The Film Daily (1939)

■ :W DAILY Monday, September 25, 1939 SGHINES ADD HOUSES IN FACE OF WRIT PLEA {Continued from Page 1) an anti-trust suit seeking its dissolution. The Schines have acquired the Majestic theater in Nelsonville, and wili take over on Oct. 1. Spence Steenrod, former owner, will continue for two years as manager for the circuit, which headquarters in Gloversville, N. Y. Cincinnati, 0. — Harry Schwartz, veteran Kentucky exhibitor, has sold his Opera House in Lexington and the Paris theater, which is under construction, to the Schine circuit. The Opera House will be operated by the chain, but the Paris site will be altered for storerooms. Schwartz will retain his Frankfort theater. Boris Morros and RKO Reach Oral Agreement (Continued from Page 1) "gentleman's agreement" had been concluded but that no contract had been signed. Morros plans to return to New York in three or four weeks, stopping off at exchange centers en route. Special Session Cancels Boren's Okla. Allied Talk (Continued from Page 1) at the Oklahoma Allied convention opening tomorrow in Oklahoma City. Rep. Lyle H. Boren was to have outlined his proposed Federal divorcement bill at the convention. Others who were forced to forego their appointment because of the special session include Wesley E. Disney, Will Rogers, and Jed Johnson, all Democrats. Abram F. Myers, Allied General Counsel, will probably leave today for the Oklahoma City meeting. "Nurse Cavell" Playing 14 Key Cities This Week Following a big start at Radio City Music Hall, "Nurse Edith Cavell" is playing key city runs this week in Boston, Lowell, Providence, Chicago, Columbus, Kansas City, Los Angeles, New Orleans Omaha, San Francisco, Washington, Cincinnati, Toronto and Buffalo. Anna Neagle and Herbert Wilcox attended the Music Hall opening Thursday and then left for Boston where they were on hand for the picture's premiere at Keith's Memorial Theater. WEDDING BELLS Ruth Landersman of M-G-M's publicity department is to be married Wednesday to Martin Deitz. 4LCN6 THE with PHIL At. DALY; • • • UNIVERSAL is doing something to keep America out of the war and that something is re-issuing "All Quiet on the Western Front" in the "uncensored version" What this latter phrase means is that Universal has injected into the present footage certain sequences which the company refrained from using when the pix originally roared across the American scene and screen almost a decade ago grabbing top spot in THE FILM DAILY'S Ten Best Pictures Poll of 1930 the Academy Award for the best production that year pre-eminence among National Board of Review selections and a bevy of other honors from domestic and foreign field The censorship originally applied to "All Quiet on the Western Front" was of course self-imposed by the company T T T • • • IN addition to these added scenes "All Quiet" carries a powerful prologue of historical shots depicting events which led up to the 1914 blow-up and happenings which caused the current war Narration, pulling no punches in its arraignment of Nazi ideology and delivered with telling effect by John Deering accompanies the prologue and is also used betimes later on and as an epilogue to add present-day emphasis to the main dialogue It was Deering, incidentally, who also narrated Warners' "Confessions of a Nazi Spy" T ▼ T • • • HOW the Nate Blumberg bailiwick happened to re-issue "All Quiet" is because exhibs. wanted it Some 200 requests for the pix having come to the home office Universal had considered the move a natural. .... .right from the outbreak of hostilities abroad But as behooves sound business practice a test run was launched a bit ago at F & M's St. Louis Theater where the storm of patronage brewed up by the campaign of the house's publicist. Les Kaufman boosted the b.o. barometer to four times the normal gross On Friday, last, the opus opened in Detroit and Toledo and is set to ditto soon in Frisco, Jersey City, Akron, Paterson, Bridgeport just to name a few and, 'tis learned will doubtless nestle in the local Rialto When it does re-bloom on Broadway it will be one of the decidedly few re-issues ever to first-run a second time here Originally, it roadshowed at the Central for six months commencing toward the end of August, 1930 T T ▼ • e • EXHIBS. great and small are enabled by a circuit of circumstances to cash in heavily on "All Quiet?' Rarely is a film's title so much on tongue and in newsprint Dailies the nation over are using the phrase in text and caption and, to boot, the Hearst newspapers are currently running serially the film's original story property by Erich Maria Remarque Further, Universal' s Lou Pollock in charge of promotional activities in the East has turned out a 16-page press book which is a gross-grabber and features the powerful and timely catch-line "You Can't Blackout Truth!" T T ▼ • • • AS this department sees it the re-issued "All Quiet" is far more timely and gripping than in 1930. .... .Then it dealt retrospectively with a war that was Now with a war that IS If belligerents' soldiery could see the current version the film would go far toward emptying the forts and trenches as effectively as it appears destined to fill pix auditoriums SMPE TO HOLD NIGHT SESSION AT THE FAIR « « « » » » First evening session of the SMPE's Fall convention, which opens here Oct. 16, will be held at the New York World's Fair so that members may witness special photographic and sound recording demonstrations at two of the principal exhib buildings there, it was announced afm'ie week-end by W. C. Kunzmann,WMivention Vice-President, and D. E. Hyndman, chairman of the Atlantic Coast section, who is in charge of local arrangements. The evening session will convene at the Chrysler Exhibit for a demonstration of stereoscopic pictures by Jack Norling, of Laucks & Norling. This will be followed at 10 p.m. by a special demonstration of "Two-channel Recording and Reproduction with Steel Tape" in the A T & T Exhibit, with visiting delegates participating. Efforts are being made to arrange a special television showing for the delegates between the two demonstration periods. The afternoon and evening of the convention's second day have been left open to permit delegates to visit the Fair again, or to enjoy sightseeing. An interesting program of papers on a wide assortment of subjects, including sound recording and reproduction, scientifically produced studio reverberation, television projection problems, and many others is being arranged for the four-day convention, which will be held at the Hotel Pennsylvania. The terms of Engineering VicePresident L. A. Jones; Financial Vice-President A. S. Dickinson; Secretary J. Frank, Jr., and Treasurer L. W. Davee, expire at the end of the year. Nominees for the positions include Dickinson and Frank, to continue the same duties, and D. E. Hyndman, of the Eastman Kodak Co., for Engineering Vice-President, and R. O. Strock, of Eastern Service Studios, Inc., for Treasurer. Climax of the convention will be the semi-annual banquet and dance, to be held in the Grand Ballroom of the Pennsyvania Hotel, Oct. 18. At that time the Society's Progress Medal and Journal Awards will be presented, and the officers-elect will be introduced. Burger Replaces Lawrence As M-G-M European Manager (Continued from Page 1) joined the French army. Burger leaves for Paris by clipper on Oct. 8. Burger recently returned from an extensive business trip to South America, South Africa and Europe. STORKS! Richmond, Va. — Mary Jane Taylor, cashier of the State Theater, gave birth to a baby girl at the Johnson Willis Hospital.