Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1948)

2 Motion Picture Daily Tuesday, February 3, 1948 Personal Mention TED GAMBLE, president of Theatre Owners of America, will be in Dallas today and tomorrow for Texas Theatre Owners convention. • E. L. McEvoy, Universal-International short subjects sales manager, left here yesterday for visits to Washington, Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Albany, N. Y. • Mitchell Rawson of M-G-M's publicity department and William Schneider of Donahue and Coe left New York last night by plane for the Coast. • Ben Haber, assistant art director of RKO Radio here, has resigned to become co-owner of Modern Art Guild, advertising art service. • Paul MacNamara, Selznick Releasing Organization national advertising-publicity director, is in New York from the Coast. • Richard F. Walsh, president of IATSE, who returned to New York yesterday from Hollywood, will leave here today by plane for Miami. • William B. Zoellner, M-G-M short subjects sales head, left here yesterday for Buffalo, N. Y., and Cleveland. • Pat Patterson, Astor franchiseholder, left here over the weekend for San Francisco. • George Weltner, Paramount International president, is due back in New York today from Hollywood. • W. Stewart McDonald, Warner theatre executive, will return here tomorrow from Pittsburgh. • Alan Cummings, M-G-M branch operations head, returned here yesterday from a Western exchange tour. Smith Is Transferred To Hollywood Post Harold L. Smith, Motion Picture Export Association representative in the American Zone in Berlin, and liaison with the Information Control Division of the U. S. Military Government there, is understood to be en route to New York on a transfer to the International Information Center in Hollywood. Previously Smith represented the MPAA in Paris, from 1928 to World War II, and then again in 1945-46. Mrs. Lena Broidy, 63 Hollywood, Feb. 2. — Mrs. Lena Broidy, 63, mother of Allied ArtistsMonogram president Steve Broidy, died in Cedars of Lebanon hospital this morning following a brief illness. In addition to her husband, Julius, she leaves another son, William F., and two daughters. Funeral services will be held tomorrow morning. Film Supply (Continued from page 1) have an appreciable store of films suitable for reissue, and at least eight unreleased British pictures are held by five major American distributors. Numerically, therefore, American companies have on hand approximately 68 features, 12 Westerns and scores of pictures suitable for reissue. However, over the last several years, American companies released an average minimum of 300 features annually here, or 25 per month. Moreover, more than half of the unreleased product on the shelves of the American companies here is not of top grade, nor suitable for first-run bookings. Thus, although there will be some new first-run American product for at least another four months, the first-run houses will feel the pinch sooner than others. The situation, at least, is far from that pictured recently by W. R. Fuller, secretary of the Cinematograph Exhibitors Association here, who warned that a film-famine, running-down process would affect first-runs by the end of January. That, obviously, was not a true forecast. On the British distribution side, J. Arthur Rank's General Film Distributors, which also has perhaps a half-dozen Universal pictures still unreleased, has already prepared a release schedule of double-feature offerings, including reissues, which extends into next autumn. In all, there are about 50 British first features, some 40 "others" and reissues on hand. Empty studios here testify to the drying -up process, however. M-G-M is prepared to make its seven-stage Elstree plant available to any reputable British producer, but there are no takers. The British financial tap has gone dry, at least temporarily. Meanwhile, members of Parliament are arguing that the government should forthwith requisition all empty studio space. Collapse of the film industry here is a thing which the government badly does not want to happen. Significantly, it is now learned that the Treasury contemplates putting down a British film quota of 35 per cent for 1949, despite the oft-expressed official hopes that the tax deadlock may speedily be ended. Meanwhile, it is reliably estimated that American film remittances are still running around an annual average of $44,000,000. Following is a company-by-company tabulation of product on hand, exclusive of available reissues : Paramount : "Saigon," release date, Feb. 9 ; "Road to Rio," March 29; "The Big Clock," April 19; "Unconquered" and "Emperor Waltz," release dates not set. Paramount also has the British films, "Daughter of Darkness" and "So Evil My Love," for which relea.se dates are not set. United Artists : "Monsieur Verdoux," release date, Feb. 2 ; "Personal Column" ("Lured"), Feb. 9; "Heaven Only Knows," March 8 ; "Just Skouras Press Report Scheduled for Today Spyros P. Skouras, president of 20th Century-Fox, who returned to New York by plane from London over the weekend, could not be reached here yesterday for comment on reports preceding his arrival that he brought with him a new proposal from the British industry regarding settlement of the British ad valorem tax. However, a spokesman for 20th-Fox said yesterday that Skouras expects to hold a press interview today. William's Luck" (British), March 22 ; "The Brass Monkey," release not set. Columbia : "The Swordsman," March 8; "The Assassin," June 21, and the following for which no release dates have been set: "Last of the' Redskins," "Lady from Shanghai," "Relentless," "I Love Trouble," "To the Ends of the Earth," "The Man from Colorado," "It Had to Be You," "The Prince of Thieves," and the British picture, "First Gentleman." RKO Radio: "Fun and Fancy Free," release date, Feb. 16 ; "Indian Summer," March 22, and the following without release dates : "Isle of the Dead," "Born to Kill, "Woman on the Beach," "The Fugitive." Warners : "Cry Wolf," March 15 ; "The Unfaithful," May 17, and the following without release dates : "Escape Me Never," "The Hidden Hand," "Cheyenne," "The Mysterious Doctor," "Beast with Five Fingers," "Night Unto Night," "Deep Valley," "The Woman in White," "Dark Passage," and the British picture, "Idol of Paris," release date March 15. M-G-M : "Merton of the Movies," release not set. M-G-M also has the following reissue schedule already set : February : "Rio Rita" and "The Big Store" ; March : "Northwest Passage" and "Mrs. Miniver" ; April : "Billy the Kid" and "Broadway Melody" ; May : "Sweethearts" and "Murder in Thornton Square." 20th-Fox : No unreleased American product ascertainable. Has the unreleased British films "This Was a Woman" and "Escape," with release dates not set ; also has reissues. Universal: Believed to have about six unreleased features with its British distributor, Rank's G. F. D. Monogram (distributed by Pathe) : "The Ape Man," "The Corpse Vanishes," "The Voodoo Man," "Violence," "Fall Guy," "Sarge Goes to College," "Kilroy Was Here," "News Hounds." No release dates set. PRC (Eagle-Lion), (distributed by Pathe) : "The Brute Man," "Down Missouri Way," "Untamed Fury," "The Big Fix," "Philo Vance's Gamble," "Philo Vance Returns," "Killer at Large," "Too Many Winners" ; release dates not set. Republic (distributed by British Lion) : "Wyoming," "Blackmail." Release not set. Brandt Answers Today Answers of Harry Brandt, Bernard B. Brandt, Louis Brandt, William Brandt and 162 other defendants in the Brandt Circuit percentage suits brought by Paramount, which were scheduled to be filed on or before yesterday in New York Supreme Court are scheduled to be filed today instead. Plaintiff seeks recovery of $563,265. NEW YORK THEATRES —RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL-r Rockefeller Center Gregory Ann Charles PECK TODD LAUGHTON Charles COBURN Ethel BARRYMORE and LOUIS JOURDAN and VALLI In David O. Selzniclr'B production of Hitchcock's "THE PARADINE CASE" Spectacular Stage Presentation ^T"" f\gh WWj** HUMPHREY I BO GART /iN person 1 f TREASURE LIONEL I |OF SIERRA f HAMPTON I | MADRE" .#' ANO HIS ORCHESTRA 3 % OPENS 9 AM LATE FILM AT MIDNIGHT 5 % LATE STAGE SHOW 10:30 PM B'WAY AT 47th! C John Ford and Merian C Cooper present Argosy Pictures'^ TMfitCtTiltE HENRY DOLORES PEDRO FONDA -DEL RIO • ARMENDARIZ Directed by JOHN FORD Released by RKO Rodio Pictures ^ VICTORIA Iroodway at 46lh St J PALACE DANA MERLE ETHEL ANDREWS * 0BER0N • BARRYMORE in A JOHN CROMWELL PRODUCTION NIGHT SONG f with HOAGY CARMICHAEL V r _WALT DISNEY'S ' Re-Released by color BV TECHNICOLOR RKO RADIO Pictures NOW! BRANDT'S REPUBLIC!,™ <tSl. BURT LANCASTER UZABETH SCOTT in HAL WALLIS' p, eduction ass "A VERY FUNNY PICTURE" — Sun SAMUEL GOLDWYN presents CARY LORETTA DAVID GRANT YOUNG NIVEN "The Bishop's Wife" Doors Open 9:45 A.M. ASTOR B'way at 45th St. oiPTfiin * CflSTiie TECHNICOLOR TYRONE POWER* ^ Doors Open 9:30 A.M. <PlVOLI M. V»» B'way at 49th St. MOTION PICTLRE DAILY, Martin Quigley, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher; Sherwin Kane, Editor; Martin Quigley, Jr., Associate Editor. 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