Motion Picture Herald (Mar-Apr 1947)

— — — — =— = 20th-Fox Year's Box Office Champions for Net Is Estimated The Month of February At $22,600,000 THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (RKO Radio Goldwyn ) Produced by Samuel Goldwyn. Directed by William Wyler. Screenplay by Robert E. Sherwood from the novel, "Glory for Me", by MacKinlay Kantor. Music direction, Emil Newman. Photography, Gregg Toland. Cast: Fredric March, Myrna Loy, Teresa Wright, Dana Andrews, Virginia Mayo, Hoagy Carmichael, Harold Russell, Cathy O'Donnell. Release date, November 20, 1946. THE JOLSON STORY ( Columbia ) Produced by Sidney Skolsky. Directed, by Alfred E. Green. Associate producer, Gordon Griffith. Screenplay by Stephen Longstreet; adaptation by Harry Chandler and Andrew Solt. Musical director, M. W. Stoloff. Director of photography, Joseph Walker. Technicolor color director, Natalie Kalmus. Cast:, Larry Parks, Evelyn Keyes, William Demarest, Bill Goodwin, Ludwig Donath. Release date, January, 1947. [Champion for the second month] IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (RKO RadioLiberty Films) Produced and directed by Frank Capra. Screenplay by Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett and Frank Capra. Additional scenes by Jo Swerling. Director of photography, Joseph Walker. Music written and directed by Dimitri Tiomkin. Cast: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell, Henry Travers, Beulah Bondi, Ward Bond. Release date, January 7, 1947. [Champion for the second month] See MPA Affiliating With Foundation The 28th annual dinner-dance of the Motion Picture Associates will be held May 16 at the Waldorf-Astoria, New York, it has been announced by Fred J. Schwartz, president. This year, MPA visualizes joining the Motion Picture Foundation and therefore is dedicating the dinner as a tribute. . The customary requests for donations have been eliminated by directors of MPA and this year organizations and individuals will be asked to subscribe for tickets only. As in past years, a feature of the dinner will be the presentation of an award for distinguished service within the industry. Explaining the elimination of donations, Mr. Schwartz said: "Motion Picture Associates looks forward to the possibility of a new alliance with the Motion Picture Foun THE RAZOR'S EDGE (Twentieth Century-Fox) Produced by Darryl F. Zanuck. Directed by Edmund Goulding. Screenplay by Lamar Trotti, from the novel by W. Somerset Maugham. Music by Alfred Newman. Director of photography, Arthur Miller. Cast: Tyrone Power, Gene Tierney, John Payne, Anne Baxter, Clifton Webb, Herbert Marshall, Lucile Watson. Release date, December, 1946. [Champion for the third month] 13 RUE MADELEINE (Twentieth Century-Fox) Produced by Louis de Rochemont. Directed by Henry Hathaway. Original screenplay by John Monks, Jr., and Sy Bartlett. Musical direction, Alfred Newman. Director of photography, Norbert Brodine. Special photographic effects, Fred Sersen. Cast: James Cagney, Annabella, Richard Conte, Frank Latimore, Walter Abel. Release date, January, 1947. TILL THE CLOUDS ROLL BY ( Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) Produced by Arthur Freed. Directed by Richard Whorf. Screenplay by Myles Connolly and Jean Holloway. Story by Guy Bolton. Adapted by George Wells. Musical direction, Lennie Hayton. Judy Garland's numbers directed by Vincente Minnelli. Directors of photography, Harry Stradling, George J. Folsey. Technicolor color director, Natalie Kalmus. Cast: June Allyson, Lucille Bremer, Judy Garland, Kathryn Grayson, Van Heflin, Lena Home, Van Johnson, Tony Martin, Dinah Shore, Frank Sinatra, Robert Walker. Release date, January, 1947. [Champion for the second month] dation which will become the parent charitable association of the industry. It will be proposed to the national trustees of the Foundation that Motion Picture Associates can serve as the administrative agency in this area, and we will find ourselves in the position of having sufficient funds to operate for a while longer." Carbon Costs Rising by 15 to 20% in England London Bureau Further instance of rising costs of exhibition in England is the increase in price of carbons agreed to last week by the Cinematograph Exhibitors' Association. List prices of all high-intensity carbons are increased by 15 per cent; those of low-intensity carbons by 20 per cent. Twentieth Century-Fox reported last week an estimated net profit for 1946 of $22,600,000, almost $10,000,000 more than the actual net reported for 1945, which amounted to $12,746,467. The, consolidated net was for the 52 weeks ended December 28, 1946, and was estimated after all charges of 20th-Fox Film Corporation and its voting-controlled subsidiaries, including National Theatres Corporation and Roxy Theatre, Inc. The 1946 net is equivalent, after deducting dividends on the prior preferred and convertible preferred stock paid during the year, to approximately $7.90 a share on the 2,756,462 shares of common stock outstanding at December 28. Common stock outstanding at December 29, 1945, was 2,119,709 shares and the 1945 earnings after deducting preferred dividends, were equal to $5.29 a share. Gross income from sales and rentals of film and theatre receipts for 1946 was an estimated $190,300,000; for 1945, $178,211,889. Earnings before Federal taxes, minority interests and contingencies amounted to an estimated $39,900,000 for 1946, comparing with $37,121,126 for 1945. Great Western Acquires John Wayne Reissues The reissue of 16 John Wayne Westerns was announced this week by Great Western Pictures' president John W. Mangham in Atlanta. The company bought the 35mm and 16mm rights directly from Monogram. Print deliveries will start April 1. The 16mm sales distribution will be handled by W. Wells Alexander, the Distributor's Group, Inc., Great Western sales agent. Famous Players Changes Toronto First Runs Tho more outlets for top product in Toronto will result from a change in the first run setup effective this month. Famous Players Canadian Corporation has arranged for the teaming of four theatres, the Shea and the Imperial and the Victoria and the Capitol. First runs will go into all four. DeVry Strike Ends The DeVry Projector Company strike in Chicago ended last Thursday, after William C. DeVry, president, consented to a collective bargaining election. Abel Vigard Dies Abel A. Vigard, 49, vice-president of Warner Theatres, died Tuesday in Brooklyn, N. Y., after a year's illness. Mr. Vigard, who was in the legal department, leaves his widow and two brothers, Harry and Joseph. 22 MOTION PICTURE HERALD, MARCH 29, 1947