Rapp v. Harold Lloyd Corporation

• Decision Date: 02 April 1940
• Parties: RAPP et al. v. HAROLD LLOYD CORPORATION et al.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York

33 F. Supp. 47

RAPP et al. v. HAROLD LLOYD CORPORATION et al.

District Court, S. D. New York.

April 2, 1940.

Philip Wittenberg, of New York City, for plaintiffs.

Phillips & Nizer, of New York City, for defendants.

GODDARD, District Judge.

This is a suit by the plaintiffs for the alleged infringement of the plaintiffs' motion picture play "The Arms of Venus" (formerly named "Greek To You") by the defendants' motion picture play "Professor, Beware".

Plaintiffs' play was not copyrighted. They claim a violation of their common-law rights. Jurisdiction is based upon diversity of citizenship and the fact that more than $3,000 is involved.

In the latter part of August, 1934, while the defendant, Harold Lloyd, was temporarily in New York City, the plaintiffs called upon Lloyd and told him they would like to write a motion picture play for him. Lloyd informed them that he thought he was best adapted to playing the part of a professor or a similar character, and that his greatest success had been in such parts. They had three conferences and on November 30 a contract was executed in which it was agreed that Lloyd should pay the plaintiffs $1,500 and that plaintiffs, Rapp and Brentano, would write a play which Lloyd had the option of buying for an additional $8,500 and royalties, if he found it satisfactory. Lloyd paid them the $1,500 and Rapp and Brentano went to work on their play.

On January 25, 1935, Rapp and Brentano finished their play "The Arms of Venus" (originally named "Greek To You") and mailed it to the defendants. On February 13, 1935, the defendants returned plaintiffs' play to them and informed them that it was not satisfactory; that they could not use it and would not exercise their option to buy it. According to the testimony of the defendants the plaintiffs' script had not been shown to outsiders and no copies had been made of it. In July, 1938, defendants released and produced the motion picture play "Professor, Beware", which plaintiffs claim infringes their play "The Arms of Venus".

Following are synopses of the two plays:

"The Arms of Venus" is the story of Algernon Dunwoodie, a professor of Greek at Utopia College, a co-educational institution located somewhere in the United States, and Judith Oglethorpe, a student, the beautiful but spoiled daughter of the chief benefactor of the college. Dunwoodie is about to have his sabbatical year and is planning to visit Greece to study antiquities. Judith fails to pass her examination in Greek; this enrages her father who causes Dunwoodie to be dismissed. Judith's father, J. Hamilton Oglethorpe, accompanied by his daughter, sails for Europe on the S. S. Mauretania for the purpose of buying Monte Carlo as a money making proposition. Dunwoodie, in spite of the fact that he has no money, decides that he must satisfy the ambition of his life and visit Greece; he goes to New York City and on the dock gets into a fight with a steward on the S. S. Mauretania, beats him up and signs as steward in the injured man's place, using the name of Jenkins in the hope of disguising himself. During the voyage Dunwoodie, due to his understanding of the Greek language, discovers that some Greek gangsters on board are planning to kidnap Judith for a ransom. At night the gangsters seize Judith, bind her and put her into an airplane which they have stowed on deck. The plane takes off. Dunwoodie, realizing what is happening, clings to one of the wings of the airplane in spite of the efforts of the gangsters to get rid of him. He secretes himself in the plane and manages to rescue Judith. She recognizes him as the professor and believes that he is responsible for all her trouble. They land on a small island near the African coast. He saves her from a band of pirates, showing great heroism and winning her admiration and love. With the aid of a small boat they reach the shore and Dunwoodie finds that they are in Greece. Representatives of Judith's father, who has offered a million dollars reward for Dunwoodie's arrest, discover him. He is charged with having abducted Judith and is lodged in jail. He escapes and takes refuge in a hut of some mountaineers and there finds the lost arms of the statue Venus de Milo. In the meanwhile Oglethorpe has learned from his daughter that not only had Dunwoodie not abducted her, but at the risk of his own life on several occasions had saved her from the gangsters, bandits, etc. The father then realizes that Dunwoodie is a hero and that his daughter is in love...