Motion Picture Herald (Jan-Feb 1945)

PICTURE CROSSES A statistical compilation and comparison of BoX'OMce Per' formance in first-run theatres Figures directly below picture title compare dollar gross with average gross and show relative percentage of all engagements tabulated. Figures opposite theatre names represent percentage of tabulated grosses to average weekly business based on the six months' period ending October 31, 1944. SYMBOLS: (DB) Double Bill— associate feature title; (SA) Stage Attraction; (MO) Move-Over Run; (AA) Advance Admission. INDEX: Over-all performance percentage figures from previously published final reports appear in Service Data section of Product Digest. See last column of Release Chart for Index. KISMET <MCM) Final Reports: Total Gross Tabulated $1,029,800 Comparative Average Gross 903,500 Over-all Performance 113.9% BALTIMORE— Century 111.7% BOSTON— Orpheum 116.0% (DB) The Missing Juror (Col.) BOSTON— State 169.2% (DB) The Missing Juror (Col.) BUFFALO^Great Lakes, 1st week 100.9% BUFFALO— Great Lakes, 2nd week 72.5% CHICAGO— United Artists, 1st week 116.0% CHICAGO— United Artists, 2nd week 107.1% CHICAGO— United Artists, 3rd week 107.1% CINCINNATI— RKO Capitol, 1st week .... 127.9% CrrNCINNATI— RKO Capitol, 2nd week .... 81.3% CLEVELAND— Loew's State 110.0% INDLANAPOLIS— Loew's . 125.0% (DB) Shadows in the Night (Col.) KANSAS CITY— Midland M.2Vo LOS ANGELES— Egyptian, 1st week 177.0% LOS ANGELES— Egyptian, 2nd week ..... 110.6% LOS ANGELES— Egyptian, 3rd week 80.0% LOS ANGELES— Los Angeles, 1st week ..... 218.3% LOS ANGELES— Los Angeles, 2nd week . . . 143.6%, LOS ANGELES— Los Angeles, 3rd week .... 94.8% LOS ANGELES— Ritz, 1st week 167.4% LOS ANGELES— Ritz, 2nd week 103.6% LOS ANGELES— Ritz, 3rd week 77.0% MILWAUKEE— Wisconsin 106.1% (DB) The Big Noise (20th-Fox) MINNEAPOLIS— State 100.0% MONTREAL— Loew's, 1st week 94.3% MONTREAI^Loew's, 2nd week 89.6% NEW YORK— Astor, 1st week 177.3% NEW YORK— Astor, 2nd week 168.1% NEW YORK— Astor, 3rd week 171.8% NEW YORK— Astor, 4th week 144.5% NEW YORK— Astor, 5th week 158.1% NEW YORK— Astor, 6th week 135.4% NEW YORK— Astor, 7th week 123.1% NEW YORK— Astor, 8th week 120.4% NEW YORK— Astor. 9th week 104.5% NEW YORK— Astor, 10th week 96.3% NEW YORK— Astor, llth week 84.5% NEW YORK— Astor, 12th week 82.7% NEW YORK— Astor, 13th week 70.0% OMAHA— Paramount, 1st week 92.6% OMAHA— Paramount. 2nd week 90.0% OMAHA— Omaha, MO 1st week 104.7% PHILADELPHIA— Stanley, 1st week 152,3% PHILADELPHIA— Stanley, 2nd week 107.1%, PHILADELPHIA— Stanley, 3rd week 72.3% PHILADELPHIA— Karlton, MO 1st week. . . . 106.0% PITTSBURGH— Penn ICO.0% PROVIDENCE— State 71.0% (DB) Meet Miss Bobby Socks (Col.) SAN FRANCISCO— Fox 131 1% (DB) Storm Over Lisbon (Rep.) SAN FRANCISCO— State. MO l.st week .... 113.4% (DB) Storm Over Lisbon (Rep.) SAN FRANCISCO— State, MO 2nd week . . . 99.2% (DB) Storm Over Lisbon (Rep.) SEATTLE— Paramount, 1st week 147.6% fDB1 Dark Mountain (Para.) SEATTLE— Paramount, 2nd week 76.1% (DB'* Dark Mountain (Para.) WASHINGTON— Capitol 107.7% (SA) Vaudeville AND NOW TOMORROW (Para.) J ntpfmediate Reports: Total Gross Tabulated Comparative Average Gross Over-all Performance $625,900 604.300 103.5% 141.6% BUFFALO-Bufifalo (DB) National Barn Dance (Para.) BUFFALO— Hippodrome, MO 1st week . . (DB) National Barn Dance (Para.) CINCINNATI-RKO Albee 83.3% 150.0% CINCINNATI— RKO Grand, MO 1st week . . . 85.3% CINCINNATI— RKO Lyric, MO 2nd week . . . 70.1% CLEVELAND— Loew's State 85.0% CLEVELAND— Loew's Stillman, MO 1st week . 79.4% DENVER— Denham, 1st week 137.7% DENVER— Denham, 2nd week 127.5% DENVER— Denham, 3rd week 102.0% INDIANAPOLIS— Indiana 96.1% LOS ANGELES— Paramount Downtown, 1st week 151.3% LOS ANGELES— Paramount Downtown, 2nd week 102.5% LOS ANGELES— Paramount Downtown, 3rd week 76.8% LOS ANGELES— Paramount Hollywood, 1st week 151.2% LOS ANGELES— Paramount Hollywood, 2nd week 102.9% LOS ANGELES— Paramount Hollywood, 3rd week 67.2% NEW YORK— Paramount, 1st week 129.1% (SA) Glen Gray's Orchestra, others NEW YORK— Paramount, 2nd week 103.0% (SA) Glen Gray's Orchestra, others NEW YORK— Paramount, 3rd week 89.2% (SAI Glen Gray's Orchestra, others NEW YORK— Paramount, 4th week 78.2% (SA) Glen Gray's Orchestra, others OMAHA— Orpheum 127.2% (DB) Take It Big (Para.) MILWAUKEE— Palace, 1st week 113.6% (DB) Sergeant Mike (Col.) MILWAUKEE— Palace. 2nd week .* 119.0% (DB) Sergeant Mike (Col.) MILWAUKEE— Strand, MO 1st week .... 97.8% (DB) I Love a Soldier (Para.) MINNEAPOLIS— Radio City 117.6% WASHINGTON— Palace, 1st week 93.9% WASHINGTON— Palace, 2nd week 77.3% SOMETHING FOR THE BOYS (20th -Fox) Final Reports: Total Gross Tabulated $485,000 Comparative Average Gross 517,300 Over-all Performance 93.7% BALTIMORE— New, 1st week 105.0% BALTIMORE— New, 2nd week 79.8%, BALTIMORE— New, 3rd week 67.2% BUFFALO— Buffalo 95.2% DENVER— Denver 106.6% (DB) When Strangers Marry (Mono.) DENVER— Esquire 122.9% (DB) When Strangers Marry (Mono.) DENVER— Aladdin, MO' 1st week 56.9% (DB) When Strangers Marry (Mono.) KANSAS CITY— Esquire 150.0% KANSAS CITY— Uptown 112.0% LOS ANGELES— Chinese 85.2% (DB) When Strangers Marry (Mono.) LOS ANGELES— Loew's State 95.5% (DB) When Strangers Marry (Mono.) LOS ANGELES— Uptown 106.6% (DB) When Strangers Marry (Mono.) MINNEAPOLIS— Radio City 70 0% MINNEAPOLIS— Lyric, 1st week 106.3% MINNEAPOLIS— Lyric, 2nd week 85.1% NEW YORK— Roxy, 1st week ■ 90.2% (SA) Jimmy Savo, Mildred Bailey, others NEW YORK— Roxy, 2nd week 80.0% (SA) Jimmy Savo, Mildred Bailey, others OMAHA— Paramount 96.3% OMAHA— Omaha, MO 1st week 87.0% (DB) The Unwritten Code (Col.) PHILADELPHIA— Fox, 1st week 116.9% PHILADELPHIA— Fox, 2nd week 82.2% PITTSBURGH— Harris, 1st week 128.2% PITTSBURGH— Harris, 2nd week ' 55 5% PROVIDENCE— Majestic 110 2% PROVIDENCE— Carlton, MO 1st week .... 1166% SAN FRANCISCO— Paramount 107 4% SAN FRANCISCO— State, MO 1st week ... 85 1% (DB) My Buddy (Rep.) SEATTLE— Paramount 80 0% ST. LOUIS-Fox 128 6% (DB) Pearl of Death (Univ.) ST. LOUIS— Missouri, MO 1st week 90.4% (DB) The Falcon in Hollywood (RKO) WASHINGTON— Loew's Capitol 99.1% (SA) Vaudeville Producers Will Abide by Terms j Of SAG Contraci The jurisdictional dispute between the Scree Actors Guild and the newly formed Screen Pla^, ers Union in Hollywood reached a climax lai week when the Guild threatened to call a strik if producers employed Union members for "stunt bits and singing roles." The battle was further intensified when the nex union, at a meeting in Hollywood last Thursda made official claim to control of extra players wh "speak lines, or sing or perform stunts," citing till National Labor Relations Board as its authority. I The action followed receipt of a telegram to thj Union from Y. Frank Freeman, executive head d. Paramount studios, who said in behalf of nin studios : "Faced with the dilemma of a conflict Oj jurisdiction between your organization and thl SAG, we have no choice but to continue to ob^ serve and perform out contract with SAG in relal tion to acting work." End Class B Membership Last Wednesday the Screen Actors Guild an^ nounced official elimination of its Class B membership classification by February 1, setting thf same date as a deadline for extra players in tha' classification to apply for A-Junior status if desirous of doing active work. The move ended SAG jurisditional control oi atmosphere players, who recently voted in favor of) the SPU, simultaneously opening the Guild doori, for any actors who desire to continue under th^ actors guild. | Apart from the control vested in jurisdiction,!! principally at stake, the continuing conflict con-, cerns the performance of work for which the'' studios expended $340,718.86 in wagts duringli November, 1944. ' These wages were paid to extra players en-i gaged through the Central Casting Bureau, an in-ji dustry-supported agency set up for the purpose oflj hiring extra players in required numbers on a dayl basis at union wages. Four Established Wage Levels \ There are four established wage levels : $5.50, \ $8.25, $10.50 and $16.50, per day. One day's work, | at any level, is called a placement. There were i 27,454 placements during the month— 642 at $5.50, j 3,141 at $8.25, 21,267 at $10.50, and 2,211 at $16.50 } — and the average daily wage was $12.44. [ Until last week, when the Central Casting Bu » reau was opened to the general public and all comers, placements were given exclusively to I Class B members of the Screen Actors Guild, who \ voted December 17 to adopt the Screen Players Union instead of the SAG as their bargaining rep , resentative. i The NLRB, conducting the election, found there were at that time 3,300 extra players eligible to i vote in the election, which meant that each of I these had worked a mjnimum of 30 days at a studio ; within the calendar year preceding the election. ! The Players Union elected Harry Mayo pres | ident ; Glenn Stephens, vice-president ; Lee Powell, I secretary ; Don Wayson, assistant secretary, and ^ Mike Jeffers, treasurer. I Five Personnel Changes Made i, By Century Circuit ' Five changes in the personnel of Century Cir i cuit. New York, have been announced by Joseph R. Springer, general theatre manager. Saul Ren ' ick, recently discharged from the Srmed forces, has been named assistant manager of the Avalon ; Phil Seed has been transferred from the Avalon ' to the Nostrand as assistant manager ; Irwin Auer , bach, appointed assistant manager of the Elm. Mr. Auerbach was formerly assistant manager at the > Nostrand. Milton Freund, former assistant man , ager at the Elm, has been transferred to the Lincoln in the same capacity, and Walter Robertson, formerly of the Linden, has been sent to the Floral as assistant manager. 46 MOTION PICTURE HERALD, JANUARY 6. 1945