Boxoffice (Jul-Sep 1938)

Bob Hope Unreels The Lowdown New York — When's a benefit not a benefit? Let Bob Hope who figures he has appeared in 879 such affairs, tell you. Says Hope, "I remember once I was driving to a police benefit and got a ticket for speeding. I tried to explain to the cop that’ I was the head comedian for his own show and he said, ‘All right. Make me laugh.' "Did you ever make a cop laugh?' weekend at Atlantic City. He thought he’d get away from the film industry for a few days, but he found out otherwise . . . Herb Crooker, breezing around without that worried look on his face, says he’s through with film 'publicity jobs. Hal Roach will be in town for the opening of “There Goes My Heart” in October at the Music Hall . . . Ex-Judge I. Frey of Loew’s, confidentially, spent his short holiday in the Adirondacks ... Joe E. Brown, starting October 1, goes on the air for Post Toasties, sponsored by General Foods. It will be a half hour comedy show . . . James R. Grainger attended the Famous Players Canadian convention in Toronto over the weekend. Prior to going to Toronto, he was in Washington. Arthur Jarratt, GB theatre operator, is due from Georgian Bay, near Lake Huron, September 6 ... J. Cheever Cowdin flew in from a quick trip to the coast where he discussed general matters with Matthew Fox and Cliff Work . . . Henry Fonda is at Pineville, Mo., on location for “Jesse James.” He’ll be there six weeks . . . Walter Bibo and Egon Klein, president and secretary of Atlas Film Exchange, are in Mexico City on product deals . . . Fred Scott is back on the coast after eight weeks of personal appearances. Tom Mix and his horse, Tony, sailed on the Paris the other day. The Diamond Brothers, comedy vaudeville team, also were among the passengers. Bob Gillham became the father of a second boy during the week. Mrs. Gillham and son are doing nicely at Lying-In Hospital . . . Steve Broidy is handing out posies to License Commissioner Paul Moss for quick action in giving him a license for the Municipal in Harlem. Broidy made the application on a holiday weekend when there wasn’t an inspector around. So the commissioner himself visited the theatre and okayed the license . . . Harry C. Arthur jr., is due any day now from St. Louis . . . Fred C. Quimby will arrive from the coast in about a week on his first visit since he began making his headquarters at the M-G-M studios . . . Harry Wurtzel, agent, is in town from the coast on reorganization plans for HarmanIsing. It is reported M-G-M is interested. Travelers in 20 th Century-Fox this week included William J. Clark, short subject sales manager, to Buffalo and Detroit; W. C. Gehring, central division manager, to Detroit; William Sussman, eastern division manager, to Gloversville; H. R. Beiersdorf, Dallas branch manager, to Hew York; Jack Sichelman of the home office, to Cleveland; Irving Mass of the foreign department, to Europe. Nate Scott, ad sales manager at the Cleveland exchange, has passed his bar exams, which means he’s now an AB and LLB. The boys and girls of the Strand presented “Dinty” Moore with a handsome fitted traveling bag before his departure for Oklahoma City and a new post as general manager of Standard Theatres Corp. Before leaving town “Dinty” had his two sons, Charles William and Byron Wallace, 11 and 12 years, respectively, enrolled in Western Military Academy, Alton, 111. ... Ed Peskay, tanned and looking like a retired sportsman, strolling Broadway with nary a thought about film business. “I’m concentrating on getting myself into good physical shape, nothing else,” says he . . . Freddie Bartholomew begins a personal appearance tour of theatres September 22, when he’ll be in Providence. The following week he’ll adorn the stage of Loew’s State on Broadway and then to Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Detroit and Chi Know Good Diction When See It New York — There is solace for a group of Hollywood stars who didn't win an Academy award. Clark Gable, Fredric March, William Powell, George Arliss, Myrna Loy, Jeanette MacDonald and Irene Dunne are virtually assured awards in a nation-wide good diction survey. Principal aim of the survey is to encourage good diction. Three questions were asked of each person to determine which actor or actress showed a lesser inclination to "mug," "mouth" or talk behind the teeth. The winning contestants will receive suitable plaques — from the American Society for the Hard of Hearing. cago. Gene Murphy of Loew’s publicity office, will go along most of the way with the moppet. Louis Weinberg was in New Orleans on a circuit deal . . . Jack and Mrs. Cohn lunching at Lindy’s. Abe Montague switched tables when they came in .. . George J. Schaefer made a sudden decision the other day and hopped a plane westward . . . Oscar Doob is celebrating the sixth anniversary of The Loewdown, Loew house organ. On Thursday he saw the l,500f/t issue roll off the mimeograph machine . . . Al Rosen is the first Broadway manager — Loew’s State — to display “Movie Quiz” contest copy on his marquee . . . Priscilla Lane and Bob Williams arming it up Fifth Ave. . . . Gilbert Josephson, operator of the World, is back from a vacation . . . Morty Brecher has been promoted from the Strand publicity staff to assistant manager of the Brooklyn Strand. Leonard Lauer moves from a similar post in Brooklyn to' the Broadivay house. Erich Pommer reaches England Monday and will submit his agreement with an American distributor on rights to two Mayflower productions starring Charles Laughton for approval to the board of Mayflower Pictures, of which John Maxwell is chairman . . . Sheila Barrett’s first short for Pathe is entitled “Weekend Guest.” She starts this week at Eastern Studios . . . Patricia Ellis, who has a feature role in “Block Heads,” planed in from the coast to appear in the new Casa Manana show . . . Sabu, 13-year-oid Indian boy who starred in “Elephant Boy” arrives on the French liner Normandie September 12 for the opening of his new picture, “Drums,” at Radio City Music Hall . . . Graham McNamee, NBC star announcer, has been assigned the narration for Universal’s series of short subjects, “Going Places.” Graham gives out with Issue No. 53. Lewis Blumberg returns Monday from Jackson, Wyo., where he has been spending the summer. Dodo, his sister, got back Thursday from camp at Naples, Me., which just about completes the family circle for the Blumbergs . . . Mort Shea is taking it easy at his summer home at Wolfeboro, N. H. . . . Florence Browning is shorving those pictures with beaming pride of the new home she is building at Brookfield, Conn., and a pretty house it is .. . Budd Rogers was at Lake George for the weekend . . . Al Altman is making his annual peregrination to Laucester, Cohasset and Ogunquit, in New England, on behalf of M-G-M. He’s seeking new faces. Monroe Greenthal tells the one about his visit to Boston where he was interviewed over WEEI by J. Wesley. After the broadcast about 20 maidens, autograph hunters, rushed him for a signature. He had been talking so much about Hedy Lamarr it was quite natural for him to sign his name, Mr. Hedy Lamarr . . . Marvin Schenck bought Toots Shor a lunch in the latter’s Tavern the other day and also paid the tip. It happened this way: Accompanied by Joe Vogel, Schenck expected Gene Picker to show up and ordered a vegetable salad cut up. Came the salad and no Picker. So Schenck invited Shor to fill the gap, which he did. Now Schenck is waiting for Shor to return the treat . . . Sidney Justin flew back to the Paramount studios after a month’s vacation here . . . Freddie Schwartz reports progress on the M-G-M deal for Century circuit and E. K. O’Shea con (Continued on page 22-B) Cyclones Go Under The Microscope Hollywood — O. O. Ceccarini, mathematician pronounced a genius by Albert Einstein, who ought to know, is busy. He is conducting delicate calculations having to do with pressure, velocity, air density and electrical characteristics in order to dope out volume and pitch of the sounds accompanying cyclones, et al. It's all for “The Wizard of Oz" and it gives an idea of how anxious Metro is to fight clear of Sidney Skolsky's Movie Boner column. BOXOFFICE :: August 27, 1938 21