The Exhibitor (Jun-Nov 1944)

6 THE EXHIBITOR WENDELL WILKIE MOURNED BY NATION Fox Board Chairman Lauded For Service To Industry New York — The death of Wendell L. Willkie, 52, at Lenox Hill Hospital of cor¬ onary thrombosis, Oct. 8, threw the nation and industry into mourning last week end. After the body lay in state in Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church the following day, so that his many friends might pay last respects, funeral services were held Oct. 10 with Rev. J. S. Bonnell officiating. Burial was at Rushville, Ind. His associates at 20th Century-Fox, where Willkie was chairman of the board, were among the first in the industry to offer tribute and condolences. Spyros P. Skouras, president, 20th Cen¬ tury-Fox, said, “He was an inspiration to all of us who were privileged to be asso¬ ciated with him. Our company and our industry shall miss him beyond words to express and I shall miss a very dear, close, personal friend.” Tom Connors, vice-president in charge of sales, 20th Century-Fox, said “A grand American has passed away. To those of us who were privileged to know him person¬ ally, Wendell Willkie was a very great man, kind, generous, thoughful, clear in perception, forceful in action. We shall feel, and feel deeply, this overwhelming loss of one of America’s most distinguished citizens who honored our company and our industry with his association and service.” Darryl F. Zanuck, vice-president in charge of production, 20th Century-Fox, said: “We of 20th Century-Fox are grate¬ ful for the inspirational service he gave to our company and the motion picture in¬ dustry. In the years to come we will recall with reverence the presence of a man who belonged not so much to us as to posterity.” Other statements of tribute and condol¬ ence were issued by industry men. Metro Stars Tour Hollywood — One of the biggest groups of Hollywood celebrities to leave the film capital this year for a world premiere de¬ parted last week for the 135-theatre debut of MGM’s “An American Romance” in the states of Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Indiana. King Vidor, producer-director of the pic¬ ture, Brian Donlevy, star, Ann Richards, leading lady, Walter Abel and Horace McNally, principal featured players, left by train for ten days of personal appear¬ ances. They were accompanied by Nancy Walker, Lina Romay, Jean Porter, and Rags Ragland, MGM contract players, who will participate in hospital and camp shows and also entertain on various radio shows during the ten days, all handled through Station WLW, Cincinnati. On Oct. 11th, when “An American Ro¬ mance” had its world premiere at the RKO Albee, Cincinnati, the entire group was presented from the stage. Among those attending the premiere from the home office are Howard Dietz, Si Seadler, Bill Ferguson, C. I. Carrier, Herb Crooker, Oscar Doob, Bill Danzinger, and Bill Ornstein. (?oveiina NEW YORK... with MEL KONECOFF THE HOTEL ASTOR put on the horse last week and got out its best stableware, when Trigger, “The Smartest Horse in the Movies,” played host at a cocktail party in honor of his master’s, Roy Rogers’, latest visit to the Big Town. The event, of yearly distinction, was held in the Grand Ballroom, where the cream colored host cavorted and neighed to 350 newspaper, radio, and trade editors, as well as a group from the Republic home office, exchange, etc. Rogers made his grand entrance aboard Trigger and to the flashes of a multitude of newspaper camera bulbs. Before placing his horse, in a specially built corral in the ballroom, Rogers put the clever animal through his paces for the cameras and introduced him to some of the female guests, who immediately wished to be elsewhere, when the four-legged host tried to share their drinks with them. According to the publicity department’s release there was supposed to be entertainment by the Riders of the Purple Sage, who are appearing with Rogers at the World’s Championship Rodeo at Madison Square Garden, but the only other costumed riders we saw outside of Rogers were those straddling the common ordinary four-legged chair. Featured was an old-fashioned tintype photographer, who snapped guests behind a frame on which costumes were painted. Present at the shindig were Warrant Officer Gene Autry, Jane Withers, Mrs. Ruth Withers, two-thirds of the Andrew Sisters, Rosario and Antonio, Imogene Coca, June Storey, Walter L. Titus, Jr., Steve Edwards, Charles Reed Jones, Albert Schiller, Edward Seifert, E. L. Becker, Seymour Borus, Evelyn Koleman, Beatrice Ross, Jim Conniff, Max¬ well Gillis, Grover C. Schaefer, M. H. Lavenstein, Milton C. Green, Ned Irish, Foghorn Clancy, Lillian Jenkins, Mr. and Mrs. Walter Vincent, Bosley Crowther, Abe Wyler, Tom Pryor, Mr. and Mrs. Erney Prince, Alton Cook, Dorothy Masters, Tom Carlile, Archer Winsten, Helen Meyers, Mr. and Mrs. Paul Denis, William H. Fawcett, Larry Reid, Ed Mahar, Arthur Dillenbeck, Adrienne Ames, Uncle Don, Grace Rosenfeld, Martin Starr, Hortense Schorr, etc., etc. If Rogers kept a diary, his entries since his arrival in New York would include: the greeting accorded him on his arrival by hundreds of members of his fan clubs, and the fact that he played host to them that afternoon at the Hotel Astor; an appearance at Macy’s in the interests of the WAC Recruiting Drive; a visit to the U. S. Maritime Base at Sheepshead Bay with Trigger; the fact that he led the annual Rodeo Parade to City Hall and presented Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia with an elaborate western belt buckle; his appearance at the New York Times Hall, where 500 children from settlement houses, youth organizations, etc., were fully entertained; a visit to Halloran Hospital; several radio appearances, etc. Meanwhile, 357 theatres in the Metropolitan area are cashing in on all this publicity by playing several of his latest films during the period from Oct. 4 through the 29th, the length of the Rodeo’s stay in town. Yippee! IDEA FOR POST-WAR CONSTRUCTION DEPT.: We thought that all you paying customers might be interested that a sound-proof “crying room” has been installed for mothers and infants in a British house. The description we got was that it is a glassenclosed room, equipped with loud speakers, where its occupants can watch the film and cry their heads off without disturbing or awakening other patrons. TWO-IN-ONE DEPT.: Syd Gross, publicity director, or purveyor of preposterous praises, for the local Rivoli, is off on vacation and is devoting the time to a book in collaboration with Monty Salmon, Rivoli’s managing director, called “It’s a Wonder Movie Managers Aren’t Nuts!” The epic will deal with the innumerable humorous, zany, and annoying things that happen in the nation’s movie houses, with appropriate space being devoted to the many crackpots, chiselers, and pests that frequent the theatres. OBSERVATION DEPT.: Riding our subway the other day we were intrigued by the conversation of two young ladies standing nearby. When two gals get together in the subway, their conversation usually runs to either their boy friends, or husbands over¬ seas, or to the movies. Well, anyhow, these two were ranting on the last subject, and we will try to reproduce, as accurately as possible, part of their conversation: Brunette: “Didja read all about where Ginger Rogers is makin’ campaign speeches for Dewey?” Redhead: “Yeah. Ever since she and Fred Astaire don’t dance together anymore she has become real high minded, and I ain’t gonna see anymore of her pictures, especially since she came out for Dewey like that.” Brunette: “Me neither.” The moral of this story, dear readers, is that beautiful and non-beautiful Hollywood stars should keep their collective mouths shut during a political year, and should vote as their collective little hearts dictate, and not to try to dictate to their public how their votes should be cast. We mustn’t forget that the prime purpose of an entertainer is to entertain and when he or she stops providing pure entertainment for their public, their usefulness begins to diminish, and exhibitors begin to lose out when they book and play any films with the slipping star. Remember, Mr. Exhibitor, everytime someone says: “I ain’t gonna see anymore of her pictures,” that’s one less seat filled. ’Nuff said. ANNIVERSARY DEPT.: We understand that Technicolor will observe its tenth anni¬ versary soon and it doesn’t seem too long ago that “Becky Sharp” underwent the first color change in 1934 and was released in 1935. In those days, this company was doing its utmost to release two completed productions per year, while this year approximately 35 to 38 features will be released in color, not saying how many shorts nor how many units of work the armed forces are receiving from the color labs. While the first Tech¬ nicolor films rather limited as to trick shots or process scenes, present-day color work with the camera permits the use of every method possible, or used in black and white film processing, to say nothing of a few new tricks we think Technicolor has up its sleeve for the post-war market. Happy Birthday! ( Continued on page 24) Trigger Konecoff October 11, 1944