Boxoffice (Apr-Jun 1937)

END SKODMS BANKRUPTCY ACTION Wisconsin Circuit Tax Bill in Hopper Madison, Wis. — Sponsored by Allied in its added campaign based on the recent Louisiana chain tax decision, a bill to place a stiff occupational tax on operators of theatre chains has been introduced into the Wisconsin state assembly here by Assemblyman John Grobschmidt. The bill is said to have already received favorable informal consideration by a number of the members of the assembly. According to the bill’s provisions, all theatres in chains of two or more houses, whether producer-owned or unaffiliated, would be taxed on a basis of seating capacity and in accordance with how many houses in the circuit. The tax on each seat in chains of two to five houses would be five cents. The seat tax on chains of from six to ten houses would be ten cents per seat. Where a chain would include between 10 and 500 houses, whether located in the state or not, the tax would increase progressively at a rate of five cents per seat for each five houses. On chains of 500 or more theatres, the tax would be $5 per seat for the entire circuit. The Wisconsin assembly already has passed the Allied divorce bill outlawing the ownership of theatres by producer or distributors. FRANCHISE MUSIC TAX IN Wise. JUMPS 20% Madison, Wis. — The franchise tax on music brokers was increased from five to 25 per cent of their gross business in Wisconsin under terms of an amendment to the present law, which became effective June 18 with its publication. Investigators for such persons are subject to an annual license fee of $20, but the fee and franchise tax does not apply to composers. Violators are subject to a fine ranging from $200 to $500. PARAMOUNT WESTERN MEETING IN CHICAGO Chicago — Under the guidance of Charles A. Reagan, western division sales manager, 80 men from the three midwestern districts of Paramount met in regional sales convention last Friday and Saturday at the Palmer House, Chicago, to discuss production and sales policies for 1937-38 season. Besides Reagan, among the executives present were Alec Moss, assistant chief of the advertising and exploitation department, and Don Velde, ad sales head, both from the home office, and district managers Allen Usher of Chicago, Ralph LiBeau of Kansas City, and Ben Blotchy of Minneapolis. In attendance at the meeting were branch managers, salesmen, bookers and accessory salesmen. The managers present from the ten offices were: Jim Donohue, Chicago; John Howard, Detroit; Walter Wiens, Milwaukee; Barney Barnard, Indianapolis; Joe Manfre, Kansas City; Ray Copeland, Des Moines; Ted Mendenhall, Omaha; Morris Schweitzer, St. Louis; A1 Anderson, Sioux Falls; and Blotchy, who also is Minneapolis branch manager. The meeting was celebrated with a group dinner on Friday night at the Chez Paree. RKO Honors Eight Los Angeles — Introduction by Jules Levy, general sales manager for RKO, of the following salesmen as new members of the 100 per cent club was made at the company’s convention held here last week: From Chicago — R. V. Nolan, J. J. Clark, Sam Gorelick and R. Egner. From St. Louis — H. D. Levy and M. A. Raymon. From Wisconsin — H. E. Kahn and O. Knox. Theatre Lease Okayed Milwaukee — A ten-year lease of the Capitol Theatre, Madison, to the Saxe theatre interests was approved in circuit court here June 17. The Saxe interests had offered $570,000 against $655,000 by the Fox-Madison Theatre Corp. Approximately 6%% Paid on General Claims of $4,64L355 St. Louis — Finis has been written for the Skouras Bros. Enterprises, Inc., bankruptcy proceedings with the payment of the first and final dividend of approximately 6y2 per cent on the general claims of $4,641,355 with the approval June 21 by Referee in Bankruptcy Hope. The lone dividend amounts to $303,451, and was made possible through the sale some time ago of the principal assets of the company, a 52 per cent interest in the St. Louis Amusement Co., the West End Lyric Theatre property and stock in other local amusement enterprises to the ^Bondholders Protective Committee of the Central Properties Corp. As a result of the purchase of the assets by the principal creditor, the holders of $4,386,746 in bonds, the payment of the final dividend is more or less of a “paper” transaction according to Bankruptcy Trustee Nelson Cunliff. About 90 per cent of the dividend will go to the Bondholders Protective Committee. Warner Second Largest Creditor The second largest general creditor is Warner Bros. Pictures Inc., with a claim for $96,946. The balance of the general claims are in comparatively small amounts. Some time ago the prior or preferred claims were paid, and included $3,750 in federal taxes, $1,000 in state, school and city taxes; $1,000 to the Union Electric Light & Power Co., and $11,000 to Former Attorney General Jesse W. Barrett and Walter Nohl, who were receivers in a preceding receivership action, and to their attorney, Harry Rooks. Attorneys for the bankruptcy company were paid $3,500. Through their purchase of the 52 per cent stock in the St. Louis Amusement Co. the Bondholders Protective Committe now control that chain of 22 neighborhood houses, which is managed for them by the Fanchon & Marco interests, they also have the West End Lyric Theatre in its entirety and a substantial stock interest in the Down Town Lyric, the Capitol Theatre and (Continued on page 129) CENTRAL EDITION Is One of the Seven Sectional Editions CALVIN HERMER, Central Editor, 908 S. Wabash Ave., in Which BOXOFFICE Is Published Weekly. The Other Chicago, 111. Phones: Webster 2233-4-5. DAVID F. BAR Six Editions Are: NEW ENGLAND, MIDEAST, MIDWEST, RETT, 5149 Rosa Ave., St. Louis, Mo. H. C. BRUNNER, WESTERN, SOUTHERN, EASTERN. 2820 N. 52nd St., Milwaukee, WiS.