PONDERS TAFT-HARTLEY WAL

EWS AND VIEWS THE PRODUCTION CEMTER
'.Hollywood Office—Suite 219 at 6404 Hollywood Blvd., Ivan Spear, Western Manager)
{ank, Blumberg Plan
iNarcissus' Preview
HOLLYWOOEX— Cooked up by J. Arthur
h.-nk and Nat4> J. Blumberg and heralded
Is th^ first Anglo-American press preview
If a motion picture, the Powell and Presslurger
color festure "Black Narcissus" will
lebut before an invitational audience at the
Varthay Circle Theatre July 7.
Rank, who has been vacationing at Del
[onte, planned to return to Hollywood to
ttend the preview. He will leave here
Ivednesday, July 9. for England. He and
[ilumberg, president of Universal Pictures,
|-ill be joint hosts at the showing, to which
lyj ranking stars and executives of the film
[idustry will be invit«d.
"Black Narcissus." a production of the
rchers, stars Deborah Kerr, Sabu, David
Jtirrar and Flora Robson. It was written,
Toduced and directed by Michael Powell and
nieric Pressburger, the team which was
sponsible for "Colonel Blimp" and the more
Bcent "Stairway to Heaven,"
A special area premiere in 200 theatres
nroughout the New England states will be
Jfciged August 7 by RKO w-ith the opening
If "The Long Night." Boston will be the
pub of the activities, from where a series of
pecial exploitation broadcasts will be car-
[ied-
Warners' "The Unfaithful" had its west
^•oast premiere at the three Warner first run
owcases, the Hollywood, the Downtown and
e Wiltern.
Jcreen Guild Increases
^reduction Schedule
HOLLYWOOD — Increasing its 1947-48
broduct lineup. Screen Guild Productions has
IsUned additional deals with Somerset Picures,
headed by Walter Colmes, Selley Levn^on
and J. J. Milstein, and Fortune Films,
ivned by Maurice Conn and Bert M. Stearn,
'or each of the independent producing units
•0 make two more pictures for SG release.
O'ltfits previously had commitments for one
i.m apiece which already have been fula:ied.
Full Title for Epstein
HOLLYWOOD—Mel Ep.stein has been
111 ped to full producer status by Paramount.
Us first assignment will be the filmization
If the Roy Chanslor novel, "Hazard." Epst
-in has been with Paramount 16 years.
D iring the war he served in the army signal
:< "ps and upon his return worked in the
Pioduction department. He directed two
Musical Parade featurettes.
Academy Interrupts Series
To Show German Picture
HOLLYWOOD—The Academy of Motion
Picture Arts and Sciences interrupted its current
series of "screen masterpieces" Sunday
showings for a special screening of a German
postwar picture, "The Murderers Are Among
Us." Produced in 1946 by Germans under
Russian supervision and filmed in the Russian-occupied
zone of Berlin, the film is
clearly intended to be limited to German
audiences. It has no English titles, so Billy
Wilder acted as narrator, A general discussion
about the picture followed the
screening with Charles Brackett presiding.
Warners Entertain CofC
HOLLYWOOD— Officers and members of
the board of directors of the United States
Chamber of Commerce were guests of Harry
and Jack Warner at a special luncheon and
inspection tour of the Warner studios, which
event climaxed the group's four-day conference
here.
Chaplin Hires Birdwell
HOLLYWOOD— Charles Chaplin has engaged
Russell Birdwell on an exclusive basis
for six months to direct the worldwide exploitation
of his film "Monsieur 'Verdoux."
Birdwell, who will operate from the Chaplin
studios, will be assisted by Jane Turner.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!—Left to right,
Ralph Cohn, Buddy Rogers and Joe Curtis
on the occasion of Joe's birthday visit
to the set of Triangle's "Sleep, My Love."
Ralph and Buddy are two of the partners
in Triangle, the third being Mary Pickford.
Joe is a representative of the
Weiss- Geller advertising agency which
will handle Triangle.
Enterprisers Huddle,
Plan Year's Work
HOLLYWOOD—While picture
making activities
have been suspended for the .summer.
Enterprise apparently is getting all set
for a quick fall getaway by staging the first
of its newly inaugurated annual planning
meetings. At these yearly huddles, the company's
top personnel plans to lay out its
production policies for the en.suing fi.scal year
as well as its sales and merchandising plans.
All of Enterprise's starring and producing
affiliates attended the conferences. Among
these were Ingrid Bergman, Charles Boyer,
John Garfield. Barbara Stanwyck, Joel Mc-
Crea. Ginger Rogers, Norma Shearer, Producers
David Lewis, Harry Sherman, R. B.
Roberts, Wolfgang Reinhardt, Director-Producer
Lewis Milestone and Associate Producer
Jack Briggs.
George Schaefer, vice-president in charge
of distribution, arrived from New York accompanied
by Fred Polangrin, Enterprise
eastern publicity director.
The executive personnel of Enterprise, including
Chairman of the Board David L.
Loew, President Charles Einfeld and Schaefer
conducted the meetings. Joseph C. Gilpin,
Robert S. Taplinger, Bill Blowitz. David
Hopkins and Colin Miller also attended.
Enterprise Shutdown Gives
Big Relief to Independents
HOLLYWOOD — Summer shutdown oa
production activities by Enterprise has been
the means of considerable relief for independent
film makers who have listed among
their major problems the shortage of studio
space. Alson Productions, headed by Edward
L. Alperson and Jack Jungmeyer jr..
whose output is distributed by 20th-Fox, has
rented space at Enterprise for the filming of
"The Tender Years," Joe E. Brown starrer.
Alson is the second outfit to take advantage
of the film-making hiatus by the Charles
Einfeld studio, the Stanley Kramer-George
Glass company, Screen Plays, Inc., previously
having rented office and shooting space
there.
Allied Artists Has Slated
'Kingdom Come' Remake
HOLLYWOOD—Allied Artists, running
mate company of Monogram, has slated a remake
of "The Little Shepherd of Kingdom
Come," the time-honored novel by John
Pox jr. Walter Mirisch has been assigned
to produce the picture which will topline
Gale Storm, who thereby will recreate the
role originally done for the screen by Mollie
O'Day when in 1928 she co-starred with Richard
Barthelmess.
BcJXOFTICE :: June 28, 1947 57