The Film Daily (1940)

TOE DAILY Friday, February 9, 1940 ADV. ACCESSORIES IN COLUMBIA DEAL (Continued from Page 1) new setup last Thursday, while Universal begins next Thursday. It is expected that service on all Columbia pictures' accessories will be launched through AA on or about March 1. Advertising Accessories, Inc., is a subsidiary of National Screen Service. Bancroft Back to Para. for Role in De Mille Pix West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Hollywood — George Bancroft, once a top ranking star at Paramount, will return to the studio for a featured role in Cecil B. DeMille's Technicolor production "Northwest Mounted Police." As a French-Indian leader of Canada's so-called Riel Rebellion of 1885, Bancroft will be entirely retyped. The picture is scheduled to go before Technicolor cameras March 5. Westinghouse January Biz Best Since April, 37 Westinghouse orders taken in January are reported to have been at the highest level for any month since April, 1937, a period when the electrical industry generally was running at record levels. It is understood that Januarv orders were roughly 50 per cent better than those for December and about 40 per cent ahead of those taken in January, 1939. New III. Motor Law Chicago — All film carriers here will register under the new state motor law which goes into effect shortly. Law provides full insurance protection for all departments. Best wishes from THE FILM DAILY to the following on their birthdays: FEBRUARY 9 Ronald Colman Lee L. Goldberg James Murray Albert De Sart Lyle Talbot L. Virgil Hart Lon Chaney, Jr. Joe King Heather Angel Phil Zuinn FEBRUARY 10 Alan Hale Henry Herzbrun John Farrow Geo. Henry Leverett Roy D'Arcy W. C. Fields Harry Beaumont B. F. Lyon Fay Pulsifer FEBRUARY 11 Joseph Mankiewicz Mike Mindlin Anita Garvin Dave O'Malley Sam Rothstein Rex Lease Ben Hirsh ALCNG THE with PHIL H. OALYi • • • BACK to Jack Dempsey's Eighth Ave. feed-bag emporium went the Ampa-ites yes'day following a fling at fashionable and foibleous Fifth Ave. fare and, truth to tell, the org.'s membership appeared not only happy to get back in the atmosphere which glorifies the erstwhile "Manassa Mauler" but appeared in such great numbers that an S.R.O. sign threatened to come in handy. • • • PREXY Paul Lazarus, Jr., flashed excellent form in the emcee spot and proved that should words ever fail him he can make his way as a talented talent scout for after he presented two very-well-knowns Mary Howard, star of "Abe Lincoln in Illinois," and Terry Kilburn, youthful luminary of "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" he pulled out of his sleeve or, more literally, out of a Jack Dempsey corner a quintet of young entertainers known as "The Reviewers" This combo delivered a slick satire in the form of a meeting of the Joan Crawford Fan Club then a bit wherein Cleopatra's Needle, Grant's Tomb and the Statue of Liberty picket the re-opening of the N. Y. World's Fair then travesties on movie villains, including "Psychopathic Blues" and finally, as an encore, a film studio recording jibe "The Reviewers" were super-terrific and bid fair to be adopted by Ampa • • • FEATURE of the luncheon program was the talk delivered by Charley Casanave anent the new Advertising Accessories, Inc., of which he is v.-p Charley told the ad boys and gals that the company's policies and set-up mark a vast, forward step in pix industry procedure and when he had finished they not only agreed with him but also with the fact that the luncheon meetin' generally was as "wow" as any in recent Ampa annals • • • LEAVING the subject of the Ampa shindig, — Joe Newman, Metro shorts director, hied out last evenin' for Sunny Cal after shiverin' for four weeks in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. where he made a Pete Smith short at Frank Buck's wild animal farm Accompanied by Herb Morgan, shorts publicity chief, plus a camera crew, Newman went to Florida on a maximum 10-day shootin' schedule Well, Sir, the Arctic weather kept the whole shebang there for a month 'cause the icicle-bedecked animals went on strike for balmy workin' conditions It took two extra weeks to obtain the desired shots • • • BUT to get back to the weather Newman and Morgan said the cold snap caught everyone unprepared Galvanized cans of the garbage genus were made into improvised stoves and were placed in the aisles of theaters and in restaurants Patrons brought along their blankets to pix houses City gas was rationed, as was firewood while a guy who owned a flannel shirt was a bloated plutocrat Newman vows Florida can't compete with Sunny Cal. as a home of movies Naturly Floridians will rule out his testimony, 'cause Mister Newman was born and raised in Hollywood He's been with M-G-M for 15 years His first link with pixdom was as a newsboy in front of the M-G-M studio when it was a Triangle lot. <€ « ^> SEES TURNING POINT IN ITALIAN SITUATION (Continued from Page 1) director for Continental Europe, who arrived in New York yesterday on the Washington. He was (f^.'Vmpanied by his wife. Miggins also declared that: (1) The Italian situation in regards to American pictures is unchanged, although a turning point is in sight; (2) Theater business in France is booming and even production is being resumed; (3) The company's office in Prague is operating, but there is no definite information as to activity in Warsaw. Miggins said that it was evident Italy wanted American pictures but could not say "what was in the Italians' minds" as to how thre situation could be adjusted. A big obstacle that would have to be overcome, he asserted, was the cutting of the appropriation for the purchase of American films from $1,000,000 to $500,000. On the other hand, more currency appears available for Italian production. The belief that the situation might change is based on Mussolini's appointment of Paulucci, sponsor of the film monopoly decree, to the post of ambassador to Belgium. With Paulucci off the scene, a change in motion picture affairs is possible. Although American distributors hope the change will be for the best, there is always the chance that the arrow will point the other way, it was said. Theater business in France is increasing steadily, Miggins said, and patronage is only about 30 per cent below normal. The Government believes that the people need motion pictures to relieve them of the war strain. There are practically no restrictions on theaters which have bomb-proof cellars, Miggins said. Import and export permits are not difficult to obtain, he added. Miggins said he had been informed that most of the company's staff in Prague had returned to work, although a few were on the missing list. He also said that he believed all operations in Helsinki had been suspended bu that theaters were open in some parts of Finland. The situation in Warsaw is not known. Truman Talley, editor of Movietone News, is in Europe to speed up operations and direct the cameramen. Miggins said he thought Talley would sail for home on Feb. 21. STORKS! Chicago — Mrs. B. H. Blumenthal, the former Dorothy Maull, secretary of Louis Lipstone, is the mother of a baby girl, born at the Edgewater Hospital.