Motion Picture Daily (Oct-Dec 1945)

First in and Impartial MOTION PICTURE DAILY VOL. 58. NO. 116 NEW YORK, U.S.A., MONDAY, DECEMBER 17, 1945 TEN CENTS Selznick Will Make 4 to 6 In New Year Is Still 'Interested* in Forming Own Company By SHERWIN KANE David O. Selznick will produce a minimum of four and a maximum of six pictures next year, he reported on his arrival in New York from the Coast on Friday. Selznick himself will account for two of the 1946 productions, while Dore Schary is tentatively scheduled to produce two; Alfred Hitchcock, one, and Alan Scott, writer, who . . . was recently David O. Selznick made a produc. er by Selznick, will contribute another. Among his productions for next (Continued on page 11.) UA Executives Will Talk Replacements Important executive conferences are scheduled to start today or tomorrow at United Artists, with the expected arrival from London of Edward C. Raftery, president, and Gradwell L. Sears, vice-president in charge of distribution, with part-owner David O. Selznick participating, among others. The latter, it is understood, requested that Sears accompany Raferty back from London, one week earlier than (Continued on page 11) Schaef er in Film Financing Company George J. Schaefer, who will wind up his duties as chairman of the coordinating committee of the industry War Activities Committee with its dissolution this month, will be a participant in a new financing organization being formed to specialize in the financing of independent productions. Schaefer said at the weekend that (Continued on page 11) Brotherhood Cause Theme of NCCJ Division Luncheon The cause of racial and religious brotherhood throughout America and the world became the theme of addresses delivered at the annual luncheon of the amusement division of the National Conference of Christians and Jews, held at the Hotel Astor here on Friday. William F. Rodgers, vicepresident and general sales manager of Loew's, I n c, presided at the meeting in the absence, due to illness, of J. Robert (Continued on page 6) William F. Rodeerw Johnston to Coast On Merger Jan. 1 Eric A. Johnston, president of the Motion Picture Association of America, will leave for Hollywood soon after Jan. 1 to confer on studio labor problems and to conclude arrangements for the consolidation of the Association of Motion Picture Producers there with the MPAA, he disclosed on Friday. As exclusively reported in Motion Picture Daily, the consolidation awaits only the ironing out of details, including allocation of shares of association costs among Coast members. Byron Price will take over his (Continued on page 11) COMPANIES TOLD: GO TO CONGRESS' Switch to 2,000-Ft. Packaging Soon Film manufacturers, in the face of rising demands by East Coast laboratories, plan to start a considerable increase in the packaging of positive raw stock in 2,000-foot reels, using less 1,000-foot spools, after they catch up with present raw stock demands and build sufficient inventories to enable them to shut down packaging machines for revamping. In view of a continued preference of West Coast users for 1,000foot reels occasioned by smaller quantities of film handled, it is considered unlikely, however, that 1,000-foot packaging will eventually be discarded completely once manufacturers are generally able to supply 2.000-foot spools. Long-Standing Demand Demands of East Coast laboratories for larger reels, which are said to permit quicker printing, more efficient handling and other economies, started before the war, but a move in that direction was checked by lack of material to manufacture new spools and larger containers. With the end of the war, pressure increased on the manufacturers. Newsreel companies have taken the lead in demanding 2,000-foot reellengths in stock supplies used in the processing of prints in view of the speed with which they must turn out prints, but demands for the larger reels have not been confined to them. 44 'Adventure' \M-G-M] THE very glad tidings this morning are that Clark Gable, one of the really consistent money-makers for showmen over many years, is back in harness again. None of the old Gable bounce-and-swagger that women love and men admire, has been lost, and his layoff, for war service, will make him better than ever as a box-office draw. There's nothing wrong with this business that Gable, in a good vehicle, cannot cure, and Metro has certainly provided him with a vehicle of stature in "Adventure." As if Gable alone were not enough, M-G-M has further lavished its riches of talent. Greer Garson lends her breathless beauty to the proceedings; credit Thomas Mitchell with a superb performance in the touching role of a sailor who believes he has lost his soul, only to find it again on his deathbed ; add, further, the tidy asset of Joan Blondell, and some wonderfully natural dialogue that rolls from the tongue as if freshly spoken. It all spells box-office "adventure," with the uncertainty (Continued on page 6) D. of J. Brief Declares Distributors Did Not Disprove Trust Charges By MILTON LIVINGSTON The Department of Justice, in a 125-page brief served on the distributors here on Saturday, declares that the defendants in the New York film anti-trust suit have failed to disprove the government charges of violation of the Sherman Act. It also warned that if the companies could not continue successful operation of their business if their theatres are divorced, and if the public would not be benefited by the nature of the relief sought by the government, as the distributors maintain, it is suggested that the companies seek special Congressional dispensation. The government's answer to the de (Continued on page 10) Rank, Bell & Howell In Reciprocal Deal London, Dec. 16.— J. Arthur Rank's group of equipment manufacturers here have completed a reciprocal deal with Bell & Howell involving both equipment and 16mm. distribution. The Rank companies will distribute the complete line of Bell & Howell equipment here, throughout the Empire, in Africa and many European countries. Bell & Howell will distribute Rank's 16mm. films in North and South America. The agreement provides also for the manufacture in Britain of certain unspecified "specialized professional equipment hitherto made exclusively in America." U.S., British, French Pathe Tie-Up Set London, Dec. 16. — Pathe here announces completion of arrangements for a tie-up involving RKO Pathe News of America with the British Pathe Gazette and the French Pathe Journal under the name Pathe News. The deal provides for a mutual exchange of newsreel material, ideas and personnel.