Motion Picture Herald (Nov-Dec 1946)

EQUIPMENT CROUPS state MEET IN TOLEDO Monopoly Split Among Repu blics Two Associations Holding Joint Annual Session; 500 in Attendance Scheduled to open this Friday and to continue through Monday, a program has been announced for the annual joint convention of the Theatre Equipment & Supply Manufacturers Association and the Theatre Equipment Dealers Protective Association at the Commodore Perry and Secor Hotels in Toledo, Ohio. The program was announced last weekend by Ray G. Colvin, president of the TEDPA and head of the Exhibitors Supply Company of St. Louis. With more than 500 delegates expected to attend the convention the first general assembly of TEDPA and TESMA will open in the Secor Hotel Friday, with a welcoming address by Mayor Lloyd Roulet of Toledo, and J. D. Lippman, president of the Toledo Chamber of Commerce, and head of the Textileather Corporation of Toledo. 70 Displays Scheduled Manufacturers and supply house exhibitors will open in the exhibit room of the Secor Hotel at 11 A.M. Friday and will continue until midnight to provide ample opportunity for viewing the 70 displays. Saturday the two organizations will open their respective business sessions at 10 A.M., while the exhibition hall will be open from 11 A.M. to 6 P.M. Sunday's program will open at 10 A.M., with the general assembly of the two organizations in the Casino Room of the Secor. That evening a cocktail party and banquet will be held at the Commodore Perry Hotel at which the National Carbon Company will be host and Mr. Colvin will be toastmaster at the banquet. The final meeting Monday will be held in the Transportation Room of the Hotel Secor. To Elect Officers During the convention TESMA will elect officers for the coming year. The current officers of TESMA are : Oscar F. Neu, president; William A. Gedris, vice-president, and Rov Boomer, secretary and treasurer. TEDPA officials are: Mr. Colvin, president ; and William Hornstein, William Carroll, F. A. Van Husen and A. E. Thiele. Truman Sees Premiere Of Washington Short President Truman last Wednesday saw the premiere of "Invitation to the Nation," a film about Washington which was produced under the auspices of the Board of Trade. Carter Barron, eastern division manager of Loew's Theatres, was a member of the committee which planned the film. Wehrenberg Lauds Work Of Better Films Groups Through the efforts of the Better Films Council motion pictures have improved steadily in moral tone, Fred Wehrenberg, president of the Motion Picture Theatre Owners of America, told 437 members of the St. Louis's council last week. Mr. Wehrenberg spoke briefly at the opening of the organization's annual cinema tea at the Melba theater. The women were guests of Mr. Wehrenberg, who owns the theatre, and also the guests of all the film companies of the city, which donated 11 educational shorts. Praising the organization for its reviews of new pictures and its service in rating new films, Mr. Wehrenberg said: "I think you will agree with me that pictures are coming through in better shape in recent years. They teach a moral. They are clean." Mrs. A. B. Harrington, council president, introduced Mr. Wehrenberg. Members were given two hours and 16 minutes of films, which Lester Kropp, Melba manager, said might be called a world tour because so many countries were included in the program. Some of the films were "Panama," "Down Singapore Way," "Looking at London," "Beautiful Alaska," "Louisiana Spring Time" and "Hawaiian Memories." The council is composed of a number of member organizations, representing parent and religious groups. Metropolitan Theatres Group Elects First Directors The recently organized Metropolitan Motion Picture Theatres Association elected its first directors at a meeting last Friday in New York at the Century Building. Those elected were : Harry Brandt, Leo Brecher, Oscar A. Doob, Julius Joelson, Malcolm Kingsberg, Arthur L. Mayer, Samuel Rinzzler, Samuel Rosen, Fred J. Schwartz, George Skouras, Solomon M. Strausberg, G. S. Eyssell and Robert Weitman. The MMPTA was organized to act as liaison between official and quasi-official groups and the Metropolitan New York theatres. Altec Appoints Wilschke Operations Supervisor E. O. Wilschke, formerly assistant to the vice-president, has been appointed operations supervisor of Altec Service Corporation. He will head Altec's technical operations and engineering work and will act as liaison between H. M. Bessey, vice-president, and the district offices. C. S. Perkins has been named district manager for Altec in New York. Before the promotion, he was manager of commercial engineering. by J. B. KANTUREK. in Prague Yugoslavia's state-controlled film corporation is being liquidated and its authority will be split among the autonomous repub-' lies of the country. The republic of Slovenia has already formed a film corporation, "Triglav," which will produce features, documentaries, shorts and newsreels. The Federal Government has given the new corporation the necessary equipment for production and a considerable subsidy to finance the projects. V Following the successful premiere of "Wilson" in Prague, the Motion Picture Export Association released "The Human Comedy," "It Started With Eve" and "Air Force" in various Czech cities and plans to release these additional features : "So Proudly We Hail," "Tales of Manhattan," "The Sullivans" and "Here Comes Mr. Jordan." V The Czech film state production has been reorganized into five production groups, each complete within its own unit. The groups are scheduled to produce a total of 25 full-length features in 1947. In order to lower the cost of production one group may lend technical staffs and other personnel to other groups. Each unit has 50,000,000 Czech crowns at its disposal. V A delegation of the British trades unions has given three trades ^ unions shorts to the Czech workers. Before handing over the films, Joseph Reeves, Labour member of Parliament, spoke on the subject "Motion Pictures and the Working Class" and stressed the need for nationalizing the British industry. "Motion pictures ought to be on the list (for nationalizing) with a high priority," he said. He spoke also about forming a National Film Association in Britain and advocated the production of an international workers' newsreel edited from news of social importance. Oklahoma Theatre Owners To Meet December 2-3 The Theatre Owners of Oklahoma, an affiliate of the Motion Picture Theatre Owners of America, will hold its first convention in four years at the Shirvin Hotel, Oklahoma City, December 2-3. Morris Loewenstein is president of the unit. Mr. Loewenstein, in a bulletin to members, said the matter of aligning with the American Theatres Association will be "fully discussed." An ATA representative will address the meeting. Mr. Loewenstein also advances MPTOA Fred Wehrenberg's suggestion of intra-industry machinery to iron out trade problems. 38 MOTION PICTURE HERALD, NOVEMBER 9, 1946 \