Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1941)

to the Picture Industry ition MOTION PICTURE DAILY VOL. 49. NO. 20 NEW YORK, U. S. A., WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29, 1941 TEN CENTS Quigley Award Value Is Cited By Bernhard Stresses Importance at Annual Judging By SAM SHAIN "The Quigley Awards will be more important and influential in the future than ever before." That's what Joseph Bernhard, general manager of Warner Bros. Theatres, told a d i s t inguished gathering of showmen from many branches of the industry yesterday, at a luncheon at which he was the chief speaker and which was held at the Hotel Astor, in connection with the judging Joseph Bernhard rf ^ geventh Annual Quigley Grand Awards conducted by the Managers' Round Table Department of Motion Picture Herald. Martin Quigley was toastmaster. Other speakers were R. J. O'Donnell of the Interstate Circuit and A-Mike Vogel. In attendance were industry leaders from every part of the country, including W. G. Van Schmus, managing director of the Radio City Music (Continued on page 3) Edward Small Plans 5 Features for U. A. Hollywood, Jan. 28. — Edward Small announced today plans for five features, to be produced for United Artists release during 1941. Within two weeks, Small will start work on two of the five pictures. The five are "The Corsican Brothers," announced as part of the current season's program ; and "My Official Wife," by Ernest Vajda; "Sabotage;" "She Was a Working Girl," and a fifth, as yet untitled. Awards Pictures Pictures of some of the judges and speakers at the luncheon marking the Quigley Grand Awards selections, at the Hotel Astor yesterday, will be found on page 6. Delay Variety Club Affair to May 15-17 Pittsburgh, Jan. 28.— The Variety Club national convention has been postponed from April 17-19 to May 1517, at the Traymore Hotel in Atlantic City. Jay Emanuel is program chairman, and other committees will be announced soon by national Chief Barker John Harris. 20th-Fox to Make No Sales Changes Because of Decree Twentieth Century-Fox will make no change in either its distribution setup or in personnel for selling operations under the consent decree unless subsequent developments make such changes necessary, Herman Wobber, general sales manager, said yesterday on his return to New York from several weeks of conferences at at the studio on company operations under the decree. "At present," Wobber said, "we see no necessity for making any revision in the sales organization, such as increasing sales districts, or adding to the home office sales staff. Without such changes there is no necessity for putting on additional salesmen. This is our decision at the moment, but if, in three or four months we see the necessity for making such changes, {Continued on page 3) Universal Shows $2,390,722 Profit, Increase of 107% Net profit of $2,390,722 after all charges and provision for Federal taxes was reported by Universal Pictures Co., Inc., yesterday for the 53 weeks ended Nov. 2, 1940, the company's past fist^. cal year. Tin result represents a gain of 107 per cent over the net profit of $1,153,321 for the p r e c e d i ng fiscal year. Universal reported gross income for the year of $27,67 7, $27, compared with $23,878,868 for the preceding year, and representing a four-year gain in gross income of $10,269,373. The company's gross foreign revenue, during its first full year of war time operations, amounted to $10,123,366 last year, compared with $8,987,128 for the preceding year. Of this amount, British revenue accounted for £1,306,187, compared with £859,084 for the 1939 fiscal vear. Universal withdrew $1,300,000 from Britain last year and has $1,524,000 blocked in London, according to the report. J. Cheever Cowdin, chairman of the board, states that while Universal increased its domestic and Canadian (Continued on page 3) N. J. lSliunberg Urge Showmen to Serve As Defense 'Dollar Men Philadelphia, Jan. 28. — More than 200 exhibitors who attended a meeting on industry cooperation with the Government on national defense were urged by Harry Brandt, New York circuit operator and principal speaker at the meeting, to serve as "dollar a year" men on the defense program. Brandt, outlining plans for local participation in the program, said that it was designed not only as an aid for the Government but to retain "control of the screen in industry hands." He predicted that Lowell Millet would be designated by President Roosevelt as Government coordinator for the industry's defense activities, and said that the coordinator, working with exhibitors, would decide questions of policy such as reduced admissions for enlisted men and draftees. All requests for the use of stage or screen for defense activities, when made locally, will be passed upon by the national committee, Brandt said, to relieve the exhibitor of responsibility. "Power for Defense," a patriotic subject for which National Screen Service donated 4,000,000 feet of film, will be distributed by the industry committee. Brandt also extolled Warners' patriotic shorts and said that the company eventually will provide them without charge to exhibitors unable to pay for them. Jay Emanuel, head of the local committee, presided. William Crockett, president of M.P.T.O. of Virginia, who attended, will relay instructions to a convention of his organization in Washington next week. Decree Talks Are Resumed BylLS.,Ascap Conferences Never Ascap Asserts Off, Negotiations for a consent decree are continuing between Ascap and the Department of Justice, an official of the music society said yesterday, adding that the negotiations are not the result of the acceptance by Broadcast Music, Inc., of a consent decree conditioned upon Ascap's submission to similar terms. "Conferences between Ascap attorneys and the Government regarding a consent decree were not 'broken off' last month," the Ascap official said. "Statements to the effect that they had been were in error. Those conferences have been going on continuously. When anything results from them which is regarded as acceptable to the society it will be submitted to the board of directors immediately for action." "This does not represent any change of policy or attitude on Ascap's part," the official continued. "We have always hoped for an early settlement of the differences between the Government and the networks, on the one hand, and ourselves on the other. The acceptance of a consent decree by B.M.I, has not influenced our course in any particular. In fact, we have not even seen that decree." It was stated, however, that Ascap does not regard the B.M.I, decree as having any immediate significance for the music society due to what was (Continued on page 3) Universal, Pathe Lab in 2-Year Deal Universal board of directors at a meeting yesterday approved a twoyear contract for the handling of all of its laboratory work by Pathe Laboratories. The work was formerly handled by Consolidated Film Industries. The change follows the recent refunding by Universal of a matured mortgage of $1,000,000 which, had been held by Consolidated on the Universal studio since 1934. A condition of the old mortgage gave Consolidated the laboratory work. Universal stated that a "substantial" saving in cost will result from the new contract.