Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1940)

I Tuesday, March 19, 1940 Motion Picture Daily Stars, Writers Back From Virginia City {Continued from page 1) Sunday aboard special trains, tired but happy after a day and night of noisy excitement. Ralph Budd of the Warner home office, who managed the trip out of New York so well, has gone on to the Coast from Reno. So have Mort BluTistock, Warners' eastern advertisR^and publicity director ; Jake Wilk, story editor, and Harry Oshrin. Sid Rechetnik is accompanying the Eastern delegation back to New York, with Bill Gagenbeck of the New York Central, who was loaned by that railroad to assist with arrangements, returning with the same group. Bill Guthrie, Warners' location chief, is shepherding the California party. Reno Chamber Gives $6,000 Of the money which has been spent on the affair, $6,000 is said to have been contributed by the Reno Chamber of Commerce. Of this sum, about $2,500 was contributed by the Southern Pacific Railroad, Reno residents say. Transportation of the 215 Hollywood guests is estimated to have cost $6,500. Dining car and refreshment charges on the Coast train ran about $700 per day, according to railroad officials. The refreshment cost from midnight to 7 A. M. on that train was an additional $125. The 40 members of the New York and Chicago group accounted for about $170 in refreshment charges, railroad men said. Transportation costs to Reno and return for this group amounted to about $10,000. Dining car charges, additionally, were around $200 daily. Preparatory expense, including advertising by Warner Bros, amounted to about $10,000, of which $2,500 was hotel expense in Reno, officials said. Telegraph charges aboard the Coast special are estimated at $1,000. Relics of Past Still Standing Reno didn't seem as concerned over the picture as was the little ghost mining town 25 miles away. Virginia City, home of the one-time famous Comstock lode which yielded $700,000,000 in gold, is now only a skeleton of the roaring frontier and mining city it was in the early 70s. Still standing are the Crystal Palace, Bucket of Blood and Chandelier saloons and Piper's Opera House, and yesterday the old-time gayety of these spots was revived. But Virginia City today is only a relic of the past. The final chapter of the affair consisted of an old Frontier Parade in Reno. Two gay visitors slipped inside a hearse that brought up the rear of the parade. The vehicle hadn't gone far, however, before the long arm of the law reached in after them. "If you two were corpses it would be all right," said the gendarme, "but you're just tight, so you'll have to get out." Drops Stage Shows Cincinnati, March 18.— The 2,150seat RKO Shubert, which has been playing stage shows and pictures since the opening of the season, goes to a straight picture policy March 29, with scale reduced from 40 to 60 cents to 35 and 42 cents. Hollywood Reviews "Viva Cisco Kid" (20th Century-Fox) Hollywood, March 18. — The second in the series starring Cesar Romero, "Viva Cisco Kid," 20th Century-Fox, is a blending of comedy and adventure in the best tradition of outdoor action pictures. The popular Romero in the title role similar to "'Don Quixote" and ChrisPin Martin as "Sancho Panza" are an ideal combination. This time, the "Cisco Kid" falls in love with the daughter of a criminal, and to save him, outwits the gang's leader and helps the father to rehabilitation. Samuel G. Engel and Hal Long's screenplay, suggested by O. Henry's character "Cisco Kid," aptly intermingles comedy, suspense, romance and action, all brought out to a high degree by the direction of Norman Foster. Sol M. Wurtzel was the executive producer. Supplying the love interest is Jean Rogers. Others in the cast are Minor Watson, Stanley Fields, Nigel De Brulier, Harold Goodwin, Francis Ford and Charles Judels. Running time, 65 minutes. "G."* Vance King Broken Strings ( International Roadsh ows Gold port ) Hollywood, March 18. — "Broken Strings," produced by Goldberg and Port for International Roadshows distribution, is another of the allNegro films made especially for exhibition in the 400 theatres with colored patronge in the United States. It stars Clarence Muse, the widely known singer, writer and stage-screen actor, as a famed concert violinist forced to retire because of a crippled hand. The plot of the story concerns his fight for the classics, as opposed to their being "swung" by ultramodernists, exemplified by his 12-year-old son, played by William Washington. Supporting are Sybil Lewis, Tommy Moore, Stymie Beard, Pete Webster, Eddie Thompson, Buck Woods, Jessie Lee Brooks, Darby Jones, Earl Morris, the Steavens Sisters and Alec Carpenter. Carl Krusada, Muse and Dave Arlen wrote the screenplay. L. C. Borden was the associate producer. Running time, 60 minutes. "G."* Vance King *"G" denotes general classification. Fight New Albany Discrimination Bill Albany, March 18. — The Committee on Criminal Courts Law and Procedure of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York has strongly disapproved Assemblyman Irwin Davidson's bill prohibiting places of public amusement to refuse to admit any individual over 21 years of age who presents a ticket of admission. "There is no need for this proposed law," the committee said in a memorandum to the legislature over the weekend. "Section 40 of the civil rights law now affords to all persons equal rights and privileges in places of public accommodation, resort and amusement and Section 41 provides penalties for a violation of Section 40." Louisville Unit Now Opposes Neely Bill Louisville, March 18. — Support of the Better Films Council of Louisville for the Neely Bill has been withdrawn by the council's legislative committee, according to Mrs. R. V. Love, legislative chairman. The council previously had gone on record favoring the passage of the legslation, but withdrew its endorsement after theatre operators here explained that block booking did not force them to take all films, but that they were allowed to reject a certain percentage of them. Employes in Frisco Win Pay Increase San Francisco, March 18. — Pay increases for cashiers and doormen in 21 subsequent run theatres are provided in a new contract negotiated by Theatrical Employes' Local B-18. More than 400 workers, including ushers, are covered by the agreement, which provides that time and one-half will start after 42 hours instead of 48, as formerly. Wage boosts for cashiers and doormen are five cents an hour, to 57^4 cents, in class A houses, and two and one-half cents an hour, to 52y2 cents, in class B theatres. Negotiators for the union were Al Maas, president, and William Sutherland, business manager. Pennsylvania Jury Calls Bingo Illegal Lancaster, Pa., March 18. — Bingo is gambling, it was decided by a county jury here in convicting Richard Landis, of Rothville, of maintaining and setting up gambling devices. Landis was chairman of a committee of the Neffsville fire company which arranged the Bingo game for a test case. An acquittal would have lifted the ban on Bingo in Lancaster County. Judge C. V. Henry, in charging the jury, said the only question to decide was whether or not Bingo is gambling. Studios Shoot 35 New Films; 64 Are Edited Hollywood, March 18. — Thirty-five pictures were before the cameras this week, three more than last week's total, as nine started and six finished. Twenty-two are being prepared and 64 are being edited. Columbia In Work — "Dead Man's Isle." Started — -"The Lone Wolf Meets a Lady," untitled Western. M-G-M Finished — "Edison the Man." In Work — "Two Girls on Broadway," "Waterloo Bridge," "Pride and Prejudice," "The Mortal Storm," "20 Mule Team," "Susan and God," "Andy Hardy Meets a Debutante," "Boom Town." Monogram In Work — "Tomboy." Started^"Pals of the Purple Sage." Paramount Finished — "Destiny." In Work — "The Ghost Breakers," "North West Mounted Police," untitled Henry Aldrich picture. RKO In Work — "Tom Brown's School Days." Started— "Anne of Windy Poplars." Republic Finished — "Grandpa Goes to Town," "Young Buffalo Bill," "In Old Missouri." In Work — "Women in War." Started — "Covered Wagon Days." Roach In Work — "Turnabout." Edward Small In Work — "South of Pago Pago." 20th Century-Fox In Work— "Lillian Russell," "Maryland," "Cisco Kid No. 3." Started— "The. Young People," "Million Dollar Diamond." Universal Finished — "Sandy Is a Lady." In Work—Ti I Had My Way," "I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby." Started— "Ski Patrol." Warners In Work— "The Sea Hawk," "All This and Heaven, Too," "Torrid Zone," "Flight Eight." Started— "Brother Orchid." Kill Mississippi Bill For New Ticket Tax Jackson, Miss., March 18. — Without a dissenting vote, the Mississippi House ways and means committee killed the Senate-approved bill which would have allowed the city of Jackson to levy additional taxes now invoked by the state. The bill, supported by the Jackson council, who contended it needed added revenue and would match state levies on theatre admissions in addition to other taxes, would have called for a 60 per cent majority vote of the public of any city over 35,000 population in the state. The state levies a maximum tax of 10 per cent on amusements. Cooper Gets 'Doe* Lead Hollywood, March 18. — Gary Cooper has been borrowed from Samuel Goldwyn to play the title role in "The Life of John Doe," in production by Frank Capra for Warner release.