The Film Daily (1940)

LTT1 J t 3$ Intimate in Character International in Scope Independent in Thought DO NO" remove: VOL. 78. NO. 113 The Daily Newspaper Of Motion Pictures Twenty-Two Years Old FDAILY' NEW YORK. TUESDAY. DECEMBER 10. 1940 TEN CENTS CANADIAN INDIES WANT DECREE REFORMS U.S. Supreme Court to Review Neb. Ascap Case Notes Probable Jurisdiction; Florida Anti-Ascap Law is Back Before Court Washington Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Washington — The U. S. Supreme Court yesterday noted probable jurisdiction in the case arising out of the anti-Ascap law passed by the State of Nebraska, which was declared nonenforcible by the U. S. District Court in Nebraska. The decision means the high court will review the case, but reserves the right to dismiss it at any stage of the proceedings if it decided it does not have jurisdiction. The Nebraska law made it unlawful for authors, composers, proprietors, publishers or owners of copy (Continued on Page 7) Hollywood Sends 11 Pix Info Production West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Hollywood — Eleven pictures are scheduled to go into production this week: At Columbia: Four shooting, including "The Return of Boston Blackie," a melodrama, featuring Chester Morris, Rochelle Hudson and Constance Worth. Producer, Ralph Cohn; director, Robert Florey. At M-G-M: Five shooting, includ (Continued on Page 8) Canada Producing 'Tact" Film Monthly — Grierson Canada at the present time is producing one documentary or "fact film" each month and the British Ministry of Information has a program calling for production of one film of this type per week during (Continued on Page 6) 5© Detroit Houses Dark Christmas Eve Detroit — Fifty Detroit theaters have now definitely committed themselves to closing Christmas Eve, regardless of policy adopted by opposition houses, following the move initiated by Co-operative Theaters of Michigan. GROUPS TO PRESS FOR NEELY BILL Decree No Solution, Pressure Organizations Agree at Informal Washington Conference Washington Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Washington — Public groups supporting the Neely bill are prepared to fight on, it was learned yesterday. Decision was reached at an informal meeting of representatives here. "We do not regard the consent decree as any solution of the evils, correction of which is sought through the Neely bill," a spokesman of the pressure organizations told The Film Daily. If unsuccessful in securing House action at the present session, the public groups propose to have the bill re-introduced by a new sponsor in the next Congress. Majors Import Only WB Quarterly Net 26 Films in Nippon To Show 50% Gain Only 26 pictures from the eight , major companies were released in Japan during 1940, according to Morey Marcus, M-G-M's manager in Tokyo, who is here for home office conferences. Marcus explained that in the latter part of 1939, the American companies made a deal with the Japanese Government whereby 80 American pictures would be released in (Continued on Page 6) Wilmington, Del. — Warner Bros, earnings for the quarter ending Nov. 30 should be 50 per cent ahead of the figure for the corresponding quarter last year, the company's stockholders were informed by Edwin D. Steel, Jr., of the law office of former Judge Hugh M. Morris, presiding at the annual meeting here yesterday. (In 1939, the company reported a (Continued on Page 8) SDEA Not Worried Over Decree's Effects Hollyw'd Charity-Minded, Reports Hays, on Return Sioux Falls, S. D. — Following a Film industry's organization for study of the recent consent decree, I charity is one of the most interestmembers of South Dakota Exhibitors j ing developments in recent years in Ass'n in annual meeting at Sioux ! Hollywood, Will H. Hays, MPPDA (Continued on Page 3) (Continued on Page 7) No Films for Juves Under lO ? Average Program Unsuitable, Chicago View French Theaters Fast Returning to Normalcy Film theaters in both unoccupied and occupied France are returning rapidly to normalcy, according to letters received by Erpi from Fred Hotchkiss, manager of the Marseilles office of Societe de Materiel Acoustique in France's unoccupied zone, (Continued on Page 7) By JOSEPH ESLER FILM DAILY Staff Correspondent Chicago — Closing of all film theaters to children under 10 years of age is advocated here by Mrs. Richard McClure, president of the influential Better Films Council of I Chicagoland. Mrs. McClure explains her stand by asserting that the number of I films available for children is very (Continued on Page 6) Dominion Exhibs. Resent Step-children Role, Want Benefits Extended— ITA Toronto — While exhibitors in the U. S., to judge from verbal blasts voiced by association spokesmen and individual theater operators, are opposed to the consent decree signed in the New York equity suit, there are signs multiplying here that Canadian indies may seek to obtain precisely the same "reforms" embodied in the decree. Dominion independents' position is perhaps best summed up in an editorial in the current issue of the organ of the Independent Theaters Association, the Canadian Motion Picture Exhibitor, which says: "Now that the U. S. anti-trust (Continued on Page 8) RK0 Opens Depinet Drive on Jan. 25 RKO Radio will open its Ned Depinet Drive on Jan. 25 and will continue the annual billing's campaign for a period of 15 weeks, clos ( Continued on Page 3) Lab. Technicians Want Pay lump, 35-Hour Week Local 702, lab. technicians union, opened negotiations at the week-end (Continued on Page 7) As Pickets Picket — Patrons Pack It Montgomery, Ala. — It's a tough break for the ring of eight Montgomery Building Trades Council pickets parading round and round the ticket window of the Charles Theater that their demonstration isn't more effective. True, folks haven't seen such novel picketing here and might be impressed if it weren't for the fact that they are so thrilled over this new movie house, just opened by Charles Rook. Crowds are so large that they catch the pickets in the whirl, until the latters' signs are lost in a seething sea of patrons.