Motion Picture Daily (Oct-Dec 1936)

MOTION PICTURE DAILY Tuesday, December 8, 1936 Winners Picked in Packard-RKO Tieup FLYING 'GOLD DIGGERS' INVADE INDIANAPOLIS on latest stop of Warners' 4-week Sky Tour with city's key, officially tendered by both Governor and Mayor, making the flight's 20th. KANSAS CITY NEXT! (Adv.) 2 MOTION PICTURE DAILY (Registered U. S. Patent Office) Vol. 40 December 8, 1936 No. 135 Martin Quigley Editor-in-Chief and Publisher MAURICE KANN, Editor J. M. JERAULD, Managing Editor JAMES A. CRON, Advertising Manager ^Published daily except Sunday and holidays by Quigley Publishing Company, Inc., Martin Quigley, president; Colvin Brown, vice-president and treasurer. Publication Office: 1270 Sixth Avenue, at Rockefeller Center, New York. Telephone Circle 7-3100. Cable address "Ouigpubco, New York." All contents copyrighted 1936 by Quigley Publishing Company, Inc. Address all correspondence to the New York Office. Other Quigley publications, Motion Picture Herald, Better Theatres, Teatro Al Dia, International Motion Picture Almanac and Fame: The Box Office Check-Up. Hollywood Bureau: Postal Union Life Building, Vine and Yucca Streets, Boone Mancall, Manager; Chicago Bureau: 624 South Michigan Avenue, C. B. O'Neill, Manager; London Bureau: 4 Golden Square, London W 1, Bruce Allan, Representative. Cable Address "Quigpubco, London"; Berlin Bureau: Stuelerstrasse 2, Berlin W 35; Joachim K. Rutenberg, Representative; Paris Bureau: 29, Rue Marsoulan, Pierre Autre, Representative; Rome Bureau: Viale Gorizia, Vittorio Malpassuti, Representative; Australian Bureau: Regent Theatre Buildings, 191 Collins Street, Melbourne, Cliff Holt, Representative; Mexico City Bureau: Apartado 269, James Lockhart, Representative; Budapest Bureau: 3, Kaplar-u, Budapest, II, Endre Hevesi, Representative ; Tokyo Bureau : 880 Sasazuka, Ichikawa-shi, Chiba-Ken, H. Tominaga, Representative; Prague Bureau: Uhelny trh 2, Prague 1, Harry Knopf, Representative; Shanghai Bureau: Rooms 38-41, Capital Theatre Building, 142 Museum Road, /. P. Koehler, Representative; Rio de Janiero Bureau: Caixa Postal 3358, A. Weissman, Representative; Buenos Aires Bureau: Corrientes 2495, N. Bruski, Representative; Montevideo Bureau: P. O. Box 664, Paul Bodo, Representative; Moscow Bureau: Petrovski Per 8, Beatrice Stern, Representative; Vienna Bureau: Neustiftgasse, 55, Vienna VII, Hans Lorant, Representative; Amsterdam Bureau: Zuider An.stellaan 5, Philip de Schaap, Representative. Entered as second class matter, January 4, 1926, at the Post Office at New York City, N. Y., under Act of March 3,_ 1879. Subscription rates per year $6 in the Americas, and foreign $12. Single copies: 1 0 cents. May Go Three Weeks Los Angeles, Dec. 7. — "Three Smart Girls" is definitely set for a second week at the Hillstreet here and the Pantages, Hollywood and may go a third. Grainger Leaving Wednesday James R. Grainger, general sales manager of Universal, leaves for Chicago tomorrow. He will end his impending trip in Hollywood. Skouras Planing East Hollywood, Dec. 7. — Spyros Skouras left for New York today by plane following a week of conferences here with Sidney R. Kent and executives of Fox West Coast. It is understood that nothing concerning the Huffman theatre circuit was discussed. Major motion picture distributing company requires immediate services of youthful and experienced Spanish publicist with knowledge of newspaper work and preparation Spanish press book. State qualifications in detail. Box 390, MOTION PICTURE DAILY Columbia 87% Sold, Montague Tells Men Chicago, Dec. 7. — Abe Montague, Columbia general sales manager, closing the sales meeting at the Drake here yesterday, disclosed that the company has already sold 87 % per cent of the total available bookings, leaving only \2l/2 per cent still open. He said a decision will be made shortly relative to the feasibility of roadshowing "Lost Horizon" when it is released. He said the reports of the men in the field on the plan are being studied. The sales executive told the delegates that the release of "Interlude," starring Grace Moore, would depend on the availability of extended playing time for the film. He screened "Dodge City Trail," a musical western starring Donald Grayson, Chicago singer, declaring it the forerunner of a new type of film that will be inexpensive but box-office. The mid-season meeting was attended by 85 men. Montague will leave tomorrow for New Orleans, where another meeting will be held next week. Realign Bank Night Unit Des Moines, Dec. 7. — The local branch of the Bank Night distributors of Denver, has been reorganized as a partnership under the name of Affiliated Distributors with Myron Blank, Raymond Blank, Harry M. Weinburg and Ray Coffin as partners, and with Ray Coffin as general manager. The territory covered by the company includes Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and part of Michigan. Biddell Going to Coast Sidnev M. Biddell, story editor for Grand National, leaves for the coast the end of the week. He will make his nermanent headquarters at the studios in the future. A staff will be set up at the home office to keep in constant contact with Biddell on stories and ' plays. He Soirees Bob Goldstein held another weekly musical soiree over the weekend. It was attended by a number of well-known film men. According to an advance guest list furnished by the host, these were present: Noel Greenbaum, Ginger Levine, Honey Suckle Ginsberg, Chiquita Mendelbaum, Ming Toy Cohen, Merle Lapidus and Sir Basil Rabinowitz. King, Mrs. Simpson Swim on the Screen King Edward VIII and Mrs. Simpson paddle a small boat and dive and swim unconscious of the presence of a camera, apparently, in the latest issue of Fox Movietone News released Thursday night at the Embassy and sent out generally for showing the first half of this week. By Friday night Truman Talley was deluged with telephone calls, both at the office and at home. Magazines, newspapers and photo syndicates wanted clips. They offered up to $100 a frame. Talley refused them on the theory that he had a scoop and that exhibitors should get the' scenes first. Reel Unchallenged in Canada Toronto, Dec. 7. — Newsreels showing clips of Mrs. Simpson have not been submitted to the Ontario board of censors and, since there is no question of screen morals involved, there is no ban on her screen appearance. King Edward, pictured in a newsreel over the weekend, was received in silence by the audiences, whereas his previous appearances had invariably brought forth applause. «U" Vacations Start The Universal sales forces will begin taking two-week vacations on Dec. 19. John Barcroft of the RKO Palace, Columbus ; C. G. Keeney of the Park, Reading, Pa., and Paul M. Ellis, Robins, Warren, O., have been declared the first three winners of the RKOPackard Motor Co. tieup on "Swing Time." Each will receive Packard Six cars. In addition, 13 other managers were awarded cash prizes totaling $1,500. The 13 runners-up are : E. E. Whittaker, Fox, Atlanta; Jack Gross, RKO Hillstreet, Los Angeles ; Louis E. Mayer, Mainstreet, Kansas City ; Mickey Gross, RKO Orpheum, Sioux City, la. ; Guy W. Martin, Colfax, South Bend, Ind. ; Ray Halloway, Ellanay, El Paso ; E. A. Patchen, Stuart, Lincoln, Neb. ; Sid Holland, Elco, Elkhart, Ind. ; Vernon S. Denson, Albany, Albany, Ga. ; Joe Floyd, New Granada, Sioux Falls, S. D. ; C. R. Lindblad, Iowa, Atlantic, la. ; H. A. Gillespie, Capitol, Yakima, Wash. A-Mike Vogel of Motion Picture Herald headed the list of judges which included Ned E. Depinet, president of RKO Distributing Corp. ; Chester LaRoche, president of Young & Rubicam, advertising agency ; F. H. McKinney, vice-president in charge of advertising and publicity for Packard ; Leonard Lewis, associate editor of Printer's Ink; James S. Tyler, editor of Advertising and Selling; Fred Wile, Young & Rubicam, and John F. Reeder, account executive of Packard. Rohrs Is Appointed Atlanta U. A. Head Fred A. Rohrs has been named Atlanta branch manager for United Artists by George J. Schaefer. He succeeds William Richardson, resigned. Jay Schrader has been moved from the Dallas exchange to Charlotte, the spot vacated by Rohrs. Paramount Sets Its Product Conference Hollywood, Dec. 7. — Paramount's annual product conference will last three days — Jan. 8, 9 and 10 — and will be held at the Ambassador Hotel. It had previously been planned to hold the meetings at Palm Springs. Elman Back in Chicago Chicago, Dec. 7. — Henri Elman, head of Capital Film Exchange and local franchise holder for General Pictures, today returned from New York after a week there on product deals and said the three-day meeting with Fenn Kimball, president of General, Bob Welsh and Mack Weinberger will start around Jan. 15 at the Blackstone. According to present plans, General will produce six features this season and 26 next year. Elman plans to return to New York on Dec. 22. He will sail from Manhattan on Dec. 24 for a 10-day Bermuda vacation trip. Botsford Ends Vacation Hollywood, Dec. 7. — A. M. Botsford, having completed his vacation, returned today to the Paramount lot to take up his duties as manager of production plans. He was formerly an associate producer. Reports here have Paramount planning to purchase the current Botsford contract.