The Washington times., 1929-08-07

Theater win have completed its
first year under q straight pic
tute policy and / divulge no
state secrets when / set the
news down that the handsome
house on the northeast corner
of Thirteenth and E Streets
winds up the most profitable q
months since its doors were
opened to the amusement pub
lie.
The success of the Earle Thea
ter is really one of the major
achievements of the John J.
Payette dynasty in the ruling
house Of Warner Brothers. With
pictures and good vaudeville
the theater was consistently "in
the red" Last September the
stage shows were abandoned
and good feature films with a
program Of supplementary
screen shorts inaugurated. The
box-office climb was immediate
and has been consistently sus-
tanned.
OF course Mr.. Breeskin viii
tell you land / agree with him
Enthusiastically music had
something to do with it. Bree-
skin music, in my humble judg-
ment, offers one of the strong
est arguments why the canned
melody will never replace the pit
orchestra.
The Earle Theater is just
about rs yards removed from
Washington's main movie high
way. An entrance and lobby on
F Street would add at least
100000 a year to the Earle re-
ceipts according to theater
sharps who know what they are
talking about. Still, even with
out it, the theater has gone
ahead and provided programs
that lured patrons down the
Thirteenth Street incline. It
really entities all concerned to
wear a feather in the Stetson.
provided, of course, wearing
feathers is fashionable.
The actual physical merger of
the Fox-Loew enterprises is said
to be very near with one CEN
trail organization running things.
A holding company with an ex-
change and distribution of stock
will mark the move which makes
William Fox the actual movie
king of the world.
They are already beginning to
speculate on who will be victims
and Irving Thalberg, the $4,000
a week Metro Goldwyn executive
is said to be the first big gun
whose head will fall in the bas-
ket when Winnie Sheehan begins
to WELD the axe. Norma Shearer
(Mrs Thalberg) is slated to be
let out also. Sheehan, multi
millionaire ex-newspaper man, as
right bower for William Fox,
will be the head ak man.
In New York city Paramount
has already started to dicker
with the M-G-M and Loew high
er-ups, which it desires, and the
industry is buzzing with inside
politics chiefly concerned with
holding on or marching upward
in the consolidation.
One organization will function
in Washington for the three Fox
theaters, but not a word is yet
forthcoming on the proposed
changes.
Whether the Rialto Theater on
Ninth Street will reopen next
month under the regime of Uni
versal Pictures has been put up
to the Musicians Union. At
least President Hayden has been
informed that if the organized
music makers will make definite
concessions as t. the number of
men to be employed in the
orchestra the Rialto will relight.
Under the old agreement II
men was the minimum assigned
by the union for the film theater
with the capacity of the Rialto.
When Universal reopened the
house this spring, the union con-
ceded three seats, making the
minimum IA. Now a minimum
of nine men is sought. The pro-
posal has been taken under ad-
visement, but with the interna-
tional policy to hold every seat
possible the prospects of
further concession are not allur-
ing.
The theater bases its argu-
ment for a curtailed orchestra
entirely upon the synchronized
films, which provide the mechan-
ical accompaniment.
Uncle AL Jolson has just be-
come part owner of the new
Aqua Caliente race track across
the border in Mexico. He also
plans to pix up a bang tail or
two and campaign for the stake
purses this winter. Al wants an
entry for the Aqua Caliente
Handicap and the Coffroth. He
expects to close a deal for his
horses at Saratoga. where the
cream of the country's fast
thoroughbreds is now racing.
4 When his wife, Ruby Keller,
is fully recovered, they will quit
the $25, 900 year apartment in
the Ritz Tower for California
and Ruby will make her debut
in the talking pictures.
The latest Jolson feature for
Vitaphone, "Say It With Songs"
opened last night in New York
and is due to be shown here at