Motion Picture Daily (July–Sept 1938)

Tuesday. July 12, 1938 MOTION PICTURE DAILY U.A. Product Need Covered: Silver stone (Continued from parte 1) ty-ibution for the United States and f^nada are to be taken up at a meetly of the board today. This will be 'the first directors' meeting since the rtransfer of the company's headquarters ifrom Hollywood to New York. Mr. Silverstone is also scheduled to report on various matters disposed of jor pending in London. Mr. Silverstone, declined to discuss the proposed contract for Mr. Schaefer, other than to say it will run several years. He admitted a releasing deal with Herbert Wilcox, British producer, had been discussed informally, and said I the company is willing to add other 1 "great producers," but that the planned schedule of 30 films, as announced by Mr. Schaefer for next ij season, will not be increased. Any deals for additional films will be for 1939-'40, he said. No More Executive Changes No further changes in the execu'i tive personnel here or in England are j planned, Mr. Silverstone declared. 1 He said that he had authorized negotiations with Lynn Farnol to become advertising and publicity director be' fore leaving for England and the appointment has "his full blessing." Members of the board residing in New York will act at today's meeting i and constitute what is termed "the eastl em board." They are James Mulvey, , acting for Samuel Goldwyn ; Ed. Raft;l cry, for Douglas Fairbanks ; Charles Schwartz, for Charles Chaplin ; Den«) nis F. O'Brien, for Mary Pickford. J Emanuel Silverstone, brother of Maurice, will speak for the latter. There is no truth to reports from j London of merger negotiations between Gaumont British Theatres and , he Odeon circuit, Mr. Silverstone said, j disclosing, however, that the two ! groups "are close to each other and J work together on deals." Mr. Silverstone's wife and two 1 young daughters came over with him. I They will reside temporarily at the i Sherry-Netherland and plan a home i in the country. Mr. Mulvey conferred with Mr. Silverstone at the pier. Start Building of Wilmington Theatre Wilmington, July 11. — Mayor Walter W. Bacon broke ground on Saturday for the new $660,000 Warner Theatre to be erected in the downtown area by the Old Time Petroleum Co. and leased and operated by the Stanley-Warner Co. Participating in the ground breaking were : A. J. Vanni, Philadelphia, Stanley-W arner zone manager for the area including Wilmington ; Everett C. Callow, district manager ; W. F. Carvell, Sr., president of the Old Time Co. Actual construction will begin tomorrow on the 1,900-seat house. It will be completed Dec. 20 and opened for the first show Dec. 26. It will be the sixth operated by StanleyWarner here and will give the city a total of 13 theatres. Hitchcock Favors 'B' Films From Experimental Stories (Continued from page 1) ible here and could be copied to advantage in England. "The main thing about advertising a picture is to get the patrons into the theatre on Monday. Your exploitation of pictures is so intense it does just that, whereas a smaller, more timid campaign, succeeds only in getting people interested toward the end of the run. Intense exploitation before showing and at the beginning starts the parade to the box-office early enough to offset any last day drop." Mr. Hitchcock's first visit to Hollywood was for the purpose of conferring with David Selznick on a picture. They settled everything in the few weeks he was West. He will direct "Titanic," returning next January or February to begin work on it. "That's all there is to it thus far," he said, "just the title. But I've always wanted to do a sea story, although frankly, I should have preferred a grimmer one. However, I guess this is grim enough. With a title like 'Titanic' which immediately calls to mind an historical disaster, a director can do those subtle things I like to do. You start off with audience participation, for the title automatically evokes memories, and just as automatically creates suspense. Republic Signs New Franchise for Coast A five-year extension of the Republic territorial franchises for Los Angeles and San Francisco was signed here yesterday by Floyd St. John, west coast franchise owner. James R. Grainger, Republic president, signed for the company. Sam Seplowin, Detroit franchise holder, is here negotiating a similar agreement. To date seven franchise offices have closed new deals, out of a total of 18. Columbia to Grant Executive Options (Continued from page 1) acquired up to Aug. 10, 1943, and the remainder between June 10, 1940, and Aug. 10, 1943. The options issued to Mr. Montague and Mrs. Schneider are for 7,500 shares each, the first expiring Aug. 10, 1941, and the second Aug. 10, 1943. Protest Claim Deletion Meyers & Keating, Hanover Capital Trust Co. and Jack Leo, as assignee of Alfred E. Fiegal, filed exception yesterday to the report of Courtland Palmer, special master, which had expunged their claim for $248,047 against the Fox Theatres Corp. The claim was based on an alleged agreement between Fox and Fiegal, made in 1930, under which Fiegal was to publish a Fox Weekly and was to receive 60 per cent of all the profits after advancing all necessary monies for expenses. The assignees asserted that Fox had failed to carry out his part of the contract and based their claim on the alleged breach. Erich Pommer Here To Set Distribution Erich Pommer, British producer, arrived here yesterday on the Normandie to negotiate distribution deals for two films, "Vessel of Wrath" and "St. Martin's Lane/' both starring Charles Laughton. They were produced by Mayflower Pictures, in which Mr. Pommer, Mr. Laughton, Leslie Howard and John Maxwell are interested. Mr. Pommer said he will be here a few weeks and will return late this year to negotiate distribution deals for "Jamaica Inn," also starring Mr. Laughton, and which will be directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Alayflower films are distributed in England by Associated British. Arrange Jungle Music Universal's campaign on "Dark Rapture" has been extended to swing music. Benny Goodman and his arranger, Edgar Sampson, have translated the original recordings of jungle chants and ceremonial music of Belgian Congo tribes into a modern swingarrangement. The new composition, named for the film, will be broadcast over WABC and a national hookup tonight at 9 :30 by Benny Goodman's band. Armand Denis and his wife, Leila Roosevelt, who brought out the Congo films from which the picture has been made, took recordings of all the music they heard. Much of this native music has never before been heard outside the Congo. Harry Holler Injured Baltimore, July 11. — Harry Haller, film editor of the Sunday Sun, has returned from a holiday trip with the right side of his face and forehead scarred and the latter heavily bandaged due to a firecracker explosion. Services for Saperstein to Be Held Today (Continued from page 1) Rubens and Samuel Trinz. W. A. Steffes and H. M. Richey are expected here for the services. Burial will be in Waldheim Cemetery, Forest Park, 111. Mr. Saperstein, who organized the local Allied unit here nine years ago and has served as its president since, was one of Chicago's most prominent and highly respected independent exhibitors. Tributes to his memory poured in from numerous industry executives. Among the messages received were the following : John Balaban : Aaron was a very close personal friend. Both the members of our organization and myself thought much of him. He was a man of utmost integrity. He will be greatly missed." Abram F. Myers, chairman of the board of Allied States Association : "Constructively independent, alert to protect the interests of his members, staunch in his support of national Allied, loyal to his friends, the passing of Aaron Saperstein grieves me deeply and leaves a gap in the ranks which it will be difficult to fill." Emil Stern, president of Essaness Theatres : "Mr. Saperstein was an outstanding man in our industry. Everyone trusted him and his loyalty was unsurpassed." Jack Miller, former president Chicago Exhibitors' Association : "Mr. Saperstein was a great fighter. The squarest I ever met." Webster Cullison Dies Hollywood, July 11. — Webster Cullison, former stage and screen director employed in the Hollywood Bureau of Quigley Publications for the past seven years, died late last week. A long time member of the Troupers and the 233 Club, he is survived by his widow, Lucie Cullison, and his mother. CO**' 4 A*4 1111 fc^ tilt*6* a* i^6 to 1