Motion Picture Daily (July–Sept 1938)

fert. lelligent icture idustry OTION PICTURE M. P. PRODUCERS & ^ DISTRIBUTORS OF AM. , INt 28 WEST 44TH ST. , NEW YORK, N. Y. (3 COP IE ,,. 44. NO. 52 NEW YORK, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 1938 TEN CENTS 10 Is Behind . A. Attacks, mith Charges i/s Communists Are Invading Studios ollywood, Sept. 13. — Harold V. :h, international vice-president of Hi. A. T. S. E. in charge of the locals of the alliance, today in a h statement declared the current tks upon the union are coming the C. I. O. and Communistic sorters. line C. I. O. invasion of the film ter fields is at the bottom of the .upported charges and libelous in ations," he said. Mr. Smith's statet, in part, follows : (The current investigation of fac 6 who are persistently attacking Til. A. T. S. E. with unsupported ges and libelous insinuations clear ■stablishes -> link with the C. I. O. their Communistic supporters who (Continued on page 11) terwood Attacks Sell-out to Films jobert E. Sherwood, speaking at the |>nd national convention of the erican Theatre Council yesterday, ared that too many producers and jnatists of the legitimate theatre e been "selling out" to Hollywood, [he dramatist, addressing the openluncheon of the two-day convenat the Astor Hotel, leveled his jsation at the people who had made ruccess of the legitimate theatre, ,i had forgotten their responsibility «eep the theatre going. He chal (Continued on page 3) oenig to 20th-Fox \As Studio Manager Hollywood, Sept. 13. — Resigning |ti M-G-M as executive studio man'r after 20 months in the post, lliam Koenig today signed with i Century-Fox as general produc,i manager, taking office immeicely. y. L. McFadden, temporarily in the ti-Fox post, will become Mr. enig's aide. Mr. Koenig had been ctive at M-G-M for some time, jh Jerry Mayer taking over more ,1 more of his duties. Prior to that had a similar position at Universal. I is_ understood M-G-M and Mr. enig came to an amicable settlent on his contract which had three rs to go. Total of 35,000,000 Quiz Books Distributed to Date To date an aggregate of 35,000,000 "Movie Quiz" booklets in the Motion Pictures' Greatest Year drive have been distributed, according to campaign headquarters. An additional order has been placed for 10,000,000 booklets, which are being printed at the rate of 3,000,000 daily. A Canadian edition is being printed in French. Information from the field in this country and Canada indicates that 28,000,000 patrons have retained contest booklets, which leads to an estimate of 8,000,000 contest entries to date, said to be unprecedented in contest history. The physical handling of the $250,000 contest will be undertaken by Radio & Publications Contest Co., with headquarters at 480 Lexington Ave., New York. The contract was signed by George J. Schaefer, executive chairman of the campaign, and M. L. Van de Water, president, and Jack Todd, vice-president, of the contest company. Mr. Todd, who will supervise the work, plans an ultimate office staff of 500 to handle the entries in the film contest. Assisting him will be Everett Lane, president of the National Contestants Association; Al Pervas, Alma Cook, Louis Davidson and Gertrude Gordon. The official judges have not yet been named. Hovell Will Head Century Circuit Albert A. Hovell, vice-president of Century Circuit, Inc., is scheduled to be elected president at a meeting of the board tomorrow or Friday. Since the death of A. H. Schwartz, president of the circuit, last Friday, he has been acting in that capacity. Mr. Hovell is head of the law firm of Hovell, Clarkson & Klupt, attorneys for Century and associated companies. He helped organize the company about 25 years ago and has been intimately acquainted with all of its operations and expansions. During that time Mr. Hovell has been personal attorney to the late Mr. Schwartz and has been active in the organization of all affiliated and subsidiary theatre holding, construction and realty companies. He is said to be a substantial stockholder in the company. Century Circuit controls 50 theatres in the metropolitan area, operating 30 directly and being interested in 20 others with Loew's, Skouras, RugofT & Becker and Prudential. RKO-Republic Sign Product Deal Here RKO Theatres yesterday consummated a deal with Republic for half of its 1938-'39 output, the other 50 per cent having been sold to Loew's recently. This arrangement is for the metropolitan area. James R. Grainger, Republic president; Herman Gluckman, local franchise owner, and Morris Epstein, branch manager, negotiated the deal, for that company, while Fred Meyer and Max Fellerman, who buy for the RKO circuit, acted for that company. Guild Arbitration Starts on Coast Hollywood, Sept. 13. — Arbitration, following the American Arbitration Rules, of friendly differences between the Screen Actors' Guild and the producers over adjustment of the guild working agreement got under way last night with B. B. Kahane representing the producers and Murray Kinnell the guild, and Charles Baird, legal printing firm owner, as the third person. The session adjourned after an hour until Sept. 19, when it was discovered that the independent producers did not have representatives present through a misunderstanding. The opening session was featured by Kenneth Thomson, guild secretary, taking the stand to establish the need for arbitration. Whether producer attorneys should have the right to examine the minutes of the Screen Directors' Guild meetings today caused a decision by N. L. R. B. Trial Examiner William R. Ringer, hearing the petition of the guild to be declared the collective bargaining agency for directors, assistants and unit managers. Mr. Ringer himself will read the minutes of the sessions, producer attorneys will have access to the by (Continued on page 3) "Spawn" at $55,000 High for Six Months "Spawn of the North" and a stage show headed by Eddy Duchin and his orchestra grossed $55,000 in a first week at the Paramount ending last night, the theatre reported, this being the best week's take in six months. The bill will be held two more weeks. "Letter of Introduction" garnered $15,500 at the Rivoli in a second week and is being held a third stanza. RKO's "Room Service" will follow. Arnold Taking Affidavits on Allied Charge Is Receiving Complaints From Many Individuals Thurman Arnold, assistant United States attorney general in charge of the anti-trust suit against the industry, is gathering independent exhibitor complaints through Allied. Members are being asked to submit their complaints on facts to which they are willing to swear, so that the Department of Justice can draw them up in affidavit form and return them for signatures under oath. It is believed that Mr. Arnold intends to use this material in preparation for an application for an injunction to prevent circuit expansion in case his conference with major company attorneys later this month fails to result in a standstill agreement pending trial of the anti-trust suit. Harry G. Kosch, general counsel of (Continued on page 3) Korda Flies West After a Day Here Alexander Korda, head of London Films, arrived on the coast yesterday by plane after spending one day in New York following his arrival Monday morning from England. Maurice Silverstone, chairman of the executive committee of United Artists, said there was no significance to Mr. Korda's visit other than a vacation. However, it is believed that the London Films head has something pressing to discuss with Samuel Goldwyn. Prior to his departure Monday evening Mr. Korda conferred with Mr. Silverstone and other U. A. officials. Mr. Korda is expected back here in two weeks, at which time he may at (Continued on page 3) Italian Monopoly Rome, Sept. 13.— The Government tonight declared a monopoly for handling foreign films in Italy, which is seen as requiring the liquidation of any American distributors with branches here. The decree, which goes into effect tomorrow, provides that all deals will be handled by a new semi-official unit.