The Exhibitor (Jun-Nov 1944)

20 THE EXHIBITOR PRODUCTION Hollywood — Dorothy Lamour and Ar¬ turo de Cordova will be teamed in Para¬ mount’s “A Medal for Benny.” . . . Lee Sullivan has been signed to a long-term contract by Charles R. Rogers, and will have a starring role in “My Wild Irish Rose,” forthcoming Technicolor musical for UA release. . . . Wallace Fox has been signed to direct “Saddle Pals,” first of Monogram’s new series of the same name, to be produced by Philip N. Krasne, and starring Jimmy Wakely with Lee White and Dennis Moore. . . . Charles R. Marion has started an original story treatment for “The Shadow,” first of the Monogram films to detail the adventures of the radio and magazine character which Lindsley Par¬ sons will produce. In production at Universal are “The Suspect”; “Salome, Where She Danced,” “Frisco Sal,” “The Fairy Tale Murder,” and the serial, “Mystery Queen of the Jungle.” . . . Playwright Clifford Odets has been signed to a long term contract by RKO. . . . Frank Borzage has been signed by this studio to direct “The Spanish Main,” Paul Henreid-Maureen O’Hara starrer to be filmed in Technicolor. . . . RKO announces that Joan Davis will again be teamed with Eddie Cantor in the sec¬ ond picture he will produce for them. She will first be co-starred with Jack Haley in the studio’s musical, “Albany Night Boat.” . . . “San Antonio,” Technicolor outdoor drama, has gone into production on the Warner lot. It’s a new Errol Flynn starrer. Boris Karloff is resting at his home after a spinal operation before resuming work on “The Isle Of the Dead,” RKO. . . . Arturo de Cordova will do “Male and Female,” a tropical romance, for Clasa Films in Mexico City before returning to Paramount for “Masquerade in Mexico,” with Dorothy Lamour. . . . Hal B. Wallis is borrowing Walter Abel from Paramount for a role in “The Affairs of Susan,” first Wallis production for Paramount. He is negotiating with David O. Selznick to bor¬ row Joseph Cotten. William Seiter will direct. . . . William Dieterle has checked in with Wallis to start preparations for “The Love Letters,” which he will direct. . . . Arthur Treacher has been added to the cast of Charles R. Rogers’ forthcoming United Artists musical, “High Among the Stars.” . . . Columbia has spotted its new screen discovery, Cornel Wilde, for the top male role in the Technicolor fantasy, “A Thousand and One Nights.” Mark Hellinger’s next production for Warners will be “The Life of Will Rogers,” based on the career of the late beloved hu¬ morist. . . . The first B. G. DeSylva pro¬ duction for Paramount will be a comedy starring Bob Hope. DeSylva is also look¬ ing for a musical to star Bing Crosby for his second independent unit production. . . . William Pine and William Thomas are borrowing Phyllis Brooks from Paramount to share the lead with Robert Lowery in their next picture, “High Man.” . . . Hal B. Wallis bas completed purchase of the screen rights to Lillian Heilman’s “The Searching Wind,” for Paramount release. Samuel Cummins, general manager, Jewel Productions, Inc., New York, an¬ nounces he will arrange to produce in Hollywood for the independent market, “Forgotten Men,” “The Naked Truth,” “Some Wild Oats,” and several other Eu¬ ropean stories now under consideration. . . . Eastern producer B. Fassio stated last week that production on “Hitler At the Peak "SYWA" Gross Seen NEW YORK — With all time house records smashed in all five situations in which it has opened thus far, David O. Selznick’s “Since You Went Away” is headed for a domestic gross of $10,000,000, it was predicted last week by Neil Agnew, vice-president in charge of distribution for Selznick. End Of a Rope” had been postponed to make some changes in the script. Barry Sullivan has been cast to play the male lead in Paramount’s “Duffy’s Tavern.” . . . Cecil B. DeMille’s associate director, business manager, and still photographer have started a 10,000 mile exploration trip to find location sites in Mexico for his forthcoming Technicolor film for Para¬ mount release, “The Flame.” . . . An¬ thony Quinn has been added to the cast of 20th Century-Fox’s musical, “Where Do We Go From Here?” . . . Joan Blondell has been named by 20th Century -Fox for the lead opposite William Bendix in “TwoFaced Quilligan.” An overall production budget of $4,400,000 has been approved by the Pro¬ ducers Corporation of America directorate for the five scripts nearing completion by that company for United Artists release, Sid Schlager, president, PCA, announced last week upon his return from a special board meeting in Phoenix, Ariz. Company production plans at present call for the placing of one production before the cameras approximately every three months, with “O’Brien’s Navy” getting first call, and set for an Oct. 15 start. The second production to be placed before the cameras on Dec. 15, will be “This Crazy, Lovely World.” Subject to Technicolor avail¬ ability, “Remington” is scheduled as the third production, and will face the cameras in March. “Insincerely Yours” (formerly titled “The Greeks Had a Word For it”) will be the replacement for “Remington” in the event color delays cause suspension of that production. The final production in the group will be “Escape From Beauty,” the Collier’s Magazine serial by Peter Paul O’Mara. Paramount Week Breaks Record New York — The 26th annual Paramount Week produced the largest volume of business in the United States and Canada for any single week in the history of the company, Charles M. Reagan, vice-presi¬ dent in charge of distribution, announced last week. Business during the seven-day period was 63 per cent above Paramount Week of 1943, Reagan said. B. B. Kreisler East New York — Bernard B. Kreisler, newly appointed vice-president-general manager, Lester Cowan Productions, Inc., arrived last week from Hollywood to open eastern headquarters for the organization. While here, Kreisler will confer with Gradwell Sears and Carl Leserman, United Artists, concerning five preview showings of Cow¬ an’s filmization of “Tomorrow the World.” Real Local Coverage Will Only Be Found In This Publication. Miss Morrow Resigns New York — Marjorie Morrow, eastern talent head, Warners, resigned last week. TELEVISION New York — William S. Htdges, NBC vice-president in charge cf stations, said last week that NBC is prepared to estab¬ lish a television service as soon as men and materials are available. He envis¬ ioned video as a means of opening a new avenue of education and recreation, sup¬ plying new employment for millions, and as a vital new arm of distribution. He pre¬ dicted a speedy growth for frequency modulation broadcasting after the war, and declared that the great technological ad¬ vances in all branches of breadcasting would be accompanied by new and finer programs. Busby Berkeley, Bretaigne Windust, and Captain G. T. Gilmour, movie, stage, and television directors, addressed the opening fall meeting of the American Television Society last week at the Museum of Mod¬ ern Art auditorium. This meeting cn “Direction for Stage, Screen, and Tele¬ vision” was the first of a series of monthly meetings to be held there. It indicated the Society’s new program approach in bringing experts from related fields to the platform so that comparisons and parallels might be drawn. A flurry of applications for new com¬ mercial television stations, 76 in number, poured into the FCC office", Washington, last week, including three from the Blue Network Company, and one from the Yankee Network. With the war in Eurone approaching a climax, interest in tele¬ vision is surging to new heights. James Lawrence Fly, chairman, FCC, believes films will play a dominant role in television programming. During a recent address he said, “It is wholly feasible to project television pictures on a motion picture screen. Moreover, the record or transcription of the local television station is likely to be a motion picture reel, shipped in from a distance. It is conceiv¬ able that this form of local television broadcasting may be quite interesting, and hence quite successful.” He said he was convinced that television “affords unlimited potentialities for post-war ex¬ pansion.” "Romance" Bow Set New York — Plans for an extensive cam¬ paign to coincide with the 132-city world premiere of “An American Romance” on Oct. 12 have been completed by MGM and WLW, Cincinnati, according to an an¬ nouncement by Howard Dietz, vice-presi¬ dent and director of advertising, publicity, and exploitation for MGM, last week. Preliminary to the openings, a special preview and dinner will be held in Cin¬ cinnati on Oct. 11 at the Hotel Netherland Plaza, attended by 300 specially invited guests, among whom will be a number of MGM home office executives and WLW executives. It is also expected that Gov¬ ernor John W. Bricker of Ohio and Gov¬ ernor Simeon Willis of Kentucky will be on hand. At 6.30 P. M. a special events pickup broadcast frem the speakers’ table will be held in conjunction with the studio broadcast of MGM’s “The Lion’s Roar.” The invitation screening of “An Ameri¬ can Romance” will start at 8.15 P. M., at the Keith-Albee. At 11 P. M., there will be a half hour’s broadcast from the stage, at which there will be a number of MGM stars and civic dignitaries. September 20, 1044