Showmen's Trade Review (Apr-Jun 1939)

^^ay 27. 1939 SHOWMEN'S TRADE PvEVIEW Page 5 ennedy's orner W'itli nuilico toward none: iOtliFox no tloiibt will top all of tlic topping "slx'iH' of tlie iiictiirc" premieres with llie mueilitiL; of "Young Mr. Lincoln" in Springhcld, 111., Decoration Da}-. Ever_\-thing on a quality, and prestige scale! New York Allied put on a good show at the con\'cntion in New ^'ork — a show that was worthy of a larger attendance than it got. AIGAI with a booth arranged by Bill Ferguson, was tops with a pi)pular stunt — voice tests (you talked into a mike and right back at you came the canned version of your words and giggles). Next most popular gathering place was RCA Photophone's display — it had a home television set where you could pick up sightand-sound broadcasting ; it was arranged b_\' Ed Jones, head man of RCA Photophone advertising. People you like to meet : E. J. Vallen, one of the hardest working and pleasantest men engaged in any part of film business — he's an engineer and works with micrometers, slide rules, etc., in designing curtain and proscenium equipment. Walter E. Green, head man of National Theatre Supply, wdio keeps young, good-humored and cordial — without doing all those allegedly goodhumor giving stunts of exercising in gyms, on golf courses, or tennis courts. Andrew Geitner, of the Geitner theatre. Silver Creek, N. Y. — a showman from his soles to his scalp. Herman Lorence, of Cattaraugus, N. Y., W in. Kunzman, National Carbon; Joe Hornstein; P. A. McGuire and many others in the equipment field. HERMAN RESIGNING Report from the Coast Says Schaefer Will Fill Post Holly wood^Abrogation of his contract, to take ettect Oct. 1, has been requested by Pandio S. Berman, RKO Radio's vice-president in charge of production. The resignation has been sent to George Schaefer, company president, and it is expected the request will be granted. Schaefer himself will probably take charge of production. HOLDINGONTO HER UASTOCK Mary Pickford Won't Sell She Says SEES BRIGHTOUTLOOK Her United Artists stock is not on the market, declared Mary Pickford at a press conference last Saturday on her arrival from the Coast. She and the other four owners of the company, Douglas Fairbanks, Charles Chaplin, Alexander Korda and Samuel Goldwyn also have binding contracts which prevent them from making pictures for release by any other distributor, she stated. This was taken as an indication tliat should Goldwyn attempt to release any pictures through any other distributor than UA that the company would immediately obtain an injunction to prevent it, a procedure that was given as an example by Murray Silverstone of what would happen should any of the other four attempt this. Miss Pickford declared that Vt^ith the present management and the lineup of 11 producers for next season, the outlook was the brightest for the company that it has been in many years. In making her flat statement that her stock was not on the market she was backed up by Silverstone, chief of world wide operations for the company, who added that the same held true of Fairbanks, Chaplin and Korda. SUMMER CLOSINGS 10 RKO Houses Scheduled to Put Up Shutters Ten RKO theatres will close within the next few weeks for the summer, it has been announced by John J. O'Connor, vice-president and general manager of the RKO circuit, as follows: The Strand, Syracuse; Trent, Trenton; Albee, Providence; Majestic, Columbus; Orpheum, Kansas City; Central, Y'onkers; Orpheum, Champaign; Century, Rochester, and the Alden, Jamaica. Important Dates June 4-6: Theatre Owners of North and South Carolina convention, Ocean Park Hotel, Myrtle Beach, S. C. June 8-10: Paramount convention. Hotel Aniha.ssador, Los Angeles. June 12: MPTO of Va. midsummer convention, Roanoke Hotel, Roanoke. June 13-15: Allied National convention, Nicollet Hotel, Minneapolis. June 19-22: RKO Convention, Westchester Country Club, Rye. N. Y. June 19-22: National Conference on Visual Education, Francis W. Parker School, Chicago. GOV'T FROWNS ON BUYING COMBINE The proposed booking combine fostered by Allied which would include 2,500 theatres has "no economic justification", declared a representative of the Department of Justice this week. Such a combine would create a monopoly similar to that of the major companies which the Department is trying to break up through its equity suit in New York and other suits elsewhere. This statement was prefaced by a remark by the Department of Justice representative that he did not take the reports of the combine seriously, despite the fact that some smaller ones have been formed in various parts of the country and there was talk of banding them all together. NEW EXHIB UNITINILL. Kuykendall Talks At Its First Meeting MAY johTthe mptoa A new exihibtor unit has been organized in Illinois with 50 members to start with. It is believed that the new unit, calling itself the United Theatre Owners of Illinois will affiliate itself with the MPTOA. Edward Zorn of Pontiac was appointed chairman of the group and named Jules Rubens of the Great States Circuit, Fred Anderson of the Anderson Circuit, G. A. Alger of the Alger Circuit and H. B. Bailey of Bailey Enterprises as an organization committee. They will meet in Springfield next Wednesday to perfect the organization. Circuit and independent theatres will back the new exhibitor group. Ed Kuykendall, president of the MPTOA, addressed the first meeting of the group on Monday of his week'. He urged cooperation among them to solve the industry's problems. The new group represents theatremen from all over the state. Commercial ism In Conventions ( Continued from page 3 ) solve those practices and abuses, except to use them as the springboard for hot air and appeals? Conventions, as we once were led to believe, were sup' posed to bring about a constructive and fair-minded dis' cussion of the problems confronting those attending. Instead we find that the conventions in our industry are merely a means of promoting something or other, but rarely accomplishing that for v/hich they are intended. So, in conclusion, we beg to say that we will continue to attend these so'called conventions ever hoping for Utopia and the first convention that will really accomplish something good, constructive and worth while. — 'CHICK" LEWIS