Boxoffice (Jan-Mar 1941)

WALTER STHOHM named assistant director on “Blossoms in the Dust.” JACK SMITH, cameraman, and JOHN WATERS have been inspecting possible location sites near Sonora lor snow scenes in “A Woman’s Face.” JOHN DETLIE assigned as art director on “Lady Be Good.” JOSEPH RUTTENBERG lensing crowd sequences for “Andy Hardy’s Private Secretary.” Paramount CHARLES SCHOENBACM lensing "Caught in the Draft.” RAY STONE to edit “Skylark.” EDA WARREN to edit “One Night in Lisbon.” CHARLES LANG to photograph “Skylark.” Picture Corp. of America F. PALL SYLOS named art director on “Power Dive,” Richard Arlen starrer for Paramount release. L. B. MERMAN signed as production manager on “Power Dive” to. be made for Paramount release. Universal HAROLD MacARTHUR named art director on “Model Wife.” VICTOR MILNER lensing “The Man Who Lost Himself.” Warner Bros. LES GUTHRIE named assistant director on “Thirty Days Hath September.” HARTZELL SPENCE signed as technical advisor on “One Foot in Heaven,” biography which he wrote. CLARENCE KOLSTER to edit “Miss Wheelwright Discovers America.” RUSS SAUNDERS named assistant director on “Bad Men of Missouri.” ORRY-KELLY named fashion designer on “The Bride Came C. O. D,” and “Affectionately Yours.” DICK MAYBERRY set as assistant director on “Affectionately Yours.” Conferences Absorb Executives at Fox Monogram's First Boulevard Premiere— As “Her First Romance’’ bowed at the Hawaii in Hollywood, the capacity of the house was taxed. Above are some of the scenes from the event. Top row, left to right: Mrs. Joseph Lamm; Joseph Lamm, Monogram comptroller; Mrs. Louis Lifton; Louis Lifton, Monogram director of advertising and publicity; Marcella Napp, a guest ; Sam Katzman and Mrs. Katzman; Ray Corrigan; Judith Linden and Gregory Stone. Lower left: Harold Couddy (left), Hawaii manager, tinkers with the lighting effects while I. E. Chadwick (right), producer, and an electrician look on. Edith Fellows (lower center), star of the film, in the lobby of the Hawaii. At the lower right, Keye Luke, star of Monogram’ s James Lee Wong series, at the mike, and Ray Corrigan of the Range Buster series. Corrigan was master of ceremonies. J i ■ : 1 Executive conferences anent the consent decree, production plans and budgets for the balance of the 1940-41 season are underway at 20th Century-Fox, with the return from New York of Darryl Zanuck, studio production chief. Participating, in addition to Zanuck, are Herman Wobber, sales head; President Sidney R. Kent, Joseph M. Schenck and William Goetz. Huddles are expected to continue for a week or more. Ned Depinet, RKO Radio’s sales head, has delayed his arrival here until January 15, at which time he will accompany President George Schaefer from New York. Schaefer and Depinet will probe detailed production plans for the next few months in huddles with Harry Edington, Lee Marcus and J. J. Nolan of the studio staff. Depinet will return east at the conclusion of the conferences, while Schaefer intends to remain at the studio for several months. W. Ray Johnston, Monogram president, checked out for Kansas City to preside at a franchise-holders’ meeting Jan. 11. He was accompanied by Geo. West, franchise holder in St. Louis, Kansas City and Cincinnati; and Howard Stubbins, west coast franchise holder. Meeting was called to complete arrangements for the annual “March for Monogram” drive, slated for February 22April 11. Johnston, West and Stubbins will return here January 14. Unexpected business matters requiring his presence in the east forced Murray Silverstone, United Artists head, to delay his proposed Hollywood arrival for an other ten days. He will be accompanied here by Arthur Kelly, UA sales manager. At the conclusion of Universal product huddles the company announced it will deliver the full 63 pictures announced for the 1940-41 season, despite revenue losses from foreign sources. Further, President Nate Blumberg announced budgets will be boosted on a number of forthcoming vehicles. J. Cheever Cowdin, board chairman, was the first to return east. He will be followed next week by William Scully, sales head, and Joseph Seidelman, foreign sales manager, with Blumberg planning to remain here. William F. Rodgers, general sales manager, and Howard Dietz have checked in at M-G-M for conferences with studio officials on spring releases. Dietz was accompanied by A1 Lichtman, studio official, who spent a week in New York meeting with homeoffice executives. To set up detailed production and budgetary plans for the final quarter of 194041, Herbert J. Yates is due at Republic January 15. He will huddle with M. J. Siegel, production head. Not awaiting Yates’ arrival, James R. Grainger, sales chief, checked out after a week at the studio to begin a swing around the company’s exchanges. After four days of conferences with Y. Frank Freeman, Henry Ginsberg and other studio officials, Neil Agnew, distribution head for Paramount, and Robert Gillham, advertising-publicity chief, returned to New Korda Drops Plans for Co-Producing ''Wine" Alexander Korda has retired from the arrangement whereby he was to have coproduced and released “New Wine” through United Artists in association with Dr. William Szekeley. Szekeley will produce the Ilona Massey starrer himself and will negotiate a release directly through UA or some other major. Reinhold Schunzel is slated to direct. York. David Rose, Paramount’s managing director for Great Britain, will leave January 17 en route back to London. He has been here for a month, vacationing and discussing British production plans with studio executives. Producers David Loew and Albert Lewin have gone to New York to confer with United Artists officials anent release plans for their first picture, “So Ends Our Night.” They also plan to discuss their year’s program, which includes “Landfall” and “Night Music.” The producers will stay in the east to catch the Music Hall opening of "So Ends Our Night” early in February. Robert Schless, Warner foreign sales manager, and Joseph Bernhard, general manager of Warner Theatres, have checked in at the studio. They will await the arrival next week of Gradwell Sears, sales head, at which time the visitors will launch parleys with studio executives. BOXOFFICE :: January 11, 1941 31