Boxoffice (Apr-Jun 1939)

"U" BUDGET $17,000,000 TO $20,000,000; PLANS 40, PLUS 3 SPECIALS, 14 WESTERNS Will Announce Details At Three Regionals; Cincinnati First Hollywood — Universal will spend from $17,000,000 to $20,000,000 on next season’s program with details to be announced by William A. Scully, general sales manager, at the three regional sales meetings, the first of which will be held April 15-17 at the Netherland Plaza Hotel, Cincinnati, with Nate J. Blumberg, president, and Joseph H. Seidelman, foreign head, in attendance. Scully will announce 40 features, seven outdoor action films with Richard Arlen, seven westerns with John Mack Brown, three Harry Edington specials, four serials, 70 single reel shorts, 13 doubles and 104 issues of Universal News. In all, it is figured the company will sell 63. For the current season. Universal delivered at least six unannounced attractions, such as the Bing Crosby, Charlie McCarthy and Edgar Bergen vehicles and several others. It is planned to release “The Mikado,” produced in England in Technicolor, as among the first for the new year. J. Cheever Cowdin has been spending his vacation here and Matthew Fox, assistant to Blumberg, and John Joseph, advertising and publicity head, have gone east for conferences with Blumberg and Scully on new season’s plans. Cowdin will not attend the regionals. 15 Exchanges Will Attend Cincinnati 3-Day Parley New York — Eastern, southern and midwestern exchanges to the tune of 15 will attend Universal’s first regional at the Netherland Plaza, Cincinnati April 15-17. William A. Scully, general sales manager, will be in charge, of course, but present will be Nate J. Blumberg, president; Frank J. A. McCarthy, eastern sales manager; William J. Heineman, western sales man On Presidential Tour — Nate J. Blumberg, head of Universal, who will attend all three of his company's sales regionals. Number 1: Cincinnati, April 15-17. ager; F. T. Murray, James Jordan, O. C. Binder, Andrew J. Sharick, Morris Alin and Louis Pollack, eastern publicity and advertising manager. Present there will be; Albany — Joe Engel, manager; L. J. Lesier, W. A. Ryan and A. J. Marchetti. Atlanta — Harry Graham, district manager; John Ezell, branch manager; C. J. Jordan, R. Elliot, E. F. Cox, E. L. O’Neill and R. B. Gann. Boston — W. Kelly, manager; F. Dervin, I. Shiffman, J. Curran, H. Konnis, H. Martin and J. Murphy. Buffalo — J. J. Scully, manager; J. Fater, W. F. Bock and Carl Heedit. Charlotte — P. Baron, manager; R. F. Good, R. H. Mesterman, J. Greenleaf and English-Made "Mikado" Leads Off the List Of 63 Anticipated J. M. Bishop. Cincinnati — Paul Krieger, manager; N. Le Vene, H. Young, G. B. Gomersall, J. Marks and F. Schreiber. Cleveland — Dave Miller, district manager; J. R. Kaufman, manager; J. V. Frew, G. Rosenbaum, J. Krenitz, A. W. Young, W. L. Sencer and Peter Rosian. Dallas — E. S. Olsmith, manager; J. H. Lietzer, L. D. Lietzer, W. R. Pittergle, C. M. Miller and E. V. Green. Memphis — A. J. Pretchard, manager; H. I. Mansfield, B. H. Jordan and L. H. Andrews. New Haven — M. Joseph, manager, and A. Titus. New Orleans — W. M. Richardson, manager; Paul Tessier, C. McMillin and N. Lamantia. New York — A1 Herman, district manager; Leo Abrams, manager; Max Cohen, Nat Goldberg, H. Furst, J. Ligget, P. Winnick and B. Price. Oklahoma City — J. E. Hobbs, manager; Henry Martin, W. G. Wray and M. M. Holstein. Philadelphia — G. Schwartz, manager; J. Engel, W. Doyle, M. Koppleman, J. Leon and R. Bernhard. Pittsburgh — Jules Lapidus, manager; D. Barnholtz, L. Hess, S. E. Feld, W. Satori and F. Guehl. Washington — B. B. Kreisler, manager; L. J. Young, B. Frank, S. Tabor, W. E. Davis and O. Blumenthal. The second regional is set for the Palmer House, Chicago, April 18-20. Nine offices will attend, sending these men: Chicago— E. T. Gomersall, district manager; Mannie Gottlieb, manager; R. Funk, F. Meyers, E. Weinshenler, M. Brodsky, A. Kent and W. Hyland. Des Moines — J. J. Spandau, manager; (Continued on page 22) The Selling Front: Domestic, Foreign, Advertising, Publicity — In the usual left to right manner: William A. Scully, Universal’s general sales manager, who will preside at all meetings; Frank J. A. McCarthy, eastern divisional sales chief who will take in Cincinnati and Chicago; William J. Heineman, western divisional sales chief who will attend all three; Joseph H. Seidelman, vice-president in charge of foreign distribution and down for the trio; John Joseph, director of advertising and publicity ivho will show up at San Francisco, and Lou Pollack, eastern advertising and publicity manager who will sit in at the first two only. BOXOFFICE :: April 8, 1939 15