Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-01-25

parties. Men and women are be-
ing kidnapped, or trapped by the
sight of gold-great bags Of gold
one of the Warner Brothers
Jumps upon his trusty Steed, after
grabbing his bag of gold; ht
dashes over the Hollywood land
scape, Jumps his horse over the
barred gate of the Paramount
studio, bangles his money bag be-
fore the eyes of a star! Then
amid the clash of steel and the
Jingle of cash, the star is hipno-
tized! He or she cannot take the
eve from the money bag! The
victim follows the raider; and
back in the Warner studio an
other chalk mark signifies defeat
of a competitor!
The raiders are abroad in Holly
wood. Already, Ruth Chatterton
and william Powell have been
captured, and the attention Of the
chief of staff, Will Hays, has been
called to the matter. The West
Coast reports that the entire pro-
duction center is in "a state OF
tension. the like of which has not
been witnessed around the studios
in many years"
The whole trouble comes about
through the fact that Warner
Brothers and Paramount have
crossed swords, and open warfare
has turned into a series of raids
upon the stars. There has been,
during the past few years, a sort
of "gentleman'S agreement" in
this matter of stars contracts.
That is, one production company
was not supposed to angle for an
others star unless that particular
star had signif1ed his or her in
tention of Severing connection
with the old outfit But some
companies have been more lucky
than others, or some companies
have been able to sign a larger
number of stars. So, Warner
Brothers and Paramount, not be-
ing on the best of terms, have is
sued a declaration of war. The
brothers started raiding the star
camp of the enemy. Up to the
present date they have captured
Chatterton and Powell, and they
have only started to fight.
It is natural in case Of this
sort to call for the aid of Mr.. Hays,
who is supposed to settle all diff
ferenceS between the producing
companies but Will is in a guam
Diary. go action can be taken, -
he says, against Warner Broth
erS for taking Chatterton and
Powell 1rom Paramount, because
no formal agreement exists be-
tween members of the Producers
Association. OF course, there was
this informal understanding, and
heretofore IL has been understood
that the producers were working
together under the usual business
ethics There is not a word in
the Hays regulations. concerning
.star stealing according to word
from the Warner Brothers studio,
and it has been indicated that the
raiding will be carried to great
lengths.
The real reason for the battle
between the, two companies is said
to go back TO the. theater Situa-
ton. There have been bitter
struggles between Paramount and
Warner Brothers in strategic
spots over theater competition
during the past few months, and
this warfare has finally reached
the production units themselves
1t is announced that Ruth Chat
terton will not leave the Para
mount organization until Septem-
Der /, 1881, when her contract ex-
pireS. The Warner Brothers are
planning to give her special pub
licity, and they announce that she
has signed a five-year contract.
A MOTHER bit of news concerns
that sterling screen actor
Emil Jannings. The big German
is coming back to America to
make pictures, and he has signed
a new contract with Paramount
When the talking pictures finally
found their place in the amuSe-
ment world, Jannings decided
that his knowledge of the English
language was not sufficient for
his participation. Therefore, he
went back to his homeland, carry
ing an agreement to star in some
of the German talkieS.
He was Sorely missed in this
country, but he turned out to be
a magnet for German theateI
audiences. Then came that Blue
Angel" and the cry for Jannings
to come back to Hollywood. He
is scheduled to arrive within the
next few months, and his first
talking picture will be 1.-THE Man
I Killed" written by Maurice
Rostand Phillips Holmes has
been selected for the leading
juvenile role, and the picture will
be directed by Ernst Lubitsch.
k
THE City of Cleveland, Ohio, is
starting, next month, the
showing of motion pictures in the
city hall This new venture is
being watched with considerable
interest, and the picture pro-
ducerS are delighted that mu-
nicipality should take such inter-
est in a movement of this kind
According to the city's announced
policy, only the so-called epic
pictures. which usually do not fare
overly well in the regular thea
tiers, but for which a special
audience exists, will be exhibited
The producers claim the move
"adds another pillar of prestige tc
the civic appreciation of the
screens value" Anyway, Cleve-
land is the originator of the idea
and other cities and towns viii
watch the venture. There has
been no announcement of the
first picture to be exhibited by the
city.
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