The Film Daily (1945)

wm lay, August 7, 1945 V'\ MILV iS. German Pix Policy Waits on Truman Return rianence Rather Than i(5 Decision on Zone bition is Objective ' (Continued from Page 1) 3d, and which will provide the '•^=^1 motion picture industry ^ Specific pattern it will folco-operation with the GoverniWill have a high degree of perice, and not be subjected to re, except to meet favorable and sssive regeneration of the Gerpopulation within the Zone, it nted out. h here in the capital and in the itself there is no disposition to a "snap" decision on the policy :hibiting films, regardless of other countries, namely, Britlussia and • France, do in their The American policy will, it is I, take into account the pitfalls would attend the establishof an exhibition program's >ard revision. Such an occurwould only open the adminis's to criticism at home, and ' the nation to "lose face" with whom they are attempting to ilitate. British Using German Pix Jpatches from Bad Oeyenhausen, -.any, stating that the British r;o start giving their Zone's pop ' n a program of German enter tiit motion pictures in 170 .'ivs, and a month from now a ijam of German subtitled Brit :id American features, appears immaterial to those charged inauguration of our own policy. ttitude here is simply that what British do, or any other nation ving a Zone, is not the specific ess of the U. S. r( een disappointment with both the •lity and quality of films shown s U. S. occupation authorities in ia are reported in a wireless .jtch to the New York Times. (mces are reported as bored with ji films shown in Munich's three '.ting theaters, while shouts and t greeted one subject which de , I details of the execution of some |;cause of supply difficulties, no jre entertainment films are exiiljd for another month when a iii^will go into release. Theaters '■(^'nder the jurisdiction of the In■1 lation Control Division of the ;» Forces in the European Thea le Russians, when they moved in j;iany, imposed no ban on the 'al exhibition of films, but, of 11 e, did censor pictures that were (ibviously pro-Nazi. ^ 40 In British Repertoire ', I'st British movie repertoire will ( pix culled from 300 as politicall-liobjectionable, all of them pro^.ji and probably exhibited prior to '.^Jlied occupation. I S. occupation forces will probjpiise German subtitled pix which it)t made several years ago. These ! are thought to be substantially WHO'SWHO IN HOLLYWOOD Vresenting Interesting Personalities STEVE BRCIDY, general sales manager. Born in Maiden, Mass., June 14, 1905. Attended Boston University for two years in the law school. Entered motion picture industry in 1924 as salesman for Franklin Film Co. in western Massachusetts. He then joined Universal's sales staff to cover the same territory for five years before switching to Warner Brothers. Three and a half years later, he went over to the old Mcnogram, and from 1933 to 1935 was salesman in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. In 1935 when Monogram and other independents merged to form Republic, he remained with the new organization. In 1937, the new Monogram was formed, and he obtained the New England franchise for distribution. He was elected president of the Friars club in Boston and was chosen first chief barker of New England Variety Club. As manager of the Boston Mcnogram exchange, he brought first prize to that office for two major playdate drives. In 1940 he was elected to the board of directors of the corporation, and by the end of the year was appointed vice-president and general sales manager of the home office in Hollywood. At the Chicago meeting of the board of directors this Spring, he was named executive vice-president in charge of operations. Stands five, eight. Weighs 180 pounds. Hair, gray. Eyes, blue. the same offering which we took into North Africa and later into France. Also envisioned for showing are U. S. documentaries. Whatever films we show the Germans will be carefully selected, one spokesman said here, and added that •'certainly no feature or short will be exhibited which will give the Nazis any ideological comfort, regardless of the soui'ce from which it is drawn." Ambassador to Siritsky As Broadway First-Run Bavarian Studios May Make Entertainment Pix Arrangements may be completed shortly to rent facilities of the Bavarian Filmkunst for the production of entertainment films by other than occupation authorities, according to Wolfgang Wolf, Information Services Control Command representative, as reported in a wireless dispatch to the New York Times. Plant, said to be the largest motion picture studio left intact on the European Continent, is located south of Munich. Dispatch did not indicate whether the facilities would be leased to U. S. Government agencies, or whether the studio would be available to units of Hollywood producers. Initial use of the studio will be for the cutting, printing and issuance of documentaries and newsreels intended for German audiences in the American territory in Germany. William P. Montague, head of the OWI Newsreel Division, is expected from London shortly, to supervise this phase of the changeover from inactivity. Wolf reported that equipment in the studio, constructed five years ago — after the Nazis has taken over the German film industry, is good but somewhat inferior to Hollywood material. However, he noted, some minor advantages, such as in projectors, may be adopted by U. S. technicians. Revelation that Joseph and Sam Siritsky contemplate a circuit of theaters in the U. S., similar in size to the group they and their father control in France, came with the announcement that the brothers have leased the Ambassador Theater, 49th St., west of Broadway, from Lee Shubert. The Siritskys, who also operate the Squire, on Eighth Ave., and the Majestic, Brooklyn, plan to operate the house as a first-run outlet. Leon Siritsky, father of Joseph and Sam, is now in France re-acquiring the theater circuit that he and his sons owned and operated in the pre-Vichy era. Ambassador was leased by Eastern Theaters, Inc., a Siritsky company, from Theatrical Realties, Inc., headed by Shubert, in a minimum five-year deal consummated by Berk & Krumgold. House will be reequipped with a new cooling system and modern projection and sound equipment. Because of the large stage space available, theater will be equipped for television reception. UA Talking New Deal For the Winter Garden Negotiations for the leasing of the Winter Garden by United Artists for another first-run film showcase on Broadway is under way, it was confirmed yesterday. The house, currently legitimate, was once operated by Warners, with a film policy. Benson Buys Wash. House Friday Harbor, Wash. — "Bud" Benson, who has been out of the business for some months, has acquired the local Island Theater. Mex. Studio Stafis Block Strike Move (Continued from Page 1) tion Picture industry failed to come off. The walkout, postponed no less than nine times, has apparently been abandoned for good as the result of energetic action by the staffs of the menaced studios — Clasa, Stahl and Azteca. Armed with machine-guns, rifles, pistols, spades and clubs, the workers themselves stood guard over the companies' sets, offices and laboratories and challenged union officials to plant the red-and-black "strike dag" on the properties. Workers termed the calling of the strike a maneuver on the part of Salvador Carrillo, UEMPI head, to force them to sign up with his organization. At present they are members of the Union of Employes of Motion Picture Producers, a rival group headed by Actor Mario ("Cantinflas") Moreno. The employes estimate that it cost them approximately 20,000 pesos a day to guard the studios. Mexican Distribution Facing Strike Menace Mexico City (By Air Mail) — Distribution of both American and domestic films in Mexico is menaced with paralyzation as the rseult of a strike announced to be called sometime this week, by the Union of Workers of the Motion Picture Industry, which takes in the distributor's employes. In an ultimatum delivered to distributors by the Federal Bureau of Concilation and Arbitration in the employes' behalf, the UWMPI gave the companies 10 days in which to make up their minds whether they would meet union demands for wage increases ranging from 35 to 40 per cent. The affected enterprises include the Mexico City offices of Metro, Monogram, Pan American Films, Films Trust Co., Clasa Films, Universal, Producciones Ezquerro, Espana-MexicoArgentina, Paramount, Warners, First National, Producciones Raul de Anda, Artistas Unidos. Fox Films de Mexico, Films Mundiales, Rodriguez Hermanos, and RKO-Radio. Loew's to Reopen Two Connecticut Theaters Bridgeport, Conn. — Harry F. Shaw, Loew Poll division manager, reports the 1,600-seat Lyric will be opened in September after a dark Summer. Policy will be two days of vaude and pix and legit shows when available. It is also reported that Loew's will open the 1,022-seat Poll, Meriden around Labor Day with a SaturdaySunday policy.