The Man Who Made the Movies

by Vanda Krefft

  714 write off more than $8 million: Ibid.

  714 “in need of a shave”: “Losses High Aiding Films,” LAT, Mar. 26, 1936, 3.

  714 1932 to mid-1935 . . . $3.4 million: “F.C.C. Traces A.T.&T. Loans To Film Firms,” WP, Mar. 26, 1936, 7.

  714 at various studios: “Losses High Aiding Films,” 3.

  714 mostly flopped: “F.C.C. Traces A.T.&T. Loans To Film Firms,” 7.

  714 “unwise and unpractical”: “Gifford Regrets A.T.&T. Entry Into Film Field,” WP, Dec. 30, 1936, X8.

  714 Pennsylvania . . . Delaware: Walter H. Gahagan Jr. statement, Trial transcript, May 20, 1941, at 180. US-DK.

  714 Bourgeois and Coulomb: Gerald A. Gleeson and Francis W. Sullivan Statement, 10–11. Box 17, 118 Files, US-DK; William Fox testimony, Trial transcript, May 21, 1941, at 514. US-DK.

  714 first weekend . . . Traymore: “Government’s Exhibits,” Nos. 1 and 2, p. 1. Box 4, US-DK.

  715 older brother: David E. Kaufman testimony, “Grand Jury In Investigation into the Judicial Conduct of Judge J. Warren Davis,” transcript, May 8, 1941, at 1023. Box 13, 118 Files, US-DKF.

  715 David E. Kaufman . . . Buffington: “Government’s Exhibits,” 1. Box 4, US-DK.

  715 eighty-year-old: Born Sept. 5, 1855.

  715 only federal bankruptcy: “Statement of William Fox,” (Part 2), Mar. 22, 1941, 4. Box 15, 118 Files, US-DKF.

  715 only twice before: Morgan Kaufman testimony, Trial transcript, Aug. 19, 1941, at 2708. US-DK, NARA Philadelphia.

  715 gambling and prostitution rackets: “Final Appeal Lost by ‘Nucky’ Johnson,” NYT, Feb. 16, 1943, 11; “Official in Jersey Linked to Vice Case,” NYT, Nov. 17, 1937, 48.

  715 Kaufman called . . . legal book: “Robert E. Steedle—Personal,” 1. Box 17, 118 Files, US-DK.

  715 arm-twisted . . . hotel lobby: Ibid., 2.

  715 cancel the next day: Ibid., 2–3.

  715 watchful Capital Company detectives: “Detective Describes Meeting Between Fox And Kaufman at Shore,” PI, July 30, 1941.

  715 an hour and ten minutes: Ralph T. Piper testimony, Trial transcript, May 28, 1941, at 1550. US-DK.

  715 withdrawn $15,000 in cash: E. E. Seiwell testimony, Trial transcript, Aug. 1, 1941, at 680–83. US-DK.

  715 on May 28, 1936 . . . San Francisco Fox: “Bill Fox’s Bankruptcy,” Variety, June 3, 1936, 5, 26.

  715 $1.25 million judgment: “Statement of William Fox” (Part 2), Mar. 22, 1941, 2. Box 15, 118 Files, US-DKF. On June 2, 1936, that $1.25 million judgment was filed against Fox in favor of Chicago Title and Trust.

  716 final three payments on the Roxy Theatre: “Fox Wins Point in Suit Over Theater Deals,” CDT, Oct. 27, 1934, 23.

  716 On May 29, 1936 . . . declared bankruptcy: Government Exhibit 50, Trial transcript, Aug. 6, 1941, at 1110–11. US-DK.

  716 cash assets of $100: “William Fox Says He Is Bankrupt; New Suit is Filed,” MPH, June 6, 1936, 93.

  716 squandered $14 million . . . “some chemical company”: “Fox Assets in 1931 Put At $20,900,000,” NYT, June 23, 1936, 26.

  716 “the most amazing individual come-down”: “Bill Fox’s Bankruptcy,” 5.

  716 adjudicated bankrupt: Government Exhibit 50, Trial transcript, Aug. 6, 1941, at 1110–11. US-DK; “Inquiry Names Film Magnate, Federal Judge,” WP, Mar. 19, 1941, 7.

  716 debts . . . of more than $50,000: “Fox Settling Tax He Tells Court,” PEB, Jan. 21, 1942.

  716 Around the time: William Fox testimony, Trial transcript, May 20, 1941, at 300 and 361–62; “Robert E. Steedle—Personal,” 3–4. US-DK. Fox couldn’t remember whether Davis and Kaufman visited him shortly before or shortly after his bankruptcy filing.

  716 recently moved his family from the Claridge Hotel: William Fox testimony, Trial transcript, May 21, 1941, at 518. US-DK.

  716 leased house on Delancey Place: “Statement of William Fox” (Part 2), Mar. 22, 1941, 3. Box 15, 118 Files, US-DKF.

  716 facing the ocean: William Fox testimony, Trial transcript, May 20, 1941, at 361. US-DK.

  716 more than an hour: Ibid., 362.

  716 front lawn: Ibid., 361.

  716 listened sympathetically: Ibid., 367.

  716 promised to get Steedle to cooperate: “Statement of William Fox” (Part 2), Mar. 22, 1941, 4. Box 15, 118 Files, US-DKF.

  716 in mid-July: William Fox testimony, Trial transcript, May 20, 1941, at 375. US-DK.

  716 Kaufman returned . . . Could Fox lend Davis: Ibid., 375–76.

  717 due date or interest or collateral: Ibid., 304–5; “Statement of William Fox” (Part 2), Mar. 22, 1941, 7. Box 15, 118 Files, US-DKF.

  717 never return . . . never ask: “Statement of William Fox” (Part 2), Mar. 22, 1941, 7–8. Box 15, 118 Files, US-DKF.

  717 fifty- and hundred-: William Fox testimony, Trial transcript, May 21, 1941, at 522–23. US-DK.

  717 gave it to Kaufman: “Statement of William Fox” (Part 2), Mar. 22, 1941, 9. Box 15, 118 Files, US-DKF.

  717 “real money in it”: “Robert E. Steedle—Personal,” 4. Box 17, 118 Files, US-DKF.

  717 help Steedle get appointed: Ibid., 7–8.

  717 “wizard,” buy some stock for him: Ibid., 8.

  717 invited Steedle and his wife: Alma Steedle testimony, Trial transcript, May 23, 1941, at 908. US-DK.

  717 August 22, 1936 . . . Lawrenceville: “Mary Davis Married to Roger S. Firestone; Ceremony on Lawn of Her Parents’ Estate,” NYT, Aug. 23, 1936, N3.

  717 out to dinner: Alma Steedle testimony, Trial transcript, May 23, 1941, at 906. US-DK.

  717 notes on yellow foolscap paper . . . in a locked safe: “Reports of the Special Masters, No. M-978,” at 29. Box 17, 118 Files, US-DKF.

  717 “one of the most astounding revelations”: Gerald A. Gleeson and Francis W. Sullivan Statement, 9. Box 17, 118 Files, US-DK.

  717 conduct the matter properly: “Robert E. Steedle—Personal,” 9. Box 17, 118 Files, US-DKF.

  717 June 1 . . . appoint a receiver: Ibid., 5.

  717 key position: Ibid., 6.

  717 wanted Davis’s brother, J. Mercer Davis: Ibid., 5.

  717 Steedle refused: Ibid.

  717 on behalf of the creditors: William Elmer Brown Jr. testimony, Trial transcript, May 23, 1941, at 955. US-DK.

  718 set aside the claims: “Robert E. Steedle—Personal,” 9–10. Box 17, 118 Files, US-DKF.

  718 allow Fox’s claims against others: Walter H. Gahagan statement, Trial transcript, May 20, 1941, at 185; William Fox testimony, Trial transcript, May 20, 1941, at 303. US-DK.

  718 Fox Film . . . Capital Company: William Fox testimony, Trial transcript, May 20, 1941, at 362. US-DK.

  718 examine Fox’s books and records: “Fox Assets in 1931 Put At $20,900,000,” 26.

  718 bookkeeper since 1909: “Fox Records List Million in Gifts,” NEN, Oct. 7, 1936.

  718 clutched them tightly: Walter H. Gahagan statement, Trial transcript, May 20, 1941, at 198. US-DK.

  718 “disappeared” . . . “slightest idea”: “William Fox Asks Suits Be Enjoined,” NEN, July 7, 1936.

  718 questioning by creditors’ lawyers: “Mrs. Fox on Stand, Warned on Memory,” NEN, Aug. 26, 1936.

  718 All Continent’s president: “Suit Compromised By Wm. Fox Family,” NEN, June 15, 1939.

  718 $25,000 salary: “Says Mrs. Fox Got Salary of $25,000,” New York Sun, July 28, 1936; “Admission by Fox’s Clerk,” NYT, July 24, 1936, 31.

  718 no memory of recent transactions: “Mrs. Fox on Stand, Warned on Memory.”

  718 “I’ve been sick”: Ibid.

  718 let her go . . . following day: Ibid.

  718 sent a doctor’s note: “Mrs. Fox Ignores Order of Referee,” NEN, Sept. 1, 1936.

  718 court-appointed doctor . . . didn’t return: Ibid.

  718 Eva, too, for contempt: “Fox’s Wife Faces Contempt Action,” New York Sun, Sept. 2, 1936; “Referee Finds Mrs. Fox In Contempt of Court,” New York Sun, Sept. 8, 1936.

  718 laughing at the Capi
tal Company’s lawyer: “Piker’s Sum,” NEN, Aug. 22, 1936.

  718 called the hearings “child’s play”: “Fox Is Questioned on Gifts Made in 1930,” 18.

  719 appealed both cases: Walter H. Gahagan, Jr., statements, Trial transcript, May 20, 1941, at 309–10. US-DK,

  719 December 18 . . . Adelphia Hotel: “Government’s Exhibits,” 4. Box 4, US-DK.

  719 wanted to return: William Fox testimony, Trial transcript, May 20, 1941, at 307. US-DK.

  719 lend him . . . $12,500: Ibid.

  719 twelve new $1,000 bills and $500: Ibid., 402–3.

  719 calling Davis from a pay phone: Ibid., 398–400.

  719 bought a newspaper, wrapped the money in it: Ibid., 403–5.

  719 corner of Twelfth Street and either Chestnut or Walnut: Ibid., 400.

  719 “We withdrew into the hallway”: “Fox’s Loans to U.S. Judge Cited at Trial,” WP, May 21, 1941, 16.

  719 two or three minutes: “Statement of William Fox” (Part 2), Mar. 22, 1941, 14. Box 15, 118 Files, US-DKF.

  719 Neither spoke: William Fox testimony, Trial transcript, May 20, 1941, at 389. US-DK.

  719 signed by . . . written by: Joseph Buffington testimony, Trial transcript, May 23, 1941, at 950. US-DK.

  719 Eva’s contempt citation . . . September 1936: Walter H. Gahagan Jr. statement, Trial transcript, May 20, 1941, at 197. US-DK.

  719 January 1938 . . . another doctor: Ibid.

  719 Dr. Ross V. Patterson: William Elmer Brown Jr. testimony, Trial transcript, May 23, 1941, at 1034. US-DK.

  719 too ill to testify: Walter H. Gahagan Jr. statement, Trial transcript, May 20, 1941, at 197. US-DK.

  719 invalidated Eva’s contempt citation: William Elmer Brown Jr. testimony, May 23, 1941, at 1005. US-DK.

  719 not any new information: Ibid., 1002.

  720 representing the bankruptcy trustee: William Elmer Brown, Jr., testimony, Trial transcript, Aug. 6, 1941, at 1191. US-DK.

  720 Fox’s creditors: William Elmer Brown Jr., testimony, Trial transcript, Aug. 7, 1941, at 1364. US-DK.

  720 disregarded them: Ibid., 1378.

  720 to rubber-stamp: F. H. Spotts testimony, “1941 Grand Jury In Investigation Into the Judicial Conduct of Judge J. Warren Davis,” Apr. 10, 1941, 648. Box 13, 118 files, US-DK.

  720 “rather acute controversy . . . not stand for it”: George Wharton Pepper testimony, “1941 Grand Jury In Investigation Into the Judicial Conduct of Judge J. Warren Davis,” Apr. 10, 1941, at 664–65. US-DKF.

  720 “a bitterness on both sides”: Jack Leo to Sol Wurtzel, Mar. 17, 1937, SMWP.

  720 After failing . . . $1.8 million in back salary: Sol Wurtzel to Rose and Jack Leo, June 17, 1937, SMWP.

  721 “Of course, I felt” . . . run the business for him: Ibid.

  721 “This request was so ridiculous” . . . “financially broke”: Ibid.

  721 “I told Fox his request” . . . “I was not in”: Ibid.

  721 July 9, 1937, around 3:00 a.m.: “Film Storehouse Swept by Flames,” New York Sun, July 9, 1937.

  721 improperly ventilated . . . spontaneously ignited: David Pierce, “The Legion of the Condemned—Why American Silent Films Persished,” Film History 9, no. 1 (1997): 12.

  721 all the other vaults: Ibid.

  722 five nearby homes . . . “blazing rolls”: “Film Storehouse Swept by Flames.”

  722 one hundred degrees . . . without automatic sprinklers: Pierce, “The Legion of the Condemned,” 12.

  CHAPTER 52: CONFESSION

  723 “More or less, there is always”: William Fox testimony, Trial transcript, Aug. 4, 1941, at 907. US-DK.

  723 “crook and always has been”: E. A. Tamm memo to J. Edgar Hoover, Feb. 10, 1939, 13. Reel 8, FBI Confidential Files microfilm.

  723 FBI focused on him in early 1939: Ibid., 1; “Murphy Declines Comment on Davis,” PI, Dec. 14, 1939.

  723 Murphy pressured Davis to retire: “Fox Is Expected to Take Stand Against Davis,” PEB, Mar. 29, 1941.

  723 At seventy-two: “Biggs Confirms Probe of Davis,” Philadelphia Record, Aug. 17, 1939. Davis was born on Mar. 14, 1867.

  723 1937 law . . . annual salary for life: “Murphy Explains Davis Retirement,” NYT, Apr. 22, 1939, 4.

  723 $12,000 annual salary: “President Accepts Davis’s Resignation,” NYT, Nov. 26, 1941, 18.

  723 involving Paramount Pictures: “Punish Kaufman for Davis Loans, U.S. Court Asked,” Philadelphia Record, Dec. 6, 1941.

  723 Kelly-Springfield Tire Company: “Jury Probes Warren Davis,” Philadelphia Evening Ledger, Feb. 26, 1940.

  723 “You can be sure that when anyone retires”: “Murphy Explains Davis Retirement,” 4.

  723 President Roosevelt . . . “many years of health”: “Lets Judge Davis Retire,” NYT, May 1, 1939, 25.

  724 Davis had received a letter of exoneration: Edward A. Tamm memo to J. Edgar Hoover, May 8, 1939. Reel 5, FBI Confidential Files microfilm.

  724 take this “laying [sic] down”: Ibid.

  724 Hoover, who considered Davis a primary target: E. A. Tamm file memo, June 19, 1939, Reel 6, FBI Confidential Files microfilm.

  724 June 1939, Murphy announced . . . “financial transactions”: “Murphy Bares FBI Probe Here of Judge Davis,” PI, June 8, 1939.

  724 same team that several days earlier: Ibid.; “Jury Probes Warren Davis”; “Spector Guilty Too,” NYT, June 4, 1939, 1.

  724 a prospect for the U.S. Supreme Court: “Harding Expected to Name a Democrat For Supreme Court, Judge Manton Urged,” NYT, Oct. 27, 1922, 18.

  724 first federal appeals court judge . . . influence peddling: “Spector Guilty Too,” 1.

  724 barred from sitting in any new cases: “Fox Is Expected to Take Stand Against Davis.”

  724 rehearing twelve cases: “Jury Probes Warren Davis.”

  724 into the crosshairs in February 1940: “Inquiry Names Film Magnate, Federal Judge,” WP, Mar. 19, 1941, 7.

  724 federal grand jury in New York: “Retired Judge and Ex-Envoy Under Inquiry,” New York Herald-Tribune, Mar. 19, 1941.

  724 Subpoenaed as a witness: William Fox testimony, Trial transcript, May 21, 1941, at 422. US-DK.

  724 preliminary interviews . . . that spring: William Fox testimony, Trial transcript, May 21, 1941, at 423–24. US-DK.

  724 twice before the grand jury: Ibid., 432.

  724 only about Fox’s relationship with Kaufman: Ibid., 430–31.

  724 “false and pernicious” . . . Judge Clark: “Fox Is Expected to Take Stand Against Davis.”

  725 didn’t even try: “Statement of William Fox” (Part 2), Mar. 22, 1941, 16. Box 15, 118 Files, US-DKF.

  725 secondhand tire dealer . . . disputed bills: Ibid., 17.

  725 “I said I couldn’t possibly”: Ibid.

  725 As a compromise . . . crisp, large bills: “Statement of William Fox” (Part 2), Mar. 22, 1941, 17. Box 15, 118 Files, US-DKF; “Davis Defies Withering Fire of Questions,” Philadelphia Ledger, May 27, 1941.

  726 early March in New York: William Fox testimony, Trial transcript, May 21, 1941, at 435. US-DK.

  726 ever given money to Davis or to Kaufman: Ibid., 437.

  726 Fox said no: Ibid.

  726 knew he was lying: Ibid., 442.

  726 Get a lawyer . . . tell the truth: Ibid.

  726 Through Morgan Kaufman: J. Warren Davis testimony, Trial transcript, May 26, 1941, at 1274. US-DK.

  726 signing . . . as Herman Goldberg: “Davis and Fox Meeting Told,” NEN, May 26, 1941.

  726 hotel chambermaid . . . enter Davis’s room: Ibid.

  726 an hour and a quarter: “Statement of William Fox” ( Part 3), Mar. 22, 1941, 3. Box 15, 118 Files, US-DKF.

  726 assured Davis . . . that they had never met: William Fox testimony, Trial transcript, May 20, 1941, 323. US-DK.

  726 March 18 . . . ready to confess: “Brief for Defendant-Appellant,” U.S. v. William Fox, No. 7867, United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, at 2, Box 15, 118 Files,
US-DK.

  727 “cleanse my soul”: William Fox testimony, Trial transcript, May 21, 1941, at 450. US-DK.

  727 seventy-three-year-old cousin Charles S. Levin . . . Cameo Theatre: “Theatre Man Dies in 9-Story Plunge,” NYT, Oct. 26, 1939, 19. Levin landed on steel netting above the skylight of a one-story building; hence, the headline states that he fell nine stories.

  727 co-owner of the Cameo: “Funeral Services Held for Charles S. Levin,” FD, Oct. 27, 1939, 2.

  727 mostly Russian Communist films: “Theatre Man Dies in 9-Story Plunge,” 19.

  727 A witness saw Levin . . . jumping: Ibid.

  727 Eva’s money . . . Belle who had gone to the bank: “Put Up the Cash for Davis ‘Loan,’ Says Miss Fox,” CDT, May 23, 1941, 17.

  727 Philadelphia . . . negotiating the terms: “Appendix to Brief for Appellant,” U.S. v. William Fox, No. 7867, United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, at 46a–47a. Box 15, 118 Files, US-DK.

  727 March 22 . . . cases before his court: “Statement of William Fox” (Part 1), Mar. 22, 1941, 1. Box 15, 118 Files, US-DK.

  727 March 24 . . . grand jury in Philadelphia: “Davis Jurors Hear Fox and Daughter,” PEB, Mar. 24, 1941.

  728 He didn’t want favors: William Fox testimony, Trial transcript, May 21, 1941, at 449. US-DK.

  728 “I was prepared to tell”: Ibid., 447.

  728 only one of the three . . . Judge Guy K. Bard: “U.S. Indicts Ex-Judge Davis, Wm. Fox, M. S. Kaufmann [sic]; Movie Man Pleads Guilty,” PEB, Mar. 28, 1941.

  728 windowless, walnut-paneled: “Wm. Fox Pleads Guilty To Bribing U.S. Judge,” MPH, Apr. 5, 1941, 52.

  728 in a low voice, “Guilty”: “U.S. Indicts Ex-Judge Davis, Wm. Fox, M. S. Kaufmann [sic]; Movie Man Pleads Guilty.”

  728 pulled a roll of cash . . . five $1,000 bills: “Inquiry Goes On,” NEN, Mar. 29, 1941.

  728 Appearing hours later: “U.S. Indicts Ex-Judge Davis, Wm. Fox, M. S. Kaufmann [sic]; Movie Man Pleads Guilty.”

  728 trying to walk away, reluctantly submitted: “Davis Is Balky at First about Fingerprints,” PEB, Mar. 28, 1941.

  728 showed up the next morning: “Kaufman Gives Up, Posts $5,000 Bond,” PEB, Mar. 29, 1941, 12.

  728 two years in federal prison and a $10,000 fine: “William Fox and Former U.S. Judge Indicted,” CDT, Mar. 29, 1941, 6.