Showmen's Trade Review (1945)

20 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW November 3, 1945 Studio Contract for Victory Bond Queen Final details of a Victory Queen Contest limited to California, Washington, Arizona and Oregon, in which State Queens will be given trips to Hollywood, where three will be selected for screen tests and one of the three named the Victory Queen, were announced this week by Charles P. Skouras, regional chairman for the eleven western states. The Victory Queen will be given a one-year screen contract with a major studio, with the possibility that other studios may be interested in securing the services of the runners-up. Declared to be the most concerted bond-selling push since the Honored Hundred . plan of the 4th War Loan, the Queen Contest is being used by the four states as the pivot of their entire bond participation in the current Victory Loan. The winner in each town will compete against other town "Queen" candidates for the title of "County Queen." Selection of the County Queens — and finally the "State Queens" — will be made on a scoring of 75 per cent on bond sales quotas, and 25 per cent on Queen-like qualities, including charm, talent, beauty, poise and personality. Each $18.75 bond purchase will entitle the purchaser to cast one vote for the girl of his choice; a $37.50 bond permits two votes, etc. Only E bond sales are valid. Chairmen of the Victory Queen Contest are William Geehan, National Theatres; Bruce Fowler, Fox West Coast, and William Hendricks, Warner Bros. Industry Launches Victory Loan Drive With 12,500 Exhibitor Pledges to WAC BOX-OFFICE SLANTS Confidential Agent (Continued from Page 18) in this picture Miss Bacall does not seem to have the benefit of the excellent lighting and camera work that she had in "To Have and Have Not." Although the picture lacks the action usually associated with adventure stories of this type and runs much longer than seems to have been necessary, it will provide interesting entertainment for the vast majority of fans. Those who like credibility in their stories, however, will find it mostly lacking. The Boyer and Bacall names on the marquees should provide plenty of drawing power for most situations. Crimson Canary Universal Mystery-with-Music 64 mins. AUDIENCE SLANT: (Family) Will send fans of "Dixieland" style music right out of this world. Others will find it mildly entertaining. BOX-OFFICE SLANT: Suitable mystery and musical entertainment for any double-bill situation. Cast: Noah Beery, Jr., Lois Collier, Danny Morton, John Litel, Claudia Drake, Steven Geray, James Dodd, Steve Brodie. Singing Specialty by Josh White. The Ksquire AllAmerican Band Winners, Coleman Hawkins with Oscar PettifOrd. Credits: Screenplay by Henry Blankfort and Peggy Phillips based on an original story by Peggy Phillips. Directed by John Hoffman. Associate producer, Henry Blankfort. Executive producer, Bob Farber. Photography, Jerome Ash. Plot: Five ex-servicemen form a "hotmusic" combination and are ready for the big time. As they are about to leave their last small-time job the girl singer is found murdered and two of the bandsmen are suspected. Musical clues in a recording they have made lead to the capture of the real killer. Comment: "Crimson Canary" is loaded with what is known as "Dixieland" music, and it is superb. The tenuous story serves to introduce musical numbers throughout the picture which is so good musical fans will not be able to get enough of it. The mystery itself holds up well enough until the closing sequences when it bogs down so badly as to become slightly ridiculous, although the cast play it as well as could be expected under the circumstances of poor direction and faulty writing. Noah Beery, Jr., Lois Collier and Danny Morton stand out and the others are adequate. Josh White's rendition of Jerico and One Meat Ball indicates why this singer of folk songs has reached the top in national popularity, and the music of Coleman Hawkins with bass player Oscar Pettiford featured will start plenty of toe-tapping in the audiences. The picture as a whole is otherwise mildly entertaining and is suitable for any double-bill program. 'Spellbound' Premiere at Astor Grosses $1,314,500 in Bonds The Victory Bond premiere at the Astor Theatre of "Spellbound" played to a sold out house last Wednesday evening with a total of $1,314,500 in sales realized. The premiere was held with a 42-piece U. S. Coast Guard Band following a parade up Broadway to the theatre, with top celebrities from the stage, screen and radio, top ranking military officials and civilian authorities in attendance. WNEW broadcast the ceremonies from the front of the house. Signal' Tradeshow Nov. 19 National tradeshowing of "Danger Signal" has been set by Warners for November 19. The Victory Loan drive, final in the nation for World War II, got off to a rousing start October 29 in the film industry, with a total of 12,500 pledges from exhibitors. The War Activities Committee in New York, with Si Fabian as national chairman of the drive, was deluged with exhibitor pledges as word got around that pledges were lagging behind previous drives. Sounding the keynote for New York, a gigantic bond rally was held in Times Square with 35 top-notch stars of the theatre, screen, radio, opera and night clubs appearing in person on the outdoor victory stage under the Statue of Liberty. All branches of the military were represented, including a 56-piece Infantry Combat band. Over 100,000 persons were in attendance. The Victory rallies at the foot of the Statue will be held daily throughout the drive. Throughout New York State, openings were proportionately as impressive as in New York. Banners for all Staten Island boats were arranged and in Westchester, the mayors of Yonkers, Mount Vernon, NewRochelle, White Plains and Portchester purchased the first $200 Roosevelt bond in each community. Seven representatives of the American Legion appeared in each of Fabian's seven theatres in Staten Island and in Brooklyn, the Bronx and Queens, the Boro presidents officiated at the opening of the industry rallies. At Hyde Park, N. Y., Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt and Merle Oberon took part in opening-day ceremonies. The Century Circuit, Brooklyn, offered free passes to anyone buying or selling 12 bonds and the Circuit is also running contests for school children. A record number of radio shows have also been arranged through New York. In Virginia, 99 per cent of the state's 360 theatres have pledged all-out effort, while in adjoining Maryland, an estimated $3 million in bonds is expected to be sold by 15,000 boy scouts with an additional 5000 gas stations cooperating with the industry's efforts. In Albany, N. Y., over 100 industry representatives pledged aid at the kick-off held at the Ten Eyck Hotel. Portland, Maine, is concentrating its efforts on Free Movie Day and tieups with newspapers. TriStates Theatres, Des Moines, are tackling farmers, while Chicago has arranged 18 meetings for the sale of bonds. Philadelphia had General Jonathan M. Wainwright as its guest of honor at the onset of the drive, held at the RitzCarlton, and Minneapolis has arranged a local talent tour of the territory to promote bond sales. Connecticut has pledged 100 per cent cooperation and Kingsport, Tenn., closed local stores to enable parade participation on opening day. All Arizona theatres have pledged Victory Shows, while Spencer Tracy, Frances Dee and Paul Kelly opened the Boston drive. Schools were dismissed in Denver for the opening, and Portland, Oregon's 26 theatres pledged all-out participation. Bond leaflets were rained on Salt Lake City by Army bombers on opening day, while a two-hour parade of Navy troops marked the Fall River, Mass. opener. Southern California theatres, totaling 650, set a goal of $75 million for their part in the drive and bonds were sold on five warships at the opening in Wilmington, Delaware. Every Monday was made Free Movie Day in Buffalo, N. Y. and a Victory Pool was formed for 47 Washington, D. C. theatres, making participants eligible to win prizes ranging up to $1000. Pittsburgh has set 155 Victory shows and 75 Kiddie shows, with virtually 100 per cent exhibitor cooperation secured. Over 200 members of the industry attended the kick-off in St. Louis at the Coronado Hotel and full school cooperation was pledged in Charlotte, N. C. General Eisenhower's personal band opened the Cleveland drive and 15 regional meetings have fully organized Wisconsin. The Navy aided Miami in its participation and the largest parade in Michigan history with 60 bands and thousands of singers launched Detroit on its path. The Empire, Fall River, Mass., sold 405 bonds to open its participation, while Wilmington, Delaware arranged to close all places of business November 5 for a second parade. All local merchants have tied up with theatres in Lexington, Ky., while both the Army and Navy aided the Jacksonville, Fla., opening. War prisoners were used on stages of local suburbans at Fort Worth, Texas. MGM 'Follies Girls' Stars Of Book of Glamor Hints Glamor of the Hollywood star plus smart and alert press agentry on the part of the many live-wire publicity men in the film industry, continue to be an unbeatable combination for keeping movies before the public. Among the most outstanding publicity jobs recently worked by a film press agent is the "Ziegfeld Follies" tieup arranged by Herbert Crooker, MGM's publicity manager, under which Esther Williams and other "Ziegfeld Follies" girls are featured in a book published by the Home Health Library. The book is titled "101 Hints for a Glamorous Figure" and is illustrated with photographs of the eye-taking Miss Williams and a bevy of beauties who appear with her in MGM's "Ziegfeld Follies." The author, Helen Mcfadden, dedicates the book to MGM's "Ziegfeld Follies."