The Film Daily (1941)

Wednesday, November 5, 1941 <M DAILY cully (alls Chi., N. Y. Sales Confabs (Continued from Page 1) strongest in the history of the in mpany, he said. President Nate J. Blumberg will iead a home office delegation which trill include Matty Fox, J. J. O'Confcor, E. T. Gomersall, Fred Meyers, P. J. A. McCarthy, B. B. Kreisler, \. J. Jordan and F. T. Murray, rom the field the Chicago meetXvill be attended by J. E. Garson, A. J. O'Keefe, P. F. Kosian and M. M. Gottlieb, district managers, iind the following branch managers: Low Levy, Des Moines; Jack Langan, Kansas City; W. H. Sherman, Omala; Harry Hynes, St. Louis; Sam Milner, Denver; C. J. Feldman, Los A.ngeles; R. 0. Wilson, Portland; jon Hoss, San Francisco; C. R. Wade, Salt Lake City; Foster Blake, Seattle; Harry Young, Cincinnati; E. S. Olsmith, Dallas; L. J. McGinley, Indianapolis; J. E. Hobbs, Oklahoma City; Barney Rose, Chicago; Frank Mantzke, Milwaukee; Edward Heiber, Detroit; L. J. Miller, Minneapolis, and Jack Bannan, special representative out of Cincinnati. Waxman Carries Denial Of Writ to Circuit Court (Continued from Page 1) ing an injunction to restrain Columbia from delivering pix to the New Embassy. Waxman is seeking to restrain the (defendants — Columbia, Warner Bros, circuit and Weland Theater Co. — from playing product prior to exhibition in Waxman's Atlantic City nations. Kansas City Mainstreet Will Reopen Tomorrow Kansas City, Mo. — The Mainstreet, city's second largest theater will reopen tomorrow, with a combination stage and first-run film policy. Will J. Harris, formerly production director for the Balaban & Katz theaters in Chicago, has been engaged to direct and supervise the stage productions. Mainstreet Theater, Inc., is the new Indie lessee. Will H. Hays Helen E. Hughes George J. Schaefer Dona Drake Joel McCrea Theodore von Eltz Eddie Edelson • • • BACK in the Golden Age of the Theater Owners Chamber of Commerce, when an up-and-coming young chap named James T. Walker was its counsel, this colyumist first met Billy Brandt In the years which followed, — particularly when Billy was chairman of the motion picture division of the historic NRA Parade and your scribe was its secretary — , we got to know him even better There isn't a naive bone in the Brandt body In fact he's about as sophisticated and hard-boiled a gent in motion picture matters as you are likely to find So when we met-up with Billy t'other day and he busts out, film-fan-like, with something very akin to worship for a screen star, well, it's like the man biting the dog It's nooze • • • SEEMS that Billy was accustomed to think of pic heroes as just one of those things But shortly before the recent Rodeo at Madison Sq. Garden shuttered, this calloused circuit operator found himself in the rather reluctant role of having to escort his seven-yearold grandchild, Iris, to a luncheon hosted by Gene Autry The child was one of some 300 from the sidewalks of New York chosen by lot to attend said luncheon and subsequently the Rodeo matinee The kids were a swell cross-section of Democracy at work They were of all types, creeds and colors,— ages four to 10 Locale was the Hotel Lincoln Now we'll let Billy talk, and we quote: • • • "I CAME as an onlooker, but believe me, I never had a greater thrill in my life when I saw the expressions of worship and adoration in their faces for Gene Autry I know my grandchild never misses an Autry picture, and she hugs the radio when he sings Here was a close-up of love I have never witnessed before, and when Gene Autry sang, these kids were in heaven In my opinion, if an actor like Gene Autry can create that kind of love in children throughout the United Stales, then I think he is more important than your legislators or teachers, and the parents of America owe him an everlasting debt of gratitude" Billy thinks, and so do we, that it would be good for the souls ol the Senate Interstate sub-committee were they to investigate what Gene is doing on the screen and in person for the national welfare It is something, too, for theatermen to weigh, even though a helluva lot of 'em are already Autry-film customers T T T • • • STUFF: Said phiLEOsophical Charlie Cohen yes'day: "Boy, think of all the women who are going to vote today for the Propositions". ... • "33 Lessons In Flying," by filmland's Jay D. Blaufox is just off the presses of Coward-McCann (Jay was in the R.F.C.,—now the R.A.F.,—in Canada and overseas during World War No. 1). . . . • Ilona Massey and Alan Curtis are holding a cocktail reception in the Stork Club this afternoon to celebrate the former's passing the half-way mark to U. S. citizenship (Ilona has her first papers now). . . . • Madeleine White, who for years was Ray Johnston's secretary until illness forced her to recuperate in the East, is now in Monogram's New York office with the title: Liaison Officer in Charge of the Thisa and Thata Department. ... • Al Stevens is doing a neat and showmanlike job as director of the Gramercy Park Cinema. ... # Because a Metro talent scout saw him in a Madison Ave. restaurant not so long ago, James Wittlig, Ohio illustrator and commercial artist, has been signed to an acting contract Wittlig has no pro. stage experience. '* « « » » » Unity Idea Spreads, Wisconsin ITPA Told (Continued from Page 1) Schroeder yesterday declared he is convinced that the rank and file of theater owners today are most anxious that internal chaos in the industry should cease. "This talk of unity is spreading," he said, "and it is an encouraging sign and one which shows we are thinking of our responsibilities and our problems and realizing that events of the moment demand our utmost attention. "Unfortunately there are some few short-sighted people who indulge in loose talk about legislative regulation without thinking that if the seller is to be regulated it is rather a logical short step towards the buyer being regulated — a condition I do not believe any thinking theater owner wants." Flynn announced that the first exhibition conference would be conducted by his company in Columbus, 0., on Nov. 25 with William Greene of the Bureau of Advertising, American Newspaper Publishers' Association, as speaker. Other convention speakers here yesterday included James Broidy, general sales manager of Monogram ; Claude Lee of Paramount, and President William I. Ainsworth, who described the services rendered by the ITPA during the past year and declared the organization to be the strongest in its history. Abram F. Myers, national Allied's board chairman and general counsel, was unable to attend because of serious illness of his brother. A cocktail party concluded the day's activities with Sidney Samuelson of Eastern Pennsylvania Allied, and Jack Kirsch, President of Allied Theaters of Illinois, slated to address today's closed session. Foy Quits Nathanson To Join Oscar Hanson (Continued from Page 1) pany, to join the new enterprises of Oscar R. Hanson, former associate of N. L. Nathanson. The new duties of Foy have not been announced. Keith Wilson, formerly of Oshawa, and Dewey McCourt of the Patricia Theater, London, Ont., have resigned from Famous Players Canadian, to join the Toronto staff of Hanson companies Which include Pioneer Films, Ltd., and Foto-Nite Distributors, Ltd. TO THE COLORS! Cleveland — James Harris has resigned as publicity director for Loew's Theaters to join Uncle Sam's air force as an aviation instructor. He leaves here Nov. 15 to report for duty at Randolph Field, San Antonio, Texas.