The Film Daily (1945)

IHEl WW DAILY Friday, September 7, 194!i Spain Proposes 65% Pix Quota for U. S. (ConHnued from Page 1) for a 65 per cent importation quota for U. S. product, 15 per cent for British films, and the remaining 20 per cent to pictures of all other countries. This sudden and complete reversal of the policy followed by Demetrio Carceller, former Minister of Commerce and Industry, whose efforts were aimed at discouraging film importations, came as a surprise to other American commercial interests here who saw in the step an indication that further reversals in the Carceller policy are at hand. The plan, which Suances requested for presentation to a commission of U. S. producers expected here shortly, calls for the abolition of the import license and similar fees, averaging about $20,000 per picture, and also proposes, in addition to the apportionment of quota', that the Spanish film industry, which heretofore received import fees as subsidization, henceforth be subsidized by the Government. Spanish Proposal Gets Mixed Reaction in N. Y, Advices reaching New York's Film Row yesterday from Madrid that a 65 per cent importation quota for U. S. films had been suggested in proposals submitted to Spain's Minister of Commerce and Industry, Juan Antonio Suances, were received with mixed reactions by trade leaders. Some foreign managers, who have been predicting recently that just such a development was likely to occur, and had led them on occasion to assert that the Spanish market would, in the immediate post-war years, be second only to that enjoyed Riding Herd on the Studio Ketvs Range West Coast Bur., THE FILM DAILY Hollywood — Day's news roundup: Dane Clark, who reached Warners' stardom in "Pride of the Marines," will appear in a modernized version of the "Jazz Singer," playing the role created by Al Jolson Van Heflin's return to the screen, following AAF service, will be in the Robert Nathan story "Bridget," in which Margaret O'Brien also will be seen.... Ida Lupino will be teamed with Errol Flynn in Warners' "Stallion Road" . Lt. Com. Sam Engel, going on the Navy's inactive list, will become a producer at 20th-Fox with "Stranger on the Highway" his first assignment . . . .Rita iHay worth has a new sevenyear Columbia contract. . . .Metro has signed Lt. Audie Murphy, the Army's most decorated soldier in World War II. IN NEW INDUSTRY POSTS ROBERT STURM, manager, Clawson Theater, Clawson, Mich. HARVEY TROMBLEY, head booker, RKO Radio, Detroit. W. H. HEATH, Warner salesman, Omaha. HERBERT FLETCHER, foreign department, Warner Bros. LOU BER'MAN, Universal salesman, Chicago. JOE ANDERSON, manager, B & K Congress, Chicago. LUCIUS SMITH, assistant manager, Senate, Chicago. LEON ROTH, pressbook editor. United Artists, New York. LOU 'BERMAN, Universal salesman, Chicago. M. J. YAHR, RCA theater equipment, Chicago. DOUG ISMAN, Warner Bros., Vancouver, B. C. CHARLIE DU PLOUICH, Columbia, Vancouver, B. C. PAT SMETHURST, Columbia, Vancouver, B. C. ALLAN KOHAN, Warner Bros, publicist, Omaha. Detroit's AT Circuit Will Spend $900,000 (Continued from Page 1) Wyandotte with a 3,300-seat double auditorium, and will cost $500,000. Associated will follow the pattern used in the smaller Wyandotte Theater which opened about three years ago. Both auditoriums will be approximately the same size. The new house will be named the Twin. The second theater will be located on Michigan Ave. on the West Side and will cost approximately $200,000. This will have a seating capacity -of 1200. Associated also has an extensive remodeling program which involves nearly every one of its present theaters. This will cost approximately $200,000 and will consist mostly of deferred replacement items; new marquees, fronts, reseating, recarpeting and redecorating. by U. S. films in the United Kingdom, seemed little surprised at the 65 per cent figure. Other spokesmen, however, were less optimistic, and declared that there was nothing official in the proposals. Certain foreign countries, it was cited, have a way of dramatizing some of the small issues in quota arrangements, and then retreating on larger issues and vital details of international film commerce in advanced negotiation stages. Position of American product in the Spanish market will only be firm when pacts are "signed, sealed and delivered," it was added. Some mystification resulted from the statement in the Madrid dispatch that a commission of U. S. producers is going there. It is known that Fayette W. Allport, MPPDA's European manager, has on his agenda a visit to the Spanish capital to iron out the future status of American product, but there is no indication at this time that a number of trade delegates will make the tiip. ED SCHOEN, Warner Bros, publicist, Cincinnati. GEORGE iBANNAN, Warner Bros, publicist, Dallas. WARNE JONES, supervisor, Television Station WBKB, Chicago. JERRY WALKER, director of educational department, Television Station WBKB, Chicago. ERNEST HAUSER, manager, the Broadway, San Antonio. ORIAN WHITLEDCE, manager. Star, San Antonio. ANDREW MADISON, manager. Temple, Detroit. STANLEY KULAWIK, operator. Temple, Detroit. ANDREW MADISON, manager. Temple, Detroit. A. C. SEYFARTH, director of films division, International Harvester Co., Chicago. WILLIAM C. AIKEN, Columbia salesman, Atlanta. HERB PICKMAN, Warner publicist. New York. CHARLES BYRNES, manager, Ritz, Alton, III. Tlieater Remodeling Wave for Australia (Continued frcm Page 1) American, the balance being British and Australian, Freeman said. Australian studios turned out two pictures in 1944 and have three now in production. During the year ended June 30, 1944, patrons of Australian entertainment industry paid £4,683,000 in taxes on admissions, according to the Acting-Commonwealth Statistician. Films, which were attended by 145,763,000 persons, were the most popular form of entertainment from which taxes totalling £3,513,000 were collected. Next in popularity were dancing and skating, followed by racing, general sports and the legitimate theater. Picture show attendance showed an eight percent increase over the corresponding 1943 period, Statistics for the year ended June 30, 1945, have not been revealed, but indications are that attendance was as high or higher. Freeman said the rule of good pictures doing business held true in Australia as in the United States. Theaters are operated with the same degree of showmanship as over here. Freeman said that exhibitors were given a 25 per cent cancellation privilege. Arnold Stoltz Named PRC Ad-Publicity Head (Continued frcm Page 1) ern department, succeeds Don McElwaine. Robert Goodfried has been named assistant to Stoltz and will serve as a liaison between the studios and the home office. Goodfried arrived in Los Angeles yesterday. Stoltz formerly was exploitation manager of United Artists and previously was with Warner and Loew theaters. I Truman, Hays Tail( Foreign Problems (Continued from Page 1) to recent and present State Depart ment activity in the industry's be half. The White House appointment o the MPPDA prexy served to poi, up anew the film industry's seri _^ concern over the international situl tion, with particular emphasis upoi difficulties being encountered by dis tributors abroad. At the present time, the industr; faces problems, more or less serious in such countries as France, Holland Czechoslovakia, and Spain. Addi tionally, there are aspects of Indus try relations in Italy and other coun tries which are not wholly satisfac tory. (3n the side of the motion pic ture's use in the peace era on a glob al basis. The Film Daily yesterda; exclusively disclosed that seven filr delegates shortly will be designatec probably by the White House, to al tend the United Nations Trade Con ference to be held in London durin, the Autumn. Hays declined to go into detail of his White House visit, his briC; statement merely referring to th' international situation and the film'! potential usefulness. The MPPDA prexy, who returne to New York during the day, did no so far as is known, confer with Eri Johnston whose affiliation with th MPPDA in a top spot presumabl is set for finalization next week. lit ^1 !tl; Product and Sears Drive Topics at UA Chi. Meet Chicago — Current product and tli Grad Sears sales drive were the prii cipal topics of discussion at Unite Artists' two-day meeting here the Blackstone Hotel. Rud Lohrerj presided. Attending the session were: Si Rose, Chicago; Nat Nathanson an Ralph Cramblett, Minneapolis; Elm< Donnelly, Indianapolis; Bernie Mi Carthy, St. Louis; Robert Allen, Mi waukee; William Truog, Kans City, and D. McLucas, Omaha. si UJEDDinG BELLS Jensen-Wenbourn Anthon, la. — Elenor Jenso daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joy Je; son, owners of the local theater, wi married to Duwayne Wenbourn. Tl couple will reside in Las Vegas, N. 1 Rubenstein-Dudelson Detroit — Pvt. Stanley Dudelso formerly of Universal exchanj here, and Jean Rubenstein, bookii department stenographer at Par mount were married. Groom is t]| son of Moe Dudelson, UA brani manager here. Bit