Motion Picture Daily (July–Sept 1938)

RADIO MOTION PICTURE DAILY Tuesday, July 5, 1933 B anner LINES Artell Dixon, who plays one of the characters in "Pretty Kitty Kelly," the air series on CBS, arrived in the studio about 10 minutes before air time, then strolled away. Came air time, and with Dixon still absent the show went on without him, Bud Collyer, another cast member, doubling in two roles. With the broadcast about over, Dixon came rushing into the studio and just did manage to read his final line. It being one of the sunshiny days in a week marked by rain, he had gone up to the roof of the building to catch himself a bit of old sol, and reclining on a beach cot, he had promptly dozed off. The "Pretty Kitty Kelly" players, incidentally, have been dropping dimes into a box for every "muff" they make on the air. The fund has now reached $20.10, and the players plan to keep up the stunt until Christmas, when the money will be used for a party. ▼ Ward Baking Co., sponsoring the "Jane Arden" series on NBC, recently tested the players in the show to see if they could pick out a slice of Ward bread from among samples a half-dozen competitive brands. After smelling, tasting and studying the bread samples, six players of the cast of eight successfully picked out the sponsor's bread. One of those who flunked the test was Allan Kent. He's the lad who tells the listeners why they should buy Ward bread in preference to the others. Joair Edwards, featured vocalist in the Whiteman series is being deluged with mail from railroad brotherhoods around the country, requesting that she sing -a song written by a railroad brakenian, "On a Blind Date With You."/ -The railroading songwriter^ it seemswrote to all thechapters of 'the brotherjhood, asking the membership to help out in the cause. "Poetry on the Spot," a new idea in audi'fnce participation shows, was being tested at WHN the other night. Jingles, with the last words of each line omitted, are provided, and the audience is asked to contribute the missing ivords, which of course must rhyme. The test was coning along fine until a member of the audience contributed the word "orange," stopping the rhyming cold. The kibitzer was Al Simon, WHN's publicity director. — Jack Banner Hazelton Sues Ferguson The Hazelton Corp. has filed suit against Ferguson Radio & Television Co., Inc., and has asked the court to award it -$6,877 damages with interest from December, 1936. The plaintiff charged the violation of an alleged contract made on Dec. 16, 1935, whereby Hazelton leased to Ferguson certain patents used in the manufacture of radio receiving apparatus. Hazelton claims that it has not received royalties under the contract from December 1936. NYU Radio Course Gets Started Today The New York University Radio Workshop, directed by Douglas Coulter, will open to day, with Frank E. Mason, NbC vice-president, delivering the nrst lecture, on "network operation and short-wave broadcasting." Mr. Coulter is assistant program director of CBS. Other lectures in the course are to be delivered by Theadore Streibert, vice-president of Mutual and general manager of WOR ; Roy Durstine of Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborne ; Paul Whiteman, Deems Taylor, Dr. Peter C. Goldmark, chief television engineer of CBS ; J. R. Poppele, chief engineer of WOR, and Robert J. Landry of Variety. The teaching staff of the Workshop, in addition to Mr. Coulter, will be Lewis Titterton, manager of the script division, NBC ; Max Wylie, director of scripts and continuity for CBS ; Earl McGill, CBS casting director ; Robert S. Emerson, assistant in production at CBS, and William A. Wheeler, Jr., acting production director of the Educational Radio Project, U. S. Office of Education. Weed Back from Midwest Joseph J. Weed, president of Weed & Co., station representatives, has returned from a Midwestern trip, during which he signed two more stations for representation. In St. Louis, he completed arrangements with Elzey Roberts, publisher of the St. Louis Star-Times for the representation of his two stations — the new KNOK, of St. Louis, which will take to the air for the first time Sept. 1, and KFRU, Columbia, Mo. Ledger, WFIL in Deal Philadelphia, July 4. — WFIL has signed a five-year contract . with the Philadelphia Evening Ledger on an exchange^ basis, the station to receive advertising space in the newspaper in return; for time on the ;air for the Ledger. The paper will have three and one-half hoHirs a week air time. T-lae deak also calls for the outlet to get first , call if they sell . any syndicated Ledger features as an air pro Plan Political Talks Los Angeles, July 4. — O'Connor for Governor, Inc., is the sponsor of five political talks to be broadcast over three CBS stations in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Fresno. The program will be heard at various times during the evenings of Aug. 15, 23, 25 and 28. R. H. Alber Co. is the agency. Set New WPEN Program Philadelphia, July 4. — WPEN will carry a 13week show sponsored by General Mills. Blackett-SampleHummert placed the business. Procter & Gamble has renewed "Ivory Tower" over the same station, through the Compton agency. Crawford Back on Air Jesse Crawford, after an absence of more than a year and a half from the air, has signed to return to the networks via NBC. Program details have not been ironed out as yet, but he will be heard in organ recitals several times weekly. FCC Schedules New Broadcast Hearings Washington, July 1. — The Federal Communications Commission has set hearings on broadcasting applications, as follows : July 5, before an examiner : Application of Sumter Radio Broadcasting Co. for a 1,420-kilocycle, 250-watt daytime station at Sumter, S. C. July 7, before the commission: Applications of KVOD, Denver, for increase of time from sharing to unlimited, change of frequency from 920 to 630 kilocycles and increase of power from 500 to 1,000 watts; KFEL, Denver, for increase of time from sharing to unlimited and increase of power from 500 to 1,000 watts ; KFBI, Wichita, Kan., for authority to move from Abilene to Wichita, Kan. ; TriCity Broadcasting Co., Inc., for a 950kilocycle, 1,000-watt station at Schenectady ; Kentucky Broadcasting Corp. for a 1,210-kilocycle station at Louis j ville, with 100 watts night, 250 watts day ; Arlington Radio Service, Inc., | for an 1,140-kilocycles, 1,000-watt daytime station at Arlington, Va. July 14, before an examiner: Applications of Asheville Daily News for a 1,370-kilocycle, 100-watt station at Asheville, N. C. ; WEST, Easton, Pa., for increase of time from sharing to unlimited; WKBO, Harrisburg, Pa., for increase of time from sharing to unlimited. Permits Sought for Three New Stations Washington, July 4. — Construction permits for three new broadcasting stations are sought in applications filed with the Federal Communications Commission. The proposed n<*'v stations are a 1,500-kilocycle transmitter with 100 watts power night, 250 watts day, asked by the Central ,-Broadcasting Corp., Worcester; a ;-l,42(>-kilocycIe, 250-watt -transmitter ^Sought by the Miami Broadcasting GfiL. Miami, and a 1,500-kilocycle station with 100 watts pdwer night, JSO. watt's day, planned by Brolilicli RfOtfeers, Sedalia, Mo. J Kg Other • applications Hited with the commission -included the petitions of W'JRD, Tuscaloosa, .Ala., for increase of time from rbv to unlimited with 100 watts night, 250 watts <iay ; KFJZ, Ft. \\ < >rth, f orjjchange-; of ^frequency from 1,370 to 930kilocycles and increase of power front100 watts night, 250 watts day, to 500 watts; WKAT, Miami Beach, for increase of dav power from 100 to 250 '"otts; WKBN, Youngs town, for change of frequency from 570 to 640 kilocycles and increase of power from 500 to 1,000 watts, and WSPA, Spartanburg, S. C, for change of frequency from 920 to 880 kilocycles, and extension of hours from day to unlimited, with 500 watts night, 1,000 watts day. Paramount Favored Guild, Tally Shows (Continued from page 1) the N.L.R.B., was not attended by John Lee Mahin, president of the playwrights. By wire to Dr. Nylander he waived the right to make challenges. NLRB Plea at Republic Hollywood, July 4. — The jurisdk. tional dispute smoldering betwP*/ Studio Utility Employes, Local 724, and the I.A.T.S.E. and which started as an aftermath of last year's studio strike, reached the National Labor Relations Board offices today when Local 724 filed a petition to be certified as the collective bargaining agency for laborers at the Republic studios. Included in the petition filed by L. C. Helm was the statement that Victor Clarke, producer labor contact man, had told members of Local 724 to join the I.A.T.S.E. in order to get studio work. The I.A.T.S.E. last year took more than half the Local 724 members by the establishment of the new classification of utility men known as Class B Grips following the Federated Motion Picture Crafts strike in which Local 724 was active. Local 724, whose international is the General Building and Construction Laborers of America, claims a majority of the 75 laborers working at Republic at he present time. Guild, IATSE Agree In Newsreel Field • (.Continued from page 1) editorial and office workers, the guild has given Local 702 assurance that it will not attempt to take over other branches of newsreel operation, which are vested in the I. A. T. S. E. Local 702 is deferring negotiations \vith newsreel laboratories until present discussions with Warners' laboratories, Malcolm' and H. E. R. are ended. The union hopes to have contracts signed with these laboratories in two weeks. Negotiations with De Luxe, which Have reacheil'a stalemate, will be lesu'med later. Issue Short-Wave News NBC is now issuing a regular weekly printed pamphlet of short-wave news. Formerly the network issued a mimeographed sheet. The new pamphlets are printed in three sections in as many languages, English, Spanish and Portugese, and are distributed to newspapers and periodicals in Latin America. They contain program notes, schedules of broadcasts and their beams, program corrections and other data on NBC short-wave programs. No Decision Made on Studio Union Talks Pat Casey is still not certain whether, a conference will be "held this year on revisions on the basic ■ agreement with the studio unions. So far no request for such a conference has been received from the crafts, he said. It is Mr. Casey's understanding that the unions are canvassing opinion among themselves on the need for a conference this year. Production Set on L. I. Milton Schwarzwald, producer and director of Nu-Atlas and Mentone short subjects will shortly begin production at the Eastern Service Studios in Long Island City on two series of musical films to be released by Universal and RKO. Capra Signs H. B. Warner Hollywood, July 4. — H. B. Warner, who was featured in Frank Capra's "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town" and "Lost Horizon" for Columbia, has been signed for Capra's "You Can't Take It with You," now in production.