The Man Who Made the Movies

by Vanda Krefft

  697 crooked connections: P. E. Foxworth memo to J. Edgar Hoover, Apr. 22, 1939, 6, 19–20, microfilm edition of FBI Confidential files, “The U.S. Supreme Court and Federal Judges Subject Files,” edited by Alexander Charns (Bethesda, MD: University Publications of America).

  697 fixed dishonest deals for Manton: Ibid., 19–20.

  697 double-print patent was valid . . . damages: “William Fox Wins Point in Tri-Ergon-Para. Suit,” Hollywood Reporter, June 5, 1934, 1.

  698 October 8, 1934 . . . Court denied: Decree on Mandate, Oct. 23, 1934, 1. ATE-APT.

  698 “Film Boys in Jitters”: “Film Boys in Jitters,” New York Telegraph, Oct. [date unclear] 1934. (William Fox clipping file, FSC.)

  698 “virtually the sole dictator”: Ibid.

  698 “can crack the whip”: Ibid.

  698 sued six movie companies: “Fox’s Tri-Ergon Company Sues 6 Talkie Firm,” CDT, Oct. 18, 1934, 30.

  698 thirty patent infringement lawsuits . . . film laboratories: “Supreme Court Smashes Fox Hope of New Empire,” MPH, Mar. 9, 1935, 9–10.

  698 nationwide collection agency: “Supreme Court Halts Fox Tri-Ergon Attack,” 9.

  698 a big mistake: George Wharton Pepper, Philadelphia Lawyer: Autobiography of George Wharton Pepper (Philadelphia and New York: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1944), 371.

  698 brief waiting period . . . to reconsider: Ibid.

  698 write the petition . . . Mitchell: “Memorial on William DeWitt Mitchell,” 6. (minnesotalegalhistoryproject.org.)

  698 “coerce substantially”: “Asks New Ruling on Movie Patents,” NYT, Nov. 3, 1934, 20.

  698 one person would completely dominate: Pepper, Philadelphia Lawyer, 371.

  699 invalidated . . . so commercially valuable: Ibid.

  699 reversed . . . without explanation: Felix Frankfurter and Henry M. Hart Jr., “The Business of the Supreme Court at October Term 1934,” Harvard Law Review 49, no. 1 (Nov. 1935): 90.

  699 agreed to review the Tri-Ergon cases: “Supreme Court Agrees to Review Patent Case,” MPD, Nov. 6, 1934, 1.

  699 last time . . . had been in 1928: Ibid., 2.

  699 only when there was a conflict in the lower court: Frankfurter and Hart, “The Business of the Supreme Court at October Term, 1934,” 90.

  699 prevented from pressing his seventeen lawsuits: “Supreme Court Agrees to Review Patent Case,” 1.

  699 “Hope you didn’t spend”: “Supreme Court Halts Fox Tri-Ergon Attack,” 9.

  699 prepare the Supreme Court brief . . . oral argument: Pepper, Philadelphia Lawyer, 371.

  699 technically valid and “highly meritorious”: Ibid.

  699 instantly that he had lost: Ibid., 371–72.

  699 “I have argued in some chilly” Ibid., 371.

  699 March 4, 1935, the Supreme Court invalidated: “Supreme Court Rules Against Tri-Ergon In Patent Suit,” WSJ, Mar. 5, 1935, 1.

  699 Brandeis abstaining: “Fox Loses $100,000 Suit,” New York Sun, Mar. 4, 1935.

  699 vote was unanimous: “Court Invalidates Fox Film Patents,” NYT, Mar. 5, 1935, 14.

  699 two cases, written by Justice Harlan F. Stone: “Fox Loses $100,000 Suit.”

  699 “ancient mechanical devices”: “Supreme Court Smashes Fox Hope of New Empire,” 9.

  699 “novelty and invention”: Ibid., 11.

  700 application was denied: “William Fox Loses Plea,” NYT, Apr. 3, 1935, 21.

  700 Tri-Ergon patents were worthless: They would not remain entirely so. On Feb. 18, 1937, American Tri-Ergon applied for a reissued patent with modified claims; this was granted on Jan. 11, 1938, and in Oct. 1946, RCA and American Tri-Ergon reached an agreement to grant rights to RCA under both the original and reissue patents (Edward W. Kellogg, “History of Sound Motion Pictures, Second Installment,” JSMPTE, July 1955, 363).

  700 belonged to the company: Dan Thomas, “In New York with Thomas,” Los Angeles Post Record, Nov. 6, 1934. (William Fox clipping file, FS.C)

  700 substitute another device: “Supreme Court Halts Fox Tri-Ergon Attack,” 9.

  700 alternate “vertical cut” method: Finn, “The Industry Re-Discovers Mr. Fox and Tri-Ergon,” 8.

  700 “you can look for a struggle”: Edwin Schallert, “Court Decision Like Bomb in Hollywood,” LAT, Oct. 14, 1934, A1.

  CHAPTER 50: ALONE

  701 wouldn’t have taken the job: “20th Century-Fox Merger Is Approved,” MPD, Aug. 16. 1935, 11.

  701 director of safety . . . known during his days: Allvine, The Greatest Fox of Them All, 90.

  701 Reilly eavesdropped . . . stupid and greedy: Ibid., 91.

  701 sue for criminal libel: Ibid.

  701 McIntyre was fired: “D. E. McIntyre Dies in East,” LAT, Dec. 28, 1932, A8.

  701 June 15, 1932, Sheehan returned: “Film Work Resumed by Sheehan,” LAT, June 15, 1932, A1.

  701 threw himself out the window: “D. E. McIntyre Dies in East,” A8.

  701 Three years of strife: “Sheehan Resigns as Fox Film Chief,” NYT, July 18, 1935, 15.

  701 Lasky as head of production: Jesse L. Lasky to Jesse Lasky, Jr., Mar. 25, 1932, 1. JLLP.

  702 canceled Sheehan’s unilateral authority: “Fox ‘Errant’,” HR, June 9, 1934, 92.

  702 “delayed and delayed”: Oral History of Robert D. Webb © 1971, 46. Courtesy of AFI.

  702 drank heavily . . . camel’s hair coat: James Wong Howe statement, the Films of Erich von Stroheim Oral History © 1971, 6–7. Courtesy of AFI.

  702 “I am sick of motion pictures”: “Farrell to Flee ‘Society’ Films,” unidentified publication, Mar. 26, 1933. (Charles Farrell clipping file, MHL.)

  702 couldn’t make payroll . . . volunteered to defer: Oral History of Henry King © 1972, 11. Courtesy of AFI.

  702 $3 million against a cost of $1.1 million: “Twentieth Century–Fox,” Fortune, Dec. 1935, 85.

  702 slashing . . . cancel $38 million: “Fox Film Reorganization Is Completed,” NYT, Aug. 22, 1933, 25. As a result of the reorganization, Fox Film’s outstanding Class A shares were reduced from 2,425,660 to 404,276 and the outstanding Class B shares from 99,900 to 16,650. Then the authorized Class A shares were increased to 2.8 million. Bank loan and debenture creditors agreed to accept one Class A share in exchange for $18.90 of indebtedness.

  702 “functioning better”: “Fox Showmanship News” ad, FD, June 20, 1934.

  703 profit of $853,668 . . . $8.4 million: “Fox Film’s $853,668 Net Reflects Result of Financial Reorganization,” MPH, Mar. 24, 1934, 13.

  703 net profit of only $1.27 million: Fox Film Corporation Annual Report, 1934, 3. Columbia University, Thomas J. Watson Library of Business and Economics.

  703 mother of a Fox Film extra . . . “out of here”: “Overwhelmingly Approve 20th Century-Fox Merger,” MPD, Aug. 16. 1935, 6.

  703 saw porters and attendants with their feet: Ibid.

  703 “The only active gentleman”: Ibid.

  703 replaced General Theaters: “Twentieth Century-Fox,” Fortune, Dec. 1935, 85.

  703 best physical facilities: Ibid., 130; Douglas W. Churchill, “Alarums and Excursions in the Film City,” NYT, June 2, 1935, X3.

  703 owned no land: “Fox-20th Century Deal Approved, But Still Awaits Court Order,” MPH, Aug. 24, 1935, 40.

  703 twenty features, only two: “Kent Details the Advantages of 20th Century-Fox Film Merger,” Variety, Aug. 21, 1935, 26.

  703 2.5 times their average negative cost: “Fox-20th Century Deal Approved, But Still Awaits Court Order,” 40.

  703 $1.7 million . . . $1.8 million: “Twentieth Century–Fox,” 93.

  704 “major bombshell”: Churchill, “Alarums and Excursions in the Film City,” X3.

  704 August 15 special meeting: “Fox Stockholders Vote for Merger,” FD, Aug. 16, 1935, 1.

  704 On July 16 . . . nearly $430,000: S. R. Kent to Winfield R. Sheehan, July 16, 1935, 1–2. “Winfield Sheehan Personal Correspondence,” FLC.

  704 irrevocable proxy . . . in favor: S. R
. Kent to Winfield R. Sheehan, July 16, 1935, 3–4. “Winfield Sheehan Personal Correspondence,” FLC.

  704 13,000 Fox Film A shares: “Kent Details the Advantages of 20th Century-Fox Film Merger,” 4.

  704 Nine days . . . stay the merger: “Action by Mrs. Eva Fox to Block Merger Follows 21 Million Suit,” MPH, Aug. 17, 1935, 35.

  704 “recklessly exorbitant”: “Merger Stay Again Denied For Mrs. Fox,” MPD, Aug. 29, 1935, 4.

  704 $36 million . . . $4 million: “Twentieth Century–Fox,” 93.

  704 judge ruled . . . good faith: “Supreme Court Squashes Third Attempt to Prevent Fox Merger,” MPH, Aug. 31, 1935, 25.

  704 owned about 72 percent: “Sheehan Will Get $375,000 Under Settlement With Fox,” MPD, Aug. 26, 1935, 1; “Supreme Court Squashes Third Attempt to Prevent Fox Merger,” 25.

  705 2.42 million Class A shares: “Fox Merger Voted; Court Still to Act,” NYT, Aug. 16, 1935, 23; Fox Film Corporation Annual Report, 1934. Columbia University, Thomas J. Watson Library of Business and Economics.

  705 Hayden, Stone and White, Weld & Co.: “Action by Mrs. Eva Fox to Block Merger Follows 21 Million Suit,” 35.

  705 more than 2 million . . . fewer than 2,000: “Fox Merger Voted; Court Still to Act,” 23.

  705 “finest deal ever”: “20th Century-Fox Merger Is Approved,” 11.

  705 fewer than one hundred: “Fox Stockholders Vote for Merger,” 6.

  705 “There has been a bad smell”: “Name Change an Asset and Will Remove ‘Bad Smell,’ Says Kent,” MPD, Aug. 16. 1935, 6.

  705 “Dillinger’s lieutenant”: “$50,000 Plot Against Fox of Movies Bared by Arrest,” CDT, Aug. 24, 1934, 3.

  705 pair of . . . skull-and-crossbones: “Mrs. Fox Tells Jury of Threat Against Family,” Brooklyn Citizen, Oct. 29, 1934, 1; “Fox to Testify In Extortion,” BDE, Oct. 30, 1934, 1.

  705 two Fox grandsons . . . $50,000: “Chauffeur Denies Fox Kidnap Threat; Movie Magnate’s Wife Takes Stand,” Nassau Daily Star, Oct. 30, 1934, 1.

  705 neatly printed . . . “excess of”: “Fox to Testify In Extortion,” 1.

  705 misplaced periods: “Monnier Defense to Call Experts,” Nassau Daily Star, Dec. 12, 1934, 1.

  705 nine: Born Mar. 15, 1925.

  705 seven: Born Nov. 18, 1926.

  705 “as easy as young Lindbergh”: “Fox to Testify In Extortion,” 1.

  705 postcard arrived: “Hewlett Man Held in Kidnap Threat Asking $50,000 of William Fox,” Nassau Daily Star, Aug. 24, 1934, 1.

  705 private guards . . . three times: “Kidnaping Threat Reported Received By Movie Magnate,” Nassau Daily Star, July 30, 1934, 1.

  705 trap was set . . . trail went cold: “Hewlett Man Held in Kidnap Threat Asking $50,000 of William Fox,” 1; “Mrs. Fox Tells Jury of Threat Against Family,” 1; “Fox Kidnap Case Weighed by Jury,” New York Sun, Oct. 31, 1931.

  705 diminutive . . . unemployed chauffeur: “Chauffeur Denies Fox Kidnap Threat; Movie Magnate’s Wife Takes Stand,” 1.

  706 apply for a job . . . to Eva: Ibid.

  706 former employer . . . Wall Street brokerage: “Chauffeur Denies Fox Kidnap Threat; Movie Magnate’s Wife Takes Stand,” 1; “Fox Kidnap Case Weighed by Jury.”

  706 gatekeeper . . . off the property: “Chauffeur Denies Fox Kidnap Threat; Movie Magnate’s Wife Takes Stand,” 1.

  706 in the nose: “Hewlett Man Held in Kidnap Threat Asking $50,000 of William Fox,” 1.

  706 wide loops . . . capital M: “Monnier Defense to Call Experts,” Nassau Daily Star, Dec. 12, 1934, 1.

  706 black silk dress . . . glasses: “Chauffeur Denies Fox Kidnap Threat; Movie Magnate’s Wife Takes Stand,” 1.

  706 deadlocked . . . seven to five: “Jurors Disagree in Monnier Trial,” Nassau Daily Star, Nov. 1, 1934, 1.

  706 three months in a federal detention center: “Monnier Cleared in Kidnap Threat,” Nassau Daily Star, Dec. 15, 1934, 1.

  706 couldn’t afford to pay the $25,000: “Threat to Mrs. Fox traps a Suspect,” NYT, Aug. 24, 1934, 34.

  706 most powerful woman in the world: “Rosika Schwimmer Dead at Age of 70,” NYT, Aug. 4, 1948, 21.

  706 Oscar II . . . speedy end: “Peace Ark Starts; Ford is Buoyant,” NYT, Dec. 5, 1915, 1.

  706 reportedly spent $500,000: “Autocratic Leader Split Ford’s Party,” NYT, Jan. 31, 1916, 2.

  706 against Schwimmer . . . anti-Semitic rants: “Rosika Schwimmer Dead at Age of 70,” 21.

  706 twenty times as many movie tickets: USPWF, 213.

  707 never met: Henry Weinberger to Elaine Sanders, Apr. 22, 1937. Box 491, RSP.

  707 “an arch-hypocrite” . . . libel lawsuit: “Fox and Sinclair Sued,” NYT, Oct. 12, 1933, 32.

  707 dismissed the case without a trial: “Peace Lecturer Loses,” NYT, Feb. 18, 1934, 9.

  707 obsessed with the idea of meeting: Rosika Schwimmer to Henry Weinberger, Nov. 15, 1934. Box 491, RSP.

  707 to spy on him: Untitled typed document, June 29, 1935. Box 491, RSP.

  707 refused all contact: Harry Weinberger to Elaine Sanders, Apr. 22, 1937, Box 491, RSP.

  707 pay all the court costs: Hirsh, Newman, Reass & Becker to Harry Weinberger, Sept. 18, 1934, Box 491, RSP.

  707 “shut up in an asylum”: “In the Matter of Upton Sinclair, William Fox, and Rosika Schwimmer,” 6. Box 491, RSP.

  707 Hungary . . . sixteen months: “Rosika Schwimmer Dead at Age of 70,” 21.

  707 reputed Nazi organization: James E. Jenkins, “‘Nazi Base’ Found in Nassau; Swastika Parades Here Today,” Nassau Daily Star, Aug. 25, 1934, 1.

  707 Long Island’s South Shore: “Threatened Strife Over ‘Nazi March’ Averted in Nassau,” Nassau Daily Star, Aug. 27, 1934.

  707 Some sixty cars . . . Nazi salute: Ibid.

  707 “husky uniformed county”: Ibid.

  707 Dr. Menas Gregory . . . “always gruff”: Untitled typed document, June 29, 1935, “Schwimmer v. Fox & Sinclair, General Correspondence” Box 491, RSP.

  708 each with a gun: Ibid.

  CHAPTER 51: REVENGE

  709 $297,412.91 judgment: “William Fox Again in Film Court Limelight,” MPH, Sept. 21, 1935, 29.

  709 judgment . . . July 18, 1935: “Lawyer Named Fox Receiver,” New York Sun, Apr. 17, 1936.

  709 annual rent of $235,000: “Judgment Filed Against Fox on Theater Lease,” New York Herald Tribune, July 20, 1935.

  709 twenty-five-year lease: “Fox Plans Houses in Three Cities,” MPN, Feb. 20, 1926, 883.

  709 Fox’s . . . Pacific Theaters: “Goldenberg at ’Frisco Fox,” FD, Apr. 6, 1933, 2.

  709 take over . . . continued to lose money: Preston J. Kaufmann, Fox: The Last Word (Pasadena, CA: Showcase Publications, 1979), 273–75.

  710 top ticket price of twenty-five cents: “Goldenberg at ’Frisco Fox,” 2.

  710 refused to renegotiate: Kaufmann, Fox: The Last Word, 276.

  710 stopped paying the full rent: “Judgment Filed Against Fox on Theater Lease.”

  710 income beyond operating expenses: Kaufmann, Fox: The Last Word, 276.

  710 more than $25 million: “Bill Fox a Champ Litigant Whose Rep Is As a Generous Client; 20 Millions Pending, 5 Millions Fees,” Variety, Oct. 23, 1934, 6.

  710 twenty-two-room apartment: Meyer Berger, “About New York,” NYT, Feb. 11, 1957, 22.

  710 cut off the sixty-dollar-a-week: “Interrogatories Administered to William Fox,” Oct. 3, 1935, 6. F-F.

  711 “Better children than yours”: Angela Fox Dunn interview with the author.

  711 Hebrew Sheltering Guardian Society: Anne Williams interview with the author, Oct. 13, 2005.

  711 a year and a half: Ibid.

  711 in serious condition: William Fox testimony, Trial transcript, Aug. 5, 1941, at 1079. US-DK.

  711 October 1935 . . . Canada: J. J. Gallagher statement, Trial transcript, Aug. 5, 1941, at 1091. US-DK.

  711 Toronto General Hospital . . . Banting: Ibid., William Fox testimony, Trial transcript, Aug. 5, 1941, 1090–92. US-DK.


  711 “What are you grieving about”: Angela Fox Dunn interview with the author.

  711 morning rides . . . “sick man”: “Wm. Fox in Toronto,” Variety, Dec. 11, 1935, 4.

  711 October 1930 . . . $6.9 million: “In the Matter of William Fox, Bankrupt,” American Bankruptcy Review, Nov. 1936, 111.

  711 more than $8 million in losses . . . $1.5 million: “Wm. Fox,” Variety, Sept. 25, 1935, 17.

  711 no earlier than mid-1935: Borkin, The Corrupt Judge, 132.

  712 clue was the letter h . . . alleged trust deed: Ibid., 132.

  712 frequent erasures, corrections, and interlineations: “Fox Loses Point,” New York Sun, Aug. 18, 1936.

  712 his company, wholly owned: William Fox interview with William Gray, June 8, 1932, 6, US-MSS.

  712 remained in his name: “Fox Loses Point”; “Shifted Securities Are in Fox’s Name,” NYT, July 16, 1936, 35.

  712 gave Fox Hall to Eva on April 14, 1930: “Fox Is Questioned on Gifts Made in 1930,” NYT, Aug. 22, 1936, 18.

  712 threatening to file a lien: “Judgment Filed Against Fox on Theater Lease.”

  712 at one point, $350,000: William Fox testimony, Trial transcript, May 21, 1941, at 459. US-DK.

  712 discontinued their membership: Frances A. Hess e-mail to the author, Apr. 11, 2010.

  712 January 2, 1936 . . . second wife: “Michael Fox,” NYT, Jan. 3, 1936, 20.

  713 Fox returned to New York: “Receiver Is Named for Fox Property,” NYT, Apr. 18, 1936, 19.

  713 hired private detectives: Ibid.

  713 early October 1935: Ibid.

  713 found him on a train: “William Fox Held Guilty of Contempt,” NYT, Dec. 6, 1935, 31.

  713 Frankfort Junction . . . just within one hundred miles: “Lawyer Named Fox Receiver,” New York Sun, Apr. 17, 1936.

  713 subpoena requiring him . . . He didn’t: “William Fox Held Guilty of Contempt.”

  713 arrested and held in custody: “Court Orders Fox Seized Over Debt,” NYT, Feb. 21, 1936, 3.

  713 After foreclosing . . . $1.1 million: “Statement of William Fox,” (Part 2) Mar. 22, 1941, 2–3. Box 15, 118 Files, US-DKF.

  713 owed him money: Ibid., 3.

  714 $3.6 million . . . 1929 and 1930 tax returns: “$3,566,585 Tax Claim Is Filed Against Fox,” NYT, Sept. 20, 1935, 39.