Motion Picture Herald (Jul-Aug 1943)

32 20th-Fox to Hold Three Regional Sales Meetings Twentieth Century-Fox will hold three regional sales meetings this year instead of an annual convention, Tom J. Connors, vice-president in charge of distribution, announced Tuesday. The three meetings are scheduled for New York at the Astor Hotel, August 2nd to 4th ; Chicago at the Blackstone Hotel, August 5th to 7th, and Los Angeles at the Ambassador Hotel, August 11th to 13th. Mr. Connors will preside at all three sessions, which will be devoted to selling plans for new season product. Spyros Skouras, president, will address the sales force at all the regionals. Other home office executives attending will be : W. J. Kupper, executive assistant to Mr. Connors ; A. W. Smith, Jr., eastern sales manager ; W. C. Gehring, western sales manager ; Jack Schlaifer, and Hal Home, director of advertising and publicity. Personnel from the New York, Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Memphis, New Orleans, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Washington branches will attend the first meeting. The midwest session will be attended by personnel from the Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, Albany, Boston, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Cleveland, New Haven, Calgary, Montreal, St. John, Toronto, Vancouver and Winnipeg branches. Exchanges in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Omaha, Des Moines, St. Louis, Denver and Salt Lake City will be represented at the Los Angeles meeting. Last week it was reported from Hollywood that 20th Century-Fox planned a minimum of 36 and a maximum of 40 features for 1943-44, increasing its budget to an all-time high of $41,000,000, or 30 per cent more than the top production appropriation of the past. Two of the highest budget pictures on the new schedule are Wendell Willkie's "One World" and "Wilson," screen biography of Woodrow Wilson, both of which will be produced by Darryl F. Zanuck. $3,000,000 for Advertising Scheduled by Republic Plans for an "unlimited sum of money for advertising by radio, trade and newspaper" of Republic's 1943-44 program were announced last Friday in Hollywood by Herbert J. Yates at the company's studio convention. Not less than $3,000,000 would be expended, he said, and more would be appropriated as added territories were opened. Canada will get the same attention. The program was placed in the hands of Charles Reed Jones, heading all advertising; Steve Edwards, publicity, and Len Boyd, newly appointed studio liaison from the New York office. James R. Grainger, Republic president, presided at the meeting, which was attended by M. J. Siegel, Francis Bateman, west coast division manager; H. T. Fuller, Salt Lake City; Sid Weisbaum, San Francisco ; John Frey, Los Angeles ; Gene Gerbase, Denver ; J. H. Sheffield, Portland ; Pete Higgins, Seattle. Following Paramount's district managers' meeting in New York last week, George A. Smith, western division manager, left Monday for a tour of exchanges in his territory. He will meet with branch managers for talks on selling and releasing plans of "For Whom the Bell Tolls" and other 1943-44 product. Robert M. Gillham, Paramount advertising and publicity director, was in Hollywood this woek to set the advance campaign for the Los Angeles premiere of "Bell" at the Carthay Circle. August 18th. MOTION PICTURE HERALD IN NEWSREELS MOVIETONE NEWS— Vol. 25, No. 93— Sicilian invasion. . . . Chiang Kai-Shek reviews troops in Chungking. . . . General Stilwell returns to China. . ; . U. S. reinforcements arrive in India. . . . Bomb Japs in New Guinea. MOVIETONE NEWS— Vol. 25, No. 94 — Mussolini ousted. . . . Knox warns of optimism. . . . Roughriding jeeps. . . . Army has sea-sickness tests. . . . Golf finals in Chicago. . . . Lew Lehr newsette. NEWS OF THE DAY— Vol. 25, No. 281— Sicilian victory. . . . Amphibious operations successful. . . . Mighty armada transports troops. . . . Yanks battle way inland. NEWS OF THE DAY — Vol. 25, No. 292— Rise and fall of Mussolini. . . . Knox warns on optimism. . . . Jeeps put on show. . . . Sea-sickness machines tested PARAMOUNT NEWS— No. 96— Bomb Japs in New Guinea. . . . Supplies to India and China. . . . Chinese parade in Chungking. . . . Invasion of Sicily. . . . Allies cross Mediterranean during night. PARAMOUNT NEWS— No. 97— Jeep tricks in Australia. . . . Lady Marine. . . . Leg contest in N. Y. . . . Wallace crusades for equality. . . . Battle of food. . . . Wheat crop drops. . . . Italy ousts Mussolini. RKO PATHE NEWS— Vol. 14, No. 96-Invasion of Sicily. . . . Americans land in dark near Gela. . . . Infantry takes Licata. . . . Americans capture airdromes. . . . British Spitfires refueled. RKO PATHE NEWS— Vol. 14, No. 97 — Mussolini ousted. . . Yanks take Woodlark Island. . . . Haag sets new U. S. mile record. . . . Training men for sea-sickness on new machines. * UNIVERSAL NEWSREEL— Vol. 16, No. 209— Invasion of Sicily. . . . 3,000 vessels aid in the invasion. ■ • .■ American fighter planes clearing skies. . . . Natives stream out of Gela to welcome troops. . . . Landing barges bring men and supplies. UNIVERSAL NEWSREEL— Vol. 16, No. 21fc-Mussohm ousted. . . . Flat tops on parade. . . . Bread for the world. . . . Leg contest in N. Y. . . . Seasickness machines. . . . Dogs of war. . . . Tumpinojeeps. ALL AMERICA NEWS-Vol. 2, No. 40-Kentuckian honored. Satchel Paige day. . . . Colonel says Army needs million." ... Joe Louis in golf tourney. . . . Models on parade. Adjourn Zevin Trial Until August 16th Federal Judge Francis G. Caffey in New York last week adjourned the trial of Isador Zevin, former secretary of George E. Browne ex-president of the IATSE, until August 16th.' Zevin is under indictment for perjury committed before a special Federal Grand Jury investigating racketeering in the motion picture industry. According to Boris Kostelanetz, special assistant U. S. Attorney General, Zevin lied when questioned about the $1,500,000 slush fund collected from members of the IATSE at the rate of a two per cent assessment. The whereabouts of this special fund is being investigated by the Federal Grand Jury. The Government is expected to call Zevin as a witness in the forthcoming trial of the six alleged Chicago gangsters, including Louis Kaufman, business agent of Local 244, operators union of Newark, N. J., and John Rosselli, west coast agent for "The Syndicate." RKO Sets Trade Shows For Five Pictures Trade screenings of five RKO Radio pictures, first of the 1943-44 group, to be held nationally August 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th, were announced this week by president Ned E. Depinet. The pictures are: "A Lady Takes a Chance," "The Fallen Sparrow," "Adventures of a Rookie," "The Seventh Victim" and "So This Is Washington." New Monogram Toronto Head John Sherman has been installed as branch manager of the Monogram exchange in Toronto, according to an announcement by Harry Kaufman, Canadian general manager. July 31, 1943 Chaplin Sues Selznick Over 20th-Fox Deal Charles Chaplin, producer, filed suit last Thursday in New York Supreme Court against i.avid 0. Selznick, producer; David O. Selznick Productions, and Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation. As a United Artists stockholder, Mr. Chaplin charged Mr. Selznick breached a UA agreement whereby he was to make pictures of A. J. Cronin's "Keys of the Kingdom," Rose Franken's "Claudia," and Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre" ; that he was advanced $300,000 by UA to obtain their titles, and that late in 1942 he sold, assigned, and transferred them and certain actors and directors to Twentieth Century-Fox. Mr. Chaplin asked an accounting by the defendants ; recovery of $1,000,000 "or such greater or lesser sum as may be found due on such accounting"; and $1,000,000 in judgment from Twentieth Century-Fox. The complaint alleged that Mr. Selznick told UA he had under contract Ingrid Bergman, Joan Fontaine, Dorothy McGuire, Gene Kelly and Alan Marshall, all actors ; and Alfred Hitchcock and Robert Stevenson, directors, and that he transferred these to Twentieth CenturyFox. It further charged that such "hiring out" gained for Mr. Selznick and UA more than $1,000,000. The suit was filed by Schwartz and Frohlich, attorneys. Raftery, UA President Replies to Charges Edward C. Raftery, United Artists president, replied to Mr. Chaplin's suit last week, after a meeting of stockholders at the General Service Studio, Hollywood. He said : "United Artists has rejected a demand by Charles Schwartz, New York counsel for Charles Chaplin, that the company sue David O. Selznick and his various companies in connection with a series of deals made by the Selznick organization with 20th Century-Fox. We have told Mr. Schwartz, among other things, that United Artists has no cause of action against Mr. Selznick or any of his companies. "It was upon receipt of this statement that Mr. Schwartz, on behalf of Mr. Chaplin, filed a stockholder's action in the Supreme Court, New York County, naming Mr. Selznick and his companies, 20th Century-Fox Film Corporation and United Artists as defendants. United Artists will defend the action so far as itself or any of its officers are involved. The company's affairs are in no way affected by the pending action." Present at the meeting were Mary Pickford, Mr. Selznick, Alfred Reeves, Mendel Silberberg, Daniel T. O'Shea, Charles Milliken, George Bagnall and Mr. Raftery. 20th-Fox, Universal, PRC File Capital Changes Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation, Universal Pictures and Producers Releasing have filed capital changes with Thomas J. Curran, Secretary of State for New York, in Albany. Twentieth Century-Fox has increased its capital stock by 100,000 no stated par value shares, to a total of 4,700,000. Universal Pictures Company, Inc., incorporated in Delaware, filed a surrender of authority. The company also filed a statement and designation for Universal Pictures Company, Wilmington, Del., showing capital stock of $1,500,000 in $1 par value shares. Producers Releasing Corporation of America filed a change of corporate name to PRC Pictures, Inc.