The Film Daily (1938)

iuesday, August 23, 1938 m DAILY 40 OBSTACLES SEEN IN SI-. M-G-M DEAL (Continued from Page 1) ry for attorneys of the two coni knies to iron out a few remaining ; — )jn the contracts, Film Daily fisVold last night. Work on the contracts is being rried on both on the Coast and in York, with final draft of the r.tracts expected to be ready with a few days, it was said. Formal gning of the agreement is excted to take place in the near fure. An oral agreement has been ached. To date no plans have been anunced for the start of production, who will be cast in the film. Hower, it is expected that David 0. lznick and George Cukor, direc:. will shortly huddle with writers d technical directors on final plans r production. slice Guarding Theaters Stench-Bombed in B'klyn (Continued from Page 1) re set off by time fuses operated 1 dollar watches. At the present time the circuit being picketed by Local 306, op ators union, and affiliated brother ods, in a drive to organize the cir t until it is 100 per cent manned recognized union employes. Cir ;.t employs members of an unaf ated union as operators. Local )3 is a member of the American iteration of Labor, and has been anted jurisdiction over operators this territory. Local execs, state at members of the unaffiliated • ion will be absorbed by the Local m will not be thrown out of work. Members of the bomb squad are •rying on an intensive search for laboratory in which thev believe • bombs were made. Bombs were de of benzol-bromide, exploded by detonator cap set off by a time •e hooked up to a small battery. jrhe Local is expected to extend picketing activities to every ise in the circuit before the end this week, having picketed only f the houses in the circuit up till 2C yt4CX 4GC IN PICTURES om THE FILM DAILY for Friday, Aug. 3, !W YORK— Frank Hall acquires Evelyn Nes"Her Mistake" to launch his new fixedI releasing plan. -EVELAND, O. — Operators strike closes local ters. EW YORK — Raid on offices of Royal Cinema results in recovery of alleged stolen prints indictment of W. C. Thompson, company is, 20 Years is a Long Time in Pictures! • • • PRACTICAL that is the word George Schaefer used in describing the campaign book covering the advertising and exploitation for the $250,000 Movie Quiz Contest. . . .which is just off the presses and being rushed to every exchange for distribution to the exhibs 30,000 copies and as we analyze the copy before us "practical" is the word the slogan on the smash cover to exhibitors is: "Tie In And Win!" with the greatest box-office booster that ever hit the industry T T ▼ • • • THEY HAVEN'T missed a thing in this Showman Book telling the theater man how he can cash in on the national newspaper campaign by co-ordinating his local advertising to follow through tieing in with civic and social and business organizations with schools and colleges a grand array of ad mats emphasizing the $250,000 in cash prizes a swell variety of ads showing just how the exhibitor can sell the contest and his current picture together a page listing the Contest Pictures a page of stills on Quiz Contest Pictures to sell the local newspaper a full page of stills for tabloid editors radio program tie-ins a complete line of accessories we particularly liked that Contest Register idea a book in the lobby for the contestants to sign their names so the theater can mail them advance notice of showings of Contest Pictures and for handy reference, the exhib is given a page of 21 "MUSTS" that he should follow through in order to get the maximum benefit at his box-office and "Make Your Theater Contest Headquarters" the pressbook is a splendid achievement turned out on short notice T ▼ T • • • CERTAIN major companies are beginning to take notice of the growing demand for Spanish-speaking productions for our LatinAmerican neighbors some executives have had the surprise of their lives to note that when their branch office in some South American country distributed some modest little native picture made at a cost of not more than $25.000 it has grossed twice and three times as much as their best Hollywood productions a more detailed survey in this specialized field is bound to result in bigger gross revenues from our Latin-American neighbors ain't it a funny thing folks like to look at pictures of their own people acting in stories about their own country, written and directed by their own countrymen this amazing discovery having now been made by some smart American film fellers after all these years, it looks as if millions of dollars will be garnered in the years just ahead easy money made by merely distributing the kind of pictures that foreign peoples want to see and not the type of pictures that Hollywood producers think they ought to see after all, the customer is always right and there's a lot of dough to be grabbed by catering to 90 million potential South American customers T T T 6 • • BACK in the field of independent commercial production comes Emerson Yorke after acting as producer-director in the V. S. Forest Service, Department of Agriculture during his year in Washington, Yorke was responsible for introducing many modern production methods in the Federal picture division he will now produce through the studios of Loucks and Norling, here in New York first production with them will be "The Ninth State," a two-reel color film which Yorke is readying for the State of New Hampshire for showing at the World's Fair SHOWDOWN SOON ON MEX. UNION SITUATION (Continued from Page 1) the producers and with owners of studios where motion pictures are filmed. Such contracts, it is stated, provide for the making of one picture a year free of charge to carry a socialistic theme for exploitation by workers themselves. A further stipulation by the labor group is that a commission of workers be formed to tour the U. S. and various foreign countries to study motion picture methods, and that the attending expenses for the junket be supplied by the producers and studio owners. Some 48 producers are banded together to present a united front against the Confederation. These now make from one to five pictures respectively each year, at costs ranging from 100,000 to 500,000 pesos ($20,000 to $100,000). Since the warfare began more than a year ago, several producers have left Mexico, transferring their activities to Cuba, Venezuela and other countries. One company is reported to be investigating the possibilities offered in Hollywood for the making of features and shorter attractions. Major and indie producers' New York offices yesterday watched with close interest developments in the Mexican film tue-of-war between CTM (Confederation of Workers of Mexico) and film makers below the Rio Grande. While the situation is generally regarded as serious, sources close to the problem expressed doubt that the threat of the producers to leave Mexico would be carried out. unless CTM openly refused to modify its demands. It was pointed out that such a step would not only be injurious to production interests as a whole, but would certainly cripple the Mexican industry and set it back to the sta^e it was in prior to the present civil war in Spain. At that time, Mexico was meeting the stiffest of competition in the Latin-American market from films made in Spain, but the hostilities swung the pendulum over to the Mexican studios. Because of the Wore stake which producers and CTM have in the current controversy, it is doubtful, observers state, that arbitration will be ruled out. To Start Barrett Short First RKO Pathe short starring Sheila Barrett, mime, will be put into production the week of Aug. 29, it was learned yesterday. Drive's Roto Plug Memphis, Tenn. — Commercial Appeal will get behind the "Motion Pictures Are Your Best Entertainment" campaign and already has scheduled a full page in its roto section for Sunday, Aug. 28, to plug release; during the campaign period.