The Film Daily (1947)

dnesday, March 12, 1947 ISM*** 11 iw Theater Permits Allocations Jump (Continued from Page 1) ire appears to be little present elihood that stringent controls will lifted for several months to come. :hough the Office of Temporary ntrols, which now passes on conion applications, is due to end mmer, its powers are exto be passed to the Housing peditor Office. DTC spokesmen say there is "no ■sent indication" that the weekly ocations will be raised above the million figure. Present controls have kept their building to a trickle, with reirs and replacements representing ; bulk of theater construction, ly approvals now given are for her very small theaters (Drives and the like) or for emergency oairs and replacements. Old theirs condemned for safety purposes •eive approvals for repairs as well new theaters to replace those de•oyed by fire. [n the latter half of last year, using authorities predicted a llurge in theater building by the ddle of this year, expanding to a ar-boom towards the end of 1947. is schedule is now shoved forird "several months" by Governent experts. ichigan ITO Gathers gures on High Rentals (Continued from Page 1) iry that of 19 features now being leased by five majors to nabe uses here 13 are percentage deals d others call for high rentals acrding to President Sam Carver. No definite action was taken but rver said members are considerj laying off of buying from one or o majors entirely in an effort to :ure relief, although there is conlerable opposition from independt exhibitors who fear that such ;p would jeopardize their business putting in inferior pictures and '-issues in place of better features blic is used to. Election of officers was postponed, obably till April. ; ctor Potel Dead Vest Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Hollywood — Victor Potel, one of *e original Keystone Cops, is dead re at 57. Potel was a veteran of years of screen appearances. He survived by his widow. tinD BIRTHDAV GREETinGS TO: Mar. 12 P. A. McGuire Hap Hadley, Jr. Leslie Fenton George W. Harvey ALONG A Reporter's Report • • • CUFF NOTES: Looks like National Theaters may face opposition in the prefabricated theater field. ... • Ian Warren of London & Overseas is out of the hospital here after being bedded down two weeks with the jaundice, presumably contracted in Hol'ywood. . . . • Not RKO but Modem Talking Pictures will distribute that short which RKO Pathe will produce for the National Confectioners Association. . . . • Don't be surprised if several majors embark upon production in Italy before the year ends. ... • Hen-fruit decorated with eyes in various colors for those traditional egg-rolling contests at Eastertide would be an exploitation "natural" for Universal's "The Egg and I," wouldn't they? ... • Which reminds that when Norman H. Moray of Warners was a guest at Chicago's Congress Hotel last week, the Pompeian Room thoughtfully added a "Bugs Bunny Special" to the menu It was a carrot juice cocktaiL ... • David Lawrence's United States News places the present dip in film attendance at from three to five per cent. ... • Harold Young, who has just completed the directorial chore on "Citizen Saint" here, will stage the historic portion of City College Centennial Fund's Fashion Gala at the Waldorf on the 22nd. ... • Seems as how there's a New York theater bottleneck for foreign fi'ms That's why the French "Clandestine" is opening today in Boston and not here. ... • If Vajay Bhatt has his way, his Prakash Pictures of India will produce a Technicolor feature on the life of Buddha in these U. S. . . . • An interesting announcement could follow Bob Gi'lham's scheduled return to N. Y. today from a vacation T ▼ T • • • ANY SUGGESTIONS?: George J. Schaefer is in a quandary Now that the bronze, marble-backed plaque which was awarded by the Government to the industry when he was WAC chairman is back in his office after a two-year exhibition tour of the nation's theaters — what next? Schaefer feels it's not quite cricket to keep the plaque in his office, yet he doesn't know who shou'd have it At a press conference yesterday, it was suggested the plaque be turned over to the Motion Picture Foundation as soon as its permanent headquarters are established Schaefer awaits other suggestions ▼ T T • • • ODDS 7T ENDS: Pegler, who thinks that present railroad operating managements are preferable to Robert R. Young, might reconsider if he ever rode on the Long Island Railroad. ... • There's at least a chuckle in that report by Leo Wolcott on how one Minneapolis exchange recently COD'd an exhib. for a box office report on a previously played old substitute pic, booked and played at flat rental, until the branch decided it was a "policy percentage" and COD'd the next film, sending the b.o. report form to the Railway Express Agent. . . . • And if you want a chuckle at the expense of Your Favorite Industry Newspaper, there was that obvious typo error the other day that referred to RKO's "Trail Street" as a "first rank western.". . . • Then, too, there is Ingrid Bergman's Hollywood version of gilding the lily, "Think what God could have done if HE only had had money.". . . • Ernest W. Fredman, managing editor of London's Daily Film Renter, is suggesting that the British film industry borrow a leaf from the book of the MPAA and send a delegation to the Geneva Conference Noting that Eric A. Johnston and others would go to Switzerland for the conference, "Freddy" checked to see what the British producers and the Board of Trade had in mind, and drew a blank, with the BOT advising that "logrollers" were not being encouraged. . . • Doc Stork's date book shows a scheduled call to the Ben Cammacks in Dallas Ben is RKO district manager based there. . . • San Francisco's Variety Club will occupy as headquarters an $85,000 night club in Blumenthal's Tivoli Theater The night club, although complete in every detail down to linens and cutlery, was never opened Bids Seen Answer to Closed Situations (Continued from Page 1) large circuits, were barriers to be faced by sales organizations, with little choice left but to bow to the best terms offered. Failure of some defendants to appeal the competitive bidding provisions of the decree is said to have been at the behest of sales departments, the latter arguing that a wide open market will be an advantage, especially in dealing with the tough-buying circuits. That feeling is backed up by the approaches of financial groups who continually query distributors on the type of "break" they might expect under the new selling method if they were to build or acquire theaters in spots where sales forces have had rough going over a period of years. Some insiders feel that the often repeated prediction of a wave of new theater building will take place mainly in the formerly "closed" areas. SAG Officers Resign In View of Pix $ Interests (Continued from Page 1) of the board, have resigned. In submitting their resignations, actors informed the board they were doing so in order to strengthen SAG's position in its aproaching contract negotiations with producers. They explained that each now has a financial interest in pictures in which he stars and that while their primary interests always will be that of the actors, they feel they should not hold office as long as their present status in the industry continues. They will, of course, continue to be members of the Guild. Board of directors has elected Ronald Reagan, president; Gene Kelly, first vice-president; William Holden, second vice-president; George Murphy, third vice-president; Paul Harvey, recording secretary, and Anne Revere, treasurer. Board of directors consist of 44 actors elected by membership. Brooklyn 'Passports' Given to New Yorkers Manhattan guests of M-G-M and the First Families of Brooklyn last night were issued passports entitling them to enter the borough for the world premiere of "It Happened in Brooklyn." Conveyed in chartered busses to the New York side of Brooklyn Bridge, the "foreigners" were transferred to specially decorated street cars for the rest of the trip. When the street cars reached "Brooklyn territory," the passports were issued. Guests were made honorary citizens of Brooklyn by Borough President John Cashmore, prior to a steak dinner and the first public showing at Loew's Metropolitan.