Motion Picture Daily (Oct-Dec 1944)

8 MOTION PICTURE DAILY Wednesday, December 27, 1944 Booth Plans Unaffected by Nazi Offensive (Continued from page 1) Allen G. Smith, chief of the theatre equipment division. The WPB, however, will not ask the Armj^ and Navy to release for theatre distribution any of their fourth quarter allocations which they did not take, largely because it will now be necessary to ask for some of the equipment to fill increased export requirements. The preferred position which the booth equipment program occupies is due to the fact that the manufacturers have so far been able to produce for theatres, without any interference with war orders, a requisite for the production of civilian goods, and the satisfactory inventories which have been built up in anticipation of possible emergency military demands. Practically all other civilian programs for the coming quarter, however, will be held down to fourthquarter levels so that all possible energies can be devoted to meeting General Eisenhower's needs for equipment to replace that lost, destroyed or worn out in recent battles. Reconversion plans, which a few months ago were the major subject of conversation in Washington, have all been tied up in a neat bundle and put on a high shelf, and there will be no further talk of the revival of a peacetime economy until Germany is not only apparently, but very definitely defeated. Holiday Grosses Soar to New Highs on Broadway (Continued from page 1) minutes and the theatre is opening its doors at eight a.m. this week. The Music Hall has the earliest opening, at 7 :45 a.m. for the week. The Strand expects to set an alltime Christmas week gross with "Hollywood Canteen" and a stage bill featuring Lionel Hampton and his band. Receipts for the first four days of a second week were over $37,000, and $63,000 is expected for the week, which will about equal the big initial week's gross. "Music for Millions" and a stage presentation with Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra is helping the Capitol to a big $75,000 for the week. "Meet Me in St. Louis" had a big fourth week at the Astor, with $34,000 recorded. "To Have and Have Not" is holding up well at the Hollywood, with $21,000 expected for an 11th week. Elsewhere along Broadway business is quiet but generally satisfactory. "And Now Tomorrow" and a stage show concluded a fifth and final week at the Paramount last night with a §55,000 gross ; "Here Come the Waves" and a stage show featuring Woody Herman and his band will open there this morning. "Frenchman's Creek" will conclude a 14-week stay at the Rivoli tonight, with $21,000 expected for the final eight days ; "The Keys of the Kingdom" will open at the Rivoli Friday morning. The final five' days of a second week of "The Climax" brought the Criterion a modest $16,000 and "Can't Help Singing" opened big on Christmas Day with indications of a record first week at that house. Disappointing were "Three Is a Family," at the Gotham, and "Lake Placid Serenade," at the Republic. A poor §8,000 is expected for the first week of "Three Is a Family," and an equally poor $5,000 is expected for "Lake Placid Serenade." "Tall in the Saddle" is holding up well at the Palace, with $20,000 expected for its second and final week ; "Experiment Perilous" will open there Friday. Floyd Odium Enters Television Abroad (Continued from page 1) following points : Martinique, French Guiana, Guadaloupe, French territories in India, Madagascar and la Reunion, New Caledonia, Oceanic Settlements, Clipperton Island and St. Pierre et Miquelon. Charles Michelson of Paris, who has been identified with these projects since 1936, will remain active. Ray Fisher Wounded Hartford, Dec. 26. — Pvt. Ray Fisher, formerly assistant manager at Warner's Regal here, was wounded in action in Luxembourg, Oct. 15. He is recuperating in England. FWC Buys Theatre Hollywood, Dec. 26. — Fox West Coast Theatres has bought the 1,100seat Fox Fullerton Theatre in California for a reported $250,000. U.S. to Drop Bioff Tax Evasion Suit (Continued from page 1) preceded his conviction and imprisonment for conspiracy to extort funds from film companies, was based on an alleged $86,000 discrepancy in his 1937 tax returns. Bioff, along with George E. Browne, former IATSE president, was released from jail last Friday by order of Federal Judge John C. Knox in U. S. District Court in New York, as a "reward" for his cooperation in convicting the "Chicago Mob," which preyed upon the industry between 1935 and 1939. Press dispatches from Chicago tonight reported that Bioff would join the Merchant Marine. Ginsberg Reports $13,945,000 Buy Hollywood, Dec. 26. — -Henry Ginsberg, chairman of the Hollywood War Finance Committee, disclosed here today that the semi-final total of Sixth War Loan bond purchases by individuals in studios, guilds and unions, was $13,945,000, with the campaign to continue through Dec. 31. M-G-M Bond Purchases For the third consecutive bond drive, M-G-M's field employees have each purchased an extra war bond for a 100 per cent representation. Pitkin's Million Sale Loew's Pitkin Theatre, Brooklyn, has sold $1^025,675 in 'E' bonds duringthe Sixth War Loan Drive. Prelude to hilarious fun with sensational Vera Hruba Ralston and comedy team, Walter Catlett, Vera Vague v/Uliam Frawley, is this climactic moment in Republic's musicalirolic^LAKE PLACID SERENADE.* ADYT.