Lasky Out

Hollywood was not surprised last week when Jesse Louis Lasky quit as Paramount's first vice president in charge of production. Four months ago he had had a three-month "leave of absence." Soon Paramount's eastern office announced his resignation. The West Coast office and Mr. Lasky denied it. Last month the leave of absence was extended one month. It expired last week as Vice President Lasky sat day after day squabbling with Vice President Sam Katz. What Mr. Katz did not say was that Mr. Lasky was no longer wanted in Paramount. What Mr. Lasky did say was, "Because of Paramount's action on a contract with me [running until 1934], I have felt it necessary to sever relations." He declared he would produce independently.

The film world has changed vastly since 1914 when Jesse Lasky with Samuel Goldwyn and Cecil Blount DeMille produced The Girl of the Golden West and The Warrens of Virginia. In 1916 the Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Co. joined Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Co. and Paramount Pictures Corp. (distributing agency) to become Famous Players-Lasky Corp. Hollywood thought that the shy, egg-headed Lasky and Adolph Zukor concealed a griping rivalry behind their affability. Presently Benjamin Percival Schulberg became Lasky's man: managing director of production. Sidney Kent was Zukor's man: general manager of distribution. All had been inoculated with the old-school extravagance of gold-plated cinema production. The fingers of their hands spread unconsciously, letting millions through.

Until the spring of 1930 Paramount-Publix was considered a model cinema company, issuing stock to pay for expansions. Then it was revealed that it had agreed to buy its stock back should it drop. The late William Wrigley Jr. (gum), Albert Davis Lasker (advertising) and John Daniel Hertz (taxicabs), all Chicagoans, began buying into Paramount. Their man was Sam Katz, of Chicago's Balaban & Katz chain of cinema theatres. At 13 he had played the piano in Carl Laemmle's first 5-c- cinema theatre on Chicago's west side. At 16 he owned a theatre with 144 folding chairs; soon he bought 130 more chairs; soon he owned three theatres. Katz went to work in Paramount, first edged out Walter Wanger, Lasky's friend and eastern production executive. In January 1932 he edged out Sidney Kent, general distribution manager and Zukor's friend. Soon he did the same for Benjamin Schulberg. Lasky's man. Kent went at once to Fox as president. Schulberg said that he would produce independently.

As Katz became stronger in Paramount. Lasky and Zukor lost caste but Zukor kept his figurehead presidency. Lasky's last ace was his long-term contract, said to give him $9,000 a week. The final squabbles evidently concerned the cost of buying in this gold-plated contract. Before he left on his leave of absence, Lasky had given Vice President Emanuel Cohen, Katz's man, the job of drawing up an analysis of studio operating problems. Cohen, an expert in short cinema subjects and news reels, executed an analysis upon which the company may now base an argument in court that Jesse Lasky's job outgrew him.

Key man of the new Paramount production regime is Emanuel ("Manny") Cohen whose chin rises not far above his desk edge. The question was: could he produce the pictures? The answer last week seemed to be: maybe not. For when Katz edged out Lasky. he pulled Schulberg back to produce eight pictures a year under Cohen's supervision. At the same time, he offered Lasky a chance to produce three a year under Cohen's eye. Schulberg accepted. Lasky refused.

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