Showmen's Trade Review (Oct-Dec 1944)

8 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW November 11, 19U Sam DembowTo Head »£ Golden Productions :m in Alive! Sam Dembow, Jr., vice-president of Paramount Theatres Service Corp., has resigned, effective Dec. 1, to become president of Golden Productions, Inc. He will be succeeded by Edward L. Hyman, formerly an associate of Dembow. The joint announcements were made by Barney Balaban, president of Paramount Pictures, and Leonard H. Goldenson, vice-president. In his new position, Dembow will be associated with Edward A. Golden and Robert S. Golden, who produced "Hitler's Children" and "The Master Race." One of the most widely known figures in the industry. Dembow has been in the business 30 years, and for than twenty a theatre operations executive. His association with Paramount began in 1925 when he took over buying and booking for Famous Players theatres. Both President Balaban and Vice-President Goldenson issued statements of regret on the resignation of Dembow and wished him success in his new venture. Hyman, who will be in charge of all Paramount Theatre operations in the Northern section of the country, began his career as manager of the Victoria Theatre, Buffalo. Hyman joined Paramount in 1940 as associate of Earle Hudson in the operation of the United Detroit Theatres. Sam Dembow, Jr. MGM Announces Five Trade Dates for Current Month MGM will hold five trade showings during November. "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo" will head the list and is set for showings on Nov. 13 in all territories except Philadelphia, where it will be screened on Nov. 16. Other pictures and dates announced are : "The Thin Man Goes Home," Nov. 21; "Blonde Fever," Nov. 21, in all territories except Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Boston, where screenings will be held on Nov. 22; "Main Street After Dark," Nov. 27 ; "Nothing But Trouble^" Nov. 27, except in the Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Boston areas, where it will be shown on Nov. 28. John Joseph On Way East John Joseph, national director of advertising and publicity of Universal, is due to arrive in New York Monday (13) for conferences with Maurice Bergman, Eastern advertising and publicity director, and home office executives concerning the campaign for the Deanna Durbin starring vehicle, "Can't Help Singing." A campaign budget of $250,000 has been set up for the Technicolor production which is set for Christmas release. INDEX TO DEPARTMENTS Advance Dope 33 Box-Office Slants 13 Current Product Summary 38 Feature Booking Guide 34 Feature Guide Title Index 37 Hollywood 32 Newsreel Synopses 23 Program Exchange 26 Regional Newsreel 16 Selling the Picture 25 Shorts Booking Guide 39 Short Subject Reviews 31 The Lansdale Theatre in Lansdale, Pa., had a different kind of intruder last week when a four-point buck ran wild inside the theatre, after shattering the glass door. It damaged seats, smashed the organ keyboard, and broke wooden grillwork with its horns. Trapped in a room beneath the stage, the deer was finally destroyed by Russei Sturzebecker, deputy game protector. Independent Has Equal Chance, Says Depinet Ned Depinet, president of RKO Radio pictures, on the stand this week as a witness for the Schine circuit in the Buffalo anti-trust suit trial, declared that, so far as he was concerned, independent theatre owners have the same opportunity to buy product as the circuits if they advertise the pictures to the satisfaction of the distributor. Asked by the Government prosecutor whether circuit buying power did not prevent independents from getting product, Depinet said : "It wouldn't make any difference to me whether he was an independent or chain operator in the licensing of my pictures if he could live up to my requirements and it was the best place to sell." The trial is scheduled to continue next week. AAA, Distributor Defendants To File in St. Louis by Nov. 17 Defendants in the $285,000 anti-trust damage suit brought in the St. Louis U. S. District Court by the St. Louis Amusement Company, Harry C. Arthur, Jr., and others have until November 17 to file their answers to the action, it was revealed this week. The defendants are Paramount, RKO, Warner Bros., 20th CenturyFox, the American Arbitration Association, and the owners of the Princess and Apollo theatres. The case has been assigned to District Judge R. M. Duncan. The hearing itself was put back to December 5 at the request of Robert L. Wright, special assistant to the U. S. Attorney General, and lawyers for the distributor defendants involved. Meanwhile, dates for arbitration hearings on three clearance cases have been postponed — apparently to await completion of the St. Louis Amusement Company action, on which will hinge the local status of the AAA. Convict 2 Staff Men of $7000 Memphis Theatre Cash Theft John M. Klinck, 23 former assistant manager of Loew's State, Memphis, and Richard Covington, 17, former service man at the theatre, who were returned to Tennessee from San Francisco after several months search, were convicted of grand larceny in connection with more than $7000 which was taken from the night depository of the theatre's bank last summer. Klinck was sentenced to 8 years in the State penitentiary. Covington, because of his age, was given the same time in the Tennessee Reform School. They both confessed taking the monev. Simons in G. E. Ad Post George E. Simons has been appointed advertising and sales promotion manager of the General Electric Air Conditioning and Commercial Refrigeration Divisions. Ma jors May Escape Raw Film Stock Cut Although the raw stock situation continued to be acute this week, the future outlook took on a much rosier aspect than it has had for a long time. In the first place, it seems likely that major commercial film companies will receive their regular allotments of film for the remainder of the year, with no further cut necessary, according to Harold Hopper, MGM studio head who has been in on many discussions with WPB. Mr. Hopper pointed out that the WPB has eliminated raw stock export and has been reviewing the problem at first hand. At the same time, film conservation orders have gone to Army film units by which prints for various Army projects will be rotated so that they reach the largest possible coverage. Heretofore many of the distribution points considered the prints delivered to them for their use alone. This made it necessary to make more prints in order to supply all Army distributors. Under the new orders no prints will be allowed to lie in storage and thus the total amount of raw stock used will be cut down. Further aids to the raw stock situation a little more in the future are the possible reopening of the French and Belgian film manufacturing plants and the completion of the new Ansco plants here. UA Concludes Deal to Distribute GFD Films in Western Hemisphere Formal signing of the contract between United Artists and General Film Distributors, Ltd., one of J. Arthur Rank's companies, took place last week with Morris Leon, of Choate, Byrd, Leon & Garretson, and Barrington Gain representing G.F.D., and Gradwell L. Sears, vice-president in charge of distribution, and Paul O'Brien, of O'Brien, Driscoll & Raftery, acting for UA. Deal calls for western hemisphere distribution of "Colonel Blimp" in Technicolor; Noel Coward's "Blithe Spirit" in Technicolor; Noel Coward's "The Happy Breed" in Technicolor; George Bernard Shaw's "Caesar and Cleopatra" in Technicolor; "Henry V" in Technicolor; "Her Man Gilby" and "Mr. Emmanuel." Silas F. Seadler (The Man on the Cover) Advertising Manager of MGM, known more familiarly as Si Seadler, and widely known as one of the industry's foremost advertising experts, who is again acting as Advertising Consultant for the Industry's Sixth War Loan Drive. Mr. Seadler performed a similar function for each of the previous War Loans and licit/ and Advertising Chairman John Hertz, has written all trade paper advertising copy in behalf of these drives. For the Sixth War Loan, he is working in conjunction with PubJr. SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW Title and Trade Mark Registered U. S. Patent Offic$ Published every Friday by Showmen's Trade Review Inc., 1501 Broadway, New York 18, N. Y. Telephone BRyant 9-5606. Charles E. "Chick" Lewis, Editor and Publisher; Tom Kennedy, Associate Editor; Jamei A. Cron, General Manager; David Harris, Business and Circulation Manager ; Harold Rendall, Equipment Advertising Manager; West Coast Office, 6777 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood 28, California; Telephone Hollywood 2055. Ann Lewis, manager. Ed Raiden, West Coast Editor. London Representative, Milton Deane, 185 Fleet St., London E.C. 4; Australian Representative, Gordon V. Curie, 1 Elliott St., Homebush, Sydney, Australia. Subscription rates per year $2.00 in the United States and Canada ; Foreign, $5.00. Single copies, ten cents. Address all Communications to : SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW 1501 Broadway, New York 18, N. Y.