The Film Daily (1941)

Wednesday, August 6, 1941 Vol. 80, No. 26 Wed., Aug. 6, 1941 JOHN W. ALICOATE DONALD M. MERSEREAU : General Manager CHESTER B. BAHN :::::: Editor Published daily except Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays at 1501 Broadway, New York, N. Y., by Wid's Films and Film Folk, Inc. J. W. Alicoate, President and Publisher; Donald M. Mersereau, Secretary-Treasurer. Entered as second class matter, Sept. 8, 1938, at the post-office at New York, N. Y., under the act of March 3, 1879. Terms (Postage free) United States outside of Greater New York $10.00 one year; 6 months, $5.00; 3 months, $3.00. Foreign, $15.00. Subscriber should remit with order. Address all communications to THE FILM DAILY, 1501 Broadway, New York, N. Y. Phone BRyant 9-7117, 9-7118, 9-7119, 9-7120, 9-7121. Cable address: Filmday, New York. Representatives: HOLLYWOOD, Calif.— Ralph Wilk, 6425 Hollywood Blvd., Phone Granite 6607. LONDON— Ernest W. Fredman, The Film Renter, 127-133 Wardour St., W. I. PARIS— P. A. Harle, Le Film, 29 Rue Marsoulan (12). MEXICO CITY— MarcoAurelio Galindo, Depto. 215, Calle del Sindicalismo, 99, Tacubayo, D. F. riNANCIAL {Tuesday, Aug. 5) Am. Seat. NEW YORK STOCK MARKET Net High Low Close Chg. 102l/2 33/8 Col. Picts. vtc. (2i/2%) 6'/4 6i/4 6i/4 Columbia Picts. pfd Con. Fm. Ind Con. Fm. Ind. pfd East. Kodak 1395/8 1395/8 139S/8 do pfd 174 174 174 Gen. Th. Eq 13% 13% 13% Loew's, Inc 337/8 33% 333/4 do pfd Paramount 13% 12% 13i/4 Para. 1st pfd 102i/2 102 Para. 2nd pfd 12 11 Pathe Film 14% 14 RKO 31/2 3 RKO $6 pfd 20th Century-Fox . 7% 7 20th Century-Fox pfd. 20 1/4 20 Univ. Pict. pfd Warner Bros 5% 5 do pfd NEW YORK BOND MARKET Keith B. F. ref. 6s46 Loew's deb. 3i/2s46 Para. B'way 3s55 Para. Picts. cv. 3l/4s47 Warner Bros.' dbs. 6s48 95% 95% 95% NEW YORK CURB MARKET Monogram Picts. ... 9-16 9-16 9-16 +1-16 Radio-Keith cvs 1/4 1/4 1/4 Sonotone Corp 2 2 2 — % Technicolor 9% 9% 9% — % Trans-Lux Universal Corp. vtc. 7% 7% 7% Universal Picts 19 19 19 +2% N. Y. OVER-THE-COUNTER SECURITIES Bid Asked Met. Playhouse, Inc. 2nd deb. '45. . . 63 66 Roxy Thea. Bldg. 4s 1st '57 59 63 5 — % NLRB to Hold Elections For Home Office Readers The National Labor Relations Board will conduct elections today among home office screen readers of six major film companies to determine a collective bargaining agent for East Coast salaried readers. The elections are being held as a result of the petition of the Screen Readers Guild of New York for certification as the proper collective bargaining agent. "York" Opens Aug. 22 In Louisville and Dayton Dates have been set by the Warner sales department for openings of "Sergeant York" at the Mary Anderson Theater, Louisville, Ky., and the Victory Theater, Dayton, O., on August 22, it was announced yesterday by Grad Sears, Warner sales manager. Both openings will be given a publicity, advertising and exploitation campaign on a scale comparable to the New York and Washington premieres. Mort Blumenstock, in charge of advertising and publicity in the East, immediately assigned William Brumberg of the field exploitation division to work^on the advance publicity campaigns. Brumberg left for the Midwest last night. Additional field men also will be assigned to work on the two openings. Picture will play both houses on the newly established price scale of 75 cents for matinees and $1.10 for evening performances. Next immediate opening of "Sergeant York" will be in Atlantic City Friday night at the Warner Theater. Order Disney to Reimburse Strikers for 100 Hours Work West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Hollywood — Commissioners James F. Dewey and Stanley V. White have ruled that Disney strikers be reimbursed 100 hours pay to apply on debts they incurred while on strike, no penalties to be imposed on nonstrikers, all employes getting $50 a week to be guaranteed a 10 per cent raise, top notch animators to be paid $85 a week. The commissioners refused to restore wage cuts of April and May. First period of new contract between Disney and Screen Cartoonists Guild is to run to October 1942. The company is to recognize the Guild as the exclusive bargaining agency for all its workers in animating department. Mo. Governor Approves Anti-Stench Bomb Bill Jefferson City, Mo. — Governor Donnell has approved the bill to outlaw the use of stench bombs by making it a misdemeanor to throw, release or possess them. He also signed the bill extending the two per cent sales tax law an additional two years until Dec. 31, 1943. Harmon Not to Resign West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Hollywood — Francis S. Harmon, defense co-ordinator for the motion picture industry, refused to comment on a published report that he plans to resign that position. In the meantime he is continuing to function in effice and it is not believed he will resign. Sol Edwards Joins Fox Sol Edwards, formerly of Grand National and more recently with UA, joins 20th-Fox in Chicago as a salesman starting Monday. N. Y. Pari-Mutuels Gave State $856,141.53 Albany — Twenty-one days of racing this season at Empire City race track yielded the state pari-mutuel revenue almost equal to revenue during 24 days of racing at the same track a year ago. Mark Graves, Commissioner of Taxation and Finance, announced the tax yield from 21 days of racing ended July 26 as $856,141.53. In 24 days a year ago, the yield was $877,530.74. The average daily handle at Empire this season and last measures the increase in betting transactions. This season's average daily handle was $757,390; last season's was $678,408. That is an increase of 11.5 per cent. The average daily handle per patron was reported as $51.76, an increase of 70 cents compared to last year. Attendance in the 21 days totalled 307,270, compared to 317,907 in 24 days a year ago. The average daily attendance was 14,632, compared to 13,246 last year. Third N. H. Arbitration Hearing Starts Tomorrow New Haven — Hearing of the third arbitration case here, that of Fred Quatrano, owner of the New Newington Theater, Newington, against the consenting distributors, will be at 11 a. m. tomo:-row at the local tribunal, before A. A. Ribicoff, Hartford attorney, as arbitrator. Newington says that the present clearance of 30 days after New Britain is ruinous, and wants a reduction to seven days. Warner Bros, has intervened for the Strand, Palace, and Embassy, New Britain. Myers to Ask Reduction Of Exemptions Aug. 13 Washington Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Washington — Abram F. Myers, Allied general counsel, is scheduled to appear before the Senate Finance Committee on Aug. 13 to present the plan of his group to reduce the exemption on admissions so that the tax will start with the first cent. Allied is seeking the lowered exemption to avoid threats of pricecutting. Bill as passed by the House provided for the lowering of the exemption to nine cents. Dallas House Burns Dallas — An early morning fire destroyed the Mirror Theater, with an estimated loss of $25,000. As the fire occurred after the last performance, no one was in the building at the time. No statement has been made as to rebuilding plans. Set Hope's Next West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Hollywood — Bob Hope's follow-up to "Caught in the Draft," will be a navy comedy called "Amateur Admiral," according to plans announced by Buddy De Sylva, Paramount production chief. Bob's leading lady will again be Dorothy Lamour, his partner of "Caught in the Draft." COfflinG and GOING W. F. RODCERS left yesterday for Chicago. EARL W. WINCART. 20th-Fox publicity director, left last night to attend the Schine convention in Gloversville. H. M. RICHEY, of M-G-M, left last night for the Schine meeting. DAVE IDZAL, managing director of thi<Jf> " Detroit, is in town for conferences with £»**es Skouras. ANNA NEACLE and HERBERT WILCOX are in Toronto conferring with Canadian officials on Miss Neagle's next film. JOSEFH BERNHARD is back at his desk after studio conferences with Harry and Jack L. Warner. SERGEANT ALVIN C. YORK has returned to his home in Tennessee. He will attend the openings of "Sergeant York" in Los Angeles and Chicago the latter part of this month and will also attend the VFW convention in Philadelphia Aug. 24. JAMES CAGNEY is on his way back to the Coast from location at North Bay, Ont. W. J. HEINEMAN, assistant general sales manager of Universal, has returned to his desk following a Coast trip of several weeks on circuit deals. FREDDIE MEYERS, Universal Eastern sales manager, returns to New York tomorrow after visiting New Haven and Boston. E. T. COMERSALL, Universalis Western sales manager, returns from Chicago Friday. F. J. A. MCCARTHY, Universal Southern and Canadian sales manager, is back after an extended Southern tour. LARRY MITCHELL of THE FILM DAILY'S editorial staff has returned from a vacation in the Catskills. JACK LEWIS. RKO Radio publicist, is back from a boating vacation on Long Island Sound. DAVE BIEDERMAN is here from the Coast. GABRIEL PASCAL arrives from England Aug. 15 by Clipper. HELEN KELLEY, Conover model, after making four shorts in the East for Paramount, leaves shortly for a feature assignment in Hollywood. Splinter Brings Suit Tamaqua, Pa.— A $10,000 damage suit was filed by Mrs. Minnie Hoffman in the Schuylkill County Court against a Tamaqua theater. The suit avers that Mrs. Hoffman attended a performance in the theater and when she arose to leave a piece of wood broke from a seat and pierced her stomach. The splinter, it is alleged, was 4% inches long and caused Mrs. Hoffman to require treatment at the Palmerton Hospital. Cologne Houses Destroyed Information from Berlin reveals that the RAF has completely destoyed Cologne's two finest theaters, the Agrippina and the Scala.