Motion Picture Daily (Jul-Sep 1941)

DO NOT REM MOTION PICTURE LY First in 50. NO. 10 NEW YORK, U.S.A., TUESDAY, JULY 15, 1941 TEN CENTS H^irst Sponsor for Television 3rogram Set idam Signs for Boxing Telecast Over NBC The first sizeable television sponbr's contract was signed yesterday kr NBC when Adam Hat Stores, f-hich sponsors prize fights over ie Blue network, agreed to sponjbr telecasting of fights from Ebfets Field, Brooklyn, starting next ' uesday. The contract was a package deal," similar to the one br the radio rights, in which Adam hys for a half-hour regardless of |e length of time it takes to broad^t the entire fight. ( )riginally, Adam was to get the jhts only to the main bout which arts at 10 P.M., but yesterday NBC ided to start telecasting the fights Plan Expansion of Film Cooperation In Army Training Hollywood, July 14. — Major General Charles S. Richardson, Jr., chief public relations officer of the United States Army, today started a series of conferences with industry leaders here on further cooperation of the film business with the armed forces. Arriving here over the weekend, Richardson, with his aide, Lieutenant Colonel W. Mason Wright, Jr., said such problems would be discussed as filming the army maneuvers scheduled for this Autumn, preparation of army subject scripts, and the possibility that a regular army public relations officer will be stationed here to serve as consultant to the Motion Picture Defense Committee and the studios. The Army subjects which are cheduled for production may involve the cooperation of the Tank Corps, the Air Corps and other branches of the service. (Continued on page 8) 6 ittsburgh Club's Banquet Set Nov. 2 PmsBURoii, July 14. — The local ariety Club's 13th annual charity mquet will be held Nov. 2, with arry M. Kalmine general chairman. The tent will sponsor a pre-season •ofessional football game Labor Day, Forbes Field, where the Pittsburgh teelers and Detroit Lions will turn rer net proceeds to Variety chariles. The club's annual golf tournament I ill be held July 21 at South Hills ountry Club, with Art Levy and rchie Fineman as co-chairmen. Levy id Fineman, with Roy Clunk and ivie Wolfe, won the Bert Stern j Ophy recently at the Aurora Couny Club, Cleveland, when they deated that city's Variety Club team, ^fhe C. C. Kellenberg trophy will be ,t stake in a return match July 21 ptween the Cleveland and Pittsburgh ams. ara. Starts Sales Meetings Tomorrow First of a series of 10 district sales leetings scheduled by Paramount will e held here tomorrow and Wednesay, and all will be completed by July 5. it was disclosed yesterday by Neil . Agnew, general sales manager. J. J. Unger, Eastern division manaer, will preside at the New York (Continued on page 8) Grosses on BVay Return to Normal Broadway is back to normal. With holdover films at most theatres, grosses, which had been sky high since Independence Day, dropped to average levels. One exception is "Sergeant York" at the Astor, which is continuing with capacity business. The gross for Saturday and Sunday is estimated at $8,000 and business for the second week, which ends tomorrow night, is (Continued on page 8) SMALL TOWNS SHOW GREATEST INTEREST IN TRADE SHOWINGS Turnout of Theatre Men Reported Varying In Different Centers, With Best Showing By Circuits of More Than 5 Theatres By SAM SHAIN Exhibitors of all classes, in the small keys, are evincing more interest than theatremen in the large cities, in the trade showing of films which was inaugurated yesterday around the country by RKO and M-G-M, two of the five consenting companies, in accordance with the terms of the New v'ork Case Consent Decree. Observers throughout the country 270 Theatres At RKO Show About 45 exhibitors, mostly independent circuit operators or their representatives, representing groups of five or more theatres each, attended RKO's first trade showing of "Parachute Battalion," held yesterday morning in accordance with the terms of the New York Case Consent Decree at the Broadway Theatre. Of exhibitors operating less than five theatres, each, there were only about 12 present. The total number of theatres rep (Continued on page 4) Studios Push Production To Complete Current Films Hollyivood, July 14 PRODUCTION continued this week at a rapid. pace with the companies striving to finish a number of next season's pictures for early selling and other companies getting ready for the new form of competion from completed, trade shown films. _ Paramount announced that five important pictures are now before the cameras and within six weeks another 14 will go into production which will result in "an unprecedented peak which will tax the capacity of the studio." Universal has in work a half dozen high budget films. Columbia hasix major productions shooting or being edited. • e The Hollywocd press took time out from the cares of covering the film production center last week to interview (Continued on page 7) M-G-M Policy Based On Receipts: Richey Old Point Comfort, Va., July 14.— H. M. Richey, exhibitor relations chief for M-G-M, discussed his company's new season selling plans at the midsummer convention of the M.P.T.O. of Virginia here today. He stated that this selling plan was the result of a survey made by M-G-M and that the gross receipts will be the (Continued on page 6) also point out that a comparatively better attendance showing at these screenings was made by circuits which comprise more than five theatres each, than by independent exhibitors operating less than five theatres each. Metro trade showed "Lady Be Good," and RKO offered "Parachute Battalion." Reviews of these films, the first to be trade shown under the new selling policies of the business, will be found on Pages 4 and 6, respectively. Company officials said that they were not pushing sales of new season pictures at this time, that their present activity is centered on the trade shows. As for the number attending and the class of exhibitors present, the New York City, Chicago and Phila(Continued on page 4) Patterson Named to Defense Bond Post Col. Richard C. Patterson, chairman of the RKO board, has been named chairman of the Defense Savings Committee for New York State by Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau, Jr. RKO will lend Col. Patterson to the Treasury Department so that he will be able to devote his entire time to the Defense Bond campaign for the duration of the emergency. Prior to joining RKO, Col. Patterson was Assistant Secretary of Commerce for two years. From 1927 to 1932 he was New York City Commissioner of Correction and for four years thereafter, he was executive vice-president and director of NBC. He served with the Army on the Mexican border in 1916 and spent 13 months with the A. E. F. in France as I captain and major.