Motion Picture Daily (July–Sept 1938)

MOTION PICTURE DAILY Four Companies Win AMP A Annual Advertising Awards 6 Silverstone Leaves For Talks on Coast Maurice Silverstone, chairman of the United Artists executive committee, and Charles Schwartz, film attorney and member of the United Artists, board of directors, left New York yesterday on the Century for Hollywood. James Mulvey, eastern representative for Samuel Goldwyn, who is also a board member, will meet them in Chicago today and accompany them to the coast. The objectives of the trip include, in addition to production conferences with United Artists producers, the resumption of negotiations with John Hay Whitney and David O. Selznick for an extension of the distribution deal with Selznick International and conferences with Charles Chaplin over the latter's objections to the proposed plan for producers' participation in company profits. Hutchinson to Make Long Southern Trip Walter J. Hutchinson, 20th Century-Fox director of foreign distribution, will leave July 29 for a survey of South America and South Africa, to be gone until December. Irvin Maas, foreign manager, will leave Aug. 20 for his first visit in Europe. He will confer with Ben F. Miggins, managing director for the Continent, on service prints. Charles Mayer, Dutch East Indies manager, will leave today for the coast and will sail Aug. 8 for Shanghai, where he will confer with Dell Goodman, Far East manager, before proceeding to Batavia. This was his first visit here in three years. New ^-Dimension Is Claimed in "U" Film Hollywood, July 14. — A thirddimensional effect in films is claimed to have been achieved through affixing a specially treated glass prism to the camera lens in a method developed by Joseph Valentine, Universal cameraman. The studio asserts the development will be employed in filming the new Deanna Durbin picture. The mechanism consists of a prism one-hundredth of an inch thick and slightly less than an inch in length and width, made of two pieces of glass fitted together at an angle of 45 degrees. One surface is covered with mercury. The prism is installed in the camera between the lens and the aperture, where the film is exposed. Beery to Pay Deficiency Washington, July 14. — The Internal Revenue Bureau today reported that Wallace Beery and his wife have agreed to pay a 1934 income tax deficiency of $6,601. The deficiency, it was explained, resulted from the disallowance by the commissioner of deductions amounting to $19,854 for expenses, included in which were $4,040 for cost of a European trip by Beery's manager, $5,848 for cost of operating an airplane and $3,397 for publicity and entertainment. W.B. to Commonwealth The Commonwealth circuit of Missouri has signed for the entire 1938-'39 product of Warners, including Vitaphone shorts and trailers, it was stated yesterday by Gradwell L. Sears, Warner general sales manager. (.Continued from page 1) one house. It cost Ampa over $1,000 to conduct the campaign and the prizes were valued at $500. The divisions were : Best all-around campaign, best campaign aimed at the public, best trade campaign, best publicity campaign and best display campaign, with three awards in each. Firsts received plaques, second and third scrolls. The results : Ail-Around First — "The Good Earth" (M-G-M) Second — "Hurricane" (U.A.) Third — "Wells Fargo" (Para.) and "Life of Emile Zola" (W.B.) Others voted on were : "Alcatraz" ^ (W.B.), "The Awful Truth" (Col.), "Dick Tracy" (Republic), "Lost Horizon" (Col.), "The Plainsman" (Para.), "Saratoga" (M-G-M), "Shall We Dance?" (RKO), "Souls at Sea" (M-G-M), "Stage Door" (RKO), "A Star Is Born" (U.A.), "Stella Dallas" (U.A.). Public First — "The Good Earth" (M-G-M) Second — "The Life of Emile Zola" (W.B.) Third — "Wells Fargo" (Para.) Others voted on were : "The Awful Truth" (Col.), "Broadway Melody of 1938" (M-G-M), "A Day at the Races" (M-G-M), "Hurricane" (U.A.), "Lost Horizon" (Col.), "100 Men and a Girl" (Univ.), "The Plainsman" (Para.), "Saratoga" (M-G-M), "A Star Is Born" (U.A.), "Stella Dallas" (U.A.). Trade First — "The Good Earth" (M-G-M) Second — "Alcatraz" (W.B.) Third — "Lost Horizon" (Col.) Others voted on were: "The Awful Truth" (Col.), "Boy of the Streets" (Monogram), "Broadway Melody of 1938" (M-G-M), "Hurricane" (U.A.), "The Life of Emile Zola" (W.B.), "MerryGo-Round of 1938" (Univ.), "100 Men and a Girl" (Univ.), "The Plainsman" (Para.), "Prisoner of Zenda" (U.A.), "Saratoga" (M-G-M), "Souls at Sea" (M-G-M), "Shall We Dance?" (RKO), "Stage Door" (RKO), "A Star Is Born" (U.A.), "Stella Dallas" (U.A.), "Wells Fargo" (Para.). Publicity First— "Saratoga" (M-G-M) Second — "The Good Earth" (M-G-M) Third — "The Life of Emile Zola" (W.B.) Others voted on were "Alcatraz" (W.B.), "Artists and Models" (Para.), Disney Series (RKO), "Hurricane" (U.A.), "Lost Horizon" (Col.), "1(10 Men and a Girl" (Univ.), "The Plainsman" (Para.), "Shall We Dance?" (RKO), "Stage Door" (RKO), "A Star Is Born" (U.A.), "Wells Fargo" (Para.). Display First — "Hurricane" (U.A.) Second — "Wells Fargo" (Paramount) Third — "The Good Earth" (M-G-M) Others voted on were : "Alcatraz" (W.B.), "Artists and Models" (Para.), "Broadway Melody of 1938" (M-G-M), "A Day at the Races" (M-G-M), "The Life of Emile Zola" (W.B.), "Lost Horizon" (Col.), "Marked Woman" (W.B.), "The Plainsman" (Paramount), "Saratoga" (M-G-M), "Shall We Dance?" (RKO), "Stage Door" (RKO), "A Star Is Born" (U.A.), "Submarine D-l" (W.B.). Best 10 "The Good Earth" (M-G-M) "Saratoga" (M-G-M) "Wells Fargo" (Para.) "The Plainsman" (Para.) "Alcatraz" (W.B.) "The Life of Emile Zola" (W.B.) "Hurricane" (U.A.) "A Star Is Born" (U.A.) "Shall We Dance?" (RKO) "Lost Horizon" (Col.) Ralph Rolan, Ampa president, made the presentations. Seated on the dais with him were: Mort Blumenstock, Edward L. McAvoy, S. Barret McCormick, Colvin Brown, Red Kann, License Commissioner Paul Moss, Will H. Hays, Judge Favese, Maurice Bergman, Howard Dietz and Monroe Greenthal. Commissioner Moss, who represented Mayor LaGuardia, praised the general improvement of theatre advertising. He said two or three theatres were still attempting to base their appeal entirely on sex, but expressed the opinion that 95 per cent of theatre patrons would respond to something different. Will Hays Speaks Mr. Hays was the second speaker. After discussing briefly the "planned improvement" in film advertising under self-regulation, he made his dramatic plea for a big industry advertising campaign. The Ampa committee which conducted the detailed campaign on the voting was headed by Vincent Trotta. Other members were Martin Starr, Hap Hadley, James P. Cunningham and Rutgers Neilson. Among those present were : Fred Antenucci, Harry Blair, Hetty Gray Baker, Chester Balm, Paul Benjamin, Charles Cohen, Ken Clark, Charles Casanave, Ed Casanave, James A. Cron, Hal Danson, William Danziger, George Dubin, William Ferguson, Herb Fecke, Hazel Flynn, Joseph Fronder, Gerald Frank, Don Gibbs, Tom Gerety, Charles Glett, Ray Gallagher, Joe Gallagher, Ed Gaylor, Paul Gros, Charles Gartner, Mel Heymann, Morgan Hobart, Hap Hadley, Herb Haines, William Hanneman, Walter Hanneman, Gustave Hartman, Friday, July !5, 1938 Grants Stockholder Plea in RKO Action Federal Judge William Bondy yesterday granted the petition of Ernest W. Stirn of Milwaukee, holder of 1,234 shares of unconverted Class A stock of RKO, and ordered the Irving Trust Co., as trustee of RKO, to make available for inspection by Mr. Stirn the list of holders of Class A stock as of March 5 and Nov. 23, 1931, the list of the holders of proxies-Fas of March 25 and Nov. 10, 1931, fS the original proxies now kept in Me Palace Theatre in New York. All expenses are to be borne by the petitioner, the order continued, and the granting of the petition is not in any way to delay proceedings before Special Master Alger. Stirn seeks the examination, claiming that two extraordinary stockholders' meetings of RKO held in 1931, which approved the conversion of | Class A stock to common, were lacking the necessary votes of two-thirds of the stockholders, and that he is therefore entitled to preferential treatment under the RKO plan of reorganization. Equity Denies Move To End Shore Shows The council of Actors Equity Association, following a special meeting yesterday, denied responsibility for the closing of the Fortune GalloShubert productions at Randall's Island and Jones Beach, as of this weekend, in a statement in which it' was asserted the producers had made no effort to petition the union for concessions relating to performers' pay. The closings were attributed by Equity to "the poor attendance to which the productions have been playing." When closing notices were posted several days ago, it was reported and not denied by the producers that Equity's failure to grant concessions for nights on which weather conditions prevented the giving of performances was responsible. Script Writer Is Sued Walter O'Keefe and Hesse & McCaffery, as agent, yesterday filed individual suits for $100,000 and $50,-, 000 damages, respectively, againsf Maxwell Hawkins, radio script writ-j er, and Norman C. White, his agent, for alleged injury to their reputations by the defendants. The suits arose out of the action which Hawkins had previously filed against both plaintiffs^ and RKO Pictures, claiming that O'Keefe had plagiarized and sold to RKO the picture rights to the radio sketch, "The Rolling Stones," which Hawkins claimed he wrote. This suit had been dismissed some time ago in the N. Y. Supreme Court. Harry Kosiner, Moe Kallis, Paul Lazarus, James Loughborough, Ralph Lund, Lou Lifton, Henry Linet, Boh Moriarity, John McDermott, Don Mersereau, Ed McNamee, Frank McGrann, William McHale, H. R. Nar-[ diello, Lou Nathan, Alec Orr, Nichon las Pisaro, Gene Pastoret, A. W, Smith, Si Seadler, Bernard Sobel, Joel Swensen, Jose Schorr, Al Sherman, Eli Sugarman, Charles Stark, Charles Stocker, Charles Strobel, Lillian Stevens, Lester Thompson, Ber-: nard Waldman, Milton Weiss, Ruth Weisberg, Gordon White, Joseph Zimanich and Charles Zenker.