The Film Daily (1943)

THEl DAILY Thursday, May 13, 1943 Summer Biz to Hit New Peak With No Closings ja Seasonal Closings to be Nil; Nation-wide Level of Box-Off ice Prices Up 15% (Continued from Page 1) ings will be nil, according to the survey. In addition, longer hours of operation have gone into effect in many large industrial areas where war work is keeping plants going 24 hours a day. Numerous swing shift performances also are adding to the total. Equally advantageous to the exhibitor— and to Uncle Sam who collects admission taxes and excess profit taxes — is the fact that the nation-wide level of box-office prices is about 15 per cent higher than in the early part of 1942, the survey reveals. Some of the larger cities have jumped their scales, particularly in first-run houses, considerably more than this amount, with the more important subsequent-runs following suit, but for the country as a whole the figure averages out 15 per cent, which some exhibitors point out does not even cover their increased operation costs. Trend toward price boosts is not completely over, however, according to the field reports. Also a factor in the healthy theater business situation is the continuing flow of product with better than ordinary drawing power. Pictures cited among the current best bets include "Air Force," "Desperadoes," "Edge of Darkness," "Human Comedy," "White Savage," "Flight for Freedom," "Something to Shout About," "It Ain't Hay," "Happy Go Lucky," "Hello, Frisco, Hello," "Hangmen Also Die," "The Hard Way," "My Friend Flicka" and others, with "Casablanca," "Star Spangled Rhythm," "Yankee Doodle Dandy," "They Got Me Covered" and a dozen other earlier releases still having plenty of first-run and subsequent dates to play. Pre-Easter slump this year was practically non-existent in majority of territories covered by the survey. National business for the week ended last Wednesday (April 28), which included Easter Sunday, was more than 35 per cent better than a year ago, it was indicated. The Broadway "take," as in the case of several other large cities, was even higher. IN NEW POSTS r / I: JIM KEESE, 20th-Fox publicity staff, Cincinnati. BILLY BIEN, Midwest division manager, National Screen Service, Cincinnati. JOHN EIFERT, city salesman, Warners, Cincinnati. GEORGE LEFKO, Warners, Chicago. J. AMBROSE, branch manager, Warners, Cincinnati. LEE BRAVERMAN, assistant manager, RKO Schine, Syracuse. Weeh-end Small Town Biz Climbs in Iowa Des Moines, la. — Small town business is not so bad as described in some reports, according to Mel Evidon, Columbia exchange manager, who returned from a swing of Northwestern Iowa. Rural exhibitors are pretty well satisfied with business, according to Evidon. Weekdays, he said, are no worse than ever and Saturday and Sunday box offices are picking up. Evidon said patrons now include older persons who never attended movies before. E. M. Loew is Loser In Conspiracy Case (Continued from Page 1) that the actions by all constituted a conspiracy. The jury held that no conspiracy had existed. Loew had sought damages and an injunction. Hearing was first held before Special Master Arthur Black who also found no evidence of conspiracy. Loew then moved for a jury trial. Case was filed three years ago. East Orange Clearance Complaint is Dismissed Clearance complaint filed by the M. J. M. Operating Co., owner of the Beacon Theater, East Orange, N. J., has been dismissed by the arbitrator partly on the grounds that the complainant admitted that the clearance complained of was not unreasonable if competition existed. Complainant charged that the seven-day clearance held by the Ormont Theater over the Beacon was unreasonable because the theaters were not in competition with each other. The arbitrator found that competition existed between the two houses which are a mile apart. During the testimony, the complainant said that if two theaters compete with each other, seven days is not unreasonable clearance. In his written opinion, the arbitrator said that "the evidence, in view of the complainant's admission of reasonableness, does not justify a reduction in the existing clearance of seven days." Harmon,. Mellett Confer Washington Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Washington — Francis J. Harmon, WAC co-ordinator, was in Washington yesterday on his way to New Orleans, where he is scheduled to address exhibitors. He conferred with Lowell Mellett in the afternoon, but implied that they did not discuss the Capra Army series. Asked specifically whether release of "the series" had been discussed, he rereplied "Isn't that water under the bridge?" WHN and Loew Circuit in Reciprocal Promotion A reciprocal promotion campaign originating at WHN has been set by the station and the Loew circuit to start tomorrow. The promotion, one of the largest single indie station campaigns, will feature an animated movie trailer designed to publicize the station's four-hour variety show, "Gloom Dodgers," and will be shown in 70 Loew nabes in the New York met. area. Trailer, produced by Herb Chason, WHN promotion director, announces "Gloom Dodgers" and advances information of the Loew's TheaterWHN contest. Contest awards 50 guest tickets to Loew's nabes daily. It is planned to run one new contest idea each week and repeat those that prove successful. The first contest centers around a "misspelled" word in Loew's Movie Guide appearing daily in the N. Y. newspapers. Further tie-in with Loew's theaters is the use made of the Loew cartoon characters Willy and Nilly appearing in all Loew ads to introduce "Gloom Dodgers" in the movie trailer. The voices of Willy and Nilly as they are heard on the sound track are the voices of two "Gloom Dodger" regulars, Mort Lawrence and Karole Singer. In addition to the trailer there will be 22" x 28" display cards in the lobby of the nabes promoting "Gloom Dodgers" and the contest plus a daily mention of the radio show at the Loew houses carrying the promotion. CIAA, OWI Cost Data Now In Hands of Byrd Com. (Continued from Page 1) non-essential spending by Government agencies. Motion picture activities of these two agencies, as well as their radio activities, have been under investigation by the committee's staff for several weeks. Senator Byrd is expected to study the material within the next week, and members of the committee staff are fairly certain that some action will result from his study. They apparently feel that there is room for considerable economy in the operations of the bureaus and Byrd is the chief congressional champion of economy in Government. The data is quite complete, The Film Daily was told, covering in full all phases of the operations of the CIAA and OWI bureaus. Party for Hilary St. Geo. Saunders Washington Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Washington — Hilary St. George Saunders; British author of "Combined Operations" who is on his way to the Coast to appear before the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will be feted tomorrow evening at the National Press Club. Hosts for the cocktail party will be the British Information Service. Columbia Sets 44 For Next Season (Continued from Page 1) dous an increase in playing time tjfTai the company, thus assured of ho?jen overs, will this year double its 194041 budget, Montague asserted. Extra time on such pictures as "My Sister Eileen," "The Talk of the Town," "You Were Never Lovelier," "Commandos Strike at Dawn" and "Something to Shout About" amounted to 3,600 days, he said. Productions, to be sold on screening only and excluded from the program will be Sam Wood's "The Land Is Bright," and another, as yet untitled, to be announced later. Six for Technicolor Montague said six pictures will be made in Technicolor, more than in previous years. Titles and budget figure will be announced at the New York meeting. Musicals and comedies will predominate. Arthur Schwartz will handle the musicals, having organized a Hollywood company now in production on "Cover Girl." Co-op advertising campaigns will be continued it was stated. The radio program on "The More the Merrier" having been successful, others will be used this season. The company made a countrywide survey before formulating its sales policy for the new season and found, despite longer runs, that theaters needed full programs. The company's player personnel was not hard hit by war as female stars predominate and they are still on the job. Columbia, for the first time in twe years, has brought its entire sales personnel into convention instead of only its top sales executives principally because the home office heads want a first-hand audit of the playing time available to all companies and, particularly, to Columbia throughout the U. S., Montague explained, adding that the audit is allimportant at this time because of the speed of production in the AA classification coming from the studio. TO THE COLORS! * COMMISSIONED * JOHN W. DERMODY, former doorman, Comerford, Wilkes-Barre, Pa., commissioned a 2nd lieutenant. * PROMOTED * V. W. VARJABEDEAN, formerly, Majestic, Bridgeport, Conn., to sergeant. * NAVY * WARNER CENS, Wilmer & Vincent, Harrisburg, Pa. • S"PARS * MRS. EVELYN AUBERS, clerk, Paramount construction department, Hollywood. 1 s 3N I DAN Hin M 11 Z V CI c! d tN