Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1938)

MOTION PICTURE DAILY Monday, January 31, 19] MOTION PICTURE DAILY (Registered U. S. Patent Office) Vol. 43 January 31, 1938 No. 25 MARTIN QUIGLEY Editor-in-Chief and Publisher A-MIKE VOGEL, 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: "Quigpubco. New York." All contents copyrighted 1938 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. HOLLYWOOD: Postal Union Life Building, Vine and Yucca Sts. : Boone Mancall. Manager. CHICAGO: 624 S. Michigan Ave.; C. B. O'Neill, Manager. WASHINGTON: Albee Building; Bertram F. Linz. Representative. AMSTERDAM: 87 Waalstraat; Philip de Schaap. Representative. BERLIN: Steulerstrasse 2, Berlin W. 35; Joachim K. Rutenberg. Representative. BUDAPEST: 3 Kaplar-u. Budapest II; Endre Hevesi. Representative. BUENOS AIRES: Avallaneda 3949: N. Bruski, Representative. COPENHAGEN: Vesterbrogada 20; Kris Winther. Representative. HELSINKI: Predriksgatan 19C: Charlotte Laszio. Representative, LONDON: 4 Golden Square, W. 1: Cable address. Quigpubco. London; Hope Williams, Manager. MELBOURNE: Regent Theatre Buildings, 191 Collins St. ; Cliff Holt, Representative. MEXICO CITY: Apartado 269; James Lockhart. Representative. MONTEVIDEO: P. O. Box 664; Paul Bodo. Representative. MOSCOW: Petrovski Per 8; Beatrice Stern. Representative. PARIS: 29 Rue Marsoulan; Pierre Autre, Representative. PRAGUE: Uhelny trh 2. Prague 1; Harry Knopf. Representative. RIO DE JANEIRO: Caixa Postal 3558; L. S. Marinho, Representative. ROME: 54 Via Delia Mercede; Joseph D. Ravotto, Representative. SANTIAGO de CHILE: Casilla 13300; A. Weissmann. Representative. SHANGHAI: Rooms 38-41; Capital Theatre Building, 142 Museum Road: J. P. Koehler, Representative. STOCKHOLM: Kungsgatan 36: Ragnar Allberg. Representative. TOKYO: 880 Sasazuka. Ichikawa-shi. Chiba-Ken : H. Tominasa. Representative. VIENNA: Neustiftgasse 54 Vienna vu; Hans Lorant, 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: 10 cents. Leaion Anproves 9 Of 10 New Pictures The National Legion of Decency, in its list of new pictures for the current week, has approved nine of the 10_ reviewed, classing four as unobjectionable for general patronage, five as unobjectionable for adults, and calling one objectionable in part. The new films and their classification follow : Class A-l, Unobiectionable for General Patronage — "The Daredevil Drivers." "Everybody Sing," "Hawaiian Buckaroo," "Love on a Budget." Class A-2, Unobiectionable for Adults — "Bordertown." "Hapnv Landing," "Look Out for Love," "Penitentiary," "Swing Your Ladv." Class B, Objectionable in Part— "The Pat." Film "American Way** The National Defenders, non-partisan national organization, have produced a film " called "The American Wav." dealing with the system of banking checks and balances. _ The one-reel picture is available without charge. World Takes "Illusion" World Pictures has acquired the American distribution rights to "Grand Illusion". French film. A Purely Personal > HENRY FONDA, who will co-star with Madeleine Carroll in the Walter Wanger film, "The River Is Blue," will leave for the coast tomorrow. Leo Carrillo has been signed for a featured comedy role. William Dieterle will direct. • Ben Miggins, Continental European representative for 20th CenturyFox, will leave Wednesday on the Berengaria for Paris after several weeks here. C. V. Hake, assistant foreign manager, is due to sail from the coast on Thursday for Australia. W. J. Hutchinson, general foreign manager, is now in Cuba on the first leg of a Caribbean and South American tour. • John D. Clark, 20th Century-Fox vice-president in charge of distribution, plans to return here March 10 from Florida prior to leaving for the coast with Sidney R. Kent to set the new season's plans. e Rick and Mrs. Ricketson departed for the west Saturday night after more than a week in N. Y. Ricketson planned to stop over in Nebraska before proceeding to his headquarters in Denver. • Tom Connors, M-G-M division manager, is due to return from a tour of southern exchanges today and will attend the Ted O'Shea-Ralph Maw testimonial dinner in Buffalo tonight. • Leon Schlesinger, Warners cartoon producer, is due on the coast today. He left here over the weekend after home office conferences. • John Henderson has been appointed casting director of Jam Handy Picture Service. He was formerly with Rockwell-O'Keefe. • Joe Weil and Sidney Singerman are collaborating on "Leviathan," a story based on the last voyage of the famous ship. • Les Whalen of the 20th CenturyFox foreign department is expected back from the coast about the middle of February. • Arthur A. Lee, G. B. general manager, returned yesterday from a business trip to New Orleans and Atlanta. • Darryl F. Zanuck has purchased the screen rights to Peter B. Kyne's story, "Corncob Kellv's Benefit." • Janet Gaynor arrived from the coast yesterday and will stay at the Waldorf during her visit. • Nancy Carroll arrived on the coast vesterdav from New York by TWA plane. • . . . Omaha Meyer L. Stern of Capitol Pictures has been in New York on business. His brother, Joseph L. Stern of Minneapolis, accompanied him. A. "Ted"" Mendenhall, ill for the past four and a half months, is back Academy Recognizes Editors for Awards Hollywood, Jan. 30. — The Academy of M. P. Arts and Sciences through the Research Council has taken official recognition of the Society of M. P. Film Editors, which holds a collective bargaining agreement with producers. Harold J. McCord, chairman of the Academy film editor award committee, joined with Edmund D. Hannan, president of the society, to name a joint committee to handle the Academy film editors' award selection. Members of the committee are : Anne Bauchens, Phillip Cahn, William Holmes, Harold J. McCord and Gene Milford, representing the Academy film editors' section, and Martin G. Cohn, George Hively, Otto Meyer, Conrad Nervig and Louis Sackin of the society. "Follies" Gets Big Premiere at Miami Miami, Jan. 30. — The "Goldwyn Follies" had its world premiere at the State here on Friday. The opening was handled elaborately and the wintering celebrities and notables made up an interesting cross-section of sport, politics, society and the theatrical and film industry. Among those present were : Nicholas M. Schenck, Jack Cohn, N. L. Nathanson, William Pine, Cecil B. DeMille, Arthur Unger, George J. Schaefer, Mitchell Wolf son, Vernon Duke, Georgie Price, N. B. Shanberg, James A. Farley and Beth Leary. Expect 300 at Dinner Buffalo, Jan. 30.— Approximately 300 reservations have been made for the testimonial dinner tomorrow night in honor of E. K. O'Shea and Ralph Maw, newly appointed M-G-M eastern district and branch managers, respectively. The dinner is sponsored by the Variety Club and will be held at the Hotel Statler. Among others who plan to attend the dinner are Si Fabian, Dick Kearny, Sam Rosen, H. M. Addison, Lester Pollock, William Carodet and Dean Rondull. Promote Ruth Waterbury Ruth Waterbury, editor of Photoplay, has been named supervising editor for films of all Macfadden publications, including Liberty. She will continue actively on Photoplay and Movie Mirror. at his desk. George Hinton, who has been acting as Paramount exchange manager, will stay here for a while. Walter M. Green was visited by Ted and Mrs. Lending of the Kirkwood, Kirkwood, Mo. The Lendings are recovering from an auto accident. Ernest N. Epley, Western Theatre Supply official, will be out of the hospital by Feb. 1 and back at his desk by April 1, doctors say, after an auto crash last October. Walter Branson, PKO: Phil Dunas, Columbia, and J. D. Goldhar, 1^. A.. district managers, visited Omaha exchanges in connection with current drives. Leo McCarthy, once U.A. branch manager here and uncle of Danny McCarthy, U.A. salesman, is now a producer and was in Omaha arranging for the showing of one of his pictures. Branch Fire Loss $4,447 In 12 Year (.Continued from page 1) they receive, store or ship 27,000^fei of film daily. f.P Estimates of the fire losses in e changes are based on records whii show that the major company e changes handled an average of 400 fe tures annually for the past 12 yea and that an average of 200 prints each feature were in use or a tot of 80,000 prints annually. At an a erage print cost of $175, the tot print value averaged $14,000,000 p year, or $168,000,000 for the pent covered by the report. In the sar period, the print value of shorts, new reels and all other productions handl' bv the major exchanges is estimat at $50,000,000. Thus, of the %2\i 000,000 aggregate value of the prin handled, there was a loss of on $4,447 attributable to film exchan; fires. List Losses by Years The fire loss record for the 1 year period is as follows — -1926, oi fire, $3,000 loss; 1927, none; 192 one fire, $25 loss ; 1929, one fire, $1 200 loss; 1930, one fire, $15 los: 1931, none; 1932, three fires, loss; 1933, none; 1934, one fire, $1' loss ; 1935, two fires, $8.00 loss ; 193 none ; 1937, one fire, $10 -loss. The unusual record of the exchange is credited to the conservation activ ties of the M. P. P. D. A. and tl constant precautions taken in indivii ual exchanges. Monthly fire inspe tions and periodic fire drills for en ployes are held, and supervisors of e: change operations of member comp; nies designate a branch manager each distributing center to direct ei forcement of conservation measun for a six-month period, with a ne director being designated at the er of that time. Foresee Rejection Laws in Australia Sydney, Jan. 8. — (By Air Ma via London) — Industry circles are < the opinion that legislation permittin a 25 per cent rejection on films bougl under contract will be passed by tl Governments of Queensland, Sout Australia and Western Australia, fo lowing passage of such legislation i Tasmania, and the expected action i New South Wales. Distributors estimate the rejectic privilege for exhibitors in New Sout Wales, Victoria and Tasmania woul cost distributors from £100,000 t £150,000 a year. The Tasmania mea( ure makes no provision for qualit; and does not cover British or Au' tralian films. The legislation was er acted despite vigorous opposition. Cinesound Plans Five Sydney, Dec. 27. — Cinesound Pre ductions plan to work two units si multaneously during 1938. The pre gram covers a minimum of five fea tures and 52 newsreels. Ken G. Hal director of all the Cinesound Produc tions, has been given complete charg of the company's studio activities.