The Film Daily (1939)

193 M: M "»C0| "fftir « i f I Iti fi Ca < I uesday, April 4, 1939 Ct*\ DAILY OF J'S HENDERSON HERE IN STRIKE MOVE (Continued from Page 1) 3ii was taken by either the disibs. or the unions. Arrival of 2rt^r W. Henderson, Special Asta. v Attorney General in charge the New York anti-trust division, ",eJjas seen as significant, however. " Judge Mathew M. Levy, attorney [r Local 306, met with Department ' Justice men in the morning, and jenderson arrived later in the day. |e conferred with his staff and left is office without making any statement. Levy's only comment was 'ko statement" after his meeting. i Further action by the Justice Dejkrtment is foreseen today, but long what lines could not be deterjined last night. ' The Mediation Board met with a ij-oup representing the distribs. and Ithibs. in the afternoon, but nothing of importance occurred. A .bard spokesman stated that it exacted to have further meetings jUring the week with all parties mcerned. In several exchanges men were Kjnsi|ported hired to take over the itftifpavy duty work in the back rooms "•'here shipping is handled, but other ^changes continued using office »e|<prkers to move their film. What H" ?tion will ensue from the hiring of 11 Sn-union help was not apparent last ight, but action by the unions is kpected. Picketing continued in front of ike exchange buildings and there as no immediate possibility of a ■ttlement of the strike in sight, ^cording to attornevs last night, ounsel for the distribs took no aeon, stating that their position ould remain unchanged until some ^finite action had been taken by _[ae unions which would force them » counter it with court procedure. All newsreels yesterday asserted mt they would have no difficulty i issuing reels on time. Cleanup for Stickup New Haven, Conn. — Michael Toasino, operator of the Whiteway rid Victory, was held up in the gar?e at his home Sunday night and st $400 in receipts, his gold watch nd his auto. Best wishes from THE FILM DAILY to the following on their birthday: A?RIL 4 Harold B. Franklin Rosemary Lane Agnes Ayres Al Lichtman Carmel Myers ALCN6 THE with PHIL M. E>AUY; ▼ ▼ ▼ • • • MEBBE IT'S an aftermath of the entente cordiale between the film industry and the American press established by the 1938 biz drive mebbe not but have you noticed that company advertising-publicity plans for 1939-40 call for still greater newspaper advertising appropriations than those prevailing this season? T T T • • • CHARLIE EINFELD of Warners was the first to announce that 98 per cent of a record appropriation would be spent in the dailies Then at Metro's convention . .... .Howard Dietz disclosed that Leo would spend more than ever before for newspaper advertising while this year its newspaper budget was well above a million dollars. T T T • • • AND AT the recent 20th-Fox convention Charles McCarthy spoke in kind advising (hat the bulk of a $2,000,000 appropriation would go for co-operative newspaper space with almost 300 dailies on the company's schedule Quote McCarthy "The daily newspapers are peculiarly suitable for motion picture advertising Our problem of making advertisements coincide with the release dates and the booking dates of our pictures is solved only by the daily newspaper which because of its flexibility is equipped to make quick changes and which gives us as well as the motion picture exhibitor a maximum opportunity to capitalize on last-minute developments that might increase business" a deserved tribute to newspaper advertising, that Now what we'd like to see .from the other side of the fence is as frank admission that the American press is indebted to the movies for no inconsiderable part of what passes for reader interest and which by the way costs the press little, if anything "Names make news" is a journalistic axiom and Hollywood these days is the world's No. 1 name-maker ▼ T T • • • EXH1B. TAKEN for an April Fool ride but who proves anew that he who laughs last, etc Sam Gilman, manager of Loew's, Harrisburg got a wire purporting to be from Oscar A. Doob advising him to contact Jeanette MacDonald aboard a train passing through the town Sol Gilman lined up reporters and cameramen to dash to Lancaster by auto so there 'd be more time for interviews Just as they were leaving Sam got another wire which said "Dear Sammy I'm over in the Telegraph office Didn't you know this was April 1? Toodle-doo Jeanette" The gag was the work of Paul Walker, Telegraph's mp editor who had enlisted Doob's co-op But Sam laughed last for the papers gave it a play and it assayed a swell plug for "Broadway Serenade" . : ▼ ▼ ▼ • • • A special preview for cab drivers was presented at the Paramount at 1:45 this morning for the purpose of getting the hackies' reaction to "Midnight" a picture in which Don Ameche portrays a taxi driver It seems that movie versions in the past have depicted hackies as "mugs" But in "Midnight" Paramount thinks it has placed the cab boys...... in a more humane light So — more than 4,000 guest tickets were made available to the TWU Taxi Division and it was an exclusive taxi driver party. « « « » » » UA NEVER IN PACT, SAYS SILVERSTONE (.Continued from Page 1) because it was "clearly understood from the very inception of the negotiations that United Artists could not be a part of the pact," Silverstone said. "We have 11 producers, each being separate and individual entities entirely independent each from the other, some making as few as one picture annually," he stated. "It is tantamount to saying that United Artists is composed of 11 companies we acting only as distributor for each and each having jurisdictional rights in the selling and presentation of its respective product. "However, we would emphasize that many of the points covered in the proposed trade pact actually have been in operation since the inception of the company 20 years ago, and today are still a part of the producers' sales policy." Silverstone returned Sunday from studio conferences. The company's new season schedule is about 98 p.c. complete, he said, and the product announcement is expected to be released today, along with details of the annual sales convention. Silverstone was enthusiastic over deals made with Sol Lesser, Ernst Lubitsch and David Loew, and the renewal of the distribution pact with David O. Selznick. The latter's contract calls for three pictures the first year, two of which are "Intermezzo" and "Rebecca." Sol Lesser will deliver one picture a year, while Lubitsch will produce three pictures in two years, each in the million-dollar class, Silverstone said. Douglas Fairbanks, he continued, started work yesterday on "The Californian," while Charles Chaplin is completing the script on "The Dictators," which will be completed and delivered in the Fall. UA's list of producers now includes the following: Charles Chaplin, Samuel Goldwyn, Douglas Fairbanks, David O. Selznick, Walter Wanger. Alexander Korda, Edward Small, David Loew, Ernst Lubitsch, Sol Lesser and Hal Roach. STORKS! Coshocton, O. — "Twinfants," both girls arrived last week in the household of Charles Spaetka, assistant manager at Warners' Sixth Street Theater. The mother and duplicates are reported doing nicely in Mansfield, the former home of the Spaetkas, where the event occurred. Moorhead, Minn. — Mel Scott, manager of the Minnesota Amusement Co. Moorhead Theater here, is the father of a baby girl. Went Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Hollywood — A daughter born to Chill Wills, RKO comedian, and Mrs. Ellen Wills. She will receive the euphonious name of Jill Wills.