Evening star., 1927-04-24


ing alarmed eyes toward the
reported affiliation of the tre-
- mendous interests OF PublIX,
Metro -Goldwyn-M Mayer and United
Artists, the three powerful theater-
operating and distributing companies.
The outcome Of such an afiliation
would shut out the United Artists
product to competitive chains and
independent operators and would
inevitably drive other national dis
tributors into an opposing theater
chain. Tins might result in the for
nation Of two giant distributing and
producing organizations, forcing the
independent exhibitors from the
field
The deal around which the three
powerful companies are 10 merge
calls for the taking over OF all United
Artists product exclusively by PubhN
for hrst-run and subsequent show
ings throughout the United States
and Canada for a period of 10 years.
The independent producers and
exhibitors bring out a rather sound
argument against such mergers
They claim that the result will be
ain inferior grade OF pictures; that
there will be strife on all sides; that
stage presentations on a lavish scale
will be featured, and that finer the
aters will be constructed to draw
the public's mind from the mediocre
photopIavS. The minute, they
say, that too much attention IS
paid to the theater and too little TO
The product to be offered there, just
so soon does the business structure
OF the undertaking begin to grow
weak at the knees"
Another merger mentioned IS that
Of the Stanley interests, First Ma
tional and p. d. c., which draws III
the Pathe organization
But all the combinations do not
interest the movie fans; they want
bigger and better pictures. The
combined interests may give them
inferior produCts-but not for a
great length of time,
*
THE bubbHng ideas of the press
agent sometimes act as boom
erangs, for such was the case re-
Gently in Boston, where much ei-
fort and originality was expended in
the advance advertising OF the photo
play, "McFadden's Flats" Just to
show that he was on the Job, the
press agent caused to be struck off
a large number of one-sheet posters
which read Wanted-5,000 brick
layers, 1000 hodcarriers and 1000
plumbers. Apply 10 McFadden's
Flats"
The big hitch in the ambitious
scheme of things came when officials
of the transit company complained
that their Offices were being be-
sieged by unemployed, all ready to
60 10 work and demanding the
whereabouts Of "McFadden's Flats.
AS a consequence, the posters were
removed, after many attempts TO ex-
plain the strange and peculiar ways
of press agents for the motion pic
tures
a SOCIETY with the sole object
4 = OF perpetuating the memory OF
Rudolph Valentino has been or
ganized in London. 1t is called the I
Valentino Memorial Guild and. has
adopted as its motto, "Toujours |
fdele7 always faithfully. The note
paper OF the society bears a letter
N surrounded by laurel wreath.
The guild was founded last August |
and the membership runs into the
hundreds, with applications coming |
in from countries all over the globe. |
The president OF the organization |
states that the purpose of the guild |
B Ito defend the memory OF Mr.. |
valentino and induce the reshowing |
Uf the pictures by this great artist |
End gentleman"
From Italy comes the news that |
young Italians who aspire to be- the |
successors OF Nalentino-and they
are quite numerous-have been vic
tinized by a fake school in Florence.
FOUR directors" of the school
have been placed in dark, deep
dungeons.
@THANG," the adventure movie
~ which is creating so much talk.
was made IN the northern juugles
OF Siam by two camera men, Ernest
Z. Schoedsack and Merriam Cooper,
The same men, by the way. who pro-
duced Grass Both of the camera
men served during the World War.
Schoedsack in the Signal Corps and
Cooper in the Air Service.
IT is reported that Warner GLAND
L has been given the leading role
in the new Mary Roberts Rinehart
story, What Happened to Father"
which is scheduled for early produc-
tion at the Warner studios. The
direction will be in the hands ofJohn
Adolphi, and work will start as soon