Film Daily (1948)

1NEI Monday, August 2, 1948 DAILY 8 Company Reports Receive Merit Awards From the more than 4,000 corporation annual reports submitted from all over the country for consideration in the eighth annual survey conducted by Weston Smith of Financial World, eight film companies have qualified for "Highest Merit Award" citations. They are: Columbia, Walt Disney Prods., Monogram, Paramount, Pathe Industries, Inc., RKO, Republic and Universal. The 1947 stockholder reports of these companies are candidates for the final judging, and one will be selected as the "Best of the Motion Picture Industry" and awarded the bronze "Oscar of Industry" trophy at the Financial World annual report awards banquet in the Grand Ballroom of the Hotel Pennsylvania on Oct. 21. A year ago the 1946 annual report of Universal was judged best of this industrial classification. Siritzky Ups Tacobs Arnold Jacobs, office manager of Siritzky International, has been appointed general manager of the company's theater circuit here and in Boston. Television Directory No. 4 & TV RATES FACTBOOK (reyised to July 1, 1948) part 1: Commercial TV Stations Operating as of July 1 Rate cards, facilities data, TV set count, personnel, etc. part 2: Construction Permits Outstanding & Applications Pending as of July 1 Technical facilities, affiliations, coll letters, etc. part 3: Experimental TV Stations part 4: Present Allocations of TV Channels by Cities Allocations to first 140 markets, sales rank, population. part 5: Proposed Allocations of TV Channels by Cities New plan listing proposed channels for 458 cities. part 6: Director of Television Program Sources Owners, producers, syndicators of live and film material. part 7: AT&T Maps of Television Network Routes $5.00 per copy aod FM Reports IS1» CONNECTICUT AVL N.W, WASHINGTON «, D. t / Write for data about our complete service, including weekly Nevsletters; TV, FM and AM Directories and weekly Addenda; regular Supplements, etc. HOLLVUIOOD-VinE VARD By RALPH WILK HOLLYWOOD l_| IGH RESPECT of the industry for the art directors as a group has been gained through policy of deeds, not words, this past year. . . . They formed a public relations committee, lined up a program of cooperation with the studios with emphasis on sparking layouts for national magazines, started the compilation of an almanac of art for libraries, established an information liaison between Hollywood and Mexican film production, aided Johnston Office activities, held public exhibits. ... As a result, they have gradually moved from behind the scenes, where they already are in the high regard of executives, actors and technicians, to popularity with the public. . . . When Cinecolor officials gave weighty consideration to which group would be the key men for first disclosure of the cost-saving new lighting process, the art directors were chosen. * • * VOU CAN take it from the Society of Motion Picture Art Directors, incidentally, that the "independent frame" process claimed by J. Arthur Rank as "new" in a recent London-datelined dispatch has been in use for nearly 20 years. ... It was developed as a cost slicer two decades ago by the first production designer, William Cameron Menzies. . . . The process is nothing more than art director and cameraman working together, set by set, ironing out technical problems in advance of actual filming. . . . Use of back projection and building sets off-stage have long been our methods, whenever feasible, to cut costs, and have been further developed during the present economy drive. * * * CRED JACKMAN, ASC, film industry leader in color photography, has been set by Producer Nat Holt to handle Cinecolor photography of "Canadian Pacific" which Edwin L. Marin will direct. ... -^ Erroll Flynn returns to Warners following a vacation in Port Antonio, Jamaica, B.W.I., to report for work in the starring role of "Montana," based on a story by Ernest Haycox. ... -^ Frances Hodgson Burnett's 1909 novel, "The Secret Garden," will be brought to the screen by Metro with Margaret O'Brien and Dean Stockwell co-starred. Clarence Brown will produce the picture, which will be directed by Fred Wilcox. ... -^ Lynn Root will do the screen treatment of Bob Hope's next Para, starring comedy, "Easy Does It," which will be produced by Edmund Beloin and directed by Richard Haydn. . . . ■^ Barry Fitzgerald and his brother, Arthur Shields, are talking about forming an indie producing company next year. * • * \A/ARNERS will star Janis Paige, Bruce Bennett and James Holden in '" "The House Across the Street," a comedy with a newspaper background based on a story by W. R. Burnett. ... -^ Co-producers John C. Champion and Blake Edwards, who head Champion Productions, have purchased "Battle Cry," an original by Arthur Freeman. Picture will be a large-scale western. ... -^ Dana Andrews, Mark Stevens, Richard Widmark and Richard Conte will be the four male stars of 20th-Fox's "Unseen Harbour." ... -^ Stanley Kramer would like to get Charles Laughton for a projected picturization of "The Merry Wives of Windsor." ... -^ Jack Wrather has purchased "Dallas," a story by Robert Bryan, of the Texas city. . . . -^ "Africa Screams" is the new title for "Don't Bring 'Em Back Alive," the Abbott and Costello jungle comedy, to be produced under the supervision of Edward Nassour. Col. Horton Named Chief Of Motion Picture Unit Toronto BOT Moves for Public Relations Bureau Washington Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Washington — Lt. Col. John E. Horton, formerly of the film industry in Hollywood, will assist the industry in all matters that pertain to the Army in his new post as chief of the Motion Picture Unit, Pictorial i Section, Public Information Division [ of the Army. Colonel Horton succeeds to the post recently vacated by Maj. Stuart Palmer. Toronto — A committee to establish a Dominion-wide public relations bureau has been named by the motion picture branch of the Toronto Board of Trade. Group also named a committee to continue negotiations with the Provincial Government for the modification of the 20 per cent ticket tax. J. Earl Lawson, president of Odeon, heads the latter group. Sail Lake Exchange Tops Depinet Drive Winners of the 1948 Ned Depinet Drive were announced at the weekend by Robert Mochrie, RKO^rj^'adio vice-president in charge of d.^jo^^itic distribution, following a seriv^s of zone meetings. Salt Lake City, Giff Davison, manager, won first place in the Capital Prize group. Oklahoma City, Ralph Williams, manager, took second place, with Denver, Joseph Emerson, manager, in third, and Charlotte, Rovy Branon, manager, in fourth place. Toronto, Jack Bernstein, manager, won first place in Canada with Montreal, Murray Devaney, manager, in second place. The three g^roup division prize winners. with two winners in each group are as follows: Group one — First prize. Atlanta. Hubert Lyons, manag'er: Second prize, Dallas, Sol Sachs, manag'er: Group two — First prize, Pittsburgh. Dave Silverman, managrer; Second prize — ^ilinneapolis. Fay Dressell. manag^er: Group three — First prize, Sioux Falls. Sherman Fitch, manager; Second prize — Des Moines. Max Rosenblatt, manager. District managers prizes: First — Al Kolitz. Rock.v Mountain: second — Leo Devaney, Canadian: third — Dave Prince, Southeastern. Best salesman in each of the districts: R. Richardson. Eastern Central; Earl Dyson. Prairie: Harry Levinson, Western; Maurice Basse. Southwestern: Morris Anderson, Midwestern: Wm. Canelli. Xortheastern ; Tom Watson, Southeastern; Herman Silverman. Metropohtan. James Rea. Canada; David SU-I verman. Eastern. Home office reps; First — ^Frank Duffy; Second — Paul Back-Milton Yeoman; Third — George Jaeoby. Field Supervisors: First — Robert Hiekev: Second — David Cantor: Third — Harry Reiners. Field Exploitation winners: T. B. MeCormick. Denver: Ed Terhune. Dallas;: Wm. Prager. Washington: Gene Gaudette, Minneapolis; Chas. Kinney. Atlanta; Ed Holland. Des Moines; Alan Wieder. Pittsburgh: George Degnon, Toronto: Los Angeles. Fred CalvinCincinnati. Hugh MacKeuzie; Chicag-o, Wallv Heim; Philadelphia. Doug Beck; Vancouver Lloyd Muir: San Francisco. Joe Longo. Eastman Pays Workers $73,178 for Suggestions Rochester — Eastman Kodak employes have earned $73,178.10 for time, labor and monev-saving suggestions submitted in' the first six mo-nths of 1948. Kodak this year marks the 50th anniversary of its suggestion system, and indications are that it will be a record year. Awards to date are $10,979.60 ahead of 1947 when the previous all-time record was set. DEATHS ARTHUR FISHER, widely known New York vaude booker, died suddenly Friday. Funeral services will be held this morning from Our Lady of Lourdes Roman Catholic Church, Malverne. His widow, daughter and son survive. HOMER LESPERANCE, 54, head of the RKO Radio studio's printing department, of a heart attack. HARRY MARTIN, manager of the Atom Theater, unit in the Gollos Circuit, in Chicago.