Motion Picture Herald (Jul-Aug 1943)

28 8,000 Performances Given at 4,078 Army and Navy Bases During Period USO-Camp Shows, Inc., the largest touring show business in the world, entertained more than 8,000,000 service men stationed in 4,078 Army camps and Naval stations during the period from November 23rd, 1942, to May 31st, last, it was learned at Camp Shows' headquarters in New York this week. In that period, more than 8,000 regular performances of the Red, White and Blue circuits were given, including hundreds of personal appearances of Hollywood stars and featured players. Recently, the Hollywood Victory Committee announced that nearly 1,000 Hollywood contract and free-lance players thus far had pledged their cooperation in the new program arranged by the committee and USOCamp Shows, which was designed to double the entertainment for service men at home and abroad. The minimum six-week pledge will facilitate a steady flow of talent to the USO shows. This summer, there will be 25 USO units touring Army camps, compared to 15 last summer. More Than 20 Units Now Touring Overseas Camps During the November, 1942 to May, 1943 period, the total number of Camp Show playdates was 5,267; regular performances, 8,135. Regular attendance at the shows totaled 7,852,617, plus 235,742 in attendance at performances given by USO at hospitals. The average attendance by performance was 965. A total of 50 shows in all toured the Red and White circuits during the period, of which 34 of the units always were on tour at one time. 4 More than 20 units are now visiting camps and bases overseas, featuring such wellknown Hollywood players as Bob Hope, Adolphe Menjou, Frances Langford, Charles Butterworth and Hal LeRoy. Currently, there are about 54 tabloid shows on the Blue circuit, comprising five entertainers in each company, which trek to the isolated bases along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and in other sections of the country. Thousand Films a Week Used at USO Clubs An unprecedented sum of $14,000,000 has been earmarked by the United Service Organization for USO-Camp Shows between June 1st of this year and December 31st of 1(M4 to handle ("amp Shows' expanded program at home and abroad. About $4,700,000 will be spent by the entertainment unit of the service organization between now and the first of the year it was indicated by USO officials. Bookings of films for USO clubs throughout the country is now in process of change. At the present time, the various clubs make their own arrangements with sectional distributors in obtaining entertainment pic MOTION PICTU RE HERALD tures. However, this procedure has not worked out as well as officials had hoped. A staff specialist is being sought to book films on a national basis, to effect greater coordination. About 1,000 prints a week are used at the clubs at present. The USO mobile film units which travel to isolated posts use about 100 prints a week with an average of nine shows per print. The field units are serviced by the Victory Recreation Service and 16mm prints from Paramount, Universal, RKO and Twentieth Century-Fox are purchased from 16mm distributors. Plans are being made to increase the number of pictures to be distributed through these units. Within the last week and during the next two weeks the following Hollywood stars will tour Army camps : Charles Laughton, Robert Young, Judy Garland, Edward Arnold, Edgar Buchanan and Helen Walker, Grace McDonald, Carole Landis, Warner Baxter, George Tobias, Marjorie Main and Donald Meek, Mary Lee, Nan Wynn and Grace Moore. Bob Hope, Frances Langford and Charles Butterworth reached England on June 25th to join the USO shows entertaining soldiers in the European theatre of operations. They also will present regular weekly broadcasts in connection with troop entertainment as they had been doing in this country. l'he Hollywood Victory Committee announced this week that during June, it had supplied 385 players who made 1,106 appearances in 176 servicemen's events. Twentyseven of these were for Government agencies, 91 for the Army and 33 for the Navy. The 18-month record of HVC now is 2,042 players who made 13,496 appearances in 4,442 events. Paramount Radio Campaign Under Way on "Bell Tolls" Spot announcements and purchase of radio time on three network programs is part of Paramount's consumer buildup for its film, "For Whom the Bell Tolls," which is to have its world premiere at the Rivoli in New York on July 14th. Time has been bought on the Arthur Godfrey and Adelaide Hawley programs over CBS and on the Mary Margaret McBride program over NBC. "Mr. Lucky" Is Next Music Hall Booking The next booking for the Radio City Music Hall will be "Mr. Lucky," according to RKO, producers of the film. The picture stars Cary Grant and Laraine Day. The screenplay was adapted from a story by Milton Holmes which appeared in Cosmopolitan Magazine. David Hempstead produced and H. C. Potter directed. Stage Hit Breaks Record "Lady in the Dark," stage play, has broken the house record at the Curran in San Francisco with a gross of $33,000 for a single week's run. It broke its former record of $32,000, and has been shown as part of the Civic Light Opera's 10-week series of Broadway plays. July 10, 1943 Theatres to Aid Fight on Vandals On West Coast San Francisco exhibitors have indicated their willingness to cooperate with city enforcement officials in the drive against vandalism and juvenile delinquency. Blame for the rise of rowdyism first was placed on theatres by policewoman Kathryn Sullivan, who pointed to "round-the-clock" showings as one example which fostered the condition. Edward D. Keil, coordinator of theatre civilian defense activities in the area, protested the police implication. He said that vandalism was common in a number of amusement places other than theatres. Exhibitors will not institute any separate campaign, therefore, but will offer cooperation in all measures designed to curb delinquency. A new curfew ordinance forbidding children under 16 on the streets from 11 P.M. to 5 A.M. recently was introduced in the Omaha City Council by Police Commissioner Richard Jepsen. The measure, if adopted, would provide fines of from $1 to $100 payable by parents or guardians responsible for the children's behavior. In the light of the recent passage of an ordinance prohibiting the parking of cars in city parks after 11 P.M., it is believed that the child curfew also will receive the necessary support for passage. In Philadelphia, police have been enforcing an unofficial curfew to prevent street loitering by minors, but a recommendation by the city's June Grand Jury for a city ordinance for an official curfew is now ready to be presented to the Department of Public Safety after endorsement had been given by Judge Vincent A. Carroll, who received the presentment. The Delaware Coordinating Council at Delaware, Ohio, has turned down a proposed curfew measure as an inadequate solution of the problem of juvenile delinquency. Proposed, instead, is an evening playground program for 'teen-age children. The City Council in Columbus, O., is preparing an ordinance requiring children to remain off the streets between 10 P. M. and 5 A. M. as a measure to curtail juvenile delinquency. It calls for fines of from $10 to $25 for parents or guardians in the event of violations. The City Council of Norwalk, O., has passed a curfew ordinance prohibiting children under 16 from remaining on the streets after 10:30 P.M. except on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, when the time is extended an extra hour. Five Fellowships Awarded By Amateur Cinema League The Amateur Cinema League, non-theatrical film organization, has elected as fellows five members of the group after listing them on the third annual honors list in the July issue of Moviemakers. . The fellowships, awarded for conspicuous service, were given Charles J. Carbonaro, research cinematographer for the Radiation Laboratory of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Russel T. Ervin, Jr., associate producer for Grantland Rice Sportlights ; Robert P. Kehoe, engineer and naturalist; Stephen F. Voorhees, president of the Amateur Cinema League, and Thomas W. Willard, founder of Willard Pictures. Thomson Is Circuit Booker Charles Thomson has been promoted to booker for the Columbus Stamper theatres in Philadelphia. He also will manage the Rivoli theatre in addition to the Great Northern. 8 Million Men at USO Shows in 6 Months