Showmen's Trade Review (Apr-Jun 1940)

Page 6 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW May 4, 1940 Hugh Bruen Ro+us Harvey A. West Johnson Ben Levin Roberf White Nathaniel Tanchuck William G. Ripley PLANS COMPLETED FOR PCCITO CONVENTION Three-Day Session Will Be Scene of Talks by Many Industry Leaders Los Angeles — Plans were completed this week for the first annual convention of the Pacific Coast Conference of Independent Theatre Owners, scheduled to he held May 8-10 at the Ambassador Hotel here. Reservations are pouring in, according to General Chairman Robert Poole, and it is expected that the attendance will be unusually large. What is considered to be the highlight of the meeting and of vital interest to all exhibitors will be the several talks to be given by industry leaders on current conditions. Scheduled to speak are Ed Kuykendall, W. F. Rodgers, Darryl Zanuck, He rman Wobber, Abe Montague, Neil Agnew, Charles Reagan, Ned Depinet, James R. Grainger, Gradwell Sears, William Scully, L. j. Schlaifer, George Dembow, and the following PCCITO officials: Hugo Bruen, trustee. Southern Calif.; Bob Poole, executive secretary; Jack Y. Berman, trustee. Southern Calif. ; A. West Johnson, trustee, Oregon ; Ben Levin, trustee. Northern Calif. ; L O. Lukan, trustee, Washington; Bob White, trustee, Oregon ; Rotus Harvey, trustee. Northern Calif. ; W. G. Ripley, trustee, Washington an J. M. Hone, executive, Washington. "Double Bills," "Legislation," "Distribution," "Zoning and Clearance," "MPTOA Viewpoints" and "The Government in Our Business" are chief among the topics to be discussed. The opening shot in the social side of the convention will be an informal banquet at Warner Bros, studios on the evening of May 8. Major studio tours are planned for all three days, and the meeting will wind up with an Aloha DinnerDance to be held at the Ambassador Hotel at 8 p.m.. May 10. Poole is being assisted in arrangements for the conclave by Hugh Bruen, Rotus Harvey, L. O. Lukan and Robert . White. George C. Walsh Resigns As Netco Theatres Head George C. Walsh has resigned as President and General Manager of Netco Theatre, Paramount subsidiary in New York State. Pools in the circuit at various points reduce the number of theatres to be operated by Paramount. Walsh will announce his plans after a vacation. Washington Gets WB Conclave Company's International Sales Convention Set for June 10-12 at Shoreham Hotel, With Sears Presiding Expected to be the most comprehensive in the history of that company, the annual sales convention of Warner Bros. -First National Pictures, Inc., and its affiliated companies all over the world will take place at the Shore-"# ham Hotel, Washington, D. C, when an international conclave will be held on June 10, 11 and 12, according to an announcement this week by Gradwell Sears, general sales manager. Five hundred representatives of the company's various interests, in addition to over two score of th'; industry's prominent exhibitors, who will be among the many important figures to address the convention, will take over the nation's capital. Warner executives who will attend the meeting, which will be presided over by Sears, are President Harry M. Warner, Jack L. Warner, vicepresident in charge of production, Major Albert Warner, Hal B. Wal lis, associate production executive, Joseph Bernhard, vice-president and general manager of Warner Bros. Theatres; Charles Einfeld, director of advertising and publicity ; Carl Leserman, assistant general sales manager; Mort Blumenstock, in charge of advertising and publicity in the East; Roy Haines, eastern and Canadian sales manager; Ben Kalmenson, Western and Southern sales manager; and Norman H. Moray, short suljjects sales manager. A delegation of Hollywood stars will be headed by Errol Flynn, Bette Davis, James Cagney, Ann Sheridan, Edward G. Robinson, and Paul Muni. Several government officials will be invited to attend. Para. Sales Meet Set For May 24 3-Day Convenlion to Take Place at Los Angeles Paramount will hold its annual sales meeting at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles on May 24, 25 and 26, Neil Agnew, vice president in charge of distribution, announced this week. Attending the meeting will be district and branch managers from the field, One Hundred Per Cent Club salesmen, home office and studio executives. A detailed announcement of the number of productions for the 194041 season and highlights of these pictures will be announced by Agnew during the Los Angeles meeting. DeMille Film Last of Paramount's '39-40 Pix In the annual report of Paramount Pictures, Inc., submitted to stockholders this week, Barney Balaban states that the company made a profit of $2,737,533. In addition Paramount's net interest as a stockholder in the combined undistributed earnings for the year of partially owned companies amounted to $1,117,000. Elsewhere in the announcement appears the welcome news (to exhibitors) that Paramount will "finish the season" by releasing "North West Mounted Police," Cecil B. DeMille's Technicolor production, which had been thought to be the lead-off for the new season. Candidate Favors Theatre In Theatreless Community Newark, N. J. — Stating his belief that "most of our citizens" favor a motion picture theatre, Joseph F. Wimmer, one of six candidates for the Democratic short term Council nomination in Harrison's Third Ward, favors erection of a theatre in Harrison, which has none because of an ordinance placing the annual license fee at $10,000. He said the question merits consideration and would benefit merchants of Harrison. UA Will Have 2 Sales Meetings First in N. Y. May 13-15; Other in Chi. May 17-19 United Artists will have two sales conventions, one in the east and one in the west, it was announced this week by Murray Silverstone, chief of world wide operations for United Artists. The eastern meeting in New York, May 13, 14 and 15 will be presided over by Harry L. Gold, vice president and eastern sales manager and L. J. Schlaifer, vice president and western sales manager will preside at the western meeting in Chicago, May 17, 18 and 19. Members of the United Artists sales staff from the 32 branches in the United States will come to one or the other of the two cities. The program of productions to be released during the 1940-41 season and the producers from whose studios they are to come will be announced at these sales conferences. Theatre Not Required To Pay Property Tax Phoenix, Ariz. — Granting judgment to the Fox Riverside Theatre Corp. in its suit to enjoin the county from placing the property the theatre has leased from the city on county tax rolls, Supreme Judge Arthur T. LaPrade has held that a person who leases municipal, state or federal property is not required to pay taxes on such property. It had been the contention of Leslie C. Hardy, deputy county attorney, that the lease has been held to be tangible property and is not exempted by tax statutes. On the other hand, J. Early Craig, attorney for the theatre, asserted that the property is municipal property and thus tax-free. Astor Releasing One a Month Important reissues are being released by Astor Pictures at the rate of one each month, according to O. K. Bourgeois. First was "Crooked Circle," which became available February 15. Following, in order, are "Vengeance of the Deep," March 15; "Our Daily Bread," April 15; "Girls of the Underworld," May 15, and "Behind the Mask," June 15.