Motion Picture Herald (Mar-Apr 1945)

-I a: eh Standard 'ay in Theatres ►/ Mexico City 1 _UIS BECERRA CELIS Mexico City .xhibitors here have yet another labor prob| the demand of section one (theatre attaches) jihe National Cinematographic Industry Work! Union for standardized wages. Most of the theatres here already have granted the deld and the section has started to exert pres';. by means of a complaint to the Federal rd of Conciliation and Arbitration, on those ,ch are holding out. The standardized pay, highest of its kind in Mexico up to now, is a. daily basis : hief of employees, $5.40; two projectionists, 0 each ; one box office girl, S3. 75 ; two doorJi, $3.30 each; one guard, $2.75 ; four porters, T 0 each, and one bellhop, $1.80. The seven-day Jll on this basis is $276.50. V n view of numerous complaints from the publ 1 1 the local civic government has ordered all exLtors here to place signs at the box office stat4 that all seats in their theatres are occupied ■\ that no standing room is allowed. The object :f his ruling is to prevent crowding in the cinemas Jjt might have disastrous results. ;l.Jf late, some theatres, especially on Saturdays, -Iidays and holidays, have had almost as many idees as patrons seated. Now, as soon as the ■litres are full, they are compelled by law to disJy the sign, "No Seats." City amusements inictors have orders to see to it that this regu>lion is strictly observed. The government has I ~ned exhibitors that violations will bring se " | e fines. J.Ixhibitors here, it is learned, pay an average of . ,000 in fines a year, for violating various Anicipal amusements ordinances. Selling tickets X admitting their holders as standees when the aires are full figure prominently. V 7ery limited raw stock has forced producers to 4:nomize strictly. They have started by casting z sfc»ut to find players who are adequate but not jtt expensive as the regulars. Search for such rairnt is being made in stage theatres and radio ijjaiions ; also among the lower paid players. The h-bracket players are annoyed, insisting their \gt scales must be maintained. But they have yet done anything about the producers' new -H-'.e. The producers believe that recruiting new :nt will serve a double purpose : reducing overd, up to now the highest the Mexican industry ever known, and improving box office with / ■j];h names and faces. • '. 'mother odd angle of the raw stock shortage r Ration is that a large number of feature probers and cameramen are seeking to join orlized members of the industry who specialize newsreels and other short subjects, indicating t not a few producers will go in for shoft jects this year. rr.a ; 3 1 ?ioldwyn Meets British London ess in t3 ijamuel Goldwyn, independent producer now in I role of diplomat, told the British press last lursday at Claridge's Hotel, London, he had come 'England on a fact-finding mission for the U. S. reign Economic Administration. He said he ^5 concerned solely with "reverse lendlease," acting to press reports from London. Motion r;tures, Mr. Goldwyn explained, were not his 3 'icern on this trip, then for the next 45 minutes j talked about them. The producer expressed view that films should have an "internationalc flavor" and urged that Britain import talent m Hollywood and elsewhere to contribute to international flavor of British pictures. He ther declared that Hollywood talent would ;-3 Urease the "vision and scope" of British films, ncerning his mission for FEA, he said he had 'He to say. ( DTION PICTURE HERALD, MARCH 3, 1945 DAYS AND DOLLARS! Save both by Air Express. Hundreds of companies are constantly saving thousands of dollars by gaining days en route for emergency shipments. True, war traffic comes first, but with more planes being put into Airline service, more space is available for important goods. SHIP EARLY IN DAY for fastest delivery. Same-day delivery between many airport towns and cities. Overnight from coast-tocoast. Direct service to scores of foreign countries. Rapid air-rail schedules to 23,000 off-airlines points in the United States. FOR 3-MILE-A-MINUTE speed, cost of Air Express is low, indeed. 25 lbs., for instance, goes more than 500 miles for $4.38, more than 1.000 miles for $8.75 — with cost including special pick-up and delivery in major U. S. towns and cities. WRITE TODAY for "Quizzical Quizz," a booklet packed with facts that will help you solve many a shipping problem. Railway Express Agency, Air Express Division, 230 Park Avenue, New York 17. Or ask for it at any local office. ^SP^ 0£72 THERE F/8S7 Phone RAILWAY EXPRESS AGENCY, AIR EXPRESS DIVISION Representing the AIRLINES of the United States