Variety (Aug 1943)

Wednesday. August 4, 194S PICTURES 5 NEIC's Pledge Week Opens Sept. 20; IH| 0 H[|] Group Gets 8-Point AFRA Project Coordinating committee of the Na-f tional EiUertainmeht.Industry Coun-. eil has" designated the week pi Sept. 20 as riedec Wee!;, which .will tee Off wilh a lui?e N. Y, rally at which ncrformers from the talent unions, identified with NEIC will publicly nicclee Iheiv 'services .'in...the war morale cnort. Feature of the rally vill also be the dedication of the "siio'wTBtf -rervrce' naj!;--hitltM- event being postponed and skedded for last Monday (2). ' . Second day of Pledge. Week will be marked by a meeting of .NEIC delegate's oii Sept. 21. It was NEIC's initial two-day powwow recently at the Waldorf. N. Y...that set in motion ■the'show.biz mobilization program aimed at delisting screen, stasei ra- dio and music , in a minimum six weeks' service pledge. Latter pledge was whipped into final :shape last Friday. (30) by the talent pool Com- mittee and in genei'ai follows that of the Screen Actors': Guild and Hollywood Victory Committee. Radio's, contribution to the project took definite' pattern" last week when a committee representing the Ameri- can Federation, of Radio Artists pre- sented to the .coordinating committee an eight-point program to clear through the OWI and which will be. offered : to agencies and networks. Enlisted in AFRA's project are sing- ers, 'actors, announcers,, writers arid directors. . Appointment- of additional com- mittees to expedite NEIC's program marked last week's-session. Named to a projects committee, which will line up the exact manner in.which the production and civilian front will be served along with' supplementary Now It's Different Hollywood. Aug. 3.. : Alan Ladd and Julie Bishop got lop billing in 'The . Right Man,', reissue of the old picture, ■'Her'--First Romance,' by Mono- gram. In the original release, Edith Fcllowcs and Wilbur Evans-were-leads. Ladd was a supporting player along with : Jacqueline Wells, now jcilic Bishop of Warners. Indies Protest -t alent fui — aiiny u.nnps and navy bases, were Philip Loeb. chairman; Anita Grannis. viccchairman; Ker-. rriit Bloomgarden; William Fricke, George Heller. Abe Lastfogel. Solly Pernick. James F. -Reilly, Dorothy Rodgcrs, James E. -.Sauter, Matt -Shelvey and Blanche Witherspoon. . A membership' committee to check on organization's not yet affiliated with NEIC comprises. Walt Dennis, John Flinn. Solly Pernick- and George J. Sc'hacfer. Latter is NEIC's chairman.' A .-committee to complete.the ad- ministrative stall' setup includes Leonard Callahan, chairman; William .Feinberg, Florence Marston, James E. Sauter, Morris Seamon, Matt Shelvey and'Blanche Witherspoon. Completing plans for Pledge Week, are Schaefcr, Bloomgarden and Sauter. : Miss Grannis. NEIC's sec- retary, was elected to the coordinat- ing- committee. Latter ' group also received a membership acknowledge- ment from the Arena Clubs of America, bringing total to 45. Rogers Dismounts To Whip Up Pan-Am Salute Hollywood. Aug. 3. ■ Roy Rogers, top rider at Republic, "ce Gene Autry became a.soldier, . -PS out of his customary role to do a special number in 'Brazil,' a musi- cal aimed at the soulh-of-tho-border trade. . Saddle star will put on a sketch "tied 'A Salute to Pan-America,' as £ result of an appeal from Morris Goodman.- Republic'*;, foreign sales manager in Rio de Janeiro, where Gringo cowpokes are popular. A1-. aert S. Rogel) is directing the film. 'Janie' Nearing Cameras .j. . Hollywood; Aug. 3. Next production on Alex Gottlieb's schedule at Warners .will be 'Janie,' now running on the Broadway Stage. .Filming starts as soon as Gottlieb winds up his current job, 'Deep WB'S STANWYCKEE w Hollywood, Aug. 3. "arners is : starring Barbara. Stan- wyck i n 'My Reputation," film faapted from Clare Jaynes' novel -'"struct My -Sorrow.' ' Repuiatio,!' goes before cameras '0 early fall with Henry Blanke in Chto «* "f production. Hollywood, Aug. Pacific Coast Conference of In- dependent Theatre Owners made an official protest tp '2pth-Fox over the announcement that trade press screening of 'Heaven Can Wait', will be held in theatres before paying audiences. In a letter to Tom Connors! ; 20th-Fox sales chief, the Coast exhibs declare it would be un- fairtrade practice, causing inroads on potential receipts of independent theatres and violating the intent and purpose of Section 3 of the Consent Decree. Letter reads, in part: 'We can only naturally assume that- you intend to. also adopt the same policy on the tradeshbwings of your other product. It would establish a precedent that could be easily followed by all other distiibuloi id-tt ins cause an un- fair trade practice which will un doublcdly be opposed by all exhibi- tor, organizations in the U. S. It. is our sincere hope that it is riot too lafe for you (o decide NOT to intro- duce the policy of commercialized tradeshowirigs.' OHIO INDIES PROBING FILM RENTAL 'GOUGE' : Charging that exhibitors are con-, tinually being gouged by higher film rentals, the Independent Thea- tre Owners of Ohio is asking its members (o forward data showing the percentage of film rentals to gross receipts for the year ended June 30 last, as compared with . the cor- responding prior year. This informa- tion is being gathered for discussion at-the. meeting of the board of di- rectors of Allied States Assn.. sched- uledfor Baltimore Aug. 11-12. Complaining of the increase in percentages, the ITO of Ohio takes the following position: 'We' fully recognize the fact that in many spots there has been a large increase in boxoffice receipts, and naturally, in such instances'; film rentals, top. will be higher. But'the complaint: even from such exhibi- tors, is that the percentage has jumped far out of proportion to the increase is boxoffice. intake.'' Exhibs are being asked to go over their books and apply total, film rental paid. for features, shorts, newsreels and trailers against re- ceipts for the two years through June.-30, 1942 and June 30, 1943. . Howard Sheehari Upped To Siegel's Aide at Rep Hollywood, Aug. 3. ue to expanded production pro- grain.. Howard siirchao. slu io*man- ager, at Republic' iclures. was boosted to assistant to Moe Sicgcl. Republic Productions president last week. -Sheehan,-'supervises making all feature pics, under SicgclV di- rection, with exception of eight high budget deluxers. AH westerns, excepting the Roy Rogers, special, also under his'supervision: Al Wilson, studio labor relations counsel, liamcd as Sheehan's suc- cessor, with John Mc-C'iirdy. former exploited- now aiding Wilson and studio labor contact. Juve Purse Thieves Bare Theatre Racket; Cleve. Authorities Tougher Pointing out that quality-. film product has 'made the b.o. heftier/ a. condition that has been greatly en- couraged by decree selling, sales managers, of major companies can see no reason why .there should be a shortage of pictures for the 194H- 44 season, even though deliveries may reach the lowest point In » decade. ■ <. Because of the higher value of the product attained during the past season and ^expected to be main- tained throughout -the .1943-44 sea- son, it is even doubted that there will be a diminution of double-bill- ing, which now represents, greater than .50% of the country's accounts. Distribution executives take the po- sition that fewer changes of program will take care of the situation. There is no evidence at present of a hungry market rior that the- atres are not able to obtain suf- ficient product to amply supply their heeds, in , the. opinion of Neil F. Agnew, v.p. in charge of distribu- tion for Paramount, which 1 this.sea- son (1942r43 J and the ;coming season (1943-44) will release only close .to half the number of pictures, it for- merly, did; Their staying powers arid the fact that this company, together with Warner. Bros., 20th-Fox. Metro and others have thrown cold water on so-called 'B's, helps make this possible. Added playing time . on. - the pic- tures now being made, takes care of any! possibilities of shortage, Agnew opines, since the general value of product is so much higher than in former yoar s t -a-posUio n .. rea c he d b] the industry, whether by decree or the necessity of conservation,- that also inspires William F, Rodgcrs. v:p. over sales in Metro, to the conclusion that there are so many boxoffice films' on supply now that no exhibitor should have to worry. Shifting Trends In the light of the quality being maintained, Agnew 'sums it up by reminding that, what has happened is that there has been a shift through fewer pictures and the creation of longer runs, in addition to the .es^ tablishment during the past year of a lot of added first-run accounts and moveovers. The Par sales chieftain points to the increased number of day-and-date policies de- veloped in order to move product, citing , as an unusual instance the Palace and Wisconsin in Milwaukee, which are directly across the street from each other, but. in spite of that, And enough business on .hand lo warrant the policy. In Los An- geles, as many as three and four theatres are now day-dating pic- tures and all, according to grosses shown, arc doing well, substantiat- ing the theory . that in most cases on first-run engagements the num- ber of seats available arc out of (Continued on page 37) RKO'S 7-YEAR PACTS FOR RATHV0N, DEPINET New contracts, for seven years each., were announced yesterday • Tuesday) by Floyd B:OdUim. chair- man of RKO, for both N. Peter Rath- von. as president of Radio-Keith- Orpheum and ;chief executive officer of-its subsids, and Ned E. Dcpinet. as president of RKO-Radio Picture* and in charge of worldwide distribu- tion of its pictures. Odium also pointed, out that Charles W. Kocnu-r was given a '7-year pact some lime ago as'-'v.p.. in charge of prb'duc'.ion at the studio. Aside from salary, new pacts al- low each of three to buy 50.000 shares of comriioh at $8 per share, recent market price for RKO com- mon. Options to. buy covers seven years with appropriate provisos for earlier termination. Option agree- ments are subject to certain condi- tions, including, approval by ..' :k- holde-.s at the new meeting, ant! provisions- limiting the exercise of a portion of options to^he sixth and seventh years respectively. Freeze on Freoh Washington, Aug. 3. 1 Theatres needing freon, chem-. ical used in . cooling .systems, in order to keep-their'cooling units operating, don't stand a ghost of a chance of getting any of the precious fluid this year,: :•': Inquiries made Monday, (2) by • WPB amusement chief, Allen G. Smith, made it clear that '■ there is insufficient freon for even the most vital civilian needs,. which do riot include comfort cooling systems, - ' Bell Doubles Up For OWI in H wood Hollywood, Aug. 3. Ulric Bell took : over a double chore as domestic representative of the. pfiice of War Information in Hollywood in addition to his old job as foreign contact. . After a confer- ence with': Palmer Hoyt,- national di- rector of the domestic branch of OWI, Bell agreed to assume the job formerly handled by Nelson Poynter and a staff of 15. : Bell's two-way job is temporary, awaiting the appointment of a hew domestic representative to succeed Poynter, after which he will act as a liaison between the fllrn industry arid the domestic end of the OWI. He has sayed a lot of time and y ir) hie Fnr^i pp .ftnrAa^ ri "gO- tiatibns between Hollywood and Washington. ' ' STUDIO PAY LEAPS TO $70.81 WEEKLY AVERAGE Sacramento, Aug. 3. " Wages in the film, industry aver- aged $70.81 r«»r week for the month of June, a weekly leap of $14.47 over June, 1942, arid an, increase of $4.44 over May, 1943, according to Jlgures issued, by the California State La- bor Statistics Bulletin. Workers in the motion picture studios put in an average of 44.7 hours a week during June at $1.58 per hour, an increase in' time and rate over May. Lead Role for Huston In MG 'Dragon Seed' Hollywood, Aug. 3. ■ First casting tor 'Dragon Seed,' the high-budget Metro production; is Waller Huston in the role of Ling Tan, a Chinese farmer around whom the .'story i evolves. Jack Conway, director, is sending emissaries up north to:sign Chinese. r<irrncrs to work on the near-Oriental village near Caiabasas, where the terrain jends itself to that-a-way chasps, or the cultivation of cab- bages. ■ Coast Drama Ed Now Par Literary Advisor Hollywood, Aug. 3. . James Francis Crow was signed by Paramount as consultant . on Stories and Screenplays after .two months on the Universal lot as spe- cial, 'feature writer on the publicity stair. Before, moving lo Universal, Crow was film and drama editor of the Hollywood Citizen-News. In' his new job he will function as'literary advisor lo B. G. Dc Sylva : PichelV 'Harvest' Hollywood. Aug. 3. Djrector.- chore on 'Tomorrow's Harvrsl". at Paramount goes to Irv- ing Pichrl. with David Lewis hold- iiii! \hr piofliiclion reins. Pittini- K<>o< into .work as soon as Lcnorc Codec finishes the script. : Louis; Aug. 3. Strategy. . mapped out by Rex Williams, Cily riianager for .Loew's theatres heVe, last week enabled cops to roundup a dozen juycs.who have been enjoying a'field day iri copping pokes from femftie patrons in four, of the local deluxe cinema houses during the past several months. With beefs of losses being made with exasperating frequency Williams put several of his ushers in Loew's in civilian garb and instructed, them to watch for boys or men who, sat behind women and changed their seats-more than Ihree limes during a single, performance On Thursday (29) an usher re- ported that a young 'un, wearing a white, sailor's hat, had shifted his seat four, times and then, suddenly disappeared from the -eatre. A good' description ■ was furnished. Squawks from several "womeii were made a short while later. Oiie. com- plaint involved the theft of $75. a gold wrist .watch, important papers, War Stamps, etc. ' The next a.m. the lad with the sailor hat and a companion were spotted in the theatre. Plain clothes men were, calied and collared the . pa'irV They confessed, took the tops to a nearby vacant building where an armful of rifled fetnme purges had been ditched. The juves in- volved others in the gang who also were jailed arid confessed. One of the kids said he had purchased : a jalopy for $40 his end of brie theft. The technique of' the thefts was explained to the cops. The kids said when they saw a woman lay her purse, on an adjoining seal they ■would take one immediately behind. tilt the empty-s eat with their s hoe and grab the purse before it hit the floor arid then leave the theatre. The Arnbassador. Missouri and Fox. op- erated by Fanchon & Mateo are the other houses where thefts occurred. Cleveland Drive ■'. Cleveland, Aug. .3. Rising rale of sex criminal cases involving adolescents; and a new outbreak, of juvenile vandalism often centering, around theatres, have' caused police to put sharper teeth in current laws affecting children. Demands for an ordinance: that would separate juveniles, from adults in film houses, lo prevent per- - verts from molesting them, are being made by Police Capt. Arthur V. Roth. He is asking city Council to pattern the new law- after the city's current curfew edict. This would force youngsters under 10 to sit apart from grownbps unless accpm-S panicd ■ by their parents or some responsible person over 18. . . .'Such a segregation ordinance,' said the police e^ec, 'would help theatre operators who are being constantly harassed by rippers— children who slash seats—and over-' sexed morons who pester juveni! Proposal immediately drew sharp ' objections from peorge Erdman, sec- retary of Motion Picture Exhibitors Assn. and chief counsel for city's law department. Both protested that Ihcy did not believe the ordinance vyould accomplish what' the captain soughi, and are sludyinj; the laws laws of other cities IP set up a work- able one. ' Fifteen youngsters . found on streets near theatres were • picked. up by squad cars when Safety Di- rector Frank H. Celcbrczze resur- rected full power of children's cur- few edict. Not enforced for'several weeks, it ^permits the cops to yank any kid pul of a : theatre if he i< found in.one unaccompanied aftCr 11' p.m. New Juve Court Law Indianapolis. Ind.. Au^. 3. Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys' 'Ass'n has been asked to prepare a new juvenile court law which may be more effective in dealing with juvenile delinquency in Indiana. The request Came from James A. Em- mert, Attorney Genera), who told the prosecutors at their annual mid-year meeting (28). that the current law is inadequate and asked that a draft of the new. law be ready for submission at the .next session of the Indiana General Assembly.