The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-10-30
LONG RUN FILM
SURE T0STAE,
|SBEL|EF
Closing OF Great LasEy Plant
Said to Hetoken End OF
/ Program Picture"
By WILLIAM PARKER,
cosuopolltan News Service Staff
. r@--~~naAHarak


Correspondent
eCopyright. 1923. by Cosnopolitan News
Service.)
HOLLYWOOD. Cal, Oct. So.-Big
pictures with long runs, it was the
consensus of opinion in Hollywood
film circles today, caused the nuge
plant Of the Famous PlayerS-L asky
Corporation to close down for an
indefinite period, varying from
'iabout ten weeks" to a problematical
date.
approximately 1000 persons are
affected. The payroll at the big
studio here averaged $4,000 weekly.
It was q dismal Christmas prospect
FOR. these hundreds Of people. very
few OF whom are said to have saved
any money.
THE announcement Of Jesse L.
1asly, first vice president Of the
corporation, came as a thunderclap
to the motion picture industry, for
there was not the slightest intima.
ton that the studio, which covers
two city blocks, might close. How
ever, the corporation has completed
it, 1928 production program.
= Seen As Turning Point.
The closing of the Lasly and sew.
eral other studios here is viewed by
Tim men generally rs the definite
turning point from what Is called
the program picture" to bigger
pictures and longer runs" The
Lasl<y plant had been working on a
schedule Of fifty-two pictures
year. It became q problem Of out
let, for the big theaters throughout
the country couldn't absorb one pic
t1re each week. The Los Angeles
downtown theater situation will II.
lustrate this. The California theater,
enc OF the biggest here, has been
playing Little Old New York
starring Marion Davies for the last
i've weeks; the Criterion Theater
has had "a Woman Of Paris"
Charlie Chaplin's picture, for five
weeks; Grauman's Egyptian Thea
ter has been playing THE Covered
Wagon" for six. months; Grauman's
Hialto Theater played Enemies of
Women" for many weeks: THE
Co1rtship of Miles .StAndish" has
been at Grauman's Million Dollar
Theater four weeks. and ''If Winter
Comes at Tally's Theater, four
weeks.
$4,000, 900 Tied Up.
) There is said to Be fully $4,000
OQp tied up in unreleased film pro-
auctions.
Several prominent producers. IN
terviewed today by Cosmopolitan
News Service, counteracted the clos
ing Of the Lasky plant with op.
timisttc statements. Briefly, their
statements follow:
ABRAHAM LEHR, general man.
ager the Goldwyn Studio: THE
Goldwyn Studios will not close. Two
companies are now working and
two are preparing to start produc-
ton. There is q natural lulu now
because we do make as many pic.
lures as possible during the summer
months.''
JOHN MCCORMICK. West coast
Representative Associated First Ma.
donal Pictures, Inc: First Ma
tional viii expend $500, 900 within
the coming two months for pictures.
Eight big productions, one of which
10 to cost 100000. are being pre-.
pared for production. Norma Tai
madge started work yesterday on
her new picture, Secrets The
swamp <AuSS1s Win colleen moore,
Is In production; Maurice Tourncur
starts tomorrow on Torment and
Corinne Griffith is scheduled to
begin work Monday in Lilies Of the
Field"
r. G. Plant Shut Down.
Announcement was made at the
Fobertson-Cole Studio that p. A.
Powers had resigned as president
and general manager Of that com.
pany and that active production
would be resumed shortly with
Major II. c. S. Thompson as presi.
dent. This studio was practically
closed down three months ago. only
one company, The Fighting Blood
serial, with George O'Hara, has been
in production. Several hundred
actors and actresses were thrown
out OF work when the r. C. plant
shut down.
The B. P. Schulberg Studio closed
several weekseRg having recently
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