The Film Daily (1942)

942 = Tuesday, July 7, 1942 : cMPS? Bottlenecks Hold Up Films for S. A. WI1 . {Continued from Page 1 ) -! shipments from the United States ™ to Latin-American destinations are ;:t now exceedingly limited because of merrLrndise tie-ups at our ports, ocra^ f by the fact that the transportation of war materials to our Latin-American neighbors are being ■ j, stepped up, leaving little cargo space r jf ■ available for films. Newsreel ship 2' ments are reported little affected bej2y cause they enjoy priority privileges. The ship toll taken by German submarines recently in Gulf of Mexico waters has complicated the problem. In many cases film cargo has been lost, causing further delays in [ placing new product in the hands . c of Latin-American exhibitors. j,i.j. Many film distributors in this 3 country have been forced by the :r.: shortage of space on Pan-American flying boats to discontinue the prace tice of shipping film by air and to five; place reliance entirely on sea transi portation. Some time ago many American PS | distributors adopted the practice of having prints made in Argentina as , i. one way of licking the transporta5;; tion bugaboo. Now they find that , ' many negatives are being held up in ;;; Miami because of space shortage on :" planes. jj; The feeling was expressed in some I quarters that the situation would J improve once the bottlenecks were ;' eliminated and the American ship;r; building industry able to provide ;J ; enough ships to take care of the naT tion's shipping needs. J Mrs. C. S. Philbrook Dead lf.L Pittsburgh— Mrs. C. S. Philbrook, j! wife of the owner and operator of ,.'.' the Heights Theater, Ingram, died in :. Alleghany General Hospital here " from a lingering illness. Besides her : husband, she is survived by one son, .;. Charles, 11. WEDDING BELLS West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Hollywood — Hoot Gibson was married to Dorothy Irene Dunstan at Las Vegas. West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Hollywood — Announcements have been received of the marriage of Mitchell Gertz, agent, and Irene Laserson, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Frederick M. Laserson, June 28. REVIEWS Of SHORT SUBJECTS "Olaf Laughs Last" Columbia 16 '/2 mins. Mild Comedy El Brendel is the chief attraction in this comedy — compounded of fragments of all the slapstick situations that have been a standby in pictures. The comedian, playing in his usual vein of dumbness wedded to shyness, succeeds by much striving to bring forth a resounding laugh here and yon. The story is the ancient one about the painfully meek chap who unwittingly makes a hero of himself before the slapstick has run its course. Brendel is inspired to turn heroic when his sweetheart is kidnapped by a gang of thugs. That puts him in solid with the gal, who has been tolerating his attentions solely out of deference to her father's wishes. Anne Jaffrey is the girl. Jules White doubled as producer and director. "Gopher Goofy" Warners 7 mins. Amusing Leon Schlesinger has whipped up a reel on the misery two little gophers cause a home owner when they invade his premises and set up their own peculiar methods of housekeeping. Going through an agonizing series of experiences in an attempt to eradicate the two pests, the gardener's only accom plishment is the creation of complete havoc in his own back yard. It's a lot of fun. "A Battle for a Bottle" (Phantasy Cartoon) Columbia 7 mins. Fair Routine entertainment is provided by this cartoon about a cat's attempt to purloin a bottle of milk from the front steps of a house. The thieving cat gets involved with a fierce watchdog in a series of mild comedy situations. The dog manages to defeat the cat's purpose every time victory seems imminent. The film winds up with the dog having the last laugh. The kids may get a few laughs out of this one. "Hobby Horse Laffs" (Looney Tune Cartoon) Warners 7 mins. Good A take off on the Hobby Lobby program, this reel is very well done. Several clever innovations have been ingeniously worked into the animation. An invention for distributing black eyes to those who have the annoying habit of reading over someone's shoulder and a fountain pen like device to use for dunking are a couple of the crazy things that make for good laughs in this. 7. C. Health Center Aids 7,750 In Its First Year Buffalo — Agnes Roche, secretary at the Paramount exchange, was married in Maine to Pvt. W. Kauffman, stationed at Holton. j Manchester, N. H. — Lela Liberty i Scribner, secretary in the office of ! the State Theater, and PFC Leo A. j Lorenger of Camp Shelby, Miss., ! were married in St. Joseph's Chapel | here. The bride was given in marriage by her brother, Fenton D. Scribner, Nashua theater manager. Oklahoma City — More than 7,750 persons have received medical aid of some sort at the Variety Club health center here during the first year of operation, according to Arthur German, executive secretary. Scope of the center's services to underpriviledged is gradually being widened. Departments for health education, eye, ear, nose and throat, cancer, heart and mental hygiene are planned. The center was opened in June, 1941 but some services were not offered until later in the Summer The dental clinic, formerly operated by the Salvation Army but now in the hands of the reorganized Oklahoma County Health association provided treatment for 1,840 persons during the year. The tuberculosis clinic, operating three days a week, gave attention to 4,767 persons, German's report shows. The unit gave 694 X-rays, 866 tuberculin tests, 751 pneumothorax refills, and fluoroscopic examinations to 125 persons. The pre and post-natal clinic had 65 patients registered during the period. The clinic opened Aug. 6, 1941, and offers obstetrical care for indigent mothers. The venereal clinic for children, which opened later in August, had 47 patients registered, with 813 treat ments given them. DeRochemont's Old Home Becomes Studio School Newington, N. H. — Louis deRochemont, producer of March of Time, has leased his former Summer home in nearby York, Me., as a studio where his regular cameramen from New York are giving a Summer course in "pictorial journalism" for 25 enlisted men of the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. This is the third season of the school, the previous sessions having been held at the March of Time studios in New York. Overcrowded conditions there caused the transfer of the school. Instructors are March of Time Cameramen D. Y. Bradshaw, Victor Jergen and Phillippe. Producer deRochemont now has a home in Newington. Metro Cuts Prints 20% lo Save Film (.Continued from Page 1) ical reductions on lower bracketed pictures. Universal, which cut its footage by 1,300,000 feet in 1941, plans to further save on film wherever possible. Main titles on newsreels are being shaved and the opening chapters on serials, usually three reels in length, will be cut to two reels, thus saving approximately 400,000 feet of positive stock. Conservation of metal reels will be realized through the placing of a full thousand feet of film on each spool, instead of between 750 and 800 feet as has been the practice among some companies. Other distributors are expected to have their film conservation formulas in shape later in the week. IFRC Exploring New Co-op With Elmer Davis Office (Continued from Page 1) ternational Film Relations Committee at its regular bi-weekly meeting at the MPPDA yesterday. Sam Boals represented Elmer Davis' office at the meeting. Fortunat Baronat of Universal, Michael Hoffay of RKO, and John Agell of Columbia were named as a sub-committee to work out details of a new radio project in co-operation with William A. Hillpot of the CI-AA. David Blum of Metro was designated as editor for July of the IFRA's feature service. He succeeds Clarence J. Schneider in the editorship, which rotates each month. CityWide Blackout Had Little Effect at Theaters Detroit Week-End Biz 40 P. C. Above Normal Rivoli Puts Up Shutters Rivoli Theater has closed for an indefinite period. Detroit — Holiday week-end business ran 40 per cent or more above normal, with capacity crowds in most houses and numerous houses reporting lineups . down the street, almost unknown here. Waiting conditions prevailed in first-runs in Detroit and in houses generally over the state, reports indicate, with local suburban theaters doing exceptionally well also, The reason appears to be that the public is staying at home instead of going on the roads. This was shown by almost deserted upstate roads in sections over the week-end. (Continued from Page 1) falling off in businss was attributed to the disinclination of many persons to go to the movies when it involved leaving the young children and the old folks unattended at home during the blackout. Along Broadway where late attendance at the shows is quite common, film theaters eperienced virtually no ill effect from the blackout. In some instances they profited from the herding of pedestrians into the lobbies. Lights were out 20 minutes in Manhattan and Richmond; 22 minutes in Brooklyn, 24 in Queens and 26 in the Bronx. STORKS! Richmond, Va. — Vergil Sanderlin, engineer for the Wilmer & Vincent theaters, has a new baby girl, born at the Stuart Circle Hospital.