Variety (Jul 1946)

Wednesday, July 24, 1946 PICTURES 31 Theatre Equipment-Supplies Hold The OPA Line. Lamps Only Up 10-15% Resisting a general advance In the t commodities market touched off by the three-week-old lifting of OPA controls, prices on theatre equip- ment and supplies held fast with one exception, a canvass of amusement supply houses discloses. Sole boost reported was a hike of 10-15% for lUioresccnt and incandescent lamps ordered by General Electric, West- . inghbu.se and. Sylvania on July 1, dale of expiration of the OPA. Steadiness of market has been a ■ .surprise to dealers who expected c;uiy price boosts and describe the OPA-loss period as akin "to sitting on a powder kcfl-" Tremendous demand for theatre equipment created by exhibs anxious to (ix up their houses after a four- year war lull', is considered by. deal- ers as a potent inflationary force. Pressure is greater, it was said, be- cause most exhibs made money during the.war and are ready to pay liberally for scarce equipment. Uiilboked for stability was met with crossed fingers by vendors who daily "were afraid to open their mail." Indication of how far demand has outstripped supply is the current backlog of orders which have piled up since the war began. Deliveries on GE motors, used for projectors and cooling systems, are now 155 weeks behind, dealers' say. Both carpeting and chairs are lagging by six months in deliveries, it is point- ed put. General price rise, since Pearl Harbor has been considerable, deal- ers declare, with cotton goods far ahead of other theatre supplies. Black market in coverings, curtains and draperies has flourished since OPA was initiated and fantastic prices three times higher than before the war arc being paid, according to the dealers. Asking price for rugs is 100% higher than in pre-war days, it is said. Chairs were upped some 40% about six months ago with the ap- proval of the OPA. Projector and parts prices which held firm for five years were recently boosted, with OPA consent, some 20°/,. SMPE's 30th Coincides With Sound's 20th Anni The Society of Motion Picture En. gineers celebrates its 13th anniver- sary today (Wednesday.) with a re- view of the organization's expanded activities over the last three decades. Coining on the eve of the 20lh anni of talking pictures, SMPE president Don E. Hyndman declared that the. launching of sound was the most far-reaching accomplishment of the scientists and technicians in behalf of the entertainment world. Starting out in 1916 with only a handful of engineers, the SMPE now has a membership of over 2,500 com- prising the top engineering figures in the film industry. The society's chief wartime contribution was the supplying of precision test-film standards for the Army and Navy. Covering all phases of film indus- try engineering, the SMPE has set up 16 active bodies for research into the following technical problems: cinematography, color, exchange practice, film projection practice, laboratory practice, preservation of films, process photography, screen brightness, 16m and 8m motion pic- tures, sound, standards, studio light- ing, television, television projection practice, test film quality, and the- atre engineering, construction, and operation. Payne In 'Boomerang' Holly wood,. July 23. John Payne draws the male star role in "Boomerang," 20th-Fox pic- ture based on the Anthony Abbott yarn, "The Perfect Case." Most-of the filming will be done in Bridge- port. Louis de Rochemont will produce, with Elia Kazan as director. 0'Keefe Stars in Uight' Hollywood, July 23. Dennis O'Keefe draws the male lead in "His Wedding Night." tale of foreign war brides in the U. S. A., recently purchased by Eagle Lion. Company is negotiating with J. Ar- thur Rank for the services of Ann Todd as femme topper. Picture goes into work in Sep- tember with Joe Fields and Lee Marcus as co-producers. BRONX SPANISH HOUSE USING DUBBED U.S.PIX Marking the first instance of an American-made picture being dubbed into a foreign language for screening in a foreign populated section of N. Y.. the Rex theatre in the Bronx today (Wednesday) be- gan the Spanish version of Metro's "Gaslight." Picture has already' played throughout Latin America in its dubbed version but this is the first time it's been attempted in N. Y. Policy is .in line with a recent statement of William F. Rodgers, Metro veepee over sales, that all the pictures dubbed by Metro into Spanish would be released in towns along the U. S.-Mexican: border. Use of dubbed versions, Rodgers pointed out, should boost grosses. Rex. 524-seat house, has recently been taken over by Frank: Moscato, head of the Island Theatre Circuit, which numbers around 50 theatres, including various indies for whom it does the buying-bookiiig. Two other M-G Spanish-dubbed pictures. "Mrs. Parkington" and "Picture of Dorian Gray" are slated to follow "Gaslight." Boris. Kostelanetz Into Private Law Practice Resignation of Boris Kostelanetz as chief of the War Frauds Section of the Criminal Division, Dept. of Justice, was announced this week. Kostelanetz, brother of music maes- tro Andre, played a prominent role as chief assistant to U. S. Attorney Mathias F. Correa in the Federal prosecution of former labor leaders ecution of former labor leaders George E. Browne and Willie. Bioff for extortion of $1,000,000 from the film industry. He is generally cred- ited with doing much of the spade work which led to the conviction and jailing of the two IATSE officials. Kostelanetz is heading for private practice with Howard F. Corcoran, former U. S. Attorney in New York. His most recent victory for the Gov- ernment was in the successful pros- ecution of Henry Lustig for-tax eva- sion. Jurow Aides Einfeld Martin Jiirow. former exec assist- ant to Hal B. Wallis, has joined En- terprise Productions as production aide to Charles Einfeld and David Locw. At Enterprise, Jurow will coordinate production activities on the lot, working with David Hopkins, exec assistant to Einfeld. He's also slated to act as clearing agent for front office 'for the activities of Marion A. Doran, story editor, and Billy Selwyn, talent chief. Before joining Wallis, Jurow had been exec assistant to J. L. Warner and Steve Trilling. He established the legit department of MCA and also helped set up the motion pic- ture section of that- agency. Golden Gate's Quintet Hollywood, July 23. William B. David, executive pro- ducer of Golden Gate Pictures, an- nounced a program of five films to be made before the end of this year. Pictures are "My Dog Shop." "Yosemito," "Desert Princess," "An- gel's Flight" and "Swindler's Har- vest." WB's Trailer for Col. Warner Bros.' 20th anniversary of sound, with its emphasis on Al Jolson's 'The Jazz Singer," auto- matically becomes a fortuitous builder-upper for Columbia Pic- tures' upcoming "Story of Jol- son," fllmusical biog of the mammy-singer. Col. exploitation will ride the crest, of the WB trailer. BERGER INDIE GROUP NIXES SHOWMANSHIP Minneapolis, July 23. North Central Allied, independent exhibitors body, has thrown down the gauntlet to distributors and de- clared that its members will refuse to use showmanship in the operation of their theatres, as far as making any effort to do a complete selling job on pictures is concerned, until percentage is abolished. "We'd rather play to a smaller gross under percentage than do the proper exploitation and publicity jobs," declares Bonnie Berger, North Central Allied president.. "There's no incentive for showmanship now. The. more business we do on per- centage the worse, we're off. It isn't only that the distributor takes a big- ger slice of the gross, but, worse still, he uses the receipts on these per- centage pictures as the basis for his Hat rental charges." 'ROSE' FOR ALEXIS SMITH Hollywood. July 23. Warners assigned Alexis Smith to costar with Dennis Morgan in "My Wild Irish Rose," based on the life of Chauncey Olcott. Actress previously appeared as femme inspiration for George Gershwin in "Rhapsody in Blue" and Cole Porter in 'Night and Day." Picture Grosses Continued from page 18, DENVER Kill" (U), day-date with Esquire, Webber. Big $19,000. Last week, "Night in Casablanca" (UA) and "Deadline for Murder" (20th), also at Esquire, good $16,000. Esquire (Fox) (742; 35-74)—. "Stolen Life" (WB) and "Dressed to Kill" (U), day-date with Denver, Webber. Fine $3,500. Last week, "Night in Casablanca" (UA) and "Deadline for Murder" (20th), also at Denver, nice $4,000. Orpheom (RKO) (2,600; .35-74)— "Two Sisters" (M-G) and "Truth About Murder" (RKO). (2d wk). Stout $14,000. Last week, smash $21,000. Paramount (Fox) (2,200; 35-74)— "Her Kind Man" (WB) and '^Return of Rusty" (Col). Fine $10,000. Last week, "In Old Sacramento" (Rep) and "Glass Alibi" (Rep), also at Webber, good $9,000. . Blalto (Fox) (878; 35-74)—"West- erner" (FC) (reissue) and "It Shouldn't Happen to Dog" (20th), after week at each Denver, Esquire, Webber, Aladdin. Looks, good $4,500. Last week. "Smoky" (20th) and "Junior Prom" (Mono) (m.o.), big $6,500. Webber (Fox) (750: 35-74)— "Stolen Life" (WB) and "Dressed to Kill" (U). day-date with Denver, Esquire. Nice $3,500. Last week, "In Old Sacramento" (Rep) • and "Glass Alibi" (Rep), also at Para- mount, $3,000. Single-Selling Dictates Quality Production As A Must Henceforth 'Razor'Put Away Hollywood, July 23. Darryl F. Zanuck washed up filming on "The Razor's Edge" after the. longest shooting in the history of 20th-Fox. Lensing required 100 days for the Somerset Maugham hovel. RKO PLANS SERIES OF 'THIS IS ENG/SHORTS RKO-Pathe, following the general industry trend of hypoing production in.England, will make a series of shorts in England this year similar to. its "This Is America'' scries! Writer Phil Reisman, Jr., and direc- tor Gene Milford are slated to leave for England early in August for an indefinite' stay, to lay the ground- work and select possible subjects for the pictures. Shorts will probably be shot at the RKO studios in London, according to Jay Bonaficld, Pathe production manager. While the company plans to shoot only two as a starter, Bona- field said, it hopes that this will mark the beginning of a^ series produced abroad./Pictures will be released by RKO both in England and the U S, probably under a "This Is England" title Despite the fact that the shorts will tell the story of the British peo- ple to Americans, Pathe has no tie- up with the British government, Bonafleld said! Latter may go over some time later to o.o. the situation, but is planning no trip for the present. ENT. TOPPER TRIO Hollywood, July 23. Three new department heads were announced by Enterprise starting with Blowitz as publicity topper. Others are Fred E. Haney, police chief, and Forrest H. Day, fire chief. Every effort will be extended.by Paramount to turn out the finest quality of product possible, following the anti-trust decision which im- poses single-selling, according to Barney Balaban, president, who adds that all other companies will no doubt strive for the same. The. number of pictures to be produced annually is not so important as quality but whether or not, there will be a curtailment in production schedules remains to be decided, in opinion of the Par prcz. While Henry Ginsberg, v.p. ■ and general manager of production at the Par studio, came east to discuss possible effect of single selling and competitive bidding on pictures, Balaban stated that no definite con- clusions have been reached. He pointed out that this was mulled at the recent semi-annual studio meet- ing but that "we know no more now than we knew then." Ginsberg trains back next Tuesday (30). It is expected that the sales de- partments of the various major com- panies will figure more importantly in production plans since selling in the future will revolve to a greater extent around'-th* value of the merchandlse^turhed out in Holly- wood. • - " William F. Rodgers, v.p. in charge of distribution for Metro, stated that while there have been no discussions relating to production in the face of the anti-trust decision) it is very probable some will be held in the near future. It is very likely that the sales de- partments' of the smaller companies- will be dictating to. the - studios more than in the past, urging the best in production, spending of more money, careful selection of scripts and. talent, etc. New York Theatres DtRBii MORGAN • Jock CAISON In Wanker Mroa. Bit "TWO GUYS FROM MILWAUKEE" In Person •«Mv RICH Aa4 HU Orctorr* .SuerbU.AMractloB Direct From H'waed Robert ALDA Star of "Bliapaodr In Blue"- Alr-t'ondlttoned STRAND. B'woy at 47* St. LUND'S FIRST STARRER Hollywood, July 23. John Lund's first starring venture under his contract with Paramount will be "The Wayfarers." Harry Tugend will produce the picture, based on a novel by Dan Wiqkendcn. . FISHERMAN'S WHARF PIC Hollywood, July 23. William Penzner, Universal pro- ducer, will make a picture back- grounded on Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco. Story, written by Penzner, goes before the lenses late in August. 'Sbock'-Hampton Orch Sockfol 26G, Omaha Omaha, July 23. Crowds jammed the Orpheum the minute the doors opened with the Lionel Hampton band show and "Shock" oh the screen. Estimated gross would hit smash $26,000. First day drew $3,200, which is almost a record itself. "Green Years," at the Paramount, is best of the others. Estimates for Thli Week Orpbenm (Tristates) (3.000; 22-80) —"Shock" (20th) and Lionel Hamp- ton orch on stage. Terrific 926,000, indicated. Last week, "Seventh Veil' T (U) and "Johnny Comes Flying Home" (20th) at 16-25 was light $10,000. . . Paramount (Tristates) (3,000; 16- 65)—"Green Years" (M-G). Strong $13,000. Last week, "Cluny Brown" (20th), $11,000. . Brandels (Tristates) (3,000; 16-65) —"Green Years" (M-G). Strong $13,000. Last week, "Cluny Brown" (20th). $11,000. .• . ' Brandeis (RKO) (1.500; 16-65)— "Renegades" (Col) and "Partners in Time" (RKO). Light $7,000. Last week. "Without Reservations" (RKO) and "Passkey to Danger" (Rep) (2d wk), nice $7,500. Omaha (Tristates) (2,000; 16-85)— "Cluny Brown" (20th) and "Strange Conquest" (U). Fair *9.000. Last week, "Well Groomed Bride" (Par> (m.o.) and "Phantom Thief" (Col) , (1st run), good f10,500. Tii JOHNSON [rthtf WILLIAMS LmcIII* BALI Kainan WYMN mM.C.M'1 f«yT«Wt4 Ai 7tcfoi<*f«f CmPMTON IMMtNnBTU. Mil UROt ■Kk riur Toai CMIOHm bKml Jmi ADAMS JEROME KERN'S CENTENNIAL SUMMER A JOtli Ceitfi/ry-fe* Ftovre in Tecfinkefor PIm mi 9tMj«—CHICO MARX Eitra! JAM PICKENS ROXY' M,t sou It, GMtiT smith i c n c •N TECHNICOLOR'/ MONTY WOOLLEY ♦ GtNNV SIMMS JANE WYMAR. ivt mmn • cajuo» mmmu omm* woods 04 MARY MARTIN "fractal tj MICHAfl CUiTU • frnlw* u ARTHUR SCHWMTI • DMCM«MM Ma (tan* fr, utp» nmt \VA R N I R S OLLYWO C OrtM iojo •co*7»»>ou»-lArc nm nja r «. Barbara STANWYCK Van HKFTJX I.lubeth SCOTT In Hal Wallis' Production 7k» Strwtga Lev* *f Martha IvetV A PiranouBt PMur* PARAMOUNT, In Person DINAH SHORE Gil MAW The Aeromanlaea Kiira " DICK mA BILE ana Hli Orcheitra Times Bqaara WHO. MUVTI »nW Doom Okb . . VMm l'w«T m) 0:30 A.M. ASlQI'U**' Till the End of Time ■larrlng Itorptbr Oar MeOUIRE 0*4 MADISON. BOBEKT MITCHl'M BU,I. WITXIAMS RIVOLI. B'way and 4Mb St. PALACE Edward G. ROBINSON Uratto YOUNG Orion WE1US "THE STRANGER" An International I'lctura Heleawd thru BKO BAUIO PICTUBES . OS 8CMKEN | IN PASBHON 'Tliura., July tc| Von Hare a ■Del* With ■ Dhc COL. BOLLS 'SON' SERIAL Hollywood, July 23. Columbia's new cliff hanger, "Son of. the Guardsman," went into pro- duction on CorMgan's Ranch with Sam Katzman as producer. Serial has two director!, Derwin Abrahams arid Harry Fraser, Kuthrrn OBAYHON June AIiTjYKON TWO SISTUS Tfrom ■OSTON' with ENOCH LI6HT mmd ORCH. OTHEB BIG ACTS' ■——aaa.aaaaaaaaa—a— a . RADIO CITT MUSIC HALL "AHHA t>dtb« KIHGOFSIAH" Btarrlaa lr«aw Ru Lto4a DUNN! • HARRISON - DARNELL