The Film Daily (1942)

Intimate in Character International in Scope Independent in Thought REMC -1FDAILY The Daily Newspaper Of Motion Pictures Twenty-Four Years Old m. 82, NO. 89 NEW YORK, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1942 TEN CENTS WAGE JREEZE CLARIFICATION DUEJTODAY Expect Nelson fe Stale CMP's Application to Plx Editorial PRC to Pathe . . . trade significance By CHESTER B. BAHN /-\. HENRY BRIGGS, president of Produc^-' ers Releasing Corp., at the national meeting of franchise holders and branch managers which opens Saturday in Chicago, will be in a position to announce, among other things, that the company is now a 100 per cent-owned subsidiary of Pathe Laboratories, Inc., which, in effect, spells its amalgamation with Pathe. The significance of that announcement will not be missed by PRC's personnel, its customers or indeed the trade in general. It is a guaranty of financial stability and of adequate resources. And that, in turn, is both assurance and insurance that the company, not yet three years old, will step ahead at a pace ever accelerated. THAT pace already is fast. Consider: ' PRC was organized on March 20, 1940, on a co-op. basis by a group of indie exchanges. Briggs, with an industry background that includes the presidencies of Pathe Film Corp. and Pathe Labs., entered the picture as prexy on Jan. 1, 1941. Today, with Leon Fromkess heading West Coast production and Arthur Greenblatt guiding sales, PRC has 30 exchanges in the U. S. and six in Canada and distribution deals covering all foreign markets open to American product. What Briggs, Fromkess and Greenblatt and their associates have thus accomplished in so brief a time establishes two things. First, that PRC is meeting a definite need. Secondly, that their operating policies are sound. Incidentally, as to the latter, there is no secrecy and no mystery. DRIGGS will tell you, if you ask him, that ^ PRC tailors its program to the pattern supplied by its customers which means that a majority of its successful pictures are the result of exhibitor suggestions. Along with that, PRC has a strong affinity for topical themes. And thanks to an extremely flexible program, PRC can shift from one theme to another to cash in on timeliness virtually over night. There has been a steady improvement J in the quality of PRC product, reflecting greater production expenditure. Yet here again PRC has been wise; budget jumps have been keyed to sales. That this formula has struck "pay dirt" is evidenced by the (Continued on Page 2) WPB Plan Will Govern Future Allocation of Copper, Steel and Aluminum Washington Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Washington — Donald M. Nelson, chairman of the War Production Board, is expected to touch upon the potential application to the film industry of WPB's new "Controlled Materials Plan" when he addresses the joint meeting of Government and film officials here tomorrow. While the new plan is scheduled for immediate launching, and affects primarily steel, copper and aluminum allocation, it is not expected (Continued on Page 7) Frozen British Coin Officially Released American distributors' frozen funds in England were released officially yesterday, although each company had not yet received its respective share of the total. Issuance of checks in dollars equal to the amount deposited in pounds in England is expected before the end of the week. Canadian Order Hits Both Indies, Chains Toronto — "Freezing" of Canadian business under the new comprehensive order of Wartime Prices and Trade Board is considered a blow by both independents and chains. Organized unaffiliated theater owners had demanded freedom of purchase in film contracts, claiming the privilege of changing film product from (Continued on Page 6) Local 109 and UA Talking 'White-Collar' Pact Today Negotiations for a contract covering 'white-collar' workers at the United Artists home office are scheduled to get under way today between the company and the Screen Office (Continued on Page 7) Smalley Clearance Decision Affirmed Basing its decision on its belief that where competition is slight, clearance should be short, the motion picture appeal board affirmed the award of the arbitrator in the complaint filed by the Smalley Theater, Sidney, N. Y., against the five consenting companies and the Schine circuit. The arbitrator ruled that the 14 (Continued on Page 6) N. Y. Film Critics Name Rose Pels wick As Chairman Election of Rose Pelswick, motion picture editor of the JournalAmerican, as chairman of the New York Film Critics is announced. Dorothy Masters of the Daily News is the new secretary. Annual awards party held by the organization, called off last January because of the war, may be revived, although no decision has been reached as yet. 50,000 Tons ot Scrap in Theaters Give Million Free Admissions Industry Leaders Look for Treasury Department Statement on Salaries Industry leaders were hopeful yesterday that Treasury officials would release a formal clarification of the wage ceiling law today or tomorrow. All the data relative to the peculiarities of the industry and its operation have been placed in the hands of Treasury officials who have been studying the information for the last week. Rulings on applications of the law on percentage contracts, pensions, bonuses, participation in profits, agent fees and other phases of the motion picture business may be issued today or tomorrow in Washington, attorneys said, although (Continued on Page 8) Court Mulls Points In Crescent Action Nashville, Tenn. — Continued delay in the handing down of the decision in the D of J anti-trust action against the Crescent Amusement Co. and the "Little Three" is due to Federal Judge Elmer Davies' further study of two or three points in the case, it is understood. Observers, basing their opinion on the trial evidence and final argu (Continued on Page 7) Rites for Fred Birnbach, A F of M Sec'y, Tomorrow Funeral services for Fred Birnbach, 52. international secretary of the American Federation of Musicians, will be held in the Episcopal Church of the Ascension tomorrow afternoon. Cremation will follow (Continued on Page 6) Ont. Premier Orders Ban On Juveniles Enforced Toronto — The Ontario government through Premier G. D. Conant has ordered the enforcement of the provincial regulation banning the admission of juveniles under 16 years of age to moving picture theaters (Continued on Page 7) The National Salvage Campaign, to which, under WAC auspices thousands of exhibs. have pledged co-op., has netted 50,000 tons of scrap metal to date, a tally of three weeks' reports shows. . This figure, small when viewed against the total registered by the Newspapers' drive, gains in importance with the realization that (Continued on Page 8) ]%ew Dimout Rules Slated for Frisco San Francisco — A new set of dimout regulations affecting exterior theater lighting will be issued by Edward Keil, Co-ordinator of Civilian Defense, within the next few days.