Motion Picture Daily (Oct-Dec 1949)

2 Motion picture Daily Thursday, October 6, 1949 Personal Mention Zone Heads Meet Today Harry M. Kalmine, president and general manager of Warner Theatres, will preside at a meeting of the company's theatre zone managers to be held at the home office today. Zone managers attending are : James Coston, Chicago ; Nat Wolf, Cleveland; I, J. Hoffman, New Haven; Frank Damis, Newark ; Charles A. Smakwitz, Albany ; Ted Schlanger, Philadelphia; M. A. Silver, Pittsburgh ; George A. Crouch, Washington. Film buyers attending are : Alex Halperin, Chicago; Ted Minsky, Cleveland ; Bert Jacocks and Max Hoffman, New Haven ; Sam Blasky, Newark; Max Friedman, Albany; Louis Davidoff , Philadelphia ; Harry Feinstein, Pittsburgh ; L. F. Ribnitzki, W ashington. Home office executives attending are: M. Alben, Clayton E. Bond, Frank Cahill, C. Copelan, Z. Epstin, N. Fellman. Harry Goldberg, L. J. Kaufman, H. R. Maier, W. F. Marshall, W. S. McDonald, N. Phelps, Harold Rodner, H. Rosenquest, D. Triester, R. Weiss and B. Wirth. Recover 'Hot' Films An FBI investigation made in Chester, Pa., based on a report that "hot" 16mm. pictures were being shown at a school there disclosed that the prints were being supplied by an Army sergeant stationed at Chester. He borrowed the prints from an Army warehouse in Philadelphia and returned them after eack performance. Sargoy and Stein, special counsel for major distributors in copyright matters, made arrangements with officers of the Second Army in Philadelphia to have the films removed from the warehouse and delivered to them for return to the companies. 53 'Intruder' Openings M-G-M has set 50 openings of "Intruder in the Dust" this month in Mississippi and three in Tennessee. The Oxford, Miss., premiere will be attended by Claude Jarman, Jr., and Elizabeth Patterson, who appear in the film, and Clarence Brown, producer-director. Fabian to Speak for UJA S. H. Fabian, co-chairman of the United Jewish Appeal of Greater New York, will speak tonight on a UJA broadcast over the Mutual network. An original drama, "The Man Who Went Back," will be presented. Warren to Open Theatre Sacramento, Cal., Oct. 5. — Governor Earl Warren will preside tomorrow night at the invitational opening of Fox West Coast's new 1,200-seat Crest Theatre here. Charles P. Skouras, circuit head, will be host. New Academy Members Hollywood, Oct. 5. — Board of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has voted approval of 19 new membership applications. PANDRO S. BERMAN, M-G-M producer who recently returned from a European vacation, will leave here on Monday or Tuesday for the Coast. • B. G. Kranze, Film Classics' sales vice-president, has left New York for Detroit, Dallas, Atlanta, New Orleans and Cleveland. • Michael H. Froelich, Ziff-Davis Publishing Co. vice-president, left here yesterday for Hollywood for a twoweek visit. • Fred R. Samis, editorial director of Photoplay and other Macfadden magazines, has arrived in Hollywood from New York. Charles U. Yaeger, president of Atlas Theatres Corp., Denver, is in New York for the World Series. Gloria Swanson will leave New York this weekend for Boston, first stop on a nationwide tour. Legion Rates One 'B,' Six Others A-l, A1 1 Columbia's "Holiday in Havana" has been given a B classification by the National Legion of Decency. Three films were rated A-I : "Black Midnight" (Monogram), "Challenge to Lassie" and "Intruder in the Dust" (both M-G-M). Placed in Class A-II were "Angels in Disguise" (Monogram), "The Heiress" (Paramount) and 'I Married a Communist" (RKO Radio). Bessie Ludwig, 67 Bessie Ludwig, 67, mother of Irving A. Ludwig, executive of Walt Disney Productions here, died Tuesday night after a six-week illness. Other surviving children are Sonya Ludwig, an actress, and Norbert Ludwig, orchestra leader. Jessel at Variety Affair George Jessel, 20th Century-Fox producer, will be toastmaster at Tent No. 35 New York Variety Club's inaugural dinner to be held at the Astor Hotel here on Oct. 27, it was announced by Max A. Cohen, chief barker of the local club. 'Hip' Resumes Vaudeville Baltimore, Oct. 5. — ■ The Hippodrome Theatre, which dropped vaudeville during the run of Columbia's "Jolson Sings Again," will reinstate the policy tomorrow. MAURICE A. BERGMAN, Universal-International public relations director, left New York Hospital yesterday after a checkup. • Edward T. Cheyfitz, executive assistant to Eric A. Johnston, expects to fly to Paris late next week to join Johnston on his European survey tor the Economic Cooperation Administration. • Frank O'Brien of M-G-M's special service department, and Mrs. Peggy Bleakly O'Brien, formerly story editor for William Cagney Productions, are the parents of a boy, William Francis. Mrs. James R. Nairn, wife of the Famous Players-Canadian public relations chief, has been named national publicity director for the Canadian Red Cross. • Milton Lewis of Paramount's talent department, is in New York from Hollywood for two weeks. Abraham Pinanski, Brother of TO A Head Boston, Oct. 5. — Judge Abraham E. Pinanski, brother of Samuel Pinanski, president of Anierican Theatre Corp. and the Theatre Owners of America, died here today at Beth Israel Hospital. Judge Pinanski served over 20 years on the Massachusetts Superior Court bench. MGM Trainees at Confab M-G-M's six sales executive trainees, now in the third week of a month's indoctrination in New York, will attend the fall sales conferences scheduled to open Oct. 13 at the Astor Hotel. The men will supplement the 12 field "experts" also invited by William F. Rodgers, sales vice-president, to attend before sailing Oct. 17 on the S.S. Atlantic for Naples, first lap of a four-city European tour. The six who will attend the conference are W. W. Sherrill, Kansas City ; C. E. (Pete) Prince, Washington; Harold Zeltner, Chicago ; Max Shabason, Pittsburgh ; "Connie" Carpou, Oklahoma City, and William E. Madden, Boston. Cuts Price for Students Columbus, O., Oct. 5. — A special student rate of 50 cents, 15 cents under the regular admission price, is being offered here by the World and Little theatres. Both houses are near Ohio State University. Atlanta Censors Approve 'Pinky' The Atlanta board of censors has approved 20th Century-Fox's "Pinky" for exhibition in theatres within its jurisdiction, the 20th-Fox home office was advised yesterday. "Pinky" depicts problems of a colored girl who "passed" for white. The Atlanta censor board also approved "Home of the Brave" but refused a permit to "Lost Boundaries," both of which also present racial themes. Oriental Lease Case To Be Heard Today Chicago, Oct. 5.— The Oriental Theatre lease case will be brought tomorrow before Judge Cornelius Harringon of the Circuit Court of Cook County where the plaintiff Booth Management Corp., headed by James Booth, local operater, has filed an injunction suit seeking to restrain the Essaness Circuit from continuing to operate the Oriental. Co-plaintiff is the 32 West Randolph Corp., lessors of the Oriental property, which attempted last Friday to place Booth in as its new operator, charging Essaness with mismanagement. Essaness, represented through attorney Edwin Blackman, claims the circuit has a lease until 1963. New TV Film Company Milton Blackstone, former television head of Robert Feldman, Inc., has formed TV Attractions for the production of video programs. Gene Starbecker, formerly director of television stations at Louisville and Indianapolis, and James P. McGuire, formerly with Van Car Productions, have joined the staff. LaVine Gets Franchise Harry A. LaVine has acquired the Favorite Films franchise for Philadelphia, effective October 17. His new firm will be known as the Favorite Film Exchange of Philadelphia. LaVine was Monogram-Allied Artists sales manager for Metropolitan New Jersey for several years. Goldwyn to Film in Italy Farley Granger and Joan Evans will star in "Come to Me," about postwar Italy, to be filmed by Samuel Goldwyn in Venice next summer. The story is from an unpublished novel by Tohn De Roth. RKO Radio will release. Launch Memorial Fund Cleveland, Oct. 5. — A memorial fund for Genevieve Akers, secretary to 20th Century-Fox branch manager I. J. Schmertz, who lost her life in the recent Noronic disaster, has been launched here, with plans for a preview of an outstanding film to raise funds. Eastman Offers New Color Film to Industry Rochester, N. Y., Oct. 5. — A new commercial color motion picture film was announced by Eastman Kodak here today and will be made available to producers for trial use in the near future. "The process has been developed to the point where samples of the new film — Eastman color negative film and Eastman color print film — is ready for testing by professional motion picture users," Edward Peck Curtis, vice-president in charge of motion picture sales, said. MOTION PICTURE DAILY, Martin Quigley, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher; Sherwin Kane, Editor; Terry Ramsaye, Consulting 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. Fansel, Production Manager. Hollywood Bureau, Yucca-Vine Building, William R. Weaver, Editor. Chicago Bureau, 225 North Michigan Avenue, Editorial and Advertising; Harry Toler, 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 13 times a year as a section of Motion Picture Herald; Internationa' 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 pf year, $6 in the Americas and $12 foreign; single copies, 10c.