Boxoffice-January.07.1950

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THE FIRST NEW ODEON CINEMA completed
since the war opened last week at
Worcester, although work was started on it as
early as 1939. In the spring of 1940, the first
year of the war, the government issued an
order prohibiting all non-essential building
and the Worcester Odeon, which was prac-
By JOHN SULLIVAN
tion, a tendency for actors to set up their
own production companies and to work for
sharing terms rather than a flat salary.
The film is titled "She Shall Have Murder"
and is being produced by Derrick DeMarney
at Riverside studios, for distribution by John
Woolf's new company. DeMarney stars him-
tically complete except for internal fittings, self in the film, together with Rosamund
was taken over and used as a government John, and he is primarily responsible for the
store for aircraft equipment. De-requisitioned whole structure of the production. Both he
early this year, work was started almost immedia'eiy
and Miss John are working for about a fifth
on equipping the theatre ready for of their normal salary, but they are both
this week's opening.
financially interested in the picture. Although
The C.M.A. circuit, which combines Odeon
this kind of arrangement is fairly
and Gaumont-British, have several other common in Hollywood it is comparatively new
large thealres which were in course of construction
in this counti-y and is encouraged by the
when war was declared as well as National Film Finance Corp.
many that were bomb damaged and have not DeMarney was last seen in "Sleeping Car
been reopened since the war. The new year to Trieste." which was shown in New York
]?rouab"y will see many of these rebuilt or some time back, and Miss John starred in
completed. Work has already started on the "Fame Is the Spur," which recently started
Shepherd's Bush Pavilion, a large GB theatre a run in that city.
which was bomb damaged and there is a
large Odeon house in Paddington which was THIS WEEK'S OFFERING at the Odeon,
nearly complete on the outbreak of war and Leicester Square, is the London Films production,
which will probably open sometime in 1950.
"The Cure for Love," which was pro-
The Worcester Odeon is a 1,670-seat theatre duced and directed by Robert Donat and in
—a useful addition to any circuit. The film which he stars.
chosen to open with is "The Rocking Horse Walter Greenwood's story deals with the
Winner," which stars the boy actor, John misadventures of an army sergeant who is a
Howard Davies.
A FILM STARTED WORK last week which
hero in battle but a coward when dealing with
women. Young Jack Hardacre comes home
on leave to his native Lancashire to find an
attractive young girl from London billeted on
is typical of a new trend in British produc-
Za^ecuiiue
East: John Joseph, newly appointed eastern
publicity director for MGM, returned to his
New York headquarters after a stay of a
week at the Culver City studio. Joseph previously
was executive assistant to Howard Dietz,
Loew's vice-president in charge of advertising
and publicity.
East: L. E. Goldhammer, eastern division
sales manager for Monogram-Allied Artists,
returned to Manhattan after huddling at the
studio for a week with President Steve Broidy
and other Hollywood executives. En route
east Goldhammer planned to visit exchanges
in Chicago, Minneapolis, Cleveland and Cincinnati.
East: Having completed shooting on two
new features for Paramount release, independent
producer Hal Wallis planed for New
York for conferences with Paramount homeoffice
executives, helping to map advertising
campaigns. He wiU also attend the eastern
opening of his Barbara Stanwyck starrer,
"Thelma Jordon."
East: R. W. Alcorn, who makes his productional
bow with "Johnny Holiday," for
TTnited Artists release, planed to Gotham on
the first lap of a projected tour of 30 key
cities to attend openings of the feature. His
Hdvance men on the barnstorming junket
uill be publicists Ned Crawford and Pat Patterson
and proceeds from the openings will
^n4SAielen4>
be turned over to the Kiwanis International
fund to combat juvenile delinquency.
West: Ellis Arnall, president of the Society
of Independent Motion Picture Producers, was
due in from the east for a stay of ten days
or two weeks. He planned a meeting with
the SIMPP executive committee and huddles
with various of the organi2ation's producermembers.
North: Writer-director Maxwell Shane and
Producer Jules Buck of 20th-Fox headed for
Montreal and Quebec, Canada, to scout locations
for a forthcoming picture.
East: Actress Claire Trevor, Producer Milton
Bren and Director William A. Seiter, associated
in the making of "Borderline," to be
released by U-I, will leave for New York late
next week to participate in exploitation and
publicity campaigns for the picture.
East: Director Joe Newman trained to New
York en route to Europe to begin preparaations
for filming a George Raft starrer for
Joe Kaufman Productions. Newman was
accompanied by his wife.
East: David Lipton, U-I's advertising-publicity
director, headed for New York home
office conferences and huddles in Washington
with government officials concerning the upcoming
premiere of "Francis" in Germany.
his mother. He falls in love with her, but has
a hard timie ridding himself of a worthless
girl to whom he got engaged before going
overseas. Finally, he tries the "cure for love,"
that is, marriage, w^hich is recommended by
an old crone, and marries the London girl,
leaving his hard-boiled ex-fiancee to grab the
nearest m.an to her.
Lancashire and the North of England may
enjoy this comedy, but it is almost certain
that no other district will. The whole production
has the air of a village concert with each
of the actors determined to give a solo performance
that will outshine the others.
Donat's work is more like a music-hall tm-n
than film acting and Renee Asherson's idea
of a Cockney accent will make London audiences
hoot with derision. Quite the best acting
in the film comes from Dora Bryan who
made a hit as the street-walker in "The
Fallen Idol" and whose role in this film is in
similar vein. There is also a pleasant piece
of comedy from Marjorie Rhodes and Charles
Victor whose middle-aged courtship is far
more appealing than the love affair of the
two principals.
With about 18 minutes cut from its running
time "The Cure for Love" may be worth
playing in U. S. theatres as the lower half of
a double bill, but only as a novelty for Donat
fans.
J. ARTHUR RANK has often stated publicly
that a British picture will outgross an
American in the British market and this
statement is still true—with one important
qualification. A good British film will certainly
do more business than a good American
film, but the average British "programmer"
will not pull in the patrons unless supported
by an American feature. In view of the huge
crowds that one sees waiting for admission to
such pictures as "The Third Man" and "The
Hasty Heart" there does seem to be reason
in Sir Alexander Korda's repeated plea that
good pictures should be given extended playing
time. His own production, "The Third
Man," ran for weeks at the Carlton Theatre,
a Paramount house in the west end even after
it had been through its general release in
neighborhood houses. It must have enabled
the Carlton to meet its quota for this year
and has now moved over, presumably for the
same reason, to the smaller Rialto Theatre
where again it is attracting large crowds. A
picture that can do big business like this
should be held over for a second week at local
cinemas and exhibitors would then be able
to meet their quota more easily without complaints
as to losses.
Eric Johnston to Capitol
After Hollywood Visit
HOLLYWOOD—Here for a brief stay to
survey the production scene and huddle with
studio executives, Eric Johnston, president
of the Motion Picture Ass'n of America, was
scheduled to check out over the weekend for
his Washington offices.
Johnston came in from his home in Spokane,
Wash., where he spent the holidays.
Among the topics discussed during his visit
were the upcoming negotiations concerning
the Anglo-American films agreement, which
expires this spring.
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Combination Ramp Identification and Driveway
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42 BOXOFHCE January 7, 1950