Variety (May 1946)

24 PICTURES Wctlneflday, May 15, 1946 Adekan Takes Back Texas Spots In Interstate Deal; Other Briefs Houston. I. B. Adclman has resumed con- trol of the Dolman theatre which he originally built here and has been operated on a 10-ycar lease by In- terstate Theatres. Ellis Ford stays as manager. Tivoli in Fort Worth also has reverted to Adelman in the same deal from Interstate. Adel- man, in association with .. Harry Sach, of Dallas, is organizing a new Texas circuit. Palace, which served as a legit house here, a picture theatre and lately played Spanish language films, closed and \yill be replaced by ,an office building. Interstate Theatres changed the Ritz theatre here into a Spanish language house. Reported in Ft. Worth that W. V. Adwell and A. J. Wylie have leased their new TCU theatre, , to Clifford Porter. House, located hear Texas Christian U campus, is under con- struction." George Watson named city man- ager in San Antonio for Interstate Theatres replacing Albert H. Rey- nolds, who joins the Underwood & Ezell Circuit, in Dallas. Watson is only recently out of the Army! H. A. Daniels, head of: Seguiri Theatres. Inc., opened Palace Air- drome, at Seguin. replacing the re- cently destroyed Palace theatre. FC's 'Encore' Package In a unique' scheme for merchan- dising "reissues of reissues." Film Classics is planning to offer theatres, an' "Encore Week" package, this sum-: mer.. It. consists of seven top Gold- wyn and' Selznick pictures, one to be shown by the house each day of the week. Special ads, trailers and a line of accessories to sell the series to potential wicket-spinners are be- ing made up. Pictures include "Nothing Sacred" (Lombard), "Dead End" (Bogart), "Arrowsmith" (Colman), "Star Is Born" (March), "Cowboy. . . and the Lady" (Cooper), "Withering Heights" (Olivier - Oberon) and "Hurricane" (Lamour-Hall). FC is also plugging one-hour pack- age shows of short subjects, made up largely from the 350 Hal Roach comedies it controls. (Bud) Rosenberg, recently returned from the Army. Protest Dallas Re-Zoning- ■. Dallas. A vigorous fight by Preston Hol- low residents against a proposed shopping village at Northwest High- way and Hillcrest was in the mak- ing here. A hearirlg before the City. Plan Commission on changing the zoning of the area from dwelling to apartment and retail use was post- poned for two weeks at request of a delegation from the residential group. More than 20 persons ap- peared at the hearing and asked for the delay. They claimed not enough time was given them, to prepare their case against the proposal. • Applications for the zoning change were requested by Dr. Reuben Jack- son, W. G. Underwood, C. C. Ezell, Eph Charninsky, Interstate Theatres Circuit. Ballard Burgher and Frank McNeny. Proposals of the group include re- placement of the present drive-in theatre operated' by Underwood & Ezell by an indoor theatre as well as construction of apartments and a shopping center. Freed's Drive-in O.O. " ." San ■ Franeisco. Matt Freed, district manager of Robert L. Lippert theatres, planning a flying trip over the country to pick up management details on Drive-In theatres for his circuit, which has Ave in operation and one in con- struction. Latter is a 900-car capac- ity lot to be unveiled June 6. Lippert circuit is skedding more of this type theatre in other suitable locations. Freed's air junket will take him through New York, Miami, Jackson- ville, New Orleans', Dallas, and Fort Worth. Greenthal's UWP V.P. Cues Brit. Star Buildup Appointment of Monroe W. Grecn- thal, United World advertising and publicity director, as a company veepee underlines avowed intention of UWP to go in heavily for ex- ploitation of British stars. Spot of veepee for flack chief is deemed necessary since . UWP will spend freely to familiarize the American public, with British names in J. Arthur Rank produced ,.pix. Green- thai will work along with Jock Law- rence, Rank's American rep in the projected campaign. Matty Fox, UWP proxy who an- nounced the Greenthal appointment,, returned to New York last week from Hollywood, after conferences with William Goetz and Leo Spitz. Greenthal is expected in the east this week after further huddles. Denver's 'Renegade' Preem Denver. Denver gets its first world pre- miere since the war—Columbia's "Renegades"—simultaneously at the Denver, Esquire and Webber, all Fox first runs' on May 21. Leo-Pillot, of the N-. Y. home office special events staff, is here for the extensive ad and publicity campaign planned, along with Sammy Siegel, western district exploiteer; Mike Newman, super- visor of exploitation for the western district, will arrive Sunday with a contingent of stars from the Colum bia studio in Hollywood. Burnett to D. C. Martin Burnett, city manager of Loew's St. Louis theatres, has been named Assistant eastern division manager for the company by Joseph R. Vogel, Loew's veepee in charge of theatre operations. Burnett will headquarter in Washington, to assist Career Barron, division manager. Ofville Crouch, just returned from the armed forces, will succeed Bur- nett in the St. Louis post. Seymour Borde's BKO Berth Robert Mochrie, RKO v.p; in charge of domestic distribution, ap- pointed Seymour Borde sales man- ager in Chicago.' Borde was made Des Moines branch manager in June, 1945 and now receives this further promotion to the branch where he formerly operated as salesman Maxwell M. Rosenblatt, former sales- man in the RKO Omaha exchange becomes manager there. Inglewood House Sold Los Angeles. Charles Benedetto sold the Seville, 766-seater in Inglewood, to Hugh P. Cipriani. New owner will operate the house, temporarily at least, under its old policy. Fant Back to S. C. Theatre Raleigh, N. C. Harris T. Fant, of Anderson, S. C, former Army captain, made, man- ager of Alamance theatre at Bur- lington to replace Mrs. Gladys Crowell, who has been transferred there. . Dlnty Moore Sells Pittsburgh. F. D. (Dinty) Moore, manager of WB exchange, sold his Strand, Or- bisonia, Pa., to Alpine, circuit. Byron J. Keyhan, Col's new Main Line salesman, succeeds the late Danny Davis. Keyhan went into the Navy as an ensign and came out a lieutenant-commander,, wearing t Purple Heart, Presidential Citation, Navy Reserve Cross and campaign bars for three theatres. Henry Miller, whose father died soon after returning from the ETO; resumed as manager of Beachview theatre. Harris circuit. . Bob Petrie returned to his old post •with National Screen after three years in Navy. Joe Beilo,- ex-GI back from over- seas a few months ago, has resumed with the Harris circuit as. manage* of the Liberty.- Paul Mulheirn, recently out of Navy, named manager for Blatt Brothers circuit in Youhgsville, re- placing Margaret Brazee, resigned. Frank Lewis, former manager of Pcnn.m Wesleyville. named manager of Blatt Brothers' Grand, Port Alle- gany, succeeding Mrs. Ruth Leary. M. A. Rosenberg, former local and national Allied president, tuwed the ' Iowa Bouse to Sandler Des Moines. Nathan Sandler has obtained a long-term lease on the Co-ed theatre at Fairfield, Iowa, and Is remodeling the house to give an 800-seat ca- pacity. He also operates the Rex to the booking department. . Lynchburg Par Switch Lynchburg, Va With liquidation of Lynchburg Theatre Corp., formed in 1929 as a holding concern for Paramount en. terprises here, transfer of the Para mount theatre property has been deeded: from that concern to Dom- inion Theatres, Inc., for $260,000. First new film house here In 16 years being planned by J. Frank Falls, of Craver-Falls Theatres, who has bought site for a 1,000-seater on Main street half a block from his Academy and across the street from town's deluxer Paramount, owned by Dominion Theatres. Dick Morros-Rod Geiger Plan Production in Rome Richard Morros, son of Boris Morros, independent producer, plans filming in Italy in association with Rod Geiger, who was"'in the docu- mentary field prior to joining the Army and, while in service in Italy, had a hand in the making of "The Open City," released in this country by Mayer^Burstyn. Leaving for the Coast today (Wed.), Morros stated in advance of departure, that he and Geiger had formed World Enterprise and hoped to start their first picture in Rome some time in July. Morros spent two weeks in Rome last month sur- veying the production situation. He states that he hopes to get negative cost of pictures out of Italy. Initial picture, dealing with post- war GIs still in Italy, will be 80% in English and 20%. in Italian, with majority of the cast to be taken to Rome from this ' country. leasing' Rights Continued from page 3 Mitchell Exits Acad Hollywood, May 14. Gordon Mitchell has resigned as manager of the Research Council for Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences after holding the post for past 12 years. Mitchell, who spent Vk years in service as a major in Army Signal Speratjon"orhis Parkway and Col- Corps, wiljvacation before announc- ohy here over to his son, Ben N. I ,n 8 new affiliation. expected. Studios naturally- want to get rights for as long a time as pos- sible and an author, by virtue of having a property'that is very much in demand, will be in a position to keep the period to a minimum. On the other hand, with a minor origi- nal or a relatively unimportant ra- dio script, the writer will be forced to grant screen privileges for a lengthy period. 7-Year Average? It Is the League's ultimate aim, however, to eliminate this individu- al bargaining on the time period and establish a set term, probably seven years. Some properties have already been acquired by Hollywood under the lease system, such as "Life With Father" and Edna Fcrbcr's "Saratoga Trunk." Warner Bros, got the latter for seven years and recently paid the author an additional sum to ex- tend the rights for two years. If a studio does not renew when such a contract has expired, the writer, of course, has the privilege of re- selling to another company. Original proposal for a ban on outright sales of stories came from the SWG and won the support of the Authors' League April 26, when the governing joint body passed a reso- lution following the reading of a re port by. George S. Kaufman. Latter Is chairman of a subcommittee named to'investigate the matter by Richard Rodgers, prez of the Drama- tists' Guild. Kaufjjian's report came after huddles with William Pome- rance, exec secretary of the SWG. Radio Writers' Guild has already okayed the leasing proposal, so the Dramatists and the. Authors are the only two groups yet to give it the nod. There is no doubt it will win their approval, Miss Sillcox pointing out that films are the only important users of literary material that gain permanent control over it. Dramatists Still Out DG hasn't had much time yet. to work on the proposal, since it has been engaged in drawing up a new agreement'with the League of New York Theatres. It also has a serious problem to be overcome in that the legit producer automatically owns 40% of the rights to a stage play sold for" films. One of the questions to be solved is what will happen when the screen rights'come up for renewal by the studio, perhaps seven or 14 years hence. Authors' Guild is slated to meet June 5 to discuss the idea. Each organization, Miss Sillcox. declared will have to work out its own means —as dictated by its particular prob- lem's—of implementing the leasing plan. ' Emmet Lavery, SWG prez, In ad- vocating the hew scheme, explained that it parallels already-existing .laws-of France and other countries and would provide for a standard contract leasing to the studios only the right to produce a story for the screen one time, during a given pe- riod, with all further rights of re make or other adaptation remaining the property of the author. "Not only would the economic coa dition of the writers be thus made more secure," Lavery said, "but the real creators would in this man- ner eventually gain more rcsponsl bility for the level of films produced and a 'sharp Improvement in our movie fare can be seen as a result." Lavery also pointed out that' adop tion of the proposal would bind not only professional screen writers, but also all others who sell. material to the studios and would "take the writers out of the position of having to compete with the mammoth stu dios which now become 'authors' of all material they acquire.'! Renegades and Francis Edwards Faragoh, dif- fer from usual western formula by having heroine renounce the upright hero in favor of romance with one of the heavies. In the end, she's back with the hero but it takes continual dodging of the law and the bii-lh of a baby to prove to her that excite- ment isn't always {> good substitute for true, though prosaic, love. Evelyn Keyes lends plenty of looks to her role as the girl who de- cides romance with Willard-Parker, western medico- isn't as'attractive as an outlaw existence with Lurry Parks. Latter is a son of a notorious outlaw family who makes. an at- tempt to go straight before suc- cumbing to the thrills "of life outside the law. Edgar Buchanan, the jsalm-spouting pater of the bad joys. Jim Bannon and Forrest Tuck- er, the other two brothers, and sun- dry other members of the cast also do their, share in keeping the excite- ment going, Music score by Paul Sawlell is used to emphasize chases anil clashes between the good and bad elements. Outdoor and interior settings show up well under the color treatment. Broy. ' — " ■ I The Pale Horseman Twn-rcol documentary written nml prn- iluced by Irving Jatftihy: fdiii-.l . i,\ . I'.-t.-r Klcar;. niu9lc, Henry Branl: narrailuii. Ar- nold Muss. Screened hi N. Y\, .\hiy 1". 'Ji!. Running (lino, IB MINS. Film Reviews Continued from page S , youngster holds her own in scenes in which a less gifted femme would be edged off the screen. SHc' looks like a find. Production could not be - bettered The week-end cottage with ji s antique plumbing and "mind your head'' -sign's stuck beside: i ow doorways is a miracle of illusion. Exteriors, too, are unusually lovely,' the scripters having managed to tiike the camera far afield with a fine, dis-' regard for the limitations of the stage play. . Primarily a feast off tin for sophis- ticates, this one ought to be Mronc. at' the American boxofficc. Trill).. I,areeny In Her Heart I'ltr release of Slgmuna XpinYlil |.rutin,.. I lain. Slurs Hugh lloalimont, (.'ll'-ryl.M alU..r : h-nluivH Italph Dunn.' Paul Ury.ir. i'li;,rks wUk'iii. Douglas Knwloy. Plr-vi.-ii I.-.- Sam .Nt-wilotil. Sr-roenplay. Uayinoml i.. s.ii,...-!*: original, HrcK Hulllday: t-anv. i-.i. .la-k i;ivi'iilialKlt: editor.- Holla-doU N. Yi„i,i. Vnnleshuwn -N. Y., May v.. ' |i;. iUijiiiiiik lhni\- lid MINS. .\llchfir-l Shayne.... .Phyllis Ski. UafTi'iiy 'HiH Itnurlic Cliir-t Coiilry hot* Vatlci-aon.... Hurl.in SlallinKSt. Ai. h Dublor I.iicllle .... lli-lm'i Slalllngs... Whii Mailow...... Ilr. I'.nlov Joe Miin-ll .. .iriiKih nr:iiim..|it I'lliTVl \V:ilM-v iiniiii l;:.ul llr>:i|. ... .eh u In \Vil-,.n . . .ll.lil^lM." I 'l.M !«•>• . .C'ir,ll'lll ' l:i..|l;,l,lH Cliarli'S ijul. li v .....lllli:i M.-.\i|ll.,n . . .. Mario. Harm. mi ...... . t.CO |{<.|.lll,.| t IlKnry ) 1:,11 .MTlU'll Kil.hru This film rates the widest possible 'distribution for. performing a*vital public service. It packs in;o il:s two; reels the full horror-arid meaning of World War II with its aftermath of famine and disease. The. film is aiv open plea for well-fed America to share its bread with' the starving world and the message is. delivered in a way that tears at the heart. Deadly matter-of-fact, without phony sensationalism, the camera picks its way through the vast gar- sage heap of Europe and Asia throw- ing up faces of hunger-twiitcd kids and of their agonized parents help- less before the chaos. It's a tragic document, movingly told, of a world in flight across a road r.trctcbing from China to France. The camera record could tell the story by itself with its unfailing eye for the rele- vant detail and its sense of the fitting mood. But the narration here adds to the film's' impact by its quiet, and slightly bitter tone. A small part of the .film is de- voted to the efforts of UNRRA and the allied armies to deal with the situation abroad. The film, however, doesn't pretend to give the answers; it does enough by posing the prob- lem. The OWI-produced film was screened at a special meeting of the Independent Citizens Committee of Arts, Sciences and Professions at which ex-Gov. Herbert H. Lehman spoke on the problem of giving wide publicity to the needs of European relief. The 'documentary, which is available in 16m and 35m, is being distributed nationally by Brandon Films to private and community or- ganizations. Commercial distribution' is being negotiated with indie exhib- itor groups. Quiet Week-Knd (BRITISH-MADE) London, May 1. Patho Pictures relcue of Asani.-luieii Bul- lish rieture. Features Derek J-'nrr, Kr»nk Celller, Marjorle Fielding-, Balbum While. Directed by Harold French. Strrciiiiliiy liy Victor Skutezky, Stephen Black, -I', .r. Mor- rison, Wurwlck Ward from liluy liy Krlht-r McCrackcn. Camera, Kilo Cvnuf- .At ThIUcc thende. Running time, 96 MINK Denya Royd '. IJrrek Fnrr Adrian Barraatord.., Krauk oilier Mildred Royd .Mnijorlu FIi-UIIiik Arthur Royd ficorsf 'I'linrim Mlrunda Bute n-jrljura Whlli: Rou-ona Hyde Il<-lcn Shintlfi- Sam Pecker .Kilwaul liluhy Mary Jarrow .Joa«|ihlne Wilsnn Marula Dicnl ,...<)wmi Wliiiiiy .llni Brent... Bnlloi.l n'-rkcli.y ISIIa Spender luiiiili l-'ar«c (tally Spender ,|>«| Field Police Sergeant George Merrllt Bella .IU'len Kui-Ib Vicar .Chrletopher Steele Second in PRC's series .if Michael Shayne stories with Hugh Beaumont playing the private dick. "Larceny in Her Heart" is run-of-thc-niine fare for the whodunit addicts. Al- though breezily paced in running.gag fashion, the story, holds neither ten- sion nor surprise, and the ending falls completely flat in trying to clear up the devious route by. which, the slciith solves the murder. Biggest mystery- of the film is. the relation between story and title. ■ Yarn is a confused tangle concern.-" ing a corpse which turns up sev- eral, times on Shayne's front porch. In an effort to shake off the police while investigating the case. Shayne meanders into some absurd situa- tions; including a dipso iiutitulion. But while he follows his infallible intuition, everybody else is left com- pletely in the dark during and after the picture. Beaumont displays a winning, per- sonality in the detective's role and given a better script is capable of more creditable work. Cheryl Walker makes art attractive foil while Paul Bryar delivers some laughable comedy as Shayne's pnl. Rest of the cast play their stock parts adequately. Effective underplaying paired with a witty script make this a triumph of high.comedy in the best English tradition. Perfect performances by a brilliant cast are coupled with direc- tion as expert as any to come out of a British film studio lately." "Quiet Week-End" is what the doctor or- dered for those who prefer Sheridan to Nick Carter. This looks big enough even to do biz in U. S. neighborhood theatres. This successor to "Quiet Wedding" duplicated that smash hit in its rec- ord-breaking stage run, and will un- questionably equal the fabulous grosses of the earlier Esther Mc- Cracken opus. It is no detraction :from the very clever acting to say top honors: go to Harold French for his directorial skill which frequently hints a touch of near-genius. It is no wonder that Hollywood is angling for him. Of the five featured players the one most likely to interest American talent scouts is Barbara White, whose portrayal of a young, hero-worship- ping subdeb gives promise of future stardom. -Up against the flawless performance of Derek Fair this new Indie Circuits — ■ — continued, from page S ^ that, if possible, there'd be a long- distance Initial date downtown, which would be followed, with seven or 14 days clearance, by the .circuit' of indies. They'd play day-and-dale. Naturally, in most cases there wouldn't be sufficient number of midlown theatres available to give lengthy playing time to every pic- ture. In that circumstance, it Is pro- posed that the circuit might get some pictures for citywide first-run and . perhaps hold them for longer than the usual engagements. Non-theatre-ownlng dislribs main- tain that this is entirely feasible from the standpoint of film rentals. They claim they can get as their share of the take under such a setup more than they could by playing a short midtown run and then getting rushed through the circuits. That Circuit Jamup What appeals to the dislrib or pro- ducer, too, is the fact that lie doesn't have a long wait to get on the cir- cuit. For instance, Goldwyn's "Won- der Man," which finished its first-, run in Detroit in October, isn't bIri-I- ing its subsequent engagements un- til June of this year—almost eight, months. Producer is plenty sore, of course, since he considers the effect of his ad and exploitation campaign entirely dissipated and fears the public will practically think the P'f^ ttire a reissue. One aspect of the indie circuit ideal thus would be an easing oj the jamup of product because of long first-runs, since there'd be additional avenues to start films alogg the ex- hibition path. This jam is a top in- dustry problem currently and is ex- pected by. many observers to get worse rather than better. Exhibs who tossed their houses into the day-and-date joint booking arrangement would profit, too, it i« figured, since they'd be getting higher admissions and earlier runs. Deals would have to be set up, ot course, to make. It advantageous— rather than disadvantageous, as hap- pens in some cases now—to them to hold over a pic as long as possible..