BANKS AND HOLLYWOOD

Evening Star, Issue 21092, 3 May 1932, Page 10

BANKS AND HOLLYWOOD

HO SUPPORT UNLESS BETTER PICTURES The big American banks who have £43,000,000 invested in tho film industry, have delivered something like an ultimatum to Hollywood. _ The only salvation for the industry, they declared, is the production of really good pictures. This conclusion was reached by representatives of twelve banking concerns, headed by the Chase and the Guaranty financial groups of New York, after discussing for seven hours_ in private means for protecting their invested money. , . , . With the exception of Mr _ Irving Thalberg and Mr Louis B. Mayer, of the Metro-Gold wyn-May er concern, every producer was marked down tor what was described as an efficiency investigation.” It was decided that Hollywood must be rid of incompetent executives drawing preposterous salaries. Millions of dollars, it was said, were wasted by them every year. Mr liialberg and Mr Mayer were considered to be among the f&w producers making films which proved box-office attractions. ~ . ~ The Metro-Gold wyn-May or studio received more praise for good work this year than any of the others. One of Mr Thalberg’s clever moves has been the putting of two and three stars in the same picture who hitherto have . been too “ temperamental to work together. ■ Hard times have changed the attitude of the players, writes a correspondent in the ‘ Daily Mail. Examples of the now policy include Miss Marion Davies and Mr Clark Gable in ‘ Polly of the Circus,’ and Miss Greta Garbo, Miss Joan Crawford, Mr Lionel Barrymore, Mr Clark Gable, Mr Wallace Beery, and Mr Buster Keaton all cast for ‘ Grand Hotel,’ under the direction of Mr Edmund Gouldmg, an Englishman. The bankers’ edict resulted in the biggest conference yet held of • him chiefs, conferring at Los Angeles on salary and other reductions. Warner Bros, acted first by announcing salary cuts of 40 to 60 per cent, six months after previous big reductions, and by discharging hundreds of employees. Tho only three stars at the Warner Studios, not affected are Miss Ruth Chatterton, Mr Richard Barthelmcss, and’ Mr William Powell, who are considered good attractions, according to Messrs Warner Bros., but the fact is that they were only recently recruited from the Paramount Organisation by the offer of bigger salaries, and they laughed at the suggestion of a reduction in their terms so soon. Film directors, actors, writers, and technicians are all accepting the cuts because they are threatened that unless they do so they risk losing everything when the option for extending their present contracts arc discussed later on. Tho film studios have agreed to act together to blacklist any disloyal ” people who stand out. ‘Hollywood is facing rum, declares Mr David Selznick, who at the ago oi thirty, was recently appointed chief of the Radio-Kcith-Orphcum Studios. Retrenchments must go tar beyond salary reductions, lie assorts, _if tho industry is to be saved from disaster. To make an average 7,000 ft film, he says, about 125,000 ft to 150,000 ft of negative is now used, and this extravagance must end. Mr Ernest Lubitsch and Dir Lewis Milestone take only two or three shots each of a scene, while most other directors take eight or ten

shots, thus wasting expensive film and using more electricity and electricians’ time. Fortunes have boon made and lost during tho present chaos. Mr Adolph Zukor, Mr Lasky, and Mr Sclmlbcrg were in a big stock pool together, .but have lost practically everything. Air Zukor recently told Dir Joseph Von Sternberg that he is now a poor man, relying mostly on his salary as president of the Paramount organisation. Mr William Fox ami Dir Arthur Loew arc estimated to have mane more than £10,000,000 by selling film stocks which they hope to repurchase at a lower figure. 1