Motion Picture Daily (Oct-Dec 1948)

2 Motion Picture Daily Thursday, October 28, 194f; Personal Mention H WILLIAM AUTEN, Eagle. Lion foreign department representative, has returned to New York from Paris after a five-month trip through Europe and the Near East. • Ed Zito, account executive of Lambert and Feasley, advertising agency here, and Mrs. Zito, sister of James Cunningham of Motion Picture Daily, became the parents of a son on Mondav night. • Jack Ellis, New York district manager for United Artists, and James Winn. Buffalo branch manager, will return here today from a business trip to the Oneida Circuit in Upper New York State. • Mike Tomasino, New Haven theatre owner, has retired after 35 years in the business. His plans include a visit to Rome, where his son, Angelo, is a film exchange manager. • John P. Collins, manager of M. and P.'s Paramount Theatre in Newton, Mass., was married last Saturday to Muriel Carol Maher in Cambridge. Rudy Berger, M-G-M Southern sales head, is due back at his Washington headquarters today from Atlanta. • Oscar F. Neu, president of Neumade Products, and L. E. Jones, sales manager, are in Washington, D. C, from New York to attend the SMPE convention. • W. W. Si mons, Altec Service staff engineer, is attending the Kentucky Theatre Owners' Association convention in Louisville, from New York. • Montague Salmon, managing director of the Rivoli Theatre, has returned to New York from the Coast. • R. M. Savini, president of Astor Pictures, is in Dallas from New York on a tour of Southern exchanges. • Gerald Mayer, MPAA international department chief, will return to New York today from Washington. • Arthur W. Kelly, executive vicepresident of United Artists, left New York for Hollywood yesterday. • Dore Schary, M-G-M production vice-president, will leave the Coast on Nov. 11 for New York. • Jimmy Ascher of Quigley Publications' Chicago bureau, is in New York. • Tom Loy, publicist for IATSE here, is on vacation this week. • Rufus King, Paramount executive, is here from the Coast. Anthony Mann, Eagle-Lion director, is here from Hollywood. SMPE Cites {Continued from page 1) Hotel Statler here. Awards were presented by retiring SMPE president Loren L. Ryder. Levinson was presented the Samuel L. Warner Memorial Award in recognition of his long career in motion picture technology and, in particular, for his "pioneering techniques" in the development of sound recording and for his present work on the "commercial development of a new color system." John Levinson accepted for his father. Mole received the organization's 1948 Progress Medal for his "pioneering development of lighting techniques through the past 20 years." Chandler, Lyman and Martin won the 1947 SMPE Journal Award for the paper adjudged the best published during that year. The trio co-authored "Proposals for 16mm. and 8mm. Sprocket Standards." The following 16 members were named to fellowships in the Society for their contributions to the advancement of motion pictures : Fred T. Albin. RCA Victor; Paul Arnold. Ansco; George W. Colburn, Colburn Laboratories; G. Richard Crane, Western Electric; Gienn L. Dimmick, RCA Victor; Prof. Harold E. Edgerton, MIT; Thomas T. Goldsmith, Dumont; Harold C. Harsh, Ansco; Matthew T. Jones, National Carbon: Donald F. Lymon, Eastman; Pierre Metz, Bell Laboratories; Oscar F. Neu. NeuMade Products; Ray R. Scoville, Western Electric; Norwood L. Simmons, Eastman; C. O. Slyfield, Walt Disney Studios; H. Edward White, Eastman. KATO Hears Plea (Continued from page 1) over by Guthrie Crowe, president, as chairman. Freeman Smith, board chairman, was not on hand because he is hospitalized. Following a speech by Willard Gabhart, vice-president, Arthur DeBra of the Motion Picture Association of America, summarized two recent successful fights against state censorship. He called for advance preparation against new attempts at such laws during the coming legislative session. Delivering a message for Robert Mochrie and Ned Depinet, Leon J. Bamberger of RKO Radio depicted the production-exhibition relationship in terms of production costs and exhibitor salesmanship. He also stressed the need for making "A" pictures with younger stars not only as a source of economy but also in order to introduce new personalities. M. L. Simons of M-G-M also addressed the convention on public relations. The board of directors held a meeting before the session convened. Yamins Donates 'Lab' Boston, Oct. 27. — Nathan Yamins Research Laboratory, founded by the well-known New England circuit operator through a $200,000 gift to the Beth Israel Hospital here, will be formally dedicated on Sunday. Wanger at AMP A Meet Walter Wanger, producer of "Joan of Arc" for Sierra Pictures, will address the Associated Motion Picture Advertisers at the next meeting of the organization on Friday, Nov. 5. Cohen Names 4 Aides For E~L Sales Drive Four "lieutenants" have been named by "captain" Milton E. Cohen for Eagle-Lion's forthcoming "Mystery Sales Drive," and another will be appointed shortly, Cohen, Eastern sales manager, reported here yesterday. Named were : Herman Biersdorf, Southern sales manager ; Edward Heiber, Chicago district manager ; Grover Parsons, Atlanta district manager, and Tom Donaldson, New England. The 18-week drive will begin next week. Selznick and Korda Complete Talks Here David O. Selznick and Sir Alexander Korda were due to complete last night the series of product talks which they have been holding daily here since last weekend when they arrived from Hollywood and London, respectively. The two have joined forces for the production of four pictures. Korda is expected to return to London today by plane. Selznick will remain in New York for another week at least. Video Film Series Launched by ABT First of a series of 13 half-hour musical productions for television was started here yesterday by ABT Productions, Inc., at Movietone News Studios. ABT, which will produce solely for television, is headed by J. Louis Geller, president ; Ira H. Simmons, vicepresident and general manager in charge of production ; and Charles L. O'Reilly, chairman of the board. N. J. Grievance Meeting Allied Theatre Owners of New Jersey's committee on grievances in connection with its recently-adopted plan of exhibitor-distributor conciliation will meet here next Monday to prepare its initial report. Membership is expected to get the report at a meeting which will be held later in the week. Committee consists of Irving Dollinger, Lou Gold and Wilbur Snaper. New Coast Flightline Aiming especially at business from the motion picture industry, Skycruises, Inc., will on Monday begin non-scheduled flights between New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Hal Lee is president of Skycruises, William I. Tier is vice-president and Western division manager, and Kenneth L. Brereton and Ed Daley, office managers for Boston and Chicago, respectively. 'IA' Invades Sopeg (Continued from page 1) 63 since the distributors announced their refusal to "do business" with SOPEG and its affiliate, Screen Publicists Guild. Disclosure that NLRB would be petitioned today was made jointly by Russell Moss, H-63 business agent, and James Rogers, "IA" international organizer. SPG Closes 1-Year Pact with Eagle-I/on Eagle-Lion and the Screen Publi-i | cists Guild, yesterday jointly an-P nounced the signing of a one-year contract covering employes of the company's New York office. Company has agreed that where layoffs for economic rep^^ art. necessary it will call a r. jjn( linary meeting with the Guild anu discuss the situation, after which it will give four weeks' notice and double severance pay to those persons who are to be laid off. Company further agrees that when such layoffs occur tht equivalent of 37J-2 hours work will be eliminated from the overall operation of the advertising, publicity and ex ploitation departments. The layoff clause, in addition to all others of the contract, is subject to arbitration. Company will grant a general cost of-living increase six months after the signing of the contract (March 15, 1949), amount of the increase to be based upon U. S. Bureau of Labor Cost of Living Index from Sept 1948, and is to be adjusted upwards only. A number of merit increases, reclassifications and new minimums were granted various persons effective as of the expiration of the old con tract, although no immediate general wage increase was granted, SPG reported. Company granted three weeks' vacation with pay to employes who establish 10 years service. Poole Resigns (Continued from page 1) opportunity has been presented to me to enter a new field of endeavor," he said. He will announce his new undertaking Dec. 1 when his resignation takes effect. Poole is a veteran leader in exhibitor association affairs and has been particularly active in the correction of trade practices. His long service was the subject of a laudatory resolution passed by ITOSCA following its annual meeting in which Leroy A. Pauley was elected president by the newly-chosen board. Charles Minor and George Diamos were elected vice-presidents and C. T. Perrin as secretary-treasurer. The board will meet next week to appoint a successor to Poole. 'Best Years' Back in L.A. Los Angeles, Oct. 27. — Samuel Goldwyn has closed a deal with Sherrill Corwin for "The Best Years" to start a popular-price run in Los Angeles at the four Music Halls and the Pan Pacific Theatre, to open either Christmas or New Year's. It will be the first Los Angeles showing since opening at the Beverly Theatre on Christmas, 1946. 'Rural America' to Ballot Sixth annual rural motion picture poll, to determine what rural America likes in the way of motion picture entertainment, will begin Nov. 1 when Country Gentleman distributes to its 2,300,000 subscribers a ballot on which to list their favorite male and female stars and their selections of the 10 best pictures of 1948. MOTION PICTURE DAILY, Martin Quigley, Editor-in-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, Vice-President and Treasurer; Leo J. Brady, Secretary; James P. Cunningham, News Editor; Herbert V. Fecke, Advertising Manager; Gus H. Fausel, Production Manager; David Harris, Circulation Director; Hollywood Bureau, YuccaVine Building, William R. Weaver, Editor; Chicago Bureau, 120 South La Salle Street, Editorial and Advertising. Urben Farley, Advertising Representative; Jimmy Ascher, Editorial Representative. Washington, J. A. Otten, National Press Club, Washington, D. C. 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 and Theatre Sales, each published every fourth week as a section of Motion Picture Herald; International Motion Picture Almanac, Fame. Entered as second class matter, Sept. 23, 1°38, 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.