Motion Picture Daily (Apr-Jun 1940)

to the^tion Picture Industry M.P.P.D.A. OF AMERICA, 28 WEST 44TH ST. , NEW YORK, n. y. /"•/-IB T Vt t FILE COPY NT PICTURE First in and Impartial OL. 47. NO. 91 NEW YORK, U.S.A., WEDNESDAY, MAY 8, 1940 TEN CENTS Jxilldwyn Sees Block Booking End As Boon But Calls Neely Measure "Unbelievably Bad" mi •53 Eds Ttfcl The elimination of block booking vould be a boon to the industry, Samlel Goldwyn stated during a press nterview at his New York hotel yeserday. Suiting action to his words, Goldivyn said that his new production, The Westerner," will be shown to very exhibitor who wants to see it before buying. The producer added that there is no exhibition contract :or the picture in existence now. Goldwyn emphasized that his opposition to block booking did not in any way include an indorsement of the Neely anti-block booking bill, some parts of which, Goldwyn said, "are unbelievably bad." The producer explained that he was merely airing his opinion of what is (.Continued on page 3) Gold and Schlaifer To Retain UA Posts Harry Gold and L. J. Schlaifer will continue in their respective posts as vice-president and Eastern general sales manager and vice-president and Western general sales manager of United Artists, respectively. This was disclosed yesterday by Maurice Silverstone, chief executive of the company, at a special press conference at his home, where he is confined by illness. Silverstone said that both executives are giving the maximum in satisfaction to the company and all of its owners and producers. Flexibility Keynote of 'IP Convention Flexibility will be the keynote of the Universal sales convention, which opens at Atlantic City on Saturday. The three-day meeting will be followed by another regional session in Chicago May 18-20. William A. Scully, general sales manager, who will preside at both sessions, declared yesterday that the flexible policy has served the company well during the current year. The new season's product lineup will reflect that contention, Scully indicated, with timeliness, action and youth stressed in the lineup. There will be no rigid budget on the new season product, the sales executive declared. Each picture will be (Continued on page 3) Philadelphia Data To Open U.S. Trial Present Government plans call for the presentation of evidence treating of the exhibition and distribution situation centering about Philadelphia, New York, Boston and Chicago, in that order, at the outset of the antitrust suit trial, it was reliably learned yesterday. At the same time it was indicated that U. S. Attorney General Robert Jackson and Assistant Attorney General Thurman W. Arnold would join in opening arguments made to Trial Judge Henry W. Goddard. Special Assistant Attorney General Paul Williams also is expected to present part of the opening of the trial, it was said. Distribution in Philadelphia and (Continued on page 6) SAG Neely Hearing Spokesmen Named Hollywood, May 7. — The Screen Actors Guild has designated Jean Hersholt, Edward Arnold and Walter Abel as spokesmen for the organization at the hearings on the Neely blocking bill before the House Inter state Commerce committee in Wash ington next week. The Screen Writers and Directors Guilds will designate their representa (Ccmtinued cm page 3) Greenthal to Head U.A. 'Pre-Selling' Bureau Nationally M. Greenthal Monroe Greenthal yesterday was named advertising and exploitation manager of the new United Artists' "pre selling" bureau to be set up by the company on a national basis. Greenthal will continue to act as exploitation manager of United Artists at the home office but will devote a large part of his time to contact work with the company's Hollywood producers and the new national field organization. The assignment will necessitate frequent trips to Hollywood and into the field. In announcing the appointment of Greenthal, Maurice Silverstone, United Artists' chief executive, emphasized that the new bureau is being counted upon heavily by the company to develop increased returns for its better pictures in the domestic market. Silverstone said the company's study of outstanding exploitation work on recent pictures of outstanding quality convinced it that box-office values of worthwhile productions can be augmented by millions of dollars through successful pre-selling campaigns. Greenthal in his new post will maintain an intimate association with all (Continued on page 6) RCA Theatre Television Impresses Observers RCA unveiled its large screen theatre television projector yesterday. About 400 stockholders and officials of RCA and a score of newspapermen were present to see the special program in Studio 3-A at Radio City. The pictures were projected on an ordinary motion picture screen, six feet wide by four and a half feet high. The projector was a laboratory model, but a projector capable of producing 9 by 12-foot images will be ready within a few months. Observers noted that the pictures came over with remarkable clarity and that it was difficult, at times, to distinguish between television and the usual type of film show. The lighting on the screen was adequate, though not brilliant, but there was no difficulty in seeing the image clearly, even by those in the rear of the studio. Observers who watched the screen carefully for the appearance of lines on the screen, because of the use of 441-line definition, were unable to discover any evidence of them. The picture came through as an entity, and with considerable detail. Long shots lost some of the light, and consequently, some of the detail, but medium shots and closeups came close to film perfection, it was observed. Several minor defects were noted. The "ion spot," a dark spot in the center of the screen, was noticed only (Continued on page 12) Appeal Aim of U.S. Oklahoma Dismissal Plea Seeks Showdown on Bill Of Particulars Washington, May 7. — The Government's motion for dismissal of the Griffith anti-trust suit in Oklahoma City last Friday was disclosed today by officials of the Department of Justice to be a tactical maneuver designed to get a showdown on the question of a demand for a bill of particulars previously filed by the defendants. The motion was filed as part of an attack to prevent the stalling of the case such as has been experienced in the New York suit, it was said. It was explained that the defendants had made a motion for a bill of particulars which Government counsel felt entirely too broad, and with which they felt they could not comply. In the event such a motion is not complied with, there are only two courses (Continued on page 3) Warners Schedule 2 Sales Meetings Warners will hold two regional sales meetings, in Pittsburgh, June 10-12 at the William Penn Hotel, and in Chicago, June 17-19, at the Blackstone, according to Gradwell L. Sears, general sales manager. Earlier plans for a single meeting in Washington have been abandoned for reasons of practicality and economy, the company declared. The Pittsburgh session will be attended by district, branch and zone managers from the East and Canada, while the Chicago meeting will be for the West and South. Roy Haines, Eastern and Canadian sales manager, will preside in Pittsburgh, and Ben Kelmenson, Western and Southern sales manager, in Chicago. 350 Expected At Pacific ITO Meet Los Angeles, May 7. — A total of 350 registrations is expected for the first annual convention of the Pacifice Coast Conference of Independent Theatre Owners which starts tomorrow at the Ambassador Hotel. The complete program, which was announced today as trustees convened for committee meetings, includes talks by Ed Kuykendall, M.P.T.O.A. presi(Continued on page 3)