Motion Picture Herald (Jan-Feb 1945)

"Co-Pilot'' Given Macon Premiere For Air Forces jj The premiere of Warners' "God Is My CoPilot" was held Wednesday at the Grand theatre, }' Macon, Ga., with the entire proceeds of the $10 :j per seat opening going to the Army Air Forces Aid Society. Warner Bros, executives present included Mort Blumenstock, head of advertising and publicity in the east; Ralph McCoy, southern I district manager, and Henry G. Kru«im, branch manager. Monday, three Warner stars, Dennis Morgan, Alan Hale and Janis Paige, on a Bond and Army hospital tour en route to Macon for the premiere, were greeted in Atlanta by a delegation including the mayors of Atlanta and Macon, an Army escort, I an exhibitor group led by William K. Jenkins, I head of Lucas and Jenkins circuit, and civic I leaders; Mayor William Hartsfield of Atlanta commended the industry for its contributions to the entertainment of our troops overseas and I workers on the home front, j In Macon Tuesday there began a two-day cele; bration which included a gasless parade to the I City Hall followed by visits of the Warner players j to army camps and hospitals, culminating in the premiere Wednesday which was marked by two 3 coast-to-coast broadcasts. j Colonel Robert L. Scott, author of "God Is My I Co-Pilot" arrived in Macon Wednesday with his I wife and daughter to participate in the premiere ' activities. 25 Baltimore Houses Join in "Hollywood Canteen" Campaign Twenty-five Baltimore neighborhood theatres I have joined in a cooperative campaign, involving ' newspaper advertising, radio and other promotioni al activities, in connection with their bookings of I "Hollywood Canteen." Theatres included in the , cooperative undertaking, designed to get maximum grosses for the film, include: State, Belnord, Boulevard, Ambassador, McHenry, Edgewood, Cluster, Lord Baltimore, Metropolitan, Horn, Pimlico, Patterson, Senator, Arcade, Center, Arcade, Columbia, ' Plaza, Victory, Ritz, Vilma, Howard, Pikesville ' and Avalon. ; 1945 Republic's Best Year: Yates Signing of three noted directors, Frank Borzage, Alfred Santell, and William K. Howard, as pro. ducer-directors ; acquisition of leading stars, such ;i as John Wayne, Constance Moore, Eugene Palil lette, Victor McLaglen, and Joseph Schildkraut, .i on long term contracts ; and the decision by Re[| public to spend $30,000,000 on 1945-46 pictures— all these factors mark the coming year as the most J significant in the company's history, Herbert J. I Yates, Sr., president of Republic Productions, said this week. The keynote of Republic, as Mr. Yates put it, is : "We can do anything that any other studio can do, and we are prepared to prove it this year." ii He added that the company was in ' its strongest 1 position in this industry, and that its program I represented the "shooting of the works." j| Mr. Borzage's unit will produce pictures each i| costing more than $1,500,000. Mr. Santell's first !| picture as an independent producer under Republic j guidance will be "Mexicana," and Mr. Howard's, "A Guy Could Change," Mr. Yates said. The 130,000,000 will be spent on 12 pictures, each costing approximately $1,500,000; and on others reflective of Republic policy, Mr. Yates said. The 12 high budget pictures, he added, would be released one each month. Of the company's development of a producing unit studio, Mr. Yates remarked : "We look forward to the development of individuals both before and behind the cameras." LATE REVIEW Cod Is My Co-Pilot Warner Bros. — War over China When it's taking the audience aloft into a fighterplane conflict with Jap's over China, which is much of the time, this filming of an autobiographical book of the same name by Col. Robert L. Scott, is a top-grade war picture packing suspense and thrills in full measure. When it's telling, on the ground, the story of Scott and General Chennault, and of the period when the Flying Tigers were being merged with the Army Air Force, it has the element of time working against it. By and large, the picture neither betters nor worsens the screen's average as a homefront reflector of battle-front history. Producer Robert Buckner elected to subordinate to action sequences those having to do with the personal story of Scott, who is portrayed with considerable restraint by Dennis Morgan, and to convey by suggestion and inconclusive dialogue rather than by force and emphasis the point made by Scott in his book and expressed in its title. Although ' Alan Hale, miscast as the priest, has a good deal to say about the pilot's being not alone when he's soloing, it is not indicated that Scott ever accepts this as a fact. The point is referred to again, obliquely, by one pilot who tells another he doesn't think a flier is sure of rating a high priority in the hereafter "just because we're with allies" but will be rated on his individual merits. Raymond Massey's portrayal of Chennault is the best performance in the picture. The screenplay by Peter Milne and Abem Finkel -resorts to flashbacks instead of straightaway continuity, at some expense to momentum, and part is told in off-screen narration. Robert Florey's direction counteracts in some measure the slowing efifect of these arrangements. Previewed at the Forwm theatre, Los Angeles, It/here it played well. Reviewer's Rating : Good.— William R. Weaver. Release date, not set. Running time, 89 min. PCA No. 10644. General audience classification. Col. Scott Dennis Morgan Gen. Chennault Raymond Massey Dane Clark, Alan Hale, Andrea King, John Ridgely, Stanley Ridges, Craig Stevens, Warren Douglas, Stephen Richards, Charles Smith, Minor Watson, Richard Loo, Murray Alper, Joen Allen, Frank Tang, Paul Brock, John Wiles, Bernie Sell, William Forrest, Danny Dowling, Philip Ahn. Loop Expects Record Summer With Conventions Banned Balaban and Katz's Chicago theatre, leading Midwest combination policy house, will not cut its talent budget this summer despite the convention ban. The house has always reached its business peak during July and August, when out-of-town vacationists and conventions boost attendance. Nate Piatt, Chicago booker, is scheduling |8,000 to $12,000 weekly stage attractions in addition to "A" films during the summer season. The Loop is expecting record business from thousands of travelers who used to avoid the city during the crowded convention weeks. FM Workshop Formed An FM workshop, consisting of a six-week course, from June 19 to July 27, with the initial five weeks at the Ohio State University, Columbus, and the sixth week at FM station WBOE, Cleveland, under the joint sponsorship of Ohio State University, the State Department of Education and the Cleveland public schools, has been announced by Dr. I. Keith Tyler, director of the Annual Institute ^or Education by Radio. The 16th annual meeting of the Institute, originally scheduled for Columbus, has been cancelled in in line with the Office of Defense Transportation order banning large convention groups. Curfew Curbs Delinquency The curfew, which Fall River, Mass., theatres endorsed prior to its enactment as a city ordinance, has been a help in cutting down juvenile delinquency, Miss Dorothy Gifford, district agent for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, told a local organization recently.. Theatres are continuing their cooperation with authorities to enforce the curfew law. Tax Revenue for Fiscal Year Up to $205,289,025 Washington Bureau Treasury revenue from the admission tax during the fiscal year ended June 30, last, was $205,289,025, an increase of nearly $51,000,000 above the $154,450,722 received in the preceding fiscal year, it was reported last week by Commissioner of Internal Revenue Joseph D. Nunan. The figures, however, did not permit of a determination of how much of the increase was due to improved business, since there were changes in the rate of tax, the latest April 1, 1944, which made comparisons impossible. The commissioner's report indicated that approximately 85 per cent of all admission taxes were paid in at the box office. The figures were not so segregated as to show what was received at motion picture theatres, but it is generally figured in the bureau that films account for 85 to 90 per cent. Box ofiice collections for the fiscal year were reported as $177,993,776.43, the remaining $27,500,000 consisting of $26,726,331.47 received from roof gardens and cabarets, $381,646.93 from ticket brokers' sales in excess of box office prices, $137,096.37 from sales by proprietors in excess oi established prices, and $50,174.41 from lease o sale of boxes and seats. How much the public in the several states and territories contributed to the Treasury through the box office during the fiscal year 1944 is shown by the following table : .. $1,435,942 $214,181 587,963 N. Hampshire . . 502,617 1,244,190 . 3,995,033 , 18,446,339 205,770 . . 1,776,931 39,088,173 1,876,640 North Carolina . . 2,646,421 231,410 North Dakota . . 333,743 Florida 3,225,157 Ohio 7,420.677 2,820,627 1,993,645 425,391 , 1,602,210 .. 11,868,051 Pennsylvania . . . 9,118,456 3,761,218 Rhode Island . . . 829,415 2,268,985 South Carolina . . 1,205,336 930,296 South Dakota . . 332,988 Kentucky .. 1,741,195 Tennessee . 2.337,800 2,868,613 8,327,466 533,357 Utah 964,235 3,022,803 Vermont 249,454 Massachusetts . . . 7,000,472 2,937,301 7,436,0*6 Washington . . . 3,345,865 3,072,934 1,252,059 448,716 2,762,756 5,050,614 Wyoming 175,878 407,383 131,735 . . 1,202,940 D. of C. . 1,120,603 . 1,215,721 Analysis of the figures showed that approximately 40 per cent of the taxes collected at the box office were taken in the three states of New . York, California and Illinois, which headed the list in that order. At the other end of the scale, box office collections in Wyoming failed to hit $176,000, and accounted for less than one-tenth of one per cent of the total. Springfield Film Unit Forms School Appreciation Clubs The Motion Picture Council of Springfield, Mass., is organizing Movie Appreciation Clubs at every junior high school in that city and later will i extend the plan to senior high school groups. The model club has started at the Buckingham Junior High School under Mrs. Ralph W. O'Rourke, where with a student-appointed committee, meetings are held weekly for discussion of articles on films, lectures by guest speakers, instructions on how to judge and select outstanding films by local theatre managers. The plan has the full endorsement of the Board of Education. Resumes Vaudeville The Orpheum theatre, Reading, Pa., has started a split-week of vaudeville, according to David Brodstein, manager. The Orpheum will feature stage shows Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, in eluding matinees and evenings. MOTION PICTURE HERALD, FEBRUARY 24, 1945 51