The Film Daily (1948)

•londay, July 12, 1948 W'^ DAILY JFPA To Check Exhibs. )n Quota Observance (Continued from Page 1) < being carried out. The announcement had a , bombshell effect in the trade, . was met immediately with bitter criticism from British the', ater operators, and was seen by astute trade observers as possi^^ wrecking the scheduled ^^nesday CEA-Rank meeting. While the statement was made I by Sir Henry, it was accepted ■ that the policy enunciated was laid down by Rank, already on record as proposing to personally see that the quota was en ■ forced. This added not a little to the heat generated in exhibition circles. i:The BFPA, said Sir Henry, will 'j5certain the programs being played . every theater and will check in 4vance which exhibitors would delult. If any exhibitor played more aported films than he should, the 'FPA director general said, the foducers association would "have jie facts and place them before the oard of Trade and Films Council." '. Sir Henry insisted that this was )Dt intended as a threat but merely h see that the Films Act was cared out. He added that if the asso"ation learned any theater could iot fulfill the quota, it would supDrt an application for relief, but 'lat the association was determined ') do everything to see more British ,Jms were shown on the U. K. ;reens. Prior to Sir Henry's announcelent, it had been anticipated that hen Rank met with the CEA Genral Council on Wednesday there ould be conciliatory developments, ad for this reason, the timing of the :at,ement Friday was seen as shock>g ; Sir Henry said that he was . "quite satisfied" that there would be an adequate number of British films to meet the 45 per cent quota. American companies, he declared, never gave Britain more than 120 "first" features a year, and he insisted that "if we got 90 top British features released from Oct. 1, that would meet our program." Rank has estimated 90 will beavailble, 60 new pix plus 10 re-issues 0 come from his studios, with other reducers supplying 20. iMPE to Study New Czech Projection Speed Change (Continued from Page 1) 'his replaces the U. S. standard of 4 frames which until now has been he accepted world standard. Change i due to increased speed of projecDrs operating off .50 cycle AC power nes. SMPE is arranging a comparison est to determine effect of the change 1 showing U. S. pix now playing in !zechoslovakia. KTSL, LA Examiner Sign Co-op Pact West Coast Bur., THE FILM DAILY Hollywood — Don Lee tele outlet, KTSL, and the Los Angeles Examiner have closed a reciprocal agreement for mutual co-operation. Newspaper and video station will make available to each other exploitation, source materials, professional and technical staffs. Italian Films Found Gaining on Continent (Continued from Page 1) factors as imagination, knack and drive, with reasonable costs also helping, Kunkis said at the weekend. As bars to further growth of the Italian industry Kunkis cited insufficient capitalization, which causes some projects to fail, and the loss of Italian stars once they make their mark to overseas studios. Hollywood is not alone in luring away Italian artists, Kunkis noted, top "names" signing contracts with Argentine and Mexican producers as well. Among the Italian pix which impressed, said Kunkis, were the satirical "How We Lost the War," produced by Lux; "Germany Zero," "Four Steps in the Clouds," produced by Enic, and "The Conquered Are Among Us." Kunkis said he found film business in France definitely off, rating it as "fair." He was of the opinion that Italian product was of better quality than the French pix he saw while in France and in Sweden, where both Italian and French films are finding an audience. "The Devil in the Body," French-made, had hung up a 10-week Stockholm run before he left. British indie producers with whom he conferred were highly vocal in their criticism of J. Arthur Rank's "monopolistic" grip on the U. K. industry, Kunkis declared. U-I Managerial Setup Rivals Dems. in Philly Philadelphia — U-I which has set up ""Tap Roots," headquarters in the Ritz Carlton Hotel, in connection with the world premiere of Walter Wanger's pic at the Goldman Wednesday, has a full slate of managers, possibly rivalled only by the Democratic National Committee, which is holding forth at the Belleoovue-Stratford. Al Horwits, U-I Eastern Publicity Manager, is 'campaign manager' at the "Tap Roots," headquarters: Charles Simonelli, Eastern Exploitation head is 'platform manager'; Philip Gerard, U-I publicist, is head of the 'speakers' bureau', Lou Boudreau is headquarters secretary, and Ed Shulman, another U-I publicist, is acting as liaison. Trans World to Make President Gallegos' Novel (Continued from Page 1) "Dona Barbara " which from standpoint of a reading audience is the Spanish GWTW. For Trans World, the deal was handled by John Darr and John Krimsky. Trans World will send the story before the cameras on Oct. 1, shooting interiors at the Motion Picture Center studios in Hollywood, with the exteriors to be made in Venezuela. Charles Glett will be production manager for the pic, and will be associated witii the Trans World group. Pic will carry a budget of $1,500,000, and will have major distribution, it is planned. Grienieff is now on the Coast negotiating with two top directors, both of whom have expressed keen interest in the assignment. "Name" players will head the cast. President Gallegos, who returns to Venezuela today after a state visit to the U. S., wrote the novel in 1931. A Spanish language version was made in Mexico about eight years ago with Maria Felix starred and was highly successful in the Spanish speaking countries. 'Stop the Music' Giveaway Starts at Capitol July 29 (Continued from Page 1) testants for the |5,000 jackpot at any show will be called on stage and those who identify the names of the numbers played and sung will each win a prize and be eligible in addition to identify the "mystery melody." Numbers will be changed, of course, for each show. Prizes to be given away during the Capitol engagement include table radios, lingerie, costume jewelry, handbags, pipes, pearls, manicure kits, perfume, watches, cameras, fishing rods, electric blankets, electric roasters, luggage, room coolers, cutlery sets, dance lessons, brief cases, bags, hosiery, knitwear, dresses, suit, hats, and shoes. Judge Leibell Denies 5th & Walnut Motions (Continued from Pauie 1) also denied the plaintiff's alternate motion for a new txial. Judge Leibell in handing down his decision made complimentary remarks about the jury and indicated that there was ample evidence to support the jury's verdict. Frsd Pelton Dies at 54 Los Angeles — Fred Pelton, 54, retired film industry executive died Wednesday at Truckee, Calif. For many years he was studio manager for M-G-M, both here and in England. Pelton served as labor administrator for AMPP for eight years. Phyllis Meyer Returns Phyllis Wolfe Meyer, assistant to Charles F. Deesen, M-G-M home office sales department executive, has returned to her office following the recent sudden death of her husband, Irving. 5 Fund-Raising Corns. For Rogers Hospital (Continued from Page 1) was set up with Merrit Keyser, MPTO prexy of Western New York and Jack Munstock, M-G-M branch head, in charge. Mochrie and Charles Reagan have already addressed the Washington group and full cooperation was pledged by Virginia and District of Columbia units. Tomorrow at the Statler in Cleveland, 40 distributor-exhibitor reps, will be addressed by Andy Smith, Jr., and Reagan. Also in attendance will be Sam Shain, Martin Smith, Pete Wood, Meyer Fine, Ernie Schwartz. Three Majors Sell 77 Pix To Iran's Diana Cinema Co. (Continued from Page 1) some deals he has just consummated on behalf of the Iran firm. He bought for them: 32 features from Paramount, 34 from RKO, 11 from UA, plus a few indie pix. Gulyan, who is also vee-pee of Verity Films at 1619 Broadway, told The Film Daily that he has acquired the Western Hemisphere rights to the Czech film, "Rosina, the Love Child," which was produced at the reputed cost of $700,000 by the Czech Filmonopoly. n I fly Unifed's DC-6 Mainliner 300 onestop flight Leave New York 12:15 pm, arrive Los Angeles (Lockheed Air Terminal) at 8:25 pm. Fares are surprisingly low. Flights operate on Standard Time. UNITED Ain LINES NEW YORK & BROOKLYN: Call Murray Hill 2-7300. NEWARK: Call Market 2-1122 or an authorized travel agent. M i i I I I i =^;