MODERN

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Seen at 'Battleground' Premieres
The group of prominent persons in the top photo attended the premiere
of MGM's "Battleground" at the Capitol Theatre in Washington, D. C, last
weelt. Left to right: Mrs. Eric Johnston, Miss Johnston, George Murphy, film star;
£ric Johnston, president of the Motion Picture Ass'n of America; John Hodiak,
film star, and Denisc Darcel, French film star. Bottom left photo shows Howard
Dietz, MGM vice- president and director of advertising, publicity and exploitation,
chatting with Jinx Fallienburg as he is interviewed over television during the New
York premiere at the Astor. In the photo at the right, three MGM executives are
seen together for a moment of levity at the Astor. Left to right: Silas F. Seadler,
advertising manager; Charles C. Moskowitz, vice-president and treasurer, and Dore
Schary, vice-president in charge of production, who produced "Battleground."
Back to Features After
20 Years of Newsreels
NEW YORK — The Embassy Theatre,
Broadway and 46th street, which has shown
newsreels for 20 years, ceased to exist as a
newsreel theatre November 15. It closed down
for two days of redecoration and reopened
Friday (18) with "Quartet," the Eagle Lion-
Somerset Maugham feature.
The Embassy opened as a newsreel theatre
November 2, 1929, and set a pattern which
six other New York theatres and many others
throughout the counti-y followed. Recently,
the Embassy Cinema, Park Avenue and 42nd
Street also was forced into a feature policy
by television competition.
The other two houses in the Embassy chain,
located at 72nd street and Broadway and in
Radio City, will continue their newsreel policy
for the time being.
"Quartet" last week was in the 34th week
of its run at the Sutton, but due to other
bookings had to move.
MGM Domestic Field Men
End European Survey
NEW YORK—Twelve MGM executives :n
the domestic field, who have spent a month
exchanging ideas with company executives
in Italy, France and England, were due to
return Monday i21i on the Queen Elizabeth
and leave at once for their field offices.
They are: Rudy Berger, southern sales
manager with headquarters in Washington:
John S. Allen, his field assistant located at
Dallas; Carl P. Nedley, Salt Lake City manager;
Saal Gottlieb, Pittsbui-gh manager;
Hilhs Cass, Montreal manager; Lou Formato.
Philadelphia manager; Jacques C. ReVille
Charlotte manager; William J. Devaney.
Chicago manager; Louis Weber. Dallas assistant
manager; Harry Bache, Philadelphia
office manager and head twoker; Irving
Jacobs. Pittsburgh salesman, and Louis Orlove,
Milwaukee promotional representative.
While in Italy, they had an audience with
the Pope.
Brandls Must Show
Records to Para.
NEW YORK—Justice Edgar J. Nathan ol
the New York Supreme Court Tuesday (15;
ordered four Brandt brothers and 118 othei
defendants in the $573,000 Paramomit percentage
fraud suit to appear for pre-trial examination
and produce a wide variety of written
records.
These records will include all daily boxoffice
statements and tally sheets; all cash books,
journals and ledgers; all bank books and
bank records; all used tickets and invoices
of ticket purchases; copies of all income tax,
excess profits tax and admission tax returns
and work sheets; all stock transfer books and
other corporate records; all pay rolls and employment
records; all books, records and ledgers
pertaining to the daily operating expenses
of all theatres i97 are involved! ;
all profit
and loss statements and balance sheets; all
original leases, deeds, real estate and tax receipts
and insurance policies, of theatres, and
all audits and reports of checking and investigation
made by the Brandts of any of the
other defendants.
Justice Nathan also ruled that the oral
examination and inspection of written material
shall be superintended by a referee to be
appointed by the court.
Paramount filed the suit against Harry,
Louis, Bernard and William Brandt and the
other defendants linked with the Brandts by
booking agreements during January 1948.
According to Louis Nizer, attorney for Paramount.
Justice Nathan's decision was the
first to involve operating expenses and the
amount of such expenses.
The suit covered the alleged falsification ol
boxoffice reports on percentage films and
exaggeration of operating expenses over a sixyear
period.
The Brandts have made several unsuccessful
moves for a dismissal. They also opposed
Paramount's motion for the pre-trial
examination and inspection of records.
It has been predicted that the case will
not come to trial for another three years.
First Air Express Flight
Was Made 30 Years Ago
NEW YORK—The 30th anniversary of the
first full-scale air express experimental flight
was marked November 14. Back in 1919 a
four-engined Handley-Page biplane left
Mitchel Field, L. I., on an attempted nonstop
flight to Chicago. More than 600 pounds
of express w^as aboard the 28-ton converted
bomber. After hours of battling unpredicted
headwinds over the Alleghenies, the big ship
was forced down near Mt. Jewett. Pa. Immediately
the shipments were hauled to the
local express office and put on the first westbound
Chicago train. Air express got off to
a practical flying start eight years later—
in September 1927—and today it handles
4,000.000 shipments a year.
Protestant Film Group
Votes for 'Samson'
HOLLYWOOD — "Samson and Delilah,"
40 BOXorncE November 19, 1949
produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille
for Paramount, has been selected as "the
best pictm-e of the month for November" by
the Protestant Motion Picture Council, cooperating
with the Pi-otestant Film Commission.