Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1938)

MOTION PICTURE DAILY Thursday, February 17, MOTION PICTURE DAILY (Registered U. S. Patent Office) Vol. 43 February 17, 1938 No. 39 MARTIN QUIGLEY Editor-in-Chief and Publisher A-MIKE VOGEL, Editor J. M. JERAULD, Managing Editor JAMES A. CRON, Advertising Manager Published dally 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. Bruskl, Representative. COPENHAGEN: Vesterbrogada 20; Kris Winther, Representative. HELSINKI: Fredriksgatan 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. 0. Box 664; Paul Bodo, Representative. MOSCOW: Petrovstd Per 8; Beatrice Stern, Representative. PARIS: 29 Sue Marsoulan; Pierre Autre. Rep PRAGUE: Uhelny trh 2, Prague 1; Harry Knopf, Representative. BIO DE JANEIRO: Calxa Postal 3558; L. S. Marinho, Representative. ROME: 54 Via Delia Mercede; Joseph D. Ravotto. Representative. SANTIAGO de CHILE: Casilla 13300; A. Welssmann. 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. Tominaga, Representative. ■VIENNA: Neustiftgasse 54 Vienna VII ; Hans Lorant. Representative. Entered as second class matter January 4, 1926, at the Post Office at New York, N. Y., under Act of March 3, 1879. Subscription rates per year S6 in the Americas, and foreign $12. Single copies: 10 cents. Elect Captains for Local Rogers Drive Captains for local territories were elected yesterday at a meeting for preliminary discussions of the Will Rogers Memorial Fund Drive held at the 20th Century Fox exchange. The following men were elected captains of the various districts : Manhattan and Staten Island, Harry Buxbaum of 20th Century Fox and Moe Streimer of U.A. ; Bronx, Charles Rich, Warners, and Robert Wolf, RKO ; Brooklyn, Henry Randall, Paramount, and Harry Decker, Warners ; Long Island and New York State, Leo Abramson, Universal ; New Jersey, Harry Hummell, Warners. The officers will be assisted in their work by the salesmen from the exchanges of the major companies. A special reel will be available April 29. AVAILABLE Executive sound engineer available to theatre chain. Since 1928 ■formulating and directing installation, service and parts activity for major electric. Reply Box 970, MOTION PICTURE DAILY. 4 Purely Personal ► EMANUEL and Mrs. Cohen are due in New York today from the coast. After a week here they will leave on a Mediterranean cruise, and return by way of Paris and London in about six weeks. • Dick Walsh, vice-president of the I.A.T.S.E., went to Miami from the union's meeting in San Antonio and is expected back here in a week with Mrs. Walsh. • Roger Albright of the M. P. P. D. A. was a speaker at a luncheon meeting of the film committee of the D. A. R. at the Town Hall yesterday. • John J. O'Connor, RKO Theatres executive, is expected back Saturday from Chicago and Kansas City, where he went for a theatre checkup, o Herman G. Weinberg has been signed for exploitation work on "Life Dances On," French film which will open at the Belmont March 11. • Joseph Green, president of Sphinx Films Corp., will leave for Poland next month to prepare for the production of two new pictures. • Miriam Jordan will arrive today on the Manhattan. She is scheduled to make a stage appearance here. Ray Gallo, Better Theatres advertising manager, has returned from a two-week vacation in Florida. • Barney Balaban, Paramount president, is due back from a Florida vacation in about a week. • Ralph Ravenscroft has returned to Hollywood after a two-week stay in New York. Rudolph Eisenberg, Reliable Pictures sales chief, is vacationing in Miami. ZORINA, Helen Jepson, Charles Kullmann and Bobby Clark, all featured in "The Goldwyn Follies," will attend the popular-priced opening at the Rivoli Saturday morning. • Tommy Kelly and Ann Gillis, stars of "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," today will participate in the stage show at the Music Hall where the film opens this morning. • • Arthur A. Lee, G. B. vice-president and general manager, is in Kansas City for a regional sales conference. He will leave tomorrow for the coast. • Derrick de Marney, male lead in "The Girl Was Young," will leave next week for a visit to the coast studios. • . . . New Haven John P. Byrne, M-G-M exchange manager, is the father of a nine-pound baby girl, whose birthday is the same as Lincoln's. Harry F. Shaw and his family plan a trip to Mexico, sailing March 11 on the Siboney and returning on the Yucatan. Harry Fishman and family, of the Community, have left for Florida by boat. The Adolph Johnsons and Al Robbins of the Strand are also Florida-bound. • . . . Pittsburgh Harry Seed, Warner exchange manager, has gone to Miami for a month's vacation. Harry and Mrs. Kalmine will return from the coast by boat March 1. George Lefko has returned to his desk at RKO after three weeks in Palm Springs. Howard Schaffer, pianist with Dave Broudy's Stanley orchestra, and Ida Bacher were married here. Harry Feinstein has returned from New York after booking conferences at the W arner home office. Livingston Lanning, once manager of the Penn, was a visitor. Expect Films Bill Changes in Commons London, Feb. 16. — It is indicated that amendments will be made to the Films Bill when it comes up for third reading in the House of Commons next week. The amendments will be designed to increase the British labor cost minimum for quota eligibility to 85 per cent. They also are expected to provide that no film may be registered for the quota unless all costs and salaries have been paid. The amendments are being sponsored by labor interests. The producers may attempt to bring about increased quota amendments during the Commons discussion. Adjourn M. & R. Hearing The taking of depositions here in the Morse & Rothenberg anti-trust suit against major distributors, the Maine & New Hampshire and M. A. Shea circuits was adjourned without date yesterday after J. J. Unger, Paramount eastern division manager, was queried by attorneys for the Boston plaintiff. The sessions here are expected to be resumed in two or three weeks. English Exhibitors Ask Tax Reduction By AUBREY FLANAGAN London, Feb. 16. — Exhibitors have written to Sir John Simon, Chancellor of the Exchequer, asking a reduction in the entertainment tax on seats between six pence, which are tax free, and nine pence, which are now taxed three and one-half pence. The exhibitors claim that the uneconomic tax virtually eliminates the nine pence admission price, and that the elimination of that tax on admission would assist exhibitors and swell the national revenue. Pratt Joins Republic Des Moines, Feb. 16. — Clyde Pratt has joined the sales staff of Republic Pictures Midwest, taking the place of Everett Rushing, who resigned recently to join Monogram. "IT Takes Congo Film Universal yesterday closed a deal with Armand Denis for the distribution of his as yet untitled adventure film made in the Belgian Congo. U. S. Film Exported To England Goes I, Washington, Feb. 16. — Combi exports of motion picture films, posed and not exposed, to the Un: ! Kingdom last year showed an incre in footage but a reduction in value ! compared with 1936, totaling 63,942, feet valued at $1,361,000, against ij 247,000 feet valued at $1,496,000 was disclosed today by Secretary, Commerce Daniel C. Roper. I The figures were made public i detailed analysis of our trade with United Kingdom, issued as repn reached Washington that the dele tion which is to negotiate for t country had sailed for Washing! Consummation of a reciprocal tr agreement between the two counti by late spring was forecast by Secretary. The report also showed that expc to the United Kingdom of sound r tion picture equipment totaled o $563,000 last year, compared v, $720,000 in 1936. Ampa to Vote on Dane Whether Ampa's annual affair \ be held, and whether it shall bf banquet or a Naked Truth Dinner v be placed before the membership! a closed business meeting at the ternational Casino today. The qi tion has been raised as to the adi ability of dropping the affair for tj season and the directors have decii to leave the matter to the members for a decision. Also, to be decided whether Ampa will have advertis awards this year and, if so, wheti I to adopt a new procedure. Name Horse for Coopt Miami, Feb. 16. — The horse wh has been established as the favoi in the sixth race at Hialeah Park morrow afternoon has been narr Gary Cooper and the race itself v be billed as the "Marco Polo Han cap." The recognition resulted tit the fact that Samuel Goldwyn's fi! "The Adventures of Marco Polo," v> have its premiere tomorrow at 1 Lincoln here. Gets Blank Souvenir Lincoln, Feb. 16. — General Ma ager Ralph Branton, of Tri-Stal Theaties, Inc., came here from E Moines, this week to present G< R. L. Cochran with a wrist watch e graved with a notation of the 25 A. H. Blank anniversary in D Moines. A similar souvenir was giv Governor Kraschel of Iowa. Drive Accessories Frei Free accessories will be a feature the Paramount international sales dri. which will get under way on Feb. 5 It is to be known as "Paramount Parade Around the World." Theal managers participating for the $5,C in cash prizes will have a spec trailer and other aids. De Sylva' s Father Dew Hollywood, Feb. 16. — B. G. I Sylva, Universal producer, left t night by plane for New York \vhe he will attend the funeral of 1 father, A. J. De Sylva, veteran act and stage director known as Hal D Forest. The producer's father di today of a heart attack.