Boxoffice (Jan-Mar 1939)

who got a straight wire on the coast to that effect. Sammy Cohen was pretty happy about the whole thing. He claims he was the “shatkin” that brought Mildred and Manny together. That’s why Manny gave him two cigars instead of one. Before the news was two hours old, the “boys” took Manny over to Lindy’s and fed him. Harry Buckley, Harry Gold, A1 Margolies, Herb Jadeiker, Myer Beck, Harry Kosiner, Louis Berg and Greenthal paid their own checks. When Earle Hammons stopped in Chicago en route to the home office from Hollywood, he decided to stay a little longer than he intended and switched trains from the Commodore Vanderbilt to the 20th Century. He’ll never forget it, either. Because when he and everyone else on the Century got out of their berths to prepare for disembarking at Grand Terminal they had to remain as they felt the night before. The water supply had leaked out and there wasn’t any to wash with. Harry A. Ross, president of Ross Federal Research Corp., has been meeting with a group of district managers at the home office. Attending were : Harold Lund, supervising the Pittsburgh, Albany, Boston, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Buffalo and Detroit territories; Walter I, Brown, whose districts comprise Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Chicago, St. Louis, Des Moines and Omaha; Walter Anderson, manager for Charlotte, Atlanta, Memphis, New Orleans, Dallas and Oklahoma City areas; J. A. Kraker, in charge of Philadelphia, Washington and Baltimore branches, and P. X. Miske, E. Wall, D. A. Ross, C. B. Ross and R. E. Ross of the home office. Carl Kreuger, Paramount exploiteer, had two wisdom teeth yanked the other day . . . Beulah Livingstone is handling publicity for Film Alliance, the new company recently formed by Harry Brandt and Nat Wachsberger for distribution of 12 British and French films in this country . . . Merle Oberon is due from the coast Tuesday and sails the following day on the Normandie for England. George Seed has had such great success with his series of jitterbugs at the Colonial, Utica, a Morse & Rothenberg house, that he visited Filmrow the other day on a hunt for vaudeville acts to follow the second series of the dance contest . . . M. L. Simons, who edits The Distributor for M-G-M, returns from Chicago Monday . , . Howard Dietz, Si Seadler and Pete Smith were among those who flew in Wednesday, others making the return from the convention by rail . . . O. Henry Briggs has acquired an additional 6,194 options on Monogram stock for Pathe Film. Billy Brandt says the Flatbush, Brooklyn, grossed about $12,000 the first week vyith vaudeville, but no plans have been developed to extend the idea in other houses in the circuit . . . Cresson E. Smith, RKO vjestern and southern sales manager, is in St. Louis as part of a tour of midwest exchanges . . . Bobby Breen will be a guest on Eddie Cantor’s radio program Monday night . . . Mike Hof fay, publicist in the RKO foreign department, was home with the grippe for a few days . . . Nat Cohn of the Columbia Cohn clan is sporting a Miami tan around Filmrow . . . Walter Branson and Harry Michaelson are visiting the far west RKO exchanges on behalf of the George J. Schaefer drive, then back east, via the south. AI Margolies is mourning the loss of an eye-tooth. But he’s not ungrateful for the way his face swelled up since the yanking. Says it makes him look fatter . . . The New Yorker phoned Tom Waller’s secretary for some information and almost caused a mathematical riot. The question was: “How long does it take to run three feet of film?” . . . Bill Howard of RKO’s vaudeville booking office is singing the praises of Frank Pay’s variety show . . . W. H. Auden, Christopher Isherwood and Louis MacNeice will speak on “Modern Trends in English Poetry and Prose” before the League of American Writers at a Poets’ Symposium at the Keynote Club, April 6, Jack Bellman, Republic district manager, is back from a tour of New England exchanges . . . Betty Field, stage actress, has arrived on the Paramount lot and is now working on “What a Life” . . . Dorothy Stickney, another promment Broadway player, is on the same lot and in the same picture . . . Frank J. A. McCarthy, easterii sales manager for Universal, is cruising and vacationing, but will be back in town for the first of the three regional sessiojis . . . Arthur S. Dickinson of the Hays office was in Wilmington during the week as a member of the committee drafting recommendations covering safety of shipments in transit ... Ad Schulberg is on her way home from France after visiting Danielle Darrieux. Rose Drucker, secretary to Roger Ferri, is gradually regaining her voice. It all happened late Friday night when she was walking on her way to her residence on 88th street near the Drive. A man who was lurking in the shadows started to follow her and then walked up and grabbed her purse. He hopped on a motorcycle where an accomplice was waiting and fled. Miss Drucker was so frightened she screamed. That’s why the voice is weak. Total loss: one week’s wages plus additional cash and a pair of glasses . . . Irving Maas, in charge of foreign service operations for 20th Century-Pox, is recuperating from a minor operation at St, Vincent’s Hospital . . . Sir Gordon Craig, general manager of British Movietone, and R. Sutton Dawes, director of sales for 20th Century-Fox, Ltd., are here for the domestic sales convention. Also Leo Bran (Continued on page 60-D) — Metropolitan Photos Discussion, Serious and Otherwise — It was at a cocktail party given for Irene Dunne by W. G. Van Sclnnus, managing director of the Music Hall. Above, George J. Schaefer, president of RKO, in conversation — serious — with Pandro Berman, who heads that company’s studio. Below, Cresson E. Smith, southern and western sales manager, seems to be emphasizing a point — not so seriously — by finger upraised and pointing. Listening to him, left to right, are Fred Meyers, assistant to John J. O’Connor, general theatre operator for RKO, who stands next to Meyers. Next to O’Connor is E. L. McEvoy, RKO’s eastern sales manager and Smith’s “traditional” enemy. BOXOFFICE :: March 25, 1939 E 60-A