Variety (Dec 1944)

Wedaesdajr, December 20, 1944 PICTURES B way Showcases Pretty Well Locked Up With Product From New Year s On Broadway showcase theatres will be virtually locked up with Im- portant major product from Jan, 1, 1945 for a considerable period ahead, with tlie booking bottleneck in the N. y. and other keys likely to con- tinue well into 1945, from all Indi- cations. RKO, meantime, has been nego- ~ tiating with Loew's to turn the May- fair theatre Into a Broadway first run, offering to set. Samuel Goldwyn and International Pictures Into that house. Loew's, from accounts, is planning to turn the Mayfair, re- cently acquired from Walter Reade and associates into a first-run situa- tion, although it' may not be used exclusively for RKO or any one other major distrib. Understood that Loew's recently turned down a deal with United Artists whereby the theatre would have become a first run outlet exclusively for UA prod- uct. Capitol, N. Y.,' with "Music for Millions" and Tommy Dorsey orch, starting Thurs. (21) will not be avail- able for outside product for some: time. Dorsey and "Millions" are in for a minimum of four weeks and, barring other commitments for the orch, may stay six weeks or longer. "Meet Me In St Louis" is in for a long stay at the Astor theatre, with "Ziegfeld Follie^" aniother Metro picture, scheduled jo follow. "National Velvet" (M-G) will tie up the Radio City Music Hall early in 1945, with Columbia's "Song to Remember," scheduled to follow. "Remember" is pencilled in for four weeks and may go longer. Under- stood, also, that several Metro pro- ductions are being considered for the Music Hall in the first half of 1945, including "Son of Lassie," scheduled to be completed by April. 20th-Fox and Paramount will split bookings into the Rivoli, New York. Opening of the New York theatre Dec. 25 (operated by the Brandt Circuit) as a first run is not likely to ease the booking bottleneck to any great extent, since it is to be used mainly for reissues.' Roxy theatre is tied up exclusively, for 20th-Fox product. Paramount theatre, tising Pajr product almost exclusively, has .set 'Vere Come the Waves" late this month. Some talk also that "For Whom the Bell Tolls" will go into the Par for a run, al- though uncertain whether this book- ing has been set as yet. Strand and Hollywood, of course, are Warner showcases. Only a few small-ca- paci'ty Indle houses remain avail- able. D. C. FHJM LIBRARY TO COST 12300,000 Washington, D^. 19. MaJ. Gen. Philip B. Fleming Intro- . duced a bill calling for a film library to cost $2,800,000, to be erected at Suitltnd, Md. Bill i)ras sponsored by John G. Bradley, Chief of Motion Picture and Sound Recordings, Na- tional Archives. The Speaker re- ferred it to a committee and there will be public hearings before the committee acts. There are 300,000,000 feet of Gov- ernment film, most of it w.ar stuff, now in existence, with no place to store it. Facilities now available at the Archives are Inadequate and the building must be flreproofed. The propose(^ library will not only store and preserve all film alter it has been culled for its future worth, but will make, this film avaUable to schools, writers, publishers, motion picture producers and others. The buUdihg to be built on a minimum of seven acres will contain screen- ingf rooms and cubicles and a huge catalog system avaUable fpr all per- sons interested. 'Viclory/'Keys'XTcnns Terms of 40% to a spUt figure, to be agreed upon between buyer and .J«llei:, with 50% to apply beyond that figure will be asked by 20th- -Fox on- two forthcoming major releases, "Winged Victory" and Keys of the Kingdbm." They will probably be sold singly, no otier P^etuff at the moment being hooked to them as a block. Victory" pretois^ the Roxy. «.Y., today (Wednesday) as its holi- Bennett Cerf U Intrigued wirii the moniier In which Hollyweed hoi dlteevared LIlerotMra oe editorial fe«lara ef 39th Annivertary Number Next Metro Block To Be 7 Pictures Metro's next block, its third this season, will number seven pictures, according to William F. Rodgers, v.p, over sales. All but two of them have already been screened. Group consists of "Thin Man Goes Home," "Main Street After Dark," "Music For Millions," "Blonde Fever," "This Man's Navy," "Be- tween Two Women" and "Nothing But Trouble." It's expected that the seven pictures will be made avail- able In the order listed, starting in January and running through to the end of March. SKINNER-KIMBROUGH SUE PAR ON SEQUEL Although the writers of "Our Hearts Were Young and Gay," Cor- nelia Otis Skinner and Emily Kim- brough, granted Paramount Pictures the right to use their names in con- nection with the filming of "Gay," they seek to restrain the film com- pany, in a suit filed yesterday (19) in N. Y. supreme court, from using their names in connection with Par- amount's forthcoming film, "Our Hearts Were. Growing Up." "Gay," the writers claim, was story based on their actual experi- ence in Europe some years ago, but Paramount's "Growing Up" is a se- quel made up of entirely fictional material and is in no way connected with their lives, Paramount's pic- ture, the writers allege, was ' not founded upon actual experience and would prove injurious to their rep- utation as authors and writers. The move for a temporary Injunc- tion, which also seeks to exclude- the name of the late Otis Skinner, will be argued In court Jan. 2. O'Brien, Driscoll tc Raftery represent the plalntUTs. Blumberg West, Scnllr And BergmaB Follow Nate Blumberg, Universal prexy, left for the Coast last Friday (15) and J. Cheever Cowdin, company chairman, now in Hollywood, likely will not return east until the first of the year. Blumberg went to the hospital in N.Y, for a checkup while here, and was.reported okay." William A. iScully, U's sales chief, is scheduled to head for 'the Coast early in January. Maurice Berg- man, eastern ad-publlclty chief, goes out at the same time. Terpi, Studios End Feud Hollywood, Dec. 19. Dance Directors Guild tlMd major studios settled their wage dlqcmt^ without taking it to the War Labor Board, as planned. New agreements grants senior di- rectors-940. per day. and $200 per week,. and assistants $25 per. day and $125 per week, . • '. SCELESmaEB EAST Hollywood, Dec. 19. Leon Schlesinger left for. New York yesterday (18) for huddles on cartoon by-product Interests which he retained after retiring froin inker production. ExpicU to be east three weeks; Pa. Censors Halt Russ Pic Philadelphia, Dec. 19. Approval of "The Rainbow," Art- kino's film of Nazi devastation in Russia, has been held up by the State Board of Motion Picture Censors be- cause of several scenes the pic-gan- derers deem "objectionable." Tlie "objectionable" scenes, it was learned, were those depicting a mass hanging in a Russians-village; the assault upon a pregnant woman by a Nazi soldier, and the birth of a child in a stable. 16-lncli Pitt Snowfall, Worst Since '88, Snafus All Show Biz 36 Hours Pittsburgh, Dec. 19. . Sixteen-inch snowfall last week, Pittsburgh's worst since 1888, piit amusement biz all over~the district in hock for three days. Traffic was practically at a standstill for 36 hours and so was trade generally throughout the Golden Triangle. Pix houses could have closed down; they were playing to the ushers, and only a few of them since the majority couldn't get to their jobs. WB for a time considered throwing open the Warner theater to sleep thousands stranded downtown when the storm hit without warning, but the police said they didn't think that would be necessary. Every inn in town had hundreds snoozing in their lobbies for two nights. Playhouse, where a new drama, "The Darkling Plain," was in the second week of its run, had to shut down for three nights because the actors couldn't get to the theatre. Legit house, the Nixon, got a break inasmuch as it was dark. Niteries were non-existent for 72 hours. Some of them closed down everything but the bars and others didn't; even bother with that since they had no help. Musicians and en- tertainers failed to show, due to the traffic snarl, and at Oasis, two new musical units, Louella Schilly and her Xiadies of Note and the Four Blazes, who were scheduled to open on Monday night (11), never got to ihe place until that Thursday. BowerhiU Road, on which Oasis is located about 10 miles from down- town, was snowbound for 72 hours and nothing could get through. AI7 though all of the downtown theatres remained open throughout, many of the nabes had to fold anywhere fr6m one to three nights when neither film itself nor employees could reach out-of-way spots. It wasn't until Thursday night (14) that town began to look nor- mal again and even then some of the suburban places were still snowbound. . BMheitcr DlUo Rochester, N. Y., Dec. 19. Skeleton staffs operated downtown theatres here tor three days, sleep- ing.-in oftices or nearby hotels rather than tackle drifted streets after a 23-inch snowfall' paralyzed traffic.' City officials were probing the almost complete breakdown of snow-clearing facilities, which closed stores, schools and factories. Downtown theatre business was estimated 85% off with evening busi- ness practically nil and practically all nabe houses closed one to three days. Some downtown managers and aides mushed through drifts and rutted streets six miles and more to reach the theatres. Tlic ace RKO Palace opened with a staff of three including manager Jay Golden, who did everything from taking tickets to ushering, Manager Lester Pol- lock, Loew's, served coffee and sand- wiches to storm-worn patrons and set up cots. backstage to care for members of his staff after himself walking four miles from his home to operate the theatre. $6 Common for 20tli With current earnings, outside, the pre-Xmas luU, running at a high level. Wall Street Is looking for 20th- Fox to show close to $6 per common, share for the year ending this month.. Corporation reported net of $4.67 on common for the first 39 weeks, and even with usual year-end - adjust- ments Is expected to show $1.35 per comhion share. This compares with $3.49 in first three quarters last year. Besides several good money-makers now on release for the final three months, 20th starts off the new year with such -boxoffice pictures as "Winged Victory" -and "Keys of the Kingdom," both listed as December releases. Former opens at Roxy, Y., today, (Thurs.), and "Keys" comes Mto Rivoli, Dec. 27. ' Bulk of Expected Postwar Theatre Bldg. Boom Seen As 600-7S0 Seaters With Streamlmed Television a Factor Theodore Pratt Sounds Off on Some of "Hollywood'g Literati Logic" An idlterlal Feature In the 39lh Anniversary Edition of Wallis Confirmed As Hays Member Hal Wallis Productions, as pre- viously reported in "Variety," was last Monday (18) officially elected a Class A member of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America at the quarterly meeting of the board of directors. Joseph Hazen, representing Wallis, was elected a Class C member. Board accepted the resignation of Lester Thompson; director of the in- dustry's Advertising Code Adminis- tration, who plans to reside in Flori- da after Jan. 1 because of his health. Gordon S. White, previously serving with the Public Information Com- mittee, will succeed Thompson as acting director. Attending the session were Barney Balaban, George Borthwick, Jack Cohn, Earle Kammons, N. Peter Rathvon, Spyros Skouras, Robert Rubin, J. J. O'c;onnor, Nate Blum- berg, W.- C. Michel, Austin C. Keough and Carl E. Milliken. UA TO HGHT PA. BAN ON DARK WATERS'PlC ' Pittsburgh, Dec. 10. Fact that "Dark Waters" had en countered censor trouble in. Penn-' sylvania came to light here last week when the Fulton was forced to switch from that UA picture to U's "Boweiy to Broadway" for Its Sixtti War Loan bond premiere. Change was announced at almost last mihute, explanation being that several sec- tions of "Waters" would have to be changed in order to get a clean blU of health in this, state. . When UA objected to the de- mands, pit was removed from Pennsy release, with c£pipany plan' nlng to fight to keep "Waters" as Is. Film had - been, scheduled for an early local showing (oUpwlng the bond preem but Its first-run date now Is indefinite. •. Despite the fact that from $80,000,- 000 to $100,000,000 in new theatre construction looms after the war, bulk of tl\ese film houses will be under 1,000-seat capacity, with ma- jority of them likely 600T750-seater3. Reason for the absence of many large deluxers in postwar theatre building lineup is that many major theatre companies feel that the pres- ent capacity is sufficient. And they are convinced that any big cinema projects, mainly replacements for' currently operated theatres, will have to come several years after the war when they have a better idea of peacetime attendance. Obviously, most majors want to avoid overseat- ing, a condition in the 1929-32 period that forced liquidation of many the- atre properties. With the greatest amount of the- atre construction to be done by inde- pendents, trend patently is toward the small type house. Indies figure the small-seaters are the only ones that pay' out because appreciating how tough it is to get strong-first- run product if opening in opposition to established runs. Proposed small theatres would, in many instances, include television equipment if obtained at such low fig- ures as promised. If any large num- ber of these new streamlined opera- tions make television their principal boxoffice magnet, this might force larger circuits into new construction, while current operations are stieam- lined and equipped with tele setups. Areas While a bit early in forecast where the majority of new theatre con- struction will crop up postwar, it ap- pears rather certain that old areas of dense population will, be favored. This means that such keys as New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, San Francisco and Baltimore would be sites of this new cinema building. Outside of. Chicago, which would benefit from Great Lakes shipping and revival of peace industries, these are big metropolitan communities likely to benefit from restoration of world commerce. Many of these spots now are in the peculiar posi- tion of not having been especially helped by war plants just now and hurt by absence of usual shipping to foreign markets. Tlrend would be reversed in peace era, maldng them ripe for additional film houses. San Francisco, of course, would be helped by revival of trade to. the (Continued on page 18) Fdm Classici Pays 1006 For M Star' Riglits Fihn Classics last Friday (15) pur- chased the residual righfs tj^lamuel Goldwyn's "The Nortli Star" for ap- proximately $100,000. E. L. Alperson negotiated for FC. Deal includes all curreilt and fu- ture residual and reissue reVenusi and complete rights to LUUan HeU- man's original. James Mulvey, general manager for (lOldwyn, continues to supervise current distribution of "Star" through RKO, representing the new owners in this connection. Selznick's Church No?el Film rights to "The Scarlet Lily," the Bruce-Extension prize novel contest 'Winner by the Rev. Idward F. Murphy, of New Orleans, and dealing with the life of St. Mary Magdalene, have been purchased by David O. Selznick. Novel has been running in Extension, Catholic mag. Father Murphy is pastor of the Blessed Sacrament Mission and dean ,of philosophy and religion at Xaxier University, N. O. . - U. PENSION PLAN WATTS ON REVISED U.S. TAXES While Universal has been studying a pension plan for the last'two years, reported that the management is op- posed to recommending any such plan for stockholder approval unless it is A worthwhile setup. Attitude is that a lukewarm setup, giving small pensions. or confining the amount to a limited group, is worse than no pension plan at ailL Resume made by U revealed that It would cost close to $1,000,000 per year even at the outset for a worth-., while plan. Feeling .'with the com- pany and other picture companies that the Federal tax setup will have to undergo considerable revision downwards before pension plans can be voted. m 'St^Lonb'BiiiKSoM Si^tdyliy Metro Metro will iMll shigly "Meet Me In ^t. Louis," which recently opened 9 N. Y. run at the Astor. If s now id Itstourth week In St. Louis, William T, Rodgers, v.p. over sales for Metro,. • few weeks ago decided to market "National Velvet" a.hd "30 Seconds . Over Tokyo" separately also. "Velvet" opened last week.at the Radio City Music Hall, N. Y. Hitchy'« Bergaian-er Hollywood, Dec. -19,. Alfred Hitchcock returawd yester- day (18) from London after six weeks' sojourn directing pair ot shorts for British government, Hitchcock immediately starts work under new five-year pact at Selznich International, vdth first film to hf. "S^tUt Bttguaat (tarrar,- motoriouMi