Showmen's Trade Review (Apr-Jun 1944)

April 8, 1944 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW Edward Alperson Alperson Heads Drive For Recruiting Wacs Edward L. Alperson, long-active in War Activities Committee projects, has accepted the post of chairman of a campaign to help boost enlistments in the Women's Army Corps, according to a statement from S. H. Fabian, Chairman of the WAC Theatres Division. The campaign, Alperson declared, will be focused about the second anniversary of the Women's Army Corps, which will occur May 11. Alperson has named Harry Mandel, RKO Theatres' Publicity Director and Public Relations Chairman for the WAC in the New York area, as director of the publicity for the campaign. Alperson and Mandel were similarly associated in a previous WAC activity, having worked together on the United Nations Week last year — a drive on which $1,625,000 was raised. Pattern of the recruiting drive as projected by Alperson and Fabian will be two-pronged, utilizing an Army short subject featuring General George C. Marshall, plus a specially prepared trailer. The short subject, produced by the Signal Corps, is titled "It's Your War, Too," and has been pencilled in by Distribution Chairman Ned E. Depinet for release beginning the week of April 20. In this way it will have appeared in a large number of first run theatres prior to the opening of the campaign. Harry Mandel Zagrans and Shumow of WAC Resign Because of Illness Ned E. Depinet, Distributor Chairman of the WAC announced Tuesday that illness has forced the resignation of two WAC Exchange Area Chairmen. In Philadelphia, Charles Zagrans will be succeeded by Sam Gross. In Milwaukee Harry J. Shumow will be replaced by Don Wood. Both Zagrans and Shumow completed the Red Cross Campaign before relinquishing their posts. M.P, Associates Offer Members $1000 Group Insurance Plan A group insurance plan providing $1000 per person coverage was presented to members of Motion Picture Associates at a special meeting last Friday at the Hotel Astor by President Morris Sanders. The plan prepared by a member, Jerome J. Cohen, indicates members can be insured for $1000 through the Bankers National Life Insurance Company. Reaction at the meeting assured adoption. The plan is now before the Board of Directors to develop details. SMPE Committee Completing Program of Technical Papers The wide range of subjects to be discussed at the Spring Meeting of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers in New York April 17, 18 and 19, was indicated this week with the release of authors' summaries of twelve of the papers on the program for technical sessions. The sub( jects range from the psychologic impact of training slides and films used for the armed forces to description of theatre projection technic. G/'s Supply Dialogue Major General Frederick H. Osborn of the Morale Services Division, in telling the importance of filiTis to troops cverseas on the radio Monday, described seeing a group of soldiers sit for two hours in the pouring rain watching a film shown silent because the sound apparatus had broken down. The only sound, said Osborn, was wisecracks from the GIs themselves, who ad-libbed the missing lines. All came back the next night to see the film with sound. N. J. Anti-Blind Checking Bill Referred to Labor Committee A measure to do away with blind checking, which was introduced in the New Jersey State Assembly at Trenton by N. C. Young of Cape May, has been referred to the Labor and Industries Committee for further study, it was learned this week. The hoppered bill is similar to others, in most respects, that were introduced in several state legislatures during the year. Ten other measures hoppered recently in the New Jersey Assembly would affect the film industry in a general way, but none would have definite application to theatre operation. Off-Street-Level Theatres In Kentucky Given Reprieve The Kentucky Court of Appeals has upheld the Franklin County Circuit Court which held that Sherman Goodpastor, State Insurance Director for Kentucky, cannot prevent the operation of motion picture theatres or shows on other than ground floors. Goodpastor endeavored to enforce a department ruling that theatres could not show motion pictures if they were located more than four feet above or below the sidewalk level. He sought to close a motion picture theatre in Stanford, located in a former opera house, which has been operated for almost a hundred years. For a number of years the house has been showing motion pictures. Harry C. Arthur Says EDC Will Distribute New Product Only Commenting on recent trade reports that the initial product to be handled by his recently formed Exhibitors Distributing Corporation may be approximately 30 Samuel Goldwyn pictures, dating back to 1930, Harry C. Arthur, Jr., said this week there is no real basis for the report. "You can tell the trade all of the pictures we shall distribute will be entirely new subjects produced for us," Mr. Arthur said. Exhibitors Distributing Corporation will function much along the lines of the old First National Company and will finance pictures for producers and established stars. FDC has been incorporated in Delaware and has opened a temporary New York office at 150 Broadway. Its principal office will be in Los Angeles. Memphis Lowers Helper Age Limit Because of the serious difficulty of Memphis theatre managers in finding motion picture operators' helpers, the City Commission has passed an amendment to a city ordinance which lowered the age of such helpers from 18 to 17. The age of licensed operators was changed from 18 to 21. Sidney Lehman Goes to Pittsburgh Sidney Lehman, who was branch manager of the United Artists Buffalo office for seven years, has gone over to Republic as branch manager in Pittsburgh. Red Cross Lollections Doubling 1943 Drive Indications arc that when final the figures for the Red Cross drive will show that 1944 collections will at least double those of 1943. This result is arrived at by reports received at WAC headquarters up to Tuesday night from individual theatres and exchange areas throughout the country. The first 3600 theatres reporting their collections in the industry's 1944 Red Cross drive took in an average of close to $400 each, it was disclosed at campaign headquarters Wednesday night. This average is a substantial improvement over the earlier figures based on Monday's reports. The returns for the first-run theatres and those which carried their collections through the second week will be very much higher, so that when the final average for all theatres are computed it is believed certain the total amount will double that of 1943. Certain out-of-town situations already compiled show a 200 per cent pace and returns thus far revealed from circuits hold to the same pace. The Loew Theatres this week reported $333,937 already counted, with the certainty of $350,000 being reached. This compares with last year's figure of $195,953. Incidentally, Loew's State, Norfolk, leads the chain with a total of $11,820, and the Capitol, New York, is second with $10,535. In the larger key cities the prospects are about the same. The indicators here may be found in the report of the theatres division of the Red Cross War Fund campaign in Brooklyn. Mrs. Ruth Nathan, chairman of the Booths and Theatres Committee, announced during the week that the Brooklyn theatres will more than double their quota of $75,000. $350,000 Total Estimate for Loew's Circuit Collections Total collections in Loew's Theatres in the 1944 Red Cross campaign will amount to approximately $350,000. Last year Loew's collections were $195,953. Loew's State, Norfolk, led the circuit this year with a total of $11,820, with the Capitol. N. Y., in second place with $10,535. Runner-up was Loew's Capitol, Washington, reporting Independent Exhibitors of N.E. Again Elect Perry President Francis Perry, president of Independent Exhibitors, Inc. of New England was re-elected with all his slate at a meeting of members last week in Boston. The other officers are : Harold Stoneman, first vice-president ; Warren Nichols, second vice-president ; Walter Mitchell, secretary ; W. L. Bendslev, treasurer ; and Arthur Howard, business manager. Those on the executive committee are : Nathan Yamins, chairman, and Frank Boscketti, Fred Greene, ^lorris Pouzzner, Kenneth Forkey, Allard Graves. Francis Lydon J. E. Charbonneau, Richard Flora, Joseph Mathieu, Daniel Murphy, George Ramsdell, Samuel Resnik, Phil Smith, Mayer Stanzler and William Viano. Members also voted to continue the affiliation with national Allied. Veteran Fred Mitchell Dies Fred Mitchell, 71. veteran of "talking pictures" 20 years before present-day talkies started, died at his New York home on Tuesday. Mitchell, with Marcus Loew and David Bernstein, organized the Humanova Company in 1907. Actors talked for the silent actors behind the screen. In 1914 he became film booker for Loew's N. Y. Theatres, a position he retained until his death.