Showmen's Trade Review (Jul-Sep 1940)

Page 6 M. A. Lightman, president of Malco Theatre, Inc. of Memphis and Rube Jackter, Columbia's assistant sales manager, as they concluded a deal for an extension of the Malco Circuit's Columbia franchise. Standard Dropping Hold-Over Policy One-Week Showings of Pictures to be the Rule Oklahoma City — This community will be provided with six first-run theatres, five in the downtown sector, as a result of new policies announced by Standard Theatres. Thus new screen product will be brought here shortly after release dates. Because of second week holdovers, product has piled up on Standard's books. For the last several years a double-feature subsequent house, the Warner goes double-feature firstrun, handling the same type of pictures now being shown at the Liberty, with emphasis on action. Prices will remain unchanged at 15-25 cents. The Liberty policy will not be changed. The house will continue to open runs on Fridays while ■Warner openings will be on Sundays. First-run single-feature policy of the Tower, recently adopted, will be continued, and the Plaza, up to now a continuing first-run house, will be used for subsequents. A hold over first-run policy in the Tower and Plaza theatres has definitely been abandoned. Standard's single-bill, first-run downtown houses will be the Criterion and Midwest, opening Thursdays and Fridays, respectively. Oneweek showings of pictures downtown will be the rule, with no further showings in suburban theatres for at least 60 days. SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW Union Oppose Exemption of 5,338 From Wage Hour Bill IVIPPDA Seeks Unrestricted Hours For Executive, Administrative, Professional Employes Now Subject To Law The MPPDA this week asked exemption of 5,338 employees out of an average of 18,541 employed in the film industry, from the provisions of the Wage Hour Act. Homer L Mitchell represented*^ ^ MPPDA before the Wage Hour August 3, 1940 JUDY CANOVA FETED Judy Canova, star of Reubllc's "Scatterbrain," was guest of honor at a cockfail party given by company executives in the Pine Room of the Hotel Warwick Tuesday evening. Lyie Talbot and Alan Dinehart, Hollywood players currently appearing in a Broadway production, were also guests at the party, which was attended by members of the fan and trade press. Herbert J. Yates, Dave Whalen, Republic ad director; James R. Grainger, president and general sales manager; and Charles Jones, were hosts for the occasion. Board at a hearing in Washington. Mitchell conceded that 13,153 employes were subject to the act and said that the industry was reasonably sure that 832 employees are exempt as administrative, executive and professional people. The industry further considers 4,556 employes as exempt but admits that there may be some dispute about these. The latter class was the one about which the hearnig was held. Mitchell asked that the words executive and administrative, now defined as' one, be given separate definitions. He also claimed that the object of the application to exempt certain employes was to exempt from the provisions of the act artists who are paid commensurate with their work and such key employes as would be irreplacable while a picture is in production. Joseph A. Padway, general counsel for the A. F. of L., of which the lATSE is a part, opposes MPPDA's application, claiming that it does not agree with the distinctions betvvcen artists and skilled workmen. Other union groups representing directors, the Hollywood Guild Council, Screen Publicists Guild, Screen Set Designers, Screen Readers' Guild, Society of Motion Picture Interior Decorators, Screen Writers Guild, Screen Office Employes Guild, Screen Cartoonists, etc., also opposed the application. George E. Bodle who represented most of these organizations said that exemption of more employes would aggravate the already acute unemployment problem in the industry running as high as 33J^ per cent in most of the Guilds. Mitchell, in answer to these staternents, said: "The companies have either got to retrench or they won't employ anybody." Hubbard-Furman Form Public Relafions OfFice _ Los Angeles— A new public relations firm, Hubbard-Furman Co., has been formed here with offices at 542 S. Broadway. Members of the firm are Nathan H. Hubbard and James C. Furman. Hubbard is a well known public relations expert, and Furman is widely known in advertising and publicity circles in show business, having been with Paramount-Publix Theatres for 7 years. Although the firm will handle motion picture public relations work, it intends specializing on public relations of a general nature. Second Week for Festival The Walt Disney Festival is being held at the Criterion for a second week. Surprise of the engagement is that only 30 per cent of the patrons are children. $50,000 Giveaway Plan Is Advanced Idea is to Combat Radio Competition, Say Sponsors A proposed giveaway plan to unite exhibitors nationally to combat radio competition is to be developed with the organization of the BonnsHall Co., with Eddie Bonus and Walter Hall as principals, and Harry G. Kosch as counsel. One of the plan's objectives, according to Bonns, is the use of the screen as an inducement to national advertisers to avail themselves of film theatres as a point of public assemblage. The plan is being protected by copyright. ^ Ten thousand theatres are envisioned by Bonns as participating, offering national advertisers approximately 40,000,000 screen circulation weekly. The advertisers will be solicited to appropriate Sf50,000 weekly — Bonns' estim.ate of the cost of one hour on a national radio hookup — for the give away prizes. Exhibitors joining in will pay a service charge. Essentials of the plan call for a 500-foot trailer to be used by the theatre and donation by the theatre of 10 minutes' time one night a week. The trailer, according to Bonns, will carry no advertising aside from the sponsor's "good-will gesture," and the time will be used to announce prize winners. I Eastman Cuts Film Prices Reduction In Raw Stock Will Save Industry $2,000,000 Rochester — Recog nizing the mo tion picture industry's difficult sit nation as a result of World War 11^ a sweeping reduction in the price of negative and positive motion picture film was announced here this week by the Eastman Kodak Company. Effective August 1, negative has been reduced from 4c. per foot to 3^c. per foot and positive has gone down from Ic. to .85 of a cent per foot. For the past several weeks, despite their own losses in foreign revenues from factories serving the industry in the important foreign markets, Eastman officials have given serious consideration to the problems given them by industry leaders _ who have pointed out the economic necessity for reducing in dustry costs. This week's action of the Kodak company, which will result in substantial savings, is its contribution towards this end. Meanwhile, in Hollywood, pro duction managers estimated that the reduction in Eastman raw stock would mean a saving of from |2,000,000 to $2,500,000 annually. Based on 1939 consumption, MGM will save about |52,000 on negatives alone; 20th Century-Fox, |50,000; Paramount, |25,000; Universal Columbia and RKO, $30,000 each. Figures from Warner Bros, and Republic were not available. Savings of $5,000 each on negatives are expected to be effected by Hal Roach, Walter Wanger, Samuel Goldwyn and Edward Small. The reduction was termed by Cliff Work of Universal as "a grand thing at a time when every reduction is appreciated. It is a creditable precedent." Praise for the Eastman move^ was also voiced by William Koenig of 20th Century-Fox and several other executives. Country Selling in Chicago Little Selling Activity in City; RKO Sales Are Ahead of Last Year; Warners Study '39 Deals Chicago — With little or no work yet done on deals in the city, new season selling, as far as local exchanges are concerned, is being practically restricted to the country territory, it is reported here. _ ^ ~ Most aggressive thus far in country selling is RKO, whose sales are running about 25 per cent ahead of last year at the same time. The company has three 1939-40 pictures to deliver in this territory : "Tom Brown's School Days," "Dance, Girl, Dance" and "Lucky Partners." At the present time current season contracts are being checked by the Warner branch, and deals to be asked for 1940-41 product will be based on the results of the survey. As in the case of RKO, salesmen are working only in the country territory. Although Paramount reports good selling downstate, no attempt is being made to close deals in the city. The company's first picture of the new season to be released here will be "Rhythm of the River," which is expected to go into the Chicago Theatre Labor Day week. Preparations for sales activity, both in the city and in the country, are being made by 20th CenturyFox, Universal, Columbia and United_ Artists. Some exhibitors are voicing resistance to percentage selling, it is reported, but what effect this will have on the new season is uncertain.