The Film Daily (1948)

Intimate in Character nternational in Scope independent in Thought The Daily Newspaper Of Motion Pictures Twenty-Nine Years Old -1FDAILY S. 93. NO. 73 NEW YORK. THURSDAY. APRIL 15. 1948 TEN CENTS 'flRAfnOUflT IMUGURflTES THEATER VIDEO 'ec'y Marshall Will Get Humanitarian Award esentation in Absentia o be Made at Variety's (tag Dinner on Saturday Miami Beach, Fla. — Secretary of ipate George C. Marshall has been limed as the recipient of the 1947 umanitarian Award of the Variety dubs, International, Robert J. I'Donnell announced at yesterday's bsiness session. Delegates to the convention were kformed that Secretary Marshall Hll be unable to receive the award It the stag dinner on Sautrday night, lue to the fact that he is attending (Continued on Page 5) British Production nlriguing Capra Since Paramount, along with the :ther majors, has large sums frozen h England, he wouldn't mind going ver there to make a film or two, laid Producer-director Frank Capra f Paramount's special producing nit, Liberty Films, yesterday. Capra indicated no connection beween such a possibility and the fact (Continued on Page 4) 3KO's Reisman to Europe Dn 'Exploratory' Mission He was taking no blueprints with rtim on how to spend RKO's British rozen pounds, Phil Reisman, company's veepee in charge of foreign listribution, told The Film Daily yesterday, shortly before he sailed (Continued on Page 4) Publicists Anonymous Maps Hub PR Prog. Boston — Local publicists from the exchanges, indie theaters and circuits are holding a series of public relations meetings on Fridays at noon at Steuben's Restaurant. Including the industry in its entirety, the publicists are embarking on an ambitious press, radio and word-of-mouth program for the exploitation of the better Hollywood pictures, regardless of company or distributor. The Boston group calls itself Publicists Anonymous, preferring to remain unknown to the public. Editorial Opportunity, Unlimited . . . Metro's exec, training plan ~ By CHESTER B. BAHN — I OEW'S William F. Rodgers, who has a way of making the periodic Metro industry ■"■ press luncheons extremely newsworthy, turned that neat trick once again this week when publishers and editors assembled at the Hotel Astor to break bread, as 'twere, with the company's sales cabinet and other executives. In rapid succession, Rodgers announced: 1. Metro is establishing an executive training plan designed to yearly "graduate" 12 to 18 hand-picked young and aggressive members of its sales force. 2. Metro hereafter will aggressively sell its "sliding scale" policy wherever possible, convinced that through it there are more equitable returns for both customer and company and, additionally, far less contention and haggling. 3. Metro, responding to a "transfusion" in the form of a succession of top box office (Continued on Page 8) Pictorial Offers 16 mm. Trailers Pictorial Films on Oct. 1 will start 16 mm. non-theatrical distribution of 69 features acquired from Eagle Lion, George J. Bonwick, vice-president, announced, backed by a national advertising program, with 16 mm. trailers of all Pictorial 16 mm. releases to be made available, along (Continued on Page 6) Agnew to Preside at SRO Sales Meeting Tomorrow Neil F. Agnew, SRO president, will preside at a sales meeting tomorrow at the New York A. C. at which present and future sales policies will be discussed. Home Office executives who will (Continued on Page 6) 20th-Fox lo Promote All Top Quality Pix In a move to aid the current bid for a wider audience on the basis of improved pictures, field forces and other resources of 20th-Fox have been instructed to exemplify showmanship at its best by promoting not only the company's releases but by aiding the theater level in generat( Continued on Page 6) Pic's Theme, Not Star, Lures 'Em in Minnesota Minneapolis — Minnesotans say they are influenced more by what the films are about than they are by the names of the stars appearing in them when choosing movies to see, a Minnesota Poll survey of the (Continued on Page 5) Olympic Reel Charge Settled Rank Waives Rates; ANA in Accord Yankelevich to Seek Video Equipment for Argentina Buenos Aires (By Air Mail) — ■ Forthcoming visit to the U. S. of Senor Yankelevich, president of Radio Belgrano-Buenos Aires, is seen as the possible opening move to bring television to Argentina. Yankelevich, who is said to be close to the Argentine Government, will seek new radio equipment, including television transmitters, it is learned. U. S. newsreels won their dispute with J. Arthur Rank over charges for coverage of the Summer Olympics in London, it was learned yesterday with the issuance of a joint statement by Rank and the American Newsreel Association. Statement pointed out that Rank, recognizing the Association is opposed in principle to paying for the privilege of filming news events, has agreed that no charge will be made. Rank some months ago secured ex(Continued on Page 5) Feature Will Be Made Regular Part of Program Without Extra Admission Paramount inaugurated theater television in New York City last night when it presented a eighteen minute live program on the screen of the Paramount Theater before an audience that had no previous knowledge of what was to occur. Utilizing the intermediate television image into film system unveiled at the TBA convention some months ago, Paramount presented boxing (Continued on Page 8) Thomas Testifies at Lawson Contempt Trial Washington Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Washington — Justice Edward Curran yesterday ruled that testimony by witnesses John Moffit, Sam Wood and Howard Rushmore, given last year before the House Un-American Activities Committee, is acceptable in the trial of screenwriter John (Continued on Page 8) 20th-Fox to Distribute Italian 'Thank You' Pic "Thanks America," produced in Italy by public subscription as an expression of gratitude for American aid in the form of food and clothing, will be distributed immediately to (Continued on Page 4) Mag Oust Taxes on Inter-Corp. Divvies Washington Bur., THE FILM DAILY Washington — Present 15 per cent tax on all dividends paid by one corporation to another, and the two per cent penalty tax levied on corporate holding companies that file consolidated returns, would be eliminated under a proposal of the Joint Committee on Internal Revenue Taxation. Move is seen as benefiting many film companies, particularly theater circuits which usually comprise a number of theater holding or operating companies controlled by holding companies. Proposals were made at a closed session of the House Ways and Means Committee.