Motion Picture Herald (Nov-Dec 1944)

Detroit Award Is Upheld in Appeal Board Decision The award of the Detroit tribunal, denying Sol Winokur, operator of the Ritz theatre, Watervliet, Mich., elimination of the prior run of either the Loma theatre, Coloma, Mich., or the Heart theatre, Hartford, Mich., was affirmed October 30 by the Appeal Board in New York, the American Arbitration Association reported this week. The complaint was against Loew's, RKO, Vitagraph and Paramount. The Heart and the Loma were interveners. The seven-day clearance of the protected theatres was found to be reasonable and no collusion between them, which the complainant alleged to exist, was established. Michael Spadafore, who succeeded to the ownership of the Ritz, was substituted for the complainant in the appeal on his agreement to be bound by the board's decision. The Stilson Realty Corporation, operating the Cameo theatre, Astoria, L. I., last week filed a new clearance complaint against the five Consent Decree companies in the New York tribunal. A similar complaint by Stilson had been withdrawn October 19. The new complaint charges that the seven-day clearance granted the Crescent theatre, Astoria, is unreasonable as to time and area and that there is no substantial competition between the houses. It asks elimination of the clearance or, if the arbitrator finds some competition, reduction to only one day, with pictures in no event to be made available later than 14 days after the end of the run of whichever of the following exhibit same : the Broadway, Grand, Steinway and Crescent, all in Astoria. In the Boston tribunal, Hollis G. Reed, operator of the Neptune theatre, McKinley, Me., iiled a complaint, October 26, against Paramount and Warner Bros., requesting that the 14-day clearance in favor of the Criterion, Bar Harbor, Me., be abolished. The Park theatre, Southwest Harbor, Me., the Ellsworth, Ellsworth, Me., and the Pastime, Northeast Harbor, Me., are named as interested parties. In Omaha, the clearance complaint filed in December, 1942, by Rose Karatz and others, operating the Victory Theatre Company, on behalf of the Esquire theatre, Sioux City, la., was withdrawn October 24 by mutual agreement. The complaint was against Twentieth Century-Fox, Loew's, Paramount and Warner Bros. Army Studying Its Studio Holdings Army officials in Washington are conducting a survey of their motion picture production set-up in Hollywood, in line with other similar studies being made of the military program in the light of the European situation. According to a report in the capital. Army officers are trying to determine the future of film production at some of the studios the Army has been using, including the Hal Roach and Twentieth Century-Fox Western Avenue plants in Hollywood. No final decisions will be made until a more definite determination has been made of the Army's film requirements for the war with Japan. OPA Warns Truck Tire Situation Is Bad In an address before the National Association of Independent Tire Dealers in Chicago last Monday, John M&nn, head of the tire rationing branch of the OPA warned that "the country is now in its most critical period of rationing large truck tires, and no relaxation is to be expected until Army demands ease. Robert A. Dean, the association's president, said a recent survey in Washington showed that "A" card holders cannot expect new tires before April, 1945, with the backlog of unfilled applications from "B" and "C" card holders now at 800,000. 54 600 New York Theatres Aid War Fund Drive About 600 theatres in the Greater New York area will participate in the New York War Fund's 1944-45 campaign by taking up collections from patrons from l3ecember 14-20. The decision to participate in this manner for the first time was made at a meeting of representatives of the War Activities Committee of New York. Theatres collected funds for USO two years ago but did not participate in this manner in the New York War Fund drive last year when the USO appeal became part of the War Fund drive. Edward Rugoff of the Rugoff and Becker circuit is heading the theatre collection drive and Fred Schwartz of Century circuit will head the drive for contributions from individuals in the industry. Details of the campaign are now being worked out and will include a trailer to be shown in the theatres participating in the drive. J. Cheever Cowdin, chairman of the board of directors of Universal, is heading the motion picture section of* the commerce and industry division of the Fund's unified appeal for 31 member agencies. The division's quota of $12,130,000 is a 10 per cent increase over last year in the city-wide campaign to raise $17,200,000. Richard W. Lawrence, president of Bankers Commercial Corporation, is chairman of this year's drive. Studios Limiting Two Takes Per Scene, Sterling Says The studios of Hollywood are now limiting takes to^two per scene in the interest of raw stock conservation, Robert Sterling, production aide to Hunt Stromberg, said in New York this week. Mr. Sterling is in New York with a print of "Guest in the House" which will be released by United Artists. Discussing production schedules, Mr. Sterling said two Stromberg productions would go before the cameras at General Service Studios, Hollywood, by January. They will be followed by a picture built around the life of Arnold Ruben, noted restauranteur. Mr. Sterling will return to Hollywood in about two weeks. BMI Robot Bomb to Be Released by WAC The British Ministry of Information short subject, "V-1," dealing with the robot bomb blitz on England, will be released in this country by War Activities Committee on or about November 16. It was said that some 500,000 feet of raw stock to make the necessary 687 prints of the approximately_ 700 feet of film, will come from raw stock allocations to the British Information Services without drawing ypon WAC allocations. Universal Denied New Trial Motion for a new trial was denied Universal Tuesday in Los Angeles by District Judge Harry Hollzer,_ in the case of Robert Cummings versus the studio. The star was suspended following his refusal to enact a role assigned to him. The case was decided in the actor's favor in September. Universal will appeal to the Circuit Court. Skouras to Aid Charity Drive Spyros Skouras, president of Twentieth Century-Fox, has been appointed chairman of the motion picture division of the 1944 campaign for funds of the Visiting Nurse Service of New York. The drive began last week. Carol Weill in New Post • Carol Weill, formerly director of advertising and publicity for Film Classics, has moved with her entire staff to join George A. Hirliman at International Theatrical and Television Corporation, where she will continue in the same capacity. Fisher Rejoins Censor Board John Clyde Fisher was sworn in again Tuesday in Philadelphia as a censor of the Pennsylvania state board of censorship. He resigned two months ago and has since been manager of the Family theatre in Camden, N. J. oil) Arthur Asks Wri And $285,000 in Arbitration Suit Darnages totaling $285,000 and an injunctio, restrain the American Arbitration Associat' St. Louis tribunal from hearing the clearance ( plaint of the Princess theatre, St. Louis, sched: for November 13, were asked by Russell Ha' attorney for Harry C. Arthur, Jr., in a suit last Wednesday in the Federal District Cour#®^ St. Louis. ™ ' ' Meanwhile, the hearing of the Arthur petf to intervene in the Government's suit against' majors has been postponed to December 5. ; hearing, originally set for November 3 in the ]; eral District Court, New York, was held oveflf. the request on Monday of Robert L. Wright, ' cial assistant to the Attorney General. The request of Mr. Wright, necessitated by current appearance at the Schine case, Bufl was acceded to by Mr. Hardy for Mr. Arthur j by John Caskey of Dwight, Harris, Koegel Caskey, New York, for the majors. Mr. Caf also is appearing in the Schine case. The St. Louis suit seeks treble damages, allej that the plaintiffs have suffered $95,000 los5 patronage as a result of an Association ruj which reduced the clearance time for the Ap theatre, St. Louis. The plaintiffs include the \ run, Fox, Missouri, Ambassador, St. Louis ' Shubert theatres and 27 neighborhood houses. It is further alleged that the authority given ^ American Arbitration Association by the Un States District Court, New York, to act on putes between exhibitors and distributors, | granted for only three years as an "experime, and that it has expired. ' The petition also alleged that five members' the Arthur family now serving in the armed foJ were deprived of their rights under the Soldiers' ' Sailors' Civil Relief Act because of the "unlav character and conduct of the so-called arbitratit The defendants named in the suit include Ado Rosecan, operator of the Princess theatre, \ Joseph Litvag, as officers of the Apollo The^ Corporation, the American Arbitration Associat! Paramount Pictures, Inc., RKO Radio Pictu, Inc., Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporat Warner Brothers Pictures, Inc., Vitagraph, I and Harold D. Conner and Harry G. Erbs, A employees. Sellout for '-'Night of Stars" Reported Approximately 90 per cent of available ticli for the 11th annual "Night of Stars" benefit tof held Tuesday, November 14, at Madison SqtP Garden, New York, have been sold. Sylvan G( schal, chairman, reported Tuesday. Screen, st, and radio stars will appear at the benefit, Pj ceeds of which will be turned over to the Uni,; Jewish Appeal for refugees, overseas needs Tj Palestine. Robert Weitman, manager of the Pa mount theatre, is chairman of the producing cc mittee. Henrietta Crosman Dies Henrietta Crosman, one of Broadway's lead stage stars two decades ago who appeared bri( in films between 1932 and 1936, died October 31 her home in Pelham Manor, N. Y. She was i Before going to Hollywood, where she was un' contract to Twentieth Century-Fox, Miss Cr man played a role in the film, "The Royal Farr; of Broadway," produced in New York. Her s Maurice Campbell, Jr., survives. Laufer Joins Universal Phil Laufer, recently resigned from United A ists, this week joined Universal's home office pi licity staff as special coordinator of radio, nt\ paper and trade contacts. Under Universal's n plan of assigning home office publicity repres tatives to key city openings, Mr. Laufer also v handle previews in key cities. MOTION PICTURE HERALD. NOVEMBER 4, 1<