Motion Picture Daily (Oct-Dec 1945)

MOTION PICTURE DAILY Tuesday, December 18. 1945 Short Subjects Air Trip Contest On Per Seat Basis In the theatre managers' "E" bond-selling contest, providing for six all-expense round-trips to London, the S25 ■'E" bond is to be the bond per-seat unit basis for percentage judging. One $25 "E" bond equals one unit; one $50 "E" bond equals two units; a $100 "E" bond, four units; the $200 Roosevelt bond, eight units, and so on. All "E" bond sales must be supported by "E" bond orange triplicate stubs, in order to verify accuracy through the Federal Reserve Bank and the Treasury. Hollywood By THALIA BELL Hollywood, Dec. 17 ROBERT E. SHERWOOD has arrived here with the completed script of "Glory, for Me," which will be Samuel Goldwyn's initial production for 1946. The film will star Dana Andrews, and will mark Cathy O'Donnell's screen debut. . . . Henry Fonda and Jeanne Crain have been selected for the leads in "My Darling, Clementine," which John Ford will direct for 20th Century-Fox. • The King brothers' next for Monogram will be "The Hunted," based on an original radio story by Steve Fisher. . . . Victor Francen has been assigned a key role in W arners' current melodrama, "The Beast With Five Fingers." . . . Jo Carroll Dennison has been borrowed from 20th Century-Fox to play the ingenue lead in "The Al Jolson Story," now shooting at Columbia. • Margaret O'Brien will have the title role in "Tenth Avenue Angel," forthcoming M-G-M feature, which Ralph Wheelwright will direct. . . . Richard O. Fleischer has arrived in Hollywood to prepare "Hirohito's Children," an RKO Radio production dealing with the problem of peacetime Japan. . . . Phil Karlson has been signed to direct "Charlie Chan at Alcatraz," James S. Burkett's next for Monogram. Michael Curtiz, who will direct "Life With Father" for Warners, is searching for four red-headed boys to portray the sons in the Day family. Since the picture is to be filmed in Technicolor, the question of the boys' hair coloring is an important one. . . . Frances Marion has been signed by M-G-M to a new long-term writing contract. . . . Anita Louise has been assigned the top feminine role in "The Devil's Mask," mystery film soon to start at Columbia. • Sam Bischoff has acquired screen rights to John Steinbeck's novel, "Cup of Gold'' and will produce it in Technicolor for a major company. . . . Hal Wallis has arranged to borrow Lewis Allen from Paramount to direct "The Perfect Marriage." . . . Lynn Merrick has been selected for the feminine lead in "Night Editor," which Ted Richmond will produce and Henry Levin will direct for Columbia. "Synco-Smooth Swing" {Universal) Ted Fio-Rito and his orchestra, singers and dancers are featured in this Name Band Alusical. Gloria Delson sings "Elmer Done It Again." Paul Carley sings "Let Me Love You Tonight" and to this tune Armand and Xita dance. Fio-Rito features "Nola" as a piano solo. The Solidaires sing "Boogie Woogie Lullaby." Evelyn Farney does a tap dance to a Stephen Foster medley. For a finale : a swing version of "Hungarian Rhapsody." Running time. 15 minutes. "Calling All Fibbers" (Columbia) Vera Vague, the bemused female, feeling strongly about fibbing, lectures her maid severely on the subject. However, to pull herself out of a sorry mess with her boss and her boy friend. Vera manages to tell several whoppers herself. All of which not only ruins the moral for the maid, but almost ruins Yera's romantic and economic life as well. Running time, 16^2 minutes. "Mess Production" (Paramount) Popeye, Bluto and Olive Oyl carry on their horseplay in this one in a war production plant with all of them slugging each other with such weapons as acetylene torches, block-and-tackles and floods of molten metal. After the spinach-eating, of course, everything turns out well and Olive and Popeye walk off the screen together, hand in hand through a maze of machinery. In Technicolor. Running time, sevenand-a-half minutes. "Ten Pin Titans" (RKO-Radio) Bowling is the subject depicted herein. Buddy Bomar, Mary Jane O'Donnell, Audrey Gersch and Nelson Burton, four of the nation's topflight pin topplers, show how the game should be played. The slow motion camera is used to make the explanation clearer and the reel closes with a demonstration of trick shots. Running time, eight minutes. "Dippy Diplomaf ( Universal) Wally Walrus has invited Ambassador Ivan Awfulitch to attend a barbecue. But Woody Woodpecker reaches the scene first. He eats the corn, the hard boiled eggs and practically everything in sight. Finally, Woody disguises himself as the Ambassador and breaks up the barbecue entirely before the real Ambassador arrives. Running time, seven minutes. "Purity Squad" (M-G-M) This Crime-Does-Not-Pay subject deals with an unscrupulous firm of chemists. When the firm puts a dangerous substitute for insulin on the market, Government officials step in and get on the trail of the criminals, bringing them to justice. Running time, 20 minutes. "Snap Happy" (Paramount) Here Little Lulu is trailing a news photographer and spoils all the shots by managing to get herself into each picture. Typical news events, such as a fire, an unveiling of a statue, a bathing beauty contest and a number of Hollywood celebrities provide the basis for the gags. For the finale, Little Lulu teaches the delegates to the World Peace Conference how to lick lollypops. In Technicolor. Running time, eight minutes. "A Gun in His Hand" (M-G-M) This "Two-Reel Special" tells the story of Dennis Nordell, who joined the police force in order to use the knowledge he would thus gain to pursue a life of undetectable crime. Camouflaged by his badge and his uniform, he committed a number of seemingly foolproof crimes, but was eventually trapped b}r an overlooked bit of evidence too small to be seen. Running time, 19 minutes. "Ranch House Romeo" (RKO-Radio) Ray Whitley and the Six-Bar cowboys continue their current series by working the ranch of an elderly man known as Pop who has a weakness for worthless gold mines. How Pop trades his ranch for a gold mine and how the boys get the ranch back, with the aid of a chorus girl named Mitzi, makes for a tuneful story. Running time, 17 minutes. "Paddle Your Own" (Paramount) This subject, made in Canada, is devoted to canoeing. The reel opens with Indian canoeing and portaging and includes a sequence in Algonquin Park, where 400 boy and girl canoeists demonstrate what can be done about paddling your own. Other sequences show the handling of canoes in rapids and similar special situations. Running time, nine minutes. "Tea for Two" (M-G-M) Tom Cat and Jerry Mouse indulge in a bit of "hi-jinx" on the golf links. Their game isn't exactly according to the rules, but the way they play it is much funnier from an audience viewpoint. A Technicolor cartoon. Running time, seven minutes. "Gettin' Glamor" (M-G-M) Milady goes through many ordeals to keep herself beautiful and in this edition of his Specialties, Pete Smith shows a few women's tricks for keeping glamorous. Running time, 10 minutes. "Badminton" (M-G-M) Some tricky badminton playing, executed by one of the game's outstanding players, Ken Davidson, is dealt with in this Pete Smith Specialty. Running time, 10 minutes. Coordination in Mexico Is Sought Mexico City, Dec. 17.— Coordination of all branches of the Mexican film industry to enable it to confront peacetime problems, is a prime desire of President Manuel Avila Camacho, said Primo Villa Michel, Secretary of the Interior, in announcing that his Ministry will soon start conversations with film leaders to obtain their viewpoints about how best coordination can be accomplished. Michel explained that Camacho regards pictures as vital to education and creating a civic conscience, besides being an important source of government revenue. New Theatres Hempstead, L. I., Dec. 17. — The Glen Cove School Street Corp., operator of eight theatres in Nassau County, has purchased a large property for an announced price of $111,000. It is reported that the buyer plans to build a new theatre. Omaha Vicinity Shows New Theatre Activity Omaha, Dec. 17.— The old Vinton Theatre is being remodeled and will be reopened here as the Top Theatre. Henry Otto, former serviceman, is the owner. Harold Burright has opened a theatre in New Orleans. Fred W. Upper has opened his Oaks Theatre in Oakdale. Scott-Ballantyne Co. is providing new equipment for a new theatre at Vermillion, Kans. A. D. Labbe is the owner. The house is scheduled for completion in February. Two Houses Open, One Closing for Repairs St. Louis, Dec. 17.— The Wellston Theatre, which was recently rebuilt at a cost of approximately $150,000, has reopened. The former building had been destroyed by fire. The theatre is owned by the Wellston Amusement Co., headed by John Caporal. Louis Coyle has been named manager. The St. Louis Amusement Co. has closed the neighborhood Aubert Theatre, of which it is the lessee, for extensive alterations. Sgt. D. B. Stout and his father, Earl Stout, have announced that their new 400-seat theatre in Mound City, 111., has opened. Earl Stout, who has been in show business since 1910, has owned and operated theatres in a number of Southern Illinois towns. Remodeling Plans Motivate Theatre Equipment Demand A demand for theatre equipment in Venezuela was reported by Jose Castenada, manager of Standard Electric. S. A., of Caracas, distributor of RCA theatre equipment in Venezuela, during a recent visit to New York to study new postwar lines, according to Karl Streuber, manager of the theatre and sound equipment department of the RCA International. Castenada said that broad programs of modernization are contemplated by theatre owners in the South American republic.