a  $1,000,000  suit  alleging  con¬ 
spiracy  with  the  Chase  National  Bank  and  other 
defendants  to  coerce  the  former  producer  into 
guaranteeing  payments  on  the  Roxy  Theatre, 
and  the  other  was  a  Federal  Court  injunction 
handed  down  in  Scranton,  against  the  Wilmer 
and  Vincent  circuit  and  the  Altoona  Publix 
Theatres,  restraining  them  from  using  the  Tri- 
Ergon  patents  which  Fox  controls. 

The  injunction  in  Scranton  was  granted  by 
Judge  Albert  W.  Johnson  on  Fox’s  claim  that 
the  United  States  Supreme  Court  had  recog- 


First  Damages  Granted 
in  State  Tri-Ergon  Case 

3  Ordered  to  Pay — Initial  Action 
of  Many 


The  first  damages  in  the  Fox  infringe¬ 
ment  cases  have  been  awarded. 

A’toona  Publix  Theatres,  Wilmer  and  Vin¬ 
cent  and  Locust  Street  Real  Estate  Company, 
Harrisburg,  were  ordered  by  Federal  Judge 
Albert  W.  Johnson  to  pay  to  the  American  Tri- 
Ergon  Corporation  and  Tri-Ergon  Holding, 
A.  G.,  Swiss  corporation,  profits  and  damages 
for  patent  infringement.  Decision  was  given  in 
Scranton. 

This  is  the  first  case  of  court  compelling  de¬ 
fendant  in  a  Tri-Ergon  suit  to  pay  plaintiff  for 
losses  alleged  to  have  been  suffered  through 
infringement  of  double  printing  and  flywheel 
patents. 

Before  that  time,  Judge  Johnson  appointed 
Frank  Stross,  former  judge  in  Northumberland 
County  Common  Pleas  court,  as  a  matter  to  re¬ 
port  on  an  accounting  of  profits,  gains  and  ad¬ 
vantages  which  have  accrued  to  the  defendant 
companies  by  reason  of  infringement  of  the 
Tri-Ergon  flywheel  patent.  Court  also  directed 
that  a  perpetual  injunction  sha’l  restrain  the 
defendants  in  the  use  of  sale  of  equipment  in¬ 
fringing  on  the  flywheel  patent. 


Faralla  FD  Treasurer 

Dario  Faralla,  well  known  in  motion  picture 
circles,  has  been  elected  treasurer  of  First  Divi¬ 
sion  exchanges. 


nized  his  rights  to  the  patents  controlling  the 
reproduction  of  sound  films  and  that  the  the¬ 
atres  operated  by  the  defendants  had  been  in¬ 
fringing  on  his  patent  rights  by  the  use  of 
RCA  Photophone  equipment. 


Cohen  Defends  Movies  at  Synagogue  Debate 


Albert  Cohen,  prominent  young  atto  rney,  defended  the  movies  in  a  forum  at 
Beth  Am  Israel  Synagogue,  October  19,  following  an  address  by  Rabbi  Goodblatt 
on  the  movies.  Cohen  led  the  forum  and  when  he  completed  his  address,  he  had 
the  audience  completely  sold  on  the  importance  of  films  in  community  life.  He 
d’scussed  the  boycott,  the  new  production  code,  block  booking,  etc.,  and  answered 
all  questions.  He  also  infroduced  Sam  Gross,  Fox  manager,  Lewen  Pizor,  exhib¬ 
itor,  during  the  forum.  Cohen  has  been  very  active  in  making  speeches  before 
various  groups  and  is  making  quite  a  name  for  himself  in  this  department. 


Nov  1'34  pg.  11 


IT’S  THE  BIG  BUSINESS  IN  THE 
SMALL  TOWNS--AS  WELL  AS  IN 
THE  BIG  TOWNS  -  -  THAT  IS  MAKING 


GEORGE 

ARLISS 


The  Grand  Successor  to  "The  House  of  Rothschild 

m  m  . 

■p&»  '  M 

'  4  -  yjm 

20™  CENTURY 

marches  on  with  its 

DARRYL  ZANUCK  HITS 

resented  by  JOSEPH  M.  SCHENCK 
Released  thru 

W\  STS 


12 


Nov  1'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Glancing  Everywhere  in  the  Territory 


HITS  NEW  HIGH.  Frank  Me- 
Namee,  Radio  manager  here,  re¬ 
ports  the  local  exchange  ahead  of 
all  records  as  far  as  selling  for  the 
new  season  is  concerned.  He  says 
because  of  the  RKO  hits,  exhibitors 
are  flocking  to  enroll  for  the  Radio 
product.  He  predicts  a  banner  year. 


KID  BAND.  First  picture  of  Loew’s 
Ladies’  Cadet  Band,  sponsored  by 
manager  Samuel  Gilman,  Loew’s 
Regent  Theatre,  Harrisburg,  and 
organized  under  the  direction  of 
Captain  J.  M.  McKenzie. 


MOVES  UP.  Walt  Woodward  is 
now  sales  manager  of  the  south¬ 
eastern  division  for  ERPI,  succeed¬ 
ing  Fred  Warren,  who  has  joined 
Control  Corporation  of  America. 


AT  VARIETY  CLUB  FORMATION.  Prominent  during  the  organization  meeting 
of  the  Variety  Club,  Arcadia  Restaurant,  October  24,  were  (left  to  right,  top) 
Lewen  Pizor,  Jerry  Crowley,  A1  Davis,  Buddy  Rogers,  A1  Cohen,  Herb  Elliott, 
Eddie  Sherman,  Eddie  Corcoran,  Milt  Rogasner,  Harry  Weiner  (seated,  left  to 
right)  Sam  Schwartz,  Leonard  Schlesinger,  Earle  W.  Sweigert,  Frank  Buhler,  Jay 
Emanuel.  Jack  Greenberg  was  absent  at  the  time  picture  was  taken. 


SHOWMANSHIP.  Side  view  of  Paramount’s  traveling  theatre,  showing  the 
manner  of  displaying  24-sheets.  Projection  apparatus  is  located  inside. 


FOR  “PECK’S.”  The  Earle  Hammond  crea¬ 
tion  (right)  is  available  to  exhibitors  who  are 
playing  “Peck’s  Bad  Boy,”  from  Fox. 


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14 


Nov  1 1 34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


THE  CODE  •  CASES  *  HEARINGS  •  RULINGS 


GENERAL  RELEASE  DATES 

RADIO 

The  Gay  Divorcee,  October  19;  Dangerous 
Corner,  October  19. 

UNIVERSAL 

Wake  Up  and  Dream,  October  21. 

METRO 

What  Every  Woman  Knows,  October  17- 
23 

WARNERS 

Six  Day  Bike  Rider,  October  19;  Madame 
DuBarry,  October  19;  A  Lost  Lady,  October 
26;  Happiness  Ahead,  October  24. 

COLUMBIA 

Girl  in  Danger,  October  22;  Lady  by 
Chance,  October  24;  I’ll  Fix  It,  October  13. 

FOX 

Caravan,  October  13;  365  Days  in  Holly¬ 
wood,  October  12;  Marie  Galante,  October 
30. 

PARAMOUNT 

Mrs.  Wiggs  of  the  Cabbage  Patch,  October 
25-27;  Ready  for  Love,  October  17-18. 


SCHEDULE 
GRIEVANCE 
November  1 

Walt  Whitman  Theatre,  Camden,  vs. 
Roxy  Theatre,  Maple  Shade,  N.  J.,  on 
premature  advertising  charge  (settled). 

November  8 

Embassy  Theatre,  Reading,  vs.  Rajah 
Theatre,  Reading,  on  reduced  admission 
charge. 

CLEARANCE 
November  2 

Hamilton  Theatre  vs.  State,  Imperial, 
Crosskeys,  69th  Street,  Wynne,  Nixon, 
Tower,  Mayfair,  Apollo. 
Overbrook  Theatre  vs.  same  defendants 
as  above. 

HEARINGS 

CLEARANCE 

October  26 

Harry  and  Louis  Perelman,  West  Alle¬ 
gheny  and  Lehigh  Theatres,  vs.  Stanley- 
Warner,  Columbia,  Keystone  Theatres. 
Decision: 

The  board  finds  that  there  shall  be  no  clear¬ 
ances  existing  between  the  Columbia  Theatre 
and  Lehigh  and  West  Allegheny  Theatres.  Bal¬ 
ance  of  protest  is  dismissed. 

Local  Decision  Upheld 

Code  Authority,  in  New  York,  has  upheld  the 
local  zoning  board’s  decision  in  the  Fern  Rock 
case. 

Decision  is  that  of  the  Colney,  Fern  Rock, 
Felton  and  Lindley,  theatre  buying  first  run 
shall  have  a  maximum  of  7  days’  clearance  over 
other  3.  Other  3  shall  have  same  availability  in 
repeats.  If  any  theatre  playing  second  run  shall 
be  allowed  to  move  up,  the  same  privilege  ex¬ 
tends  to  other  three  theatres. 


New  Angle 

A  new  angle  has  cropped  up  wherein 
an  exchange,  selling  an  exbib  a  speci¬ 
fied  run  to  an  exhibitor,  is  later  baled 
before  the  code  board  on  the  matter  of 
protection.  Exchange  claims  since  sale 
was  made  specifically  on  certain  terms  if 
board  grants  the  exhib  relief  then  the 
board  must  agree  to  cancel  out  the  con¬ 
tract  as  the  board  can’t  change  terms 
of  the  contract  whereby  giving  exhib 
an  earlier  run  would  affect  the  revenue 
received  by  the  distributor  due  to  the 
earlier  run. 


No  Impartial  Votes 

As  yet,  the  impartial  member  of  either  code 
board  has  not  been  called  upon  to  settle  vote  in 
a  case. 

In  practically  all  cases,  opinions  are  unani¬ 
mous  or  close  to  it. 


Heard  In ' 


w 


ILMINGTON 

Bowling  Team 
Starts  Here 


Jack  Mulhall,  Warners,  Wilmington-Chester- 
West  Chester  district  manager,  is  stirr  ng 
up  bowl.ng  interest  among  managers. 
Wilmington  ten  pin  rollers  are  Dwight 
VanMeter,  E.  I.  Lewis,  Morton  Levine  and 
Lew  Black.  District  chief  will  roll  with 
Tom  Mangan,  Pots  Jones  and  Milton  Fields 
for  Chester. 

Jimmy  Kearney,  Queen  assistant,  is  trying 
to  shape  up  his  basketball  team  to  meet 
the  Chester  aggregation.  Morty  Levine, 
R’chard  Hayden,  Frank  Young,  Berny 
Tebbins  are  among  the  prospective  mem¬ 
bers  of  the  Wilmington  team,  while  Bill 
McDade  has  an  aggregation  that  is  being 
coached  by  the  crack  Jud  Timm,  a  former 
college  star. 

Miss  Pauline  Joyce,  pretty  box  office  girl  of 
the  Opera  House  broke  into  a  heroic  role 
as  a  result  of  the  fire  in  the  theatre  build¬ 
ing. 

Dwight  VanMeter  new  manager,  Aldine, 
takes  pride  in  filling  his  office  walls  with 
autographed  photos. 

Edman  Devenney,  assistant,  Aldine,  is  a 
proud  father  of  a  bouncing  boy. 

A.  D.  Seligman,  Strand,  has  been  fighting 
dust  a  lot  here  lately  as  a  result  of  pro¬ 
longed  siege  of  railway  track  mending. 

Earle  G.  Finney,  manager,  Savoy,  was  seen 
indulging  in  a  Sunday  painting  bee  in 
front  of  his  theatre  with  “Pop”  Jarrell, 
genial  doorman. 

Richard  Hayden  is  doorman  at  the  Arcadia 
now,  “Pop”  Jarrell  having  been  shifted  to 
the  Savoy. 

E.  I.  Lewis,  new  manager.  Queen,  is  expect¬ 
ing  his  wife  and  two  children  in  from  the 
open  spaces,  November  1 0. 

D.  C.  Drissell,  new  manager,  Loew’s,  gave  a 
prevue  of  “What  Every  Woman  Knows" 
and  put  out  3,000  envelopes,  title  of  the 
film  outside,  and  enclosing  a  clever  “come 
on"  for  the  film  on  a  card  inside. 


“One  Night  of  Love,”  Aldine,  got  a  nice 
ballyhoo  in  a  shower  of  postal  cards  ad¬ 
dressed  as  if  by  Grace  Moore. 

Dwight  VanMeter,  Aldine,  and  Lew  Black, 
Arcadia,  1  am  told  are  about  to  engage  in 
a  snappy  ballyhoo  contest. 

Lonny  Starr,  WDEL  broadcaster,  does  much 
work  for  Warners. 

Honey  Bread  Company  gave  Lew  Black, 

Arcadia,  10,000  Mickey  Mouses  for  kid¬ 
dies’  matinees. 

Ben  Schindler  and  his  assistant,  G.  Park 
Weaver,  paid  me  call  at  the  "Journal-Every 
Evening  ’  office  the  other  day. 

One  of  the  first  things  that  E.  I.  Lewis  had 
done  when  he  took  over  management  of 
the  Queen,  Wilmington,  was  to  solve  the 
heating  problem  by  having  a  new  $1,700 
boiler  installed. 

D.  C.  Drissell,  new  manager,  Loew  s  Park¬ 
way,  started  to  “carry  on"  where  George 
Jones  left  off  with  a  personal  recommenda¬ 
tion  "ad.” 

Mrs.  E.  M.  Barshan,  Wil  mington,  former 
chairman,  motion  pictures.  State  Federa- 
t.on  of  Women’s  Clubs  of  Delaware,  had 
her  column  in  the  new  Thursday  special 
theatre  page  of  the  “Journal-Every  Even¬ 
ing"  headed  “Movie  News”  with  by  line. 


LEHIGH  VALLEY 


October  26  was  the  1  4th  anniversary  of  the 
Colonial.  Lee  Levy,  city  representative 
and  Colonial  manager  had  an  elaborate 
program  for  the  big  anniversary  week. 

Robert  L.  Plarr,  president,  Dorney  Park 
Coaster  Company  and  John  T.  Dodd,  gen¬ 
eral  manager,  opened  the  New  Allen, 
Allentown. 

Astor,  Allentown,  had  a  gala  re-opening  Oc¬ 
tober  i  3,  as  the  New  Allen. 

Roxy,  Northampton,  while  show  ng  “Now 
and  Forever,"  gave  each  patron  a  photo 
of  the  baby  star. 

Transit,  Easton,  cashed  in  on  a  personal  ap¬ 
pearance  of  “Buddy"  (successor  to  Rin- 
Tin-Tin) . 


Voigt  Scores 

Voigt  scored  again  when  the  company  in¬ 
stated  the  new  and  distinctive  lighting  fixtures 
in  the  Hollywood  Theatre,  Atlantic. 

The  scheme  is  one  of  the  most  striking  in  the 
structure  and  speaks  well  for  the  Voigt  engi¬ 
neers  and  lighting  specialists. 


New  Accounting  Service 


A  new  accounting  service  whereby  all 
theatres  would  get  supervision  and 
checking  of  accounts  on  a  monthly  or 
yearly  basis,  including  all  income  tax 
and  revenue  reports,  is  available  to  ex¬ 
hibitors. 

Edwin  R.  Harris,  CPA,  has  special¬ 
ized  in  theatre  bookkeeping,  profit  and 
loss  statements  and  state  and  federal  tax 
returns  for  theatres  for  more  than  19 
years.  He  has  a  new  plan,  including  all 
divisions  of  accounting  that  the  theatre 
needs  that  he  will  be  willing  to  discuss 
with  theatremen. 

Those  who  have  used  his  service  com¬ 
mend  it  highly.  Proper  bookkeeping 
procedure  is  something  no  house  can 
overlook. 


AND  EVERYWHERE  THE  REPORTS  ARE  THE  SAME 


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EDDIE  GOLDEN,  MONOORAH  PICTURES  CORP  ■ 

ROCKEFELLER  CENTER  RKO  BLDO- 

LltffiEKLOST  OPENED  FINEST  «>  3^4*  ™  TERRS  OPTION  »»ER 

BAR  PLAYED  TO  TEN  THOUSAND  PEOPIE  IN  WO  DAYS  IN  SPI 
«»  COMPETITION  NEWSPAPER  REVIEWS  UNANIMOUSLY  DECLARE 
PHOIOORAP^  SOUND  WONDERFUL  STOP  FULL  CREDIT  MARVELOUS  ADVERTISING 

CAMPAION  DUE  TED  GAMBLE  MANAOER  BROADWAY 

c  J  PARNS3 

3HEFP1ELD  MONOGRAM  EXCHA’.fOE 

to  SEND  MOSEY  IS  BY  TELECRATH  OB  CABLE. 


T0^  0 
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1934  SEP  18  PM  S  5= 


B31  JOHNSTON,  »0»00»A«  PI=™HES  CO»P  = 

"  ‘  ,T0„  ^  SATURDAY  SEPTEMBER 

■B,  OP  LIMBERLOST  FIRS*  ™»  BK°  “  ^  n„  GOOD  STOP 

LPTEENTR  OPENED  ~  ~  JZ*~  ««»  ““ 

USI NESS  INCNEA3IN0  EACH 
N  OTHER  TOWNS  = 


HEHMAN  RIPKIN 
BOSTON  MONOORAM  EKCHANOE. 


“TRULY  PHENOMENAL 
BUSINESS  STATE  THEATRE 
RICHMOND,  VA.” 

SAM  FLAX,  LIBERTY  EXCHANGE,  WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 


IE  QUICKEST,  S’ 


EV  IS  BY  TUXORATIt  01 


OVER  7,000,000  REAPERS  OF  THIS  GENE  STRATTON -PORTER  NOVEl 


CUT  YOURSELF  IN  ON  THESE  PROFITS -BOOK  IT  NOW 


with  LOUISE  DRESSER  •  MARIAN  MARSH  •  RALPH  MORGAN 

Directed  by  CHRISTY  CABANNE  •  Produced  by  W.  T.  LACKEY  •  Adapted  by  ADELE  COMANDINI 


Distributed  by  FIRST  PI  VISION.  EXCHANGES.  I  <■<•-.  124ft  v ......  w, . . 


16 


Nov  1  ’  34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Beard  In 

INE  STREET 

Boys  Are 
All  Busy 


Ulrich  Smith  and  the  Mrs.,  married  I  5  years, 
went  to  New  York  to  celebrate.  The  Para¬ 
mount  sales  manager’s  father  has  just  re¬ 
turned  from  a  European  trip. 

Joe  Breen,  industry  censor,  and  a  friend  were 
seen  dropping  into  the  censor  board 
offices. 

Aldine,  Wilmington,  after  4  weeks  vaudeville 
and  considerable  expense  in  preparing  for 
it,  has  decided  to  give  it  up  as  bad  job. 

Lew  Krouse,  the  bibliophile,  will  undoubtedly 
be  returned  as  president  of  the  local  oper¬ 
ators’  union  when  elections  take  place 
soon.  Nominations  are  in  order  next 
week.  Lew  gets  a  30  days’  vacation  as  a 
reward  for  the  good  work  he  has  been 
doing.  It  looks  like  Florida. 

Jim  Clark,  the  trucking  king,  hopped  to  Chi¬ 
cago  to  hear  about  what  the  government 
had  to  say.  The  Horlacher  executive 
picked  up  much  valuable  dope  which  will 
be  resulting  in  increased  service  for  ex¬ 
hibitors. 

Joe  Engel,  local  U  manager,  had  some  exhibi¬ 
tors  in  to  see  "Great  Expectations,”  the 
Dickens  story.  All  the  exhibs  thought  it  a 
nice  accomplishment,  which  speaks  well 
for  Eddie  Grainger,  who  supervised  the 
picture  and  gets  credit  for  it. 

Local  RKO  office  is  getting  behind  "Anne  of 
Green  Gables,"  which  ought  to  be  a  clean¬ 
up  upstate.  House  is  giving  special  atten¬ 
tion  to  the  show,  endorsing  it  for  all  the- 
atremen. 

George  Dembow  was  a  visitor  in  town. 

Fred  Warren,  the  air  conditioning  executive, 
also  was  a  visitor  here. 

Bill  Devonshire,  one  of  the  real  veterans,  is 
making  good  selling  for  Gold  Medal- 
Majestic  in  the  upstate  territory.  He  has 
a  lot  of  friends  in  that  territory  who  wish 
him  well. 

Masterpiece  exchange  has  set  a  lot  of  deals 
with  local  circuits.  M.  E.  Comerford  and 
Stanley  Warner  have  given  plenty  of  time 
on  "Five  Bad  Men,"  "The  Scarlet  Letter," 
"Night  Alarm"  and  other  specials  from  the 
exchange.  "The  Perfect  Clue”  is  the  lat¬ 
est  Majestic  due  in  here.  Pop  Korson  is 
very  enthusiastic. 

Gold  Medal  exchange,  with  Tony  Lucchese 
hitting  on  all  eight,  awaits  "The  Marines 
Have  Landed,”  from  Mascot.  "Crimson 
Romance”  has  been  acclaimed  wherever  it 
has  played. 

First  Division,  thanks  to  Sam  Rosen,  is  hitting 
a  fast  pace.  He  says  the  Park,  Reading, 
broke  all  records  with  "Girl  of  the  Limber- 
lost"  and  has  the  telegram  to  prove  it. 

John  Golder’s  ad  tieup  on  "Take  the  Stand" 
got  a  lot  of  comment  and  also  helped  busi¬ 
ness.  Several  other  Liberty  productions 
are  available  at  Hollywood. 

“In  a  Monastery  Garden,”  one  of  a  series  of 
I  8  technicolor  "Musical  Moods”  shorts,  an 
Audio  production  and  a  First  Division  re¬ 
lease,  has  been  chosen  as  the  short  subject 
to  play  day  and  date  in  twenty-five  Loew 
houses. 

Harry  Gold  is  supervising  UA  sales  activities 
in  the  following  branches:  Atlanta,  Boston, 
Buffalo,  Charlotte,  Cleveland,  Dallas,  Cin¬ 
cinnati,  Indianapolis,  New  Haven,  New 
York,  Philadelphia,  Pittsburgh  and  Wash- 


Rumor  Segall  Deal 


There  was  a  report  current  at  press 
time  that  Stanley-Warner  and  Charles 
Segall  were  making  a  deal  that  would 
see  the  proposed  new  Grange  Theatre, 
Broad  and  Olney,  giving  way  to  Stanley- 
Warner  operation  of  the  new  Bromley. 

The  proposed  Grange  would  not  open 
but  S-W  would  operate  the  Bromley  on 
a  percentage  deal,  it  was  said. 

Neither  side  would  comment. 


ington.  Charles  Stern  will  assist  him  in  the 
supervision  of  his  branches.  Paul  Burger 
will  continue  as  sales  promotion  manager 
at  the  home  office. 

Ben  Harris  stood  by  the  horse  when  the  lat¬ 
ter  crashed  through  a  Vine  Street  window, 
had  his  picture  taken. 

Morris  Hofman  and  wife  had  a  girl.  Former 
wanted  a  boy. 

Harris  twins  went  to  a  Hallowe’en  party. 
Claire  had  one.  Ruth  Korson  and  Roberta 
Boreth  were  there. 

Trade  was  sorry  to  hear  of  the  death  of  the 
wife  of  Harry  Schwalbe.  She  passed  away 
last  week. 

Death  of  George  J.  Brennan,  father  of  Jim 
Brennan,  RKO,  was  also  mourned. 

Raymond  Rau,  code  board  impartial,  an¬ 
nounces  another  add.tion  to  his  family. 
A  new  baby  girl  makes  it  two  boys  and  one 
girl.  This  record  is  impressive  even  in  the 
film  business. 

Dave  Molliver  had  a  serious  attack,  was 
operated  on,  feels  a  bit  better. 

Ed  Boreth  went  out  of  town. 

Harry  Goodman,  Metropolitan  Printing,  says 
business  is  picking  up. 

John  Schaffer,  First  Division,  busy  selling. 

C.  C.  Spink  and  wife  dropped  down  to  the 
street,  bought  some  pictures,  went  back  to 
New  Holland. 

Election  interest  was  at  its  height,  with  busi¬ 
ness  at  its  lowest. 

Harry  Waxman  all  set  for  the  Hollywood 
Theatre,  AC,  opening.  It  promised  to  be 
a  big  event,  with  all  the  exchange  folk 
planning  to  drop  down  to  see  the  gala  cele¬ 
bration. 

Marian  Widener  is  the  new  addition  at  Gold 
Medal  Film  Company.  She  formerly  was 
attached  to  the  Code  Board  here. 

Fred  Marshall,  from  the  home  office,  has 
been  permanently  assigned  to  the  local 
Columbia  office  as  an  exploitation  aide. 
He  will  help  exhibs  to  sell  Columbia  shows. 

Eli  Ginsberg  is  now  selling  for  Gaumont 
British  here.  He  was  recently  with  Pathe 
and  RKO.  Joe  Toner  is  the  new  booker 
for  Gaumont  British  in  this  area  under 
Herb  Given. 

Jack  Weiss  announces  the  second  member 
of  his  new  chain,  a  new  baby.  He  says 
that  this  is  the  second  of  a  string  and  is 
confident  of  adding  to  it  in  the  future. 

Bob  Lynch,  Metro,  asks  exhibitors  to  pay  spe¬ 
cial  attention  to  “The  Spectacle  Maker,” 
one  of  the  best  technicolor  two-reelers  in 
some  time,  he  says.  He  also  asserts  that 
the  trailer  exhibitors  can  get  free  from 
Metro  on  "The  Merry  Widow”  is  a  honey 
and  will  help  business.  He  suggests  a  spe¬ 
cial  art  card  on  the  first-named  short. 

Milt  Rogasner  paid  $6,  joined  the  $6  club. 


Harry  Barrist  is  a  member  of  the  local  branch 
of  the  Federal  Housing  Commission  which 
seeks  to  loan  money  to  exhibitors  wish¬ 
ing  to  improve  their  theatres. 

Paramount  Decorating  completed  the  drapes 
job  on  the  Belmont,  with  Harry  Brodsky 
taking  care  of  the  painting  end. 

Hopping  over  to  the  Variety  Club  dinner  in 
Pittsburgh  were  Harry  Schwalbe,  Edgar 
Moss,  Earle  Sweigert,  Eddie  Corcoran,  Jay 
Emanuel,  Sam  Schwartz  and  Joe  Berrier. 

Harry  Dembow  had  an  unhappy  experience 
with  stage  shows  in  Columbia.  It  seems 
that  the  performers  wanted  too  much 
credit  in  the  town  and  the  local  lockup 
was  the  only  place  where  it  was  offered. 

Sam  Gross,  when  asked  if  a  certain  show 
could  be  twin-billed,  said  he  didn't  have  to, 
the  show  was  long  enough. 

When  an  exhibitor  asked  Herb  Given,  Gau¬ 
mont  British,  what  the  Battle  of  Waterloo 
was.  Herb  replied  that  the  exhib  wouldn’t 
have  to  worry  as  it  probably  would  be 
his  (the  exhib  s)  Waterloo  when  he  played 
the  show. 

Harry  and  Ben  Blumberg,  National  Theatre 
Supply  Company,  entertained  Lew  Krouse, 
IATSE  official,  and  son,  as  well  as  Nate 
Golden,  federal  commerce  official  at  Horn 
and  Hardart’s  for  lunch. 

Sig  Wittman,  Universal  home  office,  and 
Mrs.  Wittman  attended  the  Penn-Rutgers 
game.  So  did  Esther  Diamond,  Basil  Zieg¬ 
ler,  A1  Cohen,  Joe  Engel,  Ellis  Shipman, 
among  others.  Cohen  hopped  to  New 
Haven  for  the  Penn  game.  That’s  loyalty 
for  you. 

Sam  Rosen  reports  that  the  Park,  Reading, 
wired  as  follows:  "Girl  of  the  Limberlost" 
opened  Park  today.  This  is  outstanding 
show  and  real  box  office.  Compelled  to 
close  box  office  twice  tonight  due  to  over¬ 
flow.  Comments  on  show  very  favorable. 
Look  for  big  banner  week.  We  are  very 
pleased  and  proud  to  endorse  picture  for 
sick  box  offices.  Keeney  and  Fessler. 

Harry  and  Ben  Blumberg  hopped  over  to 
New  York  for  the  SMPE  convention. 

Tom  Clark  came  up  from  Washington  and 
visited  brothers  Jim  and  Bill  at  Horlacher’s. 

Jim  Clark,  at  Horlacher's,  is  encouraging  or¬ 
ganization  spirit  at  the  company,  with  a 
special  bulletin  being  issued  for  all  mem¬ 
bers  of  the  body. 

Bill  Rovner,  Berlin  exhibitor,  is  still  trying  to 
reduce  by  riding  horseback.  He  rides  up 
and  down  the  Pike  advertising  his  shows. 

Mays  Landing  Victoria  is  re-opening  soon. 

Meyer  Adleman,  New  Jersey  Messenger  Serv¬ 
ice,  is  chairman  for  the  local  committee 
for  the  Deborah  Sanatorium  campaign 
drive. 

Edgar  Moss  had  a  masquerade  at  his  home. 
He  went  disguised  as  a  telescope. 

A  Vine  Street  bachelor  is  paying  attention 
to  a  Vine  Street  blonde. 

Rita  Kandel  lost  her  appendix. 

Charlie  Goldfine  lost  15  pounds  opening  his 
River  Drive  cafe. 

Percy  Bloch  returned  from  the  Paramount 
district  convention  all  enthused. 

Who  is  the  Vine  Street  bookeress  who  was 
kissed  by  a  prominent  exhibitor  at  the  golf 
tourney? 

Sam  Rosen,  after  years  of  non-interest,  fin¬ 
ally  got  around  to  dancing  at  the  golf 
tournament. 

First  Division  has  a  couple  of  new  faces. 

Joe  Leon  has  I  6  suits. 

Xmas  parties  will  be  the  rage  again. 

Likewise  Thanksgiving. 

Likewise  New  Year's. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Nov  1 T  34 


17 


IEPA  Re-elects  Present 
Officers  for  New  Year 

Colder  Remains  as  Head 
of  Unit 


Ben  Golder  heads  the  officers’  group 
of  the  Independent  Exhibitors  Protective 
Association,  re-elected  at  the  meeting  held 
October  16. 

Other  officers  are  Harry  Fried,  first  vice- 
president  ;  Columbus  Stamper,  second  vice- 
president ;  Morris  Nemez,  treasurer. 

Board  of  governors:  Morris  Wax,  David 
Barrist,  John  Bagley,  Clarence  Hexter,  Dave 
Shapiro,  Ray  O’Rourke,  Leo  Posel,  George 
Gravenstine,  Herb  Elliott,  Columbus  Stamper, 
Harry  Fried,  William  Butler. 

Alternates :  George  Sobel,  Harry  Perelman, 
Sam  Waldman,  George  Resnick,  Joe  Price, 
Charlie  Klang,  Herb  Lewis,  Ben  Green,  Dave 
Milgram,  Henry  Rosinsky,  Lou  Berger,  Ray 
Schwartz. 

The  IEPA,  it  is  understood,  has  received  a 
$1000  check  from  the  Alexander  Film  Service 
on  its  ad-short  hookup.  It  is  estimated  that  the 
revenue  will  be  worth  $1200  month’y,  $600  go¬ 
ing  to  the  organization  and  $600  to  the  exhibi¬ 
tor-users. 

The  organization  also  has  announced  a 
popular-priced  dinner  and  dance,  with  enter¬ 
tainment,  for  all  film  men,  wives  and  lady 
friends,  to  be  held  at  a  downtown  hotel,  Novem¬ 
ber  25.  The  affair  will  be  a  social  highlight  of 
the  season  and  will  be  open  to  all.  A  gala  night 
is  planned. 

The  IEPA  will  hold  a  trade  showing  at  the 
Fox  Theatre,  November  11.  A  hit  picture  will 
be  unveiled.  A  committee  is  now  working  on 
plans. 

The  dinner  and  dance  will  be  in  the  nature  of 
a  combined  Thanksgiving  Day  celebration  and 
a  celebration  heralding  the  signing  of  the  100th 
theatre.  104  houses  are  now  on  the  rolls. 

At  the  recent  meeting,  standing  room  only 
was  the  rule,  with  15  members  standing 
throughout  the  entire  session. 


Kassoy  Tours 

Ben  Kassoy,  Quality  Premium,  has  been 
traveling  through  the  west  and  middle  west  set¬ 
ting  new  offices  and  many  new  deals  for  Qual¬ 
ity.  He  visited  Chicago,  Detroit,  Buffalo,  New 
York  State,  and  while  in  the  Windy  City 
arranged  office  details  with  John  Mendelsohn, 
Chicago  manager  for  the  company. 

Kassoy  reports  tremendous  success  with  the 
Quality  product. 


Bruce  Busy 

Robert  C.  Bruce  is  now  in  Vermont  making 
scenes  for  “October  Day,”  one  of  the  future 
releases  of  the  “Musical  Moods”  Series,  for  the 
Audio  Productions,  Inc.,  and  which  will  be  re¬ 
leased  through  First  Division  Pictures,  Inc. 

On  completion  of  this  picture  Bruce  and  his 
three-color  Technicolor  camera  crew  will  pro¬ 
ceed  to  Kentucky  to  make  the  concluding  fox 
hunt  scenes  for  the  picture  “Countryside  Melo¬ 
dies.” 

A  camera  crew  has  recently  returned  from 
Charleston,  S.  C.,  where  they  photographed 
scenes  for  one  of  the  latest  “Musical  Moods,” 
entitled  “Liebestraum."  The  scenes  were  pho¬ 
tographed  in  the  famous  Middleton  Gardens. 


Wilmington  Party 

Members  of  the  Warner  Club,  Wilmington- 
Chester-West  Chester  area,  had  a  swell  time 
at  the  big  Hallowe’en  masquerade  party  and 
buffet  luncheon,  October  28,  at  the  hall  of  the 
Stanley  Theatre,  Chester.  Over  150  members 
of  the  club,  employes  and  officials  of  the  the¬ 
atres  of  the  three  cities  were  present,  as  well 
as  some  guests  of  honor  from  Philadelphia. 
Members  of  the  committee  headed  by  A1  Wil¬ 
liams,  projectionist  of  the  Grand  Opera  House, 
that  arranged  the  affair  were  Miss  Mildred 
Dougherty,  Chester,  Edman  Devenney,  Aldlne, 
Wilmington ;  Morton  Pragg,  Opera  House  Wil¬ 
mington  and  W.  R.  McClintock,  Arcadia,  Wil¬ 
mington.  George  Kelley’s  orchestra,  Ald.ne, 
Wilmington,  and  the  entire  Aldine  vaudeville 
program  took  part  in  the  entertainment. 


Voigt  on  Housing  Plan 

Voigt  Company  assures  exhibitors  that 
under  the  provisions  of  the  National  House  Act 
it  is  possible  to  borrow  for  lighting  fixtures 
purchase.  Any  exhibitor  with  a  regu'ar  income 
can  apply.  Voigt  Company  is  glad  to  co¬ 
operate  in  this  regard  and  is  ready  to  subnet 
suggestions. 


Dailies  Rap  Blue  Laws 

Reaction  to  the  ban  on  an  “experimental" 
Sunday  movie  benefit  at  Loew’s  Theatre,  Wil¬ 
mington,  brought  up  the  subject  of  Delaware’s 
blue  laws  as  a  pre-legislature  topic  in  a  big 
way,  with  ministers  and  reformers  lined  up 
against  the  two  daily  newspapers,  the  Morning 
N civs  and  the  J ournal-Every  Evening  and  the 
theatre  men,  themselves,  marking  time — some¬ 
what  split  on  the  matter. 


Gold  Medal  Protests 

Gold  Medal-Majestic  Pictures,  Inc.,  has  pro¬ 
tested  against  the  assessments  proposed  for  in¬ 
dependent  exchanges  under  the  new  code  plan. 
Other  independents  protested  as  well. 


NIGHT  ALARM.  Judith  Allen  and  Bruce  Cabot  are  seen  in  the  Majestic  picture.  Master¬ 
piece  distributes. 


Sport  Fight  On 

Their  fight  on  the  constitutionality  of  the 
1933  Sunday  sports  law  was  renewed  by  Hunt¬ 
ingdon  County  opponents  of  the  more  liberal 
Sunday  last  week  when  they  appealed  to  the 
State  Supreme  Court  for  a  ruling  on  the  bill. 

Made  returnable  in  January,  1935,  the  Su¬ 
preme  Court  appeal  is  expected  to  be  argued  in 
Philadelphia.  Attorney  James  S.  Woods,  Hunt¬ 
ingdon,  and  Attorney  John  R.  Jones,  Phila¬ 
delphia,  represent  the  plaintiffs.  Attorney  Ches¬ 
ter  D.  Fetterhoof,  Huntingdon,  represented  the 
county  commissioners. 


Wilmington  Break 

Grand  Opera  House,  Wilmington,  had  a 
lucky  break  October  22,  when  a  $50,000  fire 
swept  through  the  front  section  of  the  top 
floor  of  the  Masonic  Temple  Building. 


ENDORSED  by  Veterans, 
D.  A.  R.  Chapters,  American 

Lesions  and  Veteran  Showmen/ 

★  ★  ★  ★ 

Thousands  of  Ex-Servicemen 
waiting  for  you  to  do  them  a 
service  by  showing 

BIRTH 
OF  A  NEW 
AMERICA' 

(7  HEELS) 

HANG  OUTthe  FLAGS!  HOLD  a  PARADE! 

CALL  OFF  THE  BOX  OFFICE  DEPRESSION! 

Timeliest  Cleanup 

of  the  Century  ! 

The  New  Deal  Picture  You've 
Been  Waiting  For! 

SWELL  PAPER  AND  PHOTOS 

ACE  EXPLOITATION  CAMPAIGNS 
A  GREAT  TRAILER 
CINCH  TIE-UPS 

9 


The  Forward  Thrust  of  Aroused 
Democracy . . .  Lifting  the  World 
from  CHAOS  TO  SECURITY/ 


WIRE-  PHONE  WRITE  FOR  PLAY  DATES 


An  Opportunitii  for 
Live  Wire  Exehnniienien 

Super  Film  Attractions 

SIDNEY  G.  LUST,  president 

916  G  St.,  N.  W.  —Washington,  D.  C. 

PHONE:  NATional  4274 


I 


Nov  1 ' 34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


• 

A  Concise 
Xational  Survey 

TRADE  IN  REVIEW  « 

—  -  • 

Glances  Outside 
the  Territory 

PRODUCTION 

Production  Continues 
At  Normal  Pace 

Pictures  in  production,  preparing  and  recently 
completed  include : 

ALT — Frontier  Days  (Bill  Cody,  Ada  Ince, 
Wheeler  Oakman,  Lafe  McKee). 

CHESTERFIELD — The  World  Accuses 
(Vivian  Tobin,  Russell  Hopton,  Dickie  Moore). 

COLUMBIA — White  Lies  (May  Robson, 
Victor  Jory,  Raymond  Walburn,  Fay  Wray)  ; 
A  Call  to  Arms  (Steffi  Duna,  Ben  Lyon,  Noah 
Beery,  Willard  Mack,  Esther  Ralston,  Hobart 
Bos  worth) . 

FOX — Hclldorado  (Madge  Evans,  Richard 
Ar  en,  James  Gleason,  Stepin  Fetchit,  Henry  B. 
Walthall,  Ralph  Bellamy,  Berton  Churchill)  ; 
Bright  Eyes  (Shirley  Temple,  Judith  Allen, 
James  Dunn,  Lois  Wilson)  ;  Lottery  Lover 
(Pat  Patterson,  Lew  Ayres,  Sterling  Halloway, 
Peggy  Pears,  Ned  Sparks)  ;  Twenty-four 
Hours  a  Day  (John  Hal  iday,  Gilbert  Roland, 
Dante’s  Inferno  (Claire  Trevor,  Alice  Faye). 

MAJESTIC — The  Perfect  Clue  (David 
Manners,  Sheets  Gallagher,  Dorothy  Libaire, 
Ralf  Harolde,  Betty  Blythe). 

MASCOT — Mystery  Mountain  (Ken  May¬ 
nard,  Verna  Hillie). 

METRO — David  Copperfield  (Lionel  Barry¬ 
more,  Charles  Laughton,  Elizabeth  Allen,  Fred 
Bartholomew,  Roland  Young,  Hugh  Williams, 
Edna  May  Oliver,  Madge  Evans,  Basil  Rath- 
bone,  Lewis  Stone,  Eisa  Lancaster)  ;  The  Night 
is  Young  (Evelyn  Laye,  Ramon  Novarro, 
Charles  Butterworth,  Stuart  Erwin,  Edward 
Everett  Horton,  Una  Merkel)  ;  Forsaking  All 
Others  (Joan  Crawford,  Clark  Gable,  Billie 
Burke,  Robert  Montgomery,  Ted  Healy, 
Charles  Butterworth)  ;  Sequoia  (Jean  Parker, 
Russell  Hardie,  Paul  Hurst,  Sam  Hinds)  ; 
Wicked  Woman  (Mady  Christians,  Charles 
Bickford,  Zelda  Sears,  Jean  Parker)  ;  Repeal 
(Carole  Lombard,  Chester  Morris,  Una  Merkel, 
Leo  Carril'o,  Zasu  Pitts)  ;  Backfield  (Robert 
Young,  Maureen  O’Sullivan,  Ted  Healy, 
Preston  Foster). 

MONOGRAM — Sing  Sing  Nights  (Conway 
Tearle,  Boots  Mallory,  James  Thomas,  Hardie 
Albright)  ;  Mysterious  Mr.  Wong  (Bela 
Lugosi)  ;  The  Great  God  Gold. 

PARAMOUNT — Lives  of  a  Bengal  Lancer 
(Gary  Cooper,  Franchot  Tone,  Richard  Crom¬ 
well,  Sir  Guy  Standing,  Kathleen  Burke,  Monte 
Blue)  ;  Here  Is  My  Heart  (Bing  Crosby, 
Roland  Young,  Kitty  Carlisle,  Reginald  Owen, 
Allison  Skipworth)  ;  One  Hour  Late  (Helen 
Twelvetrees,  Conrad  Nagel.  Joe  Morrison, 
Arline  Judge)  ;  It’s  a  Gift  (W.  C.  Fields,  Baby 
Leroy)  ;  College  Rhythm  (Joe  Penner,  Lanny 
Ross,  Jack  Oakie,  George  Barbier,  Lyda 
Robert’,  Mary  Brian)  Father  Brown,  Detec¬ 
tive  (Gertrude  Michael,  Paul  Lukas,  Walter 
Connolly)  ;  Wings  in  the  Dark  (Cary  Grant, 
Myrna  Loy)  ;  The  Gilded  Lily;  Behold  My 
Wife  (Sylvia  Sidney,  Gene  Raymond,  He'en 
Vinson)  Caprice  Espagno’e  (Marlene  Dietrich, 
Joel  McCrea,  Lionel  Atwill). 

RADIO — The  Little  Min'-ster  (Katherine 
Hepburn,  Alan  Hale,  John  Beale)  ;  Romance 


of  Manhattan  (Francis  Lederer,  Ginger  Rog¬ 
ers,  Grant  Mitchell,  J.  Farrell  MacDonald); 
Portrait  of  Laura  Bayles  (May  Robson,  Hale 
Hamilton,  Mary  Carlisle)  ;  Enchanted  April 
(Ann  Harding,  Frank  Morgan,  Reginald 
Owen)  ;  West  of  i the  Pecos  (Richard  Dix, 
Martha  Sleeper,  Marin  Alba). 

HAL  ROACH — Babes  in  Toyland  (Laurel 
and  Hardy,  Charlotte  Henry). 

UNITED  ARTISTS-20TH  CENTURY— 
The  Mighty  Barnum  (Wallace  Beery,  Adolph 
Menjou,  Rochelle  Hudson,  Janet  Beecher, 
Virginia  Bruce. 

UNIVERSAL — The  Good  Fairy  (Margaret 
Sullavan,  Herbert  Marshall,  Alan  Hale,  Frank 
Morgan)  ;  Strange  Wives  (Roger  Pryor,  June 
Clayworth)  ;  Man  Who  Reclaimed  His  Head 
(Claude  Rains,  Lionel  Atwill,  Baby  Jane,  Joan 
Bennett,  Wa'lace  Ford)  ;  Mystery  of  Edward 
Drood  (Claude  Rains,  Heather  Angel,  Douglas 
Montgomery) . 

WARNERS — The  Right  to  Live  (George 
Brent,  Josephine  Hutchinson)  ;  White  Cockatoo 
(Ricardo  Cortez,  Jean  Muir,  Ruth  Donnelly)  ; 
Sweet  Adeline  (Irene  Dunn,  Donald  Woods, 
Hugh  Herbert,  Joseph  Cawthorn)  ;  Devil  Dogs 
of  the  Air  (James  Cagney,  Pat  O’Brien,  Mar¬ 
garet  Lindsay;  Gold  Diggers  of  1935  (Dick 
Powell,  Gloria  Stuart,  Hugh  Herbert,  Frank 
McHugh,  Adolph  Menjou)  ;  Szveet  Music 
(Rudy  Vallee,  Ned  Sparks,  Ann  Dvorak,  Alice 
White,  Patricia  El  is)  ;  Racing  Luck  (Lyle 
Talbot,  Mary  Astor). 

CODE 

Code  Authority  Acts 
To  Drop  Lease  Clause 

The  Code  Authority,  by  vote  of  six  to  four, 
has  gone  on  record  as  approving  the  elimination 
of  Article  V-E,  Part  6,  pertaining  to  interfer¬ 
ence  of  negotiations  between  landlord  and 
present  operator  of  a  theatre.  It  is  so  being 
recommended  to  Deputy  Administrator  Rosen¬ 
blatt. 

Messrs.  Jenkins,  Youngman,  Agnew,  Rubin, 
Bare  ford  and  McKay  voted  in  the  affirmative 
while  Messrs.  O’Reilly,  Yakins,  Golden  and 
Vincent  voted  in  the  negative.  A  hearing  will 
be  held  before  the  Deputy  Administrator 
shortly. 

There  will  be  plenty  of  opposition. 

Code  Authority  Reveals 
Current  Financing 

The  Code  Authority  has  released  its  monthly 
report  on  the  condition  of  the  various  boards. 

September  disbursements  were  $2,273.10  under 
budget;  August  was  $1,793.28  under,  July  was 
$1  362.09  under,  and  June  was  $153.51  over. 
Cash  balance  of  September  29  was  $14,371.90. 
Figures  also  revealed  total  receipts  from  pro¬ 
ducers  and  distributors  of  $68,000  and  from 
exhibitors  of  $82,419. 

Assessments  Being  Set 
After  a  Turndown 

The  Code  Author'ty  committee  on  assess¬ 
ments  is  having  difficulty  getting  the  approval 
of  the  NRA  to  its  plan.  One  idea  has  already 


been  turned  down  with  revisions  suggested,  with 
those  suggestions  being  incorporated  in  the  new 
plan.  This  made  the  third  time  that  the  plan 
was  sent  back. 

A  hearing  will  be  held. 

Signing  of  Code 
Period  Extended 

Washington  NRA  authorities  have  extended 
the  time  for  signing  the  code.  It  is  now  pos¬ 
sible  to  sign  the  code  at  any  time,  with  no  re¬ 
strictions  as  to  limit. 

Many  will  sign. 

EXHIBITION 

Church  Bodies  Go 
On  Record  on  Films 

The  Episcopal  Bishops,  meeting  in  Atlantic 
City,  went  on  record  as  approving  federal 
censorship,  and  a  ban  on  block  booking.  A  drive 
similar  to  that  of  the  Legion  of  Decency  was 
also  okayed. 

Lutherans,  in  session  in  the  west,  hit  at  salac¬ 
ious  pictures. 

Other  church  meetings,  in  various  parts  of 
the  country,  aimed  their  attention  at  salacious 
pictures,  block  booking,  lack  of  censorship,  etc., 
with  the  resolutions  reaching  a  high  mark. 

Exhibitors  Don’t  Hail 
ASCAP  Compromise 

Exhibitors  throughout  the  country  haven’t 
unfurled  flags  to  celebrate  the  compromise  with 
the  American  Society  on  the  music  tax.  Some 
think  the  increase  an  admission  of  the  Society’s 
right  to  col'ect  as  much  as  it  can  get.  Others 
think  it  weakens  the  threatened  court  case 
against  the  Society. 

Meanwhile,  the  government’s  case  against  the 
Society  and  others  continues. 

It  was  announced,  also,  that  houses  under  800 
seating  capacity,  operating  three  times  or  less 
a  week,  will  continued  to  pay  5  cents  a  seat. 

The  government’s  case  continues. 

Allied  Plans  Elections 
At  Chicago  Meeting 

Allied  will  elect  officers  when  it  meets  in 
Chicago  in  January.  Probability  is  that  Sidney 
Samuelson  will  again  be  returned  to  the  post 
of  president. 

Meanwhile,  leaders  meet. 

Disc  Rumors  Arise 
After  Fox  Victory 

Decision  of  the  U.  S.  Supreme  Court  in  re¬ 
fusing  to  review  the  Tri-Ergon  patents  case 
has  resulted  in  conflicting  stories  and  rumors. 
Some  say  that  discs  will  return,  others  claim 
William  Fox  will  get  heavy  royalties,  still  oth¬ 
ers  maintain  that  Fox  will  re-enter  the  business 
via  the  newsreel  route. 

The  Supreme  Court  action  made  no  provision 
for  amount  of  infringement  or  damages.  It 
merely  upheld  his  ownership  of  the  patents  by 
refusing  to  review  the  lower  court’s  decision. 

The  trade,  meanwhile,  was  in  a  turmoil  re¬ 
garding  probable  consequences. 


Nov  1'34  pg.  19 


AIR-CONDITIONING 
FOR  THEATRES 


Now  another  nationally-advertised  name  can  take 
its  place  on  your  theatre’s  marquee:  Air-Condi¬ 
tioned  by  Chrysler. 

The  genius  that  developed  not  one,  but  four  great 
lines  of  cars  and  advanced  them  from  27th  place 
in  output  in  1924  to  2nd  place  in  world  output  in 
1933,  will  now  effect  a  revolution  in  the  virtually 
new  industry  of  air-conditioning. 

The  Chrysler-made  equipment  in  this  field  will 
possess  the  quality  and  excellence  of  this  mighty 
manufacturer’s  automotive  output. 

A  special  organization  has  been  formed  to 
bring  the  air-conditioning  systems  produced  by 
Chrysler  and  marketed  by  Airtemp  Incorporated 
into  the  theatres  of  the  nation.  Turn  for  the 
A  nnouncement — 


i 

I 


Nov  1 T 34  pg.  20 


This 


ORGANIZATION  WILL 

SELL  IT 


Control  Corporation  of  America  has  been  organized 
to  sell,  install  and  maintain  the  Chrysler-made  air- 
conditioning  system  in  the  theatres  of  the  United 
States.  It  has  been  organized  and  is  headed  by 
F.  B.  Warren,  who  for  twenty  years  has  been  known 
to  almost  everyone  in  the  field  of  theatre  ownership 
and  management. 

Installations  will  begin  in  December  in  a  group  of  the 
country’s  outstanding  theatres.  Between  January  and 
May  1,  300  installations  will  be  available.  One-half  of 
these  have  been  allotted  to  those  states  where  summer 
is  at  hand  by  May.  Each  installation  is  a  tailor-made 
job  designed  to  meet  the  requirements  of  your  theatre. 

A  national  sales-engineering  staff  has  been  assembled 
to  solve  your  specific  problems.  Price  quotations  of 
most  attractive  character  will  be  made  after  a  survey 
from  the  New  York  head  office  of  Mr.  Warren’s 
organization. 


Control 

CORPORATION  OF  AMERICA 


250  West  57th  Street 
New  York  City 

TELEPHONE  Cl  rcle  7-0077 


Authorized 


by  AIRTEMP  INCORPORATED, 


World 


Distributors  of  Air  Conditioning  Products  of  Chrysler  Motors 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR _ Nov  1'34 _  21 

Public  Must  Support  Good  Pictures  They 
Have  Demanded,  Sol  Rosenblatt  Asserts 


Tells  Clubwomen  Audiences  Don’t  Want  Censorship — 
Cites  Statements  to  Prove  Point — Producers  Sincere,  He 
Declares  _ 

The  public  must  support  the  good  pictures  that  they  have  demanded,  stated  Sol 
A.  Rosenblatt,  Deputy  Administrator  for  the  Motion  Picture  Industry,  at  an  address 
before  the  State  Federation  of  Pennsylvania  Women,  Harrisburg,  October  16. 


Wilmington  Ad  War  Ends 

Theatre  men,  Wilmington,  and  offi¬ 
cials,  News-Publishing  Company,  seem 
to  have  made  peace,  with  the  publishers’ 
plan  of  abandoning  daily  readers  and 
substituting  a  special  Thursday  new 
show  page  and  a  daily  entertainment 
guide. 

Clash  came  when  William  L.  Mapel, 
new  executive  editor,  “Morning  News” 
and  the  “Journal-Every  Evening”  said 
the  readers  and  free  publicity  in  news 
column  for  attraction  would  have  to  go. 
Publishing  company  put  on  Mrs.  Frances 
Merchant  to  handle  the  proposition  for 
two  papers.  In  the  daily  theatre  guide, 
the  Playhouse  leads,  with  Aldine  second, 
then  Loew’s,  Rialto,  Queen,  Avenue, 
Park,  Arcadia,  Savoy,  Opera  House  and 
Joe’s  Casino. 

See  Closer  Ties  with 
State  Clubwomen  Groups 

Trade  Folk  Address  Local  Branch 
of  Association 

Closer  understanding  and  co-operation 
between  the  state  clubwomen  groups  and 
the  distribution  and  exhibition  divisions 
of  the  business  was  indicated,  October  8, 
when  at  a  meeting  of  the  local  unit  of  the 
Pennsylvania  State  Federation  of 
Women’s  Clubs,  representatives  of  the 
trade  spoke  to  the  assembled  women  on 
problems  of  the  business. 

The  meeting,  presided  over  by  Mrs.  Owens, 
was  held  at  the  Warwick  Hotel,  with  52 
present. 

Speakers  included  Professor  Frederic  M. 
Thrasher,  ex-officio  chairman,  executive  com¬ 
mittee,  Lower  East  Side  Motion  Picture  Coun¬ 
cil,  Earle  W.  Sweigert,  local  Paramount  branch 
manager  and  Jay  Emanuel,  publisher. 

Prof.  Thrasher  spoke  on  photop’ay  apprecia¬ 
tion  in  the  junior  high  schools,  while  Sweigert 
explained  relations  between  producer,  distribu¬ 
tor  and  exhibitor.  He  discussed  block  book¬ 
ing,  preferred  playing,  indicated  his  high  opin¬ 
ion  of  the  clubwomen’s  movement  but  also  in¬ 
sisted  that  the  industry  was  essentially  a  busi¬ 
ness  for  profit.  He  scored  any  attempt  to  use 
clubwomen  to  cancel  out  weak  pictures  on 
grounds  other  than  moral.  He  intimated  that 
some  exhibitors  might  want  to  use  the  club¬ 
women’s  influence  for  pictures  which  were  not 
box  office  successes. 

Emanuel  then  spoke  and  touched  on  pre¬ 
ferred  playing  time,  the  reason  for  the  distribu¬ 
tors’  insistence  on  this,  co-operation  of  distrib¬ 
utors  in  changing  Saturday  play  dates ;  the 
p'ace  of  the  newspaper  critics  in  the  industry ; 
spoke  on  block  booking ;  discussed  exhibition 
conditions  in  Europe ;  asked  for  closer  co-oper¬ 
ation  between  the  women  and  exhibitors,  par- 


Woodward  Succeeds  Fred 
Warreu  in  Erpi  Post 

Vine  Street  Veteran  Reaches 

Peak  Position 

Walt  Woodward,  veteran  film  man,  is 
now  the  new  sales  manager  of  the  south¬ 
eastern  division  for  ERPI,  Western  Elec¬ 
tric  subsidiary. 

He  succeeds  Fred  Warren,  who  resigned  to 
go  with  Control  Corporation  of  America. 

Woodward  started  in  1914  at  the  West  Alle¬ 
gheny  Theatre  with  John  Evans  and  also  looked 
after  the  Drury,  Manheim  and  Tioga.  He  then 
transferred  to  Green  and  Altman  at  the  old 
and  new  Park  Theatres.  Later,  when  Warners 
took  over  Equity  he  joined  their  ranks. 

Five  and  one-half  years  ago  he  shifted  to 
ERPI  and  has  worked  in  that  company  for  that 
time,  under  Warren. 

His  friends  will  welcome  his  new  promotion 
which  gives  him  supervision  of  one  of  the  most 
important  ERPI  districts. 


Photophone  Recording  Active 

Chesterfield  and  Invincible  have  renewed  their 
Photophone  sound  recording  license  with  the 
RCA  Victor  Company  for  recording  with  the 
High  Fidelity  system,  according  to  James  E. 
Francis,  manager,  Photophone  Division.  Ar¬ 
rangements  have  also  been  comp'eted  with  Louis 
Lewyin  for  recording  the  ‘‘Hollywood  On  the 
Air”  feature  and  a  series  of  techni-color  shorts 
in  the  Photophone  Plollywood  studios. 

Mentone  Productions  has  begun  the  produc¬ 
tion  of  a  series  of  two-reel  subjects  at  the 
Biograph  Studios ;  Hayes  &  Beall  Studios  at 
Oceanside,  L.  I.,  have  been  leased  to  Skibo 
Productions  for  the  making  of  a  series  of  one- 
reel  comedies  with  RCA  ,  sound ;  National 
Cinema  Service,  St.  Louis,  are  now  using  High 
Fidelity  sound  recording ;  James  A.  Fitzpatrick, 
has  completed  three  of  his  one-reel  Travelta'ks 
at  RCA  Photophone’s  New  York  City 
Studios ;  Clancy  Productions  is  now  making  a 
series  of  one-reelers  entitled  “Life’s  Last 
Laughs”  at  the  same  place. 


ticularly  on  kiddie  shows ;  asked  for  support 
of  women  in  getting  the  Board  of  Education 
to  co-operate ;  asserted  that  theatremen  were 
willing  to  do  everything  possible  to  help  the 
women  in  their  plans  ;  denied  that  neighborhood 
houses  cut  pictures  when  they  reached  their 
houses,  and  stressed  the  importance  of  co-opera¬ 
tion  throughout. 


Rosenblatt,  guest  speaker,  reviewed  the  work 
of  the  code,  indicated  that  the  code  includes 
provision  of  clean  pictures  in  two  paragraphs, 
Article  VII,  Part  1,  where  the  industry  pledges 
itself  to  maintain  certain  moral  standards  and 
(  Part  2)  to  maintain  high  standards  of  adver¬ 
tising  and  publicity. 

He  told  of  the  agitation  for  clean  pictures  and 
then  quoted  from  the  statements  of  the  Federal 
Council  of  Churches  of  Christ  in  America, 
Catholic  leaders,  Methodist  bishops,  Jewish 
women,  American  Rabbis  to  indicate  that  cen¬ 
sorship  was  not  desired. 

SINCERE 

Rosenblatt  said  Hollywood  was  sincere  in  its 
desire  to  clean  up.  He  told  the  clubwomen 
that  their  organizations  could  be  of  tremendous 
help  to  make  their  influence  extend  beyond  pic¬ 
tures  toward  all  amusements.  Motion  picture 
entertainment,  he  said,  was  made  up  of  two 
parts,  screen  and  the  audience.  Each  has  its 
responsibilities.  If  the  public  does  its  part, 
motion  pictures  are  going  to  be  all  right,  he 
declared. 

ELEVATION  NEEDED 

Dr.  C.  F.  Hoban,  State  Department  of  Pub  ic 
Instruction,  stressed  a  need  for  elevation  of 
the  motion  picture  industry.  “American  movie 
makers,”  declared  Doctor  Hoban,  who  is  direc¬ 
tor  of  the  State  Museum  and  Department  of 
Visual  Education,  and  was  one  of  the  six 
presidential  appointees  representing  America  at 
the  congress  sponsored  by  the  League  of  Na¬ 
tions,  “would  do  well  to  pluck  a  few  leaves 
from  the  noetbooks  of  the  Europeans  in  order 
to  learn  how  the  motion  picture  can  be  used  as 
a  cultural,  educational  and  recreational  force.” 

HIT  CRIME  FILMS 

A  resolution  asking  all  women’s  c'ubs  in  the 
State  to  join  the  Nation-wide  movement  to 
drive  films  exploiting  crime  from  the  theatres 
was  adopted  by  the  convention. 

In  one  of  the  exhibit  rooms  at  the  Penn- 
Harris  Hotel,  headquarters  of  the  convention, 
maintained  for  the  benefit  of  chairmen  and 
members  of  the  motion  picture  committee  desir¬ 
ing  data  for  addresses,  standing  out  among  the 
motion  picture  literature  on  display  were  copies 
of  THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR, 
June  15,  July  15,  August  1,  August  15,  Septem¬ 
ber  15  and  October  1,  all  1934  issues.  These 
were  the  only  copies  of  a  motion  picture  trades 
journal  on  exhibition. 


Captain  Rosenblatt 


It’s  Captain  Sol  Rosenblatt  now  that 
the  Deputy  Administrator  has  received 
a  commission  in  the  reserve  corps. 

The  news  was  kept  secret  by  the  Ad¬ 
ministrator  quite  a  while. 


22 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


l-Nov.-34 


1  —  Who  made  it  ? 

2  -*•  Who's  in  it? 

3  *►  How  good  is  it  ? 


4  Is  it  family  or  adult  type? 

5  *►  What's  it  about  ? 

6  Running  Time? 


COLUMBIA 


Family 

I’ll  Fix  It  (4022)  Comedy  Drama 

68m. 

Jack  Holt,  Mona  Barrie,  Jimmy  Butler,  Edward 
Brophy,  Winnie  Lightner,  Charles  Moore,  Hedda 
Herrington. 

Pleasant  programmer  about  a  politician  who 
is  constantly  fixing  things  and  who  puts  his 
foot  in  it  when  he  attempts  to  use  his  influence 
to  have  his  younger  brother  passed  in  school 
when  the  latter  can’t  make  the  grade.  Compli¬ 
cations  include  the  heroine-teacher,  an  investi¬ 
gation  into  the  hero’s  political  activities  and  the 
brother  eventually  admitting  he  is  the  cause  of 
all  the  trouble.  Piece  is  decidedly  directed  in  a 
sympathetic  manner. 

Estimate:  Suitable  program. 


GAUMONT  BRITISH 


Family 

Friend  Drama 

84m. 

Nova  Pilbeam,  Matheson  Lang,  Lydia  Sherwood, 
Arthur  Margetson,  Jimmy  Hanley,  Gibb  McLaughlin, 
Diana  Cotton,  Jack  Paine. 

Story  of  a  little  rich  girl  who  straightens  out 
a  threatened  rift  between  father  and  mother  in 
such  manner  as  to  endear  her  to  the  hearts  of 
a’l,  “Little  Friend”  lacks  names  to  sell  in  this 
country  but  has  all  the  heart  appeal  necessary. 
Nova  Pilbeam,  14-year-old  English  child  mar¬ 
vel,  carries  the  story  and  can  be  soid  to  the 
hilt.  Picture  is  of  sympathetic  tone  and  will 
satisfy  audiences. 

Estimate:  Praiseworthy. 


LIBERTY 


Without  Children  Comedy  Drama 

81m. 

Bruce  Cabot,  Evelyn  Brent,  Marguerite  Churchill, 
Dorothy  Lee,  William  Janney,  Reginald  Denny,  Cora 
Sue  Collins,  Dickie  Moore,  Lillian  Harmer. 

Family  life  story  of  a  husband  who  falls  out  of 
love,  into  the  hands  of  a  charmer,  is  divorced  and 
who  eventually  finds  out  that  the  first  love  was 
the  one  he  needed  all  the  time,  “Without  Chil¬ 
dren”  brings  no  new  developments  but  handles 
fami  iar  material  quite  well.  Cast  is  above 
independent  class,  and  characterizations  are  well 
taken.  Cabot  has  a  more  adult  role  this  time 
and  handles  it  fairly,  while  the  supporting  play¬ 
ers  fit  the  bill.  Title  is  saleable. 

Estimate:  Fair. 


The  Captain  Hates  the  Sea 
(4003) 


Family 
Comedy 
— m. 


Victor  McLaglen,  John  Gilbert,  Walter  Connelly, 
Leon  Errol,  John  Wray,  Wynne  Gibson,  Alison  Skip- 
worth,  Helen  Vinson,  Fred  Keating,  Tala  Birell, 
Walter  Catlett,  Claude  Gilling water ,  Emily  Fitzroy, 
Donald  Meek,  Luis  Alberni,  Howard,  Fine  and 
Howard. 


Ace  comedy,  directed  by  Lewis  Milestone,  of 
happenings  on  an  ocean  liner,  a  captain  who 
hates  the  sea,  a  pair  of  crooks  with  stolen  bonds, 
a  drunken  writer,  a  detective  who  knows  how 
to  detect  and  other  individuals  whose  paths 
cross,  “Captain”  is  headed  for  better  than  aver¬ 
age  grosses.  Cast  is  topnotch,  filled  with  plenty 
of  names  which  mean  entertainment  to 
patrons.  Title  may  seem  a  bit  odd  in  some 
spots,  but  intensive  selling  will  overcome  it.  All 
players  are  okay  in  their  parts  and  whole  piece 
shapes  up  as  enjoyable  entertainment. 


Estimate:  Satisfactory. 


FOX 


The  White  Parade  (518)  Comedy  Drama 

80m. 

Loretta  Young,  John  Boles,  Dorothy  Wilson,  Muriel 
Kirkland,  Astrid  Allwyn,  Sara  Haden,  Joyce  Comp¬ 
ton,  Frank  Melton,  Frank  Conroy. 

Well  produced  picture  of  life  in  a  nurses’ 
training  school  and  a  show  for  the  women. 
Picture  is  well  fortified  by  intelligent  direction, 
some  names  and  more  than  average  acting. 
Young’s  performance  is  topnotch  and  Lasky 
production  adds  a  lot  to  picture  appeal.  Audi¬ 
ences  will  go  for  the  ending,  especially,  which 
is  something  new  in  recent  pictures. 

Estimate:  Above  average. 


State  vs.  Elinor  Norton  (510)  Drama 

75m. 

Claire  Trevor,  Gilbert  Roland,  Henrietta  Crosman, 
Hugh  Williams,  Norman  Foster. 

Missout  that  won’t  make  much  of  an  impres¬ 
sion,  “Elinor  Norton”  is  an  unsuccessful  screen 
transcription  of  one  of  Mary  Roberts  Rine¬ 
hart’s  works.  Story  of  a  jealous  husband,  an 
understanding  and  unse’fish  wife  and  the  third 
male  member  of  the  triangle,  it  drags  in  shell¬ 
shock  and  a  murder  accusation. 

Estimate:  Missout. 


The  Man  of  Aran  Realistic  Drama 

75m. 

Colman  King,  Maggie  Dirane,  Michael  Dillane. 

Triumph  for  the  director,  the  camera  and 
realism  in  films,  “Man  of  Aran”  will  be  a  prob¬ 
lem  for  many  box  offices  because  it  lacks  the 
conventional  assets  of  less  worthy  films.  Of  the 
same  stamp  as  “Nanook  of  the  North,”  “Tabu,” 
“Grass”  and  others,  showing  the  endless 
struggle  of  man  against  nature  the  picture  will 
have  to  rest  totally  on  its  tragic  and  beautiful 
notes,  its  appeal  to  the  intelligence.  As  an 
artistic  achievement  it  is  superb,  as  a  commer¬ 
cial  proposition  it  presents  problems. 

Estimate:  Artistic  triumph. 


FIRST  NATIONAL 


I  Sell  Anything  (873)  Comedy  Drama 

65m. 

Pat  O’Brien,  Ann  Dvorak,  Claire  Dodd,  Roscoe 
Earns,  Hobart  Cavanaugh,  Robert  Barrat,  Russell 
Hopton,  Harry  Tyler,  Ferdinand  Gottschalk,  Gus  Shy. 

New  type  of  yarn  based  on  an  auctioneer 
with  racketeering  inst’ncts,  show  is  entirely 
dependent  upon  Pat  O’Brien,  who  has  a  long- 
winded  role.  O’Brien  talks  his  way  through 
the  picture  a  point  which  will  either  help  it  or 
handicap  it.  A  Warner  stock  company  comedy 
cast  is  of  some  ass’stance,  but  O'Brien  is  the 
central  figure.  Plot  revolves  around  crooks 
cheating  crooks,  etc. 

Estimate:  Depends  on  O’Brien. 


Gentlemen  Are  Born  (872)  Drama 

75m. 

Margaret  Lindsay,  Jean  Muir,  Franchot  Tone,  Nick 
Foran,  Charles  Starrett,  Henry  O’Neill,  Ross  Alex¬ 
ander,  Marjorie  Gateson,  Bradley  Page,  Russell  Hicks, 
Arthur  Aylesworth. 

Well  produced  story  of  four  college  men 
who  go  forth  to  conquer  the  world,  with  a  moral 
to  boot,  “Gentlemen  Are  Born”  will  probably 
be  spotty.  Where  the  indictment  of  some  forms 
of  the  modern  collegiate  education  system  will 
carry  the  most  weight,  the  picture  will  do  most 
business,  but  where  the  moral  doesn’t  mean  a 
thing,  pictures  will  have  to  stand  on  names. 

Estimate:  Spotty. 


MONOGRAM 


Lost  in  the  .  Family 

Stratosphere  (3020)  ct'°n  70™* 

Eddie  Nugent,  William  Cagney,  June  Collyer,  Ed¬ 
mund  Breese,  Lona  Andre,  Pauline  Garon,  Matt 
McHugh,  Frank  McGlynn. 

With  plenty  of  exploitation  opportunities 
available,  proper  selling  of  this  subject,  which 
has  for  its  punch  a  flight  to  the  stratosphere, 
might  insure  fair  returns.  Until  the  picture 
gets  to  the  flight,  it  doesn’t  impress  much  and 
lack  of  names  or  strong  feature  material  in  the 
cast  doesn’t  help.  Plot  concerns  a  rivalry  be¬ 
tween  two  army  fliers  for  different  girls  until 
the  right  one  comes  along.  One  of  them  does 
the  heroic  thing,  when  the  stratosphere  flight 
looks  like  certain  death,  and  saves  the  other 
for  the  girl. 

Estimate:  To  be  sold. 


PARAMOUNT 


Enter  Madame  (3414)  Comedy 

76m. 

Elissa  Landi,  Cary  Grant,  Lynne  Overman,  Sharon 
Lynne,  Paul  Porcasi,  Ad  ian  Ros'ey,  Cecilia  Parker, 
Frank  Albertson,  Richard  Bonelli. 

Light  comedy  of  a  man  who  marries  an  opera 
singer  and  who  finds  out  that  he  has  become 
mere'y  a  part  of  her  entourage.  Husband  de¬ 
termines  to  break  away  and  return  to  a  first 
love  but  the  singer  cleverly  holds  him.  Piece  is 
lightly  directed  and  smacks  of  plenty  of  class. 
However,  it  should  do  in  most  spots.  Elissa 
Landi  scores  plentifully  and  cast  gives  good 
support.  Show  is  higher  than  program  grade. 

Estimate:  Better  tban  average. 


What  Do  You  Think? 

it  is  the  aim  of  this  publication  to  give  its  readers 
every  possible  service.  Revision  of  the  page  is  an 
attempt  to  offer  a  concise  reviewing  form  that  will 
help  every  exhibitor.  Your  suggestions  and  criticisms 
are  welcomed.  Write  in  now  and  tell  us  whether 
you  like  this  or  not. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 

i-Nov.-34  ’ 


23 


RADIO  1  UNITED  ARTISTS 


Anne  of  Green 


Gables  (507) 


Family 
Comedy  Drama 
79m. 


Tom  Brown,  Anne  Shirley,  Helen  Westley,  O.  P. 
Heggie ,  Sara  Haden,  Murray  Kinnell,  Gertrude  Mes- 
singer,  Charley  G rapewin. 

Pleasant  and  appealing  family  picture  which 
will  draw  not  because  of  cast  strength  but 
because  the  book  is  known.  Show  has  been 
directed  for  the  homespun  division  but  will  sat¬ 
isfy  most  folks,  especially  in  the  smaller  towns, 
once  they  are  in.  While  the  marquee  attraction 
is  low,  book’s  title  should  overcome  this.  Espe¬ 
cially  in  the  hinterland  will  this  story  of  an 
orphan  girl  who  was  adopted  and  beloved  by  all 
do  a  good  business.  Elsewhere,  it  will  depend 
on  the  handling. 

Estimate:  Sell  the  book. 


Family 

Kentucky  Kernels  (508)  Farce 

89m. 

Whoe'er  and  Woolsey,  Mary  Carlisle,  Spanky  Mac- 
Farland,  Lucille  La  Verne,  Noah  Beery,  Frank 
McGlynn,  Paul  Page,  Richaid  Alexander. 

Probably  one  of  the  best  Wheeler  and  Wool- 
seys  in  a  long  time,  “Kentucky  Kernels’’  is  a 
farce  that  should  do  a  good  business.  As  a 
couple  of  vaudeville  magicians  who  pick  up  a 
youngster  and  get  involved  in  a  Kentucky  feud, 
it  is  plentiful  with  laugh  situations  and  funny 
from  beginning  to  end.  Show  leans  less  to  gag 
type  of  humor  and  more  towards  laugh  situa¬ 
tions  than  some  of  the  others.  Incidentally, 
the  kid,  Spanky  MacFarland,  almost  steals  the 
picture. 

Estimate:  Comedy  hit. 


WARNERS 


The  St.  Louis  Kid 

(817) 


Adult 


Comedy  Drama 
65m. 


James  Cagney,  Patricia  Ellis,  Allen  Jenkins,  Robert 
Barrat,  Hobart  Cavanaugh,  Spencer  Charters,  Addi¬ 
son  Richa  ds,  Harry  Woods,  Arthur  Aylesworth, 
Dorothy  Dare,  William  B.  Davidson,  Gertrude  Short. 

Action  comedy  drama  loaded  from  the  first 
minute  and  a  treat  for  Cagney  fans.  This  time 
the  team  includes  Cagney  and  Jenkins,  truck 
drivers.  Mix  in  a  girl,  a  small  town  jail  sen¬ 
tence,  a  false  murder  charge  and  the  piece 
winds  up  as  65  of  the  fastest  minutes  seen  in 
any  film  in  a  long  time.  Bit  parts  are  okay 
and  the  whole  thing  emerges  as  one  of  Cag¬ 
ney’s  best. 

Estimate:  Good  Cagney. 


UNIVERSAL 


Great  Expectations  (8029)  Drama 

99m. 

Henry  Hull,  Jane  Wyatt,  Phillips  Holmes,  Florence 
Reed,  Alan  Hale,  George  Breakston,  Jackie  Searle, 
Francis  L.  Sulivan,  Forrester  Harvey,  Harry  Cording. 

Intelligent  handling  of  the  Charles  Dickens 
story  has  resu'ted  in  a  picture  which  smacks 
of  class  and  which  belongs  in  all  houses.  Story 
is  well  known  and  Universal  has  given  it  an 
excellent  production.  While  selling  will  be 
needed  everywhere,  word  of  mouth  should  help 
t.  Best  characterizations  are  contributed  by 
Henry  Hull,  Francis  L.  Sullivan,  Jane  Wyatt, 
Florence  Reed  and  Phillips  Holmes.  Entire 
picture  deserves  commendation. 

Estimate:  More  prestige  for  Universal. 


Kid  Millions  Musical  Comedy 

91m. 

Eddie  Cantor,  Ann  Sothern,  Ethel  Merman,  Berton 
Churchill,  Block  and  Sully,  George  Murphy,  Warren 
Hymer,  Edgar  Kennedy,  Stanley  Fields. 

Knockout  Cantor  and  a  cinch  to  equal  and  top 
grosses  of  his  other  shows  because  this  one  has 
everyth  ng  the  others  had  and  more.  Picture 
even  includes  a  grand  technicolor  sequence  as 
well.  Story,  girls,  music  all  combine  to  give  a 
swe  l  entertainment  with  Cantor  working  in 
with  the  yarn  instead  of  making  a  one-man 
piece  out  of  it.  Laughs  are  plenty,  songs  are 
catchy  and  story  holds  interest  all  the  way.  As 
the  son  of  an  Egyptian  authority  who  is  left 
a  lot  of  money,  who  is  pursued  by  crooks  who 
want  it  and  who  eventually  wins  out,  Cantor  is 
superb.  Sam  Goldwyn  has  given  the  piece  an 
A-l  background  and  the  best  of  everything. 

Estimate:  Ace  click. 


STATE  RIGHTS 


Inside  Information  Action 

60m. 

Marion  Shil'ing,  Rex  l.ease,  Tarzan  the  dog,  Philo 
McCullough,  Chailes  King,  Vic  Potel,  Jimmie  Aubrey. 

Action  melodrama  starring  a  dog  that  will 
get  by  where  they  don't  care  much  for  the  logic 
or  reason  of  a  picture.  Where  they  do,  the 
show  will  not  pass  muster.  As  far  as  the 
action  element  is  concerned,  picture  will  be  okay, 
but  the  plot  is  the  weakness.  Action  drama 
seems  made  for  the  double  feature  mass  trade. 

Estimate:  Weak. 


The  Man  Who 

Changed  His  Name 


Adult 
Mystery  Drama 
69m. 


Betty  Stock  field,  Lyn  Hard'ng,  Leslie  Perrins,  Ben 
Weldon,  Aubrey  Mather,  Stanley  Vine,  Richard 
Do, man. 

Mystery  drama  that  will  fool  most  of  the 
patrons  until  the  last  m.nute  and  okay  where 
they  don't  demand  names.  Show  is  British  in 
origin,  devoid  of  any  stars  to  sell  and  must 
depend  upon  plot.  A  husband  assumes  a  name 
similar  to  that  of  a  murderer  in  order  to 
frighten  his  wife  and  lover.  He  succeeds  in 
his  purpose  but  not  before  plenty  happens. 
Eventually,  he  shows  up  the  lover  as  a  scoun¬ 
drel.  Story  is  slow  in  spots. 

Estimate:  Interesting. 


Thunder  Over  Texas  Western 

60m. 

Guinn  Williams,  Marion  Shilling,  Claude  Payton, 
Helen  Westcott,  Philo  McCuLough,  Vic  Potel,  Bennet 
Corbett,  Tiny  Skeleton. 

Familiar  type  western  with  the  hero  battling 
his  way  through  the  picture,  protecting  the  l.tt.e 
damsel  and  outwitting  the  ornery  crooks  and 
their  band,  “Thunder  Over  Texas”  hits  the 
usual  average.  All  the  regular  western  devices 
are  used  and  Williams  manages  to  make  it  gen¬ 
erally  believable. 

Estimate:  Usual  western. 


A  Deal  So  FINE— It 
CAN'T  Be  Imitated 


•*  22k  Etched  Gold 

DINNERWARE 

Is  made  by  a  patented  process 
and  controlled  for  the  entire 
United  States  by  us 

Etched  Gold  Sets  are  sold  in  de¬ 
partment  stores  up  to  $50.00  per 
set  and  are  absolutely  the  finest 
Premium  Sets  Ever  Offered 


A  "Bonanza 
For  Higherl 
Admission 
Priced  Theatres 


1 2-/ 


28  THEATRES 

have  bought  this 
Sensation  of^1934  | 


I 


QUALITY  PREMIUM 


DISTRIBUTORS,  Inc. 

Serving  Exhibitors  from  Coast  to  Coast 
HOME  OFFICE:  -  1305  VINE  ST,,  PHILA.,  PA. 


Nov  1'34  pg.  24 


A  role  os 
great  as  his 
"Cisco  Kid"... 
with  twice  the 
driving 
.  drama!  > 


r  Absorbing  Ny 
story  of  stu¬ 
dent  nurses . . . 
the  girls  every¬ 
body  wonders 
about,  nobody 
V  knows!  y 


Secret  ^ 
archives  of 
great  nations 
at  last  yield  up 
their  grimmest 
.  scenes!  . 


r  An  N 
exploitation 
natural  to  fill 
your  town  with 
college 
cheer! 


You  h 
NOVE 


r~ 


mimm 


A  fellow 
showman 
you  all  admire 
presents  a  star 
all  America 
loves! 


ight  to  about  your 
H  program  from  FOX ! 

YOU  can  tell  your  townsfolk  that  you’ve  never  shown 
finer  entertainment  .  .  .  and  they’ll  agree  enthusiastically. 
You  can  swap  stories  with  fellow-exhibitors  about  peak 
November  grosses  .  .  .  and  have  the  facts  to  back  you. 

For  this  latest  crop  of  FOX  releases  measures  right  up  with  those 
great  first  -  quarter  hits! 


GEORGE  M.  COHAN,  America’s  First  Actor,  in  "GAMBLING"  with 
Wynne  Gibson,  Dorothy  Burgess.  A  Harold  B.  Franklin  Production. 
Directed  by  Rowland  V.  Lee. 


. 


,  v  ■  /  '  % 
v.  ••/ .  •  ?i: 


WARNER  BAXTER  in  "HELL  IN  THE  HEAVENS"  with  CONCHITA 
MONTENEGRO,  RUSSELL  HARDIE,  Herbert  Mundin,  Andy  Devine, 
William  Stelling,  Ralph  Morgan.  Produced  by  A1  Rockett.  Directed  by 
John  Blystone. 


'THE  FIRST  WORLD  WAR."  Secret  Films  from  Nations’  Archives. 
Edited  by  Laurence  Stallings.  Produced  by  Truman  Talley.  (In  asso¬ 
ciation  with  Simon  &  Schuster). 


^ - 


Ipm^qgl 


'  V  /.  \ 

.  r .r. 


THE  WHITE  PARADE"  with  LORETTA  YOUNG  and 
JOHN  BOLES.  A  Jesse  L.  Lasky  production.  Directed  by 
Irving  Cummings. 


BACHELOR  OF  ARTS"  with  TOM  BROWN,  ANITA  LOUISE, 
Henry  B.  Walthall,  Mae  Marsh,  Arline  Judge  and  STEPIN  FETCHIT. 
Produced  by  John  Stone.  Directed  by  Louis  King.  From  John  Erskine’s 
novel. 


"MUSIC  IN  THE  AIR"  (Music  by  Jerome  Kern.  Lyrics  and  libretto 
by  Oscar  Hammerstein,  2nd).  With  GLORIA  SWANSON  and 
JOHN  BOLES  .  .  .  DOUGLASS  MONTGOMERY,  June  Lang.  An 
Erich  Pommer  production.  Directed  by  Joe  May. 


And  when  > 

November's  over 
you'll  have  plenty 
of  money  for 
Christmas 


presents  .  .  . 
THANKS  TO 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Nov  1 ' 34 


25 


«  BOOKING  GUIDE  » 


(A  concise  and  speedy  schedule  of  releases  past,  current  and  future,  with  special  attention  to  type  of  pic¬ 
ture  and  casts.  In  each  case  the  list  includes  pictures  that  have  been  recently  released,  are  to  be  released 
shortly  or  are  completing  production.  Using  this  listing  in  co-operation  with  the  6-Point  Reviews  and  The 
Check-up  gives  exhibitors  everything  they  wish  to  know  about  all  productions.) 


Key: 

AD - Action  Drama 

C - Comedy 

CD - Comedy  Drama 

COD - Costume  Drama 


CL - Classical  Drama 

D - Drama 

F — Farce 

MD - Melodrama 

MU - Musical 


O - Operetta 

RD - Realistic  Drama 

SP - Spectacle 

W — Western 
MY - Mystery 


Chesterfield-Invincible 

The  Curtain  Falls - CD - Henrietta  Crosman, 

Dorothy  Lee,  John  Darrow,  Natalie  Moor¬ 
head,  William  Bakewell. 

The  World  Accuses - D - Vivienne  Tobin, 

Dickie  Moore,  Cora  Sue  Collins,  Russell 
Hopton. 

The  Port  of  Lost  Dreams - MD — Billy  Boyd, 

Lola  Lane,  George  Marion,  Sr.,  Ed  Gargan, 
Robert  Elliott. 

Columbia 

I’ll  Fix  It - CD - Jack  Holt,  Winnie  Lightner, 

Jimmy  Butler,  Mona  Barrie,  Edward  Bro- 
phy. 

Lady  By  Choice - CD - Carole  Lombard, 

Walter  Connelly,  May  Robson,  Roger 
Pryor. 

The  Captain  Hates  the  Sea - CD - Leon  Er¬ 

rol,  Wynne  Gibson,  Fred  Keating,  Victor 
McLaglen,  Helen  Vinson,  Walter  Connelly, 
John  Gilbert,  John  Wray. 

One  Night  of  Love - MU - Grace  Moore, 

Lyle  Talbot,  Mona  Barrie,  Tullio  Carman- 
ati,  Jessie  Ralph. 

That’s  Gratitude — C Frank  Craven,  Charles 

Sabin,  Sheila  Manners,  Mary  Carlisle. 

Broadway  Bill - C - Warner  Baxter,  Lynn 

Overman,  Myrna  Loy,  Helen  Vinson. 

Spring  3100 - MD - Nancy  Carroll,  Donald 

Cook,  George  Murphy. 

Wolves  of  Catclaw — MD — Tim  McCoy, 
Sheila  Manners,  Alden  Chase. 

White  Lies - D — May  Robson,  Victor  Jory, 

Raymond  Walburn,  Fay  Wray. 

A  Call  to  Arms - MD - Steffi  Duna,  Ben 

Lyon,  Noah  Beery,  Willard  Mack,  Esther 
Ralston,  Hobart  Bosworth. 

Fugitive  Lady - AD— —Neil  Hamilton,  Flor¬ 

ence  Rice,  Clara  Blandick,  Matt  McHugh. 

Quicksands — AD - Tim  McCoy,  Jacqueline 

Wells,  Steve  Clarke,  Charles  Middleton, 
John  Darrow,  J.  Farrell  MacDonald. 

Burnt  Ranch - W - Tim  McCoy,  Marion 

Shilling,  Oscar  Apfel. 

Against  the  Law - AD - John  Mack  Brown, 

Sally  Blane,  Arthur  Hohl,  James  Bush, 
George  Meeker. 

Prescott  Kid - W - Tim  McCoy,  Sheila  Man¬ 

ners. 

Stake  Out - AD — Bruce  Cabot,  Judith  Allen. 

Gaumont  British 

Chu  Chin  Chow - SP - Anna  Mae  Wong, 

Fritz  Kortner,  George  Robey,  John  Gar¬ 
rick. 

Power - COD - Conrad  Veidt,  Pamela  Os- 

trer,  Benita  Hume,  Cedric  Hardwicke,  Sir 
Gerald  Du  Maurier. 

Little  Friend - D - Nova  Pilbeam,  Matheson 

Lang,  Lydia  Sherwood,  Arthur  Margetson. 

Man  of  Aran — RD - Colman  King,  Maggie 

Diane,  Michael  Dillane. 


First  National-Warners 

A  Lost  Lady - D - Barbara  Stanwyck,  Frank 

Morgan,  Ricardo  Cortez,  Lyle  Talbot 

(FN). 

6-Day  Bike  Rider - F - Joe  E.  Brown,  Maxine 

Doyle,  Gordon  Westcott,  Frank  McHugh 

(FN). 

I  Sell  Anything - C - Pat  O’Brien,  Claire 

Dodd,  Frank  McHugh,  Ann  Dvorak,  Roscoe 
Karns,  Hobart  Cavanaugh  (FN). 

Gentlemen  Are  Born - D - Jean  Muir,  Fran- 

chot  Tone,  Nick  Foran,  Charles  Starrett, 
Margaret  Lindsay  (FN). 

Happiness  Ahead - MU — Dick  Powell,  Jos¬ 

ephine  Hutchinson,  John  Halliday,  Frank 
McHugh,  Allen  Jenkins,  Ruth  Donnelly 

(FN). 

Flirtation  Walk — CM - Dick  Powell,  Ruby 

Keeler,  Pat  O’Brien,  Ross  Alexander, 
Henry  O’Neil  (FN). 

The  St.  Louis  Kid - CD — James  Cagney, 

Patricia  Ellis,  Allen  Jenkins,  Dorothy  Dare 

(W). 

The  Firebird - D - Verree  Teasdale,  Ricardo 

Cortez,  Anita  Louise,  Lionel  Atwill  (W). 

Concealment - D — Barbara  Stanwyck,  War¬ 

ren  William,  Glenda  Farrell,  Henry  O’Neill 

(W). 

Bordertown - MD - Paul  Muni,  Bette  Davis, 

Margaret  Lindsay,  Hobart  Cavanaugh, 
Robert  Barrat  (W). 

Maybe  It’s  Love — C - Gloria  Stuart,  Ross 

Alexander,  Frank  McHugh,  Phillip  Reed 
(FN). 

Murder  in  the  Clouds - AD - Lyle  Talbot, 

Ann  Dvorak,  Gordon  Westcott,  Robert 
Light  (FN). 

I  Am  A  Thief - MD — Ma  ry  Astor,  Ricardo 

Cortez,  Dudley  Digges,  Irving  Pichel  (W). 

Babbitt — C - Guy  Kibbee,  Aline  MacMahon, 

Maxine  Doyle,  Claire  Dodd,  Minna  Gom- 
bell  (FN). 

Sweet  Music - MU - Rudy  Vallee,  Ann 

Dvorak,  Ned  Sparks,  Joe  Cawthorn,  Allen 
Jenkins,  Alice  White,  Robert  Armstrong, 
Helen  Morgan  (W). 

Gold  Diggers  of  1935 - MU - Dick  Powell, 

Gloria  Stuart,  Hugh  Herbert,  Frank  Mc¬ 
Hugh,  Glenda  Farrell,  Winifred  Shaw, 
Adolphe  Menjou,  Alice  Brady  (FN). 

Sweet  Adeline - MU - Irene  Dunne,  Donald 

Woods,  Hugh  Herbert,  Ned  Sparks,  Joe 
Cawthorn,  Louis  Calhern,  Nydia  Westman, 
Don  Alvarado,  Noah  Beery,  Jack  Mulhall 
(W). 

The  Right  to  Live - D - George  Brent,  Jos¬ 

ephine  Hutchinson,  Colin  Clive,  Peggy 
Wood,  Henrietta  Crosman  (W). 

The  White  Cockatoo — MD - Jean  Muir,  Ri¬ 

cardo  Cortez,  Gordon  Westcott,  John  EI- 
dredge,  Ruth  Donnelly,  Minna  Gombel 
(W). 

Devil  Dogs  of  the  Air - CD - James  Cagney, 

Pat  O  Brien,  Margaret  Lindsay,  Frank  Mc¬ 
Hugh,  John  Arledge,  Ward  Bond,  Russell 
Hicks  (W). 


Racing  Luck - AD - Lyle  Talbot,  Mary  As¬ 

tor,  Roscoe  Karns,  Frankie  Darro,  Henry 
Kolker,  Gavin  Gordon  (W). 

Fox 

365  Nights  in  Hollywood - CD — James 

Dunn,  Alice  Faye,  Mitchell  and  Durant, 
Grant  Mitchell. 

Caravan - O - Charles  Boyer,  Loretta  Young, 

Jean  Parker,  Phillips  Holmes,  Louise  Faz¬ 
enda,  C.  Aubrey  Smith,  Eugene  Pallette, 
Noah  Beery. 

Elinor  Norton - D - Claire  Trevor,  Hugh  Wil¬ 

liams,  Norman  Foster,  Gilbert  Roland, 
Henrietta  Crosman. 

Peck’s  Bad  Boy - C - Jackie  Cooper,  Thomas 

Meighan,  Jackie  Searle,  Dorothy  Peterson. 

The  White  Parade - D - Loretta  Young,  John 

Boles,  Dorothy  Wilson,  Muriel  Kirkland, 
Astrid  Allwyn,  Frank  Conroy,  Jane  Dar- 
well,  Frank  Melton,  Sara  Haden,  Joyce 
Compton. 

Marie  Galante — MD Spe  ncer  Tracey,  Ketti 

Gallian,  Ted  Sparks,  Helen  Morgan,  Stepin 
Fetchit. 

Helldorado - C  D - R  ichard  Arlen,  Madge 

Evans,  Ralph  Bellamy,  James  Gleason, 
Henry  B.  Walthall,  Helen  Jerome  Eddy, 
Stepin  Fetchit. 

East  River - CD - Edmund  Lowe,  Victor  Mc¬ 

Laglen,  Marjorie  Rambeau,  Charles  Bick¬ 
ford,  Grace  Bradley,  Roger  Imhof,  George 
Walsh,  Olin  Howland. 

Bright  Eyes — C - Shirley  Temple,  James 

Dunn,  Lo:s  Wilson,  Judith  Allen,  Jane 
Withers,  Dorothy  Christy,  Theodore  Von 
Eltz. 

Lottery  Lover - CD — Lew  Ayres,  Pat  Pat¬ 

terson,  Peggy  Fears,  Sterling  Holloway, 
Reginald  Denny,  Alan  Dinehart,  Walter 
Woolf,  Eddie  Nugent,  Nick  Foran. 

Hell  in  the  Heavens - AD - "Warner  Baxter, 

Conchita  Montenegro,  Russel  Hardie, 
Herbert  Mundin,  Andy  Devine,  Ralph  Mor¬ 
gan,  Vince  Barnet. 

Music  in  the  Air - MU — Gloria  Swanson, 

John  Boles,  Douglass  Montgomery,  June 
Lang,  A1  Shean,  Reginald  Owen,  Joseph 
Cawthorn,  Hobart  Bosworth. 

Bachelor  of  Arts - CD - Tom  Brown,  Anita 

Louise,  Henry  B.  Walthall,  Mae  Marsh, 
Arline  Judge,  Frank  Albertson,  George 
Meeker,  Berton  Churchill,  Stepin  Fetchit. 

Gambling - MD - George  M.  Cohan,  \Fynne 

Gibson,  Dorothy  Burgess,  Theodore  New¬ 
ton. 

The  First  World  War — Compilation  of  films 
from  secret  archives  of  war  powers. 

County  Chairman - C - Will  Rogers,  Evelyn 

Venable,  Kent  Taylor,  Jan  Duggan,  Louise 
Dresser. 

24  Hours  a  Day - D - Mona  Barrie,  Gilbert 

Roland,  John  Halliday,  Herbert  Mundin. 

Charlie  Chan  in  Paris - MD - Warner  Oland. 

Thunder  in  the  Night - CD - Mona  Barrie, 

Herbert  Mundin. 


26 


Nov  1 T  34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Du  World 

Blue  Light - D — Leni  Riefenstahl. 

Liberty 

Once  to  Every  Bachelor - CD — Marion  Nixon, 

Neil  Hamilton,  Aileen  Pringle. 

Without  Children - D - Marguerite  Churchill, 

Bruce  Cabot,  Evelyn  Brent,  Dickie  Moore, 
Cora  Sue  Collins,  Reginald  Denny. 

School  for  G'rls - MD - Sidney  Fox,  Lois  Wil¬ 

son,  Paul  Kelly,  Lucille  La  Verne,  Toby 
Wing,  Dorothy  Lee,  Lona  Andre,  Russell 
Hopton,  Kathleen  Burke. 

Two  Heads  On  a  Pillow — CD - Neil  Hamil¬ 

ton,  Mir  am  Jordan,  Henry  Armetta, 
Hardie  Albright. 

Majestic 

Night  Alarm - MD — B  ruce  Cabot,  Judith 

Allen,  H.  B.  Warner,  Sam  Hardy. 

The  Perfect  Clue - MY - David  Manners, 

Skeets  Gallagher,  Dorothy  Libaire,  Ralf 
Harolde,  Betty  Blythe. 

Mascot 

Crimson  Romance - MD — Ben  Lyon,  Sari 

Maritza,  James  Bush,  Hardie  Albr.ght, 
William  Bakewell,  Eric  Von  Stroheim. 

In  Old  Santa  Fe — W - Ken  Maynard,  Eva- 

lyn  Knapp,  H.  B.  Warner. 

The  Marines  Have  Landed - AD - William 

Haines,  Armida. 

Mystery  Mountain - W - Ken  Maynard, 

Verna  Hillie. 

Metro 

Treasure  Island - CL - Wallace  Beery,  Chic 

Sale,  Jackie  Cooper,  Lewis  Stone,  Lionel 
Barrymore,  Dorothy  Peterson. 

Student  Hour - F - Jimmy  Durante,  Maxine 

Doyle,  Charles  Butterworth,  Douglas  Fow- 
ley,  Monte  Blue,  Betty  Grable. 

What  Every  Woman  Knows - CD - Helen 

Hayes,  Brian  Aherne,  Lucille  Watson, 
Madge  Evans,  Dudley  Digges,  David  Tor¬ 
rence,  Donald  Crisp. 

Barretts  of  Wimpole  Street — D - Norma 

Shearer,  Maureen  O’Sullivan,  Charles 
Laughton,  Fredric  March. 

Outcast  Lady - D - Constance  Bennett,  Hugh 

Williams,  Herbert  Marshall,  Henry  Steph¬ 
enson,  Ralph  Forbes. 

The  Merry  Widow - MU - Maurice  Chevalier, 

Jeanette  MacDonald,  Edward  Everett  Hor¬ 
ton,  Una  Merkel,  Sterling  Holloway. 

David  Cooperfield - CL - Lionel  Barrymore, 

Charles  Laughton,  Eliza  beth  Allen,  Fred 
Bartholomew,  Roland  Young,  Hugh  Wil¬ 
liams,  Edna  May  Oliver,  Madge  Evans, 
Basil  Rathbone,  Lewis  Stone,  Elsa  Lan¬ 
caster. 

The  Night  is  Young - M - Evelyn  Laye, 

Ramon  Novarro,  Charles  Butterworth, 
Stuart  Erwin,  Edward  Everett  Horton,  Una 
Merkel. 

Forsaking  All  Others - CD - Clark  Gable, 

Joan  Crawford,  Billie  Burke,  Robert  Mont¬ 
gomery,  Ted  Healy,  Charles  Butterworth. 

Sequoia - AD - Jean  Parker,  Russell  Hardie, 

Paul  Hurst. 

Wicked  Woman - D - Mady  Christians, 

Charles  Bickford,  Zelda  Sears,  John 
Parker. 

Repeal - CD - Carole  Lombard,  Chester 

Morris,  Una  Merkel,  Leo  Carrillo,  Zasu 
Pitts. 

Backfield - AD - Robert  Young,  Maureen 

O’Sullivan,  Ted  Healy,  Preston  Foster. 

Babes  in  Toyland - MU — Laurel  and  Hardy, 

Charlotte  Henry. 

Biograph  of  a  Bachelor  Girl — CD — Ann 
Harding.  Robert  Montgomery. 

Evelyn  Prentice - MD - William  Powell, 

Myrna  Loy. 

The  Painted  Veil - D — Greta  Garbo,  Herbert 

Marshall,  George  Brent,  Cecilia  Parker, 
Jean  Hersholt,  Warner  Oland,  Katherine 
Alexander,  Beulah  Bondi. 


Monogram 

Tomorrow’s  Youth - CD  —  Dickie  Moore, 

John  Milan,  Martha  Sleeper,  Franklyn 
Pangborn,  Glor  a  Shea. 

Girl  of  the  Limberlost - CD - Louise  Dresser, 

Marian  Marsh,  Ralph  Morgan,  Helen  B. 
Walthall,  Edward  Nugent,  Helen  Jerome 
Eddy. 

Trail  Beyond - W - John  Wayne,  Verna  Hil¬ 

lie,  Noah  Beery,  Robert  Fraser. 

Red  Head - CD - Bruce  Cabot,  Grace  Brad¬ 

ley,  Berton  Churchill,  Regis  Toomey. 

Lost  in  the  Stratosphere — MD - June  Collyer, 

William  Cagney,  Eddie  Nugent,  Edmund 
Breese,  Pauline  Garon. 

Mysterious  Mr.  Wong — MD — Bela  Lugosi, 
Wallace  Ford,  Dorothy  Lee. 

Flirting  w’th  Danger - CD - Robert  Arm¬ 

strong,  Maria  Alba,  William  Cagney, 
Edgar  Kennedy. 

Girl  of  My  Dreams - CD — Mary  Carlisle,  Ed¬ 

die  Nugent,  Tommy  Dugan,  G:gi  Parrish. 

Sing  Sing  Nights - MD - Bela  Lugosi,  Con¬ 

way  Tearle,  Hardie  Albright,  Boots  Mal¬ 
lory,  Mary  Doran,  Berton  Churchill. 

Paramount 

Wagon  Wheels - W - Randolph  Scott,  Ray¬ 

mond  Hatton,  Gail  Patrick,  Monte  Blue, 
Jane  Duggan,  Leila  Bennett. 

Lemon  Drop  Kid — CD - Lee  Tracy,  Helen 

Mack,  Baby  Leroy,  Minna  Gombell,  Henry 
B.  Walthall. 

Cleopatra - SP - Claudette  Colbert,  Warren 

William,  Gertrude  Michael,  Henry  Wilcox- 
son,  Joseph  Schihdkraut,  Ian  Maclaren, 
Claude  Bell. 

Ready  for  Love — CD - Richard  Arlen,  Mar¬ 

jorie  Rambeau,  Ida  Lupino,  Junior  Durkin, 
Henry  Travers. 

Mrs.  Wiggs  of  the  Cabbage  Patch - CD - 

Pauline  Lord,  Zasu  Pitts,  Evelyn  Venable, 
Charles  Middleton,  W.  C.  Fields,  Kent  Tay¬ 
lor,  Donald  Meek,  Jimmy  Butler. 

Menace — MD - Paul  Cavanaugh,  Gertrude 

Michael,  Henrietta  Crosman,  John  Lodge, 
Raymond  Milland,  Berton  Chu  rchill,  Halli- 
well  Hobbes. 

Pursuit  of  Happiness - C - Francis  Lederer, 

Joan  Bennett,  Charles  Ruggles,  Mary  Bo¬ 
land,  Walter  K.ngsford,  Minor  Watson. 

Enter  Madame — C - Elissa  Landi,  Cary 

Grant,  Lynne  Overman,  Sharon  Lyne. 

Lives  of  Bengal  Lancer - MD - Gary  Cooper, 

Franchot  Tone,  Richard  Cromwell,  Sir  Guy 
Standing,  Kathleen  Burke,  Monte  Blue. 

Here  is  My  Heart - C - Bing  Crosby,  Roland 

Young,  Kitty  Carlisle,  Reginald  Owen. 

Limehouse  Nights - MD - George  Raft,  Jean 

Parker,  Anna  May  Wong,  Kent  Taylor, 
Billy  Bevan. 

Code  of  the  West - W - Jackie  Coogan,  Ran¬ 

dolph  Scott,  Evelyn  Brent. 

College  Rhythm - F - Joe  Penner,  Lanny 

Ross,  Jack  Oakie,  George  Barbier,  Lyda 
Roberti,  Mary  Brian. 

Father  Brown,  Detective — MD - Paul  Lukas, 

Gertrude  Michael,  Walter  Connolly. 

Wings  in  the  Dark - AD - Myrna  Loy,  Cary 

Grant. 

Caprice  Espagnole - MD - Marlene  Dietrich, 

Joel  McCrea,  Lionel  Atwill. 

The  President  Vanishes - D - Arthur  Byron, 

Janet  Beecher,  Paul  Kelly,  Edward  Arnold. 

It’s  a  Gift - C - W.  C.  Fields,  Joan  Rouverol, 

Kathleen  Howard,  Baby  Leroy,  Morgan 
Wallace. 

Behold  My  Wife - CD — Sylvia  Sidney,  Gene 

Raymond,  Juliette  Compton,  Laura  Hope 
Crews,  Monroe  Owsley,  H.  B.  Warner. 

Me  Without  You - CD - Joe  Morrison,  Helen 

Twelvetrees,  Conrad  Nagel,  Arline  Judge, 
Toby  Wing. 

Once  in  a  Blue  Moon CD — Jimmy  Savo, 

Wh  tney  Bourne,  Cecilia  Parker,  Michael 
Dalmatoff . 


Radio 

The  Gay  Divorcee - MU - Ginger  Rogers, 

Fred  Astaire,  Edward  Everett  Horton,  Eric 
Blore,  Alice  Brady. 

Dangerous  Corned - D - Conrad  Nagel,  Vir- 

g  nia  Bruce,  Melvyn  Douglas,  Ian  Keith, 
Eaon  O’Brien  Moore. 

Wednesday’s  Child - D  - Edward  Arnold, 

Karen  Morley,  Frankie  Thomas,  Jr. 

By  Your  Leave CD — Frank  Morgan,  Gene¬ 
vieve  Tobin,  Ne  1  Hamilton,  Marion 
Nixon,  Glenn  Anders. 

Kentucky  Kernels - F — Wheeler  and  Wool- 

sey,  Mary  Carlis  le,  Spa  nky  MacFarland, 
Noah  Beery,  Lucille  LaVerne. 

Anne  of  Green  Gables - CL - Anne  Shirley, 

Tom  Browne,  O.  P.  Heggie,  Helen  West- 
ley,  Sara  Haden,  Murray  Kinnell. 

Woman  in  the  Dark - MD — Fay  Wray,  Ralph 

Bellamy,  Melvyn  Douglas,  Roscoe  Ates. 

The  Kickoff - CD - Eddie  Quillen,  Betty 

Furness,  Grant  Mitchell,  Robert  McWade. 

Kara - MD - Steffi  Duna,  Regis  Toomey, 

Raymond  Hatton,  George  Lewis. 

Silver  Streak - AD - Sally  Blane,  Charles 

Starrett,  Hardie  Albright,  W.ll  iam  Far- 
num,  Irving  Pichel. 

West  of  the  Pecos — MD — Richard  Dix, 
Martha  Sleeper,  Sleep  ’N’  Eat,  Sam  Hinds, 
Fred  Kohler. 

Lightning  Strikes  Twice - C — Ben  Lyon, 

Pert  Kelton,  Thelma  Todd,  Laura  Hope 
Crews,  Chic  Chandler,  Walter  Ca.lett, 
Skeets  Gallagher. 

Romance  in  Manhattan - CD — Francis  Led¬ 

erer,  Ginger  Rogers,  Arthur  Hohl,  Jimmy 
Butler. 

Portrait  of  Laura  Bales CD — May  Robson, 

Ma  ry  Carlisle,  Alan  Hale,  Hale  Hamilton. 

Enchanted  April - D — Ann  Harding,  Frank 

Morgan,  Katherine  Alexander,  Reginald 
Owen. 

Little  Minister — CD — Kathe  rine  Hepburn, 
John  Beal,  Alan  Hales,  Donald  Crisp,  Reg¬ 
inald  Denny,  Andy  Clyde. 

Universal 

Wake  Up  and  Dream — CD - Russ  Columbo, 

June  Knight. 

One  Exciting  Adventure - CD - Binnie 

Barnes,  Neil  Hamilton. 

Great  Expectations - CL - Henry  Hull,  Jane 

Wyatt,  Phillips  Holmes,  Florence  Reed, 
Alan  Hale. 

Night  Life  of  the  Gods - C  - Alan  Mowbray, 

FI  orine  McKinney,  Irene  Ware,  Wesley 
Barry,  Richard  Carle. 

Cheating  Cheaters - CD - Fay  Wray,  Cesar 

Romero,  Francis  Sullivan. 

Imitation  of  Life — D - Claudette  Colbert, 

Warren  William,  Ned  Sparks,  Rochelle 
Hud  son,  Alan  Hale,  Paul  Porcasi,  Henry 
Armetta. 

Life  Returns D — Onslow  Stevens,  Lois  Wil¬ 
son,  George  Breakston,  Stanley  Fields. 

Secret  of  the  Chateau — MY — Claire  Dodd, 
Alice  Wh.te,  Jack  LaRue,  Helen  Ware, 
Osgood  Perkins. 

Straight  from  the  Heart - CD - Mary  Astor, 

Roger  Pryor,  Baby  Jane. 

When  a  Man  Sees  Red — W — Buck  Jones. 

The  Good  Fairy - CD - Margaret  Sullavan, 

Herbert  Marshall,  Alan  Hale,  Frank  Mor¬ 
gan. 

Strange  Wives MD Roger  Pryor,  June 

Clayworth,  Esther  Ralston,  Ralph  Forbes. 

Man  Who  Reclaimed  His  Head MD — Claude 

Rains,  Lionel  Atwill,  Baby  Jane,  Joan  Ben¬ 
nett,  Wallace  Ford. 

Mystery  of  Edward  Drood — MD- — Claude 
Rains,  Heather  Angel,  Douglas  Montgom¬ 
ery. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Nov  1  ’  34 


27 


United  Artists 

Our  Daily  Bread - D  - Karen  Morley,  Tom 

Keene. 

Transatlantic  Merry-Go-Round - MU - Jack 

Benny,  Nancy  Carroll,  Gene  Raymond, 
Sydney  Howard,  Sid  Silvers. 

Private  Life  of  Don  Juan — COD — Douglas 
Fairbanks,  Merle  Oberon,  Benita  Hume. 

We  Live  Again - D — Anna  Sten,  Fredric 

March,  Sam  Jaffee. 

Nell  Gwyn - COD - Anna  Neagle,  Cedric 

Hardw.cke. 

The  Queen’s  Affair — COD - Anna  Neagle, 

Ferdinand  Graavey. 

Kid  Millions — MU — Eddie  Cantor,  Ethel  Mer¬ 
man,  Ann  Sothern,  Block  and  Sully. 

Charles  Chaplin  No.  5 — C — Charles  Chap¬ 
lin,  Paulette  Goddard. 

The  Mighty  Barnum — CD - Wallace  Beery, 

Adolphe  Menjou,  Rochelle  Hudson,  Janet 
Beecher,  Virginia  Bruce. 


Principal 

The  Return  of  Chandu — MD - Bela  Lugosi, 

Maria  Alba,  Clara  Kimball  Young. 


Foreign 

Broken  Melody - D - John  Garrick,  Merle 

Oberon,  Margot  Grahame,  Austin  Trevor 
(British) . 

Bella  Donna — D — Conard  Veidt,  Mary  Ellis, 
Cedric  Hardwicke  (British). 

Bride  of  the  Lake - D - John  Garrick,  Gina 

Malo,  Stanley  Holloway,  Sara  Allgood 
(British) . 

Man  Who  Changed  His  Name - MY - Betty 

Stockficld,  Lyn  Harding,  Leslie  Perrins, 
Ben  Weldon  (British). 


BETWEEN  THE  PARAGRAPHS 


PATENT  SITUATION  AGAIN  LEAVES 
EXHIBITOR  IN  ODD  POSITION 

Sweeping  effect  of  the  refusal  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court 
to  review  the  Tri-Ergon  patents  case  resulted  in  William  Fox  being 
established  as  owner  of  the  flywheel  and  double  printing  patents  and 
left  the  industry  in  pretty  much  of  a  dilemma. 

While  it  is  believed  likely  that  some  new  way  to  get  around  both 
patents  may  be  introduced,  still  Fox  is  entitled  to  royalty  payments 
on  any  alleged  infringements,  if  proven. 

The  initial  effect  of  the  decision  was  to  leave  the  industry  wonder¬ 
ing,  with  no  one  coming  to  the  assistance  with  any  clarification.  The 
bolt  came  out  of  the  blue,  so  to  speak,  and  the  leaders  of  the  industry, 
trade  press  and  others  couldn’t  know  how  to  interpret.  At  present 
writing,  the  situation  is  not  definitely  outlined,  except  that  certain 
alleged  infringement  suits  have  been  filed. 

Oddly  enough,  Fox  now  comes  back  to  the  motion  picture  industry 
as  violently  as  he  left  it. 

BANKERS  ALSO  INTERESTED 
IN  FOOTBALL,  IT  SEEMS 

Exhibitors  and  other  film  folk  who  wonder  why  and  how  banking 
interests  are  so  definitely  linked  to  production  and  exhibition  might 
be  interested  in  a  current  story  that  one  of  the  bigger  eastern  collegiate 
stadiums  is  owned,  operated  and  booked  by  a  bank  of  that  city.  The 
bank,  the  story  goes,  books  the  games  without  consulting  the  football 
coach  with  an  eye  toward  bigger  opponents  and  profits  and  even  pays 
the  expenses  and  pin  money  of  the  players. 

The  story,  of  course,  might  be  a  trifle  exaggerated,  but  it  goes  to 
show  that  when  a  banker  comes  into  the  football  business,  he  isn’t  any 
more  idealistic  than  when  he  enters  the  motion  picture  industry, 
idealism  or  anything  else  regardless. 


Miscellaneous 

The  Man  From  Hell - W — Reb  Russell,  Ann 

Darcy,  Yakima  Canutt. 

Inside  Information — AD - Marion  Shilling, 

Rex  Lease,  Tarzan  the  dog,  Philo  McCul¬ 
lough,  Charles  King,  Vic  Potel. 

Thunder  Over  Texas — W Guinn  Williams, 

Marion  Shilling,  Claude  Payton,  Helen 
Westcott,  Philo  McCullough. 

The  Fighting  Hero - W - Tom  Tyler,  Ed 

Hearn,  Renee  Borden,  Ralph  Lewis. 

Murder  in  the  Museum - MY - Henry  B. 

Walthall,  Phyllis  Barrington,  Johnny  Har- 
ron. 

Hollywood  Mystery - MY - June  Clyde, 

Frank  Albertson,  Jose  Crespo,  Tenen  Holtz. 

Are  We  Civilized - D - William  Farnum,  An¬ 

ita  Lou.se,  Frank  McGlynn. 

White  Heat — MD David  Newell,  Mona  Mar¬ 
is,  Virginia  Cherrill,  Hardie  Albright. 

The  World  in  Revolt - Compilation  of  news¬ 

reel  shots. 

Tomorrow’s  Children - D - Diane  Sinclair, 

Sterling  Holloway,  John  Preston,  Sara 
Padden. 

Beyond  Bengal - MD - Animal  picture  with 

Harry  Schenck. 

The  Oil  Raider - AD  - Buster  Crabbe,  Gloria 

Shea,  George  Irving. 

A  Demon  For  Trouble - AD — Gloria  Shea, 

Don  Alvarado,  Nick  Stuart. 


FLOOD  OF  OVERBUYING  CASES 
DUE  IN  CODE  DISTRICTS 

Code  boards  are  looking  forward  to  a  tremendous  influx  of  cases 
claiming  overbuying  on  the  part  of  competitive  theatres.  Already  it 
is  apparent  from  the  number  of  cases  which  are  being  dismissed  be¬ 
cause  buying  is  not  yet  completed  that  independents  are  ready  to  go 
to  bat  to  protect  their  interests  against  so-called  oppressive  compe¬ 
tition. 

PICTURES  ARE  REALLY  GOOD 
BUT  STANDOUTS  ARE  FEW 

There  is  no  question  but  that  pictures  are  improving.  The  greater 
mass  has  attained  a  higher  standard  than  ever  before,  but  the  age-old 
problem  of  not  enough  standouts  is  also  present. 

Andre  Senewald,  motion  picture  editor  of  “The  New  York  Times,” 
and  one  of  the  best  in  the  business  because  he  seems  especially  sympa¬ 
thetic  toward  motion  pictures,  points  out  that  pictures  are  really  much 
better  than  ever  before  and  includes  many  good  examples.  Senewald 
also  praises  the  Broadway  policy  of  allowing  good  pictures  to  run  as 
long  as  they  stand  up,  instead  of  sticking  to  a  weekly  change  policy. 
The  smaller  Broadway  houses  use  up  the  pictures  that  the  larger 
citadels  don’t  need. 

Generally,  the  industry,  including  the  independents,  is  to  be  com- 
plimnted  on  the  improvement,  but  as  the  standard  gets  higher,  so  does 
the  demand  for  real  hit  attractions.  People  are  still  shopping.  Be¬ 
cause  of  that,  a  good  picture  does  not  mean  a  successful  one. 

HOBART  MANN 


28 


Nov  1 1 34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


BETTER  TESTED  SUCCESSFUL 

MANAGEMENT  *  ”>eas  *  merchandising 


Waxman's  Click 

A.  P.  Wax  man  is  to  be  commended 
on  the  press  sheets  turned  out  by  Gau- 
mont  British.  Books  compare  more  than 
favorably  with  the  American  press 
books  and  should  be  of  great  aid  in 
selling  the  shows. 

For  an  English  company,  it  shows  ex¬ 
treme  progressiveness. 


“Transatlantic”  Campaign 

Sam  Gilman,  manager,  Loew's  Regent,  Har¬ 
risburg,  with  assistant,  Bob  Etchberger,  went 
strong  on  “Transatlantic  Merry-Go-Round." 

One  of  the  most  attractive  stunts  for  “Trans¬ 
atlantic  Merry-Go-Round”  was  the  presence  in 
the  streets  of  Harrisburg  of  L.  J.  Millet  and  his 
pretty  wife,  Sonya,  professional  stilt  walkers. 

Crowds  gathered  in  front  of  the  theatre  daily, 
fascinated  by  a  false  front  consisting  of  a  re¬ 
volving  replica  of  a  merry-go-round  which 
revolved  around  the  upper  portion  of  the  box 
office.  Arrangements  with  the  Harrisburg 
Telegraph  enabled  manager  Gilman  to  turn  the 
entire  classified  ad  page  into  a  Loew  theatre 
page.  On  day  preceding  opening  of  picture  a 
15-minute  playlet  on  the  high  lights  of  the  pic¬ 
ture  was  broadcast  over  Harrisburg  Radio  Sta¬ 
tion  WHP.  Seven  thousand  special  circulars 
were  distributed  among  workers  in  Capitol 
Park  and  among  school  children. 


Temple  Contest 

Lew  Black  tied  in  with  about  $100  worth  of 
advertising  with  Fraime’s  Dairy,  Beste  Com¬ 
pany,  Crosby  Mill  and  two  other  shops  for 
“Now  and  Forever.”  He  packed  1800  children 
in  the  theatre,  largely  as  a  result  of  a  radio 
contest  for  the  selection  of  a  local  Shirley 
Temple,  in  Wilmington. 


College  Play 

Dwight  VanMeter,  new  manager,  Aldine, 
Wilmington,  took  advantage  of  the  college  foot¬ 
ball  spirit  in  the  air  by  having  George  Kelly 
and  his  orchestra,  with  the  aid  of  boys  in  uni¬ 
forms  of  respective  local  schools  and  colleges, 
put  on  a  skit  called  “Campus  Capers.” 


Bulb  Tieup 

In  a  tie-up  with  manager  Jerry  Wollaston, 
Victoria  Theatre,  Harrisburg,  Harrisburg  elec¬ 
trical  contractor  is  offering  admission  tickets 
to  the  Victoria  with  purchases  of  electric  lamp 
globes.  For  each  six  bulbs  of  any  size  between 
ten  and  seventy-five  watts  purchased,  the  cus¬ 
tomer  receives  one  adult  and  two  children’s  ad¬ 
mission  tickets  for  any  performance  at  the 
Victoria. 


REMEMBER  HAMMOND 

for 

Sound  Floats  -  Exploitation 

STUNTS  ON 

“WAGON  WHEELS”  “PECK’S  BAD  BOY” 
“MERRY  WIDOW” 

For  dotes  EARLE  F.  HAMMOND 
RIT.  9700  Philadelphia 


Reading  Celebration 

Three  Reading  theatres  co-operated  with  the 
Reading  Times  in  staging  one  of  the  biggest 
retail  mercantile  festivals  in  Reading  in  several 
years,  "Berks  Celebration  Days.”  Prizes  were 
awarded  from  the  stages  of  the  Embassy,  Astor 
and  Loew’s,  awards  including  a  new  Dodge 
sedan  and  large  amounts  of  money.  Front  page 
publicity  in  the  Times  was  given  the  three 
houses  every  day  for  a  week  by  the  merchants’ 
committee. 


Wollaston  Club  Scores 

Nearly  500  children  were  present  on  Saturday 
morning,  October  20,  at  the  first  meeting  at  the 
Victoria  Theatre  of  manager  Jerry  Wollas¬ 
ton’s  Junior  Club  in  Harrisburg. 

Membership  of  the  club,  members  of  which 
receive  free  admission  tickets  on  their  birthday 
anniversaries  and  a  free  admission  after  ten 
holes  are  punched  in  their  membership  cards, 
is  increasing  almost  daily,  manager  Wollaston 
reports. 


VII 11T  i  S  THE  TIME 
n  V  ft  TO  PLAY  •  •  • 


The  Thrilling  Authentic  Presentation  of  the 

77World*s  First  War77 


A  Jewel  Production 

Distributed  by  the  World’s  Leading  Independent 

FIRST  DIVISION  EXCHANGES,  Inc. 

HARRY  H.  THOMAS,  President 
Executive  Offices:  RKO  Bldg.,  Radio  City,  New  York 
Philadelphia  Branch:  1240  Vine  Street  —  Sam  Rosen,  Manager 


COMMAND  PERFORMANCE 


Pictures  have  played 
return  engagements  .  .  . 
runs  have  been  extended 
. . . but  never  before  have 
showmen  demanded  more 
pictures  from  a  producer! 


nsistent  demand  by  exhi¬ 
bitors  and  exchanges  has 
compelled  LIBERTY  to  in¬ 
crease  its  announced  pro¬ 
gram  of  8  features,  with 


MORE  FROM  LIBERTY 

12  FEATURES  FOR.  1934  1935 


These  8  COMPLETED 
pictures  created  the 
demand  for  MORE: 


"CHEATERS" 

"WHEN  STRANGERS  MEET" 
"TAKE  THE  STAND" 

"NO  RANSOM" 

'ONCE  TO  EVERY  BACHELOR" 
'TWO  HEADS  ON  A  PILLOW" 
"SCHOOL  FOR  GIRLS" 
"WITHOUT  CHILDREN" 


BY  DIRECT  WIRE  FROM 


Class  of  Service 


ThU  is  a  full-rare 
Telegram  or  Cable- 
pram  unless  its  de¬ 
ferred  character  is  in¬ 
dicated  by  a  suitable 
sign  above  or  preced¬ 
ing  the  address. 


WESTERN 

UNION 


urw/COMB  CARLTON 


SIGNS 


DL  “  Day  Letter 


KM  »  Night  Mown 


KL  -  Night  Letter 


LCO  -  Deferred  Cable 


NLT  —  Cable  Night  Letter 


WLT  -  Week-End  Letter 


J  C  rorr  viri  nludcnt 


LIBERTY  PRODUCING  REAL  BOX  OFFICE  ATTRACTIONS 
STOP  URGE  AT  LEAST  FOUR  MORE  FOR  THIS  SEASON 
REG ARDS=  HARRY  THOMAS 


•j  on  IFVE  ENLARGED 

F0LL  response  f«0“  a®'*1" 

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ith  FINE 


PROGRAM  WOULD  MEET 
N= 

DAVID  L  LOEW 


HEARTILY  ENDORSE  FOUR  MORE  STOP  GLAD  TO 
HAVE  ALL  YOU  PRODUCE*  JACK  BELLMAN  = 


HOLLYWOOD  FILM  EXCHANGES- 


LIBERTY  PICTURES  CORP. 


M.  H.  HOFFMAN,  President 

Path*  Studios,  CULVER  CITY,  CALIF. 


BUDD  ROGERS,  Gen’l  Sales  MSr. 

1776  Broadway,  NEW  YORK 


DISTRIBUTED 

BY 


HOLLYWOOD  FILM  EXCHANGE. 


30 


Nov  1 T  34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


With 

CANDY 

HANDY 

“The  Show’s  a  Wow!” 

Keep  44 America'1  s  Best ” 

CANDY 

HANDY 

thru  a  Berio  Candy  Vendor 

Your  Patrons  will  appreciate  this 
added  Service 


Your  Account  will  welcome  this 
added  Revenue 


Berio  Installations  Made  in 
Finishes  to  Harmonize  with 
Your  Interior 


BERLO 

VENDING 

COMPANY 

1518  N.  Broad  St.,  Phila. 

POPLAR  6011 

Specializing  in  Candy 
Vending  Equipment; 
for  the  Theatre  Trade! 


NEW  YORK  BALTIMORE 

SCRANTON  WASHINGTON 

ALLENTOWN  CLEVELAND 

PITTSBURGH  CINCINNATI 


Bike  Contest 

For  “Six-Day  Bike  Rider,”  Colonial  Theatre, 
Harrisburg,  manager  Harry  Lambert  presented 
moviegoers  a  big  series  of  stunts. 

Hundreds  of  children  participated  in  a  bicycle 
speed  contest  conducted  in  the  theatre  lobby 
during  the  showing  of  the  picture.  The  set-up 
consisted  of  two  bicycles,  one  for  a  girl  and 
another  for  a  boy,  with  mileage  machines  at¬ 
tached.  The  girl  peddling  the  most  mileage  in 
six  minutes  won  the  girl’s  bicycle,  and  the  boy 
peddling  the  most  mileage  in  a  similar  period 
won  the  boy’s  bicycle. 

In  another  tie-up  with  the  Hershey  Creamery 
Company,  Harrisburg,  hundreds  of  children 
participated  in  a  contest  with  three  Speed-O- 
Bikes  as  the  prizes. 

Children  were  instructed  to  bring  with  them 
to  the  Harrisburg  Colonial  ice-cream  box 
tops  of  the  Hershey  Creamery  Company,  which 
were  numbered.  Upon  entering  the  theatre  they 
deposited  the  tops  in  a  box.  Three  of  the  tops 
were  drawn  from  the  box  on  the  theatre  stage 
on  Saturday  night  and  the  three  small  bicycles 
were  presented  to  the  winners. 


Personal  Plug 

Because  “What  Every  Woman  Knows,” 
Loew’s  Regent  Theatre,  Harrisburg,  offered 
little  room  for  sensational  exploitation,  man¬ 
ager  Samuel  Gilman  inserted  in  Harrisburg 
newspapers  a  commending  personal  letter,  two 
columns  wide  and  seven  inches  long. 


Stilt  Walkers 

L.  J.  Millet  and  his  wife,  Sonya,  Albany, 
N.  Y.,  professional  stilt  walkers,  were  used  at 
Regent  Theatre,  Harrisburg,  by  manager  Sam¬ 
uel  Gilman,  in  exploitation  of  “Transatlantic 
Merry-Go-Round.” 


Conway’s  Revivals 

Joe  Conway,  Egyptian  Theatre,  asked  his 
patrons  for  their  votes  on  revival  week.  Self- 
addressed  envelopes  insured  getting  the  replies 
back  to  the  house. 


Direct  Contact 

Morton  Levine,  manager,  Opera  House,  Wil¬ 
mington,  was  quick  with  an  idea  when  the 
newspapers  stopped  running  daily  readers  tell¬ 
ing  about  the  current  feature.  He  installed  in 
the  lobby  a  table,  with  a  registry  book,  and  a 
placard  over  it  instructing  persons  who  wished 
to  be  called  over  the  telephone  and  to  d  about 
the  plot  or  players  in  the  feature  films  or  any 
other  information  about  the  program,  to  regis¬ 
ter  their  name  and  telephone  numbers.  Morton 
Pragg,  assistant,  answers  most  of  the  calls. 


SERVING  theatre  needs  with 
a  knowledge  of  theatre 
business. 

Jl  SSISTING  theatre  owners  with 
a  staff  of  trained  clerks  and 
0  %  office  files.  No  missouts. 

FREEING  theatre  owners  of  the 
worry  that  they  may  have 
forgotten  part  of  their  show. 

FFICIENTLY  operating  the  larg¬ 
est  film  delivery  service  in 
the  world. 

Taking  care  of  every 

possible  need  in  the  delivery 
of  film. 

IELDING  the  epitome  of 
safety,  service  and  effici¬ 
ency  at  a  minimum  cost. 


HORLACHER 

DELIVERY  SERVICE,  Inc. 

1228  Vine  Street,  Philadelphia 
NEW  YORK 
SCRANTON 
BALTIMORE 
WASHINGTON 

MEMBER  NATIONAL  FILM  CARRIERS,  INC. 


Another  Horlacher  Service 

LARRY  DAILY,  Notary  Public 

The  only  one  on  Vine  Street  .  .  At 
your  service  any  time  during 
business  hours. 


The  FINEST  SERVICE  on  FILM  RO  W  / 

SPECIAL  RATES  TO  FILM  PEOPLE: 

Parking  All  Day  ........ 

High  Pressure  Washing  (any  type  car) 

TOW-CAR  SERVICE  —  ANY  PLACE  —  ANY  TIME 

25c 

75c 

iwj, 

APEX  OARAGE 

249-51-53  N.  JUNIPER  STREET  .  Avi^ 

Phone:  LOCUST  S604  -  -  PHILADELPHIA 

Becker  Bros.,  Props. 

Road  Service  to  Patrons  -  Mechanic  Always  on  Duty  -  Never  dosed 

“THE  GAY  DIVORCEE 


IS  THE  HOLD-OVER  SENSATION 

INDUSTRY 


Nov  1'34  pg.  31 


LAST 


WEEK 


EIGHT  OPENINGS. .  EIGHT  RECORDS 


AND  EIGHT  HOLD-OVERS 

★  ★  ★  ★ 

This  week  more  than  30  openings . . .  East,  West,  North  and  South 
. . .  in  Warner  Houses,  RKO  Houses,  Independent  Houses,  and 
with  all  Circuits  represented,  the  story  is  the  same.  Records  of 
all  kinds  are  being  shot  to  pieces  . . .  it’s  topping  “Flying  Down 
To  Rio”  and  “Little  Women”,  last  year’s  champs,  and  any  other 
shows  you  want  to  name. 

★  ★  ★  ★ 

As  this  goes  to  press  at  4  P.  M.  Monday ,  October 
22nd r  it  looks  like  another  100%  week  of  Holdovers l 

Book  it ..... .  Sell  it  ..... .  and  keep  your  dates 

open  for  a  Holdover! . RKO  RADIO  PICTURE 

Starring  Fred  Astaire  and  Ginger  Rogers  with  Alice  Brady 

Edward  Everett  Horton  . . .  Directed  by  Mark  Sandrich  . . .  Dance  Ensembles  by  Dave  Gould  . . .  Pandro  S.  Berman  Production 

. _ .  -  -  -- : _ : . — ^ 


32 


Nov  1'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Young  Timers  Okay 

Keeping  a  crowd  of  children  from  annoying 
adult  patrons,  talking  loud  and  whistling  with¬ 
out  the  use  of  police  methods  is  a  problem  for 
any  “nabe”  manager,  but  Ben  Schindler,  man¬ 
ager,  Avenue,  Wilmington,  and  his  assistant, 
G.  Park  Weaver,  are  finding  notable  success 
in  a  plan. 

Weaver  takes  the  lead  in  the  movement  by 
organizing  the  youths  in  an  organization  they 
call  “Young  Timers.”  At  their  meetings  they 
make  rules  concerning  behavior  in  the  theatre 
and  a’so  the  kind  of  pictures  they  like.  Satur¬ 
day  matinees  they  have  color  guards  on  duty, 
flag  ceremonies  and  a  number  of  little  stunts 
that  impress  them  and  put  them  on  their  own 
good  behavior.  Members  wear  badges,  and  as 
an  inducement  to  continuance  of  the  movement, 
a  half  dozen  or  so  free  tickets  are  given  out 
for  special  merits.  All  told,  Schindler  finds  that 
it  has  solved  a  problem  that  has  bothered  nearly 
every  manager  that  has  ever  operated  this  par¬ 
ticular  theatre. 


Cadet  Band  Clicks 

Loew’s  Ladies’  Cadet  Band,  sponsored  by 
Samuel  Gilman,  manager,  Loew’s  Regent  The- 
tre,  Harrisburg,  made  its  first  radio  broadcast 
over  Harrisburg  station  WHP  under  the  direc¬ 
tion  of  Capt.  J.  P.  McKenzie. 

Organized  less  than  two  months  ago,  the  band 
has  grown  rapidly  to  seventy-five  members 
ranging  in  ages  from  five  to  nineteen  years. 
Full  credit  for  the  success  of  the  organization 
is  given  by  Manager  Gilman  to  Captain  Mc¬ 
Kenzie,  former  U.  S.  Army  officer,  and  his  five 
assistants. 


Booking  Theatres 
Everywhere 

Honest  ::  Reliable 
Conscientious 
Service 

EDWARD  SHERMAN 

VAUDEVILLE  AGENCY 

Real  Estate  Trust  Bldg. 
PHILADELPHIA 

Pennypacker  7595 

MAYFAIR  THEATRE  BLDG.,  NEW  YORK 
BR.  9-1905 


years’  experience— 
behind  every  register 


For  50  years  General  Register  Corpo¬ 
ration  and  associated  companies  have 
been  designing  and  building  cash  con¬ 
trol  equipmenYfor  the  theatre,  carrying 
an  unqualified  two  year  guarantee  on 
all  registers. 

Representation  in  oil  key  cities. 


GENERAL  REGISTER 
CORPORATION 

1540  Broadway,  New  York 


Benefit  for  Industry 

High  school  girls  sold  tickets  for  “Have  a 
Heart,”  presented  at  the  Ritz  Theatre,  Dan¬ 
ville,  for  the  benefit  of  the  Teson  Silk  Mills, 
Inc. 

Joseph  G.  Wolfe,  owner  of  the  mill,  moved 
his  plant  from  Patterson  to  Danville  upon 
promise  of  the  Danville  Chamber  of  Commerce 
to  pay  him  $1000.  Half  of  this  amount  was 
paid  from  subscriptions.  Short  $100  of  the  re¬ 
maining  half,  which  was  due  Wolfe,  Chamber 
officials  sponsored  the  benefit  movie. 


Courtesy  Week  Film 

A.  N.  Champion  and  George  S.  Gillette  Na¬ 
tional  Courtesy  Week  Association,  were  ex¬ 
pected  to  finish  before  November  1,  production 
in  Harrisburg  of  a  film  to  be  shown  at  a 
Wilmer  and  Vincent  theatre  in  Harrisburg, 
during  the  week  of  November  1. 


VanMeter  Active 

Dwight  VanMeter,  new  manager,  Aldine,  put 
on  a  big  ballyhoo  for  “Six  Day  Bike  Race”  in 
Wilmington.  Two  bicycle  riders  peddled  on  top 
of  the  marquee  in  a  three-day  endurance  test. 
Dwight  had  a  tie-up  with  the  Brandywine  Milk 
Company  for  twelve  prizes  of  18  days’  supply 
of  milk  each,  to  patrons  who  guessed  the  mile¬ 
ages  of  the  two  bike  peddlers  each  day.  Mile¬ 
age  meter  of  the  two  bikes  were  kept  sealed, 
and  each  night  the  results  announced  over 
WDEL.  Besides  this  stunt,  VanMeter  put  on 
a  cross  country  bicycle  race,  Saturday,  which 
included  the  circling  of  the  football  field  where 
Wi'mington  High  was  playing  one  of  its  big¬ 
gest  games.  The  race  ended  at  the  theatre 
and  a  cup  was  awarded  the  winner  and  several 
tickets  for  the  nearest  trailers. 

Idea  went  over  big. 

Van  Meter  has  some  other  big  stunts  lined 
up. 


ONLY  EXPERIENCE, 
PRIDE  IN  WORK  AND 
REPUTATION  INSURE 

.  .  .  .  PERFECTION 

It  takes  more  than  a  lot  of  modern  equipment  to 
turn  out  a  finished  work.  Only  a  plant  with  repu¬ 
tation,  with  years  of  fair  dealing  and  good  will 
behind  it,  with  a  record  for  accomplishing  things 
can  really  serve.  National  Penn  Printing  Company 
not  only  has  equipment  that  few  theatrical  print¬ 
ing  shops  in  the  country  can  equal,  but  it  has  the 
other  above  named  advantages  as  well. 

Exhibitors  Are  Sold  on  Our  Service 

No  more  need  be  said  but  that  some  of  the  ex¬ 
hibitors  now  being  served  by  us  have  been  on  our 
books  as  long  as  we  have  been  in  business.  And 
exhibitors  who  are  being  lined  up  daily  by  us 
testify,  immediately,  that  the  National  Penn  type 
of  printing  fits  their  every  need.  In  this  age  of 
perfection  and  service,  National  Penn  is  in  a  posi¬ 
tion  to  guarantee  not  only  speedy  delivery  but 
perfection  performance. 

NATIONAL  PENN  PRINTING  CO. 

1233  Vine  Street,  Philadelphia 

OSCAR  LIBROS  SIMON  LIBROS  AL  BLOFSON 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Nov  1  ’  34 


33 


Warren  Heads  New  Control  Corporation 

of  America,  Sponsors  New  Development 


Modern  Cooling,  Heating,  Venti¬ 
lating  Apparatus  Ready  for  All 
Houses  at  Low  Rates 


What  must  be  considered  as  one  of  the 
most  important  announcements  in  many 
years  in  the  equipment  field  has  resulted 
from  the  announcement  that  Chrysler- 
made  equipment  for  the  cooling,  heating 
and  ventilation  of  theatres  will  be  sold, 
distributed  and  installed  exclusively  in  the 
United  States  by  the  Control  Corporation 
of  America,  headed  and  formed  by  F.  B. 
Warren. 

Exhibitors  will  hail  this  announcement  as  the 
entrance  of  a  new,  scientific,  practical,  economi¬ 
cal  unit  into  the  field,  to  be  sold  on  a  sane,  easy 
to  pay  financing  plan.  The  new  idea,  further¬ 
more,  will  allow  the  smallest  theatre  to  com¬ 
pete  with  the  biggest  theatres  in  the  country  in 
the  cooling  and  ventilating  line. 

Entry  into  the  air-conditioning  field  was  an¬ 
nounced  recently  by  the  motor  manufacturer 
whose  son,  Walter  P.  Chrysler,  Jr.,  as  presi¬ 
dent  heads  Airtemp  Incorporated,  the  world  dis¬ 
tributing  organization  which  will  itself  handle 
all  sales,  under  the  sales  management  of  H.  C. 
Jamerson,  except  in  the  theatre  classification 
granted  to  Warren’s  company.  For  the  manu¬ 
facture  of  the  equipment  itself,  in  all  fields  of 
air-conditioning,  there  is  the  Chrysler-owned 
Amplex  Corporation  with  its  great  plant  in 
Detroit. 

Readiness  to  make  immediate  surveys  and  in- 
stal'ations  in  theatres  is  confirmed  by  Warren 
with  the  statement  that  equipments  are  avail¬ 
able  for  quick  delivery  and  that  the  executive 
operating  staff  of  the  Control  Corporation  has 
been  named.  Head  of  the  engineering  staff  will 
be  Andre  Merle,  one  of  the  refrigeration  indus¬ 
try's  leading  experts,  and  all  engineering  and  air- 
conditioning  equipment  problems  will  be  under 
his  direction.  Merle’s  experience  in  air  condition¬ 
ing  dates  from  his  discharge  from  the  military 
service  in  1922.  While  with  the  Carrier  Engi¬ 
neering  Corporation  he  worked  on  the  design 
and  installation  of  such  plans  as  the  Chrysler 


Cut  Hot  Advertising 

It  doesn’t  seem  possible,  in  view  of 
the  current  clean  picture  agitation,  that 
any  theatre  would  use  printed  advertis¬ 
ing  that  is  not  only  of  the  salacious  type 
but  deceptive  because  picture  in  ques¬ 
tion  does  not  contain  any  material  of  the 
nature  publicized,  but  apparently  there 
are  exhibitors  who  don’t  care  about 
public  reaction. 

Recently,  some  heralds  which  have 
been  brought  into  this  office  can  be  said 
to  cross  the  border  mark  as  far  as  good 
taste  is  concerned. 

The  smart  exhibitor  is  the  one  who 
doesn’t  subordinate  his  sense  of  judg¬ 
ment  to  the  prospect  of  a  few  more  dol¬ 
lars  which  might  come  in  but  which 
don’t. 

It  pays  to  be  smart. 


and  Lincoln  Buildings,  New  York,  and  the  J. 
L.  Hudson  department  store,  Detroit. 

For  the  last  three  years  he  has  been  connected 
with  Clyde  R.  Place,  eminent  consulting  engi¬ 
neer  in  air-conditioning,  and  for  Place  has 
worked  on  the  Rockefeller  Center  development 
including  stores  and  theatres,  and  on  the  design 
of  the  new  Government  Archives  Building  in 
Washington,  D.  C.  Value  of  the  air-condition¬ 
ing,  cooling  and  refrigeration  work  under 
Merle’s  supervision  on  these  developments  alone 
exceeds  $10,000,000.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
American  Society  of  Heating  and  Ventilating 
Engineers  and  the  American  Society  of  Mili¬ 
tary  Engineers. 

William  E.  Harkness  will  be  the  traffic  and 
contracting  consultant.  Harkness  for  thirty 
years  was  with  the  American  Telephone  and 
Telegraph  Company,  and  for  years  head  of  its 
radio  activities.  He  will  be  executive  adviser 
to  Warren. 

Arthur  E.  Ralph,  for  years  with  Electrical 
Research  Products,  Inc.,  and  prior  to  that  with 
R.  Hoe  &  Co.,  and  the  Winchester  Arms  Co., 
will  head  Control’s  division  of  survey  and  in- 
stal'ation  as  well  as  be  assistant  treasurer  of 
the  corporation.  Ralph  was  plant  engineer  of 
Winchester  Repeating  Arms  Co. 

Magnus,  Secretary 

I.  M.  Magnus  will  be  secretary. 

Announcement  of  the  personnel  of  the  sales 
organization  will  be  made  shortly.  Installations 
will  be  handled  on  time  payments. 

Walter  P.  Chrysler’s  entry  into  air-condition¬ 
ing  has  been  the  signal  for  an  immensely  quick¬ 
ened  interest  and  activity  in  this  vast  new 
industry. 

F.  B.  Warren’s  return  to  personal  operation 
within  the  theatre  field  comes  after  six  years 
association  with  Electrical  Research  Products, 
Inc.,  as  a  sales  executive.  For  twenty  years 
he  has  been  known  to  virtually  every  owner 
or  exhibitor  factor  in  control  of  the  nation’s 
theatres.  He  was  one  of  the  founders  as  well 
as  vice-president  in  charge  of  sales  and  distri¬ 
bution  of  the  original  Goldwyn  Company,  later 
merged  with  Metro.  He  was  the  founder,  gen¬ 
eral  manager  and  his  own  sales  manager  of 
Associated  Producers. 

Warren  will  retire  from  ERPI  December  31. 


“Flirtation”  Dance  Tieup 

In  addition  to  the  special  trailer  already  pre¬ 
pared  on  Warner  Bros.’  “Flirtation  Walk/’ 
company  announces  a  flash  trailer  which  will  be 
included  on  the  regular  theatre  newsreels.  This 
trailer,  which  has  been  made  in  conjunction 
with  Arthur  Murray,  well-known  dance  in¬ 
structor,  is  aimed  at  popularizing  the  “Flirtation 
Walk"  dance. 


Tasker  Heads  S.  M.  P.  E. 

Homer  G.  Tasker,  chief  engineer  of  the 
United  States  Research  Corporation,  was 
elected  president  of  the  Society  of  Motion  Pic¬ 
ture  Engineers,  which  met  in  convention  this 
week,  at  the  Hotel  Pennsylvania,  New  York 
City.  Other  officers  chosen  were  Emery  Huse, 
executive  vice-president;  John  J.  Crabtree,  edi¬ 
torial  vice-president ;  W.  C.  Kunzman,  conven¬ 
tion  vice-president ;  J.  H.  Kurlander,  secretary, 
and  T.  E.  Shea,  Bell  Telephone  Laboratories, 
treasurer.  M.  C.  Batsel  and  S.  K.  Wolf  were 
elected  to  the  board  of  governors. 


every  time 


RCA  VICTOR 
PHOTOPHONE 
OFFERS: 

•  Unfailing  Sound  Satisfaction 

•  A  Sound  Box  Office  Attraction 

•  Complete  Ownership 

•  A  Self-Liquidating  Investment 

PHOTOPHONE  DIVISION 

RCA  VICTOR  COMPANY,  Inc. 

Camden,  N.  J. 

A  Radio  Corporation  of  America  Subsidiary 


34 


Nov  1’34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Two  More 


Protestant  Episcopal  Church  and 
Lutheran  Church  are  latest  to  pledge 
themselves  to  fight  salacious  pictures. 

Bodies,  meeting  in  Atlantic  City  and 
the  south,  went  on  record  as  organizing 
their  own  legions  of  decency  to  fight  any 
objectionable  pictures. 


WILKES-BARRE 


Comerfords  are  going  to  promote  road  shows. 
Irem  Temple  aud.torium  will  be  used  in¬ 
stead  of  the  Irving. 

New  Y.  M.  C.  A.  is  sponsoring  Saturday  night 
movies. 

Fred  Hermann,  Capitol,  finds  the  cavity  left 
by  his  missing  tooth  a  handy  place  to 
park  his  cigar. 

Lewd  films,  shown  at  an  inn  in  the  mountains, 
netted  ten  arrests  when  county  detectives 
and  State  police  raided  the  place. 

Irving  manager,  A1  Cox,  is  back  on  Saturday 
openings. 

Matinee  at  the  Shawnee  in  Plymouth  was 
cancelled  by  Bill  Roberts  when  the  whole 
town  turned  out  for  the  funeral  of  Dr. 
George  R.  Drake. 

Fred  Hermann  had  a  strip  in  the  "Times- 
Leader,”  in  connection  with  the  showing 
of  “Cleopatra.” 

A  Special  children’s  show  was  staged  at  the 
Capitol,  Saturday  morning. 

John  Galvin  is  delighted  w.th  the  success  of 
Amateur  Night  every  Thursday  at  the  Penn. 
He  packed  the  customers  in  last  Thurs¬ 
day.  John  took  time  off  Tuesday  to  serve 
as  a  judge  at  a  Hallowe’en  affair  on  the 
West  Side  for  dear  old  charity’s  sake.  Your 
correspondent  also  helped  with  the  honors. 

Burgess  J.  J.  Lukaski,  Dupont,  gave  two 
youngsters  a  dose  of  castor  oil  as  a  sen¬ 
tence  last  week  when  they  were  haled  be¬ 
fore  him,  charged  with  loitering  around 
a  mov  e  house  after  9  P.  M. 

George  Bittinger,  Kingston,  was  host  to  mem¬ 
bers  of  the  circulation  staff  of  the  ”Re- 


READING 


“Bill”  Heckman,  operating  a  house  in  Laurel- 
dale,  closed  after  a  good  month,  cold 
weather  bringing  the  discovery  of  heating 
difficulties. 

Orpheum  Theatre  opened  with  good  stock 
company. 

Capitol,  Wilmer  and  Vincent  house,  w.ll  pre¬ 
sent  high  class  musical  comedy,  in  flesh, 
November  7. 

Reading  theatres  in  general  report  better 
business  with  coming  of  colder  weather 
and  closing  of  parks. 

Cornelius  G.  Keeney  is  making  a  big  play 
for  publicity  with  the  introduction  of  a  15- 
man  orchestra. 

A1  Nowitsky,  State,  is  socking  them  right  on 
the  schnozzle  this  season  with  good  foot¬ 
ball  film. 

Suburban  Reading  is  offering  a  lot  of  good 
opportunities  for  10,  15  and  25-cent 

neighborhood  houses  at  present,  but  own¬ 
ers  of  available  buildings  are  holding 
rentals  at  figures  too  high  to  give  theatre 
men  who  want  to  lease  a  decent  break. 

Loew’s,  Bob  Suits  manager,  capitalized  in  a 
big  way  on  the  "Quarry  Slave”  news  story 
that  broke  here  this  month.  He  joined 
with  the  Reading  ‘‘Times”  in  front  page 
publicity  for  merchants  who  employed  a 
chaperone  to  bring  the  younger  girl,  the 
one  who  had  been  beaten  by  one  of  her 
employers,  to  Reading,  and  to  make  the 
rounds  of  their  stores  to  receive  gifts.  Gift 
garments  the  girl  received  were  the  first 
fine  clothing  the  girl  ever  owned.  Loew’s 
entertained  her  as  a  special  guest  at  a 
showing  of  ‘‘What  Every  Woman  Knows.” 


cord”  in  connection  with  the  showing  of 
“The  Scarlet  Empress.” 

When  “Treasure  Island”  was  shown  at  the 
Kingston,  a  charming  young  woman  in 
pirate’s  costume  served  samples  of  Treas¬ 
ure  Island  cake. 

Two  thousand  Junior  Firemen  of  Wilkes- 
Barre  were  guests  at  a  theatre  party  at 
the  Orpheum  Saturday  morning,  thanks  to 
the  Comerfords,  Fire  Chief  Thomas  Flan¬ 
nery  and  “The  Record.” 


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READY 

REFERENCE 

EACH  COMPANY  LISTED  IS  AN 
AUTHORITY  IN  ITS  FIELD  AND 
IS  RELIABLE  AND  TRUSTWORTHY 


ACCOUNTANT  (Theatre  Spec.) 

Edwin  r.  Harris 

CERTIFIED  PUBLIC  ACCOUNTANT 

Denkla  Bldg.,  Philadelphia 

Specializing  in  Theatre  Bookkeeping.  Profit  and  Loss 
Statements  and  State  and  Federal  Tax  Returns 
for  more  than  19  years 

THE  SMALL  MONTHLY  SUM  WILL  SURPRISE  YOU 


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Remodeling  »  Building 


LATEST  COMPLETED 

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Camden, 

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246  S.  15th  St.,  Phila.,  Pa.  Pennypacker  2291 


BUSINESS  BROKER 


THEATRES  WANTED 

Philadelphia,  Up-State,  New  Jersey  and  Delaware 

Cash  no  object  if  priced  right 

Our  Dealings  Are  Strictly  Confidential 

M.  H.  GOODIS,  Inc.,  1201  Chestnut  St. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 


CHAIRS  (used  theatre) 


LARGLST  DEALERS 

IN  USLD  CHAIRS 

Re-Setting  Re-Upholstering 

Re-Conditioning 

“Servastone”  for  cracked  concrete 
floors 

Parts  for  all  chairs  Slip  Covers 

ALLIED  SEATING  COMPANY 

358  W.  44th  St..  New  York  N  Y. 


DECORATIVE  GLASS 


We  specialize  in  GLASS  for  Theatres 

Specify:  VARICOLITE 

See  the  new  mirror  booth  at  the 
IRIS  THEATRE,  Kensington  and  Allegheny 
Write  for  particulars  and  samples 

M.  KRAKOVITZ  AND  SONS,  CO. 

4TH  AND  MORRIS  STREETS,  PHILA. 
Dewey  8600  Main  2301 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Nov  1'34 


35 


Contact  Federal  Housing 


Exhibitors  should  contact  the  local 
offices  of  the  Federal  Housing  Adminis¬ 
tration  in  order  to  insure  their  getting 
from  $100-$2000  to  renovate  and  repair 
their  theatres.  Not  only  owners  but 
operators  of  houses  can  effect  the  loans, 
which  are  payable  in  from  1-3  years, 
at  low  rates  of  interest,  with  the  bank 
lending  the  money,  guaranteed  by  the 
government. 

Harry  Barrist  is  on  the  local  commit¬ 
tee,  contacting  theatres.  His  offices  at 
261  N.  Broad  Street  are  open  daily  for 
further  explanation.  He  asserts  it  is  the 
duty  of  all  exhibitors  to  secure  the  loans 
in  order  that  more  money  be  put  in  cir¬ 
culation  and  the’r  houses  improved.  See 
him  for  further  details. 


Heard  In~ 

r E 


N  T  O  N 


Labor  Matter 
Settled  Here 


James  Conklin,  house  manager  RKO  Broad 
Theatre,  staged  a  real  wedding  on  the 
stage,  October  1  8,  in  a  tie-up  with  merch¬ 
ants.  March  of  the  wedding  party  up  the 
theatre  aisle  and  the  ceremony  climaxed 
a  two-day  trade  affair. 

Ogden  D.  Wilkinson,  owner-manager,  State 
Theatre,  re-opened  the  playhouse  pre¬ 
senting  stage  attraction.  State  is  part 
of  a  chain  of  theatres  presenting  stage 
shows  under  the  direction  of  Wee  and 
Leventhal.  State  was  formerly  operated 
by  W.  C.  Hunt. 

NRA  Labor  Board  reinstated  operators  Ed¬ 
ward  and  Dominick  Cruciana,  Victoria 
Theatre  and  upheld  discharge  of  Edward 
Malkowski,  Princess  Theatre,  on  appeal  of 
the  three  motion  picture  project. onists. 
Three  operators  belonged  to  the  Indepen¬ 
dent  Projectionists  and  Stage  Employees 
Union.  All  three  got  their  jobs  some 
years  ago  as  a  result  of  a  strike  which 
resulted  in  outing  the  1ATSE  from  the 
Victory  and  Princess.  All  three  opera¬ 
tors  were  discharged  April  1  5  when  the 
theatre  owner-managers  signed  a  closed- 
shop  agreement  with  the  1A.  Newark,  N.  J. 
Regional  Board  ruled  in  July  that  the  three 
discharges  were  justified  and  the  indepen¬ 
dent  union  appealed  to  the  Washington, 
D.  C.,  board.  In  ordering  the  reinstate¬ 
ment  NRA  Labor  Relations  Board  ruled 
that  two  operators  must  be  recognized  as 
representatives  for  collective  bargaining. 
Malkowski,  lone  operator.  Princess  The¬ 
atre,  couldn’t  bargain  collectively,  thus  the 
company  didn’t  violate  Section  7-A  of  the 
Recovery  Act  when  it  refused  to  nego¬ 
tiate  an  agreement  with  him. 

Mrs.  Helen  B.  Hildinger,  treasurer,  Hildinger 
Company,  operating  the  Victory  and 
Princess  Theatres,  represented  the  the¬ 
atres  at  the  taking  of  testimony. 

RKO  Lincoln  Theatre  has  installed  new  RCA 
High  Fidelity  sound. 

Bijou  management  staged  benefit  for  unem¬ 
ployed,  proceeds  going  to  the  Mercer 
Countv  ERA  Welfare  Association. 

Gaiety  Theatre,  John  Bodley,  manager,  at¬ 
tracts  b  g  business  with  Wednesday  night 
audition  for  aspiring  crooners,  dancers 
and  other  performers  at  the  microphone. 


U  P  -  S  T AT  E 


Mr.  and  Mrs.  Claude  J.  Knol  announce  the 
birth  of  a  son,  Claude  John  Knol,  Jr.,  on 
October  11.  Mrs.  Knol  was  Miss  Mary 
Runk,  former  cashier,  Colonial  Theatre, 
Harrisburg. 

Majestic  Theatre,  Harrisburg,  manager  Jack 
O’Rear,  is  playing  for  three  days  only  sev- 
era  pictures.  In  the  lobby  of  the  Majestic 
manager  O’Rear  had  on  display  the  work¬ 
ing  model  of  the  new  Swedish  American 
l  ne  steamship,  Kungholm.  It  was  sent  to 
Harrisburg  from  the  Chicago  World’s 
Fair. 

Three  new  semi-shadow  electric  box  display 
frames  have  been  installed  in  the  inner 
lobby  at  the  Colonial,  Harrisburg,  adding 
to  the  appearance. 

Mrs.  Henrietta  Arnold,  Colonial,  Harrisburg, 
cashier,  continues  her  star  equestrienne 
performances. 

Harvey  Keddey  new  doorman,  Majestic,  Har¬ 
risburg,  can  tell  some  interesting  stories 
of  a  circus  life. 

Manager  O’Rear  scooped  the  city  at  his 
Majestic  on  the  newsreel  shots  of  the 
assassination. 

C.  Floyd  Hopkins,  Wilmer  and  Vincent,  was 
general  chairman  of  the  Health  Bond  Sale. 

New  screen  has  been  installed  at  Loew’s 
Regent. 

Strand  Theatre,  Steelton,  October  24,  ar¬ 
ranged  benefit  motion  picture  show  to  raise 
funds  for  Steelton’s  Hallowe’en  celebra¬ 
tion. 

For  “One  Night  of  Love”  at  the  Hershey 
Community  Theatre,  Hershey,  manager 
John  B.  Sollenberger  had  an  attractive 
window  display  of  Grace  Moore  perfume 
at  one  of  the  leading  women’s  shops  of 
Harrisburg. 

State  Theatre,  Harrisburg,  closed  for  the 
summer,  will  open  November  8,  to  play 
"Roberta.”  Francis  A.  Deverter  will  man¬ 
age  State  for  this  show. 

State,  Easton,  and  Colonial,  Allentown,  Wil¬ 
mer  &  Vincent  houses,  have  been  equip¬ 
ped  with  RCA  Victor  High  Fidelity  sound. 

Joseph  Shverha,  Shillington,  has  contracted 
for  the  installation  of  RCA  Victor  High 
Fidelity  sound  in  the  Shillington. 


Music  Tax  Due 

Exhibitors  generally  are  entering  into  the 
spirit  of  the  co-operation  effected  with  the 
American  Society. 

Deal  calls  for  an  increase,  but  compromised 
on  the  excessive  demands  wanted  by  the  Society. 
Next  year  may  tell  a  different  story. 


Friedlander  V.  P. 


A1  Friedlander,  assistant  to  Harry  H. 
Thomas,  pres:dent,  and  in  charge  of  ad¬ 
vertising  and  publicity  of  First  Division, 
has  just  been  elected  vice-president  of 
the  organization. 

Friedlander  has  been  associated  with 
the  firm  for  fourteen  years,  and  has 
acted  in  various  executive  capacit’es 
during  that  period.  He  made  film  his¬ 
tory  a  season  ago  with  his  exploitation 
campaign  on  “Goona  Goona.” 


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T  Attractive  Colors — Sewed  or  Painted 

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Above  Also  Sold  Outright.  Order  Direct  From 

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251-253  N.  13th  St.  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


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1305  VINE  STREET  -  PHILA.,  PA. 


36 


Nov  1’34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


No  Booth  Politics 


Reports  that  approaches  have  been 
made  to  operators  to  cut  out  clips  of  Re¬ 
publican  candidate  Schnader  from  news¬ 
reels  brought  the  assertion  from  Lew 
Krouse,  head  of  the  local  operators’ 
union,  that  such  tactics  would  not  be  tol¬ 
erated.  Krouse  said  the  members  have 
instructions  not  to  tamper  with  film  and 
lay  off  politics  while  at  their  jobs. 
Krouse  said  the  union  was  not  going 
to  stand  for  any  such  tampering. 


Heard  In ' 


C 


ROSSTOWN 

Still  Closing 
and  Opening 


Moe  Verbin  all  enthused  over  The  Blue 
Light,”  which  held  over  at  the  Europa. 

Artie  Cohn,  the  man  mountain  of  the  Earle, 
all  set  for  the  Eddie  Cantor  bill.  Cohn  is 
up  to  his  usual  and  unusual  tricks. 

Admiral  Theatre,  formerly  a  Fineman  and 
Spiers  house,  is  now  being  operated  by 
Dave  Shapiro.  It  is  reported  that  $30,000 
cash  was  involved  in  the  deal,  with  an 
$85,000  mortgage  for  10  years. 

Romeo  Celia,  head  of  the  musicians'  union, 
charges  that  unemployed  musicians  are 
starving  while  red  tape  and  discussion  are 
preventing  300  of  them  from  going  to 
work  on  LWD  jobs. 

Locust  Theatre  will  have  a  Sunday  tradeshow 
of  "The  White  Parade.” 

S-W  A  and  F  system  excited  a  lot  of  com¬ 
ment. 

Unit  at  Fay’s  broke  all  records  for  the  house, 
speaking  well  for  ingenuity  of  manager 
Sid  Stanley  and  chief  lieutenant  Lester 
Jeffries. 

George  Nonamaker  is  now  attached  to  the 
Fay’s  Theatre  forces  in  a  publicity  capac- 

.  ity’ 

Little  Theatre  is  again  go  ng  to  try  to  make  a 
go  of  it. 

Strand  Theatre,  Easton,  is  being  operated  by 
Eaco,  Inc. 

Harry  Schwalbe  has  taken  over  the  Forrest, 
Conshohocken,  and  has  closed  it. 

James  Hodgess  is  operating  in  Honey  Brook. 

Harry  Chertcoff  is  handling  the  Lititz  The¬ 
atre,  Lititz. 

Elite  Theatre  has  closed. 

Charles  Segall,  MPTO  head,  hopped  to  New 
York  City,  attended  one  of  the  AMPA 
luncheons. 

John  C.  Flinn,  Code  Authority  secretary,  was 
a  visitor  in  town  a  fortnight  ago.  He  in¬ 
spected  the  local  offices,  was  immensely 
pleased  with  progress  and  okayed  some 
improvements. 

New  RCA  Victor  High  Fidelity  sound  re¬ 
producing  apparatus  has  been  installed  in 
the  Mildred,  Mildred,  by  George  J.  Gatte. 

Wynne  Theatre,  Wynnefield,  has  been  con¬ 
veyed  from  the  Wynnefield  Theatres  Com¬ 
pany  to  Stanley  Company  of  America, 
subject  to  mortgage  of  $250,000. 

Lloyd  Seiber,  manager.  Hip,  Pottstown,  was 
stricken  with  appendicitis.  He  had  worked 
very  hard  in  opening  the  William  Gold¬ 
man  house. 

Capitol,  Chambersburg,  is  plugging  the  organ 
feature.  It  is  one  of  the  few  houses  in 
the  upstate  area  to  do  so. 


I.  T.  M.  NEWS 


Jack  Littow,  Eureka  Theatre,  is  the  new 
president.  Other  officers  elected  at  the 
October  25  meeting  include  Nathan  Mil- 
grim,  Lorraine,  vice-president;  J.  Ehrlick, 
Howard,  treasurer;  Rube  Shapiro,  Ritz, 
Oaklyn,  secretary;  Max  Korr,  New  Penn, 
financial  secretary. 

Members’  birthdays  are  as  follows:  Octo¬ 
ber  I  6,  Nathan  Milgram,  just  past  20. 

Wedding  anniversaries:  Kay  Katz,  Gem  The¬ 
atre,  October  18  (1st);  Joe  Kane,  York 
Theatre,  October  22;  M.  Philip,  Douglass 
Theatre,  October  1  6. 

Nat  Abelove  and  J.  Borofsky  are  publicity 
directors. 


Disney  Feature  Due 

“Snow  White,”  an  all-technicolor  cartoon 
feature,  will  be  completed  by  Walt  Disney  for 
release  in  1936,  at  a  cost  of  $250,000,  accord¬ 
ing  to  a  story  appearing  in  the  current  issue  of 
Fortune. 

Disney’s  idea  and  its  development  is  the  sub¬ 
ject  of  the  article,  which  is  of  certain  interest 
for  all  theatremen.  The  yarn  relates  how  Dis¬ 
ney  has  advanced  in  the  business,  how  he  hopped 
from  Powers  to  Columbia  to  UA  and  how  he 
is  desirous  of  boosting  the  appeal  of  the  shorts 
so  that  exhibitors  will  pay  more  money  for 
them  as  marquee  attractions. 

The  story  also  relates  that  Carl  Laemmle  told 
Disney,  at  one  time,  that  $15,000  is  enough 
to  spend  on  a  cartoon.  Disney  now  spends 
three  times  that  much. 


Buckley  Files 

Harry  Buckley,  New  York,  stockholder,  has 
filed  in  Chancery  Court,  Wilmington,  petition  for 
the  appointment  of  trustees  in  the  dissolution  of 
the  Art  Cinema  Corporation,  a  certificate  of 
dissolution  for  which  was  fi’ed  at  Dover  re¬ 
cently.  The  bill  urges  that  William  Jasie,  Den- 
nie  F.  O’Brien,  and  William  H.  Phillips,  direc¬ 
tors  of  the  concern,  be  appointed. 


Jones  Entertains 

George  Jones,  former  manager,  Loew’s  Park¬ 
way,  landed  an  even  better  theatre  in  Rich¬ 
mond.  Jones,  before  leaving  Wilmington,  held 
“open  house”  in  the  Hotel  duPont.  Among 
those  who  dropped  in  for  “bon  voyage”  were 
William  L.  Mapel,  new  executive  editor,  New 
Publishing  Company,  and  other  officials  of  the 
publishing  company.  Several  of  the  theatre 
men  dropped  in  during  the  evening.  Party  also 
served  to  introduce  D.  C.  Drissell,  new  man¬ 
ager,  brought  in. 


Nineteen  Years  Ago  in  Philadelphia 


Samuel  L.  Rothapfel  (Roxy)  was  guest  of 
honor  at  Continental  Hotel  with  Edward 
J.  O’Keefe,  Atlantic  City,  acting  as  toast¬ 
master.  Among  those  present  were  James 
Jefferies,  C.  C.  Powell,  H.  Battersby,  Wil¬ 
liam  Goldenberg,  J.  Pierce,  Herbert  Given, 
C.  Stamper,  G.  Howard,  Joseph  Dougherty 
and  Marcus  Benn. 

M.  Segal  purchased  the  Apollo  Theatre  and 
began  renovations. 

M.  Misler  bought  Cumberland  Theatre,  26th 
and  Cumberland. 

Harry  Tyson,  Fairmount  Feature  Films, 
bought  a  new  car. 

Louis  L.  Swaab  obtained  the  agency  for  the 
Newman  ticket  chopper. 


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134  So.  11th  St.  Phila.,  Pa. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Nov  1*34 


37 


YORK 


Sid  Poppay,  when  “The  Case  of  the  Howling 
Dog”  played  the  Rialto,  made  a  big  play 
on  the  fact  that  the  picture  was  adapted 
from  a  story  which  was  published  in 
“Liberty.”  For  the  same  picture  he  im¬ 
printed  paper  bags  for  a  local  store,  and 
gave  away  200  old  copies  of  detective 
story  books. 

George  Morangelo,  Rialto  assistant  manager, 
took  it  upon  himself  to  plug  a  pro-football 
short,  just  as  the  football  season  was  get¬ 
ting  under  way,  and  erected  a  one  sheet 
in  front  of  the  theatre  on  the  short. 

Portrait  photographs  of  Shirley  Temple, 
“Now  and  Forever,”  d.stributed  to  patrons 
of  the  Ritz  and  Rialto,  were  the  highlights 
of  the  exploitation  campaign  Irving  Dunn 
put  on. 

Nick  Altrock,  baseball  comedian,  was  pre¬ 
sented  on  the  stage  of  the  Sylvania  The¬ 
atre,  New  Freedom. 

Joe  Wheeler,  Lion,  Red  Lion,  is  staging  spe¬ 
cial  Kiddie  shows  every  Saturday  morning. 

Stage  shows  at  the  Strand  were  g.ven  a 
rousing  reception  on  October  1  8,  when  the 
first  one  was  presented.  Mayor  Harry  B. 
Anstine  was  on  hand  to  give  the  introduc¬ 
tion  of  “in  the  flesh”  performances,  an 
official  touch.  Leonard  Schlesinger  and 
Jack  Flynn,  Philadelphia  zone,  were  also  on 
hand.  Stage  shows  are  now  an  added 
attraction  on  Thursday,  Friday  and  Sat¬ 
urday  of  each  week,  with  a  program  of 
motion  pictures  only,  on  Monday,  Tuesday 
and  Wednesday.  With  the  change  of  pol¬ 
icy  at  the  Strand  the  deluxe  pictures  which 
formerly  showed  there  have  been  trans¬ 
ferred  to  the  Capitol.  Manager  of  the  four 
York  Warner  Brothers’  theatres,  together 
with  the  district  manager,  Will'am  Israel, 
formed  a  reception  committee  on  the 
opening  night. 

Abe  A.  Halle,  from  Pittsburgh  zone,  where 
he  worked  under  Ed  Moore,  former  York 
manager,  has  been  assigned  to  the  Capitol 
Theatre,  while  Irving  Dunn  has  been  sent 
back  to  his  former  domain,  Ritz.  Bob  Mil¬ 
ler  goes  back  to  his  old  post  at  the  Capi¬ 
tol,  Lancaster. 

Paul  Rhodes,  assistant  manager,  Capitol, 
went  out  to  plug  “Now  and  Forever.”  He 
was  given  a  seven  inch,  three  column 
newspaper  ad  by  one  of  the  leading  de¬ 
partment  stores,  free,  in  addition  to  coun¬ 
ter  displays  on  the  picture  during  a  spe¬ 
cial  Shirley  Temple  dress  sale. 

Charles  Moyer,  State,  Hanover,  staged  an 
essay  contest  on  “British  Agent.” 

Rialto  evening  prices  have  been  reduced  from 
30  to  25  cents. 

Cleon  Miller,  co-operated  w'th  the  York 
Cycle  Company  in  giving  away  a  bicycle 
during  the  week  “Six  Day  Bike  Rider” 
played  the  Strand. 


Theatres  for  Politics 

Theatres  in  Harrisburg  and  neighboring 
towns  have  been  scenes  of  important  political 
meetings  of  both  major  parties. 

At  the  State,  Harrisburg,  the  Democrats  held 
their  'argest  mass  meeting  in  Central  Pennsyl¬ 
vania,  October  23. 

An  intensive  two-week  campaign  was  opened 
by  Dauphin  County  Democrats  with  a  rally  at 
the  Roxy  Theatre,  Harrisburg,  October  22. 

U.  S.  Senator  David  A.  Reed,  Republican 
candidate  for  re-election,  delivered  the  princi¬ 
pal  address  at  a  big  ral’y  October  24  at  the 
Strand  Theatre.  Carlisle.  At  the  Majestic 
Theatre,  Middletown,  nine  miles  from  Harris¬ 
burg,  a  Republican  rally  was  held  October  18. 


Operator  Available 


SUPPLIES 


Projectionist  of  25  years’  experience 
open  for  position — own  repairing — any 
make  sound - sober - reliable - refer¬ 
ences - salary  no  object - go  anywhere 

write  John  J.  Lehman,  217  W.  Lancas¬ 
ter  Avenue,  Shillington. 


FLASHES  FROM 
COAL  FIELDS 

By  BIDU 


Eddie  Murtaugh  left  Scranton  for  Boston, 
dropping  his  post  at  the  Ritz.  He  is  plan- 
n.ng  to  go  to  college  and  all  the  boys  wish 
him  luck  in  the  law. 

Matt  O’Keefe,  Rialto  Theatre,  Providence, 
R.  I.,  succeeds  Eddie  Murtaugh  at  the  Ritz. 
Tommy  Killean  assists.  Latter  is  a  record- 
breaker  at  pulling  mats. 

Joe  Elecker,  Strand  Theatre,  tied  up  on 
"Cleopatra"  with  a  shoe  store  opening, 
and  got  a  lot  of  heralds,  ads,  etc.,  free. 
Some  stunt. 

Bob  Schmidt,  Temple  Theatre,  Berwick,  has 
his  wife  back.  She  visited  his  home  in 
Illinois. 

Charlie  Ryan  is  back  on  the  job  after  a 
lengthy  illness.  Renovating  has  started  at 
the  Strand. 

Bill  Warner,  assistant  to  Joe  Elecker,  Strand 
Theatre,  was  in  Philly  for  the  week-end. 

M.  E.  Comerford  was  host  to  the  National 
Catholic  Welfare  Conference.  Mass  meet¬ 
ing  was  held  at  the  Strand. 

Calling  7101 - calling  7101 - line  busy.  Hi, 

Katherine. 

Tommy  Thomas,  Taylor,  and  Louis  Pilosi, 
Dupont,  visited  Vine  Street.  Latter  takes 
over  Institute  Theatre,  Forty-Fort.  He 
operates  in  Swoyersville  as  well. 

Jack  Jones,  Garden  Theatre,  West  Pittston, 
now  has  offices  in  Pittston,  selling  cars  of 
coal  throughout  many  states.  He  wel¬ 
comes  film  men. 

“Did  You  Ever  See  Beau  Running?”  is  the 
latest  popular  song. 

Phil  Moore,  Riviera  Theatre  manager,  and 
assistant  Frank  Kovaletz  scored  with  “Car¬ 
avan.” 

Eddie  Connelly,  State  Theatre,  Nanticoke; 
Stanley  Mack  and  Stanley  Janoski,  new 
postmaster,  are  the  three  pep  boys. 

Ernie  Schmidt’s  car  is  nearing  the  90,000 
mark. 

Bob  Schmidt,  Temple  Theatre,  Berwick,  is 
publicity  director  for  the  Community 
Chest  drive, 

George  Gata,  Florida,  has  taken  over  the 
Mildred  Theatre,  Mildred.  New  sound. 

Frank  Loftus  is  now  managing  Rialto  The¬ 
atre,  Scranton.  A  former  film  salesman, 
he  has  good  wishes  from  all. 

Bowling  League  is  clicking.  Nat  Sherman, 
Doc  Siegel,  A1  Spiegel,  Johnny  Gibbins 
are  the  leaders. 


Sherman  Booking  Fay’s 

Eddie  Sherman,  leading  independent  vaude¬ 
ville  booker,  starts  booking  Fay’s  again  Novem¬ 
ber  16.  The  house,  which  proved  a  success 
last  season  with  Sherman  vaudeville  and  Sid 
Stanley’s  handling,  expects  to.  break  all  re¬ 
cords  with  the  Sherman  bills. 

Sherman's  list  of  houses  is  one  of  the  most 
impressive  in  the  east. 


THEATRE  EQUIPMENT 


iVcrr 


Used  -  Unbuilt 


Projectors,  Screens, 
Soundheads,  Amplifiers, 
Chairs,  Portable  Projectors, 
Arc  Lamps,  Rectifiers 
and  Generators. 

HEPAIBIXC  AT  I.OWKST  HATES 


S.  O,  S.  CORP.,  1600  Broadway,  New  York 


S.O.S.  Buys  Equipment  at  Highest  Prices 


TICKET  REGISTERS 


Announcing  the 

At 

NEW 

Silent-Automatic 
Ticket  Register 

5(T 

1935  Noiseless  Model  X 

Saving 

Write  for  Details 

A  MODERN  ELECTRICAL  PRODUCT 

STANDARD  TICKET  REGISTER  CORP. 

1600  Broadway,  New  York  •  Gec 

31  MEAD.GIn.  Mg  * . 

VAUDEVILLE  AGENCIES 


HARRY  BIBEN 

VAUDEVILLE  AGENCY 

(603-4  COLONIAL  BUILDING) 

N.  E.  Cor.  13th  and  Market  Stc. 

Phone/  Rittenhouse  9494-5 

PHILADELPHIA 

Boohing 

STANLEY  -  WARNER 
THEATRES,  Philadelphia 


• 

Official  Letter 

Mimeographing 

Multigraphine 

Public  Stenography 

Service  to  the 

Motion  Picture 

Addressing  -  Folding 

Industry 

Enclosing  -  Mailing 

Accurate  List 

Advertising 

of  all  Theatres 

Publicity 

and  Executives 

Printing 

WM.  Z. 

PORTER 

Advertising  and  Letter  Service 

1208  Vine  Street 

(Second  Floor) 

Bell:  RITtenhouse  7195  Keystone:  RACE  8666 

38 


Nov  1'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


For  your  convenience,  this  publication  furnishes  this  guide  to  reviews  of  pictures  which  have  appeared 
in  regular  review  department.  Before  dating  in  your  show,  consult  this  page,  find  out  when  the  review  appeared 
and  then  look  it  up.  Key:  For  example,  2-Jan.  means  the  second  issue  of  this  publication  in  that  month. 
1-Feb.  would  mean  the  first  issue,  and  so  on. 


Columbia 


Hell  Bent  for  Love  .  1-June 

One  Night  of  Love .  2-June 

The  Hell  Cat  . 2-June 

The  Most  Precious  Thing  in  Life . 2-June 

Black  Moon  .  2-July 

A  Man's  Game  . 1-Aug. 

Whom  the  Gods  Destroy  .  1-Aug. 

Beyond  the  Law  .  2-Aug. 

Blind  Date  .  2-Aug. 

Name  the  Woman  . 2-Aug. 

The  Defense  Rests  . 2-Aug. 

Among  the  Missing  . 2-Sept. 

Girl  in  Danger  . 2-Sept. 

Thai’s  Gratitude  .  2-Sept. 

Lady  by  Choice  . 2-0ct. 

I'll  Fix  It . 1-Nov. 

The  Captain  Hates  Sea . 1-Nov. 


Firs!  National — Warner* 


Midnight  Alibi  . 

The  Circus  Clown 
The  Merry  Frinks  .... 

Dr.  Monica  . 

The  Key  . 

He  Was  Her  Man  . 
Man  With  Two  Faces.  . 
Return  of  the  Terror 
Friends  of  Mr.  Sweeney 
Madam  Du  Barry  .  .  . 
The  Personality  Kid 
Here  Comes  the  Navy 
British  Agent 
Kansas  City  Princess 
Dragon  Murder  Case  . 

Dames  . 

Housewife . . 

Big  Hearted  Herbert 
Desirable 

A  Lost  Lady . 

Case  of  Howling  Dog  . 

Happiness  Ahead  . 

Six  Day  Bike  Race 

The  Firebird  . 

St.  Louis  Kid  . 

I  Sell  Anything 
Gentlemen  Are  Born 


1-June 

1-June 

1-June 

1-June 

1-June 

1- June 

2- June 
2-June 
2-June 
2-June 
2-June 
2-July 
2-Aug. 
2-Aug. 
2-Aug. 
2-Aug. 
2-Aug. 
1-Sept. 

1- Seot. 

2- Sept. 
2-Sept. 

1- Oct. 

2- 0ct. 
2-0ct. 
1-Nov. 
1-Nov. 
1-Nov. 


Fox 


Change  of  Heart  . 

Handy  Andy  . 

Call  It  Luck  . 

Heart  Song  . 

Baby  Take  a  Bow  . 

Grand  Canary 
She  Learned  About  Sailors 
Charlie  Chan’s  Courage  . 
The  World  Moves  On  .  . 

Servants’  Entrance  . 

Caravan  . . 

Judge  Priest  . 

She  Was  a  Lady  . 

The  Cat’s  Paw 
Pursued 

Charlie  Chan  in  London  . 

Peck’s  Bad  Boy  . 

Dude  Ranger  . 

Love  Time . 

365  Nights  in  Hollywood 
The  White  Parade 
State  vs.  Elinor  Norton 


2-May 

2-May 

1-June 

1-June 

1-July 

1-July 

1- July 

2- July 
2-July 

1- Aug. 

2- Aug. 
2-Aug. 
2-Aug. 
2-Aug. 

1- Sept. 

2- Sept. 
2-Sept. 

1- Oct. 

2- Oct. 
2-0ct. 
1-Nov. 
1-Nov. 


Liberty 


No  Ransom  . 2-Apr. 

When  Strangers  Meet  . 2-Apr. 

Take  the  Stand  .  2-Mar. 

Once  to  Every  Bachelor  .  1-June 

Two  Heads  on  a  Pillow .  2-July 

School  for  Girls  .  .  1-Sept. 

Without  Children  .  1-Nov. 


Metro 


The  Hollywood  Party  .  2-Apr. 

Viva  Villa  2-Apr. 

Manhattan  Melodrama  .  1-May 

Tarzan  and  His  Mate  .  1-May 

Laughing  Boy  . 2-May 


Sadie  McKee  . 2-May 

Operator  13  .  1-June 

The  Thin  Man  .  1-June 

Murder  in  Private  Car  .  2-July 

Stamboul  Quest  .  2-July 

Treasure  Island  . 2-July 

Barretts  of  Wimpole  Street . 1-Aug. 

Girl  from  Missouri  .  1-Aug. 

Paris  Interlude  .  1-Aug. 

Hideout  . 2-Aug. 

Straight  Is  the  Way  .  . .  2-Aug. 

Chained  .  1-Sept. 

Have  a  Heart  .  1-Sept. 

Iris  March  .  1-Sept. 

Student  Tour  .  1-Sept. 

Death  on  Diamond  . 2-Sept. 

The  Merry  Widow  . 2-Sept. 

What  Every  Woman  Knows  .  2-0ct. 


Monogram 

DISTRIBUTED  BY  FIRST  DIVISION 


Jane  Eyre  . 

Star  Packer  . 

Happy  Landings  .  . 

Shock  . 

The  Moonstone 
Girl  of  Limberlost  .  . 

King  Kelly  of  U.  S.  A 

Redhead  . 

A  Successful  Failure  . 
Tomorrow’s  Youth  .  . 
The  Trail  Beyond 
Lost  in  Stratosphere 


2-July 

2-July 

1-Aug. 

1- Aug. 

2- Aug. 
2-Sept. 
1-Oct. 

1- Oct. 

2- Oct. 
2-0ct. 
2-Oct. 
1-Nov. 


Paramount 


Melody  in  Spring  . 

The  Trumpet  Blows 

You’re  Telling  Me  . 

Double  Door  . 

The  Scarlet  Empress  . 

The  Witching  Hour . 

We’re  Not  Dressing  . 

Little  Miss  Marker 
Many  Happy  Returns  .  . 

Murder  at  Vanities  . 

Private  Scandal  . 

Thirty  Day  Princess  . 

Kiss  and  Make  Up 
The  Great  Flirtation  . 
Here  Comes  the  Groom... 
Notorious  Sophie  Lang 

Old  Fashioned  Way  . 

She  Loves  Me  Not  . 

Shoot  the  Works . 

Elmer  and  Elsie . 

Ladies  Should  Listen  . 

Cleopatra  . 

Crime  without  Passion 

Now  and  Forever  . 

Belle  of  the  Nineties 
Mrs.  Wiggs,  Cabbage  Patch 

You  Belong  to  Me  . 

Wagon  Wheels  . 

Pursuit  of  Happiness 
Lemon  Drop  Kid 

Menace  . 

Ready  for  Love  . 

Enter  Madame 


2-Apr. 

2-Apr. 

2-Apr. 

1-May 

1-May 

1-May 

1- May 

2- May 
2-May 
2-May 
2-May 
2-May 
2-June 
2-June 

1- July 

2- July 
2-July 
2-July 
2-July 
1-Aug. 

1- Aug. 

2- Aug. 
2-Aug. 
2-Aug. 
1-Sept. 
1-Sept. 

1- Sept. 

2- Sept. 
1-Oct. 

1- Oct. 

2- Oct. 
2-Oct. 
1-Nov. 


Radio 

Wild  Cargo  . 

Where  Sinners  Meet  . 

Strictly  Dynamite  . 

Stingaree  . 

Cockeyed  Cavaliers  . 

Murder  on  Blackboard . 

Vergle  Winters  . 

Bachelor  Bait  . 

His  Greatest  Gamble . 

Let’s  Try  Again . 

We're  Rich  Again  . 

Of  Human  Bondage  . 

Hat,  Coat  and  Glove . 

Their  Big  Moment  . 

The  Fountain  . 

Age  of  Innocence  . 

Down  to  Last  Yacht  . 

Richest  Girl  in  World . 

Dangerous  Corner  . 

By  Your  Leave  . 


2-Apr. 

1-May 

1- May 

2- May 
2-June 
2-June 
2-June 
1-July 
1-July 
1-July 

1- July 

2- July 
1-Aug. 
1-Aug. 

1- Sept. 

2- Sept. 
2-Sept. 
2-Sept. 

1- Oct. 

2- Oct. 


The  Gay  Divorcee  .  2-Oct. 

Wednesday’s  Child  .  2-Oct. 

Anne  of  Green  Gables .  1-Nov. 

Kentucky  Kernels  .  1-Nov. 

United  Artists 

Looking  for  Trouble  .  2-Feb. 

Catherine  the  Great .  1-Mar. 

House  of  Rothschild  .  2-Mar. 

The  Affairs  of  Cellini  . 1-May 

Bulldog  Drummond  Strikes  Back  . 2-May 

The  Last  Gentleman  .  2-May 

Born  to  Be  Bad  .  2-June 

Our  Daily  Bread  .  .  .  2-July 

Nell  Gwyn  .  . .  1-Aug. 

For  Love  or  Money  (Cash)  (Mundus).  .  .  2-Aug. 

Count  of  Monte  Cristo  .  2-Sept. 

Private  Life  of  Don  Juan  .  2-Oct. 

Transatlantic  Merry  Go  Round  2-Oct. 

We  Live  Again  . 2-Oct. 

Kid  Millions  1-Nov. 


Universal 


Smoking  Guns  (Doomed  to  Die) . 1-May 

Half  a  Sinner  .  1-May 

The  Uncertain  Lady  .  1-May 

Affairs  of  Gentleman . 2-May 

Dangerous  to  Women  (The  Love  Captive) . 2-May 

The  Black  Cat  . 2-May 

Embarrassing  Moments  1-June 

Little  Man,  What  Now?  .  1-June 

I  Give  My  Love  .  1-June 

Let’s  Talk  It  Over  .  2-June 

Million  Dollar  Ransom  .  2-Aug. 

One  More  River  .  2-Aug. 

Romance  in  the  Rain  .  2-Aug. 

The  Human  Side  .  1-Sept. 

Rocky  Rhodes  .  2-Sept. 

There’s  Always  Tomorrow  . 2-Sept. 

Wake  Up  and  Dream  .  2-Sept. 

Gift  of  Gab  .  1-Oct. 

Secret  of  Chateau  . .  1-Oct. 

One  Exciting  Adventure  .  2-Oct. 

Great  Expectations  .  1-Nov. 


First  Division 


(CHESTERFIELD) 

In  Love  with  Life  .  1-May 

Twin  Husbands  .  1-May 

City  Park  . 2-July 

Fifteen  Wives  .  1-Aug. 

Green  Eves  1-Sept. 

The  Curtain  Falls  .  2-Oct. 

Fugitive  Road  .  2-Oct. 


He  2-Jan. 

Throne  of  the  Gods  .  2-Jan. 

Under  Seoret  Orders .  1-Jan. 

Forgotten  Men  .  2-June 

Texas  Tornado  .  2-Mar. 

The  Ferocious  Pal  .  1-Apr. 

Young  Eagles  .  2-May 

Little  Damozel  .  l-Sept. 

Return  of  Chandu  . 2-Oct. 


Gold  Medal 

Laughing  at  Life  .  2-June 

Curtain  at  Eight  .  1-Deo. 

You  Made  Me  Love  You .  1-Dee. 

The  Charming  Deceiver .  1-Jan. 

Sin  of  Nora  Moran  . 1-Jan. 

Big  Time  or  Bust  . 2-Jan. 

Enlighten  Thy  Daughter .  2-Jan. 

The  Mornlna  After .  2-Feb. 

Unknown  Blonde  . 1-Apr. 

The  Lost  Jungle  .  1-June 

Burn  ’Em  Uo  Barnes .  2-July 

Young  and  Beautiful  . 2-Sept. 

Crimson  Romance  . 1-Ocl. 


Masterpiece 


What's  Your  Racket? .  2-Feb. 

Dancing  Man  . 2-Mar. 

Back  Page  .  1-Apr. 

The  Fighting  Rookie .  2-June 

The  Oil  Raider  . 1-Sept. 

The_Scarlet  Letter  .  1-Aug. 

She  Had  to  Choose  .  2-Aug. 

Night  Alarm  . 1-Oct. 


WEAK 
KNEED 

or  an  alert , 

PUT  yourself  in  Mr.  Theatre  Owner’s  chair!  Would 
you  rather  devote  your  Trade  Reading  Hours  to 
ponderous  treatises  of  nation-wide  problems  and  aca¬ 
demic  studies  of  appalling  trade  practices  violations  in 
Peoria — or  would  you  rather  devote  those  same  T.  R.  H.’s 
to  a  decided,  two-fisted  attack  on  your  local  ills — a  pat 
on  the  back  for  a  local  job  well  done — all  garnished  with 
a  flowing,  breezy,  newsy  chatter  about  the  fellows  you 
know  and  situations  with  which  you  are  familiar? 

Professor  Einstein  has  the  world’s  greatest  modern 
mind,  but  if  you  wanted  understandable  interesting 
news,  you’d  rather  listen  to  Lowell  Thomas. 

Take  advantage  of  Mr.  Theatre  Owner’s  T.  R.  H.’s 
through  the  columns  of  his  local  Regional. 


constructive  force ? 


JAY  EMANUEL 
PUBLICATIONS 

HOME  TOWN  TRADE  PAPERS 
OF  4600  THEATRE  OWNERS 


THE  MERRY  WIDOW 

A  Triumph  that  Only  Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer  Could  Produce 


Nov  1'34  b.c. 


2 

G) 

2 


WELL  BOYS:  No  matter  how  you  look  at  it . . .  the  biggest  thing 
in  pictures  today  is 


VOL  16- No.  22 


PHILADELPHIA,  NOVEMBER  15,  1934 


Price,  15  Cents 


n  this 
ssue: 


Censor  Board  Changes  Loom  Following  Election 


A  Jay  Emanuel  Publication 


Oil,  YOU 
NASTY 
MAN!" 


i 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  September  11.  1924,  at  the  po  :t  office  at  Ph'lrd-lphia,  Pa.,  urder  the  Act  of  March  3,  1879. 

PUBLISHED  SEMI-MONTHLY, AT  219^NI BR0AD STRE^r PmLADEh|PNlA^-j^— 


MAR  I A  ALBA 


DIRECTED  BY  RAY  TAYLOR 


PRINCIPAL  PICTURE 


SOL  LESSER  present* 

BE1A 

IUCOSI  - 

RETURN 

0 


Novl5'34  pg.  2  “THE  WORLD’S  LEADING  INDEPENDENT” 

Dmr  FIRST  DIVISION  EXCHANGES,  Inc. 


HARRY  H.  THOMAS,  President 


Executive  Offices:  RKO  Building,  Radio  City,  New  York 

-  _  /-w  r-  r—  I r\  r  P  I  nmur>IDAL  /*>  I  T I  C  C 


a  k  mm  n/NCPM  AA 


Presenting  A 
Brand  N e w  Accessory 


Novl5'34  pg.  3 


theatre -date 


CHEVALIER. 

%anUtt 

MACDONALD 

IN  hit  Ark 


V«  t  I  vl 

WQ&TON  *■ 

OKA  MtPXEl  (  ^1  f 

H'KSa  GOMB: 

a  Metro ,,  ] 


A  MINIATURE 
24 -SHEET  STAND 
FOR  COUNTER 
DISPLAY,  WINDOWS, 
LOBBY,  ETC. 

A* 

— it  measures  13 
by  10'4n  brightly 
painted  in  green , 
with  slots  for  24- 
sheet  cards  in  full 
colors ,  f/ie  same  as 
the  lithographs! 


When  you  see  this  gay  little  novelty 
sitting  pretty  in  your  M-G-M  Branch 
Office,  you’ll  want  a  flock  of  ’em  for 
your  favorite  window  locations.  It 
takes  your  old  pal  Leo  of  M-G-M 
to  step  out  of  the  beaten  track  and 
create  something  new  in  showmanship. 


CARDS  AVAILABLE 
ON  ALL  M-G-M 
ATTRACTIONS! 


CADET  CORPS  AS  SUPPORTING  CAST  FOR  AMERICA’S  SINGING  SWEETHEARTS,  DICK  POWELL 


R  T  A 


FRANK  BORZAGE'S  MASTER  PRODUCTION,  WITH  SPECTACULAR  BOBBY  CONNOLLY  DANCES  , , ,  THE  MOST 

Dick  Powell’s  songs  by  Dixon  and  Wrubel 


i  "  W 

Novl5'34  pg.  4 


YOU’RE  IN  THE  ARMY  NOW!  FOLLOW  THE  FLAG  FROM  FAR-FLUNG  OUTPOSTS  OF  THE  PACIFIC  TO  THE  WIND-SWEPT 


TO  THE  MAD,  SWEET  RHYTHM  OF  HUNDREDS  OF  HAWAIIAN  DANCING  GIRLS!  .  .  GET  THE 


I 


SHARE  THE  ROMANCE  OF  WEST  POINT  LIFE-SHOT  ON  THE  SPOT  WITH  UNCLE  SAM’S  WHOLE 


RUBY  KEELER,  AND  PAT  O’BRIEN,  IN  WARNER  BROS,’  MILITARY  MELODY-DR  AM  A- 


Novl5'34  pg.  5 

ATTLEMENTS  OF  WEST  POINT!  BLOOD  TINGLING  TO  ROARING  GUNS  AND  SOARING  SONGS!  HEART  POUNDING 


laney  it.  item  nas  gone  on  recora  ...  every  reviewer  praises  it  to  rne  SKies.. 


FELLOW-SHOWMAN 
JOINS  THE  PARADE  OF  PRAISE ! 


*  oi  *** 

io^ 


\o 


\ 


„  ,ot‘-a°n 

1**%-  <v*  o*- 

s“"  ^ 

Y  a  ^  .  yyvVg? 

*,«*  * 

w***”  .  rt  NWe' 

Si  0*1 


★  SIDNEY  MEYERS 

One  of  the  South’s  outstanding 
exhibitors— operator  of  the  Mayfair 
Theatre,  Miami,  and  Wometco  Cir¬ 
cuit  of  Florida. 


PHONE  your  FOX  exchange  and 
arrange  to  SEE  it  for  yourself.  And 
you’ll  KNOW  it’s  the  box  office  smash 
you’ve  prayed  for  all  your  life. 


A  JESSE  L.  LASKY  Production 

The  greatest  hit  of  this  great  showman’s  career! 

with 

LORETTA  YOUNG 
JOHN  BOLES 

Directed  by  Irving  Cummings.  Screen  play  by  Sonya 
Levien  and  Ernest  Pascal.  From  the  novel  by  Rian 
James.  Adaptation  by  Rian  James  and  Jesse  Lasky,  Jr. 


Novl5'34  pg.  6 


PAGE 


THE  EDITOR'S 


Vol.  16,  No.  22 


November  IS,  1934 


The 


Philadelphia 


Hearst  Moves 

ENTRANCE  of  William  R.  Hearst’s 


EXHIBITOR 


“  producing  unit  into  the  Warner  lot 
should  be  of  advantage  not  only  to  Warner 
Brothers  but  to  the  industry  generally. 
While  at  Metro,  the  Hearst  unit  turned  out 
some  good  pictures.  A  change  of  clime  may 
improve  it  still  further. 

The  Hearst  pictures  should  hit  a  different 
pace.  The  Warner  studio  is  attuned  to  one 
pitch,  Metro  to  another.  The  void  left  by 
Hearst’s  departure  will  undoubtedly  be 
filled  by  a  new  Metro  producer  who  will 
deliver  another  box  office  brand  of  feature. 
This  should  also  be  welcomed  by  the  in¬ 
dustry. 

Constant  shake-ups  of  this  sort  rarely 
hurt.  Frank  Capra  can  change  a  dying 
star  into  a  new  flame;  a  borrowed  player 
can  emerge  from  his  cocoon  as  a  result. 
And  so  it  goes. 


No  Boycotts  Here 

IT  IS  TO  BE  NOTED  that  regardless 
®  of  boycotts,  Legions  of  Decency,  etc., 
the  industry  is  not  being  slighted  in  one 
respect. 

As  the  welfare  organizations,  commu¬ 
nity  chests  and  other  campaigns  get  under 
way,  co-operation  of  theatres,  exhibitor  or¬ 
ganizations,  entertainment  divisions,  etc.,  is 
still  sought.  The  theatre,  it  is  quite  appar¬ 
ent,  is  indispensable  when  it  comes  to  such 
matters. 

Perhaps  the  gentlemen  who  request  the 
use  of  a  screen  to  run  a  trailer  may  be 
horrified  to  think  that  following  it  one  of 
those  “objectionable”  pictures  might  be  un¬ 
veiled,  but  this  is  hardly  likely.  Money 
raising  is  usually  a  thing  by  itself. 

It  might  be  well  for  those  who  find  pic¬ 
tures  “objectionable”  to  consider  the  count¬ 
less  dollars  that  have  been  directed  into 
relief  channels  through  theatres  and  the 
many  benefit  performances  given  by  these 
stars  of  “objectionable”  pictures  so  that 
the  needy  and  many  charities  might  be 
helped. 

Apparently,  there  is  nothing  “objection¬ 
able”  in  that. 


Circulating  in  Eattern  Panmylvanla,  Southern  New  Jtrtey  and  Delaware.  Iitued  on  the  lit  and  15th 
of  each  month  by  Jay  Emanuel  Publioatlom,  Ino.  Publlahlng  ofhoe,  219  North  Broad  Street,  Philadelphia. 
Branches  at  1600  Broadway,  New  York  City;  Waahlngton,  D.  C.  Jay  Emanuel,  publisher;  Paul  J. 
Qreenhalgh,  advertising  manager;  Herbert  M.  Miller,  managing  editor.  Subscription  rates:  $2  for  one 
year,  $5  for  three  years.  Single  copies,  15c  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware. 
Publishers,  also,  of  THE  NATIONAL  EXHIBITOR  of  Washington  and  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  EXHIBITOR. 
Offioia I  organ  of  the  Motion  Picture  Theatre  Owners  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and 
Delaware.  Address  all  communications  to  the  Philadelphia  office. 


Block  Booking  Battle  Begins 

’HIS  is  the  time  of  the  year  when  forces  opposed  to  the 
industry’s  interests  line  up  for  battle.  Congress  will 
be  in  session  soon.  That,  to  reformers  and  industry  enemies,  means 
plenty  of  opportunity  for  reforming,  for  false  accusations.  It  also 
opens  the  season  against  block  booking. 

Block  booking  may  be  of  advantage  if  it  were  not  for  the  fact 
that  the  present  market  is  a  seller’s  market.  Were  there  a  great 
surplus  of  pictures,  one  might  ask  for  block  booking,  knowing  that 
it  might  bring  advantages  to  some.  But  these  days  block  booking 
has  no  place. 

It  has  no  place  because  it  solves  no  industry  problems.  It  will 
not  make  film  cheaper.  If  a  producer  has  a  click  picture,  he  can 
demand  (and  get)  enough  for  it  to  take  care  of  his  losses  on  the 
others.  By  the  time  competitive  theatres  stop  bidding  for  it,  the 
producer  would  probably  be  glad  that  there  was  such  a  thing  as 
block  booking.  The  public  will  not  benefit  because  admissions 
will  not  get  any  lower,  undoubtedly  will  have  to  go  higher  as  dis¬ 
tribution  costs  rise. 

The  exhibitor  is  his  own  worst  enemy.  His  strength  lies  in 
combination,  in  agreements  with  his  competition.  In  such  manner, 
distributors  would  be  prevented  from  working  one  against  the 
other,  getting  a  price  higher  than  the  product  is  worth.  But  the 
theatreman  does  not  trust  his  competition,  will  have  nothing  to 
do  with  him. 

The  argument  that  block  booking  will  drive  sex  or  crime  pic¬ 
tures  from  the  screen  and  encourage  only  clean,  pollyannish  films 
of  the  sort  desired  by  reform  groups  is  weak.  Theatremen  know 
that  the  pictures  they  would  like  to  cancel  are  the  weak  sisters,  the 
flops.  The  exhibitor  who  thinks  he  can  get  clubwomen  to  do  a  job 
for  him  really  does  not  seek  the  type  of  pictures  which  the  same 
women  demand  because  then  he  would  have  further  difficulty. 

Records  show  that  most  of  the  cancellations  are  not  of  the 


Perpetual  Problem 

^  THE  STATE  of  the  exhibitor  at  the 
9  present  moment  can  only  be  compared 
to  that  of  a  man  who  buys  a  car,  hears  that 
it  is  a  stolen  auto,  but  continues  to  drive 
it  because  it  is  the  only  vehicle  he  possesses 
and  because  he  isn’t  quite  certain  whether 
there  is  a  penalty. 

Gradually,  the  fact  is  beginning  to  dawn 
that  William  Fox  may  be  awarded  quite  a 
sum  in  damages.  What  that  amount  is  has 
not  yet  been  defined. 

The  exhibitor,  as  the  sound  machine  purrs 
merrily  on,  sits  and  wonders  how  much 
every  revolution  is  costing  him.  Probably 
the  only  man  who  might  be  having  a  little 
amusement  is  William  Fox.  No  one  can 
deny  that  when  it  came  his  turn  to  laugh 
he  had  plenty  to  laugh  about. 


slightly  sex  tinge  type  but  rather  of  a  kind  which  are  not  neces¬ 
sarily  “objectionable.” 

Block  booking  has  become  a  term  which  seems  to  be  all-inclu¬ 
sive  for  enemies  of  the  business.  The  experienced  exhibitor  knows 
that  under  the  present  set-up  he  will  not  gain  by  it.  By  encourag¬ 
ing  those  who  want  block  booking  he  is  lending  support  to  the 
same  sort  of  people  who  want  federal  regulation,  federal  censor¬ 
ship  and  stringent  control  of  the  business  by  outsiders  who  are 
nothing  but  meddlers.  It  might  be  time  to  consider  well  before 
jumping  from  the  proverbial  frying  pan  into  the  fire. 


8 


Novl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Congressman-Elect  Dietrich  to  be 

Guest  of  Honor  at  MPTO  Luncheon 


Vine  Street  Headquarters  Opening,  Adelphia  Hotel 
Meeting  Scheduled  November  23 — Entire  Industry  In¬ 
vited  for  Events 

Congressman-elect  Elmer  Dietrich,  Tunkhannock  exhibitor,  has  been  invited  to 
the  dedication  of  the  new  Vine  street  home  of  the  MPTO  and  the  dedication 
luncheon  to  be  held  at  the' Adelphia  Hotel,  November  23. 


Dietrich,  a  popular  exhibitor,  was  recently 
elected  bn  the  Democratic  ticket.  It  is  expected 
that  the  entire  exhibition  and  film  fraternity 
will  turn  out  for  the  ceremonies  and  luncheon. 

The  Vine  Street  home,  2nd  floor,  northeast 
corner,  13th  and  Vine  Streets,  will  be  comp'eted 
shortly  and  will  contain  the  gffices  of  Georgg  P. 
Aarons,  secretary  and  general  counsel,  MPTO, 
a  board  meeting  room  as  well  as  a  social  room 
for  members. 


IEPA  “Night  in  Hollywood” 
Looms  as  Big  Social  Event 

All  Industry  Invited  to  Novem¬ 
ber  25  Dinner  Dance 


November  21  Date 

November  21  is  the  date  for  the  hear¬ 
ing  on  the  permanent  injunction  against 
Warners  and  other  distributors  to  re¬ 
strain  them  from  enforcing  the  doubles 
clause  in  their  contracts.  Judge  Welsh 
presides  in  U.  S.  District  Court. 

Harry  Perelman  is  plaintiff.  Tempor¬ 
ary  injunction  plea  was  denied  several 
months  ago. 

Variety  Club  Selecting 
Permanent  Local  Home 


Facilities  ’  for  informal  meetings  are  avail¬ 
able  but  for  general  meetings,  it  is  expected 
that  the  Adelphia  will  -  be  used;  :has  the  13th 
Street  quarters  will  ojaly  hold,  about  100. 

All  Inviteid 

All  film  men  and  invited  guests”  have  been 
announced  as  included  in  the  Adelphia  luncheon. 
A  banner  turnout  is  expected.  There  will  be 
brief  addresses  as  well  as  the  usual  ceremonies 
connected  with  such  an  affair.  President  Charles 
Segall  will  preside. 

Heard  In 

ROSSTO  WN 

Watch  Out 
For  Outfit 


Exhibitors  are  asked  to  keep  on  the  lookout 
for  an  outfit  styling  itself  the  Screen  Broad¬ 
cast,  with  New  York  City  offices.  One  ex¬ 
hibitor  writes  in  to  say  that  the  outfit  tied 
up  with  merchants  in  the  town  for  screen 
trailers,  collected  some  money  and  then 
skipped.  C.  E.  Seidner  was  said  to  be 
associated  with  it. 

Howard  Dietz,  MGM  advertising  and  public¬ 
ity-  manager,  came  to  town  to  help  stage 
"Revenge  with  Music,”  new  musical  for 
which  he  helped  on  libretto  and  lyrics. 
Performance  was  attended  by  many  film 
folk,  including  Leonard  Schlesinger,  Joe 
Sloane,  both  unattached,  by  themselves. 
Also  prominent  were  David  Barrist  and 
escort. 

Harry  Biben’s  house  was  broken  into  and 
robbed.  "They  only  got  some  jewelry,” 
said  the  vaude  booker.  "For  a  while,’ 
he  added,  "I  was  afraid  they  were  going  to 
take  a  couple  of  houses  away  from  me. 
That  would  have  been  a  calamity." 

Joe  Feldman,  Earle  Theatre  operator,  broke 
his  arm,  carries  it  in  a  sling. 

Eddie  Cantor  did  the  best  business  at  the 
Earle  in  5  7  weeks.  It  speaks  well  for  Can¬ 
tor  and  also  for  Artie  Cohen’s  campaign. 

Vaudeville  is  reported  coming  out  of  the  AC 
Hollywood.  House  opened  with  that 
policy. 

Bromley  Theatre  is  scheduled  to  open  in 
February  or  the  latter  part  of  January. 
House  will  have  all  steel  up  soon. 

Lyric  Theatre  is  rumored  re-opening  with 
burlesk  program. 


A  gala  night  in  Hollywood,  under  the 
sponsorship  of  the  IEPA,  local  exhibitor 
unit,  will  take  place  November  25  at  the 
Bellevue-Stratford  Hotel,  at  6.30  P.  M. 

The  industry  has  been  invited  to  the  affair, 
which  is  taxed  at  $6  a  couple,  with  tables  for 
10  at  $30.  It  is  expected  that  at  least  35  tables 
will  be  filled  and  at  least  400  will  be  present. 

There  is  to  be  a  Thanksgiving  dinner  as  well 
as-  a  good  dance  hand  and  a  stage  show.  Danc¬ 
ing:  will  follow. 

Features  are  an  Old  Timers’  Re-union  and  a 
Vine  Street  Nezvs  Weekly. 

Charles  Goodwin  is  in  charge  of  the  arrange¬ 
ments  for  the  affair. 

No  speakers  table  is  scheduled,  no  invita¬ 
tions  wi’l  be  sent  out  and  checks  must  be  mailed 
to  Oscar  Neufeld,  1313  Vine  Street. 

Committees  in  charge  are 

GENERAL — Charles  Goodwin,  chairman  ; 
Columbus  Stamper,  George  Gravenstine,  Herb 
J.  Elliott,  Lou  Berger,  Nat  Abelove. 

FLOOR — Jack  Frere,  John  Bagley,  Dave 
Milgram,  Joe  Price,  J.  Becker,  Norman  Lewis. 

GUESTS — Morris  Wax,  Dave  Shapiro, 
Clarence  Hexter,  Harry  Fried,  Bill  Butler, 
Dave  Barrist. 

REFRESHMENT — Ray  O'Rourke,  Henry 
Rosinsky,  Ben  Green,  Leo  Posel,  Si  Myers,  Sam 
Scmerson. 

SOUVENIRS — Ray  Schwartz,  Charlie 
Goldfine,  Henry  Perelman,  Sam  Waldman, 
Charles  Steifel,  Herb  Lewis. 

The  Rose  Room,  in  the  Bellevue,  will  be  the 
scene. 


Clifton  Theatre,  Clifton,  has  installed  new 
screen,  chairs,  carpets,  etc.,  from  National 
Theatre  Supply  Company.  Decorations 
come  from  Paramount  Decorating  Com¬ 
pany.  House  is  being  completely  renovated 
and  repaired. 

Eddie  Sherman  starts  booking  Fay’s  shows 
this  weekend.  All  of  which  makes  man¬ 
ager  Sid  Stanley  and  assistant  Lester  Jef¬ 
fries  delightfully  happy. 

George  Sobel  bemoans  old  Doc  Taylor  days. 
The  m  were,  etc. 

Amber  Theatre,  formerly  Castle,  is  being 
handled  by  Richard  Nitsche. 


Rittenhouse  Square  Due  to  Be 
Sector  of  Home 


The  Variety  Club  will  shortly  announce 
the  location  of  its  new  clubhouse,  some¬ 
where  in  the  Rittenhouse  Square  sector. 

The  club  is  settling  preliminary  plans,  with 
the  membership  already  expanded  to  include 
not  more  than  100.  Leaders  in  the  film  and 
theatrical  divisions  will  be  included. 

Gala  Programs 

A  gala  program,  with  ladies’  nights,  lunch¬ 
eons  and  a  special  New  Year’s  dinner  and  dance, 
is  being  planned. 

Once  the  first  details  have  been  taken  care  of 
the  Variety  Club  is  certain  to  be  a  leader  in 
the  industry’s  social  as  well  as  business  life. 

To  Washington 

Many  members  are  planning  to  attend  the 
November  24  dinner  and  dance  being  held  by  the 
Washington  Variety  Club.  Earle  Sweigert, 
chief  barker,  and  others  are  expected  to  travel 
to  the  Capital  City. 


“Power”  goes  into  Moe  Verbin’s  Europa  for 
a  run,  with  a  special  campaign  as  well. 

Stanley-Warner  price  slashes  resulted  in 
slight  pickup  in  business.  Locust  Street 
Theatre  met  the  price  cut  when  “The  Scar¬ 
let  Letter”  played  there. 

Thanksgiving  spirit  starting  to  enter  local 
scene.  Armistice  Day  was  a  semi-holiday. 

Harry  Goodman,  Metropolitan  Printing,  al¬ 
ways  expanding.  Busy,  too.  Also  Jack 
Weiss. 

Leonard  Schlesinger,  local  S-W  zone  man¬ 
ager,  and  Herb  Copelan,  Atlantic  City 
Warner  zone  manager,  hopped  over  to 
New  York  for  a  conference  on  pol.cies 
with  Joseph  Bernhard,  general  manager. 

Local  “Inquirer”,  it  is  believed,  is  starting 
a  daily  movie  column  in  response  to  re¬ 
quests  of  readers.  Sheet  joins  all  local 

dailies  in  adopting  such  policy,  leaving 
only  the  "Bulletin”  on  its  own,  without 
any  movie  news  to  speak  of,  except  re¬ 
views. 

Jack  Frere  is  managing  A1  Boyd’s  Colonial 
Theatre,  Lancaster.  He  retains  his  interest 
in  the  Sobel-Frere  exhibition  proposition. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Novl5'34 


9 


Industry  Hails  Decision  of  Supreme 

Body  to  Pass  on  Fox  Patents  Validity 


Dizzy ,  Daffy  Len 

Leonard  Schlesinger,  Stanley-Warner 
zone  manager  here,  is  being  credited 
with  the  Dean  brothers,  Dizzy  and 
Daffy,  mak'ng  a  short  for  Warners.  It 
seems  the  baseball  finds  played  an  exhi¬ 
bition  here.  Schlesinger  visited  them 
here,  urged  them  to  make  a  Warner 
short  for  quick  distribution  throughout 
the  country  to  solidify  their  prominence 
and  urged  them  not  to  go  to  the  coast 
and  make  a  feature. 

He  took  them  to  New  York,  had  them 
signed  by  Warner  Brothers  for  a  short. 


Meeting  May  Affect 
Local  Boycott  Situation 

Washington  Session  Being  Held 
This  Week 


Meeting  of  bishops  and  cardinals  of 
the  Catholic  church,  in  Washington,  this 
week,  was  expected  to  have  some  effect 
on  the  boycott  situation  which  is  current 
in  the  local  territory. 

The  meeting,  one  year  following  that  held  in 
Cincinnati,  at  which  time  the  Legion  of  Decency 
drive  was  begun,  is  certain  to  have  some  con¬ 
crete  developments  pertaining  directly  to  the 
clean  picture  drive  and  the  ban. 

Some  exhibitors  are  adopting  programs  simi¬ 
lar  to  those  being  run  by  the  Penn  A.  C.  Sat¬ 
urdays.  Films  are  being  served  by  local  ex¬ 
changes. 

Rev.  Dr.  Wilbur  V.  Mallalieu,  Grace  Metho¬ 
dist  Church,  Harrisburg,  and  chairman  of  the 
crusade  for  better  motion  pictures,  sponsored 
by  the  Ministerial  Association  of  Greater  Har¬ 
risburg  and  Dauphin  County,  reported  at  a 
meeting  of  the  association,  November  5,  at  the 
Central  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  Harrisburg,  on  the  pro¬ 
gress  being  made  in  the  crusade. 

Several  hundred  church  members  through¬ 
out  Harrisburg  have  taken  the  pledge  to  patron¬ 
ize  on'y  those  motion  picture  presentations  which 
conform  with  a  Christian  moral  standard,  ac¬ 
cording  to  the  report. 

A  survey  in  Chicago  indicates  that  out  of  358 
pictures,  only  51,  or  14%,  are  not  in  the  ap¬ 
proved  class. 

Local  Grant  Theatre,  inde  house,  went  for 
the  A  and  F  plan,  following  Stanley-Warner 
lead.  First  inde  theatre  to  do  so. 


Change  Looms 

Rumors  of  the  shakeup  in  the  local 
exhibition  sector  were  heard  early  this 
week. 

It  was  said  that  the  developments  tak¬ 
ing  place  in  New  York  might  result  in 
some  announcement  affecting  the  local 
scene. 


Follows  Review  Refusal  October  8 — Delays  Other  Suits 
As  Well — No  New  Evidence  Allowed — Companies  Pre¬ 
pare  for  Legal  Argument 


The  motion  picture  industry  is  breathing  a  bit  easier  these  days  following  the 
decision  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court  that  it  will  hear  the  industry  and  ex¬ 
hibitors  in  the  contest  with  William  Fox  and  others  concerning  validity  of  the  Ger¬ 
man  patents  owned  in  this  country  by  American  T  ri-Ergon. 

-  On  October  8  last  the  Supreme  Court  re- 


What  They  Thought  of  It 


( Beginning  with  this  issue,  THE  EXHIBI¬ 
TOR  will  record  observations  of  exhibitors  at 
prcviervs.  These  comments  ivill  not  necessar¬ 
ily  be  favorable  or  unfavorable.  They  will 
represent  opinions  of  theatremen  directly  after 
seeing  the  show,  usually  the  best  time  to  get 
them.) 

The  Picture - “The  White  Parade"  (Fox). 

The  Place - Locust  Street  Theatre,  Philadel¬ 

phia. 

Reactions: 

Jack  Greenberg,  Roxy  Theatre,  Northamp¬ 
ton - “It  looks  like  a  good  show  for  the 

women.  Certainly  if  the  handkerchiefs  in 
evidence  are  any  criterion,  the  picture  should 
draw  well." 

Eppy  Epstein,  Atlantic  Theatres,  Inc. - 

"It’s  got  the  stuff.  No  question  but  that  it 
is  a  woman’s  show." 

Sid  Stanley,  Fay’s  Theatre - "Boy,  what  a 

show.  It  looks  to  me  like  it’s  got  the  stuff 
for  my  house.  When  I  cry  at  a  show  it  has 
to  be  good,  and  I  cried  at  this  one." 

The  Picture - "Kid  Millions”  (UA). 

The  Place - Vine  Street  projection  room. 

Reactions: 

Lewen  Pizor,  operator  of  a  string  of  up¬ 
state  houses - "That  technicolor  sequence 

certainly  helps  the  picture.  And  Cantor’s 
bidding  for  the  kid  trade  won't  hurt  either.  I 
should  say  the  show  rates  favorably  with  his 
other  recent  pictures." 

The  Picture - "Elinor  Norton”  (Fox). 

The  Place - Fox  Theatre. 

Reactions: 

Sid  Stanley,  Fay’s  Theatre - “Audience  re¬ 

action  was  terrific.  The  audience  laughed 
when  it  should  have  cried,  didn’t  laugh  when 
it  might  have.  After  seeing  the  picture, 
bromo  seltzer  can  be  the  only  result.” 

Herb  Elliott,  Fern  Rock  Theatre — “All  I 
can  say  is  that  some  seemed  to  enjoy  it.” 

George  Nonamaker,  publicity  representa¬ 
tive - "I  give  up.” 

Norman  Lewis,  Jumbo  Theatre — “My,  O 
my.” 


Hint  Infringement  Suits 

Quality  Premium  Distributors  announce  that 
anyone  infringing  on  the  “Etched  Gold”  pat¬ 
ented  process  used  in  the* 1  manufacture  of  etched 
gold  dinnerware  will  be  liable  under  the  law 
for  damages  to  the  patentee. 

This,  the  company,  explains,  refers  to  the 
exhibitor  who  buys  any  infringing  dinnerware. 
Patent  No.  is  1641820. 


fused  to  review  the  cases  notwithstanding  the 
request  of  corporations  representing  seventeen 
producers  and  distributors  of  sound  pictures, 
operators  of  developing  and  printing  labora¬ 
tories  and  manufacturers  of  sound  reproduction 
apparatus  as  well  as  the  Motion  Picture  Theatre 
Owners  of  America,  representing  4,800  motion 
picture  theatres. 

Recently,  Fox  was  quoted  as  having  said 
that  those  who  had  infringed  the  patents  must 
pay  $100,000,000  for  past  infringements,  and  that 
those  who  wanted  to  use  the  patents  must  pay 
him  a  royalty. 

In  fighting  the  patents  it  was  contended  that 
they  covered  methods  well  known  in  the  indus¬ 
try  and  did  not  constitute  patentable  inventions. 

All  the  large  motion  picture  companies  with 
the  exception  of  Fox  Films  and  RKO  Radio  are 
being  sued. 

On  a  showing  to  the  court  of  the  great  im¬ 
portance  of  the  controversy  to  the  industry, 
some  contending  it  meant  life  or  death,  the 
Supreme  Court  reversed  its  former  position  and 
announced  that  it  would  grant  reviews  to  pass 
on  the  validity  of  the  patents.  No  date  has 
yet  been  set  for  hearing  oral  arguments  in  the 
cases. 

No  new  evidence  will  be  allowed  in  the  hear¬ 
ing  of  the  case  before  the  Supreme  Court.  Date 
for  the  hearing  has  not  yet  been  set. 

While  Judge  John  P.  Nields,  United  States 
Court,  Wilmington,  set  November  16  as  the  date 
for  the  hearing  of  the  motion  of  the  American 
Tri-Ergon  Corporation  and  the  Tri-Ergon 
Holding  A.  G.  for  a  temporary  restraining  order 
against  Loew’s,  Incorporated,  and  Metro-Gold- 
wyn  Picture  Corporation,  and  Warner  Brothers 
Pictures,  it  was  doubtful  if  the  case  would 
be  heard  at  this  time. 


Hot  Wilmington  Bowling 


Warner  bowlers  of  Chester  were  so 
much  “burnt  up”  about  Wilmington’s 
“blue  laws”  which  forced  them  to  stop 
bowling  at  midnight  and  thus  spoil  what 
they  thought  was  a  chance  to  win,  that 
they  forced  the  posting  of  a  $20  prize 
for  the  winners  in  the  next  match,  but  it 
is  to  be  rolled  in  Chester  and  not  Wil¬ 
mington.  None  of  the  Wilmington  bowl¬ 
ers - Lew  Black,  Dwight  Van  Meter,  E. 

I.  Lewis  and  “Morty”  Levine  were  proud 
enough  of  their  scores  to  disclose  them, 
but  they  were  ahead  of  the  Chester  team, 
composed  of  “Pos”  Jones,  Tom  Man- 
gan,  Milton  Fields  and  Jack  Mulhall, 
when  the  midnight  hour  arrived  and  it 
was  learned  that  all  bowling  would  have 
to  cease. 


10 


Novl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Glancing  Everywhere  in  ihe  Territory 


HONEYMOONERS.  Hal  Horne,  advertising 
and  publicity  manager,  United  Artists,  and 
his  bride,  aboard  the  Century  bound  for  the 
coast  for  a  combined  business  and  honey¬ 
moon  trip.  On  the  coast,  Horne  will  have 
a  series  of  conferences  with  Darryl  F.  Zan- 
uck,  in  connection  with  the  advertising  and 
exploitation  on  “The  Mighty  Barnum.” 


ON  CODE  BOARD.  Lou  Krouse, 
Local  307  president  and  promi¬ 
nent  labor  executive,  has  been  ap¬ 
pointed  a  member  of  the  code  for 
the  burlesque  field.  He  is  a  good 
man  for  the  job. 


SELLING  TO  THE  PUBLIC.  24-sheet  board  used  by  Stanley-Warner  to  sell 
patrona  on  the  A-F  idea  in  classifying  neighborhood  shows. 


ROGERS  TIE-UP.  When  the  Wilmer 
Vincent  Embassy  Theatre,  Reading,  Paul 
E.  Glase,  played  “Judge  Priest,”  its  tie- 
up  with  Gulf  Refining  resulted  in  this 
lobby. 


ALL  IN  A  DAY’S  WORK.  Regulating 
chorines,  such  as  indicated  above,  will 
be  part  of  day’s  work  for  Louis 
Krouse.  (See  left.) 


GOOD  RECORD.  Ralph  Carman, 
booking  manager  for  Paramount 
exchange,  is  a  real  veteran.  While 
the  above  photo  makes  him  look 
like  anything  at  all,  he  really 
doesn’t,  looking  actually  just  like 
Clark  Gable.  With  Paramount  for 
15  years,  he  once  worked  with  Na¬ 
tional  Kline  Poster  Company,  hop¬ 
ping  into  the  exchange  field  later. 
Married,  he  is  father  of  boy  and  girl. 


75  YEARS.  This  seventy-five-year-old 
Victorian  carriage  was  used  by  manager 
Samuel  Gilman  for  a  week  before  “The 
Merry  Widow”  opened  at  Loew’s  Regent 
Theatre,  Harrisburg.  Lady,  accompanied 
by  liveried  driver  and  footman,  is 
dressed  to  represent  “The  Merry 
Widow.” 


Novl5'34  pg.  11 


JACK  BENNY  -  NANCY  CARROLL  -  GENE  RAYMOND 

SYDNEY  HOWARD- MITZI  GREEN  -  SID  SILVERS-FRANK  PARKER -THE  BOSWELL  SISTERS 

Sidney  Blcickmer-Ralph  Morgan -Shirley  Grey-Sam  Hardy- William  Boyd-Jean  Sargent-  Patsy  Kelly 

A  Reliance  Picture  Produced  by  EDWARD  SMALL 

_  Released  thru  UNITED  ARTISTS  j 


Novl5'34  pg.  12 


LIFE  AND  BEAUTY..... 

AND  LOVE  . 


Novl5'34  pg.  13 


Fiction’s  most  delightful  child  since  “Jo”  of  “Little  Women 
in  a  worthy  successor  to  that  immortal  screen  masterpiece. 


. .  r-’  "»""r-Tn°  ur,  n.  V  I  K  IQ  _  Puhlichotf  ^omi.W^nthlu  at  5>1Q  NI  "RroaH  fft-.J’PKila 


Wmmm 

, 


Mmfim  \ 

_  las  “ANNE” 

P.  HEGGIE  HELEN  WESTLEY 
DirectedwjffiffifiSffiKholls,  Jr. . .  Book  published  by  L.  C.  PAGE  it  Co.,  Inc. 


Presented  with 
pride  by 

RKO  RADIO 


14  Novl5'34  THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 

Stanley -Warner  Opens  Community  Good 
Will  Campaign  for  the  Entire  Territory 


Downtown  Price  Reduction,  Adult-Family  Classification, 
$2000  Contest  Highlights — Business  and  Social  Condi¬ 
tions  Cause  Move 

Stanley- Warner  Company  has  inaugurated  a  tremendous  campaign  which  will 
have  for  its  effect  an  even  greater  understanding  between  the  chain’s  many  houses 
and  patrons  as  well  as  including  a  drive  for  additional  business. 


First  move  in  the  campaign  came  a  few  weeks 
ago  when  the  classification  plan  was  announced 
by  Harry  M.  Warner,  president,  Warner 
Brothers.  Pictures  in  neighborhood  ads  are 
now  classified  as  to  adu’t  or  family  appeal, 
noted  by  “A”  or  “F”,  along  lines  used  in  re¬ 
views  in  this  publication  for  several  months. 
Response  from  press,  community  and  trade  was 
encouraging  with  others  certain  to  follow. 

24  sheets  announcing  the  A-F  plan  are  being 
used  throughout  the  city  to  publicize  the  idea. 
Large  ads,  institutional  in  style,  were  used  in 
dailies. 

The  second  step  was  the  cut  in  prices*  at  the 
local  Aldine,  Boyd,  Stanley  Theatres.  Houses 
now  charge  40  cents  from  opening  until  6  P.  M. 
and  50  cents,  plus  tax  from  6  P.  M.  to  closing. 
Saturdays  a  slightly  higher  tilt  is  charged.  This 
brings  the  tariff  at  these  houses  down  to  the 
lowest  state  they  have  ever  been.  It  is  be¬ 
lieved  the  reduction  will  result  in  more  busi¬ 
ness  for  the  houses. 

24  sheets  and  other  ad  material  were  used  in 
this  campaign  as  well. 

The  third  step  in  the  plan  was  the  announce¬ 
ment  of  a  new  $2000  contest  for  a  slogan-saying 
on  “What  the  Movies  Mean  to  Me.’’  $500  is 

the  first  prize  and  there  are  other  prizes  as  well. 
Judges  will  be  local  newspaper  and  civic  leaders. 

Contest  is  open  to  all  Stanley-Warner  patrons 
except  those  in  the  motion  picture  industry. 
Announcement  of  prizes  will  be  made  in  the 
theatre.  Money  will  be  awarded  in  time  for 
Christmas  shopping. 

While  Stanley-Warner  has  always  been  an 
advocate  of  close  co-operation  between  theatre 
and  manager,  this  new  plan  will  cement  the  rela¬ 
tionship  solid.  The  circuit  is  doing  everything 
possible  to  show  its  indication  of  working  with 
everyone  in  advancing  the  interests  of  theatre 
and  community  group. 

Stanley-Warner  is  also  spending  a  lot  of 
money  for  its  local  newsreel. 


Krouse  Appointed 

Lew  Krouse,  local  bibliophile  and  head  of 
Local  307,  operators  union,  has  been  made  a 
member  of  the  burlesque  code  authority.  He 
was  recently  appointed  to  the  post  and  has  al¬ 
ready  entered  upon  his  new  work  with  unusual 
vigor. 


Welfare  Drive  Aid 


Exhibitors  are  running  special  trail¬ 
ers  on  the  Welfare  Drive,  which  ends 
November  29. 

The  industry  is  expected  to  be  as  ac¬ 
tive  as  usual  in  aiding  the  plea  for  funds. 

With  exhibitor  help,  it  is  expected 
that  the  drive  will  go  over  the  top. 


Aarons  Speaks 

George  B.  Aarons,  MPTO  secretary  and 
counsel,  has  been  busy  addressing  civic  bodies. 

This  week  he  spoke  on  “Movies”  to.  a  group 
of  100  members  of  the  Jewish  Council,  Beth 
El  synagogue,  Camden,  N.  J.,  while  next  week 
he  speaks  on  the  same  subject  before  the  Rotary 
Club  of  Boyertown. 


1935  Calendars  Soon 


The  1935  booking  calendars  will  be 
in  your  hands  within  the  next  few 
weeks. 

Calendars  are  being  sent  to  all  divi¬ 
sions  of  the  trade  with  the  compliments 
of  Jay  Emanuel  Publications,  Inc.,  as 
another  added  service  from  this  publica¬ 
tion  to  its  readers. 

The  calendars  will  include  all  neces¬ 
sary  information.  If  your  copy  does  not 
arrive  by  December  1,  write  this  office 
and  one  will  be  sent  to  you  immediately. 


There  will  be  no  charge  for  them. 


ONCE  MORE-A  PLEA  FOR  CO-OPERATION 


AT  A  TIME  when  it  should  be  united  into  one  combined  exhibi¬ 
tion  fraternity,  the  Philadelphia  district  has  never  been  more  divided. 

Here  is  the  picture: 

1 —  The  exhibitors  are  in  three  groups,  MPTO,  IEPA  and  un¬ 
affiliated  exhibitors  who  belong  to  neither. 

2 —  The  IEPA  is  said  to  be  ready  to  launch  its  “fight  to  the  people,” 
showing  by  trailers,  speakers,  ads,  etc.,  how  perilous  the  plight 
of  the  members  of  their  organization  is  said  to  be  and  the 
reasons  for  it.  While  the  actual  material  is  not  available  as 
yet,  it  is  expected  that  the  usual  charges  of  unfairness  of  block 
booking,  preferred  playing  time,  percentage,  chain  domination, 
producer  monopoly  in  selling,  etc.,  will  be  included. 

3 —  The  Stanley-Warner  Company  has  begun  its  own  idea  of  con¬ 
tacting  the  general  public  through  plans  outlined  in  other 
columns  of  this  publication.  No  mention  will  be  made  of 
opposition  theatres  but  Stanley-Warner  houses  will  be  sold  as 
an  entity. 

AT  THIS  TIME,  with  drastic  need  for  additional  revenue  appar¬ 
ent  in  city,  state  and  national  branches  of  government,  one  organiza¬ 
tion  is  a  necessity.  Instead,  the  exhibitors  of  this  territory  are  drifting 
farther  and  farther  apart. 

ON  NOVEMBER  23,  the  MPTO  is  having  a  dedication  ceremony 
and  luncheon.  On  November  25,  the  IEPA  is  having  a  similar  industry 
dinner  get-together. 

CERTAINLY,  this  duplication  of  ideas  isn’t  helping  the  trade 
any  and  is  only  indicating  that  the  paths  of  the  two  bodies  are  leading 
farther  and  farther  away. 

THE  EXHIBITOR  wishes  to  point  out  to  the  leaders  of  the  two 
organizations  the  necessity  of  getting  together  and  effect  the  merger 
and  consolidation  as  demanded  by  the  members  of  both  bodies. 
Stanley-Warner  has  stated  it  is  at  all  times  willing  to  hear  complaints 
of  exhibitors  who  are  just  in  their  complaints. 

CERTAINLY,  exhibitors  who  are  also  intelligent  thinkers  know 
that  with  a  split  exhibition  division,  nothing,  as  regards  the  relief  of 
the  exhibitor,  can  be  accomplished.  This  is  not  the  time  for  grinding 
axes,  seeking  personal  publicity,  making  the  front  pages  or  attaining 
personal  glory.  It  is  one  that  calls  for  unity. 

THE  EXHIBITOR  has  always  been  an  advocate  of  unity.  Once 
again,  it  calls  upon  all  exhibitors  to  toss  aside  their  marbles  and  get 
together  for  their  own  good. 


JAY  EMANUEL 


After  tremendous  week  at  the  Stanley  Theatre, 
Philadelphia,  continuing  run  in  Karlton  The¬ 
atre.  First  week’s  business  breaks  all  existing 
records. 

Held  over  for  third  week. 


n 


ONE  NIGHT  OF  LOVE 


Is  the  first  picture  of  new  show  season  to  be 
booked  for  full  week  stands  in  subsequent  run 
Philadelphia  houses: 

Uptown  State  Circle 

Gcjth  Street  Broadway  Logan 

Yorktown  Orphean/  Midway 


And  extended  time  over  entire  Warner  and 
Comerford  Circuits. 


This  only  confirms  the  phenomenal  success  of 
this  MAGNIFICENT  MUSICAL  MASTERPIECE  in 
its  first  engagements  in  the  territory  where 
new  box-office  standings  were  set. 


m  MORE 


are  copitng 


a 


BROADWAY  BILL 


t  tin  f 


with 


Warner  Baxter  wMyrna  Loy 


Frank  Capra,  Hollywood’s  Ace  Director,  the 
man  who  has  never  missed,  adds  more  laurels 
to  the  imposing  record  of  Box-Office  Master¬ 
pieces  which  he  has  created  and  which  include 
'SUBMARINE,"  "FLIGHT,"  "LADIES  OF 
LEISURE,"  "DIRIGIBLE,"  "LADY  FOR  A  DAY," 
and  "IT  HAPPENED  ONE  NIGHT" 


—WMQRE:  afecamingt 


EDWARD  G.  ROBINSON 


NOW  IN  PRODUCTION 

//  ^  Mk  II  Al  I  If  ML  I  // 


"PASSPORT  TO  FAME" 

hy  4  ".  R.  Burnett,  author  oj 

"LITTLE  CAESAR" 

Directed  hy  John  Ford  who  gave  you 


CARNIVAL 


"THREE  BAD  MEN" 

—and  Will  Rogers  Productions 


by  Robert  Riskin 

Scenarist  of"  LADY  FOR  A  DAY" 
and  "it  HAPPENED  ONE  NIGHT 

with 

Lee  Tracy  —  Sally  Ellers 


"GEORGIANA" 

A  dazzling  musical  spectacle  directed  hy 


Victor  Schertzinger 
Creator  of  "ONE  NIGHT  OF  LOVE' 


STACY  THEATRE,  TRENTON,  N.  J. 
"ONE  NIGHT  OF  LOVE"  played  to 
terrific  business  first  week.  Picture 
brought  back  for  a  REPEAT  engage¬ 
ment  within  three  weeks.  First  pic¬ 
ture  to  play  repeat  in  history  of  the 
theatre.  Repeat  week  grossed 
within  Fifty  Dollars  of  first  week’s 
figures. 


PARK  THEATRE,  READING,  PA. 
After  smash  week’s  business  at 
increased  admission  prices,  forced 
by  turnaway  business  to  play 
REPEAT  engagement. 


Not  since  ‘IT  HAPPENED  ONE  NIGHT” 
has  there  been  anything  to  compare  with  the 
terrific  business  on  “ONE  NIGHT  OF 
LOVE”. 

Novl5'34  pg.  15 


mm 


llllllil 


foiirY 


are  com  trig 


Now  ready  for  booking — look  them  ovir 

Carole  Lombard  —  May  Robson 
Roger  Pryor  —  Walter  Connolly 


n 


LADY  BY  CHOICE 


u 


Tremendous  Four  Star  successor  to 
"LADY  FOR  A  DAY" 


The  merriest,  maddest  comedy-riot  ever 
—  a  tidal  wave  of  laughs 


THE  CAPTAIN 
HATES  THE  SEA 


with 


Victor  McLaglen,  Wynne  Gibson,  John  Gilbert, 
Alison  Skipworth,  Walter  Connolly,  Helen  Vin¬ 
son,  Leon  Errol,  Walter  Catlett,  the  Three  Stooges 


Directed  by  Lewis  Milestone  who  gave  you 


°  »■  o '  muni  um»h  i-a  1 i  njpr  _T  r>  p  Apt  At 


S/srv»i_M.nntM  w  af  01 Q  N  Rrnflrl  St  Phila 


16 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Novl5’34 


New  Deal  Will  Extend  to  Censors  as 
Cleanout  of  Board  Is  Awaited  by  Trade 


Heads  First  on  List — Democratic  Victory  Means  All 
Positions  May  Be  Filled  with  Winning  Party  Members 
— No  Names  Mentioned  Yet 


The  motion  picture  industry  is  awaitin 

Complete  victory  of  the  Democratic  party  in 
the  recent  state  and  national  elections  means, 
undoubtedly,  that  there  will  be  a  cleanout  of 
the  censor  board  with  no  reason  to  believe  other 
than  the  entire  censor  group,  chairman,  board 
members  and  aides,  will  be  let  out  with  Demo¬ 
crats  taking  the  places.  Inasmuch  as  the  usual 
“to  the  victors  belong  the  spoils”  policy  is  ap¬ 
plied  in  other  departments,  the  same  should 
hold  true  here. 

Dismissals 

Some  of  the  censor  workers,  who  come  under 
the  Department  of  Education,  may  not  be  dis¬ 
missed  until  the  end  of  May.  There  is  also  a 
likelihood  that  some  of  the  more  important  fig¬ 
ures  in  the  department  itself,  those  who  have 
been  taking  care  of  the  clerical  division,  may 
be  retained  for  a  time.  There  is  always,  of 
course,  a  chance  that  some  may  be  retained  in¬ 
definitely  by  the  new  state  administration. 

Some  Plum 

At  the  present  time,  with  23,000  state  jobs  to 
be  filled,  it  is  unknown  who  may  get  the  plum 
on  the  board,  the  chairman’s  job. 

Likewise,  it  is  unknown  whether  the  new  ad¬ 
ministration  will  be  more  liberal  in  its  censoring. 

Meanwhile,  the  local  industry  waits.  The  past 
censor  administration,  to  judge  it  generally, 
turned  in  a  capable  job,  except  for  a  few  rough 
spots  that  came  up. 

Generally,  the  opinion  in  the  trade  seems  to 
be  that  the  fault  with  the  system  is  the  system 
itself,  not  the  personnel  appointed  to  handle  it. 


Anchorage  Remodelling 

Anchorage,  River  Drive,  will  be  enlarged  to 
500  seating  capacity,  will  be  complete'y  re¬ 
modeled,  redraped  and  redecorated  by  Armando 
Ricci,  decorator,  and  Armand  Carroll,  archi¬ 
tect.  This  is  the  same  combination  that  did 
the  Arcadia  for  the  same  owner,  Arthur  Padula. 

The  new  building  will  be  added  in  the  front 
and  rear  to  allow  greater  facilities  for  kitchen 
and  seating.  It  will  open  shortly. 


“White  Parade” 


A1  Boyd,  Sam  Gross  and  Frank  Buhler 
are  to  be  commended  for  the  manner  in 
which  they  handled  the  recent  trade 
show  of  “The  White  Parade”  at  the 
Locust  Street  Theatre. 

With  reserved  seats,  the  house  avoided 
a  recent  difficulty  at  trade  shows, 
whereby  late  comers  had  to  go  up  to 
the  balcony. 

Then  again,  the  audience  was  repre¬ 
sentative  of  the  exhibition  fraternity. 
The  reserved  seat  idea  should  be  copied 
by  all  who  are  scheduling  trade  shows. 

Picture  was  well  received  with  gen¬ 
eral  consensus  that  it  will  mean  money. 


g  a  New  Deal  in  the  censor  situation. 


EDDIE  CANTOR 

COMES  TO  TOWN 


(Ed.  Note — Eddie  Cantor,  who  may  be  considered  the 
ace  air,  screen  and  stage  comedian,  hopped  into  town 
recently,  caused  the  Earle  to  do  its  best  business  in  57 
weeks,  performed  at  5  shows  a  day,  visited  aplenty, 
heard  many  auditions,  wrote  a  couple  of  articles  and 
books  on  the  side,  had  about  Titeen  interviews  and  still 
managed  tc  keep  his  good  humor.  The  following  is 
the  result  of  15  minutes  of  trailing  him  around  between 
the  Earle  backstage,  the  Warner  clubrooms  and  the 
alley  between  the  two,  where  autograph  seekers  besieged 
him.) 

EDDIE  CANTOR  thinks  the  Screen  Actors 
Guild  affiliation  with  the  Actors  Equity  Associa¬ 
tion  and  the  American  Federation  of  Labor 
the  best  thing  that  ever  happened  to  the  actor. 
He  thinks  that  for  the  first  time  the  producer 
will  not  have  a  monopoly  of  the  situation  but 
will  be  compelled  to  co-operate  with  the  actors 
out  on  the  coast. 

“IF  A  PRODUCER  insists  on  something 
and  the  actors  don’t  agree  in  pops  the  A  F  of 
L  and  out  go  the  technicians,  actors,  etc.,  in¬ 
dicated  Cantor,  pausing  between  auditions.  “It’s 
the  greatest  development,  as  far  as  the  actors 
are  concerned,  in  a  long  while.” 

CANTOR  is  president  of  the  Screen  Guild. 

AS  FOR  ITS  EFFECT  on  the  exhibition 
division,  Cantor  couldn’t  see  any  immediate 
results.  “The  exhibitor  is  interested  in  whether 
a  picture  is  good  or  no  good,”  was  his  reac¬ 
tion.  “Outside  of  that,  the  exhibitor  hasn’t  any 
immediate  worries.” 

CANTOR’S  “Kid  Millions”  comes  into  town 
within  a  month  and  he  believes  it  is  better  than 
“Whoopee.”  Cantor  leaves  NBC  airtime  to 
go  to  Europe  for  a  vacation,  but  returns  after 
the  holidays  to  start  over  CBS  for  Pebeco 
tooth  paste.  The  name  of  his  next  picture  has 
been  tentatively  set  but  has  not  yet  been  an¬ 
nounced. 

ACE  BUSINESSMAN-COMEDIAN  of  the 
theatrical  world,  he  still  finds  time  to  encour¬ 
age  aspirants  for  stage  honors,  always  lends 
an  ear  to  those  who  wish  to  give  and  take  ad¬ 
vantage  and  is,  all  to'd,  a  member  of  the  enter¬ 
tainment  divisions  of  which  the  industry  and 
country  may  well  be  proud. 

HIS  JUDGMENT  is  respected  by  all,  and  as 
far  as  this  publication  is  concerned,  thinks  the 
trade  journal  of  this  territory  “Bright,  breezy, 
and  up  to  the  minute  and  valuable.” 


State,  Harrisburg,  Reopens 

Wilmer  and  Vincent’s  State  Theatre,  Har¬ 
risburg,  has  opened  for  another  season. 

Charles  Bierbauer  is  again  at  the  helm,  as¬ 
sisted  by  Francis  DeVerter. 


RCA  Changing 

RCA  is  changing  many  of  its  sound 
installation  systems  from  the  flywheel  to 
the  pulley. 

This  is  believed  getting  around  any 
infringement  possibility. 


Exhibitors  Win  and  Lose 
in  Political  Contests 

Dietrich  Victor,  Hunt  Defeated 

Record  Shows 

Exhibitors  won  and  lost  in  the  state 
and  New  Jersey  political  contests. 

C.  Elmer  Dietrich,  Tunkhannock,  won  in  the 
contest  for  congressional  representative  over 
Representative  Louis  T.  McFadden.  Dietrich 
is  a  prominent  exhibitor  upstate  and  won  on 
the  Democratic  ticket. 

In  New  Jersey,  Assemblyman  William  C. 
Hunt  lost  to  Walter  Taylor,  his  Democratic 
opponent.  His  opponent  is  a  farmer. 

The  Wildwood  situation  had  been  a  particu¬ 
larly  bitter  one,  with  Mayor  Doris  D.  Bradway 
his  chief  political  opponent.  Hunt  operates  a 
string  of  theatres  in  the  Wildwood,  Cape  May 
sector  as  well  as  the  local  Rockland. 

Frank  W.  Ruth,  Bernville,  was  re-elected  to 
the  legislature.  He  is  a  Democrat  and  has  been 
manager  of  the  Community  Theatre  there.  He 
comes  from  the  third  legislative  district,  Berks 
County. 


Audio  Busy 

Frank  K.  Speidell,  director,  industrial  divi¬ 
sion,  Audio  Productions,  Inc.,  leaves  on  his 
second  trip  to  Hollywood  this  week.  He  is  sup¬ 
ervising  the  production  of  a  two-reel  subject 
being  made  at  General  Service  Studios  for  the 
B.  F.  Goodrich  Company. 

F.  Lyle  Goldman,  director,  theatrical  divi¬ 
sion,  same  company,  has  just  returned  from 
Hollywood  where  he  completed  the  photograph¬ 
ing  of  a  sound  motion  picture  cartoon,  utiliz¬ 
ing  the  new  Technicolor  three-color  process. 


Delaware  Charters 

Paramount  Films  cf  Guatamala,  Inc.  Deal  in  pictures, 
photographic  films,  $5000. 

Swiss  Tri-Ergon  Corporation.  Deal  in  motion  pic¬ 
ture  films,  motion  picture  projecting  machines  and  etc. 
1000  shares,  no  par  value. 

Russel  H.  Davis-Howard  Hayes,  Inc.  Operate  Theatres 
and  other  places  of  amusement.  $100,000. 


Visual  Okayed 

Action  was  taken  recently  by  the 
Pennsylvania  State  Council  of  Educa¬ 
tion  that  will  make  it  necessary  for  all 
teachers  seeking  permanent  certificates 
in  Pennsylvania  after  September  1, 
1935,  to  first  complete  a  laboratory 
course  in  visual  education. 


THE  PICTURE  WITH  A  MILLION 
DIFFERENT  EXPLOITATION  IDEAS  ! 


THE 

SCARLET 

LETTER 


r  MILLIONS  ^ 
HAVE  THRILLED 
TO  ITS 
ABSORBING¬ 
LY  drama/  A 


NATHANIEL  HAWTHOUNE’S  I 31  AM  OH  TA  L  CLASSIC 


“QHk  Scarlet  better” 


Starring  COLLEEN  MOORE  and  HARDIE  ALBRIGHT 


Supported  bu  H.  B.  WALTHALL,  WM.  FARNUM,  VIRGINIA  HOWELL,  ALAN  HALE, 

CORA  SUE  COLLINS,  WM.  KENT  and  a  cast  of  over  200  players  —  Directed  by  ROBERT  VIGNOLA 


MAJESTIC 


Distributed  by  Novi 5* 34  pg.  17 

Masterpiece  film  Attractions,  Inc. 


I.  WCTTOT 


L.  KORSON,  Pi 


i — -■  jimiul  rxt.  rijiiouriuniH.  ra  iinnPrjpo  flPt.nt 


.  P.ihllchoFl  QomLMontkl 


of  Ol  O  M  Drr,QW  Qf 


Now  Playing -AL  BOYD'S  LOCUST  STREET  THEATRE,  Philadelphia 


18 


Novl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


NOVEL  FRONT.  Effective  lobby  arranged  by  manager  Sam  Gilman,  Regent  The¬ 
atre,  Harrisburg,  for  the  opening  of  “Transatlantic  Merry-Go-Round,”  from  United 
Artists. 


STREET  BANNER.  Frolic  The¬ 
atre,  here,  used  this  method  to  ad¬ 
vertise  “Tomorrow’s  Children,” 
recently. 


BACK  AGAIN.  Maurice  Chevalier,  re¬ 
turning  aboard  the  lie  de  France  and 
now  en  route  to  Hollywood  where  he 
will  play  the  leading  role  in  “Folies  Ber- 
gere  de  Paris,”  20th  Century  produc¬ 
tion  released  through  United  Artists. 


ANNOUNCES  HEARST  TIEUP. 
Harry  M.  Warner,  president,  War¬ 
ner  Brothers  Pictures,  has  an¬ 
nounced  the  tie-up  between  Cos¬ 
mopolitan  Productions,  William 
Randolph  Hearst  producing  unit, 
and  Warner  Brothers. 


IN  HOLLYWOOD.  The  five  winners 
of  the  national  contest  conducted  by 
Monogram  to  discover  screen  talent 
arrive  in  Hollywood.  They  were  se¬ 
lected  from  250,000  entrants.  The 
quintet  will  appear  in  Monogram’s 
“Women  Must  Dress.” 


HEROINE.  This  is  Mara,  heroine 
of  “Hei  Tiki,”  new  First  Division 
release,  produced,  directed  and 
supervised  by  Alexander  Markey, 
with  Zoe  Varney  assisting. 


HERO.  This  is  the  native  hero  of 
“Hei  Tiki,”  the  new  First  Division 
exploitation  special.  The  show  was 
conceived  and  produced  on  the  Isle 
of  Ghosts  in  the  South  Seas  and  has 
been  heralded  by  critics  everywhere 
as  a  masterpiece.  First  Division 
plans  a  giant  campaign  to  put  it 
over.  A  New  York  City  first  run 
will  be  set  shortly. 


“ARAN”  TIEUP.  Gaumont  British 
tied  up  with  Macy’s,  New  York  City, 
to  plug  “Man  of  Aran”  berets. 


Novl5'34  pg.  19 


WEAK 

KNEED 


or  an  alert ,  constructive  force ? 

PUT  yourself  in  Mr.  Theatre  Owner’s  chair!  Would 
you  rather  devote  your  Trade  Reading  Hours  to 
ponderous  treatises  of  nation-wide  problems  and  aca¬ 
demic  studies  of  appalling  trade  practices  violations  in 
Peoria — or  would  you  rather  devote  those  same  T.  R.  H.’s 
to  a  decided,  two-fisted  attack  on  your  local  ills — a  pat 
on  the  back  for  a  local  job  well  done — all  garnished  with 
a  flowing,  breezy,  newsy  chatter  about  the  fellows  you 
know  and  situations  with  which  you  are  familiar? 

Professor  Einstein  has  the  world’s  greatest  modern 
mind,  but  if  you  wanted  understandable  interesting 
news,  you’d  rather  listen  to  Lowell  Thomas. 

Take  advantage  of  Mr.  Theatre  Owner’s  T.  R.  H.’s 
through  the  columns  of  his  local  Regional. 


JAY  EMANUEL 
PUBLICATIONS 

HOME  TOWN  TRADE  PAPERS 
OF  4600  THEATRE  OWNERS 


12 


20 


Novl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


• 

A  Concise 
National  Survey 

TRADE  IN  REVIEW  - 

- • 

^  Glances  Outside 
the  Territory 

CODE 

Set  Code  Assessments  for 
Producers  and  Distributors 

The  NRA  has  finally  approved  a  plan  for 
assessing  distributors  and  producers.  1/1 0th  of 
the  $180,000  to  be  raised  comes  from  the  inde¬ 
pendents.  The  indes  number  300  and  the  larger 
companies  12,  with  figuring  showing  96%  of 
the  industry  contributing  10%  of  the  funds. 

As  companies  whose  annual  sales  are  less 
than  $750,000,  which  includes  substantially  all 
the  independents,  contribute  total  exceeding 
$18,000,  excess  must  be  set  aside  and  credited  to 
members  of  this  group  pro  rata  according  to 
contributions. 

Credit  is  to  be  applied  to  their  assessment  for 
the  next  budget  period  for  which  a  revised  basis 
of  contribution  will  probably  be  substituted. 

Minimum  assessments  for  firms  with  sales 
less  than  $12,000  annually  is  $120,  while  concerns 
in  the  $100,000  class  pay  $700.  There  are  special 
measures  for  protecting  small  concerns  who 
don’t  do  an  annual  business  of  $12,000. 

Right  of  appeal  remains,  etc.  Average  contri¬ 
butions,  inasmuch  as  the  required  $18,000  comes 
from  300  concerns,  reach  $60  per  company.  It 
is  on  that  basis  that  the  NRA  thinks  adjust¬ 
ments  required  by  the  order  will  decrease  net 
contributions  from  the  independents. 

Equipment  Dealers  Hold 
Code  Meeting  in  Washington 

Equipment  dealers  attended  sessions  in  Wash¬ 
ington  to  formulate  an  equipment  code.  Many 
were  the  objections  that  came  from  National 
Theatre  Supply  Company.  Indications  were 
that  a  suitable  code  would  be  framed. 

Shorts  Cropping  Up  As 
Problem  for  Code  Groups 

With  the  buying  of  shorts  restricted  to  the 
proportion  of  the  number  of  features  purchased, 
there  may  be  some  code  cases  arising  from  it. 
Jersey  Allied,  eastern  unit,  headed  by  the 
president  of  the  national  Allied  body,  seeks  to 
investigate  the  situation. 

Likewise,  Pete  Harrison,  veteran  publisher, 
has  been  cautioning  exhibitors  on  their  rights 
in  shorts  purchases. 

EXHIBITION 

Treasury  Gives  Ruling 
On  Group  Ticket  Selling 

The  Treasury  Department  has  ruled  that 
when  tickets  are  sold  at  reduced  rates,  such  as 
in  ticket  books,  if  in  taxable  category,  the  10% 
tax  is  on  the  sale  value,  not  their  original  value. 

This  should  be  of  interest  to  theatremen. 

Warners  Inaugurates  A-F 
Plan  for  Theatres 

Warner  Brothers  inaugurated  an  adult-family 
plan  of  rating  in  Philadelphia  which  may  be 
used  by  the  circuit  everywhere.  Under  the 
plan,  neighborhood  ads  get  a  classification  of 
A-adult  or  F-family,  which  allows  patrons 
to  determine  what  sort  of  a  picture  it  is. 

The  industry  is  watching  the  development. 


SMPE  Seeks  to  Standardize 
All  Equipment  for  Theatres 

One  of  the  outstanding  developments  at  the 
Society  of  Motion  Picture  Engineers’  conven¬ 
tion  in  New  York  City  was  the  move  to  stand¬ 
ardize  all  equipment  in  the  business.  A  sectional 
committee  is  undertaking  the  project.  Co-oper¬ 
ation  with  the  American  Standards  Society  is 
expected. 

Homer  G.  Tasker  was  elected  president  of  the 
group. 

The  society  now  has  930  members,  a  report 
showed. 

ASCAP  Denies  Monopoly  in 
Reply  to  Government’s  Suit 

The  American  Society  of  Composers,  Auth¬ 
ors  and  Publishers  denies  that  it  is  a  monopoly 
in  its  answer  to  the  suit  filed  by  the  govern¬ 
ment  against  it.  It  inferred  that  the  govern¬ 
ment's  suit  was  started  because  of  motion  pic¬ 
ture  and  radio  interests  who  wish  to  pirate 
music  without  payment. 

In  its  answer,  it  indicated  also  that  the  Ex¬ 
hibitor  Emergency  Committee  which  recently 
agreed  to  a  compromise  settlement  was  pleased 
with  the  arrangement. 

Mrs.  Gilman  Has  Her 
Say  on  Government  Pictures 

A  new  figure  has  arisen  in  the  ‘'regulate  the 
industry”  movement,  Mrs.  Robbins  Gilman. 
Minneapolis,  motion  picture  chairman,  National 
Congress  of  Parents  and  Teachers.  She  wants 
government  control  of  theatres  and  productions 
and  says  that  the  Legion  of  Decency  and  the 
coast  production  code  are  of  no  value. 

Meyer  Joins  Universal 
As  Laemmle’s  Assistant 

Fred  S.  Meyer,  Milwaukee  exhibitor,  has 
joined  Universal  as  assistant  to  Carl  Laemmle, 
Jr.  Meyer'  has  been  active  in  MPTOA  ranks, 
being  treasurer  of  that  organization. 

MPTOA  Leads  Fight  Against 
Motion  Picture  Research  Council 

The  MPTOA  is  battling  the  Motion  Picture 
Research  Council.  It  seeks  to  convey  the  idea 
that  the  council  is  promoting  widespread  non¬ 
theatrical  exhibitions  in  school  halls,  churches, 
etc. 

MPTOA  leaders  are  delivering  addresses 
against  the  Council’s  plan. 

MPTOA  also  expects  to  add  several  more 
units. 

PRODUCTION 

Hearst- Warner  Move  Greeted 
With  Interest  by  Trade 

Moving  the  William  Randolph  Hearst  unit 
from  the  Metro  lot  to  Warner  Brothers  is  one 
of  the  most  important  production  developments 
of  the  year.  Cosmopolitan  will  produce  6  pic¬ 
tures  for  Warners,  with  Marion  Davies  as  one 
star. 

Hearst  Metrotone  news  is  not  included  in  the 
deal. 

Metro  has  already  announced  that  it  intends 
to  deliver  other  pictures  for  the  Cosmopolitan 
announced  on  this  year’s  schedule. 


Companies  In  Good  Condition 
Various  Statements  Indicate 

Production  and  distribution  units  are  in  good 
condition,  recent  financial  statements  indicate. 

Fox  showed  a  net  profit  of  $1,506,212.67  for 
the  39  weeks  ended  September  29.  This  com¬ 
pared  with  a  loss  in  the  same  period  last  year. 

Loew  may  pay  an  extra  dividend.  Metro  re¬ 
cently  paid  the  regular  7%  dividend. 

Consolidated  Film  net  $826,404  in  9  months. 

RCA  showed  a  net  of  9  months  totalling 
$2,177,770. 

Warner  Stockholders  to 
Meet  in  Annual  Election 

Warner  stockholders  meet,  December  10,  in 
Wilmington,  Del.,  to  vote. 

Five  directors  are  to  be  elected  for  a  term  of 
two  years.  Directors  meet  December  18  to  re¬ 
elect  officers. 

Harry  M.  Warner,  president,  will  be  re¬ 
elected. 

Fox  Signs  Kent  to  New 
Contract  for  3  Years 

Sidney  R.  Kent  will  be  president  of  Fox  for 
at  least  3  more  years.  A  contract  for  that 
length  was  recently  signed.  W.  C.  Michel  and 
John  Clark  also  were  given  3-year  contracts. 

Rules  for  Agents  Opposed 
By  Major  Company  Representatives 

At  a  hearing  in  Washington,  later  adjourned 
30  days,  major  company  representatives  pro¬ 
tested  against  the  rules  sought  to  regulate  the 
agency  business.  Sol  A.  Rosenblatt  heard  the 
session,  attended  by  only  a  few. 

Harold  Bareford,  Warner  Brothers,  repre¬ 
sented  the  major  producers  and  as  a  result  of 
various  arguments,  the  hearing  was  adjourned. 
It  was  protested  that  the  rules  seemed  to  favor 
western  agents  and  that  interests  of  producers 
were  not  protected. 

Screen  Actors  Guild  Part 
Of  Actors’  Equity  Association 

Screen  Actors  Guild,  coast  unit,  has  joined 
the  American  Federation  of  Labor  and  has  be¬ 
come  an  affiliate  of  Actors’  Equity  Association. 

This  brings  together  the  legitimate  theatre 
as  well  as  the  screen  division  of  players  into 
one  union  and  marks  the  successful  entry  of 
Actors’  Equity  into  the  coast  situation. 

Guild’s  total  membership  is  4104,  with  a  Class 
A  group  of  more  than  400,  consisting  of  stars 
and  feature  players.  Guild  will  work  as  a  unit 
but  co-operate  with  Equity. 

DISTRIBUTION 

Lee  Signs  to  Handle  GB 
Reins  in  This  Country 

Arthur  A.  Lee,  well  known  member  of  the 
distribution  and  importation  division  of  the 
trade,  is  the  new  vice-president  and  genera! 
manager  for  Gaumont  British  Pictures  of 
America.  He  has  been  in  the  business  24  years. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Novl5'34 


21 


WILKES-BARRE 


Comerford  Amusement  Company  has  pur¬ 
chased  the  Smou Iter-Fly nn  properties  ad¬ 
joining  the  Hazle  Street  theatre,  reviving 
reports  that  expansion  is  contemplated. 

Globe  property,  Public  Square,  Wilkes-Barre, 
taken  over  by  the  Comerfords  when  there 
was  talk  of  another  theatre,  remains  un¬ 
rented. 

Fred  Hermann,  Capitol,  devoted  most  of  the 
past  two  weeks  to  the  first  road  show  that 
the  Comerfords  have  brought  to  town. 

Capitol  was  open  on  a  Sunday  when  the 
American  Legion  posts  conducted  Armis¬ 
tice  Day  services. 

If  John  Galvin  were  not  a  good  theatre  man¬ 
ager,  he  might  have  carved  out  a  career 


for  himself  as  master  of  ceremonies.  The 
way  he  squelched  a  heckler  at  the  Penn 
during  Amateur  Night  last  week  caused 
considerable  talk. 

A1  Cox,  Irving,  had  a  page  in  the  Sunday 
sheet  to  promote  "Happiness  Ahead.” 

Fred  Hermann  featured  local  endorsements 
to  advertise  "One  Night  of  Love.” 

State,  Nanticoke,  entertained  the  Nanticoke 
high  school  football  squad  in  connection 
with  the  showing  of  the  feature,  "Pro- 
Football.” 

Fred  Hermann  was  named  major  of  the  the¬ 
atre  employes  division  in  the  Community 
Welfare  Federation  campaign  this  week. 


Change  in  Name  and  Capital  Stock 

Wesco  Corporation  to  National  Theatres  Corporation, 
N.  Y.  and  increase  in  capital  from  1,000  to  1,800,000 
shares,  no  par  value. 


Nineteen  Years  Ago  in  Philadelphia 


Fred  G.  Nixon-Nirdlinger,  son  Samuel  F. 
Nixon  was  appointed  general  assistant  to 
his  father.  Frank  Wolfe  was  appointed  his 
assistant  general  manager  at  the  Nixon, 
Colonial  and  several  other  houses.  Charles 
Thropp  moved  from  the  Colonial  to  the 
Nixon  as  manager.  F.  Frederick  Leopold 
moved  from  the  Nixon  to  the  Colonial  as 
manager.  William  Nields  was  appointed 
manager  of  the  Coliseum. 

William  Boozar  gave  up  the  Dreamland  The¬ 
atre. 

M.  Mutch,  formerly  manager,  Apollo  The¬ 
atre,  was  appointed  manager  of  the 
Oxford. 

Messrs  Insley  and  Lewis,  proprietors,  Tivoli 
Theatre,  purchased  the  Spruce. 


Who's  Afraid 
of  the 

Bold  Bad  Winter? 

Not  New  Jersey  exhibitors 
because  they  know  that  New 
Jersey  Messenger  Service  has 
made  good  its  promises.  Even 
in  last  year’s  terrific  cold,  not 
one  exhibitor  was  inconveni¬ 
enced  and  none  had  to  worry. 
They  knew  their  shipments 
were  protected. 

Never  a  Missout 
Always  on  Time 

The  record  of  New  Jersey 
Messenger  Service  speaks  for 
itself.  Ask  their  customers 
what  they  think  and  there  is 
only  one  answer.  NEVER  A 
MISSOUT.  ALWAYS  ON 
TIME.  And  when  emergencies 
arise,  New  Jersey  Messenger 
Service  is  on  the  job  to  take 
care  of  all  problems. 


NEW  JERSEY 

MESSENGER  SERVICE 

250  N.  Juniper  St.  Myer  Adleman 
PHILADELPHIA  Prop. 

Spr.  9355  Loc.  8787  Race  9444 


Save  yourself  from 

worrying  ABOUT  PRINTING 


Don  ’T  be  like  the  exhibitor 
above.  He  doesn’t  know  that 
placing  his  printing  contract  with 
National  Penn  Printing  Company 
will  save  him  a  lot  of  thinking  as 
well  as  a  lot  of  worries.  Printing 
is  more  than  a  mechanical  process. 
It  involves  a  lot  of  catering  to  the 
particular  needs  of  the  client.  Be¬ 
cause  National  Penn  Printing 
Company  has  done  this  success¬ 
fully  for  many  years  it  can  right¬ 
fully  boast  of  being  the  industry’s 
leader  in  that  field. 

National  Penn 
Printing  Co. 

1233  VINE  STREET 
PHILADELPHIA 


PrINTING  programs,  heralds, 
etc.,  is  only  part  of  the  battle. 
Rental  of  posters  and  paper,  etc., 
is  another  division  which  is  highly 
important  to  the  exhibitor.  Here, 
National  Kline  Poster  Company  is 
without  a  peer.  Not  only  effect¬ 
ing  economies  for  exhibitors  but 
providing  them  with  an  efficient, 
quick  means  whereby  they  can 
obtain  all  necessary  paper,  Na¬ 
tional  Kline  Poster  Company  has 
grown  because  exhibitors  need  it. 
Long  lists  of  satisfied  customers 
testify  to  this. 

National  Kline 
Poster  Co. 

1307  VINE  STREET 
PHILADELPHIA 


OSCAR  LIBROS  AL  BLOFSON  SIMON  LIBROS 


22 


Novl5’34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


WE  REPEAT' — , 

A  DEAL  SO  FINE 
IT  CAN'T  BE  IMITATED 


Trent v minus  Sucre ss 

HAS  BROUGHT  IMITATIONS 


OF 


22K  Etched  Gold 

DIMMER  WARE 

Quality  Premium  Distributors,1 !'"c 

CONTROL  THIS  WINNER  FOR  THE 
ENTIRE  UNITED  STATES 

THE  MANUFACTURERS  HOLD 
PATENT  No.  1,641,820 

FOR  THE  MAKING  OF 

Etched  Gold  Dinnerware 

AND  WILL  PROSECUTE  ANY  INFRINGEMENT 
ON  THIS  PATENT  ACCORDING  TO  LAW 

DON’T  BUY  A  LAWSUIT! 


22K  ETCHED  GOLD 

IS  A  SENSATION  FOR 
DE  LUXE  HOUSES  AT 


12V2/ 


BEING  AMERICA’S  LARGEST 
BUYERS  OF  GOLD  DINNERWARE 

WE  CAN  OFFER  A  VARIETY  OF  PAT¬ 
TERNS  AND  DESIGNS  AS  LOW  AS 


«/ 


QUALITY  PREMIUM 

DISTRIBUTORS,  Inc. 

Serving  Exhibitors  from  Coast  to  Coast 
HOME  OFFICE:  -  1305  VINE  ST.,  PHILA.,  PA. 


THE  CODE  •  CASES  •  HEARINGS  •  RULINGS 


GENERAL  RELEASE  DATES 

RADIO 

By  Your  Leave,  November  11-13;  Anne  of 
Green  Gables,  November  29. 

PARAMOUNT 

Menace,  October  30-November  1;  Mrs. 
Wiggs  of  the  Cabbage  Patch,  October  25-27; 
Ready  for  Love,  October  17-19. 

METRO 

Evelyn  Prentice,  November  12;  Merry 
Widow,  November  5. 

WARNERS 

I  Sell  Anything,  November  10;  The  Fire¬ 
bird,  November  16;  Dr.  Monica,  November 
2;  Kensas  City  Princess,  November  3. 

FOX 

Music  in  the  Air,  November  27;  Hell  in 
the  Heavens,  November  7;  White  Parade, 
November  16;  Elinor  Norton,  October  26; 
Gambling,  October  28. 

UNIVERSAL 

One  Exciting  Adventure,  November  2. 
COLUMBIA 

The  Captain  Hates  the  Sea,  November  10- 
13;  That’s  Gratitude,  November  1-3. 


SCHEDULE 
November  16 

Hamilton  Theatre  vs.  Stanley-Warner 
theatres  (West  Philly),  Paramount  Pub- 
lix  houses  (West  Philly),  Apollo  The¬ 
atre,  Frolic  Theatre,  Mayfair  Theatre, 
on  clearance. 

Overbrook  Theatre  vs.  Stanley-Warner 
theatres  (West  Philly),  Paramount  Pub- 
lix  houses  (West  Philly),  Apollo  The¬ 
atre,  Frolic  Theatre,  Mayfair  Theatre, 
on  clearance. 

HEARINGS 
Clearance  and  Zoning 
November  9 

Mayfair  Theatres  Corporation,  Mayfair 
Theatre,  vs.  Colonial  Amusement  Com¬ 
pany,  Hamilton  Theatre. 

Decision: 

Board  finds  that  the  two  theatres  are  competi¬ 
tive  and  that  the  clearance  is  not  unfair;  and 
the  case  is  therefore  dismissed. 

Mayfair  Theatres  Corporation,  Mayfair 
Theatre,  vs.  Lessy  Amusement  Com¬ 
pany,  Cedar  Theatre. 

Decision: 

Board  finds  that  the  two  theatres  are  com¬ 
petitive  and  that  the  clearance  is  not  unfair. 
Case,  therefore,  is  dismissed. 

Ritz  Theatres  Corporation,  Ritz  Theatre 
vs.  Warner  Brothers  Theatres,  Lindley 
and  Felton  Theatres. 

Decision: 

Protest  of  the  Ritz  Theatre  Corp.  coming 
before  the  board  and  it  not  appearing  that  the 
clearance  enjoyed  over  the  Ritz  Theatre  is 
greater  for  this  season  than  for  last  season, 
and  it  further  appearing  that  under  the  report 
of  the  Code  Authority  for  the  Motion  Picture 
Industry,  dated  August  30,  1934,  that  the  hearing 
of  this  matter  comes  within  the  discretionary 
power  of  the  local  board,  it  is  the  conclusion 
of  the  local  board  not  to  hear  the  matter. 


Lessy' s  “ Ir-REL-evant " 


George  Lessy  has  been  involved  in  so 
many  legal  cases  before  the  code  board 
he  speaks  their  language. 

When  a  question  was  asked  of  him, 
George  said  it  was  “Ir-REL-evant,”  par¬ 
lance  usually  associated  with  lawyers. 

It  handed  the  board  a  laugh. 

IEPA  Code  Complaint 
Answered  by  Rosenblatt 

Deputy  Administrator  Replies  in 
Unfairness  Charge 


Deputy  Administrator  Sol  A  Rosen¬ 
blatt  has  answered  a  charge  of  local  code 
hoard’s  unfairness  presented  to  him  by 
the  local  Independent  Exhibitors  Protec¬ 
tive  Association. 

Reorganization  of  the  boards,  as  requested, 
was  refused  by  Rosenblatt.  Inferences  to 
effect  that  three  exhibitor  members  of  the 
boards  might  be  biased  because  of  Stanley-War- 
ners'  being  a  member  of  the  MPTO  were  pre¬ 
sented  by  IEPA. 

Morris  Wax,  chairman  of  the  IEPA  board, 
signed  the  letter.  The  body  claimed  it  had 
no  representation  on  the  board.  With  rezon¬ 
ing  coming  up,  the  IEPA  wrote,  the  organiza¬ 
tion  could  not  be  a  party  to  rezoning  without 
what  it  termed  “adequate  representation.”  No 
objection  was  made  to  exchange  members. 

Rosenblatt  replied  that  when  the  boards  were 
appointed,  exhibitor  members  were  approved  by 
the  exhibitor  body,  the  MPTO,  and  that  if  the 
members  were  suitable  then  they  were  okay 
now  until  specific  information  as  to  maladminis¬ 
tration  was  available.  Rosenblatt  a’so  indi¬ 
cated  that  non-membership  in  IEPA  should  not 
be  taken  as  an  indication  of  the  three  exhibi¬ 
tor  members  not  being  qualified  to  serve  on  the 
boards. 

The  IEPA  blast  was  not  unexpected. 

Examination  of  cases  concerning  IEPA 
members  does  not  reveal  any  unfairness  in 
decisions.  Harry  Perelman,  a  member,  re¬ 
cently  won  a  code  case,  and  generally,  exhibi¬ 
tor  opinion  has  been  to  the  effect  that  the  boards 
have  been  very  fair. 

A  flareup  occurred  last  week  when  the  zoning 
board  met  in  session. 

Lewen  Pizor,  a  member  of  the  board,  asked, 
at  the  opening  of  the  meeting,  that  certain 
charges  of  the  board  being  “fixed”  be  explained. 
He  addressed  his  inquiry  to  David  Barrist,  who 
was  bringing  certain  cases.  Barrist  asked  that 
the  matter  not  be  discussed  at  that  time.  Pizor 
did  not  go  into  specific  details  of  the  charges, 
but  it  was  indicated  that  the  “fixed”  charges 
had  been  made  previous  to  the  meeting.  Barrist 
answered  that  if  he  had  thought  anything  were 
“fixed”  he  would  not  bring  cases  before  the 
board. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Novl5’34 


23 


Roxy  Deal  Set 

Reports  were  current  this  week  that 
the  deal  for  Roxy  to  operate  the  Mast- 
baum  for  Stanley- Warner,  as  reported 
in  the  November  1  issue,  was  set. 

Roxy  will  present  new  type  stage 
shows  in  the  theatre. 

H  ouse  will  re-open  for  holiday  period. 

Rumor  also  included  a  salary  and  per¬ 
centage  deal  for  the  maestro,  although 
this  was  not  confirmed. 

Ludington  Heads  First 
Division  Producing  Unit 

Nicholas  S.  Ludington  has  been  elected 
president  of  First  Division  Productions, 
newly-organized  affiliate  of  First  Division 
Exchanges,  Inc. 

Other  officers  include  Henry  Hobart,  vice- 
president  and  producer,  John  Curtis,  vice-presi¬ 
dent  and  treasurer,  William  Fiske,  III,  vice- 
president,  and  Frank  Look,  secretary. 

MORE  SPACE 

Headquarters  will  be  maintained  in  Holly¬ 
wood.  Additional  space  has  been  taken  on  the 
23rd  floor  of  the  RKO  Building  to  be  used  for 
eastern  executive  offices.  Leased  space  will 
be  connected  with  the  offices  of  First  Divi¬ 
sion  Exchanges.  Further  expansion  is  p'anned 
whereby  this  company  and  its  affiliates  will 
occupy  a  total  area  of  about  10,00(1  sq.  ft. 

Curtis,  Look  and  Hobart  will  fly  to  the  coast 
in  a  few  weeks  to  take  initial  steps  in  estab¬ 
lishing  studios  in  Hollywood.  Plans  are  under 
way  to  make  eight  pictures  during  the  1934- 
35  season,  with  shooting  expected  about  the  first 
of  year.  Stories,  casts,  director,  etc.,  will  be 
announced  in  the  near  future. 


TRENTON 


Hightstown  voters  approve  Sunday  movies. 
By  a  majority  of  2  7  votes  in  a  hotly  con¬ 
tested  election  question  of  theatres  oper¬ 
ating  on  Sunday  was  disposed  of  at  the 
general  election  November  6  on  referen¬ 
dum. 

Operators  to  appeal  NRA  decision.  Trenton 
Local  Union  International  Alliance  The¬ 
atrical  Employees  and  Movie  Operators 
plan  to  appeal  decision  of  the  NRA  Labor 
Relations  Board  calling  for  reinstatement 
of  two  operators,  members  of  Independent 
Projectionists  Union,  at  the  Victory  The¬ 
atre. 


years’  experience— 
behind  every  register 


For  50  years  General  Register  Corpo¬ 
ration  and  associated  companies  have 
been  designing  and  building  cash  con¬ 
trol  equipment  for  the  theatre,  carrying 
an  unqualified  two  year  guarantee  on 
all  registers. 

Representation  in  all  key  cities. 


GENERAL  REGISTER 
CORPORATION 

1540  Broadway,  New  York 


YORK 


150  Persons  attended  the  district  party  of 
the  Warner  Club,  Gettysburg.  A  good  time 
was  had  by  all,  largely  because  of  the 
efforts  of  William  Israel,  district  man¬ 
ager;  Irvin  Mirsch,  chairman  of  the  house 
committee;  Charles  Moyer,  chairman,  re¬ 
freshments  and  entertainment  committees, 
an  d  Cleon  Miller  and  Irving  Dunn,  adver¬ 
tising  committee. 

Sidney  Poppay  plugged  the  outdoor  angle  of 
“Chained"  when  it  played  second  run  at 
his  Rialto. 


Abe  Halle,  Capitol,  used  a  personal  endorse¬ 
ment  of  “One  Night  of  Love,”  to  attract 
patrons,  inserting  it  in  the  daily  news¬ 
papers  over  his  signature  and  displaying  it 
in  the  lobby. 

Cleon  Miller,  Strand,  has  started  to  issue  a 
weekly  house  organ,  plugging  the  stage 
and  screen  attractions  for  the  following 
week. 


Lost 

LOST — One  marquisite  pin,  very  valuab’e  as 
keepsake  and  otherwise.  Lost  somewhere  on 
Vine  Street.  Initials  E.  S.  R.  Reward  if 
returned  to  Miss  Etta  V.  Segall,  First  Division 
Exchange. 


will  he 

come  back  to 
YOUR  THEATRE  AGAIN? 

A  pain  in  the  back  doesn’t  help  your  box 
office.  People  won’t  endure  uncomfortable 
chairs.  Easy,  restful  seating  builds 
"come-back-again”  patronage. 

Ask  Us, 

“How  can  I  reseat  and  pay 
for  new  chairs  conveniently?” 

American  Seating  Company 

Makers  of  Dependable  Seating  for  Theatres  and  Auditoriums 
General  Offices:  Grand  Rapids,  Michigan 
BRANCHES  IN  ALL  PRINCIPAL  CITIES 


24 


Novl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Heard  In ' 


V 


INE  STREET 


Apex  Garage 
Is  Honored 


Apex  Garage  has  the  honor  of  being  the  cus¬ 
todian  of  Governor-elect  Earle  s  car  these 
days.  It  seems  that  the  car  is  a  bright, 
new  one,  just  from  the  factory,  and  Apex 
was  chosen  as  the  best  garage  in  the  local¬ 
ity,  all  of  which  made  J.  Becker  very 
happy. 

Gold  Medal  exchange  is  awaiting  Little 
Men,”  the  Mascot  production  of  the  Louisa 
Alcott  novel,  of  the  same  order  as  “Little 
Women.”  Tony  Lucchese  thinks  that  the 
show  will  be  terrific  and  it  will  break  for 
Xmas  and  the  holidays.  The  exchange 
also  is  receiving  "The  Marines  Are  Com¬ 
ing”  and  "In  Old  Santa  Fe"  from  Mascot, 
soon.  "Marrying  Widows  and  House 
of  Danger"  are  in  the  house. 

Masterpiece  is  all  enthused  over  the  Fox 
Locust  booking  of  "The  Scarlet  Letter. 
The  show  got  plenty  of  attention.  Mean¬ 
while,  “Night  Alarm"  and  She  Had  to 
Choose,"  both  from  Majestic,  are  doing 
a  fine  business.  Exhibitors  are  pointing  to 
good  grosses  on  each.  The  Perfect  Clue 
is  also  due  in  soon. 

Hollywood  with  John  Golder  at  the  helm,  is 
pointing  to  record  business  with  Tomor¬ 
row's  Children,”  an  exploitation  picture. 
Houses  throughout  the  territory  are  doing 
holdover  business  with  the  picture.  High 
School  Girl,”  another  exploitation  oppor¬ 
tunity,  is  due  soon.  The  Liberty  produc¬ 
tions  are  also  getting  plenty  of  time. 

Jerry  Wolff,  sales  manager,  Raspin  Produc¬ 
tions,  Inc.,  has  just  returned  from  a  very 
successful  trip,  on  which  he  closed  addi- 
tional  situations  for  distribution  on  Are 
VFe  Civilized  ?  with  Capitol  Film,  Eddie 
Gabriel. 

Farewell  dinner  was  tendered  to  Mrs.  Harry 
Lieberman  (nee  Yetta  Weiss)  and  Elsa 
Chan  by  the  office  working  gals  of  Para¬ 
mount,  November  8,  at  the  Club  Latimer. 
Yetta  is  California  bound  and  Elsa  is  going 
to  Texas,  which  to  her  is  Home  on  the 
Range." 

Bill  Mansell,  Warner  branch  chief  here,  is 
plugging  the  new  campaign  book  on  the 
"See  America  First"  series  from  Warners. 
Shorts  have  a  big  group  of  ideas  which 
can  help  sell  them.  Exhibitors  can  help 
their  box  offices  by  a  proper  sales  cam¬ 
paign. 

Joe  Conway  says  that  if  business  gets  any 
worse,  they  will  be  having  gala  closings  of 
theatres  along  the  lines  of  those  being 
opened.  The  idea  will  be  to  hold  the  audi¬ 
ence  in  the  theatre  and  let  them  rush  out 
to  the  street,  reversing  the  usual  pro¬ 
ceedings. 

Frank  McNamee,  Radio  manager,  is  being 
congratulated  on  the  manner  in  which  he 
helped  in  the  opening  of  the  new  Holly¬ 
wood  Theatre,  Atlantic  City.  Charlie 
Segall  helped  handle  the  crowds,  as  well. 

Eddie  Golden  was  a  visitor  in  town.  The 
Monogram  sales  manager  was  concerned 
with  the  local  first  run  of  "Girl  of  the 
Limberlost.’’ 

Election  sentiment  on  the  street  was  divided. 
Particularly  happy  over  the  Democratic 
victory  were  Jim  Clark,  Sam  Waldman, 
Charlie  Steifel,  Whitey  Molitsch. 

Death  of  A1  Blofson’s  father  brought  condol¬ 
ences  from  trade. 


Little  Theatre,  Market  Street,  as  predicted, 
is  re-opening.  Thomas  M.  Dougherty  is 
operating. 

Morris  Spiers  is  associated  with  Lewen  Pizor 
in  the  operation  of  the  Hip,  Pine  Grove. 

Earle  Sweigert  and  the  local  Paramount  con¬ 
tingent  are  all  set  to  go  in  the  new  Para¬ 
mount  drive  for  business  and  dates.  A 
$750  first  prize  is  in  the  offing  at  the  end  of 
the  3-months’  contest.  Earle  wants  all  ex¬ 
hibitors  to  co-operate  and  it  is  quite  cer¬ 
tain  that  they  should,  what  with  the  strong 
line-up  of  pictures. 

A1  Davis,  Fox,  went  hunting  in  Bridgeton, 
Maine,  had  a  successful  trip,  almost  sold 
a  couple  of  contracts  as  well. 

Joe  Engel  is  awaiting  a  print  of  "Imitation 
of  Life,”  which  looks  big  on  the  Universal 
lineup. 

Harry  Weiner,  Columbia,  points  to  the  three 
week  run  of  "One  Night  of  Love”  at  the 
Karlton  as  an  indication  of  the  pulling 
power  of  Columbia  pictures.  And  after 
a  first  run  at  Stanley,  at  that. 

Harry  Bodkin  screened  "Kid  Millions"  for 
the  employees,  everyone  enjoying  it  im¬ 
mensely. 

Football  enthusiasts  these  days  at  the  UA 
office  are  Harry  Levine,  Miss  Betty  Mc¬ 
Caffrey. 

Ba  sil  Ziegler,  code  board  secretary,  wants 
his  furniture  repolished.  Please  apply  di¬ 
rectly  to  the  office.  His  secretary,  Miss 
Mollikoff,  is  as  busy  as  ever. 

Marion  Widener,  aide  at  Gold  Medal,  is  also 
quite  busy  these  days. 

A  load  of  New  York  execs  are  expected  over 
for  the  Army-Navy  game. 

Herb  Given  is  waiting  for  a  print  of  “Even¬ 
song,"  which  is  due  in  town,  soon.  "Chu 
Chin  Chow,”  "Power”  have  been  doing 
well,  he  says.  Other  Gaumont  British  pro¬ 
duct  has  been  getting  a  high  rating. 

Paramount  girls  gave  a  dinner  to  Yetta  Weiss 
who  left  for  California,  and  Elsa  Chan, 
who  left  for  Texas. 

It’s  Mr.  and  Mrs.  George  Beattie  now. 

West  Philly  exhib  and  a  femme  employee  of 
a  local  exchange  are  interested. 

Handsome  Joe  Burke,  Fox  auditor,  is  back 
in  town  again.  All  the  girls  are  thrilled. 

Anna  Kraftsow  is  back  after  a  lengthy  ill¬ 
ness. 

Jack  Engel  and  Sam  Diamond  traveled  to 
New  York,  saw  fleas. 

RKO  young  lady  is  heading  for  the  altar 
soon. 

George  Fishman  and  wife  hold  hands. 

Lord  Gainsborough  Ginberg  is  the  new  name 
for  the  Gaumont  British  salesman. 

Herman  Wobber  and  John  Clark,  Fox  execs, 
came  into  town  to  check  up  on  the  drive 
which  ends  November  1  7. 

Sam  Rosen  is  quite  enthused  over  "Girl  of  the 
Limberlost."  The  FD  head  points  to  a 
repeat  engagement  at  the  Academy,  Leb¬ 
anon,  after  an  initial  6  day  run;  Strand, 
Allentown,  booking;  Ritz,  Scranton,  etc., 
with  a  local  first  run  to  be  set  this  week. 
The  Technicolor  reels  are  going  good,  with 
Loew  houses  in  the  territory,  1  7  A.  Com- 
erford  houses  as  well  as  several  Boyd 
houses  playing  the  subject.  "Return  of 
Chandu"  plays  the  State,  Scranton,  making 
two  FD  releases  in  town  one  week.  Sam 
speaks  well,  too,  for  "The  Curtain  Falls," 
from  Chesterfield. 

Charles  Rosenzweig,  sales  manager,  and  Jules 
Chapmen,  comptroller,  will  visit  the  local 
FD  exchanges  next  week. 


Harry  Weiner,  Columbia,  went  into  New 
York  to  hold  a  pre-drive  conference  on 
“Broadway  Bill.” 

P.  A.  Bloch  came  back  from  a  district  man¬ 
agers’  meeting,  predicted  great  things  for 
Paramount  product. 

A1  Smith,  dashing  Broad  Theatre,  Souderton, 
manager,  is  still  a  bachelor,  joins  the  Dave 
Barrist,  Jack  Greenberg  list. 

New  offices  of  George  P.  Aarons,  1  3th  and 
Vine,  are  quite  dashing.  New  furniture, 
drapes,  etc.,  and  a  complete  painting  job 
aided  in  the  miracle.  George  says  the 
transformation  gives  him  new  vigor  and 
MPTO  service  and  results  will  reach  a 
new  peak. 

Lewen  Pizor  hopped  over  to  New  York  City. 

Fred  Warren  was  a  visitor  in  town  on  Con¬ 
trol  Corporation  business. 

Duke  Rogin,  Fox  Theatre,  Riverside,  N.  J., 
manager  was  a  visitor  on  the  street. 

So  was  former  manager  Heckman,  Laurel- 
dale.  House  closed  down  because  of  heat¬ 
ing  problems. 

Spike  Kennedy,  Horlacher  executive,  is  pre¬ 
paring  for  a  busy  winter.  So  is  Bill  Clark, 
custodian  of  the  Horlacher  trucks.  Charles 
Anspach,  Horlacher  aide,  has  put  on  win¬ 
ter  underwear. 

Tom  Lark,  Horlacher’s,  busy  these  days  with 
the  Horlacher  house  organ. 

Griff  Boardman,  golfer  de  luxe,  was  a  visitor 
on  the  street. 

Ben  Kassoy,  Quality  Premium,  has  returned 
from  a  business  trip  in  the  middle  west. 
He  opened  a  few  offices  and  had  a  good 
trip  generally.  Bill  Madison,  Quality,  is 
preparing  for  the  winter  snows  when  he 
goes  upstate. 

Universalite  Levine  buys  anti-freeze  prepa¬ 
ration  by  the  carload.  He  must  be  look¬ 
ing  for  a  cold  winter. 

First  snow  fell  upstate,  which  chilled  pros¬ 
pective  upstate  climbers  to  the  bone. 

M.  E.  Comerford  dropped  down  from  Scran¬ 
ton  to  see  the  local  fights. 

Trade  Show  held  by  the  IEPA  at  the  Fox  The¬ 
atre,  Sunday  night,  November  I  I,  was  at¬ 
tended  by  a  packed  house  which  sat  thru 
the  picture.  Proceeds  helped  swell  the 
IEPA  treasury  to  a  large  measure. 

J.  H.  Murphy  and  H.  M.  Davis,  home  office, 
visited  Universal  this  week  for  a  few  days. 

M;ss  Viola  Porreca,  assistant  cashier,  Uni¬ 
versal,  had  a  birthday. 

Miss  Dorothy  Carson,  Universal,  won  an 
election  bet,  treated  the  office  to  candy. 

Mrs.  Evelyn  Pennock,  former  FD  poster 
clerk,  entertained  exchange  girls  Hallow¬ 
e’en.  Favors,  etc. 

A  Jersey  exhibitor  gave  Etta  V.  Segall,  FD, 
a  gallon  of  apple  cider.  And  she  doesn  t 
drink. 

Rose  Forman,  FD,  is  getting  popular  again, 
tis  said. 


Generator  for  Sale 


General  Electric  generator,  supplying 
direct  current,  frame  7.5;  type  FF;  form 
2;  9  KW;  speed,  1800  RPM;  normal 
no  load  volts,  180;  normal  full  load 
volts  65,  70  amp.;  intermittent  duty 
for  2  lamps  alternately,  volts  130;  70 
amp. 

Address  Box  GEN,  THE  EXHIBITOR. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Novl5'34 


25 


BETTER  TESTED  SUCCESSFUL 

MANAGEMENT  *  ideas  #  merchandising 


First  Division  All  Set  to  Shoot  on 

Sensational  “Hei  Tiki”  Program 


Xmas  Stuff 


Company  Plans  Big  Things  for 
South  Sea  Epic  —  Markey  Pro¬ 
duced  It 


First  Division,  the  new  major,  is  all 
set  to  go  with  “Hei  Tiki,”  the  romance 
drama  of  the  South  Seas,  created,  pro¬ 
duced  and  directed  by  Alexander  Market, 
with  Zoe  Varney  as  assistant. 

The  picture,  which  has  been  heralded  by 
critics  and  showmen  who  have  seen  it,  as  one  of 
the  big  exploitation  opportunities  of  all  time, 
will  get  a  hangup  campaign  of  the  kind  that 
made  “Goona  Goona”  a  national  institution. 

"Hei  Tiki’’  was  produced  by  Alexander  Mar- 
key  on  the  Isle  of  Ghosts,  New  Zealand,  with 
an  all  native  cast. 

Markey,  noted  author,  traveler,  lecturer  and 
adventurer,  spent  five  years  on  this  island  mak¬ 
ing  “Hei  Tiki’’  which  centers  around  the  love 
of  a  beautiful  native  Polynesian  girl  and  the 
handsome  son  of  a  rival  Maori  chieftain.  A 
sensational  battle  between  the  two  rival  tribes 
forms  a  thrilling  climax  to  the  picture. 

The  film  boasts  of  a  symphonic  musical  score 
with  a  motif  of  native  New  Zealand  melodies 
as  a  background  for  its  modern  musical  ar¬ 
rangement. 

“Hei  Tiki’’  is  an  authentic  symbol  worn  by 
all  the  native  girls  of  that  romantic  land.  It  is 
a  small  ornament,  of  jade,  mother  of  pearl,  or 
silver,  supposedly  the  unborn  child  of  a  god, 
and  the  wearing  of  it  brings  luck,  keeps  all 
harm  from  the  wearer;  and  maidens  wear  it  to 
attract  the  object  of  their  love. 

Tie-ups  include  those  for  Jewelry — Cohn  and 
Rosenberger ;  Dresses — David  H.  Lowenthal 
and  Son,  Inc. ;  Handbags — Kadin  Brothers ; 
Hosiery — Artcraft  hosiery  ;  Bathing  Suits — 
Gabar  ;  Shows — I.  Miller;  Pajamas — C.  N. 
Macksound,  Inc. ;  Hats — Draper  Hat  Corpora¬ 
tion  ;  Music — Shapiro,  Bernstein  ;  Gloves — 
Kayser. 


Wilmington  Football 

Jack  Mulhall,  Wilmington-Chester  district 
manager  and  Lew  Black,  manager,  Arcadia, 
Wilmington,  turned  “producers”  the  other  day, 
turning  out  a  “hit”  with  local  scholastic  foot¬ 
ball  fans.  It  was  Lew’s  idea.  He  got  Phila¬ 
delphia  office  to  have  a  camera  man  assigned 
to  the  Wilmington  High  School- Woodrow 
Wilson  High  School  football  game.  Wilming¬ 
ton  High  and  Salesianum  game  is  also  to  be 
“shot.”  Lew  is  to  present  a  silver  cup  to  the 
winning  team  in  this  game,  with  big  doings  on 
special  night  at  the  Arcadia. 


“Limberlost” 

Lebanon 

Academy  Theatre,  Lebanon,  in  a  tie-up  with 
local  daily  awarded  books  to  patrons.  Copies 
of  “A  Girl  of  the  Limberlost”  were  given 
away  daily. 


Perry  Gets  Behind 
“We  Live  Again”  Here 

Charlie  Perry,  publicity  manager,  Al- 
dine  Theatre,  didn’t  waste  any  time  sell¬ 
ing  “We  Live  Again,”  from  United 
Artists. 

The  campaign  included : 

Plenty  of  newspaper  publicity,  extra  ads  in 
all  papers,  advertising  and  publicity  stories  in 
Jewish  newspapers;  30,000  package  slips  in 
Gimbel  store  packages ;  special  window  dis¬ 
plays  displaying  Anna  Sten  dresses,  neckwear, 
Russian  jewelry;  display  in  Gimbel’s  cinema 
shop ;  copies  of  the  McBride  drawing  in  hotels 
and  store  windows ;  Ridgeway  tea  streamers ; 
book  store  tie-ups ;  plenty  of  heralds  in  busi¬ 
ness  district;  a  flashy  front;  trailers,  lobb  dis¬ 
plays  ;  and  a  radio  tie-up  where  the  advance 
outline  of  the  story  was  used. 

As  a  result,  picture  opened  to  good  business. 


‘  Dr.  Monica” 

Wilmington 

One  of  Max  Factor’s  Hollywood  beauty  ex¬ 
perts  is  in  Wilmington  instructing  women  at 
certain  hours  in  the  mezzanine  floor  of  the 
Aldine  in  the  art  of  make-up,  a  hook-up  Dwight 
Van  Meter,  manager,  made  with  the  Crosby- 
Hill  Department  Store  for  “Dr.  Monica.” 


Wilmington’s  Warner  theatres  are 
planning  “canned  goods  matinees.”  One 
matinee  from  3  to  7  at  each  theatre,  any 
person  contributing  a  single  can  of 
food  of  any  kind  will  be  given  free  ad¬ 
mittance  to  the  show.  Dwight  Van 
Meter,  Aldine  manager,  who  collected 
1,700  cans  of  goods  for  charity  at  the 
Grand,  Camden,  last  year,  has  arranged 
with  Fire  Chief  Lutz  to  distribute  the 
canned  goods  to  the  needy.  Later, 
“broken  toy”  matinees  are  to  be  held, 
with  a  discarded  toy  as  the  price  of 
admission. 


Wilmington  Election  Service 

Ben  Schindler,  manager,  Avenue,  Washington, 
was  right  in  the  thick  of  high  pressure  news¬ 
paper  action  election  night.  Arriving  early 
Ben  in  order  to  give  his  patrons  first-hand  elec¬ 
tion  news,  soon  found  himself  “glued”  to  a  tele¬ 
phone  for  awhile  before  help  arrived,  answering 
election  queries.  He  probably  was  the  earliest 
with  the  news  for  theatre  patrons. 

Joe  DeFiore,  manager,  Park,  got  his  flashes 
from  Clara  Nutter,  a  young  woman  of  the 
N cws-J ournal  office  who  handles  theatre  “ads.” 

Warner  theatres  used  WDEL  service.  All 
Wilmington  theatres  gave  out  returns. 


New  Hammond  Creations 

Earle  Hammond,  local  exp'oitation  float 
king,  has  some  new  creations  available  for  leas¬ 
ing  by  exhibitors.  “Babes  in  Tovland”  will 
be  ready  in  December,  while  “The  Merry 
Widow”  is  available  now. 


Local  S-W  Shots 

Stanley-Warner  is  taking  silent  newsreel 
shots  of  local  events  and  exhibiting  reels  in 
theatres  in  zone  affected. 

Recently,  a  Logan  military  post  had  a  big 
celebration,  with  the  truck  a  centre  of  atten¬ 
tion.  Billing  on  side  of  truck  said  shots  could 
be  seen  at  Uptown,  Logan,  Colney  and  other 
theatres. 


ANOTHER  SELL¬ 
ING  HIT.  “Hei 
Tiki,”  romance 
drama  of  the 
South  Seas,  being 
distributed  b  y 
First  Division, 
looms  as  the  big 
exploitation  spe¬ 
cial  of  the  year. 
First  Division  is 
planning  a  mam¬ 
moth  campaign. 


26 


Novl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


“Judge  Priest” 

Reading 

Paul  E.  Glase,  Embassy  Theatre,  Wilmer 
and  Vincent  house,  effected  a  very  good  tie-up 
with  the  Gulf  Refining  Company  for  “Judge 
Priest.”  Jumbo  window  cards  were  placed  on 
all  Gulf  company  trucks  in  city  and  county. 
Inserts  and  22x28  multicolored  cards  were 
posted  at  all  Gulf  stations,  and  photos  of  Will 
Rogers,  star  of  the  picture,  were  distributed  to 
all  purchasers  of  Gulf  gasoline  and  oil.  In 
the  lobby  of  the  theatre  was  shown  a  Gulf  tank, 
calling  attention  to  the  Rogers  broadcast.  Extra 
newspaper  advertising,  billing  in  80  Neon  elec¬ 
tric  clocks,  trailers,  radio  program,  window 
disp'ays  in  McCrorey,  Kresge  and  other  stores 
all  combined  to  produce  the  best  business  at 
this  theatre  in  IS  weeks. 


SERVING  theatre  needs  with 
a  knowledge  of  theatre 
business. 


ASS 

A 

F 
E 
T 

y 


SSISTING  theatre  owners  with 
a  staff  of  trained  clerks  and 
office  files.  No  missouts. 


REEING  theatre,  owners  of  the 
worry  that  they  may  have 
forgotten  part  of  their  show. 

FFICIENTLY  operating  the  larg¬ 
est  film  delivery  service  in 
the  world. 


AKING  CARE  of  every 
possible  need  in  the  delivery 
of  film. 

IELDING  the  epitome  of 
safety,  service  and  effici¬ 
ency  at  a  minimum  cost. 


HORLACHER 

DELIVERY  SERVICE,  Inc. 

1228  Vine  Street,  Philadelphia 
NEW  YORK 
SCRANTON 
BALTIMORE 
WASHINGTON 

MEMBER  NATIONAL  FILM  CARRIERS,  INC. 


Another  Horlocher  Service 

LARRY  DAILY,  Notary  Public 

The  only  one  on  Vine  Street  .  .  At 
your  service  any  time  during 
business  hours. 


“Merry  Widow”  Gets  a 
Strong  Harrisburg  Boost 

Sam  Gilman,  manager,  Loew’s  Regent 
Theatre,  Harrisburg,  and  his  able  assist¬ 
ant,  Bob  Etchberger,  put  across  “The 
Merry  Widow.” 

Outstanding  attraction  was  the  appearance  in 
the  city  streets  daily  for  a  week  prior  to  open¬ 
ing  of  picture  and  during  showing  of  a  horse- 
drawn  carriage  of  the  Victorian  era  in  which 
a  beautiful  woman,  dressed  to  represent  the 
merry  widow  of  the  film  play  rode.  Lettering 
on  the  back  of  the  carriage  stated,  “Official 
carriage  for  ‘The  Merry  Widow,’  now  play¬ 
ing  at  Loew’s.” 

At  the  start  of  their  campaign  Sam  and  Bob 
visited  the  newspaper  offices  and  arranged  for 
advance  newspaper  publicity. 

Among  the  novel  stunts,  started  a  week  prior 
to  opening  of  picture,  included  the  lowering  on 
the  Loew  stage  before  and  after  each  show 
of  cut-out  flittered  letters,  well  illuminated, 
forming  the  title  of  the  picture  and  announc¬ 
ing  the  day  it  would  open.  While  these  letters 
were  shown  music  was  played  from  “The  Merry 
Widow.” 

Through  a  public  address  system,  which  was 
being  used  to  advertise  “Transatlantic  Merry- 
Go-Round,"  which  preceded  “The  Merry 
Widow,”  the  latter  picture  was  announced  at 
regular  intervals. 

A  special  front  consisting  of  a  turn-table 
around  the  upper'  portion  of  the  box  office  with 
raised  letters  on  each  side  attracted  consid¬ 
erable  attention.  Every  available  space  in  the 
outside  lobby  was  covered  with  specially-built, 
p’ush-covered,  red  frames.  The  six-sheet  was 
used  on  the  lobby  floor  for  a  week  in  advance. 

Since  poles  in  the  entire  city  bore  pictures 
of  candidates  for  political  offices,  Sam  took 
advantage  of  the  situation,  placarded  poles  with 
copy  and  included  many  trees  for  good  measure. 

Arrangements  were  made  with  management 
of  city’s  largest  five  and  ten  cent  store  to  feat¬ 
ure  a-  “Merry  Widow  Sundae.”  Pennants  ad¬ 
vertising  the  picture  were  placed  throughout 
the  store.  Every  store  employe  wore  a  silk 
badge  also  advertising  the  picture.  Store  feat¬ 
ured  songs  from  “The  Merry  Widow”  in  a 
beautiful  music  counter  display. 

Scores  of  private  automobiles  were  mov¬ 
ing  advertisements  for  the  picture  the  morning 
after  Sam  and  Bob  placed  “bumper”  cards  on 
every  automobile  that  came  within  reach.  Tire 
covers  also  were  supplied  for  cars  of  employes, 


Booking  Theatres 
Everywhere 

Honest  ::  Reliable 
Conscientious 
Service 

EDWARDSHERMAN 

VAUDEVILLE  AGENCY 

Real  Estate  Trust  Bldg. 
PHILADELPHIA 

Pennypacker  7595 

MAYFAIR  THEATRE  BLDG.,  NEW  YORK 
BR.  9-1905 


“Belle  of  the  Nineties” 

Philadelphia 

Tower  Theatre  has  been  getting  out  some 
good  pieces  on  current  pictures.  One  on  “Belle 
of  the  Nineties”  is  especially  attractive.  Like¬ 
wise,  that  on  “Now  and  Forever”  and  “Scarlet 
Empress”  show  the  house  is  keeping  on  its  toes 
as  far  as  pieces  are  concerned. 


other  motorists  who  would  accept  them  and  taxi¬ 
cabs. 

Newsboys  appreciated  one  stunt  in  which 
gummed  labels  advertising  the  picture  were 
placed  on  each  side  of  common  building  bricks 
and  distributed  to  every  newsboy  in  the  city 
for  use  as  paper  weights.  Newsboys  also  wore 
the  silk  badges.  As  a  result  everyone  of  the 
city’s  150  newsstands  advertised  the  picture. 


Movies  and 

CANDY- 

Still  the  same  thrill  supreme 
to  young  and  old 

Keep  it  so - By  giving  them 

"America's  Best  Candy" 
through  a 

BERLO 

CANDY  VENDOR 

Your  patrons  expect 
this  convenience 

DO  NOT  DISAPPOINT  THEM 
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BERLO 

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COMPANY 

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POPLAR  6011 

Specializing  In  Candy 
Vending  Equipment 
for  the  Theatre  Trade! 


NEW  YORK  BALTIMORE 

SCRANTON  WASHINGTON 

ALLENTOWN  CLEVELAND 

PITTSBURGH  CINCINNATI 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Novl5'34 


27 


“Happiness  Ahead” 

Wilmington 

Dwight  Van  Meter,  manager,  Aldine,  Wil¬ 
mington,  faced  with  the  abandonment  of  vaude¬ 
ville,  struck  out  with  a  half  dozen  or  so  gags 
and  ballyhoos  that  brought  back  the  crowd  for 
“Happiness  Ahead.” 

Here  are  a  few  things  he  did  to  “bring  them 
back” :  Inserted  open  letter  in  the  newspapers 
to  Mayor  Speer  asking  him  to  issue  proclama¬ 
tion  for  “Happiness  Week”  and  to  decree  one 
way  traffic  for  Market  Street  during  the  week, 
stirring  up  a  lot  of  dumbbells  too  dense  to 
catch  the  gag ;  sold  4,874  lines  of  co-operative 
space  in  newspapers  and  publications  and  landed 
1,361  lines  of  free  space;  hooked  up  with  stores 
to  have  Jerry  Rennick,  pose  as  mystery  man  and 
be  present  at  certain  stores  on  certain  hours 
with  two  passes  awarded  to  persons  who  iden¬ 
tified  him  as  the  “happiness  man”  ;  had  a  num¬ 
ber  of  citizens  tell  over  WDEL  in  the  lobby 
Friday  and  Monday  at  7  P.  M.,  why  they  were 
happy  and  refer  to  the  picture ;  posted  300  snip¬ 
ers,  showing  arrows  guiding  to  “Happiness 
Ahead” ;  hooked  up  with  drug  stores  on  “All 
on  Account  of  the  Strawberry  Sundae” ;  song 
of  the  films;  swung  in  Dick  Powell  pictures  in 
a  number  of  stores  advertising  shirts ;  had  a 
hook  up  in  the  store  on  Josephine  Hutchinson’s 
new  style  hat. 

Harrisburg 

Jack  D.  O’Rear,  manager,  Majestic,  Wilmer 
and  Vincent  Theatre,  Harrisburg,  assumed  the 
prerogative  of  the  mayor  of  Harrisburg  dur¬ 
ing  showing  at  the  Majestic  of  “Happiness 
Ahead”  and  proclaimed  a  Happiness  Ahead 
Week  for  all  Harrisburgers. 

To  exploit  “Happiness  Ahead”  manager 
O’Rear  obtained  the  co-operation  of  a  daily 
newspaper  conducting  a  movie  column.  A  large 
picture  of  Miss  Hutchinson,  leading  lady  in 
“Happiness  Ahead,”  appeared  at  the  head  of 
the  column.  Readers  were  instructed  to  name 
her  and  receive  free  tickets  from  a  local  theatre 
manager.  More  than  250  persons  furnished  the 
correct  name  of  Miss  Hutchinson,  which  not 
only  amazed  Jack  but  placed  him  in  the  predica¬ 
ment  of  parting  with  too  many  free  tickets. 
Contest  was  followed  by  another  in  which  par¬ 
ticipants  were  instructed  to  write  a  50-word 
essay,  or  less,  telling  why  they  were  the  hap¬ 
piest  man  or  woman  in  town. 


Vest  Pocket  Folders 

Vest  pocket  size  folders  given  out  by  the 
Warner  theatre  men  in  Wilmington,  giving 
programs  at  each  of  the  theatres  for  each  day 
for  the  week  are  becoming  popular. 

Can  be  adopted  everywhere. 


Now  Booking  by  FIRST  DIVISION  EXCHANGES. 
Released  by  JEWEL  PRODUCTIONS,  Inc., 
723 — 7th  Avenue,  New  York  City. 


“Six  Day  Bike  Rider” 

Atlantic  City 

Taking  advantage  of  Warner  Bros.’  national 
exploitation  tie-up  with  Quaker  Oats  on  “Six 
Day  Bike  Rider,”  Sid  Blumenstock,  advertising 
and  publicity  manager,  Warner  Atlantic  City 
theatres,  turned  in  a  cracker-jack  campaign 
when  it  played  the  Virginia  Theatre. 

In  the  trailer,  which  was  run  during  the  ten 
days  in  advance,  Quaker  Oats  was  given  a 
frame  mention  of  their  national  contest.  A 
“Bike  Stunt  Contest”  consisting  of  a  "slow” 
race,  a  “plank”  race,  and  a  coaster  brake  race 
were  held.  Lobby  space  was  given,  being  spot¬ 
ted  with  a  Quaker  Oats  cut-out  and  40x60  lobby 
cards  about  the  local  race.  Quaker  Oats  a’ so 
posted  250  one-sheets  with  theatre  name  and 
play  date.  Five  thousand  heralds  were  dis¬ 
tributed  by  a  local  bike  dealer.  A  local  bike 
dealer  also  tie  in  on  the  meet,  giving  window 
displays  and  mention  of  the  picture. 


“Tomorrow's  Children” 

Philadelphia 

Rivoli  Theatre  put  on  a  big  campaign  for 
“Tomorrow’s  Children.”  Show  was  advertised 
as  “not  for  children.”  A  banner,  carried  in  the 
Hallowe’en  parade  of  the  52nd  and  Girard  Busi¬ 
ness  Men’s  Association,  was  seen  by  thousands 
of  people.  Business  was  good. 


“Transatlantic” 

Wilmington 

Roscoe  Drissel,  manager,  Loew’s,  Wilmington, 
was  host  to  25  members  of  the  White  Eagle 
football  team  together  with  officials  of  the  Wil¬ 
mington  Football  Association,  at  a  theatre  party. 
White  Eagles  won  the  right  to  see  “Transat¬ 
lantic  Merry-Go-Round”  by  defeating  the  Defi¬ 
ance  Bulldogs. 


“See  America  First” 

To  help  exhibitors  get  the  most  out  of  their 
bookings  on  Vitaphone’s  “See  America  First” 
series  of  thirteen  one-reel  shorts,  Warner 
Brothers  Home  Office  advertising  department 
has  prepared  a  regular  merchandising  plan  on 
these  shorts. 


Steelton  Guests 

A  special  meeting  of  the  Loyal  Order  of  the 
Moose  was  held  at  the  Strand  Theatre,  Steel- 
ton.  Pictures  were  shown  of  the  Mooseheart 
Home,  entitled,  “Tomorrow’s  Citizens.”  Ki- 
wanis  Club,  clergy  and  business  men  of  Steel- 
ton  were  the  guests  of  the  Moose  lodge. 


“Evelyn  Prentice” 

Harrisburg 

For  “Evelyn  Prentice,”  Loew’s  Regent  The¬ 
atre,  Harrisburg,  manager  Samuel  Gilman,  ran 
a  classified  ad  contest  in  the  Harrisburg  Tele¬ 
graph,  daily  evening  newspaper. 


Wilmington  Shopping  Guide 

Shopping  Guide,  eight-page  advertising 
medium,  carrying  news  features,  has  made  its 
appearance  in  Wilmington,  much  to  the  delight 
of  the  theatre  men,  and  one  of  the  managers, 
quick  to  hook  up  with  the  sheet’s  principal  bally¬ 
hoo,  was  Morton  Levine,  manager  of  the  Grand 
Opera  House,  Warner  theatre.  Guide  puts  out 
at  a  rate  of  25,500  copies  a  week  and  runs  a 
snapshot  taken  on  the  street  at  random  of  some 
fair  shopper  each  week,  with  a  $5  reward  for 
the  person  who  comes  forward  and  identifies 
her  photograph.  Morty  arranged  to  have  ten 
photographs  taken  on  the  street  that  way  to  be 
posted  in  his  theatre  lobby.  Each  one  who 
identifies  his  or  her  photograph  will  be  given 
two  free  tickets  to  the  show. 


A  Box  Office  Smash ! 


TOMORROW’S  CHILDREN 

A  VITAL  DRAMA  OF  HUMAN  STERILIZATION 

With  Diane  Sinclair,  Crane  Wilbur,  Sterling  Holloway  and  others 

A  SHOWMAN'S  SPECIAL  BACKED  BY  ROAD  SHOW  ACCESSORIES, 

BIG  BALLYHOO  EXPLOITATION  AND  A  CLEAN,  SATISFYING  STORY 


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WILMER  &  VINCENT 

Who  played  it  in  the  State,  Reading,  to  Big  Business  and  then  booked  it  to 
the  Victoria.  Harrisburg,  and  Rialto,  Allentown. 

BROADWAY,  CAMDEN,  N.  J. 

Where  it  did  Top  Business  only  to  be  brought  back  two  weeks  later  to 
break  its  own  record. 

RIVOLI,  PHILADELPHIA 

Where  it  broke  all  records  and  is  being  Held  Over. 

OR  THESE  THEATRES  AND  HUNDREDS  OF 
OTHERS  WHERE  NEW  RECORDS  WERE  SET: 

Fulton,  Lancaster  Garden,  West  Chester 

Jackson’s,  Lebanon  Highland,  Audubon 


AND  IN  PHILADELPHIA 


Benson 

Royal 

Mayfair 

W.  Allegheny 

Lehigh 

Grand 

Great  Northern 

Tioga 

Susquehanna 

Towne 

Frolic 

Point  Breeze 

Venice 

Regis 

Girard 

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Produced  by  FOY  PRODUCTIONS,  INC. 

Distributed  by  HOLLYWOOD  FILM  EXCHANGES,  Inc.  John  Golder,  Prop. 

1220  Vine  Street,  Philadelphia 


28 


Novl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


«  BOOKING  GUIDE  » 


(A  concise  and  speedy  schedule  of  releases  past,  current  and  future,  with  special  attention  to  type  of  pic¬ 
ture  and  casts.  In  each  case  the  list  includes  pictures  that  have  been  recently  released,  are  to  be  released 
shortly  or  are  completing  production.  Using  this  listing  in  co-operation  with  the  6-Point  Reviews  and  The 
Check-up  gives  exhibitors  everything  they  wish  to  know  about  all  productions.) 


Key: 

AD —  Action  Drama 
C — Comedy 
CD — Comedy  Drama 
COD - Costume  Drama 


CL — Classical  Drama 
D — Drama 
F — Farce 
MD — Melodrama 
MU — Musical 


O — Operetta 
RD — Realistic  Drama 

SP - Spectacle 

W — Western 
MY — Mystery 


Chesterfield-Invincible 

The  Curtain  Falls - CD - Henrietta  Crosman, 

Dorothy  Lee,  John  Darrow,  Natalie  Moor¬ 
head,  William  Bakewell. 

The  World  Accuses - D - Vivienne  Tobin, 

Dickie  Moore,  Cora  Sue  Collins,  Russell 
Hopton. 

The  Port  of  Lost  Dreams — MD — Billy  Boyd, 
Lola  Lane,  George  Marion,  Sr.,  Ed  Gargan, 
Robert  Elliott. 

The  Ghost  Walks - MD - John  Miljan,  June 

Collyer,  Johnny  Arthur,  Spencer  Charters, 
Eve  Sothern. 

My  Son  Is  Yours — MD - Charles  Starrett, 

Billy  Bakewell,  Walter  Walker,  Holmes 
Herbert,  Polly  Ann  Young. 

Columbia 

I’ll  Fix  It - CD - Jack  Holt,  Winnie  Lightner, 

Jimmy  Butler,  Mona  Barrie,  Edward  Bro- 
phy. 

Lady  By  Choice - CD - Carole  Lombard, 

Walter  Connelly,  May  Robson,  Roger 
Pryor. 

The  Captain  Hates  the  Sea — CD — Leon  Er¬ 
rol,  Wynne  Gibson,  Fred  Keating,  Victor 
McLaglen,  Helen  Vinson,  Walter  Connelly, 
John  Gilbert,  Joh  n  W  ray. 

One  Night  of  Love - MU - Grace  Moore, 

Lyle  Talbot,  Mona  Barrie,  Tullio  Carman- 
ati,  Jessie  Ralph. 

That’s  Gratitude — C Frank  Craven,  Charles 

Sabin,  Sheila  Manners,  Mary  Carlisle. 

Broadway  Bill - C - Warner  Baxter,  Lynn 

Overman,  Myrna  Loy,  Helen  Vinson. 

White  Lies - D — May  Robson,  Victor  Jory, 

Raymond  Walburn,  Fay  Wray. 

A  Call  to  Arms - MD - Steffi  Duna,  Ben 

Lyon,  Noah  Beery,  Willard  Mack,  Esther 
Ralston,  Hobart  Bosworth. 

Fugitive  Lady - AD — Neil  Hamilton,  Flor¬ 

ence  Rice,  Clara  Blandick,  Matt  McHugh. 

Quicksands - AD - Tim  McCoy,  Jacqueline 

Wells,  Steve  Clarke,  Charles  Middleton, 
John  Darrow,  J.  Farrell  MacDonald. 

Against  the  Law - AD - John  Mack  Brown, 

Sally  Blane,  Arthur  Hohl,  James  Bush, 
George  Meeker. 

Men  of  the  Night - AD - B  ruce  Cabot,  Judith 

Allen,  Charles  Sabin,  Arthur  Rankin, 
Ward  Bond. 

Prescott  Kid - W - Tim  McCoy,  Sheila  Man¬ 

ners,  Alden  Chase. 

Burnt  Ranch - W - Tim  McCoy,  Marion  Shil¬ 

ling,  Hooper  Atchley. 

Jealousy - CD — Nancy  Carroll,  George  Mur¬ 

phy,  Donald  Cook,  Inez  Courtney,  Clara 
Blandick,  Arthur  Hohl,  Ray  Walburn. 

Passport  to  Fame - MD - Edward  G.  Robin¬ 

son,  Jean  Arthur,  (Arthur  Hohl,  Fred 
Keating,  Donald  Meek. 

Carnival - CD - Sally  Eilers,  Lee  Tracy, 

Jimmy  Durante,  Fred  Keating,  Florence 
Rice. 

The  Depths  Below - MD - Jack  Hplt,  Ed¬ 

mund  Lowe,  Florence  Rice,  Mike  Tellegen, 
Monte  Carter. 


Sure  Fire — C — Ann  Sothern,  Gene  Ray¬ 
mond. 

Feud — AD - Tim  McCoy,  Billie  Seward,  Rob¬ 

ert  Allen,  Harry  Todd,  Guy  Usher. 

Gaumont  British 

Chu  Chin  Chow - SP - Anna  Mae  Wong, 

Fritz  Kortner,  George  Robey,  John  Gar¬ 
rick. 

Power - COD - Conrad  Veidt,  Pamela  Os- 

trer,  Benita  Hume,  Cedric  Hardwicke,  Sir 
Gerald  Du  Maurier. 

Little  Friend - D - Nova  Pilbeam,  Matheson 

Lang,  Lydia  Sherwood,  Arthur  Margetson. 

Man  of  Aran — RD - Colman  King,  Maggie 

Diane,  Michael  Dillane. 

Evensong - MU — Evelyn  Laye,  Emlyn  Wil¬ 

liams,  Alice  Delysia,  Fritz  Kortner. 

Jack  Ahoy - C - Jack  Hulbert,  Nancy  O’Neil, 

Tamara  Desni. 

Evergreen - M - Jessie  Matthews,  Sonnie 

Hale,  Betty  Balfour. 

The  Iron  Duke - COD - George  Arliss, 

Gladys  Cooper,  Emyln  Williams,  A.  E. 
Matthews. 

Princess  Charming - MU - Evelyn  Laye, 

Yvonne  Arnaud,  George  Grossmith,  Max 
Miller,  Henry  Wilcoxson. 

First  National-Warners 

6-Day  Bike  Rider — F - Joe  E.  Brown,  Maxine 

Doyle,  Gordon  Westcott,  Frank  McHugh 
(FN). 

I  Sell  Anything - C - Pat  O  Brien,  Claire 

Dodd,  Frank  McHugh,  Ann  Dvorak,  Roscoe 
Karns,  Hobart  Cavanaugh  (FN). 

Gentlemen  Are  Born - D - Jean  Muir,  Fran- 

chot  Tone,  Nick  Foran,  Charles  Starrett, 
Margaret  Lindsay,  Ann  Dvorak  (FN). 

Happiness  Ahead - MU — Dick  Powell,  Jos¬ 

ephine  Hutchinson,  John  Halliday,  Frank 
McHugh,  Allen  Jenkins,  Ruth  Donnelly 
(FN). 

Flirtation  Walk — CM Dick  Powell,  Ruby 

Keeler,  Pat  O’Brien,  Ross  Alexander, 
Henry  O'Neil  (FN). 

The  St.  Louis  Kid - CD - James  Cagney, 

Patricia  Ellis,  Allen  Jenkins,  Dorothy  Dare 
(W). 

The  Firebird - D - Verree  Teasdale,  Ricardo 

Cortez,  Anita  Louise,  Lionel  Atwill  (W). 

Concealment - D — Barbara  Stanwyck,  War¬ 

ren  William,  Glenda  Farrell,  Henry  O’Neill 

(W). 

Bordertown - MD - Paul  Muni,  Bette  Davis, 

Margaret  Lindsay,  Hobart  Cavanaugh, 
Robert  Barrat  (W). 

Maybe  It’s  Love — C - Gloria  Stuart,  Ross 

Alexander,  Frank  McHugh,  Phillip  Reed 
(FN). 

Murder  in  the  Clouds — AD — Lyle  Talbot, 
Ann  Dvorak,  Gordon  Westcott,  Robert 
Light  (FN). 

I  Am  A  Thief - MD — Mary  Astor,  Ricardo 

Cortez,  Dudley  Digges,  Irving  Pichel  (W). 

Babbitt — C — Guy  Kibbee,  Aline  MacMahon, 
Maxine  Doyle,  Claire  Dodd,  Minna  Gom- 
bell  (FN). 


Sweet  Music — MU - Rudy  Vallee,  Ann 

Dvorak,  Ned  Sparks,  Joe  Cawthorn,  Allen 
Jenkins,  Alice  White,  Robert  Armstrong, 
Helen  Morgan  (W). 

Gold  Diggers  of  1935 MU — Dick  Powell, 

Gloria  Stuart,  Hugh  Herbert,  Frank  Mc¬ 
Hugh,  Glenda  Farrell,  Winifred  Shaw, 
Adolphe  Menjou,  Alice  Brady  (FN). 

Sweet  Adeline - MU - Irene  Dunne,  Donald 

Woods,  Hugh  Herbert,  Ned  Sparks,  Joe 
Cawthorn,  Louis  Calhern,  Nydia  Westman, 
Don  Alvarado,  Noah  Beery,  Jack  Mulhal. 
(W). 

The  Right  to  Live - D - George  Brent,  Jos¬ 

ephine  Hutchinson,  Colin  Clive,  Peggy 
Wood,  Henrietta  Crosman  (W). 

The  White  Cockatoo — MD - Jean  Muir,  Ri¬ 

cardo  Cortez,  Gordon  Westcott,  John  El- 
dredge,  Ruth  Donnelly,  Minna  Gombel 
(W). 

Devil  Dogs  of  the  Air - CD - James  Cagney, 

Pat  O  Brien,  Margaret  Lindsay,  Frank  Mc¬ 
Hugh,  John  Arledge,  AVard  Bond,  Russell 
Hicks  (W). 

Red  Hot  Tires - AD - Lyle  Talbot,  Mary  As¬ 

tor,  Roscoe  Karns,  Frankie  Darro,  Henry 
Kolker,  Gavin  Gordon  (FN). 

North  Shore - D - Barbara  Stanwyck,  Gene 

Raymond,  Genevieve  Tobin,  Nan  Gray  (W) 

Living  on  Velvet - CD - Kay  Francis,  War¬ 

ren  William,  George  Brent  (W). 

Anthony  Adverse — COD - Leslie  Howard, 

Edward  G.  Robinson,  Robert  Barrat,  War¬ 
ren  William,  Bette  Davis,  George  Brent, 
Ann  Dvorak,  Ricardo  Cortez,  Kay  Francis. 
Alin  MacMahon,  Guy  Kibbee  (W). 

Black  Hell - MD - Paul  Muni,  Karen  Morley, 

William  Gargan,  Tully  Marshall  (FN). 


Fox 

365  Nights  in  Hollywood - CD - James 

Dunn,  Alice  Faye,  Mitchell  and  Durant, 
Grant  Mitchell. 

Caravan - O - Charles  Boyer,  Loretta  Young, 

Jean  Parker,  Phillips  Holmes,  Louise  Faz¬ 
enda,  C.  Aubrey  Smith,  Eugene  Pallette, 
Noah  Beery. 

Elinor  Norton - D - Claire  Trevor,  Hugh  Wil¬ 

liams,  Norman  Foster,  Gilbert  Roland, 
Henrietta  Crosman. 

Peck’s  Bad  Boy - C - Jackie  Cooper,  Thomas 

Meighan,  Jackie  Searle,  Dorothy  Peterson. 

The  White  Parade - D - Loretta  Young,  John 

Boles,  Dorothy  Wilson,  Muriel  Kirkland, 
Astrid  Allwyn,  Frank  Conroy,  Jane  Dar- 
well,  Frank  Melton,  Sara  Haden,  Joyce 
Compton. 

Marie  Galante — MD Spencer  Tracey,  Ketti 

Gallian,  Ted  Sparks,  Helen  Morgan,  Stepin 
Fetchit. 

Helldorado - CD - Richard  Arlen,  Madge 

Evans,  Ralph  Bellamy,  James  Gleason, 
Henry  B.  Walthall,  Helen  Jerome  Eddy, 
Stepin  Fetchit. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Novl5'34 


29 


East  River - CD - Edmund  Lowe,  Victor  Me- 

Laglen,  Marjorie  Rambeau,  Charles  Bick¬ 
ford,  Grace  Bradley,  Roger  Imhof,  George 
Walsh,  Olin  Howland. 

Bright  Eyes - C - Shirley  Temple,  James 

Dunn,  Lois  Wilson,  Judith  Allen,  Jane 
Withers,  Dorothy  Christy,  Theodore  Von 
Eltz. 

Lottery  Lover - CD — Lew  Ayres,  Pat  Pat¬ 

terson,  Peggy  Fears,  Sterling  Holloway, 
Reginald  Denny,  Alan  Dinehart,  Walter 
Woolf,  Eddie  Nugent,  Nick  Foran. 

Hell  in  the  Heavens - AD - Warner  Baxter, 

Conchita  Montenegro,  Russel  Hardie, 
Herbert  Mundin,  Andy  Devine,  Ralph  Mor¬ 
gan,  Vince  Barnet. 

Music  in  the  Air - MU — Gloria  Swanson, 

John  Boles,  Douglass  Montgomery,  June 
Lang,  A1  Shean,  Reginald  Owen,  Joseph 
Cawthorn,  Hobart  Bosworth. 

Bachelor  of  Arts - CD - Tom  Brown,  Anita 

Louise,  Henry  B.  Walthall,  Mae  Marsh, 
Arline  Judge,  Frank  Albertson,  George 
Meeker,  Berton  Churchill,  Stepin  Fetchit. 

Gambling - MD - George  M.  Cohan,  Wynne 

Gibson,  Dorothy  Burgess,  Theodore  New¬ 
ton. 

The  First  World  War — Compilation  of  films 
from  secret  archives  of  war  powers. 

County  Chairman - C - Will  Rogers,  Evelyn 

Venable,  Kent  Taylor,  Jan  Duggan,  Louise 
Dresser. 

24  Hours  a  Day - D - Mona  Barrie,  Gilbert 

Roland,  John  Halliday,  Herbert  Mundin. 

Charlie  Chan  in  Paris — MD — Warner  Oland. 

George  White’s  Scandals  of  1935 - M - Alice 

Faye,  Lyda  Roberti,  Cliff  Edwards. 

Mystery  Blonde - CD - Mona  Barrie,  Gilbert 

Roland,  John  Halliday. 

Liberty 

Cheaters - CD - Billy  Boyd,  Dorothy  Mac- 

kaill,  June  Collyer. 

No  Ransom - D - Leila  Hyams,  Phillips 

Holmes,  Jack  La  Rue. 

Take  the  Stand — MD - Jack  La  Rue,  Thelma 

Todd,  Gail  Patrick,  Russell  Hopton. 

When  Strangers  Meet - MD — rRichard  Crom¬ 

well,  Arline  Judge,  Lucien  Littlefield. 

Once  to  Every  Bachelor - CD - Marion  Nixon, 

Neil  Hamilton,  Aileen  Pringle. 

Without  Children - D - Marguerite  Churchill, 

Bruce  Cabot,  Evelyn  Brent,  Dickie  Moore, 
Cora  Sue  Collins,  Reginald  Denny. 

School  for  G’rls - MD - Sidney  Fox,  Lois  Wil¬ 

son,  Paul  Kelly,  Lucille  La  Verne,  Toby 
Wing,  Dorothy  Lee,  Lona  Andre,  Russell 
Hopton,  Kathleen  Burke. 

Two  Heads  On  a  Pillow — CD Neil  Hamil¬ 
ton,  Miriam  Jordan,  Henry  Armetta, 
Hardie  Albright. 

Sweepstake  Annie - CD - Marion  Nixon,  Wil¬ 

liam  Janney,  Lucien  Littlefield. 

Majestic 

Night  Alarm MD — Bruce  Cabot,  Judith 

Allen,  H.  B.  Warner,  Sam  Hardy. 

The  Perfect  Clue - MY - David  Manners, 

Skeets  Gallagher,  Dorothy  Libaire,  Ralf 
Harolde,  Betty  Blythe. 

The  Scarlet  Letter — CL — Colleen  Moore, 
Hardie  Albright,  Henry  B.  Walthall. 

She  Had  to  Choose - CD - Buster  Crabbe, 

Isabel  Jewell,  Regis  Toomey,  Sally  Blane. 

Mascot 

Crimson  Romance - MD — Ben  Lyon,  Sari 

Maritza,  James  Bush,  Hardie  Albright, 
William  Bakewell,  Eric  Von  Stroheim. 

In  Old  Santa  Fe — W - Ken  Maynard,  Eva- 

lyn  Knapp,  H.  B.  Warner. 


Mystery  Mountain - W - Ken  Maynard, 

Verna  Hillie. 

The  Marines  are  Coming — MD — William 
Haines,  Conrad  Nagel,  Armida,  Esther 
Ralston,  Edgar  Kennedy. 

Little  Men - CL - Frankie  Darro,  Ralph  Mor¬ 

gan,  Erin  O’Brien-Moore,  Buster  Phelps, 
Dickie  Moore,  Cora  Sue  Collins. 

Metro 

Treasure  Island — CL — Wallace  Beery,  Chic 
Sale,  Jackie  Cooper,  Lewis  Stone,  Lionel 
Barrymore,  Dorothy  Peterson. 

Student  Tour - F - Jimmy  Durante,  Maxine 

Doyle,  Charles  Butterworth,  Douglas  Fow- 
ley,  Monte  Blue,  Betty  Grable. 

What  Every  Woman  Knows — CD — Helen 
Hayes,  Brian  Aherne,  Lucille  Watson, 
Madge  Evans,  Dudley  Digges,  David  Tor¬ 
rence,  Donald  Crisp. 

Barretts  of  Wimpole  Street — D — Norma 
Shearer,  Maureen  O’Sullivan,  Charles 
Laughton,  Fredric  March. 

Outcast  Lady - D - Constance  Bennett,  Hugh 

Williams,  Herbert  Marshall,  Henry  Steph¬ 
enson,  Ralph  Forbes. 

The  Merry  Widow - MU - Maurice  Chevalier, 

Jeanette  MacDonald,  Edward  Everett  Hor¬ 
ton,  Una  Merkel,  Sterling  Holloway. 

David  Copperfield - CL - Lionel  Barrymore, 

W.  C.  Fields,  Elizabeth  Allen,  Fred 
Bartholomew,  Roland  Young,  Hugh  Wil¬ 
liams,  Edna  May  Oliver,  Madge  Evans, 
Basil  Rathbone,  Lewis  Stone,  Elsa  Lan¬ 
caster. 

The  Night  is  Young - M - Evelyn  Laye, 

Ramon  Novarro,  Charles  Butterworth, 
Stuart  Erwin,  Edward  Everett  Horton,  Una 
Merkel. 

Forsaking  All  Others - CD - Clark  Gable, 

Joan  Crawford,  Billie  Burke,  Robert  Mont¬ 
gomery,  Ted  Healy,  Charles  Butterworth. 

Sequoia — AD - Jean  Parker,  Russell  Hardie, 

Paul  Hurst. 

Wicked  Woman - D - Mady  Christians, 

Charles  Bickford,  Zelda  Sears,  John 
Parker. 

The  Band  Plays  On - AD - Robert  Young, 

Maureen  O’Sullivan,  Ted  Healy. 

Babes  in  Toyland MU — Laurel  and  Hardy, 

Charlotte  Henry. 

Biograph  of  a  Bachelor  Girl — CD - Ann 

Harding,  Robert  Montgomery. 

Evelyn  Prentice - MD - William  Powell, 

Myrna  Loy. 

The  Painted  Veil - D — Greta  Garbo,  Herbert 

Marshall,  George  Brent,  Cecilia  Parker, 
Jean  Hersholt,  Warner  Oland,  Katherine 
Alexander,  Beulah  Bondi. 

The  Gay  Bride — CD - Carole  Lombard, 

Chester  Morris,  Una  Merkel,  Leo  Carrillo, 
Zasu  Pitts. 

Public  Enemy  No.  2 - CD — Charles  Butter¬ 

worth. 

Reckless - D — Joan  Crawford,  William  Pow¬ 

ell  Franchot  Tone,  May  Robson,  Henry 
Stephenson. 

The  Winning  Ticket - CD - Leo  Carrillo, 

Louise  Fazenda,  Irene  Hervey,  Luis  AI- 
berni. 

West  Point  of  the  Air - MD - Wallace  Beery, 

Robert  Young,  Maureen  O’Sullivan,  James 
Gleason,  Russell  Hardie. 

Monogram 

Tomorrow’s  Youth  —  CD- — Dickie  Moore, 
John  Milan,  Martha  Sleeper,  Franklyn 
Pangborn,  Gloria  Shea. 

Girl  of  the  Limberlost - CD - Louise  Dresser, 

Marian  Marsh,  Ralph  Morgan,  Helen  B. 
Walthall,  Edward  Nugent,  Helen  Jerome 
Eddy. 


Trail  Beyond - W - John  Wayne,  Verna  Hil¬ 

lie,  Noah  Beery,  Robert  Fraser. 

Red  Head — CD — B  ruce  Cabot,  Grace  Brad¬ 
ley,  Berton  Churchill,  Regis  Toomey. 

Lost  in  the  Stratosphere — MD - June  Collyer, 

William  Cagney,  Eddie  Nugent,  Edmund 
Breese,  Pauline  Garon. 

Mysterious  Mr.  Wong - MD - Bela  Lugosi, 

Wallace  Ford,  Dorothy  Lee. 

Flirting  with  Danger - CD — Robert  Arm¬ 

strong,  Maria  Alba,  William  Cagney, 
Edgar  Kennedy. 

Girl  O’  My  Dreams - CD - Mary  Carlisle,  Ed¬ 

die  Nugent,  Tommy  Dugan,  Gigi  Parrish. 

Sing  Sing  Nights - MD - Bela  Lugosi,  Con¬ 

way  Tearle,  Hardie  Albright,  Boots  Mal¬ 
lory,  Mary  Doran,  Berton  Churchill. 

Million  Dollar  Baby  - C - Arline  Judge,  Ray 

Walker,  George  E.  Stone,  Eddie  Kane, 
Jeanette  Loff,  Willard  Robertson,  Paul  Por- 
asi. 

Successful  Failure - CD - Wm.  Collier,  Sr., 

Lucille  Gleason. 

Lawless  Frontier - W - John  Wayne. 

’Neath  Arizona  Skies - W - John  Wayne. 

Reckless  Romeos — CD — Robert  Armstrong, 
William  Cagney. 

Women  Must  Dress - CD - Minna  Gombell, 

6  Monogram-Agfa  contest  winners. 

Paramount 

Ready  for  Love — CD - Richard  Arlen,  Mar¬ 

jorie  Rambeau,  Ida  Lupino,  Junior  Durkin, 
Henry  Travers. 

Mrs.  Wiggs  of  the  Cabbage  Patch - CD - 

Pauline  Lord,  Zasu  Pitts,  Evelyn  Venable, 
Charles  Middleton,  W.  C.  Fields,  Kent  Tay¬ 
lor,  Donald  Meek,  Jimmy  Butler. 

Menace - MD — Paul  Cavanaugh,  Gertrude 

Michael,  Henrietta  Crosman,  John  Lodge, 
Raymond  Milland,  Berton  Churchill,  Halli- 
well  Hobbes. 

Pursuit  of  Happiness - C - Francis  Lederer, 

Joan  Bennett,  Charles  Ruggles,  Mary  Bo¬ 
land,  Walter  Kingsford,  Minor  Watson. 

Enter  Madame — C - Elissa  Landi,  Cary 

Grant,  Lynne  Overman,  Sharon  Lyne. 

Lives  of  Bengal  Lancer - MD - Gary  Cooper, 

Franchot  Tone,  Richard  Cromwell,  Sir  Guy 
Standing,  Kathleen  Burke,  Monte  Blue. 

Here  is  My  Heart - C - Bing  Crosby,  Roland 

Young,  Kitty  Carlisle,  Reginald  Owen. 

Home  on  the  Range - W - Jackie  Coogan, 

Randolph  Scott,  Evelyn  Brent. 

Limehouse  Blues — MD - George  Raft,  Jean 

Parker,  Anna  May  Wong,  Kent  Taylor, 
Billy  Bevan. 

College  Rhythm - F - Joe  Penner,  Lanny 

Ross,  Jack  Oakie,  George  Barbier,  Lyda 
Roberti,  Mary  Brian. 

Father  Brown,  Detective — MD — Paul  Lukas, 
Gertrude  Michael,  Walter  Connolly. 

Wings  in  the  Dark - AD - Myrna  Loy,  Cary 

Grant. 

Caprice  Espagnole — MD - Marlene  Dietrich, 

Joe  1  McCrea,  Lionel  Atwill,  Edward  Ever¬ 
ett  Horton,  Alison  Skipworth. 

The  President  Vanishes - D - Arthur  Byron, 

Janet  Beecher,  Paul  Kelly,  Edward  Arnold. 

It’s  a  Gift - C - W.  C.  Fields,  Joan  Rouverol, 

Kathleen  Howard,  Baby  Leroy,  Morgan 
Wallace. 

Behold  My  Wife - CD — Sylvia  Sidney,  Gene 

Raymond,  Juliette  Compton,  Laura  Hope 
Crews,  Monroe  Owsley,  H.  B.  Warner. 

Me  Without  You - CD - Joe  Morrison,  Helen 

Twelvetrees,  Conrad  Nagel,  Arline  Judge, 
Toby  Wing. 


30 


Novl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Once  in  a  Blue  Moon - CD - Jimmy  Savo, 

Whitney  Bourne,  Cecilia  Parker,  Michael 
Dalmatoff. 

Mississippi - MU - Bing  Crosby,  W.  C.  Fields, 

Joan  Bennett. 

Ruggles  of  Red  Gap - C - Charles  Laughton, 

Mary  Boland,  Charles  Ruggles,  Baby 
Leroy. 

Rhumba — D - George  Raft,  Carole  Lombard, 

Lynne  Overman. 

Kids  on  the  Cuff - C — Max  Baer,  Gertrude 

Michael,  Alison  Skipworth,  David  Holt. 

The  Vanishing  Pioneer - W - Randolph 

Scott,  Chic  Sale,  Ann  Sheridan,  George 
Marion. 

The  Man  on  the  Flying  Trapeze — C — W.  C. 
Fields. 

Radio 

The  Gay  Divorcee - MU - Ginger  Rogers, 

Fred  Astaire,  Edward  Everett  Horton,  Eric 
Blore,  Alice  Brady. 

Dangerous  Corner — D - Conrad  Nagel,  Vir¬ 

ginia  Bruce,  Melvyn  Douglas,  Ian  Keith, 
Eaon  O’Brien  Moore. 

Wednesday’s  Child - D - Edward  Arnold, 

Karen  Morley,  Frankie  Thomas,  Jr. 

By  Your  Leave - CD — Frank  Morgan,  Gene¬ 

vieve  Tobin,  Neil  Hamilton,  Marion 
Nixon,  Glenn  Anders. 

Kentucky  Kernels - F — Wheeler  and  Wool- 

sey,  Mary  Carlisle,  Spanky  MacFarland, 
Noah  Beery,  Lucille  LaVerne. 

Anne  of  Green  Gables - CL - Anne  Shirley, 

Tom  Browne,  O.  P.  Heggie,  Helen  West- 
ley,  Sara  Haden,  Murray  Kinnell. 

Woman  in  the  Dark - MD - Fay  Wray,  Ralph 

Bellamy,  Melvyn  Douglas,  Roscoe  Ates. 

Gridiron  Flash — CD — Eddie  Quillen,  Betty 
Furness,  Grant  Mitchell,  Robert  McWade. 

Red  Morning - MD - Regis  Toomey,  Steffi 

Duna,  Raymond  Hatton,  George  Lewis. 

Silver  Streak - AD - Sally  Blane,  Charles 

Starrett,  Hardie  Albright,  W.lliam  Far- 
num,  Irving  Pichel. 

West  of  the  Pecos — MD — Richard  Dix, 
Martha  Sleeper,  Sleep  ’N’  Eat,  Sam  Hinds, 
Fred  Kohler. 

Lightning  Strikes  Twice - C - Ben  Lyon, 

Pert  Kelton,  Thelma  Todd,  Laura  Hope 
Crews,  Chic  Chandler,  Walter  Catlett, 
Skeets  Gallagher. 

Romance  in  Manhattan — CD — Francis  Led- 
erer.  Ginger  Rogers,  Arthur  Hohl,  Jimmy 
Butler. 

Grand  Old  Girl — CD — May  Robson,  Mary 
Carlisle,  Alan  Hale,  Hale  Hamilton. 

Enchanted  April - D — Ann  Harding,  Frank 

Mo  rgan,  Katherine  Alexander,  Reginald 
Owen. 

Little  Minister — CD - Katherine  Hepburn, 

John  Beal,  Alan  Hales,  Donald  Crisp,  Reg¬ 
inald  Denny,  Andy  Clyde. 

Puzzle  of  the  Pepper  Tree - MY - Edna  May 

Oliver,  James  Gleason,  Gene  Lockhart, 
Sleep  ’N’  Eat. 

Star  of  Midnight - D — W.lliam  Powell. 

Roberta - MU - Irene  Dunne,  Fred  Astaire, 

Ginger  Rogers. 

Universal 

Wake  Up  and  Dream — CD - Russ  Columbo, 

June  Knight. 

One  Exciting  Adventure - CD - Binnie 

Barnes,  Neil  Hamilton. 

Great  Expectations - CL - Henry  Hull,  Jane 

Wyatt,  Phillips  Holmes,  Florence  Reed, 
Alan  Hale. 


Night  Life  of  the  Gods - C - Alan  Mowbray, 

Florine  McKinney,  Irene  Ware,  Wesley 
Barry,  Richard  Carle. 

Cheating  Cheaters - CD - Fay  Wray,  Cesar 

Romero,  Francis  Sullivan. 

Imitation  of  Life - D - Claudette  Colbert, 

Warren  William,  Ned  Sparks,  Rochelle 
Hudson,  Alan  Hale,  Paul  Porcasi,  Henry 
Armetta. 

Life  Returns D — Onslow  Stevens,  Lois  Wil¬ 
son,  George  Breakston,  Stanley  Fields. 

Secret  of  the  Chateau - MY - Claire  Dodd, 

Alice  White,  Jack  LaRue,  Helen  Ware, 
Osgood  Perkins. 

Straight  from  the  Heart - CD - Mary  Astor, 

Roger  Pryor,  Baby  Jane. 

When  a  Man  Sees  Red — W - Buck  Jones. 

The  Good  Fairy - CD - Margaret  Sullavan, 

Herbert  Ma  rshall,  Alan  Hale,  Frank  Mor¬ 
gan. 

Strange  Wives MD Roger  Pryor,  June 

Clayworth,  Esther  Ralston,  Ralph  Forbes. 

Man  Who  Reclaimed  His  Head - MD - Claude 

Rains,  Lionel  Atwill,  Baby  Jane,  Joan  Ben¬ 
nett,  Wallace  Ford. 

Mystery  of  Edward  Drood — MD — Claude 
Rains,  Heather  Angel,  Douglas  Montgom¬ 
ery. 

Rustlers  of  Red  Dog — Serial - Johnny  Mack 

Brown,  Ray  Hatton,  Walter  Miller,  Ann 
Darcy. 

Rendezvous  at  Midnight - MD - Ralph  Bel¬ 

lamy,  Valerie  Hobson. 

I  Murdered  a  Man — MD - Charles  Bickford, 

Helen  Vinson,  John  Darrow,  Onslow  Stev¬ 
ens,  Dudley  Digges. 

United  Artists 

Our  Daily  Bread - D - Karen  Morley,  Tom 

Keene. 

Transatlantic  Merry-Go-Round - MU - Jack 

Benny,  Nancy  Carroll,  Gene  Raymond, 
Sydney  Howard,  Sid  Silvers. 

Private  Life  of  Don  Juan — COD - Douglas 

Fairbanks,  Merle  Oberon,  Benita  Hume. 

We  Live  Again - D — Anna  Sten,  Fredric 

March,  Sam  Jaffee. 

Nell  Gwyn  - COD - Anna  Neagle,  Cedric 

Hardwicke. 

The  Queen’s  Affair - COD - Anna  Neagle, 

Ferdinand  Graavey. 

Kid  Millions — MU - Eddie  Cantor,  Ethel  Mer¬ 

man,  Ann  Sothern,  Block  and  Sully. 

Charles  Chaplin  No.  5 - C — Charles  Chap¬ 

lin,  Paulette  Goddard. 

The  Mighty  Barnum — CD- — Wallace  Beery, 
Adolphe  Menjou,  Rochelle  Hudson,  Janet 
Beecher,  Virginia  Bruce. 

Clive  of  India - MD - Ronald  Colman,  Lor¬ 

etta  Young,  Francis  Lister. 

The  Scarlet  Pimpernel — COD - Leslie  How¬ 

ard,  Merle  Oberon,  Johan  Gardner,  Nigel 
Bruce,  Raymond  Massey. 

Congo  Raid— MD — Leslie  Banks,  Paul  Robe¬ 
son,  Nina  McKinney. 

Brewsters  Millions - F - Jack  Buchanan,  Lili 

Damita. 

The  Call  of  the  Wild - MD - Clark  Gable, 

Fay  Wray. 

Les  Miserables - CL - Fredric  March. 

Folies  Bergere  De  Paris — MU - Maurice 

Chevalier. 

Cardinal  Richelieu - COD — George  Arliss. 

The  Wedd’ng  Night— D— A  nna  Sten,  Gary 
Cooper. 

Clive  of  India — MD - Ronald  Colman,  Lor¬ 

etta  Young,  Lumsden  Hare,  Colin  Clive, 
Montagu  Love,  Doris  Lloyd. 


Du  World 

Blue  Light - D — Leni  Riefenstahl. 

Norah  O’Neale - D - Lester  Matthews,  Molly 

Lamont,  Nancy  Burne  (Irish). 

Man  Who  Changed  His  Name - MY — Betty 

Stockfield,  Lyn  Harding,  Leslie  Perrins, 
Ben  Weldon  (British). 

Beast  of  Borneo - MD - Mae  Stewart,  John 

Preston. 

Girl  in  the  Case - CD - Jimmie  Savo,  Eddie 

Lambert,  Dorothy  Darling. 

Romance  in  Budapest — MU — Hungarian 

musical  comedy. 

First  Division 

Convention  Girl — CD — Rose  Hart,  Weldon 
Heyburn,  Sally  O’Neill,  Herbert  Rawlin- 
son. 

Hei-Tiki — RD — Native  drama  of  the  South 
Sea,  produced  on  the  Isle  of  Ghosts. 

Principal 

The  Return  of  Chandu — MD - Bela  Lugosi, 

Maria  Alba,  Clara  Kimball  Young. 

Foreign 

Broken  Melody - D - John  Garrick,  Merle 

Oberon,  Margot  Grahame,  Austin  Trevor 
(British) . 

Bella  Donna - D — Conard  Veidt,  Mary  Ellis, 

Cedric  Hardwicke  (British). 

Bride  of  the  Lake - D - J  ohn  Garrick,  Gina 

Malo,  Stanley  Holloway,  Sara  Allgood 
(British) . 

Are  You  a  Mason — F Sonnie  Hale,  J.  Rob¬ 
ertson  Hare,  Davey  Burnaby  (British). 

Autumn  Crocus - D - Ivor  Novello,  Fay 

Compton  (British). 

Crime  on  the  Hill - MY - Sally  Blane,  Sir 

Nigel  Playfair,  Anthony  Bushell,  Phyllis 
Dare  (British). 

Freedom  of  the  Seas - CD - Zelma  O’Neal, 

Cliff  Mollison,  Wendy  Barrie,  H.  F.  Maltby 
(British) . 

Loyalties  —  D - Basil  Rathbone,  Heather 

Thatcher,  Miles  Mander,  Ph.lip  Strange 
(British) . 

The  Youth  of  Russia - CD - Tale  of  Jewish 

life  (Jewish). 

Scotland  Yard  Mystery — MY - Sir  Gerald  Du 

Maurier,  George  Curzon,  Belle  Crystal 
(British) . 

Miscellaneous 

Inside  Information — AD - Marion  Shilling, 

Rex  Lease,  Tarzan  the  dog,  Philo  McCul¬ 
lough,  Charles  King,  Vic  Potel. 

Thunder  Over  Texas - W — -Guinn  Williams, 

Marion  Shilling,  Claude  Payton,  Helen 
Westcott,  Philo  McCullough. 

The  Fighting  Hero - W - Tom  Tyler,  Ed 

Hearn,  Renee  Borden,  Ralph  Lewis. 

Murder  in  the  Museum - MY - Henry  B. 

Walthall,  Phyllis  Barrington,  Johnny  Har- 
ron. 

White  Heat — MD - David  Newell,  Mona  Mar¬ 

is,  Virginia  Cherrill,  Hardie  Albright. 

Tomorrow’s  Children - D - Diane  Sinclair, 

Sterling  Holloway,  John  Preston,  Sara 
Padden. 

The  Oil  Raider - AD - Buster  Crabbe,  Gloria 

Shea,  George  Irving. 

Ticket  to  a  Murder - MD - Ralph  Graves, 

Lois  Wilson,  Lola  Lane,  James  Burke, 
Charles  Ray. 

Federal  Agent - AD - William  Boyd,  Irene 

Ware,  Don  Alvarado,  George  Cooper. 

Five  Bad  Men - W - Noah  Beery,  Jr.,  Bill 

Patton,  Pete  Morrison,  Buffalo  Bill,  Jr., 
Sally  Dolling,  Wally  Wales. 

The  Silver  Bullet - W - Tomy  Tyler,  Jane 

Regan,  Lafe  McKee. 

Outlaws’  Highway — W - John  King,  Kazan, 

Tom  London,  Bonita  Barker,  Philo  Mc¬ 
Cullough. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 

31 

2-Nov.-34 

6-Point  Reviews 

J  1  -*Who  made  it? 

2  Who'*  in  it  ? 

\  3^ How  good  is  it ? 

4  Is  it  family  or  adult  type  ? 

5  What's  it  about  ? 

6 Running  Time? 

COLUMBIA 


Family 

Against  the  Law  (5040)  Action  Drama 

62m. 

John  Mack  Brown,  Sally  Blane,  Arthur  Hohl. 
George  Meeker,  James  Bush,  Bradley  Page,  Ward 
Bond. 

Story  of  an  ambulance  driver  who  refuses  to 
sell  out  to  the  gang,  “Against  the  Law’’  is 
suitable  for  the  blood  and  thunder  houses.  As 
an  action  drama  it  moves  along  at  a  breezy 
clip  with  the  proper  atmosphere  of  gangsters, 
etc.  Of  course,  there  is  a  girl,  etc.,  and  it  all 
winds  up  with  the  chief  gangster  being  put 
behind  the  bars. 

Estimate:  Programmer. 


Broadway  Bill  Comedy  Drama 

— m. 


FOX 


Adult 

Gambling  (512)  Melodrama 

83m. 

George  M.  Cohan,  Wynne  Gibson,  Dorothy  Burgess, 
Theodore  Newton,  Walter  Gilbert,  Percy  Ames,  Cora 
Witherspoon,  Harold  Healy,  John  T.  Doyle. 

Melodrama  starring  a  name  that  has  become 
more  valuable  since  his  radio  conquests, 
“Gambling’’  is  George  M.  Cohan.  Picture  has 
other  marquee  attractions  but  the  business  will 
depend  upon  Cohan.  As  a  melodrama,  it  has 
been  well  produced  and  holds  interest  all  the 
way  for  adult  audiences.  Appeal  of  the  picture, 
combined  with  George  M.  Cohan’s  name,  should 
make  for  better  than  average  grosses.  When 
his  daughter  is  murdered,  the  father  (Cohan) 
determines  to  find  out  the  murderer,  finally  does. 

Estimate:  Better  than  average. 


METRO 


The  Gay  Bride  (509)  Comedy  Drama 

82m. 

Carole  Lombard,  Chester  Morris,  Nat  Pendleton, 
Zasu  Pitts,  Leo  Carrillo,  Sam  Hardy,  Walter  Walker. 

With  one  name  to  draw  and  a  gangster  back¬ 
ground,  primed  for  laughs,  picture  is  noth¬ 
ing  to  write  home  about  but  passes  muster  as 
fair  programmer.  Laughs  have  been  well  planted, 
overcoming  gangster  elements,  with  the  female 
star  a  gold  digger  who  goes  from  her  husband, 
eventually,  to  the  fellow  who  is  regular.  In  the 
end  love  conquers  all  and  both  give  intention 
of  conforming  with  moral  standards  and  the 
production  code.  Pace  is  fast  moving  through¬ 
out. 

Estimate:  Laugh  show. 


Warner  Baxter,  Myrna  Loy,  Walter  Connolly,  Helen 
Vinson,  Douglas  Dumbrille,  Raymond  W alburn,  Lynne 
Overman,  Clarence  Muse,  Frankie  Darro,  Margaret 
Hamilton,  Ward  Bond,  Charles  Wilson,  George 
Meeker,  Helen  Flint. 

Another  triumph  from  Frank  Capra  and  a 
dough  show  that  should  be  a  worthy  member  of 
the  “Lady  for  a  Day,”  “It  Happened  One 
Night”  family.  Story  of  a  man,  a  horse  and  a 
girl  who  had  faith  in  both,  the  show  is  a  race 
track  yarn  that  ought  to  be  in  the  money.  Play¬ 
ers  are  well  cast,  perfect  Capra  direction  and 
an  ace  script  are  combined,  a  punch  horse 
race  is  inserted  and  the  show  looks  headed  for 
top  honors.  Comedy  predominates,  although 
other  notes  are  hit.  Picture  is  okay  for  all 
houses. 

Estimate:  Top  notch. 


Fugitive  Lady  (4023)  Melodrama 

65m. 

Neil  Hamilton,  Donald  Cook,  Florence  Rice,  Clara 
Blandick,  Nella  Walker ,  William  Dcmarest,  Matt 
McHugh. 

Melodrama  of  a  girl  who  is  convicted  falsely, 
who  gets  into  an  accident,  who  is  mistaken  for 
another  man’s  wife,  and  who  is  protected  by 
the  husband  because  of  his  growing  love  for  her, 
“Fugitive  Lady”  is  entertaining  melodrama  that 
doesn’t  make  any  pretentions  to  greatness  but 
should  satisfy.  Mix  in  some  crooks  and  the 
fake  wife’s  desire  to  protect  the  husband  and 
you  have  a  plot  that  should  hold  interest.  Of 
program  school,  picture  satisfies. 

Estimate:  Satisfies. 


Hell  in  the  Heavens  F*mily 

(517)  80m. 

Warner  Baxter,  Conchita  Montenegro,  Andy  Devine, 
Ralph  Morgan,  Vince  Barnett,  Herbert  M undin ,  J. 
Carrol  Naish,  Johnny  Arthur,  Russell  Hardie. 

Action  drama  of  a  squadron  of  air  aces, 
“Hell  in  the  Heavens”  is  familiar  program 
material  enhanced  by  some  good  performances. 
Outside  of  Baxter’s  draw,  the  femme  angle 
isn’t  any  too  strong.  Selling  the  war  stuff 
might  suffice  in  some  spots  and  handicap  in 
others.  Individual  portrayals  of  fears  of  mem¬ 
bers  of  the  unit  are  well  presented. 

Estimate:  Sell  Baxter. 


Marie  Galante  (511)  Melodrama 

90m. 

Spencer  Tracy,  Ketti  Gallian,  Ned  Sparks,  Helen 
Morgan,  Siegfried  Rumann,  Leslie  Fenton,  Arthur 
Byron,  Jay  C.  Flippen,  Stepin  Fetchit. 

Ace  melodrama  with  a  new  name  to  sell, 
backed  by  plenty  of  suspense,  intrigue  and 
showmen's  angles.  Mix  in  spies,  a  plot  to 
blow  up  the  canal,  a  lass  who  is  the  centre  of 
attention  for  all  the  men,  a  lot  of  capable 
players  and  “Marie  Galante”  is  the  result. 
Spencer  Tracy  is  up  to  par,  while  the  newcomer 
may  make  a  good  impression.  In  her  first  show, 
however,  she  will  not  be  a  definite  asset  until 
audiences  get  to  know  her. 

Estimate:  Okay  melodrama. 


MONOGRAM 


Girl  of  My  Dreams 
(3015) 


Family 

Comedy  with  Music 
70m. 


Mary  Carlisle,  Eddie  Nugent,  Creighton  Chaney, 
Arthur  Lake,  Sterling  Holloway,  Gigi  Parrish,  Tommy 
Dugan,  Jeanie  Roberts. 

Pleasant  little  comedy  about  college  life  with 
some  songs  that  will  get  a  lot  of  help  from  the 
fact  that  it  can  be  billed  as  a  successor  to 
“Sweetheart  of  Sigma  Chi.”  Show  lacks  name 
lustre  but  is  suitable  for  family  trade.  There 
are  enough  laughs  to  satisfy  even  if  college  type 
story  lacks  originality.  As  a  show  for  the 
family  trade,  it  is  satisfactory. 

Estimate:  Pleasant. 


Music  in  the  Air  (513)  Operetta 

105m. 

John  Boles,  Gloria  Swanson,  Douglass  Montgomery , 
Reginald  Owen,  Al  Shean,  June  Lang,  Joe  Cawthorn, 
Hobart  Bosworth,  Otis  Harlan. 

Transcription  of  the  stage  operetta  and 
likely  to  satisfy  where  they  desire  their  enter¬ 
tainment  planned  along  those  lines.  Picture 
has  been  well  produced  with  names  to  se’l,  but 
results  will  probably  show  best  in  the  classier 
type  of  houses.  There  are  several  songs  to  plug 
as  well  as  an  impressive  score.  Of  the  type 
the  screen  can  do  so  well,  show  falls  into  a 
definite  category  although  selling  of  names  may 
attract  mass  trade. 

Estimate:  Worthy. 


Evelyn  Prentice  (508)  Melodrama 

7  8m. 

Myrna  Loy,  William  Powell,  Una  Merkel,  Isobel 
Jewell,  Harvey  Stephens,  Cora  Sue  Collins,  Jack  Mul- 
hall,  Edward  Brophy,  Rosalind  Russell. 

The  Powell-Loy  starring  combination,  on  the 
strength  of  “Thin  Man”  should  help  in  put¬ 
ting  this  courtroom  melodrama  across  in  most 
spots.  Loy  is  the  wife  of  Powell,  who  becomes 
attorney  for  a  lass  accused  of  killing  a  black¬ 
guard.  The  felon  has  been  blackmailing  the 
attorney’s  wife.  Punch  comes  in  when  the  at¬ 
torney  gets  the  accused  girl  acquitted  after  she 
is  found  to  have  really  killed  the  man  in  ques¬ 
tion. 

Estimate:  All  Powell-Loy. 


The  Painted  Veil  (415)  Drama 

75m. 

Greta  Garbo,  Herbert  Marshall,  George  Brent, 
Warner  Oland,  Jean  Hersholt,  Beulah  Bondi,  Kath¬ 
erine  Alexander,  Cecilia  Parker,  Forrester  Harvey. 

Another  personal  triumph  for  Garbo, 
“Painted  Veil”  will  have  to  stand  on  her  draw 
and  not  so  much  the  production  itself.  Pictur- 
ization  of  the  Somerset  Maugham  story  was  a 
difficult  job  but  where  it  lags  Garbo  steps  into 
the  breach.  As  the  daughter  of  a  scientist  who 
can’t  decide  between  two  loves,  she  is  again 
at  her  peak  and  turns  in  a  good  job.  Grosses 
will  have  to  depend  entirely  upon  her. 

Estimate:  All  Garbo. 


FOX 

The  First  World  War  r  A** 

Compilation 
71m. 

Compilation  of  library  and  newsreel  shots  of  World 
War  preliminaries  and  actual  fighting. 

Well  edited  by  Laurence  Stallings,  with  run¬ 
ning  ta'k  by  Pedro  de  Cordoba,  Fox’s  contribu¬ 
tion  to  the  series  of  authentic  world  war  pic¬ 
tures  will  suffer  the  same  fate  as  the  others.  In 
other  words,  it  should  prove  a  swell  grosser  in 
some  spots  and  make  no  impression  in  others. 
No  question  that  as  far  as  makeup  is  concerned, 
this  one  rates  favorably,  but  grosses  in  a  case 
like  this  depend  on  selling. 

Estimate:  Depends  on  selling. 


32 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


2-NOV.-34 

PARAMOUNT 

FIRST  NATIONAL 

FOREIGN 

Family 

College  Rhythm  (3417)  Cog®dy 

Joe  Penner,  Jack  Oakie,  Lanny  Ross,  George  Bar- 
bier,  Lyda  Roberti,  Mary  Brian,  Franklyn  Pangborn, 
Joe  Sauers,  Helen  Mack,  Robert  McWade. 

Ace  laugh  show  backed  by  names,  radio  draw 
and  a  comedy  script,  “College  Rhythm”  looks 
like  a  happy  picture  for  all  exhibitors  who  play 
it.  Joe  Penner  scores  with  Goo-Goo,  his  duck, 
the  comedy  cast  is  studded  with  stars,  the  foot¬ 
ball  atmosphere  won’t  hurt,  and  a  couple  of 
songs  will  send  them  out  humming.  Plot  con¬ 
cerns  football  rivalry  between  two  deparlment 
store  owners,  a  couple  of  romances  and  Penner. 

Estimate:  Dough  show. 


Flirtation  Walk  (752)  Musical 

87m. 

Dick  Powell,  Ruby  Keeler,  Ross  Alexander,  Pat 
O'Brien,  Glen  Boles,  John  Arledge,  Guinn  Williams, 
John  Darrow,  Henry  O’Neill. 

Another  Warner  musical  ace,  to  click  at  all 
box  offices  because  of  the  Powell-Keeler  com¬ 
bination,  the  West  Point  background,  the  usual 
Warner  flair  for  something  new  in  musicals  and 
a  good  supporting  cast.  Powell  is  a  regular 
army  private  who  rises  to  become  big  time  at 
West  Point.  There  is  a  girl  and  everything 
else  that  comes  with  her,  romance,  etc.  Show 
should  do  a  more  than  satisfactory  business 
everywhere. 

Estimate:  Box  office  delight. 


Adult 

Limehouse  Blues  (3415)  Melodrama 

64m. 

George  Raft,  Jean  Parker,  Montagu  Love,  Kent 
Taylor,  Anna  Mae  Wong,  Eric  Blore,  Billy  Bevan, 
Wyndham  Standing. 

Familiar  yarn  of  Chinese  intrigue  in  a  Lon¬ 
don  setting  but  nothing  to  write  home  about, 
"Limehouse  Blues”  ought  to  do  okay  in  the 
blood  and  thunder  houses  but  not  so  much  in 
the  higher  notches.  Raft  is  a  semi-Chinaman 
who  gives  up  all  for  the  girl  who  loves  someone 
else.  As  a  gangster  leader  he  has  a  stereo¬ 
typed  role,  plays  it  much  the  same  way.  Some 
houses,  however,  ought  to  do  well  with  the  show. 

Estimate:  Strictly  melodrama. 


UNIVERSAL 


Cheating  Cheaters 
(8022) 


Adult 
Comedy  Drama 
67  m. 


Fay  Wray,  Cesar  Romero,  Francis  L.  Sullivan, 
Hugh  O’Connell,  Henry  Armetta,  Wallis  Clark,  John 
T.  Murray. 

Programmer  about  crooks  trying  to  outwit 
crooks  and  a  light  entrant.  Show  has  some 
laughs,  introduces  a  newcomer  with  talent  in 
the  person  of  Cesar  Romero,  has  a  saleable  title 
but  won’t  make  much  of  an  impression.  Stage 
hit  was  pretty  well  known  in  its  day  but  doesn’t 
turn  out  to  be  so  much  in  the  movie  line.  Sell¬ 
ing  title  and  laughs  may  help. 


Estimate:  So-so. 


Imitation  of  Life 


(7003) 


Adult 
Comedy  Drama 
118m. 


Claudette  Colbert,  Warren  William,  Ned  Sparks, 
Alan  Hale,  Baby  Jane,  Henry  Armetta,  Henry  Kolker, 
Paul  Porcasi,  Wyndham  Standing,  Louise  Beavers. 

Well  handled  screen  transcription  of  a  yarn 
that  sold  plenty  of  copies,  with  the  result  being 
a  picture  that  will  bring  in  the  dough  at  the 
box  office.  Fannie  Hurst  story,  characteriza¬ 
tions  by  Colbert,  William  et  al  are  mixed  to¬ 
gether  in  a  picture  that  should  boost  Universal’s 
stock.  Story  of  a  mother  who  becomes  a  busi¬ 
ness  success  and  who  eventually  faces  the  prob¬ 
lem  of  having  the  man  she  loves  become  in¬ 
fatuated  with  her  daughter,  picture  is  built  for 
women.  Side  plot,  involving  colored  cook  who 
helps  her,  and  who  has  a  problem  with  her  own 
daughter,  is  also  well  handled. 

Estimate:  Looks  good. 


RADIO 


Gridiron  Flash  (511)  Action  Drama 

62m. 

Eddie  Quillan,  Lucien  Littlefield,  Edgar  Kennedy, 
Betty  Furness. 

Football  picture  with  a  new  angle,  “Gridiron 
Flash”  is  saleable  during  the  football  season.  A 
young  convict  is  taken  from  jail,  placed  on  the 
college  eleven,  fights  everyone  and  everybody 
until  he  discovers  they  are  really  his  friends, 
makes  good.  Show  is  decidedly  of  program 
grade  but  where  the  football  stuff  is  valuable 
should  be  made  of  some  account.  There  is 
comedy  as  well. 

Estimate:  Seasonal. 


Red  Morning  (515)  Action  Drama 

60m- 

Raymond  Hatton,  Steffi  Duna,  Regis  Toomey, 
Mitchell  Lewis,  Lionel  Belmore. 

Action  drama  that  lacks  names  and  which 
has  only  jungle  drama  and  South  Seas  atmos¬ 
phere  to  sell,  show  will  depend  entirely  on 
exploitation.  Where  the  odd  and  bizarre  can 
be  sold,  gross  may  be  added,  but  otherwise  show 
will  make  little  or  no  impression.  Story  re¬ 
volving  around  a  girl  who  loves  the  sea,  her 
father,  the  captain  and  the  hero,  includes  a  plot 
to  wreck  the  boat  for  insurance,  etc. 

Estimate:  Familiar. 


Lightning  Strikes  Twice  (517)  Comedy 

65m. 

Ben  Lyon,  Pert  Kelt  on,  Thelma  Todd,  Skeets 
Gallagher,  Chic  Chandler,  Walter  Catlett,  Laura  Hope 
Crews,  Margaret  Armstrong . 

Ineffectual  comedy  that  just  can’t  seem  to 
hold  interest  long  enough  to  make  a  good  feat¬ 
ure,  “Lightning”  is  a  weak  entrant  and  seems 
handicapped.  Cast  is  A-l  comedy,  story  winds 
around  a  supposed  murder,  misunderstandings, 
complications,  etc.,  with  little  of  any  original 
touches.  There  are  a  few  laughs,  not  enough 
to  go  around. 

Estimate:  Weak. 


What  Do  You  Think? 

it  is  the  aim  of  this  publication  to  give  its  readers 
every  possible  service.  Revision  of  the  page  is  an 
attempt  to  offer  a  concise  reviewing  form  that  will 
help  every  exhibitor.  Your  suggestions  and  criticisms 
are  welcomed.  Write  in  now  and  tell  us  whether 
you  like  this  or  not. 


Are  You  a  Mason  ?  Farce 

76m. 

Sonnie  Hale,  J.  Robertson  Hare,  Davey  Burnaby, 
Gwyneth  Lloyd. 

English  farce  that  won’t  make  any  impression 
on  this  side  of  the  pond,  this  new  entrant  is 
not  attractive  enough  for  American  audiences. 
British  accents  prevail,  pace  is  slow  and  humor 
doesn't  always  score. 

Estimate:  Missout. 


Autumn  Crocus 


Adult 

Drama 

71m. 


Ivor  Novello,  Fay  Compton. 

English  produced  picture  of  a  stage  play  that 
made  quite  a  rep  and  a  satisfactory  entrant  for 
c’ass  houses  only.  Show  has  been  directed  with 
protection  of  stage  qualities  and  actors  are  well 
chosen.  Names  won’t  mean  anything  here  al¬ 
though  adult  story  may.  Plot  is  one  of  an  Eng¬ 
lish  school  teacher  who  falls  in  love  with  an 
innkeeper  in  the  Tyrol  country,  almost  has  an 
illicit  affair  with  him. 

Estimate:  Class. 


Adult 

Crime  on  the  Hill  Mystery 

61m. 

Sally  Blane,  Sir  Nigel  Playfair,  Anthony  Bushell, 
Phyllis  Dare,  Lewis  Casson. 

Mystery  show  about  who  killed  the  squire 
and  okay  as  far  as  the  mystery  murder  division 
is  concerned.  Show  has  a  couple  of  familiar 
names  to  sell  as  well,  which  may  help.  Other¬ 
wise,  it  is  a  British  show  that  won’t  sound 
familiar  to  most  audiences. 

Estimate:  Two  names. 


Family 

Freedom  of  the  Seas  Comedy  Drama 

75m. 

Zelma  O’Neal,  Cliff  Mollison,  Wendy  Barrie,  H.  F- 
Maltby,  James  Carew. 

English  production  which  starts  off  as  a 
comedy  and  ends  with  spy  and  U-boat  war 
intrigue.  Picture  lacks  names  to  sell  except 
Zelma  O’Neal  who  will  prove  of  doubtful 
value  here.  Where  they  don’t  shop  this  may 
prove  of  some  value. 

Estimate:  Average  importation. 


Adult 

Loyalties  Drama 

73m. 

Basil  Rathbone,  Heather  Thatcher,  Miles  Mander, 
Philip  Strange,  Joan  Wyndham,  Alan  Napier,  Marcus 
Barron. 

Class  production  of  a  stage  hit  which  will  be 
of  value  only  in  the  class  trade.  Story  of  a 
Jew  who  fought  for  his  principles,  it  can’t 
appeal  to  the  masses  at  all.  Creditably  produced, 
it  can  be  made  attractive  only  for  the  higher 
types  of  audience. 

Estimate:  Restricted. 

Family 

Norah  O’Neale  Drama 

66m. 

Lester  Matthews,  Molly  Lamont,  Nancy  Burne  and 
Abbey  Players. 

Filmed  entirely  in  Ireland  with  Irish  music, 
this  importation  will  do  its  best  business  in 
spots  where  the  Irish  are  plentiful.  As  a  pro¬ 
duction,  it  has  much  to  praise  it  but  appeal  is 
limited.  A  sensitive  Irish  doctor  becomes  en¬ 
gaged  to  a  nurse  in  the  hospital  to  save  her 
reputation.  In  reality,  he  loves  another.  Event¬ 
ually,  the  first  nurse  understands. 

Estimate:  Limited. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


33 


Adult 

Scotland  Yard  Mystery  Mystery 

70m. 

Sir  Gerald  Du  Maurier,  George  Curzon ,  Walter 
Patch,  Belle  Crystal,  Henry  Victor,  Lester  Perrins, 
Herb  Cameron. 

English  mystery  show  that  holds  interest  but 
which  lacks  names,  it  is  of  little  value  to 
domestic  audiences  except  in  the  title  which 
looks  valuable  to  houses  whose  audiences  go 
for  the  thrill  stuff.  Plot  concerns  a  plan  to 
kill  people  for  insurance  money  and  then  re¬ 
store  them  to  life. 

Estimate:  Sell  the  title. 


Adult 

The  Broken  Melody  D™ma 

67  m. 

John  Garrick,  Merle  Oberon,  Austin  Trevor,  Mar¬ 
got  Graham. 

Story  of  a  composer  who  kills  his  wife’s 
lover,  is  sentenced  to  Devil’s  Island,  escapes  and 
starts  life  anew  with  her  real  sweetheart, 
“Broken  Melody”  is  nothing  to  cheer  about. 
Picture  is  another  of  the  so-so  British  produc¬ 
tions  that  have  been  coming  here  and  show 
hasn't  much  for  domestic  audiences.  Picture 
is  generally  average. 

Estimate:  So-so. 


STATE  RIGHTS 


Family 

Five  Bad  Men  Western 

60m. 

Noah  Beery,  Jr.,  Bill  Patton,  Pete  Morrison,  Buf¬ 
falo  Bill,  Jr.,  Wally  Wales,  Art  Mix,  Sally  Dolling, 
William  Desmond,  Billy  Franey,  Mrs.  Jack  Hoxie, 
Lew  Meehan. 

Suitable  western  which  starts  in  a  night  club 
and  which  winds  up  on  a  ranch  with  a  battle 
between  sheepmen  and  homesteaders,  this  one 
has  an  attractive  title  and  some  familiar  west¬ 
ern  names  to  sell.  It  packs  plenty  of  action  and 
should  satisfy  the  western  fans. 

Estimate:  Satisfactory  western. 


Family 

The  Silver  Bullet  Western 

56m. 

Tom  Tyler,  Jane  Regan,  Lafe  McKee,  Franklyn 
Farnum,  Charles  King. 

This  time  our  hero  becomes  sheriff,  finds  out 
he  has  to  battle  the  town's  banker  who  is  also 
the  leader  of  the  crooks.  Thanks  to  the  plot, 
the  hero-must-win-out-in-the-end  policy  and  a 
familiar  western  story,  he  does  win  out  and 
saves  the  day.  Where  westerns  are  popular 
there  won’t  be  any  complaint  about  this  one 
even  though  not  so  original. 

Estimate:  Average. 


The  Youth  of  Russia  Comedy  Drama 

65m. 

Jewish  picture,  with  English  superimposed  titles, 
dealing  with  marriage  and  divorce  in  Russia  today. 

Headed  only  for  the  Jewish  nabes,  “The 
Youth  of  Russia”  is  on  a  par  with  the  better 
class  of  entrants  in  this  division.  With  Jewish 
and  Russian  songs  and  dance  numbers,  made 
here,  it  has  appeal  for  houses  catering  to  that 
trade.  Many  rituals  of  the  Jewish  faith  are 
shown.  Picture  is  generally  well  handled. 

Estimate:  Okay  for  Jewish  trade. 


BETWEEN  THE  PARAGRAPHS 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  FILMS 
SHOULD  BRING  MIXED  REACTION 

Introduction  of  the  A-adult,  F-family  classification  by  Warner 
Brothers  in  some  of  their  theatres  may  meet  with  a  mingled  reaction. 
Some  neighborhoods  may  feel  that  an  A-classification  may  brand  that 
picture  as  something  that  might  even  be  offensive  to  some  adults.  An 
A  picture  wouldn’t  necessarily  have  to  be  salacious  or  sexed.  It  might 
indicate  that  problems  that  children  wouldn’t  understand  would  be 
included.  Then  again,  there  might  be  A  pictures  that  children  might 
see  and  still  be  unaffected. 

The  A-F  idea  isn’t  a  sure  cure,  by  any  means.  It  will  remain  for 
each  individual  theatre  to  solve  its  own  problems.  But  by  inaugurat¬ 
ing  the  idea,  Warner  Brothers  have  indicated  that  they  are  ready  to 
meet  the  women’s  club  and  Legion  of  Decency  more  than  half  way. 
Such  a  spirit  must  be  commended. 

COMPANIES  ARE  LINING  UP 
BIG  ONES  FOR  HOLIDAY  SEASONS 

There  is  no  doubt  that  regardless  of  the  run  of  the  mill  pictures, 
each  company  is  preparing  at  least  one  headliner  that  should  bring 
prestige  as  well  as  added  dollars  to  each.  Such  fare  as  “The  Little 
Minister”  (RKO);  “David  Copperfield”  (MGM);  “The  Good  Fairy” 
(Universal);  “Flirtation  Walk”  (Warners);  “Here  Is  My  Heart” 
(Paramount) ;  “Broadway  Bill”  (Columbia) ;  “The  Great  Barnum,” 
“Kid  Millions”  (United  Artists);  “The  White  Parade”  (Fox)  are  of 
the  sort  that  will  find  no  objections  from  conscientious  objectors 
to  films  as  well  as  providing  box  office  magnets  for  theatres. 

Most  companies  can  be  depended  upon  to  deliver  sock  pictures 
around  the  holiday  season.  The  trouble  is  that  in  between  the  socks 
there  are  holes  when  the  weak  sisters  come  along. 

Someone  has  been  spreading  the  rumor  that  the  majors  intend  to 
jump  into  the  fast-production  field  by  turning  out  pictures  designed 
for  the  double  feature  and  daily  change  houses,  figuring  that  if  there 
is  revenue  there  they  may  as  well  get  their  share.  Without  definitely 
announcing  such  a  policy,  it  appears  as  if  much  of  the  current  fare 
could  fall  into  that  classification. 

Pictures  are  not  bad,  but  there  aren’t  enough  good  ones.  This 
observation  may  not  be  new,  but,  unfortunately,  it  is  true. 

ALL  SEEMED  HELPLESS  WHEN 
FOX  PATENTS  MATTER  BROKE 

When  the  Fox  patent  case  broke  in  the  trade,  there  was  a  decided 
lack  of  attention  from  exhibitor  organizations.  Not  that  anyone  ex¬ 
pected  any  exhibitor  leader  to  provide  any  rosy  statement  on  the  situa¬ 
tion,  but  one  would  naturally  expect  some  note  of  reassurance  from 
exhibitor  units  to  their  members. 

It  took  a  while  for  the  electrics  to  provide  statements  which 
served  to  indicate  to  exhibitors  that  they  weren’t  alone  in  any  trouble 
that  might  arise. 

INDUSTRY  STILL  AWAITS 

THE  LEADER  FEATURE  COLOR  FILM 

Although  the  Silly  Symphonies  have  done  much  to  place  color 
pictures  back  in  their  former  good  graces,  the  industry  is  still  waiting 
for  a  feature  to  come  along  in  the  three-color  process  and  cause  a 
rebirth  of  the  color  work.  The  “Kid  Millions”  technicolor  sequence 
may  prove  of  advantage  as  did  the  reel  in  “House  of  Rothschild,”  but 
until  the  feature  is  made,  one  won’t  know  whether  the  box  office 
prowess  of  the  three-color  camera  has  returned. 

Disney  has  an  exclusive  on  the  process  for  cartoons  for  one  year, 
with  three-color  privileges  open  to  feature  producers  who  want  it. 

HOBART  MANN. 


34 


Novl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Heard  In 

W/ILMINGTON 

Millikin  in  Wilmington 

Dr.  Carl  Millik'n,  secretary,  Motion 

READY 

REFERENCE 

ylyl  Hunting  Season 

Picture  Producers  and  Distributors  of 

EACH  COMPANY  LISTED  IS  AN 

Is  Here 

America,  speaking  in  Wilmington,  No- 

AUTHORITY  IN  ITS  FIELD  AND 

vember  7,  before  several  hundred  mem¬ 
bers  of  the  City  Federation  of  Women’s 

IS  RELIABLE  AND  TRUSTWORTHY 

E.  I.  Lewis,  new  manager,  Queen,  shows 
Wilmington  theatre  men  how  they  can 
beautify  and  dignify  the  appearance  of  a 
dumb  looking  lobby,  by  the  introduction 
of  a  prepared  ribbed  composition  paper 
which,  made  into  four  columns  against 
each  side  of  the  lobby  wall  and  illumi¬ 
nated  gives  the  effect  of  a  rose  tinted  glass 
of  expensive  make. 

Dwight  Van  Meter,  Aldine  manager,  is  try¬ 
ing  to  get  a  party  of  Wilmington  theatre 
men  to  take  a  trip  to  New  York  some  Sun¬ 
day  soon  to  look  over  Radio  City,  the  NBC 
studio  and  other  ultra  modern  theatre 
properties  for  new  ideas. 

Jack  Flynn  covered  the  Wdm’ngton-Chester- 
West  Chester  area  for  Jack  Mulhall  while 
the  latter  and  his  wife  took  a  trip  north. 

Joe  DeFiore,  manager.  Park,  puts  on  a  15- 
minute  program  every  Wednesday  over 

WDEL  now. 

Sam  Ferarro,  projectionist,  New  Rialto,  took 
unto  himself  a  bride. 

A.  B.  Seligman,  manager,  Strand,  seems  to 
have  made  peace  with  Mrs.  Frances  Mer¬ 
chant. 

Harry  Brubaker,  New  Rialto  treasurer,  is  do¬ 
ing  a  lot  of  hunting. 

John  Reader,  Warner  artist,  did  a  pastel  pos¬ 
ter  of  Miriam  Hopkins’  interesting  face 
for  the  Arcadia,  which  would  fit  well  in  a 
gallery  exhibit. 

D.  C.  Drissell’s  new  attraction  sign  over  the 
marquee,  Loew  s,  is  the  talk  of  the  town. 

Dwight  Van  Meter,  Aldine  manager,  had 
dancing  schools  teach  the  "Continental." 

A.  Rosenblatt,  Master  Arts,  1  am  told,  has 
been  negotiating  in  Wilmington  with  War¬ 
ner  Brothers. 

Charley  Albert  I  5  years  artist  in  Wilmington 
Warner  shop,  tells  friends  “back  home” 
he’s  getting  used  to  Chester. 

Dwight  VanMeter  attended  a  Philadelphia 
meeting. 

Dr.  Carl  E.  Millikin,  the  new  “Czar"  of  the 
movie  industry  made  a  hit  with  Wilming¬ 
ton  theatre  managers  attending  the  supper 
given  by  the  clubwomen.  Those  who  met 
him  were  Lew  Black,  Dwight  VanMeter, 
D.  C.  Drissell,  A.  B.  Belair,  A.  B.  Seligman, 
A.  J.  DeFiore,  Jack  Mulhall,  Morton  Le¬ 
vine,  E.  1.  Lewis  and  Earle  G.  Finney. 

“The  Merry  Widow,”  Loew’s,  and  "Judge 
Priest”  were  the  latest  films  to  be  held 
over  for  a  second  week. 

Ben  Schindler,  Avenue,  swings  in  double  feat¬ 
ures  now  and  then. 

New  Rialto  front  has  been  painted  green  and 
gold. 

Clyde  M.  Hoffinz  has  been  added  to  the  Park 
staff  as  publicity  and  advertising  man  full 
time. 

Morton  Levine,  Opera  House,  has  a  new 
office  on  the  second  floor. 

Nello  V.  Nai,  chief  of  service,  Park,  made  a 
3-day  visit  in  Hershey. 

Edman  Devenney,  assistant  manager,  Aldine, 
set  a  record  by  selling  by  himself  4,874 
lines  of  co-operative  advertising  space. 

W.  R.  McClintock,  assistant  manager,  Ar¬ 
cadia,  with  paint  and  brush  and  some  help, 
has  salvaged  discarded  chairs,  and  made 
the  mezzanine  rest  rooms  for  both  men 
and  women  look  I  00  per  cent  better. 

Richard  Hayden,  doorman,  Arcadia,  has 
bought  a  car.  He  only  paid  $20  for  it. 

Alfred  Kitselman  is  the  new  man,  Aldine 
door. 


Clubs  and  managers  of  the  Wilmington 
theatres,  said:  “What  we  of  the  Motion 
Picture  Industry  ask  of  you  is  that  you 
tell  your  friends  what  you  l'ke  about  a 
motion  picture  but  tell  us  what  you 
don’t  like. 

“The  motion  picture  industry  is  faced 
with  adjusting  the  program  to  the  wants 
of  the  public,”  said  Dr.  Millik’n.  “Not  a 
small  group  of  which  are  the  children. 
Their  desires  for  a  picture  are  the  same 
as  that  which  induces  an  adult  to  at¬ 
tend  a  picture.  You  cannot  attract  a 
group  of  children  to  what  seems  to  them 
a  do  se  of  spinach  any  more  than  you 
can  attract  a  general  audience  by  an¬ 
nouncing  that  you  wish  to  educate  them 
or  that  you  wish  to  raise  their  moral 
s'andard.  If  we  are  to  have  motion  pic¬ 
tures  at  all  we  must  have  box  office 
appeal  and  we  have  the  producers  code.” 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Edmund  Barsham,  the 
latter,  reviewer  of  films  for  the  club¬ 
women,  and  chairman  of  Motion  Pic¬ 
tures  for  the  State  Federation,  enter¬ 
tained  Dr.  Millikin  while  he  was  in  Wil¬ 
mington.  Mrs.  A.  P.  Tanberg,  presi¬ 
dent,  City  Federation,  presided. 


Morton  Levine,  Opera  House  manager,  is 
hoping  the  scaffolding  for  the  repair  work 
for  fire  damages  will  soon  disappear. 

“Million  Dollar  Ransom”  shouted  six  news¬ 
boys,  not  too  loud  for  the  police  to  hear, 
as  they  distributed  a  "phoney"  newspaper 
for  Morty  Levine  ballyhooing  the  picture 
of  that  name. 

Irving  Martin,  assistant  manager,  Loew’s 
Parkway,  Wilmington,  has  been  trans¬ 
ferred  to  Loews  Theatre,  Richmond. 
George  Shepp,  Loew’s  Columbia,  Washing¬ 
ton,  has  taken  his  place  in  Wilmington 
under  D.  C.  Drissell. 

Ben  Schindler,  manager.  Avenue,  Wilming¬ 
ton,  put  on  a  one-day  all-Jewish  program 
recently  at  his  theatre  with  fair  success. 
All  of  the  Jewish  organizations  were  con¬ 
tacted. 

Stockholders  meeting  for  Warner  Brothers 
Pictures,  Inc.,  will  be  held  in  Wilmington 
December  10.  Five  directors  are  to  be 
elected  and  other  business  transacted.  No 
clash  of  stockholders  as  of  old  is  expected. 


Local  No.  98  Nominates 

For  the  eighth  consecutive  year  WiKiam  S. 
McKay,  Jr.,  electrician  at  Loew’s  Regent  The¬ 
atre,  Harrisburg,  was  nominated  for  president 
of  Harrisburg  Local  No.  98,  International  Alli¬ 
ance  of  Theatrical  Stage  Employes  and  Moving 
Picture  Operators  of  the  United  States  and 
Canada. 

Others  nominated  were :  Lester  Firing,  vice- 
president ;  Charles  J.  Jones,  corresponding  sec¬ 
retary  ;  Harry  W.  Wilson,  financial  secretary 
and  treasurer;  W.  A.  Davis  and  J.  M.  Ryan, 
business  agent,  one  to  be  elected ;  Harry  O. 
Beck,  sergeant-at-arms;  H.  Rudy  and  H.  Par¬ 
sons,  members  of  the  executive  board,  two  to 
be  elected,  and  Charles  Mader,  James  Blessing 
and  Charles  Herbert,  trustees,  three  to  be 
elected. 


ACCOUNTANT  (Theatre  Spec.) 


Edwin  r.  Harris 

CERTIFIED  PUBLIC  ACCOUNTANT 

Drill*  let  Bldg.,  Philadelphia 

Specializing  in  Theatre  Bookkeeping.  Profit  and  Loss 
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for  more  than  19  years 

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THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Novl5'34 


35 


THE  SCARLET  LETTER.  Colleen  Moore  and  Hardie  Albright  are  aided  by  Henry  B. 
Walthall  in  the  Majestic  show.  Masterpiece  distributes. 


FLASHES  FROM 
COAL  FIELDS 

By  BIDU 


Moe  Sherman  is  chairman  of  the  entertain¬ 
ment  committee  for  the  Arthur  Hyman 
50th  birthday  party.  All  friends  in  the 
Scranton  vicinity  have  been  invited  to  at¬ 
tend.  Get  in  touch  with  the  chairman. 
Date  is  November  19. 

George  Beatty,  Paramount  salesman,  Scran¬ 
ton  territory,  was  married  November  8  to 
Miss  Ann  McLaughlin,  at  Scranton.  Every¬ 
one  wishes  them  well. 

Fred  Marshall,  Columbia  exploiteer,  spent  a 
week  in  the  coal  fields  between  Wilkes- 
Barre  and  Scranton  on  "One  Night  of 
Love”  campaigns.  He  helped  the  grosses 
of  the  show  quite  a  bit. 

Jack  Harry  expects  to  have  his  Strand  The¬ 
atre,  Berwick,  open  by  holiday  time. 

Grand  Theatre,  Archbald,  has  re-opened 
after  altering. 

A1  Farrell,  Carbondale,  went  hunting,  ran 
into  a  snowstorm,  returned  home. 

Scranton  bowling  league  is  clicking  along. 
John  Gibbons,  Doc  Siegel,  A1  Spiegel, 
Willard  Matthews,  Frank  Ellis,  Nat  Sher¬ 
man,  Edgar  Simonis  are  the  leaders. 

Bob  Schmidt,  Temple  Theatre,  Berwick,  has 
installed  a  fine  display  board  in  one  of 
his  theatres.  It’s  one  of  the  best. 

Joe  Reed,  Stanley  Theatre,  Larksville,  was 
married  October  28  to  Miss  Tillie  Miller, 
Exeter. 

Charlie  Hooper,  Shickshinny,  went  hunting 
in  the  woods. 

Billy  Cosgrove,  Globe  Theatre,  went  after 
"Dames.”  Had  plenty  of  tie-ups. 

Harry  Spiegel,  Family  Theatre,  had  every¬ 
one  bicycle  conscious  because  of  his  “6 
Day  Bike  Rider”  campaigns. 

Eddie  Connelly,  Stanley  Mack  and  Stanley 
Jahoski,  Nanticoke,  opened  up  the  hunting 
season  with  a  bang.  They  got  their  ani¬ 
mals. 


Earl  Courtright,  Court  Theatre,  Shickskinny, 
went  on  the  stump  for  his  old  pal  Elmer 
Dietrich,  elected  to  Congress. 

Frank  Loftus,  managing  the  Rialto,  Scran¬ 
ton,  is  back  with  his  old  pals  again. 

Willis  Close,  Summit  Theatre,  Clark’s  Sum¬ 
mit,  has  a  good  battery  service  station. 
Get  your  batteries  fixed  up. 

George  Beatty  was  given  a  party  at  the  Hotel 
Casey  before  his  recent  marriage. 

Sam  Colango,  Doc  Spiegel,  Johnny  Gibbins, 
Harold  Sohns,  Sam  Ridiam  beat  the  Elec¬ 
tric  City  Lunch  bowlers  just  the  way  the 
two  Dean  boys  took  Detroit. 

John  Banko,  Neutral,  Simpson,  is  still  operat¬ 
ing  one  day  a  week,  Sunday.  One  night 
is  plenty,  he  says. 

Joe  McKenna,  Horlacher  representative  here, 
should  be  named  around  about  Joe. 
Wherever  you  go,  no  matter  what  time, 
you  find  him. 

Mike  Segal  dropped  into  town  with  a  new 
Buick. 

Sander  Engel,  father,  Jerome  Engel,  Family 
Theatre,  Glen  Lyon,  was  very  ill  fol¬ 
lowing  an  operation. 

Manny  Tannerbaum,  Roxy  Theatre,  Oly- 
pha  nt,  and  Astor  Theatre,  Allentown,  is 
a  fast  moving  exhibitor. 

Lou  Favini,  Favini  Theatre,  is  doing  a  nice 
job.  Good  personality. 

Steve  Smith,  Grand  Theatre,  is  all  set.  This 
is  his  weather  and  he  takes  to  the  woods, 
hunting. 


I.  T.  M.  NEWS 


November  8,  meeting  was  held  as  usual. 
Oscar  Brown,  assistant  district  attorney, 
delivered  an  address  on  "Co-operation.” 
50  men  were  present. 

Abe  Resnick,  Hamilton  Theatre,  Max  Stein- 
house,  Overbrook  Theatre;  Louis  Cohen, 
Wissahickon  Theatre  are  new  members. 

All  independent  theatre  managers  are  always 
welcome  to  weekly  meeting  held  every 
Thursday  morning  at  II  A.  M.,  at  1313 
Vine  Street. 


SHE  HAD  TO  CHOOSE.  Majestic’s  production  includes  Larry  Crabbe,  Isobel  Jewell, 
Fuzzy  Knight  and  Sally  Blane  in  the  cast.  Masterpiece  distributes. 


FLAGS  AND  BANNERS 


Theatre  Marquee  Valances 
Wall  Banners 

Net  and  Road  Banners 

Attractive  Colors — Sewed  or  Painted 
Letters — Featuring  All  Shows. 

Burgees — Pennants — Decorations 
Above  Also  Sold  Outright.  Order  Direct  From 

NATIONAL  FLAG  &  BANNER  CO. 

251-253  N.  13th  St.  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


HEATING  and  VENTILATING 


THE  AMERICAN  SYSTEM 


Specializing  in  the  Cooling,  Heating  and  Venti¬ 
lating  of  Theatres  for  More  Than  Fifteen  Years. 

The  American  Heating  and  Ventilating  Co. 

1505  Race  Street,  Philadelphia 

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INTERIOR  DECORATORS 


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Rittenhouse  7828 
2315  Walnut  St. 
Philadelphia 


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Paramount  Qecorating  (Jo.,  |nc. 

STAGE  SETTINGS  :  DRAPERIES 

CARPETS  :  PAINTING  AND  DECORATING 

311  North  13th  Street  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


LIGHTING  FIXTURES 


NEW 


DECORATIVE  LIGHTING 

FOR  YOUR  THEATRE 

DRINKING  FOUNTAINS  DIRECTION  SIGNS 


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36 


Novl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


ALL  FOR  EDUCATIONAL.  Recent  addition  s  to  the  Educational  shorts  roster  are  Alice 
Jefferson,  Frances  Woodward  and  an  unnamed  damsel. 


HARRISBURG 


Ah’s  and  oh’s  are  heard  in  the  lobby  of  the 
Majestic,  Harrisburg.  Sounds  emitted  by 
moviegoers  who  view  manager  Jack 
O’Rear’s  exhibit  of  bundling. 

Mrs.  Florence  Heck,  Majestic  cashier,  says 
bundling  still  a  custom  in  parts  of  Hunt¬ 
ingdon  County. 

During  showing  of  "Caravan,”  a  woman 
artist,  dressed  in  Gipsy  costume,  made 
sketches  of  theatre  patrons  in  lobby  of 
Majestic. 

Is  B‘ll  Manahan,  superintendent.  Majestic, 
Harrisburg,  proud?  Bill  borrowed  to  offi¬ 
ciate  as  doorman  at  State  for  "Roberta. 

It  was  the  400th  stage  performance  at 
which  Bill  officiated  in  this  capacity  since 
1928  without  a  miss. 

Julius  Slumberg  has  been  named  assistant 
superintendent  at  the  Majestic. 

Henry  Houck,  Majestic  doorman,  has  been 
promoted  to  floor  manager. 

West  wall  of  the  Majestic,  Harrisburg,  in 
full  public  view,  has  been  adorned  with  at¬ 
tractive  bill  board. 

Manager  Harry  Lambert,  Colonial,  Harris¬ 
burg,  erected  in  the  outside  lobby  for  use 
during  showing  of  "Mrs.  Wiggs  and  the 
Cabbage  Patch,”  an  unique  shanty  over 
the  door  of  which  appeared  a  sign  invit¬ 
ing  theatregoers  to  enter. 

On  Hallowe’en  shanty  was  mounted  on  a 
truck  and  an  effort  was  made  to  place  it  in 
Harrisburg’s  Hallowe’en  parade,  but  ad¬ 
vertising  vehicles  were  barred. 

Whitney  Church,  member  Harrisburg  Com¬ 
munity  Theatre,  has  been  made  floor  man¬ 
ager  at  the  Colonial. 

For  “Demon  Patrol”  Jerry  Wollaston  had 

man  ride  a  horse  through  the  city  streets, 
dressed  to  represent  Bob  Steele. 


Frances  DeVerter  returns  to  the  State  as 
assistant. 

David  R.  Schear  has  equipped  his  Strand 
Theatre,  Hamburg,  with  Photophone  High 
Fidelity  sound  apparatus. 

Lyceum  Theatre  and  four  nearby  buildings 
destroyed  or  damaged  by  fire  at  Sunbury, 
loss  estimated  at  $50,000.  Blaze  origin 
not  determined. 

Hollywood  Opening 
Atlantic  City  Triumph 

Many  Film  Men  Attend  Waxman*  s 
House  Debut 


Opening  of  the  Hollywood  Theatre, 
Atlantic  City,  was  a  big  social  and  suc¬ 
cessful  event. 

Many  film  men  attended  the  November  2 
festivities,  with  all  exchanges,  etc.,  present. 

Local  civic  leaders,  etc.,  were  present  and 
there  were  speeches  as  well  as  many  other  con¬ 
gratulatory  remarks.  Harry  Waxman,  opera¬ 
tor  of  the  new  citadel,  came  in  for  much  praise. 

Harry  Biben  is  booking  vaudeville  in  the 
house.  This  is  believed  one  of  the  most  im¬ 
portant  spots  in  the  territory  and  acquisition 
of  the  house  is  quite  a  feather  in  his  cap.  He 
p’ans  to  bring  in  headliners  from  every  branch 
of  the  entertainment  division. 

American  Heating  and  Ventilating  Company 
installed  the  heating  and  ventilating  apparatus 
and  equipment  in  the  building. 

David  Supowitz  was  the  supervising  archi¬ 
tect. 


BY  YOUR  LEAVE.  Radio’s  comedy  has  Frank  Morgan,  Neil  Hamilton,  Genevieve  Tobin 
in  the  cast. 


PREMIUMS 


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SOUND  SERVICE 


WE  SOLVE  YOUR  SOUND  PROBLEMS 


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262  N.  13th  ST. 
PHILADELPHIA 
Day  Phone:  RIT  4529 
Night  Phone:  SHE  0805 


STATIONERY 


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GENERAL  THEATRE  EQUIPMENT 

Specialists  in  Repairs 


CLEM’S 

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134  So.  11th  St.  Phila.,  Pa. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Novl5'34 


37 


600  Seats  Available 


Any  exhibitor  wanting  to  buy  600 
seats  in  good  condition  can  get  in  touch 
with  the  Clifton  Theatre,  Clifton 
Heights,  to  make  a  quick  deal.  Give  the 
theatre  a  call. 


READING 


Reading  police  have  made  a  start  to  stop  a 
nuisance  that  has  been  hurting  business  at 
local  theatres  for  two  years  or  more.  Offi¬ 
cers  have  been  stationed  at  all  houses  with 
orders  to  break  up  the  gangs  of  child  beg¬ 
gars,  mostly  boys,  in  a  few  cases  little 
girls,  begging  pennies  and  nickels  at  the¬ 
atre  doors.  Some  of  them  make  a  pre¬ 
tense  of  selling  chewing  gum,  candy  or 

newspapers — often  old  editions - but  in 

every  case  it’s  a  begging  racket.  A  plan 
to  organize  clubs  for  these  children,  to 
keep  them  away  from  theatre  doors,  is  pro¬ 
posed. 

Liberal  legislation  for  theatres,  giving  them 
the  same  rights,  at  least,  as  baseball  and 
football,  is  in  prospect,  Reading  theatre 
men  say  as  result  of  the  election. 

Rhea  Gipson,  spirit  medium,  filled  a  week’s 
engagement  in  the  Embassy,  appearing  as 
a  “psychic  hostess.” 

Roscoe  Ates,  stuttering  comic,  appeared  in 
person  at  the  Astor. 

Paul  E.  Glase  told  in  his  theatre  program  of 
Lou  Telegen’s  three  stage  appearances  in 
Reading. 

Paul  Frailey,  trying  dramatic  stock  at  the 
Orpheum  Theatre,  lasted  three  weeks. 

“Bill”  Heckman  is  reported  after  the  Or¬ 
pheum  lease,  to  put  in  legit  attractions. 

J.  Donald  Edwards,  manager,  Edwards  The¬ 
atre,  Myerstown,  gave  the  use  of  his  the¬ 
atre  to  the  American  Legion. 


LETTERS  TO  THE  EDITOR 


(Ed.  Note — The  following  letter,  from  a  former  ex¬ 
hibitor  of  many  years’  good  standing  in  this  business  has 
been  received,  with  a  request  that  it  be  published.  In¬ 
asmuch  as  it  discusses  a  topic  which  is  pertinent  to 
the  business,  it  is  being  published  at  this  time.) 

His  Eminence, 

The  Most  Rev.  Archbishop, 

225  N.  18th  Street, 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Your  Eminence: 

It  is  with  regret  that  I  advise  you  that  when  you 
placed  the  ban  on  motion  picture  theatres,  you  succeeded 
in  putting  me  out  cf  business. 

For  twenty  years  I  have  operated  the  Clifton  Theatre 
in  Clifton  Heights,  Pa.,  and  have  always  been  able  to 
make  a  substantial  living  for  myself  and  family.  Even 
with  the  depression  I  managed  to  struggle  along  and 
keep  my  head  above  water  up  until  the  time  you  placed 
the  ban  on  our  business;  with  the  result  that  the  day 
after  the  ban  was  placed,  my  business  fell  off  from 
1000  paid  admissions  on  a  Monday  night  to  300. 

F  struggled  along  the  best  I  could  for  several  months, 
but  was  unable  to  meet  my  obligations,  consequently 
the  Sheriff  sold  my  theatre.  I  am  now  without  a  busi¬ 
ness,  and  have  no  money  and  six  children  to  support,  the 
oldest  of  whom  is  thirteen  years  and  the  youngest 
three  months.  I  actually  lost  a  $40,000  cash  investment. 

I  am  writing  you  this  letter  in  behalf  of  many  other 
independent  exhibitors,  as  well  as  myself,  who  are  going 
to  be  in  the  same  predicament  as  I  am,  if  this  ban  con¬ 
tinues  as  I  know  many  of  them  who  can  hardly  meet 
their  obligations  today,  and  it  is  only  a  matter  of  time 
before  they  close  up.  These  men  are  like  me,  who  have 
their  life’s  earnings  in  their  business  and  who  have  fami¬ 
lies  to  keep.  So  you  can  see  by  putting  a  lot  of  people 
out  of  business  isn’t  going  to  help  matters  under  present 
conditions. 

I  have  been  a  good  Catholic  all  my  life  and  my  parents 
before  me.  My  six  children  have  been  practically  raised 
in  the  motion  picture  theatre  I  operated,  and  I  have 
never  seen  any  harm  done  to  them  because  of  it.  In 
my  talk  with  the  Sisters  of  the  Parochial  Schools,  they 
have  told  me  time  and  again  they  would  rather  see  the 
children  going  to  the  movies  than  to  be  on  the  streets 
and  the  different  things  they  are  doing  now. 

Respectfully  yours, 

JAMES  DICK. 

26  E.  Broadway, 
Clifton  Heights,  Pa. 


third  class  passengers.  These  installations  will 
be  in  addition  to  the  first  and  tourist  class  in¬ 
stallations  that  have  been  in  operation  for  some 
time  past. 


WE  Scores 

For  the  first  time  in  steamship  service,  pass¬ 
engers  of  all  classes  will  be  given  talking  pic¬ 
ture  entertainment  on  two  ships  of  the  United 
States  Line.  S.  S.  Manhattan  and  the  S.  S. 
Washington  will  now  have  Western  Electric 
Sound  System  installed  for  entertainment  of  the 


Theatre  Lease  Wanted 


Responsible  exhibitor  wants  a  theatre 
to  lease.  Is  interested  in  house  of  any 
size  anywhere  in  the  Philadelphia  or 
surrounding  district.  Address  box  Lease, 

THE  EXHIBITOR. 


UNIVERSAL  PLAYERS.  Henry  Armetta,  busy  as  ever,  a  shot  from  “Night  Life  of  the 
Gods”  and  one  of  Heather  Angel  are  presented  here. 


SUPPLIES 


S.O.S.  Buys  Equipment  at  Highest  Prices 


TICKET  REGISTERS 


Announcing  the 

At 

NEW 

Silent- Automatic 

Ticket  Register 

DU 

1935  Noiseless  Model  X 

Write  for  Details 

Saving 

A  MODERN  ELECTRICiL  PRODUCT 

STANDARD  TICKET  REGISTER  CORP. 

1600  Broadway.  New  York  •  Geo;  Mead.  gen.  mgr. 

VAUDEVILLE  AGENCIES 


HARRY  BIBEN I 

VAUDEVILLE  AGENCY  I 

(603-4  COLONIAL  BUILDING) 

N.  E.  Cor.  13th  and  Market  St*. 

Phone,  Rittenhouse  9494-5 

PHILADELPHIA 
OUR  LATEST:— 

Now  Booking  Harry  Waxman's  New 

HOLLYWOOD  THEATRE  *TtfTNYTIC  I 

Booking  STANLEY- WARNER  I 
THEATRES,  Philadelphia  | 


• 

Official  Letter 
Service  to  the 

Mimeographing 
Multigraphing 
Public  Stenography 

Motion  Picture 
Industry 

Addressing  -  Folding 
Enclosing  -  Mailing 

Accurate  List 
of  all  Theatres 
and  Executives 

Advertising 

Publicity 

Printing 

WM.  Z. 

POUTER 

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1208  Vine  Street 

(Second  Floor) 

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38  Novl5'34  THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


For  your  convenience,  this  publication  furnishes  this  guide  to  reviews  of  pictures  which  have  appeared 
in  regular  review  department.  Before  dating  in  your  show,  consult  this  page,  find  out  when  the  review  appeared 
and  then  look  it  up.  Key:  For  example,  2-Jan.  means  the  second  issue  of  this  publication  in  that  month. 
1-Feb.  would  mean  the  first  issue,  and  so  on. 


Columbia 


The  Most  Precious  Thing  in  Life  .  2-June 

Black  Moon  .  2-July 

A  Man's  Game . 1-Aug. 

Whom  the  Gods  Destroy  .  1-Aug. 

Beyond  the  Law  .  2-Aug. 

Blind  Date  . 2-Aug. 

Name  the  Woman .  2-Aug. 

The  Defense  Rests  .  2-Aug. 

Among  the  Missing  .  2-Sept. 

Girl  in  Danger  .  2-Sept. 

That’s  Gratitude  . 2-Sept. 

Lady  by  Choice  .  2-Oct. 

I’ll  Fix  It . 1-Nov. 

The  Captain  Hates  Sea  .  1-Nov. 

Against  the  Law .  2- Nov. 

Broadway  Bill  .  2-Nov. 

Fugitive  Lady  2-Nov. 


First  National — Warners 


The  Circus  Clown  .  .  .  . 
The  Merry  Frinks  .... 

Dr.  Monica  . 

The  Key  . . 

He  Was  Her  Man  ... 
Man  With  Two  Faces  . 
Return  of  the  Terror 
Friends  of  Mr.  Sweeney 
Madam  Du  Barry  .  . 
The  Personality  Kid 
Here  Comes  the  Navy 
British  Agent 
Kansas  City  Princess 
Dragon  Murder  Case 

Dames  . 

Housewife 

Big  Hearted  Herbert 

Desirable  . 

A  Lost  Lady . 

Case  of  Howling  Dog  . 
Happiness  Ahead  .  . 
Six  Day  Bike  Race  .  . 

The  Firebird  . 

St.  Louis  Kid 
I  Sell  Anything 
Gentlemen  Are  Born 
Flirtation  Walk 


1-June 

1-June 

1-June 

1-June 

1- June 

2- June 
2-June 
2-June 
2-June 
2-June 
2-July 
2-Aug. 
2-Aug. 
2-Aug. 
2-Aug. 
2-Aug. 
1-Sept. 

1- Sept. 

2- Sept. 
2-Sept. 

1- Ocl. 

2- Oct. 
2-Oct. 
1-Nov. 
1-Nov. 

1- Nov. 

2- Nov. 


Fox 


Grand  Canary  .  1-July 

She  Learned  About  Sailors .  1-July 

Charlie  Chan’s  Courage  .  2-July 

The  World  Moves  On  .  2-July 

Servants'  Entrance  .  1-Aug. 

Caravan  . .  2-Aug. 

Judge  Priest  .  2-Aug. 

She  Was  a  Lady  . . .  2-Aug. 

The  Cat’s  Paw  .  2-Aug. 

Pursued  .  1-Sept. 

Charlie  Chan  in  London  .  2-Sept. 

Peck’s  Bad  Boy  .  2-Sept. 

Dude  Ranger  .  1-Oct. 

Love  Time  .  2-Oct. 

365  Nights  in  Hollywood  .  2-Oct. 

The  White  Parade  .  1-Nov. 

State  vs.  Elinor  Norton  .  1-Nov. 

Gambling  2-Nov. 

Hell  in  the  Heavens  2-Nov. 

Marie  Galante  .  2-Nov. 

Music  in  the  Air  2-Nov. 

The  First  World  War  .  2-Nov. 


Liberty 


No  Ransom  .  2-Apr. 

When  Strangers  Meet  . 2-Apr. 

Take  the  Stand  .  2-Mar. 

Once  to  Every  Baohelor  .  1-June 

Two  Heads  on  a  Pillow .  2-July 

School  for  Girls  .  1-Sept. 

Without  Children  .  1-Nov. 


Metro 


Tarzan  and  His  Mate 

Laughing  Boy  . 

Sadie  McKee  . 

Operator  13  . 

The  Thin  Man  .... 


1- May 

2- May 
2-May 
1-June 
1-June 


Murder  in  Private  Car  .  2-July 

Stamboul  Quest  .  2-July 

Treasure  Island  . 2-July 

Barretts  of  Wimpole  Street  .  1-Aug. 

Girl  from  Missouri  .  1-Aug. 

Paris  Interlude  .  1-Aug. 

Hideout  2-Aug. 

Straight  Is  the  Way  .  .  .  2-Aug. 

Chained  .  1-Sept. 

Have  a  Heart  .  1-Sept. 

Iris  March  .  1-Sept. 

Student  Tour  1-Sept. 

Death  on  Diamond  .  2-Sept. 

The  Merry  Widow  2-Sept. 

What  Every  Woman  Knows .  2-Oct. 

The  Gay  Bride  2-Nov. 

Evelyn  Prentice  2-Nov. 

The  Painted  Veil  .  2-Nov. 


Monogram 

DISTRIBUTED  BY  FIRST  DIVISION 


Star  Packer  .  .  2-July 

Happy  Landings  .  1-Aug. 

Shock  . 1-Aug. 

The  Moonstone  . . .  2-Aug. 

Girl  of  Limberlost  .  2-Sept. 

King  Kelly  of  U.  S.  A .  1-Oct. 

Redhead  .  1-Oct. 

A  Successful  Failure  .  2-Oct. 

Tomorrow's  Youth  .  2-Oct. 

The  Trail  Beyond  2-Oct. 

Lost  in  Stratosphere  .  1-Nov. 

Girl  of  My  Dreams . 2-Nov. 


Paramount 

You're  Telling  Me  . 

Double  Door  . 

The  Scarlet  Empress  . 

The  Witching  Hour  . 

We’re  Not  Dressing  . 

Little  Miss  Marker  . 

Many  Happy  Returns  . 

Murder  at  Vanities  . 

Private  Scandal  . 

Thirty  Day  Princess  . 

Kiss  and  Make  Up  . 

The  Great  Flirtation  . 

Here  Comes  the  Groom . 

Notorious  Sophie  Lang  . 

Old  Fashioned  Way  . 

She  Loves  Me  Not  . . 

Shoot  the  Works  . 

Elmer  and  Elsie  . 

Ladies  Should  Listen  . 

Cleopatra  . . 

Crime  without  Passion  . 

Now  and  Forever  . 

Belle  of  the  Nineties 

Mrs.  Wiggs,  Cabbage  Patch  . 

You  Belong  to  Me  . 

Wagon  Wheels  .  . 

Pursuit  of  Happiness  . 

Lemon  Drop  Kid  . 

Menace  . 

Ready  for  Love  . 

Enter  Madame  . 

College  Rhythm 

Limehouse  Blues  . . 


2-Apr. 

1-May 

1-May 

1-May 

1- May 

2- May 
2-May 
2-May 
2-May 
2-May 
2-June 
2-June 

1- July 

2- July 
2-July 
2-July 
2-July 
1-Aug. 

1- Aug. 

2- Aug. 
2-Aug. 
2-Aug. 
1-Sept. 
1-Sept. 

1- Sept. 

2- Sept. 
1-Oct. 

1- Oct. 

2- Oct. 
2-Oct. 

1- Nov. 

2- Nov. 
2-Nov. 


Radio 


Stingaree  .  2-May 

Cockeyed  Cavaliers  .  2-June 

Murder  on  Blackboard  .  2-June 

Vergie  Winters  .  2-June 

Bachelor  Bait  .  .  1-July 

His  Greatest  Gamble .  1-July 

Let's  Try  Again .  1-July 

We're  Rich  Again  .  1-July 

Of  Human  Bondage  .  2-July 

Hat,  Coat  and  Glove .  1-Aug. 

Their  Big  Moment  .  1-Aug. 

The  Fountain  . 1-Sept. 

Age  of  Innocence  .  2-Sept. 

Down  to  Last  Yacht  .  2-Sept. 

Richest  Girl  in  World .  2-Sept. 

Dangerous  Corner  .  1-Oct. 

By  Your  Leave  .  2-Oct. 

The  Gay  Divorcee  .  2-Oct. 

Wednesday’s  Child  .  2-Oct. 

Anne  of  Green  Gables  . 1-Nov. 


Kentucky  Kernels  .  1-Nov. 

Gridiron  Flash  .  2-Nov. 

Red  Morning  . 2-Nov. 

Lightning  Strikes  Twice  .  2-Nov. 

United  Artists 

Looking  for  Trouble . 2-Feb. 

Catherine  the  Great . 1-Mar. 

House  of  Rothschild  . 2-Mar. 

The  Affairs  of  Cellini . 1-May 

Bulldog  Drummond  Strikes  Back  .  2-May 

The  Last  Gentleman  .  2-May 

Born  to  Be  Bad  . 2-June 

Our  Daily  Bread  . 2-July 

Nell  Gwyn  .  1-Aug. 

For  Love  or  Money  (Cash)  (Mundus) .  2-Aug. 

Count  of  Monte  Cristo  .  2-Sept. 

Private  Life  of  Don  Juan  .  2-Oct. 

Transatlantic  Merry  Go  Round  .  2-Oct. 

We  Live  Again  .  2-Oct. 

Kid  Millions  1-Nov. 


Universal 


The  Uncertain  Lady  .  1-May 

Affairs  of  Gentleman .  2-May 

Dangerous  to  Women  (The  Love  Captive) . 2-May 

The  Black  Cat  . 2-May 

Embarrassing  Moments  . 1-June 

Little  Man,  What  Now?  .  1-June 

I  Give  My  Love  .  1-June 

Let’s  Talk  It  Over  .  2-June 

Million  Dollar  Ransom  .  2-Aug. 

One  More  River  .  2-Aug. 

Romance  in  the  Rain  .  2-Aug. 

The  Human  Side  .  1-Sept. 

Rocky  Rhodes  .  2-Sept. 

There’s  Always  Tomorrow  . 2-Sept. 

Wake  Up  and  Dream  .  2-Sept. 

Gift  of  Gab  .  1-Ocl. 

Secret  of  Chateau  .  1-Oct. 

One  Exciting  Adventure  .  2-Oct. 

Great  Expectations  .  1-Nov. 

Imitation  of  Life  2-Nov. 

Cheating  Cheaters .  2-Nov. 


First  Division 

(CHESTERFIELD) 

In  Love  with  Life  .  1-May 

Twin  Husbands  .  1-May 

City  Park  . 2-July 

Fifteen  Wives  .  1-Aug. 

Green  Eves  .  1-Sept. 

The  Curtain  Falls  .  2-Oct. 

Fugitive  Road  .  2-Oct. 


He  .  2-Jan. 

Throne  of  the  Gods  .  2-Jan. 

Under  Secret  Orders . 1-Jan. 

Forgotten  Men  .  2-June 

Texas  Tornado  .  2-Mar. 

The  Feroolous  Pal  . .  1-Apr. 

Young  Eagles  .  2-May 

I  ittle  Damozel  .  1-Sept. 

Return  of  Chandu  2-Oct. 


Gold  Medal 

Laughing  at  Life  .  2-June 

Curtain  at  Eight .  1-Deo. 

You  Made  Me  Love  You  .  1-Dec. 

The  Charming  Deceiver .  1-Jan. 

Sin  of  Nora  Moran .  1-Jan. 

Big  Time  or  Bust  . 2-Jan. 

Enlighten  Thy  Daughter .  2-Jan. 

The  Mornino  After  .  2-Feb. 

Unknown  Blonde  . 1-Apr. 

The  Lost  Jungle  .  1-June 

Burn  ’Em  Up  Barnes .  2-July 

Young  and  Beautiful  . 2-Sept. 

Crimson  Romance  .  1-Oct. 

Masterpiece 

What's  Your  Racket? .  2-Feb. 

Dancing  Man  . 2-Mar. 

Back  Page  .  1-Apr. 

The  Fighting  Rookie .  2-June 

The  Oil  Raider  .  1-Sept. 

The__Scarlet  Letter .  1-Aug. 

She  Had  to  Choose  .  2-Aug. 

Night  Alarm  . 1-Oct. 


Novl5'34  pg.  39 


Picture  of  a  man  finding 
out  what’s  going  on  in  the 
Motion  Picture  Industry 


MEMO  TO  THE  FUBLISHER: 


I  believe  Mr.  Cantor  looks  too  surprised  in  the  picture. 
Think  readers  will  get  the  idea  that  he  never  knew  there  was 
such  a  magazine. 

Paul 


MEMO  TO  THE  ADVERTISING  MANAGER: 

That  *s  the  idea,  exactly;  Mr.  cantor  is  of  the  opinion  that 
there  never  was  such  a  magazine.  In  an  interview  which  ac¬ 
companied  the  picture,  he  deemed  the  publication  "bright," 
"breezy,"  "informative,"  "up  to  the  minute,"  "of  real  service. 

Jay 


z 

o 

Jay  Emanuel  Publications,  Inc. 

219  North  Broad  Street, 

Ph'ladelphia,  Pa. 

Here’s  my  okay*  on  a  subscrip- 
tion  (  )  I  year  (  )  3  years 

I  am  enclosing  check  (  ) 

cash  (  ) 

Name  _ 


MEMO  TO  THE  PUBLISHER: 

Okay.  suggest  we  make  up  some  sort  of  institutional  copy  to 
show  readers  what  the  nation's  leading  radio  star,  entertain¬ 
er  and  motion  picture  comedian  thinks  of  it. 

Paul 


MEMO  TO  THE  ADVERTISING  MANAGER: 

Go  ahead  with  it..  Don't,  forget  to  mention  somewhere  that  it 
only  costs  $2  per  year,  or  $5  for  three  years  and  that  other 
exhibitors  are  adding  to  the  subscription  lists  daily.  Point 
out  services  in  the  Check-Up,  Production  Guide,  General  Releasi 
Dates,  6-  Point  Reviews,  Cbde  Boards  Activity,  Local  News 
Coverage,  Trade  in  Review,  etc.,  and  the  most  fearless  editori; 
page  in  the  industry.  Tell  them  to  send  in  their  subscription 
if  they  haven't  subscribed  already. 

Jay 


Theatre 
City _ 


MEMO  TO  THE  PUBLISHER: 

w 

Consider  it  taken  care  of. 


TTill,  _in  —v.oju’  -thiciiaa-.  uij-tJi 


DOUGH,  BOVS/ 

Novl5'34  b.c.  •  ® 


It’s  there! ....  profit,  and  plenty  of  it.  •  .  .  for 
showmen  ....  in  Educational's  Short  Features 
.  .  •  .  the  one  line  you  can  always  count  on  for 
that  ideal  short  subject  combination  ....  big 
star  names,  big  production  value  and  real 
entertainment  that  sends  them  out  smiling 
and  happy.  .  .  .  and  that  means  dough,  boys! 


And  always  more  great  stars . 

SYLVIA  FROOS  and  FRANK  LUTHER 

two  of  radio’s  most  famous  singers 

See  them  in  the  single-reel  Song  Hit  Story 

"The  House  Where  I  Was  Born" 

and  in  the  two-reel  Musical  Comedy 

"THE  GIRL  FROM  PARADISE" 

with  N.T.  G.  and  the  Paradise  Revue 
Produced  by  Al  Christie 

Presented  by 

IlSgggKflffl WSSBM  E.W.  HAMMONS 


Distributed  in  U.  S.  A. 


by  FOX  Film  Corporation 


ue*  A  New,  Improved  Booking  Service  for  Exhibitors 


A  Jay  Emanuel  Publication 


VOL.  16— No.  23 

PHILADELPHIA,  DECEMBER  1,  1934 

Price,  15  Cents 

A  SAGA  OF  ROMANTIC  LOVE  IN  A  GARDEN 

OF  EDEN . ON  THE  ISLE  OF  GHOSTS! 


A  WEIRD  MAORI  MELODRAMA  .  .  .  ■ 

.  .  .  CREATED  BY  ALEXANDER  MARKEY 


With  a  NATIONWIDE  EXPLOITATION  CAMPAIGN 

by  First  Division  Exchanges,  inc. 


HARRY  H.  THOMAS 

President 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  September  11.  1924,  at 


!UB_Pa-  imHpr.iK  /trt  nfU,.pk  ^  1«7Q  _D,,hllph<,H  h  I «  ft  Q  N  Brnarl  St__Phila. 


Dec  1 '34  pg.  2 

•  THE  PERFECT  HOLIDAY  ENTERTAINMENT 


Lively  Co-ed  Campus  Frolics  -  -  -  Made  for  the  Youth  of 

Both  Sexes  -  -  -  Film  Doily 

Will  Please  Audiences  100%  -  -  -  Showmen's  Round  Table 

Distributed  by  FIRST  DIVISION  EXCHANGES/  Inc./  1240  Vine  Street,  Philadelphia 

SAM  ROSEN,  ^Manager 


ZcrtcOtZ.  C&x<**C*ty  CircXL 

as  these  wilful  lovers  laugh 


kiss . . .  love . . .  quarrel 


MELODY  to  keep  your  audience 
singing  gayly  for  a  year  .  .  . 
MERRIMENT  to  keep  them 
smiling  happily  for  months  .  .  , 
MAGNIFICENCE  to  keep  a 
sparkle  in  their  eyes  for  days... in 
this  resplendent  FOX  production 
of  the  champion  stage  hit  of  years. 


GLORIA  SWANSON 

WaOHN  BOLES 
DOUGLASS  MONTGOMERY 


Music  by  Jerome  Kern. 
Lyrics  and  libretto  by 
Oscar  Hammerstein,  2nd 


A1  Shean  e  Reginald  Owen 
Joseph  Cawthorn  •  Hobart  Bosworth 

An  Erich  Pointer  Production.  Directed  by  Joe  May. 

- 

Continuity  by  Robert  Liebmann,  Screen  play  by  Howard 
I.  Young  and  Billie  Wilder.  Dances  by  Jack  Donahue. 


A  Parade  of  Praise 
A  Parade  of  Patrons 
A  Parade  of  Profits 


THE  WHITE  PARADE 


LORETTA  JOHN 

YOUNG  BOLES 

Jesse  L.  Lasky’s 
biggest  box-office 

production  J? 


LITERARY  DIGEST”  RATES  "THE  FIRST  WORLD  WAR 


f  1*  ‘ll 


The  gifted  pen  of  the  writer  who  gave  you  one  of  the 
screen’s  big  hits  traces  a  new  story  of  blazing  human 

emotions ...  of  a  woman  with  a  past  and  of  men  outside 

1 

the  law _ of  mystery,  thrill,  and  vivid  drama! 


With  FAY  WRAY 
RALPH  BELLAMY 
MELVYN  DOUGLAS 
ROSCOE  ATES 

Directed  by  Phil  Rosen.  Associate 
producer  Burt  Kelly.  Produced 
by  SELECT  PRODUCTIONS 


Dec  1'34  pg.  6 


CONTROL  CORPORATION 

OF  AMERICA 

ANNOUNCES 


A  contract  for  the  air-conditioning  with  Chrysler 
equipment  and  the  heating  and  ventilation  of  Charles 
Segall’s  new  1000-seat  Bromley  Theatre,  Philadelphia, 
has  been  signed  by  F.  B.  Warren’s  Control  Corpora¬ 
tion  of  America.  Installation  begins  at  once,  concur¬ 
rently  with  the  erection  of  this  handsome  structure. 

The  Chrysler  conditioning  equipment  is  automatic  in 
operation,  maintaining  economically  the  year  around, 
ideal  temperatures  and  regulated  humidity  so  neces¬ 
sary  for  the  comfort  and  enjoyment  of  patrons. 

Mr.  Segall,  president  of  the  Eastern  Pennsylvania 
M.  P.  T.  O.  A.  and  one  of  the  earliest  participants  in 
the  development  of  the  original  Stanley  Company  of 
America,  has  dealt  with  F.  B.  Warren  for  twenty-five 
years,  as  did  all  of  the  Stanley  founders  then,  and 
all  of  the  survivors  now.  This  contract  represents  a 
mature  business  choice,  but  we  are  glad  to  read  into 
it  a  note  of  sentiment,  as  well. 

The  design  and  plans  of  the  Bromley  are  by  Tlial- 
heimer  &  Weitz,  R.  A.,  of  Philadelphia  and  the 
construction  by  United  Building  Construction  Corpo¬ 
ration,  Nicholas  J.  Brandolini,  president;  Control’s 
planning  and  engineering  by  Andre  Merle. 

We  invite  theatre  owners  contemplating  air-condi¬ 
tioning  in  all  its  phases  to  send  us  blueprints  of  their 
theatres  for  computation  and  estimates. 


ontrol 


CORPORATION  OF  AMERICA 


250  West  57th  Street 
New  York  City 

TELEPHONE  Circle  7-0077 


Authorized  by  AIRTEMP  INCORPORATED,  World  Distributors  of  Air  Conditioning  Products  of  Chrysler  Motors 


PAGE 


THE  EDITOR'S 


Vol.  16,  No.  23  December  1,  1934 


Leave  Out  the  Trailers 

NOW  THAT  the  various  newsreel 
•  companies  have  gone  to  great  pains  to 
instill  new,  different  ideas  in  handling  news 
events,  it  would  seem  only  logical  that 
theatres  co-operate  in  much  the  same  man¬ 
ner  by  giving  special  stress  to  newsreels. 

In  line  with  that  thought,  then,  the  usual 
custom  of  inserting  trailers  of  forthcoming 
attractions  into  a  newsreel  should  be  abol¬ 
ished.  For  a  while,  the  practice  of  mixing 
trailer  and  newsreel  was  novel,  caused  some 
interest.  But  the  novelty  has  passed,  idea 
no  longer  is  valuable,  indicating,  too,  that 
the  audience  is  in  no  better  frame  of  mind 
when  it  is  shown  a  trailer  as  part  of  a 
newsreel  than  separately. 

Newsreel  editors  create  each  issue  as 
entities,  some  even  departmentalizing. 
Much  money  and  effort  are  developed  to 
create  the  right  thing  which  is  then  spoiled 
by  some  unthinking  exhibitor.  By  thrusting 
trailers  into  a  newsreel,  continuity  is 
destroyed. 


The  Philadelphia 

EXHIBITOR 

Circulating  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware.  Issued  on  the  1st  and  15th 
of  each  month  by  Jay  Emanuel  Publications,  Inc.  Publishing  office,  219  North  Broad  Street,  Philadelphia. 
Branches  at  1600  Broadway,  New  York  City;  Washington,  D.  C.  Jay  Emanuel,  publisher;  Paul  J. 
Greenhalgh,  advertising  manager;  Herbert  M.  Miller,  managing  editor.  Subscription  rates:  $2  for  one 
year.  $5  for  three  years.  Single  copies,  15c  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware. 
Publishers,  also,  of  THE  NATIONAL  EXHIBITOR  of  Washington  and  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  EXHIBITOR. 
Official  organ  of  the  Motion  Picture  Theatre  Owners  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and 
Delaware.  Address  all  communications  to  the  Philadelphia  office. 


Professional  Vultures 

A  SIDELIGHT  on  the  current  depression  has  brought 
to  the  surface  a  new  brand  of  industry  racketeer,  the 
professional  vulture. 

A  new  term  for  the  business,  one  that  needs  explanation,  it  is 
a  product  of  closed  banks,  it  feasts  on  business  slumps,  it  cares 
little  for  the  reputation,  hard  work  and  years  of  struggle  con¬ 
tributed  by  reputable  exhibitors  to  put  their  theatres  on  a  paying 
basis. 


Re-Designation 

THE  CLAUSE  in  film  contracts  which 
•  allows  the  distributor  to  designate  a 
picture  as  a  special  or  high  percentage  is 
obnoxious  to  the  exhibitor,  but  the  priv.lege 
of  re-designating  appears  like  nothing  more 
than  the  rubbing-in  process.  Certainly,  if 
the  distributor  has  one  chance  to  designate 
a  picture  for  what  he  considers  greater 
chances  of  return  to  himself,  he  should  not 
have  a  second  right  to  change  his  mind 
about  it,  contract  provision  or  not.  It 
wouldn’t  be  surprising  if  still  a  third  desig¬ 
nation  period  might  be  a  natural  result 
from  this  condition.  If  the  distributors 
need  two  attempts  to  try  to  milk  every 
possible  money  maker,  why  not  give  them 
some  more?  Some  one  ought  to  present  a 
clause  in  the  contract  which  would  protect 
the  exhibitor  against  poor  pictures.  An 
automatic  refund  for  business  lost  because 
of  flops  might  be  a  novelty  and  aid  the 
exhibitor. 

Unfortunately,  however,  because  of  his 
own  lack  of  foresight,  the  theatreman  can 
only  pray  and  hope.  In  his  present  state, 
he  will  get  nothing  unless  he  organizes. 


The  human  vulture  hovers  over  the  financial  scene.  His  victim 
is  the  exhibitor  who  has  floated  a  huge  mortgage  loan  during  better 
days,  who  has  put  up  a  big  theatre,  a  modern  house,  who  has  in¬ 
vested  his  life-long  savings  but  who  still  finds  it  necessary  to  get 
banking  support  to  the  extent  of  mortgage  loans  or  mortgage  bonds. 
Were  it  not  for  the  business  slump,  there  would  be  no  prey  for  the 
human  vulture.  Banks  would  be  glad  to  carry  mortgages  and  mort¬ 
gage  bonds,  money  would  not  be  scarce,  debts  of  this  kind  would 
be  of  value  and  there  would  be  no  need  for  anything  but  regular 
business  ethics. 

But  the  depression  came  and  so  did  the  professional  vulture. 

His  methods  are  simple.  He  flies  over  the  territory,  particu¬ 
larly  interested  in  closed  banks.  He  examines  their  lists,  notes 
that  bonds  and  mortgages  on  theatre  properties  are  being  carried. 
Here  and  there  are  some  houses  that  may  have  defaulted  in  interest. 
The  human  vulture  is  well  financed.  He  goes  to  the  bank.  He 
shows  them  cash.  When  the  deed  is  done  he  has  allowed  the  bank 
to  rid  itself  of  a  mortgage  or  bond  issue  and  he  has  purchased  a 
theatre  for  from  50-75%  of  the  actual  price. 

The  exhibitor,  who  cannot  further  finance,  loses  his  theatre, 
his  investment,  his  manner  of  livelihood. 


On  Block  Booking 

^  OFTEN  THE  WAYS  of  a  proofreader 
®  are  more  curious  than  those  of  the  pro¬ 
verbial  male.  No  other  explanation  can  be 
given  for  the  apparent  lack  of  similarity 
between  the  notes  on  block  booking  in  the 
last  issue  and  the  editorial  drawing  which 
accompanied  them. 

It  was  the  intention,  then,  not  to  attack 
block  booking  but  to  rap  attempts  to  destroy 
it.  Where  block  booking  was  mentioned, 
the  intent  was  to  mention  “death  of  block 
booking.” 

To  put  it  definitely,  this  department  is 
opposed  to  the  end  of  block  booking  under 
the  present  scheme  of  things.  If  conditions 
were  changed,  then,  perhaps,  the  end  of 
block  booking  would  be  welcomed.  At  this 
time,  however,  the  fight  against  block  book¬ 
ing  is  just  a  weapon  for  reform  elements 
and  not  a  means  to  end  all  industry  evils 
as  many  would  think. 


Some  say  that  the  exchangeman  is  the  exhibitor’s  worst  enemy. 
That  has  generally  been  believed  an  untruth.  The  exhibitor’s  worst 
enemy  is  the  fellow  who  pats  him  on  the  back  one  day  and  then 
sends  the  sheriff  around  to  do  the  same  the  day  the  exhibitor  loses 
his  house.  And  that  worst  enemy  is  more  often  a  “sincere  friend” 
than  anyone  else. 


8 


Dec  1 ' 34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Doubles  Test  Case  Takes  On  an  Added 
Interest  as  Judge  Allows  Wider  Scope 

Public’s  Interest  in  Issue  Important,  Court  States — Wolf  == 

Makes  Blanket  Objection  When  New  Phase  Enters — 

Independent  Exhibitors  Testify 

The  test  case  to  determine  the  right  of  certain  distributors  to  insert  a  clause  in 
their  contract  barring  double  featuring  of  their  product  has  developed  into  a  general 
inquiry  into  the  interests  of  the  public  in  matters  pertaining  to  film  practice. 


That  much  was  certain  this  week  after  sev¬ 
eral  days  of  testimony  which  saw  independent 
exhibitors  and  exchangemen  on  the  stand  giving 
information  as  to  local  zoning,  buying  and  other 
trade  practices  beginning  November  22. 

The  case  took  an  unexpected  turn  when  Judge 
George  A.  Welsh  insisted  that  the  public  had 
an  interest  in  the  case  and  over  objections  of 
Morris  Wolf,  attorney  for  the  9  defendants, 
allowed  testimony  pertaining  to  that  be  intro¬ 
duced.  During  the  first  few  days  testimony 
was  given  by  Columbus  Stamper.  Sam  Wald- 
man,  Irving  Phillips,  Charlie  Steifel,  local  inde¬ 
pendent  exhibitors.  In  each  case,  exhibitors 
asserted  that  double  featuring  of  major  product 
had  been  checked  by  distributors  and  that  be¬ 
cause  major  features  reached  them  so  late, 
double  featuring  was  a  necessity. 

Morris  Wolf  is  attorney  for  the  nine  de¬ 
fendants,  all  major  distributors  except  Colum¬ 
bia  and  Universal,  while  Ben  Golder,  president, 
IEPA,  is  attorney  for  Harry  Perelman,  plain¬ 
tiff.  Hearings  were  held  in  U.  S.  District  Court. 

First  day,  about  25  film  men  attended  with 
Eddie  Golden,  Monogram  Pictures  sales  man¬ 
ager;  Irving  Mandel,  Chicago  exchangeman; 
Jack  Bellman,  Hollywood  Pictures ;  Ike  Chad¬ 
wick,  independent  producer,  on  hand  as  well  as 
other  independent  exchangemen.  Late  run  of 
pictures  for  the  independents  was  a  large  part 
of  the  testimony  with  a  hypothetical  question 
to  Charles  Steifel  from  the  plaintiff's  attorney 
a  disputed  point. 

The  question,  whether  or  not  Steifel  could 
get  enough  good  pictures  to  run  a  first  run 
downtown  house  if  he  had  the  money  to  build 
the  theatre,  was  allowed  by  the  judge  over 
Wolf’s  protest.  Steifel  answered  that  he  could 
not. 

This  led  to  discussion  and  statement  by  the 
judge  that  he  was  determined  to  get  at  any 
monopoly  features  of  the  case. 

The  second  day,  new  counsel,  Stanley  Fried¬ 
man,  Warner’s  home  office,  and  I.  Levinson, 
same  organization,  were  in  attendance. 

Testimony  was  given  by  Charles  Steifel,  Sam 
Waldman,  Columbia  Stamper.  Trio  spoke  of 
lateness  of  pictures  for  their  houses,  with  last 
duo  telling  of  their  experiences  in  wishing  to 
buy  first  run  pictures  in  their  zone.  Testimony, 
second  day,  also  gave  more  emphasis  to  any 
restraint  features  than  the  double  feature  clause. 

Third  day’s  testimony  was  highlighted  by 
presence  of  Harry  Perelman,  plaintiff.  In  ad¬ 
dition,  Harry  Fried,  Main  Line  exhibitor,  and 
Ed  Boreth,  Masterpiece  Film  Attractions,  Inc., 
also  testified.  Latter  said  that  while  he  was 
distributing  more  independent  films  this  season, 
selling  was  not  good  because  of  double  feature 
clause.  Columbus  Stamper  also  gave  testimony. 
William  Rafferty,  United  Artists’  home  office 


legal  staff,  was  in  attendance,  with  Golden, 
Chadwick  still  on  the  scene. 

The  case  received  the  attention  of  exchange- 
men  on  the  third  day  when  Bob  Lynch,  William 
Mansell,  Sam  Gross,  Earle  Sweigart  were  in 
attendance. 

Originally,  it  was  expected  that  testimony 
would  be  over  in  a  few  days,  but  at  present 
writing  it  looked  as  if  case  has  many  days  to  go. 

Interest,  outside  of  IEPA  members,  has  been 
light,  with  no  sensational  developments  in  the 
testimony. 

Judge  Welsh  seems  determined  to  find  out 
all  angles  of  business  and  allowed  a  lot  of 
testimony  to  be  given  with  Morris  Wolf  taking 
a  blanket  objection  in  order  not  to  disrupt  the 
continuity. 

Fourth  day’s  testimony  was  featured  by 
presence  of  I.  E.  Chadwick,  independent  pro¬ 
ducer.  Chadwick  was  admitted  as  an  expert 
witness  on  the  part  of  the  plaintiff  but  objected 
to  by  Morris  Wolf,  defense  attorney,  who 
objected  strenuously.  Judge  Welsh  asserted 
that  he  would  note  the  exceptions  taken  by  Wolf 
with  Chadwick  giving  a  two  hour  history  of 
the  business  from  its  beginnings.  He  explained 
production,  distribution,  growth  of  producer 
circuits,  double  features,  stage  presentations, 
sound,  said  his  revenues,  as  a  producer,  had 
been  slashed  by  doubles  restriction.  He  listed 
some  of  the  pictures  he  had  made,  said  inde¬ 
pendents  made  family  pictures. 

In  reply  to  a  question  by  Wolf,  Chadwick 
said  most  exhibitors  probably  opposed  double 
features  but  he  felt  that  minority  should  not  be 
ruled  by  majority.  He  said  if  one  house  had 
doubles,  opposition  would  probably  have  to  fol¬ 
low  as  a  business  reason.  Clashed  between 
counsel  popped  up  here  for  the  first  time  with 
everything  ironed  out. 

Judge  Welsh  seemed  intent  on  bringing  out 
the  interest  of  the  public  and  asked  Chadwick 
whether  cultural  place  of  the  motion  picture 
was  checked  by  doubles  restriction.  Chadwick 
said  yes.  Chadwick  also  said  independent  field 
was  the  beginning  for  many  famous  directors 
and  producers.  Judge  Welsh  called  it  the 
“bush  league,”  with  Chadwick  agreeing. 

Chadwick  also  told  details  of  a  meeting  held 
in  Los  Angeles,  May  1,  1934,  at  which  time 
Louis  B.  Mayer,  Metro,  is  supposed  to  have 
said  that  majors  were  prepared  to  find  ways  and 
means  to  restrict  growth  of  doubles.  Mayer 
was  quoted  as  saying  that  if  exhibitors  wanted 
independents  they  could  have  them  and  if  they 
wanted  majors  they  could  have  them  but  they 
couldn’t  have  both  on  the  same  bill. 

Wolf  was  constantly  objecting. 

Afternoon  session  was  led  by  Edward  Golden, 
Monogram  sales  manager,  who  reviewed  birth 
of  double  features  and  also  told  of  the  part 


Execs  Due 


At  the  close  of  testimony,  Novem¬ 
ber  28,  it  was  revealed  by  defense 
counsel  that  it  would  have,  December 
3,  exchange  heads  as  well  as  New  York 
City  home  office  executives  to  refute 
testimony  as  to  the  conspiracy  charge. 

It  was  expected  that  the  case  would 
wind  up  December  3  or  the  following 
day. 


played  by  doubles  in  connection  with  the  code. 
Golden  was  followed  by  Harry  Perelman  who 
showed  checks  to  indicate  his  business  relation¬ 
ship  with  the  Lehigh  and  West  Allegheny  The¬ 
atres. 

Wolf  then  asked  the  judge  to  dismiss  the  case 
on  the  grounds  that  no  testimony  as  to  con¬ 
spiracy  had  been  given  and  that  Perelman  was 
not  a  private  citizen  with  property  rights  and 
therefore  could  not  bring  anti-trust  action. 

Judge  Welsh  overruled  the  dismissal. 

Testimony,  Wednesday,  was  given  by  wit¬ 
nesses  for  the  defense. 

Walter  Vincent,  Wilmer  and  Vincent  circuit, 
declared  doubles  were  a  menace  to  the  business 
and  that  he  believed  they  hurt  the  industry.  He 
also  declared  against  10  cent  houses.  As  a 
veteran  in  the  business,  he  said  that  doubles 
led  to  cheaper  pictures  and  more  problems  for 
the  business.  He  urged  their  extinction  in  order 
to  save  the  industry  from  being  entirely  oi*  the 
downward  path.  He  said  he  was  ready  to  buy 
any  pictures,  major  or  independent,  if  they  were 
good,  at  all  times. 

He  was  on  the  stand  for  two  hours. 

Following  Vincent  was  Edward  Jeffries, 
Roxborough  exhibitor,  who  declared  against 
doubles  and  said  his  patrons,  after  being 
asked,  didn’t  want  them.  He  said  local  school 
officials  were  also  opposed  to  the  practice. 

In  the  afternoon,  Fred  Leopold.  Iz  Hirsch- 
blond,  W.  P.  Wilson,  Herb  Elliott,  George 
Lessy,  Marcus  Benn,  A1  Fisher,  Luke  Gring, 
Mike  Lessy,  Sam  Somerson,  C.  Stiles,  Abe 
Sablosky,  George  F.  Weilland,  George  Kline, 
Ben  Fertel  all  gave  testimony  to  the  effect  that 
they  were  opposed  to  doubles. 

The  plaintiff  questioning  was  along  the  line  of 
whether  or  not  doubles  would  increase  produc¬ 
tion  and  whether  or  not  each  theatre  had  a 
separate  operating  problem. 

Defense  witnesses  generally  declared  that 
sale  of  shorts  would  be  killed. 

Case  rested  until  Monday  morning,  December 
3. 


S.O.S.  Reports 

S.O.S  Corporation  reports  a  gratifying  in¬ 
crease  in  installation  of  its  Wide  Fidelity  sound 
systems,  soundheads  and  amplifiers.  Many  ex¬ 
hibitors  are  now  renewing  their  old  equipments, 
either  in  part,  or  complete,  which  indicates  a 
growing  preference  in  the  public’s  taste  for 
better  reproduction.  New  York  City  installa¬ 
tions  include  N.  Y.  Catholic  Protectory,  Bronx, 
St.  Camillus  Hall,  Rockaway  Beach,  Starr 
Institute,  Rhinebeck. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR  Dec  1'34  9 

Local  Industry  Given  Most  Efficient 

Booking  Service  in  History  of  Trade 


Production  Numbers,  Type,  Appeal,  Full  Casts,  Running 
Time,  Opinion  Included — Means  Added  Aid  for  Readers 
— Marks  New  Era 

Beginning  with  this  issue,  this  publication  is  offering  to  its  readers  a  new,  im¬ 
proved  booking  service  that  is  without  parallel. 

THE  CHECK-UP,  originally  started  in  these  columns  a  year  ago,  now  appears 
as  more  comprehensive,  with  every  possible  angle  that  can  be  of  value  to  the  trade. 

THE  CHECKUP  will  include  production  number  where  it  is  so  designated  by 
the  company,  adult  or  family  classification,  title,  type,  complete  cast  of  stars  and 
featured  players,  estimate  carried  by  this  publication  in  its  original  review,  running 
time  and  when  the  review  first  was  carried. 

For  example: 

1000 A SOUL  OF  SOULS MD Minnie  Doe,  John  Blank,  Rudolph 

Spotts,  Jane  Dowl,  Henry  Botts Very  good — 60m. —  I -Oct. 

means 

The  production  number  is  1000,  on  the  contract.  A  indicates  it  is  of  adult  ap¬ 
peal.  Title  is  Soul  of  Souls.  It  is  a  melodrama  (MD).  Cast  is  shown.  Very  good 
was  the  estimate  given  in  the  original  review.  It  runs  60  minutes.  The  review  ap¬ 
peared  in  the  October  1  issue. 


NIP  TO  to  Elect 


Election  of  the  MPTO  leaders  and 
board  for  the  new  year  is  due  at  the 
December  meeting,  when  the  body  will 
meet  to  take  such  action. 

At  this  writing,  no  slate  had  been 
designated,  with  the  expectation  that 
there  will  be  definite  rivalry  for  the 
various  places. 

Schlesinger  S-W  Zone 
Chief  with  Weshner  Aide 

No  Change  in  Local  District 
Setup 

Leonard  Schlesinger  is  still  Stanley- 
Warner  zone  manager,  all  reports  to  the 
contrary  being  incorrect. 

Untrue  rumors  circulated  through  other  media 
were  effectively  squelched  recently  when  Joseph 
Bernhard,  general  manager  of  all  Warner 
houses,  arrived  in  Philadelphia  and  stated  that 
Schlesinger  was  still  on  the  job  as  zone  chief 
here. 

Dave  Weshner,  from  Milwaukee  and  Newark 
Warner  districts,  will  direct  the  Stanley-War- 
ner  first  run  theatres  under  Schlesinger’s  direc¬ 
tion.  Death  of  the  Schlesinger-removal  rumors 
was  greeted  with  pleasure  by  film  men  and 
friends  here  who  have  been  impressd  by  his 
ability  and  his  co-operative  spirit  with  all  divi¬ 
sions  of  the  trade. 

Weshner’s  Milwaukee  district  will  be  placed 
under  Chicago’s  direction. 


What  They  Thought  of  It 


Picture - ‘‘Flirtation  Walk.” 

Place — Vine  Street  projection  room. 

Eppy  Epstein,  Atlantic  Theatres:  "A 
honey.  It  has  everything.” 

Jack  Greenberg,  Roxy  Theatre:  Northamp¬ 
ton:  "It  comes  like  manna  from  heaven. 
Credit  Warners  with  another  hit." 

Lewen  Pizor,  inde  circuit  head:  “What  1 
mean  to  say  is  that  it  ought  to  do  good  busi¬ 
ness  everywhere.  A  sweet  job.” 

Picture:  “The  Port  of  Lost  Dreams.” 

Place:  Vine  Street  projection  room. 

Bill  Heenan,  Cities  Theatres,  Inc.,  “It's 
much  better  than  most  pictures  of  that  type.” 

Picture:  “Great  Expectations." 

Place:  Universal  projection  room. 

Duke  Rogin,  manager,  Fox  Theatre,  River¬ 
side:  “It  ought  to  be  a  natural  for  the  chil¬ 
dren  as  well  as  grownups.  Universal  has 
made  a  good  picture.” 


No  longer  will  exhibitors  have  to  wonder 
whether  a  picture  contracted  for  is  the  same 
one  being  delivered.  No  longer  will  a  theatre- 
man  be  hazy  as  to  all  the  facts  of  the  picture. 
THE  CHECKUP  will  supply  all  information 
needed. 

In  addition,  THE  CHECKUP  will  carry 
complete  information  on  coming  pictures  as  far 
as  secured  from  coast  and  home  office  sources. 

Attempts  to  be  made  to  include  all  pictures  in 
production  or  sufficiently  prepared  to  give  casts, 
etc.  Where  the  information  is  not  available,  it 
is  because  it  has  not  been  decided  by  producer 
or  distributor. 

THE  CHECKUP  will  appear  twice  a  month, 
with  changes.  As  new  information  is  added, 
old  material  will  be  removed.  THE  CHECKUP 
will  always  appear  next  to  the  inside  back  cover 
of  this  publication.  It  will  be  easy  to  find  be¬ 
cause  the  color  of  the  paper  on  which  it  is 
printed  will  be  blue.  The  utmost  pains  will 
be  taken  to  keep  it  correct.  Sa,ve  all  copies 
for  reference. 

Where  running  time  differs  from  that  act¬ 
ually  recorded  by  a  print,  later  cutting  or 
censor  eliminations  may  account  for  it. 

While  THE  CHECKUP  will  make  every  at¬ 
tempt  to  give  the  correct  running  time,  it  is 
not  responsible  for  errors.  Exhibitors  are 


New  Musicians  Union  Head 

Trade  gossip  indicates  that  Adolph  Hirseh- 
berg  may  be  returned  to  the  presidency  of  the 
local  Musicians’  Union  at  the  next  election. 

While  the  administration  of  Romeo  Celia 
has  been  satisfactory,  some  say  that  Hirsch- 
berg  may  return  to  his  former  post. 


Boyd  Opens  New  House 

A1  Boyd  opened  his  New  Boyd  Theatre,  Ches¬ 
ter,  November  28. 

House  is  a  worthy  addition  to  the  list  of 
district  cinema  citadels. 

“Judge  Priest”  was  the  opening  attraction. 
Many  film  men  attended  the  occasion. 


cautioned,  wherever  possible,  to  secure  correct 
running  time  from  their  exchanges. 

Listing  will  be  by  producer.  In  the  case  of 
independents,  their  pictures  will  be  listed  sep¬ 
arately.  In  the  case  of  independent  distribu¬ 
tors  who  may  also  produce,  their  productions 
will  be  listed  under  their  own  name,  while  in¬ 
dependent  productions  which  they  distribute  for 
other  producers  will  be  found  under  the  pro¬ 
ducer's  name. 

Release  dates  for  each  territory  will  always 
be  found  in  the  Code  Department  in  each  issue. 

This  publication  urges  all  to  use  THE 
CHECKUP.  It  answers  the  needs  of  exhibi¬ 
tors  for  a  complete,  concise,  compact  service. 
In  formulating  THE  CHECKUP  after  several 
months  of  discussion  and  experimentation,  it  is 
believed  that  it  answers  all  purposes.  A  type 
easy  to  read  was  selected,  rather  than  one  which 
might  save  space  at  the  expense  of  eye  strain. 

Criticism  or  reaction  from  exhibitors  will  be 
invited. 

As  always,  6-Point  Reviews  will  be  con¬ 
tinued  with  a  fast  reviewing  service,  both 
east  and  west,  contributing  pictures  as  soon 
as  previewed. 

Read  the  review  first,  in  6-Point  Review. 

And  then  use  THE  CHECKUP. 


Nazareth  Sunday  War 

George  Meeser,  manager,  Broad 
Street  Theatre,  Nazareth,  is  having  a 
one  man  battle  on  the  Sunday  opening 
question. 

He  contracted  with  the  Unemployed 
Citizens’  League  for  a  series  of  Sunday 
benefits,  with  citizens  of  the  town  get¬ 
ting  the  district  attorney  on  the  job  to 
stop  it. 

Meeser  won  the  first  round  when  he 
appeared  at  12.01  Monday  morning  and 
paid  the  blue  law  fine,  but  at  this  writ¬ 
ing  the  outcome  is  still  uncertain. 


10 


Dec  1'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Glancing  Everywhere  in  the  Territory 


’ZtMSMEY'S  LATEST  MICKEY 
"u  THE  DOGNARRER 


HOW  IT  LOOKED  AT  NIGHT.  When  Charlie  Perry,  publiciteer,  and 
Harry  Tarrante,  manager,  Aldine,  decided  to  have  an  electrical  display  at 
the  Aldine,  here  is  the  effect  they  got  for  the  United  Artists  picture. 
Perry  had  a  big  campaign  on  the  show. 


10  YEARS.  Jack  Greenberg  has 
been  secretary  of  the  local  Film 
Board  of  trade  for  10  years.  The 
exact  anniversary  comes  in  Janu¬ 
ary.  He  is  now  also  an  exhibitor, 
having  an  interest  in  the  Roxy  The¬ 
atre,  Northampton,  as  well  as  a 
shore  operation  in  the  summer. 
During  his  many  years  in  the  local 
film  world  he  has  made  an  excel¬ 
lent  impression  everywhere  and  is 
generally  looked  upon  as  the  best 
chairman  and  treasurer  for  Vine 
Street  charitable  and  social  affairs. 


IRON  DUKE.  George  Arliss,  star¬ 
red  in  the  Gaumont  British  produc¬ 
tion  of  that  name,  has  returned  to 
this  country. 


BOWS  IN.  S.  L.  Rothafel,  “Roxy,” 
will  direct  the  new  Roxy-Mastbaum 
Theatre  when  he  re-opens  it  for 
Stanley-Warner,  December  24. 


HOST.  Harry  Weiner,  Columbia 
exchangei  chief,  will  be  host  to  ex¬ 
hibitors  at  a  trade  show  and  lunch¬ 
eon  to  be  beld  here  December  4. 


BEARS  PRINT.  Eddie  Cantor 
brought  Leonard  Schlesinger, 
Stanley-Warner  zone  chief  here,  a 
print  of  “Kid  Millions.” 


NEW  STAR.  Local  exhibitors  will 
soon  have  a  chance  to  sell  a  new 
star  in  Merle  Oberon,  United 
Artists. 


Dec  1'34  pg.  11 


142  out  of  150 

Western  Electric  Sound  Systems  —  installed 
seven  years  ago  —  operate  today  in  the  same 
theatres,  with  unmatched  quality. 

★ 


Unit  design — highest  possible  standards  of  manufacture 
—  ERPI  Service  —  have  made  this  possible. 


12 


Dec  1'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Schlesinger  Tendered 
Testimonial  by  S-W  Chiefs 

District  Leaders  Attend 
Warwick  Affair 


Leonard  Schlesinger,  zone  manager, 
Stanley- Warner,  was  tendered  an  infor¬ 
mal  testimonial  by  S-W  district  managers 
and  department  heads  here,  at  the  War¬ 
wick  Hotel,  November  19,  at  11.30  P.  M. 

Special  guests  were  Roxy,  George  Sidney,  Ed 
Lowry,  Eddie  White,  Harry  Biben,  Joe  Feld¬ 
man. 

Brief  addresses  were  made  by  Ellis  Shipman, 
Roxy,  George  Sidney,  Ed  Lowry,  Jack  Flynn, 
Lou  Davidoff,  Harry  Goldberg,  Eddie  White, 
Joe  Feldman  and  Sol  Hankin. 

Schlesinger  was  presented  with  a  beautiful 
cigarette  case,  solid  gold  and  silver,  with  the 
following  inscription :  Commemorating  your 
first  anniversary  as  Warner  Brothers’  zone 
manager,  Philadelphia,  November,  1934,  from 
your  Philadelphia  organization. 

Wires  were  read  from  leaders  in  the  busi¬ 
ness,  also  commenting  on  the  reassurance  re¬ 
cently  given  by  Joseph  Bernhard,  general  man¬ 
ager,  on  the  fact  that  Schlesinger  would  not 
be  supplanted  as  zone  chief  here.  The  wires 
were  pleased  to  note  that  he  would  continue. 


FLASHES  FROM 
COAL  FIELDS 

By  BIDU 


Arthur  Hyman’s  dinner,  at  Drake  Hotel, 
Scranton,  November  19,  was  a  fine  affair. 
Attending  were  M.  B.  Comerford,  Harry 
Spiegel,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  Roberts,  (Pop) 
Korson,  Kitty  McCue,  Kitty  Haggerty, 
Eleanor  Nealon,  Agnes  Bingham,  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Frank  Brennan,  Nat  Sherman, 
Charlotte  Nallin,  Mike  Segal,  Jack  McFad- 
den,  Jesse  Levine,  Phil  Duffy,  A1  Spiegel, 
Doc  Spiegel,  Jack  Moore.  Moe  Sherman 
was  a  hit  as  m.  c.  He  explained  Hyman’s 
connection  with  the  business  for  the  past 
many  years  and  reason  for  being  honored 
and  loved.  Telegrams,  some  collect,  came 
in  by  the  carload.  Honored  guest  received 
a  box,  containing  a  herring  and  a  pickle. 
It  was  a  great  evening. 

Jack  Hart,  Strand  Theatre,  Berwick,  expects 
house  opened  by  December  12. 

Bob  Schmidt,  Temple  Theatre,  Berwick,  is 
out  in  front  again  after  doing  a  great  job 
as  publicity  head  for  the  Community 
Chest.  They  are  calling  him  Streamline 
Schmidt  because  he  made  a  great  hit  and 
record. 

Bill  Elliott,  Palace  Theatre,  McAdoo,  hit  hard 
by  the  ban,  has  closed  his  balcony,  trying 
to  fill  his  main  floor. 

George  Maillard  now  selling  here  for  Holly¬ 
wood. 

Leo  Barrett,  Park  Theatre,  Ashley,  is  one 
of  the  busiest  exhibitors  selling. 

Bill  Cosgrove,  Globe  Theatre,  has  put  his 
house  on  the  map.  He  sells  the  shows. 


Frank  Pope,  Roosevelt  Theatre,  Swoyersville, 
was  a  Vine  Street  visitor  recently. 

Joe  Elecker,  Strand  Theatre,  Scranton,  sold 
“Gay  Divorcee"  and  "Monte  Cristo"  well. 

Tommy  Killian,  assistant  to  Matt  O’Keefe, 
Ritz  Theatre,  always  sings  “Carbondale 
Must  Be  Heaven  Because  He  Came  from 
Theatre.” 

Scranton  Theatrical  Bowling  League  would 
like  to  take  on  a  Vine  Street  team. 

Palace  Theatre,  Wilkes-Barre,  has  closed.  Joe 
Zima  is  altering  and  will  re-open  himself 
as  landlord-operator. 

Sandor  Engel,  father  Jerome  Engel,  Family 
Theatre,  Glen-Lyon,  is  coming  along  after 
his  operation. 

Eddie  Connelly,  Stanley  Mack  and  Stanley 
Janoski,  three  musketeers  of  Nanticoke, 
recently  motored  to  Benton  for  a  big  dem¬ 
onstration.  C.  Elmer  Dietrich,  congress¬ 
man-elect,  met  them  and  a  good  time  was 
had  by  all. 

Pop  Korson,  Masterpiece,  visited  a  lot  of 
friends  while  here  and  they  were  all  glad 
to  see  him. 

Harry  Richards,  Lincoln  Theatre,  Plpins, 
is  one  of  the  outstanding  showmen  of  the 
district  and  liked  by  all. 

Going  to  a  banquet  where  Moe  Sherman  is 
m.  c.  is  like  sitting  in  the  grand  stand 
watching  the  Phillies  trying  to  play  base¬ 
ball. 

John  McLane,  Grand  Theatre,  Archbald,  has 
done  a  nice  piece  of  work  with  his  house. 

Jerome  Engel,  Family  Theatre,  Glen-Lyon, 
puts  his  picture  over  and  his  town  on  the 
map.  He  not  only  benefits  his  house  but 
also  the  industry. 

George  Jennings,  Family  Theatre,  Nanticoke, 
is  always  a  good  host  when  film  men  call. 
It  is  always  a  pleasure  to  see  him. 

Frank  Loftus,  Rialto  Theatre,  is  very  busy 
at  his  house. 

Doc  Spiegel,  A1  Spiegel  and  Johnny  Gibbins 
are  the  three  little  men  who  run  up  the 
big  bowling  scores. 

Matt  O'Keefe  helped  sell  “Girl  of  the  Limber- 
lost”  with  some  good  ideas. 

Willard  Mathews,  Granada  Theatre,  Oly¬ 
phant,  has  made  a  host  of  friends  in  town. 
He  sells  well. 

Louis  Pilosi  is  opening  his  Institute  Theatre, 
Forty-Fort,  soon. 

Sam  Scavo,  Home  Theatre,  Old  Forge,  finds 
Tuesday  his  busy  day.  Lots  of  callers. 

Louis  Favini,  Favini  Theatre,  Scranton,  is  al¬ 
ways  doing  something  to  keep  the  people 
of  his  neighborhood  theatre  conscious. 

Benjamin  Roberts,  son  of  Johnny,  is  squad¬ 
ron  commander,  Scranton  airplane  club.  He 
recently  visited  the  Camden  airport  to  get 


new  ideas.  He  was  in  the  air  with  several 
of  the  pilots. 

Exhibitors  of  the  territory  want  to  know 
when  Jim  Clark’s  clambake  is  to  be  held. 

As  correspondent  for  this  territory,  I  want 
to  congratulate  Arthur  Hyman  and  hope 
that  the  same  crowd  that  attended  his 
recent  banquet  will  sit  in  on  his  next  anni¬ 
versary. 

Death  of  John  McTague,  Coaldale,  was 
mourned  by  the  trade.  While  decorating 
the  McTague  Theatre  in  1930,  he  slipped 
and  fell,  breaking  both  legs.  He  was  ill 
from  that  time  on. 

Heard  In 

ROSSTO  WN 

Doubles  With 
Premiums  Here 


Harry  Tarrante  is  doing  a  good  job  manag¬ 
ing  the  Aldine  Theatre. 

New  high  was  reached  when  a  house  double 
featured  and  gave  away  premiums.  That 
still  leaves  triple  featuring  as  an  added 
inducement. 

Frank  Nirdlinger,  well  known  in  the  business, 
passed  away  and  friends  mourned. 

Reports  are  current  around  town  that  music 
may  be  back  in  a  lot  of  Stanley-Warner 
houses  around  the  holiday  time.  Some 
houses  use  acts  while  others  may  feature 
orchestras. 

RKO-Radio  and  S-W  played  host  to  club¬ 
women  at  the  Boyd  Theatre  Sunday  night 
with  "Anne  of  Green  Gables"  shown. 
House  was  filled  with  those  interested  in 
better  films. 

Keswick  Theatre  has  been  running  special 
programs  for  the  kids.  House  also  bills  its 
programs  a  week  in  advance  in  ads. 

Oxford  Theatre  has  a  Sunday  kiddies’  radio 
hour  over  WTEL. 

Erlen  Theatre  ran  a  WCAU  radio  review. 

Artie  Cohn,  Earle  Theatre,  all  busy  with 
Amos  and  Andy  as  well  as  Waring’s  Penn¬ 
sylvanians.  Joe  Feldman’s  arm  is  bet¬ 
ter.  House  is  reported  cutting  prices 
when  Roxy  opens. 

Locust  Street  Theatre  and  Arcadia  Theatre 
both  cut  price  as  result  of  Stanley-Warner 
slash. 

Allen  Benn  hopped  to  New  York,  also  hopped 
down  to  Washington. 

Jim  Clark  and  Tom  Lark,  Horlacher  Deliv¬ 
ery,  are  both  receiving  congratulations 
because  of  the  excellence  of  “Horlacher, 
the  new  house  organ  of  the  company. 
Breezy,  informative,  departmentalized,  the 
publication  is  awarding  a  prize  for  the  best 
permanent  title.  Tom  Lark  edits. 


MUSSOLINI’S  $2,000,000 

ROMANTIC  SPECTACLE! 

A  ROADSHOW 
PICTURE 


ENGLISH  DIALOGUE  —  ITALIAN  VERSION  ALSO  AVAILABLE 

NOW  BOOKING 
EUREKA  PRODUCTIONS,  Inc. 


Now  in  Its  3rd  Big  Week 
Gaiety  Theatre,  New  York 


723  Seventh  Ave.,  New  York 


Bryant  9-0545 


OF 

COURAGE, 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Dec  1 T  34 


13 


Film  Men  Throng  New  MPTO  Offices  and 
Attend  Impressive  Dedication  Luncheon 


Judges  Kuhn,  Glass,  Congressman  Dietrich  Address 
Trade,  Industry’s  Regulation  Attempts  Praised — Greater 
Accord  Seen 

Official  dedication  of  the  new  offices  and  clubrooms  of  the  Motion  Picture  Theatre 
Owners  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware  and  special 
luncheon  held  at  the  Hotel  Adelphia,  here,  November  23,  turned  out  to  be  a  signifi¬ 
cant  success. 


Censor  Interest  Up 

The  local  industry  is  still  wonder¬ 
ing  who  will  be  on  the  next  censor 
board. 

Harry  Hirsch,  exhibitor,  has  been 
bearing  a  petition,  seeking  exhibitor 
support  for  the  job,  while  it  is  believed 
that  Jim  Byrne,  former  exchangeman, 
has  been  recommended  by  the  IEPA  for 
the  job.  He  has  had  experience  with 
several  exchanges  on  the  street. 

Roxy-Mastbaum  Due  to 
Open  Before  Christmas 

Stanley -Warner  Arranges  Deal 
with  Impressario 

Roxy  has  come  to  Philadelphia. 

In  a  move  to  establish  the  Mastbaum  The¬ 
atre  as  a  centre  of  Philadelphia's  film  activity, 
Stanley-Warner  has  made  a  deal  with  S.  L. 
Rothapfel  to  manage  the  Market  Street  play¬ 
house,  4800  seater,  closed  many  months,  on  a 
salary  and  percentage  arrangement.  A  new 
corporation  has  been  incorporated  in  Delaware 
for  that  purpose. 

House  will  be  known  as  the  Roxy-Mastbaum. 
It  will  re-open  December  24. 

Theatre  will  have  a  film-stage  show  policy, 
with  Roxy  staging  the  shows,  assisted  by  a  staff 
which  he  brings  over.  He  will  have  entire 
direction  of  the  house.  Assisting  will  be  Charles 
Griswold,  house  manager,  Mrs.  J.  D.  Williams, 
secretary,  and  others. 

A  luncheon  for  press  and  trade  was  held  last 
week  to  introduce  him. 

Roxy  will  take  his  ushers,  doormen,  etc., 
from  new  faces.  He  ran  an  ad  in  the  local 
''ailies  last  week  and  the  police  were  called  to 
regulate  the  crowd.  If  the  same  thing  applies 
to  the  regular  ads — business  should  be  good. 

In  the  past,  he  has  been  associated  with  the 
Strand,  Rialto,  Rivoli,  Capitol,  Roxy  and  Music 
Hall  Theatres,  New  York  City.  He  is  son-in- 
law  of  Exhibitor  Freedman,  recently  deceased, 
in  Forrest  City,  upstate. 

While  welcoming  Roxy  to  the  local  terri¬ 
tory,  observers  still  feel  that  Stanley-Warners’ 
problem  will  not  be  solved.  Overseating  has 
always  been  a  downtown  headache,  with  the 
Mastbaum  turning  in  a  big  gross  when  offering- 
big  screen  and  stage  shows  in  the  past.  How¬ 
ever,  when  the  Mastbaum  has  been  doing  a 
business,  the  Stanley,  Ald.’ne  and  Boyd  suffers. 

Theatremen  point  out  that  the  only  solution 
would  be  in  creating  new  audiences,  and  more 
trips  downtown  to  first  run  houses.  By  intro¬ 
ducing  new  type  programs,  Roxy  may  be  able  to 
do  it. 

While  it  has  been  denied  that  business  at  the 
Stanley,  Boyd  or  Aldine  picked  up  appreciably 
when  the  Mastbaum  closed,  it  is  certain  that  the 
grosses  at  the  trio  will  be  affected.  This  prob¬ 
lem  will  probably  be  one  of  the  first  to  be 


400  Attend  IEPA  “Night 
in  Hollywood”  Dinner  Dance 

Local  Industry  Turns  Out 
for  Affair 


More  than  400  exhibitors  and  film  folk 
turned  out  for  the  Independent  Exhibi¬ 
tors  Protective  Association  “Night  in 
Hollywood”  at  the  Bellevue-Stratford, 
November  25. 

A  dinner-dance  and  plenty  of  entertainment 
comprised  the  program,  with  Charlie  Good¬ 
win  active  in  all  arrangements. 

The  affair  set  a  new  peak  for  Vine  Street 
dinner  events  and  a  good  time  was  had  by  all. 

Sid  Stanley,  Fay’s  Theatre,  took  charge  of 
the  entertainment  program,  with  the  Fay’s 
house  hands  assisting.  Acts  came  from  Fay’s, 
through  courtesy  of  M.  E.  Comerford ;  Car¬ 
man,  through  courtesy  of  George  Gravenstine  ; 
and  Keswick,  through  courtesy  of  A1  Fisher, 
as  well  as  Steel  Pier  and  other  spots. 

Committee  in  charge  included  Charlie  Good¬ 
win,  Columbia  Stamper,  Herb  Elliott,  Lew 
Berger,  Nat  Abelove,  with  other  members  of 
the  IEPA  assisting. 

Contributors  included  Jim  Clark,  Fay’s,  Car¬ 
man,  Keswick,  National  Penn  Printing,  Herb 
Elliott  and  Mary's  Flower  Shoppe. 

It  is  planned  to  hold  another  in  a  few 
months. 


solved  by  Dave  Weshner,  new  downtown  zone 
first  run  chief,  under  Leonard  Schlesinger. 

Roxy  had  a  terrific  success  in  New  York 
City.  His  first  de  luxe  house,  the  Capitol, 
gave  him  national  fame.  From  that  point  he 
went  to  the  Roxy,  which  has  financial  trouble 
directly  following  his  departure.  His  stay  at 
the  Radio  City  Music  Hall  also  was  no  bed 
of  roses,  with  questions  of  policy  leading  to 
his  departure.  Following  that,  he  went  on  the 
stage  with  a  troupe. 

Stanley-Warner  has  settled  its  differences 
with  the  musicians’  union  and  will  employ  55 
musicians  at  the  Roxy  Mastbaum,  paying  $70 
weekly. 

This  will  include  charge  for  using  musicians 
at  weekly  Sunday  broadcasts  from  the  Roxy- 
Mastbaum,  with  admission  charged  going  for 
benefit  of  musicians. 

Stanley-Warner  is  also  using  a  lot  of 
musicians  in  neighborhood  houses. 


Clubroom  opening,  at  13th  and  Vine,  was 
attended  by  several  hundred  theatremen,  mem¬ 
bers  of  the  MPTO,  IEPA,  exchangemen,  and 
affiliated  film  people. 

Following  ceremonies  there,  the  luncheon  at 
the  Adelphia  interested  film  men  and  invited 
guests. 

A  fine  address  was  made  by  Congressman  C. 
Elmer  Dietrich,  Tunkhannock,  who  told  of  his 
first  days  as  an  exhibitor  in  this  business.  He 
scored  with  an  excellent  talk  and  made  a  splen¬ 
did  impression.  Judges  Kuhn  and  Glass  also 
spoke  to  the  body  and  praised  the  regulation 
machinery  which  has  been  set  up  to  take  care 
of  industry  problems.  Self-regulation  was  im¬ 
portant,  it  was  stated.  Judge  Kuhn  spoke  of 
the  first  days  of  censorship  in  the  business. 

Mike  Egnal  also  made  a  brief  address. 
George  P.  Aarons  was  toastmaster. 

Among  the  guests  attending  were  Mrs.  Arthur 
Goldsmith,  Samuel  Schwartz,  Raymond  Rau, 
David  Palfryman,  John  McGuirk  and  others. 

President  Charles  Segall,  secretary  George 
P.  Aarons  and  Lewen  Pizor  were  active  in  the 
arrangements. 


Bondholders  Foreclosing 

Bondholders  are  reported  foreclosing  on  the 
first  and  second  mortgages  on  the  Uptown 
(S-W)  Theatre.  Morris  Wolf  is  chairman  of 
the  bondholders’  protective  committee. 

Foreclosure  would  probably  result  in  a  new 
set-up  as  regards  present  financing  and  returns 
from  the  house. 


AC  Union  Trouble 

Atlantic  City  theatres  picketed  by  union  oper¬ 
ators  of  late,  finally  had  a  break  in  the  ranks 
when  the  Hollywood  Theatre  signed  with  the 
unions.  House  had  a  bottle  of  acid  thrown  in 
it  recently.  Responsibility  for  the  occurrence 
was  not  centred. 


Warner  Vote  Soon 

Meeting  of  Warner  Brothers  stockholders 
will  be  held  in  Wilmington,  December  10. 
Corporate  matters  and  elections  will  be  taken 
up. 

Re-election  of  Harry  M.  Warner  is  ex¬ 
pected. 


Flask  Found 


If  the  gentleman  who  placed  the  flask 
in  Joe  Conway’s  coat  pocket  by  mistake 
at  the  IEPA  dinner-dance  calls  at  the 
Egyptian  Theatre,  Bala,  he  can  have  the 
flask  back. 

There  are  no  matinees  daily  but 
house  is  open  at  night. 


14 


Dec  1  ’34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Heard  In 

INE  STREET 

Rappaport  Has 
Been  Ill 


Charlie  Rappaport  has  been  ill  in  the  hos¬ 
pital  for  quite  a  while.  Local  film  men 
were  wondering  where  the  Salem  exhibi¬ 
tor  was. 

Ben  Harris  still  raves  about  his  kids.  Jack 
interviewed  Eddie  Cantor,  drew  his  pic¬ 
ture;  the  twins  are  doing  well,  Claire  plays 
the  piano,  the  wife  is  still  knitting  baby 
clothes.  Nuts. 

Master  Art  Products  has  taken  space  in  the 
local  Warner  exchange  building.  Ben 
Stern  is  manager. 

Charlie  Zagrans  moved,  turned  on  the  gas, 
by  mistake.  Fortunately  got  back  in  time 
to  prevent  this  being  an  obituary  notice. 

Ed  Hulse,  who  used  to  operate  in  Mt.  Holly, 
is  back  in  action  again.  He  has  a  house 
in  Morrisville. 

Mike  Katz  resigned  from  Gold  Medal. 

First  Division  contingent,  Sam  Rosen,  Julie 
Chapman,  Charles  Rosenzweig,  hopped 
up  to  Scranton. 

Reliable  Film  Exchange  has  moved. 

Mort  Lewis  closed  up  the  Strand,  AC,  for 
the  first  time,  with  house  open  weekends. 

A1  Smith  still  unattached  despite  last  issue 
announcement.  Miss  Gallagher  reported 
interested. 

Pop  Korson,  Masterpiece,  went  to  Scranton 
for  a  spell. 

Scranton  bowlers  have  challenged  Vine 
Street  pin  topplers  to  a  tourney. 

Variety  Club  contingent  to  Washington  din¬ 
ner  and  dance  included  Jim  Clark,  Sam 
Gross,  Earle  Sweigert,  Edgar  Moss,  Jay 
Emanuel,  Eddie  Corcoran  and  others. 

Miss  Jeanette  Willensky,  secretary,  1EPA, 
was  admitted  to  practice  in  United  States 
District  Court  during  recent  session.  Judge 
praised  her  highly. 

Still  citadel  of  Governor  Earle’s  car,  Apex 
Garage  plans  even  greater  service. 

Anti-freeze  is  coming  into  its  own. 

The  Court  proceedings  disrupted  Vine 
Street's  ordinary  routine. 

When  Sister  of  Louis  Cohen,  Wissahickon 
Theatre,  was  married,  quite  a  few  filmmen 
turned  out,  including  Barney  Cohen  and 
Ed  Schweriner. 

Gold  Medal  expects  great  things  from  "Little 
Men.’’ 

Charlie  Streimer,  the  Premium  King,  toured 
the  territory  with  Dave  Molliver,  says  our 
weather  is  awful. 

Local  operators,  headed  by  Lou  Krouse,  Wil¬ 
lie  Friedman  and  Horace  Johns,  hopped 
over  to  the  first  annual  banquet  of  Local 
418,  Camden  operators.  The  30  7  execu¬ 
tive  board  was  in  attendance  as  well  as 
representatives  of  the  various  Jersey  locals. 
Hofbrau  was  the  scene. 

Horace  Johns,  local  307  official,  was  a  re¬ 
cent  visitor  in  New  York. 

William  Mansell,  Warner  manager,  is  en¬ 
thused  because  one  of  the  Jackson  Theatre 
patrons  laughed  so  hard  at  a  Warner 
comedy  that  her  false  teeth  fell  out.  "Your 
teeth  will  fall  out  when  you  see  a  Vita- 
pho  ne  short,”  says  Bill. 

Joe  Murphy,  the  boy  wonder  of  the  Ritz  The¬ 
atre,  Oaklyn,  sends  in  some  news  notes. 
He  sees  by  the  paper  that  the  Mastbaum 
is  going  to  open  for  a  few  weeks;  says 
someone  ought  to  inform  the  reformers 
that  there  are  more  bad  pictures  than  bad 
actresses;  and  that  down  south,  the  K  K  K 
will  probably  sponsor  ‘  The  White  Parade.” 

General  Register  Corporation  announces 
many  new  installations  in  town,  as  well 


Variety  Club  Chooses 
Rittenhouse  Square  Home 

No.  1910  Headquarters  for 

Film  Group 

The  Variety  Club,  Tent  No.  13,  will 
make  its  home  at  1910  Rittenhouse 
Square. 

That  was  the  expectation  this  week  after 
several  weeks  of  searching  for  a  suitable  head¬ 
quarters. 

Because  of  the  current  legal  battle,  the  local 
organization  has  been  temporarily  checked  in  its 
rapid  advance.  However,  it  is  expected  that 
the  ball  will  be  started  rolling  again  with 
members  able  to  give  full  time  to  details. 

A  New  Year’s  eve  celebration  is  being  plan¬ 
ned  for  the  end  of  the  year  with  the  site  still 
to  be  selected. 

Messrs.  Bill  Lee  and  Dave  Supowitz,  archi¬ 
tect  members,  will  supervise  remodelling  of  the 
house. 


as  in  many  other  states,  Indiana,  Iowa, 
New  York,  Melbourne,  Australia,  etc. 
Many  exhibitors  are  buying  the  product. 

Edmund  Z.  Spiers,  son  of  Morris  Spiers,  local 
exhibitor,  has  opened  an  office  for  the 
practice  of  law  in  association  with  Harry 
M.  Miller  and  Clarence  M.  Freedman. 

George  Mailard,  formerly  with  Pathe,  is  quite 
alive  and  in  good  health.  This  will  put 
at  rest  any  rumors  that  he  has  passed  into 
the  great  beyond. 

A1  Davis,  Sam  Gross  played  host  to  Gover¬ 
nor-elect  Earle  and  Senator-elect  Guffey 
and  Attorney-General  Margiotti  recently 
when  they  viwed  Fox  newsreel  shots  of  the 
recent  funeral  of  political  victims  upstate. 
Davis  had  quite  a  conversation  with  the 
trio,  introduced  them  to  exhibitors  who 
were  present  and  urged  the  governor,  in 
appointing  the  censor  board,  to  see  that 
the  industry  had  representation. 

Joe  Engel  had  a  cold,  got  a  sore  throat  as 
well. 

Charles  Rosensweig,  FD  sales  manager,  Jules 
Chapman,  FD  home  office,  Eddie  Golden, 
Monogram  sales  manager,  Ed  Finney, 
Monogram  manager,  all  hopped  into  town 
same  day.  First  two  stayed  several  days, 
last  two  not  so  long. 

Frank  McNamee,  Radio  chieftain,  hopped  to 
Scranton  for  a  short  business  trip. 

Sam  Schwartz,  censor  chairman,  is  going  to 
California  for  a  three  weeks’  vacation. 

Joe  Rossheim  has  been  ill  for  quite  a  while. 
He’s  back  now,  but  lost  some  weight. 

Miss  Segall,  FD,  entertained  a  visitor  when 
her  daughter,  Carol,  called. 

Miss  Peggy  Mason  lost  her  appendix,  is  sup¬ 
planted  for  the  while  by  Miss  Freda  Leber- 
man  at  First  Division. 

Tom  Loftus,  FD,  celebrated  a  wedding  anni¬ 
versary. 

Claire  Fineman  has  been  married  one  year. 
She’s  at  FD. 

Whitey  now  buying  lunches. 

Harry  Perelman  says  it  is  his  intended 
brother-in-law  who  is  in  the  premium  busi¬ 
ness  above  the  Vine  Street  taproom. 

Rumored  that  Jack  Litto’s  engagement  will 
be  announced  soon. 

Who  did  the  chairman  of  the  censor  board 
take  to  the  theatre? 

Joe  Leon  says  he  is  engaged,  but  to  whom? 

Dave  Milgram’s  brother,  the  Cariocaer,  may 
open  a  dancing  school. 


Joe  Burke  missed  a  fine  party. 

Several  Universalites  attended  Charley  Gold- 
fine’s  Wonder  Bar  opening. 

Xmas  parties  are  in  the  offing. 

B.  Zeeman,  Universal  auditor,  is  stationed 
here  for  a  spell. 

Mary  Shanholtz,  Universal,  has  been  secretly 
married  since  June. 

Vine  Street  interested  in  the  suit  over  the 
river  involving  Broadway  Amusement 
Company  name.  Warners  involved. 


TRENTON 


Edward  Hulse,  formerly  Mt.  Holly,  has  re¬ 
opened  the  Community  House,  Morrisville. 
House  has  been  improved  with  new  RKO 
sound,  seats,  screen. 

Lincoln  Theatre  employees  averted  a  panic 
at  evening  show,  November  20,  when  short 
circuit  in  fire  extinguisher  system  caused 
an  alarm  to  be  registered  at  fire  head¬ 
quarters. 

William  C.  Hunt,  who  was  active  in  the  elec¬ 
tion  of  Harold  Hoffman  for  governor  of 
New  Jersey  is  talked  for  either  a  place  on 
the  Court  of  Errors  and  Appeals  Bench  or 
the  Public  Utility  Commission. 


Control  System  in  Bromley 

Complete  air-conditioning  contract  for  cool¬ 
ing,  heating  and  ventilating  the  new  1000-seat 
Bromley  Theatre,  Philadelphia,  has  been  signed 
by  Control  Corporation  of  America  for  the  in¬ 
stallation  of  Chrysler  equipment.  Announce¬ 
ment  of  this  was  made  by  F.  B.  Warren, 
Control’s  president. 

Bromley  is  owned  and  is  to  be  operated  by 
Charles  Segall,  president  of  the  MPTO. 

Bromley  is  now  being  constructed  by  United 
Building  Construction  Corporation,  Nicho’as  J. 
Brandolini,  president,  from  designs  and  plans 
of  Thalheimer  &  Weitz.  Most  of  Control 
Corporation’s  sub-contractor  work  on  this  job 
will  be  performed  by  Philadelphia  firms  and 
workmen. 


General  Register  Installs 

Business  at  General  Register  Corporation  is 
picking  up. 

Some  of  the  theatres  in  the  eastern  sector 
which  have  installed  ticket  registers  sold  by  this 
company  recently  are : 

Pennsylvania — Ardmore,  Ardmore;  Earle, 
Philadelphia;  New  York  City — Dorset;  Gates, 
Brooklyn ;  Lyric,  De  Luxe,  Woodside ;  New 
York  State — New  Family,  Batavia  ;  Roxie,  East 
Syracuse. 


Weeks  High  Record 

George  Weeks,  Gaumont  British  sales 
executive  has  made  a  high  record  in 
setting  distribution  and  deals  for  that 
product  in  this  country. 

Due  back  in  New  York  December  1, 
after  setting  up  sales  forces  and  making 
product  deals  in  Detroit,  Chicago,  Des 
Moines,  Omaha,  Denver,  Salt  Lake 
City,  Seattle,  Portland,  San  Francisco, 
Los  Angeles,  Dallas,  Kansas  City  and 
Buffalo,  he  looks  forward  to  a  big  sea¬ 
son. 

Formerly  general  manager  of  Para¬ 
mount  many  years  ago  and  recently  a 
coast  producer  he  has  all  the  requisites 
for  making  good  at  the  job. 


MEET  PETE! 

Pete  is  P.  S.  Harrison,  Editor  Harrison’s  Reports  .  .  .  Pete’s 
unique  in  the  industry  ...  A  lone  wolf  .  .  .  with  the  heart 
of  a  lion  .  .  .  His  sincerity  is  generally  acknowledged. 

Pete  praised  "Evensong"  "Chu  Chin  Chow"  "Little  Friend" 
which  means  they  had  to  be  good  .  .  .  And  they  are  good. 

And  making  good.  Everywhere 

BOOKED  EARLY  J  ANU  ARY-RADIO  CITY  MUSIC  HALL 

JESSIE  MATTHEWS  '»  "EVERGREEN" 
GEORGE  ARLISS  "THE  IRON  DUKE" 

GAUMONT  BRITISH  PRODUCTIONS  *  PHYSICAL  DISTRIBUTION  -  FOX  EXCHANGES  •  CANADA,  REGAL  FILMS,  LTD. 


16 


Dec  1’34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


A  Concise 
National  Survey 


TRADE  IN  REVIEW  • 


Glances  Outside 
the  Territory 


CODE 

Code  Authority  Releases 
Regular  Financial  Statement 

The  Code  Authority  is  keeping  within  its 
budget.  Financial  statements  from  January 
until  November  1  showed  a  cash  balance  of 
$27,171.11.  Receipts  from  producers  were 
$100,500,  from  exhibitors  $83,502.  Total  dis¬ 
bursements  were  $157,019.89.  October  dis¬ 
bursements  were  $20,840.49.  October  disburse¬ 
ments  under  budget  were  $928.49.  In  only  one 
month,  June,  were  the  disbursements  over  tire 
budget  to  the  extent  of  $153.51. 

Code  Assessment  Plan 
Now  In  Effect 

After  several  months  of  wrangling,  the  code 
assessment  plan  is  now  in  effect.  William  P. 
Farnsworth,  deputy  administrator  of  the  NRA, 
announced  the  signing. 

This  ends  the  issue  after  several  months  of 
discussion. 

Kansas  City  Zoning 
Gives  a  Lot  of  Trouble 

Kansas  City  zoning  problems  brought  out 
several  members  of  the  Code  Authority,  who 
hopped  to  the  middle  west  to  see  what  could  be 
done.  Recommendations  were  to  be  submitted 
to  the  Code  Authority  by  the  members  in 
question. 

The  Chicago  setup,  under  which  the  district 
has  been  functioning  for  quite  a  while,  was 
sent  back. 

It  conflicted  with  Code  Authority  basic  regu¬ 
lations. 

Code  Authority  Disposes 
Of  Plenty  Cases 

The  Code  Authority  isn’t  wasting  any  time 
as  far  as  appeals  are  concerned.  With  fewer 
and  fewer  appeals  coming  before  it,  the  body 
is  rapidly  cleaning  up  its  docket. 

Generally,  appeals  result  in  original  decisions 
being  upheld. 

Serials  Not 

Short  Subjects,  Ruling 

Serials  are  not  short  subjects.  Thus  ruled 
the  NRA  in  an  interpretation  requested  by  the 
Code  Authority. 

Installments  may  not  be  included  in  comput¬ 
ing  the  number  of  shorts  that  exhibitors  are 
required  to  buy  from  a  distributor. 

Mail  Bills  for  Second 
Half  Code  Assessments 

Bills  have  been  mailed  to  nearly  10,000  ex¬ 
hibitors  for  second  half  code  assessments.  This 
will  cover  operation  for  the  rest  of  the  season. 

Rosenblatt  Appointed 
Compliance  Co-ordinator 

Sol  A.  Rosenblatt,  division  administrator  for 
the  motion  picture  industry,  is  now  also  co¬ 
ordinator  of  compliance  for  the  NRA.  The 
promotion  came  to  him  because  of  his  good 
work. 

He  will  retain  his  industry  place  as  well. 


PRODUCTION 

Agree  on  Directors  for 
New  Paramount  Company 

It  is  generally  agreed  that  the  following  faces 
will  be  included  in  the  new  board  of  directors 
of  the  reorganized  Paramount  company. 

Among  those  suggested  are  Adolph  Zukor 
and  George  Schaefer,  Paramount;  Frank  A. 
Vanderlip  and  Dr.  Julius  Klein,  Vanderlip 
bondholders  protective  committee ;  Duncan 
Holmes  and  Maurice  Newton,  Holmes  stock¬ 
holders’  protective  committee;  Percy  Johnston 
and  George  D.  Davidson,  Paramount  bank 
creditors  group.  Other  names  will  be  added, 
it  is  believed. 

The  reorganization  plan  is  believed  ready  to 
go  into  effect  by  the  end  of  January.  All  the 
largest  claims  against  the  company  are  believed 
in  the  settlement  stage. 

Catholic  Meeting  Results 
In  Clean  Film  Affirmation 

Meeting  of  78  members  of  the  Catholic  hier¬ 
archy,  including  3  cardinals,  9  arch-bishops  and 
66  bishops,  at  Washington,  resulted  in  two  reso¬ 
lutions  regarding  films.  First  was  to  the  effect 
that  the  Legion  of  Decency  campaign  be  con¬ 
tinued  and  a  Chicago  list  of  classified  pictures 
be  used  as  a  national  basis  for  selected  pic¬ 
tures,  while  the  second  said : 

“If  the  motion  picture  industry’s  pledge  to 
the  Legion  of  Decency  to  maintain  decent 
standards  in  production  was  not  observed,  the 
bishops  of  all  the  dioceses  would  be  requested 
to  have  the  faithful  of  all  localities  remain 
away  from  all  and  every  motion  picture  for  the 
period  of  at  least  one  week.” 

The  two-day  meeting  reviewed  the  work  of 
the  Legion. 

Cohen  Comes  Out 
With  Own  Newsreel  Ideas 

Emanuel  Cohen,  Paramount  News  editor,  re¬ 
cently  came  forward  with  a  statement  on  what 
a  news  should  be.  He  said  in  part : 

“Paramount  News  is  designed  only  to  serve 
as  a  news  medium.  It  wants  news — not  propa¬ 
ganda  or  commentary.  If  it  isn’t  the  kind  of 
news  that  a  metropolitan  newspaper  would 
headline  or  feature,  Paramount  News  doesn’t 
want  it. 

“Neither  will  Paramount  News  stoop  to 
shout  ‘scoop’  by  tricking  up  library  material 
with  a  new  sound  track  thus  bringing  an  old 
story  up  to  date.” 

He  declared  that  Paramount  will  keep  to  its 
straight  news  policy. 

Deny  Rumors  of 
Successor  to  Hays 

Rumors  which  flew  around  New  York  City 
for  a  while  had  Edward  J.  Flynn,  Democratic 
leader  succeeding  Will  H.  Hays  as  president 
of  the  MPPDA.  These  were  denied  quickly, 
but  it  took  a  couple  of  days  before  the  reports 
vanished  entirely. 

Every  few  months,  new  names  are  men¬ 
tioned  to  succeed  Hays,  but  Hays  still  remains 
as  president  of  MPPDA. 


A.  T.  and  T.  Investigation 
May  Include  Movie  Angles 

Proposed  1935  investigation  into  the  struc¬ 
ture  of  the  American  Telephone  and  Telegraph 
Company  and  its  affiliates  may  result  in  some 
light  being  shed  on  the  movie  activities  of  that 
organization.  Federal  Communications  Com¬ 
mission  has  ordered  public  hearings  to  start 
after  January  1. 

EXHIBITION 

Classification  System 
Adopted  by  Many 

Many  theatres  and  also  some  magazines  are 
adopting  the  A-F,  adult  and  family,  classifi¬ 
cation  for  pictures. 

The  Literary  Digest  has  been  circularizing 
the  trade,  while  from  all  parts  of  the  country 
sentiment  indicates  that  the  move  may  find 
some  favor.  In  the  trade,  all  publications  are 
gradually  adopting  reviews  following  the  same 
lines. 

Increased  Taxes  Asked 
In  Several  States 

First  of  the  bombardments  against  the  box 
office  comes  in  Connecticut  where  a  selective 
admission  tax  was  included  in  a  report  of  the 
State  Special  Tax  Commission.  The  recom¬ 
mendation  would  broaden  the  present  tax. 

Other  states  are  expected  to  fall  in  line  with 
similar  ideas. 

10,263  Theatres  Showed 
$414,468,000  1933  Gross 

U.  S.  Census  Bureau  comes  forth  with  the 
announcement  that  a  total  of  10.263  theatres 
showed  $414,468,000  box  office  receipts  last 
year.  9,499  were  motion  picture  houses  with 
receipts  of  $356,316,000  and  642  were  vaude- 
picture  houses  with  receipts  of  $49,541,000. 
Legitimate  theatres  showed  but  2%  of  the  total. 

Slightly  more  than  one  quarter  of  all  the 
theatre  receipts  were  taken  in  by  houses  in  the 
7  largest  cities. 

MPTOA  to  Decide 
On  1935  Convention  Place 

One  of  four  cities,  New  Orleans,  Milwaukee, 
Memphis  and  Los  Angeles,  is  to  get  the  1935 
MPTOA  convention. 

Decision  will  be  made  shortly. 

DISTRIBUTION 

Loew  Shows  Big 
Profit  for  the  Year 

Loew’s,  Inc.,  came  through  as  expected  when 
a  profit  of  $7,479,897  was  shown  for  the  year 
ended  August  31.  This  equals  $4.50  a  share 
on  the  common  stock  after  preferred  dividends. 

Pathe  Exchange,  Inc.,  showed  a  profit  of 
$188,787  for  the  39  weeks  ended  September  29. 

Fox  Sets  Releases  For 
The  Entire  Season 

Fox  Film  Corporation  has  come  forward 
with  a  list  of  titles  for  the  rest  of  the  season. 

While  titles  and  release  dates  are  subject  to 
change,  Fox  is  the  first  company  to  announce 
the  rest  of  the  year’s  program. 


Dec  1 ' 34  pg.  17 


NEWS  FLASH 


•  PICTURES  THAT  ARE  DOING  TREMEN¬ 
DOUS  BUSINESS  IN  THE  TERRITORY 

•  "CRIMSON  ROMANCE"  sustained  the  judgment  of  that 

Master  Showman,  Harry  Spiegel  at  the  Family,  Scranton  and 
turned  in  a  phenomenal  week. 

•  "CRIMSON  ROMANCE"  opened  to  tremendous  business  at 

Notes'  Strand,  Washington,  D.  C.  and  was  immediately  booked 
to  the  rest  of  his  theatres. 

•  "YOUNG  AND  BEAUTIFUL"  following  its  sensational  open¬ 

ing  at  the  Steel  Pier,  Atlantic  City  is  turning  in  creditable 
grosses  in  all  the  following  runs. 

•  "YOUNG  AND  BEAUTIFUL"  after  opening  big  at  the  Family, 

Scranton  now  playing  the  Entire  Comerford  Circuit. 

•  "IN  OLD  SANTE  FE"  bought  by  the  Warner  Circuit  and  book¬ 

ing  fast  to  Class  Theatres. 

•  "MASCOT'S  First  Three  Releases  are  all  hits.  Believe  it  or 

not  three  out  of  three  for  an  Independent  Producer.  And 
watch  the  rest! 

•  "THE  MARINES  ARE  COMING"- Coast  Reviews  claim  this 

laugh  special  to  be  biggest  Box  Office  Bet  offered  to  date. 

“YOUNG  AND  BEAUTIFUL,”  Starring  WM.  HAINES, 
JUDITH  ALLEN  and  the  WAMPAS  BABY  STARS. 

“CRIMSON  ROMANCE,”  Starring  BEN  LYON  and  SARI 
MARITZA  in  an  Action  Drama  of  Air  Warfare. 

“IN  OLD  SANTA  FE,”  Starring  KEN  MAYNARD  in  what 
has  been  called  the  ‘Best  Western  Ever  Made.” 

“THE  MARINES  ARE  COMING,”  Starring  ARMIDA,  WM. 
HAINES,  CONRAD  NAGEL,  ESTHER  RALSTON. 

All  distributed  by 

GOLD  MEDAL-MAJESTIC  EXCHANGES 

A.  LUCCHESE,  Prop. 


1236  VINE  STREET 


PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 


18 


Dec  1'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


PHOTOPHONE 

OFFERS: 


•  Unfailing  Sound  Satisfaction 

•  A  Sound  Box  Office  Attraction 

•  Complete  Ownership 

•  A  Self-Liquidating  Investment 

PHOTOPHONE  DIVISION 


RCA  VICTOR  COMPANY,  Inc. 

Camden,  N.  J. 

A  Radio  Corporation  of  America  Subsidiary 


BETWEEN  THE  PARAGRAPHS 


KUYKENDALL  BOMBAST  ON 
ZONING  INTERESTS  TRADE 

When  Ed  Kuykendall,  president,  MPTOA,  came  forth  with  a 
tirade  against  current  zoning  methods  and  lack  of  activity  on  the  part 
of  the  Code  Authority  in  forcing  the  issue,  he  surprised  a  lot  of  folks. 
Hitherto,  a  large  part  of  the  exhibition  fraternity  had  felt  that  the 
MPTOA  had  been  satisfied  with  code  progress.  While  Kuykendall 
didn’t  rap  the  code,  generally,  he  did  take  it  to  task  for  the  fact  that 
not  one  single  maximum  clearance  and  zoning  schedule  has  been 
established.  Individual  cases  have  been  heard  in  many  instances. 

Kuykendall,  along  with  MPTOA  ideas,  would  like  to  see  double 
feature  houses  checked  and  set  back  in  zoning  schedules,  inferring 
that  the  Code  Authority’s  independent  members  are  opposed  to  that 
practice. 

Regardless  of  his  ideas  on  zoning,  he  is  right  in  his  contention 
that  more  speed  is  needed.  Zoning  is  one  of  the  most  important  parts 
of  the  code.  Efficiency  in  this  department  would  help  gain  further 
support  for  the  code  set-up. 

LEGION  OF  DECENCY  CONTINUES 
AS  CATHOLICS  MEET  IN  CAPITAL 

Apparently  Catholic  leaders  aren’t  any  too  convinced  that  the 
code  production  idea  of  the  producers  will  result  in  continually  clean 
pictures.  While  it  was  evident,  at  their  Washington  conference,  that 
they  have  been  impressed  by  the  industry’s  efforts,  it  is  interesting  to 
note  that  a  silent  threat  was  introduced  when  the  resolution  advocating 
a  week’s  boycott  on  the  part  of  the  Legion  of  Decency  if  producers 
fail  in  their  clean-up  efforts  was  approved. 

Philadelphia’s  complete  boycott  is  still  in  force,  with  the  other 
bishops  and  cardinals  failing  to  support  the  complete  boycott  idea. 

In  some  sectors,  the  Legion  of  Decency  is  very  strong,  while  in 
some  sections,  the  clean-up  drive  has  affected  business  very  little. 

ALL  LEGISLATURES  MEETING 
TO  FIND  NEW  REVENUE  SOURCES 

According  to  recent  advices,  practically  every  legislature  will 
convene  soon,  with  further  financing  a  big  headache. 

Once  again,  it  becomes  a  necessity  for  exhibitors  to  keep  close 
contact  with  their  legislators.  Regardless  of  faction  fights,  a  com¬ 
bined  front  to  protect  the  business  against  further  taxation  is  a 
necessity. 

For  a  graphic  picture  of  the  way  in  which  exhibitor  units  are  co¬ 
operating  to  fight  legislative  threats,  this  department  refers  the  reader 
to  the  editorial  cartoon  in  the  earlier  part  of  this  issue.  It  is  a  good 
view  of  the  situation  and  hasn’t  changed  a  bit  for  the  past  many  years. 

ADULT-FAMILY  CLASSIFICATION 
GOT  START  IN  THIS  PUBLICATION 

Regardless  of  whatever  anyone  else  says,  the  A-F  classification  for 
pictures  began  in  this  publication  as  early  as  February  of  this  year. 
It  was  quite  apparent  at  that  time  that  the  classification  idea  was  gain¬ 
ing  strength  and  that  such  service  to  exhibitors  would  be  of  some  value. 

Due  credit  must  be  given  to  Pete  Harrison.  Pete  has  been  telling 
his  readers  for  years  what  sort  of  a  picture  each  is.  He  indicates 
whether  young  children,  adolescents  or  grown-ups  can  see  it,  and 
when  he  doesn’t  think  it  okay,  says  so. 

Patting  one’s  self  on  the  back  is  too  familiar  a  sight  in  this  busi¬ 
ness,  but  taking  credit  where  it  isn’t  due  is  something  that  can’t  be 
overlooked. 

HOBART  MANN 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Dec  1 1 34 


19 


Catholic  Churches  Show 
Filins  While  Boycott  Is  On 

Upstate  Institutions  Not  Affected 
by  Cardinal’s  Edict 

While  the  Catholic  boycott  instituted  by 
Cardinal  Dougherty  continues  in  the  local 
area,  Catholics  are  requested  to  refrain 
from  attending  motion  picture  theatres. 

But  that  doesn't  stop  Catholic  institutions 
from  showing  pictures. 

The  following  churches  have  been  showing 
film  : 

Sacred  Heart  Church,  New  Philadelphia; 
Our  Mother  of  Sorrows  Church,  Bridgeport; 
St.  Mary’s  Church,  Keiser;  Mother  of  Con¬ 
solation  Church,  Mt.  Carmel;  St.  Stanislaus 
Church,  Shamokin. 

These  are  a  few,  discovered  by  The  Ex¬ 
hibitor.  There  are  undoubtedly,  others  which 
are  showing  pictures. 

Some  of  the  pictures  shown  recently  are  “The 
Showoff,”  “His  Greatest  Gamble,”  “Hold  the 
Press,”  “Murder  on  the  Blackboard,”  “Shoot 
the  Works,”  "Little  Miss  Marker,"  “Black 
Moon,"  “Treasure  Island,”  “Counsellor  at  Law," 
“The  Party’s  Over,"  “This  Side  of  Heaven,” 
“Old  Fashioned  Way.” 

None  of  the  pictures  is  included  on  the  banned 
list  set  up  by  the  Chicago  or  Detroit  Catholic 
groups  although  several  were  included  on  lists 
for  adults  only.  This  list  intimates  that  pictures 
may  have  suggestive  sequences  making  them 
unfit  for  children  or  adolescents. 

One  church,  it  is  known,  showed  “Trumpet 
Blows,”  an  objectionable  picture. 

Generally,  the  trade  has  been  of  the  opinion 
that  the  boycott  is  total  but  with  the  knowledge 
that  some  Catholic  churches  are  showing  films, 
it  appears  as  if  their  exhibition  is  not  barred 
100  per  cent.  Other  observers  point  out  that 
the  boycott  does  not  hold  when  pictures  are 
shown  in  Catholic  institutions  or  churches. 


Trans-Lux  Action 

Chancellor  Jcsiah  O.  Wolcott,  Chancery 
Court,  Wilmington,  issued  a  rule,  returnable 
by  November  28,  on  the  Trans-Lux  Daylight 
Picture  Screen  Corporation  to  show  cause  why 
he  should  not  grant  the  stockholders’  plea  for 
the  appointment  of  a  master  and  the  holding 
of  an  election  of  directors. 


New  Warner  Sound 


The  United  Research  Corporation, 
subsidiary  of  the  Warner  Bros.,  Inc., 
which  has  developed  its  own  sound 
devices  has  installed  the  systems  in  the 
Grand  Opera  House,  Savoy,  Wilming¬ 
ton,  and  both  are  reported  to  be  work¬ 
ing  more  satisfactory  than  the  one  there 
before,  particularly  at  the  Opera  House. 

Washington  Meeting  Has 
No  Effect  on  Boycott 

Catholic  Situation  Here  Still 
Unchanged 

Meeting  of  Catholic  cardinals,  arch¬ 
bishops  and  high  members  of  the  church 
at  Washington,  a  fortnight  ago,  had  no 
effect  on  the  local  boycott  situation. 

Cardinal  Dennis  Dougherty  did  not  attend 
the  session  in  person  but  sent  a  representative. 

It  is  reported  that  the  local  delegate  ex¬ 
pressed  a  tendency  that  the  complete  boycott 
be  encouraged,  but  the  body  took  no  such  action. 

It  was  voted  to  continue  the  Legion  of  De¬ 
cency  campaign  and  if  the  motion  picture  in¬ 
dustry  broke  faith  a  national  one-week  boycott 
be  instituted. 

Locally,  there  have  been  no  new  develop¬ 
ments  in  the  boycott.  Business  in  some  sections 
is  still  greatly  affected  by  it. 

Philadelphia  remains  the  only  diocese  in  the 
country  with  complete  boycott. 

In  Rome,  it  is  reported  that  the  Pope  has 
refused  to  permit  motion  pictures  of  himself 
or  his  functions  from  appearing  on  public  the¬ 
atre  screens.  He  ordered  that  certain  films 
reproducing  functions  be  shown  in  Catholic 
halls  approved  by  church  authorities. 


House  Available 


A  local  bouse  is  available,  in  neigh¬ 
borhood  section,  and  open  for  leasing 
or  any  sort  of  deal  to  anyone  desiring 
to  open  it  up. 

Address  Box  DR,  THE  EXHIBITOR. 


Columbia  Host  at 
“Broadway  Bill”  Showing 

Sales  Manager  Montague  Guest 

of  Local  Branch 

Columbia’s  local  branch,  headed  by 
manager  Harry  Weiner,  will  be  host  to 
invited  exhibitors  and  film  folk,  December 
4,  at  a  trade  show  and  luncheon. 

Trade  show  of  “Broadway  Bill”  will  be  held 
at  the  Locust  Street  Theatre  at  11  A.  M.,  while 
the  luncheon  will  follow  in  the  Clover  Room 
of  the  Bellevue-Stratford  immediately  after. 

Sales  Manager  Abe  Montague,  Columbia,  will 
also  be  a  guest  at  the  luncheon  and  will  meet 
exhibitors  here  for  the  first  time. 

“Broadway  Bill,”  with  Myrna  Loy  and  War¬ 
ner  Baxter,  has  been  heralded  as  a  triumph  and 
is  certain  to  receive  the  same  endorsement  from 
local  exhibitors. 

Tickets  have  already  been  sent  for  individual 
acknowledgment. 


READING 


A1  Nowitsky,  one  of  the  three  brothers  of 
theatrical  note  in  Reading,  Allentown  and 
Richmond,  Va.,  has  been  promoted  from 
the  managership  of  the  State,  Reading,  to 
a  similar  position  in  a  larger  Richmond 
house. 

Arthur  F.  Jahn,  scenic  artist  and  stage  build¬ 
er  in  Reading  theatres  for  many  years, 
died  at  his  country  home  near  here. 

Capitol  will  present  Walter  Hampden  in 
"Richelieu."  Paul  E.  Glase  is  managing. 

State’s  new  manager  is  Spencer  Bentley. 

Rajah,  1  0-cent  theatre,  announces  double 
bill  for  Sunday  nights  and  Tuesdays. 

Chester  A.  Mohn,  rural  Berks  assemblyman 
who  voted  against  Sunday  amusements, 
was  de  feated.  With  the  Rev.  Frank  W. 
Ruth,  Reformed  clergyman  and  manager 
of  a  community  theatre  in  his  town,  Bern- 
ville,  and  Mohn's  successor,  Mahlon  F. 
LaRue,  all  of  Berks’  fi  ve  members  of  the 
lower  House  at  Harrisburg  will  be  liberals. 

Park  cut  price  for  children  to  1  0  cents, 
adults  25  cents,  until  6  P.  M.,  after  6,  15 
for  children,  30  for  adults. 


The  FINEST  SER  VICE  on  FILM  RO 11  f 

SPECIAL  RATES  TO  FILM  PEOPLE: 

Parking  All  Day  ........  25c 

High  Pressure  Washing  (any  type  car)  75c 

TOW-CAR  SERVICE  —  ANY  PLACE  —  ANY  TIME 


APEX  GARAGE 

249-51-53  N.  JUNIPER  STREET  .  Ju^'ciRARD '  A  VESIJE 

Phone:  LOCUST  8604  -  -  PHILADELPHIA 
Becker  Bros.,  Props. 

Road  Service  to  Patrons  -  Mechanic  Always  on  Duty  -  Never  Closed 


20 


Dec  1'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


BETTER  TESTED  SUCCESSFUL 

MANAGEMENT  #  ideas  *  merchandising 


Free  Color  Cartoon 
on  Street  Safety  Ready 

A  unique  achievement  in  using  motion 
picture  entertainment  to  teach  street 
safety  is  presented  by  the  Metropolitan 
Life  Insurance  Company’s  new  three- 
color  Technicolor  cartoon  comedy  re¬ 
produced  by  Audio  Productions,  Inc.,  en¬ 
titled  “Once  Upon  a  Time.” 

In  accord  with  current  public  interest  in  pic¬ 
tures  with  a  fairyland  setting,  this  type  of 
presentation  has  been  utilized  in  this  new  film. 

The  film  was  produced  under  the  direction 
of  F.  Lyle  Goldman,  internationally  known  for 
his  work  in  animation.  Following  the  comple¬ 
tion  of  the  animated  drawings  each  of  the 
12,000  was  colored  by  hand,  more  than  100  dif¬ 
ferent  colored  shades  being  utilized.  The  back¬ 
grounds  of  the  picture  were  painted  by  Louis 
Jambar,  well-known  artist  and  painter  of  murals. 

Musical  accompaniment  was  especially  writ¬ 
ten  by  Edwin  Ludig,  formerly  musical  director 
for  David  Belasco.  It  was  played  under 
Ludig’s  direction  by  a  large  orchestra  of  musi¬ 
cians,  chosen  largely  from  the  New  York  Phil¬ 
harmonic  Orchestra,  and  was  recorded  on  West¬ 
ern  Electric  Wide  Range  Sound  System. 

The  film  is  one  of  the  most  entertaining  sub¬ 
jects  recently  completed,  and  should  be  of  in¬ 
terest  to  the  entire  movie-going  public. 

There  is  no  advertising  in  the  picture  what¬ 
soever  and  a  complete  line  of  accessory  mate¬ 
rial  has  been  prepared,  which  is  available  along 
with  the  picture,  absolutely  free  of  charge,  from 
the  welfare  division  of  the  Metropolitan  Life 
Insurance  Company. 


Helping  Kiddies 

The  less  fortunate  among  Harrisburg  chil¬ 
dren  received  their  share  of  Thanksgiving  Day 
pleasure  through  the  kindness  of  Harrisburg 
theatre  managers. 

On  Thursday  morning  at  9  o’clock  all  under¬ 
privileged  children  of  the  city  and  vicinity  were 
admitted  to  all  downtown  theatres  in  Harris¬ 
burg  for  an  admission  price  of  four  potatoes. 

Approximately  300  orphans  from  Sylvan 
Heights  and  the  Children’s  Industrial  Homes, 
Harrisburg,  Jednota,  Middletown  and  Shire- 
manstown  were  the  guests  at  a  Thanksgiving 
party  given  at  Loew’s  Regent  Theatre,  Harris¬ 
burg,  by  manager  Samuel  Gilman  at  showing  of 
“Kid  Millions.”  Each  child  received  ice  cream 
and  candy. 


Narbeth  Junior  Guild 

Narberth  Theatre,  Narberth,  has  started  a 
Junior  Theatre  Guild  which  presents  a  Variety 
program  Saturday  mornings  as  well  as  other 
novelties.  Shorts  and  other  oddities  and  nov¬ 
elties  are  used  to  attract  the  children. 

The  idea  has  attracted  a  lot  of  attention. 


“Little  Minister” 

Radio  is  getting  behind  “The  Little  Minis¬ 
ter”  with  a  letter  campaign  to  heads  of  better 
film  committees,  high  school  principals,  minis¬ 
ters,  clergymen,  school  superintendents,  Catholic 
schools,  colleges,  private  schools  etc 

Fan  magazine  campaigns  will  also  help. 


Chester  Laugh 

Stanley  Theatre,  Chester,  sends  in  a 
good  one.  Seems  a  patron  got  so  in¬ 
censed  at  a  character  in  a  picture  she 
started  hissing.  House  got  a  laugh  out 
of  it  and  trick  broke  the  first  page  of 
the  daily. 

It  wasn’t  a  plant,  either.  Tommy 
Mangan  manages. 

Finney  Sets  Campaign 
on  “Girl  of  Limberlost” 

Ed  Finney,  Monogram  advertising  and 
publicity  manager,  hopped  into  town  last 
week  to  aid  Harold  Freeman  in  selling 
“Girl  of  the  Limberlost”  at  the  Locust 
Street  Theatre. 

Ed  got  some  radio  tie-ups,  a  hook-up  with 
Gimbel’s  whereby  dresses  worn  by  Marian 
Marsh  were  plugged  in  the  cinema  shop,  plugged 
women’s  club  tie-ups  and  wound  up  by  having 
40,000  circulars  distributed  at  the  Temple- 
Villanova  game. 

Putting  in  two  days,  here,  with  the  aid  of 
the  Locust  Street  Theatre  staff,  he  made  the 
town  “Limberlost”  conscious. 

Harrisburg  Guests 

Manager  Jack  O'Rear,  Majestic  Theatre, 
Harrisburg,  was  host  to  200  student  nurses 
from  the  Harrisburg,  Polyclinic  and  Keystone 
Hospitals  at  a  pre-showing  of  “The  White 
Parade.” 

Capt.  Wilson  C.  Price,  superintendent,  State 
Highway  Patrol,  Mayor  George  A.  Hoverter, 
Chief  of  Police  George  J.  Shoemaker  and  a 
number  of  other  traffic  officials  and  authorities 
also  were  the  guests  of  manager  O’Rear  at 
pre-showing  of  “The  White  Parade”  for  the 
purpose  of  obtaining  from  them  comments  on  a 
special  production  dealing  with  traffic  accidents 
and  violations. 

“Night  Alarm” 

Wilmington 

Morton  Levine,  manager,  Opera  House, 
Wilmington,  secured  a  discarded  fire  truck  for 
street  ballyhoo  for  “Night  Alarm,”  with  em¬ 
ployes  on  it  dressed  up  in  firemen’s  uniforms. 
He  also  sniped  fire  hydrants  and  telephone 
boxes  with  stickers  saying  “In  Case  of  Fire 
see  ‘Night  Alarm’  at  the  Grand  Opera  House.” 

Wilmington  Xmas  Party 

Following  the  success  of  the  Young  Timers’ 
Hallowe’en  party  at  the  Avenue  Theatre,  Wil¬ 
mington,  Ben  Schindler,  manager,  and  assist¬ 
ant,  G.  Park  Weaver,  have  begun  to  make 
plans  for  a  big  Christmas  party.  Party  will 
be  held  the  Monday  before  Christmas.  There 
will  be  a  tree ;  maybe  a  Santa  Claus ;  treats  for 
the  kiddies  and  etc.  Another  feature  that  the 
Young  Timers  are  working  out  is  a  “toy  moun¬ 
tain.”  One  spot  in  the  theatre  is  designated  for 
cast-off  toys  to  be  piled.  They  will  be  turned 
over  to  the  firemen  for  renovation  and  distri¬ 
bution. 


“We  Live  Again” 

Reading 

For  “We  Live  Again”  at  Loew’s  Reading, 
manager  Robert  Suits  put  over  an  effective 
exploitation  campaign. 

Newspaper  publicity,  radio  plugs,  merchant 
tie-ups  and  numerous  window  displays  were 
among  the  highlights  of  the  campaign.  A  few 
days  before  the  opening  local  papers  played  up 
the  engagement  with  stories  and  photos  of  both 
Sten  and  March.  Two  broadcasts,  giving  the 
picture,  playdate  and  theatre  full  credit,  were 
arranged  over  stations  WEEU  and  WRAW. 

Suits  tied-up  with  his  local  bakery  and  got 
out  500  22x28  cards  reading :  “Everyone  is  say¬ 
ing  ‘We  Live  Again’  since  they  changed  to 
Mairs  Kee-Bee  Bread  and  will  enjoy  seeing 
‘We  Live  Again’  with  Anna  Sten  and  Fredric 
March  at  Loew’s  Theatre.”  Co-operative  ads 
were  secured  on  the  Russian  angle  in  coats  and 
dress  with  Croll  and  Keck  store.  Both  Kresge 
and  Grant  stores  arranged  counter  displays  on 
music  tying  up  the  old-time  songs  with  “We 
Live  Again.” 


Wilmington  Toys 

Every  theatre  in  Wilmington,  including  both 
chains  and  independents,  are  in  the  Christmas 
toy  hook  up  with  The  J ournal-Every  Evening, 
endorsed  by  Mayor  Speer.  Program  was  due 
to  start  November  30  and  continue  until  De¬ 
cember  20.  Each  theatre  manager  was  allowed 
to  choose  his  own  plan  for  collection  of  toys. 
Some  of  the  theatres  were  to  have  designated 
days  when  a  discarded  toy  would  be  worth  the 
price  of  admission.  The  toys  were  to  be  col¬ 
lected,  turned  over  to  the  firemen  for  repairs, 
renovations  and  repainting,  and  distributed  to 
children  of  the  poor  through  the  family  society. 


“Pursuit  of  Happiness” 

Reading 

To  boost  “Pursuit  of  Happiness,”  with  its 
“bundling”  theme,  Manager  Paul  E.  Glase, 
Reading  Embassy,  Wilmer  &  Vincent  theatre, 
used  a  display  window  of  a  large  furniture  store 
opposite  the  theatre. 

A  modern  bed  fitted  with  a  centerboard,  of 
the  kind  supposedly  used  in  the  days  when 
bundling  was  an  accepted  social  custom,  is 
shown  in  the  window,  with  plenty  of  advertis¬ 
ing  matter  calling  attention  to  the  Embassy 
attraction. 


“Kid  Millions” 

United  Artists  is  sending  out  booklets  on  the 
New  York  campaign  to  all  of  “Kid  Millions” 
first  run  accounts.  Service  is  also  available  at 
exchanges. 

Exhibitors  seeking  further  information  on 
this  “Kid  Millions”  sendoff  are  urged  to  con¬ 
tact  exchanges. 


“Hell  in  the  Heavens” 

Harrisburg 

Harrisburgers  witnessed  an  unusual  spec¬ 
tacle  on  the  night  of  November  16  when  an  air¬ 
plane  appeared  suddenly  in  the  sky  above  the 
city  with  guns  booming  from  its  cockpit  and 
balls  of  fire  bursting  from  it. 

Those  who  had  read  Harrisburg  newspapers 
that  day  knew  the  plane  had  been  engaged  by 
Harry  Lambert,  manager,  Colonial  Theatre, 
Harrisburg,  to  herald  the  opening  at  the  Col¬ 
onial,  “Hell  in  the  Heavens.” 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Dec  1 1 34 


21 


“Tailspin  Tommy” 

Harrisburg 

For  “Death  Flies  the  Mail,’’  first  episode  of 
the  “Tailspin  Tommy”  serial,  which  opened  No¬ 
vember  23  at  the  Victoria  1  heatre,  Harris¬ 
burg,  manager  Jerry  Wollaston  arranged  a  con¬ 
test  tie-up  with  the  Harrisburg  Telegraph, 
evening  daily  newspaper  in  which  Tailspin 
Tommy  comics  appear  every  Saturday. 

On  the  sporting  page  of  the  newspaper  open¬ 
ing  of  the  serial  picture  contests  were  an¬ 
nounced.  Boys  and  girls  were  instructed  to  buy 
or  build  their  own  planes  and  practice  making 
records  for  height  and  distance.  To  guide  them 
in  the  construction  of  their  plane,  an  exhibit 
of  the  latest  designs  was  placed  on  display  at 
Murphy’s  Department  Store,  where  the  open¬ 
ing  of  the  serial  picture  was  appropriately  ad¬ 
vertised  with  banners  and  cards.  Guests  of 
manager  Wollaston  at  the  first  episode  on 
Saturday  morning,  newsboys  employed  by  the 
Harrisburg  Telegraph  wearing  Tailspin  Tommy- 
hats  and  armed  with  signs  and  banners  stating 
“We’re  on  our  way  to  see  Tailspin  Tommy  at 
the  Victoria,"  paraded  behind  a  sound  truck. 

Victoria  Theatre  Junior  Club,  membership  of 
which  now  exceeds  1800,  turned  out  nearly  100 
per  cent  for  the  first  episode.  A  pair  of 
Harold  Lloyd  glasses  were  presented  to  the 
first  500  members  to  enter  the  theatre. 


“We  Live  Again” 

Harrisburg 

A  feature  of  an  excellent  publicity  campaign 
put  on  by  manager  Sam  Gilman  and  his  assist¬ 
ant,  Bob  Etchberger,  Loew's  Regent  Theatre, 
Harrisburg,  for  “We  Live  Again,”  was  a  tie- 
up  with  Liberty  Magazine. 

Liberty  cover  cards  containing  announce¬ 
ment  of  showing  of  picture  were  placed  in  3000 
Liberty  magazines  sold  in  Harrisburg  and 
vicinity.  The  Liberty  cover  cards  were  dis¬ 
tributed  to  all  magazine  dealers  and  tied  to 
posts  on  street  corners  where  newsboys  sold 
Liberty  s. 

Three  trucks  operated  by  the  Harrisburg 
News  Agency  were  bannered  with  appropriate 
picture  copy  which  they  carried  throughout  the 
city  and  neighboring  towns.  Despite  the  theme 
of  the  picture,  Liberty  magazine  boys  insisted 
upon  seeing  it.  so  they  were  marched  through 
the  streets  from  the  headquarters  of  the  news 
agency  to  the  theatre  carrying  banners  with 
picture  copy. 

“Red  Rider” 

Wilmington 

“Morty”  Levine,  manager,  Opera  House, 
ballyhooing  his  new  serial  "Red  Rider,”  for 
Saturday  kiddies'  shows,  has  a  man  dressed  up 
like  a  cowboy  on  horseback  to  visit  school- 
yards  to  distribute  5,000  heralds.  Theatre  man¬ 
agers  are  not  allowed  to  circularize  schoolyards 
but  the  “cowboy”  on  horseback  in  the  street 
brings  the  “schoolyard"  to  the  circulars. 


years’  experience— 
behind  every  register 


For  50  years  General  Register  Corpo¬ 
ration  and  associated  companies  have 
been  designing  and  building  cash  con¬ 
trol  equipment-for  the  theatre,  carrying 
an  unqualified  two  year  guarantee  on 
all  registers. 

Representation  in  all  key  cities. 


GENERAL  REGISTER 
CORPORATION 

1540  Broadway,  New  York 


“Now  and  Forever” 

Philadelphia 

Berny  Seaman,  manager,  Ogontz  Theatre, 
arranged  with  a  neighborhood  photographer  and 
a  local  weekly  to  have  pictures  of  Shirley 
Temple  types  taken  in  the  mezzanine  of  the 
theatre.  All  mothers  who  wanted  to  could  have 
their  darlings’  photos  taken  free,  with  Seaman 
promising  to  send  prints  out  to  the  coast. 

Idea  clicked. 

Free  photos  of  Shirley  were  also  given  out. 


S-W  Phone  Service 

Telephone  service  of  all  of  the  S-W  The¬ 
atres  for  patrons  is  becoming  popular.  Printed 
blanks  are  placed  in  the  lobby  of  each  theatre 
for  names  of  patrons  and  telephone  numbers. 
The  patron  checks  the  day  and  hour,  he  or  she 
wants  the  theatre  management  to  phone  details 
of  the  program. 


Wilmington  Loew  Band 

Manager  D.  C.  Drissel,  Loew’s  Parkway, 
Wilmington,  in  line  with  managers  of  other 
Loew  theatres,  is  organizing  a  band,  which  is 
to  be  an  innovation  in  theatre  ballyhoo  in  the 
city.  He  has  sound  call  for  from  75  to  100 
boys  to  bring  their  instruments  to  the  theatre 
for  organization  and  training  under  Capt.  J.  B. 
McKenzie,  who  is  going  about  the  country 
doing  such  work  for  Loew’s. 


Teachers  “Gables”  Manual 

A  special  teacher’s  manual  on  “Anne  of 
Green  Gables”  is  available  for  all  accounts.  It 
has  been,  prepared  so  that  it  can  be  used  in  an 
educational  manner  as  well  as  bring  out  the 
possibilities  for  plugging  the  picture. 

Contact  the  exchange. 


Save  yourself  from 

worrying  ABOUT  PRINTING 

p 


D 


’ON'T  be  like  the  exhibitor 
above.  He  doesn’t  know  that 
placing  his  printing  contract  with 
National  Penn  Printing  Company 
will  save  him  a  lot  of  thinking  as 
well  as  a  lot  of  worries.  Printing 
is  more  than  a  mechanical  process. 
It  involves  a  lot  of  catering  to  the 
particular  needs  of  the  client.  Be¬ 
cause  National  Penn  Printing 
Company  has  done  this  success¬ 
fully  for  many  years  it  can  right¬ 
fully  boast  of  being  the  industry’s 
leader  in  that  field. 

National  Penn 
Printing  Co. 

1233  VINE  STREET 
PHILADELPHIA 


RINTING  programs,  heralds, 
etc.,  is  only  part  of  the  battle. 
Rental  of  posters  and  paper,  etc., 
is  another  division  which  is  highly 
important  to  the  exhibitor.  Here, 
National  Kline  Poster  Company  is 
without  a  peer.  Not  only  effect¬ 
ing  economies  for  exhibitors  but 
providing  them  with  an  efficient, 
quick  means  whereby  they  can 
obtain  all  necessary  paper,  Na¬ 
tional  Kline  Poster  Company  has 
grown  because  exhibitors  need  it. 
Long  lists  of  satisfied  customers 
testify  to  this. 

National  Kline 
Poster  Co. 

1307  VINE  STREET 
PHILADELPHIA 


OSCAR  LIBROS 


AL  BLOFSON 


SIMON  LIBROS 


22 


Dec  1 ' 34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


THE  CODE  •  CASES  •  HEARINGS  •  RULINGS 


HEARINGS 
GRIEVANCE 
November  22 


GENERAL  RELEASE  DATES 
RADIO 


Jack  Ungerfeld,  Palmerton,  vs.  Chester 
La  Barre,  Palmerton,  on  charge  of 
evasion  of  admission  clause  in  code. 

Decision 

From  the  evidence  submitted,  the  case  is  dis¬ 
missed. 

ZONING 
November  16 

Colonial  Amusement  Company,  Hamil¬ 
ton  Theatre,  vs.  Stanley-Warner,  Quaker 
Theatre,  on  unfair  clearance  charge. 

Decision: 

Protest  was  dismissed. 

Colonial  Amusement  Company,  Over¬ 
brook  Theatre,  vs.  Stanley-Warner,  on 
unfair  clearance  charge. 


IEPA  Bucks  Local  Zoning 
Boards;  Calls  Conference 

Refused  by  Rosenblatt,  It  Still 

Goes  Ahead 

Refused  when  it  threw  charges  of  un¬ 
fairness  on  the  part  of  the  local  zoning 
board  before  Division  Administrator  Sol 
A.  Rosenblatt  and  asked  for  a  new  set-up 
on  the  board,  the  Independent  Exhibitors 
Protective  Association  is  going  ahead  any¬ 
way. 

In  a  letter  sent  to  all  independent  exhibitors, 
claiming  that  the  independent  exhibitor  has  had 
no  voice  in  arrangement  of  clearance  and  zon¬ 
ing  set-ups,  being  compelled  to  accept  such 
clearance  whether  satisfactory  or  not  to  him, 
the  IEPA  goes  on  record  as  opposed  to  any 
set-up  in  which  it  has  no  voice. 

A  meeting  was  called  for  November  27,  at 
which  time  all  indes  were  asked  to  bring  a  set¬ 
up  of  what  they  would  like  to  see  in  the  nature 
of  the  perfect  zoning  set-up. 

The  bulletin  also  states  that  this  complete 
schedule  will  be  submitted  to  the  Code  Author¬ 
ity  as  satisfactory  to  the  independent  exhibitor. 

The  meeting  notice  took  the  trade  by  sur¬ 
prise  especially  since  Rosenblatt  turned  down 
the  IEPA  protest  only  recently.  With  the  ex¬ 
hibitor  faction  generally  satisfied  with  the 
manner  in  which  the  zoning  board  has  been 
handling  all  matters,  what  effect  the  IEPA 
move  will  have  is  problematical. 

At  the  meeting  held  this  week  25  independent 
exhibitors  turned  out  for  the  session.  There 
were  few  out  of  towners  at  the  meeting,  which 
resulted  in  a  committee,  Messrs.  Rosinsky, 
Hexter  and  Fried,  as  well  as  advisory  commit¬ 
tee,  Messrs.  O'Rourke  and  Starkman,  being 
appointed. 

Dave  Barrist  conducted  the  session  and  it  is 
reported  that  no  serious  complaints  were  re¬ 
corded.  Most  of  the  members  were  from  the 
IEPA. 


Woman  in  the  Dark,  November  24. 
WARNERS 

Flirtation  Walk,  November  29. 

PARAMOUNT 

College  Rhythm,  November  23-29. 


Decision: 

Board  finds  that  Wynne  and  Overbrook  are 
not  competitive.  This  decision  shall  not  per¬ 
mit  the  Overbrook  Theatre  to  play  ahead  of  the 
Apollo  Theatre  where  the  Apollo  and  Over¬ 
brook  availabilities  are  the  same. 

SCHEDULE 
CLEARANCE 
December  7 

Embassy  Theatre,  Jenkintown,  vs. 

Yorktown  Theatre  (SW)  and  Glenside 

Theatre,  on  excessive  clearance  charge. 


Columbia  Net  Announced 

Columbia  announces  that  its  net  profits  for 
the  quarter  ended  September  29,  1934,  are  $235,- 
712.19,  which,  after  all  charges  and  provisions 
for  federal  income  tax,  is  equal  to  approxi¬ 
mately  $1.29  per  share  on  172,073  shares  com¬ 
mon  stock  outstanding  after  deducting  preferred 
dividend,  which  compares  with  $241,778.63,  or 
$1.36  for  the  corresponding  period  last  year  on 
167.885  shares  outstanding. 


Main  Line  Battle 


Battle  of  the  Main  Line  broke  a  fort¬ 
night  ago  when  four  houses,  Egyptian, 
Bala-Cynwyd;  Narberth,  Narberth;  and 
the  Harry  Freed  Bryn  Mawr  and  Wayne 
possessions  combined  to  take  space  in 
a  daily  paper  of  that  district  to  protest 
against  late  clearance  of  pictures. 

The  newspaper  broadside  was  fol¬ 
lowed  by  a  luncheon  of  Main  Line  ex¬ 
hibitors  and  clubwomen  of  that  section, 
with  an  address  by  David  Barrist,  local 
exhibitor.  Joseph  Conway  also  spoke. 

Barrist  called  for  support  for  the  truly 
independent  theatre  and  charged  that 
the  independent  theatre  becomes  a 
stronger  part  of  the  community  than  a 
circuit  house. 

Leonard  Schlesinger,  zone  manager, 
Stanley-Warner,  issued  a  statement  an¬ 
swering  charges  of  unfair  practice.  He 
pointed  out  that  the  Ardmore  Theatre 
was  built  and  operated  long  before  pro¬ 
testing  houses  were  in  existence  and  that 
present  policy  was  unchanged  for  five 
years.  He  also  said  company  had  a 
record  of  fair  practice  second  to  none. 

Schlesinger  also  declared  that  two  of 
the  Main  Line  houses  had  been  offered 
to  them  a  year  ago  and  a  deal  was  re¬ 
fused.  Six  months  ago,  he  declared, 
offer  was  renewed  and  turned  down 
again.  He  ended  by  saying  company  was 
not  interested  at  any  time  or  future  in 
the  purchase  of  houses  in  question. 


Decision  May  Effect  Price 


While  discussing  one  of  the  local  code 
board  cases,  the  following  point  arose 
during  the  conversation: 

If  an  exhibitor  is  granted  an 
earlier  run,  through  a  zoning  de¬ 
cision,  thus  changing  the  contract, 
is  an  exchange  entitled  to  more 
money  because  the  exhibitor  gets 
the  picture  earlier? 

The  exchange  angle  was  to  the  effect 
that  an  earlier  run  is  more  valuable. 

If  a  contract  charge  is  ordered  by  the 
board  as  regards  price,  certainly  the 
exchange  would  demand  more  money 
because  the  exhibitor  picks  up  the  show 
earlier. 

The  point  is  one  which  is  quite  a 
subject  of  debate. 

Exhibitors  Hop  to  Code 
Authority  Premium  Hearing 

Jersey  Theatremen  Want 
Change  in  Vote 

Jersey  theatremen  hopped  over  to  New 
York  this  week  to  register  protest  against 
the  recent  vote  on  premiums  in  the  mid- 
Jersev  sector. 

Basil  2^e>igler,  code  board  secretary,  and 
David  Barrist,  exhibitor  and  premium  distribu¬ 
tor,  were  also  present,  with  the  Jersey  exhibs 
leading  the  hearing  protest. 

The  Jersey  exhibs  claimed  that  certain  houses 
included  as  independent  were  affilated,  that 
some  were  closed  at  the  time  and  that  the  pre¬ 
mium  vote  should  apply  to  the  entire  territory, 
not  one  particular  zone.  They  also  claimed 
right  to  change  their  votes  after  once  recorded. 

In  Kansas  City,  recently,  the  grievance  board 
allowed  six  local  exhibitors  to  withdraw  their 
names  from  a  petition  favoring  abolition  of 
premiums.  A  previous  decision  had  ruled 
premiums  banned  but  when  the  exhibs 
changed  their  minds,  the  board  reversed  its 
stand. 

Nationally,  there  are  very  few  sections  which 
have  voted  against  premiums. 


Estate  Hearing  Up 

At  the  hearing  held  in  City  Hall  before  Spe¬ 
cial  Masters  John  Blessing,  Jr.  and  Donald 
Hamilton,  appointed  by  the  respective  Orphans’ 
Courts  of  Philadelphia  County  and  Delaware 
County,  Lionel  Friedmann,  real  estate  broker, 
disclosed  that  the  offer  of  Warner  Brothers 
for  the  four  theatres  in  the  estate  of  William 
Freihofer  and  Fred  G.  Nixon-Nirdlinger,  de¬ 
ceased,  was  $1,645,000,  $240,000  in  cash  and 
balance  on  mortgages.  Friedman  testified  that 
Warners  had  placed  a  $25,000  cash  deposit  as 
earnest  money,  with  understanding  that  War¬ 
ners  assume  no  further  liability  in  the  event  of 
the  deal  not  being  closed.  Hearing  continued 
this  week.  Final  settlement  date  is  believed 
in  February. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Dec  1’  34 


23 


Forum  Luncheon  Attended 
by  Exchangemen,  Exhibs 

Film  Men  Guests  of  Clubwomen 
This  Time 


Film  men,  exchange  and  exhibitors, 
were  guests  of  Philadelphia  clubwomen, 
November  26,  when  the  Philadelphia 
Motion  Picture  Forum  at  the  Warwick 
Hotel. 

Guests  of  honor  were  Roxy,  Mrs.  Bertha 
Gunczy,  National  Board  of  Review,  and  others. 


SERVING  theatre  needs  with 
a  knowledge  of  theatre 
business. 

SSISTING  theatre  owners  with 
MjL  a  staff  of  trained  clerks  and 
f  %  office  files.  No  missouts. 

FREEING  theatre  owners  of  the 
worry  that  they  may  have 
forgotten  part  of  their  show. 

EFFICIENTLY  operating  the  larg¬ 
est  film  delivery  service  in 
the  world. 

Taking  care  of  every 

possible  need  in  the  delivery 
of  film. 

Yielding  the  epitome  of 

safety,  service  and  effici¬ 
ency  at  a  minimum  cost. 

HORLACHER 

DELIVERY  SERVICE,  Inc. 

1228  Vine  Street,  Philadelphia 
NEW  YORK 
SCRANTON 
BALTIMORE 
WASHINGTON 

MEMBER  NATIONAL  FILM  CARRIERS,  INC. 


Another  Horlacher  Service 

LARRY  DAILY,  Notary  Public 

The  only  one  on  Vine  Street  .  .  At 
your  service  any  time  during 
business  hours. 


Seated  on  the  dais  were  Jack  Greenberg,  Earle 
Sweigert,  Bob  Lynch,  Frank  McNamee,  Larry 
Mackey,  Leonard  Schlesinger,  Roxy,  Frank 
Buhler,  Jay  Emanuel,  Sam  Gross,  Bill  Mansell, 
and  others.  Mrs.  Fritz  and  Mrs.  Owens,  active 
in  the  movement,  were  prominent,  with  Mrs. 
Owens  toastmistress  for  the  day. 

About  200  women  turned  out  for  the  affair, 
with  the  general  opinion  one  of  complete  co¬ 
operation. 

Roxy  said  he  was  tired  of  New  York,  had 
turned  to  Philadelphia  to  sell  a  homey  kind  of 
theatre,  and  asked  for  aid  from  Philadelphians. 
Leonard  Schlesinger  expressed  every  co-opera¬ 
tion  for  the  clubwomen.  Mrs.  Gunczy  spoke 
on  movies,  in  general. 

Mrs.  W.  Wallace  Fritz  and  Mrs.  Charles  T. 
Owens  were  co-chairmen  of  the  forum,  with 
Mrs.  C.  M.  Strafford  chairman  of  the  luncheon. 

The  general  public  was  invited,  with  the 
women  guests  of  Warner  Brothers  at  a  special 
motion  picture  matinee. 

Rothenberger  Up 

Preparatory  to  expanding  the  company’s  ac¬ 
tivities  in  the  sound  re-enforcement,  centralized 
radio  and  multiple  antenna  systems  field,  G.  K. 
Throckmorton,  executive  vice-president,  RCA 
Victor  Company,  announced  the  appointment  of 
W.  L.  Rothenberger  as  manager,  Centralized 
sound  department. 

Rothenberger,  who  has  been  identified  with 
the  communications  and  house  entertainment 
phases  of  radio  for  the  past  14  years,  was  form¬ 
erly  the  Atlanta,  Ga.,  district  sales  manager 
of  the  centralized  sound  department.  Plans 
are  being  formulated  for  developing  the  sales 
potentialities  in  many  fields  where  centralized 
sound  products  are  finding  increasingly  wider 
application. 


NRA  Upholds  Master 

A1  Williams,  secretary  of  the  projec¬ 
tionists  local,  Wilmington,  is  authority 
for  the  report  that  Deputy  Administra¬ 
tor  Sol  A.  Rosenblatt,  NRA,  has  upheld 
the  master’s  findings  in  the  New  Rialto 
Theatre  cases  and  has  ordered  the  man¬ 
agement  of  that  theatre  to  make  salary 
adjustments  in  accordance  with  wage 
agreements  between  local  theatres  and 
the  American  Federation  of  Labor 
under  the  code. 


Booking  Theatres 
Everywhere 

Honest  ::  Reliable 
Conscientious 
Service 

EDWARDSHERMAN 

VAUDEVILLE  AGENCY 

Real  Estate  Trust  Bldg. 
PniL.ADEL.PniA 

Pennypacker  7595 

MAYFAIR  THEATRE  BLDG.,  NEW  YORK 
BR.  9-1905 


Ferretti  Moves  Up 

Carrier  Engineering  Corporation  has  ap¬ 
pointed  J.  J.  Ferretti,  air  conditioning  engineer, 
assistant  to  A.  C.  Buensed,  executive  in  charge 
of  the  company’s  theatre  division.  The  appoint¬ 
ment  of  Ferretti  follows  the  company’s  an¬ 
nouncement  of  a  new  air  conditioning  system 
especially  designed  for  the  smaller  theatres. 

Ferretti  for  many  years  was  associated  with 
Kooler-Aire  and  Arctic  Nu-Air  Company,  of 
Minneapolis,  and  is  well  known  in  theatre 
circles. 


Welfare  Help 

Local  theatres  lent  support  to  the  annual 
Welfare  Drive  in  the  form  of  trailers  and  gen¬ 
eral  contributions. 

Drive  is  still  on. 


With 

CANDY 

HANDY 

“The  Show’s  a  Wow!” 


Keep  America' s  Best" 

CANDY 

HANDY 

thru  a  Berio  Candy  Vendor 

Your  Patrons  will  appreciate  this 
added  Service 


Your  Account  will  welcome  this 
added  Revenue 


Berio  Installations  Made  in 
Finishes  to  Harmonize  with 
Your  Interior 

BERLO 

VENDING 

COMPANY 

1518  N.  Broad  St.,  Phila. 
POPLAR  6011 

Specializing  in  Candy 
Vending  Equipment 
(or  the  Theatre  Trade! 

NEW  YORK  BALTIMORE 

SCRANTON  WASHINGTON 

ALLENTOWN  CLEVELAND 
PITTSBURGH  CINCINNATI 


24 


Dec  1  *34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


An 

Important 
Statement 

Scenting  the  demand 
by  theatres  using 
premiums  of  a  deal, 
consisting  mainly  of 
high  class  large  flash 
pieces,  QUALITY 
PREMIUM  DIS¬ 
TRIBUTORS  have 
closed  an  exclusive 
contract  with  the 
largest  factory  of  its 
kind  in  the  world,  for 
the  MOST  COLOS¬ 
SAL  PREMIUM 
DEAL  EVER  PRE¬ 
SENTED;  one  that 
will  REVOLUTION¬ 
IZE  premium  giving 
in  theatres  from  coast 
to  coast! 

A  sample  set  is  now 
on  display  at  our 
office,  and  owing  to 
the  demand  that  this 
premium  will  create, 
we  reserve  the  right 
to  give  our  regular 
accounts  first  option 
to  purchase  it. 


WILKES-BARRE 


Reseating  of  the  Capitol  was  completed  dur¬ 
ing  the  week.  American  Seating  Com¬ 
pany  of  New  York  was  in  charge. 

John  Galvin  handed  a  dozen  turkeys  over 
the  footlights  Tuesday  night  as  part  of  the 
annual  Thanksgiving  program  at  the  Penn. 

Fred  Hermann  provides  a  gala  mid-night 
show  Thanksgiving  eve  at  the  Capitol. 

John  Comerford  returned  to  the  full  week 
schedule  with  the  showing  of  "Mrs.  Wiggs 
of  the  Cabbage  Patch." 

Kingston  ran  a  Thanksgiving  eve  show. 

Premium  Night  was  observed  Wednesday  at 
the  Luzerne.  Glassware  was  given  away. 

Rex,  Nanticoke,  gave  away  eight  turkeys. 

Roosevelt,  Swoyerville,  is  featuring  Ladies’ 
Gift  Night. 

Stanley,  Larksville,  gave  away  dinner  sets 
Tuesday  and  Wednesday  night. 

Thomas  Dunne,  Avoca’s  first  movie  house, 
died  in  Washington,  last  week. 

Fred  Hermann  was  in  charge  of  the  theatre 
division  of  the  Community  Welfare  Fed¬ 
eration  drive.  He  was  assisted  by  Paul 
Burke,  Joseph  Mossbacker  and  E.  N.  Jacob¬ 
son  in  the  capacity  of  captains. 

A1  Cox  offered  a  song  and  dance  revue  on 
the  stage  last  week  as  an  added  attraction. 

Strand  was  menaced  by  fire  last  week  when 
damage,  estimated  at  $1,000,  was  done  to 
the  Campbell  building  in  which  it  is 
located. 


HAZLETON 


Grand  Theatre,  Hazleton,  Chris  Weber,  man¬ 
ager,  ran  a  special  matinee  with  the  Girl 
Scouts.  Admission  was  a  can  of  food. 
1  I  00  special  articles  of  canned  food  were 
received  and  turned  over  to  the  Commun¬ 
ity  Chest.  Eddie  Krapf  is  assistant. 

Chris  Weber  also  aided  the  Chest  drive  with 
a  special  trailer.  Incidentally,  he  is  presi¬ 
dent  of  the  Middle  Coal  Building  and  Loan 
Association,  in  existence  for  over  45 
years  and  very  successful. 

Harry  Weiner,  Columbia  exchange  chief,  was 
a  visitor  in  town. 

H.  A.  Hersker,  Jr.,  is  managing  his  dad's 
Family  Theatre,  oldest  in  town. 

Charlie  Woodin,  manager,  Mauch  Chunk 
Capitol,  has  been  ill  in  the  hospital. 

Herb  Baylson  was  a  visitor  in  town. 

Capitol  Theatre,  George  Nevins,  manager, 
and  Henry  Steibing,  assistant,  plugged 
"Gay  Divorcee”  by  broadcasting  song 
hits  over  local  station.  Ann  Goren,  the¬ 
atre  organist,  aided.  For  “Count  of 
Monte  Cristo,”  he  got  the  endorsement  of 
the  Hazleton  Better  Movie  Council  to  en¬ 
dorse  the  picture.  It  had  a  good  effect. 
Other  stunts  pulled  were  a  special  midnite 
show  for  “Flirtation  Walk,”  Thanksgiving 
eve,  a  special  show  for  crippled  children, 
personal  endorsements  for  “One  Night  of 
Love."  George  also  tipped  off  Paramount 
news  to  the  recent  murder  in  the  Kelayres 
section. 

George  Nevins  is  the  proud  father  of  a  baby 
girl,  Nancy  Ann,  the  second  lassie.  His 
wife  is  the  former  Edith  Capps,  vaudevil- 
lians. 

Nevins  and  Steibing  aided  the  local  Com¬ 
munity  Chest  drive. 

Feeley  Theatre,  Lou  Hartman,  manager,  and 
Henry  Rokosz,  assistant,  ran  a  special 
Hallowe’en  spook  show  with  "Case  of  the 
Howling  Dog.” 


READY 

REFERENCE 

EACH  COMPANY  LISTED  IS  AN 
AUTHORITY  IN  ITS  FIELD  AND 
IS  RELIABLE  AND  TRUSTWORTHY 


ACCOUNTANT  (Theatre  Spec.) 
Edwin  r.  Harris 

CERTIFIED  PUBLIC  ACCOUNTANT 

Denckla  Bldg.,  Philadelphia 

Specializing  in  Theatre  Bookkeeping.  Profit  and  Loss 
Statements  and  State  and  Federal  Tax  Returns 
_ for  more  than  19  years 

THE  SMALL  MONTHLY  SUM  WILL  SURPRISE  YOU 


AIR  CONDITIONING 


Ta,c 


COOLING 

VENTILATING 


itfPHOON 

CONDITIONING  CO 

_  BLOWERS -FANS 

Fair  washers 

252  West  26th  St.,  Nsw  Ysrk 


ARCHITECT 

THEATRE  DESIGN 

Remodeling  »  Building 

LATEST  COMPLETED 

NEW  BROADWAY  HOLLYWOOD 

Camden,  Atlantic  City 

New  Jersey  New  Jersey 

DAVID  SUPOWITZ 

REGISTERED 

ARCHITECT 

246  S.  15th  St.,  Phlla.,  Pa.  Pennypacker  2291 


BUSINESS  BROKER 


THEATRES  WANTED 

{Philadelphia,  Up-State,  New  Jersey  and  Delaware 

Cash  no  object  if  priced  right 

Our  Dealings  Are  Strictly  Confidential 

M.  H.  GOODIS,  Inc.,  1201  Chestnut  St. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 


DECORATIVE  GLASS 


We  specialize  in  GLASS  for  Theatres 

specify:  VARICOLITE 

See  the  new  mirror  booth  at  the 
IRIS  THEATRE,  Kensington  and  Allegheny 
Write  for  particulars  and  samples 

M.  KRAKOVITZ  AND  SONS,  CO. 

4TH  AND  MORRIS  STREETS,  PHILA. 
Dewey  8600  Main  2301 


DRAPERIES 


The  Larger  and  Greater — 

NOVELTY  SCENIC  STUDIOS 

- INC. - 

INTERIOR  DECORATIONS  :  DRAPERIES 

SCENERY  :  ACCOUSTICAL  TREATMENTS  !  RIGGING 

611-625  W.  43rd  St.  New  York,  N.  Y. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Dec  1'34 


25 


Heard  In ' 


w 


ILMINGTON 

Balcony  Price 
Cut  Here 


Lew  Black,  manager,  Aldine,  has  decided  to 
hark  back  to  the  old  idea  of  a  cheaper  bal¬ 
cony  price.  He  will  charge  30  cents. 

E.  1.  Lewis,  new  manager,  Queen,  made  a 
2,000  mile  trip  in  four  days  to  St.  Louis, 
Mo.,  and  back,  to  bring  his  wife  and  two 
sons,  “Buddy,”  who  is  a  junior,  and  Bobby 
back  to  a  new  home. 

Miss  Pauline  Joyce,  box  office  girl.  Opera 
House,  who  made  “front  page”  by  stick¬ 
ing  to  her  job  during  a  fire  in  the  build¬ 
ing,  is  on  the  job  again. 

Dick  Hiltshire,  formerly  manager.  Queen, 
now  learning  the  funeral  business,  was 
looking  up  old  friends. 

“Morty”  Levine,  Opera  House,  is  getting  his 
downstairs  office  painted. 

James  Tambourri  projectionist.  Park,  is  just 
out  of  Delaware  Hospital  where  he  under¬ 
went  an  operation. 

Master  Arts  has  entered  into  a  contract  with 
the  Arcadia  to  furnish  lobby  art. 

A1  Williams,  projectionist.  Opera  House, 
went  rabbit  hunting  last  week  with  Alex 
Errickson,  another  projectionist. 

Joe  DeFiore,  manager.  Park,  was  planning  to 
open  at  noon  on  Thanksgiving  Day. 

Ben  Shindler,  manager.  Avenue  and  also 
operator  of  the  Roselyn,  West  Grove,  was 
preparing  to  give  the  employes  of  the 
two  theatres  their  annual  Thanksgiving 
dinner  treat. 

Milton  Montague,  usher,  Avenue,  who 
Shindler  found  at  the  Avenue,  will  be  one 
of  the  new  guests  at  the  “family”  dinner 
this  year. 

Dwight  VanMeter,  manager,  Aldine,  was 
planning  a  midnight  premier  of  "Flirta¬ 
tion  Walk”  Thanksgiving  eve,  with  kleig 
lights  outside,  probably  a  parade,  with 
band. 

Gorman  Walsh  and  Lonnie  Star,  WDEL,  are 
giving  Dwight  VanMeter  a  lot  of  co-opera¬ 
tion  in  tie-ups  these  days. 

Jack  Kelleher  and  A1  Wilson,  electricians, 
Aldine,  are  sporting  new  second-hand 
cars. 

William  Penn  Frank,  former  EXHIBITOR 
correspondent  and  “budding  columnist” 
has  added  the  Hollywood  "Times”  to  his 
correspondence  racket. 

D.  C.  Drissel,  manager,  Loew’s,  has  made 
Thursday  his  new  show  day  instead  of 
Friday. 

Defiance  and  the  White  Eagle  football  teams 
attendance  en  masse  at  Loew’s  theatre 
looked  like  “standing  room  only”  rush. 

Johnnie  Gibbs,  usher,  Savoy,  is  telling  the 
boys  he's  going  to  get  married. 

Lew  Black,  manager,  Aldine,  with  the  aid  of 
W.  R.  McClintock,  assistant,  has  certainly 
brightened  the  house  up  a  lot  with  paint. 

E.  1.  Lewis,  manager.  Queen,  has  a  son 
Buddy,  who  is  destined  to  follow  in  his 
dad’s  footsteps. 

Kiddies’  matinees  at  the  Queen  Saturdays 
with  opening  at  9.30  are  sweetened  a 
bit  with  a  bag  of  candy. 

Brocaded  paper  giving  the  effect  of  corru¬ 
gated  glass  used  so  effectively  by  man¬ 
ager  Lewis  in  the  Queen  for  columns  in 
the  lobby  brought  such  praise  that  the 
wall  lights  are  now  going  to  be  covered 
with  such  shades. 

Morton  Levine,  Opera  House,  was  giving 
thought  to  Chinese  lantern  costumes  for  a 
street  ballyhoo  for  “Chu  Chin  Chow.” 


Personnel  of  the  Aldine  Theatre,  Wilming¬ 
ton,  is  planning  a  pre-Christmas  party  to 
be  held  at  the  Village  Barn,  December  2. 
Assistant  manager  Edman  Devenney, 
George  Sapna  and  Stanley  Zabrowski  are 
arranging  the  affair. 

Warner  Bros.’  managers  found  the  local 
newsreel  film  so  popular  that  arrange¬ 
ment  has  been  made  for  the  assignment  of 
a  special  camera  man  all  of  the  time  to 
leading  events  of  the  Wilmington  area. 
Lew  S.  Black,  manager,  Arcadia,  receives 
suggestions  from  the  public,  and  at  once 
the  camera  man  is  on  the  job  if  the 
shots’  seem  worth  the  trouble. 

Mi  ss  Helen  Tindall,  box  office  girl,  Arcadia, 
is  the  proud  possessor  of  a  commendatory 
letter  from  Ellis  Shipman,  contact  man¬ 
ager,  as  a  result  of  her  alertness  in  detect¬ 
ing  a  counterfeit  $20  bill  and  nearly  cap¬ 
turing  the  man  who  tried  to  pass  it. 

E.  1.  Lewis,  new  manager.  Queen,  Wilming¬ 
ton,  is  bringing  east  from  St.  Louis  some 
very  practical  and  sensible  theatre  tactics. 
Heretofore  it  has  usually  been  a  set  policy 
at  this  house  to  maintain  a  certain  sched¬ 
ule.  Lewis  holds  that  not  every  picture 
second  run  will  stand  up  two  or  possibly 
three  days  in  such  a  large  house.  Another 
trick  he  is  working  is  selling  the  picture 
to  various  organized  groups  and  school 
classes. 

Wilmington  Warner  managers  lost  the  $20 
pool  staked  for  the  bowling  match  with 
the  Chester  managers,  but  they  are  not 
ashamed  of  their  defeat.  E.  I.  Lewis  had 
high  score  for  the  Wilmington  team,  with 
Lew  Black,  Dwight  VanMeter  and  “Morty” 
Levine  and  Tom  Mangan  was  high  man 
for  the  Chester  team,  including  Milton 
Fields,  “Pos”  Jones  and  Jack  Mulhall. 

Largest  motion  screen  ever  produced  in  the 
world  was  being  completed  and  prepared 
for  shipment  to  Radio  City  last  wee  k  by 
the  Ortho-Krome  Screen  Company,  Salis¬ 
bury,  Md.,  where  it  recently  moved  its 
New  York  plant.  Lee  W.  Insley,  Arcade 
Theatre,  Salisbury,  who  has  done  much 
towards  the  development  of  modern 
screens  is  the  president  of  the  concern. 


LEHIGH  VALLEY 


Nazareth  and  the  Broad  Street  Theatre  are 
having  a  showdown  on  the  legal  right  to 
hold  Sunday  benefit  movies.  Manager 
George  C.  Meeser,  despite  vigorous  oppo¬ 
sition  conducted  a  Sunday  benefit  show 
for  the  Unemployed  Citizens’  League, 
November  1 8,  and  beat  said  opposition  to 
the  punch  by  appearing  before  justice  of 
the  peace,  at  one  minute  after  twelve, 
Monday  morning,  voluntarily  paying  the 
stipulated  sum  of  $4.00  and  costs,  as  pro¬ 
vided  by  the  1  8th  century  law.  Unem¬ 
ployed  Citizens’  League  has  a  contract 
to  hold  similar  Sunday  benefit  perform¬ 
ances  for  the  next  six  months,  and  the 
second  showing  went  through  on  sched¬ 
ule,  November  25.  In  the  meantime  a 
formal  protest  was  filed  by  citizens  of  Naz¬ 
areth  with  the  district  attorney,  who  is  ad¬ 
mittedly  determined  to  stamp  out  viola¬ 
tions  of  the  Sunday  laws  “in  the  guise  of 
charity  performances.” 

Richard  (Dick)  Shamus  is  back  in  Bethle¬ 
hem  again,  this  time  as  manager  of  the 
Lehigh  Theatre. 

Dave  Murphy,  manager  W.  and  V.  Rialto, 
Allentown,  used  some  snappy  copy  for 
“Pursuit  of  Happiness,”  calling  “Bund¬ 
ling”  an  “Old  Lehigh  County  and  Penn¬ 
sylvania  custom.” 


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PREMIUMS 


26 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Dec  1'34 


YORK 


Lack  of  facilities  for  a  stage  show  didn't 
stop  “Bill”  Richley  from  presenting  one 
in  his  York  Theatre,  in  an  effort  to  detract 
from  the  attendance  at  the  Strand  stage 
show  programs.  Richley  has  no  scenery 
on  his  stage,  the  stage  is  small,  and  there 
are  no  dressing  rooms  for  the  actors. 

Sidney  Poppay  had  special  heralds  printed 
when  he  brought  back  "Count  of  Monte 
Cristo,”  for  a  three-day  run  during  the 
holiday  season. 

Bill  Richley  gave  the  local  amateur  stage 
production,  by  the  Junior  Service  League, 
considerable  space  on  his  screen  in  ad¬ 
vance  of  the  opening. 

All  the  York  theatres  co-operated  with  the 
York  Welfare  Federation  in  its  annual  cam¬ 
paign  for  charity  funds. 

Sidney  Poppay,  manager,  Rialto,  York,  took 
advantage  of  his  matinee  schedule  which 
closed  the  theatre  between  4.30  and  7 
o'clock,  to  stage  a  special  benefit  show, 
for  the  Salvation  Army  without  losing  his 
regular  show.  Admission  was  through  the 
contribution  of  a  can  or  a  pound  of  some 
kind  of  edibles,  which  in  turn  were  given 
to  the  Salvation  Army. 

Herb  Baylson  was  a  visitor  in  town.  Chatted 
with  Bill  Israel,  district  manager,  Stanley- 
Warner,  and  talked  about  things  in  gen¬ 
eral. 

Small  pennants,  designed  for  the  coat  lapels, 
in  red,  white  and  blue  were  distributed  to 
the  children  attending  the  four  York  War¬ 
ner  theatres,  prior  to  the  opening,  Thanks¬ 
giving  Day,  of  Flirtation  Walk”  at  the 
Capitol. 

Cleon  Miller,  Strand  manager,  is  getting 
himself  a  lot  of  advertising  on  the  weekly 
"Sales  Specials  bulletins.  Under  the  plan 
six  names  are  inserted  on  the  bulletins  and 
the  persons  named  get  their  passes  by 
calling  at  the  store. 

Abe  Halle,  Capitol,  put  on  an  extensive 
campaign  in  advance  of  the  opening  of 
"Flirtation  Walk,”  which  included  the  door 
to  door  circulation  of  10,000  tabloid  her¬ 
alds,  and  heavy  billing  throughout  the 
city. 

Members  of  the  York  local  operators  and 
stage  hands  union,  enjoyed  their  annual 
oyster  bake  on  Sunday,  November  25. 
Managers  were  the  guests  of  the  union 
men  at  the  affair. 


HARRISBURG 


Manager  Harry  Lambert,  Colonial,  Harris- 
bu  rg,  involved  in  a  tie-up  with  a  down¬ 
town  drug  store  in  a  voting  contest  in 
which  he  gives  away  every  week  twenty 
theatre  tickets. 

Creditable  demonstration  of  goat  riding  given 
Sam  Gilman,  manager,  Loew  s  Regent,  last 
week  when  initiated  into  the  Harrisburg 
Lodge  of  Elks. 

Bill  Manahan,  superintendent  of  Majestic, 
Harrisburg,  has  a  bet  on  with  manager 
Jack  O’Rear  that  One  Night  of  Love,” 
which  played  last  month  to  capacity 
crowds  at  the  Hershey  Theatre,  will  do 
just  as  well  when  it  comes  to  the  Majestic. 

Fcr  “Peck’s  Bad  Boy”  at  Victoria  manager 
Jerry  Wcllaston  pasted  two  3-sheets  on 
pavement,  one  at  each  end  of  marquee, 
protecting  them  from  tramping  feet  with 
repeated  applications  of  bronze  liquid. 

Bob  Etchberger,  assistant  to  Manager  Gil¬ 
man,  Loew  s  Regent,  Harrisburg,  reported 


POETRY 

Vine  Street  After  Dark 

When  the  sun  has  set  on  Philly, 

And  the  stars  just  dimly  peep 
O’er  the  roofs  of  Fox  and  Warner 
And  high-powered  salesmen  sleep, 

There  is  quiet  in  the  purlieus 
Where  the  Movies  have  their  mart. 

Where  the  keen  eyed  Abes  and  Jimmies 
From  the  sunken  doorsways  dart, 

As  they  grab  an  “exhib”  madly — 

Rave  of  serial  or  “short” 

Or  perchance  of  “mammoth”  feature 
Or  a  travel  reel  or  “sport.” 

Stilled,  the  usual  gibble-gabble 
And  the  lies,  both  great  and  small, 

That  resound  through  all  the  trading 
At  the  Vine  Street  “Wailing  Wall.” 

All  the  “EMPTY  O's”  and  “IEPAS” 

Flave  retired  to  their  rest, 

That  tomorrow  they  may  wrangle 
With  their  usual  pep  and  zest, 

While  the  canny  old  producers 
Listen  with  a  cunning  smile, 

And  just  make  the  rift  the  wider 
With  a  rich  and  unctuous  guile. 

And  the  ASCAP — and  the  churches — 
Politicians,  small  and  great, 

Figure  what  a  further  burden 
They  can  put  upon  your  “gate.” 

But  the  Night  has  put  its  mantle 
O’er  the  erstwhile  busy  Street, 

’Neath  which  alley  cats  and  watchmen 
Slither  by  on  silent  feet. 

When  with  screaming,  wild  and  strident, 

Is  the  Silence  madly  rent — 

’Tis  an  echo  of  the  daytime — 

“I  WILL  PAY  NO  SUCH  PERCENT"! 
_  F,  L, 

several  hundred  theatregoers  compli¬ 
mented  management  on  animated  front  for 
Kid  Millions.” 

Those  smiles  on  the  faces  of  Mrs.  Marybelle 
Zeiders  and  Miss  Thelma  Hilley,  cashiers, 
Loew's  Regent,  Harrisburg,  won’t  come  off 
since  their  chief  presented  them  with  snug 
winter  jackets. 

Girl  ushers  at  the  State  Theatre,  Harrisburg, 
were  replaced  by  manager  Frances  DeVer- 
tre  with  boy  ushers  at  the  suggestion  of 
Charles  Bierbauer,  directing  manager,  Wil- 
mer  and  Vincent  circuit. 


S  H  A  M  O  K  I  N 


C.  H.  Gaskins,  managing  the  Capitol,  had  a 
street  boy  in  costume  for  "Chu  Chin 
Chow,  Lobby  was  attractive,  too. 

J*  J*  Higgins,  managing  the  Majestic  with 
Spencer  Lockhart  assisting,  doing  a  good 
job. 

Herb  Effinger  is  managing  the  Victoria  with 
Clem  Rock  as  right  hand  man.  Herb  hops 
down  to  Philly  quite  often. 


j  NINETEEN  YEARS  AGO 

Over  1,500  employes  of  the  Philadelphia 
theatres  attended  the  theatrical  employes’ 
ball  in  Eagles’  Hall. 

Metropolitan  Booking  Office,  Harry  Bryan, 
manager,  moved  from  13  16  Vine  Street  to 
larger  quarters  in  1309  Vine  Street. 

Preparations  were  under  way  for  the  third 
annual  exhibitors  ball  at  Turnegemeinde 
Hall,  December  8.  Committee  included 
Dave  Sabolosky,  William  Goldenberg,  J. 
Hopkins,  Marcus  Benn,  C.  L.  Bradfield, 
Charles  Segall,  George  Beihoff. 


PREMIUMS 


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THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Dec  1'34 


27 


Around  the  Circuit 

WITH 

STANLEY-WARNER 

_ By  Harry  Goldberg - 

New  bonus  quarter  starts  December  I  for  the 
Warner  field  men.  Manager  Schlesinger 
expects  more  men  to  share  in  the  bonus 
money  than  ever  before.  The  next  thirteen 
weeks  include  some  of  the  biggest  money 
holidays  of  the  year. 

Local  newsreel  cameraman  introduced  into 
the  Warner  Philadelphia  zone  is  proving 
to  be  a  tremendous  force  in  creating 
good-will  on  the  part  of  the  public.  Paul 
Alley  is  the  man  behind  the  camera,  figur¬ 
atively  speaking.  His  assignments  have 
included  a  variety  of  local  events  ranging 
from  high  school  gridiron  classics  to 
grammar  school  fire  drills. 

Manager  Blumberg  (Broadway)  claims  a 
record  for  kiddie  attendance  on  a  Satur¬ 
day - exactly  4071  youngsters  attended 

the  showing  of  “Now  and  Forever,”  top¬ 
ping  the  record  set  by  "Treasure  Island." 
Future  adult  patrons  of  South  P hilly  are 
strong  for  him. 

Charlie  Perry,  United  Artists  publicity  man, 
Aldine,  had  Gimbel’s  place  30,000  stuf- 
fers  in  all  out-going  packages  to  advertise 
"We  Live  Again." 

“The  Merry  Widow”  caught  popular  fancy. 
Manager  Barutio  had  planes  flying  over  the 
Penn  and  Temple  games  with  an  advertis¬ 
ing  banner,  reaching  a  concentrated  audi¬ 
ence  of  at  least  60,000. 

Jack  Goldman,  assistant,  Boyd,  made  night 
club  merry-makers  at  the  Cafe  Marguery 
“widow”  conscious  by  having  Chaney  and 
Fox,  currently  appearing  here,  create 
their  own  version  of  the  famous  waltz 
number. 

One  of  the  best  of  the  season’s  crop  is  "The 
Gay  Divorcee,”  and  the  Warner  boys  are 
all  set  to  do  fine  grosses  with  it. 

Haddon  Matthews  (69th  St.)  staged  a  "Con¬ 
tinental”  party  after  the  regular  perform¬ 
ance,  with  local  merchants  donating  prizes 
for  a  dance  contest.  Public  was  invited 
to  dance  in  the  theatre’s  foyer  and  enjoy 
refreshments. 

Ben  Blumberg  (Broadway)  tied  up  the  Astor 
Ballroom  to  hold  a  “Continental  Dance 
Contest.” 

Ray  Meyer  (Orpheum)  tied  up  the  Beck 
Shoe  Store  for  a  window  display  featuring 
shoes.  Also  had  Parkway  Baking  Com¬ 
pany  distribute  14,000  heralds  in  loaves 
of  bread. 

Manager  Murdock  (Stanley,  Camden),  got 
fine  reaction  with  his  "best-dressed  man" 
contest  held  in  connection  with  "The  Gay 
Divorcee.”  Votes  for  Camden’s  best 
dressed  man  were  cast  at  the  theatre,  and 
a  complete  clothing  outfit  was  awarded 
the  winner. 

Manager  Van  Meter  (Aldine,  Wilmington) 
added  an  artistic  touch  to  the  trailer  on 
"The  Gay  Divorcee”  by  staging  a  pro¬ 
logue  featuring  a  clever  dance  team  in¬ 
troducing  "The  Continental.” 

In  publicizing  “Happiness  Ahead”  Manager 
Murdock  (Stanley,  Camden)  had  the 
mayor  of  Camden  issue  a  proclamation 
setting  aside  the  week  of  the  showing  as 
"Happiness  Week.” 

“Canned  goods  matinees”  were  held  in 
nearly  all  the  neighborhood  theatres  in  the 
interest  of  charity. 

Marty  Goldenberg  (Karlton)  held  a  preview 
of  "Wednesday’s  Child”  for  workers  em¬ 
ployed  in  the  Domestic  Relations  Court  in 
stressing  the  anti-divorce  argument  of  the 

film. 


LANCASTER 


Charles  M.  Howell  has  resigned  as  manager 
of  the  Colonial  Theatre.  He  will  devote 
all  his  time  to  his  job  as  postmaster  of 
Lancaster.  He  is  succeeded  by  John  M. 
Frere.  Veteran  manager  saw  the  develop¬ 
ment  of  vaudeville  and  offered  the  first 
talking  picture  to  Lancaster. 

A.  R.  Boyd  Enterprises,  Inc.,  takes  over  oper¬ 
ation  of  the  Colonial  but  the  lease  remains 
with  the  Howell  Theatre  Corporation.  Al¬ 
ready  the  new  manager  is  pepping  up  the 
personnel. 

Ray  O’Connell,  manager,  Capitol,  did  some 
nice  promotion  work  for  George  Arliss  in 
"The  Last  Gentleman.”  O’Connell  made 
a  tie-up  with  a  local  baking  concern  and 
had  fliers  distributed  with  each  loaf  of 
bread. 

Frank  Phelps,  labor  department,  Warner 
Bros.,  was  in  town. 

Warner  Bros.’  houses  will  hold  their  annual 
“canned  goods”  show  for  youngsters, 

November  30. 

Grand  and  Capitol  are  ready  to  promote 
Toy  Mountain.  Toys  left  at  the  theatres 
will  be  distributed  Christmas  morning  to 
needy  children  of  the  city. 

H.  Chertcoff  is  about  ready  to  open  his  new 
theatre  in  Lititz. 

Rumors  of  a  new  Community  Theatre  in  the 
outlying  residential  district  in  the  vicinity 
of  Franklin  and  Marshall  College  are  cur¬ 
rent.  The  proposed  site  has  been  viewed 
by  men  interested. 

Ray  O’Connell  will  try  vaudeville  three  days 
a  week  instead  of  Saturday  only. 


ATLANTIC  CITY 


New  Hollywood  since  opening  with  a  splash 
that  called  out  police  reserves  to  handle 
the  biggest  crowd  ever  to  attend  a  local 
theatre  inaugural,  has  encountered  several 
operation  problems  in  the  few  weeks  it 
has  been  functioning.  Three-day  vaude¬ 
ville,  on  a  combination  bill,  has  been 
abandoned  after  two  week-end  shows. 

Work  of  renovating  the  Earle  has  stopped, 
the  plan  to  re-open  the  down-town  house 
on  a  vaude-film  policy  has  been  shelved, 
and  entrance  boarded  up. 

Hollywood  opened  as  a  non-union  proposi¬ 
tion,  and  has  been  picketed  by  sandwich 
men  from  the  operators’,  musicians’  and 
stage  hands’  unions.  Last  Saturday  a 
stink  bomb  caused  trouble  at  the  night 
show.  Labor  troubles  have  been  adjusted 
and  Harry  I.  Waxman  has  signed  Holly¬ 
wood  for  complete  union  operation. 

Strand,  Boardwalk,  will  operate  only  over 
week-ends  and  possibly  holidays. 

Capitol  carrying  unusuall  ylarge  advertise¬ 
ments  on  “Tomorrow’s  Children,”  and 
staged  a  preview  a  week  in  advance,  with 
newspaper  editors  and  special  writers  as 
invited  guests. 


Powers  Bows  In 

Edward  A.  Powers  has  taken  over  S wayne 
Phillips  Company,  advertising  agency,  chang¬ 
ing  name  of  Edward  A.  Powers  Associates. 

Offices  are  located  in  New  York  and  Holly¬ 
wood. 


Delaware  Charters 

Roxy-Philadelphia  Corporation.  Deal  in  theatrical 
business,  1000  shares,  no  par  value. 

March  of  Time,  Inc.  Deal  in  all  kinds  of  records, 
films  upon  which  voices,  music  or  other  sounds  are  re¬ 
corded.  $200,000. 


SUPPLIES 


THEATRE  EQUIPMENT 


iVeir 


Used  -  Rebuilt 


Projectors,  Screens, 
Soundheads,  Amplifiers, 
Chairs,  Portable  Projectors, 
Arc  Lamps,  Rectifiers 
and  Generators. 

REPAIRING  AT  LOWEST  RATES 


S.  O.  S.  CORP.,  1600  Broadway,  New  York 


S.O.S.  Buys  Equipment  at  Highest  Prices 


TICKET  REGISTERS 


Announcing  the 

At 

NEW 

Silent- Automatic 

cp 

Ticket  Register 

ou 

1935  Noiseless  Model  X 

W^rite  for  Details 

Saving 

A  MODERN  ELECTRICAL  PRODUCT 

STANDARD  TICKET  REGISTER  CORP.. 

1600  Broadway.  New  York  •  Geo:  Mead.  gin.  Ma». 

VAUDEVILLE  AGENCIES 


HARRY  BIBEN 

I  VAUDEVILLE  AGENCY  I 

(603-4  COLONIAL  BUILDING) 

N.  E.  Cor.  13th  and  Market  Sts. 

Phone,  Rittenhouse  9494-5 

PHILADELPHIA 
OUR  LATEST:— 

Now  Booking  Harry  Waxman's  New 

I  HOLLYWOOD  THEATRE  flTtfTNYTIC  I 

Booking  STANLEY-WARNER  I 
THEATRES,  Philadelphia  | 


• 

Mimeographing 

Official  Letter 
Service  to  the 

Multigraphing 
Public  Stenography 

Motion  Picture 
Industry 

Addressing  -  Folding 
Enclosing  -  Mailing 

Accurate  List 

Advertising 

of  all  Theatres 

Publicity 

and  Executives 

Printing 

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Advertising  and  Letter  Service 

1208  Vine  Street 

(Second  Floor) 

Bell:  RITtenhouse  7195  Keystone:  RACE  8666 


28 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


1  -Dec. -34 


c  n  a  ■  ii 

J  1  -*-Who  made  it  ? 

4  Is  it  family  or  adult  type  ? 

h-rnmt  Kpvipmk 

2  -►  Who's  in  it? 

o  What's  it  about? 

W  ■  Willi  livf  IvVVO 

^  3  How  good  is  it  ? 

Running  Time? 

COLUMBIA 


Men  of  the  Night 

(5038) 


Adult 
Action  Drama 
58m. 


Judith  Allen,  Bruce  Cabot,  Charles  Sabin,  Ward 
Bond,  John  Kelly,  Arthur  Rankin,  Matthew  Betz, 
Walter  McGrail. 


Action  drama  of  a  detective  in  Hollywood 
who  ferrets  out  a  gang  and  a  girl,  “Men  of  the 
Night”  is  another  of  the  cops  and  robbers 
school.  This  time  it  involves  a  girl  who  came 
to  Hollywood  for  stardom  but  wound  up  as 
a  waitress.  Before  she  returns  to  her  home, 
however,  with  the  detective  following  her  to 
marry  her,  crooks,  robberies  and  shootings  are 
included. 


Estimate:  Familiar. 


Jealousy  (5023)  Melodrama 

67  m. 

Nancy  Carroll,  Donald  Cook,  George  Murphy,  Arthur 
Hoyt,  Ray  Walburn,  Arthur  Hold,  Inez  Courtney, 
Arthur  Vinton,  Ray  Cooke. 

The  hero  is  a  pugilist,  in  love  with  the  girl. 
During  the  big  battle,  following  a  tiff,  the  girl 
attends  the  fight  with  another  man.  The  hero 
is  knocked  down.  Later,  he  recovers,  is  for¬ 
given  by  the  girl,  but,  eventually,  kills  the  man. 
He  is  to  die  in  the  chair,  but  before  anything 
like  that  happens,  it  develops  that  he  is  dream¬ 
ing  in  the  ring  and  that  he  almost  has  been 
counted  out.  Therefore,  he  gets  to  his  feet, 
wins  the  bout  and  wins  back  the  girl.  The 
twist  will  surprise  most  audiences. 

Estimate:  Surprise  helps. 


CHESTERFIELD 


One  in  a  Million 


(3075) 


Family 
Comedy  Drama 
69m. 


Dorothy  Wilson,  Charles  Starrett,  Gwen  Lee,  Holmes 
Herbert,  Guinn  Williams. 


Story  of  young  love  with  its  eventual  vic¬ 
tory  over  all  odds,  this  independent  entrant 
should  prove  satisfactory  to  family  audiences. 
A  girl  is  hiding  from  the  police,  falls  in  love 
with  the  hero,  marries  him  when  she  is  cleared 
of  all  guilt.  Leads  turn  in  a  capable  job  and 
title  may  be  of  some  value. 

Estimate:  Fair  inde. 


The  Port  of  Lost  Dreams  ,Adult 

(3064)  71m. 

Bill  Boyd,  Lola  Lane ,  George  Marion,  Sr.,  Edward 
Gargan,  Robert  Elliott. 

Melodrama  that  should  attract  more  than 
passing  attention  from  mass  audiences,  “Port 
of  Lost  Dreams”  tells  the  story  of  a  fishing 
boat  and  a  girl  who  stows  away  on  it.  Captain 
and  mate  are  buddies.  Picture  moves  along 
briskly,  is  of  the  better  class  of  independent 
productions.  Action  and  comedy  predominate. 

Estimate:  Better  than  usual. 


FOX 


Family 

Bachelor  of  Arts  (520)  Comedy  Drama 

73m. 

Tom  Brown,  Henry  B.  Walthall,  Anita  Louise,  Ar- 
line  Judge,  Stepin  Fetchit,  Burton  Churchill,  Frankie 
Albertson,  Mae  Marsh,  George  Meeker. 

Mild  little  comedy  drama  about  college  days, 
the  wealthy  young  man  who  falls  in  love  with 
the  co-ed  cashier,  lets  his  wealth  run  him  but 
who  really  proves  himself  worthy  when  his 
test  comes.  Picture  will  satisfy  family  audi¬ 
ences  even  if  short  on  name  strength.  Brown- 
Louise  combination  may  be  worth  something 
with  the  femme  end  looking  like  star  promise 
after  a  few  more  pictures. 

Estimate:  Neat. 


Family 

Bright  Eyes  (524)  Comedy  Drama 

72m. 

Shirley  Temple,  James  Dunn,  Judith  Allen,  Lois 
Wilson,  Dorothy  Christy,  Theodore  von  Eltz,  Jane 
Withers,  Walter  Johnson,  Charles  Sellon. 

Ace  attraction  for  the  holiday  period  and 
afterwards,  “Bright  Eyes”  won’t  have  any 
trouble  at  the  box  office.  A  little  girl  whose 
father  and  mother  die  is  adopted  by  Jimmy 
Dunn.  A  scheming  pair  want  to  adopt  her  in 
order  to  get  an  old  man’s  inheritance.  But 
love  and  luck  win  out  and  the  lassie  is  adopted 
by  the  hero  and  his  prospective  bride. 

Estimate:  Dough. 


MAJESTIC 


Family 

The  Perfect  Clue  Melodrama 

62m. 

David  Manners,  Dorothy  Libaire,  Sheets  Gallagher , 
Ralf  Harolde,  Bob  Gleckler,  Pat  O'Malley,  Betty 
Blythe,  Charles  C.  Wilson. 

Well  produced,  interesting  independent  pro¬ 
duction  that  should  leave  audiences  plenty  sat¬ 
isfied.  A  wealthy  girl  is  mixed  up  with  a  false 
accusation  of  murder  against  the  man  she 
loves.  Eventually,  she  helps  win  him|  his  free¬ 
dom.  Cast  offers  something  to  sell  as  direc¬ 
tion  keeps  the  piece  moving.  Title  offers  pos¬ 
sibilities  as  well. 

Estimate:  Satisfactory. 


MASCOT 


In  Old  Santc  Fe  Western 

64m. 

Ken  Maynard,  H.  B.  Warner,  Evalyn  Knapp,  Ken¬ 
neth  Thomson,  Wheeler  Oakman,  George  Hayes,  Gene 
Autrey,  Smiley  Burnet,  George  Chesboro,  George 
Burton. 

Better  than  the  average  western,  “In  Old 
Sante  Fe”  has  plenty  to  lift  it  out  of  the  usual 
open  air  ranks.  Cast  is  much  higher  average 
than  most  of  the  hard-riding  shows,  some  cow¬ 
boy  melodies  are  included  and  a  most  interest¬ 
ing  story  also  aids.  Mascot  has  delivered  a 
cowboy  show  that  ought  to  be  of  value  to  some 
of  the  houses  that  never  select  the  horse- 
opera  fare. 

Estimate:  Better  than  usual. 


FIRST  NATIONAL 


Babbitt  (869)  Comedy  Drama 

74m. 

Guy  Kibbee,  Claire  Dodd,  Aline  MacMahon,  Maxine 
Doyle,  Glen  Boles,  Minor  Watson,  Harry  Tyl/er,  Berton 
Churchill,  Russell  Hicks,  Nan  Gray,  Arthur  Hoyt. 

First  talkie  transcription  of  the  Sinclair 
Lewis  story  “Babbitt”  is  more  of  a  starring 
vehicle  for  Kibbee  than  anything  else.  Piece 
hasn’t  the  force  of  the  novel  when  it  was 
written,  as  times  have  changed  considerably. 
In  its  present  version,  as  a  comedy  drama,  it 
has  been  handled  more  for  laughs  and  mass 
audience  entertainment  rather  than  to  teach 
any  lesson.  Cast  is  A-l,  with  Aline  Mac¬ 
Mahon  doing  a  standout.  Book’s  popularity 
may  help  as  well. 

Estimate:  Satisfactory. 


Maybe  It  S  Love  Comedy  Drama 

68m. 

Gloria  Stuart,  Ross  Alexander,  Helen  Lowell,  Joseph 
Cawthorn,  Frank  McHugh,  Ruth  Donnelly,  Dorothy 
Dare,  Maude  Eburne,  Philip  Reed,  Henry  Travers, 
J .  Farrell  MacDonald. 

Comedy  drama  of  young  wedded  life  that 
won’t  make  much  of  an  impression  but  which 
will  pass  by  as  program  stuff.  Cast  is  A-l 
feature,  with  the  familiar  faces  doing  all  pos¬ 
sible  to  hold  up  a  familiar  story.  A  girl,  torn 
between  choice  of  two  suitors,  picks  one,  runs 
into  marital  squabbles.  The  situation  is  helped 
by  the  unlucky  suitor  who  gets  set  on  the 
right  path  again.  Generally  inconsequential, 
the  picture  is  program  throughout. 

Estimate:  Program. 


UNIVERSAL 


Strange  Wives  (8020)  Comedy  Drama 

79m. 

Roger  Pryor,  June  Clayworth,  Esther  Ralston,  Hugh 
O'Connell,  Ralph  Forbes,  Cesar  Romero. 

Programmer  of  a  man  who  marries  a  Russian 
woman  and  who  inherits  all  of  her  inherits 
won’t  make  much  of  an  impression.  Cast 
hasn't  any  standout  names  and  comedy  angles 
aren’t  strong  enough  to  send  them  out  talking. 
Eventually,  the  Russian  family  makes  good  and 
hero’s  squabbles  with  the  wife  are  ended,  but 
when  it’s  all  over  it  doesn’t  amount  to  a  devil 
of  a  lot. 

Estimate:  So-so. 


When  a  Man  Sees  Red  Family 

Western 
60m. 

Buck  Jones,  Dorothy  Revier,  Leroy  Mason,  Sid  Say¬ 
lor,  Peggy  Campbell. 

Western  with  the  Buck  Jones  name  and  little 
else  needed  to  sell.  Yarn  doesn't  attempt  any¬ 
thing  out  of  the  ordinary  for  a  western  and 
open  air  fans  will  be  satisfied.  A  girl  from 
the  east  is  a  bit  aloof  at  first,  finally  succumbs 
when  she  sees  our  Buck  come  through. 

Estimate:  Okay. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


29 


METRO 


Family 

Babes  in  Toyland  (422)  Fantasy 

70m. 


PARAMOUNT 


Behold  My  Wife  (3419) 


Family 

Drama 

77m. 


Laurel  and  Hardy,  Charlotte  Henry,  Ferdinand 
Munier,  Felix  Knight,  Henry  Kleinbach,  Florence 
Roberts,  Jean  Darling. 

Aimed  especially  for  the  kiddies,  “Babes  in 
Toyland'’  is  a  natural  for  the  holiday  trade. 
What  it  will  do  after  the  holidays  is  another 
question.  Popularity  of  Victor  Herbert's 
score  and  Laurel  and  Hardy  may  combine  to 
offset  the  child-nature  of  the  show  and  draw 
in  the  adults  although  the  picture  is  designed 
for  the  kiddie  trade.  Production  includes  a 
lot  but  has  its  flaws  which  will  be  overlooked 
by  the  children  but  maybe  not  by  the  grown¬ 
ups.  All  in  all,  it’s  good  fun,  which  is  some¬ 
thing  most  audiences  desire. 

Estimate:  Kiddies’  natural. 


Wicked  Woman  (540)  Drama 

76m. 

Mady  Christians,  Jean  Parker,  Betty  Furness,  Wil¬ 
liam  Henry,  Charles  Bickford,  Jackie  Searle,  Zelda 
Sears,  Sterling  Holloway,  George  Billings. 

One  woman  show  that  will  help  establish 
Mady  Christians  but  do  little,  otherwise.  As 
a  mother  who  kills  to  protect  her  children  and 
later  resolves  to  give  herself  up  when  her  chil¬ 
dren  are  grown  up,  she  has  a  role  that  calls  for 
plenty.  Show,  itself,  is  heavy  on  the  emotional 
angles,  but  doesn’t  handicap  her.  Individual 
bits  arc  pretty  well  portrayed  and  the  acting 
helps  make  the  yarn  more  attractive  than  it 
really  is.  Audiences  which  like  to  take  out 
their  handkerchiefs  will  be  satisfied. 

Estimate:  Drama. 


MONOGRAM 


Flirting  with  Danger 

(3023) 


Comedy 


Family 

Drama 

69m. 


Edgar  Kennedy,  Maria  Alba,  Robert  Armstrong, 
William  Cagney,  Marion  Burns,  William  von  Brincken. 

Comedy  drama  of  three  dynamite  mixers, 
“Flirting  with  Danger”  is  program  stuff  that 
might  have  been  better  than  average  comedy 
if  the  story  hadn’t  handicapped  it.  Name 
strength  is  nil,  but  Edgar  Kennedy’s  laughs  are 
suited  to  family  audiences.  Other  angles  in¬ 
clude  Central  American  senorita,  a  long  lost 
wife  and  still  another  heroine.  Family  audi¬ 
ences  may  go  for  the  piece. 

Estimate:  Average. 


Sing  Sing  Nights  (3014)  Mystery 

60m. 

Conway  Tearle,  Hardie  Albright,  Boots  Mallory, 
Jameson  Thomas. 

Packed  with  interesting  action  and  comedy 
this  picture  tells  the  story  of  the  murder  of  one 
Floyd  Cooper,  a  newspaper  correspondent.  He 
is  blotted  out  during  a  gay  party  that  is  taking 
place  in  his  Washington  home.  Three  men  con¬ 
fess  and  are  convicted  and  face  death  in  the 
chair.  The  trick  capturing  the  actual  murderer 
is  neatly  turned.  Scenes  of  the  film  shift  from 
Washington  to  Singapore  and  the  South  Ameri¬ 
can  coffee  plantations  thereby  lending  a  color¬ 
ful  setting  for  the  story. 

Estimate:  Holds  Interest. 


Sylvia  Sidney ,  Gene  Raymond,  Juliette  Compton, 
Laura  Hope  Crews,  Monroe  Owsley,  H.  B.  Warner, 
Ann  Sheridan,  Kenneth  Thomson,  Eric  Blore,  Jack 
Mu' hall.  Fuzzy  Knight,  Gwen  Gill. 

A  wealthy  son  marries  an  Indian  girl  to  dis¬ 
grace  his  family  when  the  latter  won’t  let  him 
marry  his  stenog.  Later,  he  finds  out  that  the 
Indian  lass  is  sterling  silver  when  she  risks 
her  life  to  save  his  sister  from  a  murder  charge. 
Good  acting  by  everyone  make  a  familiar  plot 
seem  new.  Cast  is  studded  with  names  that 
mean  something  and  as  a  result  box  office 
should  benefit. 

Estimate:  Okay. 


Father  Brown,  Detective  Family 

(3420)  “ST 

Walter  Connolly,  Paid  Lukas,  Halliwell  Hobbes, 
Gertrude  Michaels,  Una  O'Connor,  Gwenllian  Gill, 
E.  E.  Clive. 

Some  good  performances,  a  well  handled 
crook  story  and  a  steady  pace  help  make 
“Father  Brown,  Detective”  entertaining  pro¬ 
gram  fare  for  any  house.  A  famous  crook 
tries  to  steal  some  jewels  to  give  a  girl  with 
whom  he  becomes  infatuated,  but  Father  Brown 
outwits  him.  Walter  Connolly’s  characteriza¬ 
tion  is  topnotch  as  always  and  he  has  good 
support.  Show  is  handled  so  that  it  can  be 
shown  to  any  type  audience  and  deserves  sell¬ 
ing. 

Estimate:  Favorable. 


Home  on  the  Range  (3421)  Western 

70m. 

Randolph  Scott.  Jackie  Coogan,  Evelyn  Brent,  Dean 
Jagger,  Fuzzy  Knight,  Ann  Sheridan. 

Departure  from  the  usual  Zane  Grey  type 
of  picture,  “Home  on  the  Range”  is  still  defi¬ 
nitely  a  western  even  though  it  hops  to  Alaska 
before  returning  to  the  open  spaces.  Story  in¬ 
cludes  a  heroine  who  was  formerly  in  league 
with  card  sharps,  Joe  Morrison  singing  the 
title  song,  robbery  for  cattle  money,  fire,  the 
mortgage,  etc.,  a  lot  of  plot  for  any  western. 
Title  is  of  some  value  and  where  westerns  are 
liked  this  probably  will  be,  too. 

Estimate:  Different  open  air  piece. 


The  President  Vanishes  ,  Adult 

Melodrama 
85m. 

Edward  Arnold,  Arthur  Byron,  Paul  Kelly,  Peggy 
Conklin,  Osgood  Perkins,  Andy  Devine,  Janet  Beecher, 
Sidney  Blackmer,  Charley  Grapewin,  Edward  Ellis, 
DeWitt  Lennins. 

First  independent  production  from  Walter 
Wanger,  “President”  is  going  to  create  dis¬ 
cussion,  regardless  of  what  it  does  at  the  box 
office.  It  may  be  a  smash  or  it  may  suffer  the 
same  fate  as  “Gabriel”  but  there  is  no  doubt 
but  that  it  will  send  them  out  talking.  The 
president  vanishes  when  a  jingo  group  has  in¬ 
flamed  the  nation  almost  to  the  point  of  war. 
When  the  president,  an  advocate  of  peace,  dis¬ 
appears,  martial  law  is  declared  and  the  nation 
turns  from  its  war  inclinations  towards  the 
case.  C~st  lacks  star  strength  but  is  well 
chosen.  This  is  one  of  those  pictures  that  can’t 
be  predicted.  Only  actual  playing  will  show 
what  it  is  worth. 

Estimate :  Debatable. 


1-Dec. -34 


One  Hour  Late 


(3422) 


Comedy 


Family 

Drama 

69m. 


Joe  Morrison,  Arline  Judge,  Ray  Walker,  Charles 
Sellon,  Toby  Wing,  Gail  Patrick,  George  E.  Stone, 
Bradley  Page. 


Light  comedy  drama  about  an  office  employee, 
a  girl,  the  boss  who  is  interested  in  the  girl,  a 
wife  and  a  radio  chance,  “One  Hour  Late”  will 
serve  to  give  Joe  Morrison  a  big  buildup  even 
though  it  won’t  be  any  great  shales  at  the  box 
office.  Plot  is  inconsequential,  but  it  allows  Mor¬ 
rison  to  smg  a  couple  of  songs  and  impress 
generally.  One  elevator  sequence  helps  hold 
interest,  but  on  the  whole,  Morrison  is  better 
than  the  story. 


Estimate:  Sell  Morrison. 


It’s  a  Gift  (3418)  Comedy 

69m. 

W.  C.  Fields,  Jean  Rouverol,  Lilian  Madison,  Kath¬ 
leen  Howard,  Tammany  Young,  Baby  Leroy,  Charles 
Sellong,  Morgan  Wallace,  T.  Roy  Barnes. 

Usual  high  rating  W.  C.  Fields  comedy 
with  the  entire  action  centred  on  Fields,  his 
gags,  etc.  Picture  will  do  well  where  Fields 
is  liked  and  not  so  much  where  he  has  not 
made  any  impression.  Story  is  one  of  a  hen¬ 
pecked  husband  who  gets  stuck  on  a  lot  buying 
deal,  eventually  proves  a  winner  through  a 
change  of  circumstances.  To  Fields  fans  it 
will  be  the  usual  satisfying  attraction. 

Estimate:  All  Fields. 


WARNERS 


I  Am  a  Thief  (826)  Melodrama 

60m. 

Ricardo  Cortez,  Mary  Astor,  Dudley  Digges,  Hobart 
Cavanaugh,  Irving  Pichel,  Ferdinand  Gottschalk,  Rob¬ 
ert  Barrat,  John  Wray,  Frank  Reicher,  Oscar  Apfel, 
Arthur  Aylesworth. 

Programmer  of  jewel  thieves  and  double 
crossing,  all  taking  place  on  a  European  fast 
express,  with  little  room  for  romance  but 
plenty  of  suspense.  “Thief”  is  just  another 
entrant  in  the  long  list  of  satisfactory  melo¬ 
dramas  along  the  same  lines.  Crooks  try  to 
outwit  crooks,  a  plot  to  steal  jewels  for  in¬ 
surance  is  mixed  in  and  there  it  is.  Show 
has  the  usual  Warner  flair  for  speed  with  it 
all  seeming  very  believable  at  the  moment. 

Estimate:  Intrigues. 


RADIO 


Romance  in 

Manhattan  (518) 


Family 
Comedy  Drama 
77m. 


Francis  Lederer,  Ginger  Rogers,  Jimmy  Butler,  J. 
Farrell  MacDonald,  Helen  Ware,  Oscar  Apfel,  Donald 
Meek,  Big  Boy  Williams,  Sidney  Toler,  Arthur  Hohl. 

Pleasant  comedy  drama  of  an  immigrant 
who  gets  into  this  country  illegally,  makes  good 
as  a  taxi  driver  but  whose  illegal  entry  nearly 
results  in  disaster  when  he  wants  to  marry 
the  girl,  “Romance  in  Manhattan”  is  a  pic¬ 
ture  that  all  should  like.  Lederer  has  been 
helped  a  lot  by  “Pursuit  of  Happiness”  and 
his  combination  with  Ginger  Rogers  won't 
hurt.  Show  is  aimed  for  family  audiences  and 
moves  rapidly. 


Estimate:  Nice  program. 


30 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


1  -Dec. -34 

Family 

The  Silver  Streak  (513)  Action  Drama 

86m. 

Sally  Blane,  Charles  Starrett,  William  Farnum,  Ed- 
yar  Kennedy,  Hardie  Albight,  Irving  Pichel,  Arthur 
Lake,  Guinn  Williams. 

Programmer  with  good  possibilities  be¬ 
cause  of  front  page  background  of  the  new 
streamlined  train,  “Silver  Streak”  has  only 
the  exploitation  angles  to  lift  it  out  of  the 
program  groove.  Cast  is  average  with  no  one 
to  sell,  but  action  background  should  make  it 
popular  in  some  houses.  Big  punch  comes 
when  train,  deemed  a  flop  by  some,  makes 
good  when  it  has  to  carry  inhalators  to  dying 
workmen. 

Est’mate:  Exploitation  opportunity. 


West  of  the  Pecos 


(516) 


Family 
Action  Drama 
68m 


Richard  Dix,  Martha  Sleeper,  Fred  Kohler,  Louise 
Beavers,  Samuel  Hinds,  Sleep  ’ n  'eat,  Maria  Alba, 
Russell  Simpson,  George  Cooper. 

Western  in  disguise,  “West  of  the  Pecos” 
brings  Dix  back  to  same  sort  of  a  role  in  which 
he  made  his  reputation  in  “Cimarron.”  Pre¬ 
sent  show  doesn’t  aim  at  latter’s  greatness  but 
packs  enough  punch  and  entertainment  so  that 
fans  liking  action  will  be  plenty  satisfied.  As 
a  son  of  the  open  spaces  who  helps  a  father 
and  daughter  push  on  after  the  Civil  War  had 
caused  losses  for  them,  Dix  has  a  meaty  part, 
makes  the  most  of  it.  He  is  the  standout. 


Estimate:  High  rating  action  drama. 


Woman  in  the  Dark  (514)  Melodrama 

68m. 

Fay  Wray,  Melvyn  Doug'as,  Ralph  Bellamy,  Reed 
Brown,  Jr.,  Roscoe  Ates,  Joe  King,  Ruth  Gillette. 

Not  a  family  type  picture  but  one  which  re¬ 
volves  around  a  woman  with  a  past,  an  ex¬ 
convict  out  on  parole  and  a  third  merrjber  of 
a  triangle  who  wants  the  woman,  "Woman  in 
the  Dark”  is  strong  melodrama  that  may  do 
better  in  spots  where  they  like  the  heavy  melo 
drama  than  in  others. 

Estimate:  Strictly  melodrama. 


FOREIGN 


Adult 

ame  Bovary  Drama 

98m. 

French  cast  in  French  picture  with  English  titles. 

French  production  of  a  well  known  work 
seems  outmoded  but  does  hold  interest  because 
of  dramatic  values.  Madame  Bovary  is  mar¬ 
ried  to  a  small  town  doctor,  has  love  affairs 
with  two  men.  When  her  episodes  with  them 
are  ended  she  commits  suicide.  Heavy,  suitable 
for  art  citadels,  it  isn’t  for  domestic  audiences. 

Estimate:  Restricted. 


A  I  I  Adult 

About  Lenin  Drama 

64m. 

Russian  film,  paying  homage  to  Lenin,  illustrating 
the  aims  and  theories  of  the  Russian  leader  and 
movement. 

Suitable  only  for  art  houses,  “3  Songs  About 
Lenin”  is  stuff  for  the  highbrows.  Propaganda 
to  the  hilt,  it  has  no  value  for  American  the¬ 
atres  playing  to  regular  trade.  As  an  impor¬ 
tation  from  Russia  it  will  get  a  lot  of  critical 
attention  but  as  a  commercial  entrant  should 
be  forgotten. 

Estimate:  Art  stuff. 


The  Battle 


Adult 

Drama 

84m. 


Charles  Boyer,  Merle  Oberon,  Betty  Stockfield,  John 
Loder,  Miles  Mander. 

Story  of  a  Japanese  naval  commander  who 
sees  his  wife  attracted  by  a  British  soldier, 
aids  in  the  entanglement  in  order  to  win  army 
secrets  through  her  and  then  follows  the  code 
of  his  people  in  tragedy,  picture  is  well  pro¬ 
duced,  has  two  names  to  sell  and  is  attractive 
as  far  as  production  goes.  Nature  of  story, 
however,  is  adult  and  tends  toward  class  angles. 

Estimate:  Impressive. 


Waltz  Time  in  Vienna 


Family 

Musical 

74m 


Willy  Fritsch,  Renate  Muller  and  German  cast  with 
English  titles. 

Well  played,  interesting  German  importation 
with  American  titles  that  might  hold  interest 
in  art  houses.  Story  is  one  of  two  musicians 
and  one  girl,  light  in  nature  but  with  plenty  of 
dramatic  and  comedy  values.  Music  is  high 
spot  of  the  picture.  Background  is  one  of 
Vienna  and  its  waltzes.  Selling  music  and 
waltzes  may  help.  Most  houses,  however,  won’t 
be  able  to  touch  it. 


Estimate:  For  restricted  list. 


STATE  RIGHTS 


The  Brand  of  Hate  Western 

63m. 

Bob  Steele,  Lucille  Brown,  William  Farnum,  Archie 
Ricks,  George  Hayes,  Charles  French. 

Rustlers  in  this  entrant  make  things  tough  for 
the  gal’s  father  as  well  as  for  the  gal.  But 
when  Bob  Steele  gets  on  the  job,  all  is  changed. 
Hard  riding  and  plenty  of  action  result  in  this 
one  being  adequate  for  the  houses  that  love 
westerns.  They  will  get  the  usual  kick  out  of 
it. 

Estimate:  Okay  western. 


,'C7,1V 


[1 


fiTinpC  lung 

-  -  but  it  means  so  much 

Christmas  seals  on 

packages  and  letters  indi¬ 
cate  your  active  interest  in 
saving  human  lives  and 
overcoming  tuberculosis. 

Use  them  generously.  Their 
cost  is  trilling,  their  good 
far-reaching.  Funds  raised 
by  Christmas  Seals  are 
spent  for  defense  against 
tuberculosis  throughout 
the  entire  year. 


The  National,  State  and  Local  Tuberculosis 
Associates  of  the  United  States 


Buy  Chr  istmas 


Seals 


r  p\  Family 

rrontier  Days  Western 

61m. 

Bill  Cody,  Ada  Ince,  Wheeler  Oakman,  Bill  Des¬ 
mond,  Bill  Cody,  Jr.,  Vic  Potel,  Franklin  Farnum 
and  Lafe  McKee. 

Bill  Cody,  the  Pinto  kid,  and  his  trick  horse, 
Chico,  ride  the  plains  in  this  exciting  drama  of 
the  west,  in  a  style  that  should  completely 

satisfy  Western  fans.  There  isn’t  a  dull  moment 
from  the  start  to  the  finish  of  this  thriller.  As 
a  secret  agent  of  the  Fargo  Express,  Cody 

manages  to  bring  to  justice  the  villain  and  his 
band  of  thieves.  He  makes  the  western  plains 
safe  for  the  companies’  coaches,  but  not  until 
several  hair  raising  incidents,  and  a  great  deal 
of  wild  riding  and  fighting  ensues. 

Estimate:  Rip-roaring. 


Within  the  Rock  Drama 

65m. 

Lila  Lee,  Creighton  Chaney,  Edmund  Breese,  Lafe 
McKee. 

A  girl  raised  in  wealth  is  forced  to  marry 
a  rough  mountaineer.  The  conflict  that  arises 
and  the  eventual  reconciliation  between  the 
two  because  of  love  form  the  basis  of  the 
story.  As  an  independent  it  can’t  rate  much, 
although  story  holds  some  interest. 

Estimate:  So-so. 


The  House  of  Danger  Mystery 

62m. 

Onslow  Stevens,  James  Bush,  Janet  Chandler,  How¬ 
ard  Lang,  Desmond  Roberts. 

Mystery  murder  story  of  strange  murders 
and  a  hero  who  solves  them  all,  this  program¬ 
mer  hits  the  usual  average.  Casts  lacks  mar¬ 
quee  strength  but  interest  holds  generally. 

Est’mate:  Usual  mystery  murder. 


UNITED  ARTISTS 


Family 

The  Mighty  Barnum  c  omedy  Drama 

102m. 

Wallace  Beery,  Janet  Beecher,  Adolphe  Menjou, 
Rochelle  Hudson,  Virginia  Bruce,  Herman  Bing, 
Tammany  Young,  Christian  Rub,  Charles  Judels. 

Well  produced  story  of  a  part  of  P.  T.  Bar- 
num’s  life,  with  all  characters  well  taken.  Beery 
is  a  standout,  with  first  runners  up  Adolphe 
Menjou  and  Janet  Beecher.  Yarn  treats  of 
Beery’s  experience  as  an  impressario  rather 
than  a  circus  owner.  Picture  is  tremendous  in 
ballyhoo  possibilities,  should  be  immense  where 
selling  is  concentrated.  Show  should  find  favor 
in  all  departments. 

Estimate:  Ace  hit. 


GAUMONT  BRITISH 


Adult 

Evensong  Drama 

86m. 

Evelyn  Laye,  Alice  Delysia,  Fritz  Kortner,  Carl  Es¬ 
mond,  Emlyn  Williams,  Muriel  Aked,  Arthur  Sinclair. 

Story  of  an  opera  singer  who  has  romances 
with  two  men  in  her  career  but  who  finds  only 
disappointment  and  loneliness  at  middle  age 
when  her  voice  fails,  “Even  Song”  is  dramatic 
stuff  that  won’t  cause  handsprings  generally. 
The  Laye  name  may  be  of  some  help,  but 
otherwise  the  show  will  have  to  be  sold  heavily. 
Story  isn’t  sympathetic,  although  the  chief 
characterization  is  well  taken.  Class  houses 
will  like  it  best. 

Estimate:  Class. 


THE  CHECKUP 


Included  are  production  number,  whether  adult  or 
family  appeal,  title,  type  of  picture,  cast,  estimate  as 
carried  in  6-Pt.  Review,  running  time  and  when  reviewed. 
For  example:  508 — A— EVELYN  PRENTICE— MD— 
Myrna  Loy,  William  Powell,  Una  Merkel,  Isabel  Jewell, 
Cora  Sue  Collins,  Jack  Mulhall — All  Powell-Loy— -78m 

_ Nov.  means  production  number  is  508,  story  is  of 

adult  appeal  rather  than  family,  title  is  Evelyn  Prentice, 
it  is  a  melodrama  (MD),  cast  has  five  stars  and  featured 
leads,  estimate  called  it  All  Powell-Loy,  it  runs  78 
minutes  and  it  was  reviewed  in  November.  Pictures 


listed  are  playing  currently,  about  to  be  released  or  in 
production  stage.  As  new  information  is  gained,  it  will 
be  added.  This  department  will  appear  in  each  issue. 
Save  all  issues  to  keep  a  complete  file  for  as  new  data 
is  added,  old  will  be  discarded.  Read  the  review  first 
in  6-Point  Reviews  and  checkup  here  later.  If  there 
is  variance  in  running  time,  it  is  because  of  censor  con¬ 
ditions  or  later  cutting.  Check  with  your  exchange 
to  make  certain.  No  release  dates  are  included  as  these 
vary  in  territories.  Keep  in  touch  with  Code  department 
in  this  issue  for  local  general  release  dates. 


KEY  TO  TYPE  OF  PICTURE 


AD — Action  Drama 
C — Comedy 
CD — Comedy  Drama 
COD — Costume  Drama 
CL — Classical  Drama 
D — Drama 
F — Fa  rce 


MD — Melodrama 
MU — Musical 
MY — Mystery 
0 — Operetta 
RD — Realistic  Drama 
SP — Spectacle 
W — Western 


Chesterfield-Invincible 

3062 _ F - THE  CURTAIN  FALLS - CD - Henrietta  Crosman, 

Dorothy  Lee,  John  Darrow,  Natalie  Moorhead,  William  Bake- 
well - Pleasing - 66m. - Nov. 

3064 — A — THE  PORT  OF  LOST  DREAMS — MD — Bill  Boyd,  Lola 

Lane,  George  Marion,  Sr.,  Ed  Gargan - Better  Than  Usual— 

7  I  m. - 1  -Dec. 

3065 - THE  GHOST  WALKS — MD - John  Miljan,  June  Collyer, 

Johnny  Arthur,  Spencer  Charters,  Eve  Sothern. 

3069 - MY  SON  IS  YOURS - MD - Charles  Starrett,  Billy  Bake- 

well,  Walter  Walker,  Holmes  Herbert,  Polly  Ann  Young. 

3072 - THE  WORLD  ACCUSES - D - Vivienne  Tobin,  Dickie 

Moore,  Cora  Sue  Collins,  Russell  Hopton. 

3075 - F - ONE  IN  A  MILLION - CD - Dorothy  Wilson,  Charles 

Starrett,  Gwen  Lee,  Holmes  Herbert,  Guinn  Williams - Fair 

Inde - 69m. - 1  -Dec. 

Columbia 

- F — BROADWAY  BILL - CD — Warner  Baxter,  Myrna  Loy, 

Lynn  Overman,  Helen  Vinson,  Walter  Connolly — Topnotch 
- I  03m. - Nov. 

3029 - WHITE  LIES - D - May  Robson,  Victor  Jory,  Raymond 

Walburn,  Fay  Wray - 102m. 

4023— F— FUGITIVE  LADY — AD— N  eil  Hamilton,  Florence  Rice, 

Clara  Blandick,  Don  Cook,  Matt  McHugh - Satisfies - 65m. - 

Nov. 

5023 - F - JEALOUSY - CD - Nancy  Carroll,  George  Murphy, 

Donald  Cook,  Inez  Courtney,  Clara  Blandick,  Arthur  Hohl, 

Ray  Walburn - Surprise  helps - 67m. - I -Dec. 

5038— A— MEN  OF  THE  NIGHT— AD— Judith  Allen,  Bruce 

Cabot,  Charles  Sabin - Familiar - 1 -Dec. 

5040— F - AGAINST  THE  LAW— AD - John  Mack  Brown,  Sally 

Blane,  Arthur  Hohl,  James  Bush,  George  Meeker - Program¬ 
mer - 62  m. - Nov. 

5201 - F— PRESCOTT  KID— W— Tim  McCoy,  Sheila  Manners, 

Alden  Chase. 

—SQUARE  SHOOTER— AD— Tim  McCoy,  Jacqueline  Wells, 
Steve  Clarke,  John  Darrow,  Charles  Middleton,  J.  Farrell  Mac¬ 
Donald. 

—THE  WESTERNER— W— Tim  McCoy,  Marion  Shilling, 
Hooper  Atchley. 

- A  CALL  TO  ARMS - MD — Steffi  Duna,  Ben  Lyon,  Noah 

Beery,  Willard  Mack,  Esther  Ralston,  Hobart  Bosworth. 

- PASSPORT  TO  FAME - MD - Edward  G.  Robinson,  Jean 

Arthur,  Arthur  Hohl,  Fred  Keating,  Donald  Meek,  Wallace 
Ford. 

- CARNIVAL - CD - Sally  Eilers,  Lee  Tracy,  Jimmy  Durante, 

Fred  Keating,  Florence  Rice. 

—THE  DEPTHS  BELOW— MD— Jack  Holt,  Edmund  Lowe, 
Florence  Rice,  Bela  Lugosi. 

- SURE  FIRE - C - Ann  Sothern,  Gene  Raymond — Coming. 

- FEUD - AD- — Tim  McCoy,  Billie  Seward,  Robert  Allen, 

Harry  Todd. 

- MILLS  OF  THE  GODS — -May  Robson,  Fay  Wray,  Victor 

Jory,  James  Blakeley. 

—AGAINST  THE  EVIDENCE— MD— Norman  Foster,  Donald 
Cook,  Sheila  Manners,  Frank  Darien,  Pat  O'Malley. 

Du  World 

- F BLUE  LIGHT— D—Leni  Riefenstahl— Art—  89m. 

May. 

- F NORAH  O’NEALE— D— Lester  Matthews,  Molly 

Lamont,  Nancy  Burne  (Irish) - Limited - 66m. - Nov. 

—A— MAN  WHO  CHANGED  HIS  NAME— MY— Betty  Stock- 

field,  Lyn  Harding,  Leslie  Perrins  (British) - Interesting - 

69m. - Nov. 

- F - GIRL  IN  THE  CASE - CD - Jimmie  Savo,  Eddie  Lam¬ 
bert,  Dorothy  Darling - Something  Different - 60m. - Apr. 

— F — ROMANCE  IN  BUDAPEST — MU— Hungarian  Musical 
Comedy — 9  2  m . — J  u  ne . 

- BEAST  OF  BORNEO - MD - Mae  Stewart,  John  Preston. 


First  Division 

3040  - F - HEI-TIKI - RD - Native  drama  of  the  South  Sea,  pro¬ 

duced  on  the  Isle  of  Ghosts. 

3041  - F - LITTLE  DAMOZEL - C - Anna  Meigher,  James  Rennie, 

Benita  Hume - Family - 60m. - Sept. 

3042  - A - WHITE  HEAT - MD - David  Newell,  Mona  Maris,  Vir¬ 
ginia  Cherrill,  Hardie  Albright - Tropical— 62m. - July. 

3045 - A - CONVENTION  GIRL - CD - Rose  Herbert,  Weldon 

Heyburn,  Sally  O’Neill,  Herbert  Rawlinson. 

3  1  15 — F — THE  RETURN  OF  CHANDU — MD — Bela  Lugosi,  Maria 
Alba,  Clara  Kimball  Young - Okay - 60m. - Oct. 

First  National-Warners 

752 _ F - FLIRTATION  WALK - CM - Dick  Powell,  Ruby  Keeler, 

Pat  O'Brien,  Ross  Alexander,  Henry  O’Neil - Box  office  delight 

— 87m. — Nov.  (FN) 

817 — A THE  ST.  LOUIS  KID CD James  Cagney,  Patricia 

Ellis,  Allen  Jenkins,  Dorothy  Dare Good  Cagney 65m. 

Nov.  (W) 

825  A THE  FIREBIRD D Verree  Teasdale,  Ricardo  Cortez, 

Anita  Louise,  Lionel  Atwill - Well  Done - 65m. - Oct  (W) 

826  - A - 1  AM  A  THIEF - MD - Mary  Astor,  Ricardo  Cortez, 

Dudley  Digges,  Irving  Pichel - Intrigues - 60m.  1-Dec.  (W) 

864 F SIX  DAY  BIKE  RIDER F Joe  E.  Brown,  Maxine 

Doyle,  Gordon  Westcott,  Frank  McHugh - All  Brown - 89m. 

- Oct. 

8671 - F - HAPPINESS  AHEAD1 - MU - Dick  PowelS,  Josephine 

Hutchinson,  John  Haliday,  Frank  McHugh,  Allen  Jenkins, 

Ruth  Donnelly - Okay - 90m. - Oct  (FN) 

869 - F— BABBITT - CD - Guy  Kibbee,  Aline  MacMahon,  Maxine 

Doyle,  Claire  Dodd,  Minna  Gombell - Satisfactory - 74m. - 

1-Dec.  (FN) 

872—  F— GENTLEMEN  ARE  BORN — D— Jean  Muir,  Franchot 

Tone,  Nick  Foran,  Charles  Starrett,  Margaret  Lindsay,  Ann 
Dvorak - Spotty - 75  m. - Nov.  (FN) 

873—  A — I  SELL  ANYTHING — C — Pat  O’Brien,  Claire  Dodd, 

Frank  McHugh,  Ann  Dvorak,  Roscoe  Karns.  Hobart  Cava¬ 
naugh - Depends,  on  O’Brien - 65m. - Nov.  (FN) 

802 — SWEET  ADELINE — MU — I  rene  Dunne,  Donald  Woods, 
Hugh  Herbert,  Ned  Sparks,  Joe  Cawthorn,  Louis  Calhern, 
Nydia  Westman,  Don  Alvarado,  Noah  Beery,  Jack  Mulhall 
—  (W) 

806— BORDERTOWN—MD— Paul  Muni,  Bette  Davis,  Margaret 

Lindsay,  Hobart  Cavanaugh,  Robert  Barratt - (W) 

81  1 — THE  SECRET  BRIDE — D— Barba  ra  Stanwyck,  Warren  Wil¬ 
liams,  Glenda  Farrell,  Henry  O’Neill - (W) 

87  7— MURDER  IN  THE  CLOUDS— AD — Lyle  Talbot,  Ann 

Dvorak,  Gordon  Westcott,  Robert  Light - '(FN) 

881 - CHURCH  MOUSE - C - Laura  La  Plante,  Monte  Banks - 

(FN) 

- F - MAYBE  IT’S  LOVE — CD - Gloria  Stuart,  Ross  Alex¬ 
ander,  Frank  McHugh,  Phillip  Reed - Program - 68m. - 1 -Dec. 

(FN) 

- SWEET  MUSIC - MU - Rudy  Vallee,  Ann  Dvorak,  Ned 

Sparks,  Joe  Cawthorn,  Allen  Jenkins,  Alice  White,  Robert 
Armstrong,  Helen  Morgan  (W) 

—GOLD  DIGGERS  OF  1935 — MU— Dick  Powell,  Gloria 
Stuart,  Hugh  Herbert,  Frank  McHugh,  Glenda  Farrell,  Win¬ 
ifred  Shaw,  Adolphe  Menjou,  Alice  Brady - (FN) 

- THE  RIGHT  TO  LIVE D George  Brent,  Josephine 

Hutchinson,  Colin  Clive,  Peggy  Wood,  Henrietta  Crosman - 

(W) 

—THE  WHITE  COCKATOO— MD—J  ean  Muir,  Ricardo 
Cortez,  Gordon  Westcott,  John  Eldredge,  Ruth  Donnelly, 
Minna  Gombel - (W) 

— DEVIL  DOGS  OF  THE  AIR — CD — J  ames  Cagney,  Pat 
O’Brien,  Margaret  Lindsay,  Frank  McHugh,  John  Arledge, 
Ward  Bond,  Russell  Hicks - ( W) 

- RED  HOT  TIRES - AD - Lyle  Talbot,  Mary  Astor,  Roscoe 

Karns,  Frankie  Darro,  Henry  Kolker,  Gavin  Gordon - (FN) 

- NORTH  SHORE - D - Barbara  Stanwyck,  Gene  Raymond, 

Genevieve  Tobin,  Nan  Gray - (FN) 


THE  CHECKUP 


— LIVING  ON  VELVET — CD — Kay  Francis,  Warren  Williams, 
George  Brent - (FN) 

—ANTHONY  ADVERSE - COD - Leslie  Howard,  Edward  C. 

Robinson,  Robert  Barrat,  Warren  William,  Bette  Davis,  George 
Brent,  Ann  Dvorak,  Ricardo  Cortez,  Kay  Francis,  Alin  Mac- 
Mahon,  Guy  Kibbee - (W) 

—BLACK  FURY— MD— Paul  Muni,  Karen  Morley,  William 
Gargan,  Tully  Marshall - (FN) 

— WHILE  THE  PATIENT  SLEPT — C— Aline  MacMahon,  Guy 
Kibbee,  Lyle  Talbot,  Margaret  Lindsay  (W) 

Fox 

508 - F - CARAVAN - O - Charles  Boyer,  Loretta  Young,  Jean 

Parker,  Phillips  Holmes,  Louise  Fazenda,  C.  Aubrey  Smith, 

Eugene  Pallette,  Noah  Beery — May  surprise - 102m. - Aug. 

510 - A - ELINOR  NORTON - D - Claire  Trevor,  Hugh  Williams, 

Norman  Foster,  Gilbert  Roland,  Henrietta  Crosman - Miss- 

out - 75m. - Nov. 

511— A— MARIE  GALANTE—MD— Spencer  Tracy,  Ketti  Gal- 
lian,  Ted  Sparks,  Helen  Morgan,  Stepin  Fetchit - Okay  melo¬ 
drama - 90m. - Nov. 

512 - A - GAMBLING - MD - George  M.  Cohan,  Wynne  Gibson, 

Dorothy  Burgess,  Theodore  Newton - Better  than  average - 

83m. - Nov. 

513—  F— MUSIC  IN  THE  AIR - MU— Gloria  Swanson,  John  Boles, 

Douglass  Montgomery,  June  Lang,  A1  Shean,  Reginald  Owen, 
Joseph  Cawthorn,  Hobart  Bosworth - Worthy - 105m. - Nov. 

514 —  F — 365  NIGHTS  IN  HOLLYWOOD— CD— J  ames  Dunn, 

Alice  Faye,  Mitchell  and  Durant,  Grant  Mitchell - Program 

Hollywood  stuff - 74m. - Oct. 

5  1  6 - F — PECK’S  BAD  BOY - C - Jackie  Cooper,  Thomas  Meig- 

han,  Jackie  Searle,  Dorothy  Peterson - Money - 70m. - Sept. 

5  1  7— F— HELL  IN  THE  HEAVENS - AD— Warner  Baxter,  Con- 

chita  Montenegro,  Russell  Hardie,  Herbert  Mundin,  Andy 

Devine,  Ralph  Morgan,  Vince  Barnet - Sell  Baxter - 80m. - 

Nov. 

518 - F— THE  WHITE  PARADE - D - Loretta  Young,  John 

Boles,  Dorothy  Wilson,  Muriel  Kirkland,  Astrid  Allwyn,  Frank 

Conroy,  Jane  Darwell,  Sara  Haden,  Joyce  Compton - Above 

average - 80m. - Nov. 

5  1 9— A— THE  FIRST  WORLD  WAR — C  ompilation  of  films  from 

secret  archives  of  war  powers — Depends  on  selling - 71m. - 

Nov. 

520— F— BACHELOR  OF  ARTS— CD— Tom  Brown,  Anita 
Louise,  Henry  B.  Walthall,  Mae  Marsh,  Arline  Judge,  Frank 

Albertson,  George  Meeker,  Berton  Churchill,  Stepin  Fetchit - 

Neat - 73m. —  I  -Dec. 

524 - F - BRIGHT  EYES - CD - Shirley  Temple,  James  Dunn, 

Judith  Allen,  Lois  Wilson,  Jane  Withers Dough 72m. 

1-Dec. 

521  - EAST  RIVER - CD - Edmund  Lowe,  Victor  McLaglen, 

Marjorie  Rambeau,  Charles  Bickford,  Grace  Bradley,  Roger 
Imhof,  George  Walsh. 

522  HELLDORADO CD Richard  Arlen,  Madge  Evans, 

Ralph  Bellamy,  James  Gleason,  Henry  B.  Walthall,  Helen  Jer¬ 
ome  Eddy,  Stepin  Fetchit. 

- LOTTERY  LOVER - CD - Lew  Ayres,  Pat  Patterson, 

Peggy  Fears,  Sterling  Holloway,  Reginald  Denny,  Alan  Dine- 
hart,  Walter  Woolf,  Eddie  Nugent. 

- COUNTY  CHAIRMAN - C - Will  Rogers,  Evelyn  Venable, 

Kent  Taylor,  Jan  Duggan,  Louise  Dresser. 

- 24  HOURS  A  DAY - D - Mona  Barrie,  Gilbert  Roland,  John 

Halliday,  Herbert  Mundin. 

—CHARLIE  CHAN  IN  PARIS— MD— Warner  Oland. 
—GEORGE  WHITE’S  SCANDALS  OF  1935— M— Alice  Faye, 
Lyda  Roberti,  Cliff  Edwards. 

- MYSTERY  BLONDE - CD - Mona  Barrie,  Gilbert  Roland, 

John  Halliday. 

- THE  LITTLE  COLONEL - CD - Shirley  Temple,  Lionel 

Barrymore,  Bill  Robinson,  Evelyn  Venable. 

- DANTE’S  INFERNO - D - Spencer  Tracy,  Alice  Faye, 

Claire  Trevor,  Henry  B.  Walthall. 

— ONE  MORE  SPRING - CD — Janet  Gaynor,  Warner  Baxter, 

Henry  B.  Walthal,  Walter  King,  Stepin  Fetchit,  Roger  Imhof, 
Roger  Foran. 

1  REDHEADS  ON  PARADE — MU - John  Boles,  Alice  Faye, 

Claire  Trevor. 

Gaumont  British 

— F— CHU  CHIN  CHOW— SP— Anna  Mae  Wong,  Fritz 

Kortner,  George  Robey,  John  Garrick - Impressive - 95m. - 

Oct. 

- A - POWER - COD - Conrad  Veidt,  Pamela  Ostrer,  Benita 

Hume,  Cedric  Hardwicke,  Sir  Gerald  Du  Maurier - Impressive 

- 1  05m. - Oct. 

- F - LITTLE  FRIEND - D — Nova  Pilbeam,  Matheson  Lang, 


Lydia  Sherwood,  Arthur  Margetson - Praiseworthy - 84m. - 

Nov. 

- F - MAN  OF  ARAN - RD - Robert  Flaherty,  Colman  King, 

Maggie  Diane,  Michael  Dillane — Artistic  Triumph — 75m. — 
Nov. 

- A — EVENSONG - D - Evelyn  Laye,  Emlyn  Williams,  Alice 

Delysia,  Fritz  Kortner - Class - 86m. - 1-Dec. 

—JACK  AHOY - C - Jack  Hulbert,  Nancy  O'Neil,  Tamara 

Desni. 

- EVERGREEN - MU - Jessie  Matthews,  Sonnie  Hale,  Betty 

Balfour. 

- THE  IRON  DUKE - COD - George  Arliss,  Gladys  Cooper, 

Emlyn  Williams,  A.  E.  Matthews. 

- PRINCESS  CHARMING - MU - Evelyn  Laye,  Yvonne  Ar- 

naud,  George  Grossmith,  Max  Miller,  Henry  Wilcoxson. 

Liberty 

- A - CHEATERS - CD - Bill  Boyd,  Dorothy  Mackaill,  June 

Collyer — Better  than  average  inde — 65m. — Mar. 

- F — NO  RANSOM - D - Leila  Hyams,  Phillips  Holmes,  Jack 

La  Rue - Deserves  hand - 72m. - Apr. 

- A - TAKE  THE  STAND - MD - Jack  LaRue,  Thelma  Todd, 

Gail  Patrick,  Russell  Topton - Ace - 81m. — Mar. 

— A — WHEN  STRANGERS  MEET — MD — Richard  Cromwell, 
Arline  Judge,  Lucien  Littlefield — Heavy — 72m. — Apr. 

— A — ONCE  TO  EVERY  BACHELOR — CD — Marion  Nixon, 

Neil  Hamilton,  Aileen  Pringle - Nice  Bet - 71m. - June. 

- F - WITHOUT  CHILDREN - D - Marguerite  Churchill, 

Bruce  Cabot,  Evelyn  Brent,  Dickie  Moore,  Cora  Sue  Collins, 
Reginald  Denny - Fair - 8  I  m. - Nov. 

— F — SCHOOL  FOR  GIRLS — MD — Sidney  Fox,  Lois  Wilson, 
Paul  Kelly,  Lucille  La  Verne,  Toby  Wing,  Dorothy  Lee,  Lona 

Andre,  Russell  Hopton,  Kathleen  Burke - Sell  feature  names - 

73  m. - Sept. 

— F — TWO  HEADS  ON  A  PILLOW — CD — Neil  Hamilton, 

Miriam  Jordan,  Henry  Armetta,  Hardie  Albright - Creditable 

- 60m. - July. 

- SWEEPSTAKE  ANNIE— CD— Marion  Nixon,  William 

Janney,  Lucien  Littlefield. 

Majestic 

- F - NIGHT  ALARM - MD - Bruce  Cabot,  Judith  Allen,  H. 

B.  Warner,  Sam  Hardy - High  rating  fire  yarn - 63m. — Oct. 

- A - THE  SCARLET  LETTER — CL - Colleen  Moore,  Har¬ 
die  Albright,  Henry  B.  Walthall - Saleable - 63m. - Aug. 

- F - SHE  HAD  TO  CHOOSE - CD — Buster  Crabbe,  Isabel 

Jewell,  Regis  Toomey,  Sally  Blane - Average - 65m. -  Aug. 

- F THE  PERFECT  CLUE MD David  Manners,  Dorothy 

Libaire,  Skeets  Gallagher,  Betty  Blythe - Satisfactory - 62m. 

- 1  -Dec. 

Mascot 

- F - YOUNG  AND  BEAUTIFUL - C - William  Haines,  Jud¬ 
ith  Allen,  Joe  Cawthorn,  John  Miljan,  Shaw  and  Lee,  Ted 
Fio  Rito  and  Band — Okay - 65m. - Sept. 

- F CRIMSON  ROMANCE. MD Ben  Lyon,  Sari  Maritza, 

James  Bush,  Hardie  Albright,  William  Bakewell,  Erich  Von 
Stroheim - Fair - 68m. - Oct. 

— F— IN  OLD  SANTE  FE— W— Ken  Maynard,  Evalyn  Knapp, 

H.  B.  Warner,  Gene  Autry - Better  than  usual - 64m. - 1-Dec. 

—MYSTERY  MOUNTAIN— W— Ken  Maynard,  Verna  Hillie. 
—THE  MARINES  ARE  COMING — MD— William  Haines, 
Conrad  Nagel,  Armida,  Esther  Ralston,  Edgar  Kennedy. 

- LITTLE  MEN - CL - Frankie  Darro,  Ralph  Morgan,  Erin 

O’Brien-Moore,  Buster  Phelps,  Dickie  Moore,  Cora  Sue  Col¬ 
lins. 

Metro 

403— F— TREASURE  ISLAND— CL— Wallace  Beery,  Chic  Sale, 
Jackie  Cooper,  Lewis  Stone,  Lionel  Barrymore,  Dorothy  Peter¬ 
son — Splendid — 1  15m. — July. 

411 — F — STUDENT  TOUR — F — Jimmy  Durante,  Maxine  Doyle, 
Charles  Butterworth,  Monte  Blue — Durante  and  Butterworth 
- 80  m. - Sept. 

4  1  5— A— THE  PAINTED  VEIL— D— Greta  Garbo,  Herbert  Mar¬ 
shall,  George  Brent,  Cecilia  Parker,  Jean  Hersholt,  Warner 

Oland,  Katherine  Alexander,  Beulah  Bondi - All  Garbo - 75m. 

— Nov. 

4  I  9— A— WHAT  EVERY  WOMAN  KNOWS— CD— Helen  Hayes, 
Brian  Aherne,  Lucille  Watson,  Madge  Evans,  Dudley  Digges, 

David  Torrence,  Donald  Crisp - High - 95m. - Oct. 

422— F— BABES  IN  TOYLAND— MU— Laurel  and  Hardy,  Char¬ 
lotte  Henry - Kiddies’  natural - 70m. - 1 -Dec. 

506 - OUTCAST  LADY - D - Constance  Bennett,  Hugh  Williams, 

Herbert  Marshall,  Henry  Stephenson,  Ralph  Forbes - Class - 

80m. - Sept. 


THE  CHECKUP 


508  - A - EVELYN  PRENTICE - MD - William  Powell,  Myrna 

Loy,  Una  Merkel,  Jack  Mulhall,  Cora  Sue  Collins - All  Powell- 

Loy — 78m. — Nov. 

509  - A - THE  GAY  BRIDE - CD - Carole  Lombard,  Chester 

Morris,  Una  Merkel,  Leo  Carrillo,  Zasu  Pitts - Laugh  show - 

82m. - Nov. 

535 - A - THE  MERRY  WIDOW - MU— Maurice  Chevalier,  Jean¬ 

ette  MacDonald,  Edward  Everett  Horton,  Una  Merkel,  Sterling 
Holloway - Big - 1  I  0m. - Sept. 

540  - A - WICKED  WOMAN - D - Mady  Christians,  Charles 

Bickford,  Zelda  Sears,  John  Parker - Drama - 75m.— 1 -Dec. 

552 — A— BARRETTS  OF  WIMPOLE  STREET — D— Norma 

Shearer,  Maureen  O’Sullivan,  Charles  Laughton,  Fredric 
March Triumph 1  03m. — 'Aug. 

408 — FORSAKING  ALL  OTHERS — CD — Clark  Gable,  Joan 
Crawford,  Billie  Burke,  Robert  Montgomery,  Ted  Healy, 
Charles  Butterworth. 

507— BIOGRAPHY  OF  A  BACHELOR  GIRI - CD— Ann  Hard¬ 

ing,  Robert  Mortgomery. 

526 - THE  NIGHT  IS  YOUNG - M - Evelyn  La  ye,  Ramon  No- 

varro,  Charles  Butterworth,  Stuart  Erwin,  Edward  Everett 
Horton,  Una  Merkel. 

541  - THE  BAND  PLAYS  ON - AD - Robert  Young,  Maureen 

O’Sullivan,  Ted  Healy. 

—DAVID  COPPERFIELD - CL— Lionel  Barrymore,  W.  C. 

Fields,  Elizabeth  Allen,  Fred  Bartholomew,  Roland  Young, 
Hugh  Williams,  Edna  May  Oliver,  Madge  Evans,  Basil  Rath- 
bone,  Lewis  Stone,  Elsa  Lancaster. 

—PUBLIC  ENEMY  No.  2— CD - Charles  Butterworth. 

- RECKLESS - D - Joan  Crawford,  William  Powell,  Franchot 

Tone,  May  Robson,  Henry  Stephenson. 

- SEQUOIA - AD - Jean  Parker,  Russell  Hardie,  Paul  Hurst. 

—THE  WINNING  TICKET— CD - Leo  Carrillo,  Louise  Faz¬ 

enda,  Irene  Hervey,  Luis  Alberni. 

- WEST  POINT  OF  THE  AIR— MD - Wallace  Beery,  Robert 

Young,  Maureen  O’Sullivan,  James  Gleason,  Russell  Hardie, 
- VANESSA - CD - Robert  Montgomery,  Helen  Hayes,  Don¬ 
ald  Crisp,  Lawrence  Grant. 

- COPY  CATS CD Constance  Bennett,  Clark  Gable, 

Henry  Travers,  Stuart  Erwin,  Frank  Mayo,  Harvey  Stephens. 

Monogram 

3001 - F - GIRL  OF  THE  LIMBERLOST - CD - Louise  Dresser, 

Marian  Marsh,  Ralph  Morgan,  Henry  B.  Walthall,  Edward 

Nugent,  Helen  Jerome  Eddy - Well  done - 86m. - Sept. 

301  I - MILLION  DOLLAR  BABY - CD - Jimmy  Fay,  Arline  Judge, 

Ray  Walker,  George  E.  Stone,  Eddie  Kane,  Jeanette  Loff,  Wil¬ 
lard  Robertson.  Paul  Porasi. 

3012 F REDHEAD CD Bruce  Cabot,  Grace  Bradley,  Berton 

Churchill,  Regis  Toomey — To  be  exploited — 73m. — Oct. 

3014  - A — SING  SING  NIGHTS - MD - Bela  Lugosi,  Conway 

Tearle,  Hardie  Albright,  Boots  Mallory,  Mary  Doran,  Berton 
Churchill — Holds  interest - 60m. - 1  -Dec. 

3015  - F - GIRL  OF  MY  DREAMS - CD - Mary  Carlisle,  Eddie 

Nugent,  Tommy  Dugan,  Gigi  Parrish - Pleasant - 70m. — Nov. 

3020—  F— LOST  IN  THE  STRATOSPHERE— MD— June  Collyer, 

William  Cagney,  Eddie  Nugent,  Edmund  Breese,  Pauline  Garon 
- To  be  sold - 70m. — Nov. 

3021—  F— TOMORROW’S  YOUTH — CD— Dickie  Moore,  John 

Miljan,  Martha  Sleeper,  Franklyn  Pangborn,  Gloria  Shea - 

Fair — 63  m. — Oct. 

3023—  F - FLIRTING  WITH  DANGER— CD— Robert  Armstrong, 

Maria  Alba,  William  Cagney,  Edgar  Kennedy - Average - 

69m. - 1  -Dec. 

3031— F— THE  TRAIL  BEYOND - W— John  Wayne,  Verna  Hillie, 

Noah  Beery,  Robert  Fraser - Average  western - 55m. - Oct. 

3024—  F— SUCCESSFUL  FAILURE— CD— William  Collier,  Sr., 

Lucille  Gleason - Programmer - 62m. — Oct. 

3022—  MYSTERIOUS  MR.  WONG— MD— Bela  Lugosi,  Wallace 
Ford,  Dorothy  Lee. 

303  7— LAWLESS  FRONTIER— W— John  Wayne. 

3034— NEATH  ARIZONA  SKIES — W — John  Wayne. 

- RECKLESS  ROMEOS - CD - Robert  Armstrong,  William 

Cagney. 

3018— WOMEN  MUST  DRESS— CD— Minna  Gombel,  Gavin  Gor¬ 
don,  seven  Monogram-Agfa  contest  winners. 

Paramount 

3406— F— MRS.  WIGGS  OF  THE  CABBAGE  PATCH— CD— Paul¬ 
ine  Lord,  Zasu  Pitts,  Evelyn  Venable,  Charles  Middleton,  W. 
C.  Fields,  Kent  Taylor,  Donald  Meek,  Jimmy  Butler — Okay 
family. - 75m. - Sept. 

3409— A— PURSUIT  OF  HAPPINESS— C— Francis  Lederer,  Joan 
Bennett,  Charles  Ruggles,  Mary  Boland,  Walter  Kingsford, 
Minor  Watson — Good  comedy — 85  m. — Oct. 


3412  F READY  FOR  LOVE CD Richard  Arlen,  Marjorie 

Rambeau,  Ida  Lupino,  Junior  Durkin,  Henry  Travers - Pro¬ 
gram - 65  m. - Oct. 

3413  A MENACE MD Paul  Cavanaugh,  Gertrude  Michael, 

Henrietta  Crosman,  John  Lodge,  Raymond  Milland,  Berton 
Churchill,  Halliwell  Hobbes - Thrills  aplenty - 60m. - Oct. 

3414  A ENTER  MADAME C Elissa  Landi,  Cary  Grant, 

Lynne  Overman,  Sharon  Lyne - Better  than  average  76m. 

Nov. 

3415  _ A - LIMEHOUSE  BLUES - MD - George  Raft,  Jean  Parker, 

Anna  May  Wong,  Kent  Taylor,  Billy  Bevan - Strictly  melo¬ 

drama — 64m. — Nov. 

3416 — A — THE  PRESIDENT  VANISHES — D — Arthur  Byron, 

Janet  Beecher,  Paul  Kelly,  Edward  Arnold - Debatable - 85m. 

- 1  -Dec. 

3417  F COLLEGE  RHYTHM F' Joe  Penner,  Laniny  Rosp, 

Jack  Oakie,  George  Barbier,  Lyda  Roberti,  Mary  Brian - 

Dough  show - 84m. - Nov. 

3418  - F - IT’S  A  GIFT — C - W.  C.  Fields,  Joan  Rouverol,  Kath¬ 
leen  Howard,  Baby  Leroy,  Morgan  Wallace - All  Fields  69m. 

- 1  -Dec. 

3419  - F — 'BEHOLD  MY  WIFE - D - Sylvia  Sidney,  Gene  Ray¬ 
mond,  Juliette  Compton,  Laura  Hope  Crews,  H.  B.  Warner - 

Okay - 77  m. - 1 -Dec. 

3420 — F — FATHER  BROWN,  DETECTIVE — D — Walter  Connolly, 
Paul  Lukas,  Halliwell  Hobbes,  Gertrude  Michaels,  Una  O’Con¬ 
nor - Favorable - 65m. - 1  -Dec. 

3421  - F - HOME  ON  THE  RANGE - W - Jackie  Coogan,  Ran¬ 
dolph  Scott,  Evelyn  Brent - Different  open  air  piece - 70m. - 

1  -Dec. 

3422  - F - ONE  HOUR  LATE - CD - Joe  Morrison,  Arline  Judge, 

Ray  Walker,  Charles  Sellon,  George  E.  Stone - Sell  Morrison 

- 69m. - I  -Dec. 

- HERE  IS  MY  HEART - C - Bing  Crosby,  Roland  Young, 

Kitty  Carlisle,  Reginald  Owen. 

—LIVES  OF  BENGAL  LANCER - MD - Gary  Cooper,  Fran¬ 

chot  Tone,  Richard  Cromwell,  Sir  Guy  Standing,  Kathleen 
Burke,  Monte  Blue. 

— WINGS  IN  THE  DARK - AD - Myrna  Loy,  Cary  Grant, 

Roscoe  Karns,  Arnold  Korff. 

- CAPRICE  ESPAGNOL - MD - Marlene  Dietrich,  Joel  Mc- 

Crea,  Lionel  Atwill,  Edward  Everett  Horton,  Alison  Skip- 
worth. 

- ONCE  IN  A  BLUE  MOON - CD - Jimmy  Savo,  Whitney 

Bourne,  Cecilia  Parker,  Michael  Dalmatoff. 

- MISSISSIPPI - MU - Bing  Crosby,  W.  C.  Fields,  Joan  Ben¬ 
nett,  Queenie  Smith,  the  Cabin  Kids. 

- RUGGLES  OF  RED  GAP - C - Charles  Laughton,  Mary 

Boland,  Charles  Ruggles,  Baby  Leroy,  Zasu  Pitts. 

- RHUMBA - D - George  Raft,  Carole  Lombard,  Lynne  Over¬ 
man,  Margo  Monroe  Owsley. 

- KIDS  ON  THE  CUFF - C - Max  Baer,  Gertrude  Michael, 

Alison  Skipworth,  David  Holt. 

—THE  VANISHING  PIONEER — W — Randolph  Scott,  Chic 
Sale,  Ann  Sheridan,  George  Marion,  Mrs.  Leslie  Carter. 
—THE  MAN  ON  THE  FLYING  TRAPEZE — C — W.  C.  Fields. 

- THE  GILDED  LILY - Claudette  Colbert,  Fred  MacMurray, 

C.  Aubrey  Smith,  Luis  Alberni,  Donald  Meek. 

- WIN  OR  LOSE - Joe  Morrison,  Marian  Mansfield,  George 

Burns,  Gracie  Allen. 

- NOW  I’M  A  LADY - Mae  West. 

— BE  CAREFUL,  YOUNG  LADY — CD — Carl  Brisson,  Elissa 
Landi,  Jack  Oakie,  Edward  Everett  Horton. 

- THE  CRUSADERS - SP - Henry  Wilcoxson,  C.  Aubrey 

Smith. 

—ONE  NIGHT  STAND— C - Ben  Bernie. 

Radio 

505 F — THE  GAY  DIVORCEE — MU (Ginger  Rogers,  Fred 

Astaire,  Edward  Everett  Horton,  Eric  Blore,  Alice  Brady - Ace 

musical — 1  06m. — Oct. 

506 —  A — DANGEROUS  CORNER — D — Conrad  Nagel,  Virginia 

Bruce,  Melvyn  Douglas,  lan  Keith,  Eaon  O’Brien  Moore - 

Spotty - 83  m. - Oct. 

507 —  F — ANNE  OF  GREEN  GABLES — CL — Anne  Shirley,  Tom 

Browne,  O.  P.  Heggie.  Helen  Westley,  Sara  Haden,  Murray 
Kinnell - Sell  the  book - 79m. - Nov. 

508  - F - KENTUCKY  KERNELS - F - Wheeler  and  Woolsey, 

Mary  Carlisle,  Spanky  MacFarland,  Noah  Beery,  Lucille  La- 
Verne - Comedy  hit - 89m. - Nov. 

509  - F - BY  YOUR  LEAVE - CD - Frank  Morgan,  Genevieve 

Tobin,  Neil  Hamilton,  Marion  Nixon,  Glenn  Anders: — Some 
laughs — 79  m. — Oct. 

510  - F— WEDNESDAY’S  CHILD - D - Edward  Arnold,  Karen 

Morley,  Frankie  Thomas,  Jr. — To  be  sold — 70m. — Oct. 

511  - F - GRIDIRON  FLASH - CD - Eddie  Quillen,  Betty  Fur¬ 
ness,  Grant  Mitchell,  Robert  McWade - Seasonal - 62m. — Nov. 


THE  CHECKUP 


513  F SILVER  STEAK AD Sally  Blane,  Charles  Starrett, 

Hardie  Albright,  William  Farnum,  Irving  Pichel - Exploitation 

opportunity - 86m. - 1-Dec. 

514  _ A _ WOMAN  IN  THE  DARK — MD— Fay  Wray,  Melvyn 

Douglas,  Ralph  Bellamy,  Roscoe  Ates - Strictly  melodrama — 

68m. - 1  -Dec. 

515  F RED  MORNING MD — Regis  Toomey,  Steffi  Duna, 

Raymond  Hatton,  George  Lewis - Familiar - 60m. - Nov. 

5  I  6 F — WEST  OF  THE  PECOS — AD — Richard  Dix,  Martha 

Sleeper,  Fred  Kohler,  Louise  Beaver,  Maria  Alba - High  rating 

action  drama - 68m.- — I -Dec. 

517  _ F— LIGHTNING  STRIKES  TWICE — C — Ben  Lyon,  Pert 

Kelton,  Thelma  Todd,  Laura  Hope  Crews,  Chic  Chandler, 
Walter  Catlett,  Skeets  Gallagher - Weak — -65m. - Nov. 

518  _ F - ROMANCE  IN  MANHATTAN - CD - Francis  Lederer, 

Ginger  Rogers,  Arthur  Hohl,  Jimmy  Butler - Nice  program — 

7  7m. —  1  -Dec. 

5  19 _ F - GRAND  OLD  GIRL - CD - May  Robson,  Mary  Carlisle, 

Alan  Hale,  Donald  Crisp,  Reginald  Denny,  Andy  Clyde. 

520 - ENCHANTED  APRIL - D - Ann  Harding,  Frank  Morgan, 

Katherine  Alexander,  Reginald  Owen. 

512 - LITTLE  MINISTER - CD - Katherine  Hepburn,  John  Beal, 

Alan  Hales,  Donald  Crisp,  Reginald  Denny,  Andy  Clyde. 

— PUZZLE  OF  THE  PEPPER  TREE — MY — Edna  May  Oliver, 
James  Gleason,  Gene  Lockhart,  Sleep  N  Eat. 

— STAR  OF  MIDNIGHT — D — William  Powell. 

- ROBERTA - MU - Irene  Dunne,  Fred  Astaire,  Ginger 

Rogers 

United  Artists 

_ F _ COUNT  OF  MONTE  CRISTO — MD — Robert  Donat, 

Elissa  Landi - Should  do - 110m. - Sept. 

_ F _ THE  LAST  GENTLEMAN - CD - George  Arliss,  Edna 

May  Oliver,  Charlotte  Henry — One  man  picture - 80m. — 

May. 

_ A - OUR  DAILY  BREAD - D - Karen  Morley,  Tom  Keene 

- Question - 90m. - July. 

_F— TRANSATLANTIC  MERRY-GO-ROUND — MU— Jack 
Benny,  Nancy  Carroll,  Gene  Raymond,  Sydney  Howard,  Sid 
Silvers - Big  Possibilities - 90m. - Oct. 

— A— PRIVATE  LIFE  OF  DON  JUAN - COD — Douglas  Fair¬ 
banks,  Merle  Oberon,  Benita  Hume - Plenty  to  sell - Oct. 

- A - WE  LIVE  AGAIN - D - Anna  Sten,  Fredric  March,  Sam 

Jaffe - Impressive - 84  m. — Oct. 

- F - KID  MILLIONS - MU - Eddie  Cantor,  Ethel  Merman, 

Ann  Sothern,  Block  and  Sully - Ace  click - 91m. - Nov. 

- F - THE  MIGHTY  BARNUM - CD - Wallace  Beery,  Janet 

Beecher,  Adolphe  Menjou,  Virginia  Bruce,  Rochelle  Hudson, 
- Ace  Hit - 102m. - Aug. 

- A - NELL  GWYN - COD - Anna  Neagle,  Cedric  Hardwicke 

- Restricted - 75m. - Aug. 

—A— THE  RUNAWAY  QUEEN  - COD - Anna  Neagle,  Ferdi¬ 

nand  Graavey. 

- CHARLES  CHAPLIN  No.  5 - C - Charles  Chaplin,  Paulette 

Goddard. 

- CLIVE  OF  INDIA - MD - Donald  Colman,  Loretta  Young. 

— THE  SCARLET  PIMPERNEL— COD— Leslie  Howard, 
Merle  Oberon,  Johan  Gardner,  Nigel  Bruce,  Raymond  Massey. 

- CONGO  RAID - MD - Leslie  Banks,  Paul  Robeson,  Nina 

McKinney. 

- BREWSTER’S  MILLIONS - F - Jack  Buchanan,  Lili  Damita. 

—THE  CALL  OF  THE  WILD— MD— Clark  Gable,  Fay  Wray. 

- LES  MISERABLES - CL - Fredric  March. 

— FOLIES  BERGERES  DE  PARIS - MU— Maurice  Cheva¬ 

lier,  Merle  Oberon,  Ann  Sothern,  Reginald  Owen,  Walter 
Bryon. 

—CARDINAL  RICHELIEU - COD— George  Arliss. 

- THE  WEDDING  NIGHT - D - Anna  Sten,  Gary  Cooper. 

Universal 

7003— A— IMITATION  OF  LIFE - D - Claudette  Colbert,  Warren 

William,  Ned  Sparks,  Rochelle  Hudson,  Alan  Hale,  Paul  Por- 
casi,  Henry  Armetta - Comedy  drama - 1  18m. - Nov. 

8020 —  F - STRANGE  WIVES - CD - Roger  Pryor,  June  Clay- 

worth,  Esther  Ralston,  Hugh  O’Connell,  Ralph  Forbes - So-so 

- 79m. - I  -Dec. 

8021—  F— WAKE  UP  AND  DREAM— CD— Russ  Columbo,  June 

Knight - Laugh  satisfyer - 76m. - Sept. 

8022—  A— CHEATING  CHEATERS— CD— Fay  Wray,  Cesar 

Romero,  Francis  Sullivan - So-so - 67m. - Nov. 

802  7 — F— ONE  EXCITING  ADVENTURE — CD — Binnie  Barnes, 

Neil  Hamilton — Comedy  program — 89m. - Oct. 

8029— F— GREAT  EXPECTATIONS— CL— Henry  Hull,  Jane 

Wyatt,  Phillips  Holmes,  Florence  Reed,  Alan  Hale - More 

prestige  for  Universal — 99m. — Nov. 

8033— F— SECRET  OF  THE  CHATEAU— MY— Claire  Dodd, 


Alice  White,  Jack  LaRue,  Helen  Ware,  Osgood  Perkins - 

Weak — 70m. — Oct. 

8082 - F - WHEN  A  MAN  SEES  RED - W — Buck  Jones,  Dorothy 

Neirer - Okay - 60m. - 1  -Dec. 

8003 - THE  GOOD  FAIRY - CD - Margaret  Sullaven,  Herbert 

Marshall,  Alan  Hale, "Frank  Morgan. 

8008 - NIGHT  LIFE  OF  THE  GODS - C - Alan  Mowbray,  Florine 

McKinney,  Irene  Ware,  Wesley  Barry. 

8036 — STRAIGHT  FROM  THE  HEART — CD — Mary  Astor,  Roger 
Pryor,  Baby  Jane. 

8024 — MYSTERY  OF  EDWIN  DROOD — MD — Claude  Rains, 
Heather  Angel,  Douglass  Montgomery. 

8028 — MAN  WHO  RECLAIMED  HIS  HEAD — MD — Claude  Rains, 
Lionel  Atwill,  Baby  Jane,  Joan  Bennett,  Wallace  Ford. 

8032 — DANGEROUS  GENTLEMAN  —  MD  —  Charles  Bickford. 
Helen  Vinson,  John  Darrow,  Onslow  Stevens,  Dudley  Digges. 

- LIFE  RETURNS - D - Onslow  Stevens,  Lois  Wilson,  George 

Breakston,  Stanley  Fields. 

- I’VE  BEEN  AROUND - CD - Chester  Morris,  Rochelle 

Hudson,  Ralph  Morgan,  Isabel  Jewell. 

—RENDEZVOUS  AT  MIDNIGHT — MD— Ralph  Bellamy, 
Valerie  Hobson. 

Miscellaneous 

— F— INSIDE  INFORMATION — AD— Marion  Shilling,  Rex 

Lease,  Tarzan  the  Ape,  Philo  McCullough - Weak - 60m. - 

Nov. 

- F - THUNDER  OVER  TEXAS - W - Guinn  Williams,  Mar¬ 
ion  Shilling,  Claude  Payton,  Philo  McCullough - Usual  West¬ 
ern - 60m. - Nov. 

_F— THE  FIGHTING  HERO— W - Tom  Tyler,  Ed  Hearn, 

Renee  Borden,  Ralph  Lewis - Nice  western - 59m. - Aug. 

_F— MURDER  IN  THE  MUSEUM— MY— Henry  B.  Walthall, 

Phyllis  Barrington,  Johnny  Harron - Average  murder  stuff - 

60m. - July. 

_A— TOMORROW’S  CHILDREN— D— Diane  Sinclair,  Ster¬ 
ling  Holloway,  John  Preston,  Sara  Padden - Exploitation  op¬ 

portunity — May. 

- F - OIL  RAIDER - AD — Buster  Crabbe,  Gloria  Shea,  George 

Irving - ’Twill  do - 65m. - Sept. 

— F— FIVE  BAD  MEN— W— Noah  Beery,  Jr.,  Bill  Patton,  Pete 
Morrison,  Buffalo  Bill,  Jr.,,  Sally  Dolling,  Wally  Wales - Sat¬ 
isfactory  western - 60m. - Nov. 

_F— THE  SILVER  BULLET— W— Tom  Tyler,  Jane  Regan, 
Lafe  McKee - Average - 56m. - Nov. 

—OUTLAWS’  HIGHWAY— W— John  King,  Kazan,  Tom  Lon¬ 
don,  Bonita  Barker,  Philo  McCullough. 

— F — THE  BRAND  OF  HATE — W — Bob  Steele,  Lucille 

Brown,  William  Farnum - Okay  western - 63m. - I -Dec. 

- F - THE  HOUSE  OF  DANGER - MY - Onslow  Stevens, 

James  Bush,  Janet  Chandler - Usual  mystery  murder - 62m. - 

I  -Dec. 

- F - FRONTIER  DAYS - W - Bill  Cody,  Ada  Ince,  Wheeler 

Oakman,  Bill  Cody,  Jr. - Riproaring - 61m. - 1-Dec. 

_A— WITHIN  THE  ROCK— D— Lila  Lee,  Creighton  Chaney, 
Edmund  Breese,  Lafe  McKee — So-so - 65m. - 1-Dec. 

Foreign 

- A - BROKEN  MELODY - D - John  Garrick,  Merle  Oberon, 

Margot  Grahame,  Austin  Trevor  (British) - So-so - 67m. - 

Nov. 

— F - ARE  YOU  A  MASON? - F - Sonnie  Hale,  J.  Robertson 

Hare,  Davey  Burnaby  (British) - Missout - 76m. - Nov. 

- A — AUTUMN  CROCUS - D - Ivor  Novello,  Fay  Compton 

(British) - Class - 7  1  m. - Nov. 

—A— CRIME  ON  THE  HILL— MY— Sally  Blane,  Sir  Nigel 

Playfair,  Anthony  Bushell  (British) - Two  Names - 61m. — 

Nov. 

—A— FREEDOM  OF  THE  SEAS— CD— Zelma  O’Neill,  Cliff 

Mollison,  Wendy  Barrie  (British) - Average  Importation - 

75  m. - Nov. 

A  LOYALTIES - D - Basil  Rathbone,  Heather  Thatcher, 

Miles  Mander,  Philip  Strange  (British) - Restricted - 73m. _ 

Nov. 

— F— THE  YOUTH  OF  RUSSIA— CD— Tale  of  Jewish  Life- 
Okay  for  Jewish  Trade - 65m. - Nov. 

—A— SCOTLAND  YARD  MYSTERY— MY— Sir  Gerald  Du 
Maurier,  George  Curzon,  Belle  Crystal  (British) — Sell  the 
title - 7  0m. - Nov. 

MADAME  BOV  ARY - D - French  cast  in  French  drama 

with  English  titles - Restricted - 98m. - 1 -Dec 

—A— 3  SONGS  ABOUT  LENIN— D— Russian  film  paying 

homage  to  Lenin - Art  Stuff - 64m. - 1 -Dec. 

~ A  THE  BATTLE - D - Charles  Boyer,  Merle  Oberon, 

Betty  Stockfield,  John  Loder - Impressive - 84m. - 1-Dec 

77I;r~W£LTZ  TmE  IN  VIENNA— MU— Willy  Fritsch.  Renate 
Muller - For  restricted  list - 74m. - 1 -Dec. 


mmom 


is  the  only  efficient. 


authentic  medium  of  covering  ALL 


local  code  activities  .  .  .  instructing 


its  readers  on  all  code  and  griev¬ 
ance  board  methods  .  .  .  carrying 


in  detail  each  issue  all  complaints. 


decisions  and  news  of  local  code 


boards  .  .  .  Just  another  local 


personal  service  of  value  to  you. 


Subscribe  No  tv  ! 


W  EMANUEL  PUBLICATIONS,  Inc. 

19  North  Broad  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Gentlemen: — 

Your  services  are  useful  to  me  in  the  operation  of  my  business.  I  want  to  be  sure  of 
eceiving  a  copy  of  each  issue.  Enclosed  find  my  check. 

Name _  _ _ 

Theatre 


ONE  YEAR— $2;00 
THREE  YEARS— $5.00 


▲  II 


I 


Dec  1 T 34  b.c. 


Well 9  Fellows: 

you  know  you  could  depend  on  metro 

FOR  A  HOLIDAY  ATTRACTION  THAT  WOULD 
NOT  ONLY  BE  A  NATURAL  FOR  THE  KIDDIES 
BUT  A  HIT  WITH  ADULTS  AS  WELL  — 

THAT  PICTURE  IS 


Victor  Herbert’ s  Immortal 

"Babes  inToyLAND" 

WITH 

LAUREL  and  HARDY 

STAN  OLIVER 

I  DON'T  NEED  TO  TELL  YOU  WHAT  THIS  WILL  MEAN  TO  YOUR 
BOX  OFFICE  AT  XmaBtUttP.  I  DON'T  HAVE  TO  TELL  YOU  THAT 
THIS  WILL  PROVE  AS  BIG  A  HIT  WITH  THE  ADULTS  AS  WITH 
THE  CHILDREN. 

YOUR  PUBLIC  KNOWS  IT  IS  ONE  OF  VICTOR  HERBERT'S 
GREATEST  MUSICAL  ACHIEVEMENTS. 

I  PREDICT  THAT,  COMING  AT  THIS  TIME,  "BABES  in  TOYLAND" 
WILL  MAKE  NEW  FRIENDS  FOR  YOUR  THEATRE  AND  THE  MOTION 
PICTURE  INDUSTRY. 


GIVE  IT  EXTENDED  PLAYING  TIME. 


Boh  Lynch. 

M  G  M 


/OL.  16— No.  24  PHILADELPHIA,  DECEMBER  15,  1934  Price,  15  Cents 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  September  11.  1924,  at  the  post  office  at  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  under  the  Act  of  March  3,  1879, 

...  _ Plim  ISMFn  SCMI-MOMTUI  Y  AT  91Q  M  PPOAIh  CTOCCT  --PUN  ton  PUI» _ _ _ . _ _ _ 


PARAMOUNT  10ulu*y°u 

Cl  yVltLhJiaj  ClAjlJj)  c^cixl  ^ 
a  O^AoojoeJLO-usL.  'V)eMJ  'IjejzJLs 

with  heA£  VO  Wc,  -/-J cxlSiJ 


with 

BING  CROSBY,  KITTY  CARLISLE, 

Alison  Skipworth,  Roland  Young,  Reginald 
Owen  ....  Music  and  Lyrics  by  Ralph 
Rainger,  Leo  Robin  and  Lewis  Gensler. ...  A 
Paramount  Picture  directed  by  Frank  Tuttle 


Decl5'34  pg.  2 


It  s  PAYDAY  when  .  .  - 


from  New  York 
Daily  News  for 


FLIRTATION  WALK 

fksl  of  7>(te  Bi$  Skats  fem  Umm  3w. 


Decl5'34  pg.  4 


Holiday 

Music! 


"FORSAKING  ALL  OTHERS" 

Previewed  to  the  biggest 
Coast  raves  you  ever  heard: 


Says  the  Hollywood  Reporter: 

‘“Forsaking  All  Others’  wallop  for  any  box  office. 
Excellent  cast  in  great  production.  It’s  a  honey. 
There’s  no  other  word  for  it.  It’s  got  all  varieties  of 
comedy  played  by  an  all  star  cast  giving  four  star 
performances.” 


Says  Coast  Variety: 

“In  the  performances  of  Crawford,  Gable  and  Mont¬ 
gomery  there  is  scarcely  a  shade  of  preference.  All 
three  are  superb.  Lavish  mounting,  purposeful  and 
pleasing  musical  treatment  add  to  picture’s  class  in 
every  department.  It  should  register  solid  audience 
satisfaction.’’ 


with  CHARLES  BUTTERWORTH,  BILLIE  BURKE,  FRANCES  DRAKE,  ROSALIND  RUSSELL 

AN  M-G-M  PRIZE  PACKAGE  •  Directed  by  W.  S.  VAN  DYKE  •  BERNARD*^  HYMAN 


Decl5'34  pg.  5 


' 


Decl5'34  pg.  6 


L 


Produced  by  Sol  M.  Wurtzel 

Directed  by  David  Butler.  Screen  play  by  IVilliam 
Conselman.  Story  by  David  Butler  and  Edwin  Burke 

0* 


RELEASED  DECEMBER  28th-YOUR  YEAR’! 


Decl5'34  pg.  7 


£  By  far  Shirley  Temple’s  most  appealing  picture  .  .  .  brimming 
with  happiness,  excitement,  romance,  tenderness. 


Q  Showing  America’s  darling  as  the  tiny  mascot  of  a  big  airport 
. . .  the  pal  of  every  flier  .  .  .  and  the  particular  buddy  of  one  pilot 
who  becomes  her  Daddy  when  her  parents  go  to  Heaven. 


Qet  the 

ADVANCE 

EXPLOITATION 

SPECIAL 


£  An  exploitation  title  with  an  exploitation  star  .  .  .  and  perfect 
entertainment  for  every  family  in  the  land ! 


BIGGEST  SHOW  WEEK 


THE 


PAGE 


EDITOR'S 


Vol.  16,  No.  24 


December  15,  1934 


The 


Philadelphia 


"Time"  Marches  In 

IT  IS  OF  CREDIT  not  only  to  First 
®  Division  Exchanges,  Inc.,  but  to  the 
independent  distribution  and  production 
factions  of  this  business  that  TIME  has 
chosen  an  independent  company  for  its  en¬ 
trance  into  the  motion  picture  business. 
Those  who  infer  that  initiative  in  this  in¬ 
dustry  has  been  destroyed,  that  a  man  with 
a  better  idea  than  the  next  fellow  can’t  get 
anywhere,  had  best  take  a  good  look  at  the 
announcement  of  Time  Magazine  join.ng 
with  First  Division  Exchanges,  Inc.,  in 
production  and  distribution. 

Here  is  a  magazine  without  parallel,  an 
independent,  fearless,  frank  thinking  pub¬ 
lication  that  investigated  all  phases  of  the 
industry  before  it  made  its  bow. 

Time  has  chosen  to  march  in  with  First 
Division  Exchanges,  Inc.  This  adds  to  the 
present  high  standing  of  Harry  Thomas. 
The  industry  should  benefit  from  this  com¬ 
bination,  not  only  in  new  ideas  which  are 
certain  to  result  but  in  the  realization  that 
independent  production  and  progress  get 
their  greatest  incentive  from  the  announce¬ 
ment. 

Time  and  Harry  H.  Thomas,  president, 
First  Division,  are  to  be  congratulated. 


Help  Relief  Funds 

THE  INDUSTRY’S  ANNUAL  charity, 
*  the  Film  Daily  Relief  Fund,  is  again 
seeking  funds  from  the  industry.  In  all 
parts  of  the  country,  theatres  are  not  only 
contributing  money  but  lending  their  serv¬ 
ices  and  use  of  their  auditoriums  for  the 
needy. 

In  a  case  of  this  kind,  there  should  be  no 
quibbling.  A  unanimous  industry  is  nec¬ 
essary. 

Let  those  who  so  desire  give  to  the  Film 
Daily  Relief  Fund.  “Colonel”  Jack  Alicoate 
should  have  everyone's  support  in  this 
grand  idea.  Let  others  contribute  to  chari¬ 
ties  throughout  the  country.  The  motion 
picture  industry  must  now,  as  always,  be 
in  the  forefront  of  every  such  move. 


Always  Forward 

_  FOR  THOSE  who  have  not  already 
®  seen  it,  the  attention  of  readers  is 
directed  to  a  new,  improved  CHECKUP. 
Trade  publications,  like  trends  in  movies, 
must  keep  up-to-date  and  throw  out  old 
ideas  to  make  way  for  the  new. 

Each  year,  this  department  tries  to  in¬ 
corporate  new,  serviceable  features.  THE 
CHECKUP  is  the  1935  product.  It  is  with¬ 
out  parallel  in  the  business.  It  combines, 
in  easy  form,  all  that  is  necessary  to  fill  the 
booking  needs  of  the  exhibitor.  In  the 
opinion  of  this  department  it  is  the  best 
feature  of  its  kind  in  the  industry. 

And  properly  crediting  the  motor  manu¬ 
facturer  who  said  something  in  similar  vein 
— when  better  services  for  the  exhibitor  are 
necessary,  this  publication  will  offer  them. 


...  And,  of  course,  the  happiest  and  best 
tidings  of  the  holiday  season  to  each  and 
every  one  in  the  industry. 


EXHIBITOR 

Circulating  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware.  Issued  on  the  1st  and  15th 
of  each  month  by  Jay  Emanuel  Publications,  Inc.  Publishing  office,  219  North  Broad  Street,  Philadelphia. 
Branches  at  1600  Broadway,  New  York  City;  Washington,  D.  C.  Jay  Emanuel,  publisher;  Paul  J. 
Greenhalgh,  advertising  manager;  Herbert  M.  Miller,  managing  editor.  Subscription  rates:  $2  for  one 
year,  $5  for  three  years.  Single  copies,  15c  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware. 
Publishers,  also,  of  THE  NATIONAL  EXHIBITOR  of  Washington  and  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  EXHIBITOR. 
Official  organ  of  the  Motion  Picture  Theatre  Owners  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and 
Delaware.  Address  all  communications  to  the  Philadelphia  office. 


There  Is  No  Santa  Claus 

“T'VEAR  EDITOR,”  writes  an  exhibitor,  “is  there  a  Santa 
Claus?  Is  there  really  a  Santa  Claus  for  the  exhibitor ?” 

The  question  of  one  is  that  of  hundreds.  In  every  district  of 
the  country,  in  every  zone,  the  same  inquiry  arises  from  the  ex¬ 
hibition  faction.  Is  there  really  a  Santa  Claus? 

Sorrowfully,  it  becomes  the  duty  of  this  department  to  convey 
the  tearful  message. 

There  is  no  Santa  Claus — and  there  will  be  no  Santa  Claus  for 
the  independent  exhibitor  until  he  is  really  ready  for  the  coming 
of  that  person. 

For  a  while,  independent  exhibitors  thought  that  Ed  Kuyken¬ 
dall  might  be  Santa  Claus.  Others  suggested  Abram  Myers  or 
Sidney  Samuelson.  A  year  ago,  all  pointed  to  Sol  A.  Rosenblatt. 
Even  Pete  Harrison  and  Charlie  O’Reilly  were  mentioned.  But 
none  of  these  gentlemen,  esteemed  as  they  are,  is  Santa  Claus. 

Still,  there  can  be  a  Santa  Claus.  Other  organizations  have 
them.  Look  at  the  operators  union.  When  Christmas  rolls  around, 
there  is  a  happy  body.  Santa  Claus  pays  his  annual  visit,  finds 
everyone  jovial,  anticipating  the  future  with  no  qualms.  Tech¬ 
nicians,  union  craftsmen  are  visited  by  Santa  Claus. 

Why  not  the  exhibitor?  The  real  reason  is  that  only  the  ex¬ 
hibitor,  himself,  can  create  Santa  Claus — and  that  method  is 
through  financial  support.  No  Messiah  will  ever  be  forthcoming 
in  this  business.  No  Moses  will  lead  the  exhibitor  out  of  his 
wilderness.  No  Miracle  Man  will  come  upon  the  scene.  The 
exhibitor  must  fashion  his  own  liberator. 

In  this  business,  strength  is  respected.  All  else  goes  for 
naught.  Only  when  the  exhibitor  proves,  through  his  support, 
that  he  deserves  a  visit  from  Santa  Claus,  will  he  find  in  his  stock¬ 
ing  that  which  he  seeks. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Decl5'34 


9 


MPTO  Schedules  Its  Annual  Elections 
for  December  28;  Big  Meeting  Seen 


Comerford  Approval  Due 


New  revised  deal  between  Paramount 
trustees  and  M.  E.  and  M.  B.  Comerford 
and  Frank  C.  Walker,  altering  terms  of 
an  earlier  contract  making  provisions 
for  payment  of  sums  still  due  the  latter 
in  connection  with  the  sale  of  59  the¬ 
atres  in  1930  continuing  them  in  com¬ 
mand  of  operation  reiterates  without 
liability  the  rights  of  the  Comerford 
group  to  all  of  Class  A  preferred  stock 
and  half  of  common  stock  of  Penncom 
Corporation  to  take  over  Comerford- 
Walker  properties  where  Paramount 
owed  group  $5,682,621.  Agreement 
provides  that  no  dividends  shall  be  paid 
on  any  of  the  Penncom  stock  for  a  5- 
year  period;  that  net  receipts  of  Penn¬ 
com  be  devoted  to  retirement  of  A 
stock;  that  rights  of  holders  of  A  stock 
to  dissolve  the  corporation  are  elimi¬ 
nated;  that  the  Comerford  management 
group  continue  at  present  salaries  of 
$30,000  annually  and  that  either  party 
may  acquire  theatres  in  area  of  present 
operation  after  first  offer  to  Penncom. 

Figures  show  a  net  loss  of  $34,927 
for  period  ending  September  1. 


Heard  In 


A 


TLANTIC  CITY 


Perlin  Active 
Here 


Milt  Russell,  formerly  manager,  Colonial,  and 
for  years  actively  connected  with  the  re¬ 
sort’s  film  houses,  recently  bought  a  new 
car,  in  which  he  plans  to  motor  with  his 
family  to  California. 

EMO  (E.  M.  Orowitz)  has  discontinued  his 
daily  feature  in  the  "Evening  Union,” 
Emo’s  Movie  Broadcast  and  Movie  Biog- 
Kature. 

Dick  Endicott,  enterprising  manager.  Steel 
Pier,  is  preparing  a  most  elaborate  holiday 
program.  Besides  running  a  hand-picked 
screen  program,  the  pier  will  have  an 
extra-special  vaudeville  bill.  Dick  is  also 
concluding  arrangements  for  a  surprise 
exhibit. 

New  Hollywood  has  temporarily  closed  off 
the  balcony  during  alterations  when  it  was 
found  necessary  to  change  the  slope  of 
the  floor  to  afford  effective  view  for  146 
seats. 


Two  Up  for  Censor  Job 


Two  women,  both  prominent,  are 
believed  active  for  a  place  on  the  censor 
board  under  the  new  political  regime. 
Mrs.  Kerns,  Civic  Club,  and  Mrs.  Emery, 
Main  Line  clubwoman,  have  been 
rumored  for  posts.  Cha'rmanship  job 
hasn’t  been  touched  by  the  rumor  stage 
yet. 


Session  Open  Only  to  Paid-Up  Members — Selections 
Followed  by  Luncheon  —  Race  Rumored  —  Interest 
Among  Exhibitors  High 

With  the  annual  elections  of  the  MPTO  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern 
New  Jersey  and  Delaware  scheduled  for  December  28,  a  race  for  the  leading  posi¬ 
tions  on  the  body  is  seen. 


Delaware  Exhibitors  to 
Meet  on  New  Zoning  Plan 

Theatremen  from  Three  States 
Interested  in  Session 


Independent  Motion  Picture  Theatre 
Owners  of  Delaware  and  Eastern  Shore 
of  Maryland,  inactive  for  several  months, 
was  preparing  to  go  into  a  huddle,  Decem¬ 
ber  13,  at  Harrington,  Del.,  to  thresh  out 
some  of  the  zoning  problems  that  have 
been  vexing  many  theatre  owners  of  Dela¬ 
ware  and  the  Eastern  Shore. 

A.  J.  DeFiore,  president  and  organizer  of 
the  organization,  who  will  preside  at  the  lunch¬ 
eon  meeting  said  a  full  membership  attendance 
was  expected. 

According  to  DeFiore,  exhibitors  of  Dela¬ 
ware  within  the  specified  zone  felt  that  it  was 
unjust  to  require  them  to  play  so  many  days 
after  Wihnington,  particularly  south  and  south¬ 
east  of  Dover,  which  was  far  out  of  the  com¬ 
petitive  territory  for  Wilmington.  Recently, 
Palace  Theatre,  Seaford,  won  a  concession  in 
a  reduction  of  priority  which  Salisbury  held 
out  of  the  Wilmington  office.  DeFiore,  at  the 
instance  of  several  exhibitors,  asked  Roger 
Christopher,  the  secretary  to  call  the  meeting 
so  that  the  matter  may  he  discussed  w’th  a 
view  of  reaching  some  agreement  and  present 
protest  to  the  zoning  authorities  with  a  view 
of  obtaiirng  more  reasonable  terms.  At  the 
same  time  the  matter  of  being  prepared  for  the 
usal  cron  of  bills  that  come  up  every  session 
at  the  Delaware  and  Maryland  legislatures 
will  be  discussed. 


Local  theatrical  unions  are  scratching  their 
heads  trying  to  solve  a  technical  Droblem. 
B»nt  upon  the  unionization  of  all  Atlantic 
City  motion  picture  houses  an  elaborate 
plan  of  picketing  was  all  set  when  some¬ 
one  called  attention  of  business  agents  to 
the  fact  that  a  citv  ordinance  prohibits 
such  activitv  on  the  Boardwalk. 

For  Af,antic  C  ifv  Day,  December  6,  soon- 
sored  by  the  Merchants’  Committee  of  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce,  managements  of 
the  film  houses  co-onerated  100  per  cent 
by  donating  500  admissions  to  be  distri¬ 
buted  as  giffe.  G  ft  counons  were  showered 
from  an  airplane  that  flew  the  day  before 
over  every  town  within  the  area  from 
Cap“  Mav  to  Ba>-neo'at  and  inland  as  far 
as  Vm-dand  and  Bridgeton.  Coupons,  filled 
in  with  name  and  address,  could  be  de¬ 
posited  in  any  co-ooerat;ng  merchant’s 
store,  and  prize  winners  were  notified  by 
letter. 


The  meeting,  at  11  A.  M.,  at  the  Adelphia 
Hotel,  to  be  followed  by  a  luncheon,  will  be 
open  to  paid  up  members  only. 

No  nominations  have  been  made,  and  the  elec¬ 
tions  will  be  wide  open,  with  nominations  and 
ail  voting  taking  place  at  the  same  time. 

President  Charles  Segall  is  to  be  a  candidate 
for  re-election,  it  is  assumed,  although  what 
any  opposition  slate  might  be  is  unknown. 

Interest  among  exhibitors  is  high  as  it  is 
evident  that  only  through  the  officers  of  the 
body  can  any  possible  merger  with  the  IEPA 
be  made  available.  Whether  or  not  this  sub¬ 
ject  will  have  anything  to  do  with  the  nomi¬ 
nations  is  unknown. 

Roxy-Mastbaum  to  Hold 
Two  Special  Openings 

Maestro  Puts  on  Performances  for 
S-W  Employees,  and  Guests 

When  the  Roxy-Mastbaum  opens  De¬ 
cember  24,  it  will  be  preceded  by  two  in¬ 
vitation  performances. 

hirst  will  be  held  at  1.30  P.  M.,  December 

23,  for  Stanley-Warner  employees  and  their 
families.  The  second  will  be  scheduled  for 
Sunday  night  at  8.30  P.  M.  for  invited  guests 
and  celebrit.es.  The  first  performance  will  be 
in  the  nature  of  a  dress  rehearsal. 

First  public  performance  will  be  December 

24. 

Theatre  has  already  begun  a  tremendous  ad¬ 
vertising  campaign  within  a  big  radius  around 
the  city  to  sell  the  house.  Opening  bill  will 
be  ‘‘Sweet  Adeline,”  in  addition  to  the  Roxy 
show. 


Million  Dollar  Pier  may  make  motion  pic¬ 
tures  a  major  feature  of  next  summer's 
program.  After  expiration  of  Buck  Tay¬ 
lor  s  two-year  lease  last  summer,  pier 
went  back  to  original  management. 

Manager  Perlin  successfully  boosted  his  run 
of  "The  Gay  Divorcee”  at  the  Colonial  by 
a  tie-up  with  the  Million  Dollar  Pier  and 
Phillips  Sch  ool  of  Professional  Dancing  for 
a  Continental  dance  contest.  Divisions 
were  arranged  for  both  adult  and  juvenile 
dancers,  and  in  addition  to  the  cash  prizes 
Perlin  nromoted  a  number  of  merchandise 
prizes  from  local  stores.  The  affair  went 
over  with  a  bang  and  A1  Steinberg,  man¬ 
aging  publicity,  pier,  is  anxious  to  have 
Perlin  plug  another  picture. 

Colonial,  which  for  the  several  years  past 
has  staged  pre-holiday  broken  toy  matinees 
for  children,  will  abandon  the  practice  now 
that  the  firemen  throughout  the  city  have 
undertaken  to  collect  and  repair  broken 
and  discarded  toys  to  be  distributed  to  the 
poor  children  of  the  resort. 


10 


Decl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Renewed  Legion  of  Decency  Drive  Seen 
Permanent;  Annual  Campaign  Scheduled 


Fight  Against  “Objectionable”  Pictures  Continues 
Throughout  Nation — Chicago  List  Basis  for  Judging — 
15,000,000  Pledges 

The  Legion  of  Decency  drive,  sponsored  by  the  Catholic  church,  against  “ob¬ 
jectionable  pictures,”  will  continue  as  a  permanent  body.  That  much  was  indicated 
December  9,  when  it  was  estimated  that  a  blanket  pledge  from  15,000,000  Catholics 
was  asked. 


Inasmuch  as  the  Catholic  population  in  the 
country  is  placed  at  20,000,000,  it  is  consid¬ 
ered  that  at  least  75%  were  in  attendance  at 
Sunday  masses,  that  date. 

A  list  of  approved  and  disapproved  films, 
released  through  the  Chicago  diocese,  is  the 
basis  for  the  drive,  with  Catholics  urged  not 
to  attend  any  which  might  be  d'sapproved. 

The  list  will  be  revised  weekly. 

Renewal  of  the  pledges  will  be  made  an 
annual  event  on  the  Sunday  within  the  Octave 
of  the  Feast  of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  the 
patronal  feast  of  the  United  States. 

The  pledge  says : 

“I  condemn  indecent  and  immoral  pictures,  and 
those  which  glorify  crime  or  criminals;  I  promise  to  do 
all  that  I  can  to  strengthen  public  opinion  against  the 
production  of  indecent  and  immoral  films,  and  to  unite 
with  all  who  protest  against  them;  I  acknowledge  my 
obligation  to  form  a  right  conscience  about  pictures 
that]  are  dangerous  to  my  moral  life.  As  a  member  of 
the  Legion  of  Decency,  I  pledge  myself  to  remain  away 
from  them.  I  promise,  further,  to  stay  away  altogether 
from  places  of  amusement  which  show  them  as  a  matter 
of  policy. ” 

All  current  motion  pictures  are  grouped  in  three 
classifications.  In  Class  A  are  the  approved  films — 
those  considered  “unobjectionable  and  suitable  for  public 
entertainment.” 

In  Class  B  are  films  upon  which  the  Church  withholds 
judgment  as  far  as  attendance  by  adults  is  concerned, 
but  forbids  children  to  visit.  These  pictures  are  called 
“more  or  less  objectionable  in  spots”  because  of  one 
or  more  of  the  following  flaws:  possible  suggestiveness, 
vulgarity,  sophistication  or  lack  of  modesty. 

In  Class  C  are  the  pictures  which  are  Church  con¬ 
demns  as  “indecent  and  immoral  and  unfit  for  public 
entertainment.” 

CLASS  A 

Babes  in  Toyland,  Bachelor  of  Arts,  Father  Brown, 
Detective;  Five  Bad  Men,  My  People’s  Dream,  The  Pres¬ 
cott  Kid,  Tombstone  Terror,  The  Tonto  Kid,  Bulldog 
Drummond  Strikes  Back,  The  Age  of  Innocence,  Anne 
of  Green  Gables,  Baby  Take  a  Bow,  Cat’s  Paw,  Charlie 
Chan  in  London,  College  Rhythm,  Count  of  Monte  Cristo, 
Flirtation  Walk,  Gr^at  Expectations,  Gridiron  Flach, 
Happiness  Ahead,  Housewife,  Kentuckv  Kernels.  The 
Human  Side,  Have  a  Heart,  I’ll  Fix  It,  Judge  Priest, 
Marie  Galante,  Mrs.  Wiggs  of  the  Cabbage  Patch,  One 
Night  of  Love,  Servants’  Entrance,  Six-Day  Bike  Race, 
Student  Tour,  Treasure  Island,  Wake  Up  and  Dream, 
What  Everv  Woman  Knows,  The  White  Parade,  365 
Nights  in  Hollywood. 

CLASS  B 

One  in  a  Million,  Red  Head,  Red  Morning,  Ronny, 
Way  of  the  West,  White  Lies,  Belle  of  the  Nineties, 
British  Agent,  The  Captain  Hates  the  Sea,  Cleopatra, 
The  Case  of  the  Howling  Dog,  Crime  Without  Passion. 
Dames,  Chained,  The  Dragon  Murder  Case,  Friends  of 
Mr.  Sweeney,  Fugitive  Road,  The  Fountain,  The  Gay 
Divorcee,  HifU-Out,  I  Cover  the  Waterfront  (reissued), 
The  Merry  Widow,  Name  the  Woman,  Ready  for  Love, 
The  Richest  Girl  in  the  World,  Return  of  the  Terror, 
She  Loves  Me  Not,  Straight  Is  the  Way,  There’s  Al¬ 
ways  Tomorrow,  Transatlantic  Merry-Go-Round,  We  Live 
Again,  The  World  Moves  On. 

CLASS  C 

All  of  Me  (reissued).  Affairs  of  a  Gentleman,  Arlene 
(or  Loves  of  Ariane).  Born  to  Be  Bad,  Catherine  the 
Great,  Dr.  Monica,  Enlighten  Thy  Daughter,  The  Fight¬ 
ing  Lady,  The  Firebird,  P"og  Over  Frisco.  The  Girl  From 
Missouri.  Hat,  Coat  and  Glove,  He  Was  H°r  Man.  I  Have 
Lived,  Kiss  and  Make-Up.  The  Life  of  Vergie  Winters, 
Limehouse  Blues,  Little  Man  What  Now?.  M^dam  du 
Barrv.  Manhattan  Melodrama,  Men  of  the  Night.  Morals 
for  Women,  Nana,  A  Modern  Hero,  One  Mor,e  River.  Of 
Human  Bondage,  Registered  Nurse,  Sadie.  McKee,  Scar¬ 
let  Empress,  She  Had  to  Choose,  Side  Streets.  Spring¬ 
time  for  Henry,  Wild  Gold,  Women  in  His  Life,  The 
Youth  of  Russia. 


Columbia  Host  to  Exhibs 
at  “Broadway  Bill”  Affair 

300  Theatre  People  Attend  Trade 

Show  and  Luncheon 

Columbia  exchange,  beaded  by  Harry 
Weiner,  manager,  was  host  to  300  film 
men,  exhibitors  and  wives,  as  well  as 
guests,  at  a  special  showing  of  “Broad¬ 
way  Bill”  at  the  Locust  Theatre  and  also 
at  a  luncheon  at  the  Bellevue-Stratford 
Hotel. 

The  affair,  held  December  4,  was  attended  by 
Columbia  home  office  official  Rube  Jackter, 
sales  executive,  who  addressed  the  gathering 
after  being  introduced  by  Harry  Weiner. 

On  the  dais  were  leading  exhibitors,  censor 
board  members,  club  women  and  others. 


Hunt  Suit  Withdrawn 

Assemblyman  William  C.  Hunt’s  $50,000  suit 
for  damages  against  Mayor  Doris  W.  Bradway, 
of  Wildwood  has  been  withdrawn.  Suit  was 
instituted  during  the  summer  because  of  alleged 
damages  Hunt’s  Theatres,  Inc.,  headed  by  the 
Assemblyman,  had  sustained  due  to  the  activ¬ 
ity  of  the  Mayor.  Her  action  in  invoking  a 
State  law  prohibiting  the  admission  of  chil¬ 
dren  to  theatres  unless  accompanied  by  adults 
was  one  of  the  damaging  items  cited. 


Sale  Near  Set 

Sale  of  the  Freihofer  quartet  of  houses  to 
Stanley-Warner  is  believed  likely  through  the 
orphans  court  following  several  hearings  on  the 
plan. 

Those  connected  with  the  estate  testified  that 
the  offer  made  by  Warners  should  be  accepted. 


In  Scranton,  opposition  to  a  listing  of  films 
under  any  classification  came  from  Bishop 
Thomas  C.  O’Reilly,  in  a  letter  to  priests  of 
the  Scranton  Roman  Catholic  diocese. 

It  is  estimated  that  there  are  more  than 
250.000  Catholics  that  are  governed  by  him. 

More  than  80  000  Catholics  of  the  Harris¬ 
burg  Diocese  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church, 
which  includes  Steelton,  West  Shore  and  Har¬ 
risburg,  repeated  after  the  priest  while  stand¬ 
ing,  in  unison  the  oath  of  the  Legion  of 
Decency,  intended  to  boycott  indecent  and  im¬ 
moral  moving  pictures. 

The  Most  Rev.  Philip  R.  McDevitt,  D.D., 
B'shop,  Harrisburg  Diocese,  had  sent  out  let¬ 
ters  to  the  parish  priests  which  were  read  be¬ 
fore  the  oath  was  taken. 


Boycott  Break  Soon 

A  break  in  the  local  boycott  against 
motion  picture  theatres  instituted  by 
Cardinal  Dennis  Dougherty  was  sched¬ 
uled  very  soon,  a  report  reaching  the 
ears  of  THE  EXHIBITOR  said. 

The  story  was  to  the  effect  that  Cath¬ 
olics  would  be  allowed  to  see  pictures  in 
Class  “A”  or  “B”  but  not  “C.” 

This  modification  was  certain  to  be 
good  news  to  the  industry,  which  had 
awaited  some  sort  of  a  modification  of 
the  total  Catholic  ban. 

Sales  Tax  Dies  Before 
Movie  Men  Start  Protest 

But  Theatre  Folk  Watch  New 
Efforts  to  Finance 

The  proposed  sales  tax  for  Philadel¬ 
phia  died  in  the  making. 

And,  therefore,  a  protest  on  the  part  of  local 
exhibitors  wasn’t  necessary. 

Exhibitors,  however,  are  keeping  their  ears 
close  to  the  ground  to  check  any  further  state 
or  city  attempts  to  inaugurate  taxation  legisla¬ 
tion.  In  the  city  and  Harrisburg,  there  may 
be  efforts  to  place  additional  tax  burdens  on 
the  industry. 

In  the  event  that  anything  happens  like  this 
in  the  city,  the  following  list  of  local  council- 
men  should  be  used  by  exhibitors  to  contact 
their  representative: 

FIRST  DISTRICT 

(1st,  26th,  36th,  39th  and  4  8th  Wards) 

Member  Address  Telephone 

Edwin  R.  Cox,  2348  Reed  Street,  Dewey  0978. 

Charles  J.  Pommer,  1421  S.  Sixth  Street,  Howard  0649. 
Bernard  Samuel,  1342  Shurik  Street,  Dewey  4888. 

SECOND  DISTRICT 

(2d,  3d,  4th,  7th,  8th,  9th  and  30th  Wards) 
Henry  J.  Trainer,  758  S.  Tenth  St.,  Pennypacker  8172. 
THIRD  DISTRICT 

(5th,  6th,  10th,  11th,  l?th,  13th,  14th,  16th  and  18th 
Wards) 

Phineas  T.  Green,  242  Fairmount  Ave.,  Market  4995. 
FOURTH  DISTRICT 

(24th,  27th,  34th,  40th,  44th  and  46th  Wards) 
George  Connell.  6400  Cobbs  Creek  Parkway,  Unlisted. 
Maurice  E.  Levick,  5847  Christian  St.,  Allegheny  0960. 
James  G.  Clark,  30  N.  Thirty-sixth  Street,  Unlisted. 
Edward  A.  Kelly,  902  Finance  Bldg..  Rittenhouse  7881. 

FIFTH  DISTRICT 

(17th,  19th,  20th,  31st  and  37th  Wards) 

Simon  Walter,  14  4  N.  Fifth  Street,  Market  2267. 
Frederic  D.  Garman,  1953  N.  Sixth  St.,  Fremont  5804. 

SIXTH  DISTRICT 

(21st,  22d,  38th,  42d,  49th  and  50th  Wards) 
Clarence  E.  Blackburn,  3206  W.  Penn  St..  Ger’t’n  0919. 
Frank  L.  Kenworthy,  553  E.  Gates  Street,  Unlisted. 
Richard  S.  Harris,  4922  N.  Uber  Street.  Michigan  9038. 
Samuel  Emlen,  38  Maplewood  Street,  Germantown  7741. 

SEVENTH  DISTRICT 
(15th.  28th,  29th.  32d  and  4 7th  Wards) 

Morris  Ant,  1725  N.  Thirtv-third  St..  Fremont,  2834. 
Windom  Bryant,  2322  W.  Cumberland  St.,  Baldwin  1521. 

EIGHTH  DISTRICT 

(23d,  25th,  33d,  35tli,  41st,  43d  and  45th  Wards) 
John  J.  McKinley,  Jr.,  2802  N.  2nd  St  ,  Regent  7789 
Clarence  K.  Crossan,  8201  Elberon  St.,  Pilgrim  1628. 
John  J.  Daly,  3061  Germantown  Avenue.  Radcliff  7163. 
John  N.  Costello,  7000  Tulip  Street,  Mayfair  1468. 


Deci5'34  pg.  11 


Glancing  Everywhere  in  the  Territory 


VETERAN.  Willis  H.  Carrier,  head 
of  the  Carrier  Engineering  Cor¬ 
poration,  which  manufactures  one 
of  the  most  complete  air  condition¬ 
ing  lines  in  the  industry,  was  re¬ 
cently  awarded  the  American  So¬ 
ciety  of  Mechanical  Engineers 
medal  for  research  in  air  condition¬ 
ing. 


BOOSTS.  Jules  Levy,  sales  man¬ 
ager,  Radio,  speaks  strongly  for 
“Roberta,”  which  he  deems  to  be  a 
coming,  terrific  hit.  With  such 
names  as  Rogers,  Astaire,  Dunne 
and  Scott,  it  looks  like  something. 


SIX  OF  A  KIND.  Eddie  Cantor, 
the  Mrs.  and  the  family  hop  to 
Europe  for  a  vacation. 


AT  COLUMBIA’S  LUNCHEON.  Guests,  film  men  and  invited  folks,  who  attended  the 
Columbia  “Broadway  Bill”  tradeshow  and  luncheon  at  the  Locust  Theatre  and  Bellevue- 
Stratford  Hotel,  December  4,  turned  out  to  the  number  of  300. 


TIN  CAN  MATINEE.  George  Jeffrey,  manager,  Strand  Theatre,  Reading, 
selected  '‘Million  Dollar  Ransom,”  from  Universal,  as  his  picture  for  the  can¬ 
ned  good  matinee  held  recently.  The  goods  were  turned  over  to  charity.  Shot 
above  shows  the  crowd  waiting  to  get  inside.  Stanley-Warner  houses  through¬ 
out  the  territory  as  well  as  other  theatres  everywhere  are  aiding  charity  in 
this  manner. 


ATTRACTIVE.  Music  counter  display  arranged  by  manager  Sam  Gilman, 
Loew’s  Regent  Theatre,  Harrisburg,  for  the  opening  of  “Kid  Millions,”  United 
Artists’  release. 


HURLS  THE  FIRES  OF  HER 
TEMPESTUOUS  SOUL  INTO 
TRANSCENDENT  DRAMA 
THAT  THUNDERS  AT  THE 
GATES  OF  TIMELESS  GLORY! 


SIR  JAMES  M.  BARRIE'S 

THE  LITTLE 
MINISTER 


WITH 

JOHN  BEAL  ★  ALAN  HALE 

DIRECTED  BY  RICHARD  WALLACE 

A  PANDRO  S.  BERMAN  PRODUCTION 


RKO- RADIO'S  CHRISTMAS 
GIFT  TO  ALL  THE  WORLD! 


14 


Decl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Local  Industry  Awaits  Decision  of  Judge 
Welsh  in  Important  Doubles  Bill  Litigation 


Final  Verdict  Rests  on  Court’s  Opinion  Concerning  Al¬ 
leged  Conspiracy — Briefs  Due  by  December  21 — Execu¬ 
tives  Testify 

The  local  motion  picture  industry  as  well  as  the  rest  of  the  country  is  awaiting 
the  decision  of  Judge  George  A.  Welsh,  United  States  District  Court,  following  the 
completion  of  the  double  feature  case  held  before  him  for  two  weeks,  ending  De¬ 
cember  6. 


Whether  the  unity  of  action  of  the  defendants 
in  the  twin  bill  case  in  putting  clauses  in  their 
contracts  prohibiting  double  features,  even 
though  made  at  different  times,  results  in  col¬ 
lusion  and  conspiracy  in  restraint  of  trade  is 
the  main  point  to  be  decided  by  the  judge. 

Briefs  will  be  filed  by  December  21,  with  a 
verdict  expected  after  the  holidays.  The  plain¬ 
tiff,  Harry  Perelman,  asks  for  an  injunction  to 
restrain  all  major  distributors  except  Universal 
and  Columbia,  from  enforcing  a  clause  in  their 
contracts  barring  use  of  their  features  with 
other  features  to  form  double  bills. 

Final  day’s  testimony,  December  6,  saw  local 
exchangemen  Earle  Sweigert,  Paramount,  and 
Harry  Bodkin,  United  Artists,  on  the  stand. 
They  both  testified  as  to  the  date  of  the  first 
use  of  doubles  clauses  in  their  contracts. 

Ex-congressman  Ben  Colder,  president, 
IEPA,  summed  up  for  the  plaintiff,  said  doubles 
created  competition  and  said  he  didn’t  care  if 
an  exhibitor  ran  four  features  if  this  were  a 
natural  condition.  He  said  he  has  proven 
conspiracy.  Morris  Wolf,  attorney  for  the  de¬ 
fense,  summed  up  and  said  that  no  conspiracy 
had  been  proven  and  that  he  didn't  believe  such 
high  ranking  witnesses  as  the  home  office  exec¬ 
utives  who  were  put  on  the  stand  would  say 
anything  but  the  truth  after  a  decree  in  Cali¬ 
fornia  had  restrained  any  collusion  in  a  double 
feature  restraint  clause. 

The  judge  complimented  both  attorneys  for 
their  presentation. 

700  Pages 

Testimony  totalled  700  pages  of  typewritten 
copy. 

December  5,  witnesses  included  William  Man¬ 
sell,  Warner  manager  here;  Mrs.  Owens,  state 
chairman,  State  Federation  of  Women  and 
chairman,  Motion  Picture  Forum,  and  George 
Zehrung,  in  charge  of  movie  activities  for 
the  YMCA.  Others  on  the  stand  were  Eddie 
Grainger,  Fox  sales  executive ;  Sam  Gross,  Fox 
branch  manager;  Andy  Smith,  Jr.,  Warner 
eastern  sales  chief ;  Mrs.  James  Louram,  in¬ 
ternational  chairman,  M.  P.  Federation,  Cath¬ 
olic  Alumni;  Frank  McNamee,  Radio  branch 
manager ;  Robert  Lynch,  Metro  branch  man¬ 
ager  ;  George  J.  Schaefer,  Paramount  sales 
manager ;  J.  Robert  Rubin,  Metro  counsel. 

Against  Doubles 

Testimony  of  all  defense  witnesses  was 
against  double  features,  because  of  patrons’  at¬ 
titude  or  business  reasons  and  also  that  inde¬ 
pendent  exhibitors  were  principal  accounts  of 
distributing  companies.  Club  women  heads  as 
well  as  social  leaders  also  were  against  double 
features  after  surveys  of  the  field. 

Death  of  shorts  under  doubles  was  indicated. 

Testimony,  December  4,  came  from  A1  Licht- 
man,  sales  manager,  United  Artists;  Ned  E. 
Depinet,  RKO  Distributing  Corporation  presi- 


Johnny  Harris  Arrives 
for  Variety  Installation 

Club  President  Attends  December 

14  Dinner 

Installation  of  Variety  Club  officers 
was  scheduled  to  take  place  December  14. 

President  John  Harris,  national  Variety 
Clubs,  was  to  attend  the  event  and  install  a 
dinner  of  16  charter  members,  at  which  time 
Chief  Barker  Earle  Sweigert  and  aides  would 
be  officially  christened  and  sent  on  their  Variety 
Club  regime. 

December  30,  the  first  social  event  of  the 
season  will  be  held,  at  which  paid-up  members 
and  wives  will  be  guests  at  a  novel  and  special 
affair,  details  of  which  are  lacking.  It  will  be 
a  worthy  inaugural  social  event  for  the  club, 
it  is  reported. 


dent ;  Earle  W.  Hammons,  pres'dent,  Educa¬ 
tion ;  Ed  Kuykendall,  president,  MPTOA,  and 
Walter  Vincent. 

All  objected  to  double  features,  with  Ham¬ 
mons  giving  testimony  as  to  the  practice  kill¬ 
ing  short  sales. 

All  proved  good  witnesses  for  the  defense, 
with  Kuykendall  outstanding. 

Local  exhibitors  also  put  in  appearances  as 
opposed  to  double  features.  Several  got  on  the 
stand,  but  others  were  admitted  in  groups,  in 
agreement  of  both  sides,  because  their  opinion 
of  the  doubles  practice  was  the  same. 

Exhibitors  on  the  stand  were  Ed  Jeffries, 
Marcus  Benn,  George  Kline,  among  others. 

The  case  was  attended  by  an  average  crowd 
of  about  30,  with  exchangemen  and  interested 
exhibitors  representing  the  majority  of  the 
group.  With  counsel  Golder  were  Eddie  Golden, 
sales  manager,  Monogram ;  I.  E.  Chadwick, 
coast  producer.  With  counsel  Wolf  were  I 
Levinson,  Warner  home  office ;  Ed  Raferty,  L1A 
legal  counsel ;  Joe  Sloane,  attached  to  Morris 
Wolf’s  office. 

Wide  Open 

The  procedure  in  the  case  was  wide  open, 
with  the  judge  allowing  anything  and  every¬ 
thing  pertaining  to  the  industry  to  get  into  the 
record  over  Morris  Wolf’s  objection.  Several 
hundred  were  taken. 

It  was  evident  that  the  conspiracy  charge 
was  to  be  the  most  important  and  on  this  the 
fate  of  the  case  will  rest. 

Local  gossip  is  divided  on  the  outcome  of 
the  case.  It  is  expected  the  verdict  will  be 
made  known  in  a  few  weeks. 

In  either  event,  an  appeal  is  certain. 


Support  Indes 

Out-of-the-courtroom  gossip  follow¬ 
ing  the  conclusion  of  the  doubles  test 
case  debated  the  effect  of  a  decision 
which  would  restrain  enforcement  of  the 
doubles  clause. 

While  no  decision  has  been  given,  ex¬ 
hibitors  tried  to  figure  the  extent  of 
doubles  if  they  were  allowed. 

It  was  generally  admitted  that  a 
double  condition  would  increase  pur¬ 
chase  of  pictures  from  majors  as  well 
as  the  indes. 

One  observer  pointed  out  that  it 
wasn’t  necessary  to  wait  for  any  decision 
to  give  the  inde  exchanges  support  and 
suggested  that  if  local  exhibs  were  sin¬ 
cere  in  their  desire  to  help  the  indepen¬ 
dents  they  could  make  a  rule  to  buy 
some  inde  film  each  week.  Some  local 
exhibitors  make  a  practice  of  buying 
independent  pictures  and  finding  room 
for  them  in  order  to  encourage  inde¬ 
pendent  production. 

Two  years  ago  THE  EXHIBITOR 
editorially  advocated  a  plan  whereby 
each  exhibitor  should  increase  his  inde¬ 
pendent  bill  $5  a  week,  thus  aiding  inde 
exchanges.  The  idea  is  still  good. 

New  Preferred  Pictures 
Exchange  Makes  Bow  Here 

Murray  Beier  Active  in 
Reorganized  Company 

Preferred  Pictures,  Inc.,  a  Pennsyl¬ 
vania  corporation,  is  making  its  bow  in 
the  local  territory  with  a  new  manage¬ 
ment. 

With  Murray  Beier,  general  sales  manager 
and  secretary  of  the  corporation,  Herbert  L. 
Taylor,  president,  and  Ed  S.  Waters,  presi¬ 
dent,  the  company  starts  off  the  new  year 
with  a  strong  lineup.  Offices  will  be  main¬ 
tained  in  Philadelphia  at  1316  Vine  Street  and 
in  Washington. 

Charlie  Donahue  will  manage  the  Philadel¬ 
phia  office  with  Taylor  the  Washington  man¬ 
ager. 

Company  will  specialize  in  action  pictures, 
serials,  exploitation  pictures,  fight  pictures, 
freaky  pictures  and  anything  which  can  be  sold 
along  showmanship  lines.  The  exchange  will 
lay  off  society  dramas.  In  other  words,  ac¬ 
cording  to  a  statement  from  the  company,  if 
there  is  a  spot  exploitation  picture  around,  Pre¬ 
ferred  will  have  it. 

Series  in  hand  now  include  one  of  eight 
headed  by  “Frontier  Days,”  which  got  a  good 
trade  reception ;  another  of  8  westerns  with 
Monty  Montana,  cowboy  star ;  with  others  to 
come.  Exploitation  pictures  include  “The  Birth 
of  a  New  America,”  in  two  versions,  70m.  and 
40m.,  endorsed  by  government  officials  and 
patriotic  societies ;  and  “Beyond  Bengal,"  with 
special  campaigns  behind  it. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Decl5T34 


15 


MPTO  Thinks  Film  Rental  Relief  Most 
Important  for  Organization  to  Secure 


Body  Indicates  It  Has  Always  Taken  Care  of  Zoning 
Complaints  As  They  Arise — Individual  Cases  Receiving 
Attention. 

The  MPTO  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware  is 
proceeding  with  a  campaign  which  seeks  to  attain  individual  attention  for  all  mem¬ 
bers  who  need  relief  from  high  film  rentals. 


Seats  Wanted 


Theatre  will  buy  800  used,  uphol¬ 
stered  theatre  chairs  if  condition  is  good. 
Address  Box  BP,  THE  EXHIBITOR. 


U  P  -  S  T  A  T  E 


Frank  C.  Walker  and  M.  E.  Comerford,  both 
executives  of  Comerford  circuit,  visited 
with  President  Franklin  D.  Roosevelt  at 
Warm  Springs,  Ga. 

William  S.  McKay,  Jr.,  electrician,  Loews 
Regent  Theatre,  Harrisburg,  was  elected 
president  of  Harrisburg  Local  No.  98,  In¬ 
ternational  Alliance  of  Theatrical  Stage 
Employes  and  Moving  Picture  Operators 
at  a  meeting  in  the  Victoria  Theatre  Budd¬ 
ing,  Harrisburg,  December  2.  Other  offi¬ 
cers  elected  were:  Lester  Firing,  vice- 
president;  C.  J.  Jones,  corresponding  sec¬ 
retary;  Harry  Wilson,  financial  secretary 
and  treasurer;  J.  M.  Ryan,  business  agent; 
Harry  Beck,  sergeant-at-arms;  H.  Rudy 
and  H.  Parsons,  members  of  the  executive 
board,  and  Charles  Nader,  James  Bless¬ 
ing  and  Charles  Herbert,  trustees. 

Loew’s  Girls’  Cadet  Band,  sponsored  by 
Manager  Samuel  Gilman,  Loew’s  Regent 
Theatre,  Harrisburg,  presented  an  oper¬ 
etta,  “Within  Nursery  Walls,”  to  raise 
funds  for  uniforms. 

Manager  Jack  O’Rear  must  have  burned  up 
inwardly  when  his  recent  investigations 
disclosed  that  heating  bill  at  his  Majestic, 
Harrisburg,  was  nearly  twice  as  great  as 
that  at  Harry  Lambert’s  Colonial. 

Manager  Harry  Lambert,  Colonial  Theatre, 
Harrisburg,  has  erected  a  booth  for  the 
convenience  of  his  theatre  patrons  desiring 
to  check  packages  while  attending  the 
theatre. 

Miss  Mildred  Funk,  usher,  Colonial  Harris¬ 
burg,  and  George  Eslinger,  Colonial  door- 


Dowling  Show  Scores 

Opening  of  the  new  Eddie  Dowling 
revue,  “Thumbs  Up,”  was  attended  by 
many  Calebs  among  trade  folk. 

Seen  in  the  audience  were  Sol  A.  Ros¬ 
enblatt,  industry  code  administrator; 
Frank  C.  Walker,  Comerford  enter¬ 
prises;  Leonard  Schlesinger,  S-W  zone 
chief;  Ted  Schlanger,  Warners  home 
office.  Local  figures  included  leading 
state  and  civic  heads  as  well  as  David 
Stern,  publisher;  Harry  Kalodner,  pro¬ 
posed  as  the  next  secretary  to  the  gov¬ 
ernor,  and  others;  Jack  Kelly,  city 
Democratic  chairman  and  others.  A 
letter  from  President  Franklin  D.  Roose¬ 
velt,  praising  Dowling’si  efforts,  was 
read. 

Dowling  has  been  active  for  the  Dem¬ 
ocratic  party  and  was  a  big  factor  in 
enrolling  theatrical  faction  in  support 
of  the  party  in  state  and  national  elec¬ 
tions. 


man,  narrowly  escaped  injury  when  an 
automobile  crashed  into  the  Eslinger  car 
as  Eslinger  was  pulling  from  the  curb  near 
the  theatre. 

Employes  of  the  Colonial  Theatre,  Harris¬ 
burg,  will  meet  with  Manager  Harry  Lam¬ 
bert,  monthly  for  the  purpose  of  improv¬ 
ing  working  conditions  and  offering  sug¬ 
gestions  for  the  improvement  of  conditions 
generally. 

Sam  Gil  man,  manager,  Loew’s  Regent,  Har¬ 
risburg,  is  enthused  over  his  new  private 
office  with  new  decorations,  draperies, 
paint,  etc. 

Skee  Yovanovich’s  pleas,  chief  usher,  Loew’s 
Regent,  Harrisburg,  for  new  uniforms  for 
ushers  were  answered  by  his  skipper,  Sam 

Gilman. 

Jerry  Wollaston,  manager,  Victoria,  Harris¬ 
burg,  is  expecting  a  Christmas  gift,  maybe 
a  pair  of  them,  from  Mrs.  Wollaston. 

Mike  Davis  and  Bill  Wolf  used  five  bales  of 
cotton  to  soften  seats  at  their  Colonial, 
Harrisburg. 

Bob  Etchberger,  assistant  manager,  Loew’s 
Regent,  Harrisburg,  has  been  unusually 
reticent  when  Baltimore  has  been  men¬ 
tioned  recently. 

Strand  Theatre,  which  was  almost  totally  de¬ 
stroyed  by  fire  is  being  re-opened  by  the 
receiver  John  N.  Harry,  for  the  Patriotic 
Order  Sons  of  America  which  formerly 
had  it.  New  Photophone  High  Fidelity 
sound  is  being  installed. 


Such  was  the  intention  following  a  meeting 
of  the  board  of  managers  held  December  10  at 
the  301  N.  13th  Street  clubrooms. 

The  body  realizes  that  selling  plans  differ  in 
all  territories  so  that  no  company  can  be  ex¬ 
pected  to  have  one  policy  for  all  cases,  but  in 
situations  where  a  member  has  been  hurt 
through  any  alleged  high  film  rentals,  the  or¬ 
ganization  will  have  a  committee  go  to  bat  for 
him,  even  to  New  York,  if  necessary.  Each 
case  will  be  handled  as  an  individual  affair. 

Questioned  regarding  current  meetings  be¬ 
ing  held  in  various  parts  of  the  territory  to 
formulate  zoning  plans  for  the  1935-1936  sea¬ 
son.  executives  of  the  body  indicated  that  no 
such  round  of  meetings  was  necessary  as  far 
as  they  could  see. 

“We  have  been  taking  care  of  individual 
zoning  complaints  as  they  are  received  and  have 
helped  members  bring  up  complaints  to  the 
local  code  board,  both  as  to  zoning  and  other 
grievances.  Any  member  who  has  a  grievance 
regarding  zoning  has  always  had  the  offices  of 
his  organization  available  to  him.  That  has 
been  the  policy  of  the  body  since  inception  and 
that  still  goes’’ — such  was  the  declaration  of 
one  officer. 

The  same  officer  pointed  out  that  the  MPTO 
has  always  done  all  in  its  power  to  help  mem¬ 
bers  in  every  problem.  Recently,  meetings  with 
local  city  officials  to  combat  spread  of  unfair 
Sunday  night  benefits  were  held. 


16 


Decl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


ANNOUNCES  “TIME”  DEAL. 
Harry  H.  Thomas,  president,  First 
Division  Exchanges,  Inc.,  has  re¬ 
leased  to  the  trade  announcement 
of  the  formation  of  The  March  of 
T'me,  Inc.,  producing  company, 
whose  product  First  Division  will 
distribute. 


ON  HIS  ASS.  Allen  Benn,  local 
exhibitor,  had  this  photo  of  himself 
taken  on  a  donkey  when  he  toured 
the  Andes  Mountains.  Incidentally, 
he  had  a  birthday  December  3. 


WELCOMING  PRINT.  Local  film 
men  turned  out  to  welcome  the 
arrival  of  a  print  of  Shirley  Temple 
in  “Bright  Eyes”  at  Camden  Air¬ 
port.  A1  Davis,  Sam  Gross,  both 
Fox  exchange  executives,  were 
present  with  A1  Boyd,  managing 
director,  Fox  Theatre,  and  Frank 
Buhler,  his  aide,  receiving  a  print 
of  the  picture. 


CANTOR  FRONT.  This  animated  front  was  made  by  Hen  P.  Polm,  expert  sign 
artist,  and  used  during  showing  of  “Kid  Millions”  at  Loew’s  Regent  Theatre, 
Harrisburg.  Large  eyes  in  Cantor  head  over  box  office  window  moved  while 
eyes  in  Cantor  heads,  one  of  which  appeared  on  each  side  of  the  outer  lobby, 
contained  lights  which  flashed  on  and  off  at  regular  intervals. 


MOVES  EAST.  Dave  “Skip”  Wash- 
ner,  formerly  in  the  New  Jersey 
Warner  ranks,  has  been  moved  east 
from  Milwaukee  to  Philadelphia 
where  he  will  operate  the  first-run 
downtown  houses  under  direction 
of  Leonard  Schlesinger,  zone  man¬ 
ager.  Weshner  has  a  lot  of  friends 
in  this  territory  who  wish  him  well. 


ASKS  NEW  ZONING  BREAK. 
Ed  Kuykendall,  president, 
MPTOA,  has  come  forth  with 
a  statement  rapping  present 
slow  progress  of  new  zoning 
schedules.  He  asks  for  a 
quickening  up  of  re-zoning 
and  more  local  power. 


DEPARTING.  Fay  Wray  has  de¬ 
parted  for  England  to  make  one 
picture  for  Gaumont  British.  The 
female  star  has  a  record  for  being 
one  of  the  busiest  actresses  in 
Hollywood. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Decl5’34 


17 


Announcement  of  First  Division -March 
of  Time  Deal  Welcomed  by  Entire  Trade 


Monthly  Issue  Devoted  to  New  Type  Film  Reporting — 
Thomas  Gives  Industry  Official  Statement — Roy  E. 
Larsen  Heads  Producing  Company 

Rumored  for  many  months,  but  never  officially  announced,  a  statement  issued  by 
Harry  H.  Thomas,  president,  First  Division  Exchanges,  Inc.,  reveals  one  of  the  most 
important  announcements  of  the  year  in  the  industry — namely,  that  First  Division 
will  release  “The  March  of  Time,”  a  new  type  of  film  reporting. 


Hopkins  Helps 


But  for  the  thoughtfulness  and  gen¬ 
erosity  of  C.  Floyd  Hopkins,  Wilmer 
and  Vincent  Theatres,  Harrisburg, 
bodies  of  the  three  little  girls  of  Penn¬ 
sylvania’s  recent  “Babes  in  the  Woods’’ 
tragedy  would  have  been  buried  in  Pot¬ 
ter’s  Field. 

Plans  to  give  the  three  California  chil¬ 
dren  a  decent  burial,  were  started  by 
him  when  he  wired  from  Philadelphia 
the  motion  picture  columnist  of  a  Har¬ 
risburg  newspaper  as  follows: 

“Philadelphia  int’mates  three  little 
girls  in  Carlisle  may  be  buried  in  Pot¬ 
ter’s  Field.  Between  your  column  and 
our  screens  can’t  we  provide  a  better 
burial  than  that?  I’ll  start  it  with  five. 
(Signed)  Hoppy.”  As  a  result  of 
“Hoppy’s”  suggestion,  the  funeral  was 
paid  for  by  popular  subscription,  spon¬ 
sored  by  Harrisburg  newspapers  and  the 
Carl’sle  Post  of  the  American  Legion. 


FLASHES  FROM 
COAL  FIELDS 

By  PHIDU 

Theatrical  Club  of  Scranton  held  a  banquet 
December  8.  Charles  Whalen,  William 
Gallagher,  Tommy  Jones  were  re-elected 
to  serve  another  term  in  their  respective 
offices.  A  large  crowd  attended  and  M. 
B.  Comerford  made  a  speech. 

Joe  Elecker,  Strand  Theatre,  had  good  “Flir¬ 
tation  Walks”  and  "College  Rhythm"  tie- 
ups. 

Joe  Zima  opened  the  Palace  Theatre,  Wilkes- 
Barre,  and  made  many  improvements. 

Matt  O’Keefe,  Ritz  Theatre,  sells  his  attrac¬ 
tions  heavily. 

Frank  Loftus,  Rialto  Theatre,  is  getting  to 
be  stranger  in  Central  City.  Must  be 
staying  right  in  Providence. 

Willard  Mathews,  Granada  Theatre,  Oly- 
ph  ant,  came  to  town  to  attend  the  ban¬ 
quet. 

Bob  Schmidt,  Temple  Theatre,  Berwick, 
started  “Law  of  the  Wild"  serial  and  the 
whole  town  was  conscious  of  it. 

Louis  Pilosi,  Lincoln  Dupont,  was  a  Vine 
Street  visitor,  arranging  for  the  opening 
of  the  Institute,  Forty  Fort. 


Manager  Ready 


A  theatre  manager,  with  six  years’ 
circuit  and  independent  experience  in 
the  middle  west  and  Philadelphia,  de¬ 
sires  a  position  as  manager  or  assistant 
manager  in  or  near  Philadelphia.  Is 
now  employed,  but  wants  position  with 
more  promise.  Address  Box  OC. 


Johnny  Gibbins  and  Edgar  Simonis,  bowlers, 
are  putting  up  some  fine  scores. 

Joe  Reed,  Stanley  Theatre,  Larkesville,  can 
put  serials  across.  Opened  with  "Mystery 
Squadron"  to  good  returns. 

Bob  Schmidt,  Temple  Theatre,  Berwick,  re¬ 
cently  held  a  good  matinee,  turned  over 
plenty  of  food  to  charitable  agencies.  He 
did  a  swell  job. 

Scranton  bowlers  still  want  to  play  Vine 
Street. 

No  report  this  issue  from  the  three  muske¬ 
teers  of  Nanticoke. 

Bill  Cosgrove,  Globe  Theatre,  attended  the 
banquet. 

Lou  Favini,  Favini  Theatre,  sells  his  shows. 

Jimmy  Cario,  Lyric  Theatre,  Throop,  went 
hunting. 

Moe  Sherman,  who  won  between  Army  and 
Navy,  will  win  between  Stanford  and  Ala- 
bamy. 

Tommy  Killean,  Ritz  Theatre,  says  the  longer 
he  leaves  his  car  in  the  cold  the  easier  it 
starts.  All  aboard  for  Carbondale. 

Where  were  Bumper  and  Ellis? 

It  is  Kitty  McHugh,  to  correct  the  misspell¬ 
ing  last  issue. 

George  Dietrich,  son  of  Congressman  C. 
Elmer  Dietrich,  Tunkha  nnock,  was  mar¬ 
ried  December  1  0  to  Miss  Margaret  Batron, 
T  unkhannock. 


The  March  of  Time,  Inc.,  will  produce  the 
series,  first  of  which  is  scheduled  for  January. 

Officers  in  the  March  of  Time  organization 
include  president  Roy  E.  Larson,  general  man¬ 
ager,  Time  magazine  and  producer  of  “March 
of  Time”  on  the  air;  editorial  director  John 
S.  Martin,  managing  director,  Time  magazine; 
technical  director  Louis  de  Rochemont,  Fox 
Movietone  production  expert  and  creator  of 
Fox’s  “Magic  Carpet”  travelog  series. 

First  Division  announces  that  experimenta¬ 
tion  on  the  new  venture  began  last  spring  and 
that  the  new  form  will  be  issued  once  a  month. 
It  will  consist  of  the  camera’s  recording  of 
thrilling-  major  events  as  well  as  transforming 
half  a  dozen  or  more  significant  world  wide 
happenings  into  vivid  and  impressive  new  form. 
Using  realistic,  atmospheric  background  mater¬ 
ial,  production  value  and  careful  editing, 
“March  of  Tme”  will  endeavor  to  bring  to  the 
screen  complete,  continuous,  important  current 
doings  of  the  day.  Each  chapter  in  the  monthly 
series  will  run  about  20  minutes. 

The  editors  of  Time  believe  they  can  create 
a  form  in  which  “visual  reporting,”  although 
part  of  the  theatre,  can  be  treated  essentially 
as  journalism  and  become  a  dynamic,  self-re¬ 
specting  member  of  the  Fourth  Estate. 

Announcement  of  the  Time-First  Division 
deal  has  been  greeted  by  the  trade,  which  has 
been  hearing  rumors  of  it  for  a  long  time.  The 
pre-official  announcement  effect  of  the  tie-up  in¬ 
dicates  the  importance  attached  to  the  deal. 


18  Decl5'34  THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Catholic  Boycott,  Reorganization  Main 
Topics  at  Wilmington  Warner  Meeting 

Company  Sponsors  16mm.  Sound  as  Commercial  Propo¬ 
sition — Judge  Lalley  Resigns — Stanley  to  Merge  with 
Pictures  Unit 

Abel  Carey  Thomas,  secretary  and  general  counsel  of  Warner  Brothers  Pictures, 

Inc.,  at  the  stockholders’  meeting  in  Wilmington,  December  10,  said  that  all  of  the 
cardinals  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church  in  the  United  States  had  tried  to  co-operate 
in  meeting  the  censorship  problem  with  the  exception  of  Cardinal  Dougherty,  Phila¬ 
delphia. 


He  said  Cardinal  Dougherty  had  persistently 
refused  to  assume  any  burden  of  co-operating 
with  representatives  of  the  exhibitors,  who  have 
sent  delegations  on  numerous  occasions  to  see  if 
some  program  could  not  be  worked  out. 

Among  the  important  announcements  made 
by  Thomas  was  that  a  miniature  sound  system, 
suitable  for  class  rooms,  clubs  and  small  organ¬ 
izations,  would  soon  be  placed  on  the  market 
by  the  Warners,  which  may  prove  a  profitable 
venture.  It  would  handle  a  16  mm.  film,  and 
would  be  sold  at  a  reasonably  low  price. 

It  was  also  announced  that  a  special  meeting 
was  soon  to  be  called  to  formally  merge  the 
Stanley  Company  of  America,  owners  of  num¬ 
erous  theatres  and  leases  throughout  the  coun¬ 
try,  particularly  in  Pennsylvania  and  New  Jer¬ 
sey,  and  Warner  Brothers  Pictures,  Inc.  There 
was  some  rumor  that  this  would  take  place 
at  the  stockholders'  meeting  but  the  matter  has 
been  delayed.  It  is  little  more  than  a  formal 
procedure. 

An  echo  of  the  hectic  stockholders  meeting  of 
three  years  ago  was  sounded  in  the  resignation 
of  Judge  John  P.  LafTey,  Wilmington,  as  a 
director.  Judge  Laffey,  it  will  be  recalled,  was 
put  on  the  board  to  represent  Wilmington  in¬ 
terests  and  others  as  a  sort  of  a  compromise 
with  factions,  which  at  that  time  opposed  the 
Warner  leadership.  Judge  Laffev,  according  to 
Thomas,  has  not  been  in  good  health,  and  his 
wife  also  has  been  ill,  making  it  imposs’ble  for 
him  to  serve  any  longer  as  a  director.  Thomas 
said  the  board  regretted  los  ng  Judge  Laffey, 
who  had  rendered  valuable  service.  Samuel  Car¬ 
lisle,  comoany  comptroller,  was  e'ected  in  his 
place.  Other  d  rectors  re-elected  for  two  year 
terms  are  Stan'eieh  P.  Friedman,  Charles  S. 
Gugenheimer,  Samuel  E.  Morris,  and  Moris 
Wolf.  Ivan  Culbertson,  Wilmington  lawyer, 
pres’ded  in  the  absence  of  former  Judge  Hugh 
M.  Morris,  counsel  for  the  company,  who  was 
unable  to  attend  the  meeting  due  to  the  demands 
of  a  case  in  the  Federal  court.  During  the 
count’ng  of  the  proxies  for  the  2.382,909 
shares  voted  for  the  five  directors,  Thomas 
gave  a  brief  outline  of  the  board’s  stewardship 
for  the  past  year. 

Abel  Klaw  and  Tohn  E.  Krauss  were  inspec¬ 
tors  of  the  proxies. 

Thomas  contimr’ng  from  his  reference  to  the 
industry’s  inability  to  co-operate  w!th  Cardinal 
Dougherty,  said  that  generally  speaking  much 


MPTO  Contributes 


At  a  recent  meeting  of  the  MPTO 
board  of  managers,  contributions  *o  the 
extent  of  $75  w~re  made  to  aid  Mrs.  C. 
Folk  Kline,  wife  of  the  deceased  theatre- 


progress  had  been  made  in  straightening  out  the 
difficulties  with  the  church  people  over  the  so- 
called  indecent  pictures.  He  said  the  Warners 
were  doing  everything  in  their  power  to  clean 
up  pictures  and  that  as  far  as  “our  pictures  are 
concerned  we  will  keep  them  clean.”  In  this 
connection  Thomas  cited  that  three  of  the  War¬ 
ner  pictures,  awarded  gold  medals,  namely  “Out¬ 
ward  Bound,”  “Last  Flight,”  and  “Old  English” 
had  been  lowest  in  box  office  receipts.  It  was 
the  spicy,  salacious  films,  Thomas  declared, 
that  were  the  money  makers. 

Referring  to  the  fire  which  swept  over  the 
Warner  lot  in  California  recently,  Thomas  said 
that  none  of  the  studios  were  destroyed ;  that 
the  damage  was  fully  covered  with  insurance 
and  that  the  only  property  destroyed  of  much 
concern  was  an  extra  property  building  in  which 
were  stored  automobile  licenses  of  every  state 
in  the  Union  and  province  of  Canada,  old  post¬ 
ers  and  other  material  collected  over  a  period 
of  years  that,  while  without  great  value,  would 
be  difficult  to  duplicate.  The  production  of 
pictures  will  continue,  he  said,  without  inter¬ 
ruption.  “New  York  Street”  will  be  repro¬ 
duced  he  said,  by  a  better  one. 

In  answer  to  a  question  by  a  stockholder  con¬ 
cerning  the  leases,  he  said  the  situation  was 
much  improved  over  last  year.  He  said  there 
would  be  no  reorganization  of  the  company 
under  common  stock,  in  reply  to  a  question. 

Meeting  was  attended  bv  about  100  stock¬ 
holders,  most  of  them  Wilmington  ans. 


RCA  in  Mastbaum 


Warners  have  completed  arrange¬ 
ments  with  the  RCA  Victor  Company, 
Camden,  for  the  immediate  installation 
of  a  complete  new  High  Fidelity  sound 
motion  picture  reproducing  system, 
together  with  one  of  the  most  elaborate 
sound  reenforcement  systems,  in  the 
Roxy-Mastbaum. 

New  sound  systems,  which  are  similar 
to  those  used  in  the  two  Radio  City  the¬ 
atres  in  New  York,  will  play  an  impor¬ 
tant  part  in  the  presentation  of  the  spec¬ 
tacular  new  stage  productions  planned 
for  this  show  spot  and  provide  Phila¬ 
delphians  with  one  of  the  finest  quality  of 
sound  reproduction  known  to  the  art. 
Sound  reenforcement  system  will  be  ex¬ 
tremely  flexible  in  operation.  Twenty- 
five  High  Fidelity  “velocity”  type  micro¬ 
phones  will  be  concealed  on  the  stage, 
in  the  footlights  and  on  the  orchestra 
band-wagon,  so  that  the  sound  from 
stage  and  orchestra  will  be  uniformly 
distributed  to  every  seat  in  the  great 
house  with  the  utmost  realism. 


Roxy  Visits 

Wilmington  Warner  theatre  managers  were 
making  elaborate  preparations  for  their  recep¬ 
tion  to  S.  L.  Rothafel  (Roxy),  new  manager, 
Mastbaum,  Philadelphia,  December  13,  when 
he  was  due  to  be  the  guest  of  the  Warner  man¬ 
agers  and  speak  at  a  luncheon  before  the  Adver¬ 
tising  Club  at  the  Hotel  DuPont.  Each  of 
the  managers,  Dwight  VanMeter,  Aldine ;  Lew 
Black,  Arcadia ;  Morton  Levine,  Opera  House ; 
E.  L.  Lewis  Queen,  and  Earle  Finney,  Savoy, 
together  with  Jack  Mulhall,  district  manager 
were  to  be  guests  at  the  Ad  Club  dinner. 


CLAM  Of  SERVICE 

SYMBOL 

Telegram 

Dty  Letter 

Blue 

Night  Meuagr 

Nnt 

Night  Letter 

N  L 

If  nan*  of  these  three  symbol* 
*00 ears  after  the  check  (number  of 
words  this  Is  •  telegram.  Other, 
wit*  It*  character  Is  indicated  by  the 
symbol  appearing  after  the  check. 

NEWCOMB  CARLTON.  MUiOINY 


UNION 

AM 

aeORGC  w.  E.  ATKINS.  riMT  Viet  muioint 


CUSS  Of  SERVICE 

SYMBOL 

Telegram 

Day  Lenar 

Blue 

Night  Message 

Nit* 

Night  Letter 

N  L 

If  non*  0#  these  three  wmbolt 
MD*ars  after  the  check  (m»iiber  of 
words' this  i«  e  telegram.  Other¬ 
wise  its  character  is  indicated  by  the 
symbol  appearing  after  the  check. 


LD  224  DL 


PHILADELPHIA  PENNA  NOV  30  1934 


HOLLYWOOD  PICTURES 

CARE  JOHN  G0LDER  1220  VINE  ST  PHILA  PA 

GRATIFIED  TO  HAVE  PLAYED  TOMORROWS  CHILDRFN  AT 
MY  TWO  THEATRES  STOP  GAVE  ME  THE  BEST  WEDNESDAY 
AND  THURSDAY  I  HAVE  HAD  FOR  MONTHS  AT  THE  WEST 
ALLEGHENY  AND  ONE  OF  THE  BIGGEST  MONDAYS  AT  THE 
LEHIGH  SINCE  NINETEEN  TWENTY  NINE  STOP  PEOPLE  OF 
OUR  COMMUNITY  EXPRESSED  PRAISE  AND  OPINION  THAT 
MORE  SUCH  ENLIGHTENING  PICTURES  WOULD  BE  WELCOME 
STOP  REGARDS 

HARRY  PERELMAN 
1005  P 


man. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Decl5'34 


19 


Enthusiastic  Exhibition  Faction  Greets 
New  Publication  Service  Announcement 


THE  CHECKUP  Hailed  by  Distributors  As  Well  As 
Theatremen — Find  It  Useful,  Time-Saving,  Profitable — 
Calendars  Already  Mailed  As  Well 

Introduction  of  THE  CHECKUP  as  another  serviceable  feature  of  this  pub¬ 
lication  was  hailed  by  exhibitors  and  distributors  following  its  first  appearance. 


Free  Shows  Out 


“Free  advertising  show”  which  threat¬ 
ened  to  harm  the  theatre  industry  has 
been  eliminated  through  the  prompt  and 
friendly  co-operation  of  Standard  Oil 
Company  of  New  Jersey  and  theatre 
representatives. 

Agreement  was  reached  between  the 
oil  company  officials  and  the  theatre 
heads  whereby  plans  for  the  tour  of  the 
Guy  Lombardo-Esso  Marketers  Revue 
were  revised  so  that  instead  of  compet¬ 
ing  with  established  theatres,  the  show 
will  conclude  its  tour  in  co-operation 
with  the  theatres.  The  Lombardo  show 
will  be  booked  into  theatres  and  shown 
as  an  added  stage  attraction  at  regular 
admission  prices. 

New  plan  of  booking  and  routing  the 
show  went  into  effect  at  Schenectady, 
N.  Y.,  where  instead  of  playing  a  rented 
auditorium,  the  show  went  into  RKO’s 
Proctor  Theatre. 


YORK 


Walter  W.  Wilt,  Strand  staff,  has  taken  unto 
himself  a  wife.  Before  her  name  was 
changed  she  was  Miss  Jule  Klinedinst. 

Huge  wagon  wheel  rolled  about  the  streets 
by  a  boy  was  utilized  by  Sidney  Poppay  to 
attract  attention  to  “Wagon  Wheels 
when  it  played  the  Rialto.  In  addition  he 
put  on  a  special  three  sheet  in  advance  of 
the  picture  and  issued  special  throwaways. 

Louis  J.  Appell,  Appell  Amusement  enter¬ 
prises  when  the  Stanley  Warner  Company 
took  over  the  York  theatres,  has  been 
named  the  York  County  representative, 
Taxpayers’  Forum. 

Sid  Poppay  darkened  his  theatre  every  time 
he  showed  the  trailer  for  “Menace,”  with 
the  trailer  done  in  a  weird  green. 

Irving  Dunn,  Ritz,  put  out  a  special  Thanks¬ 
giving  Herald,  which  in  addition  to  plug¬ 
ging  his  attraction  on  the  holiday,  an¬ 
nounced  a  special  show  for  the  kiddies. 

Paul  Rhodes,  assistant,  Abe  Halle,  Capitol, 
secured  a  shoe  window,  a  sheet  music  tie- 
up,  and  a  hosiery  window  tie-up  to  plug 
“Flirtation  Walk,”  in  advance  of  the  open¬ 
ing. 

For  “College  Rhythm,”  Abe  Halle  had  a  boy 
outside  the  box  office  for  nearly  two  hours 
on  the  opening  day,  holding  a  duck,  and 
wearing  a  sign  on  his  back,  “I  am  wait¬ 
ing  to  see  Joe  Penner." 

Managers  of  the  ten  Stanley-Warner  The¬ 
atres  in  the  York  district,  under  district 
manager  William  Israel,  have  their  own 


Manager  Available 

A  theatre  manager,  27,  desires  a 
position.  College  graduate,  with  cir¬ 
cuit  and  independent  experience,  he  will 
wo'k  for  nominal  salary.  Address  Box 
JOG,  or  telephone  Gladstone  1521. 


The  most  compact,  concise,  time  saving  book¬ 
ing  and  picture  guide  in  the  business,  easy  to 
ready,  easy  to  save,  THE  CHECKUP  was 
praised  highly. 

One  exhibitor  said : 

“It  allows  me  to  check  up  on  shows. 

By  looking  at  previous  year’s  contracts, 

I  can  tell  which  shows  are  owed  me, 
which  are  new.  I’m  all  for  it.” 

Another  chimed  in : 

“It  is  a  feature  that  is  without  com¬ 
parison.  Intelligent  exhibitors  can 
thank  you  for  giving  them  real  serv¬ 
ice.” 

An  exchangeman  said : 

“It  will  save  me  bother  and  work. 
Now  exhibitors  can  tell  which  shows 
are  being  delivered  as  well  as  running 
time  as  other  factors.” 

Others  duplicated  the  above  remarks. 


contest,  for  cash  prizes,  put  up  by  them¬ 
selves,  in  the  form  of  a  pool.  Cash  is 
distributed  every  four  weeks,  with  a  grand 
prize  to  the  winner  at  the  end  of  thir¬ 
teen  weeks.  Contest  is  based  on  an  expec¬ 
tancy  set  by  the  district  manager,  and  the 
prizes  are  awarded  to  the  man  who  goes 
over  that  expectancy  by  the  greatest  mar¬ 
gin  in  percentage  or  the  man  closest  to  it, 
in  case  none  exceeds  his  expectancy. 

York  Warner  theatres  made  the  honor  roll 
of  the  York  Welfa  re  Federation  drive  as 


THE  CHECKUP  appears  again  this  year 
and  every  issue.  This  time,  the  list  has  changed 
to  allow  new  pictures  to  make  their  entrance, 
to  drop  old  ones  which  are  reaching  the  end  of 
their  runs.  In  order  to  give  the  newest,  pos¬ 
sible  data  to  exhibitors,  constant  changes  are 
necessary. 

One  bit  of  advice:  SAVE  THE  CHECKUP. 
Keep  it  on  file  and  you’ll  have  all  the  infor¬ 
mation  needed. 

HERE’S  THE  SYSTEM:  Read  6-Point 
Reviews  and  then  refer  to  THE 

CHECKUP. 


Regarding  the  1935  calendars  issued  by  this 
publication — 

They  have  been  mailed  and  should  be 
in  your  hands  now.  If  you  have  not 
received  your  copy,  write  the  office  of 
this  publication  immediately. 


aiding  in  the  promotion  of  the  campaign. 

For  “Mrs.  Wiggs  of  the  Cabbage  Patch,” 
a  local  toy  store  fixed  up  a  window  on  the 
picture,  featuring  duplicates  of  all  the 
dolls  seen  in  the  picture  and  distributed 
numerous  stills  on  the  picture  throughout 
the  window. 

Abe  Halle  made  a  big  play  on  the  Paramount 
news  pictures  of  the  trial  of  Fred  C.  Perk¬ 
ins,  on  a  charge  of  violating  the  minimum 
wage  provisions  of  the  NRA  Battery  Code, 
when  they  played  his  theatre. 


20 


Decl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


A  Concise 
Ati  t ion  til  Survey 


TRADE  IN  REVIEW 


Glances  Outside 
the  Territory 


CODE 

300  Appeals  Before 
The  Code  Authority 

The  Code  Authority  has  had  300  appeals  be¬ 
fore  it  since  the  code  started,  figures  indicate. 

About  250  of  these  have  been  taken  care  of, 
and  in  most  cases  the  appeals  have  resulted  in 
original  decisions  being  affirmed. 

Rosenblatt  Hopes  For 
Best  in  Actor  Controversy 

Sol  A.  Rosenblatt,  divisional  administrator, 
is  confident  that  the  current  actor  agitation  on 
the  coast  will  be  settled. 

Producer  and  actor-writer  groups  have  been 
battling,  with  Rosenblatt’s  personal  appear¬ 
ance  causing  little  change  in  the  situation.  Re¬ 
commendations  from  Washington  are  expected. 

Amendment  Hearings  Up 
On  Industry  Code 

Three  amendment  hearings  are  scheduled  for 
the  industry  in  connection  with  the  code.  These 
include  changes  in  the  vaudeville  division, 
dropping  of  the  interference  with  the  lease 
clause  and  a  change  in  the  studio  division  of 
the  code. 

Hearing's  are  being  held  this  month. 

Flinn,  Rosenblatt 
To  Hollywood 

John  C.  Flinn,  code  secretary,  and  Sol  A. 
Rosenblatt,  administrator  as  well  as  compli¬ 
ance  co-ordinator  for  the  NRA,  hopped  to  the 
coast  to  settle  code  trouble  there  and  flew  back 
again. 

Actors  demands  were  the  chief  problems  on 
the  coast. 

Fight  Against  Free 
Radio  Shows  Grow 

The  fight,  led  by  the  legitimate  theatre  code, 
against  free  radio  shows,  is  growing.  Fed¬ 
eral  Radio  Commission  is  being  asked  to  con¬ 
sider  this  angle  when  granting  licenses  to 
theatres. 

PRODUCTION 

Columbia  Shows  Good 
Profit  on  the  Quarter 

Reports  of  major  companies  again  indicate 
growing  profits.  Columbia  showed  a  net  for 
the  quarter  ending  September  29  of  $235,712.19, 
the  equivalent  of  $1.29  a  share. 

Other  companies  were  just  as  cheerful. 
Wilmer  and  Vincent  chain  shows  a  loss  of 
$278,422,  comparing  with  a  loss  of  $394,812  the 
previous  year. 

Paramount  showed  a  $4,530  000  net  for  the 
first  9  months  of  the  year,  a  favorable  state¬ 
ment. 

Universal  showed  a  net  profit  of  $77,077.61. 
This  compares  with  a  loss  of  $728  747.66  for 
the  same  nine  months  in  1933. 

Warners  cut  its  1934  loss  to  $2,530,513.  Last 
year's  loss  was  $6,291,748.46. 


Warner  Production  Not 
Affected  by  Fire 

Warner  Brothers’  production  on  the  coast  is 
unaffected  by  the  recent  fire  in  the  studio.  Loss 
ran  into  several  hundred  thousands  but  the 
company  will  release  on  schedule  with  no  de¬ 
lays  to  exhibitors. 

Sound  stages  and  administration  building 
were  not  touched. 

Schulberg  Leaves  Paramount 
For  Independent  Field 

B.  P.  Schulberg  will  not  distribute  through 
Paramount.  He  will  head  an  entirely  new  pro¬ 
ducing  company  when  his  plans  are  completed. 

His  last  for  Paramount  was  “Behold  My 
Wife.” 

Publicity  Breaks  with 
“President  Vanishes” 

Paramount’s  “The  President  Vanishes”  got 
into  the  headlines  when  it  was  reported  that 
picture  was  cancelled  from  Broadway  showing 
scheduled  because  of  munitions  pressure.  Para¬ 
mount  Theatre’s  answer  to  this  was  an  imme¬ 
diate  booking. 

When  all  the  fuss  was  over,  it  was  appar¬ 
ent  that  someone  had  been  scoring  a  gigantic 
publicity  coup. 

Tri-Ergon  Case  Due 
Middle  of  January 

It  is  expected  that  the  Supreme  Court  will 
hear  the  Tri-Ergon  appeal  and  review  about 
January  15. 

Exact  date  hasn't  been  set  but  will  be 
shortly. 

Paramount  Trustees 
Sue  Officers,  Directors 

On  the  petition  of  Charles  D.  Llilles,  Eugene 
W.  Leake  and  Charles  E.  Richardson,  trustees, 
Paramount  Publix  Corporation,  Debtor,  in  cor¬ 
porate  reorganization  proceedings,  United 
States  District  Judge  Alfred  C.  Coxe  has 
signed  an  order  authorizing  and  directing  the 
trustees  to  institute  a  suit  or  suits  against  cer¬ 
tain  officers  and  directors  of  Paramount  and 
others.  The  petition  sets  forth  that  the  trus¬ 
tees’  counsel,  Root,  Clark,  Buckner  &  Ballan- 
tine  have  advised  that  probable  causes  of  action 
exist  and  that  the  trustees  are  of  the  opinion 
that  court  determination  of  the  matters  set 
forth  in  the  petition  through  the  institution  of  a 
suit  or  suits  is  required. 

The  order  authorizes  the  trustees  to  sue  the 
directors  named  in  the  petition  to  compel  them 
to  account  for  any  unreasonable  compensation 
paid  by  Paramount  during  the  years  1927,  1928, 
1929,  and  1930  to  certain  executives  of  Para¬ 
mount,  to  account  for  the  issuance  and  delivery 
of  certain  shares  of  Paramount  stock  to  certain 
officers,  who  were  also  directors,  under  an 
Employees’  Stock  Purchase  Plan,  and  to  ac- 
the  purchase  and  sale  by  it  of  shares  of  its  own 
count  for  any  loss  incurred  by  Paramount  from 
stock  in  1929  and  1930,  and  to  sue  for  an  ac¬ 
counting  recipients  of  certain  shares  of  stock  of 
Paramount  issued  to  certain  officers  and  direc¬ 
tors  as  part  of  the  Employees’  Stock  Purchase 
Plan. 


EXHIBITION 

Protest  Due  on 
Proposed  Sound  Tax 

Independent  equipment  manufacturers  are 
planning  a  fight  on  the  proposed  federal  tax 
of  5%  on  motion  picture  and  public  amplifica¬ 
tion  and  reproducing  equ*pment.  The  Com¬ 
missioner  of  Internal  Revenue  in  Washington  is 
being  appealed  to. 

Joseph  A.  Tanney,  president,  SOS  Corpora¬ 
tion,  is  active  in  the  fight  against  the  tax. 

10  Best  Money  Stars 
Voted  by  Exhibitors 

According  to  a  vote  among  exhibitors,  the 
money  stars  for  the  past  season  were  Will 
Rogers,  Clark  Gable,  Janet  Gaynor,  Wallace 
Beery,  Mae  West,  Joan  Crawford,  Bing 
Crosby,  Shirley  Temple,  Marie  Dressier  and 
Norma  Shearer. 

Metro,  therefore,  had  five  stars;  Fox  three 
and  Paramount  two. 

Film  Daily  Best  Ten 
Vote  Up  Again 

The  Film  Daily  is  again  conducting  its  best 
ten  poll  among  trade  folk  and  newspaper  edi¬ 
tors.  Polls  will  close  at  the  end  of  the  month. 
The  affair  is  becoming  an  annual  institution  in 
the  journalistic  fraternity. 

Contract  Legality 
Up  Before  Supreme  Court 

The  United  States  Supreme  Court  will  de¬ 
cide  another  problem  that  is  vital  to  exhibitors 
when  the  legality  of  the  standard  exhibition 
contract  is  determined  in  a  review  of  a  case 
brought  by  a  Minnesota  exhibitor.  The  exhib 
claims  entire  contract  is  null  and  void  because 
the  arbitration  clause  is  in  it. 

Case  was  appealed  by  the  exchange  and 
reaches  the  supreme  body. 

Exhibs  Watch  Effect 
Of  Renewed  Catholic  Drive 

Exhibitors  everywhere  are  watching  the 
effect  of  the  renewed  drive  of  the  Legion  of 
Decency,  whereby  pledges  were  secured  from 
Catholics  attending  various  masses. 

Pictures  of  lists  “A"  and  “B"  may  be  seen 
by  adults  and  children  and  adults,  respectively, 
but  films  on  “C”  lists  are  taboo. 

Very  few  pictures  have  been  falling  into  the 
“C”  classification,  it  has  been  noticed. 

Meanwhile,  the  industry’s  coast  censor  system 
is  working  perfectly. 

Allied  Planned  Big 
Program  for  Meeting 

Allied  States  Association,  at  its  December 
11-12  meeting,  had  a  busy  program  prepared. 

Legislation,  code  work,  independent  exhibitor 
demands  were  topics  of  debate  and  discussion 
during  the  New  Orleans  session. 

It  was  expected  that  exhibitor  leaders,  both 
affiliated  and  unaffiliated  with  Allied,  would 
atttend  the  session. 

A  busy  meeting  was  scheduled. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Decl5'34 


21 


IEPA  Proceeds  with 
Local  Zoning  Meetings 

Body  Seeks  Censor  Place  for 
Mrs.  Kline 


The  Independent  Exhibitors  Protective 
Association  is  proceeding  with  its  series 
of  meetings  on  proposed  zoning  schedules 
lor  the  1935-1936  schedule. 

Committees  held  regional  sessions  this  week 
at  the  JEPA  headquarters,  1313  Vine  Street. 

At  the  recent  meeting,  held  December  11,  the 
body,  headed  by  president  Ben  Golder,  went  on 
record  as  requesting  that  the  place  promised  to 
C.  Folk  Kline,  deceased,  on  the  censor  board 
staff  be  given  to  his  widow,  who  is  in  reduced 
circumstances. 

A  series  of  charity  food  matinees  is  also 
scheduled,  with  David  Ullman  in  charge.  All 
theatres  are  co-operating  with  shows  on  Sun¬ 
day. 

The  organization  also  announced  Robert  Levy 
as  a  sound  expert,  with  headquarters  at  the  club- 
rooms.  Attempts  will  be  made  by  representa¬ 
tive  Kaiser  of  New  York  to  get  an  adjustment 
on  insurance  rates,  after  inspection  of  the¬ 
atre  properties.  He  spoke  to  members  at  the 
meeting. 

Steps  are  also  being  taken  to  effect  savings  on 
electric  bills  in  members’  theatres. 

Meanwhile,  the  organization’s  campaign  to 
acquaint  the  public  with  its  problems  is  pro¬ 
ceeding.  When  Allied  States  Association  met 
in  New  Orleans,  this  was  one  of  the  points 
to  be  discussed. 

A  message  from  the  IEPA  asserts  that  there 
were  52  exhibitors  present  at  the  first  zoning 
meeting.  The  small  number  is  attributed  to 
the  presence  of  many  theatremen  at  the  doubles 
hearing  in  District  Court. 

The  meeting  was  called  for  the  purpose  of 
having  the  independent  exhib'tors  of  this  terri¬ 
tory  set  up  a  zoning  schedule  to  answer  the 
only  schedule  of  zoning  demands  arbitrarily- 
presented  in  book  form  by  Warner  Brothers  to 
all  of  the  exchanges,  to  quote  from  a  letter 
from  Oscar  Neufeld,  business  manager. 

The  IEPA  committee  includes:  Morris  Wax, 
general  chairman :  Ray  O’Rourke,  West  Phila¬ 
delphia  :  Henry  Rosinsky,  Northeast  Philadel¬ 
phia  :  Columbus  Stamner,  North  and  North¬ 
west  Philadelphia;  Clarence  Hexter,  South 
Philadelphia ;  Harrv  Fried,  Delaware  and  ad¬ 
jacent  counties;  Sam  Frank  Southern  New 
Jersey ;  Ben  Shindler,  De'aware. 

Chairmen  for  the  northeast  Pennsylvania  and 
west  central  Pennsylvania  zones  are  to  be  ap¬ 
pointed. 

Complaints  are  to  be  heard  at  all  meetings. 


Heard  In 


w 


LMINGTON 

Xmas  Spirit 
Everywhere 


Wilmington  theatres  were  all  decorated  for 
Christmas  and  planning  for  garnering  their 
share  of  the  outpouring  Christmas 
sheckles. 


Lew  Black,  Arcadia,  redecorated  his  front, 
installed  four  permanent  glass  front  dis¬ 
play  cases  for  art  signs  in  the  entry  way 


and  four  more  in  the  lobby  and  two 
shadow  boxes  for  stills.  If  the  nabobs  like 
the  way  the  rest  rooms  are  decorated  and 
fixed  up,  they  can  let  W.  R.  IVlcClintock, 
Lew’s  assistant,  have  praise. 

“Morty”  Levine’s  office  is  all  painted  up. 

Ben  Schindler’s  Thanksgiving  turkey  din¬ 
ner  for  his  employes  of  the  Avenue,  Wil¬ 
mington  and  Roselyn,  West  Grove,  was  a 
h.t. 

Mike  Kavanaugh,  United  Artists,  has  been  in 
Wilmington  for  several  days. 

R.  R.  Drissell,  Loew’s  Parkway,  was  making 
big  plans  to  push  "The  Mighty  Barnum." 

Wilmer  Highfield,  former  manager.  Savoy, 
has  been  made  assistant  manager  at  the 
State,  Chester. 

Jack  Mulhall,  Warner  district  manager,  says 
there’s  a  lot  that  hasn't  been  told  about  the 
bowl.ng  tilts  between  Wilmington  and 
Chester  managers.  E.  L.  Lewis,  star  Wil¬ 
mington  team,  says  it  will  have  to  wait 
until  after  Christmas. 

Ben  Schindler,  manager,  Avenue,  swelled  his 
"ads”  four  times  the  usual  size  and  pub¬ 
lished  a  personal  recommendation  that 
"One  Night  of  Love”  on  his  RCA  High 
Fidelity  sound  system  would  sound  tar 
superior  than  heretofore  heard  in  the  city. 

Earle  Finney,  manager  Savoy,  with  Mrs. 
Finney,  recently  paid  a  visit  to  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Harvey  Holsinger,  Ridgely,  Md. 

Jimmy  Kearney,  assistant  manager,  Queen, 
was  out  two  days  because  of  illness. 

A1  C.  Schwartz,  manager,  Warner,  West 
Chester,  made  the  front  page  of  the  West 
Chester  Local  as  a  result  of  being  chair¬ 
man  of  the  Real  Cheer  movement  in  the 
community. 

Miss  Ruth  Sterling,  box  office  girl.  Opera 
House,  has  been  ill. 

Miss  Rose  Caulk,  new  box  office  girl  at  the 
Aldine,  is  entered  in  my  personally  con¬ 
ducted  box  office  beauty  contest. 

Merton  Pragg,  assistant  manager,  Opera 
House,  and  Louis  Niglio,  usher,  put  on 
1,000  “no  parking  signs”  for  “Night 
Alarm”  on  a  “sniping”  expedition.  Police 
gathe  red  them  all  in. 

“Buddy”  Lewis,  son  of  E.  I.  Lewis,  manager, 
Queen,  has  been  made  an  usher  and  relief 
doorman  at  the  Arcadia. 

Edman  Devenney,  assistant  manager,  Aldine, 
wants  it  known  that  the  new  arrival  at 


his  home  is  not  a  "junior,”  but  is  named 
Edman  Lewis  Devenney. 

Lew  Black  was  having  a  special  Christmas 
shopping  reel  made  of  Wilmington  scenes 
for  showing  in  the  Arcadia. 

Francis  Kipp,  usher,  Queen,  was  ill  two  days. 

Tattletale  columnist,  “Sunday  Star”  must 
have  a  ’’crush”  on  Harry  “Boom  Boom” 
Felsburg,  usher,  Aldine,  who  twice  has 
been  called  the  "handsomest  usher”  in 
Wil  mington. 

R.  R.  Drissel,  Loew  s  manager,  ran  a  series 
of  advance  teaser  "ads"  before  spreading 
the  ink  for  Garbo. 

E.  I.  Lewis,  Queen,  never  tells  what  he  is 
going  to  show  tomorrow. 

Lew  Black,  manager,  Arcadia,  Wilmington, 
had  Mayor  Speer  on  the  stage  to  present 
the  football  champ  onship  cup  to  the  Sal- 
esianum  team  on  the  eve  before  Thanks¬ 
giving,  when  it  was  announced  that  the 
presentation  of  such  cups  by  Warner 
Brothers  to  scholastic  football  champions 
would  become  a  permanent  yearly  event. 

New  Rialto  Theatre,  Wilmington,  modern¬ 
ized  extensively  two  or  three  years  ago 
for  Paramount  pictures,  has  been  given 
another  "  baptism”,  this  time  in  the  inter¬ 
ior,  with  a  subsequent  full  page  of  paid 
publicity  in  "The  Journal-Every  Evening,” 
showing  four  views  of  the  theatre,  one  of 
the  exterior  and  three  of  the  interior.  The 
occasion  for  the  outburst  was  the  deco¬ 
ration  of  the  walls  with  fancy  murals. 

Wilmington  Better  Films  Council  is  sponsor¬ 
ing  an  institute  for  the  study  of  motion 
p.ctures,  two  of  which  have  already  been 
held  in  the  Y.  W.  C.  A.,  with  Mrs.  Jeanette 
W.  Emrich,  teacher,  East  Coast  Preview 
Committee,  General  Federation  of  Wom¬ 
en  s  Clubs,  in  charge  of  the  program. 
Mrs.  Edmund  M.  Barsham,  Mrs.  George  L. 
Schwartz  and  Mrs.  N.  W.  Voss  served  as 
committee  to  take  care  of  the  reservations 
last  week. 

R.  R.  Drissel,  manager,  Loew’s  Theatre, 
Baltimore,  is  having  unexpected  success 
with  the  boys’  band  which  he  is  organizing 
similar  to  those  in  other  Loew's-MGM 
circuits.  The  first  call  brought  out  28 
boys  with  instruments,  all  of  whom  could 
play,  and  the  next  week  there  were  about 
40. 


i.0°0n  FORTU*£ 


22 


Decl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


BETTER  tested  successful 

MANAGEMENT  *  ideas  *  merchandising 


“Night  Alarm”  Gets 
Big  Harrisburg  Boost 

In  return  for  a  contribution  made  by 
jerry  Wollaston,  manager,  Victoria 
Theatre,  Harrisburg,  to  the  Christmas 
fund  of  the  West  Fairview  Fire  Company, 
on  the  west  shore  of  the  Susquehanna 
River,  opposite  Harrisburg,  the  firemen 
furnished  a  fire  truck  for  use  in  Harris¬ 
burg  to  advertise  the  Victoria’s  current 
picture,  “Night  Alarm.” 

Two  members  of  the  fire  company,  dressed  in 
full  regalia,  accompanied  the  truck,  bearing  ap¬ 
propriate  banners  advertising  the  picture,  over 
the  city  prior  to  its  opening  and  during  show¬ 
ing.  Because  it  was  raining  during  the  entire 
run  of  the  film  at  the  Victoria,  Jerry  borrowed 
firemen's  raincoats,  high  rubber  boots  and  hats 
and  hired  two  youths  to  wear  them  in  front 
of  the  theatre. 

To  create  some  excitement,  which  is  Jerry’s 
pet  hobby,  he  obtained  an  old  fire  alarm  box 
attached  to  a  post,  painted  them  red  and  placed 
them  at  a  conspicuous  place  in  front  of  the 
theatre.  Wires  were  attached  so  that  the  alarm 
could  be  run  from  inside  the  theatre.  Above 
the  alarm  box  was  placed  a  sign  reading,  “For 
Night  Alarm  Only.”  When  an  alarm  was 
sounded,  the  uniformed  youths  would  answer  it. 

By  offering  them  free  admission  to  the  show, 
Jerry  induced  twenty  members  of  the  Washing¬ 
ton  Fire  Company,  a  Harrisburg  organization 
to  drive  one  of  their  fire  trucks  to  the  theatre. 
Upon  arrival  of  the  truck  opposite  the  theatre, 
the  box  alarm  was  sounded ;  the  truck  was 
parked  and  the  firemen  rushed  into  the  theatre. 

Business,  as  a  result,  was  very  good  at  the 
house. 


“One  Night  of  Love” 

Harrisburg 

Manager  Jack  D.  O’Rear,  Majestic,  Harris¬ 
burg,  plugged  “One  Night  of  Love.” 

In  a  tie-up  with  music  stores  throughout  the 
c'ty,  song  displays  were  arranged  with  each 
music  store  using  title  pages.  Jack  also  se¬ 
cured  an  orchestration  for  local  use.  A  leading 
laundry  of  the  city  was  engaged  by  Jack  to  in¬ 
sert  for  delivery  with  packages  of  laundry  to 
homes  of  Harrisburg  and  vicinity  2000  roto¬ 
gravure  sections.  Picture  was  described  over 
a  Harrisburg  broadcasting  station  during  an 
Italian  hour  sponsored  by  a  macaroni  company. 
Italian  posters  were  placed  in  Italian  clubs  in 
the  city  and  neighboring  communities.  A  nov¬ 
elty  “throwaway”  was  distributed  through 
greeting  card  shops  throughout  the  city,  the 
novelties  having  been  inserted  in  envelopes 
containing  Christmas  cards  as  they  were  sold. 

It  all  helped. 


“Are  We  Civilized” 

Harrisburg 

A  sheet  and  herald  campaign  was  launched 
by  Jerry  Wollaston  manager.  Victoria,  Harris¬ 
burg,  for  “Are  We  Civilized?” 

Ten  days  prior  to  opening  of  the  picture, 
Jerry  placed  at  advantageous  spots  in  the  city 
ten  24-sheets,  twenty  3-sheets  and  100  one- 
sheets. 


Good  Card  System 

An  idea  which  appeals  to  the  public, 
particularly  physicians,  nurses,  lawyers 
and  other  business  people,  has  been  pre¬ 
sented  to  Colonial  theatregoers  in  Har¬ 
risburg  by  Manager  Harry  Lambert. 
Harry  has  printed  cards,  the  size  of 
postal  cards  and  of  similar  thickness, 
which  have  been  distributed  throughout 
the  city  and  vicinity.  On  the  cards  ap¬ 
pears  the  following: 

“Dear  Patron:  Introducing  a  new 
service  for  your  convenience  while  at¬ 
tending  the  Colonial,  Wilmer  and  Vin¬ 
cent’s  popular  motion  picture  theatre. 
If  you  expect  a  call  while  seeing  a  pic¬ 
ture,  sign  your  name  below  and  leave 
this  card  with  the  usher  on  duty.  She 
will  be  pleased  to  take  note  of  your  seat 
location  and  call  you  when  wanted.  The 
Management.”  Over  a  space  to  be 
filled  in  by  the  patron  with  his  name 
appears,  “I  am  expecting  an  important 
call  and  would  appreciate  being  notified 
immediately  upon  receipt  of  same.” 
Another  vacant  space  follows  the  read¬ 
ing,  “Location  of  seat  to  be  filled  in  by 
usher.”  The  card  states  further:  “Addi¬ 
tional  cards  for  future  use  may  be 
secured  for  the  asking  at  the  box  office 
or  from  the  ticket  taker.” 


“Flirtation  Walk” 

Harrisburg 

Handsome  youths  in  the  uniforms  of  West 
Point  cadets  paraded  in  front  of  the  Colonial 
Theatre,  Harrisburg,  during  showing  of  “Flir¬ 
tation  Walk.”  A  kissing  rock,  built  to  repre¬ 
sent  the  famous  kissing  rock  in  the  picture,  was 
placed  by  Manager  Harry  Lambert  in  the  outer 
lobby  of  the  Colonial  during  picture’s  run. 


Warners  Ahead 

V  arner  home  office  advertising  and  publicity 
department  has  instituted  the  policy  of  provid¬ 
ing  press  books  on  pictures  four  weeks  ahead 
of  release  dates. 

First  of  the  books  completed  on  the  new 
schedule  is  that  on  “Sweet  Adeline^’  Warner’s 
latest  musical  which  will  be  given  roadshow 
engagements  during  Christmas  Week.  Among 
the  highlights  of  the  book  are  89  ideas  for 
general  exploitation;  a  prepared  co-operative 
dealer  ad  layout ;  unified  Christmas  campaign ; 
contest  suggestions ;  numerous  special  acces¬ 
sories,  including  a  cellophane-faced  banner  (an 
innovation  in  this  line)  ;  free  electrical  tran¬ 
scriptions  for  radio  use;  photographic  enlarge¬ 
ments  and  a  particularly  wide  selection  of  ads 
ranging  from  one  inch  to  a  full  page  in  size. 


“College  Rhythm” 

Harrisburg 

The  ingenuity  of  Spencer  Colis,  head,  Spen¬ 
cer  Colis  Electronic  Devices  Laboratories, 
young  Harrisburg  concern,  enabled  Harry  Lam¬ 
bert,  manager,  Colonial  Theatre,  Harrisburg, 
to  present  a  novel  exploitation  stunt  for  the 
Fenner  picture,  “College  Rhythm.’  Colis  built 
an  8-foot  duck  in  which  he  secreted  himself  and 
walked  the  streets,  moving  the  duck’s  head  and 
mouth  while  he  talked  through  a  portable  P.  A. 
system  which  he  had  installed. 


“Bright  Eyes”  by  Air 

Fox  and  American  Airlines  combined  to  send 
prints  of  "Bright  Eyes”  to  sixteen  key  cities 
by  aeroplane.  This  is  the  first  time  the  film 
company  has  used  special  planes  to  carry  film 
to  exhibitors  on  a  nation-wide  scale.  Through 
the  tie-up  with  American  Airlines  there  were 
appropriate  exercises  at  each  of  the  airports  in 
the  sixteen  cities  when  the  film  arrived.  Each 
shipping  container  was  decorated  with  stickers, 
printed  in  holiday  colors  of  red  and  green  which 
read,  “Bright  Eyes  for  a  Merry  Christmas — 
Shirley  Temple.” 


UNION 
TEL^RAM 


MEWCOMB  CARLTON  t 


GEORGE  W  E  ATKINS 


CLASS  OF  SERVICE  |  SYMBOL 

Telegram 

Dav  Letter 

Blue 

Night  Message 

Nlte 

Night  Letter 

N  L 

It  none  of  these  thre 
BCo»ars  after  the  check 
words  thi<  i*  a  telegrar 

lu  .iber  n< 
Other- 

MHA  156  30  DL —  42020—  ATLANTIC  CITY  NJ  27 

424  P 

JOHN  G0LDER  HOLLYWOOD  FILM  EXCHANGE 
1220  VINE  ST 
PH I LA  PA 

QUOTE  TOMORROW  CHILDREN  UNQUOTE  OPENED  THIS  AF¬ 
TERNOON  AT  CAPITOL  THEATRE  TO  DOUBLE  THE  AVERAGE 
MATINEE  BUSINESS  STOP  EXPECT  IT  TO  BREAK  RECORDS 
GREAT  EXPLOITATION  BOX  OFFICE  OPPORTUNITY  FOR 
ANY  HOUSE 

P.  MORTIMER  LEWIS 


Decl5'34  pg.  23 


Decl5'34  pg.  24 


The 

TRADE  PAPERS  HAIL 
DOUG  FAIRBANKS’ 
TRIUMPHANT  RETURN! 


‘SHOWMANSHIP  ANGLES  ABOUND 
IN  THIS  PICTURE!  D  oug  is  admirable,  as 

agile  and  as  virile  as  ever!  Ladies  will  love  tbe  romance 
and  tbe  spectacle!  —  Ql'lolion  ^Picture  (  JicruLI 

‘PRODUCED  ON  A  GRAND  SCALE 

witli  subtlety,  exquisite  imagery  and  breadth  ot  imag¬ 
ination!  Doug  amply  justifies  D  on  Juan  s  reputation 
lor  glamorous  sex  appeal  and  charm  ot  presence! 

~  ^Pfollywood  PPcfrorler 

“A  BIG  ATTRACTION  FOR  SHOW¬ 
MEN!  It  1  ias  immense  possibilities ! 

-  ffay  &  marine  l&M  iccihons 


LONDON  FILMS 
present 


cj  id  A 

FAIRBANKS 


ALEXANDER  KORDA’S 

production  of 


t  ivate 

DON  .1  Li 


with  MERLE  OBERO 
BENITA  HUME  •  BINNIE  BARNI 

and  the  beautiful  leading  ladi 
of  "HENRY  VIII" 


Released  thru 
UNITED  ARTISTS 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Decl5'34 


25 


Manufacturers  Flock  to 
Mickey  Mouse  for  Xmas 

Hundreds  of  various  toys,  books  and 
other  merchandise  items  of  the  Walt  Dis¬ 
ney  characters,  both  from  his  popular 
Mickey  Mouse  and  Silly  Symphony  series 
now  being  released  through  United 
Artists,  have  been  manufactured  by  41 
leading  manufacturers  for  Christmas. 

Kay  Kamen,  who  directs  the  merchandising 
activities  of  tne  Wait  Disney  characters,  has 
completed  many  contracts  representing  millions 
of  uonars  of  invested  capital  and  millions  of 
dollars  of  merchandise  manufactured  and  sold 
to  the  consuming  public. 

Representation  accorded  Mickey  Mouse  and 
his  characiers  in  the  recent  K.  H.  Macy 
Thanksgiving  Day  Parade,  JNlew  York,  was  a 
direct  tribute  to  Walt  Disney,  to  Kay  Kamen 
and  the  entire  industry,  for  the  success  ot  any 
unit  of  the  industry  reflects  the  prestige  upon 
all  of  it. 

Among1  the  items  and  manufacturers  now  busily  pre¬ 
paring  Walt  Disney  articles  are:  Sheepkin  moccasins, 
Atnletic  Shoe  Co.  of  New  York;  play  houses,  O.  B. 
Anorews  Co.,  Chattanooga;  tooth  brushes,  Henry  L. 
Ilugjies,  New  York;  waddle  and  pop-up  books,  Blue 
Ribbon  Books,  Inc.,  New  York;  dolls,  doll  outfits  and 
bisque  novelties,  Geo.  Borgfeldt  Corporation,  New  York; 
velocipedes,  Coslon  Co.,  New  York;  kiddie  jewelry, 
Colin  &  Rosen  berger,  New  York;  canvas  shoes  and 
oxfords,  Converse  Rubber  Co.,  Malden,  Mass.;  Disney 
Dennison  merchandise,  Dennison  Mfg.  Co.,  Framingham, 
Mass.;  pencil  boxes,  Jos.  Dixon  Co.,  Jersey  City;  mittens 
and  gloves,  Eisendratli  Glove  Co.,  Chicago;  greetings 
cards,  Hall  Bros.,  New  York;  pull  toys  and  dial  phones, 
N.  N.  Hill  Brass  Co.,  New  York;  handkerchiefs,  Herrman 
Handkerchief  Co.,  New  York;  alarm  clocks  and  watches, 
Jngersol  Watch  Co.,  New  York;  silver  reproductions, 
International  Silver  Co.,  New  York. 

Also  belts  by  Hickok  Mfg.  Co.,  Rochester;  jersey  suits, 
Kaynee  Co.,  Cleveland;  purses,  King  Innovations,  Inc., 
New  York;  nursery  articles,  Richard  G.  Krueger,  New 
York;  rubber  and  elastic  specialties,  A.  Stein  &  Co., 
New  York;  anklettes,  The  May  Hosiery  Mills,  Nashville; 
dolls,  Knickerbocker  Toy  Co.,  New  York;  movie  pro¬ 
jectors,  Keystone  Mfg.  Co.,  Boston;  books,  David  McKay 
Co.,  Philadelphia;  neckwear,  D.  H.  Neumann  Co.,  New 
York;  paint,  crayon  and  game-sets,  Marks  Bros.,  Boston; 
sweat  shirts,  Norwich  Knitting  Mills,  Norwich;  metal 
toys,  Ohio  Art  Co.,  Bryan,  O\iio;  school  supplies.  Power 
Paper  Co.,  Springfield,  Mass.;  post  toasties,  General 
Foods;  records,  RCA  Victor  Co.,  Camden;  blackboards, 
Richmond  School  Furniture  Co.,  Muncie,  Ind.;  rubber 
balloons,  Oak  Rubber  Co.,  Ravenna,  Ohio;  China,  Salem 
China  Co.,  New  York;  ribbons  and  bandos,  Stark  Bros., 
New  York;  shoes,  Truitt  Bros.,  Binghamton ;  costumes, 
Wornova  Mfg.  Co.,  New  York;  headwear,  Chas.  Tobias 
Bros.,  Cincinnati;  playing  cards,  Whitman  Publishing  Co., 
Racine;  and  saving  banks,  Zell  Product  Corp.,  New  York 
City. 


Cardiff  Giant  Tours 

Cardiff  Giant,  P.  T.  Barnum’s  world-famous 
hoax  of  65  years  ago,  has  been  enlisted  in  the 
services  of  the  United  Artists  as  an  aid  to  the 
showing  of  "The  Mighty  Barnum.” 

The  stone  figure,  once  believed  by  many 
scientists  to  be  the  remains  of  a  prehistoric  man, 
was  “discovered”  near  Cardiff,  N.  Y.  It  was 
displayed  by  the  famous  showman  and  viewed 
by  thousands  before  being  disclosed  as  one  of 
Barnum’s  major  hoaxes.  It  was  eventually  re¬ 
vealed  that  the  giant  was  originally  a  block 
of.  gypsum,  carved  at  Fort  Dodge,  Iowa,  and 
shipped  secretly  to  Cardiff  to  be  aged  in  the 
soil  and  discovered  by  well  diggers. 

The  Cardiff  Giant  will  grace  the  world’s  pre¬ 
miere  of  “The  Mighty  Barnum"  in  Bridgeport, 
Conn.  It  will  then  travel  the  Boston  Post 
Road  down  to  New  York.  This  will  be  fol¬ 
lowed  by  appearances  in  Boston,  Providence, 
Rochester,  New  Haven,  Baltimore,  Harrisburg 
and  Reading. 


Mickey  in  Wilmington 

“Mickey  and  Minnie  Mouse  in  person”  clog¬ 
ged  Wilmington  streets  when  they  arrived  for 
the  ballyhoo  hook-up  of  Loew's  Parkway  and 
a  local  furniture  store.  R.  R.  Drissel  got  plenty 
of  nice  kiddie  business  out  of  it. 


“The  Painted  Veil” 

Wilmington 

R.  R.  Drissel,  manager,  Loew’s  Parkway, 
Wilmington,  got  good  results  from  his  cam¬ 
paign  for  “The  Pa.nted  Veil,”  which  in¬ 
cluded  Thanksgiving  midnight  prevue  as  an 
opener ;  distribution  of  2150  folders,  house  to 
house,  and  another  850  by  mailing  list  and  the 
placing  of  attractive  Garbo  picture  cards  in 
various  windows.  Another  attractive  folder  of 
MGM  press  bureau  origin  with  several  pages 
devoted  to  new  MGM  films  was  distributed 
with  Garbo  ads  on  the  back. 


“Flirtation  Walk” 

Wilmington 

Dwight  Van  Meter,  manager,  Aldine,  Wil¬ 
mington,  in  putting  “Flirtat.on  Walk”  over  in 
a  big  way  for  a  seven-day  showing,  starting 
with  a  Thanksgiving  midnight  show,  brought 
everything  but  the  horses  down  from  the  Penn¬ 
sylvania  Military  College,  Chester,  and  had 
enough  machine  guns,  army  equipment  and 
other  military  trappings  in  his  lobby  to  arm  a 
South  American  rebel  army. 

P.  M.  C.  boys  in  uniform,  with  officers  and 
school  staff  made  an  impressive  showing.  The 
military  exhibits  were  secured  from  the  Dela¬ 
ware  National  Guard  through  Captain  L. 
Whaley.  All  veteran  organizations,  Fort  Du¬ 
Pont,  and  every  football  game  was  circularized 
or  reached  through  the  mail.  William  Rogers 
decorated  the  lobby  and  arranged  the  exhibit. 
Ushers  looked  their  snappiest  in  regular  cadet 
uniforms  with  hats  and  plumes. 


“Limberlost’’ 

Harrisburg 

For  “Girl  of  the  Limberlost,”  Victoria  The¬ 
atre,  Harrisburg,  a  man  walked  the  streets  in¬ 
side  a  replica  of  a  huge  book  bearing  the  title, 
“Girl  of  the  Limberlost,”  by  “Gene  Stratton 
Porter.”  In  a  tie-up  with  a  Harrisburg  daily 
newspaper,  an  advertising  stunt  was  arranged 
in  which  five  books,  “The  Girl  of  the  Limber¬ 
lost,”  were  given  as  prizes  daily  for  five  consec¬ 
utive  days. 

A  thousand  blotters  advertising  the  picture 
were  distributed  where  Christmas  shoppers  were 
likely  to  use  them. 


“Save  a  Life”  Week 

In  conjunction  with  a  highway  safety  film 
shown  at  the  Majestic  Theatre,  Harrisburg, 
through  the  efforts  of  a  number  of  Harrisburg 
business  men,  Mayor  George  A.  Hovcrter, 
Harrisburg,  proclaimed  the  period  “Save  a  Life 
Week.” 

Mayor,  members  of  City  Council,  Wilson  C. 
Price,  superintendent  of  the  State  Highway 
Patrol,  and  other  State  and  city  police  officials 
were  the  guests  with  more  than  300  student 
nurses  from  the  Hamsburg,  Polyclinic  and 
Keystone  Hospitals  of  Manager  Jack  D. 
O’Rear  at  a  pre-showing  of  the  safety  pic¬ 
ture  and  “The  White  Parade.” 


Book  Week 

Miss  Yetta  Rosen,  manager,  Palace  Theatre, 
Flemington,  N.  J.,  tied  up  with  the  library  for 
a  Book  Week,  at  which  time  pictures  based  on 
literary  classics  were  shown.  Part  of  the  pro¬ 
ceeds  went  to  the  library  fund. 

Schools  all  announced  the  program  and  high 
school  pupils  were  dismissed  to  attend  the  spe¬ 
cial  matinee. 


Request  Week 

Hippodrome  Theatre,  Pottstown,  ran  a  re¬ 
quest  week  with  patrons  voting.  House  selected 
week  before  Xmas  for  the  time,  will  run  a 
different  show  every  day,  afternoons  and  even¬ 
ings. 

“Pursuit  of  Happiness” 

Philadelphia 

Tower  Theatre,  here,  got  behind  "Pursuit  of 
Happiness”  to  good  results.  Heralds,  espe¬ 
cially,  were  attractive.  House  has  been  giving 
a  lot  of  attention  to  their  pieces,  of  late. 


“College  Rhythm” 

Wilmington 

Dwight  VanMeter,  manager,  Aldine,  Wil¬ 
mington,  secured  an  old  touring  car  of  ancient 
vintage,  painted  it  up  collegiate  style  with 
plenty  of  "College  Rhythm”  and  Joe  Penner 
quotations. 


Decl5'34  pg.  26 


5  I  8— F— THE  WHITE  PARADE— D— Loretta  Young, 
John  Boles,  Dorothy  Wilson,  Muriel  Kirkland,  Astrid 
Allwyn,  Frank  Conroy,  Jane  Darwell,  Sara  Haden, 
Joyce  Compton — Above  average — 80m. —  1 -Nov. 


Endorsed  by  theatremen 
and  exhibitors  everywhere. 
An  intelligent  department, 
filling  a  real  need.  »  Con¬ 
cise,  Convenient,  Valuable 

THE  CHECKUP 

A  NEW  FEATURE  OF 

JAY  EMANUEL  PUBLICATIONS,  Inc. 

219  North  Broad  St.,  Philadelphia 


Look  for  the  Blue  Section 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Decl5'34 


27 


PROBLEMS  OF  PARENTS.  Warners’  “The  Firebird”  includes  Verree  Teasdale,  Ricardo 
Cortez,  Lionel  Atwill  in  the  cast  with  Jean  Muir  featured. 


Wilm'ngton  Toys 


Houses  Again  Come  to 
Aid  of  Charity  at  Xmas 

Once  again,  the  industry  is  working  to 
help  those  in  need  at  the  holiday  period. 

Harrisburg 

Loew’s  Regent,  Majestic,  Victoria  and  Col¬ 
onial  Theatres,  Harrisburg,  answered  the  call 
of  the  Kiwanis  Club,  sponsoring  its  annual 
“K’ddies’  Party,”  and  admitted  to  see  their 
regular  programs  for  four  potatoes  apiece  ap¬ 
proximately  5000  children. 

Party 

Tn  giving  a  party  to  the  200  members'  of  the 
Children’s  Industrial  and  Sylvan  Heights 
Homes,  and  to  fifty  guests  of  the  Home  of  the 
Friendless,  Elks  Lodge  of  Harrisburg  called 


SERVING  theatre  needs  with 
a  knowledge  of  theatre 
business. 

SSISTING  theatre  owners  with 
MJL  a  staff  of  trained  clerks  and 
0  %  office  files.  No  missouts. 

Freeing  theatre  owners  of  the 

worry  that  they  may  have 
forgotten  part  of  their  show. 

EFFICIENTLY  operating  the  larg¬ 
est  film  delivery  service  in 
the  world. 

AKING  CARE  of  every 
possible  need  in  the  delivery 
of  film. 

Yielding  the  epitome  of 

safety,  service  and  effici¬ 
ency  at  a  minimum!  cost. 


HORLACHER 

DELIVERY  SERVICE,  Inc. 

1228  Vine  Street,  Philadelphia 
NEW  YORK 
SCRANTON 
BALTIMORE 
WASHINGTON 

MEMBER  NATIONAL  FILM  CARRIERS,  INC. 


Another  Horlacher  Service 
LARRY  DAILY,  Notary  Public 

The  only  one  on  Vine  Street  .  .  At 
your  service  any  time  during 
business  hours. 


upon  Loews’  Regent  Theatre  for  assistance  in 
the  entertainment.  Manager  Samuel  Gilman, 
Loew’s  Regent,  responded  by  treating  the  chil¬ 
dren  to  ice  cream  and  a  show. 

Hershey 

M.  S.  Hershey,  Hershey  Community  Theatre, 
Hershey,  pledged  to  each  of  the  Welfare  Fed¬ 
erations  of  Harrisburg,  Lancaster  and  Lebanon 
the  entire  recipts  of  three  performances  at  the 
Hershey  Theatre. 

Harrisburg 

Thousands  of  toys  for  the  needy  children  of 
Harrisburg  at  Christmas  were  collected  for 
the  city’s  Toy  Mission  at  the  Colonial,  Victoria, 
Majestic  and  Loew’s  Regent  Theatres,  Harris¬ 
burg. 

Films  portraying  activities  at  Camp  Christ¬ 
mas  Seal,  near  Highspire,  maintained  by  the 
Tuberculosis  and  Health  Society  of  Harrisburg 
and  Dauphin  County,  for  undernourished  chil¬ 
dren,  are  being  shown  at  all  Wilmer  and  Vin¬ 
cent  Theatres,  Harrisburg,  to  promote  the  sale 
of  Christmas  seals  to  keep  in  motion  the  activi¬ 
ties  of  the  society.  C.  Floyd  Hopkins,  district 
manager  of  the  Wilmer  and  Vincent  Theatres, 
is  general  chairman  and  the  Annual  Christmas 
Seal  Sale  in  Harrisburg. 

Steelton 

Entire  proceeds  of  a  picture,  ‘'Against  the 
Law,’”  to  be  presented  at  the  Strand  Theatre, 
Steelton,  December  19,  by  the  West  Side  Flose 
Company,  Steelton,  will  go  to  a  fund  being 
raised  by  the  fire  company  to  purchase  toys, 
candy  and  fruit  for  needy  children  of  the  bor¬ 
ough  at  Christmas. 


Wilmington  theatres  gave  100  per  cent  co¬ 
operation  to  the  News-Journal  Company,  the 
city  and  welfare  organizat.ons  in  gathering- 
toys  enough  to  see  that  every  poor  kiddie  will 
have  at  least  one  toy  for  Christmas  by  setting- 
aside  December  11  for  toy  collection.  While 
theatres  were  given  the  privilege  of  collect¬ 
ing  the  toys  in  their  own  way,  some  of  them 
were  not  getting  enough  of  them  to  assure  an 
adequate  supply  for  the  needy.  At  a  meeting- 
held  at  Queen  Theatre,  in  which  Jack  Mulhall, 
district  managers,  Loew's,  representatives  of 
the  newspaper,  Chief  Lutz,  Fire  Department 
and  all  of  the  theatre  managers  participated,  it 
was  decided  that  all  theatres  hold  toy  mat.nees 
the  same  day.  Each  child  presenting  a  toy  was 
to  see  the  show  at  the  Aldine,  Arcadia,  Grand 
Opera  House,  Queen,  Savoy,  Loew’s  Parkway, 
Park  Avenue,  New  Rialto.  Strand  and  National 
(colored).  Each  theatre  was  to  build  up  a 
“mountain  of  toys.”  These  in  turn  were 
turned  over  to  the  firemen,  who  are  fixing  them 
and  painting  them  up  for  distribution  by  the 
police  and  the  welfare  groups.  Trailer  urging 
the  presentation  of  toys  were  shown  with  the 
programs  of  each  theatre. 

Reading 

Bob  Suits,  Loew’s  Colonial  manager,  Read¬ 
ing  and  Reading  Time s  tied  up  in  a  big  holi¬ 
day  morning  party  for  the  guests  and  children 
in  five  Reading  institutions,  about  800  in  all, 
with  ‘‘Kid  Millions”  as  chief  feature  of  the 
two-hour  free  program  for  the  children. 


fatter  w’mc 

On  Broadway _ 


seekers 


1  Recommended  to  radio ; 


since 


f  ar  cot 


:Jm 


28 


Decl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


WILKES-BARRE 


Fred  Hermann,  Capitol,  is  doing  his  bit  for 
Uncle  Sam  in  the  Better  Housing  Drive 
that  is  to  be  launched  here  next  month. 

Wilkes-Barre  theatres  are  assisting  the 
Wyoming  Valley  Tuberculosis  Society  with 
the  Christmas  Seal  Drive  with  nightly 
screen  flashes. 

So  successful  have  the  Amateur  Nights  be¬ 
come  on  Thursdays  that  John  Galvin 
treated  patrons  at  the  Penn  recently 
to  a  greased  pole  contest. 

American  Legion  rodeo  gave  the  theatre 
managers  another  reason  to  reach  for  an 
aspirin. 

A1  Cox  offered  Kathleen  Sweeney  and  her 
Dancing  Dolls  as  a  special  stage  attrac¬ 
tion  at  the  Irving. 

M.  J.  O’Toole,  fo  rmer  newspaper  editor,  now 
with  the  Comerfords,  was  in  town  during 
the  week,  introducing  his  son,  Dr.  Kenneth 
G.  O’Toole,  who  began  to  practice  medi¬ 
cine  at  Kingston. 

George  Bittinger,  manager,  Kingston  The¬ 
atre,  was  host  to  "Record"  carriers. 

Obscene  shows  come  high  in  Wilkes-Barre. 
After  pleas  of  non  vult  were  entered  to  a 
charge  of  conspiracy  to  exhibit  indecent 
pictures,  Judge  W.  A.  Valentine  imposed 
penalties,  aggregating  $1,500,  a  local  high. 
Court  drama  climaxed  a  raid  at  Laurel 
Run,  October  23,  when  seven  men  and 
four  women  were  arrested  by  the  State 
police  and  county  detectives.  The  names 
of  24  7  natrons  were  taken,  but  no  action 
followed  against  them.  Two  of  the  men 
and  four  of  the  women,  trapped  in  the 
raid,  subsequently  were  released. 


Booking  Theatres 
Everywhere 

Honest  ::  Reliable 
Conscientious 
Service 

EDWARD  SHERMAN 

VAUDEVILLE  AGENCY 

Real  Estate  Trust  Bldg. 
PHILADELPHIA 

Pennypacker  7595 

MAYFAIR  THEATRE  BLDG.,  NEW  YORK 
BR.  9-1905 


years  experience— 
behind  every  register 


For  50  years  General  Register  Corpo¬ 
ration  and  associated  companies  have 
been  designing  and  building  cash  con¬ 
trol  equipment  for  the  theatre,  carrying 
an  unqualified  two  year  guarantee  on 
all  registers. 

Representation  in  all  key  cities. 


GENERAL  REGISTER 
CORPORATION 

1540  Broadway,  New  York 


THE  ST.  LOUIS  KID.  James  Cagney  is  back  with  his  old  time  vigor  in  the  Warner  show. 


Save  yourself  from 

worrying  ABOUT  PRINTING 


DoN'T  be  like  the  exhibitor 
above.  He  doesn’t  know  that 
placing  his  printing  contract  with 
National  Penn  Printing  Company 
will  save  him  a  lot  of  thinking  as 
well  as  a  lot  of  worries.  Printing 
is  more  than  a  mechanical  process. 
It  involves  a  lot  of  catering  to  the 
particular  needs  of  the  client.  Be¬ 
cause  National  Penn  Printing 
Company  has  done  this  success¬ 
fully  for  many  years  it  can  right¬ 
fully  boast  of  being  the  industry’s 
leader  in  that  field. 


PrINTING  programs,  heralds, 
etc.,  is  only  part  of  the  battle. 
Rental  of  posters  and  paper,  etc., 
is  another  division  which  is  highly 
important  to  the  exhibitor.  Here, 
National  Kline  Poster  Company  is 
without  a  peer.  Not  only  effect¬ 
ing  economies  for  exhibitors  but 
providing  them  with  an  efficient, 
quick  means  whereby  they  can 
obtain  all  necessary  paper,  Na¬ 
tional  Kline  Poster  Company  has 
grown  because  exhibitors  need  it. 
Long  lists  of  satisfied  customers 
testify  to  this. 


National  Penn 
Printing  Co. 

1233  VINE  STREET 

PHILADELPHIA 


National  Kline 
Poster  Co. 

1307  VINE  STREET 

PHILADELPHIA 


OSCAR  LIBROS  AL  BLOFSON  SIMON  LIBROS 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Decl5'34 


29 


Heard  In 

ROSSTO  WN 

New  Baby 
At  Flynns’ 


Bob  Mills,  S-W,  was  ill  for  three  weeks. 

The  name  of  the  new  Jack  Flynn  addition 
is  Bryan,  and  he  measures  22  inches  long. 
Weight  is  1  0'/2  pounds. 

The  trade  mourned  the  passing  of  the  father 
of  Jack  Lexy,  S-W  employee. 

Morris  Fineman  has  taken  the  Little  Theater, 
Haddonfield,  N.  J.,  from  Si  Myers. 

Local  clubwomen  now  get  the  benefit  of  a 
previewing  system  inaugurated  by  Stanley- 
Warner  and  Fox  Theatre.  Church  folk 


Movies  and 

CANDY- 

Still  the  same  thrill  supreme 
to  young  and  old 

Keep  it  so — By  giving  them 

" America's  Best  Candy" 
through  a 

BERLO 

CANDY  VENDOR 

Your  patrons  expect 
this  convenience 

DO  NOT  DISAPPOINT  THEM 

*  *  *  (F-I-a-s-h)  *  *  * 

Berio  Installations  Made  in 
Finishes  to  Harmonize  with 
Your  Interior 


BERLO 

VENDING 

COMPANY 

1518  N.  Broad  St.,  Phila. 

POPLAR  6011 

Specializing  in  Candy 
Vending  Equipment 
for  the  Theatre  Trade! 


NEW  YORK  BALTIMORE 

SCRANTON  WASHINGTON 

ALLENTOWN  CLEVELAND 

PITTSBURGH  CINCINNATI 


and  representatives  also  look  at  the  pic¬ 
tures  and  send  reports  to  their  groups. 

A1  Boyd,  who  recently  opened  his  Chester 
Theatre,  is  quite  proud  of  the  house, 
which  he  says  is  the  most  beautiful  one 
of  its  size  in  the  country.  A1  is  quite  a 
booster  for  the  large  seats  he  uses.  The 
seats  cost  $26  per,  but  are  the  best  ob¬ 
tainable.  He  installed  them  in  the  local 
Boyd  and  has  them  in  practically  all  of  his 
theatres.  He  says  they  help  keep  patrons 
coming,  regardless  of  what  the  screen  fare 
is. 

Romeo  Celia  is  president  of  the  musicians’ 
union  for  a  new  term.  He  was  re-elected 
recently. 

Harry  Dembow,  the  chain  operator,  an¬ 
nounces  that  the  Spielmont  Theatre,  Mar¬ 
cus  Hook,  gets  a  new  coat  of  paint  and 
some  other  changes  very  shortly.  The 
house  will  be  kept  open  and  the  Globe 
closed. 

Charlie  Griswold  is  aide-de-camp  to  Roxy  in 
his  operation  of  the  Roxy-Mastbaum  The¬ 
atre  here. 

William  Goldman,  reports  say,  will  have  an 
important  announcement  to  make  at  the 
beginning  of  1935.  Several  new  theatres 
are  contemplated,  tis  rumored. 

Little  Theatre  closed  after  being  open  about 
8  days.  Revivals  were  used. 


Moe  Europa  pined  for  "First  World  War, 
but  didn’t  get  it.  Plans  to  make  up  for  it 
by  packing  ’em  in  with  "Man  of  Aran 
during  holidays. 

New  members  of  families  have  arrived  in 
the  home  of  S-W  folk  Jack  Flynn  and 
Harry  Tarrante.  First  name  will  be  Bryan, 
while  latter’s  wasn’t  available.  Flynn  is 
aide-de-camp  to  Leonard  Schlesinger 
while  Tarrante  manages  the  Aldine. 


NINETEEN  YEARS  AGO 


Fine  of  $25  and  cost  imposed  on  William 
Katz,  manager,  Stanley,  by  Magistrate 
Hogg,  was  rescinded  by  Judge  Sulzberger. 
Fine  had  been  imposed  on  Katz  for  alleged 
interference  with  a  snooper  of  the  Censor 
Board  who  came  to  theatre  and  demanded 
admission  to  projection  booth  to  see  that 
seals  were  affixed  when  show  was  pro¬ 
gressing  when  fire  regulations  would  not 
permit  this. 

Jake  Becker,  Becker  Theatre,  took  over  the 
management  of  the  Parkway  Theatre. 

Charles  Goldstone  had  h  s  Garden  Theatre 
redecorated  to  represent  as  nearly  as 
possible  a  garden. 


FLIRTING  WITH  DANGER.  Robert  Armstrong,  William  Cagney,  Edgar  Kennedy,  Marion 
Burns,  Maria  Alba  are  seen  in  the  Monogram  picture. 


30 


Decl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Exhibs  Pass 

The  industry  lost  two  valued  members  re¬ 
cently  when  Arthur  Snyder,  upstate  exhibitor, 
and  C.  Folk  Kline,  local  manager,  died. 

The  former  was  one  of  the  veterans  in  the 
business,  operating  houses  in  several  spots  up¬ 
state.  He  passed  away  in  Shenandoah.  Fun¬ 
eral  was  held  in  Reading  last  week. 

Kline  was  checking  at  the  Oxford  Theatre 
for  Metro  when  he  dropped  dead.  A  veteran, 
with  many  houses  having  been  managed  by 
him,  he  was  recently  a  candidate  for  a  political 
office  but  was  unsuccessful. 

Kline  left  his  family  in  reduced  circum¬ 
stances.  Once  a  prominent  manager,  he  had 
lately  been  checking  for  several  exchanges, 
principally  at  Metro.  It  was  also  understood 
that  he  was  to  get  some  sort  of  a  clerical  post 
on  the  new  censor  board. 


Wishing  all  O  u  r  Friends 

cyi 

itlrrrg 

(EljristimtH 


AND  A 

■Dfaui  f  par 


NEW  JERSEY 

MESSENGER  SERVICE 

250  N.  Juniper  St.  Myer  Adleman 
PHILADELPHIA  Prop. 

Spr.  9355  Loc.  8787  Race  9444 


Snyder  was  connected  with  the  Bennathum 
interests  in  Reading  and  adjacent  sections.  He 
was  well  known. 

George  Gormley,  who  also  passed  away  re¬ 
cently,  was  one  of  the  old  timers  in  the  terri¬ 
tory.  He  worked  in  many  houses,  including 
the  Bellevue  Theatre. 

Jack  Lexy,  S-W  manager,  mourned  the 
passing  of  his  father. 


Local  325  Elects 

Earl  Cunningham  was  elected  president  of 
Local  325,  Motion  Picture  Projectionists, 
Wilkes-Barre  and  vicinity,  at  the  annual 
meeting  in  this  anthracite  metropolis,  Decem¬ 
ber  8.  Other  officers  are :  Theodore  Hayden, 
vice-president:  John  B.  Mitchell,  business 
agent ;  Joseph  D.  Malloy,  secretary-treasurer ; 
Robert  Piatt,  Jr.,  recording  and  corresponding 
secretary ;  George  Lerp,  sergeant  at  arms ;  Ray 
Conrad,  Vincent  Tate,  Wilford  Parsons  and 
Edward  Seaman,  members  of  the  executive 
board;  John  Wallace,  Wilbur  Fletcher  and 
Lewis  Hemmer,  trustees.  After  the  election, 
members  adjourned  to  the  Gordon  Cafe  for  the 
annual  banquet. 


Present  were:  Fred  J.  Alles,  William  Bohn, 
James  Bryan,  Kenneth  Barber,  Earl  Cunning¬ 
ham,  Raymond  Conrad,  George  Clymer,  Harvey 
P.  Eggleston,  Wilbur  Fletcher,  William  Grimes, 
Donald  Haines,  Theodore  Hayden,  Lewis 
Hammer,  Jane  Jacobs,  Wesley  Knitter,  Wil¬ 
liam  Kennedy,  George  Lerp,  Joseph  D.  Mal¬ 
loy,  John  B.  Mitchell,  Joseph  E.  Moser,  James 
Mitchell,  Leo  Assowski,  Wilford  Parsons,  Wil¬ 
liam  Piatt,  Robert  Piatt,  Harry  Richards,  Her¬ 
bert  Finkenberger,  Dave  Repotski,  Charles 
Rifendifer  E.  R.  Sutliff,  Edward  Seaman, 
Harry  Seitzinger,  Vincent  Tate,  Mark  Thomas, 
Frank  Walsh,  A.  C.  Waters,  Ivan  Welhaf,  Ed¬ 
ward  Stusnick,  John  Verasky  and  Leonard 
Gable. 


I.  T.  M.  NEWS 


A1  London,  manager,  Cayuga  Theatre,  was 
admitted  to  membership  at  the  last  meet¬ 
ing. _ 

Organization  promises  a  big  surprise  to  the 
industry  very  soon.  “Watch  for  the  win¬ 
dow  cards  along  Vine  Street.” 


COMEDY  AND 
THRILLS.  John 

Miljan  and  June 
Collyer  head  the 
cast  in  “The 
Ghost  Walks,’’  a 
comedy  mystery 
from  Chesterfield 
and  First  Division. 


CLAM  Of  SERVICE 

Telegram 

Day  Letts* 

SYMBOL 

Blue 

WESTERN  UNION 

CLAM  OF  SERVICE 

Day  Letter 

SfMBOL 

Blue 

Night  Lstlsr 

If  non*  of  these  tftrw 
appears  after  the  check  i 
■o»dv  this  Is  •  tetegran 
wise  its  character  is  taJlc 
•ymbol  appearing  aft*' 

N  L 

symfcnla 
number  of 
.  Other- 
lied  by  the 
he  check. 

TELEGRAM 

NEWCOMB  CARLTON.  MUiOINT  OIORGI  W  K.  ATKIN*,  maps  vici-miieioiNt 

Night  LaMar 

If  none  of  these  Hvm 
appears  after  the  check 
word*'  this  is  •  teiegrair 
arlte  Its  character  Is  India 
tymbol  appearing  after 

N  L 

symbols 
number  of 
.  Other- 
tied  by  th* 
ha  check. 

LD  438  NL  PHILADELPHIA  PENNA  NOV  5  1934 

JOHN  GOLDER 

CARE  HOLLYWOOD  FILM  EXCHANGE 
1220  VINE  ST  PHILA  PA 

DEAR  JOHN  TOMORROWS  CHILDREN  OPENED  HERE  TODAY 
BREAKING  BOX  OFFICE  RECORD  SINCE  THE  CATHOLIC 
BOYCOTT  CAN  RECOMMEND  IT  TO  ANY  SICK  BOX  OFFICE 

I  J  SEGALL  MANAGER  RIVOLI  THEATRE 

1108  P 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Decl5'34 


31 


THE  CODE  •  CASES  •  HEARINGS  •  RULINGS 


GENERAL  RELEASE  DATES 
FOX 


First  World  War,  December  1;  Bright  Eyes, 
December  21;  Helldorado,  December  29. 

PARAMOUNT 

Behold  My  Wife,  December  10-12.  It’s  a 
Gift,  December  1-4. 

COLUMBIA 

Jealousy,  December  13-15. 

WARNERS 

Babbitt,  December  14. 

RADIO 

Silver  Streak,  December  21-24;  Red  Morn¬ 
ing,  December  20-22. 

METRO 

Wicked  Woman,  December  10. 

UNIVERSAL 

Imitation  of  Life,  December  7;  Cheating 
Cheaters,  December  7-9;  Great  Expectations, 
December  7-14. 

SCHEDULE 
Grievance 
December  13 

Palm  Theatre,  Palmerton  vs.  Colonial 
Theatre,  Palmerton,  on  charge  of  main¬ 
taining  an  admission  pr’ce  lower  than 
that  specified  in  the  contract. 


Selective  Complaints 

Exhibitors  who  are  squawking  be¬ 
cause  the  runs  ahead  of  them  aren’t  dat¬ 
ing  in  pictures  on  a  selective  buy  within 
the  21  day  period  specified  in  the  code 
have  only  themselves  to  blame  if  noth¬ 
ing  happens. 

When  such  an  occurence  takes  place, 
there  is  only  one  spot  to  visit  and  that  is 
the  code  board  secretary.  Until  the 
code  board  hears  of  the  complaint, 
squawking  on  street  corners  won’t  help. 


Clearance  and  Zoning 

Embassy  Theatre,  Jenkintown,  vs.  York- 
town,  Ogontz,  Logan  and  Glenside  The¬ 
atres,  case  postponed  from  December  7. 
State  Theatre,  Boyertown,  vs.  Strand 
and  Hippodrome  Theatres,  Pottstown. 

CODE  AUTHORITY 

New  York  City 

December  1 8 

Appeal  from  local  board  decision  in 
clearance  and  zoning  case  of  Ambassa¬ 
dor  Theatre  vs.  Benn  Theatre. 
Appeal  from  local  board  decision  in 
clearance  and  zoning  case  of  Roxy  The¬ 
atre,  Northampton,  and  Past'me  The¬ 
atre,  Coplay. 


Your  1935  Calendar  Has  Been 
Mailed.  Please  Inform  This  Office 
If  You  Have  Not  Received  It. 

JAY  EMANUEL  PUBLICATIONS,  Inc. 
219  N.  Broad  Street 
Philadelphia 


A  big  “Kiddie  Karnival”  parade  sponsored 
by  the  Bethlehem  Broad  and  Main  Streets 
Business  Men's  Association,  drew  crowds 
to  the  section  to  see  1500  children  in  line 
for  the  big  pre-Christmas  party.  Managers 
of  the  Nile  and  Boyd  Theatres,  Charles 
Moyer  and  Paul  Allendar,  distributed  200 
tickets  as  a  reward  for  most  attractive  cos¬ 
tumes. 

Group  of  Lehigh  University  students  cele¬ 
brated  the-r  team’s  football  victory  over 
Lafayette  College,  by  attempting  to  “crash 
the  gate"  at  the  Globe  Theatre,  but  were 
thwarted  by  fast  working  attendants  plus 
the  help  of  a  cop  at  the  entrances.  A 
rush  was  made  through  the  portals  of  the 
College  Theatre,  shortly  before  the  9  P.  M. 
show.  Police  were  on  deck  to  check  up 
on  the  ticket  stubs  and  23  of  the  students, 
found  to  be  without  the  proper  creden¬ 
tials. 

Code  Denies  Appeal 

Code  Authority,  in  New  York  City,  sitting  in 
the  appeal  of  William  Wolf  and  Mary  Cahan, 
Band  Box  Theatre,  here,  vs.  Sophie  Salner, 
William  Goldman,  Integrity  Trust  Company, 
Pr  estman-Helmetag  Company,  has  decided  in 
favor  of  the  latter. 


Heard  In 

EHIGH  VALLEY 

Blue  Law 
Trouble  H  ere 


Roxy  Theatre,  Northampton,  continues  to 
conduct  American  Legion  benefit  shows 
each  Sunday  evening  with  a  lot  of  people 
attending. 

Penlo  Theatre,  Emaus,  patrons  were  treated 
to  a  big  double  feature  program  as  a 
Th  anksgiving  Day  special. 


Upon  the  certification  of  the  local  grievance 
board,  complaint  was  dismissed. 

The  argument  dealt  with  violation  of  clause 
in  cede  referring  to  interfering  with  lease  nego¬ 
tiations. 

It  was  heard  privately  here  several  weeks 
ago. 


_ By  Jack _ 

Public  opinion,  swayed  by  concerted  efforts 
of  pastors  of  Nazareth  churches,  has  scored 
another  victory  for  the  I  794  Sunday  blue 
laws  as  applied  to  the  holding  of  Sunday 
benefit  shows.  Many  church  members 
signed  a  pledge  not  to  attend  any  theatre 
during  the  week  that  held  shows  on  the 
Sabbath.  A  later  check  found  a  major¬ 
ity  of  the  citizens  willing  to  go  on  record 
as  supporting  the  ministerial  viewpoint. 
Town  Council,  however,  was  “put  on  the 
spot”  by  Burgess  Frank  P.  Hahn,  who  re¬ 
quested  said  body  to  vote  on  its  approval 
or  disapproval  of  his  stand  on  the  issue. 
Council  refused  to  vote. 

Manager  George  C.  Meeser  conducted  three 
successive  Sunday  benefit  performances  for 
the  Unemployed  Citizens’  League,  on  each 
occasion  voluntarily  paying  the  fine  and 
costs.  Ex-Congressman  Attorney  Everett 
Kent,  of  Bangor,  had  been  retained  by 
Broad  Street  Theatre,  Inc.,  in  anticipation 
of  making  a  test  case  of  the  situation, 
and  taking  it  to  court.  When  it  was  found 
that  approximately  90  per  cent,  of  the 
local  population  had  been  “signed  up"  by 
the  oppos;tion,',  Manager  Meeser,  upon 
advice  of  Burgess  Hahn,  made  a  hurried 
trip  to  Philadelphia,  to  confer  with  the 
owner  of  the  theatre,  Lewen  Pizor,  and  it 
was  decided  to  confine  future  attractions 
on  the  screen  to  week  days  only. 


32 


Decl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


READY 

REFERENCE 

EACH  COMPANY  LISTED  IS  AN 
AUTHORITY  IN  ITS  FIELD  AND 
IS  RELIABLE  AND  TRUSTWORTHY 


ACCOUNTANT  (Theatre  Spec.) 


Edwin  R.  Harris 

CERTIFIED  PUBLIC  ACCOUNTANT 

Denckla  Bldg.,  Philadelphia 

Specializing  in  Theatre  Bookkeeping.  Profit  and  Loss 
Statements  and  State  and  Federal  Tax  Returns 

for  more  than  19  years _ 

THE  SMALL  MONTHLY  SUM  WILL  SURPRISE  YOU 


AIR  CONDITIONING 

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_  252  West  26th  St.,  New  York 

ARCHITECT _ 

THEATRE  DESIGN 

Remodeling  »  Building 

LATEST  COMPLETED 

NEW  BROADWAY  HOLLYWOOD 

Camden,  Atlantic  City 

New  Jersey  New  Jersey 

DAVID  SUPOWITZ 

REGISTERED 

ARCHITECT 

246  S.  15th  St..  Phi  la.,  Pa.  Pennypacker  2291 


BUSINESS  BROKER 


THEATRES  WANTED 

Philadelphia,  Up-State,  New  Jersey  and  Delaware 

Cash  no  object  if  priced  right 

Our  Dealings  ire  Strictly  Confidential 

M.  H.  GOODIS,  Inc.,  1201  Chestnut  St. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 


DECORATIVE  GLASS 


We  specialize  in  GLASS  for  Theatres 

Specify:  VARICOLITE 

See  the  new  mirror  booth  at  the 
IRIS  THEATRE,  Kensington  and  Allegheny 
Write  for  particulars  and  samples 

M.  KRAKOVITZ  AND  SONS,  CO. 

4TH  AND  MORRIS  STREETS,  PHILA. 
Dewey  8600  Main  2301 


DRAPERIES 


The  Larger  and  Greater — 

NOVELTY  SCENIC  STUDIOS 

- - - INC. - 

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SCENERY  :  ACCOUSTICAL  TREATMENTS  :  RIGGING 

611-625  W.  43rd  St.  New  York,  N.  V. 


T^< 

|A">« 

COOLING 
VENTILATING 


'  Heard  In ' 


V 


INE  STREET 


FD  Goes  Ahead 
As  Usual 


First  Division,  quite  pleased  with  its  "Time” 
tieup,  points  out  that  Monogram  and 
Chesterfield  releases  are  coming  through 
fast.  Sam  Rosen  has  as  much  and  more 
product  than  any  exchange  on  the  street, 
and  exhibs  are  dating  the  shows  in. 

There  is  a  conflict  of  hearts  on  the  street 
between  an  exhibitor  who  has  two  inde¬ 
pendent  theatres  as  well  as  allied  interests 
and  another  exhibitor  who  is  associated 
with  his  father  in  some  inde  theatres.  The 
point  of  dispute  is  who  gets  dates  with  the 
girl. 

One  of  the  street’s  bachelors  who  had  been 
married  is  scheduled  to  take  the  jump 
again  this  week-end  or  he  may  have  done 
it  last. 

Ask  Dave  Barrist  about  his  personal  ap¬ 
pearance  at  the  Star  Theatre. 

Edgar  Moss’  Atlantic  district  is  ahead  on 
shorts  sales  in  the  Fox  drive.  The  local 
Sam  Gross  branch  is  ahead,  individually. 
Local  branch  also  leads  in  News  sales. 
Local  branch  is  way  up  in  general  sales 
as  well. 

Masterpiece  exchange  is  preparing  for  a 
busy  winter  and  holiday  season.  With  four 
Majesties  ready,  "Night  Alarm,”  "She  Had 
to  Choose,”  "The  Scarlet  Letter”  and  "The 
Perfect  Clue,"  plenty  of  westerns  and 
action  pictures,  the  exchange  is  well  for¬ 
tified.  Its  color  reels,  Mutt  and  Jeff  and 
musical,  are  available  as  well.  Ed  Boreth 
has  been  going  great  guns  in  his  manage¬ 
ment  of  the  exchange. 

Ben  Harris  says  that  he  will  be  Santa  Claus 
at  bis  annual  party  at  his  home.  The 
whole  family  will  be  there.  Refer  to  last 
issue  for  names. 

John  Golder  has  8  Liberty  productions  ready, 
with  nearly  all  available  for  dating.  “To¬ 
morrow’s  Children”  is  scoring  new  hits 
wherever  it  plays  and  it  has  left  a  happy 
trail  of  exhibitors  behind  it.  "I  Hate 
Women”  has  also  been  going  good.  John 
has  been  hopping  all  over  the  state  to 
make  exhibitors  Hollywood  conscious.  4 
new  Libertys  will  be  ready  soon. 

Miss  Marian  Widener  is  no  longer  with  Gold 
Medal. 

Tony  Lucchese  is  quite  enhused  over  “Little 
Men,”  which  has  been  getting  a  rave  from 
all  of  the  preview  scribes.  With  “The 
Ma  rines  Are  Coming,”  "Crimson  Ro¬ 
mance,”  "In  Old  Sante  Fe”  and  others  in 
the  house,  Gold  Medal  has  a  choice  linep 
and  plenty  to  brag  about.  "Little  Men” 
looks  like  a  worthy  successor  to  “Little 
Women.”’ 

Pat  Garyn,  well  known  here,  is  western 
sales  manager  for  "The  March  of  Time,” 
new  First  Division  release.  Fred  McCon¬ 
nell  is  eastern  sales  manager. 

Jim  Clark,  Horlacher  Delivery,  hopped  to 
Charlotte,  N.  C.,  for  the  exhibitor  con¬ 
vention. 

Leonard  Schlesinger  attended  the  opening  of 
the  Eddie  Dowling  show. 

Dave  Barrist  hoos  to  Mexico  soon  for  a  few 
days’  stay.  He  takes  a  boat  trip  and  plans 
a  nice  time.  When  he  ge*s  back  Charlie 
Goodwin  will  go  to  the  West  Indies  with 
Mrs.  Goodwin.  Both  men  have  been 
working  hard  and  have  earned  a  rest. 

The  street  mourned  the  passing  of  several 
film  folk.  Among  those  who  deoarted  were 
Arthur  Snyder,  C.  Folk  Kline,  George 
Gormley.  Rube  Brenner,  salesman,  lost 
his  mother,  while  Dave  Molliver  lost  his 


father.  The  five  deaths  took  place  inside 
of  one  week. 

J.  N.  Harry,  receiver,  Strand  Theatre,  Ber¬ 
wick,  sent  down  invitations  for  the  re¬ 
opening  of  the  house,  December  12. 

Harry  Green,  formerly  of  Green  and  Altman, 
had  a  stroke  recently. 

Charles  Segall,  MPTO  head,  had  a  Sunday 
night  gathering  at  his  home.  He  proved 
host  to  many  of  his  friends,  with  28  in 
the  party.  His  bar  is  one  of  the  highlights 
of  any  Philadelphia  sightseeing  tour. 

Sam  Rosen,  First  Division,  reports  that  the 
Comerford  and  Mort  Lewis  circuits  have 
signed  for  FD  pictures  for  the  new  season. 
Sam  gives  credit  to  Moe  Sherman  who 
helped  on  the  Comerford  deal.  A1  Boyd 
went  strong  for  the  Musical  Moods  series, 
while  others  did  as  well.  S-W  is  playing 
several  downtown.  Sam  reports  that  the 
exchange  has  its  pictures  moving  fast  and 
the  season  is  one  of  the  busiest  in  his¬ 
tory. 

Jul  es  Levy,  wh  le  in  town,  regaled  listeners 
with  a  good  story  about  Winnie  Sheehan’s 
entrance  into  the  business  and  his  trip  to 
Ireland.  Ask  Jules  to  repeat  it. 

Leo  Hanan,  Warner  booker,  has  been  ill. 

Joe  Price,  the  Kensington  exhib,'  still  shows 
pictures  of  his  baby.  The  youngster  is 
cute. 

Ray  Schwartz  tipped  off  the  admiring  bach¬ 
elor  exhibs  at  the  Columbia’s  luncheon 
who  were  admiring  a  dazzling  blonde. 

Earle  Sweigert  Paramount’s  chief,  is  moving 
to  Drexel  Park. 

Work  prints  for  the  two  latest  "Musical 
Moods'- — “In  a  Mountain  Pass,”  photo¬ 
graphed  by  Robert  C.  Bruce  for  Audio 
Productions,  Inc.,  and  “Countryside  Melo¬ 
dies,”  photographed  also  by  Bruce  w’ll  be 
forwarded  to  the  First  Division  within  the 
next  few  weeks. 

Mi  ss  Mason,  formerly  FD,  lost  her  appendix. 

Christmas  parties  are  being  planned  as  usual 
everywhere  along  the  street.  The  Hor¬ 
lacher  and  Warner  affairs  will  probably 
be  the  aces  as  usual.  All  exchanges,  as 
well  as  National  Kline  Poster  Company 
and  other  spots,  will  have  them.  First 
Division  will  have  its  fete  at  the  Broad- 
wood  Hotel.  Others  may  also  move  to 
hotels. 

First  Division  has  the  Londos-Shikat  wrest¬ 
ling  films  for  immediate  booking.  They 
are  said  to  be  the  best  of  their  kind  ever 
filmed. 


Quality  Has  13 

Quality  Premium  Distributors.  Inc.,  an¬ 
nounces  the  issuance  of  a  new  8-page  catalog 
for  the  trade.  In  it  the  company  lists  all  of 
its  current  deals. 

Quality  also  states  that  it  has  a  national  dis¬ 
tribution,  with  13  offices  from  coast  to  coast, 
expansion  which  has  come  during  the  past  year. 


TRENTON 


Trenton  Catholic  Churches  endorsed  Legion 
of  Decency  campaign  at  services  Decem¬ 
ber  9,  when  appeal  of  Bishop  Kiley  was 
read  by  priests.  In  the  majority  of  the 
Catholic  churches  parishioners  repeated 
the  pledge  after  the  priests  and  then  signed 
pledge  cards. 

RKO  Capitol  Theatre  is  offering  vaudeville 
but  three  days  each  week,  Saturday  to 
Tuesday. 

Stacy  and  RKO  Theatres  presented  a  plaque 
to  the  Little  Theatre  Association  for  a  one- 
act  play  tournament. 

Miss  Ethel  Whayland,  Orpheum  Theatre 
auditor,  scored  strongly  in  play  presented 
by  Trenton  Group  Players. 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


Decl5'34 


33 


BETWEEN  THE  PARAGRAPHS 


INDEPENDENT  EXHIBITOR  BREAKS 
STILL  PREVAIL  THROUGHOUT  COUNTRY 

More  and  more  it  is  becoming  apparent  that  there  is  dissatisfaction 
with  present  exhibitor  leadership  in  many  units  throughout  the  coun¬ 
try.  Reports  coming  from  the  vast  hinterland  indicate  that  rebellion 
may  take  the  form  of  new  independent  units  being  formed  in  various 
sections.  The  surprising  part  of  the  insurrection  is  that  affiliation 
with  either  the  MPTOA  or  Allied  does  not  always  follow. 

The  new  units  work  by  themselves,  co-operating  with  either 
national  body  as  they  see  fit.  Once  again,  also,  the  national  congress 
idea,  suggested  some  time  ago,  is  cropping  up.  Based  on  the  con¬ 
gressional  set-up,  it  would  have  delegates  make  up  the  supreme  ruling 
body  for  the  exhibition  faction.  As  yet,  however,  the  idea  remains 
on  paper. 

ZONING  PROCEDURE  BEGINS 
FOR  1935-1936  SCHEDULES 

With  the  initial  date,  November  1,  having  been  passed,  exhibitors 
throughout  the  country  can  now  prepare  to  meet  to  discuss  1935-1936 
zoning  schedules.  If  the  exhibitors  get  on  the  job  early  enough,  all 
difficulties  ought  to  be  solved  before  next  season  selling  begins. 

With  so  much  time  in  which  to  work,  the  theatremen  will  have 
only  themselves  to  blame  if  they  fail  to  get  what  they  want. 

STANDARD  OIL  COMPETITION 
CHECKED  IMMEDIATELY 

The  speed  with  which  the  Code  Authority  for  this  industry  as  well 
as  the  legitimate  theatre  field  worked  to  combat  the  spread  of  free 
entertainment  ought  to  be  commended.  With  Standard  Oil  Company 
sending  out  a  complete  two-hour  show,  with  names,  for  free  perform¬ 
ances  in  various  cities  and  hamlets,  exhibitors  would  have  had  a  swell 
fight  on  their  hands. 

The  public,  getting  entertainment  for  nothing,  would  favor  the 
free  shows  so  the  only  check  could  be  made  through  the  code  bodies. 

At  least  one  thing  is  certain.  Film  men  couldn’t  meet  such  com¬ 
petition  by  giving  their  shows  away  free,  but  they  could  have  tried 
giving  gas  and  oil  away  gratis  if  they  felt  so  inclined. 

LEGISLATION  CONTACT  NEED 
CAN’T  BE  EMPHASIZED  TOO  MUCH 

This  column  has  been  repeating  itself  time  and  time  again  on  the 
subject  of  legislative  contact. 

Funds  are  needed  by  city,  state  and  national  bodies.  The  motion 
picture  box  office  is  always  open  to  attack.  Only  by  educating  legis¬ 
lators  to  the  problems  of  the  box  office  and  theatremen  can  any  check 
on  extensive  taxation  be  put  into  effect. 

It  is  essential  that  each  exhibitor  know  his  city,  state  and  national 
representatives,  senators  and  congressmen.  A  few  good  contacts  now 
will  save  plenty  of  trouble  later. 

INDEPENDENT  PRODUCTION 
IS  REACHING  NEW  PEAK 

It  is  quite  certain  that  the  promise  of  better  quality  independent 
pictures  made  a  short  time  ago  is  being  fulfilled.  Monogram,  Majestic, 
Mascot,  Chesterfield,  Liberty  are  all  doing  their  part,  with  better 
stories  and  better  casting. 

Such  fare  as  “Girl  of  the  Limberlost,”  “Little  Men,”  “Port  of  Lost 
Dreams”  and  others  are  not  to  be  taken  lightly.  Their  records  will 
show  that  the  box  office  can  benefit  when  the  product  is  good. 

HOBART  MANN. 


FLAGS  AND  BANNERS 


K  Theatre  Marquee  Valances 
E  Wall  Banners 

N  Ket  and  Road  Banners 

T  Attractive  Colors — Sewed  or  Painted 

\  Letters — Featuring  AM  Shows. 

■-  Burgees — Pennants — Decorations 

*•*  Above  Also  Sold  Outright.  Order  Direct  From 

NATIONAL  FLAG  &  BANNER  CO. 

251-253  N.  13th  St.  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


HEATING  and  VENTILATING 


INTERIOR  DECORATORS 

Theatrical 
Decoratin  g 

OUR  SPECIALTY 
Phone 

Rittenhouse  7828 
2315  Walnut  St. 

Philadelphia 


rAIRMANRC-TOCC« 

TILUIt 


DECORATOR 


20I-N-BROAD-ST- 


•RIT*3575 


J.  SFiDMAN  A.  WEINBERG  D.  BRODSKY 


Paramount  Qecorating  Qo.,  |nc. 

STAGE  SETTINGS  :  DRAPERIES 

CARPETS  :  PAINTING  AND  DECORATING 

311  North  13th  Street  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


LIGHTING  FIXTURES 


NIW 


DECORATIVE  LIGHTING 

FOR  YOUR  THEATRE 

DRINKING  FOUNTAINS  DIRECTION  SIGNS 


Montgomery  Ave.  Phila.Pa 


MARQUEES  AND  SIGNS 

C  c  £,  6L€CTRIC  SIGn  CO 

JoC  H33-  LonG  isLflno  cuy  n.y. 
BUILDERS  OF  PI£On  &  ELECTRIC 


ESTiniATESs  SKETCHES  CH££RFULiy  GIV£I1° 


PREMIUMS 


34 


Decl5'34 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


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Equipment  of  Known  Quality  Backed  by 
a  Guarantee  of  Satisfaction. 

Service  from  a  Local  Branch  by  Men  you 
Know  and  Trust. 

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A  PLEA  FOR  EDUCATION 


The  Board  of  Education  of  the  City  of  Philadelphia  has  absolutely  refused  to 
modify  its  policy  in  the  matter  of  school  relationship  to  motion  picture  theatres. 

A  letter  from  the  Board  of  Education  to  THE  EXHIBITOR  says: 

“The  Philadelphia  Public  School  System  has  been  punctilious  in  carrying  out 
a  definite  policy  in  matters  involving,  even  remotely,  commercial  advertising  or 
exploitation.  You  state  in  your  letter  that  your  idea  of  a  tie-up  is  not  mercenary. 
Nevertheless  it  would  clearly  involve  the  expenditure  of  money  by  school  pupils  on 
the  basis  of  advice  offered  them  by  their  teachers.  It  would  also  place  upon  the 
school  the  responsibility  of  discriminating  among  various  offerings,  and  would  place 
the  teachers  in  the  position  of  definitely  working  toward  the  promotion  of  theatre 
attendance.  We  have  had  numerous  suggestions  of  the  same  general  sort,  and  have 
found  it  necessary  to  hold  consistently  to  our  established  policy. 

“The  motion  picture  at  its  best  can  be  a  large  influence  for  good,  and  its 
educational  implications  are  significant.  In  fact,  our  Division  of  Visual  Education 
is  utilizing  films  in  the  schools  constantly  in  connection  with  the  various  objects  of 
instruction.  It  is  the  feeling  of  the  board  of  superintendents,  however,  that  we 
cannot  approve  any  plan  of  co-operative  action  which  would  open  the  schools  to 
the  charge  of  lending  themselves  to  the  exploitation  of  neighborhood  motion  picture 
houses.” 

The  letter  from  the  Board  of  Education  came  in  reply  to  a  suggestion  from 
THE  EXHIBITOR  asking  that  the  Board  of  Education  allow  its  school  teachers  and 
principals  to  co-operate  with  theatremen  to  the  extent  of  mentioning  or  recom¬ 
mending  pictures  or  film  versions  of  classics  to  their  pupils,  rather  than  permitting 
children  to  select  their  own  entertainment.  The  benefit  and  advice  of  teachers  was 
considered  of  more  value  along  constructive  lines  than  even  among  parents  them¬ 
selves  who  in  many  instances  have  no  way  of  knowing  type  of  pictures  announced. 
It  was  also  brought  out  at  the  recent  doubles  trial  that  a  child  sent  by  parents  to  see 
one  picture  of  a  double  bill  might  also  stay  to  see  the  other,  which  might  not  have 
been  recommended  for  children.  Co-operation  of  teachers  will  result  in  children 
seeing  pictures  which  they  should.  Use  could  be  made  of  pictures  along  lines  in 
other  states  and  cities.  It  was  pointed  out  that  no  commercial  proposition  was 
involved,  but  rather  that  good  films  be  used  to  advantage  by  schools  in  tieups  with 
theatres. 

Action  of  the  Board  of  Education  keeps  the  doors  closed  to  such  co-operation. 
THE  EXHIBITOR  suggests  that  the  MPTO,  the  IEPA  and  individual  exhibitors 
contact  schools  in  their  districts,  women’s  clubs  and  neighborhood  groups  in  an 
effort  to  secure  this  co-operation.  Philadelphia  stands  alone  in  its  attitude.  Inasmuch 
as  theatremen  are  ready  to  help  groups  and  clubs  secure  the  attention  of  younger 
element  to  certain  types  of  pictures,  the  attitude  of  the  board  seems  unreasonable. 

Working  along  conservative,  intelligent  lines,  enough  pressure  could  be  brought 
to  bear  that  even  as  soliil  a  board  as  the  education  group  could  not  overlook. 


READING 


Astor  substituted  large  band  specialty,  cover¬ 
ing  45  minutes,  for  five-act  vaudeville  bill, 
as  accompaniment  to  film  feature  on  pro¬ 
gram. 

Embassy  advertised  personal  endorsements 
by  Walter  Vincent,  Paul  E.  Glase,  general 
manager,  Reading,  Wilmer  and  Vincent, 
for  ‘‘White  Parade.” 

Lebanon  Night  was  observed  at  Hershey  The¬ 
atre,  with  free  trolley  service  to  and  from 
Hershey,  concert  by  Lebanon  Valley  Col¬ 
lege,  Annville,  band  on  the  stage  and  ad¬ 


dress  by  Judge  C.  V.  Henry,  Lebanon, 
complimenting  M.  S.  Hershey.  All  receipts 
went  to  Lebanon  relief  funds. 

Park  Theatre,  C.  G.  Keeney,  manager,  get¬ 
ting  into  the  heavy  publicity  swim  with 
three-quarter  page  ads. 

Reading  exhibitors  helped  generously  with 
Community  Chest  and  Red  Cross. 

Emanuel  W.  Loeb,  Reading  political  leader 
for  more  than  20  years,  is  a  candidate  for 
a  place  on  the  state  censorship  board,  if 
and  when  new  censors  are  appointed. 

Strand  Theatre  raised  a  big  “fund”  of  canned 
goods  and  other  provisions  for  distribu¬ 
tion  to  poor  families  over  the  holidays. 


GENTLEMEN  ARE  BORN.  Warners’  picture  includes  Franchot  Tone,  Margaret  Lindsay, 
Ann  Dvorak,  Nick  Foran  in  the  cast. 


yt- i^-Vt  ^ 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


35 


2-Dec. -34 


6V%  ■  _  ■  J  I  •*>Who  made  it  ?  4  Is  it  family  or  adult  type  ? 

-rnmf  HPVIAWC  II  2~  Who's  in  it?  5-»  What's  it  about? 

■  villi  IlUVIUVVO  %  3  -How  good  is  it?  6-Running  Time? 


COLUMBIA 

FOX 

METRO 

Prescott  Kid  (5201) 


Family 

Western 

58m. 


Helldorado  (522) 


Family 
Comedy  Drama 
75m. 


Forsaking  All  Others 
(408) 


Adult 
Comedy  Drama 
80m. 


Tim  McCoy,  Sheila  Manners,  Joe  Sauers,  Harry 
Todd,  Alden  Chase. 

Tim  McCoy  successfully  outwits  a  baud  of 
rustlers  but  not  before  he  almost  has  his  own 
neck  in  the  noose.  Thanks  to  plenty  of  fight¬ 
ing'  and  action,  “Prescott  Kid"  is  suitable  west¬ 
ern  fare  that  won’t  find  any  complaints. 

Estimate:  Suitable. 


FIRST  NATIONAL 


The  Church  Mouse  (881)  Comedy 

64m. 

Laura  La  Plante,  Monty  Banks,  Ian  Hunter,  Clif¬ 
ford  Heatherly,  Jane  Carr. 

Brit  sh  made  picture  with  a  couple  of  names 
to  sell  that  won’t  make  much  of  an  impression. 
Show  was  made  over  here  a  few  seasons  back 
to  negative  returns  and  the  same  thing  can  be 
said  for  this  copy.  True,  the  La  Plante  name 
might  be  of  some  advantage,  but  when  it's 
all-over,  the  box  office  won’t  benefit  much. 

Estimate:  So-so. 


Little  Men 

78m. 

Ralph  Morgan,  Erin  O'Brieu-Moore,  Cora  Sue  Col¬ 
lins,  Junior  Durkin ,  Bhy  l  s  Frazer ,  Robert  Carlton, 
Frankie  Darro,  George  Ernest ,  Dickie  Moore,  Buster 
Phei^s,  David  Du  and.  Tad  Alexander,  Ronny  Crosby, 
Dickie  Jones,  Bobby  Cox,  Tommy  Bupp,  Richa.d 
Quine,  Donald  Buck .  Eddie  Hiden,  Margaret.  Many), 
Jacqueline  Taylor,  Gustav  von  Seiffertitz. 

Well  made,  well  produced  version  of  Louisa 
M.  Alcott’s  famous  classic,  “Little  Men"  is  of 
credit  to  Mascot  and  the  industry.  Phil  Rosen 
has  directed  the  picture  with  an  eye  to  the 
family  trade  and  business  should  benefit.  Cash¬ 
ing  in  on  its  own  value  and  the  success  of 
“Little  Women,"  “Little  Men”  is  destined  for 
good  grosses  during  the  holiday  period  and 
afterwards.  Picture  will  draw  tears,  has  been 
intelligently  handled  by  all  departments  and 
emerges  as  a  picture  that  any  house  can  play. 

Estimate:  Triumph. 


The  Marines  .  Family 

Ar ■  .  Action  Drama 

re  Loming  68m. 

William  Haines,  Conrad  Nagel,  Esther  Ralston, 
Armida,  George  Regas,  Edgar  Kennedy,  Del  Hender¬ 
son,  Hale  Hamilton. 

Action  drama  of  marines  with  Haines  as  a 
wise-cracking  marine  who  eventually  gives  up 
the  girl  he  loves  to  his  superior  officer  who 
loved  her  all  the  time.  Haines  turns  in  a 
good  performance  as  do  the  other  leads.  While 
story  is  familiar,  director  Dave  Howard's 
pace  help  a  lot  and  comedy  performance  by 
Edgar  Kennedy  is  of  good  advantage.  With  a 
sweet  title  to  sell,  some  names  that  are  known 
and  good  ballyhoo  material,  this  looks  nice. 
Estimate:  Neat  little  picture. 


Richard  Arlen,  Madge  Evans,  Ralph  Bellamy,  Jaynes 
Gleason,  Henry  B.  Walthall,  Helen  Jerome  Eddy, 
Stanley  Fields,  Gertrude  Short,  Lucky  Hurlio,  Stepin 
Fetchit. 

Programmer  of  a  group  of  people  stranded 
by  a  cloudburst  in  a  deserted  mining  town,  an 
old  prospector  who  seeks  his  lost  mine,  a  boy 
and  a  girl  and  lot  of  other  people,  “Helldorado” 
won’t  make  much  of  a  dent  at  the  box  office. 
Mass  audiences  might  find  enough  with  which 
to  satisfy  them  and  the  star  and  feature  names 
in  the  cast  might  be  of  some  value,  but  picture, 
generally,  falls  into  the  program  class.  Hero¬ 
ine  is  a  sort  of  a  snobbish  socialite  and  even 
Bellamy  hasn’t  too  sympathetic  a  part. 

Estimate:  So-so. 


Lottery  Lover  (523)  Musical 

91m. 

Pat  Patterson,  Lew  Ayres,  Walter  King,  Peggy 
Fears,  Reginald  Denny,  Sterling  Holloway,  Alan  Dine- 
hart,  Eddie  Nugent. 

Musical  of  American  sailors  and  the  winner 
of  a  lottery  to  see  who  will  go  forth  to  win  the 
heart  of  a  famous  French  actress,  “Lottery 
Lover"  should  entertain  but  won’t  cause  hand¬ 
springs.  Ayres  is  the  gob  who  makes  a  play 
for  Peggy  Fears,  the  actress.  Eventually,  he 
falls  for  Pat  Patterson,  who  is  coaching  him 
in  his  actress  campaign.  There  are  couple  of 
hit  numbers  as  well  as  one  good  mass  fenc¬ 
ing  scene.  Picture  isn’t  long  on  names,  but  it 
does  contain  some  interesting  moments. 

Estimate:  Fair  musical. 


Mystery  Woman  (515)  Melodrama 

69m. 

Mona  Barrie,  Gilbert  Roland,  John  Halliday, 
Mi.scha  Auer,  Rod  LaRocguc. 

Tale  of  a  wife  who  seeks  to  get  possession 
of  a  certain  valuable  paper  in  order  that  her 
husband  may  be  saved  from  Devil’s  Island,  this 
picture  lacks  marquee  strength  and  strong- 
feature  names  to  sell.  Yarn,  of  intrigue  and 
spies,  holds  interest  but  offers  little  in  new 
material.  Where  they  like  this  sort  of  thing 
audiences  will  be  satisfied,  but  picture  is  just 
another  mystery  programmer. 

Estimate:  Average. 


MONOGRAM 


‘Neath  Arizona  Skies  Family 

Western 
58m. 

John  Wayne  BheHa  Terry,  George  Hayes,  Yakima 
Canut.t,  Jay  Wilsey. 

John  Wayne  again  comes  through  in  a  hard 
riding,  fast  action  western.  Show  will  satisfy 
western  fans.  Plot  calls  for  John  protecting 
a  girl  and  her  father  from  the  heavies  and 
villains,  and  he  does  so  with  plenty  of  fights. 
The  open  air  devotees  will  get  the  usual  kick 
out  of  it. 

Estimate:  Hard  riding. 


Joan  Crawford,  Clark  Gable,  Robert  Montgomery, 
Charles  Butterworth,  Billie  Burke,  Frances  Drake, 
Tom  Ricketts,  Rosalind  Russell,  Sidney  Bracey. 

Looks  like  a  socko,  this  three-star  combina¬ 
tion.  With  the  marquee  names,  a  zip  in  direc¬ 
tion  and  a  story  that  allows  for  plenty  of 
laughs  amidst  the  emoting,  “Forsaking  All 
Others”  will  bring  out  the  lobby  ropes  for 
most  of  the  houses  that  play  it.  Plot,  bit  thin, 
allows  the  star  material  to  romp  through  to 
plenty  of  scoring,  with  the  comedy  assistance 
strong  as  well. 

Estimate:  Socko. 


RADIO 


Enchanted  April 


(520) 


Adult 
Comedy  Drama 
82m. 


Ann  Harding,  Katherine  Alexander,  Frank  Morgan, 
Reginald  Owen,  Jane  Baxter,  Ralph  Forbes,  Charles 
Judels,  Jessie  Ralph,  Rafael  Ottiano. 

Apparently  supposed  to  be  a  smart  comedy  of 
husbands  and  wives,  “Enchanted  April”  misses 
somewhere  and  emerges  as  just  another  class 
picture  that  may  get  attention  in  some  houses 
but  not  so  much  in  others.  Either  story  or 
adaptation  is  at  fault,  with  the  whole  thing 
suffering.  Tale  is  one  of  wives  wishing  to  get 
away  from  the’r  husbands  with  the  latter  un¬ 
derstood  and  misunderstood. 


Estimate:  Sell  names. 


Grand  Old  Girl  Family 

Comedy  Drama 
(51V)  78m. 

May  Robson,  Fred  MacMurray,  Mary  Carlisle,  Alan 
Hale,  Etienne  Gira  dot.  Hale  Hamilton,  Edward  Van 
S  oan,  Ben  Alexander,  Gavin  Gordon. 

Story  of  a  school  teacher  who  has  given  most 
of  her  life  to  developing  several  generations  of 
city,  state  and  national  leaders,  “Grand  Old 
Girl”  is  liable  to  develop  into  a  socko  in  some 
localities.  May  Robson  has  a  field  day  as  the 
teacher,  the  show  is  a  natural  for  community 
and  teachers  organizations  tie-ups  and  when 
the  President  of  the  United  States,  instead  of 
the  U.  S.  cavalry,  rushes  in  to  save  the  day 
for  the  old  teacher  who  has  lost  her  job  because 
of  political  complications,  it  just  about  caps 
the  climax. 

Estimate:  Decidedly  okay. 


The  Little  Minister  (512)  Classic 

108m. 

Katherine  Hepburn,  John  Beal,  Andy  Clyde ,  Alan 
Hale,  Beryl  Mercer,  Lumsden  Hare,  Reginald  Denny, 
Donald  Crisp. 

Radio  is  to  be  commended  for  its  handling  of 
"The  Little  Minister,”  which  emerges  as  a 
picture  which  is  going  to  make  new  friends  for 
the  industry.  Backed  by  star  material,  good 
direction  and  fine  casting,  the  show  is  a  money 
picture  that  should  gladden  the  hearts  of  the 
exhibitor  as  well  as  the  audience.  Sir  James 
Barrie's  story  is  well  known  and  has  been  pro¬ 
duced  with  strict  attention  to  detail. 

Estimate:  Fine. 


36 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  EXHIBITOR 


SUPPLIES 


PARAMOUNT 


THEATRE  EQUIPMENT 


AV'ir  -  Uned  -  Rebuilt 


Projectors,  Screens, 
Soundheads,  Amplifiers, 
Chairs,  Portable  Projectors, 
Arc  Lamps,  Rectifiers 
and  Generators. 

IlElMinilVG  AT  1.0 WEST  IIATKS 


S.  O.  S.  CORP.,  1600  Broadway,  New  York 


S.O.S.  Buys  Equipment  at  Highest  Prices 


TICKET  REGISTERS 


Announcing  the 

At 

NEW 

Silent- Automatic 

50* 

Ticket  Register 

1935  Noiseless  Model  X 

- 

. 

Write  for  Detail* 

Saving 

A  MODERN  ELECTRICAL  PRODUCT 

i 

1 

STANDARD  TICKET  REGISTER  CORP. 

1600  Broadway. Now York  •  Geo.  Mead. gen.  mo*. 

VAUDEVILLE  AGENCIES 


HARRY  BIBEN 

VAUDEVILLE  AGENCY 

(603-4  COLONIAL  BUILDING) 

N.  E.  Cor.  13th  and  Market  Sts. 

Phone,  Rittenhouse  9494-5 

PHILADELPHIA 
OUR  LATEST:— 

Now  Boohing  Harry  Waxman’s  New 

I  HOLLYWOOD  THEATRE  ATtfTNYT,c 
Booking  STANLEY- WARNER 
THEATRES,  Philadelphia 


• 

Official  Letter 

Mimeographing 

Multigraphing 

Public  Stenography 

Service  to  the 

Motion  Picture 

Addressing  -  Folding 

Industry 

Enclosing  -  Mailing 

Accurate  List 

Advertising 

of  all  Theatres 

Publicity 

and  Executives 

Printing 

WM.  Z. 

POHTEll 

Advertising  and  Letter  Service 

1208  Vine  Street 

(Second  Floor) 

Bell:  RITtenhouse  7195  Keystone:  RACE  8666 

Here  Is  My  Heart  (3423)  Comedy 

77m. 

Bing  Crosby,  Kitty  Carlisle,  Alison  Skipworth, 
Roland  Young,  Regina1  d  Owen,  William  Frawley , 
Cecilia  Parker,  Arthur  Housman. 

Ace  Crosby  with  the  box  office  certain  to  be 
benefited  to  a  great  degree.  As  a  wealthy 
crooner  who  seeks  to  fulfill  his  boyhood  wishes, 
he  romps  through  a  light  comedy  with  some 
song  hits,  good  direction  and  ace  support.  With 
the  heart  appeal  and  laughs  well  distributed, 
show  is  a  natural  for  anybody’s  house.  Tit.e  is 
saleable  as  well  and  total  result  is  decidedly 
favorable. 

Estimate:  Dough  show. 


UNIVERSAL 


Night  Life  of  the  Gods 

(8008) 


Adult 

Comedy 

79m. 


Peggy  Shannon,  Alan  Mowbray,  Florine  McKinney, 
Richard  Carle,  Phillips  Smalley,  Wesley  Barry,  Gil¬ 
bert  Emery,  William  Boyd,  Henry  Armetta,  Geneva 
Mitchell. 


Screen  transition  of  a  comedy  which  was 
more  of  a  fantasy  than  anything  else  is  a  ques¬ 
tionable  number.  After  a  slow  start,  this  tale 
of  a  scientist  who  turns  humans  to  stone  and 
statues  to  living  persons  picks  up  pace,  delivers 
loads  of  laughs.  It  is  the  sort  of  a  picture 
which  may  be  a  surprising  click  or  just  another 
class  entrant.  While  picture  smacks  of  more 
attention  from  the  better  trade,  it  has  showman¬ 
ship  angles  that  must  appeal  to  all  types  of 
audiences.  It  is  an  exploitation  opportunity. 

Estimate:  Must  be  sold  heavily. 


The  Man  Who  Adult 

Reclaimed  His  Head  (8028)  gOm* 

Claude  Rains,  Joan  Bennett,  Lionel  Atwill,  Baby 
Jane,  Henry  O'Neill,  Wally  Ford,  Henry  Armetta, 
Lawrence  Grant,  Gilbert  Emery,  Ferdinand  Gott- 
schalk. 

Timely,  well  produced  picture  of  pacifism 
and  munitions  propaganda  that  will  appeal  to 
intelligent  audiences  and  to  the  masses  if  sold 
properly.  Rains  is  a  pacifist  editor  who  works 
for  a  publisher  in  order  to  promote  world  peace. 
The  publisher  sells  him  out  to  the  munitions 
combine.  Show  is  talkie  to  a  great  extent  but 
characterizations  will  hold  audiences’  interest. 
Picture  is  of  class  distinction,  but  taking  advan¬ 
tage  of  current  munitions  fanfare  should  help 
business. 

Estimate:  Must  be  hallyhooed. 


WARNERS 


Sweet  Adeline  (802)  Musical 

94m. 

Irene  Dunne,  Donald  Woods,  Hugh  Herbert,  Ned 
Sparks,  Joseph  Cawthorn,  Louis  Calhern,  Nydia 
Westman,  Phil  Regan,  Noah  Beery,  Don  Alvarado. 

Picturization  of  the  stage  operetta  is  triumph 
for  Warners  and  thanks  to  a  good  performance 
by  Irene  Dunne  and  a  neat  production  a  credit¬ 
able  entrant  anywhere.  Songs,  dances,  back¬ 
grounds  are  up  to  the  best  Warner  standards. 
Show  is  entire  musical  in  handling  with  the 
story  never  getting  in  the  way  of  the  operetta 
appeal.  Miss  Dunne  is  also  fine.  All  in 
all,  showmen  will  have  plenty  to  sell. 

Estimate:  High  rating. 


The  Secret  Bride  (811)  Melodrama 

64m. 

Barbara  Stanwyck,  Grant  Mitchell,  Warren  William, 
Arthur  Byron,  Glenda  Farrell,  Douglas  Dumbrille. 

Tending  more  toward  the  action  element  than 
some  of  the  recent  Stanwyck  vehicles,  “The 
Secret  Bride”  shapes  up  as  entertaining  melo¬ 
drama,  handled  with  speed  and  acted  well  by  a 
competent  cast.  Following  secret  marriage 
between  Stanwyck  and  William,  heroine  finds 
her  father,  the  governor,  under  impeachment 
charges.  Action  follows  fast  and  furious,  with 
a  murder  thrown  in  as  well.  Just  before  the 
impeachment,  the  murderer  confesses  and 
everything  is  cleared  up. 

Estimate:  Satisfactory. 


STATE  RIGHTS 


Dealers  in  Death  Compilation 

68m. 

Compiled  material  dealing  with  munitions  and  arma- 
ment  problems. 

Of  value  at  the  present  time  because  of  cur¬ 
rent  discussion  of  armaments  and  munitions, 
this  topical  entrant  is  front  page  material  on 
the  screen.  Scenes  of  the  world  war  are  en¬ 
twined  with  current  shots  of  leading  manu¬ 
facturers  of  arms  and  powder  with  a  good  run¬ 
ning  talk.  As  an  instructive  reel,  it  can  be  sold 
heavily.  In  other  spots,  it  will  manage  as  a 
good  added  attraction. 

Estimate:  Front  page. 


Adult 

Man  or  Courage  Realistic  Drama 

93m. 

Realistic  drama  of  the  New  Italy  and  the  rise  of 
Mussolini. 

Premier  Benito  Mussolini  has  done  a  neat 
job  in  combining  a  sort  of  Italian  Cavalcade 
with  a  series  of  newsreel  shots  and  general  pro¬ 
paganda.  The  film  has  its  moving  moments 
and  is  for  the  most  part  quite  interesting.  It 
shows  the  conditions  and  problems  of  Italy  be¬ 
fore,  during  and  after  the  World  War.  It  rises 
to  its  most  dramatic  climaxes  in  the  sequences 
that  follow  the  ending  of  the  World  War, 
Recovery  and  depression  are  graphically  de¬ 
picted.  The  Red  menace  shares  a  large  part 
and  of  course  Mussolini’s  bloodless  revolution 
brings  the  film  to  a  stirring  finish.  There 
is  a  film  story  that  every  once  in  a  while  man¬ 
ages  to  push  itself  in. 

Estimate:  Timely. 


The  Fighting  Trooper  Action  Drama 

59m. 

Kermit  Maynard,  Charles  Delaney,  Leroy  Mason, 
Barbara  Worth,  Robert  Frazer,  Joe  Girard. 

Northwest  Mounted  Police  story  from  a 
James  Oliver  Curwood  yarn  that  shouldn’t  have 
any  trouble  satisfying  action  fans.  One  of  the 
series  from  Maurice  Conn,  it  will  find  favor 
everywhere  where  the  patrons  go  for  the  thrill 
and  fight  stuff. 

Estimate:  Okay. 


Ticket  to  a  Crime 

Lola  Lane ,  Ralph  Graves, 
Ray,  James  Burke. 


Adult 
Mystery  Drama 
64m. 

Lois  Wilson,  Charles 


Mystery  murder  melodrama  that  will  pass  by 
where  they  aren’t  too  particular.  Show  has 
little  to  make  it  stand  out  from  the  pack,  al¬ 
though  Ralph  Graves’  presence  may  mean  some¬ 
thing. 

Estimate:  Familiar. 


THE  CHECKUP 


Included  are  production  number,  whether  adult  or 
family  appeal,  title,  type  of  picture,  cast,  estimate  as 
carried  in  6-Pt.  Review,  running  time  and  when  reviewed. 
For  example:  508 — A — EVELYN  PRENTICE— MD — 
Myrna  Loy,  William  Powell,  Una  Merkel,  Isabel  Jewell, 
Cora  Sue  Collins,  Jack  Mulhall — All  Powell-Loy — 78m 
— Nov.  means  production  number  is  508,  story  Is  of 
adult  appeal  rather  than  family,  title  is  Evelyn  Prentice, 
It  is  a  melodrama  (MD),  cast  has  five  stars  and  featured 
leads,  estimate  called  It  All  Powell-Loy,  it  runs  78 
minutes  and  It  was  reviewed  In  November.  Pictures 


listed  are  playing  currently,  about  to  be  released  or  in 
production  stage.  As  new  Information  is  gained,  it  will 
be  added.  This  department  will  appear  in  each  issue. 
Save  all  issues  to  keep  a  complete  file  for  as  new  data 
is  added,  old  will  be  discarded.  Read  the  review  first 
in  6-Point  Reviews  and  checkup  here  later.  If  there 
is  variance  in  running  time,  it  is  because  of  censor  con¬ 
ditions  or  later  cutting.  Check  with  your  exchange 
to  make  certain.  No  release  dates  are  included  as  these 
vary  in  territories.  Keep  in  touch  with  Code  department 
in  this  issue  for  local  general  release  dates. 


KEY  TO  TYPE  OF  PICTURE 


AD — Action  Drama 
C — Comedy 
CD- — Comedy  Drama 
COD — Costume  Drama 
CL — Classical  Drama 
D — Drama 
F — Farce 


MD — Melodrama 
MU — Musical 
MY — Mystery 
0 — Operetta 
RD- — Realistic  Drama 
SP — Spectacle 
W — Western 


Chesterfield-Invincible 

3064— A— THE  PORT  OF  LOST  DREAMS— MD— Bill  Boyd,  Lola 

Lane,  George  Marion,  Sr.,  Ed  Gargan - Better  Than  Usual - 

7  I  m. —  I  -Dec. 

3075 F — ONE  IN  A  MILLION — CD Dorothy  Wilson,  Charles 

Starrett,  Gwen  Lee,  Holmes  Herbert,  Guinn  Williams - Fair 

Inde - 69m. - I  -Dec. 

3065 - THE  GHOST  WALKS— MD— John  Miljan,  June  Collyer, 

Johnny  Arthur,  Spencer  Charters,  Eve  Sothern. 

3069 - SONS  OF  STEEL - MD - Charles  Starrett,  Billy  Bake- 

well,  Walter  Walker,  Holmes  Herbert,  Polly  Ann  Young. 
3072— THE  WORLD  ACCUSES—  D— Vivienne  Tobin,  Dickie 
Moore,  Cora  Sue  Collins,  Russell  Hopton. 

Columbia 

4023— F— FUGITIVE  LADY— AD— Neil  Hamilton,  Florence  Rice, 

Clara  Blandick,  Don  Cook,  Matt  McHugh - Satisfies - 65m. - 

Nov. 

5001 - F - BROADWAY  BILL - CD - Warner  Baxter,  Myrna  Loy, 

Lynn  Overman,  Helen  Vinson,  Walter  Connolly — Topnotch 
—  1  03m. — Nov. 

5023 - F - JEALOUSY - CD - Nancy  Carroll,  George  Murphy, 

Donald  Cook,  Inez  Courtney,  Clara  Blandick,  Arthur  Hohl, 

Ray  Walburn - Surprise  helps - 67m. - I -Dec. 

5038— A— MEN  OF  THE  NIGHT— AD— Judith  Alle  n,  Bruce 
Cabot,  Charles  Sabin - Familiar - 58m. - 1-Dec. 

5201—  F— THE  PRESCOTT  KID— W— Tim  McCoy,  Sheila  Man¬ 
ners,  Joe  Sauers,  Harry  Todd - Suitable - 58m. - 2-Dec. 

3029 - WHITE  LIES - D - May  Robson,  Victor  Jory,  Raymond 

Walburn,  Fay  Wray. 

5202—  THE  WESTERNER— W— Tim  McCoy,  Marion  Shilling, 
Hooper  Atchley. 

5203 —  SQUARE  SHOOTER - AD - Tim  McCoy,  Jacqueline  Wells, 

Steve  Clarke,  John  Darrow,  Charles  Middleton,  J.  Farrell  Mac¬ 
Donald. 

—A  CALL  TO  ARMS— MD— Steffi  D  una,  Ben  Lyon,  Noah 
Beery,  Willard  Mack,  Esther  Ralston,  Hobart  Bosworth. 
—PASSPORT  TO  FAME— MD— Edward  G.  Robinson,  Jean 
Arthur,  Arthur  Hohl,  Fred  Keating,  Donald  Meek,  Wallace 
Ford. 

—CARNIVAL — CD— Sally  Eil  ers,  Lee  Tracy,  Jimmy  Durante, 
Fred  Keating,  Florence  Rice. 

—THE  DEPTHS  BELOW— MD— Jack  Holt,  Edmund  Lowe, 
Florence  Rice,  Bela  Lugosi. 

- SURE  FIRE - C - Ann  Sothern,  Gene  Raymond. 

— LAW  BEYOND  THE  RANGE— W — Tim  McCoy,  Billie 
Seward. 

— -MILLS  OF  THE  GODS - May  Robson,  Fay  Wray,  Victor 

Jory,  James  Blakeley. 

—BEHIND  THE  EVIDENCE — MD— Norman  Foster,  Donald 
Cook,  Sheila  Manners,  Frank  Darien,  Pat  O’Malley. 

— ONCE  A  GENTLEMAN — CD — Tullio  Carmanati,  Lilian 
Harvey,  Gilbert  Emery,  Luis  Alberni,  Janet  Beecher. 

— ALIAS  JOHN  LAW — W — Tim  McCoy,  Billie  Seward, 
Robert  Allen,  Edward  Earle,  Frank  Sheridan. 

Du  World 

- F - NORAH  O’NEALE - D - Lester  Matthews,  Molly 

Lamont,  Nancy  Burne  (Irish) — Limited — 66m. — Nov. 

—A— MAN  WHO  CHANGED  HIS  NAME — MY— Betty  Stock- 

field,  Lyn  Harding,  Leslie  Perrins  (British) - Interesting - 

69m. — Nov. 

— F— GIRL  IN  THE  CASE— CD— Jimmie  Savo,  Eddie  Lam¬ 
bert,  Dorothy  Darling - Something  Different - 60m. -  Apr. 

First  Division 

3040  - F - HEI-T1KI - RD - Native  drama  of  the  South  Seas,  pro¬ 

duced  on  the  Isle  of  Ghosts. 

3041  - F - LITTLE  DAMOZEL - C - Anna  Neagle,  James  Rennie, 

Benita  Hume — Family — 60m. — Sept. 


3042 — A - WHITE  HEAT - MD — David  Newell,  Mona  Maris,  Vir¬ 
ginia  Cherrill,  Hardie  Albright - Tropical - 62m. - July. 

3  1  I  5 — F — THE  RETURN  OF  CHANDU — MD — Bela  Lugosi,  Maria 
Alba,  Clara  Kimball  Young - Okay - 60m. - Oct. 

3045— A— CONVENTION  GIRL— CP - Rose  Hobart,  Weldon 

Heyburn,  Sally  O’Neill,  Herbert  Rawlinson. 

First  NationaS-Warners 

752 - F - FLIRTATION  WALK - MU - Dick  Powell,  Ruby  Keeler, 

Pat  O'Brien,  Ross  Alexander,  Henry  O’Neil — Box  office  delight 
—87m.— Nov.  (FN) 

802 - F - SWEET  ADELINE - MU - Irene  Dunne,  Donald  Woods, 

Hugh  Herbert,  Ned  Sparks,  Joe  Cawthorn,  Noah  Beery,  Phil 

Regan - Credit  to  all - 94m. - 2-Dec.  (W) 

811 — F - THE  SECRET  BRIDE - MD - Barbara  Stanwyck,  Grant 

M'tchell,  Warren  William,  Arthur  Byron,  Glenda  Farrell- 

Satisfactory - 64m. - 2-Dec.  (W) 

826 — A — I  AM  A  THIEF — MD — Mary  Astor,  Ricardo  Cortez, 

Dudley  Digges,  Irving  Pichel — Intrigues - 60m.  1 -Dec.  (W) 

869 - F - BABBITT - CD - Guy  Kibbee,  Aline  MacMahon,  Maxine 

Doyle,  Claire  Dodd,  Minna  Gombell - Satisfactory - 74m. - 

1-Dec.  (FN) 

872—  F— GENTLEMEN  ARE  BORN— D  — Jean  Muir,  Franchot 

Tone,  Nick  Foran,  Charles  Starrett,  Margaret  Lindsay,  Ann 
Dvorak - Spotty - 75m. - Nov.  (FN) 

873—  A— I  SELL  ANYTHING— C— Pat  O’Brien,  Claire  Dodd, 
Frank  McHugh,  Ann  Dvorak,  Roscoe  Karns,  Hobart  Cava¬ 
naugh — Depends  on  O’Brien — 65m. — Nov.  (FN) 

876 - F - MAYBE  IT’S  LOVE - CD - Gloria  Stuart,  Ross  Alex¬ 
ander,  Frank  McHugh,  Phillip  Reed - Program - 68m. - 1-Dec. 

(FN) 

881— F— THE  CHURCH  MOUSE— C— Laura  La  Plante,  Monty 

Banks,  Ian  Hunter,  Jane  Carr - So-so - 64m. — 2-Dec.  (FN) 

801— ANTHONY  ADVERSE - COD— Leslie  Howard,  Edward  G. 

Robinson,  Robert  Barrat,  Warren  William,  Bette  Davis,  George 
Brent,  Ann  Dvorak,  Ricardo  Cortez,  Kay  Francis,  Aline  Mac¬ 
Mahon,  Guy  Kibbee - (W) 

806 — BORDERTOWN — MD — Paul  Muni,  Bette  Davis,  Margaret 

Lindsay,  Hobart  Cavanaugh,  Robert  Barratt - (W) 

805— SWEET  MUSIC— MU— Rudy  Vallee,  Ann  Dvorak,  Ned 
Sparks,  Joe  Cawthorn,  Allen  Jenkins,  Alice  White,  Robert 
Armstrong,  Helen  Morgan  (W) 

816— DEVIL  DOGS  OF  THE  AIR— CD— James  Cagney,  Pat 
O'Brien,  Margaret  Lindsay,  Frank  McHugh,  John  Arledge, 

Ward  Bond,  Russell  Hicks - (W) 

82  7 — THE  WHITE  COCKATOO— MD— Jean  Muir,  Ricardo 
Cortez,  Gordon  Westcott,  John  Eldredge,  Ruth  Donne  Hy. 
Minna  Gombel - (W) 

828 THE  RIGHT  TO  LIVE D George  Brent,  Josephine 

Hutchinson,  Colin  Clive,  Peggy  Wood,  Henrietta  Crosman - 

(W) 

851— GOLD  DIGGERS  OF  1935— MU — Dick  Powell,  Gloria 
Stuart,  Hugh  Herbert,  Frank  McHugh,  Glenda  Farrell,  Win¬ 
ifred  Shaw,  Adolphe  Menjou,  Alice  Brady - (FN) 

852 - BLACK  FURY - MD - Paul  Muni,  Karen  Morley,  William 

Gargan,  Tully  Marshall - (FN) 

863 - NORTH  SHORE - D — Barbara  Stanwyck,  Gene  Raymond, 

Genevieve  Tobin,  Nan  Gray - (FN) 

877— MURDER  IN  THE  CLOUDS— AD— Lyle  Talbot,  Ann 

Dvorak,  Gordon  Westcott,  Robert  Light - (FN) 

878 - RED  HOT  TIRES - AD - Lyle  Talbot,  Mary  Astor,  Roscoe 

Karns,  Frankie  Darro,  Henry  Kolker,  Gavin  Gordon - (FN) 

—WHILE  THE  PATIENT  SLEPT— C— Aline  MacMahon,  Guy 
Kibbee,  Lyle  Talbot,  Margaret  Lindsay  (W) 

—LIVING  ON  VELVET— CD— Kan  Francis,  Warren  William, 
George  Brent - (FN) 

- OIL  FOR  THE  LAMPS  OF  CHINA— George  Brent,  John  El- 

dredtre,  Josephine  Hutchinson,  William  Gargan. 

—THE  GOOSE  AND  THE  GANDER— Verree  Teasdale,  John 
Eldredge. 

- MONEY  MAN - MD - Edward  G.  Robinson,  Bette  Davis. 

—GO  INTO  YOUR  DANCE—  MU— A1  Jolson,  Ruby  Keeler, 
Helen  Morgan,  Glenda  Farrell,  Bobby  Connolly. 


THE  CHECKUP 


- IN  CALIENTE - Dolores  Del  Rio. 

— A  MIDSUMMER  NIGHT’S  DREAM — J  oe  E.  Brown,  James 
Cagney,  Dick  Powell,  Jean  Muir,  Mickey  Rooney,  Hugh  Her¬ 
bert,  lan  Hunter,  Victor  Jory,  Frank  McHugh,  Otis  Harlan, 
Grant  Mitchell,  Anita  Louise,  Hobart  Cavanaugh,  Ross  Alex¬ 
ander,  Eugene  Pallette. 

—CASE  OF  THE  CURIOUS  BRIDE— Warren  William. 

( The  following  pictures  are  due  on  1933-1934  contracts.  472- 
Powell-Francis;  455-Howard ;  756-Hou'ard ;  757-Robinson;  766-un¬ 
tit  led;  774-Brown  and  Blond  ell.) 


Fox 

513 - F - MUSIC  IN  THE  AIR - MU — Gloria  Swanson,  John  Boles, 

Douglass  Montgomery,  June  Lang,  A1  Shean,  Reginald  Owen, 

Joseph  Cawthorn,  Hobart  Bosworth — Worthy - 105m. - Nov. 

515— F - MYSTERY  WOMAN - MD - Mona  Barrie,  Gilbert  Ro¬ 

land,  John  Halliday,  Mischa  Auer,  Rod  LaRocque — Average 
- 69  m. — 2 -Dec. 

5  I  7 - F - HELL  IN  THE  HEAVENS - AD — Warner  Baxter,  Con- 

chita  Montenegro,  Russell  Hardie,  Herbert  Mundin,  Andy 

Devine,  Ralph  Morgan,  Vince  Barnet - Sell  Baxter - 80m. - 

Nov. 

518 - F - THE  WHITE  PARADE - D - Loretta  Young,  John 

Boles,  Dorothy  Wilson,  Muriel  Kirkland,  Astrid  Allwyn,  Frank 
Conroy,  Jane  Darwell,  Sara  Haden,  Joyce  Compton — Above 
average - 80m. - Nov. 

5  19 - A — THE  FIRST  WORLD  WAR - Compilation  of  films  from 

secret  archives  of  war  powers - Depends  on  selling - 71m. - 

Nov. 

520— F BACHELOR  OF  ARTS— CD Tom  Brown,  Anita 

Louise,  Henry  B.  Walthall,  Mae  Marsh,  Arline  Judge,  Frank 

Albertson,  George  Meeker,  Berton  Churchill,  Stepin  Fetchit - 

Neat 73m. 1 -Dec. 

522 - F - HELLDORADO - CD - Richard  Arlen,  Madge  Evans, 

Ralph  Bellamy,  James  Gleason,  Henry  B.  Walthall,  Stepin 
Fetchit - So-so - 75m. - 2 -Dec. 

523— F— LOTTERY  LOVER— MU— Pat  Patterson,  Lew  Ayres, 
Peggy  Fears,  Reginald  Denny,  Alan  Dinehart,  Sterling  Hallo¬ 
way - Fair  musical - 91m. - 2-Dec. 

524 - F - BRIGHT  EYES - CD - Shirley  Temple,  James  Dunn, 

Judith  Allen,  Lois  Wilson,  Jane  Withers - Dough - 72m. - 

1  -Dec. 

521 - EAST  RIVER - CD - Edmund  Lowe,  Victor  McLaglen, 

Marjorie  Rambeau,  Charles  Bickford,  Grace  Bradley,  Roger 
Imhof,  George  Walsh. 

525—  COUNTY  CHAIRMAN — C— Will  Ro  gers,  Evelyn  Venable, 
Kent  Taylor,  Jan  Duggan,  Louise  Dresser. 

526—  CHARLIE  CHAN  IN  PARIS - MY— Warner  Oland,  Erik 

Rhodes,  Mary  Brian,  Murray  Kinnell,  John  M’ljan. 

52  7 — WHEN  A  MAN’S  A  MAN— W— George  O’Brien. 

529 — ONE  MORE  SPRING - CD - Janet  Gaynor,  Warner  Baxter, 

Henry  B.  Walthal,  Walter  King,  Stepin  Fetchit,  Roger  Imhof, 
Roger  Foran. 

- THE  LITTLE  COLONEL - CD - Shirley  Temple,  Lionel 

Barrymore,  Bill  Robinson,  Evelyn  Venable. 

—LIFE  BEGINS  AT  FORTY— CD — Will  Rogers,  Rochelle 
Hudson. 

- THUNDER  IN  THE  NIGHT - MD — Warner  Baxter,  Ketti 

Gallian,  Herbert  Mundin,  Astrid  Allwyn. 

—THE  FARMER  TAKES  A  WIFE — CD — Janet  Gaynor, 
Spencer  Tracey. 

—GEORGE  WHITE’S  SCANDALS - Alice  Faye,  Lyda  Roberti, 

James  Dunn,  Cliff  Edwards,  Ned  Sparks,  Stuart  Erwin,  George 
White,  Arline  Judge. 

—REDHEADS  ON  PARADE— John  Boles,  June  Knight. 

- RECEIPT  FOR  MURDER— Edmund  Lowe. 

- DANTE’S  INFERNO - Spencer  Tracey,  Claire  Travor, 

Henry  B.  Walthall,  Nick  Foran,  Alan  Dinehart. 

—SHINING  ADVENTURE— Shirley  Temple.  . 

—UNDER  THE  PAMPAS  MOON — Wa  rner  Baxter. 


Gaumonl  British 

3403 — F - LITTLE  FRIEND - D — Nova  Pilbeam,  Matheson  Lang, 

Lydia  Sherwood,  Arthur  Margetson - Praiseworthy - 84m. — 

Nov. 

- F - MAN  OF  ARAN - RD - Robert  Flaherty,  Colman  King, 

Maggie  Diane,  Michael  Dillane - Artistic  Triumph - 75m. - 

Nov. 

3404 - A - EVENSONG - D — Evelyn  Laye,  Emlyn  Williams,  Alice 

Delysia,  Fritz  Kortner - Class - 86m. - 1 -Dec. 

— -JACK  AHOY - C - Jack  Hulbert,  Nancy  O’Neil,  Tamara 

Desni. 

340  5— EVERGREEN — MU— Jessie  Matthews,  Sonnie  Hale,  Betty 
Balfour. 


— THE  IRON  DUKE! — COD — George  Arliss,  Gladys  Cooper, 
Ellaline  Terriss,  Allan  Aylesworth,  A.  E.  Matthews. 

—PRINCESS  CHARMING - MU— Evelyn  Laye,  Yvonne  Ar- 

naud,  George  Grossmith,  Max  Miller,  Henry  Wilcoxson. 

Liberty 

- F — NO  RANSOM - D - Leila  Hyams,  Phillips  Holmes,  Jack 

La  Rue - Deserves  hand - 72m. - Apr. 

— A — WHEN  STRANGERS  MEET— MD— Richard  Cromwell, 

Arline  Judge,  Lucien  Littlefield — Heavy - 72m. - Apr. 

_A— ONCE  TO  EVERY  BACHELOR— CD— Marion  Nixon. 

Neil  Hamilton,  Aileen  Pringle - Nice  Bet — 71m. - June. 

_F— WITHOUT  CHILDREN— D— Marguerite  Churchill, 
Bruce  Cabot,  Evelyn  Brent,  Dickie  Moore,  Cora  Sue  Collins, 
Reginald  Denny — Fair - 81m. - Nov. 

— F — SCHOOL  FOR  GIRLS — MD — Sidney  Fox,  Lois  Wilson, 
Paul  Kelly,  Lucille  La  Verne,  Toby  Wing,  Dorothy  Lee,  Lona 

Andre,  Russell  Hopton,  Kathleen  Burke - Sell  feature  names - 

73  m. - Sept. 

_F— TWO  HEADS  ON  A  PILLOW— CD— Neil  Hamilton, 

Miriam  Jordan,  Henry  Armetta,  Hardie  Albright - Creditable 

—  60m. - July. 

- SWEEPSTAKE  ANNIE! - CD - Tom  Brown,  Marion  Nixon, 

Wera  Engels,  Inez  Courtney,  Ivan  Lebedeff. 

Majestic 

_F— NIGHT  ALARM— MD— Bruce  Cabot,  Judith  Allen,  H. 

B.  Warner,  Sam  Hardy - High  rating  fire  yarn - 63m. - Oct. 

- F— SHE  HAD  TO  CHOOSE - CD— Buster  Crabbe,  Isabel 

Jewell,  Regis  Toomey,  Sally  Blane - Average - 65m. - Aug. 

— F— THE  PERFECT  CLUE — MD — David  Manners,  Dorothy 

Liba're,  Skeets  Gallagher,  Betty  Blythe - Satisfactory - 62m. 

- 1  -Dec. 

Mascot 

- F - CRIMSON  ROMANCE - MD — Ben  Lyon,  Sari  Maritza, 

James  Bush,  Hardie  Albright,  William  Bakewell,  Erich  Von 
Stroheim - Fair — 68m. - Oct. 

— F— IN  OLD  SANTA  FE— W— Ken  Maynard,  Evalyn  Knapp, 

H.  B.  Warner,  Gene  Autry - Better  than  usual - 64m. - 1 -Dec. 

— F — THE  MARINES  ARE  COMING— AD— William  Haines, 

Conrad  Nagel,  Esther  Ralston,  Armida,  Edgar  Kennedy - Neat 

little  picture. - 68m. - 2-Dec. 

- F — LITTLE  MEN - CL - Ralph  Morgan,  Erin  O’Brien- 

Moore,  Cora  Sue  Collins,  Junior  Durkin,  Frankie  Darro, 
Dickie  Moore,  Buster  Phelps. - Triumph - 78m. - 2-Dec. 

Metro 

408 — A — FORSAKING  ALL  OTHERS — CD— Joan  Crawford, 
Clark  Gable,  Robert  Montgomery,  Charles  Butterworth,  Billie 

Burke,  Franc's  Drake - Socko - 80m. - 2-Dec. 

415 a— THE  PAINTED  VEIL— D— Greta  Garbo,  Herbert  Mar¬ 
shall,  George  Brent,  Cecilia  Parker,  Jean  Hersholt,  Warner 

Oland,  Katherine  Alexander,  Beulah  Bondi - All  Garbo - 75m. 

- Nov. 

422 - F - BABES  IN  TOYLAND - MU - Laurel  and  Hardy,  Char¬ 
lotte  Henry - Kiddies’  natural - 70m. - 1 -Dec. 

506 - OUTCAST  LADY - D - Constance  Bennett,  Hugh  Williams, 

Herbert  Marshall,  Henry  Stephenson,  Ralph  Forbes - Class - 

80m. - Sept. 

508 - A - EVELYN  PRENTICE - MD - William  Powell,  Myrna 

Loy,  Una  Merkel,  Jack  Mulhall,  Cora  Sue  Collins — All  Powell- 
Loy - 78m. - Nov. 

535 - A - THE  MERRY  WIDOW - MU — Maurice  Chevalier,  Jean¬ 

ette  MacDonald,  Edward  Everett  Horton,  Una  Merkel,  Sterling 
Holloway - Big - 1  10m. - Sept. 

540  A WICKED  WOMAN D Mady  Christians,  Charles 

Bickford,  Zelda  Sears,  John  Parker - Drama - 75m. - 1-Dec. 

542 — A THE  GAY  BRIDE CD Carole  Lombard,  Chester 

Morris,  Una  Merkel,  Leo  Carrillo,  Zasu  Pitts - Laugh  show - 

82m. - Nov. 

507— BIOGRAPHY  OF  A  BACHELOR  GIRL — CD — Ann  Hard¬ 
ing,  Robert  Mortgomery. 

526 — THE  NIGHT  IS  YOUNG — M — Evelyn  Laye,  Ramon  No- 
varro,  Charles  Butterworth,  Stuart  Erwin,  Edward  Everett 
Horton,  Una  Merkel. 

541  - THE  BAND  PLAYS  ON — AD - Robert  Young,  Maureen 

O’Sullivan,  Ted  Healy. 

- DAVID  COPPERFIELD - CL— Lionel  Barrymore.  W.  C. 

Fields,  Elizabeth  Allen,  Fred  Bartholomew,  Roland  Young, 
Hugh  Williams,  Edna  May  Oliver,  Madge  Evans,  Basil  Rath- 
bone,  Lewis  Stone,  Elsa  Lancaster. 

—PUBLIC  ENEMY  No.  2— CD - Charles  Butterworth. 

- RECKLESS - D - Joan  Crawford,  William  Powell,  Franchot 

Tone,  May  Robson,  Henry  Stephenson. 


38. 


THE  CHECKUP 


- SEQUOIA — AD - Jean  Parker,  Russell  Hardie,  Paul  Hurst. 

— THE  WINNING  TICKET — CD — Leo  Carrillo,  Louise  Faz¬ 
enda,  Irene  Hervey,  Luis  Alberni. 

- WEST  POINT  OF  THE  AIR — MD - Wallace  Beery,  Robert 

Young,  Maureen  O’Sullivan,  James  Gleason,  Russell  Hardie, 
— VANESSA - CD — Robert  Montgomery,  Helen  Hayes,  Don¬ 

ald  Crisp,  Lawrence  Grant. 

- TOWN  TALK - CD — Constance  Bennett,  Clark  Gable, 

Henry  Travers,  Stuart  Erwin,  Frank  Mayo,  Harvey  Stephens. 
- NAUGHTY  MARIETTA — MU - Jeanette  MacDonald,  Nel¬ 
son  Eddy,  Frank  Morgan,  Cecilia  Parker,  Mary  Doran,  Ed 
Brophy. 

- ONLY  EIGHT  HOURS— CD - Chester  Morris,  Virginia 

Bruce,  Johnnie  Hines,  Sid  Silver,  Donald  Meek,  Robert  Mc- 
Wade,  Dorothy  Peterson. 

- ANNA  KARANINA - Greta  Garbo,  Fredric  March. 

( The  following  pictures  arc  still  due  on  1933-1934  contracts.  409- 
Crawford;  401-MacDonald ;  412-Durante ;  418-Harlow;  420-Hayes ; 
426-Shcarer ;  431-Beery  and  Gable;  433-Harlow  and  Gable;  437-Soviet; 
439-Tzvo  Thieves.) 

Monogram 

3001 — F - GIRL  OF  THE  LIMBERLOST - CD - Louise  Dresser, 

Marian  Marsh,  Ralph  Morgan,  Henry  B.  Walthall,  Edward 

Nugent,  Helen  Jerome  Eddy — Well  done - 86m. - Sept. 

3012 - F - REDHEAD - CD - Bruce  Cabot,  Grace  Bradley,  Berton 

Churchill,  Regis  Toomey - To  be  exploited - 73m. - Oct. 

3014 - A - SING  SING  NIGHTS - MD — Bela  Lugosi,  Conway 

Tearle,  Hardie  Albright,  Boots  Mallory,  Mary  Doran,  Berton 

Churchill — Holds  interest - 60m. - I  -Dec. 

3015— F— GIRL  OF  MY  DREAMS— CD— Mary  Carlisle,  Eddie 

Nugent,  Tommy  Dugan,  Gigi  Parrish — Pleasant 70m. — Nov. 

3020— F— LOST  IN  THE  STRATOSPHERE— MD— June  Collyer, 
William  Cagney,  Eddie  Nugent,  Edmund  Breese,  Pauline  Garon 
- To  be  sold - 70m. — Nov. 

3023— F— FLIRTING  WITH  DANGER— CD— Robert  Armstrong, 

Maria  Alba,  William  Cagney,  Edgar  Kennedy - Average - 

69m. - 1  -Dec. 

3031— F— THE  TRAIL  BEYOND— W— John  Wayne,  Verna  Hillie, 

Noah  Besry,  Robert  Fraser - Average  western — 55m. - Oct. 

3034— F— ’NEATH  ARIZONA  SKIES— W— John  Wayne,  Sheila 

Terry,  George  Hayes,  Yakima  Canutt - Hard  riding - 58m. - 

2-Dec. 

30  M— MILLION  DOLLAR  BABY— CD— Jimmy  Fay,  Arline  Judge, 
Ray  Walker,  George  E.  Stone,  Eddie  Kane,  Jeanette  Loff,  Wil¬ 
lard  Robertson,  Paul  Porasi. 

3003— THE  NUT  FARM— F— Wally  Ford,  Oscar  Apfel,  Joan  Gale, 
Spencer  Charters. 

3017 - THE  GREAT  GOD  GOLD - Sidney  Blackmer,  Martha 

Sleeper,  Edwin  Maxwell,  Regis  Toomey,  Maria  Alba,  Gloria 
Shea. 

3018— WOMEN  MUST  DRESS— CD— Minna  Gombel,  Gavin  Gor¬ 
don,  seven  Monogram-Agfa  contest  winners. 

3022— MYSTERIOUS  MR.  WONG— MD - Bela  Lugosi,  .  Wallace 

Ford,  Dorothy  Lee. 

303  7— LAWLESS  FRONTIER— W — John  Wayne. 

- RECKLESS  ROMEOS - CD — Robert  Armstrong,  William 

Cagney. 

Pa  ramount 

3406 — F— MRS.  WIGGS  OF  THE  CABBAGE  PATCH — CD— Paul¬ 
ine  Lord,  Zasu  Pitts,  Evelyn  Venable,  Charles  Middleton,  W. 

C.  Fields,  Kent  Taylor,  Donald  Meek,  Jimmy  Butler - Okay 

family. — 75  m. — Sept. 

3409— A— PURSUIT  OF  HAPPINESS— C— Francis  Lederer,  Joan 
Bennett,  Charles  Ruggles,  Mary  Boland,  Walter  Kingsford, 
Minor  Watson - Good  comedy - 85m. - Oct. 

3412  F READY  FOR  LOVE CD Richard  Arlen,  Marjorie 

Rambeau,  Ida  Lupino,  Junior  Durkin,  Henry  Travers - Pro¬ 

gram — 65  m. — Oct. 

3413  A MENACE MD Paul  Cavanaugh,  Gertrude  Michael, 

Henrietta  Crosman,  John  Lodge,  Raymond  Milland,  Berton 
Churchill,  Halliwell  Hobbes - Thrills  aplenty — 60m. - Oct. 

3414  A ENTER  MADAME C Elissa  Landi,  Cary  Grant, 

Lynne  Overman,  Sharon  Lyne — Better  than  average — 76m. — 
Nov. 

3415  - A - LIMEHOUSE  BLUES - MD - George  Raft,  Jean  Parker, 

Anna  May  Wong,  Kent  Taylor,  Billy  Bevan - Strictly  melo¬ 

drama — 64m. — Nov. 

3416— A— THE  PRESIDENT  VANISHES— D— Arthur  Byron, 

Janet  Beecher,  Paul  Kelly,  Edward  Arnold - Debatable - 85m. 

- 1  -Dec. 

3417  F COLLEGE  RHYTHM — F' Joe  Penner,  Laniny  Rose, 

Jack  Oakie,  George  Barbier,  Lyda  Roberti,  Mary  Brian - 

Dough  show — 84m. — Nov. 


3418  - F - IT’S  A  GIFT - C - W.  C.  Fields,  Joan  Rouverol,  Kath¬ 
leen  Howard,  Baby  Leroy,  Morgan  Wallace - All  Fields - 69m. 

- 1  -Dec. 

3419  F BEHOLD  MY  WIFE D Sylvia  Sidney,  Gene  Ray¬ 
mond,  Juliette  Compton,  Laura  Hope  Crews,  H.  B.  Warner - 

Okay — 7  7m. 1  -Dec. 

3420— F— FATHER  BROWN,  DETECTIVE — D— Walter  Connolly, 
Paul  Lukas,  Halliwell  Hobbes,  Gertrude  Michaels,  Una  O’Con¬ 
nor — Favorable — 65m. —  1  -Dec. 

3421  F HOME  ON  THE  RANGE W Jackie  Coogan,  Ran¬ 
dolph  Scott,  Evelyn  Brent - Different  open  air  piece - 70m. - 

1  -Dec. 

3422  - F - ONE  HOUR  LATE — CD - Joe  Morrison,  Arline  Judge, 

Ray  Walker,  Charles  Sellon,  George  E.  Stone - Sell  Morrison 

- 69m. - 1  -Dec. 

3423— F - HERE  IS  MY  HEART - C - Bing  Crosby,  Kitty  Carlisle, 

Roland  Young,  Alison  Skipworth,  Reginald  Owen - Dough 

show - 77m. - 2 -Dec. 

— LIVES  OF  BENGAL  LANCER - MD - Gary  Cooper,  Fran- 

chot  Tone,  Richard  Cromwell,  Sir  Guy  Standing,  Kathleen 
Burke,  Monte  Blue. 

— WINGS  IN  THE  DARK - AD - Myrna  Loy,  Cary  Grant. 

Roscoe  Karns,  Arnold  Korff. 

- CAPRICE  ESPAGNOL - MD - Marlene  Dietrich,  Joel  Mc- 

Crea,  Lionel  Atwill,  Edward  Everett  Horton,  Alison  Skip- 
worth. 

- ONCE  IN  A  BLUE  MOON - CD - Jimmy  Savo,  Whitney 

Bourne,  Cecilia  Parker,  Michael  Dalmatoff. 

- MISSISSIPPI - MU — Bing  Crosby,  W.  C.  Fields,  Joan  Ben¬ 
nett,  Queenie  Smith,  the  Cabin  Kids. 

- RUGGLES  OF  RED  GAP - C - Charles  Laughton,  Mary 

Boland,  Charles  Ruggles,  Baby  Leroy,  Zasu  Pitts. 

- RUMBA — D — George  Raft,  Carole  Lombard,  Lynne  Over¬ 
man,  Margo,  Monroe  Owsley. 

- THE  VANISHING  PIONEER - W - Randolph  Scott,  Chic 

Sale,  Ann  Sheridan,  George  Marion,  Mrs.  Leslie  Carter. 

— THE  GILDED  LILY — Claudette  Colbert,  Fred  MacMurray, 
C.  Aubrey  Smith,  Luis  Alberni,  Donald  Meek. 

—WIN  OR  LOSE — Joe  Morrison,  Marian  Mansfield,  George 
Burns,  Gracie  Allen. 

- NOW  I’M  A  LADY— Mae  West. 

— BE  CAREFUL,  YOUNG  LADY — CD — Carl  Brisson,  Elissa 
Landi,  Jack  Oakie,  Edward  Everett  Horton. 

- THE  CRUSADES - SP - Henry  Wilcoxson,  C.  Aubrey 

Smith,  Sylvia  Sidney,  Elissa  Landi. 

— McFADDEN’S  FLATS— C— Walter  C.  Kelly,  Helen  Mack. 

- DRUM  BEATS - CD - Jack  Oakie,  Kitty  Carlisle. 

—TWO  ON  A  TOWER— MU— Mary  Ellis. 

— RENEGADES - Gary  Cooper,  Carol  Lombard. 

- PETER  IBBETSON— Robert  Donat. 

- THE  MILKY  WAY - Jack  Oakie,  Roscoe  Karns. 

- STOLEN  HARMONY — Ben  Bernie,  George  Raft,  Queenie 

Smith,  Lloyd  Nolan. 

- TWO  FOR  TONIGHT - Bing  Crosby,  Miriam  Hopkins,  Jack 

Oakie,  Roscoe  Karns,  Lyda  Roberti,  William  Frawley,  Lynn 
Overmann. 

Radio 

50  7 — F — ANNE  OF  GREEN  GABLES — CL — Anne  Shirley,  Tom 
Browne,  O.  P.  Heggie,  Helen  Westley,  Sara  Haden,  Murray 

Kinnell — Sell  the  book - 79m. - Nov. 

508 - F - KENTUCKY  KERNELS - F — Wheeler  and  Woolsey, 

Mary  Carlisle,  Spanky  MacFarland,  Noah  Beery,  Lucille  La- 

Verne - Comedy  hit - 89m. - Nov. 

509 — F - BY  YOUR  LEAVE - CD - Frank  Morgan,  Genevieve 

Tobin,  Neil  Hamilton,  Marion  Nixon,  Glenn  Anders — Some 
laughs — 79m. — Oct. 

5  1  0 - F - WEDNESDAY’S  CHILD - D - Edward  Arnold,  Karen 

Morley,  Frankie  Thomas,  Jr. - To  be  sold - 70m. - Oct. 

511  - F - GRIDIRON  FLASH - CD - Eddie  Quillen,  Betty  Fur¬ 
ness,  Grant  Mitchell,  Robert  McWade - Seasonal - 62m. - Nov. 

512  - F - THE  LITTLE  MINISTER — CL - Katherine  Hepburn, 

John  Beal,  Andy  Clyde,  Alan  Hale,  Bervl  Mercer,  Lundsen 
Hare,  Reginald  Denny - Fine - 108m. - 2-Dec. 

513  - F - SILVER  STEAK - AD - Sally  Blane,  Charles  Starrett, 

Hardie  Albright,  William  Farnum,  Irving  Pichel — Exploitation 
opportunity— 86m. - 1  -Dec. 

5  1  4 - A - WOMAN  IN  THE  DARK - MD - Fay  Wray,  Melvyn 

Douglas,  Ralph  Bellamy,  Roscoe  Ates - Strictly  melodrama - 

68m. - 1  -Dec. 

5  15 - F - RED  MORNING - MD — Regis  Toomey,  Steffi  Duna, 

Raymond  Hatton,  George  Lewis - Familiar - 60m. - Nov. 

516 —  F — WEST  OF  THE  PECOS — AD — Richard  Dix,  Martha 

Sleeper,  Fred  Kohler,  Louise  Beaver,  Maria  Alba - High  rating 

action  drama - 68m. - 1 -Dec. 

517 —  F — LIGHTNING  STRIKES  TWICE — C — Ben  Lyon,  Pert 

Kelton,  Thelma  Todd,  Laura  Hope  Crews,  Chic  Chandler, 
Walter  Catlett,  Skeets  Gallagher — Weak - 65m. - Nov. 


39 


THE  CHECKUP 


518  F — ROMANCE  IN  MANHATTAN — CD — Francis  Lederer, 

Ginger  Rogers,  Arthur  Hohl,  Jimmy  Butler — Nice  program — 
77m. - 1  -Dec. 

519  _ F _ GRAND  OLD  GIRL — CD — May  Robson,  Fred  Mac- 

Murray,  Mary  Carlisle,  Etienne  Girardot,  Hale  Hamilton,  Alan 
Hale,  Gavin  Gordon - Decidedly  okay - 78m. - 2-Dec. 

520  _ A - ENCHANTED  APRIL - CD - Ann  Harding,  Frank 

Morgan,  Reginald  Owen,  Katherine  Alexander,  Ralph  Forbes, 
Jane  Baxter,  Jessie  Ralph - Sell  names - 82m. - 2-Dec. 

- QUALITY  STREET - Katherine  Hepburn. 

_ THE  BLIND  ROAD - Preston  Foster,  William  Collier,  Jr., 

Felvyn  Douglas,  Lile  Lee,  Shirley  Grey,  Roscoe  Ates,  Herbert 
Rawlinson. 

- ROBERTA - MU - Irene  Dunne,  Fred  Astaire,  Ginger  Rog¬ 
ers,  Helen  Westley,  Victor  Varconi,  Randolph  Scott,  Adrian 
Rosley. 

_ VANITY  FAIR — COD — Miriam  Hopkins,  Charles  Richman, 

Frances  Dee. 

- TOP  HAT - MU - Fred  Astaire,  Ginger  Rogers. 

_ MURDER  SONG - C - Wheeler  and  Woolsey,  Betty  Grable. 

- A  DOG  OF  FLANDERS - Frankie  Thomas,  Jr. 

— PRINCESS  CHARMING — Anne  Shirley 
- LADDIE - John  Beal. 

— PUZZLE  OF  THE  PEPPER  TREE — James  Gleason,  Edna 
May  Oliver,  Gregory  Ratoff,  Gene  Lockhart,  Sleep  ’N’  Eat. 

- CAPE  COD - James  Barton,  Helen  Mack,  Helen  Westley. 

United  Artists 

- A — PRIVATE  LIFE  OF  DON  JUAN - COD — Douglas  Fair¬ 
banks,  Merle  Oberon,  Benita  Hume - Plenty  to  sell - Oct. 

— A — WE  LIVE  AGAIN — D — Anna  Sten,  Fredric  March,  Sam 
Jaffe — Impressive — 84m. — Oct. 

— F — KID  MILLIONS — MU — Eddie  Cantor,  Ethel  Merman, 

Ann  Sothern,  Block  and  Sully - Ace  click - 91m. - Nov. 

_F— THE  MIGHTY  BARNUM— CD— Wallace  Beery,  Janet 
Beecher,  Adolphe  Menjou,  Virginia  Bruce,  Rochelle  Hudson, 
— Ace  Hit — 102m. — Aug. 

- A - NELL  GWYN - COD - Anna  Neagle,  Cedric  Hardwicke 

- Restricted - 75m. — Aug. 

— THE  RUNAWAY  QUEEN — COD — Anna  Neagle,  Ferdi¬ 
nand  Graavey. 

- CHARLES  CHAPLIN  No.  5 - C - Charles  Chaplin,  Paulette 

Goddard. 

- CLIVE  OF  INDIA - MD - Ronald  Colman,  Loretta  Young, 

— THE  SCARLET  PIMPERNEL— COD— Leslie  Howard, 
Merle  Oberon,  Joan  Gardner,  Nigel  Bruce,  Raymond  Massey. 

- CONGO  RAID — MD - Leslie  Banks,  Paul  Robeson,  Nina 

McKinney. 

- BREWSTER’S  MILLIONS - F - Jack  Buchanan,  Lili  Damita. 

- THE  CALL  OF  THE  WILD— MD - Clark  Gable,  Fay  Wray. 

- LES  MISERABLES - CL - Fredric  March. 

— CARDINAL  RICHELIEU — COD — George  Arliss. 

— FOLIES  BERGERE  DE  PARIS — MU — Maurice  Chevalier, 
Merle  Oberon,  Olin  Howland,  Walter  Byron,  Eric  Blore,  Gil¬ 
bert  Emery. 

- WEDDING  NIGHT - Anna  Sten,  Gary  Cooper,  Helen  Vin¬ 
son,  Ralph  Bellamy. 

Universal 

7003 - A - IMITATION  OF  LIFE - D - Claudette  Colbert,  Warren 

William,  Ned  Sparks,  Rochelle  Hudson,  Alan  Hale,  Paul  Por- 

casi,  Henry  Armetta - Comedy  drama - 118m. - Nov. 

8008 — F— NIGHT  LIFE  OF  THE  GODS— C — Peggy  Shannon, 
Alan  Mowbray,  Florine  McKinney,  Richard  Carle,  Gilbert 

Emery,  Henry  Armetta — Must  be  sold  heavily - 79m. - 2-Dec. 

8020— F— STRANGE  WIVES— CD— Roger  Pryor,  June  Clay- 

worth,  Esther  Ralston,  Hugh  O’Connell,  Ralph  Forbes - So-so 

- 79m. - 1  -Dec. 

8022 A— CHEATING  CHEATERS CD— Fay  Wray,  Cesar 

Romero,  Francis  Sullivan - So-so - 67m. — Nov. 

8028 —  A— THE  MAN  WHO  RECLAIMED  HIS  HEAD — D— 
Claude  Rains,  Joan  Bennett,  Lionel  Atwill,  Baby  Jane,  Henry 

O’Neill,  Wally  Ford,  Henry  Armetta - Must  be  ballyhooed — 

80m. - 2-Dec. 

8029—  F— GREAT  EXPECTATIONS — CL— Henry  Hull,  Jane 

Wyatt,  Phillips  Holmes,  Florence  Reed,  Alan  Hale - More 

prestige  for  Universal - 99m. - Nov. 

8033 — F — SECRET  OF  THE  CHATEAU— MY— Claire  Dodd, 

Alice  White,  Jack  LaRue,  Helen  Ware,  Osgood  Perkins - 

Weak — 7  0m. — Oct. 

8082 — F — WHEN  A  MAN  SEES  RED — W— Buck  J  ones,  Dorothy 
Revier - Okay - 60m. —  1  -Dec. 

40. 


8003 — THE  GOOD  FAIRY — CD — Margaret  Sullavan,  Herbert 
Marshall,  Alan  Hale,  Frank  Morgan. 

8024 — MYSTERY  OF  EDWIN  DROOD — MD — Claude  Rains, 
Heather  Angel,  Douglass  Montgomery. 

8025 - I’VE  BEEN  AROUND - CD - Chester  Morris,  Rochelle 

Hudson,  Ralph  Morgan,  Isabel  Jewell. 

8032 — DANGEROUS  GENTLEMAN  —  MD  —  Charles  Bickford, 
Helen  Vinson,  John  Darrow,  Onslow  Stevens,  Dudley  Digges. 
8036 — STRAIGHT  FROM  THE  HEART — CD — Mary  Astor,  Roger 
Pryor,  Baby  Jane. 

— LIFE  RETURNS — D — Onslow  Stevens,  Lois  Wilson,  George 
Breakston,  Stanley  Fields. 

— RENDEZVOUS  AT  MIDNIGHT — MD — Ralph  Bellamy, 
Valerie  Hobson. 

— TRANSIENT  LADY — Henry  Hull,  Gloria  Stuart. 

Miscellaneous 

— F— MURDER  IN  THE  MUSEUM— MY — Henry  B.  Walthall, 
Phyllis  Barrington,  Johnny  Harron — Average  murder  stuff — 
60m. — July. 

- A— TOMORROW’S  CHILDREN - D - Diane  Sinclair,  Ster¬ 
ling  Holloway,  John  Preston,  Sara  Padden — Exploitation  op¬ 
portunity — May. 

- F - FIVE  BAD  MEN - W - Noah  Beery,  Jr.,  Bill  Patton,  Pete 

Morrison,  Buffalo  Bill,  Jr.„  Sally  Dolling,  Wally  Wales - Sat¬ 

isfactory  western — 60m. — Nov. 

— F— THE  SILVER  BULLET— W— Tom  Tyler,  Jane  Regan. 
Lafe  McK  ee - Average - 5  6m. - Nov. 

— F— THE  BRAND  OF  HATE— W— Bob  Steele,  Lucille 

Brown,  William  Farnum - Okay  western - 63m. - 1 -Dec. 

- F - THE  HOUSE  OF  DANGER— MY— Onslow  Stevens, 

James  Bush,  Janet  Chandler — Usual  mystery  murder — 62m. — 
I  -Dec. 

_F— FRONTIER  DAYS - W - Bill  Cody,  Ada  Ince,  Wheeler 

Oakman,  Bill  Cody,  Jr. — Riproaring — 61m. —  1 -Dec. 

_A— WITHIN  THE  ROCK— D— Lila  Lee,  Creighton  Chaney, 

Edmund  Breese,  Lafe  McKee — So-so - 65m. - I -Dec. 

—A— TICKET  TO  A  CRIME - MY— Ralph  Graves,  Lola 

Lane,  Lois  Wilson,  Charles  Ray - Familiar - 64m. - 2-Dec. 

- A - DEALERS  IN  DEATH — Compilation  of  material  deal¬ 
ing  with  armament  problems - Front  page - 68m. - 1-Dec. 

- A - THE  MAN  OF  COURAGE - RD— Tale  of  the  new  Italy 

and  the  rise  of  Mussolini -  Timely - 93  m. - 2 -Dec. 

— F — THE  FIGHTING  TROOPER— AD— Kermit  Maynard, 

Charles  Delaney,  Leroy  Mason,  Barbara  Worth - Okay - 59m. 

- 2-Dec. 

—THE  COWBOY  AND  THE  BANDIT— W— Rex  Lease,  Wil¬ 
liam  Desmond,  Bobby  Nelson,  Wally  Wales,  Victor  Potel, 
Ben  Corbett,  Jeanette  Morgan,  Lafe  McKee,  Art  Mix. 

Foreign 

- A - BROKEN  MELODY - D - John  Garrick,  Merle  Oberon, 

Margot  Grahame,  Austin  Trevor  (British) So-so — 67m. 

Nov. 

- F - ARE  YOU  A  MASON?— F - Sonnie  Hale,  J.  Robertson 

Hare,  Davey  Burnaby  (British) - Missout - 76m. - Nov. 

— A - AUTUMN  CROCUS - D - Ivor  Novello,  Fay  Compton 

(British) - Class - 7  1  m. - Nov. 

—A— CRIME  ON  THE  HILL— MY— Sally  Blane,  Sir  Nigel 

Playfair,  Anthony  Bushell  (British) - Two  Names — 61m. - 

Nov. 

_A— FREEDOM  OF  THE  SEAS— CD— Zelma  O’Neill,  Cliff 

Mollison,  Wendy  Barrie  (British) - Average  Importation - 

75m. - Nov. 

— A — LOYALTIES — D — Basil  Rathbone,  Heather  Thatcher, 
Miles  Mander,  Philip  Strange  (British) — Restricted — 73m. — 
Nov. 

_F— THE  YOUTH  OF  RUSSIA— CD — Tale  of  Jewish  Life- 
Okay  for  Jewish  Trade - 65m. — Nov. 

_A— SCOTLAND  YARD  MYSTERY— MY— Sir  Gerald  Du 

Maurier,  George  Curzon,  Belle  Crystal  (British) - Sell  the 

title — 7  0m. — Nov. 

— A — MADAME  BOVARY — D — French  cast  in  French  drama 

with  English  titles - Restricted - 98m. - 1-Dec. 

— A — 3  SONGS  ABOUT  LENIN — D — Russian  film  paying 

homage  to  Lenin - Art  Stuff - 64m. - 1-Dec. 

- A - THE  BATTLE - D - Charles  Boyer,  Merle  Oberon, 

Betty  Stockfield,  John  Loder - Impressive - 84m. - 1 -Dec. 

_F— WALTZ  TIME  IN  VIENNA— MU— Willy  Fritsch,  Renate 
Muller - For  restricted  list - 74m. - 1 -Dec. 


Decl5'34  pg.  41 


'\us 


U, 


"2L 'he  ISAotton  Picture  Theatre  Owners 

of  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jer¬ 
sey  and  Delaware  {incorporated! 

Sljnntglj  its 

CHARLES  SEGALL 
President 


HAROLD  D.  COHEN 
MICHAEL  H.  EGNAL 
Vice-Presidents 


MIKE  LESSY 
Treasurer 


MARCUS  A.  BENN 
Financial  Secretary 

GEORGE  P.  AARONS 
Executive  Secretary  and  Counsel 


BOARD  OF  MANAGERS 


MORRIS  SPIERS,  Chairman 
EDWARD  A.  JEFFRIES 
ABE  SABLOSKY 
LEONARD  SCHLESINGER 
J.  LUKE  GRING 
MIKE  LESSY 


MORRIS  GERSON 
FRED  LEOPOLD 
MORRIS  HANDLE 
JOSEPH  CONWAY 
J.  I.  HOFFMAN 
LOUIS  M.  FELT 


LEWEN  PIZOR,  Honorary  Member 


extends  the  Greetings  of  the  Holiday  Season 
and  Best  Wishes  for  1935  to  all  friends  in 
the  film  industry. 


Decl5'34  b.c. 


Confidence 

•  4  years  of  Ross  Federal  Service  to  the 
motion  picture  industry  has  proven  one  main  point — that  an  unbiased 
system  of  checking  theatre  receipts  has  a  definite  place  in  the  merchan¬ 
dising  of  motion  pictures. 

Confidence 

•  And  now  the  same  quality  of  Ross  Federal 
Service  is  being  called  upon  by  the  largest  national  advertisers  in  the 
country  in  market  research. 

Confidence 

•  To  the  national  advertiser,  market  research 
means  constant  field  work  in  checking  the  effectiveness  of  advertising — 
quality  of  dealers — why  consumers  do  or  do  not  purchase  advertised 
products,  etc.,  etc. 

Confidence 

•  Ross  Service  has  conducted  more  than 
200,000  inquiries  into  the  value  of  radio  programs  to  national  advertisers 
—  as  to  whether  or  not  radio  is  a  good  medium  for  advertisers  —  and 
what  programs  are  being  accepted  or  rejected  by  the  listeners. 

.  We  point  with  pride  to  the  partial  list  of 
our  national  advertising  clients,  appended — only  their  confidence  in  our 
ability  to  render  authentic  and  satisfactory  service  would  attract  such  an 
array  of  important  concerns  to  Ross  Federal  Service. 


FORD  MOTOR  COMPANY 

OLDS  MOTOR  WORKS 

CHEVROLET  MOTOR  COMPANY 

COLUMBIA  BROADCASTING  SYSTEM 

NATIONAL  BROADCASTING  COMPANY 

SHEPARD  BROADCASTING  COMPANY 

DON  LEE  BROADCASTING  COMPANY 

RADIO  STATION  WGN 

RADIO  STATION  WREN 

TIME,  INCORPORATED 

TOPICS  PUBLISHING  COMPANY,  INC. 

CONDE-NAST  PUBLICATIONS 

CHICAGO  TRIBUNE 

SCOTT  PAPER  COMPANY 

BROADCASTING  ADVERTISERS 

GILLETTE  SAFETY  RAZOR  COMPANY 

WILLIAMSON  CANDY  COMPANY 

EARL  LUDGIN  ADVERTISING  AGENCY 

DILLER  &  FISHER 

MAXON,  INCORPORATED 

FRIGIDAIRE  CORPORATION 

GULF  REFINING  COMPANY 

CHARLES  W.  WRIGLEY  COMPANY 

McMANUS-JOHN-ADAMS 

MORSE  INTERNATIONAL,  INCORPORATED 

VICK  CHEMICAL  COMPANY 

GENERAL  ELECTRIC  COMPANY 

YOUNG  &  RUBICAM,  INC. 

HOMMANN,  TARCHER  &  SHELDON,  INC. 
HUYLER'S 

AMERICAN  TRUSTEE  SHARE  CORPORATION 
STANDARD  OIL  CO.  OF  NEW  JERSEY 
KROGER  FOOD  FOUNDATION 
H.  W.  KASTER  &  SONS,  ADV.  CO. 

CHARLES  M.  STORM  COMPANY 
W.  H.  RANKIN  &  COMPANY 
RUTHRAUFF  &  RYAN, INCORPORATED 
McCANN-ERICKSON,  INC. 

PITTSBURGH  PRESS 
LOW  CHEMICAL  COMPANY 
PARK  &  TILFORD 

STACK-GOBLE  ADVERTISING  AGENCY 

CAMPBELL-EWALD 

REGISTER-TRIBUNE,  DES  MOINES 

ATLANTIC  ADVERTISING  AGENCY 

CHRYSLER  MOTOR  COMPANY 

THOMAS  LIPTON  &  SON 

N.  W.  AYER  &  SON 

DONOVAN-ARMSTRONG 

LIBERTY  MAGAZINE 

MOTOR  MAGAZINE 

CROWELL  PUBLISHING 

JOHNS-MANVILLE 

GENERAL  ELECTRIC 

FORTUNE  MAGAZINE 

AMERICAN  DRUG  ASSOCIATION 

RADIO  STATION  WMAC 

RADIO  STATION  WTOC 

INDIANAPOLIS  TIMES 

NORGE  CORPORATION 

NATIONAL  PETROLEUM  NEWS 

KELVINATOR 

ST.  LOUIS  GLOBE  DEMOCRAT 
JAMES  G.  LAMB 

EDISON  ELECTRIC  ILLUMINATING  CO. 
ALFRED  J.  ROONEY 


Ross  Federal  Service,  Inc. 

H.  A.  ROSS,  President 

Executive  Offices  .  .  .  Six  East  Forty-Fifth  Street,  New  York 


Scanned  from  the  collection  of 

Karl  Thiede 


Coordinated  by  the 
Media  History  Digital  Library 
www.mediahistoryproject.org 


Funded  by  a  donation  from 
Richard  Scheckman