The Film Daily (1938)

Monday, May 2, 1938 Wk DAILY CHEMICOLOR FINANCE DEAL IS NEARLY SET (Continued from Page \) mate $250,000 and the plant will be built in Hollywood. Grune has been negotiating with a banking group since his arrival hei^itwo weeks ago. Final negotiatk'_^' will be carried out on the Coast and his plans call for a trip to Hollywood within the next two weeks, he said. When deal is completed construction will be started immediately on the Coast plant and Otto Kanturek and Victor Gluck, inventors of the Chemicolor process, will come to this country to supervise the work, Grune said. He stated plans call for a plant that will be able to handle 1,000,000 feet of film weekly, so built that expansion will not halt any work going on. It was also disclosed that he will produce a picture on the Coast, in color if his plans go through, otherwise in black and white. He revealed that a British company and an American company will finance and distribute the picture. When asked what the picture would be, Grune said, that it would be made from a "best seller" for which he is now negotiating. He expects to meet with William Fox before he leaves for the Coast. The English unit of' Chemicolor starts production within the next two weeks on a program of 24 educational and travel shorts to be made in color, Grune said. He also said that his latest film, "Pagliacci," will be released here in the fall. Principal purpose of Coast trip is to show Chemicolor pictures to American film heads that have expressed interest in the process, Grune said, and added that he will make no deals until he has completed his negotiations for financing American plant and has finished production on his Coast picture. $9, ),746 in Games Taxes Little Rock, Ark. — Under the advertising award act of 1937. state of Arkansas collected $9,746 from winners of "bank night," "buck night," and other cash giveaway advertising awards during the first year of the act's operation, the state revenue department reports. The tax is 15 per cent of the prize, regardless of the amount. Theater managers remit the tax directly to the department. Unterford Advances Syracuse — Harry Unterford, assistant to Gus W. Lampe at Keith's here, replaces Harold Pearl, resigned, at the Paramount Theater. Remodel Three Exchanges Omaha — M-G-M, Republic and Warner exchanges are being remodeled and redecorated. Latter is a $20,000 project. Complete Title Line-up of Republic Program Announced at Coast Parley (Continued fi Years Before the Mast"; "One Woman's Family" by Martin Van Lass, and "Evangeline," to be adapted from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem. While no cast assignments for these specials are announced, the convention will be told that Gloria Swanson, Ramon Novarro, James Gleason, Alison Skipworth, Polly Moran, Gene Autry, Frieda Inescort, Neil Hamilton, Roy Rogers, Smiley Burnette, Lew Ayres, John Wayne, Helen Mack, Bob Livingston and Max Terhune top the roster of company stars or players on special picture basis. Autry, for the third year, heads a program of 24 westerns with a series of eight pictures. There will be eight based on ideas by William Colt MacDonald, and featuring the "Three Mesquiteers." Eight "AllStar" westerns, featuring Roy Rogers, Republic's new singing cowboy, and Smiley Burnette; and four serials, including a third edition of the perennially popular Dick Tracy — "Dick Tracy's G-Men." Titles announced for the "Jubilee Twelve" are: "Lone Ranger Returns," adventure drama; "Mysterious Miss X," spy story; "Girl from God's Country," outdoor romantic drama; "Capital Punishment," prison drama; "Calling All Marines," service story; "It's Your Witness," murder mystery; "Raffles Strikes Back," detective drama; "Hill-Billy Hurricane," romance, comedy, music; "Women Make News," newspaper drama; "Girls of the Road," adventure drama; "Hit Parade of 1939," musical romance; "Street of Missing men," drama. Fifteen "Showmen's Money-Makers" titles are: "Federal Man Hunt," G-Man drama; "Kentucky Sweepstakes," romantic drama; "I Stand Accused," gangland drama; "Pride of the om Page 1) Navy," service comedy drama; "Forged Passport," intrigue-drama; "Undercover Woman,'' G-Man drama; "White Fury," outdoor adventure-romance; "Phantom of the Circus," circus drama; "Probation Nurse," prison drama; "Flight at Midnight," drama in the air; "White Lightning Express," railroad drama; "Devil's Island Fugitive," prison drama; "Stand Up and Sing," romance, comedy, music; "Highway Police Patrol," action drama; "Hellbent for Headlines," newspaper action-romance. Republic's anniversary series of outdoor action dramas, embracing 24 productions, includes: Gene Autry "Jubilees" — "Pony Boy," "In Old Monterey," "Mountain Rhythm," "Mexicali Rose," "Western Jamboree," "Rovin' Tumbleweeds," "Ridin' the Range," "Cactus Cavalier." "Mesquiteers" Westerns — "Santa Fe Stampede," "Overland Stage Raiders," "Pals of the Saddle," "Red River Range," "Lone Star Bullets," "Heroes of the Desert," "Three Texas Steers," "Pony Express Trail." "All Star" Westerns — "Rodeo Round-Up," "Rocky Mountain Ranger," "Prairie Buckaroo," "Headin' for Texas," "Fighting Cowboy," "Colorado Moon," "Song of the Sunset," "Cheyenne Saddlemates." Republic's four serials will be "The Texas Rangers Are Coming!" in 15 episodes; "Dick Tracy's G-Men," in 15 episodes; "Daredevils of the Red Circle," in 12 episodes; "Zorro's Fighting Legion," in 12 episodes. The four-day conclave, closing with a banquet Thursday night, is being held on Stage Four of the company's studios. All Republic franchise holders, branch managers, salesmen and bookers in the U. S. and Canada, home office and studio execs, are in attendance. Budget, previously announced, will run between 7 and 7% millions. BAN ON GAMES BOON TO PREMIUM BUSINESS 'Yank at Oxford" Goes Five Weeks in London "A Yank at Oxford" has moved into its fifth week at the Empire Theater in London, marking the third time in 10 years that a picture has played more than four weeks at that house. Other pictures to equal "Yank's" record were the original "Broadway Melody," "Trader Horn" and "Mutiny on the Bounty." Tri-States Singles "Pilot" Omaha — After a stand against single-featuring "In Old Chicago," Tri-States reversed its policy and singled "Test Pilot." Theaters here probably will single outstanding pictures now after success of Tri-States experiment. "Test Pilot" was held for second week at the Omaha. Film Bowling League Names Allen as Prexy Detroit — Film Bowling League has elected these officers: Wade Allen, owner of Fine Arts and Grand Victory theaters, president; Barney Adair, National Theater Supply Co., first vice-president; Al Rupert, proprietor of the Enterprise Theater, second vice-president; Frank Jones, Vitagraph booker, secretary; Frank Howard, Cooperative Theaters booker, treasurer. (Continued from Page 1) up Saturday reveals. Orders for premiums, according to several distributors, in the last six weeks have been heavier than they have for the last year. Metro Premium Co. reports a greater demand for premiums by the larger circuits, with Fox West Coast ordering a lace deal. It is said that FWC is using premiums for the first time. Ten theaters of the circuit started the giveaway last week with others to follow. De Luxe Theater Premium Co. is reported to be doing heavy business on a dresser ware deal, with the larger circuits going for it, specially in states where money games are banned. Although dishes still maintain their popularity, rapid inroads are being made by dinner cloth sets, lace, dresser ware and other types of premiums. New Haven — Lucky, Honey and other money games similar to Bingo, have for the most part substituted the outlawed Bank Nights in local and surrounding theaters. Screeno, omitted at the Bijou for one week, is back in this Loew-Poli house. Waterbury and Hartford are alone in their efforts to apply the decision to all types of money games, theatrical and non-theatrical, although reverberations in the way of church complaints are being heard. Helen O'Dea Convalescing Helen O'Dea, secretary to Andy Smith at United Artists, is convalescing at Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital following an operation. She is not expected to return to work for several weeks. Enlist Theater Cashiers In Drive on Phoney Bills Theater cashiers in principal cities throughout the country will be instructed in the detection of counterfeit money as part of a campaign against "phoney" money launched by Frank J. Wilson, chief of the U. S. Secret Service. Cashiers of the RKO theaters in Metropolitan New York were given instructions last week by Harry Cooper and Allen Murphy, special agents of the Treasury Dept., who are conducting the meetings. In a special meeting promoted by John Dowd of RKO, theater cashiers were told just how to tell good money from bad. Cooper said that the passing of counterfeit money was on the decline, but that the Treasury officials were seeking to make the public "counterfeit money conscious." In February, he said, only $21,000 in bad money was passed in the U. S., with $7,000 of the total discovered in New York City. For that reason the campaign is being launched first in New York. Roth Escapes in Crash Omaha — Mike Roth, Columbia salesman, escaped with only slight bruises when his car turned over on the highway near Tekamah. The auto was badly damaged.