The Film Daily (1943)

I*esday, May 11, 1943 IDE : * DAILY oelz Stays at 20-Fox II Zanuck Returns (Continued from Paijc 1) •ns, after which his contract will cancelled, the statement points he statement explains that Goet2 o be paid at the contract rate e date of cancellation and, i^m ken on, he is to be paid at the -ne* rate for an additional period six months, plus $200 per week • the six-month period. According to the statement, conict of Spyros Skouras runs to Dec. 1950, at a salary of $250,000 a ar with the right on the part of ; corporation to terminate the itract at the end of any calendar Br upon giving written notice on or fore Julv 1 of each year and upon ; payment of $500,000 to Skouras. The stockholders on May 18 will be 'led upon to elect 13 directors and, long other things, consider and ; upon a proposed amendment to large the purposes of the corporan. Among the enlargd purposes " a proposal to "explore for, mine, 11 or otherwise extract or remove is, coal, iron, metals, minerals of jry kind, stone, oil, gas and hydro i hons and associated substances ■m any lands owned, leased or ocoied by the corporation." It is plained that the purpose of the lendment is to permit the exploi;ion and possible enlargement of "•tain productive oil wells upon reltly acquired studio property and oil-bearing sands which may exist der studio property. rges Public's Aid i Fire Prevention (Continued from Pane 1) tion is following through with the n because he believes, in the inest of public safety, patrons will operate closely to prevent theater ■s through their own carelessness. \ trailer has been proposed by ith calling attention to the exine necessity for alertness in pre'iting fires, inasmuch as theaters mot be rebuilt for the duration ause of the lrck of materials. 3 public should be informed, J ith declares, that their motion Hire theater hp« been accepted the WPB, the OWI and the Treas• Department as an important imminent for collecting: scrap, the dislination of war information, the Je of Bonds and Stamps and as an oortant contribution to the morof the nation. All reference to many recent theater fires should eliminated, he adds. ry Sager to Criterion Terry Sager, formerly with the ne office of Loew's Theaters ad'tising and publicity, has been ^imoted to publicity director of ew's Criterion on Broadway. HOLLYWOOD DIGEST SIGNED MARGARET SULLIVAN, "Cry Havoc," M-G-M. bRIAN DONLEVY, three more pictures, M-C-M. ORSON WELLES, director, "War and Peace," to be produced in England, by Alexander Korda. LON McCALLISTER, termer, Sol Lesser. DR. MIKLOS ROZSA, score, "So Proudly We Hail," Paramount. LEMUEL AYERS, scenic designer, M-C-M. TENNESSEE WILLIAMS, writer, M-G-M. DAVID BACON, "Girls, Inc.," Universal. EDWARD CHERKOSE and EDDIE KAY, songs, "Spotlight Revue," Monogram. PAUL and GRACE HARTMAN, "Higher and Higher," RKO. DALE VAN EVERY, screenplay, "The Caunt Woman," Charles R. Rogers-United Artists. CONSTANCE MOORE, two pictures, RKO. THOMAS COMEZ, termer, Universal. ASSIGNMENTS MARTIN MOONEY, screenplay, "DangerWomen at Work," PRC. GEORGE MERRICK, production manager, "Talent School," PRC. DAVE GOULD, dances and skating numbers, "Lady, Let's Dance," Monogram. JACK BOYLE, dance director, "Spotlight Revue," Monogram. TIM WHELAN, producer-director, "Higher and Higher," RKO. MARY DOWELL, story, "Here Come the Girls," Warners. DUDLEY NICHOLS, director, "Government Girl," RKO. ROBERT BRODE, screenplay, "Caribbean Cruise," Technicolor short, Paramount. WILLIAM BEAUDINE, director, "He couldn't Take It," Monogram. LAMBERT HILLYER, director, "Six-Cun Gospel," Monogram. Haunts a House," Paramount. GERARD CARBONARA, score, "Henry Aldrich JAY CORNEY, EDWARD ELISCU and HENRY MYERS, associate producers, "Hey, Rookie," Columbia. SCHDULD SCHDULD "Saigon," story and screenplay, HARRY HERVEY, M-C-M. "Our Hearts Were Young and Cay," screenplay-producer, SHERIDAN CIBNEY, Paramount. "The Mad Ghoul," director, JAMES HOGAN; associate producer, BEN PIVAR, Universal. Zanuck Will Resume Old Post— Schenck (Continued from Page 1) he did when Schenck was chairman of the board of directors, the latter added. Schenck also stated that 20th-Fox plans to increase the number of its stage productions and that the plays will be staged regardless of their picture possibilities. He pointed out that good plays eventually find their way to Hollywood. The executive production head for the company also announced that the company will make 26 specials and 10 program features for the 1943-44 season at a cost of approximately $35,000,000. All the specials, he added, will be sold on a percentage basis. Schenck said he would like to have 20th-Fox picturize Wendell L. Willkie's "Our World," but felt book would go to the highest bidder regardless of Willkie's connection with 20th-Fox. Answering a query, Schenck said he believed the star system would last indefinitely. He feels that eventually double bills will be eliminated and that only a shortage of pictures can bring this about. Louis Kaufman Trial Postponed to June 1 The trial of Louis Kaufman, business agent of Local 244, operators' union of Newark, was adjourned yesterday until June 1 by Federal Judge Alfred C. Coxe. Kaufman is under an indictment alleging conspiracy to violate the Federal anti-racketeering law in the extortion of more than $1,000,000 from the industry. The postponement was granted so that the Government might be able to take the necessary steps to obtain the removal of his co-defendants from Chicago to New York. Court Gets Crescent Proposal (or Decree (Continued from Page 1) for would permit defendants to continue operation as a combination group exclusive of film licesing as an experiment to prove to the court that such operations could be continued without violating the antitrust law and would greatly reduce the amount of the costs assessed against the defendants. Any and all modifications of the original decree prepared by Government counsel was strongly contested by Robert L. Wright, chief of the anti-trust division of the Department of Justice, before Judge Davies at the hearing last week. Armistead stated that defendant counsel are prepared for further action within the 10-day period allowed after the decree is entered if satisfactory modifications are not granted. The first such move, he indicated, would be a motion for a new trial for which he claims there are abundant grounds. Judge Davies stated at the close of the hearing last Thursday that the decree would go to record early this week. In Tunis They Ask: "Are We Going to See U. S. Pix?" (Continued from Page 1) a broadcast yesterday from allied headquarters in Tunis shortwaved to this country. New 3-Week Mark at N. Y. Para. During the first three weeks of Paramount's "China" and Harry James' orchestra at the Broadway Paramount a new record has been chalked up, the combination having played to 450,000 persons, according to Bob Weitman, managing director of the house. Show starts its fourth week tomorrow. MOVIES By Alton Cook Annual Year Book Next to the baseball statisticians, the movie people are the most industrious branch of the whole amusement business in compiling facts and figures on their art. The latest example is Film Daily Year Book, a fat volume of 1012 pages just off the press, covering everything from air conditioning to a list of theaters in Red Bank, N. J. Every actor who has had a speaking part in the movies these last two years is listed, with the names of his pictures. The same thing is done for directors, writers and even cameramen. Some nuggets of fact scattered through the pages: Hollywood picture making employs approximately 30,000 persons. Theaters and distributors account for 170,000 more. The extra list runs to 8600, 2000 of them children. Top price ever paid for a movie story went to The Eve of St. Mark, recently purchased by Twentieth Century-Fox, and by the same company for John Steinbeck's The Moon Is Down. Each got $300,000. Hollywood is not making nearly so many pictures as formerly. The high was 1918, with 841 pictures on the market. Last year it turned out 488. The average good picture has about 220 prints in distribution. Weekly attendance last year averaged about 90,000,000 at all movies. This year is probably much higher. Color hit a new high last year with 25 pictures made. This year's total will be much larger, with color very modish for musicals and even being used in war movies. :■: # * First Oscar Winners The first list of academy awards, made in the season of 1927-28, is interesting to look back on now. The players were Janet Gaynor in Seventh Heaven, Street Angel and Sunrise, and Emil Jannings in Way of All Flesh and Last Command. The pictures chosen as best were Wings and Sunrise. The most popular pictures at army camps the past year were To the Shores of Tripoli and Son of Fury. How many of these pictures can you remember: Orphans of the Storm, Grandma's Boy (Harold Lloyd), Blood and Sand, Prisoner of Zenda, When Knighthood Was in Flower Nanook of the North, Smilin' Through, Tol'able David, Robin Hood, Oliver Twist? That is the list the movie critics of the nation picked as the 10 best in 1922. (Reprinted from N. Y. World Telegram, May 7, 1943)