The Film Daily (1945)

1 Friday, February 2, 1945 nci DAILY Fuel Situalion Continues Critical (Continued f rem Page I) will last 72 hours, further aggravating the fuel shortage here. -■ Of the 54 theaters in Greater New ^York requesting coal Wednesday, 12 were granted deliveries yesterday. The rest were .in the process of being considered, it was reported by "the office of the City Fuel Administrator. Ironically, shipments of coal to the Canadian-Pacific Railway Co. were being made from Pennsylvania mines via Syracuse, a section hardest hit by the fuel shortage. Ten .coal-loa4ed barges were ferried across the St. Lawrence River from Ogdensburg, N. Y., to Prescott, Ont., totalling more than 1,000 tons in two days. Other towns in New York that reported shuttering of their theaters i are Geneva, and Cohoes. Watertown will be closed Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. In Auburn two of the four houses have closed. A meeting of exhibitors in Fulton will decide what day of the week they ; .wish to remain open. Albany may i reopen for Sundays only. In SyraI cuse the closing of theaters, for one I week ending tonight, may be exi, tended, with little relief seen here and upstate New York for at least two weeks. Geneva houses have closed until further notice. Theaters in Oswego can remain open providing they burn soft coal. Banning of coal deliveries to theaters in Philadelphia is not expected to result in closings for a few more days at least, although elimination ^ of matinees or closing one day a week is now being considered by the exhibitors. Governor Dewey is preparing to close all state-owned office buildings in Albany, except for essential purposes, under an order to take effect today at 5 p.m., it was announced -by Charles H. Sells, superintendent of Public Works. To Ash Senate Prohe Of Film, Shortage Washington Bur., THE FILM DAILY Washington — Senator Harold H. Burt;n (R., 0.) said yesterday he would ask the Seriate War Investigating Committee to make an inquiry into the shortage of news photographic materials following complaints of waste and excessive purchases of film stock by the armed forces. Rep. Lyie Boren (D., Okla.), chairman cf Hoiise Interstate Commerce Sub-Committee, said he would examine the photographic situation if his group is re-established in the new Congress. SPU Interim Pact Denied, Picketing Starts Today l>es Moines Theaters Use Coal Miner's Lamps Under Marquee Des Moines — The old-fashioned carbide coal miner's lamp took over at one of the theater lobbies in Des Moines with the new brownout taking effect. A dozen carbide lamps were purchased by the Paramount Theater manager and 11 were installed under the marquee at the entrance. The twelfth was donned by a barker who wore it atop his head in the style of a miner, but in full dress, tails and all. At the Orpheum Theater instead of usinge one 60-watt bulb under the marquee, there will be six bulbs of 10 watts I each. The Des Moines Theater advertised for "10,000,000 lightning bugs to illuminate the theater." f Continued from Page t) claim over all -acting 'work, -pending settlement of the , jurisdictional dis-, pute between SAG and 'SPU. The producers are willing to negotiate with SPU on wages^ hours and working conditions relating to various classifications of extra work. Late yesterday SPU officials announced that picket lines would be established today at major studios and that SPU members are striking on grounds that the producers have failed to comply with the NLRB order which gives SPU jurisdiction over extras and extras doing bits, parts, singing and stunts. U. S. Possessions Houses Join Red Cross Campaign (Continued frsm Page 1) in the industry's Red Cross campagn. Territorial chairmen are Homer Garvin, Juneau, Alaska; Robert 0. Schoham, San Juan; Clarence Payne, St. Thomas, and V. Fredericksen, St. Croix, Virgin Islands. Republic Signs Borzage To Producer-Director Pact West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Hollywood — Republic has signed Frank Borzage to a long-term producer-director contract and he will have a substantial financial interest in each picture he makes for Republic. He will have sole authority in selection of the properties he will make and in casting. Each picture will have a budget in excess of $1,500,000, and following completion of "Spanish Main," which he is directing at RKO, Borzage will leave for New York for conferences with H. J. Yates. Michael Martone Dead Springfield, Mass. — Michael Marr tone, 56, active in theater management and for 10 years manager of the Palmer (Mas?.) theater, died after a brief illness. An Open Letter To Lester Cowan Dear Lester: It is with deep regret that we must terminate the exceptional run of your picture "Tomorrow — the World!": at the Globe Theatre after six highly successful weeks. Unfortunately, a prior commitment.' nriade by us some time ago prevents us from extending the run of "Tomorrow— th.QV\fQvld\" indefinitely as it warrants! As you know, we have been in the exhibition end of this business for 31 years but never in our experience have we ever played a picture that has had the building fower and staying quality of "Tomorrow— the World! ". The 'word-of-mouth'plus its timeliness makes your picture a real contender for top grosses. Let's look at the Globe record: the third week was bigger than the second j the fourth week was bigger than the third; the fifth week was bigger than the fourth and the SIXTH WEEK WILL TOP ALL excQpt the first despite bad weather breaks. We sincerely feel that you have an unusually great picture in "Tomorrow — the World!". The box-office records of the Globe Theatre have proven that you have a real WINNER in "Tomorrow — the World!". Please accept our sincere congratulations and best wishes for your continued success. e ■•• ® e o o @ 9 e e e G e © © .©•■ • ' © © ©' © © © © © © © ©. © © © © © © '