Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1941)

RtfylOVF Alert, InteWJgei aijTy »amo to the^ cjtion Picture inriiicf rw MOTION PICTURE DAILY OL. 49. NO. 8 NEW YORK, U.S.A., MONDAY, JANUARY 13, 1941 TEN CENTS Loew's Profit For Year Is $8,908,469 Estimate for New First Quarter $3,000,000 Net profit after all charges of $8,908,469 was reported by Loew's, Inc., and subsidiaries on Saturday for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 1940. The result is after provision of $2,000,000 as a special reserve for contingencies, and compares with net profit of $9,841,530 for the preceding fiscal year. [Motion Picture Daily last Nov. 6 estimated Loew's earnings for the 1939-'40 fiscal year at approximately $8,850,000, after alt charges and provision for the $2,000,000 reserve] Loew's earnings for the first quarter of the current fiscal year are estimated at approximately $3,000,000. The company's annual report lists operating revenues of $137,590,120, of which $133,375,150 was theatre receipts, film rentals and sales of films and accessories. Operating and general expenses amounted to $110,344,728; depreciation, taxes and rent, (.Continued on page 4) Wolff Elected Head Of N. Y. Film Board Robert S. Wolff, RKO branch manager, on Friday was elected president of the New York Film Board of Trade, at a meeting at the headquarters of the organization. He succeeds Jack J. Bowen, recently promoted to Eastern district manager for M-G-M. The other new officers are : Joseph J. Lee, 20th Century-Fox, first vicepresident; Ben Abner, M-G-M, second vice-president ; David A. Levy, Universal, treasurer ; Robert J. Fannon, Republic, secretary, and Edward Bell, Paramount, sergeant-at-arms. The installations will be held in about 10 days. Five Reviews Today "Six Lessons from Madame La Zonga," "The Case of the Black Parrot," "You're Out of Luck" are reviewed on Page 4. Reviews of "Robin Hood of the Pecos" and "Billy the Kid's Gun Justice" are on Page 6. Critics' Quotes of new films will be found on Page 7. Hearst Reported to Ask 'Kane' Shelved Extraordinary interest has been stirred in the trade and elsewhere by reports that the William Randolph Hearst newspapers and magazines have been instructed by Hearst or his representatives to suppress all publicity on RKO's picture, "Citizen Kane," and to have asked the company to shelve the film, which cost in the neighborhood of $800,000 to produce. This is Orson Welles' first picture. Company officials assert that while the story is about a wealthy man who inherits a newspaper and then builds a publishing empire, it is not Hearst's biography. The Hearst people are reported to feel otherwise, according to various reports on the coast and in New York. The order to suppress publicity on the picture, it is further reported, has been extended to all RKO publicity. Bomb Manchester Office of 20th-Fox The 20th Century-Fox branch office in Manchester, England, has been destroyed in recent bombing attacks, according to word reaching the home office. The raid was made on the city at night, and no one was injured. E. G. Milloy is manager of the branch. Judging of 1940 Quigley Awards To Be On Jan. 28 Judging for the 1940 Quigley Grand Awards, climax of the Quigley Awards competition sponsored by Motion Picture Herald through the Managers Round Table, will be held Jan. 28 in the College Room of the Hotel Astor, it is announced by A-Mike Vogel, chairman of the Round Table. The committee will be made up of executives in distribution, advertising and exhibition who have served as judges during the year. Entries to be considered will be those of theatre managers and publicity men scoring highest in the four quarterly periods of the 1940 awards. Following the judging, Martin Quigley will be host to the committee at a luncheon. The two winners chosen by majority vote for the Silver and Bronze Grand Awards will receive their awards in Hollywood at ceremonies attended by studio heads, directors and stars. As guests of Motion Picture Herald, the theatre men will be taken to Hollywood and entertained during a week's stay. Visits to the studios and other arrangements are planned. The 1940 judging will mark the seventh annual meeting of the Quigley Awards committee. Entrants competed during the three-month awards periods of the year for the "QuarterMaster" Plaques, Medals and Sheepskin Citations. 20th-FoxTop Officials at Studio Meet Prepare for U. S. Decree Operation Next Season Dr. Goldsmith Is Presented Radio Engineers' Medal for Achievements Dr. Alfred N. Goldsmith, noted radio and sound engineer and consultant, on Friday was presented the 1941 medal of honor for achievements by the Institute of Radio Engineers. The award was made at a dinner in the Hotel Pennsylvania as part of the annual convention. Dr. Goldsmith was cited for "his contribution to radio research, engineering and commercial development, his leadership in standardization, and his unceasing devotion to the establishment and upbuilding of the institute and its proceedings." Frederick E. Terman, president of the Alfred Goldsmith I.R.E., made the presentation. Dr. Goldsmith's latest television invention, a receiver said to be particularly important for theatres, was announced several months ago. Dr. Goldsmith was a consulting engineer for General Electric, director of research for Marconi Wireless Telegraph Co., RCA Photophone vice-president, and vice-president and general engineer for RCA. He has a large number of inventions to his credit in radio, television and sound engineering. Hollywood, Jan. 12. — Leading home office and studio executives of 20th Century-Fox are meeting at the studios this week for a mm general discussion of problems arising out of the consent decree in distribution, production and advertising and exploit a t i o n , with plans in view for the 1941'42 season. P a r t i c i pating in the conferences are Joseph M. Schenck, board chairman ; Sidney R. Kent, president ; Darryl F. Zanuck, vice-president in charge of production ; Herman Wobber, distribution chief ; William Goetz, vicepresident and executive assistant to Zanuck ; Charles E. McCarthy, di (Continued on page 4) S. K. Kent Arbitration Setup Is Due This Month Federal Judge Henry W. Goddard is scheduled to appoint the remaining two members of the national arbitration appeals board under the Federal consent decree before the end of this month, to serve with Van Vechten Veeder, appeals chairman. The national arbitration machinery is expected to start functioning Feb. 3, after completion of the local board setups. Selection of local arbitration panels of 20 to 60 members for the 31 exchange cities will be made by the American Arbitration Association administration committee from eligibles submitted by J. Noble Braden, A. A. A. executive secretary. Braden yesterday completed field trips during which he compiled lists of candidates for clerks of the local boards and selected office space for the boards. The administrative committee is to appoint the clerks, and is expected to approve the leases in the next 10 days.