The Film Daily (1948)

M* P» Product ion ms?t, ^ W. 44th 8t* 31st floor 8 C/*A DAILY Wednesday, August 11, 1948 ! Thar's Video Gold In Chapter Plays Yesteryear's motion picture serials are demonstrating unusual strength as video audience pullers, according to a study completed by the research department of one of the national television webs. Study disclosed that the average audience per set when one of the chapter plays was programmed was seven, embracing three children and two adult males and as many adult femmes. Pulling power of the old-time serials is attested by the fact that, with few exceptions, TV stations now on the air are using them either as sustainers or under sponsorship. Latest sponsor deal has just been set by B & K's Chicago station, WBKB, with Leaf Mint Gum. Serial, "Miracle Riders," starring Tom Mix, starts Aug. 26, station showing a chapter weekly for the ensuing 15 weeks. "Miracle Riders" is one of 20 old serials, video rights to which are controlled by Film Equities Corp., of 1600 Broadway. One of the first Eastern stations to find the serials attracting a large audience was WBZ, Boston, which already has played "Fighting With Kit Carson," "Hurricane Express" and "Devil Horse," and which currently is using "Wolf Dog." WBZ is using four episodes weekly. CBS is reported interested in "Miracle Rider" as its first serial, while WPIX is said to be eyeing "Adventures of Rex and Rinty." ABC is understood contemplating using serials in the Fall. Station KTLA, Los Angeles, is said to have played 10 serials so far, using chapters five days a week. WMAL, Washington, telecast two serials a month from January to April. WATV in New Jersey has played five serials. WLWT, Cincinnati, uses serials five days a week; WTNJ, Milwaukee, twice a week, and KSD, St. Louis, once a week. Other stations include WGN, Chicago, WPTV, Philadelphia, and WMAR, Baltimore. Sees Canadi€tn Tele Construction in Fall Montreal — Confidence that construction of privately owned tele stations would begin in Montreal and Toronto in October and that a modern television service would be available "relatively soon" to a large ■ section of the Canadian public was expressed here by K. R. Patrick, manager of the engineering products division of RCA Victor Co., Ltd. Video, Patrick said, could be made available to 4,256,000 Canadians through the establishment of only eight televisicr, stations in eight major centers of population — Montreal, Toronto, Hamilton, Windsor, Quebec, Vancouver, Winnipeg and Ottawa. (Continued rural areas where it is considered normal to have but one spouse in a lifetime. HENRY DECKER News-Post, Frederick, Md. ♦ ^HE STUDIOS are still sending out the same old stuff, most of which has been in the columns days before. And we've just had some stars in for personal appearances with the usual temperament. Enough said. NADINE SUBOTNIK Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Gazette ♦ T THINK the movie has and is doing a "tremendous" job in this direction. HOWARD B. CLARK Rensselaer (Ind.) Republican f Yy^<^ONTmLm the use of old stories passed off under new titles. Avoid the too-frequent shake-ups in personnel which suggest internal tumult. DOROTHY MASTERS The News, New York, N. Y. ♦ jy[ORE SELLING of pictures from grass roots and less from Hollywood. More local direction and less diaation from New York and Hollywood. CARL E. COOPER Kansas City Star ♦ "DfTTfiR to the public than to the Home Town newspaper. Johnson is doing good job selling the industry. CAREY J. BRADFORD Odessa (Tex.) Journal ♦ T'D LIKE to see some of these chain executives who have a town sewed up made to realize that some money should be spent on movie columns in local newspapers, even if they have no competition. People who can read about the movies first make better movie-goers, and certainly publicity piques their curiosity. In my town, we see about a two-inch ad saying that such-and-such a picture at such-andsuch a theater today — with no information on the time the feature starts, on the prices, or anything else but maybe the principal actors. It leaves much to be desired when a prospective movie patron has to call the box office even when the feature starts. MILDRED SMITH Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser ♦ ^VBUC RELATIONS are improving, however, with local exhibitors themselves recently doin^ more in the field. EARL J. DIAS New Bedford (Mass.) Standard-Times from Page 7) (^REATER personal contact (Loew's movie memo is a good example). ARTHUR D. MACKIE Jersey Journal, Jersey City, N. J. — :♦ ' C\OOD cooperation with other media. HAZEL MARKEL WTOP, Washington, D. C. ■pUT OUT some decently entertaining films — advertise them properly, stop re-issuing old pictures without advertising them as such. THERESA LOEB Oakland (Calif.) Tribune ♦ T £55" GANGSTER pictures. CHARLES E. BANGS The Huntington (Ind.) News ♦ nrOO MUCH drlvel in fan magazines — not enough appeal to adult population although goes over great with the masses. EMILY R. JERGER Times Enterprise, Thomasville, Ga. ^* T T OWER admission prices to theaters. EDWARD E. JAFFEE Daily Evening Item, Lynn, Mass. ♦ tJETTER personal publicity. BISH THOMPSON The Press, Evansville, Ind. ♦ A TREND toward reality rather than glamour is needed. The general public no longer wants its entertainers to be heroes and heroines. Rather they prefer natural likeable personalities. MAY S. MURRAY The Republican-Herald, Winona, Minn. ♦ CPREAD some of that money among the colleges for scholarships; endow motion picture departments in universities. ROBERT E. L. BAKER The Free Lance-Star, Fredericksburg, Va. 4 'T'OO STRONG a play when one single individual in the business gets off the beaten path. HERBERT B. KRONE New Era, Lancaster, Pa. ♦ A BANDON the attitude that the mass-mind of movie audiences is of moronic calibre. More and better adult film material. Eliminate the vulgarity which characterizes a good deal of movie advertisements. MARK WEINBAUM Novoye Russkoye Slo\o New York, N. Y. Mark Silver Named UA Eastern Sales Mgr. (Continued from Page 1) immediately, acting as field representative for Edward M. Schnitzer Eastern sales chief. Silver's imme-.^ diate agenda includes a tr^ .i al|i( exchanges in the territory \ -.^on-duct meetings with field personnel and explain cornpany policy. With UA since 1934, Silver has] successively held the posts of sales man, office manager, branch manager, and district manager. Abe Dick stein continues as Schnitzer's execu tive assistant. I Cardinal Stritch to Open TOA's Chi. Convention I j( II Samuel, Cardinal Stritch, of Chi cago, yesterday accepted the invi tation of Gael Sullivan, TOA execu tive director, to open the theatei owners' convention on Sept. 24 ir the Drake Hotel, Chicago. More than 600 of the organiza-i tion's members are expected to at-' tend the two-day meeting at whicl; full discussions and open forums. will be held on vital industry problems such as television, 16 mm. competition, ASCAP, admission taxes public relations and the industry anti-trust suit. Guest speakers, tc be announced later, will address al sessions. Luncheons will be held each da> and the convention will close with the president's dinner and dance Satur day night, Sept. 25. Cocktail partie and other entertainment is schedule^ for non-business hours. The Variet; Club will hold open house during, the period, and special events, in eluding a luncheon, entertainmeni|||J| and fashion show at Marshall FieldJ" department store on Friday, Sept 24, have been planned for the womer guests. Committees are being set up undei [\ the direction of John Balaban, oi Chicago, as general chairman, anc Edward Zorn, of Pontiac, vice-chair man. Among the chairmen ar( Nathan H. Piatt, entertainment David Wallerstein, registration; Wil J' liam Hollander and Thornton SarF° gent, publicity; Jack Conway, trans portation; and Mrs. John Balaban, women's activities. C. L. Burndah; i has been named convention treas "1 urer. \ Jo^ i. Danish Producers Win Support by Gov't Copenhagen (By Air Mail) — ^Danish Education Dept. has granted 4(X),000 kroner (about $80,000) in support of Danish film producers, it is learned. Among those who have benefited are Nordisk Film Kompagni; two directors, Astrid and Bjarne HenningJensen, and three producers, Johan Jacobson, Jens Henriksen and Asger Jerrild. A new Danish full length color cartoon adaptation of H. C. Andersen's fairy tales was granted 50,000 kroner for its two-year production schedule.