The Film Daily (1937)

orum Members Critical of Advertising on Screens The Daily Newspaper Of Motion Pictures Now Nineteen Years Old VOL. 71, NO. 116 NEW YORK, TUESDAY, MAY 18, 19%7 hiuf 1 9 BEN CENTS Screen Actors' Guild Planning Invasion N. Y. CJTY SALES TAUONTINUANCElSSURED 20th -Fox Setting New Five -Year Contract With Clark (Fifth installment of the Squawk Parade of the Fifth annual FILM DAILY Critics' Forum.) SCREEN ADS PAIN— I think the greatest pain-in-the-neck to the average showgoer is the waste of time afforded in the five minutes or more which is often taken up by screen advertising. If the theater bill is long anyway, advertising prolongs it just a little more. As an advertising medium I don't believe screen flashes to be good, because they bring a negative reaction, except, of course, in the case of trailers on forthcoming screen attractions. And this is not newspaper advertising department propaganda but the observation of the average theater patrons. RAYMOND MICHERO, Corpus Christi, Tex., "Caller-Times". • AD FILMS AND PEANUTS— Isn't it possible to eliminate advertising from the program? Nothing is so irritating as to have to see the same old Coca Cola, Dr. Pepper and automobile ads day after day. Don't let anyone eat popcorn and peanuts from rattly bags, and do something about crying babies. Don't change book plots, even for the sake of a happy ending. If the heroine is bland, let her be blond in the picture. Try to approximate the type of person depicted by the author, in the main roles, at least. Give us hinterland dwellers more movies based on Broadway hits, but adapt them to the movies. MARGARET HESTER, Fort Smith, Ark. "Southwest American and Times Rsmrd". i I • REQUEST FOR SINGLE BILLS— For the third or fourth year I still say that too many third and fourth rate "features" are being shown as second features and find, without exception, that the pub (Continued on Page 10) Old Agreement With Distribution Head Expires in November Negotiations are in progress between John D. Clark and 20th Century-Fox under which the distribution head will receive a new fiveyear contract. His present agreement, which covers a similar period, expires in November. Sidney R. Kent and Clark left New York last night for the coast preliminary to attend the company's annual sales convention. T1-YR. PROGRESS ITED BY COCHRANE West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Hollywood — New Universal has accomplished more by way of rehabilitation in one year than various industry executives thought could be achieved within several years, President R. H. Cochrane told {Continued on Page 12) GN Convention Will Hear List of 65 Titles Today West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Hollywood — Grand National's 1937-38 product lineup of 65 will be announced by Edward J. Peskay, distrib. head, at this afternoon's {Continued on Page 6) Essaness Testing Triples Chicago — The Essaness Circuit is testing triple feature bills in its ace Sheridan Theater on the North Side as well as at the North Center Theater. PARA. THEATERS MAY BIZ UP 7 TO 8 P. C. May business of theaters associated with Paramount show an improvement of between seven and eight per cent as compared with the same month in 1936, according to an authoritative source at the company's home office yesterday. The increase is in evidence in houses in all parts of the country, it was stated. Allied States Convention Talk Topics Are Listed "Allied's Case on the Law and the Facts" will be discussed by Abram F. Myers, chairman of the board and general counsel of the exhibitor association, at Thursday's afternoon session of the annual convention opening at the Hotel Pfister, Milwaukee, May 26. Al Steffes, chairman of the national defense committee and who has engineered the (Continued on Page 12) Invasion of East Within Next Month Now Planned by Screen Actors9 Guild Synchronization Rights To be Controlled by SPA Songwriters Protective Association yesterday served notice on all music publishers that after June 1, 1937, the right previously granted (Continued on Page 6) By RALPH WILK West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Hollywood — The Screen Actors' Guild will open a New York office within a month's time, it was announced yesterday. Until the Eastern headquarters is established, New York production will be exempt from the terms (Continued on Page 11) Governor Signs Bill Extending Levy Until July 1, 1938 Extension of the New York City 2 per cent sales tax which applies to film grosses derived from theaters within the city limits until July 1, 1938, has been assured through action of Gov. Lehman in signing the Buckley bill which authorizes the continuation. Under the plan, distributors collect the levy from exhibitors. Major companies are now reimbursing theaters in New Jersey, (Continued on Page 6) TECHNICOLOR OUTPUT CLIMBS 200,000 FEET Technicolor output for the first three months of 1937 amounted to 938,181 feet, showing an increase of approximately 200,000 feet over the corresponding period of last year, stockholders were informed at (Continued on Page 6) Colorado Governor Signs 2 P. C. Admission Tax Bil Denver — The service tax bill signed yesterday by Governor Teller Ammons places a two per cent tax on all admissions. There are no exemptions. The tax, effective at once, is to be collected by means of tokens of one-fifth cent value. The tax cannot be absorbed by the theater. Dramatic Stock's New Low During the legitimate theater season just closed, to compete with films there were only three stock companies in operation east of the Mississippi, the lowest figure in the history of the American Theater, according to Harry Lane, Actors' Equity official whose especial province is stock companies.