The Man Who Made the Movies

by Vanda Krefft

  645 “God knows which side is right”: Transcript, 23.

  645 “I probably said, ‘Dear God’”: Ibid., 24.

  645 On April 8, 1930 . . . “as dispassionately”: William Fox to the Stockholders of Fox Film Corporation and Fox Theatres Corporation, Apr. 8, 1930, in “Answer of William Fox to ‘Open Letter’ of Halsey, Stuart & Co. of Mar. 24, 1930 and to Statement and Affidavit of Winfield R. Sheehan,” 3, 13, HTC.

  645 “sinister figure”: Ibid., 3.

  645 “maze of falsehoods”: Ibid.

  645 “ridiculously false”: Ibid., 6.

  645 “grossly misleading”: Ibid., 9.

  645 pretending to be “angels”: Ibid., 5.

  645 “inordinate conceit”: “Answer to Sheehan Affidavit,” in “Answer of William Fox to ‘Open Letter’ of Halsey, Stuart & Co. of Mar. 24, 1930 and to Statement and Affidavit of Winfield R. Sheehan,” 17, HTC.

  645 “beggar on horseback”: Ibid., 15.

  646 “every tie of decency”: Ibid., 25.

  646 on Saturday, April 12 . . . extended stay: “Fox to Sail for South America,” New York Morning Telegraph, Apr. 9, 1930, 1.

  646 water cure in Germany: “Breakdown of Wife’s Health Prompted Fox to Sell ‘B’ Stock, Friends Declare,” MPN, Apr. 12, 1930, 16.

  646 Atlantic City for about seven weeks: Nelson B. Bell, “Behind the Screens,” WP, June 19, 1930, 9.

  646 Telegrams sent . . . unanswered: “No Units Dubbed Fox for William Via Clarke Deal,” MPN, May 10, 1930, 13.

  646 Returning to New York . . . June: Bell, “Behind the Screens,” June 19, 1930, 9.

  646 “It is almost inconceivable”: Ibid.

  646 Fifty-five million dollars . . . Fox Film notes: “Fox Film To Offer $55,000,000 Notes,” NYT, Apr. 30, 1930, 37.

  646 underwritten by Halsey, Stuart: Ferdinand Pecora statement, SEPH, Part 8, at 3649; Halsey, Stuart ad, MPN, May 3, 1930.

  646 Chase Securities . . . brokerage houses: “Says Financing Saved Fox Film,” WSJ, Nov. 23, 1933, 10.

  647 433,000 new shares of GTE: Transcript, 570–72.

  647 money would be repaid . . . $27 million: “Chase’s Film Loss,” NYT, Nov. 23, 1933.

  647 “If it had not been for the Chase”: “Chicago Banker Tells of Fight to Obtain Fox Film,” Cohoes American (Cohoes, NY), Nov. 22, 1933.

  647 On January 6, 1930 . . . personal real estate holdings: Committee Exhibit No. 175, Fox Film Corporation to Albert H. Wiggin, Jan. 6, 1930, SEPH, Part 8, at 3729–30.

  647 “the indebtedness of the Fox Film”: Committee Exhibit No. 179, A. J. Schmidlapp to William Fox, Jan. 8, 1930. SEPH, Part 8, at 3764.

  647 its lawyers to take action: Ibid.

  647 The next day, the Chase Bank . . . county clerk: “Judgment Is Filed Against Fox Films,” WP, Jan. 31, 1930, 4.

  648 discounted anti-Semitism . . . failed to help: Transcript, 313–14.

  648 since the early 1920s: “Financial Notes,” NYT, Dec. 20, 1924, 24.

  648 $400 million worldwide holding company: “H. L. Clarke Abroad to Add to Utilities,” NYT, July 4, 1930, 26.

  648 $20 to $65 within nine weeks: “Says Fox Sold Film Holdings for $15,000,000,” Baltimore Sun, Nov. 22, 1933.

  648 six private corporations: Ferdinand Pecora, Wall Street Under Oath, The Story of Our Modern Money Changers (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1939), 147–49.

  648 totaling $11.8 million: Maury Klein, Rainbow’s End, The Crash of 1929 (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001), 171. Most of Wiggin’s trading was in Chase Bank stock, and between 1928 and 1932, he personally reaped more than $10.4 million in profits from those transactions. By contrast, the Chase Securities subsidiary that fronted on the deals wound up with only a $159,000 profit (Pecora, Wall Street Under Oath, 151–53).

  648 also participated in the trading pools: Klein, Rainbow’s End, 171.

  648 July 9 and September 18, 1929: Ibid.

  648 Shermar reaped nearly $800,000: “Senators Study Bankers’ Fight For Fox Films,” WP, Nov. 23, 1933, 2.

  649 $1 million settlement: “Seligman Found Correct on Tax,” WSJ, Nov. 29, 1933, 2.

  649 “we have made mistakes”: Albert H. Wiggin testimony, SEPH, Part 5, at 2281.

  649 five directors . . . Murray W. Dodge: “Says Fox Sold Film Holdings for $15,000,000”; “H. L. Clarke to Head Theatres Equipment,” NYT, July 15, 1929, 39; Murray W. Dodge testimony, SEPH, Part 7, at 3468.

  649 world’s largest corporation: “World’s Biggest Corporation,” Fortune, Sept. 1930, 37.

  649 $4.25 billion in assets: Ibid., 38.

  649 20.1 million phones . . . 100,000: Ibid., 39. The phone company owned 15.5 million phones and did business with connecting companies that owned another 4.5 million phones.

  649 tightly regulated . . . unlimited profits: Ibid., 39–40.

  649 fire insurance company president: “$100,000,000 Fund for Fox Companies,” NYT, Apr. 18, 1930, 1.

  650 failed for $12 million in 1923 and was suspended: Ibid., “Oscar L. Gubelman, Banker 40 Years,” NYT, Oct. 11, 1940, 21.

  650 prominent stock market operator: Ferdinand Pecora statement, SEPH, Part 8, at 3760.

  650 Brush—“careful, cunning, smiling”: Transcript, 611.

  650 “tremendous” profits . . . rewarded with a Fox Film directorship: Ibid., 611–12.

  650 Sheehan, usually stayed in Los Angeles: William Fox testimony, SEPH, Part 8, at 3766.

  650 Fox Theatres, new board members: “$100,000,000 Fund for Fox Companies,” 1.

  650 In state court . . . wrongful transfers of assets: “Call Fox Financing ‘Fraud’ in Lawsuit,” NYT, Apr. 22, 1930, 27.

  650 In federal court: “Minority Widens Fox Film Action,” NYT, Apr. 26, 1930, 17.

  650 Halsey, Stuart refinancing plan . . . without any explanation: Ibid.

  650 not really permanent financing: Ibid.

  650 Berensons received . . . Theatres: “Will Subpoena Fox Records,” WSJ, Nov. 25, 1933, 9.

  650 Lazarus also withdrew: “Act to End a Fox Suit,” NYT, Apr. 30, 1930, 37.

  650 Kresel . . . got $50,000: William Fox testimony, William Fox testimony, SEPH, Part 8, at 3753.

  650 Hughes, Schurman & Dwight . . . $500,000: “Will Subpoena Fox Records,” 9.

  651 $130,000 a year under Fox: “Fox Relates His Version of Film Control Battle,” CDT, Apr. 13, 1930, 16.

  651 new five-year contract . . . to $500,000: Transcript, 229.

  651 $1.8 million, compared to the $625,000: Ibid.

  651 around June 1930: William Fox to Upton Sinclair, July 8, 1932, 6, US-MSS.

  651 at $150 a week: Ibid.

  651 increased from $52,000: Transcript, 426.

  651 $130,000 a year: Winfield Sheehan to Sol Wurtzel, May 27, 1930, “Sol Wurtzel Contracts,” FLC.

  651 “pour the greatest amount of money”: “Five Year Pacts For Sheehan and ‘Jimmy’ Grainger,” MPN, Apr. 26, 1930, 22.

  CHAPTER 47: THE METER READER AND THE BANKER

  652 “This marks the first time”: Willard Howe, “Where Goes Fox Film Under Harley L. Clarke?” Motion Picture Review and Theatre Management, June 1930, 37.

  652 forty-seven-year-old: Ibid., 9.

  652 who met Clarke shortly after: Transcript, 599.

  652 “This man is cold”: Ibid., 602.

  652 “Neither Clarke nor”: Victor Mansfield Shapiro oral history, Feb. 2, 1967, 428. Folder 9, Box 7, VMSP.

  653 only clean pictures . . . guaranteed to make money: Howe, “Where Goes Fox Film Under Harley L. Clarke?” 37.

  653 Ingagi . . . sensational business: “Hollywood Notes,” Close Up, Sept. 1930, 219; “56 Ingagi Prints,” Variety, Apr. 23, 1930, 10; “Ingagi’s 31 Grand Shatters Record in K.C.,” MPN, June 7, 1930, 132; “Ingagi Tops ’Em All in Oklahoma City, Does $7,000,” MPN, July 19, 1930, 36.

  653 almost all its $430,000: Aubrey Solomon, The Fox Film Corporation, 1915–1935: A History and Filmography (Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, 2011), 155.


  653 biggest hit of 1931: Ibid.

  653 remakes and sequels proliferated: Ibid., 152.

  654 $868,000 cost and lost $94,000: Ibid., 155.

  654 “admitted antiquity”: East Lynne review, FD, Nov. 1, 1925, 5.

  654 spent $734,000 and lost $57,000: Solomon, The Fox Film Corporation, 1915–1935, 149.

  654 “It has no relation”: East Lynne review, National Board of Review Magazine, Mar. 1931, 10.

  654 virtually flawless: The Big Trail review, The International Photographer, Nov. 1930, 43.

  654 began filming on April 18, 1930: William Crawford telegram to E. P. Kilroe, Apr. 17, 1930, in “Big Trail Correspondence,” FLC.

  654 total $1.76 million: Solomon, The Fox Film Corporation, 1915–1935, 148.

  654 more than Fox Film had ever spent: “Fox Expected to Make Films Abroad; Coast Convention Set; 48 in Line-Up,” MPN, May 24, 1930, 99.

  654 four months . . . seven western states: “Filming The Big Trail,” NYT, Oct. 26, 1930, X6.

  654 ninety-three actors in important speaking: “Raoul Walsh Selects a Novice to Play Lead in The Big Trail,” Hollywood Filmograph, Apr. 26, 1930, 21.

  654 20,000 extras . . . three bear cubs: “The Big Trail—(Highlights),” 4, in “Big Trail, Story and Production,” FLC.

  654 Chinese Theatre . . . October 2, 1930: Philip K. Scheuer, “New Hit Made By Wide Film,” LAT, Oct. 5, 1930, B13.

  655 at the Roxy . . . October 24, 1930: Quinn Martin, “The New Films,” New York World, Oct. 25, 1930. Quoted in Fox Film ad, Variety, Oct. 29, 1930, 42.

  655 “most important picture”: Fox Flm ad, The Big Trail, EH-W, Oct. 18, 1930, 13.

  655 “a rich credit”: Martin, “The New Films.”

  655 “a vivid record”: Irene Thirer, “The Big Trail Roxy Victory,” New York Daily News, Oct. 25, 1930. Quoted in Fox Film ad, Variety, Oct. 29, 1930, 42.

  655 $945,000 . . . losing more than $1 million: Solomon, The Fox Film Corporation, 1915–1935, 148–49.

  655 theaters were in desperate straits: James L. Limbacher, “How Old Is the Wide-Screen Idea?” International Projectionist, July 1956, 26.

  655 spend a record $200 million: “Movies First in June,” Fortune, July 1930, 107.

  656 pay out $5 million: “A Huge Plant to Center in Combined Lot,” WP, June 29, 1930, A3.

  656 appropriated $20 million: “$9,000,000 Spent by Fox on Improvement of Houses Since May,” EH-W, Nov. 8, 1930, 15.

  656 $9 million had been spent: Ibid.

  656 45 percent of the circuit: “Making Dark Houses Pay,” Variety, July 16, 1930, 3.

  656 $7,000–$8,000 projectors: “Talking Shop on Wide Film,” FD, Feb. 23, 1930, 11.

  656 new screen . . . projection booth: Nelson B. Bell, “The Fader, It Appears, Is One of the Lesser Worries,” WP, Sept. 29, 1929, A2.

  656 only eighteen: “Making Dark Houses Pay,” 3.

  656 miniature golf courses, at a cost of $25,000 each: “Country Clubs Inside and Golf,” Variety, July 16, 1930, 3.

  657 threatened to file a receivership lawsuit: Otto E. Koegel testimony, Trial transcript, Sept. 16, 1932, 171. Alfred C. Blumenthal vs. Albert M. Greenfield, et al., in the District Court of the United States for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. NARA-PHL.

  657 Fox was probably bluffing: Ibid.

  657 might vindictively dump them: Third Circuit Court of Appeals, Opinion, Jan. 12, 1934, 4. Alfred C. Blumenthal vs. Albert M. Greenfield, et al., in the District Court of the United States for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. NARA-PHL.

  657 $2.8 million in GTE one-year notes: Otto E. Koegel testimony, Trial transcript, Sept. 16, 1932, 172. Alfred C. Blumenthal vs. Albert M. Greenfield, et al., in the District Court of the United States for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. NARA-PHL.

  657 Fox also hounded Clarke . . . company’s books: Transcript, 564.

  657 $500,000 without Fox’s knowledge: Ibid.

  657 phony 10 percent commission: Ibid., 566.

  649 might drop the Grandeur format: “Wide Film Declared Out,” Variety, May 7, 1930, 5.

  657 never make another Grandeur movie: Limbacher, “How Old Is the Wide-Screen Idea?” 26.

  658 “It would have given them the finest”: Transcript, 168.

  658 rather than raise John Wayne’s salary: John Tracy to Sol Wurtzel, Mar. 7, 1931; John Tracy to Harry Reinhardt, Mar. 10, 1931, “John Wayne Correspondence,” FLC.

  658 Ford too expensive at $3,000: “3 Directing Teams Replace John Ford At Fox—Drawing but Half His Salary,” Variety, Nov. 3, 1931, 2.

  658 six would-be directors . . . two writers: Ibid.

  658 Bogart . . . with Victor McLaglen as a comedy act: A Devil with Women review, FD, Oct. 19, 1930, 10.

  658 “You know, Fox, I have enough”: Transcript, 424–25.

  658 summer of 1930 in Europe, negotiating: “H. L. Clarke Abroad to Add to Utilities,” NYT, July 4, 1930, 26.

  659 “always a volatile tycoon”: Allvine, The Greatest Fox of Them All, 142.

  659 “[I]n the mornings, he used to”: Ibid., 80.

  659 late May 1930: Winfield R. Sheehan deposition, 5. Florinda Gardner v. Fox Film Corporation, in Equity, No. 10708, District Court of the United States, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, “Oregon Trail Contracts 985,” FLC.

  659 “shrewd and able”: “Visits to the Great Studios,” New Movie Magazine, Nov. 1930, 50.

  659 without interest, in $2,000 weekly installments: Winfield Sheehan to Sol Wurtzel, July 10, 1930, “Sol Wurtzel Contracts,” FLC.

  659 Wurtzel was supposed to receive: Transcript, 426.

  659 close the Western Avenue studio: Howe, “Where Goes Fox Film Under Harley L. Clarke?” 37.

  660 “guiding genius”: “The Big Trail—(Highlights),” 7, in “Big Trail Story and Production,” FLC.

  660 “finger has ever been”: Ibid.

  660 had nothing to do with the movie: Winfield R. Sheehan deposition, 4, Florinda Gardner v. Fox Film Corporation.

  660 never even spoken to director Raoul Walsh: Ibid., 6.

  660 Sol Wurtzel, Sheehan now said: Ibid., 11.

  660 standing next to Walsh: Small prints folder from core production photo file of The Big Trail (1930), Caption title, “Film Executive on The Big Trail.” MHL.

  660 head of Fox Film’s maintenance department: “Fox Films [sic] Sign Many New Contracts,” Hollywood Filmograph, May 10, 1930, 18.

  660 movie’s business manager: “The Big Trail—(Highlights),” 5. “Big Trail, Story and Production,” FLC.

  660 four hundred more tons of alfalfa hay: “Statement of Mr. G. L. Bagnall,” 9, 10. “Oregon Trail Contracts 985,” FLC. (On p. 5 of the same statement, Bagnall says two hundred tons were undelivered, but at a price of $18.50 per ton, the correct number must have been four hundred.)

  660 Ben took the entire $7,400: “Statement of Mr. Godfrey J. Fischer,” 2. “Oregon Trail Contracts 985,” FLC; “Statement of Mr. G. L. Bagnall,” 10. “Oregon Trail Contracts 985,” FLC.

  660 how they could possibly eat so much: “Statement of Mr. G. L. Bagnall,” 5. “Oregon Trail Contracts 985,” FLC.

  660 “I had constructed this company”: William Fox testimony, SEPH, Part 8, at 3776.

  661 every theater . . . evaluated individually: Transcript, 580.

  661 only one board meeting for each company: William Fox testimony, SEPH, Part 8, at 3775–76.

  661 new regime was fully competent: William Fox to Upton Sinclair, July 13, 1932, 3, US-MSS.

  661 “No, they didn’t need any advice”: Transcript, 547.

  661 “And I wrote many times”: William Fox testimony, SEPH, Part 8, at 3777.

  661 eight new sound stages: “Biggest Fox Year Seen by Sheehan,” NY Morning Telegraph, Apr. 16, 1930, 1.

  661 all of which had to be ordered: “A Huge Plant to Center in Combined Lot,” A3.

  661 forty Grandeur cameras from the J. M. Wall Machine: “Fox’s Order of 40 Grandeur Cameras,” Variety,
May 21, 1930, 11.

  661 a GTE subsidiary: “Gen’l Theatres Status Defined,” WSJ, Mar. 2, 1932, 5.

  661 three previously purchased Grandeur cameras: Hal G. Evarts, “Log of The Big Trail,” 22; “Oregon Trail Contracts 985,” FLC.

  661 had just built . . . largest such facility: “Fox’s Order of 40 Grandeur Cameras,” 11.

  662 $7,000–$8,000 apiece: “Talking Shop on Wide Film,” 11.

  662 new executive vice president . . . National Theater Supply: “Changes Are Made In Fox Executives,” WP, May 9, 1930, 7.

  662 Under Fox, no theater manager: Transcript, 577.

  662 “It was all purchased”: USPWF, 317.

  662 theater managers became responsible: Transcript, 577.

  662 “One theater manager came to me”: Ibid.

  662 he would be fired: Ibid.

  662 Consequently, although he had . . . “plus 15 percent”: Ibid.

  662 Fox Theatres executive . . . competitive bidding: Ibid., 601.

  662 Clarke made him cancel . . . 15 percent markup: Ibid.

  662 none of them needed it: William Fox to Upton Sinclair, July 9, 1932, 1, US-MSS.

  662 “terrific” argument, Franklin said: Transcript, 659.

  662 only $65,000 . . . 10 percent profit participation: “Warner, RKO Bids for Franklin Is Report; Arthur to Direct Fox Chains?” MPN, Sept. 27, 1930, 21.

  663 Franklin had gotten that contract . . . Hayden, Stone: Transcript, 658.

  663 net profits of $3.5 million: “Warner, RKO Bids for Franklin Is Report,” 21.

  663 obliterated if Franklin spent: Transcript, 659.

  663 only if the expense didn’t reduce: William Fox to Upton Sinclair, July 9, 1932, US-MSS.

  663 bought out . . . contract for $500,000: William Fox to Upton Sinclair, July 9, 1932, 1, US-MSS.

  663 remaining seventeen months: “Oldknow Directs West Coast As Harold B. Franklin Resign,” EH-W, Sept. 27, 1930, 23.

  663 “a most stupid” . . . “best executives”: Ibid., 2.

  663 went on to RKO: Transcript, 661.

  663 “arrogant monopoly” . . . “much as ever”: “Movie Stars Fight Fox Chain in West,” NYT, Nov. 7, 1930, 32.

  663 armories, and halls: “Joe Schenck Opens Fight on Fox West Coast as ‘Monopoly’,” EH-W, Nov. 8, 1930, 17.

  663 “old-time actors”: “Fox Replies to Artists,” NYT, Nov. 8, 1930, 20.