The Film Daily (1943)

londay, May 3, 1943 11 DAILY 'Ian to Safeguard (ey Theater Workers (Continued from Page 1) *l[e believed readying a broad, comvhensive program to present to MC. Xo deferment from military ser e for theater employes will be •ht, as theater men are aware seeking such a status will only rease their chances of getting iv where with the manpower jency, which has shown no inclinam toward being lenient with theirs. What is sought is, in subiince, the declaration of certain theer employes as essential workers an essential service in order that ey may be protected from employent recruiting by other essential iployers and from potential forced b shifts under Government regution. In other words, WMC will be asked to ■ rd these workers all the benefits accorded lers in jobs which the commission has ;tned essential, except that they will not be ruled to occupational deferment from millservice. No changes in the "non-defer] " listings as they affect the industry will sought. Essentia] classification for these seven jobs ,1 be sought : projectionists, projectionistsuagers. managers and assistant managers, uipment maintenance technicians, circuit leers, circuit executives and circuit man ■\Vhat the industry representatives will be 'ing, in effect, is attempting to obtain from MC a beneficent clarification of the soiled "twilight zone," in order that em.es who are neither listed as essential essential activities nor non-deferable will ve a clear picture of their status. tit successful, they will have established iir right to resist all attempts, through ivernment agencies or on the part of prile business, to take workers from theaters • jobs which WMC has blessed with an Sential status. Evidence of many such empts will be produced by the industry >resentatives to prove the need for pro■tion. | lit is expected that the case of theaters • such consideration will be based upon ;ir function as a communications agency of Que to the war effort. It will be pointed t. in effect, that the granting of essential ssifications. to studio and newsreel person1 shows that WMC is aware of the imTtance of this function but has not been llistic in its refusal to see that without mpetent theater personnel to get producjtis to the screen the work of the studio and wsreel personnel will not adequately be ?-ented to the public. It will also be pointed out that the adtted value of motion pictures to the morale military personnel would be endangered the nation's 17,000 theaters, or any large Ttion of them, is forced to suspend operans. It is the public support of the indus', through these theaters, which makes pos•le the quality entertainment offered the ilitary, WMC will be told. rO Convention to Consider " s Rationing and Manpower Columbus, 0. — Gas rationing's efct on small town theaters, the IN NEW POSTS )NALD RITCH, shipper, Buffalo. •DIE McBRIDE, manager, Colonial, Elmira, N. Y. CHARD LANGE, RKO exchange sales representative, Los Angeles. TO WAR WORK T. "BOB" LEITNER, manager. Star Theater, Arcadia, Fla. To The Colors * COMMISSIONED * CLINTON H. RABBIT, Air Corps, formerly chief usher, Loew's Prospect, Flushing, N. Y., commissioned a 2nd lieutenant. HERBERT WILLIAM (BILL) COLDSTEIN, Air Corps, son of Jack W. Goldstein, National Screen Service manager, Buffalo, commissioned a 2nd lieutenant. — • — * PROMOTED * 2nd LT. C. HOLDS KENNAHAN, USA, formerly Warners' publicity department, promoted to 1st lieutenant. ROBFRT DANE, Coast Cuard, former manager, Shea's Niagara Theater, Buffalo, promoted to pharmacist's mate third class. * ARMY * TOM ROBERTS, manager, Colonial, Elmira, N. Y. FRANK NEWMEISTER, shipper, Universal, Buffalo. FRANK MURPHY, manager, Loew's State, Syracuse, N. Y. NICK SANDERSON, assistant manager, Erlanger, Buffalo. JOSEPH ZISOOK, M-C-M, Chicago. MARTIN SHAGKIN, M-G-M, Chicago. EARL POTTER, assistant manager, State, Miami. Theaters Have Collected 1,164,727 Pounds of Copper (Continued from Page 1) country. Under the leadership of Francis S. Harmon and Arthur Mayer of the WAC and Allen G. Smith of the WPB amusements section, copper collections from theaters have reached a total indicative that the final totals will soar far above the expectations of any of these men when the drive got under way last December. Reports from 12 per cent of the participating theaters showed total collections — through April 20 — of 1,164,727 pounds of copper. This included drippings and strippings collected through the National Theatre Supply Co., Altec Service Co., the Independent Theater Supply Dealers Associations and others. NSS Exec. Uraes Exhibs. To Enlarge Ad Budgets West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Hollywood — That exhibitors should enlarge their advertising budgets in keeping with the fine quality pictures now coming from Hollywood was a point stressed by George Dembow, vice-president in charge of sales, at the opening session of National Screen Service's Western division meeting here on Friday. current manpower situation, the trend towards fewer features and fewer prints, film rentals admission prices and anticipated post-war problems will come in for discussion at the ITO of Ohio convention at the Deshler-Wallick Hotel on May 11-12, it was announced over the week-end. Convention banquet will be held on the evening of the opening day, after which Para.'s "Five Graves to Cairo" will be screened, through the courtesv of Neil Aernew. A buffet will follow at the Variety Club. Convention speakers will include Abram F. Myers. M. A. Rosenberg, W. F. Rodgers. H.' M. Ri^hey, Bob O'Donnell and Governor Bricker, the latter attending the banquet. Exhibitors traveling by train to the convention are being advised to make the trip 24 hours earlier, due to transportation difficulties. First of Capra "The War" Series Released Saturday (Continued from Page 1) the Army, Navy and Marine Corps. Title of the series is "The War." Produced under direction of Lt. Col. Frank Capra, the films will be two reels in length, with two editions released each month. The project which has been referred to heretofore as a "newsreel," is an undertaking of the Army's Special Service Division and Signal Corps, working closely with other branches of the Army, as well as with the Navy and the Marine Corps. Industry fears that this project would serve the function of newsreels appear groundless, in view of the fact that the first four editions are already completed and cleared — thus eliminating the possibility of covering any spot news events. The series has been referred to as "screen magazine," and the Army is apparently anxious that the word "orientation" is used. Public showing is banned by the very nature of the film. The print order has not yet been definitely set. The Navy and Marine Corps will receive masters, from which they will make prints to fill their own needs. Each arm of the service, through this series, will be kept posted on what the other arms, as well as men in their own uniforms in other parts of the world, are doing. A large portion of the footage will be of a restricted military nature. Series release will not mean stopping the regular use of newsreels in Army Posts here nor the use of the OWI United Newsreel in foreign theaters of war. Assembling of the pix will be handled by Colonel Capra, assisted by Lt. Col. Emanuel Cohen, with material submitted regularly by various divisions of the Army, the Navy and the Marine Corps. Circuit Theater Tax Bill Hoppered in Florida (Continued from Page 1) $300 for each theater in chains of five or more, and then graduate up to $1,500 on each theater in chains of 50 or more. The measure if passed would raise a fund of $350,000 for old age pensions and aid to dependent children, its proponents assert. Mellell and Smith At MPTOA's Confab (Continued from Page 1) tors at the Hotel Astor tomorrow. The status of priorities, availability of equipment and other matters affecting the exhibitors' wartime operations will be discussed with Lowell Mellett, chief of the Motion Picture Bureau of the OWI and Allen G. Smith, chief of the Amusement Section of the WPB. Besides Ed Kuykendall, president, other officers who will attend the two-day meeting include Mitchell Wolfson, M. A. Lightman, E. C. Beatty, vice-presidents; Morris Loewenstein, secretary; Walter Vincent, treasurer. Among the board members who will be on hand ^re: J. M. Hone, Spyros Skouras, Major Leslie Thompson, Sidney Lust, Lewen Pizor, Leonard Goldenson, Samuel Pinanski, Fred Wehrenberg, Roy Rowe, R. R. Biechele, Max Cohen, Ed Fay, H. V. Harvey, A. C. Hayman, James Shanklin, O. C. Lam, Arthur Lockwood. Kuykendall arrives in town today. Only 45 Foreign Pix Released Here In 1942 A marked falling off in foreign pictures last year resulted in the fewest motion picture feature release offerings since 1917, it is shown by the forthcoming 1943 FILM DAILY YEAR BOOK. During 1942 features released to U. S. theaters totaled 533. Of these, 488 were produced in this country and 45 imported. Comparable figure for 1941 was 598 with 492 U. S. made and 106 imported. Hollywood production held up last year with 376 features produced compared with 1941's 379 total. Imported features reached a high of 314 in 1938 but, due to the war, have fallen off each year to reach a new low last year. Imports in 1939 were 278; 1940, 196 and 1941, 106. England supplied 19 of the 1942 imports; Russia, 11; Sweden, five; France, four; China, two and Greece, Norway and Germany each one. The ... . FEMME TOUCH MRS HELEN BURNSTINE, manager, State and Southtown Theaters, Springfield, III. VERA B. WILSON, Eastman Kodak public relations staff, Rochester. MRS. LUELLA EPPS, doorlady, Majestic, Fort Worth. RITA HUGHES, booker's stenographer, M-G-M, Seattle. MRS. ROSE ROBERTS, ad clerk, Universal, Buffalo. CALLIE LAND and MAYE GOSNEY, cashiers, Majestic, Fort Worth. MARJORIE SPRAGUE, assistant manager, State, Miami.