Motion Picture Herald (Jan-Feb 1945)

THIS WEEK IN THE NEWS Goldwyn on Mission SAMUEL GOLDWYN arrived in London this week on the first lap of a special mission for the Foreign Economic Administration. Peter Burnup, Herald London correspondent, reported by cable Wednesday that Mr. Goldwyn, wearing the uniform of a colonel of the U. S. Army, reiterated that he was there solely to represent the FEA. He said that he wished to visit France and also Germany if "developments were favorable." He began work at the U. S. Embassy in London Wednesday, Mr. Burnup reported. Leo T. Crowley, FEA administrator announced in Washington last Thursday Mr. Goldwyn had been appointed to undertake a special job for the Government agency. No one at FEA would say why Mr. Goldwyn was being sent to Europe, but in other Washington circles it was suggested his trip concerned European film supplies and the Kodak plant near Paris, which was taken over by the Allies when the Germans were routed. The U. S. Army is said to have already contracted for $10,000,000 worth of X-ray film to be produced by the French Kodak plant this year. Phil Reisman, vice-president in charge of foreign distribution for RKO Radio, arrived in London last week just in time for the company's United Kingdom sales conference. Mr. Reisman is planning to go to France and is awaiting transportation-permits from the French Government. Bound for England in March will be Spyros Skouras, president of Twentieth Century-Fox, accompanied by Murray Silverstone, vice-president in charge of foreign distribution, and Arthur Silverstone, foreign department representative in London. Stubborn ALTHOUGH the temptation is great to construe an Associated Press dispatch from London as a tribute to the appeal of motion pictures, the truth probably is that it proves the English are just as stubborn en queue as are their American cousins. The dispatch relates the landing in a tobacconist shop of a German V-bomb that killed several persons and demolished the shop. "But," adds the dispatch, "the explosion failed to disperse a line near by waiting for admission to a motion picture theatre." Warner Policy INQUIRIES at the company's annual stockholders meeting in Wilmington, Del., Monday about the dividend policy of Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc., brought from officials the explanation that it was "the intention of the management to continue to apply available cash receipts to reducing the company's outstanding debt." It was announced that no dividends would be paid. The officials said that "the program of debt reduction is directed toward the ultimate goal of placing the common stock on a sound dividend basis." A net reduction of $2,853,000 was reported in the consolidated funded debt since Sept. 1, 1944, bringing the total funded and other long STARS of Hollywood receive HERALD-F«w^ awards on coast Page 10 BILLS and threat of bills sound alert throughout industry Page 13 STATE Department to use films to inform public on Dumbarton Oaks Page 14 ON THE MARCH— Red Kann discusses more Gallup poll methods Page 18 WPB allocating film to the world: Canada receives some 16mm Page 31 BRITISH exhibitors up in arms over onerous quota obligation Page 32 SERVICE DEPARTMENTS From Reader Page 48 Hollywood Scene Page 47 In the Newsreels Page 58 Late Review Page 51 Managers' Round Table Page 65 Picture Grosses Page 64 REPORT on chaotic Italian business, by Martin Quigley, Jr. Page 33 ELEVEN companies have record backlogs totaling 189 pictures Page 35 BOX OFFICE Champions for the month of January Page 36 INDUSTRY breakfast starts film's annual Red Cross campaign Page 37 AUSTRALIA prepares plans for a national film board like that in Canada Page 38 BYRNES curfew order affects 200 key theatres in nation Page 48 Shorts at First Runs Page 54 What the Picture Did for Me Page 59 IN PRODUCT DIGEST SECTION Page 2329 Page 2331 term debt to approximately $46,800,000. A net profit of $2,350,000, after taxes, for the quarter ended Nov. 25, 1944, was announced as an official estimate. Equivalent to 63 cents a share on the outstanding common, the new figure compares with $1,981,730 in 1943. Samuel Carlisle, Stanleigh P. Friedman, Charles S. Guggenheimer, Samuel Schneider and Morris Wolf were reelected directors at the meeting, which lasted less than an hour and was moderately attended. Jacques Kopstein was turned down again on his attempt to buy several old Warner films. Last year, he offered $1,000,000, raising the figure this year to $2,000,000. Officials rejected the new offer when it was shown that some $2,000,000 had been grossed by the pictures last year under company distribution. In Gratitude INFORMAL public morning ceremonies in Washington at the Shrine housing the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States and an evening lecture by Byron Price, Director of Censorship, on "The Bill of Rights in Wartime," marked the presentation by Barney Balaban, president of Paramount Pictures, Inc., to the Library of Congress on Wednesday of one of the originals of the Bill of Rights. The document, dated Sept. 25, 1789, was one of the 14 copies engrossed at the order of the first Congress, and was one of the 13 copies submitted by that Congress to the original states. Mr. Balaban purchased the copy in 1943 for the Library as a token of gratitude for the freedom his Russian-born parents found as immigrants to this country. Postmaster General Frank C. Walker, Supreme Court Justices Robert H. Jackson and Felix Frankfurter, and Luther H. Evans, acting librarian, were among the officials present. The Navy Prefers MEN in the Navy know what they want. They have asked for 50 top Hollywood films of past years, putting at the top of their request list "Lives of a Bengal Lancer," "Mutiny on the Bounty," "Holiday Inn" and "Ruggles of Red Gap." In cooperation with the industry, the Navy has arranged for new prints of the old films. Captain T. J. O'Brien, U. S. N., Navy welfare director, and Captain Gene Markey, U. S. N. R., director of Navy photographic services, conducted the survey which showed film preferences of the Navy personnel for the request series. Other pictures to be shown include: "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town," "Roberta," "San Francisco," "The Awful Truth," "Old Chicago," "Union Pacific," "Barbary Coast," "You Can't Take It With You," "Alexander's Ragtime Band," "Road to Singapore," "It Happened One Night," "Top Hat," "Boom Town," "Stage Coach," "Hurricane" and "One Hundred Men and a Girl." Love from Mother LOUELLA PARSONS, Hollywood columnist, in her piece for the International News Service Syndicate February 16, said: "I've seen a great picture — as fine a one as I've ever seen in my 30 years as a reviewer, and I'm not even blushing when I tell you it's 'The Enchanted Cottage', produced by Harriet Parsons for RKO. I'm proud of my child, and I feel she deserves the praise given her in the reviews of the trade papers." William R. Weaver, Motion Picture Herald's Hollywood editor, liked it too. His review, rating it "Excellent," appeared in Product Digest last week. 8 MOTION PICTURE HERALD. FEBRUARY 24. 1945 i