Showmen's Trade Review (Oct-Dec 1949)

12 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW, November 26, 1949 NEWSREEL CLIPS 24 Releases Set For December Twenty-four new features will be uut into release during the holiday month of December, a check of the booking guide of Showmen's Trade Review revealed this week. This , marks a drop compared to November when 35 releases were put on the market by 13 companies. Production, however, continued to compare closely with last year. Pictures that went into production during the first 11 months of 1949 totaled 276, which compares favorably with the 281 of the same period in 1948. Inventory moved up slightly with 252 in process of being completed or in the vault for the 11nionth period ending in November, 1949 compared to 250 for the same period in 1948. By Companies December general releases by companies : Columbia — "And Baby Makes Three." "Prison Warden," "Tell It to the Judge." Film Classics — "Pirates of Capri." Lippert Productions — "Radar Patrol." Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer — "Intruder in the Dust," "On the Town," "Challenge to Lassie." Monogram — "Bomba on Panther Island," "Square Dance Katy." Paramount — "The Great Lover," "The Heiress." RKO Radio — "HoUday Affair," "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon," "The Threat." Republic — "The Blonde Bandit." 20th Century-Fox — "Fighting Man of the Plains," "Prince of Foxes." United Artists — "Mrs. Mike." Universal International — "Adam and Evalyne, "Tight Little Island," "Undertow." Warner Bros. — "The Inspector General," "The Lady Takes a Sailor." Wiley Voices Tax Protest First voice to be heard this week demanding reduction of excise taxes, among which are included amusement taxes, is that of Sen. Alexander Wiley (R., Wis.) who called upon Congress to put in a cut. Wiley served notice that he would "insist" upon the enactment of his own bill, that of Sen. Edwin Johnson (D., Colo.), or some sound substitute that would lower what he termed the "nuisance taxes." Claims Loss To back up the need for tax cuts, he cited that that there would be "hundreds of millions of dollars" loss in purchasing power through the steel and coal strikes which would be reflected in reduced Christmas buying and a decreased business volume. Elimination of "nuisance taxes" would not only serve to decrease this, but would not necessarily mean less revenue, Wiley argues, because it has been proved that removal of burdensome taxes tends to increase spending for goods. Wiley further points out that Congress raised the "nuisance taxes" as a war measure promising a repeal at the end of the war. Incorporations INCORPORATIONS: Sheffield-Bush Theatres (L. T. Sheffield, Mr,,. Mattie L. Sheffield, J. D. Bush, Mrs. Robbie Bush), to operate an under-skyer at Albany, Ga. . . . Empire & Affiliated Theatres of Colby, Kans., $30,000 capital, Donald D. Philips, resident agent. . . . Lippert Pictures, Inc., of Kansas City, R. L. Lippert, Al Grubstick, M. Schwer, William IL Gafifney, incorporators. . . . Rosedale Drive-In, Mission, Kans., capital stock $1,000, Paul W. Gatzoulis. . . . Poplar Blufifs Drive-In at Poplar Bluff, Mo., to operate drive-in theatres of all kinds. Incorporators : Clyde Hogg, Clyde E. Richardson, M. Richardson and R. M. Hogg. To Teach Teachers More than 4,000 California school teachers and superintendents got a lesson from the movies when they met in Oakland, Calif., this week for their annual Teacher's Institute. The meeting, held in the Grand Lake Theatre of San Francisco's East Bay, was addressed by 20th CenturyFox Publicist Eddie Yarborough and saw March of Time's "The Fight for Better Schools." Film Row Jarro Miller, Cleveland Warner Bros, office manager, is celebrating his 20th anniversary with the company, which shows what a swell, patient guy he is. . . . Republic's A. E. Schiller visited the Minneai>olis branch last week. . . . Midwest Universal Districts are out to honor District Manager Manning Gottlieb in the current drive. . . . The RKO axe continued to fall this week, lopping of¥ Atlanta's popular Branch Manager Hubert Lyons, who has been with the company for one year better than a quarter of a century, and Keith Bain. . . . Irving Stern is assistant general sales manager for Canadian Monogram. . . . Walter J. Kennedy has taken over promotion at Empire Universal, Toronto. . . . Herman Coustan has been reelected president of Chicago Film Workers' Union, Local F, with Chris Chinn as secretary and Sam Lamasky, business agent. . . . With Eagle Lion signing up, this union now has the Chicago Row 100 per cent. . . . The Colosseum of Motion Picture Salesmen has closed a tentative deal with the major distributors but is keeping mum until the Nov. 25 convention in Kansas City says yes or no to the deal. ' Foreign Peak Film and Trading Company this week announced that it was importing "Tears of the Yangtze," built on a theme reflecting social upheaval among the Chinese classes and had already booked it for the San Francisco World. . . . Discinia International reorganized this week with Norman Katz heading the company to replace Morris Goodman, resigned. Company offers Maurice Chevalier's "A Royal Affair," "Maneges," "Orpheus" and "Lady Paname." Philanthropies Workers Committee chairmen named by General Chairman George F. Dembow for the amusement industry's part in the drive for the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies are : Corporate Gifts, Spyros Skouras ; Special Gifts, Malcolm Kingsberg ; Film Events Calendar NOVEMBER 25, convention of Colosseum of Motion Picture salesmen, Hotel Muehlebabh, Kansas City, Mo. 29, annual meeting. Independent Thea-tre Owners of Washington, Benjamin Franklin Hotel, Seattle. DECEMBER 1-2, convention. Independent Theatre Owners of Wisconsin, Hotel Schroeder, Milwaukee. 6-7, third annual convention. Allied Theatre Owners of the Gulf States. Jung Hotel, New Orleans. 12-13, meeting of the Conference Committee of the Motion Picture 'Industry, Shoreham Hotel, Washington, D. C. Exhibitors, Fred J. Schwartz ; Company Chairmen, Lou Novins ; Vendors, Joe Hornstein ; Concessionaires, Harold Rinzler, Leslie Schwartz, Ben Sherman ; Laboratories, William J. German ; Foreign Films, Ben Gladstone, Ralph Lager, with William Brandt, John Chapman, general chairman ; Publicity, Mel Gold. Variety Club Notes Under Secretary of Defense Stephen T. Early made the presentation of the personality of the year award given to Al Jolson by the Washington Variety Club last Saturday. It was a big shindig with all the biggies present. . . . More than 600 orphans attended the Variety Club Western Hall of Fame show at the Civic Auditorium in San Francisco last week, with the local tent buying the tickets so that their junior guests could see a show headlined by most of the cowboy stars, including Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. . . . Variety Village, the $300,000 occupational guidance school for crippled children, got under way in Toronto. The school, which houses 24 boys ranging in ages from 16 to 18 years, was built with most of the funds furnished by the Toronto tent which is now. out to raise more funds so that an equal number of girls can be handled. . . . Baltimore Tent 19 this week elected Rodney H. Collier of Warners' Stanley Theatres to a second term as chief barker . Joseph C. Grant, retiring chief barker, read a report that showed more than $21,000 had been put out in charity shared by the Police Boys Clubs and other charities. Grant was chosen national canvassman. Others elected were H. Ted Routson, first assistant chief barker; Mark Silver, second assistant chief barker ; William G. Meyers, treasurer ; Edward Kimpel, Jr., secretary. . . . The Variety Club of Connecticut elected Ray Wylie chief barker with Robert Elliano, first assistant chief barker ; Sam Wasserman, second assistant chief barker ; Harry Rosenblatt, dough guy ; Arthur Greenfield, property man. Wasserman was selected as delegate to the national convention which will also be attended by Lou Brown and possibly by Wasserman. The Buffalo tent named Marin Atlas and Sam Geffin as delegates to the New Orleans convention. Wedded Alexander H. Robertson, owner and manager of the Majestic, Springfield, Ky., to Martha Lee Nally at St. Dominic's Church. fiorn A boy to W. L. Parden, shipper of Warner Bros., -'\tlanta. Dead HYMAN KING, 82. veteran Canadian exhibitor, one-time operator of King's Playhouse, and several neighborhooders in Toronto. Survivors : widow and daughter. JOSEPH LEVINSON, 80, northwest pioneer exhibitor and one-time operator of the first movie house in Seattle — The City — at his home in Los -A.ngeles. J. GEORGE WESTERMAYER, pioneer projectionist at the Rio, St. Louis, after an illness of several months. Survivors : His widow, three daughters — Celeste Tackitt, Aurelia Brenaner, Vernoic Wassel — and several grandchildren.