Variety (Jul 1946)

Wednesday, July 3, 1946 PICTURES FOREIGN B. 0. EQUAL DOMESTIC? Golden Dozen for June •■Two Sisters From Boston;'' with grosses that placed it at the lop oC the boxoffice list three weeks out ol four, easily set the pace for the Golden Dozen big coin-getters in June, according to Variety's national weekly boxoffice survey. It also was among the first 12 in the fourth week when just starting in a couple of spots and likely will wind! up with more than $600,000 from key cities covered by ; Variety during the past month. "Postman Rings Twice," another Metro picture; placed second on list with "One More Tomorrow" (WB) a close third. Besides these three the top 12 moneymakers in June were "Heart- beat" (RKCM.,. "Do You Love Me" (20th), "Badman's Territory" (RKO), ••Kitty" (Par), "Gilda" (Col), "Bride Wore Boots" (Par,), "Cluny "Brown" (20th), "To Each His Own" (Par) and "The Outlaw" (UA). Both "Gilda" and "Kitty" are strong carryover favorites, -having started out big in May. "Cluny Brown" achieved the Golden Dozen mainly because of numerous playdates, although rated a bit spotty. '•Blue Dahlia" (Par), which also made a big showing in the previous month, just missed getting into the first 12 classification. In runner-up category (pictures that made the first eight class at least one week during June) are "Night In Paradise-' (U), "Anna" (M-G>, "Night In Casablanca" (UA), "Hearts Are Growing Up" (Par), "Green Years" (M-G), "Somewhere In Night" (20th) and "Without Reservations" (RKO)^ "Anna" got into this select class entirely via its grand-slam opening week at the. Music Hall near the end of the month. : Peskay Labels Roach Ungrateful,' Threatens Counter-Suit in FC Action ' Edward Peskay yesterday (Tues-'t day) threatened a. counter-suit for' defamation of character against Hal Roach, as result of charges made against him by the producer in a court action last week. ^ Peskay termed Roach's suit "an irrespon- sible charge made by an ungrateful man." Roach's suit, filed Friday (28) ln:N. Y. federal court, charges that Peskay and Film Classics, conspired to cheat him of a fair share of the income from reissue of his pictures by FC. He claims that while he was in the Army, Peskay, who was a v,p, of the Hal Roach studios, Inc., and Roach's, eastern rep, re- ceived cash and stock—a total value of $55.000—from the reissue, outfit to negotiate a deal for considerably less, than the pictures were worth. Peskay, from his. office in Green- wich, Conn., yesterday said that the deal in question and others were di- rectly responsible for saving Roach from bankruptcy and financial ruin. (Continued on page 18) 48 Mono Features For '4647 Slated At Annual Parley Chicago, July 2. Monogram's 1946-47 program call- ing for the release of .48 features was announced by prexy Steve Broidy at the studio's 15th annual national convention last week at the Drake hotel. Program includes two "mil- lion-dollar" films, 32 straight fea- tures and 14 westerns. "It Happened On Fifth Avenue," which will be produced by Roy Del Ruth, heads the list and stars Victor Moore. Ann Harding and Gale Storm. Another top-budgeted pic will be "The Hunted," Belita and Barry Sullivan heading the cast. Monogram's first filing in the color "eld will be with "Black Gold," a story of the Kentucky Derby, and "Trail to Alaska," adventure pic Dased on a story by Jack London, "tier class A features include Sweetheart of Sigma Chi." starring £m.i Regan. Bonita Granville and m2 n i * 5 ar,eV orch: " Hi e h Con " in» ' ^sPted from the best-sell- mg novel by James Ramsey Ullman, annou n<*d to be filmed in Switzerland- "Wife Wanted," with nrnrf.. anc ' s doub,i ng as star-and co- Saucer with Jeffrey Bernard; and ^y £^ s Sl ° r > Pr0dUCed by Wse-~- W0Slern d " mas and sIx Program. opera musicals round out the TOattewan' Set By E-L Man. Hollywood, July 2. PiUl VL r W f, n - Ncw upstate hos. film tl L e lnsane - is the basis of a Alben 5V\" d - e by Ea ele--Lion, wi th Albert J r , ° y E *& e -™° Stor. ' Collcn as Producer. died bv"p d ,, SCr r eenplajr wil1 be han " 'ormeriv ".u Lc,,oicl ". psychologist Ct 'r T ,th tlle Slate ot California e P l - of Institutions. J Long Weekend Virtually all homeoffice and exchange workers in New York are getting an extended holiday this week. With Fourth of July falling on Thursday, most companies will be completely shuttered Friday, while a few will just have skel- eton staffs in. to give majority of employes a Wednesday to Mon- day vacation. Par's Byram Finds London Legit Big Only two shows currently on the London stage offer possibilities for Hollywood, according to John By- ram, head of Paramount's play de- partment, who returned to New York Friday (28) from a month's visit to England and France. Byram listed the picture possibilities as "Winslow Boy," on which Par is negotiating for rights, and "The First Gentleman," to which several British producers are seeking Aim- ing privileges. There's great postwar activity among young playwrights in Eng- land, Byram said, and he lined up'a number of the writers, as possibili- ties for studio scripting posts. (Continued on page 37) FIND ABANDONED BABE IN A PALACE LOCKER After houseciosing time last FrU day (28) in the early hours of the following day, the night superin- tendent of the RKO Palace theatre in Times Square, N. Y-. heard a thin cry, that might have been the wail- ing of a cat or a human infant, com- ing from a public locker in the the- atre'lounge. Cops were called in. and after prying open the locked compartment .with a chisel, they found a two-wCek old baby boy with an'attached note asking that he be given a home. The child was riishcd to the West 54th street station house where he was reported to be in good physical condition and then taken by ambul- ance to the Metropolitan hospital. Police officials could not say how long the infant had been in the locker although doctor.-; at the hos- pital said that if left there for any appreciable length of lime he would have suffocated. Theatre employees were unable to remember anyone going into the lounge with a baby. CONNORS SEES I SOME Minneapolis, July 2. Tom Connors, 20th-Fox vicepresi- dent and sales manager, here fol- lowing a fishing trip in northern Minnesota, revealed here that he en- visions the day when foreign motion picture business will equal that of the domestic market. "I believe this," said Connors, "be- cause foreign distribution of movies during the war enabled many mil- lions of people not in service to get their first look at films. And,, to a man, they liked what they saw. At least, this will be a factor in increas- ing sales, in my opinion." Connors thinks the greatest field for foreign film business, is in the far east—China, Japan, India, etc. It may take 10 years and it may re- quire pioneering with 16 mm. film, of the type used for service show- ings, in mobile units, for this to come about, he says. "Such a campaign will open up opportunities for foreign service for many Americans with motion pic- lure experience," said: Connors. "In more than 100 foreign offices, it has been Fox's policy to have an Amer- ican in charge, and this will be con- tinued. Americans will go into offi- ces in territories where, before the war, movies had never been seen before. "This is something for the country at large as well as the motion pic- ture industry to consider. It used to be said that trade follows the flag. Now il's true that trade follows the motion picture. What foreign audi- ences see in movies they begin to. want, and there follow offers to buy." Connors feels confident a tremend- ous parallel market will open up for educational and enlightenment film, much of which will be used in. 16 mm. film. The problem in the fields where American product already is established mainly concern blocked currency and restricted exchange, he says. In new fields, however, he de- clares, American film and the coun- try it represents really have a chance to come into their own. Harrison, Wife Back In H'wpod on New Quota Hollywood, July 2. Rex Harrison, British actor, and his wife, Lilli Palmer, entered U. S. from Mexico under English quota law, over weekend, Couple spent three days in Ensenada while await- ing return to this country. Actor plans to go back to the London stage as soon as he com- pletes one. more picture for 20th- Fox. He will return here later to fulfill obligations to 2pth-Fox for two more pictures. Harrison will star in "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" at 20th-Fox, slated to roll Aug. 5, with Fred Kohlmar producing. Langner Held Awaiting High Court Action Before Seeking Divorcement Rodgers on the Decree Proposed system of auction bidding under the anti-trust decision calls for judicious han- dling and increased cooperation, among all branches of the in- dustry, according to William F. Rodgers, Metro veepee and gen- eral salesmanager. Recalling that films had been sold individ- ually via competitive bidding 25 years ago. Rodgers declared that unless this cooperation were forthcoming if the decree be- comes effective, the entire in- dustry would be shoved back a generation. Metro- will naturally comply with whatever sales policies are handed down by the courts,- Rodgers said, but so far has not established any definite plans. Decision is still being studied very carefully by the company's legal department, he said. Decree May Cut Us '46-47 Program Although. a total of 55 pictures— 14 of them from outside sources— was announced by Universal at its convention in New York last week, uncertainty over how the pending anti-trust decree will affect the com- pany has final plans pretty. well in doubt. If U is forced to abide by the provision for auction bidding oh each picture separately, W. A. Scully, v.p. and general sales man- ager, said yesterday. (Tuesday), total number of pix might have to be cut. Program, as U tentatively pre- sented it at the sales meeting, calls for 34 features from U itself, plus 11 indie-made, three J. Arthur Rank British releases and seven westerns. Total will be about five above the number U is releasing during the current 1945-46 season. Enterprise—whose pictures will be sold separately from the regular U program (if the decree permits the company to sell a whole program) will provide five of. the 11 indie productions. They will come from among these six on Enterprise's pro- duction slate: "Arch of Triumph," starring Ingrid Bergman and Charles Boyer; "Ramrod" (Harry Sherman), starring Joel McCrea; 'The Other Love," starring Barbara Stanwyck; "The. Burning Journey," starring John Garfield; "Maggi July," star- ring Ginger Rogers; and "Coup de Grace," for which stars have not yet been set. Jack -Skirball-Bruce Manning unit will provide three of the other six indie productions. They'll be "Mag- (Cpntinued on page 42) ■♦'..'. Minneapolis, July 2. After conference here with U. S. Senator William Langner of North Dakota, reelected last week, presi- dent Bennie Berger of North Cen- tral Allied, independent exhibitors' organization; announced that Sen- ator Langner has agreed to introduce a theatre-divorcement bill in Con- gress. However, says Berger, introduc- • tion of the bill will await U.S. Su- preme Court action on the Govern- ment's appeal from the lower tribunal's findings denying divorce- ment. It was agreed, says Berger, that any recourse to Congress at this time would be "untimely." If the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the initial decision,, he points out, Con- gressional action will be unneces- sary. "Senator Langer agreed with me that independent exhibitors' present difficulties and the injustices, in the industry to the small theatreowner stem f r o m distributor - producer ownership of theatres," asserted Ber- ger, following the conference; "Sen- ator Langner believes that divorce- ment is the only solution to. the problem of relief for independent exhibitors from present unfair trade practices and discrimination against them. He promises to do all in his power to bring about divorcement through federal legislation if it is not accomplished through appeal to the U. S. Supreme Court:" Berger also said that Senator Langner had been delayed by the campaign in North Dakota, which has engaged his attention the. past several weeks, from introducing the measure, an amendment to OPA leg- islation, putting a ceiling on film prices at the 1941 - level. Senator Langner will take the initial steps in . Washington this week to have such a bill enacted. Berger says. Depinet Outlines 50 RKO Features In 19M Slate at N.Y. Sales Meet GEO. SHEHMAN'S 'WHISTLER' Hollywood, July 2. Columbia handed Gcorsje. Sher- man the directing duty on the noil RichardDix starrer. "The Secret o( the Whistler." Mystery yarn will be produced by Listing more stars and more name producers than in the present sea- son, RKO Radio Pictures is guaran- teeing fewer features for 1946-47 than this year, according to the an- nouncement made yesterday (Tues.) by Ned Depinet, company's execu- tive veepee, to delegates attending the 15th annual convention at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel. Actually, the company lists the titles of more than 50 features that RKO plans distrib- uting next season. While the company, has augment- ed its list of big name producers for 1946-47. RKO has outlined plans for a greater number of productions to be turned out by its own staff at the Hollywood plant. Present lineup in- dicates close to 34 planned for RKO producers lo turn out. The growth of films internationally is pointed up by the fact that RKO will have films already made or lo be produced in France and Mexico besides Great. Britain. Producer Adrian Scoll and director Edward Dmytryk leave soon for London to start "So Well Remembered," screen version of the James Hilton, best seller of same tag. This is the first RKO feature to be produced in Eng- land in association with the J. Arthur Rank organization. It will star John Mills and Martha Scott. Company will do "Golden Silence" in Paris in association with Pathe- Cinema, starring Raima It will be directed by Rene Clair. More than 400 delegates are at- tending the three-day sales meet which winds up today (Wed.) Be- sides homeoffice execs, district man- agers, branch managers, salesmen and, field exploitecrs from 38 branches in the U. S.. Canada and several foreign countries, RKO the- | aires, studio reps, and representa- tives of Disney. Goldwyn, Liberty 1 Eilms. International Pictures, Sol ■ Lesser and RKO Pathe, Inc., are at ■ the convention. .;• Depinet opened the first biz scs- i (Continued (jn page 10) Enterprise's Gomersall Not Setting Up Large Sales Organization Unlike such other large . indie units as Samuel Goldwyn's and David O. Selznick's, there's ho in- tention by Enterprise of setting up an extensive field sales organization of its own, E. T. Gomersall,.general sales manager, said yesterday (Tues- day). Gomersall was named to the Enterprise post by prexy Charles Einfeld last week, resigning as as- sistant general sales manager of Universal to accept it. Enterprise releases through U. Gomersall said he did not intend to add a staff to assist him. Both Selznick and Goldwyn have district managers operating under their gen- eral sales managers to supervise and hypo the distributors' sales staffs handling their pictures. Appointment of Gomersall came as somewhat of a surprise in the in- dustry, as it was supposed that Ein- feld would seek a sales rep outside of the U "family." New move gives two 1 U affiliates distribution chiefs drawn from the "family"—and both of them former assistant general sales managers. Other is William J. Heineman, who heads the sales or- ganization for' United World Pic- tures. Barney Balaban Named Nat'l Chairman of UJA Paramount president Barney Bala- ban has been named national chair- man of the motion picture division of the $100,000,000 campaign of the United Jewish Appeal for refugees, overseas needs, and Palestine. In ad- dition to the national post. Balaban has been acting as co-chairman of the UJA's amusement division of Greater New York. Expressing confidence that the film industry would respond to UJA's ap- peal as generously as it has to other charitable causes. Balaban said that a "magnificent job" had already been started both on the Coast and in New York.