BoxOffice February 11, 1939

http://issuu.com/boxoffice/docs/boxoffice_021139

p6 "Metro Realignment To Cut Shorts List
HOLLYWOOD - Complete realignment of M-G-M's short subjects production lineup for 1939-40 is being undertaken by Fred Quimby, general short sales manager. The revamp probably will reduce the schedule from the current 104 reels, of which 24 are two-reelers to about 80 reels, divided between one and two reelers.
The move is purely one of economics. Prevailing opinion at the company's district managers meeting in Chicago was that, with the anticipated new trade practices in effect, it would be a decidedly unprofitable venture to carry so many shorts if they are to be sold independent of features.
Whether the new season lineup will be offered without certain of the currently established series has not been determined. There has been some sentiment along cutting a few of the present series numerically rather than dropping one or two in their entirety. The "Our Gang" and "Captain and the Kids" series have been mentioned as possible drop outs. The latter might be replaced with the new crop of Harman-Ising cartoons. The former might have another new series, called "The Passing Parade" to fill the spot."

p13 "Notes to You From Paramount"
"They Can't Stop Talking
A few of the Home Office execs just returned from Max Fleischer's Miami studios where his first full-length technicolor cartoon feature, "GULLIVER'S TRAVELS" is well under way. And they say it's - to put it mildly - terrificolossal. Superperfect technically... with spectacle, romance, music... they just can't stop talking. So, we make a prediction: "Gulliver's Travels" will be one of the very top grossers this industry has ever seen. Smart showmen will start laying their plans now to get their share of the take." (Ellipses in the piece)

p15 Snow White ad

p25 "Anticipatin'-
A rare shot of Sleepy accurately reflecting his reactions to word from RKO and Walt Disney that "Snow White" will be withdrawn from domestic distribution April 29 for reissue sometime in the undefined future."

p31 Inexplicable American motion picture numbers: in 1937, American companies produced 1,099 features and 2,843 shorts. 21 features a week? Really?

p46 "'Gunga Din' Overtakes 'Snow White'
Chicago - Doing SRO business every day, RKO's "Gunga Din" was outdistancing the business done here by "Snow White" in its first week at the Palace Theatre. While total dollar figures do not quite hit those made by "Snow White," individual performance totals are more since "Gunga Din" is playing five, not seven, daily."

p48 "Among "Immortals"
Chicago - The impending hanging of a scene from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, prompted the following Chicago American editorial:
'Next month the immortal works of the masters which grace the walls of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City will be joined by the youngest immortal of them all - Walt Disney. A scene from 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' will be hung.
'Thus Disney, creator of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Dopey, enters the company of the immortals of art. He already has received honorary degrees from Yale and Harvard for his work. The curator of the museum regards him as a historical figure in the development of American art.
'Readers of the Chicago Evening American who follow Donald Duck's nonsensical adventures, and those who delight in Mickey Mouse's escapades in the Herald and Examiner, will agree that Disney deserves the honors pouring in upon him.
'His animated films and his comic strips alike emphasize our American love of him.
'Insofar as art reflects the emotion of its time and the native land of its creator. Disney is truly one of the great artists of the world.
'We suspect the great company of comic-strip creators will rejoice with Disney in the recognition given 'Snow White.' In a way, it is an honor for all and an acknowledgement of the merit of public taste and preference.' "

Bit of a mixed message there.

p94 Ferdinand the Bull contest