Variety (Jan 1941)

16 PICTU|IE$ Wednesday, January 1, 19 U Despite F.D.R.'$ Sunday Speech, President Rposevelt's. speech- oh the air Sunday niiBht; (29) ,: caHed :top big a show 'for theatres lo' contend with,, played' havoc with, business at the boxoftices all. , the coun- . try, -but. advance 'figures . would in- dicate' that, grosses generally on the final weelc. of 19.40 will be well jihead of the final seVeti days of 1939.. For the week it may average 5% better when iall the' figures,are In. .According to operators, the week before /Ghrislmaf was behind the corresponding stanza . 1939. but better jgrpsse^ during the, rest of - the month puts December out front; when compared .with last year, . by around .2V4 or 3%, ■ Pointed ouV.ln theatre operating circles that Christr mas shoppinig seemed to be more bunched the week before the holi- day than in prior years, resulting in some cilies in the closing of doors to department stores on several vocca- sions because of inability to handle additional customers. This occurred In Detroit,. Chicago ahd other spots. Also noted that the department stores did a bigger, Decembeir busi- ness this year, than in 1939. In the dow^ntown picture theatres Sunday night. (29),. the competitioifl of the Robsevelt speech, which nearly everyone: wanted .to hear, proved devastating regardless of the ■• pull of the shows,. It was estimated by managers that from 9 o'clock on the drop was about 50% of the nor. mal trade to be expected on a Sun day evening. The president's speech : went on at 9:30... How It Dropped . Ordinarily Sunday night business Is strong though froin 9 o'clock on it is usually around 25% under the grosses shown from ^ to 9 o'clock. The patronage at one of the large downtown Tiouses Sunday night . (29) gives an idea. House played to 1,100 people, froin T to 8; 1,050 from 8 to 9; 600 from 9 to 10 and only 200 from 10 to 11. In the Greater New York nabes, the drop. varied from only around 10% in som.e sections, to as fliuch as 50%. . Greater. Ni Y. is claimed to have: been off more Sunday eve as a re-' Euli of .Roosevelt's, speech than the t-est of the country though repiprts would indicate that the effect at the b.o. ranged from 25 to 50%. When all the figures, are in, 'it is believed they will show that downtown thea- tres suffered more than nabes.. One reason for this may have been the ability, to catch, nearby shows, ini- mediately after the Roosevelt broad- cast whereas trips downtown at that late hour presented a problem. The N.Y. legit theatres were seem. Ingly unaffected by the president's address. Among the eight shows giving Sunday night performances, all but two drew better business than for the preceeding Sunday (22). That indicated an. influx of visitors for New Year's. Fox, St. Loo, Stuck Up For $1,290; Blackout Also on Same St. Xbuis. Dec; 31 A pair of .stickup). men held up the treasurer and doorman of Fanchpn: 5f Maltb's Fox oh Xmas night and made: a. successitul getaway with $1,29,0, . a portion of the day's re- ceibts. The holdup occurred at lD:10 p.m. on the mezz^mihe floor near the treasurer's pffice.; Lowell- .Smith, thte treasurer,- and Elmer Esrock, dbpr main,; vvere' approaching Smith's of- fice to . put the dough away fpr the night when .the-bandit<i; lurking hear a stairway; covered the pair with guns and -ordered theni into the officer From a. box Snvith was carrying the robbers snatched |683 and from an unlocked saf.e another $607. While Smith and . Esrock stood in a. cprnfer the robbers disappeared, probably escapihg down a fire escape; . Jahe j^Iesenbrihic, b.;o. cashier, told cops she recalled two men asking how long the house would be open. The closing was later than usual' due to the theatre being dark for 55 mins, when the juice-failed. A good de scription of the bandits Was fur^. nished by Virgil T. Hurst, a picture checker, ^yho sjpiw the men ascending the. stairs towards Smith's office at about the time the stickup occurred Cops obtained . a fingerprint clew from the'money box one of th<a men handled. This is the first theatre rob- bery here in more than a year. Electric flashlights were pressed Into, service?^t the Fox', the same night when the juice failed: due to an act. of vandialism; and Will Os- borne, band Tnoestrb, led the cus tomers. in the crowded house through a 52 min. session of community warbling until repairs were made Chad Hanna' was being shown when the house went dark. The manage ment recruited ushers from its nearby Missouri and. St. Louis and they held the ' fliashlights on the stage for the tootefs. An emerigency connection for juice was made with a nearby establishment where the current was still oh find the show continued. An-investigation revealed that an IJptown, Racine, Wis., Siiffers a Holdup Racine, Wis., Dec. 31.. Just a.fter Thomas J. Daly, niah- ager of the Uptown, had removed $185 . from the . boxoffice and, ac- compahied by Gvahville Calhoun, assistant manager, iand Eugene Piau-. graza,.head usher, taken it to his own inner.pffice to put in the safe, a piair of holdup: men pushed their way in. Jeanette Joihnson, cashier, came in and the banditi lined her up with the three men.; After seizing the inoney. th^ rob- bers, both; about 23, ordered Daly at point ■ of; gun to open the safe. While tie fumblei .'With! the combination the holdupk. meii. became' nervous, backed out of the office and fled by a side exit, failing to get the biggier part of; the Weekend receipts.. .: NEBRASKA'S Ic PER ADMISSION TAX IDEA New Outlook in 1941 For Coast Theatres, Exchanges Los Angeles, Dec. 3l Theatre and exchange improve- ments in the Los Angeles area cbh tinues with substantial; budgets okayed for the facelifting alterations, Several theatres are being equipped with new marquees, chief amonig. these being the Orpheiirh downtbwn; where around .$20,000 has ^already been spent. Fox West Coast's Par- ambuht in Hollywood, long a stibse qiient rim house,,, is to have a new marquee .35 part of general improve ments to. be started after New Year's, and in addition will be renamed.' . Paraimourit exchange here is being given a general overhauling; Modern booking booth will be installed and various departinents shifted; Pfix. Egyptian,. ftpllywood boule- vaird ace; ;subsequent run, was equipped witft new R(5A sound dur Jng tlie past week and a complete •new booth equipment installed. Al HahsPn' Is latest ' Los Angeles area house operator to go into the bowling business. He will start erec-p tton of a modern plant in Sah DiegO ■Within , the next couple of weeks, planning to spend aroUnd $300,000 on the veriture. Myke Lewis has resigned as sailes - head for the Harry Sherman Hop- aloiig Cassldy productions, distrib uted by Paramount, and\ after a month's vacation will announce a new affiliation. Film Reviews sContlAuea from page 14; Phantom of ^Chinatown Lincoln, Dec. 31. Films, as usual, seem set foSi'sthe heaviest- attack of the amusement fratiirnity as Nebraska*s third ses- sion of the unicameral legislature makes ready to gbi into iaction after the first of the year. At that, only .one bill is surej Senv. E. M, Neubauer, Who has' reached' put with attempted slaps; before,; is already advocating a tax of l.c oh every., ticket sold at the pix box- office. , It is not the usual gradur ated, percentage rulied .tax, but will be ic on every: pasteboard, be they 5c or 50c tickets. None is exempt. At this nioment, the tax is aimed at' films,, bui; in the process of' being routed, it'll probably pick up all the amusement biz along the way. PAE MEETING KOUTINE ; Paramount board of directors met Monday; afternoon (30) at the horhe office, but it was chiefly routine. Another meeting of the directorate is scheduled for Jan. .26, automobile skid chain had been thrown acrbss bus bars, exposed cop- per strips connecting various circuits supported oh steel frame work at an outdoor sub-station of the Laclede Light. & Power Co., several miles away, causing a short circuit. Apart- ment houses^ hotels, restaurants and homes, in the midtown and northwest sections of the city suffered an In voluntary blackout with Xmas can- dles coming in for a strong play until the' repairs were made. town' is sufficiently. ihteresUng as a lowei-^bracket ■ meller ; to.: >yari:ant more than casual consideratioh from the coimtry's accounts, notably, those under a double-feature iiolicy needl- ing such supporting teatures as this to fin playdate requirements.: . In lesser situations, .the .piicture might pa.'ss muster singly. Paul; Malvern, the producer, has given the story and his cast adequate productional backgrounds, satisfac- tory settings ahdv technical attention worthy of; tbe average 'B* thriller of. this type. In- Phil Rosen he.chose a; dii:ector Who has carried through for the best results obtainable with the : material at hand. The yarn moves along at a sprightly clip and produces plenty of action along de- tectivie; mystery lines. plus.sustaining suspense ih an admirable fashion. ' Adapted by Joseph West, 'Phantom of Chinatown' has as its basis the Jhmes Lee Wong: magazine series by Hugh Wiley in which ah Oriental figures as a super-sleuth. As done for the screen, Wong, played by .Kaye Luke, is not always free from suspicion himself, nor arc numerous ©thers • out of the. range of doiibt. Luke, billed over the picture, was formerly in the Charlie Chan series at . 20th-F6x.. He pictures " well, i.s along suave lines. and has a clear, incisive voice. The girl- bpposite him, a secretary in the household of an archaeologist who has been poisoned, is. Lotus Long, an attrac- tive Euriasian who also has fine. dic- tibn along Americanized lines. There is only the faintest suggestion . of romantic interest, Ho>vever; . Plot concerns the discovery of a scroll on an expedition:, into Mon- golia Which tells where a large oil deposit lies and the efforts of the cameraman. Who commits two mur- ders, to. obtain this for himself. The showing of a film, record of the expedition at a lecture, ..When the discoverer of the tomb of an. ancient Chinese emperor, is poisoned, has been cleverly; handled with 'cuts' irom the lecture to China and back again. • Grant Withers plays a police of- ficer in Sah Francisco, locale of the action, but what a funny little gun he carries. It's the type that might be found in a lady's handbag instead of on a ;cop. Lessers are Paul McVey, Charles Miller, Virginia Car- penter and John Dilson, all satisfac- tory though not of great importance. Chax. Wise, and Minn. Indie Exhibs Unite In Fight on Jukers and Jackrabbits .Milwaukee, Dec. 31. Although indie exhibs of Wiscon- sin and Minnesota have long Worked in harmony on matters of . mutual concern, a closer unity than ever is evident from the acceptahce by the Badger organization of an invitation from Fred Strom, executive secre- tary of Northwest Allied, to hold a joint meeting in Mihneapolis early in January tb maP out; plans for a -fight on juke, pictures and also on jfickrabbit exhibs Who, with fly-by- night 16 mm, shows, are wreaking hav<JC among legitimate' operators throughput the northwest. Legislatures of both Wisconsin and Minnesota will go. into session with the beginning, pf the new year, and the indies of. both states; will work along closely similar liheis in put- lining and;'plugging for legislation designed to put an end to harmful competition. Ifhe juke pictures are still an unknown quantity, iibt yet' having been put pn .the market here, but the exhibs are already . Worried abput the possibilities and intend to take iprestalling' action; along, legal lines.' ', . First local distributor ; for: the spundies here is Vic Man.hardt, Inc., Which, Has,been giving previews; for prospective .bp'erators, and it is esti- mated that there will be 125 mar chines; in choice spots about Milwau- kee couhty. early In 1941, shoWihg the products of Globe Productions, Inc., of which James Roosevielt is president. An ordinance has already been introduced in the Milwaukee common council by Alderman T. E. Wedemeyer to regulate the jukers. ., Jackrabbiting In : Winter Also Jackrabbit .shiwmen, against whom legislative pi-otectioh will be sought, in other ^ears have flourished chiefly in the summer months, but this win tei- they have continued operations in rented halls and store buildings in the. smaller communities.. Shows are fre6 to the public, and the operators get their revenue from local mer- chants who pay for slides to be shown on the Screen; A carieful check this last summer showed audiences of as many as 2,500 people drawn to a single free shoW» mahy of them of course potential customers for legi timate exhibitors. Bootlegged early releases of big pictures, transferred to 16 mni. film, hiave been rushed in by. some of the jackrabbits prior'to the release dates of the same pictures in the legifimate theatres. One of the big fights in the Wis consin legislature Will be on the at- <tempt being sponsored by the Wis consin State Medical society to re establish daylight sa:vlng in the state, although the; ..idea was decisively defeated by referendum after a trial setting back of the clocks some years ago. ■ ■•; ■ ■ . ; . Phouo^s Olstrib; Hypo: Preparing to turn" up the steam on delivery of .their film jukeboxes, after the Coin Machine Exposition In mid-Jahuary, outfit, operated .,\ty Frank Orsatti and Sam Sax was in cprporated at Albany last week. It' labeled F'honovision pistribtition ;Co, Inc. Sax will attend the Expo in Chi cago, which opens Jan. 13. Orsatti is on the Coast: where , arranjgements for film are expected to. be made, No' officers of the new' corporation have been elected. Nominal direc tors In papers filed in Albany are all employes of Phonbvision's attor ney* Want- arbund- the house for long. Others in . the group, are Donald Haines, David Gorcey and Sunshine Sammy Morrison, a colored kid. who could be used to better advantage. Romantically paired are - Duve O'Brien . and Joyce Bryant, latter 'a graduate frphi westerns: - They • render little untp !That Gang, of Mine;'. As the elderly colored geiit . who owns the race.hbr.se, Clarence Muse gives a gbod performappe. ' '. : :■■ /Char. YOU WILL REMEMBER (BRITISH MADE) (WITH SONGS) London, Dtc. 2, . .$rU|.ih : IJon Felensa of. .Im-k \<;n hidtia.-. /production. Stars Robert' Moi-ley, ioiiilvn / W'lUlftiiiiS. ■; DIrcoUd :liy, .liicU HnyiiM.iid. Story,- I^ydla Jlayward; ail()l(l<in:il 'm.i>u(-8, ■ Chrlatophf r Mbrley.'-'.Sew'eU, Rlokps.: 'ciiincrn, Henry. HarrlB; . ■ Prevlewoil iil ' I'.ymiKint- Brltlsh prlvntf" thNitfe, London, I)i^i'. 'l>; mo. • Tom Uarrott (Leslie ■Slu'urt).. . Uol)(M.t M()ili')r hrtb SyntbrV I'Ulnllne Terrlas KU^ene Strnti<(n Flarl of Potter., ., rol)y A(r. Cnrr. , ■ .MRnor Foil......... I'nc Barrett.«..'.....; Mr^. Darrett.. Younff 'Tom Burrett. Young Bob-Sinter.,,.. ...... .liilyn V.'illiums .■;.-.-...l)ii.rothy H->-pon ; Toni KlDpliisa . NIrhnlna l'hl|i|ia ...Gerli-iidc MiisKruve ;....,< 'hnrles l.rtiiux ..: ..Minn .1<>nyM ........CMiin'lrM. Victor ......■..MnlvcQ'.NsIll . .-.-Mniirloe KMly .Toddy McDon-ell THAT GANG OF MINE Monosrum relense of Som Katzmnn pro- duction, - Peatut'cs Bobby Jordan,- Leo Gorcey, Clarence. Muse, Directed by Joseph H. Lewis, Story, Alan Whitman; adaptation, : Wllllnm Lively! editor, Carl Plerson; photoir, Robert Cllne and .-llnrvey Gould, At Slrund,. Brooklyn, week Dec 28, '40. Riinnlngr time, 61 MINS. Danny.i ,.Bobby Jordan Mugga. v,.:^■..Leo Gorcey Ben,.............Clarence Mnne Knuckle^....... ^ ,. Day^ O'Urlcn I.rf>ulse......... ... ....<....',,. .Joyce Rrynht Skinny., Donald Ha Ines Peewee. .David Gorcey Scruno.w .Sunnhlne fiamthy Morrison Algy. .-...Eugene Francis liT. Wilkes ............Milton KIbbce Mrs. Wilkes........ .....Hazel Keener Btfichla..; ichard R. Terry Nick W llbur. Alack Racetrack stories and the exploits of the'Dead End Kids are both leav- ening oft but aside from that, Sam Katzman's production of 'That Gang of Mine' is so generally lacking in. merit, that it will have trouble get- ting dates, either in number or qual- ity. The double-billers, which re- quire a lot of product and buy vir- tually everything that comes along, looks like its best market. Katzman obviously has not "spent a lot of money on his picture, with result it may come put on the right side of the ledger for producer and distributor regardless of its lack of entertainment value,. production quality or story treatment. Varn is. bbvioup all the way and the plot as' well as dialog fail to impress. It is also somewhat contrary to logic, including that the boss' wbich-wins a big stake race ever could have figured to do so considering every-;" thing. He is the charge of a penni- less old Negro who has reared him from colthpod and manages to scrape upi. ia few bucks to get him into training and into pne pf the most important stake events held in thoroughbred racing. In addition to the poor photogra- phy of a couplie races, the film is technically under standard. Action is dragged out to; the point of: bore-, dpm witl> detail; and the antics of the Dead Enders for apparent pur- poses of comedy Value- prove irk- some quickly. The tough kids .with their gutter manners and wisecrack- ing are still far froni being symp>a- thetic characters. Story Is built around Leo Gorcey who wants to. become a jockey but loses his nerve when getting ..the chance. It- ends on an inspiration Gorcey gets to become a fighter for ah intended comedy twist. A veteran among the Dead Enders work- ing closely "with Gorcey is : Bobby Jordan, whom Grandma wouldin't Celluloid version of the life of Leslie Stuart, the English composer, sees ia depiction fulsome in authen- ticity. Viewed as drama it perhaps suffers from the too irigid adherence. For niany, thouigh;' re-preation pi composers' hit. melodies will more than ' help gloss screen weakness^ plus a terrific emotional wallop in the last few hundred feet to lift it into a .smash favorite. Its melody time will help picture a lot in over- seas markets. :: Musical end has been jperfectly handled here for tuneful arrahgemcnt<i . as ear-jjleasing as Stuart himself would have wi.shed. Screenplay from Lydia Hay ward's story builds . episodically, tossing a lot of footage into composer's-child- hood, which materially, detracts froip pace and interest. Once over that hurdle, film unfolds a steady devel- opment of Leslie Stuart from time of his first published song, through his lieyday and subsequent slide, climax- ing with his appearance in vaude- ville. Direction of" Jack Raymond, rather stereotyped throughout, has seized on these latter scenes for class presentation offsetting weak megging of earlier footage. In fair- ness to Raymond it can be said he had little help from the screenplay in meaty stuff on which to get a grip. Playing standard is evenly spread, cast all working for best results. Roliert Morley's treatment of . the star role may be questioned by many of the oldtimers criticizing his stiff ahd Very stagey characteriza- tion. Player!s artistry though is unique, in investing those final nos- talgic scenes with class histrionics. Tom Finglass carries the Eugene Stratton role in nice style; his war- bling is efltectlve ('Lily of Laguma,' 'Dolly, Daydream,' 'Sue,' etc) plus • an unusually keen understanding of the part. Emlyn Williams gives a neat portrayal as Bob Slater, com-. poser's lifelong friend, although made little of and rather at waste in the .scripting. Film carries hardly any femme angle; Dorothy Hyson and Gertrude Musgrove being in for catchy bits. Production Is costly, well holding up its- end. Music by Grenadier Guards Band does more than. its share to, help it along. Camera of Henry Harris is standard. More Camp Theatres Brbwiiswood, Texa.s. Dec. 31. A huge tent theatre with wooden side walls, seating 2.076,. has been completed here at Camp Bowie for the Soldiers which ate expected in this training site within the next sev- eral months. Lieut. C. L. pickerspn; will be in charge of_. house opera- tions, . _ ■■".'-. Bookings will, be made from, the United States Army^-Motioh Picture Service office in Dallas. 2dj Preparedness House Garland, Texas, pec. 31. With an airplane factory busy here turning' out planes in the plans for national defense; and a sudden migra'- tion of workers here, H. R. Bisby has opened a- second house. here.' He operates the Garland. also. ; Northwcflt's 1,500-Stater / Seattle, Dec. 31. Announced that Evergreen aff.iliatev, at Bremerton, the navy city, across the Sound from Seattle, will build $250,000 class icinema in that town, Frank Newman, president, reports latest ideas in designing of this 1,500- seater. Bremerton Is crowded with navy folk and workers, as defense is cn the upbeat.