Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Jun 1949)

2 Motion Picture Daily Thursday, June 23, 1949 Anniversary Film Accessories Gratis Accessories for M-G-M's anniversary subject, "Some of the Best," epitomizing the company's past, present and future, will be distributed gratis to all theatres booking the 40-minute featurette, according to William F. Rodgers, sales vice-president. Rodgers had previously announced that the subject itself would be available without cost to all exhibitors, whether they are M-G-M customers or not. Personal Mention lst-Runs of 'Menace' Will Start Today First-runs on "The Red Menace," Republic film treating with Communism in the United States, will start rolling today when the film opens at the Paramount, Atlanta ; Malco, Memphis ; Coliseum, Seattle ; Lyric, Salt Lake City, and Warfield, San Francisco. The New York engagement will get under way at the Mayfair on Saturday. General Federation Cites 'Fountainhead' The General Federation of Women's Clubs has cited Warner Brothers' "The Fountainhead," as a "must for thinking, discriminating audiences," in a letter from Mrs. Dean Gray Edwards, chairman of the Federation's Eastern preview division, to motion picture chairmen throughout the country. St. Cloud Acquires Sussman's Circuit St. Cloud Amusement Co., operating theatres in New Jersey and Washington, has taken over operation of the William Sussman circuit of five houses in New York State, and which Brandt Theatres had booked. The five are the Academy at Wappinger Falls ; Amenia at Amenia ; Cameo, Brewster ; Kisco, Mt. Kisco, and the Rome at Pleasantville. Eight Charities to Benefit Omaha, June 22. — Eight charities here will share in the "Bad Boy" premiere, Heart Committee chairman Eddie Shafton of the local Variety Club announces. They include : Children's Memorial Hospital, Masonic Home for Boys, St. James Orphanage, Dr. Lord's School for Handicapped Children, St. Benedict's Catholic Church, Gene Eppley Salvation Army Camp, Jewish Home for the Aged, and the Jewish Community Center Summer Camp. George Ramsdell Brookline, Mass., June 22. — Funeral services will be held at the First Universalist Church in Maiden tomorrow for George Ramsdell, treasurer of Middlesex Amusement Co. of that city, who died last night at Melrose Nursing Home, Melrose. JOHN BALABAN, Balaban & •J Katz executive, returned to Chicago yesterday by plane from New York. • William F. Brooker of Paramount has been elected Commander of American Legion Variety Post No. 713, Philadelphia. • Max B. Blackman, Warner Thetres executive, and Mrs. Blackman, will celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary July 4. • Betty Bluffstone, Film Classics booker at Cleveland, has resigned to take over the booking department for Realart. • Orville Crouch, Loew theatre division manager at Cleveland, and Mrs. Crouch are vacationing in Florida. • Douglas Amos has been named Connecticut district manager for Lockwood & Gordon Theatres. • Walter B. Lloyd, manager of the Allyn, Hartford, will leave there Friday for Jacksonville, Fla. • George Brooks has been appointed assistant manager of the Crown, Hartford. George Jaeggers, manager of the Elks Theatre, New Albany, Ind., is on a Mid-West tour. • Carl Fishman, Loew's Theatres publicist, is celebrating a birthday today. • James Hobbs, Monogram's Atlanta branch manager, is en route to Nassau B.W.I. • Harry Berinstein, operator of drive-ins near Ithaca and Elmira, was a recent visitor to Buffalo. • Mervyn LeRoy, M-G-M director, is due here Sunday from the Coast. • A. H. Blank, circuit operator, is here from Des Moines. WILLIAM F. RODGERS, M-G-M distribution vice-president, will leave here tomorrow for Hollywood. • Arthur F. Luthi, of Luthi Sign and Display Co., Cleveland, and Mrs. Luthi will leave here by plane on July 1, for England to attend the graduation of their son, Arthur F. Luthi, Jr., from St. Catherine Col lege, Oxford. • Harvey Kelly has been named city manager for Paramount at Falls City, Neb., succeeding James Redmond, who has become Tri-States Theatres publicity head. • Manny Dreisiger of Eagle-Lion's home office legal department, and Mrs. Dreisiger, are parents of a second child, a daughter born at Lenox Hill Hospital last Sunday. • John Matthews, formerly mana ger of the Warner Theatre, Worces ter, Mass., has been appointed pur chasing agent of the Warner circuit New England office at New Haven. • Louis Petigor, chairman of Renown Pictures, has returned to London from here. • Jeannette Wittler, former Republic attorney, has joined Mono gram's Coast legal staff. • John Murphy, Loew's out-of-town theatres manager, has been visiting Kansas City from New York. • Oscar F. Neu, president of Neumade Products, New York, is vacationing at Lake George. • Eddie Cantor is here from Hollywood. • William Pizor returned here yesterday after three months in Europe. John Paddy Carstairs, British director, is here from London. • Merian C. Cooper left here yesterday for Chicago. Grandi Gets Rights To 22 Productions Grandi Films, New York, has acquired 16 films previously distributed by Variety Films, plus six new films from Film Rights International, it was announced here by Salvatore Casoloro of Grandi. RKO Gets 'Arctic Fury* RKO Radio has signed with producer Boris Petroff for the distribution of "Arctic Fury," based on the adventures of Dr. Thomas Barlow in the Far North. Cast and crew spent seven months north of the Arctic Circle filming the picture. To Import Six Films Six French and Italian films have been secured by Distinguished Films for American release. Boston Area Now Has 95,735 Video Sets Boston, June 22— There are 95,735 television sets now installed in the Greater Boston area, it was disclosed in a joint survey of TV set distributors conducted by WBZ-TV and WNAC-TV. The survey showed that of this number 91,065 sets are in homes while 4,670 are in public places. The figure represents an increase of more than 14,000 over May. 400 'Black Magic' Dates United Artists' "Black Magic" has been booked into 400 keys for in midAugust. Yesterday, a circuit-wide Loew's theatre booking was day-anddated for August 18. Twenty-four cities in the Loew circuit are included. "Black Magic" was made for Edward Small in Rome by Gregory Ratoff. Lapidus Presides at Warner Sales Meet Albany, N. Y., June 22. — Warner prospects for the coming year are bright, Jules Lapidus, Eastern division manager, and Mike Dolid, assistant to sales manager Ben Kalmenson, said today at a district sales meeting which opened at the Ten Eyck Hotel here yesterday. The first day was devoted to product, and the second to setting up quotas for an "all-star" drive to run 52 weeks, beginning August 28. Attending were District manager G. W. Horan, Boston; branch managers Ray Smith, Albany; Ed Catlan, Buffalo; Mike Baytz, Boston; Carl Coe, New Haven, and their salesmen. Also Charles A. Smackwitz, James Faughman, Max Friedman, Joseph Weinstein and Gerald Atkin of Warners' upstate theatres. Pressburger, Powell Confer with Breen Hollywood, June 22. — Eric Pressburger and Michael Powell, coproducers of "Elusive Pimpernel" in association with Samuel Goldwyn, told a press conference they will confer with Production Code Administration head Joseph Breen on the script of "Gone to Earth," which they are to produce with David Selznick, with Jennifer Jones starred, before leaving later this week for New York and London. Primary purpose of their present visit here is to consult with Goldwyn on editing "Elusive Pimpernel" for American exhibition. They said Breen had 'turned back the first "Gone to Earth" script submitted and that a re-written version would be offered. Johnston To Address Kiwanis Meet Today Motion Picture Association of America president Eric A. Johnston will submit today to the convention of Kiwanis International at Atlantic City "a bill of duties for free men." In his address, based on the Kiwanis convention theme of "aggressive citizenship— our individual responsibility," Johnston will recommend as duties the guarding of the freedoms of democracy, refraining from asking the government to do "anything you can do for yourself," respecting opinions of others, remembering that the "bargain counter" days for democracy are oyer and that our democracy is on display before a questioning world. Writer Sues U-I Authoress Emily Kimbrough Wrench yesterday filed a breach-ofcontract action against UniversalInternational in U. S. District Court here. Asking $50,000 damages, the writer charges the company rescinded a contract involving two of her stories. U-I has claimed the copyright on the stories is not authentic. Oregon House Destroyed Portland, Ore., June 22. — Multomah Theatre at Multnomah, owned by Mr. and Mrs. George Dickinson and operated on a lease by Charles X. Slaney, was destroyed by fire of undetermined origin. Loss was $75,000. 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: "Ouigpubco J^cw York ' ' r ' '" t „ r . . . '■ , . ~ 7~. . . ni. . _ t c^.-ii." . . T ■ . _ — -c ~ ~A ' 1 James P. Editor; Chicago ... ... „.,... , J. A. Otten, National Press Club, Washington, D. C. London Bureau, 4 Golden Sq., London Wl. Hope Burnup, Manager, Peter" Burnup, Editor: cable*"address""Qufgpubco, "London/' Other Quigley Publications: Motion Picture Herald; Better Theatres and Theatre Sales, each published 13 times a year 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.