Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1947)

Motion Picture Daily Monday, March 3, 1947 Personal Mention Tradewise . . . H president and director of advertising-publicity-exploitation, left here at the weekend by plane for the Coast. • Ike and Harry Katz, Kay Film Exchanges executives, have returned to Atlanta from visits in Washington and New York. They will depart shortly for Memphis and New Orleans. • Paulette Goddard is due here from Hollywood today en route to London. She and her husband Burgess Meredith will sail on the Queen Elizabeth March 7. • Lowell Calvert, sales representative for Hunt Stromberg Productions, has returned to New York from. the Coast. • Paula Gould, New York Capitol publicist, will return to her desk today following an attack of the grippe. • Frank Capra has been awarded the Foreign Correspondents Association "Gold Globe" for 1946 for his direction of "It's a Wonderful Life." • Harry Young, Universal salesman, Columbus, is recuperating at his home there from injuries sustained in an automobile accident last month • Morey Goldstein, Monogram's general sales manager, left here at the weekend for a ten-day tour of Charlotte, Atlanta and Miami. • Lige Brien, Eagle-Lion represen tative, will leave New York for Pittsburgh tomorrow accompanied by Kenny Delmar. • R. E. Martin, head of Martin Theatres, Atlanta, will celebrate his 62nd birthday on Thursday. • Charles K. Stearn, Loew's assistant treasurer, will leave the Coast for New York on Wednesday. • William G. Brenner, head of MG-M's field auditing staff, is in Los Angeles from New York. By SHERWIN KANE 'Blaze' Tradeshow Set Paramount will tradeshow "Blaze of Noon" in all branch areas, New York excepted, on Friday, March 21. The picture, which was produced by Robert Fellows and directed by John Farrow, will be screened in New York at the Normandie Theater today. The film's world premiere will be held at the Rivoli, here, tomorrow. Larkin Opens Office Mark Larkin has opened his own public relations and publicity office in New York, to promote road-show engagements and special attractions for film companies, as well as public relations and publicity for advertising agencies and book publishers. HP HE return of United Artists ownership a week ago to two of the company's founders, Mary Pickford and Charles Chaplin, together with their concord on future administrative policies, stirred considerable interest in the trade not the least of which is evident among independent producers and stars and directors who are contemplating companies of their own. The abandonment of producer-partnerships and the corollary preferential contract terms granted to such producers sits well with those in the UA fold and others who would like to be there. The producer-partnerships for more than 15 years past have been the source of internal differences in UA which reverberated throughout the company from high to low. It was a perennial question whether a producer-partner continuously engaged in production rated more administrative weight and financial return than the UA owners who were not continuously engaged in production. That was at the root of the troubles which surrounded and marked the leave-takings of Samuel Goldwyn, Alexander Korda and, now, David Selznick. Without producer-partners, it would seem, UA will have ended that source of internal controversy which distracted and frequently unseated management and personnel far down the line. UA's producer-partners automatically obtained preferential distribution contracts with the company, largely as an inducement for their affiliation. Such preferential contracts, however, often proved unprofitable to the company and almost, always caused dissatisfaction among less favored producers. Many are known to have left the company for that reason. The present status of UA ownership and the declared policies of that ownership result in an entirely different United Artists than heretofore. Many trade observers believe it is the answer to the problems which have plagued the company for years. They believe UA now faces its most promising business era in several decades. The ./V. Y. Times opposes the dangerous Wilson-Condon bill to revoke licenses of pictures advertised immorally partly on the ground that it poses the threat of general censorship. Yet other columns of the Times recommend the Dr. Ruth A. Inglis report, "Freedom of the Movies," which Terry Ramsaye diagnosed recently as a proposal for a "set of national censors to tell the picture business what to do." According to the Times' record here, regulation is good or bad depending upon who wants to do it to whom. The Times also remarks that the law is unnecessary ; responsible papers police their ad columns. Still, publication of objectionable ads on "The Outlaw'' inspired the bill. It is no secret throughout exhibition that the national independent exhibitor forum which was scheduled to be held in New York March 10 and 11 was called off because Allied States, without responding to Fred Wehrenberg's invitation to attend, indicated publicly it would not participate. Allied gave as its reason its belief that nothing coufd be accomplished until the Supreme Court has acted on appeals in the industry anti-trust suit, despite the fact that Wehrenberg clearly stated that the meeting was designed primarily for discussion of the proposal and the initiation of organizing details if it met with the approval of exhibitors. In that way the forum would be prepared to function when the Supreme Court rulings were in. The best it can do now is to make its belated start perhaps a year from now, if ever. Exhibitors and distributors what sat through the futile United Motion Picture Industry conferences in 1942 predicted this outcome for the forum proposal. They were accused of being overly cynical. Obviously, they were merely being realistic. Industry experience in the promotion of conciliation machinery and cooperative effort has been so consistently discouraging over the years that it has now reached a point at which the very men who are best equipped to initiate and lead constructive movements of the kind have begun to view them as destined for failure and participation in them to be a complete waste of time. It is regrettable but nonetheless a fact that the good intentions of so many can be negated by so few. Newsreel Parade TfRIC JOHNSTON presenting his J—* plan for industrial peace is covered by all current neivsrc'els. Other happenings spotlighted arc the Buffalo teachers' strike, Arctic and Antarctic aviation activities, the Indo-China war and a wide variety of sports contests. Full synopses follozv : MOVIETONE NEWS, No. 53^-B-29 cgw rescued in Greenland. Buffalo tea e strike for higher pay. Human traced8 Q / ruin in Indo-China war. Washington :' m ic Johnston presents plan for industrial peace. Los Angeles golf tourney. Motorcycling thrills. Basketball: Notre Dame vs. New York University. NEWS OF THE DAY, No. 251— Buffalo: Nation's biggest teachers strike. War-torn Indo-China. Rescue of airmen in Arctic and Antarctic. Eric Johnston urges labor plan. Coyote hunt in Idaho. Florida motor-bike races. Water-skiing. PARAMOUNT NEWS, No. 54-King George meets King Neptune. Teachers' unrest reaches climax in Buffalo. Eric Johnston reports on industrial relations. IndoChina war. Sports: basketball, motorcycling, water-skiing. RKO PATHE NEWS, No. 56-Strike shuts Buffalo schools. French repel IndoChinese. Eric Johnston asks for labor peace. Chile dog-club holds show. Air rescue of lost Byrd fliers. Riggs-Budge tennis tourney. UNIVERSAL NEWSREEL, No. 17 French troops in Indo-China fighting. Railroad head Robert R. Young urges reforms and points way toward improvement. Eric Johnston urges plan for industrial labor peace. Lion cub "quads" born. Trained monkey goes through paces in Memphis. World's golf championship game in San Diego. Stoltz Resigns PRC Sales Reissue Post Arnold T. Stoltz, who has been with Producers Releasing Corp. from the time of the company's formation more than two years ago, and who recently moved up from national director of advertising-publicity to sales manager in charge of PRC's Edward Small reissues, resigned from the company at the weekend. His resignation will become effective in two weeks, or sooner, depending upon the development of Stoltz' plans. Stoltz, 1941 winner of the Quigley silver showmanship award, was at one time publicity director and manager of Warner and Loew theatres. In 1943 he became exploitation manager of United Artists. Schaefer's Enterprise Office Opens Today George J. Schaefer, newly elected vice-president in charge of distribution for Enterprise, is due here from the Coast today to establish the company's New York office, which, for the time being at least, will occupy the headquarters of George J. Schaefer Associates, industry financing firm. Upon Schaefer's arrival, he is expected to finalize a deal for the acquisition of approximately 300 features made by Universal prior to 1938. Reissuance of them will be through a new company to be formed by George J. Schaefer, Jr., and John J. Cahill. it is understood. MOTION PICTURE DAILY Martin Quigley, Editor-m-Chief and Publisher; Sherwin Kane, Editor; Martin Quigley, Jr., Associate Editor. Published daily, except Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, by Quigley Publishing Company. Inc., 1270 Sixth Avenue, Rockefeller Center, New York 20, N. Y. Telephone Circle 7-3100. Cable address, "Quigpubco, New York. Martin Quigley, President; Red Kann, Vice-President; Martin Quigley, Jr., Vice-President; Theo. J. Sullivan, Treasurer; Leo J. Brady, Secretary; James P. Cunningham, News Editor; Herbert V. Fecke. Advertising Manager; David Harris, Circulation Director; Hollywood Bureau, Postal Union Life Bldg., William R. Weaver, Editor; Chicago Bureau, 624 South Michigan Avenue; Washington, Jim H. Brady, 215 Atlantic Bldg.; London Bureau, 4 Golden Sq., London Wl, Hope Burnup, Manager; Peter Burnup, Editor; cable address, Quigpubco, London.' Other Quigley Publications: Motion Picture Herald, Better Theatres, published every fourth week as a section of Motion Picture Herald; International Motion Picture Almanac, Fame. Entered as second class matter, Sept. 23, 1938. at the post office at New York, N. Y., under the act of March 3, 1879 Subscription rates per year, $6 in the Americas and $12 foreign; single copies, 10c.