Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1945)

Monday, March 5, 1945 Motion Picture Daily 7 Blue's Video Plans Outlined by Smith Policies of the Blue Network in television, programming, public service and promotion were outlined by Fred Smith, vice-president in charge of advertising, publicity and promotion, at a luncheon for press representatives at the Hotel Waldorf Asria here Friday. Representatives of patten, Barton, Durstine and Osborn were also present, with Smith announcing that the advertising agency has been engaged to handle the Blue's advertising, replacing Geyer, Cornell and Newell, who recently resigned. Smith pointed out that the Blue will soon be operating on borrowed television facilities in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, becoming the first company to have the semblance of a network. He reiterated that the Blue has made no commitments for any television equipment but is providing its staffs with an opportunity to learn about all present types of equipment on the market. As a new network, the Blue has no fixed policies regarding the film industry or new business, Smith emphasized. India, China Need Pictures: Newbery "American films have been the backbone of all entertainment in India and China since the outbreak of the war. and have contributed to the welfare of hundreds of thousands of tioops and war workers ; and the results of this exploitation of the American way of life will be shown in the post-war period, when we confidently expect a tremendous boom in our films and rentals, even though they are high now." Charles Newbery". 20th Century-Fox managing director for India and supervisor of Free China, told the trade press in an interview Friday at the company's home offices. Newbery. an Australian, has been in New York with his wife and child and is waiting for passage back to his Bombay headquarters. He said that India has some 1,500 theatres. Of these, about 380 played American films before the war ; 550 show them Hays Marks 23rd Year with MPPDA (Continued from page 1) W. Hammons, the late Marcus Loew, the late Carl Laemmle, the late Lewis J. Selznick, Winfield R. Sheehan. Courtland Smith, the late J. D. Wiliams and Adolph Zukor. $34,212 for 'Dimes* Cincinnati, March 4. — A total of $34,212 was collected by Hamilton County theatres in the March of Dimes drive, it was announced by Arthur Frudenfeld, RKO divisional manager and local drive chairman. Of this amount, $22,594 was collected by RKO theatres, and the balance by independent houses. Darcy Joins NBC Video Don Darcy, stage manager and actor, has been added to the production staff of NBC's television department here. Darcy has made several films in addition to his theatre activities. Reviews 93 "Earl Carroll Vanities {Republic) AUDIENCES anticipating a lavish musical extravaganza or a cinematic tribute to one of America's well-known glorifiers of feminine pulchritude in Republic's "Earl Carroll Yanities," are going to be disappointed. This is an appealing, tuneful and diverting musical, starring Dennis O'Keefe, Constance Moore, and featuring Eve Arden, Otto Kruger, Alan Mowbray. Stephanie Bachelor and Woody Herman and his orchestra. It is not a revue of either past or present Earl Carroll glories. It is built around a simply told story with a musical-comedy background and deals with the experiences of a lovely princess of one of those obscure mythical kingdoms who breaks into show business while her family is floating a loan among American bankers to save their country. Joseph Santley directed ; Albert C. Cohen produced. The pace is leisurely and the music, composed by Walter Kent and Kim Gannon and others, for Miss Moore to sing, provides some of the most entertaining moments in this 91 minutes of footage. Miss Moore is the Princess Drina with more of a "yen" for "boogie-woogie" than for the state affairs of Turania. Alan Mowbray as the Grand Duke Paul is similarly interested in enjoying life and champagne. Through Miss Arden, proprietress of a night club, they both secretly take a fling at New York night life while the Queen is arranging a loan for their country. Also through Miss Arden, they meet O'Keefe. a promising young producer who is seeking to interest Earl Carroll, played by Kruger, in his show. Miss Moore becomes entangled in his affairs and. after many complications, the way is finally cleared for their romance. Among the songs are "I've Been So Good for So Long." "Endlessly" and "Last Man in Town." "Rock-a-Bye-Boogie" provides the background for a spirited production sequence. Herman and his musical aggregation should prove a big box office click in this film ; they have plenty to do. Frank Gill. Jr., did the screenplay, from an original by Cortland Fitzsimmons. Others in the cast include Pinky Lee. Parkyakarkus. Leon Belasco. Beverly Lord and Edward Gargan. Running time, 91 minutes. General classification. No release date set MlLTOX LlVIXGSTOX I Love a Mystery (Columbia) Hollywood, March 4 CARLTON E. MORSE'S radio show has been successfully translated to the screen by producer Wallace MacDonald. The first of what is planned by the studio as a series of mystery-dramas is subtitled "The Decapitation of Jefferson Monk," and the tale is as sinister as the title. Jim Bannon takes the part of the detective, Jack Packard, and Barton Yarborough that of his friend, Doc Long. A wealthy young man, ably depicted by George Macready, appeals to the pair for help. He is being persecuted — so he believes — by members of an Oriental secret society who want, of all things, his head. Having foretold the date and hour of his death, the Orientals are bargaining with him for possession of his head, subsequent to his demise. As the two detectives discover in the course of Charles O'Neal's screenplay, none of this far-fetched tale is founded in fact. It is all part of a plot devised by his wife to drive the man to suicide, in order that she and her accomplices may inherit his fortune. Her plans miscarry: instead of driving him to kill himself she drives him to kill two of her associates. She herself is exposed and brought to justice. Her husband, by a freak of fate, is decapitated in an auto accident, and his head is never found. Henry Levin's direction, and fine performances by the cast combine to make this topnotch filler fare. Running time. 68 minutes. General classification. Thalia Bell 'Weapon of War' Ready 'Weapon of War," the Army Pictorial Service's cartoon on Nazi divide-and-conquer propaganda methods, will soon be released in Boston, NewHaven and Philadelphia areas, the War Activities Committee, announces. The film is being distributed on a regional basis, the New York and Los An?eles areas having been covered to date. It runs five and one half minutes. 'Showbuilder' in Okla. The M-G-M "Showbuilder" promotional unit, in charge of Mark Jenkins, under supervision of William R. Ferguson, M-G-M exploitation director, will visit 41 towns in Oklahoma during this month, starting todav. 'Caballeros' Benefit Chicago, March 4. — Hearst's Herald-American here is sponsoring a reserved-seat premiere of "The Three Caballeros" at the RKO Palace on Wednesday for the benefit of the War Yeterans Fund. Hildegarde. Phil Regan, Zero Mostel. Bert Wheeler and Benny Fields will be featured on an accompanying stage bill. Now 'Atlantic Adventure' Chicago, March 4. — The Britishmade "Western Approaches." will be released by Paramount in this countn as "Atlantic Adventure." the British Information Services advises. Chanee was made on the suspicion that this story of the Atlantic might be mistaken for a Western. Collins Stays With Pathe Frederic Ullman, Jr., president of Pathe News, has announced that Ted Collins has been retained as narrator for Pathe's "Sportscopes." Carol Irwin Joins Blue Carol Irwin has joined the Bine Network's talent and program development. Miss Irwin was previouslv in charge of daytime radio for Young and Rubicam. New Checking Organization Opens April 2 {Continued from page 1) ducers and distributors desiring them. Branch offices will be opened in 31 key cities and leases have been signed already for quarters in most of the keys. A personnel of approximately 5,000 will be employed. Ghev-k^rs will be paid from $5 to $7 per day, indicating a daily operating cost for checkers alone of approximately S30,000. Personnel, including branch managers, supervisors and five district managers, are being selected from outside the industry for the most part. Operation Under Levin Physical operation of Confidential Reports will be under the direction of Levin, who resigned last week the post of director of Copyright Protection Bureau, with which he had been associated for the past 17 years. O'Connor, however, will continue as vice-president of Universal. Other Confidential Reports executives include : Harold L. Groves, field director operating out of the home office in the RKO Building; Jules Willing, director of personnel, and Harold Saxe, comptroller. Levin issued the following statement at the luncheon on behalf of the new organization : "Millions of dollars of business transactions each year depend upon the accurate and impartial reporting of theatre receipts. It is the aim of Confidential Reports. Inc., to render, confidentially, checking reports so as to provide the distributor and exhibitor alike with a sound and objective basis for the conduct of their business with each other. We anticipate the good will of the entire industry in achieving this purpose." Levin said that aims of the new organization would be discussed with exhibitor organization leaders during the next few weeks. McConville Heads Col. International (Continued from page 1) Harry Cohn, Jack Cohn, McConville, A. Schneider and Barbano. _ The corporation's actual distribution staff follows : McConville, president-general manager ; Segal, treasurer-assistant general manager; Zeeman, assistant treasurer-manager of branch operations; David O'Malley. director of advertising-publicity, and Joseph Levy, manager of the traffic department. At the same time Columbia disclosed the appointment of Sigwan. Kusiel to the post of supervisor of Latin America and Trinidad, announced from Buenos Aires by McConville, now visiting there. Kusiel will make his headquarters in Rio de Janeiro and continue temporarily as managing director of Brazil. Van Straten to M-G-M Jacques Yan Straten, comptroller cf radio station WHN. here, has been elected assistant treasurer of M-G-M International Films Corporation, subsidiary of Loew's.