Motion Picture Daily (Apr-Jun 1939)

MOTION PICTURE DAILY Thursday, April 13, 1939 GN Finance Deal May Be Set Today Arrangements for new financing and new season product for Grand National may be completed today or tomorrow. Earle W. Hammons, Educational-Grand National president, has been conferring with principals almost uninterruptedly for the past three weeks with the result that the discussions may be consummated momentarily. Among the immediate possibilities for the new Grand National production lineup is the return of Franklyn Warner and his Fine Arts organization to the Grand National fold. Warner, who arrived from the coast this week, has conferred with Hammons, Jeffery Bernerd and Maurice Wilson during the past few days and stated yesterday that he expected to be able to say today whether or not he would become associated with Grand National once 4 Purely Personal ► Schwartz Replies to Goldivyn's Statement Charles Schwartz, of counsel to United Artists, yesterday replied to Samuel Goldwyn's statement on the objectives of the latter's suit against the company, which was issued Tuesday through Max D. Steuer, Goldwyn's attorney. The Schwartz statement asserted that the objectives of the Goldwyn action as set forth in his complaint, and the producer's grievances against the company, are not the same as those set forth in the Steuer statement. "The truth is," Schwartz's statement declares, "that Goldwyn is unhappy because he cannot obtain a voting trust with himself as sole voting trustee, so that he can thereby completely dominate and control the company's destiny." Schwartz disclosed that in his new action against the company filed in Federal court in Delaware on Tuesday, Goldwvn has abandoned his request for reinstatement of his old twopicture-a-year contract, which he had asked in his original action filed in the New York court. The pending suit asks merely that Goldwyn's existing United Artists' contract be cancelled. This remedy, too, spokesmen for the company noint out, is contrary to the GoldwynSteuer statement that the action was being brought merel. to determine whether there had been a breach of Goldwyn's existing contract. Monogram Plays Host Monogram was host to newspaper and fan magazine critics at a luncheon yesterday at the Park Central, following a screening of "Streets of New York." Lou Lifton, advertising and publicity director for Monogram was in charge. For Lunch, Dinner or Supper LaHIFF'S TAVERN The Industry's MEETING and EATING PLACE 1 56 W. 48th St. Tel. CHickering 4-4200 CC. MOSKOWITZ, vice-presi• dent of Loew's, and Seymour Mayer, Loew district manager, are leaving tomorrow for a three-week vacation in Florida and Havana. • Floyd C. Henry, Paramount manager in the Philippines, sailed from Manila yesterday on the Empress of Canada on his first vacation in three years. He will stop off at his home in Seattle before coming to New York. • Leon G. Turrou will begin a series of personal appearances at the Strand today, tomorrow and Saturday, in conjunction with "Confessions of a Nazi Spy," on which he served as technical advisor. • Charles D. Prutzman, Universal vice-president, is occupying J. Cheever Cowdin's office while the latter is vacationing and decorators are in possession of Prutzman's own quarters. • Phil Goldsmith, Cincinnati theatre man, taken ill on a trip to the coast, has returned to Cincinnati and is confined to Jewish Hospital. • Leonard Snyder, formerly with American Record, has joined Consolidated Film Industries as assistant general manager. • Jack L. Warner will be host tomorrow at the Warner studio at a party in honor of the 75th birthday of May Robson. • A. H. McCausland will be tendered a testimonial dinner tonight at the Hotel Astor by his friends at RKO. • Walter Reade, Jr., and Jay Wren of the Walter Reade Theatres left yesterday for a brief trip upstate. • D. C. Hickson, president of General Service Studios, Hollywood, arrived yesterday for a short stay. • Louis D. Frohlich and John G. Paine have been battling anti-Ascap legislation in Vermont. • Harry Smythe has been named Tri-National district manager in Chicago. • Samuel Machnovich, Universal treasurer, has returned from a Florida vacation. MORRIS HELPRIN, Alexander Korda's American advertising and publicity representative, returns tomorrow on the Aquitania from England. • C. F. Flannagan, Erpi chief engineer, leaves today by train to attend the S. M. P. E. convention on the coast next week. He will be gone three weeks. • Vincent Hart is back at eastern headquarters of the Production Code Administration after three months' work in the Hollywood office of the Joseph I. Breen staff. • Ruth Morris of the William Morris office has gone to the coast with her husband, William C. White, who has a writing contract at M-G-M. She plans to stay a month. • Herbert Griffin, vice-president of International Projector Corp., is visiting coast branches of National Theatre Supply and will attend the S. M. P. E. meeting there next week. • Anthony Nelle, who worked for two years as a director at German studios, has arrived from abroad en route to Hollywood. At one time he was production chief for the Roxy and Fox theatres. • Harold Hendee, research director for RKO, left New York yesterday to speak at the banquet of the Cleveland Cinema Club Festival this evening. • Mike Godshaw has replaced Dick Sachsel on the Chicago sales staff of National Screen Service. • Jack Kirsch, president of Allied Theatres of Chicago, is on vacation at Hot Springs, Ark. • Robert Barrat left for the coast last night via United Airlines. • Bill Mack has succeeded Jack Harris as Warner city salesman in Chicago. Ed Schnitzer. Warner eastern district manager, returns today from Buffalo. C. W. Farrier, television coordinator for NBC, is vacationing. Will H. Hays has returned from Washington. Kirsch Appeals for Return to Singles Chicago, April 12. — Jack Kirsch, president of Allied of Illinois, in a letter released today, states that return to single features is the only salvation for independent exhibitors, as well as for producers and distributors. The letter, addressed to/? Harry Brandt, president of>i the I.T.O.A., said that 95 per cent of Chicago's independent exhibitors would adopt singles if the larger circuits would do likewise. He added that all houses would profit by closing their box-offices at 9 o'clock. ITOA Again Seeks End of Double Bills A city-wide agreement of exhibitors to abolish double bills is envisioned by the I.T.O.A., which is still hoping that this can be accomplished. If the independents can be brought to agree, the circuits will join the move. Meantime the I.T.O.A. is continuing its nationwide survey on exhibitors' attitude on the subject, aiming to obtain a cross-section of opinion in order to discuss the matter intelligently with the circuits and distributors. Tax Trailer in Ohio Columbus, April 12. — I.T.O. of Ohio has prepared a short trailer to be attached to newsreels, and furnished exhibitors without charge, in which Gov. John W. Bricker urges Ohio citizens to cooperate in saving retail sales tax stamps, which the state will redeem at their face value of $3 for each $100 in stamps, beginning May 1. Van Dine Is Dead; . Wrote Film Thrillers S. S. Van Dine, mystery thriller author, died here Tuesday night. He was the creator of Philo Vance, worthy successor of Sherlock Holmes. Several of the yarns in the Vance series were transferred to the screen. Van Dine, who in private life was Willard Huntington Wright, was a native of Charlottesville, Va. He was born there 51 years ago. He turned to writing detective fiction as relaxation when recuperating from a nervous breakdown. Tobis Files French Suit Against Chaplin Tobis has filed suit in Paris against Charles Chaplin and United Artists charging that "Modern Times" infringes the old Tobis film, "A Nous La Liberte," according to notices served on Schwartz & Frohlich, Chaplin counsel, yesterday. French action is believed to be a duplicate of the suit filed by Tobis in New York some time ago. French action seeks injunction, accounting and judgment of 1,000,000 francs. Reelect Erpi Officers All officers and directors of Erpi were reelected at the company's annual meeting. Officers are T. Kennedy Stevenson, president : H. G. Knox, D. C. Collins and Clifford Smith, vice-presidents, and F. B. Foster, treasurer. MOTIONPICTURE DAILY (Registered U. S. Patent Office) MARTIN QUIGLEY, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher; SAM SHAIN, Editor; JAMES A. CRON, Advertising Manager. 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