Showmen's Trade Review (Oct-Dec 1944)

November 11. 1944 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW 9 Variety Clubs National Meeting to Spot Humanitarian Award as Crowning Event Thaf's hAy Boy Listening to tiie radio every night wiiile waiting for the show to break is a daily routine for Jack Holder, assistant manager of the Stanley, Jersey City. One night last week Holder tuned in on a broadcast from England, heard a voice that sounded like his son's, nearly fell out of his chair when the announcer identified the voice as that of Staff Sgt. David Holder, paced the floor like a caged lion until he could close the theatre and dash home to his wife with the good news. 11 U.A. Films Ready; Set Releases for 6 United Artists this week announced release dates for six productions and indicated tliat five others had reached the completed-and-awaitingrelease stage. Besides these, the company also announced as completed six productions from Eagle-Lion, recently contracted for from J. Arthur Rank. The release dates are as follows : November 10, Benedict Bogeaus' "Dark Waters," with Merle Oberon, Franchot Tone, and Thomas Mitchell; November 23, Sol Lesser's "3 Is a Family" ; December 8, Hunt Stromberg's "Guest in the House" ; December 29, Lester Cowan's "Tomorrow the World" ; January 5, Vanguard's "I'll Be Seeing You"; January 19, "Mr. Emmanuel," first of the Eagle-Lion releases. Completed are Alfred Hitchcock's "Spellbound," with Ingrid Bergman ; Edward Small's "Brewster's Millions"; "Delightfully Dangerous" ; Bing Crosby's production, "The Great John L," and Jack Skirball's "It's in the Bag." Key-City Openings, Headed by St Louis, Are Set for 'Brazil' "Brazil," Republic's Inter-American musical, which will have its world premiere at the Fox Theatre, St. Louis, November 14, will open at the Republic Theatre, New York, November 18. Other key-city openings have been set as follows : Uptown, Salt Lake City, November 15 ; 20th Century, Bui?alo, and the Ohio, Cleveland, November 16 ; Warners' Stanton, Philadelphia, November 18; Palace, Jacksonville, November 22; Fulton, Pittsburgh, and the Mayfair, Baltimore, November 23. Christmas Seal Trailers Ready Prints of the 1944 Christmas seal trailer, starring Bob Hope, have been shipped from New York for showings in theatres throughout the United States and Canada. Film was produced by Paramount as the gift of the company through the courtesy of Barney Balaban, president, as was last year's trailer, which was shown in more than 10,000 theatres. Film Leaders to Honor Golding Home office executives of the leading distributor companies, circuit chiefs and branch managers of exchanges in the East are among the 300 who have made reservations to attend the testimonial dinner honoring Lou Golding at the Ten Eyck Hotel, Albany, on November 13, it was announced Monday by H. L. Ripps, cochairman with Chas. A. Smakwitz, in Albany. 'Hollywood Canteen' Showing Set "Hollywood Canteen," Warner Bros, multistar musical, will be nationally tradeshown Monday, December 4, it was announced this week by Ben Kalmenson, general sales manager. High point of the Ninth National Business Meeting of the Variety Clubs of America in Washington starting Friday, November 24, is expected to be the announcement of this year's Humanitarian Award winner at a dinner that evening at the Mayflower Hotel. Established practice of the organization does not permit advance announcement of the name of the recipient of the honor, but National Chief Barker Bob O'Donnell and his fellow national officers declare that the 1944 Humanitarian Award will take on world-wide interest due to the prominence of the man selected. Among past winners of the award are Father Flanagan, Martha Berry, George Washington Carver, and Sister Kenny. The business sessions will get under way Friday morning at 10 :30 a.m. at the Hotel Statler (where all business sessions will take place), followed by a luncheon for delegates. Afternoon session will begin at 2:30. Announcement of the Humanitarian Award Friday night at a special function is a departure from the practice of other years, when the award was made at the farewell dinner. The final business session will be held Saturday morning, dealing particularly with the reports of the Heart Committees of the various Tents and the selection of the 1944 winner of the Charity Citation Plaque. Saturday afternoon the Washington Tent will be hosts at their newly decorated club rooms in the Willard Hotel. Saturday night is given over to the annual dinner-dance of Tent No. 11. All re-elected or newly-elected National Officers will hold a private meeting in the National Officers' suite on Sunday morning. In the afternoon those remaining will be guests at the Washington football game. Streamlined this year to conserve transportation and hotel facilities, each Tent will send only a limited number of Barkers to represent them at this important war-time gathering. The following have already signified their intention of attending: From Tent No. 1, Pittsburgh; Harry Feinstein, Chief Barker, and William Finlel and Joe Hiller. Tent No. 3, Cincinnati: Allan S. Moritz, Harry David, H. J. Wessell. Tent No. 4, St. Louis: Harry Crawford, Lt. James H. Arthur, Lt. David G. Arthur. Tent No. 5, Detroit: Charles Perry, Alex Schreiber. Tent No. 9, Albany: C. J. Latta, Neil Hellman, Arthur Horn. Tent No. 10, Indianapolis: Carl Niesse, Marc Wolf, National Dough Guy; A. R. Blocher, L. J. McGinley. Tent No. II, Washington, D. C. : Hardie Meakin, Carter Barron, First Assistant National Chief Barker; Nat Golden, J. E. Fontaine, John S. Allen, Rudolph Berger. Tent No. 12, Minneapolis: W. A. Steffes, Chief Barker; Bennie Berger, George Granstom, Max Torodor Tent No. 16, Omaha: E. I. Rubin, Chief Barker. Tent No. 17, Dallas: James O. Cherry, Chief Barker; Louis Charninsky, L. M. Rice. Tent No. 18, Dayton: Roy E. Wells, Harry Condron, Herb Ochs. Tent No. 19, Baltimore: Bernard Seamon, Lauritz Garman, Frank Durkee, J. Louis Rome, National Property Master; Barry Goldman, Rodney Collier. Tent No. 20, Memphis: M. A. Lightman, Chief Barker; Cliff Wallace. Tent No. 22, Oklahoma City: L. C. Griffith, H. R. Falls, C. B. Akers, Ralph Talbot, Chief Barker, and possibly H. O. Stark, Jr., C. H. Weaver, Frank Fonvielle. Tent No. 23, Boston: Arthur Lockwood, Assistant Chief Barker; Theodore Fleisher, Albert Kane. Tent No. 24, Charlotte: H. H. Everett, J. H. Bachman, H. F. Kincey, and L. C. Sipe. Tent No. 25, Los Angeles: Jack Berman, Harry Popkin, Bernard Luber. Tent No. 26, Chicago: Irving Mack, William Baker, and Eddie Brunell. In addition, representatives from all the other unreported Tents will be present. The National Tent will be represented by R. J. O'Donnell, National Chief Barker; John H. Harris, Paris Booed Nazi Films When the Nazis occupied Paris and forced the showing of German films there, box-office receipts dropped 30 per cent .according to Jan J. Letsch, representative of French motion picture interests, who arrived in New York this week. Frequently, boos and cat-calls of Parisian audiences forced managers to turn on the house lights, the Netherlander said. Big Boss and Founder of the Clubs; Carter Barron and Earle Sweigert, Assistant National Chief Barkers; Marc Wolf, National Dough Guy; Lou Rome, National Property Master; "Chick" Lewis, National Publicity Director; and James G. Balmer, National Ceremonial Barker. MGM Mid-Season Managers' Meeting to Be Held Nov. 16-19 Twenty-six home office and field executives will attend MGM's mid-season sales and district managers' meeting November 16-19 at the Netherlands Plaza Hotel, Cincinnati, with William F. Rodgers, vice-president and general sales manager, conducting the sessions. Besides Rodgers, the home office executives who will attend include E. M. Saunders, E. K. (Ted) O'Shea, John E. Flynn, John J. Maloney, Howard Dietz, Edwin A. Aaron, Alan F. Cummings, Harold Postman, H. M. Richey, Walter Brooks, Charles F. Deesen, Leonard Hirsch, Paul J. Richrath, Joel Bezahler, Ben Melniker and Irving Helfont. Roy Rogers Signs As Star Of Network Radio Show Roy Rogers, film and rodeo star, will now become a leading figure on the radio, following the recent signing of a contract by Rogers and Republic Pictures with the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. The cowboy star will head a program to be known as the Roy Rogers Show, with Rogers acting as master of ceremonies and his inseparable Sons of the Pioneers featured. Guest stars are in prospect. The program will be broadcast coast-to-coast over the Mutual network Tuesday evenings from 8:30 to 9:00 E.W.T., the initial program to be broadcast from Hollywood on November 21. The deal was arranged by Rogers' manager. Art Rush, through Young and Rubicam. Warner District Managers Meet For Home Office Conferences Warner Bros, district managers met at the home office Thursday morning for the first of a series of conferences with Ben Kalmenson, general sales manager. District heads present included Norman Ayers, Ralph L. McCoy, Harry A. Seed, Henry Herbel, Robert Smeltzer, Hall Walsh, Charles Rich, and Ralph H. Clark. Also participating in the sessions were Charles Einfeld, Mort Blumenstock, Arthur Sachson, Roy Haines, Jules Lapidus, Norman H. Moray, Mike Dolid, Ed Hinchy, Stanley Hatch, and others from the home office. 4th Theatre Burned in Year William C. Hunt, owner of a circuit in south New Jersey and Trenton, suft'ered loss of his fourth house by fire within a year, when the Grand at Cape May Court House burned this week. It was the only movie in town. Two other Hunt houses were wiped out in the 1943 Christmas conflagration in Wildwood. The Strand, also in Wildwood, was destroyed in August. Pioneers Expect Record Crowd Largest attendance of veteran theatre showmen ever to attend a Picture Pioneers Exhibitors' Christmas party is expected at the organization's forthcoming dinner at the WaldorfAstoria, according to Sam Dembow, Jr., chairman of the committee in charge.