Boxoffice (Apr-Jun 1939)

the Fifth Ave. Presbyterian Church. The bride formerly worked at UA’s home office . . . Richard Perry is the new local GN branch manager replacing Pete Rosian, who has joined Universal in the field . . . Irving Barry, short subject buyer for National Theatres, also on the sick list during the week. Cold got him, too. Louis Weber, George Skouras’ attorney, is back on the job again feeling fit as a fiddle after several operations within the past year . . . Dorothy Lamour is now at the Paramount studios after personal appearances at the Paramount here . . . Milton Maier of RKO’s legal staff stopped over at Cody, Wyo., for a looksee at the ranch where Nate Blumberg’s son spends his summers. As you read this, Maier is on his way to Honolulu . . . Freddie Meyers is taking a lot of kidding about his golf these days. One of the best lines bandied about the RKO home office is that after Freddie hits the pill it’s closer to him than when he started to swing . . . Lep Friedman is having a lot of fun canceling reservations these days. He makes them with the hope the pending strike situation will clear up and then cancels when he wakes up every morning to get a flash, “everything is in status quo.” Which ain’t no justice, says Leopold. Rutgers Neilsen, RKO publicity director, literally turned back the pages of time the other night. Always interested in the subject of dancing, Neilsen in 1914 purchased a book on dancing by the Castles. The other night he escorted Mrs. Irene Castle to the Rainbow Room where she autographed the book after a quarter of a century had elapsed . . . Manny Reiner of Monogram returns April 12 from Hartford where he has been since April 4 working on the advance campaign of “ Streets of New York” at the State . . . Bob Hawkinson of RKO’s foreign department, has taken his family to Miami for a two-week vacation . . . T. J. Brandon, sales head of Garrison Film, wound up his trip to the midwest the other day and is now back at the company’s headquarters . . . Joris Ivens and John Feme, co-producers of “The 400,000,000” are en route to France and Holland after a visit to this country . . . H. Russell Emde, RKO division manager in Westchester and New Jersey, found himself in the middle of another birthday. From that point on it was a surprise party at the John J. O'Connors at New Rochelle with the Fred Meyers, the Bucky Harrises, the Joe Flynns, the Frank Wells and Mrs. Donald Tracy among those present . . . Alan Hale, has arrived from Chicago where he paused on personal business . . . Harry M. Warner, quite a Californian now, is not expected east for many weeks. Maybe when the racing season opens at Saratoga . . . Ben Kalmenson, western sales manager for Warner, is not on vacation, as reported. He had that in the form of a cruise. Now he’s barnstorming his territory on 1939-40 contracts. When John W. Hicks jr., returned from England he found his secretary, Edith Salzberger, honeymooning in Washington and points south with husband Jack Chatkiss . . . The big question mark in the reported GB-Odeon merger, Sir Phillip Hill, sneaked away on the Normandie and was just as truculent when he arrived, certainly no way for a gentleman to act . . . Herman Wobber, who sails with S. R. Kent and Hutchinson on the Washington, is back at his desk and things are hopping on the sixth floor . . . Irving Brown of the Warner home office advertising art department, has won first prize in the World’s Fair Poster and Car Card contest sponsored by the museum of Natural History and the Hayden Planetarium. Eddie Zabel returned from the coast over the weekend after attending a meeting of FWC managers in connection with the 13-week National Theatres showman — Photo by Cosmo-Sileo "We Always Have Plans — Or how John W . Hicks jr., vice-president in charge of foreign sales for Paramount, parried a shipneivs reporter’s question if his company had any theatre construction ideas in mind for England. Hicks has his hat off. That’s to distinguish from the other two men who are tradepaper reporters assigned to interview him aboard the Normandie. ship campaign now in its first week . . . Aubrey Schenck and Milt Hossfield are due back from the field Monday . . . Nicholas M. Schenck is over his cold and back on the job . . . Dave Bernstein, Bill Phillips and Matty Fox are sporting tans that match their top coats . . . Mickey Scopp, brother-in-law to the Moskowitz clan, is recuperating at home after leaving Harkness Pavillion, at the Medical Center, where he underwent an operation . . . Leon G. Turrou, former G-man and author of “Confessions of a Nazi Spy,” will make personal appearances with the picture in about 20 cities, starting late April. Louis Phillips had nothing smaller than a $5 bill when his shoe-shine man finished a polishing job, so Irving Cohen had to cough up the necessary mana . . . Robert Aisner, independent French producer, got back from a quick trip to Paris on the lie de France and shortly will begin production of “Bricks Without Straw” in Eastern Service Studios . . . Walter Reade jr., getting a formal sidewalk introduction to Walter Branson . . . Jack Partington journeys to St. Louis, April 10, where he will spend four days lending his talents to supervision of that city’s annual police circus. “It’s bigger than Ringling Bros.”, beamed Jack. “It’s what?” doubted a scribbler. “Anyway, it’s as big,” settled Jack . . . Sam Krellberg has leased his Belmont for a legit attraction, “The Yiddishe Bande,” which states it is “The Sensational-Daring Musical Revue.” Joseph R. Vogel, Tom Connors, Eugene (Continued on page 30-H) After the Junket Was Over — -Photo by Cosmo-Sileo Back from the hegira to Dodge City for the premiere of the film of that name come a couple of travelers. Leon G. Turrou, G-Man-author of “Confessions of a Nazi Spy,” is on the left. In the middle, and not an infrequent position for him, is Red Kann. On the right is John Garfield who has just completed a lead in “Family Reunion” for Warner and now is in New York on a vacation with Mrs. Garfield. BOXOFFICE :: April 8, 1939 30-C