Motion Picture Daily (Jul-Sep 1941)

2 Motion Picture Daily Monday, July 14, 1 Coast Gives $212,398 To Service Campaign National United Service Organizations headquarters has revealed that the motion pictures division, Los Angeles branch, so far has raised $212,398 for the Fund. The quota is $387,000. William Wellman and Edward Arnold head the Los Angeles campaign. English Circuit Has Increase in Profit London, July 13. — Union Cinemas Circuit, subsidiary of Associated British Theatres, and included in the pending deal for Warner purchase of a substantial interest in the ABP circuit, has reported an increase in profit over last year, despite war conditions. The company has reported profit of £284,114 (approximately $1,136,456), an increase over the previous year of £89,000 (approximately $356,000). The increase in profit was claimed to be due in part to improved business conditions in certain areas, presumably those sections which are serving as reception centers for evacuees from the London and other city areas most heavily subject to enemy air attack. Defense Information Post to Col. Donovan Washington, July 13. — Col. William J. Donovan has been named by President Roosevelt to head a new agency as Coordinator of Defense Information. Donovan, who has been serving as a special agent for Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox, will assemble data on national security from the various departments to supplement but not supersede the work of the Army and Navy Intelligence Service, FBI and other agencies. Donovan is a member of the law firm of Donovan, Leisure, Newton & Lumbard, of counsel to RKO. Personal Mention WILLIAM A. SCULLY, general sales manager of Universal, flew to the Coast from Atlanta. William J. Heineman, assistant general sales manager, left here by plane yesterday and is scheduled to arrive on the Coast today. • Bud Saunders of American Airlines and Mrs. Saunders are the parents of a girl. Bud is the son of E. M. Saunders, M-G-M Western sales manager. • Randy Rogers, secretary to Jesse Lasky, has left for the Coast. • Glenn Ireton, Warner publicity representative in Toronto, returned to his post over the weekend after a visit here. • William Danziger of the M-G-M home office advertising department and Isabelle Stuart were married Saturday. R. J. O'DONNELL is in town from Dallas. William Raynor, Producers Releasing studio advertising and publicity director, is due here from Hollywood tomorrow. e Terry Ramsaye is vacationing at Nantucket, Mass. • Hank Linet of the Universal publicity department left over the weekend to spend a week in Maine. • Charles Lazarus, formerly chief booker for M-G-M in New Haven, recently promoted to the same post at Boston, was given a farewell dinner Friday night at the Baybrook Inn, New Haven, by the Metro Pep Club. • Lawrence Golob, Warner home office publicist, is in Washington on business. Machinists Again Out in Disney Strike Hollywood, July 13.— Following reversal of its decision to return to the Disney studio despite the cartoonists' strike, the AFL machinists' union late last week caused another suspension of Technicolor work at the studio. To Show 5 New Films At Warner Meeting Five new Warner pictures are to be shown at the company's annual sales convention at the Blackstone Hotel in Chicago, July 28Aug. 1. They are: "Sergeant York," "Navy Blues," "The Flight Patrol," "The Prime Minister" and "Dive Bomber." Odeon Claims 100 Houses In Canada Race with FPC CBSTelevisio Color Show Start Thursda Royal Leaves Today For South America John F. Royal, NBC vice-president in charge of international relations, will leave today for a 20,000-mile tour of Latin America to discuss with broadcasting executives plans for the NBC Pan-American network, exchange of programs and technical details. Royal will also discuss unofficially with station managers NBC cooperation with mutual defense plans for the Americas. Edward Tomlinson, writer and commentator, will join Royal on the trip in August. SPG Will Ask for Immediate Parleys It is the intention of the Screen Publicists Guild, according to a statement which it has released, to ask for immediate negotiations with the eight principal film companies on behalf of home office publicity department employes as soon as the National Labor Relations Board announces the results of elections which were held last week. Tabulation of the vote, as previously disclosed, will take place Thursday at the NLRB regional offices here. The SPG is seeking to be named the collective bargaining agent. (Continued from page 1) plained in a declaration that many of the units have been obtained by purchase, lease or partnership deals, but the date on which they can be announced must be withheld for the time being because the transactions will not be effective until Aug. 1 or Sept. 1. At the time of the release of the annual financial statement of Famous Players for 1940, last May, announcement was made that the Paramountcontrolled circuit had 302 theatres in the Dominion. These are wholly owned, owned through subsidiaries or operated in partnership. Since that time J. J. Fitzgibbons, president, has announced the acquisition of six more theatres, through purchase or long lease, thus bringing the F-P list to 308, to which can now also be added three units recently opened after construction. This represents a present total of 311 theatres for Famous Players, the additions of the past two months being theatres in Chatham, Hamilton, Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver. Odeon Houses in Ontario Theatres in Ontario which have been announced as Odeon units or for which there are definite indications of Odeon affiliation include the following: Toronto — Midtown, Mayfair, Aster, Esquire, Grant, Classic, Radio City ; Hamilton — Windsor, Royal, York, Delta, Queen's, Empire ; Ottawa — Avalon, Roxy, Nola and possibly Centre ; London, Ont, Rex ; St. Catharines, Lincoln ; Gait, Palace ; Brantford, Esquire ; Belleville, McCarthy ; Lindsay, Academy ; Timmins, Broad way ; Brampton, Capitol ; Midland, Capitol ; Wallaceburg, Alexander ; Woodstock, Princess ; Oshawa, Biltmore, and the Allevato in Rouyn, Que. Elsewhere in Canada, Odeon has three theatres in Winnipeg, the Garrick, Beacon and Rialto ; Tivoli in Saskatoon ; Rialto, Edmonton ; Olympia, Fraser, Dunbar, Paradise, Lux and Vogue in Vancouver; the Rialto at Trail, B. C. ; Fox and Metro at New Westminster, B. C. In the Maritime Provinces are : Casino at Halifax ; Strand at Sydney, and the Empress and Capitol at Moncton. The Capitol at St. John's, Newfoundland, has also been acquired by Odeon, it is stated. 50 Definitely Listed This makes approximately 50 theatres for the Odeon fold — that is, the named theatres which have been linked with the new circuit. Negotiations for many others have been completed or are in the final stages, but the names have not been divulged through any channel because they will not be actually taken over until present leases or agreements expire. There are many rumors of deals, but these cannot be confirmed. For instance, there has been a great deal of smoke regarding the big Uptown Theatre, Toronto, which is owned by Loew's and leased by Famous Players until Sept. 1. Famous Players officials won't talk and neither will Odeon executives, but the latter do not deny statements that the Uptown will change hands because of a close link between N. L. Nathanson and Loew's for M-G-M distribution in Canada. Color television will take to tj air this week for its initial pr[ gram venture, when CBS broij casts its first show in the m^B on Thursday. Regular black-al white telecasts will continue, h the color programs will go on t air at frequent intervals after t others are concluded. While both CBS and NBC have had color on the air, this marks the first effort to give it to the public as part of a program service. The FCC, in granting commercial television, urged licensees to continue with color experiments, so that data; may be accumulated for a possible revision of standards i January. Few sets here are equipped to ceive even the CBS black and wh signal although the process of adju ing them has begun, and only sets the hands of engineers can recei color. The first program will be L dances, telecast Thursdays 8:30-9: P.M. Immediately following the coi pletion of the program in black a white, it will be done in color. B cause some of the lights interfere wi good color transmission, less lightii and, consequently, less studio spa wdl be used. It has been disclosed that Dr. Pet C. Goldmark, CBS chief television e gineer who developed the three cok scanning system, has invented a sma pinwheel disk about the size of a sma ashtray mounted on a handle. It possible to look through this rotatir disk at an ordinary black and whi receiver and see the image in colo provided that color transmission being used. To Make 2 for PRC Hollywood, July 13. — Merric Alexander will produce two picture for Producers Releasing Corp. Th first, still untitled, is in work, and tf second will be "Professional Bride MOTION PICTURE DAIXY (Registered V. S. Patent Office) Published daily except Saturday, Sunday at hoi 1 day s by ^ Quigley Publishing Corapan Inc., 1270 Sixth Avenue, Rockefeller Cente New York City. Telephone Circle 7-310 Lable address, "Quigpubco, New York." Ma tin Quigley, Editor-in-Chief and Publishei Colvin Brown, Vice-President and Gener Manager; Watterson R. Rothacker, Vic President; Sam Shain, Editor; Alfred 1 Jnnestone, Managing Editor; James l *£?"c u6™'?1'?? Manager; Chicago Burea 624 South Michigan Avenue, C. B. O'Nei) Manager; Hollywood Bureau, Postal Unic Life Building, William R. Weaver, Editoi Leon Friedman, Manager; London Bureai 4 L>olden Square, London Wl; Hope Wi hams, Manager, cable address "Ouigpubo ■ London. All contents copyrighted 1941 t Uuigley Publishing Company, Inc. Oth< Uuigley publications: Motion Picture Herali iietter Theatres, International Motion Pii ture Almanac and Fame. Entered as secon class matter, Sept. 23, 1938, at the m office at New York, N. Y., under the act c March 3, 1879. Subscription rates per yea ?6 in the Americas and $12 foreign. Sine! copies 10c.