Motion Picture Daily (Apr-Jun 1950)

2 Motion Picture Daily Four Industry Shorts Free Exhibitors who are participating in the industry's "Movies and You" short subjects institutional goodwill film project will receive the last four subjects in the series rental free, it was announced by William L. Ainsworth and Joseph R. Vogel, chairman and treasurer, respectively, of the all-industry board of trustees which was named a year ago to administer the cooperative undertaking. Sufficient revenue is expected to be recouped from rentals on the first eight subj ects to cover the stipulated costs of all 12. The four one-reelers are "The Costume Designer," to be released by RKO Radio in September; "The Screen Writer," 20th Century-Fox, November ; "The Cinematographer," Paramount, in January, 1951, and "The Screen Director," Warner, March, 1951. Francis S. Harmon, secretary of the board of trustees, stated that the cost of the project, including out-of-pocket production expenses plus positive print costs and publicity, would approximate $350,000. No studio overhead or charges for distribution are reflected in this figure. Some $160,000 has been received to date. Colbert, Crosby Top Companion's Poll Claudette Colbert and Bing Crosby top this year's Woman's Home Companion readers poll for favorite stars, published in the June issue of the magazine which will be on newsstands Friday. Crosby's first place in the male list is" his fifth consecutive time in the top spot, while Miss Colbert moves up from fifth place in last year's poll. Male stars in the remaining first 10 positions are in the following order : Spencer Tracy, Cary Grant, Clark Gable, Jimmy Stewart, Gregory Peck, Gary Cooper, Walter Pidgeon, John Wayne and Ronald Colman. Among the female stars are June Allyson in second place, followed by Loretta Young and Olivia de Havilland in third and fourth place. A special award is given to Jeanne Crain for her role in "Pinky." Press Barrage for 'Sunset Boulevard' The "Sunset Boulevard" promotion campaign gains impetus with Max E Youngstein, director of national advertising-publicity for Paramount, ar ranging for the distribution of 15,000 copies of a 30-page Li/^-format mail ing piece to all newspapers, magazines, radio stations and television outlets in the U. S. and Canada. Starr Airs Premiere Premiere of United Artists' "John ny Holiday" was held here last night at the Mayfair Theatre, a benefit per formance for the National Cartoonists Guild's youth aid program. Martin Starr, WINS commentator, broadcast the proceedings. Personal Mention HENRY GINSBERG, Paramount production head, will leave here tomorrow for the Coast. • Jules Lapidus, Warner Eastern and Canadian sales manager, left here last night for Buffalo and Toronto. • Steve Strassberg, Film Classics assistant advertising-publicity chief, is in Milwaukee from here. e Bob Condon, Buchanan Agency account executive, is on the Coast from New York. • Dr. C. E. Mees, Eastman-Kodak research vice-president, has been elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences. • Carey Wilson, M-G-M producer, is due here today from Hollywood. • Robert Hamer, British director, is due here today by plane from London. I AMES R. GRAINGER, Republic vJ executive and sales vice-president, left here for the West Coast last night, making stopovers at San Francisco and Los Angeles branches and then visiting the company's North Hollywood studios for conferences with president Herbert J. Yates. Grainger will return to New York at the end of this month. • Sir Arthur Jarrat, chairman of British Lion; Allan Jones and his wife, Irene Hervey, and S. N. Behrman, writer, are among passengers sailing from here today for Europe on the ^".5". Queen Elisabeth. • Senn Lawler, public relations director for Fox Midwest, has been named foreman of the Jackson County, Mo., grand jury. • David Lipton, Universal-International advertising-publicity director, has arrived here from the Coast. Lawson, 59, Head of Rank Canadian Firm Toronto, May 15. — J. Earl Lawson of Toronto, president of the J. Arthur Rank Organization of Canada, Ltd., and subsidiary companies, died here on Saturday after an illness of over a year for which he spent considerable time in the Western General Hospital. In his 59th year he was president of the Canadian Picture Pioneers and was active in the Toronto Variety Tent and board of trade. He started as a suburban exhibitor and later became prominent as a lawyer and member of Parliament, reaching the height of his political career as a Federal Cabinet Minister. J. Arthur Rank and John Davis of London visited Lawson early in April when there was a rumor of the reorganization of the Canadian Odeon circuit of which he was also president. The funeral will be held here tomorrow. Immediate survivors are the widow and two children. Dies from Accident Hollywood, May 15. — Charles Kemper, 49, character actor and former president of the Masquers Club, died at Burbank Saturday of injuries received Thursday in an automobile accident. The widow was also injured in the accident which took the life of Warren Johnson, driver of the car in which the Kempers were passengers. Kemper was to have started work on a Universal-International production this week. 20th Films Philharmonic Rehearsal of the New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Dimitri Mitropolous, has been filmed by 20th Century-Fox in a short subject to be offered by the company on its Fall schedule. Produced by Edmund Reek and directed by Alexander Hammid, the one and a half -reel subject idea was suggested by Spyros P. Skouras, president of 20th Century-Fox. Chase Is Appointed Morgan's Assistant Stanley Chase, home office supervisor of independent contracts for Paramount Pictures, has been named assistant to Oscar A. Morgan, sales manager of short subjects and news, it was announced by A. W. Schwalberg, president of Paramount Film Distributing Corp. Associated with Paramount for the past 18 years, Chase started as a booker in the New York branch. MGM Program (Continued from page 1) sales meeting today at the Hotel Astor. The sessions were begun yesterday with William F. Rodgers, sales vicepresident, presiding and with about 85 members of the home office, field sales, advertising and publicity staffs attending. Schary, whose talk will be recorded for reproduction in other areas, will outline the full studio schedule for the next 16 months, it is understood. Howard Dietz, advertising-publicity vice-president; Silas F. Seadler, advertising manager; Dan S. Terrell, exploitation head, and John Joseph, publicity manager, will be among the other speakers. Sales problems were taken up at yesterday's session, to some extent in the form of questions and answers, the latter given by Rodgers. Schary will return to the Coast immediately following today's meeting, having cancelled all appointments on the advice of his doctors. JVEJVS in Brief . • Gravitz Acting Head of MGM Branch in New Haven Phil Gravitz has been appointed acting manager of M-G-M's branch in New Haven, William F. Rodgers, sales vice-president, announced yesterday at the opening session of the first of three "Say It with Pictures" meetings, at the Astor Hotel. He temporarily assumes the duties of the late Harry Rosenblatt. MANNING CLAGGETT of Motion Picture Association America's Washington press depj ment this week will begin a tour Eastern cities to visit motion pict editors and critics. The tour may extended nationally later. • Washington, May 15. — Disti I Court Judge Edward A. Tat'S day denied the motion ofmajor distributors to have the ai I trust case brought against tb here by the Center Theatre Hampton, Va., transferred to N< port News. • Washington, May 15. — The eminent has asked the Oklahoma I; Federal Court to extend until July the deadline for the Justice Dep; | ment's reply brief in the Griffith a: trust suit. Such an extension wo'; make it unlikely that the court wo: decide the case before the fall. • Buffalo, May 15.— Edward A. C lin, manager of the local War exchange since July, 1946, has b j promoted to manage the compan ; office in Cleveland. He has b succeeded here by Pete De Fa associated with Warner in a s£ capacity. • Hollywood, May 15. — Prelimin hearing in the Conference of Sti Unions' $43,000,000 suit against mi studios charging conspiracy with IATSE in connection with the I studio strike, scheduled for today continued to May 29 by Federal Ju William C. Mathes following a b discussion by counsel for both si 20th Board Meet Toda Election of the board of direct with all incumbents being candid: for re-election, is slated to highl the annual meeting of 20th Centi Fox stockholders at the home o today. Proposals by a minority h er to limit pensions and consider ary deductions for executives of corporation also will be acted u| NEW YORK THEATR RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL Rockefeller Center "NO SAD SONGS " FOR ME" starring MARGARET WENDELL VIVECA SULLAVAN • COREY LINDF0R A Columbia Picture Plus Spectacular Stage Presentation HUMPHREY "In a Lonely Place with GLORIA GRAHAME A COLUMBIA PICTURE MOTION PICTURE DAILY. Martin Quigley, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher; Sherwin Kane, Editor; Terry Ramsaye, Consulting Editor. Published daily, except Satui Sundays and holidays, ^Q^W^^^eSn^Yl^rW0 **** A™W Rockefeller Center, New York 20, N. Y. Telephone Circle 7-3100. ^dress: ' (3ujCT Martin Quigley, President; Red Kann, Vice-President; Martin Quigley .Jr., Vice-President; Theo. J. 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