Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1940)

Motion Picture Daily Film Stars to President's Ball A large number of film players will attend the President's Birthday Ball in Washington tomorrow night. They will be guests of Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt at a White House luncheon tomorrow. Among those who will attend are Tyrone Power and Annabella, who arrived here Friday; Mickey Rooney, who will arrive in New York Wednesday; James Cagney, Edward G. Robinson, Pat O'Brien and their wives; Brenda Joyce and Gloria Jean. Cagney and O'Brien will go to the Coast from Washington. Robinson will return to New York. Radio Brevities 6 Film to Show Modern Reich; Stars Chosen Hollywood, Jan. 28. — Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, Frank Morgan and Robert Young will have the top roles in "The Mortal Storm," story of the disintegration of a community in present-day Germany by Phyllis Bottome. Sidney Franklin will write the script and Frank Borzage will direct. Ralph Spence has completed the script of "The South American Way" for 20th Century-Fox and the book for "Salute to Spring," which is scheduled to open on Broadway soon. . . . Mervyn LeRoy has started "Waterloo Bridge," starring Vivien Leigh and Robert Taylor, at M-G-M. . . . Joseph Santley's first directorial assignment at Paramount will be "Dance, Little Lady," story by Joe May, Max Kolpe and Jean Lustig, purchased by Paramount from Columbia. Susan Hayward, Robert Paige, Peter Hayes, Virginia Dale, Lillian Cornell and William Frawley get top roles. . . . 20th CenturyFox has put Ranar Qvale, ski expert at Sun Valley, under a term acting contract. . . . The same studio has purchased "Pier 13," by David Burton and described as a big city comedy. Harry Sherman has purchased "Ranger Guns West," by Norton Parker, as a western special. William Herndon was the agent. . . . Fine Arts has signed Phil Rose to direct "At Your Age," Otis Garrett to direct "If This Be Reason," and John Kraft to do the script of "At Your Age." . . . The David L. LoewAlbert Lewin producing company has purchased Erich Maria Remarque's "Flotsam" from M-G-M. . . . William T. Orr of "Meet Some People," Theatre Alliance show, has been given a Warner term contract. Lois Ransom of the same company has been signed by Republic, while Warners earlier signed June Clayton. . . . Robert Benchley is working on the screenplay of Vincent Sheean's "Personal History," which Walter Wanger will produce. Neil Hamilton draws a role in Paramount's "The Woman from Hell." . . . Producer Paul Jones is using the University of Southern California band in "Down Went McGinty" at Paramount. ... In addition to doing "I Want a Divorce" at Paramount, Joan Blondell will do "Two Girls on Broadway." featuring George Murphy and Lana Turner. . . . Murphy has been given a new long term contract at the studio. . . . Twentieth Century-Fox has purchased Jules Furthman's original, "Too Much for One Man." . . . Cora Witherspoon has been cast in Century-Fox' "Sweetheart of Turret One," in which Jon Hall and Nancy Kelly have the leads. Paramount plans "Mystery Ship," story of wartime sea raiders by Robert Grant, with Ray Milland and Susan Hayward heading the cast. Akim Tamiroff, Lynne Overman, J. Carrol Naish and Albert Dekker will support them. Eugene Zukor will produce. Officers Nominated By Variety Artists Philip Irving was nominated for the post of president of the New York chapter of American Guild of Variety Artists over the weekend by the nominating committee. Elections must be held on or before Feb. 23. Additional nominations may be made by petition if filed before Feb. 3. Dave Fox was named for the vice-presidency ; Peter Wells, second vice-president; Hazel Scott, third vice-president ; Michael Lewis, fourth vice-president; Sam Kramer, fifth vice-president; Helen Sanford, secretary ;. and Alfred Stone, treasurer, For the executive board candidates named were Charles Arno, Henry Berman, Billy Glason, Jack Gilford, Al Hammer, Lionel Murray, Mario Naldi, Fred Pisano, Elton Rich, Ed Rickard, Noble Sissle, Thelma Flowers and Arthur Ward. Alternate candidates named were Charles Honi Coles, Dorothy Stone, Jay Dixon and Al Shayne. Mutual Changes Lineup of Stations Mutual reshuffled its station lineup over the weekend, effective Feb. 1. Following Elliott Roosevelt's dropping of 11 stations from his Texas State Network earlier this month, Mutual is now contracting directly with six of the major Texas stations instead of through the Roosevelt web. The stations affected are WRR, Dallas ; KFJZ, Fort Worth ; KYYZ, Houston; KABC, San Antonio; KNOW, Austin ; and WACO, Waco. Service to six other stations will be continued through TSN. These are KRBC, Abilene; KBST, Big Spring; KGKL, San Angelo; KRRV, Sherman; KTEM, Temple, and KCMC, Also on Feb. 1, WSAY, Rochester, joins Mutual. The new setup gives Mutual seven basic stations, 30 Don Lee stations, 17 Colonial Network stations, 12 Texas stations, six Oklahoma stations, 11 in the Southeastern Group, two in Hawaii and 33 other affiliated stations. Air Responsibility Bill Is Expanded Albany, Jan. 28. — Inclusion of radio station responsibility for the broadcasting of untrue or misleading advertisements is called for in the bill of Assemblyman A. F. Goldstein, New York, who would amend the penal code to make such false statements to the public a misdemeanor. Responsibility is set up both for the persons or corporations purchasing the radio time and for operators or owners of radio stations. Ticket Price Control Bill Given Assembly Albany, Jan. 28. — Another legislative attempt to give support to the New York League of Theatres ticket code has been started by Assemblyman MacNeil Mitchell with the introduction of a bill to limit the resale premium charged by brokers to 75 cents above boxoffice prices. The bill provides for jurisdiction by the commissioner of licenses or chief executive in each municipality over ticket agency licenses. Convictions would be punishable by a $250 fine and one year's imprisonment. A law limiting premiums was passed several years ago but was declared unconstitutional by the courts. The bill passed the Assembly last year but was defeated in the Senate. The present bill is drafted to hurdle the constitutional objection, it was learned here. A similar bill was passed by the New York City Council last November but Mayor LaGuardia vetoed it on the grounds that it was unconstitutional and that producers could regulate the brokerage business themselves if they desired to do so. Picture in East? Lubitsch Says No Contrary to reports, Ernst Lubitsch has "no definite plans" for making a picture in New York at any time in the near future, the producer stated over the weekend. "I conferred with Mayor LaGuardia, and exchanged views with him on Eastern production," Lubitsch said, "but there is nothing definite about my doing a picture here." Lubitsch plans to leave for the West at the end of the week and will start work in Hollywood on his first production for United Artists after taking a few weeks' vacation. Ticket Agency Fined For Violating Code Evidence that the Code Enforcement Authority of the ticket code means to enforce the code stringently came over the weekend when the Authority ruled that Leo Newman's ticket agency had dealt with an unaccredited broker and imposed a fine of $250, payable on Friday. In addition, the agency was directed to post a $500 bond against future infractions. Several other cases are pending and additional decisions are expected Friday. Miss Ford to Miami Marjorie Ford, soprano, will appear with Edward Everett Marshall in a series of light operas which Fortune Gallo will present in Miami at the Orange Bowl, beginning Feb. 9. Monday, January 29, 1940 TWO new quiz shows, each giving away $500 weekly, start over Mutual in February to bring the network's total number of quiz shows to seven. "Play Broadcasts," under the sponsorship of the Illinois Meat Co., will distribute cards similar to tY used in bingo with boxes chei f I when a play's name is recognized. It will be heard Mondays at 8 P. M., starting Feb. 19. In addition to filling the cards, the audience must submit slogans. "Cash on Delivery" is the second and starts Wednesday, Feb. 14, at 8 P. M. Curtis Candy Co. will sponsor but details of the show have not yet been set. Personalities in the News Abe Schecter, NBC special events head, has returned from a Florida' vacation. . . . Al Pearce starts his policy of having old vaudcznllians on his program Wednesday with Jim Kelso, Walt Ambler and Dick Lane as the first guests. . . . Ruth Chatterton will be gu-est on the "Texaco Star Theatre" Wednesday evening. . . . Edward G. Robinson will broadcast "Big Town" from Washington tomorrow) evening where he will be for the President's Birthday Ball. . . . Frank Luther. NBC singer, has completed a record album of "Aesop's Fables" set to his original music. Birthday Ball Broadcasts All three major networks will carry the special one-hour broadcast of the President's Birthday Balls tomorrow at 11:15 P. M. There will be pickups from Boston, New York, Washington, Omaha, Chicago, Oklahoma City, Portland, Oregon and Hollywood. Name bands from many parts of the country will be heard and President Roosevelt will speak from the White House. The broadcast will wind up the March of Dimes drive over the air. Program News B. T. Babbitt adds 17 stations for the "David Harum" show, effective Feb. 19, and has reneived for an additional 52 weeks. Total number of NBC-Red stations to be used will be 40. . . . Paramount has purchased sixparticipating 50-word announcements on the "Breakfast in Bedlam" show over WJZ for the week of Feb. 5. . . . Arrangements have been completed bv Paramount for Jackie Cooper and the winners of the "Seventeen" contest to appear as guests of Ben Alexander on the "Little Old Hollywood" show over NBC-Red on Lincoln's Birthday. . . . Gillette Safety Razor will sponsor the Kentucky Derby broadcast over CBS on May 4. Mexican Politics on Air From Mexico City we learn that although Mexican workers have repeatedly declared themselves opposed to the use of radio for political purposes, the Party of the Mexican Revolution has decided to use the air on a wholesale scale for Gen. Manuel Avila Camacho, its presidential candidate. Radio time will be used from February until July 6, eve of the election.