Motion Picture Daily (Apr-Jun 1941)

Alert. tnteWgei >80JQ to the^I gtion Picture MOTION PICTURE DAILY First in /d«J1a \ fil (Radio )N Accural and Impartial 49. NO. 95 NEW YORK, U. S. A., THURSDAY, MAY 15, 1941 TEN CENTS U. A. English First Quarter Gross Up 25% In Excess of $9,000,000 Seen for Year By SHERWIN A. KANE United Artists' gross business in Great Britain for the first quarter of this year exceeded by 25 per cent the previous high for the company in a corresponding quarter, George Archibald, joint managing director for the company in Britain, reported yesterday. [According to last reports, this would put U.A. business in excess of $9,000,000 for the year.] The United Artists official reported that theatre attendance outside of the cities which have been bombed repeatedly continues to be very good. With Britain's two-hour daylight sav (Contimied on page 5) Fly Is Gagged at NAB Convention By AL WEISMAN St. Louis, May 14. — James Lawrence Fly, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, was prevented from answering charges of "breach of faith" against the Commission in connection with its monopoly report which were made by Mark Ethridge before assembled delegates today at the NAB Convention at the Chase Hotel. The impression of delegates had been that Fly would be given an opportunity to reply to Ethridge, but following Ethridge's talk, Neville Miller, (Continued on page 8) Theatre Wins 'Some Run' from 20th-Fox Buffalo, May 14. — Twentieth Century-Fox was directed to offer "some run" of its 1940-'41 product to Richard De Toto, operator of the Genesee Theatre, Mt. Morris, N. Y., in an arbitration decision handed down here by Waldon D. Smith, arbitrator. De Toto's complaint was the first filed with the local board, having been made on March 1. Warners also was named in the complaint but subse (Continued on pane 5) Exhibitors Get Play Tickets from Col. All out-of-town exhibitors visiting New York will be given tickets to "Pal Joey" and "My Sister Eileen," the two stage plays recently purchased by Columbia for the screen, by contacting the home office sales department, the company announced yesterday. The two productions will be on Columbia's new season schedule and the company wants exhibitors to get an advance idea of their entertainment qualities, it was said. 'Hey Rube!' Variety Clubs Meet in A. C. By SAM SHAIN Atlantic City, May 14. — This city takes the spotlight today as early arrivals began to arrive for the threeday annual convention of the National Variety Club, opening tomorrow at the Hotel Traymore. Highlight of tomorrow's opening session will be an exhibitor-producer forum, with producer representatives answering questions of exhibitors. Approximately 1,300 delegates are expected from the Naitonal Variety Club's numerous tents over the country, as well as industry executives from the home offices and a group of players from Hollywood. Fishing parties in the early afternoon and a boxing and wrestling show in the evening are scheduled also for tomorrow. On Friday, most of the day will be devoted to a business session of the Variety Clubs of America in the Grand Ballroom of the Traymore. The various local clubs will report to the convention on their charitable activities for the past year and plans (Continued on pane 5) Sufficient Program Material Seen for Theatre Television Dan Halpin, who is handling theatre television for RCA Manufacturing Co., believes that, contrary opinions notwithstanding, there will be sufficient program material for the medium here. Halpin bases this opinion on a study made by RCA of about 40 possible program sources in the New York metropolitan area. These include, among others, Metropolitan Opera House, Madison Square Garden, Grand Central Palace, Gay Blades Ice Rink, St. Nicholas Arena, C.C.N.Y., Columbia University, Polo Grounds, Yankee Stadium, N.Y.U., Baker Field, Fordham University, Empire Race Track, Westchester County Center, Westchester Tennis Club, New York Coliseum, Randall's Island Stadium, Astoria Pool, LaGuardia Airt^rt, Madison Square Garden Bowl, Jackson Heights Tennis Club, Fort Hamilton, Ebbets Field, (Continued on page 8) Lipton Scoop Ties in Hess Flight with Film David Lipton, director of advertising and publicity for Columbia, scored a distinct scoop yesterday, according to general industry opinion, with a two-page trade advertisement in Motion Picture Daily, tying in the sensational flight of Rudolf Hess, Nazi leader, to England, with the Columbia picture, "The Voice in the Night." The film, an English production concerning the activities of the operators of secret radios broadcasting to the German people, features Clive Brook and Diana Wynyard. The theme of Lipton's advertisement is the linking of Hess with that activity, and the ad features reproductions of the Hess exploit headlines from the New York newspapers of Tuesday. Minn. Attorney General Is Leaving Anti-Five Enforcement to Counties Minneapolis, May 14. — Attorney General J. A. A Burnquist of Minnesota is leaving enforcement of the state's new anti-blocksof-five law to the county prosecuting attorneys, his office said today. The Attorney General, it was said, has made no ruling whatever on whether the film companies will or will not be permitted to sell pending determination of the law's validity. Thus far none of the county attorneys has said or done anything about the law. It appeared likely that there would be no need for enforcement. All major exchanges have halted the sale of pictures until the status of the law is cleared up. There were reports that any violations, should they occur, would be deprecated by authorities, but they naturally would not say, privately or otherwise, that they intended not to enforce a state law. Fitzgibbons Is Named Head of F. P. Canadian Nathanson Will Direct New Dominion Circuit Toronto, May 14. — J. J. Fitzgibbons was elected president and managing director of Famous Players Canadian Corp. following the resignation of N. L. Nathanson at the annual meeting of the company's stockholders here today. [The action confirms Motion Picture Daily's story of yesterday.] Nathanson will head General Theatres Corp. of Canada, a new circuit said to comprise 75 theatres, which will have its headquarters in the Royal Bank Bldg. here, directly above the two floors occupied by FPC. Resigning with Nathanson were Thomas J. Bragg, FPC secretarytreasurer for many years, and Clarence Robson, division manager of theatres, who has been associated with Nathanson for 21 years. They were replaced by R. W. Bolstad, who was elected a director, vice-president and treasurer, and Noel G. Barrow, who was elected a director and secretary. Morris Stein, district manager of theatres in Central and Eastern On (Continued on page 5) Col. Meet to Follow Executives' Session Columbia's executive sales meeting in Chicago, June 7 and 8, will be followed by a national sales convention later, the company announced yesterday. The Chicago meeting, which will be attended only by home office executives, division and branch managers, will discuss production and sales plans for the new selling season, and also (Continued on page 5) In Today's Issue Three reviews : i "Love Crazy" (from Hollywood), Page 5; "Redhead" (from Hollywood). "The Great Swindle," Page 6. Key city grosses, Page 6. Senator Wheeler indicates approval of broadcasting probe, Page 8.