Motion Picture Daily (Jul-Sep 1948)

Motion Picture Daily Thursday, July 29, 1948 Forrestal Approves USO Reactivation Washington, July 28.— Secretary of Defense Forrestal has approved a Civilian Advisory Committee's recommendation to reactivate the USO, and the USO has agreed to his request that it be reorganized in light of the expanded peacetime armed forces. Wartime USO Chairman Lindsley F. Kimball told Forrestal that the reorganization would be accomplished probably by the end of 1948. Hollywood talent was widely represented in the USO's ranks in World War II. $300,000 'New Look' For Victoria Here City Investing Co. will spend 000 in remodeling its Victoria Theatre, Broadway first-run, with the project to include the addition of 400 seats to make a total of 1,100, according to Maurice Maurer, who operates the house for the investment firm. The house will be closed on Sunday, ending the "Raw Deal" run, and is scheduled for November 5 reopening. Maurer said one of "Hollywood's biggest" will be the curtain-raiser when the theatre reopens. This was reported to be "Red River," but Maurer would not say so. A deal that would have given David O. Selznick priority of booking at the Victoria, in a sub-leasing arrangement, discussed for some time, will not be consummated, Maurer said. Griffis To Promote U.S. Films in Egypt Washington, July 28. — Stanton Griffis, chairman of Paramount's executive committee, and newly appointed Ambassador to Egypt, said here today that while in Cairo he would do "everything possible to encourage circulation of American motion pictures throughout the Arab world." Griffic made t^p statement after bidding a brief farewell to President Truman. He left for New York tonight, and will sail for Egypt tomorrow. Boston Approves 'Hamlet Contrary to reports, "Hamlet" will not be censored in Boston, says Universal-International. The film has been approved by both the Massachusetts State Police, which has censorship powers over Sunday showings, and the Boston City Censor. Set Four 'Carmen' Dates Columbia has set four of six prerelease openings for "The Loves of Carmen," to be released nationally later in the year. The film will open in Cincinnati at the Palace or Albee on September 15 or 22; Los Angeles, Hill Street and Pantages, September IS or 22 ; Buffalo, Lafayette, September 22, and Houston, Metropolitan, September 23. Personal Mention RICHARD DE ROCHEMONT March of Time producer, and Edward Small, producer, will sail for Europe today on the SS Queen Mary. • Robert Goldstein, Universal-International executive; Bonnie Cashin, 20th Century-Fox designer, and Louella Parsons, Hollywood columnist, are due to arrive here today on the SS America. • A. Pam Blumenthal and Joseph Bern hard, Film Classics executives, are here from Hollywood. • George Brown, Paramount studio publicity director, is en route here from Hollywood. Jack Odell, United Artists' Puerto Rico manager, is visiting in New York. JOHN JOSEPH, Universal-International advertising-publicity director, left here for the Coast yesterday. • Andy W. Smith, Jr., 20th CenturyFox's general sales manager, will return to New York today from French Lick, Ind., accompanied by Sam Shain, exhibitor-public relations liaison. H. M. Bessey, executive vice-president of Altec Service, and E. O. Wilschke, operations manager, have returned here from Chicago. • Charles E. Kessnich, M-G-M district manager, will return to Atlanta at the weekend from New York. • Ed Hinchy, head of Warner's home office playdate department, is in Cleveland. Vetluguin,MacKenna In New MGM Posts Hollywood, July 28. — Voldemar Vetluguin has been elevated from the M-G-M editorial board to producer. At the same time, Kenneth MacKenna was named to supervise the studio's story department in addition to his duties as executive editorial assistant to L. B. Mayer and Dore Schary. Arnold Jacobs Heads Siritzky Theatres Arnold Jacobs, in charge of Siritzky International's New York offices, has been named general manager of Siritzy Theatres, the Majestic in Brooklyn, the Ambassador, Elysee, and the Golden in New York City and the Old South in Boston. "Takes" Hit Slightly By "Coolers" Strike Business at Loew and RKO theatres in the New York Metropolitan area was reported slightly off yesterday as the strike of Local 30, International Union of Operating Engineers, AFL, against the circuits neared the end of its first week, with both sides no nearer to a settlement over wages. Air-conditioning equipment has been idle at the Loew and RKO houses since Saturday. 'Ruth' Big in Baltimore Baltimore, July 28. — Allied Artists' "The Babe Ruth Story" was headed for a new opening day's record at the Town Theatre here today, with an indicated gross in excess of $3,000 for the first day. Baltimore is Ruth's home city and it figures prominently in the picture's early sequences. "Ruth" Chicago Meet Chicago, July 28. — Steve Broidy, Monogram president, will preside at a one-day meeting at the Drake Hotel here August 7 on sales policies for "The Babe Ruth Story." Attending will be franchise holders and branch managers. Dave Flexer Resumes Buying for Four Memphis, July 28. — Dave Flexer, owner of Flexer Theaters, reports his Memphis office has resumed booking and buying of films for his theaters in Memphis, Amory, New Albany and Sardis, Miss. Last January, M. A. Lightman and associates acquired a minor interest in the Flexer houses whereby they handled booking and buying for the four theaters. The arrangement has been terminated August 1. 'Lady in Ermine' Is Rated 'B' by Legion Twentieth Century-Fox's "That Lady in Ermine" has been given a B classification by the National Legion of Decency. Classified A-l are Columbia's "The Arkansas Swing," United Artists' "Silent Conflict" and Columbia's "The Strawberry Roan." In Class A-II are : Republic's "Eyes of Texas," RKO Radio's "Good Sam," Universal-International's "Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid," Republic's "Moonrise," and Columbia's "Thunderhoof." Final RKO Regional Ends on the Coast San Francisco, July 28. — Fifth and final in a series of RKO Radio zone meetings was concluded here today at the St. Frances Hotel, distribution presided over by Robert Modhrie, distribution vice-president. Harry J. Michalson, short subject sales manager, spoke of the increasing need of short subjects as part of the present day theatre program. Walter E. Branson, Western division sales manager, also spoke. Suspend Milland Hollywood, July 28. — Paramount has placed Ray Milland on suspension following his refusal to appear in "A Mask for Lucretia," scheduled to start in August. No announcement as to who will replace Milland has been made. New Financing for German Industry Washington, July 28. — The German motion picture industry has received a vital boost with the organization of a new film financing company in Hamburg, the U. S. Commerce Department announced today. In a report issued by film chief Nathan D. Golden, the Department states that nine prominent Hamburg b nessmen have contributed to for: new company, the Filmfinanzrin'__ m. b. N. As yet no public announce ment of the new firm has been made. It will finance production as well as other film industry transactions. Golden points out that lack of capital has been a retarding factor on German film production since the end of the war, with producers having to wait for the returns from one film before commencing another. Now, he declares, the financing problem will be partly licked and the German industry resume a more normal development. West Pointers Honor Zukor and Paramount West Point, N. Y., July 28.— Adolph Zukor, Paramount board chairman, accepted from the Dialectic Society of the U. S. Military Academy tonight a plaque symbolizing "honorary membership of our friends from Paramount in the Dialectic Society of the U. S. Military Academy in gratitude for their portrayal of life at West Point in the motion picture, 'Beyond Glory'." The occasion was a dinner in the Academy Mess Hall, commemorating the making of the picture here. Present were representatives of the press, radio and magazines, and the following from Paramount, in addition to Zukor : Charles Reagan, Paul Raibourn, Russell Holman, E. K. O'Shea, and others. Screen Guild Will Hold Five Meetings Screen Guild Productions will hold a series of weekend sales meetings starting tomorrow at the Warwick Hotel, New York. Meetings on successive weekends will be held at the William Penn Hotel, Pittsburgh ; Blackstone Hotel, Chicago; Peabody, Memphis, and a final session in San Francisco. Arthur Greenblatt, sales executive, will preside, announcing product and policy for the new season. U.K. Critic Vs. M-G-M London, July 28. — The critics' circle here is launching a fund to help Mrs. E. Arnot Robertson, former film critic for British Broadcasting Corp., raise the money necessary for her to pursue an appeal' to the House of Lords of her slander and libel suit against M-G-M. The distributor won on Monday its appeal against a prior judgment favoring Mrs. Robertson, who will require an estimated 3,000 pounds ($12,000) additional to press the case further. MOTIOX PICTURE DAILY, Martin Quigley, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher; Sherwin Kane, Editor; Martin Quigley, Jr., Associate Editor. 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