Boxoffice (Apr-Jun 1939)

BROADWAY, (Continued from page 19) minor operation ... lie de France arrivals include Robert Florey, Paramount director; Duke Ellington, prominent orchestra leader, and Flora Mahieu, actress. A. J. Balaban, just returned from Switzerland , plans to remain in town for several weeks before heading for Chicago. He says he has a lot of ideas in mind and ‘‘letting things unfold.” No production plans are in view and he’s just taking it easy for the time being . . . Bill Ferguson has started his weekend trips to his summer home in Ogonquit, Me. He uses the air lanes as well as the highways to commute . . . David Idzal, managing director of the Fox, Detroit, visited the National Theatres’ headquarters last week . . .A. L. Sack, head of Sack Amusements, is in town from the coast . . . Peter Mayer, son of Arthur, sailed on the Queen Mary in connection with his new association with Herb Kline. Mervyn Freeman has been named temporary Pathe News coast head, succeeding Mayer. Lep Friedman landed on the coast Friday from Honolulu and left immediately for New York, where he is due Monday . . . Howard Strickling preceded Louis B. Mayer’s arrival by two days. Mayer spent last weekend at Lexington, Ky., for the Kentucky Derby and then went to Washington for a day . . . Carl Laemmle jr., spent three days in Chicago before coming to New York . . . Spencer Tracy arrives Monday on the Normandie from Europe . . . Frank Orsatti flew in from Hollywood over the weekend with plans to spend ten days in town, the same as Mayer and Strickling . . . Edward A. Golden, vicepresident of Monogram, came in from Chicago, Monday, all by his lonesome. The other boys flew home. Benny Fields, just back from a vacation at Hot Springs, opened at the State, Thusday. He was among the theatrical personalities at the Giants-St. Louis Cards game at the Polo Grounds, who included Eddie Cantor, Artie Stebbins, Marvin Schenck, Gene Picker, Ben Joel, Leonard Schlesinger, Jim Finey, and others . . . Harry Goetz is slated to return to Hollywood, May 19 . . . Ben Goetz is due back from the coast in a week . . . Joe Vogel, for his last 16 suits, has ruled out vests, winter or summer . . . W. J. Shine of Ross Federal in Cincinnati has been in town. H. J. Henreddy of the Los Angeles office has succeeded C. R. Corrandini at Indianapolis, the latter now in Boston and still with Ross Federal . . . Henry Fonda is en route to Europe and returns to the 20thFox lot in June . . . Jascha Heifetz was in Detroit during the week and then went back to Hollywood to resume film work. Jimmy Roosevelt’s arrival on the Queen Mary was the cause of an unexpected flurry on the pier when his mother, Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt, showed up to greet him. Attired in a plain grey suit and small blue chapeaux, Mrs. Roosevelt, was easily recognizable. A quick, warm welcome to her son and Mrs. Roosevelt was off. On the way out, she stopped to con verse with Joe Schenck who also was on hand to “hello” Jimmy. “This is just a friendly visit,” said Schenck in answer to questions. Schenck, incidentally, is spending most of his time seeing the current hits along Broadway. He places his approval on “The Little Foxes” and “No Time for Comedy” . . . A1 Loew’s wife is recuperating from an operation in a Washington, D. C., hospital. He sails next month for South Africa alone and will be joined by her later . . . After all these months, the Herbert Drakes (she’s Dee Lowrance of the UA publicity department) are anxiously awaiting the arrival of their new sailboat, aptly christened “Wench,” which some friends are sailing down from Maine on her maiden voyage. Jack Cohn’s three secretaries — Virginia McCullough, Beatrice Lee and Dorothy ■ REVIEW FLASHES * GIRL FROM MEXICO. THE (RKO)— Slapstick comedy which attains riotous proportions due to spirited work of Lupe Velez and Leon Errol. Should collar plenty of belly laughs from the gallery. Robert Sisk produced; Leslie Goodwins directed. GRAND JURY SECRETS (Para)— Pretty good entertainment is this story of two brothers, one a reporter and the other an assistant D. A., who vie against each other for honors, with the former trying to steal the latter's girl friend. John Howard, Porter Hall, Gail Patrick. James Hogan directed. HOUSE OF FEAR, THE (Univ) — A mysterythriller endowed with all those elements making for a first-rate shudder-shocker. Its attractiveness is heightened by a gentle sprinkling of comedy. William Gargan, Irene Hervey, Alan Dinehart. Joe May directed. ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS (Col)— Intensely gripping and spectacular air adventure feature, for which there should be no ceiling as regards its popular appeal and revenue possibilities. The story is a sweeping masterpiece of action, suspense and crisp dialogue; the large cast, headed by Cary Grant and Jean Arthur, is strikingly superior, while production and direction by Howard Hawks are deft and effective. TELL NO TALES (M-G-M) — Knockout newspaper melodrama freighted with action and suspense and weaving an exciting story of kidnaping and amateur detection. Melvyn Douglas delivers an ace performance. Edward Chodorov produced; Leslie Fenton directed. COMPLETE REVIEWS on the above pictures will appear in an early issue of BOXOFFICE. Feeney — are moving into a brand new, airconditioned, enlarged office on the 11th floor of 729 . . . Stanton Griffis enjoys all the current television programs with his office model (DuMont — adv.) receiver . . . Arthur Lee says the new theatre-size television set will be ready for operation in the GB projection room next week . . . Lost: One perfectly healthy voice. If found, return to Max Cohen. Reward . . . William Guyer has replaced Joe Bloom as the Balbie-Thompson representative at the Warner home office . . . Walter Reade jr., is right in the thick of spring. He spent all of Sunday inspecting the peach and cherry blossoms at his dad’s place in New Jersey. Myer Beck needed a reference in order to become an acceptable tenant in an apartment house. He got such a dandy from Russell Birdwell he’s thinking of demanding one from his landlord . . . “If you wouldn’t miss Bear Mountain this year,” reads the Warner Club poster, June 21 is the day of the club’s annual outing, aboard the very good ship, Peter Stuyvesant . . . Edmund Goulding is due to leave the coast for a Gotham vacation upon completion of “The Old Maid” . . . John Payne has returned to the Warner studios to commence work as the lead in “Career Man.” Eddie Cohen, until recently with the 20 th Century-Fox foreign department, has joined Vedis Films, French producers with offices in the RKO Building . . . Charlie Cohen of Howard Dietz’s staff is nursing the after-effects of a highly inflated cheek, which was the after-effect of an operation on a pesky tooth . . . Irene Filiak, Warner fashion editor, is set for a South American cruise in mid-June . . . Larry Golob, magazine contact for Warner, is back from a business trip to Baltimore and Washmgton . . . Erich Pommer leaves London for conferences here with Budd Rogers on the Queen Mary, May 17. Both men will attend the Paramount sales convention in Los Angeles. John W. Hicks jr. will make his belated coast trip with the Paramount convention delegates next month ... Joe Rosthal of M-G-M’s foreign department is mourning the loss of his mother . . . Leah Peterson has returned from a week’s vacation in Toronto, her home town. The young woman is cashier at the local Paramount exchange and drove back in 15 hours, which is good driving . . . Sam Rinzler now opens his speeches with “My friends” instead of “Ladies and gentlemen” just to be on the safe side . . . Those flowers you see gracing the window sill of Len Cohen come direct from Nicholas M. Schenck’s garden in Great Neck . . . Joe Seidelman’s boy, Robert, was Bar Mitzvahed, May 6, at Temple Israel in New Rochelle . . . Alec Moss is reducing with a venegance and visiting the gym suite regularly these days . . . Cliff Lewis accompanied Evelyn Venable to the coast via the air lanes. Hattie Helborn has been practicing up on her golf now that spring is here on a belated visit . . . Max Fogel and William Tishkoff of the Allied Rochester unit have been in town visiting E. Thornton Kelly for a couple of days. 22-D BOXOFFICE :: May 13, 1939