Motion Picture Daily (Apr-Jun 1940)

8 Motion Picture Daily Tuesday, June 4, 1940 Off the Antenna SPONSORSHIP of the Screen Actors Guild radio show by the Gulf Oil Co. next September will depend on the popularity of the Ellery Queen mysteries which are being used as the Summer replacement, according to Young & Rubicam, advertising agency handling the Gulf Oil account. The mystery show is much less costly and its ratings have risen when most of the other programs showed a decline. Gulf Oil has an option on the renewal of the program but will not be called upon to make a final decision for several weeks. • • • M-G-M is definitely planning to return to the air with a radio show next fall, according to Louis K. Sidney, M-G-M radio head, who is in Hollywood. A search is now on for a sponsor, Sidney declared. The offer made by Maxwell House coffee has been rejected, he said. 0 • • In a cooperative venture with the New York Post, a radio newspaper printed by facsimile is being issued daily at the RCA exhibit at the New York World's Fair. The paper carries the Post's masthead and is edited by tzvo of the paper's rewrite men, who condense the weivs. A complete issue is run off in 10 minutes, twice as fast as it coidd be done a year ago. • • • Taking its cue from the jingles now being sung as spot announcements for various sponsors, WNEW has put its station break announcements to music. Alan Kent and Austen Johnston made a recording of it and the record will be played each half hour. • • • Programs: CBS has decided to make its 10:30 P.M. war neivs period, which zvas started to cover the emergency, a regular feature Mondays through Saturdays. . . . General Mills has renewed "Gold Medal Hour" over NBC at 2 P.M. Mondays through Fridays for an additional year. . . . American Tobacco Co. has renewed Kay Kyser's "College of Musical Knoivlcdgc" over 97NBC-Rcd stations for an additional 13 weeks, effective July 3. . . . Johannes Steel, WMCA commentator , is now also being heard over KMTR, Hollyivood. Transcriptions are floivn to the Coast. • • • Allen B. DuMont Laboratories has suspended its practice of renting television receivers to bars, restaurants and hotels. The suspension took place prior to the F.C.C. order on television. According to Mark B. Lajoie, general sales manager, production is so far behind sales that it ha* become necessary to stop renting receivers and concentrate on filling sales orders. • • • Paris offices of NBC were not bombed yesterday but windows were shattered when a German bomb dropped on a building nearby. Early reports stated that the building was damaged by a direct hit. In a transAtlantic conversation with Paul Archinard, Paris correspondent, A. A. Schecter, NBC director of news and special events, learned that none of the staff was injured although considerably upset. • • • Purely Personal: Jack Miles, NBC trade news editor, has resigned to join the World-Telegram. . . . Joseph V. Hcffernan has joined the RCA law department as assistant general counsel. . . . Emil Corwin, NBC photo editor, has turned producer for his alma mater, Massachusetts State College. He will produce a half-hour shozv zvith Hugh P. Baker, college president, interviewing graduates of 1915, '20, '25, '30, '35 and '40. New Setback On Standards In Television Washington, June 3. — Television interests who were hopeful that there might be an early settlement of standards and commercialization by agreement among manufacturers received another setback today when F.C.C. Chairman James L. Fly warned that the Commission will not allow commercial interests to influence engineering opinion on standards for television. The most recent F.C.C. order denied commercialization until the manufacturers could agree among themselves on the most desirable system. Asserting that the Commission is ready to aid in the development of television by expanding experimental telecasting facilities, Fly declared that the F.C.C. is "not encouraging" any agreement on engineering standards so that the commercial interests may get the benefit, and that the primary element of concern is that of performance. Both RCA and the Allen B. DuMont Laboratories, the principal contenders before the F.C.C. on the question of standards, favored early commercialization. With a Radio Manufacturers Association meeting scheduled for Chicago next Tuesday and Wednesday, it was believed that the manufacturers might make some move to settle their differences and win approval for commercialization early in 1941. Demand Congress Probe Networks Washington, June 3. — Congressional investigation of the "broadcasting trust'' was demanded in Congress today by Rep. E. E. Cox on the ground that the networks need to have broadcast the Communist convention Browder speech yesterday. The event has created something of a teapot tempest in Washington, Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt defending the broadcasters with the explanation that the Communist party is a political entity and as such entitled to all the privileges of the other parties. Cox admitted that any investigation ordered would have to wait until next session. At the F.C.C, Chairman James L. Fly told a press conference that the subject of the Communist program was purely a matter for the legal division, and refused to make further comment. Seven New Pictures Approved by Legion The National Legion of Decency for the current week has approved seven new pictures, three for general patronage and four for adults. The new films and their classification follow. Class A-l, Unobjectionable for General Patronage: "Murder in the Air," "Our Town," "Phantom Raiders." Class A -2, Unobjectionable for Adults : "Gangs of Chicago," "The Lone Wolf Meets a Lady," "Queen of the Mob," "Women in War." Halt Mobile Bingo Pending Decision Mobile, Ala., June 3. — Local officials have ordered Bingo operation stopped pending the outcome of a lottery charge against Ricardo Montiel, Saenger Theatre manager, now pending in Circuit Court. The lottery charge against Montiel is the outgrowth of Bank Night, formerly conducted at the theatre. Hearing of the charges was set by Judge David H. Edington for June 27 while Judge J. Blocker Thornton considers a defense motion to restrain prosecution on the grounds of discrimination. Ban Bank Night Proxies Pittsburgh, June 3. — Bank Night is still a lottery although proxy cards are obtainable for theatre patrons unable to attend the award performance, Judge Frank E. Reader of Beaver County ruled in the case of the State and Strand, Aliquippa, Pa. New Film Caption Servic Film Caption Service of New York has installed the new French de Brie machine for producing superimposed titles. Shift Branch Personnel Des Moines, June 3. — A number of changes have been made at the M-G-M exchange here with the resignation of Frank Gaskell as first booker. Woodrow Scherill of the Kansas City exchange, has come here as first booker ; Burd Shunow, second booker, has gone to the Kansas City office and Gerald Banta, former assistant shipper, is now second booker. 'Maryland' Opening Set Premiere of "Maryland," 20th Century-Fox color film, has been set for July 10 at the Centre and New Theatres in Baltimore. A civic celebration in which Governor O'Connor of Maryland will participate is planned. RKO Signs Lorre Hollywood, June 3. — Peter Lorre has been signed for two pictures at RKO by Harry Edington, executive producer. Seattle Picnic June 26 Seattle, June 3. — The annual picnic of the Northwest Film Club will be held June 26. Committees and the place will be selected shortly. NBC and MBS May Grosses Set Records Gross billings for NBC and MBS continued at their record breaking pace during May with both networks recording the biggest May in their history and the largest cumulate-'0 amount for the first five months. (i*ne NBC's total for both the Red Blue webs rose to a new high of $4,034,622 for May, an increase of nine per cent over the same month last year, while Mutual's zoomed 37.2 per cent to $322,186. Cumulatively for the first five months of 1940, the Red and Blue combined for a total of $20,917,776, up 8.9 per cent over the same period last year, while MBS grossed $1,731,843, a rise of 24.1. During May, NBC-Red grossed $3,216,940, up 6.3 per cent over the same month last year, while the Blue rose 20.9 per cent to $817,682. For the first five months, NBC-Red grossed $16,407,441, up 6.6 per cent, and the Blue grossed $4,510,335, up 17.9 per cent over the same period last year. Film Alliance Sets 1940-41 Releases "Fifth Column Squad," starring Barry K. Barnes, and "Murder, Inc.," starring Jack La Rue, have been set for June 10 and June 24 release, respectively, by Film Alliance of the U. S., leading the company's 1940-'41 lineup of 26 features and 12 westerns. Both are British productions. "False Rapture," starring Otto Kruger, has been set for July 8 release, and "Hell's Cargo" for July 22. j Thereafter, one film will be released every two weeks. Pa. Theatres Face Outdoor Park Films Philadelphia, June 3. — Exhibitors in Eastern Pennsylvania are disturbed over the fact that the outdoor amusement parks, for the first time, are showing motion pictures. Features are being offered at the Dorney and Central near Allentown and the Rolling , Green near Sunbury with at least three other parks making arrangements for the early exhibition of mo-! tion pictures. RKO Disbands Art Unit in Cincinnati Cincinnati, June 3. — RKO's local theatre advertising art department,! which has been functioning for approximately 10 years, has been discon; tinucd as an economy measure. E. V. Dinertuan, director of adver i tising and publicity, with M. J. Whitmar, assistant, will prepare the news-; paper and display copy for the local and Dayton houses in the future. Form Television Firm Dover, Del., June 3. — Television and Engineering Co., Inc., has been formed here to deal in television with a capital of 200 shares of no par value. The incorporators are Frank T. Francis, Levering H. Gilpin, and Solomon H. Feldman, Washington, D. C.