Variety (May 1942)

Wednesday, May 6, 1942 ADVERTISEMENT 1 21 IT'S ALWAYS rAttWEAIHOI THE EXTRA N9WS and Gossip Abouf thm Procfucflon oncf Distribution of fh* Bmst Shews In Town I Key Gty Confabs Win FoUow Up Gose of Par's Sales Meet Today Paramount will hbld regional Eales fneetings In five key cities following the, general sales session which closes today at Adolph Zu- kor's Mountain View Country Club, New City, according to an an- nouncement of Nell Agnew, gen- eral sales manager. First of the sectional huddles win be' at the Hotel Pierre in New York City May 11 and 12, with Ex- changes of New York, Buffalo, Al- bany, Boston and New Haven rep- resented. Division Manager J. J. Unger will preside, and Agnew, Charles M. Reagan, George Smith pnd Oscar, Morgan will address the group. William Penn Hotel at Pittsburgh will be the scene ol the second meeting, May 15 and 16. Unger will preside here, too, and Agnew and Reagan vtill discuss sales prob- lems. Exchanges of Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Washington, Cleve- land, Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Detroit will be represented. . - Same dates. Division Manager George Smith will preside at a con- clave In the Peabody Hotfel, Mem- phis, with.reps of Charlotte, At- lanta, New Orleans, Oklahoma City and. Dallas . Exchanges' on . hand. Oscar Morgan will lead discussion. May 18 and 19, Smith will pre- side at a meeting of Kansas City, St Louis, Omaha, Denver, Des ' Moines, Minneapolis, MUwaukee and Chicago exchangemen at the Muehlebach Hotel, KC, with Ag- new, Morgan and Reagan present. Last meeting will be at the St Francis, San Francisco, May 22 and 23, with San Francisco, LA., PorU land and SeatUe Exchanges. Rea- gan and Smith wUl head up.' The three-day New City meeting, with Agnew presiding, was ad- dressed by Barney Balaban, Y. Frank Freeman, Adolph Zukor, R. WOMAN DRIVER She's irlTlBt H«p« aats alone tbe "■••d t* Hor*cc«,' m hlghwsy frmacht with the pcrUa et soft ■hanldera , and dAngcraiis cures. Halt 'War' for Draft Paramount's war in minia- ture, being stage . on the shores of the Salton Sea, Cal., where location shots for .'Wake Island' are under way, ^yas held up for a time last week while sixty-one members of the cast and crew registered for the draft. Three Selective Service regis- trars were sent to the Isolated spot to sign up tl.j 45 to 64 year old men. Included in the signing were- Jack Mulhall, Mikhail Rasumny and Charles Trowbridge; in the cast, and Hal Walker, unit director. M. GlUham, Oscar Morgan, Charles Reagan, J. J. Unger and George 45mith. , Russell Holn^an, eastern production head, and Jack Karp, studio legal adviser, were guests. Others in attendance were Claude Lee, Morgan, C. J. ScoUard, G. B. J; Frawley, Alec Moss, F. A. Leroy, J. A. Walsh and Al Wilkle. Dis- trict managers In attendance were W. H. Erbb, Boston; M. S. Kusell, New York; E. W. Swelgert Phila.; H. H, Goldstein, Cleveland; Allen Usher. 'Clil.; St C. LlBeau, K.C.; Hugh Braly, L. A.; M. A. Brown, Denver; J. F. Kirby, Atlanta; Hugh Owen, Dallas, and Del Goodman, "Toronto. 'Road Gang' Pair Hit Road Again For Uncle Sam Two of the thres members of Paramount's famous 'Road Gang' (^qad to Moroccp, Road to Singa- pore, Road to Zanzibar) were on the road again for the biggest show of all this week—the war. The third, BIng Crosby, who made a benefit tour with Bob Hope before 'Morocco' dlmed, was tied up in final production of the Irving Ber- lin musical, 'Holiday Inn.' Sob Hope has started on a tour of service men's camps, to last throughout his eight-week vacation. He's traveling with the Hollywood 'Victory Caravan, and will emcee the thirteen shows the troupe puts on. In addition, he will present radio shows and special perform- ances at twenty or more service camps, hitting Chicago, Houston, New Orleans, Atlanta, Quantlco,. .New London, Conn, and Camp Upton, L. I. Dorothy Lambur, credited with having sold (50,000,000 In War Bonds in a. recent tour, is at it again. Last week she addressed war workers In Chicago, including men at Rand-McNally, Pratt- 'Whltney Buick division and other spots. Motion Picture Committee for Hollywood reported that 16,000 workers heard her on Thursday.. YOU'VE GOT AN AXIS TO GBIND —Boy United States War Bonds Ml-Stamps! BOEimiFIN FLOCK OF DATES Hope-Carroll Starrer Prove* Fan'* Fave, Too; Hold- over* Everywhere Seem Gilt-Edge Cinch — Stack* with 'Draft' PERCY A HIT 'My Favorite Blonde' is a cinch to beat out Bob Hope's 'Nothing £fut the Truth' in almost every date, ad- vance grosses from openings over last weekend showed today. Date after date shows the new Carroll- Hope starrer with a margin of froln ten to 50 per cent above "Truth.' 'Blonde' broke house records at the New York Paramount for four weeks running In a pre-release book- ing. Pre-release dates in Florida also brought holdovers and record grosses, eiy the terrific take of-the first release-week bookings came as. no surprise to Par's home office. To put It as briefly as possible, 'Blonde' has topped Truth' in the following: • LlaeolB Theatre, Llaeoln, Neh. (Ist'wk.); Paraiaoaiit, Cedar Baplds, la. (3 days); Capitol, Slon City (S days—9«*/. over Trath'); Omaha Theatre, Omaha, (4 days); rara- monnt, SprlBcflcId (5 days); Capitol, Wereester (S days—4ieata Trath' and 'Draft'); Faramoant, New HavcB (2 days—beats Trath' hy U% and •Draft' by 5«*/.); Allya, Hartford (beats both handily openla* day); Maleo, Memphis (3 days beat a week of Trath'); Bialto, Taeson (3 days— Z5% over both piz); V. 8. Theatre, Fatcrsaa (3 days); Majestic. Dallaa (beating both by good margla); Worth Theatre, Ft Worth (2 days- well over both); PalaskI Theatre, Little Bock (openlof day 2S% above both); Jefferson Theatre; Beaumont (epenlnr day almost triple gross of Troth'); Los Angeles Paramonat (first week tied Trath,' which had a stage shew—despite day-aod^date booking at the Parsmoant, Holly- wood—second wk, still strong); Paramount, Bollywood (day-and- date—running close to theatre's 'first pic, "Beap the Wild Wind'); Metro- politan, Boston' (4 days 'Blonde' beat week of 'Trath,' week of 'Draft'). Decidedly, that is not hay. . Incidentally, the running gag In 'Blonde,' iy which Hope contends for billing and publl^ty with his trained penguin, Percy, has taken on a bit of truth. Short time back, LIFE mag devoted a spread to' the picture and tossed much of the space to Percy. SPECIAL SALES PLAN ANNOUNCED FOR W Decision to handle and play De- Mille's 'Heap the Wild Wind' at ad- vanced admission prices only was an- nounced at New City by Neil Agnsw, Par sales manager, to attending Dis- trict Managers, Policy is in line with numerous suggestions and requests from theatre managers received since trade screenings of the epic. The spectacular business in first eight pre-release showings of 'Reap,? with business topping 'North West Mount- ed' by margin everywhere, clinched the decision. General release date will be announced later. TIME'S HIS OWN It's a completely de-glamorised Bady Vallao (sns wUI see 1b tho Prestos Starces pletnre The Palm Boaeh Story,' .wltpeas abovo. Be deeiBt get iiha girl, (Colbert) either. HeCrea does. Eager to Die Crew filming 'Wake Island' at the Salton Sea location had plenty bf trouble keeping their 150 FUlpino extras alive, Holly- wood reports. ' The 'Joes' were hired to play Japs, for a sc^ne in which they charge the Islan... Despita orders that ..til- were to fall before defenders''fire, and th« other half to break - through, the Filipinos time after time Insisted on falling, to the last man, as the guns spoke. They only wanted to 'be dead Japs. Scene was finally shot by let- ting 75 die out of range. AUDIENCE COLLECTIONS for the industry's Army and Navy Emergency Belief Drive start May 14—sign apt W REMAINS PHENOM Cecil B. DeMiUe's Technicolor epic 'Reap the Wild Wind,' after record runs at the. Radio City' Music Hall and day-and-date in two L. A. theatres, remained, the standout picture of the year and the boxoffice news of the month today. Reports of additional pre-releasa' bookings showed 'Reap' outgross- Ing 'North West Mounted Police'.- Jiandily In all spots, in some ctlsea' by a heavy, margin. 'Heap's* second week in Cliarles- ton, In a carryover at the. Victory theatre from the Gloria, remained, strong; first week at the Gloria, showed, a gross tnore than double- that of 'N.Wjaj.' and 'I^ouUiana Purchase.' ■ 'Reap' at the.Warfleld, San Fran- cisco, outgrossed an Armistice'Day ' week of 'N.WJdJ.''for its flrst! (Nov. 11 Is big stuff in Frisco) and' a Christmas Week of -'Louisiana' Purchase.' First 'three days of' holdover week were strong. At the Norva, Norfolk, first-week' for 'Reap' was 50% above-.'North- West' and the first four days of the' second week increased the margiq over 4he last DeMIIle epic. Co-, lonial, Richmond, beat 'North W«st' for the first week, and 'was well' ahead In four days of the second week. . In Jacksonville, first three days of 'Heap' grossed more than a full- week of'North "West,' and also out- '- grossed a. Christmas weekend for 'Purchase.' Four days. In the Ma-; jestlc, Houston, were'well abovt 'Mounted' and 10% abovr »- New<^ Year's booking of 'Purchase,' Para- /nount, Miami, showed a similar story with ' business above 'N.W.M..P' and beating a Christmas week of 'Purchase.', f'irst three days of the second week were al-' most up to the first week. "It'e signed 'Percy' and it say* to give them five passes t"