Motion Picture Herald (Mar-Apr 1945)

5,250 Theatres Mobilized for ted Cross Drive Incomplete returns showed 15,250 theatres :dged to all-out participation in the industry's »5 Red Cross War Fund Week, March 15 5 fough 21, Leon J. Bamberger, national cam" ign director, said Tuesday evening in New York. This figure exceeds the 1944 total of 13.434 eatres by more than 1,800, and covers all expt eight territories which have made no report ice the end of last week. Mr. Bamberger disced that the total number of territories to ach 100 per cent enrollment was 10. with Cincinti, New Haven, Pittsburgh, and Portland added Albany, Buffalo, San Francisco, northern New rsey, Rhode Island and Delaware. Meanwhile, assurances of increased support were ported from various sections of the country. icr eases Are Promised In Seattle, distributors and exhibitors promid an increase of 25 oer cent in collections roughout Washington. In San Francisco, B. V. .urdivant. North California chairman for the drive, sured the Red Cross that theatres in his region ;uld surpass last year's figures, while in New ork television gave its support in a telecast in half of the campaign Wednesday evening over BS television station WCBW. Arrangements ere made by Ralph B. Austrian. RKO Televion Corporation vice-president and Television lairman of the drive. New York film theatres jumped the gun one day, heduling a mammoth Red Cross parade and illy for Wednesday in Brooklyn, with screen and age stars, 1,000 uniformed Red Cross voluners, 60 pieces of Red Cross motorized equipent and five service bands participating. The stars taking part in the parade and rally ere to include Frank Fay, Jane Wyatt, Franchot one. Miriam Hopkins, Robert Benchley, Florence Ace, Wendy Barrie, Mady Christians, Oscar lomolka. Hugh Herbert, Skeets Gallagher, James :ilison, Roscoe Karns. Harvey Stevens, Victor loore and Michael O'Shea. Arranged with the cooperation of the Brooklyn Tnapter of the Red Cross, the parade was to larch from Schermerhorn Street and Flatbush i venue at 11 A. M., to Borough Hall for review y Borough President John Cashmore, representig the City of New York, and members of the Var Activities Committee headed by N. Peter iathvon, national chairman of "Red Cross War rund W^eek," in motion picture theatres. Home Office Rally at Warners The Warner home office planned a rally there n behalf of the drive under the joint auspices of he company, the Warner Club and the Office Employees' Union, providing for a recess at 4 P. M. 'o permit all employees to attend. The rally was :o be addressed by a wounded Marine from the Pacific, a Red Cross worker from the European Jieatre, and a Warner official, while the Red Cross was to present a citation to Warner employees who had donated to the blood bank. The drive among Paramount employees in the metropolitan New York area was set to start Wednesday with a rally in the home office recreation room, sponsored by the Paramount Pep Club. IBarnev Balaban. Paramount president, who has been appointed chairman of the Paramount campaign, announced last week. Arthur Maver, deputv commissioner for the Red Cross in the Pacific area, who recently returned from the South Pacific, was scheduled as principal speaker, bringing a greeting from Stanton Griffis, chairman of the Paramount executive committee, now serving as Red Cross commisisioner for the entire Pacific area. Condon Pact Renewed Frank Rosenberg, director of advertising and publicity for Columbia, announced this week that Columbia had renewed its contract with Richard Condon, Inc.. public relations, for special publicity and exploitation services on major releases. IN NEWSREELS MOVIETONE NEWS— Vol. 27, No. 55— Allied armies push to Rhine and cross in bis offensive. . . . Allied air power pulverizes Nazis. . . . Troopship brings wounded home from the war. . . . Lighter side of G.I. news. . . . Winter sports. MOVIETONE NEWS— VoL 27, No. 56— Corregidor retaken. . . . Obliteration bombing in Germany. . . . Stettinius returns from peace talks, hails progress. . . . Freighter blazes after explosion in Vancouver harbor. . . Cowboy camera artist switches to pin-up girls. . . . Golden Gloves held in Chicago. NEWS OF THE DAY— Vol. 16, No. 253— Allies in big Rhine push. . . . British fleet busy in Pacific. Angels of Bataan back. . . . Report from the front by a fighting American. . . . Wounded home from Europe kiss U. S. soil. NEWS OF THE DAY— Vol. 16, No. 254— Corregidor taken again. . . . Allies' obliteration bombing cuts off German path of retreat. . . . Midwest war plants crippled by Ohio River spring floods. . . . All wool and a mile wide. PARAMOUNT NEWS— No. 56— Home for 1,000 heroes. . . . Super-stork brings two animal babes. . . . German}'— two-way smash — fall of Cologne — Red Cross saves many lives as Nazis fire on Allied wounded. PARAMOUNT NEWS— No. 57— Floods— Ohio River gives 1945 preview. . . . Navy launches midget fighter. . . . Back from Bataan. . . . Corregidor, the rock. RKO PATHE NEWS— Vol. 16, No. 58— British Canadians smash into Germany. . . . RAF blasts Dresden in path of Red army. . . . First pictures of Allied jet-propelled planes. . . . Henry Wallace is Secretary of Commerce. . . . Wounded veterans return to U.S. RKO PATHE NEWS— Vol. 16, No. 59— Biggest air assault hits Germany. . . . Return to Corregidor. UNIVERSAL NEWS— Vol. 18, No. 379— Allies cracking the West Wall. . . . B-29 assembly line. . . . Wounded G.I.'s return. . . . Allied jet planes. . . . Patton's men talk. UNIVERSAL NEWS— Vol. 18, No. 380-Corregidor avenged. . . . Midwest ravaged by floods. . . . Air smashes devastate Germany. ALL AMERICAN NEWS— Vol. 3, No. 125— Buddy Young, famed athlete, trains as bluejacket. . . . War plant rally starts Red Cross drive. . . . Burma Road G.I.'s pick Harriet Wright pin-up girl. . . . State Dept. official tells of coming United Nations meet. . . . Waves training as Nurses' Aides. . . . Brig. Gen. Benj. O. Davis visits Belgium. Dimes Total in Philadelphia Reached Record $139,020 A total of $139,020.40 for the 1945 March of Dimes was collected in Philadelphia's 220 film houses, according to an announcement made by Sidney Samuelson, head of Eastern Pennsylvania Allied, Independent Theatre Owners, was cochairman of the theatre phase of the drive with Ted Schlanger, Warner circuit zone head here. The collection was 20 per cent greater than last year, when the total was $115,391.42. The total represented a per capita collection of seven cents in the Philadelphia area. Sixty-five cents was collected from every film theatre seat in this city. Merit certificates were presented to 50 women who were captains of teams. "Wilson" Gets Spring Release At Advanced Admission Jack Lorentz, Twentieth Century-Fox midwest manager, last week in Chicago announced that "Wilson" would be released in neighborhood houses this spring at advanced admissions, to be sold on similar percentage terms as "The Song of Bernadette." The distributor will pay for the extra projectionist required by the local union of all theatres playing at advanced admissions. It was indicated that the "Wilson" dates would be tied in with the company's 30th anniversary celebration. 20th Century-Fox Shares Are Offered to Public A block of 28,571 shares of common stock of Twentieth Century-Fox at 28?^, less a commission to dealers of 50 cents a share, was offered last Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange by E. F. Hutton & Company and Shields & Company. The offering was quickly oversubscribed. Bids were received for 34,870 shares and allotments were made on a basis of 94 per cent. There were 251 purchases by 35 companies. Kalmenson Sets Series of Warner Sales Meetings Plans for a series of district sales meetings, in which branch managers will participate, to be followed by local meetings for the entire sales personnel in the respective exchanges to avoid excess travel, were outlined by Ben Kalmenson, general sales manager for Warner Bros, at the conference' of district managers and home office executives held in New York last weekend. Other topics discussed at the sessions included forthcoming product, special merchandising campaigns, the company's annual sales drive and various distribution matters. This year's sales drive, designated as "Warner's Heap Big Powwow of 1945" will run from April 1 to July 28, with the Indian motif employed in the promotional accessories. War Bond prizes will be presented the winners. Blumenstock Outlines Plans Mort Blumenstock, head of Warner advertising and publicity in the east, outlined special campaigns on "Hotel Berlin," "Roughly Speaking," "God Is My Co-Pilot" and other films and said separate campaigns applying particularly to large and small cities were being mapped Samuel Schneider, vice-president, discussed some of the current problems relating to prints, as well as increased film costs. Norman H. Moray, short subject sales manager, appointed by Mr. Kalmenson to serve again as captain of the annual sales drive, presented the details to the gathering, and will do the same at later district meetings. First of these meetings, for the eastern group, was held last Saturday, with Jules Lapidus, eastern division sales manager, presiding. Others participating included : Norman Ayers, Robert Smeltzer, George W. Horan, Fred Beiersdorf, Al Herman, Ray Smith, Carl Coe, W. C. Mansell, Clarence Eiseman, Art Moger, George Fishman. Franklin Fisher and others. The next meeting was held in Pittsburgh Tuesday with meetings following in Chicago, Memphis, on the west coast of Canada. District managers who took part in the New York conference included Mr. Ayers, Robert Smeltzer, Charles Rich, Harry Seed, R. L. McCoy, Doak Roberts, Hall Walsh, Henry Herbel, Ralph Clark. Among the home office executives who addressed the sessions were: I. F. Dolid, Ed Hinchy, Stanley Hatch. New York men attending included Bernard Goodman, William Brumberg, Charles Baily, Al Brauninger. Kalmenson to Toronto Wednesday Mr. Kalmenson, accompanied by Mr. Hinchy, head of the playdate department, left for Toronto to conduct the meeting of sales executives. In addition to Ralph H. Clark, Canadian district manager, the following branch managers were to participate in the sessions : Joseph Plottel, Samuel Pearlman, Grattan Kiely, L. McKenzie, G. A. Matthews, E. H. Dalgleish and Glenn Ireton. Roy Haines, western and southern division sales manager, also left Wednesday for Chicago for the three-day regional meeting in connection with the 1945 drive. Two-day sessions for the midwest and prairie districts were scheduled to take place Thursday and Friday at the Hotel Blackstone. In Chicago Mr. Haines was to be joined by Mr. Brumberg, arriving from Pittsburgh where a similar meeting concluded Tuesday. Also slated for participation in the Chicago sessions were Harry A. Seed, Hall Walsh, midwest and prairie district managers, respectively, and the following branch managers : A. J. Shumow, R. H. Dunbar, Don Woods, A. W. Anderson, E. J. Tilton, R. C. Borg, F. J. Hannon and Lester Bona. Others were : George Lefko, Ted Tod, Lucia Perrigo, Stanton Kramer, Don Walker, George Wood and Edward Johnson. Following the Chicago meeting, Mr. Haines was scheduled to conduct two-day sessions in Memphis, March 18-19, and Los Angeles, March 24-25. I MOTION PICTURE HERALD, MARCH 17, 1945 45