Boxoffice (Jul-Sep 1938)

50 HOLLYWOOD NAMES MAY BARNSTORM U. S. IN GOODWILL SPEAKING TOUR FOR BIG DRIVE Practical Difficulties Yet to Be Smoothed Out, However New York — Fifty Hollywood stars and name players may be marshalled to travel the nation in a far-flung speaking tour on behalf of the “Motion Pictures’ Greatest Year” drive. The joint committee, under chairmanship of George J. Schaefer, is seriously considering the plan as a final piece de resistance in what is now rapidly recognized as the most outstanding collective enterprise in the industry’s history. The idea is to take Hollywood to the country and, by speeches before Chambers of Commerce and the wide array of civic and social organizations that weave in and out of the country’s fabric, launch a goodwill tour such as publicity men dream of. There are practical difficulties intervening and those difficulties may be sufficient to thwart consummation of the plan. The chief problem is the necessity for keeping the wheels of production humming, particularly in the light of the new season. Of grave concern to the committee, also, is the inevitable deluge of requests from exhibitors of all stature for personal appearances if and when prominent players hit their cities. Normal business acumen of alert showmen, the committee knows, is apt to shove into a siding the realization the drive is an all-industry enterprise and, therefore, cannot be turned to the boxoffice advantage of a specific theatreman. The danger in even countenancing personal appearances in one house rests in the certain storm of opposition to arise from competing exhibitors who may not be included and it is an obvious impossibility for a player to include all. Ahead at Top Speed In the meantime, all hands are working at top speed to prepare the essential material, including the millions of required booklets for the “Movie Quiz” contest, the campaign pressbook of which there probably will be 25,000. Donahue and Coe, retained advertising agency, is busy whipping newspaper copy into shape for scheduled insertions everywhere on Septemper 1. Regional meetings are being held and others are planned. The Minneapolis district met Wednesday in that city with A. W. Smith jr„ general sales manager of UA, representing the New York joint committee. On the same day, Philadelphia convened with Lewen Pizor as chairman. Charlotte, under direction of H. F. Kincey, met Friday; Atlanta gets going August 15 with William K. Jenkins presiding; Seat Where the Cash Will Go Cleveland — The quarter million in cash prizes for winners of the "Movie Quiz” contest divides into 5,000 prizes, as explained to independents here. Prizes will be eligible to all patrons in the United States and Canada regardless of age but who correctly answer a minimum of 30 questions, as follows: First prize $50,000 Second 25,000 Third . 15,000 Fourth 10,000 Fifth 5,000 Five each at 1,000 Ten each at 500 120 each at 100 860 each at 50 4,000 each at 20 5,000 prizes $250,000 tie, August 16 when John Danz will preside, and Denver, August 17 under the aegis of Rick Ricketson. Kansas City, Louisville and Memphis are coming up. Forty-one exchanges in the United States and Canada have been designated as shipping points and supply depots through which essential campaign material will be cleared. Divided among the eight majors, the split-up designates Columbia in Albany and Des Moines; M-G-M in Chicago, Cleveland, Milwaukee, New Orleans and Pittsburgh; Paramount in Cincinnati, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, Portland, Me. ; New York, San Antonio and Washington in this country and Calgary, Montreal, St. John, Toronto, Vancouver and Winnipeg in Canada; RKO in Charlotte, Detroit, Philadelphia, Portland, Ore.; and South Falls; 20th Century-Fox in Atlanta, Boston, Buffalo, Dallas, Indianapolis and Minneapolis; United Artists in Denver, Omaha and Salt Lake; Universal in New Haven and St. Louis and Warner in Kansas City, Memphis, Oklahoma City, San Francisco and Seattle. While in many cases, October releases are not definitely determined by participating distributors, including Monogram, nine companies, by information furnished and then simply enough compiled by Boxoffice, already list 96 features which will be eligible in the $250,000 cash contest. Although the contest starts September 1 and concludes December 31, the releasing period has been moved up from August 1 to July 29 and terminates, as originally determined, with releases down for October 31. The two months beyond the release limitation, of course, are designed to permit the final releases to filter through to the subsequents. The data which follows represents information supplied by the distributor. Many Regional Meetings Held Over Country; Others Due Columbia is down for 10; M-G-M for 11; Monogram, 10; Paramount, 14; RKO, 10; 20th Century-Fox, 14;, United Artists, five; Universal, 11, and Warner 11. October releases in some instances will swell the total. As it stands now: Columbia Aug:. 15 — “The* Gladiator” — Joe E. Brown, June Travis. Aug. 18 — “Convicted” — Rita Hayworth, Charles Quigley. Aug. 31 — “Phantom Gold” — Jack Luden, Beth Marion. Sept. 2 — “I Am the Law” — Edward G. Robinson, Wendy Barrie. Sept. 8 — “The Colorado Kid” — Charles Starrett, Bess Meredith. Sept. 9 — “The Lady Objects” — Lanny Ross, Gloria Stuart. Sept. 15 — “Juvenile Court” — Paul Kelly, Rita Hayworth. Sept. 22 — “Stranger From Arizona” — Buck Jones. Sept. 29 — “You Can’t Take It With You”— Jean Arthur, Lionel Barrymore, Edward Arnold. Sept. 30 — “Girls’ School” — Anne Shirley, Nan Grey, Ralph Bellamy. M-G-M July 29 — “The Chaser” — Dennis O’Keefe, Ann Morriss, Lewis Stone. Aug. 5 — “The Crowd Roars” — Robert Taylor, Maureen O’Sullivan, Edward Arnold, Frank Morgan. Aug. 12 — “Rich Man, Poor Girl” — Robert Young, Lew Ayres, Guy Kibbee, Lane Turner. Aug. 19 — “Block-Heads” — Laurel and Hardy. Aug. 26 — “Marie Antoinette” — Norma Shearer, Tyrone Power. Sept. 2 — “Boys’ Town” — Spencer Tracy, Mickey Rooney. Sept. 9 — “Stablemates” — Wallace Beery, Mickey Rooney. Sept. 16 — '“Listen, Darling” — Freddie Bartholomew, Judy Garland. Sept. 23 — “Vacation From, Love” — Dennis O’Keefe, Florence Rice, Reginald Owen. Oct. 14 — “Three Loves Has Nancy” — Robert Montgomery, Janet Gaynor, Franchot Tone. Oct. 28 — -“Sweethearts” — Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy. Monogram Aug. 3 — “Barefoot Boy” — Jackie Moran, Marcia Mae Jones, Ralph Morgan. Aug. 31 — “Under the Big Top” — Marjorie Main, Ann Nagel, Jack LaRue. Sept. 7 — “Mexicali Kid” — Jack Randall, Eleanor Stuart. Sept. 14 — “Starlight Over Texas” — Tex Ritter, Carmen LaRuex. Sept. 24 — “Wanted by the Police” — Frankie Darro, Evalyn Knapp. Sept. 28 — “Gang Bullets” (not cast). Oct. 5 — “Mr. Wong, Detective” — Boris Karloff. Oct. 12 — “Gangster’s Boy” — Jackie Cooper. Oct. 19 — “Wanderer of. the West” (tentative) — Jack Randall. Oct. 26 — “Where the Buffalo Roam” — Tex Ritter. Paramount July 29 — “Professor Beware” — Harold Lloyd. Aug. 5 — “Bulldog Drummond in Africa” — John Howard, Heather Angel, H. B. Warner. Aug. 12 — “The Texans” — Joan Bennett, Randolph Scott, May Robson, Walter Brennan. Aug. 19 — “Give Me a Sailor” — Martha Raye, Bob Burns. Aug. 26 — “Spawn of the North” — George Raft, Henry Fonda, Dorothy Lamour, John Barrymore, Akim Tamiroff. Sept. 2 — “Sing, You Sinners” — Bing Crosby, Fred MacMurray, Donald O’Connor. Sept. 9 — “In Old Mexico” — Hopalong Cassidy. Sept. 16 — “Sins of the Legion” — Donald O’Connor, Billy Lee, Billy Cook. Sept. 23 — “Campus Confessions” — Betty Grable, “Hank” Luisetti, Eleanore Whitney. (Continued on page 14) BOXOFFICE August 13, 1938 9