Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1945)

Monday, January 15, 1945 Motion Picture Daily 3 Brunet in Some Run, Clearance Charge R. J. Brunet, operating the Imperial Theatre, New Orleans, has filed a combination some-run, clearance complaint in the New Orleans tribunal against 20th-Fox, the American Arbitration Association reported here at the weekend. Complainant charges that the defendant has refused to license pictures for his theatres except on terms and conditions calculated to defeat Section 6 of the consent decree. Further, complainant alleges, those pictures which are licensed to him have an unreasonable clearance imposed: 15 days after the Bell Theatres, and 75 days after the Arcade and Rivoli, all New Orleans. Relief sought by complainant includes licensing of product in accordance with Section 6 and reduction in clearance in favor of the Arcade and Rivoli over the Bell to a period not to exceed 15 days so that complainant may play fourth run granted by 20thFox not more than 30 days after the Arcade and Rivoli. The Arcade and Rivoli are operated by United Theatres, the Bell by Mortimore and Shiell. NABET Complains to NLRB on Petrillo The regional office of the National Labor Relations Board at the weekend was studying a complaint from the National Association of Broadcast Engineers and Technicians that two networks have refused to recognize the NABET as bargaining agent. Refusal of such recognition by National Broadcasting and the Blue Network was blamed by the labor group on 'strike threats' made by James C. Petrillo, president of the American Federation of Musicians. Petrillo, it is alleged, refused to recognize the jurisdiction of the NLRB when, on Nov. 24, it certified NABET as bargaining agency. Near Agreement on Newsreel Contract Agreement is expected to be reached here this week between the newsreel companies and representatives of IATSE newsreel cameramen's Local No. 644, in New York, and Local 666, Chicago, on a new contract which has been in negotiation for several months. Representatives have been meeting with Pat Casey, producers' labor contact, this week to iron out two stumbling blocks which are the IATSE's demand for severance pay and the newsreel companies' insistence upon making provision for 20 per cent of their camera staffs being apprentices. 45 WAC-OWI Films Made In 1944, Flinn Reports SO Consuls to Attend PRC 'Lights9 Preview Hollywood, Jan. 14. — More than 30 consuls of the United Nations will attend Tuesday's preview here of PRC's "When the Lights Go On Again." Governors Robert O. Blood, New Hampshire; J. Melville Broughton, North Carolina, and Henry F. Schriker, Indiana, have designated "When the Lights Go On Again" week to commence on V-E Day. Hollywood produced 45 films as its contribution to the War Activities Committee-Office of War Information film program for 1944, involving 12 studios, 24 producers, 13 directors, 30 writers and 57 players, the WAC reported at the weekend. The figures are revealed in the annual report of the Hollywood division of War Activities issued by John C. Flinn, co-ordinator, for Mary C. McCall, Jr., chairman. The report will be officially presented to Francis S. Harmon, executive vice-chairman of WAC, at the annual luncheon meeting to be held today at Perino's restaurant, Hollywood. At this meeting, the Hollywood WAC committee for 1944 will turn over its duties to the 1945 group headed by John Cromwell, chairman ; Edward J. Mannix, vice-chairman, and Tom W. Baily, co-ordinator. The new general committee includes : Bert Allenberg, Fred W. Beetson, Harry Brand, Trem Carr, Y. Frank Freeman, Emmet Lavery, George Murphy, Kenneth Thomson and Walter Wanger. Flinn remains on the executive board. Following the installation, talks will be made by Taylor M. Mills, chief of the domestic motion picture bureau of the OWI ; Ted R. Gamble, national director of the War Finance Division of the Treasury, and Harmon. Plans for 1945 will be discussed and a program of subjects outlined. In his report, Flinn paid tributes to "the invaluable and ever-enthusiastic assistance of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Artists' Managers Guild, Association of Motion Picture Producers, California Theatre Council, Independent Motion Picture Producers Association, Hollywood Victory Committee, Hollywood Writers Mobilization, Public Information Committee, Screen Actors Guild, Screen Directors Guild, Screen Writers Guild and the Society of Independent Motion Picture Producers, and to Stanton Griffis, former chief of the OWI Bureau of Motion Pictures ; his successor, Taylor M. Mills ; George J. Schaefer, chairman, Herman Gluckman, treasurer and Harmon, executive vice-chairman of the WAC. The films produced as a voluntary war effort and requested by various Governmental agencies varied from 50 to 2,000 feet and were made for the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Treasury Department, Red Cross, National War Fund, Women's Army Corps and others, the report said. Columbia, Lester Cowan, Walt Disney, M-G-M, Paramount, RKO-Radio, Republic, David O. Selznick, 20th Century Fox, Universal, Walter Wanger and Warner Bros, produced them. The subjects were released through the distributors' division of WAC to the 16,000 members of the theatre division. Rules Out Evidence on Real Estate Losses Chicago, Jan. 14.: — The defense scored in the Thomas Murray $1,000,000 damage suit in Federal Court here Friday when Judge William Holly ruled out as evidence exhibits purporting to show the loss of the plaintiff's theater building due to his inability to secure a choice of product. The judge stated that the plaintiff is entitled to recover loss sustained in his Thalia theatre due to alleged conspiracy on the part of the distributors and circuits. See George Glass Slated for UA Post It was widely reported in the trade at the weekend that George Glass, who will arrive in New York today from California, is slated to be appointed to the United Artists advertising-publicity department. Efforts to reach Carl Leserman, UA general sales manager for comment were unsuccessful. Glass, a former publicity man for Samuel Goldwyn, has represented Andrew Stone and other United Artists producers on the West Coast. Pollack Receives Gift Associates of Lou Pollack presented him with a gold pen and pencil set on his leaving the United Artists advertising-publicity directorship on Friday. Monogram Sets Deals The Varbalow circuit, operating 22 theatres in New Jersey, and Alpine Theatres, comprising five houses in West Virginia, have bought Monogram's 1944-45 program. Paramount to Have 29, Freeman Says (.Continued from page 1) backlog of completed pictures has been reduced and may be further reduced during 1945, indicating that releases for the current season may exceed in numbers the new production schedule. Data on the present and prospective backlog are being prepared by Freeman and may be made public today. Freeman views the impending industry raw stock cut as potentially the most serious wartime problem to confront the industry to date. While asserting that its full effects could not be anticipated at this juncture, and that the problems it entailed would have to be met as they arose, Freeman said it was entirely possible that the proposed raw stock reduction could dislocate production schedules. Freeman will remain in New York until the end of this week. Mary Piekford Starts 2nd Annual Tour1 For March of Dimes Universal Officials in Coast Product Talks Hollywood, Jan. 14. — William A. Scully, Universal vice-president and general sales manager, and Joseph H. Seidelman, president of Universal International, will arrive here from New York tomorrow to confer with president Nate Blumberg and with Cliff Work, vice-president and general manager in charge of production, on the company's preliminary program for next season. John Joseph, director of advertising, publicity and exploitation, and Maurice A. Bergman, Eastern advertising-publicity manager, will take part in the discussions. Seidelman will be on the Coast three weeks and will then visit Mexico. Mary Piekford arrived in New York Saturday from the Coast to make her second annual tour in behalf of the March of Dimes drive, which opens officially today and runs through Jan. 31. The industry's drive in theatres will start Jan. 25. Miss Piekford, chairman of the national women's division of the National Infantile Paralysis Foundation, will be in Hartford, tomorrow to address workers and to open the "Mile of Dimes" in the city. From there she will go to New Haven and Bridgeport, returning to New York on Wednesday for a luncheon-meeting of the Federation of Jewish Women's Organizations at the Hotel Astor. Other stops scheduled include Washington, Thursday ; Richmond, Fridav; Cincinnati, Saturday; Minneapolis and St. Paul, Jan. 22; Des Moines, Jan. 23; Toledo, Jan. 25; Syracuse, Jan. 26, and Philadelphia, Jan. 27. Miss Piekford will broadcast from the White House with Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt, Margaret O'Brien and Helen Gahagan Douglas on Jan. 18. 'Dimes' Publicity Meet Here Tomorrow An industry publicity committee meeting of The March of Dimes will be held at War Activities headquarters tomorrow, with Harry Mandel, New York Metropolitan area public relations chairman, and Edward C. Dowden, New York City publicity chairman, officiating. Plans for the campaign will be discussed. To Entertain for 'Dimes' Jack Benny, Bob Hope, Margaret O'Brien, Ed Wynn, Joan Edwards, Jose Iturbi and others will participate in a benefit performance for March of Dimes campaign at Carnegie Hall here, Saturday evening, Jan. 20. French Production Halted at Weekend Paris, Jan. 14. — Jean Painleve, film division director of the French Ministry of Information, announced late last week that production would be forced to shut down completely at the weekend because American camouflage units suddenly had requisitioned the few remaining stocks of plywood, glue and plaster necessary for sets. At the same time theatre operators revealed that the government had imposed a new 18 per cent tax on gross receipts. Following a meeting, the operators issued a joint announcement, declaring all theatres in Paris would close beginning Saturday unless " the tax were lowered or they were permitted to boost ticket prices, which at present are frozen. Seiden Reopens Studios Joseph Seiden has reopened his Cinema Studios in Palisade, N. J., for theatrical work, after temporary suspension, during which he engaged in the manufacture of recording equipment for the Air Force. The studio is currently being rented by the March of Time.