Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1942)

Picture Industry MOTION PICTURE DAILY First in and Impartial \1 L. 51. NO. 39 NEW YORK. U.S.A.. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1942 TEN CENTS Free Tickets For Services Are Proposed Exhibitors Oppose Plan For New York Bill Albany, Feb. 25. — Assemblyman 1 red Hammer of Buffalo said here today that his proposed bill providing free admission to service men .to all theatres in the State would wot be introduced until after he had discussed the proposal with theatre owners and other industry 'fficials. Hammer's statement followed the r development of strong opposition t<> .liis suggestion from Buffalo theatre >wners. The opposition, it is reported, appeared in the form of communications to both Hammer and ither members of the Buffalo legisla (Contintted on page 4) [Talk Sales Policy At Republic Meet Discussion of sales and production policy for the fourth quarter of the :urrent season yesterday featured the ■pening session of Republic Pictures' iiuarterly Eastern regional sales meetiing at the New York Athletic Cluh. ■ Tentative plans were also discussed lor the first quarter of the 1942-'43 reason. A program which will include patriotic, action, light comedy and ^musical themes was considered. H. J. Yates and J. R. Grainger, .ompany president, head the group of New York executives attending the meeting. M. J. Siegel, president of {Continued on page 4) ! Labor Peace Seen In Mexico Houses Mexico City, Feb. 25.— The theatre employes' union has closed contracts with 69 exhibitors, and the members have agreed to abstain from any act which would create a labor problem. The contracts call for uniform salaries and working hours in first run and subsequent theatres. The deal is viewed as indicating the union's willingness to cooperate in the Government plan to eliminate labor problems as a wartime measure. Weather Reports Ban Hits Location Plans of Studios Hollywood, Feb. 25. — The ban by the Fourth Interceptor Command on long range weather forecasts last week played havoc with location schedules as fog blowing in from the sea and a storm caused cancellation of outdoor shooting. Hardest hit by the prohibition on weather forecasts are the producers of western pictures, which of necessity must be shot outdoors for the most part. Restrictions have been relaxed somewhat since the first order banning the forecasts, but producers now can only get forecasts on weather conditions which might be caused by inland forces. This is of little aid, however, in view of the great part that air pressure and other conditions at sea play on weather on the Pacific Coastal plain. With war on, the U. S. Weather Bureau service has no "weather ships" on the Pacific reporting atmospheric conditions which, sweeping inward, would change the course of the weather. Nor are regular commercial ships reporting weather conditions on the Pacific due to the war (Continued on page 4) N. J. House Appeals Award on Clearance The Liberty Theatre, Freehold, N. J., yesterday filed notice of appeal at the local arbitration board from the award in its clearance complaint against RKO, Warners and the Walter Reade Asbury Park theatres. The award was made early this month by John K. Watson, arbitrator, and granted partial relief to the complainant. Watson reduced the 12 and 14 days clearance of the Savoy over the Liberty to one day, and the same clearance of the Lyric was reduced to three days over the Liberty. The 14 days clearance of the Mayfair, Paramount and St. James, however, was (Continued on page 4) Max Goosmann Dies; With Snaper Houses Max Goosmann, 53, an executive with the David Snaper circuit of NewJersey, died of a heart attack yesterday morning outside the Sardi Building, 234 West 44th St., where the circuit has its office. Goosmann had been in the industry since 1913, with Snaper the last two years. He had been with various companies, including Paramount, Universal, United Artists and 20th Cen(Continued on page 4) 'Pleasure-as-UsuaV Out for Englishmen London, Feb. 25. — A pleasure-as-usual attitude will not be countenanced by the British Government, Sir Stafford Cripps, new Lord Privy Seal, told the House of Commons today in his first speech as a cabinet member. He called dog racing and boxing not within the "solid and serious intention of this country to achieve victory," and said a move would be made to halt these sports. Academy Oscars to Be Awarded Tonight Hollywood, Feb. 25. — Wendell L. Willkie will be the principal speaker and honor guest at the fourteenth annual Academy Awards dinner at the Biltmore Hotel here tomorrow evening. About 1,300 persons are expected to attend. Walter Wanger, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, will introduce Willkie, and various industry personalities will present the awards in the various classifications. In view of the war situation, the banquet, usually a formal affair with tickets priced at $25 each, this year will be informal, with the tariff reduced to $10. There will be no dancing, which had been a feature of previous banquets. Earlier in the year, the banquet had been entirely abandoned, but subsequently, with the approval of the War Department, it was decided to hold it. Approximately 10,000 studio workers have participated in the voting in the various classifications, the principal ones of which are for the best picture, best actor and actress performances, best supporting performances, best direction and best screen writing. Loew Clerical Staffs Designate CIO Unit By a vote of 324 to 138, clerical employes of Loew's, Inc., and the Marcus Loew Booking Agency at the home office designated the Screen Office & Professional Employes Guild, Local 109, CIO, as collective bargaining agency. The election, ordered by the NLRB, was conducted under the supervision of William O'Laughlin. field examiner. A similar vote among clerical employes at Columbia also was held yesterday but the ballots were not tabu (Continued on page 4) L.A. Grosses Off Following 'Raid' Alarm Public Remaining Home; Studios Unaffected Hollywood, Feb. 25. — While production was unaffected today following what was believed an attempted air raid on Los Angeles early this morning, theatre business experienced a drop tonight with the public staying close to their homes. [In Washington, Secretary of the Navy Knox said it was "just a false alarm."] Exhibitors generally feared that adverse effects at the boxoffice might continue and are speculating on what continued blackouts and alerts might bring for night business. One of the possible results talked about is a shift of the bulk of patronage from the downtown first-runs to neighborhood theatres. With no physical damage done, Hollywood was composed today. The (Continued on page 4) Umpi Discussion on Sales Plan Continues Exhibitor and distributor groups on the trade practice subcommittee of the United Motion Picture Industry were reportedly far from agreement on a new sales plan to replace the decree's blocks-of-five method as meetings of the subcommittee were resumed yesterday at the Warwick Hotel after an interval of five days. Spokesmen for the group declined to comment on the status of the discussions at the end of the day. Meanwhile, reports persisted that exhibitors were becoming impatient over the delays in agreement upon basic provisions of a new sales system. The meetings will continue today. RCAF 'Clouds' Trip Question Dropped Ottawa, Feb. 25. — A question in the Canadian Parliament as to the expenses of sending a RCAF unit and Canadian officials to New York for the premiere of Warners' "Captains of the Clouds" was dropped after brief comment by Air Minister Power. " Power said certain members of the air force and a band were permitted to visit New York to assist in cere (Continued on page 4)