The Film Daily (1945)

w jhursday, July 12, 1945 ; W*^ DAILY 4-6-MCIiLMeetto M\ Marketing Plans IContinued from Page 1) gers and a limited group of home tfice execs., opening at the Blacktone Hotel, today under William F. 'odgers, vice-president and general )les manager. i Details of the varioui? campaigns 5 1 preparation and planned will be ' • 'one over by Howard Dietz, vice .< resident and director of advertising ■ xploitation-publicity; Si Seadler, di ■ ector of advertising, and William E. -a 'erguson, exploitation chief. J 1 Alan F. Cummings, in charge of s xchange operations and mainte -i ance, will discuss developments of 5 is department, while Henderson M. iichey, director of exhibitor rela ions, is expected to take up the fur her cementing of exhibitor rela ions. Group is due from New York this lorning along with Robert Lynch, 'hiladelphia district manager; M. N. Volf, Boston district manager, and lerman Ripps, Albany district manger. Already on the scene are Roders, Rudy Berger, Southern sales lanager; E. K. O'Shea, Eastern sales (lanager, and John J. Maloney, Cenral sales manager. Some of the forthcoming M-G-M eleases to be given special marketag and merchandising campaigns re: "Week-end at the Waldorf," cotarring Ginger Rogers, Lana Tur.er, Walter Pidgeon and Van Johnon; "Her Highness and the Belloy," starring Robert Walker and ledy Lamarr; "Our Vines Have 'ender Grapes," starring Edward Gtobinson and Margaret O'Brien; The Harvey Girls," starring Judy Jarland and John Hodiak, in Techicolor; "Hold High the Torch," in .""echnicolor, with Elizabeth Taylor, BACK IN CIVVIES Honorably Discharged RTHUR ZIEHM, JR., son of the Cosmopolitan Pictures executive, New York, from the Army after six years and three months service. , AMES ANDERSON, from the Army, back to his former RKO Radio studio post as assistant director, Hollywood. ,OSS KELSEY, from the Army, to production co-ordinator at Bell & Howell. Chicago. ASIMIR KOSINSKl, from the Army, to Bell & Howell's electrical department, Chicago. OB DEMHAM, JR., formerly of the Hoosier, Chicago, from the Navy. VALTER COBURN, from the Army, to NSS accessory department, Ch cago. (SALTER WILLIAMS, from the Army, to NSS accessory department, Chicago. :OCER REIDINCER, from the Army, to National Screen Service, Cincinnati TANLEY BARACH, from the Army to National Screen Service, Cleveland. OE WILLIAMS, from the Marines to National Screen Service, New Orleans. ICE CROSSWAITHE from the Army, to National Screen Service, Oklahoma City. CHNNY FACAN, from the Army, to National Screen Service, Oklahoma City. JASKELL ROBINETTE, from the Army to head shipper, NSS, Oklahoma City. lAROLD K. CARLTON, from the Army, to NSS, Philadelohia :HARLES tucker, from the Army, rejoins the Balaban & Katz organization, Chicago. BRIEFinC THE DflV'S REIUS Stickler Dies in Crash Cincinnati — Harry H. Stickler, 18, USN, died in the crash of a privately owned plane while vacationmg near Cape Cod, before returning to active duty. Young Stickler was the nephew of Isaac Libson, deceased RKO-Midwest theater magnate. "Dillinger" at San Quentin IVcst Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Hollywood — First of a series of penitentiary showings of Monogram's "Dillinger" was held at San Quentin. King Bros., producers of cne film, arranged the showings, to plug the film's premise that crime does not pay. Sach Buys Cody Westerns Dallas — World rights to four Billy Cody westerns in both 16 mm. and 35 mm., produced by Nathan Hirsh under his Aywon banner, have been acquired by Sack Amusement Enterprises. Sack will re-issue these nationally with new prints and new accessories. Titles are "Border Guns," "Border Menace," "Phantom Cowboy," and "Western Racketeer." 306 Members to Vote On Pad Wednesday (Continued from Page 1) lowing the meeting if the pact is ratified by the union members. The new contracts are understood ; to call for a five per cent wage increase under the provisions of the Little Steel Formula and two hours a week overtime for maintenance work, with the boost retroactive to September, 1944, when the old contracts terminated. The new two-year agreements would run out on Aug. 31, 1946. ■ Show "Great Morgan" Aug. 3 pian Metro Outing M-G-M will tradeshow "The Great j New Haven — Metro Pep Club Morgan" in all exchange centei's on : schedules an outing Aug. 2 with Aug. 3. No release date has been I Muriel Keteneck, president, in set. J charge. Zukor, Paramount Jubilee Speaker in Washington Here and There in the Theater Washington Bureau, of THE FILM DAILY Washington — Adolph Zukor, chairan of the Paramount board, addressed a meeting of local exchange personnel in connection with Paramount's "One Third of a Century" celebration. He introduced Margaret Hannon, film inspectress, who has been with the local Paramount exchange for 30 years. Sonny Tufts, Paramount star, was guest speaker, and talks were made by Claude F. Lee, director of public relations, William Erbb, Eastern division manager, who presided, and Allen Usher Paramount Month co-captain. STATISTICS WITH OOMPH By LOUISE MACE Tom Drake, Frank Morgan and Lassie; "The Sailor Takes a Wife," starring Robert Walker and June Allyson; "Perfect Strangers," produced in England by Sir Alexander Korda, starring Robert Donat and Deborah Kerr. Also, "They Were Expendable," starring Robert Montgomery, directed by John Ford; "Yolanda and the Thief," in Technicolor, with Fred Astaire, Lucille Bremer and Frank Morgan; "Ziegfeld Follies," in Technicolor, starring Fred Astaire, Lu cille Ball, Lucille Bremer, Fanny Brice, Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, \ James Melton, Red Skelton, Kathryn Grayson, Lena Home, William Powell and others; "Anchors Aweigh," in Technicolor, starring Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly and Kathryn Grayson, with Jose Iturbi, and "Early to Wed," starring Van Johnson and Esther Williams. Four others are now in work at Culver City, namely, "The Postman Always Rings Twice," starring Lana Turner and John Garfield; "Strange Adventure," starring Clark Gable and Greer Garson; "The Yearling," in Technicolor, starring Gregoi-j^ Peck, directed by Clarence Brown, and "Two Sisters from Boston," with Kathryn Grayson, June Allyson, Lauritz Melchior and Jimmy Durante. Those not interested in statistics are herewith advised to stop right here. Or, wait a second, do you like statistics that are interesting? Consider the Film Daily Yearbook, edited by Jack Alicoate who somehow manages to find the time year after year between issues of the Film Daily daily (no, the heat hasn't got us) to line up contributors, amass facts and figures, count noses, centimes, ha'pennies and dimes, gather reams of data-embroidered paper and 'long in the spring give the go signal to the printers. Presto, a volume of nearly 1000 pages containing everything anyone should know about the motion picture industry rolls off the presses to be channeled to film editors all over the country. It is startling, but not world shaking, to learn that 20,092 titles have been released since 1915. Imagination could run riot from A to Z trying to recall some. (Why not give the stile-jumping sheep a rest and count titles?) The Year Book carries a line of type to the effect that there is one motion picture theater open in the United States for every 8000 persons. Another line notes that the average length of American produced features is 8100 feet. Number of theaters showing double features are 11,160 (approximately 59 per cent), those showing single features only are 6916. Maximum bookings per feature are 10,000 from major studios, 3 to 6000 from independents. Happen to remember "Gone With the Wind" was the best film of 1938-39; "It Happened One Night," 1933-34; "Mutiny On the Bounty," 1934-35 ? Neither did we. Recall Katharine Hepburn was considered best actress in 1932-33 for performance in "Morning Glory"; Marie Dressier best in 1930-31 for "Min and Bill"; Mary Pickford in 1928-29 for "Coquette"; Janet Gaynor 1927-28 for "Seventh Heaven"? Pshaw, who can remember that far back? The tome jots down a spectacular event: that the highest price ever paid a writer for a story wi'itten especially for the screen was $100,000. Helen Deutsch (a fine person this reporter knew when she was a Broadway press representative) got it for her story "As You Want Me" — $100,000! When the film print shortage eases, probably by early 1946, and vital chemicals are restored to color laboratories all features will be in color. Told you that some time ago. Really, the Film Daily Year Book is as fascinating as a novel. Well, almost, and you haven't read anything yet. Or have you? Reprinted from THE SPRINGFIELD SUNDAY UNION AND REPUBLICAN, June 17, 1945