The Film Daily (1947)

flffffU •^ DAILY Friday, July 18, 1947 Vol. 92, No. 13 Fri., July 18, 1947 10 Cents JOHN W. ALICOATE : : Publisher DONALD M. MERSEREAU : Associate Publisher and General Manager CHESTER B. BAHN Editor Published daily except Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays at 1501 Broadway, New York 18, N. Y., by Wid's Films and Film Folk, Inc. J. W. Alicoate, President; Donald M. Mersereau. Vice President and Treasurer; Patti Alicoate, Vice President and Secretary. Entered as second class matter, Sept. 8, 1938, at the post-office at New York, N. Y., under the act of March 3, 1879. Terras (Postage free) United States outside of Greater New York $10.00 one year; 6 months, $5.00; 3 months, $3.00. Foreign, $15.00. Subscribers should remit with order. Address all communications to THE FILM DAILY, 1501 Broadway, New York 18, N. Y. Phone BRyant 9-7117, 9-7118, 9-7119, 9-7120, 9-7121. Cable address Filmday, New York. WEST COAST OFFICES Ralph Wilk, Manager 6425 Hollywood Blva. Phone: Granite 6607 WASHINGTON BUREAU Andrew H. Older, Chief Manning Clagett 6417 Dahlonega Rd. 2122 Decatur PI., NW Phono: Wisconsin 3271 Phone: Hobart 7627 CHICAGO BUREAU Joseph Esler, Chiof H. H. MacDonald C L Esler 6241 N. Oakley Ave. Phone: Briargate 7441 STAFF CORRESPONDENTS LONDON — Ernest W. Freanian, The Film Renter, 127-133 Wardour St., W. 1. M.4NILA— Homer Stuart, Hotel Manila. HAVANA — Mary Louise Blanco. Virtudes 214. BOMBAY— Ram L. Gogtay, Kitah Malial, 190 Hornliy Rd.. Fort, Bombay 1. ALGIERS— Paul SafTar. Filmafrlc. 8 Rue Oharras. MONTREAL — Ray Carmlrhael. Room fl. 464 Francis Xavier St. VANCOUVER— Jaclt Droy. 411 Lyric Theater Birtg. SYDNEY — Bowden Fletcher. 19 Moxon Ave.. Punchbowl, N. S. W. Phone, UT 2110. BRUSSELS— .lean Pierre Meys, 110 Rue dcs Paquerettes. COPENHAGEN— .Tohn Lindberg, .Tembanealle No. S. Copenhagen-Van Loese. ROME — Tohn Perdlcarl, Via Ludovisi 16. Phone. 427.58. MONTEVIDEO— Dr. Walter Schuclt, Ccrrito 597. urEryTCO CTTY — Dorothy Neal, Calie de Paris 12. BUDAPEST — Andor Lajta, Filmmuyeszeti Evitonyy, Thokoly-ut 75, Budapest. XIV. STOCKHOLM— Gilbert Geis, Erstagaten 18 (III). nnnnciflL (Thnrs., July 17) Net Chg. + Vs + l'/4 + % + 1/4 NEW YORK STOCK MARKET High Low Close Am. Seat 181/2 IS'/g IS'/g Bell & Howell 24'/4 23V4 233/8 Columbia Picts 20V8 19 193^ Columbia Picts. pfd.. 78 78 78 Eost. Kodak 477/8 471/2 473^ do pfd 188 188 188 Gen. Prec. Eq 191/2 19 I91/4 Loew's, Inc 24 233/8 231/2 Paramount 291/4 29 29 RKO 135/8 131/2 131/2 Republic Pict SVs SV^ 5V^ 20th Century-Fox . . . 327/8 321/8 321/8 Universal Pict 23 227/3 23 Universal Pict. pfd.. 84 84 84 Warner Bros 167/8 165/8 16% NEW YORK CURB MARKET Monogram Picts. , . . 3% 3% 3% RKO 41/8 4 4 Sonotone Corp is/g 3% 35/^ Technicolor 14% 14 14 OVER THE COUNTER Bid Asked Cinecolor 65/g 6% Pathe 53/8 63/8 — 1 — 1/2 — 1/4 — 1/4 — 1/4 — 3/4 + Vs + 2 — Vs — Vs — Vs — Vs — % FM Station Okay for Syndicate Theaters Washington Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Washington— The FCC yesterday awarded a conditional grant for a new FM station to Syndicate Theaters, Inc. The Class B FM station will operate in Wabash, Ind. cominc flno goihg ED HINCHY, head of Warners' playdate department, left last night for Pittsburgh, where he will spend a few days. BOB HOPE flew to Chicago last night on his way back to Hollywood. The comedian, who was away five weeks, visited Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. JOAN CAULFIELD will be in Minneapolis today for the opening of "Welcome Stranger" at the Radio City Theater. FRANK LaGRANDE, superintendent of Poramount's L. I. laboratory, sailed aboard S.S. Queen Elizabeth yesterday to check on the progress of expansion and modernization work at the London laboratory. He returns Aug. 15. CURTIS MITCHELL, Paramount's advertising and publicity director, will fly to Mexico, Mo. today to spend the week with his mother. BILL JOHNSTON, Paramount executive publicist, will fly from New York to Salt Lake City today on the campaign for the world premiere of "Desert Fury," at the Utah there on July 23. MRS. MICKEY KNOX left Hollywood yesterday for New York City en route to Paris for a visit with her family. Knox, now on loon to M-G-M, will join his wife in Paris after completion of his current assignment. SMILEY BURNETTE, Columbia's cowboy comic, will open his Summer p.a. tour at the Huntington, Pa. Fairgrounds Aug. 2. He will continue at other parks and theaters throughout Pennsylvania during the month of August. SAM MARX, M-G-M producer, left for the Coast yesterday, following a Cape Cod vacation. NORAN E. KERSTA, manager of NBC tele department, will speak on "Status Report on Television" at the NBC-Northwestern U. Summer Radio Institute in Chicago, July 29. Loew's Plays Up Dickens For "Great Expectations" Recognizing the fact that some bias against British films exists, Ernie Emerling, ad-pub chief of Loew's Theaters, in co-operation with Maurice Bergman, head of U-I's Eastern ad-publicity-exploitation department, slanted the copy on "Great Expectations" to appeal to Dickens' fans, rather than play up the British source of production. Campaign proved so successful with the Loew's houses in Richmond, Norfolk and Baltimore that Loew's decided to follow through on the same theme for Atlanta, Houston and Waterbury. Spokesman for the Rank Organization told The Film Daily that JAR is interested in returns on his product; so far as the selling methods are concerned — that was up to the distributor and e x h i bi t o r . Spokesman also pointed out that the British cinema leader had always preferred autonomous methods whether in production, distribution or exhibition. B & H Declares Com., Pref. Divvy; Earnings Triple '45 Chicago — ^Bell & Howell Company declared a 25 cents extra dividend on common stock, making a payment of 37% cents. Preferred stock dividend was also declared yesterday. Net profits for six months exceeded $1,300,0000 or 2.70 per common share, which triples the previous year's earnings. ARTHUR B. KRIM, Eagle-Lion prexy, planes to Hollywood today to confer with Bryan Foy, v. -p. in charge of production, on forthcoming product. C. J. FELDMAN, U-l Western division sales manager, returns to New York tomorrow from the West. FRANK N. PHELPS, Warner Theaters' exexecutive, returns from Boston tomorrow. MARIE MacDONALD, M-G-M star, is in town from the Coast. AEOLIAN BREEN, head contract clerk for Paramount, Cincinnati, has returned from a month's Western vacation. SHIRLEY KELLEY is vacationing in Mexico. LEO HELLER, of the Paramount press book staff, is vacationing in Augusta, Ga. JAY EISENBERG, liaison between M-G-M sales and legal staffs, is vacationing. ROBERT RYAN is en route to Berlin, to costar opposite Merle Oberon in "Berlin Express," now in the first stages of production. CHARLES K. STERN, Loew's assistant treasurer, is vacationing in Swampscott. DOROTHY DAY, M-G-M magazine contact, left for the Coast yesterday. KENNETH MACKENNA, of the M-G-M studio department, returned from England by air yesterday and leaves for the Coast tomorrow. ABEL GREEN sailed for England yesterday on the S.S. Queen Elizabeth. CEIL GRODNER, secretary to William Pizor of Screen Guild Prods., leaves over the weekend for a week at Saratoga, attending the Knights of Pythias Convention. BOB O'DONNELL arrived yesterday from Dallas. He expects to remain in town a week. 3-Man Producing Team To Make Pix for Korda London (By Cable) — -Further indication of Sir Alexander Korda's determination to compete for a share of the American market, via his releasing agreement with 20th-Fox, is seen in the announcement that he has signed three of England's outstanding film makers as a producing team. New additions to the Korda production setup are Anatole De Grunwald, Terrence Rattigan and Anthony Asquith. Their first picture will be filmization of Rattigan's London stage success, "The Winslow Boy," to be directed by Asquith. De Grunwald worked on the scripts of such films as "Major Barbara," "Jeannie," and "Pimpernel Smith," and produced "The Demi Paradise." Asquith directed "Underground," "Pygmalion," ''French Without Tears" and "Fanny by Gaslight," while Rattigan wrote "French Without Tears," "While the Sun Shines" and "Love in Idleness." CALIFORNIA HERE I COME Northern Exhibit-or, Charmed by Your Climat-e, wishes to obtain one or more theatres, small town or nabes. Will consider any proposition up to $250,000. Box 590, THE FILM DAILY 6425 Hollywood Boulevard Hollywood 28, California Distributors Win Motions In Phoenix Fraud Actions Phoenix, Ariz Federal Judge Ling has granted a motion by distributors for an inspection of theater records in the copyright and percentage fraud actions broi^jht by six distributors against tl^H|ouis F. Long circuit. At the same time Judge Ling denied five counter-motions made by the exhibitor, including one to limit the inspection. Defendant was unsuccessful in motions to strike portions of the various complaints, for a more definite bill of particulars, for security for costs, to transfer the actions to another district, and to confine the inspection to records for percentage engagements only. Order grants an inspection prior to the filing of the defendant's answer, directing the exhibitor to produce daily box office reports, ledgers, bank records, ticket invoices, tax returns and other documents prior to the commencement of the actions. Defendant is also directed to obtain copies of tax returns, bank statements and certain other records not in his possession, upon request of the attorneys for the plaintiffs. Of the six cases in which the order was signed, two, by Columbia and RKO, are for copyright infringements, while the others, by Warners, Loew's, Paramount and 20th-Fox, claim both percentage frauds and copyright infringements. Gordon L. Files of Los Angeles and James A. Walsh of Phoenix appeared for the distributors. Europeans Twist Intent Of U. S. Pix, Johnston Finds Paris (Via Cable)— MPAA Prexy Eric A. Johnston explained that the reason why Hollywood refuses to export prints to certain European countries on "Grapes of Wrath" and "Tobacco Road" was that these films had been used as instruments of propaganda against the United States. He said that an old German-imported copy of "Grapes" had been found in Yugoslovia. The print had been re-edited with anti-American comment, and re-titled, "The Paradise of American Democracy."