Showmen's Trade Review (Apr-Jun 1939)

S H U \V J\l K N ' S T K A 1 ) I'. K !•. V I I-". \V Page 5 ALLIED PINS HOPES ON BILL Code Snubbed by Leaders Who Back Neeley Bill Developments at Minneapolis last week, drastic as was the Allied N'e.uotiating Committee's action in hlnnt rejection of the Trade Practices Code formulated by the Distributors, are regarded by many observers as mere markingtime while the Neely Bill hangs fire in the U. S. Senate. The Senate is due to vote on the measure next week, and action favorable to the bill is regarded probable by many outside as well as most inside the ranks of National Allied. The Allied high command, according to the viewpoint of these observers, is staking its prestige upon passage of the Neely Bill, regardmg this as the objective of a long campaign directed toward legislation rather than negotiation as an organization policy for obtaining the measures of relief demanded by Allied. The Neely measure, which would regulate the industry's distribution and booking processes by legislation has been discussed pro and con more extensively than the Code, but unlike the Code, the Bill itself appears to have had (Continued on page 6) WB SKEDS MORE POLEMICAL FILMS Hollywood — In spite of etJorts being made to discredit the box office appeal of "Confessions of a Nazi Spy," Jack L. Warner announced this week that Warners will make "The Bishoji Who Walked With (jod," dealing with a Lutheran minister whose belief in freedom of worship results in his landing in a concentration camp, and "Underground," depicting the activities of residents in Germany secretly opposing the Nazi regime. Meanwhile, the application of Fritz Kuhn and the GermanAmerican Bund for a preliminary injunction restraining exhibition of "Confessions of a Nazi Spy" was denied this week by Federal Judge Vincent L. Leibell. OFFICIAL HOSTESS Miss O'Connell to Welcome N. Y. Visitors for Para. Miss Evelyn O'Connell has been appointed Paramount's official hostess to aid visiting exhibitors plan their vacation staj' while in New York City. Miss O'Connell is making her headquarters on the ninth floor at the Paramount Home Office where she is prepared to plan daily visits to both the World's Fair and amusement areas throughout the metropolitan section. Prior to her new assignment Miss O'Connell was secretary to Y. Frank Freeman, Paramount vice-president. Charles Laughton and Maureen O'Hara, young Irish actress who scored in "Jamaica Inn," Laughton's newest film, are welcomed on their arrival frcm England at the Sherry Netherlands by Eric Pommer, producer of the film, and |ohn Wright, managing director of the Rivoli, who has booked the picture. BroadwayManagersCheerUp See Increased Revenues With Advent of Summer; Week-end Grosses Climb Summer got under w^ay officially this week, and with it managers of Broadway film theatres were optimistic about the season's revenues being better than average for the warm months. The cause of the optimism was the week-end "takes" at their houses. Exhibitors are convinced that business is on the upswing and due for further increases now that visitors can finally get away from home to come to New York, visit the Fair and get around to a few movies while on Broadway. Neighborhood houses also report an increase in attendance. For a few weeks managers had been on the verge of screening their shows on a screen outside the theatre so as to play to bigger audiences. But now that Summer is here, everything looks rosy again. Scully, Heineman Back In New York General Sales Manager W. A. Scully and Western Division Manager W. J. Heineman returned to their desks at the Universal Home Ofifice over the weekend following a visit to Minneapolis where they were in attendance at the Allied exliibitors convention. Their stay in Minneapolis was preceded by field trips to Louisville and Detroit where important circuit deals were negotiated for the new season. Last Rites Held For Loew Ass't Secretary Funeral services for I. Frey, 61, Loew assistant secretary and assistant general counsel who died Sunday at Mt. Sinai, were held Tuesday afternoon at the Riverside Memorial. Many Loew-MGM executives attended the rites. Kleckner Joins Jam-Handy Joseph P. Kleckner, until recently president of Motiongraph, has been appointed a member of the executive staff of the Jam Handy Organization. ITOA Makes Bid For Nat'l Exhib Leadership A bid for national exhibitor leadership was made this week by ITOA in a statement which castigated Allied and its leadership and declared "the MPTOA can hardly be classified as a proper organization to represent independent exhibitors." TALKS NOT TO HALTSOLONS Parleys Shouldn't Stall Action on Bill Wasliington — The evolutif)n for ■ definite suggestions for improving existing relationships between the producers, exhibitors and the public," is the object of the film mdustry-Department of Commerce conferences, Secretary Harry L. Hopkins declared this week in a letter addressed to Senator Matthew M. Neely, sponsor of the anti-block-booking and blindselling measure. Rumors that the Commerce-industry conferences were intended to forestall action on the blockbooking measure, such action apparently to take place by the Senate next week, prompted Hopkin's letter, the Secretary of Commerce said. Ed Kuykendall, MPTOA prexy, met with Commerce officials this week in the first of a series of conferences to get exhibitors' views. Col. H. A. Cole, Allied prexy, will be heard at a later date. Johnston Sails For London, Paris Talks W. Ray Johnston, Monogram's president, sailed his week for London to confer with the company's British distributor, William J. Geli. He also plans to visit Paris to confer with Ernest Wettstein, Mono's representative there. QOKX Kibitzing/ \ Vv/AAT Pitcher ARE you PMvih'rj IT MOT" '^y^<C\^ti^J^^^J^